cop. 2 R*d Bud ,Rumo7f dn Rochtr >/tn«»i ff/< > I CT. M Bremen, Pyotfs A £g> ~? Ow Quoin ■^i*h > Oowe// c / \ Vtrgonn&s k . . 1 V. / /* Campbell \ \ kiKviilm. '? Oreiy/l/e TfinntJ DcSoTol Of Interest A - FoftT CHORES VPcrravi//. B-Garrison Hill \ MI C - Pierre Me^^d mcm^ D-CovERED 8R.IDCE E- State Forest F- roUWTAlN Bluff G. Old Brownsville H - LO&AN STATU E I - Indi a n Mound J-.\un/\ 3TrtTr Hospital K- 8ALD Knoq l. Mound City National Cem. M-SALTPETER CAVF N -Ferne Cliff park O -Giant City Park P-Ancient BuriedCity Q.-FORT Massac R- Buffalo on The Pock S- Cavl' in Rock PARK T- Old Slave House U- Old STOM E FACE V- Williams Hill W- Old Salt VViflls X-LimestonE SinKS Y-Olo Volcanic Plug- X. NATURAL BKIlGEG A? urp*a-s Aoro />*/«. Carbond\o\e, Hherlon '-0-. Tc*cr Fcmonor ^^ L^Oj |Cob\ This .small volume is tin- n-Miit of the delightful experience who came to the Southern Dlinoii Ozark eountrj t" 1 "'.- vix y* tiu- prairie land.- »>i Central Illinois 1 1«- had nevi inytbing that had been called i mountain Be found himsell at daylight one June morn log in the year 1809 on i train right on top oi the Ozarks at < »/;n k in. a fen minutes later, be was rrooiing ■ iwamp and mi cypress tree the first time In Ion than en boor be Ural laa the beautiful Ohio River ti..ni the broad street! ol Metropolis, He lecured tin- Job bi that being tin- Principalahip oi the Ifetropolis Hi^h School which position he lu-id for three w Exploration began at once; tirsl Fort Ifsttaf (then an overgrown wilderm I trips to Paducah, others on the iteamer Dick Fowk u overland ride to Golconda, itopoven bom tin- tram- at and Kainak. botanizing trips ecross Into Kentucky and In Illinois up the bed ol Massac Creek Then followed i two year absence and return to the Ozark region at Harrisburg, In i!»(»4. as Assistant Principa] oi the Town ship High School, and continuing in this capacirj to the pit-sent time. The first trips were on foot, then hundreds ol miles i>> bicycle skiffs and steamboats and trams, thru from Harrisburg in i one | triage, and finally in the faithful Ford ear to plates where some would ..r to tread, all the wa> from the Mississippi to the Wabash For the fifty-two weeks ol 1932, descriptions ol n place to go and the way to uo and return in one day to and from a plaee of natural and hi interest, was given space each Saturday in the Harriaburg Dail> Refl At the end of the series the Register hound up in paper covers 250 copies of reprints of these directions lor one da\ journeys This edition was soon sold out. Inquiries for more copies have come regularly since thin to now This book is a regrouping and revision of the original articles with fiftj per cent more text and titles, also pictures, a map. and index, in- tended to meet the growing demand for information from those who so unfortunate as to live without the bounds of this favored region, ami for those who are here and wish to know it better. The area so described in Illinois lies approximately south of a line drawn from New Harmony. Indiana, to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. The Ozark Mountains of Missouri extend across ten counties of Illinois and into Kentucky. It u an upended ridge older than the Rocky Moun- tains and now eroded to a half mile less than its former height. Areas both north and south of the hills are undulating or flat even to the extent of being originally swampy; thus the widely differing notions of what is really here. The invitation is to come and see. Spring comes weeks earlier and autumn lasts weeks longer down on the Ohio than at Chicago. Summer days are not warmer than at Rockford but there are more of them. No days are so cold. The cypress, mistletoe, magnolia, and cane brakes of the south live alongside the hard woods of the north. There is also southern hospitality. Come and see us. The spring blossoms are delight- ful, the summer fruits delicious, the autumn leaves are gorgeous, the winters are mild, and the scenery is always unsurpassed at any season. Clarence Bonnell. May, 1946. Dedicated to Docia May, who, for forty-three years, went with me over the hills and into the valleys, ever searching for the beauties that lay beyond. HISTORIC SH AWNKK K)W \ Historic Old Shawneetown' "That's where we buy the popcorn said the tittle d where Papa bought the fish he couldn't catch Shawneetown bj known to tons of thousands who have visited on holidays rod week-ends, win ii 11 that Route 18 has on web occasions an almost continuous proces s ion <>t vehicle! and from this old ..I Illinois titu- Certain]] not the- popcorn or the tish that Paps can buy! one attraction is the lakes, where Papa ma\ sometimes really catch a tish These neart>\ lakes iff described M-paiaIcl> It ma> DC the Ohio river or tin- convenient [err] But, the river has mors water bo U at Kli/ahethtoun or GolCOndS or Metropolis It ma\ he that tl;- of the situation is different Not man> cities ;ire waited m h> le . and high bills. Doubtless man] arc- drawn thither by this wry fact that hen city who.se inhabitants ha\e dared the might]! nwr to do its irorst for I century and ■ quarter, many, no doubt, can assign only trivial reasons for their visits. TO man] more, the historical back-round gives I mental atmosphere that adds ESSl ">o the seeing and is worth our thought The Shawnee Indians were the first known inhabitant! They were Mil] occasional visitors and campers when the first white men came but the remains that they or then predecessors left give abundant evidence- that tins was for a long time an Indian village. Some residences near the levee in the east part of town were built on Indian mounds which yielded skeletons, pottery, and trinkets when excavations were made. Some were found when the Catholic church was built. The situation, being most accessible from the- river to the salt wells near Equality, accounts for occupancy by both the red men and their white su< A wonderful collection of Indian relics was kept in Robinson's drug store for a long time. They were gathered mostly by Mike Robinson who died a number of years ago. With them were newspaper! of Revolutionar> times and a Revolutionary flag together with other documents and museum specimens of much interest. Some of the finest pottery sold to the Museum of the American Indian in New York City. Frank E. Robinson had these relics in charge when he died. They should have been kept together and permanently cared for in a safe place where the public mitfht see them even though a small fee for admission might have had to be charged for their maintenance. Mike Sprinkle, a gunsmith, is said to have been the first white settler, coming about 1797. The town was surveyed in 1810 by special act of Congress. A government land office was established in 1812 but the tint record of land sales was in 1814 There were scjuatters' cabins before the ■urvej General Thomas Posey of Revolutionary fame lived there m ' early times. He is buried in Westwood Cemetery northwest of town. He was once governor of Indiana Territory and lived in Vincennes then 1 ere in 1825. This event was celebrated in 1925. James McLean from Shawneetown was an early United St .tor. Logan. Lincoln, and Ingersoll all practiced law at Shawneetown in the times when lawyers went from court to court in the circuit. Specifications for the first jail are as follows: "To consist of two the first to be eight feet and the second to be seven feet high in the clear, to be built of good, sound white oak logs hewed to ten inches square, and put up with a dove tail at the cornels. The first . to be ten feet square in the clear, surrounded by another wall the same description as the first, leaving a space of ten inches between the two walls, into which timbers of ten inches in thickness to be dropped endwise and as close side by side as they can be i ed . . . The floor of the first story, the floor of the second story, and the ceiling of the second story to be laid with good oak timbers ten inches in thickness let in with a shouder upon the logs of the hou Peggy Logsdon, an early settler, was known far and wide as a physician and nurse equal in ability to the early men physicians. She went in all kinds of weather, day or night, on horseback or on foot. One night a call came from across the river. She called back that she would come. Her skill was gone so she tied her clothing to a limb on a log and swam across, pushing the log with the dry clothing ahead of her. The concrete road ends at Old Shawneetown right on historic ground. On the corner to the right stands the Posey building, the old home of General Posey and his family, once the center of the social life of the town. Across the pavement to the left stands the tall bank building with the huge Doric columns. Many think this is the oldest bank building in the state. It is not. Neither is it the oldest one in Shawneetown. Let u- see the older one first and then return to the one with the five Doric columns. Drive straight ahead to the levee. Climb to the levee and turn right. Continue several hundred feet along the levee passing some large dences, on to a small two-story brick whose upper story opens out upon the levee. That is, it did open onto a small porch whose floor was about on a level with the older levee. The recently rebuilt levee is higher so that you look down upon the entrance. Care has been taken to preserve this old landmark. It is the first bank building to be built in Illinois and housed the first bank, established in 1812. It has for a long time been used as a residence. There was no levee when it was built. There is a tradition apparently based on fact, that Chicago was at one time refused a loan from this bank on the grounds that the city on the lake could never grow to be able to repay it. The second bank building, the one we left near the end of the pave- int at, was completed in 1840 at a cost of $80,000. It was established as one of the branches of the State Bank of Illinois. It loaned at one time, soon after its organization, the sum of $80,000 to the State of Illinois to be used in erecting the state house at Springfield, it tlao loaned to the state Commissionera ol Public Works 1200,000 more in I85:i. the Bank tailed, and this hank building sold fol | A new hank was, established with (500,000 capital rtoch it War Oil account ot tear oi iaids lroin tin- South Tin- !< K>t without in \\ s Swan ol Harriaburg related bow, when a r »« >> lh Shawneetown, a boraeman luppoeed to be a i ite office] rode i" the water*i edge on the Kentucky ihore am! viewed tin- town with bia noii mounted on tin- Illinois shore was fired and the ihot stirred up tin- sand but the boraeman rode ewaj unhurt 1 1 * - ilao related that an alarm ua- Ipretd that llorgan'l men were cumin; lia\n the n\er above The old men and bovs armed t In-mseh M uitli miSCOl laneous weapons lor defense l.ut no one came The "id cannon was removed during the second World W ■crap as \'. -.I- uith other historic pieces ol metal in various parta of the countrv liiou.h metal was left untouched to have made up loi all that was gained 03 their destruction if tin' energj which was put fort li to that end had heen used in tlie drive lor less historic pi< metal, the war effort would have been just as efficient The bank building was told to Thomas S KnLway who with John M Peoples established the Fust National Hank ol Shawneetovvn The purchase puce oi the building while the wai was on ■ The new bank hail a capital stock ot 1200,000, which was Liter reduced odd because the BSSesSOra taxed the bank stock at full value and other propertv at less than a third ol its value. The levee is the most outstanding landmark Almost annual over flows beS Cl the earlv settlement There were serious floods in 1832, 1K47. 1853, lHfiH. and 1850. The Stat.- Legislature, about I860 -ranted the cit> power to borrow money to build a levee, to the extent ol $108,000 The State agreed to remit the state tax lor a period o| twentv veai* the to be paid on the levee bonds. The work started as money was raised but little was done until the Hood of 1867 caused renewed activitv when a debt of $70. 000 was incurred Then the Supreme Idurt declared aw unconstitutional and no more state taxes could be remitted Disastrous DOOdS Came in 1882. 188H. and 1HH4 when t!< showed titi feet above low water mark. The levee was then built higher (Jp to 1H!*(). the levee was tour and a halt miles long, contained 40 cubic varda Oi material, and had cost a total ot SDOUt $200,000 During the 1918 flood, water was let m to prevent a break in the levee The :! Government completed a rebuilt and higher levee in 1833 which. it was thought, would be ample protection for the future. The cost ot BCenl contracts is said to he $112,000 Some anxietv was felt during Jin- flood «d i*r.r.{ due to the newness of part <>t the levee Those who lived in the city were not so much disturbed as those outside The flood of 1037 came above the levee leaving «>nl\ the tOPS 4 the buildinga above the water 'The brick buildings stood, but all badly damaged a government project was intended to remove the city to the present New Shawneetown. A good many homes were moved. Others were torn down or abandoned. The court house and jail were replaced. The government of the town was not changed. The new town site was annexed to the old with a narrow connecting link New Shaw- neetown is a modern little city, a nice place to live. A good many of its citizens did do! come from Old Shawneetown. Some businesses and some Citizens did not move at all. The river and tin- lakes above town and the historic interest.- yd belong to old Shawneetown. rather than to the new- city, which is a thing apart from the old traditions and landmarks. THE SHAWNEE LAKES More people visit the lakes above Shawneetown in the summer season than any other similar resort in southern Illinois. Every weekend and holiday brings to these lakes car after car of pleasure seekers bent on f ishing and swimming. Fishing poles and camp equipment are conspicu- ous, along with frying pans, lunch baskets, and sometimes the family cat or dog peering out from a crate. Cars of every description converge onto Route 13 at such times, beginning the afternoon before the holiday. Sit- ting on my porch as the caravan passes. I scan the faces. I live at Harris- burg, twenty-five miles from the lakes, on Route 13. Whole families from more than twice that far away hasten by for the holiday and night or two of camping. There are eager faces of children, the hopeful expressions of the women, and the determined countenances of men who hope to catch enough fish to supply the family and take some home to show the neighbors. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." This is especially true concerning fishing. The one exception was my wife. When I went fishing, she laid in the usual supply of meat for home consumption. The picture of the return of the caravan of fishermen, fisherwomen. and fisherchildren is quite different. The children are sleepy, the younger ones are in their mothers' arms or sprawling over the extra bedding. The mothers are worn and wishing they were home. They have that "I- told you-so" look. The men are silently recounting that little success they may have had in preparation for the stories they will tell their friends tomorrow. After all, the family has had a good time. They are tired out. After a rest they will be eager to go again and will do so. It was not the fault of the fish that the holiday came the day after the fish had been "biting." Fish cannot be expected to regulate their habits of observing east winds and the almanac just to coincide with man-made holidays. There were plenty of fish in the lakes. The fault was in the fishermen. The itinerant fisherman should not expect to keep his family in meat by working at the job on holidays. Fishing is a diversion, not a business. The beautiful Shawnee lakes are in the flood plain of the lower Wabash River. It is twelve miles directly north from the mouth of the Wabash to the Dogtown Hills. By river, it is more than twenty-five In glacial times, great floods of water and sediment came from the ice sheet farther up the Wabash Valley This \ i out mi a level plain through which the river ha.-, plowed its way, ilwaya cutting on the outer ■nd changing its course At ■ point about from it?- mouth, it iv leai than a mile across the fields to another the rivet miles farther up stream A map of tin- Wabash made lifts tht channel to haw- been In what is now known ;i> "Old Channel ending at Ifacke] - Ferrj cast oi ww Haven The old channel aw five timet than the direct one nou followed bj tin- rivei Thus i portion ol Indiana li west oi the Wabash River a limilai condition > Ni'u Harmony. rbe Dumeroua lakes northeasl bl Shawn eetown are the remnanl Miih river cut-offs The vallej flood plain occupied bj the Wabash ami Little Wabash extendini north from tin- Ohio t<> near Neu Harmon) li from five to tan units wide There li nowhere In that part ol it be twe en tin Shawneetown Hilli and the Dogtown Hilli i difference <>t thirl In elevation it is i river ten miles wide In flood times There la Lot right up against the Shawneetown Hills, which afford* i;ood fishing. Round Pond with its hathii ll one of the it i> frequented bj campers who Ush from boal Efebore and bathe at tin- beach Big Lake is longer than Round pond but not so wide There are hotel and cabin accommodations it Is verj beautiful with c y p r e s s t r e es all knee deep at the watei itanding In solemn grandeur Much fishing Is done there Its waters are deep and abound in fish Some pielei the less 1 1 equented smaller lakes more remote from the mam road, such as Black Lake. Kchreis Lake or I'ish Lake which : | long and \< - r\ narrow The fishing is overdone at all these lakes on account ol the numbers who come. The sport is bett early in the MMSOn after tin- flood water is gone Large catches may be made on one day and only small ones the next day. There are occasionally days In August and in tht of autumn when the fish are in the mood to bite Lass, crappie ami perch art- the most sought after .Notwithstanding the ill lUCCesS Oi man> who catch but I few, there are those who almost always come away with a fair stnng of fish The great majority of those who tome to fish are amateurs who have not learned the ways ol fish The woods between the lakes ;ire visited by more than the usual number of birds in summer Water fowl come m the migrating season to the Sloughs and lakes but not in such numbers as formerly Hickory nuts and pecani are abundant in the bottom land woods Some <>t the pecan orchards are carefully tended and profitable. Boats may be rented at reasonable rates Other fees ire not excessive of the privileges are free No charge is made the \isitor who does not wish to rent a boat. COttage, or camping site, huy food Ithing The regulation! are different at each place due !o different conditions and attractions Hoat fee- are the common expense Picnickers p: and eat their lunches without char-:-- The most lerioUf fault is to be found with the condition of the roads out from Shawneetown in wet • er 3W£ 1 ; Round Pond — Shawnee Lakes CAVE HILL What boy's mind has not thrilled at the thought of exploring a cave and finding buried treasure? The famous Mark Twain Cave at Hannibal, Missouri, swarms with boys who creep in at entrances unknown to other visitors. They search all about the cross on the roof under which Indian Joe buried the treasure. The urge for boys to explore dark places and for girls to hesitate and then follow seems to hark back to the times when men lived in caves and had reason to fear and dare savage beasts. Every mature native son of Harrisburg recalls the wonderful thrill of exploring the cave at Cave Hill near Sulphur Springs. Some stately dames of the same generation remember many enjoyable outings taken here in spite of long skirts and unbobbed hair. "The Cave" was the one place to go on picnics and outings a generation ago when it was the easiest place to reach. It is yet one of the finest places for an outing, though not so much visited. The best approach is over Route 13 east from Harrisburg seven miles, then south over a gravel road past the Rocky Branch Church and School to the Sulphur Spring which is by a small stream at the foot of the hills. Some like this spring water; others do not. A better clear water spring is near a big tree in a field a few hundred feet south. 6 Cars are parked and picnics art* held on a level area beyond the old church where usually enough dead wood DU and sometimes clear irater bom I spring It should be renw 'hat this is private property Proi rid public conven uld be respected bj seeing that all rubbish is burned and that the sprinj clean. Many people go t" Tin 'id never see the reason Is the long climb on tout up the lull i I the lull Is el 500 feel higher than the Saline River which con which the cave Is located The cave is below tin- rid bich the tdvanta climber who la glad to real In the • . the entrance The cliffs and ridge abuse should be visit the cave is explored on account <>t the wonderful irieu which one distin • d i Isitor called, "the fim st In mil Two ridges meet at almost s right ingle shove tin tend- SOUth I Shawm ctow 11 .uul the otic itfa U) lb reefe -/alley lies on the other side oi the ridge n Is worth diml the ridj ■ ss forming th< mtal ami shout 1-iKi feet lower Breaks In the earth's trust occurred end i On the south and east sides of these breaks were thrust up, leaving the layers tilted up end sloping back toward the south end east Inti ■/alley where they are buried hundreds «'t le<'t deep lb.- a B limestone stratum of this uplifted Cliff from which much of the ago. The cave opening is In s funnel-shaped pit In the hillside Cool air comes out continually, contrary to the action ol most caves where the Current alternates as the air outside is warmer or cooler than that inside other openings, possibly only small ones, may let in air There was once an opening northeast of the present one not far awa\ Stones ot | lead • distances are contrary to thcor.s and the e\ide: one go I quarter ol a mile from the entrance Distances |n , de I was once told that 1 was a half mile from the mouth I EUring the distance it was found to lie but a tew hundn The cave has been mapped by two parties. Independently, ami the maps a. in all fSBCnt I Sin The writer has been as far in e\er> passage as a man <•. in most of them many times The worst going is the beginning because the opening is small and I- often wet from water entering there The right-hand pas • ads south and slightly west, gradually rising Two or three places are wet in rainy seasons. There are some tight places which mostly may be led by taking another passage around Some of the roOBBI ige rooms in houses The left-hand passage is found bj mak ell left turns from the entrance, clim bi ng first down and then up I that the passages are dry and easily followed but ascend ami de d often gradually ^ettin^ lower toward the eastern end A stream bed. mostly dry, descends from the south end of the SOUtl the mOUth, then over into the east pai ■ tting lower until it disappears in a horizontal fissure out of which a current of air arises. This indicates an opening at some lower level. The rooms arjd passages are the result of a very slow dissolving away of the limestone due to weak acid in the ground water. Some lime in the form of calcite is re-deposited as stalactites hanging from the roof or as Stalagmites built up from the floor. All the larger of these were carried awaj more than a generation ago. A few specimens are in collections in Harrisburg. No one can be permanently lost in this cave. Anyone familiar with it should locate a lost person within a few minutes. The direction and the way out can be kept in mind if it is remembered that the rock layers always dip to the southeast. By keeping this in mind, it should be possible for a person familiar with the passages to slowly feel his way out without the aid of a light. No strings or other guide are necessary to find one's way out easily if good carbide lights are used and the simple rule about the dipping rock layers is remembered. It is hoped that some day there may be a skyline drive from Herod to Horseshoe or beyond which will make this cave and the Old Stone Face more accessible. STILLHOUSE HOLLOW AND THE OLD STONE FACE Moonshiners existed long before the Eighteenth Amendment was con- ceived. Younger readers may not know that illicit distilling of liquor was called "moonshining" because it was mostly carried on at night, more conveniently by moonlight. Stillhouse Hollow gets its name from the tradition that a still was located there in the time of the early settlements. I have talked with those who say that they saw part of the apparatus that remained long after it was abandoned. The Hollow is a precipitous v-shaped gash cut in the west side of the cliff-faced narrow ridge that stands up several hundred feet high as seen eastward from Route 34 out of Harrisburg. This ridge or mountain is about eight miles long, extending from Cave Hill on the north to Herod nearly eight miles to the south and west. Stillhouse Hollow is about half way as far south of Cave Hill as is Rudement. Rudement is west of the ridge on Route 34. A gravel road starts from Route 34 just east of Rudement and con- tinues east and north through Somerset to the Big Saline Church. This road is graveled all the way and the view of the mountain from the top of DeNeal Hill is worth making one part of the trip that way. The usual and better way to the Big Saline Church is out of Harrisburg by way of Ingram Hill and the Whitesville Bridge continuing south and east on 8 the gravel road all the waj A dirt road, which is usually good, leads directly east from the church right up to the hint of the ridge. The mouth of the Hollow is about a quarter oi .< mile south serosa a pasture and is fenced across by a floodgate built in and upon th. ,n.i made to tloat up to let the water through A toiienl ot ualrr ionics down when It rains The path up tin- Hollow 1 water and little ledge* 0V6T wlneh the water dripfl Or rushes in torrents depending on whether u la raining or not 11 the ed to its Bource, the top of the ridge la found to he fairly level Fields ami 1 have been cultivated there \ ridge road leadi to houses farther north The Eagle Creek Vallej Ilea to the fast ami is seen from the cli Picnic parties have the most lun near the lower pait o| the caiivoii The less irigOrOUa Itaj here while the others explore The cllll On tile north affords a heautitul view The rOCk BtraU lie tilted down to the southeast which helps explain w hv the ridge la there Tin mall cave-like holea In the rocka on this north side bigh up. winch the child The south side of the hollow is not sn steep .is the north It is enough though and rockv and Overgrown with trees Tin- footin mostly on rock but there is BOme soil There is DO definite path the top, the giant'a club or stick blanket makes its presence literally felt if tin- unwary climber grasps its thorny stem ta a support It is bOBt to go east of south as one 'joes up so as to come to the chit where it is low or where it finally tapers out at its eastern end There is a sandstone cave, cool and dr\ and capable Oi sheltering half a hundred people. It is in the low eastward part of the cliff near where there is a good place to climb to the top. This is a good place to rest before going above to find the Old Stone Face. Many years ago a man spent what was then, and might hi' now. a small fortune in attempting to develop what was thought to he a silver mine at a point below the dills some distance southwest oi StillhoUSC Hollow. What made him think there might he silver there is unknown There are many places in these Ozark Hills where men have searched for and sometimes made themselves think that they have found precious metals. I have not heard of anyone who thought he had found anything but rocks in this immediate vicmitv except the man mentioned at" No natural feature of Southern Illinois has attracted more widespread attention than the Old Stone Face. It is universally true that anything in rock that resembles something alive is always of interest to the human mind This stone face has i. ecu seen bj comparatively few of the manj whos,- Interest its picture has attracted This is because it is out of the usual routes ,,1 travel and requires some climbing and effort to he seen I saw it first on an afternoon in October. 1919 M> wife and I with the two children and Miss Dorothy Kinaker ot Springfield, Illinois. , about n tart home after an afternoon of exploring along the ,.nd south of Stillhouse Hollow, it mi about sunset and 1 looking south along the cliff from the top of which we had been getting a magnificent view of the Saline River vallej and the region beyond I ward Harrisburg Suddenly I realized that I was looking at a twelve-foot profile of an old woman's face OOf more than fifty feet in front ol me Th' the wrinkled lips of a toothless mouth, the in the chm. the eye, tin- forehead tin- whole right side of ■ face pro out into 'ii the cliff. it seemed too late for a snapshot; so I made a time exposure and a remarkably good picture. The shadows were just right I ha ral pictures of it but none were so good as this which luck aided me in making. Copies from this negative have been published in several ^papers and magazines, usually without giving credit to the maker of the original I have seen but one other published picure ol the I that was not from this first negative. Since then someone has torn the awaj and nicked a little of the features by throwing rocks Strange to relate, there is no authentic record that anyone had noticed this Face before. I had been that way several times. This part of Saline County was settled first. Countless hunters, timber cutters, and farm had followed the well worn path at the top of the cliff. Picnic parties for generations had wandered back and forth as probably did the Indian who may have used this spot for a lookout. Yet. no one is reported as having seen the striking likeness to a face that now is so easily recognized. The Face is almost directly east of Somerset, but there is no use to try to see it except from the top of the cliff of which it is a part. Still- house Hollow is the best place to make the immediate start. Directions, partially indicated before, are to go up the south slope through the woods from the Hollow to the place where the bluff is low. It is easy to get up at the low east end. Then, once on top, go west and follow the path near the cliff which gets higher and higher as you go farther west and south for a quarter of a mile. You find yourself looking out far above the tree tops below. The car which you left in the road will look like a child's Christmas toy if you can see it at all. Continue slowly to the south. You should soon recognize the Stone Face. Deal gently with her. She is ages old and has seen much. Per- haps she saw the great ice sheet of the Early Glacial Period, for it came almost to her feet. She saw the Mound Builders and the Indians of later generations. She has watched the white man's struggles past and present. only for a minute out of all the time that she has watched. If she could speak, many a mystery could be explained and volumes of science and history could be written. 10 THE ITIIK \\ \i. \ I HORSESHOE Hoi name of a n< r which the northern outlet of the I r >asin with Itfl surrounding hills occupies Heart] all 1 is about fifteen miles southeast ot Harriaburg as the erou I The high hills bounding the la on the south and north haw almost shut it out from its :• ■CTOn the mown tains hoc at Horaeehoc On lb Routt 1 i s huil: . hill] bounder] • wa> to Horaoaboc [roan HarrUburg li '" n Route : rj Mill to t: I Which rios •(• ne was at "Nigger Hill." three miles below Equality s.outh of the Saline river and north of the gravel road which somewhat parallel- ami Lies between the river and the range of high hills to the south This road i from the old bridge across the Saline at Equality to the new bridge on Route 1. The spring is but a short distance weal Oi the new bridge m a small itP bed m sight from tin- gravel read The square walled hole about ten across is full of slimy, murky water which overflows constantly, and has a van brackish taste Broken pieces <»t pottery, abundant here and scattered all the tn Shawneetown, made i>t das snd crushed mussel shells plastered In forms ot woven grasses and reed-, and "t large sise, indicate that tins was an ancient industr> Alternating layers Ol rla> a-lie-. bone 1 1 ajm.-iits. and charcoal oomposing the slightl] elevated fiat east of th< evl e that successive generations ol pro-historic ^ait makers used il small pieces <>t potterj are exposed In nearij even earth bank near the well . u ailed graves on the oearbj bill-top and great quantities <»i broken tnentS On another hill are further evidences Ol Indian occupancy i a long period. The white men brought iron kettles. With the aid ol NegTO sL hundreds of acres ol forest were used In evaporating the salt more than a hundred and twents years ago. Salt making was conducted on a much larger scale in the vicinity the Halt Moon l.uk' bj the Saline River about three-fourths <>t a mile from the center ot Equality. This salt lick several hundred feet Ion.; Slight!] curved and averaging fifty feet in width lies in a bare basin still salty for much vegetation to grow. It and the remains of the g industrj which once flourished there an- hidden by trees, bushes, vines (including an abundance Ol poison ivy), and weeds BO that the] are diffi- cult to find Were the first source of BUppl] Ol brine Wells :epth e bored later Leases were made in 1HM4 Wood was brought to the .' the wells Kettles wen- in rows with a trench beneath for fuel and to create a draft. Later it was easier to pump the brine to the woods through log pipes made bj boring two inch holes and driving the narro end of one log into the reamed out end of the next one. Brine was pumped into elevated tanks and flowed by gravity to the next pump. In 1854, Castle and Temple took over the leases and operated on a large scale till 1873. They used great vats of hea\\ sheet iron ri\- her. ten or twelve feet wide and much longer with sides two feet They were over stone-walled fire chamber- A thiltj foot length of one of these remained partly broken and supported by the stone wall- It was removed during World War II Other parts of vats are near The home site is a pit shaded by huge trees evidently left when other- were cut. Near by are old cisterns of the laborers cabin- from which the brick walls are gone. One might easily stumble into one. 13 Castle and Temple opened a drift coal mine in the hill west of the Lick when wood became scarce. They built elevated cinder roads to the mine and to town. They are easily traced through the woods, which is now the best approach to the Lick. The old •lower road" from Equality to Ilarrisburg crosses the railroad near the old coal mine shaft. The new shaft is farther west. Diligent search will bring the searcher to remnants of the reservoirs, vats, cisterns, etc., which arc mentioned above The Castle and Temple home was moved about a half mile west and the location is seen on the south side of the road just after crossing the small creek on the road going west from the coal mine. Beyond this newer house, which is a story and a half frame structure, the road branches, one branch going south around the hills which are west. The old Castle and Temple mine was in the northeast end of this bill. The old cinder road toward the Lick intersects the south branch of the present highway. From the road going west toward Ilarrisburg, not far from where the two roads branch, the newer cinder road built to the railroad from the mine is very clearlv seen in the cultivated fields to the south. THE MELON COUNTRY Melons grow best in sandy soil rich in decayed vegetable material. They can be grown on nearly every farm in the warmer sections of the United States but not so successfully as in more favored spots. Several limited areas near the rivers of Illinois are especially adapted to them. One such spot is at Beardstown on the Illinois River. Large quantities are grown near Carmi which is on Route 1. One successful grower advertised by having a yoked team of oxen standing near his melon booth by the roadside thus causing motorists to stop and become interested in melons as well as in cattle. Beginning near Equality on Route 13 and extending on for twelve miles to Shawneetown, the soil on both sides of the road and extending back for a mile or two on both sides is in many places well adapted to growing watermelons and muskmelons. the latter being known on the market as cantaloupes but without any clear mark of separation. Some speak incorrectly of "mush" melons just as others say "mush" rat for muskrat. Before the middle of August, melon stands spring up along the Equality-Shawneetown road at frequent intervals. Such a stand may be merely a pile of the luscious fruit in a shady spot or a wagon at the edge of the field. It may consist of four poles with a covering of leafy boughs for shade. Others are more permanent structures or spaces about filling stations. On the side roads the farmers pile melons in their yards or under trees in the field in sight of the road. 14 Truck drivers search out these places and buy (or more distant mar- kets. Others in pleasure ears buj from taw to ■ lozen for home use nearby cities. Those from a distance frequently b lots to take home to share with neighbors <>i the families ol relative! P suitable and m times of financial depression, ridiculousl) low One season when sales were difficult offered all the m melons that could in- piled Into a car for a dollar a man filled ins model r Ford almost to overflowing As be spproached the railroad west ol Junction tin- melons became unruly and lolled do\s n upon tin- f< trolled transmission levers so the car wen! wild ami crashed bate a freight train which at thai turn- bad the right of waj The total area In Gallatin Counts which is suitable foi melon is difficult to estimate Onlj the sand) ridges and leveli But a •:on oi these .in-. is is used m ;i n\ The total production is . and amounts to many freight CBT loads in a season Shipment rail have be en succeeded bi truck sales in the field The so favored spots near Shawneetown owe then sandiness to the outwaah from the glaciers of the glacial period In America man) thousands ol o This h •«■ sheet extended farther south In .North America right here In southern Illinois than In any other place it m down to the bast- of the Illinois Oiarks it Is thought that Ice jams m the Ohio outlet near Shawneetown backed the glacial water Into lakes which icebergs floated to melt and leave their loa! .1 and sand The lower Wabash Vallej discharged enormous quantit and the torrents of water from the melting Ice sheet dropped the sand In quieter waters This is the mam theory concerning the presence oi the sand) accumulations m and near the Wabash valley plain. Formerly, the melon grower used the same field frequently, when ins main task was to cultivate the soil and market the product Now. In* fun. ind sand burrs must be fought incessantly Alter growing one crop of melons, he must use that ficdd lor legumes or in other ways ■iimus to the sandy soil He must plant other crODS until the SOU is rid of the fun^i which produce wilt and other diseases It is better to wait for as much is eight years before again returning to melons. Many do not do this though experience and study have taught that such la nee : ' ■ • pi -''est sua ■ In consequence- of poorer soil, more insects, and the soil diseases, all combined with a smaller demand m the market, the lot of the melt : has been bad in recent tunes There are seme who tollow methodl insect and fungUS control along scientific lines who yet succeed and produce a high grade of fruit at a profit, but at a sacrifice of unceasi md toil ring uniform types of melons, proper grading co-operative marketing m distant cities, and scientific management of the sod. a profitable market might be obtained for a far greater volume of the •. superior fruit which this naturally favon Ma oi MPOdlM m;\\ HARMONY Harmony, Indiana. 00 the easl bank of the Wabash river, is ten miles from Crossville, Illinois, which is on Route l. (»i the thousands who pass through by way of the bridge and newer roads, wry few realize thai this is the site of one of the most famous and interesting communistic colonies thai ever existed in America. In 1814. David Rapp, leader of a successful company from Wuerttem berg, which sought a better place for a colony than the one they had Started at Harmony. Pennsylvania, bought 24.734 acres of land at New Har- mony lor S61.050. to which they added about 5.000 acres later. Here they iblished a mutual profit-sharing agricultural and manufacturing colony In 1820. they manufactured goods to the value of S50.000. The surplus of w heat, corn, oats, hides, fur. butter, wax. cheese, flax seed. hops, and hemp sold in 1819 for S12.441.83. In addition they sold another surplus of rye. bailey. 