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 ■ 41 4 (5 5 S^. Xf4> 
 
 RKMAN CLUB PUBI^ICATIONS 
 
 No. 11 
 Mii,WAUKEE, Wis., February 10, 1897 
 
 Pere Rfne Menard 
 
 The Prkdkckssor of Ai,i,oubz and Marqubtte in the Lake Superior Region 
 
 HENRY COI.IN CAMPBELL 
 
 Printed for the Parkmnn Club by Edward Keogh. 
 
 BlBLIOnitoUF ' 
 
 Phi LEAS tSAGWOM, 
 QUlfBECCANAOA. 
 
1 
 
 1 
 
'- 
 
 PERE RENE MENARD 
 
 The Preduckssor ov Ai^i<oui;z and Marquette in the Lake 
 Superior Region. 
 
 Rene Menard [i], a native of the gay capital of France, at 
 that time the metropohs of the world, was one of the men, not 
 a few in nnmher, who in the seventeenth century added lustre 
 to the Roman Catholic priesthood, particularly to the Order of 
 the Jesuits, by the devotion and the heroism which they dis- 
 played in bearing the cross to the most distant parts of North 
 America — beyond the country of the Great Lakes, dow^n the 
 Mississippi River, and even to the frozen, desolate region of 
 Hudson Bay. 
 
 Five years before Claude AUouez first saw the greatest of 
 fresh water seas, Menard had preached upon the shore of Lake 
 Superior, and for nearly five years before Marquette set foot 
 upon American soil, the bones of Menard had been whitening 
 in a Wisconsin forest, where his ashes lie now, in a nameless, 
 undiscoverable grave. 
 
 Menard was born at Paris on September 7th. 1605. [2] 
 His youth was devoted to learning, for we know that 'Mi 
 November 7th, 1624, when he entered the Jesuit Order, he had 
 alreadv completed his classical studies. LTis novitiate, cover- 
 iii^i: a period of two years, was spent in his native city of Paris. 
 
 I 
 
 [1] Mesnard is the way the name is generally spelled In old histories. 
 Menard himself sometimes used the Latin form, Renatus, of his baptismal 
 name. 
 
 121 For authentic data ubout llie early life of iM^naril, data now pub- 
 lished in Knglish for the first time, I am indobted to the Rev. Camille do 
 Rochemontoix, superior of ilie Jesuits at Versailles, Prance, and to tli" 
 Rev. vrthur 10. Jones. S. J., of Montreal, (^anada. In a work entitled 
 •'Les Jfsuitcs et la Nouvelle-France," written l)y Rochemonteix. anil 
 recently pulilished in three vohimes at Paris, there is much hitherto 
 unpublished information about Menard and tlie other Jesuit missionaries 
 to New France in the seventeenth century. 
 
I'ERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 Ill the month of October, 1626, he was sent to the college which 
 Henry IV. had founded in 1607 at La Fleche, an institution 
 which at that time was conducted by the Jesuits, but which 
 to-day is a government military school for the sous of French 
 officers. At La Fleche, Menard spent three years, studying 
 philosophy and the sciences. In the month of October, 1621;, 
 his superiors sent him to teach Latin at the Jesuit College of 
 Orleans, an institution now used by the government as a 
 lyceum. From the city of Orleans he was sent in (October, 
 1632, to the Jesuit I'niversity established at Bourges. This 
 building has since served as barracks for cavalry horses, and it 
 is now a government academy. At Bourges Menard devoted 
 four .-ears to the study of theology. It is an interesting fact 
 that Menard not only distinguished himself in theology and in 
 philosophy, but that he stood high in literature. His course 
 in theology completed, he taught /)f7/f,s' Irftre/i for one year and 
 rhetoric for two years, at the college of Moulins. Then came 
 tiie concluding year of prayer and retreat, whicli he spent at 
 Rouen in a house of probation conducted by his Order. 
 
 Menard, after taking the final vows of the ( )rder, soon bade 
 farewell forever to his native land. Late in tlie month of 
 March, 1640, in company with another Jesuit father. Joseph 
 Duperron by name, and two lay brothers of the Order, two 
 Sisters of Mercy and tw(j Ursuline nuns, Menard, in obedience 
 U) orders, took passage at Dieppe for Quebec. His vessel, 
 named "rEsi)erance," was detained in the roadstead off Diep])e 
 from March 26th to April 28th by storms which raged with 
 great fury. After narn)wly escaping shipwreck on that coast, 
 as well as capture by English frigates which were hovering in 
 those waters. 'TEsperance" had a ])leasant voyage across the 
 Atlantic, and cast anchor at Tadoussac, on the lower St. Law- 
 rence River, on June 30th. Menard and l)omini(|ue Scot, one 
 of the Jesuit brothers, embarked in a long boat t(j carry the 
 news of the fleet's arrival — there were two vessels besides 
 
PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 3 
 
 "ri"'s|)crancc" — to the few luindred people who at that time 
 dwelt upon the Iieights of Quebec. They reached Quebec ou 
 July 8th, and the safe-coming- of the fleet was the occasion of a 
 7'r DvHwi w the church which had been built in the midst of the 
 loj^r cabins comprising the frontier town. 
 
 After spending a year in the study of the Algonquin lan- 
 guage, Menard, accompanied by Paul Ragueneau, another 
 Jesuit father, and by six canoes filled with Indians, started for 
 the country of the llurons, who lived between Georgian Ba\ 
 and Lake Simcoe. The priests had not gone far upon their 
 journey to the Hurons when they met some Indians who 
 warned them that the dreaded Iroquois lay in wait along their 
 route — the Ottawa, Mattawan and French Rivers — and the 
 l^riests returned to Quebec for reinforcements, which were .lot 
 readily furnished. They were on the point of making an 
 attem|)t to reach the Huron country, regardless of the danger 
 involved, wlien news came that the Iroquois had dispersed. 
 I'pon hearing this, the priests reentered their canoes and 
 reached their destination in safety. 
 
 It was during this year (1641) that Jogucs and Raymbault, 
 two .noted members of the Jesuit Order, went as far west as 
 what is now known as Sault Ste. Marie. Raymbault had no 
 sooner returned from this voyage than he, with Menard, 
 started from the Huron mission to instruct the Nipissing 
 Indians, whose country lay between tlic Ottawa River and 
 Georgian Ray, but a tempest which swept Georgian Bay 
 forced the priests to return to their starting point, and ice 
 which soon formed prevented a second attempt that year to 
 reach the Nii)issings. A short time afterward Raymbault fell 
 sick and the next year he died. In April, 1642, .Menard 
 finally reached the country of the Nipissings, Father Claude 
 Pijart accompanying him. 
 
 In the Jesuit "Relation" of 1644 we read that some Algon- 
 quins, persecuted by the Iroquois, had formed a village near the 
 
- V, 
 
 4 PERU RENE MENARD. 
 
 Huron mission of St. Jean-liaptisto, of which Father Antoino 
 I )aniol had charj^e. Menard, who had a fair command of both 
 the Huron and Al^onf|uin lan;L,niajj;'es, was assij^ned to this 
 Algontjuin mission, which was called Ste. ICh/.abelli. He 
 seems to have been very successful in this field, for vvc are 
 informed that some of the Aljjonquins followed him from 
 cabin to cabin in order to hear his discourses. ( )ne of the 
 neophytes, upon being bajitized, took Menard's Christian 
 name. With these Algonquins there were jjrobably some 
 Nipissings, for in the "Relation" of 1644 it is stated that Pijart 
 and Menard followed the homeless Nipissings into the woods, 
 down the rivers, into the rocks and over the lakes, a rough 
 stone serving them as seat, tai)le and bed, while a cave would 
 be at once bed-room, kitchen, store-room and chapel. The 
 two priests remained with the Nipissings from April, 1643, to 
 September, 1643. 
 
 Little is known of the next twelve years of Menard's life. 
 He continued to labor in connection with the Huron mission, 
 however, until the fierce storm of Iroquois wrath burst, and. in 
 1649, swept most of the Hurons, together with some of their 
 missionaries, including the heroic T'rebeuf, out of e.vistcnce. 
 Menard, although in a dangerous ])osition at the time [3], was 
 one of the priests who returned in safety to the French settle- 
 ments. He took up his abode at Three Rivers, where, it 
 appears, he spent the next few years. 
 
