USA > Michigan > Outlines of the political history of Michigan > Part 5
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The Minister at the close informed him that he should have 200 men of different trades, and six companies of soldiers. The common accounts say that with his commission as commandant, which he received directly from the Crown, and not from the Governor, he obtained a grant of fifteen acres square, at whatever point the new fort should be located. This grant has not yet been printed. It is certain that he had a much larger grant at some time, but this may have been the first.
La Motte Cadillac reached Quebec, on his re- turn from France, on the 8th of March, 1701. He left for his new post on the 5th of June, with 50
I P. 85.
54
FORT PONTCHARTRAIN.
[CHAP. IV.
soldiers and 50 artisans and tradesmen, the younger Tonty accompanying him as captain, and Dugué and Chacornacle as lieutenants. A Jesuit missi- onary to the Indians and a Récollet chaplain for the French were also in the company. They reached Detroit on the 24th of July, 1701.
The fort which was then commenced was called Fort Pontchartrain, after the friendly minister who had favored it, and bore that name until changed after the British conquest.
This was the beginning of the settlement of Michigan, for purposes of habitation and civil institutions.
CHAPTER V.
DETROIT UNDER LA MOTTE CADILLAC.
ABOUT the time of La Motte Cadillac's return, and when Callières, the Governor General, was expecting to carry out his instructions concerning the founding of Detroit, he held a council at Montreal with a deputation of Iroquois for the peaceful settlement of some complaints, and they departed in good humor. But in June, the Chief Sachem of the Onondagas, Teganissorens, returned with other chiefs, and complained that it was unfair to build a fort at Tuighsaghrondy before he acquainted them therewith."
It appeared from the Chief's statements, that the English had been negotiating with the Iroquois for the purpose of building a fort in the same place, but the Chief claimed the Indians had objected and refused consent. The Governor had in some way been informed of the designs of the English, which were set forth in Livingston's manifesto, and 'it may have hastened the French action. La Motte Cadillac had seen the necessity of promptness. Callières answered by com-
I 4 N. Y. Doc., 891.
56
IROQUOIS CESSION.
[ CHAP. V.
mending their refusal to the English to allow them to usurp a country which was not theirs, but said he was master of his own country, although he only desired to use his rights for the benefit of his children; and while ill-disposed persons might object, the Indians would one day thank him for what he had done. Teganissorens made no direct reply to this, but said the English would find it out, and he hoped, in case of war between French and English, their tribes might not be embroiled. Callières replied that he did not expect the English to do anything but oppose it, and all he asked of the tribes was neutrality. This the Chief agreed to."
In July, and before La Motte Cadillac's arrival, the Iroquois held a conference with the New York authorities, in which they said they would be glad to remove the end of the chain of friendship to Tiochsaghrondie or Wawyachtenok, if in their power, but the French would mock at it, for these had taken it in possession against their wills ; and that they had no power to resist such a Christian enemy.2
On the 19th of July, 1701, the Iroquois con- veyed to King William III. all their claims to lands in the west, and described the country granted as covering " that vast tract of land or colony called Canagariarchio, beginning on the northwest side of Cadarachqui Lake,3 and includes all that vast tract
1 1 Charlevoix, 270.
2 4 N. Y. Doc., 905.6.
3 Ontario.
57
IROQUOIS CLAIMS.
CHAP. V.]
of land lying between the great Lake of Ottawawa1 and the lake called by the natives Sahiquage, and by the Christians the Lake of Sweege, and runns till it butts upon the Twichtwichs, and is bounded on the westward by the Twichtwichs by a place called Quadoge, containing in length about 800 miles and in breadth 400 miles, including the country where beavers and all sorts of wild game keeps, and the place called Tjeughsaghrondie alias Fort De Tret or Wawyachtenock, and so runns round the Lake of Sweege till you come to a place called Oniadarundaquat," etc .?
Reference is made to "a place called Tjeuch- saghronde, the principall pass that commands said land." And this word is also used as one of the boundaries in another description of the country.
