Ocean to Ocean on Horseback Part 14

"If you are women, go home; if you are men, do your duty as judges of the court. I will do mine. If you leave this matter entirely with me, I will be responsible for your safety and insure the accomplishment of our object; but if otherwise, I can give you no a.s.surance!"

In the light of present knowledge, the reader of these words, while he respects and admires the spirit in which they were uttered, and the man who spoke them, cannot avoid a mild sense of amus.e.m.e.nt. But this is not to the point. Matters proceeded seriously on that sixth of September, 1835. Vanfleet called for twenty volunteers, and these having quickly responded to the call, the Colonel then informed his proteges, probably not to their surprise, that the seventh of September would begin immediately after midnight; that the law did not specify any time for the opening of court, and that if they would rely upon his protection, they could accomplish their purpose in the face of the foe.

"Governor Lucas wants the court held," he added, "so that by its record he may show to the world that he has executed the laws of Ohio over the disputed territory in spite of the vaporing threats of Governor Mason.

Be prepared to mount your horses to start for Toledo at precisely one o'clock in the morning. I will be ready with my escort."

The appointment was met, and Toledo was reached at three o'clock. The party proceeded directly to a school-house, and there court was held in due form of law, its proceedings written out on bits of paper being deposited in the tall crown of the clerk's hat. When business was over, the entire party went to a tavern near by for refreshments. Just as the men were about to indulge in a second cup of cheer, some one called out that General Brown, with a strong force, was on his way to arrest them.

Gla.s.ses were dropped, the little matter of indebtedness to the saloon-keeper was waived without ceremony, and a moment later not a sign of the Ohio dignitaries remained.

When they had placed a sufficient amount of the contested soil between themselves and General Brown, they halted upon a hill to fire a salute, but at that time it was learned that the clerk's hat, containing the all-important papers, had been knocked off his head by the limb of a tree during the retreat. To return might mean capture and the failure of their plan. To abandon the recovery of the missing hat would be equally deplorable. Vanfleet accordingly sent back a small detachment to search the road; "the lost was found," and, at last triumphant, a loud salute was fired. To say that the men did not then let the gra.s.s grow under their feet is but a mild a.s.sertion. It has been said by good authorities, that if the retreating party had charged General Brown's regiment with half the force they employed in getting away, they could have routed a force twice its size. When Congress convened, however, they had the satisfaction of having a favorable verdict p.r.o.nounced upon their "unlawful act, lawfully committed," although Jackson had previously expressed himself in sympathy with the cause of Michigan. The defeated party, to even up matters, was given the northern peninsula between Superior and Huron, now her richest section.

During the course of the "war" Toledo was full of Michigan troops, who left many anecdotes behind them and whose generally harmless behavior raised many a laugh among the townspeople. As one of these stories goes, Major Stickney, walking out into his garden one morning, noticed something that looked like a human figure in his potato vines. He called out to the mysterious object and asked what was going on there? The call brought to his full length a soldier in uniform, who stretched up and replied:

"Drafting potato-tops to make the bottoms volunteer, sir!"

And so, half in jest, and half in earnest, the affair continued and ended.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN OHIO FARM.]

When the forests were cleared away and the swamps drained, the dread malaria partnership was dissolved; good health brought good cheer, and prosperity followed. Very soon after the trouble with Michigan, the Miami and Erie Ca.n.a.l was built, which has been one of the important factors in making the "Corn City" so strong commercially. Besides this great inland water-way, eight railways bring into her marts the products of the rich farms of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

From her ports enormous quant.i.ties of grain are yearly shipped to England either direct, or _via_ Montreal, and her people say, without expecting to be contradicted, that no city in the United States can point to such a wonderful development of commercial resources. This scarcely suggests the time when Toledo was little more than the dead carca.s.s of speculation, the prey of the tax-gatherer, waiting the resurrection that followed the War of the Rebellion, when men remained her citizens simply because they had no money with which to get away.

Commerce takes the lead here, but there is one enterprise of which Toledoans seem to be even prouder, and to see which they take the visitor "whom they wish to impress with their greatness." This is the thriving and truly imposing Milbourn Wagon Works, put into operation in 1875 and already become famous. The brick buildings are unusually fine and, architecturally, would leave the uninformed stranger under the impression that they might belong to some inst.i.tution of learning.

