USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Cahokia > Cahokia records, 1778-1790 > Part 14
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It is possible that the Spanish government did not send out such expeditions as that led by Dodge, yet the purpose accom- plished by such a policy was in accordance with the instructions from the government, if we are to believe the report of Chouteau,
1 Smith, St. Clair Papers, ii., 103, 117, 122, 176; Dawson to Governor Randolph, January 29, 1789, Va. State Papers, iv., 554; Hamtranck to Harmar, March and August, 1789, Dr. MSS., 2W17, 70.
2 Hamtramck to Harmar, Dr. MSS., 2W17, 39.
3 Edgar to Hamtramck, October 28, 1789, Dr. MSS., 2W124-142.
4 Ibid.
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who informed Edgar that "orders had been received from New Orleans by the Lieut. Govr of St. Louis, for him to make every difficulty possible with the people of this side, so that they might thereby be forced to go to live on the other."1 That they might be induced to change their allegiance, Governor Miro issued a proclamation offering land gratis and other attractions to all new comers.2
A further means of inducing immigration was the enticement of the French priests to the Spanish side. Father Le Dru, who had succeeded De la Valiniere at Kaskaskia, Father St. Pierre at Cahokia, and later Father Gibault were persuaded to take parishes in the Spanish territory. The cause mentioned was not the only one which affected the priests; for they found the French of the American Bottom very indifferent about religion and both unable and unwilling to pay tithes, thus making it impossible for the priests to live among them.3
The result of the hardships which the French had endured during these years and the long deferred fulfilment of their dreams of peace and independence was a striking decrease in the population of Kaskaskia. We have seen that in 1778, when George Rogers Clark occupied the village, there were about five hundred white inhabitants.4 In 1783 there were 194 heads of families. As thirty-nine of these were newly arrived Americans, the figures apparently prove that the French population had re- mained about stationary.5 By the census of 1787, there were 19I male inhabitants in the village.6 Counting 150 women and female children, which is probably too high an estimate for a frontier community, the population was about 341, which would mean a decided decrease. The period of the greatest emigra- tion occurred between the years 1787 and 1790, when anarchy reached its climax in Kaskaskia, and the Spaniards were holding
1 Jones to Hamtramck, October 29, 1789, Dr. MSS., 2W124-142.
2 Smith, St. Clair Papers, ii., 122.
3 Jones to Hamtramck, October 29, 1789, Dr. MSS., 2W124-142.
4 See supra p. xvi.
5 Mason, Early Illinois Citizens, Chi. Hist. Soc.'s Collections, iv., 198 et seq.
6 Papers of Old Cong., xlviii., 181.
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out the greatest inducements to settlers on the western bank of the river. There has been preserved a list of the male inhabi- tants in Kaskaskia for the year 1790, in which the heads of families are enumerated. The number is 44.1 This is a de- crease of over 77 per cent in the French population of the village since 1783. This list is interesting on account of the names which are missing. Almost all the men who had been leaders of the French people throughout the period of the county of Illinois were no longer residents of Kaskaskia. We look in vain for the names of Cerré, Vitale, J. Bte., and Antoine Bauvais, Corset, Lasource, the elder Charlevilles, Morin, De Monbreun, Langlois, Levasseur, Lafont, Carbonneaux. They have crossed the river to seek peace and safety under the flag of Spain.
The picture of the village of Kaskaskia as described by its people in these last days in a petition to Major Hamtramck is one of utter misery and despair. They wrote: "Our horses, horned cattle & corn are stolen & destroyed without the power of making any effective resistance: Our houses are in ruins & decay; our lands are uncultivated; debtors absconded and absconding, our little commons destroyed. We are aprehensive of a dearth of corn and our best prospects are misery and distress, or what is more probable an untimey death by the hands of the savages.
