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Show Proposed JVational Tar It at Old Fori Massac Tort Manic mint be saved!" Thin It the slogan of the Daughters of tho American Revolution, the members of which are determined that tho Ills-tnrtc Ills-tnrtc atretrh of land mar Metropolis, 111., shall be converted Into a park. Although the fart In not generally known or recognized. Fort Massac la stronger In historical interest than any spot In Illinois or on the Ohio river. Kor more than. 350 years It hu been the abiding place of white men. Here the first palo fncce who ever laid eyes on the territory now known aa Illinois refugees from De Boto'l scattered forces pitched their ramp; here the first sermon ever delivered de-livered on the Ohio river was preach-d; preach-d; here the flan of the American colonies was unfurled for the Drat time In Illinois; here Olorge Koitera Clark rested and rendezvoused during dur-ing his operations between Kaakaakla and old Vlncennes; here Rlcune'hss- Ororge Rogers rinrk stopped thcte i during Ills historic conquest of Illl-nota Illl-nota when he ruptured Kaskaskla with 156 men and also took possession posses-sion of Old Vluconnea. In 17f when the French eradiated Fort I Hi (jtieane, the garrison floated down 1he Ohio to Fort Maiwar and rebuilt the old furl undr the direction of a young engineer named Massac. In 174 Oeorg Washington ordered the fort rebuilt on more permanent plana, and It was occupied regularly by a ITnlted Stales garrison until after the close of the war of 1812. It Is somewhat Interesting In note that Zebulon IMke, who discovered the Rocky Mountain peak which bears his nsme. was at one time a member of this garrison. Mad Anthony Wayne and flcn. Wilkinson occupied the fort during the French crisis under Genet's ministry min-istry up to 181 4. Aaron llurr made It such a person could lie found. A. N Ktarkcs. formerly of Mct.onolli. aa at one time a member of the staff ' Cie librarian of the library of Congress, Con-gress, made extensive research through the records there of the history his-tory of Fort Massac, and In bis opinion the name Massac la a corruption cor-ruption of the Indian tribe name, Mas coutln. Ik FORT MASSAC, LOOKING SOUTH, SHOWING EARTHWORKS. get and jron Tlurr plotted and planned; here Mad Anthony Wayne nee commanded a garrison; here was tho acene of Intrigue and conspiracy con-spiracy and murder and massacre for. by turns Fort Massac was occupied occu-pied by Indiana, Rpanlarda, Frenchmen, French-men, the English and Americana. The site belonged to the late Judge W. 11. Oreen of Cairo, and It Is understood that hla son, Iteed Oreen, greatly favors the plan of the Daughters Daugh-ters of the American Revolution. It la probable that aome action will be taken by the nest Illinois legislature. The fort occupied a commanding point on the Ohio, high above the flood mark, and on a bend where one may see for miles up or down the atream. Ex-Oov. Iteynolda In 1865 visited the place when It waa a United States fort, and he thus describes des-cribes It: "The outside walla were 135 feet square, and at each angle atrong bastions were erected, with earth beneath the wood; a large well waa aunk In tho fortress, and the whole appeared to have been strong and substantial In Ita day. Throe or four acres of graveled walks are made In exact angles, and are beautifully graveled with pebblea from the river. The site la one of the most beautiful on I Belle Klvlero, and commands a rlew that la charming." At this day only the earthwork! and the well remain and the entire alte la overgrown with trees. Though the early records are somewhat some-what obscure Fort Massac waa established estab-lished by tho French government In the latter part of the seventeenth century. cen-tury. It boeamo one of the chain of forts, beginning at Fort DuQuesne, built subsequently and Intended to be used by the French In defending tbclr claims to the Northwest territory. terri-tory. It seems that southern Illinois, or the territory now known by that name, was a hunting ground for the Indlnna. Especially waa It prolific In buffaloes, and tholr pelts furnished the most Important articles of barter In the extensive transactions between the French tradera and tho Indians. I .a Ilarpo and Charlevoix say that the French In 1700 established a trading post at Fort Massac, for the purpose of securing uuffnlo hides. The neighboring neigh-boring Mnscoutlns and other Indium were not long In learning of this and an active trado soon began. Father Mermot, a Jesuit priest, located lo-cated there upon Invitation of the traders and engaged In mission work among the Indiuus. Five yews lator bscause of a general quurrel among the Indians the trading post was broken up. Kal her Merrnet and the traitors lied, leaving behind among other belongings lH.linO buffalo hides which they had collected for shipment to Canadu. It was while here that the first sermon over delivered on the Ohio was preached by Father Mermnt. lie wont from Fort Massac to Kaskaskla, Kas-kaskla, died there In 171H, and was was burled in that historic village. After tho fort had been anandoned by the traders It fell Into disuse, though being occupied occasionally by traveling bands of soldiers during tho war betwoen France and aUiglaud. ono of tho points where he directed bis aouthern conspiracy, and . It was here that be formed the "entangling alliance" with Oen. Wilkinson. Mrs. Itlennerhasset, wife of Burr's accomplice, accom-plice, stopped here on hur way aotilh to Join her huahand. It waa while here that ahe first learned of the gigantic enterprise In which her husband hus-band was Involved, which swept away a fortune and rendered her a wanderer wan-derer In the dead of winter. Theodore Roosevelt, In hla "Winning "Win-ning the West," states that tho fort was named for the French engineer, M. Massac. While Whltelaw Held waa minister to Franco, however, he made Inquiry as to the personal bla-tory bla-tory of M. Massac, and no record of aented tho appearance of a monkey preparing to ellmh to the top. Thl) tree was popularly known as th "Swedish tree." because it waa a wit ness of tho bsttle of Kept. VI, i'j In whirl) the Swedes fought against the C-vnnana. It waa also known ai the "Ilaner Poplar," because Gens Haner and Tortenson knelt beneath It and thanked Ood for giving them the victory. Though the old tree Is dead, ill offshoot, which grew beside It, waa uninjured by the storm, and with the object of preserving It more effectuullr an Iron railing la to be placed aeiund It, and beside It la to be erected a monument, on which will be Inscribed the history of the famous fa-mous poplar. |