USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 9
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1 Chevalier de Calieres died at Quebec in 1703 and was succeeded as governor by Philip de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, who held the office until his death, October 10, 1725. He was per- sistent and active in his conduct of affairs and made the English infinite trouble by inciting the Indians to frequent forays on the frontier.
2 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 773. 3 Ibid, p. 807.
4 Ibid, p. 821.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
While the victory lay with Great Britain, the French lost none of their prestige in the West, nor did they relax their activity in establishing stations and prosecuting their fur trade. Correspondence, complaints and recriminations promised to be endless, and ere long it became ap- parent that permanent peace was not yet secured.
In a French report dated October 20, 1720, Messrs. Vaudreuil and Begon stated that in the previous spring Sieur Joncaire had caused the Indians to erect a picketed house at Niagara. The English, of course, bitterly opposed this act. Through Joncaire's great influence with the Senecas, that nation was induced to consent. The reason given for the erection of the work by the French was, that it was "required to prevent the English introducing themselves into the Upper Country, and to increase the trade at Fort Frontenac."1 Gov. William Burnet, of New York, protested,2 claiming that "the French flag had been hoisted in one of the Seneca castles," which he considered "an ill observance of the articles of the Peace of Utrecht." Vaudreuil replied, insisting on the right of the French to the post at Niagara, claiming that Bur- net was "the first English Governor-general who has questioned the right of the French from time immemorial, to the post of Niagara, to which the English have, up to the present time, laid no claim," etc. 3
It was evident that the time had arrived when the English were de- termined to secure control of Lake Ontario. Governor Burnet in 1721 established a temporary trading station at Irondequoit, which did not, however, remain long. 4 Meanwhile the New York Legislature passed a law forbidding the further supply of Indian goods to the French, who were unable to get them elsewhere except at higher prices. This act seriously affected the New York importers, as well as crippled the French, and the latter retaliated by inciting the northern Indians to drive the English from their country. "Since the close of October, 1723," wrote De Vaudreuil, "the Abenakis did not cease harassing the English with a view to force them to quit their country."5
To further his purposes Governor Burnet made preparations to estab-
1 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 897.
2 Letter of 24th of August to M. Vaudreuil, Ibid, p. 901.
3 Ibid, p. 901.
4 That I might improve their [the Indians] present good humor to the best advantage I have employed the five hundred pounds granted this year by the Assembly chiefly to the erecting and encouraging a settlement at Tirandaquet, a creek on the Lake Ontario about sixty miles on this side of Niagara whither there have actually gone a company of ten persons with the approbation of our Indians."-Burnet to the Board of Trade, Oct. 16, 1721.
5 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 936.
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FROM 1698 TO 1748.
lish a strong defensive work at Oswego in 1725, and in the following spring he carried out his plan.1 This gave the French great uneasi- ness. De Vaudreuil wrote concerning it that he "had received the advice that the English and Dutch had projected an establishment at the mouth of the River Chouaguen [the French name for Oswego] on soil always considered as belonging to France." His un- easiness is further indicated in his statement that he "felt the difficulty of preserving the post of Niagara where there is no fort, should the English once fortify Chouaguen; and that in losing Niagara the colony is lost, and at the same time all the trade with the upper country In- dians. " 2
The fort at Oswego was finished in 1726. It now became of vital importance to the French to place Niagara in a state of defense, which they hesitated to undertake without acquiescence of the Iroquois. The bewildered Indians, alternately cajoled and threatened for many years by representatives of both European powers, could scarcely determine where their best interests lay; it is not strange, therefore, that they vacillated to some extent from one to the other. De Vaudreuil sent M. de Longueil among the Onondagas,3 whose consent he obtained to the building of a fortification at Niagara, and two vessels to sail on Lake Ontario. De Longeuil found Oswego and the water passage to Onondaga in full possession of the English, who exhibited an order from the New York governor to allow no Frenchmen to pass up th Oswego River without showing a passport.