"We are well convinced that all these misfortunes have be- fallen us for want of some Superior or Commanding authority ; for ever since the cession of this territory to Congress we have been neglected as an abandoned people, to encounter all the difficulties that are always attendant upon anarchy and confusion. neither did we know from authority until latterly, to what power we were subject. The greater part of our citizens have left the country on this account to reside in the Spanish dominions ; others are now following, and we are fearful, nay certain, that without . your assistance, the small remainder will be obliged to follow their example." 2
In the foregoing petition the people begged Major Hamtramck
1 Mason, Early Illinois Citizens, Chi. Hist. Soc.'s Collections, iv., 209.
1 Dr. MSS., 2W124-142.
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to send twenty soldiers with an officer to maintain order and to give them authority to establish a civil government. The peti- tion was accompanied by a letter from John Edgar, who promised to furnish barracks and supplies for the soldiers at the very lowest price until the governor could make other arrangements.1 This Hamtramck had no authority to do, nor could he afford to send the men; but he forwarded the petition, and so far exceeded his powers as to authorize the formation of courts of justice. These were never established, since justices without troops would have no means of enforcing the law.
The trials of the last year broke the courage of John Edgar, who had realized the possible greatness of the territory, and had used his influence to promote peace and to bring a government to the disordered and disheartened village. In November, 1789, he wrote: "The Spring it is possible I can stand my ground, sur- rounded as we are by Savage enemies. I have waited five years in hopes of a Government; I shall wait until March, as I may be able to withstand them in the winter season, but if no succour nor government should then arrive, I shall be compelled to aban- don the country, & I shall go to live at St. Louis. Inclination, interest & love for the country prompt me to reside here, but when in so doing it is ten to one but both my life & property will fall a sacrifice, you nor any impartial mind can blame me for the part I shall take."2 Edgar was not compelled to abandon the country of his adoption, for in the month designated Governor St. Clair arrived in the village of Kaskaskia.
The history of the village of Kaskaskia at which the county government had been established is the story of the prolonged suffering of the French population. Tyranny followed upon tyranny. After the Virginia troops had stripped the people, came John Dodge with his policy of terrorism, and when he had been overthrown and the French people had seized the power, their hands were too feeble to maintain order at home, and their village
1 Dr. MSS., 2wi24-142.
2 Ibid.
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became the prey of the savages and Spaniards. From this picture, it is a pleasure to turn to the village of Cahokia at the extreme north of the American Bottom. Here the troubles were somewhat similar in kind as those at Kaskaskia, but never so virulent and the court of the district of Cahokia was able to establish itself and its authority so securely that even the abandonment by Virginia and the United States could not shake it. The letter from the state's attorney, Joseph Labuxiere, printed in this volume draws the contrast between the conditions existing in the two villages in the following words: "The misunderstanding of the magistrates of Kaskaskia and the extreme disorder of the business of the individ- uals, occasioned by some persons greedy for money, have com- pelled me to withdraw with my family to Cahokia, where I have found the inhabitants filled with the unity of peace and fidelity to the states, and a court which the justices are careful to administer with equity to those who ask its help."1
Another fact gives striking proof of the condition described by Labuxiere. At the beginning of the period the population of Cahokia numbered about 300 inhabitants.2 In the year 1787 a careful census was made and there were 240 male inhabitants, which would make the total population over 400, and in 1790 Cahokia was capable of supporting three companies of militia while · Kaskaskia had but one.3 Thus while Kaskaskia was decreasing, Cahokia was growing both in size and in importance, and be- coming the "metropolis" of the American Bottom.
As far as can be learned François Trottier was the commandant. of the militia throughout this period and it is due largely to his efficient administration of the police that the village prospered.4 The justices were elected annually by the assembly of the people until the passage of the Ordinance of 1787, when, in anticipation of a new government, regular elections ceased and the same jus-
1 See post, p. 589.
2 See supra, p. xv.
3 Mason, Early Illinois Citizens, Chi. His. Soc.'s Collections, iv., 216 et seq .; see post, p. .. 632.
4 In 1785 Antoine Girardin held this office temporarily as did J. B. Dubuque at a later period.
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tices continued in office. In August, 1788, there was an election of three magistrates to fill vacancies made by resignation. It was the last election held in the county of Illinois. The justices held their sessions with great regularity and their administration was admirable.
