History of Greene County : together with historic notes on the Northwest, and the state of Ohio, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and all other authentic sources, Part 4

Author: Dills, R. S. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Dayton : Odell & Mayer
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County : together with historic notes on the Northwest, and the state of Ohio, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and all other authentic sources > Part 4

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The calumet has always been a symbol of amity among all the Indian tribes of North America, and so uniformly used by them in all their negotiations with their own race, and Europeans as well ; and Father Hennepin's description of it, and the respect that is accorded to its presence, are so truthful that we here insert his account of it at length :

"This calumet," says Father Hennepin, "is the most mysterious thing among the savages, for it is used in all important transactions. It is nothing else, however, than a large tobacco pipe, made of red, black, or white stone. The head is highly polished, and the quill or stem is usually about two feet in length, made of a pretty strong reed or cane, decorated with highly colored feathers interlaced with locks of women's hair. Wings of gaudily plumaged birds are tied to it, making the calumet look like the wand of Mercury, or staff which ambassadors of state formerly carried when they went to conduct treaties of peace. The stem is sheathed in the skin of the neck of birds called 'Huars' (probably the loon), which are as large as our geese, and spotted with white and black ; or else with those of a duck (the little wood duck, whose neck presents a beautiful contrast of colors) that make their nests upon trees, although the water is their ordinary element, and whose feathers are of many different colors. However, every tribe ornament their calumets according to their own fancy, with the feathers of such birds as they may have in their own country.

"A pipe such as I have described is a pass of safe conduct among all the allies of the tribe which has given it ; and in all embassies it is car-

CANOE VOYAGE ON LAKE MICHIGAN.

ried as a symbol of peace, and is always respected as such, for the sav- ages believe some great misfortune would speedily befall them if they violated the public faith of the calumet. All their enterprises, declara- tions of war, treaties of peace, as well as all of the rest of their cere- monies, are sealed with the calumet. The pipe is filled with the best tobacco they have, and then it is presented to those with whom they are about to conduct an important affair ; and after they have smoked out of it the one offering it does the same. I would have perished," - concludes Hennepin, "had it not been for the calumet. Our three men, carrying the calumet and being well armed, went to the little village about three leagues from the place where we landed; they found no one at home, for the inhabitants, having heard that we refused to land at the other village, supposed we were enemies, and had aban- doned their habitations. In their absence our men took some of their corn, and left instead some goods, to let them know we were neither their enemies nor robbers. Twenty of the inhabitants of this village came to our encampment on the beach, armed with axes, small guns, bows, and a sort of club, which, in their language, means a head- breaker. La Salle, with four well-armed men, advanced toward them for the purpose of opening a conversation. He requested them to come near to us, saying he had a party of hunters out who might come across them and take their lives. They came forward and took seats at the foot of an eminence where we were encamped ; and La Salle amused them with the relation of his voyage, which he informed them he had undertaken for their advantage; and thus occupied their time until the 'arrival of the three men who had been sent out with the calumet ; on seeing which the savages gave a great shout, arose to their feet and danced about. We excused our men from having taken some of their corn, and informed them that we had left its true value in goods ; they were so well pleased with this that they immediately sent for more corn, and on the next day they made us a gift of as much as we could conveniently find room for in our canoes.

" The next day morning the old men of the tribe came to us with their calumet of peace, and entertained us with a free offering of wild goats, which their own hunters had taken. In return, we presented them our thanks, accompanied with some axes, knives, and several lit- tle toys for their wives, with all which they were very much pleased.

" We left this place and continued our voyage along the coast of the lake, which, in places, is so steep that we often found it difficult to obtain a landing ; and the wind was so violent as to oblige us to carry our canoes sometimes upon top of the bluff, to prevent their being

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

dashed in pieces. The stormy weather lasted four days, causing us much suffering; for every time we made the shore we had to wade in the water, carrying our effects and canoes upon our shoulders. The water being very cold, most of us were taken sick. Our provisions again failed us, which, with the fatignes of rowing, made old Father Gabriel faint away in such a manner that we despaired of his life. With a use of a decoction of hyacinth I had with me, and which I found of great service on our voyage, he was restored to his senses. We had no other subsistence but a handful of corn per man every twenty-four hours, which we parched or boiled ; and, although re- duced to such scanty diet, we rowed our canoes almost daily, from morning to night. Our men found some hawthorns and other wild berries, of which they ate so freely that most of them were taken sick, and we imagined that they were poisoned.

