USA > Minnesota > Goodhue County > History of Goodhue county, including a sketch of the territory and state of Minnesota > Part 2
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of the crown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the mouth of the " Hidden River." This majestic stream was called by the natives "Malbouchia," and by the Spaniards, " La Paissade," from the number of trees growing about its mouth. After examining the several outlets, and satisfying himself as to its certainty, he erected a fort near its western outlet, and then returned to France.
An avenue of trade was now opened out, which was fully improved. In 1718, New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colo- nists. In 1762 the colony was made over to Spain, to be regained by France under the consulate of Napoleon. In 1803, it was purchased by the United States for the sum of fifteen million dollars, and the ter- ritory of Louisiana and commerce of the Mississippi River came under the charge of the United States. Although LaSalle's labors ended in defeat and death, he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country ; had established several ports, and laid the foundations of more than one settlement in the New World. " Peoria, Kaskaskia and Cahokia, are to this day monuments of LaSalle's labors; for, though he had founded neither of them, ( unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Crevecœur,) it was by those whom he led into the West that these places were peopled and civilized. He was, if not the dis- coverer, the first settler of the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored."
The French early improved the opening made for them. Before the year 1698, the Rev. Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois, and founded Kaskaskia. For some time this was merely a missionary station, where none but natives resided, it being one of three such vil- lages, the other two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is known of these missions is learned from a letter written by Father Gabriel Marest, dated "Aux Cascaskias, autrement dit de l'Immaculate Conception de la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." Soon after the founding of Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Crevecœur. This must have been about the year 1700. The post at Vincennes, on the Oubache River, (pronounced Wa-ba, meaning summer cloud moving swiftly) was estab- lished in 1702, according to the best authorities .* It is altogether probable that on LaSalle's last trip he established the stations at Kas- kaskia and Cahokia. In July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Ponchar-
* There is considerable dispute about this date, some asserting it was founded as late as 1742. When the new court house at Vincennes was erected, all authorities on the subject were carefully examined, and 1702 fixed upon as the correct date. It was accordingly engraved on the corner-stone of the court house
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train were laid by De la Motte Cadillac, on the Detroit River. These stations, with those established further north, were the earliest attempts to occupy the Northwest Territory. At the same time efforts were being made to occupy the Southwest, which finally culminated in the settlement and founding of the city of New Orleans by a colony from England, in 1718. This was mainly accomplished through the efforts of the famous Mississippi Company, established by the notorious John Law, who so quickly arose into prominence in France, and who with his scheme so quickly and so ignominiously passed away.
From the time of the founding of these stations, for fifty years the French nation were engrossed with the settlement of the Lower Missis- sippi, and the war with the Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez. Although the company did little for Louisiana, as the entire West was then called, yet it opened the trade through the Mississippi River, and started the raising of grains indigenous to that climate. Until the year 1750, but little is known of the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the New World, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a missionary among the Illinois, writing from " Aux Illinois," six leagues from Fort Chartres, June 8, 1750, says :
" We have here whites, negroes and Indians, to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages, and three villages of the natives, within a space of twenty-one leagues situated between the Mississippi- and another river called the Karkadaid (Kaskaskias.) In the five French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred whites, three hundred blacks, and some sixty red slaves or savages. The three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls, all told. Most of the French till the soil; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and horses, and live like princes. Three times as much is produced as can be consumed ; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New Orleans."
