History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 16

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Michigan > St Clair County > History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan > Part 16

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Nicolet married Marguerite Couillard, at Quebec, October 7, 1737. He lost his life while on a mission to save a poor Abenaqui from the Algonquins, by the capsizing of his boat, Octo- ber 31, 1642. . To this bold adventurer, whose knowledge of the Western tribes was gained by actual experience, must all praise be given for having opened to the devoted followers of the Cross, the way to new fields of usefulness.

There were none to follow Nicolet to the wild West until 1641, when a great "feast of the dead " given by the Algonquins in Huronia, gathered there all the kindred tribes to take part in the funereal games, the dances, chants, and mournful processions of those decennial rites. Among the rest came the Otchipwes from the Rapids, which then closed to the vessels of men the entrance of the vast upper lake. These deputies, like the rest, were visited by the Jesuit missionaries, and so won were the good Otchipwes by the gentle, self-devoting ways of those heralds of the Cross, that they earnestly invited them to their cabins at the Falls of Ste. Marie, near the foot of Lake Superior, portraying, with all the lively imagination of the child of the forests, the riches and plenty that reigned in their sylvan abodes. Ever eager to extend their spiritual conquests, to enlarge the bounds of freedom in this Western world, the missionaries joyfully accepted the invitation of the Otchipwes. By command of the superior, two mission-

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ary Fathers, Charles Raymbault, a man thoroughly versed in the Algonquin customs and lan - guage, with Pere Isaac Jacques -- no less complete an Indian scholar-were dispatched to visit them. On the 17th of June they launched their canoes at the mission house of St. Mary's, in the country of the Huron Indians, and for seventeen days advanced over the crystal waters of the inland sea (Lake Huron), amidst the beautiful islands which stretch across the lake, cluster- ing around the lake-gemmed Manitoulin, so hallowed to the Indian's mind. When they reached the Falls of St. Mario, they found two thousand Indians assembled there, and amid their joyful greetings the missionaries gazed with delight on the vast field which lay before them. They heard of tribe after tribe which lay around, and ever and anon of the terrible Madowesse (Sioux), who dwelt on the great river of the West (Mississippi). Earnestly did the Otchipwes press the two fathers to stay in their midst. "We will embrace you," said they, "as brothers; we shall derive profit from your words;" but it could not be so. The paucity of missionaries in the Huron country did not yet permit of the establishment of that distant mis- sion. Raymbault and Jacques could but plant the cross to mark the limit of their spiritual progress; yet they turned it to the south, for thither now their hopes began to tend. After a short stay, they returned to St. Mary's, and hopes were entertained of soon establishing a mis- sion on Lake Superior; but Raymbault shortly afterward fell a victim to the climate, while Jacques began in his own person a long career of martyrdom, preluding the ruin of the Huron Mission, the death of its apostles, and the destruction of the tribe. The Jesuit missionaries located in the country of the Huron Indians, always wide awake to obtaining knowledge of the region lying to the westward and northward of Lake Huron, had, nevertheless, but meager ac- counts of the country even down to 1648.

