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DRUMMOND 
 
 ISLAND 
 
 THE STORY 
 
 OF THF. 
 
 BRITISH OCCUPATION 
 
 181S-1828 
 
 i 
 
 BY 
 
 SAMUEL F. COOK 
 
 AUTHORS EDITION 
 
 LANSING MICH 
 
 i8q6 
 
k 1 
 
 ^1 
 
 i 
 
 METROPOLITAN 
 
 TCn ■ ■] 
 
 CEiV I fi ,L 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Hjstofy 
 
 Entered nccoi(lrii«- to Act of Conjrress, in the year 18%, 
 
 Hy Samvki, F. '"ook, 
 
 III tlie Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Sr^^O 
 
 f 
 
 ptcei of 
 
 IRobci't Sinitb ptiiitiuii Co., 
 
 lansiud, ftiich. 
 
 MMiiiiiiBiii 
 
'^ 
 
 ¥ 
 
 TO 
 
 Hon. %\ist\i\\ H. i^tcex-f, 
 
 THK KII'K SCHOLAR AND EMINKNT JIKIST, 
 
 THK ARDENT COI.I.KCTOK OF RARE VOLUMES OF 
 
 HISTORY AND I.EOEND OF THE 
 
 GREAT NORTHWEST, 
 
 AND CAREFUI, STUDENT OF THEIR VARIED 
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 THIS IJTTr.E VOI.l'ME IS 
 
 MOST KESI'ECTFII.I.V 
 
 DEDICATED. 
 
 I 
 
^ 
 
JUllTISH OCCUPATION 
 
 1 ■; 
 
 OP 
 
 DRUMMOND ISLAND 
 
 I. 
 
 Lying across the nortljern end of Lake 
 Huron, and separated from the main land of 
 tlie upper peninsula of Miohigau by the strait 
 of the Detour, is an ish^nd, twenty by thirteen 
 miles in extreme length and breadth, and com- 
 prising an area of about one liundied and 
 eighteen square miles. Its shores are lined 
 with beautiful harbor bays, which are thickly 
 studded with snmll islands whose high lying 
 surfaces are decked with a dense covering of 
 l)erennial green. Streams and small woodland 
 lakes abound on the island, which is densely 
 Avooded with both the larger and smaller 
 growths native to that northern clime. 
 
K. S 
 
 i 
 
 M 
 
 British Orciipdtioii 
 
 What may be called the southwestern corner 
 of this island, is a long point of high rocky for- 
 mation, averaging less than a mile in width, the 
 sunny southeastern slope of which looks out on 
 a bay in which are numerous islands, and 
 affords both 1 uid and waterscape views of no 
 ordinary beauty. On the west side or this point 
 is the DetoDi strai — the pathway of the im- 
 mense commerce passing through the St. Mary's 
 river. On the eastern side of the point, in a lo- 
 cality which seems to have been chosen more 
 on account of its beauty than for its value for 
 military strategy, the British flag Hoated and 
 the red coats i)erformed garrison duty, during 
 a period of thirteen years, in defiance of the 
 treaty of Ghent, the award of Ihe boundary 
 commissioners thereunder, and the comity of 
 nations. 
 
 A recent visitor remarks of this once impor- 
 tant spot, that ''It is wonderfully beaiitiful and 
 interesting in its ])i'<'sent loneliness, but to 
 nearlv everv one, in these later times its his- 
 
 f 
 
of Di'iniimoiid Iftland. 
 
 toiy is a scaled book." Where once was the 
 life and bustle of a military post, j?arnsoned by 
 warlike Uritftn!?*. now are only the remains — 
 and s;id ones — of the populous and w* 11 built 
 garrison town. There are bi'oad and well 
 {graded avenues lined with Lombardy poplars, 
 roads upon which was handled the heavy artil- 
 lery, great chimneys of stone with their ample 
 fireplaces, marking where stood upwards of 
 fifty buildings, kitchen garden plats grown up 
 to luxuriant grass, wild flowers and under- 
 brush intermingled with I'ose bushes which 
 still bear their sweet blossoms, while apple, 
 cherry, plum and pear trees are not infrequent, 
 and still yield their fruit. And at no great dis- 
 tance lies the city of the sleeping dead, who 
 since their comrades were driven thence, hav(! 
 been undisturbed by the sunrise gun, and over 
 whom the winds alone have chanted re(iuiems. 
 
 * 
 * » 
 
 Today, the town and garrison sites may be 
 readily traced, and with the aid of the map 
 
 Ilk 
 
■• 
 
 8 
 
 lirltish OccupatUm 
 
 Avliich lias Imh'H ((mstvuetod partly from the 
 sketches of the engineer officers, and partly 
 from the detailed accounts sent forward to 
 headipiarters by the commandants, the lines of 
 the fictvernment buildings and the private 
 houses, with th(Mr sro'»ids- '"'V^' ^><^ readily 
 made out. Home of the houses were of large 
 si/e. and were warmed during the long and 
 severe winters by means of enormous stone 
 chimneys having huge fireplaces on two of 
 their sides. A few of the chimneys show that 
 the houses which were about them were two 
 storied structures; but this was true of but a 
 few. In addition to the more solid and com- 
 fortable homes of the more opulent of the in- 
 habitants, very many of the people found not 
 uncomfortable shelter in structures called 
 ''bark lodges." These were made of a frame- 
 work of poles, covered over, roof and sides, 
 with cedar bark. Houses of that kind were 
 very comfortable while new, but decayed very 
 rapidly, and were liable to take fire and bo con- 
 sumed almost in a breath. When Col. T. L. 
 ^McKenney, the traveler and writer on iudian 
 affairs, visited the place in 1827, cmly the year 
 
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of Dntmmond Island. 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 it 
 
 before it« abandonment, he found the post snr- 
 jjeon, who had recently aiiived from London 
 with a yonns bride, lionsed in a structure of 
 this kind, and seeminjily contented with his 
 home and its appointments. 
 
 * 
 « » 
 
 Darin}? tlieir stay, neitlier .-iti/.ens or civil- 
 ians seem to hav«^ been la}iS'ii'<l i" ^''^^ matter 
 of providinj-- for their own comfort, expectinii', 
 as we can but infer, that there was to be tlieii 
 liermanent home. The kitchens of the lar}»er 
 liouses, of which the locaticm of twenty-two 
 can be made out with reasonable certainty, 
 were separate from the houses, and in some 
 instances at quite a distance away. There are 
 now no traces of an oven in connection with 
 any of the houses, nor indeed any cranes in the 
 tireplaces, and it would seem that the private 
 as well as the public bakin}"- was done in the 
 large bake house, situated on a little neck of 
 land projectinjj; into the bay, and nearly sur- 
 rounded bv water. The nearness of the rock 
 
m 
 
 12 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 to the surface, rendering the digging of cellars 
 too onerous, resort was had to surface cellars, 
 some of which are yet so well preserved as to 
 give evidence of their purpose. 
 
 ft 
 
 » 
 
 * * 
 
 A short distance south of the town are the 
 remains of a lime kiln, and an open quarry 
 close at hand. The quality of the lime which 
 was burned there, must have been excellent, 
 since it has withstood the action of the 
 Aveather for two-thirds of a century, with but 
 slight evidence of decay. The structures which 
 surrounded those chimneys crumbled to mold 
 more than half a century ago, but the chimneys 
 themselves stand as witnesses to the quality 
 of their building. On the east side of the long 
 arm of the bay extending north of the town 
 was at some time a saw mill, as is shown by 
 the vestiges of the tlume, the dam and the foun- 
 dation timbers which have been preserved by 
 the action of the water. Neither the traditions 
 of the island or the main land record anything 
 
 i 
 
 y 
 
m 
 
 of Drnmmoml Islond. 
 
 13 
 
 more of this mill than is evident to the eye to- 
 day. It is evident that sawed lumber was used 
 to some extent in the buildings, since even now 
 a few boards can be found hidden in the rank 
 grass covering the spots where houses formerly 
 stood, bearing the nail mark:3! peculiar to roof 
 boards. It is fairly certain that the mill does 
 not belong to any recent date, and it seems 
 probable that by its aid, the lumber necessary 
 to give to some of the houses, at least, an air 
 of finish, was prepared. 
 
 » 
 * * 
 
 \)'i 
 
 The structures used by the garrison were 
 unusually large for log houses, and were also 
 more scattered than was usual in those days 
 for military posts. The parade ground fronted 
 on the bay, and the barracks and commissary 
 buildings were at its western border, while 
 back of these a rocky hill rose suddenly. The 
 officers' quarters were scattered here and there 
 in such manner as, judging from the appear- 
 ance at the present time, they chanced to be 
 
14 
 
 Jiritlsh OccKpathn 
 
 dropped dovMi. without assijiunient of location 
 by the engineer or reference to the other build 
 
 The boulevard which ]>assed on the east 
 front of the town site lots and thenci' to the 
 parade ground, beyond which it again appears 
 as the artillery road to the shore of the Detour 
 strait, is now after the lapse of so many years, 
 as perfect in form as when constructed. Deej) 
 gutter lines at the edges of a well rounded 
 roadway, cari'y the water quickly away, and 
 the summer torrents and dei)arting winter 
 snows have not succeeded in injuring its true 
 alignment. This roadway, for the distance of 
 about two thousand feet, its northerly end be- 
 ginning some five hundred feet from the bay, is 
 treble the width of the artillery road. 
 
 The bold curve of land into the bay at the 
 east side of the boulevard was reserved, with- 
 out any buildings, for gardens, and near its 
 center is the ruin of an unusually large cellar 
 which must have furnished ample storage for 
 
 =ssBass^s^sa^^^BSSSm 
 
m 
 
 
 
 ,,;LiROPOLITAN 
 
 TORONTO 
 CENTRAL 
 UDPARY 
 
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 MMiiilii 
 
of Dnimiiiond Island. 
 
 17 
 
 # 
 
 tilt' ])i'o(oclion of all llio jiotatoes and other 
 v('}i('tabU'S lUH'dcd by the jiavvison foi- a. scasou. 
 On eilhor Hide of the I'oadway was a space of 
 twenty-live fe 't for lawn, and then a row of 
 Lonibardy pojilars, qnite a ninnber of Vvliich 
 are yet sustaininp,' a vijioroMs life, drawn from 
 the porous limestone rock, with the aid of very 
 liHle soil. The labor and expense incident +o 
 tlie construction of this boulevard were not 
 slight; and considering: the fact that during all 
 the period of the occujiation the local army 
 chest was hani])ered for funds for the n«'eded 
 re]»air of the buildinjjs of the post, it may be 
 believed that the expense was met from 
 sources other than those apparent. The in- 
 habitants, no doubt, made contribulions of 
 money and labor, but it would not be strange 
 if considerable quantities of the ])resents 
 charged out as distributed by the Indian de- 
 partment were used in jiayment for the labor 
 exiiemled on this excellent piece of road, which 
 was not of easy construction. Tlie same is 
 (rue of the artillery road, which was deemed 
 by those in command at the post as necessary 
 for the transport of the heavy cannon to the 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
wa 
 
 18 
 
 British Oiruftaiiou 
 
 otlu'i- sia»' of the I'idjie in case tluMV sliould be 
 iit'iHl to warn away or ciifiafic an cnciny ap- 
 proacliinii- by way of I be Detour strait. When 
 buili. ■■■^ ni.ide a wonderfully fine drive, but the 
 orders from lieadiinarters did not allow of any 
 expenditures of that kind. Uuilt it was. and 
 yet remains, grass }i,rown and euiboweri'd in 
 thick shacv , as a jtroof of unwillinj;ness to sub- 
 mit to the inevitable. 
 
 Over those roads the dwellers there, no 
 doubt, took their carriaKt" drives with their 
 wives, their children or their sweethearts. Nor 
 ,nin Ave doubt that al(Uif>- those charming 
 stretches of boulevard and mountain road, 
 many ha]>py moments were spent by |);'ople 
 who, shut off from the world at large, had the 
 tact and sjiirit to ]»rovide themselves with 
 IhoK" comfortable surroundings which should 
 remove the disagreeable from their lives. 
 
 * 
 
 The little cemetery, situated about half way 
 between the town and the toi» of the ridge to 
 
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 31 
 
 SBi 
 

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of Dnitinimnd IsJaiuL 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 the west, was an object of no little thouj-ht an-l 
 careful attention. At the j»resent lime it is so 
 fille<l with rank {irowlhs of trees and bushes 
 that it .is obseured from view even from tlie 
 artillery road which passes it not more than 
 fifty feet away. This place for burial was laid 
 out one hundred by one hundred and fifty feet, 
 and was surrounded by a fence made of cedar 
 posts hewed uniformly six inches square, and 
 set in the ground four inches apart. It would 
 seem that the death-rate at the post must have 
 been unusually large for that healthful cli- 
 mate, since as nearly as can now be made out 
 very little room was left within this inclosure, 
 unoccupied, when the last interment was made. 
 It is known, however, that the first to l)e laid 
 here Avere a large number of soldiers who 
 Avere so sadly neglected by the govern- 
 ment they served, as to their food supjily 
 and the medical care thereby rendered 
 necessary, that they were carried oft" bv 
 the scurvy. This little hamlet of the dead 
 was not for those alone whom death had 
 discharg<'<l from the sei-vice of the King, but 
 iiuy of liis faitliful subjects who for anv cause 
 
22 
 
 lirltish Orviipation 
 
 Avcrc (Iwcllns in Hint vcf-ioii when their tiiial 
 suiMiiKtiis «jini('. found Iumm' a icstinji- i)lii(r. 
 Tlic intcnncnts Jippcar to have bej^nin iit the 
 southwest cornel- and to have been in i'e«;uhiv 
 rowH with litth' sjjace between the jjraves. All 
 the certain vacant space now reniaininj--. is a 
 ]»art of tlie last row on tlu' east sid<'. Around 
 three of the ;;raves are neat i>alinji,s of ]»ickets. 
 At a number of the jjraves are larjie head 
 boards, thick and substantially prepared. Over 
 the I'ounded top is an iron band to protect the 
 <;rain of the wood from the weather, and the 
 inscrii)tious made with black i>ain1 show not 
 only unusiial skill in leltt'rin^, bi't a rare (lual- 
 ity of i»aint which has withstood the weather 
 sulTich'ntly to remain after the rain and wind 
 of half a century has W(»rn away the wood 
 anmnd the letters so that they stand out in re- 
 lief as thoufih emVtossed. 
 
