little city. For the first time business blocks began to appear along the
leading streets and avenues. The architecture in the residences evinced a
tendency toward the modern as time progressed. The corduroy or cobble
streets were improved. The heavy artillery and ponderous wagons carrying
munitions of war required something more substantial in heavy weather, and
gravel was thrown upon the muddy thoroughfares. Level as a plain, but
beautifully drained by the slight inclines to the White River, it was
possible to transform those streams of mud in winter-time and heaps of
brown dust in the dry summer into the magnificently paved or perfectly
asphalted streets of the present day. The city now has 150 miles of
improved streets--forty miles of asphalt, costing $2,514,576; twenty-three
miles of brick, $902,276; twelve miles of wooden block, $710,646, and
seventy-five miles of gravel and boulder, $777,306. There are 107 miles of
cement sidewalks, which required an expenditure of $552,489, and ninety-one
miles of sewers, at an outlay of $1,575,878.
[Illustration MARION COUNTY COURT HOUSE.]
Many beautiful residences, surrounded by well-kept lawns and parks, may be
viewed by a drive through the city or by a tour over any of the lines of
the splendidly managed consolidated street-railway system. The city has
1207 acres of parks, more attractive than the parks of Washington.
Riverside Park, containing 953 acres, the ground for which was purchased in
1900, lies along the White River. Garfield Park contains 103 acres;
Brookside Park, eighty-one acres; and there are various smaller parks
throughout the city. The municipality of Indianapolis has a large park
fund, created from the sale of bonds and from a tax levied for park
purposes. The financial condition of the municipality is the pride of the
citizens. The value of school property is $1,993,620. The city library is a
handsome building, erected especially for library purposes, and contains
one hundred thousand volumes.
In 1887 the Legislature appropriated $200,000 for the erection in
Governor's Circle of the monument to the soldiers and sailors of the State.
The conerstone was laid August 2, 1889. The monument was designed by Bruno
Schmidt, of Berlin, and was built of Indiana limestone, at an expense of
$600,000, including the images at the base. The monument stands 268 feet in
height. Around the approaches are eight magnificent candelabra, valued at
$40,000. The two cascades are the largest artificial waterfalls in the
world, discharging each minute seven thousand gallons. The water is derived
from driven wells beneath the monument, and after flowing over the cascade
returns to the reservoir, from which it is again used through power
furnished by force pumps. In 1900 the revenue of the city was $1,341,861,
and the expenditure $1,245,000. The bonded debt was $2,135,700. The
assessed valuation of property for 1900 was $126,672,652. There are five
national banks with a combined capital of $2,400,000, and four trust
companies with a combined capital of $3,000,000. The wholesale trade is
extensive, confined mostly to drygoods, boots and shoes, and hats, and
reaches as far south as Texas and west to Oklahoma.
[Illustration COLUMBIA CLUB, INDIANAPOLIS.]
Manufacturing interests are large, consisting mainly of structural iron,
mill machinery, engines and various kinds of bent-wood. It is contended
that only Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and New York surpass Indianapolis in
the amount of many manufactured products. Mill machinery and structural
iron is shipped in large quantities to Europe, South America, and other
foreign lands. Indianapolis is one of the greatest horse markets in the
country, and is surpassed by only three cities as a market for hogs and
cattle. A belt railroad circles the city, connecting the two immense
stockyards with all the steam railroads.
[Illustration THE HENDRICKS MONUMENT.]
In May, 1895, John Herron willed to the Art Association $200,000, with
which to erect an art gallery. A site has been purchased, and the gallery
is this year to be built. The Commercial Club, composed of the leading
business men of the city and devoted to advancing the interests of the
city, occupies its own building, an elegant eight-story structure. The home
for the Columbia Club, a Republican organization of State importance, which
has just been completed at an expense of nearly $200,000, is one of the
finest club properties in the entire West. The Marion and the University
clubs both own their buildings, and the women, too, have a club-house. The
Law Building is a handsome and valuable structure of twelve stories,
occupied exclusively by attorneys. The corporation has a large law library
for the use of the tenants.
