RALPH W. RYMER It! 2 1 Wf UNIVERSITY OF N C AT CHAPEL HILL 00023561548 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ENDOWED BY THE DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES 97/1-.8 J52p V.3 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/pennsylvaniaco3jenk Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal ':./,„u„U /V Vi, . ■yi.„r.:,/,-rn... . «i/;».*/,^-^'^>/->'S'<9 The Drake Monument 343 Henry Martyn Hoyt — Portrait 35 1 The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania— Obverse. . 358 The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania— Reverse. . 359 Central Part of Washington 2>(V Western Entrance to York, Pennsylvania 375 Carbondale Churches in 1840 2>79 Bristol from the Island 2>^7 Samuel Barr — Portrait 40i Map of Pittsburgh, 1795 40S Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Restored 409 Second Edifice of the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Built 1804 415 Old Fashioned Oil Lamps in Use in Pioneer Households 419 Old State Capitol 4^3 Joseph Stockton — Portrait 425 E. Denny — Portrait 429 Henry Baldwin — Portrait 433 James O'Hara — Portrait 437 Home of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania 439 First Pittsburgh Academy 443 Robert Bruce — Portrait 447 Johnstown 45i John Black — Portrait 45° W. W. Irwin — Portrait 463 William McCandless — Portrait 467 New State Capitol 473 Second Allegheny County Court House 479 Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal CHAPTER I. PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION-1839-1845 DAVID R. PORTER, who became Governor in 1839, was born near Norristown two years before the adoption of the constitution of 1790. From his father, who was a Revohitionary soldier, the son inherited strong quahties. At Nor- ristown Academy he fitted himself for Princeton College, which he did not enter on account of its destruction by fire. After his father's appointment as Surveyor-General of the State he took his son with him as an assistant to Harrisburg, where he studied law. Business drew him into Huntingdon county, from which in 1819 he was elected a member of the Assembly. For several years he held some county offices; meanwhile he was much interested in farming, and in 1836 was elected a member of the State Senate. His marked cjualities were soon recognized, and without aspiring to leadership, he rose to a commanding position. Elected Governor in 1838, he was the first to serve under the new constitution. His opening message is a review of the con- dition of affairs, an appeal for economy and good government, the separation of the government from banking, the lessening of the number of corporations and a strong plea for education. A few days afterward he presented another message relating to the finances of the State. The House was Democratic, while the Senate was controlled by Whigs. The public debt amounted to $30,174,304. Of this sum $22,229,003 had been spent for canals and railroads, and more than a quarter, or $5,945,201, had been 3-1 I PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL contracted within three years. The large sum of $3,928,117 was either due or would be within a few months. This sum must be met, but whether besides doing so the public improvements should go on was another question. If they were to be continued, Ritner had regarded the following as the most useful : Erie ex- tension, $500,000 ; North Branch canal, $500,000 ; Gettysburg rail- road, $300,000; West Branch canal, $200,000; Wiconisco canal, $100,000; Allegheny feeder, $100,000. The canal commissioners had recommended $1,200,000 for each of the first two objects, doubled the Governor's recommendation for the Gettysburg rail- road and Allegheny feeder, recommended $286,000 for the Wic- onisco canal and $300,000 for the Sinnemahoning extension. The commissioners also recommended an appropriation of $1,256,467 "as necessary for the permanent repair and prosperity of the improvements." Though in favor of a judicious and com- prehensive system of public improvements, the Governor sug- gested to the legislature the impolicy of applying the funds of the Commonwealth at the present time to any other work than the main lines and their immediate tributaries. How did the Assembly respond to these recommendations? It appropriated sums varying from $500 to $10,000 for roads and bridges all over the State, including $3,000 to the Mechanics' society at Lancaster. After repeating his faith in the main scheme of internal improve- ments, he said : "Influenced by unfortunate causes and counsels, the legislature of the State has recently tended to distract the attention and divide the means of the public by the prosecution of various undertakings unconnected with the main lines and in many instances wholly for the benefit of private companies ; thus placing the public means under their unlimited control, when the faith of the commonwealth was already pledged to apply its resources to the completion of its own works and to the payment of its own liabilities. It is manifest at a glance that just so far as the original system has been departed from, so far has the system itself been retarded, and the public money has been squan- Charles Cornwallis Earl, afterward Marquis; British general; occu- pied Philadelphia, 1777; surrendered his army at Yorktown to Washington, 1781 PORTER'S .ADMINISTRATION dered upon unproductive objects. It has only been within the last few years that this infraction of the internal improvement system has been carried to the greatest extent. To a person not intimately acquainted with the facts it would be a question not easy to solve, from an examination of the recent appropriation bills, whether the main lines of our impro\-ements were ])rose- cuted on account of their own intrinsic importance, or merely as pretext for lavishing- upon numberless other subordinate objects millions of dollars of the money of the people. In some instances, as in that of the bill under consideration, the appropriations to secondary objects have been made first, while the appropriations to the main lines have thus far failed entirely. It will be but one step farther in the departure from the original system to drop the main lines altogether and henceforth disperse the treasures of the Commonwealth among incorporated companies, local prejudices, local interest and expert bargaining to secure in the general scramble the largest share of the public money." The remark of the board of canal commissioners that a million and a half dollars were needed to render the canals "adequate to transact the business which may and should be done upon them," led to a legislative investigation, and the committee found that "the amount required for repairs was greatly exaggerated." The committee could not overlook the fact that in the late reports made by the engineer, occasion seemed to be taken and a disposition was strongly manifested to swell the estimates to an unreasonable amount. This circumstance, taken in connection with some ex- pressions used by the canal commissioners, evinces an earnest desire to create an impression upon the public mind that under the late administration the public improvements had been neglected, and had suffered from the want of timely repairs. Of such negligence the committee found no evidence. The com- mittee deprecated the introduction of anything like political or party feeling in the prosecution or management of our internal improvement system, but the inference was too glaring to escape PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL observation, and too palpable to be permitted to pass unrebuked. The committee then proceeded to show in detail how greatly the estimate made by the board for repairs surpassed what a liberal policy demanded. The plot now thickens and henceforth our legislative records are full of the story of internal improvements, which for several years overshadows all others. There was a vast amount of floating indebtedness to be paid off that was affecting the credit of the State. Party politics, too, was playing havoc with all the appointments. Appropriations were irregularly made and all work was fitfully done, costing far more than it would if made in a regular manner. One of the investigations relating to the Gettysburg railroad may be briefly described. It was a parallel line to the main works to a considerable extent, and if completed would have diverted trade from Pennsylvania to the Baltimore and Ohio road. A road was to be built from Columbia to Gettysburg and then there would be a through line to the Balti- more and Ohio. The committee remarked that of all the works of doubtful expediency constructed by the State, there was none so useless, so expensive or of as little value as this. It was com- menced by fraud and intrigue and will end in disgrace and loss to the Commonwealth. The road was to cost $77,340 per mile, nearly double as much as any other road at that time built in the country. Six sections which were estimated to cost $37,660 had cost $99,181. Sections had been relet at greatly advanced prices to the old contractors, without abandoning the former contracts or stopping work under them, or without advertising for pro- posals. Politics had, indeed, played its disastrous part. During the election of 1838 those who were conducting the works inter- fered in the pending election for Governor. The superintendent raised the contractors' prices by a connivance at the provisions and injunctions of the law, and the contractors in turn taxed the men engaged upon the work as laborers large proportionate amounts of their hard earnings to bet upon Mr. Ritner's election, and to bear the electioneering expenses. In some cases this sys- PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION tern of oppression and robbery was resisted and the money col- lected by an appeal to the law. When Governor Porter came to have a knowledge of the pnblic improvements his zeal for them greatly cooled. He de- clared in his first annual message that it was incumbent on him to exhibit the actual productiveness of our internal improvements in a light somewhat less flattering than that in which it had usually appeared. . . . "It had been customary to state the gross amount of tolls derived from the canals and railroads in such a manner as to convey the impression that they yielded that sum clear of all deductions for management and repairs. The con- stant yearly increase of tolls had served as a powerful stimulant to the prosecution and extension of the entire system of our im- provements. Men of sanguine feelings had confidently looked forward to an early day on which the tolls arising from our improvements would not only pay the interest on the whole State debt, but yield, in addition, a large surplus to be applied to the extinguishment of the principal. Local interest and ardent public enterprise readily concurred in this opinion. We had embarked in the system too deeply, both in pecuniary investments, and in a State pride, to turn back. The great undertaking must g'o through ; we had pledged our faith, our firmness and our ability to that effect, and we gathered hope and confidence wherever they could be found. It is not surprising therefore, that our governors, legislators and people have deceived themselves and deceived each other in pursuit of the favorite object. It forms no just ground of censure against the active supporters of our system of internal improvements that they have fallen short, far short, of public expectation, in the amount of revenue they aflforded. The time may perhaps arise, at no very distant day, when the increase of our population, business and wealth will enable us to realize the flattering anticipations of the early friends of the system." The income from tolls and motive power for 1835 had been $684,357; repairs and cost of motive power, $431,626. 1836, PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL income $671,849; repairs, $551,024. 1837, income, $975,350; repairs, $883,516. 1838, income, $966,029; repairs, $1,069,657; debts due, $275,000; deficit, $378,628. 1839, income, $1,101,904; repairs, $656,460. Thus the State made a poor showing as a builder and manager of canals and railroads. Those in charge had covered up the truth, and the public had been fooled into believing that the improvements paid. As long as the people were not taxed they did not care. The State, instead of paying, kept borrowing and telling the people that eventually enough would come from the works to pay all expenses, interest, and the debt itself. The time was rapidly coming when the truth would be known and the people be compelled to foot the bill. Indeed, the time had now come when the Governor had to tell a part of the truth. "The affairs of the Commonwealth," he said, in his message of 1840, "have been for several years gradually verging on towards deeper and deeper embarrassment, until we have at length reached this unexpected deficiency of funds in the treasury to meet the de- mands upon it. The people have been told again and again that our fiscal condition was flourishing and prosperous, while in fact our prosperity was all based on paper calculations and loans, which we are just now beginning to perceive bear interest, and are some day to be paid." The sale of the public property was imprac- ticable and the Governor was firmly opposed to more loans. Tax- ation, therefore, was the only expedient. Accordingly, on the nth of June, 1840, a tax "to create addi- tional revenue to be applied towards the payment of interest and the extinguishment of the debts of the Commonwealth," which was to bring in $600,000 annually, was imposed. It was to be collected for five years. Its advocates believed that the sum thus raised, together with other resources, would "probably liquidate the interest account w'ithout further resort to loans for that pur- pose." It provided "such a rate for the assessment of taxes as to fall with o-entle weigfht on those who are little able to bear anv PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION addition to their expenses." The articles taxed were those purely of luxury, gold watches, pleasure carriages, household furniture exceeding in value $300, together with bonds, bills, and notes of solvent obligors, bank stock, or stock in other corporations, yield- ing dividends of at least one per cent., salaries of public officers and real estate. Although this act undoubtedly operated with some hardship upon those who fell within its provisions, still they did not suffer much, for they did not belong to the poorer classes. Governor Porter defended his scheme of taxation in his next message. He said : "I recommended taxation ; that recommend- ation was adopted by the legislature and it is a source of proud gratification to me when I consider that the people of Pennsyl- vania, almost to a man, so far as I have been informed, with a firmness and patriotism worthy of themselves, have yielded to this necessity without murmur or repining. I feel fully con- vinced that at the expiration of the five years at farthest, with a reasonable degree of prudence, and with strict economy in the management of our affairs, the income of our improvements will render renewal of this law wholly unnecessary." Still, all did not pay the taxes so willingly. The Governor had presented a too rosy view. Indeed, his own language be- trayed the truth. "If," he said, "any difference of opinion exists as to the necessity of this tax, let these questions be answered by those objecting. Does not Pennsylvania owe this debt? Is she not morally and legally bound to pay it and its interest as it falls due? Can they point out any other mode by which this can be done?" At that time no tax had yet been collected. The act was amended in various ways in 1841 to make it more palatable. The county commissioners were delinquent and some of them made no returns, consequently the Governor was quite unable to give the legislature much information on the subject, except that only a small amount of taxes had been collected. This was not strong proof that the people were willing to pay and to save the State credit. The Governor talked well, declared that the debt PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL must be paid, and that taxes must be imposed. On this subject there was, he said, no diversity of opinion among the great mass of the citizens of the State. All agree that whenever the consti- tuted authorities of the Commonwealth have entered into engage- ments conformably to the constitution and laws, whether these Member of Assembly, 1764; the Colonial Con- gress, 1765; and the first Continental Congress, 1774; commissioned brigadier-general, 1777; member Federal Constitutional Convention; founder Dickinson college, Carlisle, 1783; president of Supreme Executive Council, 1782- 178s engagements have been characterized by due prudence and a proper regard to the interests of the public or not, the honor of the State, the permanence of our republican institutions, and a sacred regard to the sanctity of public engagements, require that the resources of the Commonwealth and the energies of her citizens be put in requisition to meet her public engagements promptly, punctually, and unhesitatingly. But the uncomfortable POR TER'S A DM IN IS T RATI ON fact is, if they thought so, they set their grood intentions aside by not paying their taxes. They were strangely delinquent for a people who believed in maintaining the faith of the State. They were more interested in escaping the payment of their taxes, which would save the honor of the State, than in preserving it at a slight sacrifice, perhaps, to themselves. Another remedy was to sell the State stocks, railroads and canals. This was intimated by the Governor in his first message in 1840, especially the sale of the bank stocks. There were two strong reasons for doing this; they would bring a good price, yield some much-needed money, and again the State would thereby be divorced from the banks. Once more they had sus- pended specie payments and were discredited institutions. "The interest of the State," said the State treasurer, A. H. Read, in 1 841, "as a banker is necessarily subjected to all the fluctuations, suspensions, and explosions of the present miserably defective system. The aid and countenance accorded to suspended banks, in virtue of a partnership with the Commonwealth, naturally tends to lower the standard of morals in the community, to de- press the character of the State for high moral sentiment, and to impress a withering stain upon our national escutcheon. The only objection ever made to the sale of these stocks is, they are productive. This is not even a plausible objection. They are productive stocks, and therefore will command a fair price in the market, with the advantage of a prompt and ready sale, and hence peculiarly adapted to the pressing exigencies of an exhausted treasury. Even were it morally honest, under other circum- stances, to continue a partnership with suspended banks, it cannot be right, when the public creditor, who has confided in the faith and honor of the State, is daily knocking at your treasury in vain." The productive character of this investment of the peo- \)\es money is not a legitimate argument, because governments are instituted for specific purposes, and not at liberty to engage in any and every pursuit which may present the stimulus of large PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL profits. If admitted as an argument, it would prove too much ; it would justify the Commonwealth in commencing the manu- facture of leather and iron, and in growing silk and wool, or any other husiness of equal profits with that of banking. What would be the conduct of a prudent individual in like circumstances? His credit exhausted, his notes at a discount, further loans re- fused, no means of paying interest on his accumulated debts, large investments previously made in reference to his principal business lying dead and unproductive for the want of a small additional sum, would he hesitate? Would he not instantly part with his bank stocks to relieve his embarrassment and put his affairs in a prosperous condition. I am not aware of any other resource for the payment of interest on February i but the sale of a portion of these stocks." The Governor also recommended at the same time the sale of the motive power on the State railroads, including locomotive engines, cars, tenders, workshops, engine-houses, depots, wells, water-power, sheds, mechanical instruments, aud all other appurtenances of motive power. In Governor Porter's first message he strongly urged a separa- tion of the State and banking institutions. He said : "The asso- ciation of private individuals with the State in banking institu- tions results almost entirely to the advantage of the former. Whatever hopes may have been founded on such association by the legislature, that the banks thus owned would be at all times ready to aid the Commonwealth, have been illusory. Although the State owns 3,750 shares of stock in the Pennsylvania bank, 5,233 shares in the Philadelphia bank, and 1,708 shares in the Farmers' and Mechanics" bank, yet she has not such a share in the direction of either as to control any of their proceedings, and derives no benefit from llie ])artnership. Her capital is used by her indi- x'idual associates for purposes of private gain and speculation, and the Commonwealth, when she wants money, is compelled to look elsewhere. 1, therefore, recommend the ])assage of a law authorizing the sale of the State's stock in srn'd banks, at such PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION time and in such manner as will yield the greatest amount to the State; or, if it be found that such sale cannot be made without too great a sacrifice, owing to adverse circumstances or other causes, that authority be given to declare their charters annulled and to divide the assets among the State and private stockhold- ers." Never did sounder reasons exist for selling public property, yet the legislature refused to give the Governor authority to sell, bid the banks oppose the sale of them? Did they fear that they would decline in value by the sale of such a large quantity, or by the retirement of the State as a shareholder? Whatever the reasons might have been the stocks began to decline. And still the legislature declined to sell, though the value of the stocks was depreciating and the credit of the State was sinking still lower. Although the bankruptcy of the State was staring the Governor in the face, and he was putting forth his best efforts to save its credit, he continued to urge the completion of the public improve- ments. If they were not, various enterprises would be revived ; if they were, it was doubtful if they would pay much. These were the North Branch extension from Lackawanna to the New York line, to connect there with the New York system; the Erie exten- sion from Greenville to Erie harbor, and the Wiconisco canal from Duncan's island to Wiconisco creek, and a short road to avoid an inclined plane at Columbia. In 1840 v$3,322,333 had been spent on these and v$4,553,503 were needed to finish them ; and the Governor urged their completion, notwithstanding their doubtful utility. The Gettysburg railroad was dead, for all time; that sink was finally closed, but the time had not quite come for ex- tinguishing the rest of these ill-conceived enterprises. The true policy, so Governor Porter thought, was to finish these and build no more. The State treasurer in 1841 still declared that the policy heretofore pursued of negotiating loans for the construc- tion of our public works, thereby stimulating industry, maintain- ing the character and dignity of the State, and placing us in the 13 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL front rank in the march of improvement, is in the main approved, that the pubhc debt is a matter of regret only in so far as the fruits thereof have been recklessly squandered on local projects. But a public debt should always be limited by the amount of avail- able resources. There w^as a point, however, beyond which that Jesuit Mission Relic The illustration shows the obverse and reverse sides of a cross which is one of several relics found on the north side of the West Branch of the Susquehanna river about one mile west of Great Island. The original of the above is owned by Dudley H. Martin, the finder. These crucifixes were probably given the Indians by Jesuit missionaries. An unauthenticated story tells of a mission where Evangeline, immortal- ized by Longfellow, stopped in search for her lover, which, if true, might explain the many relics found in the locality. To give further color to the story, a warrant of land near by was taken out in 1794 by Robert Ritchey and named Acadia, which name it still retains Photographed especially for this work by C. Alex. Shempp policy should be abandoned, and that point in Pennsylvania had already been reached. The credit of the Commonwealth had been pushed to its utmost limit and any further effort to extend it would, if successful, sever the cords of our social compact, part us from the anchor of our hope, and wreck us in the gulf of State bankruptcy. The system of loans was at an end. The source of revenue had failed ; that fountain had become dry ; we could not, if we would, obtain further loans. The tax law of the last session, contrary to expectation, had failed to revive our waning credit; our stocks continued to decline in the market. The eagle- eyed capitalist, comparing our resources with the liabilities in- curred, refused to receive them, and if not from an enlightened policy, from imperative necessity, we must change our mode of 14 PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION action; we nuist have recourse to our vendible and available re- sources for the completion of our splendid system of internal improvements. At last the borrowing power was exhausted, while the people who were so willing to come to the rescue and save the declining credit of the State by paying their taxes were scarce. But was there no income from their gigantic system of canals and other modes of transportation ? Nearly twenty years had expired since beginning them, and it was quite time that some revenue should come from them unless this was to utterly fail. The main line of improvements, though built at a cost far greater than to a private individual, would have paid a handsome profit if it had been managed by the State after its completion. But individuals who are always alert to make a fortune quickly stepped in and undertook to use the means of transportation thus prepared for their own gain, and so the State reaped no profit from its undertaking. It had simply prepared a splendid way for a fresh set of individuals to reap great fortunes at the expense of other people of the State. But others besides them profited. The contractors and employees were legion and their claims against the State were innumerable. If a contractor bid far below another and less than he ought, he did not hesitate to go on with his work, confident that the legislature would reimburse him in the end. Such a method destroyed the whole force and effect of competition in bidding for contracts, because the contractor did not care how low he took the contract, provided he had some assurance that the legislature would remunerate him "and which he had a strong assurance they would do from the legislation of the last few years on the subject." A few dissatisfied contractors and others imposed on the cre- dulity and stimulated the ambition of some member of the leg- islature to offer a petition complaining of public grievances. A committee to investigate was appointed, subpoenas were issued, and straightway swarms of hungry confederates repaired to the seat of government to prosecute their claims before the legis- 15 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL latiire. to lounge at the public expense and join in a wholesale pillage of the treasury. In the close of the session the com- mittee reports, "the witnesses return to their homes and laugh at the trick as they pocket the spoils." A large portion of the legislative expenses is incurred in this way. The extraordinary increase of these expenses, over those of all other departments of the government, has been of late years a matter of just com- plaint. At last, in 1842, the Governor began to think it was time for the State to retire from the transportation business. He had reached this conclusion with respect to banking business before he became Governor, but it needed some more hard experience of sham contracts, worthless officials, and a lack of income to convince him that the State was not prepared to build and manage canals and railroads. The story of trying to complete the North Branch and Erie extension canals was disheartening. They had cost far more than the estimates ; the contractors had taken all they could get and serenely continued to work, confident that the legislature would amply compensate them for their patriotic en- deavors to complete the canals after the commissioners were unable to supply any more funds. Notwithstanding all this the Governor hesitated to call a halt. One reason, and a potent one, was that contractors would have a new class of claims for remuneration for the losses sustained by the State's abandonment of its work. "Contractors who have gone on to the work, and perhaps executed the least profitable part of it, will have fair claims on the justice of the legislature for remuneration for the losses they have sustained by an abandonment of the work by the State." "Judging from the success which usually crowns per- severance in similar applications before the legislature, there can be but little doubt that this class of claimants will not go away unanswered and unsatisfied." The Governor declared that if the State were out of debt he would not favor selling the transporta- tion lines, but, oppressed as the State was, its credit gone, unable to borrow any more, he proposed to sell the Columbia railroad 16 PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION and the Delaware division of the Pennsylvania canal. A little later he was ready to sell all ; and public opinion was moving in the same direction. We may now turn to other matters. In October, 1839, most of the banks in Philadelphia suspended specie payments, and those in other parts of the State followed their example. The banks generally throughout the Union did likewise, except those of New York city. The suspension came as a surprise to the public, paralyzed business and shook public and private credit. From all classes of the community, save those alone who were interested in banks, was heard a loud and deep condemnation of the measure. Innumerable remedies were suggested, some look- ing to the regulation of these institutions, others to their pun- ishment and extirpation, and the Governor was besought to con- vene the legislature at an earlier day to consider measures for relieving the banks and the people. There were at that time fifty- two banks in the State, with an aggregate capital of about sixty million dollars. Some had been so disregardful of the law con- cerning returns as to make no returns, or such imperfect ones that it was impossible to arrive at anything like accuracy in the amount of their circulations, specie, or debts due to them. Their notes in circulation amounted to thirty-three million dollars and the amounts due to them perhaps seventy millions. "Stocks in our railroads, canals, turnpikes, etc., were held by some of these banks, and in the shape of subscriptions, bonuses or dividends, they contributed largely to the general fund in the State treasury, and to the support of the common school system. Their charters expired at various periods between that time and 1870, and the stock in them was owned by a great number of persons of all ages, classes, conditions and pecuniary means. The capitalists of the country, as well as those of moderate means, widows, orphans and guardians, all own stock in our several banking institutions." Thus the business interests and banking institutions were inti- mately connected together and mutually exerted a powerful in- 3-^ 17 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL fluence on each other. From one point of view there was a marked difference in the condition of the people at this time from what it was in 1816-18. Then, as now, the country was flooded with foreign goods, which low duties, and credit upon those duties, enabled foreigners to introduce and then create a large debt abroad. Then, as now, the banking capital, banking facili- ties, and bank issues were increased beyond what the necessities of the country for the healthful transaction of its business re- quired. Then the spirit of speculation had infected the agricul- tural as well as other portions of the community ; now, hcnvever. the farmers were generally out of debt and liourishing; the mer- cantile and manufacturing classes were the principal sufferers by an undue expansion of the credit system. A large amount was due abroad, borrowed for creating banks, canals, railroads, and other purposes, and also by the State. The banks had acted as the brokers on a large scale in negotiating the State loans with foreign capitalists. But the legislatures of the several States had created the loans, and were therefore responsible for furnishing the chief aliment in feeding the credit system. It was no doubt true that the inordinate increase of banks in late years had been partly produced by the immense accumulation of State credits and had, in some degree, stimulated the action of the legislatures of the several States by affording agents to negotiate and cus- tomers to consume the avails of the stock when negotiated. Until within the last year the State had been able to borrow money without difficulty on State stocks in Europe and to pay llie interest arising in former loans by new ones. The people felt no inconvenience from this inflated system of credits and seldom reflected that a day of reckoning would come, when the State could then pay debts no longer. States, banks, corpora- tions, and individuals all moved forward in harmonious union, borrowing all they could and wherever they could, without refer- ence to their future ability and means of repayment. The delu- sion was over at last. State stocks were unsalable, a drug in PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION foreign markets, and the State was asked to pay the interest on its permanent loans, and had no means of paying unless specie was exported, "except to rely on the remote avails of our agricultural production? or dispose of more State stock, at a ruinous sacrifice." The legislature took the matter in hand and attempted to pre- scribe a remedy. So strongly entrenched were the banks in the Assembly, there v\hs no danger of the passage of any of the Gov- ernor's stern recommendations. On the 3d of April, it was re- solved that the banks which did not pay on demand all their notes, bills, deposits and other liabilities in gold or silver coin should forfeit their charters. The Governor in his next message stated that though the day fixed for resuming specie payments was more remote than he wished at the time, yet the period of indulgence had nearly passed away and there was good ground to believe that the banks would be prepared to discharge their liabilities in specie. Should they do so, by continuing strictly to observe the law and fulfilling the just expectations of the public, they might regain the confidence they had lost, and especially if they adopted better regulations. One of the most immediate advantages re- sulting to the community from the resumption of specie payments would be the entire expulsion from circulation of the illegitimate brood of small notes that had been poured in from the neighboring States on all sides in defiance of law and of the most active en- fleavors to suppress them. We could conclude without recom- mending that no increase of banking capital be made under any circumstances, and that effectual provision be made by law that if any bank should at any time hereafter suspend specie payments it should be, ipso facto, a forfeiture of its charter. Nothing short of an absolute and unconditional provision of this kind could arrest the frequent over-issues by the banks, induced by the inor- dinate cupidity of those under whose directions they may be con- ducted. But the Governor's hopes were not to be realized. The greatest irregularity still prevailed in the currency. There was not much of that wretched, illegal trash in circulation which dur- 19 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL ing the early part of the last six years had infected all sections of the Commonwealth in the forms of notes, checks, certificates, etc., of corporations and individuals for small sums, put forth without lawful authority and in spite of the prohibition of law, but there was still a large amount of notes in circulation, ostensibly legal, and purporting to be of equal value, because founded on the faith of the State, by whatever bank issued, and yet, notwithstanding this fact, discredited and repudiated by the very institutions for whose benefit and relief they were authorized to be issued. In 1 84 1 the legislature authorized the banks to issue notes below $5 to the amount of $3,100,000 as a loan to the State, that were to be used in paying its expenditures, schools, pensions and the like. By this plan banks were authorized to issue notes to the amount of their respective subscriptions to the loan and pay them into the State treasury, and any holder of $100 or more of them could present them to the issuing bank and when doing so was entitled to an order on the auditor-general for an equal amount of stock. In this manner were they to be redeemed ; meanwhile the banks were entitled to one per cent, interest on them while they were in circulation. They were to be received by the bank that issued them in payment of debts due to it, and on deposit, like currency, and the State treasurer was authorized to re-issue them. The Governor vetoed the bill, but the banks were too strong for him. They succeeded in passing the bill over his veto, and he was compelled to execute the law. "I did hope," he said in his message in 1842, "that some of the evils which have re- sulted from it might have been obviated if it was enforced by me and acted upon in a spirit of enlarged wisdom by the banks them- selves." This hope had been vain. The worst anticipations had been realized. The Governor thought the law ought to be re- pealed, the loan forced, and the banks compelled to begin the pay- ment of specie on the ist of June. Governor Porter was not less zealous in trying to restrict the spread of corporations. In his message of 1840 he said: "Let 20 PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION the increase of corporations hereafter be Hmited to cases of un- doubted pubhc utiHty, where individual capital and enterprise are insufficient to accomplish the object intended, and let the power of the legislature to control or abolish them, l>e at all times ex- pressly reserved. A system resting on opposite principles must Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg Clergyman ; congressman, 1779-1787, and speaker of the House. Reproduced for this work from an original painting eventually transfer nearly all the powers and authorities of the legislature, as well as the business of the people, to corporate bodies, and then silently but effectually achieve a revolution in our civil relations ; for if the obligations of men may be converted into those of a limited and artificial nature, instead of a direct personal responsibility, it is manifest that the very elementary principles of society are changed. We shall be constrained under PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL such change to reach the citizen, not by the immediate process of the law, but by its clumsy, indirect application to him in an ideal state of existence created by legislation and rendered independent of the usual responsibility of the members of society. This is the condition of things, complicated and clogged by corporate exceptions and privileges, towards which our recent system of legislation on this subject has been hastening us, and at which we shall sooner or later arrive, unless it be abandoned." Notwithstanding Porter's unflinching opposition to the banks, to every form of wasteful legislation and corruption, to more effective taxation, he was re-elected in 1842 by a large majority. His re-election was a triumph of principle, proof that the people had at last aroused from their torpor and desired a better govern- ment. His re-election was a cause of rejoicing by every honest man having any pride in his State and desire to have it raised from the low place into which it had sunk. Porter had not served long in his second term when the finan- cial crash came, which he had striven so hard to avert. On the 1st of August, 1843, the State was unable to pay the interest on its debt. Notes for interest were issued l)earing five per cent, interest, that were funded years afterward by giving new certifi- cates of stock bearing four and one-half per cent, interest. There was some complaining Ijecause the same rate of interest was not paid on these as was paid on the original certificates. They were given five times, in August, 1842, and in February and August, 1843 ^^^^^ 1844. After this the State resumed payment. The relief notes issued by the banks under the law of May 4, 1841, amounted to $2,220,265. These were presented for pay- ment at different times, paid and cancelled. By January i, 1846, $867,087 had been discharged. The taxes assessed and collected during the first five years of the law were: 1841, assessments, $523,200; collections, $33,292. 1842, assessments, $663,075 ; collections, $486,635. 1843, assess- sessments, $992,206; collections, $553,911. 1844, assessments, PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION $946,055; collections, $751,210. 1845, assessments, $1,300,751 ; collections, $1,318,332. Total assessments, $4,425,289; total col- lections, $3,143,382. The amount due December i, 1845, ^'^'^s $873,535. The debt on December i, 1845, was $40,986,393. The sale of the main line of the public works had been left the year before to the deci- sion of the people, and at the October election they had voted in favor of selling. The people were quite willing to sell the public works for other reasons than a desire to lighten their burden of taxes. Many were now heartily sick of the State's attempt to undertake the transportation business, and were eager for its retirement. They clearly saw that if it continued, wastefulness, fraud, and demoralization would be the inevitable accompani- ments. Last of all, there was a large class who had been con- ducting business on the canals with great profit to themselves and who wished to gain still more by becoming the owners. Unable to sell them for the price fixed, it was reduced by the legislature. The Beaver division of the Wyoming line on the North Branch, forty-three miles, and the French creek feeder, costing in the aggregate $1,222,927, were given away in 1845, the closing of the first chapter in this miserable business. Meanwhile the committee of ways and means of the House made a final effort to stay the tide and convince the people that the retention of the public works was, after all, desirable. The committee asserted that at the time of passing the act authorizing the sale of the main line, "the public mind was very much excited in consequence of the State debt and the contemplated increase of taxation." The committee sought to show that the works were improving in value and would ultimately pay. Besides, they would then pass into the control of a private corporation, and these "have gener- ally been considered obnoxious to the public weal ; their history is one of entire selfishness, monopolizing in their design and results ; they always interfere with the action of individual enterprise, concentrating large amounts of capital, which necessarily oper- 23 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL ates injuriously to the interest of men with smah means." After describing the powerful results of permitting a corporation to own the works, then dabbling and interference in politics, they closed thus : "The Commonwealth has been infested with individuals who have been chiefly instrumental in creating this oppressive debt, and have made princely fortunes by the operation ; and now they are willing to relieve the people again by taking the improve- ments off their hands, provided they can get them at their own price. This would be a humiliating state of affairs, and a result that all should deplore. But if they are realized by a vote of the people sanctioning a sale of the main line, it will nevertheless be lamentable; but as there is no other tribunal to which an appeal can be taken, it must be submitted to." But the people had had enough, and, though the retirement of the State from the trans- portation business was not to come for several years, the system was doomed, and all knew it, and every well-wisher of the State felt somewhat relieved. During Governor Porter's administra- tion, "not a single dollar had been appropriated and paid towards the commencement of any new work whatever ;" and the thoughts of all except those who were fattening on the system were bent on extricating the State from the public works and from the disgrace with which they had covered it. During Governor Porter's administration serious riots oc- curred in Philadelphia, due to the hostility to the foreign element in the city. A new party had arisen, the Native American, which insisted that only native-born citizens should be elected to public office. This new party held a public meeting in Kensington on May 3, 1844. This was right in the midst of the Irish Catholic district, and the latter attacked the meeting in large force. A second meeting was held there on May 6, when the Irish renewed the attack with bricks and firearms. One American was killed and several were wounded. The next day the Natives held an indignation meeting in Independence square. A number of speakers exhorted to peace, but to no avail. The crowd adjourned 24 Richard Butler Lieutenant-colonel in Revolutionary army and colonel of the 9th Pennsylvania regiment at close of the war; major-general in St. Clair's expedition against the Indians, 1791 PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION to Kensington, where a serious conflict ensued, in which a num- ber were kiUed and others wounded. Ahhough the mihtia under General Cadvvalader appeared in the evening, the rioting contin- ued. Several Catholic churches were burned and other valuable property was destroyed. On May lo, Governor Porter arrived and large bodies of soldiers were called into service, but not until damage had been done amounting to over one hundred thousand dollars. This spirit of hostility smouldered only to break forth again in July. On the fifth of this month, it was discovered that arms had been taken into the Church of St. Philip de Neri, in South- wark. The people gathered in a large multitude about the church and demanded a search, and a supply of muskets, powder, and cartridges was found in it. The militia was again called forth to protect the place, but the mob could not be controlled. The church was secretly entered at night and fired, but the fire was extinguished. The crowd procured firearms and at one time were in possession of three cannon, which they used both against pri- vate citizens and the militia with deadly effect. On July 8, Gov- ernor Porter was assured that if the soldiers were withdrawn the civil authorities could maintain peace. This line of action was followed and order was restored. Among the events of Porter's administration an important reform is worthy of mention. In 1842 the Assembly abolished imprisonment for debt. Before that time a debtor who had a judgment rendered against him for more than $5.33 had a right to a stay of execution. An act of the legislature then attempted to secure to his family the articles of absolute household necessity by exempting them from execution, a provision wdiich was very often defeated by the right of another creditor to take the person of the father of a family in execution for a sum less than $5.33. upon obtaining judgment. The family of the unfortunate debtor was then compelled to a forced sale of the articles intended to be protected from execution in order to relieve the person of the PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL debtor, and thus there was a power directly to produce a sale of those articles of essential household convenience which the legis- lature designed to defend upon motives of humanity. In those thickly populated districts where pawn brokers do exist they were applied to to advance money upon clothes, beds, furniture, tools, and kitchen furniture, in order to enable the unfortunate debtor to pay the cost of a trifling suit before a magistrate and avoid a place which should be the receptacle of guilty men and criminals. For the evidence of such we need only recur to the great variety of articles which were commonly advertised for sale at those estab- lishments. These were wrenched from the distress of the poor man's family, to support and supply the means of existence which that odious and cruel law afforded to a magistracy, oppressively numerous, and in many instances too eager to gain advantage of the existence of a fee bill to permit anything to escape that would permit them to charge a fee. In the rural districts these evils were not so frequent. In Philadelphia, for three years prior to 1830, three thousand and one persons were imprisoned for debt. The poorest debtor received only one five cent loaf daily from the county and had the use of two blankets, some of which were not of sufficient length. The loaf, which ought to have weighed one and one-half pounds, was often deficient in weight. The poorest debtor had nothing but bread, water, blankets, room, fire. As the laws were then, honesty of intention and purpose had no preference over roguery. The rich villain who was a rogue in a transaction of thousands of dollars could then, as now, obtain bail, appeal, or escape; but the poor man, for a debt of one dollar, was dragged before a magis- trate, no bail, thence to prison, there to mingle with those initiated in various tricks of fraud, to return upon society with the impres- sions there received and, at the least, a disgraced man, smarting with the wrongs inflicted upon him by his fellow men. Governor Porter's administration had been stormy from the beginning to the end — a long, incessant conflict with the legis- 28 PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION laliire. He resisted the encroachments of the legislative branch of the government on his own prerogatives. He regarded his own ofifice as an independent, co-ordinate branch of the govern- ment, and in a message to the Senate he said : "Claiming to un- derstand and respect the rights of the senate, I shall studiously avoid any infringement upon them; and claiming also to under- stand the rights and duties of the executive under the constitution, I shall take special care that they shall not be invaded and will maintain them to the best of my abilities. Independence and harmony of action only can be preserved by strictly observing the rights of all departments of the government." Governor Porter's wdiole administration was guided by this spirit of firmness and determination. On this account, he frequently made political enemies ; indeed, his opponents even went so far as to attempt to impeach him. In 1842, a specific charge was made that he had used his influence to secure the passage of the resumption act of 1840. A legislative committee was appointed to examine into the charges, and after hearing much evidence the whole proceed- ings were dropped. Political passion finally subsided, and when the Governor retired from office it was with the proud conscious- ness that he had served the State courageously and well. 29 CHAPTER II. SKUNK'S AND JOHNSTON'S ADMINISTRATIONS— 1845-1852 GOVERNOR PORTER was succeeded by Francis Rawn Shunk, whose father had emigrated from the Palatinate in 171 5, and finally settled at the Trappe in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Here Francis was born on Aug. 7, 1788. As his parents were very poor, he was unable to obtain from the schools even the rudiments of an education. When not more than ten years of age, he was regularly employed on the farms in his neighborhood. By his untiring industry, however, he ac- quired much knowledge, and he became a teacher when only fif- teen years old. Between 1803 and 1812, he was employed during the winter months as master of the village school, while during the summer he continued to labor on the farm. In 1812 he was appointed to a clerkship in the surveyor-general's office, and while thus employed he had an opportunity to take up the study of law with Thomas Elder, Esq., of Harrisburg. In 1814 Shunk enlisted in the defence of the city of Baltimore, and on re- turning was appointed clerk of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania. He filled this office for a number of years with great ability, and afterwards became secretary of the board of canal commissioners. In 1838 Governor Porter appointed him secretary of state, and on retiring from this office he began the practice of law in Pittsburg. In 1844, Shunk was elected Governor of the Commonwealth, and his term of office almost coincides with that of James K. Polk 30 SHUNK AND JOHNSTON as President of the United States. In the second year of his governorship, the United States became involved in war with Mexico. The President was authorized to employ the militia and to call into service fifty thousand volunteers. He requested Governor Shunk to have six regiments of volunteer infantry en- rolled, and held in readiness for muster into the service of the United States. The term of enlistment was for a year, or until the end of the war. The feeling of patriotism ran high; for within thirty days, ninety companies, or sufficient to fill nine regiments, offered to serve. On December 15, 1846, the first regiment of volunteers was organized at Pittsburg; while on January 5, 1847, the second regiment was ordered to rendezvous at the same place. These regiments were commanded respective- ly by Colonels Wynkoop and Geary. The State afterwards mus- tered several additional companies, and all the troops that went to the front made a valiant record in the hard fought battles from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. During Shunk's administration, the economic condition of the State was greatly improved. The financial storm had passed by and men were recovering from their reverses, while everywhere prosperity was visible. The State was paying interest on its debt, and the revenue was sufficient to meet all expenditures. The failure to sell the public works on the conditions prescribed by the legislature led to their continued ownership and management by the State. The income from this source improved somewhat ; but not much, and public sentiment was apparently in favor of continuing the experiment. The banks were clamoring for more charters; but the Governor was steadfastly set on limiting the number. He did, however, consider the expediency of es- tablishing a system of free banking,^ which was in operation in some of the States. One great merit of this system was that it prevented special legislative grants. After examining every fea- ture of this free banking plan, the Governor opposed it, and he 'See message of 1848, p. 9. 31 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL set forth his objections as follows: "If this system of converting State stock into banking capital, and hypothecating it as security for the payment of bank issues were not a delusion, mortgages on real estate might be used for the same purpose, which would afford an equal, if not a better security for the payment of the notes, and by this process the whole value of the real estate of the country might be converted into banking capital and the people into a nation of bankers. But suppose all real estate were thus set afloat, made negotiable, would it not show the whole scheme illusory and unsound?" The legislature still continued to grant charters, and the Gov- ernor to sign them, afterwards condemning himself for so doing. His remarks, in view of the subsequent development of corporate life are interesting reading: "While all the great departments of business in the Commonwealth are prosperously conducted, under free and equal competition, there are yet some men who seem to stand still while the world is going on around them and who cher- ish the anticjuated notion that the timid, contracted and selfish aggregation of wealth under the protection of corporate privileges is preferable for the transaction of business to the free, ardent and bounding capabilities of individual enterprise — a power which since William Penn arrived on these shores, in 1682, has changed an immense wilderness into fruitful fields and has, in this march of civilization and improvement, provided for the wants, the comforts, the education and refinement of two million of free people. What have corporations done towards this great achieve- ment? Where are the trophies of their generous spirit? They are behind the times ; they belong to an age that is past. The time was in other countries, when all the rights of the people were usurped by despotic governments ; when a grant by the king to a portion of his subjects, of corporate privileges to carry on trade, or for municipal purposes, was a partial enfranchisement, and made the means of resuming some of their civil rights. In this age and country, under our free system, where the people are SIIUNK AND JOILVS'J'ON sovereign, to grant special privileges is an inversion of the order of things. It is not to restore, but to take away from the people their common rights and give them to a few."^ Governor Shnnk opposed, therefore, all accumulations of wealth in the hands of the few, as well as all special legislation foi the privileged class. It was this sense of justice which led him to urge the enactment of laws extending certain rights to mar- ried women. Before that time, the State had been negligent in this matter. By the then existing laws, the husband on marriage had the power to become the absolute owner of the personal estate of his wife. When he thus acquired the ownership, he might dispose of it by will at his death to whom he pleased. The wife had no control of her own personal estate, or that of her husband during her marriage, and at her death she had no power to dis- pose of even that which was her own, by will ; but the whole be- longed to her husband. He might encumber his estate by con- tracting debts without the consent of his wife, and upon his dying intestate, she was only entitled to the one-third of the personal es- tate, and a life estate in one-third of the real estate, after the pay- ment of all the debts. If the estate was not sufficient to the pay- ment of the debts, she lost all. Governor Shunk strongly urged a modification in these laws, so as to give married women the rights of property. He said : "The liberal and enlightened spirit of the age has developed and secured the rights of man, and has redeemed woman and elevated her from the degrading position she occupied, and placed her where she always should have been, at the side of her husband, his equal in rank and dignity. Then why should her rights of property still be to a great extent con- trolled by the contracted enactments of an age when her husband was her lord, and he might chastise her by law, as if she were a servant." Following the Governor's advice, the legislature, in 1848, enacted the first law extending to women the rights of property. Strangely enough, however, these rights were frit- '^Message 1848, p. 9. 3-3 33 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL tered away by several decisions of the Supreme Court, which greatly destroyed the efficiency of the original enactment. Governor Shnnk also favored a change in the law relating to the separation of married persons. From the beginning of the Physician; soldier; scholar; president Continen- tal Congress, 1787; governor Northwest Terri- tory, 1789-1802. Reproduced especially for this work from print in possession of Mrs. William M. Darlington Commonwealth it had been the policy to provide by law for the dissolution of the marriage contract for other causes than adul- tery. These causes were enumerated in an act passed in 1815. They embraced a wide range and seemed to provide for all the 34 SHUNK AND JOHNSTON grievances that might arise "in this interesting relation," requir- ing legal interposition. During the first period of ten years after passing this law, sixteen divorces were granted by the legisla- ture, forty-two during the next similar period, and ninety during the third. Governor Shunk remarked in his message of 1847: "Special acts of the legislature for disturbing the contract be- tween husband and wife are calculated to arrest the attention of every good citizen, when it is remembered that the disregard of the marriage vows, and the facilities for releasing parties from their obligations are strong indications of degeneracy in public virtue and public morals. The Governor believed that the special legislative divorce had a dangerous tendency, and should be exer- cised, if at all, in cases only "of extreme hardship and unques- tionable propriety." The law was finally changed, and the legis- lature relieved from granting divorces. Since then, the courts alone have been entrusted with this power. From time to time the Governors had remarked on the evil tendency of special legislation ; but none had described the evils so plainly as Shunk. He said that the demand for special legis- lation had increased to an alarming extent, which no industry of the Assembly would be able within the limits of an ordinary ses- sion to justify if the practice was continued. This evil had grown from small beginnings. At first the legislature had time enough to consider the merits of every subject presented; but with the increase in population and wealth, and the expansion of industry, the subjects of legislation rapidly multiplied. There was need, therefore, of enacting general laws that would cover all matters worthy of attention ; or else many of them would pass unnoticed. To prevent the latter result, arrangements of various kinds are made to secure their adoption. Thousands of mer- itorious bills have been enacted ; but by unworthy means, because they were improperly opposed or otherwise endangered. The constant struggle for charters is perhaps the best illustration. Most of these were without any objectionable features, and would 35 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL be passed by a modern legislature without opposition. But in the earlier days there were several strong objections to them — the chief one, perhaps, because they were regarded as monopolies in the old sense of the term. When they ceased to possess this character, and were nothing more than mere aggregations of men with limited pecuniary responsibilities, the legislature would have greatly lessened its labors had it enacted general laws per- mitting individuals to be incorporated at an earlier period. By so doing, the work of legislation would have been expedited and bargains among law makers would have been fewer. Much trouble would have been wholly averted by the enactment of gen- eral laws, thus greatly abridging the quantity of legislation. The slowness in evolving general laws from special ones, when the reasons for doing this were so strong, is a most singular thing in the history of American legislation. At no time would any one have opposed such laws, because they were of general applica- tion for the public welfare and not for any special time or class. But they were not to be delayed much longer. Governor Shunk expressed an idea that had grounded itself at last in the minds of the people, and before long would be embodied in legal form and endowed with a real practical life. In 1847, Governor Shunk was re-elected for a second term. Early in the spring of 1848, he was attacked with a pulmonary trouble which assumed a fatal character. On the morning of July 9 he had a severe hemorrhage from the lungs. On that day, feeling that his days were numbered, he wrote the following letter of resignation : "To THE People of Pennsylvania: 'Tt having pleased Divine Providence to deprive me of the strength necessary to the further discharge of the duties of your Chief Magistrate, and to lay me on a bed of sickness, from which I am admonished by my physicians, and my own increasing debil- ity, I may, in all human probability, never rise, I have resolved, "36 SHUNK AND JOHNSTON upon mature reflection, under a conviction of duty, on this day, to restore to you the trust with which your suffrages ha\e clothed me, in order that you may avail yourselves of the provision of the Constitution to choose a successor at the next general election. I, therefore, herehy resign the office of Governor of the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania, and direct this, my resignation, to be filed in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. "In taking leave of you under circumstances so solemn, accept my gratitude for the confidence you have reposed in me. My prayer is, that peace, virtue, intelligence, and religion may per- vade all your borders — that the free institutions you have inherit- ed from your ancestors may remain unimpaired till the latest pos- terity — that the same kind Providence, which has already so sig- nally blessed you, may conduct you to a still higher state of indi- vidual and social happiness — and when the world shall close upon you, as I feel it is soon about to close upon me, that you may en- joy the consolations of the Christian's faith, and be gathered, without a wanderer lost, into the fold of the Great Shepherd above. "Francis R. Siiunk." "Harrisburg, July 9, 1848." A few days later Francis Shunk died, and his body was laid to rest in the old Lutheran burying ground at the Trappe, in the midst of the scenes where he had spent his youthful days of toil. He was succeeded by William Freame Johnston, President of the Senate of Pennsylvania. By a provision of the constitution of 1838 if any vacancy occur by death, or otherwise, in the office of Governor, the President of the Senate Ijecomes acting Gov- ernor. This constitution also provided that if the vacancy occurs three months before the general fall election, the acting Governor shall order a new election; but "the writ shall issue at least three calendar months before the election." If a notice of three full months could not be given, then the election must be postponed 37 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL for a year. Governor Shunk resigned on the last day possible, and Mr. Johnston did not assume authority until July 26. There- fore, by a strict construction of the constitution, the new election must go over for a year. Nevertheless, Mr. Johnston ordered an immediate election on the second Tuesday of October. He explained his motives for this course of action in a message to the legislature. He wished to avoid all charges of selfishness, and he believed it the safest plan to submit the whole matter to the decision of the people. The result of the election was the choice of Mr. Johnston for the full term of three years. The new Governor was born at Greensburg, Westmoreland county, No- vember 29, 1808. His father was a na- tive of Scotland, migrating to America in 1796. Young Johnston received a common school and academic education ; after which he studied law and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1829. He soon af- terwards removed to Armstrong county, where he engaged in the practice of law, taking a leading place in his profession. He served as district attorney of the county, and was a member of the lower House of the legislature for sev- eral years. In 1847 Johnston was elected to the State Senate and became president of that body. This placed him in the line of succession to Governor Shunk, on the latter's resignation, July 9, 1848. One of the first subjects to command Governor Johnston's at- tention was that of the material interests of the State. He real- ized that the Commonwealth possessed unrivalled mineral and agricultural wealth, and in his opinion the best instrument to de- velop this wealth was a protective tariff. He defended this pol- Arthur St. Clair Monument Greensburg 38 SHUNK AND JOHNSTON icy in his first message, as follows: "The price of labor is regu- lated by its demand and the value of the article it produces. Hence, whatever increases profitable labor is substantially bene- ficial to the working classes and affords them the means of com- fort, the delights of rational enjoyment, and the opportunity of exalting their condition, and with performing with safety to the country the duties of citizens. The manufacturer, if he be sus- tained in his enterprise, produces this result by opening to the laborer a new source of employment. It is frequently urged that the system of protection to domestic industry is of more interest to the manufacturer than to the laborer, as it enables him to dis- pose of his fabrics for a higher price, and to realize a better profit on his capital; but is not the capital of the laborer also involved in the fabric, and also does he not receive a reward in proportion to the value of the article ? Let it be remembered also, that his daily bread, the wants of his family, the education of his chil- dren, all depend upon the success of the establishment at which he is employed, and the objection can have little weight." At the time when this message was written, the tariff of 1846 was still in operation. Framed mainly for revenue, it discriminated against protection. Governor Johnston realized that our great resources needed protection, and he frequently referred to the subject, al- ways showing a familiar knowledge of economic literature. During Johnston's administration steps were taken to publish the records of the State. The papers from early colonial times remained in single manuscript copy, and they were in constant danger of being destroyed by fire. The Governor, in his mes- sage of 185 1, referred to the subject as follows: "My attention has been called to the large body of original papers in the State Department, connected with the colonial and revolutionary his- tory of the State, and their extremely exposed and perishing con- dition. These records are worth preservation, as containing au- thentic information of the action of our fathers in the struggle for national existence. In the Capital of Pennsylvania, and with 39 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL the sympathies of her patriotic people, was independence nurtured and declared. Her soldiers were most numerous around the standard of the nation, and there were more battlefields on her soil than in the same area elsewhere. Every memorial of those days of devotion and trial should be faithfully preserved. There exists a single copy in manuscript of the minutes of the revolu- tionary Executive Council, a document by far too valuable to re- main longer within the reach of accident or mutilation. It would be gratifying to a large body of our constituents if the Assembly would authorize the employment of a competent gentleman to se- lect and arrange for publication these memorials of an interesting epoch in the history of the Commonwealth." Following the Governor's recommendation, the legislature passed an act author- izing the appointment of a competent person to select and arrange for the publication of these valuable documents. Under the su- pervision of Samuel Hazard, twenty-eight \olunies of Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives were published. The work has been continued in recent years, and only a few months ago the fourth series of the Archives appeared from the press. As early as 1844, attention was directed to the neglected con- dition of the insane poor of the State; while two years later the legislature passed an act providing for an asylum within ten miles from the capital. A farm was purchased adjoining Harrisburg, and in 1848 the erection of a suitable Ixiilding was commenced. This philanthropic movement was warmly encouraged by the Gov- ernor and valuable assistance was also rendered by Miss Dorothy L. Dix. It was not until the administration of Governor Johnston that the public school system became general throughout the State. This was accomplished by an act of the legislature in 1848, which read as follows : "That the common school system, from and after the passage of this act, shall be deemed, held and taken to be adopted by the several school districts in this Commonwealth, and that the school directors of districts from which the undrawn 40 SHUNK AND JOHNSTON appropriations were taken, in 1844, shall levy and assess a tax to enable them to receive the State appropriation, and be entitled to a deduction of twenty-five per cent, of all moneys paid into the county treasury for State purposes for two years." In 1848, when this act was passed, there were still nearly two hundred non- accepting school districts; l)ut within tw^o years the number had been reduced to one hundred. Wickersham states, however, that an inquiry made in 1868 "revealed the astonishing fact that there w^ere still twenty-three districts in the State, with about six thou- sand children, that had no common schools in operation." But the system had taken firm hold and was bound to grow. The 4^k A%i ^ *'''1 ^^"^ I'oiTcno, to vhatever PMtE Hr' ^* "^^^ ^ym\^'^ ^^ t>e ariu-n agaiqft it's NqirW y^My yl)(;;^ -is the mmniait Rsad hoTrtkkt^ ■'-. ' V ...» ^ I /^ <^ . ' . (O 1 ^'' '\ Old Lottery Ticket, showing Washington's Signature grading of schools went on in the villages and towms, and some of the cities had already established flourishing high schools. In 1852, at the close of Johnston's administration, there were 9,699 schools in operation, with an attendance of 480,778 pupils and 11,713 teachers. The tax amounted to $982,196.22, and the expenses had reached $1,116,919.25. The material growth of the system was rapid and its progress forms one of the most in- teresting chapters in the history of the Commonwealth. In 1849 "^ sinking fund for paying the State debt was estab- lished. The secretary <^f the Commonwealth, auditor-general and State treasurer were created a board to a])ply all the inci^me derived from the taxes on collateral inheritances, banks, railroads, etc. Many persons counted on some magical results from the 41 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL operation of such a fund. There was virtue, indeed, in it, which consisted of the appropriation of a part of the pubhc revenues to paying the debt. If the law was regarded, and the funds ap- phed and no more debt created, then in time the sinking fund would effect a discharge of the debt. Excitement over the Fugitive Slave Law ran high during Johnston's administration. The Governor was a strong oppo- nent of slavery, and much space was devoted to the subject in his first message. Among other things he said : "While the com- promises of the constitution should be maintained in good faith towards our Southern brethren it is our duty to see that they are preserved with equal fidelity to ourselves. No encroachments, however sanctioned by use, should be acknowledged as prece- dents for further wrongs against the interests, prosperity, and happiness of the non-slaveholding States of the Union. If slav- ery be, in itself, an infraction of human rights — if it be directly opposed to the enlightened spirit of our free institutions — if it destroy the equality of power in the general government, by en- larging, where it exists, the constitutional representation — if it possess a direct or indirect influence against Northern and West- ern policy and interests, by promoting a system of laws destruct- ive of domestic industry, and vitally affecting free labor — if it re- tard the natural growth of population and improvement, by the appropriation of large tracts of land for the benefit of the few to the injury of the many — if it be in open defiance of the spirit of the age, the march of rational truth, and the enlightened policy of mankind — it is time to arrest its further progress. These, it is believed, are the settled convictions of our citizens, and their determination to maintain them is unalterable." The adoption of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 aroused iiv tense excitement throughout the State. While Governor John- ston was a bitter opponent of slavery, he believed that the na- tional authority must be respected, and that fugitive slaves should be returned to their masters. He regarded the law as vicious 42 SHUNK AND JOHNSTON and unjust; but held that it should be obeyed until repealed from^ the statute books. About a year after the passage of the Fugi- tive Slave Law a serious riot occurred on Pennsylvania soil, as the result of an effort made by a party of slave holders to recover some fugitive negroes. It appears that in September, 1851, a number of colored men had taken refuge near Christiana, Lan- caster county, and a bloody battle ensued when seven of them were about to be arrested as fugitive slaves. The slave hunters visited the neighborhood of Christiana early in the morning of September the eleventh. The party consisted of Edward Gor- such, his nephew, Dr. Pearce, Nicholas Hutchins, and others, all from Maryland, and Henry Kline, a slave-catching constable from Philadelphia. At daybreak they were discovered lying in ambush near the house of William Parker, a colored man, and an alarm was sounded. The party approached the house and a de- mand was made for the slaves. The colored people of the neigh- borhood soon gathered, armed with guns, axes and clubs. There were threats made on both sides, and the parleying continued for an hour and a half. Castner Hanway and Elijah Lewis, mem- bers of the Society of Friends, residing in the neighborhood, then visited the scene of excitement, the former on horseback. Kline, the constable, read warrants to them demanding their assistance in capturing the slaves. Of course, they refused, and while they were talking, Parker and several other colored men came to the door. Gorsuch thought they intended to escape, and drawing his revolver, called his men into line. Parker made some of- fensive remarks to Gorsuch, when a revolver was fired and the fighting began in earnest. Gorsuch was killed, and his son was seriously wounded. The other slave hunters and officers then fled, pursued by the negroes. Several colored men were wound- ed, but none severely. Immediately after the riot the United States marshal from Philadelphia arrived at Christiana with a detachment of marines to keep the peace. At the same time, about eighty police scoured the country, arresting many persons 43 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL on suspicion of having been involved in the fight. Castner Han- way and Ehjah Lewis, who refused to assist in capturing the slaves, were arrested upon the charge of treason. Thirty-five negroes were arrested with them for engaging in the riot. They were all taken to Philadelphia, and confined in Moyamensing prison for ninety-seven days. Hanway was tried in the Circuit Court of the United States at Philadelphia in November, 1851, before Judges Grier and Kane. The jury returned a verdict of "not guilty," after which the charges against the other defend- ants were dropped. The prisoners were then handed over to the authorities of Lancaster county, there to answer the charges of riot and murder. But when the cases came up for trial in that county, the grand jury ignored the bills and the accused parties were released. Li referring to these trials, Still, in his "History of the Underground Railroad," says : "Especially were slave- holders taught the wholesome lesson, that the Fugitive Slave Law was no guarantee against 'red hot shot,' nor the charges of U. S. Judges and the findings of Grand Juries, together with the superior learning of counsel from slave-holding Maryland, any guarantee that 'traitors' would be hung. In every respect, the Underground Railroad made capital by the treason. Slave- holders from Maryland especially were far less disposed to hunt their runaway property than they had hitherto been. The Deputy Marshal likewise considered the business of catching slaves very unsafe." In 185 1 Johnston was nominated for a second term. His Democratic opponent was William Bigler. The campaign was unusually spirited, and was carried on from midsummer until the day of election in October. State issues were forgotten ; for the larger questions of the Fugitive Slave Law and slavery in the ter- ritories were demanding universal attention. Bigler was elected by a good majority, and Johnston on retiring from office en- gaged in several business enterprises. 44 CHAPTER III. BIGLER'S, POLLOCK'S, AND PACKER'S ADMINISTRATIONS— I 852- I 86 I TiiE new Governor, William Bigler, was a good representa- tive of the stnrdy German element, which has furnished so many ahle men for positions of trust and honor in the State. He was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in October, 181 3. Soon after this his parents removed to Mercer county, where the family battled against poverty, depending for their live- lihood upon the scanty returns from a small farm. William Bigler received only a common school education, after which he learned the printing trade in the office of the "Democrat," published at Bellefonte. After finishing his apprenticeship, in 1833, he re- moved to Clearfield and started a newspaper, the "Clearfield Dem- ocrat." This venture naturally led him into politics, for he was a staunch admirer of Andrew Jackson, and wM'ote many editorials praising his virtues. In 1836 he w^as married to Maria Reed, daughter of Alexander Reed, of Clearfield. Soon after this event he sold his newspaper and became a partner with his father-in- law in the lumber business. His first political venture w^as in 1 84 1, when he was elected to the State Senate by a large majority. In 1844 he was re-elected for a second term, and for a while was president of that body. He entered the Senate at a distracted time, and was fearless in advocating reforms. He delivered a powerful speech on the resumption of specie payments, which called forth the remark from an older colleague: "Young man. 45 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL that speech will make you Governor of Pennsylvania, if you be- have 3'ourself well hereafter." This prediction came true in 185 1, when he was nominated and elected on the Democratic ticket. Big-ler's administration is marked with stronger features than any one of its immediate predecessors. Once more the sale of the canals became a prominent question. Since the failure to sell the canals during Porter's administration, the State had been oper- ating them, but receiving little more than the expenditures. Each year the old story was repeated that the income was disappoint- ingly small in consequence of the freshets or other mishaps, and that the receipts next year would be much larger. The people now saw more clearly than ever that the State had plunged into canal building without any thought of the conseciuences. The North Branch was not yet finished ; still the Governor urged its completion as soon as funds could be obtained. It was argued that the canal was so nearly done that it ought to be completed to save what had been invested; and then, too, it was believed that the canal would be used for the transportation of vast quantities of coal and other products. The management of the canals on the part of the commissioners was not always marked with wisdom. Tn 185 1 a statute had been passed forbidding the creation of debts by the officers of the public works, requiring the payment of cash for all labor and material, and monthly returns of all receipts and expenditures. But the first year after this law had been enacted the Governor sadly remarked : "The administration of this law, I regret to say, has not been as efficient as it should be. Its failure w^as owing to some extent to a deficiency in the appropriations and to other difficulties incident to the introduction of a new sys- tem of business. This and other reforms so wisely commenced within a short period, with such additional retrenchments as expe- rience may have indicated, wdll doubtless be rigidly carried out in the future by the officers controlling that part of the public affairs." The next year the Governor remarked : 'T need not dis- cuss the consequences of the custom of making debts on the public BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER works ; its errors are too palpable to need refutation by argument. In addition to the opportunity it afforded for extortion from the State, if not actual fraud upon the treasury, the idea that officers '»""'"% .^\ .:' i *■ < '* Js -H-t»«*-^ H| ^ "aW A & .WlK'' ^^^mI^^^^I ^i^^m 5^ "m^H i The Chevalier de la Luzerne Minister from France to the United States, 1779-1783; after whom Luzerne County was named. Reproduced for this work from an engraving in possession of the Wyoming His- torical and Geological Society for the time being should be allowed to scatter the credit of the Commonwealth broadcast, to be redeemed at some future period by their successors, is a monstrosity in the economy of public affairs." 47 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Governor Bigler frequently urged the payment of the public debt as one of the greatest needs of the time. There was not much reduction, however, during his administration, although a surplus of one million dollars had been thus applied ; for nearly as much had been expended on the North Branch Canal. In 1854 the Governor fully considered the desiral)ility of selling the public works. For years the people had been discussing the matter ; in truth, ever since the former attempt to sell, the question had been agitated. But now the Governor's strong utterance on the subject led to a consideration by a committee, who, unbiased apparently by any interest, told far more truth than had ever come to light. The legislature now took action and voted to sell the main line for $10,000,000. But there was no purchaser at this price, and Governor Bigler retired from office W'ith the State still in posses- sion of its public works. During Governor Bigler's administration the evils of special legislation were set forth in all his messages. In 1849 ^ general law to encourage manufacturing corporations was passed; yet during the next six years not a dozen companies had organized under it. They still preferred to go to the legislature and get special charters. In the legislative sessions of 1852 and 1853 much time was consumed in the consideration of special acts to incorporate mining companies. A general law on this subject had been passed, and although it was very favorable in its terms, but a single application was made under it for mining purposes. Among other evils of legislation that had developed was the sys- tem of "log-rolling," or combining pernicious measures with good ones into a single general bill. By this means many vicious laws were passed. Governor Bigler referred to this evil in his mes- sage of 1854, as follows: "After much reflection on the magni- tude of this evil — its vexatious inroads upon private rights and its demoralizing tendency upon the interests of the people, as upon the more elevated purposes of legislation, I have determined to cooperate with the General Assembly in the application of the 4Uz,^//y^y^' ■>i^^^^^^'^'^"-^- -^ j^v-<.v,/, ^^/^.i^^;^-^-'*' •-^'"^'^^'*''^'''^ BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER most efficient means which their wisdom may devise for its re- moval; but in the meantime, as a restraining part of the law-mak- ing power, I must beg to be indulged in claiming the privilege of considering each subject of legislation separately, and on its merits, as contemplated by the spirit of the Constitution. Hence- forth, therefore, bills containing a variety of subjects of legisla- tion, dissimilar in their character and purposes, cannot receive the sanction of the present executive." This led to an immediate reform in the character of legislation. A bill was passed requir- ing the subject-matter of each act to be fully stated in its title. In 1854 the Pennsylvania railroad, from Harrisburg to Pitts- burg, was completed, thus forming a line of communication be- tween the East and the West, and aiding powerfully in the devel- opment of the resources of the State. About the same time, the North Branch canal was also completed, although work on it had been discontinued for more than ten years. Governor Bigler constantly used all the influence of his admin- istration in behalf of the public schools. In 1854 a bill was pre- pared for the revision of the school laws, and when the measure was passed the Governor promptly signed it, notwithstanding the unfavorable comments of the press and the opposition of a large majority of the people.