History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 5

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821

USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 5
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 5

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Another mission, or missionary station, was afterwards established nearly fifty miles farther up the river, on its eastern bank, near the southern limits of the present city of Niles. It is certain that this was commenced prior to 1721, for in that year it was visited by the French traveler Charlevoix, but beyond this nothing authentic is known of its commencement or continuance.t

į The writer has visited the University of Notre Dame, at South Bend, Ind., for the purpose of gaining information in reference to this ancient mission. The fathers in charge of the institution received him with the greatest courtesy and extended every facility, but they were unable to afford even the slightest information on the subject, though willing and anxious to do so. This being the case, it seems evident that the particularized accounts which have from time to time appeared in print in reference to this old mission are either purely imaginary, or at best are based on nothing more substantial than vague tradition.

In a history-of which the advanced sheets have very recently been published-of one of the Niles churches the statement is made that "The French Roman Catholic mission [at Niles] was started as early as 1675. Later, Claude Allouez, assisted by Father Dublou [proba- bly having reference to the Jesuit Dablon], reached Niles and removed the mission [1680] to the site of Johnson's brewery. In 1690 Allouez died, but the mission was maintained by Chaudon. In 1759 the French were attacked by the English, and being captured, were carried to Canada. The mission was not re-established for many years. The rude wooden cross on the hill above the dam has been generally sup- posed to mark the grave of a Father Joseph. It marks the grave of Father Allouez, the first white man dying in this vicinity." This would really be an important item in the history of the old mission if it could, by any possibility, be regarded as authentic. The partic- ularization as to dates and localities in this account, as well as the positiveness of its assertions, would seem to close the door against all doubts of its authenticity, if other statements made by this author were marked by general accuracy, but this, unfortunately, is not found to be the case. In another portion of his narrative occurs this remarkable passage: "The intrepid French Roman Catholic mis-

THE POTTAWATTAMIE OCCUPATION.

The report of Father Marest, in 1712, that the mission on the St. Joseph was in a flourishing condition, meant, of course, that the Pottawattamies were favorably inclined towards religious instruction, and ready and willing to profit by the teachings of the pious Jesuits. This character they sustained during all the residence of the missionaries among them. The priests seemed to have always found them more tractable and easily managed than were most of the tribes of the northwest, and for years after the Jesuit fathers left them, and even down to the time when the remnant of the

sionary, navigator, explorer, and discoverer of regions in this new world, Father Robert de la Salle, constructed at Fort Erie, then Fort Frontenac, or, as some assert, at Schlosser's Landing, just above Niagara Falls, on the American side, the first vessel that passed (Au- gust, 1679) Detroit. This was a schooner, the 'Griffin,' of sixty tons burden, and was lost, with all hands, in Lake Huron, Oct. 1, 1679." Here we have an even more minute account than he gives of the establishment and removal of the old mission, and of the burial-place of Father Allouez ; for we have the particulars, even to the exact date, of the loss of the little " Griffin," whose fate has remained a profound mystery for more than two centuries. Besides this we learn, for the first time, that the " Griffin" was built at Fort Frontenac, "just above Niagara Falls,"-all previous historians having located Fort Fronte- nac on the north shore of Lake Ontario, near its eastern end. But the most remarkable part of this statement is that portion in which allusion is made to " the intrepid French Roman Catholic missionary, Father Robert de La Salle"! ! This is the description given of a man who publicly denounced the Jesuits, between whom and himself there existed so cordial a hatred that Father Allouez, when laboring among the Illinois Indians in 1680, fled the country on hearing of the approach of his cnemy, " Father" La Salle, the " Catholic missionary." Probably, if this author were writing a history of France, he would make mention of the fact that the devout missionary, Father Napo- leon Bonaparte, labored among the Russians, and established missions at Moscow and Borodino in 1812.