 In 1656 Menard, still at Three Rivers, was assigned to the 
 Iroquois mission. During May of that year, in company with 
 Fathers le Mercier, Fremin and Dablon, the last of whom was 
 returning to that dangerous field of labor, Menard set out for 
 Onondaga, which he reached in July. With them were Capt. 
 
 [3] A letter from Father Tharles Garnier, preserved in tlie Archives of 
 the Province of I^yons, describes the death of Br^beiif and lialemant. and 
 adds: "The Fathers Mercier, Ohastelain, Mesnard, Pijart and Ragueneau 
 commend themselves particularly to your prayers." This letter was dated 
 at the Jesuit residence at Ste. Marie, in the Huron conntrv, April 27th, 
 IC-lSt. The writer of it was killed liy the Iroquois at tlic mission of St. Jean, 
 among the Petuns, or Tobacco Hurons, in the following December. 
 
 
/'AVvVf RENK MENARD. fi 
 
 Dupuis and his l*>cnch colonists. Soon the Cayu^as asked for 
 a niissionar\', and Menard, with Iwo I'renchincn, was sent to 
 their ca])ital. I'^athor Ciiauinonot accompanied tlieni to that 
 place and went still farther westward to the Senecas, to found 
 another mission. 
 
 Amonj4' the L'ayui.,^as Menard was in constant danfjer. In 
 1657 he wrote to his superior: "We walk with our heads 
 u[)lifted in the midst of dangers, through insults, hootings and 
 calumnies. I'.randishing hatchets and knives, the savages 
 often run after us to put us to death. Almost daily we are on 
 the point of being massacred." He added that it was a com- 
 mon thing for him to see men burned and devoured by the 
 Cayugas. lUit he labored on, undaunted and hopeful. Im-oui the 
 scene of danger he wrote to encourage his superior, informing 
 him that he alone, since the last year, had bajitized more than 
 400 of the captives who were held at the Cayuga village. 
 
 Late in 1657 came the discovery of the Iroquois plot to 
 mtirder the French missionaries and colonists. The story of 
 the Frenchmen's wonderful escape at night, in boats that had 
 been secretly made for the purpose, need mA be re-to here. 
 Suffice to say that Menard was anion}; the party which early 
 in the s|)ring of 1658 reached Montreal in safety. He became 
 superior of the Jesuit residence at Three Rivers. 
 
 THE AOED PRIEST SENT TO LAKE SITPERIOR. 
 
 Suddenl\- and unexpectedly a momentous sunmions 
 reached liim. ( )n the Kjtli of August, 1660, there arrived at 
 Montreal an Ottawa flotilla of sixty canoes, which bore, 
 besides their Indian owners, two Frenchmen named Pierre- 
 Esprit Radisson and Medard Chouart des Groseilliers, who, 
 on a voyage which had lasted a year [4], had explored the 
 
 [■n Radisson asserts in Iiis "Voyages" tliat iliirins' tliis same jo\irney 
 he anfl riiouart went to Hudson Bay. Tliis claim can har<lly ))p oredltefl. 
 
 For oritieal aecoiint.s of tlio nareers of these two pioneer explorei's, see 
 "American Historical Keview" for .Tanuary. ISM: Prnceedine-s of the State 
 Historical Society of Wisconsin for 181)5, and Parkman c'kil) Publication 
 No. 2. 
 

 
 PERE KENK MENAND. 
 
 smitli shore of Lako Su|>iTit)r, as wt'll as tmicli <.)f what is now 
 
 Xorthwi'Stcni Wisconsin and part of wliat is now N'orthcasti'rii 
 
 Mimicsota. It was (Hiickly droidi-d that two missionaries 
 
 shonhl rc'tnrn with thi'so huUaiis, aiul .Menard was one of thosi- 
 
 chosen. 'I'lic other priest selected was Charles Alhancl, who, 
 
 however, was destined to j^o overland to I hulson Hay before 
 
 seeinj; any part of the West. 
 
 Menard was now tifty-tive years of a^e. Ilardshij) and 
 
 excessive work had left their marks upon him. 1 lis attenuated 
 
 f<jrni was bent as with jj^reat aj^e. his hair was uiiite. and it is 
 
 said [5] that his face bore the scars of wounds which he had 
 
 received at the hands r)f the Cayuj^a children, lint old and 
 
 decrei)it as lie was, he possessed a lofty soul and a stout heart. 
 
 In a letter to a reverend friend, ])enned at Three IJivers at 
 
 J o'clock in the mornini;- of Aujj;ust 27th, i66(5, just a few hours 
 
 before iiis departure for Laki' .Superior, Menard, amonj;; other 
 
 things, said: 
 
 "1 write \()u probabl}' the last word and I (tesirc it to be 
 the seal of our friendship untcj eternity. * * In three 
 
 or four months you may put me into the .Memento of the dead, 
 considering the manner of living of these people, and my age 
 and weak constitution. Notwithstanding all this, I have 
 felt such a powerful attraction and have seen so little of nature 
 in this undertaking, that 1 can not doubt that I would have 
 had eternal remorse had I missed this opportunity. 
 
 "We were taken a little by surprise, so that we were unable 
 to provide ourselves with clothing and other necessary things, 
 r.ut He who feeds the little birds and clotlies the lilies of the 
 fields will take care of 1 lis servants. Should we ha])])en to die 
 f)f misery, that would be for us a great happiness." 
 
 Menard left Three Rivers ow August 28th. Resides 
 
 Albanel, Jean ( iuerin, a donne [6] of the Jesuit ( )r(ler, and 
 
 seven other I'renchmen started with him. While ascending 
 
 the St. Lawrente, between Three Ri\ers and Montreal. 
 
 r')! .Tolin (iilmaiy Slioa. in "Catliolic JHssions." 
 
 [01 Donnf's wore pious laymen who pave tliplr seivicps to llic work ol' 
 tlip .Tpsiiit missions. The most noted clonn^s wore K^ne Oouiiil, .lean 
 Ouf'iin and fJiilllaume roiitnie. 'I'he institutinn was peeiiliar l(j Ni'w 
 Fi'aiK'c. 
 
PER I-: REM-: MEN.IRI). 
 
 Mt'iiard nut I. aval, vicar apostolic of New I'Vaticc, afterward 
 tlif first bishop of (Juehcc. It was an inttTi'stinjf sceiu', that 
 tiK'ctinj,^ hotwein tin- ascetic, hij^h-iniii(UMl .Montmorency and 
 the hrave old missionary. 
 
 "l''atlier," said l.aval, "every consideration seems to 
 demand your stayinj^' here; hut (iod, who is stronjj^er than all, 
 wants you in those parts," pointinjj;' towards the West. \y\ 
 
 This farewell jjreetinji' was a ^reat consolation to Menard. 
 "I low often." he wrote afterward, as he sat in a rude shelter 
 on the shore of Keweenaw I'ay. "have I revolved those words 
 in my mind, amidst the torrent's roar and in the solitude of 
 our f^reat forests.'' 
 
 The ti()tilla ascended the Ottawa and Mattawan Rivers, 
 crossed Lake Xipissinj^- and descended l'"rench River to 
 Geor}.i;ian Hay. Thence the course lay west. They passed 
 Sanlt Ste. Marie and coasted the southern shore of Lake 
 Superior. 'Ko the aged missicMiary the journey was one of 
 uni)aralleled hardship. The Indians, who near Montreal had 
 forced Alhanel to j2^o ashore and return to the settlements, 
 made ]\Ienar<l carry heavy packs over portages and compelled 
 him to paddle nearly all the time. They even, from super- 
 stitious fear, threw away his breviary, but in his baggage he 
 afterwards found another one. Once, after they had obliged 
 him to disembark, he had to make his way over frightful rocks 
 and ])recipices in order to overtake them, lie hurt his feet 
 and leg, which remained swollen and sore during the rest of 
 the voyage, especially as he had tcj jump into the cold water 
 many times in order to lighten the canoe. Food became very 
 scarce. Those were deemed well-fed who fomid a certain 
 
 '71 On Octolicr L".itli, lUiKi, l.axal widlc as follows to Popf Alf.\- 
 'Tliis sutiinici- a jiiicst of tlic Sook'ty of Jesus left for a 
 
 vol. 2.-|ii, p. 24 
 
FERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 moss [tripe tic rochc), which fjrew on rocks and of which they 
 made a black, sticky broth. Such as had 
 stcahliil\ ate iliciii, to apjjcase their hunger. 
 
 moose-skins 
 
 Till': WINTKK OF l()()0-()l t)N I,.\KE SUPERIOR. 
 
