Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 8

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017

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The Iroquois and their prisoners, were much surprised to see us in the lake, and did not think before, that we should be able to overcome the rapidity of the current. They cried several times, "gannoron," to show their admiration. Some of the Iroquois had taken the measure of our ship, and immediately went for New York to give notice to the English and Dutch of our sailing in the lake. For those nations affording their commodities cheaper than the French, are also more beloved by the natives.

On the 7th of August, 1769, we went on board being in all four and thirty men in- cluding two Recollets who came to us, and sailed from the mouth of the lake Erie, steering our course west, southwest, with a favorable wind.1

1 Of further operations of La Salle it need only be noted here that after the Griffin had sailed, he and Hennepin went in canoes to the head of Lake Michigan. There he built a trading post and after waiting long months for the return of his vessel, he proceeded with thirty followers to Lake Peoria on the Illinois, where he built a fort and gave it the name, "Creve Coeur," or broken heart. But in spite of his disappointments he did not wholly despair and sent Hennepin to ex- plore the Mississippi, while he with three companions made the remarkable foot journey to Fort Frontenac with only three comrades. He returned to Creve Coeur only to find that the garrison had been driven away by the Indians. But again he gathered his followers and early in 1682 de- scended the Mississippi to the sea, the first European to explore any considerable part of that mighty river. Taking possession of the country in the name of his king, he named it Louisiana. Returning to France. the story of his explorations and adventures astonished king and court, and in 1684 he was supplied with a fleet and several hundred men to colonize the new domain. Disaster now assailed him. The fleet, through fault of its commander, sailed to Matagorda

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FROM 1534 TO 1697.

The foregoing extracts from Hennepin's journal require little com- ment. They tell the story in a reasonably clear and straightforward manner, in spite of the ancient literary style of the translation, which was published in England in 1698 under the main title, "A New Dis- covery of a vast Country in America." !

It is of historical importance to notice particularly Hennepin's ref- erence to the giving of "jealousy to the Iroquois, and even to the English, who lived in the neighborhood," meaning the settlements of the latter in Eastern New York, and also his allusion to the embassy into the Seneca country for the purpose of quieting the antipathy of the Indians towards La Salle for his operations on the Niagara. Here is the foreshadowing of the later relations of the French to the Five Nations and to the Dutch and English. Had La Salle and the early governors of Canada fully appreciated the strength of the Iroquois and the consequent imprudence of incurring their hostility, doubtless a wiser policy would have guided the course of the French, which might have had momentous influence on the destiny of that nation in this country.

Hennepin refers specifically in one part of his journal (omitted in in the foregoing extracts) to the fact of the Iroquois "inhabiting the little village situated at the mouth of the river." This is significant evidence that the Senecas were in full possession of this immediate region and, naturally enough, watched the astonishing operations of the white men with vigilance and jealousy. In the same connection should also be noticed his allusion to the fact that the English and the Dutch were supplying the Indians with goods at lower prices than were demanded by the French, rendering the former "more beloved by the natives." Competition in the fur trade, which in later years be- came active and unremitting, had already begun.

The building and sailing of La Salle's ship was a remarkable accom- plishment under the surrounding circumstances. The intelligent reader will be able, after a perusal of Hennepin's description of the event, to

Bay, Texas; the store ship was wrecked, the fleet returned, La Salle failed to find the mouth of the Mississippi, his colony was decimated to about forty men by desertion and death, and at length he started with sixteen of his followers on foot for Canada for aid. But even in that little band were those who for some real or imagined cause bore him ill will and before he reached the Sabine two of them murdered him and his body was left unburied on the prairie-a fate too ignominious and sad for so intrepid and masterly a spirit.

