History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 3

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

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When Joliet came and made known to him that he was going to find the great river, Mar- quette was greatly interested. And when Joliet told him that the governor and his superiors in the Society of Jesus had directed that he should accompany the expedition, he was delighted.

DISCOVER THE MISSISSIPPI.

The winter was spent at Mackinac getting everything ready. On May 17, 1673, they set out in two birch-bark canoes. Five men went with them as helpers and guides. They went up Green Bay and the Fox as Nicolet had done thirty- nine years before. They were kindly received by the Indians and two of them went along as guides. They crossed over the portage between the Fox and the Wisconsin. Here the Indian guides left them and they glided down the river alone. For one hundred and seventy-five miles they drifted on when at last on the 17th day of June, Marquette says "We entered happily the Great River with a joy that I cannot express."

DOWN THE "FATHER OF WATERS."

The Indians had told them of hostile Indians - along the great river, of monsters that would destroy their canoes and whirlpools that would suck them into the depths. It is not to be wondered at that they moved cautiously down the stream, cooking their simple meals on the bank in the evening, and at night anchoring their boats in the middle of the stream and sleeping in their canoes, while one man kept watch.

For eight days they glided down the wonderful river but saw not the sign of a human being. On the eighth day they saw foot prints on the left bank near the Des Moines River. Landing

they found a well beaten trail extending out into the prairie. Leaving the boats in charge of the men, Joliet and Marquette struck out boldly to find what kind of people lived here. They walked inland about six miles when they came to an Indian village. They remained hidden until they saw that some of the Indians were wearing French clothing. They concluded they must be friendly. Stepping out in plain view they called aloud. The Indians were very much excited at seeing white men. Four men came forward bear- ing aloft a peace pipe showing that they were friendly. Marquette inquired of what nation they were. They answered that they were Illi- nois and offered them the peace pipe. Inviting them to their village they treated them in the most respectful and hospitable manner. To in- dicate that he was sincere in what he said the chief stood naked in the door of his hut and welcomed them thus : "Oh, strangers, how beautiful is the sun when you come to visit us. Our whole village welcomes you and you shall enter all our wigwams in peace." He then led them into a large wigwam where all the warriors and the great men of the village were seated. When they entered the Indians said, "Well done, brothers, it is kind of you to visit us." Then they all smoked the calumet, passing it from one to another. This was their way of showing that they would be friends.

Now came an invitation from the chief of the Illinois Nation to come to his village. The whole village followed them, men, women and children much like the crowd that follows the wagons when a circus comes to town. When they arrived at the chief's village they were made very wel- come. To Marquette the chief said, "I thank thee, Black gown, for taking so much pains to come to visit us. Never has our river been so calm, nor so free from rocks, which your canoes have removed as they pass. Never has our tobacco had so fine a flavor, nor our corn ap- peared so beautiful as we behold it today."

They then sat down to a great feast prepared for them. First they had a bowl of mush boiled in grease. An Indian fed them with a spoon as we feed little children. Next came a platter of fish. An Indian carefully picked out the bones with his fingers, blowing the flesh to cool it, put it into the mouths of the white men. Next came boiled dog but this the white men could not eat. The feast ended with a dish of fat buffalo meat which was more to the white man's taste. Buffalo skins were spread on the ground and the travelers slept all night. In the morning the chief and six hundred Indians went with them to their canoes and bade them farewell.

...

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

DISCOVER THE ILLINOIS, MISSOURI AND OHIO RIVERS.

They floated down the river passed the mouth of the Illinois. Then they came to the high bluffs on which they saw painted in brilliant colors the picture of two monsters, the sight of which frightened them very much. Marquette says, "Each of these frightful figures had the face of a man, the horns of a deer, the beard of a tiger, the tail of a fish, so long that it passed around the head and between the legs." He thought the worshipers of these monsters needed to be taught the religion of Jesus, making him more desirous than ever to preach to the Indians.