^ This new law gave the school districts corporate powers ; fixed the minimum school term at four months ; arranged a definite course of study, and created the office of county superintendent of schools. In many respects the act of 1854 was the most important of all school legislation since the adoption of the system in 1834. But the days of opposition were not yet ended, and it required constant vigilance to prevent ene- mies from accomplishing their work of destruction. In 1854 Bigler was nominated for a second term, and he at once began a vigorous campaign for reelection. Opposed to him was James Pollock, a man of rare culture and ability. In the 'Wickersham's History of Education in Pennsylvania, p. 505. 3-4 49 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL midst of the canvas Bigler was stricken down with sickness, and thus was unable to stir up his fohowers by his presence and ear- nestness. Pollock had allied himself with the American, or Know- Nothing party ; while he was also an active leader in the Free Soil movement. Bigier had violently opposed the Know-Nothing Anthony Wayne's Homestead Near Paoli. Still standing. Engraved especial- ly for this work from a negative by D. E. Brinton party from the time of its first organization. His attitude towards the Kansas-Nebraska bill also cost him many votes. As a result, Pollock was elected Governor by a large majority, and the wave of Know-Nothingism swept a new body of men into power, many of whom had been but little known. James Pollock, the new Governor, was born in Milton, North- umberland county, on September ii, 1810. He received the best 50 BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER educational training, preparing for college at the Milton Classical academy. In 1829 he entered the junior class of Princeton col- lege, graduating two years later. After graduation Mr. Pollock became a student at law in the office of Samuel Hepburn at Mil- ton. In 1833 he was admitted to the bar, and opened an office in his native town. His public career began in 1835, when he was appointed district attorney of Northumberland county. He was elected to Congress in 1844, and remained in that body until 1848. In 1850 he was appointed president-judge of the judicial district composed of Northumberland, Montour, Columbia, Lycoming and Sullivan counties. Elected Governor in 1854, he served but one term, having refused to be considered as a candidate for renomination. Like his predecessors, Governor Pollock believed the time had long since come for the State to retire from the transportation business. In 1855 the Pennsylvania Railroad company offered to purchase the main line from Philadelphia to Pittsburg for the sum of $7,500,000, or $4,000,000 for the Philadelphia and Colum- bia railroad. But there was no authority for accepting this offer. Finally, in May, 1857, the legislature offered to sell the railroad at the above figures, and the lines were purchased by the Pennsyl- vania company. The sum of $1,500,000 was paid in cash, while interest-bearinp; bonds were taken for the balance. Soon after this steps were taken to dispose of the other public improvements. They had been a source of expenditure for many years, and the proceeds were devoted to the payment of the public debt, thus reducing the State taxes. Governor Pollock congratulated the people on the consummation of the sale of the public improve- ments. Referring to the subject in his message, he said : "The propriety of separating the State from the care and control of the public works is not only evident to all who have given the subject a candid and impartial consideration, but the necessity is clearly established by the history of their construction and management. They have failed to be a source of revenue to the Commonwealth, 51 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and it retained by the State will require an expenditure in their repair and management largely exceeding any revenue that, under the most favorable circumstances, can be derived from them." In the summer of 1857 a financial storm swept over the coun- try, and Governor Pollock convened the legislature on October 6 for the purpose of offering some relief to the banks. Immediate action was necessary, as many of the banks had suspended specie payments and their charters were liable to forfeiture. The trouble began with the failure of the Ohio Title and Trust company, and continued until it had swept over the entire country. The oldest and most highly esteemed firms in Philadelphia and other parts of the State went down, and thousands of men and women were thrown out of employment. The banks were permitted to circu- late their discredited notes and to pay dividends as though noth- ing had happened. On the other hand, the public were to blame to a certain extent. If the people had been more cautious and taken fewer bank notes, they would have suffered less. So long as they desired bank credit and were willing to pay for it, the banks accommodated them. Had they borrowed less, neither they nor the banks would have been overwhelmed in a common fate. The Governor reviewed the trouble in a message, in which he said : "Unlimited credits by corporations or individuals have and ever will be an unmitigated evil. They contribute to rash specu- lation, extravagant living and excessive over-trading, always sure to be followed by ruinous revulsions. The remedy, to be perma- nent and effectual, must accord with the natural and necessary laws of trade. The currency of a country forms no exception to those laws." The Governor then recommended a system of free banking, based on undoubted public securities and coin in such proportion to circulation and deposits as might be deemed suffi- cient to secure their conversion into specie on demand. This system had been introduced in New York, and was proving a great advance on any other. Thus far banking had been a con- fused sea of experiment from which the people had learned hardly 52 BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER anything. But relief was not far off. In the midst of the Civil war the national banking system was evolved, containing many of the best features of the free banking plans. Thus, responsible banking finally took the place of irresponsible credit, after many years filled with sad experiences in finance. A learned man himself, Governor Pollock held broad and lib- eral views on education. He devoted much space in his messages to a defense of the free school system. During his administra- tion an independent school department was organized, and the State normal schools were established. Soon after his inaugura- tion he declared himself in favor of the county superintendency, an office just created in the law of 1854. In all his messages the Governor referred to the necessity of normal schools for the train- ing of teachers. Finally, in 1857, an act was passed "to provide for the due training of teachers for the common schools of the State." The Governor signed this act on May 20, and immedi- ately a normal school was organized at Millersville, and, in 1859, was officially recognized. In referring to the progress of educa- tion, the Governor spoke as follows in his message of 1857 : "Our educational system is slowly but surely conquering the prejudices and gaining the confidence of the people. Under the fostering care of liberal and enlightened legislation, its ultimate triumph is certain. When the system was first introduced it was supposed that it could be perfected and forced into general and vigorous operation by the mere will of the Legislature. Experience has proved that in this, as in every other great social and moral re- form, time and that consent which arises from a radical change in the public mind were required. This slow process of the acclima- tion of the new system to our social and moral atmosphere has been in operation for nearly twenty years, and it is now evident that the period for another effective interposition of legislative aid and authority in favor of our noble system of common schools has arrived." After 1852, the State began to show a more liberal spirit towards higher education. In 1854 the foundations of the 53 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL present State college were laid by the establishment of a school for farmers, known as the Farmer's High school. The next year the charter of the institution was amended and the purposes of the school were set forth as follows : "The education of youth in the various branches of science, learning and practical agricul- ture, as they are connected J^ with each other." Several ^^ gifts of land were offered to / \ the State ; but that of General ^ James Irwin of 200 acres in Centre county was accepted. As much more was soon pur- chased, and the State began this new educational enter- prise. To provide funds for erecting and equipping the buildings, the State Agricul- tural society gave $11,865; the trustees raised $25,000 by subscription, and in 1857 the legislature appropriated $25,- 000, and as much more on con- dition that a similar amount should be contributed by indi- viduals. This amount was raised, and on Feb. 20, 1859, the institution was opened. This school has grown into the flourishing "Pennsylvania State College" of our day, a name which it acquired in 1874. Having declined to be a candidate for renomination, Governor Pollock retired at the end of his term to his native town and resumed the practice of law. The campaign for the governorship in 1857 ^^''is remarkably active, as there were three prominent Anthony Wayne's Monument In historic St. David's Episcopal church yard, near Radnor, where Wayne's bones were in- terred after their removal from the first grave at Erie. Reproduced for this work from a neg- ative by D. E. Brinton 54 BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER candidates in the field. The Democrats nominated WilHam F. Packer ; the Repubhcans placed in the field Hon. David Wilmot, of "Proviso" fame; while the Native Americans named Hon. Isaac Hazlehurst. After a spirited campaign, Mr. Packer was elected by a majority of fourteen thousand votes over both the other candidates. The new Governor was a native of Centre coun- ty, born on April 2, 1807. After attending the country schools until the age of thirteen, he entered the office of the "Public Inquirer," at Sunbury, to learn the art of printing. He finished his apprenticeship in the office of the "Bellefonte Patriot," and in 1825 secured a clerkship in the office of the recorder of Lycoming county. The same winter he accepted a position as journeyman printer on the "Pennsylvania Intelligencer" at Harrisburg. Here he labored two years, after which, in 1827, he became a law stu- dent in the office of Joseph B. Anthony at Williamsport. Mr. Packer was never admitted to the bar, but turned his attention to journalism, purchasing an interest in the "Lycoming Gazette," Williamsport, which he held until 1836. He then founded, in connection with Messrs. Barrett and Parke, the "Keystone," a Democratic newspaper, at Harrisburg, continuing as a member of the firm until 1841. In 1842 Governor Porter appointed Mr. Packer to the office of auditor-general, which he held until the end of the term. In 1847 he was elected to the legislature and was chosen speaker of the House of Representatives. He was promoted to the State Senate in 1849, '^^'^^ i" ^^^ Senate and House alike he took a prominent part in legislative work. Mr. Packer was an ardent friend of James Buchanan, and labored zealously to secure his nomination for the Presidency. Mr. Buchanan v.as inaugurated about the time of Packer's nomi- nation for Governor. The clouds were rapidly forming in Kan- sas, and the slave-holders were making a desperate effi3rt to con- trol the State and thus extend their sway. Buchanan had been in Washington only a few days when he received a letter from Packer, which, in view of his prophetic utterances, as well as hon- 55 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL est advice, is worthy of a place here : "Our people," he says, "con- fidently expect that your administration will see that equal and exact justice shall be done to all parties — the free-State as well as the pro-slavery men — and they will be satisfied with nothing short of that. We approve of the Kansas bill ; but, in God's name, let its provisions be honestly carried out; let the law be faithfully ex- ecuted. Let the conduct of the public agents in Kansas not only be right, but let it appear to be right. If slavery should be insti- tuted by, or under, a slave-holding executive, and Kansas should claim admission as a slave State, it does not require a prophet to foretell the consequences north of Mason & Dixon's line. The Democratic party, which has stood by the Constitution and the rights of the South with such unflinching fidelity, would be stricken down in the few remaining States where it is yet in the ascend- ency ; the balance of power would be lost ; and black Republicans would rule this nation, or civil war and disunion would inevitably follow. What, then, is to be done? Will you permit me to make a suggestion? The post of honor and renown, if successfully and satisfactorily filled, at this moment in the gift of the President, is the Governorship of Kansas. Send one of the first men of the nation there — some gentleman who enjoys the confidence of the North and the South — and let him cover himself with glory by a fearless and a faithful discharge of the duties of his station. Sus- tain him, then, with the whole power of the government, and fol- low with swift vengeance any party that dares to raise a hand against the law or its prompt and faithful execution. The time for trifling is past. Bold, efficient action is required. To waver or to vacillate is to fail. Who, then, should be appointed? If General Scott would accept of the position, and if the duties are compatible with those of the military station he now holds, I answer, appoint General Winfield Scott. He has the confidence of the nation. He is acceptable to the South, having been born and reared in Virginia; and he is not unacceptable to the North, inasmuch as he now resides there. If requested by the President, 56 BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER in view of the importance of the mission, I do not think that he would decHne. However, let some such man be appointed — some man well known to the American people, and in whom they con- fide, and the result will be the same. All will be well. Other- wise, I tremble for the result." A strong partisan, yet intent on doing right. Governor Packer sought to follow in the way of his predecessors, and lift the State out of the difficulties caused by its unwise undertakings in the transportation business and experiences in banking. He referred to this subject in his message of 1859, as follows: "The ruinous losses which have fallen upon the people during the financial pres- sure of the past eighteen months suggest the necessity of prevent- ing their recurrence. Although many causes may have combined to produce these disasters, it is too plain to admit of doubt that our banking system has been one of the most prominent. The value of the precious metals and the wages of labor are always affected by the abundance or scarcity of the paper medium re- ceived as a substitute for gold and silver coin. The power of the State to authorize a paper currency through the agency of the banks has been so long exercised and acknowledged throughout the Union that it is no longer an open question. But it must be acknowledged that the power has been greatly abused. The dele- gation of this attribute of sovereignty to a number of irrespon- sible corporations without proper checks to limit its exercise, and without providing any security whatever for the redemption of the issues thus authorized, has been attended with evils of the most alarming character. These corporations are practically made the exclusive judges of the amount of paper currency to be fur- nished to the people, and have the exclusive power to contract or expand their circulation at pleasure. Depositors and other ordi- nary creditors of banks need legislation for their protection. Every one who has direct dealings with these institutions, either as depositor or otherwise, enters into such engagements voluntarily for his own advantage, and may be safely left to his own vigilance 57 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and the ordinary remedies of the law for his protection. But the millions of people engaged in industrious pursuits, the farmer, the mechanic, the merchant and the laboring man, are under an imperious necessity to receive for their merchandise and their The Wayne Kettle General Anthony Wayne died in Erie in 1796 and was buried at the foot of the flagstaff at the old block house. In 1809, when Colonel Isaac Wayne came to Erie to take the bones of the general to Radnor, the body was found to be almost perfectly preserved. _ As Colonel Wayne drove the entire distance, it was impos- sible to take the whole body back, and Dr. J. C. Wallace was engaged to reduce it to a skeleton, which he did in the kettle from which the illustration was made for this work. The kettle is about three feet in diameter and fifteen inches deep, and is in the museum department of the Erie Public Library labor the ordinary paper currency of the country. It is impos- sible for persons of this description to investigate the concerns of every institution whose notes are in circulation. But no investi- gation could save them from the losses arising from the defaults and frauds of bank ofificers and the insolvency of bank bor- rowers." 58 BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER From these recommendations at last there issued a system of free banking, with authority to issue notes based on real secur- ity deposited with the State. Nearly ninety years had been spent in finding out how to issue a safe kind of paper money, but at last the question was solved. This system was by no means perfect, but it was so much better than any other that all could rejoice over its introduction. During Governor Packer's term the end came to the State's experiment in building and managing canals and railroads. In 1859 the Delaware division was sold for $1,775,000, the Upper and Lower North Branch divisions for $1,600,000 and the West Branch and Suscjuehanna divisions for $500,000. The Sunbury and Erie railroad was the purchaser. Commenting on these sales, Governor Packer said: "Whatever differences of opinion may, at any time, have been entertained in regard to the propriety of the details of the legislation authorizing the sale of the main line or the branches, it can scarcely be doubted that the public welfare will, in every respect, be vastly promoted by the transfer of the management of the public works from the State to individual owners. The short experience that we have had already proves conclusively that the Commonwealth is greatly the gainer in a financial point of view, and it has equally been demonstrated that the people at large have been as well, if not better, accommodated by the change. It would, in my judgment, be a public calamity if, by the happening of any contingency, the Commonwealth should be constrained to again become the owner, and resume the man- agement of any portion of the public improvements." Thus the State finally closed an experiment which had been tried for thirty-five years. With the sale of the public works the functions of the government were once more reduced to their proper proportions, and the State was relieved of a burden which was becoming heavier every day. Governor Packer was an ardent friend of popular education. One of his first duties as executive of the State was to defend the 59 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL new school department which had just been created. He not only recommended that this department should remain separate, but that it should be "fully organized and effective." He said : "The mere care and promotion of our system of common schools, im- portant and extensive as it obviously is, should not be the sole object of such a department. If it is true that the power to punish crime includes also the right to prevent it by providing for the proper intellectual and moral training of the people, it would seem to follow that the department charged with the latter mo- mentous duty should also be in possession of all the resources and subjects of information calculated to shed light upon the object of its action. Hence the collection, arrangement and practical de- ductions from population and industrial statistics; from natural defects, such as deafness and dumbness, blindness and lunacy; from crime in its various forms and developments ; together with such control over all the literary and scientific institutions in the State as shall bring their full condition into view should also belong to the same department." The Governor, therefore, urged the establishment of a department of public instruction, endowed with ample powers, so that the educational work of the State might be carried on with vigor and promptness. He also favored liberal appropriations to the normal schools, so that the teachers could be given the training they so much needed. A great deal of vicious school legislation was prevented by Governor Packer's timely vetoes. The enemies of the normal schools introduced measures at every session of the legislature which, if adopted, would have destroyed these schools. But the Governor prevented this mischief by freely using the veto power. The school system was yet in an experimental stage, and was in constant danger of special legislation. This peril threatened the schools until 1874, when the new Constitution prohibited such forms of legislation. The angry strife in Congress over the question of slavery overshadowed all local issues in the State at that time. Governor Packer was a firm believer in the theory of popular sovereignty, 60 BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER as advocated by Stephen A. Douglas. He frequently reverted to this subject in his messages to the legislature, particularly in that of January, 1859, when he said : "During the angry feelings which this controversy has aroused the theory has been started, and insisted upon, that it will henceforward be the duty of Congress to protect slavery in the territories, if the people of the territories shall fail to do so. Such a doctrine, no matter how sanctioned or supported, will shake the very pillars of our constitutional fabric. It would compel every territory to elevate property in slaves above every other description of property, and to establish a slave code in its early municipal regulations ; or else it would convert the Congress into a theater of crimination and confusion, and fill the whole country with strife. Regarding myself as fully committed to the doctrine of popular sovereignty in its broadest sense, I can never subscribe to the theory of Congressional intervention, as understood and supported by the opponents of this doctrine. A theory equally heretical has been advanced in another portion of the Union. It has been held that this government, divided into free and slave States, as it was framed by our revolutionary fath- ers, cannot endure — that all must become free, or all become slave. When such a doctrine shall be enforced, the Constitution will have been subverted. State sovereignty prostrated. State rights disre- garded, and the liberty of the people destroyed. It should meet an indignant rebuke from every lover of his country, and the blood-bought right of the people and the States to self-govern- ment." John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry, in 1859, caused a pop- ular excitement and bitter feeling in all parts of the State. But when Brown was hanged, on December 2, there were many pro- tests of indignation. The feeling ran so high in Philadelphia that it was necessary to convey his body secretly through the city. The authorities of the Southern States began to fear for the w^elfare of their sons who were attending the educational institutions in Philadelphia. This led Governor Wise, of Virginia, to request the 61 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL young men from the South at the Philadelphia medical colleges to withdraw and finish their education in the South. Many accepted this invitation, and left at once for their homes. The presidential campaign of i860 was accompanied by the contest for the governorship of Pennsylvania. While the Demo- cratic party was split on the question of the presidency, that divi- sion did not extend to local issues. The Repul)licans nominated Curtin for Governor ; while the Democrats united in the support of Henry D. Foster. After an exciting contest, Curtin was elected by a majority of thirty-two thousand votes, while on the 6th of November Abraham Lincoln was chosen President of the United States. Following her threats. South Carolina, on December 20, passed an ordinance of secession, declaring herself to be a free and independent State. The possible dissolution of the Union caused great excitement in Pennsylvania. All eyes were upon this State on account of her geographical position, separated from the slave States merely by an imaginary line. Thus, all parties looked to Pennsylvania to use her great power and influence in avert- ing an open conflict. Governor Packer's last message was sent to the legislature January 2d, 1861, and a few days afterward he retired from office in favor of Governor Curtin. In that message the Governor referred briefly to the general condition and affairs of the Com- monwealth, and called attention to the trouble with certain rail- road companies which had purchased portions of the system of public works and the difficulty in collecting the moneys due there- for; also referred to the educational system then in operation under existing laws, and its gradual outspreading and increasing efficiency ; also called attention to the fact that the last preceding legislature had passed a free banking act, thus making a radical change for the better in the State financial system ; and he sug- gested, in view of the fact that there had been a rapid increase in the number of private banks, that they be placed under proper legislative restriction. 62 Wayne Block House, Erie This block house is a reproduction of the origi- nal in which General Wayne died, and stands on the site where he was first buried. From a negative made especially for this work BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER But the one subject which appears to have caused the greatest anxiety in the executive mind, and evidently created the gravest apprehension among people of the entire State, was the extra- ordinary and alarming condition of national affairs, which served to demand immediate attention both in the State and the Federal legislatures. On the 20th day of December last, says the Gover- nor on this subject, the convention of South Carolina by unani- mous vote declared "that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and the other States, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved," and the action already taken in several other southern States indicates an intention to follow the example. Speaking still more directly to the subject which then was uppermost in the public mind, the Governor said : Pennsylvania is included in the list of States that are charged with having refused compliance with that mandate of the constitution of the United States which declares that no person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be dis- charged with such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim by the party to whom such service or labor may be due. The imputation of refusal on the part of Pennsylvania to com- l)ly with the requirements of the Federal fugitive slave laws. Governor Packer took occasion to deny with some warmth, and he asserted that this State had been almost invariably influenced by a proper appreciation of her ow^n obligations and a high regard for the rights, the feelings and the interests of her sister States. Briefly the executive reviewed the various enactments of the State legislature on the question of slavery from 1780, when the first act was passed for the gradual abolition of the institution of slavery within her borders. The first act of Congress providing for the rendition of fugitives from justice or labor was passed in 1793, and originated in the refusal of the Governor of Virginia to deliver up on the requisition of the Governor of Pennsylvania 3-5 65 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL three persons who had been indicted for kidnapping a negro and carrying him into Virginia. The somewhat pecuhar geographical position of Pennsylvania among the States of the Union during the days of slavery and the numerous attempts, sometimes unsuccessful, to enforce the harsh provisions of the fugitive slave laws, gave rise to frequent mis- construction of the attitude of this State regarding the law itself, and frequently the State and its authorities were charged with collusion with those philanthropic individuals who controlled the operation of the historic underground railroad leading from the slave States through this and New York State to Gerrit Smith's famous colony, and thence to the Canadian border. At the time of which we write Delaware, Maryland and Virginia were among the so-called slave States, and their authorities and people were insistent in their demands for the rigid enforcement and close observance of the laws on the part of the States where slavery was not recognized as an institution; and as Pennsylvania bor- dered on each of the States mentioned, and had long before abolished slavery, it was only natural that escaping slaves should first seek temporary lodgment and freedom on her territory, where they w^ere furnished with protection and sustenance, and thence were quietly sent farther north ; but neither protection nor sustenance were furnished them by the State or its officials, but by persons interested in the work of freeing slaves from bondage and providing them with homes in the States where all labor was free and was paid for according to its worth. Thus it was that Pennsylvania was charged with open defiance of the laws of Con- gress, because thousands and possibly tens of thousands of fugi- tive slaves w^ere temporarily sheltered within its borders ; thus it was because of the hatred born of this very fact that Pennsylvania was regarded as the bitterest enemy of the South during the latter days of slavery dominion and in the terrible internecine conflict w^hich followed ; and thus it was because of the repeated attempts to bring into public condemnation the people and authorities of 66 BIGLER, POLLOCK AND PACKER Pennsylvania in punishment of their so-called offenses that Gov- ernor Packer in his last annual message gave voice to these words : "Every attempt upon the part of individuals, or of organized societies, to lead the people away from their government, to induce them to violat'^ any of the provisions of the constitution, or to incite insurrections in any of the States of this Union, ought to be prohibited by law as crimes of a treasonable nature. It is of the first importance to the perpetuity of this great Union that the hearts of the people and the action of their constituted authorities should be in unison in giving a faithful support to the constitution of the United States. The people of Pennsylvania are devoted to the Union. They will follow its stars and stripes through every peril. But, l^efore assuming the high responsibilities now dimly foreshadoAved, it is their solemn duty to remove every just cause of complaint against themselves, so that they may stand before High Heaven and the civilized world without fear and without reproach, ready to devote their lives and their fortunes to the support of the best form of government that has ever been devised by the wisdom of man." In order to avert civil war. Governor Packer proposed that the two hostile sections compromise their difference by constitu- tional amendment, or in a convention of the people. His term ended, however, in January, 1861, before any of his suggestions could be acted upon ; and Governor Curtin assumed the great re- sponsibility of guiding the affairs of the Commonwealth through the Great Rebellion. 67 CHAPTER IV. CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION— i86i-icS67 ON the 15th of January, 1861, Andrew Gregg Curlin suc- ceeded to the governorship of Pennsylvania, and was the first distinctively Republican incumbent of that high office in the State. Only a few years previous to this time the Repub- lican party had perfected an organization in the country, and it comprised several component political elements, some harmonious, others discordant, but united for an especial purpose in the gubernatorial campaign of i860, they safely carried the election and placed Mr. Curtin in the chair. The result at that particular time was exceedingly fortunate, as trouble with the South was already threatening the overthrow of our national institu- tion, and Mr. Lincoln, who had just been elected to the presi- dency, was in great need of the services, the advice and the hearty support of such men as Governor Curtin proved himself to be. In speaking thus freely of Governor Curtin and his qualities the writer in no sense seeks to cast reflection on any of his pre- decessors, for it so happened that during the trying period of dis- cussion and frequent disputes and more frecjuent litigations between the people of the slave States and those of States which had abolished slavery, each incumbent of the governorship in Pennsylvania stood true to the anti-slavery side of the question and steadfastly maintained the principles declared in the State nearly a century before. Governor Packer was a radical Demo- crat and a bitter opponent to all that savored of what he termed 68~ CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION "Black Republicanism," which presumably included the ultra anti-slavery advocates, and while he had no consideration for men who held to those teachings, he at the same time showed the highest regard for the laws, no matter by whom enacted or advo- cated. His attitude in relation to the fugitive slave laws showed his truly patriotic spirit, and in the determined stand he took regarding their enforcement, he won the gratitude of all the political elements of his time. Governor Curtin was born at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1815. He was educated at the schools of his native town, and he also studied at the Harrisburg Academy, under the tuition of John M. Keagy. His literary education was completed at the academy at Milton, Pa., then in charge of Rev. David Kirk- patrick. Young Curtin then returned to his home, and began the study of law under the direction of William W. Potter, a promi- nent lawyer of that day. Curtin completed his legal studies at the Law School of Dickinson College, after which, in 1839, he opened an office at Bellefonte in partnership with Hon. John Blanchard. He advanced rapidly in his profession, and being an effective speaker, was soon looked upon as one of the leading members of the bar. In politics, Curtin started out as an ardent Whig, and in 1840. he took a prominent part in Harrison's campaign for the presi- dency of the United States. In 1844, he spoke in nearly every county of Pennsylvania in behalf of Henry Clay, achieving a great reputation as a political orator. His name appeared on the Whig electoral tickets of 1848, and 1852, and he took an active part in both of these campaigns. In 1855, Governor Pollock appointed Curtin to the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth, his duties including that of superintendent of common schools. In this po- sition, he had an opportunity to display his rare executive abilities. The common school system was in the formative period of its existence, and was surrounded by a strong opposition ; but through Curtin's labors, the system w-as preserved and a number of essen- 69 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL tial features were added. At the expiration of his term of office in 1858, he resumed the practice of law at Bellefonte, and he also took an active interest in opening the railway lines through the central part of the State. Elected Governor of Pennsylvania in i860, he was thus called to an office where he exhibited the rarest genius as a statesman, and earned the deserving title of "War Governor of Pennsylvania." William Crawford's Cabin, Connellsville Crawford led an expedition against the Indians at Sandusky, failed, and was put to death with torture. From drawing in Carnegie Museum When, on January 15, 1861, Governor Curtin assumed the duties of chief executive of this great Commonwealth the clouds of war were beginning to darken the land. The new administra- tion found the State to contain a total of 2,906,215 inhabitants (census of i860) chiefly engaged in trade, commerce, manufac- ture, mining and agriculture. The institutions of State govern- ment were established upon a firm basis, the people in every sec- tion were apparently contented, and only the darkening shadow of 70 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION approaching war disturbed their peace of mind. According to the reports of the treasurer's department in i860, the total indebted- ness of the State was $37,969,847.50, yet the revenues and re- sources were such that this occasioned no uneasiness in official circles, and the Governor in his inaugural address took occasion to congratulate the legislature and the public upon the healthful- ness of prevailing conditions and the prosperous outlook for the future. But there was that in the Governor's first address which betokened approaching danger to national life, for he was the friend and adviser of the newly chosen President and was enabled to speak with an understanding of the situation. Let us quote from his public utterances regarding the prevailing conditions and their relation to the future: 'The supremacy of the National Government has been so fully admitted and so long cherished by the people of Pennsyl- vania, and so completely has the conviction of its nationality and sovereignty directed their political action, that they are surprised at the pertinacity with which a portion of the people elsewhere maintain the opposite view. The traditions of the past, the re- corded teachings of the Fathers of the Republic, the security of their freedom and prosperity, and their hopes for the future, are all in harmony with an unfaltering allegiance to the National Union, the maintenance of the constitution and the enforcement of the laws. They have faithfully adhered to the provisions of our great National Compact, and willingly recognize the peculiar institutions and rights of property of the people of other States. Every true Pennsylvanian admits that his first civil and political duty is to the General Government, and he frankly acknowledges his obligation to protect the constitutional rights of all who live under its authority and enjoy its blessings. "Pennsylvania has never faltered in recognition of all the duties imposed upon her by the National Compact, and she will, by every art consistent with her devotion to the interests of her own people, promote fraternity and peace and a liberal comity 71 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL between the States. Her convictions on the vital questions which have agitated the pubHc mind are well understood at home, and should not be misunderstood abroad. Her verdicts have been as uniform as they have been decisive, in favor of the dignity, the prosperity and the progress of her free industry, and support of the principles of liberty on which the government is founded, and menace or rebellion cannot reverse them. They have passed into history as the deliberate judgment of her people, expressed in a peaceful, fraternal and constitutional manner; and when they shall have been administered in the government, as soon they will be, the madness that now rules the hour will subside, as their patriotic, faithful and national aims bring ample protection and peaceful progress to all sections of the Republic. "In the grave questions which now agitate the country, no State has a more profound concern than Pennsylvania. Occupy- ing a geographical position between the North and the South, the East and the West, with the great avenues of travel and trade passing through her borders, carrying on an extensive commerce with her neighbors, in the vast and varied productions of her soil, her mines and her manufacturing industry, and bound to them by ties of kindred and social intercourse, the question of disunion involves momentous consequences to her people. The second of the thirty-three States in population, and the first in material resources, it is due both to ourselves and to the other States, that the position and sentiments of Pennsylvania on the question should be distinctly understood. "In the present unhappy condition of the country, it will be our duty to unite with the people of the States which remain loyal to the Union, in any just and honorable measures of conciliation and fraternal kindness. Let us invite them to join us in the ful- fillment of all our obligations under the Federal Constitution and laws. Then we can cordially unite with them in claiming like obedience from those States which have renounced their allegi- ance. If tlie loyal States are just and moderate, without any 72 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION sacrifice of right or self-respect, the threatened danger may be averted." In all that he said in relation to the controversy between the North and the Sonth previous to the actual outbreak of the war, Governor Curtin voiced the sentiment of the people of the whole State, and in all that he did in anticipation of the inevitable event he was warmly supported by the people of all classes and also by the legislative branches of State government. Indeed, from the time of his inauguration until the beginning of hostilities, and from that time to the close of the war, the executive and legisla- tive departments acted in harmony, the former looking to the latter for the enactment of such measures as were deemed neces- sary for the maintenance of the high standard of loyaltv early proclaimed by Pennsylvania, and the latter looking to the former for suggestion and advice, for he knew better than they the needs and requirements of the State in this hour of great peril. This was especially true from tlie time when Mr. Camercjn resigned (March ii, 1861) his seat in the United States Senate and ac- cepted the position of secretary of war in Mr. Lincoln's cabinet. Although the former relations of the President and our Governor were entirely cordial, and their ideas and action in regard to the grave questions then before the country were in perfect accord, Mr. Cameron's appointment to the portfolio of war had the effect to draw Mr. Lincoln and Governor Curtin into still closer rela- tionship, and thus to give the latter every opportunity to know the actual needs of the government and what would be required of his own State on each occasion. This the legislature knew, and wnthout question or cavil the Governor's suggestions were accepted as expressing the actual situation of national affairs, and they were acted upon promptly, generously, and with every con- fidence that the best interests of the State would thereby be promoted. Governor Curtin has ever been known in history as the "War Governor" of Pennsylvania, yet he was not inclined to favor war 72> PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL with the South until every means for an amicable settlement of difficulties had been exhausted. He took kindly to the proposition emanating from Virginia for the appointment of commissioners from the several States to meet in Washington and make an earnest effort to agree upon a plan of settlement of the "present unhappy controversies, in the spirit in which the constitution was originally formed and consistently with its principles, so as to afford to the people of the slaveholding States adeijuate guarantees for the sovereignty of their rights. In accordance with the spirit of the undertaking and in conformity of a resolution of the legis- Arms, 1790 lature of Virginia (Jan. 19, 1861), the Governor appointed as the representatives of that State ex-President John Tyler, William C. Rives, Judge John B. Brockenborough, George W. Summers and James A. Seddon. At the same time the Governor appointed ex-President Tyler to the special service of commissioner to President Lincoln, and also appointed Judge John R. Robertson commissioner to the State of South Carolina and the other States which then had seceded, to act with others "in an endeavor to amicably settle the difficulties which impelled their action." However, in its action the legislature of our State did not await entirely the initiative of the Governor, but adopted several meas- ures of its own accord, which had the effect to win the confidence of the people of the State at large, whose especial representatives the members were known to be. As early as Jan. 24, 1861, having in mind the fact that on Dec. 20, i860, the State of South Caro- lina adopted an ordinance to dissolve the union between that and 74 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION the other States which previously had been united under the com- pact entitled "The United States of America," the Assembly passed a series of resolutions expressive of the sentiment of the people of this Commonwealth in relation to the questions of the hour. These resolutions were important, and were so pertinent to the subject under discussion that some of them will be found of interest in this chapter. "Resolved, That the people of Pennsylvania entertain and desire to cherish the most fraternal sentiments for their brethren of other States, and are ready now, as they ever have been, to co- operate in all measures needful for their welfare, security and happiness, and the full enjoyment of all their rights under the constitution which makes us one people; that while they cannot surrender their love of liberty, inherited from the founders of their State, sealed with the blood of the Revolution, and witnessed in the history of their legislation, and while they claim the observ- ance of all their rights under the constitution, they nevertheless maintain now, as they have ever done, the constitutional rights of the people of the slaveholding States to the uninterrupted enjoy- ment of their own domestic institutions. "Resolved, That we adopt the sentiments and language of President Andrew Jackson, expressed in his message to Congress (Jan. 1 6, 1833) that the right of a people of a single State to absolve themselves at will, and without the consent of the other States, from their most solemn obligations, and hazard the liberties and happiness of millions comprising this Union, cannot be ac- knowledged, and that such authority is utterly repugnant both to the principles upon which the general government is constituted and the objects which it was expressly formed to attain. "Resolved, That the constitution of the United States of America contains all the powers necessary to the maintenance of its authority, and it is the solemiu and most imperative duty of the government to adopt and carry into efifect wdiatever measures may be necessary to that end ; and the faith and the pozver of Fenn- 77 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL sylvania are Jicrcby pledged to the support of such measures, in any manner and to any extent that may be required of her by the constituted authorities of the United States." Of a truth there was no uncertain ring of loyalty and patriot- ism in these resolutions at the time of their adoption, and when John Franklin Agent of the Connecticut Susquehanna com- pany; captured by Colonel Timothy Pickering, 1787, and imprisoned in Philadelphia fourteen months without trial; was present at Wyoming just after the massacre, and with Sullivan at the battle at Newtown; born 1749; died 183 1. Reproduced for this work from an engraving in possession of N. F. Walker in the course of a few more months those qualities of loyalty and patriotism were put to the test, the State of Pennsylvania faith- fully fulfilled every promise and redeemed every pledge with an ardor unsurpassed by that of any other State in the Union. But, notwithstanding the frequent reiteration of sentiments like those expressed in the resolutions, and regardless of the fact that war between the North and the South even then was considered un- 78 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION avoidable, there was no real preparation for such an event until just before the actual outbreak, for it was hoped that some means of settlement might be discovered without recourse to arms. Let us glance briefly at the political situation in the country at the time of which we write. For many years previous to i860 strong antagonism between two sentiments had existed in the country; the South was the avowed enemy of the free paid labor of the North, and the North of the slave labor of the South. Advocates of both principles were earnest and determined and their respective views were en- larged and extended until the remotest corners of our territorial limits became impregnated with the prevailing ideas. The na- tional political contest of i860 was both fevered and exciting, for never before had so much depended upon the result of the ballot. There were numerous murmurings of a significant character that carried alarm to the nation which had devoted all her energies to the fruitful arts of peace. Then followed an assault on the integ- rity of the ballot and the expressed will of the majority, which, if successful, must of necessity have destroyed our republican form of government. Soon the voice of reason was lost in the thunder of Moultrie's guns, and then the question was : Shall liberty and union no longer walk hand in hand, and if either is to g'O out, which shall it be ? Then how sudden the transformation of the peaceful citizen into the armed and uniformed soldier! Almost every citizen real- ized that it was his duty to be loyal in his service to the country, and volunteers were furnished from every State, county and town in the great North. Loyal men only knew that they were needed, and they hastened to respond to the call ; they exchanged the rip- pling music of the hillside stream for the thunder of the deep- mouthed cannon and the deafening musketry volley. "It was not with them a question of what battles were to be fought, what graves filled, what altars shivered ; the spirit of secession must be buried and breathe its last amid shrieking shell and hissing bullet." 79 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Our own Pennsylvania was no exception to the rule, and freely gave her sons whose blood crimsoned the soil of a hundred battle- fields of the South; and they fell as heroes fall, a sacrifice to union, liberty and freedom ; and the mothers who gave those sons displayed a patriotism equal to that of the Spartan mothers in the sacrifice of household idols. The hardships of a soldier's life, suffering from wounds, disease and privations, and the surrender of young lives, presents a chapter of patriotism which warms the devotion to country of every true American ; but when we reflect on all the scenes at home and those upon the battlefield we can only doubt who suffered most when the shadows of war darkened our fair land. As early as February, 1861, it became evident that actual war with the seceding States could not much longer be averted, as the attitude of the South Carolina authorities toward the Federal gar- rison at Fort Sumter indicated an immediate outbreak of hostili- ties. On the 17th of that month the Assembly of Pensylvania passed resolutions approving the course of Major Anderson, and in Philadelphia and other commercial centers public meetings were held and strong sentiments were expresed in favor of upholding the Union, suppressing treasonable insurrection and urging imme- diate preparations for war. At that particular time, however, the military system of the State was not in order for efficient action, and it was supposed that much time would be required to re-estab- lish it on a proper basis. The principal defects consisted of an in- sufficient number of men and a general lack of equipment, both in arms and uniforms, and an almost entire absence of discipline. On April 9th the Governor addressed a communication to the Assem- bly, calling attention to the imperfect system, and urged immediate action in reorganizing it, a modification of the military laws, and the establishment of a military bureau at the capital of the State. Three days later, on the very day on which Fort Sumter was fired upon, the Assembly passed an act for better organizing the militia and appropriated $500,000 for that purpose. 80 '•^r ^ . ¥' -^-^ 'rt>h/iflu)/'i/ /i,/ 'V/if ,yi-H-iuyMvM.-r/ . /.- ' >•■■// "•" -./-'•!'•, 5, :^y:,M /yv^'' CUR TIN'S ADMINISTRATION While at the time inchcated there undoubtedly was a lack of organization and military discipline in the State, there was no scarcity of material from which to create a formidable army for either offensive or defensive purposes, as the report of the adjutant- general for the preceding year showed 355,000 men subject to military duty, although of the entire number only 19,000 were members of organized companies. There were four hundred and seventy-six of these companies, with an average membership of about forty men in each. All the arms and military equipment then owned by the State were in possession of the companies, and comprised 12,080 muskets, 4,706 rifles, 2,809 cavalry swords and sabres, 3,149 pistols, 69 pieces of ordnance, and about 575 camp tents. Of the muskets, about 2,500 were of new model, and 1,200 of the rifles were of modern pattern, but the remainder of the equipment, except the ordnance, was of comparatively little use. The total number of effective small arms was 4,200; thus 14,500 members of the organized and uniformed militia had no arms fit for use when they entered the service in the spring of 1861. It was this condition in the military establishment of the State that impelled the Governor's action, and also that of the Assem- bly, to which reference has been made in a preceding paragraph. The Assembly took prompt action, but before anything had been really accomplished the war of the rebellion was begun. On the morning of April 12, 1861, the guns of Fort Moultrie in Charleston harbor, S. C, were trained on Fort Sumter, the lat- ter then being held by a Federal garrison under Major Anderson ; and -with the first boom of Confederate cannon civil war was pro- claimed throughout the United States ; the great sections of coun- try knowai as the South and the Xorth were arrayed against each other in a conflict which was destined to cost billions of money, hundreds of thousands of human lives, and to engender feelings of animosity w^hich in all subsequent years have not been entirely effaced, although to-day the old contending forces are nearer together in thought and action and sympathy than ever before. .3-6 81 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL In this brief chapter it is needless to dwell upon the prompt- ness, the enthusiasm and the patriotism with which the people of Pennsylvania, in common with those of the other Northern States, sprang forward at the call of the President for men to suppress the treasonable rebellion organized by the hosts of misguided people of the South. The subject, although never to be worn threadbare, has nevertheless been the frequent theme of the most gifted pens in song and story, and the banner of peace floated over the entire republic at the end of the sanguinary and heroic strug- gle. The record achieved by the brave men who gave up the com- forts and safety of their homes for the dangers and hardships, the w^ounds and death of the battlefields, is one that ever may be looked upon with pride by every loyal citizen of the State ; while the lib- erality displayed by those w^hose duty was to remain at home helped to soften the rigors of war and gave the volunteers the most undoubted assurances that their sacrifices were appreciated to the fullest possible extent ; and as the tide of war rolled on and call succeeded call to fill the depleted ranks of the army, the State did not hesitate in its duty, nor the counties and towns in their loyalty, in providing for the payment of such generous bounties as W'Ould serve the very best purpose. Throughout the period of the war the civil and military history of Pennsylvania ran in the same channel, and were almost con- current events, and it was not until well along toward the close of the struggle that there began to develop a sentiment of opposition to the administration of the President, of the war department, and, in a less degree, to the course of Governor Curtin and his advisers. Previous to this time there w^as little division of political sentiment in the State and Republicans and Democrats alike warmly sup- ported all the measures proposed in the legislature for the vigorous prosecution of the war, while in the ranks of the army were hun- dreds and even thousands of sturdy volunteers wdio were de- scended from ancestors "scrupulous of bearing arms" ; but along afte'-" tbe enforcement of draft orders there developed a spirit of 8^ CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION opposition, which manifested itself chiefly at the polHng- places, and had the ultimate effect to create serious disturbance in the har- mony of State politics. These events, however, in our history will be treated in a subsequent portion of this narrative. On the morning of April 12, 1861, a message was handed to Governor Curtin in Harrisburg which read as follows : "The war is commenced. The batteries began firing at four o'clock this morning. Major Anderson replied, and a brisk cannonading commenced. This is reliable, and has just come by Associated Press," etc. On this day, in response to the Governor's suggestion, the legislature passed an act for reorganizing the military department of the State, and in conformity to its elaborate provisions, on the 17th, the Governor nominated and sent to the Senate for con- firmation the name of Major-General Edward M. Shepard to be adjutant-general, Captain John W. McLane to be commissary- general, and General Reuben C. Hale to be quartermaster-general each on the grand staff of the military department of the State as constituted under the act. True to the patriotic principles so frequently expressed on pre- vious occasions, and thoroughly alive to the exigencies of the situation after South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Texas had openly seceded and had arisen HI armed rebellion against the sovereign authority and govern- ment of the United States, and had declared to dissolve their alle- giance to the Federal Union, the legislature of Pennsylvania, on April 18, unanimously adopted the following resolution: "Resolved, That the faith, credit and resources of the State, in 1x)th men and money, are hereby pledged to any amount and to every extent which the Federal Government may demand, to sub- due the rebellion, to punish the treason, to enforce the laws, to protect the lives, the liberties and the property of the people, and to maintain inviolate the constitution and the sovereignty of the nation." ~8^ PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL On the 20th the Governor issued his proclamation convoking the Assembly in special session, to "take action in connection with the appearance of rebellion." On the 30th the Assembly was con- vened and received an important message from the Governor, the latter setting forth the needs of the government and the duty of Josiah Harmar Negotiated treaty with Indians at P]ort Mcintosh (Beaver), 1785; brevetted brigadier-general by Congress 1787; general-in-chief United States Army, 1 789-1792. Made for this work from an engraving in possession of Dr. W. J. Holland the State, and called upon the assembled legislators to make ample provision for men, arms and military equipments. In his mes- sage on this occasion the Governor gave free expression to his views regarding the situation, and his utterances were so thor- oughly frank and patriotic that the writer is impelled to make use of some portions of them : 84 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION "No one who knows the history of Pennsylvania and under- stands the opinions and feehngs of her people, can justly charge us with hostility to our brethren of other States. We regard them as friends and fellow-countrymen, in whose welfare we feel a kindred interest ; and we recognize, in their broadest extent, all our constitutional obligations to them. These we are ready and willing to observe, generously and fraternally and in their letter and spirit with unswerving fidelity The time is past for temporizing or forbearing with this rebellion ; the most causeless in history. The North has not invaded nor has she sought to invade a single guaranteed right of the South. On the contrary, all political parties, and all administrations, have fully recognized the binding force of every provision of the great compact between the States, and regardless of our views of State policy, our people have respected them. To predicate a rebellion, therefore, upon any alleged wrong inflicted or sought to be inflicted upon the South, is to offer falsehood as an apology for treason. So will the civilized world and history judge this mad effort to overthrow the most beneficent structure of human government ever devised by man." On April 15th, 1861, four days after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 militia from the several Union States to serve for three months. The quota of Pennsylvania was fourteen regiments, and so prompt w^as the response to the call and such was the patriotic ardor of the people in every portion of the State that not only were the required regiments raised, but the number was increased to twenty-five. Indeed the services of about thirty additional regiments were refused by the government, as the great number of volunteers who came forw^ard had then provided for more than one-half the total number of troops called for by the President. Four days after the call Pennsylvania had placed at the national capital six hun- dred men, and to the lasting honor of the State, it may be said that its troops were the first to arrive in Washington to defend PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL the city against an expected attack by the Confederate forces. Ten days later the entire number of twenty-five regiments of Pennsylvania troops were organized and in the field. On April 1 8, Camp Curtin was established at Harrisburg, at which point all the militia of the northern, western and central counties of the State were organized and equipped for active service at the front. At the same time the eight regiments raised in Philadelphia and its vicinity were rendezvoused and organized in that city. All these regiments were designated in numerical order from i to 25, and comprised in the aggregate 20,979 men. They served the full term of three months, and then were mustered out of ser- vice, although many of the men, in some instances almost entire companies in a body, re-enlisted for the regular three years' ser- vice. While it is not within the province of this chapter to refer at length to the service of individual companies or regiments sent out from Pennsylvania during the war, it is nevertheless proper to mention the fact that among the very first military organiza- tions to tender their services to the government were the Ringgold Light Artillery of Reading; the Logan Guards of Lewiston; the Washington Artillery and the National Light Infantry of Potts- ville. and the Allen Rifles of Allentown. Says a contemporary writer : "When the Ringgold Light Artillery, numbering one hundred and two men, reached Harrisburg, and word was sent to the secretary of war of the presence of so strong a company at the State capital, he at once telegraphed for its immediate presence in Washington, but for prudential reasons the order was sup- pressed." Having been mustered into the service of the United States, the five volunteer companies, with a detachment of fifty men from the regular army, left Harrisburg, the former destined for the defenses of Washington and the latter for Fort McHenry. In marching through Batlimore, from Bolton to Camden station, these volunteer companies were attacked by a riotous mob of con- 86 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION federate sympathizers, and were subjected to all manner of indig- nities, but the men behaved themselves with becoming bravery and raised no arm to resist the assaults made on them. In fact, even if so disposed, the troops were powerless to defend themselves, for they were without ammunition of any kind, although the men were provided with guns. On the evening of the i8th the com- panies arrived in Washington and camped in the defenses of the city ; and they were the first troops to reach the capital, a fact due to the prompt action of Governor Curtin, and the zeal with which the sturdy Pennsylvanians answered the call to arms. The conduct of these companies while passing through the streets of Baltimore was the occasion of much favorable comment, and their determined courage in the face of many embarrassments was duly recognized by Congress in the adoption of the following resolution : "37th Congress, U. S., July 22, 1861. "Resolved, That the thanks of this House are due, and are hereby tendered, to the five hundred and thirty soldiers from Pennsylvania, who passed through the mob at Baltimore and reached Washington on the i8lh of April last, for the defence of the National Capital. Galusha A. Grow, "Speaker of the House of Representatives." This was the first but not the last occasion on which the National Congress found opportunity to publicly acknowledge the services of volunteer soldiers from Pennsylvania during the period of the Civil war. Following the departure of the first body of volunteers Camp Curtin was the scene of activity, and from the time of its establish- ment (April 18, 1861), to the close of military operations in con- nection with the war it was the most popular rendezvous and training grounds for troops in the entire State. Its location for its intended purpose was admirable, as it occupied the land between the Pennsylvania railroad and the Susquehanna river, the site formerly occupied by the Dauphin County Agricultural Society. 8^ PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Previous to the selection of the camp site all available lands in the city were occupied by the constantly incoming troops, and tempo- rary shelters and barracks were provided for their accommodation. As evidence of the early importance of Camp Curtin it may be said that between the i8th of April and the end of that month twenty-five regiments of troops were formed there and sent to the front for active service. T^^^^^Sm p ^^-..-^'^ Dial Rock The sun dial of the early settlers in Wyoming Valley; also called Campbell's Ledge. Engraved for this work from a photograph in possession of Wyoming Historical and Geological Society The second call for volunteers was made in May, the quota for Pennsylvania being ten regiments, but the services of these regiments the government refused, on the announcement by Sec- retary of War Cameron that as the State had twenty-five regi- ments already in the field its force ought not to be increased at that time. At an extra session of the legislature was passed the act of May 15, for organizing the "Reserve Volunteer Corps of the CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION Commonwealth," to comprise thirteen regiments of infantry, one of cavalry and one of artillery. This corps was organized under the command of Major-General George A. McCall, and was placed for military instruction in camps at Easton, West Chester, Pitts- burg and Harrisburg. On June 22 two of its regiments were ordered to Cumberland, Md., and soon afterward rendered excel- lent service at New Creek and Piedmont in Western Virginia until ordered to the lower Potomac regions. On the 22d of July, the day after the disaster at Bull Run, a requisition was made on the State for its Reserve corps, and as quickly as the means of transportation could be provided, eleven thousand of these troops, fully armed and equipped, were sent to the defences of Washington, and a few days later the regiments were mustered into the United States service for three years, or the war. This was the beginning of the history of the familiarly known Pennsylvania Reserves, an organization which, during the later years of the war, won fame on many battlefields, and many of whose members are sleeping beneath the sod in Southern States. Its record certainly was one of unquestioned merit and reflected honorably on the entire military system of the State. The aggre- gate number of officers and men comprising the several regiments of the Reserve corps in 1861 was 15,856. Previous to the mustering of the Reserve corps into the service of the United States, the government authorized the organization of four independent regiments in the State, and the result was to promptly raise an aggregate of 4,711 officers and men. Subse- quently, direct requisitions were made for sixteen additional regiments of infantry and two regiments of cavalry, all of which were recruited and organized with equal dispatch, and the men were sent forward to such points as were designated by the war department. On September 25 the department placed under control of the Governor all brigades, regiments, battalions and companies which from time to time it had authorized individuals to raise. These amounted to ten regiments, including five of PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL cavalry, one of artillery, and also twenty-seven companies, in- cluding five of cavalry and three of artillery. From what is stated in preceding paragraphs it will be seen that on the ist of January, 1862, the State of Pennsylvania had in the service of the government an aggregate of 130,594 men, inclusive of the three months' regiments and also inclusive of fourteen regiments and five companies which at that time were preparing for duty. Recapitulating briefly, it may be said that the regiments in actual service at the time indicated comprised sixty-five of infantry and riflemen, a total of 71,189 men; eleven of cavalry, 12,690 men; one of artillery, 1,077 men; seven com- panies of infantry, 707 men ; six companies of cavalry, 578 men ; and six companies of artillery, 936 men. The grand total of these commands amounted to 87,177 men, to which must be added 6,400 Pennsylvanians who enlisted and were credited with serv- ing in regiments recruited in other States, chiefly in New York, with a less number in New Jersey and Ohio. Notwithstanding the splendid contribution of men who were in active service at the close of the year 1861, at that time fourteen regiments (12 of infantry, i of cavalry and i of artillery) and five companies (4 of artillery and i of cavalry), with a grand total of 16,038 men, were in the several camps and recruiting stations awaiting orders and organizing for service. On January i, 1862, this State had in service and in preparation for service (exclusive of those whose enlistments had previously expired) a total of 109,615 men. Three distinct calls for troops were made in 1861 : First, the President's call of April 15, to which Pennsylvania responded with 20,979 three months' men ; second, the call of July 22, which was answered by the famous Reserve corps and a total of 15,856 men ; and third, the general organization of troops under the act of Congress of July 22, which called out a total of 93,759 men. In 1862 the exigencies of the war made a serious drain on the resources of the State, yet during that year less troops were sent 90 C UR TIN'S ADMIN IS T RATION to the front than in 1861. By this time, although the heavier battles were yet to be fought, our sturdy Pennsylvanians had become accustomed to the dire events of war, and with great for- titude did they meet every demand upon their resources and material strength ; and this done there appeared to be an abun- dance of excellent material yet in reserve. In his annual message to the Assembly in January Governor Curtin carefully and frankly reviewed the situation of the State with regard to the great events then in progress, and made espe- cial reference to the subject of finance, for during the preceding year the total receipts from the specially authorized military loans had amounted to $3,119,379.45, and of this vast sum $2,728,872.04 had been expended for the purposes for which the fund was created. The Governor also referred to the splendid action of the Pennsylvanians in promptly answering the call to arms, and he mentioned in detail the location and condition of the State troops then in service of the government ; and he also made allusion to the presentation of regimental colors, as provided for by a resolution of the Assembly. The year 1862 was a period of constant activity in military affairs in Pennsylvania, and the camps at Harrisburg, Pittsburg and in the vicinity of Philadelphia,were kept alive with troops preparing for duty at the front. In the early part of the year the regiments recruited but not sent forward in 1861 were organized and placed at the disposal of the war department, but other than this there was no direct call for more men until July 7, when forty-three regiments, aggregating 40,383 men, were organized and put into service. The Governor himself had been informed of the necessity of this call for additional troops, and on the 4th of July had issued a proclamation in which, among other things, he said : "Pennsyl- vania has hitherto done her duty to the country. Her freeman are again called on to volunteer in her defence that the blood of her sons who have already fallen may not ha\e been shed in vain, 91 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and that we may hand down to our posterity the blessings of union and civil and political liberty, which we derived from our fathers Our noble Commonwealth has never yet faltered and must stand firm now when her honor and every thing that is dear to her is at stake." It was such sentiments as these expressed by Governor Curtin and thousands of other patriots throughout the State that kept alive the ardor of the people in general and spurred them on to still greater efforts in behalf of the cause of union and liberty, and when the President's call for 300,000 more men was formally issued this State was among the very first to furnish its quota of more than forty thousand men. In a way, however, Pennsyl- vania was well prepared to meet the call of July 7. The intelli- gence of the attack of May 25 upon General Banks at Winchester by the vastly superior force of Ewell's and Jackson's divisions, had created an intense feeling not only in Pennsylvania but throughout all the loyal States. On the following day, under general orders issued by the Governor, for the muster of all the militia organizations to resist an expected attack upon the frontier of the State, the available militia were hastily organized into regiments and battalions. But this emergency passed without an invasion, whereupon the order for the assembling of the three months' volunteer militia was revoked. However, many of the companies preserved their organization and were among the first to respond to the call of July 7. About this time a new scheme for securing enlistments was brought into existence, and had its beginning in the neighboring- States, especially in New York, where counties, towns and asso- ciations of persons created funds for the payment of bounties to recruits in order to fill their quotas under the drafts ordered in 1862. This offer of bounties in adjoining counties in other States had the effect to attract enlistments from Pennsylvania and threatened inroads on the militia of our State to such an extent that an extra session of the legislature to deal willi tlic 92 William Jackson Aide-de-camp to Washington; assistant secre- tary of war, 1782-1783: secretary of the con- vention which framed the Federal Constitution, 1787: private secretary to Washington during his first administration: publisher of the daily "Political and Commercial Register," 1S01-1815. Reproduced especially for this work from an original panel by Trumbull, in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION subject seemed necessary; but this necessity was soon obviated by the action of our own counties and townships in creating bounty funds, and the legislature was not cahed upon to act in the matter. In many respects the bounty system, however well regulated in certain localities, proved iniquitous through the schemes of designing persons, and as a result the ranks of the volunteers became filled with men who possessed none of the qualities of loyal soldiers, and whose sole purpose was to secure the money offered them and then desert and re-enlist for another bounty or escape across the borders into other States or into Canada. This class of persons was known as "bounty jumpers," and while they were too numerous for the welfare of the service, they by no means carried disorder into the ranks of the army in general ; and there were thousands among those who enlisted under the bounty offer who proved as good and faithful soldiers as ever carried a musket or responded to an order to charge the enemy. Among the several varied events which took place within this State during the second year of the war, that known as Stuart's raid on Chambersburg, in Franklin county, on October lo, was by far the most important ; and it was accomplished so stealthily and cjuickly that no arm was raised in defence of the town. The people living in that particular locality had f()r some time been apprehensive of an attack, for there was much in the geographical surroundings to tempt an invasion of Pennsylvania territory by way of the Cumberland valley, where nature had provided easy and safe means of entrance and departure from the south. Chambersburg itself was an attractive place, delightfully situated in a fertile region of country, and was also the site of a military storehouse where large quantities of arms and munitions of war were deposited. This fact evidently was known to the confed- erates, and their first invasion of the territory of our State un- doubtedly was for the double purpose of wanton pillage and the capture of the military stores. 95 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL In the early part of September the confederate forces had made incursions into Maryland and even then threatened an in- vasion of the southern region of Pennsylvania. To prepare for such an event a call was made by general orders upon all the able- John McMillan Educator; started a Latin school and the theo- logical seminary which afterward became Can- onsburg academy, 1791, and later Jefferson college. Photographed for this work from an engraving in possession of Mrs. William M. Darlington bodied men of the counties to organize for the defence of the State, and on the nth of that month fifty thousand freemen were called for immediate service. Harrisburg was the designated rendezvous for the troops, and every train of cars brought thousands of volunteers into the city, and to provide for them the capitol grounds were transformed into an immense military 96 C UR TIN'S ADM IN IS TRA TION camp. Companies were rapidly formed, rei^imenls were as quickly organized and sent forward into the Cumberland valley, where, under Brigadier-General John F. Reynolds, Avho had been temporarily detailed from the command of the Pennsylvania Reserves, this new army was reorganized for the defence of the State against the threatened invasion. Fifteen thousand of this force of volunteers were pushed forward to Hagarstown and Boonsboro, Md., ten thousand others w^ere posted in the vicinity of Greencastle and Chambersburg, and about twenty-five thou- sand were kept at Harrisburg ready for transportation to any desired point. One other regiment was sent to guard the Dupont powder mills in Delaware. However, on September 24, the necessity for further service having passed, the volunteer militia was discliarged by order of the Governor. In October Chambersburg was less prepared to resist an attack, and the invading force of rebels under Generals Stuart and Hampton met with no opposition during their raid. Late in the afternoon of October 10 these daring officers with a body of about two thousand cavalry and artillery entered the town, having crossed the Potomac, and by hurried marches made their way into the State without the least warning of their approach. The night was spent in plundering and destroying the houses and property of the residents, and on the following morning the military store- house was made the object of especial attack. The building was stripped of its contents, large quantities of arms and ammunition were carried away, and whatever remained was destroyed by fire, together wdth the storehouse itself. Then the invaders departed as quickly as they had come, passing out by \vay of South Moun- tain and the Potomac river. To repel this invasion, although the action was too late to be effective, the Governor called into service the Anderson cavalry, then encamped at Carlisle, and two companies of regulars who were in the barracks at the same place. These were at once pushed forward in the direction of Chambersburg and South Mountain. 2-7 97 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL I'he cavalry at Camp Ciirtin, consisting of one full and two im- perfect regiments, were armed as infantry, and with two com- panies of infantry, and a battery of volunteer light artillery of Harrisburg, were held in readiness to go forward, when General Wool arrived and assumed command of all the forces. He had previously ordered a part of his command from Baltimore and marched the troops to Gettysburg. But the confederate forces marched with such celerity that they were not met by any of Gen- eral Wool's troops and thus escaped from the State without being attacked. Within the borders of the State and in the field of active opera- tions in the South the year 1862 witnessed many important and several serious events so far as concerned the Pennsylvania sol- diery. During the year the requisitions for troops drew upon the militia resources of the State to the extent of 69,742 men in addi- tion to those credited to the preceding year, and at the close of 1862 it was found that a total of 200,336 men had been sent out since the beginning of the war; and if to the above there is added the twenty-five regiments of infantry, eleven companies of cav- alry and four batteries of artillery that marched on special service into the Cumberland valley, the aggregate contribution of the State thus far would amount to more than a quarter of a million of men. Yet the resources of the State were not exhausted, and there still remained for future emergencies more men, money and undoubted loyalty for the further support of the government and the defence of the Union. A careful analysis of the reports of the adjutant-general for the year 1862 shows Pennsylvania's contribution of men for the service to have been as follows : Organized under the President's call of July 7, for 300,000 men, regiments 116 to 157 inclusive, and including five regiments of cavalry (159 to 163 inclusive) and three batallions of artillery, on special requisitions, 40,383 ; organized under draft ordered by the President, August 4, for 300,000 militia to serve for nine months (regiments 158, 165 to CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION 169 inclusive, and 171 to 179 inclusive), 14,800; drafted men in camps sent forward, 300; recruits furnished to regiments in ser- vice by Captains Dodge and Lane, and Lieut.-Col. Ruff, superin- tending the volunteer recruiting service at Harrisburg and Philadelphia, 9,259; enlisted in organizations of other States, 5,000; total, 69,742. Thus from the middle of April, 186 1, to the close of the year 1862, a period of a little more than twenty months, there were recruited and organized in Pennsylvania for the service of the government a total of one hundred and eleven regiments for three years, including eleven regiments of cavalry and three regiments of artillery; twenty-five regiments for three months; seventeen volunteer regiments for nine months ; fifteen regiments of drafted militia, and twenty-five regiments of militia called out for emer- gency purposes ; in all a grand total of one hundred and ninety- three regiments, embracing in the ranks of the federal armies more than two hundred thousand men. Notwithstanding the heavy drains upon the State during the previous years of the war, a careful estimate of the strength of the military and financial departments at the beginning of the year 1863 found Pennsylvania well prepared to meet the further demands of the government. At that particular time the general aspect of affairs of the war was not encouraging, and the enemy was gradually pushing forward toward the southern border of our State. Yet there was no faltering step on the part of either Federal or State government, and on every hand there was mani- fested a spirit of determination to accomplish that which was begun. In his annual message to the Assembly in January, 1863, Governor Curtin said : "Notwithstanding the pressure of public calamity which has weighed heavily on the country during the past year, it has pleased Divine Providence not only to enable the people of Pennsylvania to perform in full all their duties to our common government, but to give to this Commonwealth domestic peace, plenty and prosperity." 