USA > Illinois > Chapters from Illinois history > Part 20
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and foresight on the part of the head of the government. The graver duties associated with that position were quickly to devolve upon John Todd, and on page 18 of his Record-Book is inscribed an entry, which reads very strangely at the present day. It is verbatim as follows:
"Illinois to wit: To Richard Winston, Esq., Sheriff in chief of the District of Kaskaskia.
"Negro Manuel, a Slave, in your custody, is con- demned by the Court of Kaskaskia, after having made honorable Fine at the Door of the Church, to be chained to a post at the Water Side, and there to be burnt alive and his ashes scattered, as appears to me by Record. This Sentence you are hereby required to put in execu- tion on tuesday next at 9 o'clock in the morning, and this shall be your warrant. Given under my hand and seal at Kaskaskia the 13th day of June in the third year of the Commonwealth."
This is a grim record, and reveals a dark chapter in the early history of Illinois. It is not surprising that some one has drawn heavy lines across it as if to efface it for- ever. It is startling to reflect that barely one hundred years ago, within the territory now composing our State, a court of law deliberately sentenced a human being to be burned alive! It is possible that the attempted can- cellation of the entry may mean that the warrant was revoked. And so let us hope for the sake of humanity. No other evidence, so far as known, of this peculiar case exists. But it is palpable that this inhuman penalty was actually fixed by the court, and as the statute deprived the commandant of the power to pardon in such cases, it is more probable that the sentence was actually executed. The cruel form of death, the color of the unfortunate vic- tim, and the scattering of the ashes, all seem to indicate
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that this was one of the instances of the imagined crime of Voudouism or negro witchcraft, for which it is known that some persons suffered in the Illinois country about this time. Reynolds, in his Pioneer History, says: "In Cahokia about the year 1790, this superstition got the upper hand of reason, and several poor African slaves were immolated at the shrine of ignorance for this imag- inary offense. An African negro, called Moreau, was hung for this crime on a tree not far southeast of Caho- kia. It is stated that he had said he poisoned his master, but his mistress was too strong for his necromancy." There is no doubt that this is a correct statement of the facts, although the date of their occurrence is errone- ously given. For on the next page of this Record-Book appears Todd's order for the detail of a guard for this very negro Moreau to the place of execution, dated June 15, 1779, which of course goes to show the probability of the infliction of the penalty above mentioned in the case of the negro, Manuel. This order in regard to Moreau is as follows:
"To Capt. Nicholas Janis.
"You are hereby required to call upon a party of your militia to guard Moreau, a slave condemned to execution, up to the town of Kohos. Put them under an officer. They shall be entitled pay rashtions and refreshment during the Time they shall be upon Duty to be certifyed hereafter by you. "I am sir your hble servant,
"JNO. TODD. "15th June, 1779.
"I recommend 4 or 5 from your
Compy and as many from Capt. Placey and consult Mr. Lacroix about the time necessary.
"J. T."
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Nicholas Janis was, as we have seen, Captain of the first Company of Militia at Kaskaskia, and the Captain Placey mentioned is, undoubtedly, Joseph Duplessis, Cap- tain of the Second Company at the same place. Kohos. was the familiar abbreviation of Cahokia, and the Mr. La Croix, who was to be consulted, must have been J. B. La Croix, first sheriff of the Cahokia district, by whom, no doubt, the execution of Moreau was conducted. These two entries, therefore, confirm Reynold's account of this matter, the accuracy of which has sometimes been ques- tioned, and give to old Cahokia the sad distinction of having been a western Salem.
The different subjects thus far included in this interest- ing Record-Book, were all dealt with by Todd between May 14 and June 15, 1779. He certainly was not idle, nor did he lack for important business during the first month of his administration. His duties appear then to have called him away from Kaskaskia, probably to Vin- cennes, to make the appointments there already noticed. And as he was about to leave, he addressed a letter to his deputy-commandant, Richard Winston, which is suffi- ciently interesting to be quoted entire.