 After they had reached Lake Su])erior, the canoe in which 
 tile priest traveled was broken by a fallinja: tree, and he and 
 three Indians were al)andoned on the shore <A the lake. For 
 six (lays, so Menard wrote afterward [8], they lived on hlth\ 
 offal, which they scratched uj) around an abandoned lodge; 
 the\ made >oup of l)ones whicli they pounded fine, and even 
 picked u]) earth saturated with the blocjd of animals that had 
 been killed some time liefore. ( )ne of them constantly 
 watched the slic^re to 'leg food of Indians passing in canoes, 
 and Menard says that they would have perished had they not 
 got some slices of drietl meat from one of these parties of wild 
 boatmen. At last some Indians, more kiml than the others, car- 
 ried iheiii to the place of rendezvous, a large bay on the south 
 shore of Lid<e Superior, a hundred leagues from Sault Ste. 
 Marie. All authorities agree that this was Keweenaw [g] Bay. 
 In the first jilace. it is approximately a hundred leagues from 
 the Sault to Keweenaw Bay. meandering .'ne little bays an*i 
 capes along the shore. In the second place, Allouez has 
 recorded that in 1665, while hewas on his way to Chec|uamegon 
 [10] Bay, which is the only other large bay on the south shore 
 of Lake Superior, lie jiassed the ba\ where Menard had 
 wintered. It was on St. Theresa's Doy, therefore October 
 i^th. that Menard arrived at Keweenaw Bav. The exact 
 
 IS) ••Relation" of l(i(>4, |). 3, Qucliec edition. A very complete narrative, 
 translateil Into HnKHsh from the "Relations," of Menard's experiences in 
 I he hake Superior lefjion is contained in R(\-. c'liryostom Verwyst's 
 •.Missionary Laliors of Fathers Marquette. Meiiai'il and Allouez." 
 
 |!<1 (V,rriiidion of •'l<akiweonan, a Ohippewa word meaning- "I cross 
 a point of (and by boat." 
 
 110] A corruption of jaKawainikoiiK, a Chipjiewn word meaniiiK a lon^^r, 
 narrow strip of land n!;^nin^ out into the water. 
 
PR RE RENE MENARD. 
 
 ])lacc wiuTc lie spciil the winter is probablx' Old X'illat^e Pi)iiit 
 f I i], seven miles north of the present town of L'Anse. 
 
 A dreary winter it proved to he. Treated harshly by a 
 chief whom the I'Yench called Le Brochct [12]. Menard took 
 up his abode in a hut of fir-tree branches, his sole refui^e from 
 the rigors of a Lake Superior winter. Privation continued 
 to be his lot. Me ate the remains of fish, and also the pulver- 
 ized bark of l)irch and whitewood. either boiled in water in 
 which a fish had been cooked or else mixed with fish-oil. 
 Acorns were devoured with relish by him and his companions. 
 In the face of all this bodily discomfort, Menard ceased not to 
 labor for his church. He ba])tized a number of dyinj.;- infants 
 and converted fifty adult Indians. 
 
 Some time before this the Tobacco Hurons. after fleeing, 
 from the wrath of the Iroquois, first to Mackinac, thence to 
 the islands of Green F.ay and later to Lake Pepin, on the Mis- 
 sissippi River, had reached the headwaters of the P)lack River 
 in Wisconsin. Among those po ^r Indians were some who had 
 been baptize<l in their native country and these now implored 
 Menard to visit them, assuring him that their countrymen 
 would embrace his faith if he would go to them. [13] 
 Menard, who had previously become discouraged by the vice 
 and obduracy of the Indians at Keweenaw Ray, gladly 
 embraced this new opportunity to do good. He took the 
 ])recaution. however, to send three young Frenchmen to the 
 village of these Hurons. with directions to report to him con- 
 cerning their condition. These young Frenchmen returned to 
 Keweenaw Rav abox'.t^ the middle of June. 1661. Idiey had 
 found the Hurons in a starving condition and they endeavored, 
 but in vain to dissuade the missionar\- from attempting the 
 
 fn] Thi.« was tlio opinion of tlit> latp Rev. lOilward Jackor. the learnoil 
 .•intiqiiarian who discovered what are siiiiiioseil to he the liones of 
 .Manniette, i-ellcs that for the most part now re|)0se in ^rar'luette rollep:e. 
 Milwaiiliee. 
 
 ri2) Tlio Frencli synonym foi- "Uinoje," the ("hippewa word for pil<e 
 or pickerel. 
 
 ri3] ■•Relation" liiC), p. 21, (jueliec edition, et sec). 
 
10 
 
 PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 journey, which they pronounced perilous, ^lenard chose a 
 French armorer, or blacksmith, to accompany him, and with 
 some Hurons who had visited the bay to trade with the 
 ( )ttawas, on July 13th he set out for the Huron villag-e. [14] 
 
 The details of his last voyage, derived principally from the 
 "Relation" of 1663. are meager. The Hurons soon abandoned 
 the Frenchmen, and, nearly a month after the date when he 
 left Keweenaw Bay, !^lenard got lost while walking around a 
 rapid and was seen no more of men. ITis companion, after 
 trying in vain to find him, proceeded to the Huron village, 
 and engaged a Huron to go in search of the ])riest, but the 
 young Indian had not l)een gone more than two hours when 
 he returned with the exciting news that he had met "the 
 enemy." ])robably meaning the Sioux. In the uproar that 
 followed, the search for the missionary was abandoned. A 
 short time afterward an Indian found the priest's bag. but per- 
 haps fearing that he might be accused of murder if he 
 admitted having seen the body, he denied all knowledge of 
 where the priest had died. The "Relation" of 1663 also states 
 that vestments belonging to Menard were afterwar<l seen in an 
 Indian cabin, f'errot says that Menard's c(jm])anion. while 
 searching for the ]iriest. met a Sac Indian who was carrying a 
 kettle which the priest had taken (JUt of the canoe previous to 
 the portage; that the Sac Indian told the l'"renchman that he 
 had seen the priest's footprints, but had not seen the priest, 
 and that he had seen other tracks going in the direction of the 
 Sioux country. Perrot also says that some of Menard's vest- 
 ments were afterward found in the ])Ossession of Sioux Indians. 
 
 Not a little interest attaches to the identitv of ?\Ienar(rs 
 
 [141 Tlu' "Rflation"" ol' 1i;ii:!. p. 21, says that .Moiiaid slarliMl on .Iimc 
 1311), liiit Uiis is cieai'ly a misin-int for .tuly i:uli. as Iho tlii'ci' youiiK 
 KrciKiimi^n had liardly rotunied from tlio Hiiioii xillaKf liy .June IHlh, and 
 as .Menaril's last lettpr, \vhii'h bears the dato of .Inly 2nd, was vvvitten at 
 Kf'vvc'Miaw lHa>. Spp "Rplalion" of lf)fi4, p. fi. Hpsidos, the "Relation" of 
 IfiGS, inimedialely after nixinc: this wions date, says that Menard left 
 Kewei'iiaw I'.ay nine nionth.s after his arrival at that plaee. He arri\ed at 
 the Hay oetolier l.'ith, ItiGO; hy leaving for the llnron xilla^e .Tnly \\\\\\. he 
 would have spent just nine months at the Bay. 
 
PR RE RTNP: MENARD. 
 
