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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un saul cliche, i^ est film6 d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE HISTORY OF ILLINOIS AND LOUISIANA UNDER THE FRENCH RULE EMBRACING A GENERAL VIEW OF THE FRENCH DOMINION IN NORTH AMERICA WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF ILLINOIS BY JOSEPH WALLACE Counselor at Law Author of " Life of Colonel Edward D. nuker," etc History recommends itself as the most profitable of .Indies -T Cari. VLR CINCINNATI ROBERT CLARKE .^ CO 1S93 >^ 1 2413 |,jALLf\cGp' ('OPYRIOIIT, 1S9H, BY JOSEPH WALLACE. f PREFACE. •'No pericxl in the history of one's own country," says an elt gant historian,* " can be considered altogetlier unin- teresting. Sucli transactions as tend to illustrate the pro- gress of ittj constitution^ laws or manners, merit the utmost ivttention. Even remote and minute events are objects of a curiosity, wliich, being natural to the human mind, the gratification of it is attended with pleasure." With this conception of the interest and utility of his work, the author undertook to compose the following history. Much has been written and printed at different times (in State, county and general histones), respecting the French in Illinois and Louisiana, but it is mostly in an abridged or detached form, and one rarely finds any con- nected and consecutive view of the French domination, from its commencement to its close. Although the territory compnsed within the limits of the present State of Illinois was ruled by France for ninety years, it was never as a separate colony or province, but always as a dej)en(len{'y of either Canada or Louisiana. Ilencc, no history of Illi- nois, during that early period, can be considered complete, which does not embrace that of the Province of Louisiaiui, of which it so long formed a part. In the preparation of this volume the writer, without laying claim to what scholars cull origiuul research, has ex- * Robertson. (iii) IV Preface. 1 !'' amined every available source of information relating to his theme, so as to verify facts, reconcile or explain con- flicting dates and accounts, and render it as accurate and trustworthy as possible. No parade need here be made of the various authorities consulted and freely used by him, since they will be disclosed in the progress of the narrative itself. In writing Indian, French and Spanish proper names, the author has, as a rule, conformed to the received or- thography, though it is not always easy to determine just what that is, since standard writers still differ considerably in this particular. Among the early annalists there was no recognized rule, nor could well have been any, in regard to nomenclature, and therefore each writer was a law unto himself. This, together with the different geographical locations often assigned by them to the same aboriginal tribes, gave rise to more or less contradiction in their nar- ratives, which have been a source of perplexity to mod- ern historiographers. Although this work is primarily confined to the doings of the French in the Mississippi Valley, yet such a general view is taken of their transactions in other parts of the continent as to render it, in some measure, a corapendious history of the French Dominion in North Amei'ica. Without overlooking any important or familiar fact, the author has introduced much matter that will be new and curious to the general reader. In gleaning so wide a field, and in carrying the book through the press at a distance from his residence, he may have fallen into some errors and inaccuracies, but it is believed these will be found few in number and restricted to minor details. ^ It might be thought superfluous, at this time and place, Preface. v to descant upon the absorbing interest that must ever at- tach to that pristine period of American history of which we ^vrifce, hackneyed as it is. But the new and Strang^} ex- periences of the early explorers and colonizers of this con- tinent can never be repeated, and the record they made will stand unchanged for all future time. The Indians, too, who then peopled the sohtudes of our forests and prairies, have vanished never more to return, leaving behind them, as the only enduring vestiges of their presence, the names which they gave to the physical features of the country. " Their names remain, but they arc fled, For ever numbered with the dead." There are now no other new continents or large islands to be discovered ; all the habitable globe has been overrun ; and henceforth the business of civilized man upon it will be to possess, enjoy, cultivate and develop its marvelous re- sources. To the descendants of the pioneer French colonists in North America, and particularly to those residing within the great Basin of the Mississippi, the theme of this gen- eral narrative must have a peculiar and perennial attraction. In the daring and memorable achievements of their heroic predecessors, they may not only cherish a just and lauda- ble pride, but find solace and satisfaction for that inscruta- ble decree of fate, or Providence, whereby this vast, most fertile and favored region, was wrested from their grasp to ultimately become the geographical center of one of the mightiest, most enlightened and progressive empires on the face of the earth. In concluding theee prefatory observations, it re- mains for the writer to acknowledge his obligations, in the prosecution of his laborious researches, to the repeated kind offices of the intelligent and efficient librarian of the VI Preface. II ( ! ill Illinois (State) Historical Library, and also to the assistant librarian of the State Library. The copious and comprehensive index at the close of the work will be found very convenient for reference, and not without occasional use in elucidating the text of the history. Sprinofifld, Illinois, September, 1893. Pre s • i < I i 1 Inti CONTENTS. PAGE. Preface Ill CHAPTER I. 1497-1690. Introductoby Narrative; or, Discovery and Settlement of Can- ADA CHAPTER II. 1539-1671. Discovery of the Mississippi River, and of the Norte-wbst. ... 24 CHAPTER III. Iv3r?-1675. The Great River Voyage of Joliet and Marquette 45 CHAPTER IV. 1666-1680. La Salle and his Early Explorations yj CHAPTER V. 1675-1701. Father Louis Hennepin ■■"•••• 96 CHAPTER VI. " • 1680-1681. La Salle and Tonty ••...... 115 _ CHAPTER VII. : ' 1681-1683. La Salle's Exploits Continued ^ _ ,„q mm '* 1 ] f; 1 i I i.l .ii dl Mi I'- li ^11 Contents. CHAPTER VIII. 1684-1687. Last Great Enterprise of La Sallk 153 CHAPTER IX. 1687-1689. . Survivors of La Salle's Texan Colony 175 CHAPTER X. 1689-1712. Illinois as a Dependency of Canada I94 CHAPTER XI. 1698-1711. Permanent Settlement of Lower Louisiana 212 CHAPTER XII. 1712-1717. Louisiana under M. Crozat— Demise of Louis XIV 233 CHAPTER XIII. 1717-1723. ^ French Finances, and Law's Mississippi Company 249 CHAPTER XIV. 1718-1732. Lieutenant Boisbriant's Rule in the Illinois — The Natchez War 270 CHAPTER XV. 1732-1752. Louisiana Under the Direct Government of the Crown 288 CHAPTER XVI. 1742-1756. Progress of Events in the Dependency of Illinois 304 Contents. ix CHAPTER XVII. 1753-1760. The Mi.JOKABLE Seven Years' War 319 CHAPTER XVIII. 1760-1765. Indian Conspiracy and War of Pontiac 342 CHAPTER XIX. 1764-1769. Occurrences in Lower Louisiana 363,, CHAPTER XX. 1764-1778. Illinois under the British Domination .' 384 CHAPTER XXI. General Description op the French Colonists 404 Hi!' M •i\ I t HISTORY OF ILLINOIS AND LOUISIANA UNDER THE FRENCH RULE. CHAPTER I. i 1497-1690. INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE ; OR DISCOVERY AND SSTTLEMENT OF CANADA. The first Europeans to roach the shores of America were the Northmen, or Scandinavians, who, during the early *niddh.' ages, formed settlements in Iceland and southern Greenland. Thos^e hardy and daring sea-rovers grac ady extended tiieir voyages westward from Green- land to the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, and, by the beginning of the eleveutli century, appear to have es- tablished themselves on the rocky shores of New England, about Massachusetts and Narraganset bays. They named the new country Winland, or Vinland, from the profusion of wild grapes found growing in its virgin forests. But the Northmen ettected no lai'ge or du- rable settlements upon this (tontinent; and when their colony of Vinland was eventually abandoned, or extermin- ated by lu^ ii'itives, it was, doubtless, soon forgotten. The only remaining traces of their presence on the New Eng- land coast are two or three ;iide monuments,* aud a few doubtful Runic inscriptions. The fact of their prima, dis- Y covery of the continent, liovvever, is attested by the Sagas, or ancient histoiical records of Iceland. But the time was not then ripe for the opening of the " Notably, the old stone tower at Newport, Rhode laland, which in believed to be a relic of the Northmen. Early Voyages to North America. !l New World to European colonization and civilization ; nor were the people of western Europe sufficiently advanced in wealth, intelligence and nautical science, to profit by so im- portant a discovery. To Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus), must ever be accorded tlie imperishable honor, of ha.ning made known to the nations of the Old World the pathway to the Western Ileniisphere ; yet it is by no means certain that lie ever touched the continent of North America, and he died in ignorance of the extent and transcendent value of his achievement. But tlie true and lasting discovery of Northern Amer- ica was made by Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), a Vene- tian navigator, who had become domiciled in the com- mercial city of Bristol, England, prior to the year 1493, and who afterward voyaged the North Atlantic under the patronage of King ITenry VII. It is a singular fact, and worthy of remark here, that the maritime powers of Europe, with the exception, perliaps, of Portugal, should have owed their early possessions in America to the skill and daring of Italian navigators, although not u single American colony was ever establislied by the Italians tliem- selves. Within one or two years after the return of Columbus to Spain, from his first renowned vo}^age of discovery, the adventurous spirit of John Cabot induced him to propose to Henry VII., of England, to undertake a similar voyage, with tlie two-fold object of discovering new lands, and ol finding a northwest passage to the Indias. The proi)osal of the V^enetian was received with favor a. id encourage- ment by that cautious, yet sagacious monarch. And on the fifth of March, 149G, he issued a commission to Cabot and his three sons (Louis, Sebastian and Sanchez), author- izing them to " sail to all parts of the east, west, and north, to discover countries of the Heathen, unknown to Cliristians ; to set up the king's ensigns there; to occupy and possess, as his subjects, such places as they eould sub- due, giving them the rule and jurisdiction — to be holden, on paying to the king, one-fiftli part of tlieir gains." Early Voyages to North America. 8 nor id in I im- nuist made 3 the at lie i (lied Dt" his ^mer- Vene- coni- 1493, under ngular powers Bhoiild no skill single theni- Innibus n\y, the [)ropose nn'ugo, luid oi Lroposal jounige- .nd on |o Cabot lauthor- ll north, l)\vn to occnpy ^ild Huh- holdon, Under this broad commission three ships were at length equipped for the enterprise — partly at the expense of his majesty, and the remainder by private persons. With these vessels, manned by some three hundred seamen, the elder Cabot, and his son Sebastian, sailed from Bristol., in May, 1497. Taking a westerly course over the track- lers ocean, the bold conmiander, on the 24th of June, sighted a shore which he named Terra Primum Visa (land first seen), and which is supposed to have been pome part of Newfoundland. lie thence steered northward, parallel with the coast of Labrador, as far as to the entrance of Hudson's strait, when he was obliged to turn back on ac- count of the ice and the increasing discontent of his crew. After discovering many islands and coasting the mainland southward to the vicinity of Cape Ilattoras, a mutiny is said to have broken out among his sailors, in consequence of which he returned to England. During the ensuing year (1498), Sebastian Cabot was sent out with two sliips, on a second voyage of discovery. He again visited New- foundland, and other [)oints on the eastern coast of North America, but did not attem})t any conquest or settlement of the country. No authentic journal of these two voya- ges was ever published, nor were they soon followed up by other like enterprises on the part of the English govern- ment or peoj)le. Yet, it was upon the discoveries of the Cabots, and the subsequent attempts at colonization un<ler the auspices of Sir Walter Raleigh (1584-1587), that Eng- hind based her title to the jn'^ncipal part of the immense tcrritoi-y which she afterward accjuired in North America. The Portuguese were the next to engage in this inviting niaritime enterprise. In 1500, one Caspar de Cortereal sailed from Lisbon with two well-ma!)ned caravels, lie visited Lab- rador, ranged along its inhosjtitable coast for six hundred miles, and entered the (ilulf of St. Lawrence. Returning tlie same year to Tortugal, he set sail on a second voyage of discovery in May, 1501, but was never again heard of. His brother Michael sailed with two ships in search of him, It is conjectured that both ews fell victinifl to the savage i .;i i:ii! 4 Early Voyages to North America, vengeance of the natives of Labrador, some of whom had been seized and carried oft* as slaves by Gaspar de Cortereal, in his first voyage. Upon the strength of these northwest- ern voyages, however, the Portuguese set up a claim to the discovery of the whole continent. The business of oceanic discovery in this part of the New World, was afterward taken up by the French gov- ernment. During the active reign of Francis I., an expe- dition was fitted out, the command of which was given to Juan Verrazano, or Verrazani, a Florentine navigator of great skill, who liad signalized himself by his successful cruises against the Spaniards. lie sailed from France in Jaimary, 1524, with four vessels, but three of them be- coming disabled in a storm, he completed the voyage in a single shi}). After touching at the Maderia Islands, he held a due westerly course, and encountered heavy seas, b)it at length sighted land on the 7th of March, in the lati- tude of North Carolina. Finding no secure harbor, he anchored in the open sea, and sent his boats ashore to open trafiic with the natives. lie next sailed southward some distance, and tlieii turned his course to the north, ex- ploring the eastern coast of the continent for six hundred leagues, and naming it New Frunce, in compliment to his royal [)atron. When he reached the fog-laden banks ot Newfoundland, liis provisions began to fail, and he boie away for home, whither he arrived late in July, 1524. Of the subsequent career of Verrazano, but little is known. It was not until the lapt?b of ten years that the French renewed these hazardous enterprises ; when Jacques Car- tier, or Quartier, a bohl and exi)orienced nuiriner of St. Malo, in lirittany, having proposed another expedition, was Hup})lied by the vice-admiral of the king with two ships and one hundred and twenty seamen. Cartier put to sea from the port of St. Malo, on the 20th of April, 1534, and after four weeks of successful mivigation reached the eastern Hhore of Newfounvlland, whicli, thougli visited by fishermen, was still for the most i)art a terra, ivcoqnita. He sailed nearly all round that groat islnnd, coasted the main- land for a long distance, discovered nnd named the Golfc Carder's Voyages and Discoveries. 5 i de St. Lorent, or Gulf of St. Lawrence, and entered the Bay of Chaleurs. But by this time the season was well advanced, and our navigator returned with his ships to France, without having ascended the St. Lawrence River, or even knowing that it was a river. He opened trade re- lations with the natives of the country, and carried home witli him two young Indians, who afterward served a use- ful purpose as interpreters. The degree of success that attended this initial voyage encouraged the French monarch to further effort in the field of trans- Atlantic discovery. Three ships were now fitted out for a second expedition, which was joined by some of the young nobility, and Cartier was given the command thereof, with the designation of " captain and pilot to the king." On the 19th of May, 1535, after a solemn mass at the cathedral in St. Malo, the three vessels put to sea, but were soon separated by a temi)est. After a boisterous and tedious passage they all arrived safely in the vStrait of Belle Isle, to the north of Newfoundland, in the last week of .hily. From this point of rendezvous the captain took a south- westerly course, and, having navigated the channel between the south coast of Labrador and the large island of Anti- costi, sailed slowly up that long and broad estuary, afterward named St. Lawrence. By the 1st of September he reached the mouth of the Chicoutimi, orSaguenay, coming in from the northwest ; and on the 14th, after passing several low islands, including that of Orleans, dropped anchor near the entrance of a small river on his right, to which he gave the name of St. Croix, now St. Charles. This was immediately below that bold and striking promontory which rises in the angle formed by the conflu- ence of the two rivers, and which the natives of the country called Quelibec (Quebec), from the sudden contraction of the St. Lawrence at that point. While anchored in the river opposite the present village of 'Beauport, Cartier was visited on shipboard by one Donnacona, a neighboring Indian po- tentate, who resided at the village of Stadacona, on the peninsula of that name, and wlio came with a numerous Discovery and Settlement of Canada. I ! "iilii 1 ! 1 : ■ hi:! I retinue of his braves in pirogues.'^ The French captain re- ceived his copper-colored visitors with due formality, and held converse with them through the two interpreters from the coast of Gaspe, whom he had taken with him to France in his voyage of the year before. Having moored his two larger vessels inside the mouth of the St. Croix, our brave and determined mariner, contrary to the entieaty of Donnacona not to go further, continued his voyage in the third vessel up the St. Lawrence. Ar- rived in that expansion of the river since known as Lake St. Peter, and Hnding the further advance of his ship im- peded by obstructions in the channel, he quit it and pro- ceeded in a l)oat, rowed by three of his men. On the 2d of October he reached the Lidian village of Hochelaga,t situate on the island of that name, which he denominated Mont. Hoyal (Montreal), from the insulated mountain that rises from the plain two miles behind it. After spending a few days at Iloclielaga, and opening an amicable inter- course with the inhabitants of the place, Cartier returned to his ship, and descending the river rejoined his other ships at the mouth of the St. Croix. Here, at the foot of the rug- ged promontory of Quebec, his sailors had already begun the erection of a temporary wooden structure, which was soon finished, and in which they passed the ensuing winter months, suffering greatly, not only from the rigor of the climate, but from the ravages of the scurvy. Twenty-five men died before the opening of spring, and out of one hun- dred and ten then remaining very few were free from that disease. J Before sailing on his return to France, Cartier, accord- ing to the custom of navigators in that age, took possession of the country of the St. Lawrence in the name ofhissove- * Pirogue (Sp. Piragua), originally an Indian word, signifying a dug- out canoe. tThia was also the original Indian name of the Wt. Lawrence, and the French sometimes spoke of it as the Grand fleuve de Hochelaga. t Upon the site of the temporary struoture occupied by Cartier and his men was long afterward built the church of Notre Dame den Vir.toi.ren, which fronts the market plaoe in the Lower Town of Quebec. of hi neig] Croij the ir a fort comi Ln th IIocl iiaviij '' .^u long ( '^H and j lengt set SI with avoid But, t Cana( ;■ *T Huron to Cart ' Cartier's Voyages and Discoveries, T veUm, by erecting a high wooden cross bearing the arms of France, with this Latin inscription, Franciscus primus, Dei gratia Francorum rex, regna. Leaving one ^^f his ships that had been shattered by the ice in the little liarbor of the St. Croix, he sailed for home with the other two on the 6th of May, 1536, and arrived at St. Malo on the 16th of July. During the preceding winter Cartier's friendship with Donnacona had become strained, and on his departure he took with him that chief and several of his braves, whose persons he had seized partly by force and partly by strata- gem, and who subsequently died in captivity in France. Some five years later, a scheme of regular colonization was devised by the French government, in wdiich Cartier was associated wich Jean Francois de la K()que,SieurdeRoberval, who had been commissioned by the crown lieutenant-general and viceroy of his American possessions. Accordingly, on May 1, 1541, Captain Cartier sailed with five ships on his third voyage to America, and arrived at his former winter quarters on the St. Lawrence early in August. Sending two of his ships home, he proceeded with the rest to search the neighboring shores for a better haven than that of the St. Croix, and found one to his liking nine miles above it, at the mouth of Cape Rouge River. Here he landed and built a fort which he named Charlesbourg Royal, and waited the coming of his coadjutor with colonists to begin a settlement. In the meantime he again ascended the St. Lawrence to Ilochelaga, and examined the nature of the obstructions to navigation in the river above that place. Owing to the long delay in the arrival of Roberval, and to his impatience and jealousy of that otficer, who outranked him, Cartier at length relinquished tlie attempt to make a settlement, and set sail on liis return to France in May, 1542. Meeting with Roberval's ships at the harbor of Newfoundland, he avoided their commander and held on his homeward course. But, according to Lescarbot's history, he was sent back to Canada* in the autumn of that year, l)y Xing Ifenry XL, to *The name of Canada is believed to have been derived from the Huron word Kan-na-ta, lueaniiig a collection of wigwams. According to Cartier, it is an Indian word, Hignifying town. For ho wrote: " //'« 8 Discovery and Settlement of Canada. liii! I'll i i II ii ii i llliill bring home Roberval and his colony. They appear to have wintered together on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and finally quitted it in June, 1543. Captain Cartier's services as a navigator and discoverer were recompensed by a patent of nobility, and also by a seignorial mansion at the village of Limoilou, near St. Malo. The latter years of his stirring life were mostly passed at his seat of Limoilou, where he died childless about anno 1555, aged sixty. The printed journals of his American voyages are preserved by the Quebec Historical Society, but whether originally written by himself or not is unde- termined. It is said that he advised the first French col- onists in Canada to cultivate the good will of the natives by every means in their power, and even to form matri- monial alliances with them, in order to advance their mate- rial interests. It is evident that this last advice was subse- quently adopted, though with ephemeral rather than per- manent advantage. The discoveries made by Cartier and his associate mar- iners turned the attention of France to the extensive Valley of the St. Lawrence and its capabilities, and established he*- claim to the country according to that peculiar international code by which the maritiijne powers of Europe were wont to apportion among themselves the territories of the West- ern World. Although Canada exhibited scarcely any of that smiling and luxuriant aspect pertaining to the middle and southern sections of the continent, it opened into regions of indefinite extent, and the tracing of its vast chain of fresh-water seas to their distant fountains presented more than ordinary at- tractions to human curiosity and adventure. But for the next sixty years, owing to internal dissensions and factional and religious wars, French colonization in America was vir- tually abandoned. / It is true that in the years 1562 and 1564, Admiral Co- 1 appellant une lille Canada." Another early French authority makeB the word mean terre, or land. The name eeems to have been primarily applied only to the Valley of the St. Lawrence. The Huguenots in Florida. 1 ligiiy undertook to plant some Huguenot colonies in East Florida; but the two expeditions sent thither under the separate leadership of Jean Ribaut and Rene Laudoniere ended in utter failure. After suffering deeply from ship- wreck and sickness, their settlements at Port Royal and near the mouth of the St. John's River were attacked and destroyed by the Spaniards under the stern Don Pedro de Menendez.* Ribault and his followers were massacred, after a pledge of safety had been given them, and their bodies were treated with tlie most shocking indignities — "not," it was averred, "because they were Frenchmen, but because they were her tics and enemies of God." Two years later (1567), this barbarous massacre was fully avenged by a Huguenot soldier named Dominique de Gourgues, wlio sailed from Bordeaux with one hundred and fifty armed men for that purpose. Aided by some Florida Indians, he took and demolished the little Spanish forts on the river St. Johns, and hanged all of his prisoners, not because they were Spaniards, but that they were " traitors, robbers, and murderers." After accomplishing this deed of savage re- taliation, De Gourgues made no eftbrt to retain his conquest? or to revive the French colony, but having secured all that was of value at the forts, he re-embarked his troops and sailed back to France. If the efforts of the French Protestants to form settlements in East Florida had been countenanced and sustained by the crown, it is believed that France might have had a flourishing colony there long before England effected a single permanent settlement in America. We come now tc describe the first successful attempts of the French to form durable settlements in the cold and inclement districts of New France. The most conspicuous figure of his day in these arduous aiul uncertain enterprises was Samuel de Champlain. Born at Brouage, in the prov- ince of Saintonge, about the year 1567, he belonged to a noted family of mariners. His fatlier was a sea captain, and he himself was early schooled in the art and practice of navigation. After spending several years in the military * Who founded St. Augustine, Fla., in 1505. 10 Discovery and Settlement of Canada. ii ill ii ; •j! t ; i| :; 1 i 1 1 s , 1 1 ! I service of his country, he went with an uncle, who held a high post in the Spanish navy, on a long voyage to Mexico. Returning to France in 1601, he was urged by De Chastes, Governor of Dieppe, to explore and prepare to found a colony in the French possessions of North America, the governor having received a concession from the king for that purpose. This was an undertaking well suited to the enterprising genius of Chaniplain, and he I'/jcordingly em- barked at Honiieur on March 15, 1603, in a ship commanded by Captain Pontgrave, an experienced mariner of St. Malo. On the 24th of May, after a rough and protracted pas- sage, they dropped anchor at Tadousac, where the deep and dark waters of the Saguenay enter the estuary of the St. Lawrence. Leaving their large ship here, Pontgrave and Chaniplain, with live seamen, continued their voyage in a shallop up the St. Lawrence to the rapids, above Hochelaga. As they slowly retraced their course, Champlain examined and noted the rocky and wooded shores on both sides of the river down to Tadousac. He then drew up a map of the country, collected information about Acadia* (after- ward called by the British Nova Scotia), and in the follow- ing autumn returned to France, where he immediately pub- lished a narrative of his voyage and observations, entitled Des Sa a cages. Ilis patron, De Chastes, had meantime deceased, and the exclusive privileges that had been granted to him by Henry IV. were transferred to Pierre du Guast, Sieur de Monts, a gentleman of Saintonge, and an otHcer of the king's household. Letters-patent were issued to the latter in November, 1603, nominating him vice-admiral and lieu- tenant-general of his majesty in the country of La Cadre (Acadia), with full and exclusive power to trade in peltries, and to make war and peace with the natives, from the 40th to the 46th parallel of north latitude ; also to make grants of land to French settlers. His i)atent embraced the whole ■'This old poetic naino, writton Acadie in French, appears to be an abbreviation of the Imlian name for one of the rivers of that conntry. French Settlement of Acadia. n it'ter- low- pub- itled , and u y)y ir do f the atter lieu- Ciidie tries, 40th rants B^hole be an [itry. ^ coast of N'ew Ennjland, no part of which had as yet been I occupied by the EngHsh. The Sieur de Monts was a Cal- f viuist, and had stipulated for the free exercise of his own §fbrm of religion, but this W9« inconsistently enough coupled I with an agreement that the Indians of the country should ijbe instructed in the mysteries of pure Catholicism. Having iiresolved to plant an extensive colony in his new domain, SDc Monts now engaged the active assistance of Champlain ijin his enterprise. They at once proceeded to hire and equip ^^a number of vessels, large and small, with which they set sail from Havre de Grace on the 7th of April, 1604, carry- ing numerous colonists, traders, and stores. The commander arrived with a part of his fleet ott Sable Island in the first week of May, and thence stood along the south and western Bhores of Acadia for several weeks, being undecided where to make a permanent landing. At length, after exploring the Bay of Fundy, he determined to begin a settlement on the Island of Sainte Croix, in Ihe estuary of that name, lying between the present Maine and New Brunswick. But this location proved unfavorable from the lack of builditig timber and fresh water, and during the next summer the colony was removed across the bay to a place called Port Royal, now Annapolis. When this transfer had been ef- §fected, De Monts found it necessarv to return to France, jjgleaving Pontgrave in charge of the new settlement. The Scold, damp, and sterile peninsula of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, ^fulfilled none of those hopes of speedy wealth that had al- ;f|hired the French colonists hither. It yielded with difficulty f^'he common necessaries of life, and the fur-trade was too .^ iniited to be profitable. Its mineral resources long re- trnuiined unknown. In the meantime Champlain diligently explored the rock-bound coast to the southward, as far as the sandy beach f Cape Cod, making surveys and charts of the same, and in 607, re-embarked for France. His patron, De Monts, was ccused of abusing his ample commission by capturing and onfiscating all vessels that approached the American coast ithiii the bounds of his territorial jurisdiction, and of in- lerfering with the rights and endangering the safety of the f-.f*. liiiill; i ii.'iiiii Hi lip ill ! h m jil M it \i 12 Discovery and Settlement of Canada, cod fislienneii on the shores of Newfoundland.* Never- theless, he had sultieient inHuence at court to get his privi- leges renewed for a time, on condition that his company should form an establishment on the river St. Lawrence. As now reorganized, the company was composed principally of mercliants, who had only the fur trade in view, and this led to a change in their plans and to the gradual abandon- ment «)f Acadia as the seat of their operations. In pursuance of this change of policy, the company caused to be fitted out two ships at Honfleur, and confided them to the charge of Messieurs Champlain and I'ont- grave, with instructions to i)roceed to the St. Lawrence, and tViere establish a trading post. They accordingly sailed in the spring of 1608, taking out with them a suffi- cient number of soldiers, traders and adventurers to form u settlement. Arriving in the Lower St. Lawrence, about the middle of June, they first touched at Tadousac, and thence continued their course up the river. Having fixed u})on Quebecf as the most eligible site for the projected es- tablishment, C^hamjilain landed his company of advent- urers there on July 3, 1608. This was one year after the settlement of Jamestown, Va., by the English, and twelve years before the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymoutli Rock. The spot thus chosen was on the north side of the St. Lawrence River, just above its junction with the St. I Charles, and about one hundred and twenty leagues from - the sea. No sooner had the commander begun to clear tlie| ground for a settlement here, than he discovered a plot among five of the men to take his life; but this was hap-| * As early as the year 1504, the fishermen of Brittany and Nor! mandy legan to ply their vocation on the banks of Newfoundland, and| in 1517, upward of fifty vessels of different nations are said to have been^ employed in it. t " Tlie Indians of the country ga^e to this place the name of Quebio| or Quelibee, which, in Algonquin and Abenaqui, noeans narrowingyhe-'i cause the river St. Lawrence here narrows till it is only a mile wide: -| whereas, just below the Me de Orleans, it still maintains a breadth of ,| four or five leagues."— C-harlevoix' Historie cUi la NoHvelle France. P]nv4 glish translation, edited by John Gilmary Shea (New York, 1866-18721 vol, 1., p. 50. jcure [ever- privi- npany renee. jipally • id this mdon- nipany )ntide(i Pont- vrenee, rdingly a suffi- form a , about ac, and ig fixed cted es- advent- ifterthe . twelve ymoutli e of the the St. les troiu dear tlie 1 a plot vas hu]>- and Nor- Hand, and la.ve been of Quebic mving, be- nile wide; jreadth oi ance, En-- 866-18721, Quebec Founded by Champlain. 13 pily frustrated by his vigilance, and the conspirators were ]i dealt with by martial law. Mechanics and laborers were now put to work, and ir. the course of a few weeks a cluster of wooden buildings f arose on the shelving bank of the river, under the shadow ^of that lofty precipice, since known as Cape Diamond, which towered above them. These rude edifices were sur- : rou!ided by a stout palisade or wall, pierced by apertures for small cannon, and were thenceforth occupied as the * headquarters of Champlain and his semi-military colony. Such was the inconsiderable beginning of the historical city and fortress of Quebec. Having thus provided a se- cure place for his men and munitions, the resolute leader pushed out into the circumjacent country, with a view to making it tributary to the French power. It was from about this time that Canada and Acadia began to be ofli- cially designated as Nouvclb' France, though this ambitious appellation had been long before applied to the coast of the country by the navigator Verrazano. f| In order to secure the fi'iendsliip and support of the •neighboring Montagnain and Algonquin Indians,* in fur- f therance of his designs of interior exploration and inter- 1 course, Champlain now^ undertook, with dubious propriety, 'I to aid them in their ceaseless warfare with the Iroquois, or I Five Nations,! who inhabited the region lying mostly within 'v the limits of the present State ot New York. Victory, ot I course, attended his superior arms in the first encounters I with them, but it intensified the hatred of tliose proud and I fierce warriors for the Indian allies of Champlain ; it led to an alliance of the Iroquois with the Dutch settlers, and af- terward with the English, and lonof prevented the French from advancing southward into the beautiful and fertile Valley of the Ohio. On the other hand, it is doubtful if the *The Algonquins, proper, dwelt on the Ottawa river, and hence were called Ottawas by the French ; but they gave name to the entire family of kindred tribes (about thirty-eight in all), known as Algonquins. tThe use of the word nation, as applied to a single Indian tribej though sanctioned by the usage of the best writers, is; nevertheless, a misnomer. b I 14 Discovery and Settlement of Canada. jniiil i^ lirst French colonist could have maintained, for any con- siderable time, an attitude of strict neutrality between those ever-vwarring Indian nations ; so that the policy they adopted may have been the only feasible one open to them. In the early summer of 1609, Champlain, with a few armed men, joined a hunting and war party of their Mon- tagnais allies on an excursion into the territory of the Iroquois. Ascending the broad St. Lawrence to t^e mouth of the Richelieu, or Sorel River, and pushing up the latter to its source, he discovered and partially explored that be?aitiful lake which still bears liis name. On its sylvan shores he found game exceedingly abundant, and particu- larly the fur-bearing beaver. W^hile exploring the south part of the lake, our French and Indian party fell in with a band of Mohawk warriors, when a sharp light ensued, in which several of the latter were slain and others taken prisoners. Champlain had now to witness an exhibition of that protracted and cruel torture to which the savages often subjected their male captives, which filled him with such horror that he obtained permission of his allies to shoot the poor creature dead with his arquebuse, and thus ended his anguish. Leaving Pierre Ohauvin in command at Quebec, Cham- plain returned with Captain Pontgrave to France in Sep- tember, 1609 ; but he came back the next spring, bringing fresh sup|»lies, and a number of artisans for his embryo colony. In the autumn of this year (1610), the Montagnais again called on the French for military assistance against their enemies, which Champlain gave in order to secure the co-operation of the former in his own interior explora- tions. Moving with his Indian allies up the St. Lawrence and the river Sorel, he assaulted and captured a stronghold cf the Iroquois, but received a severe wound in the action. If the French at this epoch could have forecast tl j future of their Canadian colony, they would no doubt have occu- pied the Iroquois country in force, and seized control of the Hudson River, so as to exclude the Dutch, and secure another and shorter outlet to the ocean. Such a course .}» hu beca tion •f >^^^l ^^H object Indian onU'r of Advent of the Becollects. 15 ly con- Btween ;y they > them. a few r Mon- of the mouth e latter id tliat sylvan 3articn- e south in with 3ued, in 8 taken liibition savages im with lilies to nd thus Cham- 11 8ei/- ■iiiging embryo \tagiiaiH against secure ixplor.i- iwrence )nghol(l action. J future re occu- itrol of secure | course was recommended by M. Talon at a subsequent period, but it was then too laie. In August, 1611, Champlain again crossed the Atlantic to France, w^here lie sliortly married a girl named Helene Boulle, who was only twelve years old, and who was called his " child wife." She had been reared a Protestant, but became a Catholic after her marriage. On the assassina- tion of Henry IV., in 1610, De Monts lost his influence at court, and the merchants of his company having become tired of the continual expense of the Canadian coloniza- tion scheme, it was about to be abandoned. At this junc- ture, Champlain induced the Count de Soissons to take hold of the matter; and on the 8th of October, 1612, that nobleman was commissioned governor and lieutenant-gen- eral of New France. Champlain was now appointed lieu- tenant under him, and continued to act in this capacity until after the rights of De Soissons had been transferred to the Prince de Conde. Keturning to Quebec in the spring of 1613, Cham[>lain undertook to explore the Ot- tawa River, but did not proceed very far at this time. In I the autumn of that year he sailed to Old France, and organized a trading compmiy for Canada. . , In 1615 he brought over four Recollects, or Recollets* (three priests and a lay brother), to attend to the spiritual needs of his colony. They embarked at Ilonfleur, and arrived in Quebec the 25th of May. The names of these first missionaries were, Fathers Denis .Tam«''t, Jean d'Olbeau and Joseph le Caron, and lirother Paciflcus de Plessis. It was with mingled cu'.'iosity and astonishment that the natives of the St. Lawrence Valley first beheld these gray friars, with their shaven crowns, sajidaied feet, and long cassocks of coarse woolen clotli. Their first care, on ar- rival, was to select a site and begin the erection of a con- vejil or '.'eligious house for their use. The itaramount oliject of these monks was the conversion of the pagan ^Indians to Christianity; and, undismayed by the many *The UecolkH'tH wore a reformt'd branch of the old FranciHcun I order of friars. 16 Discovery and Settlement of Canada. obstacles and perila that confronted them, they met in council and assigned to each his province in the wide field of their proposed labors. By patient and persevering effort, they established missions at various points among the Moiitagnais and Hurons in Canada, but at length, find- ing the task too great for their limited numbers and re- sources, they applied to the Jesuits for assistance. In 1616 Champlain accompanied his Indian allies in another expedition against the Iroquois, and afterward ex- plored the river and valley of the Ottpwa. Journeying thence westward, he appears to have discovered Lake Nipissing, and the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, sleeping in their primeval solitudes, aad engirt with dense forests of pine and cedar. By these different expeditions, our veteran explorer was enabled to form a niore accurate idea of the geography of the Canadian country; inclosed by great lakes and rivers, and opening into vast interior re- gions, it seemed to him to afi:ord unlimited scope for both conmiorce and settlement. ■ As early as 1611, the Jesuits, not without opposition and delay, had started a mission at Port Royal, in Acadia,* and when they received an invitation to enter Canada, they eagerly accepted it. But, owing to the prejudice existing against their order in the colony, it was not until 1625 that they gained a foothold on the banks of the St. Lawrence. During that year Fathers Charles Lalemunt, Enomond, Masse, and Jean de Brebeuf, with two lay brothers, reached Quebec, where they were at first ill-received by the inhab- itants, but were generously lodged in the liouse of the Re- collets, on St. Charles River. In the following year (1626), three other Jesuits, to wit, Fathers Philibert, Noirot, and Ame de la None, with a lay l)rother, arrived at (^lebee, and brought out with them several mechanics and laborers.! * It was on the 22d of May, IGll.that Pierre Biard and Etieluond Masse, two Jesuit priests, landed in Vttadia. Tliey liud been ready to Bail from Franee tl;»> year before, but were prevented from doinji: so by the directors of iho eolony. See Charlevoix Hist. New France, vol. 1, p. 203, note. T Charlevoix' Hist. New France, vol.2, pp. 35,87. First Appearance of the Jesuits. 17 Bt in field ering [nong find- id re- ies ill rd ex- leyi ng Lake seping forests 8, our ;e idea ^ed by ■ior re- >r botli OHition adia,* a. they c:3ting 25 that renf'(\ moiul, eacliod inliab- he He- 1(1626), lot, and »c, and [orers.t iiiclnond Iri'luly to In^ HO by lo, vol. 1, .rd :Wli They were the first representatives in Canada of that cele- brated religious society, whicli was destined to play so im- portant a part in her ecclesiastical and civil aftairs. The Jesuits had just fairly entered upr .i this chosen theater of la- bor, when they were interrupted and dispersed by the English invasion of the St. Lawrence Valley in 1629 ; but, four years later, they resumed their missionary work on a larger scale, and wrestled vigorously with heathenism in the north- ern wilderness. Cheerfully enduring every form of hard- ship, and confronting every extremity of personal danger, they penetrated the wildest recesses of the forest and lakes, and planted the cross, the symbol of their faith, among the most ignorant and savage tribes of the interior. Quebec continued from the beginning to be the center of their operations, tron. whence missionary priests and teachers were dispatche<l far and wide. During the year 1(J27 Cardinal Richelieu organized a company of one hundred associates, called Lp Compagnie (F No u cea II France yUiion whom was conferred the possession and government of Canada, with a monopoly of its trade and commerce, and freedom from taxation for fifteen years. Under the restrictive regulations of tliis company, the col- onists were all required to be Frenchmen and Roman Catii- olics, a short-sighted ])olicy, which hampered the growth and material prosperity of the cokiny. At this epoch the village of Quebec did not contain above one hundred regu- lar inhabitants. It had in fact a fort, a church, a convent, and an hosjtital, before it contained a fixed population. In July, 1629, after being blockaded for some time, Quebec was taken by an English squadron under the com- mand of Sir David Kirk, a Huguenot refugee of Scotch parentage, who, with his two brothers, had been commis- sioned to ascend the St. Lawrence for that purpose. Cham- plain and his feeble garrison were now put on shij)board, and transported as prisoners of war to England. In pass- ing down the river and out to sea, they barely escaped being recaptured by a French scpuidron nndi r Emeric de Caen, who was coming to the relief of Quebec. Tlie .lesuit mis- sionaries on the St. Lawreiuie were also deported or driven o w 18 Discovery and Settlement of Canada. liiilliiiii ,l'::>,!i! away, and their niisKions broken up. But b}' the treaty of St. Germain en Laye, March 29, 1632, Canada was restored to its former proprietor, and Champhxin was soon thereafter commissioned anew by Richelieu as director-general of the colony. At that time there was considerable discussion at the French court as to whether Canada were worth repos- sessing, so little was it valued. On the 23d of May, 1633, the veteran Champlain, hav- ing sailed from Dieppe with three ships and two hundred new settlers, arrived once more at Quebec, and with him returned John de Brebeuf, the indefatigable Jesuit mis- sionary. No sooner had Champlain resumed conmiand in the colony, than he addressed himself to the task of restor- ing order, and of repairing the waste occasioned by the English occupation of the country. One of his first cares was to restore and strengthen the defenses of Quebec, which his quick military discernment and experience had taught him was the key to the St. Lawrence River and connecting lakes. During the next two years he also erected a fort on Richelieu Island, in Lake St. Peter of the St. Lawrence, and founded the post of Trois Rwieres, or Three Rivers, between Quebec and Montreal. But Cham- plain had now attained to the age of sixty-eight, and was worn out in the laborious service of his country. After an illness lasting two months, he expired at his quarters in Quebec on Christmas day, 1635, just one hundred years from the time of Cartier's first visit to the spot. He died without issue, and his young wife soon afterward entered an Ursuline convent, in which she passed the remainder of her days. Champlain appointed M. de Chatoaufort to di- rect the affairs of the colony until the arrival of his suc- cessor, Charles Huault de Montmagny, a knight of Malta, who reached Canada in 1636, and renuiined eleven years. We may not pause here to enlarge upon the personal and general character of Samuel de Champlain. He was a many sided man, and in his time played many parts. He " presented the rare intermixture of the lieroic quali- ties of past times, witli the zeal for science and the prac- tical talents of modern ages." Apart from liis high merits Canada as a Boyal Province. le 1 as ji (liKL'overer and scientific exi)lorer, he was an intrepid negotiator with the aboriginal tribes, and possessed execu- tive abilities of the first order. During a period of twenty- seven years (saving three years of enforced absence), he ably administered the affairs of the nascent colony, and ilevoted all his energies to the arduous duties of his posi- tion. Amid difficulties and discouragements that would have overwhelmed a less resolute and persevering man, he firmlv fixed the authoritv of France upon the banks of the noble St. Lawrence, and thus achieved for himself a con- spicuous and enduring place in the Gallic history of the country. Although traffic with the Indians was quite lucrative in his (hiy, lie does not appear to have personally engaged in it, for his thoughts were intent on higher things. As a military commandant he was just and firm, according to the maxims of his age, though his justice was ever tempered with clemency. A devout Catholic, he was zealous in promoting the religious welfare of the colonists, and in the effort to convert tlie aborigines to Chris- tianity. In his writings he is charged \\\^\\ credulity for repeating the absurd stories told liim by the Indians ; but, though a[»pareiitly fond of the nuirvelous, we are not to infer that he believed every thing he wrote, since much of it was related as hearsay. Charlevoix draws his character in flattering terms, and speaks of him as the "Father of New France." * For twenty-eight years after Champlain's death, tlie nianagement of public affairs in Canada was continued in the hands of the Iftindred Associates, or partners, who ruled the colony arbitrarily in their own interests, and thereby restricted its nornuil growth and development. Hut in i^\^bruary, 1(U;8, they voluntarily abandoned their charter to the king. In the following April, Louis XIV. issued an edict constituting a Sovereign ('ouncil, empow- ered to carry on the government of the jtrovince. New France thus becanu^ a royal i)rovince, with the laws and customs of the Parliament of Paris, and Quebec was con- ^n Charlevoix' New France, vol. II, p. 81). •m 20 Discovery and Settlement of Canada. m ! ii I •iii" im>' stituted a city. The white population of Canada then num- bered but twenty-five hundred souls, of which eight hundred, including the garrison, were at Quebec* At this transition period, Augustine de Saftray de Mesy was commissioned governor of the new province, and M. Talon intendant. De Mesy arrived at Quebec in September, 1663, and officiated until his death, which occurred May 5, 1665. He had been ap[)ointed on the recommendation of the Jesuits, but after- ward disagreed with them, and his administration was in- felicitous. At or before this time, however, the Marquis de Tracy was appointed viceroy, or lieutenant-general of New France, with Daniel de Remi, Sieur de Courcelles, as governor, and Jean Baptiste Talon intendant. They ar- rived in the St. Lawrence during the summer of 1665, and entered upon the duties of their respective offices. Under the new and more orderly system of government, the French-Canadians enjoyed domestic tranquillity and in- creased prosperity for a series of years. But this was in- terrupted toward the close of that century by l)order wars with the English settlers of New England and N^ew Yor... In 1690, hostilities then existing between France and En- gland, an army was raised in New York and Connecticut to march agaiiist Montreal, though it did not advance beyond Lake Champlain. This army of militia was intended to co- operate with an expedition by sea, under the connuand of Sir William Phipps, who sailed from Boston with a fleet of some thirty vessels. Entering the St. Lawrence in the month of October, and ascending it to Quebec, he landed a part of his troops, and laid siege to the city both by land and water ; but he was repulsed and driven off by the Frendi garrison under the veteran Count Frontenac. Sub- sequently, in the year 1711, the attem})t against Quebec was renewed by Sir Ilovenden Walker, with a fleet of thirty sail, and a large number of transjtorts carrying troops, under one General I fill. But, after having lost ten of his trans- ports by shipwreck at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, he * Kiu^Ht'ord'rt Hist, of Canada, vol. I. :^>^, # 'tfe Quebec and Montreal. 21 abandoned the expedition in disgust and returned to En- gland. By the treaty of Utrecht of April 11, 1713, Louis XIV. restored to England Hudson's Bay, ceded to her New Found- land and the larger part of Acadia, and renounced all claim to the Iroquois country, reserving to France the valleys ot the St. Lawrence and Mississippi, and the region of the Upper Lakes. Prior to that time New France embraced not only the Canadas and all of Acadia, but parts of North- ern New York and New England. It was not ujitil after the English attack by Phipps in 1690, that the French first attempted the construction of stone fortifications at Quebec, the town having been pre- viously protected by i)ali8ades and earthworks. Thus was begun on a small scale that elaborate and unique system of fortification, now covering with its nivelins about forty acres, which crowns the summit of Cape Diamond at an elevation of three hundred and twelve feet above the level of the St. Lawrence, and which has been not inaptly termed the Gibraltar of America. Whoever has stood upon the parapotted and breezy heights of this renowned fortress could not have failed to be im}ires8ed with its exceeding military strength, or charmed with the magnificent and un- rivaled view it commandsof the surrounding rivers, valleys, villages, and distant mountains. The relative value and importance of the citadel as a place of defense, however, has been greatly diminished by the improved military science of the }>resent age.* Before closing this preliminary chapter, it is fitting that we should concisely yet distinctly trace the origin and primordial history of Montreal, the sister city of Que- bec, and the great emporium of the Canadas. Montreal is situated on the southeastern side of the large, triangular island of the same name, at the head of ship navigation on the St. Lawrence River, and at the foot of that great chain of improved inland waters whicli stretch westward to the • It was during a visit to this historic citadel that Daniel Webster caught the inspiration of one of his finest strains of eloquence. 22 Discovery and Settlement of Canada. m ! !!:i:i>r m''I I'iiiijii extremity of Lake Superior. Within the extended limits of the present Canadian Dominion, no nobler site could well have been selected for a large commercial city. From this vantage point the majestic St. Lawrence, unbroken by any considerable rapids, flows on in one broad and deep channel for six hundred miles to the ocean, bearing upon its ample bosom the rich and varied products of an empire. Montreal was founded in 1641-42, on the site of the ancient Indian village of Hochelaga. It was officially christened V'dle Marie, or City of Mary, and for many years was known by that as well as its present name. As early as the year 1636, Jean Jacques Olier de Verneuil had formed an association in France, for the purpose of colo- nizing the island of Montreal. These associates purchased the Island of Jean de Lauson, August 7, 1640, and, in order to remove all doubts about the title, obtained a grant of it from the Company of New France, on the 17th of December, in that year. In the sunmier of 1641, they sent out the Sieur de Maisonneuve, a gentleman of Champagne, with a company of about forty colonists, including some ecclesiastics, to make a settlement. Maisonneuve arrived at Quebec on the 20th of August, and thonce proceeded up the river to Montreal, where he was duly installed governor of the island. After wintering his colonists in Quebec and Sainte Foy, he returned to Montreal in the spring of 1642, and, on the 17th of May, having heard solemn mass, he began an intrenchment around his encampment. Subse- quently, in 1656, the proprietorship of this company was transferred to the Society or Seminary of St. Sulpice, which had been founded by Father Olier, at Paris, in September, 1645, for the special training of candidates for the priest- hood. The Sulpitians took possession of the island in 1657, and established there a seminary and missionary es- tablishment, which has maintained its footing down to our time.* Although of a distinctively religious origin, and never * For a further account of the movement toward the first settlement of Montreal, see Charlevoix* Hist. New France, Vol. II, pp. 125 to 130, and accompanying notes. Montreal. 23 the political capital of Canada, under the French regime (except for a short time after the fall of Quehec, in 1759), Montreal early became the commercial metropolis of the colony, the repository of its wealth, and the center of its incre sing fur-trade. The town was not regarded by the colonial authorities as c. place of special military conse- ({uence, nor was it ever regularly fortified until 1758, and then under the stress of war and expected English invasion. While its history is hardly so thrilling, or distinguished by so many vicissitudes, as that of Quebec, it is still replete with events of deep and abiding interest. It was here, during the lengthened period of the Gal- lic rule, that most of those secular and missionary expedi- tions were finally equipped and sent out to the West, which first disclosed to European eyes the boundless extent and physical resources of the interior of North America. Here, from time to time, were wont to rendezvous and go forth to explore and subdue the savage wilderness, those little bands of Recollet friars and Jesuit priests, those high-bred and intrepid soldiers of fortune, those hardy adventurers, voyageurs, traders and trappers, whose deeds of daring and discovery, of courage and constancy, of penance and piety, of sufiering and self-sacrifice, have been immortalized in prose and in verse. 24 Spanish Discocery of the Mississippi. CHAPTER II. 153i)-J671. DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND OF THE NORTHWEST. m ^'■I'itf 'i -i 'I'M :i,'1i| Itilli ''' According to Spanisli colonial chronicles, the Missis- sippi Kiver was discovered by Hernando de Soto,* an am- bitious soldier of fortune, who, after acquiring wealth and distinction under Pizarro in Peru, returned to Spain, and was commissioned by the emperor, Charles V., to be gov- ernor and captain-general for life of Cuba and Florida. Having obtained tiie imperial permission and authority to undertake, at his own expense, the exploration and conquest of Florida,! De Soto raised and equipped a force of six hun- dred picked men, SpaniartNand Portuguese, besides twenty officers and twenty-four ecclesiastics. With these he put to sea from San Lucar, Spain, on April 6, 1538, and before the end of May arrived at the port '>f St. Jago de Cuba, then the seat of government, in the southeastern corner of the island. Here he tarried a few months to arrange his affairs of state, and then proceeded to Havana, where he vv^as joined by his consort, Dona Isabella, and all of his troo}>s. It was on the 18th of May, 1539, after fourteen months of busy preparation, that the captain-general and his splen- did armament, v/ith nodding plumes and waving banners, embarked for the shallow and treacherous coast of "West Florida. Before setting sail, however, he appointed one of his trusted friends in Havana to act with his wife in the government of Cuba during his absence. His ileet con- sisted of live large ships, two caravels, and two brigantines, * Variously written by different authors Ferdinand, Fernando, and Hernando de Soto. tThis large peninsula had been discovered and named by Ponce de Leon in 1512, but little was known of the interior of the country. Soto's Expedition through Florida. 25 kIo, ami jnce (le carrying six hundred and twenty soldiers, and two liundred and twenty-three horses.* They also carried a numerous retinue of priests, servitors, and camp-followers, and a large herd of swine. The horsemen were all furnished with shirts of mail, steel caps and greaves, after the military fashion of that age. The fleet quit the harbor of Havana witli a favorable wind, but was becalmed on entering the Gulf of Mexico, and did not reach its destination u!itil the 25th of May, when it came to anchor at the Bay of Espiritu Santo, now called Tampa Bay. On the 30th of that month De Soto debarked his troops, horses and baggage, and pitched his camj) on the seashore. After some little skirm- ishing with hostile parties of the natives, in which several of his light-armed troops were wounded, he took possession of the deserted village of Ucita, situated about two leagues up the bay. This place he proceeded to fortify by throw- ing up intrenchments, etc., and made it his base of opera- tions. , ' Learning from an Indian captive that a Spaniard was living not many leagues away, who had been a soldier in the unfortunate expedition of Pamphilio de Narvaez, in 1527 or '28, the governor sent an escort for him and had him brought to his lieadquarters. This Spaniard was a native of iJeville, and his name was Juan Ortiz. He ap- })eared at the Spanish camp with his face painted, and otherwise accoutered as a savage. On being interrogated he stated that he had lived among the Florida Indians eleven years, and knew their language very well, but could not tell much about the country, only that there was no gold in it. Taking him for a guide and interpreter, De Soto now set out to penetrate the interior with all his army, ex- cept sixty foot soldiers and twenty-six horsemen, who were left behind to guard the fort.f After spending the remainder of tliat season in ram- bling through the tangled forests and everglades of the * Narrative of Luis Hernandez de Biedma, or Biedura, factor of the s'xpedition. t Biedma's Narrative. 26 Spanish Discovery of the Mississippi. |M'I peninsula, he wintered in the territory of the Appalach- ians, near the northwestern coast, and during the next spring marched to the northeast, traversing what is now Georgia and a part of South Carolina. Arriving early in May on the banks of a wide river,* near a large village of the Cofitachiqui, the Indian (pieen of that nation sent her sister with a present of a necklace of beads to De Soto, and canoes with which to cross the river. When he r-^ached the village, the queen gave him the use of one- half of it in which to lodge liis men, and also sent him a present of many wild hens. Searching the graves of a dis- peopled town in that vicinity for treasure, the Spaniards discovered a great store of pearls, which, however, had been injured by being buried in the ground. They also found two Spanish axes, and some beads resembling those brought from Spain for the purpose of trading with the Indians. It was conjectured that these last articles had been obtained in trade from the companions of Vasquez de Ayllon, who, sailing from Ilispaniola, had landed at a port on the coast of Carolina in the year 1525. Ilenuiining at the village of the Indian princess sev- eral days, the Spanish governor next marched north- westward, crossing the southern spurs of the Blue Ridge Mountains, j nd thence bent his general course southward through the pi'esent State of Alabama, inquiring every- where for tl e precious metals, often hearing of them, but finding little or none. The aborigines, living along thin extend'.'*,' and tortuous route, were sometimes hostile, and at oibvr times friendly, but nowhere offered any effectual resistance to the progress of the invaders. The privations and sufterings of the Spaniards were often severe, and their adventures bordered closely on the marvelous.f About the middle of October, 1540, Soto and his army arrived at a large palisaded town called Mavila, or Mauvila (Mobile), which was situated on the Alabama Ri ® Supposed to be the Savannah Kiver, and probably in the Chero- kee country. t Thomas' History of the U. S. * Per Soto's Expedition through Florida. 27 ilach • next s now Li'ly in ige of it her Soto, en he tf one- hini II [' i\ (Us- miards !r, had 3y also V those ith the .68 had :^\iez de a port J8S sev- north- Uidge thward every- mi, but ntf thin ile, and tt'ectuiil ivations d their and his ivila, or ; labania *^ Hlie Chero- ^ Liver, a short distance above its confluence with the Toni- bigbee. The nati'^'es of that southern locahty had con- ceived a strong aversion toward the Spaniards on account of their reimted inliumanity, and this was intensified l)y the arbitrary action of the latter in seizing and holding as prisoner, for a time, the Indian cacique, Tuscalosa, for sus- pected treachery. This bitter state of feeling soon burst out into a >doody conflict, which lasted several days, and duriiiir which the Indian town was firod and reduced to ashes, together with a great many of its inliabitants, and a part of tiie baggage of the S[)aniards. According to some Spanish accounts, twenty-five hundred of the natives either died in battle, or were suffocated and burned to death, at Mavila. Ilaviiiff now lost about one hundred of his men and forty-two horses, since landing in Florida, De Soto went into camp for a few weeks to rest his little army, and care for the wounded. Any one but this proud and headstrong captain would have here renounced his scheme of barren conquest and fruitless search for mineral wealth, and joined his brigantines which had arrived at the harbor of Ochuse,* only one hundred miles away. But still lured forward by the hope of finding some rich country, he broke up his camp and marched to the northwest. Fighting his way through the woods and across rivers into the heart of the Chickasaw country, he put his troops into v/inter quarters at the s»nall village of Chicaca, on the upper waters (it is Bupposed) of the Yazoo River. Early in the following March, Scto, as had been his custom, made a requisition ijion the principal cacique of the neighborhood for two mndred men to carry his baggage to tlie banks of the Lississippi. To this unexpected demand the wily sachem ^ave an evasive answer, and, instead of complying with it, jcretly collected his warriors at night, and attacked and 5t fi.re to the village in which the Spaniards were lodged; lus causing the destruction of the clothing and stores of latter, as well as the loss of fifty-seven of their horses * Pensat'ola Bay, the Achusi of La Vega. 28 iSpanish Discovery of the Mississippi. m ■m I 'I i ]' Mil ft "> iiiy'i-iii and fourteen men, who perished in the light and flames.^j This frightful disaster occasioned the Spaniards a month'sj delay, during which time forges were erected, swords re tempered, ashen lances made, and every effort put forth toj repair their irreparable losses. At length, late in April, 1541, the indomitable coni' maiider again resumed his uiarch, and, after struggling for] a week or more through the intervening wilderness of for- est and swamp, and meeting and overcoming stubborn op position from the natives, he reached the long sought Mis- sissippif — the Rio Grande of De la Vega, and the Rio del Espiritu Santo of tlie Spaniards generally. The character| of tliis mighty stream has not materially changed in the lapse of three and a half centuries. It was then descrilni! (at the place of crossing) as almost half a league wide, and flowing with a swift current in a deep channel. The river was always muddy, and trees and timber were continuall} floating down it. The Indian town where Soto iirst struck the main river, was called Quizquiz, or Chiscii,; names now incapable of identification. The actual ap- pearance of the Spanish captain, and of his tattered and battle-scarred followers, nuirshaied on the low banks of tlit Mis8i88ij)pi, was no doubt tame enough iti contrast with tlu brilliantly pictured representation of the scene on canvasf Kere the resolute adventurers were detained riearly a month, constructing pirogues and barges to convey thoiii- pelves, liorses and baggage, over the river. They appear ti have crossed to the western side at the fcjtof the lowisi Chickasaw bluff, a short distance below the site of the ]>rosciit city of Memjthis. SucJj, at all events, is the geneially n ceived opinion, though a few modern writers endeavor t * See Bit'dma's Narrative. t" There in probably no r-ver tliat lias had ho many names hh tliis great river. The name MechiHapa was afterward written Missisipi, niul finally MiHfe'i88ippi. The? IndiaiiH, aceording to their different looalitii- and langua|&,o.s, had different nanieB for it. Soto flrfit knew it by tin name of Chuoagna. The French Reveral timen rhange<l its name, call ing it St. Louis, Colbert, etc." — Hhij.p's History DeSoio, p. 674. I The latter is the name given by La Vega. Soto's Expedition through Florida. m I flames.^ J, montli's ^ords re- t forth to ible com- ogling for 388 of for- bborn op- uglit Mis- iG Kio (k! oliarac'ter >;ed in tlit de8cribo(i wide, and The river ontimially Soto iirst r Chisca,'; ictual ap- tered and iks of tlu it witli tilt >n canviij I nearly a vey thoiii' appear ti he lowest - prertoii! lally re-i leavor toJ fix the place of their- crossing b«^low the junction of the Ar- kansas.* After passing the Mississippi^ Soto and his caravan moved in a northwesterly direction to the Indian village of Pacaha, situated not far to the west of the modern New Madi-id, Missou ri. Stopping there some twenty-seven days, he sent out small parties to explore the country, and after- ward marched north and west to the highlands of White River, the northern limit of his expedition. Still seeking the rich realm described by Do Vaca,t the Spanish captain uow changed his course to the soutiieast, and came to a .Urge town of the people called Quigata. This is supposed to have been on the river Arkansas, near Little Rock. But he was again tempted westward, up into the region of the Ozark mountains, and on his route may have i)a8sed by the Hot Springs, one of the fa >led fountains of youth. He liixt wintered at the town of VicjinqvM' or Autiamque, ■iliich was probably on the [J})per Arkansas, though some writers plare it on the headwatci's of the Washita. It was here that Juan Ortiz, the interpreter, died much regretted. In March, 1542, De Soto left V'icanque and descended the Valley of the Arkansas, to get information in rcgai'd to ^he sea. lieturningto the banks of the Mississippi, he tixed hi; fortified camp at a village called Guachoya, or (^luach- Oyan(pie,I which was ^)robably situated not far below the lontiuence of the Arkansas. The commander now found his iiealth and strength declining uiuler the fatigues and anxieties of his disaitpointing enterprise, and his lofty i ride tave way to a settled melancholy. This was accom[)anieu *Sen tluMlitt'ercnt opitiiotiH on this mooted quostiou collected iu a lote to Baneroft'H History of the V. 8. (edition of 187')) vol I, p. iV.). See llso a lengthy note on the '" Route of PeSoto," in the appendix to B, phipp'H History of Soto and Florida ^riiiladelphia, 1881), pp. (176-<)81. tCaheea de Vaea was second in command of the expedition of Nar- fftez in 1528, and it is asserted or conjectured that he discovered one of »e njouths of the Mississippi. + Home modern writers, including Bancroft, locate (iuachoya near le mouth of Red River; but we prefer to follow Mr. Mc('Ullough, Mr. |lhea, and others, who would conHne He Soto's wanderings west of tho Ireat River to tho Valley of the Arkansas and its trihutariis. ! diiiiiiiliiii! If ^'^ Spanish Discovery of the Mississippi. ; by a malignant and wasting fever, of which he died on the 5th of June, 1542, being aged about forty and six years. The knowledge of his death was kept a secret from the In- dians of the locality, who yet surmised the fact, and his body, wrapped in a mantle, was buried witliin the camp or town. But to eft'ectually guard the corpse against outrage by the superstitious savages, it was exhumed a few days after, and placed in the hollowed trunk of an oak, and then lowered at midnight into the deep bosom of the Father of Waters,* an appropriate resting-place for its daring discov- erer. It is related that his sympathetic and devoted wife expired at Havana within three days after hearing the sad tidings of his end. According to the more credible authorities, Hernando de Soto was born at Xeres de los CaV.ell^ ^ in the prijici- pality of Estramadura, tSpain, about tue ^ cur 1496. He was the scion of a noble yet impoverished family, and was in- d'^.bted to one Pedrais d' Avila for the means of pursuing an university course. After this he went to the West In- dies, and joined Pizarro's expedition to Peru. In his ex- ploration and attempted conquest of Florida, he is said to have expended more than one hundred thousand ducats. Garcilasso de la Vega, in his "History of the Conquest of Florida," gives us this concise yet flattering delineation of De Soto's person and ol aracter: "He was a little above tlie medium height, hi. 1 a cheer- ful countenance, though somewhat swartliy, aiisi v .; an ex- cellent horseman. Fortunate in his enterprise- 1 leath had not interrupted his designs; vigilant, skillful, amwitious, patient under difficulties; severe to chastise offenses, but ready tr pardon others ; charitalile and liberal toward the soldiers; brave and daring, as much so as any captain wlio ■*'Tlv« Knight of Klvas statcH, in his narrative, that iSoto died on the 2lBt of May, 1542, and alw) given a ditlerent account o." liis final burial from that currently accepted, lie Hays: " Luysde Mohcopo comn.andcd hiin (Koto) to be t&ken up, and to caet a great deal ^f sand into the mantlcH in whiidi he wan wound, wherein he was carried in a canoe, and thrown into the river." ,mi on the years, he lu- ud his imp or utrage tV days id then ther of discov- id wife the sad rnaudo prinei- Lle was tva8 in- Lirsuiiig ^e8t Iii- his ex- eaid to ucats. IKpK'Ht neation Survivors of Soto's Expedition. 81 d on tilt' al burial in.aixifii 'j^ into the a canoe, had entered the new worhl. So many rare qualities caused him to be regretted by all the troops."* By his last will, De Soto appointed Luis de Musooso d'Alvarado, his favorite lieutenant, to succeed him in com- mand of the army, which had been reduced by disease .ind casualties to one-half its original nundjer. The real pur- pose of the expedition was now abandoned, the only object of the survivors beiiig to quit the country as best they ^night. Doubting his ability to lead the men back to Cuba by way of the Mississippi and the Gulf, the new commander set fcrth on a long and hazardous journey to the west and southwest in hopes of reaching the Spanish settlements in northern Mexico, as De Vaca claimed to have done after the failure of the exi)odition of Narvaez, to which allusion has been nnuk>. In the course of this archious march, ex- tending over seven hundred miles, Muscoso and his troop traversed a consideral)le part of the Valle}' of Red Kiver, and passed by some tribes who were found still inhabiting that country when it was first explored by the French, nearly a century and a half later. The most westerly town reached by our band of adventurers was named Nacachoz, or Nazachoz, in western Texas. Here they saw pottery, tur([Uoises, and cotton mantles from Mexico, and met with an Indian woman who had l)elonged to a S}»anish expedi- tion sent eastward from the Pacific coast a few years before, (-ontinuing to advance ten days longer, tliey crossed a con- siderable river,:|: when they found themselves in a desert region j)eopled by rovii\g .md jiredatory tribes. Disheartened at tlie cheerless prospect, and fearing treachery from their native guides, the Spaniards now faced about and retraced their weary course to the Mississippi. Arrived once more at Guachoya, where Soto had deceased, they determined to construct some v^essels with which to descend to the sea and return to their own country. But not findiiig the requisite facilities f«n che work, they as- * Soe Rhipp's History of De Soto and Florida, p. A'.W. fSupposfd to have been the I't'cos branch of the Rio Bravo del Norte. !i if 32 Spanish Discovery of the Mississippi. cended the river to the village of Minoya,* where they went into winter quarters and stayed six months. Here they set up a forge, and worked all their iron and chains into nails and spikes. They cut and dressed timbers, split boards, laid keels, and thus built seven light brigantines, in which they laid loose planks for decks, and afterward stretched rawhides and mats to protect themselves from the Indian arrows. It was on the 2d of July, 1543, that the shattered remnant of Soto's once proud array, now reckoned at only three hundred and twenty -two men, embarked in their slender brigantines, with a canoe attached to each, and began to drift down the great river. During the voyage, they suftered great annoyance and injury from the Indians along the Lower Mississippi, who were exasperated at the Spaniards on account of their cruelties, and who followed them in canoes for many days, and harassed them with re- peated attacks, both by laud and water. In one of these encounters with the savages, according to the Knight of Elvas, Viie brave Juan de Guzman and ten soldiers were slain or drowned iu the river. Escaping at length from their enemies, and having sailed as they computed two hundred and fifty leagues, Muscoso and his followers reached the Gulf of Mexico on the 18th of July. From thence, instead of venturing to cross the open sea in their weak craft, they coasted its low sbores to the west and south for fifty-two days, and, after undergoing incredible hardships, finally arrived at the town of Panuco, in M<^xico, on the 10th of September. "The inhabitants of Panuco," says the old chronicler, Garcilasso de la Vega, "were all touched witli pity at beholding this forlorn remnant of the gallant armament of the renowned Hernando de Soto. They were blackened, haggard, shrivele<l up, and half- naked, beii>g clad only with the skins of deer, buffalo, * Or Aininyo. The precise location of tiiis village, where the brig- autineB were built, can not now bo settled, its SpaniHli-Iiulian name havinji; left no trace, but it \h supponed to huve been on a hmuiII river that put into the Mississippi a few miles above the luouth of the Ar- kansaH. of a here * Fo Ition, set [Gentlen ^ffl^BioUK of ha|iH the Survivors of Soto's Expedition. 33 XU'O, nco," •e all )t' tlie Soto. hiiH- ttUlo, bears and other animals, and looking more like wild beasts than liuman beings.* This wonderful yet disastrous expedition, covering a period of over four years, was practically the beginning of the history of the United States of North America ; for the ''■-,) migrations and wars of the savage tribes, who had hitherto -." occupied the whole country, are of hardly more historical value than the flights and skirmishes of so many hawks ^ and crows. In this category we would not class the old "s Mound Builders, of whom and whose works so much has ■ been learnedly written, while so little comparatively is really known. They, too, were probably Indians, though of a more intelligent and civilized type than those found licre by the Europeans. Subsequently, in the year 1557, owing to the implaca- ble hoistility of the natives, and to the loss of the crews of several Spanish ships that had been wrecked on the coasts of Florida, the King of Spain gave orders for the military reduction of thai; country. Accordingly, in 1559, an ex- pedition of fifteen hundred men was equipped and sailed from Vera Cruz, Mexi-o, under the c(mimand of the vet- .|eran Don Tristan de Luna. He landed with his army at I St. Mary's Hay, iiow Pensacoia, and advanced northward |into the interior, and thence westward to the Mississippi, ||in the country of the Natcliez Indians. In the meantime ydisHcnsions and revolts arose among liis troops, which im- Ipaired the success of the expedition, and necessitated a V retrograde march to the coast, where vessels soon alter >' arrived and cai'ried the survivors back to Mexico. I llencotbrth the MissiHsi[)pi Iliver apjtears to have been I neglected and tbrgotten by the Spaniards, although they ^liad exi>lored it for nearly a thousand miles, and were ac- jquainted with at least two of its principal western tributa- For full, if not uIwnyH trust worthy aocomitH of De Hoto's expedi- [tion, HtH* the contcnipcirary chronicles of l?ie(hnii or IMednra, of the ejrn, sevj.ral Knglish ver- {(ientlei uin of Elvas, and of (Jarcilasso de la V Bionsof wlncihare in print. That of Biodnia Im the shortest, and per [ha|iH the most autlientio. 3 rirTirf-ffrtt- -tt- 84 French Discovery of the Northwest. ¥m 'I' ii !!'i!!:i!i|i Ties. It was afterward laid down on their maps of West Florida as a comparatively unimportant stream, and was not always distinguished by its original Spanish name; nor is it certain that any ship of that nation had ever entered and ascended the great river from the sea. Spain thus abandoned the Valley of the Mississippi to its primitive wildness and savagery, partly because of the great difficulty of penetrating the country, but chieliy for the reason that no El Dorado, no glittering gold, was found in all that semi-tropical region to attract and satisfy Spanish cupidity. Nearly a hundred years had elapsed after Soto's prinuil discovery, when Jean Nicolet, an intrepid French roya(/ent\ reached the vicinity of a northern affluent of the Mississip})!. John Nicolet was a son of Thonuis Nicolet, of Cherl)ourg. France, lie came to Canada as a youth in 1618, and was shortly after sent by Champlain to reside with the barbar- ous Algonipiins on the Isle des AUamettes, situated in the Ottawa River, above Chaudiere Falls. He stayed with them two years, following them in their periodical hunts, partak- ing of their fatigues and privations, and often suffering keenly from the pangs of hunger and the brutality of the savages. In the meantime, however, he acquired an inti- mate knowledge of the Algonquin language, then generally spoken on both the Ottawa River and the northern banks of the St. Lawrence. Nicolet afterward went to residi' among tlie Nipissings, on the shores of the lake of that name, with wliom he remained about nine years. Here he lived as an Indian, speaking their harsh tongue, having his own little cabin and establishment, and doing his own fish- ing and trading. But he still continued a Frenchman and a Catholic, and at length returned to the confines of civili- zation, because, as he said, *' he could not live without the sacraments," which were denied him in the depths of the wilderness. After the repossession of Canada by the French in July, 1632, the Sieur Nicolet was employed as a (iommissary and Indian interpreter for the company that governed the col- ony. In 1634, or tliereabouts, he was sent as an agent or Jean Nicolet. 35 West i wiiH ;; nor itered I thus mitive Henlty n tluit II that pidity. priiiud 11 age I ()\ ih8ip]>i. •boui'i?. lid WHS barbar- l hi the th them [partak- iftering of the ail iiiti- iieraUv banks ) res'uU' of that lere lu' niig his '11 tirtll- liaii aii'l If eivili- lout the of tho liii July, lary and -^j^ ]he col- Igeut or embassador to the Wimiebagoes, wlio dwelt near the head of Green Buy of Luke Michigun.* They hud quarreled with the Nez Perces, or Beaver Indians, whose hunting-grounds lay to the north of Lake Huron, and who were friendly to- ward the French, Nicolet was charged, among other things, to negotiate a peace with those discordant tribes. But the main object of his expedition appears to have been to solve the problem of a western and more direct route to China, which country was supposed to be situated not far beyond the most westerly of the great lakes. Agreeably to the best accredited account of his cele- brated journey, Nicolet set out in a bark canoe, w^ith seven Huron Indians for guides and huntsmen, and ascended the Ottawa River to a station above Allumette Island. Turning thence to the west, he traveled by way of Lake Nii)is.siiig to the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and followed its rugged and forbidding coast up to the Rapids of St. Mary, where he held interviews with the natives of those parts. Returning down tho strait of that name, he next en- tered and passed through the Straits of Michilimackinac — about three leagues in length — emerging on the watery ex- panse of Lake Michigan, or Lake of Illinois, as it was first known by the French, of which he was entitled to the ■"In no record, contemporaneous or later," says Mr, Buttt;rfield, " Ih the date of his journey thither given, except approximately. The fact of Nicolet having made the journey to the Winnebagoes is first no- ticed by (Father; Yimont, in the Relation of 1G40, p. 35. He says: " Le iIhUi' ray tout maintenant le cote du md, ie diray an paaaant, que le Sieur Ni- roh't, interpretfr eii langne Ahjonq^nne et Huronne pour ^femeur8 de In Nouvellf France, ?«' '« donnc les noms de ces natiom qiCil a visiU'e luij memne pour la plupart dans leur pays^ tous ces peuples eiitendant L'AlgoiKpiine, excepte lea irnronns, que ont vue langue d part comme aum, les Oitinipigou ou gens de liter.'' The year of Nicolet's visit, h will be noticed, is left undetermined. Tho extract only shows that it must have been made in or before 1639." Mr. Butterfield then goes on to show, pretty conclusively, that Nicolet made his voyage to the northwest in l(i34, returning thence the follow- ing year. Mr. Parkman, however, fixes the tinie of the journey be- tween 1635 and 1638, and Mr, Shea "u 1639. To the last named scholar is ascribed the credit of liaving been the first to identify the " Ouinipi- gou, or Gens de Mer," of Father Vimont with the Winnebagoes, Hee " Nicolet's Discovery of the Northwest," by C. W. Butterfteld (Cincinnati, 1881), pp. 42-45, and accompanying notes. ■'S*i< 36 French Discovery of the Northwest. honor of discovery. After uoidly threading his course around its wild, northern shores to the Bay of Noquet, an arm of Green Bay, he made his way over the hitter to the mouth of a stream flowing in from the west, where he met a tribe of Indians called the Menominees. From thence he resumed his voyage up Green Bay toward the Winnebagoes, who, having received word of his coming, had sent a num- ber of their young braves to meet him and escort him to their villages. Nicolet found the Winnebagoes to l)e a numerous peo- ple, living in bark and skin covered lodges, and speaking a guttural language radically different from that of the Huron and Algonquin Indians. They belonged to the great fam- ily of the Sioux or Dakotas, and were the only l)ranch of that stock who dwelt so far eastward of the Missis- sippi. Nicolet's arrival created a great sensation among the Winnebagoes, for he w.as the first white man to visit them, and four or five thousand of the tribe assembled to greet him. Each of the j)rincipal chiefs gave a feast in his honor, at one of which a hundred and twenty beavers are said to have been served. On taking leave of the Winnebagoes, he journeyed for six days up Fox River, and thence passed through Lake Winnebago to the homes of the Maskoutens, or Mascoutins, who afterward became banded with the Miamis. It seems that the Sauks and Foxes had not as yet migrated from the East to this sec- tion of the country. Hearing from the Mascoutins of a nation called the Illinois, we are told that he continued his progress southward and visited some of the villages of that people. While exploring the Fox River, he also heard of the Wisconsin ; but as the account given by him of this tributary of the Mississippi is vague and confused, it is by no means certain that he either saw or navigated any part of it. " It has been extensively published," says Mr. Butter- field, " that Nicolet did reach the Wisconsin, and float down its channel to within three days (sail) of the Missis- sippi. Now Nicolet, in speaking of a large river upon which he had sailed, evidently intended to convey the idea '"'i ast in ,-Ajj savers )f the ^vwU River, '\N lomes ■ ;i« ecame -M 8 and M is sec- '■1 3 of a ' 4" •[ ed his res of i also y him fused. igated ; utter- float H ^issis- « upon 'v'lL^H e idea Jean Nicolet. m of its being connected with tlie lake, that is, with Green Bay. Hence he must have spoken of Fox River. But Viniont (Relation, 1640, page 36) understood him as saying that had he sailed three more days on a great river which flows from that lake, he would have found the sea," or "great water" of the Indians. On his return trip, Nicolet stopped to form the acquaintance of the Poutouatamis (Pottawatomies), who occupied the islands in the mouth of Green Bay, and there met with a friendly reception. Sliortly after arriving at Quebec from his tour to the far west, he w^as sent to the Three Rivers, where he resumed and continued his duties as commissary and Indian interpreter. On the 22d of October, 1637, Jean Nicolet was mar- ried in Quebec to Marguerite C/Ouillard, a god-child of vSam- uel de Champlain, and by this union became the father of one child, a daughter. Four years later (1641), he was associated with Father Paul Ragueneau in making a treaty with a large band of the Iroquois, who, having entered Canada, were threatening the post of Three Kivers. "About the first of October, 1642, he was ailed down to Quebec to take the place of his brother-in-law, Olivier de Tardift', who was general commissary of the Hundred Partners or Associates, and who sailed on the 7th of that month to Old France. The change was very agreeable to Nicolet, but he did not enjoy it long; for in less than a month after his arrival, in endeavoring to make a trip to iiis former place of residence, to release an Indian prisoner in possession of a band of Algonquins who were slowly torturing him, his zeal uad humanity cost him his life. On the 27tli of October, he embarked at Quebec, near 7 o'clock in the evening, in the launch of M. de Savigny, which was headed for Three Rivers. He had not yet reached Sillery (four miles above Quebec), when a north- east squall raised a terrible tempest on the St. Lawrence, and filled the boat. Those in it did not immediately drown. Nicolet had time to say to M. de Savigny, ' Save yourself, sir, you can swim ; I can not. I am going to God ; I recommend to you my wife and daughter.' The 38 French Discovery of the Northwest. il! wild waves tore the men one after another from the boat, wliich had capsized and floated against a rock ; and four of the number, inchiding Nicolet, sank to rise no more." * Thus was overwhelmed in the surging billows of the St. Lawrence, while on an errand of Christian charity, the Sieur Jean Nicolet, the first European, whose slender canoe cleaved the limpid waters of Lake Michigan, and thefirst who is known to have set foot in the level prairies of Southern Wisconsin. His untimely death was regretted in common by his countrymen and the red men. The story of his ad- venturous yet useful life has been worthily written, and his memory survives in the name of a county and town in Lower Canada. It may seem strange that the Mississippi River, drain- ing as it dees the heart of the continent, should have re- mained so long unknown throughout its course to the English colo .ists on the Atlantic seaboard ; but they evinced no early disposition to venture beyond the moun- tains that walled them in on the west. The vague story of an English voyage up the great river in 1048, has found some advocates, though it is quite improbable, considering the fact that the Gulf of Mexico was then a closed sea to all European vessels save the Spanish. In a book, descrip- tive of the Province of Carolina, published by Dr. Daniel Coxe, in London, in 1727, it is affirmed that a certain Col- onel Wood, residing at the Falls of James River, Virginia, discovered different branches of the Ohio and Mississipjii Rivers between the years 1654 and 1664. " It is possible, however (says Col. R. T. Durrett, in his elaborate historical address on the anniversary of Kentucky's Centennial of State- hood), that Dr. Coxe has credited Col. Wood with an ex- ploration that was made by Captain Thomas Batts, at a little later date. In 1671, Gen. Abraham Wood, by the authority of Governor Berkeley, sent Captain Batts with a party of explorers to the west of the Appalachian Mountains, in search of a river that might lead across the continent to- *" Discovery of the Northwest hy Jean Nicolet; with a Sketch of his Life and Explorations." By C. W. Bntterfield, pp. 82-84. Englhh Attempts to Reach the Mmissippl. 39 :oricai State- Im cx- a little |horit\ lirty of [iiB, ill lilt to- ward China. The journal of tlieir route is rendered ob- scure by meager descriptions, and the change of names since it was written ; but it is possible that they went to tlie Roanoke, and, ascending it to its headwaters, crossed over to the sources of the Kanawha, which they descended," probably to the Ohio. But it does not appear that either of those Virginia explorers ever penetrated beyond the re- gion of the Upper Ohio. In the meantime, however, the French Jesuits and fur- traders were pushing deeper and farther into the wilder- ness of the northern lakes. About the year 1634, three Jesuit priests, Brebeuf, Daniel and Lalemant, planted a misi.ion among the Ilurons on the shores of Lake Simcoe, and another on the southeastern border of Lake Huron. In 1641 the Fathers, Isaac Jogues and Charles Raymbault, embarked upon the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, for the Sault de Ste Marie, wliere they arrived after a tedious canoe passage of seventeen days. They were met there by a con- course of some two thousand natives (probably Ojibwas), who had been ai)[>rised of their coming, and to whom they proclaimed the mysterios of the Romish faith. Father " Raymbault died in the wilderness in 1642, while jiursuing liis missionary labors and discoveries. The same year, Jogues and Bressani were captured and tortured by the l!i- diaiis. Then followed the havoc and destruction of an Iro- quois war, by which the Jesuit missions were broken up, and many of their priests were either tortured or put to death. "Literally did those zealous missionaries 'take their lives in tlieir hands,' and lay them a willing sacrifice on the altar of their faith." For a number of years, therefore, all further French I x}»loration was arrested. "At length, in 1658, two daring Iraders penetrated to Lake Superior, wintered there, and brought back tales of the ferocious Sioux, and of a great western river on which they dwelt. Two years later (1660), tlie aged Jesuit (Rene), Menard,* attempted to plant a mis- * Recent publications," says tlu' late John (iihnary Shea, "have placed a Jesuit mission on the lake (Superior), and even on the Missis- sippi, as early as 1653 ; but the Relations have not the slij,'lite(st allusion m French Discovery of the Northwest. •lilfir ilii! jiiiip^ I'liUll INilili sion on the southern shore of that lake, but perished in the forest by famine or the tomahawk. Allouez succeeded him, explored a part of Lake Superior, and heard in his turn of the Sioux and their great river, the ' Mesissipi.' More and more the thoughts of the Jesuits, and not of the Jesuitn alone, dwelt on this mysterious stream. Through what re- gions did it How, and whither would it lead them — to the South Sea, or the Sea of Virginia; to Mexico, Japan, or China ? The problem was soon to be solved, and the myss- tery revealed."* The dittereut enterprises of the Jesuits and fur-tradorn having made known the country of the northwest, the French-Canadian officials took steps to extend over it the jurisdiction and authority of the King of France. Pursu- ant to this end, on September 3, 1670, Jean Talon,t the ac- tive a^d able intendant of New France, selected and com- missioned Simon Francois Daumont, Sieur de St. Lussou, as his deputy to go in search of cop' ^r mines, and to hold a general conference with the indi^ is tribes about the outlet of Lake Superior. To avoiu any pecuniary outlay on the part of the provincial government, the resources ot which were rather limited, it was arranged that St. Lussoii should remunerate himself for the expenses of his expedi- tion by trading with the Indians. He set out from Quebec to the fact, aud speak of Menard as the first. The Jesuits named (Fatiier Dug6rre and otliers) as being concerned are not mentioned in the jour- nal of the superior of the mission, nor in any printed Relation, nor in Ducreux, nor in Le Clercq. Tlie fact of a mission at Tamaroa prior to Marquette's is perfectly incompatible with the Relations, and if estab- lished would destroy their authority." — Shea's History of the Discovery and p]xploration of the Mississippi Valley (N. Y., 1853), p. 23, note. *Parkman's Introduction to his " La Salle and the Great West." tJean Baptiste Talon was the second intendant of New France, aud the first, we believe, under the royal government of the country, which prospered under his administration. He was intendant, or rather su- perintendent of justice, police, and finance— the position being next iu rank and dignity to that of governor. He was first appointed to this office in 1663, and served till 1668, and again from 1670 to 1672, when lie returned to Old France and accepted the position of principal secretary in the king's household. Talon was born in Picardy in 1625, and died at Versailles in 1691. His portrait in oil is preserved in the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec, and presents hiui as a handsome and courtly gentleman. witl full com ous of J men coul , he li und( qual Ilei • viou the! and nati^ ing meet Mari ward Indii by hi send of 16' unde 11 own set o: the w the 51 in ad-! ing c groun and I ■ prised sundr I writte arrive p St. Lusson's Conference with Western Tribes. 41 with a company' of fifteen men, in several canoes, taking a full supply of goods and other needed articles, and was ac- companied by Nicliolas Perrot as Indian interpreter. According to Parkman, few names are more conspicu- ous in the animls of the early Canadian royagcurs tlian that of P*errot ; not because of the superiority of his achieve- ments over those of many others, but for the reason that he could write, and left behind him a tolerable record of what he had seen and done. Like Nicolet, Perrot was a man of undoubted courage and address, and exhibited both of these qualities in his dealings with the various tribes of red men. He was now about twenty-six years of age, and had pre- ' viously been in the' employ of the Jesuits. The Sieur de St. Lusson and party wintered on or near the Manatoulin Islands, in the northern part of Huron Lake, and occupied the time in hunting and bartering with the natives for their furs. >[eanwhile Perrot, after first send- ing messages to the tubes of the north, inviting them to meet the deputy of the Canadian intendant at Sault de Ste Marie in the ensuing spring, continued his voyage west- ward to Green Bay, and pressed the same invitation on the Indian nations inhabiting that ulterior region. Flattered by his visit and personal attentions, they all promised to send deputations as requested. Accordingly, in the spring of 1671, the principal chiefs of the Pottawatomies (who also undertook to represent the Miamis in the absence of their own old chief), the Menominees, Winnebagoes and Sacs, set ofi in their light canoes, and paddled their way over the watery plains to the Sault, whither they arrived about the 5th of May. St. Lusson and his Frenchmen were there ill advance to receive them. The Indians of the surround- ing countrj'^ now came flocking in from their hunting grounds, attracted in part by the fisheries at the rapids, and partly by the polite messages of Perrot. They com- ]tri8ed the Crees, Monsonies, Amikoues, Nipissings, and sundry other petty tribes, with names too barbarous to be written. When the representatives of some fourteen tribes had arrived, and after the usual feasting and sleeps, St. Lusson 'I 42 French Discovery of the Northwest. prepared to eyeeute the special commission with which he had been charged. Accordingly, on the 14th of June, in presence of the assembled Iiidians and Frenclimen, includ- ing four Jesuit priests* in the vestments of their office, he proceeded to take formal possession, in the king's name, of Sainte Marie du Sault, as also of Lakes Huron and Supe- rior, the Manatoulin Islands, and all the countries, lakes, rivers and streams, contiguous or adjacent thereto. A tall wooden cross was now erected, for the adoration of the natives, and close by its side was planted a stout cedar post, to which was affixed a metal plate engraven with the royal arms of the Bourbons. A hymn was then sung, and one of the Jesuit priests offered up a prayer for the King of France; after whicli the Frenchmen discharged their mus- kets and cried vivc le roi. When these formalities were ended. Father Allouez addressed the Indians in a solenni harangue '..i their own language, to which they stolidly lis- tened while smoking their stone pipes. Soon after the French party had left tl)i> place of assembly, some of those coppcr-hued sons of the forest removed the metallic plato from the post to which it had been nailed, and approj)natod it to their own use. This was done, says Mr. Parkman, not so much from any knowledge of the true im[)ort of the pljite, as from their superstitious fear of its influence as a charm. i:iut the general effect of this notable convocation and conference witli the indigenous tribes of the northwest was favoral)le to the French commercial and political inter eats, as well as to tlieir designs for the future exploration of the great riVer and regions beyond. As a part of the history of this expedition, it is stated that tlie costly i)res- ents made by St. Lusjjio'. to tlie Indian chiefs, and other necessary exp<Mises, were more than repaid by the gifts of valuable furs which he received from them in return. *Tlu' names of theno pricHls were, Claude Dablon, HUi)erior of the miHsions on the upper lakeH ; (ijibriel DreuilleteH, Claude Allouez, and Ivouifi Andr<^. Louis Joliet Ik iiu'nti<<ncd uh uMinn^ the French men present on the oecasiou. MarqueUc was away at the Mission of St, Esprit, on Lake Suj)erior, but was toiujtelled to abandon it during that year. Other French Enterprises. 48 ich he lue, in nclud- ice, he i,me, of Supe- hikes, A tall of the ir post, e royal nd one \\ui£. of ir niUK- i8 were solemn idly lif- ter the )f those 10 pUite ])riate(l rkiiian, t of the ice UH a oeation rtliwost il inter n'atioii of the ,' I » res- other giftH of or (»f the )IU'Z, ttiitl •ncliint'ii 1)11 of St. ring tlmt It is deserving of mention here, that two years before this time, La Salle, then a young and little known man, had projected the discovery of the Mississippi. In July, 1669, he undertook, at his own expense, a journey to the southwest for that purpose. Proceeding with a company from Montreal up the St. Lawrence, and through Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, he thence rambled southward and discovered the Ohio River, which he followed down to the falls or rapids at what is now Louisville. A year or two after his return from this expedition, he is said to have ascended the great lakes, and, pushing on to and beyond the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, discovered the niinois River, or one of its constituent branches. But of this, more hereafter. Such, in general, was the progress of French explora- tion in the interior of this continent, and such was still the limited state of their geographical knowledge in regard to the Mississippi River and its tributaries, down to the time 0f eJoliet's and Marquette's voyage of discovery in 1673 ; prior to whicli it is not known that any " pale face " had fiver readied, or looked ai)on, the main trunk of that liquid highway, above the mouth of the Ohio.* Father Claude Dabloii, whose name tinds repeated mention in tht'He panes, merits something more than a passing notice. He came as a mlHsionary to Canada in 1055, and was at oiuu! sent to Onondaga (New York), where \w remained, with one short interval of absunce, until the iKsion there was broken up in 1(158. Three years later, he and Gabriel reuilletes attempted to reach Hudson's Bay, by the Saguenay Uiver, lUt were stop])ed at the sources of the Nekouba by Inxiuoih war pnr- ies. In l()(i8, Dablon followed Father ManpUitte to the foot of Lake iujierior, assisted in founding the mission of Sault de Ste. Marie, visited tircen Bay, and, in company with Father Allouez, reached the sourci^s of the Wisconsin. Returning thence to Quebec, he was made superior 1){ all the Canadian missions, and held this otlice with intervals ♦ill * It is claimed that one Pierre Esprit Hadison, a noted myageiir and trader, reached the Upper Mississip])! in 1()58-5U; but, if so, he never ;gave the world the benefit of his discovery. An account of hii* alleged (Bxplorations has been published somewhat recently. m ■"«*«?i«»s«M»«a 44 Father Dahlon. . Mill lUflfl I i III iil'ii i| (I "III !' fl' , about 1693. He was still alive in 1694, but the year of his death is U' linown. As the head of the Jesuit missions, Father Dablon contributed in no small degree to their extension, and, above all, to he exploration oi the Mississippi by Marquette and Joliet. He published the Relations of 1670-71, and 72, with their accompanying map of Lake Superior, and prepared for the press those of 1672-73, and 1673-79, which, to- gether with his narratives of Marquette and Allouez, remained a long while in manuscript, for the reason that the pubdcation of the Rela- tions was interdicted in 1673. He was versed alike in the learning oi the cloister and in the mysteries of the forest, and, according to Dr Shea, his writings comprise the most valuable collection of topography of the northwest, which have come down to our day. , TH T< idreacb tiated eiesipp Louis one of ButM witiies! had pi and fa ments I to tlie to be ai ae a re prolta))! getic m thority. No J&uade, .ikla a8 l|)ii^^ed j|overiic Ibiiiewli ^iie; b .#K;ed ii irutivo %\» eiieii idB cour fkvorite Hiw po\v Talon and Frontenac. 46 CHAPTER III. Rela- 1673-1675. THE GREAT RIVER VOYAGE OF JOLIET A?JD MARQUETTE. " To Jean Talon, the able and enterprising intendant, already referred to, belongs the chief credit of having ini- tiated the movement for the French discovery of the Mis- BiBsippi. To effect this long desired object, he selected Louis Juliet, of Quebec, to conduct the expedition, with one of the Jesuit priests for his companion and assistant. But M. Talon did not remain in Canada long enough to witness the comi>letion of tlie bold undertaking which he had projected, and which was prolific of such important and far-reaching results. Owing to repeated disagree- ments between himself and (governor Oourcelles, in regard to tlie jurisdiction of their respective offices, both requested to be and were recalled. Failing health was also assigned m a reason for the governor's retirement. It is not im- probable that the intendant, as the more brainy and ener- getic man of the two, had trenched upon the governor's au- thority. : Not long afterward, in the autumn of 1672, Louis de J3"'»de, Comtede Palluan et Frontenac was sent out to Can- adw as the successor of Courcellcs. Count Frontenac be- longed to the high n<>hlvst<e of France, and was the ninth governor of the colony after Champlaiti. lie was now (jonu'wliat past middle life, and said to be broken in for- tune; but he was a man of rare accomplislnnents, exj)eri- eu't'd in statecraft, and endowed with uncommon adminis- trsitive ability. Although haughty and intolerant toward his enemies, he was ardently devoted to his friends; while hin courtly manners and brilliant conversation made him a faxorite and an ornament of the most cultivated circles. His powers, as chief execMitive, were derived directly from ««J* -M'lT"'' ^'*'^"™"'^™'"'*^"^'''^'''""^'"^^'^"*''^^ ■"Wte'.i.^ 46 Louis Joliet. ] nil iijiij w'm^\ the crown, and were absolute within the sphere of his ju- risdiction, though partly checked by those of the intend- ant. His government was aggressive and stormy, and was beset by strong opposition and enmity, which eventuated, after ten years, in his recall by the king. But when the colony had been brought to the verge of "uin under the weak administrations of LaBarre and De^onville, Fronte- nac was reinstated in 1689, and the closing term of lii> official life was crowned with success, and with the plaudits of his countrymen, He died in Quebec in 1698, at an ad- vanced age, and was interred in the Church of the Recollet Fathers, to whom he was warmly attached. ' But to resume our principal theme. Upon the recom- mendation of Talon, before his iinal departure for France, Governor Frontenac charged Joliet with the conduct of the exploration of the Mississippi, " as being a man ex- perienced in this kind of discovery, and who had been al- ready very near that river," Apart from this official sanction of the enterprise, about all the aid afforded to Jo- liet by the provincial government, was one assistant ami. a bark canoe. Of Louis Joliet* himself, some account nuist needs W given before starting him on liis great exploration. Th* son of Jean Joliet, an humble mechanic, he was born ii, Quebec, September 21, 1645. When of proper age, he wa< put to school at the Jesuit Seminary in his native town Here he made excellent progress in his studies, and eviniiVi a special taste for hydrography. (/om[)leting his curriculuii, at the seminary in 1666, he took some minor orders in, the church, but soon discovered tliat he had no call to tlie priesthood, and therefore exchanged the cassock for tiu' trader's garl). In October, 1667, he appears to have sailed to France, and remained there until the next year. Eiitoi- ing upon his new career in tlie spring of 1669, he was 8eiit| by Intendant Talon, with a young companion, to look fori copper mines in the wild, western region of Lake Supo rior, but returned without success from this mission. He| *Thi8 Burname has sovcral synonyms, as for example, Jollyet, Jolliet, and Joliette; but it is usually written Joliet. • furtl held spriii undo of J( seenii tion < was t conv( the li Jacqi guisli was c ment motlK gen ci- ne vol I voliin becon bus a] that S( contiii tatioui , Jesuit %this St Cu[)()n ii |Chami %niiHsioi ranct ;o Can M ,nt wil ly his iidiani 0th ot ;o l)egi Fat] pril, )f his ju- Lntend- lid was tuated, len the der thv Fronte- of hi? )laudit> ail ad- ElecoUet iduct ofP nan ex- been al-' official id to Jo- ant and- leeds l)t: m. Th. born iii I, he wib e town evincvil •ricuhiii, rders ii; 11 to tlh Vol- tlu' e Hail*''i Kilter- an siMit ook t'i'i ,e Su)"'- n. 11' fe, .J oily ft, Father Marqueite. 