History of Grundy County, Illinois, Part 2

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 506

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Louis LeGrand, Roi De France et de Navarre, regne; Le neuvieme Avril 1082.

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The whole party. under arms, chanted the Te Deum, and then, after a salute and cries of " Vive le Roi," the column was erected by M. de La Salle, who, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice the au- thority of the King of France. La Salle returned and laid the foundations of the Mississippi settlements in Illinois, thence he proceeded to France, where another ex- pedition was fitted ont, of which he was commander, and in two succeeding voy- ages failed to find the ontlet of the river by sailing along the shore of the gulf. On his third voyage he was killed, throngh the treachery of his followers, and the ob- ject of his expeditions was not accom- plished until 1699, when D'Iberville, un- der the authority of the crown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the month 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 ontlet and returned to France.

An avenue of trade was now opened out, which was fully improved. 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 com- merce 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. Ile had thrown open to France and the

world an immense and most valuable coun- try; had established several ports, and laid the foundations of more than one settle- ment there. " Peoria, Kaskaskia and Ca- hokia, 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 Creve- cœur,) it was by those whom he led into the West that these places were peopled and civilized. 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. Before the year 1698, the Rev. Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois, and founded Kaskaskia. For some time this was merely a missionary station, where none but natives resided, it being one of three such villages, the other two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is known of these missions is learned from a letter written by Father Gabriel Marest, dated "Aux Cascaskias, autrement dit de l'Immaculate Conception de la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." Soon after the founding of Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Creve- cœur. This must have been about a year 1700. The post at Vincennes on the Onbache river, (pronounced Wa-ba, mean- ing summer cloud moving swiftly) was es- tablished in 1702, according to the best authorities .* It is altogether probable that

* There is considerable dispute about this date, some asserting it was founded as late as 1742. When the new court house at Vincennes was erected, all authorities on the subject were carefully examined, and 1702 fixed upon as the correct date. It was ac- cordingly engraved on the corner-stone of the court house.

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on La Salle's last trip he established the stations at Kaskaskia and Cahokia. In July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Pon- elartrain were laid by De la Motte Cadillac on the Detroit River. These stations, with those established further north, were the earliest attempts to occupy the Northwest Territory. At the same time efforts were being made to occupy the Southwest, which finally culminated in the settlement and founding of the City of New Orleans by a colony from England in 1718. This was mainly accomplished through the efforts of the famous Mississippi Company, estab- lished by the notorious John Law, who so quickly arose into prominence in France, and who with his scheme so quickly and so ignominionsly passed away.

From the time of the founding of these stations for fifty years the French nation were engrossed with the settlement of the lower Mississippi, and the war with the Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez. Although the company did little for Lonis- iana, as the entire West was then called, yet it opened the trade through the Missis- sippi River, and started the raising of grains indigenous to that climate. Until the year 1750, but little is known of the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the New World, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a mis- sionary among the Illinois, writing from " Aux Illinois," six leagues from Fort Chartres, June 8, 1750, says: " We have here whites, negroes and Indians, to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages, and three villages of the

natives, within a space of twenty-one leagues situated between the Mississippi and another river called the Karkadaid (Kaskaskias). In the five French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred whites, three hundred blacks and some sixty red slaves or savages. The three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls all told. Most of the French till the soil ; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and horses, and live like princes. Three times as mueh is produced as can be consumed ; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New Orleans." This city was now the seaport town of the Northwest, and save in the extreme northern part, where only furs and copper ore were found, almost all the products of the country found their way to France by the mouth of the Father of Waters. In another letter, dated No- vember 7, 1750, this same priest says: " For fifteen leagues above the month of the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the ground being too low to be habitable. Thence to New Orleans, the lands are only partially occupied. New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, I think, than twelve hundred persons. To this point come all lumber, bricks, salt-beef, tallow, tar, skins and bear's grease ; and above all, pork and flour from the Illinois. These things ereate some commerce, as forty vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans, plantations are again met with ; the most considerable is a colony of Germans, some ten leagues np the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along here, within five or six leagues are not less than sixty habitations. Fifty leagues farther np is the Natchez post,

