INTRODUCTORY.
The records from which I prepared the "History of Chicago" for the Democratic Press, in the winter of 1854, were all burned in our great fire of 1871. Though at first sight this history may not seem to be of much importance, it may interest somebody "a hundred years hence" to read what was recorded by our earliest settlers.
They may like also to see the names of our pioneers, who in spite of every discouragement made their homes in Chicago. For several years the Democratic Press published annually an exhaustive review of our railway system and its progress; also of the Commerce of the city, and other matters tending to illustrate its growth and future prospects. From those which I prepared myself I have made a few extracts, simply to show facts as they then existed. The brief addresses are inserted for the same purpose. In that at Des Moines, Jan. 22, 1873, will be found a short description of the proposed Georgian Bay Canal. I believe I have the only complete file of the paper in which these articles were published; the others having been destroyed by the fire of 1871. This is another reason for republishing them; and, besides, as I said in my recent lecture, "I recognize the duty of placing on record—as myself and others doubtless have often been urged to do—what I know personally of the history of Chicago. Though this may require a too frequent use of the personal pronoun, if each citizen would do it, Chicago would have what no other city has—a history from its earliest times by its living inhabitants." Need I make any further apology for any apparent egotism that may appear in the following pages?
W. B. CHICAGO, March, 1876.
History of Chicago
1852.
The past has been a year of unexampled prosperity, and our city has shared largely in the general progress of the country. In no former year has so much been done to place its business upon a permanent basis, and extend its commerce. By the extension of the Galena Railroad to Rockford, we have drawn to this city the trade of portions of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, that hitherto sought other markets; and when our roads reach the Father of Waters, as two of them will within the present year, we may expect an avalanche of business, for which we fear all our wholesale houses will not be prepared.
The opening of the Rock Island Railroad, Oct 18th to Joliet, Jan. 5th to Morris, Feb. 14th to Ottawa, and to La Salle March 10th, has brought customers during the winter from a different direction, and made an unusually "lively winter" for our business men. The extension of this and other roads must tend to add to our activity and permanent prosperity in an increasing ratio.
In order that the files of the Democratic Press may be perfect as a source for future reference, we avail ourselves of the labors of one of its editors while connected with another paper, and republish a statement prepared by him, of the business of the city prior to the year 1851.
The press of the city, previous to the year 1849, neglected to publish connected statements of the business of the city; but we are nevertheless not without some recorded facts of the past, which will serve to show how rapid has been the growth of Chicago, how great the increase of her commerce. In some of the earliest "Directories," we find collected various interesting statistics on this subject, which, although not as full as could be wished, are yet highly satisfactory in the absence of more definite statements. Through the politeness of T. HOYNE, Esq., we have been placed in possession of a memorial to Congress, praying for an appropriation for the improvement of the Chicago harbor, embodying statistics from 1836 to 1842, inclusive. We also find in the Report of the late Judge Thomas, made in compliance with a resolution of the River and Harbor Convention, which assembled in this city in 1847, the fullest collection of the commercial statistics of Chicago from 1836 up to 1848, that, we presume, is extant. From these three sources we compile the following facts, which will be read with interest by every one identified with the prosperity of our city.
Up to the year 1836, provisions, for domestic consumption, were imported along with articles of merchandise; and indeed, many articles of necessary food continued to be brought in for several years later. In 1836 there were exported from the port of Chicago, articles of produce of the value of $1,000.64. We have felt a great curiosity to know what articles constituted this first year's business, but have sought in vain for any other record save that which gives the value. The next year, the exports had increased to $11,065; in 1838 they reached the sum of $16,044.75. In 1839 they more than doubled the year previous, while in 1840 they had increased to what was then doubtless regarded as the very large sum of $328,635.74! This was progressing in a ratio very seldom equalled in the history of cities, and must have caused no little exhilaration among the business men of Chicago, as well as advanced the views of fortunate holders of water and corner lots.
We are informed in Judge Thomas' Report, that a "small lot of beef was shipped from Chicago as early as 1833, and was followed each successive year by, a small consignment of this article, and also of pork." Some idea of the extent of the first consignment may be formed from the fact that three years after, the total exports of the place were valued at $1,000.64. It was truly a small beginning, and gave but slight promise of the great extent to which, as the sequel will show, this branch of business has grown. The same authority informs us that the first shipment of wheat from this port was made in the year 1839. In 1842 the amount shipped reached 586,907 bushels, and in 1848, 2,160,000 bushels were shipped out of the port of Chicago. Since that period there has been a material falling off until the past year, in the annual exports of wheat, owing to a partial failure of the crop each succeeding year, and from the fact that farmers are paying more attention to other products.
CITY IMPROVEMENTS.
Our time and limits will not permit us to enter into a detailed statement of the improvements made for the past year. Suffice it to say, that more progress has been made than at any former period. Elegant residences have been built in all parts of the city, splendid blocks of stores have been erected on bur principal streets, and the limits of the inhabited part of the city have been greatly extended.
On the 20th of February, 1852, the Michigan Southern Railroad was opened to this city. The depot is located near Gurnee's Tannery, on the South Branch. The Rock Island Railroad have built their depot directly opposite. A year since, there were only a few old buildings in that neighborhood, and it was considered far "out of town." Now nearly the whole of Clark street is built up as far south as the depot, and there has been an important addition made to the city where, a year since, it was open prairie.
The Michigan Central Railroad was opened to Chicago on Friday, May 21st. Grounds for the depot were leased a short distance below Twelfth street, on the lake shore.
The buildings are temporary, as it is intended to establish the depot for this road and the Illinois Central, between the foot of Randolph street and the south pier.
Hence no permanent buildings have been put up where the depot now stands, and no very considerable addition has been made to the city in that vicinity.
In the summer season, both these lines furnish a direct steam communication with the cities on the seaboard. About the 1st of January last, all the railroad lines along the south shore of Lake Erie were completed, and these, with the Erie Railroad and the Michigan Southern, give us a direct railroad line to New York. This has formed an era in the history of Chicago, which will always be regarded with interest. Our merchants who, in the depth of winter, were obliged to consume some two weeks in staging through Canada mud "up to the hub," in order to purchase their goods for the spring trade, can now go through, and enjoy the luxury of a comfortable railroad car, in two days. In the course of the year, the Canada Railroad, connecting Detroit with Buffalo, will be finished—when we shall have a choice of routes to the East, at all seasons; and within two or three years, the Fort Wayne and Logansport Railroads will open two other routes.
CONCLUSION.
The facts above given, we think, will convince the most skeptical, that the march of improvement at the West is onward. They show an increase in population, wealth and resources, which must prove exceedingly gratifying to all our citizens. They will serve to extend the conviction, now almost universal, that Chicago is destined to become the great commercial centre of the Northwest, and among the first, if not the first, city in the Mississippi Valley. Her position at the head of a thousand miles of lake navigation, gives her a commanding influence. She has no levee to be inundated, causing the destruction of millions of property. Neither is she situated upon a river, whose navigable capacity the clearing up of the country will be liable to affect. She is subject to no floods nor inundations. To the north, west and south, almost boundless prairies and groves are inviting the toil of the husbandman to develop their treasures and yield a rich reward to honest industry.
In all the elements of wealth, their resources are exhaustless. The mineral treasures of Lake Superior will soon pay tribute to Chicago; and our railroads in a few months will have reached the lead regions of the Galena district. The Rock Island and the Illinois Central Railroads will soon penetrate the most extensive coal field in the United States, and in fact in the world, and our commerce, and more especially our manufactures, must increase in a ratio far beyond what has hitherto been realized. Within the next five years the railroads that will be completed and centre in this city will extend more than three thousand miles. If we should add the extensions of these trunk lines to their ultimate limits, their aggregate lengths would amount to tens of thousands. Within five years we expect to be in railroad connection with Milwaukee and Madison, Wis., with Dubuque and Council Bluffs, Rock Island, St. Louis, Cairo, New Orleans, Mobile, Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S. C., Richmond, Va., Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Portland, and "the rest of mankind." A bright future is therefore before the "GARDEN CITY." Let our merchants and mechanics, our artisans and business men generally, understand the advantages which our commanding commercial position affords. Let them, with becoming prudence, but with far-seeing, intelligent views as to what the spirit of the age and the stirring times in which we live demand, gird themselves for the work of making Chicago the great commercial emporium of the Mississippi Valley. The prize is within their grasp; let them show the world that they are worthy, and the rich commerce of the prairies and the lakes will most certainly crown their efforts with success. —From the Annual Review of the Democratic Press, for the year 1852.
The figures embodied in this review have been quoted in every succeeding document of the kind, and being accessible in the Board of Trade Reports every year, need not be repeated here.
HISTORY OF CHICAGO.
1853.
In the winter of 1854, I prepared and published four articles, on the business and progress of the city for the year previous. Of these articles, in pamphlet form, we sold 15,000 copies, besides an immense edition of the paper containing them. Our citizens scattered them all over this country and Europe, and it was believed at the time that they had a marked effect upon the growth and prosperity of the city. The first one, entitled
CHICAGO AND HER RAILROADS,
was issued January 31st. The following extracts are from the closing paragraphs of that article:
As the mathematician, after he has wearied himself amid the intricacies of long, difficult theorems, at length arrives at the summation of the series, so it remains for us to give a synopsis of our article, that our readers may the better be able to comprehend the great railroad system that has its centre in Chicago.
The following is the total number of roads in process of construction, with the proposed extension and branches of each:
MILES. Chicago and Milwaukee, 90 Milwaukee and Fond du Lac, 60 Racine and Beloit Railroad, 65 Illinois and Wisconsin to Janesville, 88 1/2 Fond du Lac Branch, Janesville to Fond du Lac, 78 Madison Branch, 35 South Wisconsin, Janesville to Dubuque, 98 Galena and Chicago Union, Chicago to Freeport, 121 Fox River Valley Railroad, 34 Wisconsin Central, 150 Beloit Branch of the Galena, 20 Beloit and Madison Railroad, 47 1/2 Milwaukee and Mississippi, Western Division, Madison to Prairie du Chien, 96 Madison and St. Paul Railroad, 300 Milwaukee and LaCrosse, Western Division, 180 Madison and Lake Superior, 275 Chicago and Galena Air Line, Chicago to Fulton City, 135 Lyons Iowa Central, Fulton to Council Bluffs, 308 Chicago, St. Charles and Mississippi Air Line to Savanna, 130 Chicago and St. Charles Branch to Galena, 30 Galena and Minnesota, 250 Iowa Central Air Line, 325 Chicago and Aurora Railroad to Mendota, 89 Central Military Tract Railroad, 84 Peoria and Oquawka, Western Division, 40 Burlington and Missouri Railroad, 220 Northern Cross Railroad, Galesburg to Quincy, 120 Hannibal and Missouri, 205 Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, 181 Mississippi and Missouri, 1st Division, 300 Mississippi and Missouri, 2d Division, 300 Mississippi and Missouri, 3d Division, Muscatine to Cedar Rapids, 50 Peoria and Bureau Valley Railroad, 47 Peoria and Warsaw Railroad, 90 Peoria and Hannibal Railroad, 120 Peoria to Illinoistown, opposite St. Louis, 180 Peoria and Oquawka, Eastern Division, 50 Chicago and Mississippi, Alton to Chicago, 265 Great Western, Naples to Springfield, 65 Alton, Illinoistown and Murphysboro, 114 Illinois Central Railroad, 704 Wabash Valley Railroad, 360 Chicago and Logansport Railroad to Cincinnati, 280 Fort Wayne and Chicago, 145 Mich. South, and North. Indiana, 242 Cincinnati, Peru and Chicago Railroad, 70 Michigan Central Railroad, 282 New Albany and Salem Railroad, 284
Total—14 Trunk and 34 Extension and Branch Lines - 7,803
But lest any venerable "croaker," "with spectacles on nose," should still be in doubt as to our commercial facilities, we submit one more list.
The following table exhibits the number of railroads that are now in operation, leading into this city, with the number of miles that are now completed:
MILES. Illinois and Wisconsin, to Deer Grove, 32 Galena and Chicago Union, to Freeport, 121 Beloit Branch of the Galena, 20 Galena Air Line, to Lane, Ogle Co., 75 Chicago, St. Charles and Mississippi Air Line, 10 Chicago and Aurora, 89 Chicago and Rock Island, 181 Chicago and Mississippi, Alton to Bloomington, 132 Great Western, Naples to Springfield, 65 Illinois Central, 252 Mich. South, and North. Indiana, to Toledo, 242 Michigan Central, 282 New Albany and Salem, 284
Total—10 Trunk and 3 Branch and Extension Lines - 1,785
On these roads there will be daily leaving and entering the city, on the first of May next, forty-six trains, making, in all, ninety-two trains per day over the roads, to accommodate our travel and commerce. Here is a fact, which, had we time, it would be worth while to stop and contemplate. A fact of still greater significance is, that less than two years ago we had only one railroad entering the city—the Galena and Chicago Union—and that was finished only a few miles. Now we have 1,785 miles, counting only two States from our own, and by the first of December we shall have 2,979 1/2 miles. Can it be wondered at that our city has doubled its population within the same time, and that the price of real estate and business of all kinds have increased in a corresponding ratio. Splendid fortunes have been made in two years. Men who were trading in small, seven-by-nine wooden tenements, now find a splendid brick store too small to accommodate their customers. Real estate in the suburbs of the city that could have been bought five years ago for fifty dollars per acre, is now worth five thousand, and many fortunate speculators have realized splendid fortunes. The rise in real estate is by no means confined to a few shrewd operators. From the first our citizens generally have been determined to have a home of their own. Generally they would purchase a lot eighty feet front, and often four or even ten times that amount. The rise in the value of their homes, so much larger than was necessary in a city, has placed many a family in easy circumstances.
But will some cautious wiseacre ask, Are these things to continue? We will not stop to answer the question, but will simply say, on the first of January next we shall have 3,000 miles of railroad leading into the city, and by a year from that time it will be entirely safe to add another thousand. How much it will augment the business of the city, and appreciate the value of real estate to double the miles of railroad centreing here, and to double the population of the city, and also of the magnificent country which is tributary to it, we shall leave the ultra cautious to estimate. The railroads will certainly be finished, but we shall not hazard an opinion as to the population of the city or the price of real estate on the first of January, 1856. We hope to be wiser then, and we know our readers will, if we and they live to see that "happy new year." Time will show.
There is another most important fact that should be considered, in speaking of Chicago, as a great railroad centre. She has not, in her corporate capacity, invested a single dollar in any of them. While the bonds of other cities are hawked about in Wall street to build railroads that in turn are expected to build the cities in which they terminate, Chicago has prudently kept aloof from all such dangerous speculations. All our roads have been projected and will be built by private enterprise. This shows that capitalists have placed abundant confidence in our commercial position, and the result is demonstrating most clearly that they have judged correctly. We refer to this matter with peculiar satisfaction, and we are sure it will have an important bearing in shaping the future destiny of the city.
It may be answered, that the city would have made large sums by investing her credit in railroad stocks. It is true that Galena stock, and that of several of our other roads, sell at prices that astonish Eastern capitalists, who are ignorant of the resources of the Central States, and the cheapness with which our roads are built. The stock, however, sells for no more than it is really worth, and we should not be surprised to see it attain a much higher figure. But experience has shown that, where cities become involved in extensive schemes of internal improvement, corrupt demagogues generally find means to fatten upon the public treasury, and, in the end, bring ruin and disgrace upon the community whose confidence they had managed to secure. From all such dangers Chicago is entirely free. She has, it is true, issued her bonds to construct the waterworks, and she has, in addition, a small floating debt. But the water works will, in a few years, liquidate the debt contracted for their construction, and she can, without serious inconvenience, pay all her other liabilities in, at most, three or five years. The important fact is worth repeating, that Chicago, a city that will have three thousand miles of railroad in operation centreing in it, on the first of January next, DOES NOT OWE A SINGLE DOLLAR FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTION.
Our task is accomplished. We ask our citizens to contemplate the magnificent system of public works that has been completed in two short years. The past is certain.
To the future let us look, and gird ourselves for the work that is before us. From almost every place in the Union, and from across the wide Atlantic, the industrious and the enterprising are seeking a home in the "Garden City." Let us give them a warm-hearted, generous welcome. Along our broad streets, or upon our wide-spread, beautiful prairies, we have ample room for them all. Let them come and identify themselves with the great central commercial city of the Central States!
HISTORY OF CHICAGO. FEBRUARY, 1854.
After we published our article on "CHICAGO AND HER RAILROADS," Jan. 31st, it occurred to us that a short sketch of the history of Chicago would not prove unacceptable to our readers. At first we intended merely a brief notice, to show her rapid growth, in connection with our Annual Review of the business of the city.
The more we studied the subject, and consulted those who have been here since the wolves were accustomed to visit every part of the city in the night, and the wigwam of the painted savage dotted the prairie on every side, the more have facts accumulated upon our hands, till now our only difficulty is to know what to reject. The rapid growth of the city within the last eight years—her immense increase in wealth and population—the proud position she has assumed among the commercial cities of the Union, and the certainty that her march will be ONWARD, till she yields in importance only to New York, have created a very general desire among a portion of our own citizens, and especially in the Eastern States, to know more of her past history as well as her present resources and future prospects. The history of Chicago is intimately connected with the settlement and growth of the other parts of the State, and it will be equally interesting to notice in a few paragraphs some facts in relation to the settlement of this part of the Mississippi Valley.
The origin of the term Illinois is given in the "Western Annals," edited by Rev. J. M. Peck, as follows: "The name Illinois is derived from Leno, 'man.' The Delaware Indians call themselves Lenno-Lenape, which means 'original, or unmixed men.' The term manly men, to distinguish themselves from mean, trifling men, would convey the exact idea. The tribes along the Illinois gave the French explorers to understand that they were real men. They said 'leno,' or 'leni.' The termination "ois" is undoubtedly of French origin. As all strange and uncouth sounds are liable to be mis-spelled, it is very easy to see from the above how the beautiful name which our State bears was formed from the language of the first monarchs of the soil.
The "Illini," or Illinois Indians, occupied all the territory north of a line drawn northeast and southwest through the city of Ottawa, extending east to the Wabash, and west to the Mississippi river. The term was also applied to an indefinite territory west of the Mississippi.
The first white men who ever visited this region were Marquette and Joliet, two Jesuit missionaries, who explored this section of the Mississippi Valley in the years 1682-3. Hennepin and La Salle followed a few years later, and as a consequence of these several explorations and discoveries, a magnificent scheme was formed by France to extend her possessions from Canada to New Orleans, and thus having embraced the entire inhabited portion of the Western Continent, to advance eastward, and secure the authority over the vast empire which her eminent statesmen even then foresaw must ere long occupy this magnificent country. The plan was well arranged, and its accomplishment constantly kept in view for nearly a hundred years by the adventurous sons of La Belle France, but it was completely overthrown by the gallant Wolfe on the plains of Abraham, on the 13th of September, 1759. As a consequence of that victory, Canada fell into the hands of the English. The war of the Revolution transferred the northwestern possessions of the British to the United States, and the purchase of Louisiana by Mr. Jefferson from the French in 1803, gave us the possession of the entire Mississippi Valley. The wisdom of that purchase, though strenuously opposed at the time, is acknowledged by all parties.
Early in the Revolutionary war, Col. G. R. Clark had formed the design of attacking the forts of the British at Detroit and in Southern Illinois, and laid his plans before the Virginia Legislature. On the 2d of January, 1778, he received authority from Patrick Henry, then Governor of that State, to raise troops and to march westward on his bold and hazardous enterprise. This expedition was successful, and as a consequence, Virginia laid claim to the territory north and west of the Ohio river. This claim was acknowledged by the other States, and Illinois was organized as a county of Virginia in October, 1778. The act was practically inoperative, as we can not find that any one in behalf of that State carried the law into effect. From that time till 1784 there was no legal authority in the State. The people were "a law unto themselves," and to the credit of the earlier settlers, the annalist adds, that "good feelings, harmony and fidelity to engagements prevailed."
In March, 1784, Virginia ceded to the United States all her claim to the territory northwest of the Ohio; and in 1790 Gov. St. Clair organized the county which bears his name. From the year 1800 to 1809 Illinois was attached to the Territory of Indiana. In February of the latter year Congress passed an act establishing the Territory of Illinois, and appointed the Hon. Ninian Edwards, then Chief Justice of Kentucky, Governor of the Territory, and Nathaniel Pope, Esq., of Kaskaskia, Secretary. The Territory was organized by Judge Pope, in March, and Gov. Edwards arrived in June, and assumed the duties of his office.
The first Territorial Legislature convened at Kaskaskia on the 25th of November, 1812; the Council, or Upper House, consisting of five, and the Assembly of seven members. The author of the "Western Annals" says of this body: "They did their work like men devoted to business matters. Not a lawyer nor an attorney is found on the list of names. They deliberated like sensible men—passed such laws as they deemed the country needed; made no speeches, had no contention, and after a brief session of some ten or twelve days, adjourned." We are sorry to say, that this good example has had too little influence upon succeeding Legislatures.
In 1815, Hon. Nathaniel Pope was elected as Representative of the Territory in Congress. The north line of the Territory, as originally defined, ran due west from the south bend of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. Judge Pope, seeing the importance of having a lake front in the future State of Illinois, procured the passage of an act extending that line north to the parallel of 42 degrees and 30 minutes, thus securing a most important portion of territory from our sister State of Wisconsin.
Congress passed an act in 1818, approved by James Monroe, April 18th, authorizing the people to form a State Government provided it should be ascertained that it contained 40,000 inhabitants. All accounts agree in estimating the total number of people at about 30,000; but the different marshals, by accidentally counting the emigrants, who were coming in or passing through the State several times, made out the full number. Delegates to form a constitution were elected, who met at Kaskaskia in July, 1818, and having completed their labors, they signed the constitution, and adjourned on the 26th day of August. The constitution was adopted by the people, and the first Legislature convened at Kaskaskia, on the first Monday in October following. Shadrach Bond, of Kaskaskia, was elected Governor, and Pierre Menard, of the same place, Lieut. Governor.
It will be seen from the above, that it is not yet thirty-six years since our State Government was formed; a State which has now more than a million of inhabitants, and whose principal commercial city has more than 60,000 inhabitants, and 1,785 miles of railroad completed, contributing to its prosperity. By the first of January next it will have 3,000 miles finished and in operation.
We have found a great deal that is both instructive and amusing in the early legislation of the State, but we have room for only a single incident. It must be borne in mind, that the first settlements were made in the southern parts of the State, by emigrantsk principally from Virginia, Kentucky, and some of the other Southern States. Many of them had a sort of "holy horror" for that ubiquitous, ever-trading sharper, "the live Yankee." To guard against his depredations, a law was passed, February 14th, 1823, duly enacting, that "No person shall bring in and peddle, or sell, wooden clocks in this State, unless they first take out an extra license;" for which the price was $50. The penalty for violating the law was fixed at the same sum. This "said sum" would make a sad inroad upon Jonathan's profits, and hence, under the impulses of his "higher law" notions of the value of money, he pursued his "chosen calling" without any regard to the majesty of the law in such case made and provided." He was of course arrested, and in due form arraigned before the court of Fayette county. The fact of "selling" was not denied, "but it appeared in evidence that one Yankee brought them "in" across the river at St. Louis—and another "sold" them. The counsel for the prisoner—our fellow- citizen, Wm. H. Brown, Esq.—contended that it must be shown that the prisoner did both "bring in and peddle or sell." Jonathan, as usual, escaped, and went on his way "peddling" and "selling" his wooden wares. We believe his "Yankeeship" has always, since the failure of that law to "head him off" been permitted to exercise his peculiar habits without "let or hindrance."
The history of our city is very intimately connected with that of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The idea of a canal connecting the waters of the Lakes with those of the Mississippi, was suggested as early as 1814. In Niles' Register of August 6th the following paragraph may be found:
"By the Illinois river it is probable that Buffalo, in New York, may be united with New Orleans by inland navigation, through Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan, and down that river to the Mississippi. What a route! How stupendous the idea! How dwindles the importance of the artificial canals of Europe compared to this water communication. If it should ever take place—and it is said the opening may be easily made—the Territory (of Illinois) will become the seat of an immense commerce, and a market for the commodities of all regions."
How strange to us appear some of the expressions in this paragraph. Then, all west of Ohio was an unbroken wilderness inhabited only by savages, with here and there a fort or trading post, and a few small French settlements along the Mississippi. Little did the writer think that in only thirty-four years his "stupendous idea" would become a common-place reality, and that in less than forty years a city of more than sixty thousand people would be reposing in quiet dignity at the northern terminus, of that canal! What an "immense commerce" that city has enjoyed the past year, the sequel of this article is designed to show.
At the first session of the Illinois Legislature in 1818, Gov. Bond brought the subject of a canal from Lake Michigan to the Illinois river prominently before that body, and his successor, Gov. Coles, in 1822 devoted a large space in his message to the elucidation of the same topic. By an act passed February 14th, 1823, a Board of Canal Commissioners was appointed, and in the autumn of that year a portion of the Board, with Col. J. Post, of Missouri, as Chief Engineer, made a tour of reconnoisance; and in the autumn of 1824, Col. R. Paul, an able engineer, residing at St. Louis, was also employed. Five different routes were surveyed, and estimates made of the cost of the canal. The highest estimate was $716,110.
At this time, 1823, only thirty-one years ago, the Sangamon river and Fulton county were the northern boundaries of civilization, and in that region there were only a very few inhabitants. The whole northern portion of the State was still under the dominion of the wolf and the savage, with no prospect of its settlement or an indefinite time to come. The leading idea of the citizens of the south half of the State, where the population was then concentrated, was to open a water communication for them by the Lakes and the Erie Canal with New York City.
On January 18th, 1825, an act was passed to "incorporate the Illinois and Michigan Canal Company, with a capital of $1,000,000." As the stock was not taken, a subsequent Legislature repealed the charter. In the meantime, our Senators and Representatives in Congress were urging upon that body the passage of an act granting to this State lands to aid in the construction of the proposed canal. The Hon. Daniel P. Cook, from whom this county is named, has the credit of leading in this movement. Accordingly, on the 2d of March, 1827, Congress granted to the State of Illinois every alternate section in a belt of country extending six miles on each side of the canal. Owing to financial embarrassment, nothing effectual was done till January 22d, 1829, when the Legislature passed a law organizing a Canal Board, and appointed Dr. Jayne, of Springfield, Edmund Roberts, of Kaskaskia, and Charles Dunn, Commissioners. These Commissioners were empowered, among other things, to locate the canal, lay out towns, to sell lots, and to apply the proceeds to the construction of the canal.
In the autumn of 1829 the Commissioners came to Chicago, having employed James Thompson to survey and lay off the town. His first map bears date August 4th, 1830. It is in the Recorder's office.
Hon. S. D. Lockwood, now a resident of Batavia, Kane county, came up with the Commissioners in the autumn of 1829. We are indebted to him and to Wm. H. Brown, Esq., for much valuable information in reference to the early history of the State. Both these gentlemen are among the oldest citizens in Illinois, as they landed at Shawneetown in 1818, the same year the Constitution was adopted. We have the men among us who have seen the State in her infancy, and now look upon her with pride, assuming a commanding position among the oldest States of the Union.
The list of families residing here in the autumn of 1829, as given by Judge Lockwood, is as follows: John Kinzie, the father of our present excellent Alderman, John H. Kinzie, resided on the north side, a little west of McCormick's factory, West of Mr. Kinzie's, near the site of the Galena Railroad's freight depot, east of Clark street, lived Dr. Wolcott, son-in-law of Mr. Kinzie; Dr. Wolcott was, at the time, Indian Agent. Near the forks of the river, a little west of where Steele's warehouse now stands, John Miller kept a "log tavern." On the south side, near the present residence of James H Collins, Esq., a little south of the old fort, was the house of John B. Beaubien. Besides these, there were some three or four Indian traders living in log cabins on the west side.
There were, of course, the officers and men connected with Fort Dearborn. Perhaps we may as well pause here and notice the building of the fort, and some other facts connected with our earlier history. It was built by the Government in 1804, and manned with a company of about fifty men and three pieces of artillery. Everything remained quiet till 1812, when the war broke out with Great Britain, and our Government, apprehensive that so distant a post among the savages could not be maintained, ordered it to be evacuated. The commander was required to distribute the government property among the Indians, and to march with his troops to Fort Wayne.
The fort was at that time well supplied with provisions and military stores, and might have maintained a siege for a long time against any force that the Indians could have brought against it; and nearly all the officers remonstrated against carrying out the instructions; but Capt. Heald determined to obey to the letter the orders of his superiors. The Pottawatomies were well known to be hostile, but Capt. Heald called a council on the 12th of August, 1812, and laid the propositions of the Government before them, asking in return, an escort to Fort Wayne. This the Indians promised to give. The distribution was to be made the next day. During the night, lest the guns and ammunition which they would necessarily be forced to leave, might prove a dangerous gift to the savages, the powder was thrown into the well, and the guns were broken and destroyed. The liquor shared the same fate. The cannon were thrown into the river.
The next day the Indians came together to receive the presents, but their countenances betokened anger and deep-seated revenge when only the goods of the United States factory were distributed among them. They charged the whites with bad faith, and left with feelings aroused to the highest pitch of resentment. In the afternoon Capt. Wells, the brother of Mrs. Heald, arrived from Fort Wayne with fifteen friendly Miami Indians, to act as a guard in the retreat that was to follow.
On the morning of the 15th of August the troops took up their line of march for Fort Wayne. Capt. Wells, with the friendly Miamis, acted as the advance guard, and a band of Pottawatomies, according to the stipulations made three days previous, followed at a short distance in the rear. They had proceeded in this order along the Lake shore about a mile and a half, to a point near the residence of Mrs. Clarke, when they were suddenly attacked by a party of Pottawatomies, who lay in ambush behind the sand hills upon the right of their line of march. Capt. Heald immediately ordered his men to form and charge the enemy, which movement was scarcely effected before they received a volley of balls from their savage foe. The troops did not flinch for a moment, but charged and dislodged the Indians in front; but their great numbers enabled them at once to turn the flanks of the troops, and to gain possession of the horses and baggage. At the first fire the Miamis galloped off, and could not be induced to join in the action. Capt. Heald, confident that further resistance was entirely vain, withdrew his troops to a small elevation, and awaited the movements of the enemy. They held a council, and soon their chiefs, of whom Black Partridge was the leader, motioned Capt. Heald to approach. They met, and Capt. Heald agreed to surrender, on condition that the lives of the prisoners should be spared. The troops delivered up their arms, and were marched back to the fort. The loss in the action, and in the subsequent massacre—for the Indians did not fully comply with their agreement— was twenty-six of the regular troops, twelve—being the entire number of the militia—two women and twelve children—in all, fifty-two. The children were placed in a baggage wagon, and fell victims to the tomahawk of a single merciless savage, after the troops had surrendered. Capt. Wells was among the slain. Capt. Heald and his wife were also wounded, as also were Lieut, and Mrs. Helm.
The next day the fort was plundered and burnt, and the prisoners were distributed in various directions. The family of Mr. Kinzie were taken across to St. Joseph in a Mackinaw boat, and subsequently to Detroit. In due time the prisoners were ransomed, and found their way to their Eastern friends. No effort was made to re-establish the fort during the war. In 1816 it was rebuilt under the direction of Capt. Bradley. It continued to be occupied by a company of troops till 1837, when, the Indians having left the country for a long distance west of us, it was abandoned. On a part of the grounds of the fort our magnificent Marine Hospital now stands. The buildings occupied by the officers are most of them standing. To us the object of greatest interest is the old block house, and we wish here to put in an earnest plea that it may be preserved as long as one log will "lie upon the other." It is about the only relic of "hoary antiquity" in our city worth preserving. It was built thirty- eight years ago, when the whole country was filled with savages. Let it be surrounded with a neat iron fence, that we may be able to illustrate to our children the nature of the defenses which the early settlers of Chicago were obliged to adopt. Let the giant arm of modern improvement, if necessary, sweep away every other vestige of Fort Dearborn, but let the shrill scream of the locomotive, as it brings up its long train of cars from the Gulf of Mexico, or rests from its labors after the mighty race of a thousand miles from the Atlantic seaboard, age after age, echo around this humble, but significant monument of the past.
Our "oldest inhabitant," at least in one view of the subject, is our excellent fellow citizen, Alderman John H. Kinzie. He was born in Canada, nearly opposite Detroit, and when an infant only a few months old, was brought to this city by his parents in 1804. He is a son of John Kinzie, mentioned above as an Indian trader.
Mr. Kinzie settled here in that capacity in 1804, when the fort was first built. Our fellow citizen, Gurdon S. Hubbard, Esq., came here in 1818, and was then in the employ of the American Fur Company, at the head of which was John Jacob Astor. He frequently was in the town for several days or weeks at a time, but neither Mr. Kinzie nor Mr. Hubbard were settled here permanently till 1833 or 1834. Mr, Kinzie spent his boyhood here, but was afterwards located at Mackinaw and on the Upper Mississippi for many years.
Our oldest permanent resident in the city is Col. R. J. Hamilton. In this view of the case, he is certainly entitled to the honor of being the "OLDEST INHABITANT." He came here April 9th, 1831, and this has been his home ever since. G. W. Dole, Esq., came here May 4th, 1831, and P. F. W. Peck, Esq., July 15th of the same year.
But though not living in the city limits, A. Clybourne, Esq., has been identified with it, or rather with the place that became Chicago, since August 5th, 1823. He has resided since that time on the west side of the North Branch, about three miles from Lake street bridge. The city limits extend north of his residence on the east side of the river. We have given the dates when each of these gentlemen came to Chicago, and some of the circumstances connected with the claims of each to the important distinction of being the "oldest inhabitant," and here we leave the decision to our readers, satisfied that neither of them would have dared to predict even ten years ago what Chicago would be in the year 1854.
So far as we have been able to learn, the "oldest inhabitant" born in Chicago, and now living here, is a lady—we beg pardon for saying it—she is an unmarried lady. Be not amazed, ye spruce, anxious bachelors, and if you can count your gray hairs by scores, stand aside, for we are quite sure there is no chance for you. She is not only an unmarried lady, but a YOUNG LADY, only twenty-two years of age, as she was born in Fort Dearborn in the early part of 1832. We have not the pleasure of her acquaintance, and at the peril of incurring her displeasure, we venture to state that the "oldest native inhabitant" of Chicago, a city of more than 60,000 people, is Miss Ellen Hamilton, the daughter of our good friend, Col. R. J. Hamilton.
In 1818, when Gurdon S. Hubbard, Esq., came to Chicago, there were but two white families here. John Kinzie lived on the north side, a little west of where McCormick's factory now stands. Antoine Oulimette, a French trader, who had married an Indian woman, lived near the ground now occupied by the Lake House. The fort was occupied by a detachment of troops under the command of Captain Bradley. The American Fur Company had trading posts at convenient distances all through this country. At that time only a single schooner of 30 or 40 tons was sent around from Buffalo with provisions for the fort, during the summer season.
In the fall of 1828, the Winnebagoes, who inhabited the territory west of us, became restless, and threatened the destruction of the fort. Our fellow citizen, Gurdon S. Hubbard, Esq., went alone on horseback to the settlements on the Wabash, and procured reinforcements. He was absent only seven days. The Indians were pacified by the presence of a large force under General Atkinson, and very little mischief was done, beyond the murder of a few travelers.
Col. R. J. Hamilton came to this city, as above stated, in April, 1831. Cook county had been organized the month previous. He soon obtained a high position among his fellow citizens, and at that time, young and full of energy and vigor, and not the man to shrink from responsibility, we wonder that he was not crushed with the weight of the "blushing honors" that fell to his share of the spoils in the new county of Cook. In the course of the year, he became Judge of Probate, Recorder, County Clerk; discharged gratuitously the duties of Treasurer, and was Commissioner of Schools. The good Colonel would find his hands full were he to fulfill the duties of all these offices at the present time. We have availed ourselves of his early and accurate knowledge of events for most of the facts which are contained in some half dozen of the succeeding paragraphs.
The county of Cook, in 1831, embraced all the territory now included in the counties of Lake, McHenry, Dupage, Will, and Iroquois. At that time Fort Dearborn was occupied by two companies of U. S. Infantry, under the command of Major Fowle. The resident citizens were Mr. Elijah Wentworth and family, occupying a house partly log and partly frame, owned by Mr. James Kinzie, and situated on the ground now occupied by Mr. Norton as a lumber yard. Mr. W. kept a tavern, the best in Chicago.
In the vicinity of this tavern resided Mr. James Kinzie and family, Mr. William See and family, Mr. Alexander Robinson and family—now living on the Des Plaines— and Mr. Robert A. Kinzie, who had a store composed of dry goods—a large portion of them Indian goods—groceries, etc. Across the North Branch of the Chicago river, and nearly opposite Mr. Wentworth's tavern, resided Mr. Samuel Miller and family, and with them Mr. John Miller, a brother. Mr. Miller also kept tavern. On the east side of the South Branch, and immediately above the junction with the North Branch, resided Mr. Mark Beaubien and family, who also kept tavern; and a short distance above him on the South Branch resided a Mr. Bourisso, an Indian trader. Between Mark Beaubien's tavern and Fort Dearborn there were no houses, except a small log cabin, near the foot of Dearborn street, and used as an Indian trading house. Near the garrison, and immediately south, on the property sold by James H. Collins, Esq., to the Illinois Central Railroad Company, was the residence of J. B. Beaubien and family, who was connected with the American Fur Company in the Indian trade. He had near his residence a store, containing such goods as were suitable to that business. A short distance south of him on the lake was a house, then unoccupied.
On the north side of the river and immediately opposite the garrison, stood the old "Kinzie House," as it was commonly called, which was also then unoccupied, and in a very dilapidated state. A short distance above, on the main branch of the river, and on the ground now occupied by the Chicago and Galena Railroad Company, stood what had been the Government Agency house, and known to the "oldest inhabitant" as "Cobweb Castle." That was then unoccupied, Dr. Wolcott, the Government Agent, having died the fall before. In its vicinity were several small log buildings for the accommodation of the blacksmith, interpreter, and others connected with the Agency. The blacksmith then occupying one of the buildings was a Mr. McGee, now living in Dupage county. Billy Caldwell, the principal chief of the Ottawa, Pottawatomie and Chippewa Indians, occupied another. He was then Interpreter for the Agency. Col. Thomas J. Y. Owen, who had been the winter before appointed to succeed the late Dr. Wolcott, had not then taken up his residence in Chicago; G. Kercheval, who was then sub-Agent, was then here. Dr. E. Harmon, the father of C. L. Harmon, and James Harrington of Geneva, Kane county, had taken up their residence here, and were making claims on the lake shore—Dr. Harmon where Mrs. Clarke now lives, and Mr. H. immediately north and adjoining.
Here we have some dozen families in the spring of 1831—only TWENTY-THREE YEARS AGO—constituting, with the officers and soldiers in the fort, the entire population of Chicago. Now, the city numbers more than sixty thousand, and its blocks of splendid stores, its fine churches, its railroads, and extensive commerce, are the wonder and admiration of all. We have never spent much time in reading works of fiction, but if there is anything in that dreamy literature more astonishing than these facts, we certainly have never seen it.
In June following, the garrison, by order of the Secretary of War, was abandoned by the troops, and left in charge of Col. T. J. V. Owen, the Government Agent of the Ottawa, Pottawatomie, and Chippewa Indians; and by September, the fort, together with the old Kinzie House and the one on the lake shore (formerly vacant), were filled with emigrant families. In the latter part of September, the payment of the Indian annuities was made by Col. Owen. There were present on that occasion about four thousand Indians, and among them was a deputation of eight Sauk and Fox Indians belonging to the band of the celebrated BLACK HAWK. Their object was to induce the Ottawas, Pottawatomies and Chippewas, to join them in their contemplated invasion of the Rock River country, and to wrest it from the whites, who, they alleged, had obtained it fraudulently. Had it not been for the influence of Billy Caldwell, little doubt was entertained of the success of the mission. Caldwell was well advised of the weakness of the Indians, and the strength of the Government, and by his influence and representations, prevented the alliance. After the payment, a scene of drunkenness, debauchery and violence occurred, such as is never witnessed, except at an Indian payment.
During the fall, in the month of November, the schooner Marengo, belonging to Oliver Newberry of Detroit, arrived. She had been looked for with much anxiety for some weeks. She encountered a heavy gale on Lake Michigan, which was just subsiding on her arrival. There being no harbor, she anchored out in the lake, more than half a mile from the shore, nearly in front of the fort, where she remained until the lake had become sufficiently calm to unload. This could only be done by the aid of small boats, crossing the bar at the mouth of the river which then emptied into the lake near the foot of Randolph street. The "Marengo" was commanded by Captain Stewart, a veteran sailor who had long been in the employment of Mr. Newberry. The Telegraph, which arrived in July, and the Marengo, were the only arrivals during the season, except the one that transported the troops to Green Bay. The principal part of the population of Chicago during the winter of 1831-2 occupied the quarters in the garrison, and were ministered to, in the way of creature comforts, by our estimable citizen, Geo. W. Dole, who was the only merchant then in Chicago, except Mr. R. A. Kinzie at "Wolf Point," which was the name given to the "settlement" at the junction of the North and South Branches, where Mr. Norton's lumber yard is now located.
The winter was long and intensely cold, and the population of the surrounding country so sparse, that no traveler could be found sufficiently reckless to traverse it. There were then no mail routes, post roads nor post offices at Chicago, and the only means its inhabitants had of knowing anything of the world was by sending a half-breed Indian once in two weeks to Niles,in Michigan, to procure all the papers, both old and new, that could be had. "Great caution," says Colonel Hamilton, "was exercised in reading the old first, that we might be properly advised of events in the world as they occurred. The trip was made on foot, and usually occupied a week. The arrival of "the mail" was an event of quite as much interest then as it is now; but notwithstanding our exclusion from the world, we were not unhappy, and doubtless enjoyed ourselves as well as its inhabitants now do."
"A debating society was formed, composed of most of the male inhabitants of the fort, over which presided our venerable fellow-citizen, J. B. Beaubien, with much efficiency and dignity. Although not very conversant with 'Jefferson's Manual,' he had no occasion to use it, as every member was disposed to be orderly and behave himself; and each and all felt bound to contribute as much as possible to the general sum of knowledge and usefulness. To vary the amusement, a dance was occasionally got up at the house of Mark Beaubien, Esq., and for those who had no taste for such amusement, a religious meeting was held generally once a week in the Fort, by the late Mark Noble, Jr., and his wife and two daughters, and Mrs. R. J. Hamilton, who were all members of the Methodist Episcopal Church."
These early meetings had a most happy effect upon all within their influence. Mrs. R. J. Hamilton, first wife of Col. H., contributed very much to their interest, as she was a lady of great intelligence, enlarged views, and devoted piety. She was for many years among the first in all religious and benevolent enterprises. Col. Hamilton pays a just tribute to the zeal and piety of Mr. Noble. He was the principal speaker at all these meetings, and his exertions in the cause of truth were greatly blessed. He was a man of practical common sense, and large experience, and was fitted for a "standard bearer" on the borders of civilization. It will be seen that the Methodists were here, as almost everywhere, the pioneers in Christianity. They did not, however, establish the first church, as will be seen further on in our sketches.
Thus passed the winter of 1831-2. On the approach of spring, it was announced that "Black Hawk," a Sauk chief, was moving up Rock river, with about five hundred Sauk and Fox Indians, with demonstrations of a hostile character, unless he could be permitted to remain on the lands formerly ceded to the United States. The rumor was confirmed by the arrival of the Hon. Richard M. Young, at Fort Dearborn, who was then one of the Circuit Judges of the State, and within whose judicial district Chicago was at that time. Judge Young was accompanied by Benjamin Mills, Esq., then a leading member of the Illinois bar, and our late fellow-citizen, Col. Strode, all from Galena. They had come by the way of Dixon, and from the conduct of the Indians assembled there, were convinced of their hostile intentions. Before the adjournment of the court other intelligence arrived confirmatory of these statements. The Indians continued to move up Rock river until they arrived at the Kishwaukie, a tributary of Rock river, where they made a halt. An expedition was organized under the command of Major Stillman, of Peoria, from the counties of Tazewell and Peoria, principally with the object, as then understood, to watch the movements of the Indians and protect the few settlements on the extreme frontier from their depredations; but with the further understanding, that they were not to strike the first blow. They proceeded up Rock river until within a few miles of the Indian encampment, and by some want of discipline and caution, an action was brought on against a portion of the Indians, which resulted in a disastrous defeat and total rout of the whole of Major Stillman's force. Almost immediately after the defeat of Major Stillman, the Indians, in bands, made a descent on the settlements on Fox river, at Hollenback's and Holderman's Grove, and at other points on the river where there were settlements, burning the houses and destroying the property, and had it not been for the friendly interposition and warnings of Shabbo-nee,* an Ottawa chief, who, till within a few years, lived at Shabbona's Grove, many of the people must have been massacred. Some barely escaped, being sufficiently near to witness the smoke ascending from their burning houses—what few inhabitants were in the surrounding country made their way to Chicago, to seek safety in Fort Dearborn, and by the 10th of May the Fort contained a population of near seven hundred souls, two-thirds of whom were women and children. This great disproportion of women and children was occasioned by the male heads of families taking their provisions and whatever else they could muster to drive their stock into the settled parts of the country, mostly on the Wabash. Col. Owen, the government agent, was then in charge of the Fort, and no effort on his part was spared to accommodate all that came. He had himself a
-------------------------- *I often saw him in the streets of Chicago. He was not very tall; but he was a broad-shouldered, stalwart specimen of the Indian. He died a few years ago, and was buried in the cemetery at Morris, Grundy county. --------------------------
large family and occupied the commander's quarters, but he confined himself to a single room, and gave up the rest to those who came in from the country. Gholson Kercheval and Col. Hamilton were appointed quartermasters to arrange quarters equitably among the people, and in many cases fifteen and twenty occupied a room that would not more than comfortably accommodate a family of four or five persons.
Information was again received through "Billy Caldwell," by Col. Owen, that the hostile chiefs were tampering with the Ottawa, Pottawatomie and Chippewa Indians belonging to his agency, and that in consequence of the success in the fight at Kishwaukie, many of the young men were strongly inclined to join them. It was with difficulty the chiefs could restrain them. A consultation was had with Messrs. Robinson and Caldwell, both influential chiefs among the Indians, who advised an immediate council with the principal chiefs together with some of their young men, at which Col. Owen was to address them, and let them know distinctly that if they formed any alliance, or connection with Black Hawk, or furnished them men or aid of any kind, the Government would hold them to a strict accountability for it, and would punish them severely. The council was held at or near the place where the Rev. Mr. Richardson's church now stands, in the North Division of the city. There were present a number of the chiefs of the United Nations, including Caldwell and Robinson, and Col. Owen, and Col. R. J. Hamilton on the part of the Government. The council was opened by a few remarks from Caldwell to the chiefs. Blackfoot, a chief of considerable influence and power, then addressed the council. He recounted many of their grievances, and charged the Government with gross injustice towards them, and concluded by remarking that now was a good time to redress them. His speech was evidently well received by the young men. Col. Owen followed him, and his boldness, energy, and the scathing rebuke he administered to Blackfoot changed the whole current of feeling against the chief. The Indians retired for a few minutes, and then returned presenting their hands to Col. Owen, declaring their friendship to the Government, and offering to furnish a hundred braves to march against Blackhawk, if desired. Thus terminated this council; small and insignificant as it may now seem to have been, yet it was productive of important results. To the unwavering friendship of Caldwell, and the bold, energetic conduct of Col. Owen before the council, the inhabitants of Chicago were indebted for their safety in the contest which followed.
Late in the month of May, 1832, a small force consisting of twenty-five men, was organized in the fort under the command of Capt. J. B. Brown, with Capt. Joseph Naper and Col. R. J. Hamilton, for the purpose of securing the frontier on Fox river, and to ascertain from personal observation the extent of the depredations committed on the property of the inhabitants. It was also intended to render aid to the inhabitants settled on the Dupage river, who had assembled at Mr. James Walker's where Plainfield now stands, and erected a small fort for their protection. After leaving the fort on the Dupage, where they had remained a day, rendering such assistance as was desired, the expedition proceeded to Holderman's Grove. The Indians had but recently left it after having destroyed all the personal property found in the house and around the premises, and scattered the, fragments about the yard. The provisions which were not taken away were destroyed.
On the third evening after their departure from Fort Dearborn the company encamped about three miles from Holderman's Grove, in the direction of Hollenback's Grove, on Fox river. Some time before daylight, Mr. G. E. Walker, of Ottawa, arrived at the camp and stated that a man had arrived at that place (Ottawa) and reported that considerable firing had been heard on Indian creek, about fifteen miles from Ottawa, at the residence of a Mr. Davis, where the families of Davis, Hall and Pettigrew had assembled for mutual protection, and a short time afterwards a young man, a son of Mr. Hall's, arrived and confirmed the statement. He also stated that he was at work in the field about a mile from the house, heard the firing and saw the Indians.
Upon receiving this information, Capt. Brown immediately marched the company, with all possible dispatch, to Indian creek where the firing had been heard. Some five or six, a part of whom had joined the expedition on the route, left it and returned to afford protection to their respective families. The company arrived at Mr. Davis' residence between nine and ten o'clock, A. M. The scene there, as described by Colonel Hamilton, was the most painful that could well be imagined. Some thirteen dead bodies, composed of the families of Davis, Hall and Pettigrew, lay in the house and about the yard, consisting of men, women and children, who had been shot, speared, tomahawked, scalped and mutilated in the most cruel manner. Davis was a blacksmith, and apparently a very athletic man. At the moment of the attack he was in his shop, and started for the house about seventy-five or a hundred yards distant, for the purpose, no doubt, of assisting to protect the families there. He was attacked a short distance from the shop, and from every indication a severe contest ensued.
By his side, or near him, lay a large Kentucky rifle, which had been fired,and afterward used in a hand-to-hand fighty as its stock was much shattered, and its breech broken. The bodies were collected and buried as well as they could be, under the circumstances, after which the expedition went to Ottawa, where they fell in with Major Bailey, with a company from Tazewell Co., who had been in the late disastrous Stillman expedition against the Indians at Kishwaukie, a part of which, together with Major Bailey, joined Capt. Brown. The whole detachment proceeded to Chicago under the command of Major Bailey. On the route to Chicago, the guide to the expedition, a half-breed Indian, reported at several points large fresh Indian signs. Much solicitude was felt for the families at Walker's on the Dupage, and some time after dark a man by the name of Payne was hailed, who had just come alone from Chicago, and was on his way to Ottawa. The dangers of the route were made known to him, and efforts were made to retain him with the expedition. He, however, announced himself an ambassador of God, and said he would be safe from any attack by the Indians. It was evident he was partially insane, and he could not be induced to change his purpose. He had a long flowing beard, and venerable appearance. He was probably killed the same day, as his head was found two weeks afterward stuck on a pole in the prairie, and his body some half mile distant from the head. Our fellow-citizen, Gurdon S. Hubbard, Esq., was in the party that found him. Major Bailey and his command encamped the same evening at the fort on the Dupage, and started early the next morning with the families in the fort, and all their movable effects that could be transported in ox and horse teams, and arrived late in the evening at Chicago, after an absence of ten days. The fort was immediately organized as a military post, and placed under the command of Major Bailey.