47 further appears to have been present at the grand council held by St. Lusson with the Northwestern tribes, in the spring of 1671 ; bu*^ whether as a member of his party is undetermined. The selection of Father Marquette, as the companion of Joliet in the proposed exploration of the Mississippi, seems to have been made informally on the recommenda- tion of the superior general of the Jesuits at Quebec. He was doubtless chosen on account of bis known zeal for the conversion of the western Indians, and his proficiency in the languages or dialects s[»oken by the different tribes. Jacques, or James Marquette came of a family distiur guished in the walks of both civil and military life. He was cradled in the ancient town of Laon, in the depart- ment of Aisne, France, in the year 1637. From his pious mother {nk Rose de la Salle), he imbibed an ardent and generous temperament, predisposed alike to piety and lie- nevoleuce. In 1654, at the youthful age of seventeen, he voluntarily joined the Society of Jesus, of which he was to become so eminent a member. After two years of studi- ous a[)plication, he was, in accordance with the custom of that society, employed a part of his time in teaching, and continued in the faithful performance of his unosten- tatious duties until 1666, when he was ordained to the Jesuit priesthood. No sooner luid he been invested with this sacred (^niracter, than lie showed an inclination to go u[)()n a foreign mission ; but the ecclesiastical Province of Champagne, in which lie was enrolled, embraced no such mission. He was therefore transferred to the Province of France, and in the summer of that same year (1666) sailed to Canada, arriving at Quebec on the 20th of Se[)tember. Manpiette was now twenty-nine years old, ami buoy- ant with life, health and hope. At first he was destined by his superiors to the mission among the Montagnais Indians, in the Valley of the St. Lawrence; ami on the . lt)th of October he started from Quebec for Three Rivers, "to begin the study of that language under the instruction of Father Gabriel Drouilletes. lie remained there until April, 1668, when, his original doatination having been i 48 (rreat Hiver Voyage. ¥■' ''^•''J^t Ml: 111* ii! i;i!i ■! {; changed, lie was ordered to prepare for the Ottawa mi' sion. In the meantime he had acquired a fair knowledge of the Algonquin tongue, and was thus qualified for enter- ing his new field of labor. While waiting at Montreal for the departure of the Ottawa flotilla, he met a party of the Nez Perce or Beaver Indians, who were returning to their home in the northwest. Setting out with them, he jour- neyed up the river Ottawa, through Lake Nipissing and down French River to Lake Huron, and thence around its northern shore to the outlet of Lake fSupe.'ior Here, in company with Claude Dablon, a zealous and intrepid brother Jesuit, he founded the mission of St. Mary of the Falls, otherwise known as Sault de Ste Marie. After building a log house and chapel, and converting a number of the savages to an outward belief in Christianity, Mar- quette was directed to proceed to La Pointe St. Esprit, situated on the Bay of Chegoimegon, near the southwestern corner of Lake Superior, and arrived thither September 13, 1669. At this far westerly point. Father Claude Allouez had established a Jesuit mission among the Chippewas in 1665, and with it was opened the usual French trading post. It was from representatives of the difterent south- western tribes, and })articu]arly from the Illinois, who came hither to barter their furs and skins, that Fat'.er Marquette first learned of the grand river, of unknown ength, which took its rise in several lakes in the countrv of the far nortli, and flowed southward past their hunting grounds, and which they called "Mechisipi,*' or "Mesissi})!,'" meanini; "Great River" or " Father of Waters," The information thus derived inspired the benevolent heart of the priest witli an ardent desire to explore that mysterious river, and to ftromulgate the gospel to the pagan dwellers on its banks. But in the summer of 1671, he was obliged to with- draw, *vith the Huron portion of his flock, from his station at the liead of what is now called Ashland Bay, in conse- quence of the increasing liostility of the Sioux, a fierce and roving people, who inhabited tlie grassy [)lain8 to the southwest of Lake Superior. Returning eastward along Ion JoUet and Marquette. 49 a mr ledge Biiter- al for 3f the their jour- g and ,11(1 its ere, in itrepid of the After lumber ^', Miir- Esprit, kvestern iber 13, A^Uouez pwHB in trading soutli- |i() came rquette , which |r nortli, |(Ik, and leaning hnatioii ytricst rer, and » on itM |,o witli- station li conse- |a iierce in to the 1(1 along |he southern border of that great hike, Maniuette next ■proceeded to found the mission and Indian school of St. Ignatius,* or Ignaea, at the point or neck of land on the north side of the Straits of Michilimackinac, now called Mackinaw.! During the -nsuing year, he appears to have visited, with Fathers Allouez and Dablon, the western shores of Lake Michigan, and to have prochiimed the Faith to the friendly tribes in that region. It was on the 8th c^f l)ecend)er, 1»)72, that the Sienr Joliet arrived from Quebec at the palisaded mission-house- of Point de St. Fgnace, with instructions from (tov. Fronte- nac to take Pevr Marquette as a companion on his expedi- tion for discovering the Mississippi. The Father's journal of the same opens with the following pious reference to ^liet's arrival : "The day of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy irgin ; whom I had continually invoked, since coming to is country of the Ottawas, to obtain from God the favor being enabled to visit the nations on the river Missis- i^p])i — this very day was precisely that on which M. Joliet arrived with orders from Count Frontenac, our governor, and M. Talon, our intendant, to go with him on this dis- covery. I was all the more delighted at tliis news, because I saw my plans about to be acconiplislied, and found my- self in the happy necessity of exposing my life for the salvation of all those tribes, and especially the Illinois, who, when I was at St. Esprit, had begged me very earn- estly to bring the word of God among them." During the ensuing winter. Messieurs Joliet and Mar- quette nuide the necessary [(reparations for their journey. *' We took all possible precautions," writes Marquette, ♦' tluit if our enterprise was hazardous, it should not be fool-hardy. For this reason we gathered all possible in- foimation from the Indians who had fre(iuented those *iSo named afteir tht> father of the JeHuit order. tMaokinai! and Mackinaw are diminutives or contractions of the Idian word Missilimakinae, which, according to Lippincot's Gazettoer, luuld be pronounced Misli-il-e-mak-e-naw. 50 Great River Voyage of iHIl! :1 I Hi PI'IM'I'U T;art8, and from their acconntB traced a map of all tlie new country, marking down the rivers on which w^e were to sail, the names of tlie nations througli which we were to pass, the course of the great river, and wliat direction we should take when we got to it." This rude map was after- ward revised hy the priest, who also entered all facts of value i!i liis note-book. On the 17th of May, 1678, according to the Gregorian calendar, the explorers set out from Saint Ignace on their perilous voyage. They embarked in two ligiit yet strong and elastic bark canoes, with live French canoe-men and men of all work, whose names we are unable to give. For provisions, they carried a little Indian corn and some jerked meat. They also took a suitable assortment ol goods for distribution as presents among the natives to he met on the wav. After coastins; around the northern curve of Lake Michigan — a wilderness region then, nii(i practically a wilderness still — they entered the little rii^er Menominee, which ituts into Green Bay from the north- west, to visit a tribe called the Folle Avoine, from the wild oats or rice found growing along Lhat stream, and upon which they largely subsisted. The Jesuit missionaries had preached the Faith to these Indians for three or four years, so that thev were accounted " very good Christians." When informed of Marquette's design of going to discover distant tribes, to instruct them in the mysteries of his holy religion, they were much surprised, and did all they could to dissuade him. "They represented," according to his jouriud, "that he would encounter those nations who never pardoi\ strangers, but kill without reniorse and without cause; that the wars which had broken out between ditlbrent people, who would be upon our route, would expose us to the manifci^t danger of being carried off by some of the bands of war- riors who are always in the field; that the great river ii< very daiigerous, when the channel is not known ; that it is full of hideous monsters, who devour altogether men and canoes; that there was also a demon, whom they could see from a great distance, who closed the passage of the river and destroyed those who dared to approach him ; and, in of I was 1 lind - skii \ had ■M ^ til at ■.'■MM 1 thei I "^^' ^K n\' \ ^m H iiiuik '>^g 1 t 1 t*vil, ^B n 1 JoUet and Marquette. 51 conclusion, tluit tlio heiits were bo exceeoive that we should meet death inevital)ly." In reply, Marquette thanked tlieni tor tlieu- good ad- vice, but said that he could not follow it, since the salvation of souls influenced him, for wliich lie would gladly give up his life. He ridiculed their pretended demon, and told them that he aiul his comi)ani<)ns could i)rotect themselves from the marine monsters, and would keep on their guard to avoid the other dangers threatened. After praying with and giving these poor Indians some instructions, the good father and his French companions separated from them and crossed the bay to the mission of St. Francis Xavier, which had l)een principally founded by Father Allouez in 16H9, and was located on that- narrow tongue of land running up between Green Bay *■ and Lake Michigan. Quitting this missionary station early in June, the voyagers proceeded southward to the mouth of Fox River, at the head of the bay, and thence up that river, the rapids of which were surmounted with considerable ditH- culty. They next crossed Lake Winnebago, and shortly came to a village of the Miamis, Masc )utins, and Kicka- poos, banded together, the first named of whom were the most civil and liberal. This village was pleasantly seated on an eminencfe in the open prairie. It was then the limit of French ex[)loration in that quarter, and all beyond it was a fcrra uwognlfa. Father Ahir(|uette was rejoiced to lind standing in the village a handsome cross, adorned with skins, girdles, bows and arrows, which these simple natives had made as offerings to their Great Manitou,t "to thank him that he had had i)ity on them during the winter and given them a profitable hunt." " We had no sooner arrived," says Marcpiette's journal, •' than Mons. Joliet and 1 assembled the old men (of the village). I said to them|that he had been sent on the part of Monsieur, our governor, to discover new countries, and *Tlie French first named tluB large arm of the lake Baie des Puans, (ir Stinking Uay, on' aeeonnt of the otFensive vapors exhaled from its iimddy and slimy siiores. t A word used by the Algonquin tribes to signify a spirit, good or evil, having control of their destinies. mtmmskntmm^i ill 52 Great River Voyage of I oil the part of God to make clear to them the lights of the gospel, etc., . . . and tliat we had occanioii for two guidcH to conduct us on our route. On asking them to ac- cord tills to us, we made them a }>resent, which made them very civil, and at the same time they voluntarily answered us hy a present in return, which was a mat to serve as a bed during our voyage. The next day, which was the 10th of June, the two Miamis they gave us for guides embarked with us in sight of all the inhabitants, who could not but be astonished to see seven Frenchmen, alone in two canoes, daring to undertake an expedition so extraordinary and so hazardous." Taking a southwesterly course through the labyrinth of small lakes that intersected the flat surface of the coun- try, the explorers soon reached the water-shed dividing the waters flowing to Lake Michigan from those falling into the Mississippi. On their arrival at the portage to the Mascon- sin, Ouisconsing, or Wisconsin River, the two Miamis guides helped them to triins[)()rt their canoes and luggage across it (a distance of about two miles), and then left them to re- turn to their own people. Having flrst invoked the protec- tion of the Blessed Virgin, as the special patroness of their ex- pedition, the Frenchmen re-entered their canoes and glided down the shallow channel of the Wisconsin, over shoals and through rapids, past islets covered with vines and under- brush, and along banks of alternating timber and prairie, where they saw many deer and bufl'aloes grazing. After a navigation of forty or more French leagues,* our explorers arrived, without accident, at the discharge ot the Wisconsin ; an<l, on the 17th of June (1(373), they en- tered the Mississippi,! "with a joy," writes Marquette, '4 can not express." They were now embarked on that myt^- terious river, to which their thoughts had been so lonir ' ("f ♦The common Freuch league is equal to only 2. 7t>-100 English or statute miles. t It wuH on the eastern bank of the Missi88i()pi, about Ave mik\* above the month of the Wisconnin, that the village of Prairie du Chieii was established a century later by some French traders. It owed its name to a band of the Fox Indiana, called the " Dog Band," that loni,' resided there. ^M Jol''''t and Marquette. 53 fhts of or two to ae- 3 them 5\vere(l ve as a le lOtli l)arke<l lot hut canoos, and ^0 byrinth e conn- ing tho into tlio J.ascon- 8 guides across it 11 to re- protoo- leirex- . glidocl ivdh anil under- prairie, ;ague>.''' largt' tit ju'V fii- ettc, '*I at my^- so long Inglisli "I' ive inilt>8 du Cli it'll owed its that loug turned, and which the pious priest named J{ii:iere de la^ Coiu-eptioi) ; but they found it ruther narrow at the point of om.rgence, and elsewhere of varying width. For the en- suing week, they somewhat leisurely descended the noble stream, attentively observing its high, bold ami pictures(pie bluffs, its thickly wooded banks and islands, clothed in the full verdure t»f snnnner, and meeting with all manner of wild birds, beasts, tishes and creeping things, but seeing no Iniman being. At night they went asliore and prepared their frugal repast, nuiking but little tire, and tlien nu:)ored their canoes out in the water, and some one of the i)arty was always (ui guard for fear of a surjirise. At length, on the 2")th of dune, having advanced over eixty leagues, and being in latitude below forty-one de- grees north, the voyagers discovered the foot-prints of men in the sand on the western shore, and v well-beaten path leading \i\t to a prairie beyond. Here Joliet and Mar- quette left their canoes in the care of tlieir men, an(i started out to reconnoiter. Following the path for nearly two leagues, they canu> in siglit of an Indian village, on the banks of a small river (sup|)osed to be the l)es Moines), and beyond it, ujion a hill, two other villages. Apj)roach- iiig the lirst, they piously commended themselves to God, and uttered a loud cry; on htniring which the savages sal- lied out of their cabins, and, apparently recognizing the two Frenchmen by tlieir dark robes, sent four of their eld- ers to meet them. The inhabitants of these villages called themselves lUiniu'ek, or Ulini, that is to say " men," or "superior men." They were otherwise known as Peon- areas (Peorias), and Moingwenas, and belonged to a loose confederation of five or six tribes, who went under the general appellation of the lllini, or Illinois,* and whose principal residence was on the river of that name, east of the Mississijipi. Marquette had before met representatives of this nation at the mission of St. Esprit on Lake Supe- rior, and umlerstood their language (a dialect of the Al- gonquin) Hufiiciently well to hold conversation with them. The French added tlie termination " ois" for the sake of euphony. I ■■tfiaiili 54 Great River Voyage of i!;r !l At the door of tlie M'igwain, wli'.-.e he and Joliet were at first received, stood an old man, entirely naked, with hi'^ hands outstretched toward the sun, apj»arentiy to sliade his eyes. Wl)en tliey drew near lie greeted them with tliis friendly and tine sahitation : '' Tlie sun is beautiful, French- men, when thou comest to visit uh ; all our town awaits tliee, and tliou shalt enter in peace into all our cabins." And when they had entered therein, he softly said: "It is well, my brothers, that you visit us." Aftei" exchauifiniJ^ civilities and smoking the peace cal- umet here, the visitors were conducted to the village of the principal chief or sachenj, who, assisted by two of his nude dignitaries, extended to them a ceremonious yet cordial welcome. In this gathering of the chiefs and peojde, whoso curiosity was greatly excited by the presence of the white men among them, Marquette after first nudcing them four presents, announced tlie mission of Mons. Joliet and him- self, lie told them about the invisible God who created them, and who wished to reveal himself unto them. He then S}»oke of the great Chief of the French, who " would have them know that it was he who had produced peace throughout, and had subdued the Iroquois." Finally, he requested them to give him all the knowledge they possessed in regard * the sea, and of the nations through whose ter- ritories it would be necessary to pass before reaching it. In his reply, the Illinois chief could give his visitors but little information about the distant sea; but he besought them not to go any further, because of the great dangers to wliich they would be exposed. Always at war with the surrounding tuitions, these Indians could not understand how it was possible for the Frenchmen to travel in safety from one section of the country to another. The council and speech-making were followed by a generous feast of four courses, viz : Saf/nmiffee,^ fish, boiled dog, and ])ufi'alo meat, served in large wooden platters. The boiled dog, although an Indian delicacy, was politely 'Tliis was a coiinnon <li.sli among the natives of tlie Mississippi ' Valley, and consisted of dour of maize, boiled in water and seasoned with j^rease. Joliet and Marquette. 55 decliiit'd by the two guents, and was removed from their presence. When the feast was ended, they were shown over the vilhi.£re, which was found to contain three hundred caV)ins. Before takin«r their departure, the head chief, as a special mark of consideration for Father Marquette, presented him with a mysterious e-alumet of peace, fanci- fully decorated with feathers, whicli was intended to serve him and his party as a safeguard on their voyage. After spending a couple of days with these hospitable 'children of nature, the explorers re-embarked on the after- noon of the second day in sight of all the villagers, who, to the number of over five hundred, escorted them to their canoes, which they greatly admired, having never seen the like before. Being again afloat on the mysterious river, our Frenchmen were soon borne by its swift current to and through the slight rapids at the entrance of the Des ^ Moines, and ther.ce on to the mouth of the Illinois, putting in from the nortlieast. They next passed, on their left, that gigantic and craggy wall of lime and sandstone rock, which abuts the northern shore for twenty miles below the Illi- nois, and which rises at some points to the height of four hundred feet above the water. "As we coasted along the rocks, frightful from their height and vastness," says Marquette's journal, " we saw upon one of them two monsters painted, (so) that we were alarmed at first sight, and upon which some of the most courageous savages dare not for a Ions- time fasten their eyes. They are as large as a calf, have horns upon the head like a deer, a frightful look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger; the face something like a man's, the body covered with scales, and the tail so long that it made the circuit of the body, passing over the head an<l returning under the legs, terminating like the tail of a fish. The colors that com- posed it were green, red, and black."* *The western Indians were not unacquainted with a rude kind of picture-writiuo;. But it is supixised that these crude paintings, indis- tinctly representing men and beasts, though an object of idolatrous wor- ship to the savages, and long the wonder of the curious, were little more than the exudation of colored matter from the rock itself. They were «iiii>iin-irinim' ni-i.i ii hi 'I'lHI'i'' Great River Voyage of Tliifi was iieiir the iiioutli of Piasa Creek, and two miles above tlie inodern city of Alton. A few miles farther on, while rowing in smooth water, and still conversing about the " monsters," the voyagers were unexpectedly caught in the muddy and impetuous current of the Pekitanoui (Mis- souri),* coming in from the northwest, and swe[>t over to the Illinois side. Escajnng this danger, they paused on their oars to view the outlet of that powerful stream which changes the character of the Mississipjti, and doubtless took note of the ftict that for several miles below the waters of the two rivers refused to coalesce. Continuing their course, they 80(Ui jiassed, on their right, the forest crowned site of St. Louis, and lower <l(nvn, on their left, the mouth of the gentle Kaskaskia ; and then they a}»proached that roundish pile of rock, since known as Grand Tower, against wdiicli the whole curi'cnt of the river seemed to set. This M^as tlie demon or evil Manitou of which tlie northern Indians Inid warned them, but it <li(l not prevent their {nissage and safe arrival at the Ouabouskigou, the Ohio, or Oua- bache of the Frent'h. "This river," says Marquette's journal, " comes from the lands of the rising sun, where there is a great number of people called Chaounons." f The explorers now entered the lov» country — the region of the reed cane, the cotton tree, and the cypress — where they experienced no little annoyance froui musquitoes. Not far below the conHuence of the Ohio, they j>erceived Indians on the eastern l)ank, who stopped and waited for them to approach. Manpiette immediately showed his decorated calumet, which was accepted by the savages as a token of peace ; and wdien the Frenchmen had put to shore, they placed about fifty fei'tabovo the base of tbe clilf ; ]jut thfou(;tb the combined action of tbe eleiiieiits, and tbe work of the quarryman, they are now totally obliterated. * If wo niight i-redit the nncerttiin narrative of the Baron de la Honton, he tirnt explored the MisHonri liiver early in 1081), ascending it as far as tbe inoutb of the Osage. 8ee Ln UimtviCs Voi/ogeH (English ed., London, 17115), vol. I., p. i:^(>. t These were the Khawanocs. Sbawanese, or Shawnees, who JODBti- tuted one of tliC most restless and migratory of the Algonijuin tribes, and are celebrated as tb-j tribe of Tecumseb. Joliet and Marquette. 57 in bined P re now (le la (ling it isli eel, •OIlBti- tribes, were feartted upon butialo moat and bear's oil, witli some iswliite |)lun)s as a dessert. These Indians belonged to a ' tril)o tailed tbe Monsoupelea, and wei-e armed with fusees that had been procured from nations who traded with the English on the coast of Carolina. They told tlieir visitors tha. the sea might be reached in ten (lavs' sail, but this proved fjdlacious. Continuing their ra;)id descent of the grand river, the voyagers next approached, on theii" riglit, a village of th ' .Metchigamta,* who showe<l themselves very hostile, ai..i ririade ready to attack them both by land atid water. Wliile * -fhis companions put themselves in an attitude of defense, ■Father Martp'.ette resolutely disjdaycd his grand calumet, and ma<le signs that they had not come for war; "when," L'Jhe tells us, "God touched suddenly the hearts of the old {I,'"''',men who were on the shore, occasioned doubtless by the Bight of our calumet, and they arrested the ardor of their , j^young men." The Frenchmen then went ashore, though '/not witliout trepidation, ami held u [)arley with the savages. iThis v,as carried o»i at first by signs and gt\stures, for they did not understaiKl any of the six Indian dialects that Mar- qnette spoke. Fortunately an old man was soon found who could si)eak a little Illinois, and lie acted as interj)reter. After presents had been distributed among Mu!se peojile, they beoame more civil, and ottered their guests sagamiitee and iish, Imt declined to give them any information about tlic nations or (country to the southward. Having passed tlic night in much uneasiness at tliis village, the voyagers re-embarked the next morning with +hi'ir interi»reter, and were piloted by a canoe carrying ten savages down tlie river, some eight leagues, to a large vil- blue of the Akamsca, or Akansea. When within iialf a ague of tlie village, they perceived two canoes coming to eet tlieni, in tlie first of which an iiidiaii was standing u|) »d holding in his hand a calumet, "with wiiich he made jn;iny motions, according to the (Uistoin of the country." *'Y\w Mt'tchiKHinoa, or Micliij^amicH, were a warlike triht', who ap- t'ar to hav<« Hul^pequontly fuHcI with tho KaskiL^kiaH of lllinoiH. -58 Great Mker Voyage of He approached, " Hinging very agreeably, tind presented it to them to smoke, after which he gave them sagamittee, and bread made of Indian corn, and tlien, taking the ad- vance, made a sign to tliem to follow quietly after him." Arrived at the village of the Akansea,* the French- men were escorted to the platform, or scaffold of the war- chief, which was strongly built and covered with fine mats of rushes, upon which they were seated, having about them the old men next to whom stood the warriors, and vfter tli« latter a promiscuous crowd of squaws and children. Luck- ily, there was found here a young Indian who understood the Illinois language much better than the interpreter who had acconq)anied them from the Metchigamea. With his aid, Manjuette talked to the whole assend^ly, at the same time making them some small presents, and told them about God and the mysteries of the Catholic faith and worship. When asked wluit they knew about the sea and the nations who lived upon its shores, "they answered that we could be there in ten days; that it was })ossible for us to make the journey in five days, but that they were not acquainted with the nations who dwelt upon it, be- cause their enemies prevented them from having any intercourse with the Europeans; that their tomahawks, knives, and glass beads, which we saw, had been sold to them in part ])y the nations to the east, and partly by a tribe of the Illinois living at the west, four days' journey from there; that the savages whom we saw with fusees were their enemies, wlio shut up their })assage to the sea, and })revented them from having a knowledge of the Euro- peans and an> tnule with them. As for the rest, we should expose ours* Ives v» vy much by ])assing further on, for the reason that their enemies were making continual irruptioni^ upon the river, which they cruised upon continually." f While this i)ublic talk was going on, the Indiaiin brought to their guests, on platters or dishes of wood, flometimes saganiittee, tlicn wliole ears of corn, and then a • It is conjectured tliut IIiIh wuh what wiiH iiftcrward known uh the Kappa viliiijfc of \\w ArkanHaw. 1" ManiiU'ttc'H Journal dn Voyivje, Joliet and Marquette. 59 piece of dog-meat. The people of this tribe are described as being very lil)eral witli what they possessed, ])ut as liv- ing poorly in bark cabins, and not daring to go to hunt the wild cattle for fear of their enemies. They liad, however, abundance of Indian corn, which they cooked in large earthen vessels, and jtlenby of watermelons. The men went naked, wearing their hair short, and boring the nose aiul ears to put in them rings .»f glass beads. The women were indifferently clad in skins, and wore their hair plaited in two braids, which fell behind the ears. Messieurs Joliet and Marquette now conferrrerl together as to whether they should continue their voyage, or con- tent themselves with the discoveries they had already made. Being [>ersuaded that the Mississippi had its discharge in West Florida, at the Gulf of Mexico, and not to the east on the coast of Virginia, nor to the west in the Gulf of California, and being, moreover, apprehensive that if they went much farther soutii they might fall into the hands of the 8j)aniards, and thus lose the fruits of their long voyage, the}' discreetly decided to reti'ace their course. Accordingly, on the 17th of July,* after a (hiy's rest, the explorers turned their canoes ur- the great river, and had nmch difliculty in stemming its powerful current. * Mai-quette's Journal here siiys: "After a month's navigation in (h'Hi'c ling the MiisHisHippi, from the forty-sfeond degree to the t'.iirty- fourth and more, and after liaving publiHlied tlie (iospel to all the na- tions 1 had met, \ • left the village of the Akansea on the 17th of July ti retrace our steps. " flaking allowanee for their inoorreet latitude, wiiich \va.s about one dogi too low, or near the eipiator, it HeeniH that tlie I'xplorers de- Hoend 1 below the Soth paralUd to a village in the vieinity of tho presen own of Helena. Nor is it incrtMlible, as argued by Home writers, that tin y should hav(> sailed so far to the south in thirty days' time. It is apparent from Mappu'tte's narrative that they were equipped with hght canoes, oars, and sails for rai)id traveling; that, after quitting the Illinois, their stoppages were few and of short duration; and that going with the current, and favored ity the annual rise in tlw river, they could witliotit dirticnlty iuive averaged thirty-six miles per <hiy, includ- ing halts. This woulil have covered the distance of eleven hundred JiiilcH, by the windings of the riv»'r, from the mouth of the Wisconsin to that of th(> Arkansas. Charlevoix, in describing tlu* birch-bark ca- noes, says that, " with a good wind, they can make twenty leagues in a 60 Great River Voyage of But few incidents are recorded of this tedious and toil- Bome homeward trip, wliich they made under tlie sweltering sun of midsummer, and exposed by night to the noxious exlialations from the buyous and morasses bordering the river. When they again approaclied the mouth of the Ilh- nois, liaving been told by the Indians that this river afforded a more direct route to the great lakes than that of the Mis- sissippi and Wisconsin, they entered and followed it to the northeast. As the voyagers ascended its sluggish channel, they were delighted with the stream and the varied aspect of the adjacent country. • - " We had never seen any thing like this river," says the father in his journal, "for the richness of the soil, the prairies and woods, tlie buffaloes, the elks, the deer, the wild cats, the bustards, the swans (or wild geese), the ducks, tlie paroquets, and even the beavers. It is made up of little lakes and little rivers. That upon which we voyaged is wide, deep, and gentle for sixty-five leagues. During the spring and part of the summer, it is necessary to make a portage of half a league." f In ascendii'g the Illinois River, their first stop of any length was at a village of the Peorias, the location of winch is not mentioned, though it was probably on or near Peoria Lake. " Here," says Marquette's narrative, " I preaclied for three davs to them the mvsteries of our faitl', in all tlieir cabins, after which, as we were .about to en»'»ark, they brought to me, at tlie edge of the water, a (lyin^. 'nfant, . which I baptized a little while before it died, for the suiv.i- tion of its innocent soul." Higher uj) the stream, the voyagers found a village of the Illinois called Kachkaskia, containing seventy-four cab- day, but, without Bails, they nuist be good canoe-men to make twelve leaj^..e8 in dead water." It iH trno that La Salle, T( ntv, St. Cosme, and othors of th(! early voyagcHTK made no Hueh quick time aH that on the Mi88i8Hij)pi. Hut their southern voyages were mostly undertaken in the winter or early spring, with heavier canons and baggage, and they were otherwise encumbered or imj)eded in their i)rogre8K by a following of Indians. tThis portage was from tlie Des I'laim's bnnich of the Illinois to the Chicagou, which empties into Lake Michigan. of •ill>- icir 3red JoUet and Marquette. ' 61 ins, where tliey were very kindly received by the inhabit- ants ; so well pleased were the hitter with the teachings of the good priest, that they made him promise to return and further instruct them. One of the chiefs and a young brave of the tribe conducted the Frenchmen thence to the Lac lies Illinois (Lake Michigan), l)y which they at last returned to the mission of St. Francis Xavier on Green Bay, at the close of September. They had left this station four montlis before, and during tluit time had traveled a cii-cuit of about twenty-seven hundred miles through regions hitherto unvisited by wliite men."* The two explorers now shortly separated, never to meet again on earth. When Father Mar([uette reached the mis- sion on Green Bay, his constitution was seriously impaired by the fatigues and hardships incident to his prolonged journey, and he was detained there by sickness during the ensuing year. In September, 1674, having partly regained his liealth, he completed his journal of the voyage down the Mississippi, and sent it to his superior at Quebec. An imperfect copy of this journal, it seems, soon found its way to Paris, and into the hands of Mons.Thevenot, an enter- prising Parisian publisher. Appreciating the interest and importance of the narrative, he published it in 1681, in a volume styled Recuil de Voyages (Collection of Voy- ages), under the particular title of " Voyage et deeouverte de qulquc pays et nations de U Amerique Septontrionale,'' to- gether with a rude map of the Mississippi Valley; sev- eral English translations of which are extant. When this journal of Father Marquette first appeared *The following table of the distances traveled over by M. Joliet and Father Manjuette is taken from Sparks's Life of Maniuette : Miles. From the Mission of St. Ignaee to Green Bay, about. :il8 From (ireen Bay (I'lians) up Fox River to the portaj:e 175 From the portage down the Wiseonsin to the MlHsissippi 175 From the moutli of the Wiscoiusin to the mouth of the Arkansas. . 1 ,087 From the mouth of the Arkansas to the Illinois River 547 From the mouth of the Illinois to the Chicago (Creek) 306 From the Chicago to Green Bay, by the lake shore 2(iO Total 2,767 ''I ii' !'i 62 Great River Voyage.' in print, its authenticity was denied, especially by the writers in La Salle's interest, who aitected to treat it as a fiction, or narrative of a pretended voyage. " Indeed," writes Mr. Shea, "the services and narrative would hardly have escaped oblivion, had not Charlevoix brought tliem to light: in \\\u great work on Xew France." But the oppor- tune discovery in 1844 of the original nnanuscript of Mar- quette's journal and map,* in tlie keeping of the hospital nuns of the Hotel-Dicu at Quebec, to whose care it had been transferred, with other papers, from the old Jesuit College in that city shortly before the year 1800, has settled the question of its genuineness beyond dispute. f The narrative itself has a peculiar value, owing to the loss of .Toilet's original pa[)ers of the journey. It is also note- worthy for the terseness, simplicity, and charm of its style, particularly in the descriptive passages. Aside from some pro- pensity on tlie part of its priestly author toward hypcrbole,| and waiving the question as to how far he and Joliet actu- ally went below the junction of the Ohio River, his journal iray be accepted as a true and striking picture of the Mis- 8issi}>[»i Valley, iind of its savage inhabitants, at that i>ris- tine period of the country '« history. Marquette had an ob- servant eye for the various phenomena of nature, and his brief expUmation of the lake tides has not been greatly im- proved upon by the deductions of modern scientists. Having at length received from the sui)erior of his order at Quebec the requisite authority to estaldish a mis- sion on the Illinois Uiver, and his health now seeming to be restored. Father Marciuette started for his new mission on the 25th of October, 1074. Leaving the station of St. Francis Xavier in a canoe, with two French attendants, he *Now preserved among the old records in St. Mary's College, Mon- treal. t Moses' History of 111., vol. 1, j). M. JTluB tendency to exa>j;geration characterizcB, in a greater or less de- gree, the writings of all the early explorers of America. It was doubt- less nnturiil to those men of impressible imaginations, in th(^ continual presence of now and surprising objects ; for their minds had not been trained to that accuracy of Btateuient which is exjjected from reputable modern travelers. Marquette's Last Visit to the Illinois. 63 niui Vlis- )n6- ob- []m im- \m luis- g to >8iou [' St. ^, lie Mon- sK tie- .oubt- timial bi'tm itiil)le coasted along the Green Bay Inlet to its southern tennituis, and tilt lu-e nuide a i)ortage across the narrow peninsulatothe western shore of Lake Michigan. En route, he overtook a party of the I'ottawatoniie and Illinois Indians, and jour- neyed with them up the lake. About the 23d of November, the missionary was ag.iin seized by his old niahidy, the dys- entery, accompanied with hemorrhage, ln't pushed on, un- daunted by disease and snowstorms, until the 4th of December, whe.i he and his companions reached the mouth of Chicago Creek. Finding it bridged with ice. they uioved up its frozen surface about two leagues, following the south branch, and there stopped and built a cabin, which is believed to have been the first white human habitation erected on the site of the metropolitan city of Chicago. Being unable to i)roceed farther, the sick j)riest and his two attendants wintered in this dreary abode. He passed his waking hours in }»rayer and meditation, and said mass every day. In the latter part of January, he was visited by a deputation of three Illinois Indians, who brought him provisions and beaver skins, and wanted in return jjowdcr and merchandise; but he gave them only the latter. During the winter he also received a visit from a French trader or trapjter, who was stationed some fifty miles awav, and who had heard of his illness. Again recovered sonunvhat, Father Marcpiette resumed his journey on the 29th of March, KiTi), and, going byway of Mud Lake and the rivers ])es Plaines and Illinois, he ar- rived at the village of the Kaskaskias o!i the 8th of April. It was here, near the site of the present town of Utica, that he began his mission, to which he gave the natne of the "Inmuiculate Conce[)tion of the Blessed Virgin." But it was only for a little while that he was able to teach the benighted Indians; for " continued illness soon obliged him to set forth on that return voyage, which brought him to a lonely grave in the wildei'uess."' On the eve of his de[)ar- ture from the village, he convened the inhabitants, to the inmiber of two thousand, on a meadow hard by, and there on a rude altar, exhibited four pictures of the Vir- gin Mary, explained their significance, and exhorted the 64 Great River Voyage. mm m r?'' chietH and people to embrace; Christianity. It may be re- marked, en, passant, that the doctrine (now dogma) of the Immacnhite Conception of the V^irgin was a favorite tenet of the Jesuits, and that Father Marquette was especially devoted to it. Quitting the Indian village a few days after Easter, he was escorted by a band of the Kaskaskias to Lake Michigan, and, on taking final leave of |them, he promised that either himself or some other missionar}- would return and resume his labors among them. •"He seems to have taken the way by the mouth of St. Joseph's River, and reached the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, along which he had not as yet sailed. His strength now graduall}^ failed, and he was at last so weak that he had to be lifted in and out of his canoe, when they landed each night. Cahnly and cheerfully he saw the approach of death, for which he prepared by assiduous prayer; his office he regularly recited to the last day of his life; a meditation on death, which he had long prepared, he also made the subject of his thoughts. And as his kind but simple companions seemed overwhelmed at the pros- pect of their approaching loss, he blessed some water with the usual ceremonies, gave them directions how to act in his last momenis, how to arrange his body, and how to commit it to the earth. He now seemed but to seek a grave; at last, perceiving the mouth of a river, he pointed to an eminence as the place of his burial. "His companions, Pierre Porteret and Jacques , still hoped to reach Mackinaw, but the wind drove them back, and they entered the river by the channel Avhere it emptied then, for it has since changed. They erected a little bark cabin, and stretched the dying missionary be- neath it, as comfortably as they could. Still a priest, rather than a man, he thought of his ministry, and, for the last time, he heard the confessions of his companions, and en- couraged them to rely on the protection of God; then sent them to take the repose they so nmch needed. When he felt his agony approaching, he called them, and, taking his crucifix from around his neck, he placed it in their hands, and, pronouncing in a firm voice his profession of faith. 1 teinj Death of Marquette. #6 liem le it id a bc- :]icr last eii- i(ent |i he hia lids, lith, thanked the Ahnighty for the favor of permitting him to die a Jesuit, a missionary, and alone. Then he relapsed into silence, interrupted by pious aspirations, till at last, with the names of Jesus and Mary on his lips, with his eyes raised as if in ecstacy above his crucifix, with his face all radiant with joy, he passed from the scene of his labors to the God who was to be his reward. Such was the edify- ing and holy death of the illustrious exp.'orer of the Miss- issippi, on Saturday the 18th of May, 1675."* Obedient to the instructions they had received, the two surviving attendants of the dead priest bore his body to the spot he had designated, committed it tenderly to the earth, and placed over it a rude cedar cross. Then, re- entering their canoe, they wended their way to Michili- nuickinac, to carry the sad tidings to the Jesuit Fathers at St. Ignace. The river, at the mouth of which Marquette died, is a small stream, in the western part of Michigan, which, according to Parkman, long wore his name, but it is now changed to a larger neighboring stream. Two years later, in the spring of 1677, a party of Christianized Kiskakon Indians, from about Mackinac, who had been hunting in the vicinity of Marquette's grave, disinterred his remains, cleaned the bones after their cus- tom, put them into a birch bark box, and transported them to St. Ignace. On the passage thitlier, they w^ere joined by other Indians in canoes, and the convoy moved in procession, singing their doleful funeral songs, until they reached the landing at the mission-station. Here the re- vered relics of the missionary were received by Fathers Nouvel and Pierson, the priests then in cliarge, in presence of all the Frenchmen and natives of the place, and were deposited, with solemn religious rites, in a vault under the 'Life of Father Marquette, in Shea's " Discovery aud Exploration of tlie Mississippi Valley," j). LXX, and seq. Note. — The account of this eminent missionary-explorer's death by Charlevoix, formerly so generally received, is inaccurate in many par- ticulars, because it was derived from tradition, and not from the con- temporary narrative of Father Claude Dablon, and others. 66 Great River Voyage. :\\ lit floor of the log chapel. In process of time (the mission being afterward abandoned) their resting place was utterly forgotten, but it was discovered by a clergyman of Michi- gan, in 1877, two centuries after the event. So lived and died, at the age of eight and thirty years, the meek and pious, yet fearless and self-sacrificing Pere Jacques Marquette. He was a model of the religious order to which he belonged, and deserved to have been beatified, if not canon- ized as a saint. His disposition was cheerful and happy, and his hold upon the hearts of those aborigines with whom he came in personal touch was something wonderful. This was doubtless owing to his uniform kindness toward them, to the purity of his private life, and to the grace and charm of his manner in the exercise of liis priestly func- tions. Nor is it incredible, as related by a contemporary, that the Illinois Indians should have regarded him as a messenger sent to them from the Great Spirit. His name holds a conspicuous and honored place in the history of the Jesuit mission ies of North America, and is inseparably associated with the discovery of the CJppec Mississippi. It is otherwise perpetuated in the appellations of several counties, towns and streams, in the different states of the northwest. Still, Illinois owes him a monument suitable to his character and services. We must now resume and complete our skeleton sketch ot Joliet's active and diversified career. After returning with Marquette to Green Bay, in September, 1673, he did not immediately proceed to Canada to report his discoveries, as is commonly supposed, but spent the following winter and spring in the upper lake country (engaged, no doubt, in the fur trafiic), and during the next summer resumed his journey to Quebec. Passing down Lakes Huron, Erie and and Ontario, he made a brief halt at Fort Frontenac, which had been erected the year before, and was then com- manded by LaSalle. The latter was probably among the first to learn the result of Joliet's voyage of exploration on the Mississippi, and may, perhaps, have seen his map and journal, which were soon afterward lost. The Sieur Jolit^t, had thus far been highly favored by fortune, and it was not Subsequent Career of Job'et. 67 until near the end of his long journey that he met with any serious mishaii But by the accidental upsetting of his canoe in the LaChine rapids, above Montreal, he lost his two canoe-men, and all of bis valuable pajxirs. In a letter penned shortly after to (,-overnor Frontenac, he thus feelingly refers to his misfortune : "I Lad escaped evory peril of the Indians; I had passed forty-two rapids, an<l was on the point of disem- barking, full of joy at the success of so long and difficult an enterprise, when my canoe capsized after all the danger seemed over. I lost my two men and box of papers within sight of the iirwt French settlement, which I had left almost two years before. Nothing remains to me now but my life, and the ardent desire to --mploy it on any service you may direct." * M. Joliet finally reached Quebec in August, 1674, and reported in person to the governor. Being separated at a great distance from Marquette, and deprived of his papers by casualty, he drew up a short account of his discovery from recollection, and also sk:et<'hed out a map of the Missis- sippi. Gov. F»'ontenac transmittvid these papers to France during the ensuing JS\)vember, and in a dispatch of the 14th of that month to Minister Colbert (inserted at the close of this chapter), he wrote about the "great river" as an indu- bitable fact.f Father Dablon, in his writings, also gives an account of the voyage, "describing Joliet as one who had been where no European had ever set foot." X No general publicity was given by the French government to the dis- covery of the Mississippi ; nor was Joliet entrusted with any new commission to execute in the West. It is averred that in April, 1677, he petitioned ( ' 'Ibert for permission to settle with a colony in the country of the Illinois, but it * This letter is inscribed on Joliet's map of his discoveries made in 1674. tThe papers have been preserved in the Arch ires de la Marine at Paris. It has been suggested that the map publishni by Thevenot, in connec- tion with Marquette's Journal, was reproduced from the one made by Joliet and forwarded to Paris, as above stated. The latter shows the Mississippi to the Gulf, whereas Marquette's autograph map shows that river not quite to the Arkansas. JKingsford's History of Canada, I., p. 405. 68 Great Mher Voyage. was refused him on the specious ground that "Canada ought first to be built up, strengthened, and maintained.''* In truth, his modest merit seems to have been thrown into the shade by the rising pretensions of La Salle, who had won Frontenac's favor. On October 7, 1675, at the age of thirty, Louis Joliet was united in marriage to Claire Frances Bissot, daughter of a wealthy Quebec merchant, who was extensively en- gaged in trade with the northern Indians. In 1679 he made a journey of business and exploration to Hudson's Bay, going by way of the Lower St. Lawrence and the river Saguenay. During the next year, in tardy recognition of his valuable services to the provincial government, he received a grant of the large yet barren Isle of Anticosti, lying in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Taking possession of his island domain in 1681, he erected a fortified house upon it, re- moved his family thither, and embarked in the fisheries. But in 1690 his establishment was destroyed by a naval force from New England, under the command of Sir Will- iam Phipps, who was on his way to attack Quebec; and Joliet's wife and mother-in-law were made prisoners, and held for some months. In 1693 he was appointed royal pilot of the St. Lawrence River, and during the succeeding year explored and mapped the bleak coast of Labrador, a work involving great personal exposure. April 30, 1697, he was invested with the " Seigneury of Joliette," a large and since valuable estate, which lies on the north side of the St. Lawrence below Montreal, in Beauce county, and which is still possessed by some of his posterity. Louis Joliet died comparatively poor in May, 1700, being in his fifty-fifth year, and was buried, it is stated, on one of the Mignan islands in the St. Lawrence. Without possessing any very salient or brilliant qualities, he was an intelligent, well-educated man, ambitious and enterprising, undaunted by difificulty or danger, and faithful in the per- formance of every public duty. Few, if any, of his con- temporaries contributed more than he did to the geograph- Fc patch Joliet South * P^Wt' Margry, I., p. 330. * The " ^Afount J one and a DUpatch of Count Frontenac. ical knowledge of this continent. His snrnume has been fittingly preserved in the now flourishing city of Joliet, Illinois,* and in the nomenclature of other western locali- ties. His descendants appear to have inherited his virtues and talents ; and several of them hold positions of high trust and responsibility, civil and ecclesiastical, in the modern Dominion of Canada. Among the number may be mentioned the Hon. Bartholomew Joliet, and the emi- nent archbishops Tache and Tachereau. We have nowhere met witli any description of the per- sons of either Joliet or Manpiette. Yet, in the absence of such word portraiture, we may well imagine the former to have been a man of medium stature, with a lithe, agile ligure, black hair and eyes, sharply cut features, and a swarthy complexion — the same being physical character- istics of the average French-Canadian — while the latter (Mar([uette) was probably taller, and of a more dignified and conmumding presence. Following is a translation of Count Frontenac's dis- patch to Minister Colbert in relation to the return of M. Joliet from his voyage to discover the Mississippi and the South Sea : Quebec, \Ath November, 1674. The Sieur Joliet, whom ^[. Talon advised me when I arrived from France to send to discover the south sea, returned here three months since, and has discovered some admirable countries, and a navigation so easy by the line rivers, that he found that from from Lake Ontario and Fort Frontenac they could go in barques to the Gulf of Mexico, having only to unload once, where Lake Erie falls into Lake Ontario. These are some of the enterprises they could work upon when peace is established, and it shall please the king to push these discoveries. He has been within ten days of the Gulf of Mexico, and believes that the rivers which from the west side empty into the great river which he has discovered, which runs north to south . . . , and that * The name, in this instance, was taken more immediately from " Mount Joliet," a large natural mound in the valley of the Des Plaines, one and a half miles southwest of the city. 70 Dispatch of Count Frontenac. they will find some communication by waters which will lead to the Vermillion Sea and that of California. I send you by my secretary the map which he has made and the remarks which he is able to remember, having lost all his memoirs and journals in the shipwreck which he suffered in sight of Montreal, where, after a voyage of twelve hundred leagues, he came near being drowned, and lost all his papers and a little Indian that he was bringing back with h in. He had left at Lake Superior, with the Fathers at Sault Ste. ^larie, copies of his journals, which we can not obtain until next year ; through these you will learn more of the particulars of that discovery in which he u quitted himself very creditably. Frontenac. 'mt. La Salle and His Early Explorations. 71 CHAPTER IV. 1666-1(580. liA SALLE AND HIS EARLY EXPLORATIONS. While to Joliet and Marquette are rightly accorded the honor of having first brought to .he knowle(ige of the civil- ized world the immense extent and grandeur of the Missis- 8il)pi Valley, yet the fortunes of the French in this part of Northern Americii were greatly advanced by the energy, enterprise, perseverance, and endurance of the Sieur de la Salle. If the former had discovered and navigated the Mississippi Kiver from the Wisconsin to the Arkansas, it was reserved for the latter and his coadjutors to extend and perfect that discovery from the Falls of St. Anthony to the Mexican Sea. Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle,* whose remarkable career now claims our attention, was born at Rouen in Normandy, France, November 22, 1643. His father, Jean (Cavelier, and liis uncle Henri, were opnict meivhants and hiirgliers of that ancient and still ' .".ely city. The son re- ceived a liberal education, conmicnsurate with the means of his parents, and with those marked traits of intellect and character which lie early exhibited. As a school-boy, he evinced an inclination for the exact sciences, and particu- larly the mathematics, in which he a[tpears to have made great proficiency. While still a minor, La Salle l)ecame a member of tlio Society of Jesus, and studied and taught for several years ill their 8ch(»ols. Hut on attaining to man's estate, his growing ambition and love of independence impelled him to withdraw from that imperious and exacting order of re- ft is told by one of his biographers that " he ligionists ' He is paid to liavc been (•uIUm! l,ii SulU' frnmim cstat'.' of that name near Kout'ii, belonging to \hv (^avcliers. 72 La Salle's Early Life. vl 1!) parted from them on good tenvm, and with an excellent repntation for scholarship and strict morals," yet it is cer- tain that he never afterward cherished any liking for tiie order. In fact, his connection with the Jesnits caused him to forfeit, under the rigid French law, the inherit- ance to Avliich he would otherwise have been entitled from his father, who died about that time. But an allowance was made to him of four liundred livrcs a year (about eighty dollars), the principal of which was advanced to him for the first year; and, with this insignificant sum, lie quitted his patermil home and sailed for Canada in the spring of 1(36B. We next find our youi'g adver.turer at Montreal, wliither he had been preceded by his elder brother, the Abb»'' Jean Oavelier, who was a priest of the order of St. Sulpice, and whose pr'\;once there was an additi(Mial in- ducement for Kol>ert to try his own fortune in this newly opened country. As before stated, the superior and priests of the Semimiry of St. 8ulpice had become fcuchd proprie- tors of the large Isla'.f^ of Montreal, and wished to have it settled and improved They now made young La Salle a libci'al otter, which, under the advice of his brother, he accepted. It was the grant, on easy conditions, of a large tra-'t of Mid land on the north side of the St. Law- rence, about ten miles above the then village of Montreal, but still on the island of tiuit name. The lot-ality was ex- posed to incursions from the hostile lro([uois, but it was very conveniently situated for thefur-iratfic. Taking pos- session of his nev donuiin in the fall of 16(>7, he uuirked out the l)ou)ulai'ies of a village, and began to dispose ot his lands in snudl parcels, after tlie French * ustom, to actual Hi'tllers, who wiU'c to pay liim an annual rental tlu^'efor. Tlie place subse«|Uently took the name of La Chine, which was given to It in derision of Its proprietor's early schemes for the tliscovery of a wesiern i»assHge to Chimi. Mean Hhile, to ([ualily himself for the stirring life before him, he commenced studying thr Indian languages, and particularly the Inxpiois, in which he made eoi'sidcrable proticiency. ft'ino liis frontier jiost on the banks of the noble St. Law re I rhe dist and, lik age, he Ocean. visited Oiitari* took its at so gr mouth. Ohio, ai and, wit ])08ed to The stor that he ( rc'i»aired tile l'roj( gave hii stood pr nothing, and intei ary aid v was uiid ('hine to disposed Seminar} ainountir canoes ai At t ■^inlilar ui its, the pi sioii at th pr()[)08ed distarit w this purp tThJH IIm' a hi,.! .1. Truuvd, but His First Appearance Hi Vdiiada, 73 Lawrence, the thougbts of La Salle often wandered over the distant and untrodden regions toward tiie setting sun, and, like other inquisitive and s[)eeulative minds of tiuit ao-e, he dreamed of a western water-way to the Pacific Ocean. While thus working and musing, he was one (hiy visited by a small band of Henecas,* from thesoutb of Lake Ontario, who told him of a river called the Ohio, which took its rise in their country, and tlowed ofi-'to the sea, but at so great a distance that it took eight months to reac^h its jiiouth. In this exaggerated statement, tbe AlK'gbany, Ohio, and Mississi[»[i were all considered as one stretim, iiiMl,with the geographical ideas then prevalent, it wassup- jiosed to fall into the Sea of Cortes, or Gulf of (California. The story of these Indians so kindled Lii Halle's inuiginalion that he determined to make an ex]>edill»ui to vctil'y it, iind re[)aired to Quebec to obtain (lov. CourcelleH' approval of the i)roject. Both the governor and Intendant promptly gave him the desired letters of authority. In fact, they stood prepared to sanction any enter{)rise tjnit cost them iiotliiiig, and yet promised an extension of French tralfic and intei>ourse anuMig the western Indians. As no pecuni- ary aitl was proffered by the (^ainidian officials, La Halle was under the nei'essity of selling his " <*oncession " at La (•liine to raise funds for liis exploration. He accordingly disjyosed of his improvements there to tbe superior of tbe Seminary of Ht. Hidpice, and with the proceeds of tbe sale, amounting to twenty-eight hundred livres, punfbased four canoes and the re(juisite suj»r»lies for tbe expfdition. At the same time tbe Senunary was [ireimi ing for a similar undertaking. Kmulating tbe example of the Jesu- its, the priests of this association bad already founded a mie- sion at tlie Ibiy of Quintef on Ontario Lake, and they now proposed to extend their operations to tbe tribes i>i the distant west. An ex[)edition was therefore set on foot for this purpose, under tbe management of Katlnus l)oHi(M'de •On(« of tlio flvo triboH thon compoHinif Ha- IroiiutuH Nntion. tThis misBioii wuh cstubliHlKMl lUl)llll^ tlu; (^ayugas in KKIH, by till' AIiIm' lie I'Viit'lon, ii hrotlicrMf \hv author of TcleinacliUH, and Cliindo 'rrutivo, but it ilooH not appear to havo bcou v«^ry HiKHu^Hsful. 74 La Salle and His Early Explorations. l!' t"!ii i*i Oasson and Rene de Galinee. But on going down to Que- bec to procure the requisite outfit, they were advised by the governor to modify their plans so as to act with La Salle in exploring ihe unknown river to the southwest. In accordance with his suggestion the two expeditions were merged into one — an arrangement ill-suited to the temper of young La Salle, who was formed by nature for an untrammeled leader rather than a co-partner in any en- terprise. It was on the 6th of July, 1669, that the combined party, numbering some twenty-two men, with seven canoes, embarked upon the St. Lawrence. Accompanying them were two other canoes, carrying the party of Seneca Indians who had wintered at La Salle's settlement, and who were to act as guides and interpreters. On the 2d of August, after having stemmed the impetuous current of the St. Lawrence, and threaded the mazes of the Thousand Isles, the adventurous explorers emerged upon the broad and deep bosom of Lake '^)ntai5o. Passing thence to a small bay in the sout^ * i part of the lake, they were pi- loted by their guides to the village of the latter, near the Genesee River. Arrived there, they expected to find other guides to conduct them to the sources of the Ohio ; but the Senecas refused to furnish a guide, and even burned before their eyes a young prisoner taken from one of the western tribes, he being the only person who could luive served them in that capacity. This, with other unfriendly treatment experienced by the party of La Salle, caused them to suspect that the Jesuit priest at the village, who acted as their interpreter, was jealous of their enterprise, and had purposely misrepresented it to the Indians, in order to defeat it. After lingering at this place about a month, they had the good fortune to meet with an Indian from an Iroqupis settlement near the head of the lake, who told them tliey could there find wliat the^ wanted, and othu'ed to be their conductor. Gladly accepting his profi'ercd assistance, the explorers left the Senecas ar\d coaste( .. un"^ up the soutbern shore of Lake Ontario, pasu'oi. in !,htr. \\'v the month of ^r^M'Vt^^ His First Journey of Exploration. lb of the Niagara, and on the 24th of September reached the village of Otinawatawa, near the present town of Hamil- ton. Here they were received by the natives in a friendly manner, and La Salle was presented with a Shawanoe pris- oner, who assured him that the Ohio could be reached in six weeks' time, and that he would guide his party thither. Pleased with this proposal, they were about to set out on the journey, when they unexpectedly learned of the arrival of two other Frenchmen at a neighboring village. One of them proved to be Louis Joliet, who was returning to Que- bec from a trip to Lake Superior. He gave to the Sulpitian priests a copy of a map that he had made, representing such parts of the upper lakes as he had visited, and, at the same time, told them of the Pottawatomies and other tribes in that region, who stood in great need of spiritual in- struction. On receiving this piece of information, the missionaries resolved that the Indians on those lakes must not sit in outer darkness, and that the discovery of the Mississippi miglit be effected as well by a nortiiern route, as by going farther southward. La Salle remonstrated without avail against their determination, for it was in accordance witli their original design. He had been troubled for some time with an intermittent fever, and finding liis remonstrance unheeded, he informed them that his physical condition would not admit of his accompanying them farther. This plea of sickness was no doubt a ruse to bring about a separation, which was now agreed upon. After the solemnization of mass La Salle and his men fell back to Lake Ontario; while the Sulpitians descended Grand River to Lake Erie, and thence pursued their voyage up the lakes. On arriving among the Indians at Ste. Marie du Haut, they found, as La Salle hud surmised, the Jesuit fatliers already established in that western region, and that they wanted no asHiHtance from the ])ric8ts of St. Sulpice. The latter therefore retraced their lonely course, and reached MontrealonthelSthof June, 1670, without havingbegnn any mission or converted any Lidians.* • But De (ialiuce, after liiH roturii, unulv the earliest inup of the Upper Lakes kuowu to exist.- rarknuin'B " La .salle ami tlie (Jreat West," p. L'L ^ 76 La Salle and his Earbj Explorations. The course pursuecl b^ La Salle, after his separation from the Sulpitian priests, > involved in obscurity. It i> affirmed that some of his un n now forsook him and re- turned to La Chine, which is not improbable. He is known to have kept private journals or records of his exploration^ at this period, which were in existence as late as 1756, but they never saw the light of print. The oidy contempo- raneous and connected record of his movements is contained in a pamphlet bearing the title of " ITisfoire r/e Monsieur d la Salle.'"' It gives an account of his explorations and of tlh state of parties in Canada prior to the year 1678, and pur ports to have been derived by its unknown writer from L, Salle himself, in the course of a dozen conversations had witi him in Paris, whither he had gone from Canada in the au- tumn of 1677. According to this anonymous memoir, Lu Salle, after leaving the head of Lake Ontario, went to a vill;i'""<! of the Onondagas, in what is now New York, where he obi.vined guides, and thence made his way southward to a tributary- of the Ohio (probably the Alleghany), which he descended to the main river, and followed it "as far as to a rapid that obstructed it," at tlie site of what is now Louisville. It is asserted by some writers that he continued his descent of the Ohio from that point to itn conHuence with tbe Mississippi, but this is no doubt a fiction.* This tour of ex]tloration is hupposed to have been nuide during the fall and winter of 1669-'70; for it ap- pears that the celebrated roi/affeur, Nicholas Perrot, met Lu Salle in the early summer of 1670, hunting with a party of Iroquois on the Ottawa. That he discovered the Ohio, is a pretty well autlienticated fact. He himself affirmed it, *" Pierre IVlarirry, a rec(>nt Freneli writer, asserts Miat In 1070-'71 La Salle deReeruUd tin' Ohio to tlu' MiRsissippi i Dussieux, Canada, p. 37); but the proof haw not hccn jiiven, and, not improbably, is a dclii- Bion, an no notice of the fact appears in any document of the time, and the friends of La Snlle woul<l not ho likely to omit an expedition giving him a prioritv to the diseovcry of the MiHsissippi ; nor would La yalle, having a post al Niagara, ovt'rlook the advantagi'sof following the same course to the Mississipi)!."— Note by J. G. Shea to WaHhington'u Diary of his tour to the Ohio in 1753, printed in New York, 1800. in a mei Moreover of tlie Mi Ohio is tions to tl But his c: approi>ria word sign reveal its Wabash w With years 1671 before cite party on I Luke lliii Lake Mic lake ; that Illinois) tl( Mississipp* allel of la His Discovery of the Ohio. 77 in a memorial addressed to Count Frontenac in 1677. Moreover, Lis rival, Joliet, made two maps of the region of the Mississippi and great lakes, on both of which the Ohio is Uiid down, though not correctly, with inscrip- tions to the eft'ect that it had been explored by La Salle. But his exploration of this n(jble river (which the French appr()})riately nanied La Belle Biriere, from the Irocpiois word signifying beautiful), was not sufficiently extensive to reveal its true character, nor to disclose the fact that the Wabash was simply one of its tributaries. With regard to La Salle's ])eregrinations durijig the years 1671 and 1672, we learn from the apocryphal memoir before cited, that he embarked with aii ex})lorii»g or trading party on Lake Erie, ascended the Detroit and St. Clair to Luke Huron, passed the Straits of ?vlichilimackinac into Lake Michigan, and on to the southern extremity of this lakr ; tliat he thence crossed the country to a riA/er (the Illinois) flowing to the southwest, which he foHowed to the Mississippi, and thence down that stream to the 36th }>ar- alk'l of latitude. Arrived thither, and being convinced that tile great rivtir had its discharge in the Gulf of Mexico, he returned on his course, intending at some future time to explore it to its mouth. l/ittk', if any, weiglit <'an be allowed to tlie above .iicredihle story. La Hiillc was, ul this [leriod, leading the life of a c.ourcur de bois. It is doulitless true that he was employed in some work •!' exploration. Lideed, it appears from an official despatch of M. Talon in 1671, that he had been "sent southward and westward to ex()lore"; but tliis nniy have only referred io tlu' region south of \he lower lakes, and it is not uidikely that at this ;in»e he made tlie discovery of the Ohio. Mr. Parkjium, in hi^ "La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West," after learnedly discussing this obscure and controverted portion of \a\ l**alle's career, thus concludes: "La Salle discovered the Ohi(», and in all probability the Illinois; but that be discovered the Mississippi has not been proved, nor, in the light of the evidence u»' have, is it likely to b"." For our own part, we very much ((iiestion if he «ver saw the Ibinois Kiver, or any branch of 78 La Salle and His Early Explorations. it, prior to December, 1679, though, as suggested by Mr. Shea, he might have reached the mouth of the St. Joseph ill Lake Michigan. The expedition of Joliet and Marquette had well nigh demonstrated the fact that the Mississippi emptied its vast volume of waters into the Mexican Gulf; but this was far from satisfying the mind of La Salle, who wished to see an«l know for himself. He had read th.3 published narra- tives of the Spanisii adventurers in the southwest, and heard the vague stories of the Indians, and he seems to have entertained the idea (first put forth in Marquette's jour- nal) that, by ascending the Missouri, or some other western affluent of the Mississippi, it would be found to interlock with another stream running southwest to the Vermilion, or Gulf of California, and thus attbrd the desired passage to the Pacific* Xor was this theory so chimerical as it might first appear; for by mounting the Platte River to its source in the Rocky Mountains, one may thence readily pass to the headwaters of the Colorado, which fiows off into the Gulf of Culifor?iia. But, above all. La Salic longed to trace the Mississippi itself to the sea, and thus acquire for himself the distinction he coveted, and for his sover- eign an embryo empire. It was several years, however, before he could resume and carry out any of his bold schemes of exph^-ation and discovery. In the meantime, he sought and gaiiunl the patronage of Governor Frontenac . No sooner had that astute func- tionary been iiistalied in oflice, than he eagerly scanned tlie resources of the colony, and prepared to bring them under his own control. Ilising advised that the InKjuois, at the instigation of the English, were ijitriguing with the Ind- ians of the upper lakes to break their failii with the Frerwih, and transfer their trade in furs from Montreal to Alhuiiy *Tho (ieluHlvo Idott of a water-way to the PaclHr WU8 partly derived hy the French from tlie Hpaiiiards, who, durnig the prcce(llng century, had scoured the coaatH of Mexico and <!entra) America in tjje vain qiiest lor a HtrnU iirinnoutJug iho twci oceg^og. Founding of Fort Frontenac. 79 and N'ew York, he determined to couiiteriict that design bv erecting a fort and depot near the ontlet of Lake Onta- rio. Not wishing to excite the jealonsy of the Canadian merchants and traders, he gave out that he only intended to make a tour of observation to the upper part of the col- ony. But, lacking means of his own for the enterprise, he required the principal merchants of Quebec and Montreal to each furnish him with a certain number of men and canoes. When the spring of 167-3 had opened, he sent La Salle in advance from Montreal to Onondaga, to invite the Iroquois sachems to meet him in council at the foot of Lake Frontenac (Ontario), while he followed at his leisure up the St. Lawrence. In response to tlie invitation sent them, the Indians resorted in considerable numbers to the appointed place of meeting, and were well pleased with the attentions there shown them by the governor, who was the first Frenchman to address them by the name of "chil- dren," instead of "brothers." Cajoled by his blandish- mtMits and presents, and awed by his audacity and show of force, they acquiesced in the erection of a fort at the m^uth of Cataraqui Creek, where Kingston now stands. The building of this fort (which was begun in July of that year, and was called Frontenac after its founder), was ill violation of the existing regulations of the king, which rccpiired the fur-(U»a(ers to (uirry on their trade with tiio natives within the borders of the rreni^h settlements. Still, in view of lis importani'e as a means of overawing the roHlbiKH li'oqiioJH, all ((jt'linb'iil obJcctionH were waived, and provision was made for its nuillituinuioe, " Witji tlie aid of a vessel tiovv btlllding,'* w|-lto8 l^'ronteiiac at tills Hliin, '•we can comnuind the lake, keep peace with tjie Troquois, and cut off the fur-triide from t)iu liJMgliHli. Willi aiiotlier fort at Niagara, and a second vessel on the river above, wo • nil coidrol flic entire chain of lakes." These exfensive views accorded well with the schemes of La Halle, who, us we shall see, was soon cniployed in piiUing iheni info pnicfine. Ill November, Hi74, LaSalle ernbiirkcd for France, ! m 'I I ! i ! I ; it 80 La Salle and Mis Early Explorations. lip with letters of recommendation from the governor* and others, and, on his arrival at Versailles, presented two pe- titions to the king (Louis XIV.) ; the one for a patent of nobility, in consideration of his valuable services as an ex- plorer; and the other for a grant in seigniory of Fort Frontenac and the adjoining lands. lie proposed to reim- burse the king for the ten thousand livres which the new- post had cost him ; to maintain it at his own charge, with a garrison equal to that of Montreal, besides a score of la- borers ; to form a French colony around it ; to build a church whenever the number of inhabitants should reach one hundred, and in the meantime to support one or more Recollet friars; and, finally, to form a settlement of do- mesticated Indians in the neighborhood. Tliese liberal offers, on the part of LaSalle, were accepted by the crown; and by letters-patent of the 13th of May, 1675, he was raised to the rank of the untitled nobility. f At the same time he received a grant of Fort Frontenac, and the lands contiguous, to the extent of four and one-half leagues in front and one-half league in dei)th, besides the neighbor- ing islands, and was also invested with the government of the fort and settlement, subject to the provincial governor. After LaSalle's favorable reception at court, his more wealthy relations in liouen advanced him consideral)le sums of money, which put him in position to fulfill the more important obligations annexed to his grant, and he now returned to Caiuida the proprietor of what promised to be one of the most valuable estates in the province. * In a despatch to Minister Colbert, of tlie 14th of November, 1()74, Frontenac thus conimends his favorite: "I can not help, Mousi ur, recommending to you the Sieur de la Salle, who is about to go to France, and who is a man of intelligence and ability — more capable than any body else I know here, to ac('onij)lish every kind of enterprise and dis- covery which may be entrusted to him, since he has the most pc'-^'xt knowledge of the state of the country, as you will see if you are <Vm>- posed to give him a few moments of audience."— I'arkmau's Discov- v of the Great West, p. m. t This was an empty kind of honor, with which the Kings of France were wont to gratify the vanity and reward the services of their niuro deserving subjects. His Letters Patent from the Kitif/. 81 During the two following years, while all New France was beini{ rent and torn by civil and ecclesiastical feuds, he was busily occupied in clearing his lands, strengthening his fort, and developing his seigniory. In addition to furnish- ing the stipulated military and clerical forces, and erecting a chapel for the use of the latter, he built three or four decked boats, or brigantines, to carry freight on Lake On- \iino, — to the head of which it was next proposed to ad- vance. He was now on the high road to fortune, if riches laid Ix'cn his only object, and he consequently became a nark for the shafts of the envious and malevolent, or those whose opinions and interests conflicted with his own. Meanwhile, he did not relinquish his favoriti' design of exploration. In the autunm of 1677, he again went to France, and laid his plans before Jean Bajjtiste Colbert, then minister for the colonies, and the great promoter of French industry and conmierce. LaSalle dilated upon the innnense extent of the western country, its endless natural resources, and the advantages that would accrue from colo- nizing it and opening trade with its numerous native tribes. For this i>urpose, he asked permission and authority to ex- j)lore and build forts in the westj^rn valleys, with seigniorial rights over all hands, that he might discover and colonize within the period of tvv^enty years. His peiition was fa- vorably considered by the minister, and Letters were accord- ingly issued to him by the crown. But he was required to complete his enterprise within live years instead of twenty, iiH desired. Following is an Knglish cojn' of" tliis curious utid inqiortant state paper: H 11 "• Luids, hy the Grace of God, Kinci of France ami Naoarre: "To our dear and well-beloved Robert Oavelier, Sieur de la Salle : " We have received, with favor, the very bumble pe- tition which has been presented to us in your name, to per- mit you to endeavor to discover the western part of our icountry of New France, and we have consented to this 'proposal the more willingly, because there is nothing we 6 '■ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^^t [ 'fe^ ' '" ""^^/^ ^^6r i/x ^ fc ^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.4 1.6 6" — p> ^ % ^ •J^W M ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation •V 33 WIST MAIN STRUT ^VEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) (I73-4S03 '■ 82 LnSffUe avd His Early Explorations. ■( !l have more at heart tluiu the discovery of this couiitr^^ througli which it is |>robahle tliat a passage may be fouiul to Mexico ; ami because your diligence in clearing the lands which we granted to you by the decree of our coun- cil of tlie 18tli of May, 1675, and by letters patent of the same date, to form habitations upon the said lands and to put Fort Frontenac in a good state of defense, the seigni- ory and government whereof we likewise granted to you, attbrds us every reason to hope that you will succeed to our satisfaction, and to our subjects of the said country. For these reasons and others thereunto moving ns, we have per- mitted and do liereby permit you, by these presents, signed by our liand, to endeavor to discover the western part of our country of New France, and for the execution of ilm enterprise, to construct forts wherever you shall deem it necessary; which it is our will that you shall hold on the same terms and conditions as Fort Frontenac, agreeably and conformably to our said letters patent of the 13th of May, 1675, v/hicli we have confirmed, as far as is needful. and hereby confirm by these presents. And it is our pleasure that they be executed according to tlieii' foi'm and tenor. " To accom[dish this, and every thing above mentioned, we give you full powers, on condition, however, that you shall finish this enterprine within five years^ in default ot which these ju'esents shall be void and of none effect; that you carry on no trade whatever witli the savages t;alkMl Oiifaoitacs,* and others who bring their beaver skins and other peltries to Montival ; and that the whole shall be done at your exjtense, and that of your company to whicli we have granted the [trivilege of the ti'ade in buffalo skinn: and we call on the Hieui* de Frontenac, our governor ami lieutenant-general, and on the Hieur de Chesneau,t intend- ant of justice, police j<n<l tiinince, and on the officers who eomitose tlie supreme council in tiie said country, to afKx *Tliu()tta\va8. tJiiniui'H de CheeiU'au hud been appointed InU'iidant of New France in May, IH7r>. He waH an enemy of both Frontenac and \.i Salle. First Great ExpediJon to the West. 88 their signatures to these presents; for such is our pleas- ure. " Given at St. Germain en Laye, this 12th of May, 1678, and of our reign the thirty-fifth. ''By the King, Louis."* " Colbert." Inasmuch as no pecuniary aid was to be received from the government. La 8alle had to look to his monopoly of the future trade in Ijuitalo skins for the support of his ex- pensive enter[>rise. Meantime, his relatives were induced to Muike him further advances of money, and some of them iKicame shareholders in tlie venture. He also found a use- ful ally in La Motte de Lussiere, who became a partner in the company, and who joined him on the eve of liis em- barkation for Canada. La Salle sailed from Uochelle on his return the 14th of -'uly, 1678, bringing with him about thirty men, besides an ample supply of stores, implements for building vessels, et';. After a two months sea voyage, he reached Quebec, and theijce proceeded up the St. Law- rence to his seigniory <>f Frontenac. His new enterprise aroused jealousy and o[)position from the start, among the old Canadian traders ; but our resolute Nonnan was ac- custoiued to grapple with obstacles and opposition, and he energetically proceeded to organiz.e Ids expedition. Having laid aside as impracticable his scheme of a western passage to ('hina and Japan, and convinced that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, he had substituted a vast plan, which sliould eventually plant on the shores of the Gulf the mitional colors of Fratice, and open to her the wliole interior of this continent. Of the men whose services Lc Salle bad seeured in France, and wlio were destined to win honor with him in his great explorations, the most useful ami trusted was Hruiry de Tonty,t or Tonti, as it is written in Italian, lie was a native of the Neapolitan town of (4aeta, Italy, whore he first saw the light about the year 1650. !lis *' Frontenac'H Higiuitiuv wan atftxed to this patent November 5, 1(}78. t Tonty hud \wvn a pfnlri/ of the Prince de (Jonti, by whom he wt»8 recoinmendetl to La Halle. . ; 84 La Salle and His Early Explorations. 11 father, Lorenzo di Tonti, was sometime governor of Gaeta, but fled to France to escape tlie political disturbances of his own country. lie was an ingenious linancier, and the in- ventor of the Tontine system of annuities, which he intro- duced into France during the latter part of the seventeentli century. Henry de Tonty entered the Frentih military service in 1668, and served as a cadet two years. He next served four years as a midshipman, at Marseilles and Toulon, and made seven caujpaigns, four in ships and three in galleys. While at Messina, Sicily, he was made lieutenant and then captain of the iirst company of a regi- ment of horse. In assisting to repel an attack of the enemy on the post of Libisso, his right hand was shot oil by a grenade, and he was taken prisoner and detained for six months, after which he was exchanged. He then re- paired to France to obtain some favor of the king, who gave him three hundred livers. Returiiing to Sicily, he made a camitaign as a volunteer in the galleys ; and when the troops were discharged, being umible to obtain employ- ment on account of the general peace, he enlisted under La Salle, in his expeditions of discovery. Notwithstanding the loss of his right hand (which, however, was replaced by one of iron or copper), and a constitution a^tpiU'ently feeble, his indomitable energy made him the superior of most men in physical endurance. His experience, too, as a soldier, and his luitural intrej)idity,well fitted him for the life of a military explorer. Moreover, his Hdelity was such that neither the frowns of adversity, nor the intrigues of secret or open enemies, could ever swerve him from the interest of his patron and employer. The Sieur La Motte, before mimed, was also a man of enter- prise and integrity of character, but not so efficient or valua- ble an assistant to La Salle as the little veteran De Tonty. The spiritual directors, wlio were selected by the chief for this memorable expedition, were expected to officiate as chaplains and missionaries at such forts and trading })0HtH as might be established. Following are their names: Father Louis Hennepin, the first in respect to ability and enterprise; (iabriel de la Ribourde, venerable for his years, and his long and unselfish clerical labors ; the amiable and His First Grcnf Expedition to the West. 85 devoted Zenobious Menibre ; and the pious Melithon Wat- teiiu, who was stationed at Niagara and made it his mission. All of these were Flemings, or natives of Flanders, and all were Recollet friars, of the mendicant order of St. Francis. It would doubtless have been more conducive to La Salle's interest if this had been otherwi^^o, since the Jesuits already occupied the upper lake region, and had planted some mis- sions in the northern i>art of the country of th^^ Illinois. Under such circuiustances, they were naturally jealous of any infringement upon their assumed territorial jurisdiction by members of another branch of tlie motlier cliurch, and were inclined to throw obstacles in tlie way of the latter. Soon after his returii from France to Fort Frontenac, La Salle dispatched fifteen men with merchandise to Mack- inac and Lake Michigan, to barter for furs, and instructed them, after executing tlieir commission, to repair to Green Bay, on the border of the Illinois, and there await his ar- rival. The first important step in his westward progress, one which had been long contemplated, was to establish a fort or hiock-li«)Uje at the outlet of the Niagara channel. For this purpose, on November 18, 1678, La Motte and Henne- pin emi)arked, vv^tli fifteen men, in one of the briganthies that lay at the landing of the fort, and started up Lake On- tario. Being retarded in their passage by rough weather, it was not until the Hth of December that they reached the mouth of the Niagara. Here, after several weeks, they were joined by La Salle and Tonty, who had been detained in [irocuring the necessary supplies. They, too, encoun- tered adverse winds on the way, and the pilot to whom La Halle had intrusted one of his boats disregarded his instruc- tions, and suffered her to be wrecked. The crew managed to escape, but the cargo was lost, excepting the ropes and anchors intended for use in constructing the new vessel. The appearance of the F|«onch upon the lake excited the suspicions of the Seneca Indians, who iniiabited its southern sliores, an<l when it was proposed to erect a fort at the foot of the mountain ridge,* on the east side of the * The blook-houso, which T.ii Sallt» afterward built where Fort Niagara uow staude, was called Kort Coiiti. 86 La ISallc and His Early Explorations. river, they made objection. In order to gain their consent. La Motte and La iSalle ))oth visited, in turn, the principal village of tlie Seneca's situated near the site of the i)re8ent Rochester, New York, and distributed presents freely among their chiefs. Some diplomacy was also used Ijy La Salle, and in liou of a fort, it was tinally agreed that the Frenc]imcn iniglit erect a warehouse. This was now r.peedily completed and inclosed with a palisade. If was used as an abode by the men during the rest of that wintev, and, sub- sequently, as a station and place of deposit for imi>lenients and merchandise. Tlie energies of La Salle were next dinscted to the con- struction of a sailing vessel, with which to navigate the up- per great lakes. The spot chosen for this important experi- ment was at or near the mouth of Cayuga Creek,* on the eastern bank of the Niagara, and some five miles above the Fallis. This difficult and tedious work (made doubly so by their want of proper facilities) was formally begun on the 22(1 of January, 1079, and was prosecuted under the per- sonal supervision of the Sieur de Tonty, whose knowledge of marine architecture was thus brought into active requisi- tion. The Senecas, it is averred, tried to burn the vessel while on the stocks, but she was launched by the middle o\ July, and was then towed farther up the river to be rigged. The builders celci)rated her completion l>y tiring cannon and singing songs in commemoration of the event. And well they might felicitate themselves upon their achievement; for she was the first sail-rigged and sea-going craft that ever spread canvas to the breeze on our inland seas. Tiie little schooner was armed with five small cnnnon and three large muskets, and on lier prow was carved the wooden figure of a griflin,t from which, in eom[)liment to the ar- morial bearings of Count de Frontenac, she I'eceived her *Ah usiuil in Kuril chror, the place of tho buildinj^ of the "(iriflin" is disputed. Some conUiiid for a eito known as tin- "Old Ship-yard, on the Little Niaj?arn. tOr griffon, accordinj? to the French orthography. Tlic veBsel was of sixty tons burden, and wuh cHtiniated l)y Henne;)in to have coet sixty thounaiid livres, or about $1'J,()0(); but thiH in('lude<l a ciirt'o of furs. His Voijage '» the Griffin. 87 name. Every thing' was now ;n readiness awaiting the re- turn of the commander, who had gone to Fort Frontenac to i'ei)lenish liis stores, and was detained there by pecuniary (litficulties. He arrived in the l)eginnins: of August, ac- companied by Friars Kibourde and Membre, who were going to distribute tlie "■ bread of life '" among the pagan tribes of the southwest. At length, on the 7th of August, U)79, with the dis- charge of small artillery, and the chanting of the Te Veurn, La Salle and his venturesome followers stepped aboard the new vessel, which was wafted by a gentle wind out upon the crystal surface of Lake Erie. Thus the Grithn, flying from her mast-head the [)ennon of France, went forth as a herald of civilization, and as tlie forerunner of that un- counted multituvle of schooners, brigs, barks, propellers, and other smaller ci'aft, which to-day ]>Iy the givat lakes in every direction, in the peaceful and gainful pursuits of i-om- nierce. .After a pleasant navigation <^f five (hiys, the voy- agers entered the noble channel of the Detroit, an<l found its forest-studded banks tilled with different species of snndl game, of which they shot and killed enough for their needs. Ascending thence through J^ake ^t. Clair and the connect- ing strait, they issued u[)on the sea-like expanse of Lake Unroll, and in sailing over its dark and treaclierous depths encountered a territic storm, which threatened to s)>eedily engulf (heir little bark, with j'll onltoard. In this extremity i)f peril. La Salle and the friars fell upon their knees to say their ]irayers, and invoke<l the aid of St. x\nthony of J'adua, as the patron saint of tlieir cxiK'dition. It would seem tliat the saint heard and answered tlieir ]»rayers ; for the Grithn weathered the gale, and, on the next day, rode unscathed into the Straits of Michilinuickinac. A])proaching the roadstead at the mission of Saint Ig- naee, they tired an artillery salute to announce their ar- rival, and, inmiediately after landing, repaired to the mis- sion chapel to return thanks to (lod for their receipt deliv- erance from the fury of the ekunents. On this occasion \m Salle wore a scarlet coat, trimmed witli gold lace, which 88 La Salle and His Early Explorations. he kept by him tor occasions of ceremony. lie wan re- ceived here by tlic JcHuit priests and traders with an out- ward show of respect and friendsliip, though they were privately antagonizing his enterprise. The neighboring In- dians now swarmed in canoes about liis armed vessel, view- ing her with mingled feelings of wonder and terror. "While ancliored at this station, the commamier found and took into custody four of his men, whom he had sent up the lakes with merchandise to exchange for pelts ; they having disposed of the goods and pocketed the proceeds. At the same time he sent Tonty to Sault de 8te. M ie in pursuit of others, who were also caught. Weighing anchor about the 2d of Septendjer, La Salle cc ntinued his westward voyage, and next arrived at one of the islands in the entrance to Green Bay, jutting out from Lake Micliigan. Landing on the island, he was liospitably received by a Pottawatomie chief, who had visited in Canada, and here he was also met by the remainder of his advance traders, who had honestly dis{)osed of his goods and collected in return a large (piantity of furs. These were now conveyed on board the Griffin, and, with other [>elts procured during hei" outward passage, were to be carried to Niagara for the benefit of his creditors. This transaction was in violation of the letter and spirit of La Salle's royal patent ; but IiIh pecuniary necessities were sucli at the time as to justity or excuse a liberal interpretation of the terms of that instru- ment. The pilot and five sailors, to whom he committed the charge of the Griffin, were instructed, after they had landed her valuable cargo, to return with t'le vessel to the southeastern part of Lake Michigan. The Griffin set sail from Green Bay on the 18th of September, but was never afterward heard of. It would have been better for the doomed vessel if she had never sailed on this return trip, and better still, perhaps, if La Salle had continued his own voyage in her to the head of the lake. On the next day (the 19th), he embarked witli his re- maining men, fourteen in lunnber, in four canoes, for the mouth of the river Miamis, afterward known as the St. His Firsi Great Expedition to the West. 89 Joseph.* Tlio canoes were heavily laden with a forge, im- plements, arms, etc., and their progress w^as retarded hy tempestuous weather. After a perilous passage along the western and southern shores of the lake, in the course of which the voyagers suffered keenl}' from hanger and ex- posure, they reached their destination ahout the first of November. Here the}' were disappointed at not finding the Sieur de Tonty, who had started from Michilimackinac with a party of twenty men, and was slowly making his way up the eastern side of the lake ; but he did not arrive until twenty days later. In the interval of waiting. La Salle, to keep his men from idleness, employed them in building a wooden fort, eighty feet long and forty wide, near the mouth of the river. It was completed by the end of November, aiul was named Fort Miami, after a neigh- boring tribe of Indians. Ample tinu' bad now elapsed for the return of the Griffin, and La iSalle, being much troubled at her non-arrival, sent two men down the lake to look for the vessel, and pilot her to the entrance of the St. Joseph. Different opinions were entertained respecting the fate of the Griffin. Hennepin l)elievt'd that she foundered in a storm in the nortb part of Lake Michigjm, which is (piite probable; others thougbt tiiat tl.. '"dians might have boarded and burnt her; wbilc \m Salle himself long cher- ished the notion that her pilot and crew, after disj)Osing of her valuable cargo, sunk her, and then ran away with tli'.?ir ill-gotten gains. Unfortunately, the loss of tliis much- prized vessel was irreparable, and it proved a serious blow to the success of his exjiedition. But, without longer delay, on I)ecend)er 8, 1079, the reunited party, numbering some thirty-three persons, with eight canoes, began the ascent of the St. -Joseph's liiver, en route to the Illinois. It was a miscellaiuM>us and rather pictures([ue company, comprising soldiers, friars, artisans, *At the mouth of tliis river, several years before, the Jesuit Fiither A llouez had collected some scatti-red bands of the Ilnrons and others, and established a missionary staticm, thereby making it a point known to these adventurers, and one which, knowinjt, they would endeavor to reach. See Breese's Early Hist, of 111., p. HMi. 90 La Salle and His Early Explorations. laborers, coareurs des bois, and a few Indians. After a fatiguing journey southward of twenty-five leagues, in which they had often to drag their canoes against the shal- low current of the river, they neared the site of the pres- ent city of South Bend, Ind. Thence a portage was made of two or three miles to the headwaters of the Te-a-ki-ki (Kankakee), which they reached with the assistance of a Mohegan Indian, whom La Salle had employed in the double capacity of guide and liunter for the expedition. I'he winter had now fidly set in, the earth being thickly mantled with snow, and as the adventurers paddled their weary way down the narrow, torturous stream, flowing through reedy and frozen marshes, the whole landscape presented a most cheerless aspect. To increase their mis- ery, they were distressed by the pangs of hunger until re- lieved by the fortunate capture of a large buffalo, which was found struggling in the mire of tlie river, and was soon slaughtered. Being thus regaiod, they resumed their canoes and reached without accident the junction of the Kankakee and the Des Plaines, which unite to form the Illinois liiver. Gliding rapidly down the channel of the latter, the voypgers shortly entered a region of bolder and more strik- ing scenery. On the right they passed the elevation called Buffalo Hock, standing out like an island in the valley, and farther down, on their left, appeared the tall cliff, since known as Starved Rock. A mile or more below it, on the nortli bank of the here expanded river (named by Henne- pin the Illinois Lake), stood the principal town of the Illi- nois nation, in which were counted four hundred and sixty lodges. These were made in the shape of long arbors, with a frame-work of posts and poles, and covered with double mats ot flat flags, so well sewed together that they were impervious to fain or s!iow. Each lodge had four or five fires, and each fire served one or two families. It was here, about tlie 25th of December, that La Salle and his hungry followers landed, in order to procure some maize, of which they stood sorely in need ; but, as had been foreseen, they found the village deserted sind silent, its inhabitants being away on their usual winter hunt. Some of the Frenchmen, He Arrices at Peoria Lake. 91 hov 3ver, discovered a supply of the desired grain stored in [lits. and of it they took enough to supply their wants, in- tending to pay for the same when tiie owners should be met. After resting and refreshing themselves for a short time, tbey re-embarked and continued thei»' course. On New Year's day, 1680, the V(»yagers again landed to hear mass, which was solemnized by the friars, and the exercises were closed by Ilenne})in with an encouraging address to the men. Two days afterward, Ihey entered that irregular fxpansion of the Illinois River (from seven to eight leagues in length) called Lac l^imiteoui, or Lake Peo- ria, meaning "•the place of fat beasts." Moving on cau- tiously toward th;* south end of the lake, where the river resumes its ordinnry width, they perceived smoke rising above the bare tree tops, denoting the presence of Indians, and on turning a sharp bend saw, on both sides of the stream, a number of })i rogues, and about eighty cabins tilled with peo]>le. This was on the morning of the fifth day after leaving the great village.* Having some reason to suspect an uncivil reception from the savages. La Salle now formed his small flotilla into a line across the river, so as to present us formidable an array as possible. As they thus swei>t d.own the stream to the village, some of the dis- mayed natives took to flight, and others seized their arms to make resistance; but, in the midst of their confusion, our little band of Frenchmen sprang ashore, armed and equipped for action. Awed by the bold and martial bear- ing of the latter, the Indians dei»uted two of their chiefs to present the peace calumet, which La Salle promptly recognized by showing one in turn, and thereupon a friendly intercourse was opened between them. This was succeeded by a feast, at which the more obsequious of the savages rubbed the uncovered feet of the friars with bear's oil, while others fed their guests with ])uflalo meat, ])utting the first three morsels into their mouths with much cere- mony, as a mark of great civility. When the feast was ended, M. de la Salle informed * See Hennepin's I)e»cni>ti()n ih' In LouhUtne ; Shea'K translation (N.Y., 1880), p. 1.%. 'm 92 La Salle and His Early Explorations. Nicauope, and the other j»riiicipal iiieti of the tribe, that in descending the river he had stopped at their great town, and had taken some corn from their pits to supply the lecessities of his men, but tliat lie was prepared to make tliem full compensation, lie then proceeded to explain the purpose of his visit, saying, in substance, that he had come to raise a fort in their neighborhood to protect them from the incursions of the Iroquois, and also to build a large canoe, in which to descend the "great river" to the sea and thence bring back goods to exchange for their peltry. lie further told them that if his plans did not meet with their ai»})roval, he would pass on to the Osages and Missouris, and give them the benefit of his trade and protection. These Peoria Indians readily assented to what he said al)out his plans and purposes, and were profuse in their expressions of friendship and good v/ill. Yet, despite all this, it soon bee ane apparent to La Salle that s<^cret ene- mies were striving to thwait his en^'erprise, and that the minds of the savages had been [>rejudiced against him in advance. A few days afterward there arrived at this village a Mascoutin chief named Monso, or Monsocla, who came equipped with presents and accompanied by several Miamis braves, and ^vho held nightly conclaves with the iiead men of the nllage. He professed to have been sent to warn the Illinois against the designs of La Salle, of whom he spoke as an intriguer and friend of the Iroquois, and that he had come among the Illinois only to open the way to their ene- mies, who were coming on all sides to destroy them.* Having thus re-aroused the distrust of the tickle-minded Peorias, the crafty chief and his party hastened away un- der the cover of night. In the altered and reserved de- meanor of the natives, La Salle now met a fresh difficulty, which taxed all his address and knowledge of the Indian character to overcome. It was not without reason that he attributed the meddlesome visit of the Mascoutin chief to the machinations of the Jesuit Father AUouez, whose prin- * Membre's Narrative in Le Clercq. Ba'ddlng of Fort Creve-cccur. 93 cipal station was aiiiong the Miamis, Ijut wlio liad been at the fi^reat town of the Illinois only a few months before. To add to the eoniniander's vexations, Honie of liis own men, who had been discontented from the start, now i)e- oanie snllen and mntinous, and endeavored to stir np disaf- fection among the better disjiosed. Not succeeding iti this to th'-ir satisfaction, they held private interviews witli the Illinois to excite their ill-will against La iSalle. As a last resort, the malcontents sought his life by secretly putting poison in his food. The effect of the |)oison, however, was neutralized by the timely taking of an antidote, and no ill- results followed. This was an age of poisoning, the prac- tice having been introduced into France from Italy ; and it appears that a similar atteiiijit had been nuide against the life of La Salle, not very long before, at Fort Fn )ntenac. Shortlv after the departure of the Mascoutin chief, six of the Frencb.men, including some of the best workmen, l)asely deserted their emjdoyer, and set oft" on their return to Can- ada. To this dastardly course they were partly inHuenced by previous disatt'ection, and partly by the dangers of the expedition, which had been artfully magniiied to their minds by the Indians. In order to stay further desertions, La S^Ue called the remaining men together, and told them that ne did not intend to take with him any but those who would go willingly, and tliat he would leave the others at liberty in the spring to return to Canada, whither tliey might go without risk and by canoe ; whereas, they could not then undertake it but with evident peril to their lives.* It was now mid-wintei-, and the commander, wearied with his accumulating difHculties, and finding it impractica- ble to proceed farther to the south, resolved to erect a fort, which might attortl shelter and security to his company until the opening of spring. The site chosen for this first European fortification in Illinois was a moderate sized hill, or termination of a ridge, on tlie eastern side of the river (as shown by Franquelin's, and Hennepin's old maps), and about half a league below the outlet of the lake where the * Hennepin's "Description of Louisiana," p. 173. 94 La Salle and His Early Explorations. explorers had tirst hiiided. The pjecise location of the fort, of which not a vestige remains, is clouded with doubt and controversy. Some would fix it at the village of Wes- ley City, four miles below the present city of Peoria; v. bile others, with rather more show of reason, contend for a site higher up the river, and over against vhe northern suburbs of Peoria. Interest in the subject has revived from time to time, and tlie relative claims of these two dilibrent sites were elaborately' discussed through the Peoria press in Jan- uary, 1890.* T^a Salle's men worked with a "good grace" on the fort, and by the first of the ensuing March, 1680, it was nearly finished, and was occupied. It now received tlie significant name of Creve-coeur, or Heart Break ; not, as has been often stated (on the authority of a passage in Hennepin's "New Discovery "), because of the commander's dejection at the desertion of his men and his increasing difficulties, but after tlie fortress of Creve-c^cur in Brabant of the Netherlands, whicli Imd lecently been taken by the Frencli arms and demolished. Sucl., more ihan two hundred and thirteen years ago, was the primal military occupation of Illinois by the Frencli, though no continuous white settlement was established at Peoria Lake until nearly or quite a century l-.ter.+ * In La Salle's day, wlinn tUe river carried a somewhat larger vol- ume of water than at prcHent, liake IMmiteou, is described by him as consisting of "three small lakes, which intercommunicated with each other by so many straits." (See part of a letter by I.a Salle 'U vol. 2 of Pierre Margry's t'oUection). The chief dilHcnlty now is to determine whether the explorer lande<l and encamped at the foot of the second, or of the third and lower sheet of water. .Xs partly conlirming La Salle, it may be as wi'll to note what AL J(>ntel says in his journal about this chain of lakes. In describing the passage of liis i)arty up llu' IJlinoi.- River, iu 1()87, he writes: "The 9th (September), we came into a lake ab<tut half a league over, «'ii(h we crossed and returned into the chan- nel of the river, oii tiie banks whereof we found several marks of the na- tives having bei-n encamix'd. The 10th, we crossed another lake called rinutehouy, and returned to the river.'"— ./w»r»a/ IliMoritjUc. t For a more circu.nstantial account of the l)uiitliiig of Fort Creve- eoMir, see extracts from Hennepin's writing.s in the next succeedin)^ cliupter. ^ '. He Begins a New Vessel. 95 While the fort was building, La Salle put his best mechanics to work on a brigantine, which, when built, he proposed to freight with buffalo and other skins, to be col- lected in his descent of the Mississippi, and thence sail to St. Domingo or France, and dispose of the cargo. The keel of the new boat was laid, forty-two feet in length by twelv'e in breadth, and work on her hull was well advanced by the end of February. Being without rig- ging or sails for his vessel (they naving been unluckily lost with the Griffin), the indomitable leader now formed the bold design of returning over-land to Foi-t Frontenac, to procure these and other appliances, leaving De Tonty in command at Creve-cteur, while Hennepin should meantime go up the Mississippi on a voyage of exploration, — La Salle promising to send men to meet him at the mouth of the Wisonsin, on his own return from the East. |- 96 Louis Hennepin. CHAPTER V 1675-1701. FATHER LOUIS H?:NNKPIN. I The name of Futlier Hennepin liaving been already introduced in coi nection witli La Sailed history, it is deen)ed proper to <levote the present eliapter to a delinea- tion of his shifting and ronuintie career, since no more picturesque and interesting personage is to be found in the annals of French exploration and discovery in North America. About the year of grace 1640, in the ancient town of Ath, in the interior province of Ilainault, and in what was then a })art of the Spanish Netherlands, but is now a part of the kingdom of Belgium, was born the celebrated Louis Hennepin. With respect to his early domestic life, we pos- sess no delinite information. In his writings he tells us much about himself, but very little concerning his family, from which it nuiy be inferred that he came of obscure }»arentage. He appears to have been sent to scliool at a tender age, and he quaintly informs us that while prose- cuting his early studies, "he felt a strong inclination to leave the world and to live in the rule of strict virtue." He accordingly entered the monastic order of Saint Fran- cis,* to spend his days in a life of religious austerit3^ His novitiate was nnide in the Recollet convent at Bethune, in ■*Tlu> FraiU'iHt'HiiH wcn^ an. ofMioot of tlie old Curmclite friarH, of Mount Carinel, raloHtinc. The order was (irsi I'HtabliHlu'd in Kuropc by St. Krancis, of AHBisi. Italy, in the year 1209. Through an excesH of Inunility, he denominated the monks of his order "little brethren," or " friars minor "- a name by vvbieli they are still distingnished. They are also ealled "gray friars," from the rolor of their dress. " It was a mendicant order (says Breese's Hist. 111., p. 102), vowed to the lowent poverty and the severest penance; gray coats and bar»( feet as badges of distinction, and an ei\tire devotion t<» \hv i)recept, ' preach my gospel to His Youthful Rambles in Europe. 97 lu- lls In I the province of Artoie, France, and his master of Novices was Father Gabriel de la liibourde, a man eminent in the order for his social p(>sition and exemplary life, who vean destined, at a later day, to die for the Faith, while labor- ing as a missionary among the savages in America. In order to learn Flemish, young IIennej)in went from Bethnne to Ghent, where a married sister of his resided, and where he stayed some time. As he ai>proached the age of manhood, he manifested a strong propensity to travel in foreign parts, which occasioned his sister much anxiety. With the consent of tlie general of Ids order, he first set oft" to see Italy, and visited the pritudpal Francis- can churches and convents in that country, as also in Ger- many. On returning home, he was sent to the convent of Ihilles in Hainault, where he discharged the, duties of a preacher for a year, and then went to Artois. He was thence sent to Calais, and afterward to the convent of Biez at Dunkirk, in both of which pla''es he ai)pears to have been employed to solicit alms for the fraternity. During his sojourn at those seaport towns, the strange stories he hoard related by old nuirinei's stimulated anew his cari- osity and desire to visit foreign lands ; and with a view to further gratify his. taste for travel, he went in the char- acter of a missioiuiry to the principal cities of Holland. Willie sojourning in that country, on August 11, 1(174, he was present, as an assistant chaplain, at the obstinate aiul bloody battle of Senefto, fought between the I^rince ot Orange and the Prince of ('onde, and he there foutul abundant occupation in relieving and (comforting tli(> wouikIihI and dying soldiers. At about this tiitu* Canada again becan\e a field ot labor for the llecollet missiomiries ; and Louis XIV., yield- ing to the appeal of (Governor Frontemic, ordered that five Itecollet religious be setit to Catuida, to reinforce the little tho l»(uithen,' marked its tiu'inbcMH. Kvom this and its Itindrod order, the DoininicatiH, Iuih tlie Koiuan (Uuirclj byen Ruppliod with many |)opoH, oardinah;, bisliopB, und other nototl occiesiuHlics, while in Haints tliey have been most wonderfully fruitful." 