son clasped in her arms, both cold in death. On the
site of the village, and in the swamp near by, he
found the dead bodies of many of his kindred and
friends ; among these was an old squaw of ninety
winters, and also two of his grandchildren. All the
dead were scalped, and some of the remains more or
less mutilated.
MRS. BESSON'S NARRATIVE.
While in East St. Louis a short time ago I heard
of an old lady by the name of Besson, who was one
of the captives at the Chicago massacre, and is prob-
ably the only one now living. I called on this lady
and listened to her thrilling narrative relating to
past events, which to me was very interesting. She
said her earlv recollections were associated with Chi-
cago River, Lake Michigan and Fort Dearborn. By
the side of the latter she had spent most of her child-
hood days, and gathered wild-flowers on the flat prai-
rie now covered by the great metropolis of the west.
Her maiden name was Mary Lee, a daughter of
17
258 PIONEERS OF ILLINOIS.
Charles Lee, who with his family came to Fort
Dearborn soon after it was built. Tlieir dwelling
stood on the beach of the lake, near the fort, and
back of it was a small garden enclosed by a rail
fence. For a number of years her father, Mr. Lee,
was engaged in agricultural pursuits, selling the
products of his farm at high rates to the occupants
of the fort.
Mr. Lee made a large farm at a grove of timber
on the south branch of Chicago River, four miles
from its mouth, where Bridgeport now stands. The
land near the lake being either wet or sandy ren-
dered it unfit for farming purposes, which made it
necessary to go up the river to make a farm, where
the prairie was more rolling, and the soil rich. The
communication between Lee's residence and his farm*
during most of the year was by a boat on the river,
the intervening prairie much of the time being
covered with water.
Mr. Lee built two cabins on his farm, and em-
ployed a number of persons to work the land. For
some years the grove with its surroundings was
known as ''Lee's place," afterward called Hard-
scrabble, and at this place the Indians killed two per-
sons, White and Devow, on the 7th of April, 1812,
an account of which is given in Mrs. Kinzie's early
history of Chicago.
MRS. besson's narrative. 259
At the time of the Chicago massacre Mr. Lee's
family consisted of liis wife : an infant two montlis
old ; his son, John of sixteen years ; Mary, now
Mrs. Besson, the subject of our sketch, twelve;
Lillie, ten : and two small bovs.
When the troops left Chicago for Fort Wayne
Mr. Lee, with his family, accompanied them, taking
with him all his horses, but leaving behind a large
herd of cattle, which were shot by the Indians on
the following day. Mrs. Lee, with her infant and
two younger children, were in a covered wagon,
while the two girls were on horseback, and all fol-
lowed the army along the beach of the lake. Little
Lillie was a handsome child, a great pet among the
soldiers and traders about the fort, but she never
before appeared so lovely as on the morning they
left Chicago. She was mounted on a large gray
horse, and to prevent her fiilling off or being thrown
was tied fast to the saddle. She wT)re a white ruf-
fled dress, trimmed with pink ribbon, a black jockey
hat with a white plume on one side, and as her horse
pranced and champed the bits at tlio sound of mar-
tial music little Lillie in a queenly manner sat in the
saddle chattinii; o^ailv with her sister ]\[arv, who rode
by her side. As the soldiers threw kisses at her she
would return them in her merry glee, chatting mii-th-
fully w4tli many of her acquaintances. Her young
260 PIONEEES OF ILLINOIS.
heart was made happy by the excitement of the morn-
ing, and she had no warning of the awful fate that
awaited her a few minutes afterward.
Soon the guns of five hundred savages were raised
against the troops, and by their murderous fire a
large portion of the brave band were stricken down.
During the battle little Lillie was wounded and fell
from her seat, but still hung by the cord that bound
her to the saddle. While in this perilous condition
the frightened horse ran back and forth until caught
by an Indian and the child rescued. When the
battle was over Waupekee, a chief who had often
been at Lee's house and trotted little Lillie on his
knee, was much grieved to see her thus wounded, as
he loved the child as though she were his own daugh-
ter. On examining Lillie' s wound and finding it
mortal the chief put an end to her sufi'ering with a
stroke of his tomahawk, saying afterward it was the
hardest thing he ever did, but he could not bear to
see her sufi'ering. Mr. Lee and his son John were
killed in the battle, and also the two young boys
fell victims to the savages, while Mrs Lee with her
infant child and Mary were made prisoners. Mrs.