"Sir: During my absence the command will devolve upon you as commander of Kaskaskia .- If Colo. Clark should want anything more for his expedition, consult the members of the court upon the best mode of proceeding, if the people will not spare wilingly, if in their power, you must press it, valuing the property by Two men upon Oath .- let the military have no pretext for forcing prop- erty-When you order it and the people will not find it, then it will be Time for them to Interfere .- by all means Keep up a Good Understanding with Colo. Clark and the
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Officers .- if this is not the Case you will be unhappy. I am sir
"Yr Hble Servt JOHN TODD
"June 15, 1779."
The expedition of Colonel Clark, referred to in this let- ter, is supposed to have been that planned against the British at Detroit, which he and Governor Henry were very anxious to undertake. They were ultimately pre- vented by lack of means. Todd's determination to keep the military in subordination to the civil power is very plain, but at the same time his doubt of his success, and his appreciation of Clark's peculiarities, are curiously shown by the concluding paragraph of this letter. When he tells Richard Winston by all means to keep up a good understanding with Colonel Clark, and that, if this is not the case, he will be unhappy, he evidently is speaking of that of which he knows by personal experience.
Upon his return to Kaskaskia, July 27, 1779, the reso- lutions of Congress concerning the issues of the conti- nental money, dated May 20, 1777, and April 11, 1778, engaged his attention. And he put forth a short proc- lamation in French and English, both copies being duly transcribed in his Record at pages 19 and 20, notifying persons having money of those issues that unless they shall as soon as possible pay the same into some conti- nental treasury, the money must sink on their hands, and that the vouchers must be certified by himself or some deputy-commandant of this county, and have refer- ence to the bundle of money numbered and sealed. Whether this congressional plan superseded that of Todd's own devising, we do not know, but at all events we hear nothing further of his land fund.
It would appear that during his brief absence, the
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newly-appointed court at Kaskaskia had not transacted business with the diligence and celerity required by John Todd. The judges were all elected from among the French settlers, and we may assume that their easy-going ways did not find favor with the busy man from beyond the Ohio. They seem to have adjourned court to what appeared to him to be too long a day, and his consequent action savors somewhat of a direct interference of the executive with the judiciary, but, doubtless, was effective. On page 21 we read the following document:
"To Gabriel Cerre &c. Esqrs. Judges of the Court for the District of Kaskaskia:
"You are hereby authorized and required to hold and constitute a court on Satterday, the 21st of July at the usual place of holding court within yr District, any adjournment to the contrary notwithstanding. Provided that no suitor or party be compeled to answear any pro- cess upon said Day unless properly summoned by the Clark and Sheriff. Given under my hand and seal at Kaskaskia.
"JOHN TODD."
He was tender of the rights of parties, but proposed that the judges should attend to their work. Doubtless, Gabriel and his associates grumbled not a little at this interference with their comfort, and insisted, the one to the other, that they had not accepted the judicial office upon any such understanding. Pleasure first and busi- ness afterwards, had always been the rule at Kaskaskia, and to compel a man to hold court when he preferred to smoke his pipe in the sun, or go fishing, was an unpre- cedented hardship. But all the same, we may be very sure that they did "hold and constitute a court on Satter-
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day the 21st of July, any adjournment to the contrary notwithstanding."
Mindful of Governor Henry's advice to cultivate a con- nection with the Spanish commandant, near Kaskaskia, Commandant Todd sends a letter, in French, on August 9, 1779, to Monsieur Cartabonne, commanding at Ste. Gen- eviève, and a letter to the same effect to Monsieur Leyba, at St. Louis. In these letters he proposes an arrange- ment concerning the commerce of the Illinois country, for the mutual advantage of their respective govern- ments, His Catholic Majesty on the one hand, and the State of Virginia on the other, and for the disadvantage of their common enemy, the British. He informs the Spaniards that Colonel Clark has not yet departed from Post Vincennes, and further states that, if they are attacked by any enemies, and he can be of service to them, he is ordered by the Governor of Virginia to give aid to them.
