USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 5
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In the meantime, a strong reinforcement under command of Captain Dalzell, was on the way from Niagara to aid the fort, and with him a detach- ment of rangers under the famous Major Robert Rogers. On his arrival, Captain Dalzell and Major Gladwin held a conference, in which the Major was reluctantly persuaded by the impetuous Dalzell to try to surprise the Indians by a night sally. Pontiac was a past-master, however, in strategems. At a small stream, called then Parent's creek, but since that fatal night named "Bloody Run," the two hundred and fifty men of the fort's detach- ment were ambushed by Pontiac with a band of five hundred chosen war- riors, and all but annihilated. Among the slain was Captain Dalzell. The immediate result was to inspirit the Indians, who were joined by large rein- forcements. Elsewhere on the frontier a greater degree of success had attended the plans of Pontiac. Fort St. Joseph, on the St. Joseph river, had been taken in May. Mackinac had fallen an easy prey to the northern.
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Ojibways in June. The forts at Green bay, on the Maumee river, on the Wabash and at Presque Isle, had been captured. The Indians, under the genius of Pontiac, had concerted their actions in a well-nigh universal crusade against the English, which bade fair to be successful. They yet lacked complete success at Forts Pitt, Niagara and Detroit.
A gleam of hope shot through the darkness when the gallant Col. Henry Bouquet, defeating the Indians in a desperate and bloody battle, relieved Fort Pitt. The Indians about Detroit heard of great preparations to send a strong force against them; notwithstanding their successes, they now began to waver and to despair of taking the fort. The Indians were glad for a truce, and under its cover Major Gladwin laid in a supply of provisions for the winter. Only the Ottawas continued to prosecute the siege, with petty skirmishing. The final blow to the hopes of Pontiac was the receipt of advice from M. Neyon, the French commander at Fort Chartres, in the Illinois country, that the Indians had better abandon the war and go home. Pontiac had cherished the forlorn hope that the French would yet recover the country from the English. In great rage he now withdrew to the Maumee, determined on a renewal of hostilities in the spring. But in the spring a great council was held by Sir William Johnson at Niagara, attended by an immense concourse of Indians from all the western country. A treaty was concluded, presents were lavishly distributed, especially among the leaders, and the war virtually ended. On July 23, 1766, Pontiac met Sir William Johnson at Oswego and signed a definite treaty of peace, along with deputies from most of the western nations then living east of the Mississippi. A few years later, in 1769, the great Ottawa chieftain was treacherously assassinated by a member of one of the tribes of the Illinois Indians.
ACTIVITY IN THE FUR TRADE.
After the failure of Pontiac's schemes, until the War of 1812, things were comparatively quiet on the Michigan frontier. The English sought to conciliate both the Indians and the French. The fur-trade was prosecuted with new vigor. The Hudson's Bay Company, formed in 1700, now extended its sway towards the Great Lakes. Mackinac island became a center of this trade on the upper lakes, the fort having been removed thither from the south side of the straits during the Revolution. Mackinac was one of the main posts of the Northwest Company, where the peltries were
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received which had been collected from the forests and streams of the north, - and were packed and shipped to England by way of Montreal. The story of the fur trade on the Michigan frontier in this period is the story of bitter rivalry between these companies for supremacy, which continued even after the Northwest Company transferred a large part of its Michigan trade to the American Fur Company, organized by John Jacob Astor. The Mich- igan fur trade, centering at Mackinac and Detroit, was destined to thrive under Astor's company for many years after the Great Lakes region had passed forever from the control of Great Britain. The historian, Lanman, has given a picturesque view of scenes at Mackinac as they were just before the War of 1812:
"Even as late as 1812," he says, "the island of Mackinac, the most romantic point on the lakes, which rises from the watery realm like an altar of a river god, was the central mart of the traffic, as old Michilimack- inac had been for a century before. At certain seasons of the year it was made a rendezvous for the numerous classes connected with the traffic. At those seasons, the transparent waters around this beautiful island were studded with the canoes of the Indians and traders. Here might be found the merry Canadian voyageur, with his muscular figure strengthened by the hardships of the wilderness, bartering for trinkets at the various booths scattered along its banks. The Indian warrior, bedecked with the most fan- tastic ornaments, embroidered moccasins and silver armlets; the North- westers, armed with dirks-the iron men who had grappled with the grizzly bear and endured the hard fare of the north; and the Southwester also put in his claims to deference. It was a trade abounding in the severest hard- ships and the most hazardous enterprises. This was the most glorious epoch of mercantile enterprise in the forest of the Northwest, when its half-savage dominion stretched upon the lakes for a hundred years over regions large enough for empires, making barbarism contribute to civilization."