In the traditions and published accounts which have reference to the old mission at Niles, mention has been made of a defensive work called " Fort Oola," which is represented as having been located at or near the same place, and as being still visible in a slight elevation of earth supposed to indicate the position of the ancient ramparts. Among the various statements that have been made in reference to this " Fort Oola" is one to the effect that this, as well as Fort St. Jo- seph, was captured by the Indians in the Pontiac war, but there is every reason to believe that this account is erroneous. In the official documents of that time, frequent reference is made to the fort at the mouth of the river, and its capture by the Pottawattamies, but never a word in reference to "Fort Oola" or any other fort in all this re- gion ; and in a map of the " Forts and settlements in America, A.D. 1763," shown by Parkman in his "Conspiracy of Pontiac," the only forts shown within the bounds of Michigan are those at Detroit, Michillimackinac, and St. Joseph. In 1760, when the French sur- rendered their American possessions to the English, the French commander-in-chief at Montreal sent orders to the commandant at Michillimackinac to deliver to the English officers the forts at Michil- limackinac, Green Bay, and St. Joseph, but mentioned no others ; and in the following year, when a detachment of the Royal Americans was sent to receive the surrender of Fort St. Joseph from the French, no such detachment was sent to occupy "Fort Oola."

The old mound (now nearly if not quite obliterated, but said to have been plainly visible when the first settlers came here) is de- scribed as circular in form, and some two or three feet high at that time. This fact is fatal to the theory that it was once a French fort, for that nation never constructed circular defenses,-that form being opposed to all principles of European engineering,-nor is there an instance known of their building an earthwork in the Indian coun- try. Far better protection against savage attacks was afforded by stockades than by earthen parapets, consequently they never con- structed the latter. The old mound may have been one of the pre- historic works so common in Ohio and other parts of the West, but whether it was such or not, the conclusion is unavoidable that "Fort Oola," as a French defensive work, is a myth.

tribe emigrated to the far West, there were a considerable number of them (including some of the chiefs) who held fast to the religion which the Romish missionaries had taught to their ancestors. In fact, there are yet living in Van Buren County, near the northeast corner of Berrien, a number of the descendants of the ancient Pottawattamies, who are nominally within the fold of the Catholic Church.

The Pottawattamies inherited the usual characteristics of the Indian, and especially of the Algonquin race. Neither in battle, or at the council fire, could they be con- sidered as the equals of the renowned and terrible Iroquois, but they were, like their allies and kindred, the Ottawas and Ojibwas, brave and hardy warriors, sanguinary, cruel, and implacable as enemies, generally treacherous, as were all other American Indians, but often steadfast and faithful friends, as they notably proved themselves to be towards the French. A very marked exhibition of that friendship was made in the spring of 1712, when the red warriors of the St. Joseph bravely aided the French garrison of Detroit in a dire extremity, and helped to save them from massacre.

In the year mentioned, early in the month of May, a large body of Outagamie (Fox) and Mascoutin Indians, enemies of the other Indian tribes of the lakes, and sup- posed to be in league with the Iroquois against the French, suddenly made their appearance before Fort Pontchartrain, in an attitude of unmistakable hostility, constructing a breastwork near the fort, and making other preparations for its assault. The commandant, Du Buisson, had only a force of twenty men for its defense. The camps of his Indian allies-Pottawattamies, Ottawas, and Wyandots- were near at hand, but their braves were then absent on a hunting expedition, and all he could do was to send run- ners to the distant hunting-grounds, to find them if possi- ble, and notify them of his danger, and then to await the onset of the savage besiegers, whose force outnumbered his more than twenty to one.

On the 13th of the month the enemy assaulted the fort. Their onslaught was most furious, and though the French repelled it gallantly, the commandant knew that without reinforcements he should be compelled to yield at last to the terrible odds against them. But suddenly, in the midst of the conflict, there came from the border of the surround- ing forest a sound, wild and terrible, but which was as welcome to Du Buisson and his men as were the shrill notes of the pibroch to the beleaguered ones within the walls of Lucknow. It was the mingled yell of the Pottawattamie, Wyandot, and Ottawa warriors, who had come from the hunting-grounds with all speed to their succor. The volleys from the Indian rescuers, and the fire from the fort, soon drove the besiegers into their own defenses, and relieved the garrison for the time; but the enemy was still uncon- quered and defiant. The French and their allies attacked in turn, but met a repulse which was followed by a sally from their antagonists. And so for many days the battle went on without decisive results ; but at last the Foxes and Mascoutins, realizing that they were nearly overpowered, asked for peace. This being denied them, they finally, in despair, and after nineteen days of fighting, fled at mid- night, during a furious storm, towards Lake St. Clair. Several miles from Detroit, they again constructed a rude

HISTORY OF BERRIEN AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES, MICHIGAN.