The pipe of peace which Nicolet smoked with the Western tribes was not productive of im- mediate good returns. The death of Champlain, and the change in purposes and ambitions among the Canadian settlers, produced in the east an almost total forgetfulness of the upper lake country. For at least two decades of years after the discovery by Nicolet, very dim and shadowy is its history. Here and there references to the lakes, and the Indians inhabiting their shores, are made by Jesuit missionaries in their Relations. These "Relations " were the rec- ords kept by priests, of their experiences in their arduous calling. For many years, beginning in 1632, the Superior of the Jesuit Mission in Canada-then New France-sent every summer to Paris his reports, which embodied or were accompanied by those of his subordinates. For forty years, these reports were annually published in Paris, and were known as the "Jesuit Re- lations." Those which are of interest to the student of Michigan history begin with the year 1639-40, and extend to 1672. Says one of these records, of date 1648: "This Superior Lake extends to the northwest, that is to say, between the west and the north. A peninsula, or strip of land quite small, separates this Superior Lake from another third lake, called by us the Lake of the Paunts, which also discharges itself into our fresh water sea, through a mouth which is on the other side of the peninsula, about ten leagues more to the west than the Sault. This third lake extends between the west and the southwest, more toward the west, and is almost equal in size to our fresh water sea. On its shores dwell a different people, of an unknown language, that is to say, a language that is neither Algonquin nor Huron. These people are called the Paunts, not on account of any unpleasant odor that is peculiar to them, but because they say they came from the shores of the sea far distant toward the west, the waters of which being salt, they call themselves 'the people of the stinking water.'" Another account, written in 1654, after giving the arrival at Montreal of a fleet of canoes loaded with furs, belonging to friendly Indians who came from the upper country, a distance of 400 leagues, speaks of a part of these Indians being the Tobacco nations of the Hurons, and a portion Ottawas, and adds: " These tribes have abandoned their ancient country, and have retired toward the more distant nation in the vicinity of the great lake, whom we call Paunts, in consequence of their having dwelt near the sea, which is salt, and which our savages call 'stinking water.'" The Hurons had been entirely overthrown by the Iroquois in 1649 and 1650, and had abandoned their coun- try. A division of this nation called the Tobacco Indians, with such other Hurons as had taken refuge with them, settled on Mackinac Island, where they were joined by a branch of the Ottawas, nicknamed by the French, Cheveux releves, or Standing Hair; hence this statement in

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the "Relations " that these nations had "retired toward the more distant " Winnebagoes. Again in the same year, this is recorded: "In the islands of the ' lake of the people of the sea,' whom some persons wrongly call the ' Paunts,' there are many tribes whose language close- ly resembles the Algonquins." In 1656, one of the Jesuits writes: "Our attention has been directed toward a number of nations in the neighborhood of the 'Nation of the Sea,' whom some persons have called the Paunts, in consequence of their having formerly dwelt on the shores of the sea, which they call 'Winipeg,' that is to say, 'stinking water.'" Then follows an enumeration of the villages of Illinois and Sioux Indians, and of two other nations, the "Ponarak " and "Kiritinous." Such are the meager records of the West after its visitation by Nicolet, down to the year 1658.

In August, 1656, a band of the Ottawas, or other Algonquins, numbering 300, and in fifty birch-bark canoes, appeared upon the St. Lawrence. These savages demanded commerce with the French and missionaries for the boundless West. This was the beginning of the commerce of the Northwest. But for the greed of the fur-trader and the zeal of the Jesuit, the story of Nicolet would soon have passed from the minds of the Frenchmen inhabiting the St. Lawrence; and the discovery of Michigan, like the discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto, would soon have faded from the memory of man. But a missionary, whose name is not appended to the "Relations,"-and it is, consequently, uncertain who the reverend father was-took from the lips of an Indian captive, named Asatanik, and a man of considerable importance, an account of his having, in the month of June, 1658, set out from Green Bay for the north, passing the rest of the summer and following winter near Lake Superior-so called because of its being above Lake Huron. This Indian informed the Jesuit of the havoc and desolation of the Iroquois war in the West; how it had reduced the Algonquin nations about Lake Superior. The same mis- sionary saw at Quebec two Frenchmen, who had just arrived from the upper countries with 300 Algonquins in sixty canoes, laden with peltries. These fur-traders had passed the winter of 1659 on the shores of Lake Superior, during which time they made several trips among the sur- rounding tribes. In their wanderings they probably visited some of the northern parts of what is now Michigan and Wisconsin. They saw, at six days' journey beyond the lake, toward the southwest, a tribe composed of the remainder of the Hurons of the Tobacco nation, compelled by the Iroquois to abandon Mackinac, and to bury themselves thus deep in the forests, that they might not be found by their enemies. The two traders told the tales they had heard of the ferocious Sioux, and of a great river upon which they dwelt-the "great water," of Nicolet's guides. Thus a knowledge of the Mississippi began to dawn again upon the civilized world. It may be well to remember, in this connection, that the fur-traders came to what is now Michigan in advance generally of the missionaries. They led the way for the Jesuit fathers; but as trade was their object, and they left no record of their visits, only vague knowledge is had of what they really saw or did. But slight mention is made of them in the Relations, where, as much as possible, their presence and doings are kept in the background.

