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John Richardson >> Hardscrabble
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CHAPTER II.
The Fort of Chicago, at that period, stood upon a portion
of the same ground occupied by its successor, and was,
in fact, a very epitome of a fortress. On the western
side, two block-houses constituted its chief defence,
while on the north, a subterranean passage led from the
parade-ground to the river, near the banks of which it
had been erected. The uses of this sally port were
two-fold--firstly, to afford the garrison a supply of
water in the event of a siege--secondly, to facilitate
escape, if necessary. The country around, now the seat
of fruitfulness and industry, was at that time a wilderness,
tenanted only by the savage, and by the few daring and
adventurous whites who had devoted their lives to purposes
of traffic, yet whose numbers was so small as to induce
them, with a view to their safety, to establish themselves
as near the Fort as possible. Roads, there were none,
and the half formed trail of the Indian furnished the
only means of communication between this distant port,
and the less thinly-settled portions of Michigan. Nor
were these journeys of frequent occurrence, but performed
at long intervals, by the enterprising and the robust
men--who feared not to encounter privations and
hardships--camping at night in the woods, or finding a
less desirable repose in the squalid wigwam of the
uncertain Indian.
The mouth of the Chicago River was then nearly half a
mile more to the southward than it is now. At a short
distance from the lake, which gives its name to the
territory, it soon branched off abruptly to the north,
and then again, taking another turn, pursued its original
westernly coarse, and, passing near the Fort, gave to
the latter the appearance of a slightly elevated peninsula,
separated only from the water by a gentle declivity of
no great extent. On the same side of the river was the
Government Agency House, and at about a quarter of a mile
from that, a spot generally used as a place of encampment
by the friendly Indians--at that moment occupied by a
numerous band of Pottawattamies. Immediately opposite to
the Fort, stood the residence and trading establishment
of Mr. Mackenzie--a gentleman who had long mixed with
the Indians--had much influence with, and was highly
regarded by them; and, close to his abode, lived with
his family, consisting of his wife and her sister, French
Canadians like himself, Ouilmette, one of the most attached
of his people, and enjoying almost equal popularity with
the red men. About a quarter of a mile beyond Ouilmettes,
and immediately opposite to the Pottawattamie encampment,
from which it was divided only by the river, was another
small but neat dwelling. This belonged to Mr. Heywood,
and was then inhabited by his wife and daughter, whom he
would not permit to reside at the farm, as well on account
of its rudeness of accommodation, as of the dread of
exposing them, in that remote situation, to the very
danger which we have seen he had himself so recently
encountered.
Such was the civilian population of that sparsely inhabited
country in 1812. Let us now see the strength of its
garrison.
For the defence of so distant an outpost, almost cut off,
as we have already shown, from communication with the
more inhabited portions of the States, the American
government had not thought it requisite to provide more
than a single company of soldiers, a force utterly
inadequate to contend in a case of emergency, with the
hordes of savages that could be collected around them
within a few hours, and WEEKS before any efficient succor
could be obtained. This error, grave at any time, in
those who sought to extend the influence of their name
and arms throughout that fertile region which has now,
within little more than a quarter of a century, become
the very head of American commerce and navigation, was
especially so at this particular epoch, when the Indian
spirit, stirred to action by the great chief who had so
recently measured his strength with his hated enemies at
Tippecanoe, was likely to be aroused on all occasions
where facility of conquest seemed to present itself. And,
yet, that government well knew that there were, even at
that moment, difficulties existing between themselves
and Great Britain of a character to lead to an interruption
of the friendly intercourse that had hitherto subsisted
between the two countries, and which, if suffered to
ripen into hostilities, would necessarily, associate many
of the Indian tribes with the forces of England, drawing
down certain destruction on those remoter posts, whose
chief reliance on immunity from danger, lay, in a great
degree, in the array of strength they could oppose to
their subtle and calculating enemy.
This company, consisting, of seventy-five men--many of
them married and with families--was under the command of
an officer whose conduct throughout the eventful and
trying scenes about to be recorded, has often been the
subject of much censure--with what justice our readers
must determine.