99 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Such, indeed, was the case at the time of which we write. Disaster had followed disaster to the Union arms, and while there had been substantial achievements in favor of the North, the gen- eral results had not been satisfactory, although not at any time was there harbored the thought that the cause of the South would prevail. Within the State there were heard only expressions of John McAIillan's Log Building Fulton Farm, Washington County, where he started his theological seminary and Latin school. The old cabin is now on the campus of Washington and Jefferson college. Engraved for this work from a negative by Anna Buckbee confidence as to the ultimate result of the struggle, and loyal hearts and hands stood ever ready to contribute still more ami more means in support of the government. Not at any time during tliese years had the State been financially distressed, or even tem- porarily at loss to command all the money necessary to carry forward the great work its government had undertaken. In proof of this it may be said that on December ist, 1861, the public del^t of the State amounted to $40,580,666.08, and on December 1st, CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION 1862, amounted to $40,448,213.82, thus showing- strength to with- stand any further demands, and that despite the fact that within the next few months the theatre of war was destined to ]ie tempo- rarily transferred to Pennsylvania territory. In the message previously referred to the Governor mentioned in particular the offer of the city of Philadelphia to the government to give League Island for a navy yard, to be used for the purposes of construction of iron-clad vessels and the establishment of a naval station under national control. At the time the matter was under consideration in Congress a majority of the House com- mittee was disposed to decline the offer and to favor a site at New London, Conn., but the minority of the committee strongly urged the acceptance of the oflfer, and in their advocacy of it they were supported by the secretary of the navy, whose counsels finally pre- vailed and resulted in the establishment of the present League Island naval station, one of the most valuable properties of its kind on the Atlantic seaboard. From the time of the confederate descent upon Chambersburg in the fall of 1862 the military authorities in Washington and also in Pennsylvania were apprehensive of a general invasion of the State, as every action on the part of General Lee seemed to indicate a northward movement by his army, yet the winter of 1862-3 passed without serious event. However, early in May, 1863, it became evident that Lee really intended to invade the State, and communications were immediately sent to the war department urging preparations tor effective defence without delay. The urgency of the appeal and the evident knowdedge of Lee's inten- tions on the part of the war department prompted the latter, as an initial step toward a proper defence of the State, to establish two new military departments, known, respectively, as the department of the Monongahela, including the territory west of Johnstown and the Laurel Hill range of mountains, together with certain counties in Virginia and Ohio; and the department of the Sus- quehanna, including that part of the State east of Johnstown and PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL the Laurel Hill range just mentioned. The former of these departments was placed under command of Major-General Wil- liam T. H. Brooks, with headquarters at Pittsburg, and the latter under Major-General D. N. Couch, with headquarters at Cham- bersburg, although much of the work of organization was accom- plished at Harrisburg. Both departments were established under general orders issued June 9, 1863. The invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania by General Lee in June, 1863, which resulted so disastrously to the confederacy and turned the general tide of victory in favor of the Union arms, contemplated in the plans of the leaders the capture of Harrisburg, the destruction of bridges across the Susquehanna river, and the transfer of the seat of war to this State. Therefore, the effective defence of Pennsylvania was also the defence of the neighboring States of New York and New Jersey. On June 15 Lee's army crossed the Potomac at Williamsport, Md., and entered Pennsylvania territory, and on June 26 Governor Curtin issued a proclamation calling for sixty thousand men to repel the invaders and drive them from the State. In the procla- mation the Governor said : "The enemy is advancing in force into Pennsylvania. He has a strong column within twenty-three miles of Harrisburg and other columns are moving by Fulton and Adams counties, and it can no longer be doubted that a formidable invasion of our State is in actual progress." Li closing his appeal for volunteers the governor says: "People of Pennsylvania! I owe to you all my faculties, my labor, my life. You owe to your country your prompt and zealous services and efforts. The time has now come when we must all stand or fall together in defence of our State and in support of our government. Let us so dis- charge our duty that posterity shall not blush for us. Come heartily and cheerfully to the rescue of our noble Commonwealth. Maintain now your honor and freedom." In connection with the establishment of the two new military departments an emergency call was made for the services of all the CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION militia strength of the State, and in response thereto there was a general and prompt compliance on the part of the freemen. They were enlisted for a period of three months, but when their services were tendered to the government the war department declined to accept enlistments for less than six months, for the purpose was not only to resist the invasion of Pennsylvania, but also to estab- lish a guard line along the Potomac. This unhappy occurrence was the occasion of some delay and gave rise to the rumor in cer- tain circles that our State was inclined to falter in its support of the government and the defence of its own people and property. This was an evident error, however, for no State in the Union was more loyal than Pennsylvania. But the situation was for a time embarrassing, as the enemy had actually entered the State and the approach of Lee's whole army was imminent. The President had made a requisition for calling out the militia of this and the neigh- boring States, and several regiments of New York and New Jersey troops were promptly sent, while our own forces were only beginning to assemble. An objection had been raised to service for six months, a part of the time outside the limits of the State, but notwithstanding that more than twelve thousand militia were mustered in for that period under the first call of the President, and when Mr. Lincoln assented to a call by Governor Curtin for men for ninety days' service in defence of the State, more than twenty-five thousand volunteers promptly entered the ranks. Under these calls five thousand, one hundred and sixty-six men of Pennsylvania assembled in the department of the Monongahela and thirty-one thousand, four hundred and twenty-two in the department of the Susquehanna. The force thus constituted was organized by General Couch, under whom also extensive fortifica- tions were constructed opposite Harrisburg; and the assembling there of troops and the erection of the defenses had the effect to retard the advance of the enemy and enable the army of the Poto- mac to arrive in time to avert a dreadful calamity ; and when at last the battle of Gettysburg was fought Pennsylvania outnum- 103 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL bered any other State in the aggregate of troops furnished, and the city of Philadelphia had the honor to furnish a large contin- gent of the men from the State. Under the President's call, previously mentioned, New York sent six thousand, three hundred and eighty-five men, and New Jersey sent five hundred and two William Bradford Born 175s; in 1780, attorney-general of Penn- sylvania; in 1794, attorney-general of United States; died 1795 men. Referring more particularly to the character of the forces and numljer of men furnished under the emergency calls of 1863, and to remove all question as to the loyalty of the Pennsylvania militia during that period, it may be said that in the department of the Monongahela there were raised regiments 54 to 58, one un- attached com])an}' of artillery and one of ca\'alry, for ninety days' 104 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION service, a total of three thousand, seven hunch-ed and fifty men; and in the same department for six months' service, there were raised one l)attaHon and one company of infantry, one battahon of cavah-y and one company of artillery, a total of one thousand, four hundred and sixteen men. At the same time there were formed in the department of the Susquehanna for three months' service twenty-three regiments, one independent battalion, and five unat- tached companies of infantry, one battalion and two unattached companies of cavalry, and four independent batteries of artillery, in all a total strength of 21,292 men; and in the same department tor six months' service there were raised three regiments of cav- a\v\\ two jjattalions of infantry and three independent batteries of artillery, in all a strength of 3,068 officers and men. From the time when General Lee turned his forces to the northward until after the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was in a state of commotion, and all personal concerns were for the time put aside in the general desire to protect the Commonwealth and the people against the designs of the invaders. It was known that the enemy was approaching, but at what point he might first strike was wholly in doubt, except that Harrisburg, the capital, naturally would be laid under siege; but the activity of General Couch and his hastily organized army of militiamen in construct- ing defenses and opposing the progress of the confederates had the effect to turn Lee from his original purpose and cause him to move in another direction. And of course the crafty confederate com- mander was too discreet an officer to enter a new region without knowing a safe means of escape in case disaster should follow his invasion, so he held closely to the country within easy reach of the Potomac valley. On June 15 Lee's army crossed the Potomac at Williamsport, Md., and entered Pennsylvania, encamping near Chambersburg, while small detachments were sent to occupy Carlisle, York, Wrightsville and Gettysburg. York and Carlisle were occupied on the 27th, and Wrightsville wms seized on the 28th. Then the 105 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL invaders turned to the destruction of bridges and railroads for the purpose of cutting off communication and transportation from points farther north. On the 30th the main army under Lee broke camp and marched eastward from Chambersburg through South Mountain on the Cashtovvn gap road. At the same time the detachments were cahed in and the entire confederate force was ordered to concentrate at Gettysburg. These preHminary movements on the part of General Lee's forces were not made without some show of opposition, for he was beset on all sides by the loyal Pennsylvanians, although his de- tachments were not attacked. In the towns occupied the invaders seized all the stock and other property they could use, and they also committed many petty acts of destruction and w^anton insult. The occupation of Chambersburg was graphically described at the time in the "Franklin Repository," and what was done there was but a repetition of the acts committed in other localities, varied only by the temper of the perpetrators in each place. "On Monday morning, June 15th, the flood of rumors from the Potomac fully confirmed the advance of the rebels, and the citizens of Chambersburg and vicinity, feeling unable to resist the rebel columns, commenced to make prompt preparation for the movement of all stealable property. Nearly every horse, good, bad, and indifferent, was started for the mountains as early on Monday as possible, and the negroes darkened the different roads for hours, loaded with household effects, .... and horses and wagons and cattle crowded every avenue to places of safety. About nine o'clock in the morning the advance of Milroy's retreat- ing wagon train dashed into town, attended by a few cavalry and several affrighted wagon masters, all of whom declared that the rebels were in hot pursuit; that a large portion of the train was captured, and that the enemy was about to enter Chambersburg. "On Monday morning, the rebel General Jenkins, with about 1,800 mounted infantry, entered Green Castle, Franklin county, a town five miles north of the Maryland line, and ten miles south of 106 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION Chambersbiirg-, in the direct route of the rebels. After a careful reconnoissance this town, being defenceless, was occupied and rapidly divested of everything movable, contraband and other- wise, which struck the fancy of the freebooting visitors. Evi- dently under the impression that forces would be thrown in their way at an early hour, the rebels pushed forward for Chambers- burg. About eleven o'clock on Monday night they arrived at the southern end of the town, and again the streets of Chambersburg resounded to the clatter of rebel cavalry, and a second time the town fell their easy prey. This visit continued three days and was marked by a general plundering of the town and vicinity. Horses seemed to be considered contraband of war and were taken without pretense of compensation ; but other articles were deemed legitimate subjects of commerce, even between enemies, and were generally paid for after a fashion The route of Jenkins was through the most densely populated and wealthy portion of the country. From this point, on the i8th of June, he fell back to Green Castle and south of it ; thence he proceeded to Mercersburg, from where a detachment crossed the Cove Mountain to McCon- nellsburg, and down the valley from there. The main body, however, was divided into plundering parties and scoured the whole southern portion of the country, spending several days in and about Green Castle and Waynesboro', and giving Welsh Run a pretty intimate visit. "On Tuesday, the 23d of June, Chambersburg was again occupied by the rebels under General Rodes, and the national troops under the command of General Joseph Knipe, fell back toward Harrisburg. The forces of General Rodes were the van- guard of Lee's whole army On Friday Lee came. Up to that time w^e knew not which way his army would turn — toward Gettysburg or Harrisburg He stopped in the Diamond, where the two roads fork He tarried a day or two near Cham- bersburg. The best regulated armies are encumbered with plun- dering stragglers. Such hung on to Lee's army and took all they 107 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL could lay their hands upon. Hats were snatched from dignified heads, and boots were pulled from feet unused to walking home unl)ooted. "Such was Lee's army on the way to Gettysburg, but how different was the return. Where they demanded l)efore, they Jt)Seph llorsfield First postmaster of Bethlehem; appointed by Washington in 1792. Reproduced especially for this work from an original miniature in possession of Dr. W. J. Holland begged now. Franklin county saw little of the invading host on its retreat, and Chambersburg was not again visited when the retreating and defeated forces made their escape into Maryland." While General Lee and his army were occupying the towns on the southern border of our State, the military authorities of Penn- sylvania and of the general government were not idle. Every 108 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION move of the rebels was watched with much care and occasionally some show of opposition was made by the people, although their chief attention was given to the protection of their property. The assembling of large bodies of militia and the construction of defences in the vicinity of Harrisburg undoubtedly caused the confederate commander to turn eastward from the State capital and concentrate his entire force in some more convenient locality, and thus it was that he chose Gettysburg as a point of operations. On June 28, the army of the Potomac lay in camp at Frederick, Maryland, and on that day President Lincoln ai)pointed General George G. Meade t(^ its chief command, with instructions to pur- sue Lee and drive him from his position in this State. Acting under these orders, Meade at once informed himself of the enemy's location and then put his whole army in motion, marching toward Harrisburg, the capture of which city then was supposed to be the object of Lee's invasion. However, on the morning of July i Meade was told that the enemy had fallen back from the Susque- hanna and was concentrating his forces in the vicinity of Gettys- burg. Orders were thereupon given to General John F. Rey- nolds to proceed with the ist and nth corps and occupy and hold Gettysburg. According to accepted authority the army of the Potomac at the time General Meade assumed its chief command numbered about 95,000 effective men, and comprised seven army corps of infantry and one of cavalry, viz: The ist corps, commanded by General Reynolds; the 2d corps, by General Winfield S. Han- cock; the 3d corps by General Daniel E. Sickles ; the 5th corps by General George Sykes ; the 6th corps by General John Sedgwick ; the nth corps by General Oliver O. Howard; and the 12th corps by General Henry W. Slocum. The cavalry corps was under the command of General Alfred Pleasonton. The numerical strength of General Lee's army has been var- iously estimated by historians of Gettysburg, but nearly all authorities agree that the opposing forces of the two armies were 109 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL about equal. The bravest generals of the Union and of the con- federate armies were arrayed against each other in one of the most sanguinary battles of modern times, and in the same manner among the subordinate officers and in the ranks the proud chivalry of the South was pitted in deadly conflict against the flower and the youth of the North. Indeed, the battle of Gettys- burg was a veritable battle of giants of intellectual fighting strength, and in its results the fortunes of the confederacy were doomed, while on the other hand, the permanency of our national government was assured. Although the territory of our State was thrice invaded by confederate forces during the war, Gettys- burg was the scene of the only heavy battle on Pennsylvania soil, hence some allusion to its events is proper in this place. On the morning of July ist, General Reynolds marched his forces out on the Baltimore turnpike and arrived near Gettysburg at alx)ut eleven o'clock. About two miles farther west he found Buford's division of cavalry engaged in a sharp skirmish with the enemy and at once moved forward to his support. Then followed a general engagement, opening with artillery fire, followed by closer work on the part of the infantry, on the hill where stood Pennsylvania college. Early in the fight as he rode to the front to order a change in the position of his troops. General Reynolds was struck in the neck by a shot and died on the field ; and thus fell one of the bravest and noblest officers of the Union army. In the meantime a messenger had carried to General Meade the information that the enemy was in force near Gettysburg, and General Howard was at the same time ordered to move forward with the nth corps. Howard ordered General von Steinwehr to post the reserve artillery of the corps on Cemetery hill and to dispose of his force so as to hold that position, and then rode for- ward to find General Doubleday, who had succeeded General Reynolds in command of the ist corps, hard pressed and fighting fiercely against superior numbers. They were soon outflanked on both right and left and were sorely pressed in the center of no William White Elected first Protestant Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania, 1786; chaplain to Congress, 1787- 1801; writer mainly on religious subjects CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION their line of battle. Soon afterward the Union line was broken and retreated in haste, findini:^" protection behind \-on Steinwchr's men. When General Meade learned that the battle was in prog-ress he advanced rapidly with his entire force, concentrated his men in front of the enemy and formed a line of battle. Says Sv[)her: "General Meade formed his line in the hills in the shape of a horseshoe, wdth the toe nearest the enemy. The nth corps was in the center; part of the ist (Reynolds's) and the whole of the I2th (Slocum's) corps were on the right; the 2d (Hancock's) and 3(1 (Sickles') were on the left. The 5th (Sykes') and r)th (Sedgwick's) and part of the 3d corps were held in reserve." Continuing, the same writer says that "a line of battle was formed during the night on the hills, to the right and left of the cemetery, on the Baltimore pike, and, when the morning of the 2d of July dawned, the national troops were strongly posted and ready for the terrible work of the day. At four o'clock in the afternoon the enemy's batteries opened a furious fire on the 3d corps, which held the left of the line; the rebels emerged from the woods and advanced against the front and right flank of this corps. General Sickles, who commanded these troops, was, at that moment, in the rear, consulting with General Meade; at the first sound of the rebel batteries he galloped forward to his men, and exerted himself with conspicuous gallantry to preserve his lines and steady his troops as they fell back across the ravine ; but early in the outset he was severely wounded in the thigh, and was carried from the field. General Humphries, who commanded the advance division, made heroic efforts to retire the troops, overwhelmed by superior numbers, in good order ; every staff officer, even to his last orderly, had been shot down at his side; his own horse fell under him; but still, at the head of his command, he encouraged his troops, and withdrew steadily to the line of the 5th corps." When General Sickles fell the command of the 3d corps de- volved upon General Birney, and as his line was forced back the 3-8 113 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL advancing confederate columns came directly under Hancock's terrible artillery fire of shell and cannister, which carried fearful slaughter through the ranks as the rebels steadily advanced up the hill ; but under this terrific artillery shower the attacking col- umns did not waver, but forced their way to the very muzzle of the gtms, driving off the artillerymen at the point of the bayonet. But just as victory seemed certain General Warren's reserve bat- teries opened on the confederates with an enfilading fire, and with such effect that their ranks were opened in great gaps. At the same time Hancock's infantry nobly supported the artillery attack and poured death-dealing volleys of musketry into the now terror-stricken masses of the enemy, driving them back with heavy loss and recapturing the guns. The right of the rebel line was now broken, and the men fell back beyond the range of the artillery. The attack was well planned, splendidly executed, and for a time promised complete success, but the determined resist- ance of Hancock's artillery, with Warren's reserve batteries, together with the infantry support, changed almost certain defeat into glorious victory and turned the tide of the battle in that locality in favor of the national arms. Although the confederates had suffered serious loss in the fighting thus far, there was no apparent sign of defeat in the action of their commanding general. The subsequent events of the day are thus described in Sypher's narrative: "At dark, a division of the enemy advanced to attack Slocum's line on the right, which had been weakened to reinforce the left, and at the same time another force made an assault on Cemetery hill, held by Howard's corps. The troops received the attack with firmness, and from their secure positions behind intrenchments and a stone wall, easily repelled the enemy : but suddenly, the brigade of 'Louisiana Tigers' sprang from its concealment in a deep ravine, and charged Howard's right. These desperate fighters rushed upon the bat- teries, drove the artillerymen from their guns and the infantry from their rific-pits, and were in the act of turning the Ijatteries 114 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION upon the Union line, wlicn a l)rii;a(le of (lernian troops fell upon the victorious Tigers, and in a hand to hand encounter, in which the bayonet was freely used on both sides and crushing blows from clubbed muskets were given and taken, hurled the enemy ^v ^''^SM ^^^^&£. y ^if^M i^^^Bf* ^.M 3. I^HIr S|H|H|ppp' '""^^ii^ tv^^tji^'i- ■ Thayendanegea — Joseph Brant Great Captain of the Six Nations Indians; born 1742; died 1807. Reproduced for this work from a print in possession of Mrs. William M. Darlington from the crest; and the artillery men, with murderous rounds of grape and cannister, swept the broken regiments from the hill- side. On the extreme right the enemy had forced Slocum's men from their intrenchments, and when the battle closed, at ten o'clock in the night, the rebels held the breastworks of the 12th corps, but elsewhere the line was intact. Though Sickles had lost 115 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL a large number of prisoners, Sykes and Hancock had captured about an equal number from the enemy." Thus closed the second day of the battle without decided ad- vantage to either contestant. At first the tide of victory seemed to turn toward the confederates, but the advantage was only tem- porary and as frequently, with one exception, the forces of Gen- eral Meade regained all their lost ground. But the commander of the Union forces was not fully satisfied with the results of the day, and at night he directed General Slocum to retake from the enemy the intrenchments he had been compelled to yield. On Friday, at daylight, the battle was renewed with unabated vigor, when General Geary, commanding the left division of the 1 2th corps, opened his batteries on the enemy, which was responded to with a determined charge upon his line. Almost immediately Slocum's line became engaged, followed by the ist and a part of the nth corps, on Cemetery hill. In response to Slocum's fire the enemy charged him, but without material effect, other than than serious loss to themselves. "During six hours," says Sypher, "the rebels hurled their solid masses against well- defended lines. Nothing during the war had surpassed this scene of carnage. In front of Geary's position there were more rebel dead than there were killed and wounded in the whole line of the I2th corps. The slain were laying in heaps, wounded and mangled in every conceival)le manner, from a single shot through the head to bodies torn to pieces by exploding shells." At ten o'clock General Slocum had driven the rebels from their positions and re-occupied the intrenchments he had lost the day before. In less than an hour afterward the battle had ceased, and for nearly three hours more almost perfect quiet pre- vailed along the lines of both armies. This, however, was only the calm that precedes the greater storm, and was employed by General Lee in massing his artillery of one hundred and fifteen guns on an elevation about a mile in front of Cemetery hill, while beyond the woods Generals Longstreet and Hill formed their C UR TIN'S ADM IN IS TRA TION men in heavy columns and held them in readiness to charge Gen- eral Meade's left center. Lee's purpose was to sweep the hill where Meade's strength was concentrated, silence his artillery and then with his solid columns of infantry drive the Union forces from their position. But on his own side Meade was not idle and was busy with preparations to meet the attack which was so evi- dent to him. He massed his own artillery of seventy guns, and so disposed of his men as to afford them the best possible protection against the enemy's fire and the desperate infantry charge which was expected to follow. He also ordered his ofificers to respond vigorously for a time with their artillery, and then to gradually lessen their fire, and save their ammunition for an event which he hoped would and which did take place. At about two o'clock in the afternoon the report of a single gun on the confederate side gave the signal to open fire, and im- mediately the thunder of Lee's artillery announced that the battle was resumed. Meade responded with his own guns and for the next two hours was waged one of the fiercest artillery duels that history records. Then Meade's gims slackened their fire, giving evidence of having been silenced, and his strategem was successful in its results, for Lee's guns ceased firing and his infantry, three columns strong,— Pickett in the center, Wilcox on the right and Pettigrew on the left— quickly came out of the woods on Semi- nary ridge, descended into the valley and marched straight toward the Union lines. Fiften thousand strong and supported by Lee's entire force, the confederates advanced rapidly, without firing a gun until the line of skirmishers engaged and drove back the out- posts in front of Hancock's 2d corps. Elated with the prospect of easy victory, the rebel columns dashed forward in double-quick time, m their anxiety to charge the Union forces in their earth- works (Ml the hill; but as the advance columns came within range of the seventy guns which were supposed to be silenced, a terrible fire, both direct and enfilading, was opened upon them, inflicting fearful loss of life, strewing the hillside with dead and wounded, 117 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL but not checking the mad rush of the survivors. On they came, even to the cannon's mouth, and Pickett's division succeeded in carrying the intrenchments in the center, and for a brief time the colors of the confederacy were pLinted on the spot where Han- cock's men held their position. The victory, however, was brief, as the infantry under the gallant Hancock drove the rebels back and turned them down the hill. In the meantime Howard's nth corps batteries had driven Pettigrew's column from the slope, and Sykes' 5th corps artillery had broken Wilcox's lines and scattered his men in disorder over the field. General Meade quickly followed up the advantage his officers had gained over the attacking confederate columns, and at once ordered General Doubleday's division to reinforce the 2d corps, strengthened his lines at every point, and ordered Hancock to attack Pickett's brigades. The orders were promptly executed, Pickett was driven back before the fierce onslaught of the now victorious Union men, and even Lee's attempt to protect with his artillery the retreat of his broken infantry columns was without material success. When Meade discovered that his victory was complete he ordered an advance of his whole line, and the famous Pennsylvania Reserves had the pleasure of driving the enemy from the position in the woods they had occupied during the early part of the day. The day was now turning into night, the battle was ended and the Union army had achieved a splendid success. According to authenticated accounts the confederate loss amounted to 5,500 killed, 21,000 wounded, and 13,621 prisoners, a total loss of 40,121 men. On the Union side the losses were 2,834 killed, 13,709 wounded, and 6,743 missing, a total loss of 23,186. On the night of July 3d, the broken and defeated columns of Lee's army withdrew from Gettysburg and retreated rapidly toward the Potomac. It was followed by Meade's army, but the pursuit was slow owing to the exhausted condition of the men and the serious losses sustained during the three days' fighting. 118 C UR TIN'S ADMIN IS TRA TION In itself the most important contest at arms waged between the North and the South during the Civil war; in itself the most momentous and far-reaching in consequences in that it was the turning point in the fortunes of the confederacy, the battle of Gettysburg also was the immediate cause of bringing into public view several of the most distinguished military characters known to the country during the war period. Indeed, Gettysburg has been called the developer of military genius, and among Pennsyl- vanians in particular there appears to have been an especial bestowal of deserved military honors as a result of the achieve- ments of that occasion. It is not the purpose of this chapter to refer to the personal valor of any officer who fought and helped to win at Gettysburg; all fought, and fought well, and as the result of their united efforts a great victory was won. That vic- tory was not the result of the individual valor of a single com- manding officer, but of all of them from General Meade down to the regimental commanders ; nor was it a battle of officers alone, for they outlined the plans of attack and defence and their orders were faithfully executed by the men in the ranks, the private soldiers and artillerymen, who shoulder to shoulder handled their muskets and cannon with such telling effect, and who without flinching withstood the repeated assaults of the enemy. The victory at Gettysburg belongs to the splendid army of the Potomac that General Meade brought into Pennsylvania territory on that eventful occasion, and also in fair part to the loyal emergency militia volunteers who left their homes and work to defend the honor of the State and save its people and property from the ruth- less arts of an invading army. And Gettysburg even to this day is not forgotten, nor are its memories dimmed with the lapse of time. In the same year in which the battle was fought steps were taken to establish on the site of the three days' engagement a Soldiers' National Cemetery, and each State, which was represented by soldiers in the liattle, was invited to participate in the formal proceedings looking to 119 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL tliat end. This work was ultimately accomplished and to-day the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg is one of the most fre- quented localities in the entire country. According to the plans of the commission that established it, the State of Pennsylvania William Maclay First United States senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-1791. Engraved especially for this work from an original miniature purchased the tract for the cemetery and holds title to the land in trust for the States having soldiers buried there, and the legis- lature has created a corporation, consisting of one trustee ap- ]i()inted by each of the Governors of such States as desire to be represented in the corporation, to control its affairs. Following the retirement of Lee's shattered and defeated army from Pcnnsv]\ania after the Ijattle of Gettvsburg there was little CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION occasion for excitement within the State during the later months of the year, and the people soon returned to their accustomed pur- suits. Had the result been different untold misfortunes would have been visited upon the people and the whole country would have suffered through the transformation of one of the most loyal States into the theatre of war ; but owing to the determined brav- ery of the splendid army of the Potomac, and the hearty co- operation of the Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey troops, the dreaded calamity was averted and peace once more reigned within its borders. The year 1864 opened auspiciously for the Union cause, and in no locality was the changed situation more fully appreciated or more sincerely welcomed than in our own State; yet the troublous period was not ended, nor was the State to be exempt from fur- ther rebel invasion, although in his inaugural address in January, 1864, Governor Curtin was able to give assurance to his people that the war was approaching its end. He carefully reviewed the whole situation, faithfully reported all that had been done and all that was required to be done by the State, and he urged upon the people the necessity of patience and a willingness to furnish still more men should the exigencies of war demand further assistance in support of the government. Let us Cjuote from his utterances on this occasion : "Three years of bloody, wasting war and the horrible sacrifice of a quarter of a million lives attest the desperation of their (the confederacy) purpose to overthrow our liberties. IMourning and sorrow spread over the entire nation, and defeat and desolation are the terrible trophies won by the traitors' hand. Our people have lieen sorely tried by disasters, but in the midst of the deepest gloom they have stood with unfaltering devotion to the great cause of our common country. Relying upon the ultimate tri- umph of the right, they have proved themselves equal to the stern duty, and worthy of their rich inheritance of freedom. Their fidelity has been well rewarded. In God's own good time. He PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL has asserted His avenging power; and as this war is now per- sisted in by the leaders of the rebelHon, it has become evident that slavery and treason, the fountain and stream of discord and death, must soon share a common grave. "In this struggle for our honored nationality Pennsylvania has won immortal fame. Despite the teachings of the faithless and the hesitation of the timid, she has promptly and generously met every demand made upon her, whether to repel invasion or to fight the battles of the Union, wherever and whenever her people were demanded. Upon every field made historic and sacred by the valor of our troops, some of the martial youth of Pennsyl- vania have fallen. There is scarce a hospital that has not been visited by our kind offices to the sick and wounded; there is not a department in which brave men do not answer with pride to the name of our noble State, and while history endures loyal hearts will turn with feelings of national pride to Gettysburg, when the common deliverance of Pennsylvania and the Union will stand recorded in the unsurpassed glory of that bloody field." The demands upon the State for men in 1864, in addition to the great number then in service, aggregated 91,704, and they were furnished in answer to the President's calls and the necessi- ties of the war department, about as follows : Three years men, regiments 181 to 191, inclusive, 9,867; under call of July 6, for one hundred days' service, 7,675 ; under the President's authority to recruit ten new regiments under the call of July 18, for 500,000 men for one year's service, 16,094; recruits forwarded by the superintendents of recruiting service at Philadelphia and Harris- burg, 26,567; drafted men and substitutes, 10,651; enlistments in the regular army, 2,974; volunteers re-enlisted, 17,876. In the early summer of 1864 there was rumors of another in- vasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederates, and so threatening was the situation in and about Washington that on July 5 the Governor issued a proclamation calling for 12,000 volunteers to serve at and in the vicinity of the national capital for a period of CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION one hundred days. Again, on July 6 the Governor issued a proclamation calling for 12,000 men to rq^el the invasion of a large Confederate force which had been detached from Richmond and soon afterward was found to be within the borders of the State. However, it was not until the latter part of July that the rebels ■invaded the State in force and threatened serious damage to per- son and property. The ostensible purpose of this invasion was retaliation for the destruction of property by the Union army in the Shenandoah valley, but in fact the real purpose was wanton pillage and the hope of capturing the large quantity of military stores kept at Chambersburg. The events of this incursion into the State are well described by the Governor in his message to the Assembly convened in extraordinary session, and are as fol- lows : "On Friday, the 29th of July, the rebel brigades of Johnston and M'Causland, consisting of 2,500 to 3,000 mounted men, with six guns, crossed the Potomac at Clear Spring ford and marched direct upon Mercersburg. There were but 45 (Union) men pick- eted in that direction, and as the enemy succeeded in cutting off communication, no information could be sent to General Couch, who then was at Chambersburg. The head of this column reached Chambersburg at three o'clock Saturday morning, July 30. "The rebel brigades of Vaughan and Jackson, numbering about 3,000 men, crossed the Potomac about the same time, at or near WilliamspiM't, Md., and part of the command advanced on Ha- gerstown, the main body moving on the road from Williamsport to Green Castle. Another rebel column of infantry and artillery crossed the Potomac simultaneously at Shepardstown and moved toward Leitersburg. General Averill, who then commanded about 2,600 men, was at Hagerstown, and, being threatened in front by Vaughan and Jackson on his right, and by M'Causland and John- ston in the rear, and on the left by the columns which had crossed at Shepar(lst(^wn, he fell l)ack upon Green Castle. 123 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL "General Averill was under the orders of General Hunter, but was kept as fully advised by General Couch as was possible of the enemy's movements on his right and in his rear. General Couch was in Chambersburg with sixty infantry, forty-five cav- alry and a section of artillery, in all less than one hundred and fifty men. The town of Chambersburg was held until daylight by the small force under Couch, during which time the govern- ment stores and train were saved. Two batteries were then planted by the enemy, commanding the town, and it was in- vested by the whole command of Johnston and M'Causland. At seven o'clock, six companies of dismounted men, commanded by Sweeney, entered the town, followed by mounted men under Gilmor. The main force was in line of battle, and a demand was made upon the town for one hundred thousand dollars in gold, or five hundred thousand dollars in government funds, as ransom, and a number of citizens were arrested and temporarily held as hostages for its payment. No offer of money had been made by citizens of the town, and even if they had any intention of paying a ransom, no time was allowed to do so, as the rebels began immediately to burn and pillage the town, disregarding the appeals of women and children, the aged and infirm, and even the bodies of the dead were not protected from their brutality. "General Couch's force was too small to successfully defend the town, but he held on and made every possible attempt to re- tard the work of the enemy until the latter had actually entered. General Averill's command being within nine miles of Cham- bersburg, it was hoped he would arrive in time to save the town, and efforts were made to communicate with him ; and while so waiting Couch's force held the enemy in check. At length Averill's force came, but too late for the best results, as the town had then been sacked and burned and the enemy had retired. Averill pursued and overtook them at McConnellsburg in time to save that place, and he at once gave battle and drove them to Hancock, across the Potomac." 124 : * -*vj< -*j f *-■; 'A) . ;»- 1 ' Aj r *,. iAitliS 7 "r:^ iB^x^- THIS'ricktler.liUestln^Be;!!- er to tha Lot in the Tuwn of NKWCASJ"[,K o!i ShenoT>jro, Av)i'n.]i ,'Tnsy b^dvawn agalnft its Mumbei. ^ Jo 3>T ^jj-^-t^-Ji^wiT)^'- LLiAM Elliot. N C. StewaRi. ^^/i-'J" New Castle Lottery Ticket — obverse and reverse In 1796 John Carlisle Stewart made a plotted rnap of a part of "Stewart's Vacancy," and tickets like the above were used in raffling the lots. The illustration was made for this work from an original ticket in possession of Oscar L. Jackson CURT IN' S ADMINISTRATION This was the last invasion of Pennsylvania territory hy the confederates dnring the period of war, but the authorities were afterward on the alert to guard against similar invasions. On August 1st the Governor convened the legislature in extraordi- nary session to make the military power of the Commonwealth immediately available for the State as well as the national defence, and such measures were adopted as would best protect the people and property against future invasions. At the same time the work of recruiting and organizing regiments was prosecuted with dispatch, and the ranks of the depleted organi- zations then at the front were kept supplied with new men. In 1865, the last year of the war, Pennsylvania furnished 25,840 men for the service of the government in addition to those already in the field. At the beginning of the year it was evident that the confederacy was doomed to downfall before the season was far advanced, ytt there was no relaxation in energy or work necessary to hasten the end. On April 4th the Gover- nor was gratified to issue a proclamation upon the occasion of the fall of Richmond, and he said : "The last center of treason has fallen. Richmond is ours; our armies entered it amid the cheers and general joy of its rescued inhabitants so long ground under the heel of ursurping oppressors. The beaten rebel host is Heeing, ])ursued by our ^'ictorious cohorts, to be soon captured or dispersed." The Governor also called upon all the people of the State to assemble in their respective places of worship on the following Sunday, and "render thanks to Almighty God for all his mercies, and especially for that He hath been graciously pleased to look favorably upon us and make us the instruments to establish the right, to vindicate the principles of free government, and to prove the certainty of Divine justice." On April iQth, scarcely more than two weeks later, Governor Curtin felt called upon to issue another proclamation, of a character less enjoyable than that which announced the fall of Richmond, for now the Presi- 127 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL dent had fallen under the death blow of an assassin, and the Gov- ernor asked his people to suspend all business pursuits and pay a mark of respect in connection with the passage through the State of the remains of Abraham Lincoln. On the 20th another proclamation announced an offer of a reward of $10,000 for the capture within the State of J. Wilkes Booth, the slayer of the Fort LcBoeuf, Erie County, built 1796 From a sketch made especially for this work President ; and on the 26th still another proclamation set apart a day of humiliation and mourning for the death of the late Presi- dent. However, the proclamation of June 10 was of a less mournful character in that it was a congratulatory address to the people of Pensylvania upon the close of the war. In his annual message in 1866, the Governor says "that not- withstanding the large expenditures by the State for military purposes since the breaking out of the rebellion, the condition of the treasury is now $2,555,579.13 better than it was then, and 128 '^ofl'ifyii^^ /i^ ■J^y>t/'!'nmAuy/>Y(»'/7. ,y&fiyi'/'<,iy ^''/'yy'/0*>.ttf^s4)^r!^^A^tM ■ 'fi9C'iS CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION I am proud to be able to state that on the ist of last December (1865) the State debt was less than on January i, 1861." Cer- tainly this was reassuring to the people and was only another evidence of the wonderful strength of the financial resources of the Commonwealth. In some other States the close of the war found the treasury almost drained of funds while the indebted- ness created by the war threatened serious embarrassment. In the message the executive reviewed at some length the military history of the State during the war, and, among other things, he said : "It is our proud privilege to have it remembered that the first military aid from the loyal States, which reached Washington, was the force of four hundred and sixty Pennsyl- vanians who arrived there on the i8th day of April, and that when the capital of the nation was the second time threatened after the battle of Bull Run, the regiments of the Pennsylvania Reserve corps were the first troops sent forward From the beginning of the w^ar to its close, the State has never faltered in its support of the government Our armies were sustained and strengthened in the field by the patriotic devotion of their friends at home; and we can never render full justice to the heaven-directed, patriotic christian benevolence of the women of the State It is with a sense of unfeigned gratitude that I acknowledge how cheerfully and promptly the legislature and the people acted on my suggestions, whether for the support of the government, the enlistment and organization of troops, or for the comfort of our people already in the field." After the close of the war the remaining years of Governor Curtin's administration were devoted to the work of re-estab- lishing the economy of the State government, and the care and maintenance of those interests which had suffered most during the eventful period just passed. This work called for the joint and earnest endeavors of the executive and legislative branches of government, and often perplexing questions were brought before the ofticial b(jdies f()r settlement. But they were all fairly dealt 3-9 129 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL with, and when the Governor retired from office at the close of his six trying years of labor, he carried with him the gratitude and esteem of the whole people of the State; and there was full meaning and sincerity in his words when in his last annual mes- sage he spoke as follows : "I cannot close my last annual message without renewing the expressions of my gratitude to the freemen of the Commonwealth for the hearty approval with which they have cheered the labors of the executive office. To have earned such approval by my official conduct during the last six years must always be a source of pride to myself and children. Without the consciousness that I was endeavoring to deserve their approval, and without the hope that I should succeed in attaining it, I must have sunk under the responsibility of my position. It was only a reliance on Divine Providence and the active, resolute and hearty support and zeal of the people and their representatives that encouraged me during the dark and terrible crisis through which the country has passed. I tried to do my duty to my country, and I know that I w^as at least faithful to her in her deep distress, and I conceived that duty not to be limited to the merely putting of men into the field to suppress treason and rebellion, and maintain the national life, and doing of everything in my power to sustain the just war forced upon us. I also felt bound, as far as I could, to protect and pro- mote the rights and comforts of our volunteers, after they had left the State, to aid and relieve the sick and wounded, and to care for the transmission to their bereaved families of the precious bodies of the slain, and the maintenance and education of their orphans as honored children of the country." From the earliest years of the war the honor of the State was pledged to the maintenance of those who were incapacitated for accustomed employments as a result of their service, and also those who were widowed or orphaned or made charges upon the public by reason of loss of parental care. This pledge has been fully kept, and as early as 1863 a plan was adopted for the edu- 130 CURTIN'S ADMINISTRATION cation and maintenance of destitute orphans of soldiers, although the generous pension system established by the national Congress has relieved the State of much of its direct obligation to extend support to those who were made to suffer through their service to the government. However, in the fulfillment of its voluntary ofifer, the State in 1885 established and now maintains at Erie the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, where are supported nearly five hundred dependents on the bounty of the Common- wealth; and in addition thereto there are likewise maintained at the expense of the State three Soldiers' Orphan schools, located, respectively, at Scotland, Franklin county, Chester Springs, Ches- ter county, and Uniontown, Fayette county. 131 CHAPTER V. GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION-1867-1873 THE close of Curtin's administration marks the end of the war period in Pennsylvania history. The State had borne an honorable and conspicuous part in the great struggle between the two sections, and her own soil was rendered conse- crated ground by the blood ci heroes. Promptly did the soldiers of Pennsylvania answer their country's call, and promptly did they sheathe their swords when the battle's din was over. With the return of peace, there followed unusual activity in business ; and the energies of the people were all directed towards the develop- ment of the great resources of the Commonwealth. Governor Curtin retired from the executive chair, honored by all parties as a zealous defender of the constitution. He was suc- ceeded by John W. Geary, one of the heroes of the war, a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. General Geary was nom- inated by the Republican party in the spring of 1866, while his Democratic opponent was Hiester Clymer. Geary's candidacy was everywhere received with favor and he was elected by a ma- jority of over seventeen thousand votes. He was inaugurated on January 15, 1867. Re-elected for a second term, his administra- tion continued until January 21, 1873. General Geary became Governor of Pennsylvania with a wide experience in both civil and military affairs. Born in Westmore- land county in 1S19, he received his education in the common schools, and finally graduated from Jefferson College. He then 133 GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION began the study of law and was admitted to the bar. While in college he became proficient in civil engineering studies, and he afterwards passed some time in engineering work in Kentucky. In 1844 he was appointed assistant superintendent and engineer of the Allegheny Portage Railroad ; but on the declaration of war with Mexico in 1846 Geary enlisted a company, and soon received a commission as Lieutenant-Colonel. He was slightly wounded at Chapultepec; but, continuing in the service, became Colonel of a regiment after the surrender of the city of Mexico. He then as- sisted in organizing civil institutions in California. In 1849 he was appointed postmaster of San Francisco and mail agent for the Pacific C(^ast. In a few months he was elected First Alcade of the city, his duties including those of Judge of First Instance with wide civil and criminal jurisdiction. In 1850 Geary was elected Mayor of San Francisco, but declined a re-election. Returning to Western Pennsylvania, he took up a farm, and entered upon the business of stock raising. In 1855 he was again urged to accept public office, the governorship of Utah, which he declined. A vear later, at the earnest solicitation of the President, he be- came Governor of Kansas, then a scene of strife and bloodshed. He was soon able to establish the supremacy of the law, and he held this office until the accession of Buchanan to the ])residency, when he resigned and returned to his Pennsylvania home. On the outbreak of the rebellion, Geary promptly responded to the call to arms. He raised a regiment, the 28th Pennsylvania, and was commissioned its Colonel. In 1862 he was promoted Brigadier- General of volunteers. He was wounded at Cedar Mountain ; but on his return to duty he was assigned to the command of the sec- ond division of the Twelfth Corps. He was present at the en- gagements of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Lookout Mountain. He participated in Sherman's march to the sea, and was appointed Military Governor of Savannah. After the grand review at Washington, he was mustered out of service, and returned to his farm in Pennsylvania. He was not permitted 133 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL to enjoy very long his favorite pursuit of agriculture, being called to the chief magistracy of the State in the October election of 1866. Governor Geary expressed his personal feelings of respon- sibility, at his inaugiu'ation in January, 1867, as follows: "Pro- foundly sensible of everything that is implied by this manifestation of the people's confidence, and more deeply impressed with the vast importance and responsibility of the office than elevated by its attendant honors, let it be our first grateful duty to return fer- vent thanksgivings to Almighty God for His constant providence and innumerable blessings to us as a people; and especially mine to implore His aid and counsel in the discharge of civil trusts, who has been my shield and buckler amidst scenes of peril and death. That in the administration of government I may err is only what should be expected from the infirmities of the human mind ; but as I enter upon the discharge of my responsible duties with a firm resolution to act with honesty and impartiality, I trust my errors will be regarded with charity, and treated with the gentleness of magnanimous forgiveness. I earnestly hope that my intercourse with my fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives will be so frank and cordial that our duties to a common constituency will be pleasantly as well as faithfully dis- charged. Different branches of the government as we are, with distinctive duties, we are, nevertheless, parts of one organized and well-regulated system, and, as we co-operate or disagree, the interests of the State will probably be promoted or retarded. Elected by the people, and desirous to promote the welfare of every citizen, mere party differences should not be allowed to interfere with the maintenance of a generous, just, and compre- hensive public policy." Pennsylvania shared the general prosperity of the nation after <:he war ; therefore, Geary's administration is marked by a great reduction in the State debt, and by vast industrial development. The Commonwealth showed a generous spirit toward those citi- zens \\ 111) liad suffered ])ropcrty losses during the war. The south- 134 GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION ern border counties had been ravaged by the several rebel inva- sions, and l)y the movement of Union troops through that region. In order to compensate those "whose property was destroyed, Homestead of General David Mead General Mead early titled up a block house for the safety of his neigbors and in the winter of 1798-99 had opened in it the first Crawford County school ; the tablet in front of the Mead house reads: "This house was erected May, 1797, by General David Mead; founder of Meadville; ensign in the war of the American Revolution; major-general of the 14th and 15th divisions Pennsylvania militia; rendered signal service in the war of 1S12; and an associate judge at time of his death. Placed by the Col. Crawford Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, May, 1902." From a negative made especially for this work. damag-ed, or appropriated for the public service, and in the com- mon defence in the war to suppress the rebellion," the legislature passed an act on April 9. 1868, providing for the appointment of commissioners for the adjudication of all claims. Allowance was 135 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL made for damages in many cases ; while the national government also made appropriations for some of the losses sustained. On April 22, 1858, an act of the legislature was approved "to contract for and superintend the erection of a monument to the memory of citizens of Pennsylvania who were slain or lost their li\-es in the late war with Mexico." Commissioners were appointed to superintend the erection of this monument on the grounds of the Capitol at Harrisburg. The sum of $6,000 had been appro- priated for this purpose; it appears, however, that this sum was not adequate, for Governor Geary, in his message of 1868, asked for $2,200 additional in order to complete the shaft. During Governor Geary's administration of six years, the State debt was reduced over ten million dollars, notwithstanding the fact that legislative appropriations were of the most liberal character, those to schools and charitable institutions alone ex- ceeding seventeen million dollars. At the same time, the whole current of legislation was in favor of reduced taxation. Besides a number of local laws exempting churches, cemeteries, schools, hospitals, and other institutions from taxation, the following gen- eral laws of the same character were passed : " ( I ) By the act to amend the revenue laws, approved February 2^, 1866, all real estate in the Commonwealth was thereafter made exempt from taxation for State purposes. (2) By the act approved March 30, 1866, all persons who served nine months or upwards in the military service, or who were honorably discharged therefrom by reason of wounds or physical disability contracted therein, and their property, were exonerated from all bounties, and per capita tax, and military fines. "(3) The act of April 29, 1867, repealed all laws requiring payment of taxes to the State on sales of loans and stocks by auc- tioneers. "(4) By the act of April 10, 1867, all trustees, or owners of property to 'the x'alue of thirty-five thousand dollars, used for sol- 136 GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION diers' orphans' schools, were exempted from ah county, road, city, boroui^h, poor and school taxes. "(5) By the act of April 4, 1868, and the snpplcments thereto, all mortgages, judgments, recognizances, and moneys owing upon articles of agreement for the sale of real estate, were made ex- empt from all taxation, except for State purposes. "(6) By the act approved January 3, 1868, all laws therein re- cited were repealed, which imposed taxes upon the shares of stock held by any stockholder in any institution or company, incorpo- rated under the laws of this State, which in its corporate capacity is liable to, and pays into the State treasury the tax on capital stock imposed by the acts therein recited. "(7) The act of June 2, 1871, repealed so much of the law of April 29. 1844, as imposed a tax of two per cent, on salaries. trades, offices, occupations and professions. "(8) By the act of April 3, 1872, the sixth section of the law of April 21, 1854, was repealed, which imposed a tax of one-half of one per cent, on the capital stock of all corporations created under laws to enable joint tenants, tenants in common, and ad- joining owners of mineral lands, to manage and develop the same."^ While these measures relieved thousands of people from the burdens of taxation. Governor Geary believed that the work of reduction should extend much further. In his last annual mes- sage to the Assembly, Jan. 8, 1873, he referred to this subject as follows : "Nothing but very strong necessity could justify such a variety of taxes upon the same thing. And if any justification ever existed. I believe it to exist no longer. "Jlie time has come when, with proper diligence in collection, and economy in ex- penditures, the State can well afford a reduction of taxation ; and legislation in that direction should be such as to relieve the undue burdens of taxation from every form of productive industry. T ' "Pennsylvania Archives," Fourth Series. vol. g, p. 142. 137 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL would, therefore, recommend that the enrolment tax upon private acts chartering industrial companies, and the bonus upon stock of such companies when organized under general laws, be considered a full equivalent to the Commonwealth for the privileges of a charter; and that all State taxes upon capital stock, net earnings and dividends of manufacturing, mining and improvement com- panies, and all co-operative associations, be repealed. This re- duction will amount to $549,554.23 — the sum collected last year. I also recommend the appeal of that source of revenue known in the Auditor-General's report as taxes on loans, which amounts to $492,407.28. It is confidently believed that with these proposed reductions, which amount to v$i, 041, 961.51, the State can still pay all her current expenses, the interest on the public debt, and make an annual reduction of at least one million, five hundred thousand dollars upon the principal."^ During the six years of Geary's administration, the school system of the State flourished and grew in popular favor. The total expenditures for public education in this period exceeded forty-two million dollars. The legislative appropriations amounted to about six hundred thousand dollars annually, the remainder being raised by local taxation. At this time, James P. Wicker- sham was Superintendent of Common Schools, receiving his ap- pointment in the spring of 1866, and serving until April i, 1881, a period of fourteen years and five months. Mr. Wickersham was a man of rare executive abilities, and the school system of the State as it exists to-day owes much to his untiring efforts in be- half of popular education. In referring to his appointment, Mr. Wickersham said : "The war was over. The armies had been disbanded. The industries of peace had begun to flourish anew. The nation seemed about to take a fresh start in life. Business interests of all kinds betokened a stir, and a strength unknown before. It was the forces generated in the recent struggle turned '"Pennsylvania Archives." Fourth .Series, vol. 9, p. MS. 138 GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION into new channels. With this material development, there came such a quickening of intellectual activity, and such a breaking up of the old conservative crust that had long obstructed all educa- tional progress, as to give a promising outlook to the future of school affairs. A well-directed forward movement seemed cer- tain to succeed. The iron was hot, and only waited for the timely stroke."^ Mr. Wickersham was undoubtedly the man of the hour, and under his leadership the whole school system began to feel the impulses of a new life. His high ideals have not yet been fully realized. It was his desire to enlarge the scope and powers of the Department of Common Schools, so as to give it ample authority over all the educational instituticms nf the State, thus unifying the various school interests and making an harmonious system from the lower schools through the colleges and univer- sities. The plan was not adopted ; but we look back in regret to-day, and realize what a grand opportunity was lost by the State to create a vigorous Department of Education, and at the same time form a comprehensive system of public instruction. Mr. Wickersham deplored this condition of affairs, and, in one of his reports, said : "We must have union and harmony among those who are striving to reach the same goal. We must move upon the strongholds of ignorance in solid column, not in broken de- tachments. The cause of education suffers from clashing inter- ests and divided efforts in its behalf. Our common schools do not enlist as fully as they deserve the sympathy of educated men. Our youth, by hundreds, are going out of the State for an edu- cation which they ought to receive at home, and our colleges and academies are attracting comparatively few students from abroad. Our charitable institutions, which have in many respects common aims and common interests, have not, as at present managed, any system of communication or bond of union. There must be a new awakening. Pennsylvania has a giant's power ; it must be evoked." ' Wickersham's "History of Education in Pennsylvania," p. 551. 139 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The department of public instruction was thus in able hands during- Geary's administration, and the Governor, in his messages, frecjuently referred to the satisfactory progress of the schools. The soldiers' orphan schools, founded in 1865, also received generous support from the legislature, in seven years over three million dollars having been expended on these institutions. The Governor, a soldier himself, took a pardonable pride in these schools, and in his message of January 8, 1873, he referred to them as follows : "Among the other States of the American Union, Pennsylvania stands pre-eminent in her care for the soldier who has borne the battle, and for his widow and orphan children. The noble scheme for clothing, educating, maintaining and adopting the orphan children of her soldiers who gave their lives in defence of the National Union — in this the generosity of her people has been imitated, but not equalled by those of any other State. To her will forever be accorded the leadership in this work of patriotic bene^■olence. It will form the brightest page of her history. It will seal the devotion of her people to the common country ; and our legislators, in view of its benign influence, will continue to accord a cheerful and liberal support to a system so fruitful in blessing to the orphan children of our martyred heroes." With the growth of various State institutions it became nec- essary in Geary's administration to organize several bureaus and boards, the first of which was the board of Public Charities estab- lished by an act of the legislature in 1869. The Governor ap- pointed General Thomas L. Kane, F. B. Penniman, Esq., Hon. G. Dawson Coleman, and George L. Harrison, Esq., as members of this board, upon whom was placed the responsibility of managing public charities. These gentlemen were also vested with the au- thority to inspect all the establishments receiving appropriations from the State, thus giving an assurance to the legislature and the people that their benefactions were worthily bestowed. The Board of Charities also made a careful investigation of prison dis- cipline, and of the condition and treatment of the insane, embody- 140 Thomas ^Mifflin Delegate to Continental Congress, i774; first aide-de-camp of Washington in Revolutionary war, with rank of colonel; quartermaster-gen- eral Revolutionary army, i775; commissioned brigadier-general, 1776, and major-general, 1777; congressman, 1783; speaker State Legis- lature, 1785; delegate to Federal Constitutional Convention, 1787; president State Supreme Ex- ecutive Council, 1788-1790; presided over State Constitutional Convention, 179°; first State governor, 1 790-1 799 GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION ing the whole in an elaborate report, containing a large amount of statistical information. By an act of the legislature, approved April 12, 1872, the bureau of Labor Statistics and of Agriculture was established, and the Governor was authorized to appoint a commissioner of that department. Governor Geary appointed Thomas C. Mac- Dowell, of Dauphin county, to this office, and he immediately began the work of collecting statistics, which in due time were laid before the legislature. The rapid development of the State in industrial wealth fully justified the creation of this bureau. In 1872, Pennsylvania ranked second in population; second in man- ufactures ; sixth as a wheat producing State, and first in mineral wealth and resources, among the States of the Union. The pro- duction of anthracite coal in 1870 exceeded nineteen million tons; while the bituminous output the same year was more than four- teen million tons. The production of oil in the northwestern counties in 1868 was 327,692,524 gallons. The statistics in other lines of industry also showed a marvelous increase in wealth. Thus, the new bureau found an inviting field for gathering sta- tistics, which would not only furnish information for the legis- lature, but also invite the attention of capitalists by reliable state- ments of facts. On September 18, 1872, a convention of delegates from the States of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee met in Cincinnati for the purpose of considering the improvement of navigation on the Ohio river. The convention remained in session two days, and appointed com- mittees on statistics, legislation, water supply and available reser- voirs, and an executive committee with power to act in the inter- vals of the regular sessions. Mr. Thurston, one of the delegates from Pennsylvania, prepared and submitted an exhaustive memo- rial covering every phase of the subject, urging the States con- cerned to contribute funds for making necessary improvements on the river, and also inviting the attention of Congress to the 143 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL enterprise. Governor Geary was enthnsiastic over the matter, and he spoke of it in his message of January 8, 1873, as fohows : "The claims of this subject to your prompt and favorable con- sideration and that of Congress will hardly be questioned when it is remembered that it is presented by gentlemen who represent one-half of the population of the country ; that the people who Old AlilUm Mansion Residence of Pennsylvania's first governor \v(jul(l be dirccli}' or indirectl)' Ijcnehted In' the contemplated im- provement possess one-half of its cultivated lands, raise sixty per cent, of its agricultural products, breed sixty per cent, of its live stock, over fifty per cent, of its capital invested in farming imple- ments and machinery, and have, heretofore, paid thirty-five per cent, of its internal taxation, and contributed a corresponding share toward the payment of the national debt." There was but little disorder within the borders of the State during Geary's administration. In 1868, there was a strike of 144 GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION the anthracite coal miners for an eight-hour day ; hut it was not successful. It resulted, however, in a strong- (organization of the miners, which exists to our own day, having only recently demon- strated its power in the greatest coal strike of all history. In 1871, there was a strike in Luzerne county against a reduction (jf wages. The riotous condition of affairs in that region made it necessary to call out the National Guard. The presence of the soldiers at Scranton gave ample protection to that city; otherwise it might have been reduced to ashes, and many lives might have been lost. The expenses necessary for the suppression of these disturbances were considerable, amounting to nearly thirty-eight thousand dollars, which sum was appropriated in full by the legis- lature. The troubles which led to this strike were finally settled by arbitration, one of the first instances, it is said, where this method was used for the settlement of disputes with the laboring classes. Governor Geary exercised a free use of the veto power, thus preventing much vicious special legislation, and, at the same time, saving the State many million dollars. His most noted veto was that on April 7, 1870, of Senate bill No. 1070, which provided that nine and one-half million dollars should be drawn from the sinking fund of the State in aid of certain railroads. In vetoing this measure, the Governor said : "Every one familiar with the history of our State constitution knows the objects for which these clauses were inserted and adopted. Our State has been cursed with omnibus legislation, enacted by what, in common leg- islative parlance, was known as the system of log-rolling. Meas- ures which alone could not stand upon their merits, and which often had no merits on which to stand, were fastened together in one bill, and by ingenious combinations of local interests, the most incongruous, and sometimes iniquitous provisions, were forced through in the same act. Essentially diverse, conflicting, and even ri\'al and hostile interests and parties, who could agree upon nothing else, were thus induced to unite in a common raid upon 3-10 T45 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL the treasury of the State. This evil became in time so intolerable that the people were at last compelled to protect themselves against it ; and they did so by these plain constitutional prohibitions. The people in their sovereign capacity, declared and wrote it in their constitution that 'no bill should be passed by the legislature containing more than one subject;' and that 'no law hereafter en- acted shall create, renew or extend the charter of more than one corporation.' " This veto message stands as one of Governor Geary's most important state papers. It pointed out in no un- certain language the evils of special and omnibus legislation so prevalent at the time, but which were at last removed in the new constitution of 1873. The year 1872 is interesting both in national and in State pol- itics. In that year was held the election for President of the United States and also for Governor of Pennsylvania. General Grant was re-nominated for President by the Republican party; but a formidable opposition had been growing, which united under the name of the Liberal Republican party and nominated Horace Greeley. Then followed one of the most remarkable presidential campaigns in all our history. It naturally affected the local elec- tions in every northern State. That year the Republicans of Pennylvania nominated General John F. Hartranft for Governor ; while the Democratic standard bearer was Charles R. Buckalew. Both candidates were well and favorably known — Hartranft as a gallant general in the Civil war, and Buckalew as United States Senator from Pennsylvania between 1863 and 1869. The na- tional contest had marked effects upon the State campaign, many prominent Republicans, including Curtin, joining the Liberal movement. But Hartranft was elected, and, like Geary, he served a second term, his administration ending in 1879. On retiring from office Governor Geary paid the following gracious compli- ment to his successor : "Major-General John F. Hartranft sig- nally has illustrated his courage and patriotism on many fiercely contested fields of battle; and qualities that have made his repu- 146 GEARY'S ADMINISTRATION tation as a soldier, have been no less conspicuous in the pursuits of civil life. He will bring to the discharge of his duties a large and valuable experience in the management of public affairs ; and all that is known of his antecedents may be regarded as a guar- anty for that confidence of the people who have elevated him to the gubernatorial chair by so large a majority. I bespeak for him your hearty co-operation in guarding and advancing the public interests." Governor Geary was not permitted to long enjoy the retire- ment of private life, death suddenly calling him on February 8, 1873- 147 CHAPTER VI. HARTRANFT'S ADMINISTRATION— 1873-1879 JOHN FREDERICK HARTRANFT, the new Governor, who was inaugurated on January 21, 1873, was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, of German ancestry, in 1830. He was educated at Union College, and intended to follow the profession of civil engineering. He abandoned this plan, however, and in 1854, was appointed deputy sheriff of Mont- gomery county, a position which he held for two terms. In the meantime he began the study of law, and in 1859 was admitted to the bar of his native county. Mr. Hartranft was by nature a soldier, and early in life became prominent in militia affairs. At the outbreak of hostilities in 186 1, he became Colonel of the first regiment of Montgomery county militia, which was at once mustered into active service. Colonel Hartranft acted for a while on the staff of General Franklin. Then he organized the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry, and participated with Burnside's command in the North Carolina expedition of 1862. At the battle of Antietam, he led the famous charge at the stone bridge, after which he was promoted to the command of a brigade, and then of a division. He took a prominent part in the 1)attle of Spottsylvania, and was soon commissioned as a Brigadier-Gen- eral. For gallantry in recapturing Fort Steadman in 1865, he was brevetted Major-General. Prof. W. J. Wells, of Norris- town, who served in the war with ( iencral Hartranft, has elo- 148 HARTRANFTS ADMINISTRATION quently described liis superb quaHties as a soldier in tbe followinf^ beautiful lani^"uag'e: "The first time I saw Colonel Hartranft, for he was then a Colonel, was when, down on the coast of North Carolina upon Hatteras Island, the regiment to which I belonged was separated from the entire army upon that bleak and barren shore. When the flotilla came down under General Burnside for the purpose of establishing the Union army upon the coast of North Caro- lina, the General, or the Colonel at that time, rode into our camp, and from that moment, when I saw him sitting superbly upon his noble steed (and all know how grandly he sat on that steed) I have loved him. I was eager at that time to inquire who he was. How many a time after that did I see him at the head of that gal- lant regiment in front of his colors, sweeping down upon the enemy of his country and gallantly performing the duties as- signed him ! He was no l)raggart ; he was no boasting soldier ; he was quiet and unassuming. I saw him at the battle of Bull Run, the second, ride at the head of that brigade, covering the retreat from that disastrous field. I heard his ringing voice to his men, 'Steady, steady; we are not yet retreating; we are merely changing position.' I saw him again at Chantilly but a few days afterward, when those two gallant soldiers, the brave Phil. Kearney, the one-armed hero of the Potomac army, and the brave Stevens fell. There, too, our gallant soldier and towns- man rescued the army from impending doom. I saw him again at Antietam after two brigades had failed to take the bridge; I saw him file out of the woods on to the bridge with his command, and at its head (for it was a narrow bridge), and as he was pressing forward and it was being swept with shot, shell and bullet, he bowed his head to the storm and shouted, 'Follow me, boys !' I see him sweep away on the hillside. I see his gallant front face the enemy upon the ridge, and when out of ammuni- tion, the 48th advanced to relieve him. There it was that the gallant Hartranft said to Colonel Siegfried, 'Never mind, Col- 149 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL onel, we have but one round of ammunition left, but if they come too close we will give them the cold steel.' That was the material of which our gallant soldier was made. I saw him again at Knoxville. Our pickets had been driven in during the night, and the next morning he came out, and again at the front of the brigade he swept them back and re-established the Union line. I saw him again at Fort Steadman, where he performed the greatest and most gallant deed performed probably by any single division commander in the history of the war, when he went in with a division of troops never yet under fire and con- quered one of the best soldiers in the Confederate army." At the close of the Civil War General Hartranft declined a command in the regular army, having decided to return to his native county. He was immediately called into the service of the State, however, being elected in 1865 to the office of Auditor- General, a position which he held for two terms. Governor Hartranft's administration of six years covered an eventful period in the history of the Commonwealth. Among many sub- jects of popular interest, the Constitutional Convention of 1873, no doubt, occupies the chief place. There has been no change in the organic law of the State since the adoption of the constitution of 1838, with the exception of an amendment in 1850, making all the judges of the courts elective. Again, in 1857, the constitu- tion was amended, creating a Sinking Fund, and regulating the public debt and legislative districts; while the last amendments were those of 1864, conferring the right of suffrage upon those engaged in the military service of the State or Nation, and im- posing various restraints on the power of the legislature. Ever since the constitution of 1838 went into effect, the State was menaced with the vicious results of special legislation. The governors had complained of the evil from time to time, in their messages to the legislature; but nothing definite was accomplished to bring relief until 1871. In his annual message to the legisla- ture of that year, Governor Geary called attention to the chief 150 HART RAN FT' S ADMINISTRATION defects in the constitution. The Governor said : "Practically, the whole theory of our constitution and g-overnment is sub- verted and destroyed by the present system of local enactments. Representative government is based on the idea that the laws shall be framed by, and be the result of, the collective wisdom of the people's representatives. But what are the actual facts? The minds and efforts of the members are so wholly absorbed by Old Court House, Lancaster Seat of the State government from 1799 to 1812; building erected 1784-1787. Reproduced especially for this work from an old engraving private and local bills that it is almost impossible to get a general or public act considered or passed. The special and local bills are usually drawn by the members representing the locality, or by some one from the district interested in the proposed law. By what is called courtesy, it is considered a breach of etiquette for any member of the Senate or House to interfere with or oppose a merely private or local bill of any other member. The result is the bills are passed as originally prepared, without examination or comparison of veiws — often crude and ill-di- gested, and without regard to constitutional requirements or 151 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL sound public policy. Some of the worst of these hasty and badly considered enactments are arrested every year by executive interposition ; but in the nature of the case, the veto at best can only be made a partial restraint upon the evil, and nothing can eradicate it short of constitutional prohibition." Following the suggestions of Governor Geary, the legislature on June 2, 1871, passed a resolution to submit the question of calling a convention to amend the constitution to a vote of the people at the next general election on the second Tuesday of October in that year. At this election, the vote in favor of hold- ing a constitutional convention was 316,097, to 69,715 against the measure. This was followed by the act of the legislature on April 11, 1872, making detailed provisions for calling the convention. The delegates were to be elected on the second Tuesday of October, 1872, and in order to remove all political bias in the choice of the same, the principle of minority represen- tation was followed. The delegates, one hundred and thirty-three in number, assembled in convention in the hall of the House of Representa- tives, Harrisburg, on November 12, 1872, Hon. William M. Meredith was elected President of the Convention, and served until his death, August 17, 1873, when Hon. John H. Walker, of Erie county, was chosen, on September 16 of that year, to suc- ceed him. After completing the work of organization, the Con- vention, on November 27, adjourned to meet in the city of Philadelphia, on January 7, 1873. Here a new constitution was drafted and adopted, after which it was submitted to the people on December 16, 1873, and approved by a vote of 263,560 to 109,198. The Constitution of 1873 presents many new features which will now be considered at length. Meml>ers of the vState Senate are to be elected for four years instead of three, and of the House for two years instead of one. The sessions of the legislature are biennial instead of annual ; but the Governor may convene the 152 HAR TRANFTS ADMINISTRATION two Houses upon extraordinary occasions, and the Senate alone for the transaction of executive business. There is also an in- crease in the membership of both branches of the legislature. One of the most important changes in the legislative department is the prohibition of special and local legislation. There are thirty-three sections in this article, the purpose of which is to ele- vate the general character of the laws. The Governor's term of office is increased to four years so as to correspond with the change made in the legislative terms and sessions. The office of Lieu- tenant-Governor is created, whose duty it is to preside o\-er the Senate, and to act as Governor in case of the death, incapacity or removal of that official. The Governor is not eligible to the office for the next succeeding term. Several changes are made in the tenure and mode of electing the judges of the courts. In the qualifications for voting, the word "white" is dropped, and the right to vote is extended to every male citizen, twenty-one years of age, who shall possess United States citizenship for one month, residence in the election district for two months, residence in the State for one year, and who shall have paid a State or county tax one month before election. General elections are fixed on the Tuesday next following the first Monday of November, so as to correspond with the date of the Presidential and Congressional elections; while local elections are held on the thinl Tuesday in February. The constitution provides against an increase of the State debt, and limitations are set upon the creation of debts by municipalities. Taxation is to be equal upon all property of the same class, while the property exempt from taxation is carefully defined. Many important regulations are introduced for the gov- ernment of counties, and the terms of all county officers are fixed at three years. Provision is made for the incorporation of cities containing ten thousand inhabitants, upon demand of the people thereof; also, that every city must establish a sinking fund for the payment of its debts. The article on private corporations is almost entirely new. Corporations are to be confined to the busi- 153 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL ness for which they were esta1)Hshed, and their charters may be repealed when piibHc interest shall demand it. The article on railroads and canals introduces the student to a new subject in State constitutional history. It illustrates the fact, also, that the constitutions of the Commonwealths are growing in length with the development of various business interests. The principal fea- ture of this article is the strict limitation placed upon railroads and other transportation companies in regard to discriminations in favor of certain individuals. As any synopsis of the new con- stitution would give but an imperfect view of its contents, the student of history is referred to that document for a more detailed examination of the new organic law of the State. The constitution took effect on January i, 1874, and on the seventh of that month Governor Hartranft referred to it at length in his message to the legislature. He took occasion to make some wise observations on the true source and nature of good govern- ment. He said : "As each day's experience reveals the methods of administration, the conviction grows stronger in my mind that good government depends not so much upon written laws as upon the disposition of the people to comply with the demands of the laws, and the determination of those delegated to execute them to see that their mandates are enforced. Reform, it will be con- ceded, cannot be obtained by mere constitutional enactment, nor by surrounding offices and trusts with additional restraints. The world's history from the earliest ages has shown that no code of laws, however comprehensive or restrictive, w^ill evade man's in- genuity if bent upon overstepping their bounds, and wise and nec- essary as the provisions of the new constitution may be, they will never secure the ends designed unless sustained by a strong, active, healthful, and intelligent sentiment that will interest itself in pub- lic affairs. It will not suffice to enact that integrity and fitness are essential qualifications for office, unless the people see to it that none without these qualifications are selected. It is tlic in- difference and inattention of electors to their primary political 154 HARTRANFT'S ADMINISTRATION duties, connected with nominations and elections, that despoil the law of its sanctity, and afford security to those who wilfully dis- obey its requirements. Men do not fulfill the obligations of citi- zenship by merely enjoying the protection our institutions afford. To perform his whole duty to the State every citizen should act- ively engage in political concerns when the recurring elections invoke his attention and interference. In our system of govern- ment every man entitled to vote is invested with a grave public trust, and if, through indifference or neglect, he fails to discharge the sacred duties it imposes, he is almost as culpable as the other who deliberately violates the law. With this new departure in our organic law, let there also be an accompanying resolution on the part of all good citizens that they will attend diligently and conscientiously to the selection of men for office whose dignity of character and intellect will be an adequate guaranty that the new constitution will be safe in their keeping." The year 1876, marking the one hundredth anniversary of American independence, was one of great interest to the people of the Commonwealth. For three or four years before this time, a centennial celebration was the leading subject in the public mind. As early as 1871, Governor Geary referred to this matter in his message to the legislature. He suggested that an appro- priate celebration be held in Philadelphia. "There," he said, "the Declaration of Independence was first promulgated, and there should be the national celebration of the one hundredth anniver- sary of the nation's existence." About the same time, the idea of an international exposition was first discussed in the news- papers. On March 9, 1871, Daniel J. Morrell, a representative from Pennsylvania, introduced in Congress a bill providing for an exhibition in Philadelphia, which passed a year later. In the meantime, a committee of the City Councils took up the matter, and did much to arouse popular interest. In the spring of 1872, the Centennial Commission met in Philadelphia, and finally agreed that the exhibition should be opened on April 19, 1876, and closed 155 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL on October 19, of the same year. A committee was appointed to raise subscriptions, and by February 22, 1873, the sum of $1,784,- 320 had been pledged. On March 27, of the same year, the legis- lature of Pennsylvania appropriated one million dollars to the proposed exhibition, and thus its success was assured. On March 16, 1874, it was decided that the construction of the necessary buildings should begin at once, and on July 4 ground was broken for this purpose at Lansdowne, Fairmount Park. In all, there were about 180 buildings erected within the Centennial grounds, five of which were great structures, in which were placed the vast displays. Governor Hartranft issued a proclamation, designating September 28 as "Pennsylvania day." This was the most notable day of the whole exhibition, the attendance reaching 275,000 peo- ple. The Centennial produced many good effects throughout the State and nation. A new impetus was given to trade and com- merce; while nowhere was the influence so pronounced as in the work of education. The good times which followed the Civil War were in a few years succeeded by financial depression that extended over the whole country, and reduced many great commercial establish- 'ments to ruin. These financial troubles began in Philadelphia, in 1873, with the failure of the banking house of Jay Cooke and Company. Mr. Cooke's bank gave material aid to the United States government during the Civil War; hence he was often called the "Financier of the Rebellion." After the war, his house became the fiscal agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad company. Finally becoming involved, Mr. Cooke's estalilishment went into bankruptcy on September 18, 1873. Then followed a run on the other lianks, the effects of which were soon felt throughout the United States. The State of Pennsylvania suffered considerable loss from the operations of the panic. In 1874, the receipts from all sources were $1,500,000 less than the preceding year; yet by a rigid economy, the public expenditures were kept within the limits of the revenues. 