INTRODUCTION 19 



Log Cabin Convention at the Tippecanoe Battleground 

 in May, and took a prominent part in the proceedings. 1 



Robinson had purchased a small printing press and some 

 type, probably in 1836, and for several years published 

 occasional handbills, and a newssheet written by himself. 

 This sheet was variously known as the Western Ranger 

 or the Great Western. He was a colorful figure at the 

 Log Cabin Convention in 1840, riding about in a wagon 

 with his press, printing and distributing to the crowd 

 political songs which he had written for the occasion. 2 

 The press was acquired by James S. Castle, of Porter 

 County, in 1842, who used it to publish the first paper 

 in that county, known as the Porter County Republican. 3 



With his brother, Milo, Solon opened a general store 

 for trade with the Indians and white settlers living in the 

 vicinity. His experience in the auction rooms at Madi- 

 son now proved of value. At the outset Robinson's store 

 did a thriving business, selling over three thousand dol- 

 lars worth of merchandise in the winter of 1836-37. 4 

 Milo Robinson's death from tuberculosis in January, 

 1839, 5 ended the partnership, but Solon continued to 

 operate the store until 1850. 6 Indians were the most 



'Journal of John Sutherland, La Porte, Indiana, part 2, May 

 23 to 28, 1840, La Porte County Historical Society; Ball, Lake 

 County, from 1834 to 1872, 87. 



2 Post, 136 n; Ball, Lake County, from 183 A to 18,72, 249; Illus- 

 trated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana, 275 (Chicago, 

 1876). 



3 Goodspeed and Blanchard (eds.), Counties of Porter and Lake, 

 67. Shultz-Gay, Deborah H., One of the Earliest Authentic His- 

 tories of Porter County, Indiana from 1832 to 1876, 8 ([South Bend, 

 1927]), and Illustrated Historical Atlas of Indiana, 275, give the 

 date as 1843. 



4 Robinson, "History of Lake County, 1833-1847," op. cit., 44. 

 "Ibid., 51. 



6 Robinson Account Book, 1840-1853. Timothy H. Ball in Lake 

 County, Indiana, 1884 • • •, 128 (Crown Point, 1884), states that 

 Robinson's store came into the hands of H. S. Pelton about 1840. 

 This statement does not seem to agree with Robinson's accounts, 

 although Pelton may have operated the store for him after that 

 date. 