Captain Headley was one of those officers who, without
having acquired no greater rank at the age of forty than
he now possessed, had served in the army of the United
States from his boyhood, and was, in all the minutiae of
the service, a strict disciplinarian. He had, moreover,
acquired habits of deference to authority, which caused
him, on all necessary occasions, to regulate his conduct
by the orders of his superiors, and so strongly was this
engrafted on his nature, that while he possessed mind
and energy sufficient to plan the most feasible measures
himself, his dread of that responsibility which
circumstances had now forced upon him, induced the utmost
disinclination to depart from the letter of an instruction
once received, and unrevoked.
These, however, were purely faults of his military
education. To a commanding person and dignified manners,
Captain Headley united a mind highly cultivated, and
feelings and sentiments which could not fail to secure
the respect even of those who were most ready to condemn
that caution and prudence of character which so eminently
distinguished his career as a subordinate soldier. It
was well known and conceded that, if he erred, the error
grew not so much out of his own want of judgment, but
was rather the fruit of the too great deference to
authority which led him, implicitly, to adopt the judgment
of others. In the private relations of life, he was
deservedly esteemed, excelling in all those higher
accomplishments that ensure favor with society, and seldom
fail to win for their possessor the approbation of women.
Such, indeed, had been his success in this particular
application of the gifts with which nature had endowed
him, that he had, for some years, been the possessor of
the affections and the hand of one of the noblest of her
sex, whom, however, we shall take a later opportunity of
introducing to the reader.
The next officer in rank was Lieutenant Elmsley, married
also, and about ten years the junior of Headley. From
causes, which will be explained in the coarse of our
narrative, the subaltern did not incline to place that
confidence in the measures and judgment of his captain,
which, it has been shown, the latter almost invariably
accorded to HIS superiors, and hence arose feelings,
that, without absolutely alienating them--for, in their
relative military positions this could never be--rendered
their intercourse daily more and more formal, until, in
the end, a sentiment almost of enmity prevailed. In a
remote garrison like this such an evil was the more to
be regretted, even while there was the greater probability,
from absence of serious occupation, of its occurrence.
The junior subaltern was Ensign Ronayne, a high-spirited
young Southerner, who had now been three years at the
post, and within that period, had, by his frank demeanor,
and handsome person, won the regard of all--military and
civil--there and in the neighborhood. Enterprising,
ardent, fearless, and chivalrous, this young man had
passed the first year of what he, then, considered little
short of banishment, in a restless desire for adventure;
but at the end of that period, came a marked change over
him, and the spirit that had panted exclusively for
action, now bent before a gentler and a holier influence.
Last of the officers of this little fort, was the surgeon.
Doctor Von Vottenberg, who as his name would imply, was
a descendant from one of the earlier Dutch settlers in
the colonies. There was nothing remarkable about this
gentleman. He was short, stoat, rather of a bilious
temperament--clever in his profession, and much addicted
to compounding whisky punch, which he not only brewed,
but drank most satisfactorily. What other attributes and
accomplishments he possessed, the incidents herein related
must develop.
It has been said that, on its Western side, the Fort was
protected by two block-houses, while on the northern a
sally port communicated with the tower. On each side of
the sally port were two small stores, reserved for the
ammunition and arms, and for the provisions and spare
clothing of the garrison. On the north and south faces,
rose a series of small low wooden buildings, appropriated
to the officers, and capable of containing thrice the
number now occupying them. The southern face, or that
which looks towards the locale of the scene described in
our last chapter, was now the residence of the commanding
officer, and of his senior subordinate, who, with their
families and domestics, tenanted the whole of that range
of buildings, with the exception of one large room in
the centre, generally used as a hall of council with the
Indians. In the other range, precisely similar in
construction, were quartered Ensign Ronayne and the
surgeon Von Vottenberg, who each, however occupied but
one apartment. The central and largest serving as their
mess-room. The other half of the building was vacant, or
rather had been so, until the doctor obtained the permission
of the commanding officer to use it as a temporary
surgery--the hospital being a distinct edifice between
the two block-houses. These latter, capacious for the
size of the fort, accommodated the non-commissioned
officers and men--the company being divided as equally
as possible between the two.
