USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume One > Part 8
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Champlain Licendol The St. Lawrence and wisely chové the site of Sudaroca as tår writ of the proposed French province. It was mi lhe neky cliff's overlook ing the broad and mijerule river, He called the place Qochec, pruovamed by the Indians, Kebec, meaning the Narrowy. " It was lo 1608 that the quaint city was founded which was to play so conspicuous a pari Is the history of our country; it was truly a city founded on a rock and Champlain no doubt believed the citadel of his nation there established would survive the storms of war and shock of siege and be the impreg- nable Gibraltar of Gallic power in America.
But another nation and race had entered the contest It was the Anglo-Saxon-the English. A century had passed since the Cabots effected landfalls on the shores of Labrador. The British monarche all this while were too bury with horey a fair and royal antagonist across the channel to bother with experimental excur- sions to uncertain quarters in distant America. But the trans-oceani exploits of Spur and France roused the envy and wwulation of Euland Elizabeth war on the throne, "This illustrious walden queen was no idle dreamer, bur the etrenyour der of things great. She loved power and she knew Iww to wield it to a purpose, Her stign war the renesance of England. The Elizabethan Era was renowned for its flourish of
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
literature, its religious agitation and its supremacy on the sea. The Spaniard in his aggressive adventures and ambitious voyages found his match in the daughter of the Tudors. The Spanish sovereign, Phillip, the Cruel, resolved to crush the rising power of the Anglo Saxons. He assembled one hundred and thirty ships, carrying thirty thousand men and three thousand heavy guns, the greatest navy of the century. It was the Armada and its commander proposed landing his forces on the little island and subduing England as Caesar had done sixteen centuries before. But the bravery of the Briton seaman and the storm that Nep- tune timely brought to their aid drove the Dons of Spain to overwhelming defeat. The Spanish ships were shattered and sunk and the fleet called Invincible was no more. A few scattering ships bore home the tale of irretrievable disaster and everlasting dishonor to the proud banner of Arragon and Castile. England was indeed mistress of the sea. No longer did she fear Spain.
The next great power with whom England had to reckon was France. That reckoning was to be not only on the battle fields of Europe but on the Heights of Abraham, the Plains of New York, and the Banks of the Ohio. Under the energetic Elizabeth, corpora- tions of various kinds for trade and commerce became numerous. The Atlantic was no longer a dangerous or serious obstacle to colonizing schemes.
Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the most chivalrous figures in English history, obtained a royal patent investing him with "ample powers to colonize and govern any territories he might acquire in the unoccupied parts
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of North America." Under such sweeping authority, Raleigh was the promoter of emigrating parties to the Carolina coast. Two efforts were made at settle- ment on the Island of Roanoke. The settlements were short lived but the returning survivors carried to Eng- land the alluring report that America meant com- mercial opportunity. Raleigh's failures were the im- mediate prelude to events prodigious in American history. It was under Elizabeth's successor, James, "the wisest fool in Europe," that the English found permanent foothold in the New World. Enterprising English merchants formed a syndicate and secured letters patent from the crown by which was granted to them all the territory on the American coast between the 34th and 45th degrees latitude, north, or from Cape Fear to Halifax. This entire domain was known as Virginia. The patents required that two companies be formed to explore and develop this territory. One of these corporations was the London Company, its extent being from degrees 24 to 41, latitude north, and extending "up with the land from sea to sea." The other company was known as the Plymouth Company; its stretch of land reaching from 38 to 45 degrees latitude, and likewise west from "sea to sea. " It is to be noted that dividing lines between these companies overlapped. This led to complica- tions not necessary here to discuss. The local govern-' ment of each colony was to be conducted by a council dwelling therein but nominated by the king; while general supervision was to be exercised by the com- pany's directors resident in England.
