Streeter's Struggle for Chicago Real Estate
"CAP" STREETER IN FRONT OP HIS SUMMER HEADQUARTERS.
to watch the "Cap," who sat undisturbed
under the ahadow of a growing war clou.l.
He waa throned In a cane bottom rocking
chair, on a mound before the courthouse,
while email boys and reporters flocked
about him. Cap'a forty men fingered their
atara and revolvers, ordered the small boys
about, talked of what they would do to
the police, and one by one crawled under
a barbwlre fence and faded away.
Not until the next morning could the po
lice complete their preparationa lor the
first battle. In the north aide headquar
ters, on Chicago avenue. Inspector Max
Heldelmeler gathered 200 bluecoata and
along toward noon these advanced to the
attack. They moved In wagons and on
foot, with "Maxle" at their head. Aa on
the day before, "Cap" eat peacefully In
his rocking chair before the court house
unattended now save for the spectators,
while a lake breeze toyed with his famous
red whiskers. "Cap" waa read.ng a news
paper and when he heard or If ha heard
the advancing army cf bluecoata that, led
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THE DEAD LINE AT STREKTERVILLE.
Fikw are aware iui ww
I gaged In a civil war today a war
I L . 4 , a.hl.k linn.
dreda of men have been engaged,
forta have been captured, ahots
exchanged and all the elementa of eomlc
opera except the music provided. One of
the states, to be sure, la not yet on the gov
ernment maps, but It la struggling hard
for recognition, and it la this struggle
which haa led to the great war between
the state of Illinois, through lta chief city
of Chicago, and the independent district
of Lake Michigan, better known aa "Cap"
Streeter'a "deestric." The war of the re
bellion was fought over "rights." So la
the preaent war.
"Do you know what them fellers
claims T" Captain Streeter demanded one
day of a reporter. "Lemme tell ye what
they claims. They claims rlpalrin' rlghta,
that's what they claims.
"What la rlpalrin' rights? Lemme tell
ye what they Is. Rlpalrin' righis la the
rlghta to rl-pair yer shore where t'a wore
off by the water. Don't gl'en ye no more
right to fill In the lake an' own the flllin
'an It doea me to dig a hole In yer front
yard an' own th' hole."
And, acting on his belief In the correct
ness of that atatement. Captain Streeter
haa aelzed 186 acres of the choicest landa In
Chicago, lying along the lake front north
of the river, and haa there organised the
"Independent District of Lake Michigan."
The leaders In Its government have applied
to congress for recognition aa one of the
sovereign atatea of the union, and mean
while tbey are struggling by force of arma
with the Chicago police for the life of their
commonwealth.
Thla strange affair la the direct fault
of a well meaning and Induatrious surveyor
named John Wall, who was aent by the
Washington authorities In 1821 to survey
the ground they were about to buy from
the Indiana. A town Bite waa desired at
the mouth of Chicago river, and Wall waa
ordered to aurvey a atrip twenty miles
along the lake ahore north from the Calu
met river and running thence southwest
erly. All would have been well had he
bounded It on the east by the "waters of
Lake Michigan," but Instead he "mean
dered" the ahore line, aurveylng each little
crook In It and describing In his maps and
field book a definite number of miles and
acres bounded on the eaat not by the lake,
but by the meandered ahore line aa It then
existed. When this land was put on the
market Robert Kinsle bought the north
half of fractional aection 10 of township
39, range 14 east of the third principal
meridian, conaiating of 103.27 acres, defi
nitely bounded.
Outside of the shore line waa a sand
bar, sometimes appearing above the water.
That sandbar gradually grew, waa by fill
ings connected by the shore, and aa Robert
Klnxle'a holdings became divided up thoae
who had them gradually came to look upon
the "accreted" land a their own. They
set up, for the rest of the city to worship
at a fetich called "riparian rights," which
gave them ownership of all land outside
of their ahore line. But they were hin
dered from giving title by an early gov
eminent decision that they held only a
definite number of acrea secured under the
Kinxie grant, and which In . total could
never exceed 103.27. Thla was the situation
in 18S6, when Streeter first appeared.
