OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 117 



The Chicago Heights 

 Preserves 



Down at the junction of the Dixie and Lincoln highways 

 the Chicago Heights preserve, in two sections which are con- 

 nected by the beautiful park system in the city of Chicago 

 Heights, is a vast region of woodland that one day will be a 

 marvel among public park systems. 



For miles it runs along the Little Calumet. Through it 

 runs two of the most important highways of Indian days the 

 Sauk trail, east and west, and the Vincennes trail, north and 

 south, the latter being the scene of Hubbard's ride, a feat al- 

 most as important in Northwest history as Paul Revere's. 



It was at the time when the white settlement about the 

 mouth of the Chicago river was threatened with extinction by 

 the Indian uprising that became known as the Winnebago Wars. 

 The nearest help for the whites was the fort at Vincennes, In- 

 diana. How to get word there was the problem. 



Gurdon Hubbard, one of the daring pioneers, solved the 

 problem. He mounted his horse and started for Vincennes, a 

 journey that was in those days a most perilous one in times of 

 peace. The settlers never expected him back that day he set 

 out through the woods infested by the war-painted bloodthirsty 

 Indians. 