645 deer skins, hog skins, wolf skins, tallow, quills, feathers, horse hides, raccoons, otters, muskrat. beaver, mink, rabbits, pork, venison, hog fat. eggs, bristles, grass seed, wool, sheep, flax, geese, cider, apples, chairs, and grain. In 1825. due to their distance from market, they sold their holdings at New Harmony to Robert Owen, an English philanthropist, for S150.000. This was for lands, factories, saw mills, warehouses, granaries, store, tav- ern, machine shop, tan yard, barns, distillery, brewery, and 152 dwellings. He also paid $40,000 more for stocks of goods, livestock, etc. The Rappites moved to Economy, Ohio, where they established a similar colony and prospered. The society continued 'till 1906. The Owenites. in turn, succeeded at New Harmony, but the community plan was given up in 1827. The individuals continued to prosper. From 1837 to 1860, New Harmony was the scientific center of the west. Some of the greatest zoologists, botanists, geologists, and artists such as Ifc Clure. Say, Raffinesque, Engleman. and Worthen worked and lived there. A rain gauge used in 1826 is still in use and may be seen on the library lawn. The tomb of Thomas Say (on the lot with the George Rapp mansion) and the David Dale laboratory are reminders of this period. Owen and his associates and their descendants have held prominent positions and exerted meat influence in the state of Indiana. The best way to see New Harmony is to go first to the library. It contains more than 25,000 volumes. The art gallery and museum arc on the second floor. Hours can be spent there with profit. The librarian is very accommodating and will give you a leaflet to guide you to more than fortj places of interest in the town, all of which are numbered. It is best to go to No. 1 and then follow the marked trail which leads from Murphy Park, the site of the old labyrinth, and past two dozen or more hundred year-old Rappite dwellings, the Community House. Maclure Park. Sa> '8 16 tomb, the Madura dwellii i with stone and narrow port holes, and the bri purposely unmarki I similarl) un other th pedal ii. '• UBBUnit) : dial on the south end >mi telling the tun House MO 4 which i- now i- -till in place and ma) be seen from the real The Minei the bome of tin- first Woman'i Club in Um equal inten in tin- marked route Much ol bistorical •iind at the librar) Some boi ka about the R and the colon) are on sale it the librar) which \ privatel) owned pari is kx (own the riv< ■ l Mill and Dam • outcropping "i petrified wood on th<- Indiana bai • and shove the camp she \ petrified ilk leadin the front the libra a Harmon) The Wabash river was navigable until aftei the Rappiti the channel meandered far to the weal mst belou Men Harmon) it cut ■ tn tin- present site ol Um Old Mill and Dam mention. si cut south from Men Harmon) to this place The riv< it i channel where man made a canal with the result that i part Indiana Li «cst of tin- Wabasb river just ;iv part ol Illinois is west ol i&sippi at Old Kaskaskia 'ih<- n show these and also ■ aim situation near Nev Haven \l.w HAVEN phical location mad< o a great cit) and disappointed I :it that Cairo would '»»■ the greater i i I tock In gai lighting systemi and electrii ifltable a generation ago, lias. • worthless on account ,iu Haven, in tin- southeast corner of White Count] on the Wabash River, thirty-one miles northeast ol Harrisburg b) Um bad its periods ot prospe ri t) and depression as the routes rvd have changed m its favor or otherwise Just now, Um town is ii^ from I of Isolation which bar dtiaens think ii about at Not man;. I !.o risl.ur. people WCOt that wa\ tfl ■ -. die by Um waj of Um Isnektrj Ferrj The hard roads can Haven, without i railroad or river transportation. ia> .stranded The population has dwindled some in recent roan Church dwindled as lead, is died and the fOUTJg PCOple went elaewheTC Churches declined so that a Methodist inmister pre ach ed OCCasionall) in ' tenan church The two denominations held Sunda\ school in the same huikling jointly IT New hopes have risen. Route 141, off route 1 a short distance north of Omaha, has been completed right down through the main street. The hope is for an extension of this road across the Wabash to the good roads of Indiana which would draw the traffic from Evansville west. Route 141 from Route 1 to New Ha\en. was built with Federal aid through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The hope of its extension eastward may also be founded on probability, if the reasons lor such hopes are as good as stated This would put the town on a through route as it was over a hundred years ago. Data about the first boom is difficult to find because the town old. Some of her citizens say that it is the oldest town m Illinois. Others saj the second, and a lew are willing to admit that it is the third oldest. Joseph Boone, brother ol Daniel Boone, is credited with being the first white settler, having established Boone's Fort on the site of an Indian fortification by the river bank. His sister, Eliza Boone, is said to have planted a catalpa tree at the fort. It was destroyed by Lightning and wind era! years ago. Citizens carved canes and other mementos from its wood. When the old fort site was sold to be used for a steam mill site, this catalpa tree was preserved, to stand till removed by natural means as all good old trees should be. Incidentally it may be mentioned that Catalpa speciosa grew right here in the Wabash bottoms more luxuriantly than anywhere else in the world. Eliza married a man named Dagley. The Dagleys have been a prominent family in White and Gallatin counties. The town was first platted into 261 lots, each 40x70 feet, with streets sixty feet wide, probably by a Mr. R. H. Grant from Connecticut who gave it the name. The old Shawneetown-Vincennes trail came this way. New Haven was where the stage changed horses. The Wabash and the Little Wabash Rivers were then navigable streams. All was bustle and stir in the little western town so favorably situated for commerce. The depression of 1837 fell heavily. Many fond hopes were blasted. Samuel H. Martin, writing "Reminiscences" for the Carmi Times in 1879, said as follows: "The year 1842 will long be remembered as a period of great suffer- ing by the people of the whole country; and none were more pressed than the people on the Wabash. Three-fourths of the business men had failed and gone into bankruptcy. * Good farms would be sold and bid in at the face of the judgment without regard to value. Good working horses have been taken from the plow and sold at constables' sales for eight and ten dollars." None of the buildings of that day are standing. The town was re- platted twice afterward and had successive boom periods. Lots once sold for $500 each. Two dams for mills were made in the Little Wabash. One was sixteen feet high with a lock to pass boats up to Carmi. A four- and-a-half-story mill was built in 1869. Foundations of the dam by the town remain. There is an old cooper shop near. Mrs. Mary L. Graddy, whose great grandfather married Eliza Boone, when eighty-one years old bul very active and alert, ran the hotel on the main street in a building 18 fifty years old Her father ran a hotel in a building nearer the I it Stand I he old Sheridan I in ruins. Andrew who lived m book r eec u ed from the old tavern II The i n \\ hiskev at 1H . ■ ,ut a- often i ge n e r al coui I other items | tide oombi 79 a i I twitti toi cents. 1 I. u >all flannel. $1 | |1 00 IM lb I 1 paper pins Haven hi in the best fishing oountrj beet \< i two mik The upland tarn land is good. The natural resouues ami the i should tgain bi perils if U People there will take Route ni off Route i li reached Citj THE shau \i:i: \ \iin\ \i. i ORES1 Tin- following is the official itatemenl from the Headq In Harris! The Shawnee National Finest |g m Southern Illinois am: AM hounded h\ the Mississippi Rjver on the west sj, : other h> the Ohio RiveX on the east Mile Shawnee National Forest I'urehase Fnit.s were established on August 90, i I iNhi A HA Ml • VL^I R I W»w KTn Shawl 19 The Forest Supervisor, with an office at Harrisburg. is in charge of the Forest. District Rangers, with headquarters at Elizabethtown, Vienna, and Jonesboro. with an assistant ranger at Murphysboro, actively admin- ister and protect the forest The general over-all objective is to manage all of the forest resources so as to provide the maximum sustained benefits to the greatest possible number of people. During 1943. there were 283 permits in effect, each giving some per- son or group the privilege of using government land for a special pur- pose. These range from a permit to the University of Illinois for an Agricultural Experiment Station covering 5300 acres of land down to a permit to John Smith to keep a boat at Lake Glendale, and cover such a variety of things as operating a fluorspar mine, an oil well, an exclusive trapping right, a cemetery, a water reservoir, and many others. The gross receipts for F. Y. 1944 from the forest was S16.255. of which 25'; , or $4,050. have been returned to the counties in lieu of taxes. The receipts from the forest and hence the receipts to the coun- ties have gone up steadily each year for the past five yars. In order to properly administer and protect the National Forest, 240 miles of all weather roads have been constructed and are maintained by the Forest Service. In many sections of the forest, these are the only means of access in wet weather and everywhere on the forest they facilitate use of the area by the public as well as by the Forest Service. Practically all of the 196.300 acres of land in government ownership was at one time in farms, mostly abandoned by owners who could no n Ml. Eroded Ozark Area a Generation Ago 20 longer make a living. There are thousands of additional acres economic- ally unsuitable for farming which should be covered ; .\th. This is the land the Poresl Service bo] purchase Then, through protection, erosion control, tree planting, and othei agement practices, gradually restore the productivit) ol this land Fire protection ol government land was begun In the fall oi I beneficial effect of mch protection on stream flow, forest reprodud and wild hit' is alread\ \ei\ isotu cable \ System Ol tOWCn COOJU bj telephone or radio and i well organised {roup "i fon ds mam tam a constant watch over the forest during tin 1 drj fall, winter, and s| »i month- Local citisens and communitj groups form the backbone ol tin- integrated protection system in i section where year-long streams are rare and natural lakes even rarer, the cool forest stream- snd the faculties offered bj tin- two art! ficial lakes controlled i>> the Poresl Service are Important recreaUonal These two lake- have ample picnicking and camping facilities bath bouses and beaches, and other needs for public enjo\ ment Pounds Hollow Lake and recreational area has been used l>\ as main as 2. nun people in i single da> An estimated BO.000 visitors used the forest ia-i year In spit. iline rationing and other wartime difficulties Of travel With the protection from fire, increased cover, and some minor pond construe tam. wild life has greatly increased since the forest was established ei have been planted and have rapidl> increased in nuinbei- I also have been planted and though not oi the land can be expected to incn ld\ and result in a strong economic contribution to the community and state 21 MOUTH OF THE SALINE RIVER We start going south from the junction of Routes 13 and 1 following the latter. We cr088 the railroad west of Lawler. The so called "slave house"' stands high on the hill. It is an old. historic structure going back to the days when the salt well location on the Saline River to the south was a thriving place. The house has three stories. It is the third story that is interesting. This upper story has ventilators near the top of the roof like the traditional ventilators in street cars and railway cars. Cer- tainly no one could have escaped from it except by the stairway. It is a large hallway with built-in berths on each side like those on steam- boats. The tradition which was current forty years ago was that free roes in Illinois were sometimes overpowered and brought here until an opportune time to take them down the nearby Saline River to the Ohio and over to Kentucky where they had no civil rights and could be sold. The other theory then was that the bunks were used by workmen at the salt well, possibly Negroes, for some of them did work there as slaves in the early 1800s. There were some large pieces of lumber on the floor but there are no evidences of means of torture or restraint. Other theories of the use of the house have been current since then and even gotten into joint. A tablet just beyond the bridge on the Saline River indicates the location of the salt well a short distance to the west. It still flows. A gap through the hills pours out into the east side of the Eagle Creek Valley which is spoon shaped with strata uptipped at the edges. Excellent coal underlies the valley but outcrops at the upturned edges. The coal is said to have as high a B.T.U. as any in Illinois. Much of the farm land is fertile in this valley. Eagle Creek drains it. The creek is crossed on Route 1 at Gibsonia. The first good gravel road to the left after leaving Gibsonia. indicated by a recently built residence and barn on the left and right sides of the gravel road respectively as we turn, is the one where we leave the concrete to go to the mouth of the Saline. Take the left fork again where this gravel road divides. You will go up over a high hill to a ridge from which the Ohio is seen at a distance, a beau- tiful view. There is a steep descent to the mouth of the Saline. The ferry landing from DeKoven, Kentucky, formerly was here but has been moved down stream to where another road over the hills comes to the river. If the right hand branch of the gravel road had been followed at the first left hand turn which was taken, it would have led over the hill to the new ferry landing. Continuing on the right turn, both turns would have led us on past Lambtown, no longer supporting much business as a town. Continuing on this road one finally comes to the shelter house above the cave at Cave in Rock. Some limestone caverns, which I have never had time to explore, are in the vicinity of the road to the present ferry landing. 22 Ill ■k i .Mouth of S;iluie River Lambtown IHI. POl M»S. HIGH KNOB; iND BAGLE < REEK MALLEI The Poundi i s <»nc of the old landmarks oi Southern Gallatin County. • i the moat talked about and at the tame time tin- leaat known to to- on, of all tin- iconic feature! ol that count) .is ago, The Pounds was a favorite picnic ground and meeting place. The roads were comparative!] better then. As highways between centers ol population were- improved, those in remote, hilly sections were Cted. Thus it came about that The Pounds became relatively more remote and the locality was visited less frequently. The Pounds is a mesa like rock whose '"I 1 BUrface i- rounded a little but retains soil sufficient lor cultivation. The area is between ten and twenty acres The Onlj waj that a vehicle could surmount it is over a narrow neck ol land at the south end Cars may come down a gentle slope from the public road which is south, to near this neck of land. The re- mainder of the journej must be on foot. There are rocks .strewn around this south end of the structure a little way up the slope toward the top which have been said to be remains of prehistoric fortifications. If so. they wire rightly placed for there are deep valleys all the remainder ot the way around and the cliffs are nearly vertical and high so that « i ■ fenders on top could repel a foe of superior numbers. There are, how- ex er. ways to climb up over fallen rocks and crevices. The ridge at the south is the only one that required a fortification when warriors used only clubs and arrows and stones. The two valleys on either side meet at the north end of the structure to form Pounds Hollow which is high walled and nearly straight for about a mile running somewhat east of north, when its stream bed emerges onto more level territory and then flows more west than north toward Eagle Creek. The side valleys have their sources farther south than The Pounds proper. They converge near the neck of land mentioned above, then diverge only to unite at the north end as already stated. The way to go formerly was to climb down either slope from the connecting ridge to one of the side valleys, follow on down as the valley grows deeper and deeper and finally come to the junction deep down at the north end. Where the valleys join at the north is nearly 200 feet lower than the top of the mesa. The vertical cliffs are 100 feet nearly straight up in places. This is not a mesa in the strict sense of the term as it is used on the desert plains of the Southwest because it is connected with other land masses and is not on a plain. Then, also, there is no distant view because the hills and cliffs across the narrow valleys are about as high as any viewpoint. The only vista is from the north end looking down the Pounds Hollow. The winter season is the time to see the details of rocks and hills. The valleys are forested. In winter there is much of interest when leaves are off the great variety of trees and shrubs in the valleys. Wild flowers bloom among the ferns, shrubs, vines and trees in early spring and sum- mer in great abundance. It is a naturalist's paradise since it has been molested but little in recent years. It is to be hoped that information given in this account will not lead to the destruction of any of these Valley inhabitants by the careless flower gatherers Since the above was written for a former publication, great changes have been made by men. The older text is retained because it may be of 24 t to thooe who •■■ >rmed t> into i lake it the north end AH-w< and from BOtttfl 1 wiM the Poundi it ii doubtful whether thl to have been pieced there bj humen bend •ail DO know !• ,i h tuo valleyi on ...in visited \ i i with fish and with convenient ire to men) when and appreciated bj bul i feu who made Infrequent \ ii indi the d.i> ix not iction i> High Ki.. K elevation i i«-w milea touthwesl ol ih< end et miles ■lmoet directlj east ol William iidi \ i high bluffs rangef ail the wej from Herod t«> High Knob directlj north oeer it The winding road i| em tin- eresl ofi oi the K The two p north extremitiea ol tl • Vellej \ scenic, ail>. el mad connect! them - Hollow : The view from Sigfa Knob is very fine. The road from the west ap- proach is steep and winding but well kept. A watch tower and keeper's cottage are at the top of the ridge. The upward trail is winding but safe. High Knob seems higher than Williams Hill, but it is not so. The slopes to Williams Hill are rounded out to prevent a good near-by view. At High Knob, the slopes are abrupt so the height seems greater. The high point is nearly on the Gallatin and Hardin county line, only a little north of it. Buzzard's Point and other almost equally high hills lie along this county boundary line all the way to Herod being nearly on an east and west line ending west of Herod with Williams Hill, the highest of all in southern Illinois. WOLRABS MILL The first widely scattered settlers in southern Illinois planted corn in the clearings and cultivated it with very crude hand tools. They grew only enough for themselves and their few domestic animals. They ground corn for corn pone Indian fashion or in hand mills. As communities became established, water mills were constructed by the more enterprising pioneers. These mills had a very limited capacity and did not operate in dry seasons of the year. A few larger ones situated on larger streams ran throughout the year and had considerable output. As time went on and necessity demanded, horse power was used to supple- ment the water but only to a limited extent. The use of steam engines was justified as towns grew up and so the old water mills were doomed. A few foundation stones or an old grinding stone, half buried, are about all that remains of what would be picturesque reminders of the early days if the structures were standing. It seems that none of the old water mills are operating in southern Illinois and I know of none that are standing. A large one was operating by the side of a beautiful pond and dam in a southern Indiana town a short time ago. Going to mill in the early days was an event worth mentioning in the neighborhood, as going to Evansville or St. Louis is these days. The head of the family attended to this important duty. He went with a bag of corn across the horse's back and returned with part of a bag of meal, for he gave up part of the product to the miller as toll. What the miller did with his share is not related. He could not eat all of it and he was not in the business just for the fun of it. The family got all the news from miles around when father returned. Now mother gathers the news at the beauty parlor. It took father longer to go to mill and return than it does mother to get a "permanent." He had to wait his turn. Sometimes he waited most of the day for he had no "appointment" by telephone and others might be waiting for their turns ahead of him, and the mill ground slowly. Owning a well-situated mill in those times was better than having a prosperous beauty shop now. 26 Perhaps the early grist mill n;o>t frequently mentioned by the old timers is Wolrabs Mill because it was situated on the old star route from Harrisburg to Elizabethtown which was travelled much before othei n were opened. Like the others o! its time little remaim to mark the site There are a few broken foundation stones bidden b) the undergrowth in i ravine. Water wu diverted more than ■ quart mile farther up Goose Creek and brought in I ditch With little tall tO near the mill where it WU run into a WOOden llwine tO tall and. after a short urn. • the water wheel which turned the null stones that did the it is difficult to imagine how so small a quantity of water || manv <>\ the null streams furnished COUld turn such weight) BtOI • Sfionall) In prominent plaees where thev ha.e hern placed as reminders (l | the days of our forefather! Tin- Chief interest in taking the trouble to .<< I>\ v.Ii.m the lid Wolrab Mill once stood is m the nd the thoughts that srise on BUCfa a trip The mill site |s ,,n the mad between links and the Old lion Furnace des crib e d in another article The experience ol driving down this old mail route wlneh is still a mail route was a new 0M tO tl who have never had the opportunity, to follow a Stream bed tor a load This route was easilv lollowed with a c;.r Beginning about 17 miles below Hicks, the road was m the stream tied lor three tenths ol a mile The water. e\eept at flood tune when it might he ear top deep, was in ordinary times nowhere deep enough to more than wet the runnin. board The shallow water was elear and ran over rocks SO that there was no danger of ^ettm.^ stuck In mud There are places where tin- tipping up of the roeks toward the ancient top <>t links Dome is plaml> seen The trees and bushes Overhung and enclosed the paSSBgC m p. like a tunnel, touching the sides and top ol the car hut not scratch.' while the clear water was below At the end of this [MSflgtl the road took to the west bank The downstream road continued l>> CTOSSin the east side of Goose Creek very soon. From there on to the FlITO Which is 4 4 miles from Hicks, the new gravel load ifl on the east mi 1 .. the stream The null site on the west side- ol the mad was bj a -mall cultivated piece of a field if 4 miles southeast ol Hicks There are bo near, BO that Inquiry may be made by those whose interest makes them wish to verify this story l>> seeing for themselves. The mill site is at the of the gravel road which no longer follows the creek bed An inter estinu Sight l- a pair of twin trees Standing between the road and the '■ii\ stream bed. Someone began to cut them down but stopped in time to save them. THE ILLINOIS IKON FURNACES arly 100 years ago. iron smelting from native ore was an import- ant industry near the juncture of Hogthie! and Big Creeks in Hardin Coun- ty Illinois. The interesting thing for us is that the first of the iron fur- naces is still standing though it has not been used for sixty years or more. Two such furnaces were in operation. The Illinois Furnace was built in 1837 and the Martha Furnace in 1848. The latter was used but nine years. It is entirely destroyed. For further details, see the story about Birch's Spring. The Illinois Furnace became especially important during the Civil War when other supplies of iron were not all accessible. Charcoal was used for fuel. The ore is of the type known as limonite. It is found in irregular masses in clay and it has formed by the disinte- gration of limestone. Deposits of unknown quantity are found in the hillsides near the furnace sites. This ore. as it crystallized out of the de- caying rock, sometimes took on cylindrical forms like a bundle of small lead pencils so that it is also called pipestem ore. Scattered fragments of the ore and a left-over pile of charcoal may be seen on the ridge above the furnace. The Illinois Furnace is at the abrupt end of a ridge a short distance north of where Goose Creek and Hogthief Creek join Big Creek. It con- sists of a central tower of brick six or eight feet in diameter, and about forty feet high, surrounding and supported by a square tower of irregular limestone blocks. This outside part is about thirty feet wide at the base and tapers to a twenty-foot square at the top. On the three sides away from the hill there are arched recesses leading to the lower part of the brick tower. From these the melted metal could be allowed to flow out to be run into moulds to make pig iron. It is related that some of the pigs might be found embedded in a creek bottom along the old road to Eliza- bethtown where overloaded wagons became mired so that the drivers got relief by casting off some of the load into the mud and then forgot about it. This tale serves to illustrate how difficult it was to market the product of the furnace. Some iron sheets and bolt rods fastened to foundation stones east of the tower proper are all that is left of the accessory apparatus for cre- ating a blast. Two of the arched recesses are in good shape. A few years ago an explosive was set in the south wall to wreck the structure for the purpose of procuring stones easily to mend a ford in a nearby creek. This tore down much of the middle of this wall and exposed the upper part of the inside tower of brick. The remainder of the furnace would stand for a long time as it is with a little repair if left undisturbed. There should be some agency by which such historic structures could be pre- served for the instruction of future generations. It is not too late to save the essential features of the Old Illinois Iron Furnace. 28 There are several routes to the furnace. Tin to follow is to take Route 34 tu tin- sign indicating where to turn to the south near the StOOC '-'lunch t<> ~o t<> i. nth the road to the north ihould be followed Thii routi or over hill> overlooking the rallej ol rhicfa vallej much wider tWO miles north oi Route 34 and thu^ raises ■ pUZSlil tion for tin- It in i pleasant road with nun and turns it la the mam road all the waj and easil) followed to the furnace from the i !<>a> i \ wli. | fork turns abruptly north Thil ninth turn should i Instead of the southeast branch winch -,„,, hand load going noith is the OM tli.it lf.nl- to Huk- The f« just !i ot the J n vt (arm bOUM on the SSSt -id.- ..: Mm north ol the fork old lion Furnace 28 BIRCH'S SPRING AM) THE MARTHA FURNACE Springs do not occur on hilltops. They are always the outlets for water which entered the ground at some higher source and came down through rock or sand strata to a lower level. The layer above the one that is carrying the water is usually harder or more impervious than the one below it. The confined water escapes wherever the carrying layer out- crops, just as water coming down a slope in a pipe escapes at the lower open end. Most springs, and wells also, are not fed by water running in channels for a considerable distance under the surface as is popularly believed, but rather by coming out from seepage at the outcrops of sandy or porous rock or even earth. Channels in limestone regions may be exceptions. The farm with a lasting spring has a valuable asset. Most level coun- try farms are without springs. Owners of farms in the hills are fortunate. There are hundreds of farms with springs sufficient for all farm uses in the Southern Illinois Ozarks. Spring water coming through rock or sand layers is pure and healthy. The mineral content has little to do with its healthfulness. A chemist can duplicate most spring waters at very little expense. Those springs having minerals of curative value have them in such small quantities that many gallons would have to be consumed daily by the patient to produce any appreciable effect. Freedom from germs such as the typhoid bacillus is the quality to be sought for health's sake. It might be that a spring issuing from near limestone sinks would carry surface water and thus be unsafe. Indiana and Missouri both boast of springs sending forth waters suf- ficient to be called rivers at the beginning. These are no doubt outlets of real underground channels in limestone. One large spring in Princeton. Kentucky, at one time supplied the whole city with water. The present supply comes from a single spring a few miles in the country. Not far away there is a larger spring whose flow has been estimated by me as high as 4,500 gallons per minute. Birch's Spring, situated about three miles upstream near Hog Thief Creek and only two and a half miles in a straight line from the Illinois Iron Furnace, is one of the most attractive in Southern Illinois. In gen- eral, its location is four and a half miles south of the Philadelphia School which in turn is two and a half miles east of Karbers Ridge. Or, coming around by Route 34 to Elizabethtown and on the Cave in Rock road as far as the Bassett School, a mile and a half out. the route may be gener- ally north past the Keelin School, crossing and then up Hog Thief Creek, past the Martha Furnace site, and on less than a mile to where the road turns directly north. A very short distance north up this road the name may be seen on the spring house east of the highway. A large volume of water, cold and clear, pours out from under the cliff over the concrete channel in the spring house where milk is kept cold. There are benches under the roof by the flowing water. It is a fine place to cool off and enjoy the water. 30 The farm house, part of winch has been used ii i general countrj store, is north of the spring, a little o n e ro om i"-; cottage stands between the spring and the residence. It is mat and clean ith I fireplace, bed, and other simple furniture all of which -nally It has. in times past, heeii rented tO one or tWO persons who might wish U) get aua> tO one ut the most remote and picturesque little sites that can be found enywhere In thii pan of the state Such scoonunodstioni are probably no longer a\ailablc Dnectidiis for getting to tins place no the roads, though the> are better tha* tin- directions might Indicate An> one with the courage to explore and a willn ■ impute iloi wa> will find little difficult) m ain\uu: il he will keep in mind that the location is approximate^ tWO and a halt miles c.,st and foul and a hall miles south nt Karfaen EUdgS Ot it II flVi and a hall milet DOlth and a little east of Kli/ahelhtow n If the Spring alone were the onl> quest It might not he worth the tnj) There is the additional pleasure 0( tig cleat watei s. driving under overl limbi that ipan the road wondering what is oxer the next hill, and getting a little ol the thrill that must baVC come to the pioneer as he came to these little VSlleyS t,,r the Inst tune Then there is the contact with the honest people who till the nth bottom lands, who live on little that conies from stores hut eii|o> life in a leisure!) sometimes hunting and fishing not onl] for tin- pleasure hut some times to supplement the meat and vegetable stores which most an> fanner anion- these billl ma> provide One ma> explore and not gel hist A road extends northeast .somewhat parallel with Hog Thief I'nrk almost to its source near the Rock Creek School I mm where a good road leads in toward the Hassett School and T'.h/ahet htow n 'The SCOnon > s " ' bag m the Bock Creek neighborhood which shows evidence ol thrift and enterprise 'The fanning is more extensive <>n the ridges In this borhood. it is an Interesting experience to ford Hog Thiol Creek on the road from Bassett School to the spring The creek bed is of stone and < gravel The ■bandoned, partial framework of a Bridge is just east of this Og 'There is ;i suspension loot bin: ek nearh\. such as has been common in the <>/ark hills .so that School children and others can CrOSS Steps ;t t either end lead up to the narrow runway which is suspended from wire cables attached to tn . The site of the Martha Furnace is farther up Hog Thief near a countr> A rock hearing the name. '.Martha Furnace.'' was uncovered when ivel road was built. It is set in concrete by the road. 31 THE OLD VOLCANO What a commotion would be started if we should wake up some morn- ing to see the smoke of an active volcano ascending in a column some twenty or twenty-five miles southeast of Harrisburg. There is no danger. The show was over ages ago. All that remains is a bare oval spot on the slope of a clay hill extending down into the rocky bed of a small stream. The worn-off neck of the volcano just as it solidified in the last effort to force more molten matter out from the earth's interior, is all that remain*. The material is true volcanic lava, just such as occurs in various parts of the world, notably in South Africa. This particular "volcanic plug" exposes scattered boulders of volcanic breccia lying on the solid mass of the same material which is thought to extend to the depths below. It contains many kinds of pebbles and angular fragments of rock which became embedded in the molten mass as it was forced up. Some of these fragments are partly changed by heat. Weathered fragments can be pried off in sufficient quantities for speci- mens. The geological survey locates it on the N E 1-4, N W 1-4. N E 1-4, Sec. 13, Twp. 11 S, R 8 E in Hardin County. To put it in plain English, go on Route 34 through Herod and beyond about one and a half miles to the sign indicating the Karber's Ridge road. This road leads generally east and is passable every day in the year. Karber's Ridge is almost exactly six miles directly east of Herod in a straight line. The distance is but a mile farther by road Keep going generally east from Karber's Ridge for three miles or so as far as the road goes in that direction. You come to a place where one road goes north and the other south. The north branch of the road goes to The Pounds. Take the south road for a quarter mile to the Philadelphia School. Then go directly east slightly more than a mile till you are near the fork of the road at Sparks Hill. Stop on a rise where there are some woods to the south of the road. You should be about three eights of a mile directly north of the volcano and as near your destination as you can drive. You must prepare to tramp across fields having ditches, fences, and ridges all of which are not difficult to pass over. Do not expect to see a cone or a crater. The lava is worn to conform to the south slope of the hill and occupies an oval space about 200 feet long extending down into the rocky bed of a stream which flows east. The hills are clay but the worn off end of the "volcanic plug" is a hard rock as described above. Down in the stream bed the bed rock of the region is exposed and the line between it and the lava is very distinct. There is some vegetation growing on the decayed lava but many parts are bare. It is of a dark color where exposed to the weather. Two or three trees which grow where there is a little soil help in finding it. This is the only volcanic neck or evidence of real volcanic action in this part of the United States. The wonder of it is that there were not more of its kind when we consider that molten matter did come up from 32 the interior of the earth to ur near the a main placet in Saline and Hardin counties There m Dumeroui dikes cutting thi the coal ••• iline Counts in places th< I un eithei ol the eraek which became filled with the bo! which formed the dike. The material in many of the dikes in Hardin and Pope counties is igneous but not like that at the volcano Material ihnilar t<> the lava at the volcano i- found at one or two other places in dikes .\t tin- Hicki DOUM which is onl> | feu miles southwest ..I the \oIcan nf melted rock are thought t<> have forced the i" i .. ,|m,. it> it is not n high .is wiiii;,, us inn These two rounded hills with the high ridge extending several miles north to Cave iidi stand Up at the .sky line and attract the attention o| the count] eithei trom the north or west Womble also bears a close up I lew It . .;. appreciated by the man) who pass to the wesl ol II on Route 84 at i poinl about i:> miles out from Harrishurg except when the autumn colors dress it up m hob da\ attire To be fulh enjoved. the uoiidcrlul news uhlch It must DC had from its summit which is more than irjii feet sbt | \ el. ■ name is that ol a lanuh some <»1 wi nail in a field tO the northwest of the lull and nearer the load Fortunately, Womble is bo near the concrete road that it maj be visited at snj season it i^ easier to find tin- better approaches to the -on when the lea.' ffle There is less (!.,• the WSJ then, though no one can get peimaneuth lost at an\ time We all ha\e the exploring Spirit and enjo\ a little adventure I>is lancet and directions are so deceptive in the little tree-covered slope that lies between the road and Table Rocfc, whose fop can always be ^een from the road, that the same route | l> be followed twice b\ those who visit the place • was to explore is to go directl] to fable Hock This hug< block ol sandstone OUntj courthouse It malls a part of the cliff above The clitl extends all around the fop except lor a narrow space at the north where the .imui: \t to be tires,, me to climb The whole thin j is more like the mesas id the Southwest than any other found localh The angle in the cliff from which Table BM can be identified b> its shape and smoother un the cm responding end and side of the detached as compared with the Other nirfaceS which ha\e been > d to the weathe: | nies |oi Another similar but much smaller rock is partially loose from the cliff a little farther south. A narrow crevice leads up to the top from its south end at an angle of nearly forty-five degrees. The view from above is worth the climb. Better views are from the southeast corner of the mesa, reached by going across the cleared field which is about ten acres in area. The valley to the south and east, from the bare cliff tops at the southeast, looks amazingly deep. There is here another steep crevice by which to descend and explore under the overhanging cliff. The return trip should be made around the south end at the base of the cliff to near Table Rock. There is no water after leaving the spring stream near the road, which makes it desirable to imitate the habits of the camel or to search frantically for the spring on the return trip unless it is preferable to be burdened with a thermos bottle on the trip. The road is rocky and not made for a tenderfoot. There is an overhanging cliff at the southeast corner near the best and only place to descend. A phoebe builds her nest in the cave roof every June. I, with others, found shelter there for a half day when it rained. We saw the low-hanging clouds below us at times. WILLIAMS HILL What is a mountain? What do we mean when speaking of the height of a mountain? When is a hill a hill and when may it be called a moun- tain? We might as well ask when does a gosling become a goose? Wil- liams Hill is the highest point in southern Illinois and from its top we may look down on Womble Mountain. The Ozark Hills of southern Illinois are also called the Ozark Mountains of southern Illinois. The highest point in the state is Charles Mound in Jo Daviess County in the extreme northwest part of Illinois, yet no one calls it, or the other high lands nearby, a mountain. We measure mountains and hills from sea level and not from their feet as we do humans. Charles Mound is 1241 feet above sea level but the high lands about it, though carved into deep valleys, are not called mountains because they do not rise abruptly from more level regions near. The government survey says that Williams Hill is 1065 feet above sea level. Bald Knob, near Alto Pass and four miles west and one mile north of Cobden in Union County, is 1030 feet above sea level. The court house yard in Harrisburg is 400 feet above sea level. The Harrisburg National Bank Building would have to have nearly seven and a half duplicates of itself piled one upon another to reach as high as the top of Williams Hill. If you do not think Williams Hill is high, climb to its top. A good starting place is at a point on Route 34 where a small valley stream comes out of the woods more than a mile north of Herod on the west side of the road. The elevation here is about 465 feet, which means that you will 34 climb up 600 feet in going about two miles to the top of the hill It must be done on foot for there is no road up this valley No pi It is sometimes rock) The timber is tastic rock m break the monotonj oi the i- mi danger of getting lust in tin the <>nl> d to go is up the vallej A . aide might make- it easier to find tin- v it is like going t<> and returning from the North Pole north tin toward the Pole but going south maj lead roywr* if i two-mile climb \n do( » • i h > i i ^ I i . trj Btarting up Beech Holloa Dear Rudemenl and take i four or five-mile tramp uphill all tin- .. on to lb-rod tnd louthwesl on the Hartsville road to the outlet ot either Gyp Williams Hollow or Beartrack Hollow and follow them nji to tin- top it require! leas walking that was bul It rod Interesting Then Is also ■ fairlj itraighl dirt road that Is not coming right up from the west side The onlj objection to tins i. is the difficult) "i getting around to the west side to start i < ime up that ua> once alter tramping from Eddyville bj was ol Delwood rod the w.i>- steep enough then The shove was written before the Federal Porest Service took . a good part ol Williams Hiii There Is now s irel road up from the \icmit> ot Delwood on the west slope The newer road from Herod hud: bj the CCC boys under government supervision is well graded Its curves give en ever-changing view ol deep valleys and distant views In some instances better than from the summit The ro;ids from east and west conned near the top Picnic Grounds Williams Hill The view from the summit is inspiring. Ridge after ridge of the Ozark Hills extend as far as the eye can reach, except to the north where the lowlands of Saline County lie spread out. The visibility determines h<>\\ Ear one can see for there are no other hills to shut out the view. Field glasses are useful. With them you can see "over home" into Kentucky. There is a watchman's home near the lookout tower. Ovens and tables for picnic meals are attractive and well constructed. HICKS DOME Stuart Weller was one of the best informed men on the geology of southern Illinois. In his address before the Illinois State Academy of Science in 1926, he stated that the eastern end of the Illinois Ozarks in Saline, Pope. Hardin, and Gallatin counties had been pushed up in places by the intrusion of igneous matter from unknown depths. He gave as evidences that there had been disturbances from below over quite a wide area, such as the dikes in coal mines in Saline County and elsewhere, togeth- er with other evidences of the elevation and breaking of the stratified layers of the earth's crust at various places between Harrisburg. Illinois, and Princeton, Kentucky. The most pronounced indication that melted ma- terial from below had oozed up with a force sufficient to lift to a great height rock layers hundreds of feet thick is at Hicks Dome. The Dome does not appear to be a dome. Weller. in describing it, uses a diagram which indicates that the visible top at the center is in a valley. Without regard to the exposed rock layers one is unable to judge, when on any of the numerous hill tops in the vicinity, which one may be nearest the center of the Dome itself. The center of the Dome is nearly three miles almost directly east of the old Pierce mines which are seen to the east of Route 34 south of Eichorn. The theory of its origin is as follows: In a past geological age, the horizontal rock layers in an oval area extending several miles north and south from beyond the boundary of Saline County and well toward the Ohio River, were pushed up into a dome whose center is something less than a mile southeast of the rural village of Hicks. If there had been no wearing away of the rocks through the long ages since, the center of the Dome would be more than a thousand feet higher than it is now and would tower above the surrounding terri- tory in plain sight. As it is, erosion has leveled it off and valleys have worn in the weaker strata till there is little but the uptilted rock layers pointing up from all sides to tell the story. To still further hinder obser- vation and prevent reading the story from the rocks so well, it happens that the rocks are covered with soil in most places in this very hilh country. There are, however, enough exposures to tell the story clearly. 