History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources, Part 7

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1180

USA > Illinois > Iroquois County > History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources > Part 7

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The Griffin, under press of a favorable breeze, and with the help of twelve men on the shore pulling at tow-ropes, was forced up against the strong current of the Niagara River to calnier waters at the en- trance of the lake. On the 7th of August, 1679, her canvas was spread, and the pilot steering by the compass, the vessel, with La Salle and liis thirty odd companions and their effects aboard, sailed out westward upon the unknown, silent waters of Lake Erie. In three days they reached the mnoutli of Detroit River. Father Hennepin was fairly

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

delighted with the country along this river -it was "so well situated and the soil so fertile. Vast meadows extending back from the strait and terminating at the uplands, which were clad with vineyards, and plum and pear and other fruit-bearing trees of nature's own planting, all so well arranged that one would think they could not have been so dis- posed without the help of art. The country was also well stocked with deer, bear, wild goats, turkeys, and other animals and birds, that supplied a most relishing food. The forest comprised walnut and other timber in abundance suitable for building purposes. So charmed was he with the prospect that he "endeavored to persuade La Salle to settle at the 'De Troit,'" it being in the midst of so many savage na- tions among whom a good trade could be established. La Salle would not listen to this proposal. He said he would make no settlement within one hundred leagues of Frontenac, lest other Europeans would be before them in the new country they were going to discover. This, says Hennepin, was the pretense of La Salle and the adventurers who were with him ; for I soon discovered that their intention was to buy all the furs and skins of the remotest savages who, as they thought, did not know their value, and thus enrich themselves in one single voyage.

On Lake Huron the Griffin encountered a storm. The main-yards and topmast were blown away, giving the ship over to the mercy of the winds. There was no harbor to run into for shelter. La Salle, although a courageous man, gave way to his fears, and said they all were undone. Everyone thereupon fell upon their knees to say pray- ers and prepare for death, except the pilot, who cursed and swore all the while at La Salle for bringing him there to perish in a nasty lake, after he had acquired so much renown in a long and successful naviga- tion on the ocean. The storm abated, and on the 27th of August, the. Griffin resumed her course northwest, and was carried on the evening of the same day beyond the island of Mackinaw to point St. Ignace, and safely anchored in a bay that is sheltered, except from the south, by the projecting mainland.

CHAPTER IX.

LA SALLE'S VOYAGE CONTINUED.

ST. IGNACE, or Mackinaw, as previously stated, had become a princi- pal center of the Jesuit missions, and it had also grown into a head- quarters for an extensive Indian trade. Duly licensed traders, as well as the Coureurs de Bois,- men who had run wild, as it were, and by their intercourse with the nations had thrown off all restraints of civilized life,-resorted to this vicinity in considerable numbers. These, lost to all sense of national pride, instead of sustaining took every measure to thwart La Salle's plans. They, with some of the dissatis- fied crew, represented to the Indians that La Salle and his associates were a set of dangerous and ambitious adventurers, who meant to engross all the trade in furs and skins and invade their liberties. These jealous and meddlesome busybodies had already, before the arrival of the Griffin, succeeded in seducing fifteen men from La Salle's service, whom with others, he had sent forward the previous spring, under command of Tonty, with a stock of merchandise; and, instead of going to the tribes.beyond and preparing the way for a friendly recep- tion of La Salle, as they were ordered to do, they loitered about Mackinaw the whole summer and squandered the goods, in spite of Tonty's persistent efforts to urge them forward in the performance of their duty. La Salle sent out other parties to trade with the natives, and these went so far, and were so busy in bartering for and collect- ing furs, that they did not return to Mackinaw until November. It was now getting late and La Salle was warned of the dangerous storms that sweep the lakes at the beginning of winter ; he resolved, therefore, to continue his voyage without waiting the return of his men. He weighed anchor and sailed westward into Lake Michigan as far as the islands at the entrance of Green Bay, then called the Pottawatomie Islands, for the reason that they were then occupied by bands of that tribe. On one of these islands La Salle found some of the men belonging to his advance party of traders, and who, having secured a large quantity of valuable furs, had long and impatiently waited his coming.

