Dear Sir—I have had the pleasure of reading your account and also the remarks of others in regard to Chicago and Illinois history. I am acquainted with some facts derived from conversation with one who was there, and witnessed the fight and killing of many of those who lost their lives on that memorable day. She was a daughter of one of the soldiers, and was one of the children who, with her mother and sisters, occupied the wagons, or conveyances that was to convey them from the fort. She told me she saw her father when he fell, and also many others. She, with her mother and sisters, were taken prisoners among the Indians for nearly two years, and were finally taken to Mackinac and sold to the traders and sent to Detroit. On our arrival in Detroit, in 1816, after the war, this girl was taken into our family, and was then about thirteen years old, and had been scalped. She said a young Indian came to the wagon where she was and grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out of the wagon, and she fought him the best she knew how, scratching and biting, till finally he threw her down and scalped her. She was so frightened she was not aware of it until the blood ran down her face. An old squaw interfered and prevented her from being tomahawked by the Indian, she going with the squaw to her wigwam, and was taken care of and her head cured. This squaw was one that often came to their house. The bare spot on the top of the head was about the size of a silver dollar. She saw Captain Wells killed, and told the same story as related in your pamphlet.My father was well acquainted with Captain Wells; was stationed with him at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I was born, in 1807, and he was surgeon of the post. My mother was a daughter of Col. Thomas Hunt of the Fifth Infantry.I think there must be a mistake as to the year the Kinzies returned to Chicago. My father and family arrived in Detroit in June, 1816; the Kinzies were there then, and I was schoolmate of John, Robert, Ellen and Maria during that year, and I think they returned to Chicago in 1817. Mr. Kinzie went in the fall of 1816, and the family in the spring of 1817.I was in Chicago in 1832 in the Black Hawk War time, as First Lieutenant of cavalry, from Michigan. The regiment was commanded by General Hart L. Stewart, now living in Chicago.During the Black Hawk War, and when in Chicago, we heard of the killing of the Hall family and the carrying off of the two girls. Our company camped that night at the mouth of the Little Calumet, and next morning went into Chicago, and the fort was occupied by women and children of the surrounding country.Then I saw for the last time my schoolmate, R. A. Kinzie. My brother. Col. L. A. H. Edwards, was in command of the fort after we left, and had a Cass County regiment of military from Michigan. We met him on our return at Door Prairie. He remained there until the arrival of Major Whistler, in June, 1832; he retired from the fort before the landing of any of the U. S. troops, on account of cholera being among them, and he wished to avoid any contact with them on that account. His command camped on the prairie, about a mile from the fort, and remained only a day or two. Fearing the cholera might get among his men, he left for home, as he saw they were not needed any longer, and was so informed by Major Whistler.Captain Anderson, Ensign Wallace and myself camped under the hospitable roof of General Beaubien, on the bank of the lake, not very far from the fort, who had kept the only house there. Mark Beaubien Jr. went into Chicago with us, he having joined us at Niles, on his way home from school. He was the son of the one called the fiddler.Our family lived in Detroit and were well acquainted with the Whistlers. My father. Major Edwards, was in Detroit at the surrender of Hull, as Surgeon-General of the Northwestern Army. He went from Ohio, and arriving in Detroit, received his appointment. Our family was then living in Dayton, Ohio. At the close of the war he resigned, and in 1816 removed to Detroit and was appointed sutler to all Northwestern posts—Fort Gratiot, Mackinac, Green Bay [Fort Howard], and Chicago [Fort Dearborn]—his books, now in my possession, showing his dealings with each of these stores, and all the officers mentioned in your paper.
Dear Sir—I have had the pleasure of reading your account and also the remarks of others in regard to Chicago and Illinois history. I am acquainted with some facts derived from conversation with one who was there, and witnessed the fight and killing of many of those who lost their lives on that memorable day. She was a daughter of one of the soldiers, and was one of the children who, with her mother and sisters, occupied the wagons, or conveyances that was to convey them from the fort. She told me she saw her father when he fell, and also many others. She, with her mother and sisters, were taken prisoners among the Indians for nearly two years, and were finally taken to Mackinac and sold to the traders and sent to Detroit. On our arrival in Detroit, in 1816, after the war, this girl was taken into our family, and was then about thirteen years old, and had been scalped. She said a young Indian came to the wagon where she was and grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out of the wagon, and she fought him the best she knew how, scratching and biting, till finally he threw her down and scalped her. She was so frightened she was not aware of it until the blood ran down her face. An old squaw interfered and prevented her from being tomahawked by the Indian, she going with the squaw to her wigwam, and was taken care of and her head cured. This squaw was one that often came to their house. The bare spot on the top of the head was about the size of a silver dollar. She saw Captain Wells killed, and told the same story as related in your pamphlet.
My father was well acquainted with Captain Wells; was stationed with him at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I was born, in 1807, and he was surgeon of the post. My mother was a daughter of Col. Thomas Hunt of the Fifth Infantry.
I think there must be a mistake as to the year the Kinzies returned to Chicago. My father and family arrived in Detroit in June, 1816; the Kinzies were there then, and I was schoolmate of John, Robert, Ellen and Maria during that year, and I think they returned to Chicago in 1817. Mr. Kinzie went in the fall of 1816, and the family in the spring of 1817.
I was in Chicago in 1832 in the Black Hawk War time, as First Lieutenant of cavalry, from Michigan. The regiment was commanded by General Hart L. Stewart, now living in Chicago.
During the Black Hawk War, and when in Chicago, we heard of the killing of the Hall family and the carrying off of the two girls. Our company camped that night at the mouth of the Little Calumet, and next morning went into Chicago, and the fort was occupied by women and children of the surrounding country.