Two young ladies, by the name of Hall, were captured at Indian creek,and retained for some two weeks, when they were given up by a party of friendly Indians to Gov. Dodge, of Wisconsin. They were treated with great kindness and respect while they were captives. The massacre of the people of Indian creek occurred on the 21st of May.
In the meantime, three thousand militia were ordered out from Peoria and the counties south of it, and marched to Rock river, where they were joined by a detachment
of regular troops from Fort Armstrong, under General Atkinson. A party of one hundred and fifty militia under the command of Major Dement, fell in with a detachment of Indians, commanded by Black Hawk himself, somewhere between Rock river and Galena. An action ensued, in which the Indians were routed. The main army continued to move up Rock river, around the head waters of which it was said the Indians were concentrated.
On the 21st of July, General Henry, commanding an advanced party of the army, came up with the Indians between the Blue Mounds and the Wisconsin river. The troops were formed into a hollow square, and all attempts to break the line by the savages were in vain. A general charge was finally made by the troops, when the Indians were forced to retreat, with the loss of between fifty and sixty of their number.
The Indians continued their retreat to the northwest, crossed the Wisconsin river, and moved up the east bank of the Mississippi. About fifty miles above Prairie du Chien, they were again overtaken and completely routed, with the loss of one hundred and fifty warriors. This victory completely broke the power of Black Hawk, and ended the war. He was captured by a party of Winnebagoes, and delivered up to the officers of the United States at Prairie du Chien, on the 27th of August, 1832.
Early in the season General Scott was ordered to leave the seaboard and gather up all the troops on his route westward, and repair to Chicago. The Indians were entirely defeated before he was able to join the army.
On the 21st of September, 1832, all these difficulties were arranged by a treaty made at Fort Armstrong, (Rock Island,) by General Scott and Governor Reynolds, with the Sauk and Fox Indians, by which they relinquished all their claim to Eastern Iowa, and agreed to move west of the Missouri. Annuities were to be paid to the several bands, and a reservation of forty miles square was made to the principal Chief, Keokuk, and a portion of his followers.
We are indebted to P. F. W. Peck, Esq., for the facts contained in several of the succeeding paragraphs:
In July, A. D. 1831, the schooner Telegraph, of Ashtabula, Ohio, Captain Joseph and John Naper, arrived at Chicago with a number of families, their own among the number, who soon after left and settled the place now known as Naperville. The village took its name from Captain Joseph Naper, he being the first white settler upon its present site.
Mr. Peck left New York City in the month of May of that year (1831), with a small stock of goods for a "market," having previously determined upon a western home.
Accidentally becoming acquainted with Captain Joseph Naper, at Buffalo, at which place the schooner was then loading for "Fort Dearborn," (Chicago), that gentleman, with characteristic frankness, invited Mr. Peck to embark with him and seek a home in that remote region, then but little known, where Capt. N. had previously determined to remove with his family. Mr. P. readily accepted, and left Buffalo with Capt. N. about the 1st of June, A. D. 1831, and arrived at Chicago after a passage of two months from the city of New York.
Probably many years prior to this arrival, no structure of any kind had been added to the small number of log cabins which, with the buildings of the garrison, constituted the town of Chicago; and the only addition to its growth during that year was a small log store for Mr. Peck, shortly after his arrival, and which he owned and occupied until late in the fall of that year. It was built near the garrison, a few rods northwest of the land on which Col. Beaubien formerly resided, and which James H. Collins, Esq., recently sold to the Illinois Central Railroad Company.
It was after some deliberation and advice, that Mr. P. determined to locate in "the lower village," instead of at "the Point," (West Side,) which latter settlement was then, he thinks, rather in the ascendant. Rival feelings, to some extent, existed at the time between the people of those localities, both contending that they possessed superior advantages for the site of the future village of Chicago.
Shortly, before Mr. Peck's arrival, the Canal Commissioners had subdivided into town lots part of Sec. 9, (the Old Town) and given titles to a few of the lots to different purchasers. "Fort Dearborn" (fractional section 10) was not then subdivided, and much uncertainty existed as to the time, and under what auspices it would ultimately be done. These circumstances very much promoted the interests of land owners at "Wolf Point."
Mr. P. says that his young and fertile imagination presented before him as possible to be built up within a reasonable time, the village church, schoolhouse, doctor's and lawyer's office; a tavern, more fashionable than that kept by "Jolly Mark" a blacksmith, shoemaker, and tailor's shop, and a few painted stores and dwellings; and that his newly found home would become a respectable consolidated village, at one or the other of these two extreme settlements, for then no intermediate lots were considered to be of much importance.
Late in the fall of 1831, Mr. Peck received from New York, via the Lakes, a stock of goods with which, and the small stock he had previously in trade, he removed into Naper's settlement, and united in business with Capt. Joseph Naper, and remained with him until the spring of 1832, when the Sauk war drove the people into Chicago.
Mr. Peck has ever since resided in Chicago, having immediately after the termination of Indian hostilities resumed mercantile business in a building then owned by S. Miller, Esq., North Side, at the junction of the North and South Branches, which for several previous years had been occupied by Messrs. Miller & Clybourne, as a store for Indian trade. During the fall of 1832, and while occupying the building before mentioned, Mr. P. caused to be raised the frame of the building now owned by him, and situated on the southeast corner of South Water and LaSalle streets, which was finished and occupied by him early in May, A. D. 1833, as appears by vouchers for its payment which he has exhibited to us. It is built of black walnut and oak lumber. The lumber was hauled from Walker's mills—now Plainfield—forty miles southwest from Chicago, and is believed to have been the first lumber ever sawed in Cook county. Plainfield is now in Will county.
In this building Mr. Peck continued business until the fall of 1835, at which time he disposed of his entire stock in trade to Thomas Hartzell, Esq., then of Hennepin, and now a resident of this city, and one of the oldest and most respectable settlers of Northern Illinois. He thinks the store abpve mentioned was the first frame building built on the south side of the river; but G. W. Dole, Esq., assures us that his old warehouse, on the southeast corner of Dearborn and South Water streets, was completed and occupied by him in the fall of 1832. Mr. Dole then lived in a small log building, now covered with siding, which stands two or three doors east of the old warehouse on Water street. The warehouse has for some years been occupied for dwellings.
In the rear of this building, and in front of the Tremont House, Mr. Dole slaughtered, in the fall of 1832, the first lot of cattle, in all two hundred head, ever packed in Chicago. They were driven from the Wabash Valley, and cost him $2.75 per cwt. He also slaughtered in the same place and packed 350 hogs from the same locality, for which he gave $3 per cwt. Here was the nucleus of the immense "packing" business now done in Chicago. It cannot amount to much less than $1,500,000 per annum, and Chicago beef has obtained the first place in the markets of the world.
Mr. Peck has also shown us his original document for the purchase of Lot 4, Block 18, in the Old Town of Chicago. It is as follows:
CHICAGO, Aug. 15, 1831.
Received of P. F. W. Peck, eighty dollars, in full for Lot No. 4, Block 18, in the plan of the town of Chicago, and in full for all claims to this date.
W. F. WALKER.
This lot is at the southeast corner of South Water and LaSalle streets, fronting 80 feet on South Water and 150 feet on LaSalle street, and entire is now valued in our table at $42,500. Mr. P. retains a part of the lot only, having sold the largest portion of it soon after his purchase. He has also exhibited to us a receipt of his taxes for 1833, signed S. Forbes, Sheriff, amounting to $3.50. The books of the proper officers will show that he has paid, for general and special assessments, for the past year, about $5,000. Mr. Peck is but one among a score in our city whose taxes would show as large, and some of them even larger figures. Early in 1832, Chicago received quite an addition to her citizens. Among those now residents of the city, we remember Dr. Maxwell, G. W. Snow, Philo Carpenter, John S. Wright, and Dr. Kimberly.
Going back to 1831, we find that the Commissioners' Court, under the act organizing the county, was opened March 8th of that year. The first record we have is that "Samuel Miller, Gholson Kercheval and James Walker, Commissioners for Cook county, were sworn into office by J. S. C. Hogan, Justice of the Peace. William See was appointed Clerk of the Commissioners' Court, who, after being duly sworn and giving bonds 'according to law, the Court proceeded to business.' Archibald Clybourne was appointed County Treasurer, and an order passed that the 'S. W. fraction of Sec. 10 in T. 39 N., R. 14 East of the third principal meridian, be entered for County purposes.' At the next meeting, March 9th, the Treasurer is authorized to borrow one hundred dollars, with which to enter the land before mentioned, and he is directed 'not to give more than six per cent, interest.' It is also ordered that Jesse Walker be employed to enter the land, that Jedediah Wooley be nominated to the Governor for County Surveyor, and that there be three precincts in the county of Cook, to wit: 'the Chicago Precinct,' the 'Hickory Creek Precinct,' and the 'Du-page Precinct.' The boundaries of these three precincts were established, Judges of Election appointed, and the times and the places of holding the same. Grand and Petit Jurors were selected, and some other minor business transacted, when the 'Court adjourned until Court in course.'"
April 13th, 1831.—A special term was held. The record says: "Court was called at the hour of ten o'clock in the morning, and Samuel Miller and Gholson Kercheval being present, formed a quorum, and proceeded to business.
"Ordered, That there be a half per cent, levied on the following description of property, to wit: On town lots, on pleasure carriages, on distilleries, on all horses, mules and neat cattle above the age of three years; on watches, with their appurtenances, and on all clocks."
Elijah Wentworth and Samuel Miller were licensed to keep a tavern in the town of Chicago, and taxed therefor the sum of $7 and $5 respectively. The following financial measure, the second recorded in the history of Chicago, was also adopted, and as one of the "quorum" on this occasion was also one of the prospective "tavern keepers," we have a right to presume that the tariff was fairly adjusted.
"Ordered, That the following rates be allowed to tavern keepers, to wit:
Each half pint of wine, rum or brandy. 25 cents. Each pint do............ 37 1/2 " " half pint of gin.................. 18 3/4 " " pint do.................... 31 1/4 " " gill of whisky.................... 6 1/4 " " half pint do...................... 12 1/2 " " pint do...................... 18 3/4 " For each breakfast and supper......... 25 " " dinner....................... 37 1/2 " " horse feed................... 25 " Keeping horse one night............... 50 " Lodging for each man per night........ 12 1/2 " For cider or beer, one pint........... 6 1/4 " " " " quart......... 12 1/2 "
The first licensed merchants in Cook county, as appears from the licenses granted at this time, were B. Laughton, Robert A. Kinzie, Samuel Miller; and the first auctioneer, James Kinzie. Russell E. Heacock was licensed to keep a tavern at his residence.
Initiatory steps were taken for the establishment of a ferry across both branches of Chicago river, at the forks, over which the people of Cook county, with their "traveling apraties" were to be passed free. Rates of ferriage were specified for outsiders, and a ferry scow was purchased from Samuel Miller for sixty-five dollars. At the next meeting of the Court, Mark Beaubien filed his bond for $200, with James Kinzie as security, and having agreed to pay into the Treasury fifty dollars, and "to ferry all citizens of Cook county free," became the first ferryman of Chicago.
During vacation of Court, permits to sell goods were obtained from the clerk by Alexander Robinson, John B. Beaubien and Madore Beaubien, thus adding by so many to the number of Cook county merchants.
At the next term of Court, June 6th, Jesse Walker, who had been commissioned to enter the land selected for county purposes, reported that he had been refused permission to enter the same, and paid back the money put into his hands for that purpose.
The fees received by the members of the Commissioners' Court during this period were, as appears from appropriations made them, at the rate of $1.50 per day, for actual term time, and were paid in county orders. Joseph Leflenboys was added to the list of merchants; also, Mark Beaubien and O. Newberry.
Certain blocks and lots having been given to the county by the "Canal Commissioners," it was thought proper to dispose of them, with the exception of the Public Square, and accordingly a "sail of lots"—we use the spelling of the record—was advertised to take place on the first Monday in July following. This semi-nautical proceeding was probably the first of the speculative and numerous land sales of which Chicago has since been the theatre. In return, probably, for the liberal donation received from the Canal Commissioners, and, as also perhaps considered the best and only method of extending to them the "hospitalities of the county," it was "ordered that the county pay the Canal Commissioners' ferriage during their stay at Chicago on canal business," all of which ferriage, according to Mark Beaubien's account, afterwards presented and paid, amounted to the enormous sum of seven dollars and thirty- three cents. In these days of paved streets and present and prospective plank roads and railroads, it is also interesting to glance at another order, having in view the opening of the first two highways of which any definite history has come down to us. The first provides for the viewing of a road to the West boundary of the county, in a direction toward the mouth of Fox river, as follows: "From the town of Chicago to the house of B. Laughton, from thence to the house of James Walker on the Dupage river, and so on to the west line of the county, and that Elijah Wentworth, K. E. Heacock and Timothy B. Clark be the viewers." The other is a road "from the town of Chicago, the nearest and best way to the house of the widow Brown, on 'Hycory creek,' and that James Kinzie, Archibald Clybourne and R. E. Heacock be the viewers." What would widow Brown now say were she to count from the cupola of the Tremont House the eighty trains of cars that daily arrive and depart from this city? And for aught we know she may have done so, for it is only twenty-three years since her house was made the terminus of the "original survey" of one of the first avenues from Chicago.
The vexed question, whether our present splendid Court House, with all its roomy and convenient public offices, stands on a "square" or a "skew," is resolved into a matter of insignificance, when it is remembered at how recent a date, as the archives inform us, the Sheriff was authorized "to provide, on the best terms in his power, to secure a prisom sufficient to hold prisoners for the time being," or when, as in the present instance, the "court adjourned until court in course, to the house of William See."
The affairs of the county appear to have been managed during these primeval times with commendable prudence, economy and good faith, for we find subsequently that Jas. Kinzie, having, in his official capacity, disposed of the lands given to the county by the Canal Commissioners, was allowed a county order for $14.53 3/4, being at the rate of 2 1/2 per cent, for the first $200, and one per cent. for all over that sum, for his services as "auxineer" we use the spelling of the record—"in the sail of lots" elsewhere mentioned.
The mercantile corps of Cook county was meanwhile increased by the addition of four new firms, viz.: Brewster, Hogan & Co., Peck, Walker & Co., Joseph Naper and Nicholas Boilvin. It, perhaps, ought not to be omitted, that Mark Beaubien, who, from all accounts, was not an unworthy pioneer to Chicago enterprise and ambition, not satisfied with being already chief ferryman, as well as a merchant, or with having experienced the clemency of the Court, in the shape of a remittance of a fine of ten dollars, "assessed to him for a fracas" with John G. Hall, also applied for and received a license to "keep a tavern," being charged therefor the moderate sum of six dollars. As an offset to these various evidences of favor, he well nigh met with a worse fate than old Charon, for he was "ordered" to ferry the citizens of Cook county "from daylight in the morning until dark, without stopping?"
The reason for this stringent order, as given by Dr. Kimberly, was, that Mark at the time kept two race horses, and he had such a passion for the sports of the turf that he would, every day, if possible, get up a race with some of the Indian "bloods," and sadly neglect his duty to ferry the good citizens of Cook county free, according to the law in such case made and provided.
An incident in the history of the Beaubien family should be duly recorded. The military commandant of the State gave orders in 1834 that the militia of Cook county should be duly organized and officers elected. Like the immortal Falstaff, there were some gentlemen who did not fancy that kind of company. As usual, there were several aspirants who, if elected, would carry out the law; but over all these it was determined to elect John B., Colonel. The election was to be held in the house of a Mr. Laughton, who kept tavern near where Lyonsville now stands, on the southwestern plank road. The town turned out en masse, taking with them a keg of brandy, four packages of loaf sugar and six dozen of lemons. John was elected over all opposition, and it was determined, of course, to have "a time." At the base of the bluff, near the house, is a fine spring. A dam was made across the outlet, and the brandy, lemons and sugar were all emptied into it, and "being duly stirred up, each one drank till he could drink no more from this novel "PUNCH BOWL." Colonel Beaubien was entirely satisfied with the "the honor" conferred upon him, and never called out his forces. He is the first, and still is the, highest officer of the Cook county militia.
The first mention we find of the Circuit Court is contained in the minutes of September 6th, 1831, providing that it be held in "Fort Dearborn, in the brick house, and in the lower room of said house."
It is worthy of remark, that notwithstanding the low state of the county finances during this period, the sick or disabled strangers and travelers, or unfortunate residents, were uniformly provided with proper nourishment, medicine, and careful attendance at the public expense. Several instances are on record of appropriations from the treasury for these and like purposes. It is equally in evidence, that amid all the impositions and irregularities attending the first years of a new settlement, the administration of public affairs rested in the hands of cool and impartial officers, who were not to be easily deceived or imposed upon, and who had a single eye to the general good. As an instance, we notice that when the first road was located from the Public Square to the west county line, it appears that some or all of the viewers were influenced by some selfish purpose, and hence we find that their "report is rejected, and the viewers shall have no pay for their services."
The population and business of the town steadily increased from month to month, and with it many changes occurred which it is beyond our limits to notice.
Richard J. Hamilton was appointed Clerk of the Court, in place of William See, resigned, and entered upon the duties of his office on the second day of April, 1832.
Much business of more or less importance was transacted at this special term. More roads and streets were authorized, and Commissioners appointed to decide their location; election precincts and magistrate districts were set apart, described and named; judges of elections appointed, etc., etc. From a statement returned by the Sheriff of Cook county, April 4th, 1832, it is shown that the amount of the tax list on real and personal property, for the year ending March 1st, 1832, was $148.29; and that the non-resident delinquent tax list amounted to $10.50. Of this amount there had been paid into the treasury $142.28. The Treasurer's report for the same period shows that the amount received from licenses "to keep taveran," sell goods, etc., was $225.50; taxes paid in, as per Sheriff's report, were $132.28—total, $357.78. To balance this amount, the Treasurer reports, license tax delinquencies to the amount of $88.50. Paid out for County Orders, $252.35—leaving balance in the treasury of $15.93.
Thus stands the account current of Cook county in the spring of 1832, only twenty-two years ago! The total receipts of taxes and moneys from all other sources, is the enormous sum of $357.78! How stands the account now? The total amount of moneys collected by the City Treasurer for the year 1853, is $135,752.03; and by the County Treasurer, $245,057.07—making the total amount of taxes collected last year in Cook county, $380,809.10. Those who have leisure may "cypher up" the ratio of increase in the short space of twenty-two years.
The whole assessed value of the personal property of the city for the past year is $2,711,154; real estate, $13,841,831—total, $16,841,831. The entire valuation for Cook county is, personal property, $4,450,630; real estate, $18,487,627 —total, $22,937,657. Every one knows that the assessed does not represent one-fourth of the real value of the property in the county. It is entirely safe to set down the value of the personal and real property of Cook county at the lowest estimate at ONE HUNDRED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
It will be noticed by the above that several of the tavern keepers or merchants failed to pay for their licenses, and it was accordingly ordered by the Court that hereafter all taxes for license "shall be paid before the issuing thereof." The tax of one-half per cent, was extended to include all personal property of whatever kind or description, and other measures suggested by time and experience were adopted. Archibald Clybourne was reappointed Treasurer for the ensuing year. The Sheriff was authorized to procure a room or rooms for the April term of the Circuit Court at the house of James Kinzie, provided it can be done at a cost of not more than ten dollars.
We find several "items" upon the record, among which we notice that John R. Clark was the first Coroner. The first inquest was held "over the body of a dead Indian."
The second was on "William Jewett, a passenger who was found dead."
The first street leading to Lake Michigan was laid out April 25th, 1832. This street commenced at what was then called the east end of Water street, and is described by Jedediah Wooley, the surveyor, as follows: "From the east end of Water street, in the town of Chicago, to Lake Michigan. Direction of said road is south 88 1/2 degrees east from the street to the Lake, 18 chains, 50 links." Said street was laid out fifty feet wide. The viewers on this occasion "also believe that said road is of public utility, and a convenient passage from the town to the Lake."
The first public building of which any mention is made, was an "Estray Pen," erected on the southwestern corner of the public square. The lowest bid for the contract—$20—was put in by Samuel Miller, but upon the completion of the edifice, the Treasurer was directed to pay therefor but $12, on account of its not being finished "according to contract."
At the March term, 1833, the Road Commissioners reported their survey of a State road leading from Chicago to the left bank of the Wabash river, opposite Vincennes.
Various other roads in different directions were surveyed and laid out during the spring and summer of 1833.
The next public building erected after the "Estray Pen," was the Jail. The first contractors failed to fulfill their contract, and a suit for damages was instituted against them. The Jail was finally built in the fall of 1833, "of logs well bolted together," on the northwest corner of the public square. It stood there till last year, when the new Court House and Jail having been completed, it was torn down, and no vestige remains to tell where once stood "this terror of evil doers."
The minutes of the first meeting of the citizens of Chicago, without date upon the records, are as follows:
"At a meeting of the citizens of Chicago, convened pursuant to public notice given according to the statute for incorporating Towns, T. J. V. Owen was chosen President, and E. S. Kimberly was chosen Clerk. The oaths were then administered by Russell E. Heacock, a Justice of the Peace for Cook county, when the following vote was taken on the propriety of incorporating the Town of Chicago, County of Cook, State of Illinois:
For Incorporation—John S. C. Hogan, C. A. Ballard, G. W. Snow, R. J. Hamilton, J. T. Temple, John Wright, G. W. Dole, Hiram Pearsons, Alanson Sweet, E. S. Kimberly, T. J. V. Owen, Mark Beaubien—12.
Against Incorporation—Russell E. Heacock—1.
We certify the above poll to be correct.
[Signed] T. J. V. OWEN, President. ED. S. KIMBERLY, Clerk."
Dr. Kimberly informs us that the meeting was held some twenty days before the election which followed.
The first election for five Trustees of the Town of Chicago was held at the house of Mark Beaubien, on the 10th of August, 1833, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, and the polls were closed at 1 o'clock. The following are the names of the voters, and those elected on that occasion:
Voters—E. S. Kimberly, J. B. Beaubien, Mark Beaubien, T. J. V. Owen, William Nmson, Hiram Pearsons, Philo Carpenter, George Chapman, John Wright, John T. Temple, Matthias Smith, David Carver, James Kinzie, Charles Tajdor, John S. C. Hogan, Eli A. Rider, Dexter J. Hapgood, George W. Snow, Madore Beaubien, Gholson Kercheval, Geo. W. Dole, R. J. Hamilton, Stephen F. Gale, Enoch Darling, W. H. Adams, C. A. Ballard, John Watkins, James Gilbert.
T. J. V. Owen received 26 votes. Geo. W. Dole " 28 " Madore Beaubien " 23 " John Miller received 20 votes. E. S. Kimberly " 20 " And so were elected Trustees of the Town of Chicago.
At this election there were in all twenty-eight voters in the "TOWN OF CHICAGO" on the 10th day of August, 1833. "Canvassing" at elections did not require quite so much labor, and there was far less money spent then than there is now. Two of the first Trustees, Dr. Kimberly and G. W. Dole, Esq., are still residents of the city.
The "Town of Chicago" has not, therefore, arrived at the full age of twenty- one years. To those who have not become familiar with such facts, they are more wonderful than the wildest dreams of a "poetic fancy." They are, however, plain sober history—such history, however, as can only be found in the annals of the American people.
The Trustees held their first meeting at the Clerk's office on the 12th day of August, 1833. The limits of the corporation were defined as follows: Beginning at the intersection of Jackson and Jefferson streets; thence north to Cook street, and through that street to its eastern extremity in Wabansia; thence on a direct line to Ohio street in Kinzie's Addition; thence eastwardly to the Lake shore; thence south with the line of beach to the northern U. S. pier; thence northwardly along said pier to its termination; thence to the channel of the Chicago river; thence along said channel until it intersects the eastern boundary line of the Town of Chicago, as laid out by the Canal Commissioners; thence southwardly with said line until it meets Jackson street; thence westwardly along Jackson street until it reaches the place of beginning.
The 26th of September, 1833, is a memorable day in the history of Chicago. The Pottawatomie Indians, to the number of 7,000, had been gathered here for the purpose of making a treaty with the United States. On that day the treaty was signed on the part of the United States by T. J. V. Owen, G. B. Porter and Wm. Weatherford, and by a large number of Indian chiefs, by which the Indians ceded to the United States all their territory in Northern Illinois and Wisconsin, amounting to about twenty million acres. The treaty was made in a large tent on the North Side, a little north of the Lake House. The largest part of the Indians were encamped in the woods on the North Side. Two bands from Coldwater, Mich., encamped under a large cottonwood tree, which then stood in the rear of I. Speer's. Jewelry store, near the corner of Lake and State streets. There were a large number of speculators and others present, and there were scenes enacted which it would be no credit to humanity to narrate. Quite a large number of our present citizens were here at the time of the treaty.
On the 26th of November, 1833, the first newspaper ever printed in Chicago, or Northern Illinois, was published by our friend, John Calhoun, Esq. The bound volumes of that paper for two years are before us. The perusal of its pages has filled up some of the most interesting hours in our study of the "ancient history" of Chicago. It has since fallen into other hands, and merits no notice from us. In this first number, Mr. Calhoun strongly urges "the commencement and completion of the long-contemplated canal to connect the waters of Lake Michigan with the Illinois river," and adds, that "even with the present limited facilities of navigation, goods have been transported from New York to St. Louis in the short space of twenty-three days!" Thanks to our railroads, goods can now be sent through by express in three days!
The second number of Mr. Calhoun's paper, issued on the 3rd of December, 1833, contains the names of the following persons as advertisers, who are still residents of Chicago: S. B. Cobb, John S. Wright, Walter Kimball, Philo Carpenter, P. F. W. Peck, R. M. Sweet, A. Clybourne, John Bates, Jr., G. W. Dole, B. Jones, Star Foote, C. Harmon, E. S. Kimberly, John H. Kinzie, S. D. Pierce, and H. J. Hamilton. We think this fact is worthy of notice by those who have been led to believe that Chicago is an unhealthy city. Never was there a more gratuitous or unfounded assertion.
During the summer of 1833, Chicago, as has already been intimated, grew rapidly. Attention had been called to the place by an appropriation of $30,000, made in the spring of that year by Congress, to build a harbor here to accommodate the commerce of Lake Michigan. The harbor was pushed forward rapidly during the summer, and in the following spring there was a great freshet, which carried out the sand from between the piers, and opened the harbor to the Lake commerce.
So late as 1834, only twenty years ago, there was but one mail per week from Niles, Michigan, to Chicago, and that was carried on horseback. On the 11th of January of that year, a large public meeting of the citizens of Chicago was held at the house of Mark Beaubien, at which, of course, "speeches were made," and a memorial was drawn up and sent to the Postmaster General, stating the grievances under which the citizens labored, and the pressing necessity there was for increased mail facilities. The contrast presented by the present post- office business is truly astonishing. The Chicago post-office is now sending out and receiving fourteen daily mails, besides several weekly and tri-weekly. The receipts of the office for the quarter ending Jan. 1st, 1854, were over $130,000.
The number of letters passing through the office averages over 30,000 daily, and there are 75 bags containing 45,000 newspapers. The average number of letters received by our citizens, and sent out from this office, is about 5,000 per day.
We gather the following items from our friend Calhoun's paper. On the 16th of April, 1834, there was still but one mail per week, and he gives as an excuse for not having more news, that for that week it did not arrive. The same week he commences a marine list, noticing the arrival of one schooner from St. Joseph's, and the departure of two for the same port. On the 30th of the same month he says that emigration had fairly commenced, as more than "a hundred had arrived by boats and otherwise within the last ten days." Astonishing! an average of ten persons per day! What would our two great Eastern railroads say to such an amount of travel? On the 4th of June Mr. Calhoun announces with great satisfaction "that arrangements have been made by the proprietors of the steamboats on Lake Erie, whereby Chicago is to be visited by a steamboat once a week till the 25th of August." This was certainly an era in the history of the "Town of Chicago." On Saturday, July 11, 1834, the schooner Illinois entered the harbor, and sailed up the river amid the acclamations of the citizens. She was the first large vessel that ever entered the Chicago river. The bar between the piers was worn out by a great freshet the spring previous. Before this, vessels were obliged to anchor outside the bar, and received and discharged their cargoes by means of scows and lighters. The Illinois was the pioneer of the immense commerce which now finds its centre in Chicago. In the same paper, of the 6th of August, we find the whole number of votes polled in Cook county, which then embraced the present counties of Will and Dupage, was 528. During the summer of 1834 Chicago grew very rapidly, for we find Mr. Calhoun stating, on the 3d of September, "that one hundred and fifty vessels had discharged their cargoes since the 20th of April previous."
We must not suppose, however, that Chicago was "out of the woods," for there was a fine grove of timber along the river on the east side, extending south from Madison street. Some of these trees are still standing, and we present a plea in their behalf, that they may be spared the "remorseless axe." On Monday morning, Oct. 6th, the citizens of this quiet town were startled by the announcement that a large black bear was safely domiciled in this "strip of timber." All the town of course turned out to give Bruin anything but a generous welcome. He was soon found, and following his ancient custom, "took to a tree." This was of course no security, and he was shot near the corner of Market and Jackson streets. In these woods multitudes of prairie wolves were accustomed to harbor, and in the night they would visit all parts of the town. Excited by their success against poor Bruin, the citizens manfully determined to give the wolves no quarter. They therefore formed several parties, and at night it was found that they had dispatched forty of these midnight marauders. We simply make a note, that on the spot where Chicago now stands, less than twenty years ago, a "great hunt" was gotten up, and one bear and—probably within the present city limits—forty wolves were killed in a single day.
Mr. Calhoun was present at the Indian payment in 1834, and has handed us the following account of it. He says:
"On the 28th of October the first annuity was paid to the Pottawatomie and other Indians under the treaty which was made the year previous for the purchase of their lands in Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. About $30,000 worth of goods were to be distributed. They assembled to the number of about 4,000. The distribution took place by piling the whole quantity in a heap upon the prairie on the west side of the river, near the corner of Randolph and Canal streets. The Indians were made to sit down upon the grass in a circle around the pile of goods—their squaws sitting behind them. The half breeds and traders were appointed to distribute the goods, and they leisurely walked to the pile, and taking in their arms an armful of goods, proceeded to throw to one and another of those sitting on the grass, and to whom they were appointed to distribute, such articles as they saw fit, and then returned to the pile to replenish. Shortly the Indians began to show an anxiety not to be overlooked in the distribution, and at first got on their knees, vociferating all the time in right lusty Indian 'gibberish.' Then they rose on one foot, and soon all were standing, and then they began to contract the circle, until they finally made a rush for the pile. I saw then a manner of dispersing a mob that I never saw exemplified before nor since. The crowd was so great around the pile of goods that those who were back from them could not get to them, and the 'outsiders' at once commenced hurling into the air whatever missiles they could get hold of, literally filling the air, and causing them to fall in the centre where the crowd was the most dense. These, to save a broken head, rushed away, leaving a space for those who had hurled the missiles to rush in for a share of the spoils. The Indians were paid their annuities for two years after the treaty, before they were removed west of the Mississippi. These Indians were a degraded set, and did not inspire a person with any respect for the prowess and savage character which our forefathers had to encounter. A number were killed here at every payment in their drunken brawls."
On the 9th of September, 1833, our fellow citizen, Col. J. B. F. Russell, advertises for forty ox teams, each team to be composed of two yoke of oxen, to remove the Indians to the country "allotted to them West." On the first of October Colonel Russell started with the "forty ox teams," containing the children and baggage of the last remaining remnant of the Red Men, about 1,500 in all, and was twenty days in reaching the Mississippi. They were twenty days more in reaching the land allotted to them west of Missouri. It is not, therefore, nineteen years since Chicago was surrounded by Pottawatomie Indians.
In Mr. Calhoun's paper of November 25th, 1835, we find the first census of the town of Chicago, and the county of Cook. The town then contained 3,265, and the county 9,773 inhabitants. Mr. Calhoun speaks of this as a very encouraging increase, as the county contained only a very few inhabitants when it was organized in 1830. As late as the 20th of January, 1836, he regrets to learn that Will county is to be set off from Cook, as it will probably "lessen our political influence in the State." On Thursday, May 18, 1836, the sloop Clarissa, the first vessel ever built in Chicago, was launched. It was an occasion of much interest.
The Fire Department was organized on the 19th of September, 1835, as appears by the following resolution passed by the Board of Trustees on that day:
"Resolved, That the President order two engines for the use of the Corporation, of such description as he shall deem necessary, and also 1,000 feet of hose, on the credit of the Corporation."
The first lawyer's bill we find on the records was paid to James H. Collins, Esq., on the 16th day of August, 1834. Some differences had arisen in reference to the right of the city to lease certain water lots. Mr. Collins was applied to for an opinion, for which he charged and received $5. On the 7th of October, 1835, John Dean Caton's bill against the Corporation for counsel fees and services rendered during the years 1833-34 was paid. The amount of the bill was $75. Our friends, the lawyers, manage at present to get a much larger slice from the public loaf.
On the 13th of February, 1836, notice was given that the "Trustees of the Town of Chicago will not hold themselves accountable for any damages which may arise to any person by reason of crossing the bridges over the Chicago river, or over the north and south branches thereof, the said bridges being considered dangerous, and the said Trustees not having funds out of which to repair the said bridges." Rather a sad state of affairs that.*
On the 26th day of October, 1836, initiatory steps were taken towards obtaining a City Charter. The town being then in three districts, the President of the Board of Trustees invited the inhabitants of each district to select three persons to meet with the Board, and consult upon the expediency of applying to the Legis-
--------- * The bridges over the Chicago river in 1848, when I came here, were a curiosity. One end was fixed on a pivot in the wooden abutment, and the other was placed upon a large square box or boat. When it was necessary to open the bridge for the passage of vessels, a chain, fastened on or near the shore on the side of the pier at some distance from it, was wound up by a capstan on the float-end of the bridge, thus opening it. It was closed in the same manner by a chain on the opposite side of it. Our present excellent pivot bridges were, if I mistake not, introduced, and I think invented, by Mr. City Superintendent Harper," about 1850, or soon after that year. --------
lature for a City Charter, and to adopt a draft to accompany such application. The district meeting was held, and the following delegates chosen:
From 1st district—Ebenezer Peck, William Stuart, E. W. Casey.
From 2d district—J. D. Caton, ----- Chadwick, W. Forsyth.
From 3d district—John H. Kinzie, W. L. Newberry, T. W. Smith.
The above delegates met with the Board on Friday evening, November 25th, at the Trustees' room, opposite the Mansion House, and it was resolved "that it is expedient for the citizens of Chicago to petition the Legislature for a City Charter. Also, that a committee of five, consisting of one delegate from each district, and two members of the Board, be appointed by the chair to prepare a draft of a City Charter, to be submitted to this convention. Whereupon the chair (E. B. Williams) appointed Messrs. E. Peck, District No. 1, J. D. Caton, District No. 2, and T. W. Smith, District No. 3, and from the Trustees, Messrs. Bolles and Ogden. The committee met again, Dec. 9th, and through E. Peck, Esq., presented their draft of a City Charter. After some discussion and amendment, it was adopted for presentation to the citizens, and 500 copies were ordered to be printed.
The charter was passed by the Legislature, and approved March 4th, 1837. The city of Chicago is therefore not "out of her teens." She is a buxom maiden of only SEVENTEEN summers, and what she is destined to be when she becomes a matron of sixty, we dare not venture to predict.
The first election for city officers was held on the 1st Tuesday of May, 1837. It resulted as follows:
Wm. B. Ogden, Mayor. J. C. Goodhue, Alderman 1st Ward. J. S. C. Hogan, " 2d " J. D. Caton, " 3d " A. Pierce, " 4th " B. Ward, " 5th " S. Jackson, " 6th "
John Shrigley was elected High Constable, and at the first meeting of the Council, May 3d, 1837, N. B. Judd, Esq., was elected City Attorney. The total number of votes, as appears from the canvass for Mayor, then in the city, was 703.
Males and Females, 21 and over - 2,645 Males and Females over 5 and under 21 years - 831 Males and Females under 5 years of age - 513
Total white - 3,989 Total black - 77 Total - 4,066
Sailors belonging to vessels owned here - 104 Grand Total - 4,170
The census shows that there were:
4 Warehouses, 19 Grocery and Provision Stores, 398 Dwellings, 29 Dry Goods Stores, 10 Taverns, 5 Hardware Stores, 26 Groceries, 3 Drug Stores, 17 Lawyers' Offices, 5 Churches.
LIST OF MAYORS.
1837—W. B. Ogden. 1838—B. S. Morris. 1839—Benj. W. Raymond. 1840—A. Lloyd. 1841—Francis C. Sherman. 1842—Benj. W. Raymond. 1843—Augustus Garrett. 1844—A. S. Sherman. 1845—Augustus Garrett. 1846—John P. Chapin. 1847—James Curtiss. 1848—James H. Woodworth. 1849—James H. Woodworth. 1850—James Curtiss. 1851—Walter S. Gurnee. 1852—Walter S. Gurnee. 1853—C. M. Gray. 1854—L. L. Milliken.
We left the history of the Illinois and Michigan canal at the laying out of the town of Chicago in 1829, by the Canal Commissioners. Nothing effectual was clone till the special session of the Legislature in 1835-6, when the canal board was reorganized, and an act was passed authorizing a loan of half a million of dollars to construct the canal. Ground was broken at Bridgeport, on the fourth of July, 1836.
At the session of the Legislature in 1836-7, the State entered upon a splendid scheme of "internal improvements." The State was completely chequered with railroad projects, and many millions were squandered. The total length of the roads to be at once completed was some thirteen hundred miles, and five millions of dollars were expended in locating and grading them. Amid the general financial embarrassment which followed those years of madness and folly, the credit of the State went down, and bankruptcy and a general suspension of the public works were the consequence. In 1841 the total State indebtedness amounted to fifteen million's of dollars.
It is worthy of remark, however, that the only mistake the statesmen of that period made, was to embark the State in a general system of internal improvements, and in addition to this, their plans were in advance of the times in which they lived. Twenty years will accomplish by private enterprise for the State of Illinois much more than the statesmen of 1836-7 expected to realize. Extravagant as their schemes then appeared, in another year we shall have more than twice as many miles of railroad in operation as their plan embraced. They deserve, therefore, more credit than they have been accustomed to receive, for the result has shown that their calculations were based upon a proper appreciation of the immense resources of our glorious Prairie State.
But to return to the canal. The funds borrowed for the purpose of completing the canal were kept separate; but it shared the fate of being in bad company, and all work was abandoned in 1842. The contractors had large claims against the State, and in 1843 a law was passed to settle the claims of the contractors and liquidate the damages, provided the sum should not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The summit level of the canal, extending from Bridgeport to Lockport, a distance of twenty-eight miles, is only from six to eight feet above the level of the Lake, and as originally planned, this level was to be fed from the Lake, thereby practically making a southern outlet to Lake Michigan by the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. The depth and width of the canal gave it a capacity sufficient to admit the passage of large sail vessels. About one-half of the summit level was completed in accordance with these plans before the work was abandoned in 1842.*
----------------- * It should have been stated in the text that the summit was supplied with water in the spring and wet seasons, mainly from the Calumet through the "Sag," by damming the river near Blue Island. To provide for any deficiency, pumping works of great capacity were built at Bridgeport, which, when the supply from the Calumet failed, not only furnished the canal with water, but pumping the stagnant liquid from the river rendered it pure, for its place was supplied from the lake.
By 1865 the population of Chicago had increased to 178,900; the city had inaugurated and completed an extensive system of sewers, most of which emptied into the river. For perhaps nine or ten months of the year it had no current, and hence it became the source of the foulest smells that a suffering people were ever forced to endure; and, besides, it was evident that something must be done effectively to cleanse it, or the city would soon become so unhealthy as to be uninhabitable.
Accordingly, on the 15th and 16th of February, 1865, the Legislature passed Acts authorizing the city of Chicago to lower the summit of the canal, as originally proposed, so that the pure waters of Lake Michigan would flow south, thus cleansing the river and dispensing with the dam on the Calumet and the pumping works at Bridgeport. Authority was granted to borrow $2,000,000 to do this work, and with Col. R. B. Mason, of this city, and Wm. Gooding, of Lockport, added to the Board of Public Works, the work of lowering the summit of the canal was commenced, and it was completed June 15th, 1871. On that day the hoisting of the gates at Bridgeport was made known throughout the city by the merry ringing of the bells, and joy pervaded all circles and all classes of citizens.
Thenceforward Lake Michigan has contributed a portion of its waters to the Illinois river, and thence it has flowed on to the Gulf of Mexico.
On Tuesday, July 25th, the Common, Council, with a large number of guests, made an excursion to Lockport—other fluids besides pure Lake Michigan water contributing largely to the hilarity of the party. The South Branch, except in exceptional cases, has since been filled with pure water; and the North Branch is to be made so, by the Fullerton Avenue conduit.
The State reserved the right to resume control of the canal at any time, by paying, the city the money. --------------------------
In the session of the Legislature of 1843-4, a bill providing for the completion of the canal on the "shallow cut" was passed, the substance of which was, that the holders of the canal bonds should advance $1,600,000 to complete the work. The canal lands yet remaining unsold, and the canal itself, with the revenue to be derived from it, were placed in the hands of three trustees, two of whom were chosen by the, bondholders, and one by the State. There were in all about two hundred and thirty thousand acres of land, and several hundred lots in the cities of Chicago, Ottawa, LaSalle, and the towns along the line placed in the hands of the trustees.
The money was advanced by the bondholders, and the canal was completed and went into operation in the spring of 1848. It gave an impetus to the commerce and prosperity of Chicago far beyond the anticipations of its most sanguine friends, and since then Chicago has grown very rapidly, having more than trebled her population in the short space of six years.
These lands have been offered for sale every six months, and owing to the enhanced value which the rapid increase of population in this part of the State has given them, the loan of one million six hundred thousand dollars was all paid off last fall, and quite a large amount is still due on the lands sold, and no inconsiderable portion of them is still in the hands of the Trustees. The finances of the State, as shown in the recent message of His Excellency, Governor Matteson, are in a very prosperous condition. Though the debt is still large, without imposing any
----------------------------------- it had expended in deepening the canal. In accordance with that noble spirit which seemed to pervade the whole world, immediately after our great fire on the 9th of October, 1871, the Legislature, on October 20th, passed a law to refund to the city the amount she had expended, (in all, $2,955,340 principal and interest,) and to again assume the control and ownership of the canal. In her dire necessity after the fire, this was a great boon to the city. It need only be added here that the National and State Governments are building a series of locks and dams on the Illinois river, which, when completed a very few years hence, will give us one of the finest water lines of transit in the world. The connection between the Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, and also with the Mississippi and all its tributaries, will be complete. -----------------------------------
additional burdens upon our citizens, it will all be paid off in a few years. It is worthy of special remark, that when the New Constitution was formed in 1847, a clause was introduced in it by which, if approved by the people, a special tax of two mills upon the dollar was levied, and was to be applied to extinguishing the principal of this debt. The people in 1848 voted upon this provision separately, and adopted it by ten thousand majority. This, so far as we know, is the first instance in which the people of a State deliberately taxed themselves in order to pay an old and burdensome debt. It is a fine compliment to the integrity of the citizens of Illinois, and has done much to establish her character in commercial circles, both in this country and in Europe.
There are some interesting facts in reference to the topography of Chicago, only a few of which we have space to give. On the south side of the river there were two sloughs between the Garrison and "the point." The first emptied into the river at the foot of State street. It ran a little north of the Sherman House, crossing Clark street near the Post Office, thence crossing Lake street nearly in front of tbe Tremont House. The "old Tremont House" was on the northwest corner of Lake and Dearborn streets, and as late as 1834 sportsmen would sit in the door of the "Tremont" and shoot ducks in the slough. The other slough entered the river at the foot of LaSalle street. The store built in 1831-2 by P. F. W. Peck, Esq., at the southeast corner of LaSalle and Water streets, was situated on a "high point of land," formed by a bend in this slough. Poles were laid across these sloughs, on which the people going east and west crossed for want of a better bridge.
The dwelling now occupied by Mrs. Wright, at the corner of Michigan avenue and Madison street, was built by John Wright, Esq., in 1839. Then it was "way out of town in the prairie." Randolph and Washington streets were not even "turnpiked," and there was nothing to indicate their "local habitation" save only here and there a few stakes driven eight years previous by Surveyor Thompson and his assistants. There were a few scattered houses along Lake and South Water streets.
The first deed on record is made by Governor Reynolds, in behalf of the State, to Robert Kinzie, assignee of B. B. Kercheval, and conveys lots 5 and 6, block 29, Original Town, for the sum of $109. It is recorded December 2,1831, by R. J. Hamilton, Recorder. The first will on record is that of Alexander Wolcott, filed April 27, 1831, before R. J. Hamilton, Judge of Probate.
It is a feature of our city, more noticed by strangers than by ourselves, who are accustomed to it, that we are a community of workers. Every man apparently has his head and hands full, and seems to be hurried along by an irresistible impulse that allows him neither rest nor leisure. An amusing evidence of this characteristic of Chicago occurs in connection with the first census of the city, taken July 1st, 1837, when the occupation, as well as names and residences of every citizen were duly entered. In the record of the population of four thousand one hundred and seventy, among the names of professors, mechanics, artisans and laborers, appears, in unenviable singularity, the entry, "Richard Harper, loafer," the only representative of the class at that time in the city. From this feeble ancestry the descendants have been few and unimportant; and we believe there is not a city in the Union where the proportion of vagabonds and loafers is so small as in Chicago.*
We might extend our sketches at pleasure, but we have already greatly exceeded the limits we at first assigned them. It is not yet quite seventeen years since the city government was first organized. Then it contained only four thousand one hundred and seventy inhabitants; now it has over sixty thousand. Then there was not a canal, railroad or plank road leading out of
------------------------------- * It gives me pleasure to state, that I have since learned that Harper was very respectably connected in the city of Baltimore; that he made his way back to his native place, and that he was one of the six Washingtonian reformers who started the great temperance reformation which spread all over the country sometime about the year 1840, and subsequently. A great many inebriates were reformed, and a great deal of permanent good was the result. -------------------------------
the city, and only three years previous there was but one mail from the East per week, and that was brought from Nileson horseback. The changes which have been wrought in seventeen years are truly amazing.
The question naturally arises, what will the next seventeen years accomplish? With less than the ratio of her past increase of population from the time she first became a city, she will, in 1871, contain more than half a million of people. Few, perhaps, would dare to predict such a result; but let us look at a few facts, and leave each one to draw his own conclusion. We are now in direct railroad connection with all the Atlantic cities from Portland to Baltimore. Five, and at most eight years, will extend the circle to New Orleans. By that time also we shall shake hands with the rich copper and iron mines of Lake Superior, both by canal and railroad; and long ere another seventeen years have passed away, we shall have a great National Railroad from Chicago to Puget's Sound, with a branch to San Francisco. Situated in the centre of one of the most extensive and the richest agricultural regions in the world; at the head of our magnificent inland seas, and holding the key to their commerce on each side for fifteen hundred miles; with the certainty that she must become the great central city of the Continent, where the productions of Asia, Europe and America must concentrate for exchange and distribution throughout the Mississippi Valley, with unrivalled facilities for manufactories of all kinds; and with railroads centering here from every principal city upon the Continent—he must be dull indeed who can predict anything but a glorious future for the Garden City. We have given but the outlines of the picture; time, we are satisfied, will fill it up with colors more vivid and glorious than the most sanguine imagination would dare now to contemplate. The results of the past seventeen years are now matters of history, and we leave the editors of the Democratic Press in 1871 to prepare the record—may be we be spared to do it—of what the next seventeen years shall accomplish.
1853. HISTORICAL AND COMMERCIAL STATISTICS, MANUFACTURES, BANKING, ETC.
The River and Harbor Convention, which commenced its sessions in this city on the 5th of July, 1847, gave the second great and permanent impulse to Chicago. After the disastrous speculating mania of 1836—7, the city gradually sunk in public favor till 1842, when the lowest point was reached, and business began to revive. The progress of the city, however, was slow, till its advantages were in some measure appreciated and made known by the intelligent statesmen and business men from every part of the Union, who were present at that Convention. To the editors who were present is Chicago specially indebted for extending a knowledge of her commercial position. The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, in the spring of 1848, gave a marked impetus to our trade, and tended still farther to attract the attention of the country to the Garden City. On the 22d of January, 1850, the Galena Railroad was opened forty-two and a half miles to Elgin, and in a very few months demonstrated the important fact that, owing to the cheapness with which railroads could be constructed in Illinois, they would pay a large dividend to the stockholders. Eastern capitalists saw that the Mississippi Valley was the place to make profitable investments, and in 1851 the charter of the Illinois Central Railroad turned the attention of the whole Union to Chicago, and made her future pre-eminence no longer doubtful. The completion of the Michigan Southern and Michigan Central Railroads in 1852, added much to the prosperity of the city; and the commencement of the Rock Island Railroad in the spring of the same year, its rapid progress and immense business, and the fact that Chicago is one of the greatest railroad centres in the country, have all tended to increase our population at the rate of fifty-seven per cent, during the past year—a ratio never before witnessed in the United States, except in California.
With these improvements there has been a corresponding change in the business of the city. In the fall of 1847, when we first saw Chicago, the business of our merchants was confined mainly to the retail trade. The produce that was shipped from this port was all brought to the city by teams. Some of them would come a hundred and fifty miles. Farmers would bring in a load of grain and take back supplies for themselves and their neighbors. Often has it happened that they would get "sloughed," or break their wagons; and between the expense of repairs and hotel charges, they would find themselves in debt when they got home. During the "business season" the city would be crowded with teams. We have seen Water and Lake streets almost impassable for hours together. The opening of the canal in 1848 made considerable change in the appearance of the city, and when the Galena Railroad was finished to Elgin, the difference was very striking. The most of those old familiar teams ceased to visit us, and we heard some few merchants gravely express the opinion that the canal and railroads would ruin the city. The difference they have made is simply that between a small and a large business; between a retail and a wholesale trade. One of the principal Jewelry and Gold and Silver establishments in the city in 1845 did a business of $3,000; last year the same house sold goods to the amount of $120,000. Drug stores, whose sales eight years ago were from five to six thousand dollars, now do a business of from fifty to a hundred thousand. The Hardware, Dry Goods and Grocery business will show similar, and some of them still more remarkable results. We have made repeated efforts to get at the exact figures in each department of trade, that we might make comparisons between the last and preceding years, but we are sorry to say that many of our merchants are very reluctant to give us any figures, lest the extent of the commerce of Chicago should become known, and merchants from other cities should come here and divide their profits. A more narrow-minded, injurious policy, in our judgment, could not be adopted.
The transactions in produce, since the opening of the canal and railroads, make but little show in the streets, but they are immense. We can name five houses, each of whose business foots up to from eight hundred thousand to a million and a half of dollars per year. To see these gentlemen in the evening, quietly chatting on the state of the markets, at the Tremont, one would hardly suspect that their purchases for the day had amounted to five or ten, and sometimes perhaps to fifty thousand dollars.
We have some interesting facts and figures to present, and commence with
REAL ESTATE.
The appreciation in the value of real estate in Chicago is truly amazing. To those who have always lived in towns and cities on the seaboard, that were "finished" before they were born, the facts we are about to give will be scarcely credible. They are, however, plain, sober truths, which, if any one doubts, he can verify at his leisure. Real estate in Chicago now has a positive business value, below which it will never be likely to sink, unless some great calamity should befall the whole country.
