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CHICAGO

DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS-

— OR THE —

PROGRESS OF FORTY YEARS.

BEING A RECORD OF THE IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO,. AND A DESCRIPTION OF

Its Industries, Professions and Societies,

— TOGETHER WITH —

Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens.

— EDITED BY —

'W.A.IRID "WOOID,

Associate Editor "The Western Rural."

CHICAGO: MILTON GEORGE & COMPANY.

1881.

p-

PREFACE.

The design of this book is to present as fully as possible in a volume of rhis size — which is as large as a regard for convenience will admit — a history of the rise and progress of Chicago, and embracing, as an intimate part of that history, special notice of the industries, professions and societies of the city, together with short biographies of some of the men who have aided to make Chicago what it is. The names of many of the prominent citizens, living and dead, have necessarily been omitted; but there has been an earnest effort to mention the names of representative men in the various industries and departments of life, and to avoid the weakening of the glorious record by introducing biographies through the promptings of personal friendship, or the solicitation of those interested in able and very worthy citizens, but who, though no doubt destined to do so, have, as yet, made no mark of consequence upon the character of Chicago. As strict a fidelity to truth has been maintained in the writing of the biographical sketches, and in the estimate of the importance of the subjects, as related to the progress of Chicago, as there has been in describing the events which make the history recorded in this volume.

Many difficulties have presented themselves in preparing a volume of this character. It has been no easy accomplishment to condense the volum- inous details of history into such a record as would embrace all that the student of history could profitably, or would wish to, peruse. In a history like that of Chicago, in which the events previous to those which have happened within the recollection of some now living, were so meager, and since which, events have been so numerous and productive of such marvelous results, that the historian is tempted in the first instance to clothe his limited material with beautiful surroundings, which at best are but remotely con- nected with it, and in the other to overestimate occurrences which were exceedingly interesting to the observer of them, but with the record of

PREFACE.

which posterity will hardly care to be troubled, much difficulty is experi- enced in attempting to sift the valuable from the useless. In studying the histories which have already been written of young Chicago, for the pur- pose of condensing the important facts into a volume like this, much perplexity has resulted from this cause; but it is hoped that the effort to make the volume reliable as a record of all the principal events which have ever occurred upon the spot which the fame of Chicago has made of interest to all the world, has been entirely successful.

Perhaps the most formidable difficulty that has had to be overcome , however, has been the general apathy of the distinguished citizens whose biographical sketches are given, in furnishing data for the sketches. Unnecessary trouble has been given the Editor in the majority of cases, but, nevertheless, a complete biography is presented in every case in which it is attempted; and, perhaps, under the circumstances, and in view of the fact that prominent citizens have sometimes been asked to pay a large price for biographical sketches in other works, the Editor may be pardoned for saying that no one whose name is mentioned in "CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS," has ever paid anything for having it so mentioned. The aim of the work is higher than that.

So far as the biographies are concerned, some of them could not be omitted in a volume of this character, and have it so much as approach to completeness, while others are inserted by way of acknowledgment of the meritorious part that has been played by the subjects in the advancement of the industries, professions or societies with which they are connected.

Thus is briefly outlined what has been attempted, and the volume is sent forth among a people who are proud of the record they have made, and among those who would like to read of their grand achievements, as well as of some of the men who have made them, with the hope that it may prove satisfactory to all. D. W. W.

CHICAGO, ILL.

CHICAGO

AND ITS

DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

The history of Chicago, up to the present time, will always possess something of the character of romance to the reader. So rapid and power- ful has been its growth amidst conditions which originally were not only not wholly favorable, but largely adverse, that even those who have been witnesses to its development are wrapped in wonderment as they behold its beauty and contemplate its commercial importance. From an appar- ently worthless waste to an elegant city of over half a million of people, is naturally a long step, and one which, under ordinary circumstances, would be expected to cover centuries. Chicago has spanned the distance in fifty years; and while the maturing influence of age is yet to temper her youth- ful spirit, and touch the rude spots to be found here and there, with symmetry and elegance, she is already beautiful to behold and lovely to contemplate.