Farther down the river they heard a great roar- ing of waters. They thought they were ap- proaching a rapids, but they found it was a great river coming in from the west, very muddy and carrying with it logs and trees, roots, trunks and branches. This was the Missouri. Mar- quette thought it must come from near the Gulf of California. They passed on and in a few days came to the mouth of the Ohio. Below this they were much frightened by Indians on the shore armed with guns, knives and hatchets. By holding up the peace pipe they were signaled to land. These Indians knew white men, the Eng- lish on the Atlantic coast, of whom they obtained their weapons. They told them they could reach the mouth of the river in ten days.

When they came to the mouth of the Arkansas they met some Indians who were disposed to kill them for the things which they had with them. But the chief overruled this. Here they learned that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, that the Indians below were warlike and very dangerous. They knew also that the Spaniards were at the lower part of the river and that they might be made prisoners by them. So they decided that since they had learned what they came to find out, that the river flowed into the Gulf, they might as well return home. It was on the 17th day of July, 1673, just one month after discovering the river that they started on their homeward journey. From Green Bay to the mouth of the Arkansas it is 2,549 miles.

RETURN TO GREEN BAY.

Going down stream was an easy matter, but to paddle against the strong current in the heat of summer was hard work. Exposed to the hot sun during the day and sleeping in the fogs and vapors of the river by night, bitten by poisonous mosquitoes, living on poor food, was too must for the gentle-hearted Father Mar- quette. His health began to break. They pad-

dled up the Mississippi as far as the mouth of the Illinois. They had learned from the Indians that by going up this stream they would come close to one that flowed into Lake Michigan. This was a much shorter route to Green Bay than the one by which they had come.

On the rise of ground between the present village of Utica and the river about a mile below the cliff now called Starved Rock, they came to a village of seventy-four lodges called Kas- kaskia, each lodge containing from one to four families. These were the Kaskaskies, a tribe of the Illinois Indians. They welcomed the white men and listened attentively to Father Mar- quette's preaching. For three days they stayed here making friends and becoming greatly be- loved by the Indians. They made Marquette promise to return and teach them. This he did gladly. One of the chiefs and a company of his young men went with them as guides and protectors. They reached the mouth of the Des Plaines. Ascending this tney came to the portage between that and the Chicago River which flowed into the lake. The great drainage canal has since been cut through this portage and the thriving city of Joliet is on the banks of the Des Plaines.

Near the end of September they reached Green Bay Mission, having been gone four months. Marquette's health was so broken that he re- mained, but the next spring Joliet went on to Canada to report his success. He had gotten almost in sight of Montreal when his boat was overturned by the rapids, two of his men were drowned, his journal and all his maps were lost.

One result of this accident is that all that we know of the expedition is what Marquette wrote. It is natural that he should speak of his own experiences and his own thoughts; for he expected his friend, Joliet, to do the same. Peo- ple are naturally inclined to give Marquette the greater honor. Yet we should remember that it was Joliet who took the responsibility and did the work.

MARQUETTE'S MISSION TO THE ILLINOIS.

Marquette remained at the mission at Green Bay all winter and most of the summer. In October he became much better and remember- ing his promise to the Illinois Indians at Kaskas- kia he set out up the lake toward the Chicago River. Two white men and several Indians went with him. Storms delayed them and they did not arrive at the river until winter was about to set in. Marquette was so feeble that he could go no farther. The Indians left him but the two white men remained and built a cabin on the

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

spot where Chicago now stands. Here Mar- quette spent a long winter in thought and prayer. They had plenty of food, for game was abundant and the hunters did all they could to make the sick man comfortable. Some Indians also came to visit him and ask for powder. He said to them, "Powder have I not. I have come to spread peace through the land and do not wish to see you at war."

When spring arrived he was much better and as soon as the ice was out of the river he set out for Kaskaskia. He was most cordially re- ceived by the Indians. They looked upon him as an angel from heaven. He was anxious to teach them, went from lodge to lodge explaining the Christian faith. At one time there were two thousand men, not counting the women and children that listened to his preaching.