Like all Western cities, Chicago has had her reverses. In 1835-6, real estate had a fictitious value. The whole country was mad with the spirit of speculation. When the crash came, in the latter part of 1837, hundreds in this city found themselves bankrupt. Real estate went down to a very low figure, reaching "bottom" in 1842.
Since then, it has been steadily rising with the increasing prosperity of the country, and if the judgment of our most cautious, far-seeing business men can be trusted, it will never be any less. That judgment is based upon an array of facts, the accuracy and influence of which, upon the growth of Chicago, eannot be doubted. In only one year from the first of January next, we shall have four thousand miles of railroad centering in this city, counting in most cases their extension only in a single State beyond our own; and what is of more importance, they penetrate one of the finest agricultural regions that can be found in any country. By that time the Sault Ste. Marie Canal will be done— opening to our commerce the rich mines of Lake Superior. The iron and the copper of that region will here meet the coal from our State, and build up the most extensive manufactories upon the Continent. One of the finest canals in the world connects us with the Illinois and Mississippi rivers; and in addition to- all this, Chicago holds the key to the commerce of our magnificent lakes, giving us a coasting trade, when Lake Superior is opened to us by the Ste. Marie Canal, of three thousand miles. The most sagacious statesmen, and the ablest commercial men in this country and in Europe, have, therefore, a broad basis for the opinion that Chicago is soon to take rank among the three largest cities, and ere long as the second city upon the American Continent.
The rise in real estate, and the prices at which it is now sold in view of such facts, are easily explained. The following table, made up from the records of the original sales in this city, will be found very interesting. The last column, showing the present value of property, is the average of the prices at which they would now sell, as given us by three of our oldest and most reliable real estate houses in this city. Many of the owners, we presume, would not sell at these figures, and we have no doubt should any of this property be put in the market, it would readily command at least the estimated value given in the table. The price of "the lands" may appear enormous, but four of the parcels are now in the thickly inhabited parts of the city, and the valuation is probably below rather than above the mark.
DESCRIPTION ORIGINAL PRESENT FIRST PURCHASER OF LOTS. BLK PRICE. VALUE. Sept. 27, 1830. B. B. Kercheval. Nos 5 and 6 29 $109.00 $ 21,300 Mark Beaubien. 3 and 4 31 102.00 108,000 Thos. Hartzell. 1, 8 21, 29 115.00 62,700 do 7 29 35.00 10,000 Edm'nd Roberts & Peter Menard 4 29 100.00 13,000 Edm'nd Roberts 2 18 45.00 40,000 William Jewett 5 and 6 28 21.00 17,000 James Kinzie. 5,6,7 and 8 12) do 2,3,5,7&8 21) 418.00 131,000 do 8 and 5 41) J. B. Beaubien. 7 16) do 1,2,7 and 8 17) do 1 18) 346.00 450,000 do 6 35) do 3 and 4 36) John Kinzie. 8 20) do 5 and 6 32) 119.00 163,000 do 2 2) do 2,7 and 8 5) Alex. Wolcott. 12345678 1 685.00 128,000 Thomas Ryan. 2 10 42.00 30,000 Sept. 29, 1830. Stephen Mack. 7 and 8 43 53.00 57,000 April 3, 1832. Thos. J.V. Owen 5 9 39.00 40,000 Oliver Newberry 4 16 78.00 39,000 do 4 17 100.00 46,000 Jesse B. Browne 3 20 50.00 28,000 James Kinzie. 8 11 34.00 18,000 P. F. W. Peck. 4 18 78.00 42,500 April 5. 1832. T. J. V. Owen & 5 10) R.J. Hamilton 8 11) 170.00 83,300 John Noble. 1 56 60.00 18,000 do 6 18) do 3 10) 80.00 100,000 Hugh Walker. 5 31 61.00 35,000 Sept. 3, 1832. O. Goss, Washington Co Vt 2 56 70.00 18,000 Dec. 4, 1832. Calvin Rawley. 4 38 53.00 50,000
FIRST PURCHASER ORIGINAL PRICE PRESENT VALUE Sept 12, 1830. NO. ACRES. Thos. Hartzell, W. Hf. N.E. qr. Sec. 9, T. 39 N., Range 14 E: 80 124.00 800,000 Edmund Roberts and Benj. B. Kercheval, W. hf. N.W. qr. Sec. 9, T. 39, R 14 E: 80 100.00 400,000 Sept 28, 1830. James Kinzie, E. hf. N.W. qr. Sec. 9, T. 39 N., R. 14: 80 140.00 600,000 Sept 29, 1830. J. B. Beaubien, N. hf. N.E. qr. Sec. 9, T. 9N. R.14 E: 84 98- 100 424.90 85,000 J. B. Beaubien, N.W. frac. N.W. qr. Sec. 9, T. 39 N., R. 14 E: 107 66- 100 638.30 132,000
$4,490.20 $3,765,800
There is, we believe, but one of the above lots, and only a fraction of that, which is now in the hands of the original purchaser. That is the lot owned by P. F. W. Peck, Esq., and in reality he was not the first purchaser, for it is the same lot bought by Mr. Peck of Mr. Walker—the receipt for which was quoted in the "History of Chicago." That receipt was recognized by the Commissioner, and the deed was made directly to Mr. Peck.
Our citizens have all noticed the splendid drug store of J. H. Reed & Co., No. 144 Lake street. The day it was opened, October 28, 1851, we stood in front of the store, conversing with the owner of the building, Jeremiah Price, Esq. Pointing to one of the elegant windows, said Mr. Price: "I gave $100 in New York for that centre pane of French plate glass. That is exactly what I paid Mr. J. Noble for this lot, eighty feet front, on a part of which the store stands, when I purchased it in 1833." That lot cannot now be bought for $64,000. Wolcott's Addition, on the North side, was bought in 1830 for $130. It is now worth considerably over one and a quarter millions of dollars. Walter L. Newberry, Esq., bought the forty acres which forms his addition to Chicago, of Thomas Hartzell, in 1833, for $1,062. It is now worth half a million of dollars, and what is fortunate for Mr. Newberry, he still owns by far the largest part of the property. So late as 1834, one-half of Kinzie's addition, all of Wolcott's addition, and all of block 1, Original Town, were sold for $20,000. They are now worth, at a low estimate, $3,000,000. Any number of similar instances might be given of the immense appreciation of real estate in Chicago.
From the great appreciation which these figures show, many may be led to suppose that no more money can be made on real estate in Chicago. Exactly the reverse is true. As compared with their original cost, lots near the centre of the city can not be expected to appreciate so rapidly as in years past; but that they will steadily advance, there can scarcely be a doubt. Let any business man study carefully the facts contained in these articles; let him remember that within the lifetime of thousands who read these pages Chicago will contain her hundreds of thousands of people; and then let him calculate, if he has the courage, what real estate will then be worth in the commercial centre of the Mississippi Valley.
The following table exhibits the total valuation of real and personal property in Chicago, as taken from the Assessor's books, for a series of years. It must be remembered, however, that property is assessed at far below its real value:
YEAR. VALUATN 1839 $1,829,420 1840 1,864,205 1841 1,888,160 1842 2,325,240 1843 2,250,735 1844 3,166,945 1845 3,669,124 1846 5,071,402 1847 6,189,385 1848 9,986,000 1849 7,617,102 1850 8,101,000 1851 9,431,826 1852 12,035,037 1853 22,929,637
The following shows the assessed value of the different kinds of property for the last year. The lands are within the city limits, but are not yet divided into lots:
Lands $ 5,481,030 Lots 12,997,977 Personal Property 4,450,630 Total $22,929,637
It will be noticed that the value of property has nearly doubled in the year 1853. This fact corresponds very well with the increase of population, that being fifty-seven per cent.
CHURCHES.
We stated in our History that the Methodists were the pioneers among all religious sects in Chicago. They were represented here in 1831-2-3, by the veteran Missionary preacher, Jesse Walker. The first quarterly meeting was held here in the fall of 1833, in Watkins' school-house. The building stood on the southwest corner of Clark and Old North Water streets. There were present at that meeting—John Sinclair, presiding elder; Father Walker, missionary; William See and William Whitehead,-local preachers; Chas. Wisencraft, Mrs. R. J. Hamilton and Mrs. Harmon. In the spring of 1834 the first regular class was formed. Father Walker had previously built a log church at "The Point," which had been occupied for holding meetings for a year or two. Soon after the class was formed in the spring of 1834, a small frame church was built upon North Water street, between Dearborn and Clark streets. The lot on which the church now stands, corner of Clark and Washington streets, was purchased in 1836, and in the summer of 1838 the church was moved across the river on scows, and placed upon the lot. It was enlarged several times, to accommodate the increasing congregation. The present church was built in the summer of 1846.
The First Presbyterian is the oldest church in the city. It was organized on the 26th of June, 1833, by its first pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Porter, now of Green Bay. Mr. Porter was chaplain of a detachment of U. S. troops, who came here from Green Bay early in that year. When organized, it consisted of twenty- five members of the Garrison. The names of the citizens who united with it were:
JOHN WRIGHT, PHILO CARPENTER, ELDERS
Rufus Brown. Mrs. Elizabeth Brown. John S. Wright. Mary Taylor. J. H. Poor. E.Clark. Mrs. Cynthia Brown.
Ten churches have since been organized in whole or in part from this church. It is now in a very flourishing condition under the pastoral care of Rev. H. Curtis.
The first Catholic church in Chicago was built by Rev. Mr. Schoffer, in the years 1833-4. It was located somewhere in State street. It now stands in the rear of St. Mary's Cathedral, and is used by the Sisters of Mercy as a school room. St. Mary's is the oldest Catholic church in the city. It was opened for divine service on the 25th of December, 1843. Its pastors then were Rev'ds Fischer and Saint Pailais, now Bishop of Vincennes. The house was completed by the late Bishop Quarter, and consecrated by him December 5th, 1845.
St. James is the oldest Episcopal church in the city. It was organized in 1834. The following were the first members: Peter Johnson. Mrs. P. Johnson. Mrs. Juliette A. Kinzie (wife of J. H. Kinzie, Esq.) Mrs. Francis W. Magill. Mrs. Nancy Hallam. Mrs. Margaret Helm.
The first Baptist church was organized by Rev. A. B. Freeman, on the 19th of October, 1833. The following were its first members: Rev. A.B. Freeman. Willard Jones. S. T. Jackson. Ebon Crane. Martin D. Harmon. Samantha Harmon. Peter Moore. Lucinda Jackson. Nath'l Carpenter. Betsey Crane. John K. Sargents. Hannah C. Freeman. Peter Warden. Susannah Rice.
The first church erected by this society was built on North Water street—the precise time we cannot give. In 1843-4 the society built a large brick house on the lot now owned by them on the south side of the public square. It was burnt down in October, 1852. A new church is now in process of erection, which will cost at least $25,000.
The first Sunday School in Chicago was established by Philo Carpenter, Esq., and Capt. Johnson, in August, 1832. Mr. Carpenter, in company with G. W. Snow, Esq., arrived here on the 30th of July, 1832. The school was first held in a frame, not then enclosed, which stood on ground a short distance northeast of the present residence of Mrs. John Wright, on Michigan avenue. It is now washed away. The school consisted of thirteen children. It was held during the fall of that year and the next season above the store of P. F. W. Peck, Esq., at the southeast corner of LaSalle and Water streets. Rev. Mr. Porter also preached in the same place. In the fall of 1832, Charles Butler, Esq., of New York, presented the Sunday School with a library, and it soon increased to forty or fifty members.
The first Congregational church was organized on the 22d of May, 1851, on the west side of the river.
The following is the present list of churches and ministers in Chicago:
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL. TRINITY CHURCH—Madison, near Clark street; Rev. W. A. Smallwood, D.D., rector. ST. JAMES' CHURCH—corner of Cass and Illinois streets; R. H. Clarkson, rector. CHURCH OF THE ATONEMENT—corner of Washington and Green streets, West side; Dudley Chase, rector. ST. PAUL'S FREE CHAPEL—Sherman, near Harrison street; J. McNamara, rector. GRACE CHURCH—corner of Dearborn and Madison streets; C. E. Swope, rector. ST. ANSGARIUS CHURCH—corner of Indiana and Franklin streets; Gustavus Unonius, rector.
PRESBYTERIAN. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—corner Clark and Washington streets; Harvey Curtis, pastor. SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—corner Wabash Avenue and Washington streets; R. W. Patterson, pastor. THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—Union street, between Randolph and Washington streets, West side; E. W. Moore, pastor. NORTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—corner Illinois and Wolcott streets, North side; R. H. Richardson, pastor. REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—Fulton st., corner Clinton street, West side; A. M. Stewart, pastor.
CONGREGATIONAL. FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH—Washington street, between Halsted and Union streets, West side. PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH—corner Dearborn and Madison streets; N. H. Eggleston, pastor. NEW ENGLAND CHURCH—corner Wolcott and Indiana streets; J. C. Holbrook, pastor. SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH—There is preaching regularly by Rev. E. F. Dickenson, at the church near American Car Company's Works, at half past 10 o'clock A. M., every Sabbath. Also at 3 P. M., at the New Congregational Meeting House, corner of Clark and Taylor streets, near the Southern Michigan Railroad Depot.
LUTHERAN. NORWEGIAN CHURCH—Superior, between Wells and LaSalle streets; Paul Andersen, pastor. GERMAN CHURCH—LaSalle, between Indiana and Ohio streets; J. A. Fisher, pastor. GERMAN CHURCH—Indiana street, near Wells; Augustus Selle, pastor.
BAPTIST. FIRST CHURCH—Burned down, now worshipping in the old Presbyterian Church, on Clark, near Madison street; J. C. Burroughs, pastor. TABERNACLE CHURCH—Desplaines, between Washington and Madison streets, West side; A. Kenyon, pastor.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL. CLARK STREET CHURCH—corner Clark and Washington streets; J. Clark, pastor. INDIANA STREET—between Clark and Dearborn streets; S.Bolles, pastor. JEFFERSON STREET—between Madison and Monroe streets, West side; E. H. Gammon, pastor. OWEN STREET—corner Owen and Peoria streets, West side; S. Guyer, pastor. CLINTON STREET—between Polk and Taylor streets, West side. HARRISON STREET—near State street; F. A. Reed, pastor. GERMAN—Indiana street, between Wells and LaSalle streets; C. Winz, pastor. GERMAN—Van Buren street, corner of Griswold, A. Kellener, pastor.
METHODIST PROTESTANT. METHODIST PROTESTANT—corner of Washington and Jefferson streets; Lewis R. Ellis, pastor.
CATHOLIC. CATHEDRAL OF ST. MARY'S—corner of Madison street and Wabash avenue; Patrie Thomas McElhearne and James Fitzgerald, pastors. ST. PATRICK'S—corner Randolph and Desplaines street; Patrick J. McLaughlin, pastor. HOLY NAME OF JESUS—corner Wolcott and Superior streets, North side; Jeremiah Kinsella, pastor. ST. PETER'S—(German)—Washington, between Franklin and Wells street; G. W. Plathe, pastor. ST. JOSEPH'S—(German)—corner Cass street and Chicago avenue, North side; Anthony Kopp, pastor. ST. LOUIS—(French)—Clark, between Adams and Jackson streets; I. A. Lebel, pastor. ST. MICHAEL'S—corner North avenue and New Church street; E. Kaiser, pastor. ST. FRANCIS ASSISIUM—West side; J. B. Weicamp, pastor.
NEW JERUSALEM-SWEDENBORGIAN. PLACE OF WORSHIP corner of Dearborn and Randolph streets; J. R. Hibbard, pastor.
UNITARIAN. UNITARIAN CHURCH—North side of Washington street, between Clark and Dearborn streets; R. R. Shippen, pastor.
UNIVERSALIST. UNIVERSALIST CHURCH—South side of Washington street, between Clark and Dearborn streets; L. B. Mason, pastor.
JEWISH. SYNAGOGUE—Clark street, between Adams and Quincy streets; G. Schneidacher, pastor.
COLLEGES, SCHOOLS, ETC. The Common Schools of Chicago are the pride and the glory of the city. The school fund is ample, and every child in the city can obtain the elements of a good English education free of charge. We have now six large Public School edifices, two in each division of the city. From three to seven hundred children are daily gathered in each.
Besides these, we have a large number of private schools and seminaries, where those who wish can educate their children.
We have an excellent Commercial College, at the head of which is Judge Bell. The Catholics have a College, and the Methodists are also about to establish and endow a University. We have also a most excellent Medical College.
The educational facilities of Chicago may therefore be regarded as of a very high order.
BANKS, BANKING, ETC. Had we space to write out the history of Banking in Illinois, and especially in Chicago, it would present some interesting topics for the contemplation of the financier. We have had two State Banks. The first was established early in the history of the State, and though the most extravagant expectations were entertained of its influence for good, its bills soon depreciated very rapidly, and for the want of silver change, they were torn in several fragments and passed for fractions of a dollar. It soon became entirely worthless. The second State Bank was chartered by the session of the Legislature in the winter of 1834-5. In July of 1835, it was determined to establish a branch here; but it was not opened till December of that year. In the financial embarrassments of 1837, the bank stopped specie payment, but continued business till 1841, when it finally suspended. For the ten succeeding years we had no banks of any kind in the State. These were dark days for Illinois. She annually paid banking institutions of other States immense sums of money in the shape of interest for all the currency she used. Tired of this system, a general banking law, modeled after that of New York, was passed, and on the 3d of January, 1853, the Marine Bank in this city commenced business. The law is regarded as rather too stringent by our bankers, and hence they do not procure bills for a tithe of the capital they employ. The following table shows the number of banks in this city, and the amount of bills they have in circulation:
BANKS, BILLS IN CIRC'N. Exchange Bank of H. A. Tucker & Co, $50,000 Marine Bank, 215,000 Bank of America, 50,000 Chicago Bank, 150,000 Commercial Bank, 55,000 Farmers' Bank, 50,000 Union Bank, 75,000 Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank, 54,700 City Bank, 60,000
The capital of these banks is, in some instances, half a dozen times the amount of their circulation. The banking capital actually employed to do the business of the city must amount to several millions, and yet so rapid is the increase of trade, that money within the last six years has never borne less than ten per cent, interest. This is the legal rate established by the laws of Illinois. Most of the time money can be loaned from one to two per cent. per month, by those who are willing to take advantage of the opportunities which are constantly offering. We presume that hundreds of thousands of dollars could be safely invested at any time within a week or two, at the legal rate of interest. We have never seen the money market of Chicago fully supplied at the regular legal rate, viz: ten per cent, per annum.
The following is a list of the private bankers and brokers doing business in Chicago: R. K. SWIFT. J. M. ADSIT. JONES & PATRICK. F. G. ADAMS & Co. SHELDON & Co. N. C., ROE & Co. DAVISSON, McCALLA & Co. E. H. HUNTINGTON & Co. GEO. SMITH & Co.
Several of these firms are doing a large business. R. K. Swift is doing a very extensive business in foreign exchange, and has arrangements to draw on every principal city in this country and Europe.*
We have tried to obtain the figures showing the actual amount of exchange drawn on New York and other American cities, and the cities of Europe; but some of our bankers, like a portion of our business men, are unwilling to furnish such facts, lest, as we infer, other capitalists should send their money here for investment.
Their narrow policy, we trust, will be of no avail in that regard, for they will always have as much business as they can possibly do; and the fact that the legal rate of interest is ten per cent., and that the money market has never yet been fully supplied, together with the certainty that Chicago will not be "finished" for the next century at least, will induce a still larger number of Eastern capitalists to invest their money in Chicago. There is not in the wide world a city that furnishes opportunities for safer investments than Chicago—whether the money is employed in banking operations, or is loaned on real estate security.
PRICE OF LABOR.
In a city growing as rapidly as Chicago, labor is always in demand. Especially is this true where every department of business is equally active and increasing. In dull times, and in cities which have passed the culminating point of their prosperity, master mechanics can select their journeymen, and do somewhat as they wish.
For
---------------- *It is a significant commentary upon the risks and instability of banking, that of all the banks and private bankers in Chicago in 1853, only one, J. M. Adsit, is now, March 1876, here, and doing the same business. ----------------
the last year or two, so great has been the demand for labor, that those who worked by the day or week were the real masters, for good mechanics could command almost any price they chose to ask.
The following table, carefully prepared, shows the price now usually paid to journeymen in this city. The range is large, but is not wider than the difference in the skill and capacity of different men in every occupation:
EARNINGS PER WEEK AND OCCUPATION. WAGES PER DAY FOR PIECE & JOB WORK Blacksmiths & Iron wkrs $1.25 @ $2.00 ----- Blowers and Strikers .88 @ 1.00 ----- Butchers 1.00 @ 3.00 ----- Choppers and Packers 1.25 @ 2.00 ----- Carpenters 1.50 @ 2.00 ----- Cabinet Makers 1.00 @ 2.00 $ 9 00@ftl8 00 Upholsterers ----- 9.00® 18 00 Coopers ----- 9 00®. 12 00 Day Laborers 1.00 @ 1.50 ----- Hatters ----- 12.00 @ 20.00 House Painters 1.25 @ 1.75 ----- Harness Mkrs & Saddlers ----- 6.00 @ 15.00 Masons and Plasterers 1.50 @ 2.00 ----- Marble Cutters 1.75 @ 2.00 ----- Machinists 1.00 @ 2.00 12.00 @ 18.00 Printers, comp 30c_1,000 1.67 12.00 @ 18.00 Rope Makers 1.50 ----- Ship Carpente's & Joiners 1.50 @ 2.25 ----- Ship Caulkers 2.25 @ 2.50 ----- Stone Cutters 1.75 @ 2.00 ----- Shoemakers ----- 6.00 @ 12.00 Trunk Makers ----- 8.00 @ 15.00 Tailors ----- 7.00 @ 11.00 Cutters ----- 10.00 @ 16.00 Tanners 1.00 @ 1.25 ----- Curriers ----- 9.00 @ 12.00 Wire Workers & Weavers 1.00 @ 1.50 14.00 @ 15.00 Wagon & Carriage Mak'rs 1.25 @ 2.00 ----- Wagon & Carriage Painters 1.2 @ 2.00 -----
CHICAGO WATER WORKS
A supply of pure water is essential to the health, and therefore to the prosperity of any city. The citizens of Chicago have great reason to congratulate themselves upon the near completion of one of the finest specimens of engineering that can be found in any city. The Chicago Water Works will very soon be the pride of all our citizens. No better water can be found than Lake Michigan affords; and increased health and blessings without number will attend its introduction throughout the city.
We are indebted to E. Willard Smith, Esq., resident engineer, for the following description of the works:
The water is taken from Lake Michigan at the foot of Chicago avenue. A timber crib, twenty by forty feet, is sunk six hundred feet from shore. From this crib a wooden inlet pipe, thirty inches interior diameter, laid in a trench in the bottom of the lake, conveys the water to the pump-well. This well is placed under the Engine House. The end of the inlet pipe is of iron, and bends down to the bottom of the well, which is twenty-five feet deep, and at ordinary stages of the water in the lake contains fourteen feet of water. The pipe acts as a syphon.
The water flows by its own gravity into the well, whence it is drawn by the pumping engine and forced into the mains, and thence into the reservoir in the South Division, from which it is distributed into the distribution pipes in the various parts of the city.
ENGINE.
The engine is located in the main building. It was built at the Morgan Iron Works, in New York, and is a first class engine, low pressure, of two hundred horse power. Its cylinder is forty-four inches in diameter, and has a piston with a nine-foot stroke. The fly wheel is an immense casting of iron, twenty- four feet in diameter, and weighing 24,000 pounds. The working beam is of cast iron, thirty feet long and four feet deep. It is supported by a hollow iron column instead of the usual gallows frame, four feet in diameter, and forming also an air vessel for the condenser. There are two water pumps, one on each side of this centre column, of thirty-four inches bore, six-foot stroke. These pumps are furnished with composition valves. The boiler, which is located in the north wing of the building is a marine boiler of the largest size, being thirty feet long and nine feet in diameter, furnished with an admirable arrangement of flues, and possessing an extraordinary strength of draught. The consumption of coal by the boiler is very small, and it proves very economical. The engine was put up under the care and direction of Mr. DeWitt C. Cregier, the steam engineer of the company. The cost of the engine was only twenty-five thousand dollars. This engine is capable of furnishing over three million gallons daily, which is a supply for one hundred thousand persons.
DUPLICATE ENGINE.
At the opposite end of the main building is a duplicate engine, of about one- half of the power of the other, which is kept in reserve in case of any breakage or accident happening to the other. This engine was manufactured by H. P. Moses, of this city; it is a non-condensing or high-pressure engine. The engine pump works horizontally, on a heavy cast-iron bed plate, supported by masonry. The steam cylinder is eighteen inches internal diameter, with a piston of six-foot stroke. The pump is double-acting, and of the same diameter and stroke as the steam cylinder and piston; it is placed behind the steam cylinder. The steam piston passes through both heads of the steam cylinder, one end connecting with the pump, and the other with the crank or fly wheel. The fly wheel is an iron casting, twelve feet in diameter.
ENGINE HOUSE.
The engine house is built of brick masonry, in the modern Italian style. The main building is fifty-four feet front and thirty-four feet deep, with a wing on each side, each forty-four feet front and thirty-four feet deep.
The main building is carried up two stories high, making an elevation of thirty feet above the principal floor. The wings are one story high.
The roof is composed of wrought iron trusses covered with zinc plates.
In the centre of the front of the main building a tower is constructed, fourteen feet square at the base, and one hundred and forty feet in height, surrounded by an ornamental cornice of metal. This tower forms a striking feature of the building. It also serves as a chimney for both boilers, and also has a chamber in the centre, separated from the smoke flues, in which is placed the standing column.
RESERVOIR BUILDING.
This building is two stories high. The principal floor is placed three feet above the surface of the street. The exterior for the first story, (fifteen feet, above the principal floor,) is made of cut stone, with rustic joints, surmounted by a cut stone string course. The second story is faced with pressed brick and rustic quoins of cut stone. The architraves of the doors and windows are of cut stone. The main cornice is of cast iron, projecting four feet from the face of the wall, and supported by ornamental cast-iron consoles.
This cornice forms a balcony, which is surrounded by an ornamental iron railing.
The tank is supported by a brick column and brick arches, and is capable of holding five hundred thousand gallons of water.
The building when completed, with the tank, will be about ninety feet in height. This tank is designed to hold only a night supply for fifty thousand inhabitants. As the population of the city increases, it is proposed to erect similar reservoir buildings, with tanks, etc., in each division. The surface of water in the tank will be eighty-three feet above the lake. The reservoir is situated immediately south of Adams street and west of Clark.
RIVER PIPES.
The river pipes conveying the water across the river are made of boiler iron plates, riveted together, and are twelve inches in interior diameter. About thirty miles of distribution and main pipes are laid in the streets, extending over a large portion of the city—connecting with one hundred and sixteen fire hydrants at the corners of the streets.
STANDING COLUMN.
The standing column is a cast-iron pipe, twenty-four inches in diameter, placed vertically in the engine house tower. It is connected with the pumps and main pipes, and serves as a regulator in keeping up a uniform head of water in the reservoirs.
OFFICERS.
The present Board of Water Commissioners consists of John B. Turner and Alanson S. Sherman, Esqrs. Horatio G. Loomis, Esq., has lately tendered his resignation of the office of Water Commissioner, and his successor is John C. Haines, Esq. William J. McAlpine, Esq., is the Chief Engineer of the Water Works, and Mr. E. Willard Smith, Resident Engineer; Mr. Benjamin F. Walker, Superintendent; Mr. Henry Tucker, Treasurer; and Mr. De Witt C. Cregier, Steam Engineer.
It is proper to say in this connection that the plans for the Water Works were furnished by Mr. McAlpine, and the architectural designs for the several buildings above described, by Mr. Smith.
The cost of the work will be three hundred and sixty thousand dollars. The same work would now cost four hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
The works are now calculated to supply a population of fifty thousand persons with thirty gallons of water each, every twenty-four hours, which is equal to one million five hundred thousand gallons daily. The work is so planned as to be easily extended to meet the wants of one hundred thousand population by laying more pipe, and building more reservoirs.
BREAK-WATER AND DEPOT BUILDINGS OF THE ILL. CENTRAL R.R.
This great work commences at the South Pier, four hundred feet inside of its extreme east end and extends south one thousand two hundred and fifty-seven feet into the lake; thence west six hundred and seventy-five feet on the north line of Randolph street; thence southwest one hundred and fifty feet; thence to a point opposite the American Car Factory, making fourteen thousand three hundred and seventy-seven in all sixteen thousand four hundred and fifty-nine feet. From the Pier to the engine house the breakwater is twelve feet wide; thence down to the Car Company's works half that width. The upper portion of the crib work is built of square timber twelve by twelve, locked together every ten feet, and the intermediate space filled by stone, piles being driven on the outside to keep it in place. The first piece of crib work sunk, in building the break-water, has a very stout plank bottom. The water line of the crib work, south of Randolph street, is six hundred feet east of the east side of Michigan avenue, and the outer line of the crib work, between Randolph street and the river, is one thousand three hundred and seventy-five feet.
The area thus enclosed and rescued from the dominion of the lake, is about thirty-three acres. Upon this area the Illinois Central Railroad proposes to erect, first, one passenger station house, four hundred and fifty feet long, by one hundred and sixty-five wide, including a car shed. The northwest corner of this building will be occupied exclusively for offices and passenger rooms, and will be forty by one hundred and twenty feet, and three stories high. A freight building six hundred by one hundred feet; grain house one hundred by two hundred, and one hundred feet high, to the top of the elevators, calculated to hold five hundred thousand bushels.
Three tracks will run into the freight house; eight tracks into the passenger house, and two tracks into the grain house. The basin lying between the freight and grain houses will be five hundred by one hundred and seventy-eight feet and will open into the river. All these buildings are to be constructed of stone, obtained from Joliet. The cost of the breakwater will be not far from five hundred thousand dollars, and of the buildings not far from two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
The work was commenced in December, 1852, and will be finished during the year 1854. Mr. Mason having been detained as much by legal difficulties as natural obstacles.
The extreme length of the pile bridging for the railroad track is two and a half miles. Of this, one and a half miles, parallel with Michigan avenue, is double track, and the remainder is single. For the single track, two rows of piles are driven inside the breakwater, and four for the double track. These piles are well braced and bolted together, and form a very substantial structure for the railroad track.
It will be impossible to give anything like an accurate description of the Company's works until they are completed; for as day by day the great commercial promise of Chicago brightens, the extent and breadth of the Company's works will be increased in proportion, or at least so far as their depot accommodations will allow them. What was estimated to be sufficient a year since, has now been found inadequate. And the next six months will develop further change and increase.
The Michigan Central Railroad either rent the privilege of using the road of the Illinois Central in entering the city, or, what is more probable, share the expense of building the breakwater. The works are planned on a magnificent scale, but they will not do more than accommodate the vast business of the two companies which occupy them. We have very indefinite ideas of the amount of business which the opening of the Illinois Central R. R. will bring to Chicago. As soon as it is finished, a daily line of magnificent steamers will be put on the Mississippi river to run regularly between Cairo and New Orleans. Till the roads crossing the Illinois Central are completed east to Cincinnati, almost the entire travel between New York and New Orleans will pass through Chicago—and it will always be a favorite route between the North and the South.
MICH. SOUTHERN & ROCK ISLAND R. R. DEPOT.
These Companies are preparing to build a splendid depot between Clark and Sherman streets, near Van Buren street. All the plans and arrangements for the building are not completed, and we therefore are obliged to omit a description in detail. It will cost at least sixty thousand dollars.
GALENA & CHICAGO UNION RAILROAD DEPOT.
This Company within the next week or two will put under contract a new freight building north of the present depot and east of Clark street. Its dimensions will be three hundred and forty by seventy-five feet, and two stories high. It is expected to cost twenty-five thousand dollars. Still another freight building is to be immediately erected east of the present freight depot. It is to be two hundred and fifty by sixty feet, and two stories high. The upper part of the building is especially designed for storing grain. It is to be finished in the best style, and will cost about fifty thousand dollars.
The Company are also preparing to enlarge their engine house and machine shops, at an estimated cost of twenty thousand dollars.
Several of our other roads are maturing their plans to erect depots; but they are not sufficiently complete to allow us to make a notice of them.
COOK COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
This fine building stands on the public square. It was completed during the last summer, and is an ornament to the city. One hundred and ten thousand dollars, expended in building it, were borrowed on the bonds of the county having from seven to eighteen years to run, at ten per cent, interest, payable semi-annually. Sixty thousand dollars of these bonds were taken by Col. R. K. Swiff, of this city, and the balance of the money was furnished by Eastern capitalists.
TELEGRAPHS.
We might present a large number of statistics in regard to our Telegraph lines, but it is sufficient to say that we are in telegraphic communication with all the principal towns and cities in the Union. The important incidents that occur in Washington, New York and New Orleans, up to six o'clock in the evening, or the foreign news when a steamer arrives, may be found the next morning in the columns of the Democratic Press.
OMNIBUS ROUTES.
The two principal omnibus proprietors in the city are S. B. & M. O. Walker, and Parker & Co. There are in all eight routes, on several of which each company has a line of omnibuses. The total length of the different routes is twenty-two and one-half miles. The number of omnibuses now running is eighteen, making four hundred and eight trips per day, and eight hundred and two miles run by the different omnibuses. The proprietor of the Bull's Head Hotel, also runs an omnibus regularly to State street market. During the summer several other lines are to be established, and many more omnibuses will be employed. Parker & Co. have eleven omnibuses engaged in carrying passengers from the hotels to the different railroad depots.
BRIDGES, SIDEWALKS, ETC.
There are bridges across the Chicago river at the following streets: Clark, Wells, Lake, Randolph, Madison, Van Buren, North Water Railroad Bridge, Kinzie and Chicago Avenue. A new and elegant pivot bridge, similar to that across the river at Lake street, is to be built at Clark street during the present season. It will be a great and much needed improvement.
The total length of the sidewalks within the city is one hundred and fifty- nine miles, and of planked streets twenty-seven miles. There are four miles of wharves, and six miles of sewers already put down.
We think these facts show a laudable degree of enter prise in a city not yet quite seventeen years old. These improvements will be greatly extended during the present summer.
CHICAGO GAS COMPANY.
We have a very efficient Gas Company, and now that the city is well lighted during the night, our citizens would be very unwilling to plod along in darkness, as in former years. From the recent report; of the company it appears that during the last year there has been laid in the city twenty-one thousand two hundred and sixty-five feet of four inch, four thousand two hundred and ninety-nine feet of six inch, and three thousand eight hundred and fourteen feet of ten inch pipe, making, in all, five miles two thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight feet; and the total amount laid throughout the streets of the city is thirteen miles six hundred and thirty-eight feet, the whole cost of which has been eighty thousand seven hundred and thirteen dollars and three cents. Up to January 1st, 1858, there had been placed with all the necessary connections, five hundred and seventy-four meters, at a cost of fourteen thousand four hundred and eighty dollars and ninety-seven cents. During the last year, two hundred and seventy-nine have been set, at a cost of seven thousand three hundred and thirteen dollars and twenty-six cents—making the total amount twenty-one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four dollars and twenty-three cents. January 1st, 1853, there were five hundred and sixty-one private consumers, during the last year two hundred and seventy-nine have been added, making a total of eight hundred and forty, with an aggregate of seven thousand five hundred and thirty-two burners. There are two hundred and nine public lamps, which have consumed during the year, one million three hundred and sixty-six thousand one hundred and forty cubic feet.
Extensive improvements have been and are being made at the works. The new gas holder will be finished in the spring. The tank is one hundred and four feet in diameter, twenty feet deep, and constructed of heavy masonry. The holder will be telescopic, in two sections, and will hold three hundred and fifteen thousand cubic feet. The amount expended during the year in enlargements and improvements at the station is forty-two thousand eight hundred and nineteen dollars and eleven cents, and the total expenditure on account of station works to date is one hundred and thirty-five thousand seven hundred and seventy-four dollars and twelve cents. The total amount expended for real estate to date has been twenty-six thousand one hundred and five dollars and forty-seven cents, of which twenty-one thousand five hundred and forty-two dollars and seventy-five cents have been expended within the last year.
The amount of coal used last year exceeds that of the preceding by six hundred and fifty-eight tons one thousand and ninety-four lbs. In 1852, eight million nine hundred and eleven thousand one hundred cubic feet of gas were made, and in the last year fourteen million four hundred and twelve thousand three hundred and eighty feet, showing an increase of five million five hundred and one thousand two hundred and eighty feet.
The receipts for the year have been as follows:
Private Consumers $39,991 45 Public Lamps 3,963 94 Coke and Tar 2,311 49 Rent and Sundries 175 94 Making a total of $46,442 82
Which sum exceeds the receipts of the former year sixteen thousand and twelve dollars and sixty-four cents.
At the beginning of the last year, the stock issued amounted to four thousand two hundred shares ($105,400); since then four thousand one hundred and thirty- six shares ($103,400) have been added to the capital stock—making a total of eight thousand three hundred and thirty-six shares ($208,400). The number of stockholders is sixty-six, of whom thirty-three reside in Chicago, holding three thousand four hundred and sixty-nine shares ($86,725). The funded debt of the Company is seventy thousand dollars, in bonds bearing interest at the rate of seven per cent, per annum.
HEALTH OF CHICAGO.
Till within a few years it has generally been supposed that Chicago was a very unhealthy city. There never was a more unfounded assertion. Before the streets were thrown up, it was very wet and muddy at times; but since our main streets were planked we suffer no more from this cause than most other cities. The ground on which the city stands is nearly level, and but a few feet above the lake, yet there is sufficient slope to drain the streets, and if an efficient system of sewerage is adopted, as we trust it soon will be, this objection, which has done so much to injure Chicago, will not have even a shadow of foundation.
The following table shows the comparison of deaths with the population since 1847, from which it appears that the past year has been one of remarkable health:
NO. OF DEATHS. POPULATION. 1847 520 16,859 1848 560 19,724 1849 1,509 22,047 1850 1,335 28,620 1851 843 1852 1,649 38,733 1853 1,207 60,662
The diseases proving most fatal during past year are given as follows:
Consumption, 198 Teething, 111 Scarlet Fever, 34 Diarrhoea, 30 Dysentery, 59 Typhoid Fever, 27
Deaths by accident or design: Drowned, 26 Killed, 20 Suicide, 5 Poisoned, 1 Found dead, 1 Total - 53
We are willing that these figures should be compared with those of any other city in the Union.
It should be remembered that in the years 1849 and 1850 we had the cholera in Chicago, and to that cause must be attributed the increased bills of mortality for those years.
The statistics of the last year show a mortality but a very small fraction above one in sixty. It will be observed that here, as in Eastern cities, that terrible disease, the consumption, claims the largest number of victims; but we think facts will bear us out in the statement that it is not a disease indigenous to this part of the country. Most of those who die with it in this city, come here with it from the Eastern States, or have a hereditary taint in their constitution. We heard Dr. Mott, of New York, then whom there is no higher authority in this or any country, express the opinion that in the centre of a continent this, disease does not generally prevail. Our observation since residing in Illinois, confirms this opinion. The pure invigorating breezes, sweeping over the broad bosom of our magnificent lake for hundreds of miles, are a never-failing source of energy and health to those who make homes in the Garden City.
PLANK ROADS.
We have several plank roads leading out of the city. The Northwestern commences near the Galena Railroad Depot on the West Side, and extends to the town of Maine, seventeen miles. Seven miles from the city the Western road branches off and is completed seventeen miles from the city. It is intended to extend this road to Elgin.
The Southwestern Plank Road leaves the city at Bull's Head, on Madison street, and passes through Lyonsville to Brush Hill, sixteen miles. From Brush Hill the Oswego Plank Road extends fourteen miles to Naperville.
The Southern Plank Road commences on State street, at the south line of the city, and is finished to Comorn, ten miles south of the city. We believe it is to be extended south to Iroquois county.
THE BLUE ISLAND AVENUE PLANK ROAD
Is a more recent, and on many accounts a very important, improvement, and therefore merits a description more in detail. It extends from the village of Worth, or Blue Island, due north on the township range line between ranges 13 and 14 east of the third principal meridian, to the southwestern corner of the city; thence on the diagonal street of the same name, ordered planked by the City Council, it is continued to the heart of the city on the west side of the river. It will be but about thirteen miles from Worth to the city limits by this road, and being on a direct line, it must command the travel coming to Chicago from the south, nearly all of which concentrates at Worth. This road is rapidly progressing toward completion, and as it runs through a region of country heretofore without a road, it will have the effect to add another rich suburban settlement to Chicago. The lands upon the line of this road are the most fertile in the vicinity of the city, and to facilitate this improvement for gardening purposes, the owners of many of them have cut them up into ten and twenty acre lots, and are selling them to actual settlers and others very low, and on good time. This arrangement will secure a dense population on the line of the road, and make all of the lands along it very valuable, as it must be one of the gardening sections of the Garden City. The very large ditches cut by the drainage commissioners along this road, furnish a very high and splendid grade, made of the earth excavated, six miles of which cost ten thousand dollars for ditching alone. These ditches render the lands at all times dry and arable. The avenue, on the prairie is to be one hundred and twenty feet wide; on either side of which trees are to be planted by the owners, so as to make it a most beautiful "drive" from the city.
The town of Brighton, at the crossing of this and the Archer road, is to be improved this spring by the erection of a fine hotel and other buildings. As by this road, cattle can be driven to the city without danger of fright from locomotives, and as two of the principal roads entering the city meet at Brighton, with abundant water at all times, and pasture and meadow lands in almost unlimited quantities beyond, no one can doubt its favorable position for becoming the principal cattle market of Chicago.
LAKE SHORE PLANK ROAD.
This road was recently organized, is now under contract, and commences at the north line of the city limits on Clark street. It runs thence northwardly nearly parallel with the lake shore for about two miles, to the new and elegant hotel recently erected by Jas. H. Rees, Esq., of this city, and E. Hundley, of Virginia; thence through Pine Grove Addition, and to Little river; thence northwestwardly to Hood's Tavern, on the Green Bay road, which is in reality an extension of North Clark street. The whole length of the road is about five miles. It will open up a beautiful section north of the city, in which will soon be located elegant residences, surrounded by beautiful gardens, furnishing one of the finest "drives" from the city. There are some of the most beautiful building spots on the line of the road that can be found anywhere in the vicinity of Chicago.
COOK CO. DRAINAGE COMMISSION.
Among the most important of the recent improvements affecting Chicago, the drainage of the neighboring wet lands should not be omitted, as well in an agricultural and commercial view, as from its effect upon the sanitary condition of the pity and its vicinity. This highly important improvement is being effected by the "Cook County Drainage Commission," a body incorporated by act of legislature, approved June 23, 1852, in which Henry Smith, Geo. W. Snow, James H. Rees, Geo. Steele, Hart L. Stewart, Isaac Cook, and Charles V. Dyer are named as Commissioners, Dr. Dyer, 28 Clark street, is Secretary of the Board.
They and their successors in office are empowered to locate, construct and maintain ditches, embankments, culverts, bridges and roads, on any lands lying in townships 37, 38, 39 and 40, in ranges 12, 13 and 14, in Cook county; to take land and materials necessary for these purposes, and to assess the cost of such improvements upon the lands they may deem to be benefited thereby.
Objection was made to the creation of this Commission, that the powers entrusted to it were too great, and might be abused, and the act was passed with some difficulty. But it was seen that full powers must be given to the Commissioners, in order that their efforts for the benefit of the public and a large body of proprietors might not be stopped or impeded by a few shortsighted objectors. Their powers, in effect, are simply those given to any railroad or canal company, for the purpose of effecting a specified object.
The two years of their corporate existence have shown that the Commissioners have used their powers faithfully and efficiently. They have located and constructed their works generally upon the petition of the proprietors of the land to be drained, and it is believed that in every case these improvements have been followed by an immediate and commensurate advantage to the lands through which they pass.
Their examination showed the Commissioners that avast body of land within the limits of the commission, which had before been deemed valueless, lay in fact from four to twelve feet above the lake, and needed only a proper drainage to make it available for purposes of agriculture and occupation.
Acting upon this knowledge, they have expended some $100,000 in constructing ditches and other works, under the superintendence of an able and experienced engineer, with the most salutary effect upon a large extent of country. Houses are now being built with dry cellars upon ground heretofore covered with water. In one instance, a quarter section which had been repeatedly offered for sale at five dollars an acre, brought one hundred and twenty-five dollars after being drained, and a similar rise of value in lands has been produced in other cases. The objects of the Commission will be vigorously prosecuted during the coming summer, and it is hoped that the unsightly swamps which have heretofore disfigured this and adjoining townships, will soon, become "smiling gardens and rich fields of waving corn."
MANUFACTURES.
What is presented under this head can not be considered as exhibiting anything like a complete view of Chicago manufactures. There are many branches, such as the making of hats and caps, clothing, boots and shoes, fur goods, harness, trunks, saddlery, etc., etc., which are omitted entirely, and others are sadly imperfect; but the fact arises from our inability to obtain correct data from those engaged in the various departments of business. We have repeatedly been promised facts and figures which have not come to hand, and the publication of our article cannot longer be delayed. Enough is shown, however, in what follows, to establish the truth of the declaration that the position of Chicago is not less favorable for a manufacturing than a commercial centre, and that capital invested in manufactures is here sure to yield a large profit.
CHICAGO LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY.
The attention of our business men was called last September, to the importance of establishing at this point the manufacture of locomotives, an enterprise which was demanded by the concentration of so many extensive and diverging lines of railroads at this place; a company was at once formed, with a capital stock of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the following gentlemen chosen a Board of Trustees:
Wm. H. Brown. E. H. Hadduck. Thos. Dyer. J. H. Collins. Geo. Steele. J. P. Chapin. Robt. Foss. W. S. Gurnee. W. H. Scoville.
The company was fully organized by the election of the following officers: WM. H. BROWN, President. W. H. SCOVILLE, Treasurer. SHOLTO DOUGLASS, Secretary. E. H. HADDUCK, ROBERT FOSS, WM. H. BROWN, Executive Committee.
Messrs. H. H. Scoville & Son, who had been for several years extensively engaged in the construction of various kinds of machinery, and the building of railroad cars, and had large buildings well located and adapted to the wants of the new company, offered their establishment; it was accordingly purchased, and is now the headquarters of the Chicago Locomotive Company. The Messrs. Scoville had already commenced a locomotive, which was placed upon the track soon after the organization, and was the first locomotive built in Chicago. It was named the "Enterprise," and its entering into the service of the Galena and Chicago Union R. R. was made the occasion of an appropriate celebration. Since that time, the Locomotive Company have furnished the same road with another engine, the "Falcon," pronounced by all a first class locomotive. Their third locomotive will be put upon the track in a few days, and will add to the growing reputation of Chicago-built engines. In a short time the company will employ about two hundred men at their works and will be able to turn out two engines per month, every portion of which will be manufactured from the raw material in this city. We are happy to learn that the company are supplied with orders for sometime to come, and from the arrangements they have made for the best material and most skillful workmen, together with an abundance of capital, it is certain that a short time will demonstrate that it is no longer necessary for railroad companies to order, locomotives exclusively from Eastern manufacturers. The G. & C. U. R. R. have rebuilt several locomotives at their extensive machine shop, and within a few weeks they have turned out an entirely new first class engine, which may properly be called a Chicago locomotive, since the drafting and all the work was done at their shop, except the boiler and driving wheels The "Black Hawk" compares favorably with the best Eastern locomotives, and is doing daily duty for its builders, never yet having been "behind time."
AMERICAN CAR COMPANY.
The American Car Company commenced business in the fall of 1852, but did not get fully under way until the following March, when all the various departments of the factory were properly organized. Their works are situated on the lake shore, in the southern part of the city, about three miles from the mouth of the harbor, and the buildings, with the necessary yard room, cover thirteen acres. The Michigan Central and Illinois Central Railroads pass by the factory, so that the location is most favorable on many accounts. They have a foundry where they cast wheels and boxes and all the casting requisite for cars—in fact, they manufacture every portion of their cars from the raw material, except cloths, and such ornamental trimmings as belong exclusively to other branches of manufacture. The American Car Company has constructed about seven hundred cars of all kinds, the great majority of them being freight cars. Nothing can exceed the passenger cars which they have furnished the Illinois Central road for completeness of arrangement and perfection of finish. The number of men employed at the works varies from two hundred and fifty to three hundred. The value of finished work sent out from the factory up to the first of January, 1854, is a little beyond four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. D. H. Lyman, Esq., is the able and energetic Superintendent of the Company.
UNION CAR WORKS.
A. B. Stone & Co. are the proprietors of this establishment. The ground it now occupies was an unbroken prairie in September, 1852, when they commenced the erection of their buildings. In February, 1853, they had their buildings and machinery erected, and turned out the first car; since which time they have furnished two hundred and fifty freight, and twenty first class passenger, ten second class passenger, and ten baggage and post-office cars. Their machinery is driven by a seventy-five horse power steam engine. They have consumed in the past year about one and a half million feet of timber; six hundred tons of wrought iron; one thousand tons of cast iron, two hundred tons of coal, and employed 150 men. They have the equipping of the C. & R. I. R. R. and the western division of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad. In addition to the iron work for their cars, they have manufactured all the iron for Messrs. Stone & Boomer, used in the construction of bridges, turntables, etc. They have enlarged their buildings and increased their facilities sufficiently to enable them to turn out five hundred freight and forty passenger cars per year.
BRIDGE BUILDING, ETC.
Messrs. Stone & Boomer, builders of Howe's Patent Truss Bridges, Locomotive Turntables, Roofs, etc., occupy for their framing ground and yard several lots adjoining the Union Car Works. They have had contracts the past year for bridges on twenty-four different railroads in Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin, embracing one hundred and fifty bridges, the aggregate length of which is thirty-seven thousand linear feet.
This company has a capital invested of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and employ upon an average three hundred men. They have used two thousand tons of iron, and five and a half million feet of lumber. Bridges completed, ten thousand linear feet; bridges not completed, twenty-seven thousand linear feet. Turn-tables completed, nineteen; not completed, twelve. Cubic yards of masonry—completed and not completed, nine thousand. Gross earnings, eight hundred thousand dollars.
ILLINOIS STONE AND LIME COMPANY.
This new Company was organized in this city in December last, purchasing the entire interest of Messrs. A.. S. & O. Sherman in the celebrated stone quarry at Lemont, twenty-five miles south of Chicago, upon the Illinois and Michigan canal, also the lime kiln property near Bridgeport. The following are the officers of the company:
W. S. GURNEE, President. M. C. STEARNS, Secretary and Treasurer. A. S. & O. SHERMAN, Superintendents.
The stone obtained at the quarry now worked by this company, is nearly a milk white limestone, and forms one of the most beautiful building materials to be found in the Western States. The edifices which have already been completed with fronts of this stone, attract the attention and command the admiration of all who visit the city, and are pointed out with an extreme degree of satisfaction and even pride, by our citizens.
The existence of this quarry at so short a distance, of inexhaustible extent, and accessible by water communication, is a most fortunate circumstance connected with, the building up of our city. The stone can be furnished where it is wanted, so that the cost of a wall of this material is only one-third greater than that of Milwaukee brick with stone dressings, while in the beauty of the two styles there is hardly room to institute a comparison.
