USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. I > Part 46
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"We shall speak to you on another occasion of the manner in which we are treated and how much we are in need of your help. Your interest, Gentlemen, is sufficiently bound up with ours to engage you to interest yourselves with us. We hope that you will spare nothing to make our demands of effeet, and that you will join with Governor Carleton, and give him all possible enlightenment
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on these matters. We have not been able to send in our representations earlier; the sudden departure of the vessel did not give us time.
"We have the honor to be, with respect, Gentlemen,
"Your very humble and obedient servants,
"At Detroit,
24 May, 1769.
"Jacques Campau, "J. B. Chapoton, "Pierre Reaume."
(Copy of the letter addressed to General Gage)
"Monsieur:
"On the 18th instant we had the honor of presenting, in the public name, a request to Captain Turnbull, asking him to forward to you our respectful representations concerning the Ile aux Cochons. He has refused to do this, for what reason it is not for us to question.
"But this is why, Monsieur, for and in the name of the people, we very respectfully beg Your Excellency to support us in our rights and claims upon the said Island, that it may be restored to us, since it has been in our possession more than sixty years. We are told it belongs to the King. This is true in the sense that the whole country is his by title of Seigneur, but it is ours by the title of commonalty. Our late conflict with Mr. Dequindre is an authentic proof of this; in spite of the concession he had obtained it was publicly restored to us.
"Also, the Gentlemen, the Commandants, have usurped for some years now a part of the commons of the town ordinarily called the ban-lieue and have made it an enclosure for their special convenience, to the great disadvantage of the citizens. That enclosure lies between the fort and the open country, so that it shuts off any road of communication (into the fort).
"This is contrary to all laws and customs, since the gates of the town are closed at sundown and the habitants are forced to sleep in the open with their carts. We are also in distress because forbidden to cut any wood and even threatened with the refusal of pasturing our cattle.
"This is why, Monsieur, we beg Your Excellency, very insistently, that you will confirm to us all our rights and privileges which we enjoyed under the former Government, as also those granted to the present subjects of His Britannic Majesty.
"We are persuaded that if our grievances had been placed before you, we would have received every satisfaction, in the same degree as you are assured of our interest in the present government, were it only known to you, and of our profound respect with which we have the honor to be, of Your Excellency,
"Detroit, May 24, 1769.
"Captains of Militia for and in the name of the people.
"Your very obedient servants, "Jacques Campau, "J. B. Chapoton,
"E. Gamelin, "P. Pierre Reaume."
(Copy of letter addressed to Governor Carleton) "Monsieur:
"Your interest in public affairs inspires us with confidence to beg you, in the name of the people of this district, to listen favorably to our representations, that we may receive recognition from His Majesty in our claims.
"We are even persuaded that your influence will obtain complete satisfaction for us in this matter. We did ourselves the honor of writing to General Gage,
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but Captain Turnbull refused the letter acceptance and would not send our request. We are ignorant of his reasons for this refusal. We believe, however, that he has had more indulgence for Mr. MeDougall.
" The sudden sailing of the ship after the publication of the order did not give us the necessary time to make our humble representations. We beg the pro- vincial government to search the records of Canada for some written proof of our titles, and to communicate such proof to you that they may be authenticated. For this appears to be the foundation of the claims which are being made against us, though our possession of the public commons for more than sixty years should be sufficient to establish a good title. Besides, the restoration which was made to us, to the prejudice of others who had made a former like claim, should serve to establish our right. More than this, our possession since this country was ceded (to the British in 1760) should be continued according to all rights and customs. This Island, Monsieur, is of indispensable consequence to us for the protection of our cattle. This was why it was originally given to the inhabitants of the community, but our ancestors were not sufficiently fore- sighted to obviate all claims founded upon the lack of a written grant, and upon greed, which now works to the prejudice of our rights.
"We are convinced that His Majesty and his council have been taken by surprise, and that if they had known the claim of the people and their need of that commons, they would never have acceded to the claim of Mr. George McDougall. We even believe that there are certain restrictions in his acquisi- tion, and that this is the reason he has obtained the Indian consent by some barrels of rum to allow him to take possession and that he has made his right public, believing, without doubt, that the silence of the people and the consent of the Indians had assured him complete possession.
