USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 3
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It was near the beginning of the eighteenth century that the Jesuits, who had obtained almost a monopoly of mission- ary work in French America, established the mission of St. Joseph at the mouth of the river of that name, and under the shadow of the little post maintained on the site selected by La Salle. In 1712, Father Marest describes the mission as being in a very flourishing condition. Whatever might have been the success of the holy fathers in the task of Christianizing the Indians there is no doubt that they ob- tained a great personal influence over them, which the priests naturally used to cement their friendship for France. Numerous other influences were also brought to bear by the adroit managers who, in various capacities, represented the Gallic people on the upper lakes, and the friendship of the Pottawattamies was thoroughly demonstrated in the year just named, 1712.
In May of that year, a large body of Sacs, Foxes, and Mascoutins, tribes of Algonquin lineage but at enmity with the other nations of that race (and supposed to be acting under the influence of the Iroquois, the inveterate foes of the French), suddenly appeared before Fort Pon- chartrain, threw up some rude breastworks, and attempted to destroy the post. On the thirteenth of the month a fierce assault was made, and, though not at first successful, it was maintained with such energy and by such. numbers that the little garrison of twenty soldiers was placed in a situation of great danger.
But while the wearied Frenchmen were husbanding their scanty resources in expectation of a still more deadly on-
slaught, their ears were saluted by hundreds of savage war- whoops, and a large body of friendly Wyandots, Ottawas, and Pottawattamies burst from the forest, and flung them- selves impetuously upon the startled besiegers of the fort. The latter resisted to the best of their ability, and for a short time the battle-field resounded with the shouts of the contestants, the constant rattle of musketry, the groans of the wounded, and now and then with the terrific scalp- halloo of some successful brave as he tore the coveted trophy from the head of his victim. But, aided by the fire of the garrison, the rescuing party were soon completely successful, and the Sacs, Foxes, and Mascoutins fled in utter rout through the forest.
The vengeance of the victors, in accordance with Indian custom, was visited alike upon men, women, and children, from eight hundred to a thousand of whom were slain. So great was the injury inflicted that the Fox nation was re- ported to be completely destroyed. This was not the case, but it was compelled to flee to the west side of Lake Michi- gan, where it long remained, being distinguished by the peculiar bitterness borne by its members toward the French. On the other hand, the friendship thus cemented between the French and the Pottawattamies, Ottawas, and Wyan- dots endured through more than half a century of varied fortunes, and was scarcely severed when throughout Canada and the West the Gallic flag went down in hopeless defeat before the conquering English.
During the thirty years following the event just men- tioned, there are but few and scanty records to show the acts of the Pottawattamies. They continued to cultivate their little patches of corn, and to hunt the deer through the forests of southern Michigan and around the head of the lake of that name, generally exchanging their surplus furs with their friends, the French, for blankets, calicoes, gilt ornaments, guns, powder, and brandy. To the honor of the Jesuits, it should be said that they steadily opposed the sale of this last commodity to the Indians, braving the enmity of the most powerful officials in so doing. But although the Canadian voyageur or Indian trader was a good Catholic, who would regularly confess his sins and practice the severest penances imposed by his priests, yet even their potent influence was insufficient to keep him from grasping the enormous profits made by selling ardent spirits to the Indians. Civic functionaries, commandants of posts, and every one else who had the means, were alike eager to share tliese dubious gains, and all the tribes connected with the French, like those in communication with the English, became deeply infected with the fatal thirst for spirituous liquors, which has been the greatest bane of their race.