This city was now the seaport town of the Northwest, and save in the extreme northern part, where only furs and copper ore were found, almost all the products of the country found their way to France by the mouth of the Father of Waters. In another letter, dated November 7, 1750, this same priest says :
" For fifteen leagues above the mouth of the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the ground being too low to be habitable. Thence to New Orleans, the lands are only par- tially occupied. New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, I think, than twelve hundred persons. To this point comes all lumber, bricks, salt-beef, tallow, tar, skins and bear's grease; and above all, pork and flour, from the Illinois. These things create some commerce, as forty vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans, plantations are again met with; the most considerable is a colony of Ger- mans, some ten leagues up the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along here, within five or six leagues, are not less than
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sixty habitations. Fifty leagues farther up is the Natchez post, where we have a garri- son, who are kept prisoners through fear of the Chickasaws. Here and at Point Coupee, they raise excellent tobacco. Another hundred leagues brings us to the Arkansas, where we have also a fort and a garrison for the benefit of the river traders. * *
* From the Arkansas to the Illinois, nearly five hundred leagues, there is not a settlement. There should be, however, a fort at the Oubache (Ohio), the only path by which the English can reach the Mississippi. In the Illinois country are numberless mines, but no one to work them as they deserve."
Father Marest, writing from the post at Vincennes in 1812, makes the same observation. Vivier also says :
" Some individuals dig lead near the surface and supply the Indians and Canada. Two Spaniards now here, who claim to be adepts, say that our mines are like those of Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper, we should find silver under the lead; and at any rate the lead is excellent. There is also in this country, beyond doubt, copper ore, as from time to time large pieces are found in the streams."
At the close of the year 1750, the French occupied, in addition to the lower Mississippi posts and those in Illinois, one at Du Quesne, one at the Maumee, in the country of the Miamis, and one at Sandusky, in what may be termed the Ohio Valley. In the northern part of the Northwest they had stations at St. Joseph, on the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan, at Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit), at Michillimackinac or Mas- sillimacanac, Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault Ste. Marie. The fondest dreams of LaSalle were now fully realized. The French alone were possessors of this vast realm, basing their claim on discovery and settlement. Another nation, however, was now turning its attention to this extensive country, and hearing of its wealth, began to lay plans for occupying it and for securing the great profits arising therefrom.
The French, however, had another claim to this country, namely, the discovery of the Ohio.
This " Beautiful" river was discovered by Robert Cavalier de LaSalle, in 1669, four years before the discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet and Marquette.
While LaSalle was at his trading post on the St. Lawrence, he found leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which was the Iroquois. He not only desired to facilitate his intercourse in trade, but he longed to travel and explore the unknown regions of the West. An incident soon occurred which decided him to fit out an exploring expedition.
While conversing with some Senecas, he learned of a river called the Ohio, which rose in their country and flowed to the sea, but at such a distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this state- ment the Mississippi and its tributaries were considered as one stream LaSalle believing, as most of the French at that period believific,
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that the great rivers flowing west emptied into the Sea of California, was anxious to embark in the enterprise of discovering a route across the continent to the commerce of China and Japan.
He repaired at once to Quebec to obtain the approval of the Gover- nor. His eloquent appeal prevailed. The Governor and the Intendant, Talon, issued letters patent authorizing the enterprise, but made no provision to defray the expenses. At this juncture the seminary of St. Sulpice decided to send out missionaries in connection with the expe- dition, and LaSalle offering to sell his improvements at LaChine to raise money, the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred dollars were raised, with which LaSalle purchased four canoes and the necessary supplies for the outfit.
On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, numbering twenty-four persons, embarked in seven canoes on the St. Lawrence; two additional canoes carried the Indian guides. In three days they were gliding over the bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides conducted them directly to the Seneca village on the bank of the Genesee, in the vicinity of the pres- ent city of Rochester, New York. Here they expected to procure guides to conduct them to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed.
The Indians seemed unfriendly to the enterprise. LaSalle suspected that the Jesuits had prejudiced their minds against his plans. After waiting a month in the hope of gaining their object, they met an Indian from the Iroquois colony at the head of Lake Ontario, who assured them that they could there find guides, and offered to conduct them thence.
