USA > Ohio > The history of the state of Ohio; from the discovery of the great valley, to the present time > Part 9
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" You see," said he to Smith, " that God has heard my prayers, and, by his direct interposition, has answered them. From this
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I have a right to infer that my religion is not unacceptable to Him."
In the Summer of 1759, Mr. Smith, after four years of captivity, if his adoption can be so called, accompanied Tecaughnetanego and Nungany, in a birch canoe, down the St. Lawrence to Mon- treal. Here he bade adieu to his kind friends and returned to his native country.
CHAPTER VI.
THE PONTIAC WAR.
ORIGIN OF PONTIAC - ESTABLISHMENT OF DETROIT - LOVE OF THE INDIANS FOR THE FRENCH - MEETING OF MAJOR ROGERS AND PONTIAC- HAUGHTINESS OF THE CHIEF - ANECDOTE OF MR. HENRY - REMARKABLE SPEECH OF MINAVAVANA - THE ARROGANCE OF THE ENGLISH - FORESIGHT OF PONTIAC - THE CONSPIRACY -SAGACITY OF PONTIAC- EXECUTION OF THE PLOT - THE MAUMEE FORT - THE FALL OF PRESQUE ISLE - CAPTURE OF MICHILIMACKINAC - THE ADVENTURES AT DE- TROIT.
SOON AFTER the overthrow of the French arms in Canada, and while the English were taking, one after another, the French posts along the French lakes, there appeared, upon the stage of action, one of the most extraordinary men those times developed. This was a renowned Indian Chief, by the name of Pontiac. He was a member of the Ottawa tribe of Indians, who occupied the terri- tory in the vicinity of Michilimackinac. He was alike remarka- ble for his majestic and graceful form, his commanding address, and his persuasive eloquence. His courage also excited the admiration of all the Indians, and gave him almost unlimited au- thority over them.
The French settlement in Detroit was established in 1701. The Ottawas watched their encroachments with much solicitude. Three years after this the English, at Albany, succeeded in in- ducing a deputation of Ottawa chiefs to visit them. They repre- sented to the chiefs, whose jealousy was already excited, that the French had formed a plan to subdue them, and to take the the entire possession of their country.
The chiefs, on their return to Michilimackinac, summoned their warriors, made an attack upon Detroit, and endeavored to burn the town. After a pretty sharp battle the Indians were repulsed.
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The French, however, by their conciliatory measures, soon won the confidence of these Indians. All the Indians in this region, ere long, became the warm friends of the French. A Chippiway chief, at one of their councils, soon after this reconciliation, said : " When the French arrived at these falls, they came and kissed us. They called us children, and we found them fathers. We lived like brethren in the same lodge."
Thus influenced several hundred of the Indians were associated with the French in the defeat of Braddock. Pontiac probably led the Indian braves in this battle. In 1746 some of the northern tribes combined to attack Detroit. Pontiac hastened with his warriors to the rescue of the French.
In November, 1760, a detachment of English soldiers, under Major Rogers, was on the march to take possession of the ports along the lakes, which the French had been compelled to evac- uate. As he was pressing forward, on the route from Montreal to Detroit, an embassy of warriors, from the proud Pontiac, met him. In the name of their chief they informed him that Pontiac, in per- son, was not far distant, and that he would soon hold an interview with him. They therefore requested the Major, who had entered his territories, to arrest his march, until Pontiac should have an opportunity of seeing him with his own eyes. The delegation was also especially enjoined to inform Major Rogers, that Pontiac was king and lord of the country through which the English were marching.
Though these haughty summons, coming from a savage, sounded strangely in the ears of a British officer, the Major, very consid- erately, drew up his troops and awaited the arrival of the Ottawa chieftain.
Pontiac soon appeared, surrounded by a brilliant staff of plumed and painted warriors; he towering above all the rest, and being manifestly the object of extraordinary homage. His first saluta- tion was far from courteous, for, with a stern voice and a frown, he said :
"What is your business in my country? And how dare you enter it, without my permission ? "
Major Rogers, remembering that a soft answer turneth away wrath, replied :
" I have no unfriendly designs against you or your people. My only object is to remove the French out of the country. They
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have ever been an obstacle in the way of peace and commerce between the English and the Indians."