"This is why, Monsieur, we beg you, in the name of the entire community, to make valid our rights and pretentions to the Ile aux Cochons, that we may be restored to our former prerogatives. We would solicit all such favors with the most profound respect and have the honor to remain, Monsieur,
"Your very humble and very obedient servants, "Jacques Campau, "Eustache Gamelin, "J. Bte. Chapoton, "Pierre Reaume."
"Detroit, May 24, 1769.
"Detroit, April 2, 1771.
"To the Gentlemen Merchants of Canada.
"Messieurs:
"We ask for the restitution of the Ile aux Cochons, since it has not yet been granted to us. We have the honor to beg you to a renewed interest in our favor. No one of us but does not daily feel the detriment to his cattle by the cession of that commons.
"His Excellency, General Gage, has proposed arbitration with Monsieur McDougall, to which we have consented, but which he has refused, saying that His Majesty and his council would decide the difference between us. We are writing to General Gage and to Governor Carleton that they will act in our interest, and we beg you, Gentlemen, in the name of the public, to lend your assistance to all which concerns us and to spare no efforts to aid us in obtaining justice.
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"To accomplish this, we ask you to join with us in writing Governor Carleton, that he may deign to support our claim as he has promised, if representations are made by the people of the province, and it will be very much to the point to interest them in our cause. We are persuaded that if His Majesty had been fully informed of our rights and pretentions to the Commons, he would never have consented to do us such a wrong in favor of a single individual.
"Individually, we flatter ourselves with a happy termination of our troubles if you unite with us, and this is what we hope of good patriots who have the common interest at heart. We confide ourselves, therefore, to your interest and effort in obtaining for us prompt and full satisfaction, being ever under sincere obligations to you and never ceasing to be, Gentlemen,
"Your very humble and very obedient servants, "Jacques Campau, "C. A. Barthe, "L. St. Cosme, "Pre. Chapoton, "Pierre Reaume."
Nothing came of the opposition to MeDougall's claim on the island. In 1773 a census was taken here which shows that there were on the island one man, one woman, three servants, twenty oxen, seventeen cows, thirty-two heifers, 121 sheep, thirty hogs, two houses and one barn.
The War of the Revolution broke out and Detroit became the most important of the western posts in British hands. Henry Hamilton was appointed lieu- tenant-governor here. Hamilton had been importuned by the French to get the island away from McDougall, and he concluded to oblige them, and at the same time to get a fine property for the war department. So he wrote to Governor Carleton in January, 1778, as follows:
"The inhabitants having represented to me the losses and damage they suffer by being deprived of the commonage of Hog Island, I have directed Capt. MeDougall's brother-in-law, who is his attorney at this place, to acquaint him that unless I have your Excellency's orders to the contrary, the inhabitants shall be reinstated in the possession of it on the first of May, 1778, which is time sufficient for him to prove a right."
In August of the same year he again wrote:
"If Capt. McDougall shall prosecute his pretensions in the courts, I request you to produce the claims of the inhabitants, which, in my humble opinion, are sufficient to support their title. An island, being a royalty, if it had ever been granted from a crown as a commons, I apprehend the inhabitants have no power to surrender that right, as their posterity would thereby be injured past redress."
Carleton had been removed from his office as governor and, in answer to Hamilton's letter, said that he would place the letters before his successor, Frederick Haldimand, immediately on his arrival, and that, in the meantime, Hamilton should collect all materials he could, and send them down to be examined by the crown lawyers.
On the 7th of October, 1778, Hamilton set off on his ill-fated expedition to take Vincennes from General Clarke, where he was defeated and taken prisoner. He left Major Lernoult in charge of the fort here, but Lernoult remained only a short time, when he was succeeded by Maj. Arent Schuyler De Peyster, who remained in charge until the close of the war. On the very day of Hamilton's
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departure for Vincennes, General Haldimand wrote to him asking if there were not lands near the fort at Detroit where the garrison might be employed in cultivating grain and raising cattle for their own subsistence.
At the beginning of the Revolution, MeDougall took a captaincy in the 84th Regiment, stationed at Detroit, where he remained until 1778, when he was sent to take charge of the detachment on Carleton Island. He was taken siek, and early in 1780 went to Montreal, where he applied for permission to sell his commission in the service. Haldimand at first refused to allow the sale, but on representation that McDougall was likely to die, he granted permission, and the captaincy was transferred to Captain Sinelair of the 15th Regiment. MeDougall died in Montreal about April S, 1780, leaving his widow and two sons, Robert (or John Robert, as he was afterwards called), born June 30, 1764, and George, born October 19, 1766.