During the Revolution, Detroit was the military headquarters of the British in Michigan. Sir Henry Hamilton was in command there from 1774 to 1779, when he was captured at Vincennes by George Rogers Clark. In 1780, Mackinac island was fortified, and strongly garrisoned, through fear that Detroit might now be captured by the American patriots and the Indians be tempted to repeat the tragedy that befell Old Mackinac in 1763. The fort, built on a high cliff that overlooked the village, occupied a position which protected it from surprise and assault by the Indians. Reminiscent of the glory of this historic island region, Mrs. Stewart writes :
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"Like Detroit, Michilimackinac has been the theater of many a bloody tragedy. Its possession has been disputed by powerful nations, and its internal peace has continually been made the sport of Indian treachery and of the white man's duplicity. Today, chanting Te Deums beneath the ample folds of the fleur-de-lis, tomorrow yielding to the power of the British lion, and, a few years later, listening to the exultant screams of the American eagle, as the stars and stripes float over the battlements on the 'isle of the dancing spirits.' As a military post in time of war, the possession of Michilimackinac is invaluable; but as a commercial mart, now that the aboriginal tribes have passed away, the location is of little consequence.
"In these later days, to the invalid and the pleasure-seeker, the salubrity of the pure atmosphere, the beauty of the scenery, the historical reminiscences which render it classic ground, and the many wild traditions, peopling each rock and glen with spectral habitants, combine to throw around Michili- mackinac an interest and attractiveness unequalled by any other spot on the Western Continent."
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
By the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain in 1783, Michigan became a part of the United States; but for various reasons the British forces did not evacuate Mackinac and Detroit. However, on the theory that the transfer of territory would prove permanent, the American congress organized a government for a vast western territory, including Michigan, under the famous Ordinance of 1787. This area was called the Northwest Territory, out of which have been carved the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin; its first governor was General Arthur St. Clair, a veteran officer of the American Revolution. The Ordin- ance of 1787 gave to Governor St. Clair wide powers. Settlers would want assurance that they would be adequately protected in the western country, before they would leave their homes in the Eastern states. His government was strongly centralized, and he was able to act vigorously under the supervision of the national government. Of Governor St. Clair, an able lawyer of that time has left the following estimate:
"During the continuance of the first grade of that imperfect govern- ment, he enjoyed the respect and confidence of every class of the people. He was plain and simple in his dress and equipage, open and frank in his manners, and accessible to persons of every rank. The governor
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was unquestionably a man of superior talents, of extensive information, and of great uprightness of purpose, as well as suavity of manners. His general course, though in the main correct, was in some respects injurious to his own popularity; but it was the result of an honest exercise of his judgment. He not only believed that the power he claimed belonged legiti- mately to the executive, but was convinced that the manner in which he exercised it was imposed upon him as a duty, by the ordinance, and was calculated to advance the best interests of the territory."
One of the most important events of Michigan history while St. Clair was governor, was the Indian treaty of Greenville, in 1795. In 1790-91 the confederated tribes south of Michigan inflicted defeats upon Generals Harmer and St. Clair, but, in 1794, Gen. Anthony Wayne, at the "Fallen Timbers," or Maumee Rapids, gave the combined Indian tribes of the Northwest a bloody defeat. This brought the savages to terms, and in August, 1795, General Wayne executed a treaty with them, at Greenville, Ohio, in which, among other sections, certain lands about the posts at De- troit and Mackinac were ceded to the United States.