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The London Company was the first on the ground to effect a settlement. A little fleet of three ships carrying a hundred or more "gentlemen, merchants and adventurers," including the chivalric captain John Smith, entered Chesapeake Bay, steered up the river they named James, after their king, until finding a favorable site they made landing on the river bank and founded Jamestown. It was the planting of the Anglo-Saxon stock in America. This was in the Spring of 1607, just one year before Champlain sowed the seeds of the Fleur de Lis on the rocky and barren cliff of Quebec. These two specks of colonies, the Teuton and the Latin, hundreds of miles-nearly a thousand- apart were the avant coureurs of streams of settlers that were in due time to engage in a life and death grapple. Fiske at this point thus reflects: "between the beginning and the end of this well-rounded tale a mighty drama is wrought out in all its themes. The struggle between France and England for the soil of North America was one of the great critical movements in the career of mankind,-no less important than the struggle between Greece and Persia, or between Rome and Carthage. Out of the long and complicated interaction between Roman and Teutonic institutions which made up the history of the Middle Ages, two strongly contrasted forms of political society had grown up and acquired aggressive strength when in the course of the Sixteenth Century a new world beyond the sea was laid open for colonization."
Upon his settlement at Quebec, Champlain estab- lished friendly relations with his nearest Indian neigh- bors on the St. Lawrence, the Montagnais, and with
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
the more distant Hurons on the west and the Algon- quins on the east. The year following his arrival (1609), with five or six of his own soldiers and a band of some fifty Indians from the tribes above named, in a little flotilla of twenty-four canoes, the French explor- er ascended the Richelieu River to the placid and pic- turesque lake which has ever since borne his name, Champlain. Historic waters;
" What cheers of triumph in thy echoes sleep! Where brave blood dyed thy wave!
A grass-grown rampart crowns each rugged steep, Each isle a hero's grave."
On the forest-fringed and mountain-flanked shores of this lake, Champlain met a force of some three hun- dred Iroquois warriors of the Mohawk tribe. The Iroquois were fierce fighters. They carried shields of hide-covered wood and wrapped their bodies in crude corslets of tough interwoven twigs. With such rude armor they regarded themselves immune to the arrows of the enemy and they marched defiantly to the attack. Imagine their surprise and terror when the French leader and his arquebus-armed soldiers opened fire upon the advancing savages. Two of their chiefs fell dead and a third lay wounded. They had never before encountered fire arms. The flash and crash of the discharge of the crude musketry seemed to the Iroquois naught else than the lightning and thunder of the Great Spirit. Panic stricken they fled in dismay.
Such was the warlike overture to the tragic drama, prolonged to be in its enactment, between the savagery of the New World and the civilization of the Old. The
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
echoes of that petty conflict, between a squad of French and their three score Indian allies with three hundred Mohawk braves frightened into precipitate flight, quickly died away amid the depths of the thick forests. But the memory of that event was never effaced from the minds of the outraged Mohawks. From the moment of that repulse the haughty and fearless Iroquois became the implacable foe of the French, and that enmity largely shaped the course of New France in the New World.
As the Iroquois will often cross the path of our story, it is pertinent that we learn who and what they were. The term "Iroquois," applied to the tribes of which we speak, is of doubtful origin. It was employed by the French, who supposedly coined it from the Indian word "Hiro"-meaning "I have spoken," a phrase with which the orators always closed their speeches-as the Romans used to say "Dixi"-"I have said"-and the exclamation "Koué"-expressive of joy or approval if curtly pronounced, and designating sorrow or dissent when slowly accented. Hence "Hiro- koué" or Iroquois.
These tribes, or some of them, lay along the upper St. Lawrence before the advent of the European. As we saw, Cartier found them on the sites of Quebec and Montreal. Between the voyages of Cartier and Cham- plain, wars with the Hurons on the west and with the Adirondacks and other Algonquin tribes on the east, resulted in the expulsion of the Iroquois from their Canadian country. The Iroquois moved south to the northern part of New York, a land well suited for their habitation, because so abounding in lakes and rivers.
