USA > Michigan > Ionia County > History of Ionia County, Michigan : her people, industries and institutions, Volume I > Part 42
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The first authentic reference to Grand river of which there is record is the certificate of baptism of Charlotte Catherine Langdale, born at Grand River in January, 1756, the daughter of Charles Langdale and Charlotte Ambroise Bourassa, the baptism being given by Father Le France, a Jesuit minister, at the mouth of Grand river. In 1779, the sloop "Felicity" came from Mackinac to secure one hundred and sixty bags of corn belonging to Pollitt Chaboly, and as this was located about twenty leagues up the river, canoes were secured at the nearest Indian village to go after the corn and bring it down to be loaded on the sloop. In the year 1778 there were licenses granted to a number of men to carry on trading with the Indians, and noth- ing is known of them except that they were French or half-breeds.
These fur traders were governed by certain rules issued by the respec- tive governments that in turn controlled this region, and a strict supervision was held over them, and the rules given them were about as follow: First- Your trade will be confined to the place to which you are licensed. Sec- ond- Your transactions with the Indians will be fair and friendly trade. Third-You will attend no council held by the Indians. Fourth-You are forbidden to take any liquors into Indian country. Fifth-Should any per- son attempt to trade without a license, or sell any liquor to Indians, the Indians are authorized to seize and use the goods of such trader, and the owner shall have no claim.
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With the instructions, license, and his goods, the trader would go to the section where he was authorized to do business. On his arrival a council . of Indians would decide if he might remain and be their trader, and if they chose to let him they would give him tokens of their good will, and would stand by him, expecting from him the same treatment. Many of the traders, to increase the confidence of the Indians, would take an Indian wife, and thus seal the proof of their kindly feelings. And frequently the Indians themselves demanded this. The alliances thus formed were for one hun- dred moons, when, according to Ottawa Indian use, the wife might be let go. The French traders won more respect and confidence than did the Eng- lish or Americans, because from the first of the French domination they invariably treated the Indians as their fellow men.
The largest Indian village in Ionia county, when white settlers came in 1833. was Chi-gau-mish-kene, at the mouth of the Maple river, on the Grand between Lyons and Muir. The Indians numbered about 800 and their principal chief being Moc-ti-qua-quash or (Co-coosh), while Muck-o-da-o- quat ( Black Cloud ), a renowned chief, was second in command. This was an old Indian settlement and many implements of various kinds used by the Indians have since been found by the whites. Around or near this village many traders gathered and erected their log posts. Among these, about 1830, came William Hunt from the state of New York, and at one time had for a partner his brother-in-law, Elisha Belcher. Belcher was a lawyer by profession and a very active resident while here, being the first of the legal profession to reside in Ionia county. Ile very soon removed to Kalamazoo and became one of the best lawyers in western Michigan. After trading ceased to be profitable here Mr. Hunt turned his attention to other pursuits, and remained in this vicinity until his death. There are known to have been several other traders of more or less importance near this village besides Louis Genereaux, who had quite a large post some distance down Grand river from the Indian village. He had an Indian wife and must have passed some time among the Indians as he had a half-breed son, Louis. Jr .. nearing manhood when the whites came. He was a wild boy. and soon after killed an Indian, for which he was sent to prison for a long term of years. and soon after this his father left "Genereauville," as his post was known. Louis Genereaux was very successful and owned a large bateau, with which his goods and peltries were transferred up and down Grand river.
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SOPHIA BAILLY.
A very remarkable history came to the knowledge of the writer, in January, 1916, concerning people who lived at this point, antedating any known to this date, and which adds much to its historic interest.