These names of the three great lakes are not often found on maps, but in the Iroquois negoti- ations no others are used. Some French maps call Lake Erie Oswego, and it is called Ochswego in the New York documents.3
The Iroquois claimed seriously the right to Upper Canada, but do not seem to have had ter- ritorial claims in Michigan. The complaint in McGregory's case was that they and the English had a right to trade with the Indians inhabiting this region - chiefly Hurons and Ottawas,- not that the country belonged to the Iroquois. Their objection to the forts on Lake Ontario, Niagara
3 5 N. Y. Doc., 694.
I Huron.
2 4 N. Y. Doc., 908 and seq.
58
WATER HIGHWAYS.
[CHAP. V.
and Detroit, was that these commanded their beaver country, by covering the passes by which alone it was reached.
It is within the recollection of many persons now living, that no carrying of goods to any large amount was possible except by water. The furs were all taken back and forth in canoes, until in very recent times bateaux and Mackinaw boats were substituted. The journey to Montreal and Quebec from Michigan was commonly made through Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, or occasionally through other streams leading to Lake Ontario from the north. The way through Lake Erie and round Niagara Falls was the most direct way to New York, and was the only convenient path for the Iroquois; and the Strait was the key to the whole, as at Detroit it was but about half a mile wide, with a view of some two miles above, and the same distance below, entirely unobstructed by islands or marshes.
In a memoir concerning the Indians made in 1718, and found in the Department of the Marine, is a full description of the Strait and its islands. It is there stated that it was a long time doubtful whether Detroit should not be founded at Grosse Ile.1 The cause of the hesitation was the appre- hension that the timber might some day fail. During the present century that island has been remarkable for the extent and beauty of its forest timber, but most of it was second growth, and 1 9 N. Y. Doc., 886.
59
CADILLAC BUILDS HIS FORT.
CHAP. V.]
probably in the beginning of the last century the land may not have been densely wooded. The same memoir speaks with surprise of the multitude and size of the apples. These were probably crab-apples which were abundant, and existed in different varieties. The translator must have been in error in making them as large as pippins. The term used in the original would seem to be pommes d'api, or lady-apples, which do not always exceed in size large crab-apples.
Bois-blanc Island, near the Canadian shore at Malden, was in after times regarded as a more important point, as it commanded the deepest channel and an unobstructed view of all the lake entrance south and eastward, whereas near Grosse Ile the channel is broken by small islands. The Island of Bois-blanc, formerly beautifully wooded, was completely denuded of trees for purposes of military observation, during the so-called Patriot War of 1838.
Immediately on his arrival La Motte Cadillac enclosed his proposed fort by a stockade of a few acres, probably not over three or four, and perhaps less. It stood on what was formerly called the first terrace, being on the ground lying between Larned street and the river, and between Griswold and Wayne streets. The ground was higher further back from the water, and the bank westward was also higher. But the point selected was opposite the narrowest part of the river or strait, and high enough to command everything
60
THE OLD TOWN OF DETROIT.
ICHAP. V.
within range. The fort proper, without the bas- tions, was one arpent square, and stood at the edge of the slope. If, as is probable, the plan of the settlement within the stockade was the same as subsequently, there is little difficulty in finding out its general appearance. There was a road running about the enclosure within the defences called the Chemin du Ronde, which appears from descriptions in conveyances to have been twelve feet wide. The other streets could not have been wider, and some, mentioned as little streets, were probably very narrow. In 1778, there were one twenty foot street and six fifteen foot streets ; but these were laid out later. The older streets in Quebec may have resembled them. The lots did not exceed twenty-five feet by thirty or forty, and were often smaller. M. De Bellestre, the last Commander under the French, purchased two lots together, not very long before the surrender, which were apparently very eligible property, the combined size of which was thirty feet by fifty-four, and this property extended from street to street. On the river side of the fort, the ground de- scended quite sharply, leaving a small space of level ground near the water about forty feet wide, which was in process of time divided into lots. The domain outside of the fort, being somewhat more than half a mile in width, was used partly by La Motte Cadillac for his own purposes, and partly rented in parcels of a fourth of an arpent in width by five arpents in depth. A part was
61
OMISSIONS OF EARLY WRITERS
CHAP. V.|
at one time occupied by an Indian village. After the domain was revested in the Crown, it was used for a common, and other purposes of con- venience. But for a few years after the settle- ment, the cultivated grounds of the French were all within the domain, and within a hundred rods of the fort.