But although the Pottawattamies usually traded with the French, yet when the English opened a trading-house at Oswego, on Lake Ontario, in 1727, many of their num- ber, with other denizens of the upper-lake region, found their way thither with their furs, having discovered that the English gave much better bargains in the Indians' necessities of powder and whisky than did the French. It will be understood that there were no commission mer- chants in those days, by whom packages of beaver-skins and otter-skins could be sent to Oswego or Montreal for
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
sale. The adventurous Pottawattamie hunter who wanted to drive a better bargain than he could make at the fron- tier posts must launch his frail canoe, with its load of furs, on the waters of the St. Joseph or the Raisin, follow the tortuous course of the river to Lake Michigan or Lake Erie, coast cautiously down those inland seas to the Ni- agara, carry his little vessel around the great cataract, launch it again upon the bosom of Ontario, and at length make his toilsome way to Oswego or Frontenac. Having made the customary exchange for powder, blankets, cali- coes, and brandy, he must return by the same route, not only braving the hardships of the voyage but the danger of ambush by the dreaded Iroquois; for though there were intervals of peace between the " fierce democracies" of the East and the West, yet there was always danger that some wandering band of warriors would seek vengeance for old but unforgotten injuries upon any less powerful squad whom fortune might throw in their path.
The greater part of the Indian trade, however, was car- ried on by the French coureurs de bois, a wild and hardy race, who adopted, to a great extent, the Indian customs, formed Indian alliances of more or less permanence, and through whom the French influence was constantly ex- tended over the nations of Algonquin race. In 1736 the French local authorities reported to the home govern- ment that they exercised authority over a hundred and three tribes, numbering sixteen thousand warriors and eighty-two thousand souls. This authority was very vague and precarious, and might more properly have been de- scribed as influence; and yet it was a very real assistance to the French in their constant rivalry with the English.
In 1744, after a thirty years' peace, war broke out be- tween those two great nations, and each at once summoned their Indian allies to the war-path. Far and wide, through Canada and the Great West, the French officials labored to stir up the passions of the Algonquin braves, while the English sought the aid of the Iroquois, much fewer in number, but more daring in spirit and more compact in organization.
Bands of all the Northwestern tribes made frequent and most murderous assaults on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, inflicting the most terrible cruelties upon the settlers, and suffering scarcely less in return, when they fell into the hands of the fierce borderers, who hated the red men as the Jews hated the heathen whose lands they had seized. Other bands made their way over the long course to Montreal, received full equipments there, and then, sometimes under their own chiefs, sometimes under French partisan officers, went forth to harry the frontiers of New York and New England.
In 1745, one of the numerous records made by the Canadian officials states that fifty " Poutewatamies," fifteen Puans, and ten Illinois came to go to war. Another memorandum, dated August 22, the same year, mentions the arrival of thirty-eight Outawois (Ottawas) of Detroit, seventeen Sauternes, twenty-four Hurons, and fourteen " Poutewatamies." The French records show the send- ing out of not less than twenty marauding expeditions against the colonists of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York in one year, and chronicle their dismal re-
turn with scalps and prisoners. The colonial governments did their best to retaliate in kind, but the small number of their only allies, the Iroquois, made it impracticable to equal the atrocities of the French.
The war lasted four years, consisting principally of such predatory excursions, during which the French accounts make frequent mention of the "Poutewatamies" as active in gaining whatever glory could be reaped from those fero- cious achievements. The contest was closed, however, in 1748, by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, and again the Potta- wattamie braves were forced to content themselves with warfare with other tribes, save when occasionally a small band could make a stealthy foray against the settlers of Pennsylvania, which would be promptly disowned by the wily old sachems of the tribe, as the act of some " bad young men."
CHAPTER IV.
THE POTTAWATTAMIES-(Continued).
The Crisis-Beginning of War-The Three Expeditions of 1755- Braddock's Advance-Indians at Fort Duquesne-Beaujeu In- duces them to follow Him-Attack upon the British-Desperate Battle-The British routed-Fiendish Orgies-The Indians attack the Frontiers-Other Indian Operations-Defeat of Grant-Potta- wattamies at Fort Niagara-Their Defeat-Fall of Quebec-Rogers takes Possession of Detroit-Indian Dislike of the English-The Conspiracy of Pontiac-Number of the Pottawattamies-Pontiac's Schemes-His Treachery exposed-The Attack-The Siege-Cap- ture of Fort St. Joseph-The Pottawattamies make Peace-Battle of Bloody Run-Pottawattamies take Part-The British defeated -Pottawattamies, etc., attack a Vessel-Indians off to Hunt- Pontiac withdraws-End of the Siege-Gen. Bradstreet comes up the Lakes with Army-General Submission of the Tribes-British Posts re-established-Sir William Johnson's Tactics with the Pot- tawattamies-An Indian Speech-Fate of Pontiac-The Revenge of the Northern Indians.