36 The geologist notes that, when rock lay* within a radius I • dted up toward this tenter in most out a mile and a third .south •<• !i4 tlM rides o| the road tilt op to tin- southeast toward the dome The liquid man-rial from tin- earth's Interioi up through some seal end Um reaching the top The center where then- wai iter thickneas ol tin- Intruded mass i^ the canter «>i tin- d ojuentiy, since the top has eroded to ehoul the level <>t the sun, territory, the uptilted rucks at tin- center ire ■ the Devonian Age it is at tin- centers "i domes and upbended i tin- rOCkl that deposits <>f oil and i;as arc found Whether on or eround links Dome has not been determined have penetrated tar enOUgfa tO learn u hat DBS) he | . tar enough to uet through the stratified rocks to th< <-t igneous material thai is said to be responsible for the uplift ol tl There is little In SCO hut much to think ahout in this connection The most Interesting road to follow to Hicks ind the Dome Is the Old star mute o\er uhieh the mail was Carried li Harrisb .i/a bethtown for many years Part ol 11 should satisfj the modern drii Route M at the Kerb shout two miles Herod Take the first right hand turn down lull to Brush) (nek which is forded A rich fossil deposit is a short distance belon the foi water gate The uptilted rocks may he noticed here This i..a 4 miles trom Herod and 18 4 from Harrisburg Hicks School and the Frank E Fucker home ire the <■ on the road to the center ot the Dome A hill a half mile southwest the Hicks School is about the center From the cleared part ol Its a good vien of the situation is lound. The return trip ma> he weal trom Hicks to Houte :<4 or west on another road which begins two miles smith of Hicks The most pictur- esque WSrj to return is to continue OB southeast on tin- old mail route elonj ek to Hi. Creek and then out toward Elixabethtown or dare Directions for this route are being given In reference I i the Old Illinois Iron Furnac-- Woliab'S Mill, and I'.irch s Spi D M E led Don.' Hon THE HARDIN COUNTY SINKS One of the most interesting drives in all southeastern Illinois is the round trip between Elizabethtown at the eastern end of Route 34 to Cave in Rock, a distance of twelve miles going back by the improved upper road farther back from the river, and the return trip by the lower or river road which is shorter. The upper road is black top; Route 146 is very good. The other is narrower, through hilly woodland and winding, but with many attractions and not difficult to travel in good weather. The characteristic feature of the upper route is the many limestone sinks of which as many as fifty may be seen from the road. Others lie back out of sight across the fields. The majority hold water and are lakes ranging in size from little ponds to one covering 400 acres. Immediately after leaving Elizabethtown by the northeast road to- ward the Basset School a mile and a half out, some of these sinks may be seen. They are pits, sometimes dry and sometimes holding water. This part of the journey after nearing the school and for four miles be- yond to the east is surface drained by streams. The remaining seven and a half miles to Cave in Rock is through the sinks. In one or two places the road is built across a sink. This limestone area extends toward the north and east from Cave in Rock where there are more ponds and lakes. No extensive surface streams are found among the sinks. All rain- fall goes to them and then away through underground channels. These pits or sinkholes are probably due to the collapse of the roof of subter- ranean channels in the Fredonia limestone which is easily dissolved by the water. There is some evidence that the pits could have been made by the surface water first dissolving the stone nearest the top. However it may be, the limestone below the surface must be honeycombed with caverns and subterranean channels. Some of these depressions hold water the year round and are stocked with fish. The rain water passes out directly from others through open- ings at the bottom. Still others drain slowly and some become dry by evaporation in times of drought. An area of 400 acres southeast of Lead Hill and northeast of the Green farm is usually covered with water. In some periods, part of it drains out so that corn is grown on the fertile lake bottom. Once in the past several years all of the water went out, appar- ently due to the subterranean connections with the river having cleared. Corn stalks and other debris wash in and choke the outlet. Instances are known of depressions which have long been dry but after a heavy rain became filled and held water for years thereafter. 38 BLIZABETHTOM N Tbia quaint old town, the count] seat oi Hardin I ut a railroad hut located at the Boutboaal end <>i Route M thirt) in;.- Harriabui eautifull) situated overlooking the Ohio ; business street, the R and some ol th< level stretch above the Ugh water narh ol the riv< court hi the school building, son* and more n on the lull overlooking the main street The Ugh nil and the i>i k just treat ol town five s good idea oi the elevation ata The coming ol the i road and \m\ ■ in Bock twelve miles up river have put Elizabethtown upon map to the advanl thousands <>t travelers who otberwiae would not have know ii oi its attractions The ferries at both Elizabethtown and e In Kink accommodate man) people to and from Qlinoii and such cities In Kentucky as Sullivan, Marion, Sturgia, Princeton and Smithland Forty \. Elizabethtown was on a "star route 1 from Harriel That i>. the mail waa carried daily from Harriaburg under contract Such routes were listed and marked by itaTS 00 government i> I \v w Largent ol Harriaburg had the contract then and combined the government Job with passenger traffic The mail waa taken from Harriaburg to Herod or Thai! where team and driver were met h> a similar outfit from Elizabethtown. The mail and travel. transferred and each driver returned to bis nun town thus Ched their destination the day the\ stalled .unless the wat. I could return the next day bj the same route The name is commonly shortened to Ftown by people ot Hardin county. The correct name la derived from that ol Elizabeth McFarland, wife of .lames McFarland. who came from North Carolina In ihoh and built the hotel which Is bo boautifull] situated on the river front Another structure of ahotit the same Bge is located on the edge Of tOWU and is still occupied Many of the buaineSS houses ,.f substantial construction !> to the time when the sturdy pioneers huilt lor those who should live alter them The earliest settlers In the county came about of their descendants still live in the town and country aroum: of the IfcFarland family are buried on the ground they originallj from the government Son at the rear of the hotel county was cut off from Pope Count] and organized m 1839 its tern boundary was Grand Pierre Creek and the northeast boundary •he head of (irand I'leiTe Creek to Cave Ul EUM k • boundary was changed to s straight tine from the bead running straight south to the river in 1847 part of Gallatin • ■! and the line from (irand Piem at the northwi made to run east al: i tly alon i the Illinois Ozarks 'hern slopes include the entire county. 39 Visitors at Elizabethtown find the summer house on the promontory in front of the hotel a most beautiful thing to see and to see from. This is private property. Property rights should be respected by those who use it. The main channel of the river was beyond Hurricane Island which has been extending downstream about a half mile in seventy-five years. In the dry summer of 1930 the water was so shallow north of the island that the channel could be waded. It is said to have been entirely dry in January of 1907. The river seldom freezes over. In 1917-18, ice in some places was 18 inches thick. Freight was hauled across the river. The river remained frozen over from December 19. 1917. to February 9, 1918. When the ice broke, an ice jam was formed where the river is narrower near Carrsville. Kentucky, below Rosiclare. Ice hummocks pushed up forty feet high. The sound of the crashing ice was like artillery. The water at Elizabethtown rose fifteen feet in an hour and would have risen into the town if the jam had not broken. The trees on Hurricane Island and at other places were said to have been sheared off by the rushing ice as grass is cut by a mower. The government has regulated the channel so that now the main current is on the north side of Hurricane Island. In the days of much river traffic, a boat made the trip from Paducah to Evansville daily, stopping at Elizabethtown for passengers and freight. Now the river traffic is mostly tows of barges with freight. In Civil War days. Union gunboats shelled the woods on the Kentucky side opposite the town when it was thought that Morgan or his men might be in the vicinity. In the early days, the county and vicinity of E-town was the habitat of several gangs of counterfeiters who lived in the hills and caves, securing the metal for making counterfeit silver money from the ores found in a number of places in the county, using the caves in the vicinity for their actual operations until the government broke up the bands by sending several of the leaders to federal prisons. The scenery for several miles above and below Elizabethtown is the most beautiful to be seen on the Ohio, the point known as Tower Rock some three miles above the town being the highest point on the river between Evansville and Paducah. A boat trip up and down the river a few miles each way is a very delightful way to travel and is decidedly out of the ordinary way of taking an outing in these days of travel in automobiles. Power boats may be engaged locally. 40 THE CAVE AT CAVE IN R04 R The famous cave in the limestone bum a short distan the town of Cave in Rock was thought to in underground outlet SUCh BS mav exist now ;it lower levels w r \ labor removed the dirt trom tin- rear "t tin ad found no Mirh opening. The] found and left i glooms mudholc Mm old i in^ at the rear through which it was possible to climb out, li i gai Bpace in the rocks shove The cave li the most famoui natural thing slon| the river si from i boat The opening li srcbed and is shout twenty-five feet aide and fifteen feet high li li ISO feet to the reai end At unlnui oi the river, tin- opening hi well shove the water I have landed | i boat when the water was witiim the cave Half was back then opening In the ceiling through which i man mas climb it be has .1 laddei to reach It it is In 1 small room shove that the banditi <>i 1 hundred years sgo an said to have hidden then- boots slanj Eabuloui I told <>i it > iise The storiei are s,, contradictors that 1 carried 1 ladder up from the town ami explored it to find that the "room" is only 1 small Bpace where but 1 few people might crowd In and is in realits m room at all \ narrow opening formerls extended up from near the rear end <>i the cave to the bluff shove from which 1 good irieu oi the river ma] had This opening was narrow and steep Since the soil was removed, it cannot be spproached While the view from the bluff just above the CSVC mouth i one it is much better from the top ol the hill which is a fourth of a mile up the gentle Slope to the northeast It .should not be starting up the bill that there is the traditional lovers leap somewhere near the cave Thi.s tradition has become BO faint that some lovesick maiden should immortali/e herself and add to the attract i\ eness oi the localitv 03 actually jumping off at some point which she- should dclinitelv mark before making the- leap s,, that luture historians ma\ not be It- 1 1 in doubt about the authenticity of the whole- event The view from the top of the hill is one oi the best along the river The river for miles above and below is m tight and the hills stand out in relief in all directions. The scene upnver and over into the- Kentucky hills is especially attractive- There are two small Indian mounds right at the summit of the hill near where I residence onCC stood Indian gn were near the- path leading up. Flat stones which lined some that were opened mas be seen scattered about In the grass. Since the area became- a state park, a good road has been built to the shelter and picnic gTOUndl at the top oi the hill. 41 THE BANDITS AT (AVE IN ROCK The completion of Route 1 from near Junction to Cave in Rock has brought the famous cave at the latter city within an hour's journey from Hanisburg, Eldorado, Shawneetown or Golconda. Xo place in Illinois can claim more history and traditions than the Cave. It was first men- tioned by a French explorer who came down the Ohio in 1729. Ever since, the open mouth of the cavern has been a landmark to be noted from passing boats. It became a place of shelter and rest for travelers and at times the haunt of bands of outlaws. Every passing boat was in view from the Cave. The high hill above made it possible to know in advance when a boat laden with possible booty would arrive. The flat boat era and the unsettled state of society in that early day gave unusual oppor- tunity to outlaws from 1795 to 1820. Samuel Mason was one of the first who came. He was a Virginian and a Revolutionary soldier of good family. He first became known as an outlaw in the vicinity of Henderson, Kentucky, and at Diamond Island fourteen miles below. He came to the Cave in 1797 and put out a sign announcing that he had established there "A Liquor Vault and House of Entertainment." He had changed his name to Wilson since being driven out from his former haunts. Besides his wife, five children, two slaves, and an expert counterfeiter, he is said to have gathered about him one of the worst bands of robbers and counterfeiters that ever infested the frontier. After about two years his deeds became so notorious that he fled to the lower Ohio and Mississippi where he carried on and con- tinued to be a terror to boatmen and merchants. The Harpe brothers, the most bloodthirsty and cruel murderers that ever infested the Kentucky Territory, also used the Cave though they spent most of their wild career in Kentucky and Tennessee where they murdered scores of men, women and children often without cause and seemingly through mere hatred of mankind. They came into Tennessee about 1795 from North Carolina. Their father was a Tory, fighting against the colonists at King's Mountain. The older, Micajah. known as Big Harpe, brought Susan and Betsy Roberts from North Carolina. He claimed Susan as his wife, though Betsy often posed as such and at times as the wife of the younger brother, Wiley, known as Little Harpe. They wan- dered two years with outlaw bands of Creek and Cherokee Indians and then settled near Knoxville where Wiley married Sally Rice, the daughter of a preacher. They pretended to farm but stole livestock and sold it until discovered and driven out. They were captured in the Cumberland mountains but escaped. They returned and began murdering travelers for their money, and children for no reason at all. They ripped open the bodies of their victims, filled them with stones, and threw them into streams to conceal their deeds. They were again captured and jailed in Lincoln County, Kentucky but escaped. The women were tried for min- der but acquitted. A child was born to one of the women while in jail. All these events are recorded in court records. They were pursued to Adair County and then to near Henderson where the women joined them. They continued to murder as they fled, finally getting to Diamond Island 42 and then to the Cave. It led that they shot two or • who were at I camp fire on tin- Pottl plantation near the month of the Saline River in Illinois The> gathered i bind oi in about tbem at the < Then- is a tradition that a boat landed above " and I young man and his iweetbeaii wandered to tin- bluff i qua the bandit hideout Thej were sitting at th« the blufi Herpes slipped up behind them and pushed them of! the to ill tuo families were captured from i Qatboat I who were not murdered sHth the oth< One was stripped and tied to i blindfolded horse on the I >und The bOl 1 to run off tin- bluff to fall with its burden upon the rocks i bui Ion Tin- Herpes and tin bad to flee their old haunts m Kentucky ami Tennessee wlici't' they roiitinued to display their furj until Bi| Harpe was finally killed and in^ bead tal and bung in a tree at i place known as Herpes i !«-.• 1 neai Robin I about twenty miles from Henderson on the Henderson and Ifadiaonville road Later on, the Cave was used t>> counterfeiters \ man named Dufl thought bj some to nave been G* Clark's guide their and at tin- [eland Riffle He IS SUPPOOOd U) have gotten bad and m1\ it near bj In Illinois Another man. named Sturdevan! bad s borne on a bluff near Roaiclare 1 1 « used the < .< place to exchai counterfeit with bis agents whom be bad scattered all over the western country He go( sixteen dollars In cash for a bundled In counterfeit bills Citizens became suspicious and broke up tin- gang In 1831 alter which Bturdevant disappeared l have a copj ,,f ;i letter describing the suffei i woman who m thoee eartj days was left with her bab) at the Cave while the husband went in search of food She ate roots when food ran out and finally flagged a pasaiiig boat with her red skirt She was supplied with food by the boat people but refused to go with them, so she waited for her husband who had been captured by Indians but escaped and returned after two months She was a Mrs Thomas who was an ancestor ol |fn A <• Annej and the Robinsons of Saline Counts \b>re Information may be found in Rothert's "Bandits ol the ( eve In Rock Region," and in "The Outlau years." by Coafc 3 ~ Cave In Rock Cave from the River (Courtesy Egyptian Key) FORD'S FERRY A hundred years ago and more, Ford's Ferry was a chief crossing into Illinois from Western Kentucky. The ferry is abandoned now and only a narrow road between cornfields leads to the Illinois landing place where a few fishermen's skiffs are tied. It is nearly three miles up the river from Cave in Rock and fully four and a half by a fairly good gravel and dirt road. James Ford, who lived near Smithland and owned much property, had much to do with making his ferry a good crossing by seeing that the roads to it were improved. He was generally known as a good citizen up to near the time of his tragic death which followed a rapidly increasing suspicion that his was the master mind in a series of crimes connected with the ferry. He had the road improved for eight miles south of the ferry to the Pickering Hill and northwest on the Illinois side for twelve miles to Potts Hill. He changed the Low Water Road to what became known as the High Water Road over the hills for four miles from the river toward Potts Hill. There were thus twenty miles of improved road through a lonely wooded country over which travelers might go and find convenient taverns at intervals. Ford maintained a tavern near the Kentucky landing where shelter and food were provided. The house still stands nearly hidden 44 by trees from boats on the hut Dam 50 il .1 short way up the river in plain view from the Kurd Tavern. Bill] Potts maintained ■ similar • the inn The buildinc .1 double an. hi ol bewn farther down the dope and surrounded bj a ham so that the 1 the tavern served u corn cribi and haymow The barn with the (dd tavern in it burned a few later in this stor> itill flows plentifulb iroin under the ebl: the new • • ace The location 1^ an eighth "i .1 mile Route 1 and nine miles north | .11 Rock There are tales innumerable ol rol.l , d murdei tins loiu 1\ tweiit> mile- ol road between Pott- Hill .111. 1 Pickering Hill I loneb it was ami how cas> it \\; t s fol I in the; ma> be realized b> following the den-cl\ -haded and winding road under the bluff fur the last mile ol tin wa> to the bottom land toad down to the landing It is a good dr> weather road It 1- worth the tri] anyone familiar with the Ford 1 < ri\ traditions to experience thl b| oi loneliness within its shadows Authentic records about the ennies that were committed are wantum becaUM thin- weie no am and no court records to he kept until near the end of the period Oi I er> and crime The tradition about one ol the crimes is ai lollows The plan wa- for one ol either the Ford gang or the Potti fall in with a traveler at one end oi the twent\ mile Jouraej from either the Pickering or the Pott- inn a traveler who had monej might diaapi am: • I to the Potts Hill Tavern it he became coiil idential with the newly-made friend who wished to go with him tor safetj and company If the Victim '-lot as tar a- Pottfl Hill, be might lie murdered and bui in the vicinity before having a chance to resume in- journej on the fid 11 tales ot unaccountable disappearanci ami Fo rently were among th< I in hunting the men ami COmpanying a traveler 111 the eompanj and protection himself when he was surprised in the Mler- who chanced upon the mad at .m ... OUng Pott read the WOI aded that he had driven his BOO from home upon 1 . He fmalh ret: • .iter thai guised bj rd which he ■ lb- came b\ wa> of Kentucky and Stopped at the • the Vera 11. mpanioi When hi i that ti .. be made him-ell known The next da', to pla> tl the Potts home lb- wa- QOl :• i b> his ■nd displayed his monej \t bed tune he decided lown to the old -pun. lor a ill ink While kneelinu down to drink I \dl> ■ ■I bj the father and buried in a -hall.. His companions came over from the ferry next day. Billy Potts re- ported the rich haul he had made and would not believe that he had killed his own son. They uncovered the body and found a birthmark by which the mother identified her child. Finally the gang got suspicious of each other. Ford was treacherously killed by a band of men who visited him in a friendly way and began to disperse. A man tame with a letter to Ford who was sitting propped back in his chair in the passageway between the rooms of the double house or tavern. The messenger held a candle over Ford's head so that the Utter could he read. A shot from the darkness without pierced his heart. Just whether Ford was guilty of furthering the plans of the outlaws or was the victim of circumstances will never be known. Other facts indicate that he was not without blame. It is said that some of his de- scendants became people of great influence and worth in some of the larger cities of the middle west. The two taverns stood almost a hundred years after the passing of Ford. The spring flows on as ever before. The High Water Road is no longer traveled in its entirety. If ghosts could walk as of yore, they would no doubt be met by anyone who would ven- ture upon the abandoned High Water Road by night. ROSICLARE Rosiclare, the largest town in Hardin County, is three miles below Elizabethtown on the Ohio a short distance off Route 34. Nearly all but the business section of the town is beautifully situated on the hills. The casual visitor who drives down to the river front, turns around, and retraces his path may think he has seen Rosiclare; but he has not. He should drive west to Fairview past the high school up onto the hill and then turn toward the river to return along the railroad tracks. The old "Fairview" mine is here. Then he should go to the opposite side of town where the high bluffs overlook the river. The streets are not laid off in square blocks but are made to fit the hills. Neat comfortable homes are there. All the streets are hard surfaced with tailings from the mines, as is the road from Route 34 which leads in near two of the big mines, past the Y. M. C. A. Building long used as a community center. Rosiclare was settled about 1815 by a Mr. Roberts and is said to have been named for the two daughters of a French settler, Rosi and Clare. Most of the growth has been since 1874 when the village was first or- ganized. Lead was discovered in digging a well in the Fairview section in 1839. The fluor spar with it was of little value and was cast aside, only to be salvaged years after when it became valuable. Lead mining was profitable for a time. A smelter was in operation. As the deposit near the surface was exhausted, the expense of mining became greater. Quar- rying limestone then became the leading industry. Limestone cliffs bor- der the river for several miles. It was an easy approach for loading on boats. The stone had good cleavage quality. Greal quantities were ship ped south for paving levees and wharfs at Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans. It was used in building the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi 46 The fluor spar mining did not flourish unti in the open-hearth pi the iron fol out 189J; nail amounts were produced the constitutes U par produ : thai t! Crevices which later filled with ealeite oiih to t i with Hum Eroa the fluuis which came from the earth'i Lnterioi rhe • and are tiom a lew inches tO thirt\ lee! in thick unknown depths The main \ein extend- KMltl d by the location of the lai ger mil \ shaft is sunk and crOSSCUtS to the \<-ni aic inn at 100*1 Drills tollow the win from the crosscut then tint • below and falls to the chutes t <( be lo.ided into the mm< en removed from ebove the drill enothei croaacui I 100 feet lower \ depth of over 700 f< :e many smaller depotitl in the sin rounding lerhlOl . in Rock, the Benaone Compaoy*i mine end otl nation resulting In the vein's being horizontal N< Bed m | field northeast ot the old lien/one works which i- pn much worked out The prie taken from the mines varies ; ,s the demand iron increases and dc. I he demand I during the t .• w.ii^ mch that the propci :n-s were carefull) guard importance n\er and canal to Chicago During the depression the earls UWi the Induatrj dwindled \bout B 1 Oi the output I- le SUitabl I making it nine per cent is used lor enamels, porcelain gl M|Ue ■ making The balance is used in manufacturing hydrofluoric acid aluminum, germicide \n extreme!] >mall amount is knowi md silver are often found with the spar It is inten tch the various pro,. "washing, screening, picking, crush end grinding* < bj which the spar. lead, and sih panted from nd the ealeite, in the top works at the larger mini ■n metallic its colors ,,t varying ihadct ol blue green, purple yeJlou and white depend upon the degree <>1 pmiu Tin- transparent t\pe Is the pin- • nines tind that the miners b., into regular crystal-like forms which they sell 01 •> trectures ere Em d • erne of the mi D first mined This permit into tin- unnatural forms 47 THE LOST STREAM Indiana has her lost river. So has southern Illinois, except it is not a river. It is a small wet weather stream that loses itself as completely and in the same way as the Lost River of Indiana. Follow Route 34 from Harrisburg 24 miles to the Y which is where the road forks. The right branch leads to Golconda and the left to Rosi- clarc ;md Elizabethtown. Stop here at the filling station and refreshment stand and look around. Look about you for some depressions close to the station. They are sinkholes. They would be little ponds if they held water. In fact, none of the rain that falls on the fields in sight from the Y actually runs away very far in a surface stream. It goes into sinks. The region is underlaid with limestone which certainly must be honey- combed with caverns caused by the slow dissolving of the limestone by un- derground waters. Look for larger sinks on either side of the road a few hundred yards to the east on the Elizabethtown road, or back of the barn which stands to the south of the Y, or east from the first part of the narrow road which leads south toward Shetlerville. Let us go a few hundred feet southwest on the Golconda road to a concrete culvert bridging a small stream bed which drains the fields to the north. During rains, this stream carries quite a volume of water. Walk south along the stream bed into the woods for less than a hundred feet. Suddenly the stream goes into a basin and out at the bottom with a speed that makes one hold his breath. All the surrounding territory drains into this hole. In dry times, only the stream bed and the hole are to be seen. Now go back to the Y and south on the Shetlerville road about an eighth of a mile. Then cross the pasture on foot to the woods to the east. You pass a number of sinkholes, great funnel-shaped depressions, into which the water goes and disappears when it rains. Continue on east through the woods to a bluff. At its foot there is a large, ever-flowing, clear-water spring. There is much evidence that this spring discharges the water from the lost stream and other sinks. There must be a large settling basin or filtering system underground, for the water which gees in is often muddy while that which comes out is clear. If the stream which this spring feeds is followed about 600 feet to the southeast, it disappears into a bluff at the northwest corner of an extensive wooded ridge. It is extremely rough going over this ridge to where the stream comes out, more than a quarter of a mile to the south- east, from a cavern which opens out large enough to be entered a short distance. An easier way to get to the opening is to go back to Route 34, go east to the railroad track, and follow south about a half mile, along the west side of the track to the cavern. 48 SHETLER1 11. 1. E Sbetlerville u another historic phut- which :i thrivii with us many as fifty boil There are nou only a [en houses, one of which starting pumt to find Shetlen ille i>- from the n where Routt M from Harrisburg forks to go east to Rosiclare and BUsabethtowa I to Golconds The iraj to Sbetlerville ii two miles direct!) south from 1 i be rood i> parti] maintained i>> the company which the limestone quarr] near the river There was an older quarr) opei manj yean ;it the toot of the bum below the village it la novt abandoned The newer quarr] Ii about an eighth oi a mile northeast oi the oi travel One ihould note tin- approach oi tin- in coining and outgoing trucks "i crushed limestone In tunc tu pull « > t f tu tlu- wider passing stations made tor tins purpose ihc powerful i tee tin- blocks ot quarried itone to ail grades from agricultural lime high qualitj to "chat for driveways, rock for cement n te ti the rock] stream bed \< to the old quarr] and the now abandoned boxcar railua> Station and boat landing Mule teams can pull up this road but the visitor should leave his car and walk down Tin- rise from the \alle> to the uest bluff but short and reall> not difficult to climb with a car Thia I continues to GolCOnds It uas former!) a mail route uhuh uas hilly but pedally when it came near the river There la a high bri G and Pierre Creek about a mile ami a half uest ot Sbetlerville The level space at the top oi tin- biuif seems to be the onl) pari ot the toun that uas laid off into streets and lots The early struct;. tied wh e reve r then- v. od spot along the vallej sales i : ..HI houses OCCUPJ the east side ot the oiil\ street ulllcll Is open Tills :- into the Matheiu> farm uhcre extenslvi maintained If f< -moved the tuld lead directh to and to the iouer end of the bluff where no lo\er is reim-m • d to ha and along the bluff for l! mile uest th> : dou n to a rock> valley and a cane brake from which emerges the railroad track which is above high water mark most of the way under the bluff. The way back on the tracks to the quarry at Shetlerville is enjoyable, for the vine clad sandstone bluff is very high and much of it is vertical. The houses above the bluff at Shetlerville are said to be 200 feet above the river. The climb back up the old road to the dwelling at the top should be taken slowly both on account of the ever-changing view points and the danger of becoming too tired. The pilot lights are electrically controlled. They are serviced at in- tervals by a maintenance man who comes in a boat. A lady formerly made the trips daily down and up the bluff and to the west end of the bluff where the government man now comes up the above mentioned steps. Rosiclare is seen right up the river from the Matheney house. River boats with their tow of barges can be seen for long distances both up and down. Golconda is out of sight behind its own bluffs. Boats coming down from Rosiclare disappear behind a bend on the Kentucky side. Carrs- ville, Kentucky, is hidden behind this bend. Among my most pleasant memories are those of the times when I have broiled beefsteak on a forked stick and remained with my family by campfire while the moon came up on the river and the pilot light blinked in the distance. The channel is close into the north bluff so that the boats come in close. It is sometimes necessary to peer down over the bluff's edge to see them. Up river from the bluff the current swings to the Kentucky side. Much low rich farmland has been added to the Illinois side here in the memory of people now living. The two quarry sites are now much farther inland than they were formerly. Quarrying of sandstone was carried on extensively at one time. Much of it was used in paving the water front at Memphis. The late Fred Shetler told me of his boyhood when potatoes were grown on the then recently cleared level land on the bluffs. His home was about a half mile west of Shetlerville. They would dig potatoes in the afternoon. Very early in the morning, they would drive down to the boat landing and then have to wait for hours because other wagons were unloading ahead of them. The plat of streets and lots on the bluff was evidently made about the time of the town's hey-day. The man who operated the sandstone quarry and laid out the addition had begun a large building. The excava- tion still remains. He was murdered one day after working hours, Then, the improvement and quarrying stopped. Railroads to the Ohio took away the river trade. There was then little market for farm products, so the town fell into decay. The road from Golconda was under reconstruction with W.P.A. labor and was completed a good part of the way to Shetlerville. It should be finished. It deviated from the old road in places. Repairs on the unbuilt part ceased when the changes were begun. 50 GOLCONDA Gokonda. thirty-four milei from H outhern tenninua ni Route M and at the eastern end «>i Route 146 beautifully situated of the Ohio EUveT Citiei m Qllnoi i look the little city in the vaiu-> <>t Luak Creek The aouth bill, upon which pari el the town La located, is nearlj LOO feel above Luak Rauchfu on the north La about LOO feel bight Major Luak, a Scotchman, ao the of the two euiton ol Sara th<- daughtei ol a Vii ..i<>i 11. up a tract oi land at the mouth ol Luak Creek m L706 He died not long after and Sara continued to earn on Ln true pa Won In L800 tabliahed and ran the first ferrj often defending passi goods from fndiana and robbera, with her rifle She araa a born A monument arith a brome tablet testifying to her valor atanda Ln the north part of the Gourthouae yard Sara later married the other suitor, named Hamlet PV who ted much Ol the land In and around GolCOndS On Januarj 10, 1816, Pope Count) was organised bj Got W n Hai riaon Ol Indiana I «■ 1 1 1 1 » > i > and the town was lUTVeyed and nann River from Craig Home G a** ; . The first settlers were mostly from the rural districts of Virginia. Kentucky. Tennessee and the Carolinas. They were people of aristocratic tastes and high intelligence. Their influence brought others of the same type They brought their race horses and engaged in the sports and social activities oi the more settled eastern states. It was a true pioneer life that the) lived. It is related that John Crawford, an irishman who had settled in l!ii>'-s in Kentucky, three miles up the river, moved to the mouth of Grand Pierre (reek in 1808. where he took up land. His two boys, while driving the cows home from the woods, Found a strange animal disturbing the hogs. The father wounded the animal, a nine-foot panther with one bullet from his rifle. He held the struggling beast by its hind legs while the dogs at tacked and the two boys used stones and clubs in killing it after a des- perate struggle in which one of the dogs suffered severe punishment. The Presbyterian Church, at the turn of Route 146. was erected in 1869. It houses the oldest existing Presbyterian organization in the state. It is quite modern in that the lower story is a Sunday school room which is also used as a dining hall when occasion requires. This church was founded in 1819 by Nathaniel B. Derrow. a mis- sionary from Connecticut, with sixteen members. An earlier church had been organized at Sharon, near Carmi, but it no longer exists. Benjamin F. Spilman. son of two of the founders, received a college education and preached his first sermon here in 1823. He lived there as pastor for nine years and was pastor for twenty-two years. He died at Shawneetown in 1859, having served most of the Presbyterian churches of this part of the state, riding on horseback from church to church. It was fifty miles from Sharon in White County to Golconda. He is said to have ridden horseback 3.688 miles in one year. Riverview Park, overlooking the government dam from the south hill. is just back of some of the fine old brick residences which may be seen from the main part of town. It is a good climb up the stone or concrete steps which some of the residents use daily. The road is steep, but a car climbs it without difficulty. There is a wonderful view up and down river. The park is open to the public for fish fries and basket dinners but not for campers. The Rauchfuss Hill across the valley to the north is named for a Ger- man who came there after the Civil War. He is said to have made his money importing quinine and fine laces. The old Rauchfuss house, which burned a few years ago, had an observatory on top from which a most wonderful view of the river was had. It was built to imitate a castle on the Rhine. The story is told that Rauchfuss imported with the laces a wedding veil for each of his daughters, to be kept for their marriage. One daughter drowned by falling through the ice on Lusk Creek. She buried in the veil intended for her wedding. One of the numerous government dams on the Ohio is just below Golconda. It is of much interest. It and the whole dam system on the river are described under the title. "Ohio River Dams." 52 \ i. rvec built since the u>m i k>« ><: the dtj from high wa but obscures the vteu of the Ohio it is worth while tu drfo and then down rr. • of the dam This is one uf the 1 i a lock The river rien low, with ill and the far stretch id the Ohk) l>e\eiid. with the KeotUCfc) lulls in tl • is ample reward for the strep but not difficult dint- to the of the town IIPOO the south hill Dl\(>\ SPRINGS DtXM .spunks on Route 146 leu 1 1 1 1 . • been known as a plenum Tradition has it that thli wai .< m< of the Indian-, considered as neutral {round when- no battles should occur Mans Indian relics have been found in the vionit;. is no : of an\ conflicts It is said that then- is an old map in Ontario which Sulphui Springs at this place l>i\oii Spin; M the Old lunch trail Kort m kaskia, which came to tar east to svoid the iwampj ther west rhe small itream which Dowa i>> Dixon Spi out into i broader rallej i hall mile south ol the Spring! it was up this rallej that the Old trail came The canon below the p: bighwaj bridge is too rock) for ■ road so tin- lull was climbed on the ide ol the canon The old road mas be seen near the wi the bridge it descended when- the rock) road no* >wn to the spun. sd the stream west ot ttu- iwimming pool, and continued north the stream about wlu-re there || I : near the upper end <>f the park Here tin- trail ascends the tu 1 1 t<» the north A branch turns northward The unused roadways can be I The first owner of tl ipoii which the park is located was William DiXOn It was school land before he bought it C B Wheclci attractive home UVJ BCrOM tioin the hotel, added a thousand adjoining the Sprin (DOStl) north Ol the "ark and the 01 Dixon purchase Tl I Illinois is planning to taki • ntinuc the populantv which the Spring! have had : ioul.t improvements will be inane that will still further enhance tnral charm of the place Time was when all the available .. ed bj people who came to sta> for week-ei In addition to the home and th- hotel with its conJM ball .s an annex avail.!' ia sleeping quarter! Ibis hai used b> rariou rations which contract toi •> it : man) kinds in small and large groups and camp or rent quarters. There is a general store of the old time country type, a blacksmith shop which is almost a novelty in these days but a necessity in this hilly country, a restaurant, gas stations, a mill, and a large swimming pool. All these are on the Wheeler property A Mr Dixon, a direct descendant of the original owner, was caretaker. There are nine principal springs within the park. They are of vary ing mineral content. They are walled up with concrete and protected with shelters. Number seven spring is of remarkable purity. The water from it tastes like water does back home, if not better. Some of the others are different, relished by some and not by others. The only way is to taste them all and then decide which to use. Many people use the water from certain of these springs as remedies for various bodily ailments. The springs are situated near the valley stream which is fed by them. They are scattered among grand old forest trees among which are the beech and the tulip tree or yellow poplar both of which are becoming rare in southern Illinois. Great rocks are scattered about prone upon the ground among the trees or partly overturned near the cliffs. Cave-like recesses under the cliffs are dry and cool. A narrow place in the upper valley was dammed with a concrete wall a number of years ago to make a swimming pool. It filled with mud which washed down from the hills. Some visitors are at a loss to know what the concrete wall is there for. It is a favorite place to climb about and is about the upper limit for the tenderfoot. The great highway bridge spanning the valley below the park is said to be the finest and most beautiful in the state. It is 350 feet between the abutments. The arch is 75 feet above the stream bed. It cost as much as the average court house or high school building in southern Illinois county seat towns. A path leads downstream under the bridge. The open valley soon narrows to a canon abounding in huge rocks tumbled about among the trees. The paths are winding and lead to interesting caves and cliffs. Just where the going gets the roughest, some iron rods projecting from the rocks mark the site of an ancient water mill used eighty or more years ago. There was a store down the valley below. There has been a nominal fee for parking cars within the park. Those on foot enter free to explore, picnic, or otherwise enjoy themselves. The project has been financed through the swimming pool fees, restaurant, hotel, etc. The park recently came under state control. There are three churches (Methodist. Baptist and Church of God) all grouped on the hill east of the park. There are sen-ices on Sundays alter- nating between the churches, none of which has a pastor every Sunday. It is unfortunate that they cannot be united and combine their efforts into one stronger church. There is a state aid road gravelled all of the way to Glendale. From Glendale there is gravel all the way to Route 45 by way of Simpson. There 54 is also a good road to Eddyvillc. The Eddyville road to H process of reconstruction although the older snivel bighwaj hi made easy what was once .1 difficult joui' 1 hi: eddyville iv(»\d Tins itorj li not for the autoiel who oever leavei the paved ami who prefen to drive man) tunes ibout the public iquare li once to 1 wonderful drive over wooded billa and down Into deep valli Near Herod Golconda, Dixon Sprin rk, Buncombe Cobden and \it<» ire \ ivt. is ui inii and vallej thai tailed In real mountain countries Tbeee In ail th. leui do not give the Intimate, near up \ lew nt Nature that is afforded l>> the ::tr\ :s ,.