A discourse : delivered at the first meeting of the Historical Society of Michigan, September 18, 1829, Part 2

Author: Cass, Lewis, 1782-1866. cn; Michigan. Historical Society (Founded 1828)
Publication date: 1830
Publisher: Detroit : Printed by G. L. Whitney
Number of Pages: 114


USA > Michigan > A discourse : delivered at the first meeting of the Historical Society of Michigan, September 18, 1829 > Part 2


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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In May 1712, they determined to destroy the town, and in conformity with the usual tactics of the Indians, to make their arrangements secretly, and to execute them suddenly. Under various pretences, they collected in the neighborhood in great numbers. Du Buisson was then the French commandant, and his garrison consisted of but twenty soldiers. The Ottawas, Wyan- dots, and Potawatamies, upon whose friendship and assistance he could rely, were absent from their villages,


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engaged in hunting. An Ottagamis, who was a Christian convert, disclosed to the cominander the plot to surprise him, before it was ripe for execution, and he took im- mediate measures to counteract it. Expresses were sent to call his allies to his assistance, and preparations were made for a vigorous defence. The Ottagamies, finding their object discovered, commenced the attack, but on the 13th of May the French were greeted with the sight of a powerful body of their friends, naked, painted, and prepared for battle. The gates of the Fort were immediately opened to them, and they entered the council house, where in a conference with Du Buisson, they professed their attachment to the French, and their determination to defend them. They were received and answered, as their professions and services well merited.


In the mean time, the Ottogamies had retreated to an entrenched camp they had previously formed, where Jefferson Avenue intersects the eastern boundary of the city. Here they were invested by the allied forces, and a block-house was erected, overlooking the defences of the Ottogamies, from which so severe a fire was kept up, that they could not procure water. Their provisions were soon consumed, and hunger and thirst reduced them to extremity. Despair, however, invigorated them, and becoming the assailants, they succeeded in gaining possession of a house, adjoining the Fort. They strength- ened this new position, and annoyed their adversaries. They were at length dislodged by the cannon, and driven back to their entrenchments.


At this time they made a pacific effort to terminate hostilities, and with this view a deputation was sent to Du Buisson. No confidence. however, being placed in


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their declarations, either by the French or Indians, their offer was rejected. When the deputation reported the result to the warriors, their indignation excited them to renewed and desperate efforts, and not less than three hundred arrows, with lighted matches attached to them, were discharged at the Fort. The houses were gene- rally thatched with straw, and several of them were burned. The others were preserved by covering them with wet skins.


This determined resistance almost discouraged the French commander. He seriously contemplated evac- uating his post, and retiring to Michillimackinac. He convened his allies, and disclosed his intention. They remonstrated against this measure, and promised to re- double their efforts. The war-song was again sung, and the parties repaired to their posts. The attack was so vigorous, that the Ottogamies were reduced to extrem- ity. Many of their bravest Chiefs were killed, and their Fort was filled with the dying and the dead. They again demanded a parley, and the negociations were renewed. While these were pending, on the nineteenth day of the siege, a tremendous storm arose, and during the night, they abandoned their Fort without discovery, and, with their women and children, fled to the peninsula which advances into Lake St. Clair. Here they were pursued, and being incautiously attacked, the allies were repulsed with considerable loss. Four days were occu- pied in efforts to carry this new position, and on the fifth they succeeded, by means of a field battery, erected


· by the French. The assailants entered the works in arms, and put to death almost all, who had been opposed to them. The women and children were spared, and divided as slaves among the confederated tribes. The


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Ottogamies lost more than a thousand warriors in this disastrous expedition.


The subsequent fate of this tribe is not unworthy of notice. They collected their scattered bands, and es- tablished themselves upon the Fox river. But the same restless and reckless disposition accompanied them .- Like the son of Hagar, their hand was against every man, and every man's hand was against them. They commanded the communication between the Lakes and the Mississippi, so that it could only be traversed by large bodies of armed men. Their war parties were sent out in all directions, and they kept the whole region in a continued state of alarm and danger. Their hostile attitude, so seriously menaced the French interest in that quarter, that an expedition was prepared and de- tached to subdue them. It was accompanied by the warriors of all the other tribes, who had been provoked to take signal vengeance by their fierce and troubled spirit.


