Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-06-05
THE CHICAGO OF 1926
A VILLAGE WHICH PRESENTED NO
THRILLING PROSPECTS"

Tie County Thereabout offered Few Fea-
lures, and There Was Nothing Worthy
Of Eulogy-A Report That Failed Com
pletely rs a Prophecy.
The Chicago Of nearly 40 years ago
did not present IN inviting appearance.
The party of Heating and Lang left
Fort Wayne in May to discover the
source of the st. Peters river. The ap-
proach to Chicago is thus described in
the account published in 1925:
1--WE were near the southern extremity
of the lake. The view toward the north
was boundless, the eye meeting nothing
but the vast expanse Of water which
spread like seq, its surface at that
time as calm and unrufaed as though it
were sheet of ice
"Our path led US over the scene Of the
bloody massacre which occurred in 1912,
| when the garrison of Chicago was de-
stroyed By the Po.tawatomies. No traces
are now to be seen of the massacre
ION the afternoon of June we reach
ed Fort Dearborn (Chicago). Fort Dear
born is on the south bank, near the
mouth of the Chicago river. The post at
Chicago was abandoned O few months
| after the party visited it. Its establish
| ment had been found necessary to intimi-
date the powerful tribes of Indians
which still inhabit this part of the coun-
try.
"We were much disappointed ct the
appearance of Chicago and its vicinity
| We found in it nothing to justify tho
great eulogium lavished upon it by Mr..
| Schoolcraft, a late traveller.
1.-THE best comment upon his descrip-
ton of the climate and the soil is the
fact that, with the most active vigilance
on the part of tho officers, it was impos-
| sible for the garrison, consisting of 20
to so men, to subsist on the grain raised
in the country.
1.-The appearance of the country near
| Chicago offers but few features. There
! is too much uniformity in the scenery.
! The extensive water prospect is a waste
uncheckered by islands and menivened
by spreading canvas.
/ 1.-THE village presents no thrilling
F, prospects, as Notwithstanding its antiq-
uity it consists Of but few huts, inhab-
| tied by miserable race of men, scarcely
I equal to the Indians, from whom they
F, are descended Their log or bark houses
are low, filthy and disgusting, display
| ing not the least trace of comfort.
Chicago is perhaps one of the Oldest
settlements in tho Indian country. Its
name, derived from the Pottawatomie
language, signifies either skunk or
wild onion Mention is made of the
place as having been visited in 1871 by
Perot, who found 'Chicgou' to be the
residence of powerful chief of the
Mianis
"As a place CT business it offers no
inducement to the settler, for the whole
! annual amount of trade On the lake did
not exceed the cargoes of five schooners,
even when the garrison received its sup
plies from Mackinaw.
''It is not impossible that at some dis
tant day, when the banks of the Illinois
shall have been covered with a dense
population and when the low prairies
which extend between that river and
Fort Wayne shall have acquired popu
lation proportionate to the produce which
they can yield, Chicago may become one
of the points in direct communication
between the northern lakes and the Mis-
sissippi.
1.-The Indians were chiefly Pottawato-
mics, but intermixed with Ottowas and
Chippewas. Among many charges
against these Indians there is none more
horrible than the charge of cannibalism.
This has been denied, but it has been
acknowledged by the Indians themselves,
and it has been uniformly admitted
by the Interpreters and traders who have
long resided with them.
1T is u common superstition with
them that he that tastes of the body Of
brave man acquires a part of his valor,
and if he can eat of his heart, which by
them is considered as the seat of all
courage, the share of bravery which ar
rives from it is still greater.
Captain Wells is still mentioned rs
the bravest white man with whom they
ever -net. He had almost become one of
their number and had united himself to
descendant of Little Turtle.
AT the commencement of hostilities
between the British and Americans he
sided with his own countrymen, while
the Indians of this vicinity all passed
into the British service. Wells was
killed After the action his body was
divided, and his heart was shared, as be-
ing the most certain spell for courage,
and part of it was sent to the various
tribes in alliance with the Pottawato-
mics, while they themselves Toasted up
ON the rest. Chicago Times Herald.
Sufficiently Rewarded.