USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume II > Part 5
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DECADENCE OF FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. - The French settlements had attained to the acme of their prosperity in 1763. Kaskaskia, "the Paris of Illinois," had 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants, and was a center of commerce, wealth and fashion. It was the seat of a Jesuit college and a consid- erable ecclesiastical establishment. Cahokia was a respectable village. Much of the Ameri- can Bottom was under cultivation. Wheat, to- bacco and other crops were raised for both home consumption and exportation. In 1783 the vil- lages of Fort Chartres and St. Philip's were declining. After 1800 not a French family
(1) See footnote on preceding page.
(2) Same.
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lived in either of them. Only one man, Ever- ett, was at St. Philip's in 1803. In 1764, the ec- clesiastics of St. Sulpice, at Prairie du Pont, sold their corn and plank mill to M. Girardine and returned to France. Thirty years later, Jean Francois Perry bought it.
ENGLISH OCCUPATION AFTER 1763 .- England had, from the outset of discoveries in America, claimed the land from sea to sea; and now, little by little, she was preparing to push her claims. By treaties with the Indians and pur- chasing large tracts of land from them, she was gradually gaining in strength and in posses- sions. By the treaty of Paris, in 1763, the coun- try claimed by France lying east of the Missis- sippi passed into the hands of the English. In 1765 Captain Stirling established himself at Fort Chartres in the name of England, and granted religious toleration to all who wished to remain as subjects to the crown.
In 1775 and 1776 land speculators were busy in Illinois. In 1773 the Illinois Land Company, an association of English traders, obtained from the chiefs of the Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Peoria tribes two large tracts of land, east of the Mis- sissippi and south of the Illinois. In 1775, the Wabash Land Company, through its agent, Vivi- at, bought of eleven Piankeshaw chiefs more than thirty-seven million acres of land. The deed was recorded in the office of the Notary Public at Kaskaskia, but Congress refused to sanction this enormous grant.
Attempts on the part of the land companies and of others to colonize the West were, later, foiled by the Revolutionary War.
THE GEORGE ROGERS CLARK CONQUEST. - In 1778 Col. George Rogers Clark, from Virginia, with a considerable force of loyal followers, went down the Ohio and disembarking near Fort Massac advanced across the country to Kaskaskia, where he arrived July 4th, and cap- tured the town and fort, proclaiming in the name of Virginia religious liberty and Ameri- can protection to all. Immediately afterward, Cahokia surrendered to him. As a result, the inhabitants of the two towns swore allegiance to Virginian control and helped to persuade their neighbors, white and red, to do the same. (For details see Chapter V, immediately fol- lowing in this volume.) There were then nearly fifty families at Cahokia Village.
There was another enterprise conducted against the enemy from the Illinois country,
which has been almost entirely lost sight of in history-one that preceded even the undertak- ing of Clark. An Irishman-Thomas Brady,1 the unwritten hero of that early day-raised a force of sixteen men at Cahokia one year be- fore Clark reached this country. These he led against the English garrison at Fort St. Jo- seph, near the present site of Niles, Michigan. He captured and paroled the garrison of twenty- one British regulars, burned what provisions he could not carry away and set fire to the buildings and palisades. Notwithstanding their success thus far, Brady and his men did not succeed in returning then to Cahokia. It was some little time before "Mr. Tom" saved his townsmen. He and his party were over- taken on their return march, near the site of the present city of Chicago, by the regulars whom they had paroled at the fort, after the latter had been reinforced by Indian allies and were all carried as prisoners to Canada.2
In 1780, Dominique Ducherme, a French Ca- nadian and a Cahokian of great influence with the Indians, attempted with 1,500 Indians, a few English soldiers from Fort Mackinaw and fewer Canadians, to capture St. Louis, then a Spanish post, because some soldiers from the garrison there had confiscated a boatload of his goods shipped from St. Louis, with a view to commerce with Indians. His attack, made May 26, might have been successful had he persist- ed in it. When he and his Indians saw many of their old friends dead, their anger turned to sorrow. The campaign was Ducherme's, not that of the English."
