History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 2

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882

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A military post was soon established at the Sault Ste. Marie, invested with a commandant and small garrison. An industry in copper articles sprung up. Bracelets and other orna- ments were made for the Indians, as well as crosses, censers and candlesticks for the church. These were manufactured from masses of pure copper brought by the natives from the shores of Lake Superior. A large Indian village flourished near. Their dwellings were sur- rounded by palisades, sometimes in triple rows, with platforms built within, where they · kept supplies of stones to hurl upon intruders. The Indian dwellings were sometimes more than a hundred feet in length, were thatched with bark, and secured on the sides by a net- work of poles covered with bark. They con- tained several distinct families, who were as- signed compartments on the side, like stalls of a stable, where their couches were spread with the skins of the chase. The ceiling was deco- rated with the ripened ears of corn. In these comfortable habitations they passed the long and bitter winters. A bright fire blazed upon

the earthen hearth, and the blue smoke curled to an outlet in the roof. Around these lodge fires clustered the warriors, squaws, and little children, and listened to the legends of ancient chiefs and mighty medicine men, whose deeds of valor fired their impulsive hearts ; or while the pipe was passed from hand to hand the story-teller recounted to these superstitious children of the forests, the mission of the spirits who dwelt in the fire, water and air, whose messages came upon the wings of the wind, were written in the light- ning and spoken in the thunder.

The life of the Indian was one of contrast- from the excitement of the chase, to the long, patient fishing days on the ice; from the dan- gers on the war-path, to the festivals and dance. Political ambition burned with a fervid heat within the breast of the red man, and he would dare many dangers to be counted among the notable men of the tribe. When the great chiefs of the confederations had deliberated before the council fires and decided on war, they sent forth their messengers to call the warriors to arms from the East and West, wherever their allies might be found. Their warlike natures responded with speed and gladness, although first must be consulted the omens and dreams of the prophet, and a prepa- ration made to insure success, by fasting, and prayer to the great war-god, ending in a war- dance, during which they chanted the story of former exploits, and promised superior feats of strength and bravery in the coming expedition. When the required rites were concluded, they began to steal away through the wilderness, carrying their arms, food and canoes with them until they reached the rivers or lakes, when they paddled rapidly to their destination. They stormed the strongholds of their enemies, using their canoes as scaling ladders. They fell like tigers upon the unprepared, and butchered them without mercy. Their victories were stained with excess of cruelty, and not until they were exhausted in their vengeance did they spare the lives of those who remained and adopt them into their tribe. Wives were separated from husbands, and children from parents, and they were distributed among different villages that old affections and associations might be obliterated. Thus their losses, which were considerable in the practice of almost constant warfare, were repaired by this means, which the

LIFE OF THE INDIANS IN PEACE AND WAR.

Indians designated by a word meaning " flesh cut into pieces and scattered among the tribes."

The Five Nations-or, as the French named them, the Iroquois-were the most powerful people. They dwelt within the present limits of the State of New York, and owed their tri- umphs in part to the importance of their posi- tion. The rivers and lakes were highways through the regions for their roving and am- bitious warriors. They were as a people thor- oughly organized. Each of the Five Nations had several sachems, who, with subordinate chiefs and honorable men, regulated all affairs of importance. When a foreign power was to be treated with, a general assembly of all the chiefs convened at the great council house in the Onondaga valley. The order of debate was prescribed by custom, and during the fiercest arguments they preserved an iron self-control.

The Iroquois in boundless pride styled them- seives "the men surpassing all others," and their ambition for conquest was insatiable. Their war-parties were sent over half America, and their victories were so frequent that their name was a terror from the Atlantic to the far West. They were a superior people intel- lectually, and were thoroughly organized. Their greatest numerical strength in their most prosperous age was not four thousand warriors; and yet, in less than a quarter of a century, they destroyed and scattered four na- tions as brave and powerful as any in America.

The Hurons or Wyandots occupied the pen- insula between the lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario. Their population has been variously estimated at from ten to thirty thousand souls. They were an agricultural people, and bartered their corn to surrounding tribes, receiving in exchange fish and other articles they valued. The carly Fathers called this country the granary of the Algonquins, which family sur- rounded the powerful Iroquois, and em- braced the country on the north from Hudson Bay to the Carolinas, from the Atlantic on the east to Lake Winnipeg on the west. The Hu- rons, like the Iroquois, were divided into tribes, but unlike them were not professional warriors. The peaceful Hurons met a disastrous fate in the depths of the winter of 1649. The Iroquois swept down upon them and destroyed all be- fore them. They dispersed the whole nation. Some found refuge among the French of Can- ada, others established themselves upon the

shores of Lake Superior and the islands in the northern part of Lake Huron, while numbers were absorbed in the victorious ranks of the Iroquois. Some years afterwards the Hurons descended to the Straits of Detroit, where they flourished for a time.