( the Illinois (i/arks such as the old Ifitchellaville Bddj \ die ( i«li OOd of water after a hard ram but are onl\ trickling streams a hours alter On account id tin- apringa that teed them, some 1,. enlirch drj There is always something to delight the eye at thCSC lord ing placea It maj be poola Ol clear water or a glimpae up stream where rocks lie in fantastic shapes as tlie water has worn them or cast them aside with the force of a Hood The \ariet> oi trees and shrubs )s great They line the roadwa> on either side Thc> aie dOM up and a|>pear Iricndly It is not in to climb and sweat to see them The> reach their arms out I >ou or ' mu pass uniler 'The monotonj of mile on mile of 1 td is here exchanged For endless vaxietj Then >pen hill ii Which other still higher billl across the \all- . up in ever] direction Williams Hill is the hi all and in slew from man) situations 'Then, the road cloaei in anion, the treei In .. • alle\ to open out at the next hill top where le\el farm land occupies the l ' ■ 55 The last view of open country is from Delwood. now not much more than a filling station, high up in the northern edge of the Ozarks. some- thing like sixteen miles directly south from Harrisburg. The lights of Harrisburg are seen at night from here. Saline County lies spread out to the north beyond the valley of the Saline River. A few houses mark the site of a once slightly more prosperous, country community. Dwellings along the way are interesting. There may be a small log house sheltered in a valley by hills and tall trees. Another may be perched on a hillside with a real rock garden made from the abundant material at hand, but artistic and natural. This road could supply rock garden rocks to suit every whim for they are abundant nearly all the way from near Mitchellsville to gar beyond Eddyville. Paling fences sometimes of newly-split materials enclose rich garden spots. Hollyhocks and other showy cultivated flowering plants of summer are clustered along the front fences or in beds with their less conspicuous sisters. Mrs. Farmer, on a farm a few miles north of Eddyville, cultivated 200 varieties of gorgeous dahlias which were the envy of the women at the Harrisburg flower show. She started with a few varieties which she increased in number, till she had an extensive business, growing flowers and tubers for sale. Others along the road in all directions from Eddy- ville seem to have caught the spirit. Dahlias blossom at many farm houses in all directions from Eddyville and especially in some of the yards in the town. Mrs. Farmer now grows dahlias on a much smaller scale at the north limits of Eddyville. There are some small orchards on the hill tops where the soil and air drainage are excellent for tree fruits. Distance from market and the condition of the roads have prevented the growth of the fruit industry. This road is seen at its best either in early spring when the wild spring flowers are out with the blossoming red bud, dogwood, sassafras, haws, and other flowering shrubs and trees, or in October when the hick- ories, gums, sumac, dogwood, poison ivy, and sassafras present a riot of colored leaves. This latter effect is best following a dry autumn when the cooling atmosphere and scarcity of moisture cause chemical changes in the leaves which account for the bright colors. Eddyville is at least eighty-five years old. It was named after a man whose first name was Eddy. It is said that the post office was called Book at first. There are, or have been recently, several business houses, including a general store, restaurant, barber shops, undertaking estab- lishment, garage, and bank. The old mill north of town no longer operates. The machinery has been moved away. Water mills once operated at the creeks east and west of town. A limestone cave is south of the town. The Indian Kitchen is northeast on Lusk Creek. If one wishes to see more of the hill country without taking the southeast road to Golconda he may go to Glendale seven miles away over the good road, and from there to either Dixon Springs or Simpson on the gravel. A branch of the Glendale road leading directly south instead of southwest and extending on to Waltcrsburg on Route 146 is very scenic. Most of the territory along the Eddyvilk into forest The residents are prom. Mitchellsville They need it. but it- the native charm which tin- old on< KOBRS\ ILLE \\ c read "i western towns thi ip in .1 1 was discovered Hut who ever heard ol 1 towi on ordinary (arm land In Illinois? Much lesi would happen durii of financial depression when small to Inst life Ami who would look for luch to happen li midst oi the Southern Dlinoii Osarks? One afternoon when the depression had eboul reached 1( 1 followed the StoneforMlcCormick-Jsckson'a EIollow-Glendali Dixon Springa \t Glendale, the] told dm that Simpson laj about five milei and that the {ravel road wu south to i>i\on Springa 1 took Horao Glendale hi at the eastern end oi in east and west vallej ipread out iiftMtr:i two ot the parallel ridges ol the <>/.,iks The Bdgewood cul of the Illinois Central Railroad cr o sse s tins vallej from north to south shout two miles west of Glendale and pinscii, oj long tunnels, through both the north and tin- south range of hills The hill rangea and the farms In the vallej kepi me thinking ol their beauty and the sppropriatenesa ol the name. Glendale, §0 that 1 paid little attention to what was ahead Suddenly, 1 tound myself on a !>nd.. .1 man made ehasm which proved to be i railroad cut through the ri which the highway aurmounted .\wa> down to the north a loi .it the Biding appeared to ser\e for a railway station It was down there where the ground is lowei end the cut is not so deep ao that et to the aiding aa it would not be when- the cut ii the i»n<: i came upon tins crossing ao auddenl) I reminded of the deep narrow canyons in the CanyOU Diablo region in Arizona where the plateau is BO level that tin- ean\iiis .nc in .t s. . :i till - roaring over the bridges that span them Lot ead, I found that I utertng the bro . town What was more astonishing, was th.it Ufc old building there, and it was on the f;uin U-lore the town W8S built taurant, they said I was in Robbsville. m> map showed no ; that name so 1 came on home, wondering What waa wronj with the : maker- Then I questioned whether I had been to aUCfa a town or had imed it 1 found a friend who had il 'here His nnml normal In all other matten n 1 concluded that tin- map mar were the MM at fault or had not kept up with progress in .on. At the second visit, in the 1933 year of recovery, I learned that A. L. Robbs, the owner of the town site and of lands surrounding it. had built and mostly completed the stores, shops, and dwellings three years ago. Hi had been a contractor on the work of b uilding the railroad, and had extensive interests at Simpson and elsewhere besides being engaged in various construction contracts. His home was one of the several which are on the south side of the one street of the village. All the houses were occupied and there were three families in one house and two in another. This is not the normal condition because a crew of men who were cementing the tunnel to the south accounted for the unusual popula- tion. The south end of this long tunnel is but a very few miles north of Robbsville and the north end of the south tunnel is about as far south. There is a brick high school building with a commodious gymnasium. A three-year high school was maintained. Young people from as far as Eddyville attended. It is said that Mr. Robbs advanced several thousand dollars to complete the school building when the bond issue was inade- quate. The school is the only building in the town that is not on the one wide street. Nearer the railroad on the north side of the street is the two-story auto sales room and office and garage. The street is on a ridge such that the office is entered from the street and cars are run directly into this upper story from the front. Cars may also enter the garage from the ground level of the lower story from the rear. The large general store has the same arrangement. Goods can be unloaded from trucks directly from the street in front or directly into the basement at the rear. Only car load lots can be received or shipped from the "depot" since the traffic on this branch railroad line is confined to through freight only. Among the business enterprises was a restaurant, barber shop, black- smith shop, undertaking establishment, and a mill. All of these were in operation except the undertaking rooms. I did not learn why the under- taker quit and was not told of any doctor living there, all of which would indicate that it is a healthy place to live. All other enterprises that started when the town was open for business continued. A post office shortened to Robbs, had been established very recently. The new mill with a capacity of seventy-five barrels a day was just getting started. Mr. Robbs owned all of auto sales and garage, general store, and mill. The buildings are electrically lighted. There is a sewer system. Whether the lighting system is municipally owned, I did not learn. The Dixon Springs-Glendale-Robbsville-Simpson-Tunnel Hill road is good and can be traveled at all seasons. 58 DIXON SPRINGS EXPERIMENTAL STATION Dixon Sprii rimenUl Station acres of typical Ozark upland which Wl redo •■ of low fertility. get* it- name from I). which i.s located south of it perimento Vienna, twents miles northwi north <>f Metropolis, and thirty ti\«- milei soutl is Robbs, iiiinoi- The project li ten years old the land Tin- I of Illinois eootroli tin- experimental work The Boil of tin- (Jolted stairs Department of Agriculture i ami water I on essarj homes and building for experimental ited Thi : ibould Inquire at the experimental end Uld mi; which is prominentlj located on the h .\hnh pa the area between Bobhe and Dixon Spring! Park a varietj of verj practical land uae itudiei li carried en ITk elude pastures, livestock, turkej raising water supplies the live stock shelters, ami erosion control. \ lake, with facilities for bathing, picnic ovens and shelter, and i pounds with sprii ivailable for all THE l\DI W l U>DER Time when Indians held undisputed swaj In southern Qlino far In the forgotten past Vet, old men have told me ol sional Red Man wandering back to revisil his own hunting ground men sre all gone and almost forgotten Thej have left no their ■•• mounds, some potter] saostlj bi and a multitude ol stone weapons and tools \\ ,- have no Indian save DuQuoin, Wetaug, ami Shawnee town Othei where Men were not so numerous are replete with names such as lea, Oconee, Nokomis Pontine, Tiskilwa, Winnebago Mo weaqua, Kankakee, and J'eoria Wt Sre without Indian traditions | little to stir the mi.. tion of youth with tales (d Indian edventure or romance History, not tradition, records the last battle of the Shaunees with Um tO the A monument out of the west :ankfort marl their defeat id chief DuQuoin and his warrii Tin- Indian 1 'hhi near (,'larida Snin. : worth recitii e tale Is not long or thrilling It is of human neceasitj and Invention bluff Which men toda> do not : a half nni< es the upper end raHej of Clarids Branch wh under this 59 bluff. The rocks overhang in some places sufficiently to shelter livestock or the camper. The spring water is cold and abundant. Cedars top the bluff. The Mushroom Rock and the Balanced Rock are worth tramping down the valley to see. An old barbecue pit by the tulip trees remind us that this is a good place to assemble. It was a good place for the Indians to meet. I can imagine game being chased up the valley while red skinned hunters lay in wait with bow and arrow near the one wide exit toward the Sand Cave. I see the squaws and papooses waiting by the spring under the bluff while the hunters ranged the surrounding hills for game. But, it was inconvenient to go to either end of the bluff to reach the higher ground above. I. myself, have found it so and have used the ladder to climb up for camp supplies from the farm house above. The ladder is a small cedar log with stubs of side limbs well worn and rounded. One end rests on a great mass of rock which has tumbled from above. The other reaches to the top of the rock wall which is lower here than elsewhere. The story is that the log was there when the white man came. Old men say that the story came to them as boys from their grandfathers and that it was never disputed. Yes. How do we get there? It is best to find your way as you go. The Cedar Bluff school is near. You can go west three miles from Eddy- ville or come east from McCormick. The dirt roads are fairly good in dry weather. Inquire for the Marion Shufl'lebarger farm and then for the old Merida Mealer home which is on the bluff a short distance back from the ladder. Indian Ladder and W. V. Rathbone 60 ROUND ABOUT Md ORMH K IfcCormick U I rural \i! i)out on the top el the Qlinoia Osarks it is little mora than iix miles from either Stonefort or Osark which ere en Route 49 At one time IfcCormick on the main eeel and west route along the Ozark ridge and li yet foi U who travel that wa\ Uithm a reditu <>t four miles tniiii llcCormick then h at tractive ipoti t<> make It worth while t<> camp at one ol tin • tend a week exploring the othen rhera la the Old Stone '"it i ittle Saline river tour miles awaj In the line toward Harrisbu tooul imp, is 1.1 .hi- o direction There Is Burden Fails near the bead <»t Burden Creek where 'he water dropi leventj i *-*i into a rock walled chasm Thii ii three milei nortbi llcCormick mi the road toward Delwood The Pall is down In a field north ol tin- road The road runs just shove the tails Th< a village there n<» trace <>t It is hit \n outcrop "i sandstone In Is oi material suitable toi whetstones la exposed east oi where tin 1 watei down. No water goes over in drj times, onlj a little In ordinarj tii ami a tiood when it rains Burden creek and iti west fork, och, drain an eXCeedingl) rough and rock\ an Illinois Central railroad tunnel passes under the one mam Ft of llcCormick The tunnel is two miles loi The south end ol the tunnel is m Jackson s Hollow Before the rail : ami tunnel wen- built, a great naturalist who had been in main si and COUntiOS said this valley was the most beautiful place m Illinois The high r;'ck fill extending down the valley of I. ittle lla> creek .spoiled much of that Bide Ol the Hollow. The Ion- branch hollow coming down from the west was almost undisturbed When the tunnel was started. I wrote to President Harriman of the Illinois Central asking that the heautv oi the place be not disturbed wherever possible 1 1. answered that he would Mat it was not When all was done, even though there had been work men- cabins and machincrv tin cans, and all sorts oi debris, nothing was left to mar the area outside of the rrjitot wa\. or to Indicate that a busy camp had been there The dint beauty Oi the Hollow is its line beech trees which were not disturbed The clear pools of water and tumbled rocks are other attractions alon^ the little stream It is so walled m OJ Ugh cliffs that campen down in the Hollow are unable to tell much about an approaching thunderstorm at night Lightning Hashes and thunder • i the rim are so modified down in the depths that their direction canni tdil] determined. 'I he best entrance is away up at the west end of the west branch when the car must be parked on a glade "1 bare rocks b\ the roadside :e is on the east fide ol the road a mile and a halt south of the /.ion church and cemet.r> which in turn are more than two miles from llcCormick on the road to Osark \ dim roadway no longer used ma] bo followed down into the Hollow which be-ins a short distance from Bl 1 7* V Mushroom Rock — Clarida Branch Clarida Spring 62 Sand Hi - _ aCHHU^M Belk Smith Sprint n Pope County Natural Bridge 64 Fori Massac When First Improved (Or W S Sw*n Photo) Fort lis 88 the road. The old road down the Hollow is only a good foot path for the mile to the railroad. It is cool down there in the shade. The shifting scene is delightful to the eye. The fine spring where the branch hollow ended is covered by the railroad. Part of the north and south hollow u outside the railroad right of way to the west. The famous dripping rock, as large as a three story business building, stands poised away from the cliff. Water drips continually from a projecting portion near the top. The walking fern, which is very rare, is found in the hollow Belle Smith Spring is another attraction. It is near the mouth of Hunting Branch which I once descended for two miles behind a mule team. Once, I went down through abandoned fields in a truck. At other times. I have come down Spring Branch (or Clarida Branch) from Clarida Spring two miles on foot past the Mushroom rock and the Balanced rock, the like of which people go to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado to see. Belle Smith is an everlasting spring of good water. The canon like valley is especially alluring along Bay Creek between where Hunting Branch and Clarida Branch enter it. The great Natural Bridge is up against the cliff near where Clarida Branch enters the Bay. Its span is 150 feet. It is twenty-five feet from the rocks below up to the middle of the arch. Two cars could cross side by side if there was an approach for them. The climb up to the top is steep. Over the ridge at the head of Clarida Branch a third of a mile west of Clarida spring and the Indian Ladder, the great Sand Cave is found in a cliff that faces the valley of Bay Creek which is much wider here than it is a mile below. The Sand cave is a great dome shaped cavern 150 feet in diameter which widens out from an entrance into the sandstone cliff. Many cliffs are deeply undercut in this vicinity but none are like this cave. Herds of cattle keep cool in here in summer and warm in winter. The clay floor is pitted where the credulous have dug for treasure. The Cedar Grove Church and School are not far away. This section about Bay creek may also be reached from Eddyville. The roads are so twisted in this region about Belle Smith and Clarida springs that it is better to know the general direction of the destination and then make inquiry locally. METROPOLIS Metropolis, near the southern end of Route 45 in Illinois is a beautiful city, high and dry above the Ohio river. The city was laid off in 1339. It is therefore the youngest county seat along the Ohio and the largest excepting Cairo. Lying twelve miles below Paducah and not far below the outlets of the Wabash, Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers, it soon be- came a commercial center of importance. It was the natural stopping place for the many great rafts of valuable logs that were cut along these rivers and brought down with the spring floods to be manufactured into ordinary lumber, staves, spokes, buggy bows, porch columns, plow handles, veneer to be made into boxes and baskets and ply wood, and many other things made of wood. Near the early nineties, the river front from the Fort at the east to beyond the present site of the railway bridge approach was lined with factories engaged in such manufactures. 66 Wages were never high bat everyone had I i« |fi the most prosperous cit.v m southern Illinois tor several counties fa educational system was outstandin. 'hern Illinois cities ual life was animated and distinct.. :man familn high type were among its earlj dtiietia tme bj art] el the river from Cincinnati and the region above 1 he town was distmctlv southern in its. way of thinking, with the element ol the iturdj thrift of the erner from up river Business was good There wei prosperit tentment There was no railroad till neat tin- .ml of thl •■ :h The n\er was the hifhWI) and the sourre ol wealth Steamboat* real rafts and hai .1 limii I'lltsbui^h made life in the riv.-i cit.v less monotonous than it was m the intcrioi towns haek win: train came in hut twice .1 da> \ Ik. at from I'aducah made the lound tii|i SCO. da] Another made the lound trip to I'aducah daily through boati to Cincinnati, Wen Orieani and Bl Louii The ion.; drawn out moan id the lou pitched steamboat whittle coming intervals from the hoats that ran on schedule, and more fiequ.-ntlv from the transient ones, was an hourlv reminder 'hat thn: happening in the outside world There was much hospitalitv and going Parties of ladies and men In-nt on shopping took the boat trip l<» Cincinnati Thev shopped in dav nd went to the theatre at night 'The tune on the I. oat WW lcisurelv hut there was much sociabilitv Tin- meals were sumptuous, the teener] was Hon, and life on the boat wai one round ot pleaaui AbOUl 1800, after the railroads had come and made the n\er less important, the Logging mdustiv began to -row less because the best timber had been cut 'The boats became fewer in number and carried less : and sun (ewer peeding up Traini and • :. ester than boats By 1000, mdustrv in the- city on the- river hail ed a number of tin- steam boats still lingered The Fowler, the Hopkins the Peten Lee and the Cowling an names ,,t boats el that later dav that are remembered Thev in ne The railroad took the • right by tin- city without leaving toil Now the truck has stolen the profit from the railroad The great railway bridge, when buildn.. at that time darted with the fifteen greatest engineering enterprises under construction The- people of Metropolis lost n fine opportunity in not or gailfadng to have the bridge made for auto traffic at Comparatively little additional cost, just about the tune that automobiles and hard roads were making such a passage ddSltlblC Metropolis is beautiful and clean and fneiidlv Her industries have ■ Ives to the changed conditions she docs not boom, neither does she bl i-atly depressed Shi' is on one of the- main tOUt the South. Tfi' haul mad to BrOOkpOfl and across the bn ' I'aducah. bv wav of Koule 4."> Erosion — Massac County — 1940 On Route 45 — Such Erosion is in a Verv Limited Area in This County OLD FORT MASSAC Fort Massac lies at the extreme east limits of Metropolis. It is a beautiful state park with unimproved land and a tourist camp beyond the site of the fort itself. Its early history is obscure but it was undoubt- edly built by the French. One tradition is that the garrison or part of it was enticed across the river by what appeared to be several bears coming down to the water on the opposite side to drink. They were really Indians covered with bear skins and when the soldiers got to the other shore in pursuit they were massacred, hence the name. Speaking of the establishment of the fort. Smith in his History of Southern Illinois, says: "It seems to have been there or was located there during the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1754 to 1763. One date for the fort's origin is 1759. When the retreating French who had been driven from Ft. Duquesne arrived at this point, they halted, and if the Old Fort was there, they occupied it, and if there was none, they may have built one. At least, in a description of the forts surrendered to the British by the French in 1763, one clause is as follows: "Thirteen leagues from the Mississippi, on the left bank (right bank) of the Ohio, is Fort Massac, or Assumption, built in 1757 or 1758, a little below the mouth of the Cherokee'." In 1776, Capt. Harry Gordon, chief engineer of the western department, visited the Old Fort and says: "Halted at Fort Massac, formerly a French fort." 68 Smith further relates that in 1778 General I lark arrived at Fort Kntftf OH his famous trip to Kaskaskis t lark left no description of the fort In 18i»4 Aaron June visit ral Wilkinson who w>> true: the fori ■ bt i>\ tin 10 overgro w n with underbrush thai the dirl rsmperti ind tl where tin- blockhouse! itood oould be traced onij with difficult) The river wm cutting Into tin- bluff and threaten!] the lite ol the fori Lead bulleti and other relics Indicative of the use ol th<- pis i fori were collected m lat \t tboul tl box-like dram projected from the bank leveral feel down it and evident]) ran : ool within th< serve In time •• i i At thai time Um >ld citizens who n bered when there were remaini oi tin- blockhouse which itood southwest corner of the foi b Since the pi me i public park. ■ monument bj the Daughters <>t i M»- American Revolution Thii bai been and made more lubstantial and Imposing The underbrush is cleared sway, old cannon haw been placed at the four cornera oi the ramparts where the blockhouses evidently stood, dtj water ai tems bav< installed, a dn\eua\ has been made a home lor the caretaker hi built, and a pavilion affording shelter and conveniences for public gather .is been buill The pavilion Is within the space which may have been cleared and used for i drill and parade ground A concrete lei wall has stopped the encroachment ol the river \ One vieu of the Ohio is had both up and down Paducah Is hi the distance up itream The bridge si Brookporl Is nearer, and tl.. ernmenl dam is nearer than the bridge Looking down itream, the railroad bridge, the only one between Cairo and BvansvUle, I s - In vieu Over it ami the free bighwaj bridge si Brookporl pssscn an Immense amount of through and local traffic Fori Massac is the onlj historic point m the extreme southern part of Illinois that Is so well-marked and so attractive. There is no better to mingle the Joys of picnicking and camping and sightseeing with the bistorj and traditions of the past than here under the ihade tr ee s at this historic old fortification. If the spirits ot those who built and used u in the early days should walk and talk with tin- happy throngs who \isit hen ..mbitions and hopes and fears would unfold that WOUld quicken the pulse and stir the imagination of the \ isitor should be in such an Imaginative state of mind to thorough!] enjoy such thii The cannon winch marked the tour corners oi the fori and an attempt to restore the earls 1'ieiuh setup has been made, using Wl'A lal m OHIO RIVER DAMS The Ohio river is now a navigable stream for all boats at all seasons except when there is ice, due to the series of locks and dams completed by the Federal Government. The dams were numbered from 1 to 54 in the original plan. The number is reduced by doing away with Dams 2. 3, 4. 5 and 6 near Pittsburgh and substituting others, but fewer, ones. Dams 40, 42 and 54 have been eliminated. Dam 51 just below Golconda No. 50 near Fords Ferry, No. 52 near Brookport and 53 ten miles below Joppa are all on the Illinois border of the Ohio. The Ohio is 981 miles from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Cairo. It drains 203.900 square miles. The lowest measured flow at Pittsburgh is 1,100 cubic feet per second and the highest flood discharge is 440,000 cubic feet per second. At Cairo, the estimated low water discharge is 27,500 cubic feet per second and the estimated maximum discharge is 1,500,000 cubic feet. Formerly for about five months of the year the river was at low water stage so that large boats had trouble in navigating at such times. Floods at other seasons now cover the dams completely. Here are some of the high water marks: Pittsburgh 35.5 ft.; Parkersburg 58.9 ft.; Ports- mouth 67.9 ft.; Cincinnati 71.1 ft.; Louisville 70 ft.; Paducah 54.3 ft.: Cairo 54.8 ft. These marks were raised in the flood of 1937. The average fall per mile below Pittsburgh for 60 miles is over eleven inches. From Cincinnati down, it averages four inches per mile. There is a drop of 26 feet in two miles at Louisville, Ky. The old Louisville and Portland canal at this point was taken over by the government and enlarged as were a few of the dams and locks near Pittsburgh, begun in 1873. At a point 105 miles below Pittsburgh, the river narrows to 890 feet. It is 5,910 feet at the widest place eighteen miles above Cairo. The physical features of the river account for the fact that in the original plan there were five dams in the first ten miles below Pitts- burgh, while there is a distance of thirty-five miles between Dam 51 at Golconda and No. 52 at Brookport. The cost was also increasingly great down river. The dam at Golconda cost $4,370,566. The purpose of the dam is to raise the level of the water above it, The lock is to let boats in and out. If a boat is going down stream, the lock is filled through openings in the sides. The upper gates open and the boat enters. Then the water is let out, the lower gate opens and the boat proceeds at the lower level. The process is reversed if the boat is going up stream. The "bear trap" out where the water is rushing over is to regulate the height of the water above. If the river is low and a boat should stick on a bar miles down the river, the water could be raised by in- creasing the flow so that the boat would be lifted off. All movements of the "bear trap", the gates of the lock, and the water in and out of the lock are caused by the pressure of the water of the river as motor power. 70 The Golconda dam is JITo feel wide from the locks to tbfl Kentucky bank. The lock is 11U feet wide am: long Ten to eighteen men are required to operate the plant depending on ih. opens for any boat Small un* such .ts I skiff nu. in hour if there is no other traffic during that time About fortv through per month, and three limes as main smaller Cfl four boats of the Mississippi Barge Line, tin- "Ohio the "Indians "Tenneseee,* 1 and the "Louii ed the locks Some bosti picked up freight almost an> where Otben took onlv bergC load lots at imp terminals Borne to ' iL Iron 1 m 90 ||(| " I The traffic was increased matenallv 111 The value of the dams and iocks irai well demonstrated during World w.u 11 The] permitted cheap and lafe transportation of wai at I most critical time The government bj thus maintaining 1 nine loot channel ft for the entire length of the Ohio has at the lame time reailj cut the river into about fiftj lakes end brought shout new conditions In river '•pinions differ about the effect on life in tin- rivei Comn lishcrincn cannot so readilv locale the big lisb 111 the boles and channels as in tin- turn- of low water It is tin- prevalent opinion that the n DM fish in the river and its tributaries is Increasing to tin- adv. of the amateur fisherman PORTS AT SMITHLAND One of the finest weekend drives OUt Oi Illinois is t hi- round trip through Smithland. Kentucky, and returning through Shawnee! That portion of Kentucky lying between the Ohio River and U S Koutc GO which connects Morganfield with 1'aducah is almost | foreign countrv to those of us from Hsrrisburg who frequentl) explore bills of the Illinois counties this side of the river There are feme- at ('ave in Hock. Kli/a- bethtown and Golconda which are more or less t: Route til) Not much of the countr> is s,-,- n from these roads Th- us at Golconda that the ioads 00 the other side of the it. p0OI that WO should not try to go BCAMI that way Kxtensive spar mi : ■ hidden s om ewhere across from Kosiclarc The coal fields about DeKoven are also out of the routes of travel Better roads now lead to alu. the places of inten I However what cannot be gone through ma> :■• will take the well known National Trail beyond the promised land era! points of interest should be noted befi 1 lering the forts The farming InterC . aricd and attractive at intervals There are unique dwellings and attractive : them It must be remembered that the lands were not laid out in sections over there as 111 Illinois and lcncc lines dfl not run as in in belt in and shout llorganficld a {rest nem sgricultural interest 71 sprang up in the growing of Korean lespedeza, a legume which grows on sour land. Growers and dealers in and about Morganfield have prospered in times of depression on account of the great demand for seed, hundreds of thousands of pounds of which is distributed from there annually. Stur- gis is in the West Kentucky coal region. Morganfield, Marion, Salem, Smithland, and Paducah are all county seat towns. "County Court Day" in Kentucky is of interest. A certain day each month is set aside for court matters. It became a custom to combine court business with bartering on the streets. This custom was quite common a generation ago but has somewhat died out as a means of com- munication have been improved. On a typical "County Court Day" the roads to town are filled with caravans of mules, colts, cows, calves and goats being led to town. Crates containing pigs and calves may be seen in the same wagon bed or truck with household furniture, farm imple- ments and everything else that might be used in a trade. I visited "Jockey Block" in Princeton recently and found the vacant space near the public square filled with traders, colored and white, with their wagons, old cars and livestock. There was much examining of teeth of horses and mules of uncertain age and much visiting, but little actual trading. It appeared that business was in the midst of a depression. We have blazed the trail. Now let us get back to Paducah for the trip east. First we cross the Tennessee river whose sources are in the Cumberland Mountains of Virginia. This river is not much larger at Paducah than at Florence, Alabama, because its watershed is very narrow as it crosses western Tennessee and Kentucky. It is fed by mountain streams far from its mouth. The new Gilbertsville Dam is a half hour's drive up the Tennessee river. The Cumberland River enters the Ohio fifteen miles above Paducah at Smithland which is on the south bank. The Cumberland and Tennessee are somewhat parallel across Kentucky and but a few miles apart. They almost come together a few miles above Paducah. In 1779, James Robertson of Virginia, with 200 poineer settlers, set out by way of the Boone Wilderness Road for the Cumberland Valley. His partner, Colonel John Donelson, set out from Ft. Patrick Henry for the same place with a company of men in boats. They were beset by Indians in the Tennessee rapids and some were killed. Donelson came on down to the Ohio and went up the Cumberland where he met Robertson and founded Nashville, Tennessee. In September 1861, General Grant came from Cairo and to Paducah and displaced the small Confederate force there, placing General C. F. Smith in command. A few weeks after Smith fortified Smithland which is on the low ground in the angle between the two rivers. Cumberland Island is opposite the mouth of the Cumberland. High ridges overlook the town from the south. A fort was constructed on the ridge top overlooking the mouth of the Cumberland. Another on a ridge top farther southwest commanded the Ohio and the island. If the hillsides were cleared of timber, the two forts controlled navigation which was important at such 72 times as the capture of Fts. Henry and Donelson. The earthworks at the southwest fort which is near an old road above the cemetery remain little disturbed in the woods. They are breast high. Placements for cannon and passages to the inner trenches are easily found. Alter crossing the Cumberland and going nearly to historic old Salem. a road turns off toward Birdsville. There is a monument here by the Lucy Jefferson Lewis Chapter, Children oi the American Revolu- tion, 1924. Lucy Jefferson, a Bister of President Thomas Jeff< buried on a high hill a mile and a half over toward the Ohio River She was born in Virginia in 17(i2 and died in Kentucky in 1811, according to the inscription which gives directions for reaching U The hilltop overlooks the Ohio which is in the distance t<> the northwi The return trip may be made shorter by cutting across from Rout to either Elizabethtown or Cave In Rock. OHIO RIVER ISLANDS Why nut own an island, especially it it can be obtained without i Here is the plan. Find one that is in its infancy, where a sand bar has emerged so that willows and some soil have tonic: one that is just starting to grow in some navigable stream. Then file your claim with the eminent ahead of everyone else. Next wait for the island to grom up. And there you are. Some such beginnings never get larger or large enough to be of value. A shoal in the river or an alluvial island that is small is often called a towhead. HcKi] ley Island, below Cave in Roc* said to have first been large enough to name during President RfcKinley's administration. It is now nearly a mile long and valuable. Some river islands are remnants of high lands that have been cut off by dividing channels such as Goat island at Niagara Falls. Those of the lower Ohio are the kind that grow. So it is that river islands i^row or they may be destroyed by the r changing currents first cutting on one side and then the othe the river. Drift mud lodges on a sand bar. Willows start to -row More mud is drifted or dropped by an eddy. Other materials accumulate at the lower end. The larger islands usually extend themselves downstream Often they are cut off at the upper ends. In another article, mention made that Hurricane Island at Elizabethtown has moved down stream a half mile in fifty years. One light occupation is to sit and watch an island go by. 7:* Government charts of the Ohio list not less than eighty islands from Pittsburgh to Cairo besides many towheads and bars. Some names are suggestive of their origin such as Crow, Hog, Bat, Goose, Raccoon, Dog, Deadman, Big Bone, Eighteen Mile, Twelve Mile. Eight Mile. Six Mile, and Slim. Blannerhassett Island near Parkersburg, West Virginia, had on it the palatial home of its owner whose name it bears. Here came Aaron Burr who with Blannerhassett and his ambitious wife planned to over- throw Mexico and establish a government of their own in the southwest Corn island below Cannelton, Indiana, was where George Rogers Clark embarked on July 24, 1778, to go to Kaskaskia by way of Ft. Massac. He planted corn on the island to make Indians and any French scouts that might be about, believe that he expected to spend the summer there, hence the name. Diamond Island between Mt. Vernon, Indiana, and Hen- derson, Kentucky, was the holdout of such outlaws as the Mason gang and the Harpe brothers of the bandit days about Cave in Rock. The first island along the Illinois boundary is Wabash Island at the mouth of the Wabash river. It is the largest of them all with an area of sixteen to eighteen hundred acres. There are several farms and a school district on it. It is bordered with willows and some larger trees. The soil is very fertile so that immense crops of corn are grown there in seasons when floods do not destroy the crop. Other of the larger islands down stream are also used exclusively for growing corn. The floods leave new layers of very rich soil. As such an island moves down stream the wil- lows cover the new ground at the lower point. The farmers clear about fifty feet of older willows each season thus extending the cultivated area down stream as the island extends itself. Bell Island, just above Shawneetown on the Illinois side, now has land connection with Illinois though it is part of Kentucky. All these islands and the river itself are part of that state because the Kentucky boundary is the north bank of the river. Land once in a state is always in even though it may attach itself to another. The southwest tip of Bell Island is a sandy beach much frequented by bathers. The Cincinnati Bar is now an island seen down stream from Shawneetown. Saline Island just above the mouth of the Saline river is low and unimportant. There is an island a few miles below lying close to the Illinois shore extending between Seller's Landing and Battery Rock. Cave in Rock Island is above the town of that name and near the Kentucky shore. Next below is Me Kinley Island with the smaller Plew Island on the Illinois side farther down. The up stream end of Hurricane Island is alongside of Plew Island but this big island extends down stream three miles, past Elizabethtown. threatening to shut off commerce from the town. Hurricane Island grows many thousands of bushels of corn in a good season. There are houses I here which are occupied by the workmen during the corn growing season. Golconda Island lies nearer the Kentucky side above the town of the same name. Pryor Island is two miles below Golconda. Next down stream are The Sisters Islands, Stewarts Island, and Dog Island. There is Cum- berland Island at the mouth of the Cumberland River and Tennessee Island 74 at the mouth of the Tennessee si Pedis I on the ms] blsnd near Mound t " 1 1 > it is unfortunste for those who would enjoy tin- besutiful Ohio with its One seenery, which li si tti n Psduesh t«» the mouth • Wsbssh, that there li • guler trsnsportsUon tor pass, i There li much to enjoj bj those who M;.