1 Hennepin has been accused of extravagance and untrustworthiness, of which he may have been guilty in some parts of his records; but such a charge can scarcely apply to his record of the early experiences of the expedition.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

bring to mind many interesting details of the enterprise and to prop- erly appreciate its magnitude and importance. The genius, persever- ance, and executive ability of La Salle will appear in their proper light. While he proved himself capable of grasping and controlling the undertaking as a whole, he at the same time was impressed with such minor details as the sowing of "pot herbs and pulse," so that those whom he hoped would settle there and keep open communication between Frontenac and the western region he was to explore might have food in an emergency. So, too, the religious influences brought to bear on the expedition will strike the reader as not only quaint in themselves and an indication of the prevailing sentiment of those times, but also as probably an evidence of La Salle's foresight and judgment; he realized that his band of followers, as well as the natives they were to encounter, would submit more readily to his command if he were upheld and justified by the prayers, te deums, and other cere- monies of the Roman church. The expedition of La Salle was a most significant event in our local history, from whatever direction it is viewed.

It is not, perhaps, strange that the exact site of La Salle's ship yard should have become a subject of dispute; but it does seem singular, now that the question is definitely settled, that it should have required so many newspaper columns, so many pages in books and pamphlets, and so much verbal argument to prove what seems so clear in the records at hand. There is little existing doubt that the spot selected by La Salle for his dock was on what is called the Angevine farm, about two miles above the mouth of Cayuga Creek and on the shore of Niagara River. Argument has been presented in favor of locating the place on the lower side of that creek some distance from its mouth; others have insisted that it was on the Canadian side of the river. While there are some minor facts seeming to support these presump- tions, they are overwhelmed by contrary evidence. This is not the place to enter into details of the controversy, and we shall merely refer the reader to the various translations of Hennepin's journals, from one of which we have so liberally drawn, and especially to the writings of the late O. H. Marshall and a pamphlet published by Cyrus K. Remington, of Buffalo, in 1891. In the latter it is conclusively shown that the Griffin was built above Cayuga Creek on the Angevine farm.'

' Some palpable and inexcusable errors have been made by writers of reputation on this sub- ject. Many of these are set forth in Mr. Remington's pamphlet. Governor Cass located the ship

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1 1

FROM 1534 TO 1697. .

The final fate of the Griffin is not definitely known. Reports were heard from natives that she was lost in a gale on her return voyage from Green Bay, where she had been loaded with a rich cargo of furs. The vessel left that place on the 18th of September, a season when tempestuous and treacherous weather might be confidently expected on the lakes. Her crew consisted of a pilot and five men. She never afterwards was heard of. It it believed she was lost soon after start- ing, or more definite reports would have been heard from natives who would have seen her on Lake Erie. Through the finding in the early years of this century of a quantity of ship irons on the lake shore in the town of Hamburg, Erie county, efforts have been made to show that the Griffin was wrecked near that point; but this is improbable.

Before the close of the seventeenth century the struggle for su- premacy between the English and the French became vigorously active, and the Senecas, as one of the Five Nations, were deeply in- volved. The two European powers clearly understood that the one which secured a firm alliance with the Iroquois would surely prove victor. By the French both coercion and apparent friendship were early tried as a means of either gaining good will or inspiring fear on the part of the Senecas; in neither were they very successful.

M. Le Febvre de la Barre was appointed governor of Canada in 1682. His short administration was a failure. In connection with their warfare against the western Indians the Senecas in 1684 pillaged a large number of French canoes and captured fourteen prisoners whom they detained nine days. In retaliation De la Barre was in- structed to make a destructive invasion of the Seneca country. The French governor could not expect much sympathy from Dongan (then governor of New York) in such an undertaking, but he did solicit his negative aid, requesting him to refrain from selling guns and ammuni- tion to the Five Nations for a time.' Governor Dongan was neither ready to join with the French nor to make any pledge of neutrality.

yard at Erie. Mr. Bancroft in the first edition of his history of the United States placed it at the mouth of the Tonawanda, but corrected the error in later editions. Catlin was confident it was on the Canadian side, which uncalled for blunder was perpetuated by Jared Sparks in his life of La Salle, and by J. S. C. Abbott in his "Adventures of the Chevalier de la Salle." 1875. While it is of first importance that history should be correct, this subject has received more attention than it merits, as far as concerns the exact situation of the ship yard.