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where we have a garrison, who are kept prisoners through fear of the" Chicasaws. IFere and at point Conpec, they raise exce !- lent tobacco. Another hundred leagues brings us to the Arkansas, where we have also a fort and a garrison for the benefit of the river traders. *

* From the Ar- * kansas to the Illinois, nearly five hundred leagues, there is not a settlement. There should be, however, a fort at the Oubache (Ohio), the only path by which the English can reaeli the Mississippi. In the Illinois country are numberless mines, but no one to work them as they deserve." Father Marest, writing from the post at Vincennes, in 1812, makes the same observation. Vi- vier also says: "Some individuals dig lead near the surface and supply the Ind- ians and Canada. Two Spaniards now here, who claim to be adepts, say that our mines are like those of Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper, we should find silver nn- der the lead ; and at any rate the lead is excellent. There is also in this country, beyond doubt, copper ore, as from time to time large pieces are found in the streams."

At the close of the year 1750, the French occupied, in addition to the lower Missis- sippi posts and those in Illinois, one at Du Quesne, one at the Manmee in the country of the Miamis, and one at Sandus- ky, in what may be termed the Ohio Val- ley. In the mosthern part of the North- west they had stations at St. Joseph's on the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan, at Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit), at Michillimack- anac or Massiflimacanac, Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault Ste. Marie. The fondest dreams of La Salle were now fully realized. The French alone were possess- ors of this vast rean, basing their claim

on discovery and settlement. Another na- tion, however, was now turning its atten- tion to this extensive country, and hearing of its wealth, began to lay plans for oc- cupying it and for securing the great profits arising therefrom.

The French, however, had another claim to this country, namely, the

DISCOVERY OF THE OHIO.

This " Beautiful" river was discovered by Robert Cavalier de La Salle in 1669, four years before the discovery of the Missis- sippi by Joliet and Marquette.

While La Salle was at his trading post on the St. Lawrence, he found leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which was the Iroquois. IIe not only de- sired to facilitate his intercourse in trade, but he longed to travel and explore the un- known regions of the West. An incident soon occurred which decided him to fit out an exploring expedition.

While conversing with some Sonecas, he learned of a river called the Ohio, which rose in their country and flowed to the sea, bnt at such a distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this statement the Mississippi and its tributa- ries were considered as one stream. La Salle, believing, as most of the French at that period did, that the great rivers flow- ing west emptied into the Sea of Califor- nia, was anxious to embark in the enter- prise of discovering a route across the con- tinent to the commerce of China and Japan.

Ile repaired at once to Quebec to obtain the approval of the Governor. Ilis elo- quent appeal prevailed. The Governor and the Intendant, Talon, issued letters

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patent authorizing the enterprise, but made no provision to defray the expenses. At this juncture the seminary of St. Sulpice decided to send out missionaries in connec- tion with the expedition, and La Salle offer- ing to sell his improvements at La Chine to raise money, the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred dollars were raised, with which La Salle purchased four canoes and the necessary supplies for the outfit.

On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, nnm- bering twenty-four persons, embarked in seven canoes on the St. Lawrence; two ad- ditional canoes carried the Indian guides. In three days they were gliding over the bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides con- ducted them directly to the Seneca village on the bank of the Genesee, in the vicinity of the present City of Rochester, New York. Here they expected to procure guides to conduct them to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed.

The Indians seemed unfriendly to the enterprise. La Salle suspected that the Jesuits had prejudiced their minds against his plans. After waiting a month in the hope of gaining their object, they met an Indian from the Iroquois colony at the head of Lake Ontario, who assured them that they couldl there find guides, and offered to conduct them thence.