The Ottogamies had selected a strong position upon the Fox river, since called Butte des Morts, or the hill of the dead, which they had fortified by three rows of palisades and a ditch. They here secured their women and children, and prepared for a vigorous defence .- Their entrenchment was so formidable, that De Louvig- ny, the French commander, declined an assault, and invested the place in form. By regular approaches, he gained a proper distance for mining their works, and was preparing to blow up one of the curtains, when they proposed a capitulation. Terms were eventually offered and accepted, and those, who survived the siege, were preserved and liberated. But the power of the tribe was broken, and their pride humbled. And since this period. no remarkable incident has occurred in their history.


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From 1720 to 1760, solitary facts, in the history of Detroit, may be here and there gleaned, but no continu- ous account can be given of its condition and progress. The materials are too scanty for unbroken narrative. It struggled with all the difficulties, incident to a remote and exposed position. The savages around, although not often in open hostility, were vindictive and treach- erous, and no one could tell, when or how, they might attack it. In 1749, considerable additions were made to the settlements upon the river, and emigrants were sent out at the expense of the government, supplied with farming utensils, provisions, and other means of support. The continued wars between France and England, which filled so large a portion of the eighteenth century, ex- tended their influence to this quarter, and a company of militia, detailed from the inhabitants, and commanded by an ancestor of one of our most respectable families, that of Campau, fought in the great battle, where Brad- dock was defeated and killed. But it was under the walls of Quebec, that the fate of this country was decided. Upon the plains of Abraham the victor and the van- quished poured out their lives together, displaying in death, as they had displayed in life, traits of magnanimity and heroism, worthy of the best days of chivalry. " Who flies ?" said the expiring Wolfe, to an exclamation of one of the mourning group around him. He was answered, " The enemy !" "Then" said he "I die happy,"-and he died. His fate, so picturesque and glorious, recalls the memory of Epaminondas and Gustavus, upon the plains of Mantinea and Lutzen. 'Victory crowned their standards, and death sealed their career. His rival in fame, and in all but fortune, Montcalm, nobly supported the honor of France, and fell too soon for his country,


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though too late for himself. But a few brief years af- terwards, and another noble and gallant leader attempted to plant the standard of freedom upon the rocky battle- ments of Quebec. He fell, where Wolfe and Montcalm had fallen before him, but the memory of Montgomery will be cherished, as long as the sacred cause, for which he fought and died.


In 1760, the British under the capitulation of Montreal, took possession of Detroit and the upper posts, and in 1763, these were finally ceded by France. At this period, the French had establishments at St. Joseph, at Green Bay, at Michillimackinac, at Detroit, at the Mau- mee, and Sandusky. As fortifications, most of these were slight and unimportant, intended rather as depots of trade, than as military establishments. The positions were selected with much judgment and knowledge of the country, and they yet command the great avenues of communication to the world of woods and waters beyond us. In succeeding however to the power, it was soon found, that the English had not succeeded to the interest and influence of the French. Whatever may have been the cause, the fact is certain, that there is in the French character, a peculiar adaptation to the habits and feelings of the Indians, and to this day, the period of French domination is the era of all that is happy in Indian reminiscence.


No sooner had the English obtained possession of the country, than a spirit of disaffection became visible, which extended to all the tribes in this region, and finally led to the conception and execution of a plan, equally able and daring, for their overthrow.