The slow-moving French settlers seem to have been in other ways a trial, and probably were dilatory in provid- ing supplies for the troops, which were soon expected from Virginia. And on August 11th Todd enters, on page 22 of his book, a brief address, in which the inhab- itants of Kaskaskia are, for the last time, invited to con- tract with the persons appointed for provision, especially "Flower," for the troops who will shortly arrive. He says, "I hope they will use properly the Indulgence of a mild Government. If I shall be obliged to give the mili- tary permission to press It will be a disadvantage, and what ought more to influence Freemen, it will be a dis- honor to the people." It is evident that Baptiste, François, and the rest, while willing enough to be "Free- men," on their money still preferred a king. And the
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supplies which they would have readily furnished in exchange for coins stamped with the head of George III or Louis XV, were not forthcoming when continental currency was offered in return, despite all of Todd's efforts in that behalf. It is said that the early French inhabitants were so puzzled by the machinery of free government that they longed for the return of the despotic authority of their military commandants. If so, there must have been a familiar sound about this brief address which might have made them think their good old times had come again. After this he copies an order upon the Governor of Virginia, in favor of J. B. La Croix, the Sheriff of Cahokia in payment of supplies furnished, probably one of the few, if not the only one, who paid any attention to the address.
The Commandant found it necessary to resort to more stringent measures. And on August 22d he issued another proclamation laying an embargo upon the exportation of any provisions whatsoever, by land or water, for sixty days, unless he has assurances before that time that a sufficient stock is laid up for the troops, or sufficient security is given to the contractors for its delivery when required. And the offender is to be sub- jected to imprisonment for one month and to forfeit the value of such exported provision. This he records in Eng- lish and in French, apparently having special reference to those of the latter race. And seemingly becoming weary of the delay of the people as to the surrender of the con- tinental money, he gives notice, in both languages, that after August 23, 1779, no more certificates will be granted at Kaskaskia to persons producing the called-in emis- sions. It does not appear whether this delay was due to the fact that the prudent French settlers really had no
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continental money on hand, or to their wish to get some return for what little they did own, and they were unable to see any such outcome from a deposit in a continental treasury.
October 7, 1779, he makes a note of an order given to Patrick M'Crosky on the Gov't for 140 Dollars being No. 2 issued "by a certificate from Mr. Helm." This Mr. Helm was one of Clark's trusty lieutenants, and was, probably, then commanding the fort at Vincennes.
A short and simple method of forfeiting realty to the State is illustrated in the proceedings set forth on pages 25 and 26. On the 4th of October, 1779, a notification was given at the door of the church of Kaskaskia, that the half-a-lot above the church, joining Picard on the east, and Langlois on the west, unless some persons should appear and support their claim to the said lot within three days, would be condemned to the use of the Com- monwealth. On the 13th day of October, 1779, accord- ingly, John Todd, under his hand and seal, at Kaskaskia, proclaimed that after publicly calling any person or per- sons to show any claim they might have to said lot, and no one appearing to claim the same as against the Com- monwealth of Virginia, he declares and adjudges the said lot to belong to the said Commonwealth, and that all persons, whatsoever, be thenceforth debarred and pre- cluded forever from any claim thereto.
The heading of the following entry in this book is, "Copy of a Grant to Colonel Montgomery," but the remainder of that page, and one or two more, have been deliberately torn out. The explanation of this mutilation may be found in a report made in 1810 by the Commis- sioners appointed by Congress to examine the claims of persons claiming lands in the district of Kaskaskia, from
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which it appears that many of the ancient evidences of title had been deliberately destroyed in the interest of speculators claiming under forged deeds or perjured tes- timony. Some one, interested in opposition to this grant, may have had access to this book years after the entry, when the land had become valuable, and attempted to defeat the title in this way. The Colonel Montgomery named in it was probably the Captain Montgomery who came to the Illinois with Clark, and rendered good serv- ice on that expedition. He is described as a jovial Irish- man, whom Clark fell in with at the Falls of the Ohio, on his way down the river, and who readily joined in the perilous adventure, from pure love of fighting. He commanded the garrison of Fort Gage, at Kaskaskia, after its surrender by the British.
This is the last entry in the book in Todd's hand- writing.