Then I saw for the last time my schoolmate, R. A. Kinzie. My brother. Col. L. A. H. Edwards, was in command of the fort after we left, and had a Cass County regiment of military from Michigan. We met him on our return at Door Prairie. He remained there until the arrival of Major Whistler, in June, 1832; he retired from the fort before the landing of any of the U. S. troops, on account of cholera being among them, and he wished to avoid any contact with them on that account. His command camped on the prairie, about a mile from the fort, and remained only a day or two. Fearing the cholera might get among his men, he left for home, as he saw they were not needed any longer, and was so informed by Major Whistler.
Captain Anderson, Ensign Wallace and myself camped under the hospitable roof of General Beaubien, on the bank of the lake, not very far from the fort, who had kept the only house there. Mark Beaubien Jr. went into Chicago with us, he having joined us at Niles, on his way home from school. He was the son of the one called the fiddler.
Our family lived in Detroit and were well acquainted with the Whistlers. My father. Major Edwards, was in Detroit at the surrender of Hull, as Surgeon-General of the Northwestern Army. He went from Ohio, and arriving in Detroit, received his appointment. Our family was then living in Dayton, Ohio. At the close of the war he resigned, and in 1816 removed to Detroit and was appointed sutler to all Northwestern posts—Fort Gratiot, Mackinac, Green Bay [Fort Howard], and Chicago [Fort Dearborn]—his books, now in my possession, showing his dealings with each of these stores, and all the officers mentioned in your paper.
It is pleasant to note that at the disastrous fire at the Calumet Club, which occurred while these pages were preparing, the Beaubien fiddle and the Wells hatchet were saved.
Sheboygan (Wis.), Jan. 10, 1881.
Your letter of the 5th came to hand to-day. The person I named as being present at the massacre, was a daughter of Cooper,[AV]one of the soldiers who was killed in the fight. Her account, as given to me, as also her mother's, was that as soon as all the soldiers were disposed of, the Indians made a rush for the wagons, where the women and children were. Her mother, and sister younger than herself, were taken from the wagon and carried away. A young Indian boy about fourteen or fifteen years old dragged her by the hair out of the wagon, and she bit and scratched him so badly thathe finally scalped her and would have killed her if an old squaw had not prevented him. I think she married a man by the name of Farnum and lived many years in Detroit. Her mother died there about the year 1832. The sisters were living in Detroit in 1828. I have since heard they were living in Mackinac. I do not know the first name of Cooper. He was killed and the girl said she saw her father's scalp in the hands of an Indian afterward. He had sandy hair. I think she said they were Scotch. Isabella had children. The girl said she saw Wells when he fell from his horse, and that his face was painted. What became of her sister I do not know, as I left Detroit in 1823, but my father and mother remained there until 1828. You will receive with this a statement written by my father regarding himself, a short time before his death, which occurred in October, 1860, at Kalamazoo, Mich., where he had resided for many years. The statement will give you all the information in regard to himself as well as who my mother was. Her father, Thomas Hunt, was appointed a surgeon in the army directly after the battle of Bunker Hill, where he was brought into notice by an act of gallantry, then only a boy of fifteen. He remained in the army until his death, in 1808, in command of his regiment, at Bellefontaine, Missouri. His sons and grandsons have been representatives in the army ever since. Captain Thomas Hunt, mentioned in your letter, was a son, and the present General Henry J. Hunt, of the Artillery, and General Lewis C. Hunt, commanding the Fourth Infantry, grandsons, whose father (my mother's brother) was Captain Samuel W. Hunt of the army.My grandfather, Thomas Hunt, was a captain under Lafayette, and was wounded at Yorktown in storming a redoubt of the British. Afterward he was with General Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians, and was left in command of Fort Wayne as its first commander after the subjection of the Indians.
Your letter of the 5th came to hand to-day. The person I named as being present at the massacre, was a daughter of Cooper,[AV]one of the soldiers who was killed in the fight. Her account, as given to me, as also her mother's, was that as soon as all the soldiers were disposed of, the Indians made a rush for the wagons, where the women and children were. Her mother, and sister younger than herself, were taken from the wagon and carried away. A young Indian boy about fourteen or fifteen years old dragged her by the hair out of the wagon, and she bit and scratched him so badly thathe finally scalped her and would have killed her if an old squaw had not prevented him. I think she married a man by the name of Farnum and lived many years in Detroit. Her mother died there about the year 1832. The sisters were living in Detroit in 1828. I have since heard they were living in Mackinac. I do not know the first name of Cooper. He was killed and the girl said she saw her father's scalp in the hands of an Indian afterward. He had sandy hair. I think she said they were Scotch. Isabella had children. The girl said she saw Wells when he fell from his horse, and that his face was painted. What became of her sister I do not know, as I left Detroit in 1823, but my father and mother remained there until 1828. You will receive with this a statement written by my father regarding himself, a short time before his death, which occurred in October, 1860, at Kalamazoo, Mich., where he had resided for many years. The statement will give you all the information in regard to himself as well as who my mother was. Her father, Thomas Hunt, was appointed a surgeon in the army directly after the battle of Bunker Hill, where he was brought into notice by an act of gallantry, then only a boy of fifteen. He remained in the army until his death, in 1808, in command of his regiment, at Bellefontaine, Missouri. His sons and grandsons have been representatives in the army ever since. Captain Thomas Hunt, mentioned in your letter, was a son, and the present General Henry J. Hunt, of the Artillery, and General Lewis C. Hunt, commanding the Fourth Infantry, grandsons, whose father (my mother's brother) was Captain Samuel W. Hunt of the army.
My grandfather, Thomas Hunt, was a captain under Lafayette, and was wounded at Yorktown in storming a redoubt of the British. Afterward he was with General Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians, and was left in command of Fort Wayne as its first commander after the subjection of the Indians.
A. H. Edwards.
[AV]"John Cooper, Surgeon's Mate," is found in the muster-roll shown onpage 150. He also signed the certificate to the roll.
[AV]"John Cooper, Surgeon's Mate," is found in the muster-roll shown onpage 150. He also signed the certificate to the roll.