 
 Only a little more than half a century seems 
 to have effaced from the memory more than it 
 
 ■na 
 

 of J)riiiiiiii()ii(l IsUiikL 
 
 23 
 
 lijis been able to fioiii tlu* fju'c of the island; 
 for tlie story of the cstablisbiiKMit, bjiildinji;. 
 oc*c'ui»aii<y and rclinciuishnicnt of the niilitarj' 
 ]»ost sccniH w(dl nij;h forji'ottcn, even by those 
 wliosc lives have licen spent in the immediate 
 neij^hboi-hood. IJut the oJKicer who found<*d 
 the ]»ost. and his suecessors in command as 
 well, were }i<)od letter writers who neglected 
 no o]»|>()rtunity to inform their superiors of the 
 occurrences there, nor omitted from their re- 
 ]»orts tlu* rumors wafted to them from far dis- 
 tant i-ejiions. Their letters analyzed and com- 
 I)ared. furnish the story of this well nigh for- 
 gotten spot in (he midst of the great unsalted 
 seas. 
 
24 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 11. 
 
 Tlic sijiniiiii' of the tivaty of (ilicnt, Dcccm- 
 bei- 28, 1814, found tlic island of Miuddnaw. 
 with its foi-tincations, in tlic possession of tli-- 
 liiitish; but nndci- tlic Icrnis of tlu,' livaty this 
 island bocauie aj-ain the proiKU'ty of tho Tuitcd 
 States, and made necessary the transfer of the 
 British j^arrison to scnne other itoint. Whe!'e 
 that point should be, was to be determined by 
 the an^Mely of the F.ritish otticers in command 
 in America, to retain conlnd of the i)assa{ie 
 between the upper and lower lakes, and per- 
 chance, to found a second! Jibraltar, whose fiuns 
 should comi)el oViedience to the royal mandale; 
 but more especially the anxiety to retain the 
 ]iresliji(' auionji' Ihe Indian tribes for which 
 they had labored so hard and had enjoyed so 
 lou^-. 11 is a matter of note thai th<> news of 
 Ihe siy-ninji' of Ihe treaty, and the consetiuent 
 close of the wai' was so hm^' a time in reaching 
 the northwestern frontier that hostilities did 
 nol cease in the vicinity of Maekinaw until late 
 
 :: 
 
? 
 
 of Dniinmoiid Island. 
 
 25 
 
 - 
 
 in the spi'ii)g of 1815. The messenger sent with 
 the dispatches and orders relative to the carry- 
 ing ont of the treaty, was two months on the 
 road from Yorlc, now IVu'onto, to ^Mackinaw; 
 and rumor had ample time to convey to the 
 ]>ost commander the general nature of (he 
 news which he might ex])ect subsequently to 
 learn officially. 
 
 Tt was not until Mux 11, 1815, that Lieut. 
 Col. ^NlcDonall, in connnand at Mackinaw, re- 
 ceived the offii'ial dispatches, with a cojty of 
 the treaty, and instructions to prepare for the 
 turning over of that post to the United States 
 military authorities. Those instructioit.s c(»m- 
 ](relund('d not only the evacuation of that, to 
 the Diitisli, important post, but the comman- 
 dant was enjoined to select some place in the 
 same neighborhood which could be a i)oint of 
 defense and offense, there to irect tem])orary 
 (piarters for the garrison and shelter for the 
 government stores, and to remove his com- 
 mand lhilh(>r. 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 liv tlu'Si' instructions McDoniill was sorely 
 ]MM|ilt'X('(l. His siM-viccs on tlic frontier had 
 made liiiu tlu' sjioivcsnian on behalf ol' the Kinj; 
 \vith the indian tribes of the whole northwest. 
 The country included in his connnand Avas, to 
 use his own words, };Tea1er in extent than the 
 whole of Lower Canada ; and from his intimate 
 relaticuis with the indian tribes, and the pioni- 
 ises he had In'ld out to them on behalf of th;' 
 Kin^', it seemed to him that in relimiuishinji 
 the island of ^lackinaw. for a lonj;- period a 
 favorite resort for numerous ti-ibes who were 
 accustomed to <iather there from re^icujs as 
 far distant as the basin of the .Mississi|»i)i and 
 the Ked riv<'r of the north, he would be leav- 
 ing' them to a fate which they did not des<'rve, 
 while the Uritish would lose the intluence 
 which they had souji'ht and so lonj>' maintained 
 o -er these allies. To him it appeared botli 
 ]»olitic and necessary ths)t the new post slunild 
 be so situated as to be easily accessible to the 
 itidians. and capable lA' beinj;' made of even 
 more stratejiic importance than Mackinaw. 
 The fort he had in contemplati(»n must, with 
 its surroundin^'H, be such 'is t(t insure the re- 
 
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of Jtriiiiniiond Island. 
 
 29 
 
 spt'ct of the allied tribes, :ni(l cause lliem to 
 look Avitli disdain upon ^hickinaw as the rep- 
 resentation among them of an inferior power. 
 
 * 
 
 To build a new army post in that country and 
 at that time was no easy task, for the British 
 military system was not supple, and Hie red 
 tape necessary for even tiilling expenditures 
 from the military chest was well nigh unlim- 
 ited. r»ut the urgency of the matter was great. 
 The Tnited Stales authorities, fr<nn the Secre- 
 tary of Slate d<»\vn lo the subalterns in com- 
 mand of fnmtier outposts, were i)ressing com- 
 jiliance with the terms of the treaty, and frame 
 excuses for delay as he would, INfcDouall real- 
 ized at the outset that no great length of time 
 could elapse before he must yu'ld to the inevit- 
 able, lie n\ust remove his garriscm, but where 
 should he i)lant the Hag of the King? In his 
 dispatches to his superiors he discussed every 
 sj»ot that seemed to him available; the St. 
 Marv's river, St. .Iose])h island, the (Jreat 
 
30 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 liliinitonlin island and the island just east of 
 Point Detour, for which he jiave no name. The 
 Falls of St. Mary, with many advantafj;es, was 
 a i)()int too far removed from Mackinaw. St. 
 Joseph island, although occu]>ied by the North- 
 west com])any as a trading i»ost, and where 
 they had buildings which luid cost six thou- 
 sand ]»ounds sterling, was unfit for fortiflca- 
 lion, and no locality on the (ireat ]\ranitouliu 
 seemed to nu'et the demands of the case. But 
 nu»ve he must, and seeing as yet no way out of 
 the dilemma. :McDonall began the shipnu'nt of 
 (luantities of commissary and Indian stores to 
 St. Joseph island, where they could be conve- 
 niently stored in the amjtle warehouses of the 
 Northwest com]»any. 
 
 tl 
 
 There was one (|uestion which caus(»d Lt. 
 Col. .McDonall no little uneasiness, and to 
 which lie constantly reverted in his disjtatches 
 — whether wherever the new i>ost might be lo- 
 cated it would not tinallv be acceded to be on 
 
(if Dnnninoud Island. 
 
 31 
 
 tiM-ritory bcloiiyiiiji' to tiic rnitcrt States. With 
 this tVelin}>' of donl»t in his luiiul, tlu* pros and 
 cons of each locality weiv dis<nsscd in his let- 
 ters, and while as a thovonjih liriton he could 
 see no justice or reason in allowing; any of the 
 assumptions which he felt sure the United 
 States would nu\ke, he evidently feared that 
 his j-'overnnient would yield until the British 
 were crowded from that jiart of the country. 
 But Mcl)<uiall. from his i)oint of view, re- 
 moved fnnn any of the reverses of the war, 
 failed to rcijli/.e that the I'nited States had 
 (■oiKiiicml tlie terms of the treaty, and so he 
 protested in stronj>' terms that the noble nation 
 whose humble servant he was, should not sur- 
 render their honor to the i>usillanim(ms Ameri- 
 cans, and thus, while renderinj;- themselves 
 desjiicable in the minds of the Indians, lose all 
 hold ujton the }>reat northwest. In the light 
 of liistory, his fears and ju-edi' tions have al- 
 most the t(me and force of a realized prophecy. 
 
32 
 
 British Ocvuimtion 
 
 About the middle of June, Capl. V;\\m\ 
 Royal Knsineci's, and Cii\)\. Collier. Koyal 
 Navy, having arrived at :Mackinaw for that 
 purpose, the three officers set about determin- 
 ing the site for the future post. They cruised 
 about among the islands at the north end of 
 Lake Huron, and on the 24th. McDonall re- 
 ported that the location had been agreed upon. 
 He described its advantjiges, but gives, in his 
 letter, no name for the island to which he was 
 to remove. However, in a speech he sent a 
 few days later to the Indians in the region of 
 the Mississi]tpi, he said: "I invite you once a 
 year to the King your great Father's new fort 
 at Pontaf/anip!/:' This then, was the indian 
 name for the island; but it doi's not appear in 
 any of the letters sent to head(iuarters. His 
 first dispatch after arriving at the island was 
 dated simply "Alanitoulin Island," while the 
 next and all subsequent ones were dated 
 "Drummond Island." We may well believe 
 that this name for the island was selected by 
 the officers who made choice of it for a military 
 post, in honor of the then ''Lieutenant Gover- 
 
 P 
 
TORO;n'0 
 CEKlR«L 
 
 Hislotv 
 
t 
 
 H 
 a 
 o 
 
 u. 
 
 UJ 
 
 X 
 I- 
 
 S 
 
 o 
 
 IT 
 
 o 
 
 o: 
 < 
 
 X 
 
 UJ 
 
 I 
 
 
*p 
 
 of Dnniimoiul Island. 
 
 35 
 
 nor and Coniniandci' <.f the Forces in Canada,' 
 ^^ir Gordon Drnminond. 
 
 « 
 * * 
 
 In his dispatch aniKMincin*-- tlie location of 
 tlie new post, McDonall said: "The situation 
 combines several important advantajres, viz., 
 an admirable harbor, proximity to the Indians, 
 and will enable us also to command the pas- 
 sage of the Detour, },nvin}i our vessels the 
 double advantage (►f a good anchorage in that 
 strait, in addition to a fine harbor adjoining. 
 The ground fixed upon for the new post and 
 which was best calculated for the harbor is 
 very rocky and will be diftinilt to work." 
 
 Near the southwesterly point of Drummoud 
 island, as already described, a beautiful bay 
 studded with islands pierces the land from 
 southwest towards northeast, and is divided 
 
 1 
 
36 
 
 />/-/7i.s// Orriiixitioii 
 
 from the Detour strait by a hifjli rujjficd ridge 
 of liincstoiK' rock, which averages a little less 
 tlian a mile in width. On the east side of this 
 ridge and fronting on the bay in which a large 
 fleet might ride at saf<' anchorage, was the site 
 chosen for the post. liy means of artillery ad- 
 vantageously ]»laced on the other side of the 
 ridge, it was expected to command the naviga- 
 tion of the strait on the west, and thus be able 
 to control the commerce between the lower 
 lakes and Lake Sujierior. The site fixed upon 
 tor the new ]»ost, and tlie fort which the officers 
 did not doubt would be built, was on land 
 afterwards descrilted by the United States land 
 survey as Section 1, Townshij) 41 north, of 
 Kange 4 east; a selection which for military 
 purposes Avas well nigh useless, but as a ren- 
 de/.vous from which to retain influence over 
 the Indians, and as a spot surpassingly beauti- 
 ful, was admirably cliosen. 
 
 4 
 
? 
 
i 
 
 a 
 
 z 
 z> 
 o 
 a 
 O 
 
 ul 
 
 a 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 a. 
 
 Ul 
 
 I 
 H 
 
 4 
 
 -I 
 
 
 ai 
 
of Dntmmniul LHlaiul. 
 
 39 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 Oil Cjijtt. I'jivnc, Ko.val Knjiiix'crs. dovolvod 
 the duty of iiiakiii<>- i-ciidy for tlic occnjKUicy of 
 tlu> place, and with the limited means at his 
 command he entered up<m the task of clearing 
 off the timber, gradin}*' the surface, and erect- 
 ing- the buildings necessary for the use of the 
 garrison. J Jut the commandanrs plan for the 
 l)(/st contemjdated more than the consti'uction 
 of a foilitication; there Avas to be a trading 
 post of impoi'tance, and as a necessary adjunct 
 thereto, a l<»\vu of reasonable dimensions. In 
 conformity with this ]»lau, as rajtidly as the 
 labor (d' clearing the ground jtermitted. ('ai)t. 
 Payne laid oul (he lines of the fort, near which 
 he nuu-ked an amj)le ]>arade ground, and staked 
 oul the future town. This, on the plat sent to 
 headipiarters for approval, Wiis named "Col- 
 lier," and had its streets, jiark and fair sized 
 lots. The dimeusio!is of the h»ts intended for 
 residence ]»urp()s;'s were unifoi)iily fifty by one 
 hundred and tift v feet. 
 
 
 Hita 
 
40 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 III. 
 
 It was the ISth of July Avlieii the British }?ar- 
 rison finally took its (le])ai'tui'e fi-oiii Macki- 
 naw, and sailed away to a new rendezvous. 
 The date for their leaving had been set for July 
 1st, and the United States troops who were to 
 occupy the place, arrived on that date; but the 
 J?ritish had made so little progress in the re- 
 moval of their stor(\s, and were so scantily pro- 
 vided wi(h transi)orl that they begged for fif- 
 teen days more in which to get themselves 
 away. Col. Butler did not wish to be disoblig- 
 ing, and having agreed to the delay asked for, 
 encam])ed his troops on the low ground south 
 of the f<»rt and awaited the convenience oi the 
 JJritisii commandant. The boats to be had 
 were small, and uiade but slow progress in 
 theii- sailing, and as there was no wharf at 
 Drummond, the unloading was accompanied 
 with serious hindrance. When the IHth of the 
 month arrived, so much yet remained to be 
 moved tliat a further post]>onement of three 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 of Drummaiul Island, 
 
 41 
 
 days w.'is Rrantt'd. at which time the Stars and 
 Stripes were again unt'nrled from llie HagstaiV 
 at the fort, before the departing lUitisli had 
 reached their boats at the dock. 
 
 * 
 «- * 
 
 The force whicli Lt. Col. McDonall had 
 under his command, consisted of one company 
 of the 81st, and two companies of the Royal 
 Newfoundland regiments. The term of enlist- 
 ment of the last two companies had already 
 expired, and they were relieved and sent home 
 late in the autumn. To the number of those 
 under arms are to be added about twenty-five 
 men in the employ of the Indian departmeni:, 
 together with a large number of families be- 
 longing to the soldiers, and the numerous at- 
 taches of the Northwest trading comitan.y. 
 \Vhile no accurate return has been left of the 
 nund)er of people who on that July day, 1815, 
 found themselves in the wilderness of Drnm- 
 mond island engagcMl in the task of i)roviding 
 themselves shelter, u careful estimate from the 
 6 
 
 I 
 
42 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 (lata at hand ])lac('s tlic nuiiibci' at Ix'twcen 
 tlireo liundix'd and lit'ty and four hundred. t'X- 
 clusive of the indians, who in large numbers 
 were proini)t to accompany them, in order to 
 share in their food supi>lies. 
 
