Chicago: Its History and its Builders, Volume 1

Josiah Seymour Currey

• Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9783849648602
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Maybe there has never been a more comprehensive work on the history of Chicago than the five volumes written by Josiah S. Currey - and possibly there will never be. Without making this work a catalogue or a mere list of dates or distracting the reader and losing his attention, he builds a bridge for every historically interested reader. The history of Windy City is not only particularly interesting to her citizens, but also important for the understanding of the history of the West. This volume is number one out of five and covers the time from the period of discovery to the slavery issues of the town in the 19th century.

CHAPTER I - PERIOD OF DISCOVERY

THE discovery of the Upper Mississippi river, as well as that of the Chicago river, was made on the celebrated voyage of Joliet and Marquette in 1673. The beginning of the recorded history of Chicago dates from this year and this voyage, and its importance requires some account of the events which marked one of the most brilliant and daring enterprises in the annals of western adventure and exploration.

EARLY EXPLORERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI

The Mississippi had been discovered by a Spaniard, Hernando De Soto in 1541, at a point near the present city of Memphis; but this discovery had been well-nigh forgotten at the period of time here considered. That a great river existed, far to the north of the region where De Soto found and crossed the Mississippi, was well known to the French from the reports made to them by the Indians, vague and indefinite though they were; and these reports excited the imagination and stimulated the ambition of many of the adventurous spirits of the time. Nicollet, while descending the Wisconsin river in 1638, reached a point within three days' journey of its mouth before turning back, and thus narrowly missed making the discovery of the great river which was reserved for others to make more than a generation later. He supposed, however, that he was within that distance "from the sea," having misunderstood the information given him by the Indians. Father Allouez, while engaged in missionary labors on the shores of Lake Superior, heard of the Sioux and their great river, the "Messippi." In the Algonquin language, the name Mississippi, spelled in a variety of ways by the early chroniclers, meant "Great River."

It does not appear to have been suspected by any of the early French explorers that the Great River of which the Indians told them, was one and the same with that discovered by the Spanish explorer, more than a century before. Many conjectures were made as to where it reached the sea, on which point the Indians could give no reliable information. Some thought that it emptied into the "Sea of Virginia," others contended that it flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, while Frontenac, the governor of New France, was convinced that it discharged its waters into the Vermilion Sea, that is the Gulf of California; and that by way of it, a passage might be found to China.

Reports having reached France, regarding the "Great River of the West," as it was often spoken of, the French minister, Colbert, wrote to Talon, the Intendant at Quebec, in 1672, that efforts should be made "to reach the sea;" meaning to explore the great unknown river and solve the mystery of its outlet. This was followed by appropriate instructions. Father Dablon, in the "Jesuit Relations," says: "The Count Frontenac, our Governor, and Monsieur Talon, then our Intendant, recognizing the importance of this discovery [to be made],... appointed for this undertaking Sieur Joliet, whom they considered very fit for so great an enterprise; and they were well pleased that Father Marquette should be of the party."

JOLIET AND MARQUETTE TO EXPLORE MISSISSIPPI

They were not mistaken in the choice that they made of Louis Joliet. He was a native of Quebec, had been educated by the Jesuits, and had taken the minor orders of that priesthood at the age of seventeen. These he renounced in a few years and became a fur trader. At the time he was chosen to command the expedition, he was a young man twenty-eight years old, possessing all the qualifications that could be desired for such an undertaking; he had had experience among the Indians, and knew their language; "he had tact, prudence and courage, and, as the event proved, he fulfilled all the expectations which were entertained of him by his superiors. Father James Marquette was a Jesuit missionary, thirty-six years old, who for six years had been stationed at missions in the North. He was born in France, one of an honorable old family, and had entered the priesthood, impelled by his natural piety and religious enthusiasm. In 1666 he was sent to the Jesuit missions of Canada, and during the next few years learned to speak six Indian languages. In addition to his zeal for the conversion of the Indians, he was filled with a burning desire to behold the "Great River" of which he had heard so much. He was stationed at this time at St. Ignace, and here Joliet joined him late in the year 1672, and brought him the intelligence of his appointment to go with him in the conduct of the expedition. "I was all the more 'delighted at this good news" writes Marquette in his journal, "since I saw that my plans were about to be accomplished; and since I found myself in the blessed necessity of exposing my life for the salvation of all these peoples, and especially of the Illinois, who had very urgently entreated me, when I was at the point of St. Esprit, to carry the word of God to their country. " Here at St. Ignace they passed the winter.

