USA > Illinois > Massac County > History of Massac County, Illinois with life sketches and portraits > Part 2
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It is stated by Dillon, in his history of Indiana, that the
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Jucherau, a Canadian officer, assisted by the Jesuit Mission- ary, Mermet, before the close of the year 1702, made an at- tempt to establish a post on the Ohio, near the mouth of that river, and some have erroneously claimed that this post was established at Vincennes. La Harpe, and after him, Charle- voix, fix the position of the post at, or near, the mouth of the Ohio (Ouabache), which discharges itself into the Mississippi river. But other authorities, notably Dr. John G. Shea, in his Jesuit Missions in America, give us such details as lead to the conclusion that this post was founded by Jucherau at the present site of "Fort Massac," as a trading post, and that Mermet, his Jesuit associate, also established along with the post, a branch mission which he called "Assumption," from which he taught or instructed the Southern Indians, living on the Cherokee (Tennessee) and Shawnee (Cumberland) rivers. In the early maps these rivers-last named-are dotted with the sites of Indian villages, especially Cherokees, Choctaws and Chickasaws. The post at Massac was a coigne of van- tage, easily accessible by three great waterways and their tributaries to the very persons they desired to trade with and bring over to the Catholic Christian faith.
It may be interesting, at this point, to mention the differ- ent names by which, in those early days, the Ohio river was known; and the reader will, no doubt, pardon the digression from the main subject. First we have the modern name, Ohio, then the French name La Belle Reviere, followed by the Indian names (Ohio is really an Indian word), Allegheny, Olig- hisipon, Ohiopehen, Ohiophaune, Ohiopeckhaune, meaning the beautiful river, very white stream, the very deep white river, the shining river, the white shining river, and the deep broken shining river. This river, so famous since the dawn of its history, drains through its northern and southern affluents 190,464 square miles of territory.
This post and mission, founded by Juchereau and Father Mermet, on the Ouabache (Ohio) was undoubtedly at the pres- ent site of old Fort Massac. The neighboring Indians (Mas- coutins) soon gathered about this post for the purpose of ex- changing their furs and peltry for such goods as the French
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traders had to offer, including iron tomahawks, knives and axes, thus arming the savages, but, no doubt unintentionally, for the future butcheries of the white settlers and of each other. Juchereau, it appears, did a more prosperous business than Father Mermet, and it is sad to relate that the Indians about this location were incorrigible, and failed to respond to the zealous and well meant instructions of the pious Father.
It seems that Southern Illinois, or the territory now known by that name, was a happy hunting ground for the In- dians; especially was it prolific in buffaloes, and their peltry furnished the most important article of barter in the exten- sive transactions between the Indians and the French traders.
La Harpe and Charlevoix tell us that the French in 1700, establishing a trading post, near the mouth of the Ohio, on the site of Fort Massac, in Massac county, Illinois, for the purpose of securing buffalo hides. The neighboring Mascou- tins were not long in finding this out, and an active trade soon began, which gathered other Indians from a greater distance, who sought the trading post for the purpose of barter. This collection of Indians could not escape the vigilance of the ever active Jesuit Father Mermet, who saw in it that special providence that permits not the fall of a sparrow unnoticed. The French traders desired their priest, and invited Father Mermet to visit the place and engage in mission work, which he readily did, it being in every way suited to his views, and in accord with his purposes and desires in visiting the wilds of North America and enduring the hardships of the wilder- ness. This co-operative union of the mission with the trad- ing post endured only for four or five years, or until about 1705, when it was broken up on account of a quarrel among the Indians themselves, in which, unfortunately, the French, in trying to keep the peace, became involved to the extent that their lives were endangered, and they fled for safety, leav- ing behind all their stores of trade and barter, together with thirteen thousand buffalo hides which they had collected for shipment to Canada and from thence to France.
This mission and trading post, brought to such a disas- trous termination in the manner described, was coeval with
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the mission and village of the Immaculate Conception at Kas- kaskia, of which Fathers Marest and Gravier were the found- ers, Father Mermet followed Juchereau down the Wabash to Massac, remained here, as above shown, until forced to leave, when he repaired to Kaskaskia and joined Father Marest, about 1707. It must be borne in mind that Massac-the mod- ern name is used to avoid tautology-was a trading post for about two years before it was a mission; so it was in 1707 that Mermet retired from Massac to Kaskaskia.