98 Louis Hmne/pin. I community of that order already established there. Friar Hennepin was one of the number chosen to go upon thiH mission, which he readily undertook. Receiving the re- quisite authority from his superior, he repaired to the sea- port of La liochelle, and there, in the summer of 1675, embarked in the same ship with Francois de Laval, ai) eminent prelate, who had been recently appointed Bishop of Quebec. Among his other fellow passengers was La Salle, wdio was now returning from France to Canada, and with wliose fortunes Hennepin was subsequently to become closely identified; but for whom, at their first meeting, he seems to have formed no admiration. After a somewhat eventful voy.age, they arrived in the month of September at Quebec, where Hennepin Wiin shortly appointed priest to the cloister of the Hospital Nuiih of St. Augustine. As the duties of this position were not onerous, he found time to make frequent excursions to the neighboring Frencih and Indian settlements, and visited, in turn, the Three Rivers, St. Anne, Cape Tourmente, Bourg Royal, Point de Levi, and the Isle de St. Laurent. Od tliese trips he went by canoe in the summer season, and in the winter his light luggage was drawn on the snow ]>y ii large dog, while he himself, on foot, was exposed to all tlio fury of the elements, with no covering save his cloak and hood, and with but wavy little to eat. In the fall of 167'', or the following spring, he was sent with h'at.her Luke Buisset to Fort Frontenac, where they founded a small convent. Soon after this, Hennepin made a journey to tlio Jesuit missions among the Mohawks, and others of tlio Five Nations. Extending his tour to Albany (called Fort Orange by the early Dutch settlers), he was well received by the Catholic residents, who, if we may receive his own statement, entreated him to stay there and become their pi'iest. When the Sieur de la Salle undertook his first great expedition to the West, he solicited Father Hennepin, among other of the Recollet friars, to accomj^any him af a chaplain and missionary. The restless arid irujuisitivc mind of Hennepin was fascirmted by the very dangers ot Hcmiepn at Niagara Falls. 99 so bold ail adventure, of which he was destined to become the principal chronicler. Accordingly, in November, 1678, he left Fort Frontenac with the advance party of the ex- pedition under La Motte. bailing slowly up Lake Ontario in a small brigantine, they reached the outlet of the Niagara River on the 6th of December, and, immediately after land- ing, chanted a Te Deurn in gratitude for their safe arrival, which was listened to with silent wonder by a group of the natives from a neighboring village. Hennepin, with a few companions, then went in a canoe up the river seven miles to the foot of the high bluff or escarpment overlooking the lake, and, climbing the rocky heights above what ia now Lewiston, soon came in sight of the great double, cataract of Niagara, "thundering in its solitude." We should not assume that the friar and his party were the, first Europeans to look upon these wonderful falls, since they had been known to the French from the time of Champlain ; yet he is popularly credited with their dis- covery, probably from the circumstanee that he wrote and published the first good description of them, barring his, extravagant estimate of their height.* Proceeding with his companions along the bank of the river to the head of the rapids, opposite the modern Canadian town of Chip- pewa, he thence returned the next day, and was tlie first *In his " Description of Louisiana " ( lt)8;>i, Heunepiu writes: " The river (Niagara) plunges down a height of more than Ave hundred feet, and its fall is oouiposed of two sheets of water and a caHcade, with an island sloping down between." In his " New Discovery," he increases the lit'ight of the falls to six hundred feet, and La Iloutan fixes it at abo'it the same figure. Father Charlevoix (Travels in North America, pp.. lo2-3), in endeavoring to account tor tiu'si" gross exaggerations, re- marks: "It is certain that if we nvuHure its heiglit by the three ir.ountains (or ascents) which we must tirst pass over, there is not mucli to bate of the six hundred feet which the map of M. Delisle gives it; who, without doubt, did not advance this paradox but on the credit of the Baron de la Houtan and Father Hennepin. t!harlevoix' own meas- urement of the cataract with a cord, in 1721, fell short of t!ie present altitude of the American Fall, which is 105 feet. In 1750, seventy years after the timej)f Hennepin, the (Ireat Falla were visiteil and carefully described by Professor Kalm, the eminent Swedish traveler. • 100 Louis Hennepin. m. II, priest to offer mass at the Falls of Niagara. He then hegan the erection of a bark chapel on the eastern side of the river, near the Great Rock, where the Sieur la Motte and his men were building a fortified house. Shortly after- ward he ac('ompanied La Motte, and iive other Frenchmen on a journey of thirty leagues through the snow-incumbered forests of western New York to the principal village of the Seneca nation, to negotiate witli the sachems for permis- sion to complete the house or fort at Niagara. Describing the elders of that village, Hennepin graphically says : " They are for the most part tall and well shaped, covered with a sort of robe made of beavers' and wolves' skins, or black squirrels, holding a pipe or calumet in their hands. The senators of Venice do not appear witli a graver countenance, and per- haps do not speak with more majesty and solidity than those ancient Iroquois." After the completion of the Griffin, Hennepin sailed in her, with La Salle and others, through Lakes Erie, St. Clair and Huron, and reached Michilimackinac on the 26th of August, 1769. Continuing his voyage in that vessel with the commander to Green Bay, and thence in canoes up Lake Michigan to the mouth of the Miamis, or St. Joseph, they shortly entered the country of the Illinois. On their way down the Illinois River, Hennepin observed indications of stone-coal, and other minerals, in the upper valley of that stream. The approach of the explorers to the outlet of Lake Pimitcoui, he tlius narrates : " Toward the end of the fourth day, while crossing a little lake, formed by the river, we observed smoke, which showed us that the Indians were cabined near there. In fact, on the fifth, about nine in the morning, we saw on both sides of the river a number of parakeets (pirogues), and about eighty cabins full of Iiulians, who did not per- ceive us until we had doubled a point behind which tlie Illinois were camped within half gunshot. We were in eight canoes abreast, all our men arms in hand, and allow- ing ourselves to go with the current of the river."* * " DoBcription of Louisiana," by Father Lduis Hennepin ; trans- His Description of Fort Crk'e-CtBur. 101 Some two weeks after the landing of the French ad- venturers here, and wlien it was uecided to erect a fort in the vicinity of their camp, Hennepin wont with La Salle to choose a site for the same. Of the biiihling of this fort the friar gives the following descriptive account : "A great thaw having set in tlie 15th of January [1680], and rendered the river free below the village, the Sieur de la Salle begged me to accompany him, and we proceeded with one of our canoes to the place which we were going to select to work at this little fort. It was a little mound about two hundred paces distant from the bank of the river, which, in the season of the rains, ex- tends to the foot of it ; two broad, deep ravines protected two other sides and a part of the fourth, which we com- pletely intrenched by a ditch which utiited the two ravines. Their exterior shape, which served as a counterscarp, was fortified with good chevaux de friese, and (we) cut this emi- nence down steep on all sides, and the earth was supported as much as was necessary with strong pieces of timber (and) with thick planks, and for fear of any surprise we planted a stockade around, tlie timbers of which were twenty-five feet long and a foot thick. The summit of the mound was left in its natural figure, which formed an ir- regular square, and we contented ourselves with putting on the edge a good parapet of earth capable of covering all our force, whose barracks were placed in two of the angles of this fort, in order that they might be always ready in case of an attack. "Father Gabriel, Zonobe, and I lodged in a cabin cov- ered with boai'ds, which we adjusted with the help of our workmen, and in which we retired, after work, all our peo- ple for evening and morning prayer, and where, being una- ble any longer to say mass — the wine which we had made from the large gra[>es of the country having just failed us — we contented ourselves with singing vespers on holidays and Sundays, and preaching after morning prayers. latdd from tlie French edition ot" 1683, with notes, etc. By John G. «hea (New York, 1880), p. 15b. 102 Louis Hennepin. ill* m "The forge was set up along the curtaiTi which faced the wood. The Sieiir de hi Salle posted himself in the middle, with the Sieur de Tonty ; and wood was cut down to make charcoal for the blacksmith."* On page 175 of the same work, Hennepin also tells us the fort "was called Crh'c-cocur" and that it was "situated four days' journey from the great village of the Illinois, descendiiig toward the river Colbert" (Mississippi). By the phrase " great village," he undoubtedly referred to the one that stood in the vicinity of The Rock. In his eecond publication, entitled "New Discovery," etc. (Eng- lish edition, London, 1698-1699, p. 103), Hennepin gives a shorter account of the construction of Fort Creve-c(Eur, containing, however, some further [»articulars, which we reproduce here. " I must observe," he writes, " that the hardest winter lasts not above two months in this charming country ; so, that on the loth of January came a sudden thaw, which made the river navigable and the weather as mild as it is with us in the middle of the spring. M. la Salle, improv- ing this fair season, desired me to go down the river with him to build our fort. After having viewed the country, we pitched upon an eminence on the bank of the river, defended on that side by the river, and on two others by two ditches (which) the rains had made very deep by suc- cession of time, so that it was accessible only by one way ; therefore, we cast a line to join these two natural ditches, and made the eminence steep on every side, supporting the earth with great pieces of timber. We made a hasty lodg- ment thereui)on, to be ready to defend us in case the sav- ages would obstruct the building of our fort; but nobody ottering to disturb us, we went on diligently with our work. . . . The fort being half finished, M. la Salle lodged himself in the middle with M. Tonti, and every- body took his post. We placed our forge along the cur- * Hennepin's "Description of Louisiana"; same edition as before cited, pp. 17G-178. .• Membre's Account of (he Illinois. 103 tain, on the east side, and laid in a great quantity of coale for that use." La Salle's own story of the building of Creve-cceur, as related in Pierre Margry's work (vol. 11.), does not dift'er essentially from that of Hennepin, nor does he appear to tix its location with any more precision. Tlie Indians con- tinuing friendly, the fort was substantially completed and occupied before the iirst of March. In tlie meantime, Father Membre devoted himself to missionary instruction among the Illinois, at their village or camp al >ut half a league above the fort. La Salle, it is told, had made a present of three axes to one of their chiefs named Oumahouha (meaning the wolf), on condition that he should adopt Membre as fiis son and care for him. The good friar visited the Indians daily in their lodges, and in spite of liis refiugnance to their filthy habits and disgusting numners, labored earnestly, though with scant success, for their spiritual etdighteument. Mar(piette had previously described the Illinois as having "an air of Viu- inanity, which he did not observe in any of the other nations seen on his route." But Membre, after a familiar acquaintance with this people, has portrayed them more nearly as they really were, in all their ignorance and degra- dation. " The greater part of these tribes," says he, " and es- pecially the Illinois, with wliom I have had most inter- course, make (the coverings of) their cabins of double mats of flat rushes, sewed together. Their villages are not inclosed with palisades, and being two cowardly to defend thcni, they take flight at the flrst news of a hostile army. They are tall of stature, strong and robust, and good arch- ers. They had as yet no flre-arms — we gave some to a few. They are wandering, idle, fearful and desolate — al- most without respect for their chiefs — irritable and tliiev- i«h. The richness and fertiJity of the country gives them fields every-where. They have used iron implements and arms only since our arrival. Besides the bow, tbey use in war a kind of short pike and wooden maces. Hermaphrodites are mnnerous. They have nuiny wives, and often take several 104 Louis Hennepin. Bisters that they may agree the better ; and yet they are so jealous that they cut oft" their noses on the shghtest provo- cation. They are lewd, and even unnaturally so, having boys dressed as women, destined for infamous purposes. . . . They are, moreover, very superstitious, although they have no religious worship. They are, besides, much given to play, like all the Indians in America that I am able to know.* Having come to the conclusion that Hennepin might be more advantageously employed than in preaching homi- lies to the Frenchmen at Fort Creve-cceur, La Salle re- quested him to lead an exploi-ing party down the IllinoiH and up the Mississippi river. The worthy friar, accord- ing to his own subsequent account, was very averse to this difficult and perilous undertaking, which yet was to make him famous. He set up the plea of bodily infirmity, claim- ing that he had ati abscess in his mouth, which had lasted for more than a year, and which required his return to Canada for medical treatment. His excuse, however, was not held sufficient, since neither of his two missionary as- sociates was so well qualified for the bold task as himself; Father Ribourde being too old and Membre too young. " Anybody but me," writes Hennepin, in his New Discovery^ " would have been much frightened with the dangers of such a jouriiey, and if I had not put all my trust in God, I should not have been the dupe of La Salle."* *See A Narrative of the adventures of La Salle's jiarty at Fort Cr^ve- ccexir, and in the Valley of the Illinois, by Zenobe Membre; printed in LeClercq's " First Establishment of the Faith in New France." En- glish translation, New York, 1881, vol. II, p. 134. * With reference to this adventurous river voyage, the Margry Re- lation has the following: " At the same time the Sieur de la Salle pro- posed to have the route he was to take to the river Mississippi explorer! in advance, and the course of that river above and below the mouth of the Divii.e river, or of the Illinois, Father Louis Hennepin offered to take this voyage, in order to begin and make acquaintance with the nations among whom he proposed to go and settle to preach the faith. The Sieur de la Salle was reluctant to impose this task on him, but seeing that he was resolute, he consented." See note in Shea's Henne- pin, p. 179. -■■"-. - His Famo^is Mississippi Voyage. 105 His compagnons de voyage were Michael Ako, or Ac- cault, and Picard du Gay, a native of Picardy, whose real name was Anthony Augelle. Accault was tolera!>' ' versed in the language of the Illinois, and, for this reason, and be- cause of his experience, he was made the business director of the party. Both of these men were robust and hardy, though physically, somewhat smaller than Hennepin. Be- sides being well clad and armed, they were supplied with a good canoe, a large peace calumet, and about one thousand livres worth of goods, to be used in trading with and con- ciliating the Indians who might be met on the river. The little party embarked near Fort Creve-coeur, on the even- ing* of the last day ot February, 1680. La Salle and the rest of his men quietly escorted them to the bank of the river to see them oft', and wish them a bon voyage. With a parting benediction from the good old Father Ribourde, who advanced to the waters' edge to bestow it, the voya- gers plied their light paddles, and were soon lost to sight in the shadows and bend of the stream. The Lower Illinois, on which they were now afloat, and which Hennepin called the Seignelay, is described by him as being as deep and broad as the river Seine, at Paris, and as widening out in several places to a quarter of a league. The first Indians met on the way were a party of the Peorias, who were returning up to their village, and M'ho used every eftbrt to induce the voyagers to turn back with them. Continuing to descend the river until the 7th of March, and having arrived within two leagues of its month, they found a tribe called the Maroas, or Tamaroas, numbering about two hundred tamiliew, who wished to take them to their village, which lay some distance below, on the bank of the " great river." Upon reaching the Mississippi it was discovered full of running ice, a sight well calculated to shake the strongest nerves. Being de- *Thi8 was the time of their departure, as stated by La8all<», and it would seem to have been selected on purpose to avoid observation and iuinoyance by the neighboring Indians. See La Salle's letter of Aug. '-*-*, 1082, in Margry, II., p. 245. 106 Louis Hrnncpin. tained from this circumstance till tlie 12th of March our intrepid voyagers re-emburked, and, turning the prow of their canoe against the sweeping current of the unexplored river, continued to ascend it, slowly and with difficulty, for the succeeding four weeks. On the 11th or 12th of April, having passed the mouth of the river Des Moines, tliey were surprised and captured by a war party of one hundred and twenty Sioux Indians, who were coming down the Mississippi in iifty canoes, in pursuit of a band of the Miamis. Having made this un- expected capture, the Sioux warriors held a council, and decided to return to their own country. Accordingly, on the next day, they began their homeward voyage, taking with them as prisoners Hennepin and his two companions. After a rapid navigation of nineteen days, and having passed tlirough Lake Pepin, wliere the savages kept up a terrible howling, they landed in a cove of the river a few leagues below the Falls of St. Anthony. Here the Sioux warriors hid their own canoes in a clump of alders, and then broke up the canoe of the Frenchmen, lest the latter might return in it to their enemies. They next divided the property of their captives, including Hennepin's vest- ments and portal)le chapel, and distributed their persons to three separate heads of families, to take the place of their sons who had been killed in war. This being done, though not without sharp wrangling among themselves, the Indians started northward across the country for their homes, taking their captives with them. After a hurried march of five days, during which the friar and his companions had well nigh perished from cold, hunger and fatigue, they reached the Sioux villages near Mille Lacs, Minnesota, about the 5th of May. The savage 'Iwellers in these northern villages were called the Issavi, or Isanati, and they formed one of the three divisions of the powerful Sioux Nation.* It was *"The earliest record of the Siouan languages," says Professor J. W. Powell, " is that of Hetinepin, compiled about 1()80. The earliest printed vocabulary is that of the Naudowessie (i. e., the Dakota) in Carver's Travels, first published in 1778." It is worthy of mention hero, His Life Among the Sioux. 107 with thin uncouth people that Hennepin spent the ennuing Hummer and early autumn. He experienced some rttUier hard unage at first, but, upon the whole, was better treated than might have been expected. He wae assigned to the care of a cliief named Aquipaguetin, whom he did not like, but who adopted him as a son, and took him to his lodge and village. Here, in consequence of his enfeebled condition, the Indians made for him one of their sweating baths, in which he was immersed three times a week, and derived mucli benefit from the treatment. Regaining his health, he studied the language and manners of this barbarous race, and acted as physician to such of them as required his services. But he did not find among these wild men any encouragement for the exercise of his clerical func- tions. " I could gain nothing over them," he tells us, " in the way of their salvation, by reason of their natural stu- pidity." Yet, on one occasion, he baptized a sick child ju8t before its death. At the end of about two months, Hennepin and his iWKociates in captivity were allowed to accompany a numer- oiiH hunting and fishing party of the 8ioux down Rum River, from Mille Lac to the Mississippi. Arrived thither, the restless friar and Du Gay, after obtaining permission from the chief, Ouasicoude, set out in a birch canoe for the nioiith of the Wisconsin, where they hoped to meet some |^ Frenchmen whom La Salle was expected to send to meet them, Accault did not accompany them on the journey, as he preferred to stay with the Indians. Rapidly descend- ing this hitherto unexplored part of the Mississij pi, our two voyagers soon drew aear the Falls of St. Anthony, so named by Hennepin in honor of his patron saint of Padua. He describes the falls as from forty to fifty feet high, with an island of pyramidal form lying nearly midway the stream.* Carrying their light canoe and luggage below I that 8orr.e philologists have traced an apparent analogy between the language of the Sioux and that of the Tartars in northern Asia. *A8 late as 1820, according to Schoolcraft (H. R.), the perpendicular height of the cataract, in its highest part, was about forty feet, its i breadth being twelve hundred feet. But by the constant reaction of 108 Louis Hennepin. the roaring cataract, they re-embarked, and held oo th^ir lonely way down the sinuon.s ''iver to the confluence of the Wisconsin, a distance of sixty French leagues from the falls. Finding no Frenchmen there to receive them, they returned disappointed, and joined a large band of the 8ioux who were hunting on the Chippewa, a stream which enters the Mississipp' from the east at Lake Pepin, and leisurely followed them back up the river. At length, after an irksome and anxious captivity of five and a half months, the friar and his associates were allowed to go free. Their release was effected through the opportune arrival of one of their own countrymen, Daniel Greysolon du L'hut,* A^ho, with five ar»ned Frenchmen, had penetrated into the Sioux country from Lake Superior. and made satisfactory terms with the savages. Toward the end of September, Father Hennepin and his compatriots — eight Frenchmen in two canoes — left the Sioux villages on their return to the French settlements, and journeyed south and east, via the St. Francis, the Mis- sissippi, the Wisconsin, and Fox Rivers, to Green Bay. Thence they coasted around the northern shore of Lake Michigan to Michilimackinac, where Hennepin spent the winter with the Jesuit Father Pierson, a former fellow- the water against the underlying strata of soit sandstone, and the conee- ■quent breaking off of the upper and harder table rock, the height o( the falls is now reduced to fifteen feet. Their natural beauty ha8 also been marred and obscured by the erection of nulls, and other works of civilized man. •Some additional notice of the Sieur du L'hut, or Du Luth, may li acceptable to the general reader. He was a native of Lyons, Franw and a cousin of the Sieur de Tonty, whom he more than once visitaiat Fort !St. Louis of the Illinois. Having come to Canada as a youpi; of- ficer, he led the life of a military adventurer, and became noted for his enterprise antl hardihood. In 1()H() he was ordered by De Nonville, then )jovernor of Canada, to fortify the Strait of Detroit. Proceeding thitlier with fifty men, he built a stockade called Fort St. " soph, and occupieil it till the summer of 1087, when lie headed a force of French and In- <lians from the upper lakes in the war against the Senecas, In H)i>5 I"' was commandant at Fort Frontenac, and retained this position for Home years. He died of chronic gout, in Canada, during the winter of .l7O9-'10, It was doubtless from this noted Frenchman, that the modern oommer- cial city of Duluth derived its name. He Returns to France. 109 townsman, at the missioR of St. I^nacc. On the 29ch of the following March, 1681, before the ice had disappeared from the straits, our restless friar, with a few boatmen, re- samed his journey eastward from Michilimaekinac* Drag- ging their canoes and provisions over tlie snow and ice un- til open water was reached, they then embarked and rowed along the western shore of Lake Huron to and through the St. Clair, and thence over Lake Erie to the Falls of Niag- ara. Making a portage round the fallw, they next entered Lake Ontario and sailed along its southern side thirty league to a large village of the Senecas, where Hennepin stopped for a while and renewed his acquantance with the chiefs of that nation. lie thence proceeded to Fort Fron- tenac, and afterward descended the St. Lawrence to Mon- treal, where Governor Frontenac then was. Here he was very graciously received by the governor, to whom he gave a graphic recital of his river voyages and captivity among the wild tribes on the upper Mississippi, and showed him the advantas:e8 to be derived from their discoverv. Taking ship at Quebec for Old France, Father Henne- pin reached that country again near the close of 1681, after an absence of six ye^rs. He then went to reside for a time at the Convent of St. Germain-en-Laye. After this he was * Mackinac, or Miohilimarkinuo, was then a placo of much less con- sequence than in 1088 (seven years later), when the Daron d" lii lion- tan was sent thither with a company of French troops. He giv<!s us. tlii8 quaint yet interesting description of the mission and settlemetit : "MiBHilimackinac is certainly a place of great importance. It lies in latitude of forty-five degrees and thirty minutes; but as to its longi- tude I have nothing to say, for reasons expressed in my second letter. T i;< not Koove half a league from the fllinois Luke (Michigan). Here tlif Hurons and Outaous have each a village ; the one being severed from the other by a single pali.^'.ide. ... In this place the .lesuits liavc a Uttle house or college, adjoining to a sort of (diurch, and inclostfd with pales that separate it fron> the village of the llurons. These good Katlicrs lavish away all their divinity and patience in converting such ignorant infidels. . . . The amreurx dc /?oJ.i have a very small set- tlement here, thougli 'tis not inconsiderable, as being the staple (or nmrt) of all the goods that they truck wiMi the south and west savagv^s; for they can not avoid passing this way when they go to the seuts of th«y' llliuese and the Ouinamis (Miamics), or to the Baye des Puant anil the Hiver MissisHippi."— '« llontan's Voyages, Knglish ed., vol, 1., pp. 87, 88^ 110 L<^uis Hennepin. vicar and acting superior of the Recolleta at Chateau Gain bresis, where he was visited by his former companion, Father Zenobe Mombre, about 1(383. Subsequentl^y, he was Guardian for some three years of the KecoUet conveiii at Rentz, in Artois. During this time he was requested by his superior to return to the mission in Canada, but he de- clined to comply; his excuse being that the "particular lawH of his religious order did not .,>llige him to go beyond the sea against his will," and that the malice of his eneniien there would expose him to perish among the savages. At or before the year 169'^ owing in part to his in- triguing character, Hennepin was ordered by the MiniHter of Wur to quit the French realm ; and, with the consent of his superior, withdrew into Holland, wliere he gained pro- tection at the court of William III In order to travel in that country without attracting paicicular notice, he laid m'nh his monastic garb, but did not renounce his vows, and con- tinued to sign himself "Recollect a!jd Notaire Apostolique." Becoming tired of Holland, we are told that he ottered to return and again go as a missioiuiry to America, but that he was not permitted to re-enter France for the purpose, With respect to liis peregrinations in the last years of hi^ erratic and checkered life, we have no authentic informa- tion. It is stated by some writers that he went on a [)il- grimage to Rome, and was at the convent of Ara-celi in 1701, but that he returned thence, aiid died shortly after at Utrecht. He was tlien probably sixty -two years old. During his extended travels in North America, Friar H(!nnepin had kept a diary or journal, and his first labor on returning to France was to prepare it for publication. His first and n\ost valuable work, 1 ocause written from personal observation, and without any special motive to prevari> ate, was published at Paris early in »)aiMiary, t()8!{, and was dedicated to his (/hristian Majesty, Louis XIV. Its French title runs as follows : " Description de la Louisi- anc^ novellcnumt decouverte an su.d-ouesf. de la Nouvelle. France; Avec la CarU d.u Pays, Ics moeurs d (a maniere d.e vie des Son- vagcs. Dc.dik A sa Majestic. Par le R. P. Hennepin., Mn- sionaire Hecolleot el Notaire Apostolique." His Writings 111 Thin book became immediately popular, both in Prance and the adjacent countries, and translatioun of it soon ap- peare<l in the English, Dutch, and Italian languages. It contains a copious thou<rh desultory narrativ^e of La Salle's first expedition to the West, and of Hennepin s own voy- ages an<l discoveries in connection therewith ; and des{»it,e its author's egotism and propensity to magnify his individ- ual exploits, the work is equally entertaining and instruc- tive. The style is simple and natural, and the language perspicuous, though losing much of its origiiuility i:i its English dress. He was an observant traveler, using his eyes wherever he went, and his pictures of the wild country and of savage life are very graplnc. He had studied the In- dians attentively, an<l [lortrays their nnmners vividly. His second an<l more comprehensive, i>ut less reliable, publication, did not see the light of print until fourteen years after the tirst. If is thus lengthily entitled in P'rench : ^^ Noii.cdk' Decoui'erte (fun tres grand pivjs^ sif.ue dans L' Amenqae^ entre le Nomaa Meriquc et la Mer Glaclale; Avec les Cartes et les Figures neeessaire, et de plus UHistoire nat- ureUc et morale, et L'S arantagcs qu' on peut tier par le etahlisse- ment dcs colonies. Le tout dediee d sv Majeste Brittaniqae, Gaillaume III., Par le Louis Hennepin,'' etc. A. Utrecht 1G97, Amsterdam 1698, and London l<)98-'9!).* In this book was first inserted the narrative of Henne- pin's pretended descent of the Mississippi to the Uulf, and and in the preface thereto, by way of ex[)lanation, he says : "'T is true I published part of it in the year 1684 (1683), ill my account of L(»uisiana, {)rinted at I'aris by order of the French king: but I was then obliged to say nothing of the course of the river Meschasipi, from the mouth of tlie river Illinois down to the sea, for fear of disobliging M. la *The FCnglish of this reads an tollowB: " New Discovery of a very (i teat Country, situated in Auierioa between New Mexieo and t lie Icy Sen; with some necessary maps and illustrations, and, moreover, the history, natural and moral, and the advantages that may I e had by the ostablishment there of some colonies. The whole dedicated to his Brittanic Majesty, William III. By I^>uis Hennepin," etc. Printed at Utrecht HM>7, .Vmsterdum U)!)8, and London I()()S-'<.«>. 112 Louis Hennepin. Salle, with whom I began my discovery. TIhh gentleman would have the glory of having discovered the course of that rivdr; but when he heard that I had done it two yearn before him, he would never forgive me, tliough, as I have said, I was so modest as to publish notliing of it."'*' Hennepin's third and smaller work on America, bear- ing the title of "■ NoHveau Voyage </' an pais pine grand que ly En rope; avec les rejicxions des enterprises dii Siciir de la Salle, fur les mines de St. Darhe,'"' etc., was issued at Utreclit in 1698, and was also dedicated to tlie King of England juid Holland, in that Ktyle of fulsome adulation then in vogue. In his prefatory note to this book, tlie friar speciously replies to those who had doubted tlie possibility of Viis liavingsailed down and up the Mississipj>i within tliebrief time mentioned in liis " New Discovery." The story of liis feigned descent of that river to i\\Q Gulf of Mexico obtained general credence in tliis country, notwithstanding the man- ifest dit!i(!ulty of reconciling its dates and conflicting state- ments, until the api)earance of Spark's Life oi La Salle (in his series of "American Biographies," 1844— '47), since whi(;h time it has been rejected aH a fiction. irennej)in wouKl thus seem to have been guilty of deliberate falsehood, mikI in seeking to rob La Salle of his principal laurel, he only tarninhed his own fame. La Salle, however, is not deserv- ing of any especial commiseration ; for it appears from the anonymous brochure or memoir put forth in liis interest, in the year lt>78, that he was not unwilling to have the world believe he had discovered the Mississippi, before the historic voyage thereon by Joliet and Marciuette. *"Hof()n> this publicivtion, liowcvcr, Tonty'H Kelution had boon publisluul, iiiul, ill UiDl, u work ontitlcd : 'Tlio KstubliHhtnont of the Faitb in New KriuuH',' by tlu> Uocollot ininHioiuiry, Fntlier (Clirction) be Clercq, who ha«l derived his niateriulH roUitiiiK to La Salle'H expedition to the (Inlf from tlie letters which the Father Zenobe Membre, who ac- companied it, had written to the liiHhop of Quebec. Parallel passiigcR from Le Clerci] and Hennepin have been examined, so closely resembliiij,'. Id every injportant particular, as to compel the beMef that Ileunepin'e publication of KUm iH a piracy upon it, and a wicked attempt to deprive La Salle of his hard-earned honor."— Breese's I'kvrly Hist. 111., p. 128; Chicago, 1884. His Writinffs. 113 Hoiinepiii was, at this time, in tho service or [)ay of the J)utch-Eiigilsh court; and it \a atiinned that he was in- (hieed (perliapw rctiuired) to write a new account of hig travels and discoveries in North America, conii)risinij^ a nar- rative of his alleged voyage down the Mississippi to the sea, in order to favor the pretensions of King William HI., who wished to set up for himself a claim to the country of Lou- isiana. This statement (ku'ives plausihiiity from the circiim- stance that, in 1()99, two English vessels were sent to ex- plore the passes of the Mississip[)i. There were also other motives that influenced and may hcl[) to ex[)lain the friar's dubious con<hict. Among these was his inordinate vanity, which seems to have augmented with his years, and prompted him to air ins personal grievances, and to pose before the reading worhl as a persecuted man. Then again, tho [trospeotive increase in the srle of his book, from the insertion of new and entertaining matter, must have exer- cised no little influence, particularly with his pulilishers. Yet, apart from all this, there ai'e reasons for suspecting that Hennepin himself was not responsible for all the fic- tions printed in his "New Discovery." Tlie hand of an anonymous and careless editor is traceable in various parts of the book, which is said to have been altered even after itstirst printing. This charitable view of the matter, while it K'ssens ]Ienne[»in's cul[>ability, does not ex(;ul[>ato him tVotn censure. The whole ^ruth about the origin an<l appear- ance of his last two publications, though inviting attention and inquiry, will probably never be known.* But stilly witli all his faults and failings and tjaprices, Louis Hennepin was no ordinary man, and his was no or- dinary destiny. Distinguished not only as a traveler and RecoUet missionary, he was also the flrst j)opular writer on the French in North America.. Moreover, his memory is lastingly linked with two, at least, of the great natural *For a critical discjuisition upou this curious and recondite aubjec^t, the iniiuring reader is referred to tiie late Dr. Shea's Notice of tho Life and Writings of Fatiier Hennepin, in his annotated (tditiou of the " De- ncriptiim de la Loumane" N. Y., 18H0. 8 114 Louis Hennepin. monuments of this country — the Falls of Niagara and the Falls of St. Anthony ; and it was he who first publicly gave the name to that vast and magnificent territory, lying mostly on the west of the Mississippi, which is still worn by that portion of it incorporated into the sovereign State of Lou- isiana. La SatU Returns to Fort Frontenac. 115 CHAPTER VI. 1680-1681. LA SALLE AND TONTY. It is now time to return to La Salle, the central figure in this important and difficult enterprise. On the second ot March, two days after the departure of Father HeniiCpin from Creve-coeur, the resolute chief himself set forth on his return journey to Fort Frontenac. He left Tonty, his trusted lieutenant, in command at the Illinois fort, with a company of fifteen men, and took with him four French- men, hesides his indispensable Mohegan hunter. The last month of the winter had been extremely cold, so that the passage of La Salle and his little party up the river and lakes was much obstructed by ice, either firm or drifting. At Peoria Lake his men had to make sleuges for their two canoes, and drag them over the frozen surface. From thoncc they slowly and laboriously advanced, alternately by land and water, amid the chilling rains and melting snows of the opening spring. Arriving at the great town of the Illinois on the 11th of March, they found it still a solitude, and the roofs of its lodges crested with snow, the copper-hued in- habitants not having as yet returned from their winter hunt. Encamping here, one of the hunters killed a stray hufl'alo. and while his men were smoking the meat of the animal. La Salle reconnoitered the adjacent country. Fall- ing in with three Illinois Indians, he brought them to his cam{sgave them food and presents, and secured from them a promise to send provisions to his men at the fort. Dur- ing his short stay at this place, he attentively examined that rugged and precipitous <;lift', designated by him as Le Itochir (The Kock), which had been passed without particu- lar notice in his previous trip down the river. Being ini- llo La Salle and Tonty. pressed with its rare capabilities as a defensive position, he soon afterward sent back word to Tonty to occupy and fortify it. Quitting the vicinity of tlie Indian town on the 15th, the leader and liia party continued their toilsome ascent of the Illinois and its Dos IMaines brancli until tliey ap- proached the place where .Joliet now stands, when further navigation was rendered impracticable by the firmness of the ice in the river. Here they hid their canoes, strapped their luggage on their shoulders, and started over-land for Lake Michigan, distant about fifty miles. The country all around was a flat and dreary waste, covered with half- melted snow and intersected by swollen streams, some of which they forded, and others they crossed on log rafts. On the 23d of Marcli they were cheered by glimpses of tlie southern extremity of the lake, seen through the openings in the leafless forest trees ; at night they encamped on its beach, and the next day followed its sandy shores east and northeast to Fort Miami. Here La Salle found the two men whom he had sent down the lake in the preceding- November to look for the Grifiin, th.ey having gone to Mackinac and returned without getting any tidings of the missing vessel. He now ordered them to proceed to the fort on the Illinois, and gave them a letter to carry to De Tonty. In order to gain time, the dauntless ciiief, and his travel-worn companions, next turned their steps eastward across the- southern peninsula of Michigan. Their journey through its gloomy and trackless forests was cJne of pecu- liar hardship, since they could keep no fire at night for fear of straggling parties of Indians. Coming to a tributary of the Detroit, they made a log canoe and descended in it to that river, and thence marched across the country some thirty miles to Lake Erie. Here they embarked in a canoo and coasted the northern shore of the lake as far east as the mouth of Grand River, and then proceeded overland to the post which La Salle had established below the Falls of Niag- ara. From thence, with a party of fresh men, he pushed down and across Lake Ontario to his seigniory of Fort Froii- tenac, whither he arrived on the tith of May, 1(380., TIiuh La Salic s Financial Misfortunes. 117 within the brief interval of sixty-five days, he had per- formed an arduous journey through tlie wiklorness of over eight hundred miles, which, considering the season and circumstances under which math', was a most remarkable exhibition of pluck and physical endurance. Arrived at his seigniory, La Salle found all of his af- fairs in confusion. Not only had the Griffin been lost, with her furs and pelts, but a vessel coming from France witti a cargo for his com})any, valued at 2,200 livres, liad been wrecked on St. Peter's Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and several canoes loaded with his merchandise liad been swallowed up in the rapids of the St. Lawrence. More- over, some of his agents had acted in bad faith with him, and his creditors were preparing to seize upon the residue of his property. But, in the presence of these accumulated mis- fortunes, which would have crushed any other man, he was neither disheartened nor swerved from his purpose. lie at once hastened to Montreal to arrange matters with his prin- cipal creditors, and such was still his credit and influence there, fnat he was enabled to procure tlie requisite supplies for continuing his great enterprise. Keturning from Mon- treal to Frontenae, he was met by two messengers just ar- lived with a letter from Tonty, stating that after his de- parture from Fort Creve-coeur, a majority of his men there had deserted the fort, and wasted or destroyed such stores as they could not carry away. Following his letter, came Ticws by two traders on the lakes that the deserters had destroyed his fort at the mouth of the Miamis or St. Joseph, and plundered his warehouse at Niagara. Being farther informed that twelve of the perfidious wretches were coming down the northern shore of Lake Ontario with evil intetit. La Salle, with a party of nine trusty men, sallied out to meet them, and coming upon them unawares, killed two and captured seven of tlie number, whom he imjjrisoned at Frontenae, to await punishment by a civil tribunal. One of tlie chief difficulties attending the enterprises of La Salle, and of other early French explorers in the West, was to secure the services of reliable men. The wil- 118 La Salle and Tonty. derness was in a nieaaurc full of vagabond hunters, known as roHirur.s dea hois, who had fled from the restraints of eivilizatiou to lead lives of license and lawlessness, and whose eonsequeiit freedom from care and immunity from punishment for crime was a constant allurement to draw others from legitimate employment. The provincial gov- ernment of Canada made stringent regulations from time to time for the sup])reKsion of this growing evil; but it was easier to enact HU(^h decrees than to enforce them. On the 10th of August, having completed his outfit, and engaged the services of a lieuteiumt named La Forrest, with a ('ompany of twenty-iive new men. La Salle again set out from his seigniory for the Illinois country, to "suc- cor the forlorn hope under To!ity." Taking the most di- rect route, he passed uj) the river llund)er or Trent, crossed Lake Simcoe, descended the Severn to the. Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, followed its rugged eastern coast to the Manitoulin Islands, and thence moved westward to the Frencli post on the straits of Mackinac. Poinding it dif- ticult to replenisli his stock of provisions there on account of the enmity and jealousy of the French traders, and not wishing to be delayed, he pressed on u^ Lake Michigan with twelve men and four canoes, leavii g La Forrest and the rest of the force to follow so soon as they could pro- cure the needed supplies. On Noveml)er 28th, the advance party under La Salle drew their boats ashore on the sandy beach close to the v/recked fort of Miami. Here, for the purpose of facilitating his progress, he left the bulk of his stores in charge of five men, and continued his journey with the remaining seven. Ascending the river St. Joseph to the portage, he thence crossed to the Kankakee, and rapidly descended its channel to the Illinois. After entering the latter stream, our voyagers found the adjacent prairies dotted over with fat buffaloes, and be- ing in want of fresh meat, they put to shore and soon shot a dozen or more of these favorite animals, the flesh of which they cut into thin strips and dried in the sun for future use. Resuming their canoes and passing the Rock, which La Salle had directed Tonty to occupy, they saw no sign La Salle's Second Expedition. 119 there of any fortification, and }i(5arfl no tidings of that trusted oiRcer. Approaohinj^: tlio ^^reat town of tlie lUinoiH nation, a scene of havoc and ruin was proHentod to their aHtonished night. A for(;e of five liundnjd Inxjuoin war- rioPH liad then recently invaded tiieweHtern country, driven away the IllinoiH, sacked their town, cut <lown their grow- ing corn, and rifled tlieir corn pitH. Moreover, th('y had desi>oiled the nepulchers of the village dead,* Hcattered their hones over the adjoining [)lain, an<l stuck the skulls ill (hM'ision on the cliarred poles of the hurnt lodges. Having carefully in8i>ected tlie scene of these acts of savage harl)arity and desecration, to ascertain whether Tonty and his hand had fallen victims to the vengeance of the in- va(ierK, La Salle stationed three of liis men here in conceal- ment to keep a close watch, while lie continued with the other four to descend the river. At ditterent points on the w«y, he dis(^overed the deserted caim)s of the opposing Indian forces, who had move<l southward in compact hodies on hoth sides of the stream. Passing on through Peoria Lake, and coming to Foi't Creve-coeur, he found it dismantled, hut his unfinished hoat was still on the stocks and hut little injiired. Some distanc^e farther down, and a little way from ihe river, his eyes were met hy the revolt- ing spectacle of the half-charred bodies of some Indian women and children, who had been <n'uelly burned at the stake by the Iro(|Uois. Still discerning no traces of his lost men. La Salle went on to the mouth of the Illinois, where for tlie first time, perhaps, he beheld that great and mysterious river, which he had long desired to trace to its unknown embouchure in the sea. It is said that those who were with him proposed to proceed without delay u|)on the projected voyage; but the prudent leader, having his men and resources dispersed, and being uneasy about the fate of Tonty, was compelled to wait a more propitious op[)ortunity. - '-■■- ,. . - — .-- -^ - . *According to the Jesuit Father Rasles, the custom of the Illinois was not to bury their dead, but to wrap them in skins, and expose them on scaffolds, or attach them by the head and feet to the boughs of trees. But it appears that this practice was not universal among them. 120 L(( Salle and Tovfy. Returninij expeditiously up tlie Illinois, he rejoined tlie three men who had heen left in hi<ling near the ruined town, and, after jiroeuriui;: some half-burnt maize from the pillaged granaries, tlie united [»arty re-entered their canoes and j)addled u}» the river. When they reached the forks, and had gone a short distance up the Kankakee branch, they discovered on the bank a hut, containing a stick of wood that liad been recently sawed, which was mistaken for an indication that Tonty and company liad passed tliis way. Quitting the stream and concealing tlieir canoes near this point. La Salle and his party uiade their way slowly, on foot, tlirough blinding snow storms, to Fort Miami, wliitlier tliey arrived late in January, 1681.* Here the weather-worn and exhausted travelers were warmly welcomed by La Forrest and liis men, who, during the absence of tlie chief, had repaired the fort, cleared some land on which to raiee a crop, and prepared material for a new vessel on the lake. Leaving La Sallewithinthe wooden walls of Fort Miami, to recuperate his energies and lay new plans for the un- promising future, we must now^ go back and relate the thrilling adventures of the Sieur de Tonty and his com- panions. As before stated, he had been left in command of Fort Creve-coeur in March, 1680, with a garrison of fifteen men. Two-thirds of these were worthless knaves, who disliked La Salle, took no interest in his important enterprise, and were ripe for revolt whenever the occasion ottered. His departure for the East, therefore, was the sign*- lor the open manifestation of their disaffection. A mon:h or more afterward, when the two men whom the chief had * During this retrograde journey, the great comet of ]680-'81 appeared nightly in the heavens, with its brilliant and appalling train, covering an arc of from sixty to ninety degrees. According to Mr. Parkman, La Salle, in his correspondence, coolly referred to the comet as "an object of scientific curiosity ;" whereas Increase Mather, the eminent Puritan divine of New P^ngland, spok(! of it as " fraught with terrific portent to the nations of the earth." Toniy Lctft in Command at CrSiJc-ccnur. 121 sent from Fort Miami, with a letter to Tonty, arrived at Creve-coeur, they hrought with them depressing intelli- gence. They told the already demoralized garriwon, " that the Griffin was bat; that Fort Frontenac was in the hands of La Salle's creditors, and tliat he was without means to pay those in his employ." The belief now pervading the garrison tl)at they would not be paid excited a spirit of mutiny and mischief among them, wliich shortly found the desired opportunity to ripen into action. No sooner had Tonty, with a few of the men. departed' tq the Illinois River to forti+'y the "liock," as ordered by his chief, than those left behind proceeded to demolish the fort, and then fled, with such arms, ammunition and goods, as they could carry away. Two only of tlie number remained faithful, one of whom hastened to apprise Tonty of what had hap- pened. Alarmed at this revolt and desertion, he dis- patched four men, by two different routes, to carry the unwelcome news to La Salle, two of wliom. as we have fieen, reached their destination. Tlie Sieur de Tonty now had with him only five white men, namely : the young and spirited Francois de Boisron- det, L'Esperance (servant of La Salle), a Parisian youth named Etienne Renault, and the two friars, Ribourde and Membrc. With a part of this little band, the lieutenant repaired to tlie deserted fort, collected the tools, forge, etc., which had not been molested, and conveyed them up the river to the great town of the Illinois, where he tempora- rily fixed his quarters. But, as the sequel showed, it would have been better if the forge and tools had been left where they were. For tlie next five months the Frenchmen, while anxiously waiting the return of their leader, enjoyed the dubious hospitality of the savages. During this time Tonty endeavored to make himself useful by teaching them the construction of rude fortifications and the simpler arts of military strategy, and the friars labored faithfully to instruct them in the rudiments of Christianity. In this way a fairly good understanding was maintained with the natives until about the first of September, when it was announced that an array of five hundred Iroquois HDhtai 122 La Salle and Tonty. , and one hundred Miamis waa swiftly marching into the country. It appears that a Shawnee Indian, on hia way home from a vioit to the Illinois, had tirst discovered the approach of the invaders, ar.d returned to warn his friends of their impending danger. This intelligence created the utmost consternation among the inhabitants of the town; and Tonty, \yho had all along been an object of suspicion, was soon surrounded by a crowd of excited war- riors, who brandished their weapons and accused him of being an emissary of the enemy. Owing to his imperfect knowledge of the Illinois language, he was unable to ex- plain the situation to their satisfaction, and in their fury they seized upon the forge and in)plcme!;cs, brought thither from Creve-coeur and threw them into the river. Doubting their ability to successfully defend themselves, since most of their young men were away on the war- path, they hurriedly sent their sf^uaws and papooses down the river to an island, wViere they were left in charge of sixty old warriors. The remair.ing braves, to the number of about four hundred, now spent the night in preparing themselves for battle, painting their taces and greasing their ])odie8. Early the next day the scouts, whom they had previously sent out, returned and reported the Iro(pioi« as near al hand, and armed with guns aiul swords obtained from the English. They furtlier reported that they had seen a cliief with the enemy arrayed in the Erench dress, and signified their belief that it was La Salle. This turned out to ])e simply an Iroquois warrior, wearing a European hat and waistcoat, yet it s-erved to again nuiko Tonty an object of dark suspicion. J3eing surroundetl by a throng of infuriated savages, who threatened his life, he only saved himself from their uplifted weapons by promis- ing that he and his men would go out with them to meet the common foe. Since no time was to be lost, the whole available force of the Illinois now liurried across the river and took [)osition on the plain beyond, just as the emnny stealthily emerged from the tind)er that skirted the banks of the Big Vermillion. Thus the two Indian armies soon confronted each otlier, and, simultaneously raisiug tiie war- Tonty's Adventures with the Iroquois. 123 whoop, began to exchange shots and arrows, jumping from side to side to elude each other's shots. At this crisis, the Sieur de Tonty, knowing the Illinois warriors to be cow- ards, and seeing that they were outnumberetl and likely to bo defeated, determined to make an effort at negotiation, and thus stay the unequal fight. Relying on the treaty of peace then subsisting between the Iro([Uois nation and the French, he laid aside his gun for a necklace of wami)um and started, at the imminent risk of his life, to meet the bel- ligerent invaders. An Illinois Indian accompanied him part of the way, and they separated themselves from the main body of the Illinois, who were actively skirmishing with the enemy. "When I was within gun-shot," writes Tonty, " the Iroquois shot at us, seized me, took the necklace from my hand, and one of them plunged a knife into my bi'cast, wounding a rib neiir the heart. •'" However, having recog- iii/ed me, they carried me into the midst of their camp, and asked me what I came for. I gave them to understand that the Illinois were under the protection of the King of France and the governor of the country, ami that I was surprised that they wished to break with the French and not con- tinue t*t peace. All this time skirmishing war going on, on both sides, and a warrior came to give notice that their Ic'i't wing was giving away, and that they had ivcognized some Frenchmen amongthe Illinois, who shot at them. On (hearing) this they were greatly irritated at me, and held a council on what they should do with me. There was a man l)ehind me witn a knife in his hand, 'vho every now and then lifted my hair. They were divided in opinion. Ti'gantouki, chief of the Tsonnonthouans, desired to have me burnt. Agoasto, chief of the Onnontagues,|- wished to liave me set at liberty, as a friend of M. de la Salle, and lie tarried his point. They agreed tluit, iii order to deceive 'lit' lllin()is, they should give me a mudvlaee of porcelain lieuds to prove that they also were children of the gov- •Membre tellHusthat " with his swarthy compk'xiun ami luill-sav- ai^e (IreHs, they took hiiu (Tonty) for uu lutiiaii." ^ Onoudajftw. ^ 124 La Salle and Tonty. ernor, and ought to unite and make a good peace. They sent nie to deliver this message to the Illinois. I had much difficulty in reaching them, on account of the blood I had lost. On my way I met the Fat'iers Gabriel de Ribourde and Zenobe Membre, who were coming to look after nie. They exjtressed great joy that these barbarians had not put me to death. We went together to the Illinois, to whom 1 reported the sentiments of the Iroquois toward them, adding, however, that they must not altogether trust them."* Shortly afterward the Illinois returned to their village, and many of the Iroquois, under different pretexts, also crossed the river and disposed themselves in menacing groups about the place. These hostile demonstrations, be- ing repeated the next day, caused the more timid Illinois to seek safety in flight. Accordingly, at nightfall, tliey set fire to their lodges, .;(vd 'ile the attention of tlie enemy was diverted by tlie flame and smoke of the burn- ing, they secretly betook themselves to their canoes, and dropped down the river to join their women and children. Tonty and his companions remained beliind to deal as best they might with the faitbless Iroquois. The latter now took possession of the village, and intrenched tliemselves tlierein. Two days later, when the Iroquois observed the scouts of the Illinois on the neighboring hills, they thouglit that Tonty had somr communication with them, and obliged him and his J)arty to remove from the' i;bin into the fort, or redoubt, of the former. Tliey th< ; .uested Tonty to repair to the Illinois, and induce \\\o\i- , . ake a treaty of paciflcation, for their vaunted courage haJ subsided. He accordingly proceeded, vvitli Father Zenobe and a hostage, to the camp of the Illinois. They gladly accepted the peace proj)Osal, and sent a hostage in return to the IroquoiB. But the in<!xperienced Illinois hostage soon disclosed to hie cunning interviewers the numerical weakness of his peo^de, *See M. do Tonty's Mmnnir of lOUI?, rovcrinp t,h(> {leriod from l(i78 to 10t)l. Friar Meinbre, in Iuh act'ouut of i\\\s exciting cpiHuck', coiivt-yH the idea tliat he himself wert with Tonty into the Iroqnoie camp, but this Ih not nuHtained l>v Tontv'H Narrative. • ■ Tontifs Adventures with the Iroquois. 125 and offered to give them, if they wished for peace, the beaver skins and some skives whicih they had. The Iro- (^uois chiefs were now enraged at the Sieur de Tonty, and loaded him with reproaches for having told them that the Illinois had twelve hundred warriors, and tliat tliere were sixty Frenchmen at the village. " I had ninch difliculty," writes Tonty, " in getting out of the scrape." However, on the next day, a nominal peace was con- cluded between the representatives of the two nations, and the Iroquois made some presents of necklaces and mer- chandise to the Illinois. But, in utter disregard of the treaty, the Iroquois immediately began to construct canoes of elm bark, with which to descend the river and fall upon the Illinois. In the meantime Tonty apprised tlie latter of their danger, and advised them to retire to some distant nation. Shortly after these events (on the 10th of September), Tonty and Father Membre were summoned to attend a coun- cil of the Irocpiois. It seems that they still entertained a wholesome fear of Governor Frontenac, under whose piotee- tion the Illinois were, and did not want to renew their war upon the latter in presenceof the Frenchmen. Theirpurpose, therefore, was to induce the French to leave the country. Accordingly, when Tonty and Membre appeared at the council, six parcels of beaver skins were brought into their presence. And the Iroquois spokesman, addressing Tonty, said, that the first two packages were to inform M. (ie Frontenac tl at they would not eat his children, and that ho should not be angry at what they iiad done; the third was a plaster to heal the wounds of Tonty ; the fourth was oil to anoint him and Membre, that they might not be fa- tisjued in traveling ; the fifth proclaimed tluit the sun was bright; and the sixth, and lust, required them to depart for the Frendi settlements.'*' These proffered gifts were scornfull^y rejected by Tonty, who, in imitation of tlie Iinllan mode of expressing coii- tenipt, indignantly kicked them away, and thus rebuked 'Tonty'8 Memoir of lOrS. 126 La Salle and Tonty. the Bavages for their insolence and perfidy. The council ended in recrimination and disorder, and on the next day the exasperated chiefs ordered the Frenchmen to quit the country forthwith. The Sieur de Tonty had now, at the repeated risk of his life, tried every expedient to save the Illinois from the fury of the invaders of their soil and homes, and since by remaining longer he would imperil tjie lives of his own men, he made a virtue of necessity, and speedily departed. On the morning of the 11th, he and liin five compan- ions embarked in a wretched bark canoe, with but scanty supplies, and made haste up the river. The same day, about noon, the canoe broke, and they landed to repair it and dry their peltry. While some, of the men were thus employed, Father Ribourde imprudently retired into a!i ad- jacent grove for the purpose of saying his breviary. As he did not return when expected, Tonty became alarmed tor his safety, and started out with a companion to hunt him. Witli the quick eyes of woodmen, they soon discovered the tracks of Indians, by whom it was thought the friar had been seized, and they fired guns to direct his return, if still alive. Not seeing or hearing any thing of him that afternoon, in the evening they built fires along the river bank, and then withdrew to the opposite shore, to observe who might :i|i- proach thorn. Toward midnight several Indians were seen flitting about the fires, and then vanished in the darkness. It was afterward learned that they belonged to a band ot young Kicdvapoo warriors, who had been hovering for some days about the Iroquois camp in (piest of scalps. By chance, it would seem, they had fallen in with the innocent old friar, whom they killed and scalped, liiding his body in a sink, ai I carrying away his breviary, which subsequontly came into the hands of one of the Jesuit fathers. Thus perished l)y the war-club of the merciless savage, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, the Recollet father, Gabriel de hi llibourde. lie was the 0!ily son and heir of a gentlenum of Burgundy, and had not oidy renounced his inheritane" and the world, to enroll irnnself among the lowly children of St. Francis, but even when advanced in life and honored Death of Father Ribourde. 127 with the first dignities of his order, had sought (in 1670) the new and toilsome mission of Canada.* While this painful tragedy was being enacted, the Iroquois invaders, unrestrained by the presence of French- men, were brutally desecrating the sepulchers of the dead at the great town of the Illinois, and preparing to furtlier wreak their vengeance upon the living. Starting down the river in pursuit of the retreating Illinois, they steadily followed them day after day ; but as both of the opposing armies moved in close array, neither was able to gain any material advantage over the other. At length, the Iroquois chiefs attained by strategy what their vaunted prowess and arms had failed to achieve. They publicly gave out that their object was not to destroy the Illinois, but simply to drive them frorh the country. Deceived by this artifice, the Illinois separated, some of them descending the Missis- hipjii River, and others fleeing across and beyond it. But the Tamaroas tribe, more stupid or credulous than the rest, lingered at their village, not far below the mouth of the Illinois, until they were suddenly attacked by a superior force of th(? enemy. The pusillanimous men are said to have fle ^ at the first onset, leaving their defenseless women and children, numbering several hundred, to tall into the hands of the merciless foe. Then followed those savage hiiti'heries and burnings, the horrible evidences of which were seen by La Salle only a few weeks afterward. Hav- ing'; scattered the timorous Illinois in every direction, and HRtiated their ;'jreed for carnage, the rapacious horde of Ircxiuois now set ofi' on a forced march to their own coun- try, taking with them a nund)er of ca[)tive squaws and papooses, whom they had reserved to grace their triumph on returning to their eastern homes. After the melancholy end of Father Kibourde, and the iiu'tlectual search for his body, Tonty and his men resumed their toilsome ascent of the Illinois River. On reaching the forks of that stream, they neglected to leave there any tSheji'e Hist, of the Diacov. uucl Explo. of the Miss. Viil., page 159^ nok. 128 ■Jm Salle and Tonty. mark or trace indicating their course, which might have served as a guide to La Salle, and saved him no little trouble. But evidently afraid of encountering some hos- tile band of Indians, they turned up the Des Plaines^^ branch of the Illinois, and made their way by short jour- neys to Lake Michigan. Their aim was to find an asylum among the friendly Pottawatomies. After coasting the lake shore for a considerable distance, their canoe became disabled, and their provisions failed them. Leaving one man in charge of their canoe and other articles, the Sieur de Tonty and the rest of the party set oft by land for the nearest Pottawatomie village, w^hlch lay some twenty leagues to the north. But as Tonty had a fever at the time, and \m limbs were swollen, he did not reach the village until the llth of Novemb'Cr. During this hard journey the travelera lived on v.ild garlic, which they grubbed from under the snow, and when they came to the village they found it de- serted, for the Indians had gone to their winter quarters. They, however, discovered a little maize and some frozen gourds, with wliich to appease their hunger. Returning to the lake shore, the Frenchmen re-em- barked and continued their voyage. Being again obliged to land, they found a fresh trail, and, following it, made a portage of a league across the peninsula to Greeti Bay. Entering an estuary of |the bay, called Sturgeon Cove, they appear to have ascended it several leagues, when they were stopped by a high wind, which continued for a week. Dur- ing this time they consumed all their little stock of provis- ions, and were in despair of being able to overtake the savages. Their shoes having worn out, they now made coverings for their feet of the late Father Gabriel's cloak. The stream liad meantime frozen up, so that they could not proceed farther in their canoe. When they v:c'^e preparing to set out on foot, two Ottawa Indians chanced lo arrive at their camp, and (jojvducted them to a village of the Potta- watomies. Here the tarnished travelers met a kind recep- tion, and had their wants liberally supplied. * Called by the IndianH the Checagou. Tonh/s Flight to G-reen Bay. 129 According to ;lie narrative of Father Monibre, Onang- hme, the head chief of the Pottawatoniies, was a great ad- mirer of the French, whom he had before befriended. And he was accustomed to say that "he knew of only three great esptains, Frontenac, La Salle, and himself."^' After recruiting somewhat from the extreme hardships of the journey, Father Membre went to spend the winter at the mission house of the Jesuits on Green Bay, while Tonty and the other four members of tlie party retrained with the Pottawatoniies. In the following spring, they all proceeded to old Mackinac, and there awaited the arrival of thei leader. * Both Tonty and Membre have left accounts of this journey of re- treat from the Illinois to the Pottawatoiuies. but, for the must part, we have followed the relation of the former. 130 La Salle' s' Exploits Continued. CHAPTER VII. 1H81-1683. LA SALLE S EXPLOITS CONTINUED. Reverting to La Salle, wiio was left at Fort Miami to recruit hifi powers and resources, we again resume the ac- count of his stii'ritig career. During the winter of 1080- 81, w}iile his fortunes seemed at the lowest ebb, he was never more active, or more determined upon achieving ultimate success. Believing that the then recent foray of the Iroquois into the country of the Illinois, was mainly for the purpose of extending their territorial pos- sessions, whence to draw fresh supplies of furs, and that those fierce warriors were also being used by his white ad- versaries to put an end to his own operations in this wide and attractive region, he evolved from his busy brain a plan to counteract their designs. His scheme was to unite all the different and ofte!i warring tribes of the West into a defensive league; to colonize such of them as would con- sent about a fort to be erected and maintained by him on the Illinois Kiver, and thus oppose an effectual barrier to the further incursions of the Iroquois and their adherents. This extensive plan exemplifies La Salle's fertility of re- source in emergency, and its success in execution was an- swerable to his ex})ectation8. After the close of the bloody and desolating wai- of Philip, of Pokanoket, with the New England colonists, in 1676, some of his vanquished allies quitted their eastern homes, and sought a refuge in the forests on the south- eastern borders of Lake Micliigan. These were mostly Abenakis and Mohegans, or Mohicans — the latter tribe having furnished the reliable hunter and servant, w}\o bad already rendered such useful service to La Salle. It was to these snuUl bands of Eastern exiles tliat our explorer first Confers with the Foxes and the Illinois. 131 addressed liiiiiHclf in the trial of ITih new ex[)edient for tlie furtherance of his general plans. lie found them very wiUing to Join their h)t witli his in any undertaking ne might propose, asking only the privilege of calling him their chief. His next move was to effect a reconciliation betwec!! the Miamis a!ul Illitiois, who, thongli kindred tribes, had been long estranged. Desiring to first confer with the Illinois, many of whom liad returned since the evacuation of their country by the Iroquois, La Salle set out with a party from Kort Miami on a journey thither. On entering the prairies, which were still white with snow, he and several of the men became snow-blind, so that they were obliged to go into <!amp on the edge of a grove until they could recover their sight. Resuming Ins journey, hemetwith a band of the Outagamies (Foxes), whose chiefs he drew over to his interest by means of ])resents. From them it v/as learned that Tonty and his i)arty were safe among the Pottawatomies, and that Hennepin had passed through their country (Wisconsin) on his way to Canada. This was welcome intelligence to La Salle, who, for several months, had been very k xious about their safety. Fol- lowing down the Kankakee River, he fell in with a ])arty of the Illinois, who were stalking the prairies in quest of game, and who related to him the unhap[)y occurrences of the [)receding year. La Salle ex{>ressed his regret at wliat had happened, and advised them to form an alliance with the Miamis, in order to prevent the recurreiu^e of like dis- asters in the future. He told them that he and his men would come back to reside among them, furnish them with Kiv-aruis and goods, and help them in repelling the hostile incursions of the Iroquois. Well {)leased witli this pro})0- sition, they gave him some maize, and promised to confer with other members of their trd)e and report to him the re- sult. Returning now to Fort Miami, La Salle sent La For- I'cst down Lake Michigan to MackiiuK^ whither it was ex- IK'cted that Tonty would go, and where both Avere to stay until he shouhl follow them. It still renuiined for liim to confer with tlie Miamis, and lie accordingly started with 132 La Salle's Exploits Continued. ton men to visit their principal village, sitnated near the poi'tage between the St. Joseph and Kankakee. Here he found a small party of Iroquois warriors, who had for some time demeaned themselves with great insolence toward the villagers, and hadspoken with contempt of himself and men. On being informed of tills, he sternly rebuked them for their arrogance and calumnies, and such was the fear his presence inspired among them that at night they Hed from the village. "The next day the Miamis were gathered in council, and La Salle made known to them tlie objects he v/ished to accomplish. From long intercourse with the Indians, he had become an expert in forest diplomacy and eloquence, and on this occasion he had come well provided with presents to give efficacy to his proct.edings. He began his address, which consisted of metaphorical allusions to the dead, by distributing gifts among the living. Presenting them with cloth, he tohi them it was to cover their dead ; giving them hatchets, he informed them that they were to build a scat- fold in their honor ; distributing among them beads and bells, he stated they were to decorate their persons. The living, while appropriating these presents, were greatly pleased at the compliments paid to their departed friends, and thus placed in a suitable state of mind for that which was to follow. . . . Lastly, to convince them of the sincerity of his intentions, he gave them six guns, a num- ber of hatchets, and (then) threw into their midst a huge pile of clothing, causing the entire assemblage to explode with yelps of extravagant delight. After this. La Salle thus closed his htirangue : "'He who is my master, and the master of all this country, is a mighty chief, feared by the whole world ; but he loves peace, and his words are for good alone. He is called the King of France, and is the mightiest among the chiefs beyond the great water. His goodness reaches even to your dead, and his subjects come among you to raiso them up to life. But it is his will to preserve the life he han given. It is his will that you should obey his laws, and make no war without the leave of Frontenac, who com- He Negotiates with the Miamia. 183 niands in his name at Quebec, and wlio loves all tlie nations alike, because such is the will of the great king. You ought, then, to live at ]>e.ace with your neighbors, and above 111! with the Illinois. You have had cause of (nuirrel with them; but their defeat has avenged ^ou. Though they are still strong, they wish to nuike peace with you. Be con- tent with the glory of having compelled them to ask for it. A^ou luive an interest in preserving them, since, if the Iro- quois destroy them, they will next destroy yon. Let us all obey tlie great king, and live in peace under liis protection. Be of my mind, and use these guns I have given you, not to make war, but only to hunt and to defend yourselves.'" * ITaving ended his mission to tlie Miamis nation. La Salle sent two of his men, with two of tlie Abeiiakis, to announce the result to the Illinois, in order to ]>revent further acts of hostility, and to recall tlie dispersed tribes. Moreover, he dispatched men with presents to the 8haw- necs, to invite them to come and join the Illinois against the Iroquois. All this being done to liis satisfaction, he left Fort Miami on the 22d of May, 1681, and, after a pleasant canoe voyage, arrived at the post of Mackinac about the middle of June. Here he had the happiness of meeting Tonty, Father Zenobe, and others of his men, from whom he had been separated for more than a year. " The Sieur (le la Salle (says Membre's Narrative, before cited,) re- lated to us all his hardshi|»s and voyages, as well as his misfortunes, and learned from us as many regarding him ; yet never did I remark in him the least alteration, always maintaining his ordinary coolness and self-possession. Any one but he would have renounced and abandoned the enter- prise ; but, far from that, by a firmness of mind and an almost unequaled constancy, I saw him more resolute than ever to continue his work, and to carry out his discovery." Before La Salle could resume and push forward his great enterprise to a successful issue, it was necessary for him to return to Canada, collect his scattered resources, and * Davidson & Stuve's Hist, of 111., let ed., p. {)3. See Relatiom dea D<:coiircries, coiupiUul for the government from La Salle's letters. 134 La Salle and his Exploits Continued. make terms with hia creditors. Tlie whole party, there- fore, embarked for Fort Frontenac. The U)ng and watery way was measured without any noteworthy incident, and by the end of July our untiring chief had reached Mon- treal, and was consulting with the capitalists and merchants who had been furnishing him wnth money and goods. His seigniory of Frontenac was already mortgaged for a large sum, much of which had been expended in profitless ex- plorations ; yet by surrendering some of his monopolies, by the aid of a rich relative named Plot,* and by the con- tinued favor and support of Governor Frontenac, he found means to appease liis more pressing creditors, and obtained advances for another respectable outfit. The season was well advanced before La Salle could complete his preparations, and again begin to move througli the great lakes. He started upon this third and crowning *-■ .' I * In order to secure this relative from loss in case of his death, La Salle executed ai nistrument in the nature of a will, of which the fol- lowing is a cop [Will of La Salle.] " Robert Cavelier, Esq., Sieur de la Salle, seignior and governor of Fort Frontenac, in New France, considering the great dangers and con- tinual perils in which the voyages I undertake engage me, and wishing to acknowledge as much as I am able, the great obligations which I owe to M. Francois Plet, my cousin, for the signal services which he has ren- dered me in my most pressing necessities, and because it is through his assistance that T have preserved to this time Fort Frontenac against the efforts which were made to deprive me of it, I have given, granted, and transferred, and give, grant, and transfer, by these presents, to the said M. Plet, in case of my death, the seigniory and property of the ground and limits of the said Fort Frontenac and its depending lands, and all my rights in the country of the Miamis, Illinois, and others to the south, together with the establishment which is in the country of the Miamis, in the condition which it shall be at the time of my death; that of Niagara and all the others which I may have founded there, together with all the barges, boats, great boats, movables and immovables, rights, privileges, rents, lands, buildings, and other things belonging to me, which shall be found there; willing that these presents be and serve for my testament and declaration in the manner in which I ought to make it, such being my last will as above written by my hand, and signed by my hand, after having read it and again read it (lu el rclu). "Made at Montreal the lUh of August, 1G81. [Signed.] " Cayelikr de la Sao^e." His Third Expedition to the West, 135 expedition with a company of thirty men (some of whom, however, quit his service before reaching Mackinac), and ten or twelve heavily-Uiden canoes. Passing up Ontario Lake to the vicinity of the prosci.t Toronto, he thence made a long portage to Lake Simcoe. It was October when he entered the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and it was nor until the close of that month that his little flotilla was pushed out upon the northern waters of Lake Micliigan. As the voyagers crept slowly along tiie dreary eastern shore of the lake, skirted by high and, for the most part, barren 8aud-hill"s, we may conjecture some of the nielaneholy thoughts of their chief : "A past of unrequited toil and sad disappointment, a present embittered by the tongue of slander and hate, and the future clouded with uncertainty, must have intruded themselves into his mind, but could not for a moment divert him from the great purpose which, for years, had been the guiding star of his destiny." After a monotonous and toilsome trip, the leader and his men reached the well-known moutli of the Miami in the latter part of November, and drew their canoes ashore under the shelter of the palisaded fort. Here La Salle found his poor Mohegan and Abenaki allies, in their squalid wigwams, patiently waiting his re- turn, and from among them he chose eighteen men to ac- company him on his southern exploration. These, being added to his twenty-three French and Canadians, made a force of forty-one men. The Indians insisted upon taking with them ten of their squaws to cook for them, and three children, thus making a total of fifty-four persons. Some of these supernumeraries were useless and others a burden ; but there seemed no help for it, and they all went. Aban- doning the old route via the St. Joseph and Kankakee for one more direct, the advance party of the expeditloij, under the conduct of the faithful Tonty and Membre, set out from Fort Miami on the 2l8t of December, in six canoes, and coasted around the southern bend of the lake to the mouth of the little river Chicago. La Salle himself followed a few days later, with the rest of his men (the Indian contingent going by land), and rejoined the others on 136 La SaUe\<t Exploifs Continued. the 4t]i of .laiiuary, 1082. It was now the middle of winter in this latitude ; the earth was tliickly carpeted witli snow, and the streaniB were all bridged over witli ice. Tonty liad caused sledges to be constructed, on whicVi the explorers conveyed their canoes, baggage, and provisions up the con- gealed surface of the Chicago, and thence over the portage to the Des Plaines, or northern fork of the Illinois, which was also found sheeted with ice. Filing down its smooth surface, in long and picturesque procession, to the head of the Illinois j)roper, and thence down that river, they j)assed on their wintry way the great town of the Illinois, now partly rebuilt, but temporarily deserted of its inhabitantH, and at length came to open water at the foot of Peoria Lake. Here were found encamped and spending the win- ter a large number of Indii'Jis belonging to the great town above. Having relinquished for the time liis project of buibling a sailing vessel for navigati)ig the Lower Missis- sippi, La Salle nuule no attempt to complete the one previ- ously begun at Fort Creve-camr;* but, after obtaining u supply of maize from the natives, and leaving some orders with them, he and Ids Frenchmen resumed their canoes and held on their course to the mouth of the river. Arrived thither the 6th of February, they were obliged to wait on account of the floating ice in the Mississippi, and also for their Eastern Lidian8,'who liad fallen behind. By the 13th, however, these laggards liad all arrived ; the navigation was o{)en, and the adventurous leader launched his snuUl flotilla on the current of the majestic river which was to bear him south vvai'd to the sea. The voyagers trav- eled rather tardily, since they carried no provisions exce}tt Indian corn, and were compelled to hunt and nah almost dailv. About seven leagues below the nmuth of the Illinois tliey found the Missouri River (called the Osage by Father Mend)re) putting in from the west, atul pouring its yellow and turbulent flood into the clearer and more placid waters *0n their return vuyagf the next Huinmor (1082), the French ex- plorevs are wiid to have found tliis uuliiUHhe<l bark burnt. He Descends the Mississippi. 137 of the Mississippi. On the 14th, they passed, on their left, the village of the Tamaroas, containing one hnndred cabins. The Indians were away on the chase, but the voyagers left there some marks to indicate their presence and the course they had taken. After several more days of rowing Jind oailing down the impetuous river they reached the conflu- ence of the Ouabache (Ohio), where they stoj)|)ed a short time to replenish their stock of })rovisionH. Re-entering their canoes, they advanced about sixty league. - without stopping to encamp, because the banks o!i both nides were low and swiimpy and full of rushes atul uiulerbrush. On the 24th of February, the comnumder landed at tlie Third Chickasaw Bluffs, not iar above the future site of Mem}this,and the liunters were immediately sent out to scour the woods for game. All of them returned in good time except otie I'ierre Prudhomme. Fearing that he had been seized l;y some prowling band of tlie Chickasaws, who fre- quented that region. La Salle put several Frenchmen ai.d Iridiuns on his trail, and, in the meantime, threw up an in- trenchment and stockade. After nine days of active searcii Prudhomnu', who had lost his way in the forest, was found and brought into camp in a famished condition. To con- sole the unfortunate hunter, La Salle named tiie newly built fort ibr him, and left him with a few others in charge of it. Again the explorers embarked; and with every day of their adventurous progress, the mystery of tliis unknown regioti was more and more unveiled. The hazy sunlight, the mild and balmy air, the tender foliage, the ojtening flowers, the cheery notes of the birds, all betokened the revival of Nature, and that tliey had entered the realms of spring.* On the I'ith of March, having advanced some forty leagues, and passed the village of the Mitchigameas, they were astonished to hear on their right the btrating of In- tliuri (lrun\s and war cries, enninating from a war-danee at a village of tlie Akansas (Arkansas). Apprehenditig an allack, Ltt Salle, under cover of a fog, immediately with- • i> I'arknian'H UiBfovery of the CJrout West. 138 La Salle's Exploits Continued. drew his flotilla to tlie oppoBite shore, and there, on a pro- jecting point or cape, threw up an intrejichnient and felled trees to prevent a surprise. He then directed soine of his men to go along the bank of the river, and by signs, invite the Indians to come over to them. This being observed by some chiefs of the Akansas, they sent several of their young men in a pirogue, v/hich approached within gunshot of the French camp. Here the calumet of peace was dis- played, and two of the savages, standing up in their canoe, made signs for the Frenchmen to come to them. At this invitation La Salle sent one of his Canadians and six Aben- akis, who were received with manifestations of friendship, and were escorted back by six of the Akansas. La Salle thereupon nuule presents to them of tobacco and some goods, and they, in turn, invited him to visit their village. Being thus assured, he crossed the river witli his entire force to the village called Kappa, where he stayed throe days, and was feasted throughout with corn, beans, dried fruit, and fish. On the day after his arrival La Salle took formal possessioM of the country by planting a cross and setting up the -ivms of France; whereat the villagers, not knowing the purport of the ceremony, showed signs of great joy. The explorers were surprised to find here many domestic fowls, and some tamed bustards, which were prob- ably kept for ornamental purposes. They took their do- pafture on the 17th, and six leagues farther down the river, came to another village of the «ame i.vtion, called To!iingu, and three leagues beyond that still another,* the inhabitantH of which all received them hospitably. These Arkansiin Indians called themselves Oguappas, or (^uappas, and arc said to have formerly dwelt higher up the Mississippi. It was observed that they were much less morose and severe ill their nuuiners, and more open-hearted and generoiin than the tribes of the north, which was doubtless partly owing to (TuTuitic influences. - Having been furnished witii tlie requisite guides, the ♦.Toutel, who viHittMl tho ArkanHan five yoars lator, iiiakoH ineiition of only two villaKHH on the MiHsiHsippi; but there was a third on the ArkaoHUH, juwl al>ove itn mouth. He Descends the Mississipjn. 139 explorers thence coiitiiuied their voyage, and on the 22d, after passing the hilly site of Vioksburg, reached tlie terr*- tory of a tribe called the Taensas, who dwelt around a little lake or bayou, formed by the Mississippi. Ik'ing fatigued, La Salle sent Tonty and Membre thither witli presents. Arrived at the main village of the Taensas, they were agreeably surprised at the evidences presented of In- dian civilization. The houses were built of earth mixed with straw, and roofed with cane mats in the form of a dome, and were arranged around a square or quad- rangle. The liouse of the liead chief was a single room forty feet square, and tifteen feet high to the top of the roof. It was entered and lighted by one large door, in which the cliief sat in state, waiting the approach of hiH visitors. Around him were grouped some sixty old men, dressed in white robes made of the under bark of the mul- berry tree, and near him sat three of his wives clothed in like manner, who, to do him honor when he spoke to them, indulged in guttural cries. After [)aying their respects to these dignitaries, tlie Frcnciimen were conducte<l to the temple near by, which was oval-shape<l and somewhat larger than the royal residence. Within it were deposited the boin'S of defunct chiefs, and in the middle stood an altar, at the foot of which a tire was kept burning day and night by two old prefres, or priests, wl\o were the directors of their worsliip. The top of the temple was surmounted I>y three roughly carved eagles, facing toward the rising mn; and, surrounding it, was a mud or adobe wall stuchled with sharp pointed stakes, on wliich were hung the skulls of their enemies who had been sacriticed to the sun. The district around the village was planted with ditferetit kinds of fruit and nut bearing trees and wild vines, whi(;h fur- nished a considerable part of tlie subsistence of the people. The chief of tlie Taensas sent provisions to La Salle, and the next day paid him a formal visit at liis camp. lie came with wooden canoes, attended by the otftcers of his Innise- hold, to the sound of the tambour and the wild music of the women. The (iiiief was clotiied in a tine white blanket, atid was preceded by two attendants carrying fauH 140 Tju Salle's Exploits Continued. of white t'eatlierB. La Salle received him witli great polit.p- neKB, made liim a few f>resent8, and ret^eived in return pro- visions, ai]d 8()me of their robes or bUmkets. During thJH interview the Indian })0tentate maintained a grave de- meanor, not unmixed witli curiositv and markK of friend- ship toward tlie Frenchmen. Re-end>arkijig on tlie strange river, and luiving ad- vanced twelve leagues fartlier, the ex})]orers (on the 26th) fell in with 8ome fishermen of the Natchies (Natcliez) na- tion, who were enemies of the Taensas, tliough a kindred people. With liis usual j)recaution, La Salle passed over to the opposite bank, and then sent Tonty to them witli tlio peace calumet. The Indians were found well disposed, and some of them crossed the river with Tonty to tlie Frencii camp. Although their village lay some three leagues in- land. La Salle did not hesitate to go thither, with Memhrc and a i>art of his men : and on their arrival, they met a kindly w^elcome. The chief of this village was a brother of the great chief or Sun of the whole mition, whose village lay several leagues do vn the river, and about one league from the present city of Natchez. After spend- ing the niglit at the first v,illuge. La Salle and his })arty proceeded the next day to the town of the Sun-chief, wIkm'c they were hatulsomely entertained, and, by permission. erected a cross bearing the king's arms. This proceeding was viewed with great satisfaction by the inhabitants, hut it would have been otherwise if they had understood its real significance. As with the Taensas, so here among the Natchez, the Ki'ciich visitors saw substantially built houscn. a royal residence, a rude temple of the sun, with its altar of perpetual fire, and an established form of religious worsliiji. The friar Membic, in his Narrative, speaks of both triben as being half-civilized, and as presenting a good field lor missionary effort. ^ ' : < On the way back to their camp. La Salle and party were accompanied by several of the head men of the Natclioz, and also by a chief of the Koroas, or Ooroas. This cliiot now conducted the explorers to his village, which was situ- ated ten l(>agues below on a pheasant eminence. Arrivoil He Reaches the Gulf of Mexico. 141 at the village, the usual Indian feast was made, and the customary presents were given and received. Here the vcyagers were told that they still had ten (hiys' sail to the Boa.* Leaving the Koroas on Easter Sunday, the 29th of March, they passed the mouth of Red River two days after- ward, and vstill keeping on their course for a distance of nearly forty leagues, they discovered some Indian iisher- nien on tlie bank of the river, and immediately heard the beating of drums and war-cries. Four Frenchmen were sent forward to offer them the calumet, but they had to re- turn in haste, because the natives let ily at them a shower of arrows. These Indians belonged to the Quinipissa tribe, and iu consequence of their hostility La Salle continued luH voyage two leagues lower <lown, when he landed at a small village of the Tangibaos, which had been recently pillaged, and contained (iead bodies. At length, on the Hth of April, after nearly two months of navigation, the explorers arrived at a point where the river divides itself into three principal channels or [lasses, which branch oft* to the Gul*^'. They landed and encamped on the bank of the most westerly. The next day (the 7th), La Sidle divided his company into three bands, to go and explore the difterent passes. IFc himself took the south- wentern, Tonty and Membre the middle one, and D'Autray f the eastern. As the adventurotis leader now drifted <lown the narrow (ihannel, between low alluvial banks, "the brackish water gradually changed to brine, and the breeze jrrew fresh with the salt breath of the sea." Then, lo ! the broad, heaving bosom of the great Gulf itself opened to his enraptured gaze, with its light-green waves foaming and breaking upon the marshy shore; "without a sail, with- out a sign of human life." The three passes or outlets of the river were found to be large and deep, and cpiite salt two leagu(^s below their lieitd. With an astrolabe, whitdi La Salle always carried *An ordinary' day'fi Huil witli tlie IndiaiiH vvaH I'roiii ton to twelve? f Tlje Hieur D'Autray wuh a «on of M. Bourdon dWutray, then lately 'leccMWiMl, l)iit formerly j)ro<!urator nenoral of Ciuebeo. 142 La Salle's Exploits Continued. with him, he took t^ie latitude of the mouth, and ascertained it to be about 28° 30' north, but kept this to himself. The Mississippi was roughly estimated by the explorers at ei,t^ht hundred leagues in length, and it was reckoned that they had traveled at least three hundred and fifty French leagues from the confluence of the Illinois, which was considerably less than the actual distance by tlie river. After coasting the spongy and reed-fringed beach for a short distance, La Salle retraced his course to his camp ; and on the 8th the reunited party mounted to a spot of dry ground on the bank of the main river. Here, on the 9th of April, with all possible solemnity, they performed the ceremony of taking »posses- . sion of the country. A column had been j)repared, to wliicli was affixed the arms of France, with this inscription : ^^ Louis Lr Grand., Roi de France et de Navarre, regne; Lc Neuvicme Avril, 1682." . The Frenclmien were all mustered under arms, and, while tne New England Indians of the party looked on in wondering silence, the former, led by Father Zenol)e, chanted the Te Deicm, the Lxaudiat, and other hymns in praise to God for their great discovery. Then, amid dis- charges of musketry and shouts of Vir>c le Roi, the colunui was planted by the Sieur de la Salle, who, standing near it, recited, in a loud voice, tlie fc lowing declaration, which lijid been drawn uj) at his dictation by Jacques de la Metairie, a Caiuidian notary, wlio accompanied tlie expedition from Fort F'rontenac: " In the name of the most high, mighty, invincible, and victorious Princ.;, Louis, the Great King of France and Navarre, Fourteenth of that name, this ninth day of Ajiril, 1682, I, in virtue of the commission of his Majesty, which I hold in my hand, and v/hich nuiy be seen by all whom it nuiy concern, luive taken, and do now take, in the name of his majesty, and of his successors to the crown, possession ot this country of Louisiami, the seas, harbors, ports, bays, adjacent straits, and all the luitions, peoples, })rovinccs, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisherius, streams, and rivers, comprised in the extent of said Louisiana, fnmi the mouth of tiie great river St. Louis, on the eastern side, Takes Formal Possession of the Country. 143 otherwise called Ohio, Alighin, or Chukagoiia, and this with tiie consent of the Chaouanons, Chicachas, and other people dwelling therein, with whom we have made alliance ; as also along the river Colbert, or Mississippi, and rivers which dis- charge themselves therein, from its source beyond the coun- try of tlie Kious, or Kadouessious, and this with their con- Hent, and with the consent of the Motantees, Illinois, Mesi- gtimeas, Natches, Koroas, which are the tnost considerable nations dwelling therein, with whom also we have made alliance, either by ourselves or by others in our behalf;* as far as its mouth at the sea, or Gulf of Mexico, about the 27th degree of the elevation of the North Pole, and also to the mouth of the river of Palms ; upon the assurance we liavo received from all these nations, that we are the first Eiu'opeans who have descended or ascended the said river Colbert; hereby protesting against all those who may in future undertake to invade any or all of these countries, people, or lands above described, to the prejudice of the right of his iruijesty, acquired by consent of the nations herein named. Of which, and of all that can be needed, I hereby take to witness those who hear nie, and dematid an act of the notary, as required by law." "To which the whole assembly responded with shouts of Vive le Jioi, and with salutes of fire-arms. Moreover, the Hieur de la Salle caused to be buried at the foot of the tree to which the cross was attached a leaden plate, on one side of which were engraved the arms of France, and, on the ()p))osite, the following Latin insci'iption : ^Jjudovkus Ma(jni(s Rcf/nat, Nono Apvilis, 31. fJ. (\ LXXXTl.,' etc. . . . "After which the Sieur de la Salle said, that his nuij- esty, as oldest son of the churcli, wtuild annex no country to his crown without making it his chief care to establish the Christian religion therein, and that its synd)()l must now be planted; which was accordingly don<' at once by erecting ■Tliorc is Home obscurity iti this cnutnonUion of placcR and Indijin iiutimis, arisinjj; from i}?noraiife of tlu' gcofiraphy of Uie country, ami tlie t'OiiHont of tlu' al)origin('K is, of course, asHumed ; l)ut it appears to liave beoH La Salle's design to talce possession of tiie whole territory watered by tl\o Mis8is8ip|)i and its numerous tributaries. 144 La Salle's Exploits Continued. a cross, before which tl*e Vexilla and the Domine salvumfae Refjem. were suii^. Whereupon the ceremony was concluded with cries of Vive le Boi. * " Of all and every of the above, the said Sieur de la Salle having required of us an instrument, we have deliv- ered to him the same, signed by us, and by the undersigned witnesses, this ninth day of April, one thousand six hun- dred and eighty-two. " La Metairie, Notary. a Witnesses : De la Salle. P. Zenobe (Recollect Mission- ary), Henri de Tonty, Francois de Boisrondet, Jean Bour- don, Sieur d'Autray, Jacques Cauchois, Pierre You, Gilles Meucret, Jean Michel (Surgeon), Jean Mas, Jean Dulignou, Nicolas de la Salle."* ' These formal acts, attesting La Salle's important geo- graphical discovery, gave to Louis XIV. a territory far more extensive than his hereditary European possessions, though not destined in the sequence oJ' events to become a permanent appendage of the French cvown. Having thus achieved the great object of the expedi- tion, our explorers began their return voyage on the 10th of April. As they laboriously ascended the current of the deep river, they were half famished, having nothing to eat but some potatoes and tough alligator meat. The adjacent banks were so low, and covered with thickets of canes and undergrowth, that they could not stop to hunt without making a long halt. On the night of the 12th, they slept at the village of the Tangibaos,t and the next day reached the district of the Quinipissas. Determined to have some maize at any cost, La Salle now sent out a party of his Abenakis to reconnoiter. They returned on the morning of the 14th, bringing with them four of the Quinipissas women whom they had captured, and thereupon La Salle went and en- camped opposite their village. The day after he sent one *See Historical Coil's of La., Part I., pp. 48-50. An authenticated copy of these proceedings was afterward sent to Paris, and deposited in the Department of the Marine and Colonies. t Supposed to have been near the site of New Orleans. His Return Voyage. 145 of the women back with presents of merchandise to indi- cate his good will, and the savages brought him in return a little corn. Being invited to cross tlie river to the vi- cinity of their village, the Frenchmen diii so, but kept strictly on their guard. Before daybreak the next morn- ing, they were attacked iji their camp by the Quinipissas, whom they easily repulsed, killing ten and wounding others, besides burning their canoes. This is the only recorded in- stance of the sacrifice of human life during the course of the expedition. R,e-em])arking on the evening of that day (the 18th), La Salle and his followers reached the village of the Ko- reas, about the first of May, but found them no longer friendly and obliging as before. Arrived at the district of the Natchez, they lauded and went out to their village, but, seeing no women tliere, Huspected some evil design. The Natchez gave them food to eat, but the Frenchmen ate it with their guns in their liands, fearing an attack from the great number of w^arriors by whom they were surrounded. Keturning hastily to their canoes, they held on their way up the river, stopping at the Taensas and the Arkansas, where they were v, ell received. Leaving the Arkatisas villages about the middle of May, La Salle pushed ahead with two canoes of his Mohegans, but ' falling sick on the river, he stopped at Fort Prudhomme, and was there joined by the rest of his comjjany on the first of June. Ilis sickness being protn^cted and danger- ous, the Friar Membre remained witli him to nurse liim. Meantime, Tonty was sent forward with a few compan- ions to Mackinac, to arrange his affairs. It was not until the first of July that La Salle recovered sufficiently to travel. He then resumed his voyage, and advanced by short stages to Fort Miami, and thence to Mackinac, whither he arrived early in September.* . ' • The Sieur de la Salle had at length triumphed over * For fuller details cencerning tliis niomorable and siicccgsful expe- dition, see the Narratives of Membre and Tonty, and tiie Proces Verbal of I^Metaire. 10 146 La Salle's Exploits Continued. every opposing obstacle, ainl though not finding flie long-sought passage to the Paeific Ocean, he had followed the Mississippi River to its entrance into the Mexican Gulf, and written his name liigh in the list of American dis- coverers. It remained for him to extend and utilize his discovery to the best advantage for himself and his sovereign. As the country of the Illinois formed the center of his operations, he now resolved to abandon the tedious and ditRcult line of access to it through Canada and the lakes, beset by so many enemies, and to open a passage to his western domain by way of the Gulf aiul Lower Missis- sippi. He proposed to build a fort on the head waters of the Illinois, and found there a French and Indian col- ony, which might serve the twofold purpose of a bulwark against the inroads of the Iroquois, and a central point for the fur-trade of the western tribes. And he hoped, before the close of the ensuing year, to establish another fort atid colony at the embouchure of the Mississippi, tiius placing the trade of the whole great valley under his control. TIiIh new enterprise was not unworthy of the genius of La Salle. It was his intention on his arrival at Mackinac to have gone at once to Canada, and thence to France, to procure aid from the king in the execution of his plan ; but his health and circumstances not permitting, he sent Father Membre with dispatches, making known the extent and importance of his discovery. Soon after this a report reached La Salle, that the Iroquois — those fierce Romans of the wilderness — wore about to renew their raid upon tlie western tribes, vvh such a hostile mov(;ment might be fatal to his projected colony, he deemed it the part of prudence to follow Tonty, whom he had already sent to the Illinois, and joined him at the great Indian town. This celebrated village stood on the northern side of the Illinois River (which here runs from east to west), about one mile from the modern town of Utica, in what is now La Salle county.* It thus occu- pied a part of the wide strip of bottom land lying between * Ho named in memory of the great ex[)lorer. Fort St. Louis of the Illinois. 147 the river and the bluffs to the nortli. The large quantities of human bones and implements of savage life that liave been turned up here, from time to time, by the plough- share of the husbandman, form tlie only vestiges of the populous tribes, who once made this attractive locality their principal abode. Along the southern border of the stream extends a range of irregular sandstone bluffs, which culminates a mile above the old village in a natural abut- ment, known to the early French explorers as Le Rocher^ but, at a later period, as the "Starved Rock." Severfil miles below this, on the same side, occurs a canyon in the hills and bluffs, through which the waters of the Big Vermilion, or Aramoni of the French, fiuu their way to those of the Illinois. Of the Starved liock and its sur- roundings, Breese thus enthusia tically writes : "It is a most romantic spot. I have stood upon the 'Starved Roc\ ' and gazed for hours upon the beautiful landscape spread out beneath me. The undulating plains rich in their verdure, the rounded hills beyond clad in their forest livery, and the gentle river pursuing its noiseless way to the Mississippi and the Gulf, all in harniv-nious associa- tion, make up a picture over which the eye delights to wander; and when to these are added the recollection of the heroic adventurers who first occupied it — that here the baiuier of France so many years floated freely in the winds, that here was civilization, whilst all around them was bar- baric darkness — the most intense and varied emotions can not fail to be awakened." * From the river which washes its base, the huge cliff rises perpendicularly to an altitude of one hundred and twenty-six feet; and only on one side, that next to the land, can it be climbed with difKculty. To the summit of this na+ural citadel, embratMiig an area of half an acre, La Salle and Tonty repaired in De- cember, 1682, and commenced the work of fortification. With the assistance of their men, they felled the stunted growth of pines and deciduous trees that crowned the * (I Early History of Illinois," p. 121. 148 La Salle's Exploits Continued. Kofk, and with tliese built a rude storehouse. Then they cut and dragged timbers, with great labor, up the rugged ascent of the ciift", and inclosed the top with a stout palisade. The fort was practically finished during that winter, and was named by La Salle Fort dc St. Louis, in honor to the reigning monarch of France. It was intended as the nucleus of a permanent settlement, and was con- tinuously occuj»ied "by the French until the year 1700, and occasionally afterward.* With the completion of the fortress (in the spring of 1683) the Illinois Indians began to gather about it, looking upon La Salle as the great chief who was to protect them from the Iroquois ; and the surrounding country soon again became animated with the wild concourse of savage life. Besides the Illinois, there were also scattered along the river valley, and among the neighboring liills and prairies, the fragments of at least half a dozen other tribes, namely : Miamis from the sources of the Kankakee, Piankashaws and Weas from the Wabash, Shawnees from the Ohio valley, and some Abenakuis and Mohicans from N^ew F4ngland. La Salle's dexterous diplomacy had thus been crowned with unexpected success, a result largely due to the general terror inspired by the ferocious Iroquois. In a memorial addressed to the French Minister of Marine, he reported the whole number of warriors around Fort St. Louis at four thousand, which would represent a popula- tion of twenty thousand persons. But this exaggerated number could only have been possible at particular seasons of the year, since those nomadic people went and came according as the fish, game, and wild fruits were more or less abundant. By virtue of the authority conferred in his patent. La Salle ruled his broad domain as a seigniory, and went through the form of parceling out f)ortion8 of the laud to * The outline of another fort or earthwork, which might have been a work of tiie early French, is yet to be seen on the rocky bluff about half a naile south of Fort St. Louis, near the edjje of the prairie. See Baldwin's Hist, of La Salle Co., 111., p. 55. He Corresponds with Gorcrno^^ La Borre. 