 
 For the task of buildinp; a new town and the 
 necessary public structures, the garrison seems 
 to have been unequal; they lacked the ingenu- 
 ity and ability necessary to clear away the 
 timber with readiness, and to make use of the 
 material at hand for the erection of the needed 
 buildings. The commandant began at once a 
 c*om]>laint of the inefficiency of his men for the 
 labor at which he was com]>elh'd to em])loy 
 them, and chimoi'ed for some companies of 
 trained artisans to be sent in lieu of those he 
 had. It seems more than probable that the 
 two comj>anies of the Newfouiidhind regiment 
 Avhose term of enlistment had closed with the 
 war, and who were anxious to be sent home, 
 failed to exhibit any special energy in the pio- 
 
of Dniiiiinnnd Island. 
 
 43 
 
 neor labor of folliii}; trrcs, I'ootiii}'' out stnuips 
 and hewing timbt'i* for \o^ lionscs wliicli would 
 only benefit those who should take theii' 
 ])laces. The first attention was necessarily 
 given to the nmtter of barracks for the soldiers 
 and shelter for the people and the stores cui 
 hand, and there was no opportunity to do more 
 in Ihe matter of fortification than to make 
 plans relative thereto. Rut there was another 
 reason for the delay in the building of the 
 promised fort — the uncertainty whether the 
 island they had chosen would be awarded by 
 the commissioners under the treaty, to the 
 British King. So serious was the doubt on this 
 subject in the nund of the liome goveruuu'Ut, 
 that under date of October l(>, of that year. 
 Earl liathurst wrote from Downing street, 
 directing that no steps be taken t(»\vard the 
 construction of fortifications on Drummond 
 island until the conmiissioners sIkmiIcI make 
 their report. 
 
 * 
 
 » » 
 
u 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 Lacking everything in the way of building 
 material which S( ned to him i-equisite to the 
 pm'])ose,McI)onal, |.i'oposed to hischief in com- 
 mand that the buildings on St. Joseph island, 
 belonging to the Northwest company, be pur- 
 chased, taken down and re-erected at the new 
 jtost. 
 
 \Nhen, in 1S12, war having been declared be- 
 tween the United States and Great Britain, a 
 British express was sent to the northwest 
 posts to inform them thereof, he found a cap- 
 tain and forty men stationed on St. Joseph 
 island, together Avith the employ(:is and retain- 
 ers of the trading comiiauies; and it was from 
 there that the successful raid which resulted 
 in the capture of :Mackinaw by the simple de- 
 mand to surrender, was organized and started. 
 
 Wlum the British left IMackinaw island in 
 17!M), they removed to St. Joseph island in St. 
 Mary's river, and there established a small 
 post. As Iha) location had no advantages from 
 a military point of view, nor indwd from any 
 other that can be discovered, it is probable 
 that the choice of location was made by tl>e fur 
 com]»anies, prompted by the desire to be suf- 
 
 - 
 
■ 
 
 ^ 
 
4 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 Z 
 O 
 
 CO 
 < 
 
 a. 
 O 
 
 a. 
 
 > 
 a 
 
 < 
 
 CO 
 
 Z 
 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 oe 
 u 
 
 I- 
 a 
 
 < 
 
 a 
 
 S) 
 
 IX 
 UJ 
 
 o 
 
 II ; 
 
r. 
 
 of Jhumiiumtl Island. 
 
 47 
 
 flciently near to Mackinaw to retain their trad- 
 ing relations witli the inilians wiio passed 
 tlirous'li tlie Mackinaw straits or came from 
 Lake Sujtei'ior. Tliere the military defenses 
 were slight. A "blockhouse,'' surrounded with 
 a picketing, a magazine and a commandant's 
 house, seem to have been all the government 
 provided for itself; but the fur com])anies had 
 for their uses some large and well built strui.-- 
 tures. The "blockhouse" was ])robably nothing 
 nun-e than a large log house. Lieut. Kobert 
 Cowell, commanding there in 1801, said that it 
 contained but three rooms, which did not fur- 
 nish sufficient accommodations for the officers. 
 However, he speaks in his letter of the "fort 
 and its enclosures." The nuigazine, which was 
 a stone structure, remained in good repair uj* 
 to and during all the time of the occupation of 
 Drummond island, and Avas used as the storing 
 place for the ammunition of that post. ]?ut 
 the buildings belonging to the trading com- 
 panies were extensive in size and number, and 
 were not a little tem]»ting to the garrison 
 wliich was in need of c(unfortable slielter. The 
 lu'gotiations for the purchase rt'sulled only in 
 
48 
 
 British Occitpaiion 
 
 securing some of the larger oues for the use of 
 the post, and the officers were obliged to buy 
 the dwelling houses on their individual ac- 
 count. The commandant and a portion of the 
 officers were thus able to house tliemselves 
 comfortably before the winter set in, and the 
 others followed their example the ensuing 
 season. 
 
 * « 
 
 ^ 
 
 In order that the Indians might still be im- 
 pressed with an overpowering sense of the 
 greatness of the British, notwithstanding their 
 reverses and enforced relinquishment of the 
 island of INIackinaw, Col. McDonall conceived 
 that an extensive system of fortifications for 
 ott'cnse and defense was necessai'y. When leav- 
 ing .Miickinaw, he had told the Indians that at 
 the place he was going there would be a larger 
 fort and bigger guns than those he was leav- 
 ing, and that those who remained true to their 
 allegiance to the King should be able to look 
 with disdain upon those who remained with the 
 Americans. The place selected, on Drummond 
 
of Dnmniiontl Inhnid. 
 
 49 
 
 island, was choson for its supposed adaptabil- 
 ity to tlio i)ni'p<)si's of fortitioation ; and tlio tirst 
 •nnonji: liis thouj^lits, on his arrival there, was 
 how to carry out his plans in that direction. 
 
 Just what Col. McDonall's plans for fortifi- 
 cation were, or how extensive they were, it is 
 not now possible to determine, since he seems 
 to have withheld the details of his dream of 
 Sreatness from his superiors, p;iving only here 
 and there a hint as to the possibilities and pro- 
 pri(4y of niakinj? a veritable stronghold of the 
 rocky neck of the island which he had chosen 
 on behalf of his Kin}?, and was holding- in his 
 name. Rut from the scattered hints to be 
 found in his letters, as well as the sketches 
 and memoranda from the engineer department, 
 and the ruins of what constituted the defenses 
 which were actually constructed, we may with 
 reason conchuh' as to the plans which the 
 doughty colonel harbored in his mind, and as 
 
 7 
 
 il 
 
!ft 
 
 50 
 
 Jiritlxh O.TKixition 
 
 fill- !is lie wiis iiblc. i»ut into taupbh' tiiiilHT 
 jind sloiic. 
 
 « » 
 
 The first (Iciiiiiiul in tlu' inl crest of siifcty 
 wliii'li ln' tried to meet. Wiis sonietliiiifj; in the 
 AVJiy of defense from ontside atlju-ks; iind for 
 lliis Col. M<I)onjill conceived tliat a "block- 
 honse" wonld meet tlie necessary reiiuireinent. 
 IJefore tlie ccminiand had itself housed for the 
 ai»i»roachin}i- wint<'r, the timber for the pro- 
 ]»osed structure had been cut. hewn and jiotten 
 on the firound where it was to be erected. This 
 was on the i»<»int of a hill lyin^' due north from 
 the barracks, some eighty rods, and which 
 seemed to offer more than ordinary induce- 
 ments for fortification. The ed^es around the 
 soul hern jioint of this hill were orij-inally steep, 
 and were made more so by dinjiinji", so as (o pre- 
 sent a sharp declivity about lifteen feet hi^h, 
 up Avhich an attackinj;' party wo\ild have ditti- 
 culty in climbiiifi. On the toj» of this hill, it 
 was proposed to construct the wished for 
 blockhouse. J5ut instead of i>ermissi(m to use 
 

 of l>riiiniiioii(l IhUiiuI. 
 
 5L 
 
 I lie i»nl)lic iiKUM'.vs for tlic biiildinn; ,,f this most 
 ill-dent l,v i'<*pn's«'ii(('(l ikmchsjiiv iiicjiiis of de- 
 fense, the order cjinie from liomhm to expend 
 absolutely nolliiiiy in tlie eonstriieHon of mili- 
 tary works njxMi the island nntil (he d<'eisi(m of 
 the (jiiestion as to the Ixmndarv was had, and 
 the Islaiwi was assiire<l as bel<Mij,'injf to theKinj^'. 
 Notwitlistandinjj: this jiosilive proiiibition, 
 which was accoiiijtanietl with the reasons 
 theii'for, at frecpient intervals up to the time 
 of the announcement of the boundary award, 
 the authorities at Quebec were iir^fed in lan- 
 j-iiajic stronjicr than mo«lern militarv etiquette 
 would all<)w, to consent to the bu'.ldinj;' of this 
 blockhouse. The authority was never jiiven. 
 
 * 
 * ♦ 
 
 It may not be difticiilt to understand that a 
 lack of authority for the expenditure <>f money, 
 may mean simply the char^inji of the expendi- 
 ture to some other account. Before the order 
 not to fortify Fort Collier arrived, the enj;ineer 
 at the post had exjiended nearly three hundred 
 
 i: f 
 
If: 
 
 52 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 l)ouii(ls in fjcttiiifr ready for the l)lo('kliouso. 
 lie liiul Jiln^iuly {iradcd the hill to suit his 
 lihms, and he had crcctod on the top an earth- 
 work (a heavy breastwork of stone) fifty fei^t 
 square on Ihe inside, with the necessary j»lat- 
 f(n'ni8 for the handling of the heavy artillery. 
 Ueing- cut off from his ])roje('ted blockhouse 
 which was intended to be formidable in size, 
 and to serve the double jnirpose of barracks 
 and fort, a small blockhouse, twelve feet 
 s(|uai'e at its base, and i»res\imably sixteen 
 feet square in its ujtper story, was built a short 
 distance north of the northwest corner of the 
 o]»en earth-work, which miji'ht siM-ve as a j;\iar<l 
 houst' for the detail in charge of the artillery, 
 and from which they might tire upon maraud- 
 ers with musketry without exposing theni- 
 selves to danger. 
 
 The earth-work, and the ruins of the little 
 blockhouse may yet be seen as silent witness<'S 
 of the ardor of the oltlcers who built them, as 
 well as of their constant fear of the hordes of 
 Indians which visited them every year clamor- 
 ing for gifts, and seeming to be ready to take 
 
 
 
li 
 
 
rm 
 
 m 
 
 ti 
 
 o 
 
 z 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 o 
 a. 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 <n 
 
 ^ 
 
 O 
 
 < 
 
 a; 
 
 < 
 
 u. 
 O 
 
 ft) 
 
 z 
 
 < 
 s 
 
 (E. 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
of DniDiinoiKl Island. 
 
 55 
 
 for t)\(-iiis<'lvos wliatev(M' was dt'iiitnl to thoir 
 requ(\st. 
 
 
 lint bovond evory other ooiiBiderjition, Col. 
 ^rcDoiiiill i'('<>i)r<l(Ml tlic coinniiuul of tlio Detour 
 liiissji«>(' by tlic Kiii}«'s iirlillcry as of the very 
 liiHliest iiMi»ortanee. He was not at all at peace 
 with the United States, and evid«^ntly exitected 
 tliat the treaty whicli liad been nuuh' by tlie 
 Kinj>- wonid be of short life. He seemed io 
 think that the navy of the Tnited States would 
 sail uji the lakes and attenii»t the (•ai>ture of 
 the points north of Drninmond. in violation of 
 the treaty and the e(nnity of nations. The re- 
 ports to head(iuarters show that the rujij>-ed 
 contour of the point which had be<'n chosen by 
 ]\IcI)(MjaII and his broth;'r ollicers, had been 
 selected for tin' reason that there, nun'e advan- 
 taj;eously than elsewhere, the Kinji's cannon 
 might be so placed as to comi»el obedience to 
 the demands of the Kinj-'s othc<'is. He seems 
 to have been oblivions to the fact tlnit the pas- 
 sage around the eastern end of the island was 
 
56 
 
 ]iriti}i1i Ofciipation 
 
 equally Rood and easy to make, and that lie 
 mifi'ht tlnindcr fortli his wrath at his pleasure 
 from the heif^hts of the i>oint he had set him- 
 self down upon, while the wily Yankee could 
 lau}ih him to scorn as his }>ood boat danced 
 ovei' the waters of the eastern jtassage. 
 
 A little more tlian half a mile to the north- 
 west of the jiarrison town, rises a hill, steep, 
 and of contour to win the heart of him who 
 \v(>uld plant a canncm to be used at lonj; range. 
 Its side abuts on the western shore of the 
 island, and its summit stands one hundred and 
 s(^venty-iive feet above the water. From the 
 clearing* made by the liritish, for the fort 
 which they hoped there to ere<'t, (me of the 
 finest views in all the lake country may be had. 
 Sitting at the door of a cottage there i)laci'd by 
 a homesteader in se.arch of the romantic, on 
 any evening dtiriiig the season (►f navigation, 
 one may see five nuiriner's beacons casting 
 their kindly light over the waters to guide hiiu 
 on his way, — the Spectacle Keef, Detour Point. 
 Frying l*an island, and Pipe island lighthouses, 
 and one of the river range lights; one Hash 
 
 " 
 
i 
 
 of Drummond Island. 
 
 57 
 
 ■ 
 
 light (iT(l and white), two wliito lijilits and two 
 red lights. 
 
 It was from this very spot that Col. McDon- 
 all hoped to sound the lion's growl at will, and 
 from there send forth the note of defiance from 
 the deep throated sunset gun. His hopes were 
 not realized; the fort was never built. Under 
 the regime of his successors, the clearing he 
 had made for the erection of a lofty fortress 
 w^as turned to the uses of agriculture, and the 
 ten-acre field, enclosed by a rail fence which 
 still remains as a relic of the departed Britons, 
 yielded jiotatoes for tlie sustenance of the 
 King's soldiers. 
 
 ' 
 
 But a fort situated at such an altitude that 
 the guns of a ship could not hojie to reach it so 
 as to cause any disturbance to those behind its 
 ramparts, was not enough to satisfy the de- 
 mands of the time and place; a water battery 
 seemed necessary to ensure to the Britisli com- 
 plete control of the strait. On the soiithern 
 arm of the Portage bay, was found a spot 
 
 8 
 
 ff-r. 1 
 
58 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 suited to this purpose. Trotectcd by broad 
 shoals of rock in front. aji,ainst even the ar- 
 tacks from small boat.i, it seemed a place 
 where a battery of thirty-two pounders might 
 command respect. Whetlun* any of the work 
 necessary for the handlinji' of the guns at that 
 point was ever done is now uncertain; but the 
 road ovei' which the heavy jafuns could b.' 
 hauled to the spot was so thoroughly made as 
 that today it might be used for a similar pur- 
 pose. 
 
