teams thus engaged on the road between this point and Chicago. In the early "fifties," however, the wood had been mostly cut away and Chicago had to go farther north for its wood supply after that. This neighborhood then gradually became a farming country, and supplied the city with vegetables and country produce very much as it does at the present day. In 1846, as we have already said, a postoffice was established with the name of Gross Point, the people before that time having been obliged to depend upon the Chicago postoffice. A postoffice, however, had previously been established at Dutchman's Point, now Niles, which was largely made use of by the scattered residents of Gross Point. In the records of the Evanston Historical Society there are the names of over three hundred persons who were regular dwellers in this neighborhood in 1854, before the railroad was opened or the Northwestern University had purchased land here. This is mentioned because there seems to be an impression in some quarters that this place was devoid of inhabitants before the University selected the site here for its permanent location. MARRIAGES AMONG THE SETTLERS Among the marriages may be mentioned that of Emmeline Huntoon to Alexander McDaniel, of Sarah Burroughs to Charles Crain, and of another Burroughs girl, Lucinda, to Sylvester Beckwith, who was a lake captain, Mary A. Colvin to Nelson Haven, also a lake captain, Ruth Colvin to Joel Stebbins, Ann Marshall to Robert Kyle, another lake captain, Betsy Ann Snyder to George Monteath, and Marietta Jellison to John J. Foster. This list might be indefinitely extended, but the fact that matrimony was so popular among the early residents indicates that the settlers of Gross Point were, generally speaking, prosperous and contented in this far-off outpost of civilization. TAVERNS ALONG GREEN BAY ROAD The road north from Chicago, instead of being lined by villages and towns, as at present, was marked by taverns, or "hotels," as they were often rather grandiloquently called in those days, at intervals of a few miles. The first of these, after leaving Chicago, was Britton's, which was situated about where the old Lake View town hall now stands. The next was Baer's tavern at Rosehill; the next, Traders', at Calvary. Others along the Green Bay road (which was the general name for the road north) were Tillman's tavern, Buckeye hotel, Stebbins' tavern, etc. These taverns were later known after the stage coaches began to run as "Seven-mile house," "Ten-mile house," etc., according to their location. The roads followed the low ridges which begin to rise gradually toward the north, and were generally sandy, which is the usual characteristic of the surface on the higher undulations of the land, though in the flat portions between the ridges the soil is dark and fertile. SITE OF CHICAGO BOTTOM OF SHALLOW BAY In recent geologic times the waters of Lake Michigan stood some twenty feet higher than at present and poured a flood over the divide into the Desplaines river valley, taking the same course through which the great Drainage Canal was Vol. II-21 cut some years since at immense labor and expense. The present site of Chicago was then the bottom of a shallow bay extending westward to the higher lands some twelve or fifteen miles from the present margin of the lake, and northward in long tongues of shallow water between the ridges which formed low promontories. At that time the first land appearing above the surface of the waters was in the neighborhood of Rosehill, and from this point northward the land rose. gradually until at Waukegan 'the bluffs attained a height of fifty or sixty feet above the surface of the lake. These facts account for the sandy ridges, gravelly sub-soil and old beach marks which are characteristic of the region. The glacial action of a more remote period is evident in the occurrence of boulders, some of great size. One may be seen near the railway station at Waukegan, and one on the campus of the Northwestern university at Evanston. MANY EARLY SETTLERS GERMANS The settlers of the North Shore region, arriving previous to 1850, came by boat and by overland routes from the east. Many of them were former residents of eastern states, but German immigrants formed a large element. The descendants of these German settlers remain today as market gardeners and flower growers on a large scale, occupying the lands on the beautiful rolling country a few miles back from the lake shore. Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 and had attained a population upwards of 4,000 and was a ready and convenient market for everything the settlers had to sell-wood for fuel and cooperage, farm produce, etc. Thus there was a larger measure of prosperity among the settlers than usual in pioneer communities. They began to surround themselves with a better class of improvements, built frame houses to replace the log cabins of the earlier period, and provided better school facilities for the young. COMMUNITIES CHANGE NAMES April 26, 1850, the name of the postoffice was changed from Gross Point to Ridgeville. At this time the places toward the north were as follows: Miles from Original name, Seven-Mile House; present name, Rosehill. 