He ministered to the sick, cheered those who were in trouble, administered the sacraments of the church to the dying, taught and baptized the children. The Indians greatly loved him and many claimed to be converted. This greatly encouraged the missionary, but his strength failed him and he knew his time had come. Wishing to die among his own people, he and two hunters started back to Canada by the way that they had come.

Thinking they could shorten the way to Mack- inac they crossed over to the east side of Lake Michigan. They got as far as the river now called Marquette in Michigan. Here where the city of Ludington now stands Marquette saw a small hill. He asked his companions to take him to the shore for there he wished to be buried. They carried him to the shore, built a fire for him and a little shelter over him. He was very grate- ful for all their kindnesses and thanked them. They also heard him thank God for having answered his prayer. His prayer from the time he was seventeen years old had been that he might become a missionary to the wild men of the western world and that he might die alone in the solitude of the forest. They left him alone to pray and went a little way into the woods so as not to disturb him. When they returned he was dead. Thus passed from earth the spirit of one of the gentlest, most courageous and un- selfish of men. No doubt in his humility he re- gretted that he had done so little ; for he counted as nothing everything except the salvation of men. The Indians to whom he preached were soon wiped off the earth. He died while yet a young man. But the time will never come that the people of Illinois and the neighboring states will read the story of his life and not be inspired to live better lives themselves.

Knowing how noble was the good Father Mar-

quette, we are not surprised that when the two companions went to Mackinac and told the sad story, a large company of Indians who knew and loved him before he started on his journey, went to his grave to take his body to be buried at the mission at Mackinac. They carefully washed his bones, placed them in a birch-bark casket, and the long procession of canoes went down the lake. Two hundred years after his statue was placed in the rotunda in the capitol at Washing- ton by the state of Wisconsin as one of the men the nation should honor most.

LA SALLE AND TONTI.

La Salle was the son of a wealthy merchant of France. He was well educated for it was thought that he would become a priest. But he was of a restless and daring disposition and had no taste for so quiet a calling. He had a brother who was a member of a company of priests at Mon- treal. They were wealthy and powerful, own- ing all the lands for many miles about Montreal and the government was almost entirely in their hands. These called themselves Sulpicians and were known as Gray Friars, while another so- ciety, known as Jesuits, were known as Black Friars. You will recall that LeCaron wore a gray cloak, while Marquette wore a black one. The former was a Sulpician while the latter was a Jesuit.

Both of these societies of the Catholic church were engaged in missionary work among the In- dians. They were however rivals and not al- ways as friendly as we expect of Christian brotherhoods. Neither wanted the other to tres- pass on its territory. When the Jesuits had be- gun a mission among certain Indians, they ex- pected the Sulpicians to go elsewhere.

When the capable young man La Salle came to them the Sulpicians thought they had a man who would be able to help them very much. Peace had been made with the Iroquois and the Sul- pician brotherhood desired to establish forts and trading posts along the St. Lawrence. They gave young La Salle a large tract of land above Mon- treal on the river. He was to get settlers to live there, to build a fort and trading post, and clear the land. In one year he had quite a village and ten or twelve acres cleared. So strong-willed a man as La Salle makes enemies and soon he had plenty. As long as he lived they gave him enough to do to keep him awake. He talked a great deal and in a boastful way about finding a way to China. The enemies nicknamed his plantation La Chine, that is, China. The rapids in the front of his land are still called Lechine rapids.

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

DISCOVERY OF TIIE OHIO.

La Salle's head was full of notions about dis- coveries and adventure. He took every oppor- tunity to learn from the Indians. He studied their languages and characters and found out all they knew about the country. The Iroquois who came to his place to trade told him that by going a little way to the south from the shores of Lake Ontario he would find rivers that flowed into a large river which they called Ohio which means, The Beautiful River. From what they said he felt sure that this flowed into the Gulf of California and by this way he could reach China.