The narratives of the Indian captive and of the two Frenchmen were not lost upon the zealous Jesuits; for, two years later, Rene Mesnard attempted to plant a mission on the southern shore of Lake Superior, but perished in the forest by starvation or the tomahawk. Thoroughly inured to Indian life, with many a dialect of Huron and Algonquin at his command, this mis- sionary in endeavoring to establish the cross so far to the westward, went, with eight Frenchmen and a number of Ottawas, starting from Three Rivers, Canada, August 28, 1660. He made his way to the Georgian Bay, and thence to a large bay upon the southern shore of the lake, in all probability what is now known as Keweenaw. There, however, he met with little success in founding a mission. He subsequently determined to visit some Hurons who were then located upon, or near, the Noquet Islands, and who had sent to implore the missionary to come amongst them, as they had long beend estitute of a pastor, and many of them were fast relapsing into Pagan habits. It should be remembered that the Hurons proper, and their allies and kindred of the Tobacco nation, had, many years before, while living near the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, Canada, received the Jesuit missionaries at their villages, and numbers had professed Chris- tianity. Three of Mesnard's companions were sent to explore the way. Descending the Menom- onee River, they finally reached the Huron village, where they found a few wretched Indians --

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mere living skeletons. On their way they encountered great hardships, owing to the rapid cur- rent of the stream, its portage and precipices. Convinced of the impossibility of Mesnard's reach- ing the Hurons, or remaining with them if he did, they returned, encountering still greater difficulties in ascending the river. These Frenchmen were, doubtless, in their perilous journey, many times upon what is now the territory of Michigan. On their arrival at the lake, they im- plored the aged missionary not to attempt a journey evidently beyond his strength. But to their remonstrance he interposed, "I must go if it costs me my life." He set out with one French- man and some Hurons. The seventeen other companions returned to the St. Lawrence. Mesnard was soon left by the Hurons, and was afterward lost from his companions, who sought for him, but in vain. It seems that, while his attendant was employed in transporting a canoe, Father Mesnard accidentally became separated from him. This was about the 10th of August, 1661. With him perished the first mission-if, indeed, it can be called one- - upon the shores of the upper lakes. His faithful companion, Donne John Guerin, reached the Huron village in safety There was not at that time another missionary station nearer than Montreal. But the failure of this first attempt did not discourage the Jesuits, or quench their enthusiasm. But who was the man to cope with the thousand difficulties surrounding the establishment of a mission so far in the western wilds?

With better hopes, undismayed by the sad fate of Mesnard, indifferent to hunger, naked- ness and cold, to the wreck of their ships of bark, and to fatigue and privations by night and by day-in August, 1665, Father Claude Allouez embarked on a mission, by way of the Ottawa, to the far West. Early in September, he reached the rapids through which the waters of Lake Superior rush to Lake Huron, and admired the beautiful river, with its woody isles and in- viting bays. On the 2d of that month, he entered the great lake, which the savages rever- enced as a divinity, and of which the entrance presents a spectacle of magnificence rarely ex- celled in the rugged scenery of the North. He passed the lofty ridge of naked sand which stretches along the shore its drifting heaps of bareness; he urged his canoe by the cliffs of pic- torial sandstone, which for twelve miles rise 300 feet in height, fretted by the chafing waves into arches and bastions, caverns and towering walls, heaps of prostrate ruins, and erect col- umns crowned with fantastic entablatures. Landing on the south shore, the said mass, thus consecrating the forests which he claimed for a Christian King. Sailing beyond the bay of St. Theresa (so named by Mesnard, now Keweenaw Bay), and having vainly sought for a mass of fine copper, of which he had heard rumors (this being the first known of this metal by the whites), on the 1st day of October, he arrived at the village of the Ochippewas, on the west shore of the bay of Chagouamigong or Chegoimegon. It was at a moment when the young war- riors were bent on a strife with the warlike Sioux. A grand council of ten or twelve neighboring nations was held, to wrest the hatchet from the hands of the rash braves; and Allouez was ad- mitted to an audience before the vast assembly. In the name of Louis XIV. and his viceroy, he commanded peace, and offered commerce and an alliance against the Iroquois; the soldiers of France would smooth the path between the Ochippewas and Quebec; would brush the pirate canoes from the rivers; would leave to the Five Nations no choice between tranquillity and destruction. On the shores of the bay to which the abundant fisheries attracted crowds, a chapel soon rose, and the mission of the Holy Spirit was founded.