 11 
 
 (kvoted companion during this toilsome and ill-fated journcv 
 into Wisconsin. John Gilmary Shea, Edward D. Ncill and 
 other historians have repeatedly stated that the priest's solitary 
 l'"rench escort was Jean (iuerin, the donne, who was accident- 
 ally killed the following year, and the statement has bec(5ine 
 accepted as history. Nevertheless it is clearly an error. 
 { iuerin was with Menard at Keweenaw, where he remained 
 alter Menard's departure for the village of the fugitive Hurons, 
 it being a French armorer, or blacksmith — which is probably 
 all that we shall ever know of him — who went forth on that 
 dangerous mission with Menard. The only original authority 
 on this question, it should be remembered, is the Jesuit 
 "Relation" of 1663, which states plainly that Guerin was left in 
 charge of the Ottawa church at Keweenaw Ray — a very desir- 
 able arrangement under the circumstances, as he would be 
 able to ])erform many of the duties which Menard had been 
 accustomed to discharge. Moreover, we find in the same 
 "Relation" a statement that when Guerin heard of the priest's 
 death, he desired to go in search of the body. Some tiiue had 
 thus elapsed between the ])riest's death and the time when 
 Guerin heard of it. ^Menard's companion, on the other hand, 
 became aware of the father's loss at the very time when it 
 occurrerl, and he tried to tiiid the living priest, not his dead 
 body. The same authority also informs us that Guerin did 
 not even carry oiU his i)lan to go in search of the body: instead, 
 and in consecjuence of Menard's death, he became established 
 as chief missionarx at Keweenaw P.ay. Moreover, there is an 
 explicit statement in the "Relation" of 1663 (p. 22) that 
 Menard's companion could not speak the Huron language, 
 and had to resort to gestures to make tlie priest's dire ])eril 
 known to the llm-ons, whereas, as is explicitly stated in the 
 same "Relation" li>. 23). G.uerin had served in the original 
 Huron mission, in Canada, where be nmst necessarily have 
 learned the Huron language, at least sufficiently well tf) enable 
 
 
12 
 
 PR RE RENE MENARD. 
 
 him to make himself understood in relatinj^ so simjiU' a fact as 
 his conipani(.)n's ^-etting lost in the forest. [15] 
 
 LOCATION OK THE HURON VII.LACE. 
 
 Menard and his companions started from the nei.o-hhorhood 
 of L'Anse. ( )n this point there is no dispute. There should 
 be no reasonable doubt as to the place whither they were 
 bound. Menard's avowed object was to seek the fu.q-itive 
 Hurons. Nicholas Perrot. who soon afterward spent many 
 years in the territory wliich is now Wisconsin, savs that the 
 FTurons had ascended the Black River to its source in order to 
 
 rini The portion of the '-Relation" of IfifiS (pp. 23 and 24) which rleals 
 with this question reads as follows in the original: 
 
 ■'O'estoit iin homme de Pieii, d'\ine eminente vertu, et d'nn zele tres- 
 ardent pour le salut iles amen, il s'estoit donni'i A nous afin de cooperer par 
 ses sei-\-i('es fl la eonversion des SamaEres. Pe fait aiir^s avoir accompaKne 
 nos I'f'res pres(|iie dans tons les (piartiers dii Canadas ot dans toiites nos 
 Missions, soit aiix Iroqnois, soit anx Hurons, aux Al)naquiois, et aux 
 AlKomiuins, dans de R-rands dangrers et de grandes fatipues donnant 
 partout des marques d'une sainclet^ tr^s-rare: enfin ayant este donnP pour 
 compaRnon au P^re Menard en oe dernier vovaffe, il est moi't dans ee 
 K-lorie\ix employ, sui\ant son bon Pere dans le Ciel. ai)r^s I'avoir suivy sy 
 loins sur la lerre; car il n'eut pas plus tost appris son mort, qu'il ne soiifrea 
 l>lus (|U'A fiuitter les Outaoiiak, parmy lesquels il avoit-est^ laisse, pour 
 aller chei'chei' le corps du Pere. 
 
 "Mais Dieu avoit-d'autres dessiens sur luy; il Testahlit comme Mis- 
 sionaiie en chef de cette pauvre Eslise qui navoit pas i)u jouir de son 
 Pasteur; ce ffit pai' le Baptesme (pi'il y confera ft plus de deu.x cents efans 
 (lu'il envoya hientost apr^s dans le t'iel, pour y couronner le P^re, d'un 
 beau diademe de ces petils predestinez. au salut et il la recherche desquels 
 il esloit mort. 
 
 "Apres qu'il cut ainsi bien emi)loic un Hyver, comme il faisoit un 
 voyage avec quelques Frani:ois, la pluye les ohligeant de mettre a terre, 
 Ht ('aire une maison de leui- canot, le ren\eisant sur cux; lors (|u'ils estoient 
 dessoubs, un d'eux remiiant un fusil, le <leclin lascha, et alia ilroit donner 
 dans le cosle gauche de ce bon Frere, (pii, i)our lors, estoil-en contempla- 
 tion de la I'assion ile Nosti'e Seigneur. Ce sent les paroles de ces Francois 
 (|Ul en onl fait le rap|ioi-t, et (pii le nornmoient FrSre it cause qu'il c'estoit 
 consacre a notre service: et puis ils adjoustent, (lue c'estoit son ordinaire 
 d'estre tousjours absorb^ dans Dieu. 
 
 "II tomba roide mort du coup, sans rien dire (|ue le nom de Jesu.s, avec 
 lequel II expira." 
 
 In "Le Journal des Jesuites," under August, 1(103, is this entry which 
 shows what became of the other members of M6nard's i)arty: ""The .^ith 
 returned those who had been thr(>e .\'ears atnong the Ottawas- nine 
 I'^renchmen went, and seven leturned. Father Menar and his man' .lean 
 Oucrin, one of our donnes, hail died; Father Menar the 7th or Sth of 
 August, l()(i], and Jean Guerin In September, 1S(;2." Menard's companion on 
 the journey to the Ulack River countiy, therefore, nqurned to the French 
 settlement on the St. Lawrence two years after the priest's death 
 
PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 13 
 
 escape- tn^ni tlio Sioux. [i6] The ( )tta\vas pushed farther 
 onward toward Lake Superior and appear to have stopix-fl for 
 so/no time at Courtes ( )reilles. The Hurons, who were cabin 
 builders. s])eedily estabhslied a viUage at tlie headwaters of 
 the Black River, where they remained several years. 
 
 It was from this point that the Ilurons sent for Menard. 
 The evidence to this effect is conclusive. It is stated in the 
 Jesuit "Relation" of 1660 (p. 12) that the two nameless explor- 
 ers wIkj spent part (jf the winter of 1659-60 in yorthern Wis- 
 consin found the Hurons at six days' journey from Lake 
 Sui)erior, meaning Chequamesfon P.ay. In the same "Rela- 
 tion" (p. 27) it is stated that the distance from Lake Superior 
 to the Huron villa,y:e was sixty leaj^ues. I-Vench lea,i,'-ues are 
 of course meant and hence the "Relation's" estimate is a trifle 
 more than 150 miles as we measure distance. The distance 
 from Ashland t<i the headwaters of the i'.lack River is ow\\ 
 about 100 miles, as the crow flies, but by Indian trail the dis- 
 tance would be nearly 150 miles — a little more perhaps if the 
 Courtes Oreilles route were taken. [17] It should be borne 
 
 n. fV'l ^'J'.*^ avoiient en connoissam-e (I'lino riviere qiron nomme la 
 mvu^ro ^oire; ils cnuerent dedans et, pstant anivf' lil ou ello prend «a 
 soiM-rc Ics Hurons y trouv^rpnt iin lion propro pour s'y fortifier et y 
 estalilir l.iir village. T>es Ontaouas ponsserent plus loin,' et mareh;5"rent 
 jiisqu an lac Sup^rieur et lix^rent leur demeure a OliaK-ouamilton "— 
 Perrot, 'Moeiirs et Coutumes." Taliban's Kdition, p. ST, 
 
 f .P"\,/" T^^y '''*^"*' *'^*''''' "'^'^'^^ ^^o ""ai's leadlnK from the lieadvvaleis 
 1. Vr'\ . '''^V ,,^'^'^''' '" ''^'' Vicinity of Cheqnameg-on Bay, K, I., rrciuha-t 
 o, Medford Wis., informs me that a half-breed named Charles Oorro onco- 
 told luni ol a trad which led from the vicinity of (^helsea to O^ema and 
 thence \v(>nt in a northeasterly direction to the Lac du Flaml>ean Reser- 
 vation, Rev, Ohrysostom Verwyst, O, S, F,, states that from T.ac' du 
 i'lanilieau a trad formerly led to Lake Sui)erior, at the mouth of the 
 .Montreal River, .Mr, Vniuhart states that another trail leil from tlie 
 headwaters of the lilack River, near Chelsea, northwesterlv to the Jump 
 Ri\er: down the north bank of the .Tumji River about foui" miles- thence 
 northwesterly aKain, crossins' the (^lippewa River at the mouth of the 
 I'lamlieau River, and thence rnnnins north to ("ourtes Oreill-s Rev 
 ( hrysostoni Verwyst informs me that a trail led from Courtes (Jreilles 
 whi>re he is at present servinp: as missionary, to Checiuameg-on T?av pass- 
 iiiR- Round Lake and Louk' Lake, The Courtes Oreilles route is un'douht- 
 pdly the one which Radisson and his companion took. This route mi;,rht 
 account lor th<> use of the term 'southwest" bv the author of the "K"Ia- 
 ton ol IIKIO in attemi)tinM- to indicate the direction of the llur.')n villase 
 from ( heiiuamcK-on Hay. (\iurtes Oreilles is probal)lv lh<' lake "-.ome 
 ei«:ht leasnes m circuit" which Radisson mentions, and where he stopned 
 lor some time. This is called Ottawa Lake liv the Indians, and there Is 
 ground lor lielievitiK ihal it was the home of the Otiawas bet«-. "'.n the 
 tinu' that they left the Ilurons at the headwaters of the I^lack River and 
 the time when Ihey settled at Chec|uamci,'on Hav, wh.ue Mie Ilnidtis 
 