In the year 1800, a little girl was born on the shores of Grand river, near the present village of Muir, of French and Indian parentage. Her father was a noted trader by the name of Joseph Bailly, the name in French being spelled Bailey. He was from an old Montreal family whose full name was "Bailey de Messin." After living for many years at this point, he removed to Mackinac island, and from there afterward removing to the present site of the city of Chicago, where there was a town named "Bailly- town" after him, and he became immensely wealthy and died there. Her mother was an Indian princess of royal blood, she being the daughter of an Ottawa chieftain. Her name was "Bead-way-way," but afterward she was christened "Angelique" by a French priest, probably at Detroit as they often went there. She was a sister to Black Cloud, who was sub-chief of the village when the whites came to the valley. Joseph Bailly and Ange- lique had six children-five sons and one' daughter, Sophia, the subject of this sketch. Her brothers were Alexis, who became a merchant at St. Paul, on the Mississippi ; Joseph, a printer ; Mitchell. a sculptor : Philip, an engraver. and Francis, who was Sophia's youngest and favorite brother, is mentioned in earlier histories of lonia county. When her father, Joseph Bailly, took his five sons from there to be educated and learn their trades, Francis jumped out of the canoe and swam ashore, saying that he "did not want to be educated, but wished to be a medicine man." He stayed home and lived with the Indians, and became renowned among them as their greatest medicine man, and was called by them Be-nos-a-way.
Sophia traveled up and down Grand river many times with her father, often making the portages and going to Detroit. When she was about twelve years old, her father employed two Ottawa Indians to take her in a canoe to Mackinac island, where he himself had previously located. She arrived at the island on the day when, in consequence of the War of 1812, there was a battle between the American and British soldiers taking place. and she heard the booming of cannon and the strains of martial music. Her father, fearing for the safety of his daughter, rehired the Indians at an exorbitant price to take her to the home of her eldest brother, who was con- ducting a trading post on the Mississippi river at St. Paul. Following a
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route that Father Marquette had taken more than a hundred years before, the little party passed along the northern shores of Lake Michigan and into Green bay, up the Fox river, thence down the Wisconsin river into the Mississippi river and on to St. Paul. They had passed through a hostile country, among savage tribes where they dared not speak above a whisper, and to be discovered, meant certain death. But the trip was made in safety and after spending several years at St. Paul, the little girl became a young woman and returned by the same route to Mackinac island, where she was adopted and educated in French by Mme. La Fromboise. There she met Henry G. Graveralt, son of a German-American Revolutionary hero, who was a resident of Mackinac island and afterward married him. She taught a French Catholic school for the Indians at St. Ignace for fifteen years. There she raised her family, one boy and two girls, Garrett, Alice and Roseine.
Just prior to the Civil War the family moved to Little Traverse, now Harbor Springs. Here her son, Garrett, organized the Indian company known as Company K, First Michigan Sharpshooters, became a lieutenant, and his father a sergeant in the same company. With Grant he crossed the Rapidan, and plunged into the terrible Battle of the Wilderness. The company remained in active service from that time until the end of the war. More than half were killed and all the rest wounded. Garrett and his father were both killed in the campaign before Richmond. Mrs. Graveralt finally received a pension, and with the back pay allowed built a comfortable home, where she died in 1891 and where her daughter. Roseine, still lives.
From her brother, Francis ( Be-noss-a-way), Mrs. Graveralt learned much of the Indian manners, customs, legends, and traditions, and was noted for her gift as a story-teller. She met and entertained General, after- ward President, Zachary Taylor, while on the Mississippi. She was per- sonally acquainted with James J. Strong, the Mormon leader, who visited her school and told her to never fear the Mormons as he would see that none of them ever did her any harm. She knew Schoolcraft, the historian ; Beamont, the famous surgeon, and many other noted people. By all she was welcomed as an exceedingly interesting and well-informed woman, and a great friend of the American Indian, whom she helped to civilize and educate. Her stories have been preserved and are given in a lecture ( Mich- igan Indians, their manners, customs, legends and traditions) by the son of her daughter, Roseine, John C. Wright, of Harbor Springs, Michigan, who has also published two books, "Lays of the Lakes" and "Stories of the
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Crooked Tree," the last largely consisting of the legends of the Ottawa tribe.
MANASSEH HICKEY.
In Danby, on Grand river, in section 22, was the Indian village of Peshimuecon ( meaning AApple-orchard ). It was peopled by about one hun- dred and fifty Ottawas and Chippewas, who seemed to have chosen the place as a permanent habitation, or where they remained steadily for several months each year, their principal chief being Da-o-mal. They had gardens. raised corn, and made quantities of maple sugar. They also easily secured whisky from Indian traders and indulged in wild orgies, but never molested the whites at any time. About 1846 a missionary by the name of Manasseh Hickey ventured among them, in hopes of converting them to Christianity and adopting a different mode of life. At the time of his coming they were having one of their carousals, and were at first inclined to resent his coming with violence. So he retired, for the present, but left with them interpreters he had brought with him. Joseph and Mary, his wife, the interpreters, so mollified the Indians that they consented to hear llickey preach to them, and he returned and, through his interpreters, delivered a sermon that pleased his dusky auditors so well that they besought him to come again, and thus his work was begun with a promise of encouragement.