Immediately after the death of Captain MeDougall, Haldimand, supposing that the island would be sold in order to close up the estate, directed De Peyster not to permit the sale, as it was his intention to reclaim it for the use of the crown and garrison at Detroit, and to settle on it such prisoners as might be taken on the incursions towards the Ohio.
The MeDougall family were dependent upon the liberality of the governor for the most valuable portion of their property, and he hastened to assure the widow that her rights would be taken care of. De Peyster took possession of the property, however, and after having the property appraised, placed Capt. Isaac Ruddle and his family and one other family on the island, reserving a part of the meadow ground for the king's cattle. Captain Ruddle was a "rebel" who had been taken prisoner by Captain Bird on one of the latter's expeditions towards the Ohio; however, Ruddle remained quietly on the island until 1782, when he obtained leave to go to Montreal to see if he could not be exchanged, so as to return to his home.
The appraisers chosen by Major De Peyster were Nathan Williams and Jean Baptiste Crainte, a master carpenter, and the result of their appraisal was as follows:
One dwelling house valued at.
£250 0 0
One dwelling house valued at .
40 0 0
One dwelling house valued at.
10
0 0
An old barn, without a top, valued at
18 0 0
A fowl house 6 0 0
Some timber 10 0 0
.
£334 0 0
The island was supposed to contain 768 acres.
There were no courts established in Detroit at this time, and the entire dis- trict was within the jurisdiction of Montreal. It has been asserted, and is prob- ably true, that William Macomb was appointed guardian of the two MeDougall boys, by the Montreal court, and Macomb very likely looked after the interests of his wards, though there are no evidences obtainable to show that he did anything for some years.
Mrs. McDougall was a French lady, daughter of the old notary, Navarre, and was well educated. In an unpublished memorial of the widow, who signs herself Marie Magdougall, she offers, for herself and children, to relinquish their interest in the island for five hundred pounds sterling. This memorial is
OLD BELLE ISLE BRIDGE, DESTROYED BY FIRE
BURNING OF BELLE ISLE BRIDGE
Vol. 1-29
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in French and is addressed to General Haldimand, September 26, 1781. The offer was not accepted, but, on the other hand, the McDougall heirs refused to accept the appraisal made by De Peyster.
Possession, however, was taken and claimed by the commanding officer, and retained for some years. In the census of 1782, De Peyster reported that "Hog Island will produce, this harvest, one hundred bushels of wheat and seven or eight hundred bushels of Indian corn. The small quantity of wheat owing to the late heavy rains."
Both Haldimand and De Peyster wished to erect a windmill on the island, for the purpose of grinding wheat, but this year De Peyster found his hands too full of other work to give attention to the matter, and he begged the general to defer the work until a more appropriate time. He employed a millwright from Kentucky to begin the work, but he was, at the same time, putting up a new powder magazine in the fort, and he had not stones enough and vessels sufficient to carry the stone for both purposes, and continued the magazine, leaving, as he said, the mill house until next spring.
De Peyster was commandant, not governor, of Detroit, and Hamilton retained the office of heutenant-governor, though he was in prison at Williams- burgh, Va., and he continued to retain this office until the appointment of Jehu Hay in 1782. Hay had served under De Peyster and there was some ill feeling between them, so that De Peyster wanted to leave Detroit before Hay arrived. De Peyster's wishes were gratified; first, by Haldimand's preventing Hay from coming to Detroit immediately on his appointment, and next, by transferring De Peyster to Niagara when Hay was, at length, permitted to come here.
George McDougall, the son, although only a boy in years, had become a lieutenant in the British service, and turned his attention to obtaining his rights on the island.