" Having thus refreshed ourselves, we continued our voyage directly to the southern part of the lake, every day the country becoming finer and the climate more temperate. On the 16th of October we fell in with abundance of game. Our Indian hunter killed several deer and wild goats, and our men a great many big fat turkey-cocks, with which we regaled ourselves for several days. On the 18th we came to the farther end of the lake. Here we landed, and our men were sent out to prospect the locality, and found great quantities of ripe grapes, the fruit of which were as large as damask plums. We cut down the trees to gather the grapes, out of which we made pretty good wine, which we put into gourds, used as flasks, and buried them in the sand to keep the contents from turning sour. Many of the trees here are loaded with vines, which, if cultivated, would make as good wine as any in Europe. The fruit was all the more relishing to us, because we wanted bread."

Other travelers besides Hennepin, passing this locality at an early day, also mention the same fact. It would seem, therefore, that Lake Michigan had the same modifying influence upon, and equalized the temperature of, its eastern shore, rendering it as famous for its wild fruits and grapes, two hundred years ago, as it has since become noted for the abundance and perfection of its cultivated varieties.

" Our men discovered prints of men's feet. The men were ordered to be upon guard and make no noise. In spite of this precaution, one of our men, finding a bear upon a tree, shot him dead and dragged him into camp. La Salle was very angry at this indiscretion, and, to avoid surprise, placed sentinels at the canoes, under which our effects had been put for protection against the rain. There was a hunting

SAVAGES PLUNDERING LA SALLE.

party of Fox Indians from the vicinity of Green Bay, about one hun- dred and twenty in number, encamped near to us, who, having heard the noise of the gun of the man who shot the bear, became alarmed, and sent out some of their men to discover who we were. These spies, creeping upon their bellies and observing great silence, came in the night-time and stole the coat of La Salle's footman and some goods secreted under the canoes. The sentinel, hearing a noise, gave the alarm, and we all ran to our arms. On being discovered, and thinking our numbers were greater than we really were, they cried out, in the dark, that they were friends. We answered, friends did not visit at such unseasonable hours, and that their actions were more like those of robbers, who designed to plunder and kill us. Their headsman replied that they heard the noise of our gun, and, as they knew that none of the neighboring tribes possessed firearms, they sup- posed we were a war party of Iroquois, come with the design of murdering them ; but now that they learned we were Frenchmen from Canada, whom they loved as their own brethren, they would anxiously wait until daylight, so that they could smoke out of our calumet. This is a compliment among the savages, and the highest mark they can give of their affection.

" We appeared satisfied with their reasons, and gave leave to four of their old men, only, to come into our camp, telling them we would not permit a greater number, as their young men were much given to stealing, and that we would not suffer such indignities. Accordingly, four of their old men came among us; we entertained them until morning, when they departed. After they were gone, we found out about the robbery of the canoes, and La Salle, well knowing the genius of the savages, saw, if he allowed this affront to pass without resenting it, that we would be constantly exposed to a renewal of like indignities. Therefore, it was resolved to exact prompt satisfaction. La Salle, with four of his men, went out and captured two of the Indian hunters. One of the prisoners confessed the robbery, with the circumstances connected with it. The thief was detained, and his comrade was released and sent to his band to tell their headsman that the captive in custody would be put to death unless the stolen property were returned.

" The savages were greatly perplexed at La Salle's peremptory mes- sage. They could not comply, for they had cut up the goods and coat and divided among themselves the pieces and the buttons ; they there- fore resolved to rescue their man by force. The next day, October 30, they advanced to attack us. The peninsula we were encamped on