On their way they passed the mouth of the Niagara River, when they heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cata- ract. Arriving among the Iroquois, they met with a friendly reception, and learned from a Shawanee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks. Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to resume their journey; but

just as they were about to start they heard of the arrival of two Frenchmen in a neigh- boring village. One of them proved to be Louis Joliet, afterward famous as an ex- plorer in the West. He had been sent by the Canadian Government to explore the copper mines on Lake Superior, but had failed, and was on his way back to Quebec. He gave the missionaries a map of the country he had explored in the lake region, together with an account of the condition of the Indians in that quarter. This in- duced the priests to determine on leaving the expedition and going to Lake Superior. La Salle warned them that the Jesuits were probably occupying that fick, and that they would meet with a cold reception. Nevertheless they persisted in their pur- pose, and after worship on the lake shore parted from La Salle. On arriving at Lake Superior, they found, as La Salle had pre- dieted, the Jesuit Fathers, Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field.

These zealous disciples of Loyola in- formed them that they wanted no assistance from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their patron saint; and thus repulsed, they returned to Montreal the following June without having made a single discov- ery or converted a single Indian.

After parting with the priests, La Salle went to the chief Iroquois village at Onon- daga, where he obtained guides, and passing thence to a tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far as the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by La Salle, the persevering and successful French explorer of the West, in 1669.

The account of the latter part of his journey is found in an anonymous paper,

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which purports to have been taken from the lips of La Salle himself during a subsequent visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count Frontenac in 1667, shortly after the discor- ery, he himself says that he discovered the Ohio and descended it to the falls. This was regarded as an indisputable fact by the French authorities, who claimed the Ohio Valley upon another ground. When Wash- ington was sent by the colony of Virginia in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French had built a fort on the Mo- nongahela, the haughty commandant at Quebec replied: " We claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries of La Salle, and will not give it up to the Eng- lish. Our orders are to make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley."

ENGLISHI EXPLORATIONS AND SETTI EMENTS.

When the new year of 1750 broke in up- on the Father of Waters and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the French posts already deseribed. In 1749, when the English first began to think seri- onsly about sending men into the West, the greater portion of the States of Indi- ana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were yet under the domin- ion of the red men. The English knew, however, pretty conclusively of the nature of the wealth of these wilds. As early as 1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements to secure the country west of the Alleghanies to the English crown. In Pennsylvania, Gover- nor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the province, from 1719 to 1731, represent- ed to the powers of England the necessity of securing the Western lands. Nothing

was done, however, by that power save to take some diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain to this unexplored wilder- ness.

England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession was a discovery and pos- session of the country, and, as is well known, her grants to the colonies extended "from sea to sea." This was not all her elaim. She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts of land. This latter was also a strong argument. As early as 1684, Lord IIoward, Governor of Virginia, held a trea- ty with the six nations. These were the great Northern Confederaey, and comprised at first the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tus- earoras were taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the Six NATIONS. They came under the protection of the mother country, and again in 1701, they repeated the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed was drawn up and signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has often been disputed, but never successfully. In 1744, a purchase was made at Laneaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the "Colony of Virginia," for which the Indians received £200 in gold and a like som in goods, with a promise that, as settlements increased, more should be paid. The Commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel William Beverley. As settlements extended, the promise of more pay was called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with presents to appease thie savages. Col. Lee, and some Virginians accompanied him with the intention of

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sounding the Indians upon their feelings regarding the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment, and plainly told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the cultivation of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In 1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant of land beyond the Alleghenies. This was granted, and the government of Virginia was or- dered to grant to them a half million acres, two hundred thousand of which were to be located at once. Upon the 12th of June, 1749, 500,000 acres from the line of Canada north and west was made to the Loyal Company, and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000 acres were given to the Greenbriar Company. All this time the French were not idle. They saw that, should the British gain a foothold in the West, especially upon the Ohio, they might not only prevent the French set- tling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts and so gain possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774. Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the consequences that must arise from allow- ing the English to build trading posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Lonis Celeron with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River, in the mounds and at the months of its principal tributaries. plates of lead, on which were inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and within the memory of residents now living along the "Oyo," as the beanti- fil river was called by the French. One of these plates was found with the inscrip-

tion partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and a copy of the inscription with partieular account of the discovery of the plate, was sent by De Witt Clinton to the American Antiquarian Society, among whose journals it may now be found .* These measures did not, however, deter the English from going on with their explora- tions, and though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and it was only a question of time when the storm would burst upon the frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the Ohio Company to examine its lands. Ile went to a village of the Twigtwees, on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above its month. He afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went down the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present City of Louisville, and in November he commenced a survey of the company's lands. During the winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the Greenbriar Company. Mean- while the French were busy in preparing their forts for defense, and in opening roads, and also sent a small party of soldiers to keep the Ohio clear. This party, having heard of the English post on the Miami

