History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 32

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948

USA > Illinois > Union County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 32
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 32
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 32

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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stroyed all the leaves of the trees for some miles about, that the whole country, though it was the middle of summer, was left as bare and naked as if it had been the depth of winter, making a most unseemly, and, in- deed, frightful appearance; and the noise they made, whilst they were seizing and devouring this their prey, was as surprising, for the grinding of the leaves in the mouths of this vast multitude altogether, made a sound very much resembling the sawing of timber. Out of the gardens they got into the houses, where numbers of them, crawling about, were very irksome."

The ensuing spring (1689) brought but little improvement, for the young of the in- sect, " lodged under the ground, next the up- per sod of the earth," did great mischief by devouring the roots of the corn and grass. These indispensable crops having failed, the people were reduced to the necessity of cook- ing the cockchaffers and eating them, while the hungry " swine and poultry of the coun- try at length grew so cunning as to watch under the trees for their falling." The plague was fortunately checked by high winds and wet weather, which was so disagreeable to the insects that many millions of them died in one day's time. Smoke was also dis- tasteful to them, and some places were pro- tected from their ravages by making fires of weeds and heath. Some years after this, the dead insects lay in such quantities on the Galway shore as to form at least forty or fifty horse loads. In 1697, they reached the Shannon, and some of them crossed the river and entered Leinster; but there they were met by an " army of jackdaws, that did much damage among them, killing and devouring great numbers. Their main body still kept in Connaught, and took up their quarters at a well-improved English plantation, where they found plenty of provisions, and did a

great deal of mischief by stripping the hedges, gardens and groves of beech quite naked of all their leaves." The cockchaffer, which is called in Irish Primpelan, still ex ists in the country.

Immediately after the destruction of Port Royal (Jamaica), in June, 1692, by an earthquake, great numbers of mosquitoes and flies appeared. The same thing has been ob- served after earthquakes and volcanic erup- tions elsewhere. Thus, in 1783, after a tremendous eruption of the volcano Skaptar Jokul, in Iceland, the pastures swarmed with little winged insects, of blue, red, yel- low and brown colors, which belonged to a species until then unknown in the island. They were not at all destructive, but caused considerable inconvenience to the haymakers, who were covered with them from head to foot. The cause of the sudden appearance of insects at such times may be the rise of temperature due to volcanic activity induc- ing premature development. The so-called new species may possibly have been one in- digenous to the island at a remote period, when its climate was different, some long- buried larvæ of which the volcanic heat serve to develop.

In the year 1858, there was a visitation, in pretty much all Southern Illinois, of the " army worm." In places, they almost cov- ered the face of the earth, and often a person could not walk along the highway without crushing them under his feet. They seemed to be constantly traveling in the hunt of timothy grass or the wheat fields. They would leave the grass fields looking much as though a fire had passed over them, and, if the wheat had well "headed out," they would feed upon the leaves of the stalk and do no harm. In fact, many farmers believed that, under these circumstances, they were a benefit to the wheat. Chickens, turkeys,

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birds and hogs would devour the army worm in great quantities, yet they came in such numbers that such enemies made no apparent impression upon their volume, and farmers would dig trenches about the timothy and field of young corn, and then they would tumble into the trench until it was nearly full, would hitch a horse to a log and drag it along the trench, and thus crush them by millions, and yet. by the time he would thus go around his field, the ditch would again be full.

The locusts have made their irregular, and yet somewhat regular, visitations to all parts of the State, and this portion of Illinois; being all heavily timbered, they have come here in much greater numbers than in many other parts of Illinois. They are an arboreal insect, and although capable of ex- tended flight, yet they do not care to travel farther than from tree to tree, at very short

distances. They inflict much injury to orchards, as well as some of the forest trees, in the process of depositing their eggs in the young twigs. They always come about the middle of spring, when the leaves are unfolded and the new and tender twigs of the limbs of the tree are growing. They select this new growth to bore into and de- posit their eggs. They find a place, and bore two holes into the wood, and these holes circle and come together, this junction al- ways being toward the body of the tree. So perfectly is the work done, that the twig will soon break, the leaves will die, and after a certain time it will fall to the ground, carry- ing every egg with it, and this falling of the dead twig is timed exactly to the time when the egg is ready to hatch out a grub, and at once it goes into the ground on its thir- teen or seventeen year trip, according to the kind to which it belongs.