The relation of Cahokia to the county government was never very close. In fact the people of that village did not appear to have any very great respect for the Kaskaskians; for in their petition to Congress in 1786 they begged that body not to submit them to the jurisdiction of the southern village, because they knew "the incapacity, spite, and partiality of those who would exercise it."1 The high sounding title of deputy county lieutenant meant little more than head of Kaskaskia. This at least was the feel- ing of the Cahokians, and the only hint that such was not the actual condition is the fact that Timothe de Monbreun made several journeys to Cahokia in order to negotiate with the Span- iards and Indans in the interest of the whole territory.2 That he or any of the other deputies of John Todd really had the power to- interfere in the affairs at Cahokia is not apparent from the records, and, in the absence of proof and in view of the actual powers exercised by the court of the village, it seems best to regard the county government as more formal than actual.
We have seen that the Kaskaskians complained of the estab- lishment of the Michillimackinac company at Cahokia. From the year 1783 many British merchants found their way to the Illinois and established stores in the village. Among the names which occur are J. B. Perrault, representing Marchisseaux of Montreal, James Grant, Meyers, Tabeau, Guillon, William Arundel, John Askins, and others.3 These merchants practically monopolized the fur trade of Illinois; but the Cahokians, finding that they interfered with the Indian trade as well, were strong enough to make regulations to protect their own interests and gave a limited monopoly of that trade to one of the citizens
1 See post, p. 587.
2 Memorial of De Monbreun, Va. State Lib.
3 Narrative of Perrault in Schoolcraft, Indian Antiquities, iii., 355; this volume, passim; Smith, St. Clair Papers, ii., 174.
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of the village and prohibited all sale of liquor to the savages by others.1 When the Indian outrages reached their climax in the year 1789 and Kaskaskians were begging the military officer at Vincennes to send troops for their defense, the court of Caho- kia still further regulated intercourse with the Indians and forbade all sale of liquor by any one.2
Exactly how the Cahokians were affected by the intrigues of the Spaniards in the later years, it is impossible to say. At the end of the record of the sessions will be found an unexplained punishment of a Frenchman from St. Louis who was evidently attempting to undermine the power of the court; but once again that body was equal to maintaining its authority and, from the complaint of the prisoner, it would appear that the support of the villagers was given to the government.3
Cahokia was not disturbed by the Americans in the same way as her sister village, for the American troops did not remain in the village after 1780 and very few individuals took up their residence there. Aside from the British merchants only four non- French names appear in the later years as actual citizens, Thomas Brady, Philippe Engel, Isaac Levy, and William Arundel, and of these the first three seem to have become completely gallicized and to have married French women. The American settlers who came in closest contact with the Cahokians resided at Grand Ruisseau, which fell within the district of the village. In 1786 they were permitted by the magistrates, as we have seen, to ap- point a captain of militia, but they remained subject to the im- mediate jurisdiction of the court except in such cases as might be decided by arbitrators.4
Cahokia, however, was not to escape wholly without trouble from these neighbors. After the failure of the Americans in the spring of 1787 to capture control of the court of Kaskaskia the settlers of Bellefontaine and Grand Ruisseau determined to establish a rival and independent court, for which purpose
1 See post, p. 73, 125, 215, 259, 575
2 See post, p. 607.
3 See post, p. 437 .
4 See post, p. 217 .
.