Without the whole of these buildings stood a strong
stockade, about twelve feet high, loop-holed for musquetry,
with a bastion at each angle, facing the four principal
points of the compass, on each of which was placed a
small gun, that the men had been trained to work. The
entrance to the fort was from the westward, and in the
direction of the agency house, which two of these bastions
immediately flanked.
The guard consisted of a non-commissioned officer and
nine men--three sentries being furnished for the necessary
duties--one for the stores already described--another
for the commanding officer's quarters--the mess-room and
the surgery, and the third for the, southern bastion,
upon which floated the glorious stars and stripes of the
Union. A fourth sentry at the gate had been dispensed
with, in consequence of the proximity to it of the
guard-house. This, was a small building immediately in
front of the hospital, which, with the gate, came
particularly under the surveillance of the non-commissioned
officer of the guard.
With the character for strict attention to discipline,
which has been ascribed to Captain Headley, it will be
easily understood that every man on duty was expected to
be as correct in the execution of its details, as though
he had been at the Head Quarters of his regiment, or at
the Seat of Government itself. The utmost regard to dress,
and to the efficiency of arms was moreover enjoined, and
so far did their commander feel indisposed to trust the
inspection of them to the non-commissioned officer of
the guard, that, although there were in the Fort, but
two regimental officers besides himself, he had, from
the moment of assuming the command, required them
alternately to perform the necessary duties; superintending
the relief of guards, and parading all men off duty and
out of hospital, in full dress, at least once in the
twenty-four hours.
At the outset, this had been a source of much discontent
with the men, who conceiving that, in that remote region,
the rigor of the service might be dispensed with, almost
openly expressed their desire that there might be sent
to command them, some officer less severe in his exactions.
This had been reported to Captain Headley by his senior
subaltern, from whose manner, while communicating the
information, it was apparent that he did not wholly
disapprove of a remonstrance against measures which
involved the sacrifice of his own comfort. His superior
was not slow to remark this, he, however, quietly observed
that he was not, at his years, and in his responsible
position, to be told the duty required to be performed
by the troops under his command; and that, if he perceived
any symptoms of insubordination, he would take the proper
means to suppress it. The lieutenant made no reply, but
bit his lip, and withdrew. This was the first manifestation
of any thing approaching to disunion, between these two
officers.
Lieutenant Elmsley, although by no means a negligent
officer, was no disciplinarian. He could not but look
upon formal guard mountings and parades, in that isolated
quarter, as unnecessary--serving only to create discontent
amongst the men, and to induce them--the unmarried
especially--to desert, whenever an opportunity presented
itself; while, bringing the subject more immediately home
to himself, he deemed it to be a needlessly severe tax
upon the only two subalterns of the garrison. This, he
thought might, situated as they were, have been dispensed
with, without the slightest inconvenience to the service;
and the duty left to the superintendence of the non-
commissioned part of the force. Hence his annoyance with
his superior.
But Captain Headley was of a different opinion. He thought
that the very remoteness of his post, rendered it the
more necessary that no appearance of carelessness should
be remarked by the tribes of Indians, who were in the
vicinity, and who, however amicable their relations THEN
with the United States, might later, from caprice or
events yet unforeseen, take advantage of the slightest
negligence, to attempt the destruction of all.
Better, he thought, that they who received the pay of
the Government, for upholding its interests and dignity,
should be subject to a frequent recurrence of duty--not
in itself particularly irksome-than that an important
post--the nucleus of the future prosperity of the
State--should be perilled by the absence of that vigilance
which ought to characterize the soldier. If he allowed
to be retrenched, or indeed left unemployed, any of that
military exhibition, which tends to impress upon the many
the moral superiority of the few, where, he argued, would
be their safety in the hour of need; and if those duties
were performed in a slovenly manner, and without due
regard to SCENIC effect, the result would be to induce
the wily savage to undervalue that superiority which
discipline chiefly secured to the white warrior. Captain
Headley was discriminating and observant. He had, more
than once, remarked the surprise and admiration created
among the Indians who had access within the stockade, at
the promptness and regularity of the system introduced
into it, and this, of itself, was a sufficient motive to
cause him to persevere in the course his judgment had
adopted.