He then presented Pontiac with several belts of wampum. The chief received the gift with a stately bow, and said : "I shall stand in the path, through which you are walking, till morning." This was saying, very emphatically, in Indian phrase, that the English would not be permitted to advance any further, without the per- mission of Pontiac. Assuming an air of conscious superiority, the chief condescendingly inquired if Major Rogers or his army needed anything to make them comfortable for the night. "If so," said he, "my warriors will bring it to you."
But Major Rogers was equal to the emergency. With dignity he replied, "Whatever provisions we may need we shall pay for." By order of the chief an ample supply of provisions was sent into the British camp. We doubt not that the bearers received as ample a remuneration.
In the morning the chief, in the most imposing splendor of bar- baric pomp, accompanied by his escort of warriors, again visited Major Rogers. He seemed a shade less austere and imperial in his bearing than the evening before. The Major, a representa- tive of the crown of England, received him as an equal. Pontiac held in his hand a highly decorated pipe-of-peace. He lighted it, and, after taking a few whiffs, handed it to Major Rogers, saying :
" I, with this calumet, offer friendship to the Englishman and his troops. They have my permission to pass through my domin- ions. I will protect them from being molested by my subjects, or by any other parties of Indians who may be inclined to hostility."
This singular interview took place on the 7th of November, 1763, at the mouth of the Chogage River, many miles east of De- troit. Pontiac then, assuming the air of a protector of the help- less, and perhaps fully convinced that it was in his power, at any time, to crush the little band of Englishmen, who were traversing his realms, selected one hundred of his warriors and escorted the English, along the southern shores of Lake Erie, to Detroit. The Indians also assisted in driving a large number of fat cattle, which had been sent from Pittsburgh to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, for the use of the army. Pontiac carried his precautions so far-and subsequent events showed the necessity for them-as to send messengers to all the Indian towns along the southern and west- ern shores of the lake, informing the warriors that the English
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were journeying under his special protection, and must not be molested.
Major Rogers confesses that, at one time, while on this march, his detachment was saved from utter destruction by the interven- tion of Pontiac. An overpowering band of Indians had assem- bled near the mouth of the Detroit River, and the English would have fallen victims to their fury, but for the protection of the great chief.
It is a fact, sustained by uncontradicted testimony, that the In- dian tribes, without any known exception, regretted the overthrow of the French, and the domination of the English. Mr. Henry, an English gentleman, who published an account of his "Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories between the years 1760 and 1766," describes an incident which took place at the Island of La Cloche, in Lake Huron, in the Spring of 1761. He was very hospitably received and entertained, in a large vil- lage of Indians, on the island. At length they accidentally dis- covered, to their surprise, that he was an Englishman, they having previously supposed that he was a Frenchman. Instantly their whole demeanor toward him was changed. Very coolly they told him that, being an Englishman, he would certainly be killed by the Indians on his way to Michilimackinac, and, of course, be plundered of all his possessions. The Indians of La Cloche thought they might as well anticipate this event, and take their share of the pillage then.
Mr. Henry was powerless. He could make no resistance. The Indians helped themselves to such of his effects as they chose, generously leaving the remainder for the assassins who were to meet him on the trail. Mr. Henry writes that this hos- tility, manifested by the Indians, was exclusively against him because he was an Englishman. He was so oppressed with the con- sciousness of this hatred of his nationality, and of the destruc- tion which consequently awaited him, that he assumed the dis- guise of a Frenchman, and, under that protection, succeeded in reaching Michilimackinac in safety.
Soon after Mr. Henry arrived at Michilimackinac, a large council of chiefs met at that post. They visited Mr. Henry as a stranger of distinction. The chief of this band of subordinate warrior chiefs, was a man of commanding stature, and of remark- ably fine personal appearance and address, by the name of Min-
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avavana. With a retinue of sixty braves, all dressed in the highest style of barbaric decoration, he entered the room where Mr. Henry awaited him. With colored plumes and fringes, and glittering beads, and highly polished armor, they presented truly an impos- ing aspect as, one by one, in single file, and in perfect silence, - they ranged themselves around the apartment.