For other extracts from this interesting paper seeAppendix E—"The Wells and Heald families."
THE SAUGANASH (1833).
THE SAUGANASH (1833).
BILLY CALDWELL, THE SAUGANASH.
T
THE Sauganash had qualities, good and bad, appertaining to each of his parent races. He had fighting courage and coolness in danger, he had physical endurance, he had personal faithfulness to personal friends, he had a love of strong drink. There is now (1893) in this city, an account-book kept which was at a Chicago grocery store in the thirties, wherein appear many charges reading: "One quart whisky to B. Caldwell." The book is in possession of Julian Rumsey, Esq., a relative of Mrs. Juliette (Magill) Kinzie, author of "Wau-Bun."
When the inevitable separation came, and the Indians, after a grand farewell war-dance (August 18, 1835),[AW]departed on their migration toward the setting sun, Caldwell went with them, and died September 28, 1841, at Council Bluffs, Iowa. His old friend Mark Beaubien, had named after him the first and most noted of Chicago's real hotels, the "Sauganash," lovingly remembered by many of the "first families."
[AW]SeeAppendix I.
[AW]SeeAppendix I.
Letter written by the Sauganash [Billy Caldwell] and Shabonee [Chambly].
Council Bluffs, March 23rd, 1840.
To General Harrison's Friends:
The other day several newspapers were brought to us; and peeping over them, to our astonishment we found that the hero of the late war was called a coward. This would have surprised the tall braves, Tecumseh, of the Shawnees, and Round Head and Walk-in-the-water of the late Tomahawkees. The first time we got acquainted with General Harrison, it was at the council fires of the late Old Tempest, General Wayne, on the headquarters of the Wabash at Greenville, 1796. From that time till 1811 we had many friendly smokes with him; but from 1812 we changed our tobaccosmoke into powder smoke. Then we found that General Harrison was a brave warrior and humane to his prisoners, as reported to us by two of Tecumseh's young men, who were taken in the fleet with Captain Barclay on the 10th of September, 1813, and on the Thames, where he routed both the red-men and the British, and where he showed his courage and his humanity to his prisoners, both white and red. See report of Adams Brown and family, taken on the morning of the battle, October 5th, 1813. We are the only two surviving of that day in this country. We hope the good white men will protect the name of General Harrison. We remain your friends forever.Chamblee [Shabonee], Aid to Tecumseh.
The other day several newspapers were brought to us; and peeping over them, to our astonishment we found that the hero of the late war was called a coward. This would have surprised the tall braves, Tecumseh, of the Shawnees, and Round Head and Walk-in-the-water of the late Tomahawkees. The first time we got acquainted with General Harrison, it was at the council fires of the late Old Tempest, General Wayne, on the headquarters of the Wabash at Greenville, 1796. From that time till 1811 we had many friendly smokes with him; but from 1812 we changed our tobaccosmoke into powder smoke. Then we found that General Harrison was a brave warrior and humane to his prisoners, as reported to us by two of Tecumseh's young men, who were taken in the fleet with Captain Barclay on the 10th of September, 1813, and on the Thames, where he routed both the red-men and the British, and where he showed his courage and his humanity to his prisoners, both white and red. See report of Adams Brown and family, taken on the morning of the battle, October 5th, 1813. We are the only two surviving of that day in this country. We hope the good white men will protect the name of General Harrison. We remain your friends forever.
Chamblee [Shabonee], Aid to Tecumseh.
Billy Caldwell and Chamblee (signature)
ME-TEE-A; A SIGNER OF THE TREATY OF 1821.
FAREWELL WAR-DANCE OF THE INDIANS.
E
EARLY in 1833 Indians to the number of five thousand or more, assembled at Chicago, around the fort, the village, the rivers and the portage, to treat for the sale of their entire remaining possessions in Illinois and Wisconsin. John Joseph Latrobe, in his "Rambles in North America," gives the following realistic sketch of the state of things hereabouts just sixty years ago:
A mushroom town on the verge of a level country, crowded to its utmost capacity and beyond, a surrounding cloud of Indians encamped on the prairie, beneath the shelter of the woods, on the river-side or by the low sand-hills along the lake, companies of old warriers under every bush, smoking, arguing, palavering, pow-wowing, with no apparent prospect of agreement.
A mushroom town on the verge of a level country, crowded to its utmost capacity and beyond, a surrounding cloud of Indians encamped on the prairie, beneath the shelter of the woods, on the river-side or by the low sand-hills along the lake, companies of old warriers under every bush, smoking, arguing, palavering, pow-wowing, with no apparent prospect of agreement.
The negotiations dragged on for weeks and months, for the Indians were slow to put an end to their jollification, an occasion when they were the guests of the Government, and fared sumptuously with nothing to pay. The treaty had still to be ratified by the senate before its provisions could be carried out and the settlement made. This took about two years.
FAREWELL WAR-DANCE OF THE INDIANS, AUGUST 18, 1835.
FAREWELL WAR-DANCE OF THE INDIANS, AUGUST 18, 1835.