 U I 
 
 In the autumn of that year — ISl;") — the out- 
 look for the future of his new town had as- 
 suiiM'd, in <'orrespondence with the ruddy glow 
 of the fo:'''st foliage, such roseate hues, that 
 McDonall turned his thought to the purchase 
 for and on behalf of his royal nuister, of the 
 entire island from the Indian claiuuuits. He 
 stated in a lettei- to the military secretary of 
 the department that "the i>riiiciiKil right and 
 title to this island is vested in a ('hii>pewa 
 chief who usually resi<les at Sagana bay, be- 
 
 I V 
 
of DriiiiinioiHl Txhnid. 
 
 59 
 
 twefii this and Detroit, and some of his rela- 
 tions.'' Indian Ajjent John Askin reported 
 that tlie owner was "Xebawgnaine, Cliipitewa 
 chief, who was wonnded in tlie arm at Proc- 
 tor's defeat." I'nder McDonall's direction, the 
 indian a}>'ent called thos;' who had claim to 
 the island toj;ether, and the two enthusiastic 
 officers were able to formulate with the indian 
 chiefs a conditional aj!,reement that in case th*} 
 determinati<ui of the boundary line was favor- 
 able to continued liritish occupation, the 
 island should be rejiularlv ]>urchased and ]>aid 
 for. To bind the barj;ain which was simply 
 one of {>()od faith for future contin};ent fulflll- 
 nient, the Indians were f;iven "the frc^'dom of 
 the city, and a kej« of rum" with, which to as- 
 suaffe their ji'rief over the prosj)ective loss of 
 their projierty. A kej-- of rum, as ])ut u]» for a 
 present to Indians, contained three f;allous. 
 Each succeedinji' year, when Nebaw}»naine y'n- 
 ited the post, as indeed he did not fail to do, he 
 was treated with the most marked attention, 
 lavish ]>resents and the unfailinj;' kej;' of rum to 
 lijihten the toils of iiis homeward journey, it 
 appears (hat the barj;ain was held to be in 
 

 60 
 
 British OcvuiHifion 
 
 fovve as lone: as the IJritish were able to remain 
 
 on the mneh coveted island. 
 
 * 
 * » 
 
 The commandant was delighted to report the 
 arrival on the 4th of October of a company of 
 sajnters and miners, for which he had nrgently 
 asked, and his hopes for the future of the post 
 were correspondingly raised. He also reported 
 that owing to the jiurchase of houses from St. 
 Joseph island, by the officers of his command, 
 the former settlement there could then be 
 scarcely traced. This statement must have 
 been nuide under the inspiration of his deter- 
 mined enthusiasm over the bright ])rospect for 
 the new town, since in fact a number of those 
 houses were not removed until Hie following 
 spring, and cpiite a number of the buildings 
 were never removed at all, but continued in 
 use as late, at least, as the summer of 1820. Ho 
 also boasted that as a result of the removal of 
 houses ready for i)utting together the new 
 town **is rapidly rising into notice. Fourteen 
 
 
 A 
 
of Dniuinioml Tshnuh 
 
 61 
 
 lots facinj; the harbor have already been 
 jjranted to as many respectable individnals, be- 
 side nearly as mauv on another street." A con- 
 dition which he appended to each grant of a 
 lot, provided that "the houses are to be built 
 the ensuing year, uniform (in front only), not 
 less tlian forty foot front and twelve high, well 
 finished and in a manner that will admit of 
 their being wliitewijslied or painted." He had 
 hopes that by this means "the town will have 
 a tine effect from the beautiful picturesque 
 harbor, between which and the proposed fort 
 ther<' is already a noble ]iarade on which a 
 strong brigade might maneuvre upon the 
 smooth, solid rock." So sanguine were his 
 anti(i])ations for the future of the place that 
 he asked for himself the grant of the lot about 
 his house on the same conditions as the others. 
 
 * 
 * * 
 
 The si»riiig of ISK; found the garrison the 
 victims (►f a severe type of sea scurvy, which 
 resulted in Ihe loss of a large number of men. 
 
 ^ 
 
62 
 
 Jiiittsh OccKinitloii 
 
 The two coinpiinics of tho :?7th ivfjimcnt, which 
 had fonucily seivcd in India, had come thitlier 
 from Anihei'stbui'}»: the antnnin before, worn 
 ont with the fever and aj>ne enjicndered in the 
 low country ahni}"- the h)wer Detroit river, and 
 theii- debilitated condition made ihem easy vic- 
 tims of tlie exclusive salt diet to which they 
 were confined. There seems to have been an 
 entire lack of ready resource on the part of all 
 concerned, for they were able durin}"' the win- 
 ter, to secure but few fish in a locality where 
 they are known to plentifully abound, and 
 there is no evidence of any attem]»t to secure 
 wild ^ame, althoujih there was a larp' number 
 of Indians and Canadians (presumably half- 
 breeds) at the post the entire winter, who 
 ou}i,ht to have been exercising; tiieir skill in jiro- 
 vidinji- a supply of the luscious wild meats for 
 which that rejiion has so lonj^- been famous. 
 Early in June the strenj;th of the jiarrison was 
 decreased by sendin}-' away the company of tht' 
 Slst. and one company of the 87th re}»iments, 
 leavinji' only a decimated com]»any of the 87th, 
 and a i)art of an artillery comjiany. The only 
 labor reported as haviufi,' been done that seiisoii 
 
 ii 
 
of DruDDiiond Island. 
 
 63 
 
 Avas the natlu'rinji' tof^ctlicr the licavv timber 
 Avhicli had been }»otteii out the ju'evious season 
 for a blockhouse, and i)ilin}»' it up to ensure its 
 preservation from decay. 
 
 Durinj? the first year on the island, ^McDonall 
 had ])urchased a good frame house from the 
 Northwest tomi)any, on St. Joseph island, had 
 taken it down, transferi-ed it to his new town 
 and i-e-erected it for liis own use and at his own 
 expense. Findinjj' that his dreamsfor the future 
 were not socm to be realized, he negotiated a 
 sale of his house to the governmeiit, and asked 
 to be relieved from the command at that point. 
 On June LMith, Lt. (V)l. Maule arrived at the 
 ]>ost, and to him McDonall resifjned his com- 
 mand, and left for Kinj^ston and (Quebec. A 
 little later he returned to England, a broken 
 hearted man. During his stay at Mackinaw Ik; 
 had studiously taught the Indians that Eng- 
 land was a mighty nation, wholly invincible in 
 war, and that the United States were not 
 
 k 
 
64 
 
 Britlnh OcciiiKition 
 
 m 
 
 woi-tliy the notice of liif>h iniiul:'*! |>('<»i)h'. 
 When force' 1o retire to Diuniiiioiul isliiiul he 
 liad told tlK'iii tluit there wouhl be si greater 
 fort and heavier guns ther^lhan at Mackinaw, 
 and tlio action of his }>-overnnient in yieulin}^ 
 np those inijiortant i)hices. or even in dehiyin.;^ 
 to assert tlieii- siipei-iority and <h'l;'rniination 
 to remain in tliat ref^ion, seemed to liini to he ;i 
 direct l)h>w at liis diaracter as a j'ciiih'nian of 
 lionor. Jle carri;'d tlie stinji' of this Icclinj;- to 
 Ins f^ravc?. 
 
 * 
 
 The year 1817 witnessed no ciian};(' in the 
 atfairs of the ishnm. The enj-ineei* dei>artnient 
 s;'nt forward fresli ]>hinsfoi' forlitication which 
 were promjttly i-ejected on the j-round tliat the 
 tith^ to the island was not yet secure. Durinu; 
 the y<>ar iSlS, Lt. ('(d. Manle was relieved by 
 Thomas Howard .Major 7(llh K;'jiiment. and he 
 by .lames Winnell. Major <>Sth lA^ht Infantry. 
 The work of the year consisted of a thorouj«li 
 rejtair of the buildinj;s. The year isr,> passed 
 with nolhinji' iu distnrb tlie nionotonv of the 
 
 # 
 
of l>ruiin)ioml InJumJ. 
 
 65 
 
 record. On the 251 li of .Innc, ISL'O, n forest liiv 
 swj'pt over the isliiinl, jiimI a slnni};- j^jilc drove 
 llic fliinics Jowjird I lie lowii. \\\ tlie ctlorls of 
 llic j-jii-risoii, assisted by about four linndred 
 iiidiaiis who were visiliii}>' the post at the time, 
 no daniajic was incurred except the destruction 
 of the square timber wliicli liad been prepared 
 for th<' blockhouse. 
 
 » » 
 
 Tlie commissary department had bi'en stirn-d 
 to action by the h)ss of life from scui-vy durin^f 
 thesprin}-' <)f ISKI, and «'acli sumnu'r thereafter 
 a number of beef catth' were sliipp(«d from Am- 
 iierstburji' t(> this post. Tliere was e.vceUent 
 pasturaj^c on St. Josepli island, but none on 
 Drummond, and the catth' were sent to St. 
 .Joseph and cared for by the s(|uad whicli kept 
 j;uard over tiie majiazine. Durinj'' tlie winter 
 lliese <-attIe were driven across the ice to the 
 post to be shiujihtered as neeih-d. On .January 
 2l', 1S21, wliih' tills was l)ein^- done, a iiumbei- 
 of tlie cattle broke through the ice, and ono 
 was lost. 
 
66 
 
 liritish Occupation 
 
 Major Winuett and his command were re- 
 lieved June 10, 1822, by a detachment of the 
 Tfith Itefriment, INIajor Goff commanding. It 
 was dui-ing this year that the determination of 
 the commissioners under the treaty, that 
 Drummond ishuid did not belong to the King 
 became known at the post, and was the cause 
 of no little (•()rresi)ondence and query as to 
 what to do next. There Avas, however, no 
 haste on the part of the British authorities to 
 withdraw from United States territory. The 
 transfer of the post io some other point was 
 discussed, but no satisfactory location was 
 lix<Hl upon. They seem to have regarded the 
 removal as a nuitter to be attended to at their 
 con\ enience. ' 
 
 * 
 » « 
 
 As a meiisurc i»r«']»aratory to the evacuatiim, 
 however, in -lune, 1S2:?. a lH>ard of otliccrs made 
 an inventory of tlie government proi)erty on 
 Ihe island and appraised the value of the eight- 
 een buildings used for the purposes of the gar- 
 rison. Thev found the total value of the struc- 
 
 f 
 
 II 
 
f 
 
 of Dvuinmond Island. 
 
 67 
 
 tmvs on Di'iinimoiKl island to be twelve hun- 
 dred and seventy-three jjounds, Halifax cui- 
 rencj-, and of those on St. Joseph island, ninety 
 pounds. 
 
 a 
 
 ^fajor (Jotr, with his command, was relieved 
 in June, 18li4, by Lieu(. James J. Gaston, with 
 a ])art of a company of the 70th Regiment, who 
 remained until June, 1S27, when they were re- 
 lieved by Lieut. Thomas Carson, with luilf of 
 a company of the (i.Slh Kegiment. 
 
 4f 
 
 From the time when it became known that 
 ihere must be an entire relimpiishment of 
 Drummond island, the garrison devoted them- 
 selves to the one pur|»ose of making themselves 
 comfortable, and their routine of duty as little 
 irksome as possible. While the military au- 
 thoritit's discussed where the new post should 
 be located, the real work and expense of the 
 
68 
 
 liritish Occiipaiion 
 
 ]»()st AViis for the beiu'tit of llic indinns who 
 were all too ready to visit any place where 
 they would he fed Avithont labor on their part, 
 and where their jiri<'f for the reverses whieli 
 had befallen their liritish friends could be as- 
 suaged by eoi)ious draughts of the King's rum. 
 
 * * 
 
 During all their stay at the island, the Brit- 
 ish were untiagging in their zeal to retain their 
 influence with and control over the Indians 
 who resided in United States territory. In tho 
 treaty they had agreed to relincinish all claim 
 and effort in that direction. b\it the fur tra<le 
 and the immense ])rotits resulting therefrom to 
 those who were in gov<Mnment eniploy, over- 
 came what little of honor they possessed, and 
 specious arguments framed for the <M-casion 
 were a sutticient excuse for enticing Ihoso 
 whom they had agreed to relinquish, to still 
 visit and trade with them. The jtost at Drum- 
 mond island was regularly supplied each year 
 with a vast amount of "Indian goods," which 
 
 (► 
 
of Drummo)i(l Island. 
 
 69 
 
 iiiclndcd cvcrytliiiifi,- in \\\v way of wearinj? ap- 
 parel, jiinis, anmiunition, cookiii};' uti'iisils and 
 the inevitable nini, all of whieli was distrib- 
 uted to their dusky visitors, or «at least charged 
 up on the accounts of the indian department 
 as so distributed. 
 
 The average number of Indians who were 
 regular annual visitants at Drummond from 
 the territory now included in northevn Michi- 
 gan, \Vis<-onsin, and Minnesota, as shown by 
 the returns nuide of these visitors who came 
 with their wives and children, was fully four 
 (housand live hundi-ed. At each recurring visit 
 they were fed and sup]»lied at the King's ex- 
 l>ense. Hut between the military officers and 
 the traders, the Indians were sorely cheated. 
 On their arrival they must needs have a taste 
 of rum for friendship's sake. This was abso- 
 lutely necessary in order to facilitate trade. 
 NN'hen the trading was ovei\ they had very 
 little to show for il. The furs they ha«l brought 
 with them had disa|>peared, and in return the}' 
 had a supply of useless but gaudy baubles. The 
 King's oflicers gave them presents; the traders 
 purchased the presents with I'um. Stripped of 
 
 a 
 
^» 
 
 70 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 their season's labor, with no supplies with 
 which to carry on their next season's hunt, the 
 traders made tlieni up an outfit which they 
 were to pay for with the peltries they sliould 
 bring on their visit the succeeding year. In 
 this way the traders, by the aid of the com- 
 mandants, kept a perpetual mortgage on the 
 (ntire catch of nearly eyery one of their indiau 
 de]»endants, and reduced them to practical 
 slavery. The King's otticers and treasure were 
 actively engaged in this league of robbery, and 
 there can be no doubt that the officers profited 
 more largely than the traders, since the trad- 
 ers were there on suH'erance, and if the tribute 
 was not satisfactory, some excuse would read- 
 ily be found for sending the offender to (Juebec 
 to answer for his misdeeds, either real or 
 trumped up. With this fear constant before 
 their eyes, it is not strange tluit the traders 
 were ready to be the obedient servants of their 
 military ])r<)tectors. 
 
 « 
 
 .. 
 
 
 
n' 
 
 of rtrummond Island. 
 
