Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I, Part 8

Author: White, Truman C
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1014

USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 8

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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.1

1 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

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. IX, p. 240.

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.2

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

1 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. 231.

2 Col. Doc., Vol. IX, p. 243. 3 Ibid, p. 269.

FROM 1534 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."1 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."3 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.4 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

1 Col. Hist. Vol. IX, p. 275. 2 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.

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

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 possesses sufficient historical im- portance and interest in this local connection to warrant its insertion, as follows:

1 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. 447.

2 De Nonville's letter, Col. Hist., Vol. III, p. 338. 3 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 349.

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,2 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.

2 " 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.

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. 1

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-

I This is a quaint and interesting document and may be found in Col. Doc., Vol. IX, p. 387.

FROM 1534 TO 1697.

quois, who harassed the settlements in Canada, until the French be- came convinced that unless more thorough measures were adopted they were lost.

In 1689 Count de Frontenac, whose former management of the col- ony had been so effective, was again sent over as governor. He was an old man, but vigorous, brave and capable, and the flagging spirits of the settlers soon revived under his administration. Failing in his efforts to negotiate peace with the Iroquois, he opened a vigorous cam- paign; burned Schenectady on the night of February 9, 1690; defend- ed Montreal against attack by General Schuyler of New York; and at all points faithfully served his country's interests. But with all his struggle it was a losing cause. The French were harassed and pre- vented from tilling their lands or reaping what they had sown; the fur trade was stopped by the Indians, who took possession of the passes between the French and their allies in the West; famine came on and in June, 1692, the Iroquois entered into a formal treaty of alliance and friendship with Governor Ingoldsby of New York. Frontenac in desperation organized a raid against the Mohawks in 1693, but like many other similar incursions into Indian country, its consequences recoiled upon the invaders. In the summer of 1696 he made a pre- tentious expedition for the purpose of destroying the Onondagas. His victory was a barren one; the Indians fled as usual, leaving only their villages and crops for the torch of the French army, which returned to Canada in discomfiture. The century closed in peace under the treaty of Ryswick, made in 1697, and the French king, who had espoused the cause of James II, acknowledged William of Orange, king of Great Britain and Ireland.

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

CHAPTER IV.

1698-1748.

Continued Territorial Contention between France and England-Renewed Vigor in the Fur Trade-Beginning of Queen Anne's War-Importance of Niagara as a Military Post-Treaty of Utrecht-Building of a Picketed Post at Niagara-Opposi- tion by Governor Burnet of New York-Restriction in Sale of Indian Goods by the English to the French-Erection of Fortified Post at Oswego by the English-French Opposition to the Work-Attitude of the Iroquois-Building of a Stronger Work at Niagara-Rivalry between Oswego and Niagara-Beginning of Another War- Its Relation to the Western Frontier - Joncaire's Influence-Treaty of Aix-la- Chapelle.

The close of the war did not settle territorial differences between the French and the English, and Western New York continued a source of infinite difficulty. The veteran Frontenac died in November, 1698, and was succeeded by Chevalier de Calières, while Lord Bellomont succeeded Governor Sloughter in New York. A treaty of neutrality was negotiated August 4, 1701, at Montreal, by De Calières, between the Iroquois on one side and the French and their Indian allies on the other, which gave great satisfaction to the French king.1 This treaty was assented to by New York, and permanent peace seemed assured to the English and Dutch colonists, who engaged with renewed vigor in their fur trade. The Jesuits promptly took advantage of the peace- ful conditions, and the surrounding waters bore their canoes hither and thither, while the forests echoed their prayers and hymns. They were very active in establishing and promoting missions among the Five Nations, a course which gave such offense to the English that an act was passed by the Colonial Assembly of New York in 1700, requiring every "ecclesiastical person receiving his ordination from the Pope or See of Rome," then residing in the province, to depart from it before the 15th of November, under penalty of death.

1 I have learned with great joy that his Majesty has been satisfied with the treaty I concluded last year with the Five Iroquois Nations, and with that I have procured for our Indian allies .- Letter from Chevalier de Calieres to the French court, November 4, 1702, in Col. History, Vol. IX, p. 736.

FROM 1698 TO 1748.

What is known as Queen Anne's war began in 1702 and ended in 1713. Before military operations had progressed far on this side of the ocean the French had, through the influence of the Jesuits, and the diplomacy of Vaudreuil,1 regained the good will of the western In- dians, and so improved and strengthened the situation of the French as to place them in many respects in equality with the English. Dur- ing that war the Five Nations skillfully maintained an appearance of neutrality and friendship for both the French and English; there is, however, little doubt that their sympathies were for a time with the latter. While the war was directed on the part of the English prin- cipally against Port Royal, Quebec and Montreal, Western New York and our frontier continued to be looked upon by the French as an essential point of vantage. In 1706 proposals were submitted to the French court to take possession of Niagara as a means of controlling the fur trade and protecting the western region against the Iroquois and the English.2 On June 30, 1707, information came from Versailles that the king had learned that the English were endeavoring to seize the post at Niagara; that it was of great importance as an entrepot for Detroit and instructing the Intendant to examine on the spot and learn if it would be possible to obtain consent from the Iroquois to establish a garrison there.3 This plan was carried out and on Septem- ber 14, 1708, Sieur d'Aigremont reported to M. de Pontchartrain that he arrived on the 27th of June at Niagara where he had appointed to meet Sieur Joncaire, to discuss the advantages of establishing a fort at that point. D'Aigremont doubted the possibility of doing so, owing to opposition by the Indians and jealousy of the English. 4

The details of this eleven years period of war do not properly belong in these pages. The war closed with the treaty of Utrecht, April 11, 1713, in which France ceded to England "all Nova Scotia or Acadia, with its ancient boundaries, also the city of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, and all other things in those parts, which depend upon the said lands; " she also agreed to " never molest the Five Na- tions subject to the dominion of Great Britain." But the all-important questions of boundaries and control over vast regions of country were left unsettled, to rise in later years and cloud the peaceful horizon.

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Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I, Part 8

Author: White, Truman C Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co. Number of Pages: 1014

Author: White, Truman C
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1014