ARBOR BA Y MANUAL. 
217 
THE HISTORIC TREE OF CHICAGO. 
A T the Arbor Day exercises held in April by the Illinois Chautauqua Union, 
a paper was read by a member of the Lakeside Circle, entitled “A Voice 
from the Historic Tree of Chicago.” Through the kindness of the writer this 
article has been given to the Local History column and from it we take a few 
items: 
In the middle of Eighteenth street, between Prairie avenue and the lake, 
stands a large cotton-wood tree ; it is the last of a group which marked the spot 
where the Indian massacre of 1812 took place. Fort Dearborn stood at the 
mouth of Chicago river, about one and one-half miles from the clump of trees. 
It was in command of Captain Heald. In August an army of Indians attacked 
the fort, and the garrison being weak, the commandant offered to surrender on 
condition that the force might withdraw without molestation. At nine o’clock 
•on August 15, the party, composed of about seventy-five persons, advanced 
from the fort along the Indian trail which follows the lake shore. Captain 
Wells who had come to the assistance of Captain Heald, led the line. The 
women were on horseback, and the children in a wagon. They had reached 
the present location of Fourteenth street when the six hundred Pottawatamie 
Indians who had volunteered to escort them safely to Fort Wayne struck out 
toward the prairie, and, concealed by a range of sand hills which separated the 
prairie from the lake, hurried forward and placed an ambuscade for the troops. 
When the little band had reached the cotton-wood tree, a volley was showered 
by the Indians. The officers, men, and even the women fought for their lives ; 
but what could seventy-five whites (some of whom had been on the sick list) 
do against six hundred savages ? The entire party of children, twelve in num¬ 
ber, were tomahawked and scalped. Captain Wells was slain ; in an hour only 
twenty-five of the party remained alive, and Captain Heald surrendered on con^ 
dition that the lives of the remnant be spared. The only wounded spared were 
Captain Heald and Lieutenant Helm and their wives. Fifty-two dead bodies 
of the whites were left on the ground. In 1816 when the fort was rebuilt and 
the troops returned, the bones were collected and buried. 
Chautauquaji, November, 1888. 
LITTLE THINGS. 
FOR A LITTLE CHILD. 
0 LITTLE flowers, you love me so, 
You could not do without me ; 
O'little birds that come and go, 
You sing sweet songs.about me ; 
O little moss, observed by few. 
That round the tree is creeping, 
You like my head to rest on you. 
While I am idly sleeping. 
Go forth under the open sky, and list 
To Nature’s teaching. Bryant’s Thanatopsis. 