John Compton also assisted Mr. Hickey in preaching, while Joseph and Mary began school teaching among them. Finally, Mr. Hickey persuaded them to become bona-fide settlers and live in a civilized way. Many of them became converted to Christianity and they were ready to encourage Mr. Hickey's landable efforts. They, therefore. asked him to purchase land for them, and he at once purchased one hundred and eight acres in section 21. in Danby, and this was laid out in twenty lots and the Indians made clear- ings, built log houses, tilled the soil, and named the village in remembrance of their old Indian village. They gravitated into a civilized life, dressed and lived like white folks, and pursued agriculture with considerable zeal and remarkable industry. Shortly after locating them in their new village. Mr. Hickey obtained some financial assistance from a benevolent lady living in New York for the purpose of erecting a mission house. John Compton selected the logs and hauled the first load of lumber, the sawing being done at the Sebewa mill. The house was made in two apartments, in one of which school and church services were held, while the other served as the resi- dence of the teacher or missionary. The first teacher was John Compton, who was also their preacher. They took kindly to school and church and
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showed upon occasions a fervor and enthusiasm seklom equalled by white people.
Mr. Compton taught them for quite a time. After a while Mr. Hickey left for other fields of work and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. White, who, during his residence, lived in the mission house. While there his wife died and he married a young lady then engaged as Indian teacher. After a time there was demand for more church and school room, so a new building was erected with larger proportions, Rev. Mr. Shaw preaching the dedicatory sermon. This building was used by the Indians for many years and they prospered greatly -- but in 1856 they were obliged to give up their homes at this place, when. under act of Congress. they, along with other bands, were removed to 'Indian reservations in northern Michigan.
CHIEF COBMOOSA.
There was also a large Indian village at lonia, located about where the Pere Marquette car shops now stand, presided over by Cob-moo-sa, an Indian of much dignity and manliness. The real Indian name of Cob-moo- sa was one meaning "Great Walker," which in the Indian tongue, was "Weeb-moo-sa." there being really no meaning to the word "Cob-moo-sa." But the Indian words were no easy thing for the whites to speak and this was the name by which he and his family were always known. This was made known by J. O. Hooker, of Lowell, the oldest resident, who knew them well. Cob-moo-sa was second in command of the Flat River bands, and their general encampment was at the mouth of that river. They had been told by Mr. Dexter, when he located his land the fall before. that he intended to return the following spring with a colony, but the spring was so far advanced before the colony put in an appearance that the Indians had given up their coming and had put in their corn and gardens and dis- liked to give them up-but upon being paid twenty-five dollars by Mr. Dexter for these and five bark wigwams, they gave up their village and moved a little further away. It was learned that the chief moved about four miles down the Grand river, and for some years made his home on what became the farm of Hon Monzo Sessions. now owned by the county of lonia for a county home. His wigwam was in the bend of the creek south of where the barn now stands.
In January, 1916. the writer learned from J. S. Hooker. the oldest living settler of Lowell, Michigan, many things of interest in regard to life in the early days. Mr. Hooker was a boy seven years of age when he came
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overland with his family by means of an ox team, from Livingston county. New York, to the present site of Saranac, arriving there July 2. 1837. removing to Lowell, December 7, 18446. He is sure that the first team that went through, under the hills, to Alonzo Sessions, was his father's, as before the road ran over the hills. The road was cut through by his father and his hired men, and that night the family got to Saranac. At that time there was no road except the one made by his father west of Alonzo Ses- sions' farm. Then it was not difficult to drive through the woods, as the Indians burned the woods over twice every year, which, of course, left no underbrush, this being done to help them in their hunting and tramping. Mr. Hooker knew Cob-moo-sa intimately after he went to Lowell, in 1846. as at that time he had joined the band at the mouth of Flat river, and has this to say of him: "He was chief speaker of his band, and in that respect was a wonder. I have never seen or heard his equal, and he had a great influence over all the Indians of the Grand River valley. Ile and his family. with the rest of the tribe, went from here in 1858, and I lost track of them. but I have quite recently had a number of letters from Rodney Ne-gak, a grandson of Cob-moo-sa, and I have gained considerable valuable informa- tion concerning my old friends and playmates." Mr. Hooker was known by the Indians as "Cape-squa-ite" (Sharp Voice, and he has named his home in Lowell "Tek-e-nink" ( Home in the Woods).