Messrs. de Longueil and Begon, in their report on the proposed French fort at Niagara, urged the importance of beginning it in the spring of 1726, transmitted a plan of the work and an estimate of its cost, which was 29,295 liv .; the two barks were built at a cost of 13,090 liv., which sums were sent over by the king. There was some difference of opinion between the engineer who planned the fort and other French officers as to the most desirable location for the "stone house." The engineer selected the site of the former work erected by
1 Burnet wrote the Board of Trade on the 9th of May, 1726, as follows: "I have this spring sent up workmen to build a stone house of strength at a place called Oswego, at the mouth of the Onondage river where our principal trade with the far Nations is carried on. I have obtained the consent of the Six Nations to build it." The place was garrisoned by sixty soldiers, a cap- tain and two lieutenants, and there were gathered there at that time about 200 traders.
2 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 950.
3 He afterwards repaired to Onontague and obtained the consent of their chiefs to the erection of a stone house at Niagara, in the place of the one which fell in ruins; also, to the construction of two barks for the transportation of materials .- Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 976.
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De Nonville, which was substantially the site of the present fort. He made a map of the locality and traced a line of fortification around the site of the house, and accompanied it with "some reasons which obliged him not to build it at the Portage, marked B, on the site of the former house, but to locate it at the mouth of the Niagara river, so as to prevent the English going to trade on the north shore of the lake, and seizing on that river, which is the passage from the upper country, as the Lake cannot be crossed with their bark canoes; whilst, had he built at the Portage, which is three leagues up the river, and should the English locate themselves at the mouth, where the House is erected, the Lake would be surrendered to them, and the House block- aded in such a manner that it would be impossible to assist it or to withdraw the garrison from it." On the other hand, while Messrs. de Beauharnois and Dupuy (the former was appointed governor in 1726) admitted that the house was " well located for defending the communi- cation into the lake, and the passage from the lake to the upper coun- tries," insisted that it did "not absolutely command the Portage, which is the spot where everything passes." On this subject, so important in connection with the early history of our frontier, we quote further from the Colonial Manuscripts from which the foregoing extracts are taken, as follows:
In order to remedy this inconvenience, they propose to rebuild that which stood at the Portage, . . and say that such expense is absolutely indispensable if it be desirable to secure the Upper country. They transmit the Plan and elevation thereof, with an estimate amounting to 20,430 liv. 14s. 11d. They add that this building will not give any umbrage to the Indians, inasmuch as it will be considered as the re-erection of one entirely similar to that which stood there, and has almost fallen down. It will not be a new affair requiring negotiation with them.1
On the 25th of July, 1726, M. de Longueil wrote that the business of erecting the fort "has been well managed and pushed forward, and that the barks constructed at Fort Frontenac have afforded wonderful assistance; that no opposition has been offered by the Iroquois, who, on the contrary, appeared highly pleased to see us near them; but, that the English, uneasy and jealous, have solicited and gained over some Seneca chiefs to thwart this establishment, which has been of no other effect than to attach the Iroquois to us more strongly." 2
On the 7th of September, 1726, De Longeuil wrote the French gov- ernor that there were no more English at Oswego, along the lake, nor
1 Paris Doc., Col. Hist., Vol. IX, pp. 976-77.
2 Ibid, p. 978 ..
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FROM 1698 TO 1748.
in the river, and that if he encounter any in the lake, he will have them pillaged. That the house at Niagara is very much advanced.'
While these operations were in progress the English were constantly striving to incite the Iroquois against the French and to induce them to prevent the completion of the Niagara fort, but with indifferent suc- cess.2 On the 29th of April, 1727, King Louis in a memoir to his Ca- nadian governor, approved of the construction of the house at Niagara, and of the two barks; also approved of the proposal of Beauharnois and Depuy "to rebuild the old house at the portage."
The strife and contention went on until it culminated in another war; this result was inevitable. The posts at either end of Lake On- tario, Niagara and Oswego, were now of the highest importance to both French and English. The nation in possession of both would hold absolute sway over Lake Ontario and through that of the great bulk of the fur trade. Consequently the letters, memoirs and dis- patches that passed between the two powers struggling for the mas- tery, from the date of the erection of the stone structures at Niagara and Oswego, were very largely devoted to this subject and need only brief notice here.