In the meantime, John Jay had negotiated a treaty with England, in which it was stipulated that on or before June 1, 1796, the British garrisons should be withdrawn from all the northwestern posts; and it was done. The American flag floated over Detroit for the first time July 11, 1796. In September the county of Wayne was organized, including within its limits portions of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Detroit, which contained at that time about three hundred houses, was the capital.
In 1800 the Northwest Territory was divided, by a north and south line, a part of which is now the boundary between Ohio and Indiana, and which, extending north to the boundary of the United States, cut Michigan in two halves. The western half was included in the new Indiana Terri- tory, and when, in 1803, Ohio became a state, the whole of the lower penin- sula of Michigan became a part of the new territory. Of William Henry Harrison, its governor, it is said: "He was a product of the West, and was thoroughly in sympathy with western ideas and institutions. He had served with distinction under St. Clair and Wayne, and was well trained in the methods of Indian warfare. As secretary of the Northwest Territory toward the latter part of St. Clair's administration, and as delegate to Con- gress from that territory, Harrison had gained much valuable experience in the management of territorial affairs. Energetic and courageous and at the same time prudent in his undertakings, he resembled St. Clair in the strict honesty with which he administered the duties of his office."
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MICHIGAN TERRITORY.
On June 30, 1805, Michigan became a separate territory. Gen. Will- iam Hull, a veteran officer of the Revolution, was appointed governor, and it was during his term that the War of 1812 broke out. From the very beginning, the period of his rule was filled with trouble. In the very year of his arrival in Detroit a great fire completely destroyed the village and post. This had its good side, for subsequently the town was laid out on a greatly enlarged and improved plan; but temporarily the people suffered great hardships. The governor was also hampered by interminable bick- erings among the territorial officials. From 1807 on, it was evident that the Indians meant mischief. They complained that they had signed treaties without understanding them. In 1807 Governor Hull negotiated a treaty with them, by which they ceded lands as far west as the principal meridian running through the present counties of Hillsdale, Jackson, Ingham and Shiawassee, to a point near Owosso, and thence northeast to White Rock, on Lake Huron. But fear of the Indians kept the lands from being sur- veyed, and settlers were not disposed to go inland out of easy hailing dis- tance from the fort at Detroit. The Indians were doubtless influenced somewhat by the fur traders of the Northwest Company, whose interests required that the country should remain a wilderness, and the British dis- tributed guns and ammunition and other presents with a lavish hand.
WAR OF 1812.
It came about that gradually a union of the Indians was effected, some- what after the model of that of the famous Pontiac. Its moving spirit was Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, whose home was on the upper Wabash. In 18II, Gen. William Henry Harrison checked the movement temporarily by a disastrous defeat of Tecumseh at Tippecanoe. But when, on June 18, 1812, war was declared by the United States against Great Britain, the western Indians rallied to the cause of the British.
Governor Hull was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces on the Michigan frontier. His troops were eager that he should at once make a bold offensive and capture Malden, but he would not, and in July General Proctor, commander of the British advance, reached Malden and imme- diately began operations to cut off Hull's communications and isolate his
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army. In August, General Brock, the British commander-in-chief, a most efficient and daring officer, arrived, and prepared to take Detroit.
In the meantime, on July 17, Lieut. Porter Hanks, commanding at Mackinac, having received no word of the declaration of war, was sur- prised and was compelled to surrender at discretion the fort and his whole garrison. This was a disheartening blow to Hull and doubtless influenced his subsequent course. Moreover, General Dearborn, who commanded the American forces at Niagara, had concluded an armistice, enabling the Brit- ish forces there to concentrate against Detroit. Believing that Detroit could not be held, and that it would be a wanton sacrifice of his men to attempt to hold it, Hull surrendered, August 16, to Brock. Almost at the same time the garrison at Fort Dearborn, where is now Chicago, commanded by Cap- tain Heald, in acting on orders from Hull to evacuate that fort, was waylaid . and massacred by the Indians. Disaster on the Michigan frontier seemed complete. General Hull was afterwards court-martialed and sentenced to be shot, but, in view of his advanced age and his distinguished services during the Revolution, the President pardoned him. Since then Hull has had vigorous defenders. It is not too much to say that today, viewed in the sober light of all the facts, there are a few historians who are inclined to regard his action as wise, but the majority do not share this view.