Lee and infant fell into the hands of Waupekee, who
had a village on the Des Plaines River about twenty
miles from Chicago, who treated his prisoner kindly,
and tried to induce her to marry him, notwithstand-
MRS. besson's narrative. 261
ing he already had three wives. But she declined
the marriage proposition, hoping some day to be
ransomed and again restored to friends and civiliza-
tion.
During the following winter Mrs. Lee's child be-
came sick, and after all the known remedies of the
Indian doctor failed to remove the disease the chief
proposed to take it to Chicago for medical treatment.
A Frenchman named Du Pin had taken possession
of Kinzie's house soon after the burning of the fort,
and for a number of years carried on a trade with
the Indians.
On a cold day in the latter part of the winter
Waupekee wrapped the sick infant in a blanket,
mounted his pony, and with his charge started for
Chicago. On arriving at Du Pin's residence the
chief laid his package on the floor. '^ What have
you there ? " asked the trader ; to which Waupe-
kee replied, ''A young raccoon, which I have
brought you as a present ;" and unwrapping the
package there lay the sick infant almost smothered
in the thick folds of the blanket. The trader made
a prescription for the child, after which the chief
.carried it back to its mother, and it final Iv ^j^ot well.
The trader became interested in the welfare of
Mrs. Lee, and offered Waupekee a large amount of
goods for his prisoner. This ofier was accepted, the
262 PIONEEES OF ILLIl^OIS.
prisoner brought to the trading-house to be liber-
ated, and soon afterward she became Madame
Du Pin.
In the division of prisoners after the battle Marj
Lee was taken to an Indian village on the Kankakee
River, and in the following spring was carried to
St. Louis, and ransomed by the Indian agent, Gen-
eral Clark. Some years afterward she married a
Frenchman by the name of Besson, and is now living
with a distant connection of her husband in East
St. Louis.
Mary Lee never met her mother after that fatal
day, and for many years supposed she was killed
with the other members of the familv, but subse-
quently learned of her captivity, liberation, mar-
riage and death.
THE FRENCH AT PEORIA REGARDED AS ENEMIES.
While the inhabitants of Peoria were quietly pur-
suing their daily avocation of farming, hunting and
trading with Indians, being as they supposed at
peace w^ith all the world, a plot was laid for their
destruction. Being located in the midst of a wilder-
ness country, nearly two hundred miles from the
nearest American settlement, and having but little
intercourse with the civilized world, they could not
have known that war between the United States and
THE FRENCH AT PEORIA. 263
England existed if they had not learned the fact
from neighboring Indians,
Although the French at Peoria had lived within
the jurisdiction of the United States government for
twenty-four years they had never taken the oath of
allegiance, acknowledged its power, nor paid tax to
its support. They were a foreign people, speaking
a different language, with habits and customs pecu-
liar to themselves, and all their trade and inter-
course was with the French citizens of Canada. The
evil report in circulation about the French at Peoria
assisting the Indians was believed by Governor Ed-
wards, and he issued a proclamation calling for vol-
unteers, in order to send an armed force against
them. About two hundred men responded to the
call, who were placed under the command of Cap-
tain Craig, and rendezvoused at Shawn eetown.
Four keel-boats were prepared, with rifle-ball-proof
planking, mounted with cannon and filled with armed
soldiers. The boats left Shawmeetown early in Oc-
tober, and arrived at Peoria on the 5th of Novem-
ber. The inhabitants of Pe'oria were much sur-
prised to see these four armed boats land at their
wharf, as no large craft had ever reached that place
before.
264 PIONEERS OF ILLINOIS.
CAPTAIN CRAIG'S ACCOUNT OF HIS ATTACK ON
PEORIA.
Captain Thomas E. Craig in his report to Gov-
ernor Edwards, dated at Shawneetown, December 10,
1812, giving an account of the burning of Peoria,
says : "I landed at Peoria on the 5th of ]N"ovember,
and left it on the 9th. About midnight on the 6th
the wind blew so hard on the lake that we were
compelled to let the boats pass down into the river
a short distance below the town. At daybreak
next morning we were fired on by a party of Indians
who had secreted themselves in the thick timber
close by. Preparations were immediately made for
battle, and bringing the cannons to bear we shelled
the woods, but no enemy appeared, having fled after
discharging their guns. Soon after daylight I had
the boats landed opposite the center of the town,
and took all the men prisoners, as they had undoubt-
edly pointed out our location to the Indians. I
burned about half the town of Peoria, and would
have burned all of it and destroyed all the stock but
I expected General Hopkins' army to pass that way
soon."