The Company have been making, during the past winter, extensive preparations for the activity of the opening season, having in their employ, at the quarry and at the yards here, about three hundred men. We are informed that contracts have already been made for furnishing fronts of this stone to twelve buildings on business streets, besides several private residences, all going up this summer. The Company expect to increase the number of men employed to five hundred, also to increase their facilities for transportation, and provide additional machinery and steam power, in order to fully meet the demand upon their resources.
MARBLE WORKS.
There are several establishments in the city for dressing marble for cemeteries, interior decorations for buildings, furniture, and various other purposes, but we have only space to speak of one of the principal. Messrs. H. & O. Wilson have extensive buildings with necessary yard room, at the corner of State and Washington streets, erected last summer. The amount of business last year, exceeded fifteen thousand dollars. We mention as a single item, that one hundred marble mantles were sold by them last year.
BRICK YARDS.
The subsoil of Chicago and vicinity is a blue clay, underlying the surface from three to six feet and affording an exhaustless supply of material for the manufacture of brick, which are strong, heavy and durable. We are not able to ascertain accurately the number of brick manufactured here last year, but have gathered enough information to show that it must have reached twenty millions. These brick were all used in the erection of buildings last season, in addition to those imported from Milwaukee and other lake ports, which fell but little short of three millions. In the spring of 1853 contracts for Chicago brick delivered at the buildings were closed at four dollars and twenty-five cents per thousand, but they advanced during the summer to six dollars. The contract price for quantities, this season, ranges from six dollars to six dollars and fifty cents. The following are among the principal manufacturers of brick: G.W. Penney; F.T. & E. Sherman; Elston & Co.; Anthony Armitage; Louis Stone.
COACHES, CARRIAGES AND WAGONS.
The manufacture of vehicles of various descriptions to supply the demand of the city and country has kept pace with the increase of other departments of business, and from small beginnings in board shanties, has taken possession of large edifices of brick and stone, resonant with the whirl of multiform machinery driven by steam power, where the division of labor among the bands of workmen, each skillful in his own line, results in the production of articles finished in the best manner for the purpose at the lowest possible cost. It is a noficeable fact that the importation at this place of vehicles from Eastern factories has almost entirely ceased, and is confined to buggies and light carriages, mostly destined for the interior. We have not space to speak of all the wagon factories in the city; large and small they number nearly one hundred. We therefore mention only some of the principal.
B. C. Welch & Co. occupy an extensive establishment on Randolph street, and devote themselves entirely to the production of buggies, carriages, omnibuses and coaches. The following figures will give an idea of the business of this house, whose work will in all respects compare most favorably with those imported from builders enjoying only a more extended reputation and of longer standing. The capital employed in this establishment is thirty-two thousand dollars, and the amount of finished work disposed of last year reached the sum of forty-five thousand dollars. The average number of men in the factory is about seventy. The number of carriages sold during the year was one hundred and eighty-five, of which fifteen were omnibuses for the various lines in the city, ranging in price from five hundred to five hundred and fifty dollars each. Among the number were five close carriages, ranging from five hundred to eight hundred dollars each.
Ellithorpe & Kline are also engaged in the exclusive manufacture of carriages, ranging through all the styles from the light open buggy to the heavy family and lively carriages; and they have already acquired an enviable reputation in their line. Their establishment is in the West Division, at the corner of Randolph and Morgan streets. Their sales last year amounted to fifteen thousand dollars. It is their intention to more than double their business during the present year, in doing which they will employ constantly from fifty to sixty men.
P. Schuttler has a large factory at the corner of Randolph and Franklin streets, where the business is confined exclusively to the manufacture of lumber wagons. A steam engine furnishes the motive power for all requisite machinery, and about thirty-five men are constantly employed in the establishment, as carpenters, blacksmiths, painters, etc. The number of wagons made annually somewhat exceeds four hundred, and their value amounts to nearly thirty thousand dollars.
J. C. Outhet has a factory on Franklin street, from which he sold last year one hundred and fifty wagons, besides numerous drays, carts and buggies, sales amounting to about seventeeen thousand dollars. The number of men employed here is about eighteen. Mr. Outhet proposes to enlarge his establishment and introduce steam power, by which his business will hereafter be greatly extended.
H. Whitbeck unites the manufacture of wagons, buggies and carriages with that of plows. Within the fast year he has greatly, enlarged his factory by the erection of a large brick building of four stories, for machinery, besides numerous smaller shops for various purposes. The capital invested in this establishment is in buildings and machinery, twenty thousand dollars; in stock, fifteen thousand dollars; total, thirty-five thousand dollars. The amount of sales for the preceding year exceeded forty thousand dollars. The number of vehicles manufactured for the same period is five hundred and eighty- nine, and the number of plows, one thousand. This establishment now gives employment to from forty to fifty men, and it is the intention of the proprietor to increase his business during the present year.
FURNITURE.
This forms another very extended department of manufacture in our midst, and in which very many persons are engaged. Our limits will allow us to speak of but one or two of the largest establishments. Numerous as they are, and many of them employing a large capital, they are called upon beyond their power to meet the demand, and there is probably no other branch of manufacture more inviting at present, than the one under consideration. The rapid growth of the city is to be supplied, and the wide expanse of country penetrated by our railroads, filling up with new settlers, while the old ones are increasing wonderfully in wealth and in wants. We have often paused in the railroad depots to notice the immense quantities of furniture accumulating for distribution in the interior, bearing cards of Chicago manufacturers.
C. Morgan occupies a building on Lake street, twenty feet front by one hundred and sixty-three deep, and running up entire five stories. The two lower floors are used to exhibit samples, and three upper devoted to the workmen. Although keeping a general assortment, Mr. Morgan is engaged principally in the manufacture of chairs and the more expensive kinds of furniture, embracing all the recent styles of pattern, finish and material. His sales last year amounted to thirty thousand dollars, the establishment affording employment to over forty men.
Ferris & Boyd have their show rooms on Lake street, and their shop on Van Buren street. In the latter their machinery requires an engine of fifteen horse power, and the increase of their business has compelled them to add forty feet of shafting within a few months. They employ constantly about fifty men, while their machinery does the work of twenty-five or thirty hands. Their manufactured articles are rather more in the common and useful line than the luxurious and expensive, while neatness of finish and elegance of style characterize all their productions. They connect with their business the manufacture of frames for pictures and mirrors. We believe it is the only establishment in this city where gilt frames are made to any extent. They turn out very fine work in this line; some of their frames go as high as one hundred dollars each. Their entire sales last year reached fifty thousand dollars.
Among the other furniture manufacturers in the city, doing a large business, we mention the names of Boyclen & Willard, D. L. Jacobus & Bro. and Thomas Manahan.
CHICAGO OIL MILL.
Messrs. Scammon & Haven are the proprietors of this establishment—the only one in the city. It is capable of manufacturing one hundred thousand gallons of oil per annum. Owing to the difficulty of supplying themselves with seed, only forty thousand gallons were the product of the mill during the last year. Before the commencement of this important enterprise, in 1852, there was very little flax raised by our farmers, and in the spring of that year Messrs. Scammon & Haven imported several thousand bushels and sold it to the farmers at cost, in order that they might be able to supply their mill by the time it could be put in operation. They paid for seed during the past year from one dollar to one dollar twelve and a half cents, and are now selling oil at eighty-five cents. Before this mill was established, flax seed was scarcely known in this market, and what did arrive sold at sixty to seventy-five cents per bushel. It will be seen, therefore, that the amount of business done by this mill is a clear gain to Chicago, and the region of country that is tributary to the city. It is a great convenience to our painters to be able to purchase a first rate article of oil in our city. The neighboring towns and cities also find it for their advantage to purchase their oil of Messrs. Scammon & Haven, as they are sure to get an article of very superior quality.
The machinery is propelled by an engine of fifteen horse power, and the processes by which it is manufactured are exceedingly interesting and curious. Between three and four thousand barrels of oil cake were sold in this city and shipped East by Messrs. Scammon & Haven during the past year.
Another important department of this establishment is the manufacture of putty. About two hundred thousand pounds were manufactured during the past year.
The total amount of capital invested is between twenty-five and thirty thousand dollars.
SOAP AND CANDLES.
The large amount of packing at this place, especially of beef, affords a good opportunity for the extensive manufacture of soap and candles. There are several large establishments in the city, besides numerous small factories. As we are not furnished with data for giving the total business of the city in this line, we take one of the principal establishments, that of Charles Cleaver, Esq., situated at Cleaverville, upon the lake shore south of the city. The manufacture and sale by this establishment last year was as follows:
Candles, pounds, 495,000 Soap, pounds, 682,000 Lard Oil, gallons, 43,500 Tallow, pounds, 884,300 Lard, pounds, 334,341
In connection with his business Mr. Cleaver has imported within the year three hundred and fifty tons of rosin, soda, etc., etc.
MACHINERY.
It is a source of gratification that Chicago is not only able to nearly supply the demand for machinery within her own limits, but contributes largely to aid in the erection of mills and factories at other localities, some of which are far from being in our immediate vicinity. Engines, boilers, and machinery of all kinds are continually going out from the shops, while the demand increases faster than the facilities for supplying it. As we stood in a boiler shop but the other day, the hammers were ringing upon the rivets of seven boilers, four of which were for mills in Michigan, one for a town in Indiana, one for Davenport, Iowa, and one for Rockford. We have gathered the following facts in relation to several establishments.
Charles Reissig has a steam boiler factory from which last year the finished work sent out amounted to twenty-eight thousand dollars and the value of material purchased was eighteen thousand dollars. The number of boilers made at this shop last year was one hundred and seventeen, which, together with the other blacksmithing, afforded constant employment to about twenty-five men.
Messrs. Mason & McArthur employ at their works on an average forty men. They build gasometers, purifiers, governors, and all the wrought iron work for the gasworks; also steam boilers, water tanks, together with sheet iron work and black-smithing in all its branches. The amount of business carried on by them may be estimated from the fact that they expended last year for iron and labor thirty-eight thousand dollars.
P. W. Gates & Co., proprietors of the Eagle Works, are large manufacturers of railroad cars, steam engines and boilers, and machinery of all kinds. They have a capital of fifty-five thousand dollars invested. The manufactured work of last year amounted to one hundred and ten thousand dollars, giving employment to one hundred and fifty men. Among the articles turned out by them were one hundred and twenty-five railroad cars and twenty steam engines.
H. P. Moses is the proprietor of the Chicago Steam Engine Works, on the South Branch, the oldest machine shop in the city. He is confined to the manufacture of steam engines, mill-gearing, etc. Last year he constructed thirteen engines, ranging from ten to one hundred horse power, their valae amounting to $55,000. He employs sixty-five men, and his engines have a good reputation. There are now in his hands nineteen engines which will be finished within the next three months. We will remark here, that he is now building one to run our presses, which will be a model engine of its size. It rates in common parlance at ten horse power, but with the boiler we shall put up with it, its builder says it will run up to twenty.
LEATHER MANUFACTURE.
In this department we are furnished with statistics of the operations of three establishments. That of W. S. Gurnee tanned last year eighteen thousand hides, out of forty-five thousand handled, in which was consumed nearly one thousand eight hundred cords of bark. The tannery, with yards, drying sheds and other buildings, occupies two acres on the South Branch. The establishment employs fifty men, and a large steam engine is used to drive all necessary machinery. Messrs. C. F. Grey & Co. tanned, last year, thirteen thousand eight hundred and nineteen hides, and the sales of leather amounted to sixty-two thousand dollars. They employ upon an average thirty-two men in this part of their business. We mention here that the firm of S. Mies & Co., in which they are partners, have manufactured since August 1st, 1853, about eighteen thousand pounds of pulled wool, taken from pelts purchased for tanning.
Another establishment which employs twenty-five men furnishes us with the following figures of their business for the last year: Number of hides and skins tanned, 6,984; sides of harness leather, 3,395; bridle, 1,479; collar, 965; upper, 4,577; calf skins, 1,636; belting, 281.
STOVES.
We have but one establishment of long standing, the Phoenix Foundry, of Messrs. H. Sherman & Co., which has been doing a large business for several years, and become well known by the extent of its operations and the quality of its wares. We are not able to state how many stoves were sent out from this foundry last year, but the proprietors employ constantly fifty men, and cast, daily, six tons of metal. Connected with the sales room on Lake street is a shop for making furniture for stoves, where, in the fall and winter, a number of tinsmiths are employed.
Vincent, Himrod & Co. have established a stove foundry during the year, from which they are prepared to turn out from four to five thousand stoves per annum, and will, within a short time, enlarge their works so as to manufacture double that number.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.
In addition to the manufacture of plows, already mentioned, we have factories for making threshing machines, corn shellers, fanning mills, and other farming utensils, but we are without figures to exhibit the amount of business.
J. S. Wright has commenced here the manufacture of Atkins' Self-Raking Reaper and Mower. Last season, the first of the enterprise, he turned out sixty machines. He has now in hand three hundred machines, which will be finished in time for the coming harvest, and furnished at one hundred and seventy-five dollars on time—one hundred and sixty dollars cash. The establishment at present employs about seventy-five men, but will be greatly enlarged during the year, as it is the intention of the manufacturer to build one thousand machines in time for the following season. McCormick's Eeaper Factory has been in successful operation for so many years, and the machines constructed have attained such a world-wide celebrity, that it is unnecessary for us to more than briefly notice it here. It occupies extensive buildings and grounds on the north side of the river, near the mouth of the harbor, and the time was when its tall chimney formed, perhaps, the most prominent landmark for vessels approaching the harbor. Now we have hundreds as large and high, like volcanic craters belching forth clouds of smoke, suggestive of the mighty toil of the elements beneath. The number of reaping and mowing machines manufactured and sold in 1853, amounted to a little less than one thousand five hundred, which, at an average price of one hundred and thirty dollars, gives one hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars as the amount of sales. The number of combined reaping and mowing machines turned out during the present year will be at least one thousand five hundred, furnished at one hundred and fifty dollars each. The number of men employed at the works is about one hundred and twenty.
[From our COMMERCIAL REVIEW for 1853, only the conclusion and the note appended to the third edition of 5,000 copies of "Our Pamphlet" are here quoted.]
CONCLUSION.
It is scarcely necessary for us to recapitulate the facts which we have already stated. Business men will not be slow to draw their conclusions in reference to the prospects of Chicago. No one who has studied her unrivaled commercial position, and the richness, beauty and extent of the country by which she is surrounded, can doubt for a moment that Chicago, at no distant day, is destined to become the great central city of the continent. In the centre of one of the most fertile agricultural regions on the globe; surrounded by exhaustless mines of lead, iron, copper and coal; having a water communication with the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, and holding the key to a coasting trade of three thousand miles, with more than a dozen railroads branching off for thousands of miles in all directions, every element of prosperity and substantial greatness is within her grasp. She fears no rivals, confident that the enterprise and energy which have heretofore marked her progress will secure for her a proud and pre-eminent position among her sister cities of the Union. She has to wait but a few short years the sure development of her "MANIFEST DESTINY."
NOTE.
The past has been an eventful Summer for Chicago. The Spring opened with an unusual degree of prosperity. Improvements of all kinds were going forward with great rapidity, and business of all kinds was very active. So healthy was the city that the Board of Health had not thought it necessary to make regular reports.
The week succeeding the 4th of July was excessively hot, and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 7th, 8th and 9th, the cholera came upon us like a thunderbolt. The most extravagant stories were widely circulated in reference to its fatality in the city; a portion of our citizens, without stopping to investigate the facts, fled in "hot haste," and for a week or two everything was at a stand.
When time had been allowed to investigate the facts, it was found that Chicago had not suffered so much from the disease as some other neighboring cities. The reports of the City Sexton showed that the total deaths on the days above named had averaged only from forty to forty-four, and thirty-six was the highest number that had died of cholera on either of the days above named. During several of the succeeding weeks the deaths by cholera averaged from twelve to twenty. This, for a city of seventy thousand inhabitants, is not a large mortality. When the statistics for the year are made out, we are satisfied that Chicago will fully maintain the position she has heretofore acquired, of being one of the healthiest cities in the Union. By the first of August business began to revive, and it has been steadily increasing, till we now find our streets crowded to overflowing. Our merchants, our mechanics, and manufacturers of all kinds, have all the business they can possibly do. Yet those who love to work, and who know how to do it, come to Chicago. There is not a spot in the wide world where honest industry is so sure of a competence— we might say, a fortune. Our railroads are pouring an immense flood of trade and travel into the city, and Chicago is making rapid progress in wealth, population and substantial improvement. Our best informed men are satisfied that the coming new year will find at least eighty thousand people in Chicago, and by another year from that time the footings will be very handsomely beyond a hundred thousand.
We owe an apology to our friends for delaying this edition to so late a day in the season. The truth is, our job office has been so crowded with work that it was impossible to get anything done for ourselves. Our presses now run by steam, and we have otherwise largely increased our facilities to meet the wants of our growing city. The public may rest assured that no effort shall be spared by the editors and proprietors of the Press to advance the interests and secure the commercial supremacy of the Empire City of the Mississippi Valley.
CHICAGO, Oct. 7th. 1854.
HISTORY OF CHICAGO. 1854.
From our Commercial Review for 1854, published early in 1855, the following extracts are taken. They were written by my associate, the late J. L. Scripps.
CHICAGO THE GREATEST PRIMARY GRAIN PORT IN THE WORLD.
A little over one month since, the Democratic Press announced the important, fact that Chicago had already attained the rank of the greatest Primary Grain Port in the World. The statement was accompanied by figures and estimates showing the grounds upon which the claim was based. That article has been copied and commented upon throughout the Union, and gone the rounds of newspaper doubt, ridicule and criticism. We are now enabled to present our readers with the actual figures which establish that position beyond the reach of a doubt. From the published tables of grain receipts for January 1st, 1855, we compile the following statement of
TOTAL RECEIPTS OF FLOUR AND GRAIN.
Wheat, bu 3,038,955 Corn 7,490,753 Oats 4,194,385 Rye 85,691 Barley 201,764
15,011,540
Flour (158,575 bbls.) 792,875 into Wheat Total 15,804,423
In like manner may be presented the shipments for the season, viz:
Wheat, bu 2,106,725 Corn 6,837,899 Oats 3,229,987 Rye 41,153 Barley 148,421
12,364,185
Flour (107,627 bbls.) 538,135 into Wheat Total 12,902,320
These figures leave a balance for City consumption, etc., etc., of nearly three millions of bushels, of which it is not at all improbable that some portion may have been shipped without representation in our columns. But a small amount is requisite to make up full thirteen millions of bushels, actually exported, though this is immaterial, as in either case the position claimed is sufficiently established. That there may be no ground for incredulity we proceed to lay before our readers the statistics, gleaned from authentic sources, which confirm this statement. In the table which follows we have in all cases reduced flour to its equivalent in wheat, estimating five bushels of the latter to one of the former. The exports from the European ports are an average for a series of years—those of St. Louis for the year 1853, those for Chicago and Milwaukee for the current year, and those for New York are for the first eleven months of the same year. With these explanations we invite attention to the following table:
CITIES Wheat, bu. Ind. Corn, bu. Oats, Rye & Barley Total, bu. Odessa 5,608,000 ----- 1,440,000 7,040,000 Galatz & Ibrelia 2,400,000 5,600,000 320,000 8,320,000 Dantzic 3,080,000 ----- 1,328,000 4,408,000 St. Petersburg ----- all kinds ----- 7,200,000 Archangel ----- do ----- 9,528,000 Riga ----- do ----- 4,000,000 St. Louis 3,082,000 918,384 1,081,678 5,081,468 Milwaukee 2,723,574 181,937 841,650 3,787,161 New York 6,812,452 627,883 ----- 9,430,335 Chicago 2,644,860 6,837,899 3,419,551 12,902,310
By comparing the exports of the different places mentioned in the above table, it will be seen that the grain exports of Chicago exceed those of New York by 3,471,975 bushels—those of St. Louis by more than two hundred and fifty per cent., those of Milwaukee nearly four hundred per cent. Turning to the great granaries of Europe, Chicago nearly doubles St. Petersburg, the largest, and exceeds Galatz and Ibrelia, combined, 4,582,810 bushels.
Twenty years ago, Chicago, as well as most of the country from whence she now draws her immense supplies of bread-stuffs, imported both flour and meat for home consumption—now, she is the largest primary grain depot in the world, and she leads all other ports of the world, also, in the quantity and quality of her beef exports!! We say the largest primary grain depot in the world, because it cannot be denied that New York, Liverpool, and some other great commercial centres, receive more breadstuffs than Chicago does in the course of the year, but none of them will compare with her, as we have shown above, in the amount collected from the hands of the producers.
What a practical illustration the above facts afford as to the wonderful, the scarcely credible, progress of the West—what an index it furnishes to the fertility of her soil and to the industrious and enterprising character of our people—what a prophecy of the destiny that awaits her when every foot of her long stretches of prairie and her rich valleys shall have been reduced to a thoroughly scientific tillage! How long, at this rate, will it be before the centre of population and of wealth will have arrived at the meridian line of our city, and Chicago will have vindicated her right to be recognized as the great commercial metropolis of the United States? We verily believe such is the destiny that awaits her.*
The following article was written for the Democratic Press by Rev. J. A. Wight, for many years editor of The Prairie Farmer, now of Bay City, Michigan. I insert it for the permanent value of the facts it contains.
A TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF CHICAGO AND VICINITY.
Capacity for Drainage—Character of Soil, with its adaptation to Culture.
SOIL.
The soil upon which Chicago is situated, together with that of its immediate vicinity, is, like that of the whole western country, alluvial. The chief difference which obtains between it and that of the rolling prairies inland, is the probable result of the fact, that it is of later deposite, corresponding in this respect to its greater proximity to the Lake Shore. It consequently exhibits marks of rawness, as if, at no distant period, it had lain under water. The surface consists of a loam, varying not much in thickness from one foot, of an exceeding fineness, as if ground in a mortar, generally black in color but possessing in its native state no very decided strength.
This soil is underlaid in some places with sand, especially along the Lake Shore, of from one to five feet in thickness, when we come upon abed of reddish calcareous loam, extending downwards to the blue clay, which underlies the bed of the Lake, and all the country adjoining. Near the rivers, and westward from the Lake Shore, the sand is mostly wanting, except in mixture with the loam, which latter is often eight or ten feet in thickness. The blue clay before spoken of is
----------------------- * These facts did much, to advertise Chicago. Even then it would scarcely have been believed that in successive years Chicago would be proved to be the largest lumber, beef and hog market in the world. Such has long since been the fact. -----------------------
of exceeding pureness and tenacity, and extends downward from twenty to one hundred feet in depth. The calcareous subsoil is far superior in quality to the black soil above it, possessing, in fact, great resources for production if properly free from water, and aerified. The chief characteristic of the soil, mechanically considered, is its fineness. To this all its good and bad qualities are attached. As a consequence, it is in the best condition to promote an active growth of vegetation, but packs closely, and holds water with great tenacity, and resting as it does on a close subsoil, it must of necessity be wet until provided with a suitable drainage. It is to this mechanical condition of the soil that the region owes its character of wetness, and not to its want of height above the Lake, or of variety in service, as will easily be seen when another topic is considered. That is
HEIGHT OF LAND.
The general idea of Chicago and vicinity is, that it is "low," "not higher than the Lake," and consequently undrained and undrainable. The eye says that "it is a dead level;" and as the evidence of the eyes is considered beyond appeal, its character so passes. There is, however, an authority on such subjects higher than the eye, and to that we resort. That authority is an instrument called a "level," and as this instrument has traveled over every part of the region, and noted its observations in figures, we shall have no difficulty in reaching correct results.
Beginning then at a point four miles north of the mouth of the Chicago river on the Lake Shore, we find the bank of the Lake varying within the compass of a half mile, from twenty to forty feet above the Lake. Starting thence due west on a section line, and going one-half a mile, we find the height—always above the Lake—to be twenty-one and a fourth feet; thence still west to the bank of the North branch of the Chicago river, the height is six feet and thirty-nine hundredths. Still west two and a half miles the elevation is twenty-nine and a half feet.
Taking another and parallel section line, two and a half miles north of the mouth of the Chicago river, we find the Lake Shore elevated seven and a half feet; due west of this the river bank is eight and a fourth feet; while at one and a half miles still west we have a fraction less than twelve feet, and at two and a half miles twenty-seven feet elevation.
On the parallel section line half a mile north of the mouth of the river, and where that line crosses the city limit, the elevation is twenty-three and a third feet.
Coming south and taking Madison street, which commences about half a mile south of the mouth of the river, and following it westward till it crosses the city limit, the height is a little over ten feet, and at a point three miles still west, it is twenty-three and a third feet.
Following Twelfth street westward, the bank of the river is six and a half feet. At two miles west, the height is ten feet, and three miles, nineteen feet.
On the parallel section line commencing three and a half miles south of the mouth of the river and at the southern city limit, the elevation is fifteen and a fourth feet, and one mile still south it is sixteen and a half feet.
At the junction of the Southern Michigan and Rock Island Railroad, the elevation is twenty feet, while the head of Blue Island is seventy-six feet.
Within the city proper, the height of Michigan and Wabash avenues varies from ten to fifteen, feet, while the bank of the river is from five to eight feet.
It is a truth, however, that there is an ebb and flow of the Lake, extending through periods of from five to ten years, equal to three or four feet. These periods of ebb and flow correspond entirely with the succession of wet or dry seasons which prevail, and which succeed each other. During the succession of five or eight years of continued wet weather, there will be a continued rise of the Lake which will give way during a similar period of drouth. Our later built stores and dwellings, all have or may have cellars beneath them. At present grades those along Lake and Water streets are from four to six feet, but as the grade rises year by year, as new buildings arise, the height of cellars increases in a corresponding ratio; and there is no doubt that buildings on these streets, erected five years hence, will have six and eight feet cellars—a thing which might just as easily have been secured five years ago as five years hence, had proprietors and city functionaries been as quick to see forward as laterally and backwards. Our dwellings might have cellars of any height we desire.
From this view it will be seen that our reputation of being a wet city is not due to want of elevation. For all practical purposes, we are as well off as New York or New Haven; and in fact as well off as though lifted a hundred feet more into the atmosphere. Had we a coarse gravely soil, our streets would be as dry as our rivals say we ought to be. Five years since, if you walked out upon an adjacent prairie, you might pass land which you would pronounce to be on a "level with the Lake," "a dead level," and "incapable of drainage." To- day it as dry as Rock Prairie. The "level" came along, and said it was eighteen feet high, and the ditch that followed the "level" agreed with it. Mud Lake, which was of old the cradle of pollywogs and leeches, and swimming ground, for ducks, is now tolerably fine ground, and this brings us to the next point.
DRAINAGE.
There are within the city four and a half miles of sewers put down at a depth of from five to eight feet below the surface. These extend along our principal streets, in the business portion of the city, and so far as the removal of surface water is concerned, answer, so far as they go, a complete purpose. This may be inferred from the facts already stated in regard to cellars, since a cellar without a drain is only a pool or an eel pit. Before these sewers were put down, no cellar could be dug either upon Lake or Water streets except in the dryest of seasons. There was never perhaps a city with features better fitted for drainage than this. The peculiar shape of its river, with its two branches, gives easy and short access to it from every section of the town; while there is, from every square rod of its surface, a gradual and sufficient inclination to the adjacent bank.
These sewers only need to be extended as they have been begun to render the town as dry as is desirable. As they are, however, of a temporary and experimental make, if they are also to be made channels of the filth of the town, they will require to be laid in a more permanent manner.
The lands adjacent to the city are correspondingly better provided with drainage than those within the limits. A law instituting a commission for the drainage of wet lands in Cook County was passed in the Legislature of 1852 and went immediately into operation, with Col. Henry Smith, Dr. C. V. Dyer and others as Commissioners, with Mr. J. L. .Hanchett, a competent and experienced engineer, as Surveyor. The work has been steadily prosecuted until the present time, nor has it yet been entirely completed. The assessments, so far, amount to above sixty thousand dollars, and seventy-six miles of ditch have been excavated. All of it, with the exception of seven or eight miles, is made double; that is, it consists of two parallel ditches with the earth thrown up between them so as to be used for roads if desired, in the end.
They are all upon section lines excepting one of three or four miles; and nearly all empty into the Chicago and Calumet rivers and their branches.
The lands drained are those lying immediately adjacent to the city, extending about four miles north, five west, and ten south.
CAPACITY FOR PRODUCTION.
Every city is in a considerable degree dependent on its immediate vicinity for articles of consumption. The vegetables consumed here have always, to a large extent, been produced here. There is, perhaps, no better soil for their production than ours. The warm sands of the Lake Shore avail for all early products, and the strong loams on all sides, give ample returns through all the season. The soil exposed to the air, and supplied with manures, which may always be had in abundance for the hauling, produces with remarkable luxuriance, and of superior quality. No finer beets, or onions, or cabbages, or pie plant, or asparagus, or celery, can anywhere be found. One thousand bushels of onions are sometimes grown to the acre, and other vegetables in proportion. All the crops usual to the Northern States flourish luxuriantly, and of fruits, none refuse to ripen except such as are forbidden of the climate. At the same time grass is the more natural product, and with culture can be grown to any extent, either for pasturage or hay, in any direction landward from the town.
Of fruits, the apple and plum are more natural to the soil, among the larger fruits; while among the smaller, currants, gooseberries, and strawberries, are most at home. Cherries, pears and grapes are more or less cultivated, and have been these ten years. They are all grown with sufficient skill, but are more or less precarious everywhere on this side of the Lake, and some of them on all sides of it. Of the large cities in this latitude, we know of no one which on the whole has the advantage of ours in respect to agricultural and horticultural productions.
1855.
The railway article which I prepared for 1855 was the last of the series of our statistical reviews for that year. It contains a condensed statement of all of them.
The following are the closing paragraphs:
RAILWAYS.
The following list embraces the trunk roads and branches how actually in operation which have Chicago as their common focus:
Chicago and Milwaukee............................miles, 85 Racine and Mississippi..................................46 Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac.......................82 Galena and Chicago Union...............................121 Fox River Valley........................................32 Beloit Branch of the Galena.............................20 Beloitand Madison.......................................17 Galena Air Line........................................136 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy.........................210 Quincy Branch..........................................100 Chicago and Rock Island................................181 Mississippi and Missouri, 1st Division..................55 " " 2d " ..................13 Peoria and Bureau Valley................................47 Peoria and Oquawka......................................44 Chicago, Alton and St. Louis...........................260 Illinois Central.......................................626 Fort Wayne and Chicago..................................20 Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana.................242 Monroe Branch...........................................30 Michigan Central.......................................282 New Albany and Salem...................................284 Total miles of completed Road, 10 Trunk and 11 Branch Lines.............................miles, 2,933
Taking the sections and branches of the above roads that are in the State of Illinois, and adding the lengths to the last four mentioned in our sketch, which run east and west through the State, we find that there are now in actual operation in the State of Illinois TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND TEN MILES of railroad. Four years ago to-day there were only ninety-five. The world has never before seen so much physical progress in so short a period.
The total number of trains, which now (mid-winter) arrive and depart from the city daily amount to fifty-eight passenger and thirty-eight freight trains, in all ninety-six. It is safe to add from 12 to 20 per cent, for the number as soon as the spring business opens, so that on the first of May the number will be at least from 110 to 115.
We know not how the earnings of our roads will compare with those centering in other cities. Let them publish a table showing, their receipts and the public will be able to make the comparison. Here is ours.
The following table shows the receipts of the railroads centering in Chicago, for the year 1855:
Passengers Freight Mail, etc. Total Chi. & Mil., our estimate ------ ------ ------ 275,000.00 Chi., St. P. & Fond du Lac 25,507.38 47,721.41 ------ 73,528.79 G. & C. U. 844,421.50 1,404,294.19 26,895.09 2,272,610.78 Chi., B. & Q. 810,062.83 432,570.13 13,221.43 1,255,854.39 Chi. & R. I. 728,966.26 570,712.69 27,350.00 1,327,028.95 C., A. & St. L., our estimate ------ ------ ------ 600,000.00 Illinois Central 693,048.93 630,934.91 208,134.97 1,532,118.81 M. S. & N. I. ------ ------ ------ 2,595,630.22 Mich. Central 1,461,414.41 1,098,650.15 90,170.92 2,650,235.37 N. A. & Salem 345,588.54 348,555.54 22,020.00 716,193.78
Total 13,298,201.09
In the above table we have not footed up the receipts for passengers, freight, mails and miscellaneous, as they were not furnished us by all the roads. We think, however, that the total receipts, more than thirteen millions and a quarter, will do very well for a city, which only four years ago had only forty miles of railroad completed and in operation.
As this is the last of four leading statistical articles, published since the first of January, it remains that we should give a brief synopsis, that our readers may see at a glance the progress of the last and the three previous years. We present the following
GENERAL SUMMARY.
Total number of miles of railroad centering in Chicago Feb. 16th, 1852...................40 Total number of miles now completed and in operation..................................2,933 Increase in four years, or more than 700 miles per year...............................2,893 Total number of miles projected, to be completed in from five to eight years..........6,449 Total number of miles of railroad in operation in the State of Illinois Feb. 16th, 1852, four years ago.............................................................95 Total number of miles now in operation................................................2,410 Increase in the State in four years...................................................2,315 The total earnings of all the railroads (40 miles) leading into the city during the year 1851, say...........................................................$40,000 Total earnings of the road leading into the city for the year 1855..............$13,298,201.09 Increase in four years, thirteen and a quarter millions of dollars..............$13,258,201.09 Total number of trains arriving and departing now (mid-winter) daily, 96. Add 12 to 20 per cent, when the spring business opens and the number will be about.........................................................................1 10 Number of points at which the Chicago railroads reach the Mississippi.....................8 Population of Chicago in 1852........................................................38,783 Population of Chicago in 1855, or nearly 150 per cent, in three years................83,509 Total receipts of grain at Chicago for the year 1854....................bushels, 15,804,423 Total receipts of grain for 1855. Increase about 33 per cent............bushels, 20,487,953 Total shipments of grain from the port of Chicago for the year 1855.....bushels, 16,633,813 Total number of hogs handled in Chicago for 1854- 5..................................138,515 Total value of the beef packed in Chicago in 1855................................$1,152,420.96 Receipts of lumber at the port of Chicago for 1855........................feet, 326,553,467 Now laid up in the port of Chicago, steamers, propellers, sail vessels, etc.............233 Total number of vessels arriving in Chicago during the last year......................5,410 The total tonnage of vessels arriving in this port for 1855................tons, 1,608,845 Amount of imposts received on foreign goods at the Chicago Custom House............$296,844.75 Total amount of capital invested in manufactures during the year 1855; showing $2,075,000 increase over the previous year.............................$6,295,000 Total number of men employed in manufacturing (increase in 1855, 3,740)...............8,740 Total value of manufactured articles, (increase in 1855, $3,161,491)............$11,031,491 Total amount expended in improvements, stores, dwellings, hotels, etc., (increase in 1855, $1,296,344).................................................$3,735,254
Had we time and space we might be tempted to dwell at length upon the glowing picture, suggested by the facts in the above general summary. The figures are themselves much more eloquent and absorbing than any language at our command. When the citizens of Chicago and the State of Illinois are charged with exaggeration by those who dwell in the finished cities and States at the East, they can point with Confidence and pride to the above facts, and say, "gentlemen, here are the figures, sober, stubborn figures, which cannot lie." Such figures are more potent and convincing than a thousand arguments, and while they afford an index to a just conception of what the West and its great commercial centre now are, they point with unerring significance to a bright and glorious future. It has been asserted that the kingdoms of Europe were sifted of their most enterprising and their noblest men to settle the American colonies; and it may with equal justice be said, that all the States north of Tennessee and the Carolinas, have sent their most energetic, intelligent citizens, with a mighty host of untiring, energetic men from Europe, to settle and subdue that vast and magnificent country lying between the western shore of Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains. Could any other men and any other country have produced such results?
In canvassing these results, it should be remembered that twenty years ago Chicago was not a city. She was only an insignificant town at the southern end of Lake Michigan, and within that period, the wolves during the night roamed all over wThere the city now stands. It is but little more than twenty-two years since the Indians were removed west of the Mississippi, under the direction of Col. RUSSELL. Twenty years ago only an occasional schooner of two or three hundred tons visited Chicago; two hundred and thirty-three vessels are now wintering in her harbor, and the arrivals for the past year were five thousand four hundred and ten. Then Chicago imported most of her provisions; last year the beef packed in the city was worth $1,152,420.96. She exported 16,633,818 bushels of grain, the value of which must have been from twelve to fifteen millions of dollars. She is now acknowledged to be the greatest primary grain port in the world, and purchasers from Europe find it for their advantage to buy largely in this market. The wheat that last year was grown on the prairies of Illinois, is now feeding the far-off subjects of Victoria and Napoleon. During the last year the citizens of Chicago manufactured articles to the value of eleven millions of dollars, and invested three millions seven hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars in substantial improvements. Her lumber trade reached the enormous amount of three hundred and twenty-six and a quarter millions of feet. When we contemplate our railroad system the progress is still more marked and amazing. Four years ago we had only forty miles of road leading into the city; now we have 2,933 miles completed and in operation. Our lines reach the Mississippi at eight different points. Nearly a hundred, and as soon as navigation opens, more than a hundred trains of cars will arrive and depart daily; and, if possible, more astonishing than all this is the fact that, for the last year, the earnings of these roads have reached the enormous sum of thirteen and a quarter millions of dollars. The population of Chicago has increased, in the mean time, from thirty-eight to eighty-five thousand—nearly one hundred and fifty per cent, in the short space of three years.
And yet, for all these railroads, Chicago, in her corporate capacity, has never expended a single dollar. Eastern and foreign capital, proverbially cautious, and even skeptical though it be, has done the mighty work. There has been no spasmodic effort to accomplish it. All has been done quietly; the wealth of soil, and the mineral treasures beneath it, affording a sure basis for a profitable, return for every investment. Compared with other cities, Chicago owes but a mere nominal sum.
Her principal debt is for her water works, and the revenue derived from water rents will, ere long, pay the interest, and in the end liquidate the debt. She has now adopted a general and it is believed an efficient plan of sewerage, for which an additional loan will be made, but the advantages to be derived from it will be a hundred fold more than the cost. Most of the streets yet remain to be paved, from the necessities of the case, plank having been heretofore used; but for this the adjoining property is taxed, and we see no occasion for an increase of her debt beyond the expense of the sewerage and the water works.
Does any one ask, are these things to continue? Is the progress of the past four years to go forward in the same ratio? These are questions we dare not answer.
Reader, while perusing these paragraphs, place your map before you, attend carefully to a few facts, and then answer these questions for yourself. Between the western shore of Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains there are 700,000 square miles of territory, enough to make 14 States as large as Ohio. The productions of 50,000 square miles of that territory, certainly with not half its resources developed, have made Chicago what she is in less than twenty, and built her thousands of miles of railroads in four years. Great and astonishing as have been the achievements of our railroad kings, they have as yet merely penetrated the borders of this vast and magnificent country. For richness of soil, the character and extent of its mineral treasures, for manufacturing and commercial resources, and capacity for sustaining a dense population, its superior cannot be found upon the face of the globe.
The progress of the city for the last four years has indeed been wonderful; but all intelligent men know that it has by no means been able to keep pace with the growth of the country that is tributary to it. As fast as the resistless advancing wave of population rolls over this vast fertile country, the railroad rushes onward and pours its commerce and its wealth into the lap of Chicago. Look at our mighty inland seas. Suppose it to be May. Yonder noble steamer is bound a thousand miles away to the head of Lake Superior; that propeller making the harbor has just arrived from Buffalo, a voyage of another thousand miles; and that joyous barque loaded with wheat has cleared for Ogdensburg, thirteen hundred miles, away beyond Lake Ontario on the St. Lawrence. Four years ago the commerce of these lakes had already exceeded in value the entire foreign commerce of the whole Union. And now with these facts before him, situated, as Chicago, is, at the head of these vast inland seas and holding the key to their commerce; with her railroads piercing the vast country that is tributary to her in all directions; and with a ceaseless, ever- deepening stream of the vigorous, the intelligent and the enterprising population of the Eastern States and of Europe, rolling over it with ever- increasing power; with the achievements and the progress of the last four years before him, he would be a bold, almost an insane reasoner who should dare to predict what the next ten years will accomplish.
Again our task is finished. The figures which represent the commerce, the manufactures and the improvements of our city for the past year, and the condition and the earnings of our railroads, have been placed before the readers of the Democratic Press. If our labors, year by year, in this regard have promoted in anywise the interests of our city and our great and glorious Northwest; if they have reached the dwellers among the bleak and barren hills, and the rock-ribbed mountains of the Eastern and the Middle States, and enticed the more enterprising away toward the setting sun; if they, have had, or hereafter may have, any influence in changing our broad prairies into fruitful fields, and in bordering our beautiful groves with ample farm houses— the homes of comfort, plenty, intelligence, virtue and peace—though among the many millions who are soon to people this mighty valley our names should be forgotten, may we not hope that we have contributed somewhat to the happiness and the progress of our race. Let us be assured of that, and we have obtained our greatest and most coveted reward.
THE GEORGIAN BAY CANAL.
Like all those who indulge in pets and pet measures, it is quite likely, that more space is given to the Georgian Bay Canal than it deserves; but as I still think the vast commerce of the Northwest will in some way be quite sure to force the building of it at no distant day, I deem it best to preserve a record of the articles and the measures that secured the survey of the route and attracted very wide attention to the project.
Probably the first knowledge that the people of Chicago and the Northwest ever had of the route for a ship-canal from the Georgian Bay to Toronto, was derived from a paragraph in an article by the late Andrew Harvey, signed ALPHA, on the Commercial Position of Chicago; published in the Democratic Press, February 3rd, 1853. He described the route in a general way and gave a very correct estimate of the effect its construction would have on the commerce of the city, and of the Northwest. He spoke of the project as having for a long time been discussed in Canada, but nothing had ever been done even to determine whether the work was feasible.
A few days after, while studying the map for some subject in relation to the growth or the development of the Northwest, I happened to notice Lake Simcoe, and the narrow strip of country between it and the Georgian Bay on the one side, and Lake Ontario on the other, and remembering the article of Mr. Harvey, I determined to find out all I could in reference to the feasibility of the route for a ship-canal. Going down to Water street I found Col. G. S. Hubbard, and Capt. McIntosh, who gave me the facts, from which I prepared and published next morning, February 10th, the following article. It was headed—
SHIP CANAL FROM LAKE HURON TO TORONTO.
Our correspondent "Alpha," a few days ago stated that the plan of a ship-canal had been proposed, several years since, from Lake Huron through Lake Simcoe to Lake Ontario, at Toronto. The matter at once interested a large number of our business men, as well as ourselves, and we have been making inquiries in regard to the practicability of the work. Years ago our fellow citizen, Guerdon S. Hubbard, Esq., came from Montreal to this city with a party of voyagers, by this route. He expresses the conviction that the work is entirely feasible. Yesterday, with one of Mitchell's large maps of the United States before us, we learned a variety of facts from Capt. David McIntosh, which will; be interesting to our readers. Capt. McIntosh commanded a steamer running on Lake Simcoe for three years, and is perfectly familiar with the whole country.
Lying to the northeast of Lake Huron, and generally included in the same name, is in fact another lake called Manitouline, (Georgian Bay) nearly as large as lake Ontario. At the southeast end of this lake is Notawasaga Bay, into which a river of the same name enters. This river is navigable for some distance, and from the head of navigation to Kempenfeldt Bay, an arm of Lake Simcoe, is a distance of only twelve miles. Capt. Mcintosh says this is one of the most beautiful lakes on the Western Continent, seventy miles long and twenty-eight broad. The country between the Notawasaga river and Lake Simcoe is free from hills and very favorable to the construction of such a canal. This route, both Mr. Hubbard and Captain Mcintosh think, would be much more favorable for a canal than to improve the navigation of the Severn, the outlet of the lake, as it is much more direct, and the canal could be built, with much less expense.
Having arrived at Lake Simcoe, let us see what obstacles are to be overcome in reaching Toronto. On the map a small river is put clown as entering Lake Simcoe from the south, called the Holland river. This river Captain Mcintosh says is navigable twelve miles, and from the head of navigation on this stream to Toronto, the distance is only thirty-six miles. This would give us at most forty-eight miles of canal to build.
The greatest difficulty that occurs to us is the feeding of the summit level between Lake Simcoe and Manitouline and Ontario. But from the appearance of the map before us, and from the information furnished us by Captain Mcintosh, this obstacle, it would seem, can be readily surmounted. The summit of the country between Lake Simcoe and Toronto lies on a low ridge about sixteen miles south of Lake Simcoe, and if the canal were put through this range, it could be fed from Lake Simcoe through to Lake Ontario. Lake Simcoe, so far as we can learn, is about 120 feet above Lake Manitouline, and 450 above Lake Ontario. Immediately at the north end of Lake Simcoe is a fall of some ninety feet. A dam might probably be thrown across the Severn above the falls, raising the level of the lake very considerably so as to make it feed both summits. If it should not furnish water sufficient to feed the canal, the Trent, a large river running a few miles east of the lake, can very easily be turned into it, and will furnish any amount of water that may be necessary.
Though the cutting should be one, two or even four hundred feet for the first few miles south of Lake Simcoe, the necessities of commerce will fully warrant the expenditure. Captain Mcintosh thinks the whole expense of the work would be far less than the cost of the Welland canal. It will be of vastly greater importance to our city and the entire West.
Let us suppose for a moment that the St. Lawrence is opened to our shipping, and we have reciprocal free trade with Canada. Our produce could be shipped direct to Europe with only a single transshipment at Montreal, and that only from vessel to vessel. The trade that would at once spring up between this city and Europe no sane man would now dare to estimate. And again goods would be imported direct to this city from Europe and Asia, and Chicago would become the great store-house and distributing centre of the whole Mississippi valley. Our warehouses would rival those of the Atlantic cities, and our merchants, the expressive language of the Scriptures, would be "princes." The advantages to our Canadian neighbors would be equally great. Montreal and Toronto, especially, have an immense interest at stake in the success of this enterprise. Has the proposed route ever been surveyed? Will our Canadian friends "agitate" the matter and give us their opinions and give us what facts they may have upon its practicability?
If nature has thrown "insurmountable" obstacles in the way we give it up. What we of the West want is free access to the ocean by every possible outlet. Our commerce and immense productions will tax them all to their utmost capacity.
The late George Steele, a sturdy Scotchman who had lived several years in Canada, and one of the best business men Chicago ever had, sent marked copies of the Press containing this article to all the leading papers in Canada, and probably every one in the entire country published the article and had something to say upon the subject. We felt on this side that the route for the canal was in their country, and it was not our place to offer any advice as to its construction or the means by which it could be accomplished. It continued to be more or less discussed, and on June 12th, 1855, at the close of a long article on IMPROVING THE NAVIGATION" OF THE ST. LAWRENCE, I published the following paragraphs:
We have another suggestion to make to the commercial men of Toronto and Montreal, and to the Canadians generally, which we think well worthy of their attention. It is that instead of enlarging the Welland Canal, they at once build one of sufficient capacity to pass our largest propellers from the head of the Georgian Bay to Toronto. It will save at least 500 miles of lake navigation, avoiding the St. Clair Flats, the Detroit river, Lake Erie, and the Welland canal. We have understood from those who have examined the ground that the route is perfectly feasible, and there are only forty-eight miles of canal to build. Build this canal, and Chicago is practically as near to Montreal as it is to Buffalo, for so far as we can judge from measuring on the map, there is not a hundred miles difference in the distance which a propeller would have to steam in making the two ports. It is true that the tolls on the canal would make the freights to Montreal dearer than to Buffalo; but when you come to foot up the cost of transporting pork, beef, flour, and produce to New York or to Europe, it would show figures vastly in favor of the Canadian route. Will not our Canadian friends examine this subject and give us the result of their investigations?
The entire Northwest is deeply interested in the opening of all new lines to the seaboard, and in whatever will increase the capacity of those now in operation. So rapid is the settlement of our magnificent prairies going forward, and so vast are their agricultural resources, that every line of communication is already taxed almost to its utmost capacity, and five years will find them all utterly incapable to do the business which will force itself upon them. Let the Canadian capitalists build their canals as fast as possible, the West will crowd them with business as soon as they are finished.
The Press of June 12th, 1855, contains another article on the same subject. In it I give further facts derived from Hon. Thomas Steers, of Barre, Lake Simcoe, and a subscription is proposed for surveying the route, which Mr. Steers started with a handsome sum. Other subscriptions were made in Canada, and I got some hundreds of dollars subscribed by our banks and business men.
The Press of July 25th, 1854, has another article in which is quoted the action of the Toronto Board of Trade, in which a committee is appointed to raise subscriptions and arrange for a survey.
July 30th, a meeting of the Chicago Board of Trade is reported, and favorable resolutions were passed. A committee, to raise funds was appointed, and to act with committees of other cities. George Steele, Thos. Richmond, B. S. Shepherd, T. Jones, C. T. Wheeler, Hiram Wheeler, Wm. Bross, Thos. Steers, and R. S. King, were the committee. August 1st, I published a column of extracts from Canadian papers, and editorial on the same subject. Important information is added to what was then known in regard to the project. Finally, the Toronto Board of Trade invited delegates from similar bodies in the lake cities to meet there on the 13th of September, 1855, to elicit whatever facts there might be bearing on the feasibility of the work. Geo. Steele, Thos. Richmond, and myself, were appointed delegates. Mr. Richmond could not go; Mr. S. and myself attended. In order to show the Canadians the importance of the work as best I could, I made the following address to the convention:
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Committee:
Mr. Crocker has presented you with some very interesting figures in relation to the lessening of the cost of transportation, if facilities for using larger vessels be afforded. Will you allow me to give you some facts which may assist you, and more especially that portion of the business public who may not have examined the subject, to appreciate the importance of a ship canal from the Georgian Bay to Toronto. It is proposed to construct another great highway for the commerce of the Upper Lakes to Lake Ontario, and thence to the ocean. Whether the labor and expense necessary to complete the work, if they fall within a reasonable estimate, after a careful survey shall have been made, would be usefully and profitably employed, must be determined by the present commerce of those lakes and its prospective extent and value in the future. The growth of that commerce for the last twenty years is one of the most astonishing facts in the commercial history of the world, and forms an index by which we may judge what is likely to be its history hereafter. The report of Mr. Andrews made to the Secretary of War, under the direction of the Congress of the United States, gives the value of the commerce of the lakes for the year 1851 at 326,000,000 of dollars, being more than the entire foreign commerce of the Union. We have no means to determine how much of this trade is due to Lake Michigan, but we have some figures by which we can form some idea of the value of that trade for the past year; and if we consider the extent of the territory from which that trade now comes, and the vast region from which it is TO COME, it will enable us to form some idea of the importance of the proposed canal to the future commerce of the lakes.
The territory which has built up the city of Chicago, does not extend beyond the Mississippi, say two hundred miles west, and a hundred miles north by a hundred and fifty miles south would mark its bound aries in these directions. This gives us an area of fifty thousand square miles. Any of the gentlemen present, who may have traveled over the country west of Chicago, know that its resources are but very imperfectly developed. What was the trade of Chicago for the past year? She shipped 12,902,310 bushels of grain, making her the largest primary grain port in the world. She packed and shipped alive over 100,000 hogs. There were slaughtered 23,691 cattle, and 10,957 were shipped East alive.