La Salle, as is already apparent, determined to engage in a fur trade that already and legitimately belonged to merchants operating at

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

Montreal, and with which the terms of his own license prohibited his interfering. Without asking any one's advice he resolved to load his ship with furs and send it back to Niagara, and the furs to Quebec, and out of the proceeds of the sale to discharge some very pressing debts. The pilot with five men to man the vessel were ordered to proceed with the Griffin to Niagara, and return with all imaginable speed and join La Salle at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, near the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The Griffin did not go to Green Bay City, as many writers have assumed in hasty perusals of the original authorities, or even penetrate the body of water known as Green Bay beyond the chain of islands at its mouth.

The resolution of La Salle, taken, it seems, on the spur of the moment, to send his ship back down the lakes, and prosecute his voyage the rest of the way to the head of Lake Michigan in frail birchen canoes, was a most unfortunate measure. It delayed his. discoveries two years, brought severe hardships upon himself and greatly embarrassed all his future plans. The Griffin itself was lost, with all her cargo, valued at sixty thousand livres. She, nor her crew, was ever heard of after leaving the Pottawatomie Islands. What became of the ship and men in charge remains to this day a mystery, or veiled in a cloud of conjecture. La Salle himself, says Francis. Parkman, "grew into a settled conviction that the Griffin had been treacherously sunk by the pilot and sailors to whom he had intrusted her ; and he thought he had, in after-years, found evidence that the. authors of the crime, laden with the merchandise they had taken from. her, had reached the Mississippi and ascended it, hoping to join Du Shut, the famous chief of the Coureurs de Bois, and enrich them- selves by traffic with the northern tribes .*

The following is, substantially, Hennepin's account of La Salle's canoe voyage from the mouth of Green Bay south, along the shore of Lake Michigan, past Milwaukee and Chicago, and around the southern end of the lake; thence north along the eastern shore to the mouth of the St. Joseph River ; thence up the St. Joseph to South Bend, mak- ing the portage here to the head-waters of the Kankakee; thence down the Kankakee and Illinois through Peoria Lake, with an account of the building of Fort Crevecœur. Hennepin's narrative is full of in- teresting detail, and contains many interesting observations upon the condition of the country, the native inhabitants as they appeared nearly two hundred years ago. The privation and suffering to which La Salle and his party were exposed in navigating Lake Michigan at that early day, and late in the fall of the year, when the waters were vexed with:

* Discovery of the Great West, p. 169.

FIRST VOYAGE ON LAKE MICHIGAN.

tempestuous storms, illustrate the courage and daring of the under- . taking.

Their suffering did not terminate with their voyage upon the lake. Difficulties of another kind were experienced on the St. Joseph, Kan- kakee and Illinois Rivers. Hennepin's is, perhaps, the first detailed account we have of this part of the "Great West," and is therefore of great interest and value on this account.

" We left the Pottawatomies to continue our voyage, being fourteen men in all, in four canoes. I had charge of the smallest, which carried five hundredweight and two men. My companions being recently from Europe, and for that reason being unskilled in the management of these kind of boats, its whole charge fell upon me in stormy weather.

" The canoes were laden with a smith's forge, utensils, tools for car- penters, joiners and sawyers, besides our goods and arms. We steered to the south toward the mainland, from which the Pottawatomie Islands are distant some forty leagues ; but about midway, and in the night time, we were greatly endangered by a sudden storm. The waves dashed into our canoes, and the night was so dark we had great difficulty in keeping our canoes together. The daylight coming on, we reached the shore, where we remained for four days, waiting for the lake to grow calm. In the meantime our Indian hunter went in quest of game, but killed nothing other than a porcupine; this, however, made our Indian corn more relishing. The weather becoming fair, we resumed our voyage, rowing all day and well into the night, along the western coast of the Lake of the Illinois. The wind again grew to fresh, and we landed upon a rocky beach where we had nothing to protect ourselves against a storm of snow and rain except the clothing on our persons. We remained here two days for the sea to go down, hav- ing made a little fire from wood cast ashore by the waves. We pro- ceeded on our voyage, and toward evening the winds again forced us to a beach covered with rushes, where we remained three days; and in the meantime our provisions, consisting only of pumpkins and Indian corn purchased from the Pottawatomies, entirely gave out. Our canoes were so heavily laden that we could not carry provisions with us, and we were compelled to rely on bartering for such supplies on our way. We left this dismal place, and after twelve leagues rowing came to another Pottawatomie village, whose inhabitants stood upon tlie beach to receive us. But M. La Salle refused to let anyone land, notwithstanding the severity of the weather, fearing some of his men might run away. We were in such great peril that La Salle flung himself into the water, after we had gone some three leagues farther,