La Salle lost no time but went to work at once to make this great discovery. He sold his land and everything that he had and bought four ca- noes and supplies for a long voyage. He hired

fourteen men as canoe men and guides. Two Gray Friars were ready to go with him, for they wished to establish a mission in territory not oc- cupied by the Jesuits. On July 6, 1669, they started up the river and along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, passed the mouth of the Niagara River to the western end of Ontario. Here they met Joliet, who was returning from his discovery of Lake Erie. From Joliet he learned much about the country which he did not know before.

At the Indian village at which they met there was a captive Shawnee Indian who was to be tor-

tured.

La Salle secured his release.

The In-

dian was very grateful and was ready to become La Salle's guide. It is thought that he followed the southern shore of Lake Erie to a point near Chautauqua Lake. Carrying their canoes to this lake they floated down into the Ohio. They went as far as the falls near where Louisville, Kentucky, now stands. His men deserted him and he had to find his way back the best he was able. But he was not to be discouraged even by this.

FIRST SHIP ON THE GREAT LAKES.

When Count Frontenac learned of Lake Erie from Joliet he set about to take advantage of the newly discovered shorter route to the west. He had also made a treaty of peace with the Iroquois and decided to build a fort and trading post in their country. In this way he could get their furs and also be better prepared to fight them if they broke the treaty. He built his fort at the head of the St. Lawrence where Kingston now stands. The Indians did not like it, yet Frontenac showed them what a great advantage it would be to them to be able to barter their furs for anything that they wanted, near at home.

Then he made it plain to them that if they did not behave themselves he could punish them severely. They believed he was a man of his word and be- came friendly. The governor left La Salle in charge of his fort.

In July of 1674 Joliet returned from the dis- covery of the Mississippi River and stopping at the fort he told La Salle all about what he had seen. La Salle at once saw that he was wrong in supposing that the Ohio flows into the Gulf of California, that it must flow into the Mississippi. But the thought came to him, "Why not build a ship, load it with furs bought from the Indians along the way, sail down the Mississippi to the ocean and direct to France ?"

Visions of empire opened up before him. The French might settle the country, get control of the fur trade and shut out the English and keep them east of the Alleghany Mountains. France would become the owner of the new world !

Fired by this great thought he went to France to see the King. He stated his case so well and made so good an impression on the King that he gave him more than he asked. His name up to this time had been plain Robert Cavelier ; now he was Sieur de la Salle. That is, he had been an ordinary citizen. Now he was one of the no- bility. The King gave him the land about the fort extending twelve miles along the lake and gave him control of the fur trade in that part of the country. This made him a lord and gave him a chance to get great wealth.

La Salle's heart beat high with hope. He could now do the great things of which he had dreamed. He built a stone fort in place of the wooden one and named it Fort Frontenac in honor of his friend, the governor. But his pros- perity had not made him more agreeable. "He was proud, haughty and overbearing, talked very little and never asked any one's advice. Many became jealous of him and hated him. But he kept right on, listening to no one and having his own way in everything.

All the time he was on the lookout for any in- formation from the west. He learned from the Indians, the woods rangers, and fur traders, that one could go up the Maumee River at the south- west end of Lake Erie to the headwaters of the Wabash, down that to the Mississippi ; that one could go to a river now called the St. Joseph at the southeast corner of Lake Michigan, up that to the headwaters of the Kankakee and reach the Mississippi.

He went again to France to see the King. His plans pleased the King so well that he gave him the right to build forts all through the Mis- sissippi valley, be the governor and have exclu- sive control of the fur trade.

DEER PARK.

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

Returning to Canada in the summer of 1678 he brought with him ship builders and mechanics and everything necessary to build the ship which he meant to launch on Lake Erie. With a great deal of labor and many hardships they arrived at the Niagara River from Fort Frontenac. They discovered the great falls of which the French had heard from the Indians for sixty years, but never dared to approach because of the Iroquois. It was a most difficult task to carry all their ma- terials and tools past these falls; but at last it was accomplished and the ship was begun. The place where it was built is about six miles above the falls where Cayuga Creek flows into the Niagara. They called her the Griffin.

TONTI AND HENNEPIN.