 71 
 
 Lt. Col. McDonall had persisted from the 
 outset in disregarding tlie treaty provisions 
 rehitive to the Indians, wliich as a niiliiary 
 officer it was his duty to carry out. He seems 
 also to have been intent on picking a (luari'el 
 with the Ignited States, as represented at 
 Mackinaw. When, in the spring of ISUJ, his 
 men were dying for want of proper food and 
 medical supplies, he requested the loan of such 
 articles, from the commandant at Mackinaw, 
 as were sorely needed, not only were the arti- 
 cles sent without parley, but the United States 
 surgeon was also sent, in order to render any 
 possible relief. Notwithstanding the gentle- 
 manly treatment he had received, he wrote fre- 
 quent letters comjdaining of the doings of the 
 officers at Mackinaw relative to certain per 
 sons resident there who retained their alle- 
 giance to the King, and also in regard to In- 
 dian affairs, sonu> i>f which, at least, were 
 couched in terms none too polite. 
 
 * 
 * » 
 
 
 
T 
 
 72 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 One of till' amusing featui't's of the relations 
 Avitli the Indians at that time, was the readi- 
 ness with which, in their search for rnni, the 
 noble red men carried tales to both parties. 
 After a visit to INfackinaw, where they were 
 treated as fjovernment wards, resident in 
 United States territory, and where they had 
 told of the wrong- doing of those at Drummond, 
 and the taunting, ugly speeches they had heai'd 
 there, and had tasted of "a keg of milk, that 
 they might know how to sing," a visit to Drum- 
 mond was stealthily nuule, and with the 
 strongest protestations of regard for the King, 
 they prevailed upon the officers to "moisten 
 their lips that they nught tell the truth" in re- 
 gard to what they had but recently seen and 
 heard at Mackinaw. By this means some of 
 the shrewder of the old men among the Indians 
 wei-e able to subsist in comjtarative ease, and 
 enjoy fi-eipient debauches, as well, fiut the re- 
 sult of this method of madness «m the part of 
 the tale bearers, was to kee]) the officers of 
 both posts in a constant state of irritation and 
 ])etty alarm. 'In i'ei)ly to a letter written by 
 Alchonall to Lieut. Col. ('haml)ers. command- 
 
 t 
 
 4 
 
 Sl 
 
t 
 
 of Dniiinitoiid Island. 
 
 73 
 
 <■ 
 
 i 
 
 inj>- at Mackiiunv, and wliich was referred to 
 AVilliani Henry Putott", local agent of indiau 
 affairs, Mr. Putoff wrote as follows: 
 
 "It has been repeatedly observed *^o nie by 
 the Indians tliat you in coiineil with them on 
 Druniniond island, in the name of your {govern- 
 ment have forbidden them to trade with the 
 Americans, have ordered them to biinji- their 
 corn to their British Father, or, if i)revented by 
 stress of weather, to leave it with British trad- 
 ers only, on the island of Mackinaw, or bury it 
 until sprinj--; that you have sent your order to 
 an Indian trading at L'Arbre Croche for 
 ]Michael Douseman, forbidding- him to trade 
 for or deliver his corn to an American; that 
 you have a few days since held a council at 
 wliich barrels of rum were ojxMied to them, 
 minute j>uns w<M-e fired and they were inf()rmed 
 that the tomahawk would a^ain be raised early 
 in the spring; that red vvamjaim and tobacco 
 mixed with vermillion was distributed; and 
 they were advised to be on the iilerl as it was 
 the intention of the Americans to invite them 
 to this island with a view to massacre them; 
 that you would again apju'ar in the night with 
 II) 
 
74 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 N 
 
 your bis S"" upon the island of Mackinaw and 
 that the Americans would not dare to op])ose 
 you. These and many other reports of a like 
 character have been repeatedly made to me." 
 
 The methods instituted by McDonall were 
 faithfully followed by his successors, as long 
 as the supplies of presents and food for so 
 doin}? were sent forward; and even when the 
 (juantity of supplies was curtailed, there was 
 no diminution of effort to secure the regular 
 visits of the Indians. 
 
 i' 
 
T 
 
 i' 
 
 of Dntmmoud IslamL 
 
 16 
 
 TV, 
 
 The necessity for removal from Drnmmond 
 island being conceded, and the Prince Regent 
 having expressed a wish that a post should be 
 located at some point near the boundary be- 
 tween the two countries having equal advan- 
 tages for communication with the Indians and 
 watching the operations of the United States 
 in those regions, a commissioner was sent to 
 examine all the practicable locations and re- 
 port thereon. His report set forth that the site 
 of the Northwest company's buildings at Sault 
 Ste Marie w^ould cost eighteen hundred pounds 
 to purchase, but that in order to reach their lo- 
 cation, vessels must pass directly under the 
 guns of the American fort, which was distant 
 only a mile and a quarter. Hence that site was 
 totally unfit for a military post. Portlock's 
 Harbor, thirty miles north northwest of Urum- 
 mond, he regarded as out of the question on 
 account of the diilficulties of navigation. Al- 
 though i)ossessed of a good harbor, it would be 
 
 4:.iJ 
 
76 
 
 liritifih ()cciii>(iti(in 
 
 cut off bj' the ici' in wiiitci', and the ])assaf»e up 
 the rapids was sh)w and unceitain at any time. 
 Tlif. location on St. .Iose]»h island, where the 
 post had been prior to 1S12, i»leased him best, 
 but the ex])ense incident to the entire rebuild- 
 inj? of a fortification at that place made it seri- 
 ously objectionable. In view of all the eou- 
 tinji'encies. the chief anxiety bein};- for a point 
 readily accessible to the Indians, I'enetanfiiii- 
 sliene. near the southeast corner of the (leorfi,- 
 ian bay, seemed to present the fewest disad- 
 vantag'es. 
 
 This report, dated Se])t(Muber 9, 1825, had to 
 run the j;auntlet of officialism to such an ex- 
 tent that fully three years more had ]>assed 
 before the order for its adoption was promul- 
 fiated. And so the seasons came and went, 
 until at last, the i)atience of the United States 
 government beinjj well nigh exhausted, with- 
 out having ])rovided any jdace for the recep- 
 tion of the garrison or the safety of the stores, 
 and with no more of ])rei»aration than though 
 tiicy wei'e escaping from an advancing and 
 overpowering foe, they hustled themselves 
 awav. 
 
■F 
 
 .^^oOkpl' 
 
- i^ ■" . 
 
 
 i\ 
 
 ■'^r-'^K 
 
 
 
 ^%aV. , *i 
 
 *:'■:. '~ 
 
 ~ ' ^\' 
 
 . .•: w^i":'^^ ' '^'^-l 
 
 .ik.^ dSf: - 
 
 
 .-/ •■ ^'^i^ ■■■■"■- 
 
 '^ 3B 
 
 
 
 i k?a 
 
 .^ 
 
 •••■- "^ . ■- 
 
 ^Mj^iii| 
 
 
 '?.. A, ■' ^ 
 
 ■ui^ ^'■"•^■■ 
 
 
 
 ;wi;:>^-^^..c»i..'\.: 
 
 
 .^ . 
 
 l:M^??!-;r^:. 
 
 " 
 
 
 ^iMi 
 
 
 
 
 
 'V : \\: . 
 
 ^rvhyM^m^^ 
 
 
 " :/. ■ . 
 
 Wm:tA- 
 
 *.# 
 
 
 ;-'<'^Ky/ .': 
 
 "/ 
 
 ;jj;'/ . .' ; 
 
 ftT-l'-^'v-^ , 
 
 ;'"-'^ 
 
 
 
 ''' *, 
 
 1 • ■ 
 
 ;. iv^'*^. 
 
 
 • -!■;• -l 
 
 > .>^ ' 
 
 V 
 
 ^'■:-V-': 
 
 
 ; •■ 
 
 
 a 
 < 
 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 UJ 
 
 t- 
 ui 
 
 S 
 
 UJ 
 
 O 
 
 ul 
 
 X 
 I- 
 
 isim 
 
of Drummouil Island. 
 
 79 
 
 1 
 
 The order for the abjindoninent of the post 
 and the transfer of the small garrison to Pene- 
 tanguishene on Matehedash bay, having been 
 given, as well as the arrangement for turning 
 over everything (except the garrison movables, 
 to an officer of the United States, a brig, the 
 Duke of Wellington, of one hundred and thirty 
 tons burthen, luid been sent from Fort Erie to 
 effect the transfer. It was now later in the 
 season than it was usual to attempt navigation 
 on Lake Huron, but the evacuation could not 
 be longer delayed. The post was to be left be- 
 hind very much as it had been first occupied, 
 without adequate means for the removal, and 
 witli a haste amounting to precipitancy. 
 
 
 For thirteen years tliis island had been tlie 
 abode of a large number of people. Entering 
 upon it in a wilderness state, they had made 
 for themselves real homes, and accumulated 
 about them quantities of those things which 
 are necessary to home life, and without which 
 
 I 
 
80 
 
 Jiritish Occu>mtioii 
 
 
 IH 
 
 fi'ontior life would be unbciirablc. The family 
 cow. the hoi-rie, tlic i>ij>s, the sheej*. poult ly, 
 snul the luoduce of their well cnvea for j;ai'- 
 dens, were now to be abandoned. The dei»art- 
 ure of the few soldiers whose presence had 
 been their needed and only protection, made it 
 necessary for them to remove with, or soon 
 after the {iarrison should be jione. 
 
 TJie officers and their families, accustomed 
 as they were to but short residences at any 
 place, had been obliged to provide for them- 
 selves there, as they wotdd not have done at 
 locations where it was ]»ossible to jjurchase the 
 ordinary comforts of life, and so they had had 
 their j-ardens and tlieir domestic animals. The 
 soldiers, as well, had en^ajicd in aj^riculture,, 
 and so well had they succeeded that they left 
 behind them at departure, over two thousand 
 bushels of potatoes whidi they had secured for 
 their winter's supply. None of those Ihinjis 
 was it jiossible to remove with them. 
 
 m 
 
 
 " 
 
of Dnimiuotnl Island. 
 
 81 
 
 Tlu' -'Duki' of Wclliii^loir" was not ablo to 
 take in lici' possible ( iii'no even llu' jiovci-nnicnt 
 ]troi»<'i-ty, and tlic garrison with their families, 
 and a, snnill Tniled {States schooner — the (Mn 
 cinnati — was chartered to assist in earryinjj; 
 away what was absolnlely necessary. But 
 even this was not suHicient, and Lieut. Carson 
 was obliji'ed to send a larj;*' (piantity of stores 
 lo St. Josei»h island for winter stoi*a}i«'. The 
 }j;overnnient movables were j>otten away, but 
 the houseludd furniture of the otticers. which 
 was their jtrivate i>roi>ei-ty, includinji' bed- 
 steads, chairs, sofas, dressers. ('ui»boards and 
 the food sui»plies which they had laid in for the 
 winter, was all left beliind for lack of trans- 
 l»ort. Nor could these articles be sold, since 
 those who i-emained on tlie island expected to 
 <lepart as soon as they could do so, and they 
 well knew that siiwe these thiujis must be left, 
 tliey would fall into their hands without pur- 
 chase. 
 
 I] 
 
 " 
 
 It 
 
Si 
 
 82 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 i» 
 
 It was (HI November 14, 1828, tlii^a T. 
 Pierce Simonton, Lieutenant V. S. A., sent 
 thither from Fort lirady to receive the surren- 
 <lei', f-ave his receipt for the twent.v buihlings 
 which had been occui>i<Hl strictly for yoveru- 
 ment purposes, and on the KUli tlie two vessels 
 set sail in a blnsterin}^ snowstorm for their 
 destination in undisputed IJrilish territory. 
 The number of pcrscms who that day embarked 
 from the shores of Druminond island, as sliowu 
 by the return of D. A. ('. (Jeneral, -lames Wick- 
 ens, was seven olti<'ers, forty nu'n, flfteen wom- 
 en, twenty-six children and three servants; a 
 total of ninety-one peojde. They arrived at 
 IVnetanjiiilshene on the '2h•^t of the nu.nih.hav- 
 inj;- endured the sfipnu and the cho]) seas of Ihe 
 (li'orjiian bay for tive lonj; weary days. Fr(un 
 that date Urummond island passes oiit of the 
 realm of British history, in all excei>t tlm 
 claims for losses to the ollicers and men sus- 
 taiui'd bv reason of the sudden evacuaticm. 
 
 ^ 
 
 T 
 
of Drummond Islanil. 
 
 83 
 
 t 
 
 V. 
 
 There is a strauffe tradition in tlie neiphbor- 
 hood, that when tlie ]?ritisli sailed away ou 
 that Nineniber day, they set lire to tlie beauti- 
 ful little town, thinkiufj thus to cheat the 
 Americans out of their booty. It is, however, 
 fairly conclusive apiinst this, that the town 
 and military structures were not immediately 
 destroyed, that Lieut. Simonton's instructi(ms 
 relative to ihe evacuation, included the selec- 
 tion and employment of a careful man to take 
 charjie of the iiublic i>roj>erty for the time be- 
 inj;-. 
 
 * 
 » * 
 
 At what time the island was finally descried 
 is not entirely clear, but liiat the town was not 
 desti-oyed by the i-eticatinjj,' occui)ants seems 
 certain. The fannly of .lames Farlinj;', the posr 
 blacksmith, remained in their home at least for 
 the wintei'. and all the circumstances seem to 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 m 
 
 M 
 1.4 
 
 n- 
 
 
 
l.'tr 
 
 84 
 
 British Occiipatinii 
 
 indicate that tlicy wore iidt lacUiiifi- for com- 
 IHsny. The civilians who, during all the years 
 of the occupation had, from various rcaHons of 
 trade and enii)loynient, in very considerable 
 numbers uuide it their hcmie, were nol able, 
 even if they desired, to obtain transport with 
 the troops, and from the nature of the case 
 were left to care for themselves. The lateness 
 of the season compelled tliem. no doubt, to re- 
 main until the followin}^;' spring. 
 
 » » 
 
 Neither does the traditiim that the town was 
 wiped out by tire seem to be borne out by the 
 ]»resent ai)pea ranee of (he site. Tiiere are evi- 
 dences of forest tires, and i»rol»ably successive 
 ones, which the rank growths of grass would 
 greatly facilitiite; but it is vorthy of n(>tice 
 that even forest tires have not disturbed the 
 little cemetery with Its cedar i»aliug fence and 
 head-boards of wood, .lames .1. Strang, tl," 
 Mormon king of th;' T.eaver islands, ^aid in his 
 pamphh (, "Ancient and modern Michilimack- 
 
of Driniunoud TsItiiuL 
 
 85 
 
 iliac," that ^lackinaw was ''enlarged and beau- 
 tified by stealiiij? from the Ignited States tlie 
 town on Diununond island, surrendered by 
 (Jreat Britian." Tlie truth of the statement is 
 certainly within the range of probability. It 
 is not unreasonable to suppose that the dwell- 
 ers on Mackinaw island, tindinji' abandoned 
 structures on Drummond which contained ma- 
 terial siiited to their needs, shoJild carry it 
 thence and utiliz*' it as best they uiv^ht for 
 their own comfort. 
 