(1) The third husband of the celebrated Mrs. La Compt (2) This account of the Brady expedition is evi- dently based upon the statement made in Rey- nolds' "Pioneer History of Illinois," published in 1848. Moses, in his "Illinois-Historical and Statis- tical," basing his statement on the "Virginia State Papers" (Vol. 1, p. 465), says the expedition took place in 1780, instead of 1777, as stated by Governor Reynolds. Referring to the fate of Brady and his party, Moses says: "On his return he was attacked by a force of Pottawatomies and British traders, hastily organized for that purpose, while he lay encamped on the Calumet. His party was easily defeated; two of them were killed, two wounded, and ten taken prisoners. Brady, with two others, succeeded in making his escape, and, returning to Illinois, did not rest until another expedition was organized to rescue his friends and avenge his defeat."
(3) There are serious discrepancies among his- torians in their statements concerning the Du- charme affair, which seems originally to have been planned by the British, with their Indian allies, as an intended raid upon both Cahokia and St. Louis- the first with a view to punishing the American rebels, and the latter for the purpose of defeating the Spaniards (against whom war had been de- clared a few months earlier by England) and ef- fecting a junction with a British force supposed to
2
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MANNER OF LIFE OF EARLY FRENCH SETTLERS. -The predominant traits in 'the character of the early French settlers were their lack of ambition, their sociability, their devotion to the Catholic church, and, above all, their ten- dency to eat, drink and be merry, careless as to what the morrow might bring forth. This spirit of sociability was evident in the way they settled the country; for they were never willing to live on separate or remote farms, but clustered together in villages so as to have un- interrupted social intercourse. Their most characteristic meeting-place was the ball-room. Here would come the priest, the patriarch of the village, the jolly benedict, the talkative ma- tron, the quick-eyed youth and the radiant maiden. Old and young, rich and poor came together in a common bond of merriment. This spirit of sociability and unanimity was further developed by the numerous festivals of the Catholic Church. Sunday morning found every good Catholic at his devotions and the after- noon and evening found him given over to pleasure and sociability. Hospitality and gen- erosity reigned supreme.
be on the lower Mississippi in the vicinity of Natchez. The first was prevented by the prompt arrival of Col. George Rogers Clark at Cahokia, only twenty-four hours before the appearance of the enemy, and the other proved a most complete failure, resulting in the retreat of the British forces and their allies to the north, pursued by a force of 350, including a party of Spanish allies, to Peoria Lake, and thence to Rock River. Moses in his History of Illinois (page 165), speaking of the attack on St. Louis, says:
"Governor Reynolds in his account says that the raid was incited by one Ducharme, in revenge for personal injuries inflicted on him as a trader, and that his force numbered fifteen hundred men; and that, having killed ‘as many as appeased his wrath, he withdrew his red warriors and aban- doned the massacre.' Stoddard in his 'Sketches of Louisiana,' says sixty were killed and thirty pris- oners were taken. Local writers at St. Louis, how- ever, concur in the statement that the attack was made in the forenoon at an early hour and not then expected; that the village was without de- fensive works of any kind; that those who were killed were shot in the fields, the enemy not ap- proaching within three-fourths of a mile of the post; that certainly not more than seven or eight of the villagers lost their lives, all but two of whom were buried the same afternoon, their names appearing in the church register; that none of them were scalped; that but few were taken pris- oners, and that there was no destruction of prop- erty. Col. John Montgomery (who commanded the American forces) reports that, finding they (the in- vading force) were likely to be disappointed in their designs, they returned after doing some mis- chief on the Spanish shore which we would have prevented if, unfortunately, the high wind had not prevented the signals being heard." "
One of the discrepancies regarding this event relates to the date at which it is said to have oc- curred-one writer naming May 6, 1778 (two months before the arrival of Col. George Rogers Clark at Kaskaskia); another, May, 1779, and still another, May 6, 1780. The date given by Moses is May 26, 1780, the same as that given in this chapter.
THE MODE .- The costume of these people was peculiar. Blue was evidently the favorite color. Both men and women wore handkerchiefs of blue on their heads. None of the pioneer Frenchmen wore hat, cap or coat; but the entire class of laboring people wore the capote made of a white blanket. In summer the men wore a coarse blue stuff, and in the winter cloth or buck, skin. The women wore deerskin mocca- sins; the men, a coarser and stronger shoe made of thicker leather. With their peculiar love for the pleasing and beautiful, the French women eagerly took up and, so far as they could, followed the fashions of Paris and New Orleans.