It thus appears as a matter of history that the first re- ligious discourse ever preached on the Ohio river was preached at old Fort Massac, about 1702, or one hundred and ninety- seven years ago, by the learned Mermet, and, he being the first preacher of any Christian church who discoursed the Gos- pel of Christ in this part of the present state of Illinois, it is natural that the reader should desire to know more about him. History informs us, that "in 1701, Father Marest was joined at Kaskaskia, by Father Jean Mermet, who had previously attempt- ed a mission among the Mascoutins on the lower Ohio (Massac) and had also labored at the great village of the Illinois (Pe- oria)." Mr. Bancroft, the historian, gives us the following in regard to this, the first of the pioneers of Massac county : "The gentle virtues and fervid eloquence of Mermet made him the soul of the Mission of Kaskaskia." (This was after he had been forced to retire from Massac.)
Father Mermet continued to labor at Kaskaskia until his death in 1718, and his remains now rest with the forefathers of that historic village.
There has been some dispute as to the location of this trading post and mission at Massac, owing to the confusion caused by the early French writers calling the lower Ohio river-from the mouth of the Wabash to the Mississippi, the Wabash. They knew nothing of the upper Ohio, and gave to that part of this river with which they were acquainted- the lower Ohio-the name of their favorite stream, the Wa- bash. Charlevoix says that the mission and trading post was "at the mouth of the Wabash which discharges itself into the Mississippi." La Harpe and Le Sueur, from personal knowl-
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edge tell us that a mission was formed among the Mascoutins on the lower Ohio (Massac) near the mouth of the Ohio. The latter gives an account of its origin, and the former narrates an account of its trade and final abandonment. Thus it will be seen by even the cursory student of history that the first white men to visit this region were French.
The settlements in Illinois, of which the settlement at Massac was a part, were prosperous. The French settlers im- bibed a love of the chase from the friendly Illinois Indians, and, in turn, taught the Indians how to cultivate wheat and make flour bread.
As early as 1712, the French began to intermarry with the friendly Illinois Indians, and gradually the relations between them became so attached that a Frenchman could travel any- where among the Indians with perfect safety. Father Marest, writing from Kaskaskia, towards the close of 1712, describes the Illinois Indians as "much less barbarous than the other Indians." The introduction of Christianity and the civilizing agency of "flour bread" had greatly improved these Indians, and lessened their natural ferocity of disposition.
During 1718 and 1719, the French settlements in this country were increased by emigration from Canada and from France by way of New Orleans, and M' de Boisbriant was com- missioned by the French government to build Fort Chartres, one of the best and most thoroughly equipped forts, when completed to be found in America. This fort was built for the use of the "Mississippi Company" then being formed by John Law and others, an association over which men and women went wild, and which, after it had ruined thousands and bankrupted France, surrendered its charter in 1732.
The French by this time had established 'missions," sup- ported by "forts," from Canada to New Orleans. Metal plates with fleurs de luce, the lilies of France stamped upon them, were sunk in the ground, along the rivers, at points where they were unable to leave garrisons, and carvings on trees were made all declaring that the French had taken posses- sion of the country. Within this century some of them have been discovered, along the Ohio river and elsewhere, sad mem-
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orials of the thirst for empire and dominion; of hopes, that like "Dead Sea Fruits," had allured only to fly from the grasp of the discoverers, and melt, to ashes ere they had been fairly in possession.
The English, our ancestors, had, in the meanwhile, been encroaching on the east, or Atlantic slopes. They were formid- able rivals of the French in trading with the Indians, if not in preaching to them. Wars were engendered between the rival nations, fierce, cruel and bloody, but the reader must search the history of the United States for information in regard to these wars.