7.8 .10.4 .12.00 .14.3 23.2 .24.5 .36 The northern limits of Cook county are reached some twenty-one miles north of Chicago, the remainder of the distance along the north shore to the state line lying in Lake county. THE PEOPLE AND THE LAKE The life of the people living along the North Shore, as may well be imagined, was in an early day closely interwoven with that of Lake Michigan, with its vicissitudes of storm and calm, its busy commerce and attendant disasters, its navigation and its life afloat. From the shores an illimitable horizon stretched away to the eastward, and fleets of sailing craft flecked the broad bosom of its waters. Like the maritime population of every seacoast in the world, the residents were connected by ties of interest and personal relationship in a large measure with the commerce of the lakes and its personnel. Many families had one or more members engaged in the occupation of sailing the lakes, and among the older inhabitants are captains and sailors who, while now retired, spent years of their lives in lake navigation. The last twenty years has witnessed a great diminution in the numbers of sailing vessels, their places being supplied by the great steamers which carry in one cargo as much as ten or a dozen schooners formerly did. Tales of maritime adventures could be gathered in volumes from the older inhabitants and their descendants today, and many of the early settlers on this shore were attracted thither by the bosky woodlands and pleasant uplands seen from passing vessels. WRECK OF SCHOONER WINSLOW Captain Sylvester Beckwith, in command of the schooner "Winslow," which he had sailed fourteen years, was in 1841 wrecked off the shore where Winnetka is now located, and, with his crew, found shelter at Patterson's tavern, then the principal stopping place at that point for stages and road travel on the Green Bay road. He abandoned life afloat and took up land near old Gross Point and remained there the rest of his life, becoming one of our prominent and substantial citizens. Captain Fred Canfield and Captain Robert Kyle likewise settled here after many years of seafaring life. Every mile of the shore has its record of wreck and loss of life, and since the life-saving station was established at Evanston in 1877 the saving of some 400 lives during the thirty years of its existence gives some idea of the disasters and loss of life which must have occurred in previous years, when no record was kept. For, while the shores are not rockbound, as on many dangerous coasts, the peril to navigators when forced on a sandy beach, especially when skirted by bluffs approaching close to the margin of the lake, has proved to be a very serious one. It was for this reason that the government has established at short intervals along this shore light houses, fog horns and life-saving stations. THE CALIFORNIA GOLD EXCITEMENT In the year 1849 the California gold excitement broke out, and as everywhere else produced a profound impression among the people who resided here at that time. The telegraph having come into use in the years immediately preceding, and Chicago having an enterprising press, the people were kept well informed as to passing events. Ozro Crain, one of the early residents, went to California in 1849, and having seen for himself the wonderful richness of the gold mines, re turned later in the year with full and glowing accounts which he related to his neighbors. The prosperity of the settlers warranted them in undertaking the long journey across the plains fully equipped with the means of transportation. In April of the following year, a party of thirty was made up under the leadership of Ozro Crain, and started on the journey. Every two persons were provided with a light wagon and a horse, and an extra horse was led behind each wagon. Those who could not go freely loaned money to those who could, in cases where the latter were not themselves sufficiently provided. Besides their outfits, each was obliged to be provided with ready money to buy supplies on the way and establish himself after arriving on the ground. The parting of the adventurers from their families and friends is described as an affecting one, keepsakes and locks of hair were left with the dear ones, and many sad farewells were spoken as the party disappeared south along the Ridge Road, bound for the new El Dorado. A large number of "California Widows," as they were called, were left behind to carry on the work of farm and shop during the absence of their husbands and brothers, an absence which it was supposed would very likely extend to a period of at least two years. Nobly the women fulfilled the trust reposed in them, the affairs of the absent ones being looked after with faithfulness and intelligent care. The conduct of these women affords as fine an example of constancy