SOCIAL QUALITY .- These French women were noted for their easy and elegant manners, and for their witty and clever conversation. Al- though far remote from all civilized society but their own, they still maintained the politeness and suavity of the French race; and it is a noteworthy fact, that the roughest hunter or boatman among them, when in the ball-room or in the company of women, had the manners and appearance of a gentleman. The adaptable and genial disposition of the Frenchman made him welcome to the campfire of the savage; and some of the Frenchmen who came in constant contact with the Indians were so susceptible to environment that they adopted the dress and habits of life of the Indians, and some even married Indian girls. Following the tastes of their ancestors they made wine of native grapes.
AGRCIULTURAL METHODS-DOMESTIC ANIMALS. -Their horses and cattle, for want of proper care, degenerated in size; but acquired strength and endurance. Their ponies had to draw- sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs, one hitched before the other-plows made entirely of wood, the bodies of which had a capacity equivalent to twice the capacity of a common large wheel-barrow. The oxen, yoked by the horns instead of by the necks, had to draw the plow and cart. Reins were not employed in driving; but the whip of the driver, with a handle about two feet long, and a lash two yards long, were used effectively to stop or guide the horses. Settlement was well advanced before many horses were shod.
Probably no wagon was seen in Illinois for a century after settlement was begun. A
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French cart was made entirely of wood. . The Americans called them "barefooted carts," be- cause they were without tires. Horned cattle were brought from Canada. They were rather small, but both neat and hardy. Horses were brought from the south and west. The blood of the French pony was introduced in Spain by Moors and Arabs, and Spaniards introduced it in America. The horses of the French were small, but strong in proportion to their size.
SUPERSTITION .- The ancient French in Illi- nois believed that the negroes of the West India Islands had supernatural powers of evil and of prophecy. About 1690, in Cahokia, this superstition cost several unfortunate negro slaves their lives. For his supposed uncanny power, a slave named Moreau was hanged on a tree just southwest of Cahokia; and Emanuel, another slave, was shot. A third unfortunate -poor "Old Jeannette"-was regarded with ter- ror by many on account of her supposed ability to destroy people by her incantations.
RESPECT FOR LAW .- As a people, the French were mainly peaceful and law-abiding. "I be- lieve," says Reynolds, '"that the records of the courts in Illinois do not reveal an indictment creole
of a Frenchman for any crime higher than keeping his grocery store open on a prohibited day of the week." For education, however, these peo- ple had neither taste nor inclination. The priests and old ladies sometimes taught the children; but there was no regular system of schools. After the Indian wars the French and Americans began to mingle socially.
CHAPTER V.
A NOTABLE COUNCIL.
A SEQUEL TO THE CLARK EXPEDITION-BLOODLESS CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA AND CAHOKIA - COL. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK'S COUNCIL WITH THE CA- HOKIAS-HIS POLICY OF GRIM AND SILENT DE- TERMINATION - A GATHERING OF TRIBESMEN- CLARK'S EFFECTIVE SPEECH - A MURDER PLOT FOILED - THE INTENDED MURDERERS SUE FOR PEACE AND BECOME ALLIES.
George Rogers Clark was a man peculiarly adapted to dealing with conditions as hazard-
ous and as important as his warlike times pro- duced. He held the admiration, respect and confidence of his men by reason of his com- manding presence, his skill in war and his atti- tude toward them-friendly outside of official duty and very severe when on duty. His great powers of mind, his manner of life, his constant contact with and vigilance guarding against treachery by the Indians, gave him skill in strategem as well as daring in open warfare. Just before fighting he had a way of inspiring his soldiers by briefly laying before them the situation to be faced and the way in which to face it.1
Clark early comprehended the policy of the English. Detroit, Vincennes and Kaskaskia were sources of Indian devastation. There, arms and clothing were dispensed by the Eng- lish to gain and cement alliance with the Indi- ans. He made a bloodless conquest of Kas- kaskia July 4, 1778. He sent Governor Roche- blave, who was insolent, in irons to Virginia. Then he organized the post, withdrew his troops from the village and allowed rumor to do its work in terrifying the inhabitants. When ex- citement and terror was at high tide he called them together in council and made the follow- ing characteristic address:
"Do you mistake us for savages? Do you think that Americans will strip women and children and take the bread out of their mouths? My country disdains to make war on helpless innocence. To prevent the horrors of Indian butchery on our wives and children, we have taken up arms and penetrated to this stronghold of Indian and British barbarity, and not for despicable plunder. The king of France has united his powerful arms with those of America, and the contest will soon be ended. The people of Kaskaskia may side with either party. To verify my words, go and tell your people to do as they please, without any danger from me."