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

was separated from the forest where the savages lay by a little sandy plain, on which and near the wood were two or three eminences. La Salle determined to take possession of the most prominent of these elevations, and detached five of his men to occupy it, following him- self, at a short distance, with all of his force, every one having rolled their coats about the left arm, which was held up as a protection against the arrows of the savages. Only eight of the enemy had fire- arms. The savages were frightened at our advance, and their young men took behind the trees, but their captains stood their ground, while we moved forward and seized the knoll. I left the two other Francis- cans reading the usual prayers, and went about among the men exhort- ing them to their duty; I had been in some battles and sieges in Europe, and was not afraid of these savages, and La Salle was highly pleased with my exhortations, and their influence upon his men. When I considered what might be the result of the quarrel, and how much more Christian-like it would be to prevent the effusion of blood, and end the difficulty in a friendly manner, I went toward the oldest savage, who, seeing me unarmed, supposed I came with designs of a mediator, and received me with civility. In the meantime one of our men observed that one of the savages had a piece of the stolen cloth wrapped about his head, and he went up to the savage and snatched the cloth away. This vigorous action so much terrified the savages that, although they were near six score against eleven, they presented me with the pipe of peace, which I received. M. La Salle gave his word that they might come to him in security. Two of their old men came forward, and in a speech disapproved the conduct of their young men ; that they could not restore the goods taken, but that, having been cut to pieces, they could only return the articles which were not spoiled, and pay for the rest. The orators presented, with their speeches, some garments made of beaver skins, to appease the wrath of M. La Salle, who, frowning a little, informed them that while he designed to wrong no one, he did not intend others should affront or injure him ; but, inasmuch as they did not approve what their young men had done, and were willing to make restitution for the same, he would accept their gifts and become their friend. The conditions were fully complied with, and peace happily concluded without farther hostility.

"The day was spent in dancing, feasting and speech-making. The chief of the band had taken particular notice of the behavior of the Franciscans. 'These gray-coats,' said the chief of the Foxes, 'we value very much. They go barefooted as well as we. They scorn our

INDIAN SPEECH TO THE GRAY-COATS.

beaver gowns, and decline all other presents. They do not carry arms to kill us. They flatter and make much of our children, and give them knives and other toys without expecting any reward. Those of our tribe who have been to Canada tell us that Onontio (so they call the Governor) loves them very much, and that the Fathers of the Gown have given up all to come and see us. Therefore, you who are captain over all these men, be pleased to leave with us one of these gray-coats, whom we will conduct to our village when we shall have killed what we design of the buffaloes. Thou art also master of these warriors ; remain with us, instead of going among the Illinois, who, already advised of your coming, are resolved to kill you and all of your soldiers. And how can you resist so powerful a nation ?'

" The day November 1st we again embarked on the lake, and came to the mouth of the river of the Miamis, which comes from the south- east and falls into the lake."

CHAPTER V.

THE SEVERAL MIAMIS-LA SALLE'S VOYAGE DOWN THE ILLINOIS.

MUCH confusion has arisen because, at different periods, the name of " Miami " has been applied to no less than five different rivers, viz. : The St. Joseph, of Lake Michigan ; the Maumee, often designated as the Miami of the Lakes, to distinguish it from the Miami which falls into the Ohio River below Cincinnati ; then there is the Little Miami of the Ohio emptying in above its greater namesake ; and finally the Wabash, which with more propriety bore the name of the " River of the Miamis." The French, it is assumed, gave the name "Miami " to the river emptying into Lake Michigan, for the reason that there was a village of that tribe on its banks before and at the time of La Salle's first visit, as already noted on page 24. The name was not of long duration, for it was soon exchanged for that of St. Joseph, by which it has ever since been known. La Hontan is the last authority who refers to it by the name of Miami. Shortly after the year named, the date being now unknown, a Catholic mission was established up the river, and, Charlevoix says, about six leagues below the portage, at South Bend, and called the Mission of St. Joseph ; and from this cir- cumstance, we may safely infer, the river acquired the same name. It is not known, either, by whom the Mission of St. Joseph was organ- ized ; very probably, however, by Father Claude Allouez. This good man, and to whose writings the people of the West are so largely in- debted for many valuable historical reminiscences, seems to have been forgotten in the respect that is showered upon other more conspicuous though less meritorious characters. The Mission of the Immaculate Conception, after Marquette's death, remained unoccupied for the space of two years, then Claude Jean Allouez received orders to pro- ceed thither from the Mission of St. James, at the town of Maskou- tens, on Fox River, Wisconsin. Leaving in October, 1676, on account of an exceptionally early winter, he was compelled to delay his jour- ney until the following February, when he again started ; reaching Lake Michigan on the eve of St. Joseph, he called the lake after this saint. Embarking on the lake on the 23d of March, and coasting

LA SALLE REACHES THE ST. JOSEPH.