The lumber receipts amounted to 248,336,783 feet.
The arrivals of vessels were 443 steamers, 409 propellers, 114 barques, 436 brigs, 3,049 schooners, and 70 sloops—total, 4,527. The total tonnage as registered in the Custom House, was 984,144 tons. The total receipts of the Custom House were for
1854.........................$575,802.85 1853..........................260,671.17
Increase in a single year....$315,131.68
The population of Chicago for a series of years will enable you to form some conception of its rapid growth, and the development of the resources of the country west of it:
1840.......4,479 1843.......7,580 1845......12,088 1846......14,169 1847......16,859 1848......20,023 1849......23,047 1850......28,269 1852......38,733 1853......60,652 1854......65,872 1855......83,509
The figures for the present year as given in the above table include our marine population, which were not included in the amount as published in some of the papers.
The total number without the marine is 80,028. The value of the manufactured articles as given in the census just taken is $9,827,700.
These are a specimen of some of the items in the trade of Chicago for the past year. What the trade of Waukegan, Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee was, we have no means of determining; but they were of course very considerable, and tended very materially to swell the trade of Lake Michigan. It should be remembered that so far as Chicago is concerned her trade was gathered from about 50,000 square miles.
Let us now turn our attention to the country west of Lake Michigan and endeavor to form some idea of its extent and resources, that we may estimate as best we may what the trade of Lake Michigan is to be a few years hence. Let us take a stand-point at the mouth of the south fork of the Platte River, say nine hundred miles west of Chicago. Draw a line through this point north and south, and, though we are a long way east of the Rocky Mountains, call the rest of the country south of the Black Hills a desert. It will be observed that all the territory on the Yellow Stone and the Upper Missouri lies west of this line.
For our north and south line we begin at or near Alton at about the thirty- ninth degree of north latitude and go up to the northern boundary of Minnesota and Nebraska. The total distance will not vary much from six hundred and fifty miles. This gives us an area of territory of 585,000 square miles. Add to this 115,000 square miles for the beautiful country on the Upper Missouri and the Yellow Stone and we have seven hundred thousand square miles of as fine country as can be found upon the face of the earth, whose productions and trade will swell beyond the figures of the wildest fancy the commerce of the lakes.*
It may be said that our north and south line reaches too far south. All the trade as far south as Alton will not seek the lake route, but a large portion of it will; and as you extend the radius west, say to Independence, Missouri, the line becomes very direct through Quincy to Chicago.
It is very easy to repeat the figures— 700,000 which represent the number of square miles contained in the territory we have named; but it is a far different thing to form a definite idea of the immense country which yet remains to be developed Avest of the Lakes. Let us make a few comparisons to assist us in our estimate of the future of the great Northwest.
It should be remarked, however, that there are many beautiful valleys in the Rocky Mountains, capable of sustaining a large population, and more fertile and beautiful than Switzerland, and enough to form half a dozen such States.
Add up the number of square miles in all the States east of the Mississippi, except Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida, and you will find that you will have only 700,000. If you are startled and can scarcely believe the figures, take a newspaper and cut it in the shape of the territory I have named east of the Mississippi, and lay it on that west of Lake Michigan,
----------------------- *This geographical fact was, so far as I know, first proved in a long article prepared by myself, June 27th, of the same year. -----------------------
and study the map in every possible form and you will be forced to the conclusion that the Northwest contains a territory larger than the twenty- three older States we have alluded to east of the Mississippi. These States contain some 20,000,000 inhabitants.
But again, England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland contain in all 115,000 square miles, only one-sixth of the Territory of the Northwest, and have a population of 26,000,000. Were the territory we have named equally populous, it would contain 156,000,000. Turkey, Austria and France, have in the aggregate 361,000 square miles and a population of 84,000,000. Need it be wondered at that in speaking of the Northwest, Western men are obliged to use terms which venerable old fogies regard as extravagant and even absurd? The simple fact is that this territory is large enough to make fourteen States of 50,000 square miles each, and is vastly more fertile and capable of sustaining a population many times larger than all the older States of the Union.
A few words as to the resources of the country under consideration. In minerals it is especially rich. It contains the largest and the richest deposits of lead and copper that are known to exist anywhere upon the globe. I need hardly say that I allude to the copper mines of Lake Superior, and the lead district of which Galena is the centre. Iron and coal are also found in great abundance.
In speaking of its climate and productions, it should be known that the isothermal or climatic lines bend far away to the north as we go west toward the Rocky Mountains. If we mistake not, it is nearly as warm at the north bend of the Missouri as it is at Chicago. Owing to this fact and the richness of the country, the buffalo range nearly up to the south line of British America.
The agricultural resources of these 700,000 square miles are absolutely beyond the power of man to estimate. It is the opinion of some of the best informed men that the great plains over which the buffalo now range in countless thousands, must after all become the great corn-growing sections of the Union. There too will be reared the countless herds of cattle and the hogs, driven to Chicago, to be packed in beef and pork to feed the Eastern States, with an abundance to spare for all the nations of Europe.
And now, Mr. President and gentlemen, with the vast extent and the agricultural and mineral resources of the country west of the Lakes before us, what is the commerce of these lakes to be in the next twenty years? It is settling with most astonishing rapidity. Our railroads are piercing this vast territory in all directions. They now reach the Mississippi at Cairo, Alton, Burlington, Rock Island and Dubuque; and more than a hundred trains a day arrive at and depart from Chicago. They will soon be extended through Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, and no one can tell where they will end till they reach the Pacific. If the products of the West, gathered from only 50,000 square miles, have built up a city of 83,000 people in the short space of eighteen years—for it is only a few months more than that since it was incorporated—who dares to estimate what the next twenty years will accomplish? I once heard Captain Hugunin, a veteran sailor of our city, who commenced his eventful career on Lake Ontario in 1812, after referring to the growth and the endless prospective value of the products of the West, say that "the great God, when he made the mighty West, made also the Lakes and the mighty St. Lawrence to float its commerce to the ocean;" and I might add, as well attempt to lead the boiling current of Niagara to the sea in hose pipe, as to ship the products of these 700,000 square miles to the ocean by the Erie and the Well and Canals, and all the railroads now or hereafter to be constructed. The West needs the Georgian Bay Canal and every other avenue to the ocean that can possibly be opened.
The result was the survey of the route by Kivas Tully, and Col. R. B. Mason, of Chicago, as consulting engineer. It was proved perfectly practicable but expensive, costing by their estimate at prices then ruling, $22,170,750. The financial crash of 1857-8 stopped all further proceedings in regard to it; but the charter for the work passed into the hands of a Company of which F. C. Capreol, Esq., is, and for a long time has been, President. By his indefatigable labors the enterprise has been kept before the public and its feasibility and great practical value to Canada and the Northwest has been proved and thoroughly illustrated. Pity it is that the work is not likely to be completed in his lifetime. It will be, when completed, in my judgment, to the commerce of the Lakes what the Suez Canal is to that of Europe and the world.
A brief statement of the character of the work will be found in an address made at Des Moines, January 22nd, 1873, to be found towards the close of this volume.
1856.
At the close of my railway article for 1856 I made the following synopsis of the railways and the business of the city for that year.
The following list embraces the trunk roads actually completed and in operation, with their branch and extension lines, centering in Chicago:
Miles. Chicago and Milwaukee..........................85 Racine and Mississippi.........................86 Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac.............121 Milwaukee and Mississippi, Western Divis'n....105 Galena and Chicago Union......................121 Fox River Valley...............................33 Wisconsin Central...............................6 Beloit Branch..................................20 Beloit and Madison.............................17 Mineral Point..................................17 Galena (Fulton) Air Line......................135 Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska.....................13 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy................210 Burlington and Missouri.......................30 Northern Cross................................100 Hannibal and St. Joseph........................30 Chicago and Rock Island.......................182 Mississippi and Missouri, 1st Division.........55 do do 3rd do ..........13 Peoria and Bureau Valley.......................47 Peoria and Oquawka............................143 Chicago, Alton and St. Louis..................283 Illinois Central..............................704 Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago..............383 Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana........242 Cincinnati, Peru and Chicago...................28 Michigan Central..............................282 New Albany and Salem..........................284
11 Trunk and 17 Branch and Extension lines..3,676
Taking the portions of the above lines which lie in the State of Illinois, and adding the length of the different roads completed in the central portions of the State, we find that Illinois now contains TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE MILES OF COMPLETED RAILWAY. Five years ago we had only ninety-five miles. These facts show a most gratifying progress, of which every citizen of Illinois may well be proud.
The total number of trains which now (midwinter) arrive at and depart from Chicago daily is 104. Adding 15 per cent. for the number as soon as navigation opens, and we have 120. The amount of freight, the number of passengers, and the wealth and the business which these trains daily pour into the lap of Chicago can easily be appreciated by those who are on the ground and will take pains to examine the subject for themselves.
The earnings of our different railway lines during the past year have been of the most satisfactory character. We should like to see the receipts of the different lines centering in other cities, that a comparison might be made. When it is remembered that five years ago we had but forty miles of railway, earning perhaps $40,000, the contrast is truly amazing. We present the following TABLE, showing the Earnings of the Railroads centering in Chicago, for the year 1856.
Passengers Freight Mail, etc. Total Chi. & Mil., our estimate ------ ------ ------ 275,000.00 Chi., St. P. & Fond du Lac 25,507.38 47,721.41 ------ 73,528.79 G. & C. U. 844,421.50 1,404,294.19 26,895.09 2,272,610.78 Chi., B. & Q. 810,062.83 432,570.13 13,221.43 1,255,854.39 Chi. & R. I. 728,966.26 570,712.69 27,350.00 1,327,028.95 C., A. & St. L., our estimate ------ ------ ------ 600,000.00 Illinois Central 693,048.93 630,934.91 208,134.97 1,532,118.81 M. S. & N. I. ------ ------ ------ 2,595,630.22 Mich. Central 1,461,414.41 1,098,650.15 90,170.92 2,650,235.37 N. A. & Salem 345,588.54 348,555.54 22,020.00 716,193.78
Total 13,298,201.09
MOVEMENT OF PASSENGERS.
The movement of passengers forms a new and interesting feature in our railway statistics. The returns of the four principal roads running west from the city show the following
West East Thro'. Way. Total. Thro'. Way. Total. C., St. P. & F. 2,217 26,846 29,063 2,530 26,579 29,109 G. & C. U. 72,707 199,766 272,473 42,552 169,907 212,459 C., B. & Q. 31,433 100,540 131,973 25,492 95,940 121,431 C. & R. I. 48,978 157,178 206,157 30,439 138,575 169,014
Total 155,335 484,330 639,666 101,013 431,001 532,013
This table shows that these four railways alone have taken west 107,653 passengers more than they brought back people enough to redeem another sovereign State from the dominion of the panther and the savage, and add another star to the banner of our glorious Union. During the early part of the year a large emigration found its way to Kansas and Nebraska over the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railway, by land, and also on the Ohio and other tributaries of the Mississippi. Many were also landed from the lower lake and the Collingwood steamers at Milwaukee and other cities north of us, so that there can scarcely be a doubt that at least 250,000 people found their way west of the meridian of Chicago and north of the southern line of Missouri during the past year.
If the passenger movement on the Michigan Southern corresponds with that on the Michigan Central, the above results agree with sufficient accuracy with those of the four leading Western lines. They would be as follows:
West East Thro'. Way. Total. Thro'. Way. Total. Mich. Central. 117,662 215,119 332,781 64,187 194,697 258,884 M.S. (estimate) 117,662 215,119 332,781 64,187 194,697 258,884
Total 235,324 530,238 665,562 128,374 389,394 517,768
This table would show, on the above hypothesis, that these two lines brought 147,794 passengers west more than they took back, leaving about 40,000 to remain in this city or to find their way west of us by other lines. If we make a fair estimate for the movement of passengers on the Milwaukee and St. Louis roads, from which no returns were received, the total movement on the principal railway lines centering at Chicago would be about 3,350,000 passengers.
This is the last of four leading statistical articles published since the first of January lust, and we now give at a single glance the main facts contained in all of them. We present, therefore, the following
GENERAL SUMMARY.
Total number of miles of railway cen- tering in Chicago Feb. 20, 1852...........................40 Total number of miles now completed and in operation.....3,676 Increase in 1856...........................................915 Total number to be completed in from five to eight years............................................6,929 Total number of miles of railway in the State of Illinois now in operation..............................2,761 Increase in 1856 (Only 95 miles were completed five years ago.)..............................................351 Increase in the State in five years, (over 500 miles per year)..............................2,666 Total earnings of all the railways centering in Chicago for the year 1856 (Five years ago they were only $40,000)...............................$17,343,242.83 Increase in five years..............................17,303,242.83 Increase of 1856 over 1855...........................4,045,041.74 Total number of trains arriving and departing daily (midwinter) 104; adding 15 cent, as soon as navigation opens.................................120 Population of Chicago in 1852...........................38,783 Population of Chicago Jan. 1, 1857, estimate (in June, 1855, it was 83,509).......................110,000 Total receipts of grain in Chicago for the year 1855, bushels............................20,487,953 Total receipts of grain—being the largest primary grain port in the world—for the year 1856 (increase in 1856 over 20 per cent.) bushels......24,674,824 Total shipments of grain from the port of Chicago for the year 1856, bushels................21,583,221 Total amount of corn received in 1856, bushels......11,888,398 Total amount of wheat received in 1856, bushels......9,392,365 Total number of hogs alive and dressed received in Chicago for 1855-6.......................308,539 Total number of shipments alive and dressed............170,831 Averaging the weight at only 200 lbs. and the price at $5 per hundred, the value of the hogs received would be.................................$3,585,880 Number of barrels of beef packed in 1856................33,058 Receipts of lumber at the port of Chicago for the year 1856—being the largest lumber market in the world-feet................................456,673,169 Receipts of lead for the year 1856, lbs..............9,527,506 Now-laid up in the port of Chicago, steamers and sail vessels.........................................245 Total number of vessels arriving in Chicago for the year 1856..............................7,328 Total tonnage of vessels arriving in this port for the year 1856........................1,545,379 Amount of imposts received at the Chicago Custom House on foreign goods for the past year.....$162,994.31 Total amount of capital invested in manufactures during the year 1856—showing an increase of $1,464,400 over 1855..............................$7,759,400 Total number of hands employed—showing an increase over 1855, of 1,833..........................10,573 Total value of manufactured articles, showing an increase of $4,483,572................$15,515,063 Total amount invested during the year 1856 in improvements, stores, dwellings, hotels, etc. showing an increase over 1855, of $1,973,370......$5,708,624 Total number of passengers carried west by four principal railways leading out of Chicago.......639,666 Total number remaining west above those who returned on these four lines.........................107,653 Total number of passengers moved on all the roads centering in Chicago...............................3,350,000
The above facts and figures will be regarded with special satisfaction by all our citizens, and by the people of the Northwest generally. They show a healthy, but rapid and most astonishing progress. It may be doubted whether the whole history of the civilized world can furnish a parallel to the vigorous growth and rapid development of the country which has Chicago for its commercial metropolis.
When it is remembered that twenty years ago she was not an incorporated city, and less than a quarter of a century since, the Indians still had possession of the largest portion of this magnificent country, these facts, stubborn and incontestible though they be, seem more like the dreams of some vagrant imagination than sober matters of reality, which scores of men still among us have themselves seen and realized.
Twenty years ago Chicago was an insignificant town at the southern end of Lake Michigan, importing nearly all her produce from Western New York and Northern Ohio.
Last year she shipped 21,583,221 bushels of grain, and her total receipts were over twenty-four and a half millions. Half a dozen years ago she had only a single railroad some twenty miles long entering the city; now she has 3,676 miles completed and in operation, and the earnings of these lines for the last year amount to the enormous sum of $17,343,242.83. The increase of earnings during the past year is over four millions of dollars. More than a hundred trams of cars arrive and depart daily. Her trade in lumber exceeds by far that of any other city in the world, amounting to 456,673,169 feet. Ten years ago her manufactures were in their infancy and were scarcely worthy of commendation. Last year the capital invested amounted to $7,759,400, and the value of manufactured articles to more than FIFTEEN MILLIONS AND A HALF OF DOLLARS. Half a dozen years ago Chicago was reproached as being a city of wooden shanties; last year she invested in magnificent stores, many of them with superb marble and iron fronts, elegant palatial residences and other improvements, $5,708,624. And wonderful as has been the progress of the city, it has not been able to keep pace with the improvements of the country by which she is surrounded.
The statistics of the movement of population westward show that people enough found their homes west of Chicago during the past year to form two entire States. Nor is this a movement of mere human bone and muscle; it is a concentration upon our rich rolling prairies and amid our beautiful groves of a vast host of active, vigorous, intelligent men, who plant schools and churches wherever they settle, and bring with them all the elements of an enterprising Christian civilization—a deep, controlling, ever abiding reverence for liberty and for law. They are laying the foundations for an empire of whose wealth, intelligence and power the sun in all his course has never seen the equal. Ere the next quarter of a century shall have rolled away, the beautiful valleys of the Upper Missouri, the Yellow Stone, the Platte, and the Kansas, aye, and even that of the Red River of the North, will all have been settled, and this ever-deepening current of emigration will meet an equally resistless stream from the Pacific coast, and roll back in mingling eddies from the summits of the Rocky Mountains. Fourteen States as large as Ohio, but on an average more wealthy and populous, will have grown up on the magnificent country between the Lakes and the Rocky Mountains, and how many will repose upon the "Pacific slope" we dare not attempt to predict.
During the last year our steamers have run without interruption to the head of Lake Superior, and our exports to the Atlantic seaboard have largely increased. Nor is this all. The Dean Richmond was loaded with wheat at the wharves of Chicago and Milwaukee and discharged her cargo into the warehouses of Liverpool. The practicability, and the profit too, of direct trade with Europe have been demonstrated; and as soon as navigation opens, other vessels will follow in the track of the Dean Richmond; and in the judgment of those who have most carefully studied this subject, a very few years will render the departure of vessels for the grain-consuming countries of Europe so common as scarcely to excite remark. Our Canadian neighbors are becoming fully convinced that their best interests require greater facilities for the transit of western produce to the ocean and the enlargement of the Welland Canal and the construction of the Georgian Bay or the Ottawa Ship Canal is now regarded as a prime necessity of commerce. Our railway lines are constantly being extended through the magnificent country west of us a country whose mineral, agricultural and commercial resources no man has yet had the nerve to estimate. To the citizen of Chicago who has at heart the material, social and religious welfare of the millions who are to succeed us, every aspect of the horizon east, west, north and south, is full of promise and joyous hope. Presenting our congratulations to the readers of the Press, we offer to them, to all, the inspiring motto, COURAGE! ONWARD!!
The following little address contains some facts which perhaps will excuse its insertion here:
EXTENT AND RESOURCES OF THE NORTHWEST, TRADE WITH CANADA, ETC.
Remarks of Wm. Bross, Esq., at the Great Railway Celebration at Montreal, Wednesday, Nov. 12th, 1856, in response to the toast "The City of Chicago," as reported in the Montreal Gazette, Nov. 13th.
Wm. BROSS, ESQ., Editor of the Chicago Democratic Press, responded. He thanked the last speaker for the flattering mention that had been made of Chicago, and said:
This is eminently, Sir, a practical age. And while this is true, it is not wanting in those elements which appeal to and arouse the nobler and more generous emotions of the soul. The facts and the figures, which represent the onward progress of our Christian civilization, so far from being dry and uninteresting, are themselves eloquent and absorbing, and even the most exalted genius has not disdained to embody them in our literature, and to celebrate their benign influence upon the happiness of mankind in the magic numbers of poetry. Next to Christianity itself, commerce has the most direct and powerful influence to bind together, in a community of interest and feeling, all the families of our race, and to cultivate those kindlier sympathies which teach man to recognize a brother in his fellow man in whatever land or clime he may be found.
This celebration is intended to honor the opening of another great thoroughfare from the teeming prairies of the West to the Atlantic seaboard. While others have enjoyed the pleasing task of dwelling on the social themes suggested by this event, and believing as I do in the eloquence of facts and figures, will you permit me, Sir, to notice its great commercial importance. Canadian enterprise was never more wisely employed than when it devoted its energies to complete another highway from the Mississippi to Montreal and Quebec, and to Portland in Maine, the most eastern, as she certainly is one of the fairest stars in our glorious galaxy of States.
Permit me, in this connection, to notice briefly the extent and rapidity of settlement, and the resources of the magnificent country of which Chicago is the commercial centre, and which you have bound to your City by iron bands by the completion of the Grand Trunk Railway. Let any one study carefully the map of the Northwest, and he will find within the bounds of the United States, lying between Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains, and within the reach of the trade of the lakes south, say the latitude of Alton, 700,000 square miles of territory—enough to form fourteen States as large as Ohio. It is very easy to repeat these figures, but let us make some comparisons in order that we may form some just and definite conception of their magnitude. All the States east of the Mississippi, except Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida, contain only about 700,000 square miles. Again, England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, constituting the British empire, leading, as her position is in the civilization, wealth and power of the world, contain only 115,000 square miles, and yet they have a population of 26,000,000. The countries of Turkey, Austria and France contain in the aggregate 361,000 square miles, and sustain a population of 84,000,000.
The climate of the region under consideration is exactly fitted to produce a hardy and enterprising people. Its mineral deposits of iron, lead, copper and coal are unsurpassed in extent and richness, and, unbroken by mountains, its agricultural resources are exhaustless and truly amazing. It is said by competent authority that every acre will maintain its man; but giving ten to each, within the next half dozen centuries, if peace and prosperity crown the land, it is destined to contain 450,000,000 of people. Such is the vast and magnificent country with which you have become socially and commercially connected at all times and in all seasons by the Grand Trunk, the Great Western, and the Michigan Central Railways.
The rapidity with which the borders of this immense region—for at least five- sevenths of it is still the home of the panther, the buffalo and the savage—is one of the most astonishing wonders of the age. Within half the lifetime of many who hear me, there were not ten thousand white inhabitants in all this territory; their number now will range from one and a half to two millions. Twenty years ago Chicago was a small town at the southern end of Lake Michigan, and at night the howl of the prairie wolf might be heard from all its dwellings; now it is a city of more than a hundred thousand inhabitants. Twenty years ago Chicago imported nearly all her pork, beef and flour; this year she will export 20,000,000 bushels of grain, and her beef, both in quantity and quality, leads the markets of the world. Five years ago the State of Illinois had completed 95 miles of railways; now she has more than 2,400. At that time there was but one railway, forty miles long, entering Chicago; there are now ten trunk and a great number of branch lines, and counting in most cases but a single State beyond our own, there are now more than three thousand miles of railway centering in the city, and on these more than a hundred trains of cars arrive and depart daily. The earnings of these roads last year reached the enormous sum of $13,300,000, and this year they will amount to from 17 to 20,000,000 of dollars. What is a matter of special pride is, that some of these lines are among the best paying roads in the Union. But the country is increasing, if possible, much faster than Chicago, its commercial metropolis. Only some seven or eight years ago, Minnesota was organized into a territory, and her white inhabitants were told by a few hundreds; now she has at least 130,000, and will knock at the door of Congress at the next session for admission as a sovereign State.
But, Sir, it may be interesting to you to know what the extent of the trade between the ports of Canada and Chicago is. And here let me acknowledge my indebtedness for these figures to J. Edward Wilkins, Esq., the very able and excellent Consul of Her Britannic Majesty at Chicago:
IMPORTS. Vessels. Tons. 1854 5 1,193 £5,178 2 6 $24,855 1855 77 16,617 28,856 6 8 138,520 1856, to Nov. 1 95 22,664 40,892 8 4 194,843
EXPORTS. Vessels. Tons. 1854 6 1,482 £16,429 7 6 $79,101 1855 61 13,010 173,922 1 8 834,826 1856, to Nov. 1 97 23,377 174,838 5 9 829,223
These figures,
it should be borne in mind, represent the trade in British vessels alone. The
exports from Chicagd to Canadian ports are much larger than the figures here
given, as produce is shipped largely by the Collingwood and the Michigan Central
lines, by Ogdensburg and by independent American vessels. The total amount of
sales this year at Chicago to Canadian merchants is estimated by Mr. Wilkins at
about $2,500,000. This large trade has sprung up mainly within the last two
years, and owes its success to the enlightened statesmanship of those who framed
and secured the passage of the reciprocity treaty. But, Sir, we, of Chicago,
hope that this trade is but in its infancy. The Creator when he formed the great
Lakes and the St. Lawrence, intended that the commerce of the mighty and teeming
West should be borne on their broad bosom to the ocean, and I think, Sir, it
requires no great amount of geographical and philosophical sagacity to discover
that while Chicago is to be the great central commercial city of the North
American continent, Montreal is to bo one of the great commercial emporiums of
the seaboard. That is virtually your position. It needs but the enlarging of the
Welland Canal and the construction of another great work, the Georgian Bay and
Ontario Ship Canal, to secure for Montreal this proud position beyond a
peradventure. We have an earnest of what can be done. Only a few weeks ago the
Dean Richmond was loaded at Chicago and Milwaukee, passed out through your
magnificent river and canals, and landed her cargo of wheat on the docks of
Liverpool. This, Sir, I regard as one of the greatest triumphs of commercial
enterprise. But let not the merchants of Montreal fear that, if the Georgian Bay
Canal be built, and the Welland enlarged, the rich trade of the West will go by
her. So far from that, it will make one of its chief depots here. Lines of
propellers will bring the produce of the West here, and from them it will be
transhipped in Ocean going steamers. May we not hope, Sir, that Montreal
merchants will give us such a line next year on the opening of navigation? Let
it be understood that Chicago merchants can import speedily nnd surely goods
from Europe by this line, and our word for it, it will not be three years before
Montreal will secure the lion's share of the trade of the West. I am well aware,
Sir, that these remarks may be condemned, and perchance excite the ridicule of
my friends on the other side of the line. The far-seeing sagacity of DeWitt
Clinton planned, and New York enterprise built, the Erie Canal, thus securing
for a time for the great American metropolis the vast trade of the mighty West.
But, Sir, there is enough for them and for you. Commerce knows no national
lines. Protect her, and she blesses alike the loyal subjects of the British
Queen and those who recline proudly beneath the Stars and Stripes of our own
glorious Union. Aye, Sir, she has bound us, and may she continue to bind us
together in a community of interest and feeling, and accursed be the hand that
would sever these bonds, so productive of everything that promotes the onward
progress of Christian civilization. I give you, Sir, in conclusion— "Montreal
and Chicago — England, Canada, and the American Union; in all efforts to promote
the arts of peace, and to secure the advancement of our race in intelligence and
Christian civilization, may they be 'NOW AND FOREVER, ONE AND INSEPERABLE.'"
1857
From our railway review for 1857, prepared by myself, the following synopsis is taken.
The following list embraces the trunk roads actually completed and in operation, with their branch and extension lines, centering in Chicago:
Miles. Chicago and Milwaukee................................85 Kenosha and Rockford.................................11 Racine and Mississippi...............................86 Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac...................131 Milwaukee and Mississippi, Western Divis'n..........130 Galena and Chicago Union............................121 Fox River Valley.....................................34 Wisconsin Central.....................................8 Beloit Branch........................................20 Beloit and Madison...................................17 Mineral Point........................................32 Dubuque and Pacific..................................29 Galena (Fulton) Air Line............................136 Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska...........................36 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy......................210 Burlington and Missouri..............................35 Quincy and Chicago..................................100 Hannibal and St. Joseph..............................65 Chicago and Rock Island.............................182 Mississippi and Missouri, 1st Division...............55 do do 2nd do..................20 do do 3rd do..................13 Peoria and Bureau Valley.............................47 Peoria and Oquawka..................................143 Chicago, Alton and St. Louis........................284 Illinois Central....................................704 Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago....................383 Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana..............242 Cincinnati, Peru and Chicago.........................28 Michigan Central....................................282 New Albany and Salem................................284
11 Trunk and 20 Branch and Extension lines........3,953
The above table shows an increase to the Chicago system of railroads during the past year, of 277 miles. Though falling very far short of the progress of each of the past few years, considering the season of disaster and panic of the past few months, it is all and even much more than could have been expected. Most of this increase has been added in the State of Iowa.
Adding the length of the completed lines in the central part of the State to that portion of the lines in the above table that lie within her boundaries, we find that Illinois has TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE' MILES OF RAILWAY completed and in operation. The exact figures may vary a trifle from this result, but the difference cannot be a dozen miles either way. In 1850 Illinois had only 95 miles of railway completed. Such a result in so short a period is a just cause of honest pride to every citizen of our noble State.
The number of trains arriving and departing daily does not differ materially from that of the previous year, when we found them to be one hundred and twenty. There is not an hour in the day unbroken by the screaming whistle of the locomotive, and some hours the screeching is scarcely interrupted for a moment.
The earnings of the railroads centering in the city, all things considered, it is believed will fully meet expectations. When it is remembered that six years ago the earnings of all our railroads did not exceed $40,000, 40 miles of the Galena road only being completed, this result is truly astonishing. No other country in the world has ever witnessed such progress.
The following table shows the earnings of all the railways centering in Chicago for the year 1857:
Passengers Freight Mail, etc. Total Chi. & Mil. ------ ------ ------ 522,731.92 Rac. & Mis. ------ ------ ------ 271,608.44 C., St. P. & F. 239,308.19 178,452.66 11,544.54 429,305.39 Mil. & Mis. 1/2 (vide receipts in full) 441,408.94 G. & C. U. 726,909.58 1,321,737.67 69,258.72 2,117,904.97 F. R. Val. (our estimate) 30,000.00 Min. Pt. 8,465.29 14,465.87 650.35 23,581.51 Du. & Pa. 28,720.07 22,676.09 273.89 51,660.05 C. I. & N. 1,552.21 11,630.39 448.05 19,830.65 C., B. & Q. 592,565.81 1,280,522.76 16,497.92 1,889,586.49 B. & Mo. 30,618.45 17,836.38 589.75 49,044.58 Q. & C. 145,422.12 173,011.04 18,890.73 337,323.89 C. & R. I. 742,949.84 882,384.16 55,967.57 1,681,101.57 Miss. & Mo. 147,911.35 148,244.30 ------ 296,155.74 C., A. & St. L. 442,434.18 523,806.43 32,068.86 998,309.47 Ill. Cent. 1,064,978.46 1,037,987.55 190,998.56 2,293,964.57 P., F. W. & C. 941,175.14 653,916.61 53,787.48 1,652,727.95 M. S. & N. I. 1,316,478.21 833,053.80 31,592.96 2,186,124.97 Mich. Central 1,447,526.78 1,130,819.25 78,125.33 2,656,471.36 N. A. & S. (our estimate) 631,868.00
Total 18,590,520.26
Several new lines have been added to the above list during the past year, but in order that we may form definite ideas of the aggregate effect of the panic on our railways, we present the earnings of the twelve roads then reported for each year.
EARNINGS. 1856 1857 C. & M. $650,000.00 $522,731.92 C., St. P. & F. 137,303.67 429,305.39 G. & C. U. 2,456,045.80 2,117,904.97 F. R. V. 50,000.00 30,000.00 C., B. & Q. 1,627,029.61 1,899,586.49 N. C., 6 m 215,222.79 347,323.89 C. & R. I. 1,751,704.60 1,681,101.57 C., A. & St. L. 1,000,000.00 998,309.48 Ill. Cent. 2,469,533.67 2,293,964.57 M. S. & N. I. 3,114,756.06 2,186,124.97 Mich. Central 3,128,154.10 2,656,471.36 N. A. & S. 743,492.53 631,868.00
Total $17,343,242.83 $15,784,692.60
This table certainly affords us a most gratifying result. Amid all the panic and disaster of the last year, with all the satanic efforts of certain journals in New York and other cities to destroy all railway values, the earnings of twelve railways centering in this city for 1857, fell short of their aggregate earnings in 1856 $1,558,550.23, which is some ten per cent. less than their receipts in a year of great prosperity and progress. In all the dark days through which we have passed, the Daily Press has steadily labored to inspire confidence and hope, and the results of careful comparisons in every department of business show that our positions were correct. We have the satisfaction also of knowing that our reasonings have saved many of our readers from despair and utter ruin.
MOVEMENT OF PASSENGERS.
The movement of passengers, as might be expected, falls short somewhat of that of the previous year; but the results show a steady and very large western movement.
The following table shows the passenger traffic on our two great eastern lines:
West East Thro'. Way. Total. Thro'. Way. Total. M. S. & N. I. 105,370 192,211 279,581 54,621 182,347 236,968 Mich. Central 108,995 178,630 286,415 64,746 169,227 233,973
Total 214,365 370,841 565,996 119,437 351,574 470,941
This table shows that our two great eastern lines brought to this city 94,998 passengers more than they took east from it. The figures of the four principal lines leading west from this city give the following
RESULTS. West East Thro'. Way. Total. Thro'. Way. Total. C., St. P. & F. 43,518 46,199 89,717 35,046 45,026 80,073 G. & C. U. 57,786 196,802 254,786 37,724 178,880 916,010 C., B. & Q. 16,091 183,610 199,701 14,205 182,577 196,882 C. & R. I. 31,784 171,073 207,857 25,851 156,407 182,259
Total 149,179 597,684 752,061 112,826 562,990 675,224
According to these figures, these four lines of railway carried west 76,837 passengers more than they brought back to the city. If we estimate the immense numbers that come down the Ohio river in steamers, and thence up the Mississipppi, at an equal number, and add a reasonable number for those who crossed the Station the east and west lines south of this city, and also those who went west on the Wisconsin lines, and further, remember the vast numbers who annually emigrate West in their own wagons, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND people at least, during the past year, found happy homes west of Chicago. These people are the intelligent, the enterprising, and the industrious, sifted out from the old stationary communities of the Eastern States, and from the nations of Europe. All comment as to the rapidity with which the Western States are growing in wealth, population, and power, is entirely unnecessary.
As this is the last of our leading statistical articles showing the business of the city for the past year, it may be well to make a summation of the facts, that we may view them all at a glance. We present, therefore, the following
GENERAL SUMMARY.
Total number of miles of railway centering in Chicago Feb. 20, 1852......................................40 Total number of miles now completed and in operation......3,953 Increase in 1857............................................277 Total number to be completed in from six to ten years............................................7,234 Total number of miles of railway in the State of Illinois now in operation......................2,775 (Only 95 miles were completed six years ago.) Total earnings of all the railways centering in Chicago for the year 1857......................$18,590,520.26 Increase in six years................................18,550,520.26 Total number of trains arriving and departing daily.........120 Total number of passengers carried west by four principal railways leading out of the city............752,061 Total number remaining West above those who returned on these four lines...........................76,837 Total number moved West on two Eastern roads above those who returned East..........................94,098 Population of Chicago in 1852............................38,783 Total vote at the last municipal election................16,123 Estimated population from the above returns —allowance being made for the great numbers of unnaturalized people among us......................130,000 Total receipts of grain in Chicago for the year 1857—flour being reduced to wheat, bushels.........22,856,206 Total shipments of grain from the port of Chicago for the year 1857, bushels.........................18,032,678 Total receipts of wheat for the year 1857, bushels............................................12,525,431 Total shipments of wheat for the year 1857, bushels......................................10,783,292 Receipts of corn for the year 1857, bushels...........7,409,130 Shipments of corn for the year 1857, bushels..........6,814,615 Total number of hogs alive and dressed received in Chicago for the years 1856-7.......................220,702 Number of barrels of beef packed in 1857.................42,100 Receipts of lumber at the port of Chicago for the year 1857—being the largest lumber market in the world—feet....................................459,639,189 Total number of vessels, steamers, etc., in the port of Chicago during the past winter................250 Total number of vessels arriving in the port of Chicago during 1857..................................7,557 Total tonnage of the vessels arriving in the port of Chicago during the past year................1,753,413 Amount of capital invested in buildings, public improvements, etc., past year......................$6,423,518
These figures are themselves far more eloquent than any mere human language. The extent of our commerce, its rapid growth and certain increase in the future, are made apparent to the most skeptical reader. Let such remember that it is not twenty-one years since Chicago became a city. Let them contemplate our magnificent system of railways, all the work of the last seven years, and earning during the last year EIGHTEEN MILLIONS AND A HALF OF DOLLARS. The lands along the line of these roads are but just beginning to be developed. And yet those lands sent to this city, as a part of their surplus products, 12,524,431 bushels of wheat and 7,409,130 bushels of corn. So rapidly are they improving that Chicago received the enormous amount of 459,639,198 feet of lumber to supply her own building material and that of the magnificent country by which she is surrounded.
It is a source of great satisfaction that the tide of population is largely and steadily westward. The change will in almost every instance secure for the people who emigrate a great increase of property, and thereby afford them the means of greater physical comfort and a more generous expenditure for their intellectual improvement and social elevation. Who can estimate the influence which the two hundred thousand people who sought homes west of the Lakes during the past year will have upon the social progress and the physical development of the Mississippi Valley? They are not the ignorant starveling serfs of grinding despotism, nor yet the poor degraded "white trash" of the Southern States, but intelligent, energetic, honest freemen, who plant schools and colleges and churches wherever they go. They bring with them skill, and strength, and capital too, and under their intelligent, ceaseless toil our magnificent prairies will be made to yield up their golden treasures as earth never yielded them up before. Let the stream of human energy continue to flow westward with equal power for the next twenty years, and still there will be ample room for the succeeding score of years for as many more to find rich, happy homes between the Lakes and the Rocky Mountains.
The recent season of panic and revulsion through which we have passed will prompt to greater caution, and therefore greater safety, in the future. With all its evil effects, it has clearly demonstrated that there is a solid basis for the prosperity of our city and the West generally, and this fact will be of immense value hereafter. It must inspire confidence in the future, and enable the West to command the means to provide highways for the rapidly increasing commerce. The Georgian Bay Canal and the Pacific Railway are still to be built, and may we not hope the coming wave of prosperity, which must ere long roll over the land, will bear upon its bosom the means to accomplish these and similar improvements? There is good ground to hope that, so far as the latter great national highway is concerned, the solemn warning voice of a free people will ere long reach the ears of our tardy rulers—once proud of being called servants—at Washington, commanding them to lay aside sectional strife, and to address themselves to the glorious work of binding together the States of the Atlantic and the Pacific by iron bonds, never, never to be broken, so long as the "star spangled banner" floats proudly "O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
In closing our sixth annual review, we congratulate our readers on the bright prospects which it can scarcely be doubted are opening before them. With a large surplus of last year's crop still in hand, the West is abundantly able to meet all her liabilities, and have sufficient means to make large and substantial improvements in the future. We are on the eve of a great, permanent and propitious social advancement, and let every Western man summon all his energy to act his part wisely and well. With prudent but firm step, let the watchword be— "Forward!"*
----------------- * After this year the Board of Trade issued a very comprehensive review, and we ceased to publish our several statistical articles in pamphlet form. Elaborate articles, however, have been published every 1st of January, in advance of the Board.
JOHN LOCKE SCRIPPS, AND DR. CHAS. H. RAY, MY DEPARTED ASSOCIATES.
I deem it proper to extract from the files of the Tribune the following tributes to the memory of my associates, whose names are above given. To me, and to many others, their "memory is blessed," for they were among the very best men I ever knew. I take the extracts as written, from the paper. The first in relation to MR. SCRIPPS was published September 23rd, 1866.
The announcement of the death of John L. Scripps will be received, not alone in this city, but throughout the State of Illinois and the entire Northwest, with feelings of profound grief by his large circle of friends and acquaintances. Although his health had been failing for a long time, from an affection of the lungs it was not until last winter and immediately after the death of his wife, that his friends became alarmed. He at once gave up active business, but finding that rest from care did not improve his health, he acted upon, the advice of his friends, and went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, hoping to find in the bracing air and salubrious climate of the Upper Mississippi, that invigoration and strength which medical skill, unaided, could not afford; but years of unremitting and patient toil, added to severe domestic afflictions which had visited him, had sapped the strong constitution past human help, and, sustained by an unfaltering trust in Providence, and a conscience void of offence, he calmly passed away, at peace with man and his Maker, at Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday, September 21st, 1866.
John Locke Scripps was born February 27th, 1818, in Jackson County, Missouri, a few miles west of Cape Girardeau. While still young his parents moved to Rushville, Illinois, and since that time the lamented deceased has been identified with the growth and history of the State. He graduated at McKendrie College, Lebanon, Illinois, an institution of the Methodist denomination, with high honors, and immediately after his graduation took the professorship of mathematics, in the same institution. His father was a prominent member of that church, a fact which had a powerful influence upon the whole life of the son, although it was during his last sickness that he formally identified himself with the membership of that organization.
A short time after his graduation he studied law and came, to Chicago in 1847 to engage in its practice. In 1848 he bought one-third interest in the Chicago Tribune, then published by John E. Wheeler and Thomas A. Stewart. It was at that time a Free-Soil paper, and labored zealously for the election of Martin Van Buren. Mr. Scripps was its principal writer and editorial manager. The press of Chicago was then in its infancy, and an infancy by no means respectable. He at once, by his dignified labor, gave tone and character to it. He commenced writing up the financial and commercial interests of the Northwest. He originated the first distinctive review of the markets of Chicago, going about the city, mingling in daily intercourse with the merchants of that day and inspiring confidence in the reports by their accuracy and fidelity as well as respect and admiration for the editor. About that time, in company with William B. Ogden and John B. Turner, he canvassed Northern Illinois, in behalf of the projected railroad from Chicago to Galena. Mr. Scripps' careful analysis and research, furnished the statistics with which to appeal to the people for aid, while his pen did a great work in advancing the completion of this important enterprise.
During his connection with the Tribune, the Gem of the Prairie, a weekly issue of the former sheet, was started. It was almost purely of a literary character and enjoyed a large degree of success, but was finally dropped and merged in the regular Weekly Tribune. Mr. Scripps' literary abilities were of a high order, his style very chaste, lucid and simple, his reasoning powers always strong and cogent, his arguments well timed, condensed and straight to the point. His invariably dignified and gentlemanly bearing, joined with these qualities, resulted in the elevation of the Chicago press, and formed the foundation of the power it has since become.
In the winter of 1851-2 the Whigs of Chicago had a controlling interest in the Tribune. Mr. Scripps was a Free-Soiler, with Democratic proclivities, and sold out his interest in the paper. Shortly afterwards, in conjunction with Lieutenant Governor Bross, he started a Democratic paper, under the name of the Democratic Press, the initial number of which was issued September 16th, 1852. The Press was a Free-Soil paper, but sided strongly with Douglas and advocated his claims, until the question of the repeal of the Missouri compromise came before the country. The paper then left Mr. Douglas, and finally hoisted the Republican flag in June, 1856, when the party was formally organized under the leadership of J. O. Fremont. In the meantime, through the unremitting labors of its editors, the Press achieved a wide commercial reputation, and labored earnestly to develop the resources of the Northwest.
July 1st, 1858, the Press was consolidated with the Tribune, under the name of the Press and Tribune, and Mr. Scripps with his associate went into the new concern.
In 1861 Mr. Lincoln (between whom and Mr. Scripps existed a warm personal friendship) became President, and shortly after Mr. S. was appointed Postmaster of Chicago, a position which he filled with great ability for four years. It is not saying too much, nor is it injustice to the others who have held that office, to say that he was the best Postmaster Chicago ever had. His labors were constant and unremitting. Although retaining his interest in the Tribune, his time was given to his official duties, and not a day passed that did not find him in his accustomed place in the Post Office. He rapidly comprehended the routine of the office, and his quick perceptions suggested radical and important changes, both in and out of the office, which were adopted by the Department, and have since proved of great value.
During his administration the war was in active progress. Mr. Scripps' sympathies were actively enlisted on the side of freedom. He urged on the good cause with all the sagacity of his counsel and lavish contributions from his pursed With his own means he organized, equipped, and sent to the war Company C, of the 72nd Illinois regiment, well known as the Scripps Guards, to the soldiers of which company, who shared his hospitalities and enjoyed the comforts his attentions bestowed upon them, the sad news of his death will come with double force.
After his resignation of the office of Postmaster, he disposed of his interest in the Tribune, and associated himself as senior partner in the banking firm of Scripps, Preston & Kean, of this city. A few days later he was seized with a sudden attack of pneumonia, and for some time his recovery was considered doubtful. The disease turned, however, in his favor, when a sudden and terrible visitation of Providence again prostrated him. His wife, Mary E. Scripps, who for so many years had been his beloved companion and counsellor, on New Year's day, while in the midst of those graceful hospitalities she could so well dispense, and while talking with friends, fell dead in an instant from an affection of the heart. Mr. Scripps was at this time just convalescent from his long illness, but the suddenness and severity of the blow fell upon him with a terrible force, and for some time it was doubtful whether he would recover. He rallied from it, however, sufficiently to pay a few visits to his relatives in this city and State, and then undertook his journey to Minneapolis, from whence came the sad tidings of his death. His remains will leave St. Paul to-day (Monday), arriving here on Tuesday. He leaves a son about 16 years of age, and a little daughter of 3 years.
In the death of Mr. Scripps, Chicago has lost one of her noblest men. No citizen of this or any other community ever commanded a more hearty and thorough respect from his fellows than he. Candor, integrity and courage were the marked traits of his character. He feared God, but feared no man. He would no more have thought of compromising a principle or abating an iota of his personal honor, than he would have commitied suicide. With a heart full of kindness for all men, with a lofty sense of the proprieties of life and of intercourse with his fellow men, a house ever open to the calls of hospitality, and a purse which never failed to respond to the call of suffering, he was the firmest man among ten thousand to the convictions of his conscience. A mean act, an unworthy motive, a cowardly thought, had no room in his soul. He was not insensible to public approbation, but never for an instant would he resort to the arts so common among politicians to secure popularity.
He avoided the very appearance of evil. His uprightness of character and urbanity of demeanor had made him hosts of friends in city and State, and it is not too much to say that, in the meridian of his life, with his ample fortune, his unsullied record and his conspicuous talents, he might have aspired to almost any position in the gift of his fellow citizens.
To those who have been associated with Mr. Scripps in the editorial profession, and who know better than others the nobility of his character and the usefulness of his life, the tidings of his death come with peculiar force and poignancy. No man ever labored more earnestly and more effectively to impress right principles upon the public mind through the medium of the press. A large share of the success achieved by the Chicago Tribune during his connection with it was due to his thoughtfulness, earnestness and unwearied perseverance. His works live after him. The seeds which he has sown will continue to bear their fruit. A noble life, filled with good deeds, adorned with the accomplishments of a Christian gentleman, has been garnered up in the treasury of the eternal kingdom. Though he be dead, he shall rise again.
Every line and every word in the article is true in every particular. A more honest man, a truer, nobler patriot, a sterner advocate of the right, never lived than John Locke Scripps; and, withal, he was a most genial, accomplished gentleman. I first knew him at 171 and 171 1/2 Lake street. We used the same front door and hall in common, the Tribune on one side and the Prairie Herald on the other. Deacon Wight, now Rev. Ambrose Wight, of Bay City, Michigan, and myself, printed our own paper and the Tribune, for its proprietors, on an old Adams power press, the first ever brought to the city, propelled by Emery's horse power, on which trudged, hour by hour, an old blind, black Canadian pony. Our acquaintance soon ripened into friendship and he often urged me to buy out his partners and become associated with him in the Tribune. This I respectfully declined to do, and sold out my interest in the Herald to Mr. Wight, in the fall of 1857, and as stated in the article he sold his interest in the Tribune a few months later. He at once submitted his plans for a new Democratic paper, and we finally joined our fortunes in the enterprise.
To start a newspaper even in that early day required an abundance of grit. The $6,000 loaned us by friends, for which we gave them ample real estate security, all sunk out of sight in machinery and expenses in six weeks, and not till January 1st, 1855, did either of us draw one cent from the paper that we did not pay back. At one time Mr. Scripps would sell a piece of real estate, put the money into the concern and draw it out gradually as family expenses required, and I would do the same. Thus the paper grew and prospered, but no two men ever toiled more earnestly or constantly in any enterprise, than we did to achieve it.
The above article was written by Mr. George P. Upton, with the exception of the last two paragraphs, which were added by Horace White, Esq. They knew Mr. Scripps very well, it is true, but it was not possible for them to know him as intimately as I did. In all the years of our intimacy as editors and proprietors, we never had one word of dispute on any subject. Of course on matters of policy we sometimes judged differently; of right never. Discussion soon convinced one or the other, and each addressed himself with all his might to the work. At our perfect harmony of thought and action I often wondered. He was born in Missouri, brought up and educated as a Methodist, with a thorough devotion to all the best principles—none of the bad—of the Southern chivalry. One branch of his family came from an old English stock; after one of them, the great logician and metaphysician, John Locke, Mr. Scripps was named. My ancestry were mainly of Huguenot origin, myself born and brought up as a Presbyterian in the Delaware Valley, educated in a New England college, and yet we harmonized in all the trying business and political times through which we passed, perfectly. The fact is one of my most pleasant and cherished memories, its explanation I do not care to discuss. He rests in peace, and has— who can doubt it?—the reward of a good man and a life well spent, in the mansions of the blessed.
DR. CHARLES H. RAY.
The following article was written by Geo. P. Upton, Esq., now and for many years one of the editorial writers of the Tribune. It was published September 25th, 1870.
Dr. Charles H. Ray is dead! The sudden and unexpected intelligence, briefly announced in our issue of yesterday, has cast a deep gloom over his large circle of acquaintances and friends, and will come with all the force of a personal bereavement to the thousands of readers in the Northwest who have known him, for many years past, as a powerful, influential, and successful journalist. It was only a few days ago that we talked with him half an hour or more. He was unusually hopeful of himself, and spoke so encouragingly of his future prospects, and had so many well laid journalistic plans, that we were encouraged to think he would, before long, be restored to his former usefulness and vigor, although he seemed to us as feeble as a child, compared with his former robust and powerful physical habit. We had an earnest conversation with him upon the best means of giving a higher standing and character to Art in Chicago—a subject in which he was always deeply interested— and then we parted. We missed him for a few days, and then the shadow of death came between us, and he passed evermore from our sight.
Dr. Charles H. Ray was born at Norwich, Chenango County, N. Y., March 12, 1821, and removed to the West in 1843. He commenced his Western life in the practice of medicine at Muscatine, Iowa, and subsequently settled in Tazewell County, Ill., where he pursued his profession for many years with success. During these years he was married to Miss Jane Yates Per-Lee, a most estimable lady, who died in this city, in June, 1862, leaving, as the fruits of the union, one daughter and three sons, all of whom are living. In the year 1851, Dr. Ray removed to Galena, and bought the Jeffersonian, a daily Democratic journal, and conducted it with remarkable success, until the time of the Kansas-Nebraska struggle, when his strong impulses toward freedom induced him to take open issue with Judge Douglas, and eventually led to the disposal of the paper and his identification with the Republican party, then in the preliminary stage of organization. In 1854-55, Dr. Ray was Secretary of the Illinois Senate, and presided as such during the exciting canvass in that body, which elected Lyman Trumbull United States Senator over his opponent, Abraham Lincoln. He gave his influence to the former, but in such an open, manly way that it never disturbed the close personal friendship which existed between himself and the latter, and which continued to exist to the time of Mr. Lincoln's death.