State institutions are the Insane Hospital, containing fifteen hundred
patients; Institute for the Education of the Blind, and a similar
institution for deaf-mutes. The city has a large and handsomely equipped
hospital, and there are two others well appointed. A new hotel building
will this year take the place of the Bates House, at a cost of more than
$2,000,000. The city is adorned with impressive statues of her favorite
sons: Morton, Whitcomb, William Henry Harrison, and George Rogers Clark in
Monument Place, Vice-President Colfax in University Park, and
Vice-President Hendricks in the State House grounds. To these will be added
in 1901 one of General Henry W. Lawton, a native Hoosier, who fell in
battle in the Philippines, one of General Pleasant A. Hackleman, the only
general officer from Indiana killed in the Civil War, and one sometime, of
course, of the late ex-President Harrison.
Except Philadelphia, it is doubtful if there is a city in the Union where a
greater percentage of the wage-earners possess their own homes. Labor
strikes or disturbances are here almost unknown, and the conditions of
peace and prosperity are assured for many years to come.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
VINCENNES
THE KEY TO THE NORTHWEST
BY WILLIAM HENRY SMITH
"On the banks of the Wabash" is one of the greater historic sites of the
great Northwest. Of no great importance, at least commercially, to-day, it
was once the seat of the empire of France in the Ohio Valley, and long
before, possibly when Moses was leading his people out of bondage, the seat
of an empire established by a race we now call prehistoric. When the Mound
Builders came, whence they came, when they went away, or whither, will, in
all probability never be determined; but they were surely here, and from
the works they left behind, must have been here for centuries, and must
have numbered millions. The site of their capital is not known, but if it
was not on the spot where Vincennes now stands, certainly one of the most
populous cities of their empire did stand here. In the immediate vicinity
are several large mounds, and around them are hundreds of smaller mounds.
There must have been something attractive about this spot on the Wabash,
for after the Mound Builders deserted it and the red men came to occupy the
land, they, too, selected it for the site of one of their principal towns.
No one knows what tribes have dwelt here, but when it was first visited by
white men, the Pi-ank-a-shaws, one of the leading tribes of the great Miami
Confederacy, organized to drive back eastward the Six Nations, occupied it
as their principal village, and called it Chip-kaw-kay. As the red men
depended upon the forests and streams for both food and clothing, this was
for them an ideal spot. The finest forests in America were here, filled
with buffalo, bear, deer, and other game; while the Wabash furnished them
fish and gave them a highway easily traversed by which to visit friends in
other sections or to make raids on hostile tribes.
The traditions of the Pi-ank-a-shaws indicate that they occupied the
site for more than a century before the coming of the whites. Just when
the first white man visited the spot cannot be determined. There is
little doubt that La Salle passed up the Wabash about 1669, gave it the
name of the Ouabache, and marked it on his maps.[8] Finding an Indian
town, he probably stopped and, as was his wont, made friends with the
tribes. A few years later the town was abandoned for a while, owing to
the irruptions of the fierce Iroquois, who were extremely hostile to the
French, and La Salle gathered all the other Indian tribes around his
fort on the Illinois, where they remained until about 1711. When the
Iroquois retired over the mountains the other tribes returned to their
old homes; the Pi-ank-a-shaws to their village on the Wabash, the Weas
erecting their wigwams near the mouth of the Tippecanoe, and the
twightwees locating at the head of the Maumee. Afterward the Delawares
took up their home in Central Indiana, the Shawnees in the eastern
portion, and the Pottawatomies around the foot of Lake Michigan.
The Indians had hardly gotten back to their old hunting-grounds before the
_coureurs des bois_ began to make excursions into the territory in search
of peltries and adventures. Some of them penetrated as far as Chip-kaw-kay
and dwelt for some time with the Pi-ank-a-shaws. Traditions tell of the
visit of a missionary or two, but there is no certainty.