Claude Allouez traveled by the Ottawa, Lake Nipissing and French River to the Georgian Bay, and is supposed to have traversed the eastern shore of Lake Huron, as far south as the first Mesnard mission on that shore, and perhaps to the point which Nicolet suggested for a trading post, if not to the very site selected by Du Luth, twenty-one years later. In the Jes- uit Relations, 1667, the following references to this journey of Pere Allouez are made: "During the two years that Father Allouez has remained among the Indians, he has observed the cus- toms of all the nations that he has seen, and carefully studied the means that may facilitate their conversion. There is employment for a good number of missionaries, but there is noth- ing for them to subsist upon; one part of the year they live upon the bark of trees, another part on pulverized fish bones, and the balance of the time on fish, or on Indian corn, which sometimes is very scarce, and sometimes sufficiently abundant. The Father has learned by ex- perience, that, the fatigues being great, the labors continual and the nourishment light, a body

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even of bronze could not withstand it, consequently it is necessary to have at the missions, men of courage and piety, to labor for the subsistence of the missionaries, either by cultivating the earth, by fishing, or in following the chase; who would construct lodgings and erect some chapels to excite the veneration of these people, who have never seen anything finer than their birch-bark cabins. With these views, the Father resolved to come to Quebec himself, and labor to carry these designs into execution. He arrived there on the 3d day of August, of the year 1667, and after remaining two days only, his diligence was so great that he was prepared to set out from Montreal with a score of canoes of savages, with whom he had come down, and who awaited him at that island with a great deal of impatience; his equipage was composed of seven persons: Father Louis Nicholas, to labor conjointly with him, for the conversion of these people, and one of our brothers, with four men, to be employed at the stations in securing a subsistence for them. But it has pleased God that the success of this enterprise should not correspond with their good intentions, for when there was a question of entering the canoes, the savages became so ill-humored that the two fathers only, with one of their men, could ob- tain places in them."

The progress of exploration and discovery since 1667 is regarded in the historical sketch of the State, given as an introduction to the history of this county.

Military posts were for years the only habitations to be found on the frontiers, save the wigwams of the savage, and the only inhabitants the soldiers and officers who fraternized with the foe, or aided in the efforts employed to accomplish their departure before the advance of a progressive civilization.

The civilizers came when the soldiers had left the frontier posts, when the block-house fastnesses of Gael or Briton were deserted. The people of the Eastern States turned their thoughts Westward, and ultimately came hither to plant the seeds of enterprise, which have since borne such great fruits.

After them came the refugees, the emigrants. These men and women sought an escape from the tyrannies of the Old World, to which they had been subjected for generations, rather than to encounter others of which they were ignorant. Their coming hither was delayed until a time when necessity or inclination, prompted by the glowing accounts of life in the New World, led them to embark their hopes on a tide which, as the sequel in many instances has proved, led on to glory and to fortune.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME ST CLAIR.

The origin of the name is a subject of interest, and there are several theories and state- ments in that behalf which will be referred to in the order of date, as they occurred. The first is a tradition to the effect that Catholic missionaries, at an early day, erected a cedar cross near the banks of the river, on which a crucifix was placed at the intersection of the cross-bar, or below it, protected by a pane of glass held in place by wax. The date of locating the cross, or its location, of course is mere conjecture. As is known, the Spaniards introduced the custom of setting up a cross upon their first discovery or landing, thus signifying to all comers that the land was claimed by Spain, which derived its title direct from the Holy See. This custom also obtained with the adventurous, self-denying missionaries of the Catholic Church, who by this means indicated that the land was dedicated to the service of Christ. It is not stated what name was bestowed upon the country bordering on the strait or river connecting the Huron with the St. Clair.