1 I dispatched Sieur Bourbon to Manate and Orange to notify Colonel Dongan of the insult the French had received from the Senecas, which obliged me to march against them, whereof I gave him notice, assuring him that if he wished to avenge the twenty-six Englishmen of Merilande, whom they had killed last winter, I would promise him to unite my forces to his, that he may ob- tain satisfaction for it or avenge them .- Memoir of M. de la Barre, Col. Doc., Vol. 1X, p. 240.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

De la Barre's expedition arrived at Fort Frontenac August 9, 1684, one of his officers having previously reconnoitered the southern shore of Lake Ontario and the Seneca country. De la Barre was either cowardly or else sought for personal gain by evading open war on the Indians. He was accused of both by his own countrymen.1 On Au- gust 21 his motley army of gaily dressed French troops, Canadian militia in homely garb, voyageurs in quaint habiliments of tanned skins, and Indians in their war paint and little else, arrived at the mouth of Salmon River in what is now Oswego county; the army numbered about 1,800 men. De la Barre promptly solicited mediation by chiefs of the Five Nations, and on September 3 a number arrived at the French headquarters where a council was held. De la Barre made a bombastic and threatening speech, the reply to which came from Gar- angula, a celebrated Onondagan, in which his scathing denunciation of the French operations, sarcastic ridicule of De la Barre's threats, and eloquent defense of the acts of the Senecas were happily blended. The French officer concluded what he called a treaty with the Senecas, in which the latter did not even promise future good behavior; on the other hand De la Barre pledged himself to quit the country the follow- ing day. Of his disastrous retreat he wrote:

I departed on the sixth of September, 1684, having had all the sick of my troops, embarked before day (so as not to be seen by the Indians), to the number of one hundred and fifty canoes and twelve flat batteaux, and arrived in the evening of the same day at Fort Frontenac, where I found one hundred and ten men, of the num- ber I had left there, already departed, all sick, for Montreal.9

In spite of De la Barre's excuses to his government he was recalled March 10, 1685, and Jacques Rene de Brisay, Marquis De Nonville, was appointed in his place. The message of appointment from Louis XIV contained the following :

I have reason to be dissatisfied with the treaty concluded between Sieur de la Barre and the Iroquois. His abandonment of the Illinois has seriously displeased me, and has determined me to recall him. I have chosen as his successor Sieur De Nonville, who will, of himself, understand the state of affairs.3

' Though I had the honor. my lord, to entertain you with the preparations we are making for the war, and the great expenses which the General [ De la Barre| subjects his majesty, I shall, without being a prophet, take the liberty to tell you, my lord, that I do not perceive any disposi- tion in the governor to make war on those savages. I believe he will content himself with pad- dling as far as Cataracouy or Fort Frontenac, and then send for the Senecas to negotiate peace with them, and make a fool of the people, of the Intendant, and of His Majesty, which proves that he sacrifices everything to his own interests .-- M. de Meulles to M. de Seignelay, July 1, 1684, Col. Doc .. Vol. IX, p. 331.

2 Col. Doc., Vol. IX, p. 243. 3 I bid, p. 269.

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FROM 1584 TO 1697.

De Nonville was a man of different mould from De la Barre. He made himself familiar with the situation, reported in full to his sov- ereign, and promptly began preparations for subjugating the Senecas. He suggested the establishment of "a good post at Niagara and an- other on Lake Erie."' This was under date of November 12, 1685. Again on May 8, 1686, he expressed the opinion that "the establish- ment of a very strong post at Niagara"' would both hold the In- dians in check and prevent the English from further extending their fur trade among the western nations. On November 11 of the year just named he wrote his government: "War once declared, it is an indispensable necessity to establish and maintain a post of two hun- dred men at Niagara, where married farmers ought, in my opinion, be placed to make clearances and to people that place, in view of becom- ing, with barks, masters of Lake Erie. I should greatly wish to have a mill at Niagara."' He explained the defenseless condition of the French, counseled the erection of fortifications, and insisted that the Iroquois were powerful and dangerous, made so chiefly by their ability to purchase arms from the English.' He also sent home an estimate of the quantity of beaver shipped from Canada from 1675 to 1685 in- clusive, an average of about 90,000 pounds annually.