 ^«m^SSbS 
 
14 
 
 PER]-: HKNE MEN.\Nn. 
 
 ill iiiiiid tli;it liiilian trails wcro i;ciK'rally laid out to avoid 
 obstacles to travel and to pass j^ood canipinj;; places, places 
 where the hunting- or the lishiii^-, or both, could be depended 
 upon. And it should also be borne in mind that in those davs 
 distanct' was not computed as surveyors or carto^ra])hers com 
 l)Ute it, but b\ the actual j^round covered. In a canoe men 
 could travel a certain number of miles on a lake, up a river or 
 down a river: and they could walk so many miles a dav throuf.jh 
 a forest country, their proj^ress varyin<4- according to the 
 stren.y;th and direction of the wind on the lake, to the char- 
 acter of the stream and of the woods. Each mode of travelini^- 
 had a standard, just as we today deem four miles a g^ood hour's 
 walk for an ordinary man. fuS] In those early days a dav's 
 joiu-ney was llu' basis u])(yn which they computed distance. 
 Therefore, in the "Relation," "six days' journey" and "sixty 
 leajjues" are really interchangeable phrases. Divide the dis- 
 tance by trail from Ashland to the headwaters of the lUack 
 River — it is 150 miles as those travelers of the sevetiteenth 
 
 nftorwiird icjoinoil tlicm. Railisson found Unions ii( tliis lakf, but it wos 
 iipiiarontly not tlicii- iilacc ol' alioilo, idi- Uadisson says that it was with- 
 out palisades, whoioas I'liiol (|). V7) states that tiicir village at ilio bead 
 wateis of the Black Uivoi-, wlicro Mt'Miard's scouts fouiiil llioin after 
 Uadisson liad letni-ned to Tlifee Fiiveis, was fortilied, .NFoi'-over, tlie 
 Huron village was sixty loa^iies fioni hake Superioi', while C'oiiiles 
 < >feines is hardly half tluit distance. 'I'he Hurons whom Hailii'Son fcund 
 at Courtes Oreilles were pet-haps a hiintinpr part.v. 
 
 flSl "Our me.ins of estimatinn' tlistances." says Schoolcraft in his 
 api)endix to the nariati\e of the exjiedition of 1.s:i2 to Itasca hake, "was 
 by time, corrected by reference to the rapidity of watei- and the streniLjth 
 of wind, compared with our known velocity of traxcliiiB in calm weather 
 on the lakes." 
 
 Instances that the earlx- tia\('lers estimated the actual distance trav- 
 eled, not the <listance by air line, are legion. The .Jesuit "Relation" of 
 liifiS s|)eaks of .Menard's ilyinR alone in the forpsl .")0(1 leagues from Quebec. 
 'Pile 'Relation" of MUT sjieaks of Allouez's havinR- traveled .")(Mi leagues from 
 tjuebec to ChefpuinieKon Hay. The "Relation" of lllTO speaks of a 
 mountain chain which extends from the St. TiUwreilce (tuU' to the head (d' 
 Lake Superior, a "distance of more than tiOrt leagues." 
 
 These estimates are approximately correct so far as actual traxdiiiK is 
 concerned— I'^at her Allouez, for instaiu'e, did travel about 1,L'.-iii miles, whieli 
 is the e(iui\alent of ."iDO French leagues, in order to reach C'lie(|uamet;,)n 
 I'.ay from Ciiiebec, but accordinp; to the map the distance is not nearly 
 so ureat. 
 
 >T(?nard. when writing from Keweenaw Ha.v, says that he was a hun- 
 dreii icaKues, or 2."ili miles, from Sault Ste. Marie, which is fairly corret t 
 whi'n the contour of the lake shore is followed, but an air line lietween 
 the t\vo |)oints would be oiil.v about I'.Ci miles Ioiik. In the "Relation" of 
 KltiT Allotiez estimates the distance from Sault Ste. Jtarie to (^he(|iiameg'on 
 Ray at ISO leasues, or 450 miles. The map scale shows that the distance is 
 about 325 miles. 
 
PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 15 
 
 c.nlury h.^urc.l it--l,y six .lays. tl,c nu.nl.u- thai it l,K)k f. 
 make the journey, an<l an avcrajre daily pro-rcss of twenty-five 
 miU-s is ealled for. This was probal)ly the average rate <.f 
 travel tllrou,^■h our forests in those early times: an<l moreover, 
 men fannliar with the eoimtry say that it would he a fair rate 
 of travel between Ashland and tlie headwaters of the I'.lack 
 River. [^0] 
 
 There is more evidence of this kind. We now know that 
 tile two i'renchmen already mentioned were Radisson and 
 Chouart. [20] Radisson. in his -'A^jyaffes." savs. after speak- 
 in.^- of his arrival at Chequamegon J]ay: "The men ff furons) 
 told us that wee had 5 great dayes' journey before we should 
 arrive uhere their wives weare." [21] To cover the distance 
 in five days would require an average daily ])rogress of thirty 
 miles, which could be made without great ditificulty. 
 
 Thus the estimates of the distance between Chequamegon 
 Bay and the Huron village agree perfectly with the actual dis- 
 tance by trail between Che(|uamcgon l'.a\- and the headwaters 
 of the Hlack River, while the estimates contained in the "Rela- 
 tion" and in Radisson's "Voyages" as to the time required for 
 the journey from Chequamegon J{a\- to the Huron village 
 agree perfectly with the estimate of modern woodsmen (jf the 
 time that it would take to go by Indian trail from Chequame- 
 gon Ray to the headwaters of the Black River. 
 
 But this is not all. An estimate in the "Relation" of 166,^ 
 (p. 20) of the length of Menard's journey. Keweenaw Bay 
 being the starting ])oint in this case, is identical, as we shall 
 see more in detail later on. with the actual distance from 
 
 I'.llis. all ot Ashland, and tho.v suhslantially agrfi.. 
 
 .ranmU-''^lk''V,n''''"-';jn.'l'.r /I""'"'', .<» "American Historical Review" lor 
 .jcUHiai.x INK), i)|). _'2,-22n: in I'rocceilin.us of t le State HHtorlcal Soeletv nf 
 Wisconsin for 1S!I.^, „,.. ini-ini;: Parkmnn Olul, Pnl.lication No k pp 21^^^^^^^ ^ 
 
 [21 I Wis. Hist. Coll.. vol. xl. p. 72. 
 
If 
 
 rkRE RENE MENARD. 
 
 Kov.nuuv l!ay. by the easiest and most direct n.„te in tin- 
 scnirce of tiie l!Iaci< River, whid, is near Clidsea. 
 
 MKNAKI.'S K()I;TK To TUK HURON \U.X.XV,V.. 
 
 -riK. valley nf tlie upper Wisconsin River is historic ,^n-ound 
 i uelve years l,efore johet and Marquette descended the lower 
 part ot the Wisconsin River on their voyage to a.id down the 
 •Mississippi River. Menanl. a^ed as he was. entered the Wis- 
 consin River at its very source an<l ro.le upon its waters for 
 many miles. Where now resoun.ls the buzz of the hnnber- 
 Mien s machinery were heard, in those far-awav davs the 
 solemn tones of the pioneer priest as he said mass "each" morn- 
 mgr. In that same forest-valley Menard .Ir^w his last breath. 
 