In 1679, the crew of the Griffin landed on the shores of what is now known as Lake St. Clair. It is said that they named the lake in honor of the saint on whose fete day they first saw this body of water. Beyond the speculative assertions of Messrs. Hubbard and Judge Campbell on this subject, the writer cannot find an authority to warrant an acceptance of the statement. The name given to the river by the aborigines was Otsi-keta-sippi, and to the lake St. Clair, Otsi-keta.

Of the scenery, Hennepin remarks: "The country between the two lakes (Erie and Huron) is very well situated, and the soil very fertile. The banks of the strait (Detroit) are vast meadows, and the prospect is terminated with some hills covered with vineyards, trees bearing

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good fruit, groves and forests so well disposed that one would think nature alone could not have made, without the help of art, so charming a prospect. That country is stocked with stags, wild goats and bears, which are good for food, and not fierce as in other countries; some think they are better than our pork. Turkey cocks and swans are there very common; and our men brought several other beasts and birds, whose names are unknown to us, but they are extraor- dinary relishing. The forests are chiefly made up of walnut, chestnut, plum and pear trees, loaded with their own fruit and vines. There is also abundance of timber for building, so that those who shall be so happy as to inhabit that noble country cannot but remember with grati- tude they who have led the way."

Bela Hubbard, in his address at Grosse Point, August 12, 1879, stated that 200 years had passed since the crew of the Griffin discovered the waters of the St. Clair, and by reason of the day being the feast day of Sainte Claire, the foundress of the order of Poor Claires, La Salle gave to the Lake the name of the Saint. On the occasion of this second centenary of the voyage of the Griffin, D. Bethune Duffield's Men of Auld Lang Syne was sung. The first verse seems to agree with the spirit of Mr. Hubbard's address:

"Bold were the men of Auld Lang Syne, Who first braved ocean's breeze, But bolder still the men whose will First sailed these silent seas! First broke the waters of Sainte Claire, And gave our lake its name ; Here's honor to their bright career, And an enduring fame.'

Judge Campbell's poem, The Lady Claire, also corresponds historically with Mr. Hub- bard's prose.

The United States records are very definite in distinguishing between the names Sinclair and St. Clair. It appears that in the year 1765, Patrick Sinclair, an Irish officer, in the British service, while commandant of Fort Sinclair, purchased from the natives about 3,759 acres of land, located along the river named in commemoration of him-the River Sinclair. This officer was a distinct character from the officer of Irish or Scotch descent, in the American service, after whom this lake was named St. Clair. Patrick Sinclair remained in possession of this tract of 3, 759 acres for a period of seventeen years, and derived large profits from the large pine timber on his lands. He disposed of his interest to a few Canadians, who sold to others. In 1765, there was one farm on the River St. Clair, which was then outside the American title. In 1782. there were nineteen farms along the river, adjacent to the Sinclair farm, and in 1801, six farms additional, outside the American title. In 1806, the Indian title to the country north of Lake St. Clair was not extinguished, although there were no less than 123 farms claimed by individuals who supposed themselves to have extinguished Indian titles.

The prompter's bell has rung down the curtain of one hundred and seventeen years since that day, in the life of this district, when the ax of the lumberman was heard in the forests of St. Clair. One hundred and ninety-six years have passed since the French troops and the Cana- dian hunters settled in the county. Over one hundred years ago, the first permanent settlements were made. Many of those who came into the wilderness then lived to see the forest and bluff blossom as a rose; to see the narrow Indian trails yield precedence to roads made by the hand of man, to lines of travel connecting with the East and West, through the darkness of the night; to see a city created over the ruins of the Indian wigwams, and the mighty river by numerous ferries, overcome and bridged from shore to shore. The places he knew in those days primeval have passed into obscurity, and their trials become as a tale that is told. The lives of men of to-day are as holidays compared with those of men who were identified with its development and cultivation. Life in those days must have been attended with unlimited hard- ships and privations, without the possession of a compensating number of blessings and privi- leges. The mighty achievements that have since been made are the result of small beginnings, supplemented by constant industry, daring enterprise and untiring energy. The waste places have been made to yield abundant harvests, villages and cities have arisen as if by magic, and civilization and the arts " soar Phoenix-like to Jove." The marts of trade and traffic, and the

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History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 16

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818