Thla George Wellington Streeter, mariner
and fighter, is a doughty little man, full
of "scrap" to the top of his head, red
whiskered, decorated with frecklea that re
semble blotches of red, equipped with end
less argument, and always ready to take
up the cudgel In any good cause In which
he has a financial lntereat. Being a squat
ter of experience he looked up the title
to the lake front lands, saw It waa disput
able, and In an old ateamer the Ruetan
set out one evening In June, 1886, from the
Calumet river, ostensibly for Milwaukee
With him went Maria, hla wife.
By aome Inexplicable chance the engine
of the Ruetan became disabled when abe
waa Just northeast of the filled land, and
as the wind purely by good fortune waa
northeasterly, the craft waa driven ashore
and "Cap" and Maria were inglorlously
cast up Just where tbey wanted to be. They
hauled up their craft with the aid of a
watchman, and next day built a stockade
about It. Thus tbey squatted, and for aev
aral years they defended thla stockade
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FORT HELD BT SIXTEEN MEN AGAINST TWO HUNDRED POLICEMEN.
against all coiws liberal use of hot
water from Maria's tea kettle.
Once Bottled on the land Streeter
promptly filed a homestead claim with the
Washington authorities. He waa politely
Informed that he waa squatting In ths
water, being a quarter of a mile outside
the shore line aurveyed by Wall. Nothing
daunted, and satisfied that he could atand
the water during the summer months, he
secured aome unused Mexican war script
and filed that on the land. Again he re
ceived the reply that he waa obstructing
navigation with hla house. 8o he wrote to
the Washington authorities that he waa
convinced that thla waa land, and dry land
at that, and aa they had apparently over
looked It, and aa all claims in this country
date from the government, he therefore
claimed this aa lta discoverer.
Holty, toltyl There waa a terrible to do,
to be eure! The shore owners began to cry
loudly "riparian rights," and ordered the
police to run Streeter off. They began
atepa to get the land aurveyed and placed
on the county map so they could pay taxes
on It and establish a claim. They suc
ceeded In ousting Streeter temporarily,
made a deal with the Lincoln Park board
and the state legislature, built a boulevard
half a mile out In the lake and gave It to
the state, filled In the pond back of It,
dedicated the continued atreets, and were
given by the atate title to the reclaimed
lands.
But Streeter waa before and after them,
claiming that the atate never had the title
to give, in thla twenty-mile atrip aurveyed
by Wall. Then Streeter Bold and gave away
enough of the lota to Interest capitalists
and workers, and ahortly organised the
Independent District of Lake Michigan.
That la how we come to have one more
aovereign body than most of us know about,
and a civil war that has upset the peace of
t imt half a doxen millionaire land own-
era. For the filled landa of the "Deeetrlc" "
are already worth at least $25,000,000.
It waa on May S, 1889, that war waa de
clared by the District agalnat Chicago. It
waa a quiet day to begin with, but along
toward noon aounds of war were heard
growing loud In the distance. Over Rush
street bridge In martial array came an
army of forty men. Streeter at their head,
with banner and drum, marching to seise
their country. . Streeter'a red whiskers
wagged, and his shiny silk bat nodded to
acqualntancea along the way for he Is
"Cap" to half Chicago and the aunllght
glinted from enormous nickel plated atara
on the bosoms of the army. They were
aelf-constituted "United States marshals"
tor the "Deestric," and ths bosoms behind
the stars were filled with war sentiment.
They went up Rush street to Ontario and
out on to the filling, stuck a flagstaff in
the ground, paated a sign on a abanty to
serve aa a courthouse," Oeorge Wellington
Streeter, Clerk;" labeled another ahanty
"Capital," and ao completed the occupa
tion. "Now, b-gosh, let them fellers come,"
said Streeter. "We'll show 'em now.
b'gosh. We got th' United Statea on our
aide, an' they ain't a-goln' to buck up agin
th' govament. This ain't Illlny here, an'
them fellers ain't got no rlghta In this
Deestric. If an army of cops comes over
here I'll arreat 'em, b'goeh."
Crowds of north side citizens gathered
their homes. He made hla headquarter
on the parlor floor of a leading downtown
hostelry and apparently waa well provided
with funds a novel situation for the
weather bureau squatter. Maria revelled
In new bonnets of gorgeous construction
and their affairs were prosperous. Inci
dentally "Cap" roused up as the commander-in-chief
of hla forcea one William
HNUes, ex-cowboy, expert rifle and pistol
shot and soldier of fortune, who waa alio
constituted Justice cf the peace in the
"deestric."