 The proofs in support of this position are conclusive. Thev 
 are as follows: 
 
 '■ It was the easiest and most direct route for Menard to 
 l^^'^^'- '" Indian times there was constant conmumication 
 i)etween Keweenaw l!ay and Lac XMeux Desert \22\ on the 
 hue that divi.les Wisconsin and .Vorthern Michi-an. In this 
 lake the Wisconsin River rises. In the f^rst half of the present 
 century, when the Lac X^ieux Desert Indians went to see 
 liarasa, the noted Catholic missiunarv. it was to Keweenaw 
 I'.ay that they directed their steps. Earlv white settlers found 
 on the nortli shore of Lac X'ieux Desert a trail that le<l to 
 Keweenau' I'.ay. This route was the common one between 
 those two points. It was easier travelin.^r over the trail than 
 iMva^to take either one of two very roundabout canoe-and- 
 
 ^^^^^^^n^.Z'^^^^^^ 'J.,|«/';;Hvo., r,.on, 
 
 Hiicl "KitiKKn" means a piece of e 'o„ii 1 m,i „ „n- .. "''.i moans old 
 iho namo was a Hearing on UielaweslXn '\'\''° ? '"^ °'''^''" "'' 
 ol Hhinohuulor wrlles me tlia whf^n hp 'tf, i, i T "^K"'' ,-^"'i" <"• '""'ran 
 toun.l on the island a <Mear nL w hiol, ev n ., n '':' . '''' '''*''^' '" l*^'''. •"' 
 very old. "^ciiiii^ wnitn e\ en at that time appeared to be 
 
 pro^i,^'';^"it.''^';;;;t';°-;;-{:f^J';'^^l-is.onc mtores, because In close 
 were (irst held in Wisconsf," °"^- ' ^'•'•^■''•'^« "f the Christian Church 
 
ri>RIi RENE MENARD. 
 
 i:::'!,;."";:;;"^" ""■'^ •^"' "^^" -'^-"^ ^-'"«. - -" 
 
 ^. Tl,e '■Relation" of ,66, slates that ,!„■ It„n„,s „|,„ 
 -tarted fro,,, Keweenaw Bav witi, the pries. •„„| 1 ;' -t 
 con,„a,,io„ soon abandonee, ,„en,, .heir' e.l:";: L ^^ I 
 
 h l|3 l,e r. e„chn,e„ .ocon.inne their jonrnev. Tha, XW I inrons 
 I -ioned .hen, during tl,e firs, s,a,e of .he jonrn th 
 
 he. een Ke,veenaw Bay and Lac Vieux- Hesert is indie 
 y .1.0 nse of tl,e word "soo„," by the fact tha. the p 
 
 1- co„,pa„,o„ waited fifteen days at a ,„A-. for H„rons\ 
 
 ..ever ca,,,e, and the,, fonnd „, >„„ ,„,e a s.na.l canoe <,„ 
 
 R.ver, winch nses on, of ,ha. lalce, tha, they lannched ,heir 
 
 ^■ The "Relation" of ,66,, describes Menard's jonrnev as 
 - one of a hnndred leas:„es, hein.„ .5. „,i,es „s w ,„ . „r. 
 .-.stance. Fro,n L'Anse ,0 Lac Vienx D6ser. hv 
 seventy n„ les, fron, Lac Vienx Desert down .he Wisco. si 
 RtvcMo .1. na...ra, crossin. place .„ .he headwaters 1 
 
 along th,s crosstng place ,0 the headwaters of .he Black River 
 ■s twen.y-five miles, makins a total of 260 n.iles for the entire 
 
 wlilfl, n,,cl,i „..ll Imve hpon nfn.i d.^lf^ V.^"^" ^"^ "^'""'it pinp plain" 
 ■<-B,on or Si„,-ee„„ Krver ,h„" ™ I ™;^P- ■■;■»'■,"" Mrpnm., , , "ho 
 
 ravfnos, Tl,l» llmlioi- lieli o'tomlo.IliSlf ,5/,. ,'"'>' J'"l' "I"!- I»"l« anO 
 ■V •■OS Dosori, iho .unaoe l>o -ominr 'o„ J ', "'," Sliiiecon nivor to S" 
 
 Imo ,,pxt hilorvooo,',. a, a iJoTl "-,„" ?> ",':' ° '*« '»"« m M6„art" 
 
 year^^^.a* "i\';t.--" La-, y.eux D^.e.t an.l IVAnse,-' writes Mr I o.v^ 
 from thei.. .etu^i^^lg '^1^<^^^'^^ ^ l^l^-- .j" v^^ t^^^^^;! 
 
 -TtTHSBW" 
 
18 
 
 PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 jf)iirney, wliicli corresponds as closely as could bo cx])ccte(l 
 to the "Relation's" estimate of the length of Menard's journey. 
 
 4. The "Relation" of 1663 states that the three younj,' 
 I'Venchnien whom Menard sent to the Huron village before 
 undertaking the trip himself, discovered, after they had started 
 back, that their canoe had been stolen; that they thereui)on 
 spent a day in making themselves a rough-bark canoe, such as 
 the Iroquois used in those days; and that they were fifteen days 
 in returning from the Huron village to Keweenaw Bay, as 
 they were "obliged to go «/> the river in retuniiiuf, whereas 
 they had gone (hirn stream in going to the I furon village." 
 It is thus aj^parent that the major part of their journey eitlier 
 way was by river, V>y the Wisconsin River route nearlv 
 two-thirds of the journey would be by river, doini stream in 
 going, and up stream in returning. No other route to the 
 Black River headwaters corresponds to th.is description. 
 Moreover, after allowing one day for the journey by land from 
 the headwaters of the Black River back to the Wisconsin 
 River, another day for making the canoe, and three days for 
 the journey from Lac Vieux Desert to L'Ansc. there would 
 remain, out of the fifteen days, just ten days, which is the time 
 that it would take them, in their comparatively clumsy canoe 
 and with the high water incident to early Jiuic, to ascend the 
 Wisconsin River to its source, starting at the crossing ])lace to 
 the Black River. 
 
 5. The same authority states that the young Frenchmen 
 tried to dissuade Menard from undertaking the journe\ from 
 which they had just returned, they urging "the difficulties (jf 
 the way by land ani' water; the number of rapids and water- 
 falls, the long portages, the precipices to be passed, the rocks 
 over which one must drag himself; the dry and sterile lands, 
 where nothing could be found to eat." Even in these days, 
 when the requirements of the lumbering interests have resulted 
 in a material improvement of the navigability of the upper part 
 
,: 
 
 rERE RENE MENARP. ,^ 
 
 "f "H- VVisconsin River, experienced boatmen, descending the 
 -.van., avo to n.al<e six portages if their canoe carri^ Hi^^ 
 '•••"' -" -- portages if their canoe he heavily laden [' 
 
 ^'- Menard, who left Keweenaw Uav [nlv i.th ,r . i . 
 is tl,er f n T^ '''''''^'' "^ '^''^' '^ '-^^-^'-""t for 
 
 tool e w '1 ''"'■' '" '^'''' ^^y^' '^"t t'^e journev 
 
 ast as the> conkl ,s very hkely what caused the Hnrons to 
 
 -Ion h„n and his French companion. Five days r 
 
 ' r the journey over the trail between Keweenaw Bay ani L 
 
 K„x ,s,,t leaves nnie days for the voyage down the VVis- 
 -"-n R.ver to the point where he lost his life, near the Ice 
 of crossn.,. to the headwaters of the Black River. This Z 
 ta.ice ,s r65 miles and to make it in nine days would require an 
 
 lescended the r.ver at a rate of more than twenty miles a day 
 •^ "...1-smnmer the current of the river is slu,,,^ish as far dovv^i 
 as K nnelander. The Frenchman had to do n.ost of the 
 paddhn,. Menard stopped each morning to say mass. Both 
 H' and tl,e hrenchman kept watch for the places where the 
 I Itirons who ha<l deserted them had bej,nm to portage. Their 
 progress, therefore, was necessarily slow. 
 