I was enabled to see more of the city than I had expected, owing to an unforeseen circ.u.mstance. A little friend who lived in Detroit, and who was dying with consumption, had expressed a wish to come to Toledo to see me and my horse before it was too late. I therefore remained longer than I intended, that her friends might bring her down by boat, although they hardly hoped that she would survive the journey. She was given the pleasure of a quiet trip to Put-in-Bay, the well-known resort, and with this and the gratification of seeing _Paul_, in whom she was deeply interested, her visit ended.

Of all the strangers who come to this bright and busy city, active with the impetus given it by fifty thousand souls, I doubt if any take more keen delight in looking upon its business enterprises and individuality than did this bright-minded girl, just about to relinquish her hold upon earth. She knew nothing of the dark pages in its history, and only guessed at the wealth and strength back of the thronged harbor. To her it was a happy place--the temporary home of friends.

CHAPTER XVI.

TOLEDO TO DETROIT.

Seventy-second Day.

_Erie Hotel_, ERIE, MICHIGAN, _July 22, 1876_.

My Toledo friends were ready at the Boody House to give me good-bye when I mounted at nine o'clock, and I received a right hearty send-off. Upon leaving the city, instead of continuing westward as usual toward the "Golden Gate," I had determined for various reasons to swing off from the direct course, and ride northward to Detroit, moving thence to Chicago. This new route would take me through Monroe, a town with which the life of General Custer was more closely a.s.sociated than any other, and knowing that I would find much there that would give me a more intimate knowledge of the man, I looked forward to this part of my journey with eager antic.i.p.ation.

The ride to Erie being at some distance from the lake, and over a flat region, was rather monotonous. Erie itself is a small unimportant hamlet at the western end of the lake, and a modest landmark in my journey from Toledo to Detroit. _Paul_, probably impressed with the air of peace that enveloped the place, made up his mind upon his arrival to give the good people a display of his mettle, and accordingly tore through the village streets in the wildest fashion. Having thus introduced himself, he pranced after I had dismounted until he had had enough; then returning to his master, his eyes seeming to flash mischief, he looked as though he would have said, had he been given the power of speech: "I have been having a fine time, haven't I? and would you like to mount me and enjoy the fun too? but I dare you!"

When his superabundant spirits had found vent, I had him led away and myself attended to his wants. Beyond this animated exhibition of my horse the day pa.s.sed uneventfully, and at night I enjoyed to its fullest extent the quietude of a country inn.

Seventy-third Day.

_Erie Hotel_, ERIE, MICHIGAN, _July Twenty-third_.

Weather cool and pleasant; went to church in the morning and listened to a sermon by Rev. E. P. Willard, on the text, "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy." Doubtless the preacher had his reasons for bringing to the minds of the Erieans this particular command, but judging from appearances they needed a very mild admonition. It looked as though every day were Sunday here.

A letter reached me at this point from my wife, full of concern as to my welfare if the journey were to be continued across the Plains; and as she was in very indifferent health at the time, I was about to abandon my purpose and return. The news of Custer's tragic death had reached the East, and my intended route running as it did across the Indian country, filled my friends with apprehension. Closely following this letter, however, came another, informing me that my wife was improving, and, with this a.s.surance, I decided not to turn back. By this time, the freedom and charm of this mode of travel had aroused my enthusiasm; the imaginary line, losing itself in the Pacific, promised a rich experience, and the opportunity was golden. The good news from home was therefore joyfully received.

Seventy-fourth Day.

_Strong's Hotel_, MONROE, MICHIGAN, _July Twenty-fourth_.

I was detained at Erie until after dinner, spending part of the forenoon in a blacksmith shop, where _Paul_ was being shod. By two o'clock I was on the road again, riding briskly toward Monroe, for the weather was so much cooler than it had been during the previous week, that I could move comfortably at a good pace. _Paul_ seemed very proud of his new shoes, and, although I halted two or three times, covered something over ten miles by five o'clock.

As I reached the outskirts of Monroe, I was considerably surprised to find a large number of people a.s.sembled on the picnic grounds. They were accompanied by a band, and greeted me with several national air, including "Hail Columbia" and the "Star-Spangled Banner." The Custer Monument a.s.sociation received me at the City Hall, where I had been announced to lecture in the evening, as it was my intention to speak in the interest of the Fund; but the date was changed to the Thursday following my arrival, with a view to giving its members an opportunity to co-operate with my advance agents.

Great enthusiasm was everywhere apparent, and the people of Monroe needed no urging to lend their patronage, when the movement was likely to reflect honor upon their ill.u.s.trious dead.