Such was the condition of affairs at the moment when
Ephraim Giles, breathless with speed, and fancying the
party of Winnebagoes close upon his heels, made his entry
into the Fort. The news he brought was of a nature to
assemble the officers, as well as many of the men and
women, all anxious to hear the details of an occurrence,
which now, for the first time since their arrival at the
Fort, had created serious apprehension. But there was
one of the party who manifested more than ordinary
uneasiness. His impatience was great, and, after having
whispered a few words in the ear of Captain Headley, and
received an affirmative reply, coupled with an injunction
of caution, he left the building in haste, and proceeded
towards the block-houses, where, selecting half a dozen
men, and ordering them to arm on the instant, he passed
with them through the gate--sprang into a large scow
which was unchained from its moorings, on the bank of
the river, and pulled in the direction of the house
already said to have been occupied by the wife and
daughter of Mr. Heywood.
Meanwhile, Captain Headley closely interrogated the
fugitive as to the number and appearance of the Indians
who had created all this alarm, their probable object in
visiting the farm in this seemingly hostile manner, and
the number of shots he had heard fired. To all these
questions the soldier, who had now, in some degree,
recovered from his panic, replied in the usual drawling
tone, his stick and knife, which had been drawn forth
again from his pocket, in which he had deposited them in
crossing from the farm-house, affording him his usual
amusement, but nothing, of course, was elicited beyond
what has already been related. Whether any one had been
killed in the house, or the guns merely discharged to
frighten the fugitive, or that the reports had proceeded
from the fishing party that had been sent for, with a
view to alarm the Indians, and deter them from the
commission of outrage, were surmises that severally
occurred to Captain Headley, but without enabling him to
arrive at any definite opinion. That there was cause for
apprehension, there was no doubt. The appearance of a
band of strange Indians in the neighborhood, however
small in number, dressed in their war-paint, gave earnest
of coming trouble, not only through their own acts, but
through the influence of example on the many other tribes
whom they had been accustomed to look upon as friends
and allies. In the midst of these reflections arose a
feeling of self-gratulation that he had preserved that
discipline and strict attention to duty, which, he knew,
that all must now admit to have been correct, and which,
if any difficulty did occur, could not fail to prove of
the utmost importance.
His first consideration now was the safety of the small
fishing party, to which allusion has more than once been
made in the preceding pages, and which it was a source
of satisfaction to him to recollect were, in accordance
with an order never departed from on these and similar
excursions, furnished with the necessary arms and
ammunition, although only in their fatigue dress.
"Mr. Elmsley," he said turning to that officer, who stood
waiting his orders, "who commands the fishing party?"
"Corporal Nixon, sir," replied the lieutenant, at once
entering into his motive for the inquiry, "a brave, but
discreet soldier, and one who, I am sure, will evince
all necessary resolution, should he see anything of these
Indians. The men who are with him are also fine young
fellows, and among our best shots."
"I am glad to hear this," was the rejoinder, "but still,
twelve Indians firing from the woods upon half their
number in an open boat, and taken by surprise, would, I
fear, render the activity, courage, and skill of these
latter but of little avail. My hope is, that Corporal
Nixon may see nothing of them, but that, on the contrary,
if he has been apprised by the boy, as the fellow says
he was to be, of their presence at Heywood's farm, he
will make his way back without stopping, or at least,
use every precaution to conceal himself, until he can
drop down under cover of the darkness."
"What, sir," said the lieutenant, with a surprise he
could ill conceal, "would you desire him not to afford
the necessary succor to Mr. Heywood, if, indeed, he should
be in time to render any service?"