THE long and almost constant struggle between the French and English for the mastery of North America was rapidly approaching a crisis. The former, having se- cured an influence over the Indians throughout the West, and having established a line of forts and trading-posts by way of Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and the Mississippi River, were now anxious to crowd still more closely on the English, and to establish an interior line from Lake Erie to the forks of the Ohio (now Pittsburgh) and thence down the river to the Mississippi. The slower English colonists, absorbed with the work of chopping, and plowing, and build- ing houses, were yet determined to prevent a proceeding which would have brought a line of hostile posts almost to their doors.
In 1754, Major George Washington, in command of a body of rangers who were guarding the frontiers of Vir- ginia, attacked and defeated a detachment of French and Indians who were apparently acting as spies upon him, thus beginning a war destined to convulse two continents, to expel the flag of France from the greater part of North America, and to pave the way for the American Revolution and American independence. Little more was done that year than to fight a few inconsequent skirmishes, and to terrify the frontier with a few savage deeds of blood.
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
But in 1755 desperate exertions were made on both sides to accomplish great results. The English planned to send three armies against three prominent French posts; one, under Gen. Johnson (afterwards Sir William John- son), against Crown Point, on Lake Champlain ; one, under Gen. Shirley, against Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara River; and one, the most formidable of all, was to be led against Fort Duquesne, at the forks of the Ohio, by Maj .- Gen. Edward Braddock, who was sent over to be commander-in-chief of all the British forces in America. The French, on the other hand, though com- paratively few in numbers, were more vigilant and active than their adversaries, and depended much on the aid they could obtain from the swarms of Indians in their interest, whom they made strenuous and quite successful efforts to attach to their standard.
The expedition against Fort Niagara broke down before reaching that post. The one under Gen. Johnson, though it did not capture or even attack Crown Point, yet resulted in a decided victory over the combined French and Indian force under Baron Dieskau, on the shores of Lake George, in the northeastern part of New York. Considering the custom among the Western Indians of making their way in small bands to Montreal to take part in operations against the English, it is quite probable that some of our "Poute- watamies" were actors under Dieskau in the battle of Lake George ; but as it is not certain, and as their mode of ope- ration can be sufficiently understood by observing their acts on a more celebrated field where they were unquestionably present, we turn at once to the sadly-celebrated expedition under Gen. Braddock.
It was early in June, 1755, that that brave, but conceited and thick-headed, commander led forth an army of some two thousand men from the frontiers of Pennsylvania, and took the road toward Fort Duquesne. Small as that number may seem to the reader of this generation, Braddock com- manded one of the largest forces that had yet been assem- bled in North America, and high hopes were entertained of its achievements. It was mostly composed of British regu- lars, with a few Virginia and Pennsylvania riflemen, and as the scarlet columns strode proudly along the narrow forest pathway, their commander did not doubt for a moment that they would easily accomplish the task which had been al- lotted them. After a considerable part of the distance had been traveled, the general, by the advice of his aide-de-camp, Col. Washington, moved forward with twelve hundred men and some light artillery, leaving the rest of the army to fol- low at a slower pace.
Meanwhile the alarmed French, unable to bring any con- siderable number of troops to Fort Duquesne, had strained every nerve to draw thither a sufficient force of Indians to repel the assailants. But though it was easy to persuade numerous savages to go forth in little bands against the hap- less colonists, it was far more difficult to concentrate a con- siderable force for the purpose of defending a fort against a British army. An Indian, as a rule, has a great aversion to facing a large, organized army, and an equally strong dislike of being shut up in a fort. According to Sargent's " History of Braddock's Expedition,"-the best authority to be found on the subject,-there were six hundred and thirty-
seven Indian warriors gathered at Fort Duquesne. These comprised Abenakis and Coughnawagas, from Canada ; Shawnees, from Ohio; Chippewas, Ottawas, and Potta- wattamies, from Michigan; and some smaller bands, all friendly to the French, but all alarmed at the superior force of the English, as reported by their scouts. Besides these, there were seventy-two regular French soldiers and a hun- dred and forty-six Canadian militia, making a total, as near as can be ascertained, of eight hundred and fifty-five con- batants.