My emotions upon entering this town, long the dearest place in all the world to Custer, can better be imagined than described. That it was a favorite with him is not strange, for aside from the tender a.s.sociations which it held for him, its pretty homes and broad streets, deeply shaded by maples, make it a most lovely spot and the very type of peace.

Seventy-fifth Day.

_Strong's Hotel_, MONROE, MICHIGAN, _July Twenty-fifth_.

Wrote to my mother in the morning, and after dinner took a stroll about town. Beyond its a.s.sociations with Custer, Monroe is interesting through its connection with one of the most romantic and sanguinary scenes connected with the war between Great Britain and the United States; for on the banks of the River Raisin, which runs through it to the lake, occurred the famous Indian ma.s.sacre of 1812. Relics of the b.l.o.o.d.y encounter are still found on the field.

It was at a time when the British were making successful inroads upon Michigan, and General Winchester, at the head of eight hundred Kentuckians, had been ordered to Frenchtown, the old name for Monroe, the same point toward which General Miller had previously moved on a mission equally fatal.

Winchester was warned of the advance of the enemy, but thought there was no cause for immediate alarm, and on the night before the engagement, he crossed to the side of the river opposite his men, leaving the camp open to attack. The result was, that he awoke the next morning to find Proctor's troops putting his men to rout, at the point of the bayonet, while their Indian allies were adding to the confusion by their deadly a.s.sault.

Although a part of the Americans escaped on the ice of the river, the field was covered with their dead and wounded, General Winchester being among the former. When the engagement was over, Proctor rode away, leaving a detachment to guard the prisoners and wounded, with instructions that no violence was to be committed; but some of the savages who followed him having become intoxicated, returned and fell upon the prisoners with unrestrained frenzy. Most of the latter had been placed in two small cabins. These were fired, and the victims perished in the flames, the Indians pushing them back when they attempted to escape through the small windows. The remainder were ma.s.sacred and their bodies left a prey to the wolves. It was this horrible affair that aroused the Americans and particularly the Kentuckians to revenge; and when Tec.u.mseh, the Shawnee warrior, who was the chief instigator of these atrocities, urged the British to hazard an engagement at the Thames, after their defeat by Perry, they prepared to return with full interest the blow given their comrades on the Raisin. The battle of the Thames is well known. Tec.u.mseh, with the war cry on his lips, met his reward through a Kentucky bullet early enough in the fight to be spared the shame of defeat. With him fell a powerful foe, but one whom we must admire even in his death.

"Like monumental bronze, unchanged his look, As one whom pity touched, but never shook; Train'd from his tree-rocked cradle to his bier The fierce extremes of good and ill to brook.

Unchanging, fearing but the shame of fear, A stoic of the woods, a man without a tear."

Seventy-sixth Day.

_Strong's Hotel_, MONROE, MICHIGAN, _July Twenty-sixth_.

Received a large forwarded mail from my advance agents and others, which I attended to in the afternoon. I was also favored with Detroit papers referring to my proposed lecture in that city, and the following notice from the Monroe _Monitor_, which, together with letters from the Fund a.s.sociation, I kept as souvenirs of my stay at this place:

"The lecture announced to be given for the benefit of the Custer Monument Fund, on Monday evening, at the City Hall, was postponed for various reasons until Thursday evening, at the same place. On Monday evening several members of the a.s.sociation met Captain Willard Glazier, and were most favorably impressed with him. They are convinced that he is thoroughly in earnest, and that his proposition is a most liberal one. He offers to give the entire proceeds of his lecture to the a.s.sociation; and not only in this city, but throughout the State, he generously offers to do the same thing. This is certainly deserving of the warm recognition of our own people, at least, and we hope on Thursday evening to see the City Hall filled. Captain Glazier comes with the strongest endors.e.m.e.nts from well-known gentlemen in the East, both as to his character as a gentleman and a soldier, and his ability as a speaker and writer. The Captain served under the late General Custer in the cavalry, and has something to say regarding his personal knowledge of the dead hero."

When I started from Boston in May, I little dreamed that before my journey was finished the troubles in the West with the Sioux would bring such a result as _this!_ It is true, affairs in Montana and Wyoming territories had a.s.sumed a threatening aspect, but no one doubted the efficacy of "Custer's luck," and those who followed the campaign looked upon it as a dramatic and striking incident, rather than a tragic one.

News was slow in reaching points east of the Mississippi and was then often unreliable, so that if I may judge from personal observation, the people were wholly unprepared for the final result which was flashed across the country on the fifth of July.