XI.

EARLY REMINISCENCES.

(By A. W. French.)

The remarks I have thought to make to the Historical Society will perhaps be not well pointed, not relevant to one another, possibly not intrinsically interesting, but may serve to beguile a few moments and, it may be, leave something which will cling to the memory as part of our early history.

Some of the reminiscences of my early life in Illinois grow brighter and fresher in memory as they recede in the distance, and recur to the mind unbidden, but not always unwelcome. In 1847 1 took steamboat at Buffalo for Sandusky, from that place by stage to Mansfield, then by stage after a few days' stay, to Columbus, a few days at Columbus, and then by stage to Springfield, O., to which a little spur of railroad had reached from Cincinnati--by this railroad to the then ambitious emporium of Ohio. On Sunday evening I took passage on a small steamboat for St. Louis. As was usual with the Ohio in October, it was more easily navigable on foot than by any craft larger than a canoe. There was little depth of water. and at frequent intervals the patient laborers on the deck had to get out the spars and apply the power of the capstan to drag the vessel over the often recurring shallows to a little deeper water, on which it would float along a few miles until the laborious operation had to be repeated.

The Mississippi after passing Cairo, was little better, and on one occasion, while lying stranded, diagonally across the stream, another boat, seeking the channel and coming too close to us, swept away our guard, on which three or four of our passengers were standing, dropping them into the river, where they were left to float away with the guard and rail. It was while so looking over the side of a stranded -steamboat that Mr. Lincoln conceived the idea of lifting the boat temporarily till it should pass the bar. He would place an expansible contrivance beneath the boat on the water that should give a lift equal to the occasion and send the vessel on her way; but neither natural philosophy nor mechanics was Mr. Lincoln's "best hold," and he had not provided any power to expand the bag which was to do the lifting with a power equal to the weight of boat and cargo. Mr. Lincoln had, however, sufficient faith in his invention, to take out a patent on it.

What he claimed, was, "a combination of expansible buoyant chambers placed at the sides of the vessel with the main shaft or shafts C, by means of the sliding spurs or shafts D, which pass down through the buoyant chambers and be made fast to their bottoms and the series of ropes and pullies, or their equivalents in such a manner that by turning the shaft or shafts in One direction, the buoyant chambers will be forced downwards into the water and at the same time expanded and filled with air for buoying up the vessel by displacement of water, and by turning the shaft in an opposite direction the buoyant chambers will be contracted into small space, and secured against injury. Mr. Lincoln had a small model of his contrivance made and I saw him in, 1850 trying its working in the horse trough which then stood at the southwest corner of the square within a few steps of my office.

The next Sunday evening brought St. Louis into view, seven days and two hours on the trip. As we neared the city the lead was constantly cast to give warning of shoals, and here I first learned the words which afterwards

became the nom de plume now known throughout the civilized world to designate one of America's most pleasing and popular authors, "Mark Twain" alternating with the most dismal and depressing words, "no bottom"--"no bottom," as the lead sunk two fathoms or much more, screamed from the lower deck for the instruction of the pilot aloft, Mr. Clemens was at that time, I think, piloting boats up and down the river. The next day I took passage to go up the river to stop at a place made somewhat famous by tales of another distinguished writer. Mr. Hay, in his "Jim Bledso" and called Gilgal. The island, so called made by the Smy Cante Slough which comes out of the Mississippi above Hannibal and returns to it near Clarksburg, a distance of about 30 miles, was the home of many deer, and I saw them very often. A spot on these swampy plains would raise tens of thousands of geese and ducks-enough to darken the sky for a few moments.

In the spring of 1848 1 spent a week or two in Beardstown. This was an ambitious place-had a brick tavern and a landing, and was the entrepot and ,the outlet of nearly all of the saleable products of a large part of the State. A traveler between Springfield and Beardstown would rarely be out of sight of heavily loaded wagons carrying out the productions or bringing in the merchants' goods. Several religious societies existed in the town of Beardstown and as many efforts had been made to erect places for worship but none of them had been brought sufficiently near completion to be used. So by common consent each church in turn used the courthouse as a place of worship. The Episcopalians would meet in the morning, have their spontaneous singing, responses, united oral prayer while sitting, responsive reading, etc. In the afternoon the Presbyterians would assemble, sing formal hymns first, read to them, rise for prayer, and sit during the singing and enjoy a formal and well studied sermon all with marked due solemnity. In the evening, the Methodists took their turn in the use of the public building, kneeled during prayers, stood in singing and as was their custom in those days relieved any dullness which an observer might feel by individually injecting into the ceremonies a little spontaneity by more than one speaking at the same time in the form ejaculatory agreement with sentiments uttered, etc.

