USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. I > Part 3
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Dec. 1. We went ahead of the Indians, so as to be able to say mass.
"3. Having said mass and embarked, we were compelled to make a point and land, on account of the fog.
" 4. We started well to reach Portage River, which was frozen half a foot thick. There was more snow there than anywhere else, and also more tracks of animals and turkeys. The navigation of the lake from one portage to the other is quite fine, there being no traverse to make, and landing being quite feasible all along, provided you do not obstinately persist in traveling in the breakers and high winds. The land along the shore is good for nothing, ex- cept on the prairies. You meet eight or ten pretty fine rivers. Deer hunt- ing is pretty good as you get away from the Pottawatomies.
" 12. As they began to draw to get to the portage, the Illinois having left, the Pottawatomies arrived with much difficulty. We could not say mass on the feast of the Conception, on account of the bad weather and the cold. During our stay at the mouth of the river, Pierre and Jacques killed three buffalo and four deer, one of which ran quite a distance with his heart cut in two. They contented themselves with killing three or four turkeys of the many which were around our cabin, because they were almost dying of hunger. Jacques brought in a partridge he had killed, every way resem- bling those of France, except that it had like two little wings of three or four feathers, a finger long, near the head, with which they cover the two sides of the neck, where there are no feathers.
"14. Being cabined near the portage, two leagues up the river, we re- solved to winter there, on my inability to go further, being too much embar- rassed, and my malady not permitting me to stand much fatigue. Several Illinois passed yesterday, going to carry their furs to Nawaskingwe. We gave them a buffalo and a deer that Jacques had killed the day before. I think I never saw Indians more greedy for French tobacco than these. They came and threw beaver skins at our feet to get a small piece; but we returned them, giving them some pipes, because we had not yet concluded whether we should go on.
"15. Chachagwessiou and the other Illinois left us to go and find their people and give them the merchandise which they had brought, in order to get their furs, in which they act like traders and hardly give more than the French; I instructed them before their departure, deferring the holding a council till spring, when I should be at their village. They gave us for a fathom of tobacco three fine buffalo robes, which have done us good service this winter. Being thus relieved, we said the mass of the Conception. Since the 14th my disease has turned into a dysentery.
"30. Jacques arrived from the Illinois village, which was only six leagues from here, where they are starving. The cold and snow prevent their hunt- ing. Some having informed La Toupine and the surgeon that we were here, and unable to leave their cabin, had so alarmed the Indians, believing that we would starve remaining here, that Jacques had great trouble in prevent- ing fifteen young men from coming to carry all our affairs.
"Jan. 16, 1675. As soon as the two Frenchmen knew that my illness pre- vented my going to them, the surgeon came here, with an Indian, to bring us some whortleberries and bread; they are only eighteen leagues from here, in a beautiful hunting ground for buffalo and deer, and turkeys, which are excellent there. They had, too, laid up provisions while awaiting us, and had given the Indians to understand that the cabin belonged to the black gown. And I may say that they said and did all that could be ex- pected of them. The surgeon having stopped here to attend to his duties, I sent Jacques with him to tell the Illinois, who were near there, that my illness prevented my going to see them, and that if it 'continued I should scarcely be able to go there in the spring.
"24. Jacques returned with a bag of corn and other refreshments that
marquette monument.
One of the first objects of interest on the line of the CHICAGO & ALTON RAILROAD is the above monument, erected by that Company to mark the first landing of Marquette, after being driven by the spring flood from the cabin where he had spent the winter of 1674-5. It is an historic monument, ornate and valuable, which lays Chicago under lasting obligations to that Company for its generosity.
It is composed of boulders gathered from the glacial drift in the bed of an ancient lake through which the Chicago Drainage Channel is excavated. (See Geological History of the Site of Chicago, in future pages of this volume) .
29
Marquette's Journal.
the French had given him for me; he also brought the tongues and meat of two buffalo that he and an Indian had killed near by; but all the animals show the badness of the season.