along the western shore, after numerous delays occasioned by ice and storm, he arrived at Chicago River. He then made the portage and entered the Kaskaskia village, which was probably near Peoria Lake, on the 8th of April, 1677. The Indians gave him a very cordial re- ception, and flocked from all directions to the town to hear the " Black Gown " relate the truths of Christianity. For the glorification of God and the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, Allouez "erected, in the midst of the village, a cross twenty-five feet high, chanting the Vexilla Regis in the presence of an admiring and respectful throng of Indians ; he covered it with garlands of beautiful flowers." Father Allouez did not remain but a short time at the mission; leaving it that spring he returned in 1678, and continued there until La Salle's arrival in the winter of 1679-80. The next suceeding decade Allouez passed either at this mission or at the one on St. Joseph's River, on the eastern side of Lake Michigan, where he died in 1690. Bancroft says : " Allouez has imperishably connected his name with the progress of discovery in the West ; unhonored among us now, he was not inferior in zeal and ability to any of the great missionaries of his time."

We resume Hennepin's narrative :

" We had appointed this place (the mouth of the St. Joseph) for our rendezvous before leaving the outlet of Green Bay, and ex- pected to meet the twenty men we had left at Mackinaw, who, being ordered to come by the eastern coast of the lake, had a much shorter cut than we, who came by the western side ; besides this, their canoes were not so heavily laden as ours. Still, we found no one here, nor any signs that they had been here before us.

"It was resolved to advise M. La Salle that it was imprudent to remain here any longer for the absent men, and expose ourselves to the hardships of winter, when it would be doubtful if we could find the Illinois in their villages, as then they would be divided into families, and scattered over the country to subsist more conven- iently. We further represented that the game might fail us, in which event we must certainly perish with hunger ; whereas if we went forward, we would find enough corn among the Illinois, who would rather supply fourteen men than thirty-two with provisions. We said further that it would be quite impossible, if we delayed longer, to continue the voyage until the winter was over, because the rivers would be frozen over and we could not make use of our canoes. Notwithstanding these reasons, M. La Salle thought it necessary to remain for the rest of the men, as we would be in no condition to

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

appear before the Illinois and treat with them with our present sinall force, whom they would meet with scorn. That it would be better to delay our entry into their country, and in the meantime try to meet with some of their nation, learn their language, and gain their good will by presents. La Salle concluded his discourse with the declaration that, although all of his men might run away, as for him- self, he would .remain alone with his Indian hunter, and find means to maintain the three missionaries-meaning me and my two clerical brethren. Having come to this conclusion, La Salle called his men together, and advised them that he expected each one to do his duty ; that he proposed to build a fort here for the security of the ship and the safety of our goods, and ourselves, too, in case of any disaster. None of us, at this time, knew that our ship had been lost. The men were quite dissatisfied at La Salle's course, but his reasons therefor were so many that they yielded, and agreed to entirely follow his directions.

" Just at the mouth of the river was an eminence with a kind of plateau, naturally fortified. It was quite steep, of a triangular shape, defended on two sides by the river, and on the other by a deep ravine which the water had washed out. We felled the trees that grew on this hill, and cleared from it the bushes for the distance of two musket shot. We began to build a redoubt about forty feet long by eighty broad, with great square pieces of timber laid one upon the other, and then cut a great number of stakes, some twenty feet long, to drive into the ground on the river side, to make the fort inaccessible in that direction. We were employed the whole of the month of November in this work, which was very fatiguing-having no other food than the bears our savage killed. These animals are here very abundant, because of the great quantity of grapes they find in this vicinity. Their flesh was so fat and luscious that our men grew weary of it, and desired to go themselves and hunt for wild goats. La Salle denied them that liberty, which made some murmurs among the men, and they went unwillingly to their work. These annoyances, with the near approach of winter, together with the apprehension that his ship was lost, gave La Salle a melancholy which he resolutely tried to, but could not, conceal.

" We made a hut wherein we performed divine service every Sun- day; and Father Gabriel and myself, who preached alternately, care- fully selected such texts as were suitable to our situation, and fit to inspire us with courage, concord, and brotherly love. Our .exhorta- tions produced good results, and deterred our men from their meditated

FORT MIAMIS.

desertion. We sounded the mouth of the river and found a sand-bar, on which we feared our expected ship might strike ; we marked out a channel through which the vessel might safely enter by attaching buoys, made of inflated bear-skins, fastened to long poles driven into the bed of the lake. Two men were also sent back to Mackinac to await there the return of the ship, and serve as pilots.