We know that he continued to hold his position as Commandant and County-Lieutenant at the Illinios for some three years more, devoting most of his time to its affairs. And in that period he made the difficult and often dangerous journey between his distant post and the Kentucky settlements, or Virginia, two or more times in every year. In 1779 Virginia ordered two regiments to be raised for service in its western counties, and it is supposed that Todd was appointed Colonel of one of them. In the spring of 1780 he was elected a delegate from the county of Kentucky to the Legislature of Vir- ginia, and was married while attending its session of that year. In the fall he returned to Kentucky, and, having established his bride in the fort at Lexington, resumed his journey to Illinois. It is worthy of remark that the foundation of Transylvania University, the first institu-
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tion of learning west of the mountains, is attributed to the State aid obtained from the Virginia Legislature by his exertions in its behalf. In November, 1780, the county of Kentucky was divided into the three counties of Fayette, Lincoln, and Jefferson, and in the summer of 1781, Governor Thomas Jefferson appointed Todd, Col- onel of Fayette County; Daniel Boone, Lieutenant- Colonel, and Thomas Marshall (father of Chief-Justice Marshall), Surveyor. In December, 1781, Todd secured a town lot at Lexington, and in May, 1782, he was made one of the trustees of Lexington by Act of Virginia. In the summer of that year he visited Richmond, on the business of the Illinois country, where it is said he had concluded to permanently reside, and stopped at Lexing- ton on his return. While here an Indian attack upon a frontier station summoned the militia to arms, and he, as senior Colonel, took command of the little force of 180 men who went in pursuit of the retreating savages. It included Daniel Boone and many other pioneers of note, sixty of their number being commissioned officers. At the Blue Licks, on the 18th of August, 1782, the enemy was overtaken, and the headlong courage of those who would not observe the prudent counsels of Todd and Boone, precipitated an action which was very disastrous to the whites. One-third of those who went into battle were killed, a number wounded, and several made pris- oners. And among the heroes who laid down their lives that day was Colonel John Todd. He was shot through the body while gallantly fighting at the head of his men, and, says an eye-witness, "When last seen he was reeling in his saddle, while the blood gushed in profusion from his wounds."
A few other minutes were made in this book in Colonel
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Todd's lifetime, which are not in his handwriting. On two pages, near the end, is kept his "Peltry Account" which is charged with his drafts on the Virginia Govern- ment, in favor of Monsieur Beauregarde, to the amount of $30,000, dated at St. Louis, September 14, 1779, the value thereof having, apparently, been received, one- third in paper currency and two-thirds in peltries. The account is credited with payments made for supplies for the garrison at Kaskaskia, purchased by Col. John Mont- gomery, and for the garrison at Cahokia, purchased by Captain M'Carthy, probably that Richard M'Carthy, gentleman, to whom a "License for Trade" was granted, as we have seen. The principal item in these supplies seems to have been a beverage called "Taffia," which was laid in by the hogshead. On page 28 is an oath of allegiance taken by one James Moore, at Kaskaskia, to the United States of America, on July 10, 1782, while the States were still under the articles of confederation, showing the form then used. He renounces all fidelity to King George the Third, King of Great Britain, his heirs and successors, and agrees to make known to some one Justice of the Peace for the United States all treason- ous and all traitorous conspiracies which may come to his knowledge to be formed against said United States, or any one of them.
During Todd's later absences from his government, a French gentleman named Demunbrunt appears to have been his deputy and acting Commandant in his place. And it is curious to notice on the inside of one of the covers of this book a little penmanship, which may indi- cate that this individual was rather proud of his tem- porary dignity. It reads, "Nota bene, Nous Thimothé Demunbrunt Lt. Comdt Par interim &c &c"; and it
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seems as if Thimothé could not resist the temptation to see how his name and title would look, and so wrote it out in a fine, bold hand for all men to see for a hundred years to come. On the last page are two memoranda, apparently in the same bold hand, which, in pencil underneath, are said to be by Thimothé Demunbrunt Lt. Comdt par interim, and, doubtless, this is correct. They read: "February 1782, Arived a small tribe of the Wabash Indians Imploring the paternal succor of their Father the Bostonians, having their patent from Major Linctot, in consequence I did on Behalf of the Common- wealth give them Six Bushell Indian Corn, Fifty Pounds of Bread, four Pounds of Gun Powder, Ten Pounds of Ball and One Gallon of Taffia, from Carbonneaux." And, "March 22d, Came here Deputys from the Dela- wars, Shawanoes and Cherokee nations of Indians Beg- ging that the Americans wold grant them Pease, as likewise the French and Spanish, and after hearing their Talk, Smoaking the pipe of peace and friendship with them, and from their conduct while here as well as many marks they gave us of their Sincerity I could not avoid giving them on Behalf of the Americans the Following articles, vizt.