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they held an election and chose magistrates. If the movement had been confined to the first named village, which was in the district of Kaskaskia, the Cahokia government might not have made any opposition; but the inclusion of the village of Grand Ruisseau was an affront to the one French court which had proved its right to exist. Fortunately for the Cahokians, the leaders of the movement wished to supplant Robert Watts, their appointee, in his office of commandant. This aroused Watts to immediate action, particularly as his rival was James Piggott, a man who represented the more restless and impatient element among the Americans.1
Watts came to Cahokia and addressed the court in Ciceronian periods, pointing out the danger which threatened the law and order of the district by this innovation or revolution. The danger was not exaggerated. The court at Cahokia represented the only stable power in the Illinois at the time, and with a rival court of Americans at Grand Ruisseau and Bellefontaine, there would inevitably have followed disorders which might have taken on the character of a civil war between the two peoples. Certainly the two courts would not have acted together for the suppression of lawlessness. The action of the court of Cahokia was prompt and energetic. It prohibited the holding of any independent assemblies of the people or sessions of the court, and condemned the leaders of the movement to be put in irons for twenty-four hours and, in case they disobeyed the order of the court, they were to be driven from the territory. The magis- trates of Cahokia were not weak. Their decrees were executed. In striking contrast to the timidity and inefficiency of the court of Kaskaskia is the action recorded by the hussier under that decree against the Americans: "The present decree has been executed the same day." 2
This revolution occurred in August or early in September. The Cahokia justices now felt the need of taking some steps to
1 Piggott was later appointed by St. Clair one of the first judges in the district of Cahokia. Smith, St. Clair papers, ii., 165; for some account of him see post, p. 190, note I.
2 See post, p. 597 et seq.
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satisfy the demands of the Americans. Those at Bellefontaine belonged by right to the Kaskaskia jurisdiction, but to expect from the Kaskaskia French the maintenance of law and order was hopeless. Therefore, when all the Americans of the region petitioned for admittance to the district of Cahokia and the right of electing a justice of the peace at each of the two chief settlements, the petition was granted at the October session of the court, and the election of a justice and a militia officer at Bellefontaine and of a justice at Grand Ruisseau was confirmed on November 2d.1 Thus around Cahokia there centered all the forces which made for peace and order, and even the American settlers, who had assisted in the overthrow of the court of Kaskas- kia, were able to escape the anarchy which their presence had produced only by submitting to the Frenchmen of the northern village.
As may be seen in the following pages, the court at Cahokia continued to maintain order in its district until other and more legal regulations were made. During the last years the court was constantly expecting the arrival of the governor, who had been appointed in 1788 under the law creating the Territory Northwest of the Ohio River; but Governor St. Clair was unable to reach the Illinois until two years after his appointment. Finally after long delay, on March 5, 1790, he actually arrived in Kaskaskia. This was the limit of time John Edgar had fixed to which he would wait for the inauguration of a government at that village. The Cahokia court held its usual meeting in the same month, and again on the first of April the court heard suits brought before it and adjourned to the first of May. Here the record of the sessions of the Court of the District of Cahokia of the county of Illinois ends, for on the 27th of April the county of St. Clair was instituted and two days later the appointment of the judges of the new courts was announced.
The history of these new courts is of a later date than the limit of the present Introduction, but the next period in the history of Illinois is a continuation of that which we have already
1 See post, p. 307
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reviewed. The French were not able to struggle against the Americans, who were now placed in the ruling positions, and * a new exodus of the population began. To follow the destinies of the more energetic families named in these pages, it is neces- sary to cross the river. The descendants of J. Bte. Barbau, of the Bauvais, the Sauciers and the Trottiers are to be sought not in the territory or state of Illinois, but in that territory which for a few years remained under the dominion of Spain, where the French took refuge. The census of several old French towns of the western banks of the Mississippi reveals the presence of many families once inhabiting the American Bottom. The French have not figured prominently in the later history of Illi- nois, but the continuation of their civilization is found in the sister state of Missouri, where they still form an important element in the population; or else in the far West, where many de- scendants of the sons of Kaskaskia and Cahokia fled before the advance of the American settlers and followed the life for which they had been trained, that of trader, pioneer, and trapper.
In the foregoing history of the "County of Illinois" I have based the narrative upon the source material that has been pre- served from that time, some account of which should be given, since several of the collections studied have been unknown to previous historians of the period and none have been used so extensively before.
