USA > Illinois > Edwards County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 2
USA > Illinois > Wabash County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 2
USA > Illinois > Lawrence County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 2
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Father Raymbault died in the wilderness in 1642, while enthusiastically pursuing his discoveries. The same year, Jogues and Bressani were captured by the Indians and tortured, and in 1648 the mission which had been founded at St. Joseph was taken and destroyed, and Father Daniel slain. In 1649, the missions St Louis and St. Ignatius
* Western Aunals.
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
were also destroyed, and Fathers Brébeuf and Lallemand barbarously tortured by the same terrible and unrelenting enemy. Literally did those zealous missionaries of the Romish Church "take their lives in their hands," and lay them a willing sacrifice on the altar of their faith.
It is stated by some writer that, in 1654, two fur traders accompanied a band of Ottawas on a journey of five hun- dred leagues to the west. They were absent two years, and on their return brought with them fifty canoes and two hundred and fifty Indians to the French trading posts.
They related wonderful tales of the countries they had seen, and the various red nations they had visited, and described the lofty mountains and mighty rivers in glowing terms. A new impulse was given to the spirit of adventure, and scouts and traders swarmed the frontiers and explored the great lakes and adjacent country, and a party wintered in 1650-60 on the south shore of Lake Superior.
In 1660 Father Mcsnard was sent out by the Bishop of Quebec, and visited Lake Superior in October of that year. While crossing the Kecweenaw Point he was lost in the wilder- ness and never afterwards heard from, though his cassock and breviary were found long afterwards among the Sioux.
A change was made in the government of New France in 1665. The Company of the Hundred Associates, who had ruled it since 1632, resigned its charter. Tracy was made Viceroy, Courcelles Governor, and Talon Intendent .* This was called the Government of the West Indies.
The Jesuit missions were taken under the care of the new govenment, and thenceforward became the leaders in the movement to Christianize the savages.
In the same year (1665) Pierre Claude Allouez was sent out by way of the Ottawa river to the far west, via the Sault St. Marie and the south shore of Lake Superior, where he landed at the bay of Chegoimegon. IIere he found the chief village of the Chippewas, and established a mission. Ile also made an alliance with them and the Sacs, Foxes and Illinois,t against the formidable Iroquois. Allouez, the next year (1666) visited the western end of the great lake, where he mct the Sioux, and from them first learned of the Missis- sippi river which they called "Mcssipi." From thence he returned to Quebec.
In 1068 Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette estab- lished the mission at the Sault called St. Marie, and during the next five years Alloucz, Dablon and Marquette explored the region of Lake Superior on the south shore, and ex- tending to Lake Michigan. They also established the mis- sions of Chegoimegon, St. Marie, Mackinaw and Green Bay.
The plan of exploring the Mississippi probably originated with Marquette. It was at once sanctioned by the Inten- dent, Talon, who was ambitious to extend the dominion of France over the whole West.
In 1670 Nicholas Perot was sent to the West to propose a congress of all the nations and tribes living in the vicinity of the lakes ; and, in 1671, a great council was held at Sault St. Marie, at which the Cross was set up, and the nations of
* The duties of Intendent included a supervision of the policy, justice, and finance of the province.
t The meaning of this word is said to be " Men."
the great North-west were taken into an alliance, with much pomp and ceremony.
On the 13th of May, 1673, Marquette, Joliet, and five voyageurs, embarked in two birch canocs at Mackinaw and entered Lake Michigan. The first nation they visited was the " Folles-Avoines," or nation of Wild Cats, since known as the Menomonies, living - around the " Baie des Puans," or Green Bay. These people, with whom Marquette was some- what acquainted, endeavored to persuade the adventurers from visiting the Mississippi. They represented the Indians on the great river as being blood thirsty and savage in the extreme, and the river itself as being inhabited by monsters which would devour them and their canoes together .*
Marquette thanked them for their advice, but declined to be guided by it. Passing through Green Bay, they ascended the Fox River, dragging their canocs over the strong rapids and visited the village, where they found living in harmony together tribes of the Miamis, Mascoutens't and Kikabeaux or Kickapoos. Leaving this point ou the 10th of June, they made the portage to the " Ouisconsin," and descended that stream to the Mississippi, which they entercd on the 17th with a joy, as Marquette says, which he could not express."#
Sailing down the Mississippi, the party reached the Des Moines River, and, according to some, visited an Indian village some two leagues up the strcam. Here the people again tried to persuade them from prosecuting their voyage down the river. After a great feast and a dance, and a night passed with this hospitable people, they proceeded on their way, escorted by six hundred persons to their canoes. These people called themselves Illinois, or Illini. The name of their tribe was Peruaca, and their language a dialect of the Algonquin.