CHAPTER III.

THE DARING DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS BY THE FRENCH-THE CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES- DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER-SOME CORRECTIONS IN HISTORY-A WORLD'S WONDERFUL DRAMA OF NEARLY THREE HUNDRED YEARS' DURATION, ETC.

"Should you ask me, whence these stories, Whence these legends and traditions With the odors of the forests, With the curling smoke of wigwams, With the rushing of great rivers

I repeat them as I heard them."-Longfellow.

THE truth of history in regard to the great Mississippi Valley is only just now being examined closely by the impartial investiga- tors, and the facts in relation thereto are slowly coming to light. For this empire of mag- nificent proportions, the great powers of the Old World contended for nearly three hundred years, and it is a singular fact that these

warlike nations that only struggled for wealth and empire by the power of the sword, were in nearly all instances guided and pointed the way into the heart of the New World, and the home of the powerful savage tribes by the missionaries of the Catholic Church, who carried nothing more formidable for defense or attack than their prayer books and rosaries, and the word, "peace on earth and good will to men." The French Catholic mission- aries were as loyal to their Government as they were true to their God. They planted the lilies of France and erected the cross of

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the Mother Church in the newly discovered countries, and chanted the solemn mass that soothed the savage breast, and spoke peace and good will, and smoked the calumet with wild men of the woods.

The settlement of the West and the first discoveries were made by the French, and it was long afterward the country passed into the permanent possession of the English; the latter people wrote the histories and tinged them from first to last with their prejudices, and thus promulgated many serious errors of history. Time will always produce the icon- oclast who will dispassionately follow out the truth regardless of how many fictions it may brush away in its course. Thus, history is being continually re-written, and the truth is ever making its approaches; and the glorious deeds of the noble sons of France are becom- ing manifest as the views of our history are brought to light, particularly their occupancy of the valley of the Father of Waters. As

early as 1504 the French seamen, from Brit. tany and Normandy visited the fisheries of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. These bold and daring men traversed the ocean through the dangers of ice and stormsto pursue the oc- cupation of fishery, an enterprise which to-day has developed into one of gigantic magnitude.

France, not long after this, commissioned James Cartier, a distinguished mariner, to explore America. In 1535, in pursuance of the order, they planted the cross on the shores of the New World, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, bearing a shield with the lilies of France. He was followed by other adventurous spirits, and among them the im- mortal Samuel Champlain, a man of great enterprises, who founded Quebec in 1608. Champlain ascended the Sorel River; ex- plored Lake Champlain, which bears his name to-day. He afterward penetrated the forest and found his grave on the bleak

shores of Lake Huron. He was unsurpassed for bravery, indefatigable in industry, and was one of the leading spirits in explorations and discoveries in the New World.

In the van of the explorations on this con- tinent were found the courageous and pious Catholic missionaries, meeting dangers and death with a crucifix upon their breasts, bre- viary in hand, whilst chanting their matins and vespers, along the shores of our majestic rivers, great lakes and unbroken forests. Their course was marked through the track- less wilderness by the carving of their em- blems of faith upon the roadway, amidst perils and dangers, without food, but pounded maize, sleeping in the woods without shelter, their couch being the ground and rock; their beacon light, the cross, which was marked upon the oak of the forest in their pathway.

After these missionaries had selected their stations of worship, the French hunters, couriers de bois, voyagers and traders, opened their traffic with the savages. France, when convenient and expedient, erected a chain of forts along the rivers and lakes, in defense of Christianity and commerce.

France, from 1608, acquired in this conti- nent a territory extensive enough to create a great empire, and was at that time untrod by the foot of the white man, and inhabited by roving tribes of the red man. As early as 1615, we find Father Le Carron, a Catholic priest, in the forests of Canada, exploring the country for the purpose of converting the savages to the Christian religion. The fol- lowing year he is seen on foot traversing the forests amongst the Mohawks, and reaching the rivers of the Ottawas. He was followed by other missionaries along the basin of the St. Lawrence and Kennebec Rivers, where some met their fate in frail barks, whilst others perished in the storms of a dreadful wilderness.

