USA > Michigan > History of Michigan, civil and topographical, in a compendious form; with a view of the surrounding lakes > Part 1
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Gc 977.4 L27 12202
PUBLIC LIBRARY FORT WAYNE & ALLEN CO., IND.
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01071 6816
GENEALOGY 977.4 L27
HISTORY
OF
MICHIGAN,
CIVIL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL,
IN A COMPENDIOUS FORM ;
WITH A
VIEW OF THE SURROUNDING LAKES.
BY
JAMES H. LANMAN.
WITH A MAP.
NEW-YORK :
E. FRENCH, 146 NASSAU STREET. 1839.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1839, by J. H. LANMAN, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New-York.
12202
STEREOTYPED BY VINCENT L. DILL, 208 WILLIAM STREET.
8CATCHERD AND ADAMS, PRINTERS.
TO THE PEOPLE OF MICHIGAN,
WHOSE ENTERPRISE FIRST URGED THEM INTO THE WILDERNESS,
WHOSE ENERGIES
ARE ADVANCING THE PROGRESS OF THE STATE,
THIS WORK
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.
PREFACE.
THE tract of territory now embraced in the State of Michi- gan, derives its name probably from the Indian word Michi- sawgyegan, signifying a Great Lake. Its growing importance has induced me to undertake this work. Endeavoring to ex- hibit its history and its resources in a condensed form, I have aimed at accuracy in all its parts ; and to state nothing but that for which ample evidence may be produced. The ma- terials have been scattered around ; some in rough fragments half buried in the soil, some in sculptured masses, and others had not been hewn from the quarry. If it be thought that they are arranged into a well-proportioned fabric, I reap a full reward. Besides a large body of documentary matter and other sources from which facts have been derived, are the works of Hakluyt, Hennepin, La Hontan, Charlevoix, Henry, Car- ver, Roger, Mackenzie, Schoolcraft, and the valuable discour- ses which have been delivered by Lewis Cass, Henry R. Schoolcraft, Henry Whiting, and John Biddle before the His- torical Society of Michigan. I would also acknowledge my deepest obligation to several gentlemen of the Detroit bar, among whom are B. F. H. Witherell, A. D. Frazer, and Franklin Sawyer, for aiding my researches in the prosecution of the work ; and especially to Mr. Henry R. Schoolcraft, for his kind aid and advice when these were most required ; an assistance, springing not only from personal friendship, but from an interest in the north-west, whose history and re-
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PREFACE.
' sources his literary efforts have illustrated and adorned. I am also indebted to the State Librarian of Michigan and the Secretary of State, for facilitating my labors in their own re- spective departments.
Independently of the interest which has been for some time thickening around the Lake region of the country, from the progress of emigration into that quarter and its ex- traordinary advance, there are also other facts which aug- ment this interest. In the first place it has been excluded from the possession of the United States until the year 1796, and, by consequence, its history is foreign previous to that date. Held by the French crown until 1760, it was made a rallying point for its military and mercantile operations until this period, connected as they were with savages and the in- fluence of French institutions and the Catholic Church. It is, moreover, a new and comparatively unknown field. While in the more densely settled States of the east the pro- minent events of their growth have been carefully treasured › up and recorded, those of the north-west have been in a great measure neglected. This is doubtless owing to the fact, that the region which now comprises the American States in this quarter had no distinct and independent government un- til the year 1787. It was a howling wilderness, the border of a vast jurisdiction belonging to monarchies abroad ; inhabited by migratory traders, wandering hordes of savages, or tempo- rary armies encamped for the purposes of defence or conquest. But the time has now arrived when the facts should be em- bodied, and the causes and consequences which have borne upon that country clearly set forth.
There is a striking difference in the colonial character of the Atlantic States and those of the north-west. The colo- nial structure of the States of New England and New-York was of the English and Dutch cast ; while that of Michigan, previous to its conquest by England, was French. The iron independence, the upright, sober, and self-denying character of the founders of New England, chastening their appetites and passions to a severe form of religious doctrine, was un- like that of the class of Frenchmen, who were inspired with
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PREFACE.
that loyalty which characterized the reign of Louis XIV., the volatile, reckless, and amiable class who now inhabit the cottages of a great portion of the Canadas, and who we have recently seen striving to shake off the British power ; the class who had been accustomed to reverence the French monarchy in their own country, and were willing to obey their seigneurs in the American wilderness. Another diffe- rence between the two colonies consisted in their religion. While the Quaker and the Puritan adhered, with the utmost rigid firmness, to the forms of their own church, the region of the lakes was the stronghold ofthat gorgeous fabric, the Church of Rome ; and for more than a century it was the ranging ground of the most polished order of that church, the order of the Jesuits.