Leaving these savages, they proceeded down the river. Passing the wonderful rocks, which still excite the admira- tion of the traveller, they arrived at the mouth of another great river, the Pekitanmi, or Missouri of the present day. They noticed the condition of its waters, which they described as " muddy, rushing and noisy."
Passing a great rock, § they came to the Ouabouskigon, or Ohio. Marquette shows this river very small, even as com- pared with the Illinois: From the Ohio they passed as far down as the Akamsca, or Arkansas, where they came very near being destroyed by the natives; but they finally paci- fied them, and, on the 17th of July, they commenced their return voyage.
The party reached Green Bay in September without loss or injury, and reported their discoveries, which were among the most important of that age. Marquette afterwards returned to Illinois, and preached to the natives until 1675.
On the 18th of May of that year, while cruising up the eastern coast of Lake Michigan with a party of boatmen, he landed at the mouth of a stream putting into the lake from the east, since known as the river Marquette. He performed mass, and went a little apart to pray, and being
* Sce legend of the great bird, the terrible " Piasa," thai devoured men and was only overcome by the sacrifice of a brave young chief. The rocks above Alton, Illinois, have some rude representat.ons of this monster.
t Prairie Indiana, 11 + Marquette's journal. ¿ The grand tower.
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
gone longer than his companions deemed necessary, they went in search of him, and found him dead where he had knelt. They buried him in the sand.
While this distinguished adventurer was pursuing his labors, two other men were preparing to follow in his foot- step, and make still further explorations, and, if possible, more important discoveries. These were the Chevalier Robert de la Salle and Louis Hennepin.
La Salle was a native of Rouen, in Normandy. He was educated at a seminary of the Jesuits, and designed for the ministry, but, for reasons unknown, he left the seminary and came to Canada, in 1667, where he engaged in the fur trade.
Like nearly every intelligent man, he became intensely interested in the new discoveries of the West, and conceived the idea of exploring the passage to the great South Sea, which by many was believed to exist. He made known his ideas to the Governor-General, Count Frontenac, and de- sired his co-operation. The Governor at once fell in with his views, which were strengthened by the reports brought back by Marquette and Joliet, and advised La Salle to apply to the King of France in person, and gave him letters of introduction to the great Colbert, then Minister of Finance and Marine. Accordingly, in 1675, he returned to France, where he was warmly received by the King and nobility, and his ideas were at once listened to, and every possible favor shown to him.
He was made a Chevalier, and invested with the seigniory of Fort Catarocouy, or Frontenac (now known as Kingston) upon condition that he would rebuild it, as he proposed, of stone.
Returning to Canada, he wrought diligently upon the fort until 1677, when he again visited France to report progress. He was received, as before, with favor, and, at the instance of Colbert and his son, the King granted him new letters patent and new privileges. On the 14th of July, 1678, he sailed from Rochelle, accompanied by thirty men, and with Tonti, an Italian, for his lieutenant. They arrived at Quebec on the 13th of September, and after a few days' delay, proceeded to Frontenac. Father Lewis Hennepin, a Franciscan friar, of the Recollet sect, was quietly working in Canada on La Salle's arrival. He was a man of great ambition, and much interested in the discoveries of the day. He was appointed by his religious superiors to accompany the expedition fitting out for La Salle.