The writers who describe this region in early times were very deficient in that habit of minute description which is so valuable afterwards in forming an idea of the domestic ways of the people. There is nothing to indicate whether there were cattle or draft animals of any kind. As all the expeditions from the east were by water, neither horses nor cattle could have been brought from that quarter, as after the loss of the Griffin there were no large boats used for a long time. There is, however, in a spiteful report of M. Aigremont, made in 1708, a passage bearing on this subject. He says " La Motte required of a blacksmith named Parent, for permission to work at his trade, the sum of six hundred francs and two hogsheads of ale, and the obligation to shoc all the horses of M. La Motte, whatever number he may have, though at present he keeps but one."I It is probable the horses found in this region at that time came from the southwest, and were a distinct breed from those afterwards in- troduced from below.
I Sheldon, 281.
62
HOUSES AT DETROIT.
[CHAP. V.
Aigremont speaks also somewhat contemptu- ously of the small thatched log houses of the settlers within the walls; and it has been hastily assumed that this was the character of all the buildings. But there is evidence to the contrary, and it is apparent that there were competent mechanics and a demand for them. La Motte Cadillac, in 1703, had already under orders from Quebec, built a house of oak for the Huron Chief, forty feet wide by twenty-four feet deep,' on an eminence by the river overlooking the Huron village, because he desired to live like a Frenchman. This was cer- tainly a spacious and respectable building ; and from the landmarks may have occupied the beautiful spot formerly the homestead of General Cass, before the high and shaded terrace was cut
down and graded. It is not likely the proud commander would have allowed the chief to possess a finer house than his own. It is supposed and said to be known that La Motte's own house occupied the same foundation that, after the great fire of 1805, was rebuilt upon by Joseph Campau, still remaining as one of the oldest landmarks within the present city limits of Detroit. Mention has before been made of the carved work of the early artisans. The same company that built the Griffin erected at the St. Joseph's River a building so large as to demand considerable skill. The edifices afterwards erected within Fort Pont- chartrain, when there is no reason to suppose
I Sheldon, III.
63
INDIANS AT DETROIT.
CHAP. V.]
materials or labor were more abundant, were beyond doubt well made and expensive. The purchase before referred to by M. Bellestre, was made in 1760 of one Vernet, who was a cutler as well as smith, and it was certified by Bellestre to have cost him 12,000 livres.1 This if counted as livres parisis would have been 3,000 dollars, and if livres tournois 2,500 dollars, a very con- siderable sum in those days. The instrument of purchase included not only the lots and buildings referred to, but Vernet's stock in trade, and his bill for building Bellestre's own dwelling; and the whole consideration was 30,000 livres, or from 6,000 to 7,500 dollars, equivalent to more than double that sum now, and with the low prices of labor in those days probably going much further.2
La Motte's first care was to gather the Indians about him and retain them near his fort. In this he was very successful, very much to the wrath of the Fathers at Mackinaw, as the Hurons and most of the other Indians at that post emigrated to Detroit. La Motte, who had a standing feud with the Jesuits, for what he claimed to be un- authorized interference with his interests and with the royal wishes, wrote exultingly and a little mal-
I County Records, B., 128 and seq.
2 All houses were probably made of timber until long after the laying out of the new town, except two or three of brick or stone, and some barrack- like buildings of rough cast. Timber was cheap, round or hewed, and made warm and durable houses; and until saw-mills were introduced, and boards and shingles readily obtainable, log or block houses roofed with thatch were very common in this region, and are not unknown now.
64
INDIAN POLICY.
[CHAP. V.
iciously to Count Pontchartrain, in August, 1703, giving an account of the actual and promised ac- cessions to his settlement, in which he says : " Thirty Hurons of Michilimackinac arrived here on the 28th of June, to unite themselves with those already established here. There remain only about twenty - five at Michilimackinac. Father Carheil, who is missionary there, remains always firm. I hope, this fall, to pluck out the last feather of his wing, and I am persuaded that this obstinate old priest will die in his parish, without having a single parishioner to bury him."
Father Carheil was a devoted and good man, and his zeal for the preservation of the Indians from demoralizing influences was commendable, and in some degree efficacious.