fortification ; but the French and allies pursued, bringing with them two small pieces of cannon, and after three days more of fighting, their enemies were utterly broken and put to flight, and the rout then became a massacre. The vengeance of the Indian victors, in accordance with savage custom, was visited alike upon warriors, squaws, and chil- dren. Eight hundred of these were said to have been slain, and so great was the havoc made by the infuriated allies of the French that the Fox nation was reported as being entirely destroyed .*

The work of butchery done by the savage allies on this occasion-of which the Pottawattamies undoubtedly per- formed their full share-proves that there was in them the same instinct of tiger-like ferocity which nearly all the In- dian tribes were wont to exhibit in the day of victory ; the same wolfish thirst for blood which was shown by the cop- per-colored fiends at Schenectady, Wyoming, and Michilli- mackinac. But the part which the Pottawattamies took in the rescue of the imperiled garrison of Fort Pontchartrain had the effect to strengthen the alliance between them and the French, and to draw closer the bond of friendship, which was never sundered or weakened through all the years of their intercourse with that nation.

Of the history of the Pottawattamies during the half-cen- tury which succeeded the massacre of the Foxes and Mas- coutins, scarcely anything is known. Doubtless they, with their confederates, the Ottawas and Ojibwas, were engaged in frequent wars with other tribes, and when not employed in hostilities or hunting they lounged about their squalid villages, drinking the brandy which the French traders gave them in exchange for their beaver-skins, boasting of their exploits and prowess in battle, and listlessly watching the squaws as they prosecuted their rude agriculture. When, in 1744, war broke out between the English and French nations, the Pottawattamies of course espoused the cause of the latter, and it appears that they gave material assistance to the fleur-de-lis, for there are found in the cor- respondence of the French officials at Montreal, in the year 1745, numerous references to this tribe as one of their Indian allies. One of these is to the effect that fifty " Poutewatamies," fifteen Puans, and ten Illinois warriors had arrived at Montreal to join the French forces; and another memorandum, dated August 22d, in the same year, mentions the arrival of " thirty-eight Outawois [ Ottawas], of Detroit, seventeen Sauterns, twenty-four Hurons, and fourteen Poutewatamies.". These Indian auxiliaries un- doubtedly moved with the numerous expeditions which,

# This statement, however, was untrue, as appears by the extract given below from a letter written by Father Marest to the Governor- General, dated Michillimackinac, June 22, 1712: "No doubt you have already learned the news of the recent attack on Detroit, by the Sacs, Foxes, and Mascoutins, by a canoe sent from that place. The Reverend Father Recollet, of Detroit, informs me that about eight hundred men, women, and children of the Foxes and Mascouting have been destroyed. Yet in this large number, I presume, he does not reckon forty warriors, sixty women, and more than a hundred chil- dren of the Mascoutins, who are reported to have been killed near the great river. . . . Although the number of the dead is very great, the Fox nation is not destroyed. There still remain a great number of them near the Bay ; some say there are two hundred warriors, be- sides those who have gone to the Iroquois."

during that war, were sent from Canada, to carry terror, slaughter, and desolation into the exposed settlements of New York and New England. That war lasted for four years, and during its continuance the Pottawattamies ap- pear, from the frequent mention made of them, to have been among the most active of the Indian nations who turned their arms against the enemies of France.

After the peace, which was concluded in 1748 at Aix-la- Chapelle, there came a period of about seven years, during which the Pottawattamies were compelled to return to their previous manner of life, and to depend solely for excitement on such opportunities as presented themselves for quarrels with other tribes. But to this period there succeeded another war,-the final one between the English and French in America,-and in this the Pottawattamies again took part with their ancient allies. Sargent; mentions them as taking part with the French against the army of Gen. Braddock on the Monongahela, on the fatal 9th of July, 1755, but this statement is not fully sustained by

other writers. It is certain, however, that a considerable force of them were summoned to the defense of Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in 1758, and that they were participators in the attack and massacre of the English battalion which, under command of Major Grant, had been sent forward by Gen. Forbes to reconnoitre in the vicinity of that French stronghold. Again, in 1759, the warriors of this tribe stood in the ranks of their Gallic friends in an attempt to relieve Fort Niagara, which was held by a small French garrison under command of D'Aubry, and besieged by the English and their Iroquois auxiliaries under Sir William Johnson. The latter was fiercely attacked by the relieving force, but the conflict was as brief as it was de- cisive. The French and Indians were utterly defeated, and pursued for many miles through the woods. Their com- mander was wounded and taken prisoner, and a large part of the whole force was either slain or captured. This is be- lieved to have been the last field on which the Pottawat- tamie braves ever raised the hatchet for France. The war was virtually ended by the fall of Quebec in September, 1759; Montreal fell in the following year, and by the treaty of peace which succeeded soon after England became possessor of all the territory east of the Mississippi which France had previously held in America. On the 29th of November, 1760, the Bourbon flag was lowered from the flag-staff of the fort at Detroit, and in its place arose the red cross of St. George.

