, 1881-01-23
EARLY CHICAGO.
So1.,c Intercstfn. "Reminiscences Of the
Days When This Ctxy UaS village.
To the Editor Of Tie Chicago Tribune.

them On paper We left Buffalo Aug. 70. 1E3,
for a 6U0~mslo journey BY land for Chicago ano
travelled couple Of hundred miles along the
shore of Lake Erie through Pennsylvania and
Ohio. Ips1cad Of finding it a wilderness rs We
expected, we found a beautiful farming coun-
try, well settled By thriving farmers good fartn-
houses, and fruit in abundance, and until wo
reached Cleveland. then a town Of about 3,uU
inhabitants, first rate macadamized roads. We
hoped to find plenty Of game, but were not quite
SO foolish as young Engishmnn who was visit
Ing ut my house few years since, who ASKED
tic morning after his arrival II he could WALK
out few miles and pet a shot at buffalo, bue
did expect we might shoot n deer now ana then:
but, with the exception Of two or three WHO
cr,sscd tho road few miles from cieveiand.
and onco again in Michigan, we saw none. and
with small game it was about tho same. We hnd
two or three hours good duck-shoottny on tho
sanlusky River, and once In n while shot stray
pigeon along our route, but that was NIL Until
we arrived ut White Pigeon, when we came
across flock Of prairie-chickens and bagged
few Of them and once agaln at
Door Prairie, T. few miles from Michigan City,
where We shot a couple, but with these few ex.
cep1ous We sllW no gn1ne IN our TWO lnohths
tr:lvellu;. WncR we had got settled In Chicago
We took stroll with guns and dogs to sue whit
the prospect was in this nc1ghborhood. and, fol-
lowing tie hike shore on the North Side Tor q
mile Or so, came to grove Of hf trees shat wcre
the tiock ut from 2uu to :.55J, could not get
shot ut thetn> They were continually on tho
aicrt, Anu Kept one ofd rooster 70 give timely
notice Ut orr approach. He you'd give . pecu- ~
liar call, and aW,ty the whole flock would GU. We
followed them up and down for three or -FOUR
hours, scattering them Ia every direction, but at
last had to give it up in despair and own our
selves benten; they were too wary for us. We
ouly got two or three stray birds. h1ve never
seen them congreEate 10 such large numbers a,rss
men that when tho chickens nre full-grown they
fly In nucks, aud II is much more d.ii1calt to
get II shot at them than when Ia coscys. In the
ter sport In the world than To follow couple or
good doys and bug II bird or two every time they
With 1nv to Chcugo, the only one then in tho VII
iage. He was admired ull Alony our route as a
perfect beauty, una dogs being tlon ta n scarcely
her. She n'udo her first point Vt lark, bur;
SOON coming. On u coscy OF birds and
sno9ns Ms :, + 9" With aaafn % aoS pr1se ase aa
OF the best dogs that ever had Il gun Tired over
her, rs two or three oid sportslnen still! NTH us
e1y many tie' tes shot fty to TO- seyel1tyeaye brds
uuy- She was il such demand and lieut. her 81,
often that last ahe would follow any one With
q gun, and WIS stolen: I uscd to shoot few
ducks occasionally on tho North Brunch OF tho
river, and once shot goose III the river near
Hush street, .
Shuoting in those early x3nes was done not
only for the, sport, but to supply the table.
Common fowls were nut to he had Tor love "r
very numerous on tle West Side, and when liv-
ing On the corner of Washington aud Jefferson
streets 1 could IN few minutes Walk to tho
ridge beyond Carpenters Addition and shout lll
wanted before brtsskfust, and sometimes would
ritic cut two or three miles just at shutdown.
wien would lind them feeuiug III the road, and
shoot half u dozen before dark In fAct, Shoot
Ing was one Ut the few atnusemcnts OF which
she Old settlers could avai themselves, Deer
induce nuuy to follow Them; 1t required too
much iabur. I remember one gran. hunt that
was organized in the lnli Of 1854, when u party
Of hundred Or more went eight or ten miles
out. and, scattering from the North Branch to
tho lake, lnade line and drove az before them
to tine village, Some five or stx deer aud u few
wolves, se:4red By tho noise behind them. swan
the river about LII S,tile street, ran through tho
village, and escaped to tho timber on the south
Branch. a few were 81 shot n trying m I 70 e;a nrsaS
cred u Success, and wns never tried again.