The post was under the command of Capt. Contrecoeur, of the French army. Knowing the superior force of Braddock, and the indisposition of the Indians to engage in a regular siege, Contrecœur was half disposed to abandon the post and descend the Ohio. But among the French officers was one who was thoroughly accustomed to forest warfare, and who possessed extraordinary influence over the Indians. This was Capt. Beaujeu, who, on learning of the near approach of Braddock, boldly proposed to lead forth the Indians and Canadians and endeavor to surprise or ambush the too-confident English. The commander re- luctantly gave his consent.
Beaujeu then hastened among his Indian friends. Call- ing together the chiefs, he flung down a tomahawk before them, harangued them in that Algonquin tongue with which all their dialects were affiliated, and offered to lead them at once against the red-coats, who were coming to rob them of their lands. But all shrank back from this daring proposal. Shawnees, Ottawas, and Pottawattamies alike declined the challenge, declaring that the English were too strong for such an attempt. Again Beaujeu appealed to their friendship for the French, their hatred against the English, their pride in their own valor. But still in vain.
" Does our father think we are fools," exclaimed the chiefs, " that we should go forth against the red soldiers, when they are more numerous than the leaves of the forest ?"
Yet once more Beaujeu essayed the powers of his elo- quence. He painted more vividly than before the steady encroachment of the English on the Indian lands, till every face was black with hatred ; depicted, with all the pathos he could command, the friendship which had always existed between the French and the tribes of Algonquin race ; pointed out the ease with which from behind trees and rocks they could shoot down the clumsy red-coats; and dilated on the rich harvest of booty and scalps they could gather, till the bolder chiefs clutched their tomahawks with a passion that could scarcely be restrained. Then Beaujeu capped the climax of his eloquence by exclaiming,-
" I am determined to go to-morrow though not a chief dare follow me! Will you allow your father to go alone against your enemies while you remain in safety here ?"
This bold declaration turned the wavering balance in the minds of his savage hearers; the bravest among them sprang forward, brandishing their tomahawks and asserting their readiness to follow their father Beaujeu wherever he might lead, and the contagion of generous rashness soon spread through all the crowd. In a few moments all were thronging around Beaujeu with shouts of defiance against the red-coats, and in a few more they were away among
3
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
their followers, arousing their passions by the same arts which Beaujeu had employed upon themselves. Late that night the war-dance was danced in a score of Indian camps, and Pottawattamies, Ottawas, Shawnees, Delawares, Aben- akis, worked themselves into a frenzy of valor by their own shrieks, contortions, and harangues.
The next morning, the fatal 9th of July, the scouts brought in the news that Braddock's army was on the move, and was crossing the Monongahela from the eastern to the western side, some twelve or fourteen miles from the fort. Shawnees, Pottawattamies, Abenakis, and all their brethren were soon astir, the scenes of the previous night were reenacted, and the warriors, while making their few preparations, aroused each other's enthusiasm with shrieks, and shouts, and brandishing of tomahawks, and impromptu fragments of the war-dance, and brief rehearsals of their valorous deeds on former occasions. Contrecœur ordered kegs of bullets and gunpowder to be broken open and placed at the gate of the fort, so that all the Indians might help themselves. Thus amply furnished with ammunition, naked save the breech-clout and a long line of braided deer-hide wound around the waist, to which was suspended tomahawk, scalping-knife, powder-horn, and bullet-pouch, the yelling bands hurried off into the forest.
The hundred or more warriors of each tribe were under their own chief, nor does there seem to have been any unity of action among them, save through the partial obedience which they voluntarily yielded to Contrecœur and Beaujeu. Tradition indeed asserts that the Ottawas were led by the great chieftain whose name was in a few years to become a terror along a thousand miles of English frontier, the re- nowned Pontiac, and if so it is quite possible that the Chip- pewas and Pottawattamies (who, as before stated, were loosely leagued in a warlike confederacy with the Ottawas) might have followed the same daring leader. There is, however, little evidence to support the tradition, and, unless influenced by the renown of some very distinguished chief, the warriors of each tribe usually acted by themselves, and sometimes divided into still smaller bands.
