History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 3

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

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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- pieion 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- wains. They appropriated the supplies and

DEATH OF LA SALLE.

loaded their canoes. The never-failing supply of fish seasoned their frugal fare. 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 Quebecfor re-enforcements and supplies. The half-famished men with a few families de- pended npon 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 nnavoidable 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.

HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

circuitous, laborious and dangerous route of the Ottawa River, the more direct route being through a country occupied by the Iroquois, who were found upon the war-path. The jour- ney was replete with difficulties, hardships and dangers, reaching for three hundred leagues through dense forests. The rivers were full of rocks and waterfalls, and the missionaries were compelled to ply the paddle, draw the canoe over rapids, and carry heavy burdens over roughest portages. Food was scarce and the Indians unfriendly, but after severe toil and intense suffering, the sacred envoys, Brebeuf and Daniel, reached the heart of the Huron wilderness and commenced their labors, soon to be followed by Lalemant and many others. Here for fifteen subsequent years the Jesuits continued with calm, impassive courage and un- wearied patience their self-denying labors, in the midst of privations, peril, suffering, insult, contumely, and danger the most imminent, the details of which would make a volume of thrilling interest.

The arm of French power had not yet tanght the savages the sacred character of the Black Coats, as the Jesuits were called to distinguish them from the Recollects, or the Gray Coats. The medicine men of the Indians, feeling that their craft was in danger, spared no opportu . nity to arouse against them savage hate. Mis -. fortune, sickness and death were all charged upon them as the fruit of their prayers and ceremonies, and the baptism of a dying infant was sometimes a source of imminent danger. To avoid this they often resorted to stratagem. Father Pigart, being rudely repulsed from a cabin whose inmates refused to have a dying infant baptized, offered to the little sufferer a piece of sugar, and unperceived, though watched, pressed from a wet cloth a drop of holy water upon his favorite's brow. But ulti- mately the patience and loving perseverance of the missionaries overcame all opposition, and the Huron nation received the truth. But the hour of their destruction was at hand. The terrible Iroquois came down upon them like a wolf upon the fold.

In July, 1648, at carly dawn, while the men were mostly absent on a hunting party, the populous town of Te-an-an-sta-gue was aroused by the fearful war-cry of the Iroquois. The few defenders arrive at the feeble palisades, en- couraged by the godly Father Daniel. Hastily,

as if the salvation of souls hung on each flying moment, he confesses, baptizes by aspersion, pronounces general absolution, and flies to the chapel, where many of his flock have gathered for safety He does the same there, exhorts them to flee from the rear of the chapel, and himself boldly opens the front door and faces the approaching foe to give a moment's time to his flying flock. They recoil at the brave man's presence, but soon they rally, his body is riddled with arrows, a fatal bullet finishes the work-he falls, breathing the name of Jesus, and his body is cast into the fire made by his burning chapel.

The following year, in March, other towns fell, and the brave and noble Brebeuf and the gentle and loving Gabriel Lalemant met death by tortures that only demons could invent or demons inflict. The whole annals of martyr- dom scarcely afford a parallel either of the in- genious cruelty of the tormentors or the won- derful fortitude and Christian heroism of the victims.

The Huron nation was destroyed. Many perished by the hand of the enemy, others sub- mitted and became incorporated in their tribes. Another portion settled near Quebec; and a small fraction, consisting of six or eight hun- dred, fled first to the Manitoulin Islands, thence to Mackinaw, from there to Bay de Noquet, and when the mission at La Pointe was established, 1665, they gathered around the standard of the cross erected by Father Allouez. Driven from thence by the Dacotahs, they were established at Mackinaw by Marquette in 1671. When Detroit was founded in 1701, they removed to this point. In 1751 they removed mostly to Sandusky, and subsequently, by the name of the Wyandots, took an active and conspicuous part on the side of the British in the War of the Revolution. They have been from the time of their dispersion, wander- ers without territory of their own, depending for a home upon the hospitality of other na- tions.