Then, at a signal from their chief, without a word being spoken, they all took their seats upon the floor. Each one then drew out his pipe and began to smoke. Minavavana, then rising, fixed his eyes steadfastly upon Mr. Henry, and, in very deliberate tones, said :
" You Englishmen must be very brave men. It is evident that you do not fear death, since you dare to come thus fearlessly among your enemies."
Then, after a moment's pause, he made the following extraor- dinary speech, addressing every word to Mr. Henry :
" Englishman ! It is to you I speak. I demand your attention. Englishman ! you know that the French king is our father. He promised to be such. We, in return, promised to be his children. This promise we have kept. Englishman! you have made war against our father. You are his enemy. How then could you dare to venture among us, his children! You know that his ene- mies are our enemies.
" Englishman! Our father, the King of France, is aged and infirm. Being fatigued he fell asleep. While asleep, you took advantage of him, and seized Canada. He will soon awake. I now hear him stirring, and inquiring for his children, the Indians. What will then become of you? You will be utterly destroyed.
" Englishman! though you have conquered the French, you have not conquered us. We are not your slaves. These lakes, woods, mountains were left to us by our ancestors. We will not part with them. The Great Spirit has provided food for us in these broad lakes and upon these mountains.
" Englishman! Our father, the King of France, has employed one young man to make war upon your nation. In this war many of them have been killed. It is our custom to retaliate till the spirits of the slain are satisfied. There are but two ways of sat- isfying them. The first is by spilling the blood of the nation by which they fell. The second is by covering the bodies of the dead with presents, and thus allaying the resentment of their relations.
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" Englishman ! Your king has never sent us any presents. He and we are still at war. We have no other father or friend among the white men but the King of France. As for you, we have taken into consideration the fact that you have ventured your life among us, trusting that we would not molest you. You do not come armed to make war. You come in peace, to trade with us, and to supply us with necessaries which we need. We shall, therefore, regard you as a brother. You may sleep tran- quilly. As a token of friendship we present you with this pipe to smoke."
Minavavana then rose and gave his hand to the Englishman. All his warriors did the same. The pipe was passed around, and the important ceremony was concluded.
Unfortunately the English authorities ever assumed towards the Indians a haughty and overbearing demeanor. B. B. Thatcher writes, in his very interesting Life of Pontiac :
" The English manifested but a slight disposition for national courtesy, or for individual intercourse, or for a beneficial commerce of any description. They neglected all those circumstances, which made the neighborhood of the French agreeable, and which might have made their own at least tolerable. The conduct of the French never gave rise to suspicion. That of the English never gave rest to it."
Pontiac foresaw the inevitable extermination of his race unless immediate measures were taken to prevent it. The plan of oper- ations he adopted developed extraordinary genius, courage and energy. He decided to unite all the Indian tribes of the North- west to make a simultaneous attack upon all the English posts upon the shores of the Great Lakes, and on the banks of the rivers in the Great Valley. The English, throughout all these vast regions, were to be utterly exterminated. The posts were then but about twelve in number. But they were all at very important points, selected by skilled French engineers.
These military and trading posts, of varied strength, were found at St. Joseph, Ouaitenon, Green Bay, Michilimackinac, Detroit, on the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers, at Niagara, Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, Verango and Pittsburgh.
The surprise was to be simultaneous, at the same hour, along a line thousands of miles in extent. The English garrisons would thus be unable to help each other. And should one detachment
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of the English be successful it would not dishearten the rest. Some would certainly succeed. Should all be successful the war would be terminated at a blow, Pontiac would then again be the undisputed sovereign of the land, which had descended to him from his ancestors.
Pontiac first revealed his plan to the warriors of his own pecu- liar tribe, the Ottawas. It seems that many other tribes recog- nized him as a sort of elected Emperor, with a limited power over their movements. Major Rogers says :
" Pontiac had the largest Empire, and the greatest authority of any Indian chief that has appeared on the continent since our acquaintance with it."