Also at this same time, Mr. Hilbourne, postmaster at Hart, Michigan, wrote, telling that Cob-moo-sa was a postoffice in Oceana county named after the old chief who lived here after he. in common with all Indians in that county, came from the Grand River valley, and R. E. Southwick, owner of "Granite House Farm," of that county, and a student of Indian history. sent the following valuable and interesting information :
"Chief Cob-moo-sa, or 'Cob-ba-mo-sa,' as some claim it is rightly spelled and pronounced. was the head of one of the largest bands in the Grand River valley. Hle signed the treaty at Washington, D. C., with Henry R. Schoolcraft and twenty-four other chiefs and headmen, which ceded all of Michigan, north of Grand river, agreeing to move to Indian territory within five years, for the consideration of $620,000, 6,500 pounds of tobacco, 100 barrels of salt and 100 fish barrels. This treaty was never carried out, because the Indians found out that they must move many hun- dred miles to a prairie country. Then came the treaty at Detroit in 1855. signed by G. A. Pennypacker, Indian agent, and fifty-four chiefs and head- men, and Cob-moo-sa was one of them. The Indians were to take land in severalty in certain townships in Michigan, and the Ottawas and Chippewas
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were to receive $530.400, very unequally divided. The chiefs got $500 apiece first, then the headmen each received $100. then certain white friends. like Louis Campau, received a large donation, and what little there was left was divided equally among the tribes-but the traders got it all within a year.
"Cob-moo-sa, and his family of three boys and three girls, came to Elbridge, Oceana county, in 1858. coming here from Flat river, where Lowell now stands. He took the farm known as the south half of the south- west quarter of section 26, township 15 north. range 17 west. His sons were James, Antoine and Henry, and his daughters. Ne-gance, Mrs. Cub- as-ka and Mrs. Ne-gak. Cob-moo-sa was found dead, in his canoe, in a creek on or near his farm, his death taking place over forty years ago. \ lake, a creek. a postoffice, and a government Indian mission school house are named after this old chief. On February 18 and 19, 1914, at the meet- ing of the State Historical Society held at Muskegon, I gave a talk on the Ottawa and Chippewa tribes of Indians, and for illustration had two men, one Rodney Ne-gak. the grandson of Cob-moo-sa, and the other Mitchell Pop-to-go-qua, grandson of Chief Cat-ca-ba, and they gave incantations and songs in their own language. My wife also exhibited our large collection of Ottawa Indian relics, which include the tribal stone, peace-pipe. Cob- moo-sa's stone pipe, pagan wa-be-no drum or tom-tom, copper and silver ornaments. beads, shells and many pagan medicine tools."
In the fall of 1913 the writer was given a copy of "Cobmoosa's Lament." by Alden Jewell. of Grand Rapids, nephew of Senator William Alden Smith, who had presented it, among other valuable relics. The poem appeared in a Grand Rapids newspaper of an early day, called the Grand Rapids Eagle, and was written by Lewis Bates about 1854.
COBMOOSA'S LAMENT.
My step is the tread of a warrior no more; The days of my pride and my glory are o'er. No more shall I follow the forman's track : No more shall our war-chief welcome me back : My bow. my nerves, and my heart are unstrung My death-song alone remains to be sig.
The braves of my olan have sunk to their rest : Their sons have gone to the north or the west. The forests have fallen, and our lands are sobl : our birth-right is gone for the white man's gokl . And manhood has passed from the Indian brow. Since he gave the soil to the Christian's plow.
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The lord of the forest is Jord no more:
The pride of his manly sont is o'er; The fields where he won his youthful fame.
on the track of the foe, or in quest of game, Are no more: unmanned he goes
To brood on the Indian's doom and woes.