"Mr. Elmsley," remarked his captain, somewhat sternly,
"my sympathy for the fate of those at the farm, is,
perhaps quite as strong as yours, but I have a higher
stake at issue--a higher object than the indulgence of
personal sympathy. I can ill afford, threatening as
appearances are at this moment, to risk the lives of six
men, the best you say in the fort, out of the very small
force at my disposal. Nothing must be left undone to
secure their safety. Order a gun to be fired immediately
from the southern bastion. It will be distinctly heard
by the party, and if not already apprised of the existing
danger they will at once understand the signal. Moreover
the report may have the effect of alarming the savages."
Lieutenant Elmsley withdrew to execute the order, and
soon after the dull booming of a cannon was heard
reverberating throughout the surrounding woods, and
winding its echoes along the waters of the narrow and
tranquil Chicago. So unusual an event as this excited a
good deal of speculation, not only among the inmates of
the Fort, but among the numerous friendly Indians encamped
without, who, wholly unacquainted with the cause of the
alarm, were, by the strict orders of Captain Headley,
kept ignorant of the information of which Ephraim Giles
had been the bearer--
That night there was a more than usual vigilance exercised
by the sentinels, and although the rest of the garrison
were exempt from extraordinary duty, the watchful and
anxious commanding officer slept not until dawn.
CHAPTER III.
At a distance of about two miles above Heywood's farm,
and on the southern branch of the Chicago, which winds
its slightly serpentine course between the wood and the
prairie. There was at the period of which we treat, a
small deep bay formed by two adjacent and densely wooded
points of land, in the cool shades of which the pike,
the black bass, and the pickerel loved to lie in the heat
of summer, and where, in early spring, though in less
numbers, they were wont to congregate. This was the
customary fishing spot of the garrison--six men and a
non-commissioned officer, repairing there almost daily,
with their ample store of lines and spears, as much,
although not avowedly, for their own amusement, as for
the supply of the officer's table. What remained, after
a certain division among these, became the property of
the captors, who, after appropriating to themselves what
was necessary for their next day's meal, distributed the
rest among the non-commissioned, and men of the company.
As the season advanced, and the fish became more plenty,
there was little limitation of quantity, for the freight,
nightly brought home, and taken with the line and spear
alone, was sufficient to afford every one abundance. In
truth, even in the depth of winter, there was little
privation endured by the garrison--the fat venison brought
in and sold for the veriest trifle by the Indians--the
luscious and ample prairie hen, chiefly shot by the
officers, and the fish we have named, leaving no necessity
for consumption of the salt food with which it was but
indifferently stored.
On the day on which our narrative has commenced, the
usual fishing party had ascended the river at an early
hour, for the newness of the season and the shortness of
the days rendered it an object that they should be on
the accustomed haunt as soon as possible. They had left
the Fort at daylight, passing Heywood's farm at the moment
when, for the purpose of foddering the cattle on the
opposite bank, he, with the boy Wilton, was crossing to
the very canoe in which Ephraim Giles afterwards made
his escape--the latter with the Canadian, being engaged
in felling trees higher up the river.
Arrived at the little bay to which we have just adverted,
the boat was fastened to the gnarled trunk of a tree,
which projected over the deep water at the nearest point,
and the party, taking with them their fishing rods, baits,
and haversacks, but leaving their spears and muskets in
the boat, dispersed themselves at short distances along
the curve that formed the bay, which, however, was not
more than three hundred yards in extent, from point to
point.
When they first cast their lines into the water, the
sun's rays were clearly visible through the thick wood
in their rear. The early morning, too, had been cold--almost
frosty--so much so, that the wild ducks, which generally
evinced a good deal of shyness, NOW, seemingly emboldened
by the briskness of the atmosphere, could be seen gliding
about in considerable numbers, about half a mile below
them; while the fish, on the contrary, as though
dissatisfied with the temperature of their element,
refused to do what the men called "the amiable," by
approaching the hook. Their occupation had been continued
until long past mid-day, during which time not more than
a dozen fish had been taken. Vexed at his ill luck, for
he had not had even a nibble, one of the men flung his
rod upon the bank, impatiently, and then, seating himself
on the projecting root of a large tree, declared it was
all nonsense to play the fool any longer, and that the
most sensible thing they could do, was to take their
dinners--smoke their pipes--and wash the whole down with
a little of the Monongahela.
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