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622
HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY,
and later was killed, scalped and his beard torn from his face by the Indians, who then set up the claim that they had killed a white man's god.
The Scott family had living with them, a son of Chief Robinson, and when he was removed, they concluded it was time for them to go also, and they follow^ed in the trail of their neigh¬ bors to Fort Dearborn,
A second time a scouting party of twenty-five horsemen wended its wuiy to the settlement to ascertain if it still remained. Col, Beaubien commanding this little expedition. They left Chicago in the morning, and in about six hours reached the O'Plain River, where Robert Kinzie and bis fifty Indians were camping. They made arrangements with Capt. Kinzie to go direct to the settlement on the old trail, and they would proceed by way of Capt. Boardman's to look after property, meeting them there. Beaubien's company urged their horses, but made their trip a few hours later than Kinzie's company. In those days Naperville was all timber land, and was called Ellsworth's Grove. John Naper, who was always ready to "don armor and break a lance," for his friends' protection, advanced alone to see what was beyond the timber, say¬ ing that if enemies were there, he would return; if friends were there, he would fire his gun.
He flred his gun, and in the excitement his friends forgot what this was to indicate, aud believed that John Naper was killed, and that they had better get away. Considerable uneasi¬ ness was experienced for a time, but finally R. N. Murray decided to venture a short distance so as to see if he could ascertain Naper's condi¬ tion. To his astonishment and relief, he was greeted with a joyous shout that broke the silence, aud gave new courage to the company. Naper was safe. The settlement w-as inhabited by Kinzie and his men w'ho had w'on the race, and beaten Col. Beaubien and his company in reaching there. They were all tired and hun¬ gry by this time, and a search was instituted for food, but there w'as very little to be found as the greater part had been taken along by the fleeing settlers. A few of the friendly In¬ dians assisted the men in killing a fatted calf owmed by R. N. Sweet, and with this and the finding of a supply of rum and tobacco, they managed to prepare a feast that seemed to sur¬ pass all they had ever had in the past, for they w^ere starving hungry. The white men treated the Indians who with the whites enjoyed the
supper, aud after the "high time" was over they were all ready for sleep. Each one selected a "site" for his resting place, and slept off the fatigue of the previous day.
After so hearty a supper and a full night's rest, they arose with an ardent desire to meet the Sac Indians and exterminate them, but fearing that they might make a mistake and injure the friendly Pottowatomies, they found some sheets, tore them in strips, and tied white bands around each Indian's head. With their friends thus marked they started out in search of the enemy, but the latter had vanished, their search was in vain, and they all returned to Chicago, and then began a period of reaction.
Lacking excitement and proper employment, they began to try to frighten and tease each other. Their accommodations were very cramped. Mrs. Hobson, her five children, Mrs. Hawley and her six children, and Mrs. Blodgett and her four children, Avere occupying a room ten feet square on an upper floor, and for many days they suffered from the closeness of their quarters. Still even these discomforts were preferable to being massacred by the Indians, and so they endured this hardship for several w^eeks.
Getting tired of being housed up, and anxious to know the condition of their crops, Capt. Naper, Capt. H. Boardman and a dozen other men went out to the settlement and found things in the best kind of condition. Still the fear remained lest all might be destroyed; so once more the settlers started for Ottawa to obtain, if possible, some fifty men from Gen. Atkinson. They wanted to build a fort of their own, so as to be near their property, and yet protected from attack. The men were given them, being placed under Capt. Paine's command, and a return was made to the Naper settlement.
After a careful survey of the ground, the place later owned by Louis Ellsworth, was se¬ lected as the best place on which to build their fort. They constructed the fort of blocks and pickets, and built it so as to be able to defend it from all sides. Just as the little fort was Hearing its completion, two men named Brown and Buckley were sent to Sweet's Grove to pro¬ cure another load of shingles, Buckley drove the team and rode in the wagon. Brown walked along behind whistling and with no thought of fear, when suddenly the sharp report of a rifle was heard from the adjoining thicket. Brown was killed, and Buckley, terrified and bewil-
Object Description
| Title | Historical Encyclopedia Of Illinois and history of Du Page County, Volume 2 |
| Title.Alternate | Historical Encyclopedia Of Illinois, Volume 2 |
| Title.Alternate2 | History of DuPage County |
| Contributors | Bateman, Newton ; Selby, Paul |
| Creator | Newton Bateman, editor-in-chief ; Paul Selby, associate editor ; Munsell Publishing Co. |
| Date Original | 1913 |
| Description | Thirty chapters describe the main facts of DuPage County's history from the earliest settlements and political organization up to 1913. Biographical sketches of prominent people, portraits, family histories, township histories, an index of portraits, illustrations, county officials, county organizations and institutions. |
| Subject | Illinois -- History -- Encyclopedias ; DuPage County -- History ; DuPage County -- Biography; Naperville (Ill.) -- History; Naperville (Ill.) -- Biography; Naperville (Ill.) -- Portraits |
| Format | text |
| Contributing Institution | Naperville Public Library |
| Language | eng |
| Rights | Public domain |
| Directory.Related work | ocm_11314674 |
| Page | 472 pages |