Part of the statements made by Captain Craig
are undoubtedly true, but he fails to tell the whole
story. The cold, selfish brutality practiced by the
BURNING OF PEORIA. 265
men under Captain Craig's command has never be-
fore been given to the public, and may appear
strange to the reader, but it is nevertheless true.
On this subject I have conversed with four different
persons, Robert Forsyth, Rene La Croix, Ily polite
Pilette, and Antoine Le Chiir, all of whom were
present at the time, being residents of Peoria. Their
accounts of this affair will be found in the succeeding
sketch, and are undoubtedly true, as all those state-
ments agree on the principal facts, although differing
somewdiat in detail.
BURNING OF PEORIA.
The following account of the arrival of the gun-
boats, under command of Captain Craig, and burn-
ing of Peoria, are principally taken from the state-
ments of Antoine Le Clair and Hypolite Pilette,
both of whom were present at the time. Le Clair
was a half-breed, and acquired much celebrity in
after years as the proprietor ol the city of Daven-
port, Iowa. Pilette is now living on the American
Bottom not far from Prairie du Rocher, to whom
many other references are made in this book.
On Sunday morning, November 5, 1812. while
the people of Peoria were assembled at the church,
engaged in saying mass, they were startled by the
report of a cannon. The congregation, partly
266 PIONEERS OF ILLINOIS.
through fright and partly by curiosity, ran out of
the church, when thev discovered four armed boats
in the lake under full sail. On coming opposite the
town the boats rounded to, and landed at the wharf.
Father Racine came down from the pulpit, and in
his long black robe, with his bald head uncovered,
started for the landing followed by all the congrega-
tion, men, women and children, Avhere they met
Captain Craig, who had landed from a boat. Thomas
Forsyth, who spoke English, inquired of the cap-
tain the object of this visit, but the question was
evaded, and in return he demanded of the citizens a
supply of meat and vegetables for his men, which
were furnished to them.
The soldiers landed from the boats, scattered
through the town in search of plunder, and com-
mitted many depredations on the people. They
broke open the store of Felix La Fontain, in which
Antoine Le Clair was a clerk, and took therefrom
two casks of wine and drank the contents. Some
of the soldiers became intoxicated, forcing their way
into houses, insulting women, carrying off eatables,
blankets, and everything they took a fancy to. A
soldier named Hitchcock, w^tli three other armed
men, went into a house occupied by very old
people, and robbed it of most of its valuables. The
jewelry and gold taken from this house were seen
BURNING OF PEORIA. 267
in the possession of the robbers on the following
day, and a valuable watch with a heavy gold cross
was exhibited afterward as trophies of war. It
was long after dark before Ca^^tain Craig succeeded
in getting his drunken, disorderly soldiers on board
again, after which the boats were anchored out in
the lake to prevent further depredations on the citi-
zens. During the night a high wind arose, and to
escape the waves in the lake the boats were run down
into the channel, one-half mile below the town.
About daybreak next morning eight or ten men went
into the river timber to shoot beeves. The cattle be-
ing mixed with buifalo lived during the winter on
the range, became partly wild, and hunted down in
the woods same as deer or elk. This party of hunt-
ers attacked the herd in their lair, near where the
gunboats lay, shot three beeves, and had commenced
skinning them when the timber was riddled with
cannon balls. The hunters left their beeves un-
dressed, and fled for their homes without having the
slightest idea why this hostile demonstration was
made by the troops.
The boats were run up opposite the town imme-
diately after the firing of cannon, when Captain Craig,
with a large armed force, visited every house, and
took all the men prisoners of war. Some of the men
were still in bed, and not allowed time to dress, but
268 PIONEERS OF ILLINOIS.
hurried off to the boats with their clothes in their
hands. A torch was applied to each house in town
and burned with all their contents, while women and
children with wild screams escaped from the burning
buildings, and like a herd of frightened deer fled to
a grove of timber above the desolated town. The
church, which contained a golden image and a cru-
cifix, with other valuable religious emblems, a pres-
ent from the bishop of Quebec, were all burned
with the building. The windmill, which stood
on the bank of the lake, filled with grain and flour
belonging to the citizens, was burned, as w^ell as
stables, barns, corn-cribs, etc. Felix La Fontain,
Michael La Croix, Antoine Des Champs, and Thomas
Forsyth, all of whom were traders with stores well
filled with goods, were consumed by the flames. An
old man named Benit, formerly a trader, had
saved a large amount of gold by the toil of half a cen-
tury, and had lain it away for old age. This gold
was secreted in his dwelling, and finding it on fire
he rushed in to save his treasure, and perished in the
flames. The bones of this old man were found
among the ashes of his dwelling in the following-
spring by a party of hunters who visited Peoria.