As a result the people eagerly sought his protection and friendship. An expedition against Cahokia was now planned, and several influential citizens of Kaskaskia offered to ac- company it. They assured Clark that the Ca- hokians, their friends and relatives, would gladly change their political allegiance as soon as the new situation was made clear to them.
(1) See "Clark, Gen. George Rogers, Vol. I. of this work.
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This offer to intercede with them was gladly accepted by Clark. Mounted on horseback, the expedition reached Cahokia before its inhabi- tants had learned of the surrender of Kas- kaskia.
"The Long Knives! The Long Knives!"
As it had done at Kaskaskia, that terrifying cry caused intense fear among the more timid portion of the little community. Soon, how- ever, Clark's new French allies informed the Cahokians of the change of government and assured them of the pacific intentions of Clark and his so-called "Long Knives." Then huz- zas for freedom and for America rent the air. The fort was surrendered without a shot, all Indians in the vicinity were dispersed, and the inhabitants, a few days later, swore allegiance to the powers that were.
Clark next captured · Vincennes. Then he planned to compel the allegiance of the Indi- ans and by other measures secure to the Illi- nois country and to Virginia the legitimate fruits of his victory. The Indians had been thrown into great consternation by the sudden arrival of the Long Knives in the country, and for a time were in a quandary as to whether they should espouse the English or the Ameri- can cause, and were no little confused by the evident favor in which the latter was held by the Frnchmen and the Spaniards. They sought the advice of their friends, the French traders, and were counselled to ally themselves with the newcomers. By threats, cajolery and brag- gadocio, Clark brought them to terms. His vigorous speeches sent to the commandants at Cahokia and Vincennes were read by them to assemblies of red men and French, and half- breed runners carried a message to numerous tribes, some of them as far distant as the Fox River in Wisconsin, not inviting, but summon- ing, the tribesmen to come to Cahokia and hear what he had to say to them.
There the parties, both white and red, met in September, 1778. "It was with astonish- ment," wrote Clark, that he "viewed the amaz- ing number of savages that soon flocked into the town of Cohos [Cahokia] to treat for peace, and to hear what the Big Knives had to say, many of them 500 miles distant-Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes, Sacs, Foxes, Osages, Iowas, Miamis and a number of other nations, all living east of the Missis- sippi, and many of them at war against us."
Indeed, his new found savage friends that as- assembled at Cahokia were so numerous that, during the five weeks of his stay there, "such a number of devils" gave him no little anxiety, and their repression required a strong hand. After the manner of wild animals and of wild men, they cunningly tested the strength of the stranger, but he boldly and firmly held his own against them.
When all were ready for the work of the council, Clark waited for the Indians to make the first offer of alliance. When this was done, and the bloody belt of wampum and the flag sent them by the British had been stamped upon in token of rejection, Clark guardedly replied that he would think over their proposal, and give them an answer the next day. He advised them not to shake hands with the Americans, as peace was not concluded, and it would be time enough to fraternize when they could give them their heart also. The council was then adjourned. The following day, the Indians having gathered to hear the answer of the "Big Knife," as they termed the Ameri- cans, Clarke addressed them as follows:
"Men and warriors! Pay attention to my words. You informed me yesterday that the Great Spirit had brought us together, and that you hoped that, as he was good, it would be for good. I have also the same hope, and expect that each party will strictly adhere to whatever may be agreed upon, whether it shall be peace or war, and that we shall hencefor- ward prove ourselves worthy of the attention of the Great Spirit. I am a man and a war- rior, not a counsellor. I carry war in my right hand, and in my left peace. I am sent by the Great Council of the Big Knife and their friends to take possession of all the towns pos- sessed by the English in this country, and to watch the motions of the red people. I am sent to bloody the paths of those who attempt to stop the course of the river; but to clear the roads of those that desire to be in peace, so that the women and children may walk in them without meeting anything to strike their feet against. I am ordered to call upon the Great Fire for warriors enough to so darken the land, that the red people may hear no sound but of birds who live on blood. I know there is a mist before your eyes. I will dispel the clouds that you may clearly see the causes of the war between the Big Knife and the English.