I. Kaskaskia Records:1 These were found by myself in the office of the circuit clerk of Randolph county at Chester, Illinois, in the late summer of 1905. They consist of 2804 eighteenth century documents of all sizes, ranging from the scrap of paper to a volume of 444 pages, and of all kinds of legal instruments, ordinances, and letters. The number issuing from the county of Illinois is 506. I have classified them according to character, i. e., certificates, land grants, political papers, etc. They are cited as follows :
1 Alvord, "Eighteenth Century French Records in the Archives of Illinois," Annual Report of Amer. Hist. Assn. for 1905.
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Kas. Rec., Pol. Papers, etc. This collection belongs to the county of St. Clair and is kept in the fireproof office of the circuit clerk. Temporarily it is loaned to the library of the University of Illinois for my use. One document, which I failed to see at the time of the discovery, is still in Chester. Since it is of great value and no report has yet been made upon it, I give a description of it here. It is a court record of 256 pages. Pages I-57 contain the records of the sessions of the court of judicature founded by Colonel Wilkins in 1768 and of the judgments of the military commandants, acting as judges after the abolition of the court, up to January 30, 1773. Pages 57-90 were used to record deeds, etc., from May 9, 1776, to June 23, 1778. The rest of the book contains the registrations for the next two years, made by the clerks after the occupation of the country by Clark. Several of the pages are missing.
2. Cahokia Records:1 These belong to the county of St. Clair, Illinois, and are kept in a fireproof museum in the court- house at Belleville. The most important of these documents are printed in this volume and need no further description. Besides those printed, there are a number of marriage contracts and other instruments in Belleville; and 170 documents, which were for- merly in the county treasurer's office, are now in the library of the Chicago Historical Society.2 The proper citation is Cak. Rec. in Chicago or in Belleville, Ill.
3. Menard Collection : This consists of the correspondence and letter-books of Pierre Menard, who settled in Kaskaskia in 1790. The majority of the letters date from the latter part of Menard's life; but in the collection are four large bundles of let- ters and documents which belonged to Barthélemi Tardiveau, agent of the Illinois people in 1787 and 1788. Two of these bundles are composed of copies of records from the Kaskaskia record-book and some original manuscripts, which he used for his information in drawing up his petitions to Congress. There are in all sixty- one selected documents emanating generally from the French 1 Ibid; Bulletin of the Ill. State Hist. lib., vol. i, No. I.
2 I have learned too late to make the necessary changes in the foot-notes that the Chi- cago Historical Society has returned these documents to Belleville.
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inhabitants, which makes this collection one of the most valuable for the history of the county of Illinois. The majority of these document were copied by the clerk of the court in the spring of 178I, at the time the people of Kaskaskia commissioned Prevost and McCarty to represent them at the capitol of Virginia.1 They are all properly authenticated by Richard Winston, deputy county lieutenant.
4. Draper Manuscripts:2 These are so well known that a description of them is unnecessary. They were collected by Lyman C. Draper during his long and useful life, which he devoted to the collection of material for the study of western history, and they form the most valuable part of the Wisconsin Historical Society's collection of manuscripts. For my purposes the George Rogers Clark Manuscripts, contained in sixty-five volumes, have been of the most use. They are cited as Dr. MSS. 52J50, the first number being the volume, the second the page and the letter (J) the library symbol for the Clark MSS. I went through these volumes and had copies made of all the manuscripts which would be of value to me. Most of the copies were from original documents, but, since on the copies it was not indicated whether they were from original manuscripts or copies, I have not dared trust to my memory to indicate this distinction in the footnotes. I have made some use of other collections in the Draper Manu- scripts, particularly the Harmar MSS. These are copies made by Mr. Draper.
5. Haldimand Collection: Frederick Haldimand was ap- pointed governor of Canada in September, 1777, and held this position until 1784. During this time his correspondence was large and this he carefully preserved. It is now in the British Museum and the Public Record Office in London. The collec- tion contains the letters, reports made to him, and copies of im- portant papers which were enclosed in these. The Canadian Archives has had transcripts of this collection made and has calendared it in its Reports. The copies I have used were made
1 See supra pp. ciii., n. 3, cxxxviii.
2 Thwaites, Descriptive List of MSS. Collections.
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from the Canadian transcripts. These are cited as Can. Archives, B., etc. Many of these have been printed in the Michigan Pio- neer and Historical Collections and the Illinois Historical Collec- tions, Vol. I.
6. Papers of Old Congress:1 Many petitions with enclosures were sent by the people of Illinois to Congress. These have recently been transferred to the library of Congress.
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