The great chief, having assembled his warriors, made a very effective speech to them. He exhibited a beautiful belt, which he said he had received from their beloved Father, the King of France, with the request that his children would drive his and their enemies, the English, out of their territory. In glowing terms he depicted the haughty and insulting bearing of the English officers, dwelling upon the fact that some of those officers had even dared to inflict the disgrace of blows upon Indian braves.
" The Great Spirit," said this remarkable man, in conclusion, " has revealed to us the course which he would have us pursue. He tells us to abstain entirely from the use of intoxicating drinks, to abandon all articles of English manufacture, to arm ourselves with our own weapons, and to clothe ourselves with garments of our own make. 'Why,' said the Great Spirit indignantly, 'why do you suffer these dogs, in red clothing, to enter your country and take the land I have given you. Drive them from it. When you need my aid I will help you.'"
The warriors received this speech with enthusiasm. As Pon- 'tiac opened to them his plan of the campaign, a general burst of acclaim testified to the eagerness of the warriors for the conflict. Agents were immediately dispatched to all the confederate tribes to enlist their services. Twenty powerful tribes were speedily and ardently enlisted in this alliance. The Ohio and Pennsyl- vania Delawares, and the renowned Six Nations of New York, were included in the number.
All these arrangements were conducted with so much secrecy that the English had no suspicion of the storm which was brew- ing. " Peace reigned on the frontiers., The unsuspecting traders
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journeyed from village to village. The soldiers in the forts shrunk from the sun of early summer, and dozed away the day. The frontier settler, singing in fancied security, sowed his crop, or watching the sun set through the girdled trees, mused upon one more peaceful harvest, and told his children of the horrors of the long war now, thank God, over. From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi the trees had leaved, and all was calm life and joy. But even then, through the gloomy forest, journeyed bands of sullen red men, like the gathering of dark clouds for a horrid tempest."*
Inexorable time swept on, and, at length, the day and the hour arrived. Almost at the same moment the attack began in all these widely scattered posts. Everywhere the British traders were seized, and, in less than an hour, over one hundred were put to death. Nine of the English posts were immediately captured, and there was a general massacre of the inmates. Detachments of savages were assigned to the destruction of every village and farm-house. The genius of Pontiac had, with marvelous skill, arranged for the attack all along the frontiers of Virginia, Penn- sylvania, New York, and what is now known as Ohio. The tid- ings of these awful massacres spread with great rapidity, and more than twenty thousand settlers fled in terror from their homes.
The forts, which were captured, were generally taken by strat- agem. The perfidious cunning of the Indians is deserving of record. They seemed to have adopted the ancient maxim, that fraud was as praiseworthy in war as courage.t
There was quite an important post at the mouth of the Maumee River. An Indian woman came running into the fort, with pite- ous cries, and said that, at a very short distance from the fort, she found a man dying from an accidental wound, and with tears she entreated the commander to repair to his assistance. The humane officer, without the slightest suspicion of treachery, took a few men with him, and, following the guidance of the woman, hast- ened to bring the wounded man into the fort. They were way- laid, and, by one discharge of musketry, were all shot. The savages then rushed from various places of concealment into.the fort, and very easily succeeded in cutting down the remainder of the garrison thus taken entirely by surprise.
* The Great West, by Henry Howe. + "An virtus, an dolos, quis ab hoste requirat."
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P
At Presque Isle, on the southeastern shore of Lake Erie, three Indians appeared in gay attire and joyous spirits. They said that they were a part of a hunting party, whose canoes, laden with a very valuable stock of peltries, were in a little cove about a mile from the fort. The commandant, and quite a number of men, immediately set out to purchase the furs.
Not long after they were gone, a hundred and fifty Indians came to the fort, each with a pack of furs upon his back. They said that the commandant had bought their furs and had employed them to bring them in. Nothing could be more natural than this. The stratagem succeeded perfectly. As soon as they were in the fort they threw off their packs, which had been so arranged as to hide their weapons, and with one simultaneous yell of the hideous war whoop, fell with tomahawk, scalping knife and rifles upon the astounded garrison. The Indians had sawed off their rifles that they might make them so short that they could be concealed under their flowing garments. Successful resistance was impos- sible. In almost less time than it has taken us to describe it, the work of death was completed. Those who had been led out of the fort were drawn into an ambush and shot.