% *- privets leundx the use <>i one . or pan! pa I in GEORGE ROGERS ( L IRK I R ML in 1 7 7 r> then 100 white people In Kentucky, mostl) men who had 200 .iin- m cultivstion shout Boonsboro snd rlsrrodsbui Clark BSSisted in defending HsiTOdsbU] I SII Indian in 1777. which sttsck he thought was Incited bj the British who held OUntT] ninth id the <>hii> and wen .1! KsskSSklS Yiiiccuih Detroit Two ipies, Moore snd Dunn, senl to Kssksskia In 1 ttt confirmed ll-pHIHIl n is Interesting to note the acsreitj ol militsrj luppliei on trontier when compered with present dsj srmj expenditures S supplied her colonies In Kentucky with 900 pounds of powder snd one kc^ d with which Use; successfully repelled the Indians Clerk \mm 1 1 tu Pstrick Henry, Governor ol Virginie, and got suthoritj to teke the British posts ninth ol the Ohio n<- ceme beck i»> « Fori I'm now Pittsbui • applies on a Qetboel which he :; island, oeer Louisville, Kentucky Be built i fori snd the Impression that he would sta> there His ants had recruited -<><> Kentuckisna who mel him there Thej : down and csme to ;t bayou at the mouth ol Msssac Creek shove Massac which was c\ideiitl\ Standing hut not occupied Smiie hunters them John Duff, who kneu the Illinois country, had joined them at the mouth of tin- Tcnnc ;ls in the southern Illinois country were pretty well estsblj ench and English explorers, hunters, trspp i (Idlers in the fift ci. nun.; aii trail which t'i. tern one north from Metropolis h\ wa> of Allen Springs and Dixon S| 1 north thfOUgh Moccasin I Gum Spring and on to Marion inntinuin )U and tea rills 75 The second and less-travelled trail which Clark chose because he wished to make a surprise attack at Kaskaskia, led northwest from Metropolis coming out at the northwest corner of Massac County. It crossed the swamp lands at the most favorable place between the branches of Bay Creek and the Cache River. At best it was a poor crossing, swampy at all seasons and impassable at others. The little army camped at Indian Point near Forman and continued next day going north, a little west of Vienna, and over the hills at Buffalo Gap. They went through Goreville. missed Marion a short distance, and came to Bainbridge where the two trails joined. They had spent the second night near Pulley's Mill north of Goreville. That was the day they were lost and made little progress. The above details are the summing up of the data from Clark's journal and other sources as gathered by various historians and the Daughters of the American Revolution. After spending the third night at Bainbridge they followed the trail crossing Crab Orchard creek three miles northeast of Carbondale and the Big Muddy River four miles east of Murphysboro, near which crossing they spent the fourth night. A line through Ava, Campbell Hill, Shiloh Hill. Wine Hill, and Bremen marks their fifth day's journey to where they crossed the St. Mary's River and camped. They came to Kaskaskia the next night, July 4, 1778, and took the town before midnight. It might take a man on foot all of ten days to follow this trail. For anyone who might wish to follow it approximately, the lands through which it passes may be kept in sight much of the time and it may be crossed many times all in a day's journey by following the state roads and a few other short stretches of good dirt or gravelled roads. Starting near Metropolis, parts of Routes 45, 146, 37, 13. 51, 150, and 3, may be used in about the order named by anyone with a road map who wishes to trail George Rogers Clark and his daring band — with a handicap of more than 150 years. The David Chapman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution has erected five monuments in Johnson County. One is west of Ozark on Route 45, to mark the crossing of the Massac-Kaskaskia trail which passes through Dixon Springs and Moccasin Gap. Clark's Trail is marked at Indian Point which is reached from Route 45 by a road marked "Forman" a few miles south of Vienna. The monument is on the Burling- ton Railroad right-of-way at the foot of Indian Point, near Forman. The second Clark's Trail marker is three miles west of Vienna near the top of Chance Hill. This marker may be more readily found by following the directions under the heading of "Vienna to Mound City." The third marker is on the C. & E. I. right of way at Buffalo Gap on Route 147 about one and a half miles south of Goreville across the wire fence by the railroad. The last marker is two miles north of Gore- ville on the old Goreville-Marion road east of Route 147 a short distance, in the vicinity of the Pink Thornton farm and the site of the old Pulley's Mill. 76 THK OLD STONE FORT The old Stone Fort is one of the ten pro-histork landmarks of the Illinois Osnrks it li situated on the north bluff ot the Little Saline River about three and a halt miles t-a^t and three fourths mile the present village "t Stoneforl which is known on the old maps as tin- rill of Bolton Before tin- railroad was built, Stoneforl was a villa a mile weal ot the Fori The coming <>i the Bif Four Railroad caused village to migrate to its preeenl site \ [on farm bousi ether as»ivt the stranger in locating the neighborhood which is nou knowi out Town, The Illinois Central cutoff, from id :nd i.. u passes just WW! of Old Town it is possidif to drive south from Stoneforl village slightl) more than i ball mile, then east at the ihm turn and continue eaat and i little south to the Old Town site This road is the mall route and Cairl) good The road with numerous tin lis eastward to the l-'oit from Old Town is not i except In drj weather The "lower road" itartinf east from the Village Of Stoneforl is the best and is neail\ alwa\s good It leads to the toot ot the hill upon which the Fori Is located The road from old Town joins this tine before tin' Fort is reached The steep quartet mile to the top must In- made on lout up an old roadway to a le\el diretth west o| the Fort The climbing is not special!) difficult The Foil ran he approached also tiom (airiei Mills in dr\ weather coming in from the northeast \ good was to make the trip is p. at either Stonefort or ('airier Mills and end up at the other 1 have walked that wa> several times It is less than a ten mile 'hike The Foil IS readih recouni/ed h\ its scattering remains, a semi circle medium sited trees enclosing a cleared space at the top <>t the blufi with the Little Saline Kivei Qowing more than a hundred feet directl) below Closer Inspection reveals that the trees grow up from a semicircle tttered about Th03 ari' tin- onl) remains ot the stone wall which the earl) settlers related was as much as si\ teet high and ot about the same width All the great mass () t large stones was taken b) the earl) pioneers for use in foundations, ehmmevs and tire places There is no doubt that the fort was there when the first white settlers came A similar structure, judging from the fragments that remain, is found just north of Makauda it is described In connection with Giant Cit) Park. The similarit) of these two fortifications indicates their common ,n They are said to be similar to other known structures ot the period ot Spanish exploration OJ the Mississippi \'alle> The bigfa steep walled cliff in front can be climbed at one or more points, but a lew defenders with rocks could keep a multitude of primitive warriors from Coming up ■ P slopes on the other three sides tiom the wall made the spot '. defended lroin all sides There is a gTOWtfa ot VOUng tiers on the sloj.es now It is easy to imagine that the builders of the tort saw to it that the slop .eared to give an unobstructed \ lew ot all approaches Mr A I Kell) ot Stonefort was the best local BUthOlit) <>n the hi lie Foil He said that a notation in the government BUrvl 'ion 77 34, township 10 south, range 5 east of the third principal meridian (this being the site of the Fort) briefly mentions the existence of the structure. This survey was made in 1807. The record is on file at Springfield and a copy is with the Chicago Historical Society. A copy of an old Spanish map which is an imperfect representation of the Mississippi Valley located a fort on the Salinas River. The original map is supposed to have been made between 1500 and 1588. The record of this map is said to be with the Missouri Historical Societv. GUM SPRINGS This story might have been entitled, "The Buffalo on the Rock." because that is the chief attraction here to those whose chief interest is history and things ancient. The prehistoric figure on a sandstone cliff is not, however, the only attraction to the visitor. The little valley at Gum Spring is one of Nature's untouched beauty spots. It has many at- tractions though no broad vistas or very high cliffs or cascades are there. With the exception of an abandoned road and a dim foot path, there is little to indicate the presence of man after getting fifty feet beyond the spring. Except for the not very frequent scream of an engine on the railroad across the hill, there may be no sounds of human activity. A few patches of corn growing on level spots in the valley outlet are mute evidence that men live and work in the vicinity. Otherwise, one is alone with the huge rocks, the stately beech trees, and the tangle of smaller rocks and shrubs and trees of great variety. Gum Spring is near the southern edge of the Illinois Ozarks about three miles south of the village of Ozark which is near the summit, and slightly east of Route 45. Traveling south a gravel road leading directly south should be taken off of Route 45 at the point where the concrete road begins to bend west after passing the "Ozark" sign board. In a few places it is a real "rock" road over which the car must be driven more slowly. The old road at Moccasin Gap has been abandoned for a better route. There remains a short, steep hill to go down just before coming to the side road which goes to the spring. The explorer may know that he has arrived after descending the hill, by the following: A branch road crosses the railroad which is east, and in sight. A broad, cultivated valley of a branch of Bay Creek is spread out to the southeast. A dim road leads off to the right. This last road goes to the spring, passing very close to the narrow creek — too close for careless drivers but safe enough for others. Just before getting to the broad, level space where the car may be turned, there are rock humps over which the car must pass slowly. Fallen trees block farther progress in the road beyond the broad turning space. 78 The spring is several feet down by tin I In- Iron | outlet emptiei slightly above the water In the stream at ordinal In time of flood it is submerged The i and dear with s slight taste "i iron it hi pleasant to drink and rei truing from the buffalo picture which is on tin- righl hand elifl lees than s quarter uf a mile up the vallev t.i the north One waj to find tin- picture i^ to follow the bate oi tin- elifl i.s interesting and not rorj difficult The mans turns and n around ma> \>v confusing it might !»«• better t<> make tin- return trip at tin- bate oi the elifl and go more diroctl] bj means ol a path follow the abandoned mad for about -4 « m i foot •,, within flftv feet ol where the load crosses tbt- < \I the bend of tli. turn off into the fool path which leadi north between the elifl md the it is level ground bore and one Hunks be hi entering s Jungle for the shrubberj overhangs the path which can be i sionallv it crosses a fallen limb or stones The jungle-like pari is passed alter a leu steps and the traveling If in the open lor tbOUl BOO f< The «.ii ft uses bigher on the righl and the stream bed on the left becomes more beautiful. Dislod - s bouai beds, and clear pools dolighl ii" nth mold smells, bright colored fungus growths, Insect and bird calls, end all U itimulatii Duences oi solitude m the woods are there tor those who appreciate them Finally, the path leads right up under an overhanging elifl with .1 root twent] feet bigfa and a projection of thntv fjvfl The picture nally outlined in brown but recentlv smeared over with a vellowish tinge evidentl) for the purpose oi making it plainer) is In plain sight feet away. It is three or tour feet long and is a fair outline ol B buffalo with the head lowered in characteristic attitude it is said to bavt there when the white men came and is mentioned and pictured hv writers On Illinois historv and Indian lore Depredations Ol hunters campers, and lire builders have made r to post ainst such trespassers Visitors should be careful not to cause or permit injury to this little ~<-m ol Nature's settii The return trip may be made vcrv pleasant hv following the road south about two miles to Simpson or to the fine new. chat covered road leading to Tunnel Hill This road lea. is to Route 4f> a short distance west oi the Beauman residence, coming up through the orchards it is an all weather road, broad and smooth with long, BBSS curves CREAL SPRINGS The Illinois Ozarks abound in springs. Many of the hill farms have several. Ed Creal had such a farm at the present site of Creal Springs back in the early 80s. A poor family, said to be transients, camped near the springs on this farm. They had malaria and other ailments. They drank the spring water and recovered. The word spread and Ed Creal found he had an asset worth develop- ing. He plotted a town site and sold lots, giving some away for churches and other purposes. The water from the different springs was analyzed and found to contain minerals such as are used in medicines, each of the six main springs having a different mineral content. Advertising did the rest and the people came to be cured. The first crude hotel that was built was not sufficient. The town grew and a second frame hotel came later. It was a time of prosperity. The population grew to number 800 to 1,000 permanent residents. There was no railroads but the busses drawn by horses over the rough and sometimes muddy, hilly roads brought the people from New Burnside and Marion. After the railroad was built through Creal, the busses met the Big Four trains at Parker regularly. Sick people were brought on cots. The social life a little later on attracted many who came for relaxation and rest. There were such diversions as dancing, horseback riding with side saddles and long riding skirts for the ladies, tramps into the sur- rounding hills, tennis, and croquet. Southern Illinois supplied its quota of visitors. A large number of those who came as patients were from western Tennessee and Kentucky and southeast Missouri. This prosperity continued until comparatively recent times. A new brick hotel, the Ozark, was built about twenty-five years ago. It had forty rooms and was much more modern than its two predecessors which have now disappeared. The automobile age had come and Creal had no dry weather road and none that many cared to travel in cars. In spite of the commodious bath house, the dancing pavilion, and other facilities to hold the then declining business of the hotel, the era of prosperity be- gan to wane. Now, the fine brick Ozark Hotel is not used as such. The other build- ings and the springs are neglected though the springs still flow as they did in the most prosperous period of their long history. The new state road is built right through the town. It passes right by the springs and hotel, so close that the bath house had to be moved in a little and the water from one spring had to be piped in to the hotel park because the spring itself was covered by the road. The new hotel is still there. The surroundings are attractive. If modern bathing facilities and other whole- some entertainment were provided, the hotel and the spring water should again bring a steady stream of visitors, bent on sight-seeing and recreation, since it would be easy to reach Creal from Harrisburg, Vienna, and Marion and the larger towns not much farther away. Visitors would not come to stay so long as in the older times when it took a day to go or come, but 80 they would come oftenei Aln. »ne would spend a little : there it there were attractions to cauee them I \e its problen bj again relyii the ht Creal Bpringi baa eomfortahle bomee end i and culture As one lad) nid, it la i good piece to live othing to do There ere churcbet end ."<"i achoola it la In tl of the finest fruit {rowing 1 tin- state \ little mon activity, such as a small facton to emplO) tin- Miplttl labor, ihOttld tians lorn the little dtj to much "t Iti tormm proeperit) hi it is eoneidi (|iiantities ol the uatei ftnm ipringl and wells are shipped OOl einal purposes en account <> connecting Marion end v one more beautiful dine that tna> he taken Route 1 * i* i COnnOCtl with Route 18 eaari "t Marion and joins Route 45 at Men Burnaidea Devil'a Back Hone Belle Smith Spring 81 Villages and larger cities, as well as individuals, sometimes build up a type of business which causes them to prosper. When the source of the prosperity declines, there is a tendency to rest on past achievements and forget that new things and new ways of doing are necessary for con- tinued prosperity. Creal Springs and other cities might act on this little bit of philosophizing when one kind of success wanes and another is on the upturn of events. FERNE CLYFFE Feme Clyffe Scenic Park, known to many as Rebman Park, is one of the most attractive small areas in Illinois. Within seventy-five acres there is combined a panorama of rapidly changing variety and beauty such as is not suspected as one approached the park from any direction. It is dropped down into a valley out of sight. Whether approached from the more level country which is north or from the hills which are south, there is no hint of what awaits the visitor until he finds himself lost from sight or sound of the outside world in this secluded valley. There are eight springs of cold water each unique in its surroundings; there are trails, water falls, canyons, caves, huge dislodged rocks and overhanging cliffs some of which are so stupendous that they can be photographed only in parts from any accessible viewpoint. Miss Emma Rebman, a former county superintendent of schools, of Johnson County, has owned the park for a number of years and lived in a cottage perched on a terrace below the main valley walls and above a smaller valley. A nominal fee of ten cents was charged to cover cost of accommodations for picnickers, campers, and other visitors. The park is just a half mile southwest of Goreville which is on Route 37 and thirteen miles south of Marion. Coming from the north into Goreville, the route leads through the business street and curves to the southeast near a culvert at the south part of town, and you should take the dirt road at this point and continue south to where another road leads directly west. Go west about an eighth of a mile to where there is the sign, "Feme Clyffe," on the left side of the road. Turn down the slope which becomes somewhat steeper farther down but leads to a right turn and a winding road which becomes more level. Cars may be parked at the top of the slope mentioned above but it is best to drive down and save shoe leather; but this is not necessary because there is no special difficulty in driving to the regular parking place which is within the park above and in sight of the cottage. A road leads on down from this parking place. This road is better suited to mule teams and those who prefer a footpath than to driving down such a rocky highway. 82 The above directions were followed without too much difficult few years ago and before the war period Under recent conditions tin- approach OBSJ OUld be parked it the level space where itood the climb down and up is tiring, but tho 'iinarv places OB foot with need not tear this adventure A leisiirelv ^ a 1 1 down to tin- COttagC ami throughout the trip ll the pait ot wisdom M.ms sightseers wear themselves OUt bj then h. ;,t the tX ami come UP lagging at the end of uhat might Otl wife t.e a perfect daj lake the lunch ai save it In ti.. rallej below the cottage Then ire itepi leading down trom Um ami th«- n<>ii will wish first i" explore the north end ol this little canyon ami trj out the spi . The cascade at tin- iq end. the cliffs, and the bug* di-l...: will !)<• o| mien Headquarters being established, then- an- two mam trips t<> be taken First follow the little stream bed down liom the vicinitv ol tin- 1. spi ; (unction with mother stream winch leads farther east Turn lett up the \alle\ I'hcrc are COOl paths winding about SmOl which an- loose from the dill which is smith There ale pathf lead to the source of this little stream or at least to where the vallev nan ami the water, after a rain, comes tumbling down amid rocks and • cadet \ little canyon coming In from the north is a miniatun the famous Fivih h (anvon at Starved Km k near l.aSalle Its curved walls cascades and clear pOOll are ideal place- fo] .! little excitement ;ise there are just eOOUgfa ledgOS to climh over and enough slip] places to induce the unwary to get wet hut not submerged b] sliding into the shallow pools One idvantage In leaving the lunches Is that the whole part] will be readily assemhled and on time tor the second trip alter resting The lunch calls louder than a dinner bell Haste to get hack to lunch should not present taking lime to see. hut not to pull, the laigC vatietv >l lie and terns There is an ethical value in learning to enjo> without de in- Loose stones tor improvised ovens end wood to cook with there Heir Igain the Careless one should learn the lesson that tin- true camper slways burns waste ami papers ami puts out ins in. leav The second trip begins on the terrace bv tin- COttSge It I it .ill for those who like things on a large scale The path leads south The vallev walls on the right rise higher and bighei At 1.. • Overhanging clilf forms a hall dome -event.v five teet hull a hun died feet wide, and much longer than wide It is too large to he photo phed in entirety from inj near enough location In a picture men look like pygmies In comparison ernight there ire trails and climbs beyond ami il and . "in all that is hen- described I he present status of this gem ot nature is not easdv determined 83 since Miss Rebman has been gone from it for several years. It should be held by some organization capable of constructing an approach which ma\ be safely traveled at all times. It should not be commercialized ex- cept, possibly. In a .-mall entrance fee to maintain a keeper. It will take care of itself if man does not interfere with the processes of nature. It is a compact assembly of beauty on a magnificent scale nestled into the smallest possible compass. It should be called Rebman Park on account of the owner who permitted so manv of us to enjoy her hospitality at a cost which must have been a mere pit tame THE CYPRESS SWAMPS Saline county and others in the same latitude are on the borderland between the north and the south so far as vegetation is concerned. We have most of the flora of northern Illinois and some of the south. The native evergreens of northern Illinois do not grow this far south. On the other hand, our gums, pecans, persimmons, and some other trees grow less and less common as we go north. The southern cane from which fishing poles are made grows here but is stunted. The magnolia, while not native, grows and blooms along the Ohio river at Cairo. Metropolis, and Golconda. The same situation is true with our shrubs, woody vines, and herbaceous plants. The American bald cypress (Taxodium distichum. Richard) is one of the very few members of the pine family that is native to southern Illinois. lis native habitat is the southern states extending north to southern Dela- ware and southern Missouri and Illinois. It is not abundant farther north than Saline county but grows, when planted, as far north as Urbana. The red cedar grows here and at all latitudes in this state but limits itself to certain conditions of soil. There is a small area near Wolf Lake close to the Mississippi river where there is a native stand of one of the south- ern pines The cypress grows naturally in swampy places. It has been one of our most valuable timbers, growing to a great size. Its wood is valuable on account of its lightness, durability, freedom from warping and quality of taking a good finish. It stands exposure to dampness. Indoors, it makes a beautiful finish for door and window casings. Cyp] native in the low mounds along the Saline river and for some distance from the mouth of the Wabash. Some fine specimens stand about the Shaw nectown lakes, especially at Big Lake. The character- istic knees standing up out of the water arc readily seen here. There are a few small specimens still scattered along the Big Saline River. One fine tree until recently stood just west of Whitesville bridge. The low grounds south of Carrier Mills were a great cypress swamp only a generation ago. A lew of the survivors may he seen from Route 45. The greatest of the cypress swamps were connected with upper reaches of the Cache River bordering Massac county. Karnak was built as a Lumber center in what 84 was a wilderm A lumber company cut canals through the swamp* bj which the lo^s. which othei lid not be readily m .Id be towed to the -aw null Th' OOVeoieOl pU«c « to see the I email'.- Ol a swamp Ml where RoUtC 49 crosses the low lai. 1 Me of the bU ened hall burned i until recently to give I wi« I to the ranrieing younger brotben can .-ed b] their pine tree type ol limb dm- needle lik< I hie pU< e is n the whuh (lows southeast and it., ehich fli Then bedl are thought 10 OCCUP) tl ol the Ohio in timet i Bey through this rerempleod and on down tht The n\.i ! 1013 and the ird thrOttgb this channel which I < > pii abundantly all the the mouth h on the eod to the mouth ol tin Bailee on the Ohio end ecroei to tin- n the it about Horseshoe lal »:> VIENNA TO MOUND CITY West Vienna is four miles west of Vienna on Routes 146 and 37. The village began when the C. & E. I. Railroad was built south from Marion. Dutchman Creek is crossed not far east from West Vienna. Just over the hill t from this creek, on the north side of the road is the marker placed hf the Johnson County I) A EL indicating where George Rogers Clark, in 1778, passed on his way from Fort Massac to Kaskaskia which route was farther west than the established one. North from West Vienna, there is another similar marker between Route 37 and the railroad and near the old location of Pulley's Mill. Buncombe, a short distance north of West Vienna, affords one of the most wonderful views of the southern slope of the Illinois Ozarks. Cypress, population about 400, nestles south of the hills which gradu- ally become smaller as we continue south on Route 37. The town probably got its name from the cypress swamps not far away. The cemetery, just beyond, where the highway viaduct crosses the railroad, occupies an ideal site. The broad view over hills and valley which are the work of geologi- cal ages inspires one with thoughts of how long is eternity and how short is life. White Hill, eight miles south of West Vienna, consists of an old store building used by the Charles Stone Company as an office and a limestone quarry at the bluff to the east. This quarry is said to have sent out 1.000,000 tons of limestone in little more than thirty years. It differs from most of its kind in that it is mined from underneath to avoid the cost of removing the overburden of sandstone and gravel. White Hill overlooks the broad flood plain of the Cache River which rises east of Cobden and here flows east but later makes an abrupt "bend to the southeast to finally reach the Ohio above Cairo. The sluggish stream lies in a wooded swamp where a few of the original cypress trees still grow. The flood plain on each side is fertile as is most of the soil as we go south toward Cairo. We are entering the region where the Ozark hills are more subdued, where spring comes earlier, where less rock is exposed and more rich soil is found, and where alfalfa is more abundant. Grand Chain is about half way between West Vienna and Mound City. It occupies a site on high ground near the Ohio. The name came from the rocky ledges that were exposed near here when the river was low, in times before the present water level was maintained. Dam 53, the last of a series between Pittsburgh and Cairo, is down river from the Grand Chain landing. I remember that the Dick Fowler, one of the last of the river steamboats, made a daily round trip from Paducah to Cairo. At the Grand Chain landing, I always supposed that the town lay just over the hills from the river. When on the train on the C. C. C. & St. L. Railway I thought the river was just back of the town. The river can be seen from the high part of the town but is actually two and a half miles away by the travelled route. I learned how to find the way to Haine's landing by interviewing a versatile young lady who was better informed 06 about the whereabouts of the river than any. •. ailable Slit- Uvea "out that way." bn: or nine children in to school regularly ing two trips when they all eon 'turns the children after school, then returns to ihe sluiv until closing time At the tune of tin- interview, ihc was putting ■ holly wreath on the front store window with water colors ind doing it M) ikiUfully that it looked like the real tiling Iroin anoss tin- street Maine s River \ 'm-w Farm extends to the n\er lain:. ■ ■ white painted home and huildi: IOOVC the hr.h water inai k on the bluff which is • of what bluffl there are on this part ot tht « >ln< » \ large eim tree stands ,,,, pt>und probabl) twent) feet higher than the n\er level at tui.' itage There ire fiftj ooocrei p to Um from the base of the tree and | large bum h of misilcto. . Imib almost overhanging the itepi The all season gravel road i was safely followed on a wintei s dav m December when the field) •it rains Steamer "Dick howler' the early navigators. Pn it was known as the rivci yard marked by the wrecked iteamboata and barges which were leOU at low water It must have been here that < harles Dickens was impelled to expreea his own opinion ol the river In Martin Chunelwil as he da i its mouth. 87 Olmsted is on the river between Grand Chain and Cairo, high up so there is a good view of the stream whose volume here is also impressive. The elevation makes it look better just as a little distance often lends enchantment to other things. Dickens should have gone ashore here. Olmsted, whose population is about 700. owns its sewer system and waterworks. The water is artesian from a 1.000-foot well in porous lime- stone. Caledonia Landing is the older name used in the earlier river traffic. A good deal of commercial fishing is done on this part of the river. The largest industry seems to be that of the Sinclair Refining Com- pany which processes and ships out 50.000 tons of fuller's earth yearly. The material is removed from the deep deposits by steam shovels and tram cars for refining, all at or near the river's edge or on the bluff which the deposit forms. The product is used in foundry work in connection with molding sand, in floor cleaners, and several other ways. Coarse, un- crushed pieces are used as litter in chicken houses. It has good absorbing qualities. It is like potter's clay but not plastic. Other uses are as a filter medium in refining oils, fats, etc., and as a cataclyst. The name comes from its use in fulling cloth. North Caledonia was a village laid out by Justus Post some time before 1843 when Pulaski County was organized. It is now a part of Olmsted, the higher part to the east where there are some attractive homes. Caledonia was the first county seat. In 1866 an election was held and a majority voted to move the county seat to Mound City. The vote was contested and the county seat remained at Caledonia until 1868. It is said that the county records were moved by stealth one midnight and taken to Mound City by oxcart. With the coming of the Big Four Railroad, Rev. E. B. Olmstead gave land and plotted an addition down toward the depot and the new and old parts were merged into Olmsted. Above Olmsted and below Grand Chain on Route 37, a sign indicates Dam 53. Wilkinsonville was established as a government fortress in 1797 near the present dam. It was garrisoned until 1801 or later. The D.A.R. placed a marker there in 1936. A flourishing business was conducted in this country not long after 1702. Sieur Charles Juchereau was commissioned to establish a tannery on the Ohio River. The tannery was located about four miles up from Dam 53. About 150 French soldiers, hunters, and laborers made up the colony. The plan was to kill and skin all the buffalos they could and to tan the hides. The tannery bore the name of "La Bache." The location now is called Post Creek Gap. By April, 1704. 13.000 buffalos are said to have been killed, skinned and their hides taken to the tannery The buffalo hunters collected hides at widely scattered stations so that the Indians of several tribes became alarmed at the diminishing game supply. They planned an ambush and massacre which resulted in the death of all but Juchereau. It is said that the bones of the massacred were found a hundred years later and that evidences of the event may still be found. Mover's History of Pulaski County states that. "If we 88 would visit it. it is noccmrj to follow the old Grand Cham Metropolis road to Post Creek Cutoff and then walk one fourth mile to the hill on which the battle n »untl of happi in this region and in BUM ' A : <>ii Hi- u!, |t hall w .. 1 Mound Citj indicated Auienr.i The Mil- I the ri\ - and well kept It ends at the station BOOM <"i '!"■ I • Iwod two tarn bousee bobi Hi ' 818 to 1833 There v.. od hoat landing The thousand Inlul at h would he the BMtropolii ol the region It became th< leat <>f Justice of Alexander i ountj Then ■ nuMfbar blockod the I eUtranee fOf til >mt small bOBtl and the town died So had 1 ikmi ill its Inhabitant! who m In the cemetery, the plat oi which li In the COUrl house at Caiio It is said that U • two epnlem.. illpOl Ituation i» high end shove the river en Idi 4 the former nt> are (risible The stone Buurfceri at the : twaj for do cemeterj u;,s i (1 " ■ or twenty ■■ • cording to current rep< that there id oi whom the Individual! Blight have been or where the re mains of these hopeful eiti/ens uere buried The epidemu 1 of rholeia id to have swept man> swsj 1946 Here is opportunity for some bright attorney to make a name for himself if not a fortune. I quote from Mover's History of Pulaski County which states that America continued to be the county seat till 1833. "An interesting item in connection with the removal of the county seat of Alexander County is that just a few years before the Commissioners of the County had bargained with the Trustees of America, for the town had been duly incorporated by Act of the Illinois Legislature, to keep America as the permanent seat of justice of the county in exchange for SI 150 orders on the treasury of Alexander County which the town had accepted in payment of municipal taxes. It had been agreed that if the county seat should ever be removed, the debt should be reinstated and the county become liable for the full amount at seven per cent com- pounded annually from the date of such removal until the debt should be paid. The debt was never paid or at least there is no record of it. However there is the record of the beginning of a suit in the circuit court of Alexander County by the town of America for the recovery of the debt but there is no record of the disposition of the case. If this debt were collected today it would make the present public debt of that county pale into insignificance for some SI 150 compounded annually at seven per centum over a period of over one hundred years amounts to a dizzv sum." MOUND CITY Mound City is the county seat of Pulaski County, one of the smallest counties in Illinois. A place called Caledonia eight miles up the river was the first county seat established in 1843. Times changed rapidly then as now. A court house and jail were built. In 1861, Mound City had become so important that the seat of government was moved there. There had been a settlement there as early as 1812 but the city did not experience a boom until about 1855. In fact, the town died twice in the meantime or was at least apparently beyond hope of recovery. Smith's History of Southern Illinois relates that: "In the first year after the Phillips family came to Mound City the massacre occurred and no one else came for many years." In 1836. some families settled about a mound near the river. The depth of the river there, the nature of the banks and the open water except in very cold winters made it a favorite landing place for the river men on the Ohio. It was a favorite wood yard to supply fuel for boats. A wood yard can exist without a city. So, by 1853, the store and all the dwellings but one log house were gone when Gen. M. M. Rawlings and others saw the latent possibilities of the location. Some substantial houses were built. Rawlings had the short railroad built to Mounds Junction in 1856. There was one engine on the line which was replaced by mules as motive power when times became less prosperous. 90 The Emporium Real Estate and Manufacturing companj nixed in 1856. Emporium City was laid out adjoii. lat of Mound Ot> previous!] laid out by Etawli Id for mote than I front foot Total sales were near 1400,000 The companj owned a bought Rawlings 1 railroad, and built a in. . foundrj The marine ways were built t«'t building and i became my importanl to river traffic Manj launched bore There reels • iM > o4 tin- old time rl had not been up for repain at Mound Citj As manj ai ■aid bj Smith to have been employed on tin- ine time durii Civil War rii«- Emporium Companj [ailed promptly In 1881 Then Emporium Citj bl I'. nt ol Mound Cit\ Tin- natural ad\ that tlu> city did not die a third time 1 l»< I Ivil Wai bit) tnit> than ever The brick foundrj became d was itaeli partialis destroyed bj an explosion What WSS known as tin- I'nion Block, a three itOfJ buck built Just the war. became tin- largest Civil War hospital in the Mississippi \alle> It stands cas! .,1 the Big Four depot and 00X1 tin- m\«i front where tin- marine wayi an- located Wounded nx-n were brought here and to a hospital at Cairo (rom the battlefields ot Missouri Kentucky, and Tennessee it was crowded after tin- battle ol Shiloh Tin- men who died were buried above tin- cits Alter tin- war. tin- National Cemeterj tsblished on a ten acre trait west ot Mound Citj and those who were not returned to their homes were re Interred there Thus tin- markers Indicate onrj part of tin- total number who died or ot those wtin recovered in the hospitals and went home or haek to the army The hospital building WSS lor a long time used b> tbe Mouml City Furniture Company It is now utilized as a canning factory More details about Mound Citj and PulasU counts of which it M the countly s,-at are given in Moyct s History ol Pulaski county, written for the Centennial Anniversary in 1943 HOUND (II V NATIONAL CEMETERY When Mas SO approaches our thought! turn to the courageous who fought in the Civil War ThCJ WOre ' :nparati\ el> few ot them Were Over twenty-One when tbej went In Some of them were old men in experience when the four ■ ended Others never returned It i> the> that we honor especiallj on Decoration I>a> As the number oi Civil War veterans grows less from year to year, the number loop approaches tin- maximum Whether they are numbered with the living or dead we continue to honor them in the National Cemeterj a mile west of Mound Citj where the slab Off from Roil H Mounds and Cairo thousands of white ■land m militarj alignment keepin soldier !*'• m tbej have marked i"i near eight) years it- nan ■ I theffl are unknown Recent burials of veterans of more recent wars has increased the number of graves to 5.719, according to late reports. Ten of the recent burials have been World War II veterans. A few women are there, also. The spaces are about all occupied. A tall, old style monument in the cemetery, built by the State of Illinois at a cost of $25,000. bears the names of the dead who are known. The caretaker's home is attractive with its flowers and shrubbery. Col. F. O. Patier, for a long time a prominent merchant of Cairo, is buried in the National Cemetery. He died a generation ago. There is a monument to his memory. Any honorably discharged soldier of any of our wars may be buried there. For many years after the Civil War, the National Cemeterv was visited by throngs who came on special excursions by rail each Decoration Day on account of the ceremonies held there. The good roads now make it pos- sible for us to go there at any time. It would be well for us and for the nation if we would more often visit these sacred spots and pause long enough to remember the deeds and traditions of those who have stood for and died for those principles of freedom which, if maintained, will continue to make us free. Mound City National Cemetery 92 INDIAN M \» \< RES Indian lore i.s not plentiful in southern Illinois The v and kia Indians weir peace loving and evidenM not verv romantic They sometimes becami '• surl) but wldon btoodthirst) .e ni) such tales nl Indian conflict and nun nearb] states Om borriblc tale i>i Indian atnn.ii> i^ though II : \ is not U) the Indians ol llln.< .smiths Hist.,i> ,.t Southern Dlinoii is quoted as follows in the fust the Phlllipi t.iinih came to Mound < It) tin- massacre OCCUITed and BO OM COUM tO Mound ( ltv for man\ v. \\ ,• ire Indebted to I I la) ol Mound < It) toi ■ of this event as told 1»> It who died m I'ul Bt) in ind as written b) B Ohm • i lust white nttlen about Mound Cit) ram.