140 his French followers. The latter, however, were too indo- lent und profligate to improve or derive any benefit from such grants, thinking more of their Indian concubines than of cultivating wild lands. To maintain his new colony, the chief found it necessary to furnish its membei*8 with mili- tary protection, and merchandise to barter for furs and pelts — no easy task in his situation. While he was con- certing and endeavoring to execute measures for the main- tenance and development of his colony, his rivals and ene- mies in Canada, from envy oi* short-sighted [)olicy, were doing all they could to defeat him. Unfortunately, his friend and patron, Count Frontenac, had been removed from office, and Le Febvre de la Barre, a headstrong and avaricious old naval officer, governed in his stead. From the outset of his administration, La Barre shov/ed himself a bitter enemy to La Salle. Yet the latter, busy witli his own affairs, and not knowing or assuming to know the jealousy with which he was regarded, wrote to the new governor from Fort St. Louis, under date Aj)ril 2, 1(388, expressing the liope that he would have from him the same support that he had received from his predecessor. After saying that his enemies would try to intluence the governor against him, he went on to give some account of his explorations. lie stated that, with only twenty-two Frenchmen, he had formed amicable relations with the different tribes along the Mississippi liiver, and that his royal patent authorized him to establish posts in the newly discovered country, and to make grants around them, as at Fort Frontenac, and then added : "The losses in my enterprise have exceeded 40,000 crowns. I am now^ going four hundred leagues south-west of this place to induce the C/hicasas to follow the Shaw- anoes and other tribes, and settle like them at Fort St. Louis. It remained only to settle French colonists here, and this I have already done. I hope you will not detain them as conreurs dcs bois when they come down to Montreal to make necessary purchases. I am aware that I have no right to trade with the tribes who descend to Montreal, and I shall not permit such trade to my men; nor have I 150 La Salle's Exploits Continued. ever issued licenses to that eft'eet. as my enemies say that I liave clone." Despite this reasonable request on the part of La Salle, the men whom he had sent to Montreal on business were detained there, and on the 4th of June he again wrote to Governor La Barre, in a more urgent strain, as follows : " The Iroquois are again invading the country. Laot year the Miamis were so alarmed by them that they aban- doned their town and fled, but on my return they came back, and have been induced to settle with the Illinois at my fort of St. Louis. The Iroquois have lately ;.iurdored some families of their nation, and they are all in terror again. I am afraid they Vv^ill take flight, and so prevent the Missouris and neighboring tribes from coming to settle at St. Louis, as they are about to do. Some of the Ilurons and French tell the Miamis that I am keeping them here for the Iroquois to destroy. I pray that you will let me hear from you, that I may give these people some assurance of pro- tection before they are destroyed in my sight. Do not suf- fer my men, who have come down to the settlements, to be longer prevented from returning. There is great need hereof reinforcements. I have postponed going to Mack- inac, because, if the Iroquois strike any blow in my absence, the Miamia will think I am in league with them; whereas if I and the French stay among them, they will regard us as protectors. " But, monsieur, it is in vain that we risk our lives here, and that I exhaust my means in order to fulflll the in- tention of his majesty, if all my measures are crossed in the settlements ])el()\v, and if those who go down to bring niii- fiitions, without which we can not defend ourselves, are de- taijied under ])retexts trumped up for the occasion. If I u?ii prevented from bringing up my men and supplies, as I am allowed to do by the permit of (Jount Frontemic, then my patent from the king is useless. It would be very hard for us, after having done what was required, even before the time prescribed, and i\\\vv suffering seviro losses, to havo our eilbrls frustrated by obstacles got up designedly. I trust that, as it lies with you alone to {)revent or [Kriiiit Corresponds with Gocernor La Bar re. 151 the return of the men whom I have sent down, ^ ^u will not 80 act as to thwart my plan«, as part of the goods which I have sent by them belongs not to me, but the Sieur de Tonty, and are a part of his pay. Others are to buy muni- tions indispensable to our defense. Do not let my creditors seize them. It is for tlieir advantage that my fort, full as it is of goods, shouUl be held against the enemy. I liave only twenty men, with scarcely one hundred pounds of powder. lean not long hold the cou';; vithout more. The Illinois are very capricious and un rli>i^ .... If I had men enough to send out to reconnoit-. r the onemy, 1 would liave done so before this ; but I have not enough. I trust that you will put it in my power to obtain more, that this important colony may be saved." (Dated at) "Portage de Chicagou, 4 Juni, 1683."* It was in vain, however, that La JSalle appealed to Gov- ernor La Barre for favor or suf)port in his enter[)rise. That functionary, on the conti'ary, was meantime writing letters to the Minister of Marine and Colonies, disparaging La Salle's discoveries, and. lu'ctending to doubt their reality ; saying, that "with a score of vagabonds he had })illaged hie countrymen and })ut them to ransom, and was about to set himself up as king, and that the imprudence of the man was likely to involve Caiuida in a war with the Iroquois." These calumnies, being repeated, at lengtii reached the ear of tiie French monarch, who, under a mistaken notion of the true state of affairs, wrote La Barre to this eli'ect: "I am convinced like you, that the discovery of the Sieur de la Salle is very useless, and that such enterprises ought to be prevented in the future, as tliey tend only to debauch the inhabitants by the hope of gain, and to diminish the rev- einie i'rom bejivor skins. "f Appai'cntly cmboldonc*! by the king's U'tter, the governor Hcizcd ujton Fort Frontenac, under p"ctext that La Salle had not fultilled the cou('itions of his grant by maintaining there a sufticient garrison; and, against the remonstrttuces *?arluiuin'8 Ln Sallo and tlic (iivnt \Vt>8t, i)p. 'ilMV-HOl. "t Letttr du Roy d Ln Jiarve, Cith Aont, l(i88, in Margry. 152 La Salle's Exploits Continued. of tho niort<^'ii)^ees of the fort iiiul .seigniory, he ejected La Salle's lieutenant, La Forrest, and put two of his own minions. La Cliesnaye and La Ber, in charge of the fort. No sooner were these a})pointees installed in office, than they hegan living oif of La Salle's stores, and they were afterward accused of selling what luul been provided them by the government for their own benefit. But not content with this arbitrary stretch of power, and bent 'ipon the ruin of La Salle, Gov. La Barre next sent tlie Sieur de Baugis, an officer of the king's dragoons, to Fort St. Louis, and made him the bearer of a letter to La Salle, ro(piiring his presence at Quebec. The position of the latter had now become intolerable, and lie resolved to proceed to France, in order to obtain relief from the vro'vn. Giving the command at Fort St. Louis to M. de Tonty, and bid- ding adieu to his French and Lulian retainers, La Salle departed for (Canada 5d)out the first of Octol)er. Enroute, he met Do Baugis, who infonued liim of the nature of hi8 errand. The former submitted to the indignity with as good a grace as possible under the circumstances, and sent a letter to Tonty to receive tho new comnuindant with duo courtesy. Arrived at Fort St. Louis, De Baugis and Tonty passed the winter there together, thougli not very harmoni- ously — the one comnuuiding in the name of La Barfe, and the otlier representing the interests of La Salle. hi the following spring they both ]u)d enough to do. The threatened incursion of the [ro([uois had boon post- poned, yet not abatidoned. Fti the last of March, 1(584, those restless and enterprising warriors, to the numb* of three hundred — taking advantage of La Salle's absen ", and incited thereto by certain of the provincial authoriti ,s of New York, who wished to divert tho fur-trado of tlio western Indians i'rom Montreal to All)any — ugain invaded the country of the Illinois, and laid siege to the rock-seated fort of St. Louis. But it proved too strong for their un- skillfid and unsteady assault, and after six days ettbrt they retreated with loss. He Anives in Paris. 153 chapti:r viii. 1084-1687. LAST (HIEAT KNTEHPRISE OF LA SALLE. The Sieur de hi Stillo arrived from tlic west jit Quebec early in Xovember, 1(>88, and there embarked tor Old France. He thus, unwittiui^ly, took a last leave of the wide and wild theater of Canada, where, for sixteen years, he had played 80 conspicuous a part as an explorer and negotiator with the Indians, sometinxes achieving signal triumi)lis, but, more often, exj)eriencing severe reverses of fortune. .Vfter an uneventful ocean passage, he landed at Rochelle on the 23d of December, and thence traveled by diligence to Paris; then and still the eije of France, and the gay capital of Eu- rope. Here he was joined by his lieutenant, La Forrest, and later on, by Zenobe Mend)re, both of whom had pre- ceded liim from Canada. Here, too, he found influential friends, who appreciated his merits aiid services to the crown. Among the niunber was his former patron, Count Frontenac, who, though in retirement for the time, gave liini the benefit of his influence, still considerable, at court. La Salle now prei)ared and laid before the Manjuis do vSeignelay,* Minister of Marine and C()lonies.^ two nunno- rials (including a petition for the redress of his grievances), sotting forth his dis(;overies and plans for the colonization of Louisiana. He proposed to establish a fortified colony on the river Colbert, or MisHissiiii)i, some sixty leagues above its mouth, and to nnd\e it the principal dei)ot for the trade of the great river valley. To accomplish this design, lie asked for one war vessel of thirty guns, a lew cannon for the forts, and authority to raise, in France, two hun- <li'ed men, who were to be armed and maintaiiuMl at the *H(.'i)»ii(>luy wiis rt son iind micooBHor of the gront Colbert, who died iieptomlHjr (I, Kisa. iii-^^'ii 154 Lai^t Great Enterprise, of La Salle. king's charge for one year. He furtlier proposed, with this force, and an army of Indian warriors, to be afterward raised by himself, to undertake tlie conquest of Xew Biscay (Durango), the most northerly intendency of Mexico, where there were not more than live hundred Spaniards. La Salle accompanied his memoi'ials with a maj), indicating his dis- coveries in the country called Louisiana, which, however, showed that he still had but an imperfect knowledge of the geography of tliat region. In the beginning of April, 1684, La Salle was granted an interview with his majesty, Louis XIV., to whom he un- folded his fascinating scheme. The time was opportune for his application. The grand monarch had been long incensed at Spain (with which kingdom he was now again at war) because of her jealous exclusion of French ships from her American ports, and he was anxious to gain a permanent footing on the shores of the Mexican Gulf, within easy reach of his West India possessions. It was, therefore, not (difficult to obtain the royal assent and patronage to an en- terprise which accorded so well with his own ambition. Our explorer had asked for the use of only one vessel, but the king, in his generosity, gave him four. At the same time, as an act of simple justice to La Salle, he wrote a letter to Governor La Barre, at Quebec, directing him to restore to the former i)osses8ion of Forts Frontenac and St. Louis ; and La Forrest was shortly sent back to Canada, empowered to re-occui)y both forts in La Salle's name. Active preparations were now begun for the colonizing expedition, and agents were sent to Kochelle and Rochefort to collect recruits. About one hundred and fifty ex-soldiers were enrolled, most of whom, unfortunately, belonged to the beggar and vagabond class. There was, however, one volunteer soldier, muned Henri Joutel, who came from La Salle's own town of Kouen, and whose father Inid been a gai<iener to the ('avaliers. He proved a trusty and useful ofti('(>r, and snbseciuently became the principal historian of the exi»editi()n. La Salle had given orders to engage three or four mechanics in each of the principal trades; but the selection was so poor that when they reached their destina- Preparations for His Efpediiion. 155 tion it wa8 found that they were very indifferent workmen. Eight or ten families of respectable people, and some young women, attracted by the prospect of matrimony, offered to go and help found the now colony. Their offers were accepted, and considerable advances were made to them, as well as to the artisans and soldiers. Several adventurouB young gentlemen, of good families, also joined the expedi- tion as volunteers. Among them were two nephews of La Salle, the Sieur de Moranget, and the Sieur Cavelier, the latter being only fourteen years of age. One of the first cares of the leader had been to pro- vide for the ecclesiastical part of his enterprise, in which it became necessary to procure a special dispensation from the Pope. Applying to the superior-general of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, the latter appointed three })rie8ts to accom- pany him and found a new mission. They were Jean Cav- elier, brother of La Salle, M. Chefdeville, his relative, and M. de Maiulle, called Dainmaville by Joutcl. As the Re- collets had for a number of years actively seconded the de- signs of La Salle, he made it a point to take as many as three of those fathers with him also. He accordingly ap- plied to the superior of that order, who granted him the religions he desired, namely: Father Zenobious Membre, Huperior of the mission, Anastasius Douay, and MaximuH Le Clercq. Such was the personnel of the soldiers, artisans, emi- grants, }triests, and adventurers, who were to i)lant the standard of France and the cross on the wilderness shores of far-away Louisiana. It were needless to observe that, for the most part, they were ill-adapted l)y discipline or ex{)erience for the stern task set before them. The fleet, which was furnished by the king, consisted of four vessels, namely : Tlie .loly, a royal ship or frigate, carrying thirty-six guns; the Belle, a snuill frigate of six ^uns; the Aimable, a store-ship; and the St. Francois, a kotch of two masts. La Salle had asked to be given sole conunand of the expedition, with a subordinate officer and two or three pilots to !uivigate the ships, as he might direct. But the Marquis de Seignelay gave the comnumd to Captt 156 Last Great Enterprise of La Salle. Beaiijeu, of the royal navy, whose authority wa« restricted to the maiiagenient of the vessels at sea, while La Salle was to prescrihe the route they were to take and com- mand on shore. This division of authority displeased both men, and caused chafing and bickering between them from the start. Yet it was perhaps the best that Minister Seigtielay could do under the circumstances, as La Salle liimself was without nautical skill or experience. Beaujeu was a Franco-Norman, and an officer of api)roved valor aud experience, but envious, self-willed, irascible, and utterly wanting in the ([ualifications requisite to the founding of a distant colony. Moreover, his wife is said to have been dominated by the Jesuits, a circumstance that excited La Salle's suspicion. Ami<l the hurry aud bustle of the embarkation. La Salle did not forget to write to his aged mother a farewell letter, which has been preserved among the family papers of the Cavcliers. All things having been provided necessarv for the vov- age, the little fleet, bearing about two hundred aud eighty persons, including the crows of the vessels, sailed from Kochelle on the 24th of July, 1684. When two or tljree days out, the bowsprit of the frigate Joly broke, which compelled Capt. Beaujeu to return to the portof Chef deBois to procure a new one. This accomplished, the fleet again put to sea on the first day of August, steering to the south, southwest. After weathering the Island of Madeira, they entered the region of the trade winds, and encountered two separate storms, the second of which dispersed the vessels. The Joly, in which La S'llle himself had taken passage, being a faster sailer than the others, reached Petit Goave, ou the west coast of St. Domingo, on the 27th of Se[»tember, and was soon after joined by the Aimable aud the Belle. The St. Francois, laden with provisions, ammunitiou, and tools for the new colony, lagged behind, and put in at JN)rt de l*aix, whence she sailed to join the rest of the fleet; but during the night, while her ca{)tain and crew tliought themselves safe, they were surin'ised by two Spanish juraguas, which captured the ketch and lier cargo. The loss of tliis vessel was prima- rily due to the negligence of Beaujeu, who had refused to Sea Voyage to the Gulf of Mexico. 15T stop at Port de Paix, although requested to do so by La Salle. This was the first of the series of disasters tliat lefell the expedition. It depressed the hopes of the colonists and (distressed the mind of La 8alle, who, shortly before his ar- rival in St. Doniin^^o, had been seized by a violent fever, which afterward affected his brain, and brought him to the verge of the grave'. ' • ' Owing to the continued illness of La Salle and other causes, the remaining vessels of his expedition were de- tained at the port of Petit Goave, for over six weeks. During this time they laid in fresh provisions, a store of Indian corn, and all kinds of domestic fowls to stock the new colony. The French governor-general of the Isles,, and the governor and intendant of St. Domingo, favored the enterprise in every way, and endeavored to restore a good understanding between La Salle and Beaujeu, so necessary to the success of the undertaking. Meanwliile, the soldiers and most of the crews plunged into every kind of debauchery and intemperance, so common in the West Indies, and thus contracted various diseases, of which some died in the island, and others never recovered. At length, on the 25th of Novend)er, the s<jundron, now consisting of three vessels, weighed anchor and again put to sea. La Salle and his trustiest followers sailing in the store-ship Ainniblc. They pursued their way }»ast the Cay- man Isles, touched at the Isle of Pines to take in water, and thence sailed to Cape San Antonio at the western ex- troniity of Cuba, where they anchored. Attracted by the heauty of the spot, the French landed and rested here for two days, and approi)riated to tlieir use some wine which had been left by the S])aniards. For fear uf injury by northerly winds, said to l)e j)revalont at the entrance to the Gult of Mexico, on ai)i>roaching it, they twice lay to, but happily entered on the first of January, 1685, when a sol- onui mass of thanksgiving was celebrated by Father Anas- tase Douay. The voyagers were now upon that grcjit south- ern sea over which no French vessel, carrying the nationnl colors, nad ever before sailed. Steering northward, they urrivod on the 15th in sight of the Florida coast, when a 158 Last (h'e.at Enterprise of La Salle: violent wind compelled the Joly to stand off, but the Aima- ble and Belle followed close to the shore. La Salle had been told in St. Domingo that the Gulf Stream ran witb incredil)le velocity toward the Bahama channel. This false information, together with the incor- rect sailing directions he had received, set him entirely es- tray ; for thinking himself much farther north than he really was, he not only passed Appalache Bay without recogniz- ing it, but followed the coast westward far beyortd the out- let of the Mississippi, and would have continued to follow it, if he and his fellow voyagers had not perceived by its turning south, and by the latitude, that they had passed the hidden river. It will be remembered that when La Salle was at the mouth of the Mississippi three years be- fore, he had obtained its latitude, approximately, but not the longitude. Indeed, the mariners of that day knew lit- tle or nothing about longitude. The Aimable and the Belle at last came to anchor, about the middle of February, at Espiritu Santo Bay, on the coast of Texas, and there awaited the arrival of Capt. Beaujeu, who joined them a few days later with the Joly. A conference was now held bv the commanders, which re- suited in their resolving to retrace their course, and they returned ten or twelve leagues to a bay, which they named St. Louis, since known as St. Bernard, or Matagorda. As provisions began to fail, Beaujeu declined to further continue the search on that exposed coast, unless his crew was provisioned from the stores of the colonists ; to which La Salle ol)jected. Finally, the Sieur La Salle, impatient of further delay, anxious to get rid of his disagreeable col- league and command alone, and thinking that the lagoons of the coast might connect with the most westerly arm or outlet of the Mississi{)pi, decided to disembark his troops and colonists on the western shore of Matagorda Bay. To •this purpose, boats were sent to sound and buoy the inlet (o the bay. This being done, the little frigate Belle was taken in without accident on the 18th of February. On the 20tli the Aimable weighed anchor and started through the nar- row channel leading into the bay; but lier captain, M. He Lands on the Coast of Texas. 159 d'Aigron, being on ill terms with La Salle, disregarded his orders, and either through gross negligence or design drove the vessel on the shoals, where she stranded, so that she could not be got oft'. La Salle was sonie little distance from the seashore when this deplorable disaster happened, and was on the point of returning to remedy it, when he saw a large party of wild Indians approaching. This necessitated his putting his men under arms, and the roll of their drums ])ut the savages temporarily to flight, but he had trouble with them afterward. The storeship remained stranded for three weeks or more, without going to pieces, though full of water. The men saved all they could from her in boats, including a quantity of flour and powder, but could only reach her in fair weather. At length a gale arose, which completely wrecked the ship, and scattered the residue of her cargo on the waters of the bay. After the landing had been eventually eft'ected, which included eight iron cannon from the hold of the Aiiiuible, Beaujeu prepared to depart for France. Although he and La Salle had been at variance throughout the long vo3'age, their oflftcial relations became more amicable at its close, lie seems, at heart, to have wished La Salle and his enter- prise well, and was no doubt anxious to have it appear that he had discharged his duty as naval conductor of the expe- dition, so as to avoid censure from the Minister of Marine. Before quitting this low and dangerous coast, it is stated that he ottered to go to Martinique and return with addi- tional provisions for the colony, but that La Salle, from motives of pride and over self-reliance, declined the ofter.* On the 12th or 14th of March, after a polite leave-taking, Beaujeu sailed away in the -Toly, taking with him several of the better class of the colonists, who had lost heart in the enterprise. The remaining adventurers, to the number of about one hundred and eighty, now found themselves stranded * See the corro8i>on(lonco between Beaujeu and La Halle, printed In Vol. II of Margry's Publiiiations. 160 Last Great Enterprise of La Salic. * upon the borders of an unknown wilderness, nearly live hundred miles from the place of their original destination, and most of them were suffering, more or less, from dysen- tery and otliei- diseases contracted during their long sea- voyage. The first labor of the commander was to throw up an intrenchment on tlic sandy beach, and to erect therein a temporary building in which to shelter his people and goods, and to protect them from the depredations of the neighboring savage-. The house was constructed of drift- wood, cast up by the sea, and of the timbers and plank from their wi-ecked ship. Leaving Joutel and Moranget with a hundred men at this naval camp, La Salle next set out with some fifty others, including his brother and the Fathers Zcnobe and Maxime, to explore the interior of the liay, and seek a [)roper place to locate his colony. The captain or pilot of the Belle had orders to sound the bay and take his vessel in as far as he safely could. He accord- ingly advanced along the shore about twelve leagues, and anchored opposite a point which took the name of Hurler, from the officer who was ap[»ointed to command there. This post served as a station between the camp on the seashore and the fort, which La Salle and his party went (on the 2d of April) to establish at the western head of the bay. The site of the latter was fixed on a rising ground, two leagues up a small river called LaVache, now La Vaca, and in latitude about twenty-seven degrees north. The building of the foi-t was a work of severe and protracted labor, since there was no wood within a league, and all the timbers had to be cut and transported from a distance, many of them being brought from the wreck of the Aimable. By the 21st of April (Easter eve) the fort was so far advanced as to be ready for jiartial occupancy, and the Sieur de La Salle returned to the main camp. The suc- ceeding three or four days were devoted to celebrating with all possible' solenmity, under the circumstances, the festi- vals of the church, after which preparations were made for removing the women and children, and such of the sick as could be moved, to the new establishment. Meanwhile, however, a l^w of the soldiers had deserted, and others had iJnv irons of his Texan Fort. 161 died of the (iiseases contracted at St. Domingo, notwith- standing all the care they received, and the relief afforded by the use of broths, preserves, and wine.* When the fort was • ompleted, La Salle gave to it his favorite name of St. Louis. The naval camp at the mouth of the bay was then abandoned, and Joutel and his com- mand rojoinod the main body of the colonists. The fort was mounted with eight pieces of rusty old cannon, and had a sort of magazine under ground for the safe deposit of the more valuable effects, in the event of tire. Here, then, in this lone spot on the Texan coast, the ensign of France was flung to the winds of heaven ; here a rude chapel was raised, in which masses were said and /espers chanted by the missionary priests and friars; and here, too, in the grassy prairie hard by, a common field was opened, planted, and tilled for the maturing of crops. By this early yot transient occupation, the King of France gained a color of claim to the country which, though contested by Spain, was never finally relin<pii8hed until the vast and in- definitely defined territory of Louisiana was ceded to the ojovcrnment of the United States. The scenery environing Fort St. Louis was not without its charms, and served in a measure to relieve that feeling of despondency arising in the minds of the colonists from their isolatif»n and misfortunes. At the foot of the stock- ado inclosure flowed the river, swarming with fish and water-fowl, and beyond that the ])ay, bordered by reedy marshes, stretched away to the south-east; while to the south-west lay two large ponds, with a forest in the dis- tance. To the north and west rolled a sea of grassy prairie, dotted at certain seasons with grazing buflalo and wild goats, * 8ee Tie Clercq'e (Father Chretien) "First E8tal)li8hment of the Faith in New France" (Vol. II), for an account of La Salle's attempt to reach tlie Mississippi by sea, and of the establishment of a French col- ony at St. Louis or Matagorda Bay. It is, in some respects, the best coa- temj)oraneou8 narrative extant of that historical voyage. The discreet father only hints at the unfurtun".i.e disagreement between La Halle and Beaujeu, but this matter is set forth in detail by Joutel and others. 11 ... .ii 162 Last Great Enterprise of La Salle. ^m M and decked with the beautiful wild flower« for which Texas is still remarkable. It was, in truth, as si act.' demonstrated, a goodly land for the habitation of civilized man. But the degraded aborigines, with such uncouth nanu s as Guoaquis, Guinets, Bahamos, and Quealomouches, who then roamed the coast of this southern country, had no thought of cul- tivating the soil, or of any other useful labor, beyond the requirements of a most meager subsistence. Having provided as well as he could for the comfort and safety of his people, La Salle now prepared to renew his search for the hidden river. But lie tirst found it necessary to make open war on the neighboring tribes of Indians, whose repeated acts of hostility gave him no peace; and lie accordingly set out for this purpose on the 13th of October, with sixty soldiers, wearing wooden corslets to protect them against the arrows of the savages. In different en- gagements with them he killed some, wounded others, and put others still to Hight. The execution thus done among the natives inspired them with terror, and rendered the colony somewdiat more secure than before. About the 31st of October, 1685, putting doutel in com- mand at the fort, with provisions for several months. La Salle and his brother, with some fifty well-armed men, started os- tensibly to seek the mouth of the Mississippi. The accounts we have of this long and rambling journey are rather vague and contradictory. The leader himself was reticent as to his plans and purposes, and the story told by the elder Cavelier is not very intelligible. They first passed eastward along the northern shore of the bay, and examined the out- lets of the rivers emptying into it, none of which seemed large enough to form an arm of the Mississippi. La Salle thence turned northward and westward and traveled the country a long distance, in the hope, it would seem, of reaching the borders of Mexico. At length, on the 13th of February, 1686, having come to a large river, he built a small fort on its banks, in which he left a part of his men, and with the others continued to explore the country in the direction of Mexico. Still advancing, he visited several villages and tribes, who treated him His Wanderings in Texas. 168 kindly, and from whom he gained considerable information in regard to the Spaniards, who were generally hated by the Indians in Texas. Under other circumstances, it would have been no very difficult task to have gathered an army of native warriors and led them across the Rio del Norte ; but La Salle was without horses and a sufficiency of men to prosecute his contemplated invasion of Xew Biscay.* He was away on this expedition longer tlian he had expected, owing to delays in rafting over so many rivers, and tlie ne- cessit}', wherever he went into camp, of throwing up in- trenchments to guard against Indian assaults. Retracing their tortuous course, the leader and his followers reached Fort St. Louis in the latter part of Marcli, tattered, weather- beaten, and worn out by long marchings and vigils, but bringing with them a welcome supply of fresh meat for the other colonists. Shortly before this the Belle, the only remaining vessel of the colony, was lost on the farther side of the ba}', though it was some weeks before particulars of the accident were received at the fort. Through a lack of precaution on the part of those in charge of her, she was wrecked with all her stores, consisting of thirty-six barrels of flour, a quantity of powder, some tools, and a lot of the clothing and personal eft'ects belonging to La Salle. The priest Chefdeville, the pilot, and four of the crew escaped with difficulty in a canoe, but managed to save some of the papers and luggage of their chief. Meantime, La Salle himself fell seriously ill, the fatigues of his great journey, and the tidings of this- last misfortune, having overcome his ph^'sical strength. " In truth (says the priest Cavelier, in his lielation du Voy- age)^ after the loss of the vessel, which deprived us of our only means of returning to France, we had no resource but in the Arm guidance of my brother, whose death each of us would have regarded as his own." So long as the little frigate remained, La Salle had the means of following along the coast and finding the mouth of the Mississippi, *AccordiDg to Mr. Shea, La Salle was lured by Penaloao, a renegade Spanish governor of New Mexico, to undertake the conquest of the rich mines in northern Mexico. 164 Last Great Enterprise of La Salic. and he might also have sailed to St. Domingo and ob- tained succor for his colony. But now, all his plans heing disconcerted and hiB attairs brought to a crisis, he resolved to try and reach Canada by land. This resolution was the result of dire necessity, and he must have anticipated the difficulties and hazards likely to attend its execution. Preparations were speedily n.Mlo for the journey ; and on April 22, 1686. after celebrating tlio divine mysteries in the little chapel. La Salle issued from the gate of the fort, accompanied by his brother, his nephew Mjoranget, the friar Douay, the younger Duhaut, a German from Wittemburg named Hiens,* and others to the number of twenty in all. They traveled on foot, each man carrying his pack and weapons on his shoulders, and shaped their sreneral course to the no>"th-east. Crossing the Colorado on a raft, they journeyed through a pleasant country of altei- nate prairie and woodland, decked with wild flowers, and clothed in the fresh green liver}- of spring. After passing the Brazos and Trinity, and other smaller rivers, they reached the habitations of the Cenis Indians (then a power- ful tribe, but now long since extinct), where they experi- enced a friendly reception. Here the travelers were sur- prised to see saddles, bridles, clothing, and various other articles of Spanish manufacture, which these Indians had obtained from their allies, tlie Comanches, who inhabited the country bordering New Mexico. After quitting the Cenis village, La Salle and his company advanced eastNvard as far as the river Neches,t in the vicinity of which both himself and nephew were attacked l)y malarial fever. This mishap caused a delay of some two months, and proved fatal to the success of the expedition. Wlien the sick leader was sufficiently convalescent to travel, he found tliat his am- munition was well nigh spent, and that four of his men had * Iliens wn8 un ox-bucenneor, who liail joined La 8all«'H expedition at I'"tit (ioave, In St. Doniiiigo. tTlie name Tt'jas or Texas wan HrHt applied (by the Spaniards) iisa loeal designation to a spot on the river Neelies, in the Cenis territory, whence it extended to the whole country. — Yoakaiu's History of Texa**, p. 62. His Journey to the Cenis Villaf/es. 165 deserted to the Assonis Iiidians. Under these untoward circumstances, no better alternative presented itself than to return to Fort St. Louis. Their return march was greatly facilitated by the use of some horses, which La Salle had bouglitof the Cenis, and they met with no serious accident on the way, excepting the loss of one of their men, who was seized by an alligator while attempting to cross a largo river, supposed to Ir've been the Colorado. The temporary excitement produced in the little band of colonists by the return of their chief soon gave way to a feeling of dejection akin to despair, and I^a Salle had a Lard task to sustain their droo[)ing spirits. But the jour- ney to Canada, by way of the Illinois, was their only hope; and the chief, after a brief rest, prepared to renew the at- tempt. In the month of November, while thus occupied, he was again taken sick with a Hux, which prostrated him for four or five weeks. At the end of this time he was once more able tt; travel, and all hands at the fort were busied in making from their scanty stores an outfit for his traveling party. Christmas day again came, and was solemnly ob- served. " There was a midiiight mass in the chapel, where Menibre, Douay, Cj'velie:, and their ]»riestly brethren, stood. in vestments stru. i^ely contrasting with the rude temple and ruder garb of the w<>rshi})ers. And as Membre ele- vated the consecrated wafer, and the lamps burned diiu through the clouds of incense, the kneeling group drew from the daily miracle such consolation as true Catholics alone can know." * It was on the morning of the 7th of .lanuary, 1G87, that La Salle mustered his small comi»any of adventurers for this his last journey. The five horses purvhased from the Cenis Indians were brought into the inclosed area of the fort, and loaded for the march. Assembled bore was the jKior renuumt of tlie ct)louy — those who were to go, and those who were to stay behind. The latter numbered some- thing over twenty {>ersoiis. There was the Sieur Barbier, who was to eoninumd in ]»' ce of .loutel ; the Manpiis «p Parknian's Lu fc>alle nud the Ure-it W.-et, p. 373. 166 Last Great Enterprise of La Salle. de Sablonniere, a dissolute young nobleman; the two friars, Membre and Le Clercq, and the young priest Chefdeville ; also a surgeon, some few soldiers and laborers, seven \\ omen and girls, and a few children — all of whom were "doomed in this deadly exile to wait the issues of the journey, and the possible arrival of a tardy succor." La Salle had pre- viously caused an earthwork to be thrown up around the habitations of the colonists adjoining the fort, and had taken other precautions for their safety. He now made them a farewell address, full of touching pathos, and delivered with that engaging air which this uidiappy man sometimes assumed, and which moved them all to tears. Then followed the painful parting scene. " We separated from each other," says Joutel, "in a manner so tender and 80 sad, that it seemed we all had the presentiment that we should never meet again." * At length, equipped and armed for the journey, the adventurers tiled from tho gate, crossed the little river La Vache, and held their slow march over the prairie to the north-east, "till intervening woods shut Fort St. Louis forever from their sight." La Salle's traveling party was made up of some good and several bad men, and was perhaps not wholly of \m own selection. It comprised his brother and their two i\ phews, Moranget, and the boy Cavelier, now aged about <^eventeen; the friar, Anastase Douay; the trusty soldier, Joutel ; Duhaut, a man of reputed respectable birth and education; Liotot, the surgeon of the company; Iliens, the German and ex-buceanoer ; the Sieur de Marie; Teissier, a pil(^t ; L'Archeveque, a servant of Duhaut, and a few others, numbering in all seventeen. Besides these, there was Nika, La Salle's Shavvanoe hunter, who, together with an(^t.her Indian, " had twice crossed the oc<'an with hini, and still followed his fortunes with an admiring though undemonstrative tidelity," f I'liVHuing the same route as before, the travelers iid- vanced over a level country of grassy prairies and wooded ♦Joutel's Journal Historiquo. t Purknian's iM Halle and tlio Great Woat, j). 397. Murder qf his Nephew^ Moranget. 167 rivor bottoms, meeting on tlie way a war party of the Bahamos, and several other bands of Indians, more or less friendly. They successively crossed the Colorado and the Brazos in a portable canoe covered with bullocks' hides, and, after passing several other smaller streanis, encamped neU^ a western tributary of the Trinity, on the 15th of March. La Salle was now in the vicinity of some corn and beans, which he had concealed in a pit during his former expedition, and he sent seven of his men to tind it. They were Duhaut, Liotot, Ilieiis, Teissier, L'Arch(!ve(pie, Nika, the Indian hunter, and S.^get, a servant of the chief. They found and opened the cadie, but its contentH were unHt for use. In returning, however, they killed two butialoes, and sent Saget back to the main camp tor liorsei-! to bring in the meat. The next <li»y La Halle (U'llered Moranget and Be Marie to go with his sorvaut sin<l the horses to the liunters' camp. Pro^'octling on their cn-and, the latter found the carcasses of the buffaloes cu^ up and placed upon a 8cafF(>ld to dry. In accordance with a custom among hunters, Duhaut and his companions had put aside the nianvw bones and other choice bits of the game for their own jse. Seeing this, the hot-headed Moranget, wjiose •juarrelsome tem})er had before involved him in difHculties, lell into a th^o and abused and menaced I)uhaut and his friends, and ended by appropriating both the snu)ked meat a'ld the bone, to himself. This outburst of passion seems to have kiiulled into an avenging tiamc an old grudge which Duhaut had cherirtlM'/J toward Moranget, as well as his uncle. Duhaut thereupon withdrew, and privately conspired with Liotot, Hiens, and others of their party, U[)on a bloody revenge. Waiting until night, when the Sieur Moranget, their principal victim, after taking his turn at watch, had fallen asleep, the consj)irators silently approached the spot where he la^% and while the others stood by with their guns cocked, Liotot brai?ied him with an ax. Nika, the Indian, and Saget, La Salle't* fuutman, were dispatched in the same niamier. The last two died without a struggle, but it ap- pears to have been othtjrwise with Moranget. The sa(!riiico 168 Last Great Enterprise of La Salle. of the unoft'ending Nika and Saget shows the deep-seated villany of the assassins ; hut it was no douht made in order to cut off all communication with the chief, whom they had singled out as their next and main victim. And so it often happens that the commission of one bloody crime leads on to another, and still another, until at last the per- petrator expiates his offenses with his own life. Meanwhile, La Salle himself was at the main camp, six miles or more away, impatiently waiting the return of his nephew and part3\ Two days were thus passed in painful suspense, when, on the morning of the 19th of March, he started out in search of his missing relative and servant, accompanied only by Father Douay and an Indian guide. Joutel, whom he had at first intended to take with him, was left in charge of the camp, with instructions to keep a strict watch ; for it seems that La Salle, always more or less suspicious, had observed the uiutinous spirit of some of his men. "All the way," writes Father Pouay, " he conversed with me of matters of piety, grace, and predestination; ex- patiating o'. ; ais obligations to God for having saved him f'^om so many dangers during the last twenty years that he had traversed America. . . . Suddenly, I saw him plunged into a deep melancholy, for which he himself could not account; he was so troubled that I did not know him any longer; (and) as this state was far from being natural to him, I roused him from iiis lethargy. Two leagues after, we found the bloody cravat of his lackey ; he perceived two eagles flying over his head, and at the same time discovered some of his peo[»le on the edge of the river, which he ap- proached, asking for his nephew. They answered in broken words, sliowing us where we &lu)uld find him. We pro- ceeded some stejis along the bank to the fatal spot, where two of these murderers were hidden in the grass, one on each side with guns cocked; one missed Monsieur de la Salle, the other firing at the same time shot him in the head ; he died an hour after, on the 9th of March, 1G87. " I expected the sauic fate, but this danger did not oc- cupy n»y thoughts ) ■ ■ : '■ "at'Hl with grief at so cruel a spec- His Assassination.- -km t^cle, I saw him fall a step from me, with his face all full of blood ; I watered it with my tears, exhorting him to the best of my power to die well. He had confessed and ful- filled his devotion just before we started ; he had still time to recapitulate a part of his life, and I gave him absolution. . . . Meanwhile his murderers, as much alarmed as I, began to strike their breasts and detest their blindness. I could not leave the spot where he had expired without hav- ing buried him, as well as I could, after which I raised a cross over his grave."* Such is the simple and pathetic narrative of the only eye-witness, who has given us an account of La Salle's un- happy death. So much of this narration as relates to the alleged ma'iifestatlon of remorse by his murderers, to the burial of his body and the erection of a cross over it, is ex- pressly contradicted by Joutel, and is not sustained by any writing of the elder Cavelier. Indeed, it is affirmed that Douay told a different story at the time ; and it would seem that he invented these fictions to soften the atrocity of the crime itself, as also to sup])ort his own character as a priest and num of resolution. As 8Up])lementary to the above, we here give M. Joutel's account of the catastrophe : " He (La Salle) seemed to have some presage of his misfortune, iiicpiiring of some whether the Sieurs Liotot, Hiens, and l)uhaut had not expressed some discontent. And not hearijig any thing of it, he could not forbear set- ting out the 20tli, with Father Aiuistasius (Douay) and an Indian, leaving me the comnuind in his absence, and charg- ing me to go the rounds about our camp, to prevent being surprised, ami to make a smoke for him to direct his way in case of need. When he came near the dwelling (camp) of the murderers, looking out sharp to discover something, he observed eagles fiuttering about a sjiot not far from them, which made him believe they hid found some carrion, and he fired a shot, which was the signal of his death and for- warded it. • Soe Douay's Narrative, in yheas Discov. and Explo. of the Miss. Val., pp. 2ia-U. 170 Last G-reat Enterprise of La Salic. "The conspirators, hearing the shot, concluded it was M. de la Salle, w o was come to seek them. They made ready their arms, >nd provided to surprise him. Duhaut passed the river, with Larcheveque. The first of them spy- ing M. de la Salle at a distance, as he was coming toward them, advanced and hid themselves among the high weeds, to wait liis passing by; so that M. de la Salle, suspecting nothing, and having not so much as charged his piece again, saw the aforesaid Larcheveque at a good distance from him, and immediately asked for his nephew, Moranget, to which Larcheveque answered that he was along the river. At the same time the traitor, Duhaut, fired his piece and shot M. de la Salle through the head, so that he dropped down dead on the spot, without speaking one word, . . . This is the exact relation of that murder, as it was presently after told me by Father Anastasius. " The shot which had killed M. de la Salle was also a signal of the murder to the (other) assassins for them to draw near. They all repaired to the place where the wretched dead corpse lay, which they barbarously stripped to the shirt, and vented their malice in vile and opprobri- ous language. The surgeon, Liotot,* said several times, in scorn and derision : ' There thou liest, great bashaw ! There thou liest!' In conclusion, they dragged it naked among the bushes, and left it exposed to the ravenous wild beasts."f The precise locality of this gloomy tragedy, or suc- cession of tragedies, can not now be determined. It is said (correctly, we think) to have occurred on a small tributary of the Trinity, since it was only about three days slow jour- ney from thence to the nuiin trunk of that river. But Mr. Sparks, in his Life of Lii Salle, s.iys, ^' the place was proba- bly on one of tiie streams flowinf^^ into the Brazos from the * Arcording to Tonty's Ilolation, Liotot's grievance ngainst La Sallo was, that in the journey along the sea-coast, lie had compelled the brother of Liotot, who could not keep up, to return to the cnmp, and that in returning alone he was killed by the savages; but this is not t'onflrmed by Joutel. tSee Joutel's Journal, printed in the Hist. Coil's of La., edited by B. F. French, N. Y., 1840, Part L, pp. 143, 144. His Character. Ill «a8t, — -perhaps forty or fifty miles nortli of tlie present town of Washington, Texas." Thus violently ended, at the age of forty-three years und four months, the extraordinary career of Robert Cave- lier, Sieur de la Salle ; a man celebrated alike for his daring and discoveries, his merits and misfortunes. We <!Ould have wished that his life had been longer spared, so that he might have found means to extricate the remnant of his Texan colony from impending destruction. The character of La Salle has been drawn by many diflrerent pens, yet, in. general, they have found it easier to sum up his defects and failures than to set in a proper light his transcendent virtues. His reputation as a successful ex- plorer and colonizer would probably have stood higher with his contemporaries and posterity, if he had never em- barked from France on his last expedition to the Mis- sissippi ; but then his name would be divested of much of that dramatic and tragic interest with which it is en- shrouded. Hennepin, in the preface to liis '^Nevv Discovery," written chiefly tor Dutch and English readers, uses this harsh language in regard to La Salle's melanchcjly fate : " God knows that I am sorry for ids inifortunate death ; but the Judgments of the Almighty are just, for tliat gentleman wuH kiHed by one of bis own men, who wept; at hist seiisi- blii I hilt hn (»x|i(iHed tlicin to visible dangers without any necessity, and for his private design." \gain, in his " Nouveau Voyage," or contiiiuatio:i of his "New Discovery,"* he writes in a different strain, as follows: "Thus fell the Sieur iiobert Cavelier de la Salle, a man of considerable merit, constant in adversities, fear- less, generous, courteous, ingenious, and cai)able of every- tliing. He labored for twenty years together to civilize the savage humors of a great number of barbarous people among whom he traveled, and had the ill-hap t" be mas sacred by his own servants, whom he had enriched, lie died in the vigor of his age, in tlie midtldJe of his coui'se, •English edition. London, mm, \>. 'M. :_,. ; ^ 1 ^J , 172 hast Great Enterprise of La Salle. before he could execute the design he had formed on New Mexico." Elsewhere, in the same work, Hennepin further Stays : " La Salle was a person qualified for the greatest un- dertakings, and may he justly ranked amongst the most famous travelers that ever were." Henri Joutel, the fullest and most reliable historian of La Salle's Texas expedition, has drawn the character of his commander in these measured words : " He had a capacity and talent to make his enterprises successful; his constancy and courage, and extraordinary knowledge in the arts and sciences, which rendered him fit for anything, together with an indefatigable habit of body, which made him surmount all difliculties, would have pro- cured a glorious issue to his undertaking, had not all these excellent qualities been counterbalanced by too haughty a behavior, whicn sometimes made him insupportable, and by a rigidness to those under him, which at last drew on him their implacable hatred, and was the occasion of his death.* This careful Cbtimate seems just and impartial, though Joutel did not know La Salle at his best, but rather when liis constitution was broken by disease, and iiis temper soured by misfortunes. Moreover, he lived too near him to fully appreciate the magnitude and significance of his serv- ices as a pioneer of civilization in Ncrth America. From the charge of harshness antl tyranny toward his men. La Salle, in a letter written to a business correspondent some five years before his death, thus defends himself: '' Tiie facility f :un said to want is out of place with tills people, H'iio are libertines for the most part; and to Indulge them means to tolerate blasphemy, drunkenness, lewclness, and license, incompatible with any kind of order. It will not be found thai I have, in any case whatever, treated any man harshly, except for l)|p8phemicH and other such crimes openly committed. ... I urn a Christiiin, and do not want to bear the burden of their crimes." ♦.Toutel's Jimvmil IJkloiUjne. His Charader. 173 Although proud, shy, cold, and austere in his general deportment, La Salle was not incapable of inspiring strong attachments among those to whom he gave his confidence, and who had the penetration to discern the lofty bearing of his genius. He required every sacrifice at the hands of the men in his employ, but he himself led the way in every difficulty and every danger. He was something of an en- thusiast, and about his various schemes and enterprises there was much that appeared visionary and impracticable ; yet such was his persevering energy that he succeode<l in many things where others would have faltered and failed, and his failure to found a colony at the outlet of the Mis- sissippi was largely due to circumstances beyond his per- sonal control. In no one [)articular was his superiority over contem- porary explorers more manifest than in his intercourse with the aborigines of the country, whom he every-where made subservient to his designs. He was greatly respected by the Indians throughout the Mississippi Valley. This was attributable not only to his liberal and conciliatory policy in dealing with them, but to his grave and taciturn man- ner, which comported well with their own ideas of dignity and decorum. It is worthy of remark, in passing, that he nearly always traveled with a train of ecclesiastics, showing u preference for the RecoUets. They went not merely as missionaries to convert the heathen, »/ut to assist him in his enterprises and wriln up liis doings, and were among his most efficient and faithful coadjutors. He was not a pru- ihint or successful business man ; liis transactions as an In- dian trader and fur-dealer, though on a large scale, were i|Bnt|)|y nllen(le<( with loss, and he died hopelessly Insol- veni. His ambition was fume — liuue um a (Ijsi'ovcrer and uxplorer of new and uid<nown lands. For the gratification of IliJH [liiHHiiiii III) HiH'cificed Ins means, his comfort, lils health, and finally life itself. His ])laiis were too extensive and complex for Ills reHoiiiccH <»r »it'dil,and even liis iiii- oonimon energy and Inrtilmb could not always uope with Hie enmities and Jealoiisies thai '.^Mh' ciiiislHiitly arrny«?tl ligftilWt him. KevertheleBS, he stands lu the hirtlory of tlio 174 Last Great Enterprise of La Salle. period as the foremost pioneer in North America. More- over, he was the first chartered owner and occupant of Illi- nois, and the first to establish a European settlement on her soil. Physically as well as intellectually, La Salle seemed born to command. He was of a tall and martial figure, and appears to have inherited a vigorous constitution, which, however, was considerably impaired by sickness and hardships in his later years. His picture represents him with a fine oval face, and a high open fort-head. From his Norman lineage he derived his pluck and tenacity of purpose, qualities that nearly allied him to the ruhng class of England. He was never married, and left no offspring to perpetuate his name and fame. He held his lease of life by the same fragile thread as the meanest camp-follower in his train. He died a martyr to his own ambition and the glory of France. He was one of those great actors on the stage of our earlier continental history, about whom men write and converse while he sleeps the sleep that knows no waking. It has been felicitously observed of him, that " he was as brave as the bravest, as pure as the purest, and as unfortunate as the most unfortunate." In MasRon's "Abridgment of Guizot's History of France," p. 45)0,. is the foil Mwing condensed yet graphic, recital of La Salle's achieve- ments: " La Salie, in his intrepid expeditions, discovered the Ohio and Illinois, navigated the great lakes, crossed (descended) the Mississippi, which the Jesuits had been the first to reach, and pushed on as far as Texas. Constructing forts in the midst of ravage districts, taking pos- session of Louisiana in the name of Louis XIV., abandoned by (some of) liis comrades, and losing the most faithful of them by death, attacked by savages, betrayed by his own men, thwarted in his prospects by his enemies, this indefatigable man fell at last beneath the blows of a few mutineers in 1687, just as he was trying to get back to New France. He left the field open after him to innumerable travelers (and adventurers) of every nation and tongue, who were one day to leave their mark on those measureless tracts. It is the glory and misfortune of France to always lead the van in the march of ci.iiization, without having the wit to profit by the discoveries and the sagacious boldness of her chil- dren." The Travelers Cross the Trinity. 175. CHAPTER IX. 1687-1689. SURVIVORS OF LA SALLE's TEXAN COLONY. The surviving members of La Salle's traveling party^ who were not in sympathy with his murder, refrained from openly expressing their indignation through fear of their own lives, and uneasilv awaited the issue of events. Mean- while, Duhaiit and Liotot seized upon everything in the camp belonging to the late commander, and arrogated to themselves the command in his stead. On the 20th of March, the day following the catastro- phe, the combined party broke camp and recommenced their journey, as if anxious to get away from the gloomy locality. Impeded in their advance by heavy rains they were three days in reaching the main stream of the Trinity, which they crossed in a boat made of raw hides, swimming their horses, ('ontinuing their slow march through the timbered valley to the vicinity of another and smaller ri">'er,* the travelers halted and held a council in regard to their future movements. Being short of provisions, it was decided that Li w tot, Hiens, Teissier, and Joutel should pro- ceed to the villages of the Cenis Indians, about ten leagues away to the north-east, and there barter for a supply of maize and beans. Joutel was thus assigned to the companionship of three villains whom he detested, and at the same time suspected of contriving an opportunity to take his life, be- cause of his fidelity to their late commander. But having no choice in the matter, he dissembled his fears and set off with his sinister associates. A day's ride brought them to the nearest Cenis village, which consisted of a scattered group of large, grass-thatched lodges, resembling huge hay ricks. The Frenchmen were received with much ceremony * Probably an eastern aim of the Trinity. im %. %.«#, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) L'c:'- ^^, y. C/j ¥/. t l.vy |5o * M iin U£ 1^ |ii||2.2 2.0 1.8 I.I 1.25 u tut 1.4 1.6 6" - s^ % ^ VA V.^ /%^^> ..^^^^ Photographic Sciences Corporation ^\N ^V » Ll>' :\ \ ^ r^ o' % » WIST MAIN STREET Wf>B$TIR,K.Y. MSSO (7t6) 872-4S03 \ (s"- v. % >■'»■ ^ r^ o \ 176 Survicors of La Sailers Texan Colony. by the painted and tattooed elders of the village, and were as- signed a cottage in which to lodge. But these Indian hosts, while feeding their visitors by day, did not hesitate to pilfer from them by night as opportunity offered. They had no religion worth considering, and, in common with the sur- rounding tribes, were more or less addicted ^o cannibalism. After a few days stay at the village, the companions of Joutel returned to the French camp, leaving him to con- tinue the traffic alone. During his sojourn there he met with two French sailors named Ruter and Grollet (Jacques), who liad forsaken La fealle on the occasion of his journey to this region in the preceding year, and who were now domesticated among the Cenis. When apprised of the murder of his late eomnuinder, Ruter expressed both sur- prisp and regret. Some days afterward, Joutel was ordered to return with the provisions he had purchased to Duhaut's camp, and upon his arrival thither found a miserable state of af- fairs. The elder Cavelier and Friar Douay had been treate<l with harshness and contempt by Duhaut and Liotot, and were constrained to prepare their meals apart to themselves. Joutel now joined them, and around their own camp-lire they talked of nothing else but how to escape from the com- pany of the miscreants in which circumstances had placed them. No other fepsible expedient presented itself except to continue their journey to the Mississippi, and thence to the Illinois and ('Unada, as origiiuiUy undertaken by La Salle himself. In carrying out this j)lan, the first and prin- cipal difficulty was to get the vonsent of Duhaut and Liotot; for they had already announced their intention to return to Fort St. Louis on the bay, and there build a vessel with wb.ich to sail to the "West Indies. The announcement of tliis impracticable purjjose — impracticable because their car- penters were all dead, and they were without suitable ap- ])liances and nuiterial for the work — showed that those desperate men had no mind to peril their personal safety by going to Canada. In pursuance of tliat resolution lliens and three other members of the i)arty were sent to the village of the Cenis to barter for additional horses. 'i« Survivors of La SaUe''s Texan Colony. 177 In tliis critical posture of affaire, the elder Cavelier, with whom a sacriiice of truth cost no particular etibrt, opened negotiations with the Sieur Duhaut. The old priest represented that he and his friends were too much fatigued by travel to undertake a journey back to the fort, preferring to remain among the Cenis Indians, and requested a share of the goods, for which he offered to give his note of hand. To this preposition Duhaut, after consulting with his com- panions, unexpectedly assented, but soon afterward changed his mind on being told that it was the secret intention of Cavelier and party to proceed to the Illinois and Canada, lie then gave out that he would go with them to ext^cute their dcMign, whicli disconcerted and troubled the latter. Duhaut and the others appear to have remained at the wuiio camp, east of the Trinity, through April a?id until the first week in May, only advancing a little nearer to tlie river which lay between them and the village of the Cenis. Iliens and his tliree E'rench companions were still at the village, l)eing detained partly by the overflow in the river, but principally by the attractions of the Cenis women. During his stay tliere he heard of Duhaut's new plan of going to find the Mississippi, and declared to those witii him that he was not of that mind, and refused his consent. "After we had been some (hiys longer in the same place," writes Joutel, " Iliens arrived with the two iialf- siivage Frenchmen (Ruter and GroUet), and about twenty iiiitives. He went immediately to Duhaut, and after some (boated) discourse, told him he was not for going toW5»rd tbe \tisHiHsi[t}»i, because it would be of (hingcrous conse- <luonce for them, and therefore demanded his share of the effects ho had seized. Duhaut refusing to comply, and atlinning that all the axes were his own, Iliens, who it is likely ha«l laid the (h^sign before to kill him, immediately drew his jjistol and firctl it upon Duhaut, who staggered about four paces from the place, and fell down dead. At the wanic time Ruter, who had been with Iliens, fired Ids inece upon Liotot, the surgeon, and shot him through with . three halls. 12 178 The Assassins Assassinated. "These murders committed before us, put me in u ter- rible consternation ; for, believing the same was designed for me, I laid hold of my firelock to defend myself. But Hiens cried out to me to fear nothing, to lay down my arms, and assured me he had no design against me ; but that he had revenged his master's death. He also satisfied M. Cavelier and Father Anastase, who were as much fright- ened as myself, declaring he meant them no harm, and that though he had been in the conspiracy, yet had he been pres- ent at the time when M. de la Salle was killed, he would not have consented, but rather obstructed it. " Liotot lived some hours after, and had the good for- tune to make his confession ; after which the same Ruter put him out of his pain with a pistol shot.* We dug a hole in the earth, and buried him in it with Duhaut, doing them more honor than they had done to M. de la Salle and his nephew, Moranget, whom they left to be devoured by the wild ]>eaHts. Thus those murderers met with what they had deserved, dying the same death they had put others to."t The Indian spectators looked with astonishment and terror upon these brutal homicides, which put to shame even their own thirst for blood. The Frenchmen present, however, excused the deed to the savages by telling them that those two men had been killed, " because they had all the powder and ball, and would not give any to the rest." Jean L'Archeveque, who had been entirely devoted to Du- haut, was absent hunting at the time, and Hiens was for shooting him on his return to camp, but was dissuaded tiierefrom by Joutcl and the two priests. The only excuse or apology Duhaut and Liotot luid offered for their own atrocious crimes, was that they hud been driven thereto by despair at their ill-usage. If they * It is rolntt'd by Father Douny, in his account of theso uiuniiTH, tlmt thi' Ihinh of Untcr'H pistol set fire to l^iotot's hair and clotliing, wiueh were burned on his body, and that in this torment he died. Tiiis hHi)i)('iuMl nearly two niontlis after the (h>ath of La SaUe. tSee Joutel's .Journal in " Historical Collections of Louisiana," I'lirt L, pp. 157, 168. Survivors of La Sailers Texan Colony. 179 had remained at home in France, and not been subjected to any great temptations, tliey might have passed through life as respectable citizens ; bnt, as it was and is, their names must be consigned to merited execration and ignominy. These latter tragedies came Uke a thunderbolt from a cloudless sky, and cleared the way for the escape of the in- nocent members of the party. Prior to this, however, Hiens and his associate outlaws had promised the chiefs of the Cenis to accompany them on a foray against a tribe called tlio Kanoatinos, who dwelt some distance off to the north- west, and with whom the former were ••t feud. To facili- tate this purpose the surviving Frenchmen now decamped and removed their head-quarters to the Cenis village. The two Cavcliers, Jontel, Douay, and two others were lodged in a cabin by themselves, where they were watched by the villagers, while iliens and his six followers, armed and mounted, went with the native warriors on their raid. After an absence of less than a fortnight, the war party re- turned, bringing with them several Indian prisoners, and a number of scalps, as trophies of their victory over the enemy. When the savage feasting and rejoicing thereat, which lasted several days, had come to an end, M. Cavelicr and .loutel took occasion to inform Iliens of their proposed journey to and up the Mississippi. The latter at first stoutly ojij-osed the project, as he had no thought of going thither himself, but finally consented on condition that Cavelier should give him a writing certifying to his innocence of La Salle's murder, which the priest did not scruple to do. For the rest, Iliens treated his departing fellow-travelers with the liberality of a successful freebooter, giving them a fair proportion of the booty he had acquired by his recent vil- lauous crimes. "Before our departure," says Joutel's Journal, "it was a sensible aflliction to us to see that villain walk about the camp in a scarlet coat, with gob' galons (lace), which had belonged to the late Monsieur de la Salle, and which he had sei/ed." The escaping party was composed of seven persons, viz.: the two Caveliers (uncle and nephew), Joutel, Douay, rjmfgmmm^ 180 Journey of the Escaping Party. De Marie, Teissier, and a Parisian youth named Barthelemy. Teissier was an accomplice in the death of both Moranget and La Salle, but had received a pro forma pardon from the elder Cavelier. They hud six indifferent horses, a quantity of powder and ball, and some axes, knives, and beads, for use in barter with the natives on the route. They left the Oenis village without regret, late in May, and were attended by three guides. Hiens embraced them at parting, as did the other half-dozen ruflians who stayed with liim. The general course of the travelers was to the north-east, iji the direction of the Lower Ai-kansas, which was more than three hundred miles distant. After several days travel through an open country, i)assing hamlets and villages on the way, they reached the luition of the Assonis, or Nas- souis, dwelling near the river Neches, where they were fairly well received. Here they were detained by continued rain until about the 13th of June, when they again set forward, with fresh guides, on their journey. The travelers next approached the village of a tribe called l)y Joutel the Nathosos, who inhabited tl:e country between the Sabine and Red River. The dusky dwellers in this village had hitherto known the Europeans only by report, and coming out to meet their visitors, regarded them with great curiosity. Desirous of doing the Frenchmen special honor, they took them on their backs and carried them into the village; but doutel, being a large and heavy man, bore down his carrier so much that two other Iiulians had to assist him, one on either side. Arrived at the chief 'h cottage, their horses were uidoaded, and one of the elders of the village ])roceeded to wash the faces of the visitors with warm water from an earthen vessel. Then they were invited to mount a scaflolding of canes, covered with wliitc mats, where thi\y sat in the burning sun and listeiUHl to several speeches of welcome, of which they did not under- stand a single word. Taking leave of this hospitable jteoplc, our travelers next came to a village of the Cad'xhupiiH, where they ex- perienced a similar reception, (crossing Red J^iver and approaching the Washita, they arrived at the village of Survivors of La Salle's Texan Colony. 181 another natijn, who gave them a still more oppressive vvel- como, As the leader of the party the elder Cavelier be- came the principal victim of the Indian attentions. They (lanced the calumet before him, singing as loud as tfioy could roar, beat U[ion their calabashes, &tuck: feathers in his hair, and performed various other antics. The old priest en- dured tlie irksome ceremony as long as lie well could, and then, pretending that it made him ill, he was assisted to his lodge; but they continued to sing, howl, and dance all through the night. The meaning of all this Indian cere- mony was that their visitors should make them a })resent, which was accordingly done to their satisfaction. At length, after a wearisome journey of nearly two months from the Cenis, during whicli time they had the misfortune to lose one of tlieir number (I)e Marie), who was accidentally drowned, the travelers drew near tc the Arkansas River, at a place some fifty miles above its junc- tion with the Mississippi. Conducted thither by their native guides, they at last stood u[)on the banks of the Ar- kansas, and, looking across to the farther side, beheld lui Indian village, and l)elow and near it on a small eminence was a cabin built of cedar logs, and a tall wooden cross, evidently the work of French hands. Overwhelmed with emotions of gratitude at their deliverance, they all knelt down and, lifting up tlieir hands, gave thanks to the Divine Goodness for having directed tlieir footstej)S to this little outpost of civilization. I*resently, two white men cinergod from the door of tha cabin and iired their guns as a salute to the wanderers, who answered it with a volley from their own. Then two canoes crossed from the oj)i)o- site shore and ferried them over to the village, where they were heartily greeted in their t)wn tongue by Messrs. Cou- ture and I)c Launay, two of six men whom Henri de Tonty liad stationed there during the preceding year.* The whole distance from Fort St. Louis of Texas, to the Ar- !•:' * This station was nftiTward Itiiown to tlie Fronch as I'oHle anic Ar- hima», and later, to tlie Americans, as Arkansas Post. The Arkansaa Indians liad two villages on this river, the second one being near its iiioutli. m 182 Tonty's Trip to the Gulf of Mexico. kansas, following the route of the traveling party, was computed by Fatlier Douay at two hundred and fifty leagues. It may be remembered that in the spring of 1685, by an order of the King of France, M. de Tonty had been reinstated in command at Fort St. Louis of the Illinois, with the title of captain and governor. In the autumn of that year, he made a special journey to Mackinac to seek intelligence of his absent chief. Arrived thither, he learned that a letter had been received from Governor Denonville, then lately arrived from France, stating that La Salle had landed on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and that he had lost cue of his vessels there. Upon hearing this news, Tonty returned to the Illinois, and organized an expedition on his own responsibility, and at his own ex- pense, to go to La Salle's assistance. Accordingly, on the 16th of February, 1686, he departed from Fort St. Louis, with thirty Frenchmen and five Indians, in log canoes, and descended the Illinois and the Mississippi to the Gulf, which he reached in Holy Week. Finding no traces of the French colony there, he sent some of his canoes to scour the coast for thirty leagues on either side of the di- verging outlet of the river. But all this search was futile, for La Salle was then rambling in the distant wilds of southern Texas. Disappointed yet not disheartened at liis failure, Tonty wrote a letter to his commander, informing him of this trip in quest of him, which he committed to the keeping of an Indian chief of the Quinipissas tribe, to be delivered so soon as an opportunity should offer. He then returned with his force up the Mississippi to the moutli of the Arkansas, which he entered and ascended some dis- tance to a village of that nation. Here, on lands wliicli had been previously granted to him by La Salle, the Sieur de Tonty stationed six of his men, who volunteered to re- main, and who were to report to him any information tliey might gather from the natives or otherwise concerning liis chief. But to go back to the party of Cavelier and Joutel. They tarried for several days at the French outjjost on the Survivors of La Salle's Texan Colony. 183 Arkansas, resting from the fatigues and anxiet es ot their extraordinary journey. As chief spokesman of the party, the elder Cavelier related to M. Couture and De Launay the history of their long sea-voyage, and subsequent wan- derings and sufferings in the southern wilderness, including an account of La Salle's dismal end, which drew tears from their eyes. For various prudential reasons, this last bit of information was kept from the Arkansas Indians, who held him in great respect, and imjyatiently expected his return. The travelers departed from tlie house of the French- men about the 28th of July, leaving behind tiiem their horses and young Barthelemy, the Parisian, wlio afterward told slanderous stories about La Salle's alleged cruelty to ills men. They embarked with a number of the natives in a pirogue forty feet long, belonging to one of the chiefs of the village, and were accompanied part of the way by M. Couture. Descending the Arkansas to the next village (called Torrinian) of that nation, they tarried there until the followii g day, when they went in two canoes to crofls and ascend the Mississippi, which had been so long the ob- ject of their search, and which Joutel terms, in his journal, the " fatal river." After stopping to visit the third village of the Arkansas, which was seated on the banks of the Mis- sissippi, they thence proceeded up the river eight leagues to Ka[)pa, the fourth and last village of that people. On the 2nd of August our five travelers took leave of M. Cou- tiu'c at the Kappa village, and re-embarked in a single canoe with four Arkansas guides. In their north-bound voyage, they found it recpiisite to often cross the river, and some- times to carry their canoe and luggage, on account of the rapidity of the current, and at night, for greater safety, en- cam})ed on some one of the smaller islands. On the 19tli they reached the mouth of the Ohio, to which their In- dians made a sacrifice of sonie tobacco and buffalo steaks. Leaving that behind them, and still ascending, they passed the confluence of the turbid Missouri on the first of Sep- tember, a!id the next day turned from the " F'ather of Waters" into the quiet channel of the Illinois. In navigating this central part of the Mississippi, 184 The Escaping Party Ascend the Mississippi. neither Joiitel nor Doiiuy observed any thing very remark- able in the painted rocks of the Piasa, as described ])y Marquette. " The 2nd " (of September), writes Joutel, " we arrived at the place where the figure is of the pretended monster spoken of by Fatlier Marquette. That monster consists of two scurvy figures drawn in red, on the flat side of a rock, about ten or twelve feet high, which wants very much the extraordinary height that relation mentions. However, our Indians paid homage, by offering sacrifice to that stone." * Father Dona}' saw, and briefly descriljes in his narra- tive, certain rude figures on another rock, some forty leagues below the mouth of the Missouri, which, on Thevenot's re- production of Mar(£uette's map, is marked as the evil Mani- tou of the Illinois Indians. Douay goes on to vState, that " about midway between the river Ouabache (Ohio) and that of the Massourites, is Cape St. Anthony ; it was to this place, and not farther, that the Sieur Joliet descended in 1673." But in the above unsupported and improbable statement, the Recollet father simply displays his own ig- norance and jealousy of the prior discoveries made by Joliet and Marquette; for it is morally certain that they went a long distance below the confluence of the Ohio. But to return from this digression. After entering the Illinois River, it required ten days more of hard rowing and pushing to bring tlie travelers to the rock-seated fort of St. Louis, whither they arrived on the 14th of September, and were once more among friends and countrymen. The Sieur de Tonty was away in the east, fighting the Iroquois ; but his lieutenant, Belle Fontaine, was in charge of the fort, and his little garrison received the way-worn voyagers with a salvo of musketry, which was supplemented by the whooping of the Indian occupants of the Rock, who ran down lo the river to meet them. As the season was grow- ing late, our travelers were eager to press forward to Qua- bec, in order to take shipping tliere for France. After a few days of repose, therefore, they took leave of Belle Fon- * Joutel's Journal IIiM<m<iu". See ante, Cluip. HI. of this work. Survivors of La Salle's Texan Colony. 185 taine and his men (from whom they had stiidioucly withheld any knowledge of La Salle's death), and proceeded on their way up the river to Lake Michigan. On arriving at the mouth of Chicago rivulet, they emharked on tlie waters of the lake in a canoe, which had been procured for that pur- pose at the fort ; but being driven back by stress of weather, they abandoned their design, buried a part of their eftects on the lake shore, and returned to Fort St. Louis to spend the winter. At the close of the month of October, Captain Tonty returned from the Seneca war, accompanied by several of his French friends, and he now listened with profound in- terest to the long and sad narrative of his travel -worn guests from the south-west. With the connivance of his party, the elder Cavelier did not scruple to practice on Tonty the same deceit he had used with his lieutenant. He told him that La Salle had been with them nearly to the Cenis villages, and that when they parted from him he was in good health, which was technically true so far as a majority of the old priest's party was concerned. The main purpose of this studied deception was to derive all the pecuniary advantage he could from his character of representative of his brother. Besides, both he and his associates were still not without some ajiprehension from the accomplicee of La Salle's murderers, should any of them return to Canada or France. If the elder Cavelier bad been frank and candid with Tonty, the expedition which the latter subsequently undertook for the relief of the Texan colonists might have been attended with better re- sults. Friar Douay tells us that the presence of Tonty made their stay at the fort much more agreeable, and speaks of him, as "this brave gentleman, always inseparably attached to the interests of the Sieur de la Salle, whose lamentable fate we concealed from him, it being our duty to give the first news to the court."* The elder Cavelier carried a letter of credit from La Salle — whether genuine or not, it were needless to inquire — * Narrative of Father Anastase Douay, in Le Clercq's Elablmement de la Foi, vol. \l. „ . 186 Cavelier's Deception of Tonty. requesting Tonty to furnish him with supplies, and pay him 2,652 livres in beaver skins. On the strength of this and his verbal representations, Cavelier drew upon Tonty to the amount, it is averred, of four thousand livres in furs,* besides a canoe and a quantity of other goods, all of which were delivered to him on his quitting the fort, and for which in return he gave his promissory note. The only excuse for this deliberate deception and fraud was the des- titution of the old priest and his companions, and the further fact that he had a claim against his brother's es- tate, which, however, he must have known was insolvent. It seems hardly credible that during all this time, the Sieur de Tonty should not have received a hint of, or even sus- pected, the death of his former commander. After living upon Tonty's generous hospitality for six months, the Cavelier party finally departed from Fort St. Louis the 20th of March, 1688. Seven days of travel up the Illinois Iliver and its northern fork brought them to the Chicagou, whence they again embarked on Lake M chigan, and, after many perils, reached Michilimackinac on the 6th of May.f Here the elder Cavelier disposed of a portion of his ill-gotten furs to a trader, and received in exchange an order on a Montreal house. Being thus supplied with funds for the rest of the journey our travelers left Mackinac about the 5th of June, and proceeded by way of northern Lake Huron, French River, Lake Nipissing, and the Ottawa River to Montreal. Here, after converting the remainder of their furs into money, they provided themselves with much * Tonty's Memoir does not make it so much. tTlie Baron de la Hontan, who was tlien at Mackinac with a small detachment of French soldiers, in a letter dated the 2Hth of May, thus speaks of Cavelier and his party : " M. Cavelier arrived here May 6th, accompanied by his nephew, Father Anastase, the Recollect, a pilot, one of the savages, and some tew Frenchmen, which made a sort of party- colored retinue. These Frenchmen were some of those that M. de la Salle conducted upon the discovery of Mississippi. They give out that they are sent to Canada, in order to go to France, with some dispatches from M. de la Salle to the King. But we suspect that he is dead, be- cause he does not return along with them." — La Houtans Voyages, vol. l,p.87. Survivors of La Salle's Texan Colony. 187 needed clothing and other necessaries, and then went down the St. Lawrence to Quebec, whither they arrived the 29th of July. Taking: passage on the 20th of August for Old France, they arrived in safety at Rochelle on the 9th of Oc- tober, 1688, and thence proceeded to Rouen. The wander- ers had been absent from home something over four years, and during that period had performed one of the most ad- venturous and remarkable journeys on record. It was not until their return to France, that the gloomy secret of La Salle's trao:ic death was disclosed. When it was told to Louis XIV., he gave orders for the arrest of all persons concerned in the murder who might appear in New France, but no one was ever arrested. M. Joutel luul hoped that a voyaX ship-of-the-line would be sent out for the rescue of the surviving colonists on the coast of Texas; yet this was not done. Being occupied with other and, to him, weightier matters, the king left the miserable little band to their fate. In fact, it was probably too late then to have saved them from destruction. The priest, Jean Cavelier, made a written report of La Salle's expedition to Seignelay, the Minister of Marine and Colonies, and also wrote a jouriuil of the sea- voyage to the Gulf, which is in print, but was not brought down to the time of his bro*-her's death. It is stated that he afterward inherited a large estate from a relative in France, :uid " died rich and very old." Apart from his natural prudence and self-command, he had most of the defects without any of the redeeming and ennobling traits of La Salle ; and the cor- respondence of the latter shows that he entertained but little aft'ection for this elder brother, who was •' always in- terfering with or crossing his plans." "Joutel," writes Parkman, " must have been a young man at the time of the Mississippi expedition, for Charle- voix saw him at Rouen thirty-+ive years after. He speaks of him in terms of emphatic praise ; but it must be admit- ted that his connivance in the deception practiced upon Tonty leaves a shade on his character, as well as on that of Douay." Joutel's Historical Jouriud of that expedition did not appear in print until the year 1713. As he was only 188 2'onty Attempts to Succor the Texan Colony an ordinary scholar, it is fair to presume that he had the ussistajice of a competent scribe in prejiaiing his work for publication. Its generyl accuracy and impartuility are unquestioned, though in the matter of dates it is perhaps inferior toDouay's I^arrative. It contains the beat descrip- tion extant of the country of Texas at that early day. We now return to M. de Tonty. In September, 1688, he was visited at his fort in the Illinois by M. Couture,* and two Indians from the Arkansas, who danced the cal- umet. It was then, for the tirst time, we are told, that he learned with sorrow and indignation of t!ie lamentable fate of his chief, and of the deceit that had bee.i practiced upon him by the elder Cavelier and i)arty. The opinion of this Fidus Achates of M. de la Salle is epitomized in his observation, that " he was one of the greatest men of the age." The leader whom he had so long followed was, in- deed, beyond any human aid ; but the still surviving colo- nists, languishing on the distant shores of the Glulf, might yet be saved from extermination. lie tlierofore resolved upon ai-. expedition for their relief, and furthenucre, if it were found practicable, to make them the nucleus of i war party to cross the Rio del Xorte into Mexico. Tonty'b means or resources were utterly ina(le([uate to the accom- plishment of so bold and ditdcult an undertaking ; never- theless, he made the attem])t. After some little preparation, this imjjulsive and chiv- alrous man set off from his fortified roi'k early in J)e- ceud)er of that year (l<)88),t in a large canoe, with five Frenchmen, two Jnoian slaves, and a Shawnee hunter. Passing down the Illinois and the Mississippi to the mouth of Rod River, and thence up the latter stretim, he reached the Natchitoches on the 17th of tiie ensuing February, and the Cadoda«|nis on the 28th of Maivh. The Ca(l()da(iuiH were allied with the Nachitoclies and the Nassoui. All * Couture whh a nativi* uf Uouen, and a cari)enU'r by trade. t Parkman'H " La SulUi and the (ireat West," p. 4;}}>. Tonty'K own Memoir t avH that he Het out on tliis journey in Octo- ber, 1UH(»; hut HH he i)rol)idtly wrote from reeolleotiun, hiw dutoH can not alwuyb bo reliea ..pon. Survivors of La Salle's Texan Colony. 189 three of these nations chvelt in the Red River Valley, and all sDoke Hubstantiallv the same lanffup gre. Upon his arrival at the Cad()da([ins village, Tonty was told that ITiens and his French confederates were at a village of the Naona- diches, some eighty leagnes to the south-west. J^ut vs'hen he was prepariiig to go there, all of his men refused to fol- low him, excepiing one Frenchman and tlie Shawnee In- diitU. Not being able to compel the attendance of the others, he set forward on the 6th of April, with the two men who were faithful, and five native guides. A few days afterward, in crossing a stream, his French companion lost his lug containing tlic most of their powder. But, un- deterred by this accident he pressed on to the Naouadiche village, lying east of the Cenis, where the criminals were saiil to be. Arrived thither on the 23d, he found no traces of Hiens and his associates. When he inquired for them of the head men of the village, they told him different stories, and when he charged them with having killed the Frenchmen, the women began to cry, from which he in- ferred that his diarge was true. These villagers refused Tonty "-nides to further continue his journey, although, as he tells us, it was only three days' travel from thence to where La Salle had been murdered. Owing, therefore, to his lack of guides, and the shortness of his ammunition, he was obliged to relinquisii his purpose of eiuleavoring to reach the fort on Matisgorda Bay. While at this Texan village, he seems to have heard rumors in regi?rd to the breaking up and destruction of the French colony on the coast by the Indians. In retracing their windii'.g track, Tonty and his com- panions found the country tloodi'd by the heavy vernal rains, and experienced incr 'diblc hardshiits in threading the Red River wilderness. Thev had to construct a raft and paddle through the water, sleep on logs laid one upon an other, build ilres on the trunks of trees, and subsist on a little bear and dog meat. lie says, in his memoir, that he never suffered so much in his life as during this journey back to ft.'e Mississippi, which was reached on the 11th of July. Muicing Viis way tiience to the village of the CV)roa8, 190 Spanish Expedition to Fort Si. Louis. Tonty stayed there several days to recuperate, after which he went up to his post on the Arkansas. Here lie fell sick of a fever, brought on by exposure, which detained him till the 11th of August. He then resumed his river voyage homeward, and arrived at Fort St. Louis, of the Illinois, late in September, 1689. Ten months were consumed in this extraordinary journey, which was one of the longest and hardest he ever made. This unavailing attempt was the last that was made to rescue the unhappy colonists from the savage immensity which shut them out from home and civilization. Their final extirpation by the Texa."" Indians was subsequently leaiaed from the Spaniards in Mexico. By priority of dis- cover}' and occu])ation, Spain claimed all the country sur- rounding the Mexican Gulf, and the viceroys of Mexico had been active and energetic in enforcing this claim. The capture of one of La Salle's vessels off the coast of St. Domingo had first made known his designs to the Spanish authorities, and during the succeeding throe years as many as four expeditions were sent out from Vera Cruz to find and destroy his colony. They scoured the entire coast, and even found the wrecks of his vessels, but owing to the secluded, inland position of the French fort, it had eluded their search. The Spaniards therefore rested for a time in the belief that the intruders upon their territory had perished, when fresh advices from the frontier prov- ince of New Leon caused the viceroy to order a renewal of the search. Accordingly, in January, 1(189, Don Alonzo vie Leon started with a strong body of horsemen from a military post in the province of Quagila (Coahuila), and marched northward over the barren mountains until he came to the Spanish-Mexican town of Calhuila. He then turned to his right, and, crossing the Kio Bravo del Norte,- entered the territory of the Bahamos Indians. Guided thence by a Fr<' oh prisoner (supposed to have been a deserter from La ^ ille), he traversed the country to the north-east, crossing in turn the Nueces, the San Antonia, and the Guadalupe, and at length reached the Bay of St. Bernard, Survivors of La Salle's Texan Colony. 191 called by the Spaniards Espiritu Santo.* Arrived at the French fort of St. Louis on the 22d of April, the Spanish leader and his cavalcade proceeded to reconnoiter the place. They found the dead bodies of several of the colo- nists, who had been killed by blows or pierced by arrows ; also a lot of old French books (mostly religious works) scattered aroiind, and a number of iron cannon mounted upon navy gun carriages; but no living thing was there, and no explanation of the mystery was obtainable from the stolid savages dwelling on the shores of the bay. After an interval of several days, however, there ari'ived at the Spanish camp two strangers, whose faces were painted, and who were otherwise attired as Indians. They were James GroUet and Jean L' Archeveque, the latter having been one of the principal accomplices in the mur- der of La Salle. Finding life insupportable among the savages, these two Frenchmen had come, under pledges of good treatment, to surrender themselves to the Spanish commander. From them was obtained al)out all that is definitely known in regard to the melanciioly end of the occupants of the fort. The neighboring Indians, as we have seen, had been from the first on ill terms with the French' colonists; and it appears that some three months before a band of the savages had stealthily approached the fort, the inmates of which had been sufi^'ering from the small-pox, to take them by surprise. Fearing treachery, the French refused their visitors admittance, but received them at a house without the palisade, where the savages made a pretense of trade. Suddenly, at a preconcerted signal, the hirger part of this band of warriors, who had been in hiding un- der the river bank, rushed from their cover, entered the gate, and massacred nearly all of the French inmates. L'Archeveque and Grollet stated that they, vith some others of their comitanions, came hither from the Cenis villages and buried fourteen corpesof the slain. The four • See manuBcript map of the route of the SpaniardH in Margry'H Collection. 192 Final Destruction of the Colony. children of a Canadian named Talon, together with an Italian and a young Frenchman named Eustache de Bre- men, were saved by some Indian women who had been domesticated at the fort, and who hurried them away, carrying the children on their backs. These young cap- tives were all soon after surrendered to the Spaniards. Conspicuous among those who are believed to have thus perisiied under the war clubs and scalping-knives of the vengeful savages were the two friars, Maxime le Clereq and Zenobe Membre. And here it may be as well to col- late the known facts in the adventurous life of the latter, who died at about the ago of forty-four. Agreeably to a statement of Hennepin, Membre was born at Bapaume, a small fortified town in the south part of Artois, France, about 1645. His name of Zenobius was probably assumed on entering the Recollet convent in Artois. He appears to have been a cousin of Father Chretien le Clereq, who published an abridgment of his letters and journals in L'' EtahUsseineyit de la Foi. With this cousin, he was first sent out to Cjinada as a missionary in the year 1675. In 1682, after returning from the memorable expedition down the Mississippi, he was sent by La Salle to lay the result of that expedition before the government of France. Having fulfilled his mission at court, he went to Bajtaume, and there held the position of Warden to the Kecollets until 1684, when, at La Salle's request, he was appointed superior of the Hecollet missionaries who were to accom- pany his expedition by sea to the Mississip})!. After the stranding of the "Aimable" at the entrance to Matagorda Bay, he came near being drowned while passing that ves- sel in a boat, which was driven by the force of the waves against the wreck and dashed to pieces. In January, 1687, when La Salle fitially left Fort St. Louis of Texas, Membre was intending, as soon as [lossible, with the aid of Father Maxime le Clereq, to establish a mission among the friendly Cenis Lidians; but this project was never carried out. Father Membre was not a man of superior parts or learning. His letters and journals are often involved and What Became of Heins and Others. 193 obscure, yet they bear intrinsic marks of fidelity, and show him to have been a less prejudiced observer of men and things than some of his clerical companions. Neither his natal year, nor the month nor day of his martyrdom, is defi- nitely determined ; but, surely, this amiable man and de- voted missionary merited a better and happier destiny. "L'Archeveque and Grollet were sent to Spain, where, in spite of the pledge given them, they were thrown into prison, with the intention of sending them back (to Mex- ico) to work in the mines. The Italian was imprisoned at Vera Cruz, The fate of Bremen is unknown. Pierre and Jean Baptiste Talon, who were now old enough to bear arms, were enrolled in the Spanish navy, and being capt- ured in 1696 by a French ship of war, regained their liberty; while their younger brother and sister were carried by the viceroy to Spain. \s :h respect to the ruflian companions of Heins, the conviction of Tonty that they had been put to death by the Indians may have been correct ; but the buccaneer himself is said to have been killed by liuter, the white savage. And thus, in ignominy and darkness, ex- pired the last embers of the doomed colony of La Salle."* Here ends the wild, lurid, and most tragical story of the first Gallic explorers and colonists of Texas ; a story which exemplifies the familiar adage that truth is often stranger than fiction. Such was the disnuil fate of others of the earlier European settlements in America, until the colonists became sufliciently numerous and powerful to cope with tlie ravages of disease and the hostility of the savages. 111 * Parkuian's " La Salle and the Great West," p. 445. 18 ■M 194 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. CHAPTER X. 168i>-1712. 'LLINOIS AS A DEPENDENCY OF CANADA. After La Salle's ineffectual attempt to plant a colony in the delta district of the Mississippi, it was over twelve years before the government of France essayed another experiment in that quarter. Busily engaged in a great war with William of Orange and the German princes for European supremacy, the French monarch had neither the time nor the inclination to indulge in projects of distant and expensive colonization. During this long interval there was but little immigration into the Mississippi Valley, nor were any steps taken by kingly authority for the gov- ernment of the newly-acquired territory. Meantime, how- ever, the Jesuit missionaries and fur-traders from Canada were both active and enterprising ; the one in disseminat- ing the Catholic faith among the aborigines, and the other in bartering cheap goods and "fire-water" for their furs and pelts. Fort St. Louis continued for some years to be the seat of French power in the Illinois, with Henri de Tonty as commandant and governor, whose authority extended about as far in every direction as his French -Italian imagination chose to stretch it. In 1(300, or 1(391, the company of Foot, in which he had held the rank of captain since 1684, l)iit without receiving any regular pay, was ordered to be dis- banded. Being thus thrown out of employment in the lino of his profession, he made a trip down tlie lakes to Quebec, and there j)rcpared and forwarded to the French Minister, Count de Pontehartrain, a petition setting forth his mili- tary and other service to his king and country, and praying that a new command might be assigned to him. The truth of Tonty's statements was certified to by the then aged Decline of Fort St. Louis. 195 Count Frontenac, who had been reinstated in the governor- ship of Canada in 1689, and who remained in office until his death at Quebec. In answer apparently to this peti- tion, the proprietorship of Fort St. Louis of t^e Illinois was granted to Tonty, conjointly with La Forrest, another former lieutenant of La Salle. Here they carried on for some years a limited trade in furs with the Indians. In 1699 a royal deci'ee was issued against the coureurs des boiSy who had long lieen a source of disquietude to the Canadian government ; l)ut an express provision was made in the decree in favor of Messrs. Tonty and Forrest, who were em- powered to send up the country, annually, two canoes laden with goods, with twelve men, for the maintenance of the fort. Again, in 1702, a provincial order was made to the effect that La Forrest should henceforth reside in Canada, and Tonty on the Mississippi, and the establishment on the Illinois was aiscontinued. Some two years prior to this, however, as the sequel will more fully disclose, Tonty joined D'Iberville's colony in Lower Louisiana. He thus finally })assed from the country of the Illinois, where he had been a conspicuous and honorable figure for twenty'years, and had a(rhieved for himself a name which will outlast the ef- facing fingers of time. The decline of Fort St. Louis was partly due to the dispersion of the surrounding native tribes, but chietiy, perhaps, to a change in the main route of French travel and transit from the great lakes to the Mississippi ; the voy- afjcuvs and fur-traders having found the portage shorter and less difficult by way of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, than the Illinois. In 1718, the fort was temi)orarily re- occupied by some French traders, but, three years later, it was again deserted ; and when Charlevoix passed by the Rock in 1721, he saw only the remains of its palisade and rude buildings. The founding of Kaskaskia has been variously ascribed to members of La Salle's jnirty, on returning from their exploring expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682; to Father Jacques (Jvavier about 1(585; to Henri de Tonty in 1686, and to .j;,liers still, explorers or mission- 196 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. aries, at different dates, in the last quarter of the seven- teenth century. But the Kiiskaskia of our time is not so old as was formerly supposed. The original site of this Indian settlement has heen identified with that of the trihe of the same name, first found on the banks of the Illinois River, at or near the wide bot- tom lying immediately to the south of the modern town of Utica, in La Salle county. It will be remembered that when Father Marquette and his companions returned from their voyage of discovery down the Mississippi (in 1673), they stopped at .a village of the Kaskaskias,* on the Up- per Illinois, which then comprised seventy-four lodges. Being very hospitably entertained by the villagers, the good priest, at their request, returned thither in April, 1675, and began a mission among them called " The Im- maculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin." After the departure and death of Marquette, as already related, Father Claude AUouez was appointed to succeed him by the superior general of the Jesuits at Quebec. , Fathei" Allouez came to America from Toulouse, France, in July, 1658, and had been actively and zealously employed, with other priests, in planting Jesuit missions among the Indians of the upper lake region. Having es- tablished the mission on Green Bay, in 1669, he was as- signed to its charge, including the neighboring tribes. During October, 1676, he set out from that station, with a few French attendants, on a voyage to his new mission at the Illinois, and on the way skirted the western and southern shores of Lake Michigan. In his narrative of this roundabout voyage (printed in Shea's "Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi"), the Father says: " In spite of all our efforts to hasten on, it was the 27th of April (1677), before I could reach Kachkachkia, a large Illinois town. I immediately entered the cabin where Father Marquette had lodged, and the sachems, with * On Thevenot's reproduction of Father Marquette's map, the name of this tribe is printed Cachouachouia, but on his original map, as pre- served at St. Mary's College, Montreal, it is written Kachkaskia. The Jesuit Mission at the Illinois. 197 all the people, being aHsembled, I toUl them the object of my coming among them, namely, to preach the true, living and inmiortal God, and his son Jesus C'hrist. They listened very attentively to my whole discourse, and thanked me for the trouble I took for their salvation. "I found this village much increased since last year (meaning probably 1675). It was before composed of only one nation, the Kachkachkia. There are now eight ; the first having called the others, who dwelt in the neighbor- hood of the Mississippi. You can (readily) form an idea of the number of Indians who comiK)se this town ; they are lodged in three hundred and tift3'-one cabins, easily counted. They are i.ostly ranged on the banks of the river. The place which they have selected for their abode is situate at 40° 42' ; it has on one side a prairie of vast ex- tent, and on the other an expanse of marsh, which makes the air unhealthy, and often loaded with mists ; this causes nmch sickness and frequent thunder. They, however, like this post, because from it they can easily discern their enemies." This description corresponds in the main with that of Father Hennepin,* who says that the village was "situated at forty degrees of latitude, in a somewhat marshy plain, on the right bank of the river," which was "as broad as the Seine before Paris." But some allowance must be made for the old latitude, which was too low, and, with the French explorers, was never more than approximately cor- rect. That this Illinois village stood in the vicinity of bluffs or high ground is evidenced by the remark of Al- * The population of this great village liad still funher increased in 1680, when Hennepin computed the number of lodges at four hundred and sixty, with several tires to each lodge. The RecoUet Father Membre, writing in the same year, fixes the number of cabins at between four and Ave hundred, and estimates the entire Indian population at from seven to (;ight thousand. This large estimate probably indutled the " Cascaskias," whose village he locates south-west of the " bottom of Lake Dauphin (Michigan), at about latitude 41° north." In Margry's publication (vol. 11., pp. 128, 175), as cited by Hhea, we are also told that the village of the Kaskaskia proper, was two leagues below the mouth of the Peste- gouki, or Fox (of Illinois), and six leagues below the confluence of the Checagou (Des Plaines) and Teakiki, and that both it and the great vil- age were destroyed by the Iroquois. . 198 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. louez, that, " from it they could easily; discern their ene- mies." In his journal, just quoted. Father AUouez relates that he relaid the foundation of the Illinois mission by the baptism of thirty-five children, and a sick adult, who soon after died. He further states that on the 3d of May, 1677, the anniversary of the Feast of the Holy Cross, he erected in the village a cross twenty-five feet high, and chanted the Vexilla in the presence of " a great number of the Illinois of all tribes." In 1679 he revisited this mission, and re- mained until the approach of La Salle's expedition of that year, when he withdrew to the north. In 1684 he again repaired to the Illinois, accompanied by M. Durantaye, who then commanded at Mackinac. He was there sick in 1687, when the Cavelier-Joutel party reached Fort St. Louis from Texas, but left shortly after, on hearing that La Salle was still alive. Although chiefly a missionary to the Miamis, AUouez still clung -to his Illinois mission, which he probably visited once more in 1689. He died at Fort Miami, in 1690. He is described as the ablest of all the Jesuit Fathers sent to the Illinois. A man of cold yet persevering temper, he seems to have ruled his extensive charge principally by the sheer force of intellect. The immediate successor of Father AUouez, in the Illinois mission, was Sebastian Rasles,* who embarked in a canoe at Quebec in August, 1691, and completed his lengthened voyage in the spring of 1692. After laboring with the Illinois for a year or more, he was recalled to his original charge among the Abenakis on the Kennebec, in Maine. Here, after long years of laborious service, he was barbarously slain by a party of Kew England soldiers in August, 1724. Father Jacques Gravier, who had visited the Illinois mission as early as 1687, received it from Father Rasles. With the permission of Captain de Tonty, he erected a chapel within the palisade of Fort St. Louis, which over- looked the Indian village across the river. His relation of * Otherwise written Sebastien Rasle, or Ral^. The Jesuit Mission at the Illinois. 199 occurrences at the " Mission of the Immaculate Conception " of the Illinois, from March 20, 1693, to February 15, 1694, presents an interesting view of his toils and trials with these Indians. He remained in general charge of the mis- sion until 1697, when he was recalled to his former station at Mackinac. In 1700, he made a canoe voyage, by way of the Illinois and Mississippi, to the French establishment at Biloxi. Remaining there some time, he returned to the Illinois and resumed his labors among the Peorias. Here, in an assault upon him, instigated by the medicine-men of the tribe, he received a serious wound, from the effects of which he subsequently died at the Mobile, about the year 1708. Father Gravier was among the first of the Jesuit mis- sionaries to investigate the principles of the Illinois lan- guage, and to reduce them to grammatical rules. He was an earnest, able, and faithful missionary priest. Gravier was succeeded in 1697 by the Fathers Julian Binneteau and Jacques (or Francois) Pinet, the latter of whom went to labor among the Tamaroas. Of Binneteau it is recorded b}' Bancroft, that, having followed the Illinois in one of their annual hunts on the prairies bordering the Mississippi, he was there seized with a mortal fever, ' and his bones were left to bleach on the wilderness range of the buffalo." His death occurred in December, 1699. In 1698, came Gabriel Marest, or Maret, who, four years before, had accompanied D'Iberville on a voyage to Hudson's Bay, and had chanted aves to the benighted Es- quimaux on its frozen shores. Father Marest was espec- ially associated with the Kaskaskias, whose language he easily mastered, and in which he compiled a catechism. It was under his immediate guidance, in the year 1700, that the mission to the Kaskaskias was removed from the Illi- nois River to the Mississippi. The subjoined account of the transfer and migration of the tribe is extracted from an exhaustive article upon the subject by Hon. E. G. Mason, of Chicago, printed in the " Magazine of American His- tory," for March, 1881 (Vol. VI): "But the evidence," says Mr. Mason, "that this mia- 200 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. sion remained upon the Illinoip River until the year 1700, and that there was no settlement hefore that time upon the site of the Kaskaskia we now know, appears to be well nigh conclusive. A letter written to the Bishop of Quebec by John Francis Buisson de St. Cosme, a missionary priest, describes the journey of his party from Michillimackinac to the mouth of the Arkansas, by the Illinois and Missis- sipj)! Rivers, in the year 1699. They stayed at the house of the Jesuit Fathers at Chicago, and set out from there about November 1st, on what one of th'^ir predecessors calls the divine * river, named by the Indians Checagou, and made the portage to the river of the Illinois. Passing the Illinois village before referred to, they learned that most of the Indians had gone to Peoria Lake to hunt. Arriving there, they met the Fathers Pinet and Marest, with their flock, of which St. Cosme gives a good account, and he speaks of their work as the Illinois mission. " The party journeyed onward under the guidance of La Salle's trusty lieutenant, Tonti. While on the Illinois River, certain Indians attempted to prevent their going to the Mississippi, and intimated that they would be killed if they did so. Tonti replied that he did not fear men ; that they had seen him meet the Iroquois, and knew that he could kill men ; and the Indians offered no further opposi- tion. They reached the Mississippi the 6th of December, 1699, and the next day reached the village of the Tamarois, who had never seen any ' black gown,' except for a few days, when the Reverend Father Gravier paid them a visit. A week later, they ascended a rock on the right, going down the river, and erected a beautiful cross, which their escort saluted with a volley of musketry, and St. Cosme prayed that God might grant that the cross, which had never been known in those regions, might triumph there. From the context of this letter, it is evident that this cere- mony took place not far below che site of the present Kas- kaskia, which St. Cosme must have passed to reach this * The term divine was applied to the river Des Plaines, which was va- riously called Checagou, Chekagou, Chicagou and Chigagou, by the early explorers. Transfer of the Kaskaskia Mission. 