There was then upon the stage of action, one of those high and heroic men, who stamp their own characters


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upon the age, in which they live, and who appear destined to survive the lapse of time, like some proud and lofty column, which sces, crumbling around it, the temples of God, and the dwellings of man, and yet rests upon its pedestal, time worn, but time honored. This man was at the head of the Indian confederacy, and had acquired an influence over his countrymen, such as had never before been seen, and such, as we may not expect to see again. To form a just estimate of his character, we must judge him by the circumstances in which he was placed ; by the profound ignorance and barbarism of his people; by his own destitution of all education and information, and by the jealous, fierce, and intractable spirit of his compeers. When measured by this stand- ard, we shall find few of the men, whose names are familiar to us, more remarkable for all they purposed and achieved, than Pontiac. Were his race destined to endure, until the mists of antiquity could gather round his days and deeds, tradition would dwell upon his feats, as it has done in the old world, upon all, who, in the infancy of nations, have been prominent actors for evil or for good. Pontiac was an Ottawa, and had been a celebrated and successful warrior. His virtues seem to have been his own, and his vices, those of his age and nation. Major Rogers, who conducted to Detroit the first British detachment, was met upon his route by Pontiac and his warriors. He states, that the Chief sent to demand why he entered his country, and informed him that he stood in the path, and that the troops could not proceed, until their objects were satisfactorily ex- plained. At an interview between them, the British commander assured him, his object was not to claim the country, but to remove from it the French troops,


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who had prevented a friendly intercourse between the English and the Indians. Proper belts were interchan- ged, and the desired permission was given. Pontiac accompanied them, and by his authority prevented an attack, which was meditated, at the mouth of the river. Major Rogers states, that during the subsequent opera- tions of Pontiac, he issued a currency, which was re- ceived by the French settlers, and faithfully redeemed by him. These bills of credit were drawn upon bark, and represented the article which had been delivered to him, and were authenticated by the figure of an otter, the totem of his family. If Rogers has given a faithful narrative of his proceedings, his arrangements were combined with skill and judgment, and his designs pros- ecuted with great inflexibility of purpose, and a daring, yet cool and tempered, courage. We are no where told the causes of disaffection, which separated him from the British interest, and in fact, we have no regular history of the remarkable occurrences upon this frontier, which accompanied and followed his enterprise. A manuscript journal has been preserved, which records the more prominent facts, but it is a crude and ill digested memoir, dilating upon unimportant topics, and beneath criticism as a composition. Unfortunately too, it is mutilated, and the narrative terminates in the middle of the battle of Bloody-bridge. All the cotemporaneous relations, it has been recently possible to procure, have been recorded, and upon these, we must principally rely for a connected narrative of the most extraordinary effort made by the Indians, to take signal vengeance upon their oppressors, since the discovery of the continent.


Pontiac meditated a sudden and cotemporaneous at- tack upon all the British posts on these Lakes, and upon


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the Forts at Niagara, Presqu'Isle Le Bœuf, Venango, and Pittsburg. His design was to carry them by treach- ery, and to massacre their garrisons. He then intended to take possession of the country, and to oppose the introduction of any British force. He calculated, that these successes would give confidence to all the tribes, and unite them in a general confederacy.


His first object was to gain his own tribe, and the warriors, who generally attended him. Topics, to engage their attention and inflame their passions, could not be wanting. A belt was exhibited, which he pretended to have received from the King of France, urging him to drive the British from the country, and to open the paths for the return of the French. The British troops had not endeavoreder to conciliate the Indians, and mutual causes of complaint existed. Some of the Ottawas had been disgraced by blows. But above all, the British were intruders in the country, and would, ere long, con- quer the Indians, as they had conquered the French, and wrest from them their lands.


After these topics had been skillfully managed, a great council was convened at the River Aux Ecorces, when Pontiac addressed the Indians with equal eloquence and effect. He called to his aid their prevalent superstition, and related a dream, in which the Great Spirit had re- cently disclosed to a Delaware Indian the conduct he expected his red children to pursue. I shall not occupy your time by a recital of the various circumstances, at- tending the translation of this seer, from earth to heaven. They were distinctly narrated by Pontiac, and such is the effect of superstition upon the human mind, that they were perhaps related with as much good faith, as they were received. In the interview between the Great


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Spirit and his chosen minister to the Indians, minute instructions were given for their conduct in this, the peculiar crisis of their fate. They were directed to ab- stain from ardent spirits, and to cast from them the manufactures of the white man. To resume their bows and arrows, and the skins of the animals for clothing .- " And why," said the Great Spirit, indignantly to the Delaware, "why do you suffer these dogs in red cloth- ing to enter your country, and take the land I gave you ?" Drive them from it, and when you are in distress, I will help you !"