The history of Michigan exhibits three distinct and strong- ly marked epochs. The first may be properly denominated the Romantic, which extends to the year 1760, when its do- minion was transferred from France to Great Britain. This was the period when the first beams of civilization had scarce- ly penetrated its forests, and the paddles of the French Fur Trade swept the lakes, and the boat-songs of the traders awakened tribes as wild as the wolves which howl around their wigwams.
The second epoch is the Military. Commencing with the Pontiac war ; and, running down through the successive strug- gles of the British, the Indians, and the Americans, to obtain the dominion of the country, it ends with the victory of Com- modore Perry, the defeat of Proctor, and the death of Tecum- seh, the leader of the Anglo-savage Confederacy upon the banks of the Thames.
The third epoch is the enterprising, the hardy, the practi- cal, the mechanical, the working age of Michigan ; and it commences with the introduction of the public lands into market. It is the age of agriculture, commerce, and manu- factures ; of harbors, cities, canals, and rail-roads ; when the landscapes of the forest are meted out by the chain and com- pass of the surveyor ; when its lakes and streams are sounded and adjudged by their capacity to turn the wheel of a mill or
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PREFACE.
to float a ship; and when these facts are set down in the value of dollars and cents to the price current of the exchange. It is the age when a sturdy energy, acting under the impulse of our free government, is bounding forward with unprecedented vigor ; founding states, developing resources, overcoming the obstacles of nature by artificial means, and doing in years what was formerly the work of ages. This energy, acting upon our western States, cannot be viewed without amaze- ment ; its consequences no human foresight can fathom.
One cannot fail to be surprised at the too general want of information which prevails at the east regarding the region of the north-western lakes. Although the advance of emigration has tended somewhat to enlighten the publie mind on that sub- jeet, still it is even now believed by many to be a wilderness, filled in a great measure with savages, and destitute of the advanta- ges of civilization. Such expressions do not keep pace with the advance ofthe times. They would have been well founded twen- ty years ago ; for the great mass of the population and wealth has sprung up within that period, while the bulk of the Ame- rican people have been reposing along the Atlantic sea-board. A concise account of the progress of the State of Michigan will rectify such impressions, if any still remain.
Michigan attracts to itself interest from abroad on other grounds. A considerable portion of the domain is now held by non-resident owners, and, on account of the advance of the country, must be valuable to that elass of readers, as well as to those who seek a place for settlement. This work is also de- signed as a book of reference to the citizens of the State where the prominent facts relating to its progress and present condition may be found.
The jurisprudential history of Michigan is somewhat sin- gular in the various changes of the government from the " feu- dal system" of the Coutume de Paris, the French colo- nial law, to the forms of the law of England ; and thence through the successive forms of legislation prescribed by the ordinance of 1787 for the government of the old north-west- 'ern territory down to the establishment of the present State Government.
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PREFACE.
With the exception of the discourses to which allusion has been made, the present volume is the first attempt to exhibit, in a connected form, the history of Michigan. At points I have gone beyond the bounds of the State as now organized, when the facts appeared to have a bearing on the main object. The history of Michigan is traced back to the early history of Canada, because it was a province of that dominion, was peopled by the same stock, and subject to the same govern- ment under the French and English domination. In the pro- secution of the work I have, in a few instances, used the lan- guage of others ; and a portion of two articles which I had prepared, and which were inserted in the North American Re- view, has been here embodied, for the purpose of avoiding the labor which would be required in transcribing the parts relat- ing to their subjects.
No one can be more sensible than myself of the deficiency of the present volume. It has been sent in parcels to the press, and locked up in stereotype plates before I could have the opportunity to correct them as I could wish, being distant from the place of publication. A law of Michigan, subscrib- ing for the work, also limited the time of its delivery to the first of May, 1839. This plea is put in to abate the severity of criticism, which might be urged against any inaccuracies that may be discovered, either in point of fact or literary exe- cution. I have not sought to collect every incident which has occurred at the north-west, and the evidence to support it or oppose it, and to enter upon long hypothetical arguments for the purpose of establishing them; but it has been my de- sign to group those prominent circumstances which seem to have been founded on strong evidence, and which have con- trolled the destiny of the State, for the purpose of showing why Michigan is in its present condition, and to give a gene- ral sketch of its geographical features. In this labor I have occupied that portion of time which ought to have been, and will be hereafter, exclusively devoted to the labors of an ardu- ous profession.