156 HAR TRANFTS ADMINISTRATION The condition of the times was rendered more deplorable by a series of labor difficulties, extending from 1874 to 1877. In 1874, there was a conflict in Westmoreland county between the Italian and resident miners, in which four of the Italians were killed. The same year, there was a railroad strike at Susque- hanna on the New York and Erie railroad. A number of trains were seized by the mob, and order was not restored until after the Governor had sent the State militia into that region. In January, 1875, the miners of the Lehigh and Schuylkill regions began a strike, which lasted six months. There was but little violence; yet the (Governor found it necessary to order the militia to the scene of the disturbance. In 1877, the spirit of lawlessness increased, culminating in a series of destructive riots in different parts of the State. The cause of all this trouble was the railroad strike, which began on July 16, and soon became general throughout the United States. In the beginning of July, a circular was issued from the offices of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, announcing a reduction of ten per cent, from the wages which the employes were then receiving. A new schedule of wages was announced, to take effect on July 16. At all points along the railroad there were demonstrations against this reduction. A strike was ordered, and before mid- night of the sixteenth the immense property of the Baltimore and Ohio was in the hands of rioters. On July 19, the employees of the Pennsylvania railroad at Pittsburg inaugurated a strike, and stopped the passage of all freight trains east and west. By the evening of the twentieth a large number of freight trains were tied up in that city. The striking workmen resisted all efforts of the railroad officials to move these trains, and threatened acts of violence. At this time, Governor Hartranft was on a trip across the continent; but upon the call of the sheriff, the Adjutant- General ordered the sixth division of the National Guard to assist in restoring order. The Adjutant-General arrived at Pittsburg on July 21 to take personal charge of all the troops ordered out. 159 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The first division of the National Guard was also called into serv- ice, and on the forenoon of the twenty-first the troops took posi- tion upon the hill overlooking the tracks at Twenty-eighth street. At two o'clock in the afternoon the troops from Philadelphia ar- rived, and they at once proceeded to open the road. As they approached Twenty-eighth street the crowds pressed in upon them and stones were thrown by the mob. There was considerable firing on both sides, and in the melee twenty soldiers were wounded. In the evening the soldiers withdrew to the round-houses and adjacent buildings. At midnight the rioters determined to drive them out by burning the freight cars in the vicinity. The result V\'as a great conflagration in which vast quantities of freight were consumed and all the rolling stock and buildings of the Pennsyl- vania railroad at Pittsburg were destroyed. Hastening from his western trip, Governor Hartranft reached Pittsburg on July 24. After a consultation with the leading citizens, he went to Phila- delphia to confer with Generals Hancock and Schofield, of the United States army. Arrangements were made to forward a detachment of the regular army to Pittsburg, there to join the State troops which the Governor collected on the way. A large force was soon gathered at the scene of disturbance; and with Governor Hartranft in personal command, order was restored in a few days and railroad communications were opened with all parts of the country. In the meantime, there were serious riots in other sections of the State. The lawless spirit in Philadelphia and Harrisburg was quelled by the prompt action of the officials ; but in Reading the work of destruction almost equalled that in Pittsburg. The railroad bridge over the Schuylkill was burned, and the mob practically controlled the city. As the authorities of Berks county were unable to suppress the riot, General Reeder was sent there with a division of the National Guard. On the evening of July 23 there was a severe street fight between the mob and the soldiers, in which some of the latter were wounded, while eleven of the crowd were killed. The next day a detach- 160 €«/',f >■>,/■/' ■■^^'f '^^'- . '^^■"■'i^y/'^y».u >■/,■//, .?,^.^/;-^./4*./,->y-. -&;'.:. ''y'"--' /•>■s was one r.i \vx signcrt^ or uit; I't-ciaKUi )!i !,>i lude- About 1765 a furnace and forge were erected by ii Bennett on tbr south side of Codorus creek, near its . ' ;' "• ehanna, in • Hellani township, York in operation during the Revolution. .orks were known as Codonis forgt L'mc Uro\ij :!i:iiace, in Cumberland county, was buiit ni J770 n about 1840 ' nm an old print by Thorm, ..,..,,; i^rnace was built at B' n this c 'le nucleus of the Carlisle ir . which afl H 1782, included a forge, a roii ' -ng mill, u ■; u ^.w.. furnace. During tin . the Continental Congress established and maintained an armory at Carlisle, where muskets, swords, and "wrought iron ("v— - f great strength"- were manufac- tured. In 1776, and . 'Ut the war, anthracite coal was taken in arks from the \\ yoming mines above Wilkes-Barre down the Susquehanna to the armory at Carlisle. The first cargo sent down the Susquehanna is said to have constituted the first ship- ment of anthracite coal that was made in this country, 240 A^ 'i/>/tyXi^M. iy ■yA'--f^>vt>ayt>vrt»,_ PA^j/n. , NATURAL RESOURCES The early Pennsylvania furnaces made from ten to twenty- five tons of pig iron or castings in a week, the highest limit being seldom attained. As all furnaces were blown by water power, which often failed in the summer season, a fair yield by an or- dinary furnace in a year was 500 tons of iron. The size of the furnaces seldom exceeded twenty-five feet in height and seven feet in width at the bosh. The fuel used was exclusively charcoal and the blast was always cold. Only one tuyere was used. Leather bellows were at first used, but wooden bellows, or tubs, were after- wards substituted. These tubs were still in use in connection with some of our oldest furnaces as late as 1878. Warwick and Cornwall furnaces were each over thirty feet high. They retained their long leather bellows until the nineteenth century. These and some other furnaces each yielded as much as 1,000 tons of pig iron and castings annually. Pig iron sold at about $15 a ton at the furnace. Castings cost about twice as much as pig iron. The forges made from sixty to one hundred and fifty tons of bar iron in a year, which sold at from $75 to $100 a ton. Most of the bar iron made in the eighteenth century in Penn- sylvania was hammered at the forges out of blooms made from pig iron. But little was made from blooms produced in the iDloomary fire directly from the ore, as was the New England and New Jersey custom. The Pennsylvania furnaces were also em- ployed in making castings, such as stoves, pots, kettles, etc. The first bar iron made in the province by Thomas Rutter, Samuel Nutt, and others was made in forges, sometimes called bloomary forges, directly from the ore. During the Revolution cannon and cannon balls were cast at many of the Pennsylvania furnaces. The bar iron and castings made in the Schuylkill valley during the eighteenth century were taken down the river to Philadelphia in boats, which were poled back to their starting points with great labor. After the Revolution the manufacture of iron in Pennsyl- vania was rapidly extended into the interior of the State. Bishop 3-16 241 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL says that in 1786 there were seventeen furnaces, forges, and shtting-mills within thirty-nine miles of Lancaster. About 1789 there were fourteen furnaces and thirty-four forges in operation in Pennsylvania, according to a list published by Mrs. James. In 1 79 1 the number of furnaces had increased to sixteen and of forges to thirty-seven. In 1796 the slitting and rolling mills were said to roll 1,500 tons per annum. The articles of iron and steel Monument at Junction of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware Erected in 1849. Engraved for this work from a negative by D. E. Brinton manufacture at this time were of great variety, including stoves, pots, kettles, plow irons, sheet iron, nails, spikes, cannon balls, scythes, axes, saws, etc. At this period there were many fur- naces and forges in the Schuylkill valley. In 1838 there were in existence within a radius of fifty-two miles of Lancaster 102 furnaces, forges, and rolling mills. The counties on the west of the Susquehanna river contained many iron enterprises soon after the close of the Revolution. In 1805 there were two forges at work in York county, one of which was Spring forge and the other was Codorus forge. Castle Fin forge, at first called Palmyra forge, on Muddy creek, in York 243 NATURAL RESOURCES county, was built in 1810. In its day Castle Fin forge was a very prominent enterprise. In 1850 there were five furnaces and three forges in this county. Liberty forge, on Yellow Breeches creek, in Cumberland county, was built in 1790 and was still active in 1876. Other forges in Cumberland county were built prior to 1800. Cumber- land furnace, ten miles southwest of Carlisle, on Yellow Breeches creek, was built in 1794. Holly furnace, at Papertown, in the same county, is said to have been built in 1795. The first furnace in Franklin county was Mount Pleasant, in Path valley, near Loudon, which was built in 1783 by three brothers, William, Benjamin, and George Chambers. A forge was erected by them about the same time. Soundwell forge, on Conodoguinet creek, at Roxbury, sixteen miles north of Cham- bersburg, was built in 1798 and was active as late as 1857. Car- rick forge, four miles from Fannettsburg, was built in 1800 and was in operation as late as 1856. Carrick furnace was built at a later day. Loudon furnace and forge, in Franklin county, were built about 1790 by Colonel James Chambers and abandoned about 1840. Valley forge, near Loudon, in this county, was built in 1804. A furnace of the same name was built near the forge at a later day. Mont Alto furnace, in the same county, was built in 1807. Two forges of the same name, about four miles from the furnace, were built in 1809 and 18 10. There were a few other charcoal furnaces and forges in this county. Early in the nine- teenth century nails and edge tools were made in large quantities at Chambersburg and in its vicinity. About 1806 Jacob M. Haldeman removed from Lancaster county to New Cumberland, at the mouth of Yellow Breeches creek, on the Susquehanna, in Cumberland county. He purchased a forge at this place and added a rolling and slitting mill, which were operated until about 1826, when they were abandoned. In 1785 Henry Fulton established a "nailery" in Dauphin county, probably at Harrisburg. It is said to have been "only 243 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL a little remote from a smithy." In 1805 there were two fur- naces and two forges in this county. The manufacture of iron had a very early beginning in the Susquehanna valley north of Harrisburg. About 1778 a bloomary forge was built on Nanti- coke creek, near the lower end of Wyoming valley, in Luzerne county, by John and Mason F. Alden. Another bloomary forge was built in 1789 on the Lackawanna river, about two miles above its mouth, by Dr. William Hooker Smith and James Sut- ton. Still another bloomary forge was built in 1799 or 1800, on Roaring brook, at Scranton, then known as Slocum's Hollow, by two brothers, Ebenezer and Benjamin Slocum. All these bloom- aries continued in operation until about 1828. Their products were taken down the Susquehanna in Durham boats. Esther furnace, about three miles south of Catawissa, on East Roaring creek, in Columbia county, was built in 1802 by Michael Bitter & Son, who "cast many stoves." Catawissa furnace, on Furnace run, near Mainville, in Columbia county, was built in 181 5 and a forge was built at the same place in 1824, on Cata- wissa creek. An early furnace in Lycoming county was built in 1820, four miles from Jersey Shore, and named Pine Creek. Washington furnace, on Fishing creek, at Lamar, in Clinton county, was built in 181 1. It was in blast in 1875. In a sketch of Clearfield county in Egle's "History of Pennsylvania" it is stated that "in 18 14 Peter Karthaus, a native of Hamburg, Germany, but afterwards a resident merchant of Baltimore, established a furnace at the mouth of the Little Moshannon, or Mosquito creek, in the lower end of the county." This- furnace was oper- ated with partial success for several years. The earliest information obtainable of the erection of any iron works in Mifflin county is found in the court records of that county for August, 1795. At a court held in that month a peti- tion was presented asking for a road "from Freedom forge, thence the nearest and best way to the river Juniata near to, or at, McClellan's landing." The forge stood on the present site 244 NATURAL RESOURCES of the Logan iron and steel works, at Logan, on Kishacoquillas creek. The landing mentioned was at the mouth of the creek, now within the limits of the borough of Lewistown. The forge was sold in 1812 to Miller, Martin & Co., who began the erection of a furnace in that year. On November 12, 18 12, they adver- tised in the "Juniata Gazette" for workmen, "as they are engaged in building a furnace at Freedom forge." The forge, built as early as 1795, was continued until 1878. In 1832 there were three furnaces and one forge in Mifflin county, and in 1850 there were five furnaces and two forges. In June, 1797, General William Lewis, of Berks county, be- gan the purchase of lands on Brightsfield run and the Juniata river, in Mifflin county, intending to build a furnace. In a mort- gage dated June 2, 1798, the furnace tract and ore-bank lot are mentioned. In 1798 William Lewis is assessed on 430 acres of land and a furnace as an ironmaster. The furnace was knbwn as Hope furnace. In 1804 General Lewis built Mt. Vernon forge on Cocalamus creek, below Millerstown, in Perry county, which was operated with the furnace. Juniata furnace, three miles from Newport, in Perry county, was built in 1808 by David Watts, of Carlisle. There was a very early forge in Juniata county, built in 1791 on Licking creek, two miles west of Mifflintown, by Thomas Beale and William Sterrett. The pig iron for this forge was obtained mainly from Centre fur- nace, but some was brought from Bedford furnace. The first blast furnace in the Juniata valley was Bedford fur- nace, on Black Log creek, built in 1787 or 1788 on the site of the present town of Orbisonia, in Huntingdon county, by the Bed- ford Company, composed of Edward Ridgely, Thomas Crom- well, and George Ashman. It made from eight to ten tons of pig iron a week. Lytle, in his "History of Huntingdon County," says that it was built mostly of wood and was five feet wide at the bosh and w-as either fifteen or seventeen feet high. A forge was subsequently built on Little Aughwick creek, four miles ^45 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL southwest of the furnace, by the Bedford Company, which sup- pHed the neighborhood with horseshoe iron, wagon tire, harrow teeth, etc. Large stoves and other utensils were cast at Bedford furnace. The entire product of the furnace was converted into castings and bar iron. At the Philadelphia Exhibition in 1876 James Pollock Congressman, 1844; president judge Eighth Judicial District, 1850; governor, 1855-1858; 1861, director United States mint, Philadel- phia; naval officer of Philadelphia, 1880-1884 there was exhibited a stove-plate which was cast at this furnace in 1792. On the loth of September, 1793, Thomas Cromwell, for the company, advertised in the "Pittsburgh Gazette" castings and bar iron for sale at Bedford furnace. The first American bar iron ever taken to Pittsburg is said to have been made at Bedford forge. There was then no wagon road to Pittsburg. "In the forge the pig iron of the furnace was hammered out into 246 NATURAL RESOURCES bars about six or eight feet long, and these were bent into the shape of the letter U and turned over the backs of horses and thus transported over the Alleghanies to Pittsburg." Bar iron and castings from Bedford furnace and other iron works in the Juniata valley were taken down the Juniata river in arks, many of them descending to as low a point as Middletown, on the Susquehanna, whence the iron was hauled to Philadelphia. Much of the iron of the Juniata valley was also sent to Baltimore in arks down the Susquehanna river, Bedford furnace was certainly in operation before 1790, as on the 2d day of March of that year Hugh Needy entered into an agreement with the company to deliver twenty-eight ten-gallon kettles and seven Dutch ovens, the whole weighing 12 cwt., 3 qrs., and 21 lbs., to Daniel Depue, "on or near the Monongahela river, near Devor's Ferry, in eight days ensuing the date hereof." These articles were carried on pack-horses. The forge appears to have been built in 1791, as is shown by an itemized statement of iron made by the company from "the time the forge started" in that year imtil October 12, 1796, the product in these six years being 497 tons, 8 cwt., 2 qrs., and 26 lbs. Centre furnace, located on Spring creek, in Centre county, was the second furnace erected in the Juniata valley or near its bound- aries. It was built in the summer of 1791 by Colonel John Pat- ton and Colonel Samuel Miles, both Revolutionary officers. The first forge in Centre county was Rock forge, on Spring creek, built in 1793 by General Philip Benner, who subsequently origi- nated other iron enterprises in the same county and became an ex- tensive shipper of Juniata iron. Barree forge, on the Juniata river, in Huntingdon county, was built about 1794 by Bartholomew & Dorsey, to convert the pig iron of Centre furnace into bar iron. Huntingdon furnace, on Warrior's Mark run, in Franklin township, was built in 1796, but after one or two blasts it was removed a mile lower down the stream. A forge called Massey, on Spruce creek, connected 247 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL with Huntingdon furnace, was built about 1800. Tyrone forges, on the Juniata, were built by the owners of Huntingdon furnace, the first of the forges in 1804. Gordon, in 1832, in his "Gazet- teer of the State of Pennsylvania," stated that these forges, with a rolling and slitting mill and nail factory attached, formed "a very extensive establishment," owned by Messrs. Gloninger, An- shutz & Co. "The mill rolls about 150 tons, 75 of which are cut into nails at the works, 50 tons are slit into rods and sent to the West, and about 25 tons are sold in the adjoining counties." Juniata forge, at Petersburg, was built about 1804 by Samuel Fahnestock and George Shoenberger, the latter becoming sole owner in 1805. George Shoenberger died in 1814 or 181 5. His only son, Dr. Peter Shoenberger, succeeded to the ownership of his iron enterprises. Coleraine forges, on Spruce creek, were built in 1805 and 1809 by Samuel Marshall. There have been many forges on this creek. Many other charcoal furnaces and forges and a few rolling mills were built in the upper part of the Juniata valley before 1850. In 1832 there were in operation in Huntingdon county, which then embraced a part of Blair county, eight furnaces, ten forges, and one rolling and slitting mill. Each of the furnaces yielded from 1200 to 1600 tons of iron annually. In the same year an incomplete list enumerated eight furnaces and as many forges in Centre county. Etna furnace and forge, on the Juniata, in Catharine township, now Blair county, were built in 1805 by Canan, Stewart & Moore. The furnace was the first in Blair county. Cove forge, on the Frankstown branch of the Juniata, was built between 1808 and 18 10 by John Rover. Allegheny fur- nace was built in 181 1 by Allison & Henderson, and was the second furnace in Blair county. For many years after the beginning of the nineteenth century Huntingdon and Centre counties constituted the principal iron producing district in the country. This prominence in the produc- tion of iron was maintained until after 1842, when the tariff of 248 NATURAL RESOURCES that year and the discovery that iron could be made with anthracite and bituminous coal enabled other districts in the State and coun- try to wrest from these counties their iron sceptre. In 1850 there w'ere in these two counties and in Blair county (formed out of Huntingdon and Bedford in 1846) and in Mifflin county forty- eight furnaces, forty-two forges, and eight rolling-mills, nearly all of which were in Huntingdon and Centre counties. Much of the iron made in the Juniata valley during the palmy days of its iron industry was sold at Pittsburg, first in the form of castings, afterwards both in pigs and bars, and finally chiefly in the form of blooms. Before the completion of the Pennsylvania Canal and the Portage Railroad it was transported with great dif- ficulty. Bar iron from Centre county was at first carried on the backs of horses to the Clarion river and was then floated on boats and arks to Pittsburg. Pig and bar iron from Huntingdon county were hauled over the Frankstown road to Johnstown and thence floated to Pittsburg by way of the Conemaugh river. Subse- quently blooms were sent to Pittsburg from Huntingdon county by wagon. "Juniata iron" was also largely sold in eastern mar- kets, the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers furnishing an outlet before the building of the Pennsylvania Canal. It was noted throughout the country for its excellence. The following advertisement appeared in a Pittsburg news- paper in 18 1 3. The advertiser was then operating the first roll- ing mill built at Pittsburg. Blooms were his raw material. Waggons Wanted. — The subscriber wishes to employ from 30 to 50 waggons, for three or four trips to the ironworks near Belfont, Centre coun- ty; and would be anxious to engage 20 or 30 out of the above number to haul by the year. A very considerable advance will be made on the former rate of carriage. This added to the low price of feed this season holds out greater inducements to embark in this business than at any former period. Applications to me here ; on which I will give my orders, and will engage to pay for any delay which may arise to the waggoners at the different forges. C. Cowan, September 9, 1813. 249 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL In 1828, before the Pennsylvania Canal was completed, the hauling of blooms by wagon to Pittsburg was still an important business. In the "Blairsville Record" for January 31, 1828, Mul- hollan & McAnulty advertise for teams to haul blooms from Sligo iron works, in Huntingdon county, to Blairsville, offering $15 per ton. This hauling was done over the Huntingdon, or Northern, Turnpike, which had been built only a few years be- fore and which passed through Huntingdon, Hollidaysburg, Ebensburg, and Blairsville to Pittsburg. A notable bridge over the Conemaugh at Blairsville was completed in 182 1. It was a Arms, 1855 single-arch bridge, 300 feet long. Soon after the canal was fin- ished and the Portage Railroad from Hollidaysburg to Johns- town was completed, the latter in 1834, the shipment of Juniata blooms to Pittsburg greatly increased. Steel was made at Caledonia, near Bedford, for several years before the close of the eighteenth century. It was made by Will- iam McDermett, a native of Scotland, and was cemented steel. The first iron manufactured west of the Alleghany mountains was made in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. F. H. Oliphant, of Uniontown, awards to John Hayden, of Fayette county, the honor of having made "the first iron in a smith's fire" as early as 1790. "It was about as big as a harrow-tooth." The first fur- nace west of the Alleghanies was, however, built by Turnbull & Marmie, of Philadelphia, on Jacob's creek, between Fayette and Westmoreland counties, on the Fayette county side of the creek, a few miles above its entrance into the Youghiogheny river. It was first blown in on November i, 1790, and produced a superior 250 NATURAL RESOURCES quality of metal both for castings and bar iron, some of it having been tried the same day in a forge which the proprietors had erected at the same place. The furnace and forge were called the Alliance iron works. Craig, in his "History of Pittsburgh" (185 1 ), gives an extract from a letter written by Major Craig, Deputy Quartermaster General and Military Storekeeper at Fort Pitt, to General Knox, dated January 12, 1792, as follows: "As there is no six-pound shot here I have taken the liberty to engage four hundred at Turnbull & Marmie's furnace, which is now in blast." The ruins of this furnace may still be seen. Union furnace, on Dunbar creek, four miles south of Connells- ville, in Fayette county, was built by Isaac Meason in 1790 and was put in blast in March, 1791. It was succeeded in 1793 by a larger furnace of the same name, built near the same site by Isaac Meason, John Gibson, and Moses Dillon. An advertisement in the "Pittsburgh Gazette," dated April 10, 1794, mentions that Meason, Dillon & Co. have for sale "a supply of well-assorted cast- ings, which they will sell for cash at the reduced price of £35 per ton ($93.33)." There was a forge connected with this furnace called Union forge. Two Dunbar furnaces now stand near the site of the original Union furnace. In 1792 John Hayden and his partner, John Nicholson, built a bloomary forge on George's creek, a few miles south of Union- town, and in 1797 John Hayden built Fairfield furnace, also on George's creek. John and Andrew Oliphant and Nathaniel Breading bought an interest in this furnace in 1798 and in a few years the Oliphants became its sole owners. Fairchance furnace, on George's creek, six miles south of Uniontown, was built in 1804 by John Hayden. J. & A. Oliphant bought it about 1805. It was rebuilt two or three times and kept in operation until 1887, when it was abandoned and torn down. The Oliphants built Sylvan forges, on George's creek, below Fairfield and Fairchance furnaces. It is said that while the Oliphants operated Fairfield furnace they cast a quantity of shot which was used by General 251 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Jackson's artillery in the battle of New Orleans. It was shipped down the Monongahela, the Ohio, and the Mississippi rivers. Rolling and slitting mills, for the manufacture of sheet iron and nail rods, were established west of the Alleghanies soon after the first furnace and forge was built in 1790. Prior to 1794 Jeremiah Pears built a forge at Plumsock, in Menallen township, Fayette county, which was the forerunner of a rolling and slit- ting mill built by Mr. Pears at the same place before 1804. In 1805 the rolling and slitting mill and the remainder of Mr. Pears's property were sold by the sheriff. This was probably the first rolling and slitting mill erected west of the Alleghenies. In 1805 a rolling and slitting mill was built by John Gibson on the right bank of the Youghiogheny river, below Connellsville. Cra- mer's "Pittsburgh Almanac" for 1812 says that in 181 1 there were three such mills in Fayette county. Another was just over the Pennsylvania line in the present State of West Virginia and is described in the Almanac for 181 3, issued in 18 12, as follows: "Jackson & Updegraff, on Cheat river, have in operation a fur- nace, forge, rolling and slitting mill, and nail factory — nails handsome, iron tough." The Cheat river enterprise was on the road from Uniontown to Morgantown, about three miles south of the Pennsylvania State line, and eight miles north of Morgan- town. Like all the rolling and slitting mills of that day and of many preceding days the Cheat river mill neither puddled iron nor rolled bar iron, but rolled only sheet iron and nail plates with plain rolls from blooms heated in a hollow fire and hammered under a tilt-hammer. The nail plates were slit into nail rods by a series of revolving discs. In 1805 there were five furnaces and six forges in Fayette county. In 181 1 the county had ten furnaces, one air furnace, eight forges, three rolling and slitting mills, one steel furnace, and five trip-hammers. At a later date there were twenty fur- naces in this county. Fayette county was a great iron centre at the close of the eighteenth century and far into the nineteenth 252 NATURAL RESOURCES century. For many years Pittsburg and the Ohio and Missis- sippi valleys were almost entirely supplied by it with all kinds of castings and with hammered bar iron. In 1804 a large order for sugar kettles, to be used on the sugar plantations of Louisi- ana, was filled at Union furnace. Long before 1850, however, the fires in most of the furnaces and forges of Fayette county were suffered to die out. In 1849 only four of its furnaces were in blast. Other furnaces, to use coke, and other iron and steel enterprises have since been built within its boundaries, but its fame as a centre of the iron industry has departed. In its stead it now enjoys the reputation of being the home of the famous Connellsville coke. Connellsville, on the Youghiogheny, was a shipping point for Fayette county iron. The steel furnace above referred to as existing in 181 1 was at Bridgeport, adjoining Brownsville, was owned by Truman & Co., and made good steel. It was known as the Brownsville steel factory. In 181 1 Truman & Co. advertised that they had for sale "several tons of steel of their own converting, which they will sell at the factory for cash, at 12 dollars per cwt., and 20 dollars per faggot for Crowley." The latter was an English brand. Tru- man & Co. made cemented steel. The first nail factory west of the Alleghanies was built at Brownsville, about 1795, by Jacob Bowman, at which wrought nails were made by hand in one shop and cut nails were made by machines in another. These machines were worked by the foot of the workman, while his hands guided the flat and thin bar of iron from which the nails were cut. The first rolling mill erected in the United States to puddle iron and roll iron bars was built in 18 16 and 18 17 on Redstone creek, about midway between Connellsville and Brownsville, at a place called Middletown, better known as Plumsock, in Fayette county, on the site of Jeremiah Pears's enterprise which has pre- viously been described. The rolling mill was undertaken by Colonel Isaac Meason, of Union furnace, who then had forges 253 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL at Plumsock. This mill was built "for making bars of all sizes and hoops for cutting into nails." Mr. Oliphant says that "the iron was refined by blast and then puddled. It was kept in oper- ation up to 1824, the latter part of the time by Mr. Palmer." A JU-UkA^,*w*.^ '^-^^■"■-^^— ^^'~-' - "^•^^•" "^-"-^^-^ ^■^ ""'"'" '""'"'' William Fisher Packer Editor; auditor general, 1824-1845; speaker State house, 1847-48; State senator, 1849; first president of Susquehanna Railroad company; governor, 1858-1861 flood in the Redstone caused its partial destruction. The machin- ery of the mill was subsequently taken to Brownsville. Careful inquiry fails to discover the existence in the United States of any rolling mill to roll bar iron and puddle pig iron prior to the enterprise at Plumsock in 1816. Ralph Crooker, of the Bay State iron works, at Boston, the oldest rolling mill super- intendent in the United States, says that the first bar iron rolled in New England was rolled at the Boston iron works, on the Mill 254 NATURAL RESOURCES Dam at Boston, in 1825, and that the first puddling done in New England was at Boston, on the Mill Dam, by Lyman, Ralston & Co., in 1835. We cannot learn of any mill in Eastern Pennsyl- vania that either puddled iron or rolled iron bars as early as 1816. Isaac Meason, who did so much to develop the iron resources of Fayette county, was a native of Virginia. He died in 18 19. He was a member of the Supreme Executive Council of Penn- sylvania in 1783, and for many years prior to his death he was an associate judge of Fayette county. Westmoreland county speedily followed Fayette county in the manufacture of iron. Westmoreland furnace, on a branch of Loyalhanna creek, near Laughlinstown, in Ligonier valley, was built in 1794 by Christopher Lobingier & Brother. In 1798 the furnace was sold to John Probst, who operated it for about four years. On the ist of August, 1795, George Anshutz, man- ager of Westmoreland furnace, advertised stoves and castings for sale. We have a stove plate cast at Westmoreland furnace in 1800 by John Probst and so marked in raised letters. General Arthur St. Clair built Hermitage furnace, on Mill creek, two miles northeast of Ligonier, about 1802. It was man- aged for its owner by James Hamilton, and made stoves and other castings. It was in blast in 1806. In 18 10 it passed out of the hands of General St. Clair and was idle for some time. In 18 16 it was started again by O'Hara & Scully, under the management of John Henry Hopkins, afterwards Protestant Episcopal bishop of Vermont. In October, 18 17, Mr. Hopkins left the furnace and it has never since been in operation. Its ruins may still be seen. General St. Clair died a very poor man in 18 18, aged 84 years, and was buried at Greensburg. Several other furnaces and a few forges were built in West- moreland county soon after the pioneer furnaces above mentioned. One of the forges was Kingston forge, erected in 181 1 on Loyal- hanna creek, ten miles east of Greensburg, by Alexander Johnston & Co., and going into operation early in 18 12. Alexander John- 255 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL ston was the father of Governor WilHam F. Johnston. He was born in Ireland in July, 1773, and died in July, 1872, aged 99 years. The owners of the early furnaces in Westmoreland county, besides supplying local wants, shipped castings by boats or arks on the Youghiogheny, the Conemaugh, the Kiskiminitas, and the Allegheny rivers to Pittsburg, some of which found their way down the Ohio river to Cincinnati and Louisville. Subse- quently they shipped pig iron by canal to Pittsburg rolling mills. Shade furnace, in Somerset county, was built in 1807 or 1808 and was the first iron enterprise in this county. It stood on Shade creek, below the junction of Clear Shade and Dark Shade creeks, and was built by Gerehart & Reynolds on land leased from Thomas Vickroy. A sale was made about 18 18 to Richards, Earl & Co., of New Jersey, who operated the furnace down to about 1830. In 1820 they built a forge, called Shade, below the furnace, which was operated by various persons for many years. In 1849 i^ made 30 tons of bars. The furnace was continued at intervals by various proprietors to the close of 1858. We have seen a stove which was cast at Shade furnace in 18 18. About 181 1 Joseph Vickroy and Conrad Piper built Mary Ann forge, on Stony creek, about five miles below Shade furnace and half a mile below the mouth of Shade creek. Pig iron to supply this forge was sometimes packed on horseback from Bed- ford county, the horses taking salt from the Conemaugh salt works and bar iron as a return load. Bar iron was shipped to Pittsburg from these forges. Much of the iron from the forges was hauled to Johnstown for shipment down the Conemaugh, but some of it was shipped on flat boats directly from the forges. Pig iron was also hauled to Johnstown from Shade furnace for shipment by flatboat to Pittsburg. Rich- ard Geary, the father of Governor John W. Geary, was the man- ager of Mary Ann forge for about one year, and was supercargo of a load of bar iron which was shipped from the forge down the Stony creek and other streams to Pittsburg. 256 NATURAL RESOURCES Several other furnaces and a few forges were built in Somer- set county in the first half of the nineteenth century, but they have all disappeared. The first iron enterprise in Indiana county was Indiana forge, on Findley's run, near the Conemaugh, built about 1837 by Henry and John Noble, wdio also built Indiana furnace as early as 1840. Both the furnace and forge were running in the last- named year. Pig iron for the forge was at first obtained from Alleghany furnace, in Blair county. Some iron ore for the fur- nace was obtained from the Alleghany furnace mines and brouglit to the furnace by the Pennsylvania Canal and Portage Railroad. About 1837 John Noble owned a farm of about 200 acres in the heart of the present city of Altoona, which he sold to David Rol> inson, of Pleasant Valley, for v$4,500, taking in payment the con- tents of Mr. Robinson's country store, which he removed to Findley's run and added to the capital stock of Henry and John Noble. The Altoona farm is now worth many millions of dol- lars. A few other furnaces were soon built in this county, but all the Indiana furnaces and its solitary forge have long been abandoned. About 1809 John Holliday built a forge on the north bank of the Stony creek, near the mouth of Bedford street, in Johnstown, which was soon known as Cambria forge, Cambria county hav- ing only recently been organized. Like all the iron enterprises of that day, the power used in operating the forge was water power and the fuel used was charcoal. A dam was built across the Stony creek above the forge. In 181 1, or about that year, the Stony creek dam was washed away, and soon afterwards the forge was removed to the Conemaugh river, where it was oper- ated down to about 1822, Rahm & Bean, of Pittsburg, being the lessees of the forge at this time. It was abandoned about this year. It was used to hammer bar iron out of Juniata pig iron and blooms. In 181 7 Thomas Burrell. the proprietor, offered wood- cutters "fifty cents per cord for chopping two thousand cords of 3-17 257 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL wood at Cambria forge, Johnstown." This was the first iron enterprise in Cambria county. About 1810 the second iron enterprise at Johnstown was es- labHshed by Robert Pierson. It was a small nail factory. Mr. Pierson's nails w^ere cut out of what was called "nail iron" with a machine worked by a treadle, but without heads, which were afterwards added by hand. The "nail iron" was obtained from the small rolling mills in the Juniata valley and was hauled over the Frankstown road. About 200 pounds of nails, valued at $30, were made at Johnstown in 18 10, and probably by Mr. Pierson. Cambria county has been noted as an iron centre since its first furnace, Cambria, was built by George S. King and others in 1842, on Laurel run, near Johnstown. It was followed in the next few years by five other charcoal furnaces. All these fur- naces have been abandoned. The extensive works of the Cam- bria Iron Company, at Johnstown, were commenced in 1853 by a company of which Mr. King was the originator and Dr. Peter Shoenberger was a member. They w^ere built expressly to make coke pig iron and to roll iron rails, the Pennsylvania Railroad, passing through Johnstowm, having been completed from Phila- delphia to Pittsburg in the preceding year. Dr. Shoenberger had previously become a half owner of Cambria furnace and a part owner of several other furnaces and of large tracts of land near Johnstovv^n. A furnace named Mary Ann was erected at an early day in Greene count}^ It was located on Ten-mile creek, opposite Clarks- ville, and about twenty miles from Uniontown. It was abandoned early in the nineteenth century. An advertisement for its sale, by "Samuel Harper, agent for the proprietors," dated July 23, 1810, styles it "The Iron Works," late the property of Captain James Robinson. It was probably built about 1800. Gordon, in his Gazetteer (1832), says that "there were formerly in operation on Ten-mile creek a forge and furnace, but they have long been idle and are falling to decay." This reference is to Robinson's works. 258 NATURAL RESOURCES A blast furnace was built at Beaver Falls, Beaver county, then called Brighton, on the west side of Beaver river, in 1802, by Hoopes, Townsend & Co., and blown in in 1804. A forge was connected with it from the beginning and it was in operation in Felix Reville Brunot Civil engineer; manufacturer; philanthropist; president of the Board of Indian Commission- ers appointed by President Grant, 1865. Re- produced especially for this work from portrait belonging to The Western University of Penn- sylvania 1806, according to Cramer's "Pittsburgh Almanac." Both the furnace and the forge were in operation in 1816. The whole enterprise was abandoned about 1826, after frequent changes of ownership. The ore used at the furnace was picked out of gravel banks in the neighborhood in very small lumps. The fuel used was charcoal. There was another early charcoal furnace in this 259 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL county, named Bassenheim, built by Detmar Basse. This furnace was located on the Conoquenessing creek and about a mile west of the Butler county line. In February, 1818, $12 per ton were paid for hauling pig metal from this furnace to Pittsburg, 30 miles dis- tant, over a bad road. The furnace was abandoned about 1824. The admirable water power furnished by the Beaver river and the facilities for shipment afforded by the Ohio river and subsequently by the Beaver Canal presented special inducements to manufacturers of iron and steel products and to other manu- facturers. In 1828 Robert Townsend & Co. built at Fallston, on the opposite side of Beaver river from New Brighton, in Bea- ver county, a mill for the manufacture of iron wire, which is still in operation. About 1852 the manufacture of rivets was added to the business and in 1887 the manufacture of wire nails was commenced. In the meantime the Harmony Society promoted the establishment of various iron and steel enterprises at Beaver Falls. As the result of its own enterprise and that of others the manufacture of cutlery, files, saws, axes, hoes, shovels, etc., which technically consume iron and steel, was soon established, and sub- sequently the manufacture of steel itself was added. The promi- nence of Beaver county in the manufacture of iron and steel dur- ing the last quarter of the nineteenth century and at the present time has been largely due to the development within its borders of an ample supply of natural gas. There are to-day many iron and steel enterprises of modern date at Beaver Falls and in other parts of Beaver county. Prior to 1846 there were a few furnaces in the Shenango val- ley, all using charcoal, one of which was Springfield furnace, half a mile from Leesburg and seven miles southeast of Mercer, built in 1837 and active in 1849, while another was Temperance fur- nace, about six miles east of Greenville, built about 1840. Day, in 1843, says: "Two furnaces were wrought formerly, but have since been abandoned." In 1806 the geographer Joseph Scott says that "a forge and furnace are now nearly erected" at New 260 NATURAL RESOURCES Castle. About 1810 there was a forge on Neshannock creek, "midway between Pearson's flour mill and Harvey's paper mill," for the manufacture of bar iron from the ore. The Shenango valley, embracing Lawrence and Mercer counties, is now one of the country's great iron and steel centres. The first furnace in the once important but now nearly neg- lected ironmaking district composed of Armstrong, Butler, Clar- ion, Venango, and other northwestern counties was Bear Creek, in Armstrong county, which was built in 18 18 and went into operation in that year. It was built to use coke, with steam power, and its first blast was with this fuel, but charcoal was soon substituted. The furnace was abandoned long before 1850, but was running in 1832, in which year Gordon says that it was owned by Henry Baldwin, Esq., and was reputed to be the larg- est furnace in the United States, having made forty tons of iron in a week. This furnace had a tramroad, with wooden rails, in 1818. Slippery Rock furnace, in Butler county, and Clarion furnace, in Clarion county, were built in 1828, the latter by Christian Myers, of Lancaster county, who built another furnace about 1844, which he called Polk. Allegheny furnace, at Kittanning, in Armstrong county, and Venango furnace, on Oil creek, in Ve- nango county, were built in 1830. From 1830 to 1850 this sec- tion of the State produced large quantities of charcoal pig iron. Li 1850 there were 11 furnaces in Armstrong county, 6 in But- ler, 28 in Clarion, and 18 in Venango: 63 in all. In 1858 there were 18 in Armstrong, 6 in Butler, 27 in Clarion, and 24 in Ve- nango : 75 in all. All these were charcoal furnaces, except four coke furnaces at Brady's Bend. Many of these furnaces had, however, been abandoned at the latter date, and every one has since been abandoned. Most of them were built to supply the Pittsburg rolling mills with pig iron. The Great Western iron works at Brady's Bend, Armstrong county, embracing a rolling mill and four furnaces to use coke, 261 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL were built by Philander Raymond and others in 1840 and 1841. The furnaces were finally blown out in 1873 and the rolling mill was abandoned in the same year. It was built in 1841 to roll bar iron, but it afterwards rolled iron rails, which were at first flat bars, with holes for spikes countersunk in the upper surface. The mill continued to make rails until after the close of the civil war. There was a large amount of Boston capital invested at one time in these works. Erie charcoal furnace, at Erie, was built in 1842 and aban- doned in 1849. It ^sed bog ore. Liberty furnace, on the north side of French creek, in Crawford county, was built in 1842 and abandoned in 1849. The iron manufactured in the Allegheny valley was taken down the Allegheny river to Pittsburg on keel-boats and arks, sometimes on rafts, the business of transporting it by water be- ing quite extensive down to about 1850. Cornplanter Indians, from Warren county, were among the raftsmen of those days. We have left to the last the history of the early iron and steel enterprises of Allegheny county and a summary of the present extraordinary development of its iron and steel industries. George Anshutz, the pioneer in the manufacture of iron at Pittsburg, was an alsacian by birth, Alsace at the time being part of France. He was born on November 28, 1753, and died at Pittsburg on February 28, 1837, aged over 83 years. He ac- quired some knowledge of the iron business by having the man- agement of a foundry in the vicinity of Strasburg. In 1789 he emigrated to the United States and soon afterwards located at a place now known as Shady Side and in the East End of Pitts- burg, where he built a small furnace, probably completing it in 1792. In 1794 the furnace was abandoned. It had been ex- pected that iron ore could be obtained in the vicinity, but this ex- pectation was not realized. The neighborhood produced little else than red shale. 'Recourse was next had to a deposit of iron ore on Roaring run, an affluent of the Kiskiminetas, in the south- 262 Thomas Buchanan Read Cigar maker; sign painter; artist; sculptor; poet; author of "Sheridan's Ride;" born, 1822; died, 1872 NATURAL RESOURCES eastern corner of Armstrong county, from which supplies were received in arks at a point on the Allegheny river near to the fur- nace. Some ore was also brought by difficult wagon transporta- tion from the vicinity of Fort Ligonier and Laughlinstown, in Westmoreland county. But the expense entailed in bringing ore from localities so difficult of access in those days was too great to justify the continued working of the furnace. Anshutz's furnace was built at a point about four miles east of the site of Fort Pitt, on a stream known as Two-Mile run, on the bank of which Colonel Jonas Roup had previously at an early period, after emigrating from the Cumberland valley, erected a grist and saw mill. The enterprise seems to have been largely devoted to the casting of stoves and grates. When the road-bed of the Pennsylvania Railroad was graded at Shady Side, in 1851, a portion of the furnace building was demolished and a part of its foundation was removed. Subsequently, in digging the cellar of Alexander Pitcairn's house, a portion of the cinder bank was exposed. Clinton furnace, on the south side of the Monongahela, in Pittsburg, built in 1859 by Graff, Bennett & Co., and blown in on the last Monday of October in that year, was the first furnace built in Allegheny county after the abandonment in 1794 of George Anshutz's furnace at Shady Side. This furnace was built to use coke made from coal from the Pittsburg vein, but its use was not satisfactory and coke from the Connellsville region w^as soon substituted. Clinton furnace was followed in 1861 by the two Eliza furnaces of Laughlin & Co. and soon afterwards by others, all to use Connellsville coke. The first iron foundry at Pittsburg was established in 1805 by Joseph McClurg on the northeast corner of Smithfield street and Fifth avenue. Rev. A. A. Lambing says that Joseph Smith and John Gormly were associated with Mr. McClurg in this en- terprise. They retired, however, before 1807. The enterprise was styled the Pittsburg foundry. On February 12, 1806, Joseph 265 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL McClurg advertised in the "Commonwealth" that "the Pittsburgh Foundry is now complete." In 1812 it was converted by Mr. McClurg into a cannon foundry and supplied the Government with cannon, howitzers, shells, and balls. Commodore Perry's fleet on Lake Erie and General Jackson's army at New Orleans received their supplies of these articles in part from this foundry. In 18 13 there were two iron foundries in this city, McClurg's and Anthony Beelen's, and one steel furnace, owned by Tuper & McCowan. In the following year there were two additional foundries. Mr. Beelen's foundry was put in operation in November, 1810. An- thony Beelen, as well as George Anshutz, was a native of France. Arms, 1870 According to Cramer's "Pittsburgh Almanac" there were three nail factories in Pittsburg in 1807, Porter's, Sturgeon's, and Stewart's, "which make about forty tons of nails yearly." In 1 8 10 about 200 tons of cut and wrought nails were made at Pitts- burg. The condition of the iron industry at Pittsburg in 18 10 is thus summed up by a writer in "The Navigator" for 181 1 : "The manufacture of ironmongery has increased in this place be- yond all calculation. Cut and wrought nails of all sizes are made in vast quantities, about, we think, 200 tons per year. Fire shovels, tongs, drawing knives, hatchets, two-feet squares, augers, chissels, adzes, axes, claw hammers, door hinges, chains, hackles, locks, door handles, spinning-wheel irons, plough irons, flat-irons, &c. ; tons of these, together with a number of other articles in the iron way, are exported annually. Abner Updegraff attempted the making of files, which he finds he can do to advantage. He also 266 NATURAL RESOURCES makes gimlets, and by way of experiment made a neat penknife, which, he says, could be made here as cheap as those imported." The making of screws for butt hinges is also noted. The honor of having erected the first rolling mill at Pittsburg is undoubtedly due to Christopher Cowan, who built a mill at the corner of Penn street and Cecil's alley in 1812, completing it in 1813. This mill had no puddling furnaces, nor was it built to roll bar iron. It was intended to and certainly did manufacture sheet iron, nail and spike rods, shovels, spades, etc. Cramer's "Pitts- burgh Almanack" for 1813 says of this enterprise: "C. Cowan is erecting a most powerful steam engine to reduce iron to vari- ous purposes. It is calculated for a seventy horse poiver, which [will] put into complete operation a Rolling-mill, a Slitting-mill and a Tilt-hammer, all under the same roof. With these Mr. Cowan will be enabled to furnish sheet iron, nail and spike rods, shovels and tongs, spades, scythes, sickles, hoes, axes, frying- pans, cutting knives. In addition to Mr. Cowan's already exten- sive nail business he makes a great supply of chains, plough irons, shingling hatchets, clew hammers, chissels, screw augers, spin- ning wheel irons and smiths' vices of superior quality." The Union rolling mill was the second mill built at Pitts- burg. It was located on the Monongahela river, was built in 1819, and was accidentally blown up and permanently dismantled in 1829, the machinery being taken to Covington, Kentucky. This mill had four puddling furnaces — the first in Pittsburg. It was also the first to roll bar iron. It was built by Baldwin, Robinson, McNickle & Beltzhoover. It is claimed that the first angle iron rolled in the United States was rolled at this mill by Samuel Leon- ard, w'ho also rolled "L" iron for salt pans. Other rolling mills at Pittsburg and its vicinity soon fol- lowed the Union rolling mill. On Pine creek, on the site of the present works of Spang, Chalfant & Co., at Etna, Belknap, Bean & Butler manufactured scythes and sickles as early as 1820, but in 1824 steam power was introduced and blooms were rolled. A 267 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL rolling mill on Grant's Hill was built in 182 1 by William B. Hays and David Adams, near where the court-house now stands. Water for the generation of steam at this mill had to he hauled from the Monongahela river. The Juniata iron works were built on the Allegheny river in 1824 by Dr. Peter Shoenberger. Sligo rolling mill was built on the south side of the Monongahela by Robert T. Stewart and John Lyon in 1825. The Dowlais works, in Kensington, were built in 1825 by George Lewis and Reuben Leonard. The condition of the iron industry at Pittsburg at the close of the first quarter of the nineteenth century is summed up in Cramer's "Magazine Almanac" for 1826: "The manufactures of Pittsburgh, particularly in the article of iron, begin to assume a very interesting aspect. Not less than five rolling mills are now in operation, and a sixth will soon be ready, for the various manufactures of iron. Four of the mills are capable of mak- ing iron from the pig, besides rolling, slitting, and cutting into nails." In 1829 Allegheny county had eight rolling mills, using 6,000 tons of blooms, largely from the Juniata valley, and 1,500 tons of pig iron. Li the same year there were nine foundries that con- sumed 3,500 tons of iron. In 1828 the iron rolled was 3,291 tons; in 1829 it was 6,217 tons; and in 1830 it was 9,282 tons. It is stated that in 1830 one hundred steam-engines were built. In 183 1 there were two steel furnaces at Pittsburg and cast iron began to be used for pillars, the caps and sills of windows, etc. In 1836 there were nine rolling mills in operation, and eighteen foundries, engine factories, and machine shops. In 1856 there were at Pittsburg and in Allegheny county twenty-five rolling mills and thirty-three foundries, but not one blast furnace. In 1890 there were twenty-five blast furnaces and sixty rolling mills and steel works in Allegheny county. In 1901 there were thirty- seven large blast furnaces and sixty-three rolling mills and steel works in this county. 268 NATURAL RESOURCES The Pittsburg rolling' mills were largely sii])|)lie(l from the first with blooms from the Juniata valley and with pig iron from nearer localities, but large quantities of blooms were also brought to Pittsburg from Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The preeminence of Pennsylvania as an iron and steel pro- ducer is very largely due to the extraordinary activity of the iron and steel industries of Allegheny county since about 1825. After this year the towns and cities in the Ohio valley were mainly supplied by Pittsburg manufacturers with bar iron, nails, and all the iron and steel wares of the day. The following table gives the number of blast furnaces, rolling mills, and steel works and the production of pig iron and crude steel and of iron and steel rails and structural shapes in Allegheny county in 1898 and 1901 : Details. Furnaces built and building No. Production of pig iron Gross tons. Rolling mills and steel works No. Production of Bessemer steel Gross tons. Production of open hearth steel Gross tons. Production of crucible and other steel. .Gross tons. Total production of steel Gross tons. Production of all kinds of rails Gross tons. Production of structural shapes Gross tons. 1898. 31 37 3,022,901 3,690,011 60 63 2,338,087 2,883,59s 1,042,350 2,199,191 52,35^ 56,053 3.43^789 5,138,839 564,085 711,031 451,3^3 617,308 Allegheny county produced in 1901 over 23 per cent, of the total production of pig iron in the United States ; over 33 per cent, of the total production of Bessemer steel ingots and cast- ings ; over 47 per cent, of the total production of open-liearth steel ingots and castings ; almost 57 per cent, of the total production of crucible steel; over 38 per cent, of the total production of all kinds of steel ; over 24 per cent, of the total production of all kinds of rails; over 60 per cent, of the total production of structural shapes ; and over 32 per cent, of all rolled iron and steel products. The details which have been given in preceding pages of the early iron history of Pennsylvania relate almost entirely to the 269 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL manufacture of iron with charcoal as fuel, no other fuel having been used in American blast furnaces until about 1840, and but little use of any other fuel having been made before that time in any other branches of the American iron industry. The period of the iron history of Pennsylvania and of every other part of the United States prior to 1840 may therefore very properly be styled the charcoal era. Entrance to Fort Washington, Cumberland County, opposite Harrisburg From photogrraph in possession of Historical Society of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Negative by LaRue Lemer After many unsuccessful experiments with anthracite coal in the blast furnace, and a few moderately successful experiments, the use of this fuel in the manufacture of pig iron was made entirely successful in 1840 by David Thomas, who, on the 3d day of July of that year, blew in the first of the furnaces of the Lehigh Crane Iron Company, at Catasauqua, Lehigh county, Pennsyl- vania, with the new fuel. From the start this furnace produced 50 tons a week of good foundry iron, water power from the Lehigh river being used. Other furnaces to use anthracite coal soon fol- lowed, and in a few years the manufacture of anthracite pig iron became an important branch of the iron industry of Pennsylvania 270 NATURAL RESOURCES and of adjoining States. In 1855 the country made more pig iron with anthracite coal than with charcoal. AI)ont 1840 the use of anthracite coal in rolling mills in Eastern I'emisyivania and in some other States became general. It had previously been used in the generation of steam. David Thomas is justly styled the Father of the American anthracite iron industry. To-day com- paratively little anthracite coal is used in the blast furnace in this country, and the most of what is used is mixed with coke. In 1 90 1 the whole quantity of pig iron made with anthracite coal alone amounted to only 43,719 tons. Successful experiments in the use of coke in the blast furnace in this country date from 1835, when William Firmstone suc- ceeded in making good forge pig iron for about one month at the end of 1 blast at Mary Ann furnace, in Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania, with coke made from Broad Top coal. This pig iron was taken to a forge three miles distant and made into blooms. Coke had previously been used in a small way in forges in Penn- sylvania and as a mixture with charcoal in a few blast furnaces. About 1837 F. H. Oliphant made at Fairchance furnace, near Uniontown, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, a quantity of coke pig iron exceeding twenty tons, and probably exceeding 100 tons. He did not, however, long continue the use of coke, and resumed the manufacture of iron with charcoal. The first continuous use of coke in the blast furnace in this country was achieved at Lonaconing furnace, at Lonaconing, in Western Maryland, in 1838 or 1839. In June, 1839, this furnace, which w^as built by the George's Creek Company, was making about 70 tons per week of good foundry iron. Other furnaces soon afterwards used coke, particularly in Western Pennsylvania, but its use as a furnace fuel did not come rapidly into favor, and many experiments wnth it were attended with loss. Anthracite coal was the favorite blast-furnace fuel next to charcoal. It was not until after 1850 that the use of coke began to exert an appre- ciable influence upon the manufacture of pig iron. In 1849 there 271 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL was not one coke furnace in blast in Pennsylvania. In 1856 there were twenty-one furnaces in Pennsylvania and three in Maryland which were using coke or w^ere adapted to its use, and their total production in that year was 44,481 gross tons of pig iron. After 1856 the use of this fuel in the blast furnace increased in Pennsyl- vania and was extended to other States, but it was not until 1869 Map of Forts Washington and Henry Clay, Cumberland County From original in the War Department at Wash- ington, a photo of which is in possession of the Historical Society of Dauphin County, Penn- sylvania that the country made more pig iron with coke than with char- coal, and not until 1875 ^^'^^^ ^^ made more than with anthracite. In 1 90 1 fully fifteen-sixteenths of the country's total production of pig iron was made with coke, either by itself or in combination with anthracite coal, raw bituminous coal, or charcoal. Pennsyl- vania produces more coke than all the other States. Its Connells- ville coke has a world-wide reputation. The use of raw bituminous coal, or uncoked coal, in the blast furnace, which has never been an important factor in the manu- 272 '(:•,,/> yl/.,/,/^ /;y . '■/'■ . 'C ,, „,.^J /,: . ,, ^?,//,-f/A„,.-/.,;, . r/X,. /.'f/'S-. NATURAL RESOURCES facture of pig iron in this country, and which is now virtually abandoned, has been chiefly confined to the Shenango and Mahon- ing valleys in Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively, in which a particularly hard bituminous coal, known as splint coal, or block coal, is found, and which is not a good coking coal. The use of this coal in its raw state in the blast furnace dates from 1845, when Clay furnace, in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, was success- fully operated with it for some time. In the same year Mahoning furnace, in Mahoning county, Ohio, was built expressly to use this fuel. Other furnaces in the two valleys mentioned were soon built to use this fuel and some charcoal furnaces were altered to use it. In 1856 six furnaces in Pennsylvania and thirteen in Ohio were using it, their total production in that year being 25,073 gross tons. Some progress was afterwards made in the use of the same quality of coal in the Hocking valley in Ohio, and also in Clay county and neighboring counties in Indiana, but since 1880 its use has gradually declined, until to-day very little pig iron is made with this fuel, and when used it is mixed with coke. The charcoal iron industry of Pennsylvania is now virtually dead. Most of its charcoal furnaces and forges and all of its primitive charcoal bloomaries have been abandoned. In 1901 only four charcoal furnaces were left in the whole State and not one of these was in Western Pennsylvania. Their total produc- tion of pig iron in that year was only 4,761 tons. The manufacture of steel by the old-time method of cementa- tion had an existence in Pennsylvania, as in some other States, before the Revolution, but it never attained a position of much prominence, while the manufacture of crucible steel, although often experimented with, and sometimes very successfully, made but slow progress down to about i860. Up to this time the coun- try's main reliance for steel was upon English manufacturers, who were favored in our markets by low duties. The manufac- ture in this country of crucible steel of the best grades may be said to have been established on a firm basis after Hussey, Wells & Co. 3-18 273 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and Park, Brother & Co., of Pittsburg, and Gregory & Co., of Jersey City, New Jersey, in the years i860, 1862, and 1863, re- spectively, succeeded in making it of uniform quahty as a regular product. The event was one of great importance, as it marked the establishment in this country of a new industry. Dr. Curtis G. Hussey of Pittsburg is entitled to the honor of having estab- lished this industry in our country, the firm of which he was the head having successfully made crucible steel of the best quality as a regular product in i860 for the first time in our history. Of the country's total production of crucible steel in 1901 Pennsyl- vania made about three-fourths, and nearly all of this large pro- portion was made in Allegheny county. The manufacture of Bessemer steel, the invention of Sir Henry Bessemer, to which we owe the cheap rails for our rail- roads, was commenced in this country in 1864 and 1865, in an experimental way, at Wyandotte, Michigan, and Troy, New York, but it was not until several years afterwards that Bessemer steel was produced in commercial quantities. In 1867 we pro- duced 2,679 tons of Bessemer steel ingots and 2,277 tons of Bes- semer steel rails. In June, 1867, the Pennsylvania Steel Com- pany, at its works at Steelton, near Harrisburg, made the first Bessemer steel that was made in Pennsylvania. From this time on the industry steadily grew, although slowly at first, until in 1901 we produced 8,713,302 tons of Bessemer ingots and castings and 2,870,816 tons of Bessemer rails. From the first Pennsyl- vania has been by far the most active of all the States in the devel- opment of the Bessemer steel industry. Of the country's total production of Bessemer steel ingots and castings in 1901 Pennsyl- vania made exactly 49.2 per cent., and of the total production of Bessemer steel rails in the same year Pennsylvania's share was 48.9 per cent. The first steel rails ever rolled in the United States upon order, in the way of regular business, were rolled by the Cambria Iron Company, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in August, 1867, from ingots made by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. 274 NATURAL RESOURCES The manufacture of steel by I'xie Siemens-Martin, or open- hearth, process was introduced into this country in 1868 by Cooper, Hewitt & Co., at the works of the New Jersey Steel and Iron Company, at Trenton, New Jersey. For many years this method of making steel made slow progress in the United States. In August, 1875, there were thirteen establishments in this coun- try which were then making open-hearth steel or were prepared to make it, and of these five were located in Pennsylvania, of which three were in Pittsburg. The total production of open- hearth steel in 1875 was, however, only 8,080 tons, and ten years afterwards it was only 133,376 tons, but in 1895 it was 1,137,182 tons, and in 1901 it was 4,656,309 tons. Of the total production in 1901 Pennsylvania's share was 3,594,763 tons, or 77.2 per cent. The iron age having been succeeded many years ago by the steel age, which may be said to have been ushered in by the Besse- mer steel-making process, that gave us the steel rail, it became nec- essary for Pennsylvania to seek for ores of purer quality than those which, as a rule, are found inside its own boundaries. These better ores it has found mainly in the Lake Superior region, and they have for many years formed the basis of its vast iron and steel industries. Other ores adapted to the manufacture of steel have been imported from Europe, Africa, and Cuba. The first use of Lake Superior iron ore in any blast furnace in this country occurred in 1853, at Sharpsville furnace, in Mercer coun- ty, Pennsylvania, then owned by David and John P. Agnew, and in the same year it was used at Clay furnace, in the same county, at both furnaces successfully. After 1856 other furnaces in Pennsylvania and in other States began the regular use of Lake Superior ore. Cuban iron ore was first used in 1884 at furnaces in Eastern Pennsylvania owned by the Bethlehem Iron Company and the Pennsylvania Steel Company. At the Siberian rolling mill of Rogers & Burchfield, at Leech- burg, in Armstrong county, natural gas, taken from a well 1,200 275 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL feet deep, was first used as a fuel in the puddling furnace. In the fall of 1874 it was announced that during the preceding six months this gas had furnished all the fuel required for puddling, heating, and making steam at these works, not one bushel of coal having been used. Soon afterwards the firm of Spang, Chalfant & Co., owners of the Etna Iron Works, at Etna, Allegheny coun- ty, introduced the use of natural gas in all their departments. They were the first manufacturers in the United States to use the new fuel exclusively. In 1901 there were 45 iron and steel works in Allegheny county which used natural gas and 28 works in other parts of Western Pennsylvania which used this fuel. In other parts of the country there were 44 works using natural gas in this year. In the census year 18 10 there were in Pennsylvania 44 blast furnaces, 78 forges, 4 bloomaries, 18 rolling and slitting mills, 6 air furnaces, 50 trip-hammers, 5 steel furnaces, and 175 naileries. The furnaces produced 26,878 gross tons of "cast iron," the prod- uct of the whole country, with 153 blast and air furnaces, being 53,908 tons. Of the 5 steel furnaces in Pennsylvania one was in Philadelphia city and one each was in Philadelphia, Lancaster, Dauphin, and Fayette counties, and their product was 531 tons of steel valued at $81,147, the whole country making 917 tons. In the census year 1820 the value of all manufactures of pig iron and castings in the United States was $2,230,275, of which Pennsylvania produced $563,810 worth. In the same year the country produced "manufactures of wrought iron" valued at $4,640,669, of which Pennsylvania's share was $1,156,266. Quantities were not ascertained. In the census year 1830 the value of pig iron and castings manufactured in the United States was $4,757,403, of which the share of Pennsylvania was $1,643,702. In the same year the country's production of "manufactures of wrought iron" was valued at $16,737,251, of which Pennsylvania's share was $3,762,- 847. Quantities were not ascertained. 276 NATURAL RESOURCES In the census year 1840 there were in the United States 804 furnaces, which produced in that year 286,903 tons of "cast iron." Pennsylvania had 213 furnaces and made 98,395 tons of "cast iron." In the same year there were 795 bloomaries, forges, and rohing mihs in the country, of which Pennsylvania had 169. The number of tons of bar iron produced in that year was 197,233, of which Pennsylvania's share was 87,244. In 1842 there were 151,885 tons of pig iron produced in Pennsylvania. Its production of pig iron in 1843 was 190,000 tons, and in 1844 it was 246,000 tons. In 1846 there were 317 blast furnaces, producing 368,056 tons of pig iron, and in 1847 there were the same number, producing 389,350 tons of pig iron. The production of the furnaces in 1849 was 253,035 tons; of the bloomaries, 335 tons ; of the forges, 28,495 tons ; and of the roll- ing mills, 108,358 tons. In the census year 1850 there were produced in the United States 563,755 tons of pig iron, of which Pennsylvania produced 285,702 tons. In the same year the country produced "wrought- iron manufactures" to the amount of $22,629,271, of which Pennsylvania's share was $9,224,256. In the census year i860 the United States produced 51,290 tons of blooms, worth $2,623,178, of which Pennsylvania made 24,700 tons, worth $1,467,450. In the same year the United States produced 987,559 tons of pig iron, worth $20,870,120, of which Pennsylvania produced 580,049 tons, worth $11,262,974. In the same year the United States produced 513,213 tons of rolled iron, worth $31,888,705, of which Pennsylvania produced 266,253 tons, worth $15,122,842. In the same year the United States produced 11,838 tons of steel, worth $1,778,240, of which Pennsylvania produced 9,890 tons, worth $1,338,200. In the census year 1870 the United States produced 110,808 tons of blooms, worth $7,647,054, of which Pennsylvania made 68,238 tons, worth $4,881,431. In the same year the United States produced 2,052,821 tons of pig iron, worth $69,640,498, 277 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL of which Pennsylvania produced 1,033,272 tons, worth $32,- 636,410. In the same year the United States produced 1,468,312 tons of rolled iron, worth $120,311,158, of which Pennsylvania made 713,331 tons, worth $56,811,975. In two establishments John White Geary Superintendent Allegheny Portage railroad; soldier in Mexican war; first postmaster and first mayor of San Francisco, California; ter- ritorial governor of Kansas, 1856; brigadier general United States volunteers, 1862; brevet major-general, i86s; governor of Pennsylvania, 1867-1873 the United States in the same year produced 19,403 tons of Bes- semer steel, worth $1,818,220, of which Pennsylvania, in one establishment, produced 13,500 tons, worth $1,405,000. In the same year, not including Bessemer steel, the United States pro- duced 30,354 tons of steel, worth $7,791,766, of which Pennsyl- vania ])n)duced 21,806 tons, worth $5,560,238. 278 NATURAL RESOURCES In the calendar year 1880 Pennsylvania made 48.5 per cent, of the country's total production of pig iron in that year; 46.8 per cent, of all the rolled iron produced ; and 46 per cent, of the total production of iron and steel rails. Since about the middle of the eighteenth century Penn- sylvania has been noted as the leading iron and steel making State in the Union. For many years it has produced one-half of all the pig-iron, one-half of all the rolled iron, and more than one- half of all the steel made in the United States. In 1890 it made 48 per cent, of the large production of pig iron in that year; 61 per cent, of the Bessemer steel ingots produced; 70 per cent, of the Bessemer steel rails; 81 per cent, of the open-hearth steel; 75 per cent, of the crucible steel ; 52 per cent, of the rolled iron ; and 54 per cent, of the rolled steel other than steel rails. In 1901 Pennsylvania made 46.2 per cent, of the country's total production of pig iron in that year; 49.2 per cent, of the Bessemer steel; 77.2 per cent, of the open-hearth steel; 71.9 per cent, of the crucible steel ; 48.9 per cent, of the Bessmer steel rails ; 91.4 per cent, of the structural shapes; 69.7 per cent, of the plates and sheets; 28.3 per cent, of the wire rods; and 56.4 per cent, of all rolled iron and steel products. The following table, compiled by the American Iron and Steel Association, gives the production of iron ore, pig iron, steel, etc., in Pennsylvania in 1901, compared with the production of the whole country. The preeminence of Pennsylvania as an iron and steel producer is really marvelous. The small percentage of iron ore it produces is also remarkable. It is accounted for by the superior quality of the ores of Lake Superior, which are now chiefly used in all the Northern States, and to a less extent in a few other localities, in the production of pig iron for steel- making purposes, as well as for the manufacture of general roll- ing mill and foundry products. Large quantities of steel-making ore are also imported into Pennsylvania from Cuba and other countries. 279 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Production of iron ore, pig iron, steel, etc., in the United States and Pennsylvania in the calendar year 1901. Total production of iron ore Total production of pig iron Production of Bessemer steel ingots and castings Production of open hearth steel ingots and castings Production of crucible and other steel ingots and castings Total production of steel ingots and castings, Production of Bessemer steel rails Production of structural shapes Production of plates and sheets Production of wire rods Production of all other rolled products, in- cluding bars, skelp, cut nails, open-hearth steel rails, iron rails, etc Total of all rolled products Production of wire nails. .. .kegs of 100 lbs. Production of cut nails kegs of 100 lbs. United States. Gross tons. 28,887,479 15,878,354 8,713,302 4,656,309 103,984 13,473,595 2,870,816 1,013,150 2,254,425 1,365,934 4,845,002 12,349,327 9,803,822 1,542,240 Pennsyl- vania. Gross tons. 1,040,684 7,343,257 4,293,439 3,594,763 74,800 7,963,002 1,406,008 925,940 1,572,500 386,037 2,672,183 6,962,668 3,118,508 833,469 Percentage of Penn- sylvania. 3.6 46 . 2 49.2 77.2 71.9 59-1 48.9 91.4 69.7 28.3 55-2 56.4 31.8 54-0 ANTHRACITE COAL Geologists agree in a general way as to the composition of coal. They say that it is for the most part the remains of vegetable matter which has become decomposed and mineralized. Anthra- cite varies in color from glistening black to lead gray, is hard and clean, ignites with difficulty, burns almost without smoke and produces intense heat. The production of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania gives direct employment to nearly 150,000 persons; and, incidentally, it may 1)6 mentioned that females are not allowed to work in the col- lieries. (In England, Scotland and France, within the last few years, women and children have been employed in carrying coal from the interior of the mines to the surface.) 280 NATURAL RESOURCES It is estimated that the anthracite fields of Pennsylvania now contain about 14,453,397,600 cubic yards of coal; each cubic yard weighs 2,240 pounds, hence the weight of the entire coal deposit may be fairly estimated at 32,375,710,624,000 pounds. Mining engineers assert, on the basis of these computations, that the sup- ply of anthracite yet to be mined will last from eighty to one hun- dred years. The geological survey of the State, 1885, separates the anthra- cite region^ into the following divisions : 1. The Soutliern or Pottsville Field extends from Lehigh river at Mauch Chunk southwest to within a few miles of the Susquehanna river, and thence nearly north to Harrisburg, com- prising the territory of Carbon, Schuylkill and Dauphin counties. The eastern end of this field, known as the Lower Lehigh or Pan- ther creek basin, between Tamaqua, on the Little Schuylkill, and Mauch Chunk, has generally been included by the coal trade in the Lehigh field, from the fact that its coal more closely resembles that obtained in the Upper Lehigh region than that in the Potts- ville field west of Tamaqua, and also from the fact that shipments from it to market have been made largely through the Lehigh valley. 2. The Western Middle or Mahanoy and Shamokin Field lies between the easternmost headwaters of Little Schuylkill river and the Susquehanna, and within Schuylkill, Columbia and North- umberland counties. These two coal fields (i and 2) are fre- quently designated in a general way as the Schuylkill region, although parts of them are better known by the trade names defin- ing the districts from which coals of special characteristics are mined. ^In tlie American Cyclopedia (1873), S. square miles. The statement regarding the H. Daddow gives the total area of the extent of the anthracite fields was based anthracite fields in Pennsylvania as 472 upon previous geological surveys and was square miles, and divides the region as presumably correct at the time, but in fact follows: Wyoming field, 198 square miles; the area of the fields as shown by more Schuylkill field, 146 square miles; Lehigh recent investigations is four times greater field, 37 square miles; Middle Field 91 than they were understood to be in 1873. 281 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL 3. The Eastern Middle or Upper Lehigh Field lies between Lehigh river and Catawissa creek, and principally in Luzerne county, with limited areas extending into Carbon, Schuylkill and Columbia counties. 4. The Northern or Wyoming and Lackazvanna Field, in the two valleys from which it derives its name, is embraced almost Slocum Hollow, 1840 The site of the present city of Scranton. From an old print entirely by Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. A small area in the extreme eastern end extends into Wayne and Susquehanna counties. 5. The Loyalsock and Mehoopany Field, within the areas drained by the headwaters of the Loyalsock and Mehoopany creeks, is included in Sullivan and Wyoming counties. This field is from twenty to twenty-five miles northwest of the western end of the northern field. Its geological structure closely resem- bles that of the bituminous field, in whicli it has until recentlv been included, although the composition of much of its coal entitles it to rank with that of the anthracite region generally. 282 NATURAL RESOURCES The geographical divisions of the anthracite coal fields above mentioned are also, for trade purposes, sometimes grouped as fol- lows : The Wyoming, embracing the whole of the northern and Loyalsock fields; the Lehigh, embracing all of the eastern and part of the southern field ; the Schuylkill, embracing the western and part of the southern field. The Wyoming is by far the most important of these regions, fully 50 per cent, of the total output of anthracite coming from it. The Schuylkill provides 35 per cent, of the output and the Lehigh region 15 per cent. The fol- lowing table shows the relative importance of the different coun- ties of the anthracite region to the coal trade by giving the num- ber of tons and percentages of coal produced in each county for the years 1883 and 1884: County. Susquehanna .. . Lackawanna . . . Luzerne Sullivan Carbon Schuylkill Columbia Northumberland Dauphin Production Per- Production Per in tons. centages. in tons. cent. 30,945 0.09 77,058 00.24 7,022,241 20.68 7,093,190 21.73 14,176,487 41.75 13,382,912 41.00 84,376 00.25 86,018 00.26 1,007,419 2.97 1,155,916 3-54 7,758,811 22.85 7,165,532 21.96 774,755 2.28 745,826 2.28 2,497,801 7-36 2,331,108 7-14 602,996 1.77 603,939 1.85 At the time indicated in the preceding table the area of anthra- cite deposits was supposed to be something less than one thou- sand square miles, but more recent investigations have shown that this coal abounds throughout a territory of about seventeen hun- dred square miles. The table shows nine counties in which an- thracite was produced in 1884, whereas, at the present time, Wayne is to be added to the list as a considerable factor in the production, there having been mined within its borders in 1901 the aggregate of 329,877 tons of coal. 283 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL In its supervision of the mining properties of the State, the legislature, by an act passed June 8, 190 1, directed the chief of the bureau of mines to rearrange the anthracite inspection dis- tricts on the basis of the number of mines engaged in coal produc- tion, number of employes and the number of accidents, as shown by the report of the bureau for the year 1900. Under the act the districts were comprised as follows : First District — Luzerne and Sullivan counties. Second Dis- trict — Lackawanna, Wayne and Sullivan counties. Third Dis- trict — Carbon county. Fourth District — Schuylkill county. Fifth District — Northumberland county. Sivth District — Co- lumbia and Dauphin counties. The following table, prepared by the secretary of internal affairs, shows the number of tons of anthracite produced in each of these counties during the last ten years. Taken in connection with what is said elsewhere in this chapter, the table furnishes an interesting study relating to the importance of coal production in our Commonwealth. Production of anthracite coal in tons by counties from 1892 to 1 90 1, inclusive: Counties 1892 1893 1894 1895 Carbon Columbia 1,427,542.55 889,489.85 639,879.00 11,410,553.95 17,548,598.00 3,724,233.70 9,564,534.60 76,209.65 475,622.30 1,510,289.50 741,990.74 640,723.17 11,667,550.25 18,253,144.75 3,731,404.63 9,992,208 . 