of traffic, yet whose numbers was so small as to induce
them, with a view to their safety, to establish themselves
as near the Fort as possible. Roads, there were none,
and the half formed trail of the Indian furnished the
only means of communication between this distant port,
and the less thinly-settled portions of Michigan. Nor
were these journeys of frequent occurrence, but performed
at long intervals, by the enterprising and the robust
men--who feared not to encounter privations and
hardships--camping at night in the woods, or finding a
less desirable repose in the squalid wigwam of the
uncertain Indian.

The mouth of the Chicago River was then nearly half a
mile more to the southward than it is now. At a short
distance from the lake, which gives its name to the
territory, it soon branched off abruptly to the north,
and then again, taking another turn, pursued its original
westernly coarse, and, passing near the Fort, gave to
the latter the appearance of a slightly elevated peninsula,
separated only from the water by a gentle declivity of
no great extent. On the same side of the river was the
Government Agency House, and at about a quarter of a mile
from that, a spot generally used as a place of encampment
by the friendly Indians--at that moment occupied by a
numerous band of Pottawattamies. Immediately opposite to
the Fort, stood the residence and trading establishment
of Mr. Mackenzie--a gentleman who had long mixed with
the Indians--had much influence with, and was highly
regarded by them; and, close to his abode, lived with