ANCIENT FORT CHARTRES.

The writer points out the importance, especially for the people of Illinois, of this historical monument, only a few miles from the village of Prairie du Rocher, with its associations which carry the visitor back to the days of the French and British dominion in the Illinois country The circumstances of its construction in 1718-1720, as a part of the great designs of Law and his Company of the West, are described, and there is a brief sketch of the subsequent history of the fort and the surrounding village down to the close of the French occupation in 1765. The attractiveness of the old French community life is emphasized.

The conditions under the old English regime are then described and the period is characterized as one of neglect and decadence. The writer then summarizes various contemporary notices of the fort, including those of Gage in 1765, and those of Brackenridge, Beek, and Reynolds. The fort was abandoned after the flood of 1772, but the damage done by the rain has been greatly exaggerated. The writer regards the wholesale demolition of the walls as the work of persons in search of building material. He thinks however, "that the wholesale, unrestrained grab after the useful material of the fort did not begin until 1840, when people should have known better."

"Up to July, 1902, Red Bud, twenty miles away, was the nearest railroad station to this locality; but the Illinois division of the Iron Mountain railroad now has a station at Prairie du Rocher which makes a visit to the fort comparatively easy. Prairie du Rocher itself still presents a distinctly French aspect, though the coming of the railroad is gradually changing the unique character of the place.

"In early days all roads led to Fort Chartres" and highways leading to it were prominent features of early maps but "now, not even a cowpath leads to it." The fort area is reached by crossing a "beautiful level field " and entered through "a rude farm gate." "Cellar walls are in many places intact and nearly filled with debris. The angle of the main wall remains and is used as a stable. Two rude houses occupied by a farmer's tenants, are within the enclosure, which has been cleared of trees, except a few tall ones near the magazine." The magazine, itself is surprisingly well preserved.

[It is to be hoped that this paper may help to stimulate public opinion and lead to some tangible action by the State for the preservation of what still remains of the old fort. Even in its ruins, Fort Chartres is undoubtedly the most important monument of the French dominion in Illinois. For further information regarding Fort Chartres, see E. G. Mason. Illinois in the Eighteenth Centuary (Fergus Historical Series; also, Fort de Chartres, by Jos. Wallace, in Pub. No. 8 of 111. State Hist. Lib.)-ED.]