General Niles planned well and secretly.
In the still hours of a May night In 1900 he
embarked an army of sixteen men, a case
of Springfield and Winchester rifles, cart
ridges and provisions, on the navy of the
District an old fishing sloop, and trans
ported them to the shore of the disputed
land. There they landed, and when day
light came they had conatructed two forts,
sunk below the ground, with ramparts and
roofs, and with a slit In each for firing
through, commanding Superior street, and,
tn fact, the whole district. The forts were
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ONE OF THE HOUSES BUILT IN STREETER DISTRICT.
by "Maxle," atole aoftly through a bole In
the fence and masaed before him, he made
no sign. But the crowd waa visibly nerv
ous, the bluecoata even more ao, and
"Maxle" most of all.
Suddenly stepping three pacea forward
the inspector threw up hla right hand. All
Chicago recognized the geature and shud
dered. "Maxle" had taken the "Haymar
ket" attitude, copying aa faithfully aa hla
portly figure would allow the graceful
bronze officer who guarda the acene of the
anarchlat riots. When a Chicago police
officer atrikes that attitude tue citizens
know there Is "eometh'Qg doing." So they
awaited the next more In breathless alienee.
Each of the 200 bluecoata nervously fin
gered hla pistol.
At thla Instant, In a voice meant to be
thunderoua, "Maxle" repeated the words
graven at the foot of the atatue: ,
"In der name of der beeblea of Illinois,
I gommanda beace."
There waa no response from "Cap," who
atlll read hla paper.
"In der name of der beebfea of Illi
nois, I gommand you to disperse."
"Hold on thar," came from Streeter. "I
caln't disperse. They ain't but one o' me.
I'd do It If I could. Max, but I caln't."
True enough, the army had abandoned
lta leader and he had. not even a club for
a weapon. The bluecoata looked relieved
and drew nearer.
"Veil, you got to go oud mid here." said
the Inspector, relaxing hla attitude.
"I won't go except by force," aald the
captain, and ao he waa borne in hiss chair
to a patrol wagon and then to the atatlon
and booked for refuaal to disperse when ao
ordered. Next day when the Justice read
the charge he let "Cap" go, aa It waa man
ifestly Impossible for him to have obeyed
the order.
So the first armed Invasion of the Inde
pendent District of Lake Michigan by ths
forcea of Illinois resulted In the tempo
rary overthrow of the young republic and
a victory for the atate. But It would not
be according to the spirit of the American
people to give In after a single defeat,
and "Cap" la of long generations Ameri
can. In the months that followed he grad
ually organized an army, giving building
lota to aoldlm who agreed to fight for
backed by the lake and were protected by
what appeared to be a Catling gun, but
which was afterward found to be only a
fence post on wheela. At dawn the 8tara
and 8tripea were hoisted from a pole. Sen
tries patrolled every approach.
Then there was a stir on the part of
the police, you may be aure. Streeter
' at hla hotel, was put under surveillance.
. Emlssartea of the ahore ownera atirred up
' the corporation counsel, who atirred up the
chief of police, who stirred up Heldelmeler,
who stirred up the bluecoata, and out of
all the atlr there waa an army organized.
But with rifles and Oatllng guna and forts
'' to meet there waa need of caution.
Niles and hla aentrlea kept all-comers
1 away from their fort during the long morn
ing hours. An iceman named Murphy tried
to drive down the boulevard In a buggy,
carrying a little girl for protection, but
Nile clubbed him on the head and ha with
drew. Then Captain Barney Baer of the
boulevard police endeavored to drive past
the forts and see how strong they were.
When Niles halted him he turned and called
for assistance from a crowd of plain clothes
officers in the distance. One of them
stepped forward, but with an Imperceptible
motion Niles sent a bullet between hla
feet, and the officer sidestepped about five
. yarda. The reat scattered. Then as Baer
advanced Niles put a bullet through the
buggy close on each aide of blm, and held
.the rifle at a ready, Baer, too, withdrew.