It was from the Huron mission that the first missionary explorers were sent forth to ex- amine the moral desolation of our Territory. At a feast of the dead held in Huronia, in early summer, 1641, there was in attendance a dele- gation from the Chippewas of Sault Ste. Marie. The missionaries, with that skill which was peculiar to them, soon ingratiated themselves

EARLY MISSIONARIES IN THE NORTHWEST.

into their favor, and were cordially invited to return with them to their homes on the con- fines of the Great Lake, the charms of which they depicted in glowing colors. The mis- sionaries, ever anxious to extend the domin- ion of the eross, joyfully accepted the invita- tion. Charles Raymbault, a Father thoroughly versed in the Algonquin language and customs, and Isaac Jogues, equally familiar with the Huron, were selected, and were the first who planted the cross within the limits of our State. On the 17th of June, 1641, they started upon their adventurous voyage, and for seven- teen days plied the paddle on the clear waters of the northern lakes and through the channel of the Ste. Marie River, gemmed by a thousand beautiful islands. They were kindly and hospitably received by the Chippewas at the Sault, who urged them to remain with them that they might profit by their word. They told them of the Great Lake, of the fierce Da- cotahs, and of numerous other tribes of whom the Fathers had never before heard. But they were compelled to return, and after planting the cross they left, hoping soon to be able to es- tablish a mission at this promising point among the docile Chippewas. Raymbault died with consumption the following year, and Jogues met a martyr's death among the Iroquois.

No further attempt was made to send the gospel to the great Northwest until 1656. After the destruction of the Hurons, the Iroquois reigned in proud and haughty tri- umph from Lake Erie to Lake Superior. Up- per Canada was a desolation, and even the route by the Ottawa River was not safe from the war-parties of these bold marauders. This year some Ottawas made their way to the St. Lawrence. Two missionaries left to return with them, one the celebrated and devout Dreuillettes. They were attacked by the Iroquois. Father Gareau was mortally woun- ded, and Dreuillettes brutally abandoned. An- other company of Ottawas and other Algon- quins appeared in Quebec in 1660, and asked a missionary.

Missions had now received a fresh impulse from the pious Lalle, the first bishop of Quebec, who came out in 1669, and Father Menard was selected as the first ambassador of the cause on the shores of Gitchie Gumee, the Big Sea Water. The choice was a fit one. He had been a compeer of the noble men who had en-

riched Huronia with their blood, and had ex- perienced every vicissitude of missionary serv- ice and suffering. He had rejoiced in bap- tizing many a convert on the banks of the beautiful Cayuga, and his seamed face attested the wounds he had received in the cause of truth. The frosts of many winters adorned his brow, and severity of toil and suffering had somewhat broken his frame, but his spirit was still strong and he was ready for the sacrifice. Although not buoyed up by the enthusiasm of youth or inexperience, he not only did not recoil from the labor, peril, suffering and death which he felt awaited him, but he cheerfully looked forward to a death of misery in the service of God as the truest happiness. Alone in August, 1660, he leaves the haunts of civilization, puts himself into the hands of savage strangers. They treat the aged priest with coarse bru- tality. From morning until night they compel him in a cramped position to ply the unwel- come paddle, to drag the canoe up the rapids, and at portages to carry heavy burdens. He is subjected to every form of drudgery, to every phase of insult and contempt. Want, absolute and terrible, comes in to enhance the horrors of the voyage. Berries and edible moss are exhausted, and the moose-skin of their dresses is made to yield its scanty and disgusting nutriment. Finally, with his bre. viary contemptuously cast into the water, bare - foot, wounded by sharp stones, exhausted with toil, hunger and brutal treatment, without food or the means of procuring any, he is aban- doned on the shores of Lake Superior to die. But even savage cruelty relents. After a few days, during which time he supports life on pounded bones, his Indian companions return and convey him to their winter rendezvous, which they reach October 15th, St. Theresa's day, and from that circumstance he called it St. Theresa's Bay (probably Keweenaw Bay). Here, amidst every discouragement and priva- tion, and with no white brethren nearer than Montreal, he began a mission and said mass, which, he says, "repaid me with usury for all my past hardships." For a time he was per- mitted a place in the dirty camp of Le Bouchet, the chief of the band -- he who had so cruelly abandoned him-but he was soon thrust out, and this aged and feeble servant of God spent two long, bitter, cold winters on that inhospi- table shore in a little cabin of fir branches piled

HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

one upon another, through which the winter winds whistled freely, and which answered the purpose, " not so much," says the meek mis- sionary, " to shield me from the rigor of the season, as to correct my imagination and per- suade me that I was sheltered." Want, famine, that frequent curse of the improvident tribes that skirt the great northern lake, came with its horrors to make more memorable this first effort to plant the cross by the waters of Lake Superior.