Not only does the great West, so filled with marvels, look upon her metropolis as the greatest of them all, and view with pride the constantly fresh progress which it is achieving, but the nation long since began to dispute the West's exclusive title to Chicago ; and the older sections, stifl- ing the natural jealousy which uncommon success on the part of a younger rival is sure to arouse, heartily join in admiration of the country's Western capital. The broad streets lined with palatial edifices, the beautiful parks and boulevards, grand already, but only buds of future elegant bloom, and the unrivaled enterprise of the citizens, are admired not more by the West than the East, not more ardently by the North than the South. And what feeling could be more natural? How can even the world fail to have an interest in this monument to human pluck and enterprise? How can its affections be kept from going out toward the city that it has built by con-

6 CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

tributing from every nook and corner of civiliz ation, muscle and mind ? Chicago is a picture of the civilized world in miniature; not a section is unrepresented ; not a race is left off the painting. And in return for the world's love and admiration for Chicago, Chicago loves and admires the world. While its people are devoted admirers of their great city, and are bound to it by the tenderest ties of affection, the old home among the hills of New England, in the beautiful valley of the Mohawk, amidst the gardens of the South, or across the ocean, is never forgotten in Chicago. The flags of the world float on the breezes that fan the great city; the tongues of the world are spoken in its homes and business marts, and the manners of the nations pass before the vision like a steadily moving panorama.

The anticipations of the Chicagoan as to the future greatness and glory of his city, have often been derided as unreasonable, and as the out- growth of an inordinate vanity. Such an estimate of them, however, must be regarded, in view of existing facts, as the harmless effervescence of envy or the result of ignorance. Chicago cannot help being great. She is> surrounded and filled with the natural elements of greatness — greatness as a commercial center and metropolis, in enterprise, literature, science, gov- ernment, and in strengthening the ties that bind mankind in a universal brotherhood. The center of a vast and growing railroad system, which embraces in its intricate network of rails the entire continent, the products of our broad prairies and fertile valleys pay it tribute on their way to the Eastern seaboard, and the Western-bound merchandise from Eastern factories makes, in one way and another, its contribution to the increasing wealth of the city. As the immense elevators, filled to overflowing the year round, the rumbling of the constantly coming and going freight trains, and the enormous business at the stockyards, attest, this source of income alone is quite sufficient to give to the city prominence and prosperity. But such activity in those marts of trade, styled stock, grain and produce markets, very naturally stimulates every branch of legitimate business, and the result is found in the hum of factory machinery, and in the mammoth stores which the extensive commerce of the city makes a necessity. The oldest and largest of Eastern commercial houses have seen the necessity of acknowledg- ing all that we have claimed for Chicago, and have already established themselves here. Others must do likewise, or suffer the loss of all the trade west of us, and a very large portion of it east and south. This market is so easily accessible, and furnishing, as it does, advantages equal, and sometimes superior, to those furnished in the East, buyers in large numbers have already learned, and many more are rapidly learning, that their interests unmistakably point them away from New York and Boston and to the wholesale markets of Chicago.

O

The very best enterprise of the nation and the world has made Chicago what we have thus described her to be. Thriftlessness cannot build up a magnificent city and an extensive commerce upon a miry marsh or a bleak prairie. The men who first came to the spot where Chicago now stands,

CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS. 7

were brave men filled with energy and the spirit of enterprise. Had they not been, they never would have come. The then present had nothing to offer them but the companionship of the treacherous Indian, the song of the lake waves rolling upon the shore, • muddy stream and an unbroken, trackless prairie. It was to the future, lighted up with such hope as is born of courage, perseverance and enterprising industry, that the first settlers of Chicago were compelled to look for the reward for temporary sacrifice and personal exposure to danger. The victory could only be won by one con- tinuous siege of untamed nature, which would extend far into the coming years, through all which the valiant soldier must be in the heat of the battle or sleeping upon his arms. The early settler realized this; but he had enlisted to do it. That he did his duty faithfully his achievements are enduring testimony, and posterity will never cease to keep his name chiseled in bold relief upon the walls and monuments of the city whose foundations rest upon his courage, industry, enterprise and fidelity.