Everywhere the French were vigilant and active. They erected a stockade in 1731 at Crown Point on Lake Champlain. In 1734 Beau- harnois counseled increasing the garrison there to 120 men, and a con- siderable force was stationed there a few years later. At the same time more troops were called for from France for general defense. In a dispatch of December 24, 1734, the governor admitted that the French could do nothing against Oswego if the Indians remained neu- tral, at the same time contending that the English could not success- fully assault Niagara. The French, as shown by the records, had im- plicit confidence that the Indians would never countenance any move- ment of the English against that post. 4
1 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 978.
2 The Indians replied to the exhortations of the English as follows: " You have been a long time repeating the same thing to us, and always in vain ; we do not regret having given our con- sent to the building of the house and the barks; we have given our word, and are satisfied with the manner in which the French have acted ; it is useless to say any more, and if this post offend you, go and pull it down."-Ibid.
3 Ibid, p. 964.
4 " The Five Nations who are impelled by one and the same interest would doubtless certainly oppose any attempt on the part of the English against Niagara, just as they would resist any effort on our part against Choueghen ; on the other hand, the Iroquois would have nothing to re- proach us with, were the English the first to move against Niagara ; under such circumstances I
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
The English were no less energetic in efforts to maintain or strengthen their situation; but they were far less successful, particularly in their relations with the Iroquois. Strong as they had been in the past, they finally became doubtful of their ability to hold Oswego, and as confi- dent that its capture would be attempted by their enemies. Governor Clarke wrote the Board of Trade as follows:
My Lords-If the loss of Oswego (which I much fear will fall into the hands of the French on the first rupture) does not stagger the best resolutions of the Six Nations, who at present fear more than they love the French; that Fortress, or rather, Trad- ing house, for it is no better, is in a defenseless condition, the Garrison consists but of a Lieutenant, Serjeant, Corporal and 20 men. It is and has been without ammu- nition, the Assembly refusing to be at the expense, as well as to make provision for victualling a larger Garrison. 1
In the same year the governor wrote of the French situation as follows:
The French had lately three, and now two sailing vessells, each of about 50 or 60 Tons, on the Lake Cadaraqui; on the North East end whereof, near the entrance in- to the River of St. Lawrence, they have a small Stone fort called Frontenac, with a Garrison of about thirty or thirty-five men, and on the South west End, near the fall of Niagara, another with the like garrison, a trading house under the cover of it, and are now building there one or two more trading houses. . We have a trading house and a Garrison of 20 men in it at Oswego, almost opposite to Fort Frontenac, which in our present situation will inevitably fall into the hands of the French on the first opening of a War & with it the Five Nations, the only Barrier against the French to all the Provinces from this to Georgia.2
During all of these prolonged proceedings that were leading towards war, both the powers most interested threatened, coaxed and intrigued and made presents to the Indians in the hope of winning their undivided allegiance. Promises of an alluring character were freely made by both nations, presents were distributed, among which intoxicating liquor became a prominent feature. 3
War was declared in 1744, involving England, Spain, France and Austria, including the western colonies of the three first named. While it was an eventful struggle in its general character, its story possesses
would be always in time to attempt the capture of Choueghen, wherein I would experience less opposition, and which I would not failimmediately to attack."-Beauharnois, letter to Count de Maurepas, Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 1106.
1 Clarke's letter of Aug. 20, 1742, Doc. Hist., Vol. I, p. 463. 2 Ibid, p. 465-66.
3 " The toleration his Majesty [the French king] is pleased to entertain in favor of the distri- bution of brandy to the Indians, is so much the more necessary, as that liquor is the sole allure- ment that could attract and preserve them to us, and deprive them of all inducement to go to the English."-Abstract of dispatch, Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 1016.