 
 * * 
 
 The leal destinction of the town may safely 
 be set down as not the result of human intent, 
 or yet of accident; but as due primarily to the 
 ever-actiufi,' forces of nature which hasten to 
 obliterate the scars inflicted on her bosom by 
 imperious man. Deserted as human habita- 
 tions, lacking the r<']>airs necessary for tlieir 
 preservation, the liousi's, which were either log 
 structures or bark lodges, soon began crum- 
 bling to decay,and when at s(»me time the thici; 
 
 -r 
 
 I 
 
 
86 
 
 British OcniiKition 
 
 mat of grass was kindled by a spark from some 
 liunter's fire, tlie ruin was made more com- 
 plete. 
 
 .. 
 
 .mm>mi-,^m^^^^m,m^,,^^^^^,.. 
 
of Dniuimoiid Island. 
 
 87 
 
 YL 
 
 .. 
 
 11 is ii (11 lions as well as a disajii't't'ablc fact 
 thai while the Jiiitish records of the occni)a- 
 ti(m and relin(|nishnH'nt of Drnnuuond island 
 are fnl! and ]»i'esnnjaMy coin])lete. it has 
 jM'oven inijtossihle to secure from the I'nited 
 States dt'itartnients at \Vashin}>ton anythinj;- 
 bearing upon the evacuation and disposition of 
 the proi)erty left in the hands of the War De- 
 j»artnient bv the retiring; Hritish. Kepeat«Ml 
 i-e(]uests of the War Dejtartuient for cojties of 
 documents which fiom Ihe very nature of the 
 case must be in theii- possession, have been 
 treated as jiinj^crly as thoujih it were a subject 
 th( y did not dare to uncover. 
 
 They have, however, been able to find one 
 letter, which raises so many (piestions whi<h 
 other documents oujilit to answer, that it 
 seems almost stranjic that they have even 
 diviil^-ed this. It is as follows: 
 
 
88 
 
 liiitish Occupation 
 
 Fort Biadii, IS Nov., /Ni8. 
 Sik: I liavc tlu' honor to inform \o\i that I 
 have received a U'tter from the officer comdj--. 
 the JiritiHh troo|>s at Drummcmd Island inform- 
 inj.- nu" lliat lie had received orders from the 
 Commander of n»e Forces to turn over the puh- 
 lic bnildinj-s to our (Jovernment and requestinji 
 me to send an ottic<'r to receive them. I have 
 this day sent lireveted Lt. Simonton to receive 
 rhem, with directiims to emi»loy a resjM'ctahle 
 citizen to take charfje of them for the present, 
 the Itritish trooi»s are to leave there by the 
 
 mth or 18th. 
 
 AVith great respec(, 
 (So-d) !>• Wilcox, 
 
 (Uipt. oth Uci/t, 
 
 Coiintij. 
 
 Col.. W. .loNKS. 
 
 A(]jt. (li'iil.. 
 
 Wash ill (/ton Citi/. 
 
 It may be noted that this letter is dated <m 
 the 14th, and that the n'ceipt given by Lu'ut. 
 Simonton to the British commandant Avas 
 dj'ted on the loth. ('apt. Wilcox say^. that he 
 
 ' 
 
of Drnmmoml Inland. 
 
 89 
 
 liiid (lii-('(t('(l Lieut. Siuioiiton to placi' a icspcct- 
 jiblt' dti7A'ii ill (hiirj^c of the iiroju'ity to b«' 
 tunuMl over, "for I lie ]>r('8»*iit," incaninj;-. un- 
 doubtedly, until lie could receive further 
 orders fjoiu his superiors. It is not to be suji- 
 l»osed for a uiomeiit that Lieut. Siinontou did 
 not make formal re]tort of his doinjis at Drum- 
 niond. on his return to Fort Brady, nor is it 
 supposable thi't ('a[>t. Wilcox did not at once 
 report to Adjt. (Jeneral Jones, what Sinionton 
 had done. Neither is ir in the ranj^c of prob- 
 abilities that Lieut. Sinionton did not avail 
 himself of the power conferred on him by his 
 sujK'rior, to "emjiloy a resju'ctable citizen to 
 take cliarp' of" the projierty for which he had 
 jiiveii his receii»t, as the representative of his 
 }j:overnment. 
 
 In view of all tIh' circumstances, it is not a 
 Mttle strani.'-e that the Asst. Secretary of Vuir 
 should declare that aft<'r dilij-cnt search in his 
 ottice no trace can be found of any rejiort Ipiv- 
 insi' been nuule of the t lansactions attendinjj;' 
 the evacuation of Drumniond. 
 
 :i 
 
 
 VI 
 
90 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 YII. 
 
 The I'uk's laid down in tlic ticaty of (Ihent 
 for the detenninjition of the bonndary between 
 the United State8 and the British poss'ssions, 
 were not so easily followed ••" :nay have been 
 thouji'ht i>ossible by their franiers. All jdaces 
 held by either country prior to the d«'claration 
 of war, were to be restored, and the boundary 
 was to be run through the center of the jj;reat 
 hikes, and in the center of the uuiin channel of 
 the waters connecting; the lakes. Start inf*- at 
 the southern extremity of Lake Huron and run- 
 ning north, the most natural center line led to 
 the False Detour, at the east end of Drum- 
 mond island. The custom of navigation has, 
 since the buildiu}-- of the first locks at the Sault 
 Ste. Marie, made the western or Detour chan- 
 nel the main channel; but it is not certain but 
 that if the sailing- course had been to the east 
 into the (ieort^ian bay, instead of south throufrh 
 Lake Huron, the eastern channel mijj:ht have 
 justly been re}j;arded as the main channel. 
 
 " 
 
 .■ 
 
 !!i'i' 
 
Tml 
 
 of Dnnnmond Islunil. 
 
 91 
 
 From the nioiiiciit lliat the coimnissiimcrs— 
 OIK' liiitish Jind Iwo Anu'rican— rntcicd the 
 Detroit river, tin- Hritish rciMCHcntative 
 showed a disposition to insist that tlie nuiin 
 channels were invariably on the west side of 
 the various islands in their course, and it be- 
 came ne<'essary. in nearly every case, to make 
 an examination by nu-ans of small boats, 
 soundinjis and measurements ()f currents, in 
 order to c(mvince him that such was not the 
 case. 
 
 * 
 * » 
 
 '' 
 
 Mr. liartlett, the British c<mimissi(mer. was 
 accustomed to the heavy dinners and hard 
 drinkinjr connected therewith, of his native en- 
 vironment, and pursued the .«ime custom on 
 board the vessel which had been provided by 
 the United States for the work of the commis- 
 sion. In fact, it is amonjj; the unpublished rec- 
 ords of the boundary survey, that he indulji;ed 
 in the Howins bowl to such an extent as not 
 only to hinder the work, but also to cause him 
 at times to be the reverse of amiable in his 
 
IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 |5 
 
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 iM 
 
 1.8 
 
 1.4 i 1.6 
 
 ^ 
 
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 ^ 
 
 A> 
 
 o 
 
 em 
 
 '/ 
 
 ^?' 
 
 /A 
 
 Photograpliic 
 
 Sdences 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAtN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
.V 
 
 '^° MP.. 
 
 :<p 
 
 'k 
 
 fe 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 o 
 
 V 
 
 
92 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 M- 
 
 maiuu'i's. While passing np Lake Huron, witli 
 the charts of tlie hikes and their connecting 
 waters before them, it was agreed that the 
 course by way of the False Detour should be 
 the one taken. In the nu'antinie, Mv. liartlett 
 had had (? inner and an extra supjtly (►f grog, 
 and when they had passed the eastern end of 
 Driininiond island he began, in no very i»olite 
 manner, to charge that he had been cheated 
 while dining, and that the course should have 
 been by th<' Detour i)assage. But as he had 
 himself given the insti-uctions to the sailing 
 master, he soon found that the charge of bad 
 faith against his fellow c()mmission<'rs would 
 not answer, and (piickly changed his tactics. 
 He bethought him that it was necessary for 
 him to consult his instructions, and asked that 
 the vessel '*lie to" until morning. This being 
 assented to, the night was spent otf the north 
 east coast of Drummond island. In the morn- 
 ing Ml . liartlett had not full}' recovered his self 
 control, and the suggestion being made that 
 the line through the St. Mary's river be i>assed 
 for the time, and linally <ietermined on their 
 return from Lake Superior, that method was 
 
of Dnimiiiond Tshind. 
 
 93 
 
 adopted. During i\w intin-vening pciiod, Mr. 
 Bartlett diHOOvercd that the liritish had for a 
 hmg time had ]»ossessioii of and a scnibhince 
 ()f a military post on St. Joseph ishuid. and in- 
 sisted that that ishuid must, xmder the treaty, 
 be yet retained by them. 15nt before tlie return 
 passage of tlie St. :Mary*s river, llie sailing 
 Huister had become somewhat familiar with 
 Mr. Bartlett's moods, as att'eited by after din- 
 ner potati(Uis, and so timed his jiassage tliat 
 the diflicult jdaces sliould ajtpear for tinal de- 
 termination when he would be in his most pli- 
 able moods. Advantage being taken of those 
 moods, it was slunvn that the true line under 
 the treaty was by the east e'.annel; but that in 
 view of the long jiossession of St. .Joseph, if 
 that island should be accorded to the King, it 
 would even uj) matters \o such an extent as 
 that there could be no fault found on either 
 side. The nu»ment for the tiniil discussion and 
 determination ha<^ been judiciously chosen. 
 :Mr. J{artlett ac(iuiesced, signitied to Iha 
 draughtsnu'U that the line so suggested was 
 agr<'ed to, and — (piietly \v<'nt to sleep in his 
 chair. 
 
94 
 
 lirifixh OccKpatioii 
 
 Drnniinoiul island, on which was at tliat 
 time a military ])<>st supjjlicd with ample ai-til- 
 ItTV and a vast amount of provisions and 
 stores, was thus lost, and irretrievably, to His 
 Most Chi'istian ^lajesty. The same element of 
 ]>ei'snasion which iiad been used to influence 
 the Indian claimants to ]»art Avith it, was able 
 to cause its linal loss. It is a fact worthy of 
 note, however, that ])rior to the occupation in 
 1S15, neither the liritish or Americans had re- 
 j^arded this island as of any stratejj;ic im[)or- 
 tance, and there had been no claim thereto, 
 backed by possessory rijjht. It had been en- 
 tirely unoccupied by the citizens of either 
 nation. 
 
 tei'ii 
 
 m ■ 
 
of Brummoml Island. 
 
 95 
 
 lit I 
 
 YIII. 
 
 He whose powers and ju'eiogatives were de- 
 clared to be "By the (irace of (led, Kinp; of 
 Great IJritaiu and Irehmd, Defender of the 
 Faith.'' etc., the head of the Kn}j;lish church, 
 dhl not accoi'd to his military servants bau- 
 islied to a lonely spot in the northwestern wil- 
 derness of the American continent, even the 
 relijiions care and attention which was ac- 
 corded to tl»e convicts in his i>risons. For tlie 
 tliii-teen years of their stay on Drummond 
 ishuid the Kinj-'s trooi)S were unprovided with 
 a chajtlain. The residents there were born, mar- 
 ried, lived, died, and were buried "without 
 benefit of clerjjy," And this, too, for a consid- 
 erable pojMilalion, the dutiful servants of "His 
 Most (Mirislian Majesty. " 
 
 * 
 « * 
 
96 
 
 liritish OccuiHitloti 
 
 It was not until 1S2.S, the last season of tlu'ii' 
 stay on the island, that a cliaiilain was sent to 
 visit thoni — the Kov. E. Boswell, of Sandwich, 
 the ref^ular chaplain of that point. The Bishop 
 of Quebec directed him to make a visit to that 
 far-away post, and reiinested the Earl of Dal- 
 housie to direct that his ex])enses be allowed 
 from the public chest. ^Ir. IJosveirs order was 
 stated to be "in conse(inence of tlu' destitute 
 situation of the inhabitants of Drummond 
 island — military and civil — with regard to 
 their utter deprivation of the services of any 
 clergyman." lint, indeed, it had taken His 
 Holiness a very hnig time to find out that 
 "utter deprivation," and to take action for 
 some relief therefrom. 
 
 Whih' the State ciinrch was thus unmindful 
 of its own jK'ople and careless as to the "cure 
 of souls," it need not be doubt ;•(! that tlu' ever- 
 toiling, earnest and unwearying Catholic 
 clergy fi'om the Sault or Mackinaw, or botli, 
 
of Dnimmond Island. 
 
 97 
 
 inadi' not infiv(HU'nt visits, jiiid ^^•vve on the 
 alert for the f^ood of tlieir French and half- 
 breed faithful, as well as the Indians generally. 
 
 ♦ 
 » * 
 
 Is it unreasonable to surmise that this trip 
 of Mr. Boswell's was the beginning of the sum- 
 mer tourist travel of clergymen worn by their 
 home duties and cares, who, given leave of ab- 
 sence and a comfortable jiurse by their loving 
 llockH, seek rest and rei-uperation among the 
 delightful scenes and quiet i)lace8 which so 
 abound on the shores of the upper lakes? 
 
 13 
 
 mm 
 
98 
 
 liiitish OieKpation 
 
 IX. 
 
 One of tlic h'f-vnds of tlu' tiuu* of the occiipa- 
 tioii whicli lias liiijicied in th«* ncijiUboihood is 
 that of "The liiddcn pot of j-old." The story is 
 soiiKnvhat cnidc and nnciM-tain in its fonn. It 
 is related tliat a tiadei- wlio lived in a litnise 
 located neav the north end of the little island 
 opposite the f^overnnient wharf, became insane. 
 He had not, however, shown any danjjerons 
 tendencies, and was simply being- watched to 
 see that he came to no harm. One day when he 
 chance<l to be left alone, he slipped out of tlie 
 lionse carrying- his wealth of gold in an iron 
 kettle, and disappeared in the bushes toward 
 the south end of the island. He was not long 
 absent, but when he returned he had not the 
 pot of money with him, nor could he be induced 
 thereafter to reveal the place of its conceal- 
 ment. 
 
 ♦ 
 » « 
 
 4 
 
 
of Drummond Island. 
 
 99 
 
 Like all talcs of hidden ]H)ts of money — and 
 tliey are of fi'eqnent occurrence — thiw story has 
 caused no end of laborious search and di}?}i'i"t? 
 over the jfround at the south end of the little 
 island. Even to this day, the visitcn- at Druni- 
 uiond is prone to cast a lonj^in}; look at the 
 island of about oneanda(iuarter acres area, and 
 w(uider if perchance it may not be his fortune 
 to come by accident upon tlie Ion}? buried treas- 
 ure. It seems to be one of the peculiarities of 
 secreted {fold, that its receptacle is so uni- 
 formly an iron cookinj^' pot. 
 