201 rock, but he makes no mention of such a village. Further- more, within fifteen miles or so of Kaskaskia, there is a rocky bluff on the Mississippi side of the river, then known as the Cape of the Five men, or Cap Cinq Homines. This is doubtless a corruption of the name of the good Father St. Cosme, as appears from a map made a little more than one hundred years ago, which gives both names, Cinq Homines and St. Cosme, to this very blutf. It probably is the identical one he ascended, and he could not have spoken of the cross as unknown in those regions, had there been any settlement so near the spot as the Kaskaskia we now know. Tonti, who was the leader of this party, is thought by some to have founded Kaskaskia in 1686. Nobler founder could no town have had than this faithful and fear- less soldier, but the facts just narrated make such a theory impossible. "Again in the early part of the year 1700, a bold voy- ager, Le Sueur (on his way to the copper mines in the Sioux country), whose journal is in print, pushed up the Missis- sippi from its mouth, where D'Iberville had just planted the banner of France, and passed the site of Kaskaskia without notice of £uch a place. He speaks of the village of the Tam- arois, where by this time, St. Cosme had taken up his abode on his return from the south.* About July 15th, going northward, Le Sueur arrived at the mouth of the Illinois, and there met three Canadian voyagcurs coming to join his party, and received by them a letter from the Jesuit Marest, *It is doubtful if Father St. Cosme ever returned from the South as above stated, unless for a brief season. He was born in France about the year 1658, and ordained a Jesuit priest in l(i83. We next find him engaged as a missionary in Canada, from whence, in the autumn of 1699, he was sent to establish a mission a-nong the Natchez Indians on the Lower Mississippi. Arrived thither, he soon gained the confidence of the Sun Chief and the esteem of his nation, but did not succeed very well in converting those sun-worshipers to the Roman Catholic faith. In 1707, being obliged to make a journey to Mobile, St. Cosme embarked in a canoe with three other Frenchmen, and while sailing down the river, they were set upon and killed by a band of the Chetimacha In- dians. The Natchez, it is said, avenged his death by the slaughter of a great part of the offending tribe. — See Appleton's Encyclo. of Amer. Biog., vol. 5, p. 3G9. * A • . 202 Illinois as a Dependence of Canada. dated July 10, 1700, at the * Mission of the Immaculate Con- ception of the Blessed Virgin at tho Illinois.' The letter of St. Cosme and the journal of Le Sueur seem to show clearly enough that down to the middle of the year 1700, the pres- ent Kaskaskia had not been settled, and that the mission was still on the Illinois River. "And, lastly, we have the journal of the vo^'age of Father James Gravier, in 1700,* i'vorw the country of the Illinois to the mouth of the Mississippi ; from which we learn that he returned from Michilimackinac, and set ou' from Chicago on the 8th of September, 1700. He says he arrived too late at the Illinois, of whom Father Marest had charge, to prevent tlie transmigration of the village of the Kaskaskias, which was too precipitately made, on vague news of the establishment on the Mississippi, evidently re- ferring to the landing of D'Iberville the year before. lie did not believe that the Kaskaskias, whom Marest accom- panied, would have separated from the Pcorias and other Illinois, had he arrived sooner, and he obtained a promise from the Peoi-ias to await his return from the Mississippi. After having nuirched four days with the Kaskaskias, Gra- vier went forward with Marest, whom he left sick at the Tamarois village, and departed from there October 9, 1700, to go to the lower part of the Mississippi, accompanied only by some Frenchmen. The Indians, with Marest, we may presume, halted between the Kaskaskia and Missis- sippi Rivers, where we soon after find them ; and tliuB doubtless was accomplished the transfer of the mission to its final location. The eagerness of the Illinois tribes to be in closer communication with the French was probably in- tensified by their desire to escape any furtiu'r assaults from their dreaded enemies, and to rear their wigwams where they would never hear the war-cry of the Ii'oquois. Both motives would operate more powerfully wit.i the Kaskas- kias than with any others, because they had been longer * Retatior}, <m Journal dn Voyage dn li. P. Jacques Graner, de la Com- pagide de Jfm», m 1700, depm» k ptiys de Jllinois jiu^tpr a. />' entbottchure des Misgis»ippi, p. 08. CramoiBy ISerioB of lielations, N. Y., 1859. Transfer of the Kaskaskia Mission. 203 under the influence of the French, and because, in their old location, they were the first to receive the onslaughts of the relentless foernen of the Illinois. Hence they set out to go to the Lower Mississippi, but Gravier's influence, and per- haps Marest's ilhiess as well, led them to pause at the first suitable resting-place. And when we consider tliat, a few years later, this same Marest, who accompanied these In- dians on their migration, was stationed at the present Kas- kaskia, in charge of the Mission of the Immaculate Con- ception, as appears from his letters ; that he died and was buried there, as is shown by the parish records, and that we hear nothing further of a mission of this name on the Illinois River, we may reasonably conclude that the Kas- kaskia of our time sliould date its origin from the fall of the year 1700, and should honor James Gravier and Gabriel Marest as its founders." Shortly after the transfer of the mission had been ef- fected, the site of the new settlement was fixed on the right bank of the Kaskaskia or Okaw River, six miles above its confluence with the Missis.^ippi, and nearly two miles east of the latter river. It is not improbable that an Indian settlement had previously existed here, though this is a matter of conj<K'ture. The village was christened by the missionaries "Z/f Village (V TmmacaUc Conception dc Cas- vasqiiias ;^' but no regularity of design was observed by its founders, nor was any attempt made to profit by the natural advantages of its position. At that pristine period, the scenery about Kaskaskia was well calculated to attract and please the eye of such of the French missionaries as had a taste for the beautiful in nature. " The velvet verdure of the plain, the glassy sur- face of the idle river, the lofty hill* (on the east), with its stately forest, the air scented with the fragrance oi' its wild flowers, the little springs gushing from its side in sparkling beauty, all rej»osing in the sleep of nature, with their virgin * The rivor at Kaskiiskia was tliree hundrtnl ami lifty feet wide, and the bluffs opposite the tawu ripe to the height of about two hundred foet. TSSSS^mmm 204 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. freshness upon them, — there was a landscape to charm her most capricious lover." * For the first few years of her existence, Kaskaskia is little noticed in contemporaneous records, except as a mis- sion station. The earl}'^ history of the place is mostly drawn from the parish records, and the letters and journals of tlie missionary priests. Some of these records are in the cus- tody of the priest of the parish, and others are in the keep- ing of the bishop of the diocese. The oldest record of the church at Kaskaskia is the " Register of Baptisms of the Mission of the Illinois, of the title of the Immaculate Con- ception of the Blessed Virgin." The first entrv in it, ac- cord'ng to Breese, bears date March 20, 1695. Retaining the French spelling of the names, it reads as follows : " In the year 1695, March 20th, I, Jacques Gravier, of the Society of Jesus, baptized Pierre Aco, newly-born of P. Michael Aco. Godfather was De JIautchy, godmother Maria Aramipinchicoue ; Maria Joanna, grandmother of the child."! This entry is claimed to be a copy of the original rec- ord, which was made before the removal of the mission from the Upper Illinois River. The register was continued until June 1719, when the mission of Kaskaskia was changed into a parish. A new baptismal register was then opened, which bears this French title : " Heglstre des Bap- tems fails dans UEglisse de la Mission et Parois^^e de la Con- ception de Notre Dame, commence le 18 Jain, 1719." Marriage and burial registers were likewise kept from quite an early date, and were continued down, with varying regularity, until toward the middle of the ])resont century. On these venerable records appear the signatures of many men of note and ii.fluence in the early French history of Illinois. , In 1707, Father Marest was joined at Kaskaskia l)y *Br(H>8(''H F':nrly lliHt. of III., p. 15.']. t It is aflirnu'd that Miclmel Aco's wifo was the (lauj?liter of a Kas- kankia ol»ief, and that he was the identioal Ako, or Accault, who accom- panied Kriar Ihunu'pin in his voyage of exi)lon\tiou up tiie Mississippi iu l'>80. Early History of the Present Kaskaskia. 205 Father Jean Mermet, who had previously attempted a mis- siou among the Mascoutiiis and others on the Lower Ohio, and liad also labored at the great village of the Illinois. Mr. Bancroft, in the third volume of his History of the [Jnited States, gives us the following distinct picture of Father Mermet's labors and success at Kaskaskia : " The gentle virtues and fervid eloquence of Mermet made him the soul of the mission of Kaskaskia. At early dawn his pupils came to church, dressed neatly and mod- estly, each in a deerskin, or a robe sewn together from sev- eral skins. After receiving lessons, they chanted canticles; mass was then said in presence of all the Christians, the French, and the converts, the women on tlie one side and the men on the other. From prayers and instructions, the missionaries proceeded to visit the sick and administer med- icine, and their skill as physicians did more than all the rest to win contidence. Iii the afternoon the catechism was taught in the presence of the young and the old, v/hen every one, without distinction of rank or age, answered the ques tions of the missionary. At evening all would assemble at the chapel for instruction, for prayer, and to chant the hymns of the church. On Sundays and festivals, even after vespers, a homily was pronounced ; at the close of the day parties would meet in houses to recite the chaplets in alter- nate choirs, and sing psalms until late at night. These psalms were often homilies, with words set to familiar tunes. Saturday and Sunday were the days appointed for confession and communion, and every convert confessed once in a fortnight."* This description by Bancroft is chiefly drawn fnnn a narrative letterwritten by Father Marest to Father (iermon, dated November 9, 1712, and ]>ublished in the Lettrcs Edifi- aiitcs, at Paris. In the course of that lettei-, Marest remarks : "The Illinois are much less barbarous than the other Indians. Christianity and their intercourse with tlie Frencii Inive somewhat civilized them. ... It would be ditticult to * Fnthor Mei-nu't continued to labor at the KankaHkia miesion unti! liiH death in 17 IK. 206 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. say what is their religion. It consists entirely in some superstitions with which their credulity is amused." These missionary priests were truly a heroic and self- devoted class of men. Of their hard and trying manner of life, the same father gives us some glimpses in his printed correspondence. On Good Friday, in the year 1711, he set out on a trip across the country to the Peorias, who wanted a new mission opened among them. Concerning this journey on foot through the wilderness, he thus vividly writes : " I departed, having nothing about me but my crucifix and breviary, and being accompanied bv only two savages, who might abandon me from levity, or might fly through fear of enemies. The terror of these vast, uninhabited regions, in which for twelve days not a single soul was seen, almost took away my courage. This was a journey wherein there was no village, no bridge, no ferry-boat, no house, no beaten path, and over boundless priiiries, inter- sected by rivulets and rivers, through forests and thickets filled with briars and thorns, through marshes in which we sometimes plunged to the girdle. At night repose was sought on the grass or leaves, exposed to the winds and rains, happy if by the side of some rivulet, whose waters might quench our thirst. Meals were prepared from such game as might be killed on the way, or by roasting ears of corn." Father Marest was longer in missionary service with the Illinois Indians than any of his })redecessors. lie died, it is said, near Peoria, September 17, 1715. It has been a mooted cpiestion among Illinois antiiiua- rians as to which is the more ancient of the two villages, Kaskiiskia or Cahokia. Pittman, in his account of the Frencii Settlements, says that Cahokia "was the first settle- ment on the Mississippi;" and in the "Annals of the West" it is stated that "Cahokia appears to liave been a trading post and missionary station earlier than Kaskaskia." These statements are su})ported by the weight of probability, though the ditterence in age between the two can hardly exceed one year. According to Bnuise's History, the Jesuit Fathers Pinot and Hinneteau established the mission at Founding of Cahokia. 207 Cahokia, and christened the little community which grew up around it by the name of aS^^. Famille de Caoquias. It is doubtful, however, if Father Binneteau ever labored at this mission. " The credit of establishing the mission of Cahokia, at first called Tamaroa, belongs to Rev. Jacques Pinet, but at what date has been a matter of dispute. Up to the time of St. Cosme's visit to the Tamaroas in 1699, it appears that no 'black gown ' had been seen there, except Father Gravier for a few days. The following year, however, when Le Sueur had reached this village (where he remained seven- teen days), he found three French missionaries, viz.: Rev. J. Bergier, and Fathers Pinet and Joseph de Limogerj, and also a number of Canadian traders, who were purchasing furs and skins. In October of the same year (1700), Father Gravier mentions the fact in his journal that, on his way down the Mississippi, he stopped at the village of the Tam- aroas, and found Father Pinet there, ' peaceably discharg- ing tiie functions of a missionary, and Rev. M. Bergier, also,' who had care only of the French. Father Bergier remained at Cahokia until his death, July 16, 1710." * Father Pinet met with unusual success in his mission at Cahokia, and soon found his chapel too small to accom- modate the crowds that resorted thither to tlie mass. The Indians under his spiritual charge were the Tamaroas and Cahokias, the latter being an allied tribe or branch of the former. The imposing rites of the Roman Church were well calculated to awe the senses of these ignorant and superstitious savages, but the religious imi)ression8 made upon their minds were feeble and transient, and when away from the influence and guidance of the priests, they were prone to relapse into the excesses of barbarism. When the village of Cahokia was originally e8tal)li8hed (say in 1699), it stood upon the immediate bank of the Mississippi; but in the course of a few years the river * " Illinois, Historical tuid StatiBtical." By John Mohcs, Chicago, 1889, Vol. I., p. 86. mm 208 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. shifted its bed to the west, so as to leave the village some distance inland. It long remained a place of considerable importance for trade, though there was never any thing attractive in its situation or environs. At present it is a straggling, decayed, and antiquated little village, seated on a sandy ridge in the American Bott(mi, opposite Caron do- let, and about one mile east from the Mississippi River. Besides Kaskaskia and Cahokia, other French villages afterward sprang up in that vicinity, which will be noticed hereafter. Other and branch missions were also established among the Illinois Indians by the zeal and enterprise of the Jesuit clergy, who, prior to the introduction of any form of civil government in the country, officiated in the double capacity of spiritual directors and temporal rulers of the people. Although anticipating somewhat the chronological or- der of events in our history, we make space here for the following extracts from Father Charlevoix' interesting and instructive description of the Illinois country, through which he traveled with an armed escort in the autumn of 1721. Of Peoria, then still an Indian village, he says: " The two following days, we traveled a charmin" country ; and the 3d of October, about noon, we found our- selves at the entrance of Lake Pimiteouy. It is the river which grows wider here, and which for three leagues is one league in breadth. At the end of these three leagues, we find on the right a second village of the Illinois, distant about fifteen leagues from tliat at the Rock.* Nothing can be more pleasant than the situation ; it has over against it, as in perspective, a very fine forest, which was then of all colors, and beliind it a plain of immense extent, bordered with woods. The lake and tlie river swarm with fish, and their sides with wild fowl. I met also in this village four French-Canadians, who informed me that I was between four parties of enemies, and that it was unsafe for me either to go forward or return." * Hy the course of the river, the distance was nearer thirty thau fif- teen leagues. / . Charlevoix' Visit to the Illinois. 209 Accompanied by two of the Canadians from Peoria as guides, Charlevoix and party resunied their journey, and next stopped at Cahokia, concerning which village, and the missionaries stationed there, he thus writes : " The same day (10th of October), we went to lay in a village of the Caoquias and Tamarouas. These are two nations of the Illinois which are united, and who do not together make a very numerous village. It is situated on a little river which comes from the east, and which has no water but in the spring season ; so that we were forced to walk a good half league to the cabins. I was surprised that they had chosen such an inconvenient situation, as they might have found a much better ; but they told me that the Mississippi washed the foot of the village when it was built, and that in three years it (the river) had lost half a league of ground, and that they were thinking of looking out for another settlement. I passed the night in the house of the missionaries, who are two ecclesiastics of the Sem- inary of Quebec, formerly my disciples, but who might now be my masters. The oldest of the two (Dominique A. Thaumer) was absent. I found the youngest (Francois le ^lercier) such as he has been reported to me, severe to himself, full of charity for others, and making virtue ami- able in his own person But he has so little health, that I think he can not long support tlie way of life which they are obliged to lead in these missions." Of Kaskaskia and its environs, the same traveler writes : " I arrived next day (the 12th) at the Kaskasquias, at nine in the morning. The .Jesuits had here a very tlour- isliing mission, which has lately been divided into two, be- cause it was thought proper to form two villages of sav- ages instead of one. The most populous is on the side of the Mississippi ; two Jesuits* have the government of it in epiritual affairs. Half a league lower is Fort Chaitres, about a musket-shot from the river. M. Duquet de Bois- briant, a Canadian gentleman, commands Vicre for the Com- * Fathers Boulanger and Kereben. 14 210 Illinois as a Dependency of Canada. pany, to which the place belongs ; and all the space be- tween the two places begins to be peopled by the French. Four leagues further, and two leagues from the river, there is a large village of French, who are almost all Canadians, and have a Jesuit for their priest. The second village ot the Illinois is two leagues distant from it and farther up the country, and is under the charge of a priest. " The French here are pretty much at their ease. A Fleming, who was a servant of the Jesuits, has taught them how to sow wheat, and it thrives very well. They have some horned cattle and fowls. The Illinois cultivate the lands after their fashion, and are very laborious. They likewise breed poultry, which they sell to the French. Their women are sufficient!}^ dexterous ; they spin the buf- falo's wool, and make it as fine as that of the English sheep. Sometimes one would even take it for silk. They make stufis of it, which they dye black, yellow and dark red ; they make gowns of it, which they sew with thread made of the sinews of the roebuck. They expose these to the sun for three days, and when dry beat them, and with- out difficulty draw out threads of great fineness. "All this country is open. It consists of vast meadows (prairies) which extend for twenty-five leagues, and are separated by little groves that are all of good wood." Remaining at Kaskaskia for a month, Charlevoix re- sumed his way down the Mississippi, and reached the con- fluence of the Ohio about the 15th of November, 1721. With regard to this river (then still called the Ouabache), and the advantage of having a settlement at its mouth, his journal says : " Immediately after this reach, we passed on the left by the fine river Ouabache, by which one can go quite up to the Iroquois, when the waters are high. Its entrance into the Mississippi is a little less than a quarter of u league wide. There is no place in Louisiana more fit, in my opinion, for a settlement than this, nor where it is of more consecpience to have one." * * Vide "An Historical Journal of Travels in North America, utjder- Charlevoix' Life and Works. 211 be- nch, liere ians, je ot n the 5. A lught Tliey tiviite They rench. le l)ut'- higlish They d dark tlireiitl :liese to d with- eadows iind are roix re- blie con- ir, 1721. ibache), iutb, his the left luite up jutrauce ber of a Ire fit, hi it if< <>t' taken by order of the King of France." By Father Charlevoix (English Translation, London, 1763), pp. 284-2'Jl, and 303. Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix, an eminent Jesuit scholar, historian, and traveler, was born at St. Quentin, in the North of France, October 29, 1682. At the age of sixteen he entered the Society of Jesus, and while still a student of divinity was sent to Canada in 1705. During the succeeding four years he taught in the Jesuit College at Quebec, and afterward returned to France, where he was made a professor of bellfK-lettres in one of the Jesuit universities. In 1720 he again came to Canada, and during the next year ascended the river St. Lawrence, and the great lakes to the head of Lake Michigan, from whence he entered and traversed the Illinois country. Descending the Mississippi to New Orleans, he thence visited the French establishments at Biloxi and on the Mobile, and afterward sailed via St. Domingo to France, whither he arrived (1722) after an absence of two years. Charlevoix was author of several learned and valuable works. He first published a history of the Catholic Missions in Japan, which was followed by a history of Saint Domingo ; and in 1744 his Histoire de NouveUe France, which had been withlield for nearly twenty years, ap- peared in three large volumes. Although quoted and praised by schol- ars, no translation of it was made from the French until somewhat re- cently, when an edition in FiPglish, with copious notes, was published by Dr. John G. Shea (N. Y., 1865-72), in six volumes. About the year 1744, Charlevoix also published his Journal of Trav- els in North America, in tlie form of letters addressed to the Ducliesse de Lesdiguiere. It is averred that from this work the British Ministry first gained a correct notion of Canada and its dependencies, and of the great advantages to be derived from the possession of that country. The last literary performance of our author was his History of Para- guay, which contains a full account of the operations of the Jesuits in that southern quarter of the globe. Charlevoix died in La. Fidche, France, on February 1, 1761, at a green old age. I lea, under- 212 Settlement of Lower Louisiana. CHAPTER XL 161)8-171]. PERMANENT SETTLEMENT OF LOWER LOUISIAJ^A. By the treaty concluded at Ryswick, in 1697, Louis XIV. relinquished nearly all of his European conquests, and recognized the Prince of Orange as King of England, Temporary tranquillity being thus restored in Western Europe, Louis had some leisure to devote to his American possessions, and to the renewal of his former endeavor to establish a colony at or near the embouchure of the Mis- sissippi River. This monarch was obviously ambitious to enhance the glories of his reign by creating for France a colonial dominion on the sunny shores of the Gulf of Mexico, which might rival the flourishing English settle- ments on the Atlantic coast. Accordingly, in the begin- ning of the year 1698, he gave orders for the fitting out of a suitable expedition to colonize Louisiana. The command of this royal enterprise was entrusted to Captain d'lber- ville, a distinguished young naval officer, whose energy, tact, administrative ability, and varied experience pecu- liarly qualified him for so arduous and important an un- dertaking. Pierre le Moyne,* Sieur d'lberville, was a native of Canada, having been born in Montreal, July 16, 1661. He was, it is said, the third son of Charles le Moyne, himself a gallant soldier, and was one of eleven brothers, seven of whom died naval officers. When but a boy of fourteen, Pierre entered the French navy as a midshipman, and by meritorious service rose rapidly in his profession. In 1692 he became captain of a frigate, and, ten years later, cap- tain of a line-of-battle-ship. During this period of active *By some authors, this family name is written Lemoine. Iberville's Colonizing Expeditioji. 213 service, he acquitted liiniself not only as a brave and skill- ful naval officer, but as an effieietit agent of the French government in settling colonies in Acadia and Cape Breton Island. In 1697 he made a cruise with his ship, the Peli- can, into the misty and frigid waters of Hudson's Bay, where he engaged and sunk an English man-of-war, cap- tured her two consorts, and reduced Fort Nelson, or Fort Bourbon, as it was called by the French. Returning to France from this brilliant cruise, he sought and obtained command of the new colonizing expedition to the Missis- sippi. On the 24th of September, 1698, Captain d'Iberville set sail from Rochelle upon his distant and uncertain en- terprise, taking with him M. de Sau voile,* and his young brother, Bienville. His squadron consisted of two frigates, the Badine and Marin, of thirty guns each (the former was commanded by himself, and the latter by the Comte de Surgeres) and two smaller ships, bearing a company of marines and about two hundred colonists. A majority of the latter were ex-soldiers, who had served in the armies of France, some of whom were accompanied by their wives and children. The other colonists were made up ot artisans, laborers, and needy adventurerr,. They were all supplied with the necessary clothing, provisions and im- plements for beginning a settlement in the remote solitudes of Louisiana. Stopping at Brest to complete his outfit, the commander sailed from that port on the 24th of Octo- ber, shaping his general course to the south-west. After an auspicious passage, he dropped anchor in the haven of Cape Francois, now Cape Ilaytjen, St. Domingo, late in the following December. On arriving thither, his fleet was joined by the war ship Le Francois, of fifty guns, commanded by the Mar- quis de Chateaumorant, who had received orders to escort the expedition to its destination. Being thus reinforced, *It is doubtful if Sauvolle belonged to the Le Moyne family of brothers, though Mr. Gayarre treats him as a full brother, and tella us that he inherited a fortune from his godfather. ^ss^mmr ^jp 214 Settlement of Lower Louisiana. D'Iberville again put to sea on the Ist of January, 1699, taking the route via Cape San Antonio, at the western end of Cuba. Having doubled that cape on the 15th of Janu- ary, he steered northward over the Mexican Guif, and reached the southern shore of Florida on the 24th. An- choring his ships securely off the Island of Santa Rosa, he then proceeded to reconnoiter the Bay of Pensacola (called by the Spaniards Santa Maria de Galva), where he found two Spanish war vessels, and a small fort and garri- son. Upon sending in a boat with two officers, the Spanish commander received them politely, but refused the French permission to enter with their vessels. The Spaniards had long been in possession of East Florida, but it was not until they had learned that a French armament was fitting out for the western coast of the peninsula, that they made haste to establish this military post on Pensacola Bay. The new erection, therefore, was an obvious indication of their intention to anticipate, and, if possible, frustrate the designs of the French in these waters. Leaving Pensacola Bay and standing along the low coast to the west, D'Iberville, on the Slst of the month, cast anchor off Dauphin Island, lying on the west and near the entrance of Mobile Bay. This Island was first named by the French Isle de Massacre, from the circumstance that on its level surface was found a mound composed 'f earth and th^ bones of long dead Indians, who had fallen there in coiiibr^. with their enemies. Sailing still farther west- ward, the French commander next discovered a group of small islands, to which was given the name of Isles des Chandeleur. Anchoring his frigates near them, he went to ex-imine the channel between Cat Island and Ship Island, ruid, having landed his colonists on the latter, he caused temporary huts to be erected there for their shelter from the weather. The Marquis de Chateaumorant, having now fulfilled his mission, and finding the waters on this coast too shallow to remain long in safety with his large frigai-', sailed away on his return to St. Domingo. About the 11th of February, Iberville sent his brother Bienville, with a felucca and canoe, to the mainland, which Iberville Enters the Mouth of the Mississippi. 215 lay about four leagues to the north of his anchorage. Having entered a little bay, the exploring party discovered several piroques filled with half-naked savages, who fled with consternation at the approach of the Frenchmen. On the next day, however, the latter contrived to intercept a woman of the Indians, by whom they were enabled to open an intercourse with her tribe, which was the Bilocci, or Biloxi — a name given by the French to the bay itself. On the evening of the same day there arrived at this bay a war party of some eighty Bayagoulas, so called, who were then at war with the Indians on the Mobile. From the former it was learned, by the language of signs (for th M^e was no interpreter,) that they dwelt oft' to the south-west, on the shores of a large and deep river, called by them the Malabouchid. Having ascertained by further inquiry among the natives the probable distance and course of the un- known river, Iberville prepared to go in quest of it. Accordingly, on the 27th of February, he set oft* from Isle de Vaisseau (Ship Island) with two shallops, carrying twenty-four men each — one of which was commanded by Bienville — and took with him as a guide Father Anastase Doua}'^, who had been a companion of La Salle in hi^; last Mississippi expedition. Sailing cautiously southward along the low and marshy coast, at the end of three days the voy- agers happily discovered the outlet of the " hidden river," which it was believed no European vessel had as yet pene- trated from the sea. On the 2d of March they entered one of its principal passes, which Father Anastase* thought he recognized as the Mississippi, from its turbid and seeth- ing waters. On the 3d they began to ascend the river, and, after seven days of sailing and rowing, had attained a dis- * Father Douay, as Hennepin informs us, was a native of Quesnoy in Ilainault, and, subsequent to his return from America in 1688, had been appointed vicar of the Recollet convent at Cainbray. Remaining there until summoned to join D'Iberville's colonizing expedition, he probably returned with the latter to France in 1()9*.), since we find no further mention of him in Louisiana. We were pleased to have met with P6re Anastase once more; ; and now that he disappears from the historic page, we can only say, hail ! and farewell. 216 Settlement of Lower Louisiana. tance of forty leagues from the Gulf. Here our explorers came upon three pirogues filled with naked savages, who hastily fled at their advance. One of the natives, however, was overtaken in his flight, and by making him some trifling presents, which gained his good will, he was induced to bring V)ack his companions. They belonged to the tribe of the Bayagoulas, and readily undertook to conduct the Frenchmen to their village, further up the river, which was reached on the 14th of March. It was found to contain between four and five hundred inhabitants, and nmstered about one hundred warriors. Among the villagers were found stuffs of European fabric, said to have been given them by La Salle or Tonty. The chiefs of the BayagoulaB received their French visitors in a very civil manner, and gave to them, among other things, a few domestic fowls, which they claimed to have reared from some they had ob- tained from nations to the west of the Mississippi, near the seashore. Such fowls were not uncommon among the southern Indians at this time, tliough it seems that they were kept more as pets than for use as an article of food. They were doubtless originally l)rought to the country by the Spaniards. M. d'Iberville was still in doubt whether the river he ■was ascending was the Mississippi or not ; for lie had not as yet seen or heard of the Tangibaos, of whom La Salle had made mention. TTpon inquiry, however, it was ascer- tained that tiiis snudl tribe had been destroyed by another called the Mongoulachas, or Bayagoulas, the Quinipissas of La Salle and Tonty. Soon afterward, Bienville found iu tlie possession of one of these natives a letter wh'ch Tonty had penned to La Salle, and left in the keeping of a chief of the Quinipissas tribe, on the occasion of liis trip to tlie Gulf in tlie spring of 1686.* This opportune discovery ♦This letter of Touty's, to which we have previously nlluded, or so much of it as was published, reads as follows : " Vii.LAOK OF TirK Q iNU'iKSAs, April 20, 1085 (ItiHO). "(Sir; Havinj? found the posts on which you had set up the King's arms thrown down by driftwood, I luive [)lanted another further in, about seven U'ligueH from the sta. where I left a letter in a tree be- Iberville Explores the Lower Mississippi. 217 dissipated all doubts in the minds of Iberville and his asso- ciates as to what river they were navigating, and inspired them with fresh confidence to continue their upward voy- age. Among tlie Indians of this delta region, they also found part of an old suit of Spanish armor, which was sup- posed to have belonged to De Soto's army. On the 18th, still cautiously ascending, our voyagers passed on their right the Baton Houge, the first high bank * they had seen since entering the river. Here was established the northern limit of the hunting grounds of the Bayagoulas. Some distance above that they came to a point where the river made a long detour or circuit, and, to save time, the commander caused the trees to be felled, and transported his boats to the opposite side of the peninsula. The Mississippi afterward cut itself a chunnol through this point, V hich has ever since been known as ''Point CoiqySeJ' On the 20th the explorers irrived at a large village of the Oumas, containing over three hundred braves, who wel- comed them with nmsic and dances, jind acquainted them with the Indian ceremony of smoking the calumet of peace. At this village they saw many d(jmestic fowls, which were mostly kept for ornamental purposes. Here the Sieur d'Iberville, learning that tliere was a river or bayou to the eastward, which he could reach by a short portage, and down which he might descend through Hkes to the sea, left the Mississippi, with two canoes and a guide, sending Bi Miville down the main river with the large boats, under instructions to meet him at the Isle de side. . . . All the nations havi 8ung the calumet to nie ; they fear us excessively since you defeated this village. I conclude by saying, that it is a great disapuointment to uie that we should return without the good fortune of meeting you, after two i-anoes have coasted toward Mexico for thirty leagues, and toward Florida for twenty-tive, etc." See Charlevoix' New France, V., p. 123. *0n this blutr, twenty-tive feet above high water, and one Innidred and twenty-nine miles by th(> river above New Orleans, the French sub- sequently established a fortlet and village (now cityi, which received the name of Baton Rougr, or lied Post. This name, according to I^ Page du Pratz's early History of Louisiana, is ilerived from the large cypress trees that formerly grew there, tiie wood of which is red. / 218 Settlement of Lower Louisiana. Vaisseau. Proceeding on his return course, Bienville reached the island, without accident, about the first of April. Here he was met by Iberville, who had arrived before him, having come down through the bayou Man- shac or Iberville, and the two connecting lakes or arms of the Gulf, which he severally named Maurepaf. and Pont- chartrain. , On the 12th of April, M. d'Iberville went to examine a small bay, lying several leagues north of Isle de Vais- seau, to which he gave the name of St. Louis. Pleased with the situation and appearance of this bay, he would have removed his colony thither forthwith, but for the fact that the water at its entrance was too sliallow for his ves- sels of heavy draft. Finally, he decided to locate his es- tablishment on the eastern side of the mouth of Biloxi Bay, a northern arm of Mississippi Sound. The spot thus chosen was tolerably healthy, yet sandy and unproductive in the extreme. Its sterility, however, wa-s t" irticularly objected to by the colonists, who thought nothing about agriculture, but only of trading with the Indians, and scouring the country for its supposed mineral wealth. In his official report, D'Iberville thus describes the first settlement ever made by white men upon the soil of what is now the State of Mississippi : " After having visited several places well adapted for forming settlements, our provisions falling sliort, we thought best to commence operations at the Buy of Biloxi, four leagues north-west of the place where the ships were anchored, and which could be approached at a diet i !<■ of two leagues. We made choice of this place mereh m> count of the road, wliere the small vessels can go and < i ^^ at all time3, and where we could assist, without fear, with a portion of the crew, in building the foit which I ordered to be constructed there ; whilst, in the meantime, the place most convenient for the colony can be selected at leisure. ''This fort is built of wood, with four bastions; two are made of hewn timber placed together, one .")ot and a half thick, and nine feet high ; the other two of doubl'i Iberville Plants his Colony at Biloxi Bay. 219 palisades. It is mounted with fifty -four pieces of cannon,* with a plentiful supply of ammunition." He left M. de Sauvolle in command; DeBienville, as king's lieutenant; LeVasseur, major; DeBordenac, chaplain; M. Care, sur- geon ; two captains, two cannoniers, four sailors, eighteen filibusters, thirteen Canadians, ten mechanics, six masons, and thirty sub-ofi3.cer8 and soldiers (ninety in all). M. d'Iberville named this fort for Count Maurepas, who was then Secretary of Foreign Afl^airs. After causing a gi'oup of log huts to be built around the fort for the use of the colonists, and having them to plant a quantity of beans and Indian corn, he distributed provisions for four or five months, and, on the 3d of May, re-embarked for Frmce. Sailing through the old Bahama Channel, and touching at St. Domingo, he arrived in safety at the port of Tiochefort on July 2, 1699.t On the 22d of May, after the departure of Capt. d' Iberville, Lieutenant Bienvilleset out with a small party on an excursion into the interior of the country. During the course of this trip, he was informed that a band of two hun- dred Chickasaws, headed by two white men (supposed to be Englishman from the colony in Carolina), had fallen upon and destroj^ed a village of the Colapissas, situated on the northern shore of Lake I'oTitchartrain. lie, however, met with no enemy. Returning to Fort Biloxi, he again set oft, on the 9th of June, with two canoes, to explore the coast on the east. Having passed the mouth of Pascagoula River and Mobile Point, he approached so near to Fort Pensacola that he perceived it was still occupied by the Si)aniards. About the first of July the colonists at Biloxi Bay were cheered by the unexi>ected ari'ival of two Ijark ca- noes, carrying several Cainulians and two Jesuit priests, Father Anthony Davion and Father Montigny. They came *Thi8 is manifestly an terror or misprint. Tlio real number of oan- non mounted upon tlie fort, as stated by Ikncroft, Gayarr6 and otber liistorians, was twelve. tSec M. d' Iberville's brief oiru-ial nain.tive of this expedition, l)riiited in " Historical CollecMons of Louisiana and Florida," edited by B. F. Freneh. (New Series, N. Y., 1860), pp. 30-;{2. 220 Settlement of Lower Louisiana. by way of the Illinois and the Mississippi, and having learned from the Oumas that the French were establishing a colony near the Gulf, had come down to see them. After a pleasant visit here of ten days, the two priests departed to begin a mission among the Tonicas on the Mississippi, near the Yazoo. -:•:■■'.■-■ -'■■■':■'-'■■''■ '-r.^^:.- "■■■::-:'■ :''."■ In September of the same year (1699), while Lieuten- ant Bienville was descending the Lower Mississippi, and when at a point some twent3''-eight leagues from the sea, he discovered in the river an English ship of sixteen guns, commanded by one Captain Barr, who had left a consort in waiting at the mouth. The English captain was not certain that he was actually upon the Mississippi, and Bien- ville gladly availed himselfof the opportunity to assure him that it was not the Mississippi ; that the river he sought ran much farther to the west, and that the stream on which he was sailing was within the limits of a country that had been taken possession of in the name of his majesty, the King of France. By this deception the wily Frenchma!i induced the English mariner to face about and return to the sea ; and from this circumstance the place has ever since bo'.ie the name of Detour des Anglais, or " English Turn." It is related as a fact, that on board Captain Barr's ship was a Protestant Frenchman, who secretly handed to Bien- ville a letter addressed to the King of France, in which his majesty was assured that if he would accord liberty of con- science to a Protestant colony in Louisiana, more than four hundred Huguenot families, already inured to exile and hardships, would immigrate hither from the Carolinas. The letter was afterward transmitted to Count Pontchar- train, the French Minister of Colonies, who, with the harshness and bigotry of that age, returned for answer, that bis " Christian majesty bad not expelled heretics from his kingdom in order to establish them in America." On the 0th of January, 1700, M. d'Iberville re-appeared in the waters of the Gulf off Fort Biloxi, with two large ships of war — the lienomme rating fifty guns, and the Gironde forty-six — bringing with him sixty Canadian im- Iberville Raises a Fort on the Mississippi. •221 migrants, and a fresh supply of provisions and stores for the needy colonists. He also brought royal commissions, appointing Sauvolle governor, or commandant of the col- ony ; Bienville lieutenant, and Boidbriant major. By the same vessels arrived Pierre le Sueur and thirty miners, who had been sent by M. de Iluillier, of Quebec, to open and work a copper mine which had been discovered on the St. Peter's (now Minnesota) River, one of the afflu- ents of the Upper Mississippi. Le Sueur, moreover, had instructions from the governor of Canada to erect a fort on the St. Peter's, to hold in awe the Sioux or Dakotas. He departed in April on his mission to the far north.* When the vigilant D'Iberville was informed by his brother Bienville that two English ships had appeared in the mouth of the Mississippi, he determined to forthwith construct a fort on that river, so as to anticipate any future attempt of the English to gain a foot-hold on its shores. Having dispatched Bienville through tbe lakes and bayous to the Bayagoulas, to procure guides to some suitable spot on the lower part of the river, the comnumder himself left Isle de Vaisseau, or Ship Island, on the 15th of January, taking with him sixty men, two shallops, and two smaller vessels loaded with the necessary provisions, imple- ments, etc. After enteriiMjj and ascending the Mississippi about eighteen leagues, he was met by Bienville, an.d they selected a position secure from inundation, and there begun the construction of a log and earth fort, which received the name of Iberville. Toward the middlb of February, while still engaged upon the fort, M. d'Iberville was joined by the veteran Do Tonty, who arrived with a party of twenty Canadians from the Illinois, and who is said to have come in response to an invitation that had been sent him from Sauvolle. Tonty was now past his prime, yet his long and varied experience *" Stoddard, in his SketchcH of Louisiana, on the authority of a MS. narrative of La Ilarpc, says tliat Lo .Sueur ascended the St. Peter's River to the mouth of Bhie iMirth lliver, where he erected a fort called ^'Iluillier, which was abandoned the next year on account, of the hos- tility of the Sioux."— Monette's Val. of the IVIisH., L, p. 200, ■■■ 222 Settlement of Loiver Louisiana. with La Salle, and his intimate knowledge of the principal Indian nations of the Mississippi Valley, rendered him a valuable acquisition to the southern colony. Availing him- self of Tonty's presence and assistance, D'Iberville decided to ascend the river as far as the Natchez, and establish ami- cable relations with the natives on the way. Hastily or- ganizing an expedition for this purpose, he set out with Bienville and Tonty, proceeding in boats and canoes. They lirst stopped at the Bayagoulas, where they remained till the first week in March, when they proceeded to the Ou- mas.* Continuing their upward voyage, they next reached the Natchez, whose villages lay about three hundred and 8'3venty-five miles from the Gulf, by the windings of the river. When the great Sun-chief heard of the approach of the French, he came forth from his village to meet them, borne upon a litter, and attended by a large and picturesque procession of his people. This nation, formerly very nu- merous and powerful, was now reduced to about twelve hundred warriors. The missionary St. Cosme, already re- ferred to, had arrived the year before, and taken up his residence among them. The better class of these Indians appeared to D'Iberville much more civilized than any others he had met with in the country. During his brief sta}^ here, one of their temples was struck and set on tire by lightning. The keepers of the temple thereupon solic- ited the squaws to throw their infants into the fire, in order to appease the anger of the divinity ; and a numljer of children were thus sacrificed before the Frenchmen could prevail upon them to desist.f Delighted with the l)eauty of the Natchez country, and especially with the high, bold bluff, which commands an extensive prospect up and down tlie river, D'Iberville selected it for the future capital of Louisiana, and suggested the name of Rosalie, which wae given to the fort afterward built here by the French. On the 22d of March, Bienville and St. Denis, attended by twenty Oanadians and a number of Indians, set ofi' * The village of the Oiunas, or Hounias, was situated two and one- half leaguoH east of the river. ♦Martin's History of Louisiana, vol. I., p. 152. Bienville's Excursion to Eecf River. 223 from the N'atchez on a tour of exploration to the westwanl, which extended to Red Riv^^r, and occupied them nearly two months. At the same time, D'Iberville, accompanied, perhaps, by De Tonty,* returned to his fort above the outlet of the Mississippi, and thence to the anchorage of his ships at Isle de Vaisseau. Upon his arrival, he was surprised to learn that the Spanish governor of Pensacola had been there with a twenty-four gun ship, manned by one hundred and forty marines, and some armed shallops, in- tending tu drive the French from the coast. But finding his force insufficient for this purpose, he had left a written protest against the French occupation of the country, claiming tliat it was within the limits of his Catholic majesty's dominions in Mexico. The French, however had come to stay, and paid little heed to the protest of Spain, whose power and prestige as a nation were on the decline. Having put his colony in as good a state of de- fense as possible, and given Bienville command of the fort on the Mississippi, M. d'Iberville sailed for France on the 28th of May, 1701. About the middle of May, and before the sailing of D'Iberville, Bienville returned from his western exi>edition. He had ascended the Ouachita (Washita) a considerable dis- tance, thence traversed the country westward to Red River, and returned down the latter stream and the Mississippi, having passed through a fertile region and visited several Indian tribes, particularly the Yatasses and NaLchitoches. The main object of this expedition was to search for mines of the precious metals, and another was to ascertain the pro])able distance to the nearest Spanish establishments on the west. On the 22d of July in that year (1701), M. de Sauvolle died, an early victim to bilious fever, leaving the sole direction of attairs in the colony to Lieutenant Bien- ville. On the 18th of the ensuing December, D'Iberville * As Tonty still retainod some interest in Fort St. Louis of Illinois, it is not improbable that he -eturned there on business during that year (1700), though we find no reliable record of such a journey. 224 Settlement of Lower Louisiana. again appeared in these southern waters with a French armament, consisting of the Renomme, a fifty gun ship, the Palmier, of forty-four guns, and a large brigantine. His arrival was very opportune for the starving colonists, whose number had been diminished by disease and casualties to about one hundred and fifty persons, and who had been driven to such straits as to have subsisted for some time wholly upon maize. Considering the unfavorable condi- tion and prospects of the colony, the commander now or- dered the removal of the principal establishment from Biloxi to the Mobile. Accordingly, in the first week of January, 1702, Bien- ville set out to execute the orders of liis chief, leaving only t\\»enty men as a garrison at Biloxi. The site of the new establishment was fixed on the west side of the Mobile River, about eighteen leagues fioni the sea. Here a dejiut was formed and a fort soon built, which received .the name of Fort Loais de la Mobile. By the 20th of March, the colonists had become settled in their new quarters, to which were transported such of their munitions and stores as had been kept on Dauphin Island. This removal brought the French into somewhat closer relations with the Choctaws, who iidiabited the country to the nortii of Mobile Bay, and who were then at war with the Chickasaws. But M. d'Iberville, before his departure for France, was enabled to effect a truce between those puissant tribes. On the 24th of June (1702), a Spanish shallop arrived from Pensacola, bringing a letter from Don Francisco Martin, governor of that post, stating that his garrison was in a state of famine, and requesting a supply of provisions, which was sent to him by Bienville. Again, on the 11th of November, Don Martin himself arrived at Fort Louis from Pensacola, with the intelligence that France and Spain were at war with England. He asked for provisions and munitions, and in view of the alliance of the two former powers, his request was granted. In the meantime, on the first of October, Father Davion visited the fort, with two Canadians from the Yazoo River. They M'^ere accompanied by Father Limoges, who was stationed among The Colony Meinforced. -' 226 the Natchez, and wlio informed Bienville that the Coroas Indians had killed his missionary colleague, Foucault, and three other Frenchmen. On the 28th of November two Spanish officers arrived at the French head-quarters from St. Augustine, Florida, with a letter from the governor of that town, stating that he was besieged by an English force from Charleston, with a fleet of seventeen vessels, and some two thousand sav- ages. In response to the appeal of the Spaniards for aid, M. de Bienville gave them a liberal supply of munitions of war, and also dispatched a force of one hundred men to their assistance. It thus appears that, notwithstanding the jealousies of the rival colonies, situated so near each other, with conflicting territorial claims, the French gen- erously assisted their neighbors on dift'erent occasions with both provisions and ammunition. At this period the Spaniards found great difliculty in maintaining their es- tablishments in Florida. This was principally due to the inveterate animosity of the Indians of the country, who were encouraged in tlieir hostilities, and sometimes nuitorially aided, by the English colonists of South Car- olina. In the summer of 1703, M. d'Iber'>'ille sent his brother, Anthony le Moyne de Chateaugue, to .ouisiana, with sev- enteen Canadian colonists, who carried with them imple- ments of husbandry, etc. About the Ist of May, 1704, the Pelican, a fifty-gun ship, arrived from France at Dauphin Island, loaded with provisions and military stores for the colony. She brought out two companies of troops to re- inforce the garrisons, four priests, two nuns, and twenty poor young women, who were shortly afterward married to the bachelor colonists. This was the first shipment of unmarried women lo Louisiana, and was followed by others at intervals. ' ' . During the autumn of that year there was much sick- ness and mortality in the French colony, aiid the horrors of famine were averted only by relief received from the Spanish governor of Pensacola. On the 27th of October, 15 226 Settlement of Lowi • Louisiana, intelligence was received that the Spanish fort of Pen- sacola had been destroyed by fire, together with a large quantity of provisions, clothing, and stores; and at the same time a request came that the French would send them a schooner to carry the tidings of their disaster to Vera Cruz. On the 11th of December news came that the English were fitting out an armament at Charleston, to operate against the French establishments at Biloxi a>id on the Mobile, but this fortunately proved to be incorrect. In January, 1705, a trader named De Lambert arrived at the Mobile from a small French post on the Wabash (prob- ably the Lower Ohio), which he had abandoned in conse- quence of the hostile disposition of the savages in that in- terior region. During this year war again broke out be- tween the Choctaws and Chickasaws, which was character- ized by more than the usual Indian barbarities. A tempo- rary peace, however, was at length eftected through the active mediation of the French under Bienville, though at considerable personal risk to the latter. On the 9th of July, 1706, Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, died at sea, near St. Domingo, aged forty- five years. He had been previously attacked with yel- low fever, and barely escaped with his life. Unable to sustain the enervating influence of a tropical climate, he had retired to France to recuperate his broken health. After a year or more he again sailed to the West Indies, and was there stricken by a severe disease which termin- ated his earthly existence.* He thus fell a lamented victim to his sense of official duty, and of devotion to the service of his king and country. We have already passed in re- view the chief incidents in his active and fortunate career, and need only add here a brief estimate of his character. He was a man of great energy and determination of pur- pose, and, as a naval commander, was quick and judicious to decide, and prompt and bold in the execution of his plans. Less learned, brilliant, and fanciful than La Salle, he was better balanced, more practical, and therefore more * Monette's " Valley of the Mississippi," Vol, I, p. 207. Misfortunes of the Louisiana Colony. 227 Buccessful as a colonizer. The idol of his Canadian coun- trymen, he was justly recognized as one of the ablest cap- tains in the French navy. His premature decease cast a gloom over the infant colony of Louisiana, of which he had been both the persevering founder and constant bene- factor. His name is fitly perpetuated in one of the rivers, as well as in a parish, of the Pelican State of Louisiana. After the death of D'Iberville, contention and trouble arose in the colony. Bienville was charged with sundry acts of misconduct and mismanagement, and was dis- missed from office, but his successor dying on the way from France, he still retained the command. In January, 1707, intelligence was brought to the fort on the Mobile that St. Cosme, the Jesuit missionary among the Natchez, and three other Frenchmen, had been slain by the Cheti- machas, as they were descending the river to the sea.* Presents were thereupon sent by the French to the surround- ing nations, to induce them to wage war upon that treach- erous tribe. In September, 1710, an English corsair, with an armed party, made a descent upon Dauphin Island, and pillaged it of property said to have been worth sixty thousand livres. During the years 1709 and 1710, the Louisiana colonists suifered severely from sickness and famine ; and in March, 1709, there was a great flood in the Mobile and other rivers, which inundated the houses of Fort Louis. For this reason the French abandoned the fort, and built another at or near the mouth of Mobile River, where the city now stands. Such, in imperfect outline, are the principal occurrences ill the history of the colony of Lower Louisiana during the first twelve years of it precarious existence. In the French colonial annals of the period, nothing is more astonishing than the number of canoe and boat voyages made by them to every part of the wilderness Valley of the Mississippi. The comparative ease and safety with which these long and difficult journeys were performed indicated great tact *See note in the preceding chapter, page 201. 228 Settlement of Lower Low' a. m and facility on the part of the French in adapting them- selves to the primitive modes of life and locomotion of tlie aborigines, and in gaining and retaining their good will. What has been remarked by the brilliant historian, Pres- cott, of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico, may apply with equal pertinence to the French explorers of the Mississippi Valley : " The mere excitement of exploring the strange and the unknown was a sufficient compensation to the Spaiiirtli adventurer for all his toils and trials. It seems to have been ordered by Providence that such a race of men should exist contemporaneously with the discovery of the New World, that those regions should be brought to light which were beset with dangers and difficulties so appalling as might have tended to overawe and discourage the ordinary 8i)irit of adventure." * Recurring once more to Henri de Tonty, it may now be proper to relate what little is known in regard to his last years, and to sum up his character and career. In 1702 he was sent by Captain f^^berville on a mission to secure the Chickasaws in the J h interest. The route taken by him from Mobile is laid down on some of the old French maps, but of the incidents of his trip, or the measure of suc- cess that attended it, we have no knowledge. After this we find no further special mention of his name, save that he died in September, 1704, at Fort Louis on the Mobile.f That was a sickly season with the colony, and marked by more than the ordinary mortality ; and it seems probable that no kind friend or priest was with our hero to chronicle the particulars of his last hours, or if so the record thereof has perished. At the time of his singularly quiet exit from the scenes of busy life, Tonty must have been aged about titty- four. Though not an old man in point of years, he was old in experience and knowledge of the world, and especially ■■'■ I'rescott's " History of the Conquest of Mexico," vol. 3, book vlL, chap. iii. 1>'ee Charlevoix' History of New France, vol. Ill, p. 201, note by the editor. Conclusion of Tonty's Eoentful History. 229 in the number and variety of exciting adventures through which he had passed, as well in Europe as in America. He could hardly be classed as a great captain or leader, though he was not incapable of devising and executing the boldest enterprises. As a first lieutenant, he rendered invaluable services to La Salle, and next to his chief, con- tributed most toward the exploration of the Mi8sissij>pi V^alley. His courage and address were strikingly exhil)ited in his intercourse with the Indians, both in war and in peace; but his acts were mostly performed where there were few to observe, and fewer still to record them. He was "honest, sincere, generous, faithful, and brave" — the beau ideal of a true soldier. These admirable qualities en- deared him to all his compatriots in life, and have made him a prime favorite with all of La Salle's biographers. " Very few names in French- American history," writes Parkman, " are mentioned with such unanimity of praise as that of Henri de Tonty. Hennepin finds some fault with him; but his censure is commendation.* The dis- patches of lie governor, Denonville, speak in strong terms of his services in the Iroquois war, praise his character, and declare that he is fit for any bold enterprise, adding that he deserves reward from the king. The missionary St. Cosme, who traveled under his escort in 1699, says of him : ' He is beloved by all the voyageurs. It was with deep regret that we parted from him ; he is the man who best knows the country; he is loved and feared every- where.'" Parkman himself adds: "He seems never to have received the reward his great merit deserved." f La Salle, however, had done what he could for Tonty, and, as already noticed, made him a grant of lands on the Ar- kansas River. He had a younger brother named Alphonse de Tont;y, a captain in the French service, who long held command at the post of Detroit, and against whom charges of pecu- * When the " Griffin " was building at Niagara, Hennepin says that Tonty took some offense at his Iceeping a journal, and tried to seize it. t " Discovery of the Great West," note, p. 441. • 230 Settlement of Lower Louisiina. liiBBEIBBBiMMii lation were preferred ; but no stain tarnishes the fair es- cutcheon of the little, copper-handed Henri Around his name more than that of any other of the French explorers, is wreathed a halo of chivalry and romance, and only a few years since, he was made the hero in a popular histori- cal liction, entitled "The Story of Tonty." He is soine- tinies referred to as the Chevalier de Tonty, but, though a true knight, it does not appear that he ever received the honor of knighthood. He did not share La Salle's antip- athy to the Jesuits, but rather courted their favor, and in return for his coimiderate attentions, they heralded \m praises and helped to embalm his meniory. As early as 1()97, s. book, purporting to be a Memoir of the Sieur de Tonty, was published in France under this title : ''Dern lores Deeouverfes (fans L'Amerique Septentriovoh\ de. M. de la Salle, par Cheralier de Tonfi, Goiiverneur xiu Fort St. Louis aux Illhiois. Paris, 1697. "'* Copies of the same having found their way to New France, Tonty disavowed to M. d'Iberville and Father Marest all responsibility tor the work, whidi he characterized as full of errors and ex- aggerations. But then he had written a memoir, and sent it to J^aris in 1693, which formed the basis of the above spurious publication. The real or admitted memoirs of ITenri de Tonty are embraced in the valuable collection of I'ierre Mai'gry, di- rector of the Archives of the Marine and Colonies at Paris, under this general title: '■'■ Decoiivertes et tliablissements dcs Francais dans L' Quest et Sud de L'Amerique Septenfrionalc {\Q14-n^4:),31emoirset Documents oriqinaux''' — Paris, France, 1877-78. Volume I of tliis publication contains " Voyages et Uat des Francais sar les lacs et le Mississippi, sous les ordrfs de M. de la Salle et de Tonty, du 1678 d 1684." Volume II contains "Lettres of Henri de Tonty sur ce qu' d a appris de M. de la Salle, Ic voyaye qn' il a fad pour V aller chercher, et son depart prochein pour marcher contre les Iroquois, 1686-l()Hl)." ♦ An EngliHh tmnslution of this mejiioir, or relation, was priiiti'il in London in KiDH, ontitlod an "Aooount of M. do la Sallo'H Last KxjM'iii- tion and DiecoverioB iu Nortli America," whieh wxa republished in Ni'W York in 1814. Petition of M. dc Tonty. 231 ' os- his rers, ily a itori- 07ue- igh a r the mtip- lul in d iiirt cmoir ix this •iovole, u Fort e same Lvowed lity for l 8cnt above u uly are ;ry, (li- I'arifl, '))ts <ifs Itrioyialf ^'ranoe, Is ordrcs iiiue II D^jrw de jr, f« son [rintcil in ll in Now Besides the above, Tonty wrote and addressed to Count de Pontchartrain a 8lu>rt memoir of liiniself (before noticed), which is also printed in Margry's collection, as well as else- where. It is witliout date, but is supposed to have been written in the year 1690 or 1691. Following is an En- glish version of this curious and interesting autobiographi- cal paper: Petition of the Chevalier df Tuiiti/ to Count de Pontchartrain, Minister of Marine. Monseigncur — Henri do Totity liuinhly ivprost'iits to your highness, that he entered the niilitiiry service as a cadet, and was employed in tiiat capacity in tlie years IWiS and !()()!>, and that he afterward served as niidsliipnian four years at Marseilles atid Toulon, and made seven campaigns, that is, four on l)oard ships of war, and three in galleys. While at Messina he was made captain, and in the interval lieutenant, of the first company of a regiment of horse. When the enemy at- tacked the post of LibisHO, his right hand was shot away by a grenade, and he was taken prisoner and conducted to Metasse, where he was de- tained sijc months, and then exchanged for the son of the governor of that place. He then went to France to obtain some favor of his majesty, and the king granted him three hundred livres. He returned to the service in Micily, made the campaign as a volunteer in the galleys, and when the troops were discharged, being unable to oV)tain the employ- ment he solicited at court on account of the general peace, he decided, in 1()78, to join the late Monsieur de la Salle, in order to accompany him in the discoveries of Mexico, during which, until 1082, he was the only officer who did not desert him. These discoveries being finished, he remaine(i, in 1«)8;^, commandant of Fort St. Louis of the Illinois; and in 1(584 he was there attacked by two Imndred Iroquois, whom he repulsed with great loss on their side. I>\iring the same year, he repaired to Quebec, under the orders of M. de la Barre. In KiHf), he returned to the Illinois, according to the orders which he had received from the court, and from M. de la Salle, as a captain of foot in a marine detachment and governor of Fort St. Louis. In 1(58(), he went with forty men in canoes, at his own expense, an far aa the Gulf of Mexico, to seek for M. de la Salle. Not being able to find liim there, he returned to Montreal, and put himself undiu- the orders of Monsieur Denonville,* to engage in the war with the Iroquois. At the head of a band of Indians, in 1087, he proceeded two hun- ilrcd leagues by land, and as far in canoes, and joined the army, when, with these Indians and a company of Canadians, he forced the ambus- cade of the Tsonnonthouaus.t The campaign being over, he returned * Jiinquei RAiio de Brisay Doiionvlllu supcmudud L.i Ilarru, lii US8.5, an Koveruor of Canada, and served about fi'ur yoarn. + Or 9enoca», 232 Petition of M. de Tonty. to the Illinois, whence he departed, in 1689, to go in search of the re- mains of M. de la Salle's colony ; but being deserted by his men, and unable to execute his design, he was compelled to reliuquish it when he had a ived within seven days' march of the Spaniards. Ten months were pent in going and returning. As he now finds himself without employment, he prays that, in consideration of his voyages and heavy expenses, and considering, also, that during his service of seven years as captain, he has not received any pay, your highness will be pleased to obtain for him from his majesty a company, with which he may con- tinue his services in this country, where he has not ceased to harass the Iroquois by enlisting the Illinois against them in his majesty's cause. And he will continue his prayers for the health of your highness. Henri dk Tonty. )!|i ;!il Nothing can be more true than the account given by the Sieur de Tonty in this petition ; and should his majesty reinstate the seven com- panies which have been disbanded in this country, there will be justice in granting one of them to him, or some other recompense for the serv- ices which he has rend ^> rod, and which he is now returning to render at Fort St. Louis of the Illinois. Frontenac. Change of Officers in Louisiana. 233 CHAPTKR XII. 1712-1717. LOUISIANA UNDER M. CROZAT — DEMISE OF LOUIS XIV. Hitherto the small, isolated French settlements in the Illinois, and those founded by D'lberville and Bienville on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, had been separate and unorganized dependencies of Canada, or New France. But they were now soon to be united in one large province, under the designation of Louisiana, with a government de- pendent upon and subordinate to that of New France. This immense wilderness territory extended from Lake Michigan and the Wisconsin river on the north to the Mexican Gulf at the south, and from the Ohio Valley on the east to the base of the Rocky Mountains and New Mexico in the west. It was already known to possess a temperate and salubrious climate, a rich and very produc- tive soil, and to abound in fur-bearing aninnds; and it was also believed to con lin metallic ores of untold value. In 1711 the government of Louisiana was committed by the French king to a governor, or commandant-general, with other subordinate otHcers. The chief head-quarters of this colonial government was established, as before, on the Mobile, and a new fort was completed near tlie site of tlie present city of Mobile. Tlie iSieur de Muys, who had been commissioned governor, died on the outward passage from France ; but M. Diron d'Artaguette, the commissiairc ordon- noteur, who had arrived in Louisiana in 1708, entered upon his official duties.* This, however, was provisional. ;, In order to the more speedy and systematic devel- opment of the commercial and mineral resources of tlie 'Bancroft's History, III., p. .'U;J; and Momsttu's IliHt. of Mjhs. ValU'v, I., 2U1>. 234 Louisiana under Crozat. country, Louis XIV., by letters patent, bearing date at Fontainbleau, September 14, 1712, and registered in the Parliament of Paris on the 24th of September, granted a monopoly of the commerce, and sole direction of the afiairs of the new province (for the term of fifteen years) to M. Antoine Crozat, Marquis de Chatel, a man of great wealth, one of his majesty's councillors, and secretary of his house- hold, crown and revenue. This royal patent constituted the first regular charter of government for Louisiana. It is a lengthy and elaborately drawn paper, the introductory portion whereof reads as follows : ^^ Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Na- varre, ■!,._, " Tb all who shall see these present letters, greeting : " The care we have always had to procure the welfare and advantage of our subjects, having induced us, not- withstanding the almost continual wars which we have been obliged to support from the beginning of our reign, to seek for all possible opportunities of enlarging and ex- tending the trade of our American colonies ; we did, in the year 1683 (1684), give our orders to undertake a discovery of the countries and lands which are situated in the northern part of America, between New France i id New Mexico, and the Sieur de la Salle, to whom we committed that enterprise, having had success enough to confirm a belief that a coramuincation might be settled (opened) from New France to the Gulf of Mexico, by means of largo rivers, this o])liged us inmiediately after the peace of Rys- wick to give orders for the establishing a colony there, and maintaining a garrison which has kept and preserved the possession, we had taken in the year 1683, of the lands, coasts and islands, which are situated in the Gulf of Mex- ico, between Carolina on the east and Old and New Mexico on the west. " But a new war having broke out in Europe shortly after, there was no possibility till now of reaping from that colony the advantages that might have been expected from thence, because the private men, who are concerned in the sea-trade, were all under engagements with other colonies, CrozaVs Royal Patent. 235 I cx- i\ the )very the ^ew tted in a from urge UyB- , and I the aiulrt, Mex- aIco lortly tluit I from II the )iiie8, which they have been obliged to follow. And, whereas, upon the information we have received concerning the dis- position and situation of the said countries known at pres- ent by the name of the Province of Louisiana, we are of opinion thu,t there may be established therein a considera- ble commerce, so much the more advantageous to our kingdom in that there has hitherto been a necessity of fetching from foreigners the greater part of the commodi- ties which may be brought from thence, and because in ex- change thereof, we need carry thither nothing but commod- ities of the growth and manufacture of our own kingdom, " We have resolved to grant the commerce of the coun- try of Louisiana to tlie Sieur Anthon}" Crozat, our council- lor, secretary of the household, crown, and revenue, to whom we intrust the execution of this project. We are the more readily inclined hereunto, because his zeal an<l the singular knowledge he has acquired in maritime commerce encourage us to hope for as good success as he has hitherto had in the divers and sundry enterprises he has gone upon, and which have procured to our kingdom great quantities of gold and silver in such conjunctures as have rendered them very welcome to us. "For these reasons, being desirous to show our favor to him, and to regulate the conditions upon which we mean to grant him the said commerce, after having deliberated this affair in our council, of our certain knowledge, full power and royal authority, we, by these presents, signed by our hand, have appointed, and do appoint, the said 8ieur Crozat, solely to carry on a trade in all the lands possessed by us, and bounded by New Mexico, and by the English of Carolina, all the establishment, ports, havens, rivers, and principally the port and haven of the Isle Dauphine, heretofore called Massacre, the river of St. Louis, hereto- fore called Mississip[)i, from the edge of the sea as far as the Illinois, together with the river of Saint Philip, here- tofore called the Missoury's, and of Saint Jerome, hereto- fore called Ouabache, with all the countries, territories, lakes, within land, ami the rivers which fall directly o»' in- directly into that part of the river St. Louis." 236 Lmiisiana under Crozat. The kind of government to be establiehed under this patent, and the powers, duties, and restrictions imposed by it upon M Crozat, are specifically defined in the Articles, the first of which is thus worded : I. " Our pleasure is that all the aforesaid lands, coun- tries, streams, rivers, and islands be and remain comprised under the name of the government of Louifiiana, which shall be dependent upon the general government in New France, to which it is subordinate ; and, further, that all the lands which we possess from the Illinois be united, so far as occasion requires, to the general government of New France, and become part thereof,* reserving, however, the liberty of enlarging, as we shall think fit, the extent of the government of the said country of Louisiana." Article II. granted "to the said Sieur Crozat, for fifteen successive years, to be reckoned from the day of enrolling these presents, a right and power to transport all sorts of goods and merchandise from France into the said country of Louisiana, and to traflic thither as he shall think fit." And all other persons o; companies were herein forbid- den to trade thither, under any pretense whatever, under penalty of confiscation of goods and ships, and other more severe punishments, as occasion should require. Article III. permitted him " to search for, open, and dig all sorts of mines, veins, and minerals throughout the whole extent of the said country of Louisiana, ad to trans- port the profits thereof into any part of France during the said fifteen years." By this article there was also granted to Crozat, in perpetuity, his heirs and others claiming un- der him or them, the property of and in said mines, veins, and minerals, which he should bring to bear, paying the king, in lieu of all claim, the fifth part of all the gold and silver, to be transported to France at Crozat's own ex- pense (not including the risk of sea and war), and the tenth part'of what efi'ects he might draw from the otner mines, veins, and minerals, which tenth was to be conveyed to ths *Thi8 provision was doubtless intended to apply to the northern part of the Illinois country. Crozafs Royal Patent. 237 king's magazine in Louisiana. He was also permitted to search for precious stones and pearls, paying the one-fiftli part of the same to his majesty, in like manner as directed for the gold and silver. It was further herein provided, that the said Crozat, his heirs, or those claiming under him or them the perpet- ual right aforesaid, should forfeit the property in the said mines, veins, and minerals, if they discontinued the work during three years, and that in such case, the said mines, veins, and minerals should he fully re-united to the king's domain, without the formality of any process of law, hut only hy an ordinance of reunion from the sub-delegate of the intendant of New France, who should he in the said country. Articles IV., V., and VI. relate to and regulate the trade to be carried on by said Crozat with the French and Indians in Louisiana, an<l also to the mills and manufac- tories he was authorized to set up in the said country. Article VII. provides, that the royal " edicts, ordi- nances and customs, the usages of the mayoralty and shrievcalty of Paris, shall be observed for laws and cus- toms in the said country of Louisiana." The next succeeding six articles specify the minimum number of ships to be sent out annually by the said Crozat to said Louisiana, and oblige him to transport thither at his own charge such of the king's troops as may be needed for garrison dut}-; exempt from all duties the goods and merchandise by him exported from or imported to the said country, but require the same to V)e deposited in and de- livered from the goveriiment custom and warehouses ; and, further, grant him the use of the felluccas and canoes be- longing to the king in said Louisiana, on condition that at the expiration of his patent, he shall restore them, or an equal number in their place, to the governor of the province. The three concluding articles of the patent are worded as follows : ' . XIV. " If, for the cultures and plantations which the , Sieur Crozat is minded to make, he tinds it i)roper to have blacks in the said country of Louisiami, he may send a ship 238 Louisiana under Crozat. every year to trade directly upon the coast of Guinea, taking l)ermi88ion from the Guinea Company so to do, (and) he may sell those blacks to tlie inhabitants of the colony of Louisiana ; and we forbid all other companies and persons whatsoever, under any pretense wliatsoever, to introduce blacks or traffic for them in the said country, nor shall the said Sieur Crozat carry blacks elsewhere. XV. " He shall not send any ships into the said coun- try of Louisiana, but directly from France, and he shall cause the said ships to return thither again, the whole under pain of confiscation and forfeiture of the present privilege. XVI. "The said Sieur Crozat shall be obliged, after the expiration of the first nine years of this grant, to pay the officers and the garrison which shall be in the said country during the six last years of the continuance of the present privilege. " The said Sieur Crozat may in that time propose and nominate the officers, as vacancies shall fall, and sucli officers shall be confirmed by us, if we approve then." '^ Such are the material provisions of the ample charter granted by the king to M. Antoine Crozat, in the hope of receiving thereby rich monetary returns to replenish his depleted exchequer. We have given the more space to the exposition of this patent, because under it was instituted the first civil government for the Province of Louisiana, including the Illinois. To eftectuate the main purpose of his grant, Crozat sent out from France the necessary miners and mining tools, with other artisans and laborers, and some slaves from St. Domingo, to begin prospecting for the precious metals. On May 17, 1713, a large French ship arrived in the waters of Louisiana, having on board Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac,t the newly appointed governor of the colony, his * For the full text of Crozat's Let' irs Patent, see " Historical Col- lections of Louisiana," vol. IIL tLa Mothe, or La Motte, Cadillac was born of noble parentage in Gascony, France, about tlie year lOGG. bailing thence to America, he Officers of Crozafs Government. 239 family, and M. Duclos, intendant commissary. By the same vessel was also brought a '^jommission naming Bien- ville as lieutenant-governor. The coming of Cadillac and his associates would have had a more salutary influence on the future of the colony, if he and Bienville had acted in concert; but they were mutually jealous of each other from the outset, and each had his party of followers, which proved detrimental to the interests of Loth. At this early and unpromising stage of her history as a colony, although over two thousand persons had been transported thither. Southern Louisiana contained not more than four hundred whites, twenty negro slaves, and about three hundred head of horned cattle, which latter had mostly been imported from St. Domingo. The Sieur Crozat ex[»ected to realize handsome profits from the fur-trade with the Indians, and if he had confined himself to that alone, he would have succeeded better in the end ; but the possibility of sudden wealth from the dis- covery of rich mines of gold and silver was what chiefly engaged the attention of his agents, and induced them to the most lavish outlay of capital. To accomplish this ob- ject, prospecting parties were sent out to various parts of the country, and snuiU posts were established on the upper waters of Red River, the Washita, the Yazoo, the Coosa,* the Cumberland (near Nashville), and on other southern rivers. Indeed, to such a degree were Crozat and his part- ners afi'ected by this mania for the precious metals, that they often magnified insignificant findings into supposed realities of great value. But though gold and silver were not to be found, either b^' washing, digging or boring, large deposits of the less valuable ores of lead and iron were found in what is now south-eastern Missouri. The mining adventurers in this wild region drew their principal sub- sistence from the French settlements of Kaskaskia and Ca- served as a captain in Acadia, and in 1H94 was sent by Frontenac to command at Mackinac; after wiiich, in 1701, lie founded the military post of Detroit. During his five years' stay in Louisiana, he not only otliciated as governor, but was a partner in Crozat's commercial ven- tures. His name is perpetuated in a thriving lumber city of Michigan. *That on the Coosa was called Fort Toulouse. 240 Jjouisiana under Crozat. hokia, to which they added such of their number as pre- ferred to cultivate the soil and a fixed abode to the more precarious pursuit of mining. Hence, from this source, the Illinois colony derived a considerable accession of European bone and muscle.* Under the auspices of M. Crozat an attempt was made to open trade with the Spaniards at Vera Cruz, by sending thither a vessel laden with a valuable cargo of merchandise, but it was not allowed to land either there or at any other Mexican port. The occupancy of Louisiana by the French had been regarded by Spain from the first as an encroach- ment upon her territory, and a menace to her supremacy in the Gulf; and, therefore, after three years of ineffectual ne- gotiations with the viceroy of Mexico, Crozat was obliged to relinquish his scheme of commercial relations with the Spanish ports. Another project was to establish trade overland with the interior provinces of Mexico, but in this case, after repeated efforts, he also failed, his goods being seized and confiscated and his agents imprisoned. Sordid the fur-trade with the Indians prove so remunerative as had been anticipated. English agents from Carolina were active in their efforts to incite the Choctaws and Chicku- saws against the French, and, wherever it was practica- ble, they controlled the fur-trafiic by furnishing goods to the Indians at reduced prices. Agriculture, the only source of permanent prosperity, was of course neglected. At the end of four years, he had expended about 425,000 livres and realized only 300,000,t and he found himself unable to meet his liabilities or pay his men. On the 28d of August, 171 7, M. Crozat, despairing ot any better success in the future, surrendered his vested rights and privileges to the young king, Louis XV., who then oc- cupied the throne of France under the regency of the Duke of Orleans, and thereupon the government of Louisiana reverted solely to the ofiUcers appointed by the crown. *At a later period the French opened and worked lea<l mince, to some exteul, on the Upper Mississippi, about (ialena and Dubuque, t Davidson and .Stave's Hist. 111., p. 114. Bienville and the Natchez. 241 3re- 10 re the )eaii tiade ding idise, 3ther 'eiicli oacli- icy in ill iie- jUged ,h the trade in this \)eing J" or did tive as a were hieka- actica- )od8 to source At the livrefl ble to ot any rights lien oc- Duke hisiana Icrown. i lines, to During the five years of his connection with the province, ahhough it wae widely explored, the growth of the French settlements therein was inconsiderable, and but little was accomplished for their real benefit. The principal pros- perity they enjoyed grew out of the enterprise of individual merchants and traders, who, despite the restrictions of Crozat's monopoly, managed to carry on a limited trade with the natives and with some of the neighboring European colonies. At the close of this epoch the colonists and adventurers in Upper and Lower Louisiana, including the king's troops sent thither to protect them, did not exceed lifteen hundred souls. From the foregoing revie.v of the Parisian Crozat's operations in Louisiaiui, we turn to chronicle certain civil and military events which transpired in the province during that period. In February, 1716, Lieut. Bienvlile departed up the Mississippi, under the orders of Governor Cadillac, on an expedition to the Natc\iez nation, where some French hunters and traders had already found a lodgment. Having learned that five Frenchmen had been slain, and that six more were still prisoners in the hands of the Xat- chez, Bienville dissembled his knowledge of the matter until he had induced the war-chiefs to meet him in council, when they gave up their six prisoners. He then reproached them with the murder of the other Frenchmen, and refused to treat with them until the guilty authors should be surrendered up to him. They replied that it was not possible for sun-chiefs and men of valor to thus give up their people. Upon this they were inmiediately put in irons and imprisoned under guard. On the next day the prisoner chiefs requested permission to send a deputation to their grand chief, desiring him to send the head of the chief Whitehead, who was the principal murderer. Bien- ville having given his consent, the deputation v/as sent, and returned, not with the head of that chief, but with another who was M'illing to devote himself to death in place of Whitehead. This and other similar offers the French com- mander firmly declined. 7 . .16 242 Louisiana under Crozat. In tho meantime he received a letter from a Canadian among the Natchez, informing him that six pirogues of liis countrymen were on their way down the river, and that, ignorant of this rupture with the Indians, they woukl fall into the hands of the latter. Bienville promptly dispatched a canoe from his camp, which passed the Natchez village unperceived, and, meeting the Canadian voyageurs, apprised them of their danger. Not wishing to resort to extreme measures against the Natchez, Bienville finally proposed peace to them on condition that they should put to death Big-beard, one of the murderers, and help to build a fort for the French; which terms they complied with. The fort was erected on an elevated bluff overlook- ing the river, and on the site that had been previously selected by M. d'lV^erville. It was named Rosalie in com- pliment to the wife of Count Pontchartrain, formerly Sec- retary of State for the Colonies. Thus was laid the mili- tary foundation of the present city of Natchez, — the oldest permanent white settlement on the Lower Mississippi, save that of Arkansas Post, which was never a place of much importance. Having re-established peaceful relations with the Natchez nation, Bienville stationed a garrison at Fort Rosalie to maintain it, and returned down the river with the rest of his men to the French head-quarters. Late in August, 1716, Louis .Tuchereau de St. Denis re- turned to Fort Louis on the Mobile from an extraordinary journey overland to Mexico, or New Spain. Two years be- fore, in 1714, he had been sent by Governor Cadillac to the middle provinces of Mexico for the double purpose of finding a market for Crozat's goods, and of forestalling the action of the Spaniards, who were supposed to be meditat- ing an establishment at the Natchitoches. Having been supplied by the governor with ten thousand livres worth of merchantable goods, St. Denis, with twenty-four Cana- dians, and an equal number of southern Indians, ascended the Mississippi and Red River to the village of the Natciii- toches, located on an island in the latter stream. Arrived thither, he at first employed his men in building »^mie log cabins for the use of those whom he intended to leave be- St. Denis' Ooeiiand Journey to Mexico. 243 hiiul. Then, taking witli him twelve picked Canadians, and a few active young Indians, all well armed and mounted, he quit the low valley of Red River, and boldly struck across the far-spreading plains to the westward. After twenty days' march, he readied a tribe of the Cenis nation, in the vicinity of Trinity River. Being furnished by them with fresh guides, the leader and liis troop traveled tlience about one hundred and fifty leagues to the south-west, when they arrived at the Spanish settlenient of San Juan Bautista, or Presidio del Norte, situate some two leagues bevond the Rio Grande. Here St. Denis was well received by the Spanish commandant, Don Pedro de Vilescas, who took him and the principal men of his party to his own quaiters, and assigned lodgings for the remainder. It was now near the close of the year 1714, and, after a few days' rest, St. Denis began negotiations with Don Pedro for the opening of a regulated trade with the French colonists of Louisiana. But the Spanish officer informed liim that he could do nothing without the permission of his inmiediate superior, the governor of Caouis (Coahuila), to Avhom he sent a courier for orders. The governor de- cided that St. Denis would have to go to the capital and see the viceroy in person. To this he assented, but was in no hurry about starting, having meantime become enam- ored of Dona Maria, the handsome daughter of Don Pedro. At length, on setting out from Caouis, he wrote to the Frenchmen-at-arms whom he had left at Presidio del Norte to return to the Natchitoches. He made the journey south- ward to the city of Mexico (distant over two hundred leagues) with M. Jallot, one of his French companions, and was escorted by a body of twenty -five Spanish horsemen. Upon his arrival at the capital, St. Denis presented his cre- dentials to the viceroy, who, after perusing them, sent him to prison, where he was detained for three months, and might have been kept in "durance vile'' much longer, if it had not been for tlie personal intercession of some French officers in the service of New Spain. After his liberation he was generously treated by the viceroy, who spared no effort to induce him to enter the military service of Spain. 244 Louisiana under Crozat. Among other arguments used for this purpose, the viceroy told him that he was ah'eady a half Spaniard, since he sought the hand of the daughter of Don Pedro de Vilescas, and was to marry her upon his return to San Juan. Prior to his departure from the city of Mexico, St. Denis is said to have concerted a plan with the viceroy for the planting of Roman Catholic missions among the Indian nations in Texas. Quitting the Mexican capital about the 26th of October, 1715, he journeyed, witlt a snuill escort, back to Presidio del Norte. Here he performed a valuable service to the Spanish commandant, by pi eventing the re- moval of certain dissatisfied tribes from the Rio Grande, whose trade and friendship was of importance to the Span- iards. Soon after this he married Don Pedro's daugliter, with whom he lived happily for six months, when it be- came necessary for him to return to Louisiana. But no sooner had he arrived at the French head-quarters, and re- ported to Governor Cadillac the result of his lengthened mission, than he made haste to join another land expedi- tion to Mexico. Arrived thither, he repeated some of his former experiences, and was again imprisoned by the Span- ish iUithorities, but managed to effect his escape. Returning to Louisiana, in 1719, St. Denis was after- ward a^tpointed commandant of the post of Natchitoches, where he was joined by his wife and family, and where we shall find him taking part in the Natches war. He was, indeed, one of the most remarkable personages of his time in the province, and the narrative of his Mexican adven- tures reads more like the story of a paladin of romance than sober reality. It is true that he accoini)lishcd little or nothing in the way of establishing commercial intercourse with the arrogant and exclusive hidalgos of Mexico, yet his long journeys back and forth across the country added greatly io the geographical knowledge of the French, and enabled them to extend and confirm their alliances with the principal aboriginal tribes of Texas.* •From ('harlevoix' History of New France (vol. vi., p. '2 and note), we glean some further particulars in regard to the clieckcrevl life Recall of Governor Cadillac. 245 Ire we was, time Idveii- Iniiiu'e [tlo or •ourBC II, iviul wit)i 2 and led life In January, 1717, soon after the return of St. J)e).r from his first overland journey to Mexico, the governor sent a sergeant with a few soldiers to take possession of the before-mentioned island of Natchitoches, and to estab- lish a military post there; it being regarded by tlie French authorities not only as a place of strategic importance, l)ut as a good location for interior trade with the natives of that region. This was the commencement, of the still ex- isting town of Natchitoches. On tlie 9th of March, in that year, M. de ' ; !>? f:he Cadillac, having served almost four years as goveiii.t' ot Louisiana, and failing to give satisfaction, was relieved by M. de L'Epinay, who arrived with three ships, bringing out some fifty immigrants, an»l three com[>anies of infantry to fill the depleted garrisons of the province. The retiriiig executive returned by the same vessels to France, where he died in the following year. Bienville, however, still re- tained the position of lieutenant-governor, and, about this time received the decoration of the Cross of St. Louis. Heretofore the business of agriculture had been almost totally neglected by the colonists, and they had often ex- perienced a partial tamine in consequence of such neglect. It was now proposed to form an agricultural settlement on the banks of the Mississippi River, and to raise necessary provisions for the consumption of the settlers. The grow- ing of articles for export, such as rice, indigo and tobacco, was also contemplated, for which the soil was found well adapted. It was during the year 1717, while looking for a suita- of Louis Jiu'heri'UU de St. Denis. Born in Quebec, Canada, .Sei)teml)er 18, 167(), he was a 8(»u of Nicholas Juehereau Sieur de St. Denis, or DenvH, ami an uncle of tlu' wife of M. (I'lherville. In 17'_'(), after his sccoml expedition to >iexit'o, the C'iievalier de St. Denis received the brevet of captain, and the insignia of the Cross of St. Louis— a military order instituted by Louis XIV., in l<)9u, for the encouragenu;nt of the otfioers of the army ami navy. In 1721, he \>!i8 sont with a detacliment oi reguUir troops to Natcliitoches, and remained there in comniaml of that post. The date of his death is not determined, tiioe.gh it was sub- sequi'nt to the year 1731. It is t')l<l that he died much regretted by the Indians of the lleci River Valley, with whose language and customs }\e wuH entirely familiar, and over wljom he wielded an extensive influence. 246 Demise of Louis XIV. bio looation on tlie Mississippi, to become the nucleus of the projected agricultural and commercial settlement, that Bienville selected the tract whereon New Orleans now stands, lying on the north bank of the river, where it makes a great curve to the east, and distant one hundrc<l and live miles from its mouth. The situation was low and swampy, and by i\o means inviting to the superficial ob- server; but with its ])roximity to the waters of Lakes Borgne and Bontchartniin, and with a dee]» river chanm-l to the sea, it promised idtlmately to become a commercia' mart, — considerations which no doubt intluenced its choice. Having fixed upon the site, Bienville afterward caused it to be surveyed, and sent a party of woodmen there to make a clearing. Such appears to have been the origin of that great southern emporium, of Avliose gradual rise i)ito prominence and importance, we shall have occasion to furtiier speak in the sequel. As a not )na[)propriate conclusion to the present chap- ter, some general notice may iiere be taken of the demise and character of Louis XIV., the Grand Monarqiie, under whose authority all the discoveries, explorations, and set- tlements by the French in the Mississipi)i Vallc}' had liitherto been etfected. On .September 1, 1715, after a short illness, the great king breathed his last in his palace at Versailles, having reached the advanced age of seventy- seven, and reigned seventy-two years. During the three preceding years, he had been severely tried by domestic afHictions. llis and>itious second wife, Madame de Main- tenon, whom he had privately married, went into voluntary retirement. He lost by death his son and heir api)arent, llis grandson and eldest great-grandson ; so that his young- est great-grandson succeeded to the crown under the title of Louis XV. Louis the Fourteenth had fallen lieir to the throne of France in 1043, when less than six years old, and during llis minority his motiier was regent of the kingdom, with Cardinal Mazarin as her chief councilor. The reign of thin Louis was the longest and, in many respects, the most il- Ills BeiijH and Character. 247 lustrious in the annals of France. Among the princes of his time, lie stood pre-eminent in commanding presence, in regal dignity, and in absolute power. After the death of Mazarin, in 1661, he had no prime minister, but he wisely chose great men for his assistu.its and ministers of govern- ment. Under him Colbert and Louvois long filled the first ofiices of state ; the former l)eing the great promoter of French industry and numufactures, while the latter was his able .'ind successful minister of war. Ilis foremost gen- erals were Turenne, Conde, and Luxembourg, while Vau- ban was his chief military engineer. The younger Mansard was made head architect and su[terintendent of tlie royal buildings. During his reign, I'aris and its environs were adorned with parks and public edifices to an extent previously un- known. The most noted of these were the Ohsenrntoi re, the Church of Val de Grace, the Colonnade of the LoHrrCy the Hotel des Liiudides, the completion of the Palais Roycd, the Place i(es VictoireSy the Place Vendome, and additions to the palace of the TaUeries; but, above all others in extent and miignificence, is the palace and garden of Versailles.* The architecture of these various buildings, like the dress of that agts is })rofuscly ornatj, and wanting iii })ure taste. Louis XIV. was a numifieent jtatron of literature, science and the arts, and some of the most celebrated writers of France Hourished umler his reign. The French toiigue was then cultivatcvl and polished to such a degree that it tecame the language of court and diplonuitic circles tlirouglH)Ut Kuro})e. lie made his ca))ital the gayest and most luxurious in Kuro[)e. lie caused the court of Ver- sailles to be every-where admired and imitated as a model of taste and elegance, and of a princely and refined style ■ " It was oil tliiH Hi>U>ii<li«l piUact'tliiit I.onis XIV. liivislicil tlu' wi'alth uf 'uH |H'oj)K>, t(t jiivr cxiirrHsion to his own yraiulcur and HcKiHli ambi- tion. It WUH l)uilt oil till' site of tlit' hunting lodnc of Lonis Xlll., teu uiiios from Paris, wliii'h city Louis disUked, bccauHc he saw there only tlif <'(lificeH and inoiuiiiifnt.s of otiicr kind's. Tiic huildiiinH conHtitutiug till' palace, uiuiertukeu in Kilil, were roininittcd in 1(170 to the architect Manward, and their construction was continued to the end of the reign."— Avdtmtu' 8 History of France. 248 Demise of Louis XI V. of living. But as he sought ouly the gratification of hia pride an<l vanity, his love of pageantry and pleasure, and his thirst for dominion and renown, his personal rule ex- tinguished all civil freedom, sound morals and manly sen- timents among his subjects. Court favor, therefore, became the aim and end of all individual effort, and adroit flattery was the surest way to attain it. A venal age, virtue and merit were but lightly esteemed. In fine, such were the baneful effects of his policy and example, that from his reign has been dated the decline of the great French mon- archy, though it was accelerated by the incapacity of his successors. , The latter years of Louis' imperial sway were clouded by reverses to his armies in the field, and by a spirit of bigoted intolerance in his civil administration. His revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes* was as imi)olitic as it was unjustifiable, and his st'n-n ])ersecution of the Protestant Huguenots drove from his kingdom nearly half a million of his most industrious and useful subjects. But religious toleration, as now generally understood and approved, was in that age little known, and still less practiced, on the con- tinent of Europe. The king believed and acted upon the theory that unity of religious faith was essential to the stability of his throne. His ruling principle of government was embodied in the famous aphorism ascribed to him — Lc etat c' est moi, or, "I am the state." f To the readers of English history Louis XIV. is re- membered as the generous friend and supporter of James XL, the dethroned Catholic king of England. Among the best known French works on this great prince's reign are Voltaire's Sikie de Louis XIV., St. Simon's Memoirs, and Louis XIV. ct so7i Sikie, by Alexan- der Dumas. * This famous ('(Hct had been enacted by Henry IV., in April, 15!)S, and beinj? in the nature of a eomproiuise, it was deemed irrevocable. The order for it revocation was iwHued October 22, 1085. t The groat king may never have uttered these words, though they perfectly express his Hentiments; for, in lOtiH, he wrote: "it is (Jod'H will that whoever is born a subject should not reason, but obey.''— Purkuuui's Old lieijiinr in Cniniild, p. 172. Sketch of John Law. 249 CHAPTER XIII. 1717-1723. FRENCH FINANCES, AND LAW S MISSISSIPPI COMPANY. The long wars and general extravagance of Louia XIV. bad exliausted France, and entailed upon lier a debt estimated at not less than two billions of livres, or about four hundred millions of dollars. The people were oppressively taxed, but still the surplus revenues of the kingdom were wholly inadequate to meet the annual interest on the indebtedness. The consequence was that the government stocks sank to a merely nominal value, and its credit was depressed to the lowest ebb. In this dilemma, while the regency was casting about for some means of financial relief, Jolm Law, the famous financier- adventurer, appeared at the Court of Versailles with his " magnificent credit system." John Law, eldest son of a Scotch silversmith and banker, was born in Edinburgli in April, 1671. He re- ceived a liberal education, and at an early age discovered a strong bent for finance. After the death of his father, and before attaining to his majority, he became notorious as a gambler and debauchee. Having unhappily killed an antagonist named Wilson, in a duel, he fied to France to avoid arrest. From thence he passed into Holland, where he made a special study of banking in the great banking house at Amsterdam. After perfecting his theory lie re- turned to Edinburg in 1700, and shortly published a work advocating the establishment of a bank which should hold all the sources of revenue of the state in its own hands, and, treating them as capital, should issue notes thereon, and at the same time make a profit by discounting bills and notes. His plan of banking was ridiculed by the British wits of the day, and was discarded by the Scottish 250 French Finances^ and Law's Mississippi Co. Parliament. He then went with his scheme to Paris, where it attracted considerable attention, but was utterly re- jected by the old king and his comptroller-general of finance. Law sojourned for awhile in Paris, leading a gay and luxurious existence, playing high and winning large sums of mojiey. But liis prosperous career was interrupted bj'^ a message from the chief of police, ordering him to quit Paris, on the ground that he "was rather too skillful at the game which he had introduced." For several years succeeding he shifted his abode from one state to another in Italy and Germany, oft'ering his scheme of finance to every court that he visited, though without success. The Duke of Savoy, afterward King of Sardinia, was much impressed with his project, but, after considering it for a time, remarked : " I am not sufficiently powerful to ruin myself." Upon the decease of the great Louis, in 1715, John Law returned to Paris with a fortune of half a million of dollars, which he had acquired by gambling. Louis XV. was then but a child, and during his non-age the govern- ment was administered by Philippe, Due d' Orleans,* as regent. The finances of France being at this time in a bankrupt condition. Law soon gained a hearing at court for his favorite banking project. The regent had before been favor.ably impressed with the scheme, which suited his bold and reckless spirit, and his taste for profligate ex- travagance. Accordingly, on the 2d of May, 1716, (lespite the opposition of his ministers and the Parliament of I'aris, he granted letters patent to Law, authorizing him and his brother William to establish a bank of deposit, discount and circulation, under the firm name of " Law and Cooi- pany," to continue for twenty years. The capital of this institution was fixed at six millions of livres, divided into shares of five hundred livres each, which were to be sold for twenty-five per cent of coin, and seventy-five per cent, of the public securities. The coin, which had been already debased by an arbitrary edict of the regent, was held in He wne n couein or second cousin of the youn>? king. Law's Banking Scheme. 