Mrs. La Croix, a lady of refinement and personal
attractions, who in after years became the wife of
Governor Reynolds, being alone with her small ehil
BURNING OF PEORIA. 269
dren when her house was set on fire, appealed to the
sokfiers to save the ch)thing of herself and little ones,
but their appeals were in vain, and witli her chil-
dren only escaped tVoni the burning building.
There is an incident connected with the burning
of Peoria not generally known, which to some extent
explains the barbarous conduct of the soldiers, and
somewhat palliates this outrage against humanity.
About two months before Peoria was burned Gen-
eral Howard, stationed at Portage du Sioux, sent one
of his soldiers, a young half-breed named Baptiste
Snipkins, to Peoria in order to ascertain if the citi-
zens were assisting the Indians in carrying on the
war against the settlements, as had been reported.
This messenger, called Howard's express by courtesy,
but in fact a spy, learned all he could from the
people without letting his true business be known.
This young scapegrace instead of returning to the
army, and reporting the true state affairs, according
to orders, became enamored with a girl and pro-
longed his stay until the arrival of Captain Craig.
To escape punishment for disobeying orders he re-
ported to Craig's command that he was detained
against his will, being a prisoner in the hands of the
French, but this statement was afterward proven to
be false. If this messenger had returned to the
army and reported according to orders Craig's expe-
270 PIONEERS OF ILLINOIS.
dition would have been abandoned, and the destruc-
tion of Peoria averted.
A short time before Peoria was burned Thomas
Forsjth had been appointed a government agent,
but this appointment was kept a secret bj the de-
partment at Wasiiington, as it was thought if known
it would lessen his influence with the Indians, and
perhaps prejudice his townsmen against him. When
Forsyth was made a prisoner he showed his commis-
sion to Captain Craig, containing the United States
seal, but the incredulous officer pronounced it a
forgery.
When the destruction of Peoria was completed
the boats started dT)v^ni the river, carrying with them
all the men as prisoners of war. Two miles below
the present site of Alton, in the thick river timber,
the prisoners were set at liberty, without tents, pro-
vision, or means of returning to their families.
Some of the women and children having been left at
the burned town without food or shelter, were in a suf-
fering condition, and without assistance would have
perished. It was late in the fall, the sky overcast
with gray clouds, and the cold November winds
howled through the forest trees, blowing the dry
leaves hither and thither. . With high winds came
squalls of snow, atid the roaring and lashing of the
waves in the lake caused mothers to draw infants
BURNING OF PEORIA. 271
closer to their bosoms to protect them from the in-
clement weather. To those destitute, helpless
women all was dark and cheerless ; the lamentations
of mothers and cries of children were heard at a dis-
tance, and touched the heart of a sympathizing
friend, although a savage. While in the midst of
trouble they discovered a lone Indian walking leis-
urely along the beach of the lake, who with a firm
step approaclied this group of women and children.
He carried a rifle on his shoulder, a tomahawk and
seal ping-knife in his belt, and his face was painted
in many colors. Notwithstanding he was disguised
by paint, they recognized in the approaching Indian
Gomo, a friendly chief, who had a village where
Chillicothe now stands.
On the approach of the gunboats the inhabitants
of Gomo's village fled westward, but the chief with
two warriors secreted themselves in the thick tim-
ber watching the movements of the soldiers, and as
soon as the boats departed down the river they came
forth from their hiding place to assist their friends
in distress. Gomo and his comrades furnished pro-
vision and shelter for the destitute women and chil-
dren, and provided them with canoes to descend the
river.
When furnished with an outfit for the iournev the
women with their little ones started down the river,
272 PIONEERS OF ILLINOIS.
camping each night on its banks, without tents to
shelter them from the cold night air. After many
days of toil, hardships and exposure, drenched by
rain, ffufferiuLi from cold and hunger, they reached
Cahokia, where they were provided for by their
countrymen^ and afterward joined by their hus-
bands and fathers.