The forts at St. Joseph, Michillimackinac, and Green Bay remained in possession of the French until the follow- ing year, for the reason that immediately after the surrender of Detroit the weather became so cold that it was impracti- cable for the English soldiers to pass Lake Huron. But early in August, 1761, Lieut. Leslie with three hundred men of his Majesty's Sixtieth Regiment (known as the " Royal Americans") reached Michillimackinac and took possession of the fort, and a few days afterwards a detach- ment of the same force proceeded to the St. Joseph River, and raised the British flag on the fort where the French standard had floated for half a century.

t History of Braddock's Expedition.

THE POTTAWATTAMIE OCCUPATION.

The English occupation wrought a great change in the condition and feelings of the Indians. In their intercourse with the French, the latter had always treated them with kindness and even with politeness, and had done all that was possible to secure their lasting friendship,-in which, as we have seen, they had been eminently successful. But with the new lords all this was reversed. The English officers were cold, supercilious, and severe with them, and even the soldiers treated them with undisguised aversion and a contempt which was in the last degree galling to the proud spirit of the chiefs and warriors. It had been the custom of the French to give them presents at stated in- tervals, but when the English came a different course was adopted, and the presents which the Indians expected were either withheld entirely or given with an exceedingly sparing hand. When the French soldiers left the posts the French traders accompanied them, and their places were in all instances filled by the English, and these, says Parkman, were often " ruffians of the coarsest stamp, who vied with each other in rapacity, violence, and profligacy. They cheated, cursed, and plundered the Indians, and out- raged their families ; offering, when compared with the French traders, who were under better regulations, a most unfavorable example of the character of their nation."

These and other causes produced in the minds of the Pottawattamies, as well as Indians of other tribes, the bit- terest hatred of the English domination, and made them willing and eager to enter the conspiracy which originated in the brain of the great Pontiac, principal chief of the Ottawas, and leader and head of the confederacy which was composed of his own nation, the Ojibwas, and the Pottawattamies .* The object of this chieftain was to band together the tribes of the Northwest, and by a preconcerted arrangement to attack all the English posts on the same day, massacre the garrisons, and destroy the forts, and thus clear the way for the return of the French ; for he " lent a greedy ear to the falsehoods of the Canadians, who assured him that the armies of King Louis were already advancing to recover Canada, and that the French and their Indian brethren, fighting side by side, would drive the red dogs back within their own narrow limits."

His first movement towards the execution of this plan was the sending out, in the autumn of 1762, of emissaries to the different nations, bearing belts of wampum, and in- viting them to join the league. The Pottawattamies yielded a willing and eager assent, for it was the chief leader of their confederacy who asked them to assist in the extermi- nation of the hated English. The time set for the striking of the blow was in the following May, but a grand Indian council was first to be held at the river Ecorces, not far away from Detroit. This was accordingly held on the 27th of April, 1763, on which occasion, after the unfolding and explanation of the plot by Pontiac, it was adopted by ac- clamation. Another gathering of the conspirators was held

a few days later in the council-house of the Pottawattamies (who, though the home of the tribe was in the St. Joseph valley, had, like other tribes, maintained an outlying village or camp near Detroit), and here the details of the plot were fully matured.

The plan, as regarded the fort at Detroit, was for the leader and sixty of the principal chiefs to demand a council with the commandant of the fort (Maj. Gladwyn), to which, they had no doubt, they would readily be admitted. Each was to wear his blanket wrapped closely about him, and under the blanket of each was to be carried a gun, the barrel of which had been shortened by filing off, for easier and more perfect concealment. During the progress of the council, at a preconcerted signal by the leader, the chiefs were to throw off the disguise, yell the war-whoop, and murder the English officers present. The host of warriors outside,-Pottawattamies, Ojibwas, Ottawas, and Wyan- dots,-who were to be congregated in apparent listlessness around the inclosure, were to await the signal of the whoop- ing and firing in the council-room, and upon hearing it, were to suddenly attack and massacre the unsuspecting gar- rison. The plot was well arranged, but, unfortunately for its success, the details were disclosed to the commandant by an Indian girl, who stood high in his favor,-an Ojibway maiden who lived in the village of the Pottawattamies. This is the tradition.