251 the bank for the redemption of its notes. Inasnmcli as the bank accepted at par government securities, on which tlicre was a discount of seventy-eight per cent., and as tliere was a general hick of private credit, its stock was 8(>on taken, and a very hicrative business was estabHshed. Thus, while the bank was limited in its operations, and while its paper really represeuc^d the specie in its vaults, it seemed to realize all that had been promised for it. It speedily acquired public confidence, and produced an activ- ity in commerce that was unknown under the preceding reign. Moreover, the bills of the bank bore an interest, and as it was stipulated that they won hi be of invariable value, and as hints had been adroitly circulated that coin would experience successive diminution in value, every body hastened to the bank to exchange gold and silver for the paper money. In a few months the bank shares arose enormously, and the amount jf its notes in circulation exceeded one hundred and ten millions of livres. Ilitlierto all had gone on well enough, and all might have continued to go well, if the paper system had not been further expanded. But Law had yet to develop the grandest part of his scheme. He hjid yet to disclose his i(U';il world of speculation, his El Dorado of unlimited wealth. Ilin financial theory was, that the currency of a country is simply the representative of its moving wealth, and that this representative need not possess any intrinsic vahie, as in the case of gold and silver, but might consist ot'pa[ter, or any other 8ul)stance which can be conveniently handled. lie held that while there was no standard of prices or money, credit was every thing, and that a state might safely treat eveni)ossible future }»roHts as the basisof a jiaper currency. The English had brought the vast imag- inary commerce of the South Seas in aid of their banking operations ; and Law sought to bring, as a powerful auxil- iary of his bank, the whole trade of the Mississippi A^alley. To this end he now produced his Mississippi scheme, which was to make him a conspicuous figure in the colonial an- nals of Louisiana and Illinois. The prolific resources and possibilities of Louisiana still filled tlie inniginations of tlie 252 French Finances, and Law's Mississippi Co. French people with visions of boundless riches. The ill- success that had there attended the operations of Crozat and his partners was not sufficient to dispel tlie illusion from the public mind, or to beget therein more rational views. The stories of its vast mineral deposits were art- fully revived ; ingots of gold, the products of its supposed mines, were exhil)ited at the Paris mint ; and the sanguine court saw in the future of that province an empire, with its fruitful valleys, growing cities, busy wharves, and exhaust- less mines of gold and silver, pouring its precious freights into the channels of French commerce. As soon, therefore, as the charter of the Sieur Crozat was animlled, Law proceeded, under letters patent from the regent, to organize the Compagnie d' Occident, or Com- pany of the West, which was based upon the plan of col- onizing and drawing profits from the French possessions in North America. The charter of the company was reg- istered in the Parliament of Paris on the 6th of Septembei", 1717; and all of the king's subjects, including cori)onito bodies, and even aliens, were allowed to take stock in it. The capital was fixed at about one hundred -millions of livres, divided into shares of five hundred livres each, bear- ing interest at four per cent., which Avere subscribed for in the public securities. As the bank was to co-operate with the company, the regent issued an order that its bills should be received the same as coin in all payments of the public revenue. Law was made chief director of the company, which v/as copied after the Earl of Oxford's South Sea Company, originated in 1711, and which distracted all England with the frenzy of speculation. Among the more important privileges conferred on this company by the government, was the exclusive control of the commerce of Louisiana for twenty-five years, to begin the 1st of January, 1718. All other subjects of his majesty were prohibited from trading hither, under penalty of con- fiscation of their merchandise and vessels; but this was not intended to prevent tlie colonists from trading with each other, or with the Indians. Power and authority were also given the company to make treaties with the Indian Law's Credit System. 253 le ill- rozat usioii tional B art- posed guine itli its luuist- eiglits Drozat : froiii Coni- of col- essions as reg- ;ember, rporato k in it. ions of 1, bear- \ for in e with siioultl pubru' upany, h Sea 0(1 all ^)n this itrol of begin ^lajcsty )f con- -as not |b each were [udiau nations, and to wage war against them in case of aggres- sion or insult ; to import negro slaves into the province ; to open and work all mines, free of duty ; to grant lands, even allodially ; lo cast cannon, build ships of war, raise and equip troops, and to nominate the jtrovincial officers, who were to be commissioned by ths crown. In addition to the above, the regent promised the company protection against foreign powers, and presented it with all the forts, guns, anmiunition, boats, and stores in Louisiana, that had been surrendered by the Sieur Crozat. Nor was this all. Dur- ing the continuance of its charter, the goods of the company were to be exempt from duty, and the white inhabitants ot the province from the payment of any state tax.* The paper system of Law, and his scheme ot coloniza- tion, were earnestly opposed by D'Anguesseau, the chan- cellor, and by the Duke de Noailles, Minister of Finance, who foresaw the evils that the system was calculated to pro- duce. Finding that they seriously interfered with his plans, the regent dismissed them from office ; but the opposition of the Parliament of Paris was not so easily managed, since that body aspired to an equal authority with the regent in the administration of affiiirs. The chief hostility of the parliament was directed against Law, a foreigner, a heretic, and an adventurer. So far was this hostility carried, that secret measures were taken to investigate his malversations, and to collect evidence against him ; and it was resolved in parliament that should the testimony collected justify their suspicions, they would have him seized and arraigned for trial, and, if convicted, would hang him in the court-yard of the palace. Receiving intimation of his threatened dan- ger, Law took refuge in the Palais Royal, the residence of the regent, and implored his protection. The regent him- self was embarrassed by the sturdy opposition of the parlia- ment, which contemplated nothing less than a decree re- versing his own measures of finance. However, by assem- bling a board of justice, and bringing to bear the absolute ■'History of Louisiana, by Francois Xavier Martin (New Orleans, 1827), vol. I, pp. 198, 201. 254 French Finances^ and Lew's Mississippi Co. aiitliority of the king, he triumphed over parliaiiient and relieved Law from the dread of being hanged. The credit system now went on with full sail. The Company of the West, being identified with the bank, rap- idly increased in power and privileges. One monopoly after another was granted to it ; the trade of the Indian seas, the slave trade with Senegal and Guinea, the farming of tobacco, the roja] coinage, etc. Each nv.w privilege was made a pretext for emitting more bills, and caused a pro- portionate advance in the prices of stock. At length, on the 4th of December, 1718, the regent gave the institution the imposing title of the Royal Bank of France, and pro- claimed that he had effected tlie purchase of all the sliares, the jtroceeds of which were added to its capital. Arbi- trary measures were now l)egun to force the bills of the bank into artificial circulation. On the 27th of December an order was made in council, forbidding, under severe penalties, the payment of any sum above six hundred livres in Id or silver. This decree rendered bank bills neces- sary in all considerable transactions of purchase jind sale, and called for a new emission. The prohibition was oc- casionally evaded or opposed, but confiscations were the consequence. Tlie worst effect of this illusive system was the mania for gain, or for gambling in stocks, that now seized upon the French nation. Under the stimulus of lying reports, and the compulsory effects of government decrees, the shares of the company went on rising until they reached thirteen hundred per cent. Nothing was talked of but the prices of shares, and the immense fortunes suddenly nuide by lucky speculators. The most extravagant dreams Avere indulged concerning the wealth that was to flow in upon the company from its colonies, its trade, and its various monopolies. To doubt of these things was to excite anger, or incur ridicule. And in a time of puldic infatuation, it requires no small exercise of courage to doubt a popular fallacy. Paris now became the center of attractioi\ for the ad- venturous and avaricious, who flocked thaher not only The Mnihafor Speculation. 255 t and The :, rap- opoly udian rming re was a pro- ^tli, on itutiou (1 pro- Bliares, Arbi- of the cember severe d livres i, neces- id sale, as oc- ve the mania d upon reports, ^^es, the -cached but the V nuide US "Were u upon I various anger, lition, it [popular tl\c ad- |>t only from the provinces, but from the neighboring countries. A stock exchange was e8tal)lislied in u liotel on one of tlie principal streets,* and immediately becamr» the resort of stock jobbers and (*i»eculator8. Guards were stationed at either end of the avenue to maintain order, and to exclude liorse and carriages. The whole street swarmeti through- out the day like a b<e-hive. Bargains of all kinds were struck with avidity. Shuns of stock passed from hand to hand, mounting in value, one knew not why. Fortunes were made in a moment, as if by magic, and every lucky bargain prompted tliose around to a more desperate throw of the dii'. To ingulf all classes in this ruinous vortex, Law di- vided the shares of tiftv millions of stock into one hundred shares each, thus accommodating the venture to the hum- blest purse. Society was thus stirred to its very dregs, and people of the lowest order hurried to the stock market to invest their small savings. All honest, industrious pur- suits, and moch^rate gains were now despise<l. The u}>per classes were as base in their venality as tlie lower. The highest nobles, abandoning all generous pursuits an<l lofty aims, engaged in the vile scuffle for gain. Even prelates and ecclesiastical bodies, forgetting their true o])jects of de- votion, mingled among the votaries of Manmion. The female sex likewise participated in the sordid frenzy. Prin- cesses of the blood, and ladies of the first nobility were among the most rapacious of stock-jol)bcrs. Meanwhile, luxury and extravagance kept pace with this sudden inila- tion of fancied wealth, and a general laxity of morals was diffused throughout society. Law went about with a countenance beaming with satisfaction, and apparently dispensing wealth on every hand. Even his domestics were enriched bv tlie crumbs that fell from his table. Wherever he went his path was beset by a base throng, who waited to see him juiss, and sought the favor of a word or a smile, as if a mere glance from him would bestow a fortune. The same venal atten- * It was afterward reiuuved to the Place Vendome. 256 French Finances, and Laivs Mississippi Co. tion was paid by all classes to his family. The highest born ladies of the court vied with each other in meanness to secure the lucrative friendship of Mrs. Law and her daughter. The w^e^dth of the banker rapidly increased with the expansion of the bubble. In the course of a few months he purchased some fourteen titled estates, paying for them in paper money; and the unthinking public hailed these vast acquisitions of landed property as so many proofs of the soundness of his system. The illusory credit continued its course triumphantly for eighteen months. Law had nearly fulfilled one of his promises, viz., to pay oft" the public debt ; but it was paid in bank shares, which had been inflated several hundred per cent above their real value, and which were shortly to vanish like smoke in the hands of the holders. Toward the close of the year 1719, the Mississippi scheme had reached its culmination. i!^early half a million of strangers had crowded into Paris, in quest of fortune. The hotels and boarding houses were overflowing; lodgings were procured with great difficulty ; granaries were turned into bed-rooms; splendid houses were multiplying on every side ; and the streets w^ere thronged with new and costly equipages. On the 11th of December, Law obtained another pro- hibitory decree, for the purpose of drawing all the remain- ing specie in circulation into the bank. By this it was for- bidden to make any payment in silver above ten livres, or in gold above three hundred. The repetition of decrees of this nature, the object of which was to depreciate the value of coin and increase that of paper, awakened distrust of a system which required such bolstering. Sound financiers conferred together, and agreed to make common cause against this continual expansion of the paper system. The shares of the bank and of the company began to decline in value. Wary speculators took the alarm, and began to realize ; a term now first brought into use, it is said, to sig- nify the conversion of ideal property into something real. The regent, discerning these signs of decay in the sys- tem, sought to sustain it by bestowing oflice upon its au- Edicts of the Regent. 257 thor. Accordingly, in .lanuiiry, 1720, he appointed Law to be comptroller-general of the linances. But before his appointment, the banker had to abjure his Protestant faith and take out letters of naturalization, — a feat of uo great difficulty with him. In February following, a decree was published in tlie king's name uniting the Royal Bank to the India Com- pany, by which last appellation the whole establishment was subsequently known. By this time, the bank is said to have issued notes to the amount of one thousand mil- lions of livres ; being more paper than all the other banks of Europe were able to circulate. Various compulsory measures were now adopted, which gave a temporary credit to the bank ; but with all these props and stays, the system continued to totter. On the 22d of May a royal edict was issued, in which, under pretense of having re- duced the value of his coin, it was deemed necessary to reduce the value of his bank notes one-half, and of the India shares from nine thousand to five thousand livres. On the 27th this oppressive edict was revoked, and bank bills were restored to their former value. But the fatal blow had at length been struck ; the delusion was at an end ; and specie payments, except in small sums, were sus- pended by the bank. To avert popular odium from himself, the regent, on on the 29th of May, dismissed Law from the office of comptroller-general, and stationed a Swiss guard in his house to protect him from the anger of the populace. But he continued, in private, to co-operate with him in his financial schemes. A general confusion now took place in all financial aftairs ; and execrations were poured out on all sides against the unfortunate banker. About the middle of July the last grand efibrt was made by Law and the regent to keep up the system, and provide for the enormous issue of paper. A decree was formulated, giving the India Company the entire monopoly of commerce, on condition that it would in the course of a year reimburse six hundred millions of livres of its bills, 17 I i I 258 French Finances, and Lavfs Mississippi Co. #1 at a fixed rate per montli. On the 17th, when this decree was sent to Parliament to be registered, it raised a storm of opposition in that assembly, and a vehement discussion ensued. In the forenoon of that day, several persons were stifled in the crowd at the door of the bank, where they had gone to change ten franc notes for specie to buy provisions in the market. During the same day Law ventured to go in his carriage to the Palais Royal. But iH he passed along the streets, he was saluted with cries and curses, and reached the palace in a terrible fright. The regent, whose nerves were stronger, amused himself with his fears, but kept him there and sent away his carriage, which was assailed by the mob and pelted with stones un- til its glasses were shivered. In December, 1720, John Law finally quit Paris and France, traveling in a private conveyance of the regent. When he was fairly out of the way, a council of the regency was summoned to deliberate on the state of the finances and the affairs of the India Company. It was then ascertaiiied that bank bills were in circulation to the enormous amount of two milliards and seven hundred mil- lions of livres, while the specie remaining in the kingdom was estimated at not more than thirteen hundred millions of livres. Wlien Law left Paris, lie took with him only eight iiundred louis d'or, and a few personal effects. The chief relic of his immense fortune was a big diamond, which, it it is said, he was often obliged to pawn. Ilis furniture and library were sold by auction at a low price, and his landed estates were confiscate*! to the government. In October, 1721, he went to England, and was presented at court to his nuijesty George I. lleturning again to the continent, he led an adventurous life, shifting about from i»laco to place, lie received from France an lUiiiual [)ension of tv/enty tlioiisund livres until the death of the Duke of Or- leans in 172-), atid down to that time entertained hopes of nrranging a sottlen: Mit of his accounts with the French India Company, to which he was heavily indebted. I3y de- grees, however, he sunk into obscurity, and finally died in ecree itorm ssion rsons yhere buy Law But 1 cries . The f with rriage, les uu- Parifl of the iiicil of state of It was 11 to the ■cd n\\\- lingdom iiillious End of Law's Career. 259 poverty in Venice, March 21, 1729, at the age of fifty-eight years. It is now generally conceded that John Law was a very ingenious calculator, a sincere believer in his own monetary theory, :i?id the founder to some extent of the modern system of banking. The evil genius of liia sys- tem appears to have been the regent, who in a manner forced him on to an expansion of his paper currency far bo3'ond what he had originally contemplated. " Law was like a poor conjuror in the hands of a potent spirit that he had evoked. lie only thought at the outset to raise the wind, but the regent compelled him to raise the whirl- wind." * " Works on Law and his system are numerous," saya the American Enc^'lopodia (X., p. 218) ; " but it is only within the present century that justice has, to any degree, hcen done to the extraordinary talents of \v^hich he was really possessed." The unsound financiering and mania for speculation, originating with and fostered by the great " projector," proved most disastrous to the nuiteria! and moral welfare of France; yet a great impetus was given to the settle- ment of Louisiana through the ag'jncy of his Company of the West, which, ui der d.Hvjrent names and auspices, was continued for fifteen years. The first efforts of the company at colonizing the new province were upon a large scale ; indeed, extraordinary measures were adopted for this purpose. A royal edict was issued, authorizing the collection and transportation of settlers to the Mississippi, under which the streets and prisons of ]*aris and otiier cities were swept of their mendicants and vagabonds. These unwilling colonists were cotivcycd to the seaport of Uochelle, and, with implements of all kinds for the work- ing of mines, wore crowded on board of ships, and sent to Louisiana. * See the admirablo oHsiiy, entitled Thr Mimmppl Bubhlf, in the "Crayon PapcrH," by Wusliinnton irvinw, from v.hich tlu> foregoing sketch of Law's puraoaal canei is chictly coudeuBev.. ^^mi^^^iMM^ lasBBE— 260 Louisiana under Laws' Company. On the 9th February, 1718, three ships, of the West- ern Company— the Dauphine, the Vigilante and the Nep- tune arrived at Baupliin IsUmd to take possession of Lou- isiana. After discharging their cargoes, these vessels sailed on their return to France ; and on the 8th of March two frigates, the Duchesse de Noailles and the Victoire, ca«t anchor at Ship Island.* By the iirst named frigate came Pierre Duque de Boisbriant, a Frencli-Canadian, who had received the appointment of king's lieutenantf of the province, and who was the bearer of a commission appoint- ing his cousin, Bienville, governor and commandant-gen- eral, in place of M. L'Epinay removed. Besides the of- ofiicers and the soldiers belonging to the company, these di^'crent vessels brought out about six hundred colonists, who were intended to settle the various concessions or land grants thrt had been nuulo to persons of prominence, as inducemcLts to immigration. The new colonists were of different ages, sexes and conditions, but mostly belongcii to the poor and i,?j:norant class, yome of them perished from the huk of thiift and enterprise; some from impru- dence and the diseases incident to the climate; while others lived and prospered by their own energy and in- dustry. In October, of that year (1718), Bernard de la llarpo, one of the leading spirits of the province, at this period, started to take possession of a grant or c:)ncession of land that had been made to him on the upper waters of Ked River. With a party of fifty Frenchmen, in two boats and three pirogues, lie j>ushed up that stream to the >»'atclii- toches, where he found M. Blondel in command of the French fort, Hien recently erected there, and on the island near by were about two hundretl Indians, belonging to the Matchitochcs, Dulciiioes and Yatasse tribes. Lallarpo thence continued to as* end the river until he reached the nation of tlic Nassonis, whose villages were locate«l from seventy to eiglity leagues above the Natchitoches. Upon iF French's "HiHtorical Collections nf La." New Serit's (N. Y., 18(M>), I». I'l'»; iiIh" vol. II, First SericB, p. (iO. t TliHt IB liiiiirnanl da roi, or lienttuiant-governor. Adventures of La ffarpe. 2(31 f the West- d the Nep- jion of Lou- lese vessels th of March /ictoire, cast frigate came an, who had untt of the sion appoint- luuuhmt-gen- ;sklos the of- .mpauy, these rod colonists, ssioiis or land roiuinence, as onists were of )stly helongc'i thelu perished P from imprn- limatc ; wliile nergy and in- de la Harpo, vt this period, 'Sfiion of land waters of Ked two hoats and to the ^atchi- nmand of the 1 on tlie island , belonging to bes. Lallarpo 10 reached the located from itoches. T^l»»'^ sv 8erU'B (N. "^ , his arrival thither, he at first employed his men in coli- structing a block-house for their use and tlio storage of his goods, in which labor they had the friendly assistance of the Nassonis. From this point of vantage, ho cd'torward attempted to open a trade with the S[)aniards in Now Mex- ico, and also explored the wide range of country between Red Rivor and the Fppor Arkansas. Agreeably to his own narrative, he ascended the Arkansas, or one of its con- stituent branches, to the base of the Rocky Mouiitaina, and there found several tribes living together III o?io large village. In pursuance of the usual French policy, ho mode himself well acquainted with the different Indian nations iidiabiting tiiose wild and hitherto unviHited regions, and formed amicable relations with several of them. IIIh printed journal of his voyage and illHcoveries is charac- terized by simplicity of stylo and ea^y credulity, but it is none the less entertaining, and '"iitaiiiH, withal, much use- ful information respecting tiie aborigines whom he vis- ited.* It was not until tije end of the year 1710 that La Uarpe rotiUHied to the head-quarters of (Jovernor Bieii- ville. BVom the beginning of operations by the Western Conutanv in Louisia/ia. the directors thereof had evinced much anxiety for the occupation of the (iulf coast, west of the rivei Sabine, with a colony. But Governor Bien- ville, believing in the [Kjlicy of concentrating the settle- ments near the Mississippi, ha<l doc)i;*ed sending colonists to that remote quarter, wlien; they wcMild b< exposed to the Rttacks of both the Indians and Spaniards. At length, in August, 1721, under sj)Ocial instructions li-om the direct- ors, he iHsuod the following official order, addressed to La llaipo, for tlio cstablirthnient of a post near the Bay of St. Bernard, or Matagorda : " We, Joan Ba[>tisto do Bienville, chevalier of the mil- * Vide " Journal dti voyage df ht hiuiti(tM,faU par U S'r liernnrd de la Hnrpi', it dt'» drroKirrliit ijii' if n Jiiil>» dan la pnrtii' de // micHt de relle colo- nic," from the year l7IHto 1722, IncluHive ; priutod in tbo "Historical ('olii'ctionB " of l^ouisiantt. 2G2 Louisiana under Law's Company. itary order of St. Louis, and commandant-general for the kin<^ in the Province of Louisiana: " It is hereby decreed that M. de la Harpe, command- ant of the Bay of St. Bernard, shall embark in the packet, ' Subtile,' commanded by Beranger, with a detachment of twenty soldiers, under Belile, and shall proceed forthwith to the Bay of St. Bernard, belonging to this province, and take possession in the name of the king and the Western Compan}' ; shall plant the arms of the king in the ground, and build a fort.u[»on whatsoever spot appears most advan- tageous for the defense of the place. " If the Spaniards or any other nation have taken pos- session, M. de la Ilarpe will signify to them that they have no right to the country, it being known that possession was taken in 1(385 by M. de la Salle, in the name of the King of France, etc. " Bienville." "August 10, 1721." * Pursuant to this order. La Ilarpe sailed shortly after uj)on his doubtful '' •. .^^rise; but on arriving at the bay he found r.o safe liarbor, and owing to the opposition man- ifested l)y the natives on its shores (who were partly iu- Huenced by the S})aniardsin Mexico), he built no fort there. Mindful, indeed of the fate of La Salle's colony, and un- willing to expose his own men to savage massacre, he re- turned to Daujihin Island early in the following Octobcr,f und the enterprise was thereafter abandoned. In 1719 the directors of the company sent out for pub- lication in the province of Louisiana a proclamation and schedule, fixing the prices at which goods and merchandise were to be obtained in the company's stores at Dauphin Is- land, Mobile, and Bilexi. To these prices an advance of live per centum was to be added to goods delivered at New Orleans ; ten per cent, at Natchez ; thirteen ut Yazous ; twenty at Natdiitoches, and fifty at tlie Illinois and on the * Monettc's " Valley of the MiHHiHHippi," vol. 1, p. 235. tThe town ( f La Harpo, in Hancock f-ounty, III., appears to liav« been so naiuo 1 i:- memory of this v^r-::' J •- !• 'tnan. Bienville Founds New Orleans. 263 r the laud- icket, 3nt of tiwith 3, and estern round, ulvan- m pos- V have session of the LLE." ly after the bay )n man- [ivtly in- t there. Iind un- , he rc- lt:t<)ber,t ItH to hav« Missouri. Tlie commodities of the country were to be re- ceived at the company's warehouses in Mobile, Biloxi, Ship Island, and New Orleans, at the rates following, viz : Silk, of which very little was produced, from one dollar and iifty cents to two dollars the pound ; tobacco, of the beat kind, five dollars the hundred ; rice, four dollars ; super- fine flour three dollars ; wheat, two dollars ; barley and oats ninety cents the hundred ; deer-skins from fifteen to twenty- five cents ; dressed, without head or tail, thirty cents ; hides eight cents per pound.-^ No sooner had M. de Bienville superseded L'Epinay as governor of Louisiana, in 1718, than he revived his scheme for transferring the seat of government (»f the province from the sterile sands of the Gulf coast to the al- luvial banks of the Mississippi. Having already selected a site for the new capital, he now sent the Sieur de la Tour, chief engineer of the colony, with a for(;e of eighty convicts (lately arrived from the prisons of France), to clear a strip of land along the river, and trace out the plan of the town. The settlement thus begun here was named Noavcaa. Orleans, in honor to the Duke of Orleans, then prince regent oi' France. But M. Hubert, commis- sary of the colony and Company of the West, refused to transfer the offices ana warehouses of the company from Mobile and Daupliin Isjund, vhich were more accessible to vessels from the sea. For this reason, New Orleans was maintained for several years onlv as a small military and trading [»ost. In 1720 La Tour surveyed the mouths or passes of the Mississi})[)i, and reported that New Orleans might be made a connuercial port. At this time it was a collection of less than one hundred palisade cabin.'!, built of cypress wood on low, nudarious ground, subject to inun- dations, and surrounded by a forest or thicket of willows, canes, and dwarf palmettos. In .lanuary, 1722, the town vvas visited by Father Clmrlevoix, who thus recorded hie inntressions of the place : " Tlie environs of New Orlans have nothing very re- t Martin's liiHtury of Louieiana, vol. 1, page. 219. 264 Louisiana under Law's Company. markahle. I did not find this city so well situated as I had been told ; otliers are not 'f the same opinion." Again, he writes : '' I have nothing 'o add to what I said in the be- ginning of my former letter concerning the present state of New Orleans. The truestidea that voucanform of it is to represent to yourself two hundred persons that are sent to build a city, and who are encamped on the side of a great river, where they have thought of nothing but to shelter themselves from the air, while they wait for a plan, and have built themselves some houses. M. dePauger,* whom I have still the honor to accompany, has just shown me one of his drawings. It is very fine and very regular, but it will not be so easy to execute it as to trace it on paper." f The Mobile and Alabama Rivers had formed a favorite line of communication with the northern interior, and from its closer connection with the sea., Fort Louis on the Mo- bile remaiiied a principal post ; but in August, 1723, the ofileial quarters of Bienville were removed to l^ew Orleans, and its destiny Avas fixed. Thus the central point of French power in Louisiana, after hovering for over twenty years round Ship and I3au]ihin Islands, and the bays of Biloxi and Mobile, was at last permanently established on the banks of the Mississippi, and the southern colonists began to gather in settlements along that great river, so as to bo within easy reach of the rising capital. Although many of the French doubted the wisdom <>r propriety of Bienville's conduct in thus changing the seat of government, yet time has amply demonstrated the clearness of his foresight, and the sounciness of his judgment in this important action. From a mere provincial head-(puirter8 and central depot for the commercial transactions of a single company. New Orleans has since progressively grown to be the great em- porium of the Lower Mississippi Valley, the recipient of the trade of some fifteen thousand miles of river miviga- tiou, to say nothing of her extensive railway connections, *De f^ug^r WHH second or assistant (>ngin«er of the colony; and in 1722 he established the little post called Balize, at the south pass of tlio Mississippi. ' ' Jouinal of Travels i!i Nortli America," pp. 332, 334. The Province Divided into Districts. 265 3, the rloiuia, ^ yeavB Biloxi )n the Ijegau B U) be any ot Uo'8 t time it, and en. ' depot ,', New at eni- ,cnt of aviga- rtions, ; and in Lrt of tbo and the busy port where the ships and merchants of all nations do congregate. Even at that early day her rare commercial advantages, present and prospective, were well understood on the Paris Bourse. Yet, all around the nascent city, was then a mat- ted and marshy forest, "calculated by its dreariness and solitude to inspire far other thoughts tl;au those of com- merce, empire, wealth, and power." At or before this time (1723), the Province of Louisi- ana was divided for civil and military purposes into nine districts, each of which was placed under the jurisdiction of a separate commandant. These military districts were named as follows : (1) Alibamons,* (2) Mobile, (3) Biloxi, (4) New Orleans, (5) Natchez, (6) Yazoux, (7) Illinois and Wabash, (8) Arkansas, (9) Natchitoches. The province was also divided into three ecclesiastical districts. We nmst now revert to the war which broke out in 1719 between France and Spain, and wliich extended to their American colonies. On the 19th of April in that year two ships arrived from France, bringing out some colonists, and an abu'ulant supply of provisions and ammunition. By these vessels, Governor Bienville received letters from the court informing him that war iuid been declared in Europe between France and Spain. TIk^ governor tiiere- upon callud a council ol' his nllhtM'H, at uhidi it vvi|8 (je- terniined to \\\\\\n\ an ill I in h on Fort Pen8a(!ola, bef(»h> ijie Spanish garrison there could be reinforced. For this expe- dition he assenmled his regular troops, together with some Canadians and Indians, mid [>ut them under the command of Captain de Ohatoaugue, his brother, and Captain de liiclie- hourg. Embarking his little army in three vessels, the commander sailed early in May to Santa Rosa Island, where the Spaniards had an outpost. This the French seized without opposition, and then advanced u])on I*ensacola, which they invested and took by surprise; for the Spanish commandant claimed that ho was not aware of the exist- *T1u> district of the Alilnimoua lay between tli»' riv«ti» AlalMHAA and Toinbigboe. 266 Louisiana under Law's Company. ence of war between the two nations. Having made him- self master of Pensaeola, Bienville sent the prisoners he had taken in a vessel with some troops, commanded by Captain de Richebourg, to Havana. He then left his brother, Chateaugue, in command of Fort Pensaeola, with a garrison of sixty men, and returned to Dauphin Island. The French, however, were soon compelled to relin- quish their conquest. On the 5th of August two Spanish vessels arrived from Havana before Pensaeola, and sum- moned the commandant to surrender. This being refused, a brisk cannonade began on both sides, and was continued until night. On the next day the Spaniards again sent a summons to Chateaugue to surrender. He asked f\)ur days time to consider the matter, and was allowed two, during which he sent by land to Dauphin Island for assistance. Unfortunately, Bienville was not then in a position to af- ford him any aid, and the attack was renewed. Captain Chateaugue defended the fort as long as he could, but be- ing deserted by a part of his garrison, he was obliged to ca},)itulate, when he was sent a prisoner to Ilavanji. The Spanish commandant was now reinstated, and immediately set to work to n^pairthe injuries done by the cannonading; and in order to strengthen the defenses of the place, he erected a little fort on the Isle of Santa Rosa. Soon after this the Spanish commander of Pensaeola dispatched a large bateau, armed with six pieces of cannon, to harass the French establiHhment on Dauphin Island. The bateau being joined by another armed vessel, they opened a sharp tire upon tiie island, which was stoutly returiiiMl by the French ship, Philip, and a battery on shore. After bornl)iirding the island several days, and nutking various ineifectual aH<nii»ts to land llirir forces, the Spanish vessels were compelled to vvitlidraw, their dei»arture l)eing hastened by tlie unex])ecte(l appearance of u l*'ren<']i squadron of five vessels, commanded by M. de (■hampmeslin. This Hcet arrived before D iu})hin Islam! on the Jst of Septendjcr, 1711), anti brought out about eight hundred peo- ple, comprising officers, soldiers, and colonists, for TjoiiIb- iuiiu. A eoiMH'il of \\^\- \m\\^ he|»j, || W|fB tjee|i|m) to re- 2'he Capture of Pensacola. 267 11 m- 5 he L by his with id. ■elin- auish sum- 'used, inucd leut a V days luring itiince. to af- aptain •ut be- ged to !■ The diately ading ; aee, he take Pensacola, and rescue the French sohliers who had been taken prisoners by the Spaniards. Accordingly, on the 7th of September, the entire fleet, with the exception of one vessel set sail for Pensacola. The French and Cana- dian troops, from Dauphin Island, who formed a little urmy by themselves, commanded by the Sieur de St. Denis, were debarked near the mouth of the river Perdido, to attack the large fort by land, while the 8(piadron held on its way. No sooner had the French ships of war entered and come to anchor within the liarbor at Pensacola, than they opened fire upon the Spanish forts and vessels. After a fierce can- nonade of two or three liours, the Spaniards, numl^ering about twelve hundred, surrendered, and were made prison- ers of w^ar. Among them were found forty French de- serters, twenty of whom weic hung at the yard-arn. of the admiral's ship, and the remainder condemned to ten years' labor as galley slaves. On the next day a Spanish vessel, laden w^ith provisions and stores, entered the port of Pen- sacola, not knowing that it had changed masters, and was immediately captured by the French. After the re-taking of i^ensacola, the two forts were demolished, and all the houses were destroyed save four, which were kept for the use of the small garrison left there. The captured numitions and stores were transported to Dauphin Island.* But the operations of this inter-colonial war, which lusted two years, were not wholly confined to the fringe of European settlements on the coast of Florida and f^udlHiullu. Advi'MtUHMiri whilu trnders and explorers had already fouml a route across the wbl«' auil barren plains of tlie west, IVolli tlie NfiHsoiiri Hivet* td New Ifexjco: am] during the year 1720 a Spanish expedition was organized at Santa Kivf to operate agiiliisl thoFreinli in Northern Ist of |ed peo- Lonifl- tfi re- * piiniont's Historical Mt'inoir of l,ouiHiaiin. lynji. — li waH during tlio autuiiiii ami wIiiIlt of that ymr itHfl), that Governor Hiin villi' roniovod the main bnily I'f (ho colony from Dauphin Island to Old Miloxi, and thence to New Hlluii, fin Mie went side of the buy of that name. \ Santa K<5 wiiu uuttled hy IIm-' Hpaniards ns early as 1582-'83. ' " ^'-^i^-it^''^'^ ^^iiegaHi 268 Louisiana under Law's Company. Louisiana, while, at the same time, it was expected that a fleet would assail the posts of the latter on the Gulf. Accordingly a force of three hundred Spanish cavalry, together with some traders, women, and a few priests, set out from Santa Fe on their eastward march across the country, guided by a band of Padouca, or Comanche, In- dians, The intention of the loaders of the expedition was to proceed by way of the Upper Arkansas, and to secure the co-operation of the Osage Indians in a combined attack upon the Missouris, who were friends or allies of the French. Seventy only of the Spaniards appear to have persevered in this dangerous enterprise, and they were con- ducted by their ignorant guides so fVir to the north that they struck the Kansas, instead of the Arkansas River, at a point not far above its junction with the Missouri. Here they unwittingly found themselves among the Mis- souri Indians, who spoke the same language as the Osages, The wily chiefs of the Missouris dissembled their own in- tentions until they had ascertained the purpose of the in- vaders, and received a supply of arms from them. They then assembled their young warriors, and, falling suddenly upon the Spaniards, put them all to death, save the com- mander, who is said to have escaped by the tleetness of his horse. Such, in substance, is the story of the invasion and attempted occupation of tlio country of the Missouris by the Spaniards from New Mexico, whose objective point was the Illinois. — (Martin's Hist, of La., pp. 234-5.) The account of this Spanish expedition, as given in Bossu's Letters of Travel, agrees in essential points with the above, but varies from and is fuller in its details. He writes : " In 1720 the Spaniards formed the design of sotti' ig at the Mis- souris, who are noar the Illinois, in order to confine us ( the French) more on the westward ; the MissouriH are far distant from New Mexico, which is the most northerly province the Spaniards have. Bossu's Account of the Spanish Expedition. 269 1)11 and by the |/as tlie Iven in ta with He Ithe :SIiB- 1 French) Mexico, " They helieved that in or<l>T to [)nt their colony in safetv, it was necessary they should entirely tieHtroy the Missouris; but cm ludiug that it would be impossible to subdue tliera with their own forces alone, they resolved to make an alliance with the Usages,. a people who were the neighbors of the Missouris, and at the same time their mortal en- emies. With that view, they fornn-d a canivun at Santa Fe, consisting of men, women and soldiers, having a Jacobine (Dominican) priest for their chaplain, and an engineer captain for their chief and conductor, with the horsi s and cattle necessary for a permanent settlement. The caravan being set out mistook its road, and arrived at the Missouris, taking them to be the Osages. Immediately the i:onductor of the car- avan ordi'p'd his interpreter to speak to the chiel' of the Missouris, as if he had bc'ii that nt the Osages, and tell liiin that they Wv-re come to make an allianee with him, in onUr to destroy together the Missouris, their enemies. "The great vhi"f of the Mi.ssouris concealt'd his thoughts ut'on this expedition, showcil tlio Spaniards signs of great joy, and promised to execute a design witli them wiiieh gave him mu< u j>leasure. To that purpose, lie invited tlu-m to rest for a few days after their tiresome journey, till he had assemliled his warriors, and held council with the old men ; but the result of that council was, that tli'-'y should entertain their guests vtiy well, and affect the sincerest friendship for them. " They agived together to set out in three days. The Spanish captain immediately distributed fifteen (five) hundred muskets, with an equal number of pistols, sabers and hatchets; but the very morning after tins agi'eement, tlie Missouris came by break of day into the Spanish camp, and killed them all except the Jacobin priest, whose singular dress did not seem to belong to a warrior. . . . ".\11 these tran.sactions the Missouris themselves related, when they brought the ornaments of the chapel hither — ^to the Illinois). These people, not kmwing the respect dae the sacred utensils, h ing the chalice to a horse's neck, as if it had been a bell. They were dressed out in these ornanu-nts; the rhief having on the naked skin tile chasuble, with the paten suspended from his neck. " The Missouris told him ( Boisbriant) that the Spaniards intended to have destroyed them; that they bad brought him all these things as being of no use to them, and that if he would, he might give them such goods in return as w^re more to their liking. Accordingly, he gave them some goods, and sent the ornaments to M. do Bienville, who was then the governor of the Province of Louisiana. As the Indians had got a great nun\ber of Spanish horses from the caravan, the chief of the Missouris gave the finest of them to M. de Boisbriant. The}' had likewise brought with them the map which had conducted the Spaniards so ill ; who came to surrender themselves, confessing their intention to their enemies." — Kutireau Voyages <u<.i Indies Occidentales, Far M. Bo»su, Capitaine dans les JVfrupea d-e la Marine. A Paris, 17G8. English edition, London, 1771, Part I., pp. 150-155. mm % IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) "^/^O m €// '^ £s.^ m ^%6 I 1.0 I.I 11.25 |50 ""^* 25 2.0 m 1.4 mil 1.6 PhotogTdphic Sciences Corporation 23 WliST MAIN STREEI WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 873-4503 A^ is ^ ^'Jjrt^- i' iMHi li m il il i|i||i l lii m i L i m i .i ii.M ili| - |i Pn i f il >>«»^.i,www.j ; ~ ' ''"^*-"i?iW>miIi>t.ritBtiti*.««iiiia^*<i>i«>iu«iS>7»^ 270 Boisbriant's Rule in Illinois. CHAPTER XIV. 1718-1732. LIEUTENANT BOISBRIANT's RULE IN THE ILLINOIS — THE NATCHEZ WAR. Early in the month of October, 1718, Pierre Duque do Boi8briant,as king's lieutenant for Louisiana, departed from the Mobile up the Mississippi, with a considerable detacli- ment of regular xroo)»s, to regulate aitairs in the Illinois, and to establish a permanent military post for the better protection of the French inhabitants in that inii»ortant part of the province. Arrived at Kaskaskia, he temporarily lo- cated his head-(iuarters there, which was the liivst military occupation of the village ; but it was only for about tifteen months that he ma<le it his residence. Selecting a con- venient site for a post, some sixteen miles above and to the north-west of Kaskaskia, he sent a nund)er of artisans and lal)orers to work there, and by the s[)ring of 1720 they had built and comjdoted the fort, which ^va8 thenceforth the head-quarters of the comnnindant and the seat of authority in the district. It was erected at the expense of the Com- pany of the West, and was named Fort Chartres, or Fort de Chartres, probably in compliment to the then Regent of France, from the title of his son, the Due de Chartres.* Tlio fort stood less tlian one mile from the Mississippi, and a little to the east of an older fortlet that had been raised by the adventurers under Crozat. This second fort wua not a place of iiiucli military h.rength, being constructed princii)ally of wood; but it subserved the purpose of its builders and occupants, and in time was supplanted by that extensive stone erection, at tlie same })lace, which figures 80 prominently in the later French history of Illinois. * It might ulso have been bo called from a city of that name in France. First Building of Fort Chartres. 271 [)i, an<i |rt WHS :rucUHi of itrt Iby tluit Upon the building of Fort Chartres, a village began to grow on the bottom between it and the river. The "company" erected its warehouses here, and the Jesu'ts built the church of St. Anne de Fort Chartres. Under tlie jurindiction of the priest of tliis church, chapels were sub- sequently erected at Prairie du Rocher and St. Philippe's. After the rebuilding of the fort in 175<^, the village took the name of New Chartres; and, a few years later, it is said to have contained forty families. Part of the ancient records of the parish of St. Anne have been preserved to this day.* Shortly after the occupation of Fori Chartres, all the French villages in Illinois became extended and received considerable accessions to their po})nlution. In 1719, a par- ish was formed of the mission at Kaskaskia, of which, in the succtoding year, Father Nicholas Ignatius de Beaubois had charge. In 1721 the Jesuits estiibli.'hed a moiuistery and college (so called) at Kaskaskia, and in 1725 the vil- lage bec'ime incorporated as a town. At Cahokia, the Sul- pitians erected a water-mill for grinding corn and sawing lumber, and also imjtroved and stocked a tine plantation. As the transactions of the Western Company were multiplied and extended in Lower Louisiana, the district of tiie Illinois was likewise beneiited ; for they furnished a market for its surplns agricultural productions, already considerable, and to the furs and pelts gathered in trafhc with the Indians, as well as to the lead dug from the mines of Missouri. But this was not all. The colonists could now obtain from the c<imi)aiiy titles to their landed pos- sessions, and thus be (luicted in any uneasiness they might otherwise have felt in regard to theni. 1'he only tenure by which they had hitherto held their village lots and parcels of land was by verbal grant or mere acquiescence of the Indiihs, with no reference to the king, "the lord para- mount of the soil according to French law." t The "company" had succeeded to the rights of the crown in the land, and, though extensive domains were History of Randolph Co., 111., etc., p. .WJ. 272 BoisbrianVs Rule in Illinois. granted by it to some favored or influential persons in the soutliern part of Louisiana, there were but few in the north- ern part who sought to secure more than those small par- cels or tracts, the cultivation of which had inspired them with a feeling of home. Moreover, it was important to the managers of the company that the soil should be cultivated, as a ready and certain source of subsistence to those at- tached to it, vm\ for the success of all tlieir operations. Disappointed in the eager search for mineral wealth, many of the adventurers betook themselves from necessity to the pursuits of agriculture. Grants of land were therefore made, for the purposes of settlement and cultivatior, to all who apjilied for them. The earliest recorded private grants date back to 1722, a!id were mostly executed by JM. de Boisbriant, commandant in the Illinois, representing the king, a!id Marc Antoine de la Loire dcs L'^rsins, on behalf of the Koyal Indian (Company, sucL-essor to the Company of the West. The following is one of the earliest of record : " Pierre Duquet de Boisbriant, Knight of the Military Order of St. Louis, and first King's Lieutenant of the Province of Louisiana, commanding at the Illinois, and Mons. Antoine de ia Loire des Ursins, principal Commissary for the Itoyal India Com}>any, on the demand of Charles Danie, to grant him a piece of land of five arpents in front on the side of the Mitchigamia River, running north and south, joining to Michael Philip on one side, and on the other to Mele([ue, and in dei)th, east and west to the Mis- sissippi. In conse([uence, they do grant to the said Charles Danie, in socacje, the* said land, whereon he may from this date conmience working, clearing and sawing, in ex[)ecta- tion of a fornnil concession,* which shall bo sent from France by Messrs. the J)irector8 of the Koyal India Com- pany, and the said land shall revert to the domain of the * This more " formal conoesBion " seems to have been neglected by the t'ompHuy. Land Grants by the Company. 273 the I'tli- par- I the ited, 3 at- ious. uany o the ■efore to all i-rauts \L (le 0- the johalt' lip any est of lU'cted by said company if the said Charles Danie does not work thereon within a year and a day. " Given this 10th day or May, 1722. (Signed,) " Boisbriant, " "Des Ursins."* Remarking upon the ahove and simihir grants, Judge Breese writes : "Incipient titles were only granted hy these officers, hut almost all of them ripened into a right without the formality of a concession from the company in France, and became allodial, tliough granted in socage, for the sim- ple reason that they were considered of so little value as property that the agents of the company did not trouble themselves to see whether the conditions and services were {>erformed or not. '* The manner in which the settlers cultivated is pecu- liar, I believe, to the French, and deserves a i)assing notice. Th"y had not, as we have, separate fields, nor did they re- side on the cultivated lands in general. They dwelt in villages, on lots of ground containing generally an arpent 8(juare (less than the Knglish acre), which they inclosed with pickets of cedar or other durable wood, sharpened at the top, and apjtropriated it to the purpose of a garden, re- serving a small part only for a barn, stable, and other f)ut- liouses. Their farming lands were adjacent to the village \n the neighboring prairie, divided into strips, sometimes not more than half an arpent in width, extending originally west from the Kaskaskia to the Mississipj)i liiver, a mile or more in length, and uninclosed by any fence wliatever. These farming strips, thus lying contiguous to each other, embraced what was long known as the 'common field.'" f It appears from a [)etition presented by the iidiabitants of Kaskaskia to the district commandant of the Illinois, early in 1727, that in the year 1719 Major Boisbriant had caused to be drawn the lines of the grand square in the * H« was aftt'rward killed in the iiuiHsacrc at Kort KoHalii; t " Karly llintory of IlliiioiH," p. 173. 18 •;?«^i^»'>**w«S!«*t^?-" 274 Boisbriant^s Rule in Illinois. prairie which they then tilled, and de8ignate<l to cacli in- habitant his respective parcel of land. He then established a " common " for stock, lying outside of the lines of the cultivated fields, and extending south to the mouth of the Kaskaskia River, and also including the adjacent islands in tlie Mississippi, and a strip of bottom land on the east side of the former river, for their cattle, horses, and swine to range upon. But the written instruments of concession were not delivered to them by the Superior Council of" Louisiana. Under this arrangement, it was necessary to watch their live stock while grazing on the common adjacent to the cultivated lands, the idea not having occurred to them until Boisbriant gave them the hint, that a fence would protect them from their ravages and render watcliing use- less. It was not, however, until 1727 that they did inclose these lands by planting pickets upon the lines marked out by Boisbriant, thus making a large field of several thousand acres. The "commons" att'orded a rich pasturage for their cattle and horses, and much of it was covered with a lux- uriant growth of walnut, oak, and hickory, the mast from which, added to the hazel-nuts, served to fatten their numer- ous swine. On the 22d of June, 1722, Messieurs Boisbriant and Des Ursins granted to the inhabitants of Cahokia their "commons," situated on the alluvial bottom between that village and the Mississippi, and near to the present great city of St. Louis. The same officials also confirmed to them their "common field," which extended from the bluffs that line the American Jiottcmi on the east to the liigolet or creek of C^ahokia.* In the following year, on .June 14, 1723, Boisbriant and Des Ursins granted to I'hilip Francois de Renault, di- rector-general of the mining oi)eration8 of the company, one league s<juare of land in the south-west part of what is now Monroe county, Illinois, and also a tract of land of more than fourteen thousand acres at Peoria. Uenault wtis * BreeHo'H MiHtory, pp. 174 to 170. JjOind Grants to the Sieur Renault. 275 m- the ' the lis \\\ , side ic to W of watch 3Ut t«) theiu wouUl ig use- inclose ed out oiisand jv tlieir |i a bix- t from nuuior- uit and their on that it great nicd to om tiie it to the HHbriaiit uuilt, di- ompauy^ f Nvhat ia hind of luiultwas a man of fortune and entorpriso, who had left Lo Belle France in the spring of 1719, with two hundred miners and laborers, and every thing needful to prosecute the business pertaining to his office. On the voyage to Louisiana, he purchased at St. Domingo live hundred Guinea negroes to work in the mines. Arriving on the Lower Mississippi, he thence ascended the river in canoes to the Illinois and Mis- souri, where gold and silver were supposed to exist in abundance. Sanguine hopes were entertained by the stock- holders ir^ the "company" at his anticipated success, but they all eventually ended in disappointment. Prospecting and mining parties were sent out into various parts of the country. Diligent search was made for minerals on Drewrv's Creek, in what is now Jackson countv; about St. Mary's, in Randolph county; along Silver Creek, in Monroe county; at several points in St. Clair county, an<l in other l>arts of Southern Illinois, as well as in Missouri. ]>ut, after expending a large amount of money and four years of valuable time, Renault had to content himself with th«^ gift of the before mentioned wild lands, and witli dull lead instead of the glittering ores.* On the concession made to him in Monroe county, lie laid out a little vilhige, which he honored with his own baptisnud appellation of " St. Philippe." It stood on the plain, about one mile east of the Mississippi, and five miles from old Fort Chartres. Like al' the other French villages, it had its " common field," the allotments being made l)y Ihe founder, and also its "commons," embracing a large scope of the unappropriated domain. It contained at one time sixteen houses, besides a snndl chapel, but in 1765 nearly all the inhabitants deserted it, and went to reside on the western baidc of the Mississippi. Not a vestige of either this or C'harte Village now renuiiu to tell the story of their rise, progress, or decline. The name of tlie worthy Renault, however, is still perpetuated in tliat of u precinct and post-office of Monroe county. * Later ^cologionl invt'stiLration Iuih hIimwii tliat silver jh coinbinod with the lead mined in i\\'w region, but in hardly HUllieient quantities to pay for its separation. 276 Boishrianf s Rule in Illinois. To Boisbriant yiimself, tlie Company of the Indies, be- fore the 8urrender of its vast privileges to the crown, granted what in Europe would liave been considered a handsome principality, embracing several thousand acres of rich bottom land, extending from the blutfs on the east to tVie Mis8issi})pi. In 1733, he transferred this tine tract to his nephew, Jean St. Therese Langlois, an officer of the king's troops then quartered in the Illinois. Imitating Renault's example, Langlois established upon his estate the village of Prairie du Rocher, reserving to himself certain seignorial rights recognized by the feudal law and the cus- toms of Paris. He divided the land set apart for the vil- lage into small, narrow allotments, with a "common tield," as usual, to actual settlers, some of whose descendants continue to cultivate it in a primitive way to the present time. This village took its name from the rocky blutf that bounds it on the east, and runs parallel with the river at the distance of a league therefrom. It is situated about three miles east of Fort Chartres, and, at the close of the French dominion, com[)risetl twenty-two dwelling-houses and a chapel. Aside from tliose we liave mentioned, l)ut few grants of any magnitude were made by the Royal India Company to persons in Illinois. Good lands were far too abunthmt in those days to be much cared for, or considered of any particular value; otherwise, many of the French settlers might have possessed dukedoms. At this })criod, the pres- ence of the copimandant, and of the local officers of the " company," together with a detachment of his majesty's troojjs, at Fort Chartres, nuide it the focus of whatever of wealth, culture, and fashion there was in the district of the Illinois. In 1725, Governor Bienville, owing to the jealousy and opjtosition of his enemies, was recalled to France, and his brother, ('hateaugue, was also deposed from his office of lieutenant-governor in the colony. M. de Boisbriant, as first king's lieutenant, now became governor ad interim of Louisiana, with head-quarters at New Orleans, and liis po- sition of major-commandant at the Illinois was filled by Gov. BknvUle Succeeded by Perier. 277 prcs- )t' the !ver of of the the Sieur de Liette, a captain in the royal army. Boishriant was an aniiahlc and benevolently inclined gentleman, and his administration of affairs was deservedly popnlar, both in Upper and Lower Louisiana. In xVugust, 172(5, he was relieved of his duties as eonmiandant-general of the prov- ince by M. de Perier, an o^cer of the marines, and a knight of St. Louis, who had been ai)pointed to succeed Bienville. Shortly after his arrival and installation in ofHce, Gov- ernor Perier's attention was called to the Natcliez and Chickasaw Indians, and to the insincerity of their profes- sions of friendship for the French, lie thereupon ad- dressed the directors of the In<lia Company, and urged upon them, as his predecessor had done before, to provide more effective protection for the white settlers exposed to the hostility of those tribes. But his api)rclien8ion8 were not shared by the directors, and no additional troops appear to have been provided. We now ai)proach one of tlie most memorable epi- sodes in the French annals of Louisiana, viz, the war with and destruction of the Natchez nation. The history of this strange and interesting people has beeii imparted to us by their destroyers ; and we may therefore presume that all the more amiable and polished traits ascribed to them are true. They and their kindred, the Taensas (who dis- appeared as a distinct tribe before 1712), inhabited that range of sutiny hills on the east side of the Mississij»j)i, which constitutes one of the finest districts in the present State of Mississippi. Their traditions pointed to the fact that their ancestors had come from countries to the south- west. Their language, Sabianism, human sacrifices, and mound building, seem to connect them with the T'dtccs of Mexico, or the Mayas of Yucatan. Their singular custom of distorting the head by compression corresponds witli the description of the ancient Mexicans, by liernal Diaz. They are described as mild, friendly and brave, though preferring peace to war, and as being very dissolute. Compared with the Indians around them, the Natchez might be called a semi-civilized people. It is true that 278 Boishrlant' s Rale in Illinois. some barbarous customs prevailed among them, but these only indicate that a cruel and sanguinary superstition may taint the character and manners of a people, otherwise peaceable and humane. They had tixed laws or usages, gradations of rank, and an established worship, with tem- ples dedicated to the sun. They were governed by a chief called the Great Sun, said to have been descended, in the female line, from a man and woman who came down from the sun, and built their first temple for perpetual fire, which was ever afterward maintained. This temple stood on a mound about eight feet high, with a pitched roof, and in it three logs were kept slowly burning. The power of the Sun-chief was absolute, as was that of the lesser suns, or male members of his family. Such was the idolatrous veneration in which the great chief was held by his sub- jects, that he was never approached by them without special marks of reverence. Next to the Suns were the subordinate chiefs or nobles. The common people, called puants, by the French, were apparently a mixed race of Choctaws and others. In war the Natchez used bows and arrows, clubs, and other Indian weapons, but they had no metals of any consequence. They dressed in buffalo, bear and other skins for winter, and in summer wore light robes made of tlax, or the inner bark of the mulberry. They had various feasts, wliich were duly celebrated ; and on the death of a chief killed many of his retainers to attend him in the future life. Their dead, after the practice of the Indians in general, were kept on raised platforms till the tiesh was consumed, when the bones were buried. " The Natchez," writes Mr. Gayarre, " were of a light mahogany complexion, with jet black hair and eyes. Their features were extremely regular, and their expression was intelligent, open, and noble. They were tall in stature, very few of them being under six feet, and the symmetry of their well-proportioned limbs was remarkable." This description, liowever, could hardly apply to any but the chiefs and nobles of that race. Originally a very numerous people, they occupied and ruled the country iar up and down the Mississippi ; but they begjin to decline before the Some Account of the Natchez Nation, 279 lese nay A'ise iges, tem- ;j\net' . t\ie from ,'hicb on a , and rer ot* suns, itrous s sub- itliout re the called •ace of svs and la d no bear robes They d on attend tice of ns till m a light Their on was stature, nmetry This but the [luerous up and fore the appearance of the Frencli aniono- tliem, which has been termed "the e.a of their doom." The causes assigned for the dwindling of this race were, their frequent hecatombs of luiman beings, tlie state of warfare in whicli they lived with the neighboring tribes, the prevalence of lung diseases among them, and the ravages of the snniU-pox. The existence of the Natchez was know^n to Europeans from the year 15G0, when Don Tristan de Luna led a Span- ish expedition into their country from the southern coast of Florida. La Salle, as we have seen, reached them in March, 1682, and (riberville was tliere in the spring of 1700. Soon after that, they were visited by English traders from Carolina. At this [)eriod tliey occupied a group of iive villages, situated to the east and south-east of the pres- ent city of Natchez, and about three miles from the Missis- sippi River. The French both courted and dreaded this formidable people, and in their intercourse with them had need for the exercise of all their tact and skill in Indian diplomac}'. In 171<), the Natchez having killed some Frenchmen and made prisoners of others, IVienville, as lieutenant of the province, coerced them to put to death certain of the murderers, and built Fort Rosalie there for the protection of the French settlers. In 1722 acts of hos- tility were renewed by the inconstant Natchez, when Bien- ville, as commandant-general, sent t\ui Sieur Paillou, with a number of troops, to chastise them ; and in October, 1723, the governor himself conducted an exi»cilition from New Orleans against that people. Ujion arriving with his army at the Natchez, he destroyed luo of their villages (White Ai)ple and Gray Village), and compelled Stung-Serpent, the great chief of the natii)n, to lu'ing him the heads of Oldhair, ehiet of the White Ap}tle A'iliage, and of a free negro, who had settled anuuig the Natchez and made him- self the leader of an insurrectionary i»arty. Having thus brought the war to an end, the governor returned to the capital.* But the peace now made was insincere, and new * Dumont's Memoir, in Hist. Coil's of I-a., vol. v. 280 The Natchez War. troubles arose froiri time to time betweoa the whites and the IndianE. The proximate cause (/f tlie war, which ended in tlie extinction of tlie Natchez as a nation, was due to the ra- pacity and tyranny of the Sieur de Chopart, or Chepart, who was appointed commandant of Fort Rosalie in 1726. lie first made himself objioxious to the French settlers at Natchez ])y various acts of oppression and injustice, and was ordered to New Orleans to undergo an itivestigation of his conduct. But, at the solicitation of inHuential friends, and with mistaken leniency on the part of Governor Peiier, he was reinstated in liis command. On his return to his post, in 1T29, Chopart took with him some negro slaves, intending to establish a plantation in that locality. Not daring to dispossess any of the French settlers, he resolved to take possession of the Great Village of the Natcliez, which was seated in a beautiful {)lain, intersected by the little river St. Catharine. With this intention, he sent for the Sun- chief, and by his interpreter, Papin, ordered him to remove his people from the Great Village, since it was needed for the erection of some large buildings. To so astounding a proposition the great cliief replied, " that their nation liad long been in possession of that village, and lived there ; that tlie ashes of their fathers reposed tlierc, deposited in the temples which they had liuilt ; that the French had never yet taken lands by force ; that if they had settled on their lands, the nation itself gave them sites in the hope of obtaining protection and defense against their enemies; and that many Frenchmen had given goods to the Indians in payment for the lands they occupied." * These representations made no impression on the mind of the rapacious commandant, who repeated his order, with the threat that, if it was not comj)lied with, he would send the chief bound hand and foot to New Orleans. The great chief seeing that he could not move the command- ant, pretended to yield to his demand, and only asked two moons (months) in which to choose and prepare a new vil- *Dumont's Memoir, in Hist. Coil's of La., vol. v., p. (56. Tyrrany of the French Commandant. 281 lage for his nation. The time asked for wat^ granted by Chopart, but on tl.e condition that the inhabitants of the vilhige shouhl pay him a certain (piantity of poultry, bask- ets of corn, j)ots of bear's oil and bundles of skins. When the great chief returned to his village, he sum- moned a council of his princii)al chiefs and warriors to consider what means should be adopted to prevent their village and lands from being taken from them by the French. Many secret meetings and conferences were held, and it was finally resolved to massacre not only the com- mandai'i: and garrison of Fort Kosalie, but all the French in their territory, and thus rid themselves of tlieir liated presence. So soon as this barbarous resolution was taken, they sent deputies to the principal Indian nations in the province, requesting their aid in this sujtreme effort to pre- serve their independence. The Choctaws, the Chickasaws, and even the Illinois were invited to take part with them in their meditated scheme of vengeance. The Choctaws were the first and readiest to embrace t)ie quarrel of the Natchez. They agreed to destroy all the French on the lower part of the Mississippi, and for tlie execution of this purpose fixed the day which ended the two moons granted by the comnumdant. But as these Indians could not count, they exchanged vith each other as many little sticks or twigs as there were days, till tiiat fixed for the butcher} . After tliis negotiation, the Natchez deputies returned to their village, bearing the fatal bundle of sticks. These the great chief carried to the temple, and every morning he threw one of the twigs on the fire, wliich was kei>t burning there. The Indians, meantime, remained quietly at their Great Village, taking no steps to remove to another site. Although kept very secret, the plot was neverthe- less disclosed. The interpreter of the post, the sub-lieu- tenant of the garrison, and several others were warned of what was coming by certain Indian women, their mis- tresses. Even the day (St. Andrew's-eve) of the bloody exe- cution was foretold. But when this was reported to Cho- part, the commandant, he refused to believe it, and went so far as to order those who brought him the disquieting news S.r' > 282 The Natchez War. to be placed under arrest. " Warned as he was, he might very easily have prevented the misfortune ^vhich happened, had iie chosen to do so ; it would have been, enough to put the troops under arms, and fire a cannon even without ball. But either because wine and the table had troubled his Judgment, or that he vvae unfortunately prejudiced in favor of the Indians, or that he believed them incapable of dar- ing to execute such a design, he would not take any meae- nres to thwart it ; and as his injustice provoked, so his ob- stinacy crowned the evil and made it remediless."* The fatal day for the outburst of the smothered ven- geance of the savages, according to the count kept by the Katchez, was the 29th of November, 1729. On the morn- ing of that day the Sun-chief set out from his village, at- tended by a numerous body of his warriors, with their weapons concealed under their clothing, and with the calu- niet raised aloft, they marched to the liouse of the com- mandant, bearing the promised tribute of poultry, corn, ^>ear'8 oil, etc. The soldiers of the garrison were abroad i»i fancied security, and the savages immediately seized the gates of the fort, so as to exclude them from ac,cess to tiieir arms. At the same time the houses of the French, and a boat at the landing, v/ere surrounded. The work of blood now began, and before noon nearly all the Frenchmen can- toned among the Natchez were slain. Two men only were spared — one a carter and the other a tailor — and a few others escaped. Su'.3h was the abhorrence and contempt of the Natchez for Cliopart, that none of their chiefs would kill him, and a Puant warrior was deputed to perform that service. It is related rhat the Sun-chief took his seat under the projecting roof of the store-house belonging to the India Company, and comi)lacently smoked his calumet, while the heads of the Fnniciimen were brought one after another and laid at his feet. Among the more prominent victims * Duinont'H Historical Memoir, before c.ied. lie was a lii utenant in th? French service, and .i participant in some of the events he nar- rates. Massacre of the French at Fort Mosalie. 283 ligVit >ned, ) put ball. i biB favor : dar- meae- Lis ob- d ven- by the niorn- LgC, t^t- \ their le cahi- c com- ;, corn, •road in f.cd the to their 1, and a t" blood on ean- ly were a few I'lnpt of would nn that iider the lie Iiidia Idiilo the another [. victims llii iitenant ItB he nar- of this treacherour. massacre were, Father du Poisson, a Jesuit missionary among the Arkansas ; Father Soulet, a Capuchin missionary to the Natchez ; the Sieur de la Loire des Ursins, wlio liad been ju<lge and commissary at NateUez; M. de Koly and son. who had arrived only the day before to visit their concession on St. Catherine's Creek: and the Sieur Codere, commandant of the post on the Yazoo, who happened to he at Fort Rosalie at the time. The Frencli garrison of twenty men, at Fort St. Claude, on the Yazoo, also shared the fate of assassination ; but this was not until some weeks later, for the Natchez did not, at first, admit the Yazoo Indians into the secret of their plot. The total number of men killed was reckoned at not less than two hundred and fifty. Several of the French women, who attempted to defend their husbands or brothens, were cut down by the pitiless savages ; but the greater part of the won.'Mi and children were held up as captives, and the negro slaves were kept for menial purposes. When the tidings of this horrible nnissacre were car- ried to New Orleans and Mobile, it created a general con- "^^rnation. But Governor Ferier promptly took measures of defense and retaliation. A vessel was disitatched to France for acUlitional tr()o}>s and military stores, and mes- sengers were sent with, the news, by way of Red River and the Arkansas, to Fort Charties, in the Illinois. The town of New Orleans was hastilv fortitied bv a ditch and embankment, and each house was furnisiio'l .vith arms. The governor assembled a force of regulars and militia to move up the river against the Natchez, and confided the com- mand of it to the Chevalier de Lubois, king's lieutenant. (Governor Perier also sent the Sieur de Lery,* a capable officer, familiar witn the Fndian hmguages, to sound the Choctaws, and gain over that inconstant tribe <^o the French interest. The Choctaws were piipied uv the ^yiii'-hez for having niude their attack upon the French two days in ad- vance of the time fixed bv their faiirot of sticks, and, more- over, were dissatisfied with the reception accorded by the ' Or I^e Sueur, acconliiig to eoine authorities. 284 The Natchez War. Natchez to their deputies, who had been sent thither a few days after the massacre. Under these circumstances, the Sieur de Lery, by distributing presents among the Choctaw chiefs, easily induced them to serve tbe French in the cam- paign, and he was followed across the country by over twelve hundred of their dusky warriors. Entering the Natchez territory, and advancing to the vicinity of the Great Village, Captain de Lery and his Ciioctaw army en- camped about the 28th of January, 1730, to await the ar- rival of the French army from New Orleans. Still exult- ing in their triumph, and not expecting to be attacked so soon, the Natchez were spending their time in idle festivi- ties and carousals. Early the next morning (the 29th), the Choctaws rushed upon their village, liberated some of the captive French women (whom they stripped of every thing the Natchez had left them), and brought away a number of prisoners and scalps. In the following February the colonial troops arrived from the capital, under the command of the Chevalier do Loubois, wl:o laid siege to the fort of the Natchez on St. Catherine's Creek. In the meantime the Natchez made preparations for a determineil resistance; but upon the ap- pearance of 80 superior a force, and hearing the discharge of French cannon, they humbly sued for peace, offering to restore the prisoners remaining in their handh, and forsake the country. Anxious to save the captive women and children, Loubois consented to postpone the attack for one day. During the night of the truce, however, the Natchez withdrew from tlieir fort and village so (juietly as not t(» disturb the slumbers of their enemies. Their escape was due to a want of vigilance on the part of the French of- ficers, who may have connived at it, and the war was con- sequently ])rolonged. Leaving a detachment of one hun- dred and twenty men to rebuild Fort Tiosalie, wliich had been destroyed by the Natdiez, the French commander em- barked with the renuiinder of his army for New Orleans. Some of the fugitive Natchez sought shelter and homes with tlie Chicknsaws; ])ut the main body of the nation, under the lead of the Sun-chief, crossed the Mississippi and li; Extinction of the Natchez Nation. 285 few the ;taw ■am- over the ' the y- en- le ar- ■xuU- ed 80 ;st\vi- l1, the )f the thing .her of Lrrived jier «lc on St. made lie ap- charge ring to 'orsako "or one atchez not to pe was i\ch of- iis con- ho hun- Icii had [lev eui- lleanB. homes nation, Dpi and eptablished a new viUage and fort on Black River, from whence they continue 1 their acts of hostility. Thither they were pursued by Governor Perier in January, 1731, with a force of one thousand French and Indians ; and on the 25th of that month, partly by assault, and parti} by strat- egy, he reduced their stronghold, capturing the Sun, liis brother and nephew, forty warriors, and three hundred and eighty-seven women and cliildren. These were sent to New Orleans, whence they were shipped to St. Domingo, and sold as slaves for the benefit of the " company." A renniant of the tribe, fleeing farther westward, came in conflict with tlie Natchitoches, by whom they were repulsed with loss, aided l)y the French under the veteran St. Denis ; after whicli they joined the C/hickasaws, and kept up a desultory warfare on the Frencli settlers.* " Thus perished the nation of the Natchez. Their pe- eulia!' language, which has been still })reserved by the de- scendants of tlie fugitives, and is, jierhaps, now on the point of expiring — their worship (of the sun), their divis- ions into nobles and plebeians, their bloody funeral riies — invite conjecture, and yet so nearly resemble in character the distinctions of other tribes that thev do but excite, without gratifying, curiosity.'" f *The Natchez lu'ver again appeared as a distinct nation. After a consiiU'rable tin<e tlu'v moved to the Muskogeos, and in 1835 were re- (hiced to ;{00 Konlfi. retniniiig their own hmguage and line of Suns, but without reKtoriny tlieir temple or Hun-worship. For their language, the only materials are the words preserved hy Le Page du I'ratz and otlier early French writers, and a vocabulary taken by (iallatin, in 182(5, from the chief Isalialateh. Dr. Hrintori traced the analogy between it and the Maya. — Atner. Kncydo., vol. xii., p. l.'>8. t Bancroft's History, vol. iii., p. \\(\A. iVo^'.— In the vicinity of the modern city of Natcliez there are, or were formerly, two or three grotips of ancient moum's of considerable size, from which havi' been taken numerous relics, sudi as stone "eapons, pipes, earthen vchrcIs covered with figures, fragments of pot- tery, etc. It has been a (luestit)n among local anticjuaries whether these tumuli were in any way the work of the Natchez Indians. Hut the probabilities are, that while they may have been used as places of sep- ulture by these or other Indians, yet that, if not mere natural eleva- tions, they were originally the work of tlie more ancient muund builders. loiiiiSSSS 286 The Company Surrenders its Charter. The heavy expenditures incurred in prosecuting tlie war against the Natchez, the consequent loss of trade with other tribes, the inadequate returns from its commerce and mines, and the iinancial embarrassments following Law's failure, induced the Company of the Indies to solicit leave of the king for a surrender of its charter in Louisiana. The petition was granted; and on the 10th of April, 1732, by proclamation of Louis XV., the jurisdiction and control of the government and commerce of the colony reverted directly to the French crown. The Company of the West and its successor, the Royal India Company, had held act- ual possession of the Louisiana wilderness for fourteen years, which, upon the whole, were years of prosperity. During this period the white population of the province had increased from something over one thousand to five thousand, and the number of negro slaves from twenty to two thousand. New Orleans had been made the seat of the provincial government and the chief mart of trade. The ex- travagant hopes at first entertained in regard to the precious metals had not been realized, but the search for them had attracted hither many immigrants, some of whom had now made such progress in agriculture as to be self-sustaining. Illinois contained at this time several fiourishing settle- ments, the inhabitants of which were more exclusively devoted to the cultivation of the soil than in any other part of the province. It has been observed by an Illinois liistorian, that all industrial enterprises were, to a great extent, paralyzed by the arbitrary exactions of the "com])any;" that the agri- culturists, the miners, and the fur-traders of Illinois wore held in a sort of vassalage, which enabled those in power to dictate the price at which they should sell their products, and the amount they should pay them for im]>orted mer- chandise ; and that the interest of the company was always at variance witn that of the jtroducer. All of thin might have beetj, and perhaps was, sub- stantially true. But "whoever takes a correct view of the transactions of the Mississippi Company," says Major Stod- dard, "must be ccnvinced that it was of infinite utility to Benefits of its Sway in Louisiana. 287 the with 5 and jaw's lea^ve ^iana. 1732, outrol v^erted , West id act- urteen ipcrity. fovince to five enty to t of the The ex- prccioiia eiii had uul now ttiining. Bettle- ■lusively jiy other Louisiana, perhaps the preservation of it."* Judge Breese also takes a very favorable view of the rule of the great cor- poration in the Illinois. He writes : " Their sway here was more in name than in fact ; for, setting aside their power to grant lands, all real control of the people (in Illinois) was with the Jesuits. Their busi- ness pursuits were but little interfered with, and no arbi- trary or forced exactions of their little abundance were made. They did not tind, as is too often the case in others, in this overshadowing monopoly, whose sole principle of aggregation was wealth, a cruel and heartless tyrant, ready and willing, in the various modes such corporatiouH can de- vise, to plunder them of their small revenues, or oppress them in any form. In their relations to it, it was as the benefactor to the benefited ; and though the fortunes of its proprietors were wrecked, the colony itself received a new and inmiense impulse from its varied operations." f * " Iliatorical Sketches of Louisiana" (Phila., Pa., 1812), p. 01. t" Early History of Illinois," p. 180. that all ly/ed by Ihe agri- H)\s were in power l»r()dui'ts, (teil iii^'i'- lis always !l Iwas, svib- Iw of the lijt)r Stod- utility to 288 Louisiana Under the Crown. CHAPTER XV 17^2-1752. LOUISIANA UNDER THE DIRECT GOVERNMENT OF THE CROWN. When the Royal India Company, successor to the Company of the West, gave up its charter and vast privi- leges to the crown, another government was at once organ- ized for the Province of Louisiana, which severed it from New France, and continued Illinois as a dependency of Louisiana. By letters patent of the 7th of May, 1732, the Superior Council of the province was re-organized, with Perier as governor, Salmon as intendant commissary, and Loubois and d'Artaguette (Diron) as king's lieutenants. The ecclesiastical affairs of the colony were under the more immediate supervision of a vicar-general, residing in New Orleans. In 1733 the Canadian, Bienville, much to his own sat- isfaction and that of his friends, was re-appointed governor of Louisiana in place of Perier, ^vho was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general as a reward for his important services in the colony. The new commandant-general reached New Orleans early in 1734, and the Sieur Perier, resigning the government into his hands, immediately em- barked for Prance. During that year C!lai)tain IMerre d'Artaguette was ap- pointed by Governor Bienville major-commandant for the district of the Illinois, with head-quarters at Fort Chartres. He was a young(>r brother of Diron d'Artaguette, the com- missaire ordomiateur of Louisiana, and one of the most conspicuous men in the province. Pierre d'Artaguette had Herved with gallantry in the Natchez war, and was after- ward sent by Perier to command at the new fort, which The Chickasaw Nation, 289 ) the privi- )rgan- , from ;icy of 52, the 1, with ry, ami enaiits. er the ling i»^ iwn sat- iveruor to the povtant . general Perier, ely em- vas ap- for the thartres. the con- he most [ette had lis after- It, which was built on the site of tlie old one at Natchez.* After his transfer to the Illinois he had no pleasant path to tread, as was the case with his predecessors. The Chickasaw Indians — the Iroquois of the South — had all along preferred an alliance with the English colo- nists of Carolina, and had been stimulated by artful emis- saries of the latter (if they required any stimulus) to re- peated deeds of rapine and blood against the French, who were waiting a favorable opportunity to make them feel the weight of their resentment. The Chickasaws were known to Europeans, or at least to the Spaniards, from the time of De Soto. They inhabited the country intermediate between Upper and Lower Louisiana, extending eastward from the Mississippi River into Alabama, and northward through Western Tennessee. They were a less numerous people thr.n the Cherokees, or even the Choctaws, but they made up in craft and pugnacity what they lacked in num- bers. The presence of the Chickasaws in roaming bands on the eastern banks of the Mississippi not only rendered navigation perilous, but seriously interfered with trade be- tween Kaskaskia and New Orleans, and many of the French boatmen and myagcurs successively fell victims to their muskets and tomahawks. Such, indeed, was the ani- mosity of tins people that they sent emissaries to tlie tribes of the Illinois to detach them from their long-established friendship with the French settlers, and to persuade them to make war upon and exterminate the latter. But the Illinois rejected the proposition with scorn, and sent a * The new Fort Rosalie, as seen and described by Captain Pittman, in 17(')(), stood on the east side of th(> Mississippi, about six hundred und seventy yards from the river, and at an elevation of one hundred and eighty feet above the nsual water line. The fort was an irregular pentagon, without baations, and was built of sawn or hewed plank five inches thick. The buildings within the walls were a store-hoiise, a house for the officers, a barrack for the soldiers, and a guard-house. Tliesc houses were constructed of framed timbers, the spaces between being filled with mud and Spanish moss. The fort was surrounded on three sides by a dry ditch, and the fourth or north side was fenced with pickets. Some traces of the ruins of this fort are said to bo still visible at Natchez. 19 B^BWOT 290 Louisiana Under the Crown. deputation, headed by their principal chief, Checagou, to New Orleans to otter their services to the governor. In an interview with Bienville the chief presented the pipe of friendship, saying: " This is the pipe of peace or war; you have but to speak, and our braves will strike the nations that are your foes." * By authority of the King of France an invasion of the Chickasaw country was now projected, with the three-fold purpose of re-establishing safe coniniunication between the northern and southern districts of the province, of reducing those truculent savages to submission, and of driving the English traders from among them. The French were not wanting in a plausible pretext for commencing hostilities. Many of the N^atchez Indians who escaped the war of ex- tirpation against them had taken refuge among the Chick- asaws, and become incorporated with that nation, where they continued to cherish their hatred of the French. Bo- fore the beginning of the year 1736, Governor Bienville made a demand on the Ohickasaws for the surrender of those fugitives, and foreseeing that his demand was not likely to be complied with, he assembled an army to mareli against them. Great preparations were made, considering the military strength of the colony, to render the ex[)edi- tion successful. In addition to the regulars and militia raised in Southern Louisiana, the Governor sent Captain Leblanc up the river to Fort Cliartres with orders to the Sieur d'Artaguette, commandant of the district, to get in readiness the troops under his command, together witli such of the Illinois and other Indians as could be induced to join the expedition. D'Artaguette was further ordered to be in the Chickasaw country, with his forces, by the 10th of the ensuing May, and to there await the arrival of the comnumder-in-chief and his army from the south. On the 4th of March, 1736, Bienville embarked at New Orleans, with a force of five hundred and fifty-four French- men and forty-five negroes, for Fort Mobile, the rendez- vous of the troops. Resting here until Easter-day, the first of April, the army ])egan to ascend the river in bateaux * Bancroft's History, Vol. Ill, p. ;5(J5. Bienville's Expedition Against the Chickasaws. 291 to an of rou oil 9 the fold I the icmg r tbe e not lities. )f ex- 31nck- wliere . Be- envUlc ider of ;aB not » riiart'h kidcring expedi- nulitia Japtaiu to the get in er with I induced ordered |, by tlie 'rival ot ^th. at Hew l^reiieh- rcndoz- [, the tii'st bateaux and pirogues, which moved in line by force of oars. On the 20th the army reached a place called Tombeebe (Tom- bigbee), to which the governor had sent a company of sol- diers nine months before to build a fort, intending it as a place of defense and a depot of supplies. This fort was on the Tombigbee River, and within the territory of the Choctaws. The artillery which the French had brought with them was now placed in position, and its discharge broke, for the first time, the stillness of the surrounding forest. Here the Choctaw chiefs, in consideration of a certain quantity of merchandise, joined Bienville's expe- dition with over six .hundred of their warriors. Re-em- barking on the 4th of May, and continuing to ascend the river, the troops reached the place of debarkation on the 24th of that month. They were now within seven or eight hagues of the nearest and principal Chickasaw village, which was situated only a few miles from the present county town of Pontotoc, in ^Northern Mississippi, — a town which still preserves the name of the Indian stronghold. On the 25th of May (two weeks behind the pre- arranged time), the commander formed his army in two columns, and marched to within two leagues of the C^liick- asaw village, when he halted for the night. P]arly the next morning the impetuous Choctaws rushed forward upon the village, expecting to take it by a coup de main. But they found the Chickasaws awake and ready to receive them ; and not only so, but protected b.y a strong fortifi- cation of earth and timbers, which had been constructed under the supervision of some resident Englisli traders. During that day Bienville made two vigorous attempts to carry the enemy's works by storm, but was repulsed both times, and sustained a loss of thirty-two killed and sixty wounded, including several commissioned officers. He was, therefore, compelled to draw oft his army, leaving his (lead on the field of battle. During the night of the 26th, a party of Indians ar- rived from another village, as they claimed, to present the calumet and a letter to Bienville; but, provoked by the re- verses of the day, he refused to receive them, and ordered 292 Louisiana Under the Crown. his Indians to attack them, which they did.* By this rash conduct, the commanding general probably lost his only opportunity of opening communication with D'Artaguette and his associate officers, who were then prisoners in the hands of the Chickasaws. On the next day there was some skirmishing between the Choctaw and Chickasaw warriors, but without any de- cisive result. Discouraged at his unexpected failure, con- vinced of his inability to reduce the enemy's formidable works without cannon and the means of siege, and hearing nothing from the army that was to co-operate with him from the Illinois, Bienville now reluctantly abandoned the expedition. Dismissing his Indian auxiliaries, he made a retrograde march to his boats, and descended the river to Fort Tombecbe. On arriving there, it is told that he threw the iron cannon belonging to the fort into the river, to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy, and re- turned to New Orleans covered with humiliation at his dis- astrous defeat. Prior to these occurrences, however, Major d'Arta- guette had set out from Fort Chartres in the last week of February, with thirty regular soldiers, one hundred volun- teers (including the Jesuit father Senat) and two hundred Illinois and Missouri Indians, and descended the Missis- sippi to the site of Fort Prudhomme, at the Third Chicka- saw Bluff. Here he was soon after joined by the Sieur de Vincennes, from the Wabash, with twenty Frenchmen and about one hundred Miamis braves. The Sieur de Mon- cherval was also dail}'^ expected, with a contingent of Ca- hokias and Michigamies from the Illinois. Leaving a de- tachment at the river landing, to guard the canoes and heavier baggage. Major d'Artaguette set forward on his march into the Chickasaw country, and advanced by slow stages in order to give Moncherval a chance to overtake him. But that officer did not arrive in time to participate in the approaching battle. Having reached the appointed rendezvous, which was on the head-waters of the Yalo- busha, on the 9th of May, D'Artaguette waited ten days * Dumont's Historical Memoir of Louisiana. D'Artaguette's Ill-fated Expedition. 293 'ash 3nly lette the ween y de- , con- dahle taring 1 him ;d the lade a iver to threw vcr, to lud re- liis dis- d'Arta- ,veek of volun- uiidred Missis- Ichicka- lieur de nen and e Mon- of Ca- Ing a de- loes and on his by slow ,vertakc [rticipate >pointed e Yalo- ;en days for the appearance of the commander-in-chief, ready to unite with him attacking the enemy. Meanwhile, according to Mr. Gayarre, a courier reached his camp with a letter, said to have been written by Bienville, stating that in consequence of unexpected ob- stacles and delays, he would not be able to reach the Ohick- asaws at the time designated, and authorizing him to act on his own military judgment. D'Artaguette thereupon con- vened a council of war, composed of his principal officers and the Indian chiefs, and at this council it was resolved to make an immediate attack upon the enemy's stronghold. Accordingly, about the 20th of May, having formed his impatient forces in order of battle — forces who had the courage to strike, without the discretion to wait the proper time — the commander led them against the Chickasaws. The charge was daring and impetuous, and the enemy was successively driven from two of his intrenched positions, but in the assault upon the third D'Artaguette was se- verely wounded and disabled, at the moment when the victory seemed within his grasp. Panic-struck at the fall of their leader, his Indian confederates, the Illinois and Missouris, precipitately retreated, and were hotly pursued for twenty-five leagues ])y the Chickasaws, in the flush of triumph. The Mi amis, from the Wabash, appear to have been guilty of deliberate treachery, they having been pre- viously tampered with liy English agents.* Father Senat and the chivalrous DeVincennes might have botli escaped, but the former, true to his profession, stayed to console the wounded and dying, while the latter was so devoted to his unfortunate chief, that he would not leave him in peril, "preferring rather to share his captivity, and, if necessary, to die by his side." As a consequence, they, with some fifteen other Frenchmen, including a brother of Captain Louis St. Ange, fell into the hands of the Chickasaws. The prisoners were, at first, civilly treated by their captors, who expected to receive a large reward from *See " History of Louisiaua," by Chas. Gayarr^ (New Orleans, 1885), 3d ed., vol. II., pp. 485-6. 294 Louisiana Under the Crown. the Frencli for tlieir safe return. But, after the discomfiture and retreat of Bienville's army, the Chickasaw chiefs aban- doned hope of securing an adequate ransom for their pris- oners, and prepared to make them the victims of a sa/age triumph. To this end they were taken to a neighboring field and bound by fours to stakes; and neither valor nor piety could save them from being tortured to death by slow and intermitting hres. Two of the number were reserved to be exchanged for a Chickasaw warrior, who had been made prisoner by the French. After this cruel manner perished the gallant D'Arta- guette, the faithful Senat, and the lieroic De Vincennes. We would not withhold the meed of sympathy due them in their direful fate. At the same time it must not be forgotten that, in hazarding an assault upon the enemy in his fortified position, before the arrival of the main army under Bienville, they invited the very fate that befell them, and destroyed the chances of French victory in that cam- paign. The Chickasaws were now more defiant than ever, and being elated with vanity over their success in repelling the attacks of two French and Indian armies, they sent a depu- tation of chiefs to announce their triumph to the English authorities in Carolina, with whom they renewed their alli- ance, and by whom they were supplied with arms and amnmnition, as well as merchandise. Ambitious to retrieve his own military reputation, and also to recover the lost prestige of the French arms in Louisiana, Governor Bienville resolyed upon a second cam- paign against the Chickasaws ; but it was not until after receiving reinforcements fi'om France that he was able to renew this arduous enterprise. In the spring of 1739, hav- ing previously' obtained the sanction of the French Minister of Colonies, he again began active pr«^paration8 for the sub- jugation of that fierce tribe, which had so successfully de- fied his power and authority. Orders were sent out to commandants of the various military posts in the province to furnish as many troops as possible, which resulted in the assembling of the largest and best appointed army hitherto Bienville s Second Campaign. 295 tr.re biin- pris- , /age jr.iig r nor ' slow erved been Arta- ennes. : them lot be ;my in I army , them, t cam- er, and ing the I dcpu- nglish loir alli- ns and seen in LouiHiana. The general reudezvons was at tirst fixed on the St. Francis River, just above its junction with the Mississippi, where a fort and cabins were erected to serve as a basis of operations. The coniniandant-gcneral arrived at this post toward tlie end of June, and in August he embarked his army and moved up to tlie mouth of Wolf River, a small stream which falls into the Mississippi near the present city of Mempliis. Here, on the bluff, another and larger fort was built, with a house for the commandant, barracks for the soldiers, store-houses, etc. It received the name of Fort As8umi»tion, because the troops landed liere on that day. At this fort tlie army received reinforcements from the north. The iirst to arrive was the Illinois force, composed of about two hundred Frenchmen and three hundred In- dians, commanded by Alphonse de Buissoniere, who had succeeded the unfortunate D'Artaguette as commandant at Fort Chartres. After that came Captain de Celeron and Lieutenant de St. Laurent, with thirty cadets from Canada, and a large following of Indians. These united troops made a formidable army, numbering twelve hundred Frenchmen, and double as many Indians and negroes. Owing in part to the difficulty in procuring supplies, which had to be brought a long distance, this large body of troops was al- lowed to remain here in inactivity for six months.* In the meantime, }irovisions became so scarce that they had to kill and eat their horses, and sickness breaking out in the camp carried off' a great number. Such were the ravages of disease and famine, that by the first of March, 1740, not more than two hundred French soldiers were fit for active service. In these straits. Governor Bienville sent the Sieur de Celeron, with a body of French and Indian troops, to the Chickasaws, with orders, in case they sued for peace, to grant it in his name. When Celeron arrived with his force in sight of the enemy's fort, the Chickasaws, believing him to be * Mr. Gayarr6 attributes Bienville's inaction to his jealousy of Noailles, who had been sent to command the army. 296 Louisiana under the Crown. followed by the whole Freiicii army, sent to him to ask for peace, promising to renounce their English alliance and re- sume friendly relations with the French. To confirm this agreement, a party of their chiefs returned with Celeron to Fort Assumption, and there entered into a treaty of pacifi- cation with the governor, which was ratified with the cus- tomary Indian ceremonies. Bienville now dismissed his Indian auxiliaries, having first pa'd them oft* in goods, after which he demolished his two forts, as being of no f'Tther use, and re-embarktd for Xew Orleans.* So ended, in April, 1740, the second campaign against the Chickasaws. It was less inglorious and disastrous than the first, but its results were far from satisfactory, and by no means commensurate witli the costly preparations that had been made. Having failed to redeem his tarnished military record, and the prestige of the French arms in the colony, the commandant-general thereby incurred the dis- pleasure of his sovereign, and for this and other reasons he was, in no long time, removed from ofiice. Toward the close of the year 1742, he was superseded by Pierre Fran- cois de Rigaud, Man^uis do Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, a native of Quebec, and a man of distinguished family and social connections. Thus closed the otHcial career of Jean liaptiste le Moyiie, Sieur de Bienville, in Louisiana, — a career which, with some interruptions, extended through a period of forty-three years, and which is without a parallel in French- American history. Born at Montreal, in February, 1(380, he was nineteen years the junior of his celebrated brother, D'lberville, who introduced him when a mere lad into the naval service, took him with him to Hudson's Bay, and afterward on his first colonizing expedition to the Missis- sippi. Age and care had now cooled tlu ardor tind energy of Bienville's prime, and the luster of the honors achieved in former vears was obscured under a cloud of cou*' cen- sure, some of wliich, at least, was undeserved. In May, * For more detailed accountH of this Chicikasaw war, soe DuiiKMit's, Martin's, and Gayarro's Histories of T-ouisiaua. The account by Dii- :iiont va the earliest and most authentic. Reiirement of Governor Bienville. 297 L for il re- . tliis on to acifi- CU9- d his , after -rtlier o-ainst Lstrouft ■7' and i-utions •uished } in tiio :he dirt- ,son8 lie ard the e Fran- uative I social Dtistc le which, Lnod of JFrench- •y, 1080, |i)rother, nto the |iav, and MisBis- n energy lichieved |u-' -ien- n May, DunuMit'fi, |it by Du- 1743, he sailed from New Orleans for France, thus leaving Louisiana forever. Although under the displeasure of the court the colonists were loud in expressing their regrets at his departure ; and whatever errors or mistakes, insepara- ble from human nature, he may have committed, his pop- ularity in the province, where he had mostly lived from early manhood to old age, had never been seriously shaken. He has been justly styled the Father of the Louisiana col- ony, of which his brother I)' Iberville was the fornder. He left behind him a code, sometimes called Le Code Noir, which was first promulgated in 1724, regulating the condi- tion of the slaves, banishing the Jews, and proliibiting the exercise of every relig'on except the Roman Catholic. This code, with some modilications, remained in force in Louis- iana until the cession of that country to the government of the United States, when it was abolished, excepting 80 much of it as related to the African slaves. After re- turning to France, Bienville lived for over twenty years in dignilied retirement nt Paris. But to return to Louisiana. After the peace of 1740 with the (^hickasaws, all the other aboriginal tril)cs in the immediate Valley of the Mississippi recognized the domin- ion of France, and became allies or friends of her colonists. Trade with the natives was now renewed and enlarged, and agriculture, freed from former restrictions, took on a new life. The culture of fruit became general. The or- ange, the lemon, and the fig tree began to blossom about the houses on the Lower Mississippi, and near the shores of the gulf; while farther to the north the apple, the peach, the apricot, and the plum were successfully grown. The sweet potaioe and the melon, extending over a wide range of latitude, also contributed largely to the sustenance of the people. Sugar-cane was brought by tiie Jesuits from St. Domingo as early as 1744, and was first cultivated by them in their gardens at New Orleans.* It was before thiw * In 175H, M. d«^ IJreuil opcmnl r. HUgiir plantation on a largo scalo, and erected the first HUgar mill in LouiHiana. His plantation occupied the lower part of New Orleans, known as the su])urb of Ht. Marigny. — Reynolda' Pioneer History, second edition, p. 64. SPHRI 298 Louisiana Under the Crown. time that indigo began to be raised for export. The cotton phmt was not introduced until some years later, when it was successfully cultivated as far north as the Ohio. Every vessel arriving from France added to the population of the southern settlements; and many Canadians, fleeing from the rigor of their northern winters, sought homes and hap- piness in the mere genial climate of the Illinois. Under the* stimulus of private and associate enterprise, commerce between the northern and southern districts of the prov- ince, and between New Orleans and foreign ports, was largely augmented, Cargoes of flour, bacon, tallow, [lelts a!id lead were animally transported in jateaux to New Orleans, and thence reshippod to the West Indies or to France, in exchange for rice, Lugar, indigo, and goods of European manufacture. The dift'erent districts of the pi ev- ince were mutually dependent, and, by means of the Mis- sissijjpi and its numerous large tributaries, supplied with focility each other's wants. Upon the whole, the decade from 1742 to 1752 was one of unwonted prosperity in the French history of Louifciana.-'^ After some ten years of comparative peace and quiet, the Chickasaws, notwithstanding their existing treaty obli- gations, renewed their depredations upon the French colo- nists, and again interruj)ted their trade on the Missi8^'ippi River. To curb the marauding disposition of these savages, and coerce them into submission. Governor de Vaudreuil un- dertook another armed expedition to their forest fastiicsses. Embarking at New Orleans, in 1752, with seven hundred regular soldiers, he was joined on the way by a horde of Choctaw braves, ready for the fray. His route was up the Mobile and T,)mbigbee Rivers, the same as that taken by Bienville in 1736. lie had cannon, munitions, and supplies in abundance; y^t, like his predecessor, he failed to van- quish the stubborn Chickasaws, who avoided an open battle, and shut themselves up in their fortresses. The French commander, however, destroyed some of their deserted • Davidson and Muve's History, p. 127. The Beginrdng of Vineennes. 299 >tton an it Ivery f the from [ hap- Jiider laerce prov- 3, was r, jielts ) New 5 or to lods of e piov- le Mis- ad witli decade V in the |d (luiet, iity obli- villages, and left a strong garrison at Fort Tombecbe to liold them in restraint. Reference having been made to the Sieur de Vineennes, and to the sad fate that befell him in the lirst campaign of the Chickasaw war, the inquiring reader may desire to know sometliing more of his history, and also of the ori- gin of the French village (now city) wliich is indissolubly linked with his memory. Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vineennes was the tenth child of M. Francois Bissot. a leading merehant of Q.iebee, and was there born in Janu- ary, 1688. He appears to have been a relative of Joliet, the explorer, who was probably an uncle ly marriage. Early bred to the profession of anns, young I)e Vineennes was sent out to the West, where he soon became noted for his uetivit}' and enterprise. In 1704, with a l>arty of Cana- dian troops, he attacked an Ottawa band, and rescued from them some Iroquois prisoners that had been taken in viola- tion of treaties, thus averting a cause of war with the latter nation. In the autumn of 1705, he was sent by Governor de Vaudreuil* on a mission to the Miamis, who then prin- cipally occupied the te»"Ptory immediately to the north-west of the Upper Wabash. In 1712 he took part in the defense of Detroit from an invasion of the Fox Indians, and during that year was again sent as an agent to the Miamis. As early as 1719, De Vineennes probably estaldished, or aided in establishing, the trading post on the Wabash whieh still bears his name; for it was about this time that Fort Ouatanou, higher up the river, was also founded by the French. A more ancient date than thi^ has been claimed for the first settlement at Vineennes, but it <loubt- less originated in the eonfomuling of the Wabash und Lower Ohio together as one stream. "Before the close of the year 1702 (sayp Dillon's His- tory of Indiaiui, p. 21), the Sieur .iuchereau, a Canadian otHeer, assisted by the Jesuit missioiutry Mermet, made an "This was Philippe do Ixi^ivud Marqnipi do Vmulrouil, \\\\u had boon appointed governor of Canada in 170:^ t(. Knceeod M. (U> Callieres. Ho was the father of that IMarqnis de Vaudreuil, who became succes- pivoly governor of r.ouisiana and of Canada. 300 Louisiana under the Crown. i 1 11;^ attempt to establish a post on the Ohio, near the mouth of that river; or, according to some authorities, on the Wabash at the site now occupied by Vincennes." But La Ilarpe,* and after him Charlevoix, fix the position of that post at the mouth of the Ouabache (Ohio), which discharges itself into the Mississippi. It was probably on the site of the more modern Fort Massac, and the date of its establishment is fixed by some French writers in the year 1700. The neighboring Mascoutins, who later became jisso- ciated with the Kickapoos, soon g.ithered about tliis post on the Ohio for the purpose of barter, and Father Mermet undertook, without success, to convert them to Christianity. In 1705, or thereabouts, the post was broken up in conse- quence of the increasing hostility of the Indians, and the French traders fled, leaving their cftects behind them.f *" In 1702 M. Juchereau, a French ofiic;;r of Montreal, accompanied by thirtj'-four Canadians, attempted to form a settlement at the mouth of the Oual)ache, to collect buiFalo skins."— P-xtnict from La Ilarpe's Journal, dated Feb. 8, 1703, cited in Dillon's Hist, of Ind., p. 400. f'Acording to the authority of La Harpe, and the later historian Charlevoix, the French, in tiie year 1700, established a trading post near the mouth of the Ohio, on the site of the more modern Fort Massac, in Massac county, 111., for the purpose of securing buffalo hides. The neighboring Mascoutins, as was customary with the Indians, soon gath- ered about it for the purpose of barter. Their numbers, as well as the expressed wish of the French traders, induced Father Mermet to visit the place and engage in mission work. At the end of four or Ave years, in 1705, the establishment was broken up on account of a quarrel of the Indians among themselves, which so threatened the lives of the Frenchmen that the latter fled, leaving behind them their effects and thirteen thousand buifalo skins which they had collected. Some years liter. Father Marest, writing from Kaskaskia, relates the failure of !• ather Mermet to convert the Lulians at this post on the Wabash ; and on the authority of this letter alone, and although I ather Marest only followed tl\e prevailing style of calling the Lower Ohio the Wabash, some writers \the late Judge Law being the first) have contended that this post was on the Wabash and at Vincennes. Charlevoix says ' it was at the mouth of the Wabash which discharges itself into the Mississippi.' La Ilarjje, and also L(> Sueur, whose personal knowle(lge of the post was contemporaneous with its existence, definitely lix its positicm near the mouth of the Ohio. The latter gives the date of its bepinniug, and the former narrates an ac(!ount of its trade and final abandonment. In this way an antiquity has been claimed for Vincennes to which it is not Early History of Vincennes. 