said, that he and his company were fired on in the night, while at anchor in the boats, before the village, by the Indians, with whom the inhabitants were suspected, by Craig, to be too intimate and friendly. The inhabitants of Peoria, it would appear, and from all I can learn, settled there without any grant or permission from the authority of any government; that the only title they had to the land was derived from possession."

CHAPTER XIII

SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY-1828-30.

The Sixth General Assembly convened December 1, 1828, and adjourned January 23, 1829. Lieut.-Gov. Kinney presided over the Senate, and Emanuel J. West served as Secretary. John McLean was elected Speaker of the House, and William L. D. Ewing Clerk.

James Hall, of Jackson, became Treasurer February 12, 1827. Alex. P. Field, of Union, became Secretary of State December 31, 1828.

Ninian Edwards ceased to be Governor December 9, 1830. Mr. Edwards discharged the duties of the Executive with ease to himself and satisfaction to the people, having had nine years experience as Governor of the Territory.

Gov. Edwards was born in Montgomery county, Maryland, March, 1775. He graduated at Dickinson College; studied both medicine and law, but devoted himself to the practice of law. Removing to Kentucky, he was twice elected to the Legislature; he was appointed Circuit Clerk and subsequently Judge of the General Court of Kentucky; Judge of the Circuit Court; Judge of the Court of Appeals, and finally Chief Justice of the State, which position he

resigned to accept the office of Governor of the Territory of Illinois, and, while holding this trust, he had many conflicts with the Indians. Before Congress had adopted any measures on the subject of volunteer rangers, he organized companies, supplied them with arms, built stockade forts, and established a line of posts from the mouth of the Missouri to the Wabash river, and was thus enabled to protect the people against the assaults of the Indians.

Gov. Edwards had three sons, Ninian W., Albert G. and Benjamin S.-all of whom are living; and two daughters, Julia Catherine, who married Daniel P. Cook, and Mary B., who married Joseph S. Lane, of St. Louis, Missouri, -both of whom died some years ago. Gov. Edwards died July 20, 1833.

CHAPTER XIV.

ALTON AS A RIVAL TO ST. LOUIS.

Alton as a Rival to St. Louis-Massacre at Fort Massac-One of the Landmarks of 1837.

One of the things contemplated in the internal improvement system of this State in 1837, was to make Alton the rival of St. Louis, as a great commercial center; and all who did not bow down to that idea were regarded as common enemies of the State, but it is interesting to know that all our public men did not accept as practical the policy of confining our commerce and the business of our railroads within the limits of the State. Among the projected roads was one from Alton to Mt. Carmel, known as the Southern Cross railroad. Governor Zadok Casey,

father of the well-known Samuel K. Casey, and also of Thomas S. and Newton R. Casey, hardly less well-known, clearly saw the inutility of making Alton its terminus, and made an earnest effort to secure its diversion to St. Louis, but it was unavailing, as the following incident will show: He planned an extensive campaign along the proposed line, and made his opening speech at Fairfield, and, as it turned out, his last one on the subject. A great crowd gathered on the public square of that village, now a thriving little city, and the Governor, a man of fine presence and pleasing address, mounted a goods-box and proceeded to open up the subject in a manner which brought forth hearty applause, but when he suggested St. Louis, instead of Alton, as the terminus of the road, a change came over the spirit of his hearers, and they unceremoniously assisted him off the box; and here ended his campaign in the interest of a railroad from Mt. Carmel to St. Louis. But it is creditable to his foresight to say that such a road is now in operation. It is known as the Air-Line, running from Louisville to St. Louis, and traverses the identical section of country mapped out by Gov. Casey forty-six years ago.

MASSACRE AT FORT MASSAC.

Peck's Gazetteer of Illinois, of 1834, gives the following interesting account of an Indian massacre of French soldiers at Fort Massac, in what is now Massac county, when Illinois was owned by the French government:

"Fort Massac, formerly a military post, was situated on the Ohio river, on the dividing line of Johnson and Pope counties, eight miles below Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee. A fort was erected here by the French when in possession of the Western country. The Indians, then at war with them, laid a curious stratagem to take it. A number of them appeared in the day time on the opposite side of the river, each of whom was covered with a bear skin and walked on all fours. Supposing them to

be bears, a party of the French crossed the river in pursuit of them. The remainder of the troops left their quarters, to see the sport.

"In the meantime a large body of warriors, who were concealed in the woods near by, came silently behind the fort, entered it without opposition, and very few of the French escaped the massacre. They afterwards built another fort on the same ground, and called it Massac, in memory of this disastrous event."

On this memorable spot there is not now a vestige of the old fort.

ONE OF THE LANDMARKS OF 1837.

One of the few landmarks of the internal improvement system of 1837, is the bank building of the "Bank of Illinois," of Shawneetown, which was erected in 1838-40. It is of massive stone and brick, four stories high, fifty feet front and ninety feet deep. It is of Doric architecture, with five solid stone columns, forty feet high and sixty inches in diameter. The building, which cost $3,000, is imposing in appearance, and although constructed fortysix years ago, would grace any of our modern cities. The "Bank of Illinois" had six branches-Galena, Quincy, Alton, Jacksonville, Pekin, and Lawrenceville. The bank and its branches were forced to close business in 1843, and the banking house at Shawneetown was sold some years after to Joel A. Matteson, who started a bank there in 1853 or 1854, in charge of A. B. Safford, as cashier. Subsequently Mr. Safford removed to Cairo, when L. B. Leach took control of it until the war for the Union ensued, when the bank ceased to do business, and Mr. Matteson, fearing that the country would be overrun by the rebels, sold it to Thos. S. Ridgway, for the trifling sum of $6,500, and since 1865 it has been occupied by the "First National Bank," with John McKee Peeples as President, and Thos. S. Ridgway as Cashier, until the death of Mr. Peeples, when Mr. Ridgway became President, and Wm. D. Phile Cashier.

CHAPTER XV.

STATE GOVERNMENT-1830-34,

The fourth State government was inaugurated December 9, 1830, with John Reynolds, of St. Clair, as Governor; Zadok Casey, of Jefferson, Lieutenant-Governor; Alex. P. Field, of Union, Secretary of State; James T. B. Stapp, of Fayette, Auditor of Public Accounts; James Hall, of Jackson, Treasurer; George Forquer, of Sangamon, Attorney-General.

The Seventh General Assembly convened December 6, 1830, and adjourned February 16, 1831. Lieut.-Gov. Casey presided over the Senate, and Jesse B. Thomas was elected Secretary. Wm. L. D. Ewing was elected Speaker of the House, and David Prickett, Clerk.

CHAPTER XVI.

PROGRESS IN SCHOOLS.

Novel School Laws-School Tax Paid in Produce-Alton the first to Establish a Free School-Normal Schools-Colleges--State Teachers' Association-Prominent Educators-Superintendents of Public InstructionSchool Journals.

Among all the grand achievements of our State, there is none of which the people have reason to feel a greater pride than in the progress made in the school system. Its success has been the foundation stone of all other successes, whether moral, religious or industrial. A contemplation of the past and present of the system can not fail to prove both entertaining and instructive, if not amusing.