The money paid and the goods delivered, the Indians shook the dust off their feet and departed; the dust shaking being literal, for once, as they joined, just before starting, in a final "war-dance." For this strange scene, we fortunately have as witness Ex-Chief-Justice Caton, previously quoted herein. He estimates the dancers at eight hundred, that being all the braves that could be mustered, out of the five thousand members then present of the departing tribes. The date was August 18th, 1835. He says:
They appreciated that it was their last on their native soil—that it was a sort of funeral ceremony of old associations and memories, and nothing was omitted to lend it all the grandeur and solemnity possible. They assembled at the Council House (North-east corner of Rush and Kinzie Streets). All were naked except a strip of cloth around their loins. Their bodies were covered with a great variety of brilliant paints. On their faces particularly they seemed to have exhausted their art of hideous decoration. Foreheads, cheeks and noses were covered with curved strips of red or vermillion, which were edged with black points, and gave the appearance of a horrid grin. The long, coarse black hair was gathered into scalp locks on the tops of their heads and decorated with a profusion of hawks' and eagles' feathers; some strung together so as to reach nearly to the ground. They were principally armed with tomahawks and war clubs. They were led by what answered for a band of music, which created a discordant din of hideous noises, produced by beating on hollow vessels and striking clubs and sticks together. They advanced with a continuous dance. Their actual progress was quite slow. They proceeded up along the river on the North side, stopping in front of every house to perform some extra antics. They crossed the north branch on the old bridge, about Kinzie Street, and proceeded south to the bridge which stood where Lake Street bridge is now, nearly in front of, and in full view from the Sauganash Hotel ("Wigwam" lot, Lake and Market Streets). A number of young married people had rooms there. The parlor was in the second story pointing west, from the windows of which the best view of the dancers was to be had and these were filled with ladies.
They appreciated that it was their last on their native soil—that it was a sort of funeral ceremony of old associations and memories, and nothing was omitted to lend it all the grandeur and solemnity possible. They assembled at the Council House (North-east corner of Rush and Kinzie Streets). All were naked except a strip of cloth around their loins. Their bodies were covered with a great variety of brilliant paints. On their faces particularly they seemed to have exhausted their art of hideous decoration. Foreheads, cheeks and noses were covered with curved strips of red or vermillion, which were edged with black points, and gave the appearance of a horrid grin. The long, coarse black hair was gathered into scalp locks on the tops of their heads and decorated with a profusion of hawks' and eagles' feathers; some strung together so as to reach nearly to the ground. They were principally armed with tomahawks and war clubs. They were led by what answered for a band of music, which created a discordant din of hideous noises, produced by beating on hollow vessels and striking clubs and sticks together. They advanced with a continuous dance. Their actual progress was quite slow. They proceeded up along the river on the North side, stopping in front of every house to perform some extra antics. They crossed the north branch on the old bridge, about Kinzie Street, and proceeded south to the bridge which stood where Lake Street bridge is now, nearly in front of, and in full view from the Sauganash Hotel ("Wigwam" lot, Lake and Market Streets). A number of young married people had rooms there. The parlor was in the second story pointing west, from the windows of which the best view of the dancers was to be had and these were filled with ladies.
The young lawyer, afterward Chief Justice, had come to the West in 1833, and less than a year before this had gone back to Oneida County, New York, and there married Miss Laura Sherrill. They were among the lookers-on from those upper windows, a crowd all interested, many agitated and some really frightened at the thought of the passions and memories that must be inflaming those savage breasts and that were making them the very picture of demoniac fury.
Although the din and clatter had been heard for some time, they did not come into view from this point of observation till they had proceeded so far West (on the North side) as to come on a line with the house. All the way to the South Branch bridge came the wild band, which was in front as they came upon the bridge, redoubling their blows, followed by the warriors who had now wrought themselves into a perfect fury.The morning was very warm and the perspiration was pouring from them. Their countenances had assumed an expression of all the worst passions—fierce anger, terrible hate, dire revenge, remorseless cruelty—all were expressed in their terrible features. Their tomahawks and clubs were thrown and brandished in every direction, and with every step and every gesture they uttered the most frightful yells. The dance consisted of leaps and spasmodicsteps, now forward, now back or sidewise, the whole body distorted into every imaginable position, most generally stooping forward with the head and face thrown up, the back arched down, first one foot thrown forward and withdrawn and the other similarly thrust out, frequently squatting quite to the ground, and all with a movement almost as quick as lightning. The yells and screams they uttered were broken up and multiplied and rendered all the more hideous by a rapid clapping of the mouth with the palm of the hand. When the head of the column reached the hotel, while they looked up at the windows at the "Chemo-ko-man squaws," it seemed as if we had a picture of hell itself before us, and a carnival of the damned spirits there confined. They paused in their progress, for extra exploits, in front of John T. Semple's house, near the northwest corner of Lake and Franklin Streets, and then again in front of the Tremont, on the northwest corner of Take and Dearborn Streets, where the appearance of ladies again in the window again inspired them with new life and energy. Thence they proceeded down to Fort Dearborn, where we will take a final leave of my old friends, with more good wishes for their final welfare than I really dare hope will be realized.
Although the din and clatter had been heard for some time, they did not come into view from this point of observation till they had proceeded so far West (on the North side) as to come on a line with the house. All the way to the South Branch bridge came the wild band, which was in front as they came upon the bridge, redoubling their blows, followed by the warriors who had now wrought themselves into a perfect fury.
The morning was very warm and the perspiration was pouring from them. Their countenances had assumed an expression of all the worst passions—fierce anger, terrible hate, dire revenge, remorseless cruelty—all were expressed in their terrible features. Their tomahawks and clubs were thrown and brandished in every direction, and with every step and every gesture they uttered the most frightful yells. The dance consisted of leaps and spasmodicsteps, now forward, now back or sidewise, the whole body distorted into every imaginable position, most generally stooping forward with the head and face thrown up, the back arched down, first one foot thrown forward and withdrawn and the other similarly thrust out, frequently squatting quite to the ground, and all with a movement almost as quick as lightning. The yells and screams they uttered were broken up and multiplied and rendered all the more hideous by a rapid clapping of the mouth with the palm of the hand. When the head of the column reached the hotel, while they looked up at the windows at the "Chemo-ko-man squaws," it seemed as if we had a picture of hell itself before us, and a carnival of the damned spirits there confined. They paused in their progress, for extra exploits, in front of John T. Semple's house, near the northwest corner of Lake and Franklin Streets, and then again in front of the Tremont, on the northwest corner of Take and Dearborn Streets, where the appearance of ladies again in the window again inspired them with new life and energy. Thence they proceeded down to Fort Dearborn, where we will take a final leave of my old friends, with more good wishes for their final welfare than I really dare hope will be realized.