- lnuu Tenneeoee fol lowing the Now Madrid earthquake of nui quake and whj theoe families moved ire better understood u vve remembei that Keclfnnt Lake in Tennessee was formed as a retuU Oi that qui milies one named Clark and another named Phlllipi lived oners Mound Cit) bob stands The cabim were il ■boul Us boundary, the Phlllipi home hem.; on the seal use ebove thai \ man named longer lived below the old town oi America and •< Mr Lyerle i shtirt distaiue tbovc \ Mr Humphro) lived where Lowei Caledonii now stands There were DO other while people between the mouth of the <»hio and Grand Chain, I diManee of twentv mi • Clark and his wife lived alone except for visits from iown children A man named Kenned) lived ll the Phlllipi home Mrs Phil lii>s had | -town son and a daughter nearlv grOWO In the late autumn of 1K1J ten (reek Indians «>n their wa> bOB KentUCk) appeared uneZpeCtedl) A man named Shavei rode up to the Clarfc home about the same tune and tied his horse near the back door ol the Clark home He told Clark that he knew the Indians and had traded with them and supposed that thev meant BO harm thOUgfa he e\ to (lark and was evidcnllv disturbed also The Indians de manded food which Mrs (lark prepared alter getting the Indians to some corn in a hand mill. Clark and the others made no efforts • :<-nd themselves (earing to thus disturb the Indians who In about after eating the meal Live of them went up to the Phillips , The Indians, while lingering alter the meal, had challenged Shaver to a ind to wrestle vvith him, both of which invitations |u- had de- dim Two Indians lingered at the front door oi the Clark home and two at lb. ttting m the Clark home, saw one oi the Indians in the direction of the Phlllipi home Immediate shouts came from that direction At the same tune Shaver received a stunning blow on the head but being I powerful man he ios,- and ered sufficiently to force his way out and run toward the river, followed by the Indians. He ran toward the bayou below what later was the site of the marine ways. A hatchet just missed his head. He plunged into the ice cold water and swam the bayou. The Indians hesitated to follow him. He made his way to the settlements in what is now Union County. The Indians murdered Clark and his wife. Mrs. Phillips, her son and daughter, and Kennedy. All the furniture was destroyed or carried away. Shaver's fine horse was taken. Union County citizens tried to follow the Creeks but failed. A company of soldiers stationed at Fort Massac came down to bury the dead. They found Clark and his wife dead in their home. Young Phillips' body was found drifted a mile below. One of his sister's slippers was found by the river where she had evidently been killed as she fled toward a boat to escape. Kennedy's body was found horribly mutilated some distance from the Phillips home. Mrs. Phillips with her unborn babe were found impaled upon a stake. Thus we see why the site of Mound City was deserted for nearly twenty-five years until about 1836 when, according to the account from which the above story is condensed, there were buildings as follows: Two double cabins with thirty-foot rooms, each having a fireplace in either end besides five other cabins and one store. It should be remembered that Mound City is on a short spur of Route 51 near the National Cemetery about six miles north of Cairo. Another massacre involving a much greater number of Indians and of victims is described near the close of the topic. Vienna to Mound City It occurred not far from the Illinois end of Dam 53. In 1786, Indians surprised and killed all but one of a party, including women and children, at the Devil's Backbone which is near the rapidly flowing part of the Mississippi River above Grand Tower. A flatboat was being towed up stream by the men on shore. The women and children had come off the boat. John Murdock, seventeen, hid among the rocks. He grew up to be an inveterate enemy of the Indians. CAIRO CAIRO is farthest south in Illinois, also, lowest in elevation, being 268.58 feet above sea level at low water mark. There is a common ap- proach to the two bridges which span the two mighty rivers which defi- nitely threaten the city and which its loyal citizens sturdily defend. One of these two passenger bridges connects the city with Missouri and the other with Kentucky. The historic Holliday Hotel where General Grant spent much time during the Civil War, is in ruins following a fire. The Third Principal Meridian passes through a point a little below the Holliday ruins. Fort Defiance was on this meridian. This fort guarded the many Union boats which were used here in the Civil War. Cairo was the chief port of em- barkation for both soldiers and supplies which went south. It is said thai more than 45,000 Confederate prisoners passed through Cairo on their way to the north. 94 The Cairo Chamber of Commerce claims the followii •From the beginning Cairo has been visited bj men destined to be- come famous Andrew Jackson, Ch a r l es Dickens Zacharj Taylor, Wii liam Makepeace Thackera] i S Grant Jefferson Davi*. James A G field, John A Logan and later Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft. William Je nnin gs Bryan and Alfred Tennyson Dick Charles Dickens, have all been entertained here it is i ire read their names to picture the changes from the frontier post of Jackao das w the military activities <»t Grant's, ind so on to i * » « - modern citj that (pneeted Boosevelt and Tail The st re ets ot Cairo ire broad The southern magnolia along with staters elms end other trees native to the region ire it then best In this southern setting [wo large, modern housing unite, each situated near theii respective white and Negro populations are estimated t" be the homes oi 1,200 people Thej ire on the side ol the dtj toward the Mississippi Entrance from the north Is through the north side <>i the levee which surrounds the cits Numerous large Industries arc in this section i the highway entrance. The large, old homes are nearer the center ih> lels. business houses, and restaurants are near the old water Iront on the ohio a railroad bridge spans the Ohio Do wn to w n attractions for the tourist are man\ The COlOSSal Drome statue of "The Hewer," bj George Graj Bernard, on Washington Stn In honor of William Parke Hollidav is one The li:>\ ScOUtS Ol lion; have erected a totem pole at the end ot the boulevard at the intersection ot Washington street where II branches oit .ii Center. The pole looks like the real thing direct from Alaska at the first -lame •rrTffl 1 ' ssnasssssssssn BBS.. !-M ..- J2ff** ■sfPy '-*» «|^ (»hio River front Cairo B0 WEST KENTUCKY TOWNS Kentucky, west of the Tennessee River, lies mostly a few hundred feet above the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, being neither swampy nor mountain- ous but consisting eat was established at Wickliffe in 1883, when that city had its beginning. Wickliffe is situated on a series of hills overlooking the Mississippi with Cairo and the coming together of the two great rivers in plain view a few miles upstream. Route 60 from points east through Paducah is by way of the two vehicle bridges via Wickliffe to Cairo, and Cairo to Missouri to points west. Illinois Routes 3, 51 and 37 by way of Cairo bring traffic from the north. Route 51 continues on from Wickliffe to the south. In 1770, George Rogers Clark, following instructions from Patrick Henry and then Thomas Jefferson, Governors of Virginia, constructed Ft. Jefferson just above Maylield Creek less than a mile below the present site of Wickliffe and opposite Island No. 1. This was in the midst of the Chickasaw and Cherokee territory. Clark failed to consult the Indians. Under a Scotchman named Colbert, they at first attacked and killed settlers whom Clark had induced to come. Later the next summer, 1,000 Indians under Colbert, ferociously assaulted the fort com- manded by Capt. Piggott, but were finally repulsed. The fort was aban- doned and setters left, many going to Kaskaskia, thus forming the first important migration of American white settlers to Illinois. Capt. Piggott established the first ferry at St. Louis. Wickliffe has had in its past some industries such as potteries which used the clay deposits; also other factories. Apparently the most flourishing business has been that of F. A. King of Paducah who bought the twenty-five acre factory site and opened the Indian mounds thereon. He uncovered the remains of a past civilization About 150 skeletons are in a small area under one roof besides remains of what he interprets as places of worship and council meetings under two roofs. It is said that more than 40,000 people have visited lure within a year. Clay has been removed from above the skeletons but they lie un- moved from the clay upon which they have lain for so long. 96 These rema. milar to those at Dickeon'a Mound near 1'- though not quite su well pi- All Mich places should be under the care of governmental or educational . as Mi K e after be had flniahed ea flndi an removed and scattered without yielding Information about ; men Mich as the anthropologist ma> disclose I On roadsides ., s The Ancient I'.iincil I de from tin- foe at the mound, the sto; Oar p'it> win to tin- most expenaive bote! which we could find Bl a chicken dinner with all tin- I 1 prepen bj an Intelligent colored wi ui lun <>f thirt) ■ is was fifteen real s ., i be return trip It] if the daj I i ■hod drive south to Bardwell end i longei driv< from thetV <"i I gOOd road which U I Into Pi good Mew id rural wcstciii Kentuck) I own on the best land Some is gullied and withoir IS an occasional rood .stock farm with well painted buildup's !(.. may also be followed farther south to Pulton from whence Route i return \ou to l'aducah through Mavlield. on RoUtC • M.i> f lt-Ul is a beautiful cit> ol 6,500, which ipfX rncee, almost palatial m appearance ere in the eeel pari oi town The most outstanding thing is in the »eineier> m tin- north edge Of town in ib'.m h Q Woolrid ed In ■ cemetery lot life-ehM itaJ himself (tWO, one ifondlng, one on g), bis U m brother! his father and mother, bis little sister and a child hood sweetheart according t«> local tradition Ti • .dso figu I hound, bis deer bound, a fo\. and I deer besides ., .shaft bearing inscriptions and an above ground tomb where he was Almost dail> visitors to Ma> field or patting tourists drive through • :neter\ to set- these gray stone images, which .ue fairlv well eZI of the stone cut'' .ind to see ami ponder o\er this g\ : disposing ol | s|\i\ thousand dollar fortune The group CfOWdod OB to one cemetery lot is m view from Houte 40, at the turn just east of the passage under the railroad tracks coming into the city from the north CARBONDALE Carbondale "claims' 1 Crab Orchard Lake, and Makanda State Park, so their spokesman says, modestly forgetting the Southern Illinois State Nor- mal University and the city's transportation facilities as assets. In a larger sense, all of Southern Illinois claims the lake, the park, and the normal school. It is like the case <>f the fish which had oaten three other fish before the fisherman caught it. Carbondale. norma] school, park, and the lake with the fish in it. all are assets of Southern Illinois. We shall visil tlie lake fust since it is impossible to get t" Carbondale from the east without passing over part of it. Then, in addition it is worth driving around quite a bit to behold it. It was begun in the depression, a Federal project. Some said it was to please the voters of the congres- sional district, others that it was to give work to the many idle workers in the nearby coal fields, and the rumor was that it was intended for an inland landing place for amphibian planes in time of war. It did all of these except the last. And that was not a bad guess for possibly the great munitions war plant would not have been located just east of the lake with its abundant supply of water if there had been no lake. Whatever the motives that promoted it. the ultimate good will far outweigh the immediate benefits of its making. Nature had more to do with the location of Crab Orchard Lake than the casual observer might suppose. Geologists tell us that a lake existed in nearly the same location as the present one, in one of the glacial pe- riods, the same lake that broke over its borders near the school building at Cobden to deposit some small boulders from the floating ice. There was, a few years ago, a deep, north sloping gulch, cut in the slope that held tons of boulders probably left as the ice melted near the south shore of Lake Crab Orchard. The name of the present lake was given on account of Crab Orchard Creek which is submerged under the water which now overspreads its lake-bottom valley. The lake is becoming a mecca for fishermen. It's 7.000-acre area with reed- and grass-studded inlets gives a wide range for boating and fishing. There are numerous arrangements for picnics on or near the drive around it. The base for boats, the main parking space, and the concessions are near the dam on the west side, reached by a short spur off of Route 13. Much landscaping was done before the recent war. The most notice- able feature of this is the young pine trees which are now beginning to make a showing. Such groups are to be seen as we go farther south into either the west or east unit of the Shawnee National Forest. No city in this area has better railroad and bus transportation fa- cilities than Carbondale. Railroad and bus employees are a sizeable part of the population. The thing that contributes most to Carbondale's prominence as a city is the Southern Illinois State Normal University, the second meat normal school established in the state, built in 1874. Other cities to the north strove for its location but without success. It is the only college left in this area. Its curriculum has been broadened to meet the needs 98 of this large region and population* which have no Other hi^h ranking college near. Expansion of tti tacilitiei havi naive In Plana for the future alreadj In i ution niw promise lership In having the enrollment ol In the midwest lis numwm eontaini large eollecl ecimeni end > data relative to the eartj in<- <•! the i ►«-*»;> i *- who lived la ths tei t)\ the influence ol this echool CRABORCHARD LAKE" GIANT Cm STATE PARK iit (it> State Park la in outstanding example of what a small rommumts can do if all of it> inhabitants pull together The location i> twelve miles south of Carbondale near Makanda. population 158 which in turn is Bear Boute 51 reafhed bj i ihorl spur v*ou buq t<» Makanda and the l'ark OVSf an all u either road ErOSO Uftfl lOUtfa h> Men or Iron the north from ■ junction a lit 1 1. on Bouts 13 Ttas old road from Carbondale cams bj Boskydell np the raUey Tins rallej road which paralleled the railroad to Men irai i haul road m mans Pleei huu\ H roads were invented in Illinois. It was a rocky road to travel. Up this valley the cold waters of the Ice Ages crept to barely overflow at the north edge of Cobden. There must have been some melting ice with it for a few glacial boulders flowed over the "South Pass" which was also the easiest way for the Illinois Central Railroad to get over the hump of the Illinois Ozarks. The Makanda Hill leading up to the present Route 51 was a terror to travelers. But it was not as bad as the one nearby Straight east, and straight up — almost. Model T Fords climbed it. If gas in the tank was low, the only way they could go up the hill mu backwards for the gas would then flow by gravity toward the engine. Makanda was and is yet a most picturesque little town. Its homes are perched at different elevations on both sides of the narrow valley. I rode up this hill once with the Makanda undertaker. As we passed a cemetery he pointed out the grave of a man whom he had buried there three times. The man had come to a nearby neighborhood a stranger, had stayed and acquired property but gave no account of his past. After he died and was buried, people who thought they might be his relatives and heirs came and had the body disinterred. This was repeated by other claimants. Hence the tale of the three-in-one burial. The present route to the Park is north from Makanda, then east, and then you follow the signs. The road is well graded. Near the turn to the east and on the north side of the road is the Stone Fort, where stood a wall of stone across a neck of a bluff where approach was from one direction only, since the three-sided bluff was easily defended. This pre- historic fort, though sometimes thought to be the work of the early Spanish explorers, is somewhat similar to the Old Stone Fort southeast of the village of Stonefort in Saline County. There is a tradition that an old brass cannon was found there, indicative of Spanish origin. Many visitors to Giant City Park never see the Giant City, a cluster of tower-like rocks which bore the name long before Illinois had any state parks. The original area of the "City" was only a few acres as compared with the 1162 acres acquired by the state in 1927. The enthusiastic citizens of Makanda were accused of enrolling every grown-up male there and in the surrounding territory in their Commercial Club. The best photographers were obtained to "take" the scenery and these pictures, including the one of the large commercial club together with sundry other exhibits, induced the legislature to buy the land. One man said that the road down to Makanda and over to the present park site was then so steep that the legislators could not get down to see so they took the citizens' word for it and made the purchase. Southern Illinois is so studded with areas suitable for parks and play- grounds that there may have been dozens of other locations as good but the cold fact remains that the Makanda boys got a park while the others stood by and made no serious effort. So much for small town enterprise. The park is a beautiful place. The roads are scenic. They are easily traveled all the year round. There are enticing foot paths. Picnic and 100 recreation facilities art- ample Giant c it> I : nalne itOO logs, is beautiful and com modicum 1 rnpleteU furnished overnight cabm> The boil ad the vU then make it en ideal epol for small gatherings, nipt i eampments, and enj not too iai Whether it be :■ halt hours dn\e 01 UDOd bore li well spent There la room 6 Hag alone Either nay, the lure of the Ozark Hilla ii here The etmo for the artist with brush or pen it is not far from >• "i the tall poplar, I land mark for miles eround which marked tin lUrj rtorj " ! • ■ on the Billtop u ai tins The Wildlife is that ut the «»/aik hill cuunti> .all herd of deer such as former!) were plentiful The) are lo i hillside en c losu r e b\ the main circuit drive Lodge Giant Cits Part WorVi *nd BldfS 1 101 BLOSSOM TIME IN THE ILLINOIS OZARKS Following the cold and rain and dreariness of winter and early spring, there is nothing more cheering than a drive through the Ozark hills when the peaches or apples are in bloom. Then it is. along about the last week in March or the first two in April, that whole hill tops and valley slopes stretching as far as the eye can reach are solid masses of pink or white. This outburst of color, coming before the leaves appear on most trees, is seen best from the hill tops in Johnson. Massac, and Union coun- ties. Hundreds of acres of orchard are on either side of Route 45 between Stonefort and Bloomfield. Other large orchards are too far from the road to be seen. All the more suitable sites in and near the area bounded by lines connecting New Burnsides, Ozark, Tunnel Hill. Creal Springs and back to Stonefort are devoted to fruit growing. The industry was devel- oped within the last sixty years; most of it within the last thirty-five years. The Union County orchards got their start earlier with the coming of the Illinois Central Railroad which gave transportation service. The soil and climate gave Union County a decided advantage in getting fruit and vegetables to the Chicago market ahead of competitors. The more south- ern counties of Alexander. Pulaski, and Massac are able to get their straw- berries, rhubarb, cut flowers, and early fruits to market a week ahead of other counties in the state. Villa Ridge with its sandy soil is the first to get its products on the market. The spring temperatures often range 10 degrees higher south of the hills. The high hill tops of the Ozarks are especially suited to tree fruits on account of the excellent air drainage into the deep valleys on frosty nights. Fruit and vegetable growing are the chief industries in an area ex- tending southeast from Carbondale and running east of Bosky Dell. Ma kanda. Cobden and Anna, then from Anna to Alto Pass, Pomona and on to Carbondale. Thousands of acres are devoted to tree fruits, straw- berries, asparagus, rhubarb, cut flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and black- berries. Gross receipts, in a single season, of 51,000 per acre have been had from each of the following: peaches, apples, strawberries, and asparagus. Let no one rush into the fruit growing business after reading the above. Let the peach growers case answer why. First, there is the original cost of trees and suitable growers' land. Not any clay will do. There is land preparation and planting. Trees must be sprayed with lime-sulphur or oil-emulsion against San Jose scale and treated with paradichlorobenzine (•■p. D. B. ") to prevent borers from girdling the growing tissues near the ground surface, every year. They must be carefully pruned. At four or five years of age they may bloom if it is a peach year. Then they must be sprayed with arsenicals to keep the fruit from being wormy, several times from blossoming time to near maturity. Sulphur must be used near ripening time to prevent dry rot. All these materials are expensive and the labor is considerable. They must be pruned every year. If there is a crop, the thinning is expensive. The writer removed 2.800 young peaches from a single tree in 1931 and left so many that the fruit was too small at ripening. It took the equivalent of one man working forty days to thin 102 six acres. Recently, the Oriental peach moth has 0OHM ami tin- rented) has not been found except U) dig out the late maturing varieties i "white din. to prevent greater damage bo the earlier varii lortiag pee king end marketing are expensive in 1930. there were "*» peachei la Dlinoii on eccouni i in mid winter, heme leSS expeOM and DO income at all Man> ol the treee were killed la 1881 there was wich a surplus that the crop did not more than paj ezpeneet la 1883 the greater pari ol the buds ere often killed h> a March • who have .' partial crop often find tin- local market no better than in yean when there i^ DO * i « » - 1 in jury During the tan yean following the First World Wai then I eropi el good pricei end some fortunes were made m fruit Then came over production and the latt loet Fruit "•■»■ budi ere not Formed In the winter "i tpring but In the fflwiMi 'iire^ ol 111 decrees below /mi m lowei kill p. buds Appk Lightij more resistant At bio mm time i b kills either it one wishes to tee the peach blossoms the last ol March 01 the \|)ni. or the apple blossoms i week or two later the round trip thro Vienna, Anna end Carbondale li best Uto Pen should be visited ofl to the wrest ol Route Two good crops oi peschei end earls epplei with good pricei In the yean 1844 end 1845, will do doubt stimulate production end repeated di- appointment \\\ \ IONESBORO tNNA-JONESBORO ire twin cities each haying i railroad They have much in common The high SChOOl il in lonesboro 00 the Site Of an Old College whose buildings are still In use The newer main building of the high school is sdjacenl to i natural outdoor amphitheater has the court bouM One ol the Lincoln-Douglas debates was held In i grove twaj from the center of the town, it is said that older men who heard the debate were tailed in to locate the exact place when the platform was built and that thc\ disa g reed A monument 1 . • at the Spot which seemed most likeh to be con- Anna has the State Hospital for the laSSIM DOST Itl ISf The to the Hospital, Including the circuit within the grounds past the numerous building's, should be lake!. IVOS the \ isitor a better knoa how the stall for Its wai THE SALTPETER CAVE Route 127, from a junction with Route 13 southeast of Murphysboro to Jonesboro and Cairo, is a newer highway less scenic than Route 51 from Carbondale to Cairo by way of Anna, but has a less number of steep hills. It does have many attractions for the tourist. One of these is the Saltpeter Cave which cannot be seen from the road. Neither is the presence of such a large spectacle suspected. After passing Etherton Switch on the If. O. & G. Railroad going south. Cedar Creek is crossed on an attractive bridge. It is said that railroad irons were brought up the Big Muddy by boat from the Mississippi nearly a century ago, then up Cedar Creek to the vicinity of this concrete bridge. Here they were unloaded from the boats and hauled overland to where the Illinois Central Railroad track was being laid south of Carbondale. The valley of Cedar Creek extends to the southeast from this bridge on Route 127 and then nearly south between high hills. Saltpeter Cave is at the head of a deep canyon which extends east from the creek about a half mile to very near Route 127 at a point a mile south of Cedar Creek bridge. Tom Cat Hill, the road rather steep but well graded, is the one we ascended on the highway to near the head of the canyon. There is then a depression and another rise still higher up, at the top of which the stop should be made. The cave is not really a cave. It is a huge overhanging canyon head, a semi-circle of about 145 feet radius. Spread a large umbrella, remove the handle, and set it on the floor. Then shear off the west half and you have left a model of the under con- tour of the cave as it would appear to a dwarf two inches tall standing un- der what had been the center of the umbrella. The place where the dwarf might stand is where the water drops 140 feet when it pours down from above. The floor plan of the cave is that of a semi-circle with a 145-foot radius drawn from where the water falls from the overhanging cliff: that is, the radius on the canyon floor would about reach the place where the receding roof slopes down to the ground. Leave the car and go west down the gentle slope among the scattered bushes and trees. Any valley slope leads to the canyon head to either the south or west side where it is not difficult to climb down. I went down the south side and up the north side to get out. There are remains of camp or picnic fires but no evidence of saltpeter. The tradition is that this ingredient of gunpowder was obtained there in the early times. The magnitude of this overhanging canyon head so close to what appears to be ordinary Ozark Hill country is its appeal to man's sense of the majestic. The distance from the highway is but a few hundred feet. Pomona is a short distance south but west of Route 127. Inquiry should be made at or near Pomona if the stranger drives from the south. There are two other saltpeter caves, one south of Boskeydell about a mile and west of the railroad and the other about five miles north of Grimsby 104 OLD BROWNSVILLE AND \lil\m The drive KHithwesI from Ifurphysboro on •• lelightful one. It has both scenic ind historic interest Tin- route leaves el the southwest corner ol Ifurphysboro, branching from Route 1 three unit- ■ roe oi white charcosJ kilns maj be seen In the valley to the left «'ii the right ol was oi the Ifurphysboro end Grand Towei branch of the Illinois Central Railroad \ ravel road leads down from tin In war time, i carload ■ week ol charcoal for making ammunition shipped ewaj Soft wood wai used for thii purpo ind bickoi charcoal poti and burnera iins latter kind is sold |q ucki to tourists and othen who enjo) the flavoi and odora ol bacon and ottu cooked out ol doors Other charcoal kilns are operated it Belknap and Tainins Charcoal Ovena st Tamma old B r ow nsv ille is no more, onl) fertile farm land divided i»> the railroad which, if it had been built before the village perished, might have tti salvation Selected as i town site In the earlj & preach i>> water up the BUj Ifuddj River, it died when other means asportation were available and traffic on smaller riven became un- certain as man cleared ewaj Um foresta which regulated water flow 1 be on km pround, but not too low, and then- is plent) oi huh ground on either aide oi the rtvw foi ■ beautifully located dtj The difficult approach now tmrfifT'iBca the Isolation which so often means the death kneii of what might have been prosperoua dtiea The most permanent and interesting reminder of the once thriving community is the old cemetery at the north edge of the valley where many OJ the early inhabitants are buried. It is overgrown with forest. It is said that no burial has been made there since 1843. The graves are marked with slabs and monuments mostly of native sandstone on which the in- scriptions are growing dim. Family names nam current in Southern Illinois may be deciphered This historic spot is reached by walking southwest on the railroad tracks from the charcoal kilns mentioned above, a distance of one and one- fourth miles. The site is recognized by a crossing and farm gates on both sides of the righl of way About 150 people or thirty families once lived in this little valley where now a few foundation stones and the cemetery are the only physical evidence of the busy life that prospered here. There were four stores a hatter, a saddler, two doctors, two lawyers, nine carpenters, three teach- er-, and one blacksmith. It was once the county seat of Jackson County. There were a court house and a jail. Some of the early inhabitants were leaders in the pioneer days of Illinois. One was Alexander Jackson, the first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and first president of the Illinois Central Railroad. Conrad Will was the first State Senator from Jackson County. He was one of the men who wrote the first constitution of the state and was later a member of the Legislature. He operated the salt works. The presence of salt springs was one reason for the coming of the earlier settlers to this place. Another was that it was then really the head of navigation from the Mississippi River by way of the Big Muddy though it is recorded that material for construction of part of the main line of the Illinois Central Railroad was carried as far up stream as the present railroad bridge north of Carbondale. Supplies for the settlers were brought up on flat boats and produce was sent down for the southern trade. A ferry gave passage to the region south and east of the Big Muddy. The town was founded by Conrad Will in 1816. He was a Pennsylvania Dutch physician and promoter. Alexander Jenkins, later Lieutenant Governor of the state, was apprenticed as a boy to Conrad Will to learn the carpenter trade. The presence of salt springs and later of bored wells contributed to the importance of this early metropolis. The Muddy Valley Salines was a general name for the region. Early litigation over titles to the land came about on account of Federal control of the salt springs which were of such vital importance to the early settlers. The old wagon road ap- proach from Route 144 is privately owned and it is not passable all t he- way by cars. For strangers, the most easily found route is on foot from the charcoal kilns. It is best to jjo when the Leaves arc off the trees in the cemetery. The author made the trip successfully on a hot day in August when the foliage was dense 106 Nothing remalni . i ^ h t traces of the old till and ilighl elevations and depressions where building* Itood 1 OOUld not tell where the homes, the tannery, the distiller; south of town or the ferrj landing had been. Brownsvilk mi the counts peat ol j., mt> from ihi'j to 184") tbOUgfa the COUrthOUSe had burned in I \\ i\di \\ RESEIN \ I h»n a icotinslioii d the JTrffrM"* Indiam litis hum ires occupied .1- men as lata as 1881 The Indli '<.«t Urns removed 03 igreemenl to lands which wen ed t«» ihcm In north western Indian Terntoi \ DOW Oklahoma Thej ha\e linOS 1)001) known i.fiuiaiu as the Peorlai • nl of earliei conm ivith in.!. thai 11.m1i' in 1888 the tribe la Oklahoma numbered onlj 1 whom Wai "l Mine Indian blood tioa wai tlmoal directlj south ol Sand Ridge which Route 144 five or lis miles louthwesl oi Murphysbi River which is croased on Route 13 |usl eaal oi Murphysl I trlj tit four miles through the hilll and then turns smith and e m erges onto the plain 1 little north ol Sand Ridge Route 144 what parallel tO the n\ei COUTSC but SOmC distance ftwaj to the north and west till "HUi WU rectangular extend northwest and southeast touching the Rig Mudds at the northeasl 001 and at the south end P ' it was 111 pi OCtioni 10 1- 81 : Township Range S west and south it anyone wi the location in legal terms The Kaskaskia Indians were I part ol the Illinois Confl with whom the Jesuits had dealings The> were sometimes COnfUSOd with the : tas m the earl] records Their chief village was supposed to be I'tica in l.aSalle founts Marquette said that thes had 74 eahins at firSl and more than 100 in 1874 when he returned There WI .duns 111 Probabl) some related tnl.es t,om the Mississippi from w hem c the Kaafcaskiaa had come earlier were living with them on the Illinois Borne \er> Interest ivattou ol ■ large village lite la tbii vidnits have . unearthed m recent times The eahins on this particular site . evidentl] btsiU parti] In the ground with earth hanked shout the for warmth Only those thing! that were buried remain The firepl located bj charcoal and bones and fragmenti ol potter) Much ol Indian life m ti led t>> the systematic records thai • of these f Sand---'\0 V'llagt of Sond---VO \ Rid 3 e. \ \ Sec 3o Sec 2. made from Ifurphysboro to Fountain Blu: I good road near these places, little can in- teen but much can be of the unrecorded activities of theM .-inal ownen Of the land and the later pioneer settlers who lived at first There ere reoordi in Randolph County t<> Indicate that tbi also a Kaskaskia Indian Reset 1 atioii in the north edge "1 that count> which may have extended Into I ■ ots The plat book in the circuit clerk J office it Mm; Hon in Sections ;< and 4 ol Township 7 South i. en miifs east and two miles north "i Campbell Mill B \l D KNOB Tern outstanding hills are landmark! In the Southern Ulinoi The) are Williams Hill. 1,065 feet ea level In i Maid Knoh. 1,090 feet in Union County, which maj be wen to U ward of Route 51 in the \icimt> Oi ('ohden It is southwest Oi Alto Pan. \ food road to Alto Paai branchei from Hon' the northwest Cohden This li one <»i the most icenic roadi oi ail this region it is on i nigh, narrow ridge with valleyi hio likewise appropriates the west pan and so the town ol sjto r.i-s eame to be. Another approach to Alt bom Route :>i h . a broader ridge beginning two and a half miles north of Cohden tt about five miles to Alto Pan from Cohden Roth of these ridge roads t Route si pass through some of the finest orchards of this wonderful fruit growing region The fine countrj homes In the vicinitj oi Alto p attest to the pro s perity that fruit growing brought In the past Son;. these homes overlook the lower hills and valle>s lying south of the i to the southwest twentx fl\e miles to the Missouri hills a> : the Mississippi Raid Knob stands up two or three miles to the . The two rid. unite a mile and a half southeast of the town The Mobile and Ohio Railroad tracks BUM approach from the smith. : the town the> are at the foot of the blufl near which the road runs Md boulders i.i drown sandstone with Straggling cedars mark the place This is ;, good place to broil the bacon or steaks that ! lught aloi pi. .id out the lunch, whatever it maj be What is there that whets the appetite <»n a OOO] da> more than the odor of broiling bacon or st, ; ,k held over a fire <>t cedar twigs on ., forked it OT three occasions when looking CBUUoUSlj over tin- cliff down to the tracks, i i round nog climbing into ins bole In the bluff This is a good lookout point. Bald Knob appears to be very near across the valley westward. It is in reality a good two miles as the bird flies. The actual traveling distance is nearly twice that and seems much more to one who tries it. The road goes through the town and west and then south. The steep ascent begins in about two miles. There is a road all the way to the top and cars make the trip up. I once drove to within a quarter mile of the top, parked my car and walked the remainder of the way up because the road was so difficult to climb. Now there is a well graded road all the way up. Tourists now come from afar for the view across valleys and lower hilltops, a scene which pre- sents a panoramic view of a large area of the Illinois Ozarks. Pomona Natural Bridge (Courtesy Shawnee Reforestation Unit) Only the top and some of the western slope of the hill are bald. The timber has been cut over in past generations. Most of the slopes are too rocky for cultivation so the young trees grow up to replace the older ones. The old Rendelman farmhouse, at the summit, has long stood outlined against the sky. It and the old fruit trees about it were seen plainly with a field glass from the lookout east of Alto Pass. From the top, the unaided eye receives the impression of a great panorama of hills and valleys spread in all directions. The valley ol Clear Creek, which rises about four miles southeast of the Knob near Kaolin. comes directly to the foot of the hill, meets Seminary Fork, and makes 110 an abrupt right angle turn to the southwest Thus Um rieu is up one valley and down another, the last one extending for twenty mile When the Mississippi is very high, it can be wn at d of this long vallev plain field glasses ad m bringing out more details li> SUCll OK I DBS) be seen After getting back to Alto Pass, two other trips sre ; is ni-rth four miles OT nunc tO l'oinona In I WOOd northeast Ot l'oinona. then- is | \ei\ perfOCl natural I as the une in I'ope Count) hut collect from a: set in appropriate surroundings Inquire at P for the the I. in: Another trip lull ot interest is h\ •. out oi Alto Pass down the vallej ot l leai < reek to the southwest and then 'he Mississippi bottom then northwest toward Grand Towei >>: southwest toward I An Baster morning service is an annual event which sti from far and near PINE HILLS SKI LINE l>m\ E one of the most Inspiring places in all the Illinois <>.. the iop ot the Pine Hills for a distance ot several miles Vou imagine that >ou are at the top ot the world and on the loinh ot th. 'hat lot the ridge is high and the tree covered Slopes are steep Native pines make up part of the torest This is the only place in Southern Illinois that such are found It is possible to go west from Alto PaSS north of Bald Knob and then southeaster^ to an approach at the north end ■ » t the hills A better start ma> be west from .loncsboro on Route 14. Ill Powder mills have been located about a mile from Wolf Lake for a long time. Some say that the reverse of this last trip is better. Going this way. start at Wolf Lake. Then, after the turn north toward and by the bluff, some ponds fed by springs are at the east of the road. Across the road from the second pond, look for the beaver dams. You may not see the beavers for they are shy. Rocky hills to the northwest of the hills toward Rattlesnake Ferrj have a road but there is no bridge or ferry now. If you really yearn for snakes you might find them in that vicinity. KAOLIN Kaolin is a clay-like material found in several scattered localities in the Illinois Ozarks. Kaolin is used in making porcelain and wall tile, in sandpaper, in paper as a filling, and in making white-wares of various designs. It is a fine type of clay formed by the decay of hard rock. It is more abundant in Europe than in the United States. Much is imported. It burns in the kiln to a beautiful white color, hence its value for making porcelain and a filler in white paper. The deposits occur in deep pits in valleys where the disintegrating rock of the once mountain sized Ozark hills have worn down to the present elevation. Kaolin is the designation of a switch on the G. M. & O. Railroad. It formerly had a store and several houses, two or three of which are yet standing in the neighborhood. At the close of the Second World War, many of the deposits were not being mined for lack of manpower and a market. Two large pits which we visited were filled with water which must be pumped out before they can be mined again. The pits extend to considerable depth so that there is no natural drainage. The clay-like deposits range in colors from white, pink, brown, yellow, red, and intermediate shades, but white is the typical color. Present methods of mining do not differ much from the time when the potter's wheel was supplied with "dirt" dug with spades and hauled by ox-teams except that steam shovels, tractors, and trucks do the work more quickly. We approached Kaolin going south on the blacktop about four miles from Alto Pass, then east on a good all weather road, continuing a half 112 mile past a church to a n. BVCl road which i- ind In li of the G. M. & 0. tracks This narrow road to the south brought u toward Kaolin Mr. at V Anuell the switch and he guided us west on fool over filled pit of great depth The kaolii d on the bank above tl ami white tinged with ihi iwn, end rose pinl our stepe, are returned t<> the eat end di the railroad tracfci We cane to i brid to walk Boutheast along tin- edge "i i field neai tl where kaolin had be en mined from i shaft which ii nou ebandoi Here I tried my camera <>n Mi tngell 72 yean old, aim said thai be had in -\. bad bia picture taken A bed oi watte material from the Bhafl dltplts worth going mans m|1, shale or a pebble, or wood las on the Burface 11 capped b miniature column Bhafl or spire of tin- eaails eroded material belo .it a picture of the Staked Plaini ol the weal Palling rain left the from an Inch to two or three Inchei high with thin, tin) cape looking like ibled cits of dwarf dtadela, chimneya, and lookou! po attempts at clooc up pictures under i dark sks a/ere tailuri We croaeod the bridge with the car, continuing south on the side Of the railroad to a roadwa\ across tin- tracks which roadwa'. followed on foot, first along a haulage road through tin- woods I ond. large, water-filled open pit he eonfuaing but the) should be helpful if they are supplemented b\ inquirs in the neighborhood Another approach is from the southwest corner ol < ohden about two miles west till the M <> & Cult Railroad tracks in 'urn south keeping near the railroad to Mountain Glen and continue on ..' another mile to the road from the west, mentioned abose hut continue south for stops ; ,t (he kaolin pits- and the switch .it Kaolin. OLIVE BRANCH TO BLCO u a mon at, leieurels drive be taken through hills and \alle\s not too high «>r too low. than between OllVC Branch to Klco silica mines at both of them There is also ;i mine )|] id Olive Branch. The gravel road is well kept, and winds is little dai el if the driver keeps in mind that DCO is east and north of Olne Branch There is up and dowi. hut BOt <>1 the ;is kind Tl.. ad down another Much of the wa> is lnnh- I 113 try with scattered farm land and homes, some small and dilapidated and some more modern and well kept. The road crosses and recrosses the small streams nearly always on concrete beds which the water goes over in flood times. It would be better to stay out in time of a heavy rain because a torrent rushes over these substitutes for bridges when the wa- ter comes down the hill slopes like rain off a roof. There is a great variety of trees and vines. The wild honeysuckle drapes itself in many places along the road. The honeysuckle is a very pleasing feature of the landscape in the south slopes of the Ozarks all the way down to Cairo. Mistletoe is more common as one goes south. The divide between the two stream valleys which the road follows is nearer Elco than Olive Branch. One is scarcely over the last concrete crossing of one stream bed till he finds himself crossing another. There are several exposures of the silica deposits along the road in the hillsides or where the streams and the work of man expose it. Silica is the hard material in sand. Its occurrence for processing at the mills is in a pure form. It is ground and crushed into a fine powder being worn down by still harder rocks in a revolving cylinder. These hard rocks become rounded down to the size and smoothness of a hen egg, when they are discarded. Several grades of fineness are produced, each having its special use. Silica is used mainly in fine pottery. Other uses are in paints, polishing powders, soaps, sandpaper, and in filters. Ganister, which is similar, being also a quartz sand, is mined west of Mill Creek. There are said to be two producers of ganister in this region. Entrances of Abandoned Silica Mine 114 Lai .in. is Tree West Division RE1 N(M.I)S\ III i: TO KORN III \l ••(1 i>> maiq people who i«-a plain wooden benches and simple furnishii Uerj above bai i paneled wall high unot tall o\er. but low enough m that tin- upstairs pari oi the sudk the pastor in the elevated pulpit M the) lit on the two extending around on three ildei Those la the [alien canno( ■ • the audience below and are not Men bj those on the main floor but all the pulpit i found an American paper printed In German 01 the benches, evidence thai nil trace and tradition oi the spirit thai the earl] pioneer settlen to bring from the Catberland thai which id while thev might oi lumlies ol .1 ti> hicll the) helped to build And mi the) built this church and maintained their faith in then I It appears ihal the adherents ( >t the church are BO* less m number and finances less plentiful Intel marriage and removal U) Other parts a- the pioneers have died and the VO tions have taken on <<..