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

and with the aid of his three men carried the canoe of which he had charge to the shore, upon their shoulders, otherwise it would have been broken to pieces by the waves. We were obliged to do the same with the other canoes. I, myself, carried good Father Gabriel upon my back, his age being so well advanced as not to admit of his ventur- ing in the water. We took ourselves to a piece of rising ground to avoid surprise, as we had no manner of acquaintance with the great number of savages whose village was near at hand. We sent three mnen into the village to buy provisions, under protection of the calu- niet or pipe of peace, which the Indians at Pottawatomie Islands had presented us as a means of introduction to, and a measure of safety against, other tribes that we might meet on our way."

The calumet has always been a symbol of amity among all the In- dian tribes of North America, and so uniformly used by them in all their negotiations with their own race, and Europeans as well; and Father Hennepin's description of it, and the respect that is accorded to its presence, are so truthful that we here insert his account of it at length :

" This calumet," says Father Hennepin, " is the most mysterious thing among the savages, for it is used in all important transactions. It is nothing else, however, than a large tobacco pipe, made of red, black, or white stone. The head is highly polished, and the quill or stem is usually about two feet in length, made of a pretty strong reed or cane, decorated with highly colored feathers interlaced with locks of women's hair. Wings of gaudily plumaged birds are tied to it, mak- ing the calumet look like the wand of Mercury, or staff whichi ambas- sadors of state formerly carried when they went to conduct treaties of peace. The stem is sheathed in the skin of the neck of birds called 'Huars' (probably the loon), which are as large as our geese, and spotted with white and black; or else with those of a duck (the little wood duck whose neck presents a beautiful contrast of colors) that make their nests upon trees, although the water is their ordinary ele- ment, and whose feathers are of many different colors. However, every tribe ornament their calumets according to their own fancy, witlı the feathers of such birds as they may have in their own country.

"A pipe, such as I have described, is a pass of safe conduct among all the allies of the tribe which has given it; and in all embassies it is car- ried as a symbol of peace, and is always respected as suclı, for the sav- ages believe some great misfortune would speedily befall them if they violated the public faith of the calumet. All their enterprises, declara- tions of war, treaties of peace, as well as all of the rest of their cere- monies, are sealed with the calumet. The pipe is filled with the best

CANOE VOYAGE ON LAKE MICHIGAN.

tobacco they have, and then it is presented to those with whom they are about to conduct an important affair ; and after they have smoked . out of it, the one offering it does the same. I would have perished," concludes Hennepin, "had it not been for the calumet. Our three men, carrying the calumet and being well armed, went to the little village about three leagues from the place where we landed ; they found no one at home, for the inhabitants, having heard that we refused to land at the other village, supposed we were enemies, and had aban- doned their habitations. In their absence our men took some of their corn, and left instead, some goods, to let them know we were neither their enemies nor robbers. Twenty of the inhabitants of this village came to our encampment on the beach, armed with axes, small guns, bows, and a sort of club, which, in their language, means a head- breaker. La Salle, with four well-armed men, advanced toward them for the purpose of opening a conversation. He requested them to come near to us, saying he had a party of hunters out who might come across them and take their lives. They came forward and took seats at the foot of an eminence, where we were encamped; and La Salle amused them with the relation of his voyage, which he informed them he had undertaken for their advantage; and thus occupied their time until the arrival of the three men who had been sent out with the calumet ; on seeing which the savages gave a great shout, arose to their feet and danced about. We excused our men from having taken some of their corn, and informed them that we had left its true value in goods ; they were so well pleased with this that they immediately sent for more corn, and on the next day they made us a gift of as much as we could conveniently find room for in our canoes.