"IO Bushells Indian Corn, 100 1b. Flour and 100 1b. Bisquit, 6 1b. Tobaco, one Gallon Tafia, 5 qts wampum and Canoe which cost me 20 Dollars."
The use of the word "Bostonians" by the Wabash Indians, to indicate the whites, is interesting, and may, perhaps, show that this tribe contained or was made up of fragments of tribes of New England Indians, who would naturally use this phrase. The evidence furnished by these memoranda of the weakness and destitution of once powerful Indian nations is very striking, although
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their real condition may have been slightly exaggerated, in order to obtain larger supplies of Tafia. Probably they fared better at the hands of the simple Frenchman, from the good-will of his race to the red man, than if Colonel Todd had been at the helin.
But, it may be asked, what had become of Richard Winston, who was Deputy-Commandant in the early part of Todd's administration, and how he came to be super- seded by this soft-hearted Thimothé?
We should have been utterly unable to answer these questions but for a paragraph written upon the inside of the front cover of this book, which is as follows:
"Kaskaskias in the Illinois 29th April 1782. This day 10 o'clock A. M. I was taken out of my house by J. Neal Dodge on an order given by Jno. Dodge in despite of the Civil authority disregarding the laws, and on the mali- tious alugation of Jno. Williams and Michel Pevante as may appear by their deposition. I was confined by tyrannick military force without making any legal aplica- tion to the Civil Magistrates-30th The Attorney for the State, La Buinieux, presented a petition to the court against Richard Winston, State Prisoner in their custody the contents of which he (the Attorney for the State) ought to have communicated to me or my attorney, if any I had." It will be remembered that when Todd first went away from Kaskaskia, leaving Winston in com- mand, he advised him, by letter, by all means to keep up a good understanding with Colonel Clark and the officers, telling him if this was not the case he would be unhappy. We can only conclude that the unlucky Winston had at this time neglected this injunction, as his trouble seems to have been with the military, and in consequence was very unhappy. At all events, he had fallen into disgrace,
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of course had lost his office, and was imprisoned, doubt- less in the old French commandant's house, which served as the headquarters of the successive governments of the Illinois country, even down to the organization of our State when it became the first State House. Here shut up, perhaps in the Governor's room, he found this Record-Book, and wrote his sorrowful tale within it. And so it preserves to us, a century after, poor Richard Winston's protest against "tyrannick military force."
The remaining pages of this book are occupied with a brief record in the French language of the proceedings of the court of Kaskaskia, from June 5, 1787, to Feb- ruary 15, 1788. During this period it seems to be pretty much in the hands of one family, as three of the five justices are named Beauvais. Antoine Beauvais is the presiding justice, and Vital Beauvais, and St. Gemme Beauvais, are two of his four associates. For a long time they apparently do nothing but meet one month and adjourn to the next, as if determined in this way to regain the dignity of which the court was deprived by Colonel Todd's peremptory order to their predecessors to hold a session, despite their order of adjournment. On October 25, 1787, they settle down to business, at what they call an extraordinary session, to try a case between our good friend Demunbrunt, and one Francis Carbo- neaux. It will be remembered that Thimothé bought the "Taffia" he gave to the Indians from Carboneaux, and per- haps he had forgotten to pay for it. The details, and the result of the cause, are not given. The court pursues the even tenor of its way with commendable regularity, meeting once a month, in the morning, and immediately adjourning to the next month, but holding an extraor- dinary session whenever it has a case to try (and it had
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two, all told), until January 15, 1788. At this date, it, for the first time, seemingly, has to deal with the subject of jurymen, and solemnly determines that each juror from Prairie du Rocher shall have twenty - five francs, and thereupon adjourns. It meets in the afternoon and impanels a jury to try a cause in which John Edgar is plain- tiff, and Thomas Green, defendant, and with a few similar minutes its record ceases, and this book comes to an end.
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