Now, the queerest part of all this is, that with a half dozen exceptions in a full house, exactly the same men and women filled the seats and participated in the worship morning, afternoon and night, adapting themselves so well to what was expected of them by the man in the pulpit, 'or rather on the rostrum, and fulfilling the requirements of each mode of worship.

While in Beardstown I saw erected two tall masts on either side of the Illinois river for the purpose of conveying the telegraph wires across the river, it not yet having been learned that the current could be carried under as well as over the water. The telegraph was then being built across the State, for the first time and when I arrived in Springfield the first dispatch had been received and been paid for by a collection on the square.

On my way across Cass county I saw in a little place with a rather pretentious name, one of the numerous churches which had little hope of ever being completed. In my eastern home I had often heard from the pulpit appeals for aid for western, particularly Illinois churches, and there was a pretty steady flow of contributions for that purpose and here was one of the

products. The building had got itself inclosed, but if doors or windows had been used they were now gone, and a flock of real sheep sought within a shade from the summer sun. A purer congregation is not conceivable, for not a goat was there. Mr. Ruggles, in his interesting paper read at the last meeting of the Society alluded to the nomination of Richard Yates to Congress in 1850. The districts in those days were so large, and the means of traveling so primitive and meagre, that it required some patriotism or some other powerful motive to bring a convention together.

The place which had been selected for the convention was Pekin, sixty long miles from Springfield. The delegation from Sangamon county was composed of ten men. There was a sort of carryall in the city, a cheap vehicle with seats running along the sides like those in an omnibus, but far enough from possessing any of the comforts of that conveyance. This, supplied with four horses, was furnished us, and in it we were to spend three long days in the annual hot spell of July, and to travel one hundred and twenty miles. With an early morning start we arrived at Delavan, forty miles, in the evening. With the forecast which first settlers nearly always possess, someone had built at Delavan a large wooden tavern, in the fond expectation of seeing a great city grow up around it. Here we met the delegation from Morgan and another from Logan counties.

Here were men enough to cover the floor of the house, as each laid down where he could. Early the next morning we were on the road to Pekin, 25 miles away, where we arrived before noon. The convention was called to order and the business was soon dispatched by the unanimous nomination of Mr. Yates, that great man, for Congress, who, in another and more responsible office, undoubtedly saved this State from the shame and horror of passing an act of secession from the Union.

Dr. Boal, of Pekin, was the only other candidate mentioned, though there was some expectation that the then last member, Mr. Lincoln, might be named. By the close of the day we had returned to Delavan, where the same agreeable experiences were enjoyed as on the previous night. and by four o'clock on the next day, we were on out. way home. The prairie we were now crossing was one of the largest in the State. Grass formed the horizon. Not a tree or a shrub obstructed the view as far as the eye could reach. The beaten path was the width of the wagon and the tall grass whipped the wheels as the passed. About a half hour after sunrise, as our team was trotting slowly along, one of our number who had chosen to ride on the top of the vehicle with the driver, discovered running along before us one of those pretty (to look at) black and white little animals known as mephitis mustela (the English name is shorter), so adapting his pace to the speed of our team as to keep out of the way. This gentleman never was lacking in valor or in personal vigor, but had often given his friends reason to question his discretion. The inspiration of a most glorious morning and of the charming scenes with which we were surrounded, together with a fondness for the pursuit of game, disquieted him, and he sprang off and gave chase to the little animal, which kept the path rather than enter the dew laden grass. As missels are entirely wanting on the prairie, when he got near enough to his game he would throw his hat at it, then pick it up and cast again. This pursuit lasted till the tired creature took refuge in the grass and then our hunter came on board again. I need not draw out the story-the hat was left in the road, and our gentleman was requested to ride on deck the rest of the way home. Middletown was able to furnish a hat. The delegation arrived in Springfield late in the evening.

The nomination of Mr. Yates was in accordance with an agreement among the Whig politicians of the district made some years before, on the removal of Gen. E. D. Baker to another district, that the succession should be, after Baker, Lincoln, then Stephen T. Logan, and next Yates.

Major Harris, democrat, of Menard, coming into the field at this time covered with fresh laurels from the war in Mexico, defeated Judge Logan -and interfered with the succession, but not with the whig nominations.