" 26. Three Illinois brought us from the head men, two bags of corn, some dried meat, squashes, and twelve beavers; 1st, to make me a mat; 2d, to ask me for powder; 3d, to prevent our being hungry; 4th, to have some few goods. I answered them: firstly, that I had come to instruct them, by speaking to them of the prayer, etc .; secondly, that I would not give them powder, as we were endeavoring to diffuse peace on all sides, and I did not wish them to begin a war with the Miamis; thirdly, that we were in no fear of starving; fourthly, that I would encourage the French to carry them goods, and that they must satisfy those among them for the wampum taken from them, as soon as the surgeon started to come here. As they had come twenty leagues, to pay them for their trouble and what they brought me, I gave them an axe, two knives, three clasp knives, ten fathoms of wampum, and two double mirrors; telling them I should endeavor to go to the village merely for a few days, if my illness continued. They told me to take cour- age, to stay and die in their country, and said that they had been told that I would remain long with them.
"Feb. 9. Since we addressed ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, to whom we began a novena by a mass, at which Pierre and Jacques, who do all they can to relieve me, received, to ask my recovery of the Almighty, my dysentery has ceased; there is only a weakness of the stomach left. İ begin to feel much better, and to recover my strength. None of the Illinois who had ranged themselves near us have been cabined for a month; some took the road to the Pottawatomies, and some are still on the lake, waiting for the navigation to open. They carry letters to our Fathers at St. Francis.
" 20. We had time to observe the tide which comes from the lake, rising and falling, although there appears no shelter on the lake. We saw the ice go against the wind. These tides made the water good or bad, because what comes from above flows from the prairies and small streams. The deer, which are plentiful on the lake shore, are so lean that we had to leave some that we killed.
"March 23. We killed several partridges; only the male has the little wings at the neck, the female not having any. These partridges are pretty good, but do not come up to the French.
" 30. The north wind having prevented the thaw till the 25th of March, it began with a southerly wind. The next day game began to appear; we killed thirty wild pigeons, which I found better than those below (Quebec), but smaller, both young and old. On the 28th the ice broke and choked above us. On the 29th the water was so high that we had barely time to uncabin in haste, put our things on trees, and try to find a place to sleep on some hillock, the water gaining on us all night; but having frozen a little, and having fallen as we were near our luggage, the dyke burst and the ice went down, and as the waters are again ascending already, we are going to embark to continue our route.
" The Blessed Virgin Immaculate has taken such care of us during our wintering, that we have wanted nothing in the way of provisions, having a large bag of corn still left, meat and grease; we have, too, lived most peace- fully, my sickness not preventing me from saying mass. every day. We were able to keep Lent only Fridays and Saturdays.
"31. Having started yesterday, we made three leagues on the river, going up, without finding any portage. We dragged for half an arpent. Be- sides this outlet, the river has another, by which we must descend. Only the very high grounds escape inundation. That where we are has increased more than twelve feet. Here we began our portage more than eighteen months ago. Geese and ducks pass constantly. We contented ourselves with seven. The ice, still brought down, detains us here, as we do not know in what state the river is lower down.
"April 1. As I do not yet know whether I shall remain this summer at the village or not, on account of my dysentery, we left there what we could
30
Marquette Bones Discovered.
dispense with, especially a bag of corn, while detained by a strong south wind. We hope to-morrow to reach the spot where the French are, fifteen leagues from here.
"6. The high winds and cold prevent us from proceeding. The two lakes by which we have passed are full of bustards, geese, ducks, and other birds that we do not know. The rapids are pretty dangerous in some places. We have just met the surgeon, with an Indian, going up with a canoe-load of furs; but the cold being too severe for men who have to drag their canoes through the water, he has just made a cache of his beaver, and goes back to the village with us to-morrow. If the French get robes from the country, they do not rob them, so great is the hardship they experience in getting them."
(Copied from THE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE, contributed by Shea, who trans- lated it from the French.)
The old chapel at St. Ignace stood guard over the remains of Marquette till 1706, when it was burned by the Jesuits on their departure from this historic spot, and until the autumn of 1877 no steps were taken either to memorize the grave of the missionary explorer or to recover his bones, at which time, in the month of May, Pierre Grondeau discovered the founda- tion walls of a small building, the stones bearing the marks of fire. The location accorded with the description of the spot marked in La Hontan's map, originally published in France in 1703, and republished in London in 1772, as the site of the house of the Jesuits.
