SEPTEMBER, 1904

VOL. XVI. No. 9.

T

HE siren politics has allured many promising lawyers from the bar to the forum, and from the bench to legislative halls. In the early days of the republic, the majority of the intellectually ambitious young men sought the law as the surest road to fame and fortune.

In the first decade of the nineteenth century, Lewis Cass, the son of a brave New Hampshire officer in the American Revolution, like so many New England youths, set out to seek his fortune in the then almost unknown region now comprised in the great State of Ohio. Arriving at Pittsburg, the outpost of civilization, one hundred years ago, he descended the Ohio River in a flat boat, and, in October, 1800, reached Marietta, the pioneer settlement of south eastern Ohio. With the energy of the sturdy Puritan stock and the enthusiasm of youth, the young man of seventeen entered upon the study of the law in the office of the Hon. Return I. Meigs. At the end of two years he was admitted to the bar, being the first lawyer admitted in the State of Ohio. He began the practice of his profession at Zanesville. Business was slow in coming, at first, but the young lawyer was patient and studious, and, within three years after graduating, he had acquired sufficient practice to enable him to marry. Soon after this, he was elected to the Ohio legislature, and took his seat in December, 1806. The first business that came up was a special message from Governor Tiffan, in relation to the object of Aaron Burr in gathering boats, men and

arms on the Ohio River. A committee, of which Mr. Cass was a member, was appointed to investigate the matter. He drafted an address, in which he proclaimed the attachment of Ohio to the union, which Burr was suspected of a design of dividing by making the Alleghanies the western boundary of the United States. President Jefferson, who pretended to be greatly alarmed by Burr's movements, expressed the highest appreciation of Mr. Cass's services, and appointed him United States Marshal for Ohio. The duties of the office were light, and left him ample time to continue his profession.

In 1812, he was retained as counsel by two State judges who were impeached by the lower House of the Ohio legislature for having decided that a State law was unconstitutional and void. His able and successful argument in this case, which attracted no little attention in the western country, greatly added to his reputation as an advocate. His practice was profitable for the time and place, and, when he was appointed Governor of Michigan, in 1815, and removed to Detroit, he was able to purchase a homestead of five hundred acres, for which he paid in cash, $12,000. This purchase was deemed extravagant at the time, but it proved a very excellent investment, for, by the rapid growth of Detroit, it made him a very wealthy man.

Lewis Cass's experience as a young pioneer lawyer, was at times more exciting than agreeable. His practice was exten

sive, for it included several counties; courts were held hundreds of miles apart, necessitating long and often dangerous journeys on horseback through the pathless woods, over Indian trails. Ten days were sometimes required for a journey, during which the traveler was glad to find shelter in a log cabin, where he could pass the night wrapped in a blanket on the floor. This was a luxury not always possible, as it occasionally happened that a piece of dry ground was the only place for the weary traveler to rest for the night, lighted by the stars shining above him and lulled to sleep by the cries of wild beasts in the neighboring forest. Strolling Indians sometimes crossed the path of the traveler, and, again, swollen rivers had to be swum. Cass described the "dripping spectacle of despair" which he exhibited when his faithless horse threw him and his luggage into Scioto Creek, the horse landing on one side and his master on the other. Long afterwards, he laughingly recalled his early experience, remembering how the troubles of the day were frequently "recompensed by the comforts of the evening, when the hospitable cabin and the warm fire greeted the traveler-when a glorious supper was spread before him,-turkey, venison, bear's meat, fresh butter, hot corn bread, sweet potatoes, apple sauce, and pumpkin butter."

Courts were held wherever it was convenient: a log cabin court house was a luxury; a room in a tavern was sometimes improvised for the purpose; even a room in a backwoodman's hut was, in an emergency, used, his Honor sitting on the bed instead of on the bench. There were few of what Shakespeare calls "the law's delay" in those primitive times. There were no "dilitory tactics," which, now, too often stop the wheels of justice.

Lewis Cass proved himself an able and ready advocate. His natural capacity enabled him to grasp legal distinctions and to

master details, while his great industry, and regular business habits were important factors in contributing to his success at the bar. His reputation spread from county to county, and by the time he had been at the bar ten years, he was one of the leading lawyers of Ohio. He was often opposed by old and able men who were recognized as the foremost members of the bar of the northwest. In the matter of the impeachment of the judges, already mentioned, the State employed Henry Baldwin, the famous Pittsburg lawyer, to prosecute the case. The trial attracted wide attention on account of the standing of the accused, the great reputation of the counsel, and the importance of the issues involved. A vast crowd of people was present at the hearing. Baldwin, inspired by the extraordinary occasion, put forth all his powers of learning and eloquence, and, when he had concluded his great effort, the friends of the accused thought the door of hope was closed against the judges, and that their conviction must follow. The young advocate for the defence rose in the midst of a profound silence, and, after a few preliminary remarks, he entered into an unanswerable argument which carried away the court, the jurors, the people, and secured a complete victory for the accused judges.

After this great triumph, Lewis Cass had all the business he could attend to, as every person who got involved in the toils of the law thought himself safe if he could secure him as his advocate. With a great legal career opening before him, Lewis Cass turned away from the serene and peaceful life of intellectual renown to pursue the stormy but fascinating path of political honor. At first the military spirit took possession of him, and he was commissioned a colonel in one of the Ohio regiments raised in the war of 1812. His services were rewarded by being made a brigadier general

in the regular army. With his military career and political life this article has nothing to do. His active life as a lawyer ended at the age of thirty. Cass was a better lawyer than Clay, but he did not possess the wonderful eloquence of the great Kentuckian. Retiring from the bar so early in life, he did not have the opportunity to reach Webster's commanding position at the bar.

Lewis Cass was first, last and always an American, whether at home or abroadwhether fighting the English and the Indians. on the frontiers of Canada, or fighting di

plomatic battles in Europe-whether as the Democratic leader of the Senate, or as the chief of the War department, he had his country's best interest at heart.

This pioneer lawyer was a constant reader, and a strong, accurate writer on politica!, literary and historical subjects. During his long public life as Governor of Michigan, Secretary of War, Minister to France, United States Senator, and Secretary of State, he always turned to his books with pleasure, and his happiest hours were passed in the congenial atmosphere of his library.