On their way they passed the mouth of the Niagara River, when they heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cataract. Arriving among the Iroquois, they met with a friendly reception, and learned from a Shawnee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks. Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to resume their journey ; but just as they were about to start they heard of the arrival of two Frenchmen in a neighboring village. One of them proved to be Louis Joliet, afterwards famous as an explorer in the West. He had been sent by the Canadian Government to explore the copper mines on Lake Superior, but had failed, and was on his way back to Quebec. He gave the missionaries a map of the country he had explored in the lake region, together with an account of the condition of the Indians in that quarter. This induced the priests to determine on leaving the expedition and going to Lake Superior. LaSalle warned them that the Jesuits were probably occupying that field, and that they would meet with a cold reception. Nevertheless they persisted in their Gerpose, and after worship on the lake shore, parted from LaSalle. On
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arriving at Lake Superior, they found, as LaSalle had predicted, the Jesuit Fathers, Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field.
These zealous disciples of Loyola informed them that they wanted no assistance from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their pat- ron saint. Thus repulsed, they returned to Montreal the following June, without having made a single discovery or converted a single Indian.
After parting with the priests, LaSalle went to the chief Iroquois village at Onondaga, where he obtained guides, and passing thence to a tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far as the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by LaSalle, the persevering and successful French explorer of the West, in 1669.
The account of the latter part of his journey is found in an anony- mous paper, which purports to have been taken from the lips of LaSalle himself during a subsequent visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count Frontenac, in 1667, shortly after the discovery, he himself says that he discovered the Ohio and descended it to the falls. This was regarded as an indisputable fact by the French authorities, who claimed the Ohio Valley upon another ground. When Washington was sent by the colony of Virginia, in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French had built a fort on the Monongahela, the haughty comman- dant at Quebec replied : " We claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries of LaSalle, and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley."
ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS.
When the new year of 1750 broke in upon the Father of Waters and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the French posts already described. In 1749, when the English first began to think seriously about sending men into the West, the greater portion of the States of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were yet under the dominion of the red men. The English knew, however, pretty conclusively, of the nature of the wealth of these wilds. As early as 1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements to secure the country west of the Alleghenies to the English crown. In Pennsylvania, Governor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the prov- ince, from 1719 to 1731, represented to the powers of England the necessity of securing the Western lands. Nothing was done, however, by that power save to take some diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain to this unexplored wilderness.
England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
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on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession was a discovery and possession of the country, and, as is well known, her grants to the colonies extended " from sea to sea." This was not all her claim. She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts of land. This latter was also a strong argument. As early as 1684, Lord Howard, Governor of Virginia, held a treaty with the Six Nations. These were the great Northern Confederacy, and comprised at first the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the Six Nations. They came under the protection of the mother country, and again in 1701, they reaffirmed the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed was drawn up and signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has often been disputed, but never successfully maintained. In 1744, a purchase was made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the "Colony of Virginia," for which the Indians received £200 in gold and a like sum in goods, with a promise that, as settle- ments increased, more should be paid. The commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel William Beverly. As settle- ments extended, the promise of more pay was called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with presents to appease the savages. Colonel Lee and some Virginians accompanied him, with the intention of sounding the Indians upon their feelings regarding the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment, and plainly told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the cultivation of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In 1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant of land beyond the Alleghenies. This was granted, and the government of Virginia was ordered to grant to them a half million acres, two hundred thousand of which were to be located at once. On the 12th of June, 1749, 800,000 acres from the line of Canada north and west, was made to the Loyal Company, and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000 acres were given to the Greenbriar Company. All this time the French were not idle. They saw that, should the British gain a foothold in the West, especially upon the Ohio, they might not only prevent the French settling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts, and so gain possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774, Vaud- reuil, Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis Celeron with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River,
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in the mounds and at the mouths of its principal tributaries, plates of lead, on which were inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and within the memory of residents now living along the "Oyo," as the beautiful river was called by the French. One of these plates was found, with the inscription partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and a copy of the inscription, with particular account of the discovery of the plate, was sent by DeWitt Clinton to the Ameri- can Antiquarian Society, among whose journals it may now be found .* These measures did not, however, deter the English from going on with their explorations, and though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and it was only a question of time when the storm would burst upon the frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the Ohio Company to examine its lands. He went to a village of the Twigtwees, on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. He afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went down the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present city of Louisville, and in November he commenced a survey of the company's lands. During the winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the Greenbriar Company. Meanwhile the French were busy in preparing their forts for defense, and in opening roads, and also sent a small party of soldiers to keep the Ohio clear. This party, having heard of the English post on the Miami River, early . in 1652, assisted by the Ottawas and Chippewas, attacked it, and after a severe battle, in which fourteen of the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison. (They were probably garrisoned in a block house.) The traders were carried away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This fort or post was called by the English Pickawillany. A memorial of the King's ministers refers to it as " Pickawillanes, in the center of the territory between the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some variation of Pickaway or Piqua in 1773, written by Rev. David Jones, Pickaweke."