By the terms of the treaty which, in 1783, terminated the Revolutionary War, the boundary line between the United States and England was fixed at the channel in the Detroit River, thus making Hog Island a possession of the former country. It will be recalled that the British refused to surrender these posts to the United States, and that it was not until 1796 that Detroit passed into the possession of our government. Notwithstanding the fact that they retained possession, the British considered the retention unlawful and from 1783 made no improvement whatever on any property remaining in possession of the troops except what was absolutely necessary for their continued occupation. The pickets of the fort were pulled up, broken off by the Indians crowding between them to enter the village, and were washed away by spring freshets; lands on the public commons were occupied for private purposes, a thing never tolerated before, and in all ways the authorities gave an indirect notice that they no longer claimed the right of ownership over the property, but expected to be called on to move at any time.
The memorials of Lieutenant McDougall to Haldimand in October, 1783, and in July, 1784, set forth the ownership of the island by his father in his life- time, and the ownership by his mother, brother and himself at the present time; that the island was now within the lines of the United States, and consequently would no longer be of use to the crown, and asked that the property be restored to the owners. De Peyster also advised Haldimand to accede to the wishes of McDougall, the more willingly, perhaps, because he found that the property would fall within the American lines, by the terms of the treaty, and because
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the British government had done nothing to vest the title in the crown, other than to take possession under the direction of Haldimand himself.
On the first of October, 1784, Lieutenant-Governor Hay was directed to put Lieutenant McDougall in possession of the island, reserving to the crown only the right of storing and placing on the island, in case of the evacuation of the post of Detroit, all effects belonging to the crown, as long as it might be necessary.
The island having thus again passed completely under control of the Mc- Dougall family, which then consisted of the brothers George and John Robert, remained in their possession until November 11, 1793, when John Robert conveyed his moiety to William Macomb for £818, 16s. The island was in the actual possession at this time of Messrs. Meldrum and Park, merchants of the fort.
George McDougall had agreed, on July 25, 1785, to convey his half of the island to his brother John Robert, but owing to the financial troubles of the latter, he did not make the conveyance until January 6, 1794, and then, on April 7th of that year William Macomb purchased the other half of the island for 776 pounds. In both of these conveyances to Macomb there was a symbolical act which was common at that day, termed livery of seizin, by which the land was understood to be actually delivered to the purchaser.
In these transfers the delivery was made by giving to Macomb "a twig in the name of the whole premises." William Macomb died in 1796, still owning the property, and by his will devised it to his three sons, John, William and David.
Our government took possession of the country in 1796, and for a few years matters progressed without much inquiry as to titles to real estate, but when the question was brought before Congress it was resolved to ignore the grants of the Indians, and of the French and British governments, except in a few cases, and commissioners were appointed to sit in Detroit and hear claims for titles to real estate based upon actual possession before July 1, 1796.
The Macomb brothers filed their claim for the island, and adduced evidences of actual occupation as required by law, and the land was awarded to them. John had mortgaged his share of his father's estate to his uncle, Alexander (the father of Gen. Alexander Macomb), and died leaving the estate thus encumbered. It was found necessary, in this complication, to appeal to the register of the district of Erie, Huron and Detroit (the probate court of today), to partition the ancestor's estate, and in the partition so made in 1817, our island was allotted to David B. Macomb.
Barnabas Campau purchased the island from David B. Macomb, March 3, 1817, for $5,000. From this time forward, although the land was the private property of Mr. Campau, it was looked upon more and more as the property of the city, the citizens using it as a place of quarantine, as a ducling ground, and as a general picnic ground.
The steamer Henry Clay, having on board Gen. Winfield Scott and a detach- ment of soldiers on their way to Chicago, reached Detroit in July, 1832, when one of the soldiers was taken ill with the cholera and died in a few hours. Gen- eral Scott, in his report of it, says that "the only surgeon on board, in a panic gulped down half a bottle of wine, went to bed sick, and ought to have died." Fortunately, the general himself, before setting out on the expedition, had consulted the surgeon Morver in New York, and had received instructions
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how to proceed in cholera cases, as he expected to receive a visit from the scourge, and "thus he became the doctor on the afflicting occasion."
Other passengers were taken ill within a short time, and the vessel was ordered to proceed to Hog Island, and supplies were sent to it from the city. Two of the persons employed to communicate with the boat were stricken the next day, and one died in the city; the other recovered. The spreading of the cholera created a reign of terror in the city and adjoining country, and all kinds of wild schemes were resorted to in order to prevent its spread; stage coaches were fired into and the horses killed; travelers were turned out of hotels and their baggage pitched after them; armed sentinels were stationed on the high- ways to prevent the passage of strangers. The stoppage of the Henry Clay at the island was only long enough to procure needed supplies, and she sailed on to Mackinac and Chicago, spreading the disease as she went. Seven soldiers died in Detroit, four were put ashore at Mackinac sick, and eighteen died between Mackinac and Chicago.