From the day of the pioneer until now, the same enterprise that first led the white man to step his foot upon this territory, and to build here in his imagination first a village and then a city, has led to this spot the vast majority who have come, and actuated them after they arrived here. The East has given us her best business ability and her best energy. The cities of the old world have awakened to realize that they have met with irrep- arable loss in the emigration of representative citizenship, and Chicago has awakened to find that the loss has been her gain. Thus the foundation of a steady, progressive and determined community has been laid, and in the calm and sunshine, as naturally would be expected, it pushes steadily for- ward toward the grandest achievements, and in the storm, or even amidst the flames, it maintains unflinching courage and a fixed determination not only to be great, but to be the greatest.

Is it not entirely reasonable, considering her diversified population, that Chicago shall realize her own most sanguine expectations? The repre- sentative energetic American is here; England, the mother-land, has contributed the sterling stateliness of English character; she has given to Chicago, men who are acquainted with the merits and defects of a model monarchial government; men fresh from her halls of science and from her libraries of standard literature; Ireland has furnished a love for liberty, which will never cease to burn to the world's advantage, while the Irish heart harbors the sentiment and Irish lips sing:

"The harp that once through Tara's halls

The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls

As if that soul had fled."

Scotland, the land of romantic hills and poetic dells, has sent the metal of Bruce and Wallace, and the playful genius of her immortal Burns; from Germany has come maturity of thought, persevering industry, loyalty to republicanism and the mellowing influence of music; France has thrown into the midst of this progressive community, an impetuosity which is sure

CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

to result in general advancement, if rightly directed, and a gentility which is softening to character and elevating in influence; and thus the world has contributed something of all that it feels and all that it knows, to amalga- mate and mature here into a beautiful whole. Strange, indeed, would it be, if a community favored with such a variety of thought and experience, should not be able to deduce the approach to perfection in all that an American community could expect or desire.

CHAPTER II.

OLD CHICAGO.

There is so much of interest and brilliant development crowded into the history of Chicago for less than half a century, that they charm the mind into forgetfulness of the fact that the place has something of a history previous to the beginning of the marvelous career which has distinguished it since its christening as a municipality. Nor is it at all strange that this is so. The stars, bright and beautiful at night, are paled into total obscurity by the glitter of the noonday sun. If Chicago were not the attractive and important metropolis that it is, adorned by architectural beauty, which is among the finest in the world, brilliant with the delicate designs of taste and art, and stately in commercial and political influence, the comparatively meager events which make the history of old Chicago, would always possess a fascinating interest to the student. The present would not then be chained to itself in contemplation and admiration; the restless mind would find time to explore the wild site upon the lake shore when the Indian's footsteps made the only impress upon the sand and among the grass, that human being had ever made, and would be delighted to study such footprints until the eyelids drooped in weariness. The mind must be entertained. In any line of thought that it adopts it will penetrate to the utmost, unless fascinated to pause by enough sublimity to more than fill it. If it is an America that a Columbus seeks, the mind will be satisfied with nothing short, unless in the search for it, it finds something so far surpassing what it has conceived it to be, that it pauses to admire, and then consents to be satisfied.

Thus in the search over these broad prairies, and back through the years, for the novel and entertaining, the mind pauses in astonishment at the sight of this massive and beautiful city — a monument to human fore- sight and enterprise such as the world never before reared in the short space of fifty years. It presents itself in the character of a miraculous creation, and thus almost forbids the thought that there was anything anterior. Chicago means to the average observer an elegantly constructed city, with wealth and the height of social and commercial prosperity, and nothing more. Never is a bleak prairie permitted to mar the present beauty, or to add romance to the city's birth and subsequent record; never does the moaning or the harsh howling of the winds creeping or rushing over a startlingly wild region, nor the warwhoop of the savage charm

io CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

the imagination into bidding the enchanted eyes to forget for a moment what the present is. A half a century alone has left its impress upon Chicago; beyond that is a blank as dark and unfathomable as non-existence! This is the character in which Chicago presents itself to the careless observer and superficial student. The average mind is satisfied to linger in the shadow of present greatness and grandeur, and to feed itself upon what it sees and what the yet living can bear testimony of. The present is the noon that pales the stars of anterior history.