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In 1635, we find Father Jean Brebeauf, Daniels and Gabriel Lallamand leaving Quebec with a few Huron braves to explore Lake Huron, to establish chapels along its banks, from which sprung the villages of St. Joseph, St. Ignatius and St. Louis. To reach these places it was necessary to follow the Ottawa River through a dangerous and devious way to avoid the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Senecas and Iroquois, forming a confederacy as the "Five Nations," occupy- ing a territory then known as the New York colony, who were continually at war with the Hurons, a tribe of Indians inhabiting Lake Huron territory.

As early as 1639, three Sisters of Charity, from France, arrived at Quebec, dressed in , plain black gowns with snowy white collars, whilst from their girdle hung the rosary. They proceeded to the chapel, led by the Governor of Canada, accompanied by braves and war- riors, to chant the Te Deum. These holy and pious women, moved by religious zeal, immediately established the Ursuline Con- vent for the education of girls. In addition to this, the King of France and nobility of Paris endowed a seminary in Quebec for the education of all classes of persons. A public hospital was built by the generous Duchess of D'Arguilon, with the aid of Cardinal Richelieu, for the unfortunate emigrants, to the savages of all tribes, and afflicted of all classes. A missionary station was established as early as 1641, at Montreal, under a rude tent, from which has grown the large city of to-day, with its magnificent cathedral and churches, its massive business houses, and its commerce.

The tribes of Huron Lake and neighboring savages, in 1641, met on the banks of the Iroquois Bay to celebrate the "Festival of the Dead." The bones and ashes of the dead had been gathered in coffins of bark, whilst

wrapped in magnificent furs, to be given an affectionate sepulture. At this singular fes- tival of the savages the chiefs and braves of different tribes chanted their low, mournful songs day and night, amidst the wails and groans of their women and children. During this festival appeared the pious missionaries, in their cassocks, with beads to their girdle, sympathizing with the red men in their de- votion to the dead, whilst scattering their medals, pictures of our Savior, and blessed and beautiful beads, which touched and won the hearts of the sons of the forest. What a beautiful spectacle to behold, over the graves of the fierce warriors, idolatry fading before the Son of God! Father Charles Raymbault and the indomitable Isaac Joques, in 1641. left Canada to explore the country as far as Lake Superior. They reached the Falls of St. Mary's, and established a station at . Sault de Ste. Marie, where were assembled many warriors and braves from the great West, to see and hear these two apostles of religion and to behold the cross of Chris- tianity. These two missionaries invoked them to worship the true God. The savages were struck with the emblem of the cross and its teachings, and exclaimed : "We embrace you as brothers ; come and dwell in our cabins."

When Father Joques and his party were returning from the Falls of St. Mary's to Quebec, they were attacked by the Mohawks, who massacred the chief and his braves who accompanied him, whilst they held Father Joques in captivity, showering upon him a great many indignities, compelling him to run the gantlet through their village. Father Brussini at the same time was beaten, muti- lated, and made to walk barefooted through thorns and briars, and then scourged by a whole village. However, by some miracu- lous way, they were rescued by the generous

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Dutch of New York, and both afterward re- turned to France. Father Joques again re- turned to Quebec, and was sent as an envoy amongst the "Five Nations." Contrary to the savage laws of hospitality, he was ill- treated, and then killed as an enchanter, his head hung upon the skirts of the village, and his body thrown into the Mohawk River. Such was the fate of this courageous and pious man, leaving a monument of martyr- dom more enduring than the Pyramids of Egypt.

The year 1645 is memorable, owing to a congress held by France and the "Five Na- tions," at the Three Rivers, in Canada. There the daring chiefs and warriors and the gallant officers of France met at the great council fires. After the war-dance and numer- ous ceremonies, the hostile parties smoked the . calumet of peace. The Iroquois said: "Let the clouds be dispersed and the sun shine on all the land between us." The Mohawks exclaimed: "We have thrown the hatchet so high into the air and beyond the skies that no man on earth can reach to bring it down. The French shall sleep on our softest blankets, by the warm fire, that shall be kept blaz- ing all night." Notwithstanding the elo- quent and fervent language and appearance of peace, it was but of short duration, for soon the cabin of the white man was in flames, and the foot-print of blood was seen along the St. Lawrence, and once more a bloody war broke out, which was disastrous to France, as the Five Nations returned to the allegiance of the English colonies.