■ more a part of thai mixture oi traditions and forms thai we call Ann: have led tO the inevitable trend that results in new WSyS, new |tl and new ideas This is the fate Ol manv countrv Villages and chUIt The past dence stands In s magnificenl grove ol grand old ti one ol which measures neari\ eighteen feel In eircumferei bOXWOOd trees are near the home The Ke\ Prank Engleharl came here fiftj years ago to teach In the School The SChOOl building stands north ol the chUTCfa It Is now un : The Ke\ Kndehar' and his amiable wife give the visitor a feeling of peace and seiunlv in this era oi activitv and unccrtainlv Hen M to the traffic that whisaM bv on the bighwa] but in the w< it is not necessary to come to Korntnal 'interpreted to me as "corn vallev bv wav ol Kev noldsv ille. but tin- ellect is better to COmC that I The wav out is bv tin- travel roail north a short distance, then east and on across tin- railroad tracks to the bighwa) which leads BOUth to I aiTO or north to JonesborO onl> a few miles awav Kornthal Once had a flour mill, a box factory, and a sawmill situated north of the church and west ..l the creek A part of the stone build winch was the mill is stiii standing Sam Cooks distiller) Wtt one landmark Now three or lour scattered homes are seen rii- removal of industrv and the attraction! of the larger nearbv towns have coiitrib uted to the dwindling Influence of what was once a thriving little villi 117 THE INDIANS The Indians which were in Southern Illinois when the first white settlers came, were peaceable. The Shawnees ranged from Shawneetown westward. The Kaskaskias were in the Northwest toward the Mississippi River. The Osages were in Missouri, being occasional visitors in the Illinois Ozarks. The Indian massacres mentioned elsewhere are charged largely to tribes living away from Illinois. There was no density of Indian population. The Cherokees were here following their expulsion from Georgia on their way to new homes in Indian Territory. They had been a peace-lovnm people. They had good houses, farms, and machinery, such as their white neighbors owned. They had an alphabet and a written language. Some of them owned slaves. Threats, persecutions, murders, and laws for- bidding them to own real estate, made it easier for them to be induced to go to a new country which some of their leaders were bribed to recom- mend. They went at different times, and by different routes. Army officers conducted some of the groups. Others were guided by civilian contractors. Their own leaders guided some of them. The headwaters of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers were near enough to some of their homes to make transportation by flatboats convenient and inexpensive. One such group crossed the Ohio at Golconda and made their way overland. They had wagons, horses, and household goods such as they were permitted or found it possible to bring. A marker on the highway between West Vienna and Anna-Jonesboro indicates the valley nearby where a large number of them were encamped in winter on account of the cold. A great number of them died of exposure. It is said that Chief Wetaug was one of those who traveled alone or in small groups and that he lingered about where the village of Wetaug is located. He died there. His grave is known. It is said to be in a yard in the village. It is told that Basil Silkwood, who conducted a tavern about a mile north of Mulkeytown in Franklin County, on the Shawneetown-St. Louis trail, had seen a negro girl sold as a slave to the Cherokees. Her name was Priscilla. He recognized her with the Indians at Jonesboro and bought her for $1,000. She remained with the Silkwood family, joined the church, and is buried in the Reed Cemetery two or three miles northwest of the tavern which is still standing and in use as a farm home in connection with a more modern structure. Silkwood's tombstone shows that he died in 1885. Priscilla's giave is marked by a rough unlettered stone. Those of his two wives (said to be sisters) are on the other side of Basil's grave and unmarked. Priscilla brought some hollyhock seed from her home in the south. Descendants of those she brought still bloom at Silk- wood's tavern. Traces of the Indian occupants whom the white men drove away, are scattered far and near. Occasionally, pieces of Aztec origin are found. At Mill Creek there is a place on a high hill west of the village where a great supply of flint of a kind particularly suited for 118 making scrapers and other instrument! il found Pit] in the woods are the placid from which tin- flint wai removed Another place said to ha\e flint better luited to srrou bead manufacturing to be near Spedmeni ot these iimi» sre found more uridel) distributed in other State* than llln;< The most outstanding <>t tin- Indian structure! <>i tin i> the group known a- the Kinkaid Mound! nr.ir Ihc Ohio Ki\cr lowlands north of Brookport ill II ountj \ in.. ooUection of Indian nind in di cellar foi ;■ bouse *"» th«- largest mound mon fifty ft More recent excavation! bj th<- Universit) ol bave not been so productive Kincaid Mound 11!. FOUNTAIN BLUFF Fountain Bluff is a wonderful feature of Southern Illinois scenery which may he enjoyed all the more when the cause of its existence is un- derstood. It is situated about fifteen miles from Carbondale. west and a little south. The nearest good road is by way of Murphysboro and then over Route 144 through Grimsby and Sand Ridge io Gorham. The Mui- physboro tornado first struck Illinois with all its furv at Gorham. There was once an Indian reservation near Sand Ridge. This is told about in another article entitled. "An Indian Reservation." The Bluff will be recognized at a distance because it stands out as a steep-sided hill nearly 300 feet above the low lying lands north and east of it. It is about four miles long and averages a mile or more in width. The Mississippi River is west of it. There is no flood plain on either side of the river at this point, and the current is swift. It is thought that this part of the Mississippi channel is geologically recent and that once the river flowed on the level area east of Fountain Bluff where the Big Muddy River lies at the east side of this ancient flood plain. The Missouri hills are about as high as the Bluff on the Illinois side. A branch of the Illinois Central Railroad has its track on the narrow space at the foot of the bluffs near the river. The Missouri Pacific tracks run on the plain east of the Bluff but farther out. The public highway out of Gorham comes very near the north end of the Bluff and right by the very high vertical cliffs. This is the most awe-inspiring part of the trip. The road should be followed nearly to the river and then retraced. Near the northwest corner the cliff is lower where a precipitous little valley affords a way up to the top of the ridge. A concrete dam was once built across this little gorge to make a swimming pool. The walls have given way so that the spring water now comes down unconfined as it had for centuries before man tried to change its way of doing. There are steps and a good path going up. It is a pleasant place to ramble. The paths lead up to the ridge top which is wooded. From between the trees a view far up the river almost to Chester can be had because the Illinois flood plain of the river is wide nearly that far up and the river is nearly straight. This ridge is a fine place for naturalists. The last rattlesnake that I saw was there. He gave me fair warning but was not allowed to live. The white trillium lives here along with other plant life which has become rare. The whole region should have been set aside as a reservation for the enjoyment of all the people long ago. A winding road leads up from the east side to a forestry watch tower. The spring just mentioned is not the Fountain Spring. This is found on the road east of the Bluff. It is necessary to return to the northeast corner of the Bluff to get on this road which follows very near the cliffs and hills all along the east side and part of the south end until it turns south toward Grand Tower. It is about six miles from Gorham to Grand Tower and a beautiful drive all the way. The Fountain Bluff Spring is nearly a third of the way down from Gorham near the outlet of Happj Hollow which originates near the top of the ridge but near the river This spring of clear cold water was until recent years as nature made it. a 120 true fountain where the traveler could be refreshed by tl •••■ it is up a gentle dope from the road < > n 1 > i iborl dittenci to a eoacretC ?ank which is in a fenced l>>t A tft climbing about the lodgOl on the ch: ed but they make one di//> if he does not know that the> know what th< about H : is named for I conical tower like near the Missouri shore A boat trip up U • reveali the finest river rlev between st Loui occurred at Walker Hill south Blufl Hill N that hon/ontal lock la>cis m tilted down at a dislm. I suitt current here almost like rapids I hi- n\ei channel between the Bluff and Missouri is a tivel) new one The of the Bluff In the Dal fertile plain DO* HON than tWl id. 1 h. ' idd\ riser OOming out ol the Mill ..t this plain near tin- <>/ark Hills allc> without an> Hood plain the Blllfl h | high land which nncc'ed the Blufi with tli> hills One theor\ || that when the fan.' iired at Walker Hill. I north and south break permitted the river t«. itart cutting iti pn chanmd U-a\ ltm its large old valle> on the east to bfl OCCUpied b> the little stream which fits the \allc\ as | mans shoe fits .1 small bo\ The great power plant of the Central Illinois Public Service I is north of Grand Tot -« u - 4* • in Fountain Bluff The Dei U'l Kit' ■ alls a 1 (Jraix: the rner at the south end Oi the blut: 121 mains of a home arc at the summit from which there is a fine view of the Mississippi where the current is the most rapid between St. Louis and Cairo. It is difficult to imagine how the early boatmen who came down the Ohio in flatboats were able to ascend the Father of Waters to St. Louis Dj means of poles to keep the boat off shore while men on shore pulled it upstream by means of ropt- Devil's Kitchen — North of Grand Tower HORSESHOE LAKE Horseshoe Lake and State Game Preserve is down near Cairo close to Route 3, and just above the dog tooth bend of the Mississippi River. The lake is an old river cutoff. The keeper's lodge is on the island where wheat is sown every autumn to help feed the many thousands of wild geese which come at the migrating season. They know that they are safe there. A few days after the close of the 1945 open season for geese, I was within the distance that one can throw a rock to them. Shooting had been stopped after 5,000 of them had been killed from blinds on privately owned land outside of the reservation. The geese knew they were safe then, outside of the preserve, for that was also "out of bounds" for hunters. I drove along the highway within gunshot range of hun- dreds of them. They remained undisturbed. Some were in a pasture between two sets of farm buildings which were but a tew hundred feet apart. A great many geese stay at the lake all winter. They are fed there The overflow of the lake goes into Cache River which meanders so that the traveler is confused by so many places where he crosses it. It rises east of Anna in Union County, flows southeast to near Route 4."i in Massac County, wanders back through Pulaski County into northern Union County, and then south until it almost connects with the Mississippi. but it at last drags its weary way back to the Ohio a few miles above Cairo. 122 E IRTHQ1 am - The internal forces that formed tbi Qlinoi died oaf the last (ui * mot tu make dishes 00 tt • om eenti Counts hiu- It was fall twent) 01 more milei 11 Moyeri 11 ^i Count) la mrrii \ (omul thru- which W to the Iruli.i! M alxiut thirl ami the depth ol it «.i> unknown WhHi After the baildim <>i n>«- l C the raih the ipring to nippb ■' In 18!" : the auake the lhe\ In ■ lit Inquiry of nun who miliar with tl turn- meotioi thai it Mi m and U entitled ithero tlli .1 hut din remembrance of Uk ime u( t! them Minims was violent!} ihaken then rl named Elisabeth, f«>r whom Elizabethtowi .ii named, telli boa the earth waa ihaken then written i>> one arbo I m Illinois in January, i;»i. the following irreid pid at that turn- d punctuation Una Sineenatta State of Ohio April the 12 1H12 er I now M-t down to right to you t" let >i>u m> U am well hoping that when these hues cum to your view lhe> will find you enjosin. DM WciMJnj I will iurther inform >ou that 1 I left the Miatisippee through the foodneai of God Altho there is not d of our : • pie that were able to do that for th. whether the] liked the COUntrj or not for the people of this countrj that tin our Yank • rOUn enUgfa tO la> down upon where 1 left them la\ aft. .md myeell undertool the bilding of | mill which to work uppoii when Mi that I continued to CBJTJ the woik on myself until I was tak< ii I was tO quit it 4; I la\ sick myeell with lh< aguer about Eight months in which time I got reduced some so I was so for about four months that I could not tell whether they meant to kill me or not but finding me so tuf they quit the notion and so I got of 1 would mention a little of the situation of the Misippee Country at the present time which is very had ever since the battle that we had with the Indians at the Wabash which I suppose that you have had an account in the newspapers the Indian.-, have bin very troblison They have kild a .mate many ihis spring But what is much more terrible than the Indians on the sixteenth of December We had a Grate Earth Quake which the Shook the Earth to the senter And Shaking Still continued til I left Kaskaskia which was the twenty first day of February. It has damaged and thrown down al- most All the houses down in that county and in many plases the earth has Craked open for a quarter of a mild in length and throwne out vast boddies of sand and water and in several plases there is large tracts of country that is all sunk down and overflowed with water The people are moving out of this country faster than they ever moved into it As time fails me I must right short I wish you to give my sincere respects to that good old mother of mine and also to all of our family as well as yours. Give respects to my young friend in particular to Zebeus tel them all that I want to see them very much but I cant tell when I shall do it Right to me without fail As soon as you receive this write your letter to Maryette in the State of Ohio for I think I shal be there in about three weeks and you must not fail of Righting to me for I have not recvd but three letters since I left home and I think you have all forgot me or you would right oftener. Right to me if you have herd anything from my father since I cum away and furthermore let me know if mv wife is married or not & so I must conclud bv stiling mvself your Brother &c A. DILLINGHAM. LOESS DEPOSITS Loess, pronounced, 1-u-s. What is it? The dictionary says. A Quarternary deposit, usually consisting of fine yellowish earth, on the banks of the Rhine and other large rivers". The Rhine is too far from Harrisburg for a day's journey. And, who wants to see it. anyway, when there are other larger rivers near. Maybe the Mississippi or Ohio or Wabash or the Saline will do. Loess is a fine grained soil appearing like clay. It is formed after the manner of sand dunes such as are in northern Indiana or the eastern Lake Michigan shore. Dunes are caused by the wind which carries tin. sand into drifts as snow is carried. They are common in deserts and 124 east of sandy beaches Loam del similar!) formed of fine dust particles gathered up bj the arindfl tod deposited often to the >!• feet in hill.v They form a com; !e\ or wa-h in this region Since It ing winds in th: are from the west loesa > on :.».. or east of where rneis | :i Not all cla> like hills uii the - sides of ll\el There are • Mississippi flood plains in southern Illinois BOOM "I the finesl llOBf the line Ol the M fc Railroad between \luiph> ' on loess hills i remember set >1 these hills :>ondale The hillside was almost | ilti ■ i with a horse hut the soil sticks 1 ik«- pl.t wall I' ■ nt texture and easil\ Cultivated, hut then The road just south oi Nan Harmony, Indiana oa Um ■ >n cuts through SUCh I hill Tins road is old hut tli< up oa each side like the aralli of ■ buildini i two mch pi nearer than Indiana One is through the hills just north of Shawncetown on the old road toward Omaha Do not take tlu- road to the lakes hut turn north before teachi: This uas planned M I I I m the da>s before our present hard roads were thought ol good as far as the hills The scciier> OUl then- is fine The loess walls stand up straight like the rock walls ol a railwa> cut This road has i north of the loOM hills \ similar deposit is the hill southwest of the Island Kiff!. on the Saline Kiwi > to the junction of Route 13 with Koute 1 Equality and Junction, then south to the new bfid line Another wa\ is to take the southi 1 road from Kqualits to this same bridge This is | beautiful dri\e close to the hills with the liver tO the north From the bridge continue on Koute 1 south on the road toward Gibsonia but take the first left hand turn Notice the vertical Villi where this old road branches left At the toot ol the hill on the north the road turns east ami is on low ground to the I | be Kiffle is a gOOd place to picnic The road on to Junction ..il> level and •he wa> through the sand] dm oountrj The only objection to taking this last described road toward Junction Bl the old bridge across the Saline river i| DO longer in use OLD KASKASKIA Although it may seem preposterous to propose a journey to a city which has long ago disappeared in the waters of the Mississippi river, there is enough of history and tradition in the surrounding territory to make such a day's journey both profitable and enjoyable. It is little more than fifty miles going over Routes 13. 151, 150, and 3 in succession by way of Carbondale and Chester to Garrison Hill Cemetery and Old Fort Gage which overlook from their hills the Mississippi, flowing where once stood the most important city between The Great Lakes and New Orleans. Route 3 out of Chester passes near a city cemetery where Shadrack Bond, first governor of Illinois, is buried. The Fort, originally Fort Kas- kaskia, is about six miles from Chester. There is a cemetery near the Fort where Pierre Menard, the first lieutenant governor of Illinois, is buried. The old Pierre Menard home is at the foot of the hill below the fort. The old slave house used in connection with it is near and slightly up the hill from it. The house, now a part of the state park which includes the Fort, is of much interest because it represents the builder's skill of much more primitive times when beams were fastened with wooden pegs and door hinges were home made wrought iron straps. Only the earth- works of the Fort remain. There has been no building there since 1766 when Fort Gage, then in the hands of the British, was burned. Previous to the French and Indian War, it was Fort Kaskaskia. Kaskaskia was started about 1686 across from what was then the channel of the Kas- kaskia river, but where is now the greater channel of the Mississippi. The fort is on a high hill from which one may look down onto the river where once was dry land and the first capitol of Illinois. There are benches and tables where lunch may be eaten under the trees while enjoying the fine view up and down the Mississippi. There is a good spring near the road which comes up from the southeast. Until Kaskaskia was washed away, the Mississippi River came very near to the Kaskaskia River just above the town so that the city was really on and between two rivers. The Mississippi from here took an abrupt turn to the west and circled around past the Missouri hills several miles away. Then it swung back to near the site of Chester where the Kaskaskia poured into it. This left a low bottom land as large as a town- ship almost surrounded by river channels. The view from Fort Gage now reveals the Mississippi on the east of this flat which extends miles away, instead of on the west as at first. This is what happened. Floods swept over the low lands and menaced Kaskaskia. Finally the Mississippi broke through into the channel of the Kaskaskia and abandoned its old roundabout course. The land upon which the city stood was eaten away. The low land where corn grows luxuriantly between the old channel and the new is still a part of Illinois though it is west of the Mississippi. 126 The state capital had been moved to Yandaha Valuable count) ords were taken to Chester which became the C0U "f what ; Randolph count 'hem wen taken their record* when the uld Randolph county was subd at Chester were left in boxes and bag* in ballwaj : them ■rried awaj bj the curioui it was thought that all gone until many «cic found twenty Dve :•■ topi Of high cases out of the wa\ They haw 00011 Ol BlUCh ..due in - mg out the history «»f old Kaskaskia : is. hi Mill is mar Fo: Ol many uf the deail who W4 red linin thl when the riser began to deatro) the town it is arell kept The u tiona on tin- itonet In tin- neu old full ol ii b Port Chartrea li fifteen miles up the ri twenty five mik Pi ilrie du i> illt in 171!) of UJOOd, I hall mile from the mm i It nit of ■tone m 1759 fag the Preach at ■ coat ol $1,000,000 it waa the beat forti ficalion in America at that time The n\er cut int. • r of it in 1TTJ The British, then in possession. mo\ed U) 1'he walls crumbled and stone was caiiled ewi ode covered the foundi with dirt only the sturdy stone powder magazine stood Recently b) means of the old plans the remaining foundations ( .| the walls thl guard ho,. room, and furnace room were uncovered Enough stone was found to restore the foundations of the building* and walls and the entrance and a small part of the wall t<. It. Including an area ol tw»-nt\ two at now a state park V well in the fort was (Iul: in 17.">4 mi, may be included in this trip in good weather by using the road and the ferr> above that city The n\er has n leaving only flats in front of the town It claims to be the oldest French settlement west of the Mississippi Ferdinand Ko/ier. the business partner of John Audubon, settled here and prospered II I. Rosier, Jr. a direct dant of Ferdinand, is a banker there Ferdinand Ko/ier is buried in the old cemetery back of the church Many old records are OB the tomb -• DEM in French. The old French houses of limestone corner on the sidewalks. They are attractive but make the visitor qui whether he may not be in a foreign dtj Missouri Route 25 may be followed south from Ste Genevieve through more than half wa> to Cheater The road from Roub to the bridge at Chester completes the journey around the Ifi— QUI of the old Mississippi channel. The Southern Illinois penitentiary is at Menard on the river front which city is well situated on a high hill o\er. MISCELLANEOUS JACKSON COUNTY NOTES Jackson and Randolph Counties are full of other places of historic and natural interest of which descriptions cannot be given within the limits of this volume. John W. Allen. Curator of History of the Southern Illinois Normal University at Carbondale has prepared, under the auspices of the University, paper bound volumes, "Jackson County Notes." and. "Ran- dolph County Notes," both of which have pictorial maps. Places men- tioned in these two volumes which are now available, have mere mention below. If the plan is continued, Allen's "Notes" on quite a number of Southern Illinois Counties will be prepared. In Randolph County there is AVA, once known as "Headquarter-." before the town was plotted. There are three known locations of blockhouses in the county. William Boon and his son, Bennington, are buried in the Boon Cemetery on the east side of Big Hill, a mile and a half south of Gorham. which should be visited. Covered bridges, of which there were many in the early days in the Ozark region, are almost a thing of the past. Jackson County had at least three or four. CAMPBELL HILL is one of those towns which moved to the rail- road when the railroad did not see fit to go to the town. In this case, the town moved nearly a mile to the northwest. DORCHESTER was a thriving village near Murphysboro, south on the Big Muddy, where coal was mined in an early day. The town ceased to exist about eighty years ago. Indian Carvings on stone which some might wish to visit are located on Allen's map. A Natural Bridge is described as being "about one hundred feet long" at the top, seventy-five feet between abutments and nine feet wide. The location is Section 20, Township 10 south. Range 2 west. RANDOLPH COUNTY NOTES CHESTER, mentioned in connection with Old Kaskaskia, is where John McFerron settled in 1818. The city was named for a city in England. Chester has had its ups and downs, as one will realize if he drives about, say down to the river front. There were epidemics of cholera in 1832. 1833, and again in 1849. Allen says that, "a cluster of stones under the bluff near the southern limits of the city, marks the spot where cholera victims, dying on passing steamboats, were buried." Castor oil from castor beans was made here to the extent that an oil press was used at an early date. This is an industry that cannot compete on the market but which was revived when foreign oils were cut off during World War Two. Castor bean growing flourished on a wide area about 128 Chester in the early day The wagOMnakwg industr] !| le at Chester for a long period oi I well re memb er when castor oil was regularly for oiling OUgg) whet A tornado, in Novell boat twenty-eight milea t<> Coulterville ht> beJea of cotton, grown locally, m KVANSY1I.1.K. on Um Kaskaskm Ki\. and wi enough to compete as i place I was removed From K;isk.iski.i to Che BP \i; i \ ... : I ibout ihtj h i excellent echooli ind culture Shannons Mill .1 mile south, waa moved to i»*-ai Armour*! Mill The town tti called Columbui The post oft it hi definitel] known that - s ; in Important Railwaj hi the dayi before the Civil Vt ORAVILLE .niti s 1 11 11 \ 11 1 1 ire not iKiincs Mi. 1 1 refer to minin manufacturing, ;is the sound, but not the ipelling, might lndi< ville was fust called Ora, and Steeleville was oamed toi John Steele who came there in ihot There wai once a LTist mill there, not ;■ water null nut one whose motive power was oxen The Shawneetown 1. passed this was VERGENNES post office established in 1 k«;h > was named ..!•■ town in Vermont The old post office was about a mile west of the j town The place was oiuc known as Middletown .1 Bremen ( Court • m THEBES THEBES is the first city above Cairo on the Mississippi River. It is also on Route 150. The bridge is for railroads only. Thebes was the county seat of Alexander County from 1845 to 1854. The court house, a classical type of building, stands on the hill above the river. .Much of the background for Edna Ferber's "Showboat" was obtained here and at Cairo. The coming of the Cotton Blossom Showboat was in its day one of the events of the year at Thebes. It is believed that Lincoln, on the night following his debate with Douglas at Jonesboro, slipped off without questioning his managers, and made a speech at Thebes. DONGOLA DONGOLA is a beautifully situated village with its homes perched on the hillsides of a narrow valley. If you drive through, following the traffic on Route 51 and seeing only the railroad and business houses, you will miss seeing all of the charm that such towns have. At night, the lights blink at different heights so that one might imagine he were in a mountainous country. Besides being in the fruit producing area, there has not been much history or anything that sets Dongola out from others of its sister towns except one. H. L. Dye, agent for the Illinois Central Railroad, is credited with a statement which was quoted by the New York Sun along with a cartoon. Here is the statement as requoted by the Dongola Tri-County Record of April 30, 1942. "Dongola, which has a population of 650, is the only place on earth where a man can leave his pocketbook lying on the street over night and find it there in the morning." VILLA RIDGE VILLA RIDGE, on the east side of, and on the ridge above Route 51. is a very attractive little city. It is noted for the numerous southern magnolia trees in and beyond it on the road leading east which has branches across to Route 137 and south to Mounds, a part of which is beautifully located on high ground east of Route 51. The soil and south- ern location permits the Villa Ridge community to get its strawberries on the market just slightly earlier than the communities farther north. The old Grange Hall, on the road east from Villa Ridge, is a little out of the ordinary in a state where the Grange organizations were not common. 130 ( OBDBN COBDEX, on Routt- ~>i south ol Carimndale ii in Important poll shipping trail ami vegetables The hi which . the soil irhieh ii well adapted to trail growing ind the comini ol the Illinois Central Railroad In in enrij daj gave the regioo on bi of the nUwty between Cerbondale and Villa Ridge in • rt in tin- fruit prowing Industry In Dlinoii I have been told that the firal refrl Ited car uf fruit m Illinois started with H^ load lion, Cobdefl lee wai pot Into tin- end ofl i treighl cei More than twent before tin- distribution of traiti ind rogetabln was m> well directed as now, more than fjftj car loada top of the main of the Illinois Ozarks I can remember, when conui n Me tropolii to Cerbondale on a mixed freight and passenger tram, we would be put on a switch at Simpson Hall ol the tram would be pulled up the the switch at O/ark. then the engine would back down to Simpson t<> bring up the rear end. Part ol <>/ark moved west when Route ..- built Fruit sheds for packing and marketing ipplei and pi on the road from \ew Kurnsides to BlOOmfield The Derate highwaj has isolated Bloonfield, a verj small vil b> tbi u Railroad A brid the railroad which is in a tit where Route • it on tb. id Vienna COming ' ■(> indicate that the small i 131 CARRIER MILLS CARRIER .MILLS, eight miles southeast of Harrisburg. on Route 45, uriu up after the Big Four Railroad came in. When the roadway was being built a man named Carrier had a saw mill which supplied ties to the railroad. When a switch was put in. it was called Carriers Mill, which name became changed to the present one. Coal fields extend to its north limits. STONE FORT STONEFORT lies on the border of Saline and Williamson counties. It is also near the southwest corner of Saline County. I have been "coon'* hunting in four counties down there, all in the same night. The Ozark Hills rise abruptly a short distance to the south. NEW BURNSIDES NEW BURNSIDES is at the very edge of the Ozarks. and of the fruit growing territory of Johnson County. Route 166 branches off here to- ward Creal Springs and Marion. CRAB ORCHARD Crab Orchard is an unincorporated village on Route 13. between Marion and Harrisburg. It is the only town directly on this twenty-two mile stretch of concrete. Dallasania was a village about seven miles west of Harrisburg. less than forty-five years ago, when the store was discontinued and the last building was removed. Strange to relate, it was marked on the load maps for ten years or more after Route 13 was built. The village again shows signs of life. Buildings and businesses have appeared on the scene very recently. Crab Orchard has no railroad. It is best known on account of Crab Orchard Academy, which James W. Turner, who was mentioned in con- nection with the story about Galatia, as having moved with his father from Saline County to Williamson, was the founder. A charter was granted by the State of Illinois, July 30. 1889. to James W. Turner, John Huddleston. Henry J. Fuller, John II. Farris, Martin M. McDonald, R. F. Peebles, and John F. Tidwell, to sell capital stock of Crab Orchard Academy. Eighty shares were sold at twenty-five dollars per share. 132 A three-room building m d within It had • with | SOSting capacit> for MM hundred and lit pupils The campus mi seven tcrci in extent it art ill in the touth part of the present villi now. The Mhool opened I irnoag them manj who hevi prominent in Um Mr Turner continued In charge oi thi iraa i U <■ id thn four jreen i h«- ittendana ! the full capacit) f the Academy. when l took charge time has been Ereelj bestowed for the benefit of m> pupils and the upbuilding ol Crab Orchard Academy, and l have Doth tag left save the gratitude and sympathies of mj pupils l | uni as a board of directon appreciate what i have done for the achool, and for m> pupils, among whom arc VOUT own child and I must imploringly ask sou to grant m\ request that I ma> n other enterprises that will bring me the relief that l so greatl] dm Mr Turner continued his long career as ■ teacher at S( terviUe, Creel Springs, and Carrier Mills retiring In 1817 His of effective and continued teaching is unsurpassed unless it DC that oi Harr> Ta> lor. uho has heen J'i i mi p:i 1 of the Harrishuru Townshi| siiue its organisation In 1803, and ■ teacher In Saline Count) for B In the rural School and boots, and. tl M Superintendent <>f the Harrisburg Public School before I I <»ne Into thing m connection with Mr rurm his interest in printing At Crab Orchard and in all the where ight, until his retirement, he owned and operated equipment for printing a school paper which wa:- gotten out largely, if not entin in tins field He continued to print ins own productions follow! sent stent, up t«j near the time of ins death His Personal M over four hundred pages was set up by hand and printed on his own hand The roll of students whom he taught, as given in the Memoirs, is I roster of names of those uho admired and loved him. of which any man might be proud. HARRISBURG HARRISBURG is the county seat of Saline County, originally a part of Gallatin County which was formed in 1812. Saline County was set off from Gallatin in 1847. The county seat was first at Raleigh where two court houses and a jail were erected in the short time between 1847 and 1857 when Harrisburg became the seat of justice by a bare majority of fifteen votes. If the north boundary of Saline County had been three miles farther north on the township line instead of at the middle of the township, and, if the Saline River had been the southern boundary in stead of the township line beyond, Raleigh would undoubtedly have con- tinued to be the county seat, for votes from south of Harrisburg decided the election. Bob Ingersoll had an office at Raleigh. The small building which he used stands now in a field northwest of town instead of on the street which is now a state highway. The first court house at Harrisburg was a beautiful one with Doric columns in front. The newest one. erected in 1904, has a recent addition at the south. Harrisburg has excellent schools where tenure has been secure. Par- tisan politics or religious faith does not enter into selection of school officials or teachers. Licensed saloons or taverns have not been permitted the greater part of the time for the past forty years. Saline county has no licensed taverns. Two good coal veins, not nearly exhausted, underlie more than half of the county. Only a small fraction has been removed. Strip mining on a large scale is carried on about eight miles west and slightly south of Harrisburg. The coal is taken from the older mines through shafts CoaJ is more economically removed from the newer mines by slopes, on end less belts. The Ozarks are in sight to the south. Harrisburg is the home of the Shawnee Reforestation Unit which controls 196,315 acres of land. 134 M IRION MAKION counl I Willi..: i oal fields it in t:- i 'ii \ l • when he decided to etaj with the Union In Civil War times win in the eoal fielde, Marion ba IUU ll it the WCSl llll Crab Orchard lake extend* ifnwfl to bar back dooi n«i outftandinf In ■ttendanoi d and thli ,'llipt.MS .lllll • I lis I III. \s iiii.ui. i tin- lain m i>f bar his". Ivan la eccounta of other dtioa within bai Umlti \Nii liamaon Count] i coal field* ire the most productive hi tin WQliaunaon Counts baa boon unjuttlj callad .. feud whlcfl nittad n> Marion ken i»> trianda ol the murdi in turn, another lift kan and ao on tail the feud reaultod kiiim. v •m- c-ouid be convicted In court becauae all witneaac |uroi fraid ol repriaala The feud ended when .it. ford "t Joneabora in court ;it Marion, aantenced one ol the last offender! t<> death man had plead guilty, bul clemencj was denied bim Ju.: ford told me thai do one itayed In the bote! tin' oighl after tin- trial >>ut hlmtelf and the proprietor of the feud is told in rhe Bloods Vendetta," written i>> Milo I who Iff t Illinois to live, and died under an IB flimtll name OH acCOUttl of the reaenlmenl winch arose Man) of the familiea then .mil aince prominent in the affain > started and could nut readil \'<-d ins book was reprinted In 1914 Copfa n available HKKItlN HEBRIN, in Williamson Counts, is named for I lauiih of promln< In the earlj settlements 1 he m\ : reputation with those who happening to which the name i town BO The hreakdown of law and order in the couir nutted ha; which effective law enforcemenl could I : ended promptly uhen the citi/eiis ol Hie COUUt] 1 men to of I law and order I i I 1 the I in the counts b which lited from Otb< aiu\ Herrin Itaelf but Included men from other counties far a.' and Indian. i n« 1 1 In pot thi credit MCtlll opposing factions arc in U Ihrrin is a comparatively new city in the coal mining area. Its broad main street might well indicate a city of several times the actual popula- tion. The business blocks are imposing and the stocks of goods draw customers from other urban centers. The citizens are law-abiding and cultured. The "Trovillion Private Press" at The Sign of the Silver Horse is in the unique home of Hal W. Trovillion. His vocation, since his retire- ment from active editorial work, is to print fine editions of rare or un- usual books. His large library contains volumes which are almost price- less and are of great interest to lovers of books. High standards of home life, education, and religion are maintained by the great majority of the people. Herrin needs to be seen to be ap- preciated. A COAL MINING CENTER A group of thriving cities in Williamson and Jefferson Counties is of more recent origin. They are near each other on account of the great veins of very high grade coal which underlies them, and results in a concentration of industry. WEST FRANKFORT, the largest among them, began its history at Frankfort Heights, which is on a hill at the eastern extremity of the one long street upon which most of the business houses and a part of the homes are located. The original town extended itself straight west when a railroad was built near what is the west limits of the present city. The marker in a church yard beyond the tracks is where the Shawnee and Kaskaskia Indians fought their last battle. Modern high schools, athletic fields, active civic clubs, public libraries, good hotels and restaurants, up-to-date stores, and a sturdy citizenry, make these cities in the coal belt centers of industry and culture far above the standards usually attributed to coal mining communities. Among those not heretofore mentioned, are DE SOTO, ELKVILLE. DOWELL. SESSER. CHRISTOPHER, JOHNSTON CITY, ZEIGLER, HURST, BUSH. BUCK- NER. PARISH, LOGAN, and PITTSBURG. The stranger who is interested in social problems could spend prof- itably one or more days in the homes, schools, and business establishments of the intelligent citizens who carry on this great coal mining industry. The coal from this great coal-producing territory is of the best quality. 136 PINCKNE1 \ nil: Rl\< K\K\ \ 111 \sith .-•. reaching out In f i\ t- directions, mi much n that >our author has twice taken the wrong road tinn- when coming from st Louii to his home BENTON BENTON •!>< count] m( : Franklin County, li located where fruit, poultry, ami daiiy product! an- tin- most profitable agricultural producti The extenaive deposit! oi high grade coal ibouf it have added to it perit) Recently developed oil pooli ac e rb) an- Important it i its area tin- largest ihafl coal mine in the world John A Logan once lived there its people an- Intelligent ami home-loving Thej have, and have had. among them many dtiseni who itood nut as leaden at home and iwaj The schools have alwayi been kepi up to a high standard which is evidence oi tin- high chi of its average dtlsens 1)1 QUOIN in quoin, a citj "i BOOQ people geta its name from Chiel Du Quoin of tin- Kaskaskia Indian tribe lie did not live then but the Kaskaskiai i it-ci that territory. Some oi them maj have lived temporarily In the vicinity of Old Du Quoin which was a villi PC the present cil Du Quoin began Old Du yuom is an Route 14 i short distance east oi Koutc Si at i point about three miles south oi the newer dtj Old Du Quoin, no longer a village, is a picturesque group Oi houses lituated on .small hills, The Du Quoin state Fairgrounds are on the i of the three mile strip of Route 51 south lrom Du Quoin This | the moat outstanding fairs of the count> lair type that is held m Illinois Th< 'up coal mines near Du Quoin and more extensive to the west A very large 11*1 Oi gOOd COal lies at a moderate depth. Suitable for Stripping. The dumps of soil ami rock which the steam shovels pile up do not beautify the landscape Then is alv. 