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FROM 1698 TO 1748.
little local interest. During the summer of 1744 the old stockades at Niagara were repaired and doubled, and on October 8 Beauharnois in- formed his government that he had sent Sieur de Celeron to command the post, and "have added thirty men to its garrison, so that this con- sists of sixty-four soldiers and six officers."1 Two years later the same writer wrote of the garrison showing that it comprised only about one-half of the above number, and was under command of Captain Duplessis. Neither Niagara nor Oswego was directly involved in this war. The latter was substantially deserted during the whole period. During the first and greater part of the contest the Iroquois greatly favored the French, though constantly persuaded and allured by the English. In 1747 it was reported that the Senecas, as well as the others of the Five Nations, were divided in their allegiance, "part for the French and part for the English, who are endeavoring to corrupt them by all sorts of means."
In the fall of 1747 the post at Detroit received a large accession, as shown by the following report :
The Montreal convoy arrived safe at Detroit on the 22d of September, escorted by about 150 men, including the merchants and their servants. This relief is the salvation of Detroit, and has apparently made an impression on the Nations.3
Under the same date occurs the following :
The Niagara and Frontenac posts are quiet. We learn by this same opportunity that the sloop on Lake Ontario has arrived at Niagara freighted with provisions and merchandise, by which means that post is well supplied. Fort Frontenac is equally well provisioned. 4
The attitude of the Iroquois Indians during the latter part of this war is well set forth in the following brief extracts from the above mentioned journal. Under date of May 28, 1748, is the following :
Count de la Galissonière sends, with a convoy, Captain de Raymond. to relieve M. de Contrecoeur, the commandant at Niagara, who has applied to be recalled. Sieur Joncaire,5 Resident at the Senecas, having demanded to be relieved, in con-
1 Col. Hist., Vol. IX, p. 1104. 2 Col. Hist. Vol. X, p. 123.
3 Journal of Occurrences in Canada, 1747-8, Paris Doc. X, Ibid, p. 140. 4 Ibid, p. 143.
5 This name of Joncaire has an important place in the early history of the frontier of Western New York. As already stated, when the French determined to reoccupy Niagara preparatory to establishing a post there, M. Chabert de Joncaire was sent on a mission to the Senecas to obtain their consent to the erection of the work. In earlier years he had been captured by the Senecas, who adopted him and he married a Seneca squaw. He was released by them when peace was declared, and was afterwards employed by the French to promote their interests with the Sen- ecas, where his position and influence, as their adopted son, gave him great influence. They per- mitted him to build a cabin on the site of Lewiston, from which the English were powerless to
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sequence of his health, the General has appointed Sieur Joncaire Clauzonne, his brother, to succeed him, to whom he furnishes the necessary instructions respecting the course he is to pursue towards the 5 Nations, under existing circumstances.1
Under date of July 19 is found this:
Letters from Niagara are received at Quebec, stating that the 5 Nations are gone to the council at Orange [Albany] and that they promise to come and visit their Father at Montreal immediately on their return. It is reported that these nations have sent back the hatchet which the English gave them to use against the French.2
On the 2d of November, 1748, a council was held at Quebec with deputies from all nations of the Iroquois excepting the Mohawks, and M. Galissonière. The Indians there said that they desired to be at peace with the French and English, but that the latter had continually solicited them to take up the hatchet against the French, which they constantly refused to do; that they were glad to see traders settle in their neighborhood, but that they had not ceded to any one their lands. It is quite possible that the whole Iroquois confederacy would have been led into active partisanship with the French had it not been for the great influence over them, particularly the eastern nations, of the man who is known in our history as Sir William Johnson. He came to America in 1738, when he was twenty-three years old, to take charge of lands in the Mohawk valley belonging to his uncle, and settled at what is now Johnstown. His fairness and honesty in deal- ing with the Indians soon gained their confidence and gave him almost
dislodge him or to obtain similar concessions for any of their own men. Joncaire established a considerable trading post which was maintained during the period when Niagara was abandoned by the French and a group of cabins was added to his own in course of time. In 1721 he was charged by the English with the murder of M. Montour, a Frenchman who, like himself, had taken a native wife. M. Vaudreuil vindicated the act. In 1730 Joncaire appeared among the Senecas with several French soldiers, informing them that for some trivial offense against his governor he had been whipped and banished, and came to them for protection. From that time to his death, in 1740, he was an active agent of the French. After his death the Senecas applied to the French to permit his son (also named Chabert) to come and live with them, which they did. The son was called by the English a "French Indian." Speaking both the English and French languages, he soon made himself as useful to the French cause as his father had been. In 1741 he asked to be released from his service with the Senecas on account of ill-health, and his younger brother, Clauzonne Joncaire, was appointed in his place. The other son, Chabert, seems, how- ever to have remained in French employ, as the names of both brothers are signed to the capitu- lation of Fort Niagara to Sir William Johnson in 1759. In relation to that event the Maryland Gazette of August 30, 1759, said: "There are ten other officers, one of which is the famous Mon- sieur Joncaire, a very noted man among the Seneca Indians; and whose father was the first that hoisted French colors in that country. His brother, also a prisoner, is now here, and has been very humane to many Englishmen." The connection of the Joncaires with other affairs on the frontier will be described as we proceed.