As the spring advanced, they made the necessary preparations for their journey, the duration of which they could not foresee. In two bark canoes, manned by five Frenchmen, besides the two intrepid leaders, the party embarked, "fully resolved to do and suffer everything for so glorious an enterprise;" and on the 17th of May, 1673, the voyage began at the mission of St. Ignace. Father Marquette writes in his journal: "The joy that we felt at being selected for this expedition animated our courage, and rendered the labor of paddling from morning to night agreeable to us. And because we were going to seek unknown countries, we took every precaution in our power, so that if our undertaking were hazardous, it should not be foolhardy." The journal of Father Marquette is the principal source of our information, and is full of detail and written in a simple style. Joliet also kept a record and made a map, but, most unfortunately, all his papers were lost, by the upsetting of his canoe in the St. Lawrence, while he was returning to Quebec the following year to make a report of his discoveries. Thus it happens that Marquette's name is more frequently and prominently mentioned in all the accounts than that of Joliet.

The adventurous voyagers proceeded along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the only portion of the lake which had at that time been explored and entered Green Bay. They arrived at the mission established by Father Allouez two years before, and from here they began the difficult ascent of the Fox river. On its upper waters they stopped at a village of the Mascoutins, from whom they procured guides; and by these friendly savages they were conducted across the portage into the upper waters of the Wisconsin river, whence the travelers made their way alone. As the Indians turned back, they "marveled at the courage of seven white men, venturing alone in two canoes on a journey into unknown lands."

They were now embarked on the Wisconsin river and soon passed the utmost limits of Nicollet's voyage on this river made thirty-five years before. "It is very wide," writes Marquette, "and has a sandy bottom rendering the navigation difficult. It is full of islands covered with vines, and on the banks one sees fertile land, diversified with woods, prairies and hills." Their route ,lay to the southwest, and, after a voyage of seven days on this river, on the 17th day of June, just one month from the day they started from St. Ignace, they reached its mouth and steered their canoes forth upon the broad bosom of the Mississippi, "with a joy that I cannot express (avec une joye que je ne peux pas expliquer)," wrote Marquette.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER IS REACHED

"Here, then, we are," continues the good Father in his journal, "on this so renowned river." Westward, coming down to the water's edge, were lofty wooded hills intersected by deep gorges, fringed with foliage. Eastward were beautiful prairie lands; while great quantities of game — deer, buffalo and wild turkey— were seen everywhere. In the river were islands covered with trees and in the water they saw "monstrous fish," some of which they caught in their nets. Following the flow of the river, they note the changes in the scenery, while passing between shores of unsurpassed natural beauty, along which a chain of flourishing cities was afterwards to be built.

But it is still a far cry before the adventurers reach the portage and the river which in time came to bear the name of Chicago, and which is the chief concern of this narrative. They are now fairly on the way, a round-about way indeed, but none the less surely will they accomplish the journey and float their canoes on the still waters of its river and repose themselves on its grassy banks. The broad plain and woodland where the present city of Chicago stands with its throngs of humanity and its "unexampled prosperity," still remain in a state of primeval wildness, as yet unvisited by civilized men, and only await the arrival of our devoted band of explorers to make their remarkable natural features and situation known to the world and to future times. Many strange adventures by flood and field are before them, and we will continue to follow their advance into the unknown.

Steadily they followed the course of the river towards the south, and on the eighth day they saw, for the first time since entering the river, tracks of men near the water's edge, and they stopped to examine them. This point was near the mouth of the Des Moines river, and thus they were the first white men to place foot on the soil of Iowa. Leaving their men to guard the canoes the two courageous leaders followed a path two leagues to the westward, when they came in sight of an Indian village. As they approached, they gave notice of their arrival by a loud call, upon which the savages quickly came forth from their huts and regarded the strangers attentively. Some of their number who had evidently visited the mission stations recognized them as Frenchmen, and they responded to Marquette's greeting in a friendly manner and offered the calumet, or peace pipe, which greatly reassured the visitors. Four of the elders advanced and elevated their pipes towards the sun as a token of friendship; and, on Marquette's inquiring who they were, they replied, "we are Illinois;" at the same time inviting the strangers to walk to their habitations. An old man then made them a speech in which he said, "All our people wait for thee, and thou shalt enter our cabin in peace."

HOSPITALITY OF ILLINOIS INDIANS

The Illinois Indians lived at this time beyond the Mississippi, whither they had been driven by the fierce Iroquois from their former abode, near Lake Michigan. A few years later most of them returned to the east side and made their abode along the Illinois river. Indeed, as we shall see, Joliet and Marquette found a large village of them on the upper waters of the Illinois, while ascending that river a few weeks later. It may be remarked here, however, that the Illinois Indians never fully recovered from the disastrous defeats they suffered from the Iroquois, and held only a precarious possession of their lands along the Illinois river after that time; until a century later the last broken remnant of them was exterminated at Starved Rock by the Pottawattomies and Ottawas.