97 70,418.00 571,956.19 1,589,395 510,537 699,607 11,170,382 17,243.928 3,893,660 9,985.092 413,578 1,577,146 493,042 712,856 11,859,382 19,143,101 4,573,144 11,495,388 152,141 840,904 Dauphin Lackawanna Luzerne Northumberland Schuylkill Sullivan Susquehanna Wavne Total 45,858,371.00 47,179,563.20 ,45,506,179 50,846,104 NATURAL RESOURCES Counties 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 Carbon 1,488,550 1,327,235 1,043,663 Columbia 443.330 481,453 569,17s 895,061 875.643 1,080,231 Dauphin 702,335 662,842 667,460 729,757 695,656 741,582 Lackawanna . . . 11,638,479 1 1,946,871 11,588,801 13,248,949 12,282,108 15,409,040 Luzerne 17,964,900 17,141,809 18,195,398 19,899,742 19,179,573 21,396,312 Northumberland 4.117,569 3,774,667 3,519,305 4.339,547 4,188,343 4,849,009 Schuylkill 1 1,092,772 10,971,943 1 1,980,700 12,226,938 1 1,606,160 13,640,766 Sullivan 151,758 164,046 147.533 163,555 209,922 136,165 Susquehanna'. . . . 474.637 476,488 423,139 624,125 496,432 663,487 Wayne 275.955 19,520 329,877 Total 48,074,330 46,947,354 47,145,174 54,034,224 51,217,318 59,905,951 As before stated, it is estimated that the anthracite coal sup- ply will last from eighty to one hundred years. Mr. Joseph Harris, in an article in Vol. XIII of "The Forum,'' says that there are 5,329,451,404 tons yet to be mined. Mr. A. D. Smith com- putes the amount yet to be mined at 6,512,167,703 tons, and Mr. William Griffiths, the mining engineer, says in the "Bond Record" in 1896 that there are 5,073,786,000 tons yet available. While it may be true that the life of anthracite coal in this country will not extend beyond the period above mentioned, there is consolation in the fact that we have practically an inexhaustible supply of bituminous coal. The late Professor Tyndall, of England, in a letter to Mr. Jervis, wrote as follows : "I see no prospect of any substitute being found for coal as a source of motive power. We have, it is true, our winds and streams and tides, and we have the beams of the sun. But these are common to all the world. We cannot take lead against a nation which, in addition to those sources of power, possesses the power of coal. We may enjoy a multiple of their physical and intellectual energy, and still be unable to hold our own against a people which possesses, abundance of coal, and we should have, in my opinion, no chance whatever in a race with a nation which, in addition to abundant coal, has energy and intelligence approxi- mately equal to our own." 285 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Professor Tyndall had America in mind, no doubt, when he wrote the above letter, and the inferences drawn from it are so obvious that it is not necessary to mention them here. "America, with her immense coal fields, is destined to become eventually the great coal-producer of the world," is the predic- tion made a few years ago by Mr. Simonin, an eminent French engineer. Mr. William Jasper Nicholls, in his work, "The Story of American Coals," gives the following table showing the world's progress in the production of coal during the past fifty years : Great Britain LInited States Germany . . . . France Austria Belgium . . . . Russia Canada Japan Spain New Zealand Sweden Italy Total ... 1845 55,227,620 1895 34,754,750 184,044,890 3,763-013 182,352,774 6,500,000 103,851,090 4,141,617 28,862,017 700,000 28,037,678 4,447,240 21,590,448 600,000 7,62 1 ,969 100,000 3,719,170 100,000 3,400,000 50,000 1,688,820 1,000 673,315 60,000 421,155 10,000 326,340 566,589,666 Anthracite coal was discovered' in the Wyoming valley in 1766, and soon afterward James Tilghman of Philadelphia sent samples of the article to Thomas and William Penn, in London, 'Anthracite was discovered in Rhode Island and also in Massachusetts about 1760. Since that time similar discoveries have been made in Virginia, Arkansas, Ore- gon and New Mexico, while Kansas has laid claims to small deposits in several localities. In 1840 Virginia produced 200 tons of anthracite, but during the next twenty years the total output from that State was only about 20,000 tons. In i860 anthracite was mined for markets only in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, the former 286 NATURAL RESOURCES with the remark : "This l)ed of coal, situated, as it is, on the side of the river, may some day or other be of great vahie." In acknowledging recci])t of the package, Thomas Penn said : "\Vc shall have it examined by some i)ersons skillfnl in that article and send their observation on it." In 1768 two brothers named Gore, who were early settlers in the Wyoming valley, are said to have l:)een the first j)ersons to use coal in these regions. They were blacksmiths, and used it in their forges. An account published in 1770 tends to show that coal deposits were known to extend into the northern portions of Mahanoy and Shamokin, but no mining of consequence was done in those localities until 1834. Philip Ginter, a hunter, is said to have discovered coal near the site of Mauch Chunk in 1791. Coal was discovered at Plymouth in 1805, by John and Abi- jah Smith, brothers, who had come from Connecticut a short time before. In 1807 they shipped the first boat load of coal to Columbia, but as anthracite was not understood at that time as being suitable for fuel in an open grate, they accompanied the load and also took with them a stone-mason and the tools neces- sary to set up plates in the houses to show its cjualities for heating purposes. In Columbia several houses were supplied with grates in which stone coal, as anthracite was then called, was used for fuel, and only after a struggle of several years were the Smiths able to derive any profit whatever from their enterprise. In 1808 Judge Jesse Fell of Wilkesbarre became possessed of the idea that stone coal could be made to burn in an open grate, and to that end he reasoned that if it would burn sufficiently well to destroy a wooden grate he would feel justified in constructing one of iron. His experiment proved successful, and, encouraged by his effort, he made an iron grate, shaped it after the fashion State producing a very small proportion of tions in general the reader is referred to the total output, and that inferior in quality the various works on that subject written in comparison with the coal production of by Mr. James M. Swank, by Mr. William our own State. For more detailed state- Jasper Nicholls, and also to the writings of ment of the early history of coal produc- their contemporaries. 287 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL of grates now in use, and did succeed in kindling a good fire. His achievement at that time was regarded as bordering on the mar- velous, and the good judge himself, elated with the success of his performance, made note of the wonderful event on a fly-leaf in a volume of "The Free-Mason's Monitor," in these words : "Feb- ruary II, of Masonry 5808. Made the experiment of burning the common stone coal of the valley in a grate, in a common fire- place in my house, and find it will answer the purpose of fuel, mak- ing a clearer and better fire, at less expense, than burning wood in the common way. (Signed) Jesse Fell. . "Borough of Wilkes-Barre, February 11, 1808." Local history in the anthracite region abounds in interesting reminiscences of the early attempts to burn hard coal, and some tales are related which indicate that those who then advocated the use of that commodity as a fuel substitute for wood, and offered it for sale as such, were regarded as impostors and frauds upon the public ; but within the brief space of a score of years after Judge Fell accomplished his miraculous feat, stone coal as a fuel began to come into use, and some small shipments thereof to eastern markets were made. Previous to about 1820 all attempts to bring anthracite into general use were simply a part of what may be termed the formative period, a period of uncertainty and doubt to which all the great reform movements of whatever kind must be subjected before their results become accepted by the people who have, in all ages, constituted our great American brotherhood. Authorities seem to agree that the first shipment of anthracite coal in the United States was that sent down the Susquehanna in 1776 from mines at Wyoming to Harrisburg, and thence trans- ported in wagons to the federal armory at Carlisle, where it was used throughout the war in the manufacture of firearms. In 1803 five arks, containing 200 tons of coal, were shipped by way of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers to Philadelphia, but on the passage down three of the arks were wrecked, and when the remaining two reached their destination their cargoes found no sale in the 288 NATURAL RESOURCES market, and were consequently thrown away, for the people could not make use of fuel coal at that time. In 1812, according to a contemporary writer, Colonel George Shoemaker of Pottsville took nine wagon-loads of coal to Phila- delphia, and, with much difficulty, succeeded in selling two of the loads, but gave away the remaining seven. He was denounced as an impostor in attempting to sell stones to the people under the pretense that it was coal, and only with much difficulty did he escape from the city without arrest. In 18 15 Wihiam and Morris Wirtz sent an ark-load of coal through the Lackawaxen and Del- aware rivers to Philadelphia, and there made a sale of it at prices varying from ten to twelve dollars per ton. In 1823 the first cargo of anthracite was shipped around Cape Cod and delivered at the Boston iron works, where it was regarded as superior to the Rhode Island coal. In 1825, at Phoenixville, in this State, anthracite was first successfully used for generating steam. Nu- merous instances of attempts, successful and otherwise, to make use of anthracite coal for domestic and manufacturing purposes are found in various published accounts, but the above will suf- fice to show something of the difficulties encountered in introduc- ing that commodity during the early years of the last century. In relation to the expense of early and more recent transpor- tation, it may be said that the cost to Colonel Shoemaker in haul- ing his first nine wagon loads of coal from Pottsville to Philadel- phia w-as $28 per ton; to-day the cost of transportation by rail between the same points is $1.70 per ton. All early efforts in tak- ing coal to market by wagon were unprofitable, while boat navi- gation on the rivers, although less expensive than wagon trans- portation, was hazardous, and shippers frequently calculated on the loss of some of their boats and cargoes. A little later canals were built, at great cost, and while they afforded comparatively safe shipping facilities, and for many years did an immense busi- ness, they failed to give entirely satisfactory results, and eventu- ally were superseded by the railroad. Sixty years ago, under 3-19 289 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL favorable conditions, the journey from Scranton to Philadelphia required almost three days ; to-day the same distance is traveled in a little more than four hours. In early times coal from the Burned anthracite coal in grate, 1808. Repro- duced by courtesy of Oscar Jewell Harvey Lackawanna and Carbondale districts was sent to New York by the Delaware and Hudson canal from Honesdale to the Hudson river, io8 miles; by railroad, i8 miles, and by river navigation, 91 miles; total, 217 miles. From the Wyoming district ship- 290 NATURAL RESOURCES ments were sent down the Susquehanna to tide water at Havre de Grace, a distance of 194 miles. In 1846 as many as 643 miles of water-ways had been opened to convey anthracite coal to market. The State of New York aided the Delaware and Hudson and Pennsylvania helped other companies to build canals. The cost of transportation on the canal was, in 1826, 1.5 cents per ton mile; in 1843, i-^S cents; in 1845, 1 cent per mile. In 1833, complaint having been made of the high price charged for the transportation of coal by the canal companies, the State attempted to limit their powers in either mining or transporting coal. Ijut this attempt brought no satisfactory results. "Watson's Annals" says that "no regular sale of anthracite coal was efifected in the Philadelphia market till the year 1825." In 1820 the old Lehigh Coal Company sent 365 tons to Philadel- phia, "as the first fruits of the concern," and, "little as that was, it completely stocked the market and was sold with difficulty. It increased each subsequent year up to 1824, making in that year a delivery of 9,541 tons. In 1825 it ran up to 28,393 tons, and kept along at nearly that rate until 1832, when 70.000 tons were deliv- ered. From that time it went regularly on increasing, until now, in 1839, it has delivered 221,850 tons. And now that it has got its momentum, w^ho can guess w'here it will end?" Another well-known writer says that "up to 1820 the total amount of coal sent from Wyoming is reckoned at 8,500 tons," and also that Colonel Washington Lee mined and sent to Balti- more 1,000 tons of coal, which were sold for $8 a ton. In 1 83 1 the North Branch Canal was completed to the Nanti- coke dam, and John Coons sent the first boat, the "Wyoming," with a load of anthracite, some flour and other merchandise to Philadelphia. The route of the Wyoming was down the Sus- quehanna to Northumberland, where it entered the Pennsylvania Canal, and thence by way of the Union and Schuylkill canals to Philadelphia. 291 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The early use of anthracite in industrial pursuits is thus re- ferred to in the geological survey of Pennsylvania: "The first use of anthracite in connection with the manufacture of iron dates from 1 8 12, when White & Hazard purchased one of nine wagon loads from the Schuylkill region at the cost of transportation, and successfully used the coal in heating the furnace of their nail and wire mill at the Falls of Schuylkill. The first successful use of anthracite as an exclusive fuel in the blast furnace was at the Pioneer furnace, built during 1837 and 1838, at Pottsville, by William Lyman of Boston. The first successful blast was blown in at this furnace on October 19, 1839. In recognition of the results obtained in this furnace, Mr. Lyman was paid a premium of $5,000 by Nicholas Biddle and others,^ as being the first person in the United States who had made anthracite pig iron continu- ously for 100 days. As early as 1824 attempts had been made to use anthracite mixed with charcoal in charcoal furnaces. These and many subsequent attempts prior to 1839 seem to have all met with failure. On July 3, 1840, David Thomas successfully blew in a furnace which he had built for the Lehigh Crane Iron Company at Catasauqua, on the Lehigh river." In treating of the introduction of anthracite and bituminous coal in the manufacture of pig iron, so good an authority as Mr. Swank' says that this "innovation at once caused a revolution in the whole iron industry of the country," and that "a notable result of the introduction of mineral fuel was that, while it restricted the production of charcoal pig iron in the States, * * * which, like Pennsylvania, possessed the new fuel, it did not inju- riously afifect the production of charcoal pig iron in other States. Anthracite was the first to be largely used in American blast fur- naces, and for many years after its adaptability to the smelting of iron ore was established it was in greater demand for this pur- '^In another chapter of this work Mr. he discusses the introduction and utility of Swank treats at length of the iron and coal in the production of those commodi- steel industry in Pennsylvania, and therein ties. 292 NATURAL RESOURCES pose than bituminous coal, coked or uncoked. In recent years the relative popularity of these two fuels for blast furnace use lias been exactly reversed. The natural difhculties in the way of the successful introduction of anthracite coal in our blast furnaces w^ere increased l)y the fact that up to that time when we com- menced our experiments in its use. no other countr_\- had suc- ceeded in using it as a furnace fuel." The railway appears to have become a factor in the produc- tion and shipment of coal in 1827, when a gravity road was con- structed from Mauch Chunk to the Summit mines, a distance of nine miles, and with an average descent of one hundred feet per mile from the mines to the river. At first mule power was em- ployed in drawing coal cars back to the summit, but on the down trips this primitive "motive power" was transported in cars set apart for that purpose; and well authenticated accounts assert that the mules, true to their kind, having once enjoyed the pleas- ure of a ride down the gravity road, could not afterward be per- suaded to make the trip afoot. This gravity road is still in opera- tion, although mule power was soon replaced with stationary engines at each terminus. In 1831 a steam railroad was con- structed to the eastern extremity of the company's works, where fourteen seams were developed in 1830, wdth an aggregate of 240 feet of coal. In 1837 the construction of the Susquehanna and Lehigh Railroad from White Haven to the Wyoming valley was begun, and was completed in 1845. The first shipment of coal, 5,886 tons, over the road was made in 1846. The Beaver Meadow Railroad, opening an outlet from the Beaver Meadow coal basin, and the Hazleton Railroad to the basin of the same name, were in operation in 1840. The Buck Mountain Company's road was nearly finished in the same year. The Lehigh Valley Railroad was opened in 1855, transporting 9,003 tons of coal in that year and 1,295,419 tons in 1864. In treating of the methods in use in the transportation of 293 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL anthracite coal from the Schuylkill region in 1829, the excellent work entitled "Coal Iron and Oil," says: "It was not until 1827 that rails were used in the mines, and previous to 1829 the coal product was carted over common mud Breaker in the Anthracite Coal Region Engraved for this work from an original photo- graph roads from the mines to the canal. Abraham Potts of Port Car- bon, was the first to build a model railroad in the Schuylkill region. It led from his mines to the canal, a distance of half a mile. In 1829 the Mill Creek Railroad was built from Port Carbon to the Broad Mountain, about on the site of the present town of St. Clair, a distance of about three miles, and at a cost of $3,000." 294 NATURAL RESOURCES William Jasper Nicholls, in "The Story of the American Coals," says that Abraham Potts's "railway was made of wooden rails laid on wooden sills and was successfully operated in carrying coal, which, previous to that time, was hauled in wagons to the canal, and thence to market. In 1829 the directors of the Schuylkill Canal came to Pottsville and viewed this primitive road in opera- tion. They were surprised when they saw 13 railroad cars loaded with one and one-half tons each, and they were amazed when Mr. Potts, the projector of this corduroy railroad, asserted that in less than ten years a railroad w'ould be in operation along the line of their canal. After events proved that he was right in everything except as to time, for it was not until 1842 that the first train passed over the extension of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail- road from Mount Carbon." In 1896, according to Mining Engineer William Griffiths, 96.29 per cent, of the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania were owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the railroad com- panies or their auxiliary corporations, the coal companies. Since that year their operations have been extended still further, and to-day five of the largest companies control fully 90 per cent, of the entire anthracite coal fields. These vast corporations, in some instances consolidations of interests of lesser companies, are in great part the natural outgrowth of trade conditions, and in an almost equal degree the result of the later-day tendency toward concentration of corporate management in all the activities of business life. The effects of this movement upon the public wel- fare are subjects of wide discussion, and many arguments are put forth in their favor and against them. It is unquestioned, how- ever, that the pooling of interests on the part of the mining and transportation companies, so far as it is known to exist, has been of benefit to the general public. The following railroad companies (whether as such or in the allied capacity 01 mining companies) now own coal lands and are engaged in the transportation of coal productions : Delaware, 295 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Lackawanna and Western; Delaware and Hudson; Erie; New York, Ontario and Western; New York, Susquehanna and Schuyl- kill ; Pennsylavnia ; Central of New Jersey ; Lehigh Valley ; and Philadelphia and Reading. Each company has branches from its main line which extend to the collieries operated. The products of the mines, under normal conditions, constitute about 63.2 per cent, of the gross tonnage of the companies, and therefore the mining and transportation of coal has been to all of them in their capacity as operators and common carriers a principal source of revenue. Mr. Griffiths computes^ the percentage of coal field area con- trolled by the railroad companies as follows : Per Cent. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 6. 55 Pennsylvania 6 . 24 Central R. R. of New Jersey i7-30 Lehigh Valley 16.87 Philadelphia & Reading 42.25 Delaware & Hudson 2.29 Erie & Wyoming Valley i .82 Erie yy N. Y., O. & W 28 N. Y., Sus. & Schuylkill 54 Del., Susq. & Schuylkill 1.38 Uncontrolled Tonnage 3.71 Total 100. 00 A few incidents in connection with the history of some of these railroads- in relation to coal mining and transportation will be proper in this place. The company now known as the Dela- ware, Lackawanna and Western, one of the most extensive cor- porations operating in the anthracite regions, is the outgrowth of ^The capacity of the mines is the basis chapter to refer more than incidentally to upon which the percentage of coal pro- the history of any of the railroads of the duced is estimated. State, as that subject is treated at length ''It is not vvilliin the jirovincc of this under a separate heading. 296 p fc o c « o u NATURAL RESOURCES the old Lackawanna and Western, chartered in 185 1, and origi- nally was a coal carrying road from Scranton to Great Bend, but by the acquisition of other lines it reached eastward to the Dela- ware river, and a little later to tidewater and New York markets. More recent extensions of the lines westward reached Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica, and to-day it is perhaps the heaviest coal car- rier in New York State. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company dates its history as a coal carrier from about 1857, when it acquired from the State the main line of public works, comprising both canals and railroads, extending from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Now the company operates about 13,000 miles of road, extending into thirteen States. In 1895 its aggregate coal and coke shipment over lines between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia amounted to 26,800,000 tons, or about 57 per cent, of its total tonnage. The Central Railroad of New^ Jersey, with its auxiliary leased lines, is one of the most important and extensive coal carrying roads in the country. It operates about seven hundred miles of railroad in this State and New Jersey, and uses 17,000 coal cars in that department of its transportation business. The Lehigh Canal forms a part of the Jersey Central carrier system, and in itself is a historic thoroughfare of traffic, having to its credit the first considerable shipment of anthracite coal in the country, and a record of uninterrupted operation since 1820, when three hundred and sixty-five tons of coal were sent from Summit Hill to Phila- delphia. The Lehigh valley system extends over 1,000 miles of track, owned and leased, and dates its origin to the year 1847, when its ancestor, the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company, was chartered. The annual anthracite ton- nage of the Lehigh Valley company is more than 7,000,000 tons, exclusive of its operations in bituminous coal. The company owns the Lehigh Valley Coal Company and the Snow Shoe property in Centre county, including about 45,000 acres of bituminous coal 299 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL ands. It has ii,ooo eight-wheel and 20,000 four-wheel cars in its coal carrying department. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad may be said to have been "brought up" in the coal carrying trade and to have become an expert in that line of business. Like the other large companies, the Reading is the result of consolidation of shorter lines, by which means it crossed the State, tapped the richest coal fields and carried their products to tidewater at Philadelphia and New York, as well as other important points. In 1871 the company bought 100,000 acres of coal lands for $40,000,000, and began mining on its own account, and in 1873 the interests of several individual producers were added to its operations. The company now ranks first among the anthracite coal carrying corporations in the coun- try, and is well equipped for that especial service. Ten years ago it owned 892 coal and freight locomotives, 29,220 eight-wheel and 26,248 four-wheel coal cars, 487 barges, 21 steambc^ats and 1 5 steam tugs for the movement of its coal and freight. The Delaware and Hudson company, until quite recently a carrying corporation employing both railroad and canal service, is one of the oldest operators in the anthracite fields, and traces its history to the year 1829, although the canal company was char- tered several years earlier. In 1833 ^^^^ company carried 19,000 tons of coal from Honesdale to the Hudson river, and increased the amount to 150,000 tons in 1834. It now operates thirty col- lieries, which, in 1899, produced 4,429,575 tons of coal. It has 688 miles of railroad; the canal was abandoned five years ago. The Erie Railroad tapped the anthracite coal fields on its own account in 1881, when its management purchased 30,000 acres of land and in addition absorbed the Blossburg Coal Company. Later on other valuable properties were acquired, notably the Hillside Coal and Iron Company and the Towanda Coal Company. The Erie Railroad, in its present physical construction, is the result of various consolidations and leasehold interests, and not entirely without the operations of the law. As reorganized in 1895, the 300 NATURAL RESOURCES system covers more than 2,000 miles of track, and 17,000 cars are required to handle the coal output. In 1901 the Erie and Wyo- ming Valley Railroad and the mining interests of the Pennsyl- vania Coal Company were purchased by and became a part of the Erie properties. The New York, Ontario and Western Railroad, successor to the old "Midland," as best known in railroad circles, draws its supply of anthracite from mines in the vicinity of Carbondale and Scranton. It has a trackage of 500 miles and an annual coal pro- duction of more than 1,500,000 tons. The Delaware, Susque- hanna and Schuylkill Railroad, the main line of which is between Drifton and Gowen, sends about 2,000,000 tons annually to mar- ket. The New York, Susquehanna and Western, under the name of "Termyn," carries annually about 1,500,000 tons. in the preceding paragraphs the somewhat indiscriminate use of the expressions "railroad company" and "mining company" is apt to confuse the reader who does not understand the relations of these corporate organizations. Under the constitution no incorporated company doing business as a common carrier shall, directly or indirectly, prosecute or engage in mining or manu- facturing articles for transportation over its road ; nor engage m any other business than that of common carriers, or hold or ac- quire land, except for the purpose of carrying on its business. Under this constitutional prohibition the railroad companies are compelled to comply with the letter of the law, but whether the spirit thereof has been evaded is a question open to discussion. There is no requirement of law that prohibits the members of one corporate company having a like interest in another, hence offi- cers, directors and stockholders in a railroad company may also have similar interests in a coal mining company. This condition frequently obtains in this State, and the men who own and control railroads also own coal lands and carry on mining operations, although separate corporate companies carry on each branch^ of business. These interests are so closely allied that only with diffi- 301 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL culty can they be separated, and it is customary in ordinary speech to refer to a railroad company as owner of mining interests, whereas, in fact, such is not and cannot be the case. The mining companies, presumabl3% profit from the operation of the mines themselves, and the railroad companies, in like manner, derive revenues from the transportation of coal to markets. The question of transportation, particularly its cost, has been the subject of discussion in railroad circles for many years, and so long as competition existed among the operators and car- rying roads a satisfactory adjustment of the matter was not reached. It is said that in 1895 unrestrained competition resulted in a loss to the carrying companies of more than $4,000,000. Vari- ous agreements have been entered into at one time and another as a remedy for existing evils, but as often as consummated they have been broken by the parties, and it was not until the organiza- tion of what has been styled the syndicate, in 1901, that all inter- ests became established upon a mutual and equitable basis. The mere mention of unionism among mining employes sug- gests an all-powerful element of life in the coal producing regions of the State. The origin and gradual increase of unions, and the causes which led to their formation cannot be made a subject of discussion in this chapter, yet in a brief way there may be noted the names and date of organization of such of these bodies as have been factors in the history of the anthracite industry during the last fifty years. The Bates union is believed to have been the pioneer of the mine employes' organizations in the anthracite region, and was in existence during the period of 1848-50. It had a membership of 5,000 persons. The Workingmen's Benevolent Association was chartered in 1868 and was continued until 1875, when it dissolved. It was a popular organization of social and benevolent character, and acquired a total membership of 30.000. or about 85 per cent, of the mining employes in the region. The Miners' and Laborers' Amalgamated Association, and a kindred organization styled 302 NATURAL RESOURCES Knig-hts of Labor, rtourished from 1884 to about 1888. They were consolidated in 1887, and attained a total membership of 40,000. The present United Mine Workers' Association began organizing- in 1897, and has since become the effective labor body f i ii^k" •' Jk ^K^9 Daniel Agncnv President judge seventeenth judicial district 1851; associate justice State Supreme Court 1863-1873; chiel justice 1873-1879. Made especially for this work from an engraving in possession of the Western University of Penn- sylvania of the region, its membership including from 90 to 95 per cent, of the miners in the anthracite fields. Under the present laws of the State miners of coal rank as skilled workmen, and must possess certain qualifications to entitle them to serve as miners. Before being "certificated" each applicant must have labored in some capacity in the mines for two years, and must have acquired a sufficient knowledge of the work in detail to meet the requirements of any emergency that may arise 303 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL in connection with the duty assigned to him. Thus mining has become a "trade," and, from the pecuHar dangers which attend its prosecution, it is safeguarded by law as a measure of protection of life and property and not, as is sometimes charged, for the pro- tection of a certain class of workmen. Naturally, and in conformity to the general tendency in all trade circles, the miners and mine employes have perfected an organization, as is their right, for mutual improvement and pro- tection against what they are disposed to term the oppressions of capitalist employers. But, whatever the justice or injustice of this contention on the part of mine workers, the fact remains that they have perfected a strong organization, and through their "unions" have become powerful factors in the history of coal mining in this State. Frequently during the last thirty years the miners' unions have arrayed themselves against their employers, and "strikes" have followed, generally with no substantial success to the miners' cause, and always with considerable financial loss to the employers and much inconvenience to the public. Strikes are only the exer- cise of rights, sometimes justifiable and as frequently ill-advised, but the methods often resorted to in attempting to enforce a re- dress of grievances can find no justification in the public mind. The "great strike" of 1877 had its origin in difficulties be- tween the railroad companies and their employes, and soon the miningr interests of the entire Scranton and Lackawanna districts became involved in the controversy. Disorder, riot and blood- shed followed, no good results were accomplished, and only a dis- turbance in business circles and some personal losses were its ulti- mate result. A similar disturbance arose in 1887 and involved the mining interests of the Lehigh and Schuylkill districts. It was continued about three months, and resulted in no success to either side, but with indirect loss to both. The strike of 1900 continued six weeks, and was a general struggle between organized labor on one side and capital (represented by mining and transportation companies) 304 NATURAL RESOURCES on the other. In this controversy the "union" was not materially strengthened, and its recognition was not secured, but the miners generally were granted a slight advance in wages. In the great contest between the United Mine Workers' organization and the combined forces of the coal operators which began in May, 1902, there was the most determined arrayal of opposing elements known to the history of strikes in the coal regions. The merits of the claims of the contending parties are not subject to discus- sion in this article, yet so persistently was the contest waged that an adjustment of difficulties was not agreed upon until the middle of October, and then only through the energetic action of the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. The anthracite mines of Pennsylvania furnish employment to nearly 150,000 workmen' while in operation under normal condi- tions, and in the carrying trade several thousand additional men are constantly engaged. Again, because fuel is cheaper and more readily obtained there, the anthracite districts have become noted for the number and employing capacity of their industrial enterprises; and it is estimated that the number of persons who directly and indirectly gain a livelihood from these fields aggre- gate more than 750,000 men — a vast army of wage-earners com- prising representatives of dozens of nationalities. It has been estimated that the total anthracite production in Pennsylvania previous to 1820 amounted to 18,000 tons, and that of the aggregate 10,000 tons came from the Wyoming region, 3,000- tons from the Lehigh region, and 5,000 tons from the Schuylkill region. In 1820 the number of tons mined was less than 2,000, and it was not until 1829 that the total production reached 100,000 tons, the output in that year being 133,203 tons. ^The reports of the bureau of mines =The regions here referred to were corn- show the number of employees in and prised as follows: Wyoming region, the about the anthracite mines for the last ten counties of Luzerne and Sullivan; Lehigh years as follows: 1892, 130,197; 1893, region, the counties of Carbon, Columbia 138,021 ; 1894, 139,695 ; 1895, 143,60s ; 1896, and part of Luzerne; Schuylkill region, the 147.670 ; 1897, 149.557 ; 1898, 142,420 ; 1899. counties of Schuylkill, Northumberland, 140,583; 1900, 143,726; 1901, 147,651. Dauphin, Lebanon and part of Columbia. 3-20 305 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The million-ton mark was first attained in 1837, and the ten-mil- lion-ton mark in 1863. In 1901 more anthracite coal was pro- duced than in any previous year, the total for that year alone exceeding the grand total for all the years down to 1855. As evi- dence of the constant increase in production the following table has been prepared, showing the number of tuns of coal produced in the years indicated : Year. Production. Year. Production. 1820 1,96s 1865 10,783,032 1825 38,499 1870 17,819,700 1830 209,634 187s 20,643,509 1835 678,517 1880 24,843,476 1840 7,008,220 1885 33,520,941 1845 2,344,426 1890 40,166,327 1850 3,863,365 1895 50,846,104 185s 7,684,542 1900 51,217,318 i860 9,807,118 igoi 59,905,951 BITUMINOUS COAL The source of supply of bituminous coal, as far as relates to Pennsylvania, covers a very large part of the State west of the Alleghany mountains, where millions of tons are mined annually to feed the furnaces of vast industries and the heaters in public and private buildings over a wide extent of territory. The high- est points of the Alleghanies are capped with the Conglomerate which underlies the bituminous coal beds, or by the lower mem- bers of the series, and the strata, dipping gently towards the west, the formation gains in thickness in that direction, and overspreads the whole west part of the State, excepting the northwest corner, and passes on into Ohio. East of the Alleghanies the coal de- posits are the anthracite, except an area of semi-bituminous on Broad Top mountain. While this coal exists in many places below the Millstone Grit, in varying measures of minor thickness, it is only above the Grit that it is found in measures of from 300 to 1,000 feet in thickness and of wide extent. The coal beds 306 NATURAL RESOURCES alternate with strata of shale, limestone, sandstone, etc., and there is a close relation between the beds and the intermediate strata. Most of the coal beds rest on grayish or whitish soft clay, varying in thickness from a few inches to thirty feet ; none has yet been found on the limestone without an intermediate bed of clay. In most cases, as a coal bed at its base becomes mixed with clay, so it passes at its upper surface into black bituminous shale or slate, which is laminated like the coal, or is in thin layers and mixed with the remains of plants which entered into the coal compo- sition. Sometimes, however, the roof of the coal formation is sandstone, and rarely limestone. In the plant remains are often found fossil shells and bones and teeth of fish. The origin of this coal is now clearly understood, from its geological distribution and its constituents. The old hypothesis, now long since abandoned, was that it was a mere bituminous compound deposited like strata of other character. But free bitumen does not exist in nature, and hence deposits of it in the rocks would be an anomaly if we could not positively indicate its origin. It is proven by ocular examination that it is composed of woody matter or vegetable remains, identical with the materials that go to the formation of peat in different parts of the world. It has been written by an acknowledged authority that "not a single case has been recorded in regard to the formation of coal which cannot find its counterpart and explanation in some of the phenomena attending the present formation of peat." Bituminous coal contains 81.2 of carbon ; anthracite contains 95.0, and lignite, 68.7, and it is believed by many that bituminous coal w'as de- bituminized by heat to produce the anthracite. The first, or lowest, of the regular workable beds of bituminous coal is found in the Conglomerate of the anthracite fields and some of the outlying basins of the Alleghany field ; this is com- paratively an unimportant bed and produces only the block, or furnace, coal. The next one comprises two excellent beds, gener- ally almost or quite united as a single one, but always separated 307 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL by a streak of fire day, or slate, which sometimes expands to twenty feet in thickness. These beds when joined are from four to seven feet thick. Their horizon is the most extensive of any of the beds and nearly equal to the entire coal field. Above this group is found a micaceous sandstone, which can be identified in all of the great American coal fields of the Conglomerate age; it is from twenty to sixty feet in thickness and is followed by shales, fossiliferous limestone and the buhr-stone iron ore, which are generally present in the Alleghany measures. Next in the anthra- cite, and generally in the bituminous, fields are two thin, unwork- able beds, one of which, however, supplies a valuable cannel coal. Above these occur fifty to sixty feet of shale and sandstone, in which is a single coal vein from thirty inches to four feet thick and usually pure and workable. Separated from this by the Freeport limestone (eight feet thick) are two or three beds from two to four feet thick, which are sometimes united in a single bed. This constitutes the famous mammoth bed of the anthracite region and the Freeport bituminous beds of western Pennsyl- vania. Next is found from twenty to fifty feet of soft black shales on which rests the Mahoning sandstone, the largest regular sand rock in all the coal measures, ranging from fifty to seventy- five feet in thickness. Streaks of quartz crystals are found in this rock. Above this are two thin, impure beds of coal, divided by a few inches of fire clay; this becomes a single bed in the Alleghany region. Next come from two hundred to three hun- dred feet of shales, slates, sandstone and limestone, followed by the great Pittsburg bed, which has been and is so productive of gas, coking, steam-making and household bituminous coal of every variety excepting the block and cannel. This bed is from six to twelve feet in thickness. Between it and the mammoth bed, before mentioned, are from three hundred to four hundred and fifty feet of the lower barren measures ; these are marked in the bituminous as well as in the anthracite fields. The total thickness of the Pennsylvania coal measures is about 3,000 feet. 308 NATURAL RESOURCES Immediately to the west of the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania is a semi-bituminous district, the volatile matter in the product of which constantly increases as we near the central part of the bituminous field. The Carboniferous formation ter- minates in the north part of the State, where six of the great flexures of the strata above noticed give rise to six coal basins of rich and productive mines. From these is taken the well- known Blossburg coal, which is so extensively consumed in pro- ducing steam. In the region of Pittsburg the four or five lower beds which alone occur farther north, disappear on the surface, dipping under a shale formation in which there are no coal seams. Above the barren measures and on the high ground in the vicinity of Pitts- burg is another excellent bed of coal, which is named from the city, the greater part of the product of which is consumed in the sottthwest part of the State. What is geologically known as the Great Alleghany Coal Field covers a large part of western and northwestern Pennsyl- vania, the southeastern part of Ohio, the western part of Mary- land, a large part of West Virginia, and as it continues on to the southwest, gradually narrows as it crosses the States of Ken- tucky, Tennessee, and part of Alabama. The total length of this great coal field is more than 800 miles and its maximum width between Cumberland, Maryland and Newark, Ohio, is 180 miles. The part of this great tract with which we are here interested covers the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, extending, roughly speaking, from the Broad Top mountain northeastward past a central east and west line across the State, and thence west to the State line. The northern edge of this coal area is, however, pro- longed well towards the north line of the State by five great pro- jections from the main body and by numerous small areas of coal producing territory. These projections and detached coal areas were formerly an integral part of the Great Alleghany Coal Field as originally formed, and constituted a vast level or undulating 309 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL plain, which dipped gently towards the west and southwest. It was ultimately separated from the main field by the action of the swift-flowing surface waters, and it is here that is found the semi- bituminous coal that exists between the anthracite region of the eastern part of the State and the bituminous region of the west part. These northernmost semi-bituminous deposits have been known as the Ralston, the Barclay (or Towanda), the Blossburg, and the North Mountain coal fields, or basins. The North Mountain field occupies parts of Sullivan, Wyoming and Luzerne counties, and is vast in extent, but its supply of coal is limited. A vertical section through its deposits shows a close resemblance to the anthracite measures and a complete identity of seams, which form the connecting link between the two formations. The Barclay coal field lies about twenty miles northwest of the North Mountain field, in the second basin from the Alleghany escarp- ment, the North Mountain being the first. It is "the extreme northeastern part of the Alleghany basin and a continuation of the Ralston basin, which, to the southwest, forms the Farrands- ville and Snow Shoe basins, and continues by Ebensburg, Johns- town, etc., as the first basin west of the Alleghanies; that is, the first, or North Mountain, formation ceases opposite Williamsport, and does not cross the Susquehanna river." ("Coal, Iron and Oil," p. 309.) The Barclay field covers about 100 square miles, but not more than one-tenth of it has produced workable coal. The scattered productive formation was mostly denuded by action of water. The Barclay coal is excellent for steam-making, cokes with great difficulty, and contains only a small percentage of bitumen. The Ralston basins are only a continuation of the Barclay and consist of small patches of the coal measures containing only the lower beds. The Mclntire region was opened in 1870, the mines being situated near the \'illage of Ralston, in Lycoming county. The 310 Asa Packer Philanthropist ; member State Legislature 1844 ; first president Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, i8ss ; congressman 1853-1857; founder of Lehigh University 1865 NATURAL RESOURCES coal here lies nearly i,ooo feet of perpendicular height al)ove the level of Lycoming creek, from which elevation it is let down into the valley by an inclined plane nearly half a mile in length. The Towanda deposit is an extension of the Mclntire basin and situ- ated on the summit of Towanda mountain. The one seam of coal found here is of excellent quality. The Snow Shoe basin is in Centre county, the deposit covering only about eight by four miles in area. The Clearfield basin was opened in 1871 and soon assumed importance as a source of coal supply. There are sev- eral seams of good workable coal, the product being somewhat softer than the Blossburg coal. The mines are principally on the Moshannon creek, along which they extend a distance of more than twelve miles. Here among the hills coal was taken out for home consumption from the time of early settlement, and was shipped along the Susquehanna river in barges during seasons of higli water for use by blacksmiths. The strata of the Clear- field basin extend to the headwaters of Moshannon creek. The Johnstown region, of Cambria county, seventy-eight miles east of Pittsburg, has five seams of workable character, from which the annual output has always been very large and almost wholly consumed at home in the manufacture of iron and steel. The aggregate thickness of these coal measures is three hundred and twelve feet, and they contain valuable beds of iron ore and limestone, supplying all the elements for the manufacture of iron and the home consumption of coal. The Blossburg basin is situated in Tioga county. Pa., and is the northwest extremity of the third Alleghany basin. The coal from it is richer in bitumen and is a free-burning, dry product, excellent for steam-making purposes. Like all the other de- tached basins of this region, it consists of many small coal de- posits which are separated from each other by deep erosions. The area of this part of the third basin is approximately fifty square miles. Blossburg coal was sold during the twelve years from 1853 to 1864, inclusive, to the amount of nearly 1,500,000 tons. 313 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The Broad Top coal region is situated in Huntingdon, Bed- ford, and Fulton counties, with an area of more than seventy-five square miles, the field widening towards its southern boundary in Bedford and Fulton counties. The region is detached and independent and its product, coming from an area between the anthracite fields on the northeast and the great bituminous region on the southwest, possesses in a degree the qualities of both ; it is therefore classed as a semi-bituminous coal. The average thick- ness of the workable seams is twenty-six feet and of the coal rocks nearly i,ooo feet. The immediate coal region was reached by railroad in 1856 and during the latter part of that year 42,000 tons of the coal was sent to market. This quantity was nearly doubled in the following year, and from that time the annual product rapidly increased. The Alleghany coal field, as far as it relates to western Penn- sylvania and eastern Ohio, is separated from the Central coal field lying farther west and of about the same width as the Alleghany field (180 miles) by the Devonian and Silurian formations of Ohio and Indiana. Pittsburg coal does not exist to any great extent west of the Ohio river. In now considering the purely bituminous coals of western Pennsylvania we may quote as fol- lows from Prof. J. P. Lesley's valuable Manual of Coal: "The Lower Coals form in western Pennsylvania a system by themselves. Clinging, as it were, to the face of the Conglomerate, the lower system fared better than the upper one, and has been left to cover an immense area. In fact, it forms by far the largest part — perhaps four-fifths — of all the coal remaining on the sur- face. In Ohio — except near Wheeling — and in all the western States, it is the only coal, and may have been originally the only coal deposited Wherever the dip is gentle, this lower system prevails, the upper being swept away ; but where the dip is steep and in the middle of the narrow troughs, it receives the up{)er system on itself. It furnishes the beds of northern and western Pennsylvam'a as far south as the Conemaugh or Kis- 314 NATURAL RESOURCES kiminitas, those of the Allegheny river, and all the country northwestward of the Ohio. It occupies the west and south of Virginia, and provides the coal of eastern Kentucky and Tennes- see. The cannel is, perhaps, exclusive of this system At that time [referring to the early survey of Pennsylvania] a large bed in the upper bed of the system was familiarly called 'Elk Lick coal,' from its locality near the romantic falls of that name in Somerset. This bed, which is the upper Freeport bed of the Kiskiminitas and Allegheny rivers, seems to be represented by the large upper coal of the Kanawha and Coal rivers of Virginia, and by the great bed at Karthause and Clearfield to the north. It marks the upper limit of the lower coal beds, and is covered at no great distance by the remarkable sandstone strata hereafter to be discussed [the Mahoning sandstone]. "This coal bed sometimes rivals the Pittsburg bed in size and purity of minerals, but wants its regularity. This is its fault in common with all the beds of the lower system : they cannot hold their own for any great distance in any given direction. This is particularly true of the large bed at Buck mountain, which lies nearly upon the Conglomerate, and seems co-extensive with the coal field. "At Towanda, on Broad Top, at Johnstown, on the Tennessee river, even at St. Louis, its sections are scarcely to be told apart. Everywhere it is about fifty feet above the Conglomerate; every- where it has a small satellite some yards below it; everywhere it is itself a variable stratum from five to twenty feet in thickness — a double bed, with an even roof and an uneven floor, rising and falling stormily on a sea of fire clay, wdiich sometimes has a depth • of thirty feet." The bituminous coal field of Pennsylvania covers an area of more than 12,000 square miles — the largest in the world. The principal mining centers of this region are situated along the lines of the Philadelphia and Erie railroad, the Pennsylvania Central railroad, the Panhandle branch of the Pittsburg, Cincin- 315 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL nati and St. Louis railroad, the Alleghany railroad, the Erie and Pittsburg railroad, in the Shenango valley block coal region, and along the Youghiogheny, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers. These several railroads have in recent years, by consolidation and other changes, become known by other names. Of this series the Monongahela region is by far the most important. It extends from the State line of West Virginia to the city of Pittsburg, a distance of ninety-five miles. Along the slopes of the Monongahela valley the famous Pittsburg coal crops out on either side of the river, giving access to the coal seam by drift mining. The coal lies in the earth w^ith great regularity and with just sufficient dip to drain the mines of water. The coal is the best in the United States for the generation of steam, the manufacture of gas, the production of coke, and for domestic use. The bed is from four to fifteen feet in thickness and usually rests in two benches. In the vicinity of Pittsburg, where the coal is from nine to eleven feet thick, the two seams are separated by a layer of fire clay of from eight to fifteen inches in thickness. The upper coal is so poor in quality that it is not saved. As about fifteen inches of the bottom coal is left in the mine, only about four and one-half feet are taken out. At some points in Washington and Allegheny counties, and elsewhere in the region, the whole height of the bed is worked, the product being all of excellent quality. In Westmoreland county most of the mine openings are by shafts, while in Allegheny, Washington, and Fayette counties the coal is all obtained by drift mining. This famous coal bed is known throughout the world and the impor- tance of its product in developing the prosperity of the city of Pittsburg, and less directly of the whole State and country, can scarcely be estimated. Every year during more than half a century has seen the rich coal dug from the earth and transported down the Monongahela river and over the railroads in millions of tons, bringing to the region an enormous flow of wealth that never ceases. , 316 NATURAL RESOURCES The coal mined on the Youghiogheny river in the vicinity of Connellsville is celebrated for its coking properties, which has given it an immense consumption not alone in Pittsburg, but in many of the western and northern States. A hundred bushels of this coal produces one hundred and twenty-five bushels of coke, forty bushels of which will smelt a ton of iron from a rich ore. The coal bed is nearly eleven feet in thickness, but only seven or eight are mined. The Shenango valley coal region occupies the extreme outcrop of the coal measures of western Pennsylvania, the mines being mainly situated in Mercer county. The block coal of the region just east of Sharon is usually found in one seam, the lowest of the series, and is the equivalent of the block coal of the Mahoning valley and of the Massillon coal of Ohio. It is an excellent fur- nace coal and is consumed in its raw state. At Greenfield, seven miles southeast of Sharon, an upper coal was discovered some thirty years ago which had an average workable thickness of four feet; but the quality was poor, when compared with the block coal. Like the low^er coal, it lies in patches of unequal levels, and the troughs in which it is found are generally wider than those which enclose the block coal. Professor Rogers located the lower coal of this valley below the Conglomerate, and sometimes patches of the Conglomerate rock form the roof of the coal bed, but the true place of this seam is in the coal measures, of which it forms the base. It rests upon the upper surface of the Waverly sandstone, and sometimes upon a coarse grained sandstone. ("The Coal Mines," Roy, p. 266.) Bituminous coal was mined near Richmond, Va., about 1750, and was extensively used during the Revolutionary war. It was transported to Philadelphia in 1779. In 1789 its price in that city was is. 6d. per bushel. In later years and during the war of 18 12 this coal became scarce in Philadelphia, but it was the principal source of supply for many years for that section of the State and down to 1850 supplied the Philadelphia gas works and 317 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL those of other cities. During twenty years after about 1830 the importation of bituminous coal from Great Britain to Philadel- phia steadily increased, as the Virginia supply diminished. About 1856 the coal of western Pennsylvania came into use in the city. The first coal mined west of the Alleghanies, as far as is shown by records, was in 1760, when Captain Thomas Hutchins visited Fort Pitt in July and found a mine open on the opposite side of the Monongahela river, from which coal was taken to supply the garrison of the fort. The fort \vas then under com- mand of Major Edw^ard Ward, who obtained coal from near the summit of wdiat has been known as Coal Hill, sending it down to the flat in a shute. This pit was long known as Ward's pit. Colonel James Burd already in the previous year had mentioned the discovery of coal along Redstone creek and Coal Run near Brownsville. In 1766 Rev. Charles Beatty mentions the deposit in Coal Hill, where it "had been burning almost a twelvemonth entirely under ground." The non-importation agreement made by Philadelphia merchants, in 1765, mentions coal as one of the commodities that could be brought from Great Britain as ballast. In a paper read by William J. Burke before the Pennsylvania Historical Society in January, 1875, he quoted Penn manuscripts showing that the Penns were well aware of the existence of coal at Pittsburg and its value for fuel, as early as 1769. Thomas Penn, in that year, sent a letter from London to his son, John, directing him to have a survey made of 5,000 acres of land around Pittsburg, including the site of the town. In May of the same year he wrote regarding this survey, saying: 'T would not engross all the coal hills, but rather leave the greater part to others who may work them." The oncoming war troubles pre- vented the execution of these plans at that time. In 1784, the Penns still retaining their proprietary interests, which included the manor of Pittsburg, surveyed the town into lots and in the same year the privilege of mining coal in the "great seam" was sold at the rate of £30 for each mining lot, extending back to the 318 l/l^T^t'^'-^i^^^i Editor; banker; contractor; United States Sen- ator, 1845-1849; secretary of war in President Lincoln's cabinet, 1861-1862; minister to Russia, 1862; United States senator, 1857-1861, and 1867- 1877; born 1799; died 1889 NATURAL RESOURCES center of the hill. ("Iron Making and Coal Mining," Swank, pp. III-I2.) From this time forward the demand for the rich coal increased rapidly for both domestic and manufacturing purposes. Various minor industries came into existence which drew upon the supply to a considerable extent. The first steam engine was put in operation in Pittsburg in 1794, and salt was produced there by evaporation at a very early day. Coal pits were opened on the Pittsburg side of the river at Minersville and elsewhere in 1797, and a glass works was established on the south side of the river at a point where coal could be had near at hand. The first twenty years of the consumption of coal at this point saw a marvellous increase. Numerous steam engines were installed for a variety of manufactures, the population multiplied and all drew heavily upon the fuel that was to constitute so great a factor in the de- velopment of the place. A newspaper of 1814 said: "This place is celebrated for its coal banks It is in general use in all private houses and the extensive manufactories established through the town. Coal is found in all the hills around this place for ten miles at least and in such abundance that it may almost be con- sidered the substratum of the whole country Little short of 1,000,000 bushels are consumed annually. The price, for- merly 6 cents, has risen to I2. There are forty or fifty pits opened" [on Coal Hill]. The first coal was shipped from Pittsburg in 1803. when the Louisiana was "ballasted with the fuel, which was sold in Phila- delphia for 37;^ cents a bushel." In 1820 coal mining was begun at Coal Centre (Greenfield), and ten years later at Limetown, both on the upper Monongahela, in Washington county. Most of the product of those early years was put on board of Ixiats sixty-eight to eighty feet in length, sixteen feet wide, and five feet deep, holding from 4,000 to 6,000 bushels. On these it was flocxted to Pittsburg and the Ohio river towns. A directory of Pittsburg for the year 1837 has a list of ten collieries on Coal 3-21 321 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Hill, which produced over 5,000,000 bushels at that one point. It was then estimated that the total product was 12,000,000 bushels, the selling price of which was about 5 cents per bushel. The coal industry of this immediate region received a power- ful impetus from the operations of the Monongahela Navigation Company, which created a slack-water navigation by means of dams from Pittsburg to the West Virginia line. The first survey for this improvement was made in 1838, and between 1841 and 1844 the system was completed to Brownsville, in the south- eastern part of Washington county. Similar works were com- pleted on the Youghiogheny river in 1850, which have since been abandoned. The Pennsylvania railroad did not reach Pittsburg until 1852, giving the navigation company eight years of great prosperity. Between 1845 '^i'"^ i847 the revenues were nearly doubled. The toll on coal over the entire navigation system was $2.91 per 1,000 bushels. There was also a large revenue from passenger traffic, the number carried in 1850 being more than 18,000. But with all this it cannot be said that the confident expectations of the company were wholly realized. The expense of operation, and particularly the cost of repairing damages by floods, ice, etc., was great. The shipments through the locks of the system in 1844 were 737,150 bushels; in 1850 they were 12,297,967 bushels, and in i860 they were 37,947,732 bushels; in 1870 they had risen to 57,596,400 bushels, and in 1880 to 84,048,350 bushels, with still further increase in later years. The construction of the railroads into this region added greatly to the transportation facilities and widened the field of consumption. The Pittsburg coal region includes parts of five counties — Allegheny, Washington, Greene, Westmoreland, and Fayette. Definite geographical limits cannot be fixed, and it is also difficult to give it geological limits, for the location of the different coal basins along northeast and southwest belts of the country at angles to the geographical points of the compass, and the great trans- porting mediums of the district make them only in part tributary 322 NATURAL RESOURCES to Pittsburg itself, a large part of their product going to other markets. The year 1843 saw what was probably the first use of bitu- minous coal in Pennsylvania for the reduction of iron ore in blast furnaces. In that year it is recorded that coal in the vicinity of Sharon, without coking, "has been successfully tried for smelting iron in a common charcoal furnace." This was doubtless only an experiment, but its significance was most important. "In July, 1845, Himrod & Vincent, of Mercer county. Pa., blew in the Clay furnace, not many miles from the Ohio line, on the waters of the Shenango. About three months afterwards, in consequence of a short supply of charcoal, .... a portion of coke was used to charge the furnace. Their coal belongs to seam No. I, the seam which is now used (1875) at Sharon and Youngs- town, in its raw state, variously known as 'free-burning splint' or 'block coal,' and which never makes solid coke. A difficulty soon occurred with the cokers, and, as Mr. Himrod states, he conceived the plan of trying his coal without coking. The furnace con- tinued to work well, and to produce a fair quality of metal." At the same time, Messrs. Wilkinson, Wilkes & Co. were building a furnace on the Mahoning, at Lowell, Mahoning county, Ohio, intending to use mineral coal from seam No. i, on which they owned a mine near Lowell. The credit of making the first iron with raw bituminous or semi-bituminous coal, in the United States, belongs to one of these firms. An account of the blowing in of the Lowell furnace, on the 8th of August, 1846, was printed in the Trumbull Democrat, of Warren, dated August 15. 1846, where it is stated that to "these gentlemen [Wilkinson, Wilkes & Co.] belongs the honor of being the first persons in the United States who have succeeded in putting a furnace in blast with raw bituminous coal It is admitted that Mr. David Himrod, late of Youngstown, produced the first metal with raw coal, about the close of the year 1845, ^"^ ^^^^ continued to use it ever since. The friends of Wilkinson & Co. claim that it was an accident, 323 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and a necessity, while their works were built and intended for raw coal." ("Youngstown Past and Present," printed 1875.) It required much agitation, extending over a number of years, as well as the influence of many mine disasters, before legislation was enacted providing for State supervision of the coal mines. A bill was introduced in the legislature in 1858 which provided for such supervision over the mines in Schuylkill county, but it was not favored and was soon withdrawn. Again it was intro- duced in 1866, when it passed the lower House, but failed in the Senate. It was finally passed in 1869, but the law-makers were so short-sighted as to make the provisions of the bill apply to only the anthracite mines. A few years later the Governor appointed a commission of three practical miners, in accordance with a resolution of the legislature, and this commission made an ex- haustive examination of the bituminous mines and reported to the Governor, recommending the extension of the provisions of the mining law to all of the coal mines of the State. This purpose was effected, and the bituminous field was divided into three dis- tricts, with mine inspectors for each. The Bureau of Internal Affairs of the State was organized on the first Tuesday of May, 1874, and for more than a quarter of a century since has been of immense benefit through its elaborate reports upon natural products, manufactures, etc. The report of the bureau for 1874-5 gives the total product of bituminous coal as 1,289,594 tons. Five years later, in 1880, the quantity had increased to 8,327,561 tons. As the quantity mined increased and the mining area extended it became necessary to increase the number of districts. In 1890 there were eight districts, their boundaries including territory in the following counties : First district — Allegheny, Fayette, Greene. Washington and Westmore- land counties. Second district — Allegheny and Westmoreland. Third district — Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer and Westmoreland counties. Fourth district — McKean, Potter, Tioga, Bradford, Sullivan, Lycoming, Clin- 324 NATURAL RESOURCES ton, Cameron, Elk, and parts of Jefferson, Clearfield and Centre counties. Fifth district — Fayette and Somerset counties. Sixth district — Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Jefferson and Westmoreland. Seventh district — Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland. Eighth district — Bradford, Centre, Clearfield and Huntingdon counties. By the year 1900 two districts had been added to this number, making ten, and at the present time a still further addi- tion has increased the number to twelve. In 1890 the production of bituminous coal in the State had increased to 40,740,521 tons, and this immense quantity was nearly doubled in the next ten years, the amount mined in 1901 being 80,914,226 tons. There was only one year in this last decade when the quantity decreased; this was 1893, when 43,422,498 tons were produced, against 46,225,552 tons the pre- vious year. During the decade under consideration the annual production of coke has been as follows: 1892, 7,854,620 tons; 1893, 5,459.297; 1894, 5,724,244; 1895, 8,922,380; 1896, 6,613,253; 1897,8,523,291; 1898, 10,171,920; 1899, 12,192,570; 1900, 12,185,112; 1901, 12,125,156. It is of interest to note that of the 24,000,000 tons of bituminous coal produced in this State in 1884, Allegheny, Washington, Fayette, and Westmoreland counties supplied 13,000,000 tons, or 54 per cent, of the product of the whole State, About one-third of this latter named quan- tity was made into coke. In the early years of the bituminous mining industry there was far greater fluctuation in prices from time to time than in later years, and those prices were directly affected by prevailing rates of tariff. In 1834 the average price of the coal was $4.84. The duty was reduced to 20 per cent, in 1839-40 and the price of coal at once rose as the duty decreased. In 1842 the highest duty ever imposed on foreign coal was levied — $1.75 per ton — and the price at once went down in 1843 ^^ '^?>-'^7- Di-iring the succeeding ten years, under more regular and reasonable duties, prices were more nearly stationary and there was greater pros- 325 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL perity in the mining industry. But in 1854 foreign coal was admitted free and prices at once rose, and were only reduced by the financial stress of 1857. In 1866 the duty was made $1.25, and prices fell again. These relations between the price of coal here and the rate of tariff need not be followed further. The subject of the amount of available bituminous coal and the probable duration of the supply under the normal yearly increase of mining is an important one and has caused much dis- cussion. A paper on the subject, "Available Coal," was prepared and read in 1880 by Dr. H. M. Chance, in which he gave some interesting figures and observations. The commonly estimated area of the coal field (between 12,000 and 13,000 square miles) greatly exceeded his estimate; also, the estimates by others of the tonnage of available coal as from 180,000,000,000 tons to 300,000,000,000 tons, are vastly higher than those arrived at by him. He ignored seams of less than two feet in thickness, and his estimate of available coal, excluding the Broad Top field, was 33,547,200,000 tons, which he divided thus: Beds over six feet thick, 10,957,200,000 tons ; three to six feet thick, 19,586,800,- 000 tons ; two to three feet thick, 3,003,200,000 tons. From the year 1864 to 1880 he placed the yearly average increase of pro- duction at six per cent. He concluded that the output would not ever reach more than 50,000,000 tons, at which ratp' it would> require 500 years to exhaust the supply. According to this authority, statistics showing company ton- nage develop the fact that each company has an average of four or five accessible seams of commercial importance: Two com- panies have nine seams; two have eight seams; four have seven seams ; two have six seams ; two have five seams ; seven have two seams, and three have one seam. In the importance of these seams as a source of supply, Fayette county stands at the head, followed by Washington, Greene, Allegheny, Westmoreland, In- diana, Jefferson, Armstrong, Somerset, Cambria, Butler, Clear- field, etc. This order has no reference to their present impor- 326 NATURAL RESOURCES tance. The amount of coal excluded from the above estimates through poor quality, depth under water level or rocks, is ad- mitted by the writer to be very great. Since the zenith of bituminous coal production in the State was reached in 1883 in the Pittsburg region, the quantity pro- duced has been reduced some 20,000,000 tons annually, through the extensive consumption of natural gas in Pittsburg and its near vicinity. In 1886 this gas was in use there by 3,000 families, 34 iron and steel mills, 60 glass factories, and 300 smaller manu- factories, hotels, etc., all of which were supplied by one company which was organized in Philadelphia. The number of consumers was greatly increased in succeeding years through the supply from other companies of less importance. PETROLEUM The production and various phases of manufacture of petro- leum (as it is now generally called) occupy a position among the foremost of the great industries of Pennsylvania, and their history is replete with facts of startling interest and significance. No romance ever written surpasses it in its marvellous details. The discovery made far back in past years that this fluid flowed naturally from the earth in western Pennsylvania, and the fact that the substance was known in some parts of the world centuries earlier, while most important in themselves, do not possess a tithe of the interest that surrounds the early development of its pro- duction in this State and the discovery of its valuable constituents, made in comparatively recent times. Oil that was doubtless petroleum was mentioned by Marco Polo in the year 1260 during his travels of that and succeeding years. He wrote that on the north of Armenia the Greater "a fountain is found from which a liquor like oil flows." At an- other place was found a fountain "whence rises oil in such abun- dance that a hundred ships might be at once loaded with it. It is 327 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL not good for eating, but very fit for fuel, for anointing the camels in maladies for the skin, and for other purposes." Previous to the actual beginning of the oil industry in this country the sub- stance had been known for two hundred years to both Indians and settlers, by whom it had been gathered from the surface of springs and small streams by absorbing it in blankets and otherwise, to be used as a remedial liniment. Coming down to more recent times, after the oil had to a small extent been introduced in its crude condition into the eastern States as a remedy for disease. Pro- fessor Silliman, in 1833, recorded the following: "I cannot learn that any considerable part of the large quantity of petroleum used in the eastern States under the name of Seneca oil comes from the spring now described [near the county line of Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, N. Y.]. I am assured that its source is about 100 miles from Pittsburg on the Oil Creek, which empties into the Allegheny river, in the township and county of Venango. It exists there in great abundance, and rises in purity to the surface of the water." With reference to the oil deposits in western Pennsylvania, from the geologist's point of view, it may be said that the carbon in the depths of those regions, which is the base of the oil, shows that those deposits were either animal or vegetable, it being the base of the animal and vegetable world. The drill does not reach these, as they lie under the edge of the great secondary formation at a depth of 30,000 or 40,000 feet. The heat at those depths is very great. It would seem that the deposits of animal or vege- table matter are thrown off into the upper rocks as gas, and there condensed by the lower temperature into the liquid oil. Into what rock the gas will enter depends on the character of the rock. A close slate or sandstone will resist it, but wherever there is a crevice or a porous rock, it will force its way in and condense. Hence, the rock is a guide to the driller, and the location of the oil producing areas resolves itself into the existence of this porous sand rock. These areas are only small spots in the great belt of 328 NATURAL RESOURCES the formation and are indiscriminately scattered. Great geolo- gists have differed somewhat upon the character of petroleum. Dana wrote : "A bituminous liquid resulting from the decomposi- tion of marine or land plants, and perhaps also of some non- nitrogenous animal tissues." Denton thus describes it : "It is a coral oil, not formed from the bodies of the coral poplyps, as some have supposed, but secreted by them from the impure waters, principally, though not exclusively, of the Devonian times." Winchell says: "Crude petroleum is not a product of definite composition. It seems to be a varying mixture of several hydro- carbons .... and contains var\ing (|uantities of aluminous matter and other impurities." The mere presence of petroleum in a geological formation is not always evidence of the existence there of a large quantity ; it occurs in all stratified rocks of all ages from the Laurentian to the recent. Almost all geological authorities credit it to organic re- mains, differing somewhat as to whether animal or vegetable re- mains were the source of the greater part. They, however, gen- erally agree that most of it found in the pores of fossiliferous limestone was produced by animal bodies, while that found in shales had a vegetable origin, the oil of commerce coming chiefly from the latter. (See "History of Petroleum," by J. T. Henry.) The commercial production of petroleum in this countr}^ was preceded by the distillation on an extensive scale of oil directly from coal. The first of this product made and placed on sale was by the United States Chemical Manufacturing Company, Phil- brick «& Atwood, at Waltham, Mass., early in 1852. They called it "Coup" oil, the name having reference to the historical coup of Napoleon III., some time previous to that year. Their product was a lubricator and gained favor among users of machinery. In 1856 coal oil was made in South Boston for Samuel Downer, by Joshua Merrill, a practical oil manufacturer. The first illuminat- ing oil of this character was made in 1856, from Trinidad asphalt. In the following year the so-called Albert coal of New Brunswick 329 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL was quite extensively used in South Boston in making both kibri- cating and ilhiminating hydro-carbon oils, and a large business was subsequently built up. Meanwhile, a bottle of the so-called "Seneca oil" of western Pennsylvania was taken to the professor of chemistry in Dart- mouth college in 1854, where it fell into the hands of George H. Bissell, a graduate of that institution, who had been in the South a number of years and had come north to recruit his health. S. M. Kier had "struck oil" while drilling for salt water at Tarentum, Pa., in 1847, 'i"'^^ pumped it up with the brine. He placed it on sale in the east in bottles as a remedy "celebrated for its wonderful curative powers. A Natural Remedy ; Produced from a well in Allegheny county, Pa., four hundred feet below the earth's sur- face," etc. On the label of the bottle was a picture of an artesian well. The Dartmouth professor expressed his belief to Mr. Bis- sell that the oil in the bottle which came to the college was as good or better than the coal oils for illuminating purposes, if properly prepared. Bissell believed it, and the picture on the label seen by him a little later in the window of a drug store gave birth in his mind to the conviction that the right way to get the oil in great quantities Vv'as to bore down into the earth for it. He organized the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, the first of its kind in the United States, and leased the land on which were situated the principal oil springs. He sent a quantity of the oil to Professor Silliman, who analyzed it and made his report. The statement made by him that from the oil could be made as good an illumin- ant as any known to the world, attracted much attention. Said he in his report : "Your company have in their possession a raw material from which by simple and not expensive process they may manufacture very valuable products. It is worthy of note that my experiments prove that nearly the whole of the raw prod- uct may be manufactured without waste, and this solely by a well- directed process which is in practice one of the most simple of all chemical processes." The next step was to get the oil in paying 330 NATURAL RESOURCES quantities. Fortunately the company looked with favor upon Bissell's plan of drilling and pumping and in the spring of 1858 sent one of the stockholders, E. L. Drake, to Titusville, then a mere lumberman's settlement on Oil creek, about seventeen miles from where it unites with the Allegheny river. Far distant from Edwin Laurentine Drake The first person to successfully bore for oil in • Pennsylvania; born at Greenville, New York, 1819; died at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1880. Reproduced for this work from a negative by J. A. Mather railroads and manufactories, it required months to get the neces- sary tools to the scene of his operations, and more months to secure a man of experience to drill the proposed well. He began at first by digging, but found this a slow process. In February, 1859, he engaged a practical w^ell driller at Tarentum, Pa., who was to begin his work in the following April ; but he disappointed his employer and did not appear till some months later. When he did arrive they experienced considerable difficulty in removing 331 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL the earth down to the rock, where the drilHng was to begin. It was this fact that led Drake to conceive the idea of driving a tube down to the rock, thirty-six feet below the surface. This was accomphshed in August and the drill was started. An average of about three feet per day was made. The last of August when the well was visited it was found nearly filled with oil, and on the following day a pump was placed in it and twenty-five barrels of oil taken out. Titusville awoke to find itself famous, and in an incredibly brief period the news spread over the country that any quantity of petroleum could be obtained in that vicinity by simply boring a well a short distance into the earth. And then began that spectacular and unparalleled rush of men into western Penn- sylvania which astonished the world. Most of them were young or middle aged, adventurous and ambitious, many of them men of high intelligence, and many also wdiose chief motive in going there was for gambling and dissipation. Land was leased along Oil creek and elsewhere, stock companies were rapidly organized who by lease or purchase secured great tracts, and wells were put down on every hand. Several hundred barrels of petroleum were sent to Joshua Merrill, at South Boston, from the first wells and from surface production, in 1858-9, which he distilled and placed the illuminant on the market. The days of distillation from coal were numbered. It was soon learned that pumping was not to be necessary in many of the wells. On the Archie Buchanan farm, near Rouse- ville, what is said to have been the first flowing well was sunk in i860. It was not tubed and was only 200 feet deep ; it soon ceased to flow. The price of oil in January, i860, was $20 a barrel, but so enormous was the output from hundreds of flowing wells, some of them supplying several thousand barrels a day, that at the end of 1 861 it had fallen to ten cents. The second productive well was sunk by Barnsdale, Meade & Rouse in November of that year, and the third for Brewer, Watson & Co., in December. One of the very early organizations in the business was the Pennsylvania 332 NATURAL RESOURCES Rock Oil Co., before mentioned, of which Jonathan Watson was an officer. He was a Titusvihe merchant, was in the field, and promptly leased all the land he could secure along' Oil Creek. His first well produced sixty gallons a minute, and oil was then selling at sixty cents a gallon. In two years from that time the farm on which this well was situated had produced 165,000 barrels of oil. The area of producing wells rapidly spread and soon Oil City sprang into existence, almost in a day, as an intensely active busi- ness center, with a population of thousands, a result that followed later at numerous other points. With the oil output reaching hundreds of thousands of barrels per day, as it did before two years had passed after Drake's first success, the problem of storing and getting it to market became of vital importance and the task of solving it a gigantic one. The distance down Oil Creek and the Allegheny river to Pittsburg was about 130 miles. The other points where railroads could be reached were Meadville, Corry, Erie, and Union City, all far away, and accessible over only rough country roads. Barrels of every description, new and old, were gathered, filled with oil, and hauled by an army of teamsters over these roads or floated down the Allegheny to Pittsburg. The cost of this work was enormous, three or four dollars per barrel being paid in some instances for hauling ten miles. Fleets of flat boats were built along Oil creek, which, by creating artificial floods with w^ater stored behind nu- merous daius, were floated to the river and so on to market. On the river a fleet of a thousand boats and thirty steamers was en- gaged in this w^ork. Captain J. J. Vandergrift, a former Missis- sippi river navigator, came east and here saw his opportunity. He towed a cargo of barrels up the Allegheny and saw at once that if transportation in bulk could be accomplished a great saving would be effected. He built a number of boats which were made oil-tight, towed them up the river to the creek, filled them with oil and floated them down to Pittsburg, realizing immense profits. It was a foregone conclusion that the railroads would soon reach out 333 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL for this freight. They carried an immense quantity of oil during the first few years of the business, especially the Pennsylvania road, which was reached at Union City, twenty-two miles away; Corry, twenty-six miles, and Erie, forty-four miles. By the be- ginning of 1863 the so-called Oil Creek railroad was opened be- tween Titusville and Corry. At the same time the Erie railroad company built a line from Meadville to Franklin, on the Alle- gheny, and by 1865 both roads were continued to Oil City. The freight situation was thus greatly relieved ; but the great task of getting the oil from the wells to the immediate shipping point still remained, and ultimately led to the construction of the first pipe line. The plan of piping oil from the wells was not a new one and had been frequently discussed almost from the beginning, but it was not until 1864 that Samuel Van Syckel, who had "struck oil" a few miles from the railroad and found he must pay all of his profits to teamsters, laid the first pipe for conveying the product. It was a momentous event in oil history. When his pump was set at work and the oil was turned into the pipe it was found that it would do the work of 300 teams, and oil transportation, in fact, the whole business, was soon revolutionized. There was intense opposition to this and later pipe lines by the men who saw that their profitable occupation was doomed, and finally in the spring of 1866 the Governor of the State was called on to protect prop- erty and workmen of the lines. Van Syckel's first line was only four miles long, extending from Pit Hole to the railroad, but it was only a short time before others were laid to Oil Creek and other points, so that in 1873 there were nearly 2,000 miles in operation. A few of these operated by gravity. It Vv'as inevitable under the circumstances that every acre of land in western Pennsylvania on which there was the slightest probability of drilling a producing well would be greedily leased or purchased. The business grew and spread with almost in- credible rapidity. The little hamlets along Oil Creek became pop- 334 NATURAL RESOURCES uloiis cities, and on some of the farms where there had been no settlement at ah, villages sprang into existence almost in a day, and grew into active business centers in a few weeks. Pit Hole City, Rouseville, Petroleum Centre and others in Venango county, Drake's First Oil Well Depth 69 1-2 feet; average daily production for one year, 20 barrels; drilling commenced May 20, 1859; finished August 27, 1859. Engraved especially for this work from a negative made by John A. Mather, August 17, 1861 with Tidioute and Enterprise in the southern part of Warren county, all became active points of business of all kinds, their streets teeming with a throng of ambitious, eager, and excited men. Pit Hole City from a single farm house in May, 1865, became a city of 15,000 inhabitants by September of the same year, with most modern public and private institutions. The first producing w^ell at that point gave 800 barrels per day and 335 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL hundreds of others followed rapidly, many of them of far greater capacity. To-day the place is deserted, the supply of oil in that immediate region having first gradually diminished and then failed altogether. The same general statements may be applied to Tidioute and other points, where producing wells of large ca- pacity were drilled soon after Drake's success on Oil creek. The usual rush of speculators, workmen, merchants, mechanics and gamblers followed. Diminishing production, the panic of 1873, and depreciation in value of property eventually left the place in stagnation. Pleasantville, Petroleum Centre, Triumph Hill, and other points became successively centers of wild excitement, the greater number of which have since settled down to quiet villages or have altogether disappeared as far as regards large business interests. This great industry of getting petroleum out of the earth, storing it and then sending it to market, gave rise to others little less important. The principal one of these was that of refining the crude oil. At the works of Samuel Downer, of Boston, a very large and prosperous business was in progress in the distillation of coal oil at the time the first wells were opened in western Pennsyl- vania. He was associated in the work with Joshua Merrill, be- fore mentioned. It needed no special foresight to enable those men to realize that a product w\is at hand that would soon displace coal as a source of oil for illumination. They promptly accepted the situation, visited the oil region, and in 1862 built a refinery at Corry at a cost of $250,000, where a vast business was carried on. They meanwhile sent crude oil to the Boston works, where great quantities were refined. Extension of the boundaries of the oil producing region was only a part of the natural evolution of the industry. Most of the land in the near vicinity of the great oil centers was soon a veri- table thicket of derricks, and prospectors were perforce driven farther away in quest of the buried treasure. The first belief that producing wells could be drilled only in valleys had been proven a 336 Ky,,^;,y//4, //,. .yf,.