Michilimackinac was one of the most important positions on the frontier. "Nothing," says a modern writer, " can present a more picturesque and refreshing spectacle to the traveler, wearied with the lifeless monotony of a voyage through Lake Huron, than the first sight of the Island of Michilimackinac, which rises from the watery horizon in lofty bluffs, imprinting a rugged outline along the sky, and capped with a fortress on which the American flag is seen waving against the blue heavens."
In the Indian language " Macinac " means turtle; " Michilimack- inac " means great turtle. The Island was so named from its supposed resemblance to that animal. The old trading post of Michilimackinac stood upon the extreme southern point of the peninsula, about nine miles south of the island. The French under Father Marquette, with quite a large company of Huron Indians, visited the spot, and impressed with the admirable advan- tages of the location for prosecuting the fur trade, located them- selves there and built a fort. It soon became one of the most important of the interior posts.
Wonderful scenes were often witnessed there in the palmy days of the fur trade. There were sometimes seen collected there one
OLD FORT MICHILIMACKINAC.
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or two thousand Indians. The waters would seem alive with birch canoes, as the gaily dressed Indian, with his squaw and papooses, paddled the frail skiff rapidly over the harbor. They came from all along the shores of the great lakes, and from the inany streams which emptied into them The relations of the Indians with the French were more than friendly - they were almost affectionate. The French traders frequently married the daughters of the chiefs, and many of them became incorporated into their tribes.
The post at Michilimackinac was the deposit of all goods employed in the northwestern fur trade. It was ever the point of departure, between the upper and lower countries, where the trad- ers assembled on their voyages to and from Montreal. The fort, as it was called, consisted of an area of about two acres, enclosed in pickets of cedar wood. Three sides were thus fortified, while the fourth reached the water's edge, where it was open. There were about thirty comfortable log cabins within these pickets. These were occupied by about the same number of families. Two small brass cannon were mounted on bastions. The garrison consisted of about one hundred soldiers. Picturesque lodges of the Indi- ans were scattered all around.
A large number of the Chippewas and Sacs were to cooperate in the attack upon this station. The king's birth-day, which was to be a season of general jollity, was the appointed occasion. As one of the festivities of the day a large number of the Indians were to engage in one of their favorite games of ball. Two posts were planted in the ground, just outside of the palisades, about half a mile from each other. Each party had its post. They all met in the center, with bats in their hands. The ball was placed upon the ground, and the game consisted in seeing to which post the ball could be driven.
With a party of perhaps five hundred Indians on each side, driving the ball, with sinewy arms, over the wide extended plains, and all rushing after it in indescribable tumult, the game became exceedingly exciting. It was one of the most extraordinary of spectacles, as these Indians, plumed and painted, and in gala dresses, with shouts and laughter, pursued the ball as it was struck wildly, now in this direction, and now in that. It was certain that the game would call out all the garrison and the families to wit- ness it. So far as is now known not the slightest suspicion of treachery was entertained.
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Nothing would be more natural than that, in the excitement of the game, the ball should be driven over the pickets. The Indi- ans would, of course, rush after it pell mell. This would excite no alarm. Very adroitly the savages carried out their plan. The ball flew in all directions, pursued, with whoop and halloo, by nearly a thousand warriors. The game became intensely exciting, even to all the onlookers. At length, a well aimed blow threw the ball high over the palisades into the enclosure of the fort. With a simultaneous rush the Indians pursued it. Some clam- bered the pickets. Some rushed in at the open gateway. Some rushed round and entered by the open front which faced the water.
Scarcely a moment elapsed ere there were nearly a thousand warriors within the enclosure. Mr. Henry, the English traveler, of whom we have previously spoken, has given a minute and very graphic account of the scenes which then ensued. He had not gone out of the fort to witness the game, as a canoe was just on the point of departure for Montreal, and he was busy writing let- ters to his friends.
It will be remembered that the fort was simply a village of about thirty houses, surrounded by pickets. As Mr. Henry was engaged in writing he heard suddenly a great tumult, blended with loud outcries. Somewhat alarmed, he rose and went to the window. An awful sight met his eye.
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