But the good Father found sources of conso- lation even here, and desired not to be taken down from the adorable wood. "One of my first visits," says he, " was in a wretched hut, dug out under a large rotten tree, which shielded it on one side, and supported by some fir branches which sheltered it from the wind. I entered on the other side almost flat on my face, but creeping in I found a treasure-a poor woman, abandoned by her husband and her daughter, who had left her two dying children, one about two and the other about three years old. I spoke of the faith to this poor afflicted creature, who listened to me with pleasure. ' Brother,' said she, ' I know well that our folks reject thy words, but for my part I like them well; what thou sayest is full of consolation.' With these words she drew from under the tree a piece of dry fish which, so to say, she took from her very mouth to repay my visit. I thanked her, however, valuing more the happy occasion which God gave me of securing the salvation of these two children, by conferring on them holy baptism. I returned some time after to this good creature, and found her full of resolution to serve God; and in fact from that time she began to come to morning and evening prayers so constantly that she did not fail once, however busied or engaged in gaining her livelihood." A pure and noble young man also embraced the faith, and a few others gladly received " the prayer."

Spring came and relieved the pressure of suffering, and hopefully did the missionary labor on. The band of partially Christianized Hurons, who on the destruction of their nation had sought refuge from the Iroquois in these northern fastnesses, were now at Bay de No- quet, and sent to Father Menard to come and see them and administer to them the rites of religion. It was a call that he could not resist, although warned that the toil of the journey

was too great for his failing strength, and that danger beset his path. He replied : "God calls me thither. I must go if it cost me my life." He started, and, at a portage, while his only at- tendant was getting the canoe over, on the 10th of August, 1661, he wandered into the forest and was never more seen. Whether he took a wrong path and was lost in the wood, or whether some straggling Indian struck him down, was never known.

Thus ended the life of Father Menard, the first Christian missionary who labored within the bounds of our Commonwealth. Without striking qualities, by his fervent piety, by his faithful and incessant toil, by his calm endu- rance of suffering and hardship, by his noble Christian courage, by his earnest faith and Christian hope, he had become one of the most useful missionaries in the New World, com- manding the respect of his superiors, the love of his equals, and the veneration of the Indians. As a pioneer in our own State, Michigan should cherish his memory and seek to perpetuate a knowledge of his virtues; but as yet, not a stream, not a bay, not a headland, bears his honored name, and on the shores of the great lake where he first raised the cross, that em- blem of our faith, even his existence is hardly known.

Hardships, discouragements, persecutions and death seemed only to excite the Jesuits to renewed and more energetic effort to carry the gospel to the poor Indian. In 1665, Claude Allouez left Quebec to commence a Christian mission on the shores of Lake Superior. He may well be called the founder of the north- western missions, the real pioneer of Christian- ity and civilization in the region bordering on the great northern and western lakes. He had not that cultivated intellect, that refined taste, that genial heart, that elevation of soul, that forgetfulness of self, that freedom from exaggeration, that distinguished Father Mar- quette ; but his was a strong character of daunt- less courage, of ceaseless and untiring energy, full of zeal, thoroughly acquainted with Indian character, and eminently a practical man, and for a full quarter of a century he was the life and soul of the missionary enterprise into Wis- consin and Illinois, and, to some extent, in Michigan.

In his voyage to the Sault he was subjected, as was generally the case with the missionaries

EARLY MISSIONARIES IN THE NORTHWEST.

until the arm of French power was distinctly felt in those remote regions, to keenest insult and coarsest brutality from his Indian conduc- tors. He passed on beyond the Sault; for a whole month be coasted along the shores of the great lake, and in October, at Chegoimegon, the beautiful La Pointe of our day, he raised the standard of the cross and boldly preached its doctrines. The Hurons, in search of whom Father Menard lost his life, some of the con- verts of Father Menard, and many heathen bands, gathered around the solitary priest and listened to his words, yet they opened not their hearts readily to "the prayer." He visited remote tribes; and after seeing how broad was the harvest and how ripe for the sickle, he descended in 1667 to Quebec for more laborers. Quickly he moved, promptly he acted. In two days after his arrival he was on his way back to the beautiful northern field, with an additional priest and a lay-brother in his company.

He remained at La Pointe until Father Mar- qnette took his place in the fall of 1679, when he founded the mission of St. Francis Xavier at Green Bay. After Father Marquette's death he succeeded him in the Illinois mission, and afterwards founded the mission of St. Joseph on our own beautiful river of that name. It does not fall in with our purpose to trace the interesting career of this man, and point out his abundant labors and untiring zeal as a mis- sionary, or his valiable services as an explorer, as our own soil was but incidentally the field of his efforts.

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History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 3

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