The Neutral Nation inhabited the northern shores of Lake Erie as far east as the Straits of Niagara. They derived their name from their neutrality in the war between the Hurons and Iroquois. But they soon met the fate of the peace- ful Hurons, and the Iroquois had scarcely rested from their vengeance when they attacked the Eries with their usual success. The Andastes received their next siege, and though they had resisted their enemies for years, they fell as ingloriously as the Hurons, in 1672. The Five Nations soon absorbed all the adjacent tribes and received into their ranks as equals the warlike Tuscaroras, admitting them as a Sixth Nation, and giving their sachems a seat in the councils at Onondaga. The wrongs the Tus- caroras had sustained at the hands of white settlers, in the loss of land and over-reaching in trade of various kinds, the Iroquois made their own; and with an intrepid, unreasoning vengeance, peculiar to the Indian, they nursed a cruel hatred of all white settlers and sought to wreak it upon the French in Canada. They also had treasured their own wrongs and the injury they received at the hands of Cham- plain in 1609, when he came into their midst with a band of Algonquins and shot with his arquebuse two of their chiefs ; and when they fled in terror to the woods and caves to escape further destruction, Champlain imagined he had for all time taught the red man to respect the power of France. From that time the Iro- quois never ceased to harass them. They burned their houses, laid waste their fields. They kept a vigilant watch upon the route be- tween Quebec, Montreal and other points. They attacked Montreal with fire and steel, and their horrible cruelties were 'scarcely credible.

They placed infants on the embers and required their own mothers to turn the spit. Others suffered torments too barbarous to describe. At times the Jesuits would obtain an influence over the savages and for some weeks they would rest from their raids upon their peaceful neighbors. Hope would again cheer the strug- gling and afflicted settlers, only to be again de- ceived by the treacherous Indians.

CHAPTER II.

COUNT FRONTENAC - SOUTH SEA PASS - M. TALON - M. JOLIET -FATHER MARQUETTE - DISCOVERY. OF THE MISSISSIPPI - LA SALLE -THE GRIFFIN - COUREURS DE-BOIS - DEATH OF LA SALLE. 1

C OUNT FRONTENAC was appointed Gov- ernor-General of New France in the year 1672, when he was fifty-two years old. He was descended from an old and noble house, and was the godchild of Louis XIII. Owing to the position held by his father in the house- hold of the King, Count Frontenac was rapidly promoted to positions of importance during the stirring times of that age. When merely a boy he fought M. Holland and distinguished himself for bravery, and before he was twenty- one had been actively engaged in several bat- tles. Frontenac was made colonel of a regi- ment when twenty-three, and at the age of twenty-six was raised to the rank of marechal de camp (brigadier-general). His worldly prospects were not commensurate with his military glory, and his siege to the heart of a young lady of sixteen was for a long time un- successful. The young lady's guardians op- posed the match, as they thought she might do better than unite her fortunes to a man who had but twenty thousand francs a year. But both were imperious and restive under oppo- sition, and soon settled the matter by a secret marriage. The union was short-lived. Mad- ame Frontenac was ambitious, brilliant in society, and utterly worldly. She seemed to soon tire of her husband and child. The child was placed in charge of a nurse, devoting her- self to the society of Mademoiselle de Mont- pensier. From time to time various disputes (in regard to property ) with the Count widened the breach and embittered the nature of her husband, so he welcomed the appointment to Canada ard was glad to escape from his an- noyances. In his case, like many others, " distance lent enchantment," for during all Count Frontenac's exile in the New World, his wife constantly exerted an influence for his advancement, and succeeded in a great measure in counteracting the intrigues of his enemies. Frontenac stands a conspicuous figure of the age, and was a man of great ability, brave,