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Indian legend casts its spell over the origin of their famous league. The legend of the Iroquois is that after their departure from the Canadian country, Tarenyawagon, "the holder of the heavens," descended upon earth and became a demigod chief called Hia- watha, the worker of wonders and the speaker of wisdom. This is the Hiawatha immortalized in verse by Longfellow, who, however, with poetic license, trans- ferred the great chief to the Ojibway tribe and located the scenes of his action in the northwest on the shores of Lake Superior.
Hiawatha saw the weakened power and humbled pride of his Iroquois people :
" I am weary of your quarrels, Weary of your wars and bloodshed, Weary of your prayers for vengeance, Of your wranglings and dissensions.
All your strength is in your union, All your danger is in discord; Therefore be at peace henceforward, And as brothers live together."
Hiawatha chose for each of the five tribes, the place for its home and instructed them in all knowledge of peace and war, and planned for them the mighty con- federation that was to make them the conquerors of all other tribes. His message delivered, and his mis- sion accomplished, Hiawatha was borne aloft in a mystic snow-white canoe and disappeared amid the summer clouds.
The Iroquois implicitly obeyed the injunctions of their revered Hiawatha. When found by the hostile French from the North, and the friendly Dutch from
IROQUOIS LONG HOUSE
Interior section of an Iroquois Long House, occupied in common by several Indian families.
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
the South, the Five Nations had formed a great chain of tribal settlements in the valleys and uplands, along the threaded string of lakes that stretched across the country from the eastern end of the waters of Erie to the banks of the Hudson and the shores of Champlain. They called the confederation Kanonsionni, Agonea- seah, Hondenosaunee, and other Indian synonyms according to the tribal dialect employed, but meaning in each case the "Long House," for the typical abode of the Iroquois was an oblong lodge, the frame of which was formed of upright stakes, with cross pieces above to support the roof; the sides were encased and the top covered with strips of bark. The plan of this hut was similar to that of a Pullman car. In shape it was an elongated dwelling, divided by transverse partitions into a row of sections on each side; each section was occupied by one family. The entrance was exclusively at each end of the hut, through which ran a long open passage way, into which each family section opened without seclusion save by a curtain of deer or bear skin suspended from the ceiling. Around the three wall-sides of each compartment were bunks for seats and beds. Each group of four families used in common one fire pit built in the center of the open hallway. To a certain extent therefore this scheme was an aboriginal experiment in cooperative housekeeping. A structure so built was readily extended at either end so as to admit additional families.
The Confederacy of the Five Nations, with their continuous line of villages and settlements, was there- fore in theory the national "Long House."
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The western door of this Long House, southwest of Niagara Falls, was protected by the populous towns of the Senecas, the "tribe of the granite rock, " located on and about Lakes Seneca and Canandaigua; in suc- cession, extending east, came the tribes: Cayuga, centered on the lake bearing that name; the Onondaga, "men of the mountains," on the lake and river named from the tribe; Oneida, on the lake and river that per- petuate their memory. The eastern door of the Long House was guarded by the warrior Mohawks, on the Mohawk River and covering lakes George and Cham- plain. This firmly welded league covered a territory some three hundred and twenty miles in length and from eighty to one hundred and twenty in width. The Onondagas owing to centrality of their location, and no doubt also to their previous prominence in leader- ship, were honored by having their principal town, called Onondaga, made the capital of the Confederacy. Here dwelt the "fire-keepers" of the Long House. Here was the Grand Council Chamber-the assembly seat of the tribal representatives. Here were stored the national wampum belts and records of the treaties. Here met, when summoned, the fifty brave chiefs and wise sachems of the Five Tribes to plan for the war- path or to conclude a treaty, and here, at times, were considered overtures of alliance from the two great powers of Europe-France and England-"whose statesmen waited not without anxiety, for the decision of this council of American Savages."
Each of the constituent tribes retained intact its in- dependent government and subdivisions of eight clans each, the clans being known by the name of the animal
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
which the clan totem or emblem represented, viz., the Turtle, Wolf, Bear, Deer, Beaver, Hawk, Crane and Snipe. But the tribe confederation continued indis- soluble for over two centuries-from before the invasion of Champlain to the early years of the American Revolution.