" The next day morning the old men of the tribe came to us with their calumet of peace, and entertained us with a free offering of wild goats, which their own hunters had taken. In return, we presented them our thanks, accompanied with some axes, knives, and several little toys for their wives, with all which they were very much pleased.

" We left this place and continued our voyage along the coast of the lake, which, in places, is so steep that we often found it difficult to obtain a landing; and the wind was so violent as to oblige us to carry our canoes sometimes upon top of the bluff, to prevent their being dashed in pieces. The stormy weather lasted four days, causing us much suffering ; for every time we made the shore we had to wade in the water, carrying our effects and canoes upon our shoulders. The water being very cold, most of us were taken sick. Our provisions again failed us, which, with the fatigues of rowing, made old Father Gabriel faint away in such a manner that we despaired of his life.

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

With a use of a decoction of hyacinth I had with me, and which I found of great service on our voyage, he was restored to his senses. We had no other subsistence but a handful of corn per mnan every twenty-four hours, which we parched or boiled ; and, although reduced to such scanty diet, we rowed our canoes almost daily, from morning to night. Our men found some hawthorns and other wild berries, of which they ate so freely that most of them were taken sick, and we imagined that they were poisoned.

"Yet the more we suffered, the more, by God's grace, did I become stronger, so that I could outrow the other canoes. Being in great dis- tress, He, who takes care of his meanest creatures, provided us with an unexpected relief. We saw over the land a great many ravens- and eagles circling in mid-air; from whence we conjectured there was prey near by. We landed, and, upon search, found the half of a wild goat which the wolves had strangled. This provision was very ac- ceptable, and the rudest of our men could not but praise a kind Provi- dence, who took such particular care of us.

" Having thus refreshed ourselves, we continued our voyage directly to the southern part of the lake, every day the country becoming finer and the climate more temperate. On the 16th of October we fell in with abundance of game. Our Indian hunter killed several deer and wild goats, and our men a great many big fat turkey-cocks, with which we regaled ourselves for several days. On the 1Stli we came to the farther end of the lake .* Here we landed, and our men were sent. out to prospect the locality, and found great quantities of ripe grapes, the fruit of which were as large as damask plums. We cut down the: trees to gather the grapes, out of which we made pretty good wine, which we put into gourds, used as flasks, and buried them in the sand to keep the contents from turning sour. Many of the trees here are loaded withi vines, which, if cultivated, would make as good wine as any in Europe. The fruit was all the more relishing to us, because we wanted bread."

Other travelers besides Hennepin, passing this locality at an early day, also mention the same fact. It would seem, therefore, that Lake Michigan had the same modifying influence upon, and equalized the temperature of, its eastern shore, rendering it as famous for its wild fruits and grapes, two hundred years ago, as it has since become noted for the abundance and perfection of its cultivated varieties.

" Our men discovered prints of men's feet. The men were ordered

* From the description given of the country, the time occupied, and forest growth, the voyagers must now be eastward of Michigan City, and where the lake shore trends more rapidly to the north.

SAVAGES PLUNDER LA SALLE.

to be upon guard and make no noise. In spite of this precaution, one of our men, finding a bear upon a tree, shot him dead and dragged him into camp. La Salle was very angry at this indiscretion, and, to avoid surprise, placed sentinels at the canoes, under which our effects had been put for protection against the rain. There was a hunting party of Fox Indians from the vicinity of Green Bay, about one hun- dred and twenty in number, encamped near to us, who, having heard the noise of the gun of the man who shot the bear, became alarmed, and sent out some of their men to discover who we were. These spies, creeping upon their bellies, and observing great silence, came in the night-time and stole the coat of La Salle's footman and some goods secreted under the canoes. The sentinel, hearing a noise, gave the alarm, and we all ran to our arms. On being discovered, and thinking our numbers were greater than we really were, they cried out, in the dark, that they were friends. We answered, friends did not visit at such unseasonable hours, and that their actions were more like those of robbers, who designed to plunder and kill us. Their headsman replied that they heard the noise of our gun, and, as they knew that none of the neighboring tribes possessed firearms, they supposed we were a war party of Iroquois, come with the design of murdering them ; but now that they learned we were Frenchmen from Canada, whom they loved as their own brethren, they would anxiously wait until daylight, so that they could smoke out of our calumet. This is a compliment among the savages, and the highest mark they can give of their affection.

