The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-09-20
STARVED ROCK
a Grand Commemorative Picnic
tn" Speeches, Sc.

NfHgIfS. fNlllS - rsi tai
once u wear. can easily Inc roron,lor,, ,,,
AZ the same committee. men col,ec, ,io r,nd.
do thcadycrtising, hunt up orators ona sr.. ,,.
the runs and wrangle over the bn,s .nrr.1,,.
it is no hard matter TO ret up Il celebration
as 10y long practice the matter is reduced tn
a business and the machine moves with the
regularity of clock work. But the first Of tbn
big cycnt--a 2OOth year occurrencc-was or
course neT experience in the lines Of men
who had done well to see The 10Th year since
amy event had come within the limited sphere
| of their observation, This celebration.
a most OF our readers will understand, was
/ to commemorate the day when the first white
! man landed on Starved Rock. We do not
trust to Indian legends alone, but to history
written and reliable, that the month Of Sept.
1913, and ON The l6'h day, Father Marquette,
a noted French missionary, though perhaps
accompanied 10y m attendant, passed up the
Illinois river, ara being struck with the sin
gular beauty and grandeur OF Starved Rock,
clambered to lis summit and here erecting
the crucial emblem his religion, bowed down
and PAID that homage due to the grca,
I'm.
This picnic and celebration, though not
long advertised, was very largely attended,
there being between 1000 and 5000 people on
the ground. Teams, carriages, hacks and
all manner ofconyeyances filled up the woods,
and pcople-men and women, young and old
filled the grounds and hillSidcs, or Chamber
."d up the rocky cliffs of Starved Rock and
twin brother Camp Rock, only few rods
up stream, i point while not quite as isolat.
Jed as its ncighbor, yet almost as picturesque
and has its full share in the legends of this
noted locality Family groups gathered
here and there and pcrtook OF sumptuous din.
ncrS. Some built camp fires and cooked
their meals after the style of the Pioneer,
when moving to this country: others content.
ed themselves with v,qrn,inr ,hnir cnaoo :,
.';,,.',. .,.,.:,...l., ,,.,.
"'l' way "NI'' INC ''l"'V "t'c s"lSAfo WIZ
basket lunches in their family carriages, or
upon the grass on the summit of the rock.
r,,r spaFruus
At c'"yA I'eI'l'ru n"hu' upon me vNV-
form erected in a beautiful grove near the
base of the rock. summoned the propIc +,
tboi, ..ofs
P"" lne SV'""' among olheI>' we -"
SH'h earl! se'''efS as mos D. "a0c' OF oit,-
wa 'ho. = Armstrong DAVID Grove Hon.
D. y stevens, d. IL hcNoFlhicH' duuGe lin
man ana 'ol H. r. hiI' inc iatter the owner
OF Starved Rock ana 13oo acres OF contiguous
lcrFl'''y, entered from inc government ID
1851 lhe'e gentlemen nave been residents
Oh u!ls region o. country rom ~ 70 ~ years
-"nu 'hother' 'oI. t. y. iaylof, VINO HAS
been resident OF Ia sale county 'pf III
years.
Hon. Washington BUSHNELL president OF
The Gay, on calling the assembly 10 "'"'f'
sand;
h,Io" NiII"ENa-itic' upo" I!'S "%I-
inMg" sIo"iiui We itTGt o(S' NOV ~ m
.rcf INF 70 uni;r in commonwealth the dav
when the first white man set foot upon ,hi,
,oiI-irresDcctlve of discordant sentiments.
u.a moot ,n celebrate tbis ovent-ond with re-
Iicinn we r,ayc nntbinr 70 do This is nm
eTnnt Ionr IN he rcmcmhored and treasured
TI,is Grand ,rnrl, of n.tnro. mis- mornifircn,
,,,a,.iTT,l', ~ I,or,,,tcLIese hondiwnrlS hovinr
boon found hove Lv men who wore nartfru-
inrly JcyntcI n rcIi~ion If i only fl and
nro;or that we .bo,III invoke IN. Divine
hIoIi-iro
le'' j. H. 0lec1t' III NH'Is' chul'H' '''"""'
on invitation, made an appropriate prayer
Mr. Bushnell apologiZcd in behalf Of the
or o,ror ,,or,o,ts f,r ,he ohscncc ot
= =, ~ 49,.
uugc bfcese' lhey haa invited '"dt uIs'i"
guishcd gentleman to speak, and he ha0 a..
ceptcd but had failedto put in an appearance.
~, ,,,,,ot, - ,l,o r,,,ra, md Observation-Disclosures or
the managers OF the celebration rs 10 any "'!'
in the audience. He added, however, th2,
fortunately There was q gentlemen present
,,,, ,,,,J r,I,,. ,.,,,,,onsa,o Tho audience ro.