Such in brief was the interesting and incomparable confederacy of the Iroquois. At the time when it first came in conflict with the French, it numbered, perhaps, sixteen thousand people, with a fighting force of less than four thousand warriors. Probably at no period of its history was it stronger in number, But in practical system of tribal discipline; in statesman- like co-operation; in sagacity for diplomacy; in far- reaching policies of offense and defense; in crafty and cruel methods of warfare; in swiftness of action and powers of endurance, the Iroquois were unequalled among other separate tribes or tribal unions. With a boastfulness which their deeds made good, they called themselves "Ongwe-Honwe"-"the men surpassing all others." They were most skillful in the construction of canoes, either from the trunk or bark of trees, and most dexterous in propelling and guiding their water crafts over the lakes or upon the rivers. Their habita- tion on the inland lakes habituated them to water travel and the territory they commanded was a stra- tegic one, for they touched the waterways of the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, the Hudson and the Ohio. Their sad experience with the French taught the Iro- quois the use and value of "spit-fire-sticks" as they styled the weapons that made such havoc in their ranks. They secured that requirement through their
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
friendliness for the Dutch, their neighbors on the south, who equipped the savages with fire arms. Thereafter warfare with the whites was on a more equal footing. By land, lake, and river the prowess of the Iroquois penetrated in all directions and their war parties roamed from the Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Maine Mountains to the banks of the Mississippi-conquering, devastating, or annihilating wherever they went. They became the Huns of Indian history. We shall witness more or less of their conquering career. Certain it is that the Iroquois power created a barrier to the progress of the French inland south of the St. Lawrence and west of the Hud- son. Champlain, his associates and successors there- fore, for prudential as well as geographical reasons, in the extension of the French empire, proceeded west along the great water ways, to them the line of least resistance. These western voyages of the mere adven- turers, the daring explorers, the intrepid fur traders, and the undaunted missionaries fill volumes of rich romance and thrilling narrative.
Conquest, commerce and religion were equal motives that impelled the French to push on along winding rivers, tempestuous lakes and through trackless forests. Among other objects of quest was the discovery of a northwest passage to the Pacific, thereby supposedly opening a short cut to the coveted China. Champlain went up the St. Lawrence as far as the Ontario Lake but as the Iroquois commanded its shores, he changed his course and ascended the Ottawa to Lake Nipissing and thence down the French River across Georgian Bay on to the wild waters of Lake Huron which he at
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
first mistook for the Pacific. He returned by way of Lake Simcoe and the connecting rivers and portages to the head of the St. Lawrence. From that time on the boundless and unknown Northwest, embracing the great inland seas, was the vast field for innumerable voyagers. The merchants and the missionaries vied with each other in their indefatigable efforts to pene- trate every nook and corner of the undiscovered country and establish therein trading posts and prose- lyting stations.
The Canadian fur trade had been made a monopoly by being confined to companies organized and char- tered in France; companies forming a corporation "trust" and none but those holding stock or being properly authorized could buy and sell in peltries. This "closed shop" policy of the monopolists produced a large class of romantic rovers, called coureurs de bois, wood rangers, bush whackers, who wandered far and wide through the forests, conducting illegal traffic with the tribes. The first one of these according to the records was Etienne Brulé. He set the example of adopting the Indian mode of life in order to ingra- tiate himself into the favor and confidence of the tribes- men. He was a trader and woods ranger on his own account and became a famous interpreter and embassa- dor among the Indians for Champlain and his French countrymen. His wanderings were extraordinary, ex- tending to the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi.