When the Legislature adjourned, Dr. Ray came to Chicago with the intention of starting a penny Republican paper. During the Legislative session he had been the Springfield correspondent of the New York Tribune, and his masterly letters to that paper had brought him into extensive public notice as a writer. He wrote to Mr. Greeley on the subject of a partner, asking him to recommend some suitable person, to which Mr. Greeley replied with a letter of introduction to Joseph Medill, Esq., of the Cleveland Leader, who was just about coming to Chicago with the object of connecting himself with the press of this city. Mr. Medill arrived in Chicago at about the same time as Dr. Ray, and, after an interview, the former abandoned the idea of a penny paper, and joined the latter in buying as much of the Tribune establishment of General Webster and Timothy Wright, Esq., as their means would allow. He had identified himself editorially with the Tribune in April, 1855, but did not assume his proprietary interest until June of the same year, which he held until November 20, 1863, at which time he sold his interest and severed his editorial connection with the paper, to engage in other pursuits. Those pursuits not proving successful, he returned to the Tribune, May 25, 1865, as an editorial writer, and after laboring ten weeks, he left the paper and embarked in another business. Two years later, he was offered a favorable interest in the Evening Post of this city, which he accepted and retained until he died.
With Dr. Ray's connection with the Tribune, and his manly, straightforward, and vigorous editorial conduct during the Chicago riots, the excitements of the Kansas war, the war of the rebellion, and all the great events which culminated in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, the public are familiar. His writings were so sharp and trenchant, so eloquently denunciatory of wrong and so searching in criticism, that they were copied far and wide, and exerted a powerful influence—always upon the side of the right, and did much to establish its reputation as a fearless, outspoken journal. He wrote with an untiring vigor and with a searching analysis which went down to the very heart and core of the matter, whether he was exposing some iniquitous political scheme or moral wrong, or was exhibiting some military official in the light of his incompetency. There was not a "conservative" drop of blood in his veins. He always expected, and demanded, progress, both political, moral and humane. He never needed any urging in a radical direction; but, on the other hand, his zeal sometimes needed restraint. He never consulted policy, for he had no policy in his disposition. He never looked at consequences when he believed himself right, for he was absolutely fearless. When once settled upon a course, he would say to his associates. This is the right course, and we must pursue it to the end, regardless of consequences. He cared for no pecuniary injury as the result of advocating an unpopular doctrine. When subscribers dropped off, as a consequence, he would say, "Let them go. We are right. They will all come back in a few weeks, and bring others with them," and his words were more than once verified.
When Dr. Ray left the Tribune, in 1863, it was with the idea of acquiring a fortune for his children, and giving them and their education more personal attention than he could do while engaged in the pressing demands of editorial duties. His speculations were at first very successful, and he amassed a handsome competence.
Shortly after, he married Miss Julia Clark, a daughter of Judge Lincoln Clark, for a long time a prominent public man in Iowa, but then resident in Chicago, two daughters being the result of this second union. Blessed with the deep and strong affections of his family, and enjoying financial prosperity, everything seemed bright. About the time of this marriage he wisely concluded to settle on his wife and children half his property, which, through trustees, was invested in improved real estate in this city, and which has since largely advanced in value and yields them a respectable support. With the remainder of his means he embarked in new enterprises, which proved, in the common decline of values, unsuccessful, and he resolved once more to return to the editorial profession, in which he worked with his old energy and vigor. His excessive labor in the exciting canvass in this county, last fall, superinduced an attack of brain fever, in December last, followed by many weeks of intense suffering and utter mental and physical prostration. He at last recovered sufficiently to go to Cleveland, where he received medical treatment.
He then went to Northampton, Mass., where he remained for several weeks, returning to Chicago early in the summer. He at once resumed his position in the Post as editor-in-chief. Since that time, he has written but little. But his articles showed the old fire, and some of them struck with the old force, but it soon became evident that the man was wearying, that the pen was dropping from the reluctant fingers, and that the great brain could not much longer stand the demands upon it. On Tuesday last his old disease returned with twofold violence and resulted in death at a quarter past one o'clock on Saturday morning.
It would be useless for us to say anything further of Dr. Ray as a journalist. The public knows how well he has filled that difficult position during the past fifteen or more years in this city; and his able and vigorous editorials have always been a mirror in which the public could see the writer. It was impossible for the veriest dullard to mistake the meaning of anything he wrote. In our professional association with him, which has extended over many years, we learned to prize him as a man, and to hold him dear as a friend. He was not one, perhaps, to attract numerous friendships, for he was brusque and impetuous in his manner, and specially impatient of annoyance. But those who knew him best, knew how genial he was at heart, how strong his affections were, and how almost faultless he was in critical taste. He was intense in his likes and dislikes. He was bitter against an enemy, but he could not do too much for a friend. We have seen him fairly crush insincerity with an explosion of his wrath, and then turn and relieve the wants of a traveling beggar, and give him kindly advice. He was the best friend a young man commencing newspaper life could have, for the reason that he was chary of praise and never slow at pointing out faults, and suggesting the remedy. Perhaps the most striking feature of his character was his hatred of cant and sham. He recognized a hypocrite instinctively, and he never stopped to select choice or elegant phrases in exposing him. We cannot remember a man so plain-spoken in denunciation of humbug or hypocrisy. He hit it with all his might, and his might was immense. And yet, this Samson was full of humanity, kindly courtesy, and noble, hearty manliness. With all his multifarious duties, private and public, which were often very perplexing, he found time to devote much attention to literature and art, and, in these directions, his taste was fastidious, and his manner quick and resolved. He was as impatient of sham in a book, in a painting, or in the music room, as he was of a sham in life, and his criticism was almost always just, even though it was excoriating. The class of men who can not be politic enough to compromise with hypocrisy is so scarce that it is refreshing to recall this trait in Dr. Ray's character. It made enemies, of course, but that was of little account to him. The man who has no enemies must be all things to all men. He was a hard worker, and, in his prime, was capable of an immense amount of labor, for he was physically very strong. Few men in the journalistic profession, indeed, have combined such power to labor, such keen perceptions, such a nervous, trenchant style, and such manly and vigorous grappling with private and public evils.
But the pen rests forever. The busy brain, so active that it wore upon itself, is silent. We who are left behind, shall long miss his hearty welcome, his cheery, outspoken voice, and his manly presence. Of those who were identified with the Tribune in the early days of its existence, three are now gone— Scripps, Ballantyne, and Ray. Who next? His memory remains with us, and that is precious, and we can recall nothing in his long and useful career which did not bespeak the man and the gentleman. May his rest be peaceful after the fitful fever of his life!
With every sentiment and every word of the above I most cordially agree. Dr. Ray was one of the ablest, and in spite of the brusqueness to which Mr. Upton refers, one of the best men I ever knew. I first came to know him well, I think, in the summer of 1854, when he was editing the Galena Jeffersonian. The anxiety and the hard work which the terrible onslaughts of Mr. Douglas and his friends made upon our paper for opposing the repeal of the Missouri compromise, broke Mr. Scripp's health and he had to give up all writing and betake himself to his home for two months or more before the election, and for nearly as long after it. Of course I had the entire management of the paper and was glad to get an article from any friend that offered. Dr. Ray would sometimes come into the office and volunteer half a column or more. Some of the strongest and most effective articles that appeared in the Democratic Press or any other paper during that canvass were written by Dr. Ray.
These were only occasional favors, but they were always timely and most valuable. In 1858, we, J. L. Scripps, Dr. Ray, Mr. Medill and myself, came together as partners and equal owners in the Tribune, Mr. Cewles having then a smaller interest. For the five years that I was the most intimately associated with Dr. Ray, we never had a word of dispute on any subject. Once, indeed, he gave me "a piece of his mind," rather emphatically, but it was all on his side, for I was thoughtlessly, though really in the wrong, in some things that I published. I acknowledged my fault and all was well. In all the years we were associated together, the discussion of the question Is it right? controlled the policy of the paper. Sometimes it required a great deal of care and investigation to determine it. For instance, I was with Prentiss' army on its march from Ironton to Cape Girardeau, and became satisfied that Fremont, as a general, was a failure, and so wrote home to my associates. Then Mr. Medill went with the army to Jefferson City and came back with the same report. Dr. Ray then went down to St. Louis and got a great variety of facts from his friends in that city, and finally Mr. Scripps did the same thing; and then after full consultation Dr. Ray wrote a four or five column article in his most vigorous, trenchant style, calling for Fremont's removal, and giving the reasons for it. It created a tremendous excitement, and cost us hundreds of subscribers and thousands of dollars. The course of the Tribune during and before the war was the result of the matured opinions of four independent thinkers, and hence it was always right. With two such honest, able, patriotic and scholarly men as Mr. Scripps and Dr. Ray, not to mention Mr. Medill, with his sharp, discriminating mind, his wide acquaintance with men and things, and his acute journalistic and broad common sense, and with whatever I could contribute to the common stock, is it any wonder the Tribune achieved a national reputation? It had the credit, and justly, of bringing out Mr. Lincoln, and doing more than any other paper to secure his nomination, and of doing most effective work in his election to the Presidency. During the entire war it never flinched nor faltered for a moment. It led and guided public opinion in the Northwest; inspired confidence amid defeat and disaster; always advocated the most vigorous measures to put down the rebellion; drove the Copperheads to their holes, and to say the least, it has probably done as much as any other journal or influence in the country to bring back the peace and the security which it now enjoys. With such men as Scripps and Ray editing and inspiring their own journal, and through it giving right direction to the press of the country, it will indeed ever remain "the palladium of our liberties," the unflinching foe of all that is false and wicked; and be ever ready to use all its influence and its power to promote the social, the intellectual and the moral welfare of the race.
1871.
From the Chicago Tribune, March 29th, 1871.
CANADIAN WATER ROUTES.
THE CHICAGO COMMITTEE AT OTTAWA, CANADA.
The committee (Messrs. Bross, Holden, and McMullen) sent by a public meeting at the Board of Trade rooms to Ottawa, Canada, to represent to the Dominion Parliament the importance of increased facilities of transit by the St. Lawrence route between the Upper Lakes and the seaboard, returned to the city yesterday. They report the very best of feeling in Canada in relation to this important subject, and that their reception was of the most cordial and friendly character. The Railway and Canal Committee of the Canadian Parliament is composed of some fifty of the leading members, and other gentlemen were also present when the Chicago Committee were invited to appear before this large body, and to lay before them any communication they might wish to make. The following account of the proceedings is taken from the Ottawa papers of the 24th:
Increased Facilities of Transit for the Commerce of the Lakes to the Ocean.
Remarks of Ex-Lieutenant Governor Bross, of Illinois, before the Canal and Railway Committee of the Canadian Parliament, March 23, 1871.
Honorable Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee:
I thank you most cordially, in behalf of myself and associates, for your very kind invitation to appear before you. We are here simply to express to you our deep interest, and that of our city and the West generally, in the progress and development of your great lines of internal improvements, and to assure you that, in due time, the West will furnish them with all the business they can possibly do. The West will be thankful for the use of any and all the means of transit to the seaboard which you now have or may hereafter construct. Hence, we trust that you will enlarge the Welland Canal, and open the Ottawa route; but, from our stand point, knowing how rapidly the vast resources of the Northwest are developing by the extension of our railways, many of our leading business men have come to the conclusion that the Huron and Ontario Ship Canal, avoiding entirely the St. Clair Flats, Lake Erie, and the Welland Canal, with only eighty miles of canal and slack water navigation, and with the capacity to pass vessels of a thousand or twelve hundred tons burden, and a corresponding enlargement of the St. Lawrence Canals, is the only channel adequate to the real wants of the commerce of the country west of Lake Michigan.
I can scarcely hope to state anything new to this large assembly of learned and eminent gentlemen in regard to this subject; but I beg to introduce a few facts in relation to the growth of the Northwest which we trust may be worthy of your consideration. I hold in my hand the report of the survey of the Huron and Ontario Ship Canal, made by Mr. Tully, as engineer, and Colonel R. B. Mason, now Mayor of Chicago, as consulting engineer, and published in 1857. In that report there is a table showing what were then the population and resources of the several Northwestern States, with an estimate of their probable increase, and of its effects upon the revenues of the canal for a series of years, based on an increase of 29 per cent, for every five years 1850 to 1855. In that table the population of the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, is given, in 1857, at 3,090,000. On the ratio as above, they are estimated to be, in 1870, 5,907,716, and in 1880, 9,980,776. The census for 1870 shows that they now have a population of 10,759,981, nearly twice the estimate for 1870, and nearly a million more than the estimate for 1880.
So certainly are all the figures of our boldest statisticians far exceeded by the actual facts as time rolls onward. Leaving out of the account the population of the two great States, Ohio and Indiana, the remaining States above mentioned, for whose business the canal could legitimately compete, with the exception, perhaps, of the eastern half of Michigan, which would be more than balanced by the trade of Nebraska, have now a population of 6,419,510. The city of Chicago, in 1857, had a population of 130,000; it has now 300,000. The shipments of grain in that year from Chicago were 18,483,678 bushels; last year they were 54,745,903; just about three times what they were thirteen years previous. The revenues of the canal, estimated from a careful analysis of the commerce of the Lakes previous to 1857, would have been in 1865, had it then been completed, $1,126,758, and for 1870, $1,450,577. As the population of the Northwestern States from 1857 to 1870 increased threefold, it will be safe to double the estimates for the receipts of the canal for tUe last year. This would give for last year a total revenue of $2,907,034; and by 1880 on the same premises it would exceed $4,000,000.
We are well aware that the construction of this canal would cost a large amount of money. But the country to furnish it with business is vast in extent, and unbounded in resources. There are 700,000 square miles of territory between Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains, not counting your own rich fertile region in the valleys of the Red River and the Saskatchewan enough to form fourteen States as large as Ohio. On an average the land is richer and far more productive than the soil of that State. This country is now filling up with a hardy, industrious, enterprising population more rapidly than was ever before known in the history of our Republic. Our city and the Northwest are greatly obliged to Canada for the large number of excellent citizens she has sent us. Through this vast fertile country railways are penetrating in all directions. The great central line is finished, and the cars run from ocean to ocean. The North Pacific Railway will, undoubtedly, be done in five years, and the extent of the commerce which all these lines will pour upon Lake Michigan, no sane man would dare to put down in figures had he the ability to do it. To accommodate it, the West looks mainly to the Lakes and the mighty St. Lawrence. We know full well, to quote a remark I made years ago, "that national pride and immense capital and the beaten track of commerce are on the side of New York; but God and nature are stronger than all these, and let any intelligent man compare the 'Erie ditch' with the mighty St. Lawrence, and a canal to pass vessels of 1,000 tons burden from the Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario, and he cannot doubt for a moment on which side the immutable laws of commerce will decide the contest." What the West wants are the cheapest and the largest possible outlets to the ocean. She cares not a rush for New York. While that city nurtures such men as Vanderbilt, who waters the stock of his railway two or three times over, and the demands from the West full rates on the results of his "ways that are dark" and tricks that are villainous; while Fisk and Gould flourish in that city, the West is purely free to cultivate the most intimate relations with their neighbors across the line. What if our commerce benefits Canada; what if it builds up Toronto and makes another New York of Montreal or Quebec, always we trust bating the rascality of Wall street; the benefits will be mutual and entirely reciprocal to the people of the West. We think we can safely assure you that a large majority of the West are in favor of reciprocal free trade with Canada and with all mankind as well; and what is more, they are determined to have it. If our legislators now at Washington will not give it to us, the West will send men there who will. With the Lakes and one of the great rivers of the world to make their commercial relations close and almost identical, speaking the same language, and with the same progressive Christian civilization, Canada and the Northwestern States of America have a common and an absorbing interest in all that can elevate and enoble our common humanity.
I close, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, with an expression of the most cordial thanks for the very kind and courteous manner in which you have received us.
Hon. Mr. Holton thanked Mr. Bross for his able and eloquent speech. He believed there was no division of sentiment on this subject among parties in Canada. The views which had been expressed coincided exactly with his own. There were questions, of course, as to the choice of route of proposed canals, but he would assure the gentlemen from Chicago that the views of the people were in unison with what had been so ably expressed by Mr. Bross.
Sir F. Hincks expressed his gratification at what he had heard, and agreed generally with what Mr. Bross had said. He therefore had much pleasure in moving a vote of thanks to the Hon. Mr. Bross and the gentlemen who accompanied him for the information they had given and the kindly sentiments they had expressed.
Mr. Shanley said he had listened with great pleasure to what had been said on this important subject. We in Canada had the great natural outlet for the immense trade of the West; our position on this continent was unequaled, owing to the St. Lawrence and the great Lakes, yet we had done but little to improve our great natural advantages. This subject had been spoken of for years, but had never found a more practical result than reports.
Hon. Mr. Anglin hoped the government would take this question earnestly in hand, and should they do so they would have the support of the people of the Eastern Provinces in carrying it out. [Hear, hear.]
Mr. Capreol then addressed the committee. He pointed out the great advantages of public works for promoting immigration.
Sir A. T. Gait was glad to welcome the gentlemen from Chicago. The reason why the route to the West had not been opened up was the want of a good understanding with the United States, but he hoped for a better state of things in the future. He had much pleasure in seconding the motion of Sir F. Hincks.
Hon. Mr. Holden then rose and expressed his gratification on meeting the members of the committee. He hoped the result of this meeting would be gratifying to both parties concerned. He supported the views expressed by Mr. Bross, and thanked the committee for the kind reception extended to them.
Sir G. E. Cartier said he was glad to hear the clear and forcible exposition which had been made by the Hon. Mr. Bross, and was happy to learn that the Western people properly estimated the influence of New York. The Treasury at Washington bad pursued a policy calculated to build up the Atlantic cities at the expense of the interior country. According to his views there was a natural commercial bond between Canada and the Western States, and a feeling of sympathy that we were willing to cultivate if the United States Treasury would pursue a more equitable policy. He thought the Western people should consider our country their natural seaboard while we regarded their trade and commerce a part of our own as their prosperity was, rightly considered, the prosperity of the Dominion. [Hear, hear. ] The motion was then put and carried with applause. The committee then adjourned until noon to-day.
The committee were invited to breakfast on Friday morning by Sir Francis Hincks, and, by invitation, dined with His Excellency Lord Lisgar, Governor General of the Dominion, on Saturday evening. Thos. Reynolds, Esq., the Managing Director of the Ottawa Railway, sent them to Prescott in his own car. At Toronto they spent half a day with F. C. Capreol, Esq., the indefatigable President of the Huron and Ontario Ship Canal Company, who was, throughout, most efficient in contributing to the comfort of the committee and advancing the commercial interests of Canada and the West.
The following article is from the Ottawa Times of Friday, the 24th:
FROM LAKE TO OCEAN.
We direct the especial attention of our readers to the speech of the Hon. William Bross, ex-Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, on the subject of the transport of produce from the Western States to the ocean. The subject is one to which we have often alluded as being of the utmost importance, and perhaps no one is more thoroughly able to deal with it intelligently than the gentleman to whose remarks we refer.
Whatever may be the views adopted by our government in reference to the exact nature of our canal policy, and whether or not they may feel justified in agreeing to the propositions made by Mr. Bross and the other delegates from Chicago, we may rely upon it that nothing but good can spring from the visit of these American gentlemen to the Canadian capital, and from a free interchange of thought and opinion between them and our leading public men. Our neighbors will find that but one desire exists here, as far as our social and commercial relations with the United States arc concerned, viz.: that they shall be of the most intimate and friendly character—and without at the present moment entering into a discussion as to the respective merits of the various canal schemes proposed, we feel justified in saying on behalf of the government and people of this Dominion, that they are thoroughly alive to the importance of establishing a commodious water highway from the Western Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Valley of the St. Lawrence, and are disposed to work energetically with that end in view.
THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE, OCTOBER 9, 1871.
As the great fire of October 9th, 1871, is to be ever memorable in the history of Chicago, and as the most extensive and destructive that ever occurred in any age or nation, it is well that each citizen put on record his own observations and experience, so that the future historian can from them condense a true account of that wonderful event. In the first place, the city had for six or eight weeks been preparing, under a scorching sun and strong south and southwest winds, for that terrible fire. It was probably the longest "spell" of that kind of weather the city had ever suffered. Scarcely any rain had moistened a roof or lain the dust. The internal structures of the buildings, and in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cases the frame work as well, were of wood, and under the burning sun for so many weeks the whole city became virtually a tinder box. When the fire broke out among the wooden houses and stables in the southwestern part of the city, a fierce wind was blowing from the southwest, which under the influence of the fire soon became a gale. Once fairly under way no fire department in the world could stand before it.
Tinder like circumstances every other city in the United States would burn up, for every other city, like Chicago, is mainly built of wood. Till more incombustible materials are used in this as they are in the old country, and until rigid rules for building substantially are adopted and enforced, the cities of the United States will never be safe from such calamities as befell Chicago.
Some few incidents are inserted here to show how terrible was the fire. When it had reached the business centre of the city it ceased to be governed by any of the ordinary rules that are commonly attendant upon even great fires, as the terms are usually understood. In places the heat could only be compared to that from the combustion of oxygen and hydrogen by means of the blow-pipe. In places it would strike great iron columns nearly two feet square, and for four or five feet, perhaps more, the iron would be all burned up. No residuum would be left. Sometimes car wheels standing on the track would be half burned up. Safes if exposed to these jets of heat were of no account whatever. Geo. C. Smith, Esq., banker, told me that they had standing in a back office a large safe full of ledgers and other books. That safe and its contents were all burned up. Not a vestige of it remained to mark where it stood. Many safes that stood where brick walls soon fell on and protected them were all right, and as usual the manufacturers made a great noise about them; but in no case that I heard of, if they stood in exposed positions were their contents preserved. Brick vaults with safes inside were all right. The Tribune vault among other things had a linen coat and a box of matches inside, which were not injured, and the painted figures on the safe door were not even blistered. It should be added, that the vault was near the centre of the building, north and south, and was protected by the south as well as its own wall. Some of the freaks of the fire are scarcely credible. Very reliable gentlemen reported that they saw jets of flame dart across an entire block and in an instant envelop the building it struck in a winding sheet of lurid flame. The heat of the burning city was felt far away on the lake, and I have been assured by gentlemen on whose word I place implicit confidence that so hot was the wind over at Holland, Michigan, a hundred miles or more northeast of Chicago, that some parties there on the afternoon of Monday, were obliged for some considerable time to get down behind a hedge and let the scorching blasts pass over them. They were unable then to account for the heat, and greatly feared that the time had come when "the earth and all things therein would be burned up."
The fire commenced an hour or more before midnight, near the corner of Jefferson and DeKoven streets. Soon after starting it became a great river of fire, and from its central track at first not more than a block or two on either side, swept directly through the business portion of the city, reaching the water works and, the old cemetery before daylight. But on either side of that track it kept up its destructive work till noon of Monday, and perhaps in some localities even later than that. Along all great rivers there are eddies, and it was these eddies of wind charged with flame that enabled the fire to work westward in the heart of the city to the river, and eastward to Michigan avenue as far south as Congress street. This comparison of the central track of the fire to a great river and its eddies on each side of that track, will probably explain its action better than any other comparison that could be made.
Following out the idea that each citizen should give the incidents happening to himself or under his own observation, I mention that never did friends toil more loyally than ours did for us. They saved most of our books, furniture, pictures, etc., that were left to us. Some that were not friends helped themselves to whatever struck their fancy when opportunity offered. My coachman filled my buggy with some harness, a bag of coffee and other articles, and left it with his friends on the lake shore. Some one coming along and finding it was my "plunder," said he knew me; would put some more goods in to take home and return the buggy to me. That was the last I ever heard of the buggy or anything that was in it. My daughter supposed that I had hired an express wagon that stood at the door, and I supposed that she had. We filled it full of goods and furniture, among other things, a valuable picture— a farm and animal scene—by Herring, the great English painter. The driver slipped off in the crowd and that was the last we heard of that picture or any part of the load. I met a man at my door, looking decidedly corpulent. "My friend," said I, "you have on a considerable invoice of my clothes with the hunting suit outside. Well, go along, you may as well have them as to let them burn." These were slight affairs compared with what many others suffered by the thieving crowd.
Having got out all we could, about 11 A. M. of Monday, the 9th, I sat down by my goods piled up indiscriminately on the lake shore. Soon I saw the angry flames bursting from my home—the result of years of care and toil. Quickly and grandly they wrapped up the whole block and away it floated in black clouds over Lake Michigan. I know not how great calamities affect others; but for myself I looked on calmly without any of those deep emotions which one might be expected to feel. The thing was inevitable; I was no worse off than most of my fellow citizens, and indeed I felt grateful to a kind Providence that the homes of some of my friends were saved, where we could find refuge. I indulged in no useless sorrows, and, as I saw my home burn, simply resolved as in the past, to do my duty each day as it came along as best I could. I had begun life with no patrimony, save strong arms, willing hands, and I hope, an honest heart; and I could do so again.
Early in the afternoon we began to send our goods south by teams, being careful to have some friend with each load, and by sundown all that we had been able to save was distributed among friends south of Twelfth street. In the evening my little family of three, came together at the house of E. L. Jansen, Esq., No. 607 Wabash avenue, Mrs. B.'s brother, where she and my daughter remained till we were most kindly received by Dr. E. Andrews and family. There was very little sleep that (Monday) night, for everybody was in mortal fear that what remained of the city would be burned up by the desperadoes who were known to be prowling about everywhere.
I add a few incidents not reported in the interview printed herewith. When I arrived at 15 Canal street I found Mr. Medill in the upper stories among the types and printers, doing all he could to get ready to issue a paper in the morning. I saw at a glance that my work was below. The basement and main floor were filled with boards, boxes and rubbish, and these must be cleaned out at once. I placed a gang of men under the command of our cashier to clear out the main floor, and another gang under a boss to clear out the basement to receive a load of paper. I then went foraging for brooms, but the market was bare of that indispensable article and I borrowed some of a neighbor. Seeing that business was going on lively, my next duty was to get up four stoves. For these I started west on Randolph street, but every store had sold out, till I got to the corner of Halsted street, I think it was; I found here the four I wanted: price $16 each. Told the owner I wanted all his men to go to work at once to get the pipe ready; but fearing if he did not know who had bought them somebody with cash in hand might "jump my claim," I told him they were for the Tribune Company, that we had plenty of money in our vault and in the bank, and as soon as we could get at it he should have his pay. "I don't know about dat," said the worthy Teuton, "I guess I must have de money for dem stoves." The thing amused me at the rapid change the fire had wrought. On Saturday our note would have been good for $100,000 and on Tuesday we could not buy four stoves and the fixtures on credit. In the best of humor I told him to come with me and measure the height of the holes for the pipe in the chimneys, and before he could get the articles ready he should have his money. This he did, and then my first question, half joke, half earnest, to every friend I met was, "have you got any money?" The tenth man perhaps, Hon. Ed. Oowles, of Cleveland, Ohio, said, "Yes, how much do you want?" "All you can spare;" and he handed me $60. Not enough for the stove genius, but I walked rapidly to his den, shook the greenbacks at him and told him to hurry up, for I'd soon have the balance. Came back to the office and found a dozen or two more of our leading citizens like myself all "strapped," till at last E. S. Wadsworth, Esq., handed me $100. Messrs. Cowles and Wadsworth, therefore, furnished the cash capital to start the Tribune the next day after the fire. But money soon began to flow in. Between three and four o'clock, our clerk, Mr. Lowell, came to me and said, "there are some people here with advertisements for lost friends!" I said, "take them and the cash, registering in your memorandum book;" and upon a dirty old box on the window sill for a desk, the Tribune at once commenced doing a lively business. A gentleman called me by name and said, "I haven't a morsel of food for my wife and children to-night and not a cent to buy any; may I not paint "TRIBUNE" over your door?" It was soon done— bill $3.75; and thus a family was provided for that night at least, and another citizen started in business.
By four p. M. the stoves were up; Mr. White was duly installed with the editors in the rear of the main floor; the clerks were taking ads, the paper was soon after going into the basement, arrangements were made to print on the Journal press, our next door neighbor. Mr. Medill had his printers all in order, and a council was called; a list of materials made out, and it was agreed that I should start for Buffalo and New York that evening to get them. I hurried home, got my satchel—alas, clean linen was not to be had—and back to the office. About eight I took the middle of Canal street and went south to Twelfth; thence east to Clark and thence south to sixteenth, and just saw the cars moving away. Nothing was to be done but to return to 607 Wabash avenue. I have mentioned my route thus particularly to add that this was one of the most lonely and fearful tramps of my life. No street lamps, few people in the streets, and there were good reasons to give them as wide a berth as possible. Another sleepless night, and in the morning as I sat sipping my coffee over some cold ham, I saw Sheridan's boys with knapsack and musket march proudly by. Never did deeper emotions of joy overcome me. Thank God, those most dear to me and the city as well are safe, and I hurried away to the train. Had it not been for General Sheridan's prompt, bold and patriotic action, I verily believe what was left of the city would have been nearly if not quite entirely destroyed by the cutthroats and vagabonds who flocked here like vultures from every point of the compass.
As soon as my name was found on the hotel book at Buffalo, Thursday morning, some gentlemen came round, and took me to the Board of Trade, where I gave the best account I could of the extent of the fire, the relief that had been sent, and of the certainty that the city in a very few years would rise from its ashes in all its pristine vigor.
Completing my business, I left for New York in the evening train. My arrival in some way soon became known at the Tribune office, and Whitelaw Reid, Esq., sent two reporters to interview me. I insert what appeared in the Tribune Saturday morning, Oct. 14th, headings and all, with only a very few verbal corrections.
STATEMENT OF EX-LIEUT. GOV. BROSS OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE—SCENES DURING AND AFTER THE FIRE—WHAT CHICAGO HAS, WHAT SHE NEEDS, AND WHAT SHE WILL BE.
Ex-Lieutenant Governor Bross of Illinois, arrived in this city from Chicago, yesterday morning. A Tribune reporter called on him at the St. Nicholas Hotel, immediately after his arrival, and although Gov. Bross was suffering greatly from fatigue and the reaction consequent on the excitement of the last few days, he kindly and cheerfully dictated the following statement of his experience during the conflagration. Gov. Bross is well known as one of the principal proprietors of the Chicago Tribune, and his statement will be read with the greatest interest.
Before I begin to speak of the fire, I wish to say that I think the accounts of it, published in your paper are most admirable. They have been, considering the difficulties of obtaining information, wonderfully accurate; and your map, showing the burnt portion of the city, is the best I have seen.
As to what I saw of the fire. About two o'clock on Monday morning, my family and I were aroused by Mrs. Samuel Bowles, the wife of the editor and proprietor of the Springfield Republican, who happened to be a guest in our house. We had all gone to bed very tired the night before, and had slept so soundly that we were unaware of the conflagration till it had assumed terrible force. My family were all very much alarmed at the glare which illuminated the sky and the lake. I at once saw that a dreadful disaster was impending over Chicago, and immediately left the house to determine the locality and extent of the fire. I found that it was then a good deal south of my house and west of the Michigan Southern and Rock Island Railroad depots. I went home considerably reassured in half an hour, and, finding my family packing things up told them that I did not anticipate danger and requested them to leave off packing. But I said, "the result of this night's work will be awful. At least 10,000 people will want breakfast in the morning; you prepare breakfast for one hundred." This they proceeded to do, but soon became alarmed and recommenced packing. Soon after half past two o'clock I started for the Tribune office to see if it was in danger. By this time the fire had crossed the river, and that portion of the city south of Harrison street, and between Third avenue and the river seemed in a blaze of fire, as well as on the West side. I reached the Tribune office, and, seeing no cause for any apprehension as to its safety I did not remain there more than twenty minutes. On leaving the office I proceeded to the Nevada Hotel (which is my property,) at the corner of Washington and Franklin streets. I remained there for an hour watching the progress of the flames and contemplating the ruinous destruction of property going on around. The fire had passed east of the hotel, and I hoped that the building was safe; but it soon began to extend in a westerly direction, and the hotel was quickly enveloped in flames. I became seriously alarmed, and ran north on Franklin to Randolph street so as to head off the flames and get back to my house, which was on Michigan avenue, on the shore of the lake. My house was a part of almost the last block burned.
MAGNIFICENT APPEARANCE OF THE FIRE WHEN AT ITS HEIGHT.
At this time the fire was the most grandly magnificent scene that one can conceive. The Court House, Post Office, Farwell Hall, the Tremont House, Sherman House, and all the splendid buildings on La Salle and Wells streets, were burning with a sublimity of effect which astounded me. All the adjectives in the language would fail to convey the intensity of its wonders. Crowds of men, women and children were huddling away, running first in one direction, then in another, shouting and crying in their terror, and trying to save anything they could lay their hands on, no matter how trivial in value, while every now and then explosions, which seemed almost to shake the solid earth would reverberate through the air aud add to the terrors of the poor people. I crossed Lake street bridge to the west, ran north to Kinzie street bridge, and crossed over east to the North side, hoping to head off the fire. It had, however, already swept north of me, and was traveling faster than I could go, and I soon came to the conclusion that it would be impossible for me to get east in that direction. I accordingly re-crossed Kinzie street bridge, and went west as far as Desplaines street, where I fortunately met a gentleman in a buggy who very kindly drove me over Twelfth street bridge to my house on Michigan avenue. It was by this time getting on toward five o'clock, and the day was beginning to break. On my arrival home I found my horses already harnessed and my riding horse saddled for me. My family and friends were all busily engaged in picking up and in distributing sandwiches and coffee to all who wanted them or could spare a minute to partake of them.
BURNING OF THE TRIBUNE BUILDING AND THE DWELLINGS ON MICHIGAN AVENUE.
I immediately jumped on my horse and rode as fast as I could go to the Tribune oflice. I found everything safe; the men were all there, and we fondly hoped that all danger was passed as far as we were concerned, and for this reason, that the blocks in front of the Tribune building on Dearborn street, and north on Madison street, had both been burned; the only damage accruing to us being confined to a cracking of some of the plate glass windows from the heat. But a somewhat curious incident soon set us all in a state of excitement. The fire had, unknown to us, crawled under the sidewalk from the wooden pavement, and had caught the wood work of the barber's shop which comprises a portion of our basement. As soon as we ascertained the extent of the mischief we no longer apprehended any special danger, believing, as we did, that the building was fire-proof. My associates, Mr. Medill and Mr. White, were absent; and with the help of some of our employes, we went to work with water and one of Babcock's Fire Extinguishers. The fire was soon put out, and we once more returned to business. The forms had been sent down stairs, and I ordered our foreman, Mr. Keiler, to get all the pressmen together, in order to issue the papers as soon as a paragraph showing how far the fire had then extended, could be prepared and inserted. Many kind friends gathered round the office and warmly expressed their gratification at the preservation of our building. Believing all things safe, I again mounted my horse and rode south on State street to see what progress the fire was making, and if it were moving eastward on Dearborn street. To my great surprise and horror, I found that its current had taken an easterly direction, nearly as far as State street, and that it was also advancing in a northerly direction with terrible swiftness and power. I at once saw the danger so imminently threatening us, and with some friends endeavored to obtain a quantity of powder for the purpose of blowing up buildings south of the Palmer House. Failing in finding any powder, I saw the only thing to do was to tear them down. I proceeded to Church's hardware store and succeeded in procuring about a dozen heavy axes, and handing them to my friends, requested them to mount the buildings with me and literally chop them down. All but two or three seemed utterly paralyzed at this unexpected change in the course of the fire; and even these, seeing the others stand back, were unwilling to make the effort alone. At this moment I saw that some wooden buildings and a new brick house west of the Palmer House had already caught fire. I knew at a glance that the Tribune building was doomed, and I rode back to the office and told them that nothing more could be done to save the building, McVicker's theatre, or anything else in that vicinity. In this hopeless frame of mind I rode home to look after my residence and family, intently watching the ominous eastward movement of the flames. I at once set to work with my family and friends to move as much of my furniture as possible across the narrow Park east of Michigan avenue, on to the shore of the lake, a distance of some 300 feet. At the same time I sent my family to the house of some friends in the south part of the city for safety; my daughter, Miss Jessie Bross, was the last to leave us. The work of carrying our furniture across the avenue to the shore was most difficult and even dangerous. For six or eight hours Michigan avenue was jammed with every description of vehicle containing families escaping from the city, or baggage wagons laden with goods and furniture. The sidewalks were crowded with men, women and children, all carrying something. Some of the things saved and carried away were valueless. One woman carried an empty bird cage; another, an old work box; another, some dirty empty baskets; old, useless bedding, anything that could be hurriedly snatched up, seemed to have been carried away without judgment or forethought. In the meantime the fire had lapped up the Palmer House, the theatres, and the Tribune building; and contrary to our expectation, for we thought the current of the fire had passed my residence, judging from the direction of the wind, we saw by the advancing clouds of dense black smoke and the rapidly approaching flames that we were in imminent peril. The fire had already worked so far south and east as to attack the stables in the rear of Terrace Block, between Van Buren and Congress streets. Many friends rushed into the houses in the block and helped to carry out heavy furniture, such as pianos and book cases. We succeeded in carrying the bulk of it to the shore. Much of it, however, is seriously damaged. There I and a few others sat by our household goods, calmly awaiting the destruction of our property-one of the most splendid block's in Chicago. The eleven fine houses which composed the block were occupied by Denton Gurney, Peter L. Yoe, Mrs. Humphreys (owned by Mrs. Walker), William Bross, P. F. W. Peck, S. C. Griggs, Tuthill King, Judge H. T. Dickey, Gen. Cook, John L. Clarke, and the Hon. J. Y. Scammon.
THE APPEARANCE OF THE CITY AFTER THE FIRE—ENTERPRISE OF THE TRIBUNE.
The next morning I was of course out early, and found the streets thronged with crowds of people moving in all directions. To me the sight of the ruin, though so sad, was wonderful; giving one a most curious sensation, and especially as it was wrought in so short a space of time. It was the destruction of the entire business portion of one of the greatest cities in the world! Every bank and insurance office, law offices, hotels, theatres, railroad depots, most of the churches, and many of the principal residences of the city, a charred mass, and property almost beyond estimate gone.
Mr. White, my associate, like myself, had been burned out of house and home. He had removed his family to a place of safety and I had no idea where he or any one else connected with the Tribune office might be found. My first point to make was naturally the site of our late office; but before I reached it I met two former tenants of our building who told me that there was a job printing office on Randolph street, on the West side, that could probably be bought. I immediately started for the West side and while making my way west through the crowds of people, over the Madison street bridge, desolation stared me in the face at every step, and yet I was much struck with the tone and temper of the people. On all sides I saw evidences of true Chicago spirit, and men said to one another, "cheer up; we'll be all right again before long," and many other plucky things. Their pluck and courage was wonderful. Every one was bright, cheerful, pleasant, hopeful, and even inclined to be jolly in spite of the misery and destitution which surrounded them and which they shared. One and all said, Chicago must and should be rebuilt at once. On reaching Canal street, on my way To purchase the printing office I had heard of, I was informed that while Mr. White and I were saving our families and as much of our furniture as we could on Monday afternoon, Mr. Medill, seeing that the Tribune office must inevitably be burned, sought for and purchased Edwards' job printing office, No. 15 Canal street, where he was then busy organizing things. One after another, all hands turned up; and by the afternoon we had improvised the back part of the room into our editorial department, while an old wooden box did duty as a business counter in the front window. We were soon busy as bees, writing editorials and paragraphs; and taking in any number of advertisements. By evening several orders for type and fixtures were made out, and things were generally so far advanced that I left for the depot at Twenty-second street, with the intention of coming on to New York. Unfortunately I missed the train and had to wait till Wednesday morning. We shall get along as best we can till the rebuilding of our edifice is finished. Going down to the ruins I found a large section thrown out of the north wall on Madison street. The other three walls are standing, but the east and west walls are so seriously injured that they must be pulled down. The south wall is in good condition. More of our office and the Post office remains standing than any other buildings that I saw. Our building was put up to stand a thousand years, and it would have done so but for that awful furnace of fire, fanned by an intense gale on the windward side, literally melting it up where it stood.
THE LOSS $300,000,000—GRATITUDE OF THE CHICAGO PEOPLE.
With regard to the probable loss from the fire, it is impossible to say anything certain. I saw an estimate the other day which was based on the tax list of the city, which is over $500,000,000; and the writer inferred from that list that the loss cannot exceed $125,000,000. Now, according to our system of taxation in Illinois, this city tax list never shows anything like the proper amount of the property in the city. To my knowledge, houses having $20,000 to $30,000 worth of furniture in them are not rated at more than $2,000 to $4,000. Stocks of goods were never valued among us at more than one- fifth or one-tenth of their, real value on the tax list. All our merchants had just filled up their stores with fall and winter trade stocks. From these and other facts I estimate the loss by the fire at considerably more than $200,000,000; and if damage, depreciation of real estate and property, and loss of business are considered, the loss would, in my judgment, exceed $300,000,000. Besides this, there are the family accumulations of centuries, such as heirlooms, the value of which cannot be estimated in money. The collection of the Historical Society, including the Emancipation Proclamation, were invaluable, and cannot possibly be replaced. The Chicago Library possessed many costly works, among which were the records of the English Patent Office, in 3,000 volumes. The destruction of the files of the Tribune is an immense loss to Chicago, and an irreparable one to the Tribune. There was a duplicate copy, but I unluckily presented it to the Historical Society. They contained a complete and exhaustive history of Chicago from its first settlement.
One of the most striking circumstances to me, almost as astounding as the great fire itself, is the grand and spontaneous outburst of sympathy, aid, and brotherly love, which come to us from all parts of the world. It is a touching spectacle, this man-to-man, shoulder-to-shoulder way of standing by us. I have seen strong men, accustomed to the wear and tear of life, whom the loss of enormous fortunes could not bear down, stand at the corners of our streets with the tears in their eyes as the kindly words came pouring in upon them on the telegraph wires. They could only ejaculate, "God bless them!" I can say no more than they. God bless all who have raised even their little finger for Chicago.
WHAT CHICAGO NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE.
This country and even Europe have already provided for Chicago's present wants with a munificence and promptness never before witnessed in the history of the race. Enough has been and will be forwarded, when the contributions are all in the hands of the proper committees, to provide for the immediate necessities of the more indigent sufferers, who are unable to take care of themselves. What is most needed is to furnish the leading business men of the city with capital, so that they can employ the laboring classes in erecting stores, warehouses, banks, business blocks, hotels, churches, school houses and manufactories of all kinds. How is this capital to be placed in their hands? Let those who hold mortgages taken for half the value of the property, take a second mortgage of sufficient amount to defray the expense of erecting a good building on the former site. Such a structure will rent for a sufficient sum to pay the interest on both mortgages, and in the present demand for buildings will also pay a reasonable percentage to the owner of the property. A very large number of such mortgages, made to life insurance and other companies and to individuals, were recorded on the burnt records of Chicago, and will be recognized by its business men.
Furthermore, let those who know the leading business men of Chicago, honest, industrious, and determined to rebuild the city, lend them money to start again the business in which they were engaged, asking only pledges of honor, if they, in their afflictions have nothing else to give. These men understand the business of the Northwest, and can of course transact it with profit. Aided by the capital of others they can rapidly regain their lost wealth, and amply repay those who may assist them. Let the banks and business men of New York and other Eastern cities who have been connected by business with Chicago merchants, furnish them with all the money and goods they may require with which to re-establish themselves.
NEW YORK'S DUTY TOWARD CHICAGO.
As a gentleman expressed it in my hearing to-day, New York is the senior and Chicago the junior partner of the great firm which manages the vast commercial interests of our nation. By a dispensation of Providence which the wisest could not foresee, the means in the hands of the junior partner have been destroyed. Will the senior partner sit by and see the business of the firm crushed out when he has the means to establish it on a scale more gigantic and more profitable than ever before? Let him contribute a small portion only of his vast accumulations to his unfortunate associate, and the influence and power of the concern will assume fresh life and vigor. By thus furnishing the means with which to start again the business of Chicago, the holders of mortgages will at once make the property for which the mortgages were given as valuable as ever, and will insure for themselves both interest and principal. The merchants of New York and the Eastern cities should resume gladly their dealings with houses already competent to transact the business of the West, and within a few years scarcely a trace of the great fire of Chicago will remain to bear testimony to its record upon the pages of history.
AN OPENING FOR EASTERN CAPITAL.
A large number of men with more or less capital and living all over the country have been deterred from going to Chicago because the business and manufacturing of that city were concentrated in the hands of well-established houses. There has not been a time in twenty years when such persons could establish themselves in business there so easily as now. With the exception of a few of the larger houses, stranger and citizen will start even in the race for the business of the Great West. Farmers, merchants and capitalists at the East who have sons whom they wish to put in as partners with men of integrity and business knowledge, will find no opportunity like the one which Chicago offers to-day. Men of the very best character and of the best business qualifications, thoroughly acquainted with the trade and commerce of the West, would be only too glad to place their energy and business knowledge against the money furnished by the sons of Eastern capitalists. The men who in part have built up Chicago and walled her streets with business and residence blocks among the finest on the continent, have ever been distinguished for their far-seeing shrewdness, their energy and integrity, and now all they need is the capital to set the labor of the city vigorously at work. The capital and labor working together with the intelligence and energy of the citizens, will in a very few years rebuild Chicago and reproduce her with increased magnificence and power. I tell you that within five years her business houses will be rebuilt, and by the year 1900 the new Chicago will boast a population of 1,000,000 souls. You ask me why? Because I know the Northwest and the vast resources of its broad acres. I know that the location of Chicago makes her the centre of this wealthy region, and the market for all its products.
WHAT CHICAGO HAS FOR A FOUNDATION ON WHICH TO BUILD.
Though Chicago itself has been destroyed in a whirlwind of fire, the immense fertile country which is tributary to it for hundreds of miles around has the wheat and the corn, the beef and the pork, and the other products to pay for the merchandise of the East. While some of her wooden pavement has been injured, the greater part of it is in good condition. The streets have been raised several feet, giving good drainage. The foundations of most of the consumed buildings are uninjured. The gas and water pipes are laid through all the streets of the city. The sewerage was nearly complete before the conflagration, and was uninjured by it. The damage to the water works was very slight, and within a few days they will be in operation again. The bridges are nearly all preserved. The lake tunnel by which the city is supplied with water, the tunnel under the main river, and that under the south branch are all uninjured. These works alone may be counted as constituting from 20 to 40 per cent, of the cost of rebuilding the city. The Chamber of Commerce and several of the leading business houses have already determined to rebuild immediately upon the former sites. There can be no doubt but that the business centre of the city will be re-established at once upon its old foundation. The dozen or more railways branching off in all directions through the Mississippi Valley will soon be pouring the wealth of the country into the city as rapidly as ever. It is true that two large depots have been burned, but they had long since become too small for the business of the roads. Others of larger dimensions and better accommodations will immediately take their places. That indomitable perseverance and genuine "grit" which made Chicago in the past will in a very few years raise up the Chicago of the future.
This, so far as I know, was the first con¬iderable statement in regard to the fire made to the New York press by any one direct from Chicago. Their special dispatches had been very full and in the main entirely accurate. I spent Sabbath with my friend Bowles, of the Springfield (Mass.) Republican, and several hours on Monday with the President and Secretary of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, then and now Chicago's largest creditor and among the very best friends the city ever had. I gave them my views as to the best means to make their large investments here available. On Tuesday afternoon, the 17th, by invitation, I delivered the following address to the relief committee of the Chamber of Commerce, Ex-Mayor Updike in the Chair. Though much that is in the Tribune's interview is repeated, I insert it here just an it appeared in all the papers next morning.
CHICAGO'S NEEDS. EX-GOVERNOR BROSS' ADDRESS BEFORE THE NEW YORK CHAMBER OP COMMERCE RELIEF COMMITTEE.
Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the New York Chamber of Commerce:
A few of you may remember that in 1866, I had the honor to address you on the subject of the Pacific Railroad. I then took rather a brighter view of the location and of the facilities for building the road; of the extent of its business, and its influence upon the travel and the traffic of this country and the world, than many of you probably believed could be warranted by the facts; but I think you will now agree that what may then have seemed to be bold if not improbable speculation, has been more than realized. And if fresh from that terrible baptism of fire which has swept over and destroyed the best portion of the city of Chicago, I venture to take a hopeful view of her future, provided you, and the capitalists of New York and the East generally, render her stricken business men that material aid which I trust you will feel it both safe and a pleasure to give, my best judgment and most careful study of the whole subject convince me, at least, that the views you may permit me to present will also be fully realized.
THE EXTENT OF THE LOSS.
Of the extent of the calamity that has desolated our city I need not speak in detail. Your newspapers of last Friday morning had correct maps of the burnt district. Some 3,000 acres are covered with frightful ruins, or swept by the devouring fire, maddened by the fury of the hurricane, as bare as they were when the Indian roamed over them forty years ago. It is safe to say that all that remains of Chicago is not worth half as much as the fire has destroyed. All our banks; all our largest and best hotels, and a score or two of lesser note; all our largest and leading grocery, jewelry, dry goods, hardware, clothing and other business houses; all our newspaper offices; most of our churches and school houses; our Historical Society's building, with all its valuable treasures; the Library Association, containing among other works some 3,000 volumes of the Patent Office reports of Great Britain; thousands of dwellings; the homes of the rich, filled with priceless treasures, and with heirlooms of hundreds of years; and the abodes of humble poverty by the ten thousand—all, all have been swept as by the fell besom of destruction from the face of the earth. Only a single house on the north side of the river—that of Mahlon D. Ogden, Esq.—is left standing, and probably 75,000 people spent the morning and most of Monday crouching in Lincoln Park, or half immersed in the waters of the Lake, to save themselves from the heat and the showers of burning cinders driven upon them by the tempest. Both the losses and the sufferings of that day can never be fully known or described no mind can possibly comprehend them. They have not been and can not well be exaggerated.
UNBOUNDED SYMPATHY.
If our calamity in its kind has been unequaled in the world's history, the response it has met in the sympathy, the outpouring and unbounded liberality of the entire American people, is grand, sublime, Godlike. It throbs in the lightning's flash through three thousand miles of the deep, dark caves of the old ocean, and makes our hearts glad. I may say for our people, brothers and sisters of generous free America, honored sons and daughters of our sires across the Atlantic, with the profoundest emotions of our hearts, we thank you. Strong men in Chicago weep at midnight, not over their losses of thousands, aye, many of them even of millions, but with joy and gratitude at the noble charity you have shown us. God will reward you for it, and our children and children's children shall bless you.
THE NEXT THING NEEDED.
The millions of dollars in clothing, provisions, and money already raised and being subscribed, have relieved the immediate necessities of the poor, and thousands who have been made so by the fire. But, gentlemen, the next imperative necessity is to place funds in the hands of the leading business men of Chicago to enable them to rebuild the city, to handle the products of the vast fertile country that is tributary to it, and to set all the laborers of the city to work. Do this and the poor can support themselves; withhold your capital and they must starve or your charities will continue to be severely taxed to support them, for you can not see them die of starvation. In making this appeal to you, and through you to the capitalists of the country and to the business men and capitalists of England and Germany, for means to rebuild and do the business of Chicago, I must deal with the two elements of security and profit. I have still another; those who have now loans on real property and credits in the hands of our leading houses should continue those credits and make loans on the same property on second mortgage, in order to make what - they now have available. Nearly all the central portion of the city has been swept by fire, and the land is not worth as much as so many acres of prairie, unless made valuable for business by rebuilding it. The men, whose splendid marble palaces once occupied it, are still there. In most cases their property is all gone; but sterling integrity, unbending energy, a thorough knowledge of the financial, commercial, and manufacturing interests of the West—all those qualities which have made Chicago the wonder and admiration of the world—are still left to them. Nay, more, all their best powers are enlarged and intensified by a determination to regain and restore all that has been lost. Braver and truer, nobler and better men do not live, than the leading business men of Chicago. I ask not for them—they would scorn to ask—charity; but I do ask that you intrust as much as you can of your surplus capital to their management, for your own and their profit.