The Indians were conveyed to the lands selected for them, (and accepted by a deputation sent by them in advance of the treaty) in Clay County, Missouri, opposite Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Missourians were hostile to their new, strange neighbors, and two years later they were again moved, this time to a reservation in Iowa, near Council Bluffs. Once more the fate of the poor waif, "Move on, move on," was theirs, and then they halted in Kansas for many years. Their present condition has been already sketched.
Judge Caton is an ardent, devoted friend of the Indians. He knew many of them personally, they having been his faithful companions—by night and day, in summer and winter—in hunting, which was the passion of his early years. Yet here, we observe, he says sadly, that his wishes for their welfare go beyond any confident hope he can feel.
THE BRONZE MEMORIAL GROUP.
History places the scene of the Massacre adjacent to the shore of Lake Michigan, between the present 16th and 20th Streets. The Memorial Group, now (1893) newly erected, stands at the eastern extremity of 18th Street, overlooking the lake (nothing intervening save the right of way of the Illinois Central Railway); and is therefore in the midst of the battle-field.
I think it well here to put in evidence unanswerable testimony as to the identity of the spot selected for the group with the place where the short and fatal struggle took place. Regarding it, Munsell's history observes:
The attack, the charge, the subsequent advance, etc., seem all to point to about the spot where is now Eighteenth Street; and to the Massacre tree, a tall cottonwood, still standing when these lines are penned (1892), though dead since about five years ago.For conclusive evidence of the identity of the tree and its trustworthiness as marking the battle-field, see certificates of old citizens given on page 31, Vol. I, Andreas' History of Chicago.
The attack, the charge, the subsequent advance, etc., seem all to point to about the spot where is now Eighteenth Street; and to the Massacre tree, a tall cottonwood, still standing when these lines are penned (1892), though dead since about five years ago.
For conclusive evidence of the identity of the tree and its trustworthiness as marking the battle-field, see certificates of old citizens given on page 31, Vol. I, Andreas' History of Chicago.
The letters quoted by Captain Andreas are all from persons not only well-informed, but also of the highest social character and standing. They are as follows:
Letter from Mrs. Henry W. King.
A. T. Andreas, Esq.
Dear sir:—I am very happy to tell you what I know about the tree in question, for I am anxious that its value as a relic should be appreciated by Chicago people, especially since the fire has obliterated nearly every other object connected with our early history. Shortly before the death of my friend Mrs. John K. Kinzie, I called upon her and asked her to drive with me through the city and point out the various locations and points of interest that she knew were connected with the "early day" of Chicago. She said there were very few objects remaining, but localities she would be happy to show me.She appointed a day, but was not well enough to keep her appointment; went East soon after for her health and died within a few weeks. However, at this interview I mention, she said that toher the most interesting object in our city was the old Cottonwood tree that stands on Eighteenth Street, between Prairie Avenue and the lake. She remarked that it, with its fellows, were saplings at the time of the Indian Massacre, and that they marked the spot of that fearful occurrence; though she was not sure but that the smaller one had either died or been cut down. I expressed surprise at the location, imagining that the massacre occurred further south, among the small sand-hills that we early settlers remember in the vicinity of Hyde Park. I remember that her answer to this was:"My child, you must understand that in 1812 there was no Chicago, and the distance between the old fort and Eighteenth Street was enormous." Said she: "My husband and his family always bore in mind the location of that massacre, and marked it by the Cottonwood trees, which, strange to say, have stood unharmed in the middle of the street to this day."The above facts I communicated to the Historical Society soon after Mrs. Kinzie's death, and believe through them was the means of preventing the cutting down of the old tree, which the citizens of the South Side had voted to be a nuisance. I sincerely hope something may be done to fence in and preserve so valuable a relic and reminder of one of the most sad and interesting events in the life of Chicago.Believe me, sir, yours most respectfully,Mrs. Henry W. King.
Dear sir:—I am very happy to tell you what I know about the tree in question, for I am anxious that its value as a relic should be appreciated by Chicago people, especially since the fire has obliterated nearly every other object connected with our early history. Shortly before the death of my friend Mrs. John K. Kinzie, I called upon her and asked her to drive with me through the city and point out the various locations and points of interest that she knew were connected with the "early day" of Chicago. She said there were very few objects remaining, but localities she would be happy to show me.
She appointed a day, but was not well enough to keep her appointment; went East soon after for her health and died within a few weeks. However, at this interview I mention, she said that toher the most interesting object in our city was the old Cottonwood tree that stands on Eighteenth Street, between Prairie Avenue and the lake. She remarked that it, with its fellows, were saplings at the time of the Indian Massacre, and that they marked the spot of that fearful occurrence; though she was not sure but that the smaller one had either died or been cut down. I expressed surprise at the location, imagining that the massacre occurred further south, among the small sand-hills that we early settlers remember in the vicinity of Hyde Park. I remember that her answer to this was:
"My child, you must understand that in 1812 there was no Chicago, and the distance between the old fort and Eighteenth Street was enormous." Said she: "My husband and his family always bore in mind the location of that massacre, and marked it by the Cottonwood trees, which, strange to say, have stood unharmed in the middle of the street to this day."
The above facts I communicated to the Historical Society soon after Mrs. Kinzie's death, and believe through them was the means of preventing the cutting down of the old tree, which the citizens of the South Side had voted to be a nuisance. I sincerely hope something may be done to fence in and preserve so valuable a relic and reminder of one of the most sad and interesting events in the life of Chicago.
Believe me, sir, yours most respectfully,Mrs. Henry W. King.
Letter from Hon. Isaac N. Arnold.
Chicago, January 25, 1884.
Captain A. T. Andreas.