Rumors grew of English traders crossing the mountains, and as all the
territory from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi was claimed by France
because of the explorations of La Salle, the French authorities in Canada
and Louisiana became alarmed, and in 1718 sent out Jean Baptiste Bissot,
the Sieur de Vincent, from Canada to establish posts on the Wabash. He
reached Ke-ki-on-ga, the town of the Twightwees, at the head of the Maumee,
selected it for one of his posts, and for another, Wea town, below the
mouth of the Tippecanoe.
At that time not all of the Ohio Valley was under the jurisdiction of
Canada, but the lower half of what are now Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois
belonged to the province of Louisiana. For this reason Bissot made no
effort to establish posts farther down the Wabash than Wea town, afterward
known as Ouiatenon. He died at Ke-ki-on-ga, in 1719. The incursions of the
English growing bolder and more frequent, M. Broisbriant, Governor of
Louisiana, about 1725, ordered François Margane, Sieur de Vincent, who had
succeeded to the title of his uncle, Jean Baptiste Bissot, to prepare to
repel the advance of the English and drive them back across the mountains.
For this purpose Margane established a post at Chip-kaw-kay, and about
seven years later a number of French-Canadian families settled there. This
was the first settlement of whites in Indiana, although trading posts had
previously been established at the head of the Maumee and at Ouiatenon.
This was the beginning of Vincennes, which was called "the Post," "au
Poste," and "Old Post," till in 1735 it received the present name.
Margane commanded the Post until 1736, when he joined an expedition against
the Indians on the Mississippi, and was captured and burned at the stake.
After his death till the territory was ceded in 1763 to the British, the
Post was commanded by Lieutenant Louis St. Ange, who had assisted in
establishing it. The French during this period lived in peace and
friendship with the Indians, the Pi-ank-a-shaws giving the settlers a large
tract of land around the Post for their use. This land was held in common
by all the inhabitants. In the spring a certain portion was allotted to the
head of each family, or to any one else willing to cultivate it, but when
the harvest was over the fences were taken down and the land again became
public property. After the accession of St. Ange to the command, he made to
certain of the more important persons in the little settlement individual
grants of some of this land, which later caused great confusion.
Lieutenant St. Ange had much influence with the Indians, and as the French
made no attempts to claim the lands of the Indians, or to destroy their
hunting-grounds by cutting down the forests, the little settlement at
Vincennes lived without molestation or fear, until about 1751, when
British agents stirred up some of the tribes to attempt the destruction of
the French posts in the Ohio Valley. St. Ange put his post in a secure
state of defence, and although a few friendly Indians were killed by the
hostiles in the immediate neighborhood, the Post itself was not attacked.
[Illustration EARLY FRENCH SETTLERS AT VINCENNES.]
When Canada was ceded to the British it took with it the posts at the head
of the Maumee and Wea town. They were garrisoned by small detachments of
British troops. Pontiac's conspiracy to drive the British out of the
country included the capture and destruction of all the posts then held by
the British west of the mountains. The two other posts in Indiana were
captured, but Vincennes, being still under the command of St. Ange, was not
attacked. Pontiac endeavored to enlist St. Ange in his warfare against the
colonists, but that astute officer was proof against all his blandishments.
When the treaty of 1763 was made known, St. Ange was transferred to the
command of Fort Chartres, on the Mississippi, and left the affairs of
Vincennes under the control of three of the more prominent citizens.
The British reoccupied Fort Miamis, at the head of the Maumee, and
garrisoned Fort Chartres, but did not occupy Vincennes or assume control
over its affairs. General Gage, commander-in-chief of the British forces in
America, issued a proclamation to the people of Vincennes offering them the
privilege of remaining or of removing to the French or Spanish possessions,
assuring them that if they remained they should have the same religious
privileges as had been granted to the people of Canada. In a later
proclamation he informed the inhabitants that he would not recognize any
claim they had to the lands in and around the Post.
The priest of the little parish and some of the leading citizens
memorialized the General, showing that the lands had been held by them for
many years under grants recognized by the French government, and that it
would be a hardship now to deprive them of the rights they had so long
enjoyed. On the receipt of this memorial General Gage ordered that all
evidences of title be submitted to him at Boston. This, for various
reasons, could not be done. Many of the written grants had, as was the
custom in France, been left in charge of a notary, who had disappeared with
them. In other cases, the grants had been verbal, title passing again,
after a French fashion, by the giving of possession with certain
ceremonies. While this matter was in contest between the citizens of
Vincennes and General Gage, the first mutterings of the American Revolution
brought the General duties of more pressing interest, and nothing further
was done in regard to the land grants at Vincennes.