His doom he sees in the towering halls;
His doom he reads as the forest falls:
His doom he bears in the Sabbath chime ;
His doom he reads in the march of time-
Will it shame thy heart, proud white man, say,
To shed a tear as we pass away?
As for me, I go not, where my kindred have gone,
By the grave of my fathers I'll linger alone :
The oak may be rent by the lightning of heaven, The storm wind may bow it, its stem may be riven :
But with trunk sere and blasted and shorn of its hays.
Still grasping the earth. it proudly decays.
As a son of the forest 1 lived in my pride : As sons of the forest my forefathers died.
Till I go to the land where the bright waters shine, I'll live by their graves and their graves shall be mine.
I linger not long. my heart is unstrung, My death song is ready. it soon will be sung.
MADAME LA FROMBOISE.
The records in some histories say that Rix Robinson was the first set- tler in Kent county, but it has been proved that Madame Magdalene La Fromboise antedated him by many years. She was the daughter of a French- man and an Indian princess, her grandfather on her mother's side being a Chippewa chief. Her early days were spent in Montreal and Mackinac. where she received an excellent education under private tutors. Joseph La Fromboise, first established a post near Milwaukee as early as 1785. but afterward had a trading post near the present site of Grand Haven, where he was killed in the winter of iso4 by a Pottawatomie who had become angered because he was refused whisky. Joseph LaFromboise was a firm. determined man of great courage. He was a devout Catholic and a close adherent to all the rites of the church even when in the densest wilderness. He was especially particular in his observance of the Angelus and it is claimed by most Michigan and Wisconsin historians that he was killed while kneeling in prayer at the hour the Angelus rings. He was one of the most beloved of the traders who came early to western Michigan. Though the
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Indian assassin fled. he was captured and brought back by one of his own tribe and Po-ka-gon. chief. put irons on him and delivered him up to the widow, to be dealt with according to the Indian law of "a life for a life." Madame's sympathy went to the man and he was liberated, but ever after was shunned even by members of his own tribe until his death.
Deprived of her husband. Madame La. Fromboise was thrown on her own resources, and chose to continue the work of her husband and decided to come to the junction of the Flat and Grand rivers, and here she worked and prospered for many years, dwelling in perfect security among her Indian neighbors, until the younger Rix Robinson with his fleets of bateaux gradually forced her out of business, which she did not relinquish until paid a handsome sum for her holdings. Her home was about two miles west of Lowell, and as late as 1880 there were remains of the stone chimney stand- ing. and it is said that there are still evidences of the trenches on the river bank near the site of her post where the Indians used to put their canoes while at the post.
Madame La Fromboise had an only child, a daughter, Josette, who, in the winter of 1816-17, went to Mackinac to visit, as the guest of Doctor and Mrs. Mitchell, and while there met Captain Pierce, the commandant of the fort, and who was a brother of Franklin Pierce, later President of the United States. It was a ease of love at first sight, and they were soon mar- ried. Mrs. Peirce proved a worthy and helpful wife and died Novmeber 24. 1844. Madame La Fromboise lived on Mackinac island, after leaving her trading post near Lowell. devoting her last years to making others happy, and religious institutions were frequently the recipients of donations by the "little mother." as she was called. She died in 1846, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, and was buried under the church she had built and given to the Catholics.
RIX ROBINSON.
Rix Robinson, who succeeded Madame La Fromboise as a trader near Lowell, was well known in the early days, and the "Robinson Road." lead- ing into Grand Rapids from lonia, is named for him. He was born in Richmond. Berkshire county, Massachusetts. August 28, 1789. and came to Michigan as a trader in 1821, as an agent for the American Fur Company. which was really the John Jacob Astor Company. He was married to his first wife at Mackinac in 1824. Her name was Pe-ne-say ( Flying Cloud ). and she died in 1848 Her father was a chief and own cousin to Pontiac. the famous Ottawa chieftain, who planned the extermination of the whites, by
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making war on all their forts at the same time, and she was the mother of John R. Robinson, the only descendant of Rix Robinson. John R. was well educated and became a very noted minister. and died a number of years ago near Mount Pleasant, Michigan. John R.'s first wife was Lucy Withey, of Ada, Michigan. They had two children, a son and a daughter, who are both gone and there is none left of that branch of the Robinson family.
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