Two of the most important men who were with La Salle were Henri Tonti and Father Hennepin. Tonti was an Italian soldier who had served hon- orable in the French army and was introduced to La Salle when he was in France to get aid from the King. He was a brave soldier, a true friend and a man of great courage and good sense. One of his hands had been shot off and a copper one took its place. The Indians called him "he of the iron hand." They greatly feared and re- spected him. Without Tonti La Salle could not have accomplished what he did. He could rely upon him as he could upon himself and often left him in charge of most important work when he had to be absent.

Father Hennepin was a Gray Friar. He was restless, fearless and delighted in adventure. He was better fitted to be a woods ranger than a priest. He took more pleasure in exploration and adventure than in his priestly offices. He was very useful to La Salle and Tonti and un- der their direction with two other Frenchmen ex- plored the Mississippi from the mouth of the Illi- nois to the Falls of St. Anthony, near where the city of St. Paul now stands. What we know of La Salle's work is mostly from the journals kept by Tonti and Hennepin.

LOSS OF THE GRIFFIN.

La Salle sent fur traders ahead to buy a cargo to be taken on board when he arrived. He had a stormy voyage and almost lost his ship, but arrived safely at the head of Green Bay. Here he loaded the Griffin with furs and sent her back to Frontenac to unload and return to the St. Joseph River as soon as possible. La Salle had no right to buy furs at Green Bay, for the King had given that privilege to the merchants at Montreal. But he could not resist the tempta-

tion; for he wished to convince the King that he had not over stated the wealth of the country he meant to explore and occupy.

The Griffin was never heard of again. She may have gone down in a storm or been sunk by the Indians who were angry because she was built. La Salle believed she was wrecked by her crew that they might steal what was on board. La Salle had so conducted himself that his enemies increased in number and their bitterness became intense.

FORT MIAMIS.

The Griffin sailed for Frontenac the middle of September. La Salle with fourteen other men started up the west shore of Lake Michigan. Tonti with another party crossed the lake to the eastern shore to explore that and meet La Salle at the St. Joseph River. They had a stormy time of it. Often they had to land and wait for the storms to subside. Their food gave out and more was hard to find. Sometimes they were on the point of starving, having only a handful of corn apiece to supply them for a day. They were very happy one day when they found the carcass of a deer which the wolves had killed: They drove the buzzards away and ate it them- selves. Sometimes the Indians helped them. At other times they were hostile.

On the first day of November La Salle arrived at the mouth of the St. Joseph. But Tonti had not yet come. The men grew restless and threat- ened to desert. To keep them employed La Salle began to build a fort. For three weeks they worked at this when Tonti and his men arrived. On the third day of December they were ready to leave Fort Miamis. They left ten men in charge of the fort to wait until the Griffin arrived. They went up the St. Joseph to the place where South Bend now stands and carried their boats and goods five miles to the headwaters of the Kan- kakee. They had difficulty in finding the portage. La Salle himself wandered away from the others and was lost in the woods. A heavy snowstorm came up and he tramped about until three o'clock in the morning. Then he saw a light in the dis- tance. He called, thinking it must be his party. But receiving no answer he went up to the fire and found a bed of grass where some Indian had lain probably waiting to kill his enemies. La Salle called to him in all the Indian languages which he knew, but no one answered. So he lay down in the Indian's bed and slept till morning.

The winter had set in. The river was full of ice and snow. The weather was bitter cold. They had gone without food for several days when they found a buffalo fast in the mud.

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

They killed him and had enough to last them until they got to Kaskaskia, near Starved Rock. They found the village deserted. The Indians had gone to their hunting grounds farther south. The red men stored their corn in caves which they dug in gravel beds, ready for food and seed when they returned in the spring.

It was a wrong not to be forgiven for anyone to take this stored corn. Indians never molested the corn belonging to others, for it meant war. But La Salle's party was out of food and had to take some of it. They took about fifty bushels and left signs that they would pay for it. They then went as far as the foot of Peoria Lake. Here they found the Kaskaskia Indians.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 3

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855 Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286