But the early settlers of Chicago and the most careful students of history love to turn their backs upon the glitter and to observe the dim, lengthening shadows of the early days; to worship even at the daybreak of civilization and Christianity upon the spot, in which the name of Pierre Marquette is traceable upon the cloudy horizon. Marquette was the morning star of civilization and future greatness, that glistened amidst the wildness and gloom that overshadowed this site more than twa hundred years ago. He was a Jesuit missionary who sailed from France for Canada in 1637, and who on a missionary journey from Quebec to the Mississippi, halted, in the month of July, 1663, at "Chicag&ux," or "Chikajo," which was the early 'orthography of the name.

What more interesting conjectures can employ the mind than those as to the thoughts of this devoted man, who relying upon the protection of the Power to whose service he had consecrated himself, sat down on this prairie to rest, and to commune with wild nature, animate and inanimate, and with nature's Architect and Sovereign? Did the least glint of the brilliancy of the present light up the weird surroundings? Did he behold the shadow of a single spire among the hundreds now pointing to the skies, stretching out into the faint past to the spot where he sat? Did he hear the echo of a single footstep among the half million that two centuries hence were to- make their discord upon the pavements of a great city the music of civiliza- tion? We cannot tell. The same natural advantages presented themselves to him that were presented to those who in after years came and saw that they were sufficient to insure the grand results which are now so wonderful to behold. The same disadvantages presented themselves to discourage him in brilliant anticipation that were presented tq those who have made Chicago. But we love to go back through the centuries and sit down with the good old man, the pioneer representative of civilization in Chicago, and permit imagination to indulge in its vagaries as to his thoughts of the future of his wild resting place.

But while it is interesting to allow fancy to paint the mind of Mar- quette as he listened for the first time to the voice of nature in a region so far from civilized settlement, and beheld the broad expanse of territory, which then nothing but the keenest foresight could have predicted possible of settle- ment by people from the haunts of civilization, it is more interesting to know that after leaving the romantic spot, and visiting the French who were then quite numerous in the region of the Mississippi, and doing what he could to enlist them in the cause to which he was consecrated, he returned to

CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS. n

"Chicagoux," in the Autumn of 1665, and built a place of worship and a residence on the North Branch of Chicago river. The visitor thus became the pioneer civilized settler of Chicago. The Indian treated him with leniency, and so far as known with courtesy. The beneficial effects of his teachings upon the savages, however, were not permanent, if indeed they were observable, except it was to be seen in tb,e fact that they permitted him to live in peace and safety among them, for a few months, and then to depart to meet death and to find a lonely grave in the woods of Michigan, on his way back to Canada. We wish that in compiling this history, we might leave the Indian in such a favorable light as he left himself when Marquette left him. But his ferocious nature afterward developed, as it is now well understood, and he was treacherous, brutish and an implacable enemy to advancing civilization. To scalp and devas- tate are the most artistic of Indian amusements, and the eccentricity of savage character is manifested in denying itself the enjoyment of such pastime, whenever favorable opportunity offers, and not in embracing it. The Indian of the time of which we write, as the development of history will show, was not different from the Indian of now.

With the temporally settlement of Marquette, therefore, we must date the dawn of civilization upon this spot. There are traces of French occu- pancy of the place prior and subsequent to this time, but they are not more distinct than that a fort was sometime erected here and subsequently abandoned. It is well settled history that the French, who were in possession of Canada prior to and at the time of Marquette's visit, had determined to possess themselves of a large portion of what is now the United States. Their plan was to sweep southward along the Mississippi valley to New Orleans, and then to reach out eastward. To aid in the accomplishment of this object a fort was, no doubt, built at this point. The fort could have been built only by the French, and that there was a fort is evidenced by the words of the treaty which General Wayne whipped the Indians into making with the United States, after the Revolutionary war, and which, as signed at Greenville, Ohio, contained the following descrip- tion of land ceded by the Indians: — "One piece of land six miles square, at the mouth of Chekago river, emptying into the southwest end of Lake Michigan, where a fort formerly stood." The fort was abandoned when Canada was transferred to the English, as the result of the victories of Wolfe, in 1759.

