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A Sojourn in Pioneer Illinois - by Charlie Senn It was early in the 1800’s that a great interest in a little known territory of Illinois developed in Newberry County SC. About a dozen men from Newbeny County and neighboring Fairfield County in upper SC decided to go on horseback to Illinois and ‘spy-out’ the land. This expedition was much like that of the twelve spies of Israel who had been sent out to seek the land of Caanan in preparation for an invasion by the tribes of Israel under the leadership of Moses. Among those twelve scouts who went to the land of Illinois was one of the writer’s ancestors, Samuel Sloan. The explorers made their way westward across the hills of the Carolina Piedmont and penetrated the passes and rocky trails of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The highlands of western North Carolina, including the region around Ashville were crossed without any special difficulties. Then the scouts entered the Great Smoky Mountains. Over the great peaks and forests of this region hung a perpetual haze, which seemed much like smoke. In this region were many chestnut trees, which were becoming heavy with their crops of green nuts. Here too, were many other varieties of trees. But most of these ancient forests consisted of conifers. Bears were occasionally seen and at night the screams of panthers sometimes frightened the horses. In the densely forested land of Tennessee, beyond the Great Smokies, there were many small settlements, roughly cut roads and trails connected these log cabin settlements. On the broad Tennessee River a few small flatboats operated. Beyond the hills of Tennessee lay a wide rolling, partly forested region, which was largely covered by meadows of a tall, bluish type of grass. This was the famous blue grass region of Kentucky. Here, herds of deer grazed near the cattle herds of settlers. Here too, a few Indians remained. The Ohio River, the largest stream that any of the scouts had ever seen was finally reached. The scouts swam their horses across the great river. The banks of that great river were densely forested but further northward the forest thinned out somewhat. Soon a region was reached where the land was covered with tall grass. Often this grass was as high as a horse, or even higher. This was the famous prairie country of Illinois territory. There forests were usually found only along the streams. A few Indians tribesmen still roamed the prairie country. The widely scattered log cabins of the white settlers had old-fashioned ‘stick- chimney’ well plastered with heated mud. The explorers made their way northward through the prairie country of rich soil, tall grass, grazing herds of deer and cattle and occasionally buffalo. Many of the settlers were from the south and welcomed the strangers, as they were anxious to learn the latest news of the outer world. They proudly showed the visitors their thriving fields of corn. Instead of planting corn by dropping one or two grains at one place in a furrow and spacing these seed droppings about ten inches apart, as was the practice in the Carolinas, these settlers in Illinois almost drilled their seed corn in the plow furrows during planting. Almost every grain of seed corn sprouted. Then, in spite of their destiny, these young stalks of corn grew prodigiously and every stalk bore at least two large ears of corn. The only trouble about farming in this fertile prairie country was the difficulty of marketing the harvested crop. In that thinly settled country there was almost no market for harvested Illinois corn and the only practical way of marketing was to send it down the great rivers to New Orleans, Louisianna, selling it at auction there. On the small rivers of Illinois tiny groups of settlers would build huge rafts made of the trunks of trees felled on the riverbanks. On these big rafts were constructed pens built of poles. The pens were filled with the corn of various farmers. A tiny hut on such a raft served as living quarters for the crew. Steering was accomplished with the aid of a large rudder and tiller at the stern and a big ‘sweep’ or oar on each side of the raft aided in propelling the vessel on the few occasions the river current alone was not sufficient. The visitors from South Carolina listened with great interest as their newly met friends in Illinois told of these things. After traveling further north through prairie country with tall grass and scattered homesteads, the explorers finally reached a small town called ‘Chicago’. It was scarcely more than a large village at the mouth of the Chicago River, which flowed into the Lake Michigan. A sailing ship was moored at a stout wooden wharf in the great lake and on the northern side of the river a garrisoned stockade fort stood, to defend against hostile Indian tribesmen. The local whites said the settlers and Indians were at peace, trade was prospering and commerce was increasing on the great lakes. Sam Sloan, one of the South Carolina visitors, was impressed with what he saw in Chicago and in the surrounding countryside and formed friendships with some of the local people. Using money he had brought with him he purchased several hundred acres of good land and properly recorded the transaction at the local official records office in Chicago. Already late in the year, it was time for the explorers to journey southward, home to their families in South Carolina. By the time the party reached the southern end of the territory they began to suffer severely from the cold. When they reached the Ohio River it was already frozen over, making the crossing over the river without difficulty. In northern Kentucky smaller frozen rivers were crossed in the same way except with one incident of the ice breaking beneath one horse and its rider. The horse was lost and the rider almost died of cold and shock before a fire could be built to save him. One chilly afternoon, while following a woodland path, the travelers emerged into a small clearing in the forest, where a small log cabin with billowing smoke was seen. In front of the cabin a man was busy with a mortar and pestle, pounding shelled corned into meal for the baking of bread. As the travelers approached the man looked up at them with a hostile glare. The