Champlain, possessed of religious zeal as well as adventurous ambition a few years after his settlement on the St. Lawrence, had invited the Recollects,
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
-French, Recollet,-a reformed branch of the Fran- ciscan Monks, to join his explorations and establish Missions among the savages who were "living like brute beasts, without law, without religion, and with- out God." The Gray Friars-as the Recollects were called-landed in 1615. They soon found the field too vast for their order, and the Jesuits were brought to their aid. This latter Society, the most marvelous auxiliary of the Roman Church for the propagation of Christianity in all the heathen portions of the world, established its order at Quebec in 1625 and sent its preachers and teachers wherever it was possible for them to penetrate among the copper-colored nations of the New World.
The Jesuit Fathers wrote detailed narratives of their wanderings and their efforts to carry the cross to the savages of the wilderness. These minute reports, known as the Jesuit Relations, recite tales of suffering and hardships, of self-sacrifice and often terrible martyrdoms with indescribable tortures, hardly paral- leled in human history. But the wonderful zeal of the Jesuits "illumined the career of New France with a poetic glamour such as is cast over no other part of America north of Mexico." It is from these valuable records-the Relations-translated from the French and annotated under the scholarly direction of Dr. Reuben Gold Thwaites, Secretary of the Wisconsin Historical Society, that we obtain much of our infor- mation concerning the early history of the American Indians, especially those of the Ohio valley and the Northwest.
NICOLET'S LANDING.
Spectacular landing of Jean Nicolet on the shores of Green Bay about 1637. He was one of the most daring and picturesque of the early French voyagers in the great west.
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
-French, Recollebriankferradobranch of the Fran-
ng lik brute beasts, without low, without religion and with out God." The Gray Friars-as the Recolleers wen called-landed in rons. They soou found the field too vast for their onder, and the Jesuits were brought to their zid. This lanter Society, the most marvelone auxiliary of the Raoum Church for the propagation of Christianity ju wahe besthen portions of the world. established its ondes aux ()ulec in 1625 and sent it preachero aud teacher wherever it was possible for them to penetrate among the copper-colored nation of the New World.
The Jesuit Fathers wrote detailed narratives of their wanderings and their efforts to carry the cross to the savages of the wilderness. These minute report Ienown as the Jesuit Relations, recite tales of sufferin and hardships, of self-sacrifice and often terrible martyrdoms with indescribable tonures, hardly paral- leled in human history. Bur the wonderful zeal of the Jesuits "illumined the career of New France will a poetic glamour such as is cist over no other part of America north of Mexico. " Er ls from these valuals records-the Relations-trawlured from the Fren end annotated under the wholarly direction of D Reuben Gold Thwaiter, Secretary of the Wiscons Ilistorical Society, that we obtain much of our inio mation concerning the carly axisors of the America TillAny: specially those of the Dhio valley and th
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
Champlain's most renowned companion and suc- cessor as an explorer was Jean Nicolet, who spent many years traversing the Great Lakes. He learned the Indian languages and became so accustomed to the wild life of the woods that he was often designated "a demisavage." He visited the Far West in the years 1634-1640. In a birch bark canoe, tossed like a chip on the crest of the waves, he crossed Lake Huron and entered the St. Mary's River and he bears the reputation of being the first European to stand at the strait of Sault St. Marie. He paddled about Lake Michigan and into Green Bay, upon the shores of which, just below the mouth of Fox River, he landed, in great pomp and splendor, in order to overawe the Indians of the Winnebago and other tribes, who, to the number of four or five thousand, assembled to receive the wonderful white man, his approach having been heralded days before. Nicolet had attired him- self in a "grand robe of China Damask, all strewn with flowers and birds of many colors," for he had gone prepared to be welcomed by the people of the Celestial kingdom, whose country he sought through the north west passage. The wily Nicolet still further added to the éclat of his arrival by holding aloft a pair of pistols from which he discharged blank cartridges. Finally, with all the bravado of a hero in a melodrama, he gravely seated himself in a regal seat provided for him. It certainly was a French vaudeville in the Wild West. But his performance accomplished its purpose and his savage lookers-on were duly impressed. They had not the temerity to do other than hospitably receive and entertain a personage so extraordinary and grandiose.
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