This was the first blood shed between the French and English, and occurred near the present city of Piqua, Miami county, Ohio, or at least at a point about forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation be- came now more interested in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English determined to purchase from the Indians a title to the
* The following is a translation of the inscription on the plate: "In the year 1749, reign of Louis XV. King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a detachment by Monsieur the Marquis of Gallisoniere, commander-in-chief of New France, to establish tranquility in certain Indian villages of these cantons, have buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradakoin, this 29th of July, near the river Ohio, other- wise Beautiful River, as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said river, and all its tributaries; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it, and maintained it by their arms and treaties; especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle."
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lands they wished to occupy, and Messrs. Fry (afterwards Commander- in-Chief over Washington at the commencement of the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and Patton were sent, in the spring of 1752, to hold a conference with the natives at Logstown, to learn their obiections to the treaty of Lancaster, already noticed, and to settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June, these Commissioners met the red men at Logs- town, a little village on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pittsburgh. Here there had been a trading point for many years, but it was abandoned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians declined to recognize the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commissioners taking aside Montour, the interpreter, who was a son of the famous Catherine Montour, and a chief among the Six Nations, induced him to use his influence in their favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing a deed, confirming the Lan- . caster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a settlement of the country southeast of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley.
Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-manœuvre each other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally outwitted the Indians, but failed in many instances to fulfil their con- tracts. They thereby gained the ill-will of the red men, and further increased the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammu- nition. Said an old chief, at Easton, in 1758 :
" The Indians on the Ohio left you because of your own fault. When we heard the French were coming, we asked you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The French came, they treated us kindly, and gained our affections. The Governor of Vir- ginia settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when we wanted help, he forsook us."
At the beginning of 1653, the English thought they had secured by title the lands in the West, but the French had quietly gathered can- non and military stores to be in readiness for the expected blow. The English made other attempts to ratify these existing treaties, but not until the summer could the Indians be gathered together to discuss the plans of the French. They had sent messages to the French, warning them away ; but they replied that they intended to complete the chain of forts already begun, and would not abandon the field.
Soon after this, no satisfaction being obtained from the Ohio regard- ing the positions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, determined to send to them another messenger and learn from them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the
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rank of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This personage was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then held considerable interest in Western lands. He was at this time just twenty-two years of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied by four servitors, set out on their perilous march. They left Will's Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and on the 22d reached the Monongahela, about ten miles above the fork. From there they went to Logstown, where Washington had a long conference with the chiefs of the Six Nations. From them he learned the condition of the French, and also heard of their determination not to come down the river till the following spring. The Indians were non-committal, as they were afraid to turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain neutral. Washington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of French Creek. Here the French had a fort, called Fort Machault. Through the rum and flattery of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding nothing of importance here, he pursued his way amid great privations, and on the 11th of December reached the fort at the head of French Creek. Here he delivered Governor Dinwiddie's letter, received his answer, took his observations, and on the 16th set out upon his return journey with no one but Gist, his guide, and a few Indians who still remained true to him, notwithstanding the endeavors of the French to retain them. Their homeward journey was one of great peril and suffering from the cold, yet they reached home in safety on the 6th of January, 1754.
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