visitors asked permission to spend the night and said they would gladly sleep on the cabin floor near the fireplace. At first the woodsman absolutely refused to have guests and one of the men remarked that under similar circumstances, no man in South Carolina would refuse hospitality on such a cold night. The settler hesitated and then explained his reason for refusal. He said he was an outlaw and always lived in fear of the coming of the avenger. Therefore he dared not admit guests into his house. Then, having said this, he told the visitors that if they wished, they could sleep on the hay in his barn. The invitation was gladly accepted and in a few minutes the travelers were climbing into the loft of the log barn and digging holes for themselves in the hay. There they slept, warm and safe from the elements. After several more days of hard travel in bitter winter cold South Carolina was again seen. Sam Sloan returned with a determination to sell his property in Newberry County and take his family to the new property purchased near Chicago. In the following year a buyer for his South Carolina lands was found and despite the pleas of his good neighbors, placed his belongings, food and family in the wagon and with many tears departed for Illinois. The covered wagon and its laboring horses slowly made their way northward. The trip with the wagon took more time than Sam Sloan had expected and when the Ohio River was reached and crossed on a newly established ferry there was a bitter-cold wind blowing. A heavy snow began to fall. In desperation Sam stopped at a settler’s cabin and asked permission to stay for the night. The settler and his wife were more than courteous and were anxious to hear news of the outer world. But they told the travelers if they spent the night there, they would probably have to spend the entire winter at the cabin, for when the snow stopped it would be too deep for travel. In that small cabin two families would find the winter-long confinement impossible. However, a few miles further along the road was a farm recently deserted. The owner would never return. The buildings were in good condition and there was hay in the barn with a good well in the front yard. The well bucket had been removed but water could be reached by fastening an ordinary bucket to a pole. Sam was told if he traveled quickly he could reach the deserted farm before the snow became too deep and if it so suited him he could remain at the place and farm it the following year ‘for the departed owner would never return’. Sam thanked the man for the information, returned to his wagon and resumed his journey. Snow was falling steadily when the Sloan family reached the deserted house. The door was unlocked and the family unloaded the wagon contents to inside the dwelling. A small nearby shelter with a stack of wood was found and the Sloan boys soon brought enough into the home and had a good fire going. The fireplace and chimney had been built of sticks and plastered with hot mud. Sam found a pole and tied a bucket to it. With this devise he drew water from the well and watered the horses. Then he led the animals into the barn where there was an ample supply of hay. After caring for the horses Sam returned to the well and drew water for his family. On entering the house he found the place warm and cheerful with flames dancing in the fireplace. Mrs. Sloan was cooking dinner over the fire. Next morning the snow was so deep that transportation by wagon was impossible. The Sloan Family had indeed been fortunate to find the deserted home. There were no close neighbors but that winter Sam managed to make friends among the farmers living nearest to him. Sometimes the men hunted together, tracking animals in the snow. Most of the bears were hidden in a state of hibernation. But deer, moose and buffalo survived by congregation, trampling down the snow so that the grass and roots beneath could be eaten. In both winter and summer roving packs of wolves sometimes made the fertile land a dangerous place in which to live. But of far more danger than the wolves were the prairie fires. Sometimes, in dry weather, lightening or a carelessly started campfire would ignite a wild fire in this vast wilderness of horse high grass. Then with the wind assisting, the fire would spread uncontrollably and roar across the countryside with the speed of a galloping horse. People on horse back, on foot or in wagons would join domestic animals as well as wild creatures, rabbits, deer, buffalo, wolves and bears in a frantic stampede to escape the on rushing mass of lurid flames. Heavy clouds of smoke would rise into the sky and wolves and bears, in a frantic stampede, tried to escape. Any fugitive, animal or man, whose strength gave out or had the misfortune to fall, would be overtaken and consumed in those flames. Sam Sloan heard many tales about these terrible prairie fires as he hunted with his newfound friends. But there were also stories of tremendous harvests of corn and wheat. It was quite evident Illinois territory would one day become a State of the Union and one of the wealthiest of all the states. The deep snows of winter melted away and spring came at last. During that winter the Sloan family had established strong friendships and the land in the area was very fertile. Sam Sloan was reluctant to depart and decided to remain where he was for one year, farming the land, selling the crop and then moving to Chicago, several hundred miles to the north. As early as possible Sam began ‘breaking up’ plowing the farmland and following the example of his neighbors, drilled his seed corn in the newly opened plow furrows. The corn sprouted well, came up thickly and grew astonishing well. Every stalk of corn had fruit. It was evident that if no disasters occurred, the family would enjoy a fabulous harvest. During the growing season another family from the South arrived in the area and settled on a farm about two miles away. For a long time the Sloan children had not had any playmates and thus it was quite natural for the Sloan children to ask their mother for permission to visit their new neighbors. At first Mrs. Sloan refused such permission. The road to the neighbor’s house was in a region of wild prairie grass as high as a horse. But children have a way with their