Sending agents forward to prepare the Indians for his coming, and to open trade with them, La Salle himself em- barked, on the 18th of November, in a little brigantine of ten tous, to cross Lake Ontario. This was the first ship of European build that ever sailed upon this fresh-water sea. Contrary winds made the voyage long and troublesome, and a month was consumed in beating up the lake to the Niagara River. Near the mouth of this river the Iroquois had a village, and here La Salle constructed the first fortification, which afterwards grew into the famous Fort Niagara. On the 26th of January, 1679, the keel of the first vessel built on Lake Erie was laid at the mouth of the Cayuga Creek, on the American side, about six miles above the falls.
In the meantime La Salle had returned to Fort Frontenac
to forward supplies for his forthcoming vessel. The little barque on Lake Ontario was wrecked by carclessness, and a large amount of the supplies she carried was lost. On the 7th of August, the new vessel was launched, and made ready to sail. She was about seven tons' burden.
La Salle christened his vessel the "Griffin," in honor of the arms of Count Frontenac. Passing across Lake Erie, and into the small lake, which they named St. Clair, they . entered the broad waters of Lake Huron. Here they en- countered heavy storms, as dreadful as those upon the occan and after a most tempestuous passage they took refuge in the roadstead of Michillimackinac (Mackinaw), on the 27th of August La Salle remained at this point until the middle of September, busy in founding a fort and constructing a trading-house, when he went forward upon the deep waters of Lake Michigan, and soon after cast anchor in Green Bay. Finding here a large quantity of furs and peltries, he deter- mined to load his vessel and send her back to Niagara. On the 18th of September, she was sent under charge of a pilot while La Salle himself, with fourteen men,* proceeded up Lake Michigan, leisurely examining its shores and noting everything of interest. Tonti, who had been sent to look after stragglers, was to join him at the head of the lake. From the 19th of September to the 1st of November, the time was occupied in the voyage up this inland sea. On the last-named day, La Salle arrived at the mouth of the river Miamis, now St. Joseph. Here he constructed a fort, and remained nearly a month waiting for tidings of his vessel; but, hearing nothing, he determined to push on before the winter should prevent him. On the 3d of December, leaving ten men to garrison the fort, he started overland towards the head-waters of the Illinois, accompanied by three monks and twenty men. Ascending the St. Joseph River, he crossed a short portage and reached the The-a-ki-ki, since corrupted into Kankakee. Embarking on this sluggish stream, they came shortly to the Illinois, and soon after found a village of the Illinois Indians, probably in the vicinity of the rocky bluffs, a few miles above the present city of La Salle, Illinois. They found it deserted, but the Indians had quite a quantity of maize stored here, and La Salle, being short of provisions, helped himself to what he required. Passing down the stream, the party, on the 4th of January, came to a lake, probably the Lake Peoria, as there is no other upon this stream. Here they found a great number of natives, who were gentle and kind, and La Salle determined to construct a fort. It stood on a rise of ground near the river, and was named Creve- Cœur t (broken-heart), most probably on account of the low spirits of the com- mander, from anxiety for his vessel and the uncertainty of the future. Possibly he had heard of the loss of the " Griffin," which occurred on her downward trip from Green Bay ; most probably on Lake Huron. He remained at the Lake Peoria through the winter, but no good tidings came, and no supplies. His men were discontented, but the brave adventurer never gave up hope. He resolved to send a party on a voyage of exploration up the Mississippi, under
* Annals of the West. + The site of the work is at present unknown.
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
the lead of Father Hennepin, and he himself would proceed on foot to Niagara and Frontenac, to raise more means and enlist new men ; while Tonti, his lieutenant, should stay at the fort, which they were to strengthen in the meantime, and extend their intercourse with the Indians.
Hennepin started'on his voyage on the last day of Febru- ary, 1680, and La Salle soon after, with a few attendants, started on his perilous journey of twelve hundred miles by the way of the Illinois River, the Miami, and Lakes Erie ind Ontario, to Frontenac, which he finally reached in safety. Ifc found his worst fears realized. The "Griffin" was lost, his agents had taken advantage of his absence, and his creditors had seized his goods. But he knew no such word as fail, and by the middle of summer he was again on his way with men and supplies for his band in Illinois. A sad disappointment awaited him. He found his fort deserted and no tidings of Tonti and his men. During La Salle's absence the Indians had become jealous of the French, and they had been attacked and harassed even by the Iroquois, who came the long distance between the shores of Lake Ontario and the Illinois River to make war upon the more peaceable tribes dwelling on the prairics. Uncertain of any assistance from La Salle, and apprehensive of a general war with the savages, Tonti, in September, 1680, abandoned his position and returned to the shores of the lakes. La Salle reached the post on the Illinois in December, 1680, or January, 1681. Again bitterly disappointed, La Salle did not succumb, but resolved to return to Canada and start anew. This he did, and in June met his lieutenant, Tonti, at Mackinaw.