May 10, 1763, the forces of France, from New Orleans to Detroit, were summoned and led by D' Artaguette, Governor of Ilinois, in an expedition against the Chickasaws. These Indians were the friends and allies of the English traders and by their constant interference with the French traders on the Mississippi, excited the latter to an attempt to punish them. The attack was made some time later, at or near the present city of Vicksburg, and, while, at first success, in two attacks, attended the French arms, in attacking a third and more for- midable position, the gallant D' Artaguette fell, dangerously wounded, and the Illinois Indians, seeing their trusted leader fall, instantly took to flight, leaving the brave Canadian Vin- cennes, and Father Senat, a Jesuit who attended the expedi- tion, prisoners, in the hands of the enemy. The Jesuit could have escaped, but refused to do so; and, without a thought for his personal safety, preferred to remain to offer the consola- tion of his religion to his dying commander. Devoted priest; even after the lapse of one hundred and thirty-three years, we offer to his memory the feeble tribute of a line.
The Chickasaws received the prisoners into their wigwams and feasted them bountifully for awhile, but on the 27th day of May, Bienville arrived from the South, and attempted to re- trieve the fortunes of his brother. He was too late, the In- dians instructed by the English traders, had fortified their position, and Bienville was driven back, and forced to an in- glorious retreat. The Indians then brought forth their cap- tives, and celebrated their victories in songs and dances
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around the stakes where the flames were slowly consuming their victims.
In 1739, a renewal of the war was attempted, and four thousand men were quartered at Fort Assumption, the pres- ent site of Memphis. This force was wasted by sickness until the summer of 1740, when the Chickasaws demanded, through messengers, peace with the French, which was gladly granted, and the troops withdrawn.
During the next ten years the settlers of Illinois enjoyed a decade of peace and prosperity. They lived on terms of social and religious friendship with the surrounding Indians.
In the summer of 1750, Vivier, a missionary writing from Fort Chartres says: "We have here whites, negroes and In- dians, to say nothing of cross breeds, there are five French vil- lages, and three villages of the natives, within a space of twen- ty-one leagues (63 miles), situated between the Mississippi and another river called the (Kaskaskia). In the five French vil- lages there are, perhaps, 1,100 whites, 300 blacks, and some 60 red slaves or savages. The three Illinois towns (Indians) do not contain more than 800 souls, all told. Most of the French till the soil; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs, and horses, and live like princes. Three times as much is produced as can be consumed; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New Orleans."
These early settlers were united in thought and heart and mind for two purposes-the common defense, and social inter- course. If the head of a family were sick, his field was not al- lowed to grow up in weeds, but was thoroughly cutivated for him, without a thought of charging him for it. At the close of the day the weary toiler was met at the door of his humble dwelling, and his return was welcomed by a conjugal kiss by the good wife, and after this, before he entered his abode, a like salutation was claimed by all the children and happily bestowed upon them.
But the recent conflict with the English soon brought evil days to these peaceful dwellers in Illinois. France claimed all the country watered by the Mississippi river and its tributaries-England claimed from the Atlantic to the
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Pacific ocean, on the ground that the discovery and posses- sion of the sea coast entitled her to the possession of the coun- try. War soon followed these rival clainis, but for a long time Illinois, by its remoteness, escaped the harassments of the conflict. In 1752, the French burnt down the first English trading post established on this side of the Alleglienies, and thus the war began, for the particulars of which we refer the reader, as before stated, to the pages of our country's history. Braddock was defeated in 1755, near Fort Du Quesne. Who does not remember the part our Washington took in that bat- tle? Washington, who had some experience, fighting the In- dians, asked ot Braddock, a British General, to be allowed to fight the Indians in their own way. The Indians were fight- ing for the French. Braddock's reply is familiar to most school boys:
"High times, young man; high times, by G-, when a young buckskin can teach a British general how to fight!"
The British general fell a victim to his own folly, but the young Virginian lived forty-four years longer, during which he founded for us our Republic.