 That this particular treasure was not Ion}? 
 ago recovered and converted to use, is 'lot 
 known; only surmised. If a store of gold was 
 certainly known to have been buried in that 
 small island, there were i)eople enough at the 
 post in those days to have canied away the 
 Avhole island in a week in feverish search for it. 
 
 l?ut there may have been a foundation for 
 the legend. Insane peoi»le have more correct 
 
 4 
 
lOo 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 h: I 
 
 ideas and f-ood judf-nu'iit than they are toni- 
 nionly iivditcd >vith. In the a.itnnn <>: 1815 
 Assistant Dejtnty Coniniissaiy (Jcneral ?'()iik, 
 who had been with the IJntish forces at Macki- 
 naw and had come to Drnnnnond at tlie trans- 
 fer thither, "from extreme anxiety to ])rovide 
 for the i»ressin«>' wants of tlie tro()i»s and in- 
 dians in an exhanstinl country, became de- 
 ranfjfd in his mind." In other words, the poor 
 feUow was broken down from overwork to the 
 ]K)int of insanity. In addition to liis duties ;is 
 j;eneral i)rovider of everytliing needful, he was 
 the (me in charj^e of and res])onsible for the 
 army chest. I'nder the circumstances it will 
 not seem strange to those versed in the science 
 of alienism, that he should have placed the 
 funds, in re}j;ard to the safety of which he must 
 have sulfered a constant anxiety, in some place 
 of concealment which seemed to him in his im- 
 jiaired condition of mind would ensure its 
 safety from the pillaf>e which he constantly 
 feared was awaiting it. 
 
 
 4 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 ■.i 
 
 IIJ 
 
of Dnimwoinl I sin ml. 
 
 101 
 
 Tliore is nothinp; in the records to show th.at 
 he (lid an.vthiiifi; of tlie kind. Rut the records 
 are ample as to the o<(upanc.v and ownership 
 o!" I lie little island, which was orijjinally occu- 
 I)ied by ^'le connnissary dei>artinont, and there, 
 n<'ar the extreme north end was a hu}i,e balce 
 house for tlie use of that service. Tlu; necessi- 
 ties connected with tl»e arnval of the troops 
 on the island, couii)elled Commissary Clonic to 
 immediately erect a liouse for liimself, and as 
 tlie seciuel sliows, it was a better luuise than 
 thosj' of the otlier otticers. Tlie duties of the 
 commissary were performed duriufi; the next 
 three years by a temporary clerk; but in the 
 summer of 1818, Mr. Monk's disabilities contin- 
 uing, ^^'illiam liailey arrived as his successor. 
 Ten years later, when the claims of ofticers fin* 
 losses incident 1o <lie abandonment of the 
 island, were beiiiji adjudicated, ^Ir. Bailey 
 testified that on his arrival at the island he 
 could find no way of liousin}"- himself, other 
 than to purchase tlie house on this island; and 
 that he was oblij;ed to pay for the island and 
 tli(^ house llwreon, the sum of two hundred 
 pounds sterling. This projierty remained in his 
 
102 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 owiH'iship, uutil it teased hy leasou of the 
 evacuation. 
 
 That there was an insane man resident on 
 the ishmd is clear, but whether Monlv was the 
 one to whom beh)n};s the credit for the conceal- 
 ment of tlie }iold, is not at ail certain. 
 
 The mystery of "The hidden pot of <j;<)ld"' is 
 still unsolved. The lepnid remains; but 
 whether it evei' had any foundation in fact, 
 whether the pot of money was ever hid, whether 
 if hid, it was ever found, whether if found it 
 was restored to its rij^htful owner, or wln'ther 
 if hid it still remains a possible treasure trove, 
 is all uncertain. But of this we may be sure, 
 that as the years revolve, the visitors at the 
 s])ot will continue to search for it as for the 
 wealth hidden by the famous pirates of the 
 eighteenth century. 
 
 mil 
 
 :J 
 
of Dnimmond Island. 
 
 103 
 
 X. 
 
 Tlio inti('i>i(l li^lK'niiini who sails near l>v «>i' 
 ventures to land on the shore of the Great 
 Manitouliu island after sunset, is appalled and 
 his blood is curdled by the sif>ht of two head- 
 less soldiers who walk to and fro, elad in tin? 
 red eoats and other rej^inientals of the early 
 part of this century. 
 
 And stranjier still, when nij-hts are dark and 
 cold, and the belated fisherman, lured by a fire- 
 light on the shore, thinking that friendly greet- 
 ing and warmth await him there, runs his boat 
 (m the beach and hastens to the blazing logs 
 piled high a. short distance away, h<' finds there 
 no fisher comrade belated like himself, but in- 
 stead the two headless soldiers sitting on a log 
 in the glow, and warming themselves by the 
 blaze made furious by the night wind. With 
 chattering teeth, with hair erect and eyes start- 
 ing from their sockets, he runs to his boat and 
 puts out into the night regardless of the dan- 
 gers of the deep, so that he may but be far 
 
104 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 awiiy from tlio unciiniiy suai'('.-iinen of that 
 lonely slioi'o. And when afterward, being 
 jeered by his acquaintances for his superstition 
 and cowardice, he goes to the same spot by 
 daylight, he finds the selfsame pile of logs 
 deeply charred by fire, but not then burning. 
 Nor does he see any trace of the two headless 
 redcoats. 
 
 * 
 
 I'M '* 
 
 1 
 
 It was in midwinter, so the tradition runs, 
 that two soldiers of t he King deserted from the 
 post at Drummond island. They were evi- 
 dently homesick. They longed for the scenes 
 of old England. They could not longer endure 
 the hardships, the rigors, the lonesomeness of 
 that little village in the novthern wilds. An 
 oflicer with more ample ]»ay, and wife and chil- 
 dren with him, had some traces of home life 
 and enjoyment, from all of which the private 
 soldier was cut ofl", he being condemn/d to the 
 monotony of fatigue duty and rest, without op- 
 portunity for enjoyable recreation. They might 
 perchance have made their way to Mackinaw 
 
 i 
 
 ^■H 
 
of Dniinmoud Island. 
 
 105 
 
 island, and thus been freed from niilitarv re- 
 straint; hnt this M-as not tlieir choice. They 
 evidently set out for hnme. Their liearts longed 
 for the lands beyond the risinj^ sun. The shores 
 and ba> s of Lake Huron wei*e frozen over, and 
 over the bridge thus nuide for them across the 
 unsalted sea, they would make their way to the 
 farther shore of the (leorgian bay, and thence 
 eastward to the scenes for which tliey yearned. 
 
 « 
 * * 
 
 Bui the post commandant was wrathful 
 when he learned of their iinannouueed depart- 
 ure, and stormed as only a lUiton or a flsh- 
 woman can storm, with swaggering bluster 
 and volubility of oatlis. Then lu' sat him down 
 and wrote. In his anger he had sworn to have 
 the men oi* their lives. He had murder in his 
 heart. When he arose from his desk, an or- 
 derly took the sheet on which he had written 
 and nailed it on tlie door of the barracks. It 
 nuide an otl'er of twenty dollars each for the 
 heads of the two deserters if found dead, and 
 
 u 
 
106 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 the snme for tlu'ir bodies if found alive. There 
 were wliisperinji's jibout tlie post, biit there 
 were none who dared to exjtress their thonfihts. 
 In the indian eanip tliere seemed s^'^'si^*^!' 
 (juietness than usual; but before the day had 
 passed two swift snow-slux^ runners were no- 
 ticed to leave the i)ost, as if on an ur<;ent er- 
 rand. A ni{j;ht passed. A day — a sluut winter 
 day — slipped away, more (juickly dosed to the 
 denizens of Drummond post by the hish rid}>e 
 which towered on the west of the town, and 
 under shadow of which they were hid. .Nn- 
 other lonji- nifjht settled down, dra^n«'d its 
 weary length across the northern ice and snow, 
 and at length was driven far away as the sun 
 in all its winter glory rose from the clesir 
 depths of the (Jeorgian bay. For since the 
 days are shorter in those rej>i<uis theii' glori- 
 fie«l briglitness is such that it makes amends 
 for the brevity. 
 
 '' 
 
 The post comnuindant had not yet taken his 
 morning coffee when in walked two hulian ath- 
 
' 
 
 
 of Dnimmond Island. 
 
 107 
 
 letcs covered with frost, their breaths eoniins 
 (juickly, and their eyes eajjer and feroeious. 
 Advancinf? to tlie center of the room, each un- 
 fastened from his }>ii'dle si human liead that 
 liad danjiied tliere, and plaiing it on the table, 
 demanded tlie reward for the two deserters. 
 
 Tlie commissary was (inickly summoned, and 
 soon th(* bearers of the heads were wasliinj^ 
 away all thoufjfht of the blood they had treach- 
 erously spilled for money, in copious libations 
 of the Kinji's rum; mm, the main reliance of 
 the British in those days for the accom]»lish- 
 ment («f their most nefarious ends; nitii, with 
 which they made slaves and brutes of the In- 
 dians; ru'ii, under whose iuHueuce they plotted 
 nuissacres and murders, and by the aid of 
 which these were accomplished. 
 
 The indian runners, as th;' tale is told, fol- 
 lowiufi' hard after tiie deserters who. all unac- 
 customed to travel over the ice and snow, had 
 nuide their way with difliculty. came u]» with 
 
 ■.iWf-r - •mmm mu m,, Hm i,m,m-miH«mm^m. ■ 
 
108 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 -:r:* 
 
 tlicin on tlu' (Ji'cat Manitouliu island. Bnt tlioy 
 (lid not warn tlicni of their dan^i'i'- lAkc boasts 
 of i)i('y, they sknlkod out of sif^ht until a favor- 
 able UHMuent should appear. Weary and cold, 
 the soldiers gathered material for a lire. High 
 they ]»iled the logs and loud was tht* craekling 
 of the frozen wood. The tlanies leaped high. 
 Higher yet they ]»iled the wood, and having 
 ealen their scanty supper, sat Iheui down be- 
 fore the tire with no thought of impending dan- 
 ger. Hovering in the darkness two red men 
 watched their every motion; even their every 
 breath. Lulled by the warmth and dulled by 
 their weariness, the soldiers dozed. Peichance 
 they are dozing yet, for they never wakened in 
 this world. Stealthily from behind came the 
 swift swish of the tomahawks as they cleft the 
 air, falling upon necks conveniently bending 
 forward. The deed was done. The hunting 
 knives finished th<' work. The two heads were 
 fastened by the seal]) locks to their girdles, and 
 back they hastened, eager for their money and 
 their mm. 
 
 The headless trunks remained sitting on the 
 log and warming themselves by the fire which 
 
of Dnimmond Island. 
 
 109 
 
 made the night Iniid with its }>;lare. And ever 
 since, unbmii-d, tliey wand(n' on tliose shores, 
 seelvin^ the heads wliich there they lost while 
 sleeping; and when the ni}>hts are cold, the fire 
 burns l)ri{i;htly, and they sit and warm them 
 there. 
 
 « » 
 
 So runs the legend. In the records of the 
 post no incidents are found from which this 
 tragic tale could have been woven, liut ])ub- 
 'ic records do not always ])osscss the reliability 
 suited to the ]furi)ose of those who would lay 
 open the bald facts of history. In this case it 
 is not imi»robable that, if two uum deserted 
 from the King's service, and were killed by In- 
 dians in pursuit, either Uy stealth or on refusal 
 to surrender, the report thereof as<'ribed their 
 demise to natural causes, and without any 
 mention of the desertion. There were no tele- 
 graphs or daily pap<n's in those days to note 
 each transi)iriug incident, and matters well 
 known and freely discussed at that isolated 
 post, might be rejiorted to head(iuarlers at 
 
 -*«™HifTW»|Wl»>i'MW«J»!!»«tWJV.«',-%)tf»« 
 
110 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 (2u(4)ec in niiiniun- othei- than had bt'cu there 
 understood. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ir * 
 
 Hut would you know the truth of this weird 
 narration, sit with fishenneu of the nortlieru 
 Lake Huron ai-ound a cabin lire, when fierce 
 winds are howling; their requiem for those who 
 venture to encounter their wrath, and are pil- 
 inf>- high the anji^ry waters, and they will tell 
 you that the headless guardsmen of the ^lani- 
 toulin sit quietly and doze beside their fire, 
 which never fails to burn for them on such ji 
 niaht, with a ruddy glow that sends its rays of 
 light far over the wind tossed sea. 
 
of Drummond Island. 
 
 Ill 
 
 XL 
 
 Anotlu'i- of the iciniiiiscent talcs of the de- 
 lta i-tin}i' British is this, that in order to lieep 
 tliein from falliiiji' into the hands of the Ameri- 
 cans, they cast into the bay some o'. the cann<m 
 wliich tlicy could not take with them. In proof 
 of this locjil lejicnd, jteopie passinjf over the 
 waters of the bay, at various times, have re- 
 ported that they had distinctly seen at the bot- 
 tom of the clear water, one or two brass field 
 pieces, the breeches and trunions being plainly 
 visible. Having no means at hand for marking 
 the spot, they have been unable afterward to 
 discover the cannon. More than (me searching 
 party lias spent considerable time in thor- 
 oughly jtlanned and executed search for these 
 lost ])ieces of ordnaiu'e, but without success. 
 
 \i 
 
 * * 
 
 When the British evacuated the island, they 
 took with them no guns heavier than their 
 
 k'T'^pl 
 
112 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 iiiuskcts. But it need not be supposed that 
 they h-ft anythinf? of that kind there. In 1X20, 
 eifjcht years pnnious, a survey of the ordnance 
 stores at the post, showed a total of thirty- 
 four Held, {^v^rrison and naval gnus, as follows: 
 24 pounders, iron 8 
 
 18 " " 2 
 
 4 " " 6 
 
 8 o/>. swivels 5 
 
 32 ]>ounder carronades 
 
 24. " " 4 
 
 :i pounder, brass 1 
 
 2 " " 2 
 
 In view of lh<- well believed story that some 
 canium are lyinji at the bottom of Druniniond 
 bay, the (luestion as to what became of all 
 these l»i}i j;uns durinf»' the eight years for which 
 there api>ears no nfention of them in the rec- 
 ord, becomes interesting. 
 
 « * 
 
 The only transport sent to aid in effecting 
 the removal of the post, was a brig of one hun- 
 
 i 
 
 
i 
 
 of Drummond Island. 
 