A BOLD POLICY SAFEST.
But to repeat and to be more specific. Let insurance companies and individuals who have loans on Chicago real estate take a second mortgage with policies of insurance for money enough to build a substantial building upon it. Such must be the demand for places of all kinds to do business, for several years to come, that the rentals will surely pay the interest on both the mortgages and leave a fair surplus to the owner to pay the principal. A bold policy, in all such cases, it seems to me, is the only safe and really conservative one for capitalists to pursue. They can in this way, within a year at most, make safe and productive all their investments. Any other course must subject them to great and inevitable loss. Unincumbered Chicago real estate—and there is a vast deal of that—offers the very best possible security to capitalists. Take a mortgage on property, to-day, that two weeks ago would have sold for $2,000 per front foot, for, say $500 per front foot; in three years, so rapidly is the city sure to grow, it will be worth twice as much, and in five years it will have reached its former value of $2,000 per front foot. The point I make is, that Chicago real estate must rapidly appreciate from its present nominal values, and this renders all loans upon it entirely safe.
Again, there are thousands of Chicago business men who have friends East who know them to be honest, energetic, and capable. If they have no other security to give, take a life policy and a note of honor, and lend them money enough to start business. They have lost one fortune, and with a little of your help on the start they can soon make another. As to the large class of merchants and manufacturers who have done business with Chicago houses, I know they will extend all the aid in their power by large and liberal credits. By doing so, they will be sure to collect what is now due them, and to secure large orders and profits in the future. The mercantile community are proverbially liberal in their dealings with each other, and in our overwhelming calamity Chicago merchants will doubtless receive the most generous treatment from Eastern merchants and manufacturers.
GOOD TIME TO COMMENCE BUSINESS.
There has not been, for the last twenty years, so good a time for men of capital to start business in Chicago as now. Thousands anxious to locate in this focus of Western commerce have been deterred from doing so for the reason that the business in each department had become concentrated in comparatively a few hands. With few exceptions, all can now start even, in the race for fame and fortune. The fire has leveled nearly all distinctions, and the merchants and dealers who have heretofore purchased in our older and larger houses will buy where they can get their goods the cheapest. Now, therefore, is the time to strike. A delay of a year or two will give an immense advantage to those who start at once. True, a location must be found, perhaps a store built; but a couple of months, at most, are all that is needed to start business with the best prospects of success.
Again, there are thousands of people all over the country with considerable means who wish to start their sons in business. Of course they are without experience. Furnish them capital to go into business with an experienced Chicago merchant, who will gladly put his knowledge and energy against the capital, and in a few years these sons will be men of wealth and honor. Such opportunities, my word for it, can be found in abundance. Better a thousand fold encourage the sons of the rich to honorable exertion than to allow them to waste their energies in ease and luxury.
RATE OF INTEREST.
While the rich, populous States tributary to Chicago, through which our railways are running in all directions, must make the business of the city, as it has been in the past, exceedingly profitable, I trust what I have said has convinced you that it is one of the best cities in the world in which to make safe investments of capital. Its rapid growth must insure that beyond a contingency. And now for the matter of profit. The legal interest in Illinois is ten per cent., a much larger figure than is allowed anywhere at the East. Millions of money would gladly be taken by our leading business men at that rate; but I beg to say that I hope you will be satisfied with eight. I might add that our people sometimes pay commissions, but I beg you also to forget all about that. Our citizens are poor enough now in all conscience, and it is to be hoped Eastern capital will be satisfied with a reasonable percentage above what it can realize at home.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT CAN DO.
Of course the Government can do nothing directly for us; but as soon as Congress meets, liberal appropriations should be made to build a large, substantial Post Office. The old building had become far too small to accommodate the immense business of the Northwest. The Chicago office was, if I mistake not, the second distributing office in the United States, and it should have a building of corresponding dimensions. The importing business direct to Chicago was just fairly commenced, and a large Custom House and several bonded warehouses are needed for that. Perhaps United States Court rooms can be provided in these; but in any event large accommodations are at once of imperative necessity. The building of them as rapidly as possible would employ a large amount of labor, and distribute corresponding sums of money, thus affording a most important stimulus to the entire business of the city.
WHAT IS LEFT.
Although the all-devouring fire has swept over us, we have still much remaining on which to build the city. All our banks, though doubtless somewhat crippled, will resume business at once. Their books, currency, notes and exchanges are safe. The notes, though not as good as they might be, will mostly be paid, in whole or in part; and what is worthless, it is to be hoped, will not seriously affect their stability and usefulness. Our score or more of railways will at once pour the produce of the upper half of the Mississippi valley into the city for distribution among all the cities and States of the seaboard. Our Water Works are soon to be in good order, and the water pipes all over the city are intact. Many of our bridges, and of course our lake tunnel and our two tunnels under the river, are all right. The streets are raised several feet in many places, affording good drainage; the pavements are very little injured, and the gas pipes and sewers are of course complete. These with other things that might be named constitute from twenty to forty per cent, of the original expense of building the city. And what is far better, our honest, brave, plucky people are there, ready and willing to work. Their strong hands and iron wills yield to no disasters. The men who have turned the waters of Lake Michigan into the Mississippi—in common phrase "made the Chicago river run up hill"—can turn back the tide of misfortune, and in a few years make their city more prosperous and populous and powerful than ever before. True, they need your assistance, and you will give it. The capitalists, the mercantile and business interests of this country and of Europe cannot afford to withhold the means to rebuild Chicago. The vast teeming country west of her, her position at the head of the Great Lakes, with more miles of railway centering there than any other city upon the continent, have made her one of the vital forces that give life and vigor to the commercial energies of the nation. What she has been in the past she must become in the future, and a hundred fold more. Help her with capital, and it can soon be done; but in any event she has to wait only a few short years for the sure development of her "manifest destiny."
The above had the advantage of appearing in all the morning papers. The Tribune, Herald, and Times gave it an immense circulation. Most of the evening papers copied or gave a synopsis of it, and the papers of other cities did the same. I was assured that it had done much to inspire confidence in the early restoration of the city. If in this or any other way it did any good, I did only what every good citizen should always do, the best he can for the interests and the prosperity of Chicago. It should be noticed that what I predicted would be accomplished in five years was mostly done in three, and much of it in two. The unsightly acres still to be seen on State street, Wabash avenue, and some portions of Michigan avenue, were burned over by the disastrous fire of July 14th, 1874. Nearly all the open spaces made by the great fire of 1871 are now covered with buildings.
1873. TRANSPORTATION. FACTS AND FIGURES IN REGARD TO IT — THE GEORGIAN BAY CANAL.
The following address at Des Moines is inserted for the facts and figures it contains, posted up to the time it was delivered:
Special despatch to the Chicago Tribune.
DES MOINES, Ia., Jan. 22.—The Iowa Industrial Convention convened to-day, with full delegations from all parts of the State, also delegates from Illinois and Canada. Governor Carpenter called the Convention to order. Officers were chosen as follows: Mayor W. T. Smith, of Oskaloosa, President; one Vice President from each Congressional District of the State; A. R.Fulton, Secretary, and S. F. Spofford, Treasurer. The afternoon business was a discussion on the amendment to the Collection laws in operation in the State. The Convention resolved to memorialize the Legislature to limit the stay of execution to ninety days; to abolish the Appraisement law; to limit the right of redemption to six mouths.
The motion to limit the value of homesteads to $5,000 did not carry.
The Convention is composed of leading representative men from all parts of the State. It is large in numbers, and embraces an unusual amount of practical business talent, and valuable results may be anticipated. Ex-Lieutenant Governor Bross, of Chicago, is speaking this evening to a very large audience, composed not only of the members, but of the Senators, Representatives, and others in attendance upon the Legislature. His subject is the transportation question. The following is the substance of his remarks:
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
I am here by request, to address you on the transportation question. The subject involves an estimate, as near as may be, of the surplus farm products of what are commonly known as the Northwestern States; the cost of freights between the producers and the consumers; the capacity of the channels of transit; the means by which that capacity can be enlarged, and the cost of freights thereby reduced to the lowest possible limit; and lastly, the numbers and the wants of the people among whom we expect to find a profitable market for that surplus.
The people of our Atlantic seaboard, especially those of the New England States, are our largest and best customers. The steady increase of manufacturing industry there, creates a larger demand for our products every year; but that demand has long since fallen far behind the production of cereals and provisions in the States that surround and lie west of Lake Michigan. This fact has become the more apparent every year since 1865, when at least 200,000 men ceased to be consumers, and, scattered all over these States, have been steadily adding to our surplus. In the meantime, thousands of people from the different nationalities of Europe have made their homes among us, thus adding largely, not only to the numbers of our population, but to the development of our resources, and the intellectual and the moral power of the nation. If our surplus products are already so great, and the cost of their transit to the seaboard is so enormous, that corn is used in Iowa for fuel, the question what is to be done with that surplus a few years hence, when it has increased in almost a bewildering ratio, becomes a matter of the most serious concern. Let us consider for a few moments the extent, the resources, and the prospective development of the Northwestern States, nearly all of whose surplus products must find their way, either by rail or the lakes and canal, to the seaboard.
Look at the map. If you draw a line west from Alton, the territory lying north of that and between Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains, throwing out the small sections that are valueless, embraces about 700,000 square miles. Here we have space for fourteen States as large as Ohio, and he knows little of its climate and resources who is not convinced that they will be vastly more productive and more populous than that noble State. The rapid progress of this territory may be inferred from a few facts. The following table shows the increase of population in six States between 1860 and 1870:
| 1860. | 1870. | |
| Illinois | 1,711,595 | 2,539,891 |
| Iowa | 674,913 | 1,191,792 |
| Kansas | 107,206 | 364,399 |
| Minnesota | 172,023 | 439,706 |
| Nebraska | 28,841 | 122,993 |
| Wisconsin | 775,881 | 1,054,670 |
| Totals | 3,470,459 | 5,713,451 |
These figures, taken from the Government census, show a ratio of 64 per cent. increase between the years 1860 and 1870. The same ratio, continued to the year 1900, only twenty-seven years hence, would give these States 25,450,000 people; but, granting it can not be kept up in them, can any one doubt, with the rapid extension of our railways in all directions through this vast fertile country, that at least 20,000,000 of people will in the year of grace 1900 find their homes between Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains? With only a little more than half the ratio I have named, your own beautiful Iowa will in that time have a population equal to that of Pennsylvania in 1870, then and now the second State in the Union. As another element to help us to judge of the immediate future, I may mention that Chicago had in 1860 a population of 111,214, and in 1870, 298,977. The ratio of increase in this case—170 per cent.—would give her a population in 1880 of 800,000. I dare not say that Chicago will have that many people in a little more than seven years hence, but I will say that she has far outstripped the predictions that I or any one else have ever had the courage to make.
Another index to the development of the Northwest is found in the rapid growth of our railway system.
The following table shows the number of miles of railway in the six States above named, in 1860 and 1870, and the number of miles completed in 1872:
| 1860 | 1870 | 1872 | Miles | |
| Illinois | 2,790 | 4,031 | 1,241 | 838 |
| Iowa | 655 | 2,095 | 1,440 | 585 |
| Kansas | none | 931 | 931 | 511 |
| Minnesota | none | 795 | 795 | 712 |
| Nebraska | none | 1,058 | 1,058 | 218 |
| Wisconsin | 905 | 1,512 | 607 | 555 |
| Totals | 4,350 | 10,422 | 6,072 | 3,419 |
It will be noticed that more than half as many miles of railway were built in these States during last year as were built in ten years between 1860 and 1870. But to the Western farmer this astonishing railway progress serves only to increase the hideous writhings of what your excellent Governor Carpenter aptly calls "the skeleton in his corn-crib." It promotes the rapid settlement of the country, thereby adding largely to that surplus production which even now can only be relieved by burning corn for fuel. While Governor Carpenter's metaphor is fearfully true, and, with our present means of transit, that skeleton must remain fixed in the corn-crib, there are millions, may I call them living skeletons, clad in scanty flesh, pinched and wan with the gnawings of remorseless hunger, whose shout of joy and thankfulness would make the heavens ring, could this corn be brought within reach of their starving wives and children. But before passing from this branch of the subject, let us take another example from the commercial statistics of Chicago. The first shipment of wheat from that city, 78 bushels, was made in 1838, and in 1844, only twenty-nine years ago, the shipments were less than a million of bushels. Up to that time no other cereal had been shipped eastward. In 1871, the receipts of all kinds of grain—flour being expressed in bushels—were 83,518,202, and the shipments 71,800,789. Last year the receipts, as furnished me by Charles Randolph, Esq., Secretary of the Board of Trade, were 88,426,842. Allowing about the same figures for city consumption, the shipments for 1872 would amount to 76,000,000 bushels. The figures for each year in most cases show a steady increase of the shipments of breadstuff's, keeping pace with the settlement of the country west of Lake Michigan. A reference to the tables showing the commerce in the animal products of our vast fertile prairies would yield the same results, and need not be given here.
With all the increase of production west of Lake Michigan we have added but one railway to our channels of transit for it to the seaboard since 1855; in all, we now have four railways, the lakes, the Welland and St. Lawrence and the Erie canals. After having studied carefully the resources, and the probable development of the territory we have been considering, I said to the first Convention, held at Toronto, to consider how our transit lines could be increased, on the 13th of September of that year: "As well attempt to lead the boiling current of Niagara to the sea in hose-pipe as to ship the products of these 700,000 square miles to the ocean by the Erie and the Welland canals, and all the railways now or hereafter to be constructed." The commercial crash of 1857-8, and our four years War of the Rebellion have somewhat delayed the fulfillment of what then seemed to many the vagaries of an over-heated imagination; but that it is literally, even painfully true, to-day, this Convention cannot doubt for a moment.
The question before the Farmers' Convention, of Illinois, recently held at Bloomington, mooted as I learn almost with despairing earnestness, was, Can any present relief be found for the high freights and the ruinously low prices of our produce? I can see but two sources—one in an active demand at high figures, caused by a war in Europe. This would only be temporary, at best. The only permanent relief is to be sought for by opening a channel, hereafter to be noticed, for vessels of 1,000 tons, down the St. Lawrence to the ocean. And now we come to the price of freights, and what is needed to lower them to such a figure that the farmers west of Lake Michigan can ship the products of their broad acres to the ocean, and not have the proceeds of their toil consumed in getting them to market. On this branch of the subject, the cost of freights east of Chicago is the only thing to be considered, for the railway charges to that city can only be reduced gradually, by competition among the railways and by the greater amount of products to be handled. The freight on corn from Des Moines to Chicago, and places west to the Missouri, has, I understand, been reduced from 20 to 17 cents per hundred—about 12 cents per bushel—and, in process of time, a further reduction may possibly be made. The average of all rail freights between Chicago and New York, for the year 1871, was 29.1 cents per bushel, and 31.2 per bushel for wheat. I have the opinion of the Presidents of two of our largest railways, that if half a dozen double track railway lines, devoted entirely to freight, were built between New York and Chicago, the rate could not be reduced below 20 cents per bushel. That would make the freight charges on a bushel of corn from Des Moines to tide water 32 cents at the lowest rate that can be hoped for by all rail, and, adding the commissions of the middle men, 35 to 40 cents would be levied, so that you may safely calculate it will cost you at least three bushels of corn to lay down the fourth one in New York. Using propellers betwen Chicago and Buffalo or Erie, and rail to New York, the average tariff of freight for 1871 was 23.4 cents per bushel for corn, and 25.2 for wheat, being about 6 cents less than by all rail.
The average freight on corn by sail vessel, from Chicago to Buffalo, for the past summer, was a small fraction above 9 cents per bushel. Add charges for handling at Buffalo 1 1/2 cents, and canal freights to New York 12 cents on corn, and 12 1/2 cents on wheat, and the charges on these grains to New York will be about 23 to 25 cents per bushel. Owing to the large amount of produce to be moved, freights have ranged from 2 to 5 cents higher during the present year above the rates ruling in 1871. The rates by propeller and rail to Buffalo and New York, and by sail and canal, have approached very nearly to the same figures. All lines are taxed to their utmost capacity, and more. The Erie canal can not be enlarged, for the watershed of the country through which it runs will not afford a larger supply of water to feed the canal, and the question returns what can be done to secure for our products a more capacious channel, and therefore cheaper transit to the ocean? I answer, in the language of the late Captain Hugunin, one of our best and earliest lake navigators: "The Great God, when he made the mighty West, made also the lakes and the mighty St. Lawrence & float their commerce to the ocean." True, we have the Rapids of the St. Lawrence and the Falls of Niagara; but without these we could not have the Great lakes, and without them meteorology has long since proved that our vast teeming prairies would be arid as the regions of Central Asia. Around these natural barriers man's energy has built a series of canals, passing vessels of some three and part of the way six hundred tons between the lakes and tide water. Every tyro in commercial knowledge knows that as you increase the tonnage of a vessel you diminish the relative cost of freights. Enlarge the Welland and the St. Lawrence canals, so as to pass vessels of 1,000 tons burthen, and I have the opinion of the eminent railway Presidents above referred to that a bushel of corn can be transported from Chicago to Montreal for 14 cents; and by the Caughnewaga canal, of similar size, and the Champlain canal, duly enlarged, to New York, at 18 cents. This view is more than confirmed by our able engineer, Colonel R. B. Mason, who, in his report on the Georgian Bay canal, as Consulting Engineer, with Kivas Tulley, Esq., of Toronto, estimating the cost of freight, in vessels of 1,000 tons burthen, by lake, at 2 mills per ton per mile, by canal and river at 8, and ocean at 1 1/2, foots up the cost of transporting a bushel of wheat between Chicago and Liverpool at 20 cents, and to Montreal a fraction above 9 cents. Take the first estimate, viz., 14 cents as the cost of freight on a bushel of corn, between Chicago and Montreal, and we have six cents added to the price of every bushel produced by our farmers. The effect of that on their wealth and prosperity would be wonderful. Suppose only half of it reaches the pockets of your farmers, and it would add 20 per cent, to the value of every acre of land he possesses. Take the figures for your surplus as put down in the Government census for 18.69, with the deductions for home consumption as made by Governor Carpenter in his able address before your State Agricultural Society, and three cents a bushel on your corn and wheat would put into the pockets of your farmers $1,200,000 per year—the sum to go on increasing every year, for aught I know, to the end of time. The value of such a reduction of freights to the entire Northwest is far beyond the limit of any figures which I should dare to give.
ENLARGEMENT OF THE CANALS.
The enlargement of the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals so as to pass vessels of 1,000 tons burthen will accomplish nearly all the beneficent results above specified. If our Canadian neighbors prefer for any reason to do this, let us be thankful and bid them God speed. A better thing, in my judgment, to be done, is to build the Huron and Ontario Ship Canal from the Georgian Bay to Toronto. The people of the cities on the Lower St. Lawrence fear, as I think without reason, if this canal is built, the diversion of the trade of the Northwest to New York. The citizens of the valley of the Ottawa very naturally insist on the improvement of their great river; impracticable, as I think, for there would be some 400 miles of close river and canal navigation, and, if I mistake not, a depth of only eight feet of water. Were it not for these reasons, I believe the people of the Dominion would be unanimous in favor of the speedy construction of a ship canal from the Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario. This, I confess, is an old pet project of mine, and as one of your most far seeing citizens, J. B. Calhoun, Esq., and His Excellency Governor Carpenter, have each recently referred favorably to it, will you permit me to add a short description of the route and its prospective advantages to the commerce of our vast and rapidly developing Northwest. Let us turn our attention to the map.
Starting from Chicago to the Georgian Bay, the northeastern part of Lake Huron, the track of a vessel is very direct to the mouth of the Nottawasaga River. Thence we have slack water navigation up that river, with occasional reaches of canal through the sandy shores to avoid bends in the river, to a point 20 miles from its mouth. The elevation of 130 feet is overcome by 11 locks, with an average lift of about 12 feet. We have now reached the summit level of Lake Simcoe, only nine miles distant. To reach it, a ridge composed of clay and gravel must be cut through at an average depth of 50 feet, and 78 feet at its summit. From Barrie, on Kempenfeldt Bay, there is lake navigation for 22 miles to the mouth of the Holland River. The river and marsh for 10 miles can very easily be made navigable by steam excavators. The real difficulty and expensive part of the work is here reached. A ridge 10 miles in width, composed of clay and gravel, must be cut through at an average depth of 90 feet, and 198 feet for half a mile at its summit. Once through this ridge, the line follows down the valley of the Humber 23 miles. There are required 39 locks, with an average lift of about 12 feet and a total lockage of 470 feet. Of course, this route has about 260 feet more lockage than that by the Welland Canal; but it has advantages hereafter to be noticed that make it in my judgment far preferable as the great highway for the commerce of the Northwest. The total distance from the mouth of the Nottawasaga to that of the Humber on Lake Huron is only 100 miles. More than half of that distance is on the summit through Lake Simcoe, through which steam tugs would take vessels in a few hours. There is less than 40 miles of close canal navigation on the whole route; the other parts of it are through Lake Simcoe and the valleys of the Nottawasaga, the Holland, and the Humber Rivers. Lake Simcoe and its tributaries afford an ample supply of water to feed the canal from the summit in both directions. Very little water would be needed on the north from Lake Simcoe, for the Nottawasaga River would supply that. This route to tide water is some 400 miles shorter than that by Lake Erie and the Welland Canal; and it is nearly as much shorter to New York by Oswego than by Lake Erie. It is about 800 miles shorter to Liverpool. It will save two days in time to tide water, and of course a fraction on freights to pay the expenses of the extra 260 feet of lockage. A very great advantage is, that the general direction of the route makes it the best possible for vessels to avail themselves of the southwest winds of summer. By the Lake Erie route the vessel must beat against that for more than 150 miles after passing Point aux Barque on Lake Huron down the St. Clair River and Lake and the Detroit River to Lake Erie. The difficult navigation over the St. Clair Flats, though now materially improved, is also avoided. And besides, the track of the vessel through the Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe would be through cooler water than around by Lake Erie—an advantage not to be overlooked in transporting grain in bulk to the seaboard. The danger of its being damaged by heating is thereby proportionately removed. Open this route with a sufficient capacity to pass vessels of 1,000 tons burthen, and you have a channel of ample dimensions to carry the commerce of the mighty West to the ocean. You thereby reduce the freight on a bushel of corn to 14 cents, perhaps to 10 cents, to Montreal, and to about 20 to 25 cents to Liverpool. By so doing you give cheaper bread—perhaps reduce its price nearly one-half—to the millions of Great Britain, and add immensely to the wealth, and, therefore, to the means for the intellectual and the social improvement of the 30,000,000 who are soon to live between Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains.
But, says one, the cost of this work is appalling; it can never be built. Let us see. Colonel Mason and Mr. Tully, in 1858, estimated the cost of the entire work at less than $24,000,000. Capitalists in this country and Europe have offered several times to build it for $40,000,000. This is scarcely more than our Credit Mobilier gentry managed to get as a gratuity from our Government— some uncharitable people will call it stealing—for building a railway from the Missouri river to Salt Lake. Six cents a bushel saved in freights on the grain even now shipped from Chicago would pay for the canal in less than ten years; and the same sum saved on the grain imported into Great Britain would pay for the canal in less than five years. If you add the savings on animal products and merchandise passing east and west, the whole cost of the improvement would be paid for in three years, and the world would thenceforward have the use of it free of charge on its cost for all time to come.
The question, Who are to buy the surplus products of the Northwest? is all that remains to be noticed. Besides the people of New England who would be immensely benefited by this canal, right across the Atlantic are nearly 40,000,000 of people in Great Britain, ready to buy and to consume that surplus, and, with the products of their strong arms and skillful hands, to pay for all we have to spare them, England employs her energies mainly in commerce and manufactures. Large sections of the country are devoted to parks and pleasure grounds. Her wealthy men are constantly increasing the area of these pleasure grounds, and thereby lessening the space devoted to food culture. It was stated a few years ago that Coates, who manufactures the spool- cotton used in the making of our clothing, gave his check for £76,000, ($380,000), for several small farms, which he intended to improve as a splendid park. So essential are supplies of food from abroad to the life of Great Britain, that in a year of poor crops in the countries bordering on the Black and Baltic Seas, from which her cereals are mainly drawn, Mr. Cobden declared there was not money enough in Threadneedle street—the Bank, of England is located there—to procure the deficiency to save the people from starvation, had they not found an ample supply in the United States. Reducing their figures to our standard, and adding one-eleventh for December, the imports of wheat into Great Britain for the last year were 115,000,000 of bushels, and about 50,000,000 of bushels of corn. Judging from the tables of former years, when the crops are poor in Europe, America furnishes about one bushel in five. Enlarge the St. Lawrence route, as proposed, so that it shall not cost more than one, two, or, at most, three bushels of corn and wheat to lay one down in Liverpool, instead of six or seven, as by the present means of transit, and America might furnish one-half or two-thirds of those imports, to her own great profit, as well as that of the people of England.
But, says some patriotic individual, this route lies entirely through a foreign country. What can we do to influence its construction? It seems to me that cheaper freights from Chicago to the ocean would add immensely to the prosperity of every railway between Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains. What they most need is cheap freights to the seaboard. The North Western, the Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Rock Island, and especially the Illinois Central, could well afford to combine their influence upon the money markets of the world to command the means to build the canal—a thing which we have not the least doubt the Canadians will be most happy to have them do. And what shall we say of the great Northern Pacific Bailway? Will it not be essential to the success of that road? How can the products of the vast country through which it runs find a market except through a greatly enlarged water-channel to the ocean? And, besides our railways, every man of the millions now living, or hereafter to live, between Lake Michigan and the Rocky Mountains, has a direct interest in the success of this great enterprise. By refusing all further consideration of the Niagara Ship Canal, let Congress give assurance to Canada that she shall have the carrying trade of the Great West, if she will so enlarge her canals as to command it. And, better still, let us have a reciprocity treaty, in which the whole subject shall be considered and settled for an indefinite number of years to come. Commerce sees not the imaginary line that divides the Dominion from the United States. She knows no good reason why there should be any more trammels on the trade between Chicago and Montreal than there are between Chicago and New York. The world has nearly outlived such an absurdity.
But it may be said that our commerce would build up a great city in a foreign country on the lower St. Lawrence, a rival to New York. The race will be between Montreal and Quebec. For myself I think the States west of Lake Michigan have fully canceled every debt they ever owed to New York. For a generation she has quartered a whole horde of political paupers and bummers on her lateral canals, many of whom do not collect tolls enough on the useless ditches over which they preside to pay a tithe of their salaries, not to mention their stealings; and yet she insists on taxing the commerce of the West, passing through the main canal, to support all her other canals and to pay her debts besides. As to New York City, she has for a generation legalized the grasping avarice of the most stupendous land pirate that ever lived—I mean, of course, Commodore Vanderbilt. He has watered the stock of the New York Central Railway over and over again, and yet on these watered (shall I call them rascally?) values, he insists on taxing the life out of the West for the benefit of his own pocket. To keep pace with him, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk for years stole, not only the receipts of the Erie, but issued stocks and bonds for more than the road was originally worth, and stole them as well, and of course new managers must tax Western commerce, if possible, so as to retrieve the fortunes of the road, and pay its stockholders dividends on their stocks and bring them up to par. For myself I believe the time is not distant when the Northwest will have the New York and the St. Lawrence routes bidding against each other for her commerce and her carrying trade in the liveliest manner. Writing on this subiect nearly twenty years ago I said: "It is true that national pride and immense capital and the beaten track of commerce are on the side of New York; but God and Nature are stronger than all these, and let any intelligent man compare the 'Erie ditch' with the mighty St. Lawrence, with a canal to pass vessels of 1,000 tons burthen from the Georgian Bay to Toronto, and he cannot doubt for a moment on which side the immutable laws of commerce will decide the contest." A single cent per bushel on freights, two days quicker time, and increased capacity, will do it; but six cents on freights will, beyond a question, turn our shipments of produce to the New England States and to Europe all down the St. Lawrence.
But, says one, how could we do without the Niagara Ship Canal in time of war? Let us have no war. It is time that relic of savageism was banished from the plans of Christian nations. The settlement of the Alabama claims gives hope that it can be done. For one, I am willing to put America and Canada and England under the strongest possible bonds to live in perpetual friendship and amity—America, by the certainty, in case of war, that her vast products shall rot in her fields; Canada, that her commerce shall be ruined, and England with starvation staring her in the face. In the name of all that is true and good and holy, may the genius of our Christian civilization, with the Royal Cross of St. George in one hand, and the Stars and Stripes in the other, waving them over the sea and the land, proclaim to all the nations, let there be, now and evermore, peace on earth, and good will among men.
1875.
I take the following synopsis of the business of the city for last year, from the commercial reports of the Tribune, prepared by its able commercial editor, Elias Colbert, Esq., published January 1st, 1876:
THE BREADSTUFFS MOVEMENT.
| 1875. | 1874. | 1873. | |
| Flour, bbls..... | 2,566,225 | 2,666,679 | 2,487,376 |
| Wheat, bu...... | 24,450,390 | 29,764,622 | 26,266,562 |
| Corn, bu....... | 26,990,557 | 35,799,638 | 38,157,232 |
| Oats, bu....... | 11,511,554 | 13,901,235 | 17,888,724 |
| Rye, bu........... | 693,968 | 791,182 | 1,189,464 |
| Barley, bu...... | 3,026,456 | 3,354,981 | 4,240,239 |
| Totals......... | 79,504,050 | 95,611,713 | 98,925,413 |
The following were the receipts of breadstuffs in this city during the past three years, flour being reduced to its equivalent in wheat in the footings:
| 1875. | 1874. | 1873. | |
| Flour, bbls..... | 2,262,030 | 2,306,576 | 2,303,490 |
| Wheat, bu...... | 23,183.663 | 27,634,587 | 24,455,657 |
| Corn, bu....... | 26,409,420 | 32,705,224 | 36,754,943 |
| Oats, bu....... | 10,230,208 | 10,561,673 | 15,694,133 |
| Rye, bu........... | 310,609 | 335,077 | 960,613 |
| Barley, bu...... | 1,834,117 | 2,404,538 | 3,366,041 |
| Totals......... | 73,278,167 | 84,020,691 | 91,597,092 |
The following were the corresponding shipments:
1875. 1874. 1873.
LIVE STOCK.
For the first time since the construction of the Union Stock Yards—a period of ten years—we have to record a decrease in the aggregate receipts of live stock at Chicago. Of cattle and sheep, a much larger number have arrived than during any previous year, but this increase was more than offset by a decline in the receipt of hogs, and the figures stand thus: For 1874, 5,440,990; for 1875, 5,251,901, decrease, 189,089. This is not an unfavorable exhibit, in the light of the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, which shows in the four States whence our supplies are chiefly drawn,—viz.: Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri, a deficiency, as compared with 1874, of 1,222,300 hogs. The wonder, therefore, is not that our receipts show a falling off, but that they so closely approximate those of 1874. It is also consoling to know that the decline in the past season's receipts was not peculiar to Chicago, as witness the comparative table furnished below, from which it appears that the percentage of decrease at St. Louis is much greater than here, her arrivals of hogs being fully 60 per cent, less than for 1874. While our receipts of cattle show an increase of 76,877 head, there was a falling off in the arrivals at St. Louis of some 24,000 head, as follows:
1874. 1875.
Chicago 843,966 920,843
St. Louis 360,925 336,934
Difference 483,041 583,909
These comparisons are drawn not for the purpose of belittling the importance of St. Louis as a live stock market, but to demonstrate the supreme ridiculousness of her claims to rival Chicago. The developments of the past season would seem to have forever set at rest the question of the continued supremacy of Chicago as the chief live stock distributing point of the world. Although the aggregate of our receipts was less than for 1874, the value of the same was some $10,000,000 greater.
THE GRAND TOTAL.
The following is an approximation to the total value of our trade in 1875. It includes only the first selling price, second sales not being counted, though made by jobbers:
Produce
trade........................$232,328,000
Wholesale (as
above)..................293,900,000
Manufactures
(product)................177,000,000
Total................................$703,228,000
Deduct from this for
manufactures included in wholesale (about)........46,228,000
Total
business.......................$657,000,000
Total in
1874........................ 639,000,000
These figures give a decrease of 6.9 per cent, in the sales of produce, and an increase of 7 per cent, in wholesale trade and manufactures. The increase of the whole over 1874 is 2.8 per cent.
These totals would be materially increased if we included the sales of produce to shippers after it had once been sold in open market, to say nothing of the manifold sales of grain and provisions under which one lot may be delivered to a dozen or more traders in succession. We have also omitted sales of such articles as ice, milk, vegetables, dressed hogs, oats, etc., made in the street, from wagons, and not placed in public storehouses. The sales of real estate are not included, as they do not belong to the wholesale trade. We have dealt only with what Mr. Wemmick would designate as "portable property."
The following were the totals for previous years, estimated on the same basis:
1873...............................$596,000,000
Oct. 11, 1871, to Oct. 11,
1872.....490,000,000
1870................................439,000,000
1860................................450,000,000
1868................................434,000,000
1860.................................97,000,000
1850.................................20,000,000
EXTENT OF TRADE OF CHICAGO.
At the close of one of my articles in 1854, I expressed the hope that I might be here seventeen years from that date to post up the business of the city. This duty has been committed to younger hands. The nearest I have approached it was last fall during the sickness of the financial editor of the Tribune. I quote the following paragraphs from the financial articles which I wrote in his absence, bearing upon the growth and extent of the business of the city.
From the Tribune, October 15, 1875.
These heavy drafts upon our capital, and the cheerful response of our banks, correspond with the concentration of the wholesale trade of the Northwest in Chicago. The frantic warnings of the New York commercial papers to their jobbers to lessen their expenses, and to do all things needed to retain that trade, have not been heeded. It is surely leaving them, and is rapidly concentrating in Chicago. It is worth while again to note the causes that are contributing to this inevitable result. Take the, dry goods trade as an example. Our leading houses have ample capital, and buy at the lowest figures their goods for cash. They have agents in Europe and this country right alongside of those of the New York jobbers, and get their goods at precisely the same figures. Goods come directly through to this city; custom duties are paid here, and hence they are free from the exactions of the New York sharpers. The difference in the price of rents and the modes of doing business here more than balance the cost of freights from the seaboard, and hence goods are sold as cheap here, and even cheaper, than they are in New York. No country merchant in the North, nor in fact in the Southwest, needs now to go to New York, and comparatively few of them do so.
What is true of diy goods is equally true of other lines of the wholesale trade. The business in all departments is rapidly concentrating here. The same is true also of manufactures. Only a day or two ago we were assured that a house that manufactures agricultural implements in Sterling, 110 miles west of Chicago, was sending its machines even to Philadelphia and other cities of Pennsylvania. Ohio is a large and most valuable customer. Large quantities of leather (the best produced in the whole Union), of furniture, and otherN articles, are shipped to the seaboard, and all the country this side, from the warerooms of Chicago. The large calls upon our bankers, therefore, for capital, are but a reflex of other leading interests, and prove that Chicago is already the financial as well as the commercial and manufacturing centre of the Northwest.
From the Tribune of October 16, 1875.
One of our leading merchants yesterday, commenting on our last article in relation to the vast wholesale trade that is concentrating in this city, took us to task for using the term Northwest—while the trade of the Southwest was rapidly falling within the grasp of Chicago. This we knew full well; but the habit, coming down from the time when very little, if any, business came to this city from below the southern line of Iowa, is still apt to show itself from the point of our pencil, and it will get out in print, to our regret and confusion. The fact is, the jobbing trade of the city reaches all the way from Texas to Manitoba.
Before our railways were opened down to the Gulf of Mexico through Texas, representatives of Chicago merchants had been all through that country, and found what kinds of goods the people wanted. Manufacturers of clothing, for instance, had carefully taken the dimensions of the average Texan—no matter what his occupation might be—had found with what styles he was pleased, and of what materials they should be made, and, while jealous rivals of our city were snoozing over an exalted opinion of themselves and blessing their stars that they were not afiiicted with the restless energy of Chi¬cago, our manufacturers had already made the goods and occupied the markets of the "Lone Star" State. The same may be said of other lines of manufactured articles and of staple merchandise. Since the opening of our railways to the Southwest, in spite of the competition of St. Loufe, that broad field has been largely gleaned by Chicago enterprise. Our trade from that section is already very heavy and lucrative, and it is steadily and rapidly increasing. In speaking of the Western trade of the city, therefore, unless for special reasons, let the term "North" be dropped. We agree with our friend that simply "West" is better.
As to our foreign direct trade the more we talk with our bankers and merchants the more are we surprised at the variety of the articles shipped and at the rapidly-increasing values they represent. Five years ago we had one or two houses that drew drafts and issued letters of credit upon correspondents in England and upon the Continent. The money to meet these drafts was ordered placed to the credit of Chicago houses from New York. Now all this is changed. Dealers in grain, beef, pork, and provisions, cheese, and other farm products, in most of the leading cities of England, and several upon the Continent, purchase direct of our packers and commission houses. Several large orders for wheat have just been filled on English account. The bills drawn against these purchases are taken by our banks, and in the short space of five years the balance of trade is largely in favor of this city. Though some of our importers often buy $50,000 in a single draft, week after week a balance of foreign exchange remains over, and is sold in the New York market. For the first six months of the year a single National Bank took 14,000,000 of these bills, and in the last half the amount will doubtless be larger still. These facts show why New York jobbers are in the dumps at the rapid extension of our direct export and import trade. Their disease is chronic. Growling at Chicago enterprise can do them no good. If the last five years have shown the results already achieved, before the century closes New York will retain very little, if any, interest in the wholesale trade of the West.
From the Tribune, Monday, Oct. 18, 1875.
On Friday and Saturday of last week, in explaining the amazing increase of the banking business of the city, we had something to say of its foreign and domestic jobbing trade. Those brief articles merely embraced what might be regarded as the headings for a dozen column articles on the same subjects. They did not mention the distant regions to which our people trade, as the following hints will show:
To the Editor of the Chicago Tribune:
CHICAGO, Oct. 16.—In your article of to-day you say: "The jobbing trade of the city reaches all the way from Texas to Manitoba." This is true, and all very well, but how about the Eastern States, Canada, and the States and Territories west of the Rocky Mountains? Is the subject too extensive for even two articles? Very truly yours, MERCHANT.
Exactly so. It is too broad and too important to be exhaustively treated in a dozen articles. For breadstuff's, provisions, and all farm products, Chicago has laid all the New England States under tribute for a quarter of a century. Within the last ten years the Middle and Southern States have also become large purchasers, and the trade with them is constantly increasing. It is true that some of these States purchase sparingly of some kinds of produce, but all of them are our customers. As to manufactured articles, leather, boots, furniture, and many other articles, are sent from this city all over the Eastern and Southern States. Agricultural implements are shipped in large quantities eastward, and in fact in all directions. McCormick's reaper has laid the entire nation, and even several in Europe, under contribution, as witness the immense blocks on Dearborn, Clark, and other streets. That implement alone has gathered from the wide world several large fortunes, and planted them down in Chicago.
Of course our wholesale and retail dealers have nearly as strong a hold on Michigan, Indiana, and Western Ohio as they have on the country immediately west of the city. They cannot afford to get their goods, elsewhere.
Our trade for many years has been very large with Canada, and an enlightened policy on the part of both Governments will swell it into immense proportions. Connected intimately with her 4,000,000 of people, both by lake navigation and railways, and producing much that she can buy in this market cheaper than anywhere else, she is one of our largest and best customers. This fact is attested by the branches of two of her largest banks doing the business between Chicago and the cities of Canada.
Turning our eyes westward, to say that "the jobbing trade of the city reaches from Texas to Manitoba" in some lines does not tell more than half the truth. All the States and Territories beyond the Rocky Mountains are trading largely in Chicago. They have found that they can buy goods as cheaply here as on the Atlantic seaboard, and the disposition to do so is growing every year. Sitting in the office of Peter Schuttler, early last spring, we asked where a large lot of wagons, just passing, were going. "We are loading two cars to-day for Chico, California," was the reply. There is no timber in California from which agricultural implements can be made, and if the managers of the Union and Central Pacific Railways do not put an embargo upon us by high freights, there is scarcely any limit to the orders our manufacturers will receive for these and like articles from the Pacific coast. In fact, very considerable orders have been filled from our warerooms for Australia. We take in everything. Orders for dry goods, books, boots and shoes, clothing, hardware,—in fact, almost every kind of merchandise and manufactured articles,—come from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and even from Nevada, and if Gen. Rosecrans will hurry up his railroad between Denver, or rather Pueblo, and Mexico, there will be no longer any need of specifying any particular localities. The trade of Chicago in North America will be limited only by the boundaries of the continent, while most of the nations of Europe will pay her large and constantly-increasing tribute. Such is her "manifest destiny," and the New York jobbers may as well stop their growling. If Stewart, Claflin, and the rest want to sell their goods, let them transplant their establishments to the head of the market. Chicago is the place to do it, and if not convinced of it now, they will in a very few years find it out to their cost.
As a specimen of the extent of our imports, we mention that one of our wholesale grocery houses received on Saturday 33 car loads of coffee, 10 of pepper, nutmegs, and other spices, and 13 of new raisins. They expect another ship to unload on the cars next week, and another is now loading for them in a foreign port. Whole trains of, tea often pass through this city on their way to New York, and, of course, all that is wanted for distribution in the Mississippi Valley stops here.
It may be asked what propriety there is in stating all these facts in the financial column. They show how wide a circuit is embraced in the business done at our banks, and by inference how large and how active a capital is required to do it. The wants of that business for several weeks past, have been immense; but our bankers have backed the enterprise of our merchants and manufacturers cheerfully and promptly, and the vast current of our commerce has moved along so quietly and so smoothly that it gave scarcely any sign of its magnitude.
From the Tribune, Oct. 19, 1875.
A committee of the Board of Trade have recently been collecting some statistics in relation to the trade of the city. Among other things they found that ten of our principal banks drew during the last year exchange to the amount of $418,000,000. At first sight these figures do not appear to correspond with the values of the shipments eastward of farm products during the same period. Taking the amounts of grain, cattle, hogs, provisions, and other animal products, and the average prices ruling for the year, the actual value of the shipments to the seaboard was found to be $249,500,000. Whence, then, did the banks derive the $168,500,000 over and above the value of the shipments from, this city? From all the surrounding country. Some half a dozen railways cross the Illinois Central south of Chicago, and in one way or another the collections for shipments for all the towns and cities for from 200 to 500 miles in all directions, and for even 1,000 miles westward, find their way largely to the hands of our bankers. Chicago is the financial, as well as the commercial centre of all the vast, fertile country by which she is surrounded. And besides, it should be remembered that the figures for the entire trade of the city—merchandise and manufactures included—for the year 1874, footed up to the round sum of at least $638,500,000. Hence the results reached by the committee, in view of the above facts, and of what has been said in this column for the past few days, will be readily believed.
That the West and Chicago are living upon the good old maxim "Pay as you go," is proved by the fact that for a long period in the past, exchange has for nearly half the time, perhaps more, ruled at or below par. This, as much as anything else, shows how rapidly our people are becoming independent. It shows, also, that the balance of trade is often in favor of the West. It is in the memory of our business men that the price of exchange on New York has been from 2 to 25 per cent, premium, and at times it could not be had even at that.
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO BANKS.
At first sight it may seem ridiculous to compare the New York and the Chicago banks; but when it is considered that New York dates her origin way back to the earliest history of the nation, and claims to have the control of its commerce, and to have held it in all the past, and that it is only thirty- eight years since Chicago became a city, with only 4,000 inhabitants, the comparison does not seem to tell so very strongly against us after all. By the last bank statements of the two cities, it appears that there are forty-eight National Banks in New York and sixteen in Chicago, one-third as many; capital of the New York banks, in round numbers, $68,500,000; those of Chicago, $12,000,000, a little more than one-sixth; loans and discounts, New York, $202,000,000; Chicago, $26,000,000 about one-eighth of the figures of the New York banks. As these are the main items, it is not necessary to make any further comparisons. That the Chicago banks will gain rapidly on their metropolitan neighbors there can not be a particle of doubt.
PORTLAND, ME., TO SACRAMENTO.
As confirmatory of what has appeared in this column for the past few days, one of our manufacturers told the writer yesterday that, among others, he had just filled two large orders—one for Sacramento, CaL, and the other for Portland, Me. Thus in scores of cases daily do both extremes of the continent pay tribute to our city.
From the Tribune of Nov. 15, 1875.
Business at the banks during the past week has moved along smoothly, to the satisfaction alike of cashiers and customers. If anything, it is very quiet for the season, more so than it should be, considering the immense amounts of farm products still to go forward. Holders seem unwilling to operate to any very considerable extent, certainly not up to the means they have to do it. The packers have fairly commenced operations, but they have thus far drawn mainly on their deposits and loans on call or due when their business commences. As a class, their capital has steadily accumulated for several years past, and the abundance of money in this market for several months during the summer, and the cheap rates at which it could be had on approved collaterals, are due largely to the surplus capital for the time being, in the hands of the packers. Of course, they will be heavy borrowers before the season closes; but bankers will be only too happy to accommodate them with all the money they care to use. The time of their activity comes after most of the other departments of the fall trade have become quiet, and hence the employment they give to the capital of our banks is a great and mutual benefit.
The provision trade of Chicago has grown within the last few years far beyond the expectations of our most sanguine packers. Purchases are made almost entirely by wholesale dealers in the seaboard cities and in those of Europe. Shipments are made direct to Liverpool and other cities on the other side on bills of lading, ocean freights included, made in this city. Nobody here now thinks of shipping provisions for sale to commission houses in New York. Buyers have learned to come directly to the head of the market. The stuff is paid for generally by drafts on London or other European cities, and these are promptly cashed by our bankers. The large amount of this business done in Chicago was referred to in this column two or three weeks ago. A single bank in the first six months of the present year discounted foreign drafts against direct shipments of grain and provisions, to the amount of $4,000,000. As might be expected, it sells foreign exchange to our importers in large amounts; but as yet a balance remains, which is disposed of in New York. Another fact worthy of notice is, that none of our citizens, or the people of the West, need go to New York for letters of credit to travel or buy goods anywhere on the face of the earth. Such letters are issued right here, available in any city in South America, in Northern or Southern Africa, or on the long trip all the way round the world. When Duncan, Sherman & Co. failed, two of the sons of one of our citizens were just starting from Italy eastward through Egypt, India, China, Japan, and home by California. Stating the fact to one of our bankers, the father said: "Duncan, Sherman & Co. have failed, and Brown Brothers & Co. may go next; give me a couple of letters of credit which I know will bring my boys home without any possible contingency that may occur in New York." The thing was done, and the young men are somewhere in Asia, traveling there and elsewhere on the letters issued by one of our leading banks.
COMMERCIAL CRISES.
The following article was published in the Tribune July 31, 1873. I insert it here, for the reason that, possibly, it may be of service to some one into whose hands it may fall.
There is an old-time maxim that "History repeats itself." Without inquiring as to the truth of the sentiment, or attempting to give examples to confirm or to disprove it, we propose to inquire whether the supposed law can be applied to commercial crises. Of course each reader should apply the test of his own knowledge and experience to the subject, and act upon the suggestions herein submitted according to his best judgment.
The history of this country seems to have developed a law that a general commercial crash may be expected every twenty years. The first occurred in 1797, the second in 1817, the third in 1837, many of our readers can remember that and the fourth in 1857, whose lessons few of our business men have forgotten. The causes which produced the first two can be found in the condition of the country at the time they occurred. After the close of the Revolutionary War and up to the time of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, the business affairs of the nation were at sea. Each State adopted trade regulations with its neighbors or with foreign nations according to its own notions of what duty or interest might dictate. There was no confidence among the business men of the period.
The value of the currency issued by the States and by the old Continental Congress was virtually regulated by the peck, and not by the denominations printed on the face of the bills, and confusion worse confounded reigned everywhere. This state of things could not be endured. The Constitution of the United States, adopted in 1787, in which it was provided that Congress should have power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States," gradually inspired confidence. Commercial treaties were made with foreign nations; all restrictions upon traffic between the States were abolished, and the country began to prosper. As time rolled on and that prosperity increased, it turned the heads of the old Revolutionary patriots. They began to speculate; prices of everything appreciated; importations of foreign luxuries were made far beyond the value of the exports the country could make to pay for them; and, at the end of ten years, the whole business public was forced into liquidation. There was no money to be had; no confidence anywhere, and very little business could be done till the "hard pan" had been reached.
After the close of the speculative period, and the people found themselves standing upon the common plane of poverty, necessity forced all to work and to practice economy. Wealth again began slowly to accumulate, and the demand for our products was stimulated by the wars of Napoleon. England was hard pressed; the old hatreds of the Revolution had not passed away. A quarrel arose, and the War of 1812-'15 was the result. During the war the country was prosperous to an unhealthy extent, and struggled along after it closed till 1817, when a terrible financial crash again involved the country in utter and general ruin. As before, money seemed to have entirely forsaken the channels of trade. What little there was in the country was hid away in old stocking-legs, to reappear only when confidence was in some measure restored. Gradually liquidation did its work. Careful, persevering toil and close economy began to develop the resources of the country and prosperity to bless the land. By 1826, DeWitt Clinton and his far-seeing compeers had completed the Erie Canal; the vast teeming West was opened to the enterprise of the country, and for the next ten years the progress in the population and the wealth of the nation was truly amazing. The rapid rise in the nominal value of lands everywhere, and especially at the West, enticed thousands even of the most prudent business men to invest in them. Wild-cat banks, almost without number, were established in Michigan and almost everywhere west of the Allegheny Mountains. Everybody's pockets were full of bank-bills; and so generally did people take to speculation to get rich, instead of attending to the duties of the farm and the workshop, that potatoes were imported into New York from Ireland in 1836, and wheat from the Baltic. Importations of liquors, gew-gaws, and foreign luxuries rose to frightful figures. Of course this state of things could not last, and the crash of 1837-'8 was the bitter remedy for the moral and commercial insanity that had preceded it.
The first two financial crises, as we have seen—viz., that of 1797 and of 1817 were due to the wars and the condition of the country that resulted from those wars.
The period of twenty years having once been established, it is proper to inquire, right here, what were the causes that produced the third and the fourth, the conditions that may produce others at the recurrence of every twenty years, and the means by which the country may hope to avoid them.