The village of St. Joseph, near Huron Lake, on the 4th of July, 1648, whilst her warriors were absent, was sacked, and its people murdered by the Mohawks. Father Daniel, who officiated there, whilst endeavor- ing to protect the children, women and old men, was fatally wounded by numerous ar-

rows, and killed. Thus fell this martyr in the cause of religion and progress.

The next year, the villages of St. Ignatius and St. Louis were attacked by the Iroquois. The village of St. Ignatius was destroyed, and its inhabitants massacred. The village of St. Louis shared the same fate. At the latter place, Father Brebeauf and Lalle- mand were made prisoners, tied to a tree, stripped of their clothes, mutilated, burnt with fagots and rosin bark, and then scalped. They perished in the name of France and Christianity.

Father de la Ribourde, who had been the companion of La Salle on the Griffin, and who officiated at Fort Creve Coeur, Ill., whilst returning to Lake Michigan, was lost in the wilderness. Afterward, it was learned he had been murdered in cold blood by three young warriors, who carried his prayer-book and scalp as a trophy up north of Lake Su- perior, which afterward fell into the hands of the missionaries. Thus died this martyr of religion, after ten years' devotion in the cab- ins of the savages, whose head had become bleached with seventy winters. Such was also the fate of the illustrious Father Rine Mesnard, on his mission to the southern shore of Lake Superior, where, in after years, his cassock and breviary were kept as amu- lets among the Sioux. After these atrocities, these noble missionaries never retraced their steps, and new troops pressed forward to take their places. They still continued to explore our vast country. The history of their labors, self sacrifice and devotion is connected with the origin of every village or noted place in the North and great West.

France ordered, by Colbert, its great min- ister, that an invitation be given to all tribes West for a general congress. This remark- able council was held in May, 1671, at the Falls of St. Mary's. There was found the

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chiefs and braves of many nations of the West, decorated in their brightest feathers and furs, whilst the French officers glistened with their swords and golden epaulets. In their midst stood the undaunted missionaries from all parts of the country. In this re- markable congress rose a log cedar cross, and upon a staff the colors of France.

In this council, after many congratulations offered, and the war dances, the calumet was smoked and peace declared. France secured here the friendship of the tribes, and domin- ion over the great West.

Marquette, while on his mission in the West, leaves Mackinac on the 13th of May, 1673, with his companion, Joliet, and five Frenchmen and two Indian guides, in two bark canoes, freighted with maize and smoked meat, to enter into Lake Michigan and Green Bay until they reached Fox River in Illinois, where stood on its banks an Indian village oc- cupied by the Kickapoos, Mascoutins and Miamis, where the noble Father Allouez offi- 'ciated. Marquette in this village preaches and announces to them his object of discover- ing the great river. They are appalled at the bold proposition. They say : "Those distant nations never spare the strangers ; their mutual wars fill their borders with bands of warriors. The great river abounds in monsters which devour both men and canoes. The excessive heat occasions death."

From Fox River across the portage with the canoes they reach the Wisconsin River. There Marquette and Joliet separated with their guides, and, in Marquette's language, " Leaving us alone in this unknown land in the hands of Providence," they float down the Wisconsin whose banks are dotted with prairies and beautiful hills, whilst sur- rounded by wild animals and the buffalo. After seven days' navigation on this river, their hearts bound with gladness on behold-

ing, on the 17th day of June, 1673, the broad expanse of the great Father of Waters, and upon its bosom they float down. About sixty . leagues below this they visit an Indian vil- lage. Their reception from the savages was cordial. They said : "We are Illinois, that is, we are men. The whole village awaits thee ; then enter in peace our cabins." After six days' rest on the couch of furs, and amidst abundance of game, these hospitable Illinois conduct them to their canoes, whilst the chief places around Marquette's neck the calumet of peace, being beautifully decorated with the feathers of birds.

Their canoe again ripples the bosom of the great river (Mississippi), when further down they behold on the high bluffs and smooth rock above (now Alton), on the Illinois shore, the figures of two monsters painted in vari- ous colors, of frightful appearance, and the. position appeared to be inaccessible to a painter. They soon reached the turbid wa- ters of the Missouri, and thence floated down to the mouth of the Ohio.