By direction of Father Jacker, village priest, further excavations were made the same year, and conclusive proofs of the identity of the spot as the grave of Marquette were obtained. The spot where the altar of the Virgin had stood was found, and buried in front of it were wrought-iron nails, a. hinge, and charred wood. These relics, and a large piece of birch bark, in a good state of preservation, were within the walls of a vault, which walls were of cedar, still partially preserved. The bones were nearly all turned to dust, two only being found.
The foregoing facts were obtained from a paper read before the Chicago Historical Society, October 16th, 1877, by Mr. Cecil Barnes, a resident of Chicago, who was an eye-witness, having assisted in the excavation.
CHAPTER II.
Ft. Catarauqui built at the outlet of Lake Ontario-La Salle arrives in Canada-His ambitious plans-He builds a vessel for navigating the Lakes-It sails for Green Bay, and is sent back laden with furs-La Salle arrives at the mouth of the St. Joseph, and builds a Fort -Goes to the Illinois River, and commences building a vessel to explore the Mississippi to its mouth-Hennepin starts to explore the Upper Mississippi-His captivity -Du Lhut among the Sioux-La Salle returns to Can- ada to raise recruits-Bad news from Ft. Creve-Cœur- Retribution-Iroquois invasion of the Illinois Country- Indian trading policy-Desperate exploit of Tonty- Council with the Western Tribes-La Salle's plans re- sumed-Success.
The journey of Marquette and Joliet had outlined a work far beyond the comprehension of any one at that time; and to utilize it was too heavy an undertaking, even for all the French forces in Canada, till ample preparations could be made in the way of building forts. to connect Quebec to the Illinois country. The French had nothing to fear from the Western tribes, but their communication with them was impossible, unless the Iroquois could be propitiated; for these tribes held the whole present State of New York, and not only did their canoes sweep Lake Ontario, but their war parties. often scoured the country north of it .* Frontenac, a
* In 1649, an unusually fearful Iroquois invasion was visited upon the Huron tribes, who were allies of the French, and among whom successful missions had been established. These were destroyed, and two heroic mis- sionaries, Brebeuf and Lalemant, refusing to leave their charge in the hour of danger, fell before the merciless invaders. The following account of their death is copied from Parkman's "Jesuits in America":
"On the afternoon of the sixteenth-the day when the two priests were captured-Brebeuf was led apart, and bound to a stake. He seemed more concerned for his captive converts than for himself, and addressed them in:
(31)
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Fort Catarauqui Built.
man of distinguished ability, was then Governor of Canada, and, with a view to Western progress, in 1673, had convened a council with the Iroquois, at the outlet of Lake Ontario, to obtain permission of them to build a fort. In this he was successful, and the fort was con- structed at once, and named Ft. Catarauqui. This was a great point gained by the French, for it not only served as a barrier against the recurrence of an Iroquois in- vasion of Canada, but it brought French goods into a more direct competition with the Dutch trade at Albany, by the facilities which the fort offered as a trading post. Conspicuous among the adventurous explorers of Canada, at that time, was Robert Cavelier, known in history by the name of La Salle.' He was the son of a wealthy merchant living at Rouen, France, from which place he came to Canada in the spring of 1666. His seven years' life in American wilds, previous to Mar- quette's discovery of the Mississippi river, was largely spent in exploring the interior. One of his expeditions was made across the Iroquois country to the Ohio river, and down its channel as far as the falls at Louisville.