From 1763, when St. Ange left for Fort Chartres, until 1777, the people of
Vincennes had no civil government except such as they exercised themselves.
On May 19, 1777, Lieutenant-Governor Abbott, of Detroit, arrived and
formally took possession of the place for the King, establishing a
government and building a small stockade fort, which he named "Fort
Sackville." He reported the "Wabache" as one of the finest rivers in the
world, and spoke highly of the peaceful and correct attitude of the
citizens of Vincennes. He also took supervision of the garrisons at
Ouiatenon and Fort Miamis, and the work of the British agents in stirring
up the Indians to active hostilities against the Americans began.
The arrival of Lieutenant-Governor Abbott, and the hostilities of the
Indians he encouraged, gave rise to the most interesting chapter in the
history of Vincennes, and one of the most dramatic chapters in the history
of the United States. Through the influence of the British agents, the
savages made a number of forays against the people of Kentucky, and brought
about an event which added an empire to the United States.
In all American history there is no story more remarkable than that of
George Rogers Clark, yet it is one of the least known. Some of the
encyclopædias do not even mention him, while others dismiss with a few
lines a man who gave an empire to the United States. He lived a remarkable
life, performed great services for his country, and was then permitted to
die in extreme poverty in his old age. His country neglected even to
reimburse him for the expenses incurred while winning for it an empire.
[Illustration FORT SACKVILLE, 1779.]
In 1777 Clark was a citizen of Kentucky. The great question to the people
of Kentucky was how best to defend themselves against the Indian forays.
Clark, through reports of spies he had sent out, became satisfied that the
Indian hostilities were fomented by the British at the various posts
northwest of the Ohio River. He went to Virginia and laid the facts before
Governor Patrick Henry. He pointed out that the best, if not the only, way
to protect the people of Kentucky was to capture and hold the posts at
Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and Detroit; that with those posts in the possession
of the Americans they could overawe and hold in subjection the various
Indian tribes. He offered in person to lead an expedition for their
capture.
[Illustration CLARK AND HIS MEN CROSSING THE RIVER.]
It was known to Governor Henry that the Spaniards west of the Mississippi
had been secretly trying, with some encouragement, to induce the people of
Kentucky to place themselves under Spanish protection. When Clark
approached him with the suggestion to capture the posts northwest of the
Ohio, Governor Henry at first regarded the project as chimerical. One day,
after a long argument, Clark left his presence with the significant remark
"that a country that was not worth defending was not worth possessing."
Interpreting this remark to mean that if Virginia would not help to defend
Kentucky the people there would seek protection from Spain, Governor Henry
recalled Clark, and after a further conference, authorized him to recruit
350 men for the capture of the posts.
He gave him also a small supply of Virginia money and some ammunition.
Returning to Kentucky, Clark hastily recruited a number of men, without
divulging his purpose to them. They rendezvoused on an island in the Ohio
River, opposite the site of Louisville. There he explained his full design,
and all but about 150 refused to join the expedition. Undismayed, Clark
floated the few men remaining with him down the river in boats prepared for
the purpose, and captured Kaskaskia on the 4th of July, 1778. Hearing that
the British had a large force at Vincennes, and had gathered around the
fort a large number of Indians hostile to the Americans, he waited at
Kaskaskia till he could get further information.
The cordial welcome which the French inhabitants of Kaskaskia gave the
Americans led Clark to believe that the inhabitants of Vincennes would
prove friendly. French in both places, they were easily led by their
priests. The priest at Kaskaskia, Father Gibault, a warm partisan of
Clark, offered to go to Vincennes, sound the inhabitants, and learn the
strength of the British there. His offer was accepted, and with a single
companion he made the journey. He found the French inhabitants, in the
absence of the commander of the post, who had gone to Detroit, willing to
welcome a change of rulers, and induced them to go in a body to the little
church and take an oath of allegiance to the American colonies. After this
they took possession of Fort Sackville, and garrisoned it with some of
their own number. Father Gibault also induced the Indians to bury the
hatchet and promise to live in peace with the Americans, now the friends,
as he reminded them, of their great French father.