'ion about the matter Often times the juice paid to land Owner for the coal Bd i> better than the value of tin- land above the co.il. when I urm land The soil so upturned is fertile often lacking only nitrogen from legumes winch grou readil) ami maj be plowed undei lie dumps COUld be leveled with build. lug Much «•: 'hem in Saline ( OUUtj on.- such dump hi itself tin: : iod of less than thin GALATIA Galatia is in Saline County on Route 34 between Raleigh and Thomp- BOnville. The first spelling was Gallatia. probably derived from the name of the statesman named Gallatin. There was formerly a coal mine there. The coal deposits are mostly in the ground deeper than in the mines farther south. The coal veins in Saline county dip as we go north in Saline County, to a depth of 500 and 600 feet at the northern boundary. The most productive farm lands in Saline County in the early days were about Galatia. James W. Turner, who taught school for more than fifty years in Saline and Williamson Counties, came with his father from Tennessee in 1863, the year of the August frost which killed most vege- tation as far south as into Kentucky. He relates in his "Half A Century in the School Room", how his father raised an enormous crop on the "Garner Farm" near Galatia. which his father had bought but sold at the end of the year to a Mr. Jerdon at a "high price." Their tobacco crop was 4,000 pounds from four acres and it sold at twenty dollars per hundred pounds. He says that the crops of corn, wheat, and hay were equally abundant. In 1864, a report came to Galatia that "Morgan's Raiders" had crossed the Ohio near Shawneetown to invade Illinois. Turner was sixteen but he went with his father and the other men from the surrounding territory who hastened to Raleigh armed with a great variety of weapons. Before they were fully organized at Raleigh, the spies that had been sent out to determine Morgan's advance, returned saying that the rumor was false. Tobacco growing at Galatia and Raleigh continued as a paying indus- try for some years. Tobacco barns were numerous. At least one. long since used for other purposes, may be seen at Galatia. CROSSVILLE This Southern Illinois region in and about the Ozarks was settled by people who came in from the north and from the south. The French came from the north by way of the Great Lakes. The English-speaking settlers came by way of the Ohio or crossed it from the south. Visitors from the north may pass through CROSSVILLE, Route 1. which is in a good farming community. The highway to New Harmony and Evansville begins here, Route 14. Formerly, the road near New Harmony was under water when the Wabash was out of banks. The road- way is now built high. The extensive oil field near the river has wells scattered in the rich bottom lands which grow heavy crops when floods do not interfere • 138 ( \KMI i \K.M1 tbC COIIIltS Mil "I ^ tut.- I mini), is |g thi- n»i«i farmland region Much Mil In Illux the Wabash iboul Epworth md louth th has Im ihipping point fi>i watermelon! Other limiti Just the right combination "t - -« i l . i and food elenv .t centaioupei The Bi| Pour ind Louisvilli bville Railroads now at i .umi development hav< much proeperit rml which formerly depended rounding fauns foi its wealth it t noted foi .1 long time as a good bone town which attracted faun owners as a plao count <>t its achoolf and financial itabilit) It minua el Route 14 from BN1 11 1 D which Ii the Junction point of tin- 1 and the h and RaHroodi rhen 1 1 mall colli nfleld, at the south hunts of the town, which lias d public school purpi \<>KK1S ( m IRRIS I ITY ll near the junction of BOUtM 48 end 1 which 1 pnar r through Fairfield and Olnej Much traffic from Chicago that waj The Big Pour end tin- Deaiu'ilown and Shaw nee town dh of tin- Baltimore end Ohio railroad (, ii welli an- In the vuinit> Excellent coal bedi lie deep down They have been mined hut ctenaivel) Norria Cits was tin- tint terminui of tl Inch" pipeline! from Oklahoma m tin- Second World W» tin- lines were led to Pennsylvania Bnonnoua quantities of oil were loaded on tank tars here during the cinei-eiu> Sharon I'hurch. the lust Presbj tenan church in Illinois, uas in Knfuld township Ann Ruth up tin ELDOR \D(> ELDORADO ia well situated m the midst ol productive farm land enter of the Count] oi Saline There ere " railroa In five different din mines in the • town, just .i^ at Harriebuit iih> contnhutc to her prOSperitj TbC onl> oil field m Saline rth of Eldorado The dtj la the tradii suppl> center for a large ana Her school* excel!. and dr> Eldorado ulhern Illinois cities where tt • !..[ed inhahltants EQUALITY EQUALITY claims to be almost as old as Shawneetown. The county seat of Gallatin County was once there, temporarily. Records show that a vote was taken to transfer the seat of justice to Equality and plans to build a court house were made, but there is little to show in records of the county, now available, that government functioned there. However, there is this evidence: A Saline County lady has in her possession a marriage certificate issued there. Pecks Gazetteer of Illinois, 1937, says: "Equality, the seat of justice of Gallatin County, situated on the north side of Saline Creek, on section fifteen, nine south, eight east. It has nine stores, four groceries, two taverns, a brick court house forty feet square, two stories high, and neatly furnished, and about seventy or eighty families. It is situated in the vicinity of the salt manufacturies fourteen miles south (west) of Shawneetown." The town is well situated but must depend on the good farming country for future support since it is not so favorably situated in the line of trade. A monument to General Lawler of Civil War fame is in the circle near the center of the town. McLEANSBORO McLEANSBORO is the county seat of Hamilton County. The county was a part of White County till about 1821 when it was set off by the Legislature. A committee of three men was appointed to select a county seat and they chose a part of the farm of Dr. William McLean, who lived in a little log cabin where the city now stands. County business was at first transacted at the home of John Anderson, who probably lived outside of the chosen site, for the McLean cabin was the only dwelling on the twenty acres which was purchased. The county commissioners immediately advertised for bids for build- ing a court house specified as follows: The court house was to fill the following description: "It was to be built of logs hewn on two sides, and was to be sixteen feet square, covered with boards, put on cabin fashion: was to be eight feet high, chinked and daubed; have a plank floor, one window (and this was to be a glass window) consisting of 12 panes of glass, 8 x 10, and a good plank door, 3 feet wide and 6 feet, 3 inches high." Benjamin Hood was the low bidder and got $379, as payment. He lived near Hoodville where oil wells are now numerous. A jail was needed. It had to be more substantial, so a contract was let in September for a building which was completed within a year at a cost of $780. An estray pen was built on the north side of the square at a cost of $12. 140 The public square was Um scene ol much wrestling end fist in the early days, si waa the custom In ell : • fighti football, basketball, and baseball boh efl amusement for Others DOt back of all of tlMSC pertoi ni.uu . botfa then and no. expressed it when she said ihe liked bssketball because it I There was then not much counts bu I evidentls thi not a- mans politicians as now for Jesse I Lockwood filled ail of the officei except that oi Judge Hi count) clerk circuit clerk recorder, treasurer, sheriff, and Justice ol the ;• at the same tunc sccording to John B Kinnear whose iii L884 is >tiii available The first school was taught in a log house iii \ 14 feet it span ot jrean since the fust brick court bou built, more than inn years \" office building was sdded a 1 after 1 1 » • - Civil Wai Bettei buildings for school, counts offices, and bomes succeeded one anothei For a long time the court house was one ot the least commodious ot ail in the Southern Illinois COUntiOS Now it is one <>l the best and is mdi cative of the \ which has been made *>il development in several parts ol Hamilton Count) has I. extensive There is great variation In the quality ot soils In tins count] it ranges from white or yellou da) upland to deep black bottom lands An example of tin- latter is found northeast ot Broughton Part oi the counts was originalls open prairie which was not true ot the counties to the south I remember that prairie chickens, which were always found on prairie land and not in timber, were frequentlj seen from tin- trams in passing from Eldorado to IfcLeansboro not more than tbirts y< CORINTH When my wife and I. just wandering snout some fifteen :■ • dro\t to .1 prOSantads. and found a Store, several homes and an attrailne church with a well kept ccmeter> about it. we found we were in a place new to us She said. 'You cannot write anything interesting here What follows is what I found, except that it is brought up to date : nit h •the last s\ llahle with a distinct accent h> some who lne • nter of a typical country communits of substantia] c-iti/ens with fine old traditions It is a \er\ old settlement and as little Unchanged as can he found. Corinth mas '"' reached ivel loads bj aas ol Harco and the from Um thnston Cits This la a fine broad bighwas with It CUrvei If a round trip is planned to r<'turn on Concrete bj ua\ oi Thoinp 'i is north, or by PittSDUTg which is SOUthweSl there are to those places also Tins unincorporated rillagi but a lodge hall 141 now used by the Modern Woodmen, a general store and a Methodist church. The store is a good one t\ pical of its kind with a good stock oi articles for household and personal use. The Methodist church building, modern with basement and ample room above, is beautifully situated among great oak trees. The old ceme- terj is north at the rear it is largely overgrown with the so-called "myrtle" and looks neat even before the communitj cleanup which occurs regularly. Thirty-live years ago this building replaced a frame bui ld ing which had been built about 1880. This frame church in turn replaced a log church put there by the earliest settlers. The land was given by John Roberts who was born in Frederick County. Maryland, in 1748 and died March 20, 1823. according to the monument in the cemetery. Church records that tar hack are not available. Many of the farmers are descended from the early settlers. They own their farms or rent from relatives. Much of their savings was lost in bank failures of the early 1930's but they still held their homes with hopes for better times to come, which has come to pass. The church is the community center. The church and cemetery now. in 1946. are said to be in better condition than they were in 1932. Two members of the Roberts family mentioned in the first account now lie in the cemetery. The Odd Fellows hall has been torn down. The old Leander Roberts two stock brick home, long dismantled, still stands. It must have been as fine as any in its day. The Rebekahs and Woodmen continue to meet in the lodge hall above the store which has changed ownership but is said to be kept up to the old standards. "There are "about as many people about" as there have ever been. A Rip Van Winkle would not realize that he had been asleep if he should return. Possibly there were not any of his type there anyway. Much early history is recorded on the tombstones in the cemetery. Apparently three families have predominated, the Mitchells, the Roberts, and the Stewarts. The stone at the grave of Nola Maude Lonwell, who died in early womanhood a few years ago records the passing of one o/ the fifth generation of the Roberts family who are buried there, the first being John Roberts mentioned above. On the stone for Dr. Thomas Roberts who died in 1860 at the age of 67 the following is recorded: "Thus has fallen the last of the framers of the first constitution of Illinois." There are here sixteen graves of Civil War veterans. There is one Mexican War veteran here. The tomb of James Stewart, born in 1773 and died 1834. is by that of John R. Roberts. Stewart was very prominent in his day. Some of his descendants are in the community. W. F. Mitchell, born 1821 and died 1885, was one of the early Bettlers. It is recorded that Dr. Samuel M. Mitchell of Corinth was one of the feu loyal ones who stood armed by the side of John A. Logan when he made his famous speech at Marion in favor of the Union. Logan had received threats of being mobbed if he came. Mrs. YV. II. Howell (Mollie Mitchell). deceased, oi Harrisburg, grew up at Corinth. 142 • S B at Corinth Hi> mm is •» physician in « the vaa active .mil prood >■! fa time been ■*■ in the church I established n«- bad fift< : ii.ii 1 1-: i brothei Jaeksoa I the Ma an earl] ii.iti- in the borne o4 the insi Di north oJ the villa Pit tabm t aixmi twent] lh« Dooj Lick I -'li ci 'I" named lot | (imou> vbich Uei mm the ril Oil! <•( ju»t SUCh pi' ' niHinilir> SI I the men ami smmen that have stood to ith the world Di Henrj Mitchell, known to mai Jami*> Ji'wi-ll nf i "tin limn Corinth Dames and work have not been learned We need tin Lead] Influ i - thai lift- in tfaooaandi of mch neighborhoods |ave hi tin uon Thi> generation maj profit i>> ;• itud] is m thej lived hi the ptdneei dayi it u ' m»t have more ol the hlitorku "i the nxailed common people whose noble but not acclaimed and whooe records "i ichii n tombsti Juni (Court**? v THE EARLY WHITE SETTLERS IN THE OZARK REGION Robert W. Patterson, speaking before the Chicago Historical Society in 1880. said that the early population of Southern Illinois consisted of French. Pennsylvania Dutch, and native Americans. The French Canadians were often part Indian and had little influence after the Revolutionary War They lived in the Kaskaskia region and the American Bottoms. The Germans from Pennsylvania were few in numbers. The chief elements of emigration were from Tennessee. Ken- tucky. Ohio. Virginia, and a smaller number from New Jersey. New York. and the New England states. The great majority were from the first three named. Quoting Patterson: 'The term 'Yankee,' was, in many communities, one with suspicion, and deemed hardly fit for association with those who thought themselves in some sort the rightful proprietors of the country. These prejudices were, however, less inveterate in the villages, where the people were from many different states, than in the rural districts. where the southwestern element prevailed. And the New Englanders and New Yorkers, being generally enterprising, were usuallv settled in the thriving towns, and engaged in mechanical or mercantile pursuits. The families in the country, were generally of Southern origin, many of them having come originally from Virginia and the Carolinas to Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, and thence to Illinois. These immigrants from the South and Southwest, were generally influenced to move into the territory, afterwards the State, of Illinois, by two considerations — the first was. a desire to find a still newer country, for many of them were adventurers who had always lived in frontier regions: and. secondly, most of these people, being comparatively poor, and uncomfortable in communities where they had no real estate, and were compelled to labor alongside of slaves, were attracted by the prospect of becoming owners of fertile lands, and of escaping from the humiliation of being reckoned among the 'white trash' of the slave-holding States. There were, however, a con- siderable number of what were deemed the better classes, who came to this State, either directly, from the Southwest, or indirectly, through the State of Ohio. We see, at this point, the working of the ordinance of 1787, which caused a sifting of immigrants to Illinois, as well as other Northwestern States, both from the Southern and Middle States: from the Southern States, by keeping back those who owned slaves and defended the institution of slavery, and from the Middle States, by introducing only those settlers who desired to improve their fortunes in a country where slavery was forever forbidden by law. We shall have occasion to refer to this complexion of our early population in another connection." "We come now to notice the pursuits and modes of life that character- ized the early inhabitants of Southern Illinois. I have already intimated. that there were two general classes of the first immigrants to our State, the one consisting of floating people who always live in frontier settle- ments, and the other, which was much larger, composed of those who came to be permanent residents." 144 to pursuits, these two clean (del) difl msnnen and ityle of living, the) often reeembh The flosting elsss were main!) from the mount... thweet, and depended chief!) upon hunting snd I ni living tor tnemaelvea end their famils tne more denael) settled, the) emj gioni burther west There u.^ bowi the more itable populstion who s( in earl) da] lib men, devoted themsehw '.it part oi the time, t<» the but iid se hunting trsppinf snd fJahinj to thia kind nt life when tin- oountrj w.i^ wi turki : prairie chickens, and other fowl were ■bundanl li woods and prsiriei and ..t fitst ,.\en elk Slid IxiI1.i1.ms u, : and bees were found In nil tl manj In the leas settled n >i salt meet, Instesd oi pork, until thi animals, m i feu years, dissppesred from the country etimes, s hunting company, ol i feu men. would kill as man In a le expedition Tins was espedall) true In the extreme south* the State Deer snd beei continued verj plentiful t"i main ■ingle hunter often killing eight or ten deer In i day, and ■ little ban skillful Iht lumteis. going Into an uninhabited section ol snd find Ing, In i feu days, in the autumn. bee-treei enough to tuppl) theii fsmlllet with hones f<»r the following year Borne smusing inecdoti told «it the earl) bee-hunteri i. myaelf, waa acquainted with an Illiterate min later, ol i peculiar faith, <>t whom it waa reported and believed thai aftei ertain Sabbath, be gave notice thai he would preach tl d the next Sunday, if it ihould not i bee-day; Intimating thai if tin- weather on the next Sunday should be favorable for bee-hunting he would be otherwise occupied, and could not preach Planing and ■ kinds of hunting, an- still, more or less profitable m man) section the State; bu1 wild bees, and the larger wild animals I peered that rer) feu persons make the pursuit ol them anything Lib lar Occupation From the earliest settlement Ml the country I onward to 1880 or '85, there were mam men who did not! but hunt and fish snd main others, who cultivated .1 lev rod OOra and potatoes and alter their products were secured in the fall, joined the regular hunters until the OOXl spun^ It W9M tl' \er> common to find the wails oi the csbini oi the earl) settlers hung around with the skins ol animals, which were jftei . 'her dressed for lamii u taken to the distant markets to i>e sold fol furs Hut the ^reat majorit) of the people were industrious, plain farmers small merchants, and unenterprising manufacturer! tome of whom divided tl time between two or three- different occupations nicfa i : ihoemah !!• illy m the country, were uauall) built o either :. or unhewn notched together at the cornen the the logs being filled with cla\ moil. n which u. • s> smOOtl b) tin* hands or b\ ;, paddle 01 a trOWOl and sometime the outside with lime mortar In man logs were left at the corners, in their original condition. The roofs were often composed of split boards, held together by halves of split poles laid upon them. "Many houses had no second stories, but the attics were formed by clap-boards laid upon rough joists, and were sometimes high enough to be occupied by beds for the younger members of the family. These attics were reached by ladders, from the inside or the outside of the house. The doors were frequently constructed of rough boards, nailed or pinned together, and hung on rude wooden hinges. The windows, if there were any. were often either left entirely open, or closed with white or printed paper, instead of glass, and saturated with oil, so as to admit a portion of the liPht from without. "The floors were usually made of slab-like portions of trees, hewn on one side, and laid together on sills, without any nails or pins to fasten them down. These floors, after a while, became quite smooth from use, being hardly ever covered with carpets. "It was rare to find, in these primitive cabins, more than two rooms, except where the houses consisted of two parts, divided by a covered but open passage-way between them. In very many cabins there was but a single apartment, which served the manifold purposes of parlor, dining- room, kitchen, and bedrooms, for a large family. "Of course, there were, here and there, houses of frame, and in the villages many respectable residences of wood and brick. But the earlier settlers, in the rural districts, for the most part, occupied such cabins as I have described. "The kindly feelings of neighbors toward one another, were habitually shown in what were called house-raisings, which brought together as many men, as could work to good advantage, who usually put up the walls of a log-house in a single day, which was frequently occupied by the family the same night. A similar interchange of friendly offices was customary in log-rollings, corn-huskings, etc., the latter of which were commonly held in turn, through a whole neighborhood, on successive evenings, and were always followed by a well-prepared and abundant supper. "The personal property of the citizens ordinarily consisted of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, domestic fowls, wagons, often constructed entirely of wood, and extremely noisy when in motion, a few farming implements, and the plainest kind of household furniture, embracing tables made of boards, often put together with wooden pins, tin and pewter table-ware, and two or three cook'ng utensils. "It is true that, after the close of the war with England in 1814. there was for a few years a considerably-increased prosperity, even among the people of the frontier settlements; but after the wretched banking policy that followed the war had brought about its natural fruits in 1819-21. there was hardly such a thing as money to be found in Illinois. Many a family lived a whole year without the possession or use of fifty dollars in cash. Personal property, therefore, during many years, consisted almost ex- 146 clusivel) of the product! of ti.. the CJtizeni at their OWB hoi chiefly by the US4 .plo\ed in.niih for ridl ploughing after the OOITJ eame up in the ipril ueie generally drawn bj oxen, not onlj t"i the haul rail ll tin i huii I farms were \er\ few, Nicfa II ■ little t.ill OT iprifl cotton, tlav in MUM thing Dill apples and son.. tit wild plun, quality, were produced In large quantities In the timbered d dally at the adgea oi tin- prairiea Tin no machii farm! before 1838 or 1840 Then wa! no corn-pis threshing machines, or Eanning«milli Corn wai planted by CUl with sickles mi scythes b\ hand I and picked l>> hand. !la\ was broken and 'ton and wool were carded into rolls bj hand and iplnning and I done h\ hand Grain was tiodden out l>> h ll with Q| and winnowed bj the breeses or with sheets uied like v " mai The oni> articles employed bj the Carmen that could proper!] !><• called machines, were tla\ breaks, hackles looms, hand mills and possibl] istonal cider null Then were, however, at Interval! ol ten or tw< miles, water mills and hoi M' mills for grinding corn. \\ i:> ley; and from the earliest settlement oi the country there were not distilleries for the inanutact urc ol whiske\. to minister to th> the thirsty people, who claimed that the\ could not keep warm in w. or cool m summer, or perform their hard work without faintin. the\ could bl : bj the tree u>e Oi th< I in EtUt " were no breweries to he found, unless anion- t! ma. The clothing ol tin- people, especiall) in the first settlement of the country, consisted almost wholl\ of materials pr. -pared b\ th« families for themselves. The most lrcquent exception to this remark found in the leather used lor shoes, which was often tanned and dn bj tome one man in a neighborhood, wlio pail of his tune • small tannery, oi which he was the proprietor But manj tanners, shoemakers, and farmers, and their wives and daughters inanu tactured the flax and cotton, raised h\ them, into garment! for the lamils during the first quarter ot the century, cotton ;.- well :- flax produced on man] farms, and spinning-wheel! were manufactured in a! erj neighborhood tor the use ot the families, which were pu from the makers b\ an exchange ol vailOU! product :rns ind Am latelj as eleven <>r twelve :• • inty, an old arbeel-wright still devoted to his form* spinning-wheels, both large and small, not to sell as curiosities hut to supph an actual demand from families that \et preferred to manufacture their own clothi in former tunes Not onl\ wen- the n the doth prepared hut the «: ■ :ie in the famih tin ll> of the butter nut ami ind. I lor this pi.: 'hen the mother made up the dotl the household In main b) the n made into hunting [•shirts, pantaloons, and moccasins by the women, all in the same family. The hunting-shirts were frequently ornamented with a fringe on tin- lower edge of the cape and at the bottom of the garment. which presented a not unpleasing appearance. Shoes were often con- fined, except in cold weather, to the adult females; the men and children going barefoot in spring, summer, and fall, unless they had occasion to appear in a public assembly. I have many a time seen even young women caiTJ then shoes in their hands until they tame near to church, and put them on before coming to the door and entering. The mens hats for the summer were commonly made of wheat straw, rudely platted and sewed together by the women. Winter hats, usually of wool, were, of necessity, purchased from a manufacturer, who could almost always be found in some village not far distant. The clothes of the women, like those of the men, were almost entirely of home manufacture except in the older vil- lages. Their bonnets were occasionally purchased from the stores, but more commonly they were of the simple Virginia style, made of domestic- materials, and kept in place either by pasteboard or wooden ribs. "The food of the people was of the simplest kind, though usually abundant. For a long time, wheat-bread was a rarity in the rural districts. corn-bread or mush being the staple, meal being often prepared, in the early fall, by grating the green corn on rude graters made of tin, perfor- ated by driving a nail through it in numerous places, and fastened to a smooth board. The meats were venison, squirrels, rabbits, wild turkeys, prairie chickens, quails, domestic fowls, beef, pork and bacon, which were cooked in a skillet or frying pan in cool weather, at the same fire around which the waiting family were sitting. Coffee and imported tea were for years hard to be obtained, and, instead of them, teas were often made from garden herbs, spice-wood, sassafras-roots, or other shrubs, taken, from the thickets. Milk and butter were, of course, at hand, and were freely used; and vegetables and fruits, such as potatoes, turnips, and apples were seldom wanting. In many families, table-cloths were spread on the tables only on special occasions. But, in spite of their plain living the people were generally happy and contented, except in those cases, not very infrequent, where families newly come into the country were, for a time, scarcely able to command the necessaries of life; and, in such cases, there were almost always kind neighbors, who cheerfully and delicately sent the articles of food that were most needed." We are now prepared to notice, in the next place, the characteristic hospitality of our people in the early years of the State. The families from the Southern States gave character to the social habits of the people, and Southern communities have always been noted for their hospitality. Anything savoring of narrowness or meanness in this direction was frowned upon among our early citizens. It was not uncommon for entire strangers to find entertainment in families for a night, or even for whole weeks, without charge. Hence traveling through the new settlements was usually attended with but little expense, for charges when made were hardly more than merely nominal. If, however, a wayfaring man was suspected of being a speculator, he was not so kindly treated, though never misused, unless guilty of reprehensible conduct." 148 icmber U the period from 1815 to II taken place m the Illinoii Ozs \ii Patterson m uoi: mini li ksh ind i nj lish In ti>. i I inline: I ndu s to beginning nearl) fiit\ yean comers, including Italians, mon k from Kentuck\ and the north The Ctrl] War period brought ■ ipulatioo cm. mm. h q( colored Amoi the pre Civil w sr families .iv man] blood the und) Ing Influence <>t th< In the substantial old bricl n built bomet in 01 rx Mississippi river towns, the use ol the single hoi nd plow in lsj fo> unchecked rowi ol corn, the um "i chain narness and tin- in to hunt and tisfa Fox bunting not to catch fozei but to ei tin- sport id listening to the bounds, ii yd common it is an offense in orhoodi to kill i fox i neaeee mountaineei lonallj crops up m remote rural an Mit" for 'it.'' I "taken" i>>i I "took," Um this creek, et d to his high school teachei I hi almost, hut not plumb i myself, haw seen ox4eami haul logs, into Harrisburg i km hunter who killed wild turkeyi In the Cache River bottomi onJj i> irl Use i have seen spinning wheels m use. and carpel s/es rtilnre The last ol the old ash boppen fell ssundtr onlj i ten roan ago. Hen still live who hunted deer and turkeyi In Saline Count) h two loom cabins, with a cosercd hut open spaee between, ^lill stand 1 taught a high School ^irl in rfSttSf County who was the last ml) D children reared in a 000-10009 Cabin and 1 s.iw tin- Cabin Tl ma> >et be a few home: the commission forn. ■..-uncut h\ three COmmiSSioneTI Infteod oi town ship supervisors. Let not the am awaj Iroagl"* that he will see much of these : the pioneers He must come soon if he is to sec an> id them our small and l. es have high tfhooli as good SI ll l e in Illinois but | a higher '.'\ rate tO maintain them lust that brought the earl> pa COttM when the Iderness. causes them to travel far and wide OUT people bale culture and refinement Artistic homes and BUITOUndil found Bfl hills wh- rl\ cabins m I ami with el«ctncit> ami run' smh -in Pope counts has sent out distinguished than have man> iii. our nepl • into the North 1st* with Revolutionary bullet holes in SO many houses together with Boston whose foreign population is so great that Paul Revere would think he were Rip Van Winkle if he should awaken. Come before it is too late We have good roads to lead you almost anywhere you wish to go. There is bus service in all directions, and we have the Southern Hospitality. FINAL The attempt has been made to condense, within the limits of this small volume, a practical guide to some of the attractions of the Illinois Ozark Country. The book has been made small enough, by close spacing of topics, to go into a man's coat pocket or a lady's hand bag. The binding is intended to stand the wear and tear of travel. The map should enable the reader to know where to go and how. The index should aid in finding quickly, any subject mentioned in the text. There is much unmentioned that the reader may discover for himself, of places and happenings which the author has not known or has omitted on account of limitations of space. He hopes to explore much more, possibly with some of his readers as companions. Among the things not mentioned before are: the Wabash Valley from the Shawnee Lakes to New Haven; the Saline Mines which were near enough to the Saline and Ohio Rivers to make shipment of coal by boat in the early days; the cave region between the mouth of the Saline River and Cave in Rock; War Bluff and the upper reaches of Bay. Lusk. and Grand Pierre Creeks in Pope County; Old and New Brownfield and Homberg near the Bay Creek lower valley; Temple Hill. Bay City. Ham- letsburg, New Liberty, and Round Knob, north and east of Metropolis; Ullin, Pulaski, and McClurc on the west side north of Cairo: the scenic drive from Gorham to Chester; and all the valleys and hills which are of so much interest in the triangle whose points are at Murphysboro. Chester, and Du Quoin. For further and continued interest, consult George W. Brown's His tory of Southern Illinois, which had wide distribution; Mover's History of Pulaski County, still available, and the various county histories of indi- vidual counties of some decades back. For current information. The Egyptian Key, published at Carbondale. a periodical now sold on all news stands in the area, is an excellent source. John W. Allen's Notes on Ran- dolph and Jackson Counties are new and illustrated with pictorial maps. The historical museum at the Carbondale Normal has an outstanding dis- play of Ozark lore consisting of diaramas of early times, together with a constantly growing assemblage of whatever the early settlers had to use in the home, on the farm, and in the shop. Mr. Allen, the Curator, is an inexhaustible source of information about the Ozarks. Mr. L. O. Trigg, of Eldorado, is as well informed as anyone about places and ways to get there. Mr. Wayman Presley, of Makanda, is, also, very familiar with the geography of the Ozarks. 150 INDEX Abney, Uri \ G 43 iel Abandoned Mine 114 i ultural Experiment ph Station All. -ii. John \V 128 Allen - Notes »n, William ind I Allen - Alti> p. is. America lell Ancient Buried Cltj '•■ Bremen Anderson, John 140 Andrew Jackson Lodge 143 Bri Angell, M V 113 Ann RuUedge Aim., 103 Bl USl ir's Mill Wiiii.,iM .i -.. 118 Buffalo <..ip Buffalo "ii the Ro< i Buffalos Bainbridge 78 Buncombe Bald Knob i"H Burde i Creel Baltimore and Ohio Rail Burden Palls . . . 139 Burr, Aaron Bandits .it Cave In Rock 4J Burlington Railroad Bank, Fin! 2 Bush Bank S law aeetown, Kirs- National Iwell •■ ache bland * boo! v he Rivei 78 Rock ... Iro Citj 150 Caledonia .... Caledo lia Landing : ack Hollow .... mpbell Hill tms ii- Canal Belo Hai Beauman Borne moo Hunters 145 Canadians, French Beech Hollow nnon al Shawneetown til ,n aiil.'.Hl Belkn i] 105 Carbondale Belle Smith Spring 63 08 Canni Bell Island ... 74 Carrier Kills Bentoo 131 Carrsville ■ lie Company 47 Carterville Bei n.. ... • iU' and Temple inn n Castor Oil reek 37. 39 Catalpa I Dur Railra d 88 nch Pipelines . . . 139 Cave Hill i ..i 7»i 1(14 ■ • in Hoik urch -• Island B lar r. Hit t School Birdsville Black Lake • lurch Blandsville • Old Broi Blani 74 villi Blann nd 74 entral Illinois Public Block • 128 infii'Ul 102 •hi- Illi Hill noi I"- Charcoal Kilns Blood m. I • 18 18 18 141 lil 74 131 88 17 144 111 18. 139 4u 78 is 12H 18 11 104 :•;.. H Chester 120, 126. 128 Chicago 2 Chicago Historical So- ciety 144 Chicka.saw Indians 96 Chief Du Quoin 137 Chief Wetaug 118 Cholera 128 Cholera Epidemic 89 Christopher 136 Cincinnati Bar 74 Civil War. The 3 Civil War Hospital 91 Civil War Times 40 Civil War Veterans .... 142 Clarida Spring 59 Linda Branch 59 C 1 a r k. George Rogers 43, 69, 86, 96 Clear Creek HO. 116 Coal Mining Center, A ... 136 Cobden 98, 131 Colbert jj° Columbus • !^9 Community Houses . . . 16. 17 Coulterville \ zt Corn Island 74, 75 Corinth 141 Cotton Blossom Show- boat A - n AO Counterfeiters 40, 4.5 County Court Day 72 Covered Bridges l£* Crab Orchard 132 Crab Orchard Academy . . . 13Z Crab Orchard Creek . . .76, 98 Crab Orchard High School !33 Crab Orchard Lake . 98, 99, 135 Crawford, John 52 Crawford, Judge 135 Creal, Ed 80 Creal Springs 80 Creal Springs College .... 81 Creek Indians 93 Creeks in Pope County ... 150 Crossville 16 > 138 Cumberland River 72 Cumberland Island .... 72, 74 Cypress 86 Cypress Swamps 84 Dallasania 132 Dam 53 94 Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution 69, 76, 86, 88 De Koven 22 De Neal Hill 8 De Soto 136 Diamond Island 42, 74 Decoration Day 91 Deer Lick Farm 143 Delwood 35, 56 Derrow, Nathaniel B 52 Devil's Kitchen 121 Devil's Back Bone 94 Dick Fowler 86, 87 Dickens, Charles .... 87, 95 Dickens, Allied Tenny- son 95 Dikes 36 District Rangers 20 Dixon Springs 53 Dixon. William 53 Dog Island 74 Dagley 18 Dog Town Hills 4 Donelson, Col. John .... 72 Dongola 130 Dorchester 128 Dowell 136 Dripping Hock 66 Du Quoin 137 Duff 4:-! Dye, H. L 130 Eagle Creek 24 Eagle Creek Valley . 9, 22. 23 Early Communitv Life . . . 146 Earlv White Settlers .... 144 Early Farm Liie 147 Early Settlers Clothing ... 147 Early Influences Persist . . . 149 Earthquakes 123 Earthquake Letter 123 East Si. Louis Sports- man's Reervation .... 116 Economy 16 Eddyville 35, 56 Eddvville Road 55 Edgewood Cut-off 57 Egyptian Kev, The 150 Eldorado 139 Elizabethtown 39 Elkville 136 Enfield 139 Enfield College 139 Engelhart, Rev. Frank ... 117 Engleman ... .... 16 Emporium Real Estate and Manufacturing Co. ... 91 Epworth 139 Equality 140 Eroded Area 20 Erosion 68 Erwin, Milo 135 Evansville, Illinois 129 Experimental Station at Dixon Springs 59 Fehrer's Lake 5 Farras, John II 132 Federal Veterans Hospit- al 135 Ferguson, Hamlet 51 Feme Clyffe 82 Perries 71 Flints it Mill Creek .... 118 First Refrigerated Car ... 131 Fish Lake S Floods 3 Fluorspar 46 Forman 76 Food in Pioneer Days .... 148 Ford, James 44 Ford's Ferry 44 Forest Supervisor 20 Fort Kurt \l.i • M kia Trail bland Fori Patrick Henrj Porta Henrj and Done] ion For' i Fori Chartres Fountain H 1 1 1 f 1 Frankfort 11 tights Fountain spun. ■ ma Limestone Pricker Prank E Puller, Henrj •' Full' Pulton Galatia ter Garfield, James \ Garrison Hill Geological Faults . . lark Trail . . Ciiant Cit3 Gianl Citj Lo Giant City Stat< Gibaonia Isville l );i\ 118 oil, Bob am Hill 8 Iron Furnace Old 28 Islands. Names ,,| 74 Island Riffle • Maud Riffle Bridge Jackson Andrew Jackson a Hollow til Jackson Count) 12 lackson Purchase lefferson, Luc) lefferson, Thi n . M lenkin^. Alexander John Audubon 127 Fohnston Citj lonesboro 111 loppa 131 luchereau, Sier 1 hai !• Kaolin 112 (Carter's Ridge Kaskaskia iskia Indian- Kask \.i!lon ak R Keelin School Kelh \ 1 Kincaid Mounds Kinneai i Hi Mc 1 A 141 1 \ •».; Kornthal HA Kornthal Switch 116 Lafavctte 2 Lake Glendale 20 Largcnt. Capt. \V. W. ... 39 Lawler, General HO Laj Falls 61 Lead 46 Lead Hill 38 Levee 3 Limestone Quarries .... 46 Lincoln 2 Lincoln-Douglas Debate ... 103 Lincoln at Thebes 130 Little Saline River 77 Little Wabash River . . .17. 18 Locks 53 Lockwood. Jesse C 141 Loess Deposits 124 Logan, John A. . . . 2, 95, 137 Logan 136 Log Houses 14;5 Logsdon. Peggy 2 Long Lake 5 Lost Stream. The 48 Louisville and Nashville Railroad 139 Low and High Water Roads 44 Lower Caledonia 93 Lovers Leap 41 Lusk Creek 51. 56 I.usk, Major 51 McClure 16, 150 McCormick 61 McDonald, Martin M 132 McFarland, Elizabeth .... 39 McFerron. John 128 McKinley Island .... 73, 74 McLain. James 2 McLean, Dr. Wm 140 Mac-key's Ferry 5, 17 Maclure Dwelling 17 Maciure Park 16 Magnolias 130 Makanda 99 Makanda Hill 100 Makanda State Park .... 98 Marine Ways 91 Marion 75, 135 Martha Furnace .... 28, 30 Martin, Samuel H 18 Mason. Samuel 42 Massac. Old Fort 68 Massacres 90 Vlatheney Farm 49 Mayfield 97 Mayfield Creek 96 Melon Count iy. The .... 14 Menard, Pierre 126 Merwin, Bruce M 116 Metropolis 1, 66 Mexican War Veteran . . . 142 Vliddletown 129 Minerva House 17 Miscellaneous Jackson Counts Motes 128 Mississippi River .... 19, 120 Mississi )pi R i v e r from Fountain Blufi .... 121 Missouri Historical So- ciety 78 Missouri Pacific Railroad 111. 120 Mitchells at Corinth .... 143 Mitchellsville 55 Mobile and Ohio Rail- road 109 Moccasin Gap 78 M. O. & G. Railroad .... 104 Morgan's Men 3 Morgan's Raiders 138 Mound City 86, 90 Mound City National Cemetery 91 Mounds Junction 90 Mountain Glen 113 Moyer's History of Pu- laski Countv 91 Muddv Vallev Salines .... 106 Mulkeytown 118 Murphy Park 16 Murphysboro 76. 109 Murphvsboro Tornado . . . 120 Murrah. Gertrude B 81 Museum of the American Indian 1 Mushroom Rock 62 Myers, Jacob W 12 Nashville, Tennessee .... 72 Native Pines Ill Natural Bridge 64. 128 Negro Population 149 Negro Slaves 13 New Burnside ... 80, 131. 132 New Englanders 144 New Harmony . .5, 16, 125. 138 New Haven 17, 150 New Liberty 150 New Madrid Earthquake . . . 123 Nigger Hill 13 Norris City 139 North Caledonia 88 Northwest Territory .... 12 Ohio River . .1. 19. 66. 70. 86 Ohio River Dams 70 Ohio River Front at Cairo 95 Ohio River Islands 73 Old Brownsville 105 Old Channel 5 Old Du Quoin 137 old K i.skaski; 17. 126 old Mill and Dam 17 Old and New P.rownlield ... 150 Old Stone Port 77. 100 old Fort Gage 126 Old Town 77 old Volcano 32 ohve Branch to Elco .... LIS Olmsted 88 Olmsl i B 88 una Omaha i». Oraville 129 iction ; Oriental Peach Moth 109 .. 118 l Outlaw Yean 4:< rust \2 thai I iweii • >rj 17 Kb! Owen, Robert 16 Rinakei Mi - Owenites 16 Rivei \ o\ Team 14 Rivervii Onrk u. 1S1 Robbi \ i. Dsnrk Scene Robbsvillc Paducah •> Paiish 126 Robei Is Pa mil j Patier, Col F inth 144 Roberti Di rhomai Peck nil Roberts John 142 QOiS 14(1 Rol Franl i l Peebles R 1 132 Robinsons lohn M :< Robinson Lick Petrified Log 17 R Bi anch Church i ll Phillips Pamilj 90 Roosevelt, Theodore Pickering Hill 44 Rose Hotel • i aptain 96 Rosiclai i Pilot Lights 50 Rotherl Bandits ol the Pinckneyville 137 in Knt l Pine Hills Skj line Drive . . ill Hound about IfcCoi mirk 136 Round Knob Plew island 74 Round Pond - Gen Thomaa 1 Rosier, Ferdinand 127 • ofl . . Rudemenl :« rk Gap . . . HH Rutledge, tnn 139 fustic* . . . 88 Saline island Potter) ia Saline Mines Bilh . . . 4.". Saline River n Potts, Hill 4f) Saline River, Mouth ol Pounds, The 23 the . . 1 Powder Kills 112 i Cook's Distiller) 117 Pomono ... 104 Sand Cave Pomono Natural Bridge 111) Sand RidgC ln7 Prairie Chickens .... 14(1 Saltpeter Cave 1(14 Prairie Du Rocher . . 127 .h»\ ille Presbyterian Church , ,iii .i- 1 1 1-. 119 Presley, Wayman ... ISO Thomas it; Prices in 1920 19 - romb li Princeton :