* The following is a translation of the inscription on the plate: "In the year 1749, reign of Louis XV., King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a de- tachment by Mo sieur the Marquis of Gallisoniere, commander-in-chief of New France, to establish tran- quility in certain Indian villages of these eantons, have buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradakoin, this twenty-ninth of July, near the river Ohio, otherwise Beautiful River, as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said river, and all its tributaries; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it. and maintained it by their arms and treaties; esp cially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle."

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River, early in 1652, assisted by the Ottawas and Chippewas, attacked it, and, atter a severe battle, in which fourteen of the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison. (They were prob- ably garrisoned in a block house). The traders were carried away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This fort or post was called by the English Piekawillany. A memorial of the king's ministers refers to it as " Piekawillanes, in the center of the territory between the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some variation of Piekaway or Pieqna, in 1773, written by Rev. David Jones, Piek- aweke."

This was the first blood shed between the French and English, and occurred near the present City of Piqua, Ohio, or at least at a point about forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation became now more interested in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English determined to purchase from the Indians a title to the lands they wished to occupy, and Messrs. Fry (afterward Commander-in-chief over Washington at the commencement of the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and Patton were sent in the spring of 1732 to hold a conference with the natives at Logs- town to learn what they objected to in the treaty of Lancaster already noticed and to settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June, these Commissioners met the red men at Logstown, a little village on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pittsburgh. IIere had been a trading point for many years, but it was abandoned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians declined to recognize the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commission-

ers taking aside Montour, the interpreter, who was a son of the famons Catharine Mon- tour, and a chief among the Six Nations, induced him to use his influence in their favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing a deed. con- firming the Lancaster treaty in its full ex- tent, consenting to asettlement of the south- east of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley.

Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-maneuver each other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally outwitted the Indians, and failed in many instances to fulfill their contracts. They thereby gained the ill- will of the red men, and further increased the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammunition. Said an old chief, at Easton, in 1758: "The Indians on the Ohio left you because of your own fanlt. When we heard the French were coming, we asked you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The French came, they treated ns kindly, and gained our affections. The Governor of Virginia settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when we wanted help, forsook us."

At the beginning of 1653, the English thought they had secured by title the lands in the West, but the French had quietly gathered cannon and military stores to be in readiness for the expected blow. The English made other attempts to ratify these existing treaties, but not until the summer could the Indians be gathered together to discuss the plans of the French. They had sent messages to the French, warning them away; but they replied that they intended

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to complete the chain of forts already be- gun, and would not abandon the field.

Soon after this, no satisfaction being ob- tained from the Ohio regarding the posi- tions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia determined to send to them another messenger and learn from them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the rank of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This personage was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then held considerable interest in Western lands. He was at this time just twenty-two years of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied by four servitors, set out on their perilous march. They left Will's Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and on the 22d reached the Monongahela, about ten miles above the fork. From there they went to Logstown, where Washington had a long conterenee with the chiefs of the Six Nations. From them he learned the con- dition of the French, and also heard of their determination not to come down the river till the following spring. The Indi- ans were non-committal, as they were afraid to turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain neutral. Wash- ington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to Venango, an old Indian town at the month of French Creek. Here the French had a fort, called Fort Machanlt. Through the rum and flattery of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding nothing of importance here, he pursned his way amid great priva- tions, and on the 11th of December reached the fort at the head of French Creek. IIere

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History of Grundy County, Illinois, Part 2

Author: Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin Number of Pages: 506

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 506