Farther down the river stands the village of Mitchigamea, being on the west side of the river. When approaching this place its bloody warriors, with their war cry, embark in their canoes to attack them, but the calu- met, held aloft by Marquette, pacifies them. So they are treated with hospitality, and es- corted by them to the Arkansas River. They sojourn there a short time, when Marquette, before leaving this sunny land, cele- brates the festival of the church. Marquette and Joliet then turn their canoe northward to retrace their way back until they reach the Illinois River, thence up that stream, along its flowery prairies. The Illinois braves con- duct them back to Lake Michigan, thence to Green Bay, where they arrived in Septem- ber, 1673.

Marquette for two years officiated along

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Lake Michigan; afterward visited Mackinaw; from thence he enters a small river in Mich- igan (that bears his name), when, after say- ing mass, he withdraws for a short time to the woods, where he is found dead. Thus died this illustrious explorer and remarkable priest, leaving a name unparalleled as a brave, good and virtuous Christian.

Robert Caralin La Salle, a native of Nor- mandy, an adventurer from France, arrived in Canada about 1670. Being ambitious to distinguish himself in making discoveries on this continent, he returned to France to so- licit aid for that purpose. He was made chevalier, upon the condition that he would repair Fort Frontenac, located on Lake On- tario, and open commerce with the savages. In 1678, he again returned to France, when in July, 1677, with Chevalier Tonti, his Lieutenant, with thirty men, he left Rochelle for Quebec and Fort Frontenac. Whilst at Quebec, an agreement was made by the Gover- nor of Canada with La Salle to establish forts along the northern lakes. At this time he undertook with great activity to increase the commerce of the West, by building a bark of ten tons to float on Lake Ontario. Shortly afterward, he built another vessel, known as the Griffin, above Niagara Falls, for Lake Erie, of sixty tons, being the first vessel seen on the Northern lakes. The Griffin was launched and made to float on Lake Erie. "On the prow of this ship, armorial bearings were adorned by two griffins as supporters; " upon her deck she carried two brass cannon for defense. On the 7th of August, 1679, she spread her sails on Lake Erie, whilst on her deck stood the brave naval commander La Salle, accompanied by Fathers Hennepin, Ribourdo and Zenobi, surrounded by a crew of thirty voyageurs. On leaving. a salute was fired, whose echoes were heard to the as- tonishment of the savages, who named the

Griffin "The Great Wooden Canoe." This ship pursued her course through Lakes Erie, St. Clair and Huron to Mackinaw, thence through that strait into Lake Michigan, thence to Green Bay, where she anchored in safety. The Griffin, after being laden with a cargo of peltries and furs, was ordered back by La Salle to the port from whence she sailed, but unfortunately on her return she was wrecked. La Salle, during the absence of the Griffin, determined with fourteen men to proceed to the mouth of the Miamis, now St. Joseph, where he built a fort, from which place he proceeded to Rock Fort in La Salle County, Ill. La Salle hearing of the disaster and wreck of the Griffin, he builds a fort on the Illinois River called Creve Coeur (broken heart). This brave man, though weighed down by misfortune, did not despair. He concluded to return to Canada, but before leaving sends Father Hennepin, with Piscard, Du Gay and Michael Aka, to explore the sources of the Upper Mississippi. They leave Creve Cœur February 29, 1680, float- ing down the Illinois River, reaching the Mississippi March 8, 1680; then explored this river up to the Falls of St. Anthony; from there they penetrated the forests, which brought them to the wigwams of the Sioux, who detained Father Hennepin and compan- ions for a short time in captivity; recovering their liberties, they returned to Lake Superior in November, 1680, thence to Quebec and France. During the explorations of Father Hennepin, La Salle, with a courage unsur- passed, a constitution of iron, returns to Canada, a distance of 1,200 miles, his path- way being through snows, ice and savages along the Lakes Michigan, Erie and Ontario Reaching Quebec, he finds his business in a disastrous condition, his vessels lost, his goods seized and his men scattered. Not being discouraged, however, he returns to his

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 32

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 948

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948