a loud voice, exhorting them to suffer patiently, and promising Heaven as their reward. The Iroquois, incensed, scorched him from head to foot, to silence him; whereupon, in the tone of a master, he threatened them with everlasting flames, for persecuting the worshipers of God. As he continued to speak, with voice and countenance unchanged, they cut away his lower lip and thrust a red-hot iron down his throat. He still held his tall form "erect and defiant, with no sign or sound of pain; and they tried another means to overcome him. They led out Lalemant, that Brebeuf might see him tortured They had tied strips of bark. smeared with pitch, about his naked body. When he saw the condition of his Superior, he could not hide his agitation, and called out to him, with a broken voice, in the words of Saint Paul, 'We are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.' Then he threw himself at Brebeuf's feet; upon which the Iroquois seized him, made him fast to a stake, and set fire to the bark that enveloped him. As the flame rose, he threw his arms upward, with a shriek of supplication " to Heaven. Next they hung around Brebeuf's neck a collar made of hatchets heated red-hot; but the indomitable priest stood like a rock. A Huron in the crowd, who had been a convert of the mission, but was now an Iroquois by adoption, called out, with the malice of a renegade, to pour hot water on their heads, since they nad poured so much cold water on those of others. The kettle was accordingly slung, and the water boiled and poured slowly on the heads of the two missionaries. 'We baptize you,' they cried, "that you may be happy in Heaven; for nobody can be saved without a good baptism.' Brebeuf would not flinch; and, in a rage, they cut strips of flesh from his limbs, and devoured them before his eyes. Other renegade Hu- rons called out to him, 'You told us that the more one suffers on earth, the happier he is in Heaven. We wish to make you happy; we torment you because we love you; and you ought to thank us for it.' After a succession of other revolting tortures, they scalped him; when, seeing him nearly dead, "they laid open his breast, and came in a crowd to drink the blood of so "valiant an enemy, thinking to imbibe with it some portion of his courage. . A chief then tore out his heart, and devoured it."
33
The Griffin Built.
As might be supposed, the actual discovery of the Mississippi stimulated La Salle's ambition to higher aims than ever. That it emptied into the Gulf of Mex- ico, and not into the Pacific Ocean, was now his settled belief, and, peering into the future, he foresaw, with a penetrating eye, the yet unmeasured volume of trade which would one day pour through the deltas of the Mississippi to the sea. There was enchantment in the thought that he should be the instrument by which this would be thrown into the lap of France; and to accom- plish this end, became the idol of his imagination till death. Intent upon the fulfillment of these designs, he sailed for France in the autumn of 1674, the next year after the discovery of the Mississippi.
Frontenac and La Salle were on the most friendly terms, for they were no rivals. La Salle did not envy him as governor, because he aimed at higher fame than could come from the viceroy's chair of a province. Nor did Frontenac envy La Salle as an explorer, especially as he felt an assurance that he should be a sharer in any honors growing out of his discoveries. He there- fore gave La Salle letters of the highest commendation to the court of France, which insured him a favorable hearing. Louis XIV., the king, gave him the order of knighthood, and granted him a seigniory of land ad- jacent to Ft. Catarauqui.
Returning to Canada, he built the fort with substan- tial walls of stone, within two years, and changed its name to Frontenac. The next step was to build a fort at the mouth of the Niagara river. By dint of great exertions and profuse presents to the Seneca tribe of the Iroquois Nation, he obtained reluctant permission to do this, and also to build a vessel above the falls of Niagara, with which to navigate the lakes. The fort having been finished, the vessel was next completed, and launched early in the spring of 1679. It was named ithe Griffin, in honor of the family arms of Frontenac. The immediate design of this vessel was to convey ma- terials wherewith to build another vessel on the Illinois river, with which to navigate the Mississippi to its mouth. This mission executed, the exploring party were to set sail for France, after taking formal possession of the Mississippi valley in the name of the French king.
Beyond these designs was another less practical one, which contemplated a raid on the Spanish province of
34
The Griffin Sails up Lake Erie.
Mexico, at the head of ten thousand Indians, for the purpose of reducing it to a French province. This latter madcap scheme of La Salle's must have had its origin in the inspirations of a forest life, which have often turned the brain of otherwise able-minded men into utopian channels.
Soon as the vessel was finished it was launched, and anchored in the stream as a measure of safety, lest the Senecas might, in a fit of jealousy, set fire to it. On the 7th of August everything was made ready. The sailors. were at their posts, some at the capstan drawing her anchor, and others hoisting her canvas to the first breezes that ever wafted a vessel over Lake Erie. A cannon was fired on the occasion, and the Griffin grace- fully moved away from the shore, tacking to the larboard and starboard alternately, in order to make headway up the Niagara river, to the astonishment of the Indians, who beheld the strange spectacle for the first time. Her crew numbered about thirty, all told, among whom were Fathers Gabriel, Membre and Hennepin, Tonty having been sent in advance to Michilimackinac.