energetic, and peculiarly fitted to administer the affairs of a new country. He encouraged the establishment of a chain of military posts along the lakes and rivers. Exploring com - panies were sent forth and treaties made with the " Far Indians," as they were called, in the vicinity of the great lakes. Two years before Frontenac was made Governor-General, in 1670, Father Marquette removed the mission of Michilimackinac to St. Ignace, where he remained three years, engaged in his holy office, and also perfecting his plans for the dis covery of the Mississippi. The great Father of Waters was supposed to be the direct pas- sage to China and the East Indies through the mythical South Sea, into which it was believed it emptied. Vast wealth was supposed to await the monarch whose subjects were enterprising enough to discover this highway to wealth. The ambitious Louis XIV. and his ministers schemed to control this passage to Eastern treasure, and encouraged their representatives in New France to search out this long-hidden path. M. Talon, a former Intendant General, ambitious for the honor of the discovery, dis- patched M. Joliet, a citizen of Quebec, to Father Marquette, whom he found ready and anxious to embark in the project, his desire to spread his faith equal to that of France for treasure. They selected five Frenchmen to ac- company them, and left Mackinac the 13th of May, 1673, in two canoes, supplied with Indian corn and jerked meat. They crossed Lake Michigan to the Wisconsin River, "a beautiful stream, bordered by green banks, groves of trees and pleasant slopes." Floating down this placid stream they reached the Mississippi on the 17th of June. They saw " great herds of buffalo and deer roaming the borders of the river. Swans floated before them and great fish endangered their canoes." At length they discovered footprints in the sand, and leaving their bark canoes in charge of the crew they followed the trail leading to a meadow, where

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LA SALLE-COUREURS-DE-BOIS.

they found a large Indian village. Joliet and Marquette made known their presence and waited to be received. An embassy of four old men soon approached and presented the pipe of peace. They were informed that the tribe belonged to the Illinois, whose country they were in. The next day they were enter- tained by a feast of four courses; the first was hominy cooked in the Indian style, the second of fish, the third of dog, and the fourth of roasted buffalo. They were treated with great consideration, attended through the village, and given a lodge where they rested comfort- ably through the night, and in the morning signifying their intention of proceeding on their voyage, were escorted to their canoes by six hundred Indians. They pursued their journey unmolested until they reached the Arkansas, where they were attacked by a crowd of warriors, but Marquette's usual diplomacy saved them from any serious trouble. He pre- sented a pipe of peace, and, as he quaintly said, " God touched their hearts." Their provisions were nearly exhausted, and being convinced the Mississippi flowed into the Gulf at no great distance from that place, they retraced their way. Joliet repaired to Quebec to render an account of the expedition, and Father Mar- quette again entered upon his chosen mission among the Indians. The wonderfully glowing description of this voyage kindled the ad- venturous spirit of Robert Cavalier de la Salle, a native of Normandy, and a descend- ant of a noble but impoverished family. His early life had been passed with the Jesuits, where the natural tendeney of his mind was confirmed and strengthened. His iron will could brook no obstacle, and with great sagacity and penetration into the hearts of men, he possessed sound judgment and boundless enterprise. La Salle took coun- sel of no man, and was stern and austere toward those under his command. He had been among the Indians, traders, and bushrangers of Can- ada for a number of years, and in various ways had been actively engaged in extending the interests of France. He found in Count Fron- tenac, the Governor-General, a friend and abettor in his great designs to build a chain of forts along the lakes and rivers, complete the exploration of the Mississippi, and plant the standard of his King upon the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. The far-seeing and judicious

Frontenac advised La Salle to apply directly to the King of France, and gave him a letter to the Minister of Marine, who proved a valua- ble friend to his interests. La Salle was in- vested with the title of chevalier, and the seign- iory of Fort Frontenac on condition that he would rebuild it. Encouraged by the King and nobility of France, he with his devoted friend and comrade, the Chevalier Tonti, and thirty men, left France in July, 1678, and reached Quebec the 15th of September. Al- though La Salle returned with but little money he was rich in resources. He soon found means to advance his plans.