The speech of Pontiac, and the dream of the Dela- ware, produced a powerful effect upon the wild and reckless multitude, who eagerly listened to the tale of their wrongs, and the offer of revenge. A plan of ope- ration was concerted, and belts and speeches were sent to secure the co-operation of the Indians, along the whole line of the frontier.


In the month of May 1763, the preparatory arrange- ments having been completed, the Indians commenced a sudden and simultaneous attack upon each of the twelve British posts, extending from Niagara to Green Bay in the north-west, and to Pittsburg in the south-west. So well had their measures been taken, and so secretly guarded, that the storm burst upon the garrisons, before they had time to learn the intentions of their enemies ; much less to prepare for them. And a more signal proof cannot be given, of the deep and deadly feeling of the Indians, and of the influence exercised over them by Pontiac, than is furnished by the progress of this enter- prise. In a period of profound peace, and along a line of frontier extending a thousand miles, and secured upon all the important points by fortified posts, simultaneous


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attacks were made, without the slightest suspicion being excited on the part of the British. Nine of these posts were captured. The circumstances, attending the sur- prise of Michillimackinac, are better known than those, which led to the success of the Indians at any other place. The Fort was then upon the main land, near the northern point of the peninsula. The Ottawas, to whom the assault was committed, prepared for a great game of ball, to which the officers were invited. While enga- ged in play, one of the parties gradually inclined towards the Fort, and the other pressed after them. The ball was once or twice thrown over the pickets, and the Indians were suffered to enter and procure it. Almost all the garrison were present as spectators, and those upon duty were negligent and unprepared. Suddenly, the ball was again thrown into the Fort, and all the Indians rushed after it. The rest of the tale is soon told. The troops were butchered, and the Fort destroyed.


Niagara and Pittsburgh were regular fortifications. They were invested by the Iroquois, but the attempt to subdue them was unsuccessful. It does not fall within the task I have assigned to myself, to relate the circum- stances of their danger and relief. They were both too important to be neglected ; and Pittsburgh was saved by the expedition of Bouquet, who dispersed the besiegers at the point of the bayonet.


Upon the possession of Detroit, however, depended, in the opinion of the Indians, the ultimate issue of their project. Its capture would release the French inhabit- ants of the strait, from their temporary allegiance to the British, and would unite their line of operations by this connecting link. Its reduction, therefore, was underta- ken by Pontiac. in person.


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The half bastioned work, which has been recently demolished, was not at this period erected. That was projected and completed during our revolutionary war, when an attack was apprehended from the struggling colonies. And this apprehension was not without cause, for as early as 1776, Congress, in secret session, directed the plan of an expedition against Fort Detroit, and an estimate of the expense, to be prepared and submitted to them. And, on a subsequent day, this inquiry was extended to the necessary means for securing the naval ascendancy upon Lake Erie. The expedition, however, was not undertaken. The pressure of more immediate danger, probably withdrew the attention of Congress from so remote and doubtful an enterprise.


We may infer from the diary, which has been preserved, of the occurrences of the siege, and from the traditionary descriptions, which can be collected, that the town was enclosed by a single row of pickets, forming nearly the four sides of a square. That there were block-houses at the corners and over the gates, and that an open space, called the Chemin du Ronde, intervened between the houses and the pickets, forming a place of arms, encir- cling the town. The fortifications did not extend to the river, and during the siege, all the gates were closed, except the water gate, which opened towards the stream. Two armed vessels were anchored in front of the town. and formed an important portion of its defences. One of these was the Beaver. The name of the other, I have not been able to obtain. There were in the Fort two six pounders, one three pounder, and three mortars. But they were badly mounted, and rather calculated to terrify, than to annoy the Indians. Major Gladwyn had superseded Major Campbell. a few days before, in the


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command, and the garrison consisted of one hundred and twenty-two men, and eight officers. To these were added forty traders and engagées, who resided in the town. I cannot ascertain, that there was any immediate want of provisions or ammunition.