1 Col. Hist., Vol. X, p. 163. 2 Ibid, p. 172.
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FROM 1749 TO 1755.
unlimited influence with them. About the time of the opening of the French and Indian war he was given the superintendency of Indian affairs, and it was very largely through his good offices that the whole frontier was left free from bloodshed until the treaty of Aix-la- Chapelle.
That treaty was signed October 18, 1748, and it was fondly hoped that under it permanent peace in Europe and this country was secured. By its terms several former treaties, including those of Ryswick and Utrecht, were renewed and confirmed. With all barriers removed, the trading posts around Lake Ontario and elsewhere soon assumed their former activity. The waters were again enlivened by Indian canoes and white men's bateaux ; traders gathered at Niagara and Oswego and even opened considerable business with their late enemies in Canada, who were blind to the illicit character of a commerce that was profitable to them.
CHAPTER V.
1749-1755.
The French Position Strengthened-Results of Competition in Fur Trade-Im- portance of Oswego-Building of a Fort above Niagara Falls-Congress of English Commissioners-General Braddock's Council-Campaign Plans-Braddock's Defeat -Shirley's Operations at Oswego -. His Failure to Reach Niagara-The French Elated-Improvements at Niagara-Plan of Campaign of 1756.
While outward peace reigned, the old inward conflict never ceased. From the date of the capture of Louisburg in 1745 the French had ex- tended and strengthened their dominion and the treaty of 1748 found them with a population in this country of about 100,000, and with a line of posts extending from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico. They soon became aggressive. Personal trade interests were constantly clashing, while the stake for which the two powers were contending was a magnificent one. The causes of trouble extended downward, from the general desire to rule the whole country, to the minutest de- tails of the fur trade. Soon after the close of the war the French authorities fixed the prices that should be paid for beaver skins; these
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
prices were promptly exceeded by the English, with the natural result of diverting the trade. In an abstract of dispatches from Canada under date of April 30, 1749, is the following:
That although they followed the orders that had been given respecting the fixing the price of the Beaver, it had been well if the rate had not been diminished; that a much greater quantity of the article will hereafter go to the English inasmuch as our Indians carried it thither even during the war when it was four livres. 1
This condition of trade gave the French great uneasiness, and steps were taken to counteract the policy of the English, by keeping on hand at the important posts larger and more complete stocks of goods and lowering the prices whenever it was possible 2
During the years 1749-50 the French authorities expressed their ap- preciation of the importance of the post at Oswego and began discuss- ing plans for its capture. In a memoir to his government dated in December, 1750, M. Galissonnière3 wrote as follows:
As long as the English will possess Choueguen there will be a perpetual distrust of Indians the most loyal to the French, twice more troops than the colony requires, or comports with its condition, will have to be maintained in times of the most profound peace; forts will have to be established and kept in an infinite number of places, and very numerous and very expensive detachments sent almost every year, to restrain the different Nations of Indians. The navigation of the lakes will always be ex- posed to be disturbed; agriculture will not advance, except very slowly, and cannot be pursued except in the heart of the colony; in fine, matters will be always in a situation possessing all the inconveniences of war, even without any of its ad- vantages. 4
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