The Griffin sailed up Lake Erie, up the Detroit river, and across Lake Huron to Michilimackinac. Stopping here a short time, she became the marvel of the In- dians, who called her the monster canoe. Next she proceeded to Green Bay, landing at an island there, where her cargo was unloaded. This consisted of trink- ets for Indian traffic, in part, but its most valuable por- tion was the materials wherewith to build another vessel on the Illinois river, such as chains, bolts, cables and a. blacksmith's forge. The Griffin was loaded with furs, sent back from whence she came, and her unloaded freight packed into small boats, to be transported from thence to the Illinois river.
For some cause, not now known, La Salle had de- termined to make the trip by the way of the St. Joseph river, crossing the portage from its elbow near the present site of South Bend, to the headwaters of the Kankakee river, thence down stream, till deep water on the Illinois was reached. With this intent, he started with seventeen men, with his small boats, along the western shore of Lake Michigan. The southern ex- tremity of the lake had to be doubled, and its eastern shore followed to the point of destination, the mouth of the St. Joseph.
35
Fort Built at the Mouth of the St. Joseph.
Tonty had been ordered to meet him at this place, with twenty men, from Michilimackinac. While wait- ing for him, La Salle set his men at work to build a palisaded fort, and, for the first time, the sound of the axe and saw rang along those cone-shaped sandhills which now teem with an annual burden of peaches for the Chicago market. Is it to be wondered that La Salle should be more favorably impressed with the large and beautiful river of St. Joseph, than the insignificant stream at Chicago, whose mouth was almost closed with a sandbar?
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Tonty arrived at the appointed spot at the end of twenty days, when the order was given to advance. Two men were left in the lonesome fort, and the flotilla paddled up the tranquil waters of the St. Joseph to the carrying place, where the freight was unloaded, and with the boats, carried across the dividing ridge, by a devious path, to the headwaters of the Kankakee. Into this stream the boats were launched, and loaded again, for final transportation.
'Twas a strange sight to behold a miniature army of resolute Frenchmen threading their course along the sluggish little stream, almost overlapped with water bushes. This sea of mud is seldom entered, even now, except on wild duck excursions; and many an effemi- nate sportsman, who has been tempted from his luxurious parlors in the present Chicago, to invade these bottom- lesss wamps, on such errands, has returned with the ague.
As La Salle passed along, the stream widened and the surroundings improved, till he reached the great village of the Illinois, on the river which still bears their name. It was on New Year's day in 1680. All was silent, for the inhabitants-braves, squaws, pappooses and dogs-had gone on their winter's hunt. La Salle was in need of provisions, and, impelled by necessity, took from their storehouses corn enough to feed his men, and kept on his course down the river.
Arriving at the present site of peoria, he met the re- turning Indians. A council was convened at once, in which La Salle made known the nature of his mission. First, he made satisfactory apologies for having taken their corn, and paid them its value in goods. His next business was to get leave to build a fort and also a ves- sel for the navigation of the Mississippi. This liberty was easily obtained from the flexible Illinois tribes,
36
La Salle in the Illinois Country.
whose jealousy had never been aroused against the- French. Work on both was commenced. The palisaded fort was soon finished. The keel of the vessel was laid,. and its ribs placed in position, when murmurs of discon -- tent arose among the ship-carpenters, and a few of them deserted, in consequence of not being paid promptly .*
It is no marvel that these men should prefer the ease and immunity from care, which the amenities of savage life offered them, rather than the service of the austere and exacting La Salle, with, to them, but a barren hope of pay, especially as they did not share his hopeful am- bition. That La Salle did not make proper allowances. for such contingencies, was one of the weak points that. undermined his best-laid plans, and robbed him of that success, which his broad-gauge intellect and zeal de- served. These first desertions were but a foretaste of that bitter cup, which his overweening dash, at the im- practicable, was preparing for him. We have such men among us now, and perhaps one in a thousand of them,. by some eccentric turn of the wheel of fortune, achieves .. success, which example, like a contagion, seizes upon a. thousand more, to lastly be victimized. La Salle, whose- nature forbade him to look on but one side of a ques- tion, and that the front side, supplied the places of the deserters by his wonderful faculty of bringing an extra. stock of energy into service, and by these means con- tinued work on the vessel.
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