Thirteen years ago the author had occasion to spend one year in what was then the territory of Michigan. Upon the
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PREFACE.
1
banks of the River Raisin and the Detroit River, which are now adorned with beautiful specimens of architecture, there were then only two small settlements, Monroe and Detroit; and near to these a few French farms lay scattered upon the streams of the frontier. The interior was a wilderness, then but little known. In these villages the Indian was nearly as often met as the white man. The mercantile houses in these settle- ments were often surrounded by the pack-horses of the sava- ges loaded with furs ; and he has journeyed through the forests towards Detroit with Canadian Frenchmen, who were then transporting them to that place, which was the princi- pal mart of the trade. In visiting the State of Michigan in 1837 the country could scarcely be recognized. A new class of population had spread itself out upon the soil, villages had begun to dot the wilderness from the banks of St. Clair to Lake Michigan, and, under the progress of industry, the State had sprung up in power and importance like a volcanic island from the sea.
Having been cast as an emigrant two hundred miles into the interior during the last year, it occurred to him that a new and rich field was opened around him to research ; and that, comparatively, little was known respecting the early condi- tion of the country by many who had been long residents. Measures were soon taken to collect the most interesting cir- cumstances connected with its early history. The matter soon grew upon his hands, and it was thought that the facts thus accumulated were worthy of publication. The liberal encouragement of the State furnished a further motive to that end. It will be seen that the facts embodied in relation to the later progress of the territory have been thrown together in a more rapid form, as there are no distinct epochs in the space of four or five years. Even the first newspaper in Michigan was issued as late as 1809. The recent history of the coun- try is, indeed, little more than the history of rapid emigration and settlement.
From the facts here embodied, it will be perceived that the operations of the European Governments in this country were actuated by a desire of dominion ; and that it was the
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PREFACE.
design of their rival projects to grasp the wealth and juris- diction of the soil. The country bordering the great lakes, which we call new, will be perceived to have been long known. We shall perceive that the winding courses of its rivers and its remotest forests have been explored, for mer- cantile and religious objects, from a distant period ; and that the rich furs which abounded in the wilderness of the north- west have for two centuries adorned the robes of the mon- archs of Europe, and contributed to the luxury of courts.
The particular character of the religious exertions of the Catholic missionaries exhibits prominently the influence of their religion. This remark is made without reference to sects or creeds. The spirit which was frequently exhibited by them, was not that which pines within iron bars and frowns on innocent enjoyment; not the religion which ex- hausts itself in forms and rubrics, in making professions and counting beads, a religion which showed itself in words ra- ther than in action. But it was a spirit which softened the character and controlled the conduct, circulating through the whole moral system as the blood through the veins of the human body. It was a religion which waved its snow-white banner-emblazoned with the star that glowed with clear brilliancy upon the plains of Judea-above the strife of sa- vage passions, and encountered hardships, trials, and even death itself, to benefit barbarians.
We shall see, in the contrast of the present condition of the north-west with that of former times, the influence of politi- cal freedom upon national growth. It shows that civil gov- ernment, by furnishing the means and motives for action, pushes forward the enterprises of communities ; and that na- tional improvement is advanced or checked, just in propor- tion to the spirit of the people, and the frame of government by which they are controlled.
Had more ample materials and greater leisure been afford- ed me, the work would have appeared in a more perfect form ; I should have endeavored, under such circumstances, to give each fact in chronological order, and to arrange it under separate years. This, however, was found to be impracticable,
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PREFACE.
because the country contained no records of annual events. I should, moreover, have given each incident its full propor- tion and coloring, and thus have thrown upon the canvas a symmetrical painting ; whereas I have now only drawn a group of crayon sketches, imperfect and unsatisfactory, I fear, to the great mass of readers. It is a consolation, how- ever, to know that these can be modified at a future time if the general plan of the work meets the public approbation.
