[37] Whiskey in which cherries have been steeped.
[38] This is the aboriginal meaning of Mississippi.
[39] Their towns were situated about twenty miles a little east of north from Springfield, and not far from where now the Chicago and Mississippi railroad crosses Salt Creek, in Logan county. Kickapoo, a branch of Salt Creek, may be seen on the sectional map of Illinois.
[40] The cordelle is a long rope attached to the bow of the boat, and drawn over the shoulders of the men, who walk along the bank. The setting-pole is about ten or twelve feet long, with the lower end shod with iron, and the upper end terminating in a knob, which is pressed against the shoulder, and the men who use them walk forwards on the narrow gunwale, in a very stooping posture, with their faces towards the stern. This shoves the boat against a strong current. When the hands on the gunwale next the shore drop their poles and catch hold of limbs and bushes that overhang the river and pull the boat forward, it is called “bush-whacking.” Oars are used in crossing the river from one shore to the other. A long heavy oar with a wide blade is attached to the stern so as to move on a pivot, and the steersman, who is commandant for the occasion, directs the boatmen. This was the mode of ascending western rivers before the “Age of Steam.”
[41] A species of New England rum, brought from New Orleans.
[42] James Lemen, Sen., became a Baptist preacher, and died January 8th, 1823. He left four sons in the ministry, all of whom, venerable men, are still living in 1854.
[43] Judge Martin’s History of Louisiana, vol. ii, p. 90.
[44] Ibid, p. 153.
[45] Stoddard’s Sketches of Louisiana, pp. 211–224. Annals of the West; St. Louis Edition, 1850, p. 543. The aggregate population of Upper Louisiana at the period of the cession, was about 10,120, of which 3,760 were French, including a few Spanish families; 5,090 were Anglo-Americans, who had come into the country after 1790;—and 1,270 black people, who were slaves, with a few exceptions. Indians were not counted, although several bands had their villages within the bounds of the settlements.
[46] The Spanish prison. Jail.