 113 
 
 drcHl and tlnrty tons burthen. This vcssc} was 
 packed in every corner, two-thirds being de- 
 voted to provisions, coniniissary stores and in- 
 dian presents, and tlie remainder was tilled 
 almost to sutt'ocation, with the human tr<'ight 
 and the p<'rsonal baggage. The post commis- 
 sary hired in addition, an American sloop of 
 fifty tons, which he loaded to its fullest <apa- 
 city with what were called "barrack stores." 
 lint this was not sufficient, and a larg. (pian- 
 tity of material was sent to St. Joseph island 
 for the winter. It is not to be supposed, how- 
 »'ver, that any cannon were left lying around 
 among the rocks or hidden in the underbrush 
 on the island. lint what then? Simply that 
 during the last four or live years, when vessels 
 came to the island with the annual sui)i)lies, 
 they took on for the return trijt, such of the 
 cannon as they <'onveniently could, and <arried 
 them to points below. It is more than i)r()b- 
 able that the most of the large supply shown 
 to have been at Drummond, found a new rest- 
 ing place at the fort which was then being 
 built at Amherstburg. 
 
 15 
 
 »Tmw?*|iiOtM»*HM»KS»R»ft»««***ilt»«*'^'»t-- 
 
114 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 It is not inipossiblcN however, even with this 
 view, tliat the two brass pieces shown in tlie 
 return of 1820. are now, and have been for sev- 
 enty years, at the bottom of Drnniniond bay. 
 They may liave been placed in a batteau, 
 and that may have been capsized; they may 
 have been dropped into the water by accident 
 whih» in the process of beinfj loaded on a ves- 
 sel. The statement that they have been 
 seen and then could not a^ain be found, is not 
 in itself improbable, since the action of the 
 waves at the bottom would uncover at one 
 time what they would cover (piite deeply with 
 sand at another. 
 
 There are few jK'rscms who. ridinj^ on the 
 waters of that bay will not involuntarily -ast 
 their eyes with peering jAaze into the depths 
 in the hope that a glimpse of the brijjht brass 
 pieces may be caught, and thus add a slight 
 romance to their lives. 
 
 4 
 
of Dninnnond Island. 
 
 115 
 
 XII. 
 
 More than to any other point which had been 
 in dispute between P^n^hind and the United 
 States, the Itritish clunp: with greatest tenac- 
 ity to the countries adjoininjjf tlie straits of 
 Macldnaw. A tirni foothokl there, seemed to 
 them tlie key to the whole nortliwest territory, 
 if not indeed, to tlie lands to the southward 
 bordering on the ^Mississippi. They had 
 brought themselves to believe that the control 
 of the Indians on the American ((mtinent was 
 not only neces^5ary to them, i)ut to the Indians 
 as well. This was no dream of those who rep- 
 resented the government on this side of the 
 ocean; it was the settled purpose of the home 
 government, as shown by the orders whose 
 high official ch.iracter was attested by being 
 dated simply, "Downing Street." 
 
 The aim of the British government was then, 
 as it has always been, to "further the interests 
 of trade." Kum, nuniey and blood were ever 
 ready to aid in the accomplishment of this end. 
 
 4 
 
 V ±_ 
 
I 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 116 
 
 British Ovcupation 
 
 Anv plan which had thiH in view found a ready 
 heaiin}-. The trade in fnrs liad, nnder tlie t<»s- 
 terinfi ea»T of the {jovernnient. reached enor- 
 mous jtro}»(»rtions. and it was not to be tliouj^lit 
 of tliat it should l)e in any way alnidj^ed. To 
 their minds the existence of the fur trade de- 
 ]>ended on the indians. They had not compre- 
 hended the fact that a white trapper would 
 nnike a much larj-er catch than the averaj^e 
 indian. Uut even if they had appreciated that 
 fact, as well as the other fact that indian hunt- 
 ing' meant the extermination of the fur bearing 
 animals, yet indian liuntinj"' was still neces- 
 sary to the "interests of trade." The white 
 trapper must be i»aid for his ]>eltries a fair 
 ]>rice and in j-old. The indum, being tirst Hlled 
 with rum, scdd his furs for gaudy trinkets of 
 little worth, but at a high price. 
 
 It was for "the interests of trade" whi<h the 
 entire IJritish regime was intended to foster 
 and uphold, that an absolute control of the in- 
 dians by means, first of rum, and if that failed, 
 then by cannon, should be maintained. The 
 indians were necessary to them as a people 
 whom they could plunder at will. Hut in a 
 
 ! 
 
 + 
 
 t 
 
T 
 
 t 
 
 of Drummond IshnuL 
 
 117 
 
 Hcnsc they were lU'ccsssuy to the iiuliaus. They 
 had taujiht the red men to forsake all their 
 <rafts for procuriii};; food and elothinj?. and to 
 bny of them instead. They had tau^'ht tln'm to 
 devote themselves exchisively to fni- ^ather- 
 iu)?, and this had made them doubly deju !i- 
 dent. I'nder the teaching? of the Uritish. they 
 were rapidly losinji the art of clothin;" them- 
 selves, and in li*Mi of the warm and serviceable 
 pirments which they had formerly made from 
 furs and skins, they had come to need the cloths 
 of lU'itish manufacture, which "for imrposes of 
 trade" were made as cheaply as jjossible. The 
 makinjj;- and use of the bow and arrow were 
 amon^ their lost arts, and in order to hunt, 
 they must buy from their loving' IJritish 
 friends, the necessary jiiins. powder and le-.id. 
 The Kritish, fidlowinj? the example of the Thi- 
 listines of the times of Sampson, who did not 
 allow the Israelites to have a blacksmith 
 amonfi them, but comi>elled every nnin who 
 needed to have his iron tools repaired or sharp- 
 ened, to Ko to a Philistine mechanic for the 
 needed service, sold the Indians the ne<essary 
 tomahawks, hatchets and axes, but compelled 
 
 •«*i™*j™tC(5«l*i.Bi**|.» 
 
118 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 them to visit a Biitish post to have them sharp- 
 ened. If the guns which they had sold them 
 needed any repair, as was too often tlie case, a 
 journey must be made to a Hritisli post, where 
 a bhicksmith, who was also a gunsmith, was 
 kept on government pay and rations to render 
 this assistance, but for which the indians paid 
 many times its value. 
 
 The arts of civilization which the British had 
 with such care taught to the indians, were only 
 those which were expected to make them de- 
 pendent, and by means of tiiat dependence, 
 their servants. While they used every effort 
 to quell and avert wars among the several 
 tribes, they did so not from any ])rinciple of 
 right or humanity, but because tribal dissen- 
 sions lessened the annual catch of furs and in- 
 terfered with "trade" which, as carried on 
 under the British regime, was more villainous, 
 and fraught with as great atrocities as the 
 sack and jiillage of towns by marauding chief- 
 tains. Having made s<'vvants of the indians 
 by the use of threats, cajolery and rum, they 
 brought them to tight their battles; the light- 
 ing done, they repaid them for their faithful- 
 
 „ 
 
 ii 
 
of Dniwmond Island. 
 
 119 
 
 «^? 
 
 ness, wounds, toil, loss of rvlativos and hunt- 
 ing grounds, with showy medals of cheap metal 
 and of little value, and filling them once more 
 with rum, sent them again to the gathering of 
 furs. 
 
 The only question upon which the Prince Re- 
 gent was urgent, in his dispatches relative to 
 the evacuation of Drummond island, was that 
 arrangement should be made such that the In- 
 dians who lived in United States territory, 
 should have some point in his dominion which 
 should be satisfactory to them, where they 
 could repair for their annual dole of presents. 
 Iklackinaw island had been lost to the British 
 as the result of war; Drummond island, as they 
 deemed it, had been lost by the failure of their 
 commissioner under the treaty to properly de- 
 fend the rights of the crown. This latter loss 
 seemed to them an injustice. In leaving there, 
 it was not the being deprived of a i>articular 
 spot or a certain number of acres, that galled 
 the British government, but the necessary re- 
 moval from the very essential nearness to the 
 Indians whicli rendered it easy for them to 
 visit fre(iuently and receive the careful teach- 
 
120 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 'm\rn of the ofticers detailed for that tniHt. They 
 could not brook the idea that the indiaiiH whom 
 in the treaty tliey had n^liuiiuished, were not 
 yet their care, and i<- some extent their prop- 
 erty. When the departure was finally made, 
 it was arranj^ed that such of the Indians as 
 could, should visit Amherstlnirf>; for their pres- 
 ents, and the others sluMild ;;(> to IVnetan- 
 jjjuishene. 
 
 All durinj;' the occupation of Drummond 
 island, the United States j;<>vernment, knowinji,' 
 full well that until the Indians were estoi)p;»d 
 from visitinjj'the JJritish jjoss there would l)e 
 no such thinj>- as (juiet residence and behavior, 
 had used every endeavor to jiacify them, and 
 General ('ass was em]>loyinji his {greatest skill 
 in weaninjf them from their llritish alle}j;iance. 
 It was not without just cause that he had fre- 
 (pient occasion to comjdain of the liritish in 
 this rejjard, and to remonstrate a};anist their 
 course in drawing; from the refjious far in- 
 land front the boundary betwi^Mi the coun- 
 tries, a. traveling;- horde of savajies to ]»ilfer and 
 beji,' from the settlers, and terrify the wonum 
 and (hildren aiony- their route; a pestiferoiis 
 
 u 
 
of Drummond Island. 
 
 121 
 
 nuisance which the later generations cannot 
 well appreciate. 
 
 But to the protests of the United States the 
 British authorities paid little hi^d in fact, al- 
 though at times using smooth words in pallia- 
 tion of their defense. So firmly did they cling 
 to their hold upon the Indians, that as late as 
 1840, eighteen years after they had been finally 
 ousted from tlieir last foothold on United 
 States territory, and the giving of presents to 
 them had at last been stopped, George Iron- 
 sides, Sui)erintendent of Indian affairs at Am- 
 herstburg, wrote to his superior advising that 
 the indians were yet true in their loyalty to the 
 British, and that he had a well considered plan 
 for again nuiking soldiers of them against the 
 United States. But, he said, it would be neces- 
 sary as tlu' first step in these operations, to 
 seize again the straits of Mackinaw and the 
 contiguous territory. 
 
 Prior to this latter date, however, the sweet- 
 ness had all been extracted from that thereto- 
 fore hiscious fruit. The indians had been deci- 
 mated by the poison of British rum, and the 
 yield of furs even to the persiskmt hunter, had 
 
 16 
 
122 
 
 British Occupation 
 
 dwindled to very modemte propcvtions. By 
 de-rees, the British traders, shorn of military 
 protection, had btn^n coniined to the rej,n„„s 
 east and north «yf Lake Superior, and the com- 
 panies wliich had accumulated vast wealth m 
 the fur trade, were rrumblinj? on their tinancial 
 f(,un(hiti«ms. And yet this typhal son of 
 Britain longed asain to seize the waters con- 
 necting the great lakes, plant there on the 
 shores the Hag of the realm, and sumnuMi the 
 few duskv braves who had withstood the blight 
 of British friendship, to engage in ritte prac- 
 tice against the people of the United States. 
 Their dream of supn>macy on the American 
 continent seems to have vanished but slowly. 
 Driven from .me point, they retreated sullenly 
 to another, and only retreated farther when 
 there was no other alternative. 
 
 The occupation of Drummond island was but 
 (me of the small episodes in tlH> British dream 
 of continental ccmtrol, but an episode whi.h 
 cost them th.msands of pounds sterling m 
 funds, deeper chagrin than if they lu.d obey.-d 
 the tivaty agreement at the outset, and 
 
 " 
 
of Drnmmond Island. 
 
 123 
 
 bnmjjht in return no added glory to their pres- 
 tige or their arms. 
 
 <■' 
 
 The antiipiarian, or the h)ver of the roman- 
 tic in nature, who wouhl visit the scenes and 
 phices sketched in the foregoing i>ages. may 
 lind his way thither, in tlu-se hiter days, with 
 ease; indeed witli ])ositive comfort. Any of the 
 steamship lines whose vessels wend their way 
 through the devious channels of the St. 
 :^lary's river will land a pilgrim to the wilds of 
 Drnmmond at the docks at Detour, the port on 
 the main land directly oitposite the spots he 
 seeks; from then«-e. either by small boat and 
 oars wielded by sturdy arms, by fishing smack 
 with wide distended sail, or by steam yacht, 
 he may be placed on the shores so long held by 
 the soldiers of the King, in contravention of 
 the stipulations of the treaty and the ecjuities 
 thereunder. As he stejis on tlie rocky shore, 
 he will be greeted most hospitably, and the 
 
 - " I Mirr 1 1' 'ih JrL'i- L it t: i i i n t: ir tO: r 
 
 -ISML ^ ^ :. 
 
124 
 
 Drummond Island. 
 
 hours, or days, or weeks which he may linger 
 there, will be a season of continuous delight; 
 and he will carry thence, memories more pleas- 
 ing than often remain as the legacy of a sum- 
 mer outing. 
 
linger 
 light; 
 pleas- 
 sum- 
 
 
1 
 
 ) 
 
J, 
 
 ) 
 
 9T7.il/ c^^ 
 
 V 
 
 
 ' ■hsi- 
 
 '% 
 
 
 ;>f> 
 
 i. i»r«f "s«ei:cc5f>t'JiTq'cB«-,fa5iSt 
 
KEY 1 
 
 a 
 
 OpenBreostm^fort. 
 B/och House.. 
 
 b. 
 
 c. 
 
 CommandanthHoust. 
 
 d. 
 
 Barracks. 
 
 e 
 
 dtorc House. 
 
 t 
 
 Hospital. 
 
 q OtficerSQuarters. 
 n. Commissary Huts. 
 
 1 
 
 GmrnmentDocAs. 
 
 J 
 
 Cemetery. 
 
 k. 
 
 Stable. 
 
 1. 
 
 DiglneeriQiatrs. 
 
 m. 
 
 BaHe House 
 
 n. 
 
 Dmllln^SfOff'ices. 
 
 0. 
 
 CommissarjCellar. 
 
 P 
 
 Govt Forge. 
 Parade Ground. 
 
 9 
 
 r 
 
 PrivateBuildings. 
 
 s. 
 
 MillerjBreastWHs. 
 
 Map 
 
 or THE 
 
 South -West Point 
 Of: 
 
 RUMMOND Island 
 
 .atlOWING 
 
 British Occupation. 
 
 IBI5— 1828. 
 
 //a 
 
 \ 
 
 PoRTAQt 
 
 <? 
 
 H;^ 
 
 ■/// 
 
 Wa'^ 
 
" .anuwiNU 
 
 Britism Occupation. 
 
 1815—1828. 
 
 Compiled 
 
 FROM 
 
 Old Maps oftme Time. 
 Records • 
 
 AND 
 
 Letters of Commandants 
 
 TO 
 
 Headquarters 
 
 "SCALC-.