„A>,A.u,>,.' ■ M.^^ /..-,/ :>i/'i.'y'^y'.^'^y-y^ ■ yV'-^./z-'^'Z. NATURAL RESOURCES fallacy, and at the same time it had been learned that, while oil might be found in the "first sand," from which Drake obtained his supply at a depth of seventy feet, it also existed, and frequently in such quantities and under such pressure that wells would spout forth thousands of barrels in a day, in second, third or fourth sands, from far greater depths. These facts could have but one tendency — to immensely increase the number of experimental wells, as well as their average depth ; and the greater the number of wells drilled, the greater the number of those that were merely "dry holes," as they were termed, or else produced in such limited quantities as to be unprofitable. During the first ten years of the industry, something over 5,000 wells were drilled, and only a little more than one-fifth of these were profitable producers. It was a hazardous lottery, but the men were always at hand 'o take the chances. Another important feature of the oil industry w^as the creation of an army of buyers and brokers, who represented the large re- finers. They visited all of the important wells and purchased the product, relieving the owner of the well of all of his difficulties and expense in transportation. These men ultimately established oil exchanges at Oil City in 1869, and Titus ville in 1871 ; there had been one in New York city as early as 1866. Meanwhile the refining industry grew with increased production until in 1872 the capacity of the refineries in the oil region had reached about 10,000 barrels. It was then confidently predicted and lioped that this great industry would ultimately be wholly confined to this region, where the producers claimed it belonged. This sentiment was destined in the course of time to lead to serious trouble. In the speculative fever that attended the oil business in all of its phases it is not surprising that prices of the product fluctuated between wide extremes and often at very brief notice. In 1859 crude oil brought about $10 a barrel, a figure that w-as again ap- proximated in 1864, while a year or two earlier it was scarcely worth a dollar per barrel, and at one time in 1863 it was sold as 3-22 337 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL low as ten cents per barrel. These great fluctuations during a long period from year to year, are given in the accompanying fig- ures. No other mineral product of the United States ever sold at such widely differing prices in so brief a period. The principal causes of this fluctuation were the abnormal conditions in the Civil war period, the increase of gross production, the effects of General view of Pithole, 1865 Negative by John A. Mather the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, and government reports of the development of foreign oil fields. To these were added about 1870 the beginning of a practice of discrimination in freight rates by the three trunk railroads that were competing for the oil carry- ing business, a practice that ultimately led to an unparalleled busi- ness conflict. The yearly average prices of pipe-line certificates of crude oil at tlie wells from i860 to 1897 are as follows : i860, $9.59; 1861, 49c.; i862,$i.o5; i863,$3.i5; 1864, $8.06; 1865, $6.59; 1866, 338 NATURAL RESOURCES $3.74; i807,$2.4i; 1868, $3.62 K^; 1869, $5.63:^4; 1870, $3.86; i87i,$4.34; i872,$3.64; i873,$i.83; 1874,$!. 17; i875,$i.35; 1876; $2.56'4; 1877, $2.42; 1878, $1.19; 1879, 85%c.; 1880, 94y2C.; 1881, .85%c.; 1882,78^^0.; 1883, $1.05. )4 ; 1884,83/20.; 1885, 87^j;c. ; 1886, 71/c.; 1887,66^0.; 1888,87^0.; 1889, 94/c. ; 1890,86^0.; 1891,67c.; 1892,55^0.; 1893,64c.; 1894, 83%c.; 1895, $1.35%; 1896, $1.17%; 1897,78^0. General view of Pithole, August, 1895 This view is the same as the original made in 1865. Negative by John A. Mather During a number of years of this industry "the prices of cer- tificate oil," that term meaning the oil taken as standard and mer- chantable by the pipe lines, ruled the market or selling price of crude petroleum. These certificates were bought and sold on the floor of the oil exchanges. In past years there was a large amount of oil held as stocks, and as these were depleted it was necessary for the pipe line companies to recall a large number of these certificates. As the stocks were reduced, it came to pass that a comparatively small amount of oil would control the entire trade. On January 23, 1895, the following notice was posted at the various offices of what was known as the Seep Purchasing 339 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Agency, Mr. Joseph Seep being the purchaser for the Standard Oil Company : "From this date the prices quoted are not those of certificate oil, but the prices paid by the Seep Purchasing Agency." ("Production of Petroleum in 1897," Oliphant.) The quotations made in the Oil City Exchange, at various times, show that there was considerable difference between the prices paid for certificates and those paid by the Seep Agency. The export of refined oil in 1870 was 4,501,983 barrels. In 1874 it had risen to 7,315,406 barrels. The export of crude in 1870 was 329,218 barrels, and of naphtha, 7,668,924 gallons. In 1874, the export of crude was 334,035 barrels, and of naphtha, 9,565,566 gallons. In 1880, the gross production amounted to 27,334,199 barrels. The following report on the several districts in the year 1885 gives further interesting details of the business : The Allegheny district contained an area of thirty-one square miles and had produced up to that time 15,000,000 barrels of oil. The Bradford district, which included the central and north- ern parts of McKean county. Pa., and southern Cattaraugus county, N. Y., containing 133 square miles, of which 121 were in the Bradford district proper, had produced 109,000,000 barrels. The sand in this region is gray, black, or dark brown in color. The Warren district includes an area of thirty-five square miles, taking in the eastern part of Warren county and the north- east part of Forest county. The oil comes from sands of varying geological horizons, having somewhat the appearance of the Brad- ford and the Allegheny sands, the depth of the oil sands below the Olean Conglomerate varying from 1,100 to 1,850 feet. All of the Bradford and Warren district sands are believed to be of the Chemung Devonian age. The Warren district produced up to 1885 12,000,000 barrels of oil. The Venango district was the scene of nearly all of the early developments and includes forty distinct pools between Oil City on the south and Pleasantville on the north ; it includes an area of 340 NATURAL RESOURCES twenty-eigiit s(|narc miles. Tlie oil was obtained from the first, second, and third principal sand beds, contained within an interval of 350 feet. The first one was about 450 feet below the Olean Conglomerate. The Venango sands belong to the Catskill (Devonian) formation; they are white, gray, or yellow pebble rock, not so homogeneous as in the Allegheny and Bradford dis- tricts, and consecjuently there was always greater probability of drilling non-producing wells. The Venango district produced to 1885, 55,000,000 barrels of oil. The Butler district includes pools in Butler and Clarion coun- ties and the southeast part of Venango county, with an area of eighty-four square miles, seventy-six of wdiich are in Butler, Clarion, and Armstrong fields and the Butler cross belt. It has the same group of sands as the Venango district and produced up to 1885, 69,000 barrels. The Beaver district included the two principal pools at Slip- pery Rock and Smith's Ferry, the former and that part of the latter situated east of the Pennsylvania line containing sixteen square miles. In both a heavy oil w^as obtained from the repre- sentative of the Pottsville Conglomerate, and an amber oil from the Berea Grit in the sub-carboniferous series. The production up to 1885 was about 1,000,000 barrels. Of the oil districts as defined at the present time it may be stated that the Bradford district produced in 1897 3,904,230 barrels. It is estimated that the total production of this field out- side of Pennsylvania is equal to about 13 per cent, of the entire production of the Bradford field, making 507,549 barrels pro- duced in the outside portion of the field in that year. The Warren and Forest county district as now defined in- cludes southwestern McKean county, eastern and southeastern Warren county, northwestern Elk county, and northeastern For- est county; it has been sub-divided into the Tiona pool, Warren and Clarendon pool, and the Middle pool or district. The pro- duction for .897 was 1,999,108 barrels. 341 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The Lower district includes the southwestern part of Warren county, all of Venango county, the eastern part of Forest county, and all of Clarion, Armstrong, and Butler counties. The pro- duction for 1897 was 6,825,599 barrels. The Allegheny district has been made a separate district and the production in 1897 was 2,958,540 barrels. This district shows a larger proportional decrease during the preceding year than any other district. Washington county is also now considered a separate district and produced in 1897, 2,175,712 barrels. Beaver county is now another separate district and produced in 1897, 317,926 barrels. Franklin district includes an area lying between the Allegheny river and French creek at Franklin, Venango county, in which is produced a natural lubricating oil, which is extensively used by the railroads of the country. The production in 1897 was 48,880 barrels, and during a number of years past the product has aver- aged about 50,000 barrels. Green county district shows comparatively small production, although a few excellent wells were drilled in 1897, and several large gas wells were developed in the southern part of the county in the year named. Outside of these districts oil was found in isolated pools south and southeast of the Beaver and Butler districts; at Mt. Nebo, near Pittsburg; in the vicinity of Pleasant Unity, Westmoreland county ; near the mouth of Dunlap creek, Fayette county, and near Washington in Washington county. Regarding the sources of petroleum and the probability of ex- haustion of the supply, Professor Lesley wrote in 1883: 'Tt is certain that petroleum is not now being produced in the Devonian rocks by distillation or otherwise. What has been stored up can be got out. When the reservoirs are exhausted, there will be an end of it. The discovery of a few more pools of two or three mil- lion barrels each can make little difference in the general result." Other excellent authorities of that time accepted the same view, 342 NATURAL RESOURCES and it was not until about that year that the probable diminution and final exhaustion of the oil supply in any given locality, and the revolutionizing- consequences of such a result, were fully ap- preciated. But when the maximum production for any one month (105,102 barrels) was reached in July, 1882, and a long and steady decline in quantity began and continued, the most The Drake Monument Erected in memory of Colonel E. L. Drake, at Titusville: dedicated, 1901. Negative by John A. Mather optimistic believers in a supply that would continue indefinitely were convinced of their error. In his work on "The Product and Exhaustion of the Oil Region of Pennsylvania and New York," (1885), Charles A. Ashburner wrote: "A defined territory, a product inadequate to meet the demand of the market for the past eighteen months, a growing market and rapidly diminishing stocks; an increasing number of drilling and producing wells, and a rapidly falling daily average product per well are all sig- nificant signs of a certain decline in a great industry." 343 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL These statements, startling as they were at that time, have all been verified as far as relates to the producing territory then dis- covered and developed. Where once hundreds of thousands of active men eagerly toiled in one or another branch of the oil in- dustry in western Pennsylvania, and the hills and valleys were covered with forests of derricks in thousands of which the sound of the pumps never ceased ; where busy marts of business, many of which were the creation of a wonderfully brief period, called out the energies of their ambitious residents, all is now stagna- tion, as far as this great industry is concerned. It was estimated in July, 1883, ^^""^^ there were 17,100 pro- ducing wells in the oil region under consideration. In July, 1884, there were 21,844, ^^id in July, 1885, 22,524. The average price of crude oil in July, 1885, was 925^ cents per barrel, which was 1334 cents less than the average for the whole of the year 1883. Down to and including the year 1882 the total product was 154,- 000,000 barrels, which quantity was increased at the beginning of 1885 to 261,000,000 barrels. During the succeeding years to the present time the oil producing districts of this country, as well as in other parts of the world, have been increased to a mar- vellous degree, until it would seem that notwithstanding the well- proven fact that the suppl}^ in any given locality must inevitably decline, the gross product may never fall below the needs of hu- manity. The unjustifiable discrimination in freight rates on oil by the railroads, to which allusion has been made, and which began prior to 1870, led to a memorable conflict between the producers and re- finers in the oil regions on the one side and the combination of the great refining interests of Cleveland with the railroads on the other. Through the organization then known as the South Im- provement Company, which became the present great Standard Oil Company, by John D. Rockefeller and his colleagues, they were given freight rates over the railroads that threatened to ruin every producer and refiner who declined to merge his interests 344 NATURAL RESOURCES with theirs. In 1870 Cleveland was the most important refining center in the United States, taking one-third of the entire output of crude oil from the oil regions. Competition between the refin- ers of that city and those situated near the source of supply was intensely active; but notwithstanding the apparent advantages of the latter, they found their interests declining and their profits dwindling, while the rival organization was evidently on the high tide of success. The mysterious cause of this condition of affairs was finally discovered and retaliation on the part of the oil men in Pennsylvania was prompt and effective. The railroads had their excuse for giving the Cleveland men a lower freight rate than they would grant the refiners of the oil region, in the fact that the former guaranteed to give the roads a vastly greater volume of business. Many refiners were warily led to believe that if they did not join the great organization they would be financially crushed — an argument that was effective in many in- stances. To still further strengthen the lever with which the combination was attempting to rule or overthrow the business of the independent operators, it was announced early in 1872 that a heavy advance in freight rates would be made on oil from the oil region, from which their opponents were to be exempt. When this statement was read in the newspapers the Pennsylvania oil centers were thrown into an angry panic, and within twenty-four hours a great mass meeting was held in Titusville and a little later was followed by another in Oil City. These excited gatherings resulted in the organization of the Petroleum Producers' Union, which at once resolved that no new wells should be started by its members within sixty days and that no oil whatever should be sold to their opponents. They denounced the whole business as a conspiracy; ordered its history printed and sent in many thou- sands to United States and State officials, and to many railroad and business men in all parts of the country. A monster petition was sent to the State legislature asking for a free pipe line bill, and during a number of weeks ordinary business was to a large extent 345 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL abandoned. The efforts of these determined men of the oil re- gion to break down the combination of raih^oads and Cleveland refiners were finally effective, and in March, 1872, the railroad com- panies annulled their contracts with the South Improvement Com- pany. It was soon discovered, however, that the Standard Oil Company was only another name for the South Improvement Company, and that its power and influence with the railroads was almost compulsory. By observing the utmost secrecy, rebates were again secured and the old difficulties sprang into life again to hamper operations and diminish profits of the oil interest in this State. Mr. Rockefeller and some of his business associates visited the oil regions and there used their persuasive powers to the utmost in efforts to bring the whole refining interest under control of their company. They met with some measure of suc- cess and gradually since that time the great Standard Oil Com- pany has reached out its tentacles into all the oil producing sec- tions of the country and substantially gained an ascendency which no opposition has yet been able to overcome. Its recent history is too well known to need repetition here. Whether its operations have inured to the good or the ill of the country at large, it stands as one of the most gigantic business monopolies the world has ever seen, NATURAL GAS In this connection, and because of its close association with the oil interests of this State, brief reference to the production of what is generally known as natural gas will possess a measure of value and interest. The existence of what were called gas springs was known to settlers in some localities many years ago, the first probably near Fredonia, N. Y. But it was not until after 182 1 that --ny attempt was made to utilize the product; burners were then put in use, and the gas was confined and directed through them for illuminating purposes. In 1858 a well was put down which supplied gas for 200 burners; another followed in 1871. 346 NATURAL RESOURCES In a geological sense the oil and the gas regions are one and the same. The strata drilled through in sinking the great gas wells near Pittsburg are in general the same as the strata in differ- ent parts of the Devonian and Carboniferous series which have been so extensively pierced for the production of petroleum. The rocks which supply gas are found in a vertical range of about 3,000 feet of Carboniferous and Devonian strata extending from the Mahoning sandstone at the base of the Lower Barren meas- ures, which is an average of 500 feet below the Pittsburg coal bed, down to the Smethport oil sand in McKean county, which is 350 feet below the great Bradford oil sand of that region. The prin- cipal gas horizons are (i) the probable representative of the Venango first oil sand at Pittsburg, 1,800 to 1,850 feet below the Pittsburg coal bed; (2) the Sheffield gas sand, which appears to be the lowest oil and gas sand in Warren county (the horizon of which is about 800 feet above the bottom of the interval of 3,000 feet) ; (3) the Bradford oil sand, 1,775 ^^^^ below the base of the Pottsville Conglomerate. It should be understood, however, that gas has been found outside of these three horizons. Carburetted hydrogen is the chief component of gas from the earth, which is generally traced to bituminous matter, from which it may also be distilled, as is practiced in producing it from coal. The oil wells in very many instances and places produced this gas — some of them nothing else and in enormous quantities. But as far as relates to the oil region under consideration in this chapter, the gas was long considered a useless and dangerous product. About the year 1870 it began to be utilized in various localities and from that time forward many wells were drilled exclusively for it. On the upper Cumberland river, in Kentucky, gas accu- mulated in such quantities beneath the sheets of Lower Silurian limestone, and the pressure was so great, that hundreds of tons of material were sometimes blow-n up out of the earth by its volume, giving such places the local name of "gas volcanoes." Along the Ohio river gas frequently escaped in large volume from 347 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL oil wells, and wells bored there in 1866 at the same geological horizon that produced oil at Oil creek, struck fissures at 600 feet depth from which gas shot up with enormous pressure, blowing the drilling tools far into the air, accompanied by a jet of water that rose 100 feet from the earth. The water in such wells was excluded by the insertion of a tube and the gas was thus separated and confined within itself. Its value as a heat producer finally attracted the attention of large manufacturers, pipe lines were laid in many localities and it became a very important factor in large industries and for domestic heating purposes. It so continues to the present time, though its diminution and gradual extinction in given localities corresponds in that respect with oil. In the case of flowing oil wells it is the theory that the oil is forced up- ward by the great gas pressure; when the latter diminishes the flow decreases in corresponding ratio. A remarkable gas well was drilled at East Sandy in 1869, in which the flow caught fire and burned during more than a year, the roar of the flame being heard for miles. After its partial exhaustion the well was piped and the gas was used for producing steam power for drilling, pumping, etc. A large number of gas wells were drilled in the early years of the industry at Gas City, Cranberry township. Venango county, and the area from which it was profitably drawn gradually spread to many other localities. In June, 1872, a well was drilled for oil two miles from Fairview, Butler county. Pa., to a depth of 1,335 ^^^t» when it was abandoned on account of the flow of water and gas. A few months later the pressure of the gas became so strong that it forced all the water from the well and in the fall of that year a company was formed to utilize the product. A pipe ^^i inches in diameter was laid to Fairview. and later was continued three miles farther to Petrolia, and under a pressure of eighty pounds to the square inch the gas was ex- tensively used for both light and heat. In the Newton well, about five miles northeast of Titusville, gas was struck at a depth of 786 feet, which escaped with such 348 NATURAL RESOURCES tremendous force as to blow out a sand pump and tools, with great volumes of water, to a height of loo feet in the air. The roar of the escaping- gas was heard ten miles distant. The total pressure was about 350 pounds to the inch and 500,000 cubic feet of gas escaped per day. Capitalists made plans for utilizing the product at Titusville, and the well was purchased by Henry Hinckley, of that place. On the ist of August, 1872, it was con- veyed to the city in a two-inch pipe, which was later superseded by a 33/4-inch main, and was long extensively used in the place and by surrounding farmers and manufacturers. In later years the total gas supply was enormously increased, both in Pennsyl- vania and elsewhere, and it was conveyed to Pittsburg, Buffalo, and many other large and small business centers, where it was almost universally used in manufacturing operations of every de- scription, and in public buildings and dwellings for heat and light. In 1873 there were twenty-five wells in operation in this State, the greater part of which were drilled especially for gas, which was reached at depths varying from 500 to 700 feet. Unlike oil. natural gas cannot be commercially transported to points far dis- tant from the supply, excepting in pipes ; hence, when the supply diminishes and finally ceases in any given district, that district must seek its light and heat from other sources. This has been the result in many localities where brilliant anticipations were once entertained that the supply would continue indefinitely. CEMENT Among the valuable natural products of Pennsylvania that have aided in giving the State prominence in industrial operations are the rocks that supply the requisite materials for the manufac- ture of what is commonly known in this country and in Europe as Portland cement. These materials, although they are widely distributed in various parts of the world, are not, in very numer- ous localities, found in such juxtaposition or even proximity as to 349 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL justify attempts to make profitable use of them in producing com- mercial cement. There is a widely existing misapprehension as to the antiquity of true cement. Much has been said and written of the old Roman cement which has bound together great blocks of ma- sonry, withstanding the wear of time and the disintegrating ef- fects of weather. It is now known by those who are well versed on the subject that this binding material used by those ancient builders was nothing more than a judicious mixture of slacked lime and a peculiar powder or sand made by crushing the volcanic deposits of Italy, producing a mortar that would after consider- able time set firmly under water. By reason of the silicious char- acter of this sand, the mortar possessed this "setting" property and also became in time a substance of great strength and dura- bility. But it was, after all, only a form of our old lime and sand mortar, and it did not always endure. Pliny, in writing of his experiences in old Rome, mentions buildings which had fallen, and frequently through the weakness of the binding materials used in the masonry. There was little improvement in the character of mortar used before the middle of the fifteenth century. Stone and brick con- structions still had to be repointed with new mortar every few years, and chimneys not infrequently rebuilt. Even at the time mentioned the new discovery claimed to have been made by a Frenchman was not of great value. His petition to the king was based upon his alleged discovery that the way to make the perfect mortar was to take the lime hot from the kiln and at once incor- porate it with sand and water, instead of letting the lime and sand slake together for months, as was the old practice. Nothing practical came of this discovery, and so it was not until about the beginning of the last century that the first real progress was made. Then the great Smeaton, builder of the famous Eddystone light- house, facing the problem of erecting his massive foundations deep under water, made the discovery of hydraulic cement, or 350 Henrv Martvn llovt 'rcnchcr; soldier in Civil War and mustered nut "itli rank of brigadier-general; additional law judge courts of Luzerne County, 1867; governor, 1879-18S3 NATURAL RESOURCES hytlraulic limestone mortar. During liis nunicrtnis experiments he learned that the theory of the ancients that the harder the lime- stone burned, the harder the cement, was incorrect. He found that the softer stones, those that contained a fair amount of argil- laceous substances, or clay, gave better results, and he established the principle that a limestone containing one-fifth to one-fourth residue when dissolved in hydrochloric acid, would set under water. To such stones he gave the title of hydraulic limestones, and from the principle laid down by him come the two great defi- nitions of what are now known as the "natural," and the artificial (Portland) cements of commerce. Smeaton was not a financial gainer through his discovery, and in 1796 James Parker of Christ Church, Surrey county, England, invented and patented a cement to which he gave the title "Roman," claiming it was identical with the one used by the ancients. He marketed his product to a considerable extent. At the same time experiments were pro- gressing along similar lines, but it was not until 1812 that a num- ber of men of that country, after long research, probed the secret of making hydraulic mortar, and actually made in an artificial way a cement similar to the well-known Portland cement. In 1813 Joseph Aspdin, a bricklayer of Leeds, England, took out a patent for a cement, the details of which closely follow the later processes of manufacture, and gave his product the name Portland cement, on account of its resemblance when set to the Portland stone, a well known building material of England. This cement he placed on the market in opposition to the Roman ce- ment of Parker and competition was active many years. Other successful cement works were established in England in later years. The question of the relative value of the Portland and the artificial cements was finally settled some time after 1850, by John Grant, the engineer in charge of the London drainage system. He conclusively showed that Portland cement, with three parts sand, was as strong as Roman cement with one part sand. This declaration gave a great impetus to the manufacture of the cement. 2-23 353 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL In this country the cement industry was called into being largely by the building of the early artificial waterways. When the necessity for its use arose, limestones were discovered which, according to the theories of Smeaton and others, developed the qualities necessary for making a good hydraulic cement. So, here as well as in England, the natural cement industry preceded the manufacture of the Portland cement. Between the years 1830 and i860 cement works were established on the line of the Richmond and Allegheny canal at Balcony Falls ; on the Ohio river canal at Louisville; on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal at Cumberland and Hancock, Md. ; on the Erie canal at Howe's Cave; on the line of the Lehigh canal at Siegfried's Bridge, Pa., etc. The Portland cement was imported from England in a small way in 1870, and its excellence in every essential characteristic soon brought it into extensive use. The natural result of this business was an attempt to produce the same article in this coun- try. About 1870 and a little later David O. Saylor, of Allen- town, Pa., was operating a small natural cement works on the line of the Lehigh canal, at Coplay, Lehigh county. Pa. Experi- ments made by him proved that by burning to incipient vitrifica- tion the natural rocks in his quarry, he could make a cement that would, for a short period, stand a tensile strain equal to the im- ported Portland article. But he learned, also, that if it was left for a time in briquettes or in constructed work, it would crumble away, and that this defect was caused by the variation in the raw rocks used. By his native ability and perseverance he then studied and successfully applied to the Lehigh rocks the principle that had governed the production of the imported Portland ce- ment, though he was dealing with a material never before used for this purpose. Some later figures of the present production of this indispensable article in the United States and its immense value to the builders of the country will convey an idea of the vast importance of Mr. Saylor's work. He found that it was neces- 354 NATURAL RESOURCES sary to grind the raw rocks together to produce a material of uniform analysis and then to m^ke this material into blocks of homogeneous character before placing them in the kilns for cal- cination. Mr. Saylor was materially aided by John W. Eckert, a graduate of the Lehigh University, who was the first chemist of the Coplay Cement Company. This company Mr. Saylor afterwards left to join the American Cement Company, which had been established by Robert W. Lesley, who had also been connected with Mr. Saylor. While this work in the Lehigh region was being carried on to success, experiments and young industries were in progress else- where in this State. Early in 1875 works were started by Wil- liam P. Shinn and John K. Shinn at Wampum, Lawrence county. Pa., using limestone and clay. These works are now owned by the Crescent Cement Company and are on the high tide of suc- cess. Experiments in other sections of the country were not so successful, for varied reasons, and in 1881, out of the six original works established, three were failures and the outlook for the in- vestor was not encouraging. The chief difficulty encountered was the cost of getting the raw material into powder, then into paste, then into blocks and then into the kiln. Foreign Portland cement at this time had full control of the market. About 1884-5 James M. Willcox, E. J. DeSmedt, and Robert W. Lesley took out patents for mixing liquid hydro-carbons with the paste, thus producing a material which could be compressed into balls and put at once into the kiln, saving the intermediate steps of drying, etc. These processes were based upon the use of the by-products of coal gas manufacture and were adopted in the works of the American Cement Company, at Egypt, Lehigh county, Pa. The later advance in the price of coal tar caused the abandonment of the process, but while it was in use, other inventions by Mathey, Navarro, and Ransome in the same direction gave rise to the establishment of the Atlas Portland Cement Company, which has large works in the Lehigh region, and produces great quantities 355 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL of Portland cement. These processes, based originally upon the calcination of the crushed raw rock by oil in revolving kilns, were unsuccessful at first from the same causes that had given Mr. Saylor trouble in his early attempts. But improvements were made whereby the material was ground to an impalpable powder and slightly moistened before being run through the kilns. This method has proven wonderfully successful and is to-day the foundation of the great American Portland cement industry. A clear conception of the cement industry cannot be gained without a general understanding of the inherent dififerences be- tween natural cement (before mentioned) and Portland cement, and the character of the raw rocks used as regards their chemical properties, etc. Broadly speaking, the natural cement is made from an argillaceous limestone, found in either crystalline or lam- inated form, and which when calcined contains from 40 to 55 per cent, of lime, or lime and magnesia, and from 45 to 60 per cent, of argillaceous material — silica, alumina, and iron oxide. These stones are found in many parts of the country and cement is made from them by burning in open kilns. The efifect of the burning is to drive out the carbonic acid gas and the moisture. After burning, the material is first crushed and then ground to the finest powder. This natural cement is subject to a number of varia- tions that are beyond control of the producer : It is made from a rock which may vary from day to day in its constant ingredients ; it may contain more or less moisture; its calcination in open kilns is a good deal dependent on the weather; and the low temperature at which it is burned does not produce an absolute chemical union of all the ingredients. But it may be said to be a very safe and sound building material, produced in the l^est way out of "natural" material, containing the ingredients which nearly approach the standard of artificial cement. In its manufacture no attempt is made to expose the material to a degree of heat sufficient to bring all the ingredients into close chemical union and activity, and there is no attempt to break down the structure of the rock or to pro- 356 NATURAL RESOURCES duce a homogeneous material for calcination, other than the nat- ural rock. Portland cement is essentially an artificial product. It began with the combination of the chalks and clays of England, mixed in such proportions as to produce the highest grade of the article. It can be produced by properly proportioning limestones, argil- laceous limestones, marls, with argillaceous limestones and forms of clays. The basic principle is that the combined material shall, after calcination, analyze from 55 to 65 per cent, in lime, and the remainder of silica, alumina, and oxide of iron. The further and all-important element is that all these materials shall be broken down into the finest powder, so that all the calcareous elements may find equally finely ground argillaceous elements w^ith which to combine and form silicates and aluminates of lime in the chem- ical crucible of the kiln. In the early days of the manufacture it was extremely difficult to overcome the widespread objection that the raw materials in America were dissimilar to those in England and that good Port- land cement could not be produced here. But experience and analysis have proved that the actual character of the ingredients used is not all-important, if the final composition is kept within fairly reasonable limits. This has been fully accomplished and the results of tests of the American product soon overcame the objections at first urged against it. A good Portland cement may be made from chalk, marl, or limestone containing carbonate of lime between 80 and 100 per cent., and clay containing silica be- tween 60 and 70 per cent, and alumina between 6 and 10 per cent., mixed in the proper proportions; or, it can be made with argil- laceous limestone containing 60 to 70 per cent, of carbonate of lime, and limestone containing from 80 to 100 per cent, of car- bonate of lime, the remainder being silica and alumina. Broadly speaking, from these materials Portland cement is made. The selection of raw materials with reference to their geo- graphical situation and their juxtaposition, convenience of fuel, 357 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and transportation facilities presents the first problem to the man- ufacturer. The relation of the selected materials to each other, whether soft or crystalline, constitutes another problem for solu- tion, which is of the greatest importance ; but these two problems solved, the success of manufacture then depends only upon eco- nomical handling, calcining and grinding of the materials. The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — obverse In manufacturing the Portland cement what is known as the wet process was used in Europe and during many years in this country, with a number of minor variations in methods ; but they were all predicated upon supplying to the flame in the kiln a properly proportioned, thoroughly pulverized and mixed material, made into forms of some kind, duly dried, and thus presenting to the flame a new rock containing all the necessary ingredients in proper mechanical union. These old methods have been greatly improved in America in many details, and especially through the use of the American dry kiln. This invention had its origin in Europe, and it proved a failure in England; but after some im- 358 NATURAL RESOURCES provements it was perfected until now the greater part of the American cement is made by its use. Briefly, this kihi is an iron cylinder sixty feet long by six feet in diameter, which is revolved about once each minute. Into one end of this the raw material is introduced and at the other a flame drives out the moisture and carbonic acid gas and subsequently calcines the material into a The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania— reverse clinker in the form of small lumps. This product drops out at the lower end of the kiln, is conveyed to a cooler — a high iron tower with forced draught, whence it goes to the grinding ma- chinery. This so-called dry process effected great economy, and now more than three-fourths of the product of the country is thus made. But the use of dry raw material required heavy and costly crushing machinery, and American invention supplied it in several different forms. What is known as the Gates crusher, which had been largely used in the coal mining regions, was first adopted for the manufacture of cement in Lehigh county, Pa., and it is to-day the standard machine in all cement mills using rock as raw ma- 359 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL terial. So, also, in grinding machinery, most important improve- ments have been made by American inventors, the principal one being the Griffin mill, through the use of which the preparation of the raw material was greatly cheapened. In view of the fact that during thirty years past Portland cement has been the chief binding material in the heaviest ma- sonry in the world, it will be understood that great difficulty was long experienced in the introduction of the American product. In the early days of the industry, where the change from well known brands of the foreign product to the American involved a saving of only $2,000 or $3,000 on a building costing $1,000,000 or more, it was extremely difficult for the American cement to obtain a commercial foothold. But in time prejudice largely dis- appeared, the foreign cement was slowly crowded from the mar- ket, and our native product reached the high rank it now enjoys. Where twenty years ago the production of American Portland cement was about 85,000 barrels a year, it has rapidly and regu- larly increased until in 1901 it reached the enormous quantity of over 12,700,000 barrels; and this has been done without ma- terially reducing the product of 8,000,000 to 9,000,000 barrels of natural cement which are still being annually produced. At the same time, it should be noted that since 1890 the quantity of im- ported cement used has shown little variation from about 2,000,- 000 barrels annually. As before stated, the works of David O. Saylor, at Coplay, Lehigh county, Pa., and the plant of the Wampum Cement Com- pany, in Lawrence county, were the first cement producers in this State. They manufactured substantially the whole of the 85,000 barrels mentioned as the product of 1882. During the early years, after the \Vampum works ceased to produce in large quantities, it was the Saylor plant that was the largest contributor to the prod- uct until about 1885. The center of the Pennsylvania industry had been for years in the territory lying substantially between Phillipsburg, N. J., and Cementon and Siegfried's Bridge, in Le- 360 NATURAL RESOURCES high and Northampton counties, Pa. This field includes nearly all of the largest producing works in the United States and within it are gathered nearly three-fourths of the total producing capac- ity of the country. In 1890 there were sixteen works in the whole country, and those situated in Lehigh county, with one near Phillipsburg, N. J., produced about 60 per cent, of all the Port- land cement made in the United States; and almost continually since that year the same five works have produced 61 per cent, of the total output. In 1898 what is known as the Lehigh district produced in its eight works 72.4 per cent, of the 3,692,284 barrels made in the country; and in 1899 the eleven works in this district produced y2.y per cent, of the total. The figures of 1901 show that out of the 12,711,225 barrels total, the Lehigh district pro- duced 8,595,340 barrels. This district includes three works in New Jersey, and in Pennsylvania are the Northampton, Phoenix, Dexter, Nazareth, Atlas, Lawrence, Reading, Bonneville, White- hall, Hercules, Coplay, Lehigh, Martin's Creek, and American Cement companies. Most of these companies have more than one plant. Outside of this district, and still in Pennsylvania, are the Clinton Cement Works, near Pittsburg, where slag cement is made, and the Crescent Cement Company, at Wampum, where Portland cement is made from limestone and clay.^ AGRICULTURE If we take into consideration the geological formation and distribution, the general topography of Pennsylvania with its necessarily large area of mountainous and uncultivated lands, with the character of the soil in some limited districts, the State ranks high as a productive agricultural region. The character of the outcropping and underlying rocks in any given area and the influences arising from their decomposition have an important 'The information upon which the foregoing report to the Bureau of Industrial Statistics account of the cement industry in Pennsyl- by Robert W. Lesley, of Philadelphia. v!s p repaniaisared drawn from the very able 361 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL bearing upon the soil and its productiveness. The geological formation in Pennsylvania includes three principal divisions of rocks. I. The Azoic and the Eozoic in the southeastern part, across which lies (2) the Mesozoic (the new red) in a belt twenty to thirty miles wide, extending from New Jersey into Maryland. 3. The Paleozoic series from the Potsdam sandstone to the coal measures, occupying the remainder of the State. The tertiary and upper secondary series do not extend across the Delaware river from the eastern side. A drift formation of sand and gravel covers the northern and northwestern counties, thinning away before the New York line is reached, except where it shows down the Delaware valley in the east and on the branches of the Ohio in the west. Along the middle of the northern bounds of the State the height of the table land probably prevented the forma- tion of this deposit, while the valley beds and the lower hills of the northwestern counties are heavily covered with it. The gneissic rocks are limited to the southeastern counties, occupying a margin of varying width along the Delaware below Trenton, at Philadelphia reaching up the Schuylkill about ten miles, and displaced on the northwest by a narrow belt of par- tially metamorphosed lower Silurian limestone, which separates it from the red sandstone. This contains quarries of the white marble which has been so extensively used in Philadelphia and elsewhere for building and other purposes. Gneiss is spread over the north part of Chester county, and the Laurentian gneiss is believed to form the body of the Reading and Easton hill, and of the South mountain west of Harrisburg. Southwest from Philadelphia gneiss continues around the border of the State, the edge of the formation north of Maryland coming to a point south of Gettysburg in Adams county. Across this gneiss region extend tracts of Serpentine rocks, forming the so-called "Serpentine barrens." In these rocks is found chrome iron ore, which has been profitably taken out at different points. The Lower Silurian formations contain great 362 NATURAL RESOURCES deposits of hematite iron ore, which have been extensively worked. The northern edge of the New Red sandstone ranges across the Delaware below Durham, passes westward across the Schuyl- kill just below Reading and the Susquehanna five miles below Harrisburg, inclining thence southward, and passes out of the State, keeping at the foot of South mountain on the Blue Ridge. The southern edge enters the State opposite Trenton and follows a general west course, passing the Schuylkill two miles below Norristown, the Susquehanna in the western corner of Lancaster county, and the State line in Adams county. This tract is almost exclusively occupied by the red sandstones, red shales and con- glomerates of the formation, and by numerous dykes of trap rock. The sandstones are quarried and supply good building material in several localities. The lower members of the Paleozoic series lie on the north- west flank and foot of South mountain, beneath the magnesian Lower Silurian limestones of the Kittanning valley ; these fill the broad valley between the Kittanning and the Blue mountains on the one side, and South mountain on the other. Their range is marked by great fertility of soil and the finest agricultural region in the State is in this great valley, occupying the greater part of Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland, and Franklin counties. The northern half of the valley is occu- pied by the Utica and Hudson river Lower Silurian slate, from which have been taken large quantities of roofing and other slate products. Beyond towards the northwest ranges the central belt of Upper Silurian and Devonian mountains and valleys, as far as the main Alleghanies — a region famous for the beauty and grandeur of its natural scenery, but not well adapted to general agriculture. At the main Alleghanies the scene changes. As one passes west- ward he descends between and over innumerable rounded knobs and short ridges, around the sides of which outcrops the bitu- minous coal beds. The highest points of the Alleghanies are 363 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL capped with the Conglomerate which underhes the bituminous coal formation, or by the lower members of the series, the strata dipping gently towards the west, and the formation increases in thickness in that direction and overspreads the whole western part of the State, excepting the northwest corner. Topographically, in general terms, the surface of the State is level in the southeastern part; hilly and mountainous in the in- terior, and rolling and broken in the western part. The surface of the southeastern part is only slightly elevated above sea level ; farther westward and northward appear a series of parallel ridges 1,500 to 2,500 feet in height, extending in a curving belt across the State from northeast to southwest, and from fifty to eighty miles in width. The first one of these ridges on the southeast is South mountain, which is a prolongation of the Blue Ridge of Virginia ; the last one on the west is the Alleghany range, which is the highest. From this range the surface slopes gradually towards the western State line. The Susquehanna river flows across the State in a general southern direction, drains a large part of these highlands and cutting in its passage many deep and tortuous canyons, collecting in a central valley and plain which separates the anthracite region on the east from the Devonian and Silurian mountains on the west, through which flows the Juniata. West of the Alleghany mountain backbone are three ridges about 2,500 feet in height, which pass out of the State into Maryland and Virginia. Generally speaking, the ridges east of the Alleghanies are too steep to be successfully cultivated, but the western slope is mostly arable even at high elevations. Pro- ductive valleys correspond to the general trend of the ridges, the principal one being Chester in the southeast part ; Lebanon in the east ; Wyoming in the northeast ; Penn's and Juniata in the center ; Cumberland in the south, and Monongahela in the southwest. Generally speaking, the soil of Pennsylvania is rich ; this is especially true of the limestone region in the eastern part of the State, as well as in some of the counties on the Ohio river in the 364 NATURAL RESOURCES western part, which are underlaid with the same rock. The hme- stone areas are well adapted to grain raising, as also are the mountain valleys of the interior. In the northern part of the State good grazing soils predominate, especial productiveness rewarding the farmer on the upper Susquehanna in the northeast part. On the highlands of the central northern counties the soil is thin and cold, but proceeding westward and into the north- western part, better agricultural conditions prevail. The whole of the western border of the State, like the Ohio valley generally, is alike well adapted to grain raising and grazing. These latter soils are indicated by the character of the forest that formerly covered them. As will be seen in figures in later pages of this chapter, corn has during the past century been a great product between the Alleghanies and the Delaware river; wheat and rye have always been extensively produced in all the valleys of the State; tobacco during many years has been a large and profitable product in Lancaster and a few other counties. Orchard fruits of all kinds adapted to the climate, grapes and other small fruits in some districts have all added to the wealth and prosperity of the agricultural population. The climate of Pennsylvania is widely varied, influencing in a corresponding degree the agricultural conditions. In the south- ern and eastern parts the summers are hot and the winters reason- ably temperate. On the Alleghany highlands and the central and northern uplands the winters are very severe, and in some localities there is seldom a month in the year without frost. It has been said of the wide and deep valleys of the Susquehanna that the climate and other conditions are such that they might be made "a continuous vineyard rivalling those of the Rhine and the Rhone." Until the middle of the last century Pennsylvania was pre-eminently a great and rich agricultural Commonwealth. From that time forward, the construction of numerous rjiilroads and other transportation facilities gave a powerful impetus to a great variety of other interests. 365 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL As early as 1682, according to statements of the founder of the colony, provisions were plentiful. In addition to such prod- ucts of the soil as could then be obtained, the Swedes and the Indians brought to the settlement large quantities of game. Deer were sold at 2s. each and corn sold for 2s. 6d. Horse mills were in use for grinding corn. An early settler wrote, "We have peaches by cart loads." Penn wrote in 1683 to the Society of Traders, of the agricultural products of his colony as being wheat, barley, oats, rye, peas, beans, squashes, pumpkins, and melons, "and all roots and herbs that English gardens supply." In 1718 he wrote of his possessions that "God has made of a desert an enclosed garden and the plantations about it a fruitful field." In 1752 Franklin recorded that 10,000 hogsheads of flax seed were exported from Philadelphia, and the flax product all made into coarse linen in the settlers' homes. A map of that year gives the product in flour as 125,960 barrels. In 1765 there was ex- ported from Philadelphia 367,522 bushels of wheat and 148,887 barrels of flour, with over 60,000 bushels of corn. The progress of agriculture in Pennsylvania, as in all other new settlements, was slow during many years after the arrival of the first pioneers. There were many causes contributing to this result. The early settlers found only a wilderness in which to lay their hearthstones and build their primitive homes. Al- though the forests were in many localities largely cleared of un- dergrowth, due to the Indian custom of frequently burning it out, still the clearing of the land to fit it for cultivation, even of the rudest sort, required time and arduous toil. Soon the settlers, notwithstanding Penn's humanitarian policy, began to suffer from Indian depredations, the terror from which, added to actual de- struction, served to greatly retard settlement and pioneer work in the interior. Wild beasts, too, had their influence in this direc- tion, an influence that was, however, more than offset, perhaps, by their great value in adding to the food supply. Seeds and shrubs for planting were frequently difficult to obtain. The 366 NATURAL RESOURCES character of the soil in different locahties was not understood, causing loss where there might have been great gain. Tools were scarce and crude of construction. If brought from England they were often beyond the purses of those who felt their need. When better tools and the early machinery were available, many settlers were averse to their adoption. While German and Swedish settlers were industrious and persevering, they long Central Part of Washington From Day's Historical Collections clung to prejudice against innovations. The adoption of im- proved tools and methods has always met with more or less oppo- sition in all countries, but with less, perhaps, in the United States than elsewhere. Laborers in some parts of enlightened England destroyed agricultural machinery as late as 1830. Wooden plows were the dependence of the Pennsylvania farmers until about the beginning of the last century. There was little attempt made towards improvement in agricultural methods until after the Revolutionary war. Enlightened men then began to appreciate the value of fertilizing, rotation of crops, the adoption of better tools, and the ultimate danger of exhaustion of soil. This senti- ment led in 1784 to the formation of the Society for the Improve- ment of Agriculture, in Philadelphia ; this was the same year that 367 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL saw the establishment of a similar organization in South Caro- lina, to be followed by one in New York in 1791 and one in Massachusetts in 1792. But even under such impetus as was felt under the work of this early society, progress was slow for many years, excepting in the immediate vicinity of Philadelphia. Reading matter on agricultural subjects was scarce and what there was attracted little attention from the average farmer of the period. Manuring was ridiculed in Chester county down to near the Revolutionary period and there was very little lime used be- fore that time — a fertilizer that became in later years of great importance to the State. The early settlers placed little confi- dence in what they termed "book farming," a sentiment that remained to some extent to years within the memory of living persons. Stock on farms continued, partly through necessity perhaps, to be poorly-housed in winter and inadequately fed. Meadow production was confined almost wholly to natural grass growth; there was little clover before the Revolution, and no timothy. The introduction of the horse rake, and later of the thresher and the mowing machine was a slow process. But in the course of time all of these untoward conditions passed away. The society before named continued its beneficent work in spreading intelligence and encouragement. A meeting of the members was held February 7, 1786 (the second year of its existence), in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, with eighteen persons present. It was there agreed to present a gold medal to Colonel George Morgan of New Jersey, for "having the best farm yard the society has information of." This was the first medal presented by the society, and it seems they had to go over into the neighboring State to find a worthy recipient. On No- vember 7 of that year another meeting was held, at which "was exhibited a drill plough just from England that cost £19." As new counties were formed other agricultural societies were organ- ized in other parts of the State, stimulating farmers by offering premiums upon their products, and creating more earnest effort 368 NATURAL RESOURCES towards improvement in all directions. Agricultural literature, in the form of newspapers, periodicals, and books gradually came within the reach of all, and the more progressive men in every community studied and bettered their condition in the ratio that they adopted improvements. Penn's petition of 1680 asked for land within certain limits in some directions, but wanted it "to extend northward as far as plantable." If this seems like a rather extravagant demand, and if Penn under his treaties with the Indians obtained a magnificent domain, he, on the other hand, sold his lands for low prices and adopted a policy in general that was most encouraging to immi- gration and his colony flourished from the first. Lands obtained under the treaty of 1768 were offered at £5 per 100 acres, with one penny per annum quit rent. Some of the rich coal lands of the State were sold at this price. Partly in consequence of these favorable terms, most of the very early farms were large in area, many of them including 500 acres or more. Germans, Swedes, Scotch-Irish, and immigrants from other European countries, as well as from England, hastened over to take advantage of the low prices of the rich lands of eastern Pennsylvania. Before the lapse of half a century after settlement began, agriculture was a prosperous industry in eastern Pennsylvania, notwithstanding all of the untoward conditions that have been described ; and in the western parts of the State where the land w^as best adapted to tillage, nothing prevented a corresponding degree of prosperity except the difficulties attending transportation of grain and other products. So great was the influx of immigrants from the distracted sections of Europe that the colony was alarmed at the prospect, and even in England fears were expressed that Pennsylvania would become a colony of foreigners. The German element, thrifty and industrious as they were, did not escape the feeling of jealousy that existed in 1720 and during some years later to such an extent that the matter received the attention of the Assembly. 3-24 369 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The cereal crops that were produced in the eastern part of the State from the beginning down to 1800 were, as a rule, large and profitable. It is recorded, for example, that "the years 1751 and 1752 have been so fruitful in wheat and other grain that men in wanton carelessness sought to waste the supply; for the precious wheat, which might have supplied many poor, they used to fatten hogs, which afterwards they consumed in their sumptuousness. Besides, distilleries were erected everywhere, and thus the great blessing was turned into strong drink, which gave rise to much disorder." (German Chron. Ephrat., 190.) In all tillable parts of the State in early years distilleries were numerous ; they offered about the only method of disposing of surplus grains that insured any adequate return. The years of plenty just mentioned were followed by a period of scarcity. Indian depredations in 1755-6, and again in 1763, partially paralyzed agriculture; many families were driven from their homes, and large fields of crops were neglected or destroyed. During the period of the old French and Indian wars Pennsyl- vania supplied a large part of the subsistence for General Brad- dock's troops and the Virginia riflemen, and by 1776 the State had become second in agriculture and commercial wealth, with a population of 380,000. Progress towards the western part of the State was slow, as far as applies to agricultural operations. It was fifty years after the first settlement before pioneers were dwelling on the banks of the Susquehanna, a hundred miles in the interior. As early as 1690, Penn had contemplated the founding of another great city on this river. In his letter proposing this enterprise he men- tioned "the known goodness of the soyll and scituation of the land, which is high and not mountainous." Reports of product- ive soil and land that could be had farther west for almost nothing were, as they always have been, sufficient inducement to attract the hardy and adventurous pioneer into new regions, even in the face of danger and deprivation. The thrifty Scotch-Irish immi- 370 NATURAL RESOURCES grants pushed on into the regions of the Susquehanna and the Juniata and laid the foundations of later prosperity, while con- siderable progress was made upon the arable lands in the Pitts- burg region and along the streams of the remote western part. Some light is thrown upon the conditions in this section of the State by the records. In 1785, soon after the Indian title to lands in the northwestern part of the State was extinguished, explorers and surveyors were sent out by the Supreme Executive Council to survey lands which were to be donated to the troops of the Pennsylvania line in the army. Among these explorers was Gen- eral William Irvine, from whose report we quote. He said he "began about four miles from Fort Pitt, east of which for five or six miles the land is pretty level, well watered with small springs and of tolerable quality ; but from thence to the Allegheny river, which is about twenty-five miles due east, there is no land worth mentioning fit for cultivation ; all between the Venango Path and the Allegheny there is very little land fit for cultivation, as it is a continued chain of high barren mountains, except small breaches for Creeks and Rivulets to disembogue themselves into the River." He proceeded eastward and wrote: "From Flat Rock to Sandy Creek by Hutchins & Snell, called Lycomie, is about twenty-four miles; on the first twelve there are a considerable quantity of tolerable level land, though much broken with large stony flats." This was all heavily timbered. From Sandy Creek to French Creek, seven- or eight miles, he reported "no part is by any means fit for cultivation." He traveled over about 150 miles in locating these so-called "donation lands," a large part of which he reported as unfit for cultivation. The present condition of many parts of that region must greatly modify these statements. In 1799 Thomas Hill made a horseback journey from New Brunswick, N. J., to Lycoming county, in the record of which are found a few glimpses of agricultural conditions at the close of that century. In Raritan county he reported the grass production as good, and the average of crops (cereals) as twenty bushels to 371 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL the acre on the east side and twelve bushels on the west side. At Phillipsburg and East Town (Easton) he found limestone land "very indifferent," with an average product of twelve bushels, to which he added, "red clover and pretty good lots." Hay, he said, averaged one and a half tons. On a part of his journey he reported finding the settlers "all Germans ; — the most early rising, hard working people I ever saw." On his third day of travel he re- corded : "This country has been settled with Germans about fifty years. I hope to be soon through with them." He complained of the food they gave him, which doubtless accounts for his desire to "be soon through with them." He found no crops "equal to the Raritan" (valley). The Northumberland region he reported as only fairly good. After crossing the Alleghanies the bottom lands, according to the traveler's statement, were rich and pro- ductive, and "covered with immense white pines, sugar maple, beech and birch." He speaks of John Hill's, on the "south side of Loyalsock," and adds, "For six miles from this spot, that is, three each way, there cannot well be more than seven farmers, a miller, and blacksmith, say nine." This indicates the progress that settlement had made in that region a century ago. He thought there would never be sufficient settlement there "to sup- port a school teacher." (See Pa. Mag., vol. xiv., pp. 189-98.) The war of the Revolution seriously interfered with agricul- tural operations in all of the colonies. In 1779 there was a real scarcity of food products in Pennsylvania; prices of all grains were very high, and the currency, depreciated almost to worth- lessness as a purchasing medium, gave little relief to the people if they had it at hand. After the close of the great conflict the change in these conditions was rapid and gratifying. In 1790 the population of the State had reached 434,370, and there were scat- tered settlements in nearly all of the remotest parts of the Com- monwealth. The western section was attracting more and more attention as desirable for agriculture. Washington, Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette, and Indiana counties were reported as particu- 372 NATURAL RESOURCES larly well adapted to the growth of cereals, while in Mercer, Craw- ford, and some other counties were found superior grazing lands. The Juniata valley had become celebrated for its wheat produc- tion. It is recorded that one farmer in one season had a crop of i,ooo bushels. In 1790 it is said that 150,000 bushels of wheat were brought down the Susquehanna, passing through Middle- town for Philadelphia, a large part of wdiich was grown in the Juniata valley. At that time flour was being shipped up the Suscjuehanna for Northumberland settlers. All waterways were used for transportation purposes where possible, in early times, for the roads were bad and during part of every year were prac- tically impassable for heavy loads. Freightage by team was con- sequently very costly, a fact that for many years was a great ob- stacle in the way of agricultural progress in the western part of the State. In 1794 wagon freight from Philadelphia to Pittsburg was from $5 to $10 per 100 pounds, a rate that was almost pro- hibitive on many commodities. Salt then sold in Pittsburg for $5 per bushel. Freight on a barrel of flour from Pittsburg to Philadelphia was nearly as much as the value of the flour. This product could not be shipped north from that point in very early years, for fear of Indian depredation, although it was many times attempted. Some flour w'as sent southward by water, a farmer building his own ark, which he loaded with his own product and that of some of his neighbors and floated it down to New Orleans. Wheat was so plentiful in western Pennsylvania and the market so poor, that it was customary to feed it to cattle, while rye, corn, and barley had almost no value whatever as food for man or beast. These conditions were what led to the building of the scores of small distilleries of early times. The later construction of canals and railroads equalized all of these disadvantages with the advan- tages of more fortunately situated sections. With the opening of the last century the population of Penn- sylvania reached 602,365, a gain of nearly 170,000 on the preced- ing decade. The efforts of the Society for the Promotion of 373 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Agriculture, before mentioned, and those of the other early organ- izations of this and other States, had taught the farmers many salutary lessons in the details of their occupation and also had in- culcated among them a sentiment of self-reliance which was of great benefit to them during the blockade period preceding the war of 1812, which latter did not seriously affect their interests. In 1 8 10 the population of the State was 810,091. In that year it is recorded that there were ground in Pennsylvania mills 4,024,640 bushels of wheat, besides which there were large ship- ments of the unground grain to other sections. In 1809 the Lan- caster county millers produced 99,000 barrels of flour, and North- umberland, 160 miles north of Philadelphia, produced 105,000 barrels; it should, however, be r remembered that those counties were larger then than at the present time. The war of 18 12 somewhat checked immigration, as well as all material interests, but in 1820 the population had increased to 1,047,507, and the farmers of the State had begun to profit by the improved facilities for reaching markets with their products. Fertilizers were rapidly coming into use and limestone had begim to be quarried in Lancaster county and burned into lime to spread upon land. In later years every farm in that section showed the effects of this fertilizer. Orchards and nurseries were numerous in the older settled parts and fruits were plentiful. As early as 1 80 1 Robert Caldwell advertised in the "Northumberland Ga- zette" that he had a "nursery of young apple trees now fit for planting out, of excellent kinds;" his price was 6d. each for three- year-old trees. In 1830 the State population was 1,348,233, a gain of 301,726 in ten years. Farm products of all kinds increased in like ratio and the whole State was on a high tide of prosperity. Even the memorable financial troubles of 1837-40, which were so disastrous in many parts of the country, retarded the production of cereals and the increase of population in this State but little. It is re- corded of the decade from 1830 to 1840 that "every material 374 NATURAL RESOURCES interest of the State was thoroughly developed as far as it was in the power of the people and the State government to do so. (Re- port of Internal Affairs, 1874-5, p. 41, part III.) In 1840 there were nearly 9,000,000 acres of land under a fair state of cultivation. The succeeding decade to 1850 saw contin- ued advancement in all agricultural conditions. In the year just named there were in the State 127,577 farms averaging 117 acres each. The production of corn reached 19,835,214 bushels. To- bacco was becoming an important product, nearly 1,000,000 pounds Western Entrance to York, Pennsylvania From Day's Historical Collections being grown; this quantity had increased to 3,181,586 pounds in i860. A large part of this came from Lancaster county, but after i860 the industry spread to York, Berks, and Cumberland coun- ties. In i860 there were 10,463,296 acres of land under cultiva- tion in the State, nearly one-half the acreage of the whole State. There were then 156,000 farmers, who produced of wheat 13,042,165 bushels; 28,196,821 of corn; 530,714 of barley; 2,245,413 tons of hay; 58,653,511 pounds of butter; 2,508,556 pounds of cheese, and 4,752,522 pounds of wool. The period of the great Civil war was at hand, which was to create a revolution in every department of industry. Pennsyl- vania sent to the war not less than 100,000 men from its agricul- tural element. Laborers became scarce and many farms were left in the care of agents. Prices of all kinds of land produce rose 375 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL rapidly, and farm hands demanded from $3.50 to $4.00 per day in harvest time and $35 to $40 per month by the year. Mean- while a meeting was held in 185 1 and steps were taken towards organizing a State Agricultural Society. The purpose was ef- fected through action of the State legislature in the same year, and the first fair was held at Harrisburg in October. The increase in cultivated acreage from i860 to 1870 was 1,052,669 acres and the population rose to 3,521,951. At the close of the decade ( 1869) the production of wheat was 3,899,967 bushels; oats, 36,478,585 bushels; corn, 34,702,006 bushels; rye, 3,557,641 bushels; barley, 529,562 bushels; buckwheat, 2,532,173 bushels ; potatoes, 12,889,367 bushels; hay, 2,848,219 tons; but- ter, 60,834,641 pounds; cheese, 1,045,209 pounds; wool, 6,561,723 pounds; tobacco, 3,467,539 pounds. The State College, opened in 1859, was contributing effectively to the prosperity of the agri- cultural interests, as noticed a little further on. The decade clos- ing with 1880 showed a gain in the aggregate cultivated acreage from 5,980,000 acres to 6,354,750 acres. The production of wheat for 1880 was 21,750,000 bushels on an acreage of 1,261,500; corn, 43,750,000 bushels, acreage 1,261,500; oats, 32,250,000 bushels, acreage 1,156,000; potatoes, 9,125,000, acreage 151,750; buckwheat, 2,812,000, acreage 172,250; hay, 2,450,000 tons, acreage 2,550,000; tobacco, 38,750,000 pounds, acreage 26,670; (of this latter product, Lancaster county produced 16,000,000 pounds). From 1871 to 1880 the number of horses in the State increased from 546,100 to 616,750, and the number of cows from 788,900 to 851,750. Meanwhile, in 1876, steps were taken for the organization of the existing State Board of Agriculture, a department that has since been of inestimable value to the farmer, A bill was read in the legislature on January 24 of the year named "to establish a State Board of Agriculture," which, with some amendment, was passed in the following April. The board comprised five ex- officio members, headed by the Governor; six members to be ap- 376 NATURAL RESOURCES pointed by the Governor, and twenty-six members to be elected by the county agricultural societies throughout the State. The report of the secretary for the first year is of deep interest to all persons interested in the agriculture of the Commonwealth and may be referred to for details. He said that there were then only five States in the Union where agriculture was so diversified as in Pennsylvania. With a large city at either end of the State and a great manufacturing district between them, the farmers find a ready market for all their products. The average size of farms at that time was a little over loo acres. Most of the farms were owned by their occupants. In the eastern and southern parts most of the grain, excepting wheat, was being fed on the farms. Along the railroads from forty to fifty miles from Philadelphia, milk was the principal product. Farther away from the city cows were still numerous and highly fed, but butter took the place of milk as the chief product of the dairy. Corn was an important crop, but not nearly to the extent or profit of some of the other cereals. The important subjects of the promotion of forestry, horticulture, botany, the value of fertilizers, veterinary science, destructive insects, the raising of poultry, the beet sugar industry, adulteration of various commodities, fish culture, improvement of roads, etc., have received and are receiving attention from this department to the great benefit of the farmer at large. Kindred associations or institutions that now contribute to the spread of agricultural knowledge and the promotion of reforms are the De- partment of Forestry, separately described in another part of this work; the State Dairymen's Association; the State Horticultural Association, which has been in existence about forty years; the local Farmers' Institutes, which were inaugurated by an act of 1889 and are now held annually in many parts of the State; the State Live Stock Sanitary Board, established by an act of 1895, etc. Since the close of the Civil war, and especially within the last fifteen or twenty years, the farmers of Pennsylvania, in common with those of most other sections of the country, have felt the de- 377 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL pressing effects of the necessary transition from the abnormally high prices and general expansion of the war period to the condi- tions prevailing at the present time. It has been shown by in- vestigation that the value of farms in this State since 1880 has diminished to the amount of $567,000,000. The following figures will show the changes in prices of several principal farm products from 1850 to 1890: 1850 i860 1870 1880 1890 Flour $5.45 $5.65 $4.50 $475 $4-35 Wheat 1.25 1.32 1.28 1.48 .90 Corn 61 .74 .85 .62 .42 Oats 42 .44 .55 .47 .29 These figures are suggestive, and, taken in connection with other well known causes, have aided in producing the existing feeling among a large class of farmers, that the occupation is no longer a very desirable one. Others who are more optimistic as to the agricultural future of the State have not despaired and hold up to their brethren the other side of the picture, which relates to the prices now paid by the farmer for tools, clothing and food as compared with those of former days. The report of the State Board of Agriculture for 1890 has a paper upon "Farm Values," in which it is noted that in 1870 a mowing machine cost $125, which could be bought in 1880 for $75 to $90, while in 1890 a good single mower could be bought for $45 to $50. All rates of transportation have fallen" as well as those articles making up the needed supplies of the farmer ; but while these are in a measure a source of encouragement, the fact of the great reduction in farm values remains. As a whole, however, the State of Pennsylvania, as a general agricultural district, stands well up towards the front among the Eastern States, a fact that can be amply proven by reference to current reports and to the latest census returns. The State Agricultural College. — At the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society held January 18, 378 NATURAL RESOURCES 1853, 3. report was made on the advantages of an agricultural school. The subject was discussed and a resolution was finally adopted calling a State convention of the friends of agriculture to promote the matter. This convention met in March, 1853, ^"^ there a committee was appointed to continue the undertaking. In accordance with recommendations of this committee made at a later date, an act was approved by the legislature, April 13, 1854, establishing the school. The institution was to be placed under Carbondale Churches in 1840 From an old print the general control of a board of trustees "composed of the presi- dents of the county agricultural societies and the president and vice-president of the State agricultural society." A second char- ter was issued under date of February 22, 1855, in which the board was constituted of thirteen members, four of whom were ex-ofUcio officers — the Governor of the State, Secretary of State, President of the State Agricultural Society and the Principal of the college. After much investigation the site for the institution was chosen in Centre county, very near the geographical center of the State, in a locality noted for its beautiful scenery, fertile soil, and pure water. In May, 1856, a contract was made for the erection of a building, but the west wing only was ready for use in Febru- 379 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL ary, 1859, and the remainder in December, 1863. The first title of the institution was "The Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania." In 1862 it was changed to "The Agricultural School of Pennsyl- vania," and in 1874 it was given its present title, "The Pennsyl- vania State College." The conditions of the Congressional land grant of 1862 were accepted by the State, and the land scrip was sold, the proceeds of which have since constituted the larger part of the income of the college. Under the provisions of what is known as the Hatch act of Congress, of March, 1887, the Experi- ment Station was organized as a department of the college and so remains to the present time. One hundred acres of the farm were set off for the use of the Experiment Station, sixty of which are utilized as a demonstration of a model farm, with an office and laboratory building 42 by 59 feet, two stories high ; in this are the director's office, business office, dairy husbandry office, library and reading room, agriculturist's office, chemist's office, chemical laborator}'-, photographing room, etc. Since the establishment of the Experiment Station, which has been of such immense practical benefit to the agriculturists of the State, although the institution is not wholly agricultural in its purposes, it still aims to give spe- cial and paramount importance to that field of work, both theo- retical and experimental. Having proportionately increased its other subjects and courses of study and its illustrative equipment, it is at the same time able to impart knowledge of the various sciences in such manner as to show their application to the more important industries, and to combine with every branch of instruc- tion actual practice in the shop, the field and the laboratory. As at present organized the college is governed by the board of trus- tees, from whom is selected an advisory committee of five persons, including the president of the college, George W. Atherton, LL. D. H. P. Armsby, Ph. D., is secretary of this committee. The list of officers and assistants includes sixteen persons, and the faculty and instructors, twenty-seven persons. All phases of practical and scientific agriculture are taught, with physics, me- 380 NATURAL RESOURCES chanical and civil engineering-, chemistry, zoology, mathematics, English and rhetoric, geology, ethics, German language, physical science, etc. The experimental farm has a barn 54 by 100 feet, with a wing especially adapted to experimental purposes, a horse barn, a calf barn and a 100-ton silo. There is also an example of the modern creamery, with all of the best types of machinery for the manu- facture of butter and cheese. The number of persons who di- rectly or indirectly receive instruction every year from this insti- tution approaches 1,000, while the spreading gratuitously of its numerous educative bulletins, the many valuable papers supplied in the annual reports, and various other methods of imparting instruction, give the college a commanding position among the educational institutions of the State. FORESTS AND FORESTRY The density of the forests on the Atlantic seaboard when the earliest settlers arrived was in one sense a misfortune. Before an acre of ground could be sowed with grain an acre must be cleared of trees. There was more timber than could possibly be used. This led to extravagance and waste of the forest re- sources. Had the forests been located west of the Alleghanies (and the coast treeless), with the country otherwise as inviting, no doubt the first thing these same settlers w^ould have done, after establishing themselves, would have been to provide for a future supply of timber. Except in a few small areas Pennsylvania was originally cov- ered by forests. East of the central mountain ranges wdiere the oak, hickory, elm, ash, tulip-poplar, chestnut, walnut and butternut predominate, the average timber production per acre was probably from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, board measure. In the mountain ranges in the central part of the State, white pine and hemlock were