It has been stated that Captain Craig took the
women and children in the boat with the men, but
this statement applies only to a few families. The
families of Thomas Forsyth, Antoine Le Pance, Fe-
lix La Fontain, and perhaps one or two others, were
put on board of the boats. But I am informed by
Rene Le Croix and Hypolite Pilette that their moth-
er's family, with many others, went down the river
in bark canoes furnished by Gomo as previously
stated.
Captain Craig has been much vilified for burn-
ing Peoria, but it must be remembered that he acted
under the orders of Governor Edwards, who ap-
proved of his conduct, and afterward appointed him
to an important office. It appears Governor Ed-
wards was misled by talse reports, which caused
him to make war on innocent people, and in justice
to his memory, I am willing to believe he did only
what at the time he believed to be his duty.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS LEFr BY CAPTIVES. 273
DOMESTIC ANIMALS LEFT BY THE CAPTIVES.
The citizens of Peoria, when captured and car-
ried off prisoners of war, left at their homes horses,
cattle and hogs to run wild in the timber, and some
of the former starved to death during the cold winter
which followed. In the following spring a party of
French and half-breeds belonging at Cahokia went
to Peoria, gathered up the cattle, driving them
south to the settlement, and returning some of these
animals to their rightful owners.
Hogs ran wild in the river timber, and were
found in large numbers ten years afterward by the
early American settlers. As these hogs increased
in numbers they scattered over the country, and
were hunted down in the thick timber the same as
deer.
In 1820 a wild bull and yearling heifer, crossed
with buffalo, were shot by hunters in Spoon River
timber. The Indians say at one time there was
a large herd of wild cattle in this section ot the
country; but they hunted them down for beef. The
wild cattle found by hunters, in all probability, were
from the herd left at Peoria eight years before, or
may have been the offspring of a herd that strayed
away many years before, and became wild.
18
CHAPTEK XXII.
INDIAN RAID ON THE SETTLEMENT.
SOME days after tlie destruction of Black Par-
tridge's village, a party of warriors headed by
the old chief returned to bury the dead, and found the
remains of the slain scalped, mutilated, and partly
devoured by wolves. After burying the dead the
warriors engaged in a winter hunt, according to
their custom, but Black Partridge traveled over
the country in various directions, holding coun-
cils with chiefs and warriors, in order to enlist them
in his cause. He was now old, his hair whitened
by the snows of seventy winters, still his figure was
erect and his step firm. Age had not dimmed the
fire of his eyes, nor destroyed the valor of his youth.
For many years he had been a friend of the whites,
and to protect them from harm he had made many
sacrifices. He had done everything in his power to
prevent the massacre at Chicago, and saved the life
of Mrs. Helm at the risk of his own. He had col-
lected around him a few faithful friends to guard the
dwelling of John Kinzie, and thereby rescued the
274
INDIAN RAID ON THE SETTLEMENT. 275
family, with other prisoners, from massacre. Pie
traveled a long way to the Kankakee village, gave
his pony, rilie and ring to ransom Lieutenant Helm,
and while tired and hungry returned to find his
home desolated, and his friends murdered or driven
away. Notwithstanding Black Partridge had made
all these sacrifices i'or his white friends, they made
war on him, burned his village, destroyed his corn,
drove off his ponies, and killed about thirty of his
people, among whom were some of his l<insmon, and
he now lived only for revenge.
In tlie following summer, 1813, Black Partridge
with about three hundred warriors, all mounted on
ponies, left for the frontier settlement in the south
part of the state. They went within thirty miles of
the settlement, and secreted themselves in the thick
timber of Shoal Creek, now in Bond county. From
here they sent out small war parties to attack the
settlers and kill defenseless women and children.
The people became greatly alarmed at these depre-
dations ; nniny fled from tlieir homes, and sought
refuge at Cahokia or Kaskaskia; others built tem-
porary forts to shield themselves from the toma-
hawks and scalping-knivos of these ruthless savages.
It is said a half-breed dressed as a white man acted
as a spy, visitino; <lifferent settlements under the
pretext of hunting stray horses, and informed the
276 PIONEERS OF ILLINOIS.
Indians of the most exposed points. Tlirougli tliis
spy the Indians learned that an expedition was about