During the time between one financial crash and another, it may be stated generally that nearly the entire property of tbe nation changes hands. The wealthy men die, and with them tbe economy, industry, and prudent foresight, by the exercise of which their estates were accumulated. Their sons and sons- in-law get possession of their property. Commencing where their fathers left off, they launch out into foolish extravagance. The promoters of wild speculative schemes flatter them by parading their names as the patrons of this and that great enterprise, and visions of untold wealth lead them to plunge into debt without limit. The fact is, they did not earn the wealth in which they revel, and they don't know how to take care of it. Not to divide the business public too closely, we mention but one other class who, if we mistake not, contribute largely to those conditions which are sure to produce a crash in the financial affairs of the country. These are the men who commence life entirely poor immediately after a financial revolution. They begin to accumulate by the most careful economy and the most energetic toil. That first thousand dollars, of which all have heard, require the sweat of many a hard day's work to earn, but they earn it. The ring of their hammers late and early—no eight-hour days for them—has been hearo, by the merchant and capitalist. They deserve and have good credit. Business and profits steadily increase, and at the end, say, of fifteen years from the last crash, they are worth ten, twenty, perchance, here and there one, a hundred thousand dollars, or more. Speculation sets in, and many around them are becoming millionaires. Why should they not share in the golden harvest? They "pitch in." Go outside of their legitimate business to speculate in new cities, outside lands, and great companies expected to coin fabulous fortunes. These men who commenced poor—always the majority in business circles—join with the sons of the wealthy, and an insane desire to become suddenly rich seizes all classes. Nearly everybody gets in debt, one borrowing from another all the money he will lend, or, what is more generally true, one buying from the other, at fancy prices, all the property he will sell, and "holding it for a rise." While all is going on swimmingly, some mammoth bubble, like the Ohio Life and Trust Company, bursts, and in a few weeks, or months at most, bankruptcy stares the whole country in the face. Liquidation must then do its work, and in half a dozen years a new race of business men have grasped those enterprises which in a few years more restore the country to a solid basis of prosperity and progress.
Those of our readers whose memory, and especially whose business experience, reaches back forty years, will recognize the accuracy of the facts here detailed. If the succession is to continue, the next financial crisis will occur in 1877. How far the condition of the country now warrants the expectation of such an event, let each one determine for himself. Especially will it be wise for all prudent men to watch carefully the course of financial events for the next four years. A crash can only come when nearly everybody is largely in debt, and if, forewarned by the past, people keep expenses and ventures within their means, the country will escape the repetition of the bankruptcy that has occurred every twenty years in all our past history. It is with the hope that, warned by the past, some, at least, of the readers of this article may ride in safety through all the financial storms that may befall us. When everybody is rushing into debt, it is a sure sign that it is best for wise, sane men to get out of it.
It follows that, if one could foresee a crash, his best policy would be to sell all out a year or two before it occurs; have his cash in hand, and, when liquidation has done its worst, buy all the property he can and hold it. When the whole country lives within its means, and people are at work, wealth is sure to accumulate and values to appreciate. This rule has no exceptions; but of its application to the present or to the future, each reader must judge for himself. Of 1877 we make no predictions, beyond what the principles above stated will warrant.
I did not then and do not now regard the crash of 1873 as at all to be compared to those of 1837 and 1857; as property did not then and since generally change hands. I compare it to the "squeeze" of 1854, and others like it. I do not look for it next year though it must be confessed that a very large class of people would be only too glad to get their property out of their hands and their outstanding notes and obligations in them. In this instance the crash may be delayed for some time; but as prices of almost everything have been steadily settling since 1873, they may reach bottom in 1877. It may be well to drop this hint, Look out for breakers one or two years after specie resumption.
REMINISCENCES OF EARLY CHICAGO. AN INTERESTING LECTURE BY GOV. BROSS. A GOSSIPY DESCRIPTION OF SCENES AND INCIDENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE GARDEN CITY.
From, the Tribune, January 24,1876.
LECTURE BY THE HON. WM. BROSS
Gov. Bross spoke yesterday afternoon at McCormick Hall, his subject being "What I remember of Early Chicago." Following is his discourse in full:
The charter of the City of Chicago bears date March 4, 1837, and the first election for city officers was held on the first Tuesday in May, 1837. Not a few of the men and women who saw it when an Indian trading post, with Fort Dearborn to defend the settlers, are still among us, and the ladies certainly would not feel complimented were they called old. Hence whatever is said about "The Early Times in Chicago" must be regarded as relative, for the city has not yet numbered 38 years. As I first saw Chicago in October, 1846, and commenced my permanent residence here on the 12th of May, 1848, I can scarcely be called an old citizen, and yet in that time it has grown from a city of about 18,000 (later in the season the census gave us 20,023) to nearly, if not quite, 450,000—an increase never before equaled by any city in the history of the world. From a city then scarcely ever mentioned, she has become the fourth in rank and population upon the American Continent.
But granting for the moment that I am an old citizen, I recognize the duty of placing on record—as myself and others have doubtless often been urged to do— what I know personally of the history of Chicago. Though this may require a too frequent use of the personal pronoun, your Directors are responsible if I bore you with it. If each citizen would do it, the future historian could select what best suited his purpose, and Chicago would have what no other city has—a history from its earliest times, written by its living inhabitants. In 1854 I prepared and published some notes on the history of the Town of Chicago— in fact, going back to the discovery of the site by the French Jesuit missionaries, Marquette and Joliet, and I shall devote the hour to giving you a supplement to what used to be called "Our Pamphlet" of 1854. This was ably continued by my friend, Elias Colbert, in 1868; but neither of them pretends to give much of how Chicago appeared to the visitor in the "earlier times" of its history.
CHICAGO IN 1846.
Your speaker, as above stated, first arrived in Chicago early in the morning of the second Sabbath in October, 1846, now of course nearly thirty years ago. We landed from the steamer Oregon, Capt. Cotton, near the foot of Wabash avenue, and, with others, valise in hand, trudged through the sand to the American Temperance House, then situated on the northwest corner of Wabash avenue and Lake street. Soon after breakfast a tall young man, made apparently taller by a cloth cloak in which his gaunt figure seemed in danger of losing itself, and whose reserved modest manners were the very reverse of what we had expected to find at the West, called on the clergy of our party and invited one of them to preach and the rest of us to attend service in the Second Presbyterian Church. That cloak would now be well filled by its owner, the Rev. Dr. Patterson, who has grown physically as well as intellectually and morally with the growth of the city, to whose moral welfare he has so largely contributed. Of course we all went to what by courtesy, as we thought, was called a church. It was a one-story balloon shanty-like structure that had been patched out at one end to meet the wants of the increasing congregation. It stood on Randolph street, south side, a little east of Clark. It certainly gave no promise of the antique but splendid church that before the fire stood on the corner of Washington street and Wabash avenue, or that still more elaborate and costly building, the Rev. Dr. Gibson's church, at the corner of Michigan avenue and Twentieth street.
That afternoon and Monday morning afforded ample time to see the city. The residence portion of it was mainly between Randolph and Madison streets, and there were some scattered houses as far south as Van Buren, on the South Side, four or five blocks north of the river on the North Side, with scattering residences about as far on the West Side. There were perhaps half a dozen or more wooden warehouses along the river on Water street. The few stores that pretended to be wholesale were on Water street, and the retail trade was exclusively done on Lake street. Stores and dwellings were, with few exceptions, built in the balloon fashion. To some of my hearers this style of building may already be mysterious. Posts were placed in the ground at the corners, and at proper distances between them blocks were laid down singly or in cob-house fashion. On these foundations timbers were laid, and to these were spiked, standing on end, 3x1 scantling. On these sheath-boards were nailed, and weather-boards on the outside of them; and lath and plaster inside, with the roof, completed the dwelling or store. This cheap, but for a new town, excellent mode of building, it is claimed, was first introduced, or, if you please, invented, in Chicago, and I believe the claim to be true. Of course the fire made sad havoc with them at times; but the loss was comparatively small, and they were quickly and cheaply rebuilt. True, Chicago was ridiculed as a slab city; but, if not pleasant, to bear ridicule breaks no bones. When our merchants and capitalists had grown rich enough to build permanent buildings, of course they did it. Then there were not as many bricks laid in walls in the whole city as there are now in single blocks anywhere near the business centre of the city. Chicago need not shrink from comparing them with those in any other city upon the continent. My first objective point in Northern Illinois was Batavia, on Fox River, 40 miles distant, where some Orange County (N. Y.) friends resided. As Frink & Walker's stages did not pass through the town except on the road along the river, the problem was how to get there. The streets were full of farmers' teams, and in half an hour's tour among them we found a man who, for a small sum, agreed to land us there Monday evening. It was nearly noon before we got started, and as two of my traveling companions lived 3 or 4 miles west of Fox River, and were bound to get home that night, they soon began to use all their arts to urge our Jehu onward. At the old tavern on the west side of the Aux Plaines near the bridge, they treated the old farmer freely, and again at Cottage Hill, Bibcock's Grove, and other places; but sooth to say, the whisky, though it had a marked effect upon the old man, must then; as now, have been "crooked," for the more he got of it inside of his vest the slower he stubbornly determined to drive his team; but he assured us he would "root along," and get to Batavia that evening, and he did. Of course, an account of my journey to St. Louis and up the Ohio homeward has no place in this lecture.
MORE ABOUT TRAVELING, IN 1848.
As a specimen of traveling, in 1848, I mention that it took us nearly a week to come from New York to Chicago. Our trip was made by steamer to Albany; railway cars at a slow pace to Buffalo; by the steamer Canada thence to Detroit; and by the Michigan Central Railway, most of the way on strap rail, to Kalamazoo; here the line ended, and, arriving about 8 o'clock in the evening, after a good supper, we started about 10 in a sort of a cross between a coach and a lumber box-wagon for St. Joseph. The'road was exceedingly rough, and, with bangs and bruises all over our bodies, towards morning several of us left the coach and walked on, very easily keeping ahead. In this tramp I made the acquaintance of John S. Wright, then, and for many years afterward, one of the most enterprising and valuable citizens Chicago ever had. He gave me a cordial welcome, and a great deal of valuable information. On Sabbath he called and took me to church, and embraced many opportunities to introduce me to Mayor Woodworth and other leading citizens, giving me a lesson in courtesy to strangers which I have never forgotten. I beg to impress it upon you all as a duty too much neglected in the hurry and bustle that surround us on every side.
The steamer Sam Ward, with Captain Clement first officer, and jolly Dick Somers as steward, afterwards Alderman, brought us to the city on the evening of the 12th of May, 1848, and here at 121 Lake street, with Dr. Scammon's drug store on one side and Lock's clothing store on the other, the stranger from the East settled down quietly as a bookseller. The city had added 4,000 to its population in the year and a half after I first saw it; but it had changed very little in appearance. It was still pre-eminently a slab city. The Illinois and Michigan Canal had been opened the month before, and during the summer packets were put on, and, running in connection with steamers on the Illinois River, quite an impetus was given to travel through the city. To them it did not present a very inviting aspect. The balloon buildings above spoken of were mostly dingy and weather beaten. The only two stone buildings in the city built of blue limestone, brought as ballast from the lower lakes, stood on Michigan avenue between Lake and South Water streets, on the site now occupied by the Illinois Central Railroad offices. They were the aristocratic mansions of the city. There were a few brick residences and stores, but these were the exception.
It was curious to notice how long some of the old balloon buildings would escape the fire. The old store in which Mosely & McCord commenced business, between Clark and LaSalle streets, on the north side of Lake, was built when the proprietors could look south to Blue Island with not a building in front to obstruct the view. There it stood, with the sign "Mosely & McCord" just below the roof, till it was all surrounded by brick buildings, and the insurance on it had cost ten times what the building was ever worth. Subtract the few scattering brick buildings on South Clark street, in the vicinity of Twelfth street, and the dingy shanties in that vicinity on Clark street and Third and Fourth avenues will best represent what most of Chicago was in 1848.
BUILDING STONE.
And here I may as well mention the sources from which our fine building materials are derived. Till after that year it was supposed we had no good rock for building anywhere near the city. The blue-limestone quarries from which the stone for the two dwellings above mentioned were taken, were thought to be our best and cheapest source of supply. Besides these, there had been brought from the lower lakes some sandstone flagging. It lay in front of the Laflin residence block, corner of Washington street and Michigan avenue, where it served for a sidewalk up to the time of the fire in 1871. Discussions, held for a long time by the Trustees of the Second Presbyterian society, when it was proposed to build a new church edifice in 1849, resulted in their determining to use stone found near the western limits of the city. The location has become somewhat famous as the site of our first artesian well. The rock is a porous limestone, with sufficient silex mixed with it to make it very hard. It seems to have been formed under a bed of bitumen, or coal for the pores in the rock are filled with it, and hence some of the less porous stones in the church were of a pale creamy color, while others were so filled with pitch or bitumen that it oozed out in hot weather, and they were as black as tar. Hence it was called the speckled or spotted church, a name which, referring to an unfortunate occurrence in its after history, my friend Sam Bowles said was derived from its speckled morality. The same rock was used in rebuilding the church at the corner of Twentieth street and Michigan avenue. The use of this rock was really the first important event of the kind in the building history of the city.
While this material was regarded as a most excellent one for church purposes, giving them an antique and venerable appearance, it was not considered the thing for the Cook County Court House in 1852 or '53,—I did not have time in this, as in some other cases, to look up the exact date. Our wise men of that ancient period, after due deliberation, determined to use a rock found at Lockport, N. Y., a bluish-colored limestone. Fortunate it was that official plundering had not then, as now, been reduced to a science, or the entire county would have been forever swamped in the debt contracted for the money to build it. This was regarded as the cheapest and best rock that could be had for building—for such structures—and was the second leally progressive step in the building of the city.
During all this time it is remarkable that no one had thought of the limestone quarries through which the canal had been cut for several miles this side of Lockport. The reason probably was that some of the strata were not well crystalized and rotted readily; but tens of thousands of cords of it that showed no signs of decay lay scattered along the canal. In 1852 or 1853 some one, if I mistake not ex-Mayor Sherman, built a store on Randolph street, it was afterwards removed to Clark street opposite the Court House,—facing it with this stone. Everybody was delighted with its beautiful color. It was found to become very hard when seasoned, and pronounced a marble by President Hitchcock, of Amherst College. It very soon came into general use. In December, 1853, the Illinois Stone and Lime Company was formed, with A. S. Sherman, now of Waukegan, as its efficient manager. The next summer, Harry Newhall built two very fine dwellings of it on Michigan avenue between Adams and Jackson streets, and M. D. Gilman followed with another next to Newhall, and after that its use became general. It is conceded to be one of the best and most beautiful building materials in the world. Cheaply quarried and easily accessible by water, Chicago owes much of her prestige and prosperity to these Athens marble quarries. From it also Chicago constructs the best sidewalks in the world, for, resting on an inner and outer wall, they are unaffected by frost, and are always smooth and pleasant to the pedestrian. Before, and especially since the fire, Chicago has drawn upon the beautiful sandstone quarries of Ohio; the red sandstone of Connecticut and of Lake Superior; she has cheap access to the marble deposits and the granite of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, 150 miles west of the head of Lake Superior, and it is now conceded that no city in the world has a better variety of building material or is making a more judicious and liberal use of it.
OUT OF TOWN, CORNER MADISON AND STATE.
Going back to 1848, after remaining a week at the City Hotel, corner of State and Lake streets, I was admitted to a most excellent home, that of the late Rev. Ira M. Weed, corner of Madison and State streets, where Buck & Rayner's drug store now is. This was considered far south, and as the sidewalks were not all good, the best that could be found was south on Dearborn to Madison, where a very large sign on a paint shop, where the Bank of Commerce now is and directly opposite The Tribune office, reminded me to turn eastward. The sidewalks, where such luxuries were indulged in, lay in most cases upon the rich prairie soii, for the string pieces of scantling to which the planks were originally spiked, would soon sink down into the mud after a rain, and then as one walked, the green and black slime would gush up between the cracks to the great benefit of retailers of blacking. One's disgust can be under¬stood when it is stated that this meant some minutes of active personal service in the morning, for this was long before the pro¬fessional bootblack was born— certainly before he made his advent in Chicago.
In March, 1849,-I think March was the month,—my family having arrived per steamer Niagara the August previous, we commenced housekeeping on Wabash avenue between Adams and Jackson streets, in a cosy little house at the modest rent of $12 per month. In May following I bought of Judge Jessie B. Thomas 40 feet on Michigan avenue, commencing 80 feet south of the comer of Van Buren street, for $1,250. The Judge had bought it at the canal sales in the spring of 1848 for $800, on canal time, viz.: as Dr. Egan afterwards directed in taking his pills, one-quarter down, balance in one, two and three years. I paid the Judge his profit, and what he had advanced on the first payment, and assumed the balance due the Canal Trustees, and took the deed to me directly from them. It was in a safe place during the fire, and of course is now a very ancient document.
In the fall of 1849 I bought a small wood house that I found moving along on Wabash avenue, and moved it on my lot. In this modest home we spent some six very happy years. Judge Manierre lived on Michigan avenue, corner of Jackson streev where the Gardner House now is. Harry Newhall lived on the block north. Mine was the only house on block 9, except a small tenement on the rear of a neighboring lot, where lived an African friend and brother named William. There were at first
NO SIDEWALKS
for a considerable distance north, and hence we were not troubled with promenaders on the avenue. The lake shore was perhaps a hundred feet east of the street. There my brother John and myself, rising early in the morning, bathed in summer for two or three years. We had an excellent cow-for we virtually lived in the country—that, contrary to all domestic propriety, would sometimes wander away, and I usually found her out on the prairie in the vicinity of Twelfth street. I saw a wolf run by my house as late as 1850. An incident in the purchase of the lot will illustrate the loneliness of our situation. The rule of speculators at the canal sales was to buy all the property on which the speculator could make the first payment, and then sell enough each year to make the others. Judge Thomas had followed this plan, and advertised a large list of property in the spring of 1849. He sold to myself and the Rev. Dr. Patterson adjoining lots at $1,250 at private sale; but it was agreed that these should be sold with the rest, so as to attract customers, as Michigan avenue had become somewhat popular as a prospective place of residence. When my lot was struck off to me for some $1,300, Harry Newhall came across the room, and said, "Bross, did you buy that lot to live on? Are you going to improve it?" "Yes," was the reply. "Well," said he, "I'm glad of it; I'm glad some one is going to live beyond me. It won't be so lonesome if we can see somebody going by night and morning." We then lived, as above stated, on Wabash avenue, between Adams and Jackson streets.
REAL ESTATE.
In the winter of 1851-'52, my friend, the late Charles Starkweather, insisted on selling me 14 acres of land immediately south of Twenty-sixth street, and east of State to Michigan avenue. Capt. Clement and myself went out of town to look at it, going across lots south of Twelfth street. It was away out on the prairie, and I made up my mind that the price ($500 per acre) was too much. I could raise the $1,000 to make the first payment; but where was the 6 per cent, on the balance for the next ten years to come from? Capt. Clement took the property, paid the $1,000, and, in seven months, sold it for $1,000 an acre, clearing in that time $7,000 on an investment of $1,000. But the Captain let a fortune slip through his hands, for that 14 acres is now valued by James H. Reese, Esq., at $560,000, or $40,000 per acre. In that case, as in scores of others, I, too, just escaped get¬ting rich; but I have an abundance of good company, for hundreds of my fellow-citizens have missed opportunities equally good.
Take the following instances: Walter L. Newberry bought the 40 acres that form his addition to Chicago, of Thomas Hartzell, in 1833, for $1,062. It is now valued at $1,000,000. Maj. Kingsbury had been off on an exploring expedition about this time, till his pay as an army officer, above his immediate necessities, amounted to some $600. A brother officer advised him to salt this down for his two children. He bought for it 160x180 feet corner of Clark and Randolph streets, and 27 acres on the North Branch. It is now worth from $600,000 to $1,000,000. One quick at figures could probably show that at compound interest the cost of the land would have realized much more than it is now worth. In time this certainly will be true; but if the rents of the land are taken in place of the interest, let him who has time to make the figures determine which would have been the more profitable investment.
NO PAVEMENTS.
I said we had no pavements in 1848. The streets were simply thrown up as country roads. In the spring for weeks portions of them would be impassable. I have at different times seen empty wagons and drays stuck on Lake and Water streets on every block between Wabash avenue and the river. Of course there was little or no business doing, for the people of the city could not get about much, and the people of the country could not get in to do it. As the clerks had nothing to do, they would exercise their wits by putting boards from dry goods boxes in the holes where the last dray was dug out, with significant signs, as "No Bottom Here," "The Shortest Road to China." Sometimes one board would be nailed across another, and an old hat and coat fixed on it, with the notice "On His Way to the Lower Regions." In fact, there was no end to the fun; and jokes of the boys of that day—some were of larger growth—were without number.
Our first effort at paving, or one of the first, was to dig down Lake street to nearly or quite on a level with the lake, and then plank it. It was supposed that the sewage would settle in the gutters and be carried off, but the experiment was a disastrous failure, for the stench at once became intolerable. The street was then filled up, and the Common Council established a grade from 2 to 6 or 8 feet above the natural level of the soil. This required the streets to be filled up, and for a year or two Chicago lived mostly on jack-screws, for the buildings had to be raised as well as the streets. Until all the sidewalks were raised to grade, people had to go up and down stairs from four to half a dozen steps two or three times in passing a single block. A Buffalo paper got off a note on us to the effect that one of her citizens going along the street was seen to run up and down every pair of cellar stairs he could find. A friend, asking after his sanity, was told that the walkist was all right, but that he had been in Chicago a week, and, in traveling our streets, had got so accustomed to going up and down stairs that he got the springhalt and could not help it.
THE COURT HOUSE SQUARE
should not be forgotten. On the northwest corner of it stood, till long after 1848, the Jail, built "of logs firmly bolted together," as the account has it. It was not half large enough to hold the Aldermen that, if standing now, ought to be in it, not to speak of the Whisky Ring, and certainly it was not strong enough to keep them there. The Court House stood on northeast corner of the Square—a two-story building of brick, I think, with offices in the lower story. They stood there till 1853, when they were torn down to give place to the new building completed in that year.
I said we had no gas when I first came to the city. It was first turned on and the town lighted in September, 1850. Till then we had to grope on in the dark, or use lanterns. Not till 1853 or '54 did the pipes reach my house, No. 202 Michigan avenue.
But the more important element, water, and its supply to the city, have a curious history. In 1848, Lake and Water, and perhaps Randolph streets, and the cross streets between them east of the river, were supplied from logs. James H. Woodworth ran a grist-mill on the north side of Lake street near the lake, the engine for which also pumped the water into a wooden cistern that supplied the logs. Whenever the lake was rough the water was excessively muddy; but in this, myself and family had no personal interest, for we lived outside of the water supply. Wells were in most cases tabooed, for the water was bad, and we, in common with perhaps a majority of our fellow-citizens, were forced to buy our water by the bucket or the barrel from water-carts. This we did for six years and it was not till the early part of 1854 that water was supplied to the houses from the new works upon the North Side.
But our troubles were by no means ended. The water was pumped from the lake shore the same as in the old works, and hence, in storms, it was still excessively muddy. In the spring and early summer it was impossible to keep the young fish out of the reservoir, and it was no uncommon thing to find the unwelcome fry sporting in one's wash-bowl, or dead and stuck in the faucets. And besides they would find their way into the hot-water reservoir, where they would get stewed up into a very nauseous fish chowder. The water at such times was not only the horror of all good housewives, but it was jusily thought to be very unhealthy. And, worse than all this, while at ordinary times there is a slight current on the lake shore south, and the water, though often muddy and sometimes fishy, was comparatively good, when the wind blew strongly from the south, often for several days the current was changed, and the water from the river, made from the sewage mixed with it into an abominably filthy soup, was pumped up and distributed through the pipes alike to the poorest street gamin and to the nabobs of the city. Mind you, the summit level of the canal had not then been dug down and the lake water been turned south. The Chicago river was the source of all the most detestably filthy smells that the breezes of heaven can possibly float to disgusted olfactories. Davis' filters had an active sale, and those of us who had cisterns betook ourselves to rain-water— when filtered, about the best water one can possibly get. As Chicago, with all her enterprise, did not attempt to stop the south wind-from blowing, and her filthy water had become unendurable, it was proposed to run a tunnel under the lake to a point two miles from the shore, where the water was always pure—one of the boldest and most valuable thoughts ever broached by a civil engineer, but our able fellow-citizen, E. S. Chesbrough, not only planned, but carried out the great enterprise to a successful conclusion. Ground was broken March 17, 1864; it was completed Dec. 6, 1866, but it was not till March 25,1867, that the water was let in and began to be pumped into the pipes to supply the city. A few words as to the way it was constructed: In digging under the city a hard blue clay is reached at the depth of a few feet. Experiments proved that this bed of hard, compact clay extended under the lake. At the foot of Chicago avenue, where it was proposed to sink the shore end, a bed of quicksand had to be passed through. To do this, cast-iron cylinders were procured, 9 feet long. The flanges by which they were to be bolted together were on the inside, so that they could sink smoothly through the sand. These were lowered successfully, as the material from the inside was taken out, till the hard pan was reached. Brick was then used. The water 2 miles from shore was 35 feet deep. In order to start that end of the tunnel an octagonal crib was, built of square timber, framed and bolted firmly together, with several water-tight compartments and a space in the centre left open sufficiently large to receive the same kind of cast-iron cylinders as were used at the shore end. The crib was nearly 100 feet in diameter, and, if I mistake not, 50 or 60 feet high. It was built in the harbor, and during a calm it was towed out 2 miles and anchored due east of Chicago avenue; then scuttled, the compartments were filled with stones, and it was imbedded firmly into the mud at the bottom of the lake. The cylinders were bolted together and forced down into the hardpan, the water was pumped out and the brickwork, was fairly commenced. The shore shaft was sunk 90 feet, and that at the crib 85 feet, and then workmen at each end commenced excavating and bricking up the tunnel towards each other. Of course I need not give more particulars, nor speak of the 4-mile tunnel to the corner of Ashland avenue and Twenty-second street, where new pumping-works are in process of erection—our works on the lake shore being found only capable of supplying the 450,000 people now said to be in the city. Chicago may well be proud of her Water-Works, for they are truly splendid, and furnish her with an abundance of as pure water as can be found in any city in the world.
We had no sewers in 1848. The first attempts were made a year or two later with oak plank, I think on Clark street. I have no time nor space for particulars, but will only add that a thorough and effective system has been extended through all the more thickly settled portions of the city, and the deepening of the Illinois & Michigan Canal carries the sewage down the Illinois River, and, except when the ice covers the canal and river for many weeks, it does no damage whatever, and does not even make itself known by offensive odors.
Our mails from the East came by steamer from St. Joseph or New Buffalo, or by stage from the west end of the Michigan railways, till Feb. 20,1852, when the Michigan Southern was opened to this city. Of course during severe storms, while navigation was open, and during the winter and spring, when the roads were about impassable, they were very irregular. Sometimes we would be a week or two without any news from the outside world. Our long winter evenings were employed in reading,—much more so than now,—in attending lectures and debates at the Mechanics' Institute, in going to church, and in social life. Chicago people have always had abundant means to employ their time fully and profitably. The post-office stood on Clark street, on the alley where the north side of the Sherman House now is. It had a single delivery window a foot square, opening into a room with a door on the alley, and another on Clark street. All the city could see the flag flying from the Sherman House, when the mail steamer from the other side of the lake was signaled. Each one knew how long it would take her to reach her dock and the mails to get distributed. For a long time before the delivery window would open, the people would begin to assemble, the first taking his station at the window and the others forming in line through the rear door into the alley, often far into the street, like along line of voters at election. Here I saw one day an incident which I mention as a tribute to one of the best and noblest of men, and as an example for all of us to follow. At one time when we had been without a mail for a week or more, I stood in the line perhaps a dozen from the window and Robert Stewart two or three ahead of me. Just as the window opened and the column began to move, a woman, poorly clad and evidently a foreigner, rushed in at the front door, and, casting her eye down that long line of men, the muscles of her face twitched and she trembled with anxiety. She evidently expected a letter from dear ones far away over the broad Atlantic. Not a word was uttered by the crowd, and there she stood waiting in agony for the crowd to pass by, till it came Mr. Stewart's turn, when, with a kindly wave of the hand he said, "Come here, my good woman," and, placing her directly in front of him, she grasped her letter, and with a suppressed "thank the Lord and you sir," she left, the most happy person in the crowd. Any man might do such an act for a lady in silks; but only a noble, Christian gentleman like Robert Stewart would do it for a poor, forlorn woman in calico.
There was not a railway entering the city from, any direction in 1848. Some strap rails were laid down that fall, or during the winter following, on the Galena & Chicago, now the North-Western, and in 1850, through the personal endorsement of ex-Mayor B. W. Raymond and Capt. John B. Turner, men to whom Chicago is greatly indebted, it readied Elgin, 40 miles westward. So cheaply and honestly was it built, and from the time it was finished to Elgin, 40 miles, so large and lucrative was its business, that it paid large dividends, and demonstrated that Illinois railways could be made profitable investments. It became, in fact, the parent of the vast railway system of the West. It was marvelous how rapidly railways were projected in all directions, and how quickly they were built.
The Michigan Southern Railway was the first great Eastern line to reach this city, which it did on the 20th of February, 1852. The Michigan Central was opened May 20th of the same year. These gave a very great impulse to the growth and prosperity of the city. These were times when the coming of great enterprises seemed to fill the air, and the men were found who were ready to grasp and execute them. The necessity of binding the South and the North together by iron bands had been broached and talked of in Congress and elsewhere in 1848, and a few sagacious men had suggested the granting-of alternate sections of the public lands to aid in the construction of the road as the only means by which it could be built. It had worked admirably in the case of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and it was agreed that the importance of the work-would justify a similar grant in aid of a great through line from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. With the characteristic-forecast and energy of her citizens, Chicago furnished the man who combined all interests and furnished the friends of the measure in Congress the means to carry it. That man was John S. Wright, who, as before stated, was one of the most far-seeing and valuable citizens Chicago ever had. The whirl and excitement in which he lived clouded his mind toward the close of his life; but if any one among bar earlier citizens deserves a monument to his memory, that man is John S. Wright. I had the same office with him in 1849, and hence know personally of what I speak. At his own expense he printed thousands of circulars, stating briefly, but with sufficient fullness, the arguments in favor of building the road, its effect upon the commerce and the social and political welfare of the Union; that in granting the lands the Government would lose nothing, as the alternate sections would at once command double the price of both. To this a petition to Congress to make the grant was attached. At that time such mail matter went free to postmasters, and with a small circular asking them to interest themselves in getting signers to the petitions, or to put them in the hands of those who would, Mr. Wright (giving employment to his clerk for weeks) sent two or three of them to every postmaster between the Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. In the early part of the session of 1849-'50 these petitions began to pour into Congress by; the thousands, and still all through the summer of 1849 they kept coming. Members from all sections stood aghast at this deluge of, public opinion that seemed about to overwhelm them, unless they at once passed a law making a grant of lands to the States to open a railway from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico. Our Senators, Douglas and Shields, and Representatives, Wentworth and others, saw their opportunity, and the bill was passed on the 20th day of September, 1850. On the 10th of February, 1851, the Illinois Legislature chartered the company, and its construction was placed in the hands of Col. R. B. Mason. I need not add that a better selection could not possibly have been made.*
----------------- *From the Tribune, Feb. 4.
THE "PRAIRIE FARMER" AND JOHN S. WRIGHT.
The Rev. J. Ambrose Wight, writing from Bay City, Mich., under date of Feb. 1, in relation to the lecture on "Early Chicago" recently delivered in McCormick's Hall, says:
"My early Chicago is earlier. I arrived there in September, 1836, and had my head quarters there till May, 1843, when I removed there, and remained till May, 1865.
"The thing that more especially pleases me in the lecture is the tribute to my old friend, John S. Wright. If Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the old Northwest, owe anything to anybody, it is to John S. Wright. The lecture states his movement in the matter of the Central Railroad. But that was only one of his undertakings for the public good. For fifteen years he was constantly engaged in some scheme with the same end. His establishment of and success with the Prairie Farmer were things remarkable, considering his age and supposed qualifications for such a work. He had never done a day's work on a farm in his life, and presumptively knew nothing about it. But he possessed a remarkable insight info public needs. He started his paper, freely acknowledging his own deficiencies, but threw himself on the help of the farmers, whose acquaintance he constantly made—putting as his motto at the head of his paper, "Farmers, write for your paper." And this flag was still flying in the last copy I have seen of that journal. For ten years that paper held a place which money could never pay for, and was essential to the growth of the country where it circulated—settling, one after another, such questions as these: "Will the cultivated grasses grow on prairie lands?" "Can sheep be kept to advantage here?" "Can orchards be a success?" "How shall we fence these open lands?" and hundreds of other questions of like kinds—the machinery to be used on the farm; the stock most profitable; and the claims of dozens of discoveries and inventions, good, and good for nothing. Mr. Wright relinquished the elm, it is true, after a year and a half, but his enthusiasm and insight gave impulse and direction, and made it a success.
"Then the system of public schools in Illinois owes its first impulse and direction to him, though he knew no more of school-teaching than of farming. He began work at that as soon as his paper was fairly launched ; setup a department in it for public-school education, corresponded and wrote unweariedly for it. There was no system of schools in the State at that time. The "common school," on the South Side, for Chicago, was kept in a story-and-a- half building, up stairs—the building standing at the corner of State and Madison streets—the pedagogue being a Mr. Bennet, I think; and my impression,is that the school was common enough. The schools over the State were just as they happened to be.
"Mr. Wright drew up a system for the State, published it, printed circulars, got friends for it, and had it made a law, against a pretty strong dislike from the southern and central parts of tne State. --------------------------
Permit me to say here, by way of parenthesis, that omnibuses and horse-cars were introduced nearly ten years after this time. The City Railway Company was chartered Feb. 14, 1859. Pardon the remark, that whatever honor attaches to driving the first spike belongs to your speaker. It was done on State, corner of Randolph. The road reached Twelfth street on the 25th of April, 1859, only seventeen years ago. Now the whole city is gridironed with them, and they are essential to its business life.
I should like to give you the history of the Rock Island, the Alton & St. Louis, the Burlington & Quincy, the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne, and other roads, but time and space forbid. For several years succeeding 1854, the leading men of Chicago had to endure a great deal of eating and drinking, as our railways were opened to cities in all directions; and for this ser-
-------------------- And, when he found it defective, he reconstructed it, and it became a new law. And this old law of Mr. Wright's, made over as the Indian gun was, is the system now. True, he soon got powerful helpers in Chicago, among whom I remember as the earliest, William Jones, J. Y. Scammon, Dr. Foster, W. H. Brown, and Flavel Mosely—succeeded by such others as the Hon. Mark Skinner, John Wentworth, and a good many more, including William H. King, Esq.
"Another of Mr. Wright's public movements was that of the 10-per-cent.-loan law. The Legislature, moved by the southern Granger interest, had passed a law making a higher interest than 6 per cent, usurious. Mr. W. knew, that a repeal of that law was a hopeless undertaking. But it prevented all obtaining of money for use—operating especially hard against the interests of Chicago and the northern end of the State, where recovery from the financial disasters of 1836-7 had set in with a good deal of strength. He therefore drew up an amendment to the 6-per-cent. law, allowing an interest of 10 per cent. "on money loaned." As usual, his circulars flew like the leaves of autumn; and, contrary to the prediction of many, the amendment passed the Legislature. The relief was instantaneous and great.
Chicago — old Chicago — knows Mr. Wright's peculiarities well enough. He saw further into a subject, in the beginning, than most men. But once in it, he seemed to love his ability to handle it, and often his interest in it; and the outcome sometimes threw undeserved obloquy on the whole undertaking. Had he been able to carry things through as he begun them, he had probably been a millionaire, and alive to-day."
Mr. Wight does not state, what most of our older citizens know, that, when Mr. Wright "relinquished the helm" of the Prairie Farmer, "a, year and a half" after it started, he committed it to Mr. Wight, as its editor. The sterling integrity, untiring zeal, sharp, strong common sense, and trenchant pen of Mr. Wight made the Prairie Farmer for many years one of the very best agricultural papers ever published in this country. Mr. Wright was too completely absorbed in the other important enterprises of which Mr. Wight speaks, to give much attention to his paper, though retaining the proprietorship of it. But to his enterprise in starting it, and to that of Mr. Wight in conducting it, Chicago and the Northwest owe a far greater debt of gratitude than they will ever be able to repay, or even appreciate. Those, were forming epochs in our history, and much of our wonderful progress and prosperity are the direct result of their labors. --------------------
vice, as for all others, they showed a capacity and willingness, as well as a modesty, which has made them distinguished all over the country. On the 10th of May, 1869, the Central and Union Pacific Railways joined rails at Promontory Point, thus completing the grand railway system across the continent. And here I may be permitted the incidental remark that we who live with them, and enjoy the first fruits of their enterprise, do not sufficiently honor the men who bridge our great rivers and bind every section of the Union together in bands of iron and steel, never to be broken, such men as Wm. B. Ogden, John B. Turner, R. B. Mason, Thomas C. Durant, Leland Stanford, and scores of others that might be named. History shows that it was not only the men who bore the victorious eagles of old Rome through distant nations, but who built roads to connect, them with the Eternal City, that received the highest honors. Thus it was that great national thoroughfares were built thousands of miles long, from the North to the Black Sea, and as in that case all roads pointed towards Rome, so at least nine-tenths of all the roads in all this broad land point to Chicago. Do you know that the title even now worn by the Pope of Rome has come down to him from those old road-builders? Pontif ex Maximus simply means the greatest bridge-builder, the proudest, and thus far the most enduring title ever worn by earthly monarch. Let our city honor the men for making Chicago commercially in this centennial year what Imperial Rome was politically in past ages. While we give all honor to these men, let not the name of John S. Wright be forgotton, who, addressing himself to even the greater work, in 1849, combined and gave direction to the political and moral forces that enabled them to complete the grandest system of improvements ever made in the history of the world.
You will expect me to say something of the press of the city. In 1848 the Journal had rooms in what was then the Saloon Buildings, on the southeast corner of Clark and Lake streets. The Gem of the Prairie, and The Tribune as its daily, maintained a precarious existence in an old wooden shanty on the northwest corner of Lake and Clark streets. Messrs. Wheeler, Stewart and Scripps were the editors. It was burned out, and then located at No. 171 1/2 Lake street. My friend the Hon. John Wentworth published the democrat in very aristocratic quarters at Jackson Hall, on LaSalle street, just south of Lake. He had the only Hoe power-press in the city. In the fall of 1849, finding I preferred my old occupation of using books rather than of selling them, I disposed of my interest in the book-store to my partners. It was the original of the great house of Jansen, McClurg and Co. The leading member of the firm now—my brother-in-law—I left in the store a mere boy, whose duties were to sweep out, carry packages, and generally to do a boy's business. I mention this as an example for the boys who hear me to follow.
I then formed a partnership with J. Ambrose Wight, then editor of the Prairie Farmer, — a most valuable paper, owned by John S. Wright,—and we bought out the Herald of the Prairies, a religious paper, the organ alike of the Presbyterians and Congregationalists of the Northwest. The latter half of the concern survives in the Advance. It was then published on Wells street, on the corner of the alley between Lake and Randolph streets. We soon moved to 171 Lake street, next door to The Tribune, and in the rear building, on an old Adams press, the first power press ever brought to the city, we printed our own paper, and also The Tribune, for Messrs. Stewart, Wheeler & Scripps. The press was driven by Emery's horse-power, on which traveled, hour by hour, an old black Canadian pony. So far as my interest in the splendid machinery of The Tribune is concerned, that old blind pony ground out its beginnings, tramping on the revolving platform of Emery's horse-power.
By the autumn of 1851 Mr. Wight, a man who, as editor of the Prairie Farmer, did very much towards laying the foundations of the rapid progress and the great prosperity of the West, and now pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Bay City, Mich., and myself, found out by sad experience that the Prairie Herald, as we then called it, could not be made to support two families, for we had scarcely paid current expenses. I therefore sold out to Mr. Wight, taking in payment his homestead lots on Harrison street. That winter rather than have nothing to do I remained in his office with him, working for the large sum of $1 per day. After a vacation of a few months the late John L. Scripps and myself formed a partnership and issued the first number of the Democratic Press on the 16th of September, 1852. We started on a borrowed capital of $6,000, which all disappeared from sight in about six weeks. We put in all our services and profits, and about all the money we could borrow, never drawing a cent from the firm till after the first of January, 1855. This required nerve and the using up of funds to a very considerable amount, which we had obtained from the sale of real estate; but we thought we could see future profit in the business and we worked on, never heeding discouragements for a moment.
The hard times of 1857-'58, brought the Democratic Press and The Tribune together, and Dr. Ray, J. Medill, John L. Scripps, and myself, became equal partners, with Mr. Cowles as business manager. Dr. Ray and Mr. Scripps have ceased from their labors, but not till they had done most effective and, valuable work in the development and progress of Chicago. Mr. Scripps was Postmaster during Mr. Lincoln's first Administration. Both he and Dr. Ray were able and very cultivated gentlemen, and the memory of them should have a high place in the esteem and gratitude of their fellow citizens. Mr. Medill, Mr. Cowles, and myself, still stand by the old Tribune, with what efficiency and success the reading public can best judge.
I should like to have an hour to pay a passing tribute to the men who gave character to Chicago in 1848, and the years that followed. To Thomas Richmond still with us; to John P. Chapin, Charles Walker and Captain Bristol, heavy dealers on Water street; to Judge Giles Spring, Judge George Manierre, S. Lisle Smith, William H. Brown, George W. Meeker, Daniel Mcllroy, James H. Collins, and others of the Bench and Bar; to Drs. Maxwell, Egan and Brainard; to Editors Dick Wilson, T. A. Stewart, John E. Wheeler, and James F. Ballantyne, as well as to Ray and Scripps; to the Rev. Dr. Tucker, Parson Barlow, and perhaps several others of the clergy. I should like to speak of Mayors F. C. Sherman, James Curtiss, J. H. Woodworth, and Thomas Dyer, all of whom have been relieved of all earthly cares. Many of our oldest citizens still linger among us. Of these, Col. Gurdon S. Hubbard first came to Chicago in 1818—the year Illinois became a State. Still hale and happy, may he long bless Chicago with his presence. Of our ex-Mayors previous to 1860, William B. Ogden, the first, Buckner S. Morris, B. W. Raymond, Walter S. Gurnee, Charles M. Gray, Isaac L. Milliken, Levi D. Boone, John Wentworth, and John C. Haines, are still living. Of the clergy we have still the Rev. Dr. R. W. Patterson, "whose praise," like one of old, "is in all the churches." Of our leading citizens we have still a host, almost too numerous to mention. The names of Jerome Beecher, Gen. Webster, Timothy and Walter Wright, S. B. Cobb, Orrington Lunt, Philo Carpenter, Frederick and Nelson Tuttle, Peter L. Yoe, C. N. Holden, Charles L. and John Wilson, E. H. Haddock, E. D. Taylor, Judge J. D. Caton, J. Y. Scammon, Grant Goodrich, E. B. and Mancel Talcott, Mahlon D. Ogden, E. H. Sheldon, Mat. Laflin, James H. Reese, C. H. McCormick and brothers, P. W. Gates, A. Pierce, T. B. Carter, Gen. S. L. Brown, Peter Page, William Locke, Buckner S. Morris, Capt. Bates, and many others, will at once recur to our older citizens.
Some of these gentlemen were not quite so full of purse when they came here as now. Standing in the parlor of the Merchants' Savings, Loan and Trust Company, five or six years ago, talking with the President, Sol. A. Smith, E. H. Haddock, Dr. Foster, and perhaps two or three others, in came Mr. Cobb, smiling and rubbing his hands in the greatest glee. "Well, what makes you so happy?" said one. "O," said Cobb, "this is the 1st day of June, the anniversary of my arrival in Chicago in 1833." "Yes," said Haddock, "the first time I saw you, Cobb, you were bossing a lot of Hoosiers weatherboarding a shanty-tavern for Jim Kinzie." "Well," Cobb retorted, in the best of humor, you needn't put on any airs, for the first time I saw you, you were shingling an out-house."
Jokes and early reminiscences were then in order. It transpired that our solid President of the South Side Horse Railway left Montpelier, Vt., with $40 in his pocket, but by some mishap when he reached Buffalo he had only $9 left. This was exactly the fare on the schooner to Chicago, but the Captain told him he might buy some provisions, and if he would make no trouble and sleep on deck the boy could come to Chicago for what was left. Cobb got some sheeting, which some lady fellow-passengers sewed up for him, and he filled it with shavings, and this made his bed on deck. He got a ham, had it boiled, bought some bread, and, thus equipped and provisioned, he set sail for Chicago. There was then no entrance to the Chicago River, and the vessel anchored outside, a long way out, and the cabin passengers went ashore with the Captain in a Mackinaw boat. A storm springing up, the mate lay off for three days between Michigan City and Waukegan. When the vessel returned, a cabin passenger, who had returned for baggage, was surprised to find Cobb still aboard. Cobb told him the Captain had gone back on him, and would not let him go ashore without the other $3, and what to do he did not know. The gentleman lent him the $3, and Cobb gladly came ashore. Though he knew nothing of the carpenter's trade, he accepted a situation to boss some Hoosiers, who were at work on Mr. Kinzie's excuse for a hotel, at $2.75 per day, and soon paid his friend. From that time to this he has seldom borrowed any money. Mr. Haddock also came to Chicago, I think, as a small grocer, and now these gentlemen are numbered among our millionaires. Young men, the means by which they have achieved success are exceedingly simple. They have sternly avoided all mere speculation; they have attended closely to legitimate business and invested any accumulating surplus in real estate. Go ye and do likewise, and your success will be equally sure.
Having seen Chicago in 1848 with no railways, no pavements, no sewers, scarcely an apology for water-works—a mere city of shanties, built on the black prairie, soil-the temptation to imagine for her a magnificent future is almost irresistible.
I beg leave with characteristic Chicago modesty to refer to a prophecy which I ventured to make in 1854. I had just written and published the first exhaustive account of our railway system, followed by a history—the first also— of the city. In the closing paragraph I had the following sentences: The city had then not quite completed the seventeenth year of its existence, and I ask:
"What will the next seventeen years accomplish? We are now (1854) in direct railroad connection with all the Atlantic cities from Portland to Baltimore. Five, at most eight, years will extend the circle to New Orleans. By that time also we shall shake hands with the rich copper and iron mines of Lake Superior, both by canal and railroad, and long ere another seventeen years have passed away we shall have a great national railroad from Chicago to Puget's Sound, with a branch to San Francisco."
By the time the building of the road was fairly undertaken, San Francisco had grown so largely in wealth and population that the main line was forced to that city. But in June, 1869, two years before the thirty-four years in the life of the city had passed away, I rode from Chicago to Sacramento with my good friend George M. Pullman in one of his splendid palace cars, with a dining car attached, and no one could possibly fare better than we did on the entire trip. Another line was open from Sacramento to Vallejo nearly right across the bay from the City of the Golden Gate, so that practically the prophecy was literally fulfilled. Perhaps it was only a fortunate guess, and as I was educated in New England, you will permit me to guess again, and to bound the city for you on the nation's second Centennial, viz., on the 4th of July, 1976. I think the north line will probably begin on the lake shore half way between Evanston and Winnetka, and run due west to a point at least a mile west of Aux Plaines River; thence due south to an east and a west line that will include Blue Island, and thence southeast from Blue Island to the Indiana State line, and thence on that line to Lake Michigan. With my eye upon the vast country tributary to the city, I estimate that Chicago will then contain at least 3,000,000 of people, and I would sooner say 4,000,000 than any less than 3,000,000. I base my opinions on the fact that the gastronomic argument controls mankind. Men will go and live where they can get the most and the best food for the least labor. In this respect what city in the world can compete with Chicago? And I also assume that the nation for the next, hundred years will remain one united, free and happy people.
But, gentlemen, in order to realize the magnificent destiny which Providence seems to have marked out for our city, permit me to say, in conclusion, that the moral and religious welfare of the city must be carefully guarded and promoted. Philo Carpenter (still among us) and Capt. Johnson established the first Sunday-school here July 30, 1832, and the Rev. Jeremiah Porter (also still living) organized and became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church (now Dr. Mitchell's) on the 26th of June, 1833. Brave old Jesse Walker, the pioneer Methodist, also preached sound doctrine in the earliest years of the Town of Chicago. All other denominations were also on the ground early, and through all her former history our people seemed as active and earnest in religious efforts as they were enterprising and successful in mercantile and other business. Let all our churches address themselves earnestly, faithfully, to the work of moralizing, if you please converting, the people, working as their Divine Master would have them work; let respectable men, honest men, and especially religious men, go to the polls, and banish from places of trust and power those who are stealing their substance and corrupting, aye even poisoning, the very life blood of the city; let us all, my friends, do our whole duty as citizens and as men, ever acting upon the Divine maxims that "Righteousness exalteth a nation," that "Godliness is profitable for all things," and with God's blessing Chicago, as in the past so in the future, shall far outstrip in wealth, population and power all the anticipations of her most enthusiastic and sanguine citizens.
MAYORS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO.
City Incorporated March, 1837.
1837 William B. Ogden.
1838 Buckner S. Morris.
1839 Benj. W. Raymond.
1840 Alexander Loyd.
1841 Francis C. Sherman.
1842 Benj. W. Raymonds.
1843 Augustus Garrett.
1844 Alanson S. Sherman.
1845 Augustus Garrett.
1846 John P. Chapin.
1847 James Curtiss.
1848 Jas. H. Woodworth.
1849
Jas. H. Woodworth.
1850 James Curtiss.
1851 Walter S. Gurnee.
1852
Walter S. Gurnee.
1853 Charles M. Gray.
1854 Isaac L. Milliken.
1855
Levi D. Boone.
1856 Thomas Dyer.
1857 John Wentworth.
1858 John C.
Haines.
1859 John C. Haines.
1860 John Wentworth.
1861 Julian S.
Rumsey.
1862 Francis C. Sherman.
1864 Francis C. Sherman.
1865 John B.
Rice.
1867 John B. Rice.
1869 Roswell B. Mason.
1871 Joseph Medill.
1873 Harvev D. Colvin.
1876 Harvey D. Colvin.
POPULATION OF CHICAGO.
1835 3,265
1836 3,820
1837 4,179
1838 4,000
1839 4,200
1840
4,479
1841 5,752
1842 6,248
1843 7,580
1844 8,000
1845 12,088
1846 14,169
1847 16,859
1848 20,023
1849 23,047
1850 28,269
1851
34,437
1852 38,733
1853 60,652
1854 65,872
1855 80,028
1856
84,113
1857 93,000
1858 90,000
1859 95,000
1860 112,172
1861
120,000
1862 138,835
1863 160,000
1864 169,353
1865 178,900
1866
200,418
1867 220,000
1868 252,054
1869 273,043
1870 298,977
1872
364,377
1874 395,408
1876 (est) 450,000
1885, (estimated by Jno. S.
Wright), 1,000,000.
1911, (estimated by J. N. Balestier), 2,000,000.
1976,
(estimated by Wm. Bross), 3 to 4,000,000.
CONCLUSION.
The history of Chicago from 1850 to 1876 remains to be written. I have most of the materials, but fear I shall not have the time and the patience to put them together. Somebody should do it, for such a work would show a more astonishing progress than has ever been realized by any other city in the history of the world. I respectfully commit this little volume to my fellow-citizens as my contribution to the facts, that should be stored away in our libraries in this Centennial year, with the hope that they may in some way interest and perhaps benefit those who are to come after us.
Contributed 25 Jan 2013 by Deb Haines
| McHenry | Lake IL |
| Kane |
 |
| DuPage | Lake IN |
| Will |