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Then you may judge for yourselves which party is in the right; and if you are warriors, as you profess yourselves to be, prove it by ad- hering faithfully to the party which you shall believe to be entitled to your friendship, and not show yourselves to be squaws.
"The Big Knife is very much like the red people; they don't know how to make blan- kets and powder and cloth; they buy these things from the English, from whom they are sprung. They live by making corn, hunting and trade, as you and your neighbors, the French, do. But the Big Knife, daily getting more numerous, like the trees in the woods, the land became poor, and the hunting scarce; and having but little to trade with, the women began to cry at seeing their children naked, and tried to learn how to make clothes for themselves. Some made blankets for their husbands and children; and the men learned to make guns and powder. In this way we did not want to buy so much from the English, and they then got mad with us and sent strong garrisons through our country, as you see they have done among you on the lakes and among the French. They would not let our women spin, nor our men make powder, nor let us trade with any body else. The English said we should buy everything from them; and since we had got saucy, we should give two bucks for a blanket which we used to get for one; we should do as they pleased, and they killed some of our people to make the rest fear them. This is the truth, and the real cause of the war between the English and us, which did not take place until some time after this treatment. But our women became cold and hungry, and continued to cry; our young men got lost for want of counsel to put them in the right path. The whole land was dark, the old men held down their heads for shame, because they could not see the sun, and thus there was great mourning for many years over the land. At last the Great Spirit took pity on us, and kindled a great council fire that never goes out, at a place called Philadelphia. He then stuck down a post, and put a war tomahawk by it, and went away. The sun im- mediately broke out, the sky was blue again, and the old men held up their heads and as- sembled at the fire. They took up the hatchet, sharpened it, and put it into the hands of our young men, ordering them to strike the Eng-
lish as long as they could find one on this side of the great waters. The young men im- mediately struck the war post, and blood was shed. In this way the war began, and the English were driven from one place to another, until they got weak, and then they hired you red people to fight for them. The Great Spirit got angry at this, and caused your old Father, the French king, and other nations, to join the Big Knife, and fight with them against all their enemies. So the English may have be- come like a deer in the woods; and you may see that it is the Great Spirit that has caused your waters to be troubled, because you have fought for the people he was mad with. If your women and children should now cry, you must blame yourselves for it, and not the Big Knife. You can now judge who is in the right; I have already told you who I am.
"Here is a bloody belt and a white one. Take which you please. Behave like men, and don't let your being surrounded by the Big Knife cause you to take up the one belt with your hands, while your hearts take up the other. If you take the bloody path, you shall leave the town in safety and may go and join your friends, the English; we shall then try, like warriors, who can put the most stumbling blocks in each other's way, and keep our clothes longest stained with blood. If, on the other hand, you should take the path of peace and be received as brothers to the Big Knife, with their friends, the French-should you then listen to bad birds that may be flying through the land, you will no longer deserve to be counted as men, but as creatures with two tongues that ought to be destroyed without listening to anything you might say. As I am convinced you have never heard the truth be- fore, I do not wish you to answer before you have taken time to counsel. We will, therefore, part this evening, and when the Great Spirit shall bring us together again, let us speak and think like men, with one heart and one tongue."
This speech produced the desired effect. The next day, the Indian council fire having been rekindled with more than usual ceremony, the red men united with the "Big Knife," and promised to fight no more for the English against the Americans. In this and other nego- tiations there is no doubt that the success of Clark with the Indians depended mainly on the fact that France was the ally of the United
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