Such was the relative situation of the British and Indians, when Pontiac, having completed his arrange- ments, on the Sth of May, 1763, presented himself at the gates of the town, with a considerable body of his warriors, and requested a council with the commanding officer. His plan was well devised, and had it been secretly kept, must have been successful. The Indians had sawed off their rifles so short, as to conceal them under their blankets. One of our most intelligent French inhabitants, Col. Beaufait, has informed me, that his father, returning that day from the Fort, met Pontiac and his party, upon bloody bridge. The last warrior was his particular friend, and as he passed him, he threw aside his blanket, and exhibited the shortened rifle, inti- mating, at the same time, the project they had in view. The Indian Chief intended to meet the British comman- der in council, and at a given signal, which was to be the presentation of a belt of wampum in a particular manner, his attendants were to massacre all the officers, and rushing to the gates, to open them, and admit the warriors, who were to be ready on the outside, for immediate entrance. An indiscriminate slaughter was to follow, together with the demolition of the Fort, and the annihilation of the British power.


How Major Gladwyn acquired a knowledge of this atrocious scheme cannot now be ascertained. The ac- counts, which have been given of its disclosure, are at variance, and it is possible, that that officer may not have


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revealed the secret, from well founded apprehensions of the consequences to his friendly monitor. I am inclined to believe, that an Indian woman. named Catharine, who was frequently employed in making moccasins for the garrison, was the person, who communicated the import- ant information. It is said, that she had previously completed a number of pair for Major Gladwyn, and *had been so well rewarded, that her gratitude was exci- ted. On the evening preceding the day assigned by the Indians for the catastrophe, an elk skin was delivered to her, for the purpose of making some very fine moccasins. After receiving it, she lingered about the quarters of the commanding officer, as though unwilling to depart, and when urged to leave the Fort before the gates were closed, she gave some equivocal answer, and requested to be led to Major Gladwyn. She then disclosed the whole plan. It was fortunate that her warning was well received. Major Gladwyn employed the night in making the necessary preparations. His defences were strengthened, his arms and ammunition examined and arranged, and every man within the Fort, civil and mil- itary, was directed to be ready for instant and urgent service. The officers walked upon the ramparts during the night, not certain, but that the usual inconstancy of the Indians might precipitate their movements, and urge an immediate assault. All, however, was silent, except the songs and dances in the Indian camps, which alone broke upon the stillness of the night. They employed the time, as they usually do, upon the eve of any great enterprise, in singing and dancing, anticipating the full success of their scheme.


In the morning, Pontiac and his warriors sang their war song, danced their war dance, and repaired to the


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Fort. They were admitted without hesitation, and were conducted to the council house, where Major Gladwyn and his officers were prepared to receive them. They perceived at the gate, and as they passed through the streets, an unusual activity and movement among the troops. The garrison was under arms, the guards were doubled, and the officers were armed with swords and pistols. Pontiac inquired of the British commander, what was the cause of this unusual appearance. He was answered, that it was proper to keep the young men to their duty, lest they should become idle and ignorant. The business of the council then commenced, and Pontiac proceeded to address Major Gladwyn. His speech was bold and menacing, and his manner and gesticulations vehement, and they became still more so, as he approached the critical moment. When he was upon the point of presenting the belt to Major Gladwyn, and all was breathless expectation, the drums, at the door of the council house, suddenly rolled the charge, the guards levelled their pieces, and the British officers drew their swords from their scabbards. Pontiac was a brave man, constitutionally and habitually. He had fought in many a battle, and often led his warriors to victory .- But this unexpected and decisive proof, that his treachery was discovered and prevented, entirely disconcerted him. Tradition says he trembled. And at all events, he delivered his belt in the usual manner, and thus failed to give his party the concerted signal of attack. Major Gladwyn immediately approached the chief, and draw- ing aside his blanket, discovered the shortened rifle, and then, after stating his knowledge of the plan, and re- proaching him for his treachery, ordered him from the Fort. The Indians immediately retired, and as soon as




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