There have been several duels in Detroit and vicinity, one resulting in the death of Col. Otis Fisher in 1817. One took place on November 23, 1836, between Arthur Rankin and Henry Richardson. A contemporary account of the affair will best illustrate it and rob the duel of its terrors:
"AN AFFAIR OF HONOR
"We learn that on Saturday last, pistol shots were heard on the classic ground of Hog Island, between two 'gentlemen' of Amherstburgh, Upper Canada; one a lawyer, Richardson, and the other a gentleman loafer, named Rankin. The cause of this honorable interview grew out of a bar-room quarrel, in which said Rankin was injured, either in person or character, to an extent which nothing could repair short of a duel. A challenge was sent and accepted, and according to agreement the parties met at twelve paces, with pistols and seconds. Upon firing, Richardson received a ball in the side, which passed through, causing a serious moving of the bowels. Upon his falling, his seconds were so much alarmed as to leave the ground with precipitation and were soon out of view. Rankin receiving no serious injury, fled in a canoe, thinking, perhaps, that
'He who fights and runs away, May live to fight another day.'
"Richardson was taken up by some men who were near the island in a canoe, and conveyed to Sandwich, where he is under the charge of a surgeon."
As the city grew in population and the steamers on the river multiplied, the island came to be used for picnic parties, and for sightseers and wanderers gen- erally on holidays. The island was fixed for their accommodation, and revenue was derived from it by the ferry company, at least, and possibly by the lessees of the resort. The uncouth name of Hog Island had clung to it for one hundred and forty-five years, when, by prearrangement, a great number of people visited it in company on July 4, 1845. The meeting was called to order at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and Morgan Bates was chosen to preside, with William Duane Wilson as secretary.
On motion of Mr. E. Goodell, it was unanimously "Resolved, That now, henceforth and forever, this island, now known as 'Hog Island,' be known and hailed as 'Belle Isle'." The change in name seems to have been made without the consent of the owner, Mr. Campau.
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Several reasons have been suggested for calling it by that name, but it is probable that the meaning of the word "Belle" is sufficient explanation. One lady in Pontiae, on hearing of the incident, thought the change was entirely inappropriate; she wrote to the Jacksonian that the word "Hog" was better, "because so many husbands went there without their wives."
Barnabas Campau continued to own the property until his death, October S, 1845, when it passed to his four children, Mrs. Angelique Piquette, Emilie Campau, John Barnabas Campau, and Alexander Macomb Campau. (A curious fact connected with the title of the island is that Barnabas Campau's second wife, the mother of his two sons, was a daughter of John Robert MeDougall, who was the former owner.) Although the property was divided among the heirs, and John B. Campau's share passed to his widow, later Mrs. Richard Storrs Willis, it remained otherwise undisposed of until 1879, when it was con- veved to the city.
The matter of a large public park had been agitated through the papers, among the people, and before the courts for some years preceding the purchase of this island. The little parks scattered through the city were not deemed a sufficient breathing space for all of the people, and then the city was growing rapidly, the citizens were frequently visiting foreign cities and foreign countries and bringing home accounts of parks and boulevards seen on their journeys. On the 24th of November, 1868, Alderman Richard Hawley introduced a reso- lution in the common council requesting the appointment of a special com- mittee on parks, and to purchase lands for a larger park, and the committee so appointed consisted of Mayor William W. Wheaton, Alderman Zina Pitcher, Richard Hawley, Francis Adams, and William H. Langley. This committee having reported in favor of a larger park, the city counselor was directed to submit to the legislature an amendment to the city charter permitting the city to borrow the necessary money to purchase the land by issuing bonds. The mayor, on the 22d of December following, advertised for proposals for a site for a park from parties "having suitable sites to dispose of either by gift or · sale." The proposed amendment to the charter did not pass the legislature, and for a time the park question was permitted to slumber, and as nothing could be done without legislative action, the only thing was to delay action until a new legislature should meet in the beginning of 1871.
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