| Type | book |
| Rights Statement | Materials in this collection are made available by the Illinois State Library. Copyrights for materials in this collection remain with their respective owners. Permission to display these materials on the Illinois Digital Archive was granted by the copyright holders to the Naperville Public Library. To request reproductions or inquire about permissions, contact: kwickman@naperville-lib.org. Please cite the item title and collection name. |
| Collection Name | Naperville Heritage Collection |
Description
| Title | Page 27 |
| Format | JP2 |
| Date Digital | 2008-09-10 |
| FullText | 622 HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY, and later was killed, scalped and his beard torn from his face by the Indians, who then set up the claim that they had killed a white man's god. The Scott family had living with them, a son of Chief Robinson, and when he was removed, they concluded it was time for them to go also, and they follow^ed in the trail of their neigh¬ bors to Fort Dearborn, A second time a scouting party of twenty-five horsemen wended its wuiy to the settlement to ascertain if it still remained. Col, Beaubien commanding this little expedition. They left Chicago in the morning, and in about six hours reached the O'Plain River, where Robert Kinzie and bis fifty Indians were camping. They made arrangements with Capt. Kinzie to go direct to the settlement on the old trail, and they would proceed by way of Capt. Boardman's to look after property, meeting them there. Beaubien's company urged their horses, but made their trip a few hours later than Kinzie's company. In those days Naperville was all timber land, and was called Ellsworth's Grove. John Naper, who was always ready to "don armor and break a lance," for his friends' protection, advanced alone to see what was beyond the timber, say¬ ing that if enemies were there, he would return; if friends were there, he would fire his gun. He flred his gun, and in the excitement his friends forgot what this was to indicate, aud believed that John Naper was killed, and that they had better get away. Considerable uneasi¬ ness was experienced for a time, but finally R. N. Murray decided to venture a short distance so as to see if he could ascertain Naper's condi¬ tion. To his astonishment and relief, he was greeted with a joyous shout that broke the silence, aud gave new courage to the company. Naper was safe. The settlement w-as inhabited by Kinzie and his men w'ho had w'on the race, and beaten Col. Beaubien and his company in reaching there. They were all tired and hun¬ gry by this time, and a search was instituted for food, but there w'as very little to be found as the greater part had been taken along by the fleeing settlers. A few of the friendly In¬ dians assisted the men in killing a fatted calf owmed by R. N. Sweet, and with this and the finding of a supply of rum and tobacco, they managed to prepare a feast that seemed to sur¬ pass all they had ever had in the past, for they w^ere starving hungry. The white men treated the Indians who with the whites enjoyed the supper, aud after the "high time" was over they were all ready for sleep. Each one selected a "site" for his resting place, and slept off the fatigue of the previous day. After so hearty a supper and a full night's rest, they arose with an ardent desire to meet the Sac Indians and exterminate them, but fearing that they might make a mistake and injure the friendly Pottowatomies, they found some sheets, tore them in strips, and tied white bands around each Indian's head. With their friends thus marked they started out in search of the enemy, but the latter had vanished, their search was in vain, and they all returned to Chicago, and then began a period of reaction. Lacking excitement and proper employment, they began to try to frighten and tease each other. Their accommodations were very cramped. Mrs. Hobson, her five children, Mrs. Hawley and her six children, and Mrs. Blodgett and her four children, Avere occupying a room ten feet square on an upper floor, and for many days they suffered from the closeness of their quarters. Still even these discomforts were preferable to being massacred by the Indians, and so they endured this hardship for several w^eeks. Getting tired of being housed up, and anxious to know the condition of their crops, Capt. Naper, Capt. H. Boardman and a dozen other men went out to the settlement and found things in the best kind of condition. Still the fear remained lest all might be destroyed; so once more the settlers started for Ottawa to obtain, if possible, some fifty men from Gen. Atkinson. They wanted to build a fort of their own, so as to be near their property, and yet protected from attack. The men were given them, being placed under Capt. Paine's command, and a return was made to the Naper settlement. After a careful survey of the ground, the place later owned by Louis Ellsworth, was se¬ lected as the best place on which to build their fort. They constructed the fort of blocks and pickets, and built it so as to be able to defend it from all sides. Just as the little fort was Hearing its completion, two men named Brown and Buckley were sent to Sweet's Grove to pro¬ cure another load of shingles, Buckley drove the team and rode in the wagon. Brown walked along behind whistling and with no thought of fear, when suddenly the sharp report of a rifle was heard from the adjoining thicket. Brown was killed, and Buckley, terrified and bewil- |
| Identifier | 0027.TIF |
| Rights Statement | Materials in this collection are made available by the Illinois State Library. Copyrights for materials in this collection remain with their respective owners. Permission to display these materials on the Illinois Digital Archive was granted by the copyright holders to the Naperville Public Library. To request reproductions or inquire about permissions, contact: kwickman@naperville-lib.org. Please cite the item title and collection name. |
| Collection Name | Naperville Heritage Collection |