and devotion as can be found in the annals of romance. Just as the Crusaders of old, rallying from every country in Europe and following the Banner of the Cross to the far distant land of Palestine, found on their return from an absence of years their faithful wives true in their affections and to the trusts confided to them, so our California Argonauts found on their return the warmth of heart-felt affection undiminished, and a welcome to their homes and firesides after their long absence in the "land of gold." And when we consider what those homes were, far on the frontier of civilization, devoid of many of the comforts and conveniences which we deem so necessary in the homes of this day, we can form some idea of the true-hearted faithfulness of the women of pioneer times. It is these women who, in the pioneer life we have attempted to depict, have maintained the honor and purity of those homes of the early times, and to whom are due the best and most enduring elements in the institutions and life we now enjoy, elements which are among our most precious heritages. "True hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than Norman blood." THE NAMES OF THOSE IN THE PARTY So far as we have been able to ascertain, after diligent inquiry among the families and descendants of the pioneer settlers, the names of those who made up the California party were as follows: Ozro Crain, the leader, Charles Crain, Ervin Crain, Leander Crain, brothers of Ozro, Orson Crain, a cousin, Alonzo Burroughs, William Foster and his son John, Oliver Jellison, Alexander McDaniel, Eli Gaffield, Sylvester Beckwith, Andrew Robinson, Benjamin Emerson, James Hartray, Azel Patterson, Joel Stebbins, James Dennis, George Reed, Henry Pratt, Smith Hill, James Bowman, and others whose last names only can be given,-Hazzard, Fox, Webley, Fluent, Miller, Rice, and Ackley. There were others who also went across the plains to the same destination, but not with the party above mentioned. Some of these were Benjamin F. Hill, Samuel Reed, John O'Leary, and our old friend Abraham Hathaway. TIDINGS FROM THE ADVENTURERS We have some interesting records of the journey. Alexander McDaniel methodically kept a diary during the two years of his absence, and when possible wrote long letters to his young wife at home. Letters from Ft. Leavenworth, Ft. Laramie and Salt Lake City were received, and finally, after a journey of some two and one-half months, the party, at least most of them, reached their destination. on the western slopes of the Sierras. Some members of the party did not remain with their associates to the end of the journey, preferring to return from various points on the way. Those who at last reached the gold diggings took up claims and began work in earnest. McDaniel records in his diary the amount of "dust" taken out each day, and the amounts varied from three or four dollars to over thirty dollars as the result of the day's work, and on some exceptional days much larger sums. As fast as he accumulated the precious metal in sufficient quantities to make shipments, it was sent by Wells, Fargo Express (the same company and name we are familiar with today) to his faithful wife at home, who cared for it safely until his return some twenty-one months later, after gaining about three thousand dollars as the result of his trip. The Crains also did well, generally speaking, as did many of the other members of the party. They almost all returned within a couple of years, either across the plains, the way they had gone, or by the Panama route. Benjamin Emerson was robbed of four thousand dollars of his gains while on his way home. Oliver Jellison disappeared and was never more heard of; Joel Stebbins, Mr. Webley and Azel Patterson never returned, their fate unknown to this day. There are to-day old estates in Evanston which either in their beginnings or through additions are in part made up of the money brought back from the gold mines of California. THE INTENSE DESIRE FOR RAILROADS In the early "fifties," the people everywhere were immensely interested in railroad building. Their imaginations were all on fire when considering the future development of the country, and the railroads proposed to be built over the great routes of trade. In the previous decade lines had been opened in various parts of the state, and the pioneer residents of the North Shore were anxiously looking forward to the time when a line would be built from Chicago to the north. Major Mulford used to stand at the door of his house, and looking towards the flats between his house and the opposite ridge would say to his neighbors, "Some day, my friends, you will see the iron horse following its course along this valley." In fact the line was built precisely where he had indicated. Men's minds were keyed up expectantly for the advent of the railroad. Few had seen a railroad in operation, but the people longed passionately for its arrival among them. The enthusiasm with which every project for railroad building was received by the |