In the course of its history Chicago has existed under three flags; first, under the domination of the French kings, from the period of its discovery to the year 1763, when, after the French and Indian War, it passed into the possession of the English. As British territory it remained until the close of the Revolutionary War, when the Western Territories were ceded by the English to the Americans at the treaty of peace concluded in 1783; and thus the region in which Chicago is situated finally came under the Stars and Stripes. CONTENTS Preface PAGE I Wilderness Days 3 II Fortifying the Frontier 17 III The Tragedy 95 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE General Henry Dearborn _Frontispiece_ Chicago from 1803 to 1812 3 The Wild Onion Plant 12 Bird's-Eye View of Old Fort Dearborn 27 Residence of John Kinzie 32 Mr. and Mrs. John H. Kinzie 47 Rebekah Wells Heald 58 Captain William Wells 58 Hardscrabble 74 Facsimile of Letter of General Hull to Captain Heald 103 Memorial Monument to the Massacre 136 Franquelin's Map of 1684 165 Map of Chicago in 1812 165 [Illustration: CHICAGO FROM 1803 TO 1812 _This broad view, while not accurate, gives a good general idea of the appearance of the site of Chicago, with old Fort Dearborn and the surrounding region, in the years from 1803 to 1812. Some of the details are out of proportion, for instance the long sand-bar extending to the south opposite the mouth of the river is much exaggerated, and the view of the Kinzie house is not correct._ _Reproduced from a lithograph in the possession of The Chicago Historical Society._] THE STORY OF OLD FORT DEARBORN -------------- I WILDERNESS DAYS AT the time that Fort Dearborn was built the site of Chicago had been known to the civilized world for a hundred and thirty years. The Chicago River and the surrounding region had been discovered by two explorers, Joliet and Marquette, who with a party of five men in two canoes were returning from a voyage on the Mississippi, which they were the first white men to navigate.