Dear sir:—I have your note of this morning, asking me to state what I know relating to the massacre at Chicago in 1812. I came to Chicago in October, 1836; the Fort Dearborn reservation then, and for several years afterward, belonged to the government, and there were but a few scattering houses from Fort Dearborn south to [the present location of] the University, and between Michigan Avenue and the beach of Lake Michigan. The sand-hills near the shore were still standing. The family of John H. Kinzie was then the most prominent in Chicago, and the best acquainted with its early history. From this family and other early settlers, and by Mr. and Mrs. Kinzie, I was told where the attack on the soldiers by the Indians was made. There were then growing some cottonwood trees near which I was told the massacre occurred. One of those trees is still standing in the street leading from Michigan Avenue to the lake and not very far from the track of the Illinois Central Railway. This tree was pointed out to me by both Mr. and Mrs Kinzie, as near the place where the attack began. As the fight continued, the combatants moved south and went over considerable space. Mrs. John H. Kinzie was a person of clear and retentive memory and of great intelligence. She wrote a full and graphic history of the massacre, obtaining her facts, in part, from eye-witnesses, and I have no' doubts of her accuracy.Very respectfully yours,Isaac N. Arnold.
Dear sir:—I have your note of this morning, asking me to state what I know relating to the massacre at Chicago in 1812. I came to Chicago in October, 1836; the Fort Dearborn reservation then, and for several years afterward, belonged to the government, and there were but a few scattering houses from Fort Dearborn south to [the present location of] the University, and between Michigan Avenue and the beach of Lake Michigan. The sand-hills near the shore were still standing. The family of John H. Kinzie was then the most prominent in Chicago, and the best acquainted with its early history. From this family and other early settlers, and by Mr. and Mrs. Kinzie, I was told where the attack on the soldiers by the Indians was made. There were then growing some cottonwood trees near which I was told the massacre occurred. One of those trees is still standing in the street leading from Michigan Avenue to the lake and not very far from the track of the Illinois Central Railway. This tree was pointed out to me by both Mr. and Mrs Kinzie, as near the place where the attack began. As the fight continued, the combatants moved south and went over considerable space. Mrs. John H. Kinzie was a person of clear and retentive memory and of great intelligence. She wrote a full and graphic history of the massacre, obtaining her facts, in part, from eye-witnesses, and I have no' doubts of her accuracy.
Very respectfully yours,Isaac N. Arnold.
Letter from A. J. Galloway.
Chicago, February 8, 1884.
Captain A. T. Andreas.
My dear sir:—At your request I will state my recollections concerning the cottonwood tree in the east end of Eighteenth Street. When I removed from Eldredge Court to the present 1808 Prairie Avenue, in 1858, the tree was in apparent good condition, though showing all the marks of advanced age. The large lower branches (since cutoff), after mounting upward for a time, curved gracefully downward, so that a man riding under them could have readily touched their extremities with his whip at a distance of twenty or twenty-five feet from the body. From an intimate knowledge of the growth of trees, I have no doubt but its sapling life long ante-dated the time of the massacre of the Fort Dearborn garrison. I will venture the opinion that if it were cut down and the stump subjected to a careful examination, it would be found that the last two inches of its growth cover a period of fifty years at least.
Yours truly,A. J. Galloway.
To these highly convincing letters. Captain Andreas adds verbal testimony as follows:
Charles Harpell, an old citizen, now living on the North Side, says that as far back as he can remember this locality was known as "the Indian battle-ground;" that years ago, when a boy, he with others used to play there (the place, from its very associations, having the strongest attractions) and hunt in the sand for beads and other little trinkets, which they were wont to find in abundance. Mr. Harpell relates, also, that he, while playing there one day, found an old single-barreled brass pistol, which he kept for many years.Mrs. Mary Clark Williams, whose father, H. B. Clark, purchased in 1833, the land on which the tree now stands, says that nearly fifty years ago she played under the old cottonwood, and that it was then a large and thrifty tree. In 1840 an old Indian told her that the massacre occurred on that spot.
Charles Harpell, an old citizen, now living on the North Side, says that as far back as he can remember this locality was known as "the Indian battle-ground;" that years ago, when a boy, he with others used to play there (the place, from its very associations, having the strongest attractions) and hunt in the sand for beads and other little trinkets, which they were wont to find in abundance. Mr. Harpell relates, also, that he, while playing there one day, found an old single-barreled brass pistol, which he kept for many years.
Mrs. Mary Clark Williams, whose father, H. B. Clark, purchased in 1833, the land on which the tree now stands, says that nearly fifty years ago she played under the old cottonwood, and that it was then a large and thrifty tree. In 1840 an old Indian told her that the massacre occurred on that spot.
On the same branch of the subject, and in absolute conformation of the Clark testimony, see the following letter, later than the other, which I am glad to be able to give as "the conclusion of the matter."
Aspen, Colorado, March 15, 1890.
Editor of the Tribune:
I notice your interesting article on the subject of the Chicago Massacre of 1812. I was born on what is now Michigan Avenue (then a farm) and within 1,200 feet of this awful affair. Your article is in the main correct, though not exactly so as regards the tree at the foot of Eighteenth Street. This was one of a grove, consisting of perhaps fifty to seventy-five large cotton-woods, extending from a little north of Sixteenth to a little south of EighteenthStreet. Almost in the center of this grove—I think the exact location would be two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet north of Eighteenth Street, on the east end of Wirt Dexter's lot—stood a "clump" of eight or nine trees....The sand-hills extended from about where the Illinois Central round-house now is south to about Twenty-Fifth Street. They were covered with low cedar trees, ground pine, and sand cherry bushes, together with a perfect mat of sand prickers, to which the soles of our feet often gave testimony when in swimming. The old cemetery, where many of the old settlers were buried, was located near Twenty-Second Street and Calumet Avenue. I think the McAvoy brewery stands about the centre of it.I sincerely hope something will be done to commemorate this awful affair and perpetuate the memory of our ancestors, who fought the Indians, the fleas and the ague to make so grand and beautiful a city as Chicago.Robert G. Clarke.
