tion of the vast body of the
lake, an accretion was constantly taking place on the north of the
harbor.

The residence of Jean Baptiste Beaubien stood at this period between the
gardens and the river-bank, and still farther south was a rickety
tenement, built many years before by Mr. John Dean, the sutler of the
post. A short time after the commencement of the growth of Chicago, the
foundations of this building were undermined by the gradual encroachment
of the lake, and it tumbled backward down the bank, where it long lay, a
melancholy spectacle.

On the northern bank of the river, directly facing the fort, was the
family mansion of my husband.[22] It was a long, low building, with a
piazza extending along its front, a range of four or five rooms. A broad
green space was inclosed between it and the river, and shaded by a row
of Lombardy poplars. Two immense cottonwood-trees stood in the rear of
the building, one of which still remains as an ancient landmark. A fine,
well-cultivated garden extended to the north of the dwelling, and
surrounding it were various buildings appertaining to the
establishment--dairy, bake-house, lodging-house for the Frenchmen, and
stables.

A vast range of sand-hills, covered with stunted cedars, pines, and
dwarf-willow-trees, intervened between the house and the lake, which
was, at this time, not more than thirty rods distant.

Proceeding from this point along the northern bank of the river, we came
first to the Agency House, "Cobweb Castle," as it had been denominated
while long the residence of a bachelor, and the _sobriquet_ adhered to
it ever after. It stood at what is now the southwest corner of
Wolcott[23] and N. Water Streets. Many will still remember it, a
substantial, compact little building of logs hewed and squared, with a
centre, two wings, and, strictly speaking, two _tails_, since, when
there was found no more room for additions at the sides, they were
placed in the rear, whereon a vacant spot could be found.

These appendages did not mar the symmetry of the whole, as viewed from
the front, but when, in the process of the town's improvement, a street
was maliciously opened directly in the rear of the building, the whole
establishment, with its comical little adjuncts, was a constant source
of amusement to the passers-by. No matter. There were pleasant, happy
hours passed under its odd-shaped roof, as many of Chicago's early
settlers can testify.

Around the Agency House