Our history must start, however, with the settlement of Marquette as the only definite thing known about the first occupancy of Chicago by civilized man. Two French explorers, Hennepin and LaSalle, afterward visited the place, but with that exception, so far as we can determine, it was left to the undisputed possession of various tribes of Indians, who made it a favorite rendezvous down to 1796. Then civilization was again reflected in the dark skin of a San Domingo negro, bearing the formidable name of Jean Baptiste Point au Sable. This adventurer has been facetiously called the first "white" settler of Chicago, but a regard for the truth and an aclmi-

12 CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

ration for courage and devotion to duty, will hardly permit such an uncertain light to dim the luster of Marquette's title to being the pioneer of civiliza- tion. In view of what the character of the men who have built Chicago has been and is- — daring, energetic, and emblematic of consecration to duty, to self and humanity — it is not interesting to accord the honor of being the first settler to one who came and saw, but did not conquer. All that Jean Baptiste Point au Sable did for Chicago, was to build a hut and then desert it. He was the type of modern tramphood — aimless, shiftless, useless. Marquette came for a purpose, braved danger to accomplish it, and left only when duty called him to another field.

Following Jean Baptiste Point au Sable, came a Frenchman named LaMai, who converted his predecessor's hut to his own use, and faintly foreshadowed the character of the future Chicagoan by showing enough enterprise to engage in trade with all the energy that his surroundings would sustain, and to hold his possessions until he could sell them at what, in his estimation, was a remunerative consideration. LaMai was a much more desirable ancestor of the present than his predecessor was ; but even he can hardly excite our pride, or much of our admiration. He was deficient enough in strength of character to yield his vantage ground of becoming famous as the man who came and stayed, to John Kinzie, who was in the employ of the American Fur Company at St. Joseph, Michigan — the presi- dent of which was John Jacob Astor — and who purchased of LaMai his "claim" — which was only that of a squatter — and completing the claim, and transforming the cabin into a comfortable dwelling, as it would beregaided in a frontier settlement, removed his family from St. Joseph in 1804.

Previous to this the government had erected a fort, called Fort Dearborn. In 1803 it became evident that a necessity existed for the presence of the government in this wild region. The American Fur Company, which had large interests at stake, and which were constantly exposed to the whims of the large number of Indians inhabiting and visiting the locality, was of sufficient importance, without taking anything else into consideration, to demand protection. Accordingly it was determined to erect a fort. St. Joseph was the first site selected, but the Indians objected, and the govern- ment finally decided to establish itself on the land ceded to it by the Greenville treaty. In accordance with this decision Captain John Whistler, who was in command of a company of soldiers at Detroit, Michi- gan, was ordered to move his command to the portage of Chicago, and to build and garrison the fort. Captain Whistler at once detailed James S. Swearington, a lieutenant, to conduct the soldiers across Michigan to Chicago, while he and his wife, his son William — also a lieutenant — and his wife, started for the same destination on board a United States vessel, named the Tracy, arriving on the Fourth of July. Two thousand Indians were present to witness the arrival of the vessel, which Dr. Blanchard says they called the "big canoe with wings."

The erection of the fort was at once begun, and before cold weather set in, comfortable quarters were provided for this little uniformed advance of

CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS. 13

governmental authority. Two block houses occupying respectively the southeast and northwest corners of the grounds enclosed, constituted the defenses. Besides these there was a log building, two stories high, sided with rough boards which had been riven from logs. In this was stored the goods designed for free distribution among the Indians. The garrison of Fort Dearborn consisted of one captain, one second lieutenant, one ensign, four sergeants, one surgeon and fifty-four privates.