Hennepin in the meanwhile had met with strange adven- tures. After leaving Crevc-Cœur, he reached the Missis- sippi in seven days ; but his way was so obstructed by ice that he was until the 11th of April reaching the Wisconsin line. IIere he was taken prisoner by some northern Indians, who, however, treated him kindly and took him and his companions to the falls of St. Anthony, which they reached on the first of May. These falls Hennepin named in honor of his patron saint. Hennepin and his companions remained here for three months, treated very kindly by their captors. At the end of this time they met with a band of French, led by one Sieur de Luth,* who, in pursuit of game and trade, had penetrated to this country by way of Lake Su- perior. With his band Hennepin and his companions re- turned to the borders of civilized life in November, 1680, just after La Salle had gone back to the wilderness. IIen- nepin returned to France, where, in 1684, he published a narrative of his wonderful adventurcs.
Robert De La Salle, whose name is more closely connected with the explorations of the Mississippi than that of any other, was the next to descend the river in the year 1682. Formal possession was taken of the great river and all the countries bordering upon it or its tributaries in the name of the King.
La Salle and his party now retraced their steps towards the north. They met with no serious trouble until they reached the Chickasaw Bluffs, where they had erected a fort
. From this man undoubtedly comes the name of Duluth.
on their downward voyage, and named it Prudhomme. Here La Salle was taken violently sick. Unable to proceed, he sent forward Tonti to communicate with Count Fronte- nac. La Salle himself reached the mouth of the St. Joseph the latter part of September. From that point he sent Father Zenobe with his dispatches to represent him at court, while he turned his attention to the fur trade and to the project of completing a fort, which he named St. Louis, upon the Illinois River. The precise location of this work is not known. It was said to be upon a rocky bluff two hundred and fifty feet high, and only accessible upon one side. There are no bluffs of such a height on the Illinois River answering the description. It may have been on the rocky bluff above La Salle, where the rocks are perhaps one hundred feet in height.
Upon the completion of this work La Salle again sailed for France, which he reached on the 13th of December, 1683. A new man, La Barre, had now succeeded Fronte- nac as Governor of Canada. This man was unfriendly towards La Salle, and this, with other untoward circum- stances, no doubt led him to attempt the colonization of the Mississippi country by way of the mouth of the river. Not- withstanding many obstacles were in his path, he succeedcd in obtaining the grant of a fleet from the King, and on the 24th of July, 1684, a fleet of twenty-four vessels sailed from Rochelle to America, four of which were destined for Lou- isiana, and carried a body of two hundred and cighty people, including the crews. There were soldiers, artificers, and volunteers, and also "some young women." Discord soon broke out between M. de Beaujeu and La Salle, and grew from bad to worse. On the 20th of December they reached the island of St. Domingo.
Joutel* was sent out with this party, which left on the 5th of February, and traveled eastward three days, when they came to a great stream which they could not cross. Ilere they made signals by building grcat fires, and on the 13th two of the vessels came in sight. The strcam was sounded and the vessels were anchorcd under shelter. But again misfortume overtook La Salle, and the vessel was wrecked, and the bulk of supplies was lost. At this junc- ture M. de Beaujeu, his second in command, set sail and returned to France. La Salle now constructed a rude shelter from the timbers of his wrecked vessel, placed his people inside of it, and set out to explore the surrounding country in hope of finding the Mississippi. IIe was, of course, disappointed : but found on a stream, which is named the Vaches, a good site for a fort. He at once re- moved his camp, and, after incredible exertions, constructed a fortification sufficient to protect them from the Indians. This fort was situated on Matagorda Bay, within the present limits of Texas, and was called by La Salle Fort St. Louis.