Perhaps the spirit in which the subject is treated may be considered by the less excitable class of readers as too ardent. To that class I would remark, that the nature of the subject seems naturally to awaken much of zeal. The example of new States advancing in our western forests, not in steps but in bounds, presents an extraordinary scene, calculated to call forth whatever of enthusiasm the mere growth of a country can kindle. The people of the new States of the west, carry- ing from the east their habits, their laws, their institutions, and their principles, and erecting frames of government upon common models, are composed, for the most part, of mutual acquaintances and friends. It is therefore natural for each to regard the causes which have acted on the soil of the other, and the institutions which both may build up, with intense interest ; for their labors are the achievement of one common people, shedding glory on one common country. They are the offspring of free mind, secure in the reward of its exertion, which has rent the manacles of past ages, and which is now accomplishing its own bloodless victories on a field as wide and bounteous as the heart of man could wish. To trace the causes which have acted upon the State, and to exhibit its present condition, is, finally, the design of this work ; and whatever may be its errors in point of statement or taste, if it shall be thought that it adds any thing to the stock of State history, and throws any light upon the resources of the north- west, I shall be satisfied.
Detroit, Jan. 1st, 1839.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
General view of the French Colonization. Voyages of Jaques Cartier. Hoche- laga Roberval's voyage. Samuel Champlain's voyage. Jesuits sent to Canada. Company of New France. Death of Champlain. Religious institutions in Canada. Failure of the Company of New France. Rival claims of the English and French. Iroquois and Algonquins. Marquis d'Argenson appointed go- vernor. Condition of the colonies. Count de Frontenac. Discovery of the Mississippi. Discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi. Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Administration of Denonville. Iroquois prisoners sent in chains to the French galleys. Policy of Kondiaronk. Character of the colonists. The Jesuits. Canadian jurisprudence. Fur traders. Coureurs des Bois. Distribution of lands. Commerce and agriculture. Currency. Social condition of Canada. 22
CHAPTER III.
Colonization of Michigan. Michilimackinac founded. Fort St. Joseph. Fort erected on St. Joseph's River. Indian council held regarding the post at De- troit. Detroit founded. Early condition of the town. Indian allies of the French. First attack of Detroit by the Ottawas. Second attack of Detroit by the Foxes. Early travellers through the region of the lakes. The Baron La Hontan. Peter Francis Xavier de Charlevoix. 36
CHAPTER IV.
Character of the French colonists in Michigan. Merchants. Coureurs des Bois. Half-Breeds. The peasantry. Legal administration. Policy of the French Government. Indian mythology of the lakes. Land distribution. Colonization increased. Fur Trade on the lakes. 53
CHAPTER V.
French and English claims to the country. Rival discoveries. Wars between
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CONTENTS.
the two nations. Massacre of Schenectady. Projected conquest of Canada. Projected conquest of North America by the French. Treaty of Utrecht. Intrigue of Father Ralle. War renewed. Rival claims stated. Letter to Uncas. Campaign of 1759. Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Surrender of the country by the French to the English. Condition of Michigan at that pe- riod. . Page 68
CHAPTER VI.
General Amherst orders Major Rogers to take possession of Michigan. Rogers's Expedition. First appearance of Pontiac. Rogers travels around Lake Erie. Letter to Bellestre, the French commandant of Detroit. Rogers's speech to the hostile Indians. Reply of Bellestre. The Effigy. Prediction of the Indians verified. Rogers takes possession of Detroit. Treaty with the Indians. . 85
CHAPTER VII.
Social condition of Michigan after the conquest. Policy of Pontiac. Outbreak of the Pontiac War. Siege of Detroit. Battle of Bloody Bridge. Hostile demonstrations around Michilimackinac. Speech of Minavavana. Speech of a Chippewa chief to Henry the trader. Wawatam. Destruction of Michilimackinac. Arrival of Bradstreet. Indians dispersed. 98
CHAPTER VIII.
Condition of Michigan after the Pontiac war. The Hudson's Bay company. The North-west Company. The American Fur Company. Administration of the law by the English. Silver found near Lake Superior. Project for working the Copper mines of Lake Superior. Condition during the Ameri- can Revolution. Byrd's Expedition. Governor Hamilton's Expedition. In- dian relations. Netawatwees. Captain Pipe. White Eyes. German missionaries carried to ,Detroit. Indian Council. Speech of Captain Pipe. Missionaries acquitted. 126
CHAPTER IX.