The news of his success was speedily sent to Clark. Though he had no troops
to send to garrison the fort, he dispatched Captain Leonard Helm to assume
direction of affairs. This was a fortunate selection, for Helm added to
great courage, tact and an intimate knowledge of the Indian character.
It was not long before the British authorities at Detroit were informed of
the change in the situation at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, and at once began
preparations to recover the lost ground. At this time Colonel Henry
Hamilton, of the British army, was Lieutenant-Governor of Detroit. He
assembled a force of five hundred men--regulars, militia and Indians--and
started for Vincennes. Captain Helm did not learn of the approach of this
force until, about the middle of December, it was within three miles of the
fort. His garrison consisted of one American and a few inhabitants of
Vincennes. Seeing that it would be impossible to defend the fort, the
inhabitants quietly dispersed to their homes, leaving Helm and his one
American in the fort. Though he knew he could not successfully defend the
fort, Helm put on a bold front, loaded his two cannon, and placed himself
at one and his solitary soldier at the other. To Hamilton's demand for the
surrender of the post, Helm replied that no man could enter the post until
the terms of surrender were made known. Being promised the honors of war,
he surrendered himself and his one man, to the chagrin of Hamilton, on
discovering the size of the garrison.
The approach of the British had been so sudden that Helm was not able to
dispatch a messenger to Clark, who in consequence remained for several
weeks in ignorance of the change in the situation. The last word he had
received from Helm was a request for more supplies. At that time Francis
Vigo, a merchant of St. Louis, happened to be in Kaskaskia. Loving the
Americans and hating the British, he volunteered to go to Vincennes and
make arrangements to furnish the garrison with supplies. Vigo started on
his journey at once, but was captured by the British just before he reached
Vincennes, and taken before Hamilton. To his demand for immediate release
on the score that he was a citizen of St. Louis, Hamilton was deaf, until
the Roman Catholic priest, heading a delegation of citizens, notified
Hamilton that they would furnish no supplies for the garrison unless Vigo
were released.
Vigo was released, after promising against his will that "on his way to St.
Louis he would do no act hostile to the British interest." He at once took
a canoe and was rapidly paddled down the Wabash to the Ohio, then on to St.
Louis. Keeping the letter of his pledge he did nothing hostile on his way
to St. Louis, but on his arrival there he jumped from the boat to the land
and then back into the boat, and pushed with all speed for Kaskaskia, where
he told Clark of the condition of affairs.
Clark at once saw the danger surrounding him. The term of enlistment of
most of his men was about to expire. By making them large promises he
induced about 150 to extend their enlistment for a term of eight months,
and recruited about fifty more from the inhabitants of Kaskaskia. He could
get no reinforcements short of Virginia, even if he could obtain them
there. If he waited until spring Hamilton would be largely reinforced, he
would be driven from Kaskaskia, and his whole design frustrated. He
determined to make a winter campaign. He sent forty-six of his men in
boats carrying provisions and ammunition around by water, and with 170 set
off February 5, 1779, to make a march of near two hundred miles. It was a
fearful enterprise. The land for most of the way was level, and water, when
it rained, or when the snow melted, lay in a broad sheet over the whole
country. He did not know how many of his foes were before him. He had no
tents to shelter his men and no way of transporting baggage; there were a
few pack horses to carry what provisions and ammunition the men could not
carry on their backs.
[Illustration GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK.]
His men were all hardy frontiersmen; their leader had imbued them with his
own heroic spirit; they feared no danger. Before they left the little
settlement of Kaskaskia, the good priest gave them a blessing, and all the
people accompanied them the first three or four miles of their journey.
Scarcely had the farewells been said and the march begun when the rain
began to fall, and for nearly twenty days there was but a brief glimpse of
sunshine now and then.