 7- The theft some time before of the three voung French- 
 men s canoe and the fact that they stopped a dav to make a 
 'H'w canoe show that they had left their canoe some distance 
 trom the Huron village and ha.l proceeded to that place by 
 
 oonE^t(^Ry!^^,.'-^r f2'^ '^^^^'^^^f\^%,!:^T '" t'---""^ the Wis- 
 otter Rai)ltls, just below Vj, .Ho mfo. L .-\i<''iill are in order as follows' 
 hawk l,ake: Fe , an I anUlt^ now ih «l!""''r°'^' ^''^"'^'•'^- J"«t I'^Iow Toma: 
 Hapi.ls and Ten-Jlile r4ni',l" %i'''L'''/'' "{ ^,'''}"i at Rhinelander; Hat 
 I'etween Hhinelande a id' ho' town of romnl"'^"i.^ Whirlpool Rapids, 
 ■'alls. an,l (irandlatlur H d %Uls Vnd Miir^vf^'^'S''' .?^'^^'''"°t'iP'' 1^"" 
 hawk and .Merrill The innlroi, ,' „f "" .'" • io«k Rapids, between Toma- 
 nearly two mills. '""^"''^ Portagre is around Cxrandfather Bull FMb. 
 
rr.RE RENE MENARD. 
 
 r 
 
 land; lor it llu'v had taken their caiujc to the llurnii vilUifff, 
 which they of course would have done if they had heen able to 
 padille all the way to that place, they could and would have 
 l)i>uj,dit another caiHX' with some of the trinkets which they had 
 witli tluni. thus saving' thetuselves considerable tinn' ami 
 trouble. The younj^j I'renchnien must have left their canoe on 
 or near the Wisconsin River, whence they went by land to the 
 Ifuron village. 'I'hese fa.ts possess especial sifi;nincance when 
 considered in connection with the circumstance that the route 
 which the young h'renchmen took in j'oinj;- to the Huron vil- 
 la,i;e was the one that Menard was following' when he became 
 lost in the forest. 
 
 S. Similarly significant art' the movements of ^^enard's 
 companion after it had become apparent that the priest had 
 gone astray. After searching for the priest, after firing his 
 gun as a signal, all in vain, the h'renchman proceeded to the 
 Huron village for help. I'.ut lie himself weiU astray, which 
 would not have happened had he not left the river; and he 
 went beyond the Huron village, which he would not have done 
 had lu' been descending a river upon which that village was 
 located. Moreover, the fact that an Indian whom he accident- 
 ally met led him back to the Huron village [25] also shows that 
 he was traveling by land. All these experiences undoubtedly 
 befell the I'renchman while he was walking from the Wiscon- 
 sin River to the headwaters of the l.^)lack River. This is one 
 (lay's journey, but he had spent some time trying to find 
 Menard, he had gone astray himself and he had passed beyond 
 
 [25] In a h'ttpr to niP under date of Febiuaty 12th, 1897, E. L. Urquhart, 
 a rcsldont of Taylor ("oiinty lor thirty yoars, makes this statement: 
 "About onc-lialf mile northwest from the village of Chelsea is a lake of 
 about a hunilred acres. It empties into the .Jump River. Imt the head- 
 watfis of the Hlack Kiver pass within eighty rods of it. When [ llrst saw 
 this lake in tlie summer of 1870, it was surrounded with hardwood timber, 
 and 1 thouphf then that it had been the site of an Indian village at some 
 eari.v day. I imagined that tht> ground lesemtiled a eorn-fleld. I eoidd 
 distinelly see th(> ap])earaiice of hills whero' the eoi-n had Ki'own. * * * * 
 I ha\-e at different times seen suidi places in the woods in tills ncu'thiM'n 
 country, where the corn-hills would show (|ulte plainly, though the timber 
 would he well uiown." This e\idence tends to show that in days Ions 
 since Kone Indians cultivated corn— we know that the Ifurons did— lU'ar 
 Chelsea. It is impossible, of cotirse, to locate the exact site of the Kur-on 
 village. 
 
 
rl 
 
 P^RE RENE MENARn. 
 
 : uliich facts aoc.uiit f..r lii. ..... ,.,,-„M,Lr ,„s 
 
 MLomi (ia> alter tlic (Iisappcaram-i- n\ his 
 .IKC'<1 miiipanion. 
 
 •''-■II'""" viM,„-c, which facts a..c,„„„ ,.„ ,,,» „„, „,a.-hi„„ his 
 
 Till! r,<ICAI.ITV Ol' MKNARD'S HUATII. 
 Itis.l..arll,,.,l II,.. |,„rtaRc,„ulK. \Viso„„sin Kiv.ra, which 
 
 '■• 'I- crs ,,f ,iH. niack Kivcr. l.iliKcn, i„.,„in„..,s res,,, 
 " .1 c .hscovcv ,hat early i„ ,l,c prcscu cc„„,rv a „-ail Icf 
 Ik- W,sc,.„s,„ Una- a. a „..i,„ „car ,hc „„„„h .„ ,hc Co > c 
 
 a|,| real, s so closely ,„ ,1,.. hcaclwaics of ,l,c lllack Nivcr 
 •■'"■' II':" tlHs trail cx,e,„l„l .o a poi„t near Chelsea. a,„l hh 
 l>"'..t .t crossed .he hca.l waters of .he IWack Ri er V 
 «l""- «'..I.TS firs. visi.e,l ,ha, region <h,ri,„. ,l,e prese,, ' 
 ".■>• .I"s .ra,l «as s.ili l,ei„« „se,l hy .he I„<lia„s. ,. Z^Z 
 est cros„,,„ place he.wcen .he two rivers .ha, co.,1,1 l,e f„„,„l 
 I was rca ly a portage trail, a„d India,, portaffe trails were 
 ways as ,l,rec. as possible. I. was „o, ....rcas^.tahlc. „ , 
 K- c,rct„„sta,,ccs, ,„ suppose ,l,a, this was ,l,e ,,.,11 which , 
 e sevcteenth ccntttry led front the Wisconsin Kieer „, 
 H„ron v,llaKc at the heackvatcrs of the Black River |<,1 
 
 II th.s he true, it was not far np the Wisconsin River fron, 
 •I e place where the trail to the Huron villaRe hegan that 
 Me,.ard wan, lered off into the woods. The fact that the 
 
 T i^ '"""^ '"=™"'' '"' <l-''»-->H™>. ..evertheles; 
 reached the Huron villaRe the second <lay after .l,e priest had 
 disappeared, is conclusive upon this point. 
 
 i,>'r,;r"„;t„";;rh',".frtCT;v°'iH' "'^~ 
 
 11... w,,c„n„„ iiiv5?'i^s'i''^° ,;;''>? «S';, '''.;!'?'■'' ?;>■<■■■ norn ?,,."„; 'i't 
 .j.w_,^.a, ,Ho „.„„ „„ ,'„ „;i;<';,?e??;,',:,"i. .Evaux^S",",',;,';;;:;.';.,';; 
 
 *''Mi»aw MBn H MB |n m 
 
22 PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 It is just as clear that it was at a rapid, not at a fall, that 
 Menard got lost. The "Relation" of 1663 (p. 21), speaking of 
 the join-nev made to the Hiiron village by the three young 
 Frenchmen whom Menard had sent ahead to reconnoitre, 
 makes a clear distinction between rapids and waterfalls. Ow 
 the same page, in speaking of the priest's death, it is exjilicitlv 
 stated that his companion missed him "at the end of a portage 
 around a rapid." 
 
 The statement in the same "Relation" that the rapid was 
 "difficult" and the fact that the two men I)ecame separated 
 indicate that only the priest took the portage trail and that the 
 I'renchman "ran" the rapids. On this point Perrot (p. 91) is 
 more explicit. lie says: "One day he [the Frenchman] found 
 himself in a rapid, which carried him along in his canoe. To 
 help him, the father took some of his baggage out of the canoe, 
 and did not take the right path to get to him. 1 fe got upon a 
 trail made by animals, and in endeavoring to get back to the 
 right path, he got entangled in a labyrinth of trees and went 
 astray. The Frenchman, having jiassed the rapids with great 
 difficulty, awaited the good father, and as the latter ilid not 
 come, he deteniiined to go in search of him." 
 
 The statement that the Frenchman found himself in a rajiid 
 which carried him along in his canoe shows that they were 
 still descending the Wisconsin River. It is also made clear 
 by this passage from Perrot that the rapid in question was one 
 that could be "run," though with difficulty; it was ?^ rapid 
 where a landing could be effected before the most dangerous 
 part of the descent was reached, and it was a rapid with a 
 portage trail around it. These clues, indefinite as they may 
 seem at first thought, nevertheless point with convincing 
 clearness to the place where Menard lost his life. 
 