I notice your interesting article on the subject of the Chicago Massacre of 1812. I was born on what is now Michigan Avenue (then a farm) and within 1,200 feet of this awful affair. Your article is in the main correct, though not exactly so as regards the tree at the foot of Eighteenth Street. This was one of a grove, consisting of perhaps fifty to seventy-five large cotton-woods, extending from a little north of Sixteenth to a little south of EighteenthStreet. Almost in the center of this grove—I think the exact location would be two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet north of Eighteenth Street, on the east end of Wirt Dexter's lot—stood a "clump" of eight or nine trees....
The sand-hills extended from about where the Illinois Central round-house now is south to about Twenty-Fifth Street. They were covered with low cedar trees, ground pine, and sand cherry bushes, together with a perfect mat of sand prickers, to which the soles of our feet often gave testimony when in swimming. The old cemetery, where many of the old settlers were buried, was located near Twenty-Second Street and Calumet Avenue. I think the McAvoy brewery stands about the centre of it.
I sincerely hope something will be done to commemorate this awful affair and perpetuate the memory of our ancestors, who fought the Indians, the fleas and the ague to make so grand and beautiful a city as Chicago.
Robert G. Clarke.
So much for the place selected for the bronze group, now for the work itself.
Carl Rohl-Smith, a Danish sculptor who had already won distinction in Europe and in America, and who came to Chicago under the strong attraction which the preparation of the World's Columbian Exposition offered for all artists, won notice and praise by his statue of Franklin, cast for the entrance of the Electrical building. This work pleased those interested highly, and the sculptor was invited to prepare the model for a group to commemorate the Fort Dearborn Massacre of 1812. Mr. Rohl-Smith, by the help of his accomplished wife, made a study of the historical facts connected with the event, and naturally concluded that Black Partridge saving the life of Mrs. Helm was the portion of the sad story which presented the most picturesque, dramatic and artistic features for reproduction. To this he added the killing of Surgeon VanVoorhees, which Mrs. Helm details almost in the same breath with the story of her own experience. The study, when completed in clay, won the approval of all observers (this acceptance being fortified by the warm admiration the group elicited from the best art-critics to whom it was submitted), and orders were at once given for the work; to be in bronze and of heroic proportions; the figure group to be nine feet high, set on a granite pedestal ten feet high.
Mr. Rohl-Smith set himself to work with the utmost diligence. Fortune favored him; for there happened to be just then some Indians of the must untamed sort atFort Sheridan (only a few miles away), in charge of the garrison as prisoners of war, they having been captured in the Pine Ridge disturbance whereof the affair of Wounded Knee creek was the chief event. By General Miles's permission, Mr. Rohl-Smith was allowed to select two of these red-men to stand as models for the principal savage figures of the group. The two best adapted were "Kicking Bear" and "Short Bull." Concerning them Mr. Rohl-Smith says:
Kicking Bear is the best specimen of physical manhood I have ever critically examined. He is a wonderful man and seems to enjoy the novelty of posing, besides evidently having a clear understanding of the use to which his figure will be put. The assailant of Mrs. Helm, the one with the uplifted tomahawk [Short Bull] fills the historical idea that the assailant was a "young" Indian, naturally one who would not be as fully developed as the vigorous, manly chief, Black Partridge. The presence of these Indians has been of great value to me in producing the figures. I have been enabled to bring out some of their characteristics not otherwise possible.
Kicking Bear is the best specimen of physical manhood I have ever critically examined. He is a wonderful man and seems to enjoy the novelty of posing, besides evidently having a clear understanding of the use to which his figure will be put. The assailant of Mrs. Helm, the one with the uplifted tomahawk [Short Bull] fills the historical idea that the assailant was a "young" Indian, naturally one who would not be as fully developed as the vigorous, manly chief, Black Partridge. The presence of these Indians has been of great value to me in producing the figures. I have been enabled to bring out some of their characteristics not otherwise possible.
The savages were accompanied by an interpreter, and the newspapers of the day gave some amusing accounts of their demeanor in the studio; their mixture of docility and self-assertion, etc. It chanced that the real dispositions of the two principal models were the reverse of their assumed characters; and Kicking Bear (who, when wearing his native dress and war-paint, carried a string ofsix scalpsas part of his outfit), was much amused at the fact that he was assigned the more humane part. "Me, good Injun!" he cried; "him bad Injun!" And he laughed loudly at the jest.
The four faces of the granite pedestal bear appropriatebas-reliefscast in bronze. The front (south-west) shows the fight itself; the opposite side represents the train—troops, wagons, etc.—leaving the fort; one end gives the scene when Black Partridge delivered up his medal to Captain Heald, and the opposite end the death of the heroic Wells.
The various scenes bear descriptive inscriptions; and on the North-West face is the dedication, as follows:
Presented May, 1893, to the Chicago Historical Society, in Trust for the City of Chicago and for Posterity.
Presented May, 1893, to the Chicago Historical Society, in Trust for the City of Chicago and for Posterity.
The group stands on the scene of the fight, just one hundred and twenty feet east of the "Massacre tree" spoken of inchapterVII, and earlier in this appendix. Its position is admirable in the artistic point of view as well as in the historical, for it occupies the eastern extremity of Eighteenth Street and the northern of Calumet Avenue; separated from Lake Michigan only by the right of way of the Illinois Central railway. The hillocks which shielded the Indians in making their attack have been leveled down, but their sandy base forms an admirable foundation for the massive pedestal, which may well keep its place, unmoved, for a thousand years.
Chi-ca-gou (Wild Onions)
[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K][L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [V] [W]
A.