"M. Tonti arrived on the 20th of November with two canoes laden with stags and deer, which were a welcome refreshment to our men. He did not bring more than about one-half of his men, having left the rest on the opposite side of the lake, within three days' journey of the fort. La Salle was angry with him on this account, because he was afraid the men would run away. Tonti's party informed us that the Griffin had not put into Mackinaw, according to orders, and that they had heard nothing of her since our departure, although they had made inquiries of the savages living on the coast of the lake. This confirmed the suspicion, or rather the belief, that the vessel had been cast away. However, M. La Salle continued work on the building of the fort, which was at last completed and called Fort Miamis.

" The winter was drawing nigh, and La Salle, fearful that the ice would interrupt his voyage, sent M. Tonti back to hurry forward the men he had left, and to command them to come to him immediately; but, meeting with a violent storm, their canoes were driven against the beach and broken to pieces, and Tonti's men lost their guns and equipage, and were obliged to return to us overland. A few days after this all our men arrived except two, who had deserted. We pre- pared at once to resume our voyage, rains having fallen that melted the ice and made the rivers navigable.

"On the 3d of December, 1679, we embarked, being in all thirty- three men, in eight canoes. We left the lake of the Illinois and went up the river of the Miamis, in which we had previously mnade soundings. We made about five and twenty leagues southward, but failed to discover the place where we were to land, and carry our canoes and effects into the river of the Illinois, which falls into that of the Meschasipi, that is, in the language of the Illinois, the great river. We had already gone beyond the place of the portage, and not knowing where we were, we thought proper to remain there, as we were expecting La Salle, who had taken to the land to view the country. We stayed here quite a while, and La Salle failing to appear, I went a distance into the woods with two men, who fired off their guns to notify him of the place where we were. In the meantime two other men went higher up the river, in canoes, in search of him. We

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST.

all returned toward evening, having vainly endeavored to find him. The next day I went up the river myself, but hearing nothing of him, I came back, and found our men very much perplexed, fearing he was lost. However, about four o'clock in the afternoon M. La Salle re- turned to us, having his face and hands as black as pitch. He carried two beasts as big as muskrats, whose skin was very fine and like ermine. He had killed them with a stick as they hung by their tails to the branches of the trees.

" He told us that the marshes he had met on his way had compelled him to bring a large compass ; and that, being much delayed by the snow, which fell very fast, it was past midnight before he arrived upon the banks of the river, where he fired his gun twice, and hearing no answer, he concluded that we had gone higher up the river, and had, therefore, marched that way. He added that, after three hours' march, he saw a fire upon the hill, whither he went directly and hailed us several times; but hearing no reply, he approached and found no per- son near the fire, but only some dry grass, upon which a man had laid a little while before, as he conjectured, because the bed was still warm. He supposed that a savage had been occupying it, who fled upon his approach, and was now hid in ambuscade near by. La Salle called out loudly to him in two or three languages, saying that he need not be afraid of him, and that he was agoing to lie in his bed. La Salle re- ceived no answer. To guard against surprise, La Salle cut bushes and placed them to obstruct the way, and sat down by the fire, the smoke of which blackened his hands and face, as I have already observed. Having warmed and rested himself, he laid down under the tree upon the dry grass the savage had gathered and slept well, notwithstanding the frost and snow. Father Gabriel and I desired him to keep with his men, and not to expose himself in the future, as the success of our enterprise depended solely on him, and he promised to follow our ad- vice. Our savage, who remained behind to hunt, finding none of us at the portage, came higher up the river, to where we were, and told us we had missed the place. We sent all the canoes back under his charge except one, which I retained for M. La Salle, who was so weary that he was obliged to remain there that night. I made a little hut with mats, constructed with marsh rushes, in which we laid down to- gether for the night. By an unhappy accident our cabin took fire, and we were very near being burned alive after we had gone to sleep."

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History of Greene County : together with historic notes on the Northwest, and the state of Ohio, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and all other authentic sources, Part 4

Author: Dills, R. S. cn Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Dayton : Odell & Mayer Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Dills, R. S. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Dayton : Odell & Mayer
Number of Pages: 1034