While still at the village of these Illinois Indians, a grand feast was prepared for the travelers, and they remained until the next day, when they made preparations for their departure. The chief presented them with "belts, garters, and other articles made of hair of bears and cattle [Buffalo], dyed red, yellow and gray." It will grieve those of our readers who have the collecting mania, to learn from the good father that "as they were of no great value, we did not burden ourselves with them."

But the chief made them two more gifts which were a valuable addition to their equipment namely, an Indian lad, the chief's own son, for a slave, and "an altogether mysterious calumet (un Calumet tout mysterieux), upon which the Indians place more value than upon a slave." The possession of this "mysterious calumet," was the means of placating several bands of hostile Indians, whom they met later in their journey. The chief, on learning their intention to proceed down the river "as far as the sea," attempted to dissuade them on account of the great dangers to which they would expose themselves. "I replied," says Marquette, "that I feared not death, and that I regarded no happiness as greater than that of losing my life for the glory of Him, who has made us all. This is what these poor people cannot understand." These were no idle words of Marquette's, for before the lapse of two years from that date, he died of privation and exposure, a martyr to the cause he had so much at heart.

The sequel to the story of the little Indian boy mentioned above was a sad one. He accompanied the voyagers to the end of their journey. In the following year, when Joliet was on his way to Quebec to make the report of his discoveries, his canoe was overturned in the rapids of the St. Lawrence near Montreal, as previously stated. The rest of the narrative is quoted from Mason's "Chapters from Illinois History." "His box of papers, containing his map and report, was lost, and he himself was rescued with difficulty. Two of his companions were drowned: one of these was the slave presented to him by the great chief of the Illinois, a little Indian lad ten years of age, whom he deeply regretted, describing him as of a good disposition, full of spirit, industrious and obedient, and already beginning to read and write the French language."

DANGERS AND WONDERS OF THE JOURNEY

On the departure of the party, Marquette promised the Indians to return to them the next year and instruct them. They embarked in the sight of the people, who had followed them to the landing to the number of some six hundred. The people admired the canoes and gave them a friendly farewell. We cannot fail to note the harmony which existed between the two leaders on this expedition, in such striking contrast with the bickerings and disagreements observed in the accounts of other expeditions of a like nature. For there is no severer test of the friendly relations between officers of an exploring expedition than a long absence in regions beyond the bounds of civilization. Joliet and Marquette were friends long before they started together on this journey, and both were single minded in their purpose to accomplish its objects. No more lovely character appears in the history of western adventure than that of Marquette, a man who endeared himself to all whom he came in contact with, and made himself an example for all time. Joliet, in turn, "was the foremost explorer of the West," says Mason, "a man whose character and attainments and public services made him a man of high distinction in his own day."

Continuing their journey the voyagers passed...

Table of contents

• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER I - PERIOD OF DISCOVERY
• CHAPTER II - FRENCH DOMINATION— 1671
• CHAPTER III - CHICAGO IN THE 18TH CENTURY
• CHAPTER IV - CHICAGO FROM 1803 TO 1812
• CHAPTER V - FORT DEARBORN MASSACRE
• CHAPTER VI -REBUILDING OF FORT DEARBORN
• CHAPTER VII - EARLY VISITORS AND RESIDENTS
• CHAPTER VIII - NATURAL FEATURES OF CHICAGO
• CHAPTER IX - WINNEBAGO WAR — BEGINNINGS OF CHICAGO'S GROWTH
• CHAPTER X - THE BLACK HAWK WAR
• CHAPTER XI - INDIAN REMOVAL— ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL
• CHAPTER XII - GROWTH OF CHICAGO DURING THE THIRTIES
• CHAPTER XIII – ERA OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS
• CHAPTER XIV - EDUCATION IN CHICAGO
• CHAPTER XV - EDUCATION IN CHICAGO— (continued)
• CHAPTER XVI – MEN OF THE THIRTIES— JOHN WENTWORTH, AND OTHERS
• CHAPTER XVII - PROPHECIES AND REALITY— NEWBERRY LIBRARY, ETC.
• CHAPTER XVIII - RIVER AND HARBOR CONVENTION— NEWSPAPERS, ETC.
• CHAPTER XIX - RELIGIOUS HISTORY
• CHAPTER XX - SLAVERY ISSUES IN CHICAGO