Cairo evening times. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1865-1866, 1865-11-14

600 people in the Valley kaShaSkIa had s, 900
inhabitants, and Cahokia 1000, aad the valley
| OF tie Kaskaskia river was lovely and pro-
ductive vineyard.
On the bank of the Mississippi. opposite St
Geneviye. stood, in l76o, Fort Chartres, two
hundred yards vide, built Of solid masonry
twenty feet high, and which cost the French
government nine millions Of francs. This fort
is now a ruin II was captured by the heroic
George Rogers Clark. when he drove the
French across the river to New Madrid 0d St.
Geneyeve.
The magazine is standing yet in one corner,
and giant trees three feet in diameter grow in
its center, and give mournfnl testimony Of the
departed hopes Of the happy Ffenchmen, who,
Ia Douning Joy, called this, the valley of the
meadows, New France. The Revolution in
| America, the wars of Napoleon and the French
| Revolution left the colonies neglected and Ian
gushing, until the claim Of Virginia, through
| the Six Nations of Indians, who iIad expelled
the illani, gave the great northwestern terri
tory to that mother of nations. the home and
birth place of Washington and Jefferson. Vir
glnla, i'll her InagnaIInltF, gave IL 10 the
United States.
In the early exploration Of this valley and its
conquest from the French, George Washington
played IL CONSPICUOUS part. While a colonel,
commanding the frontier forces OF Virginia. he
climbed the peaks of the AlleghanleS and be-
| held the silver stream Ohio, the La Belle Ri
Were of the F;cF.cll, the Silver Wave Of the
Indians, and was the frs! white man OF Saxon
blood that crossed II.
lie omplished the crossing on raft, and
in doing SO lost his hat, but though often in
battle with the indians afterwards, he fortuna
tc!y did not lose his head, that master piece of
ages. He was with Gen. Braddock in his me-
morabe defeat by the French and Indians,
| seven miles from 2ittsburg, and his heroism
in that retreat equaled that Of Aenophon with
his 10000 Greeks from Persia
He led their shattered forces bacHto Eir-
! ginia, but Gen. Braddock died on the retreat.
[ have seen tie battle field and the grave of
| that unfortunate EHglishmau who refused to be
led by Washington, but sacrificed his life to his
own vanity and impetuosity. During our strug-
gle With England for our independence, Daniel
! Boone, q North CaroiiEian, looked from the
| sulanit OF the Cumberland mountal: upon this
| paradise teiox, and the following year passed
| through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky
near what is now the garden spot of the earth
| Lexington, and began u colony which ill its ex-
pause has banisiled the French. the Spanish
and the Indians ard buffalo and the deer have
! fled from before them Wliea the wearied
| hunter in his ralnbles, sits beside some beauti-
lul spring, and stakes his thirst from is spark
| ling waters, solitude and sorroundcd by the
icycly scenery OF our valley, he asks who be-
| tore me has eaZed upol these Scenes =? and
! drank OF this sweet beverage OF nature at this
spring No answer can be made, no history
can tell him, for although our continent is as
cid as others nothing is known Of those who oc-
| cupled Ii III its early existence Over our vast
plains, and on the banks OF our rivers, stand
monuments OF departed races OF men who lave
| once densely populated this country: but who
have left no record but Tumuiie for the dead,
and rudely fortified places of defence; from these
are exbume1 bones and skulls which give evi-
| dencc that they us old rs the Egyptian
! mummy, the oldest Indian knows nothing of
| them But what cllanges have the last hun
dred Yeas produced, The bold pioneer has
| left Us u boon the earth beside could not be-
stow. the proud monarch OF the richest and
S. on to bc the most populou5 valley on the globe
! Fifty years since Oh great rivers Hoated
| only the sluggish fiat boat, oHd the barge which
Was toWed by human muscle, which required
Iialf Il year to make the trip from New Orleans
| to S.. Louis
( Now these rivers are traycrsed by our thou
sand steamers which speak sanitation as they
| pass, and plow our rapid waters with the ease of
"A bird fitting through The air the fish dart
| ing through the water. Fifty years since no
iron horse was heard neishing as he bounded
! over hills an,t plains, with hundred cars at
! his hcess, but now scarce moment passes in
our great cities that do not the smoke
| OF his nostriis, and hear the CHATTER OF his COM
| ing TWen'y years since our news was brought
| by the news boy, but now it comes like the
lightning, leaping from hill to hill. and our con
tincnt. from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean,
! Is connected by a stream of electric intelligence,
! tlia5 sleeping sageS never dreamed OF, and we
converse with far distant lands of the events Of
| the times, with as much ease as If IN the same
| apartment. Soon our cars will bear our COM
merce from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
| back again, and the vast trade monopolized by
| England, and which has enriched her for cen
tHfleS VIII pass into our hands, and every shrek
OF our numberiess engines will be a knell for
| Old Englands trade around the Cape of Good
Hope and in the Indian seas, and we shall pos
scss and be enriched by u trade no nation can
/ take from us.
Bolllu said that from the days of the Phoeni-
| Clans the trade of China and Indies has made
! opuent every nation that controlled it, and the
| time is at hand when we shall wrench the scep
| ter OF commerce. from England. that arrogant
| tyraut OF the sea, and guide it into our own
! ports, and MAKE them pay duly on every
article, for whlcn, up 20 this time. we have
| been taxed, for IN six days we will encompass
/ the earth with the cry products it now takes
| her a year to bring.
/ Already, since our civil strife is over, have
northern capitalists ceased to urge northern
rail road across the Sierra Nevada mountains,
aud & proposal has been made to purchase the
South Western branch of tie Pacific Rail Road
| o! Missouri aaG the strong arm OF Northern
capital will push it to the Pacific Sea, and by
two great roads one stretching into Texas from
| St. Louis, the other from Cairo to the same
point, Connecting with the first the COM
| merce Of half the world will be poured into
the lap OF our fertile valley in exchange for
bread from this Egypt of the world,
SQoE we shall wipe the tooG prints Oh all
tyrants from continent, aaI from the Poles
to the Tropics bid llcm leave Or bc thrust into
the sea- lifting the standard Of the wise aud
sa9aclons Monroe, swear monarcbs $ foot
Shall pollute the soil God has given TO lreeinen.
We will now consider our present position and
surroundings. Wha; is to be or destiny, Whit
the influence we are to exercise upon our own
country. the world and the negro! We have
just paSsci IL crisis the most critical IN the his
tory Of Republics, an. our untDrLii'1te sous,
North and South, have fallen III the conflict.
But while the most deadly civil STRIFE has
strewod the battle field VITA brothers
gore, We have stood aghtst at the cnor
nous power OF the nation III bringing
such numbers of men into the field on bon
sizes, while II hcrcism has marked them IN
surpassed by Greek or Roml.i iii the deadly con
fllct, and ali Europe has tremolcd to behold i
republic possessing such bolndless resources
such heroic endurance in conflict. If the heav
ems thundered, ami the earth rcclcd beneath rs
the thrones OF all the Old dynastlcs OF Elropt
trembieI to their center, and England anC
France stood afar off expressing th'
deepest sympathy, but really wishing on
Il f.,l