Regarding Hull's government of Michigan Territory, Cooley writes: "He had all his life lived in the smiles of public favor and his domestic and social relations were agreeable; and had he been made the executive of a staid and orderly commonwealth, with associates in government of similar characteristics, his administration might have been altogether popular and successful. But in Michigan he found uncongenial people all about him, and it soon appeared that he was somewhat lacking in the persistent self- assertion necessary to make the rough characters of a backwoods settlement recognize and accept the fact that within the proper limits of his authority he proposed to be and would be ruler and master." In private life his record was honorable and without a stain.
One of the most lamentable events on Michigan soil during this war occurred in 1813, in Frenchtown, now Monroe. At that place, on January 22, General Winchester was attacked by a consolidated force of British and Indians under General Proctor. Overwhelmed by the onset, Winchester was induced to surrender by promises of honorable treatment; but in spite of Proctor's promises, the Indians committed, on the following day, a most inhuman massacre of prisoners. Barely forty men survived out of a com-
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mand of about eight hundred. A large part of the force were Kentuckians. Following their fall, there ensued scenes of plundering, murdering and bar- barities too horrible to mention. The confusion, misery and fear caused by the massacre of settlers in the Raisin valley continued long after the war.
With Commodore Perry's victory on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, and the complete route of the British and Indians under Proctor and Tecumseh by Harrison, on October 5, the war, so far as Michigan was concerned, came to an end. On October 13, 1813, Lewis Cass was appointed governor of Michigan territory, under whose able administration Michigan began a new career.
LEWIS CASS.
Gen. Lewis Cass was a native of Exeter, New Hampshire. His father fought in the War of the Revolution. Lewis was educated in Exeter Aca- demy and was early schooled in the principles and traditions of New Eng- land. In early life his parents moved with him to Marietta, Ohio, where he grew up and became a lawyer, and a member of the Ohio Legislature. President Jefferson appointed him United States marshal for the district of Ohio, in 1807, a position he held until he sought service in the War of 1812. In 1813 he was made a brigadier-general under Harrison, and at the close of the war the qualities he had displayed marked him out as the best choice for governor of Michigan territory.
From 1813 to 1831, when he became a member of President Jackson's cabinet, Cass devoted his great energies to promoting the settlement of Michigan. According to one historian: "The number of white inhabitants of the territory when Cass became governor of it, was scarcely six thou- sand. No land had been sold by the United States and the interior was a vast wilderness, the abode, it was estimated, of forty thousand savages. Settlers could not obtain sure titles to their locations. No surveys had been made. No roads had been opened inland. The savages were relentless in their hostility to the whites. Under these circumstances, Cass assumed the responsibilities of governor and ex-officio superintendent of Indian affairs. For eighteen years his management of Indian affairs was governed by re- markable wisdom and prudence. He negotiated twenty-two distinct treaties, securing the cession to the United States by the various tribes of the im- mense regions of the Northwest, instituted surveys, constructed roads, estab- lished military works, built light-houses, organized counties and townships,
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and, in short, created and set in motion all the machinery of civilized gov- ernment."