The morning of civilization seemingly now begins to dawn upon Chicago. The great civilizer, the sword — in the world's history always greater than the pen — is now flashing in the sunlight that warms the wild grasses of the prairie into life and charms the waters into laughter. United States soldiers are inside the fort, and John Kinzie and his family are outside.

CHAPTER III.

CHICAGO FROM 1804 TO 1825.

For about eight years from the completion of Fort Dearborn, there was nothing of a very marked character to vary the monotony of the life within and without the fort. The number of traders gradually increased, and peace reigned triumphant between the red native and the white settler. With the knowledge of the treachery of Indian character, however, possessed by the majority of the settlers, it is not likely that any anticipation of immediate future greatness of the place ever cheered them on to the accomplishment of more than could be appropriated to the present. It is altogether likely that they were constantly looking for the appearance of clouds to shade the sunshine, and listening for the first muttering of the storm that should swallow up the calm. John Kinzie knew what the Indian was, and that means that he watched for outbreak and battle every day and every hour. Others, if they had not obtained a like knowledge from experience, must have obtained it from those who had. If dreams of perfect security possessed the soul of any one, however, they were rudely crushed by the reality of Indian opposition to the occupancy of these prairies by civilization and commerce, which was developed in the Spring of 1812 in the attack of the savages upon one of the outlying houses, and the scalping of the only male resident. From this attack, they descended toward the fort with the intention of making an attack upon it, but con- sidering discretion the better part of valor, wisely concluded not to arouse the garrison. During this year the United States became involved in a war with Great Britain, and the fort at Chicago was so distant from head- quarters, and the English, it was believed, having incited the Indians to harrass the settlers upon the frontier, which the soldiers could not possibly prevent, it was deemed expedient to abandon the fortification and leave the country to the savages. Orders were issued, and received by the commander on the seventh of August, 1812, to that effect. Captain Heald, then in command, was instructed to distribute the goods not needed by the soldiers, among the Indians, which he informed the Indians he would do, on condition that the Pottawatomies would furnish a safe escort for the command to Fort Wayne, promising an additional reward upon arriving at that destination. The Indians readily acceded to the terms. As a part of the goods to be distributed, how- ever, consisted of liquors and ammunition, Mr. Kinzie prevailed upon Cap- tain Heald to destroy what portion of these was not needed by the troops,

CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS. 15

which should have embraced a total destruction of the liquors. Liquor has entered largely into our Indian difficulties. It has been the breeder of discord, misunderstanding and bloodthirstiness frequently on the part of soldiers, agents and Indians alike, and the fumes of rum rise from many a pool of blood, and from many a skeleton, on the plains.

We have/ no wish to excuse the Indian, and no intention to gloss his real character, but while we would hold him to a full responsibility for his cruelty and vindictiveness, we hold up the man who would tempt him to overreach his own natural instincts, to public execration and scorn. While rum flows through our valleys, over our plains and down our mountain sides, in a red and blighting stream, it will be questionable if either the sword or the Bible can do much to settle our Indian difficulties in the in- terests of peace and civilization. It is not enough to keep liquor from the Indian — it must be kept from the white man who has to do with him. The policy of keeping all we want to drink ourselves, and destroying the balance -—which was the policy adopted by Captain Heald — is productive of no good, unless the conception of our wants is that we do not need any.

The liquor which was not required by the troops on this occasion, was, therefore, by the advice of Mr. Kinzie, emptied into the lake, the waters of which were eagerly drank by the savages, who declared the mixture almost equal to grog. On the thirteenth of August, the blankets, calicoes and provisions were distributed as agreed upon, but the deliberate violation of the agreement made with them only the previous day, which agreement virtually stipulated, of course, that the liquors and ammunition should also be distributed, did not have a tendency to soothe the Indians or to command their confidence. The utter disregard by the government of its contracts with these people, which has been one of the distinguishing features of our course toward them for at least a half century, thus began very early in the nation's history. On the day following the distribution, the Indians assembled in council and complained bitterly of the violation of the contract, which no doubt had better been violated than kept, but it never should have been made; and we have little doubt, that if it had never been made, no threats would have been uttered at a council held on the fourteenth of August, although it is not certain that the violation of the agreement had anything at all to do with the subsequent massacre. That might have happened, notwithstanding any treatment that might have been accorded the savage.