301 th of ibaah ,rpe,* it the f into more eut is ; dsso- 18 post lermet tiauHy. couse- iiul the m.t lie mouth a Ilarpe's 100. historian poHt near kliiHsac, in ides. The jsoon gath- ,.U as the et to visit f\ve years, quarrel of |v(>H of the tl'ects and t^ome years failure of |i\)asi>-, and .larest only |u- Wabash, n>u(led that mys ' it was ississippi-' ,{ the post |)Hition near inning, and Inment. In lich it is not When the French first explored the Wabash, they found the land on either side of the lower course of that Htream in possession of the Piankashaw Indians; and Vin- cennes was first known to the former as a Piankashaw vil- lage, by the name of Chip-pe-coke^ or Brushwood. It was a secluded spot on the eastern bank of the river, about one hundred miles above its mouth. It was far removed from the French settlements on the northern lakes and on the Mississippi, and during many years it was a mere halting place for the missionaries and fur-traders, who chose to travel southward by the way of the Maumee and the Wa- bash. Of this sequestered post very little was known to the outside world until some time after the Sieur de Vin- cennes became its commandant. The priests and traders of Kaskaskia and Cahokia kept up some intercourse with the place, but there was no regular conununicatioii with it. The route thither by river was circuitous and dangerous, while the Indian "trace" or trail across the intervening wilderness of Illinois was beset by roving bands of blood- thirsty Kickapoos. Under the auspices of De Vincennes, who l)uilt an earthen fort there about the year 1725, this Wabasli post gradually assumed importance. He appears to have granted lands, in small parcels, to the French settlers for cultivation, and from the neighboring Indian chiefs they received a gift of more than two thousand acres, wliich they approi>riated chiefly as " conmions.'* * It is conjectured by Preese that the land on which the village was built, and the "conmion field" as well, were originally granted to De Vincennes by the India Company, or by the governor of Louisiana after the dissolution of the company in 1732, and that he, as historically entitled."— " History of Vermilion County, lllinoiB," by 11. W. Bt'ikwith (Chicago, 1S70), p. 102, note. *"In 1742, some years after the foundation of the post of Vincennes, the natives of the country made the French and their heirs an absohite gift of the lands lying between the point above and the river Blandie I White) below the village, with as much laud on both sides as might be comprised within the. said limits."— Dillon's Hist, of hid., p. 402. See also Memcial signed by sixteen of the inhabitants of Vincennes, dated November 20, ITIKJ, and addressed to tlie president of the United iStates. 302 Louisiana Under the Crown. commandp.nt, parceled it out in small allotments to the villagers. But however this might he, it was all included within the dependency of the Illinois, and differed hut little from the other villages in this provincial district. The Sieur de Vincennes* was still commanding at this post in 1735, and until the spring of 1736, when he was summoned by Major d'Artaguette to join him, with a force of French and Miamis, in his expedition against the Chick- asaws, from which neither of these French officers ever returned. But the post village which the former had founded was thereafter variously known as Post de Vin- cennes, Au Poste, Post Vincent, Post St. Vincents, and finally Vincennes. Louis St. Ange de Bellerive succeeded De Vincennes in command of the post, though in what year is undecided. During liis lengthy incumbency, and as early as the year 1749, he made some grants or deeds conveying small lots of land to different settlers in the vil- lage. These were executed on coarse paper, and were signed by "St. Ange, commandant au 'postc Vincenne." In 1749, a mission was established, under charge of the missionary Meurin, at the Piankashaw village, which stoo"^. near tlie site of Post Vincennes. In the course of the next year, 1750, a small stockade fort was built at that place, and another light fortification was erected about the same time at the confluence of the Wabash and the Ohio. Between the years 1754 and 1756 the white population of Post Vincennes was considerably augmented by the arrival of immigrants from Detroit, Kaskaskia, and New Orleans. During this pe- riod the French settlers at Post Vincent, Ouatanon,t and the * There is some little reason for supi)osinK that there were two men of tliis name who figured in the Valley of the Wabash at or near the same time. In a letter atUlressed to the Council of Marine, written at Quebec, and dated October 28, 1715), M. de Vaudreuil says: "I learn from the last letters that have arrived from the Miamis, that the Wieur de Vincennes having died in their village, these Indians hav(^ resolvctl not to remove to the river »St. Joseph." After citing the above extract in his history, page 402, Mr. Dillon observes : " This report of the death of Vincenne was untrue; or there was soon afterward, in the West, another Krench officer who bore the name of M. tie Vincenne." t Ouiatenon, Ouatanon, or Watanon, stood on the north side of the Early History of Vincennes. 303 the ided ittle ;this J was force liick- ever * had ; Vin- i, and ;eeded what ;y, and ■ deeds :he vil- 1 were e." p of the li stoo'\ le next ,ce, and time at ten the [icennes i grants Ithlfl pe- and the Twightee village near the site of Fort Wayne, enjoyed a state of almost unlimited ease and freedom. Living in the midst of the forest wilderness, without taxes or church rates, and in friendship with the neighhoring Indians, they spent their days in hunting and fishing, and in trading for pelts and furs, raising a few vegetables and a little maize for the sustenance of their families. Many of them inter- married with the daughters of the red men, whose amity was thereby secured and strengthened.* Wabash, not far below the present city of i^afayette. When Colonel George Croghan visited this post in July, 17()5, he found there fourteen French families residing witliiu the stockade. According to his printed journal, Vincennes then contained from eighty to ninety families, and was a " place of great consequence for trade." The fort was garrisoned by only a few soldiers. * Dillon's Hist. Ind., pp. 55 and 10!). ..{, I two men near the Iritten at 1" I learn [ixo Si«iir resolvi'd |e> extrait I he death [he West, ■■» A lide of the 304 Events in the Illmois Dependency. CHAPTER XVI. 1742-1756. PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN THE DEPENDENCY OF ILLINOIS. In 1742, when the Marquis de Vaudreiiil was made governor of Louisiana, Captain Benoist de St. Clair was major-commandant of the Illinois, having been appointed two years before to succeed La Buissoniere,, But, early in 1743, St. Clair was superseded by the Chevalier de Bertel, or Berthel, who held the position until 1748-9. Among the earlier acts of his provincial administra- tion. Governor de Vaudreuil confirmed to the inhabitants of Kaskaskia tlieir right of "commons" — a right for which they had petitioned the Royal India Company, through their commandant, De Liette,* in 1727, but which had been until now wholly disregarded. It will be remembered that in 1719 M. de Boisbriant, as commandant at the Illinois, had granted a right of commons to the citizens of Kaskas- kia, but had neglected to put his grant in writing, and that upon the surrender of the India Company's charter, in 1732, the whole country became united to the royal domain, so that the poor villagers continued in a state of painful un- certainty for sixteen years. At length, in June, 1743, these loyal subjects of the French king addressed a respectful petition to the new provincial governor to confirm their title ; and in August they received a favorable response thereto in writing, Ol which the following is the more im- portant part : " Pierre de Rigault de Vaudreuil, governor, and Edme. Gatien Salmon, commissary orderer of the Province of Louisiana: — " [Having] seen the petition to us presented on the 16th * Breese writes this name De Lielte, and Mjuson De Siette. Confirmation of Kaskaskia's Right of Commons. 305 ;s. made ir was jinted irly in Bertel, iiiistra- bitauts ' which hrough id been •ed that [Uinoifl, iaskas- iid that lin 1732, lain, 80 ful nn- 3, these jctful n their hesponse lore im- ll Edme. [ince of the 16th day of Jujie of this present year, by the inhabitants of the parisli of the Immaculate Conception of Kaskaskia, de- pendence of the lUinois, tending to be confirmed in the possession of a conmion which they have had a long time for the pasturage of their cattle, in the point called La Pointe (ie Bois, which runs to the entrance of the river Kas- ^'askia, We, by virtue of the power to us granted by his majesty, have confirmed and do confirm to the said inhab- itants the possession of the said commons, on the following conditions. [Then follow the conditions in detail, which are omit- ted here.] " Given at New Orleans, the 14th day of August, 1743. (Signed) " Vaudrieul. " " Salmon." Concerning the above act of confirmation, Breese writes: " This confirmation took from the inhabitants the islands in the Mississippi, and the land on the east side of the Kaskaskia River, which the benevolent Boisbriant had verbally granted to them ; nevertheless, they were content, as it secured to them nearly seven thousand acres of rich pasture and woodland, i'ov house-bote, plough-bote^ ji,e-bote^ and estovers, and yielding, also, in great profusion, grapes, plums, persimmons, the lucious papaw, the delicate pecan, and other rich and delicious nuts ; whilst the ' common field,' by this arrangement, did not embrace less than eight thousand acres of tlie ricliest, deepest, blackest loam, cap- able of itself of sustaining a numerous people.* Kaskaskia continued from the first to be the most con- siderable of the Illinois villages, and carried on a profitable trade by the river with Natchez and New Orleans. From Kaskaskia, as a parent hive, small swarms of colonists were sent out, at intervals, to people the neighboring localities. As early as the year 1735, according to tradition, a few French Canadian families had fixed their abode on the west- ern bank of the Mississippi,! attracted thither, no doubt, * Breese's Enrly Illinois, p. 187. t t The first inilitarv settlement of the French, in what is now the 20 " 306 Events in the lllincris Dependency. r^lM by the salt springs and lead mines, which liad been opened in that vicinity. This hamlet was located on the low river bottom, and took the name of Misere, signifying poverty or misery, but only in a comparative sense, when contrasted with the older and more flourishing establishments on this side of the river. After the great flood in the Mississippi, in 1785, which completely inundated their village, the in- habitants removed to the present site, on a blutf, three miles north or north-west of the old one. The new village re- ceived the name of Ste. Genevieve, by which it lias ever since been known.* It is still a place of considerable im- portance, with a noticeable admixture of the original Gallic element in its population. The town has long been the seat of justice of Ste. Genevieve county. Mo., and by the last United States census, contained fifteen hundred and eighty-six inhabitants. The population of the French and Indian villages in the district of the Illinois, at the period of which we write, is largely a matter of conjecture and computation. Father Louis Yivier, a Jesuit misMonary, in a letter dated June 8, 1750, and written from the vicinity of Fort Chartres, says: " We have here whites, negroes, and Indians, to say nothing of the cross-breeds. There are five French vil- lages, and three villages of the natives within a space of twenty-five leagues, situate between the Mississippi and another river called (Kaskaskia). In the French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred whites, three hundred blacks, and sixty red slaves or savages. The three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls, all told." f This estimate does not include the scattered French settlers or traders north of Peoria, nor on the Wabash. It is stated that the Illinois nation, then dwelling for the most part along the river of that name, occupied eleven diti:ereiit villages, with four or five tires at each village, and each fire warming a dozen families, except at the principal village, where there were three hundred lodges. These data would State of Missouri, u})pear8 to have been at Fort Orleans, on the site of Jeiferson City, in 1719. * Switzler's History of Missouri, p. 14:'.. t Letirei* EdiJiautcH el r.iirieuKes, Parin, 1781. Form of the Provincial Government. 307 ened river verty asted I this sippi, le iii- milesi go re- 8 ever \e im- Gallic en tbe by tiie ed aiul the site of give us something near eight tiiousaud as the total number of the Illinois of all tribes. It may be as well to observe here that the form of gov- ernment, if not the character of tlie civilization, instituted by the French in Canada and Louisiana, was materi'illy dif- ferent from that contemporaneously established by the English on the Atlantic seaboard. The government of France was bureaucratic, and- more on the feudal type ; a government \u which all power was concentrated in the officers who administered it, while the pay.'^an.'^, or common people, liad nothing to do but to obey the edicts and orders of their rulers. It was a system more conducive to the general equality and contentment of the people, than to their individual freedom antl progress. In the Province of Louisiana the governor and com- mandant-general, the intendant commissary, and the royal council exercised supreme authority in both civil and mili- tary affiiirs, and were accountable only to the king from whom they received their appointment. The governor was invested with a great deal of power, which, however, was checked on the side of the crown by the intendant, wlio had the care of the king's rights and whatever pertained to the revenue, and on the side of the people it was restrained by the royal council, whose duty it was to see that the colonists were not oppressed by the one nor defrauded by the other. The council was styled Le Conseil Supmeur de la Louisiane. It was composed of the intendant, who sat as first judge, the procureur-general or king's attorney, six of the principal inhabitants, and tlie registrar of the province; and they judged in all civil and criminal nuxtters. Every citizen had the right to appear before this body and plead his own cause, either verbally or by written petition, and the evidences of each party were submitted to and ex- amined by the council. The commandants in the various districts of the prov- ince were appointed by the governor, for no fixed period, and exercised all such executive duties as the exigencies of their respective districts required, though not without per- sonal accountability to the power appointing tliem. The 308 Events in the Illinois Dependency. major-cominandant, as he was stylerl, was usually connected witli the governor by interest or relatiohship. " He was absolute in iiis authority," writes Captain Pittman, "excep. in matters of life and death ; capital offenses were tried by the council at New Orleans. The whole Indian trade was so much in the power of the commandant, that nobody was permitted to be concerned in it but on condition of giving him a part of the profits. Whenever he made presents to the Indians in the name of the king, he received peltry and furs in return ; (and) as the presents he gave were to be considered as marks of his favor and love for them, so the returns they made were to be regarded as proofs of their attachment to him. Speeches, accompanied by presents, were called }iaroles dc raleur; any Indians who came to the French post were subsisted at the expense of the king during their stay, and the swelling of this account was no inconsiderable emohiment. "As every business the commandant had with the In- dians was attended with certain profit, it is not surprising that he spared no pains to gain thair affections ; he made it equally the interest of the officers under him to please them, by i»ermitting them to trade, and making themselves agents in the Indian countries. If any person (or persons) brought goods within the limits of his jurisdiction, without his particular license, he would oblige them to sell their mer- chandise at I very moderate profit to the commissary, on the king's account, calling it an emergency of government, and employ the same goods in his own private commerce. It may be easilj'^ supposed, from what has before been said, that a v'rmplaint to the governor at New Orleans would meet vvidi very little redress. It may be asked if the in- habitants were not offended at this monopoly of trade and arbitrary proceedings. The commandant could bestow many favors on them, such as giving contracts for furnish- ing provisions, or performing public works ; by employing them in his trade, or by making their children cadets, Mdio were allowed pay and provisions, and he could, when they were grown up, recommend them for commissions. They were happy if, by the most servile and submissive behavior, The Court of Royal Jurisdiction. 809 lected [e was excep ^ ied by ie was dy was giving ents to try and i to be , so the of their )resent6. le to the he king ■ was no they could gain liis confidence and favor. Every person capable of bearing arms was enrolled in the militia, and a captain of the militia regulated the cor fees and other per- sonal service. " From this military form of government, the authority of the commandant was almost universal. The commis- sary (district) was a mere cipher, and rather kept for form than any real use ; he was always a person of low de- pendence, and never dared to counteract the will of the commandant." * Subordinate to the major-commandant of the district, each village had its own local commandant, who was usually a captain of the militia. " Jle was as great a personage," says Breese, "as our city mayors, superintending the police of the village, and acting ns a kind of justice of the peace, from whose decisions an appeal lay to the major-command- ant. In the choice of this subordiiuite though inn)ortant functionary, the adult inhabitants had a voice, and it is the only instance wherein they exercised an elective franchise." Al)out the year 1751, for the furtherance of justice, the so-called "Court or Audience of the Koyal Jurisdiction of the Illinois" was instituted at Kaskaskia. The proceedings of this court were carried on before a single judge, without the assistance of a clerk, sheritf, or lawyers, the judge him- self entering his decisions in a book called " The Register." Following is one of the decrees extracted from it, being the opinion of the court l)y Justice Bucket : "Between Louis Chancellier, plaintiff, by petition" on the 18th of this present month — stating that having aban- doned the prosecution of the suit which he had formerly brought against the defendant hereinafter named (on the subJBct of his negro woman, to whom a fright caused by the son of the defendant has produced dangerous conse- quences, since the said negro is afflicted with a falling sick- ness in consequence of this fright) — on the one part, and Pierre Fillet, called De la Londe, defendant, who plead that *Pittman'8 "htate of the European Settlements on the Mississippi" (London, 1770), pp. 53, 54. 310 Events in the Illinois Dependency. he would not answer for the deeds of his son, but would say in defense of his son that this negro woman fell sick of tliis sickness before tlie fright, and. therefore, the phiintitf could not chiim any damages on account of the fright which his son gave her, since the cause of her sickness is anterior to that which he pretends to rely upon. " The parties having been heard, we condemn the de- fendant to make proof within eigbt days of what he ad- vances, in order tliat it may be made to appear to whom tlie right belongs, "Done at Kaskaskia. Court held 20tli May, 1752. — Bucket." Here is another case of a hiter date, arising ex contractu^ against an administrator: " Between Raimond Brosse, called Saint Ccrnay, in- liabitant of Kaskaskia, plaintiff, to the effect that the de- fendant, Charles Lorain, be made to acknowledge a note for sixty francs, executed by the deceased Louis Langlois, and of Louise Girardy, his widow, and i»ow wife of Charles Lorain, the aforesaid defendant, on the other part. "The said note being examined, the parties heard, and all tilings considered, we condemn the defendant to pay, without delay, to tlie plaintiff the sum of sixty francs (livres), the amount of the said note, and also the costs ot suit, which we have taxed at twenty-eight francs and ten cents (sols). "Done at New Chartre, in our hearing, we holding court, Saturday the fifth of June, 1756. — Chevallier." * The practice, or mode of procedure, in thia and other courts of the province was after the forms of the civil law, very simple and brief, and probably as well calculated to promote the true ends of justice c.s the more cumbrous forms of tlie English common law, tilled with technical jargon. Trial by jury was unknown here; the law and the facts in every case being decided by the presiding judge. •Brocse's Firly IliHtory, pp. 217-215). At the time Judge Hreese ■wrote, the record of the proeeedinijfs of thiH high-soundincj court was yet extaut, and it may be Btill. Mode of Administering the Government. 311 I Bick aintift" which iitevior ;he (le- hc lul- f whom 1752.— mtrada, nay, h\- the de- e a note Langloia, f Charles vard, a»^^ to pay, by tVaiK'S c;08t8 of and ten hohVmc: kr." * jnd other Livil law, Inlated to •und)rons Itechnieal and the Ig j^i^^^^'- |dpo UreeHO cjurt wiiB .fudgments and decrees were executed by the captain of militia, or the provost marshal, and no "stay laws" or " valuation laws" impeded its operation, nor was there any " redemption after sale." Occasion, however, did not very often arise for the exercise of the judieial authority, as liti- gation was expensive, and the people in general were peace- able, honest, and punctual in their dealings with each other. In fact, the most common mode of settling small difficulties and disputes about money, etc., was by referring them to the arbitration of friends and neighbors, or else by the mild interposition of the village priest.* Thus were exercised tlie executive and judicial powers in the jtrovincial district of Illinois; of legislative }>ower8 tliere were none. The laws in force were the edicts and ordinances of the King, and the "usages of the mayoralty and shrievalty of Paris,'' These were introduced by France into all her American colonies, but they were changed or modified, more or less, by the ignorance or caprice of those whose business it was to construe and ap[)ly them. The peculiar local customs of the colony, also, had the force of law.* The pernicious system of monopolies still prevai'sd in the province. In August, 1744, Gov. de Vaudreuil con- ceded to a Frenchman named Deruisseau the exclusive right of trading in all the country watered by the Missis- sippi River, and the streams falling into it. This privilege, which seems to have end)raced the entire district of the Illinois, was for a term sometliing in ex(H'ss of five years, hegii'.ning .January 1, 174."), and ti'nuinating on tlie iiv'tli of May, 1750. Several conditions were annexed U) the grant, such as the maintenance of the posts on the Missouri, and the regulation of the prices at which goods were to be supplied to the settlements. One of the reasons assigned by De V'audrenil for granting this monopoly to Dcruisscau was to deprive tiie colonists in tlie Illinois district of ail means of carrying on any commerce with the Indians, and thus Urt'OBe's Early IlliuoiH, pp. 221, 222. m Ill Mas 312 Events in the Illinois Dependency, force them into the cultivation of the soil, and the raising of produce for the southern market.* In 1749, the Sieurde St. Clair was re-appointed major- commandant at the Illinois, hut, in the autumn of 1751, he was supplanted ])y the Chevalier Macarty, jy Makarty, an Irishman hy hirlh, and a major of engineers. Macarty served ahout nine years, and then jnelded the position to Capt. Neyonf de Villiers. Early in 1758, after a popular and successful adminis- tration of over ten years, the Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal relinquished the governership of Louisiana to accept the higher lionor of governor-general of Canada. Ilis suc- cessor in the former office was M. de Kerlerec, a captain in the royal navy. lie arrived in New Orleans the 3d of Fehruary, 1753, and on the 9th of that month, was installed as chief executive of the province. Let us now take a cursory view )f c miporaneous military events, occurring heyond the confines of Louisiana. In 1744, war was again declared hetween France and Great Britain, and their trans-Atlantic colonies speedily became end)roiled in the armed conflict, v/hich is known as the Third Frencii War. The active military operations, so far as they affected the French-American possessions, were chiefly confined to the eastern seaboard. But to guard against sur[)rise, or any sudden iiTuption of the Chickasaws and other unfriendly tribes, some fresh levies of troops were made in Louisiana, and the garrisons were strength- ened at the principal posts in the province. The most noteworthy episode of this forei/»M > was the capture of the fortress of Louisburg, situate'' jjou Cape Breton Island, by an army of four tliousand hien from Boston, under the command oi Colonel (afterward Sir) William Bepperell, in June, 1745. The reduction of this stronghold, wliich had hitherto been considered im- pregnable, was a iieavy blow to the French power, and during the succeeding year a powerful fleet WiM-t fitted out • GayarKi's Hist, of La., Vol. II, pp. 23, 24. ~ ■ .---.- t Written Noyon in old Fronch (locutnents. , Peace of 1748 — Rebuilding of Fort Chartres. 31*3 iHing vajor- )1, lie ty, an icai'ty ion to miuis- vagiuil spt the 18 8UC- »tain in 3d of istalled raneous uisiana. d Great became as tlic H, so far rt, were I truard ickasaws troops rongtli- r ■ i was Ind men fterward .^dnction in'od ini" rer, and It ted out in France to recover it and chastise its captors. The fleet, however, was delayed, and its aim was frustrated by a storm. But by a provi^^ion of the treaty of Aix-hi-Chapelle (1748), Louisburg was restored to the possession of France in exchange for certain territory tliat Enghmd desired in India, — an arrangement very displeasing to the New Eng- landers. The peace of 1748, which conferred increased pros- perity on the Province of Louisiana, was not destined to be of long duration. Of the various causes at work to bring about a renewal of hostilities between the two rival powers, it is unnecessary now to speak, as we shall here- after take occasion to pass them in review. But the fear that the English might eventually gain a foot-hold in this great Valley of the Mississipi>i was ever present to the minds of the intelligent French inhabitants. And the suggestion was made by I)e Bertel, commandant at the Illinois, to the governor in New Orleuns, and through him to the king, that additional means of defense were required for the protection of these valuable possessions, hinting at more troops and larger and stronger forts. Nothing appears to have been done at the time, liow- ever, excepting to enroll those al)le to bear arms into com- panies of militia, and to provide for the nuiintenance of garrisons at the more exposed places. It was not until the year 1753, when Macarty was major-commandant, that the rebuilding of Fort Chartres was begun, in accn'dance with plans and specifications furnished by M. Saucier, a French engineer.* This huge structure of n)as()nry, an object of wonder and curiosity to all who ever beheld it, was reared at an estimated cost of over five millions of livres, or about one million dollars. It was 80 nearly completed by the beginning of 1756, that * See fjftterH of Travel tliroiijirh liOuiHuuia, by M. Bossu, imptain in the KnMK'h MiirinoH, and afterward C'liovaHcr of the Onlcrof St. J.oujh. Im- printed at Paris, 17()8; Kiifxlisli ed., London, 1771, p. 127. Of tlie fort itHolf, HosBU fiayH (p. 158): " It is built of freestone, flanked with four ImatioiiH, and capable of eontaiiiinj? (or liousing) a <,'arrison of three hundred men." tBHOnt 314 Events in the Illinois Dependency. ii! it was occupied by the Illinois commandant, and the archives of the local government were deposited therein. Thence- forth, the fortress was popularly knotvn as " New Chartres." "As a means of defense," writes Breese, " except as a citadel to flee to on any sudden attack of the savages, the erection was wholly unnecessary. Official emolument must have prompted it, and some of the many millions of livres it is said to have cost must have gone into the command- ant's pocket, or into those of his favorites, and they enriched by this mode of peculation." This extensive fortification was constructed during Kerlerec's administration of the government of Louisiana, and he probably shared in the profits of the erection. Ma- karty was then major-commandant of the Illinois, and the Abbe de Gagnon, of the order of St. Sulpice, was chaplain at the fort. M. de Kerlerec held tlie office of provincial executive from F(>bruary 9, 1753, until June 29, 1763, when he was superseded by Mons. d'Abbadic * — not as governor, but as director-general, etc. — and was ordered to return to France. He was accused of various violations of duty and assump- tions of power, and, in particular, was reproached with having spent ten millions of livres in four years, while M. Rochemauro was intendant-commissary, under the pretext of preparing for war. Upon his arrival in Paris, he was incarcerated for some time in the Bastile, and is said to have died of vexation and grief shortly after his discharge from that gloomy state prison. f In Captain Pittman's "Present State of the European Settlements on the Mi88is8i[)pi," already cited, is contained an excellent description of Fort Chartres, as seen by him in 1766, while it wat. yet in its prime. lie writes: '* Fort Chartres, when it belonged to France, was the seat of government of the Illinois. The head-(puirter8 of the English comiiianding officer is now here ; who, in fact, is the arbitrary governor of the country. Tlie fort is an ir- regular (puidrangle ; the sides of the exterior polygon are * Othcrwiw writtoti Ahadie. t (Jnyarrc'K llint. of l>a., II., f). 05; ami MartinV Louiftinna, I., p. 343. Pittman's Description of Fort Chartres. 315 hives ence- tres." , as a !S, the :, must livres maiul- liched during liBiaua, i. Ma- [iiul the hapUiin cecutive he was c, but as France, assump- ed with ■hile M. pretext he wuB said to iHC'harge European bntained by him was the livters of in tact, IB an ir- /gou are four hundred and ninety feet. It is built of stone plastered, and is Oiily designed as a defense against Indians ; the wall being two feet two inches thick, and pierced with loop- holes at regular distances, and with two port-holes for can- non in the faces and two in the flanks of each bastion. The ditch has never been finished. The (main) entrance to the fort is through a very handsome rustic gate ; within the walls is a small banquette, raised three feet, for the men to stand on when they fire through the loop-holes. " The buildings within the fort are the commandant's and commissary's houses, the magazine of stores, corps de garde, and two barracks; they occuj)y the square. Within the gorges of the bastions are a powder magazine, a bake- house, a prison, on the lower floor of which are four dun- geons, and in the upper two rooms, and an outhouse be- longing to the commandant. " The commandant'p house is thirty-two yards long and ten broad. It contains a kitchen, a dining-room, a bed-chamber, one small room, rive closets for servants, and a cellar. The commissary's house, now occupied by ofHcert?, is built in the same line as this ; its proportions and distri- bution of apartments arc the same. " Opposite these are t'le store-house and guard-house. They are each thirty yards U)ng and eight broad. The former consists of two large store-rooms (under which is a hirge vaulted cellar), and a large room, a bed-chand)er, and a closet for the store-keeper ; the latter of a soldier's and otficer's guard-rooms, a ciuipel, a bed-chamber and closet for the chaplain, and an artillery store-room. "The lines of barracks have never been finished. They at present consist of two rooms each for officers, and three rooms for soldiers. They are good, spacious rooms of twenty-two feet s(juare, and have betwixt thetn a snudl passage. There are five spacions lofts over each buiUliug, which reach from end to end. Thev are made use of to lodge regimental stores, working and intrenching toolH, etc. " It is generally allowed that this is the most commo- dious and best built fort in Noj'th America. "The bank of the MissisHijtpi next the fort is con- lllli sssgm tmam ta,iaaMMa»Mnww»<»-v<,^..» 316 Events in the Illinois Dejpendency . ii! tinually falling in, being worn awf..y by the current, which has been turned from its course by a sand-bank, now in- creased to a considerable island, covered with willows. Many experiments have been tried to stop this growing evil, but to no purpose. When the fort was begun in 1756, it was a good half-mile from the water side. In the year 1766 it was but eighty paces. Eight years ago the river was fordable to the island; the channel is now forty feet deep." The story of the subsequent dilapidation and ruin of this historic fortress, which was intended to secure the em- pire of the French in the West, may be told in a few sen- tences. In the spring of 1772, a great freshet in the Mis- sissippi, which submerged all the adjacent bottom, made such inroads upon the crumbling river bank, that the west- ern wall and one of the bastions of the fort were under- mined and precipitated into the raging current. The Brit- ish garrison then abandoned it, and took refuge at Fort Gage, on the high bluff of the Kaskaskia, opposite to and overlooking the old town of that name. Thither the seat of government was transferred, and Fort Chartres was never again occupied. It was left to become a ruin, and such of its walls and buildings as escaped destruction by succeeding inundations were torn down and removed by the neighboring villagers for building purposes. After the flood of 1772, "the capricious Mississippi devoted itself to the reparation of the damage it had wrought. The channel between the fort and the island in front of it, once forty feet deep, began to fill up, and ultinuitely the main shore and the island were united, leaving the fort a mile or more inland. A thick growth of trecd speedily concealed it from the view of those passing on the river, and the high road from Kaskaskia to Cahokia, which at first ran between the fort and the river, was soon after located at the bluffs, three miles to the eastward. These changes, which left the fort completely isolated and hidden, together with the accounts of the British evacua- tion, gave rise to the report of its total destruction by the river. . . . But this is entirely erroneous ; the ruins The RvJn of Fort Chartres. 317 which ow iii- rilloWS. rowing 11 1756, ae year tie river »rty feet ruin of the em- few sen- the Mi8- m, made the west- re under- rhe Brit- j at Fort te to and r the scat trcs was uin, and action hy uoved hy ;e iflsissippi it iiad be isUind up (or part of them) still renuiMi; and had man treated it as kindly as the elements, the old fort would be nearly perfect to-day." * I^ow and then a curious tourist or an antiquary made his way thither. In 1804, the fort was visited by Major Amos Stoddard,! of the U. S. Engineers, who described it as in a good state of preservation. In 1820, Dr. Lewis C. Beck, and Nicholas Hansen, of Illinois, made a careful drawing of the plan of the fortress, for insertion in Beck's "Gazetteer of Illinois and Missouri." At that time many of the rooms and collars in the buildings, and portions of the outside waHs, showing the opening for the main gate, and loop-holes for the musketry, were still in a state of tol- erable repair. According to their measurements, the whole exterior line of the walls and bastions was 1,447 feet. The area of the fort embraced about four acres; and the walls, built of solid stone, were in some places fifteen feet higli. In 1851, ex-Governor Reynolds visited the remains of the old fortress, concerning which he thus writes : '' This fort (situated in the north-west corner of Ran- dolph county) is an object of antiquarian curiosity. The trees, undergrowth, and brush are so mixed and interwoven with the old walls that the place has a much more ancient appearance than the dates will justify. The soil is so fer- tile that it has forced u\) large trees in the very houses which were occupied by the French and British poldiers." J The same writer was there again in October, 1854, and found what was left of the fort " a pile of moldering ruins," the walls having been torn away in many j)lace8 nearly even with the ground. Moralizing upon the scene of desolation thus presented to his gaze, he ([uaintly wrote: "There is nothing durable in this world, except God and Nature." Later tourists to this interesting spot have seen * Paper read boforo the Chicago Hietorical Society, by Hon. E. G. Mason, June 10, 1880. t It was Stoddard who took poBsession of Upper Louisiana for the (iovernnient of the United Statts, in March, 1804, under the treaty of purchase from France. t Kt'ynolds' /'iom'*")' //wt<or?/, 2d ed., p. 4('). If 318 Events in the Illinois Dependency. the outlines of the external walls and ditches, and scattered heaps of broken stone ; also the vaulted powder magazine, a piece of solid masonry, existing almost entire. It is much to be regretted that this large and commo- dious fortress — the only great architectural work of the French in the entire basin of the Mississippi — over which, in succession, had long and proudly floated the flags of two powerful nations, should not have been built upon a firmer and more elevated site, where it might have been preserved, as an impressive and historical monument of the past, even unto the present time. Movements of the French on the Upper Ohio. 319 CHAPTER XVII. 1753-1760. THE MEMORABLE SEVEN YEARS WAR. We now approacli that momentous contest popularly known as the " Old French and Indian War," * or the " Seven Years' War," in which France and Great Britain stubhornly contended for the final possession of this continent. The French, having begun their wonderful career of conquest and colonizatio!! in the early part of the seventeenth cen- tury, had gradually extended a chain of military and trading posts from Quebec up the river St. Lawrence to Lake On- tario, and thence westward along the great connecting lakes to the head of Lake Michigan ; thence diagonally through the country of the Illinois to the Mist^issippi, and down that interior water-way to the Gulf of Mexico. The En- glish, in the meantime, had been plai ing along the Atlantic seaboard — a reach of over two thousand miles — the most prosperous and powerful colonies in the New World. And it was the extension of their growing power and settlements across the Apj)alachian range of mountains, which had hitherto constituted their western boundary, that first brought them into controversy and collision with the French Canadian authorities. France claimed the entire Valley of the Mississippi, including that of the Ohio as well, which her enterprising fur-traders and missionaries had been the first to explore and formally occupy, but which she had as yet only very sparsely peopled. In furtherance of this claim of exclusive jurisdiction, the alert French went so far as to carve th'eir national fienr-de-lis on the forest trees, and to bury metallic plates, stamped with the arms of France, at various places ♦It was really the fourth French aud Indian war. 320 The Seven Years' War. in the Ohio Valley. On the other hand, England, in virtue of the primal discovery of the country by the Cabots, maintained the right to extend her possessions on the Atlantic coast indefinitely westward, and in conformity with this view the cliarters of some of her colonies were so worded as to reach across the entire breadth of the con- tinent. The English sought to further strengthen their title by annexing to it the pretense of their Indian allies, the Six Nations,* who claimed, b}' right of conquest, all that part of the northwestern territory lying south of the great lakes and between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi. So long as France and Great Britain were at peace, which was never many years at a time, this standing, national controversy gave rise only to a series of border disputes, petty encroachments, and intrigues with the tickle aborigines, neither party being numerous enough to colon- ize the territory which both coveted. But when war ex- isted between the two parent countries, their respective American colonies likewise engaged in murderous conflict, which, because of the savages enlisted in it, was fearfully destructive of life and property. By the opening of the year 1753 affairs had reached a crisis, and France, in order to fix a barrier to the westward march of English colonization, and thus protect her wide possessions in the West and South, determined to run a line of detached posts from Niagara and Lake Erie to the head of the Ohio, and down that river. The Indians w^ere the first to take alarm at this movement; and in April, when the news reached the Upper Ohio that a French force was on the way to erect forts in that region, the Mingoes, Dela- wares, and Shawnees met in council at a village called Logston, on the Ohio, and sent an envoy to Fort Niagara to protest against the French occupation, but their protest was unlieeded. In pursuance of a pre-determined plan, * The Five Nations were increased to six by tlie addition of the Tnscaroras from North Carolina, in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Major Washington's Mission. 321 virtue Cabots, on the forndty es were ;he con- en their x\ allies, l^uest, all h of the 1 and the at peace, standing, 3t' border the tickle to colon- n war ex- ' respective j8 conflict, fearfully [reached a westward her vvide run aline the head ^ were the [^n\, when force was ^oes, Dela- ige called |t Niagara i\Y protest Ined plan, lition of the eighteenth the French soldiery, under General Pierre Paul, Sieur de Marin, built Fort Presque Isle on the south-eastern shore of Lake Erie, near tlie present city of Erie, and Fort le Boeuf on the head waters of French Creek, fourteen miles south- east of the former fort, and then opened a wagon road be- tween the two. They also converted into a military station the Indian village of Venango, situate at the junction of French Creek with the Alleghany River ; but when they undertook to erect a fort at the forks or head of the Ohio, they came into collision with representatives of the Ohio Company. This company, which had been formed in Vir- ginia as early as 1750, was authorized by the Virginia Coun- cil to select five hundred thousand acres of land on both sides of the Upper Ohio for the i)urpo8e of settlement, and had caused surveys to be made of the lands and built some houses thereon. The French troops, however, seized sev- eral of the English agents and traders and sent them pris- oners to Canada, and warned others away, — an arbitrary and unfriendly proceeding. The company thereupon made complaint to Rol)ert Dinwiddle, governor of Virginia, who commissioned young George Washington (then adjutant- general, with the rank of major, of the provincial militia in tlie northern division of the colony) to be the bearer of a let- ter to the comnumderof the French forces on the head waters of the Ohio, requiring him to peaceably withdraw from that territory, which was claimed as a part of Virginia, and as belonging to the crown of Great Britain. Major Washington started on his difficult mission from Williamsburg (the old capital of Virginia) on tlie Slst ot October, 1753, tlrst stopping at Fredericksburg to engage a French mterpreter, and proceeded via Alexandria to Win- chester, where he procured horses and baggage, and thence journeyed to Wills Creek. Here he employed a guide and four men as servants, and, continuing his journey over the mountains in a north-westerly direction, reached the junction of Turtle Creek and the Monongahela on the 22d of Novem- ber, and the forks of the Ohio on the 23d. The next day .^ he went down the river to Logstown, several miles below the 21 322 The Seven Years' War. 1 1 forks, and there held a conference witli the Indians friendly to the Enp^lish cause. From thence, attetided hy a small native escort, he traveled up the valley of the Alleghany, and its tributary of Frencli Creek, to Fort le Boeuf,* whither he arrived on the 11th of December. Presenting his (!re- dentials and letter to Jacques le Gardeur de St. Pierre, who had succeeded the Sieur de Marin (then recently deceased) in command of the French troops in tliat quarter, Washington was politely received and entertained by tlie commander and liis statf. Some days later, on taking Ids departure from tlie fort, he was handed a letter by St. Pierre in an- swer to that of the Virginia governor. Major Washington and liis party set out on their re- turn home the 16th of December, and after a most disa- greeable and dangerous winter journey, made partly on horseback and partly afoot, he reached Williamsburg on January 16, 1754. Calling without delay upon Governor Dinwi Idie, he delivered to him the letter of reply from the French commander, with which he had been intrusted, and of which the following: is a translati* '» : "Sir: As I have the honor oi commanding here in chief, Mr. Washington delivered to me the letter which you wrote to the commander of the French troops. I should have been glad that you had given him orders, or that he had been inclined, to proceed to Canada to see our general ; to whom it better belongs than to me to set forth the evi- dence and the reality of the rights of the king, my master, to the land situate along the river Ohio, and to contest the pretentions of the King of Great Britain thereto. " I shall transmit your letter to the Marquis du Quesne. His answer will be a law to me. And if he shall order nie to communicate it to you, sir, you may be assured I will not fail to dispatch it forthwitli to you. As to the sum- mons you send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it. Whatever may be your instructions, I am hero by virtue of the orders of general ; and I entreat you, sir, * Or Fort mr la RU'i^re au Boeuf . r • - v- - - .. _.^ General St. Pierre's Letter to Governor Dinwlddie. 323 a suvall my, an«i whither hifl ^-re- rro, who eased) in rthington uiuunder leparture ere in an- their re- rtost diflii- partly oii ishurg on Governor y from the ^uated, and iir here i» which you I should or that he lir general ; [th the evi- my master, Contest the |du Quesne. 11 order me tired I will the sum- lelf obliged I am hero Lit you, sir, not to doubt one moment but that I am determined to con- form myself to tliem with all the exactness and resolution which can ])e expected froni the best officer. T do not know that in tlie progress of this campaign any thing luis passed which can be reputed as an act of hostility, or that is con- trary to the treaties which subsist between the two crowns, the continuation whereof interesteth and is as pleasing to us as to the Knglisli," etc. (Signed) " Le Gardeuu de St. Pierre. " Dated" December 15, 1758." * When this rather defiant letter had been read and con- sidered by the governor and council of Virginia, an order was issued to raise a regiment of mounted militia, for the double purpose of driving the French intruders from their territory, and of com[)Ieting and garrisoning tlie post at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers, the erection of which had been already begun by the agents of the Ohi(> Company. The comnumd of this regi- ment was assigned to Colonel Fry, with Washington as lieutenant-colonel, and they were speedily eciuipped and on their way across the mountains. But the object of this expe- dition was thwarted in the main by the prompter action of the French under Captain Antoine Pecody Contrecoeur, who, in the month of April, in anticipation of the arrival of the Virginia troops, moved down to the liead of the Ohio with a force of about one thousand regulars and Indians, and eighteen pieces of cannon. After dispersing the employes of the company and a small body of militia, whom he found there, Contrecoeur proceeded to finish the fort whicli they had commenced, and named it Duquesne, in compliment to the commander of the French forces in Canada. Lietenant-Colonel Washington had meantime pushed forward, with one-half of the Virginia regiment, in advance of the rest, to a place called the Great Meadows, fifty miles north-west of Wills Creek (afterward Fort Cumberland), * Vide " Diaries of Washington," edited by Benson J. Lossing, N. Y., 1860, p. 247. ■3E- ■''"''■■'^SESSSSBP*^ 324 The Seven Years' War — Death of Jumonville. and there erected a rude stockade fort, which received the name of Fort I^ecessity, While he was thus engaged, N. Coulon de Jumonville, a young French officer, was sent from Fort Duquesne, with a detachment of thirty men, to reconnoiter his movements and notify him to surrender the fort. On heing apprised by Lis scouts of the approach of the French party, Washington planned to fall upon them by surprise. Accordingly, on the evening of the 27th of May, with a part of his provincials and a few Indian allies, he suddenly surrounded De Jumonviile's camp, at a se- cluded spot called the Little Meadows, and ordered his men to ojien fire. In the brief action of a quarter of an hour that ensued, the Virginians had one man killed and three wounded ; while, on the side of the French, ten men were either killed or wounded, and the remainder made prisoners. Among the .-ilain was M. de Jumonville,* who commanded the French party. Th3 killing of this brave young officer, who bore on his person a summons to the Virginians to surrender, caused much excitement in Can- ada and France, where it was cUiimed to be a violation of the law of nations, and it contrii)uted to kindle into a flame the embers of war. So soon as intelligence of this bloody encounter was brouglit to the Illinois, Neyon de Villiers, a brother of the deceased Jumonville, and captain of a. company then sta- tioned at Fort Chr.rtres, solicited leave of Makarty, tlie major-commandant, to go and avenge the death of his rela- tive Permission being given, De Villiers set out with a considerable force of French and Indians. Passing down the Missi8sip]>i and up tlie Ohio to Fort Duquesne, he was there joined by M. Coulon de Villiers, with other forces, bent upon the same stern errand. The French on the Ohio, being thus re-infoiced, took the offensive. Some little time before this Colonel Fry had deceased, and Washington euceeeded to the full command of his regi- * M. Juinonvillo de Villiore was born in Pioardy, France, about 1725. He was one of sevi'ii brotherH, all poldiiTH, hIx of whom, it is said, wero killed during thiri war. His death was uiade Hit? theme of a short epio poem by M. Thomas, a Frencli poet. Washington'' s Surrenders Fort Neccssi/i/. 325 ed t\ie red, N. as sent lien, to dcr the )U''h of u tliem 27th of in aUies, at a sc- ored his ,ev of an lied and ten men ler made lie * who his hrave m to the it in Can- ^liition of o a flame inter was cr of the then sta- :arty, the f liis rela- iit with a lug down 10, he was 10 r forces, the Ohio, deceased, If his regi- I iibout 17'25. L Btlill, WlTl^ Iv Bhort epic nient. Findino" liiuisolf confronted 1)V u .suiierior force of the enemy, he now fell back to Fort Xccessity, at the Great Meadows, wliich he strengthened as well as he could in the brief time allowed him. Here, on the 3d of Jaly, he was attacked by De Villiers, with an army of some six hundred Frenchmen and over one hundred Indians. The Viri^inia troops made a stubborn defense, and withstood the irregu- lar fire of the French and their allies (who slieltered them- selves behind the forest trees), from ten o'clock in the morn- ing until sunset. At length, fearing the faihire of his am- munition, and not desiring to sacrifice tlie lives of his men by storming the fort, l)e Villiers sent in a flag of truce offering moderate terms of capitulation. In view of his critical situation, Colonel Washington, after some parleying over details, accepted the terms ottered. 13y these he was allowed to march ofl'his troops with the honors of war, and to carry away his l)aggage, but was required to leave his cannon, and to surrender all of his prisoners previously taken. In this frontier battle the French are said to have lost only three men killed and a few wounded, while the Virginians, penned up in the stockade fort, lost over thirty men killed and wounded. When the news of these stirring events reached Encf- land and France, l)oth nations prepared to settle their ter- ritorial disputes by the arbitrament of the sword, though war was not formally declared by the King of (ireat Urilain until May, 175(3. Among other sources of irritation be- tween the two governments at this time was the alleged encroachment by French colonists upon the <lomain of the l^aiglish in Acadia, or Nova Scotia, which had been ceded to England by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, but the boundaries of which remained unadjusted. To the mere supcrflcial observer the impending con- test seemed a very uneciual one. The po]tulation of tiio Anglo-American colonies aggregated about one million and a quarter, witii wealth and military resources in ]»ro- ])ortion ; whereas, the French, all told, did not count more than one hundred thousand souls. But the latter were diflieult to be reached, for the reason that their forts and '-■'^'^'fsmsmssaBmm 326 The Seven Years' War. . t ■ 'il settlements were situated at remote points in the wilder- ness, and surrounded by numerous Indian allies, who could be o'lickly summoned to their aid ; and from these forest retreats they menaced the entire western English frontier. Moreover, the regular British army of that day was an un- wieldy machine, incumbered with heavy baggage and mu- nitions, commanded by brave yet conceited officers, who were inexperienced in the wild tactics of Indian warfare, and in constant danger of being 8ur})ri8ed and defeated by a lighter equip])ed, more agile and vigilant fee. In February, 1755, General Edward Braddock, who had been given the cliief command in the English colonies, arrived at Alexandria, Virginia, with two regiments of regular troops. During the following April he met there the governors of five of the leading provinces, and con- certed with them a general plan of campaign. Three sep- arate expeditions were planned; one against Fort Duquesne, to be commanded by Braddock in person ; the second, against Forts Niagara and Frontenac, to be led by Gov- ernor William Shirley, of Massachusetts ; and the third, against Crown Point, by General (afterward Sir William) Johnson. Early in May, General Braddock set out with his army from Alexandria ui)on his luckless expedition. Arrived at Fort Cumberland, on the Upper Potomac, he was there joined by several hundred Virginia militia, under the lead of Colonel Washington, whom he had invited to serve as one of his aides de camp. Beitig thus reinforced, nnd hav- ing now completed the equipment of his army, the gen- eral resumed his march on the 10th of June. But the difficulty and delay attending the opening of a military road across the mountains induced him, partly at the sug- gestion of Washington, to leave his wagon train and heavy cannon behind with a guard of eight hundred men, under Colonel Tlionuis Dunbar, and to press forward with the main body of liis army, over twelve hundred strong, in order to reach the French fort before its garrison could be reinforced, After reaching and fording the Monongaliela BraddocWs Disastrous Defeat. 327 Ider- -ould [brest ntier. 11 un- l mu- i, who iirfare, jfeated c, who )lomcs, BiitB of st tbere [id con- ree sep- iquesne, second, 1)y Gov- e third, ilViain) Ills army Irr'ived at art there the h^ad nerve aB \\\\\} hav- |the gcn- Uut the military tiie BUji:- |i>d iieavy 11, under Nvit\i the trong, i'» \o\\ could kongahela River, Braddock marched rapidly to the north down tlie valley of that stream. Meanwhile, Daniel Lienard de Beaujeu, who had prac- tically, if not formally, supplanted Captain Contrecoeur in the command at Fort Duquesne, heing advised hy his scouts of Brnddock's approach, marched out with a force of two hundred and fifty Frenchmen, and six hundred and fifty Indians, to intercept his advance. Proceeding up the Monongahela seven miles from the fort, the French and Indians concealed themselves in the thick woods on the brow^ of a ridge overlooking the banks of the river, along which Braddock was expected to [)ass, and there uneasily awaited his coming. In th^ forenoon of the 9th of July, the British force recrossed the river near the mouth of Turtle Creek,* and without taking any adequate precautions to guard against an ambuscade, boldly climbed the first bank, and advanced along a defile of the second, above and near which the enemy lay in ambush. And now, at a preconcerted signal, the Indians raised their hideous yell, and a deadly volley was poured upon the front column, which checked its ad- vance, and caused it to fall l)ack on the center, and the center on the rear, which was hemmed in by the river. Thus this brave army, which might have advanced and driven the enemy from his covert, speedily became involved in inex- tricable confusion, and, after a murderous confiict of three hours, was utterly routed and })Ut to fiight. Of the four- teen hundred and sixty ofticers and men who v/ent into the battle on that hot .Inly day, only five hundred and eighty- tb.ree .came out uninjured. The carnage was frightful among the officers, who were picked ofi' by the French sharp-shooters. General Braddock himself Ibught with great intre[)idity, but, "after having three or four horses shot under him, received a mortal wound, of which he died a few days later. | * Lii'utonant-Coloiu'l (ijiyc, who led \\\v adviuuH' cohimn, liiHt forded the river, and Hent buck word that no enemy waH in Higlit, wiiereupon the rest of the army followed after him. tTluH imprudent and unfortunate commander was born in I'erth- 328 The Seven Years' War. The French loss, not conntiiiii^ tliat of their Indian al- lies, was less than forty; but it included their skillful com- mander, Captain Beanjeu, who had ])lanned the ambuscade, and who was killed early in the action.* Colonel WashiuiJ^ton's clothini): was riddled with bul- lets, and he escaiied, as it were by a miracle, from that field of slaughter. His Virii^inia riflemen, despite JJraddock's injudicious orders to the contrai'v, took j>osit':>ns beliind trees and I'ocks, and luaintained the nnef^na! fight until more than lialf of them were killed and wounded. With those that remained, the dauntless and self-possessed colonel covered the retreat of the routed army. Happily for the fugitives, the Indian auxiliaries of the Frencih were too in- tent ui)on the sjtoils of the battle field to pursue them beyond the river; and never before, in a single engage- ment, had the savages reaped such a harvest of scalps and booty as was gathered here. The panic of the defeat was quickly communicated to the rear-guard, commanded by the pusillanimous Colonel Dunbar, who abandoned his heavy artillery and baggage, and fled over the mountains to Philadelphia, leaving the frontier settlements defenseless. Owing partly to the discouragement produced by Braddock's defeat, the other exjieditions that .lad been planned by him and the colonial governors, for that year, also ended in failure. The attempt of Governor Shirley against Forts Froutenac and Niagara wholly miscarried. The governor, with a force composed principally of raw shire, Scotland, ahont the your Id!)"), and had risen to the rank ot' major- general after forty years of meritorious service in th<' liritish army. It is alliruu'd, on what seems to be good authority, that Braddoek was fatally shot in the side or back tit tiie battle of the Rlonongahela, by one of the provincials, whose ))rother had been stricken down by the irate general for refusing to obey orders; yet it is ecjually probable tiiat the sh'»t was accidental. (Jeneral Braddoek expired in the camp of Colonel Dunbar, on the l!)th of July, and was buried in the military highway, seven miles (>ast of Uniontown, Ta., where his graven is still shown. * For some old French accounts of this celebrated battle, see '' llelaliom Direncs H?f >• la Bata ilk (f ' Malnmjnele, (UtgnS U' \)th a Jouittct, 1 755, par Ir Fran- cai« sons if. tr liranjni, Comniatiihint du Fort dit iiuene, «»/• kn Atujlois nous M. Braddoek, (Uuiral en I'luf dm tronpfn Angloiscs," pp. xv., 1)-51, N. Y., 1800 ( — Crainoisy Series of Kelatiijiis relative to the French in America), The Reduction of Acadia. 329 .n al- com- icade, i bul- t field ilook's jebind : until With colonol for the too iu- e tlieiu engrtge- ilprt and teat was nded V)y )i\ed his ountaius bnseless. need hy ad been lat year, Shirley si-arried. : of raw oi; niajor- Inny. ^t is lw;iH fiitivUy one of the |xte geiu'val w sh^^t was [ol l)unV)ar, Lay, st'vcn [o " AV/at'0»w ifuv h' Fran- ])-r,"l,N. Y., Ii America). militia, marched to Oswego, on Lake Ontario ; but, in con- sequence of the lateness of the season, and the difficulty of procuring provisions and transports, he abandoned tlie ex- pedition and returned to Albany. It is true that the Acadians of Nova Scotia were re- duced to subjection, by a fleet fitted out for that purpose at Boston, with a land force of over two thousand men under the command of Colonel John Winslow\ of Massachusetts. After the treatv of 1748, the French iidiabitants of that peninsula, living on the disputed territory, had not only refused to take the oath of nnqualified allegiance to the King of England, but had contributed material aid to their own countrymen in the existing war. They were now (in August, 1755) inhumanly punished for their contumacy. Their petty forts at the head of the iiay of Fundy were taken and demolished ; their villages were burned, and their farms laid waste. As nuiny as three thousand of the poor Acadians — men, women and children — were forcibly put on shipboard and transjtorted to the other English colonies, where they were distributed around as paupers. Some of these unhappy exiles, as we shall see, eventually found an asylum in Low^er Louisiana, where they established a thrifty and permanent settlement.* The army, under General Johnson, which was intended to operate against Crown Point, on Lake ('hamplain, reached the south end of Lake George in the latter })art of * Longfellow has firriii)lii''ally pi>rtrayi'(l tlic toucliing sccneH in this deportation of the unfortnnate AcaiHanK, and thrown around it the halo of romance, in the poiiwhed Ktanzas of his " Evangeline," beginning with these lines: "In the Acadian land, on tlic sliorcs of the Basin of Minas, Distant, HCchuU-il, still, the little villagt; of (irand I're Lay in the fruitful valley." The history of the Acadians is long, varied and interesting. They were, in truth, the sport of fortune from the time of DeMonts (Ui04) until the treaty of Paris, in 1763. Their descendants, however, are still nunie''ouH in northern Xova Scotia. The name of this |)eninsu1a was first changed from Acadia to Nova Scotia in lO'Jl. when Sir Wni. Alex- ander obtained a grant of the country from James L, and undertook to colonize it with Scotchnicn. "^S^i^i^^e»i^!A^§§ii 330 The Seven Years' War. August, (1755), when informatioti was received that two thousand of the enemy, commanded by Baron Dieskau, who had lecently arrived witn fresh troops from France, were marching against Fort Edward, on the Hudson. Gen- eral Johnson thereupon detached Colonel Williams, with a strong force, to intercept this movement of the French. Colonel Williams unexpectedly fell in with the army of Baron Dieskau, on the 8th of September, when a bloody action took place, in which the English were defeated and put to flight, and Williams himself was slain. But when the French, flushed with their success, advanced to attack the main body of Johnson's army, they were warmly re- ceived, and, after an obstinate conflict, were driven from the fleld with heavy loss, Dieskau himself being mortally wounded and taken prisoner. Satisfied with this hard-won victory, General Johnson gave over the further prosecution of his movement against Crown Point. Soon after these events, the English constructed a regular fort at the head of Lake George, and called it Fort William Henry. In July, 1756, Lora Loudon arrived in America, as commander-in-chief of the British forces. An army of about twelve thousand men was raised this year, which was better prepared to take the fleld than any other that had been assembled within the colonies. But the change of commanders delayed military operations, and nothing of any consequence was acconiiilished by the nglish army. The French, however, under the able conduct of the Mar- quis de Montcalm, struck at least one vigorous blow. This was directed against Fort Ontario, at Oswego, on Lake Ontario. In the early part August they attacked this fort, "with a strong armament, and quickly compelled its sur- render, with a garrison of over one thousand men, and a large ([Uivntity of artillery and valuable stores. By the loss of Oswego, and the defeat of Braddock in the preceding year, all the western country was laid open to the ravages of the onemy; and the Indians, sustained and encouraged by the French, now wasted the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, in ])articular, with a pitiless and desolating war. Montcalm Takes Fort William Henry. 331 two skau, •iince, Gen- vitVi a rench. my of bloody ed and t when , attack nily re- >n tVoni nortally ard-won sedition tcr these the head lerica, as army of hich was that had ■hange of thing of iflli army. I the Mar- »w. This on T.akvi this fort, Id its sur- len, and a ky the loss Ipreceding lie ravages Itconraged Lusylvania [desolating The next year, 1757, was marked by the same inactiv- ity and ineiRciency on the part of the English, and by an- other snccessful expedition on the side of the French. The English colonists, as a rule, displayed great energy in rais- ing men and money for the war ; but their efforts were paralyzed by the want of concert with each other, by the necessity of awaiting orders from England, and by the dilatory and do-nothing policy of the incompetent gen- erals sent over to command them. On the other hand, Montcalm, as general-in-chief of the French, not being obliged to take counsel with any one (unless it was the governor of Canada), speedily collected a force of about eight thousand men, including Canadians and Indians, with which he passed up lakes Cham[>lain and George, and laid siege to Fort William Henry. The garrison here was nearly three thousand strong, commanded by Colonel Monroe, a brave officer, and General Webb was at Fort Edward, only fourteen miles avvav, with four thousand more. But the latter made no effort to succor the beleagured fort, and manifested so much indifference to its fate that he was sus- pected of treachery. After standing a close siege for six days, and seeing that he was to have no relief from General Webb, Colonel Monroe ca[)itulated on terms honorable to himself and the garrison. But the savage auxiliaries of the French, paying no regard to the articles of capitula- tion, nor to the entreaty of Montcalm, fell upon the En- glish after the surrender, robbed them of their baggage and other effects, massacred their sick and wounded, and killed and scalped the Indians in their serviiie. The unexpected capture of this valuable ])()st, together with the Indian atrocities attending it, caused great alarm throughout New York and New England, and, when too late, large re-infoi'cements of militia were assembled and sent forward to Albany and Fort Kdwartl. Meantime, however, General Montcalm, after ravaging the settle- ments on the Mohawk River, retired into Canada. Tiius far the war had been very disastrous and dis- couraging to the English. After three cons(H;utive cam- paigUH, tlie French not only retained every foot of the 332 The Seven Years' War. disputed territory, but had captured Oswego, driven their antagonists from Lake George, and, through their Indian confederates, had carried the brand and tomahawk into the heart of the EngUsh settlements. To remedy this scries of defeats in America, as well as elsewhere, Will- iam Pitt, afterward Earl of Chatham, was called to the head of the English ministry. He took the helm in June, 1757, and by his vigor and consummate ability, soon gave a new and surprising turn to affairs. In the spring of 1758, General Abercrombie, who hud been appointed to the chief command in place of Lord Loudt)n, found himself at the head of about fifty thousand fighting men, one-half of whom were regulars. This was the largest force that had ever been seen in America, and from it was expected great results. On the other hand, all the French Canadians capable of bearing arms did not exceed twenty thousand, and they had been so constantly in the service that agriculture was neglected, and the horrors of partial famine were added to those of war. On the 28th of May a powerful arnuiment, which luid been fitted out in England, sailed from Halifax for the reduction of Louisburg — the Dunkirk of New France — which was defended by the Chevalier de Druciourt, with 3,100 men. The English tieet, consisting of twenty ships of the line and eighteen frigates, besides numerous trans- ports, was commanded by Admiral Boscawen, and carried a land force of fourteen thousand men, under General Amherst. Arrived before Louisburg the 2d of June, a close investment was begun of the town both by sea and land. After a stul)boru defense, the French garrison sur- rendered on the 27th of -luly, and, together with the sailors and marines (amounting in all to 5,737 men), were transported [irisouers oi' war to Englaiul. The loss of this colossal fortress, with all its cannon, mortars, military stores, and shipping in the harbor, was the nuist eft'ectual blow that France had received sincf^ the beginning of the war. It made the English masters of the entire coast from Defeat of General Abercrombic at Tkondcroga. 333 their i\(Vian : into y this WiU- [o the . June, n gave e, who laoe of ut titty egulars. seen in On the bearing lad heen eglected, , those of [hicii iieul for tlie Pvanec — nrt, witii nty siiip*^ \is trans- d carried General June, a ^' sea and L*iaon fiur- with the en), were Ic loss of 1, niilitary etfectual Lg of the loast from Halifax to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and greatly facilitated their conquest of Canada.* Early in July of that year, General Abercronibie moved with an armv of fifteen thousand eftective men asrainst Fort Ticonderoga, on Lake Chami)laiu. Montcalm had mean- time thrown himself with a strong force into the fort, and had so obstructed the approach to it by an abatis of felled trees that it was impregnable, except by the processes of a regular siege. The English troops, with more courage than calculation, attacked the enemy's lines in front, and, after a desperate coiiilict of four hours, were routed with heavy loss, and retreated precipitately to their camp at the foot of Lake George. To offset this mortifying defeat, the result of bad gcneralshi[>, Colonel John Hradstreet was shortly detached, with a force of tliree thousand ])rovincials, on an expedition againset Fort Frontenac. He crossed the outlet of Ontario Lake, landed within a mile of the fort, plaiited his batteries, and speedily compelled the surrender of its garrison and munitions. By the ca[>ture and demolition of Fort Frontenac, the English gained practical control of Lake Ontario, and cut off the main line of communication between Montreal and the French posts in the West. While these momentous events were transpiring in the north. General Joseph Forbes, who had been appointed to command the expedition to the Ohio, was slowly advancing, with an army of seven thousand men (including wagoners, sutlers, and camp-followers), to the compiest of Fort I)u- quesne. The British general left J*hiladelphia in June, and was joined en route by Colonel Washington, with two regi- ments of Virginia militia. In consequence of the serious obstacles encountered in opening a new road across the Alleghanies, this army was greatly retarded in its march, •' The fortifications at Louisburg (which stood on the south-eastern Bide of Cape Breton Island) had been thirty years in building, and had (•CSV the French government over $5,000,000. After this second capture by the British, the fortress was demolished and never again re-l.uilt. The town itself was ruined during the siege, and its present population comprises only a few fishermen. 334 The Seven Years' War. and did not reach the head of the Ohio till the 25th of November. In the meantime Colonel Grant, commanding a de- tachment from the main army, had pushed ahead to recon- noiter the situation of the fort. But he was suddenly at- tacked and driven back with considerable loss, by M. Aubry, who had recently arrived with a reinforcement of French troops from the Illinois. When General Forbes reached Fort Duoue8ne,he found it deserted nnd burned. The French garrison, numbering about five hundred men, had set fire to the wooden building on the preceding night, and fied down the river in boatsi carrying with them their ordnance and stores. Taking quiet possession of tlie burnt fort, Forbes caused it to be forthwith repaired, and changed its name to Fort Pitt, in compliment to the English prime minister. At the same time he sent out a body of men to the battle-ground on the Monongahela, to bury the dead soldiers of Braddock's army, whose bones had been left to bleach there for three years on the hillsides. Leaving two regiments of provincials as a garrison at Fort Pitt, General Forbes returned by short marclies to Philadelphia ; but his constitution was so broken by the ex- posure and fatigues of the campaign, that he died shortly after his arriva' thither. And now the Indian nations, throughout the region of the Up})er Ohio, seeing that the French were losing ground, and ever ready to join the stronger side,* made overtures of peace to the Englisli. A treaty of pacification was accordingly entered into with them, which gave security for a few years to the border settlements in Pennsylvania and Virginia. In passing down the Ohio from Fort Duquesne, xvl. Aubry, the French commander, made a halt about thirty- six miles above its mouth, and there on the site of a former fortlet, on the northern bank of the river, commenced building a fort, at which he left one hundred men for gar- * In this particular, they were not uulike many of the more civilized descendants of Adam. Fort Massac on the Ohio. 335 >tb of a de- reeon- \\y at- ^ubry, i'reucli ■i found ibering uilding 11 boatai Taking it to be Pitt, in he same d on the iiddock's for three rrison at iH'hes to ly the ex- ll shortly nations, tbat tiie join the krlish. A Into with ^e border liesne, ivi- lit rhirty- a former lunienced for gar- rison duty, and returned with the rest to Fort Chartrea. The new post was called Fort Massac, in compliment to M. Massac, or Marsiac, the odieer who first commanded there. This was the last fort erected by tlie French on the Ohio, and it was occupied by a garrison of French troops until the evacuation of the country under the stipulations of the Treaty of Paris, in 1763.* ire CIV ilized * Moiu'tte's " Valley of the IMississippl," vol. i, p. 317. Note. — The early French history of Fort Massac dates back to tlu* beginning of the last century, but it is obscured by time and fiction. Dr. Lewis C. Beck, in his " Gazetteer of Illinois and Missouri " (Albany, N. Y., 1823, p. 114), describing the place, says: "A fort was first built here by the P'rench when in possession of this ;;ountry. The Indians, who were then at war with them, laid a curious stratagem to take it, wliich answered their purpose. A number of them appeared in the daytime on the opposite side of the river, each of whom was covered with a bear-skin, and walked on all-fours. Supposing them to be bears, a party of the French crossed the river in ,>ursuit of them. The re- mainder of the troops left their quarters, and resorted to the bank of the river in front of the fort to observe the sport. In the meantime a large body of warriors, who were concealed .iji the woods near by, came silently up behind the fort and entered it without opposition, and very few of the Frenchmen escaped the carnage. They afterward built another fort on the same ground, and called it Massac (or Massacre), in nuMr.ofy of this disastrous event." This romantic story is repeated by .fudge Hall, in his "Sketches of the West," and by other western writers. Ex-Governor Reynolds, in his "Own Times" (2d ed., p. 16), writes more specnfically of tin; fort, as follows: " Fort Massac was first established by the French about the year 1711, and was also a Ujission- ary station. It was only a small fort until the war commenced in 1755, between the English and the French. In 1756 (1758), the fort was en- larged and made a respectable fortress, considering the wilderness it was in. It was at this ])lafc that tlie Christian missionaries (finst) instructed the southern Indians in the gospel precepts, and it was here also that the French soldiers made a resolute stand against the enemy." Fort Massac was subsequently maintained by the United States government as a military j)08t, and a few families resided in the immediate vicinity, until after the close of the war of 1812-14. During this later period of its history it was sometimes called the "old Cherokee Fort," from the river of that name, better known as the Tennessee. In 1855 Reynolds visited the place, which, in his "Own Times," he thus describes: "The outside walls were one hundred and thirty-five feet square, and at each angle strong bastions were erected. The walls were palisaded, with earth between the wood ; a large well was sunk in the fortress ; and the whole appeared to have l)een strong and substantial in its day. Three or four acres of graveled walks were made on the north of the fort, oa '„!lJlJ!!J.l4#i!H4J. 336 The Seven Years' War. Stimulated bv the brilliant successes that had attended their arms in the campaign of 1758, the Britiwh ministry re- solved to make a supreme effort the next year for the com- plete conquest of Canada. The Anglo-American colonies, zealously seconding the exertions of the home government, brought into the field twenty thousand provincials, and raised a large sum of money for their equipment and sus- tenance. At a general military council, held early in the year 1759, it was decided to invade Canada with three dif- ferent armies, which should enter the country by three separate routes, and commence offensive operations at about the same time. The command of the first and principal expedition, which was destined against Quebec, was in- trusted to General James Wolfe, a young brigadier of great enterprise and promise, who had distinguished himself by his valor and conduct at the reduction of Louisburg. Of the two subsidiary expeditions, one, under General Sir Jef- frey Amherst, was to proceed by way of Lake Champlain to Montreal, and the other was to march against Fort Niagara. General Amherst's operations were impeded and re- stricted by a lack of vessels and transports. Yet Ticon- deroga and Crown Point successively fell into his hands without a struggle — the danger to Quebec having caused the withdi;! val of the greater part of their French garri- sons — and a detachment of liis army attacked and burned the Indian village of St. Francis, whence many of those scalping parties were believed to have issued, which had ravaged the frontiers of New England. General Prideaux was unhappily killed by the bursting of a gun at the siege of Niagara; but his successor in command. Sir William Johnson, on the 24th of July, defeated a force of twelve hundred French and Indians, who had advanced to relieve the fort, and he pressed the siege so vigorously that the garrison soon capitulated. Johnson should then have whicli the soldiers paraded. These walks were made in exact augiej*, and are beautifully graveled with pebbles from the river. The site is one of the most beautiful on La Belli' Riviere, and commands a view that is charming." Wolfe's Victory Over Mnnf. i . oi-atc With yTrnTZ ";;' ^ "'■ ^-"'-"ee, to eo- --t of faei,iti,3 for „ "^ ^'; ."'■"» Q'-bee, but tl in the latter nnrf +• t «™^ of eight thousand T^i^M- " P''?'''""' '''"''' ""<» an hardly erjual in number to tlj'^fT "'^ ''"■■^o. though *<"■ '■quipped and provisiol k / "" *^'''"'*-'''. was bet- vantage of one of the "n? ' . "' *<> '"""^ ''ad the ad -o^id, Which had bt;';: rj''''"™,' '■'"■•— i %'; .ey were oon,„,anded b/r2e*7 "•■""' by art, and wl'o had merited tlie firet hnf consummate abilitv -.ht to bombard Qn'ot ^rs Zt '" '""^ »« ^"'^ on the opposite height of theV, t "'""' "* ^'^int Levi the Freneh intrencfmen ow -tl^r"":""' "^ "»-"^ed Charles, his ettbrts wore e..;i T ''"^■' along the St v^ilance of M,,,,^ Bu "a ft"';"-^' "^^^ «'« 'act and «nts, the British genera ..mM "'•>''"« ^«"ons e^:nedi -oving his forces'f r , '^:' '"' "P«- the bold de!^', '„; erat,ons) up the river ■„ tt, , °''''"'™ (''is base of „n flat-botto„.ed boats, a, ' i ;',f "PP-^' "own at nig, t,t known as the Heights of Ab alnm '^^ "" '"■^'' '^"'«™ ""le above the eitadel of (iZfr'T^^' " ?"'"' ""^""t »»« «as us skillfully executed as t L L*"^ ?*''-' "'"vement t' ough the aclivity was so st ep 1, !" " "^'^ '"""'"'-l. d.ors could, with difficulty, cli'",b i P*" ''"" «'« «oI- J«*"g rocks and roots ^ t ' s ll "''"''"^ *" "'« P'- a id chagnn that the English had .j '""•".'"^ "'th surprise -rear where his defele Vte rl hi;"""'! '^ ""^'"•°' ' ■" t''at a battle was unavoidable M ,""''• "'"' «'«ing army of five thousand men m t,',e ^ '"' '^"'^- "« hi! '-™. and put the fate Tf C "" d^ "'"'""f P'^'" '-'"'nd the -^agoment. Nor was the i^™;','"'" '"'''"•'' "'' " ^'^'e "O'ne skirmishing in front by ridv^f^r",' ""'""• ^"^^ ;k 338 The Seven Years' War. delivered it with decisive effect. The Frencli fought with valor and determination iintil the fall of their ^aneral and his second in coniniand, when they retreated, and were pur- sued almost to the gates of the city. Tliis famous battle was fought September 13, 1759. The English lost in killed and wounded six hundred men, and the Frencli nearly one tfiousand. Generals Wolfe and Montcalm were both mortally wounded, the former dying on the field of conflict, and tlie latter on the next day within the city walls.* On the 18th of that month the citadel of Quebec was formally surrendered, and received a British garrison of five tfiousand men. The royal ensign of France, wfiich, with a single interval of three years, had waved over this fortress for a century and a half, was now low- ered from its staff, and in its place was unfui'led the victo- rious cross of St. George. liut the submission of Canada did not immediately follow after the fall of Quebec. The war was further pro- tracted. The Clievalier de Levis succeeded to tfie com- mand made vacant by the death of Montcalm, and strove to retake the city by a coup de main. Another pitched battle was fought a few miles above (Quebec, on the 28th of April, 1760, in which the French army gained the ad- vantage, and they made the most strenuous yet unavailing efforts to recover their lost citadel and seat of power. It was not until tfie 3th of September, 1760, when the united British forces were concentrated before Montreal, that ar- ticles of ca[>itulation were signt^d by the governor-general, the Marquis de Vaudreuil. By tliese" terms Canada and its dependencies were surrendered to the English crown, witli a reservation to the French inhabitants of their civil and religi(jus privileges. l^]([nally un8Ucceri8ful,both in Fjuro[)c and America, and exhiiUHted by lier great and ))rotracted exertions, France now made overtures of peace. These vv'ere favorably con- * After receiving his mortal womui, M(vntealm whh carried into the city ; and when infornietl that he could Hurvive only a few hourB, lie replied: " So much tlie better; I shall not then live to see tht surren- der of Quebec," Submission of Canada to the English Crown. 339 with i pur- 1759. men, ,fe and ■ dying witbin Dadel of British ji' ranee, waved ow iow- le vlcto- iiediately ther pro- the eom- tid strove piteiied the 28tb il the ad- niivailing lower. It ■lie unite«i |l, that ar- ,r-general, Hilda and ah crown, their civil Iverica, and L, trance Irahly con- LmI into the Inv hours, h« le tht &urrcn- sidered by England, and every thing seemed in a fair way of adjustment, wlien the negotiations were suddenly broken ofl' by the attempt of the court of Versailles to bring in the aft'airs of Spain and Germany. A secret compact of the Bourbon princes to support each other, in peace and in war, had rendered Spain averse to a treaty which weakened her ally, and this induced France to once more try the fortunes of war. As the interests of these two nations were thus identical, it only remained for the King of Ep/^land to pro- claim hostilities with Spain. The New Phigland cole sm- being interested in the reduction of the West Indi ■, ^.- - account of their commerce witli them, furnished a iiLorMi quota of men and means for continuing the war; and a great fleet was dispatched from old England, bearing a land force of some^ sixteen thousand men. These combined forces acted with such vigor and celerity that, before the end of the next year, Great ]5ritain had gained possession of Havana (the key to the Gulf of Mexico), Grenada, Martin- iqtie, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and the Caribbee Islands. The rapid progress of her conquests, which threatened tli<5 remaining possessions of France and Spain, was arrested, however, by the exchange of preliminary articles of jieace at Fontaincbleau, toward the close of the year 1762. On the lOtli of the ensuing February, 1763, a definitive treaty of peace was signed at Paris, and it was soon after ratified by the respective powers. By this memorable treaty, France ceded to Great Britain all the conquests made hy the latter in North America during the v/ar. The western houndary of the British possessions was fixed to run along the mid- dle of the Mississippi River, from its source down to the Iberville, and thein^e along the center of that river or l)ayou, and througli Lakes Maurepas and I'ontchartrain to the Mexican Gulf. All of Louisiana lying west of the Missis- sippi, together with the district of New Orleans on the eayt, had been ceded from France to Spain hy a ])rivate treaty, executed at Fontaincbleau on November 3, 1762, which was permitted to stand.* By the treaty of Paris, *iSee Article aeventh of the Faria treaty iu Chap. XIX of this work. 340 The Seven Years' War. England also acquired large territorial possessions in India and elsewhere. Such was the final outcome of this prolonged and san- guinary war, whereby the great power of the French mon- archy in America was permanently annihilated. The strug- gle was computed to have cost the Anglo-American colonies tl.'irty thousand lives, and over sixteen millions of dollars, of which only five millions were ever reimbursed to them by the government of Great Britain, Among the more direct advantages accruing to the colonies from the war, was a marked increase in their trade and population; while the indirect benefits, such as unity and concert of action in emergency, and knowledge and experience in military science, prepared the way for the War of Inde})endence. Notice ok Montcalm. LouiH Joseph, Marquis do Moncalm-(iozon de .St. V^raiii, the most celebrated soldier in French-American history, was born at the chateau of Candiar, near Nismes, in the south of France, on the 2!)th of Febru- ary, 1712, and died in Quebec, Canada, September 14, 1759. His educa- tion was directed by one Dumas, a natural son of his grandfather, and at the age of <^ourteen he entered the French army as an ensign, in the regi- ment of Hainanlt. He served with gallantry and distinction in Italy and (lerniany, and was promoted from one position to another until he attained the rank of general. In the Ki)ring of 1756 he was ai)puinted to succeed the Baron Dieskau in command of the French forces in North America, and arrived at Quebec about the middle of May. liis subse- quent eventful career is v/ritten in the history of that war. It is bi'lieved that if he luui received timely reinforcements from his home govern- ment, he could have maintained the authority of France in Canada. General Montcahn is described as ft man of small stature, with a tine head, a vivacious corntenance, and a rapid, imi>(>tuous si)eech. He had a nice sense of horor and ardent patriotism, combined with the tastes of a scholar, and a love ol rural pursuits. He possessed true military genius, and as a commander stands very high, though not in the highest rank. His last years were embittered, and his popularity impaired, by contentions with the governor of Canada, the Marcp.is de Vaudreuil, who, during the life of his rival, and after his death, lost no oi)j)ortunity of traducing him. ( A ppleton's Cyclop, of Amcr. Hiog., vol. iv., p. :{*14.) Upon the final overthrow of the French power in Canada, the friends of the dead general preferred serious charges to the king against Governor Vaudreuil, wlio was thereupon summoned to appear and answer them Wolfe and Montealm. 341 (lia n san- mon- itrug- lonies allars, em by direct was a lie the iion in military 3iice. jie chateau of Febru- HiHcduca- her, an<l ^^ in t\ie regi- )u in Italy lir untU he Hiointefl to H in North Ills Buhse- is bcheved |n\e govern- in ('anrttla. with a tine \i. lie had ,h the tastes rue military the higliest [unpaired, by ',> Vau<lreuil, opportunity |l. iv., P- ■^''■*-'> u' friends ol Inst Governor answer them in France. But, after a full investigation of the acts of his administra- tion by a competent tribunal, he was exonerated. Having lost his prop- erty, he died in Paris, October 20, 17(55. On the 20th of November, 1827, during Lord Dalhousie's adminis- tration in Canada, when the animosities and race prejudices, engen- dered and perpetuated by centuries of cruel warfare, had been in a measure obliterated, the corner-stone of a monument to the joint mem- ory of Montcalm and Wolfe was laid, with uiilitary and INIasonic cere- monies, in the Palace Garden, formerly attached to the old Castle of St. Louis, in the Upper Town of (Quebec. This appropriate monument — built of gray granite in the form of an obelisk — is sixty-five feet high, and bears upon its pedestal the following Latin inscription : Wolfe — Montcalm. Mortem Virtm Cominunem, Famam JIUtarin, Monnmcntnrn Posteritas. Dedit A. D. 1827. Which, being freely rendered into P^nglish, reads thus: "Military vir- tue gave them a common death ; History a conmion fame ; Posterity a common monument."* *,In 1832 Lord Aylraar, governor-general of (.'anada, caused to be erected on tlio Plains of Abraham, at the spot where Wolfe fell, a granite monument ten feet high. But it became -o broken and defaced in a few years by relic hunters, that it was re- placed ill 1819 by a Doric column, inclosed by an iron fence. This beautiful pillar was erected at the expense of the Briti.sli Army in Canada; and on the west side of its pedestal, as on the former monument, iire inscribed the words: "Here died Wolfe Victorious, Sept. 13, 1759." 342 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. CHAPTER XVIII. 1700-1765. INDIAN CONSPIRACY AND WAR OF PONTIAC. During the prolonged and bitter struggle between France and Great Britain for supremacy on this continent, as hereinbefore succinctly narrated, the French settlements in Upper and Lower Louisiana, being remote from the principal theater of warfare, were but slightly affected by its various fluctuations, though most of the garrisons in this western province were withdrawn, from time to time, to participate in the ensanguined contest. The dread of British conquest no doubt operated to dull the energies and cloud the future of these detached colonists ; yet they lived on in comparative tranquillity and happiness, no scenes of iar)ine and bloodshed occurring in their midst to disturb the even tenor of tneir lives. It was only when the war between the two rival kingdoms had ceased, and after the peace of Paris, that its wide reaching results were brought directly home to them. M. Neyon de Villiers* was then major-commandant of the Illinois, and the Sieur d' Annville was king's ad- vocate and judge, doing duty as commissary. Among the few records extant of their official acts, we find the grant of a certain tract of land, for use as a stock farm, to one Joseph Labusciere, who had]made written application there- for "at New Chartre, the 22d September, 1761."t * I)e v'illiers had boen taken prisoner by the Englieli at Fort Niagara, in July, 1751), but was afterward t'xcliangcd or released. t Appended to Labuseiere's application appears the following official indorsement: " In consideration of the above deelarations and others from other quarters, we have granted and do grant to Joseph Labusiere the land (called la bfUc fontaijie) situated between the hills and Outard's marsh, Major Rogers Occupies Detroit. 343 etweeii itinent, lements om the scted by ^g in tliis time, to dread of rgies and -hey lived sceneB of disturb 1 the war after the ; brought iimaudant cing'8 ad- nAong the the grant l-ni, to one tion there- Mjrt "Niagara, jwing official L from other lerc the ia"*^^ turd's marBii, We now proceed to recount the military transactions . that took place in the West after the capitulation ot Mon- treal. On the 12th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers, a gallant colonial officer of New Hampshire, re- ceived orders from General Amherst to ascend the lakes with a strong detachment of rangers, and take possession, in the name of his Britannic majesty, of Detroit, Mackinac and other western posts still held by the French. While Rogers' flotilla was on its way up Lake Erie, being delayed by stormy weather, he dispatched a courier in advance to inform Captain Belcstre, the French commandant at De- troit, that Canada had surrendered, and that an English force was on its way to relieve him of his command. Taking umbrage at the informality of the notice, and doubtless wanting a pretext for delay, Belestre incited the Indians around the post to measures of resistance. Ac- cordingly, when Major Rogers reached the head of Lake Erie, he found a force of about four liundred warriors ready to dispute his farther progress. But through the active intervention of Pontiac, or Pondiac, the great Ot- tawa chief (with whom Rogers had recently held an inter- view on the lake shore), he and his men were allowed to advance unmolested to Detroit. They arrived thither in the last week of November, and on the 29th of that month, this military and trading post, the most considerable in the central lake region, passed into the liands of the English. The French garrison, comi)Osed of three officers and tliirty privates, quietly laid down their arms, to the astonishment of the Indians preser.t, and were sent prisoners of war to Montreal. The Canadian residents of the district were left in the undisturbed possession of their houses and lands, but prayi'd for by him, according us it is explaincMl and described in the present petition, on condition that the said land sliall he Hui)ject to the puhlie cliar^eB, and that it shall he pnt to profit or hiiilt upon in the course of the year heginninji from this day, under the penalty of being again reunited to the king's domain. '•Given at Fort Charte, this fourth day of January, 1702. (Signed), " Noyon I)bvillirr8. " D'ANNVIIil.K." 344 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. were required to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown. As heretofore remarked, the first permanent military settlement of Detroit was made by Antoine la Mothe Cadil- lac, in July, 1701. He had previously been in command of the post at Mackinac, and in his voyages up and down the lakes had observed the strategic value of the place, com- manding the [)assage between Lakes Erie and St. Clair. Returning to France in 1699, he laid the matter before Count Pontchartrain, miniate for the Colonies, who author- ized him to erect a fort on the strait. It was built on the plain adjoining the western brink of the river, and at or near the site of the oUler fortlet of St. Joseph, erected by Du L'hut in 1686. It was named by Cadillac, Fort Pont- chartrain, but it early assumed the name of Detroit, which, in French, means a strait. From that time until the close of the Anglo-American war of 1812-14, the history of this post is one of marked vicissitudes — of sieges, captures, bat- tles, and bloodshed. As the fort slowly grew into a village, with a fixed population, it was inclosed with a quadrangular, wooden stockade, having two gates as the only entrances. At the beginning of the English possession, the French- Canadian population of Detroit, including their settlements along the river, was estimated as high as twenty-five hun- dred persons, but the number soon diminished. The fort, then endjracing the entire town, is described as a stout pali- sade, twenty-five feet in height, furnished with bastions at the four angles, and block-houses over the two gateways. A short distance below the fort, on the same side of the strait, stood a village of the Pottawatomies. To the south- east, on the opposite bank, was that of the Wyandots, and live miles above the latter, on the same bank, lay the vil- lage of the Ottawas. The river, half a mile in width, ran through a landscape of singular beauty, and in its pellucid waters were mirrored the outlines of the stately forest trees that stood on either l)ank. Back from the full-flowing stream rose the whitewashed cottages of the settlers, while in the distance were clustered the Indian wigwams, from which curling (iolumns of smoke rose high into the pure French Intrigues Among the Indians. 345 iWtary Cadil- antl of vvu the i, coni- . Clair, before autlior- • on the id at or jctcd by rt Pont- t, which, the close ry of thirt ,ure8, biit- a village, vungular, ntrances. Q If reuch- jttlemeuts northern atmosphere. At the Isle a la Peche^ near the out- let of Lake St. Chiir, dwelt Pontiac, " the master spirit of this sylvan paradise, who, like Satan of old, revolved in his powerful mind schemes for marring its beauty and inno- cence." Here, according to Rogers' journal, he lived with his squaws and children, and here, no doubt, he might have been often seen reclining on a rush mat, like any ordinary warrior. Directly after the British occupation of Detroit, Major Rogers sent officers to take possession of Forts Miami on the Maumee, and Ouatanon on the Wabash. The major himself started to relieve the French posts on the upper lakes, but was prevented from carrying out his purpose by the early approach of winter. During the ensuing spring of 1761, however, the forts on the Straits of Mackinac and St. Mary, at the head of Green Bay, and on the river St. Joseph, were all garriso led by small detachments of British troops. But the flag of France still waved over the posts in Illinois and Louisiana, which had not been included in the stipulations of the surrender at Montreal. The English were now in military possession of the whole of Canada; yet the task of maintaining their author- ity in this vast region was found to be one of no small dif- ficulty, because of the general dissatisfaction with the change of rulers pervading its inhabitants. The French settlers, who formed the ruling element, having their national hatred intensified by years of warfare, were irreconcilable, and many of the more discontented left their Canadian homes and re- moved to Illinois and Louisiana, which still belonged to France. Here they continued to clierish their animosity and foment resistance, still hoping that Canada might bo again restored to France. Illinois thus became a place of refuge and a center of French intris^ues aijrainst the British rule. Canadian traders and refugees went every-where among the north-western tribes, wliose good will they had long before secured by a conciliatory [>olicy, and incited them to take up arms against the English, who, it was de- clared, were seeking to compass their destruction by hedg- ing them round with forts and settlements, and by stirring ^^iiST^JTSTTTTTT^IT^TT: 346 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. up the Cherokees and Chickasaws to attack them. To give the greater efficacy to their arguments, the French traders liberally distributed among the Indian chiefs guns and am- munition, which the English refused to do, and otherwise treated them as inferiors. It should be observed that fire- arms, blankets, and other articles of European fabric had been so long supplied by the French to the western Indians, that tliey were now become a necessity to the existence of the latter. [Inder these altered circumstances, Pontiac, who still hated the British, although he had interfered on their side so far as to permit Major Rogers to take peaceable posses- sion of Detroit, soon began to show his old partiality for the FrencVi. He was now some fifty years of age, and in the full prime of his powers. Pontia<.' was born on the Ottawa River about the year 1712, and was, it is said, the son of an Ojibwa or Chippewa woman. It has V)een claimed that he was of Sac lineage, but he belonged, by adoption at least, to the Ottawa tribe.* As the Ottawas were in alliance with the Ojibwas and Pottawatomies, he became in time the prin- cipal chief of the three tribes. In 1746 he defended tlie chief post of Detroit from an attack of some discontented tribes of the north, and in 1755 he appears to have com- manded a band of Ottawa warriors at General Braddock's defeat. During the war between France and England he I'ought valiantly on the side of the former, and for his courage and devotion was presented with a full French uniform by the Marquis de Montcalm, only a short time be- fore the fall of Quebec. After the final defeat of the French and the surrender of Canada, Pontiac at first manifested a disposition to cul- tivate the friendship of the conquerors, but was disappointed * Reynolds says, in his " Pioneer History," that Pontiac had French blood in his veins; and his alleged light complexion and strong bias toward the French lend credence to the assertion. The traditional de- Bcriptions of this Indian chief vary in regard to his features and the color of his skin, but all concur in depicting him ay a savage of sym- metrical and noble form, of proud and haughty demeanor, and of com- manding address. Planning of the Conspiracy. 347 D give radere d am- erwise it fire- ic liad iidians, ance of ho still leir side posses- y for the d in the 3 Ottawa iou 01 an 1 that he I at least, auce with the priu- ;nded the [contented ave eom- raddock's iigUmd lie ,(1 for his ill "French t time he- surrender ion to cul- Isappointed L Viae! French h strong bias |ra(iitiona\ de- lures and the Ivage of syni- \, and of coui- in the advantages he expected to derive from their favor. In the now changed state of affairs, his sagacious mind dis- cerned the danger which threatened liis race. The equi- libriiini that had liitherto subsisted between the French and English gave the Indians the balance of power, and both parties were compelled to respect their rights to some extent. But, under British domination, their importance as allies was gone, and their doom sealed, unless they could restore the power of the French and use it to cheek the en- croachments of the English. Inspired with this idea, as well as by ambition and patriotism, he sent trusty mes- sengers to the nations of the upper lakes, to those on the Illinois, the Mississippi, and Ohio, and southward to the Gulf of Mexico. In the autumn of 1762 his emissaries, bearing the red-stained hatchet and war-belt as symbols of their mission, passed quickly from tribe to tribe, and every- where the dusky denizens of the forest assembled, eager to hear the fiery message, which had been prepared l)y the leader for the occasion. The attending chiefs and warriors, moved by these stirring appeals, pledged themselves to unite in the league and war against the common enemy of their race.* Thus, by his own superior energy, activity, and ad- dress, Pontiac became the acknowledged iiead and front of the most extensive confederation of Algonquin nations ever before known in Indian history. lie not only conceived the great scheme of uniting all these nations in a league or conspirac}' against the English colonists, but of simulta- neously attacking all the accessible forts of the latter, and, after butchering their garrisons, to turn upon the defense- less settlements and continue the death-dealing work until the entire English population should be extermiiuited, or driven into the sea. The conspiracy was planned or ma- tured at a council of the Ottawas, Pottawatomies, Chippe- was, and Hurons, held near Detroit about April 27, 1763, when Pontiac nuide a speech recounting the wrongs and indignities that had been suffered by the Indians, and *See Davidson & Stuve's Hist, of 111., pp. 140, 141. 348 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. II' prophesied their extermination. The plot was well laid, and it was more successfully executed than might have been expected, considering the limited resources of the na- tives, and the rankling jealousies and enmities that pre- vailed among the ditierent trihes. Prior to this, on February 10, 1763, was signed the treaty of Paris, by which all the territorial possessions of France east of the Mississipi were ceded to Great Britain. During the following spring, in pursuance of this act of cession, all tho French posts iji Southern Louisiana, on the east side of the Mississippi, but not including the district of New Orleans, were occupied by English gar- risons. The immediate occupation of Illinois, however, was not deemed practicable, owing to the strong barrier of hostile Indians surrounding the forts there, and the French officers then in command were therefore authorized by Sir Jeffrey Amherst, the British commander-in-chief, to retain their posts until formally relieved. In the exercise of this trust they seem to have been guilty of a breach of faith, both in furnishing the Indians with arms and supplies, and in concealing from ti m the transfer of the country to the English.* But for this misplaced confidence, or want of soldierly foresight on the part of General Amherst, the war that ensued might have been abbreviated, and thus divested of some of its barbarities. According to the plan concerted by Pontiac and his council of war, the last of May (1763) was designated as the time for the general uprising, when each tribe was to * " It now appears from the best autliorities (says a Report of Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Allairs, to the Board of Trade, Deceaibc^r 26, 1764), and can be proved by the oaths of several re- spectable persons, prisoners among the Indians of Illinois, and from the accounts of the Indians themselves, that not only many ]■ rench traders, but also French officers, went among the Indians, as tlicy said, fully authorized to assure them that the Fren(4i king was determined to sup- port them to the utmost, and not only invited them to visit the Illinois, where they were plentifully supplieil with ammunition and other neces- saries, but also sent Heveral canoe loads at diflerent times up the Illi- nois River to the Miamis, as well as up the Ohio to the Shawanese and Delawares." Pontiac's Siege of Detroit. 349 ll laid, t have the ua- at pre- [led tlie sioiis of Britain. 8 act of iana, on iing the UbU gar- how ever, barrier of le French ed by Sir , to retain iae of this 1 of faith, )plie8, and itry to the r want ot t, the war divested Uc and his igiiated as ibe was to ieport of Sir T,he Board o£ \oi several re- l\iul from the I'lich traders, j.y said, fiiiiy [uned to sup- the Illinois, I other neces- , up the lUi- Lwanese and attack the garrison of the nearest Englisii ibrt, and the se- cret wan 80 closely ke[»t that two-thirds of the i)08t8 at- tacked were cafttured. cither by surprise or stratagem. The taking of Detroit was to be tlie preliminary task of Pontiac himself, and the date of its <'xecutiou was set for the 7th of May. He accordingly attempted, with a band of trained warriors, to seize that post, but was foiled in his design by the vigilance )f Major Henry Gladwin, the Eng- lish commandant, who liad received information of the plot the da}- bifore, from a young Chippewa woman, who had formed an attachment for him and wished to save his life.* The assault u[»on Detroit was renewed by Pontiac, with an augmented force, (mi the 12th of May, but, failing in this, he turned it into an irregnlai- siege. The garrison, meantime, obtained food from the neighboring Canadian settlers, who likewise supplied the Indians in turn. In con- sequence of the largely increased number of his followers, Pontiac found it necessary to make regular levies on the French farmers for provisions, and in lieu of other com- pensation, lie gave them his promissory notes, scrawled on pieces of birch bark and signed with the jfigure of an otter, the totem of his family. This imitation of the practices of civilized men might have been suggested to him by some of the farmers themselves, yet it is related to his credit that all of these notes were afterward paid. Supplies and reinforcements were sent to the belea- guered fort in small schooners, by way of Lake Erie; but these were mostly cajttured ])y the Indians, who compelled their i>risoners to row them to Detroit in hopy of surpris- ing the garrison. At length, however, the garrison was re- inforced, and thereupon took the offensive. On the Slst of July the English attacked Pontiac at liis camp near the mouth of a little stream known as Bloody Run ; but in this etigagement the assailants were defeated, and retreated to * It may be hoped that no iconoclast will arisf, hh in the case of Po- cahontas, to demolish this traditional story of the devoted Chippewa maiden. 350 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. the fort witli a loss of fifty-nine men in killed and wounded. The siege of Detroit was maintained in a desultory manner until about the 10th of October, when the ammunition of the natives fell short, and they became discouraged. Although failing in all their eftbrts to capture this coveted post, the Indians were more successful elsewhere. It is true tliat Forts Pitt and Niagara, which they also at- tacked, proved too strong for their destruction ; but be- tween the first and twentieth of Jtme, they took Fort Ve- nango, LeBcBuf, Presque Isle, Sandusky, Miami (on the Maumee), St. Joseph,* Mackinac .md LeBaye,t and either murdered or made prisoners of their respective garrisons, only a few eii'ecting their escape. The destruction of life and property at these widely separated posts was but the prelude to a general Indian war, which carried terror and desolation into many of the fairest and most fertile valleys of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. General Amherst had now become aware that the oc- cupation of the Illinois forts by French garrisons was con- ti'ibuting to prolong and intensify the contest, and he would gladly have displaced them at once, but still found it im- pructicable to broak througli the cordon of hostile tribes by which they were environed. Ilis only expedient, there- foi'e, was to write to Neyon de Villi ers at Fort Chartres, instructing him to make known to the Indian chiefs and warriors their altered relations under the treaty of cession. That French officer, being thus compelled to divulge what he had long concealed, reluctantly wrote to Pontiac, saying, ^' that he must not expect any assistance from the French ; that they and the English were now at peace and regarded each other as brothers, and that the Indians should aban- don their hostilities, which could lead to no good result."