pleadings and eventually Mrs. Sloan gave in, but with the stipulation that they had to return before sundown or suffer her consequences. The oldest son promised faithfully and then joyously the two sturdy boys and their eight year old sister set out on the long walk to the home of the neighbor. At the Neighbor’s house the three young Sloans met a warm reception for the neighbor’s children were as eager for playmates as were the Sloan children. For several hours they played merrily together and then the lady of the house came and invited everyone to come indoors and eat supper. The Sloan children wanted to accept the invitation but the older of the two brothers looked up at the declining sun. He himself had been promised a good whipping if he failed to come home before sundown. It was time to go. After reluctant goodbyes the Sloan children set out on the pathway that led homeward. On both sides of the path the grass loomed higher than a horse. The children had gone a considerable distance along this wilderness when they heard what they thought was the bark of a dog. A moment later the sound was here again. This time it was slightly nearer. Almost at once the oldest realized that they heard, not the bark of a dog, but the howl of a wolf. A moment later a pack of wolves broke into a full cry on the trail behind the children. The two brothers seized their sister, little eight-year-old Mary, by the arms and ran with her, almost jerking her feet off the ground. Behind the fleeing children, coming nearer and nearer, was the terrifying sound of a pack of wolves. The top of the home was now visible above the grass line and as the children reached the clearing they ran as never before toward the house. Ahead of them their mother was standing with the door open. Panting, the children ran through the doorway and the mother slammed the door behind them. Within a moment howling wolves surrounded the house. The animals ran all around the yard and around the barn as they sought their prey. Fortunately, the barn doors were closed and the horses were safe. Mrs. Sloan could not get over the narrow escape of her children and implored her husband to return to the Carolinas. Sam too was affected by the experience but did not feel the family could afford to return to South Carolina. It would have been uneconomic to leave Illinois at that particular time. Several neighbors, along with Sam Sloan had been working on a large flat boat on which they were planning to transport their corn downstream to New Orleans. They had felled trees along the riverbank and rolled huge logs into the water, fastening them firmly to form a raft. Wooden floors were laid on the rafts and on the floors enormous pens were built, each for a different farmer. When the corn harvest began loads of corn were hauled to the river and stored in the pens aboard the raft The corn crop that year had been splendid and the raft and barns were filled with corn. Then the final touches were added to the big raft. A large rudder and a tiller were attached to the stern and a large sweep, or long oar, was added to each side. A small comfortable hut with cooking facilities, accommodating four or five men was built between the corn pens. Firewood and food supply, blankets and large jugs of water were brought on board for the crew. Enlisting a crew was not difficult for most young men saw the trip as an adventure. In New Orleans each pen of corn was sold at auction and afterwards the raft was sold or auctioned off also. The new owner of the raft broke up the raft and floated the logs to a nearby sawmill and had it converted to lumber which had a ready market in the burgeoning, rapidly growing New Orleans. The long trip homeward for the raft’s crewmen was often dangerous. Many people along the waysides were aware the strangers from the north were carrying large sums of money and many a young man was victimized and sometimes killed by robbers. While waiting for the return of the crew Sam Sloan and other farmers in the region took advantage of their leisure in repairing and improving their barns and homes, constructing fences, fishing and hunting. Killing a prowling wolf was considered an accomplishment. Wild geese and passenger pigeons, which had spent the summer in Canada, migrated southward in such vast numbers that they often broke down the branches of trees at the places where they roosted at night in the forests. But the favorite trapping for the farmers was the prairie chicken, easily trapped with the use of a simple box-shaped ensnarement made of sticks and tied together with pieces of cord. The boxes were laid flat on the ground with the bottom side up. On one side of the trap a big handful of dirt was scooped out directly beneath the side of the trap. The trapper would go about a hundred yards away and begin dropping a trail of corn leading to the trap. A few grains would be dropped into the scooped hole and then a handful of corn would be deposited inside the trap itself. The wandering prairie chicken would find the trail of corn near the trap and follow it to the trap itself. After the bird had eaten all the corn outside the trap it would follow into the trap itself. Sometimes Sam Sloan would find his stick trap full of big fat beautiful prairie chickens. After a time of waiting the young crewmen returned safely to the Illinois farmers. Sam and his neighbors received with gratitude their payment for their corn. Mrs. Sloan continued to plead for the return to the Carolinas and thus
it was in the following spring, as birds were returning from the south and
flowers were emerging in the prairies, the Sloan Family said farewell to
their good neighbors, loaded their sparse belongings into the covered
wagon and amid tears, they set off for Newberry South Carolina. Travel was
slow but uneventful through Ohio and Kentucky. Little Mary as a form of
entertainment collected pinecones from fallen trees as she walked
alongside the wagon. The Sloans settled on Cannon Creek in east Newberry
and Sam and his wife are buried at Cannon Creek ARP Church cemetery near
the creek. Little Mary Sloan grew up to be the wife of Robert
Caldwell.
1 Headstones inscribed: Samuel Sloan 1/12/1774 - 1/24/1 852; Mary Sloan, died 3/16/1846, age 67 years |
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