Fort Frontenae was to be altered and re- paired, a new fort was to be built on Lake Erie, and the navigation of Lake Ontario to be completed, for which latter purpose a barque was to be built. Materials for these objects existed in the wilds, and what to other men, perhaps as practical, would have been insur- mountable obstacles, but fired his energy. He sent men into the wilderness to gather choice furs, from which he hoped to realize enough to pay his heavy expenses. These men were also commissioned to conciliate and prepare the In- dians for his coming. The French traders, or as they were then called, coureurs de bois, were often men whose youth had been passed in the gay and extravagant court of the King of France, or among the excitements of the camp. Their lack of fortune and natural restlessness led them to seek this life of adventure and hardship. They were naturally cheerful and gay, and always hopeful of a golden reward in the service of the fur trade (the chief source of income to the colony). The coureur de bois, or land loper, lived happy in the midst of poverty, braved cold and peril of every sort, and his rol- licking songs rang over the plains and down the rivers to the delight of the Indian. He was ever welcome to the wigwam, and mingled in the dance. He was often adopted into the tribe and became the favorite leader in all their sports. Many of these hardy men were lured on to explore the farthest confines of the wilderness by the hope of military or political advancement.

In the latter part of the year 1678 La Salle with his command repaired to the western bank of the Niagara River, two leagues above the cataract, where, protected within a fort of pali- sades, he built a vessel of sixty tons burden,

HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

which was the first to sail Lake Erie or the upper lakes. She was named the Griffin, in honor of the arms of Frontenac. This ship started on her first voyage in August, 1679, amid the most imposing ceremonies. The Te Deum was chanted, cannons were fired, and a crowd of curious Indians stood upon the bank, filled with speechless wonder at the size of the wooden canoe, and awed by the carved figure of a god (a griffin) crouched with expanded wings upon the prow. The crew of the Griffin con- sisted of voyageurs and three priests. The head of the mission was Gabriel de la Rebourde, the last living nobleman of an aristocratic house of Burgundy ; another was Hennepin, who wrote a history of this expedition. He was not a favorite with La Salle, and was also dis- trusted by Tonti. The Jesuits' anxiety to extend a spiritual kingdom was often met and opposed by as great a zeal to extend an earthly kingdom, and La Salle was often at variance with the missions, as their methods were seldom one or the same. The Griffin entered the Straits of Detroit on the 10th of August, 1679. Hen- nepin describes the prospect " so well disposed that one would not think nature alone could have made it." They passed through Lake St. Clair on the saint's-day for which it is named, and when they reached Mackinaw La Salle rebuilt the old fort, after which he sailed to Green Bay and there met the coureurs de bois he had sent out the year before, with a valuable cargo of furs, which he placed upon the Griffin and despatched her with her valua- ble cargo to Niagara to pay the debts he had contracted. The Griffin sailed away, but was never heard from again. This great misfortune detained La Salle many months at Fort Miami on the St. Joseph River, where he waited for supplies the ill-fated Griffin was to bring on her return. In view of the cold wintry weather and the limited supplies, he concluded to con- tinue his journey. He left the fort in charge of a few men and with a small band and three monks proceeded to the Illinois River, upon whose banks he built a fort and named it Creve Cœur (Broken Heart), to commemorate his disappointment at the loss of the Griffin. This expedition was badly equipped for so extended a journey, and as there was no hope of further aid, La Salle was nearly discouraged. His men, worn out with exposure and threatened with famine, were deserting him and entering

the camps of the Indians, and spreading sus- picion and discontent among them. La Salle's pacific policy which he had advocated among the warlike Indians was viewed by the Indians as a pretense to deceive them, and in formal council they sentenced him to death; but he who had braved so many dangers was equal to the emergency. La Salle, unattended, repaired to the camp of the Illinois, and defended his conduct. He refuted with scorn the charge of treachery, and boldly demanded the author of the slander. He placed before the Indians such convincing arguments for maintaining peace between the tribes, they yielded to his eloquence. The calumet was smoked and a treaty of peace signed. The intrepid La Salle determined to return to Canada for re-enforce- ments and a better outfit. The fort was left in charge of a few men, and facing a toilsome and dangerous journey he pursued his way on foot over twelve hundred miles of frozen wil- derness. He subsisted on what he could kill with his gun; was threatened continually by wild beasts or the lurking savage. When he at last reached his destination he met fresh dis- couragements. His enemies had circulated the report of his death, and all .his property had been seized for debt. Frontenac proved a friend indeed in this dark hour, and joined him in a battle against these adversities; and soon, with fresh supplies of men, ammunition and necessary stores of various kinds, he em- barked for another expedition. When he reached the fort on the Illinois River not a man was there. All had fled before the treacherous foe, and sought peace and safety he knew not where. Again the undaunted explorer re- paired to Frontenac, with whose credit and every available means of his own, he succeeded in again being equipped for another enterprise. He found himself upon the waters of the Illi- nois in January, 1683, and his faithful friend and constant companion, Tonti, reported that they reached the Mississippi on the 7th of Feb- ruary. As they sailed down this long-sought stream, they marked the shoals by " hanging a bear skin on a pole driven into the sand." They were welcomed by peaceful Indians at various times, and once when their provisions were well-nigh exhausted, they came upon a deserted village of the Illinois and found quan- tities of corn hidden in holes under their wig- wams. They appropriated the supplies and