One after another, the French forts fell into the hands of the English. Louisburg yielded to Boscawen, Frontenac was taken by Bradstreet, and, in 1758, Gen. Forbes began his march, with ten thousand men, from Carlisle, Pa., against Fort Du Quesne, now Pittsburg. The French and Indian gar- rison, not able to withstand so great a force, blew up the fort, the Indians dispersed, and the French having constructed a sufficient number of rafts, loaded all the munitions of war and stores that they could carry upon the rafts, and fell back, down the river, on these rafts, to place themselves in com- munication with the French line of Forts on the Mississippi. On their way towards New Orleans, they passed the mouths of the Shawnee (Cumberland) and Cherokee (Tennessee) rivers, and landed at the point now known as Fort Massac. They were well acquainted with this country, many of them, nota- bly St. Ange de Belle Rive and his followers, having gone from Illinois to Fort Du Quesne to help in the defense of that place. It was only 120 miles by land to Kaskaskia and but
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a little further to Fort Chartres, and they determined, upon. the elevated embankment that overlooked the month of the Cherokee river, ten miles above, and commanded a view of the "Beautiful river," eighteen miles below, to erect a fort, and make a final stand against their English foes. The stand was final and from the day-the sad day (to them)-when by order of their superiors, the French garrison at Massac retired to Fort Chartres, no French soldier has trod this classic shore.
Having determined to erect this fort, the work, as histor- ians relate, was speedily accomplished under the direction of a young engineer, M. Massac, who gave to the new fort his own name-a name which it has borne from 1758 to the pres- ent time Fort Massac. This point, as has been elsewhere observed, was as early as 1700 to 1705, a trading station under Juchereau, and a mission under Mermet. Hence grounds had been broken, the trees cleared away, and much work had been accomplished, rendering less ardnous the erection of the Fort by Colonel Massac. The origin of this name, in the lapse of time has become involved in traditions, which almost obscure the true history of the place. There is a story extant of a massacre of the garrison by Indians, who appeared on the Kentucky shore dressed in bearskins, thus beguiling the gar- rison into a bear hunt, when the Indian warriors, waiting un- til most of the soldiers had gone over the river, in their boats to kill the bears, and the rest, without arms, were watching the sport from the high bank, rushed upon them, took the fort, and massacred the garrison. This story forms a beautiful tradition, and it is unfortunate that it cannot be satisfactorily verified. It rests upon generally accepted tradition. Against this origin, appears the fact, that it scarcely could have been the French thus massacred, for the reason that the French and Indians were devoted allies and on but few occasions, was war waged between them. Especially is this true of the Illi- nois Indians, and the French. The only hostilities of conse- quence between the French and Indians was the conflict of ten or more years before, when the brave D' Artaguette lost his life in an attack upon the Chickasaw villages, in Missis- sippi. The stratagem of the "bear skins" reads like one of
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Pontiac's ruses. He was always the friend of the French, and it is certain that he never led a massacre against them.
As before stated, it seems almost incredible that the gar- rison of French at Fort Massac were massacred by the In- dians; for at the time of which we write, before and after- wards, the Indians, especially the Illinois Indians, were faith- ful and devoted friends of the French; yet as stated, authori- ties conflict greatly as to the true origin of the name.
Hall, in his "Sketches of the West," gives the story of the Indians "dressed in bears' skins," massacreing the French garrison.
Nicolet, in his report to congress, page 79, says: "It (the Fort) was not named Massac, or Massacre, but Marsiac," while it is stated by the author of "Boriquet's Expedition in 1764, that the fort was called "Massiac, or Assumption," and the time of its erection was fixed a year earlier-1757. This may be accounted for on the hypothesis that the French, foresee- ing the inevitable abandonment of Fort Du Quesne, had sent a small detachment to locate a fort at, or near the mouth of the Ohio, so as to place the garrison in communication with the line of forts on the Mississippi river; and with that rever- ence for Roman Catholic festivals for which the French of that day were remarkable, the new location, for want of a better name, was styled "Assumption"-a very common name for French outposts of those days, not to say a very appropri- ate one.
Colonel George Rogers Clark, when he landed his expe- dition against Kaskaskia, then held by the English, in the mouth of Massac Creek, in July, 1778, called it "Fort Massick, or Massacre." Clark was remarkable, even then, for his butchery of the "King's English."
Moses, in his history of Illinois, note at bottom of page 148, says this fort was "erected by Lieutenant Massac, in Oc- tober, 1758, after the evacuation of Fort Du Quesne by the French," and says that this was "the last fort built by the French in the Western country, and gives Monette's Valley of the Mississippi, Vol. I., p. 317 for authority. But Moses
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continues: "This statement and the name of such an officer has not been verified. It is more probable that the Fort was named after M. de Massiac, the French minister of Marine at this time.