With that the police left the field to Niles
and went for relnforcementa. They gathered
an army of 600 bluecoata at the Chicago
avenue atatlon, armed several hundred of
them with riflae and riot guna and pre
pared to annihilate the alxteen men at the
. Dlatrict forta.
- The valiant Heldelmeler again took the
lead, and again it waa now afternoon
.tbey advanced to the attack, marching a
mile to the "Deeatrtc ." The flreboat was
ordered to the lake front to co-operate
with them.
Meanwhile Niles, having established hla
occupation, aent all but five of hie follow
ers away unobserved In the navy. With the
balance he maintained the picket lines and
held the city force at bay.
About the time the police started on
their march a boulevard "sparrow cop"
strolled along the aea beach on his regular
round toward the forts. Niles beckoned
him over.
"Say," said Niles, "we come here to
prove we got a right to. We fired our guna
and acared them fellers off. Now, we don't
want to hurt nobody, so we'll Jos' surrender
to you."
And so, It happened that as the advanc
ing 600 bluecoats came In sight, headed by
(he valiant Heldelmeler, they beheld the
Immortal Five, Niles at their head, march
ing up Superior street in charge of a gray
coated "sparrow cop." It was a bitter mo
ment for the force.
So the second Invasion waa ended. Of
course, Niles and his band were tried. The
plain clothes men testified that Nllea had
Bred eleven shots In quick succession, but
when they found his rifle was but a five
shooter and had two cartrldgea still In It,
they withdrew the evidence. And Niles
and hia men were discharged from custody.
That was the end of open hostilities be
tween the state of Illinois and the dis
trict, The "cap" had found armed resist
anco a failure.
"The beat way to fight them tellers," he
said, "Is to git 'em on your Bide."
Bo he began an Insidious attack on the
city authorltlea, which haa reaulted In plao
Ing him no one knowa exactly how high
In the favor of certain aldermen and of
ficials. With thla treaaonable assistance
from the camp of the enemy he haa ob
tained Chicago building permits and
through his followers has erected several
"houses" on the "deestric," which are oc
cupied by thoae who have bought the land
of him.
All this has thrown the controversy
where it belonged in the first place Into
the courts. For the shore ownera, bringing
suit for trespass against the captain who,
having the aanctlon of the city, cannot be
ousted by the police must show what title
they have to the land. And that will bring
up the question of the Wall aurvey and
the ownership of this particular piece cf
lake front and may take It away from both
of them and give It to the atate or to a
group of enterprising gentlemen who re
cently bought title to the original sandbar
from the living descendants of the Indians,
who sold the rest of the land to the gov
ernment. But until l( la settled the era of
peace and good will within these United
Statea will not have arrived and civil war
will atlll be with ua.
JOHN L. MATTHEWS.
Well, Hardly
A bright little business woman, who runa
a small atore, had an experience with a cus
tomer lately which broke her heart tempo
rarily, of course. A gentleman called at her
place, relatea the Louisville Times, and
ordered a hat for his wife, who did not live
here. He was shown everything in tbo
store, and finally aelected a shape be wanted
trimmed. He waa a Miss Nancylsh fellow;
be looked over the trimmings, feathers, rib
bons, laces, flowers, and made hla own
choice. After giving the most minute di
rections as to the trimming he walked off.
In two days' time he came again to Inspect
the hat and take It away. He aald it waa
exactly right, the work had been well done,
and then he moved off with the box contain
ing It without one word about the price.
The little milliner was In tears. It meant
a lot to her, but when she got to thinking
about suing him she recalled that abe did
not know hla exact location and had no wit
ness, and that a lawyer'a fee would cost
more than the hat. When aha told her
father of the trouble the old man got hot.
"I'll pay him for It!" he aald. Indignantly.
"Oh. no, father," aobbed tbe daughter,
"what I want la not to pay him, but make
him pay me."
Well, hardly!
Asking Too Much
Chicago Post: "It la astonishing bow in
considerate people can be!"
"Wbat'e tbe matter nowT"
"Why, an amateur dramatic club out our
way la going to give an entertainment for
charity."
"And they want you to buy aome MckstsT"
"Oh, it Isn't that. I waa glad to buy
the tickets, but they want us to come and.
alt through the show."
