34 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY: 
but few patches of thin and scrubby woods are observed 
scattered here and there. 
“The village presents no cheering prospect, as notwith- 
standing its antiquity, it consists of but few huts, inhabited 
by a miserable race of men, scarcely equal to the Indians, 
from whom they are descended. Their log or bark houses 
are low, filthy, and disgusting, displaying not the least trace 
of comfort. Chicago is perhaps one of the oldest settlements 
in the Indian country; its name, derived from the Pottawat- 
tamie language, signifies either a skunk or wild onion, and 
each of these significations has been occasionally given for 
it. A fort is said to have formerly existed there. Mention 
is made of the place as having been visited by Perrot, who 
found ‘Chigogau’ to be the residence of a powerful chief 
of the Miamis. The number of trails centering all at this 
spot, and their apparent antiquity, indicate that this was 
for a long time the site of a large Indian village. Asa 
place of business, it offers no inducement to the settler; for 
the whole amount of trade on the lake did not exceed the 
cargo of five or six schooners, even at the time when the 
garrison received its supplies from Mackinaw. | 
“It is not impossible that at some distant day when the 
banks of the Illinois shall have been covered with a dense 
population, and when the low prairies which extend be- 
tween that river and Fort Wayne shall have acquired a pop- 
ulation proportionate to the produce they can yield, that 
Chicago may become one of the points in the direct line of 
communication between the northern lakes and the Mississ- 
ippi; but even the intercourse which will be carried on 
through this communication, will, we think, at all times be 
a limited one. The dangers attending on the navigation of 
the lake, and the scarcity of harbors along the shores, must 
ever prove a serious obstacle to the increase of the commer- 
cial importance of Chicago. The extent of the sand banks 
which are formed on the eastern. and southern shore, by 
Fe ONE OE Ce eS, 