Professor Mclaughlin writes, in his "Life of Lewis Cass": "The great factor of his successful administration was honesty. But fair, honorable dealings with the Indians was a rare virtue, and in this he never faltered. He was wont to say in after years that he never broke his word to an Indian and never expected to find that the red man had broken his. Every exertion was made to have the funds and the allowances ready on the day they had been promised. Promptness and boldness in action, a firm self- reliance, a presumption that the power of the United States was mighty and would be obeyed, appealed to the Indian sense of awe and reverence. The respect, and even affection, which the Indian had for the Great Father at Detroit, was often manifest, and once felt, was not forgotten. Twelve years after his appointment as governor, while on a trip through southern Wisconsin and Minnesota, with gentle reproof he took from the necks of Indian chieftains their British medals, and placed in their stead a miniature of their great and mighty 'Father at Washington'." In concluding, Profes- sor Mclaughlin says: "The name of Lewis Cass will not be written in the future with those of the few men whose influence is everywhere discernible, and who perpetuate themselves in institutions and in national tendencies. He was not a Washington, nor a Lincoln, nor a John Quincy Adams. But he was a great American statesman, building up and Americanizing an im- portant section of his country, struggling in places of trust for the recogni- tion of American dignity and for the development of generous nationalism. With the great slavery contest his name is inseparably connected. He stood with Webster and Clay for union, for conciliation, for the Constitution as it seemed to be established. He was one of those men whose broad love of country and pride in her greatness, however exaggerated, however absurd it may seem in these days of cynical self-restraint, lifted her from colonial- ism to national dignity and imbued the people with a sense of their power."
No greater testimony could be given of the merits of Lewis Cass than that, after almost a century of the test of time, the people of Michigan should erect in honor of his work, and in tribute to the man, a memorial such as was recently placed to his memory on Mackinac island. On this beautiful column of bronze, accompanying a life-like portrait of Cass, is this inscription :
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Cass Cliff Named by the Michigan Historical Commission and Mackinac Island State Park Commission in honor of LEWIS CASS, Teacher, lawyer, explorer, Soldier, diplomat, statesman Born, October 9th, 1782. Died, June 17th, 1866. Appointed by President Thomas Jefferson
U. S. Marshal for the District of Ohio, 1807-1811. Brigadier-General, 1813. Governor of Michigan Territory, 1813-1831. Secretary of War in President
Andrew Jackson's Cabinet, 1831-1836. Minister to France, 1836-1842. United States Senator from Michigan, 1845-1848; 1849-1857. Secretary of State, 1857-1860.
He explored the country from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and Negotiated with the Indian tribes just Treaties. His fair and generous treatment
Accorded to the Indians of the Northwest
Secured to the Peninsular State its
Peaceful settlement and continued prosperity.
Erected 1915 by The Citizens of Michigan In grateful appreciation of His distinguished and patriotic services To his Country and State.
It would be hard to exaggerate the greatness of the task which con- fronted Cass at the beginning of his long career as governor of Michigan territory. For at least two years after the close of the War of 1812, Michi- gan was prostrate from its effects. The French on the River Raisin were destitute. Near Detroit the settlers were almost as badly off. Cass worked with untiring vigilance to relieve their distress, calling in the national aid. Added to his other troubles, the Indians pillaged and murdered where force was not present to restrain them.
One of his greatest problems was to convert the French settlements, destitute, defenseless, foreign and slow, into prosperous and progressive American communities. Their material distress was first attended to. In 1815 Cass secured one thousand five hundred dollars from the government
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to distribute among them, which he spent mainly in flour for the River Raisin settlers. But he saw clearly the need of American enterprise and skill to mix with these colonists, from which they might learn something of that providence and energy needed to push back the frontier which hemmed the French in to the river banks. To attract Eastern settlers, lands must be surveyed and offered for sale on easy terms; and here he was ham- pered by no small difficulty.
In 1812 Congress had provided that two million acres of government lands should be surveyed in Michigan, to be set apart as bounty lands for the soldiers of the war. On an alleged examination, the surveyors reported that there were scarcely any lands in Michigan fit for cultivation. Accord- ing to the official report of Edward Tiffin, surveyor-general for the North- west :
"The country on the Indiana boundary line from the mouth of the Great Auglaize river, and running thence north for about fifty miles, is (with some few exceptions) low, wet land, with a very thick growth of underbrush, intermixed with very bad marshes, but generally very heavily timbered with beech, cottonwood, oak, etc .; thence continuing north, and extending from the Indian boundary eastward, the number and extent of the swamps increases, with the addition of numbers of lakes, from twenty chains to two and three miles across.
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