" We appeared satisfied with their reasons, and gave leave to four of their old men, only, to come into our camp, telling them we would not permit a greater number, as their young men were much given to stealing, and that we would not suffer such indignities. Accordingly, four of their old men came among us; we entertained them until morning, when they departed. After they were gone, we found out about the robbery of the canoes, and La Salle, well knowing the genius of the savages, saw, if he allowed this affront to pass without resenting it, that we would be constantly exposed to a renewal of like indigni-

ties. Therefore, it was resolved to exact prompt satisfaction.

Salle, with four of his men, went out and captured two of the Indian hunters. One of the prisoners confessed the robbery, with the cir- cumstances connected with it. The thief was detained, and his comrade was released and sent to his band to tell their headsman that the cap- tive in custody would be put to death unless the stolen property were returned.

" The savages were greatly perplexed at La Salle's peremptory mes-

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

sage. They could not comply, for they had cut up the goods and coat and divided among themselves the pieces and the buttons ; they there- fore resolved to rescue their man by force. The next day, October 30, they advanced to attack us. The peninsula we were encainped on was separated from the forest where the savages lay by a little sandy plain, on which and near the wood were two or three eminences. La Salle determined to take possession of the most prominent of these elevations, and detached five of his men to occupy it, following him- self, at a short distance, with all of his force, every one having rolled their coats about the left arın, which was held up as a protection against the arrows of the savages. Only eight of the enemy had fire- arms. The savages were frightened at our advance, and their young men took behind the trees, but their captains stood their ground, while we moved forward and seized the knoll. I left the two other Francis- cans reading the usual prayers, and went about among the inen ex- horting them to their duty ; I had been in some battles and sieges in Europe, and was not afraid of these savages, and La Salle was highly pleased with my exhortations, and their influence upon his men. When I considered what might be the result of the quarrel, and how much more Christian-like it would be to prevent the effusion of blood, and end the difficulty in a friendly manner, I went toward the oldest savage, who, seeing me unarmed, supposed I came with designs of a mediator, and received me with civility. In the meantime one of our men observed that one of the savages had a piece of the stolen cloth wrapped about his head, and he went up to the savage and snatched the cloth away. This vigorous action so much terrified the savages that, although they were near six score against eleven, they presented me with the pipe of peace, which I received. M. La Salle gave his word that they might come to him in security. Two of their old men came- forward, and in a speech disapproved the conduct of their young men ; that they could not restore the goods taken, but that, having been cut to pieces, they could only return the articles which were not spoiled, and pay for the rest. The orators presented, with their speechies, some. garments made of beaver skins, to appease the wratlı of M. La Salle, who, frowning a little, informed them that while he designed to wrong- no one, lie did not intend others should affront or injure him ; but, inas- much as they did not approve what their young men had done, and were willing to make restitution for the same, he would accept their gifts and become their friend. The conditions were fully complied with, and peace happily concluded without farther hostility.

" The day was spent in dancing, feasting and speech-making. The. chief of the band had taken particular notice of the behavior of the

INDIAN SPEECH TO THE GRAY-COATS.

Franciscans. 'These gray-coats,'" said the chief of the Foxes, 'we value very much. They go barefooted as well as we. They scorn our beaver gowns, and decline all other presents. They do uot carry arms to kill us. They flatter and make much of our children, and give them knives and other toys without expecting any reward. Those of our tribe who have been to Canada tell us that Onnotio (so they call the Governor) loves them very much, and that the Fathers of the Gown have given up all to come and see us. Therefore, you who are captain over all these men, be pleased to leave with us one of these gray-coats, whom we will conduct to our village when we shall have killed what we design of the buffaloes. Thou art also master of these warriors ; remain with us, instead of going among the Illinois, who, already advised of your coming, are resolved to kill you and all of your soldiers. And how can you resist so powerful nation ?'

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History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources, Part 7

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903 Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co. Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1180