Abbott, Dr. Lucius;49.Agency House;48,67,79,192.Ah-mah-qua-zah-quah;35,173.Allen, Colonel;109.American Fur Co.;65,164.Anderson, Capt. Thomas C.;66.Andreas, Capt. A. T. quoted;153,163,165,167,170,216-218.Andrews, Presley;146,150.Arnold, Hon. I. N.;148-149,217.Artaguiette;124.Astor's Fur Co.;56,65,164.Atwater, Major;113,114.
B.
Baker, B'vt Major D.;144.Bates, Eli,126.Battles, Joe;63.Baxley, Virginia;194.Beaubien, Alex.;121,194.Beaubien, J. B.;169.Beckwith, H. W.;168.Bisson, Mrs.;45,46.Black Bird;40,180.Black Hawk;32.Black Partridge;29,30,44-46,90,104,220.Black Partridge Medal;91.Blanchard, Rufus;67,158-161.Block-House;120.Block-House Tablet;125,126.Blodgett, Hon. H. W.;189,192.Bowen, Joseph;118.Braddock's Defeat;61.Bradley, Capt. H.;144.British and Indians;30,77-79.Brock, Gen.;78.Bronze Group;29,220,221.Brown, Maj. Gen.;145.Bunker Hill, Battle of;107.Burgoyne, Gen.;58,135.Burman (soldier);146.Burnett, Geo.;146,150.Burns, John and family;72,80,103.Burns, Robert;134.Butterfield, Justin;148.
C.
Cahokia;138.Caldwell, Billy (Sauganash);46,47,201,203.Callis, Mrs.;48.Calumet Club;35.Calumet Lake;55.Cass. Lewis;83,167,168.Caton, Hon. J. D.;114,153,203-206.Caton, Laura Sherrill;205.Chandonnais;37,38,42,43,97,102.Chetlain, Mrs. Gen.;180.Chicago;passim; seetable of contents.Chicago in 1812 and in 1892;95.Chicago, the name;54.Chicago, Treaty of;47.Clark, Elizabeth;159.Clark, Geo. Rogers;53,54,135.Clark, H. B.;218.Clark, John K.;159.Clarke, Robert G.;220.Cleaver, Charles;121.Clybourn, Archibald;160.Clybourn, Jonas;160.Cobweb Castle;48,192.Conflict of Authorities;83,84,87.Confute Indians;116.Cooper, Isabella;197-9.Cooper, John, Surg. Mate;149,150.Corbin, James;118,146,150.Corbin, Phelim;20,118,146,150.Corbin, Sukey;20,48,119.Cummings, Maj. Alex.;144.Custer slaughter;33.
D.
Dearborn, Fort; seeFort Dearborn.Dearborn, Gen. Henry;57,143.Debou (Frenchman);72.Defence, possible;192.De Peyster, Col. A. S.; 53;56,134-136.De Peyster, J. Watts;134.Du Pin, Madame;104.Durantaye;155.Dyer, Dyson;118,146,150.
E.
Eastman, Lieut. J. L.;113,114.Eastman, Jonathan, Paymaster;189.Edson, Nathan;118,150.Edwards, J. H.;176-7,197-9.Edwards, Maria (Heald);183.English employment of Indians;77-79."Epeconier;"35,36.Erie Canal;210.Evacuation of Fort Dearborn;81,88.
F.
Farnum, Isabella (Cooper);197.Fergus Hist. Series, quoted;68,120,151,152,168.Fergus, Robert;190.Fergus, Scott;190,191.Ferson, Julia,152.Forsyth, Geo.;158.Forsyth, Robert;158,167.Forsyth, Thomas;158,162,166.Forsyth, William;157.Fort Chartres;133.Fort Dearborn,passim; seetable of contents.Fort Dearborn, Records of;143-150.Fort Dearborn Verses;127-129.Fort George, Canada;102.Fort Maiden, Canada;109.Fort Meigs, Canada;109.François, half-breed;100.Franklin, Statue of;220.Free Masonry;98,178.Freer, Dr. Otto;191,195.French Period;53.Fry, Col.;172.Fury, John;146,150.
G.
Galloway, A. J.;218.Gardner's Military History, quoted;151.George III;79,84,135.Gilbert, Mary Ann;173.Glamorgan;137.Gordon, Mrs. Nellie Kinzie;171.Grade of streets changed;210.Grant, Gen. U. S.;155.Great Fire;213,214.Greene, Capt. John;144.Greenville, Treaty of;47,54,57,90,155,159.Griffith, Quartermaster;100.Grigg, Jane Wells;173.Grignon, Augustin;139.Grummond, Paul;118,146,150."Grutte;"24.Guarie River;57.
H.
Hackleys, Ann and John;173.Haines, Hon. John C.;121,192,194,195.Hall, Benjamin;160.Hall, David;160.Hall, Eugene;127.Hallam, Rev. Mr.;194.Haliburton, Mrs.;157.Hamilton, Gen.;135.Hardscrabble;71,105.Harmer, Gen.;174.Harpell, Charles;218.Harrison, W. H.;44,65,107,109,201.Hays, Sergeant;105.Hayti, Island of;137.Heald family;173-183.Heald, Hon. Darius;passim; seetable of contents.Heald manuscript lost;99.Heald, Captain Nathan;passim; seetable of contents.Heald, Rebekah (Wells);passim; seetable of contents.Heald, Rebekah, quoted;31-38,69,83,93,97-99.Helm, Lieut. Linai T.;23,33,39,41,48,49,162,181.Helm, Margaret;passim; seetable of contents.Helm, Margaret, quoted; seeWau-Bun.Hennepin;133.Henry, Patrick;135.Hispaniola;137.Historical Society;29,45,165,191.Hooker, J. Lewis;121.Hosmer, Dr. A. B.;191,195.House-raising;209,210.Hoyt, William M.;127.Hubbard, G. S.;57,167,169,170,188.Hull, Gen.;78,80,93,114,118,180.Hunt family, the;199.Hunter, Gen. David;23.Hurlbut's Antiquities;54,58,62,148,154,155,162,167.
I.