DEATH OF LA SALLE.

loaded their canoes. The never-failing supply of fish seasoned their frugal farc. La Salle, thoroughly impressed with the right of France to all he could pre-empt in her name, took pos- session of the Mississippi valley. His own notary accompanied him from Fort Frontenac, and at important points as he met the Indians at his landings, he made public proclamations and with imposing ceremony placed tablets or rude memorials on trees or rocks. These were attested by his notary, and the Indians made to understand they were under the protection of the greatest King on earth.

The long-sought outlet of the Mississippi was reached on the 9th of April, and the achievement was celebrated with many demon- strations of joy. The Te Deum was chanted, cannons were fired, and the successful French- men shouted Vive le roi. La Salle took formal possession of the country in the name of Louis the Great, King of France and Navarre, and Louisiana was named in honor of Louis XIV. The chevalier saw at once the importance of planting permanent colonial settlements in this rich and beautiful land, and he determined to establish one near, or on, the present site of New Orleans. He returned to France for this purpose and again appeared before the Court. He met a well-earned welcome, and presented his cause to the willing ears of interested and influential men. La Salle proposed to his government the feasibility of taking all the Spanish provinces in America; that they were rich in silver and gold mines, and were only defended by a few effeminate Spanish soldiers ; that he could rely on four thousand Indian warriors from Fort St. Louis, who would respond with alacrity to his sum- mons and descend the Father of Waters and join him in the expedition. Such prospects of untold treasure won the hearts of all who heard La Salle, and he was given four ships, one hundred soldiers were enrolled, besides me- chanics and laborers, including a number of gentlemen and burgers of distinction. Nor were the missionaries wanting. Among them were La Salle's brother and two other priests of the order of St. Sulpice, and three Recollects. The company, including the families of the colonists and the sailors, numbered two hun- dred and eighty. They were ordered to stop at St. Domingo to take on board fifty buccaneers. The largest ship was named the Jolly, and

carried thirty-six guns. All the ships were laden with goods, provisions, farming imple- ments, guns and other necessary articles for a pioneer's outfit. Thus amply provided with men and materials to found a colony, La Salle left his native land full of hope. After the ships were well on their voyage a spirit of rivalry, from the captain of the Jolly to the smallest officer, became manifest, and one disaster after another but added to the discontent. The squadron missed the mouth of the river, one ship after another was wrecked, and at last as the store ship sunk and the worthless captain deserting, the men who saw from the land the mismanagement displayed in this last priceless loss, broke out openly in their reproaches against one who had led them on their ill-starred adventure. The spirit of insubordination had permeated the hearts of the colonists for so long a period, it was impossible to restore con- fidence and courage. La Salle shared all their hardships, and promised, if necessary, to go on foot to Quebec for re-enforcements and supplies. The half-famished men with a few families de- pended upon game for food ; their clothing was worn to shreds; they protected their feet on the rough way with buffalo-hide, which they were obliged to keep moist in order to walk without pain. While all about him were dis- couraged and reproaching him for the unlooked- for and unavoidable disasters that encompassed them, La Salle, constant in adversity and un- dismayed in the midst of the gravest difficulty, pursued his journey to Creve Cœur. At times he seemed oppressed by a profound melancholy, as if warned of his approaching doom, and the last day of his weary march on earth expressed himself surprised at his want of confidence in every one of his followers, as he had never in- jured any one, and had not lived for himself, but had endured many hardships that he might lead his countrymen to a land of plenty, if only they had the required means to obtain it. While he was alone in the fading day, wrapped in meditation, he was assassinated by a vin- dictive miscreant on the 19th of March, 1687. Thus perished ingloriously the ardent, self- sacrificing La Salle. Hennepin said, " He was generous, courteous, ingenious, learned, and capable of everything." One of the many he- roes, who in seeking glory, wealth and domin- ion for their country, sacrifice their comfort, their own happiness and their life.

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History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 2

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: New York, Munsell & company Number of Pages: 882

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882