 In itself no one of the three characteristics of the rapid 
 described by Perrot is particularly noteworthy, but, taken 
 together, they form a most significant combination. In a 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 (J 
 
PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 23 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 larj.e measure Whirlpool Rapids, thirty-six miles north of 
 Merrill, answer to Perrofs description, but the Frenchman, 
 after searching- for Menard and after ^ettini? lost himself, could' 
 not very well from Whirlpool Rapids have reached the Huron 
 villa^-e at the headwaters of the Rlack River the second day 
 after Menard had ^one astray. 
 
 Below Whirlpool Rapids, which are above any possible 
 crossing; place to the headwaters of the Black River, and above 
 Mosinee, too far below any ])ossible crossing? place to the 
 headwaters of the Black River, there is only one rapid, as dis- 
 tinguished from a fall, and that one rapid is in close i)roximity 
 to the natural crossing place to the headwaters of the Black 
 River; it is on.y a short distance above the old Indian trail 
 leading to the west, and it minutely corresponds to the rapid 
 described by Perrot. Its name is Bill Cross Rapids and it is 
 situated five or six miles above the mouth of the Copper River, 
 where the trail to the headwaters of the Black River left the 
 Wisconsin River. [27] 
 
 The portage trail around Bill Cross Rapids is al)out 
 twenty-five rods long. The trail runs now, as it probably dul 
 during the seventeenth century, along the west bank of the 
 river, this bank bJng somewhat low. The east bank is high. 
 Old residents of that region state that when they first saw Bill 
 Cross Rapids, the surrounding country was heavily timbered 
 with pine and hemlock. [28] In such a jilace a few steps in 
 the wrong direction, steps which it is always easy to take, and 
 one is literally swallowed u]) in the forest. Such undoubtedly 
 was the fate of Menard. He probably heard the shots tired by 
 his companion, but being without a gun himself, he could not ■ 
 
 [271 Bin Cross, vvlioso iiiinio tliosp lapids hoar, wr.s the son of a Cliii)- 
 pewa woman hy a I'^rciicli latlicr. and ho llvo.l for manv voars on an old 
 Indian oamp np proiind at tlio month of tho Now Wood Rl'vor, loss than a 
 rroon"'TfJ- "l^^t'Mf'. It is said that ho was odnoatod hy the Jesuits at 
 Northern Wisoonsin. ""'■"""'^ '^^^ ^^'^^ '^'^ '""'«»'^ "^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^v^y'"'"! In 
 
 K^ro^'t?, tiinhoV has'ap'pla'^ed ' '""" ""' ♦"" '^'"^^ '""•"'''' '''-'' ^""^ «'^^-°""- 
 
 r 
 
24 
 
 PERE RENE MENARD. 
 
 answer the signals. Moreover, in thick woods it is easy to 
 •".stake the place from which a shot is fired, and those well- 
 "leant signals may simply have increased the priest's 
 bewilderment. 
 
 Menard became separated from his companion about 
 August loth. He probably survived some time-perhaps five 
 days-as he had in his possession a piece of smoked meat about 
 the size of a man's hand. 
 
 As a rule, peoi)le lost in the woods soon become crazed 
 unless they find their way out or are rescued, but it is diffi- 
 cult to nnagine such a termination to Menard's noble life He 
 bad uiKlertaken that journey with a feeling that it wouhl result 
 '" Im death, .nd the end probably found him readv, willin- 
 even eager, to obey the final summons. 
 
 Such was the life, such the death, of this gentle hero-the 
 predecessor of Allouez and Marquette in the Lake Superior 
 region, the pioneer missionary to what is now Wisconsin. 
 
 HENRY COLIN CAMPBELL. 
 Milwaukee. Wisconsin, February loth, 1897. 
 
Vi5'irr-r;^-P.5!yp.^^»-'7-"- ■■*>* 
 
 t is easy to 
 
 those well- 
 
 1h* priest's 
 
 nion about 
 )erhaps five 
 meat about 
 
 )me crazed 
 
 : it is (liffi- 
 e life. He 
 ould result 
 ly, willinj^'-, 
 
 hero — the 
 - Superior 
 onsin. 
 
 ELL. 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
mk 
 
 PARKMAN CLUB PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 No. 
 
 1. 
 
 No. 
 
 2. 
 
 No. 
 
 3. 
 
 No. 
 
 4. 
 
 No. 
 
 5. 
 
 No. 
 
 6. 
 
 No. 
 
 7. 
 
 No. 
 
 S. 
 
 No. 
 
 9. 
 
 No. 
 
 10. 
 
 No. 
 
 11. 
 
 Nicholas Perrot; a Study In Wisconsin History. By Gard- 
 ner P. Stlcknpy, Milwaukct', 1S9,'). 16 pp. paper; 8vo. 
 
 Exploration of I-ake Superior; the Voyages of Hadisson and 
 Grosellliers. By Henry Colin Campbell, Milwaukee, 
 1S90. 22 pp., paner; 8vo. 
 
 Chevalier Henry de Tonty; His Exploits In the Valley of 
 the Mississippi. By Henry B. Legler, Milwaukee, 1896. 
 22 pp., paper; Svo. 
 
 The Aborigines of the Northwest; a Glance Into the Remote 
 Past. By Frank T. Terry, Milwaukee, 1896. 14 pp., 
 paper; 8vo. 
 
 Jonatnan Carver; His Travels In the Northwest In 17G6-S. 
 By John G. Gregory, Milwaukee, 1896. 28 pp., 1 plate, 
 1 map, paper; Svo. 
 
 Negro Slavery In Wisconsin. By John N. Davidson, Mil- 
 waukee, 1896. 28 pp., paper; Svo. 
 
 Elcazer Williams; His Forerunners, Himself. By William 
 Ward Wight, Milwaukee, 1896. 72 pp., portrait, and four 
 appendices, paper; Svo. 
 
 Charles Langlade, First Settler of Wisconsin. By Mont- 
 gomery E. Mcintosh, Milwaukee, 189G. 20 pp., paper: Svo. 
 
 The German Voter in Wisconsin Politics Before the Civil 
 War. By Ernest Bruncken, Milwaukee, 1S96. 14 pp., 
 paper; Svo. 
 
 The Polanders In Wisconsin. By Frank H. Miller, Milwau- 
 kee, 1896. 8 pp., paper; Svo. 
 
 P6re Ren^ Mfnard, the Predecessor of AUouez and Mar- 
 quette in the I^ake Superior Region. By Henry Colin 
 Campbell, Milwaukee, 1S97. 
 
 
 B. 
 
 IN PRESS. 
 
 George Rogers 
 
 Clark and the Illinois 
 
 Starkey, Dan. 
 Campaign. 
 
 Stickney, Gardner P.— The TTse of Maize by Wisconsin Indians. 
 
 IN PREPARATION 
 
 Bruncken, Ernest— The German Voter in Wisconsin Politics. 
 This paper will include the period of the Civil War. 
 
 Campbell, Henry Colin— Du Luth, the Explorer. 
 
 Davidson, Rev. John Nelson— Underground Railway Stations in 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Ciretjory, John G.— The Land Limitation Movement of 1848-51. 
 
 Kelly, Frederick W.— Local Government in Wisconsin. 
 
 La Boule, Rev. Joseph S.— AUouez, the Father of Wisconsin 
 Missions. 
 
 Legler, Henry B. — Mormons in Wisconsin. 
 
 Mcintosh, Montgomery E.— Cooperative Communities In 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Miller, Frank II.— The Huffalo In Wisconsin. 
 
 Starkey, Dan. B.— The Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. 
 
 Stickney, Gardner P.— Bibliography of Wisconsin History. 
 
 Wight, William Ward— Joshua Glover, the Fugitive Slave. 
 
 An index to the Club's publications during 1896 will soon be 
 issued. 
 
 Publication Committee- 
 ler and John G. Gregory. 
 
 -Henry Colin Campbell, Henry E. Leg- 
 
 The Parkman Club was organized December 10th, 1S95, for study 
 of the history of the Northwest. A limited number of copies of each 
 publication are set aside for sale and exchange. Sintjle copies are 
 sold at the uniform price of 25 cents, and the annual sul)3cription 
 (ten numbers) Is placed at J1.50. 
 
 Correspondence may be addressed, 
 
 Gardneh p. Stickney, Secretary, 
 
 427 Bradford Street, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 \ 
 
A