Treaty of 1783. North-west territory organized. Arthur St. Clair appointed Go- vernor. Retention of the posts by the English. Confederation of the savages. Messages of the Hurons of Detroit. Division of Canada. Simcoe, McKee, Elliot, and Girty. Message from the Spanish settlements on the Mississippi. Campaign of Gen. Harmar. St. Clair's Defeat. Victory of General Wayne. View of settlements in Michigan. Project of Randall and Whitney. Posts of Mackinaw and Detroit relinquished. Condition of Michigan at that time.
CHAPTER X.
Condition of Michigan after the surrender of the posts. The territory of Michi- gan erected. Gen. Hull appointed Governor. Detroit destroyed by fire. Administration of the law. Indian confederation upon the lakes under Te- cumseh. Speech of Le Marquoit. Speech of Walk-in-the-Water, and other Wyandots. Memorial from Michigan to the General Government. Popula-
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CONTENTS.
tion in 1811. Hostility of the savages. Land office established. Indian trea- ties. Operations on the Wabash. Page 168
CHAPTER XI.
War declared between Great Britain and the United States. Representations of Governor Hull. Governor Hull appointed to the command of the western army. Marches over to Sandwich, and addresses the Canadians. Policy of Prevost. Surrender of Detroit. Indians under Tecumseh. Conduct of Go- vernor Hull. Expedition to the River Raisin. Capture of Mackinaw. Battle of the River Raisin. Gen. Harrison's Campaign. Naval Battle on Lake Erie. Harrison arrives at Malden. Marches to Detroit. Battle of the Thames. Attack of Mackinaw. Peace decrlaed. . : 186 ..
CHAPTER XII.
Colonel Cass appointed Governor of Michigan. Condition of Michigan at that time. Public lands brought into market. Population in 1820. Exploring expedition of the lakes. Modifications of the territorial Government. The New- York and Erie Canal. Mr. Porter appointed Governor. Controversy with Ohio. Mr. Mason elected Governor. State of Michigan erected. 219
CHAPTER XIII.
Face of the country. Rivers. Soil. Timbered land. Oak openings. Prairies. Burr-oak plains. Animals. Interior Lakes. Geological structure. Mine- rals. Cost of clearing lands. Roads. Climate. Beauty of the scenery. Features of the north-western part of the State. Aboriginal monuments and organic remains. Indian topographical terms. Internal Improvement. 249
CHAPTER XIV.
General view of the Lake. Coast of Michigan. Size of the Lakes. Fish. Shore of Lake Erie and the Detroit River. Detroit. Lake St. Clair. River St. Clair. Fort Gratiot. Lake Huron. Saginaw Bay. Mackinaw. Falls of St. Marie. Lake Superior. Green Bay. Lake Michigan. Length of the coast of Michigan.
CHAPTER XV.
County of Wayne. Monroe. Macomb. St. Clair. Lenawee. Hillsdale. Branch. St. Joseph. Cass. Calhoun. Jackson. Berrien. Van Buren. Kalamazoo. Washtenaw. Oakland. Livingston. Ingham. Eaton. Barry. Alleghan. La Peer. Genessee. Shiawassee. Clinton. Ionia. Kent. Sa- ginaw. Mackinaw. Chippewa. Production of the counties in 1837. 232
CHAPTER XVI.
Components of the population of Michigan. The character of the population. Amount of population in 1837. Character of the Indians. Their number. 295
CHAPTER XVII.
General features of the Lake country. Its commercial advantages. Ohio. In- diana. Michigan. Illinois. Wisconsin. National importance of the great
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CONTENTS.
lakes. Causes of the former slow growth of the country. Relative importance of Michigan. Future prospects of this region. Page 313
APPENDIX.
Note I. to page 5.
Memoir of the men and provisions necessary for the vessels which Francis I. sent into Canada. 331
Note II. to page 14.
Advance of the Iroquois upon the American shore of the lakes.
Note III. to page 34.
. 334
Massacres of the Jesuits by the Iroquois. Note IV. to page 40.
336
Copy of the first grant of land which was made in Detroit by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, Esq. Lord of Bouaget Mount desert, and Commandant for the King at Detroit, Pontchartrain. . 338
Note V. to page 61.
Petition of certain inhabitants of Detroit to prevent a trespass upon a mill. 338
Indian grant of 1771.
Note VI. to page 126. Note VII. to page 166.
339
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