In part we can verify the above. Several years ago, while under President Harrison, Whitelaw Reid was minister to France, the writer made inquiry of the French government, through him, as to the personal history of M. Massac, and learned that no record of this real or suppositious officer ex- isted in the military archives of Paris, although it is the uni- versal practice to keep such record. This only makes the matter more obscure without lessening our faith in the hero of the Fort, M. Massac. It seems impossible that the French War Department could have kept track of all its heroes and pioneer soldiers, inasmuch as many of them earned their titles far away from their native land, in the wilderness of the great West and Northwest.
As has been seen the French were forced to evacuate Fort Du Quesne, and, on the 24th of October, 1758, they bade a long farewell to the scene of their triumph over Gen. Brad- dock. Probably the first detachment of the retiring forces had already reached and begun Fort Massac on the old site of Mermet's and Juchereau's efforts. At all events, in pass- ing down the Ohio river, M. Aubry, the commander, made a halt thirty-six miles, as it was then estimated from the mouth of the Ohio, and on the site of this trading post, fortlet and mission, erected a fort, and left one hundred men to garrison it, and retired with the rest to Fort Chartres. The new fort was called Fort Massac, in compliment to M. Massac or Mar- siac, the officer who first commanded there, or who, as others state, laid it off and directed its construction. This was the last fort erected by the French on the Ohio, and it was oc- cupied by them until the evacuation of the country under the stipulations of the treaty of Paris of February 10th, 1763.
We learn the following particulars from Wallace's Illi- nois and Louisiana under the French:
"The early French history of Fort Massac dates back to the beginning of the last century (1700), but it is obscured by
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time and fiction. Dr. Lewis C. Beck, in his Gazetteer of Illi- nois and Missouri, page 114, describing the place, says: "A fort was first built here by the French when in possession of this country. The Indians, who were then at war with them, laid a curious strategem to take it, which answered their pur- pose. A number of them appeared in the day time on the opposite side of the river, each of whom was covered with a bear skin, and walked on all fours. Supposing them to be bears, a party of the French crossed the river in pursuit of them. The remainder of the troops left their quarters, and resorted to the bank of the river in front to observe the sport. In the meantime, a large body of warriors, who were concealed in the woods near by, came silently up behind the fort and entered it without opposition, and very few of the Frenchmen escaped the carnage. They afterwards built another fort on the grounds and called it Massac, or Massacre, in memory of the disastrous event. This romantic story is repeated by Judge Hall in his "Sketches of the West," and by other Western writers.
Ex-Governor Reynolds, in his "'Own Times," second edi- tion, page 16, writes more specifically of the fort, as follows: "Fort Massae was first established by the French about 1711, and was also a missionary station. It was only a small fort until the war commenced in 1755 between the English and the French. In 1756 (1758) the fort was enlarged and made a respectable fortress, considering the wilderness it was in. It was at this place that the Christian missionaries first instruct- ed the Southern Indians in the Gospel precepts, and it was here also that the French soldiers made a resolute stand against the enemy."
Fort Massac was subsequently sustained by the United States government as a military post, and a few families re- sided in the vicinity until after the war of 1812-14. During this latter period of its history it was sometimes called the "Old Cherokee Fort," from the river of that name, now known as the Tennessee. In fact, from its proximity to the mouth of that river and the Shawnee (Cumberland) both of which streams were dotted with Indian villages, it was a favored lo- cality for missionary work among the Indians.
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In 1855, Reynolds visited the place, which he thus de- scribes: "The outside walls were one hundred and thirty-five feet square, and at each angle strong bastions were erected, with earth between the wood; a large well was sunk in the fortress; and the whole appeared to have been strong and sub. stantial in its day. Three or four acres of graveled walks were made on the north of the fort, on which the soldiers pa. raded. These walks are made in exact angles and are beau- tifully graveled with pebbles from the river. The site is one of the most beautiful on La Belle Riviere, and commands a view that is charming."
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