These are clearly the views of a broad-minded man of sound judg- ment. He opened correspondence with Governor Dongan in which he vehemently insisted on the prior right of the French in the region of Western New York, and accused the English of being desirous that he should begin war on the Senecas. These assertions were as firmly denied by Dongan.

De Nonville proceeded with preparations for an invasion of the Seneca country through the winter of 1686-87, and on the 13th of June in the latter year he left Montreal with about 1,600 men and 400 In- dians in 350 bateaux and arrived at Fort Frontenac on the 30th. On the 4th of July he proceeded to the south shore of Lake Ontario and arrived at what is now Irondequoit, where he had ordered the forces at Niagara to meet him. There he built some slight fortification, and on the 12th started for the interior, leaving a garrison of 400 in the work he had constructed. True to their customary policy when about to be

' Col. Hist. Vol. IX, p. 275. ? Ibid, p 289-90. 3 Ibid, p. 306.

' Their large purchases of arms and ammunition from the English, at a low rate, have given them [the Iroquois] hitherto all the advantage they possess over other tribes .- De Nonville's Memoir, Col. Hist., Vol. III, p. 281.

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attacked by a very superior force, the Senecas fled from their villages, to which they first applied the torch. The negative victory of the French was consummated by the wholesale destruction of crops, in- cluding a great quantity of corn.1

Of his experiences in this invasion De Nonville wrote the following :

On the 13th about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, having passed through two danger- ous defiles, we arrived at the third where we were very vigorously attacked by 800 Senecas, 200 of whom fired; but the resistance they met with produced such a great consternation, that they soon resolved to fly. All our troops were so overpowered by the extreme heat and the hard day's work that we were obliged to bivouac on the field until the morrow. On the next day we marched to one of the large villages where we encamped. We found it burned and a fort which was very advan- tageously situated on a hill quite nigh, abandoned. . . We learned from the pris- oners who had deserted, that the Senecas had gone to the English, where they will not be allowed to want for anything necessary to make war upon us. Since that time I have had no news of the enemy."

During these operations of De la Barre and De Nonville, the ani- mosity between the French and the English was constantly gaining strength, as shown by the reports. The latter were not ignorant of the vast importance of Niagara to their interests; to them it was second only to Oswego and they watched it with jealous eyes. At the same time the French were constantly fearful that an early attempt would be made by their enemies to capture the post. On the 27th of Octo- ber, 1687, De Nonville wrote his government as follows:

I have had intelligence this spring, from New England that Colonel Dongan was preparing to send them [a company of English traders on Lake Huron] a re- inforcement, and I am certain his plan was to occupy the post at Niagara. Had they succeeded the country was lost. There they were circumvented. The post I have fortified at Niagara is not a novelty, since Sieur de la Salle had a house there which is in ruins since a year when Serjeant La Fleur . abandoned it through the intrigues of the English who solicited the Senecas to expel him by threats. My lord, if you do not wish to lose the entire trade of the Upper Country, we must maintain that post.3

On July 31, 1687, De Nonville took formal possession by proclama- tion of Niagara. The proclamation posses ses sufficient historical im- portance and interest in this local connection to warrant its insertion, as follows:

' The destruction of the Indian corn belonging to the Senecas, subjected them to but a small amount of inconvenience. Not one of them perished of hunger, as two arrows are sufficient to enable a Savage to procure meat enough for a year's support, and as fishing never fails .- Captain Duplessis's Plan for the Defense of Canada, Col. Hist. Vol. III. p. Hî.

? De Nonville's letter, Col. Hist., Vol. III, p. 335. 3 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 349.

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FROM 1534 TO 1697.