much more important than the hard wood 381 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL or broad-leaved trees. There were many acres which produced as high as 50,000 feet of good kimber. In the same region, often intermixed with the pine and hemlock, beech, birch and sugar maple were quite common, though as a rule they seldom produced more than 3,000 feet of lumber to the acre. West of the Allegheny river the oaks were the predominant trees. Tak- ing the entire area of the State the sugar maple was formerly probably the tree which was most common and most widely found. At the present time there is between one-sixth and one-fourth of the State which is producing almost nothing, and which would in the long run yield its largest revenue and greatest public bene- fit if it were devoted to production of forests. No other nation has ever equalled America in the removal of forests. The thoroughness and celerity with which this work has been accomplished is a surprise to lumbermen from abroad. "Forestry has been well said to begin with the axe." It should be added : it does not end there. The lumberman destroys his own vocation; the forester perpetuates it. Important as our forests have been for the lumber which they have furnished, and the employment which they have given to our people, it is more than doubtful whether or not the injury to the country which is likely to follow from the vast denuded areas- left by the lumberman, and by the fire which follows him, will not lead to a public injury greater than the good already de- rived. This problem may be briefly stated thus : Living for- ests are more important to our country than dead lumber. This statement is so true and yet so likely to be regarded as extreme that it should be explained by saying that forests (a) Furnish lumber and nourish the arts; but even if re- moved it would be possible to import sufficient wood for our needs, as England is practically doing now. (b) Forests conserve rainfall and prolong the period of use- fulness of the water which the earth receives from the sky. 382 NATURAL RESOURCES (c) It is almost certain that they moderate climatic ex- tremes, because of the watery vapor which they are constantly returning to the air. This prevents (at least to a certain extent) the escape at night by radiation of the earth's heat and so pre- vents premature frost. (d) Forests furnish nesting places for birds, upon the preservation and multiplication of which agriculture depends to destroy the increasing plague of insects. (e) Of all the agencies for the removal of carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere, and for the restoration of oxygen to it, there is nothing so effective as plant life. (f) As sanatoriums, it is coming to be recognized that the forests are of the greatest value to those who are weakened by the exacting duties of our modern life. Pulmonary tubercu- losis will, in the near future, be almost entirely treated by open- air life in or near extensive bodies of woodland. For practical purposes we may say that in Pennsylvania, as elsewhere, forestry may be considered under two heads. I. State forestry, under direction of the State government, where immediate financial returns are not of necessity demanded. II. Individual or corporate forestry, in which immediate returns, of financial or other character, are desirable and ex- pected. State Forestry. The first duty of government is to per- petuate itself by establishing and maintaining conditions which promise to lead most surely to an enduring prosperity of the peo- ple. To this end every available acre should be made product- ive. Ground that cannot be farmed by the citizen, but from which the State can in time gain a lucrative timber crop, should be devoted to forestry. In nothing is a settled, intelligent plan more requisite than in this work. The mistake of a single ad- ministration might ruin a plan for a century which otherwise would have been an entire success. As in our public school sys- tem only trained instructors can be legally employed, so it ^83 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL should be in the forestry work of the State; merit should be the only reason for placing a man on the forestry force, and sure promotion should reward the most efficient public servants en- tirely irrespective of what their political preferences may be. No plan yet suggested promises more surely to prevent State forestry from becoming an adjunct of a political system than to establish a school of practical forestry on one of our State reservations, where, along with thorough instruction in the necessary branches, the pupils shall acquire a working knowledge of their profession and an ability to direct the operations by themselves laboring in the forest under competent supervision. This would make their services so immeasurably superior to those of untrained men that there could be no thought of em- ploying inferior help. It would also open a promising avenue to our young men who are now considering forestry as a life work. Pennsylvania in the near future will be in actual possession of half a million acres of land suitable to the growth of timber trees. To properly manage this vast area, which will probably be doubled in five years more, will require at least five hundred trained men. Of these at least one hundred should be accom- plished foresters. This seems like a large force to be provided for out of the public treasury. It must, however, be remem- bered that such a force will be expected to place the Common- wealth in the way of a return of several millions of dollars annu- ally. The experience of Germany, and England in India, proves that the best service pays by producing a proportionately larger financial return. It is worth while to remember that "Prussia from 6,000,000 acres of State forests derives a net annual reve- nue of $1.50 per acre. The aggregate of the state forests in Germany is 10,000,000 acres, from which is derived an annual average net profit of $25,000,000; the forests of Germany sup- port 3,000,000 people." To mature a crop of timber will require from thirty to one hundred years. Locust may become available for railroad ties 384 NATURAL RESOURCES in about thirty years. White pine can hardly be expected to yield any considerable revenue inside of seventy-five years. The oaks will probably require a longer period. It is not to be expected, however, that during all this time there will be no return. The increasing scarcity of timber convinces one that in from ten to fifteen years the forest should be made self-supporting by sale of smaller timber, which necessarily must be thinned out to allow a better growth of the more desirable remaining trees. There always has been a class of men who can see no wisdom in entermg upon a policy which requires so long a time for finan- cial returns. To all such the sufficient answer should be that the most competent statesmen recognize the fact that our safety as a nation demands restoration of extensive bodies of timber on ground which will produce no other crop profitably, and the sooner we begin the sooner will the demand be satisfied. The longer we delay it the greater will be the difficulties, the greater the damage done, and the more costly the unavoidable task. President Roosevelt clearly realized this when he declared thai forestry and irrigation were the two most important internal ques- tions now before the country. In the acquisition of land for its reservations, by purchase, the State is simply restoring it to the legal status it had before it was patented by the individual; that is, the Commonwealth pays no taxes on the land which it owns. By some uninformed people this is thought to be a hardship to the county, because it is forgotten that, first : This land, with the timber on it, was sold for less money (26 2-3 cents per acre) than the State is now pay- ing to gain possession of it after the timber has been removed : second, that the individual and the county have already reaped the benefit of the timber crop removed ; third, that much of this land has become so poor that the owner refuses to pay the taxes upon it, and the land has practically reverted in this condition to the county ; fourth, that this land is now valuable solely because the State has appeared in the market as a purchaser; fifth, the 3-25 385 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL county can not, or will not, protect this ground from fires and from thieves, which together would forever prevent it from be- coming a source of revenue; sixth, that it is necessary for the prosperity of the county itself that this ground should be made productive again and that the whole cost of this falls upon the Commonwealth ; seventh, that the State pays annually twenty-five dollars a mile upon the roads which run through the reservation, and so places the highways in better condition than they were under county administration. (It must also be remembered that there are but few schools for the county to support in regions where the State is acquiring its reservations) ; eighth, that taxes are paid for protection, and as the county has in the past practically failed to protect timber land, it merits no compensation where it fails to render protection. It is fairly an open question whether our whole method of obtaining revenue from timber land should not be changed. It is safe to say that thousands of acres of land are being denuded of trees annually in this State because the owner can not afford to pay taxes upon land which yields no revenue and is in constant danger of having its trees destroyed by fire. If standing tim- ber "earns its right to stand by the benefit which it confers upon the public," any system of taxation which encourages the owner to remove the timber is an injury to the public. It would be wiser to remove this tax from standing timber, but to tax it when the owner utilizes it, because he has thus deprived the pub- lic of what is important for its welfare and derived for him- self an income by doing so. The work of forest restoration on State lands has actually commenced. Within five years millions of young trees will be planted on our reservations annually. The State is also ren- dering a no less important service in the protection which public and private lands are receiving against incendiaries and timber thieves. Within eighteen months a distinguished judge as- serted that the owner of unseated land had practically no protec- 386 NATURAL RESOURCES tion against such lawless persons. The appearance of the State as a prosecutor in such cases has wholly changed this. Convic- tions are now of common occurrence, even within the judicial district where the remark was recently made. Education has always been regarded as a legitimate field for State activity. Forestry has not yet ceased to have an educa- tional aspect. It would seem to be an entirely proper thing if from the State nurseries there could be a free annual distribu- Bristol from the Island From Day's Historical Collections tion of young forest trees to our citizens. The cost would be small, the good gained incalculable, and the lessons imparted would be lasting. II. Inchvidual or corporate forestry differs with State forestry in that it anticipates returns within a reasonable period. For example, a railroad company which is obliged an- nually to purchase large number of railroad ties, and discovers that these are constantly becoming more difficult and more costly to obtain, might well undertake to grow them itself because it would be the shortest visible manner of obtaining what was es- sential to them, and because it would educate other land holders to produce ties on land which would yield no other crop. It is fortunate indeed that there are several species of trees which are native to, or will thrive in, Pennsylvania and which are of such rapid growth that the individual who plants them may 387 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL himself receive a revenue from them. There is, for example, a constantly increasing demand for pulpwood. Tulip poplar, or yellow poplar (Liriodendron), grows naturally and rapidly in our mountain valleys, and the Carolina poplar increases in size with even greater certainty and rapidity on almost any soil which has some fertility and moisture. Both of these trees fur- nish good pulp material. The tanning industry, of all others, appears to be the one which will most surely and speedily look to forestry for a per- petuation of its supplies. It has been our custom in this State to depend mainly upon good-sized oak or hemlock trees for tan- ning bark. The fact is that a larger percentage of tannin may be obtained from young oak trees than from the old. In Ger- many the most of the bark used comes from trees which are be- tween fifteen and forty years old. If we protect a black oak or rock oak stump from which the tree has recently been removed, the sprouts will in the course of a few years become valuable for tanning purposes. The chestnut tree, which is a quick grower, would, under proper care in about twenty years from the seed or the stump, furnish an additional resource upon which the tim- ber grower could count. Chestnut wood yields its tannin read- ily to proper treatment. Probably the growth of willows for bas- ket making will before long become a source of revenue. There is another aspect from which individual or corporate forestry in Pennsylvania should be considered. In the nature of the case. State forestry here will probably be limited to such parts of the Commonwealth as are hilly, rocky or infertile, for the reason that only land of this character is likely to become part of our forestry reservation system. It is surely not wise for the State to compete with its citizens in any business which they can be induced to undertake for themselves. Competition of this sort might prove disastrous to private enterprise. But as the efifects of forestry upon water flow, climate and atmos- pheric purity are equally important in all portions of the Com- 388 NATURAL RESOURCES mon wealth, inducements should and probably will eventually be offered sufficiently great to enable land owners to undertake the work of forest restoration in regions where the State is not do- ing so. Individual forestry as a rule would naturally be done upon a better soil than that owned by the State. The result w^ould be a better yield, in a shorter time, than that on the State reserva- tions. This would naturally be in the interest of the individual. It is to be remembered that the private land owner, however. can hardly sacrifice land which is capable of yielding a larger or a quicker return if devoted to production of grain or to grazing, important as this may be to the community, unless the commu- nity in some way compensates him for growing forests. There appears to be no more direct and equitable method of compensa- tion than by reduction or rebate of taxes. In fact this is in Pennsylvania already an accepted principle, and laws are now- in force which allow such reduction. It is strange, however, that so little advantage is taken of them by those most directly interested. It may be confidently asserted that the production of timber in this country will never be in excess of the demand. To show how great a cjuantity of w-ood we are using here annually I quote the following, at second hand, from the "Forester" for May, 1902, p. 216: "In 1899, the pulp industry of the United States consumed daily 6,648 cords of wood, which would approximate an annual consumption of 955,400,000 feet, board measure; this was but one-half of one per cent, of the total wood used for other purposes." In other words, the quantity of wood used for other purposes than pulp annually in the United States reaches the enormous figure of 191,080,000,000 feet, board measure. Already some very important forestry work has been done by individuals and by corporations. Those who are charged with the administration of the Girard estate have for several years been engaged in forest restoration in Schuylkill and Centre 389 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL counties. General Paul Oliver and Mr. Albert Lewis are now suc- cessfully illustrating restorative forestry methods on their grounds in Luzerne county. One phase of forestry which is common enough abroad, in Germany, but has been little considered here, merits a brief con- sideration. We allude to communal forestry; that is, a village, as a corporation, owns an area of forest land, which is placed under scientific forest management. A comprehensive working plan is made and good roads are carried into all parts of the wood. The annual crop of timber is harvested and care taken to keep this well within the annual yield. The income from this com- munal forest belongs to the town or city. From it local ex- penses are paid and no taxes are levied. There are cities in Ger- many where such forests not only furnish the money as above stated, but in which free kindergartens, free baths and free music are provided. Such a condition seems to be almost ideal. It would be good as far as it could be adapted to our more exacting life, but we require more than the average German citizen. It is not too much to say, however, that the water supply of our cities and larger towns should come from a forested area. The collecting surface should be as near the stream head as pos- sible, and beyond possibility of any contamination. The town or city should absolutely own and control this area. There can be no doubt that under a proper system of management, if the area were covered with forests, almost every town or city of more than twenty thousand inhabitants in this Common- wealth could have water brought to the doors of its citizens in a few years without tax or charge to them. Here forestry lends its services directly to the health, lon- gevity and comfort of our citizens. A wooded wilderness is necessarily a forest, but every forest is not necessarily a wooded wilderness. The average American fails to recognize that a forest may be intersected by well kept roads, which lead to towns or cities within a territory which is, 390 NATURAL RESOURCES in the main, devoted to the production of timber. This mis- apprehension of the true significance of the term has done infinite harm to the forestry cause in this country. Forestry exists for the purpose, primarily, of perpetuating lumbering and manufactur- ing interests, and to do the work which is required it is necessary that the workmen live in or near the forest. It would simplify our conception of this whole problem if we were to regard for- estry as that branch of agriculture whose business it is to pro- duce trees. It is rarely given to a generation wdiich begins a great reform to see that reform consummated. The forestry movement has been in every sense a genuine reformation. It has changed the thoughts of practically an entire nation. This of itself would certainly indicate that there was a widespread recognition of the fact that our civilization was taking, in part, a dangerous di- rection. No mere local movement could have accomplished the change which we have witnessed within the lifetime of a genera- tion. The part Pennsylvania has borne in w^orking this change is one of which the State may well be proud, and it is proper that this be placed upon record. "On April 3d, 1872, Richard Haldeman, of Pennsylvania, introduced into Congress, by unanimous consent, a bill to encour- age the planting of trees, and for the preservation of w'oods on the public domain." He alluded to the measure on April nth, as introducing a new feature into the legislation of the country. Of course Mr. Haldeman was not ignorant of what had been done in forestry in Germany and in France, and he was fully aware that but very few of our citizens would recog- nize the far-reaching consequences of the movement which he was inaugurating. It is almost certain that Mr. Haldeman himself could not have foreseen that within thirty years the gen- eral government would have set aside many millions of acres on the public domain to be devoted forever to the production of tim- ber. After all, this prosaic world does move more rapidly than 391 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL its most progressive citizens. No better address upon forestry than that of Mr. Haldeman, or better adapted to the period of its dehvery, has been made up to this time in this country. The measure which he advocated was defeated. The agitation, how- ever, was productive of good results, for the following March Mr. Donnell of the committee on Public Lands submitted a re- port upon the cultivation of timber and the preservation of for- ests. We may well suppose that this was, in part, led up to by the recommendation of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science that the subject of national forestry be in- quired into, and the fact that the President had made this recom- mendation the subject of a special message. The late Washington Townsend, then representing Chester and Delaware counties in Congress, bore a conspicuous part in directing the movement which resulted in sending the late F. B. Hough abroad to study forestry conditions and report upon the same. Mr. Hough's volumes were of necessity hastily prepared. They contained many partial statements, and were not without error in some respects. The marvel is that they were as valuable as they have since proven, and to this day they may be studied with advantage. The dates of publication of Mr. Hough's re- ports are 1877, 1878, 1879 and 1882. In the meantime our State Board of Agriculture had recognized the importance of this new movement. Thomas J. Edge, then secretary of that representative body of farmers, lost no time in directing atten- tion to the forestry agitation in its relations to agriculture. The consequences were that in the report of the State Board of Agri- culture there were no less than five papers upon the forestry prob- lem, as it then presented itself to us. The report of the next year contained two papers upon the same subject. Looked at from our present standpoint these papers were immature, partial expres- sions of great truths; but they paved the way to better things. The most valuable paper upon forestry which the times then had produced in Pennsylvania was the report of Dr. Roland, of 392 NATURAL RESOURCES York. It contained much valuable information, but did not, in fact could not then, point out clearly what was to be done. It is quite true that we had, then as now, the examples of older countries where forestry was a well established science, to fol- low ; but these were then unapproachable ideals. There never was a time when a young government did, or could, by a single act intrpduce such a perfected system into its working parts without creating strain. The citizenship of the country under a popular government would ask, why all these new offices, why this increased expense? Besides all this it is more than doubtful whether any foreign system of forestry would be, as an unmodified whole, the best thing possible in Pennsylvania, or the United States. The legislative session of 1885 authorized the Governor to ap- point an Arbor day, and in 1887 a similar enactment was placed upon the statute books. The day has accomplished, through the public school system of the State, very gratifying results. Though it has not led to the creation of any forests, it has brought about an increased respect for a tree, which in itself is a most hopeful sign in a nation which had devoted most of its early energies to destroying forests and which, rightly enough for the time, considered land worth more without the trees than with them. In the year 1877, the interest of a small legacy left by F. Andre Michaux became available for use in the creation of proper forestry sentiment among our people. It is quite true that the most of the subject matter of those lectures was only faintly tinctured with forestry. It is amusing now to recall the criti- cism which the Michaux forestry lectures received. One dis- tinguished scientist, since gone to his reward, lamented that so good an opportunity for teaching abstract science should be given to the popularizing knowledge, which he despised. Another equally distinguished scientist considered that these lectures should not be called forestry lectures at all, and suggested several bet- 393 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL ter purposes to which the money could be apphed. Neither of these gentlemen realized that the public, which the testator wished to reach, cared nothing for either high science or pure forestry, and that it was better to lecture to large audiences, in a popular way, than to empty seats, in a scientific way. But the criticism availed nothing. The speaker kept serenely on lectur- ing to ever increasing audiences, until after the fourteenth and final annual course was delivered, when it was not difficult to see that by some means the public had absorbed and welcomed the forestry idea. Already at this early period the newspapers of our State had lent the new movement their unqualified support. This they have continued to do. Without their aid progress would have been slow indeed. It was a hopeful sign that the people, while recognizing the rights of the land owner, were also recognizing the fact that he was under a moral responsibility not to despoil the State by waste of timber resources, and thus entail hardship and needless bur- dens upon the children who succeeded him. It was commenc- ing also to be recognized that it was a legitimate function of the State to interfere and to see that he did not do so. Herein was probably the foundation upon which the people rested when they began to demand that certain portions of the State should again become the property of the Commonwealth, and disregarding individual benefits, be managed in such a way as to promote the prosperity of all. These State reservations were to be, in addi- tion, the outing grounds for all and upon which no one could ever acquire exclusive privileges. To anticipate, it may be well here to remark that the near future will probably prove that in establishing such reservations, the State has done its most benefi- cent work in preventing spread of pulmonary tuberculosis and in curing it when started. New York began her system of State forest reservations earlier than Pennsylvania, and had already secured about a mil- 394 NATURAL RESOURCES lion of acres of land before the State of Pennsylvania began to acquire land for this purpose. The spring of 1886 brought a new force into the forestry field. Some public-spirited ladies in Philadelphia took meas- ures looking to organizing a Pennsylvania Forestry associa- tion. At present, 1902, there are nearly two thousand mem- bers in this society. It represents the most active public spirit of the State. There is not a county in which its influence is not felt. To its credit be it said that, during the sixteen years since the society was founded, it has always been wisely aggressive for the forestry movement. It has never awakened active hos- tility by rash, impolitic or harsh measures. The Pennsylvania Forestry association has published, once in two months, a modest little journal, "Forest Leaves," which has been widely distributed and done an important work. There never has been a lack of material for its pages, though it never has paid for contributions. In 1892 the association had gained strength enough to employ a general secretary, who was to devote his entire time to the forestry work. In January, 1893, D. Smith Talbot, of Chester county, in- troduced into the legislature a measure for the Pennsylvania Forestry association. It was entitled "An Act Relative to a Forestry Commission and Providing for the Expenses There- of;" this act became a law, and the commission appointed by Governor Pattison published its report in 1895 and was imme- diately thereafter discharged. Meanwhile the legislature of 1895 had created the State De- partment of Agriculture. In this department a division of for- estry was placed on a permanent basis, having an officer designated as the Commissioner of Forestry, whose duty it was to report upon the various forest conditions of the Common- wealth and to assist in creating an interest in forestry. The following session (1897) of the legislature witnessed most important advances. First of all a permanent committee 395 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL on Forestry was authorized in both the House and Senate. Be- fore this all forestry measures were referred to the committee on Agriculture, which, having already heavy burdens, could hardly be expected to recognize fully the claims of forestry. No more important advance in forestry for this State has been made than by the appointment of- these committees. That same ses- sion, constables of townships were made cx-ofRcio fire wardens and were charged with the duty of suppressing forest fires and authorized to call out men to do the work. The compensation allowed was fifteen cents an hour for constables and twelve cents an hour for the workmen. This never was considered an ideal law b}- those who urged its passage. It was only accepted as the best attainable when the bill offered by the commissioners of forestry in 1895 had been killed in the Senate committee on Agriculture, after it had passed the House by a small majority and a desperate struggle. There had long been a law on the statute books which made it the duty of the county commissioners to appoint detectives to ferret out and bring to punishment those who created forest fires, but it was generally disregarded because there was no punish- ment specified for failure to make these appointments. This was corrected by the legislature of 1897 and a penal clause was attached to the law. It is now more effective and an increasing number of arrests are made and convictions had each year. The session of 1897 also authorized the purchase by the com- missioner of Forestry of lands which were sold by the county treasurers and commissioners for non-payment of taxes, when these lands could be had at a price not in excess of taxes due and costs. In this way the first lands for the State Forestry reser vations were obtained. Forestry reservations were first author- ized by the session of 1897. Further allusion to this will be made later. The session of 1899 enlarged the power of the commissioner of Forestrv 1w authorizing him to purchase lands other than 396 NATURAL RESOURCES those sold for taxes, with the consent of the Governor and the Board of Property, when these lands could be had at suitable prices. But few purchases were made under this act, as it was soon practically superseded by Governor Stone completing the commission which was authorized by the act of 1897 to create, by purchase of lands, three State Forestry reservations of not less than forty thousand acres each, one of which was to be lo- cated upon the head waters of each of the chief rivers of the Com- monwealth, namely, the Delaware, the Susquehanna and the Ohio. It was reserved for the legislature of 1899 to take the final step which gave direction and dignity to the forest policy of Pennsylvania by creating a separate department of Forestry, the equal in standing with the department of State or the de- partment of Public Instruction. No other State has so com- pletely recognized the importance of the forestry movement. Even the general government has been unable to free forestry from other entangling alliances. In some respects the State of New York is in advance of Pennsylvania in her forestry work. For example, her reserva- tions are several times larger than those of our State and she has in prosperous operation a college of forestry at Cornell univer- sity. But on the other hand there are greater possibilities in store for Pennsylvania, because the act of February 25, 1901, which created the department of Forestry, placed it and the State reservations in the hands of a commission with almost un- limited power to act in the direction of progress, and only limit- ing that commission in its power to work an injury. For exam- ple, the New York authorities are prevented from undertaking any general lumbering on the lands of the State, though it would be clearly to the benefit of the forests themselves if this could be allowed. The Pennsylvania forest authorities may cut timber, or lease the right to cut it. Or they may, under certain restric- tions, lease land to other parties for mining purposes. They may appoint the necessary force to do any necessary work. 397 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL It is but fair to say here that from the time of Governor Hartranft down, each succeedingf Governor, regardless of his poHtical affihations, has recognized more clearly how important this forestry work is to the Commonwealth and each one has given it the weight of his favorable consideration and influence. This surely was to have been expected in a State which in 1880 stood second in its lumber production, and whose output for that year was 1,733,844,000 feet, board measure, whose forest prod- ucts for the same period were worth $22,457,359, and to obtain which $2,918,459 were paid to the laborers of the State. The most serious problem left us is that of forest fires. It is certain, however, that these will become less frequent and less serious as the growing public sentiment crystallizes against those who create them. Natural forces alone would reforest the State in time, if these fires were stopped. It does not follow, however, that the crop so produced would come as promptly, or be so desirable, as if nature were assisted by scientific forestry. In conclusion we may claim that the forestry cause in Penn- sylvania is practically won. The movement has gone too far to be abandoned. It has taken too deep hold upon the public to be neglected. The healthfulness of its growth and the meas- ure of its usefulness will depend mainly upon the honesty and in- telligence of those who are placed at the head of the v/ork. 398 CHAPTER XI. PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS THE region known as western Pennsylvania first begins to appear to the eyes of civilized men about the beginning of the third decade of the eighteenth century. It lay under the sun a virgin wilderness ribbed by ranges of hills and low mountains having a general trend from the southwest to the northeast. Between the hills ran brooks and rivulets innumerable, at last mingling their waters in the south to form the lazily flowing Monongahela and in the north to form the clear, swift-rushing Allegheny and the Beaver, all at last dis- charging their streams into the broad Ohio, la belle riviere of the French voyageurs. In the valleys and on the mountains to their summits there were trees. On the mountains grew pines — leagues, leagues upon leagues of regal pines — white pines, towering an hundred and fifty feet toward the sky ; and there were broad areas somber with the shade of hemlocks. Mingling with the pines and the hemlock-spruces there grew on the mountains oaks of many species, maples, birches, beeches, lindens, tulip-poplars, magnolias, and wild-cherry trees. Everywhere on the ridges where the trees grew thick by the watercourses were tangled masses of rhododen- drons, laurels, alders, and witch-hazels. In the valleys, too, there were oaks, but higher than they stood the sycamores, with great white branches beckoning skyward, drooping elms, horse-chest- nuts, and catalpas. Close by the watercourses were fringes of wil- 399 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL lows. Grapevines and Virginia creepers mantled the trees every- where, and every stump was draped with woodland festoonery, and every shady nook was full of ferns and flowers. In April the service-berry wove a web of fine white blossoms like fleecy clouds along, the hillsides, and in May the dogwood threw forth snowy masses of bloom against the green of the forest walls. Every- where there were flowers. Here the Canadian and the Caro- linian floras met and mingled in beauty. In the fall of the year the mountain sides were ablaze with such glory of autumnal foliage as is nowhere else to be seen in the world. Of all "the woody lands of Penn" these were the most resplendently woody. The woods were the home of innumerable birds. Three hundred and more species haunted the mountain sides or dwelt upon the waters. The sky at times was darkened by flights of passenger pigeons, millions of them congregating at nightfall at their roosts. The Carolina parrot made nests in the hollows of the sycamores along the Beaver. Wild turkeys roamed through the underbrush. In the spring and the fall the rivers were black with swarms of ducks and wnld geese. In the forest ranged the moose, the wapiti, and the Virginian deer. The black bear grew fat upon grubs and berries among the hills. The puma haunted the deep ravines. On all the smaller streams the beaver had built his dams. In the western part of the broad domain the bison was found straggling eastward from his grazing grounds in Kentucky and the prairie lands of the Wabash and the Illinois. Of human inhabitants there were but few. At most a few thousands of red men built their wigwams in the wilderness and plied their rude canoes upon the rivers. Near the main streams, here and there, they had carved upon the rocks the signs which told to what tribal clan they belonged. Here and there were earthen mounds, which were the burial places in which their fore- fathers had laid their dead to rest. They planted a little maize and grew a little tobacco. They derived their subsistence mainly 400 f^y^yl^pk^ /.y^:rr/,^y/,n,:^y^',,,,,.z J''-^f'^t'-n/ f:?i.M^^ PirTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS from the chase and from fishing. Intertribal wars had told heavily upon their numbers at the time. They were a silent, courageous, but poor and weak people, whose time on earth was nearly past. Soon the great sea of Caucasian invasion, the Samuel Barr First Presbyterian clergyman settled in Pitts- burgh, 1786. Reproduced for this work from a print in possession of Dr. W. J. Holland lapping waves of which had already begun to flow over the east- ern edge of the continent, will have swept over them, and though with savage bravery they may resist for awhile, they will be swal- lowed up and lost forever. When the first white man entered the woodlands of western Pennsylvania will never be certainly known. That a few wan- dering trappers and fur-traders had come into the region from the 3-26 401 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL shores of the Potomac and the Susquehanna as early as the second decade of the century is almost certain. That a few parties of wandering Frenchmen had come down the Allegheny in the third decade is known. That a growing traffic in rum and furs was carried on with the Indians -of the region by "packmen" in the next decade, is attested by indisputable evidence. These "pack- men" Benjamin Franklin declared to be "the most vicious and abandoned wretches of our nation." While the older settlements prospered indirectly as the result of the growing traffic in which the red man exchanged his peltries for the strong drink of the white man, the frontier was the scene of much debauchery and violence. While trappers and traders were beginning to enter the region from the east and the southeast, a more formidable movement was being planned in the north. The French, who had held pos- session of the valley of the St. Lawrence for nearly two centuries, had already pushed their explorations to the head of Lake Su- perior, to the sources of the Mississippi, and thence southward along the great river to its mouth, and westward into the region of the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains. They laid claim to the entire continent north of the Spanish possessions, except the narrow strip along the Atlantic coast occupied by the Eng- lish. To western Pennsylvania they laid claim because of the explorations of La Salle and his successors. While it had long been known that access to the lower valley of the Mississippi could easily be had by way of the Allegheny, which was at first known alike to the French and the English as the Ohio, the pow- erful confederacy of the Iroquois and their alliance with the Eng- lish in New York had deterred the French from often utilizing this route. But the Indians early in the eighteenth century had become partially estranged from the English and had made a treaty with the French. The time had come, when, in the judg- ment of the authorities at Montreal, it was their duty to assert their claim to the valley of the Ohio. Accordingly Celeron was 402 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS dispatched in 1749 to take possession of the region. The party consisted of two hundred and forty-six souls. After many fatigues and perils, they accomplished their mission, here and there fastening proclamations to the trees and burying leaden plates in the soil calling attention to the fact that the whole broad domain was claimed as the property of the French crown. Where traders were found they were summarily ordered to quit the region as intruders, and the attention of the governor of Pennsyl- vania was called by Celeron in a letter to his surprise and indigna- tion at finding English-speaking traders at a point near the pres- ent town of Tarentum. A similar party of six traders were encountered by him at Shannopin's Town, an Indian village, the site of wdiich was within the present limits of the city of Pitts- burgh, on the banks of the Allegheny at the foot of Thirty-second street. But while the French were endeavoring to enforce their claim to the region, the English in Virginia had also resolved upon action. Virginia, in virtue of her charter, laid claim to all the lands drained by the Ohio and its tributaries. In the year 1748 the Ohio Company was formed, and secured a charter making a grant of half a million acres between the Kanawha and the Mo- nongahela. The condition of the grant was that within seven years one hundred families should be settled in the region, and that a fort should be built and properly garrisoned. In order to ascertain how best to carry out their plans, the Ohio Company in 1750 dispatched Christopher Gist, an Englishman who had set- tled in North Carolina, to make a reconnoissance. He was an intrepid and faithful man, skilled in all the arts of the frontier. He reached the site of the present town of Ligonier on November the 14th, 1750, arrived at Shannopin's Town on the 19th of the same month, and after a brief stay pushed on down the Ohio and to the Muskingum, where he found George Croghan, who had been commissioned by the authorities of Pennsylvania to make friendly advances to the Indians on the frontier, and who was ac- 403 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL companied by Andrew Montour, a half-breed interpreter. Gist returned the following spring to his hom^ and reported to his employers what he had ascertained. Presently a change took place in the government of the French provinces in Canada. The Marquis Duquesne succeeded the Marquis de la Joncaire, and promptly resolved to establish a line of fortifications from Lake Erie along the Ohio, thus wall- ing out the English from the great fertile valleys lying to the west. Marin and St. Pierre, in the spring of 1753, set out with a force of over one thousand men to occupy the land. They chose the harbor of Erie, which they called Presque Isle, as their base of operations, and by the time the snow flew they had built a fort of squared timbers at Erie, made a good road for fifteen miles through the forests to the point where the town of Waterford now stands, and had there erected an even larger and more sub- stantial fortification than the one at Presque Isle. To this they gave the name of Fort le Boeuf. They had also endeavored to erect a fort at the point where French creek empties into the Alle- gheny, the site of the present town of Venango. From this they were, however, deterred by the Indians, who refused consent to the step. Nevertheless, they succeeded in obtaining the permission of the red men to occupy the spot with a company of troops under the command of Joncaire. The lilies of France, when the leaves fell in autumn, were flying on the soil of the territorv claimed by Virginia and also claimed by the descendants of William Penn. Tidings of what the French had done during the summer of 17^7, came to the ears of Governor Dinwiddie. He was filled with indignation, and promntlv wrote a letter to the French com- mandant setting forth the claims of the Eng-lish to the region and requiring the French to withdraw. This letter he entrusted to a voung survevor bv the name of George Washington, who, though only twenty-one years of age, had been already made a major in the militia of Virginia and had given proof of the possession of qualities which were later to make him one of the most famous 404 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS men of all time. The man who was chcjsen to act as his guide was Christopher Gist, and with them went Jacob Vanbraam and John Davison, the former to serve as an interpreter with the French, 3Se Map of Pittsburgh, 1795 Engraved especially for this work from print in possession of Dr. W. J. Holland and the latter as an interpreter wnth the Indians. In addition to the two interpreters, Washington and Gist took with them four servants, who were experienced frontiersmen. On the 22d 405 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL of November they reached the cabin of John Frazier, on the Monongahela, at the mouth of Turtle creek. The next day they went on to Shannopin's Town and to the "Forks of the Ohio." Here Washington's quick eye caught at a glance the strategic im- portance of the spot, and on his return he reported to Governor Dinwiddie that this was the place at which to erect the fort, the construction of which was demanded by the charter of the Ohio Company. The following night was passed in camp at the foot of the eminence now known as Monument Hill in Allegheny. From this point they went to Logstown, an Indian village below what is to-day known as Sewickley. Here they secured four Indian guides, three of them chiefs, known as the Half-King, White Thunder, Jeskakake, the hunter, and Guyasutha. The journey to Fort le Boeuf was full of hardships, and the return was full of perils. Once they were fired upon by an Indian, who luckily missed his aim, and, in attempting on a raft to cross the Allegheny at a point nearly opposite the present site of the Lucy Furnaces in Pittsburgh, Washington was thrown into the water, which was full of running ice, and narrowly escaped loeing drowned. This was on the night of December 28th, 1753. On January ist, 1754, the party set out from Frazier's cabin at Turtle creek and fifteen days later reached Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, and reported to Governor Dinwiddie the refusal of St. Pierre to withdraw the French forces from the headwaters of the Allegheny. It was plain to the men of Virginia that the time had come for action. They endeavored to enlist the other colonies of the sea- board in an effort to restrain the French invasion, but met with little success. Governor Dinwiddie was not, however, the man to desist from efifort because he could not quickly find allies. Without even waiting for the house of burgesses to vote supplies, he put two hundred of the militia into the field. Forty men under Captain William Trent, whose name is borne by the capital of New Jersey, were sent forward to the junction of the Allegheny 406 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS and the Monongahela to build a fort, one hundred and thirty men were hurried after them under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel George Washington, while Colonel Joshua Fry brought up the rear with the rest of the regiment, which had been recruited to about three hundred men. The house of burgesses meanwhile voted ten thousand pounds for the defense of the colony. While Washington was still at Will's creek and Fry had not advanced beyond Alexandria, on the 17th day of April, 1754. while both Captain Trent and his lieutenant, John Frazier of Turtle creek, were temporarily absent, the handful of men, who were engaged in building a fort at the forks of the Ohio, were surprised by an overwhelming force of French and Indians, who came upon them by way of the Allegheny river in a large fleet of canoes. They were commanded by De Contrecoeur. Ensign Ward, who was the only officer on the spot, sought to delay a surrender until he could communicate with his superiors, but the French commander brooked no delay whatever, and the unfortu- nate Virginian reluctantly withdrew with his men, and the French at once set about building a fort, to which, in honor of the gov- ernor-general of Canada, they gave the name of Duquesne. On the 25th of April Ward reached the camp of Washington, on Will's creek, bearing the news of what had befallen his party. The plan for the advance was forthwith changed. Instead of going directly to the forks of the Ohio, Washington decided to cut his way through the forest to the mouth of Redstone creek. While thus engaged, on the evening of May 27th an Indian run- ner came to the commander with the information that a party of French soldiers were hidden in a ravine near by. Washington, accompanied by forty men, set out to investigate. When the Frenchmen flew to arms at his approach he gave the order to fire. Monsieur Jumonville, the officer in command, was killed, with nine of his men. The rest were taken prisoners, with a single exception. When on this memorable night Washington gave the command to "Fire!" says Bancroft, "that word of command 407 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL kindled the world into a flame. It was the signal for the first great war of revolution. Here in the western forest began the battle which was to banish from the soil and neighborhood of our republic the institutions of the middle age and to inflict on them fatal wounds throughout the continent of Europe." Realizing that he might certainly expect to be attacked in force by the French, Washington, upon whom the chief command now devolved, owing to the death of Colonel Fry at Will's creek, fell back to a bit of meadow land under the shadow of the Laurel Ridge, and here entrenched himself, calling the spot Fort Neces- sity. His anticipations were fully realized when, on the 3d of July, De Villiers, the brother of Jumonville, appeared with a force of nine hundred men, completely outnumbering the Virginians, though by this time Washington had gathered a force of nearly four hundred into his command. The battle lasted all day until night fell. The French fired from the cover of the woods and rising ground. The rain came down at times in torrents. In the dark the French sent a flag of truce and proposed a parley. The result was an agreement by which Washington was permitted to retire with the honors of war upon the condition that he would surrender his artillery and give hostages for the delivery in safety of the prisoners who had been taken in the affair with Jumon- ville. Captains Vanbraam and Stobo were chosen as the hostages. Their names are borne to-day by streets in Pittsburgh. Unfortu- nately the Virginian authorities refused to recognize the agree- ment made between the French commander and Lieutenant- Colonel Washington, and for weary years Vanbraam and Stobo were held as prisoners in Canada, though in the end the latter made his escape from captivity in a most romantic manner. The news of the defeat of Washington carried dismay into Virginia, and the house of burgesses at once voted twenty thou- sand pounds to the governor for the defense of the frontier. The assembly of Pennsylvania, however, dominated by men who, while professing loyalty, refused altogether to act, disgraced 408 Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Restored PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENFIRONS itself in the eyes of the world by its supine indifference to th-^ French invasion, and finally adjourned the session, which had been convened by Governor Hamilton, after voting five thousand pounds toward defraying the expenses of accommodating "the king's troops," should any ever be sent. The English government realized the peril which threatened the colonies at the time better than the trade-loving Quakers and squabbling politicians of Philadelphia, and resolved to take steps to protect the frontier. Two regiments of regular infantry, the Forty-fourth, under Sir Peter Halket, and the Forty-eighth, under Colonel Thomas Dunbar, were sent to Virginia, there to be reinforced by colonial troops, and the command of the whole force was given to Major-General Edward Braddock. With the story of his memorable defeat every schoolboy is familiar. Where to- day the towering chimneys of great furnaces and the thickly planted houses of thousands of men cover the ground was enacted on the 9th day of June, 1755, a most tragic scene. The advance guard of the army of Braddock was practically annihilated, after a most gallant and stubborn defense. Sir Peter Halket was killed. Braddock was carried dying from the field. Washington alone was left to assume command, though he had had two horses wounded and one killed under him and had several bullet-holes through his clothes, one of them in his hat. Few prisoners were taken by the French and Indians. The wounded were killed and scalped on the field, and a dozen men who were able to walk were dragged to the fort and there burned alive on the banks of the Allegheny, a little above the point where it joins the Ohio. The broken remnant returned to the camp of Colonel Dunbar, where Washington buried the dead body of the commander. Dunbar was not made of the same stuff as Braddock, Halket, and Wash- ington. The shameful manner in which he failed to even try to re- trieve the defeat, or to protect the frontier, is a matter of common knowledge. As soon as he could, he made off with his regulars to Philadelphia. Placed in command of about twelve hundred 411 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL men by the authorities of Virginia, the duty of defending the frontier devolved upon Washington. But the force was inade- quate to the task. Meanwhile the politicians of Pennsylvania did nothing but squabble with the governor, who had asked them for help. The western borders of the settlements in Virginia and Pennsylvania were devastated by the savages. Hundreds of men, women, and children were butchered in cold blood. The Indians, growing bold upon meeting no organized resistance in Pennsyl- vania, carried their raids east of the Susquehanna, and to within two days' march of Philadelphia, where the assembly was sitting. At last this unenlightened body was compelled by popular indig- nation to act, and, upon the gift of five thousand pounds for the defense of the colony by the proprietaries, voted supplies, which enabled Governor Morris to take steps for the fortification of the borders. But two years, nevertheless, passed before anything really was accomplished to retrieve Braddock's defeat. The only bright spot in the story of these years is the brave advance of Colonel John Armstrong across the Alleghanies and through the wilderness from Huntington to Kittanning, where he succeeded in surprising and defeating the Indians, who had long made the spot a center from which to carry on raids against the eastern settlements. In the year 1757 William Pitt became the prime minister of England. The advent of "the great commoner" to the head of affairs marked an immediate change. Effective steps to curb the aggressions of the enemies of Great Britain in every quarter were taken. One of the measures resolved upon was an expedition against the Erench at the forks of the Ohio. The command was given to Brigadier-General John Eorbes. After many delays the army, on Saturday, November 25th, 1758, halted amidst the smoking ruins of Eort Duquesne, which the French, though they had defeated the English and colonials under Major Grant only five weeks before, had incontinently de- serted. The overwhelming numbers of Forbes led them to feel 412 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS that safety resided in flight, and down the Ohio some went to seek the French settlements on the Wabash, while others hurried up the Allegheny on the road to Canada. When the English and colonial army halted in the dusk of this memorable day the flag of Great Britain was raised by Colonel Armstrong, and at the sug- gestion of Washington, Forbes called the place Pittsburgh. "It is," says Bancroft, "the most enduring monument to William Pitt. America raised to his name statues that have been wrongfully broken, and granite piles, of which not one stone remains upon another ; but long as the Monongahela and the Allegheny shall flow to form the Ohio, long as the English tongue shall be the language of freedom in the boundless valley which their waters traverse, his name shall stand inscribed on the gateway of the west." With the fall of Fort Duquesne ended forever the occupation of the Ohio Valley by the French. No visible trace of their brief sojourn at the forks of the Ohio remains. The names of Du- quesne, De Villiers, Joncaire, and Junionville are borne by streets in the modern city. A solitary path led through the woods from the tort to an opening in the forest locnted where the First Pres- byterian Church and Trinity Episcopalian Church stand to-day. Here the French chaplain buried those who died during the French occupation. The path leading to this resting place of their dead the Roman Catholic occupants of the fort named, after the custom of their mother-land "I'allee de la Vierge" — the Way of the Virgin — a name perpetuated in Virgin alley. Duquesne way and Virgin alley survive to remind the denizens of modern Pitts- burgh that the lilies of France once bloomed over her soil. This is all. The day after the occupation of the ruins of Fort Duquesne was Sunday. A thanksgiving service was held, at which the chap- lain, Rev. Charles Beatty,^ preached a sermon, the first Protestant ^Rev. Charles Beatty was the grand- of Steubenville, Ohio, who was during his father of the late Rev. Dr. C. C. Beatty lifetime a great benefactor of Washington PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL service held upon the site of Pittsburgh. The work of erecting defences and winter c[uarters for the garrison, who were to occupy the spot, was at once undertaken. This fort, which was at best a rude structure, stood on the banks of the Monongahela a short distance east of the ruins of Fort Duquesne. It was not called Fort Pitt. This name was first applied to the second work of defense, which was begun in the summer of the year 1759 by General Stanwix, and greatly strengthened afterwards by Colonel Bouquet. The encroachments of the white settlers upon the territory west of the mountains led to what is known as Pontiac's Con- spiracy. Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, was a man of more than ordi- nary ability among his race. He has been called "the Napoleon of the red men." Secretly he brought about between the various tribes a coalition, having as its object the expulsion of the white man from the valley of the Mississippi and the region of the Great Lakes. When his plans had been matured, in 1763, the storm of war suddenly fell like a whirlwind upon the frontier posts. Everything was taken by the Indians except the forts at Detroit, Niagara, and Pittsburgh. Fort Pitt endured a memorable siege, the troops manning it being under the command of Captain Simon Ecuyer. The inhabitants of the village, which had grown up about the fort, had taken refuge within the walls and the houses surrounding the fort had been razed. The siege lasted in effect during the months of June, July and the first week of August, accompanied by several determined assaults, which were repulsed. The garrison and the refugees within the walls were reduced to the point of starvation when the siege was raised by the appear- ance of Colonel Bouquet at the head of a considerable force, accompanied by a train of three hundred and forty pack-horses carrying provisions for the half-starved people. Bouquet had not and Jefferson College and of the Western time of bis death those of any other indi- Theological Seminary in Allegheny. His vidual. gifts to these institutions exceeded at the 414 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS effected the relief of the beleaguered garrison without great peril. On the 5th of August, at Bushy Run, he had been attacked by a large body of Indians. The fight lasted all that day and the next, and it appeared as if the tragedy of Braddock's defeat was about to be re-enacted, when, by a happy ruse, the Indians were pro- voked to make a charge in a body, upon which they were adroitly Second Edifice of the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, built 1804 Photographed especially for this work from a print in possession of IJr. W. J. Holland flanked, surrounded, and terribly cut up. Bouquet lost one hun- dred and fifteen men. The battle of Bushy Run was the most stubborn battle ever fought on the soil of Pennsylvania with the Indians, and Bouquet's victory opened the doorway to the west more effectually than any event which had preceded it. Upon his arrival at the fort Bouquet at once set himself to strengthening the defences. During the fall of 1763 and the spring of 1764 he labored at this work, and, among other things, 415 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL erected the redoubt, or "block-house," which stands to-day the solitary surviving relic of that time. In the fall of 1764, with a large force, he pushed his way westward to the banks of the Mus- kingum river, and so awed the Indians by his show of power, and so conciliated them by his demeanor, that they consented to give up to him between two and three hundred whites, whom they had carried into captivity, and to negotiate a peace, which was in the main well kept for a number of years. Pittsburgh naturally had become by this time a place of impor- tance upon the border. Although the settlement of whites within the region was prohibited and those who took up holdings were at the time in western parlance "squatters," traders, hunters, and craftsmen, whose services were needed by the garrison, were con- tinually coming and going, and a few built houses for themselves. To facilitate the orderly building of houses. Colonel John Camp- bell, in 1764, laid out a "plan of lots" covering the territory included between Water and Second and Market and Ferry streets. This survey was incorporated in those subsequently made, and is to-day referred to in all deeds covering the property in this small area. Of these old houses built about this time the last survivor was torn down in the summer of 1902. It stood at the corner of Water street and Chancery lane. It had been covered with weather-boards and so remodeled as to conceal from the passers by its true character as a log cabin. For a few years after this the references to the place are com- paratively infrequent in extant literature. The spot was visited by a number of persons of distinction, among them by no less a per- sonage than Colonel George Washington, who, on a journey to what is now West Virginia, stopped in Pittsburgh both going and returning. His account of the place shows it to have been only a frontier hamlet of very small size. In 1772 the royal authorities resolved to cease to hold Fort Pitt as a military outpost, and it was sold and the garrison with- drawn. Before the works had been entirely demolished by the 416 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS purchasers they were seized by Dr. John Connolly, partly recon- structed, and called Fort Dunmore. This happened in the year 1774. Connolly was the tool and agent of the Earl of Dunmore, who, in 1772, had been appointed the governor of Virginia. Vir- ginia, in virtue of the royal charters of 1607 and 1609, laid claim to the region as against the proprietaries of Pennsylvania. A controversy as to the boundary between the two colonies had long gone on, and the Earl of Dunmore resolved to assert what he conceived to be the right of Virginia to the region, by force, if necessary. The territory covering southwestern Pennsylvania as far north as Kittanning on the Allegheny river and the upper por- tion of what is now known as the State of West Virginia were designated by the Virginia authorities as the district, or county, of West Augusta. Dr. Connolly, as the agent of Dunmore, hav- ing seized the fort at Pittsburgh, as we have seen, issued a procla- mation calling upon the inhabitants to recognize the authority of the governor of Virginia. Arthur St. Clair, who was the repre- sentative of the Penns, for answer had the redoubtable doctor arrested and jailed at Hannastown, the county seat of Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, which at that time covered the whole of the disputed territory which lay within the boundaries of Penn- sylvania. Connolly, however, soon gave bail, and then returned at the next term of court with a small army of one hun- dred and fifty men, arrested the justices, declared the court illegal, and packed off his prisoners to jail in Staunton, Vir- ginia. Then followed a heated correspondence between the Penns and Governor Dunmore. Connolly meanwhile carried on affairs in western Pennsylvania to suit himself. A court was established at Fort Dunmore, or Pittsburgh, where Connolly had established himself, and so thoroughly did he succeed in brow-beating and harassing the people that the little town presently was nearly for- saken of its inhabitants. The few who remained seriously con- templated abandoning the spot and establishing themselves else- where. Afifairs dragged along in this way until the outbreak of 3-27 417 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL the Revolutionary war, when Dunmore betook himself to flight, and shortly afterwards Connolly was arrested for treasonable practices and kept a prisoner by order of the Continental Congress until 1780, when he left for Canada, where subsequently he lived and died. Though a Pennsylvanian by birth, and a nephew of George Croghan, one of the first settlers of Pittsburgh, whose name is held in high esteem in the commufity which in the early days he did much to defend, Dr. Connolly was a mischief-maker and an enemy of the community, by whom his memory is justly held in light esteem. The flight of Dunmore and the imprison- ment of Connolly, the tory tyrant, did not, however, put an end to the boundary controversy between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Virginian courts continued to be held on the soil of Pennsylvania until 1780.^ In that year the controversy was ended by the some- what reluctant consent of Virginia to the ratification of the finding of a boundary commission, which had been formally approved by Pennsylvania the year before, and which gave to the latter Com- monwealth the territorial definition which it has ever since held upon the map of the continent. The stirring days of the American Revolution found the people of western Pennsylvania, though few in numbers, ready to do their part on behalf of the cause of liberty. As early as May, 1775, the people of Westmoreland county, which, under the administration of the Penns, covered the entire western portion of the State, held a meeting at Hannastown, the county seat, and in unequivocal terms declared their willingness and intention to resist by force of arms any attempt by the king of England to enforce the unjust acts of parliament which had recently been passed. A body of armed frontiersmen, commanded by Captain 'The records of the court of the District The courts of this county were sometimes of West Augusta held at Fort Dunmore held in Pittsburgh, more generally at va- have recently been published in the Annals rious places in what is now Washington of the Carnegie Museum. The District was County, Pennsylvania. The records of Yo- divided in 1776 into the counties of Ohio, hogania county will shortly be published in Monongalia, and Yohogania. Yohogania the Annals of the Carnegie Museum, county covered southwestern Pennsylvania. 418 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS Samuel Moorhead, was gathered, and at the outbreak of the struggle was stationed at Kittanning. Captain Neville arrived with a body of troops from Virginia and took possession of Fort Pitt. For a time there was quiet on the border, for not long before a treaty of peace had been made by Colonel Morgan with the Indians in the immediate neighborhood. The first alarm indicating that the English commandant at Detroit was suc- Old Fashioned Oil Lamps in use in Pioneer Households Photographed especially for this work from the originals in the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh ceeding in his efforts to incite the Indians to take up arms against the settlers occurred in July, 1776, when Captain Fergus Moor- head, who had temporarily commanded the troop of militia at Kittanning during the illness of his brother Samuel, was at- tacked at Blanket Hill, his companion Simpson was killed, his horse was shot under him, and he was captured and marched through the forests to Quebec and given over as a prisoner to the British. From this time forward the scenes of the previous decade were repeated. The border was the theater of numerous massacres and bloody reprisals. Pittsburgh, though left in quiet. 419 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL became the center from which operations were carried on against the British at Detroit and against the Indians on the Allegheny and the Ohio and its western affluents. The fort was held during the Revolutionary war in succession by Captain Neville, Generals Hand and Mcintosh, and Colonel Daniel Brodhead. The latter was succeeded, in 1781, by Colonel Gibson, who shortly delivered over the command to General William Irvine. This year was made memorable by the ill-fated expedition of General George Rogers Clarke of Virginia against Detroit. One portion of his command, consisting of one hundred men, gathered in West- moreland county and commanded by Colonel Lochry, was anni- hilated at the mouth of the Miami. In the following year Hannastown, the county seat, was attacked by the Indians and destroyed, though the stockade in which the settlers had taken refuge held out against their attack. A dark and dreadful deed was committed in this year by the exasperated men of the border. Unjustly considering that the Christian Indians who had been settled by the Moravian missionary, Heckewelder, at Gnaden- huetten, on the Tuscarawas, were harboring and aiding the hostile savages who were carrying on raids against the settle- ments, a company of eighty men set out from Washington county. Pa., for the mission. They found the Indians peaceably at work in their fields, assured them that they had come for the purpose of protecting them, induced the few who had arms to give them up, promising that they would on the morrow take them with them to Fort Pitt. The Indians were then assembled in the chapel, the doors were locked upon them and a guard set, and on the morrow their brains were dashed out with mallets and the chapel was burned over their dead bodies. The citizens of Ohio have erected a stately monument on the spot, but no monu- ment can atone for the disgrace brought upon western Pennsyl- vania by this deed of cruelty. Shortly afterwards it was resolved to organize an expedition against the Indians at Sandusky. Colonel David Williamson, 420 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS who had headed the party from Washington county that had de- stroyed the Christian village in Ohio, strove for the command, but Colonel William Crawford was finally chosen to lead the expedition. As if in just retribution for the enormities perpe- trated by some of the men under him at Gnadenhuetten, his troops met with miserable defeat, and the Indians burned Crawford at the stake. These events took place just as the Revolutionary war was drawing to its close. Cornwallis surrendered his army in Octo- l)er, 1 78 1, but border hostilities did not cease, nor was a formal treaty of peace concluded betw^een the colonies and Great Britain until the third day of September, 1783. When the war ended and the armies of the colonies were disbanded, a number of the officers who had become acquainted with western Pennsylvania during their term of service upon the border elected to make Pittsburgh their home. They were men of influence and enter- prise, and although the society of the little frontier settlement was rude and the community was full of rough frontiersmen, trappers, traders, and boatmen, the presence of these distinguished men imparted a touch of refinement to the early life of the settle- ment. Among those who remained and laid the foundations of fortune for themselves and their descendants in the region were General O'Hara, General Richard Butler, General Neville, Major Isaac Craig, and Colonel Stephen Bayard. There were at this time in Pittsburgh about one hundred houses, all of them built of logs and situated in immediate proximity to Fort Pitt, which, in spite of its occu])ation during the Revolutionary war, had been allowed to fall into a very dilapidated condition. The accounts of the place that have come down to us represent Pittsburgh as having been a sink of iniquity. The famous and oft-quoted description of Pittsburgh given by Arthur Lee of Virginia, who visited the spot in 1781, is worthy of being recalled. Lee says: "Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who live in paltry log houses and are as dirty as in the north of Ire- 421 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL land, or even in Scotland. There is a great deal of small trade carried on, the goods being brought at the vast expense of forty shillings per hundredweight from Philadelphia and Baltimore. They take in the shops money, wheat, flour, and skins. There are in the town four attorneys, two doctors, and not a priest of any persuasion, nor church nor chapel, so that they are likely to be damned without the benefit of clergy." The four attorneys mentioned by Arthur Lee no doubt included Hugh Henry Brackenridge, who came to Pittsburgh in 1 78 1. He was a graduate of the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, having been a classmate there of James Madison and others who became distinguished leaders in their day. Bracken- ridge was a man of literary taste and culture, whose romance, entitled "Modern Chivalry," is still remembered as one of the better works produced in the infant period of American literature. He did not share the views of Arthur Lee, but his sanguine soul foresaw in the rude collection of log cabins nestling between the rivers the kernel from which would develop in time a mighty municipality, as the oak is developed from the acorn. Right bravely and assiduously he labored with others to bring about the realization of his dreams. The early columns of the Pittsburgh Gazette, which began to be published in the latter part of July, 1786, as a weekly journal, was seized upon by Brackenridge as a happy vehicle for the communication of his thoughts to his fellow men, and, having been elected to represent the district in the legislature of Pennsylvania, he used the columns of the paper as a medium in which to acquaint his fellow citizens with his hopes and anticipations. He was the author of a series of essays, en- titled, "Observations on the Country at the Head of the Ohio River," which ran through a number of issues in the Gazette. In these he contended earnestly for the removal of the county seat from Hannastown to Pittsburgh, for the establishment of the institutions of religion, and for the foundation of a school. Sub- sequently, in 1787, when representing the district in the legisla- 422 s'5 ^ffi S Q^ C/3 O PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS ture of Pennsylvania, he Ijroni^ht about the passage of an act incorporating a school called "The Pittsburgh Academy," which was the first school legally chartered in the whole region from the crest of the Alleghanies to the Pacific, and which still survives the vicissitudes of time as the Western University of Pennsyl- vania. In the fall of the same year he secured the passage of an act incorporating the Presbyterian Congre- gation of the town of Pittsburgh. Among its trustees is named its pastor, the Rev. Samuel Barr, who first came to Pittsburgh in 1785, atoning by his coming for the lack of clergymen noted by Arthur Lee in the previous year. Mr. Barr was a public- spirited man and a protege of the versatile and very worldly author of "Modern Chiv- alry." This fact probably caused the clergy, a handful of whom had organized the Presbytery of Redstone, to hesitate to install the Rev. Mr. Barr over the infant congregation. Their scruples were, how- ever, happily overcome, though at that time and for some years subsequently Pittsburgh was not regarded by the saints who dwelt on the Catfish, at Upper Buffalo, and Ten- Mile Creek, as furnishing favorable soil, in which to plant the seeds either of scholarship or religion. Godli- ness kept to the hills in those early days, and it was said that the Presbyterian preachers were afraid to come to Pittsburgh, lest they should be reviled and persecuted. There were, however, some nuble men belonging to the ranks of the ministry already laboring in the valley of the Monongahela. They organized frontier churches, they established schools, and the fruits of their labors proved in the end to be a harvest of good, in which not Joseph Mockton Author of The Western Cal- culator, first text book pub- lished west of the Alleghany mountains ; principal of the Pittsburgh Academy when it was re-incorporated as The Western University of Penn- sylvania. By courtesy of Dr. W. J.Holland 425 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL merely the immediate neighborhood, but the nation and the world at large have shared. The Revolution terminated the relations which the descend- ants of Penn held to the colony as proprietors. The Common- wealth of Pennsylvania, in 1779, while declaring that the Penns, as partisans of the crown, had forfeited their claims, nevertheless agreed to pay them the sum of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling and to allow them to retain in their possession certain tracts of land, which had been laid out from time to time, and to which they had given the name of "manors." There were forty-four of these manors, each of which comprised several thou- sand acres. In the aggregate the manors contained 421,015 acres. One of these manors was the "Manor of Pittsburgh," which had been surveyed on the 19th of May, 1769. The survey covered 5766 acres, with an allowance of six per cent, for roads. It included the territory between the Allegheny and the Mononga- hela as far east as Two-Mile Run (Soho), and covered a portion of the territory on the banks of the Monongahela on the south side of that river. In 1783 the lines of this manor were resurveyed by George Woods, and in the following year he laid out the town of Pittsburgh, incorporating in his survey the plan of military lots which had been surveyed by Campbell. In this survey five lots were reserved and set apart for houses of worship and places of burial. The first house of worship erected on these lots was a building of squared timber which stood on the spot where to-day stands the First Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Wood street and Virgin alley. Here, where the French garrison had buried their dead, the red men, long before their day, had also buried their dead, and one of the ancient Indian mounds, of which, the valley of the Ohio is full, occupied the ground where to-day stands Trinity Episcopal Church. Another occupied the top of the hill where the Allegheny County Court House stands. The laying out of the town of Pittsburgh was presently fol- lowed by an increase in the population, which was stimulated 426 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS when the general government, in the year 17S7, took over what was known as the Northwest Territory, ont of which have been carved the great States lying between the Ohio and the Missis- sippi. The waves of migration from the east to the west began to flow toward this region, the fame of which had spread along the seaboard. Pittsburgh became the focal point toward which the feet of those essaying to enter the west tended. The village which numbered, in 1785, about f^ve hundred souls, grew, until in 1790, five years afterwards, the population had nearly doubled. Allegheny county was formed by acts of assembly, passed on September 24, 1788, and September 17th, 1789, out of West- moreland county, and a narrow strip along the Monongahela taken from Washington county, which had been, in 1781, erected out of Westmoreland. Subsequently all the territory north of the Ohio and west of the Allegheny river was added to the county. This area, more than twice the size of the kingdom of Holland, was subsequently (on March 12,1800,) subdivided, and eight new counties were formed, though courts were not at once established in all of them. The counties taken from Allegheny by this act are the following: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler. Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer, Warren, and Venango. The county seat was located at Pittsburgh. The entire population of the county included within its extreme limits was, in 1790. ten thousand and three hundred and nine persons. Small towns had already begun to spring up through the region, and in the last decade of the eighteenth century their growth, though slow, was considerable. Brownsville, in Fayette county, which was set off from West- moreland in 1783, being at the head of navigation on the Monon- gahela, affected at the time to rival Pittsburgh as a place of com- mercial importance. Elizabeth. McKeesport, Robb's Town, later known as West Newton, and Alleghenytown, opposite Pittsburgh, begin to be heard of about this time. Canonsburg and Washing- ton, the county seat of the county of the same name, had been already located and contained a few houses. Beaver had already 427 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL for several years been a place of importance as the site of Fort Mcintosh, which, with Fort Pitt, served as a base for operations against the Engiish at Detroit and their Indian allies in the west- ern portion of what is now the State of Ohio. Whatever small rivalries may have existed in these early days were of little avail against the natural resources of the location, and the town at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela continued to grow. Manufacturing was commenced at a very early date, but on an extremely small scale. The establishments in existence were nothing more than small shops, in which light hardware and articles of household use were made. The presence of a vast supply of mineral fuel in the region was known at a very early date. In the map of Fort Pitt, made by the engineer in charge of the works in 1763, the original of wdiich is preserved in the King's Library of the British Museum, and a copy of which may be consulted at the Carnegie Museum, there is shown on the south bank of the Monongahela, at a point nearly opposite the fort, the opening of a "coal mine." In 1766 Rev. Charles Beatty records, upon the occasion of a visit he paid to the spot, that the garrison of the fort was supplied with fuel from this mine. This was in all probability the first bituminous coal mine opened in the region, and it was situated in Pittsburgh as originally laid out by the surveyor. Other mines in the immediate vicinity were pres- ently opened, and in 1789 the smoky atmosphere of the town be- came the subject of comment on the part of Major Samuel For- man, who visited the place. The title of "The Smoky City" may be to-day fairly shared with Pittsburgh by other great communi- ties in the Mississippi basin which depend upon supplies of bitu- minous coal for fuel, but Pittsburgh has been from its very infancy a center of smoke. Little of the smoke arising in the early days of which we are speaking was due to the manufacture of iron. Aside from some small manufacturing of hardware, such as kitchen utensils, locks, bolts, hinges, and cutlery, there was nothing produced at this time to give more than a faint adumbration of 428 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS the greatness io which the i)lace was destined to rise as the center of the iron-working inchistry of the world. The first furnace for the production of iron in western F'ennsylvania was erected by a Pittsburgh firm (Turnbuh, Marniie, & Co.) on Jacob's creek, in Fayette county, a little above the point where that stream enters First mayor of Pittsburgh, 1816. Photographed especially for this work from an engraving in possession of Dr. W. J. Holland the Youghiogheny. The name of the establishment was the Alliance Iron Works. It was operated more or less irregularly for twelve years from 1790. Here were cast a portion of the cannon balls which were carried by General Anthony Wayne with him on his famous expedition against the western Indians. These cannon balls were the first contributions made by a Pittsburgh firm to the national munitions of war. They were, like the scythes 429 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and hatchets made in Pittsburgh at the time, only a faint hint of what the mighty industrial development of a later day was des- tined to produce. All the iron consumed here prior to the venture of Turnbull & Marmie had been brought over the mountains on pack-horses. The first furnace for the manufacture of pig^-iron within the limits of the present city of Pittsburgh was built in 1792 by George Anshutz at a point about four hundred feet south- east of the present site of the Shadyside station of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad. It was supposed that the deposit of red shale to be seen to-day at the cutting in the railroad was rich enough in iron to permit of the operation of the establishment, but this was found not to be the case, and, after being operated for two years in an unremunerative way with ore brought from a distance, it was abandoned in 1794, though its enterprising owner long con- tinued to be one of the best known producers and manufacturers of ironware in the city for more than forty years afterwards. The furnaces at Jacob's Creek and at Shadyside were charcoal fur- naces. The possibility of converting the Pittsburgh coal into coke and employing it in the manufacture of pig metal was not realized until so recently as 1859, and then first was laid the foun- dation of the supremacy of the Pittsburgh district as a center for the production of iron and steel. The principal industry of the town at the close of the eighteenth century was boat-building. The abundant supply of timber on the banks of the streams, and the needs of the westward migrating population, made the busi- ness profitable. The boats built were flat-boats and keel-boats, which were principally carried by the current and guided by long sweeps. They served for a downward voyage, but never returned. After their cargoes had been sold and their passengers landed, they were sold as lumber at lower river ports, while those who had gone with them and desired to return, came back in lighter row- boats, on foot, or by horse. A long procession of these "Kentucky boats," as they were styled, was swallowed up by the great river flowing west and south. The building of these craft paved the 430 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS way for the l)uiUlini;- of sea-going- vessels and steamboats at a later date. Bnt while the i)e(»i)le of the little settlement were fashioning scythes for the farmers and axes for the woodmen, and were industriously buying- and selling, savage scenes were being enacted not far off. The Indians, driven from the hunting grounds which they and their fathers before them had possessed, beholding with every day the nearer and nearer approach of the stream of white immigration, endeavored to stay it after their barbarous fashion. It was the old way of the tomahawk. The life of no white man was safe on the frontier. At last Congress determined to put an end, if possible, to the troubles of the settlers, and General Arthur St. Clair, who was the governor of the North- west Territory, was placed, in 1791, at the head of an army of between two and three thousand men, many of w^hom had been recruited in western Pennsylvania. The second in command was the most distinguished citizen of Pittsburgh at that time. General Richard Butler. But the fate of war was against the expedition, as it had been against the earlier expedition led by Crawford. The army of St. Clair was surprised, half its number killed in battle, among the number General Butler, and the old story of Indian atrocities had many a chapter added to it in consequence. The defeat of St. Clair, which was due to no lack of gallantry on his part, brought sorrow to hundreds of the homes of western Pennsylvania. It led to the erection of Fort Lafayette, or Fort Fayette, as it was popularly called, on the banks of the Allegheny, near Ninth street. This was a formidable work which took the place of Fort Pitt, which had been sold and abandoned, and it became for a number of years the base of the military movements v.