On the fifteenth of August the soldiers left the fort, and the military party intending to march round the head of the lake, started southward, but had only proceeded a mile and a half when they were attacked by the Indians, and although succeeding in dislodging the attacking party — which was concealed behind a ridge of sand — the Indians were too numerous to be effectually routed, and a desperate battle ensued. All the fiendishness of the Indian heart was aroused, and twenty-six soldiers, twelve militiamen, two women and a dozen children, were murdered and scalped, to satisfy the thirst for blood. It was a terrible position for even soldiers to be in. Out in a vastness of wildness, a wilderness of prairie, hundreds of miles

:6 CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

from civilization, and faced by death at the hands of bloodthirsty brutes in human form, who were unmoved by pity and certainly unawed by the little handful of uniformed victims, the situation was terrifically desperate* It was only the bravest of the brave that could have ever made a stand in defense of self and the helpless of the little company. The very first attack proclaimed the utter hopelessness of ultimate victory on the part, of the soldiers. The passions of the savage enemy, as unrestrained and unre- strainable as the winds sweeping over the plains, were blazing with consuming frenzy, and the large numbers which these passions were urging on to the work of extermination, must have paled the least glint of hope into the deepest gloom of despair. But although the certainty of defeat' was plain, and the possibility of a single life being spared could be hoped for only through the mysterious intervention of Providence, the soldiers looked death bravely in the face, and fought with a bravery that no army encouraged by the expectation of an early victory, could have surpassed. They proved themselves worthy to represent the valor which was exhibited during the trying years of the revolution, and set an example which the American soldier has always imitated on the field of battle.

If, however, it was a dismal hour to the brave hearts of the men, can the feelings of the women and children be imagined ? While it is true that they had the advantage of being accustomed to scenes which the mothers, sisters and children of our homes would shrink from, and of experiences under which our loved ones would sink, the wild whoop of the infuriated Indian on that eventful morning, crashed through the soul as the herald of approaching death, and must have half paralyzed the senses of even women who had been brave enough to attempt to carry the sweet sunshine of woman's gentleness to brighten the cloud of barbarism lowering over the plains. Imagination is not sufficiently elastic to paint the feelings of the women and children of that little party, and language is too weak to describe even the imperfect picture which it is able to outline. Perhaps it was merciful that the agony was of short duration, and that the ghasth sight of twelve scalped children and two women, so soon told that they had passed beyond a knowledge of the conflict .and from beneath the frightful burden of apprehension.

Captain Heald saw plainly that a continuation of the battle meant annihilation of his command, and that surrender could not result more disas- trously, while, perhaps, if surrendering, their lives might be saved. With a view to securing a cessation of hostilities, and an assurance of protection, he withdrew his troops, and a parley ensued, which resulted in his surrender to the Indians, upon condition that the lives of the party should be spared. The soldiers were now marched back to the fort, which was plundered and burned by the Indians the next day. A few days after the massacre the Kinzie family were sent to Detroit. Sometime after this the prisoners were ransomed, and thus ended the first attempt of the United States government to establish itself at Chicago. Instead of advancing civilization it seemed to have retarded it, inasmuch as for four years the spot was entirely

CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS. 17

•jiven over to the savages, even the fur traders keeping away from it. In 1816, however, the fort was rebuilt, under thft direction of Captain Bradley. Sometime after the reconstruction of the fort, Mr. Kinzie returned, and in 1818 there were only two families outside the fort — those of Mr. Kinzie and Antoine Oulimette, a French trader. Both of these families were located on the North Side. In 1818 Gurclon S. Hubbard, visited the place, as the agent of the American Fur Company, and is still a resident of the city. J. B. Beaubien arrived the same year. In 1823 the outside population was increased by the advent of Archibald Claybourne. Certainly there was as yet but slight foundation for the future Chicago. Almost any body would at this time, or even four years later — the time that Major Long visited the place on a government exploring expedition — have shared Major Long's views of the prospects of the spot. He said in his report to the government that it afforded no inducement to the settler; and apparently he was right. But for several years the project of connecting lake Michigan with the Mississippi, by a canal from the lake to the Illinois river, had been agitated. In 1814 the matter was before the thirty-seventh Congress. In 1818 it was brought to the attention of the State legislature by Governor Bond. Governor Coles, his successor, also urged the importance of the project in 1822; and the year following a Board of Inspectors wai consti- tuted, who made a tour of inspection during the year 1824. Congress in the meantime having authorized the State to make a survey through the public lands, five routes were surveyed by the State Commissioners, and in 1825 the legislature chartered the Illinois and Michigan Canal Company. But no one desiring to take stock in the enterprise, the act of incorporation was finally repealed, and Congress again took up the matter. The result now was that Congress — in i82y — granted to the State every alternate section in a belt of land five miles wide on each side of the proposed canal, upon con- dition that not more than five years should elapse before the beginning of the work and that the canal should be completed within twenty years. In case of failure to comply with the conditions the State was to be held liable for all moneys received from land sold. The State accepted the conditions, and although the canal was not actually commenced until 1836, the con- ception of the enterprise and the action of Congress was the beginning ot the foundation of this great and growing metropolis.

i8

CHAPTER IV.

THE TOWN OF CHICAGO.

The State having decided to construct the canal, under the terms im- posed by Congress, the Canal Commissioners, appointed by the State, in 1829 sent James Thompson to make a survey of the lake terminus — the present site of Chicago — and which, though not originally included in the State boundaries, Congress had previously added, thus giving the State this elegant portage. The surveyor's map, however, which was prepared in the following year, embraced only an area of three eighths of a square mile, and included the territory on the west of State street, bounded by Madison, Desplaines and Kinzie streets, the land east of State street being reserved by the government. At this time there were seven families outside the fort, and of these Mr. Kinzie, Dr. Wolcott, Mr. Beaubien and John Miller are the only ones whose names have been handed down in history. It will thus be seen that the early growth of the town was slow, and upon a casual observation, it would appear astonishingly so. There were natural advantages — which have been recognized since, and by most of those who came early enough to be called pioneers in the establishment of the town of Chicago, were recognized then — and the prospect of a canal linking the wild spot to civilization promised additional advantages, the character of which could not certainly be misunderstood. But after all, the disadvantages would naturally outweigh the advantages in the average mind, which is not as acute as the individual minds which were the first to glow in the darkness of fifty years ago ; and especially was it difficult for those who had never visited the spot, to conceive that any importance could attach to it, present or prospective, in the face of the official report of Major Loner. The spot was a picture of desolateness as perfect as the artist's brush could trace upon the canvas, and as disfiguring a blot as nature ever suffered to mar the fairness of her face. The larger portion of the site was but verv little above the level of the lake, and was subject to frequent inundations. Much of it was so marshy as to be utterly unfit and unsafe for travel, and this disagreeable characteristic was prominent in some of the streets even after the city had grown to respectable proportions. Men can now be found who saw Chicago when, in their estimation, the whole site was not worth a hundred dollars, and they thought that they were far seeino- men, too. A resident of the West relates that when a boy he came from his home in Joliet to visit Chicago, and hearing a man predict that the

CHICAGO AND ITS DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS. 19

river would sometime be made a harbor for shipping, and that Chicago was destined to be a great city, hastened home to induce his father to give him a hundred dollars to purchase land. But the father laughing at what he was pleased to term a child's air castle, refused, and a colossal fortune was lost. There were many like this man, and they developed in large numbers even after immigration, a few years later, had fully set in. But the American nation and the world has reason to be thankful that there were those who could see beauty and brightness behind the clouds, and treasure in the repulsive mire — men who believed in the future of Chicago, some of them having lived to witness a perfect realization of their most sanguine hopes.

The Indians, too, must be charged with having a great deal to do wi