It has not, however, been sufficiently noticed that La Motte's deserved reputation, (which in spite of his impetuosity always in the long run secured him the confidence of the King and his ministers, as well as of the Indians,) rested largely on his freedom from the reckless disregard shown by some persons for the welfare of the Indians. In a letter written while at Mackinaw, in 1695, in which he criticised a very excellent and wise prohibition of the sale of brandy, there are expressions which might seem to indicate that he cared very little about them or their fate. (He mentions-by the way- a very remarkable fact, if it be true, that the Sioux would not touch brandy and greatly disliked it.) When he had the responsibility of his
65
TEMPERANCE REGULATIONS
CHAP. V.]
own settlement upon his hands he manifested a spirit very rare in those days, and which in turn subjected him to the same criticism which he had indulged in towards the government. M. Aigre- mont, who lost no chance of fault-finding, charges La Motte with endeavoring to prevent disturbances from the excessive use of brandy, by putting it all in one storehouse and selling it at an exor- bitant rate, allowing no one to drink except at the depot, and allowing no one to have more than one drink of the twenty - fourth part of a quart. M. Aigremont complains not only that no one could get drunk on such a quantity, but that, as each had to take his turn, sometimes the Indians had to go home without getting even a taste. La Motte was, in this, wise beyond his generation. It is worthy of remark that the traders of Detroit in 1775 resorted to a very similar expedient, to pre- vent drunkenness and keep spirits away from the Indians.I
It appears that in the first instance the pro- prietary rights of La Motte Cadillac were not very extensive. The commission given him in 1700 has not been printed. But there was evidently some right of trading, though not in such furs as were within the monopoly. His powers as a mil- itary commander over all in the post seem, from incidental references, to have been plenary and exclusive.
I Record A., 337.
5
66
CADILLAC INTERFERED WITH.
[CHAP. V.
The Canada Company procured, before the first year was over, from the Governor and Intendant, authority to assume exclusive charge of the fur and peltry traffic. How far this was authorized by the King is not evident. But within the next two or three years new arrangements were made to which Cadillac was a party, which gave him a certain oversight in the business, though not any control over its details, which were in charge of agents.
The Commandant had constant difficulties with these men, and was annoyed by very active enemies. The purpose of his settlement was to found a town of French artisans and other civilians, and to make it a nucleus for a large Indian population. He had been promised that the roving traders should not be allowed to interfere with it. But he found active opposition from the mission- aries and others at Mackinaw, (who were jealous of the rival post which had enticed away all their Indians,) and from the traders who had dealt with the tribes at the north. There were also com- plaints made to the King from the high officials, for which it is hard to find any honest explana- tion. They represented the fort as useless, and offensive to the Iroquois, and the place as not eligible for agriculture. Soldiers were denied him, and his petitions to allow settlers to come in and establish themselves were disregarded.
The new war with the English, which broke out soon after Detroit was founded, made their
67
CADILLAC EXONERATED.
CHAP. V.]
emissaries active; and attacks were made, some openly and some stealthily, upon the fort, which met with some calamities.1 In the latter part of 1703, and beginning of 1704, Cadillac detected the Company agents and some accomplices in very bold and important speculation and frauds, and put them in arrest. They had relatives in high positions; and in the autumn of 1704, La Motte was ordered to Quebec for trial on charges of tyrannical conduct. During his absence, which was protracted, much was done to destroy his plans, and the officer in charge provoked a war with some of the neighboring Indians, which was unfortunate in bringing much trouble on the post. La Motte was acquitted, but, disgusted with his treatment, he appealed his grievances to Count Pontchartrain, who came over to Quebec, and gave him a patient hearing, and dismissed him with commendation.
One of the most audacious wrongs done him received a very severe rebuke. The King him- self, in 1703, wrote to Callières and Beauharnois, (Governor and Intendant,) directing them, in view of the conflicting representations made to him about Detroit, to call an assembly of the most reputable officers and inhabitants of Canada to
1 In 1703, the Indians near Detroit were induced to visit Albany, and for a time were more or less under English influence. After their return to Detroit they attempted to burn the fort, but were repulsed, after they had done some mischief. The Ottawas soon after made a demonstration in which they received punishment. In 1706, while Cadillac was in Quebec, another attack was made while M. de Bourgmont was in charge, killing a missionary. Father Constantine, and a soldier.