^hich w^ere carried on by the government against the Indians. "Garrison alley" survives in the nomenclature of city streets and lanes as a silent monitor of the location of this old-time fortifica- tion and government depot, which was in use until 18 14. when it was abandoned for the better quarters of the Allegheny Arsenal. 431 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL St. Clair's defeat led to the famous expedition of General Anthony Wayne. He arrived in Pittsburgh in June, 1792, and spent the time until the spring of the following year in gathering a force and drilling his men. In the fall of 1793 he went into winter quarters on the site of the present town of Greenville, Ohio. Not until late in August, 1794, did he deliver the fatal blow on the banks of the Maumee which broke forever the power of the Indian tribes in the vast region lying east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio. "Mad Anthony" he was called, but there was a splendid method in his madness, and, when he marched his men back to their homes in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky the way was clear for the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mich- igan, and Wisconsin to rise into the great family of American Commonwealths. But while Anthony Wayne was leading his troops against the Indians on the Maumee the people who had stayed at home and those of Pittsburgh and its immediate vicinity did not lack their peculiar excitements. A miniature rebellion against the general govermnent, which threatened at one time to lead to very serious consequences, and was not unattended by acts of violence, was hatched in the neighborhood. The farmers of the Monon- gahela Valley grew then, as they still continue to do, a great deal of rye. But to get this rye to profitable markets was impossible. They found, however, that by turning rye into whiskey they could get their crop into market quite readily and make a small profit. So they began everywhere to distil the grain. In 1791 the general government laid a tax upon whisky and set about collecting it. This bore heavily upon the farmers of the region. At first they remonstrated, and were encouraged in so doing by some of the best and most influential men of the neighborhood — Albert Gallatin, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, General Gibson, and others. But when remonstrances failed, the people, inflamed by a sense of wrong and incendiary addresses, resolved upon a sturdier resist- ance. There were great gatherings of men carrying arms. Gen- 432 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS eral Neville's barn and house near the present town of Bridgeville, south of Pittsburgh, were burned, because he was the chief excise officer of the county. Several lives were lost in riotous gather- ings, the mails were stopped and rifled, and good men were perse- Henry Baldwin Member of Congress, 18 17-1822; appointed asso- ciate justice United States Supreme Court, 1830. Photographed especially for this work from the original in possession of the Western University of Pennsylvania cuted and intimidated. Things finally came to such a pass that President Washington felt himself constrained to march an army under General Lee over the mountains into the Monongahela Valley and to Pittsburgh. There were fifteen thousand men in the force which was called out. The coming of the army set the 3-28 433 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL malcontents to thinking, and the result was a scattering to their homes of those, who had but shortly before been most violent in their threats against the government. It all looks now, at a dis- tance, like a very insignificant affair, but it was the first occasion upon which the government of the United States had been called upon to assert its sovereignty over the people of any section of the country, and the bold and determined stand taken by President Washington had a most salutary effect, not only in western Penn- sylvania, but wherever the stars and stripes at that time waved upon the continent. The affair cost the nation about a million of dollars, which was at that time a heavy sum to draw from the national treasury. Pittsburgh continued to grow. On April 22, 1794, it was incorporated as a borough, and in May following George Rob- inson was chosen as chief burgess and Josiah Tannehill as bur- gess. The government was not unlike that of a New England town, and in legislating at this period the citizens met with the burgesses in council and enacted their ordinances and selected the minor officers. The charter of 1794 remained in force until 1804, when it was repealed and a new charter was granted, which, in turn, remained in force until the incorporation of Pittsburgh as a city in 1816. The beginning of the manufacture of glass at Pittsburgh took place in 1797, when General James O'Hara and Major Isaac Craig established a factory for making window glass. The necessity for protecting the banks of the rivers against floods led to the com- mencement, in 1798, of the building of the levees along the Allegheny and the Monongahela. The first money secured for this purpose was raised by a lottery. It was the custom of the time to resort to lotteries for the promotion of almost all kinds of public enterprises. The first church edifices in the place were, in fact, erected in part from the proceeds of the sale of lottery tickets. At this time the streets were not paved, and board walks were almost unknown. Mud was everywhere. Log houses were still 434 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS in the majority, though about fifty houses of brick had been built and two brick kihis were in constant operation. The town was confined to the triangular territory lying between the two rivers and Smithfield street, which lay at the foot of Grant's Hill, which was much higher than it is to-day, successive gradings having lowered it in places over forty feet. Between Smithfield street and the hill lying at its foot was Hogg's Pond, on which in the winter the youths of the village skated. The pond covered an elongated oval area extending from near the intersection of Fourth avenue and Smithfield street to the neighborhood of Cherry alley and Seventh avenue. The population of the place in 1800 was one thousand five hundred and sixty-five souls. There were four churches, the First Presbyterian on Wood street, without a pastor, the German Church on Smithfield street, the Episcopal Church, at the inter- section of Wood and Liberty streets, which was struggling hard amidst difficulties, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, just organized, and of which the Rev. John Black was the pastor. The Methodist Church was represented by an organization which at the time was worshipping in the disused barracks of old Fort Pitt. The only school of importance in the place was the Pittsburgh Academy, the building of which stood on the corner of Cherry alley and Fourth street, upon ground donated for its use by the Penns. Neither learning nor piety appears at this date to have been in a singularly flourishing condition in the town. The aris- tocracy of the village at the close of the eighteenth century com- prised a score or more of families representing the original mili- tary settlement at the close of the Revolutionary war. Nobody was wealthy in anything but hope and land w^arrants. The whole of the territory now comprised within the cities of Pittsburgh and Alleghen}^ might have been bought at that time for a sum far less than is annually expended in maintaining his household by many a Pittsburgh millionaire of the present generation. The entire borough tax levied in the year 1800 was $604.88, of which 435 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL $512 were collected by the end of the year. For the year 1802 a borough tax of $497.96 was levied, of which in December of that year only $170 had been collected. The tax levy of Allegheny county, which, as we have already seen, covered at that time a vastly larger area than to-day, appears in comparison with the levies of the present time almost ridiculous. The revenues were largely drawn upon to pay the bounty for wolves' scalps. In the year 1799 it is recorded that $640.30 were expended on this account. In 1800 the county treasurer was robbed of all the cash in his possession, amounting to the sum of thirteen hundred dol- lars. The money was fortunately recovered. Such was Pitts- burgh one hundred years ago. The dawn of the nineteenth century found the movement of western migration well under way. The invasion of the hordes of the north, who descended upon the Roman Empire, sinks into insig'uificance as a great movement of human popula- tion, when compared with the migration into the New World, which characterized the century, which has just ended. Nothing like it has ever before occurred in the annals of the human race. The advance of the Caucasian flood had passed the crests of the Alleghanies and Pittsburgh became the center from which the westward pilgrimages poured. The mountains to the east, once crossed, proved a formidable barrier over which to return by those who were bent on errands of commerce. N( t so the water ways smoothlv flowing to the southwest and joining the mighty flood of the Mississippi. Trade naturallv took the easier course, and Pittsburgh felt that nothing should be allowed to interfere with her trade with the southwest. Her traffic with New Orleans, even at this early day, was considerable. WHien, in 1803, the Span- ish Intendant at New Orleans closed the port against the traders of the upper countrv an intense excitement was engendered. Meetings were held, the President and Congress were memorial- ized, and it was even intimated, that, unless the general government took prompt steps to avert impending ruin, the people of the west 436 PITTSBURGH AND ITS EN FI RONS might take steps which would impair the harmony of the Union. Whether these veiled threats had weight or not, the purchase of Louisiana was very shortly thereafter consummated, and the way was at once clear for the trade of Pittsburgh with the southwest to be resumed and increased. It began to grow by leaps and James O'Hara Incorporator Pittsburgh Academy. Photo- graphed especially for this work from a draw- ing in possession of Miss Matilda Denny bounds. Flour, lumber, wdiisky, pork, iron-ware made from iron produced in the valley of the Juniata and later in the charcoal fur- naces of western Pennsylvania, and large quantities of salt shipped from the upper Allegheny were dispatched to low^er river ports during the first decade of the century. From the South came sugar, hemp, and cotton. In 1803 the famous expedition of Lewis & Clarke to the Pacific was organized and took its depart- ure from Pittsburgh. The traffic of the place was increased rather 437 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL than diminished by the war of 1812. From Pittsburgh came much of the material which entered into the construction of the fleet on Lake Erie, and from a Pittsburgh foundry came the can- non balls which were used by Perry in his memorable battle, and those which were fired by Jackson at New Orleans. The building of lx)ats and even of ocean-going craft had by this time risen to considerable proportions in the town. At Elizabeth the Monon- gahela Company, in March, 1801, launched a brigantine which was loaded with flour and taken to New Orleans. It was followed in May by the schooner "Monongahela Farmer," which took a cargo of 750 barrels of flour to the same place. The pioneers in ship-building in Pittsburgh were the Messrs. Tarascon Brothers, and James Berthoud & Co. Their first venture was the launch, in December, 1802, of the schooner Amity, of 100 tons, quickly fol- lowed by the ship Pittsburgh, of 270 tons, and the ship Louisiana, of 300 tons burthen. The Pittsburgh cleared from Pittsburgh for Lisbon, and the Louisiana took a cargo from the mouth of the Cumberland river to Liverpool. The Amity took a cargo of flour from Pittsburgh to St. Thomas, in the West Lidies. The business of building ocean-going craft of a size regarded as considerable at that day continued to flourish. The brig "Ann Jane," launched at Pittsburgh, was long run between New Orleans and New York, and was regarded as one of the fastest vessels at that time on the seas. In 181 1 the business of ship-building was augmented by the opening of a yard for the erection of steamboats. The firm was that of Fulton, Livingston, & Roosevelt. Their first boat, the "New Orleans," which was also the first steamboat built upon the western rivers, was one hundred and thirty-eight feet on the keel, with twenty feet beam. She cost $38,000. Launched in March, she was later taken down the Ohio and put into commission be- tween New Orleans and Natchez, where she rapidly made money for her owners, until, in 1814, she was unfortunately lost on a snag near Baton Rouge. The New Orleans was quickly followed by other boats, and a number of firms embarked in the enterprise 438 X PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS of steamboat building. The establishment of this industry did not a little to Iniild up the commerce of the place, and it has con- tinued to flourish to a greater or less extent even to the present day. The year 1857 marked the highest point in the construction of large boats. In that year one hundred and forty-one steam- boats were launched in Pittsburgh and its immediate vicinity. The records show that nearly four thousand ocean-going vessels and river steamboats have been built in Pittsburgh since the Messrs. Tarascon made their first venture, and Pittsburgh boats to-day ply on the waters of the Volga and the Don, the Amazon, the Orinoco, and the Rio Magdalena. While the people of Pittsburgh were with great spirit endeav- oring to build up their trade with the West and the Southwest, they were much harassed by the difficulties which attended the development of their communication with the East. When Brad- dock and Forbes cut their way across the mountains, the one from Cumberland, Maryland, the other from Bedford, Pennsylvania, they opened paths which served the packmen for the transport- ation of goods. The first wagon from the East was driven into Pittsburgh by Conrad Hawk, a teamster with the army of General Forbes. But for many years after that trains of pack-horses were more frequently used for conveyance than wheeled vehicles. The most important economic subject which engaged the attention of the people of western Pennsylvania from 1800 to 1820 was the betterment of the roads leading to the older and more thickly set- tled country. Postal service from Philadelphia and from Virginia to Pittsburgh by way of Bedford had been established in 1786. The mail continued from that date to 1789 to be carried on horse- back. In the years following various schemes for improving internal communication were broached. The result was. so far as Pittsbvu'gh was concerned, the construction of a turnpike road from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh by way of Chambersburg, Bed- ford, Somerset and Greensburg, which was completed in 1820, though the mail had been carried by coach over the line since 1805. 441 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The old "Bedford pike," as it was called, became the main artery of travel between the East and the West. The Conestoga wagon and the mail coach thereafter for thirty years continued to play a prominent part as means of transportation. A reasonably good road capable of being used for the conveyance of passengers and goods from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh having been provided, there immediately arose a great demand for the construction of roads south, west, and north from the city, for in 1816 Pittsburgh, having outgrown its boroughhood, was incorporated as a city. The development of towns and villages throughout western Penn- sylvania and the State of Ohio, and the rapid settlement of a large agricultural population in the territory, made it necessary to pro- vide means of communication with the metropolis of the region. The farmer and the merchant demanded access to the market at the head of river navigation, and the tide of westward travel con- tinued to increase in volume with each succeeding year. The con- struction under the authority of the general government of the great national turnpike along a route lying south of Pittsburgh was viewed with scarcely approbatory feeling by the merchants of Pittsburgh. It tended to divert travel to other points. In order to connect with this important highway a turnpike from Pitts- burgh to the village of Washington, Pa., was undertaken. A road to Steubenville was built. The Pittsburgh and Butler turnpike was projected in 1819. The legislature was flooded with bills calling for the construction of roads in every direction. Mean- while the fact that the national turnpike, built at government ex- pense at a cost of nearly two millions of dollars, was being oper- ated free from tolls, and the further fact that the State of New York, under the wise leadership of De Witt Clinton, had under- taken the construction of a system of waterways to connect the Hudson with the Great Lakes began to fill the people of the State of Pennsylvania with alarm. They saw, that, unless something were quickly done, their growing trade with the western country would be diverted from them, and that New York and Baltimore 442 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS would presently monopolize the business, which had been built up by Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The agitation which arose at this time led finally to the construction and completion of the Pennsylvania Canal. If the people of Pittsburgh could have had their way the canal would have been built and finished ten years before it was. The student who has taken the trouble to read the First Pittsburgh Academy On the left, with the Principal's house adjacent ; the Western University of Pennsylvania on the right. 1831. By courtesy of Dr. W. J. Holland newspapers published at that time cannot fail to be impressed with the great fear, which had taken possession of the people, that, un- less better transportation between the Ohio Valley and the Dela- ware were quickly provided, the trade of the city would be ruined. While the momentous question of means of communication with the East was consuming much of the thought of the people of w^estern Pennsylvania, the student does not fail to discover that a great change had taken place in other respects. When we look at the city of Pittsburgh, as it appears in the light of contemporary 443 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL narrative at the time of which we speak, we find, that, instead of being the center of a more or less restless population full of lawless impulses, as was the village, which had originally sprung up about Fort Pitt, it had become a community permeated by the spirit of order and filled with deep religious convictions. The character of the population, in which Scotch and Scotch-Irish blood predom- inated, may account in part for this fact, for the Scotchman since the days of John Knox has found his highest interest in matters of religion. But a more potent influence than the mere relis^ious predisposition of the people is to be found in the labors of the clergymen of the region and the succession of great spiritual awakenings, which, beginning under the preaching of John McMillan, James Powers, Thaddeus Dodd, and Joseph Smith in 1787, and renewed in the years from 1799 to 1802, culminated in a movement spreading to the Carolinas in the south and to Ken- tucky and Tennessee in the West. This "great awakening" left an indelible impression upon the whole western country, and while Pittsburgh w-as not immediately the scene of any of the remark- able occurrences, the story of which has come down to our day, it necessarily felt in the life of its people the influence of the great re- vival of interest in religious things, which had taken place through- out the country of which it was the commercial and industrial cen- ter. In the spring of 1802 the general assembly of the Presby- terian Church created the Synod of Pittsburgh, which convened in Pittsburgh on September 29th of that year, the first of the long series of ecclesiastical gatherings which have been held on the spot. It met in the First Presbyterian Church, which had been erected of "squared timber" in 1786, and was the only church edifice in Pitts- burgh at the time. This structure was followed by a brick church, completed in 1805, largely through the efiforts of John Wilkins. The advent of Francis Herron, wdio became the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in the year 181 1, was not the least important fact in shaping the character of the growing community. He set tlie impress of his noble, manly character upon the lives of many, 444 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENFIRONS and it is no surprise to learn, that, as the result of the untiring and splendid labors performed by him and his worthy associates in the Christian ministry of many denominations in later years, the place which Arthur Lee characterized as utterly godless, came in the year 1840, to be known as "the city of churches," a title later transferred to Baltimore, and, during the civil war, given to Brooklyn. It was just as Pittsburgh became a city that the full power of the magnetic and splendid character of Dr. Herron began to make itself most deeply felt. Closely associated with him in his labors on behalf of religion, morrdity, and true learning was Elisha P. Swift, for many years the pastor of the Second Pres- byterian Church in Pittsburgh, and then of the First Presbyterian Church in Allegheny. Contemporary with the awakening of the religious life of the community was the awakening of interest in education. The men who had gathered the frontier farmers of western Pennsylvania about them in the camp-meetings of the wilderness and had organ- ized them into churches realized the necessity for establishing schools. John McMillan and his associates were graduates of the College of New Jersey at Princeton. They were men of learning as well as of piety and indomitable courage. Through their labors were founded Jeffereson College at Canonsburg, in 1802, and Washington College at Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1806. The growth of Pittsburgh suggested to the intelligent leaders of the community that the time had come when the Academy, which was flourishing under the care of the Rev. Joseph Stockton, the author of 'Th Western Calculator" and "The Western Spelling Book," should be transformed into an institution of higher learning. Steps were accordingly taken which resulted in the reincorporation of the institution in February, 1819, as the Western University of Pennsylvania. The first board of trustees was composed of men most of whom bore a distinguished part in public life. James Allison, whose name appears first upon the list, was one of the organizers of the Beaver County Bar and twice elected a member 445 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL of congress. Judge Henry Baldwin was one of the most noted jurists of western Pennsylvania and a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Abner Barker was a leading mer- chant. John Darragh was a prominent laywer. Major Ebenezer Denny had taken part in the expeditions of Harmar and St. Clair, had rendered service in the war of 1812, and in 18 16 had been elected the first mayor of Pittsburgh. Hon. Walter Forward was twice a member of congress, became first controller of the treasury under Harrison, secretary of the treasury under Tyler, and min- ister of the United States to Denmark under Taylor. The Rev. Francis Herron was a leader in every good work. Peter Mowry was a physician and public-spirited citizen. Samuel Roberts was an ornament to the bench of the county, having, in 1803, suc- ceeded Judge Addison, the first law judge commissioned in the county. William Robinson, Jr., was one of the leading citizens and one of the largest landholders in the region. His home was in Allegheny. John Scull was the founder of the "Pittsburgh Gazette." John M. Snowden had established the "Farmer's Reg- ister" in Greensburg in 1798, removed to Pittsburgh in 181 1, where he published the "Commonwealth" and later the "Mer- cury," and was subsequently at various times the mayor of the city. William Wilkins in the following year was made a judge of the Fifth district, subsequently became judge of the District Court of theUnited States, was elected to the Senate of the United States in 1 83 1, was made minister to Russia in 1834, and was secretary of war under President Tyler from 1844 to 1845. George Evans, John Gilmore, Robert Moore, John McPherrin, Morgan Neville, John Poe, Jr., J. Postlethwaite, John Reed, Dr. George Stevenson and John Young were all men of eminent ability and high social position in the western half of the Commonwealth. But pre-emi- nent in this body of able men were Rev. Dr. John Black, the pastor of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Dr. Robert Bruce, the pastor of the First Associate Presbyterian Church, now known as the First United Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. 446 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS Both were graduates of the University of Glasgow, and both became meml)ers of the faculty, Dr. Bruce holding the position of principal of the university from 1822 to 1835. Associated with these two eminent men in the first faculty was the Rev. C. B. Maguire, who succeeded the Rev. F. X. O'Brien, the first Roman Catholic priest permanently located in the city. "Priest Maguire," Robert Bruce Eminent clergyman and educator: first princi- pal of the Western University of Pennsylvania, 1822-1834. Photographed especially for this work from portrait by Lambdin in possession ol Western University of Pennsylvania as he was known, was the founder of the church now known as St. Paul's Cathedral, a man of great learning and ready wit. Dr. Swift, one of the founders of the Board of Home Missions and of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, both of which great organizations had their inception in Pittsburgh, was also a member of the faculty, as was the Rev. Joseph McElroy, who, afterwards removing to New York City, was for well nigh half a century the pastor of the Scotch Presbyterian 447 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL Church in the metropoHs. The Western University of Pennsyl- vania passed through many and great vicissitudes, but still exists to-day a monument to the prescience of its founders, if not of the liberality of the community in which it has for so many years been accomplishing most important and useful labors. The growth of the place in population from the beginning of the century to the close of its second decade was relatively rapid. The census of 1800 showed a total population of 1,565, the census of 1820 showed a population of 7,248. But while, relatively, these years mark the greatest percentage of increase for a given period, they are not to be compared with later years toward the close of the century, when in a single twelvemonth Pittsburgh has gained twice as many inhabitants as she gained during the first two decades of her existence. Measured with the stature of the present day, the Pittsburgh of 1820 was merely a village, but a village of enterprising, intelligent, public-spirited men, who were determined to malce the most of their opportunities, and whose wisdom and foresight paved the way for the greater achievements which were destined to follow. There were in Pittsburgh ten church organizations in 1820. Of these the Baptist Church was as yet without a church edifice. On the roll of the membership of this infant Baptist Church was the name of Sidney Rigdon, a native of Allegheny county. Being a printer, a little later, while employed in the printing office of the Rev. Robert Patterson, he obtained access to the manuscript of a novel by the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, entitled, "The Manuscript Found," upon which he and Joseph Smith subsequently based the composition known as the "Book of Mormon." He had come under the influence of the celebrated Alexander Campbell, whose teachings he first followed, but against whom he came later to cherish resentment, and, upon sundering his relations with Camp- bell, he associated himself with Smith and was his chief tool and coadjutor in the Mormon movement. The Roman Catholic Church, "Old St. Patrick's," was located near the site of the 448 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS present Union Depot. Steps were already being taken to rei)]ace it by St. Paul's Church, at the corner of Grant and Fifth streets. The First and Second Presbyterian churches had houses of wor- ship on sites still occupied by them. The Lutheran, or "German Church," as it was called, stood at the corner of Smithfield and Sixth streets. At the corner of Smithfield and Seventh streets,. "Brimstone Corner," was the Methodist Church, which had taken the place of the first edifice, which had stood nearly opposite the present site of the Monongahela House, near the corner of Smithfield and Water streets. The Episcopalians worshipped in a church which stood upon the triangular plot of ground at the intersection of Sixth and Wood streets, and which, being built in oval form, to conform to the shape of the plot of ground upon which it stood, was known as "The Round Church." The Reformed Presbyterian Church, was located on Oak alley. The First Associate Reformed Church was located on Seventh street, near Smithfield, and the Second Associate Reformed Church was situated on Sixth street. Three newspapers were published in the place : The "Gazette," semi-weekly, published by Eichbaum &' Johnston, and edited by Morgan Neville; the "Statesman," edited by Ephraim Pentland; and the "Mercury." edited and published by John M. Snowden. The Monongahela Bridge and the St. Clair Street Bridge over the Allegheny, both wooden structures, had been completed two years before this date. The Allegheny Court House was an unpretentious structure located on the site of "Old City Hall," in the Diamond Market Square. There were four banks in the place : The Bank of Pittsburgh, originally the "Pittsburgh Man- ufacturing Company," of which Alexander Johnston, the grand- father of President A. J. Cassatt of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was the cashier ; the Pittsburgh Branch of the Bank of the United vStates, the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, which was in process of liquidation partly because of a robbery, and the City Bank of Pittsburgh, of which the Rev. Robert Patterson was the presi- 3-29 449 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL dent, and which had but a brief existence. All of these institu- tions carried on business at the time in buildings, which had been originally private residences. "The times were hard." The financial distress which pre- vailed from 1819 to 1 82 1 over the whole country had told heavily upon Pittsburgh. Manufacturing was almost wholly suspended as the result of numerous failures. McClurg's foundry, which was the first iron foundry established west of the Alleghanies, and which stood at the corner of Fifth and Smithfield streets, on the site of the present Park building, was one of the few establish- ments concerned in the manufacture of iron which were in suc- cessful operation. The beginning of the third decade of the nineteenth century found the infant city of Pittsburgh in the grasp of the financial difficulties which made the period memorable throughout the United States. The times were such as to "try the souls of men." But the financial depression did not last long. A better day pres- ently dawned. Commerce and trade revived in the year 1825, and from that period forward, in spite of temporary reverses in 1830 and the disastrous panic of 1837, the growth of Pittsburgh as a commercial and manufacturing center was continuous. The problem of increased facilities for transportation was met by the construction of the Pennsylvania Canal, the first boat upon the western section of which, extending from Pittsburgh to Blairs- ville, arrived laden with merchandise, which had been hauled over the mountains, on October 31st, 1829. The canal followed the right bank of the Allegheny river from the mouth of the Kiskiminetas and crossed the river from the right to the left bank on an aqueduct. The receiving basin was near the site of the present Union Depot. The tunnel under Grant's Hill, now utilized by the southwestern system of the Pennsylvania Railway lines, was orig- inally built to allow the canal boats to pass under the hill, and at its southern end they were lowered by a system of locks at Suke's Run into the Monongahela. The first boat to cross the moun- 450 5 w u. goo § :2 ij C u .a o w S iJ 2 e 6*3 E Ji n o PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS tains with unbroken cargo from Philadelphia reached Pittsburgh on March 24, 1834. The successful operation of the Pennsylvania Canal led pres- ently to the adoption of plans for the extension of canals into the western country to connect Pittsburgh with the lakes and the in- terior of Ohio. Of these the Pittsburgh and Beaver Canal was completed in 1840. Meanwhile the improvement of the Monon- gahela river by a system of dams and locks was undertaken. At Brownsville the national turnpike crossed the river. By making provision to enable steamboats to reach Brownsville during the greater portion of the year it was felt that the high road of travel to the West, maintained by the government, could be effectually tapped, and the commerce of the road diverted to Pittsburgh. The Monongahela Navigation Company was incorporated, and under the able management of James K. Moorhead, Felix R. Brunot, William Bakewell, and their associates, the best expec- tations of the promoters of the enterprise were finally realized. The shipments of coal to the lower river ports presently rose to large proportions, and a handsome revenue from this source alone was ultimately received. Transportation upon the Pennsylvania Canal w^as largely in the hands of certain forwarding companies. Of these the most prominent were D. Leech & Co. of the Western Line, H. & P. Graff of the Union Line, William Bingham of Bingham's Line, J. C. Reynolds of the Dispatch Line, and McDowell & Co. of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Line. These concerns became the schools from which issued a generation of young men, trained to practically consider questions of com- merce, who, at a later day became the leaders in the development of the great railway systems and the industrial and manufactur- ing agencies of the city, which was now rapidly growing up at the head of navigation on the Ohio. It was in this service that such men as Thomas A. Scott, William Thaw, Henry Lloyd, Benjamin F. Jones, and many others, whose activities have helped to develop the resources of the Commonwealth, were trained. 453 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL With the advent of the newer and better modes of communi- cation between the East and the West, travel and trade received a wonderful impetus, and manufacturing-, which had almost come to an end in Pittsburgh in 1819, was resumed. The needs of the growing community located on the triangular area below Grant's Hill, between the two rivers, led by this time to the occupation of the level territory north of the Allegheny and south of the Monongahela. The Reserve Tract, including the town of Alle- gheny, opposite Pittsburgh, had been laid out as a manor, or reserve, in 1788, according to a resolution ordered by the supreme executive council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, adopted September 11, 1787. The Reserve Tract contained an area of three thousand acres, divided into ten-acre lots, except a tract of something more than three hundred and twelve acres patented to James O'Hara, May the loth, 1789, and located in the Butchers' Run district. The plan of the town of Allegheny, as originally laid out, contained one hundred and forty-four lots, each 60 feet by 240 feet, in blocks of 240 feet square. Four of these blocks in the center of the town were reserved for public buildings. The whole plan was surrounded by common ground — a strip sixty feet wide on the south, and two hundred and fifty feet wide on the north and east, and fourteen hun- dred feet wide on the west, containing an area of one hundred and two acres, designed as a common pasturage ground for the cattle of the owners of the in-lots. These tracts, reserved as cow- pastures, were named respectively, the East, West, North, and South Commons. The supreme executive council of Pennsyl- vania originally designed locating the seat of justice for Alle- gheny county within this reserve tract, but the report of the sur- veyor sent to look into the matter, and the strenuous opposition of the inhabitants of Pittsburgh, led to the abandonment of this plan, and the permanent location of the seat of justice for Alle- gheny county on the Pittsburgh side of the river. The report of the surveyor likened the Reserve Tract to a section of a lunar 454 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENFIRONS landscape, composed of deep pits and high cHffs. The settlement of the tract was very slow. Communication, originally by means of a ferry from Pittsburgh to the north side of the river, was made easy by the erection of the first bridge at the north end of St. Clair street in 1818. From this time forward a relatively rapid increase of population on the northern side of the river took place. Among the more prominent families who settled in Allegheny at an early date were the Robinsons, Irwins, Riddles, Ilannens, Cassatts, Stocktons, Andersons, Stewarts, Tasseys, and Camp- bells. The town w^as formally incorporated on the 14th of April, 1828. Subsequently, on the 14th of April, 1838, the boundaries fixed by the first act were changed to some extent. The first bur- gess was John Irwin, who served from 1829 to 1834, and was succeeded by Hugh Davis, who held office until 1838. He was, in turn, succeeded by John Morrison, wdio held the office from 1839 to 1840, when the borough became a city. To the west, on the banks of the Ohio river, in 1832, was laid out the borough of Manchester, which was not, however, incorporated as a borough until November 2d, 1843. Between the borough of Allegheny and the borough of Manchester lay something like one hundred and fifty acres of land, which, in 1835, were purchased by Stephen Colwell and Charles S. Bradford for themselves and others, and laid out in lots. The name of Chatham was given to this plan of lots. The borough of Chatham was, however, never incorpor- ated, and finally was absorbed by the boroughs of Allegheny and Manchester, lying on either side. The population of the borough of Allegheny, according to the census of 1830, was 2,810 persons, while that of Pittsburgh was 12,542 persons. In 1840 the census gave the population of Allegheny at 10,089 persons, while that of Pittsburgh was 21,115. Among the institutions which have given the name of Alle- gheny a wide degree of fame is the Western Theological Sem- 455 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL inary of the Presbyterian Church, which had its beginning at the time of which we are writing. The General Assembly of the Pres- byterian Church having, in the year 1825, announced its intention to erect somewhere in the country west of the Alleghany Moun- tains an institution for the promotion of theological instruction similar to that already established at Princeton, N. J., appointed a committee, one of the members of which was General Andrew Jackson, to ascertain where such an institution should be located. Many cities and towns in the western country held out induce- ments in the form of sites and grants of money to secure the loca- tion of the school for themselves. The citizens of Allegheny, on November the nth, 1825, held a town meeting and offered to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church eighteen acres and thirty-seven perches of the common ground as a site for the new institution. The General Assembly accepted this offer. The act of the landholders in Allegheny was approved and confirmed by an act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, under date of April the 17th, 1827, and subsequently by an act passed on the 29th day of March, 1844. The ground comprised that portion of what is now known as Monument Hill, lying south of Ridge street and east of Irwin avenue. The Seminary subsequently reconveyed to the city of Allegheny all of this tract except an acre at the corner of Ridge and Irwin, upon which some of the seminary buildings still stand. The first seminary building stood on the top of Mon- ument Hill, and was completed in 1831, at a cost of over twenty- five thousand dollars. This building was destroyed by fire on the 24th of January, 1854. The Seminary was legally incorporated in 1844. On the south side of the river the borough of Birmingham was laid out by Dr. Nathaniel Bedford and Isaac Craig, in 181 1. In 18 19 it had grown to a hamlet containing between fifty and sixty houses, several of which were built of brick. Thereafter the borough continued to grow steadily. The borough of Lawrence- ville was laid out in 181 5 by William B. Foster, the father of 456 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS Stephen C. Foster, the noted composer and song-writer, of whom Pittsburgh is justly proud. . The motive for the creation of the new borough was the buikhng of the Allegheny Arsenal in the neighborhood, and the need for homes for the operatives con- nected with this great establishment. The borough of Northern Liljerties was incorporated 1)y an act passed by the Legislature on April the 23d, 1829. Bayardstown, lying between Northern Lib- erties and Lawrenceville, was laid out by (ieorge A. Bayard about 18 14. Martin Lowrie was burgess of Bayardstown in 1829. On the main stage-line to the east the first stopping place, where horses were changed, was a little hamlet early known as East Lib- erty. Here, at the time of which we are writing, a cluster of houses had sprung up, and there had been organized a Presby- terian church, the first pastor of which was the Rev. William B. Mcllvaine, wdio assumed charge in 1830 and remained the pastor for forty years thereafter. Northern Liberties became the Fifth Ward of Pittsburgh in 1837. The city prior to this date, from 1829, had contained four wards. The protection of the city against fire, and an adequate supply of water, were subjects which began to engross attention at an early date. In 1828 it was required that all residences, stores, and warehouses, renting for from fifty to one hundred dollars per year, should keep one leather fire bucket, and, those renting for more than one hundred dollars per year, should keep two such buckets. The question of supplying the city of Pittsburgh with water resulted finally in the construction of a reservoir on Grant's Hill, occupying the present site of the Frick building, which was filled with water pumped into it from a pumping station located on Cecil alley on the banks of the Allegheny river. The cost of erecting the water works, on January the ist, 1832, was $111,- 086.52. In 1833 a deep boring on the south side of the Monon- gahela river discovered a body of salt water at the depth of six hundred and tw-enty-seven feet. This led to the creation of establishments for the manufacture of salt within the city limits, 457 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL an industry which still continues to be of some importance, espe- cially in the city of Allegheny. In 1835 the population of Alle- gheny had risen to over five thousand souls, and several large factories for the manufacture of sheeting and other forms of cot- John Black First professor of the Ancient Languages in the Western University of Pennsylvania, 1822-1834. Was in early life the tutor and friend of Ste- phen Decatur. Photographed especially for this work from a portrait by Lambdin in possession of the Western University of Pennsylvania ton goods were established. The manufacture of cotton goods from this time forward played an important part in the industries of the neighborhood, and continued to do so for nearly forty years thereafter, when, owing to the outbreak of the civil war, and the consequent difficulty of obtaining raw material from the 458 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS South, and subsequently to the competition of the New England mills and the establishment of factories nearer the supply of raw material, this branch of industry gradually ceased. At present the manufacture of cotton goods in Allegheny county has been altogether abandoned. As Pittsburgh and its environs grew in population, and man- ufacture and trade increased in the immediate vicinity, so also did a corresponding growth take place all through the region. In 1830 the new building of the Western University of Pennsyl- vania, at that time the finest structure within the city limits, was completed at the corner of Fourth avenue and Cherry alley. It was the pride of the town. Churches multiplied. The Third Presbyterian Church was organized in Pittsburgh in 1833, under the pastorate of the Rev. David H. Riddle. Attracting to his ministrations many of the leading men of the city, the Third Church presently became a great power for good and the center of many philanthropic movements. Its first edifice stood at the corner of Third and Ferry streets. The corner stone of St. Paul's Cathedral was laid on June 24, 1829. Rev. C. B. Maguire, who labored for the erection of the new edifice, did not live to see its completion, having been carried away by Asiatic cholera on July 17, 1833, while faithfully discharging his duties to the suffering. The building was completed and dedicated on May 4th, 1834. It was subsequently, on May 6th, 1851, destroyed by fire, and replaced by the present structure, which was dedicated on June 24th, 1855. In 1842 there were in Pittsburgh, Allegheny and environs seventy-six congregations of various Christian denomi- nations and fifty-five church edifices. Of these, forty-six congre- gations were Presbyterian, representing the various branches of this family of churches. In 1840, within a radius of ten miles of the court house tower, which still stood in the Diamond Market Square, although the work of building a new court house at the southeastern corner of Grant and Fifth avenues was projected, there was a population 459 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL of about fifty thousand souls. Allegheny, in 1837, had been incorporated as a city with four wards. The community was prospering as few other communities in the country were pros- pering at this time and during the years that immediately fol- lowed. The burning question of transportation, which has always played a prominent part in the minds of the community, at this period was more than ever prominent because of the evident dawn of the day when the locomotive engine was to take precedence over all other agencies for land transportation. As early as 1827 the discussion of the establishment of railway connections between Pittsburgh and the east had attracted attention. In August of that year Judge Henry Baldwin, at a public meeting, delivered an address on the subject of a railroad from Baltimore to Pitts- burgh. He dwelt upon the fact that the legislature of Maryland had incorporated the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and strongly advocated action looking toward an effort to secure an extension of this railway system from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. In July, 1 83 1, the project of building a railroad from Pittsburgh to the Ohio Canal was considered. From this time forward railway conventions were held at frequent intervals and various lines were advocated or projected, but nothing much beyond preliminary discussion seems to have taken place until in the early years of the fifth decade. The "Cleveland Herald," in one of its issues of March, 1843, says: "The whistle of locomotives among the mountains within one hundred miles of Pittsburgh makes the wealthy burghers prick up their ears, and already the subject of a railroad from Pittsburgh to Cumberland is exciting no little interest. Build the road, Pittsburghers, and then we will see what can be done between Cleveland and the Iron City." To this the "Pittsburgh American," in an April issue of the same year, replied : "We are going to build it, Mr. Herald, and that quick, too, and we trust, if our life is spared but a very few years, to take a locomotive trip to Cleveland on our way to Niagara Falls, Green Bay, or some other summer resort on the Great Lakes. We will 460 PITTSBURGH AND ITS EN F I RONS give you a call then." The first impulse toward the development of railways into the region arose from the activities of the people of Baltimore and Maryland. But while the community was prospering, and, in spite of the terrible experiences of the financial panic of 1837, was full of hope and enterprise, a dreadful calamity was destined to overtake the town. On April loth, 1845, about noon, a fire broke out at the southeast corner of Second avenue and Ferry street, which swept forward like a whirlwind until it covered a space of fifty-six acres, extending along the Monongahela side of the town from the place of beginning as far east as the point where the Tenth street or Bir- mingham Bridge is located, and devouring everything from the river front inwardly as far as Fourth avenue and Wood street and from Wood and Diamond streets to Ross Street. Nine hundred and eighty-two buildings were destroyed, among them the most beau- tiful structure in the town, the University building, with its valu- able and historic contents. The loss has been variously estimated as amounting to from three to ten millions of dollars. It is believed the actual loss was in the neighborhood of five and a half millions. This was a staggering blow. Thousands of persons were left homeless and penniless by this catastrophe. The Legis- lature exempted the holders of property within the burnt district from taxation for a period of four years, and appropriated fifty thousand dollars for immediate relief. Other American cities and towns contributed liberally, and private charity all over the State and the land, touched by the necessities of the unfortunate inhabitants, promptly rendered assistance. It is said that eight hundred thousand dollars were distributed for the relief of the afflicted people, a display of kindness towards Pittsburgh, which Pittsburgh has never forgotten, but which she has, in multitudes of cases since that time of disaster, emulated, notably at the time of the great Chicago fire, and the Johnstown flood, when she showed herself not unworthy of having received help in the days of her own sore distress. 461 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The ravages of great fires in American cities, while deplorable in their immediate results, have proved in not a few instances to be blessings in disguise. This was in a measure true of the calam- ity which overwhelmed Pittsburgh in 1845. With an uncon- querable purpose, the people set themselves to the task of repair- ing their losses and rebuilding their desolated homes. The result was the erection of many structures better and more substantial than those, which had been swept away. At the same time there came into the place a large number of persons, who realized that there was a great and growing future before the community. The city not only speedily succeeded in healing the black and ugly scar left by the fire, but began to grow and stretch out in every direc- tion over the hills to the north and the east of the area originally occupied by the first four wards. In 1845 ^'""^l 1846 four new wards, the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth were added to the city. In the fall of 1846 it was reported that two thousand five hundred Imildings had been erected within the city limits for that year, and in the year following nearly as many more were erected. In the burnt district alone more than six hundred buildings had been constructed during these two years. The water-works which had been erected in the early years of the fourth decade soon proved inadequate to the growing demands of the commu- nity, and a new reservoir, located on Bedford avenue, and new pumping engines were speedily called for and provided. The old reservoir on Grant street was thereafter abandoned and the lot sold. Upon a portion of the ground occupied by it St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church was erected at a later date, only to gave way in quite recent years to the magnificent Frick building. The lighting of the city of Pittsburgh by gas had been initiated as early as 1829 by the Pittsburgh Gas Company. Out of the small beginning made at that time grew up the vast system for gas lighting existing at the present day. In 185 1 the citizens of Allegheny not only undertook to provide a system of gas lighting for that community, but also to provide water-works. Prior to 462 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS this date the people of Allegheny had depended upon wells and cisterns for their water supply. The paving of streets was begun with vigor about the middle of the century; and the wharves along the Monongahcla and the Allegheny were paved and assumed the appearance which they have maintained down to the W. W. Irwin Mayor of Pittsburgh, 1840; member of Con- gress, 1840; United States minister to Den- mark, 1843. Engraved especially for this work from an original photograph in possession of Dr. W. J. Holland present time, except as they have been modified by changes brought about by the erection of various bridges spanning the streams. About this time a few houses began to make their appearance upon the top of the bluffs above the Monongahela river, on the southern side of the river, and the first movement took place for the utilization of this region, now the center of great and growing suburbs. Meanwhile population began slowly 463 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL to press eastward toward the districts known as Oakland and East Liberty, but residences established here were for the most part the homes of wealthy men, who desired a measure of rural retirement and who were able to maintain communication with the city proper by means of private conveyances. No public means of conveyance were as yet provided, nor, indeed, thought of, until 1859, when the Citizens' Passenger Railway, running from Fifth and Market streets by way of Liberty street and Cecil alley to Penn street, and by the Pittsburgh and Greensburg Turn- pike to the suburbs was incorporated. The principal cluster of suburban residences was in Oakland, and was known as the "Third Church Colony," because the owners were principally in the com- munion of that church. East Liberty was also beginning to grow rapidly. The question of railway transportation came up with renewed interest in the years immediately succeeding "The Great Fire." Railways from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, from Pittsburgh to Con- nellsvllle, thence to be carried to a connection with the Baltimore and Ohio in Maryland, from Pittsburgh to Kittanning, from Pittsburgh to Wheeling, from Pittsburgh to Steubenville, and from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, were projected. The commis- sioners of Allegheny county were authorized to lend assistance to these various enterprises, and obligations were assumed which, in about ten years, aggregated the sum of $5,500,000. Obliga- tions of a similar nature were assumed by the cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, and at the outbreak of the civil war an indebted- ness had been assumed on this behalf which hung like a millstone about the neck of the community. Meanwhile the work of rail- way construction went on with wonderful rapidity. By the fall of 185 1 "express" trains left the railway depot on Liberty street for Turtle Creek every morning at 6 :30, connecting at Turtle Creek with stages which conveyed passengers east to Beatty Sta- tion, where they again resumed travel by rail and reached Phila- delphia on the following day. The fare from Pittsburgh to Phil- 464 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS adelphia was $ii.oo. In 1854 the Mountain Division of the Pennsylvania Railway was opened for traffic and the Portage Railway, which had heen used by the company from 1848, fell into disuse. In 1857 the property of the Pennsylvania Canal was finally and formally transferred to the Pennsylvania Railroad and practically abandoned. By July the ist, 1851, the rails of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railway were laid as far as New Brighton, and connection was established with the Cleveland and Cincinnati Railway by October ist. In Noveml^er, 1856, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was opened for through traffic to Chicago. The road was the result of the merg- ing and consolidation of three other lines. From this time for- ward the progress of railway developments was continuous throughout the Avestern country, and Pittsburgh, having estab- lished herself as a focal point of railway enterprise, saw her future industrial and commercial success on the way to be certainly realized as never before. The development of manufacturing and of mining within the region made great advances from 1845 to i860, in spite of the fact that, owing to the tariff of 1846, the iron industry, in partic- ular, was during much of the period in a languishing condition. The European manufacturer of iron was able at this time to boldly enter the American market and undersell the native pro- ducer. All the countless appliances and processes for cheapening the production of iron, which have given America and the Pitts- burgh district, in particular, the supremacy in this important domain of industry, remained as yet to be invented, and the depression of the early fifties, followed by the panic of 1857, make this time, while it witnessed some of the most marvelous advances of the age, very memorable also because of the sore financial dis- tress which was felt all over the United States. Pittsburgh endured the strain at this period even better than she had borne the troublous days of 1819 and 1837; but very great distress was felt. 3-30 465 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL The war with Mexico, from 1846 to 1848, demonstrated the great importance of Pittsburgh as a depot for mihtary supphes. Much of the artillery used in the struggle and a vast quantity of the military equipment came from Pittsburgh factories and from the Allegheny Arsenal. Pittsburgh was made the rendezvous of the regiments from the western part of Pennsylvania, and they were transported by river from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and there embarked for the scene of conflict. The troops recruited in Pittsburgh gave a good account of themselves on the soil of Mexico. The warlike activity of the nation did not much more than cause a ripple in the general flow of business enterprise in the region. Mexico was far away, and, while men read the news of what was going on, and dwelt with pride upon the exploits of their neighbors and friends, who had gone forth to fight under the flag of their country, the affairs of banks, mills, factories, and mines claimed the larger attention. The industrial development of the community went on apace. The trade in coal with lower river ports grew steadily and came soon to be in volume and finan- cial amount second only to the trade in iron and its products. The manufacture of glassware increased enormously. The building of locomotive engines, which had been already carried on as early as 1837 in a small way, was resumed. The construction of ma- chinery of various forms was extensive. The building of river steamboats reached a height, in 1857, never equaled before, or since. The population of the two cities of Pittsburgh and Alle- gheny had risen, in 1850, to nearly 58,000, and of the county of Allegheny to 138,290. In i860 the population of the two cities was, collectively, 78,000 and of the county 178,831 souls. The railway developments and the increased facilities for intercourse with different parts of the country had not a little to do with this. But there were other factors of a strictly human kind at work. The generation of very conservative business men, who had done much, indeed, to develop the resources of the region, was being gradually supplanted by a younger generation of even broader 466 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS views and more intense courage, the stimulus of whose enter- prise was beginning to be felt in many directions. As the seventh decade of the century approached there was found in Pittsburgh a remarkable body of men, some of whom were destined to Wilson McCandless United States district judge; prominent in the political life of Western Pennsylvania; born 1810; died 1882. By courtesy of Dr. W. J. Holland become known over the entire land as leaders and organizers of effort. William Thaw, Curtis G. Hussey, Thomas M. Howe, James K. Moorhead, B. F. Jones, Henry Lloyd, James Laughlin, James Park, Jr., William Frew, Andrew Carnegie and a score of other able men were beginning, as the great struggle of the civil war drew on apace, to show already of what superb faculties they were the possessors. Of such men any city might well be proud. 467 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL and, with such men as industrial and commercial leaders, no city, especially one possessing the natural advantages of the Iron City^ could long be held back from achieving distinction. Seated in his law office was another quiet man, of whom the nation was soon to hear much, Edwin M. Stanton, whose broad shoulders soon were to assume a burden like that of Atlas. In the pulpits of Pitts- burgh were men of great power. They stood solidly for truth and humanity. In old "Lafayette Hall," which long stood on Fourth avenue upon the site to-day occupied by the Tradesmen's Bank, on February 22, 1856, the Republican party was born. The call for the meeting was as follows : "To the Republicans of the United States : — In accordance with what appears to be a general desire of the republican party, and at the suggestion of a large portion of the republican press, the undersigned chairmen of the State republican committees of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin hereby invite the Republicans of the Union to meet in informal convention at Pittsburgh on the 22d of February, 1856, for the purpose of perfecting the national organization and providing for a national delegate convention of the Republican party at some subsequent day to nominate candi- dates for the presidency and vice-presidency, to be supported at the election in November. "David Wilmot of Pennsylvania. "Lawrence Brainard of Vermont. "William A. White of Wisconsin. "A. P. Stone of Ohio. "J. Z. Goodrich of Massachusetts." Among those who were present at the convention were Abraham Lincoln, Owen Lovejoy, Horace Greeley, Oliver P. Morton, Zachary Chandler, Joshua R. Giddings, E. D. Morgan, E. R. Hoar, Francis P. Blair, and a host of others, whose names became household words in the great struggle, which presently was to involve the nation. The sentiment of Pittsburgh was 468 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS strongly opposed to human slavery and the disruption of the union of the States. When, in the fall of the year, Fremont and Dayton, the nominees of the republican party, were voted for, I'ittsburgh, Cleveland, and Chicago were the only great American cities, which showed themselves by large majorities to be in favor of the principles and policies outlined by the convention of Febru- ary 22d. Four years more brought about an entire revolution in sentiment throughout the Northern States, and when, in Novem- ber, i860, the vote for presidential electors was cast, it was found that "the State of Allegheny," as Mr. Lincoln called the county, had by an overwhelming majority recorded herself again on the side of freedom and the maintenance of the Union. Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States and the fires of secession began to burn brightly south of Mason & Dixon's line. Before passing on to consider the part which Pittsburgh took in the great civil war it is proper to pause for a moment to glance at the progress which had been made along the lines of culture and social improvement in the community during the fifteen years which had passed between the great fire and the momentous era which we are approaching. As we have seen, the fire swept out of existence the buildings of the Western University of Pennsylvania. A new building was at once erected upon Duquesne Way, and the work of instruc- tion was resumed, but again, in 1849, this edifice was devoured by flames. Thenceforward, until in 1857, there occurred an inter- regnum in the work of instruction. In 1857 a new site was pur- chased at the southwestern corner of Ross and Diamond streets, a suitable edifice was built, and a faculty was organized. William Thaw, an alumnus of the University, came forward presently with substantial offers of assistance^ and from this time onward the story of the University has been that of slow but steady growth. The department of astronomy (the Allegheny Obser- vatory) had its inception at this time. The brilliant researches 469 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL conducted here by Professor Samuel P. Langley and James E. Keeler in later years gave a worldwide fame to the institution. While the university was taking on a new life the common school system of the city was being perfected. In the face of some oppo- sition the Central High School came into being, and the citizens began with commendable zeal to apply themselves to the task of bringing an elementary education within the reach of all the chil- dren of the community. Churches multiplied as rapidly as did the schools. Incipient efforts were made to create public libraries. Hospitals for the sick and the insane and asylums for the destitute began to be provided, and all the humanizing and enlightening agencies of a great and growing city full of Christian men and women began to assume nascent form. It is true that, compared with what has taken place in more recent years, the results achieved do not at first strike the student as having been great, but these early efforts held within themselves the germ of those movements and the seed of those sentiments which in later years have borne a rich fruitage of good to the community. The social life of the period was characterized by the display of much genuine hospitality. Among the civic guests received with honor was the Prince of Wales, now King Edward VII. of England, who visited the city in 1858. Pittsburgh, in 1825, had welcomed the great Lafayette, whose foster brother, the father of the Hon. Eelix R. Brunot, was a resident of the place; in 1842 she had extended a cordial welcome to Charles Dickens, the famous English novelist, who apparently did not quite appreciate the hospitality shown him, and in 1851 she had hailed with acclaim Louis Kossuth ; but she strove as never before, in 1858, to show her appreciatiion of the presence of the young heir to the British crown. Many distinguished visitors have entered her gates since then, but by the older generation the visit of the Prince of Wales is always remembered with pride and pleasure. The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States was not believed by the people of Pittsburgh, or of 470 PITTSBURGH AND ITS ENVIRONS the Northern States generally, to be likely to lead to overt acts of secession on the part of the South. The feeling and attitude of the leaders in the South was not at first thoroughly understood. Events which occurred in rapid succession tended to dispel all illusions. Among the acts of the democratic administration at Washington, which provoked great excitement in Pittsburgh, was the order of Secretary Floyd, the secretary of war, to hurry to various points in the South vast supplies of military stores and of cannon, which were concentrated at the Allegheny Arsenal, or lying ready for shipment at the Fort Pitt Foundry. The evident intention of Secretary Floyd to place the munitions of war belong- ing to the national government within the power of the people of the States, which were already taking steps to break up the Union, led the people of Pittsburgh not only to enter a most solemn and decided protest, but to organize themselves for resistance. Major Symington, who was in command of the arsenal, succeeded, in spite of the rising popular indignation, in having conveyed to the South over 10,000 muskets and vast quantities of other stores, but when it came to moving the one hundred and twenty-four cannon, which had been made in Pittsburgh, the people rose up in their might and declared that such a movement should not be allowed. The details of the conflict we cannot record, but in the end popular indignation triumphed, and the cannon, some of which had already been hauled to the Monongahela wharf and placed upon the steamer "Silver Wave" for shipment, were returned to the arsenal. When the first call for troops was made by President Lincoln intense excitement arose. War meetings were held and a com- mittee of public safety, composed of the leading citizens of the county, was formed. Two thousand men were promptly gathered as volunteers, organized, and sent forward for duty, and others quickly followed. When the news of the disaster at Bull Run reached the city and a call for troops to the number of 300,000 to enlist for three years' service was made, the county responded at 471 PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL & FEDERAL once, exceeding with her volunteers the quota of troops which were called for from the vicinity. By the fall of the year 1862 the county had over thirteen thousand enlisted men in the field, and it was ascertained that no draft for men from the county was required. Before the war closed the county put thirty thousand men into the field, of which number fully four thousand were left dead upon the fields of battle. Meanwhile the busy population was engaged with energy in providing the munitions of war called for by the government. In February, 1862, Mr. Knapp of the firm of Knapp & Wade informed the committee on ordnance of the lower house of Congress that his firm could supply the govern- ment with 1,000 Columbiads of the largest size and 100 Rod- man 20-inch guns annually. This firm was in many respects one of the chief supports of the government in providing ordnance for the public defense. In old Fort Pitt Foundry were cast the mortars which silenced the batteries at Vicksburg and the cannon which roared forth victory under Farragut at Mobile and at New Orleans. Cannon made in the white heats of Pittsburgh furnaces did their deadly work in a hundred fights by sea and land in those days of terrible conflict. The biggest cannon at that time in the world was cast in Pittsburgh on February 11, 1864. From the machines invented for the making of bullets in Pittsburgh were poured forth in a steady stream the missiles which, dashing from the throats of half a million of rifles, by their leaden rain quenched at last the fires of rebellion throughout the land. The boat-yards of Pittsburgh were as active as the foundries and the factories in supplying the needs of the government. In the year 1862 a number of river steamboats were built for the government to be used as gunboats, five tugs were converted into rams and were attached to the Mississippi flotilla. The building of iron- clads and monitors was taken up. The gunboat Marietta, built by Tomlinson, Hartupie & Co., was launched on November 22d, 1864. The ironclad monitor Manayunk, built by Snowden & Mason, was launched from the south end of the Monongahela 472 V 3 -»*- 5i views of, on education, 53 Pontiac's conspiracy, 448 Pool forge, 225, 226 Popular sovereignty. Governor Packer's be- lief in, 60, 61 Porter, Gov. David K., extracts from first message of, 7 extracts from message of, 8, 21, 22 financial recommendations of, 19, 20 first message of, i loss of zeal of, regarding improve- ments, 7 message of, to the Senate, 29 recommendations of, refused, 2 re-election of, 22 sketch of, I veto of banking bill by, 20 views of, on public transportation, 16, 17 Porter's administration, 1839-1845, 1-29; a reform during, 27, 28; commendation of, 29; stormy character of, 29 Portland cement, 353 component parts of, 357 early works for making, 352 importation of, 352 increase in the production of, 258 Piistal facilities in early years, 441 Postlethwnite, J., 446 501 INDEX Potter, William W., 69 Potts, Isaac, 234 Joseph, 234 Robert S., 237 Thomas, 225, 228 Powers, James, 444 Praetorius, George O., 1S6 Probst, John, 255 Prosperity, a marvelous record of, 481-483 general, after the war, 134, 135 Protective tariff, a, 38, 39 Public charities, organization of board of, 140 debt, amount of the, i ; payment of, urged, 48 funds, amount of, in the treasury, 182 improvements, amount necessary to continue, 13 improvements, failure of, to pay profits, IS improvements, work necessary to complete, 13 records, 222 schools, act regarding, 40, 41 schools, important legislation for, 49 works, autnorization of sale of, 23 works, committee's views on, 24 works, condition of, under Bigler, 46 works, end ot State participation in, 59 giving away of parts of, 23 works, reduction of price of, 23 works, sale of, proposed by Bigler, 48 Pulp industry as related to forestry, 389 Railroad and river tonnage, account of, 482 companies and mining companies, dis- tinction between, 301, 302 connections, opening of westward, 465 freight rates, 344-346 freight rates, discrimination in, 344- 346 from Harrisburg to Pittsburg, com- pletion of the, 49 obligations, assumption of large, 464 Railroads and canal, proposed sale of, 17 consolidation of, prevented, 196, 197 Railroads, constitutional provision enforced against, 181 discriminations by the, 171 destruction of, by Lee, 106 plans for beginning, 460 shipments of coal on the, 291, 292 Railway transportation, agitation of the sub- ject of, 464 travel, b^ginnning of, 464 Ralston basin, the, 310 Rangers, the, 309 Raymond, Philander, 262 Read, A. II., views ot, on State finance, II, 12 Reading furnace, 161 labor riots at, 160 Redding furnace, 228 Reed, Alexander, 45 John, 446 Reeder, Howard J., election of, as judge, 202 Religious movement, the great awakening, 444 sentiment, prevalence of early, 444 Republican convention, eminent men at the, 468 party, call for meeting of the, 468 party, division in the, 174 Reserve tract, description 01 the, 454 volunteer corps, act for organiza- tion of the, 88, 89 Revolution, conditions at the close of the, 421 settlement after the, 421 Reynolds, J. C, 453 Brig.-Gen. John F., 97; at Gettys- burg, 109 Rice, Charles E., elected judge, 202 Richardson, H. H., 483 Richmond, the fall of, 127 Riddle, Rev. David H., 459 Ridgely, Edward, 245 Rigdon, Sidney, 448 Rights of property, extension of, to mar- ried women, 33, 34 Ringgold Eight Artillery, the, 86 Riot, casualties in the Philadelphia, 43 the fugitive slave, 434 Riots, killing of men in, 197 Rives, William C, 74 Rivet manufacture, 250 Road construction, general, 442 502 INDEX Roberts, Samuel, 446 Robertson, Jolin R., 74 Robinson, Capt. James, 258 George, 434 William, Jr., 446 Rockefeller, John D., 344 Rogers, Gen. CJeorge, illfnted cxpcflitinn of, 420 & Burchfield, 275 Rolling and slitting mill, the first, 233 mill, at Plumsoek, 253 mill, the first in Pittsburg, 267 mill, the first in the U. S., 253 nulls, west of the Alleghanics, 253, 253 Roman cement, 350 Ross, George, 239 Rothrock, In. J. T., 186, 1Q9 Roup, Col. Joseph, 265 Rover, John, 248 Roxborough furnace, 220 Rutter, Thomas, 225-227 Rynder, T. P., nomination of, 194 St. Clair, Gen. Arthur, failure of the ex- pedition of, 431 Sale of State stocks, reason for, 11 Salt manufacture, establishment of, 457, 458 Sarum iron works, 220 Saylor, David O., 254, 260 Schaeffer, Nathan C, 185, 401 Schenley, Mrs. Mary E., 483 Schoenberger, John H., 485 School department, organization of an inde- pendent, S3 system, growth of the, 41; under Governor Geary, 138, 140 tax, amount of, 41 Schools, appropriations for the, 214, 215 condition of the, 41 development of, 21 1-2 13 establishment of high, 41 establishment of manual training, 186 expenditures for, 138 for training teachers, 303 progress of, during Hartranft's ad- ministration, 163, 164 promotion of, under Governor Packer, 59, 60 scientific measures for establishing, 185, 186 Scott, Joseph, 250 Thomas A., 453 Scranton, labor troubles in, ifii Scull, John, 446 Seat of justice, strife over the location of, 454 Secession, beginning of, 62 Governor Packer's views on, 65 Sedgwick, Gen. John, 109 Settlers, nationalities of, 369 Seneca oil, 230 Shade furnace, 256 Shenandoah, labor troubles at, 215, 216 Shenango valley coal region, the, 317 Sliepard, Major-Gen. Edward M., 83 Shinn, John K., 355 William P., 355 Shipbuilding, early, 233 Shoemaker, Col. George, 289 Shoenberger, George, 248 Dr. Peter, 248, 268 Shot and shell for the army, 236 Shunk, Gov. Francis Raun, death of, 37 election of, 30, 31 re-election of, 36 resignation of, 36, 37 sketch of, 40 views of, on corporate development, 32, 33 views of, on divorce, 35 William !>., 199 Shunk's and Johnston's administrations, 30- 44 .Sickles, Gen. Daniel E., 109; wounding of, 113 Singerly, William M., nomination of, 200 Sinking fund, creation of a, 41, 42 .Slave hunters, a party of, 43 Slavery, sentiment of opposition to, 479 views of Governor Packer on, 61 Sligo rolling mill, 268 Slippery Rock furnace, 261 Slocum, Benjamin, 244 Ebenezer, 244 Gen. Henry W., 109 Smith, A. D., 285 Dr. VVilliam Hooker, 244 Joseph, 265, 444 Peter P., election of, as judge, 202 Smoky City, the title of, 428 Snowden & Mason, 472 John M., 446, 449 503 INDEX Soil, character of, 364, 365 Soldiers' national cemetery, establishment of the, 119, 120 orplian schools, abuses in, 179, 180; establishment of, 131; investiga- tion of, 179-181 Somerset county, furnace in, 256 Soundwell forge, 243 South and North, antagonism between, 79 South Carolina, secession 01, 62 South Improvement company, the, 346 Spalding, Bishop, J. L., 219 Spang, Chalfant & Co., 276 Spanish-American War, part taken in by the National Guard, 209-211; Pennsylvania in the, 207 ; second call for troops for the, 208; volunteers tor the, 208 Spaulding, Rev. Solomon, 448 Special legislation, evils of, 35, 36; under Governor Bigler, 48, 49 Specie payment, resumption of, considered, 21 Speculation, spread of, 18 Spring forge, 239 Springfield furnace, 260 Spring Garden National Bank, failure of the, 194 Standard Oil company, the, 344-346 .Stanton, Edwin M., 467 State Agricultural college, the, 378-381 and banking institutions, separation of, urged, 12, 13 bankruptcy threatened, 13 banks, limitation of the powers of the, 162, 163 Board of Agriculture, the, 376, 377, 392 College, endowment of the, 380; foundations of the, 53, 54 credit, ettects of indebtedness on the, 6 credit, efforts to preserve the, 13, 14 credit, solicitude for the, 9, 10 debt, amount of the, 23 debt, reduction of the, 136, 168, 181, 182 department of agriculture, forestry division of, 395 economic conditions in the, under ShunK, 31 finances, bad condition of the, 13-15 finances, condition of, in 1862, 91 State financial situation at the close of the war, 129, 130 floating debt, amount of, 214 forestry, 383 forestry, limitations of, 388 forestry reservations, 397 forestry reservations, act to secure, 202, 205 general invasion of the, feared, loi general prosperity of the, 134 government, harmony in the, 73 inability of the, to pay interest, 22 indebtedness of the, in i860, 71 invasion of the, by Lee, 102 library, appropriation for building of the, 199 material resources of the, 38 military commotion in the, 105 military conditions of the, in 1861, 81 normal schools, establishment of, 53 notes, amount of issue of, 23 population of the, in 1S61, 70 preparations for defence against Lee, lOI prosperity, return of, 168 public debt of the, December, 1861, 100; 1862, 100 public works, proposed sale of, 11, 12 reapportionment, efforts for, 178 records, measures for publication of, 39, 40 requisition on the, for Reserve corps, 89 reservations, 394, 395 resumption of payments by the, 22 stocks, decline of, 13 stocks, proposed sale of, 1 1 stocks, unsalable condition of, 19 Statesman, The, 449 Statistics of oil prices, 339 Steamboat building in Pittsburg, 438, 441 Steamboats built for the government, 472 Steel furnace at Bridgeport, 253 furnaces, two early, in Philadelphia, 23s, 236 manufacture of, 273, 274 manufacture of crucible, 273, 274 manufacture, statistics of, 275 manufacture in Pittsburg, 275 manufacture by the -Siemens-Martin process, 275 504 INDEX Steel works, the first, 234 Sterrett, vVilliam, 245 Stevenson, i)r. George, 446 Stewart, Jonn, nomination of, 174 Robert T., 268 Stockton, Rev. Joseph, 445 Stone, Gov. William A., election of, 213 financial remarks in the inaugural ad- dress of, 214, 215 nomination of, 213 sketch of the life of, 213, 214 Strikes, a series of, 159-162 Stuart's raid to Chambersburg, 95 Summers, George W., 74 Superior Court, organization of the, 202 Susquehanna, department of the, loi, 102 Sutton, James, 244 Swallow, Sila C, nomination of, 213 Swank, James M., note, 287 Swift, Rev. Elisha P., 445 Sykes, Gen. George, 109 Synod of Pittsburg, creation of the, 444 Talbot, D. Smith, 395 Tannehill, Josiah, burgess, 434 Tarascon lirothers, shipbuilders, 438 Tariff of 1846, the, 39 Tax, amount of the personal property, 195 law, failure of the, 15 on whiskey, opposition to the, 432, 433 Taxation, articles under, 9 as the last expedient, 8 comparative, in Pittsburg, 436 exemption from, of orphans' school fund, 136, 137 exemption from, of real estate for State purposes, 136 exemption from, of real estate sales, 137 exemption from, on sales of loans, 136 exemption from, on shares of stock, 137 exemption of capital stock from, 137 exemption of real estate mortgages from, 137 exemption of salaries, trades, etc., from, 137 Governor Porter's defence of, 9 reduction of, 137, 138 relief from, 137 Taxes, amounts of collected, 33 difficulty in collection of, 9, 10 imposition of, for additional reve- nue, 8, 9 Taylor, Bayard, death of, 165 John, 220 Temperance furnace, 250 measures for the promotion of, 184 Tenth regiment, departure of, for Manila, 208 Thaw, William, 453, 467, 469, 485 Thomas, JJavid, 270, 271, 292 Timber land, revenue from, 386 production, 389 iitusville, gas at, 349 Tomlinson, Hartupie & Co., 472 Topography in relation to agriculture, 364 Townsend, Robert, & Co., 260 Washington, 186, 392 Trade with the west, fears of loss of, 442, 443 Transportation business, rapid rise of, 453 enormous increase of, 482 facilities, lack of eastward, 441 Trent, Capt. William, 406 Troops, attack on, in Baltimore, 86, 87 call for, to repel invasion, 102 departure of, for Washington, 89 for the Spanish-American War, effi- ciency of the, 210, 211 rapid volunteering of, 85, 86 requisitions for, 98 Turnpike from Harrisburg to Pittsburg, construction of, 441 from Pittsburg to Washington, Pa., 442 the great National, 442 Turnbull & Marmie, 250 Turner, Joseph, 228 Tyler, John, 74 Tyrone forges, 258 Union forge, 251 furnace, 251 rolling mill, the, 269 Unions, coal miners' 302, 303 United mine workers' association, the, 303 Updegraff, Abner, 266 N'alley forge, 243 Forge Commission, 222 \'an Braam, Jacob, 405 505 INDEX N'andegrift, Capt. J. J., 333 V^an Syckel, Samuel, 334 Xenango county, furnace in, 261 county, gas in, 348 French occupation of tlie site of, 404 oil district, 340, 341 Vickroy, Joseph, 256 Vincent steel works, 234 Virginia, claims of, as against the proprie- taries, 417 defeat of, in western Pennsylvania, 407 measures for the defence of the frontier of, 408, 409 operations of, against the French, 406, 409 troops of, for the Revolution, 419 Volunteer enlistments, a new place for se- curing, 92 militia, discharge of, 97 militia, service 01, in Maryland, 97 organizations, control of, by the gov- ernment, 89 Volunteering, delay in, 103 Volunteers, acknowledgment of heroism of, by Congress, 87 action following the first call for, 471 activity of, in enlisting, 471, 472 assembling of, to repel invasion, 103 bounties for, 92, 93 calls for, in 1861, 90; in 1862, 91 departure of, 86 exemption from taxation of, 136 in camps, 90 independent regiments of, 89 ministering to the needs of, 475 number of, demanded in 1864, 122 number of, from Allegheny county, 472 number of, in service January, 1862, 90; in January, 1863, 98 number of, supplied in 1865, 127 organization of, at Pittsburg, 31 persistent recruiting of, 127 requisitions for, 89 second call for, 88 sent out in 1862, 91 short term service, 103 total number of, down to 1865, 99 Wagner, Gen. Louis, 181 Walker, Daniel, 234 Hon. John H., 152 Wampum Cement company, 360 War. appropriation for, 80 beginning of the Civil, 79 claims, act for adjudication of, 135, 136 lack of preparation for, 78, 79 meetings, holding of, 80 munitions, manufacture of, 466 of 1812, effects of the, on trade, 438 period, end of the, 132 proclamation of, 81 Ward, Major Edward, 318 Warren and Forest oil district, the, 341 oil district, the, 340 Warwick furnace, 229, 230 Washington artillery, the, 86 city arrival of volunteers at, 87 city, Pennsylvania troops at, 85, 86 county oil district, the, 342 furnace, 244 General, and Gist, journey of, 405, 413; visit of, to Pittsburg, 416 College, founding of, 445 defeat of, in the west, 408 Watkins, Ihomas H., 219 Watson, Jonathan, 333 Watts, David, 245 Wayne, Gen. Anthony, expedition of, 432 Weistling, Col. George B., 168 West Augusta, county of, 417; courts of, 418 note Western frontier, protection of the, 411, 412 frontier, scenes of bloodshed on the, 419, 420 Western Pennsylvania, conflict of French and English claims in, 404-411 early physical conditions of, 399-401 early towns in, 427 English claims to, 403, 404 entry of the French into, 402 First white pioneers of, 401, 402 French operations in, 402-404 French refusal to leave, 406 in the Revolution, 418-421 migration towards, 436 rapid settlement of, 427 the first furnace in, 429 trappers and traders in, 412 506 INDEX Western Theological Seminary, 455, 456 University of Pennsylvania, incor- poration of the, 445; new building for the, 459; rebuilding of the, 469; second burning of the, 469 Westinghouse, George, 480 Westmoreland county, iron industry in, 255; labor riot in, 197; patriotic meeting in, 418 Wheat crop of Juniata valley, 373 Wickersham, James P., 138; report of, as school superintendent, 138, 139 Wickham, John J., election of, as judge, 202 Wilkins, John, 444 William, 446 Wilkinson, Wilkes & Co., 323 Willard, Kdward N., election of, as judge, 202 Willcox, James M., 355 Williams, Joseph, 234 Williamson, Col. David, 420 Wilmot, David, nomination of, 55 Wilson, Gen. John M., 219 Wire mill at Fallston, 260 Wolf, Charles K., nomination of, 182 Women, condition of married, 33 laws to protect married, 33 World's Columbian Exposition, appropria- tion for, 198; Pennsylvania at the, 198 Wright, Hon. Carroll D., 219 William R., appointment of, 195 Wrightsville, seizure of, by the Confed- erates, los Wynkoop, Colonel, 31 York, Confederate troops at, 105 county, furnaces in, 242 Young, John, 446 507 n This BOOK may be kept out TWO WEEKS ONLY, and is subject to a fine of FIVE CENTS a day thereafter. It is DUE on the DAY indicated below: -) \^^ 230rt^^9^ . M