Leaving Joutel to complete the work with one hundred men, La Salle took the remainder of the company and em- barked on the river, with the intention of proceeding as far up as he could. The savages soon became troublesome, and
Joutel, historian of the voyage, accompanied La Salle, and subse- quently wrote his " Journal Historique," which was published in Paris, 1713. 13
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
on the 14th of July La Salle ordered Joutel to join him with his whole force. They had already lost several of their best men, and dangers threatened them on every side. It would seem from the historian's account of the expedition that La Salle began to erect another fort, and also that he became morose and severe in his discipline, so much so as to get the ill will of many of his people. He finally resolved to advance into the country, but whether with the view of returning to Canada by way of Illinois, or only for the pur- pose of making further discoveries, Jontel leaves in doubt. Giving his last instructions, he left the fort cn the 12th day of January, 1687, with a company of about a dozen men, including his brother, two nephews, Father Anastasius, a Franciscan friar, Joutel, and others, and moved north-east- ward, as is supposed, until the 17th of March, when some of his men, who had been cherishing revengeful feelings fer some time, waylaid the Chevalier and shot him dead. They also slew one of his nephews and two of his servants.
This deed occurred on the 20th of March, on a stream called Cenis.
In 1687, France was involved in a long and bloody war. The League of Augsburg was formed by the Princes of the Empire against Louis XIV., and England, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Savoy took up arms, and Louis found himself battling with nearly the whole of Europe, and only Turkey for an ally. This war ended with the peace of Ryswick in 1697.
No material change took place in America, but the colo- uists were harassed and many of their people killed or car- ried captives to the Canadas. In 1688, the French posses- sions in North America included nearly the whole of the continent north of the St. Lawrence, and the entire valley of the Mississippi ; and they had begun to establish a line of fortifications extending from Quebec to the mouth of the Mississippi, between which points they had three great lines of communication, to wit: by way of Mackinaw, Green Bay, and the Wisconsin River; by way of Lake Michigan, the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers; and by way of Lake Erie, the Maumee and Wabash Rivers, and were preparing to explore the Ohio as a fourth route.
In 1699, D'Iberville, under the authority of the crown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the mouth of the " Hidden River." This majestic stream was called by the natives " Malbouchia," and by the Spaniards, ' La Palissade," from the great number of trees about its mouth. After traversing the several outlets, and satisfying himself as to its certainty, he erected a fort near its western outlet, and returned to France. An avenue of trade was now opened out, which was fully improved.
At this time a census of New France showed a total population of eleven thousand two hundred and forty-nine Europeans. War again broke out in 1701, and extended over a period of twelve years, ending with the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713. This also extended to the American Colo- nies, and its close left everything as before. with the excep- tion that Nova Scotia was captured in 1710.
In 1718, New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colonists. In 1762, the colony was made over to
Spain, to be regained by France, under the consulate of Napoleon.
In 1803, it was purchased by the United States, for the sum of fifteen million dollars, and the territory of Louisiana and the commerce of the Mississippi river, came under the charge of the United States. Although La Salle's labors ended in defeat and death, he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country. Had established several ports, and laid the foundation of more than one settlement there. " Peoria, Kaskaskia and Cahekia are to this day monuments of La Salle's labors ; for, though he had founded neither of them (unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Crevecœur), it was by those he led into the west that these places were peopled and civil- ized. He was, if not the discoverer, the first settler of the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored."*
The French early improved the opening made for them, and before 1693, the Reverend Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois, and became the founder of Kas- kaskia. For some time it was merely a missionary station, and the inhabitants of the village consisted entirely of natives; it being one of three such villages, the other two being Cahokia and Peoria. This we learn from a letter written by Father Gabriel Marest, dated " Aux Cascaskias, Autrement dit de l'Immaculée concepcion de la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." In this letter, the writer tells us that Gravier must be regarded as the founder of the Illinois mi sions. Soon after the founding of Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia,t while Peoria arose near the remains of Fort Crevecœur
Au unsuccessful attempt was also made to found a colony on the Ohio. It failed in consequence of sickness.§
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