68
CADILLAC'S ENEMIES.
[CHAP. V.
meet Cadillac, and consider all the reasons for and against it, and when agreed to have him, as well as themselves, sign a proper memorial for the royal guidance.' This meeting they called, but did not notify Cadillac until several months after it had been held. The report was made without information from the person most relied on to give it. The Minister was very indignant at this treachery, and expressed himself plainly.2 In 1706, Pontchartrain wrote to Vaudreuil that his conduct in favoring Arnaud, who was one of the persons arrested by Cadillac, was so censurable that, unless he showed more respect to the King's orders, he would lose his office.3 La Motte re- turned to his post in 1706. It appears that he was thereafter left in sole control of the fort, and, although annoyed more or less by new hindrances, was maintained honorably until his removal to Louisiana. In 1708, M. Aigremont was sent out by the King to report upon this among other posts; but on the way he evidently fell into the hands of La Motte's enemies, and his report was a labored argument for the suppression of the fort and settlement altogether, in favor of Mackinaw. It was too strongly drawn to conceal the spirit of the writer, and, while some of his recommendations were approved, he was not left without censure.4 He had further correspondence with the Marine Department, in which he lost no
I 9 N. Y. Doc., 742. 3 9 N. Y. Doc., 777.
2 Sheldon H., p. 154. 9 N. Y. Doc., 777. 4 9 N. Y. Doc., 827.
69
D'AIGREMONT'S VIEWS.
CHAP. V.]
opportunity of assailing La Motte and his post. His last attempt appears in a letter to Count Pontchartrain, in November, 1710, in which he not only advocates making Mackinaw the controlling post of the country, but recommends doing so by the pernicious system of congés, or licenses to trade in the Indian country. "To render these licenses valuable" - he remarks -"a large num- ber of canoes ought to be prevented going up to Detroit: for being unable to trade off within its limits the great quantity of goods with which they would be loaded, in the time ordinarily em- ployed in bartering, those who would find their stock too large would not fail to go further off to sell them. Finally, my Lord, the value of these licenses will depend on the proportion of the number of canoes which will go up to Detroit, which ought to be fixed at 8 or 10 at the most."1
The history of the colony shows that it was but rarely that any one in power favored the exten- sion of French settlements; and the opposition to these derived its strength from two controlling elements - the missionaries and the fur traders - which happened to work together, though from different motives. Beauharnois and De la Gal- issonnière were the most favorable of all the later Governors to colonization, and both took active measures to forward it. But the census returns show a lamentable lack of people. In 1719, there were but 22,530 in all Canada; in 1720, 24,434;
1 9 N. Y. Doc., 852.
70
CADILLAC OBTAINS A SEIGNEURIE. [CHAP. V.
in 1721, 24,511 ; in 1734, 30,516. Cadillac was a strenuous advocate of the policy of enlarging the actual settlements for farming purposes, and of civilizing the Indians by education and discipline in contact with the French. And as Detroit stood alone to represent this policy, it is not strange that many misrepresentations were made in regard to it. But the best evidence of the Commander's fidelity is found in the unshaken confidence of the Home Government, which is found very frequently suggesting to the Governor and Intendant the duty of letting him alone, and of respecting his rights.'
Up to his interview with Count Pontchartrain, in Quebec, La Motte's powers had been so ham- pered that the post did not make much progress, although remarkably successful in gathering in the Indians. But his requests to be allowed to en- courage settlements were passed by, or at all events not much favored. The Minister's eyes seem to have become opened to the state of affairs, and in 1705 and 1706 he was put in complete and sole control of the post, and granted a manor or seigneurie, the precise limits of which it is now difficult to ascertain.
His plans, which were not all allowed, were shadowed forth in his correspondence of 1703. He then desired leave to encourage the Indians to live in houses and learn French customs, and to organize companies of Indians drilled as soldiers.
1 9 N. Y. Doc., 777, 805.
71
SCHEMES FOR IMPROVEMENT.
CHAP. V.]
He further desired to establish a seminary for the common instruction of French and Indian children, and offered to bear the expense himself or provide means without charge to the Crown. He urged that the place should be allowed to become a substantial settlement ; that lands should be granted to soldiers and settlers, and that settlers should be allowed to erect dwellings. He desired
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