We do declare that being come to the camp of Niagara situate south of Lake Ontario, west of the Senecas, twenty-five leagues above them, in the angle of land East of the mouth of the River of the same name, . . . to reiterate anew for, and in the name of, the King the taking Possession of the said Post of Niagara, several establishments having been formerly made there many years ago by the King's order, and especially by Sieur De La Salle, having spent many years two leagues above the Great Falls of Niagara where he had a Bark built which navigated Lakes Erie, Huron and Illinois for several years, and of which the stocks are still to be seen. Moreover the said Sieur De La Salle having established quarters and some settlers at the said Niagara in the year 1668, which quarters were burned twelve years ago by the Senecas, constituting one of the causes of discontent that, with many others, have obliged us to wage war against them, and as we considered that the houses we have thought fit to rebuild could not remain secure during the war did we not provide for them, We have Resolved to construct a Fort there in which we have placed one hundred men of the King's troops to garrison the same, etc.1

De Nonville spent the following three days in repairing and fortify- ing the post,' giving his reason for so doing as a desire to protect his Indian allies. A detachment of about 100 men was left at the post with provisions for eight months. De Nonville left Niagara on the 2d of August and reached Montreal on the 13th, stopping a day or two at Frontenac, where another 100 men were left. Possession of Niagara by the French was short-lived. The post was constanly threatened and harassed by the Iroquois, and the French, foiled and tormented on every hand, determined to seek measures for peace. De Nonville in the summer of 1688 ordered a cessation of hostilities and succeeded in inducing about 500 Iroquois to meet him at Montreal for negotia- tions, while at the same time 1,200 warriors were ready to fall upon that place if the results were not satisfactory. The principal points in- sisted upon by the Iroquois were the return of some prisoners, the de- struction of Forts Frontenac and Niagara and payment to the Senecas for the destruction of their property. A treaty was finally concluded, but its operation was frustrated by an unforeseen event. A Huron chief who had excited the jealousy of the French in some of his fur trading operations, to remove which he went to Fort Frontenac, accom- panied by a hundred warriors. There he was informed of the peace negotiations then in progress and that his presence at Frontenac with

1 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 335.

" "We immediately set about choosing a place, and collecting stakes for the construction of a fort which I had resolved to build at the extremity of a tongue of land between the River Niag- ara and Lake Ontario, on the Iroquois side." This is the language of De Nonville's journal, and removes all doubt as to the original location of this fortress.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

warriors might anger the Iroquois and prevent the treaty. He appa- rently agreed that this was true, and under pretence of returning to his own country, he went into ambush on the St. Lawrence and when a large party of Iroquois came along on their way from Montreal, the Hurons attacked them, killing a part and making prisoners of the others. He gave the prisoners to understand that he was acting with the French and with De Nonville's authority. When the prisoners in- formed him that they were peace ambassadors, he affected surprise and told them to go free; that he untied their hands and sent them home, although their nation was at war with his own. The French governor had led him to commit a dastardly action, and his mind would not rest until the Iroquois had taken revenge. The wily Hu- ron foresaw the consequence; the prisoners went among their own people and spread the news of the perfidy of the French, and their revenge was swift. On July 26th an army of 1,200 warriors landed on the south side of the Island of Montreal, surprised the French settlers, slaughtered men, women and children, burned houses and sacked the plantations. About 1,000 were slain and the island left a scene of devastation. The French were now in a condition of desperation, while the Iroquois were more firmly than before the friends of the English. Forts Frontenac and Niagara were abandoned. On Sep- tember 15, 1688, Sieur Desbergeres, then in command of the post, as- sembled the officers and the missionary, Father Millet, to listen to his communication of orders received from De Nonville, under date of July 6, to demolish the fortifications of the post, with the exception of the cabins and the quarters. A procès verbal was made by order of the commandant, containing a memorandum of the condition in which the quarters were left, which were allowed to remain intact for the purpose of maintaining his Majesty's authority in that vicinity. The procès verbal gave in minute detail a catalogue of the cabins and other structures, even to the number of deal boards, windows, hinges, floors, etc., and a well.'

Niagara was abandoned in ruins, and was not again occupied for de- fensive purposes for many years.

In 1688 a revolution placed William of Orange on the English throne and war with France quickly followed. On this side of the ocean the In- dian allies of the French were almost powerless against the dreaded Iro-

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Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 8

Author: Truman C. White Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1017

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017