When Beaujeu had superintended the fitting out of his Indians, he set forth himself with about two hundred white men, three-fourths Canadian militia and hunters, and the remainder French regulars, but regulars who had served long in America, and were well versed in the wiles of forest warfare. Contrecœur was left almost alone in the fort. Though the Indians had started first they were not disposed to get ahead of their father, Beaujeu, and they speedily arranged themselves in irregular order on either side of the narrow road along which marched the little column of French and Canadians. As they neared the foe the yells with which they had excited each other's valor sank into silence, for the Indian invariably seeks the advantage of surprise. The second in command under Beaujeu was Lieutenant Dumas, and another partisan officer was Charles de Langlade, afterwards a resident of Green Bay, and by some considered the principal pioneer of Wisconsin. He was especially distinguished for his influence over the Ottawas, Pottawattamies, and other Indians of the upper lakes.
Beaujeu knew that about nine miles from Fort Duquesne
the road coming from the south, after again crossing the Monongahela to the east side (on which the fort was situ- ated), wound upward to the heights above the stream, be- tween gloomy ravines with precipitous sides, such as are often seen in America, where tall trees growing at the bottom rise beside the almost perpendicular walls, their foliage mingling with the undergrowth at the top, thus concealing the abyss from the eyes of all but the most observant woodsmen. It is supposed that he intended to place his men in ambush in these ravines and fire on the unsuspecting battalions of Brad- dock after they had partially marched through the defile. He hurried forward at great speed, but the preparations had taken up so much time that, if such was his intention, he was a little too late to carry it fully into effect. As he and his foremost men reached the isthmus between the two ravines, a little after noon, the vanguard of the British army came into view only a few rods distant. The biog- rapher of De Langlade declares that, on discovering this fact, Beaujeu was unwilling to make an attack, and that the former was obliged to ply him with argument and en- treaties for several minutes before he would consent to go forward. Be that as it may, the order was soon given, and French, Canadians, and Indians plunged forward at full speed.
One of the English perceived Beaujeu, clad in border- fashion in a fringed hunting-shirt, springing forward with long bounds, closely followed by his Canadians, while the dark forms of the Indians could barely be seen on either side gliding at equal speed through the forest. Almost at the same moment the French leader halted and waved his hat. The Canadians formed an irregular line across the road, and began firing briskly on those British who were in sight, while the Indians, once more raising the war-whoop, sprang into the ravines on either side, and plied their musk- ets with equal vigor.
A detachment of grenadiers, under Lieut .- Col. Thomas Gage (afterwards the celebrated Gen. Gage, commanding the British troops at Boston at the beginning of the Revo- lution), formed the principal part of the vanguard. They returned the fire of the Canadians, and one of the first shots killed Capt. Beaujeu, on whom the whole enterprise seemed to depend. His men were in truth greatly dis- couraged, and when some artillery, brought forward by Braddock, made the hills and forests re-echo with its tre- mendous volleys, the Indians (who are usually very timor- ous about facing the big guns) were on the point of fleeing. But Dumas, the second in command, quickly rallied his men after the fall of Beaujeu, and the Indians soon dis- covered that they were almost completely screened from artillery fire by their position in the ravines.
They could establish themselves close to the top, clinging to the bushes and small trees, and, barely lifting their fierce faces above the level, could fire, in almost complete security, at the red battalions which crowded the road a few rods away, while the great cannon-balls crashed above them, cut- ting the limbs from hundreds of trees, but hardly slaying a single warrior. The artillerists were shot down at their guns, and the infantry fell by the score. They were ex- tremely frightened by seeing that the fire, as was said, " came out of the ground at their feet," and huddled to-
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
gether in crowds, firing their muskets in the air, and offer- ing the best possible mark for their unseen foes. The Indians soon saw the dismay they were causing, and their own courage became proportionately inflated. They spread themselves down the ravines, enveloping the column in a murderous line of fire on both sides, while themselves sel- dom exposing more than a head or an arm.
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