once saot deer n'ysclf, III 1851 about four
think OF it to this day without sco4nE the pe:ut-
tul eyes Ut tho poor creature turned up to me
in tho ngonies OF death, with sucn sad nnu
sorry had killed it. Then my horse utterly
refused To carry 1t home On his baek, or even 90
near 1t. which discussed =, INC, & ana my friends
going up there after another kind OF dear,
which perhups might have been So that got
n,arr!ed soon utter, and have never been deer
hunting since.
sonle ot tho young folks would like to know
what other aatttsculeuts there were mud how we
cneckers while Whiting for customers, and,
after cilstng. played cards. Those rcigously
inclined went e prayer-nleeting ut ieast once u
satisfied as to the inner ulAn in the old SAuEa-
nash Hotel, Murk Bcauhcn would BRING out his
fiddle aud pity tor thtse who wished to trip tho
Iixnt fuutastic toe. Tp be sure, there were no
theatres. concert-hal1s, or rcAdtng-roou
New York pnpers vert. twenty to thirty days
old whcI, we got them, and there were but few
books iu the pIace. 4 nun came snso our house
one day, and, seeing some shelves full OF old
9o"k shsa tSat if ~ I'VE S. fps wntsr ss
anlusements Of any Kind were few and
fur between. although we made the most
Of what there were One tine moonlight ixl3
cMEo turned out for Il skute and a frulIc, aud We
bud 1t. There must have been ut leAst hun
drel persons OIL the river between Wells streGr
and tho forks. Then re had good sieightny for
Il short time, and sou would have laughed to
have seen the splendid turnouts improviscd from
crt,ckery crntes and sugar logshcads. There
were only two cutters III town, but 1t did HOT
tnke many tools or much time 10 make SOME
thing thai would glide over the frozen snow. a
xnud handy feliuw With III Ax, drnw!ny-knifc,
ind nugur would 20 into the woods, cut down
two straight young saplinga. shave oil q little
eight holes, in which they drove tie standards n
foot high, put cruss- pieces on which they laid
the crate, filled that with hay, and the slci1h
was reudy for use III less than hnlr day, Tne
same plan was pursued with the sugar hogs
head, only TINT was cut half ssHy d0Fn in front
ana seat put across It in the buck, and YOU hati
and Us comfortable rs the best OF cutters
once got caught III snoW-storm myself between
here and Milwaukee, aud. nut being ADtc to make
uiuch progress with ii wagon, STOPPED half way
up and made Il sleigh which used all thai winter.
Then the yunu4 UIUl,ds OF the tUwt1-wG used
tn have such even In those days-got up a
splendid sleighinx party, l think it wus on rhe
1st uE January, when they c.atne out With tho
Government yawl bout on runners. drawn by
four good hurses, unl covered with robes. with
US many bells jingltng OIL tho harness he they
could find in tho village nuu thus equipped they
ulnde the streets ring nxAin with their uaerr}-
nnent and laughter. Unfortunately for them,
they got treated so we'll wherever they called,
that by evening they began to feel tho effects Ut
it, aiid determined to i1ttte Il grand spree, which
ended iu smashing up the best snlpon In town,
fur which they paid next morning, 1t WIS suid
withuut Il 1n1rIuur, the sim OF SStD. But what
was that- whc1, rhey used to sny they could lay
down Il 5Apence ut the back door ut night and 1t
would be u dollar iu the nUrninE3
There was very little visiting done among the
lndics, as they hn0Mii they could attend ~ ut
honle serynnt girls being very scurce; in. fact,
tho houses or those duyd were not well cacu~
lated for company, most Df them being about l6
XII IL story and Il hnlf, with fcnu-tO. The house
we lived In that WiHter, on the corner ut kiuzle
and Rush streets, wa5 about rs LARGO as any n
town; but unfortunately IT. WIS not completed,
being neither lathed nor plaslere1, nut eyeu
shea utbcl: and we had nothing to protect US
from the weather when the thermometer marked
~ degrees below zero but ruuKh sjllny nailed on
the studs. Fortunately VIC bud warm ctorht1,Y,
and would a!,at,s1 roast In front OF Il huge
,yNp1. flrD III tho lurxc Ehitnney common in tbs,se