I first saw the light among the
rugged but free hills of Scotland; a land, Sir, that never was
conquered, and where a slave never breathed. Let a slave set foot on
that shore, and his chains fall off for ever, and he becomes what
God made him--a man. In this far-off land, I heard of your free
institutions, your prairie lands, your projected canals, and your
growing towns. Twenty-two years ago, I landed in this city. I
immediately engaged on the public works, on the canal then building
that connects this city with the great river of the West. In the
process of time, the State failed to procure money to carry on the
public works. I then opened a prairie farm to get bread for my family,
and I am one of the men who have made Chicago what it is to-day,
having shipped some of the first grain that was exported from this
city. I am, Sir, one of the pioneers of Illinois, who have gone
through the many hardships of the settlement of a new country. I have
spent upon it my best days, the strength of my manhood. I have eleven
children, who are natives of this my adopted country.
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