On the day which had been set apart for the execution of the infernal plot,-May 7th,-the leader with his at- tendant chiefs presented themselves at the entrance, de- manded a council, were promptly admitted within the stock- ade, and the gate closed behind them. But there they saw a sight very different from what they had expected. In- stead of a few careless soldiers loitering about the inclosure, they saw the entire garrison under arms and in line, the drummers ready to beat the charge, and the artillerists standing to their guns on the bastions; and on entering the council-room they found the commandant and his offi- cers awaiting them, each wearing sword and pistols at his side. They perceived that their intentions were known and their plans futile, and after a short interview, made up of hollow protestations of friendship on their part, they left the fort, bursting with chagrin and baffled rage. But the chief was determined not to abandon his design. On the following day he held another council at the Pottawat- tamie village, and it was then decided to attack the pali- sade, and if unable to carry it, to force its surrender by regular siege.

Accordingly, on the 10th of May the allied savages, to the number of more than eight hundred warriors, made a furious assault, which continued through the entire day, but was unsuccessful. From this time the place was besieged and frequent attacks were made, but all to no purpose, and at the end of about five months, upon receiving intelligence that a British force was on its way up the lake to relieve Detroit, Pontiac withdrew his remaining forces and retired discomfited to the wilderness. His plot, however, though it failed here, was successful with regard to the other remote garrisons, for all the other English posts west of Niagara and Fort Pitt had been destroyed by his allies, and Detroit alone remained unharmed.

* In the "Pontiac Manuscript," now in possession of the Historical Society of Michigan, and supposed to have been written by a French priest, the great Indian conspirator is mentioned as " Pondiac, great Chief of all the Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawattamies, and of all the nations of the lakes and rivers of the North,-a man proud, vin- dictive, warlike, and easily offended," etc.

HISTORY OF BERRIEN AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES, MICHIGAN.

During the first part of the siege the Pottawattamies were active and energetic participators. Their warriors, under lead of their principal chief, Ninave, were more nu- merous than those of the Wyandots, though less than those of their allies, the Ottawas and Ojibwas. To the Potta- wattamies was assigned the work of destroying the fort (St. Joseph) which was located in their own country; and it was a work which they performed in the most thorough and savage manner. The fort was at that time garrisoned by fourteen British soldiers, under command of Ensign Schlosser. Near by was the English trading-house, and the small settlement of Canadians, which had been com- menced here prior to 1712. The commandant and his garrison appear to have regarded themselves as secure in their isolated fortress, and to have been taken entirely by surprise when, on the 25th of May, the blow fell. Early in the morning of that day the officer was told that a nu- merous body of Pottawattamies had come in from Detroit, professedly on a visit to their people at St. Joseph, but he was to learn, all too soon, that their real mission was a far different one. Soon the Pottawattamie chief Wash- ashe made his appearance, accompanied by a few other Indians, having come to the fort, as he intimated, for the purpose of paying his respects and having a friendly talk with the English chief; but immediately afterwards one of the Canadian residents came to Schlosser with the informa- tion that the stockade was surrounded by a crowd of In- dians whose appearance and behavior indicated that they had come on no peaceful errand. The commander rushed from his quarters to the barracks, ordered the men to fall in instantly with their arms, and then returned to the parade-ground, where he found a great number of Indians and some Canadians. While endeavoring to persuade the latter to muster for his assistance against the savages, he heard the sound of the war-whoop from within the barracks. It was the signal for attack. Simultaneously with the first quaver of the terrible yell, the swarthy demons inside the inclosure sunk their tomahawks in the head of the sentinel at the gate, and made an entrance for the screeching horde on the outside. They rushed in, and in less than two min- utes-as Schlosser afterwards declared-their bloody work was done. Eleven of the soldiers were killed and scalped, and the remaining three, with the officer, were made pris- oners, securely bound, and marched to Detroit, where the Pottawattamie murderers succeeded in exchanging them with Maj. Gladwyn for some warriors who had been made prisoners by the English at the commencement of the siege.

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History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 5

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co. Number of Pages: 821

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821