^ *0n Lake Michigan, formerly called Ft. Miami. t At the head of Green Bay. t At or before that time DeVilliers wrote to D'Abbadie, at New Or- leans, that it was the fault of the English if the Indians manifested such enmity to them. " Tlie English," said he, " as soon as they be- came aware of the advantages secured to»them by the treaty of cession, kept no measures with the Indians, whom they treated with harshness Expeditions of Colonels Bouquet and Bradstreet. 351 unded. manner ition of ire this 56 where. also at- but be- Fort Ve- (on the :id either 3-arrisonfl, Iw of life 8 but the terror and ile valleys iiut the oc- is was con- rl he would and it im- itile tribes ent, there- t Chartres, chiefs and of cession, vulge what iac, saying, le T'rench; (1 regarded ould aban- )d result."! L, at New Gr- ins manifested sn as they be- laty of cessiou, Tith harshnesa This letter was a grievous disappointment to Pontiac, who relied for ultimate success upon the continued support of the French, and it proved the entering wedge toward the breaking up of his prodigious power and influence. Shortly after its reception, he departed from Detroit, with a num- ber of his followers, and went southward to the country of the Mauinec, intending to return and renew the contest the next spring. The winter of 1768-4 passed without any very note- worthy occurrence. In the early summei" of 1764, the En- glish authorities fitted out two considerable expeditions; one to operate against the savages in the central lake region, and the other for the punishment of those in the Valley of the Ohio. The command of the latter column was entrusted to Colonel (afterward General) Henry Bouquet, who marched from Fort Pitt, and, encountering the warlike Delawares and Shawnees on the banks of the Muskingham, soon de- feated and reduced them to submission. This efficient of- licer required these Indians to surrender all of their white prisoners. In compliance with his demand, they reluctantly brought into camp a large number, principally women and' children, some of whom had been captured during the early part of the French war, and had been in captivity so long as to have almost forgotten their native tongue and the homes of their childhood or youth. Colonel Bradstreet, who commanded the other expe- dition, proceeding up the southern shore of Lake Erie, wrested Sandusky from the hands of the hostile Indians and reinforced Detroit. He then sent Captain Thomas Morris, with some Canadians and friendly Indians, to in- duce the Illinois and their allies to make peace with the English. The captain and his party ascended the Maumee River to the vicinity of Pontiac's camp, and thence went as far as Fort Miami, which had been captured by the Indians in the preceding year. But, after experiencing great han'- ships, and being subjected to gross indignities by the Miamia and the haughtiness of masters, and whose faults they punished by crucifixion, hanging, and every sort of torment."— Gayarre'a Hist, of La., Vol. II., p. 98. 4- 362 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. and Kickapoos, Morris was glad to escape from their grasp with his life, and returned to Detroit without having ef- fected the olnject of his perilous journey.* Previously to this, in the early part of February, 1764, Major Arthur Tjoftus,then doing duty with the 22d regiment at Pensacola, Florida,! was ordered to proceed lo the Illinois and take military possession of the posts there. He accord- ingly sailed from Pensacola with four hundred men for that purpose, hut on his arrival in New Orleans some of them de- serted liim. On the 27th of February he re-embarked his troops, with thirty-seven women and children, in ten heavy boats and two jjirogues, and started up the Mississippi, vVd- vancing slowly, he reached Davion's Bluff, near Tunica Bend, on the 19th of March, when lie was fired upon by a party of Tunica Indians, who had ambushed both sides of the river. Thcv killed six and wounded seven of the EneTish soldiers, and thus stayed the farther progress of the expe- dition. The suspicion was strong among the English that the French, at Pointe Coupee, had aided the Tunicas with their slaves in this murdert)us attack. Keturnina: to New Orleans in a rage. Major I oftus accused Governor D'Abbadie of complicity with the Indians; but it does not appear that tlie governor was in any way responsible foi- the unfortunate occurrence. On the contrary, he had furnished the Pritish ofUcer with an interpreter, and bad sent orders to the com- mandants of the French posts on the river to afford him needed aid and protection, and, in fine, had done all in his power to insure the success of his expedition. The truth is, that ijoftus himself was partly to blrune for his failure, since be took little pains to conciliate either the French or Indians.! Soon after tids abortive effort to reach Fort Chartres, *In a letter wiitti'ii during thw adventurous trip, dated I^a Prairie deH MascoutiiiH, Sopteniber 2, 17(14, and addresned to Colonel BradHlreet at Detroit, Caiitain Morris sujj:j?e8tiv('ly fluyn: " I am certain, sir. that a few j)reMentH to the ehufs would l»i've a good efleet. Kind treatment will infallibly open a way to the lllinoiH <!ountry." t In the treaty of Paris, Florida had been given by Spain to Eng- lane in exehang*' for Havana. I See CiuyerrdV History of Louibiana, Vol. II., pp. 102, lOo. Croghan's Mission of Conciliation. 353 grasp .ng ef- r, 1764, giment iWiuois accorcl- for tbat hem de- •ked Ills ,11 heavy pi. Ad- pon by '^ ies of the > English [he expe- gli-h that licas witVi g to l^ew VAbbadie )pcar that fortunate le lirifiBh the c'om- ttord liini all in his rUc trutb ift failure, ^French or cniartros, la La Prairie \ BriiilRtreet, \\, sir. Uvat a y\ tri'atinont ain to Eng- IV.',. Captain Pittman started from Mobile to make a second at- tempt, but on his arrival in New Orleans he was deterred from proceeding farther, owing to the excited state of feel- ing among the Indians along the Mississippi. During the ensuing summer. Major Robert Farmer was dispatched from Mobile, with a part of the 34tli regiment of foot, upon the same mission, yet he did not advance far before he was stopped by the hostile savages. It was not, indeed, until the first week in December, 1765, and after the final surrender of Fort Chartres, that he arrived with his force in the Illinois. 8uch was the continued great influence of Pontiac,and such the strength of the combination he had formed among the aboriginal tribes of the Mississippi Valley, that General Gage (who had succeeded Sir .Tett'rey Amherst as com- mander-in-chief of his Britannic Majesty's forces in North America) now became convinced that it would be impos- sible to eradicate from the minds of the Indians the idea of French assistance, so long as the forts in Illinois re- mained in tlie hands of French officers. He therefore un- dertook to put a })eriod to this tedious and humiliating war, hy removing the principal cause of its continuance. After the faikire of tiie attempts of Majors Loftus and Farmer, it was determined to send troops to the Illinois b\' vay of the Ghio River. To facilitate this design, 0-^'-. el George Cro- ghan, a deputy of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and an experienced trader among the western Indians, together with Lieutenant Alexander Fraser, of the Finglinh army, were sent out in advance, to [)repare the savagi's by ne- gotiation for the advent of the projected military expedi- tion. They started from I'hiliuleljihia in February, 1765, attended by a snndl mounted escort, and carried with them an ample assortment of goods for use as presents in con- ciliating the natives. After a difficult and fatiguing jour- ney over the mountains, obstructed with snow and ice, they reached Fort Pitt (now IMttsburg) in Marcli, but had the ill-luck to loose the larger part of their goods at* the hands of the "freebooting borderers"" of Pennsylvania, Golonel 28 354 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. Oogliau tarried at Fort Pitt a tiuiuVjer of weeks, in order to complete his preparations, and to confer witli the sachems of the Uelawares and Shawnees, along whose southern borders the armed expedition would have to pass. Meanwhile, to expedite the main business of the mis- sion, Lieutenant Fraser, with raore boldness than discretion, pn)barked in a canoe, with a t.ader named Sinnott, and de- scended the Ohio and ascended th > Mississip})i to Kaskaskia. Arrived thither in the forepart of May, he experienced very rough treatment from the Illinois Indians. He was buft'eted and his life threatened, and finding his position neither agreeable nor safe, he fled in disguise down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Pontiac was then encamped in the vicinity of Fort ('hartres, whither ho had come some time before, with a train of four hundred warriors, to deniand arms and am- munition of the Frc ich for the further prosecution of hi.s war against the English. About the IStli of April, on be- ing received into the fortress and presented to St. Ange, the (H)mma idant, he addresNcd hiu) in the following ele- vated strain : '" Father, we have long desired to see you and enjoy the pleasure of taking you by the hand. While we refresh ourselves with the sooihiiig incense of the friendly calumet, we will recall the battles fought by *mv warriors against the enemy, which still seeks our overthrow. But while we sj)eak of their valor and victories, let us nor forget our fallen heroes, and w'th rene\\ed resolves and more constant endeavors, strive to avenge their deaths by the downfall of our enemies. " Father, I love the French, and have led hither my braves to maintain your authority and vindicate tlie in- sulted honor of France. IJut you must not longer remain inactive, and suffer your red brothers to contend alone against the foe who seek our (ommon destruction. We demand oi" you arms an<i warriors to assist lis. and when the KngliHh dogi* pre driven into the sea, we will again in p«ace aiid happinesH onjoy with you these fruitful forests Croghan\^ Party Attacked by Indians. 866 •der to ,cht'ius utbern le mis- [iretion, and de- ;kaakia. jcd very buffeted neither IBBlPBippi of Fort e, with a and am- on of hirt ril, on be- st. Ange, .winir e\e- aivd enjoy we refresli y i-alumet , ((rainst tVu' while we forget onr |i'o constant ilownfall of hither my |,te the in- Lrcr remain t,end aloi\o Ltion. W*' 1 and when lill agaii» in \\\U\\ t'orerttrt and prairies, the noblo heritage preseatcd by the (ireat Spirit to our ancestors." St. Ange was constrained by circumstances to decline giving the expected aid ; but be accompanied bis refusal with soothing couipHments, aud added a few gifts to ap- pease Pontiac's bitter disap])ointment. But to return to Colonel Croghan. On the 15th of May, 1705, having coin[)letcd bis conferences with the tribes about Fort Pitt, he started down the Ohio with two bateaux, or long boats, and a snuill party of white men. Early the next day he was joined at Chartier's Island by several depu- ties of the Senecas, Shawnees, aud Delawares, whom he liad persuaded to accompany him. Proceeding oti his way, with occasional short stop[»ages for refreshment, Croghan arrived the first of June at the head of the Falls of tht' Uiio, where he landed and encam[)ed for the night. On the h^Mowing morn- ing his party passed the Falls or rapids : but as the river was ([uite low at tlie time, they had to lighten their boats in order to get safely througli the channel on the Indiauii side. (Con- tinuing their expeditious voyage, they reached the mouth of the Wubash on the «>th, and found ther( ;i rude breast- work, 8up[»OMed to have b 'en erected by the Ijidians. Six miles below tlie Wabash, they put to shore and encamped at a place known as the "Old Shawnee Village," Kome little distance above the present Shawneetown.* From this land- ing place Croghan <lisj>atched two of his Indians across the country to Fort ('hartres, with letters \X) r/ieutenant Fi-a/iCr, who was suj)posed lo be still at that post, and to Captain St. Ange de Bellcrive. At day-break, on the 8th of June, while yet in carap, on the site of the old Iiulian village, Croghan's [>arty was suddenly surrounded :ind fired upon l)y a baud of eighty K:cka|)oo and Maneoutin wurriors, who had been watching his movementM for several diiys. They killed five of hie company, two white men aud three Delaware liuiians, and *The time occupied in this dtiwnward trip from Fort Pitt waa twenty-one dayH, and the distJinct! traveled. <-iKht iiuiidred miles, by the pinuoHiticH of the river. It will thuH he sei-n that they moved with unusual celerity, averaging ahout forty miles per day. i! 356 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. wouuded neveral others, including the leader himself; then made liim and the rest of the whites prisoners, and pro- ceeded to despoil them of every thing they had. The ex- cuse afterward given hy the assailants for this unprovoked and murderous attack was, that they had been told that Croghan was coming into their country with an armed es- cort of Cherokees, their mortal enemies. But a better reason was to be found in their instinctive love of blood and plunder. Having quickly divided the spoils of Colonel Oroghan's camp, the Kickapoos and Mascoutins,* fearing the arrival of another marauding party, whom they sus- pected to be on their trail, left such heavy articles as they could not carry away, and set off in haste, with their [irison- ers, for their villages on the Upper Wabash. Their course lay on and through tlie heavily wooded river bottom, which was so intersected by morasses and beaver ponds, as to render traveling slow and laborious. On tlie 15t]i they reached Post Vircennes, where a hah was made of two days for rest and refreshment. Here Croghan had some new apparel nuide for himself and men, and [)urcha8ed a few hors ihe J'iankashaw Indi- ans, promising them payment wnen he should reach De- troit. In his printed journal he gives but a poor character to the French at Vincennes, whom he describes as a " lazy people, a parcel of renegades from Canada, and much worse than the Indians." lie further says: " They took a secret pleasure at our misfortune, and the moment we arrived they came to the Indians, exchanging tritles for our valua- ble plunder," But Croghan was hardly in a frame of mind to do those French settlers justice, for they refused liim permission to write to any one but the commandant at Fort Chartres.f Arriving at Fort Onatantm on the 28d of June, he was set at liberty, and took up his tem[»orary ciuartern there, where lie foun<l a number of French families living. * Called •' MiuiquatiMos" by Croghan. tJournal of (Jvor;<t> Ccogban, "who wub houI in MWy to conciliate tho Indian nationn tliat ha<i liithorto acted with the French." Burling- ton (N. J.) reprini, IHUl ; nmali 4to, pp. 38. Croghan Meets Pontiac. 357 ; then 1 pro- he ex- )Voked d that lied 68- hetter f \)l0()(l Oolouel fearing ley 8U8- as they ' priBoii- r course n, which Is, as to where a •oshment. iiself and uiw Indi- cac'h De- character a a " lazy u'iv worHo k a secret c arrived >uv vahiii- e of mind used him ut at Fort June, he ly (luarters llics living. ,., conciliate •i." Burlinn- This palisaded fort, as he iiifonns us, was located on the north side of tlie Wabash, about two huiuired and ten miles above Post Vincent, by the windings of the river. It derived its name from a tribe of Weas, or Ouiataiions, whose principal village stood on the south bank of the Wabash, a few miles below tlie site of what is now Lafayette, In- diana. The fort was maintained as a trading post with the Indians until June, 1791, when it was destroyed hy an American force, under the command of General Charles Scott, of Kentucky. During Croghan's stay liere, a messenger arrived with a letter from Captai!i St. Ange, inviting him to visit Fort Ohartres and arrange matters for the withdrawal of the French garrison from that place. As this re([uest coincided with his own previous intentions, he set out with an Indian escort, on a journey thitlier across the prairies, but had not traveled far before he was met by I'ontiac and a numerous retinue of his dusky warriors, on their return from the Il- linois. This astute chief, perceiving at last that the great confederation he had formed among the Indian nations in the west was falling to })ieces, and that he had nothing more to hope for from the French, was coming to nuike terms with the accredited agent of tlie Englisli ; and for the pur})ose of further conference on tlie subject they now returned together to Fort Ouatanon. Ifaving hastily con- vened the neighboring ehiefs ami braves in council, INjutiac produced tbecalnmet of peace, ami made a plansilile speech to them. Me declared, among other things, that the French had misled him with the story that the English [)urposed to stir up the Cherokecs against his brethren of the Illinois, to con(pier and enslave them. FFe allowed that the Eng- lish Tiiight take possession of Fort Chartres and the other [K)sts in the Illinois, but suggested that as the French settlers bad never bought their lands of the Indians, and lived on them by sutreramje only, their successors would have no legal right of possession. The amicable disposi- tion shown by such of the Illinois warriors as were pres- ent at this council, with other sufficient reasons, induced 358 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. Cro|jlian to forego his intended trip to Fort Chartres, and to turn hifl attention to the tribes on the north-east. Having adjusted matters satisfactorily with the mitives at and ahout Fort Ouatanon, he depa ed thence on the 25th of July, being accompanied by Poiitinc and a number of his followers. Proce(>ding on horseback up the Valley of the Wabasli to tlie portage between that river and the Maumee, Crogb 'ii stopped to visit a small village of the Twiglitees near Fort Miami. He thence continued liis journey to the main Twightec village, situated on the St. .foseph's River,-'^ which unites with the St. Mary to form the Maumee, or Miami, as it was called by him. Arrived thither, he met a friendly reception from the Twightee chiefs, and, after comi>leting his conference with them, set out on the 6th of August for Detroit, descending the Mau- mee in a canoe to Lake Erie. On the 17th he landed at the battle-scarred post of Detroit, which he incidentally de- scribes in his journal, as a "large stockade, inclosing about eighty h.jiises. Durirg liis stay here, he held fiequent consultations with the chiefs of the Ohippewas, Wyandots, Pottawatomies,and other congregated tribes, from whom the fear of condign punishment, and the privations they had en- tlured in conse(pience of the long suspension of the fur- trade, had driven all tlioughts of furtlicr liostility. They had had enough of war to curb their restless spirit for the time at least, and Avere anxious to make terms with the English authorities. At a general meeting of the sachems and warriors, convened in the Council Hall on the 27th of August, Croghan was ])resent, and in imitation, or rather exaggeration, of that figurative forest eloquence with which he had become so familiar, thus addressed the convocation: Ohildiien, — We are very glad to see so many of you present at your ancient council fire, which has been neg- lected for some time past. Since then liigh winds have blown, and raised heavy clouds over your country, f now, by this belt (of wampum), rekindle your ancient fire and * The jibovo mnntk>np»l rivt^r St. .lowpli Hhoiild not Ix^ (tonfust'd with ttiKiDiir iiiid lurijtr «trcuui of the Bauu- mime, which flowH west WHrd into Lakt Michigan. Peace Speeches by Cruff/ifi./i aix/ Pontine. 359 res, and 3 natives I on the , number le Valley ■ and the yQ of the "Iiued his ,n the St. J to form Arrived Twightee 1 them, set r the Maii- ' landed at len tally de- )8ing about \d fioquent Wyandots, m whom the \iey had en- of the fur- Ihty. They ;p-irit for the ns with the t\u^ HiH'hems , the 'i7th of ,n, or rather tewith Nvhleh convocation: many of you |ias been neg- » winds have jntry. I "«^' nent fire and Lot \w (!on(uBt'<i lincW fWws west- throw dry wood upon it, that the bhize may ascend to heaven, so that all nations may see it and know that you live in peace with your fathers, the English. By this belt I disperse all the black clouds over your heads, that the sun may shine clear upon your women and ciiildren, and those unborn may enjoy the blessings of thiH general peace, now so happily settled between your fatb« , the English, and you, and all your younger brethren toward the sunsettittg. "Children, we have made a road from the sunrising to the sunsettin^. \ desire that you will preserve that road, good and pleasant to travel upon, that we may all wharc the blessings of this happy reunion.'" The council rcasscndjled the next dav, when I'ontiac, in behalf of his peo]»le, replied to Croghan's address as follows : " Father, wo have all smoked out of this pipe of peace. It is your ehildren's pi[)e; and as the war is all over now, and the Great Spirit,* who has made the earth and every thing therein, has brought us all togethei* tliis day for our mutual good, 1 declare to all the nations that 1 have settled my peace with you before 1 came here, and now deliver Tuy »e to be st'ut to Sir William -loliUNon. that h< PM my [ have made jteace and taken the King- of Knii;land for my Path e I', in preseiKH' of all nations now assembhid; aiul when- ever any of these nations go to visit him, they may nmoke out of it with him in peace. •' Fathcis. we are obligeil lo you for lighting up our old c(»(in(!il lire for lis, and i|('wlHiig i|h |o return to it. but we (the Ottawas) are now settUMJ on the Maumee River not far fi I'om henct' : wlienever y^ wai it us, you will find us there. Owv |teo[de love Tuiuor, and if we dwelt near you in our old village, our warriors would be always <lrunk, and ((uari-els would ai'ise between u> and you/'f *' Pontiac iirnbahly derived Iur corn-ct imlions of tiir (<r('ut Spirit mainly from asHociation witl\ wliitr nun; and 'here is no doubt but tliat hiw spueehew were reviBed and improved Homewhut by th*- Knjrlish HcribeH. t Vide " History of tlie Conspiracy of I'ontinr,"' by I'lanciH Park- niun, lloBton, IH(>8; 4th edition, p[». rvV), ^;. 360 Conspiraci/ and War of Pontiac. The conciliatory inisHioii of Colonel Croghun being at last brought to a happy fruition, he started on his return to the KaHt toward the close of September, going first to Fort Niag; .1, and thence to report to the commander-in-chief. Before quitting Detroit, however, he had exacted from Pontiac a promise to repair to Oswego, ^ew York, and enter into a treaty of peace and amity with Sir William Johnson, the Indian Superintendent, on behalf of tliose western tribes with whom he had been leagued in the late war. In fulfillment of his jM-omise, the veteran chief pro- ceeded, with a few attendants, to Oswego in the early sum- mer of the next year (1766), and tliere, in presence of a large gathering of whites and Indians, he thus addressed the I'cpresentative of the British crov n : " Father, we thank the Great Spirit, who has given us this day of bright skies and genial warmth to consider the great afiairs now before us. In his presence, and in behalf of all the nations toward the sunsetti ng, of which I am the master, I now take you by the hand, I call upon him to wntness that I have spoken from my heart, and, in the name of the tribes which I represent, I promise to keep this covenant as long as I live." Aftei' the execution of the treaty at Oswego, Pontiac returned to liis home, on the banks of the Maumee River, and for t\ni ensuing three years bnricd liis ambition and disai>pointment in the seclusion of its somber forests, pro- viding, as a comn\on hunter, for the wants of ])is family and dependents. In the meantime Captain Thonuis Stirling, following upon the mission of Croghan, embarke»» in boats at Fort Pitt, with one hundred veteran Highlanders, of the 42(J lilnglish regiment, and descended the Ohio to its mouth. Pnshing thence Up the Mississippi, he arrived at Fort ('har- tres in tlie early [»art of Uctuher, 1765, iind on or about the 10th of that month took military possession of tlie fortress. "The flag of France descended from the nan- part, and, with the stern courtesies of war, St. Aiige yielded up his post, the cita<lel of Illinois. In that act was consummiit('<l the double hinniph of Hiltisli powtir in General Gage's Proclamation. 361 ing at :urn to Fort i-chief. 1 from k, ivnd f thotie :lie late ief pro- ly auiu- ice of a IdresHod re thank jUt ski OS w before nations r, I now 38 tliat I he tribes as long I'ontiao ee River, tion and I'stH, pro- is family [ollowing at Fort the 42(1 |rt month, ort ('har- lor ub(»ut In of the Itlip riim- . Ange at't was nower "m in America. England had crushed her hereditary foe ; France, in her fall, had left to irretrievable ruin the savage tribes to whom her policy and self-interest had lent a transient support."* On assuming command of the fort and country, Cap- tain Stirling caused to Vje posted and published the follow- ing ^.proclamation, which had been carefully prepared some months in advance, and was intended as a kind of consti- tution of government for the Illinois : " By his Excellency. Thomas Gage, Major-General of the King's armies, Colonel of the 22d Regiment, General, commanding in chief of the forces of His Majesty in North America, etc. "Whereas, by the peace concluded at Paris, on the lOtli of Febru- ary, 1763, the country of the Illinois has been ceded to His Britannic Majesty, and the taking possession of the said country of the Illinois by troops of His Majesty, though delayed, has been determineil upon, we have found it good to make known to the inhabitants •'That His Majesty grants to the inhabitants of the Illinois the lib- erty of the Catholic religion, as it has already been granted to his sub- jects in Canada; he has, consequently, given the most precise and effect- ive orders, to the end that his new Roman (Jatholic subjects of the Illi- nois maj"^ exercise th(! worship of their religion, according to the rites of the Roman Church, in the same manner as \\\ (!anada; "That His Majesty, moreover, agrees that the French inhabitants or others, who have b?en subjci'tsof the Most Christian Kitig, may retina in full safety and freedom, wherever they please, even to New Orleans, or *Parkman'8 "Conspiracy of I'ontiac," p. 559. [Fkench Commandants at Illinois.] A^o<<?.— By way of recapitulation, we here present a list of the suc- cessive Trench connnandants at the dt>pendency of the llliiiolH, wiUl the years, as neai as may be, of their respective fc /vice, beginning with Roisbriant : Pierre |)uc|UK d(! MiilHlirliillli , . . , . i7IH-1725 CaptiiiiMle Tlsni't (toniporurllyi .... 1725 1 7aH The Hieur de Mette 172(1)7^1) UmisSt. Angtide Hollerlve |7:iO-|7!|4 Pierre d'Artaguette I7;{'i l7;Ui Alphonse de la BuissonliirH I7;{(1 1741) BenoistdeSt. Clair .... |i III |7|ll The Chevalier de Bortel 174:}-1749 at. Cldlr, (igiiln 17411 1751 I'lio Chevalier de .Vlacfltty 1751 17H() M. Neyon de Villiors 1700-1704 St. Ange, again 1704-1705 362 Conspiracy and War of Pontiac. any other part of Louisiana, although it should ii;i;'pen that the Span- iards take poBbvKBion of it in tho name of His Catholic Majesty; and may sell their estates, provided it be to subjects of Hits Majesty, and transport tlieir effects, as well as persons, without restraint upon their emigration, under any pretense whatever, except in consequence of debts or criminal process; " That those who choose to retain their lands, and become subjects of Ills Majesty, shall enjoy the same security for their persons and effects, and liberty of trade, as the old subjects of the king ; " That they are coujinanded, by these presents, to take the oath of fidelity an<l obedience to His Majesty, in presence of Sieur Stirling, Captain of the Highland Regiment, the bearer hereof, and furnished with our full powers for this purpose ; " That we recommend, forcibly, to tht; inhabitants, to conduct them- selves like good and faithful subjects, avoiding by a wise and prudent demeanor all cause of complaint against them ; "That they act in concert with His Majesty's officers, so tiiat his troops may take peaceable possession of all the posts, and order be kept in the country; by this means alone they will spare His Majesty the ne- cessity of recurring to force of arms, and will find themselves siivved from the scourge of a bloody war, and of all the evils which the march of an army into their country would draw after it. " We direct that these presents be read, published, and posted up in the usual i)laces. '"Done and given at head-quarters, New York. Signed with our hand, sealed with our seal-at-arms, and countersigned by our Secretary, this SOth of December, a. d. 1704* " By His Excellency, Thomas Ga(je, [Seal.] "G. Marturin, Secretary." *Tho attuiitive iLjUier of Amtriean history will remember that it was General <iage who, some (en years later, preeipitated the War of the Revolution, by sending out fi'ojn Hoslou, MHssHcluisetts, the expeilitionary force that led to the battle of l/exington. Occurrences in Lower Loumana. 363 le Span- 5ty, and ■Bty, and on their uence of > subjects id effects, le oath of r Stirling, furnished luet th(;m- d prudent }0 tiuit his lor be kept >yty the ne- giived from narch of an 1 posted up d with our ir Secretary, IE, [Skai..] lit was General Ln, >>y sending 1, tho battle of CHAPTER XIX. 1764-1769. OCCUHKKNCES FN LOWER LOUISIANA. On the 15th day of Jane, 17n4, M. Xeyon de Villiers, having become impatient at tlie delay of the British con- querors in arriving to take possession of Fort Ohartres, and disgusted w ith his position, rt^inquisyied the office of major- commandant at the Illinois, wliich lu- had filled nearly four years, and departed down tiie Mississippi, accompanied by six officers, sixty-three soldiers, and eighty French inhab- itants of Illinois, including women and children. -'• Me reached New Orleans on the 2d of. July, and tlnuv tem- porarily fixed his quarters. Not long after this, \w was re- quited for his lidelity and services to the French crown with the insignia of the Gross of St. Louis, a distinction corresponding to the more modern Legion of Honor. Mons. d'Abba(he was then acting governor or director- general of Louisiana, having superseded Govci'iior Korlerec in June, 1768. As heretofore observe*!, V7estern Louisiana, and the island district of New Orleans, had been abandoned to Spain by a {)rivi»te treaty t (Nov. 8, 17<>2). which was * Mfiny of these " inhubiluntH," who were induced to move to Li)uisi- ana by assurances from De x'illiers tliat they would receive lumls tiu're in lieu of those they had abandoned, soon afterward found reason to repent of their hiiste in (iuittin}j the Illinois. t Without any apparent reference to this separate mid private treaty, the boundaries between the French and I'lritish po.s.sessious in North America were defined by the definitive treaty of peace between the Kings of France, Spain and Kngland. siyjned nt Paris on tlu' 10th of I'ehrtiary 1763; which article reads as follows: ''Article VII. Tn order to re-establish peace on solid and durable foundations, and to remove forever all motives for dispute respecting the limits of the French and British territories on the American continent, it has been agreed that the Imdts between the states of his most Chris- ;jan majesty and those of his Britannic majesty, in that part of the IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT 3) atn^- i.O I.I 1.25 "^ U^ 12.0 125 2.2 i.4 6" ''I m <?: ^4 ^# '/ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 73 WEST MAIN STREIT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S7a-4J03 i.:'<?''^ ^ \ \ <j "% ^ \%' u>< KM' SBSraKsas 364 De ChoiseuVs Note to Count de Fuentes. kept a state secret /or eighteen months. On the 2l8t of April, 1764, the French prime minister addressed the following note to the Spanish ambassador on the subject of the cession of Louisiana : " Versailles, AprU 21, 1764. "To the Conde {Count) de Fuentes: — Sir, the king has caused the necessary orders to be issued for the surrender of the country of Louisiana, with New Orleans and the island on which the said city htands, into the hands of the commissioner whom his Catliolic majesty may appoint to receive them. I have sent the papers to the Marquis d' Ossun, who will have the lionor to present them to his OathoHc majesty. Your excellency will see that the king's orders ,'>.re entirely conformaljle with the acts signed in 1762, and that his majesty has caused some articles to be inserted equally conducive to tne tran(j[uillity of the coun- try after it is in possession of his Catholic majesty, and to the happiness of its inhabitants. " I have the honor to be, with great e^tcem, your ex- cellency'n most lunnble and obedient servant. " The Duo de Cholseul." At the same time a letter was written by or in the world, sliall licroafter be irrevocably fixed by a line drawn along tbe middle of the river MiseisHJppi, from itti source lo ibe river Iberville ; and thence by another line throngb the middle of that river, and of the lakcH Maurepas and I'ontchartraiii, to the wea ; and for this purpoBe, the most ChriHtian kin^f cedeH to IiIh Hritannie nuijcHty, and miaranties to him, the entire poimession of the river and i)ort of Mobile, and of all that he pospesHi-s or .should have posseHHed on the left bank of the river MiHsiwHlppi, with the exception of New Orleans, and of the island whereon that city KtiMu's, winch are to reii ain suliject to France; it being under- stood that the navigation of the MiHsiHHii)pi River is to be etjually free to the subjects of tJreut Britain and of I'Vance, in its whole breadth and extent, from its hource to the sea, and particularly that part between the said island ot New()rl(>ans and the right bank of the river, as well as till' I'litraiiti' and di'parturc by its mouth. It is inoreox^er stipulated, that the vessels belonging to the subjects of either nation are not to be detained, searched, nor obliged to pay any duty whatsoever. 'V\w stip- ulations conlaiiii>d in the fourth article, in favor of the inhabitants of Canada, are to be ol equal ellect with regard to the iuhabitaatH of tbe countries ceded by this article." Occurrences in Lower Louisiana. 365 April, lowing cession 1764. mg Vias rrender and the B of the point to Marquis mto his le king's ,\gned in les to be ihe coun- y, and to ^ your ex- )r in tlie ■w along the r Iberville; r, and of the p\irposiS the iiaranties to ,., and of all of the river and whereon lu'inn nnder- ,,uaUyfreeto \)roadth and bt>twi'en the jr, m well as ->r Htipulated, iar«> not to he .r. Tlie Htip- lnhabitantH of .itantHof the name of Louis XV,, King of France, to M. d'A.bbadie, Director-general of Louisiana, instructing him to acquaint the inhabitants of that [»rovince with the act of cession, and to turn over the government to the officers of Spain, when they shouUl arrive to receive it. We give jdace here to an English copy of this historical state paper : ^^Monsiear d'Abbadic : — ILiving, by a special act, passed at Fontainebleau, November 8d, 1762, ceded, voluntarily, to my dear and well-beloved cousin, the King of Spain, his heirs aiid Buccessors in full right, completely and without restriction, the whole country known under the name of Louisiana, a.^ well as New Orleatib and tlie island on which that town is situated ; and the King of Spain having, by another act, passed at the Escurial, on the 13th of Novem- ber, in the sivme year, accepted tlie cession of the said country of Louisiana town and island of New Orleans, ac- cording to the annexed co})i<!8 of these acts ; I write this letter to inform you that my intention is, that on the re- ceipt of this letter and the coities annexed, whether it reaches you through the officers of his S})ani8h Majesty, or directly by the French vessels cluirged with its delivery, you will resign into the hands of the governor (or oiHcer) therefor appointed by the King of Spain, the said country and colony of Louisiana and its dei>endencies, with the town and island of New Orleans, in such state as they nuiy be at the date of such cession, wishing that in future they be- long to his Catholic nuijesty,to be governed and administered by his governors and oiiicers as belonging to him, in full right and without exception. " I accordingly order, tluit >s soon as the governor and troops of his Catholic majesty arrive in the said country and colony, you put them in possession, and withdraw all the officers, soldiers and employes in my service in garrison there, to send them to France, and my other American colonies, or such of them as are not dispoHcd to renuiin under the Spanish authorities. 1 moreover desire, tiiat, after the entire evacuation of said port and town of New Orleans, you collect all papers relative to the liiuinces and __t— — 366 Letter of Louis XV. to Governor d^Abbadie. administration of the colony of Louisiana, and come to France and account for them. " It is, nevertheless, my intention that you hand over to the governor, or oiiicer thereto appointed, all the papers and documents which especially concern the government of the colony, either relative to the colony and its limits, or relative to the Indians and the various posts, after having drawn proper receipts for your discyiarge, and given said governor all the information in your power to enable him to govern said colony to the reciprocal satisfaction of both nations. "It is my will that there be made an inventory, signed in duplicate by you and his Catholic Majesty's commissary, of all artillery, eficcts, magazines, hos[)ital8, vessels, etc., belonging to me in said colony, in order that, Uiter putting said commissary in possession of the civil edifices and buildings, an appraisement be made of the value of all the eifects remaining in the colony, the price whereof shall be paid by his Cathoru* Majesty according to such a})praisement. " I hope, at the same time, for the advantage and tran- quillity of the inhabitants of the colony of Louisiana, and 1 flatter myself, in conse(pience of the friendship and aiiec- tion of his Catholic Majesty, that he will be pleased to in- struct his governor, t)r any other otticers employed by him in said colony and said t(»vvn of New Orleans, that all the ecclesiastics and religious communities shall continue to perform the rights, privileges, and exemptions granted to them; that all the judges of ordinary jurisdiction, together with tlie Superior Council, shall continue to administer justice according to the laws, forms, and usages of the col- ony ; that the titles of the inhabitants to their property shall be confirmed in accordauvie with the (ioncossions made by the governors and ordinary commissaries of said colony; and that said concessions shall be looked upon and lield as confirmed ])y his Catholic Majesty, although they may not as yet have been confirmed by me; ho[>ing, moreover, tliat bis Catholic Majesty will be pleased to give his subjects of Louisiana the marks of protection and good will which they have received under my government, which would Occurrences in Lower Louisiana. 367 nae to i over papers aent of nits, or having en said jle bim of both 7, signed missary, ,cl8, etc., i^ putting ices and )f all the ' Bhall be ■aisement. and tran- iiana, and vnd aitcc- m\ to iu- 1(1 by him iit all the Intinue to ranted to I, together ihninister f tbe col- property lions made d colony; d held as ,' may "ot oviM', that |\ib.)ect8 of \\\ whicb eh would have been made more effectual, if not counteracted by tbe calamities of war — " I order you to have this, my present letter, re^^istered by the Superior Council at New Orleans, in order that the people of the colony, of all ranks and conditions, be in- formed of its contents, and that they may «vail themselves of it, should need be; such being my sole object in writing this letter. I pray God, M. d'Abbudie, to have you in his holy keeping. "Given at Versailles, April 21, 1764. [Signed] " Louis. [Countersigned] " The Due dk Choiseul." It was not until October of that year that Governor d'Abbadie reluctantly {)ublished the foregoing letter. Kis health was already declining, and the mental distress at- tending the performance of this official duty hastened his death, w liich occurred in New Orleans on the 4th of the following February, 1765. He was a [)atriotic and popular magistrate, just to all, and firm in his enforcement of the laws. At a meeting of the leading citizens of New Orleans, held shortly after his decease, a feeling tribute was paid to his memory. M. d'Abbadie was succeeded in office by Cai)tain Charles Aubry, the senior military officer of the province, on whom was now devolved the humiliating duty of handing over the goverimient of Louisiaiui to the Spaniards. By his valor in the war with England, Aubry had won high praise and tho Cross of St. Louis, and was also respected for his social virtues ; but though a good grenadier, he had few qualities to fit him for properly governing a colony situated as Louisiana then was.* * Memoir of LoniHiana, by the Chevalier de CliainplKuy. He waa a contemporary and acqualntanee of Aubry's, and lias drawn hJH por- trait in no (iattering terms. Here it is: " M. Aubry waw a little, dry, lean, ugly man, without nobility, dignity, or carriuxe. il'w faee would seem to announce a liypocritu, but in him this vice sprang from «ixceH- Bive goodness, which granted all rather than disphiase; always tn'mbling for the couBequenccB of the moat indiflereut actions, u natural ellect of itm'. i a t iu i -'xitL ="* tf ll^f' 368 Arrival of Acadians in Louisiana. Between the first of January and the 15th of May, 1765, about six hundred and fifty Acadian exiles arrived in New Orleans from the English colonies, to swell the population of that part of Louisiana still nominally remaining to the French. At this juncture of affairs, their Cv.niing was re- garded as a misfortune, since it imposed a fresh burden upon the unhappy colonists. Nevertheless, the claims of kindred humanity could not be ignored, and the poor ex- iles were sent by the acting governor to form settlements in the districts of Attakapus and Opelousas. In the following February (1766), two huiulred and sixteen more Acadians arrived to join their bretbreti in Louisiana. They were authorized to make settlements on both sides of the Missis- sippi, from below Baton Kouge up to Point Coupee. Hence origimited the epithet of "Acadian Coast," which is still applied to the banks of the river between those two points. As these refugees were destitute of supplies, the same ra- tions were issued to them by the provincial commissary, during the first year of their residence, as were allowed to the troops in the province. They were an indusi.rious and frugal people, strongly attaclied to the French interest and the Catholic religion, and they prospered almost from the start in Louisiana. When the treaty-cession of Louisiana to Spain was at last made public, it created surprise and indignation at New Orleans and elsewhere in the province, and a general feeling of despair would have ensued, if the people had not been buoyed uj» with the hope that the transfer would never actually take place. F^arly in the year 1765, a meeting of the principal citizens and planters from the different parishes was convened in the city of New Orleans for the purpose of considering the subject of their distracted condition. a mind without r*?BOurce or light, always allowing itself to be guided, and thus often swerving from rectitude ; religious through weakness rather than from principle; incapable of wishing evil, but doing it through a diaritable human weakness; destitute of magnanimity or re- flection ; a good soldier, but a bad leader; ambitious of honors and dig- nity, but possessing noitlier firmness nor capacity tv^ bear the weight."— Vide Hist. Coil's of La. (Fifth of the series), p. 163. ■Ui Last Appearance of Bienville ; His Death. 369 iy,1765, in I'few pulation g to the ; was re- i burden [jlaims of poor ex- ements in following Acadians 'hey were ;he Missis- ie. Hence ich is still two points, e same ra- ommissary, allowed to _ rious and (iiterest and it from the Ipam was at ion at New oral feeUng (I not been ould never nieeting of nt parishes he purpose condition, Ito be guided, tigh weakness but doing it lanimity or re- Inors and dig- Iho weight."— and of Hendiiig to the throne of France a united a[)peal for royal interposition in their behalf. At this meeting L,i Fre- niere, attorney-general of Louisiana, made an eloquent speech on the situation of the colony, and presented a res- olution earnestly supplicating the king not to sever the colony from the parent country. The resolution was promptly adopted, and ,Jean Milhet, of New Orleans, was selected to carry the petition to the foot of the throne. Upon his arrival in Paris, Milhet went to the residence of the aged Bienville, who, by his request, accompanied him to Versailles. Waiting upon the Duke de Choiseul, the prime minister of Louis XV., they were courteously re- ceived and their statements attentively listened to ; but the resolution of tlie minister was unshaken, and he replied to them, in sul)stance, as follows: " (ientlemen, I must put an end to this painful scene. I am deeply grievetl at not being able to give you any hope. I have no hesitation in telling you that I can not address the king on this subject, because I myself advised the cession of Louisiana. Is it not to your knowledge that tlui colony (_.in not continue its {)resent precarious existence, except at an enormous expense, of which France is now utterly iiicapable y Is it not better, then, that Louisiana should be given away to a friend and taitliful ally, than be wrenched from us by an hereditary foe ? Farewell. You have my best wi:shes; I can do no more." This interview is depicted by Mr. Gayarre as an aflect- ing one, and the pathetic appeai of Bienville on behalf of Louisiana as not unlike that of a father pleading for the life of his child ; yet, under the then circumstances, it was of no avail. The excitement attending his effort, and grief at the loss of his beloved colony, seem to have loosened the feeble chords that bound him to life, and he died no very long afterward in his eighty-seventh year.* lie had sur- * Bitnville den-iiHed Man^h 7. 17()7. and was buried with military lioiiorH in the cemetery (»f Montmartn'. His in^raved portrait, trom an oil painting belonging to tiie Le Moyne family uuuiHion at i^oiigucul, Canada, prewnts him with a martial figure and a noble head, in keeping witii his ri'eord. 24 4 870 Occurrences in Lov)er Louisiana. vived all of hi"^ eminent brothers. He had seen Canada, the land of his nativity, pass from the possession of the crown of France to that of Great Britain, and must now witness the transfer of Louisiana, with its future proud metropolis, which he had founded and fostered, to the do- minion of Spain. All that the patriarch had most loved and cherished ou earth was gone before. Uence, it was lot desirable for him to longer live, and he departed to join the shade of liis favorite brother, Iberville, in the spirit world.* The primary motive of France, in voluntarily ceding Western Louisiana to Spain, appears to have been to in- demnify the latter for her expenses in the war then just closed. Another incentive was to prevent Louisiana from falling into the hands o^' Great Britain. Moreover, the province had become a burden to the French government, of vvhi(ih it was anxious to be disincumbered. It has been computed that France, in her [)rolonged attempt to colonize Louisianji, expended directly, or indirectly, nearly twenty millions of dollars, without receiving any proportionate re- turn ; and if she had continued to hold the country, it would have been necessary for her to have incurred a large additional outlay. "Hence," says Gayerre, "the anxiety of the French government to part with a territory, which, at a later perii»d, in abler hands, was destined to astonish the world by its rapid and gigantic prosperity." The Duke de Ohoiseul having refused to address the king on the ([uestion of revoking the transfer of Louisiana to Spain, and linvinij; denied Milhet access to his nuijesty, the commissioner returned to New Orleans, and reported the failure of his mission. Still liojung that the treaty of cession would never be carried into execution, Jean Milhet was again sent to France, but returned with a like result. His next voyage, as we shall hereafter see, was as a state prisoner to Moro Castle, in Cuba. . The French colonists, however, did not altogether lose hope, in which they were sustained by the delay of » Gayttrr<j'8 lIiHt of La., Vol. 11, pp. IL'S-S). Opposition to Ulloa's Gcvernment. 371 Canada, 1 of the ust now •e proud ) the do- 08t loved ie, it was parted to the Hpirit \\y ceding aen to in- ■ then just siana from ■eover, the )vernmcnt, Lt has heen to colonize arly twenty rtionate re- country, it red a large he anxiety lory, whieh, to astonish laddross the )[' Louisiana his majesty, id reported le treaty of lleanMilhet like result. Is as a state altogether [lie delay of the Spanish government in taking possession of the coun- try. It was not until the middle of the year 1765, that the Court of Madrid appointed Captain Don Antonio de Ulloa — a man of high reputation, and descended from a family dis- tinguished in the maritime annals of his country — to as- sume the government of Louisiana. Some months in ad- vance of his arrival in the province, Ulloa wrote from Havana to the Superior Council at New Orleans the fol- lowing brief letter, announcing his miiision : " Gentlemen — Having recently been instructed by his Catholic Majesty to repair to your town and take posses- sion of it in his name, and in conformity with the orders of his Most Christian Majesty, I avail myself of this 0(;ca- sion to make you acipiainted witli my mission, and to give you information that 1 shall soon have the honor to be among you, in order to proceed to the execution of my ci/inmission. I flatter myself beforehand, that it will afford me favorable op[)()rtunities to render you all the services that you and the inhabitants of your town may desire; of which I beg you to give them the assurance from me, and let them know that in acting thus, 1 only discharge my duty and gratify my inclinations. "I have the honor to be, etc., " Antonio be Ulloa." "Havana, July 10, 1765." The Spanish governor arrived at the Balize,* with some Capuchin friars and eighty soldiers, on the 28th of February, 1766, and, proceeding up the Mississippi, landed in New Orleans on the 5th of March. He was received by the French inhabitants with every superficial mark of courtesy and good will; but such was tlieir aversion to Spanish rule, and such the lack of tact and administrative talent of Ulloa himself, that he could not openly exercise his authority. t The French troo[)H continued to serve * A 8!nall port or sottUnri»>nt at the outlet of the MiBsissippi, on the west sitU', in Freiu.'h times. It took its name from the (Spanish word balizu, a hoticon. tThe iniBtake of the Spanish government, at this time, was in not sending an adequate military force to sustain Ulloa's authority. 372 Occurrences in Lower Louisiana. under their national flag; the council acted in the name of the King of France ; and all orders emanated from Aubry, the dc facto French governor, who practically governed the colony for the King of Spain, The Spanish flag was un- furled at the Balizo, on the banks of the river Iberville, at the post opposite Natchez, and at the Missouri ; but at all the other posts in tbe province, the P'rench colors were kept up as before. Governor Ulloa was apparently so desirous of concili- ating those over whose aftairs he had come to preside, that on his arrival he promised to keep at a tixed rate the de- preciated })aper currency of the province, which then amounted to about seven millions of livres. He also as- certained tbe resources and wants of the country, and agreed to discharge the most pressing demands against it. On tbe 6th of September, 1766, the governor published an ordinance of the Spanish government regulating and limit- ing the commerce of Louisiana, but permitting a direct trade with the French West Indies. This, together with subsequent commercial restrictions, produced great discon- lent and excitement at New Orleans, and Ulloa, fearing an attempt on liis life, retired for safety to the Balize. Here (January 20, 1767) he ettected an arrangement with Aubry, by which the latter resigned to him the colony of Louisiana, but agreed to govern it for the time being. This act was signed by the two governors in duplicate, and was to be exchanged by the two courts of I'aris and Madrid.* In the meantime a conspiracy was set on foot by Lafreniere, Foucault, Marquis, Noyon, Villere, Milhet, Petit, Caresse, Poupet, Bo'f^^blanc, and others, to drive Ul- loa and his Spaniards from the province. To this end, at a delegate convention of planters, merchants and tradesmen, held in New Orleans on the 28th of October, 1768, a peti- tion was signed by five hundred and thirty-six persons, pray- ing the Superior Council for a restoration of their former rights and privileges, and for the expulsion of the Span- iards from the country. This petition was presented to the * CJhampigny's M<Mnoir of Ix)uisiaDa. Revolution again f>.t the Spanish Authority. 373 name of 11 Auhry, jrned the ; was iin- erville, at but at all lorB were )f conoili- Bside, that te the de- Mcb then [e also as- intry, and against it. iblished an J and limit- ig a direct rether with t-eat discon- lou, fearing le Balize. enient with > colony of eing. This te, and was 1 Madrid * n foot by re, Milhet, drive Ul- is end, at a tradesmen, 768, a peti- rsons, pray- heir former ■ the Span- nted to the [) Council on tiie next day (the 29th), and, despite the formal protest of Aubry, the French (iommundant, a decree was passed that nijou and the Spanish troops should leave the colony within three days. Governor dlloa did not stand on the order of his going, but eml)arkcd on the evening of the 31st of October, with his few troops, and sailed for Spain, where ho arrived on the 4th of December following. The news of this ill-starred revolution soon reached Spain, and the king (Charles III.) called a meeting of his ministers to determine upon the fate of Louisiana. At this cabinet council it was decided that possession of that prov- ince should bo taken by force, if necessary. Apprehending considerable resistance from the French inhabitants, the king issued orders for the fitting out of a formidable expe- dition, and gave the command of it to General O'Reilly, whom he also appointed governor and captain-general of the province.* * Don Alexaiidro O'Reilly was born in Ireland about the year 1735, and when quite a young man went to Sj)ain, and entered the Spanish military service. Joining a body of his native countrymen called tlie " Hibernia Regimei:*^," he served a campaign in Italy, where he received a wound which lamed him for the rest of his life. In 1755 he obtained permission from the king to enter the Austrian army, and made two campaigns against the Prussians. In 1759 he volunteered in the army of France, in vhich he distinguishe I himself by his soldierly qualities, and was recommended by the Duke de Broglie to tlu> King of Spain, who commissioned him to the rank of lieutenant-colonel; and, as such, he served with distinction in the war with Portugal. He was afterward promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and on the conclusion of the peace of 17(52 was raised to the rank of major-general, in whica capacity he was sent to Havana to rebuild the fortifications of that city, which had been demolished by the British. O'Reilly stood high in the confi- dence of the king, notwithstanding the prejudice existing against him among the Spaniards on account of his foreign birth. He was a man of flexible disposition and conciliatory manners, yet stern and unyielding of purpose. We are not informed of the precise nature of his instruc- tions on being sent to Louisiana; hut the substance of them is embodied in a royal order addressed to Don Pedro Giacia, under date of January 28, 1771, in which the king says: "But those inhabitants having re- belled, ... I commissioned Don Alexandro O'Keilly, lieutenant- general of the array, and inspector-general of all my infantry, to pro- ceed thither, take formal possession, chastise the ringleaders (informing me of all), establish the said government, uniting the province to the ■}-:\\ •''V M 374 Occurrences in Lower Loumana. Governor O'Reilly arrived at the mouth of tlie Missis- sippi on the 24tli of July, 1709, with a fleet of twenty-four ships and transports, bearing an ariuy of twenty-six hundred clioice troops, — a foree so hirge as to render all attempts at resistance hopeless. On the same day he dispatched his aid to Aubry, the acting French governor, to announce his ar- rival, and to notify him that he was duly authorized to receive possession of the Province of Louisiana. The coming of the Spanish armament excited a great commotion in New Orleans; and on the 27th the citizens sent delegates to O'litriily to im))lore his clemency. They returne<l to the city the next day with assurances from the governor that he was disposed to be lenient. On the 17th of August he reached Xew Orleans, and on the next day took military possession of the government. Governor G'Keilly entered upon the duties of his re- sponsible oflice with every out.vard ma lifestation of respect for all classes of the citizens ; but, while promising pardon to those who quietly submitted, lie hnd resolved in his own mind to punish the principal actors in the late revolution. This determination, however, was concealed until he had procured from Aubry, the retiring French governor, a full report of that event. On the 2l8t and 22d of August, after receiving Aubry's communication, he caused to be quietly arrested and imprisoned twelve chiefs of the revolution tiiat had expelled his predecessor, Ullou. They were, Nicholas Chauvin de la Freniere, ex-procureur-general of the province, and senioi* member of the Superior Council; Jean Baptiste Xoyon, his son-in-law, a young man of great worth and promise; Pierre Caresse, captain of militia; Pierre Marquis, a knight of St. Louis ; Jean and Joseph Milhet, father and son ; Joseph Villiere,* captain in the rest of my doiuinions; all of which ho did, adapting its laws, and after proposing to nie that which ho judged jjroper for the commerce of the country, and for the extimstion of the council by wiiich it is governed, and establishing a cahiklo in the place of said council, and taking other measures, all of which were approved by me," etc. — Hist. Coil's of La., Fifth Series (N. Y., 185:5), p. 247. * /iller^ resisted arrest, and died in prison three days after, from Conviction and Sentence of the Revolutionists. 375 Missis- ity-tour lundred iiuv)ts at L his aid e liis iir- rized to i a great citizeius ^ They from the the 17th next day :)f hia re- of respect \g pardon n his own evohition. il he had nor, a full gust, after be quietly •evolution ley were, l<rcneral ot r Council ; n of great f militia; 1(1 Joseph lin in the IvH, and after linerce of the J is governed, [taking other >)U'8 of La., Is after, from militia; Jonepli Petit, uiereluuit ; Baltliauijcr <le Masan, captain in the French service; Jerome Doucet, lawyer; Hardi de BoishUmc, assessor to tlie Council; and Pierre Poupet, merchant.* These sudden arrests produced extreme uneasiness and trepidation aniouij^ the French inhabitants. To quiet their fears, the Spanish governor, on the 28d of August, issued a })roclamati(m of amnesty,f and a call inviting the people to appear before him on the 26th, and take the oath of al- legiance to his Catholic majesty. Something over a month after their arrest, the pris- oners were arraigned before a semi-military tribunal, con- stituted for the purpose, on the charge of treason and re- bellion, the deceased V^illere being represented by an attor- ney in fact. They wee tried and convicted under Spanish law, and their property was confiscated to the state, after tlic effectof wounds received in Imb struggle with tli»' SpuniHli gendannes for liberty. * M. Foncault, president of the Superior ('ouncil, and commissary of the province, was also plaee;l under guard; but at his request, and in deference to his olRoial position, he was sent to France for trial. He is described as a v.ily man. who aeled with singular duplicity toward tlie rev<,.-,,tionists in Louisiana. t [^O'Reilh/x, I'rodnmnlinn of AiiDCsty.] " In the name of the King. w{\ Alexander O'Reilly, ccmmander of Benfayan, in the onler of Alcantara, major and insiiector-general of the armies of his Catholic majesty, captain-genera! and governor of the Province of Louisiana, in virtue of tlic orders of his Catholic majesty, and of the powers with which we are invested, declare to all the inhab- itants of the rrovinc;e of Louisiana, that whatever just cause past events may have iiiveii his majesty to make theui feel his imlignation, yet his maje.^ty's intention is to listen only to the inspirations of his royal clemency, because lie is pcTsuaded that the inhabitants of Louisiana would not have committed the oflense of which they are guilty, if they had not been seduced by the intrigues of some ambitious fanatic, and evil-minded men, who had the temerity to make a crim- inal use of the ignorance and excessive credulity of their fellow-citizens. These inen alone will answer for their crimes, and will be judged in ac- cordance with the laws. So generous an act on the part of his majesty migljt be a pledge to him that his new subjei^ts will endeavor every day of their lives to deserve by their fidelity, zeal, and obedience, the par- don and protection which he grants them from this moment." ir« 37« Occur renre.'i in Loincr Louisiana. the payment of their dehts. The sentence of the court was pronounced by the governor himself, October 24, 1769. Five of the number, viz., Lafren'ere, No^'on, Car^sse, Marquis, and (Josepli) Milhet, were condemned to death on the gal- k)W8 ; but as no white hangman could be found in the col- ony, they were shot (October 24lh) in the ya. d of the bar- racks. The memory of Villere was decla»'e<i infamous. It has l)een observed, and |)erhaps truly, that these men died victims to their love of libertv rather than of devotion to France. The six renuiining culprits were sentenced to varying ternjs oi' imju'isonment. Petit was sentenced to imprison- ment for life; Masan iind Doucet to ten years; Boisblanc, Milhet (Jean), and Toupet to v,\x years each, with the un- derstanding that none of theui should ever be permitted to live in any of the dominions of his Catliolic majesty. Thoy were shortly after transported to Havana, and incarcerated in Moro Castle ; but they were subsequently i>ardonod by the King of Spain, on the intercession of the French am- bassador at that court. After tlieir release, it is siiid that they went to reside at Cape Francois, in vSt. Domingo.* The extreme punishment thus meted out to a few leaders, while a free pardon was extended to the mass of the people, though conformable to Spanish ideas of justice and clemency, aroused a de^]) feeling of indignation among the French inhabitants of Louisiana, and evoked much un- favorable criticism in Old France. O'Ueidy now proceeded to abolish the laws of France in the province, and to substitute those of Spain. On the 2l8t of November, he issue<l his [iroclamation foi' the aboli- tion of the Superior Council, which had been deeply impli- cated in the insurrection against Spanish authority. In place of the Superior Council, he established the Cnhildo, which was both a liigh <'ourt and a legislative council, and at which the governor presided. In its judicial <.'ai)acity, it only exercised appellate jurisdiction in appeals from the "* Fur a t;ircuiii8tiintiiil iicrouul ol tliis rcinarkultU' Htatc trial, i^»'o Gayiirr6'8 lliKt. of l.a., Vol. II, pp. ;>0:t :i4;(. Foreign Populatior) of the Province. 377 tirt waa I. Five [arqui^i the fral- the (!ol- :he bar- OUB. It len died otion to , varying Ttiprison- loiablanc, h the un- luiltcd to ;y. Thoy ;arcerated •doned by 'er.ch am- aaid that lingo * to a tew e mass of of justice [on among much un- lof France On the tiic aboU- Lly impli- lority. In lie Cobildo, Inncil, and (.'upacity, fr(>ni the [w trial, f«"« Alcalde courts, which were estabhshed in New Orleans and the various villages. He appointed lieutenant-governors for the several dis- tricts of the province ; and a commandant, with the rank of captain, was appointed for each parish or settlement, wiih authority to exercise a mixed civil and military juris- diction. He also caused to be published, in French, an abridgment of Spanish law, which be proniulgated for the government of the province until the Spanish language should be bet- ter understood by the colonists. This publication, known as the "Ordinances and Instructions of Don Alexander O'Reilly," was afterward approved by the " Council of the Indies." The Spanish language was henceforth tliiit in which the judicial proceedings were conducted and records kept throughout the province. The black code, or code noir, which had been previously in force in the colon3% was modified and re-enactev' for the government of the slaves. Foreigners were prohibited from passing through the coun- try without passports from the governor, and the inhabit- ants were prevented from trading with the P^nglish colonies. The colonists were at first TK'rmitted to emigrate, and many availed themselves of this privilege; but, finding that the province was losing some of its valuable citizens, O'ixcilly refused to issue any more passports. In accordance with an enumeration mp'!o during Gov. O'Reilly's administration, the whole foreign population of Louisiana amounted to thirteen thousand, two hundred and thirty-eight souls, about one-half of whom were Afri- can slaves. They were distributed in the settlements aa toiiov»n: New Orleans* [district of]. From the Balize to town [N. O.] 8,190 570 * According to the lowest cstiiuute, at tluB time, tht- miinber of liou8(!H in New Orloiins proper was 4(38. Most of these were single story fltructures of brick or wood, Iwiviiijj; <j:irdetis iit*a<'lit'(l, uiid ecllarw above g.ound. Tliev w»'n> situaled within the quadrilat<'ral still known au "Old l-'rench Town," 378 Occurrences in Lower Louisiana. Bayou St. John and Gentilly, 307 Tchoupitoulas [above New Orleans], . 4,192 St. Charles, • 389 St. John the Ba ptiste, . 544 La Fourche, • * • 267 Iberville, • « • . 376 Point Coupee, . 783 Attakapas, • • • . 409 Avoyvelles, • • • 314 Natchitoches, • • • . 811 Kai»i(le8, . • • • 47 Oua<!hita, ■ • • . 110 Ai'kaimaH [Post of], 88 St. Louis [adjacent to the Illinois], . 891 13,238 * This aggregate seems small, considering the fact that the French had been in Louisiana seventy years ; yet it must be remembered that the province was now shorn of all its territory lying north of New Orleans and east of the Mississippi Jliver. including the Mobile, Natchez, and the Illinois. At this transition epoch, a majority of the French inhabitants chose to regard themselves as miserable exiles, and were only consoled by the hope of acquiring sufficient means to enable them to return to Old France to die. About tlie ondy contented white people in the province were the Acadians, and a colony of Ge/mans, whom Law's company had sent here in 1722. The Sjtanish government ratified and confirmed all of O'Reilly's official acts in Louisiana, but it took care not to continue him in comnumd there afier his work was done. He was accordingly recalled within a year from the date of ^ IliKt. of I.a. ((iayiirrtj), Vol. H, p. 355. Thi' I'xjiortH of tilt! proviiKH' (liirinj^ the liiHt year of its suhjection to Franco wcni as followH; Indigo, $100,000; dcuT Hkins, $80,000 ; lum- ber. !|r)0,i)00 ; naval utoreB, $l'w',000 ; rice, peus, and beaue, |4,000 ; tallow, $4,000. 'total cxportB, $1,'50,IH)0. Fate of Aubri/, the Last Acting French Governor. 879 307 r,192 339 544 267 376 783 409 314 811 47 110 8H 891 . 13,238 * ne fact that iarw; yet it w shorn of east of the 'A, and the the French a\)le exiles, g sutiicient nee to (lie. [Q province Ihoni Thaw's Imed all of Icare not to was done. the date of litB subjection 1$80,000; Uun- ]4,000; tallow, his appointment. During that brief period, however, he left an impress of his own and the Spanish character upon the laws and institutions of Louisiana, such as neither time, nor subsequent political changes, has wholly obliterated. We muHt now return to M. Charles Aubry, Wiiose fate was sad and tragical. Having at length transferred the gov- ernment of Louisiana to Captain-General O'lieilly, Aubry prepared to return to France. Early in January, 1770, he embarked in the ship or brigantine called Pire de Families bound for Bordeaux. On the 18th of February, when this vessel had entered the mouth of the river Garonne, she met a violent storm, and foundered near the Tower of Corduan. All on board perished, save the captain, a sergeant, and two sailors, who succeeded in reaching the land. "The king, in order to show how much he appreciated the services of Aubry, granted a pension to the brotiicr and sister of that officer. Aubry, before his departure iVom Louisiana, had been offered a high grade in the Spanish army, as a token of satisfaction at the liberal course which he had pursued toward that nation in the colony, but he refused it on the ground that he intended to devote the remnant of his days to the service of his native country. Some there were, who thought that if those whom they loved so dearly had been unjustly treated, it was mostly in consequence of the imprudent denunciations of that officer, and of his servility to O'Keilly and the Spaniards. Hy them his melancholy end was looked upon as an act of the retributive justice of Heaven." * One of the most noteworthy events associated with the close of the French rule in Louisiana was tiie banishment of the Jesuits, which was effected i)V a decree of the Su- perior Council in 1763, followed by aif edict of the King of *ni8t. of La. (Gayarr6), Vol. H., p. :{44. Note. — The oflicial corroHpomicnct' of .\iibry wuh ilopositcd in the archives at Paris, but his privntc jonr.i!il, with vnhiablc papers bi'long- ing to tho province, wen? lost with liini in tiie shipwreck. Tiiis was to bo regretted, since they contained much matter tending to illustrate tho history of Louisiana during that troubled period. ■•■•jt:' 'Si til 380 Occurrences in Lower Louisiana. France in 1764.* All the valuable property of that religious order in the province, including plate and vestments, was sequestered, confiscated, and sold, for the aggregate amount of $180,000 — a large sum, says Mr. Gayarre, at that day — which, after deducting the expenses, was covered into the j>ublic treasury. Tlie Capuchins, who had been established in Lower Louisiana since 1722, and had long contended at disadvantage with the Jesuits, were now freed from the presence of their formidable rivals, and had this field of labor to themselves. In this connection, some historical notice of the famous Societas Jesu (Society of Jesus) may not be uninteresting or uninstructive to the general reader. It was founded in Paris by Ignatius Loyola, an ex-Spanish soldier and re- ligious enthusiast, in the year 1534. The society was pri- marily established to promote the following objects, viz : " The education of youth, preaching of the Gospel, defend- ing the Roman Catholic faith against heretics and unbeliev- ers, and propagating Christianity among the pagans and other infidels." Its constitution and laws were perfected, it is said, by Laynez and Acquaviva, two generals of the order wlio early succeeded Loyola, and wlio much sur- passed him in iearning and tlie science of government. They framed and introduced that system of profound and artful policy — a singular union of laxity and rigor — which has ever distinguished the Jesuit order. Afte»' receiving the formal sanction of Pope Paul III., in 1540, the society spread rapidly throughout Euroi)e, and flourished with ever-increasing vigor and activity for above two centuries. It overshadowed all other orders in the Church of Home, and at length became so rich, haughty, and powerful as to excite the jealousy and alarm of the crowned heads of Europe. But whatever may have been the errors, the follies, or the crimes of the Jesuits (individually or collectively), while playing their part in the devious politics and diplomacy of the Old World, it is generally conceded that their labors in * See note !n the next succeeding chapter. ' Notice of the Jesuits. 381 religious !ut8, wa» ! amount at duy — [ into the tablished gentled at from the 18 field of he famouB ; resting or Dunded in ir and re- y was pri- bjects, viz : )el, dofend- d unheliev- pagans and ^ perfected, nds of the much 8ur- ■overnmcnt. ofound and jror — which receiving the society •inhed with ) centuries. U of Rome, erful as to d iieadn of lie follies, or lively), while iplomacy of l>ir labors in the New were prompted by a spirit of genuine philanthropy. Robertson, the eminent historian, in alluding to their opera- tions in America, and particularly among the aborigines of Paraguay, remarks : "It is in the New World that the Jesuits have ex- hibited the most wonderful display of their abilities, and have contribut(^d most effectually to the benefits of the human species. The (European) conquerors of that quarter of the globe acted at first as if they had nothing in view but to plunder, to enslave, and to exterminate its inhabit- ants. The Jesuits alone made humanity tlie object of their settling there. They set themselves to instruct and to civil- ize the savaa^es. . . . But even in this meritorious ef- fort for the good of mankind, the genius and spirit of the order have mitigled and are discernible." '-^ With reference to the zeal of the Jesuits as champions of the Church of Rome, and to their qualifications as teach- ers and missionaries, Breese finely writes : " They became most useful auxiliaries to the pastoral clergy in those times of the Cyhurch's greatest need. Tiiey labored with untiring zeal and industry in defending the faith, then so violently assailed by Luther and his associates, and in propagating it in the countries of the heathen. "As spiritual teachers th.ey had no ecpnds; for they possessed all the learning of the age, and being in high favor with the [)ope, they easily became the conscience kaepers of kings and tiobles. Their arrogance and pre- sumption, therefore, became excessive, and the dark and complicated intrigues of European politics found in them able, wily, iJcrsevcring actors. In every royal court they possessed some power. Schools and colleges were founded and controlled by them, and schen)es of future aggrandize- ment planned. . . . " In the plentitude of their power, no men on earth possessed higher (pialilications for heathen conversion than they ; for to their learning was added zeal, fortitude and enthusiasui, acute observation and great address, and a re- * Robertson's (^hurk'8 V., Book VI. 382 Occurrences in Lower Louisiana. markable faculty for ingratiating themselves with the simple natives of every clime and winning their confidence. They were meek and humble when necessary, and their re- ligious fervor inspired them with a contempt of danger, and nerved them to meet and to overcome the most ap- palling obstacles. Alike to them were the chilling wintry blasts, the summer's heat, the pestilence or the scalping knife, the angry billows of the oceun and the raging storm ; they dreaded none."* But having fallen under the ban of the government of Portugal, the Jesuits were forcibly expelled from that kingdom in the year 1759. In like manner they were ban- ished from the realm of France in 1764, and from Spain, Naples and Parma, in 1767. In J^ecember, 1768, the Bour- bon courts of France, Spain, Naples and Parma united in a formal demand upon the Pope for the entire abolishment of the order; and on July 2J, 1773, Pope Clonient XIV. issued the famous brief, Dominus ac Rcde.mptor noster, by which the Company or Society of Jesus was declared sup- pressed in all the countries of Christendom. The activity of individual members of the order, however, was not thereby abated, nor was its vitality permanently impaired. They continued their teachings in private, and strove against the liberal tendency of the times, Attempts to revive the order under other names were made in 1794, when the ex- Jesuits DeBroglie and De Tournly founded the "Society of the Sacred Heart," and in 1798, when Paccarani established the " Society of the Faith of Jesus." This last, despite the defection of its founder, maintained its organization, and its members tV)rmed the nucleus of the restored society in France. The prospects of general restoration at length dawned with the the Pontificate of Pius VII. in 1800. Having been solic- ited thereto by Ferdinand IV., he authorized the introduc- tion of the order into the kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1804, and on the 7th of August, 1814, he issued the bull of restoration, Solicitudo Omnium Lcckmarum.f *" Early History of III.," pp. (V,), 70. tAmerioan Encyclopedia (1874), Vol. IX., p. 632. • The Jesuit Relations. 383 th the 6,(1 cnce. heir re- danger, \o8t ap- r wintry scalping y storm ; [inient of oni that vevc ban- m Spain, :he Bour- nited in a olishment cut XIV. noster, by lared sup- le activity was not impaired. nd strove lames were and De :eart," and |ety of the tion of its memberB .nee. The Id with the [been solic- introduc- Sicilies in Id the bull Since their revival the Jesuits, while every-where meet- ing with prejudice and opposition, and experiencing all the vicissitudes of good and ill fortune, have managed to re- gain their former footing in most of the countries of Christendom ; and, to-day, though much less dreaded than formerly, they are more numerous, if not more powerful and inlluential, than ever before. On account of the long, dark cloaks or robes worn by the Jesuit missiotuiries, they were universally known among the North American Indians as the '• Black Gowns," and their officiating priests as the "White Capes." The Recollet or Franciscan Fathers, in allusion to the gray color of their outward apparel, were called the " Gray Gowns." "Tlio Josuits (writes Mr. lUittcrlk^ld, in his work alnjuly cited), intent upon pushinjj tluir fields of labor far into the heart of the conti- nent, let slip no opportunity, after their arrival upon the Saint Law- rence, to inform themselves conct riiinjj; ulterior rejiions, and the infor- mation thus obtained was noted down by them. They minutely described, during a period of forty years, beginning with the year 1632, the varioufi tribes that they came in contact with ; and their hopes and fears as to Christianizing them were freely expressed. Accounts of their journeys were elaborated upon, and their missionary work put upon record. Prominent persons, as well as important events, shared their attention. Details concerning the geography of the country were also written out. The intelligence thus collected was sent every sum- mer by the superiors to the Provincials at Paris, where it was yearly published in the French language. Taken together, these publ legations constitute what are known as the 'Jesuit Relations.'" They were collected, edited and republished in French, under the auspices of the Canadian government, by M. Augustin Coto, at Quebec;, 1858, in three large volumes. Vol. I (lontains twelve relations of the dates Ifill, 1026 and l()32-l(i-H ; Vol. II, fourteen relations, dated 1(142- 1655; Vol. Ill, seventeen relations, dated H)r)6-1()72. The relations of each year are paged separately, and form forty-three distinct memoirs. Besides the above, there are some separate publications of a later date than 1672. 884 Illinois Under British Domination. CHAPTER XX. 1764-1778. ILLINOIi* UNDER THE BRITISH DOMINATION. We now return once more to the Illinois. In the month of June, 1764, on the resignation and withdrawal of M. Neyon de Villiers from Fort Chartres, the command of this stronghold was devolved upon Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, who had arrived from Post Vinceunes to receive it. He was a veteran Canadian officer, possessed of rare tact and ripe experience, and in his early manhood had formed one of Charlevoix' escort in his travels tlirough tlie West. As ad interim commandant of the fortress, St. Ange's position was hoth insecure and diificult to fill. It required no ordinary skill and address to save the isolated French settlements from heing emhroiled in renewed war- fare with the English forces on the one hand, and from massacre by the hordes of restless savages that surrounded them on the other. He had been advised by his own gov- ernment of the treaty of cession to ICngland, and ordered to surrender his post on the arrival of her representatives to claim it. In the meantime he was repeatedly importuned by deputations from the martial tribes to tlie north and eastward, under the domination of Pontiac, for material aid in keeping up their futile struggle against the English, and, moreover, was constantly annoyed by the demands of the Illinois Indians for arms and ammunition. But the commandant managed to put oft* the importunities of the natives from time to time, with fair speeches and occasional presents, while he anxiously waited the coming of an ade- quate British force to rol we him from his critical situation. Before yielding up his olt ce and authority, however, he in- stituted some prudent and salutary regulations respecting «• Ange take. Command a, St. Louu, Mo. 30, tne titles of thp P« u wise aided hi™ 1 1^ ,-«;;;;- '"- land, and othe. Kvacuating Fort pTf ' f "^ ,*"^ P««-er. -der orders frl„ ^ provlZ; "?':'"' "•*^' ^'^ ^"g-^- «on<luc,ed hia little garrison of I "."" ^''"' °^'^''"'' ^en. «P a„,l across fte mI «■, l!^";i*. ''""^ "ffloers and V' lage of St. Louis. tL i os ?'" ^'T *" '^^ ^'"bvyo XV'. of France, was fbu d d LFir"' '" """""^'oLoL Laclede* Liguest, and yo!l a ''^' ""'*'''>' K«>-re ^™ of "Maxent/Lac led' rComnr^'' ''''""^^"' "^ 'he Orleans, .vho had obtained th^lTlV''^'"''' "' ^<'^ irom Governor Kerlerec to til !l T " 'P^""' 'i««'se Missouri River. * ""'^ ^ith the Indians on the -^y^^::7:>::"Ll:!Zr''^ - Sp^n her tern. -- as yet established there ,'''' 7 '"P""'^'" -«>ority mom of the principal inhlbi a n"' f T?' "''«' *« ""e S • Ange assumed the funct.o, ^f vf' ^°"'^' '^"P"''" H.S acts were approved by lu ^ LT I """"'-"da-t. general and he continued to xer'c so t!'';''! ™"""''"<iant- »"t.l May 20, 1770, when he was r ."""-'^ "^ '''^ ""iee governor Don Pedro Pier a th?fi fl"""^ ^^ I^ieutenant- of the district. After tSt A„:f ^P""?'' «»"""-.dant !!!^.™ent Of Louisi!,:a,tifh tC s^r r^'rcj! chand,«,„g. On August H r^, l ', ? ''"^^'^^^^ extensively in L Hrrived on the Sri »f m ' ^ P''««'^«'ed to Fort Chll'r f ^''"'"^ ^See" History of St. Louis City and Col^'^ f^y ^^' »>•« men to work !-' 25 . * 386 Illinois Under British Domination. tain as he had before held under the French, but on litilt pay.* It has been affirmed that he returned to Fort Cliar- tres, after the asserted death of Captain Stirling, and that, on the solicitation of the English, he again exercised com- mand there for a short time; but this story is wanting in proof and i)robability. It was in April, 1769, -"vhile still commanding at St. Louis, that St. Ange received an unexpected visit from Pontiac, who had been living for three years in sullen re- tirement on the river Maumee, but was now come on some unexplained yet suspicious mission to the Illinois. The Indian chieftain appeared at the head-quarters of the French commandant arrayed in the uniform which had been given to him by General Montcalm in 1759, and which, it is said, he never wore except on occasions of cere- mony. After being hospitably entertained at St. Louis for several days, Pontiac, contrary to the advice of St. Ange and others of the French inhabitants, who warned him of the danger he was incurring, re-crossed the Mississippi, with a few of his personal adherents, to attend a social gathering, or pow-wow, of the Indians at Cahokia. Upon arriving thither, he found them engaged in a drinking- bout, and, with his fondness for liquor, soon became drunk himself. The noisy meeting broke up late at night, when he started with some friends down the long village street, and on the way was heard singing medicine songs, in the mystic virtues of which he seems to have reposed implicit confidence. The visit of this redoubtable chief to the Illinois was regarded with great distrust by the few English residents of the country, who justly dreaded his power for evil over the minds of his fellow red men. At this time, it appears, there was in Cahokia an English trader named Williamson, who determined to avail himself of the opportunity pre- * St. Ange de Bellerive died at the house of Madame Chouteau, in St. Louis, on the evening of December 26, 1774 (having executed his last will on the same day), and was buried tliere in the parish cemetery. He had attained the ripe old age of about seventy-four years. See Bil- lon's "Annals of St. Louis," p. 128. Ponfiae's Last Visit and Death in the Illinois. 387 t Cb ar- id tViat, ed com- itint? i'» V at St. sit from u\len re- ow some ois. The ,g of the rhicli ba«l 1759, and 118 of cere- ,. Louift for f St. Ange ned \^ya\ of Mississippi [^d a social :ia. Upon . drinking- janie drunk piglit, when .lage street, |ong8, in the ied inipl^eit I Illinois was Ish residentfl for evil over L it appears, IWiUianison, U'tunity pre- 'houteau.m^t. lecuted hiB last ^riBli cemetery, .ears. . See Bil- sented to effect \\\a deHtniction. For this sinister purpose, he bribed a vagrant Indian of the Kaskaskia tribe, for a barrel of liquor and tlie promise of furtlier reward, to take Pontiac's life. The hired assassin accordingly followed the inebriated chief into the forest, and, gliding silently up be- hind him, stabbed him to the heart. Thus ingloriously ended the notable career of the veteran Pontiac, whose ex- traordinary ability as a leader and organizer of the red men, his strategy and auda(!ity in war, rendered him the terror of the English, and the typical hero of his race. When informed of this tragical occurrence, which created wild excitement in Cahokia, Captain St. Ange, mindful of his former friendship for the fallen chief, caused his ])ody to be shrouded and brought to St. Louis, where it was interred with the honors of war, near the intersection of Walnut and Fourth streets. No mound nor tablet marks his for- gotten grave, but his deeds are written, and his name is enduringly preserved in that of a thriving town in Illinois. Pontiac left several children, among whom were two sons of note in their tribe.'^ The uufortuiuite killing of Pontiac — unfortunate if he was not seeking to stir up another race war with the En- glish — aroused intense animosity against the Illinois Indians on the part of his numerous friends and followers among the more northern tribes. It was the occasion of a re- newal of hostilities between the Sacs and Foxes and the Il- linois, in which the latter sustained heavy losses and were finally driven south of the Illinois river. During this ex- terminating war, and about the year 1770, tradition says that a defeated band of Illinois warriors took refuge on the Rock of St. Louis, where, after a protracted siege, they were starved into submission and captured, thus giving rise to the legend of the " Starved Rock." Just before and during the first years of the English *An Ottawa tradition states that Pontiac took a Kaskaskia wife, with whom he had a quarrel, and that she persuaded her two brothers to kill him. But see Parknuin's " History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac" (4th ed., 18G8, pp. 571, 572, notes), where the various accounts of the great Indian's death are mentioned and discussed. 388 Illinois Under Brit?^h Domination. domination, there was a large exodus of the French inliab- itants from Illinois. Such, in fact, was their dislike of British rule that fully one-third of the population, embrac- ing the wealthier and more influential families, removed, with their slaves and other personal eft'ects, beyond the Mississippi, or down that river to Natchez and New Or- leans. Some of them settled at Ste. Genevieve, while others, after the example set by St. Ange, took up their abode in the village of St. Louis, which had now become a depot for the fur company of Louisiana. From the im- petus thus received, as well as from its pleasant and ad- vantageous situation for general trade, St. Louis soon outstripped the older French settlements on the eastern side of the Mississippi. Under successive mild adminis- trations (French and Spanish), the village quietly grew and flourished, meeting with but few drawbacks, saving the at- tack by northern Indians, in May, 1780, the destructive in- undation in 1785,* and the epidemic of 1801. It was not until after the Indian incursion that St. Louis was stock- aded, and a regular fortification constructed at the upper end of the village. In 1770 there were one hundred wooden and fifteen stone buildings in the place. But no church edifice existed there prior to the year 1776, except a small log chapel which stood upon what was known as the Church Block. In 1794 the garrison and government house, situate on the second rise or bank of the village, was completed and occupied. In March, 1804, when the govern- ment of the country west of the Mississippi was transferred to the United States, the number of houses in St. Louis had increased to one hundred and thirty of wood, and fifty-one of stone, making a total of one hundred and eighty-one, of which one hundred and sixty were dwelling houses. These were one and two story structures, built upon the first bank of the river with little or no pretensions to architectural embellishment. The population of the place was then rated ♦The unusual inundation of 1785 was caused by the annual floods in the Mississippi and Missouri rivers occurring together. This was known as L'annde de» grands daux, or "the year of tlie great waters" Early Upbuilding of St. Louis. 389 L \nbab- aWke of einbrac- emoved, ^ond the Hew Or- up their w become a^ the im- t and ad- 1 .ouis soon \ve eastern d adniinis- y grew and v\ng the at- ^tructive in- Itwas not 5 was stock- ,t the upper ,ne hundred ice. But no 1776, except as known as government |e village, was iiithegovern- ii8 transferred St. Louis had and fifty-one [eighty-one, of ouses. These the first bank architectural as then rated the aunual floodB etber. This was Lot -waters." at nine hundred uiid twenty-tivo souls.* French influeace was long dominant in St. Louis, and tended to retard her early development ; but, in modern years, her growth and expansion into a great commercial and industrial city have been something phenomenal. At the close of the year 1765, the whole number of in- habitants of foreign birth or lineage, in Illinois, excludnig the negro slaves, and including those living at Post Vincent on the Wabash, did not much exceed two thousand persons ; and, during the entire [)cnod of British possession, the in- flux of alien population hardly more than kept pace with the outflow. Scarcely any Englishmen, other than the officers and troops composing the small garrisons, a few en- terpiising traders and some favored land speculators, were then to be seen in the Illinois, and no Americans came hither, for the purpose of settlement, until after the con- quest of the country by Colonel Clark. All the settlements still remained essentially French, with whom ther^) was no taste for innovation or change. But the blunt and sturdy Anglo-American had at last gained a firm foot-hold on the banks of the great Father of Rivers, and a new type of civilization, instinct with energy, enterprise and progress, was about to be introduced into the broad and fertile Valley of the Mississippi.! In Captain Pittman'c valuable work, from which we have repeatedly quoted, is found a comprehensive account of the Illinois country and its inhabitants, with sketches in detail of the several French posts and villages situated therein, as personally viewed by him in 1766-7. Pittman was an officer of the British Royal Engineers, and was first sent out with a regiment to Pensacola, Florida, in 1763. From Pensacola be went to Mobile, and thence to New Orleans ; after which he passed up the Mississippi, stopping at Natchez, and appears to have reached the Illinois early in the year 1766. Returning to Florida, he thence sailed for England in 1768. His book, we are told, was originally * Billon's Annals of Early St. Louis. t Davidson's and Stuve's History, Ist ed., p. 163. 390 Illinois Under British Domination. K t Si %' written at the request and for the use of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. It contain?, in a compact form, much useful and reliable information (nowhere else to be found) concerning the Mississippi Valley and its people at that transition period.* Pittman describes the country of the Illinois as then " bounded by the Mississippi on the west, by the river Illi- nois on the nortii, by tiie rivers Ouabache and Mianiis on the east, and by the Ohio on the south." Treating of the villages seriatim, and beginning with Kaskaskia, he writes: " The village of Notre Dame de Cascasquias is by far the most considerable settlement in the countrv of the Illinois, as well from its number of inhabitants us from its advan- tageous situation. It stands on the side of a small river, which is about eighty yards wide, and empties itself with a gentle current into the Mississippi, near two leagues below the village. This river is a bocure port for the large bateaux which lie so close to its banks as to load and unload with- out the least trouble, and at all seasons of the year there is water enough for tdem to come up. . . . Another great advantage that Cascasquias receives from its river is the facility with which mills for corn and plank may be erected on it. Mons. Paget was the tii'st who introduced water-mills in this count!'y, and he constructed a very line one on the river Cascasquias, which was both for grinding corn and sawing boards; it lies about one mile from the village. The mill proved fatal to him, being killed as he was working in it with two negroes, by a party of Chero- kees, in 1764. "The principal buildings here are the Church,! and Jesuit's House, which (latter) has a small chapel adjoining it; these, as well as some other houses in the village, arc built of stone, and, consideiing this part of the world, * Vkk "The Present State of the European SetH'iments on the Mis- Bissippi; with a Gcof^raphical Dosrription of tliat Kiver, illuHtrated hy Plans r.!i(l DraujjhtB." Uy Captain Pliilip Pittman. London, 1770. Quarto, pp. 107. tTliobell helon^fing to this quaint old church was caHt at La Ro- choUe, France, in 1741. Fittman's Accoa.U of the French Settlements. 391 cretary of •act U)':n\y else to be ,18 as then 3 river Uli- Miamis on ting of the , he writes: is by far the the Illinois, 1 its advan- sniall river, s itself with jagues below arge bateaux unload with- year there is Another ,m its river is ilank may be o ii\troduc'ed d a very line tor grinding |nile from the killed as he |rty of Chero- 'Shnrch,! and [pel adjoining he village, are |)f the woritl, [(.nts on tho Mis- >r, illustratod by London, 17"»^- caHt at La 1^*'" raake a very good appearance. The Jesuit's plantation consisted of two hundred and fort}' arpents (an arpent be- ing 85-100 of an acre) of cultivated land, a very good stock of cattle, and a brewery ; whicli was sold by the French commandant, after the country was ceded to the English, for the Crown, iri consequence of the suppression of the order.* Mons. (Jean Bajstiste) Beauvais was the pur- chaser, who is the richest of the English subjects in this country. He keeps eighty slaves ; he furnished eighty-six thousand weight of tiour to the king's magazine, which was only part of the harvest ho reaped u\ one year. Sixty- live families reside in this village, besides merchants, other casual people, and slaves. "The fort, which wu.-s burnt down in October, 176(3, stood on the summit of a high rock o{)posite the village, and on the o[)posite side of the river. It was an oblong quadrangle, of which the extreme polygon measured two liundred and ninety by two hundred and fifty-one feet. It was built of very thick square tind>ers, and dovetailed at tlie angles. An ofHcer and twenty soldiers are quartered in the villaire. The othcei' y-overns the iidiabitants under the direction of the commandant at Fort Charti'cs. Here are also two companies of (French) militia. •■' La J*raii'ie des Roches f is about seventeen (fifteen) miles from (/ascasquias. It is a small village, consisting of twelve dwelling houses, nil of which are iidiabited by as many families. Here is a little cluqtel, formerly a chapel of ease to the chui'cli at Fort Chartres. The iidiabitants are very industrioun, and raise a great deal of corn and every kind (»f stock. Tlie village is two miles from Fort (^har- * The only Jesuit prii!Hl iillowcU to reniain in the niinois wuh Sebas- tian Louis Meurin, and he wa.s required to sij^n a paper obIigiitin<i; him- Helf not to acknowledKO any otlier superior than that of the Capuchins at New OrleauK. (Siiea's "Catliolie Church in Old Colonial Days.") Father Meurin died al I'rairie thi Itoiher iu 177S. lie was a learned man and faitliful inisKionary, who left in tnanuHcript a large dictionary of the Indian and French languages. t Prairie du Ilocher is the only one of these old French villages that has continued to llourish until the present day, in 1800, according to the United States census, it contained a population of 108 bouIb. "ftSim^ 392 Illinois Under British Domination. tres. It takeH its name from itH situation, being built under a rock that runs parallel with tlie river Mississippi, at a league distance, for forty miles up. Here is a company of militia, the captain of which regulates the police of the village." After giving a particular description of Fort Chartres,f Pittman's account continues : " In the year 1764, there were about forty i'amilies in the village near the fort, and a par- ish church served l)y a Franciscan friar, dedicated to St. Anne. In the following year, when the English took pos- session of the country, they abandoned their houses and settled at the village on the west de of the Mississippi, choosing to continue under the J'rench government. "Saint Pliillippe is a small village about five miles from Fort Ohartres, on the road to Kaoquias. There are about sixteen houses and a small church standing; all the inhabitants, except the captain of the militia, deserted it in 1765, and went to the French side (Missouri). The cap- tain of the militia has about twenty slaves, a good stock of cattle, and a water-mill for corn and planks. This village stands on a very fine meadow, about one mile from the Mississippi. " The village of Saint Famille de Kaoquias (Cahokia) is generally reckoned fifteen leagues from Fort Chartres, and six leagues below the mouth of the Missouri. It stands near the side of the Mississippi, and is marked from the river by an island (Duncan's) two leagues long. The vil- lage is opposite the center of this island; it is long and straggling, being three-fourths of a mile from one end to the other. It contains forty-five dwelling houses, and a church near the center. The situation is not well chosen, as in the floods it is generally overflowed two ov three feet deep. This was the first settlement on the Mississippi. The land was purchased of the savages by a few Canadians, some of whom married women of the Kaocjuias nation, and others brought wives from Canada, and then resided tb.ere, leaving tlieir children to succeed them. The inhabitants of this *See ante. Chapter XVI., p. :il4. Pittman's Account of the French Settlements. 393 t under pi, at a ipauy of 3 of tllG liartreH,t tere were d a par- ed to St. took po8- )U8e8 and Assissippi, int. iive tnileft There are ;g ; all the ieaerted it The oap- od stock of 'his village from the L (Cahokia) ft Chartres, It BtandB Id from the The vil- U long and lo end to the lid a church losen, art in |e feet deep. The land |urt, ftotne of and others fere, leaving Lutfl of this place depend and their Indian trade than more on li anting on agriculture, as they scarcely raise corn enough for their own consumption : they have great plenty of poultry, and good stocks of liorned cattle. " The mission of St. Sulpicc had a very fine plantation here, and an excellent house built on it. They sold this estate, and a very good mill for corn and planks, to a Frenchman (M. Gerardine), who chose co remain under the English government. They also disposed of thirty negroes and a good stoclc of cattle to different people in the coun- try, and returned to France in 1764. What is called the fort, is a small house standing in the C3uter of the village. It differs nothing from the other houses, except in being one of the ;joorest. It was formerly inclosed with high pali- sades, but these were torn down and burnt. Indeed, a fort at this place could be of little use." * Concerning the soil, products, commerce, and aborigi- nes of the country, Pittman says : " The soil of this country, in general, is very rich and luxuriant ; it produces all kinds of European grains, hops, hemp, flax, cotton, and tobacco, and European fruits come to great perfection. The inhabitants make wine of the wild grapes, wlilch is very inebriating, and is, in color and taste, very like the red wine of Provence. " In the late wars. New Orleans and the lower parts of Louisiana were supplied with flour, beef wines, hams, and other provisions from this country. At present, its com- merce is mostly confined to the peltry and furs, which are got in traffic from the Indians ; for which are received in return such European commodities as are necessary to carry on that commenje and the support of the inhabitants. * " The old fort hiiH long since disappeared ; no vcstij^o of it can now be Been. The church still stands, and is prooably the oldest houso of worship west of the Alleghany Mountains. Th(> village, insteiii of being ' near the side of the Mississippi,' is nearly a mile to the east of it. This change was mainly wrouglit by the general floo(' of 1844."- History of St. Clair Co., III., 1881, p 827. "The old cov;rt-hou8e was built (by the Americans) in 1795, or thereabouts, at which time Cahokia became the county seat. In 181 4 the county seat was removed to Belle- ville."— Ibid., p. :i2i). 394 Illinois Under British Domination. " The principal Indian nations in this country are the Cascasquias, Kahoquias, Mitcliigamias, and Peoyas ; these four tribes are generally called the Illinois Indians. Except in hunting seasons, they reside near the English settlements in this country. They are a poor, debauched and dastardly people. They count about three hundred and iifty warriors. The Panquiclias(Pianka8haw8),Ma&coutin8, Miarnies, Kick- apous, juid Pyatonons, though not very numerous, are brave and wiM-like people." With regard to tlie Camlet of Prairie du Pont, of which I'ittman makes no mention, Reynolds gives us this information : "The village of Prairie du Pont was settled by emi- grants from the other French villages, in the year 1760, and was a prosperous settlement. It is stated that this vil- lage, in the year 1765, contained fourteen famil'cs. They had their common field and commons, which were (!on- firmed to them by the government of the United States. This village is situated about one mile south of Cahokia, and extended south from the creek of the same name for some distance. It is a kind of suburb to Cahokia."* In order to further illustrate the history of the French Hottlements in Illinois, it is now requisite to give a succinct narration of the English rule over them. Captain Thomas Stirling began the military government of the country on October 10, 1765, with fair and libersil concessions, calcu- lated to secure the good-will and loyalty of the French- (Janadians, and to .stay their further exodus; but his ad- ministration was not of long duration.! On the 4th of the ensuing December, he was succeeded by Major Robert Farmer, who had arrived from Mobile with a detachment of the 34th British infantry. In the following year, after 'Reynold'H Pioneer History, second edition, p. 07. tit nppearB that Captain Stirling did not die while in command at Fort Cliartrofl, as related by the earlier historians of Illinois. On the (•ontrary, he afterward fonght his way up to a brigadier-generalship in the War of the Revolution, and limilly died in England, in 1808, a bar' onet nn(i a general of high rank. — Moses' History of Illinois (Chicago, 1889), Vol. I., p. 137; New York Colonial Docs., VII., 786, note. Successive English Commandants in Illinois. 395 xre the • these Except [ements istardly warriors. ,a, Kick- ,re hrave Pont, of ;s US this I by enii- rear 1760, it this vil- es. They were con- ted States. f Cahokia, e name for Ja."* [the "French a succinct \u Thomas co\intry on lions, calcu- ae l^rench- jut his ad- ^ 4th of the ijor llobert [detacbment year, after III conuniind at ]noiB. On the lin 180H, abar- InoiH (Chicago, I, note. exercising an arbitrary authority over these isoUited and feeble settlements, Major Farmer was displaced by Colonel Edward Cole, who had commanded a regiment under Wolfe, at Quebec. Colonel Cole remained in command at Fort Chartres about eighteen months ; but the position was not congenial to him. The climate was unfavorable to his health, and the privations of life at a frontier post in- creased his discontent. He was accordingly relieved at his own request, early in the year 1768.* Ilia successor was Colonel Johii Reed, who proved a bad exchange for the poor colonists. He soon became so notorious for his mili- tary oppressions of the j)eo})le that he was removed, and gave place to LlGutenant-Colonel John Wilkins, of the 18th, or royal regiment of Ireland, who had formerly com- manded at Fort Niagara. Colonel Wilkins arrived from Philadelphia and as- sumed the command September 5, 1768. He brought out with him seven companies of his regimeiit for garrison duty ; but many of these soldiers succumbed to the mala- rious diseases of the country. Having been authorized by General Gage to institute a court of justice in Illinois for the civil administration of the laws, Wilkins issued his proclamation to that effect on the 21st of November. He next appointed seven nuigistrates or judges, who were to form a court, and to hold monthly sessions for the trial and adjudication of all controversies arising among the people in relation to debts or property. The tirst term of this honorable court was convened at Fort Chartres, December 6, 1768. It was the first court of common law jurisdiction established in the Mississipjti Valley; and, although called by courtesy a common law court, it was, in fact, a very nondescript ti'ibunal. " It was a court of first and last resort ; no appeal lay from it. It was the highest as well as the lowest, the oidy court in the country. It proved any thing but pojmlar, and it is just possible that the worthy judges themselves, taken from among the people, nuiy not have been the most en- ♦Mobob' IliBtory of 111., Vol. I., p. 188. 396 Illinois Under British Domination. lightened exponents of the law. The people were under the laws of England, but the trial by jury — that great bul- wark of the subject's right, coeval with the common law and reiterated in the British constitution — the French mind was unable to appreciate, i)articularly in civil trials. They thought it very inconsistent that the English should refer nice questions relating to the rights of property to a tribu- nal composed of tailors, shoemakers, or other artisans and trades-people, for determination, rather than to judges learned in the law. While thus, under the English admin- istration, civil jurisprudence was sought to be brought nearer to the people, it failed, because, owing to the teach- ings, and perhaps genius of the French mind, it could not be made of the people, " For nearly ninety years had these settlements been ruled by the dicta and decisions of theocratic and military tribunals, absolute in both civil and criminal cases; but as may well be imagined, in a post so remote, where there was neither wealth, culture, nor fashion, all incentives to oppress ■♦:he colony remained dormant, and the extraordinary powers of the priests and commandants were (general'^') exercised in a patriarchal spirit, wliich gained the love and implicit confidence of the people. Believing that their rulers were ever right, they gave themselves no trouble or pains to re- view their acts. Indeed, many years later, when Illinois had passed under the jurisdiction of the United States, the perplexed inhabitants, unable to comi>i'chend the to them complicated machinery of republicanism, begged to be de- livered from the intolerable burden of self-government, and again subjected to the will of a military command- ant."* Subsequent to the treaty of T^aris, on October 7, 1763, Goorge III., King of Great Britain, issued his proclama- tion for the government of the country wrested from France in America, and dividing it into four provinces. In this proclamation he |)rohibited his subjects from ''making any purchases or settlements whatever, or taking possession ot •Davidson & Stuve's Hist. 111., Ist ed., p. 165. ^'''"^^^lin, of Ike English eovemmenl. "■"y of the wild lands beyond th. 21- "-hieh fall into the i^Lie or'""? "' ""^ "'' "- north-west." The object of . ,,"!''!" *™'" ">« 'vest or «- vast and ""cultiva ed rtioro;t w" "''" *" ^^-ve ground for the use of the iT, " ^^ '^*" "*' " ''""tinff- of the great lakes, to n kl V '^''"' "'"'' ''>■ *e navigat o^„ "■ade Within Engl'is 'eo, t, "''t:""™'?- «"• »"d pel ^ government tl.enlas to eo fi ,« th 'f "1-7 '"' "'<* ^"'"e At ant,o slope, within easy reael of ^, " ^'^ 7'"'"'^' '» «"« which would be more comW / '^^"«^'''''> 'I'ippih,, whereas the granting of Zll r " 'T'" '"'" -n,merJ:.' ;nterior would tend^o .'"f;,';';: "','"■''' '" "^ -'"<>«e ;trictive policy o;:,:,r:r,'ent"" fr-^ '""■'•"- ■- - forced. Indeed, one tf t be ''^ ""' ^^ «Wctlj en- ' Colonel VViIki,, . adn.i, ist . ti ^'' '""'''''"' fe-tnres of ;^.--f ''0 parceled ,:::'C;!' I,',.;- ''^ "l-oralit, with *h'ch he ruled to his fav,^ ,e ' t r,f *'"' ''""""■> over and elsewhere, without otle et,. ' T"' '''"'''"elpWa, thorn to re-convey to him a ccrf^ "•:""" "'"" '''^""''g Bj the aforesaid prodan.at on" th,"'^°^*'^' "' the same^ purchasing of lands from the In d • ^"^' "'" '""^"'K or can colonies was strictly fobi<^^nH ""^ "' ">^ A.^eri- «;on being first had and'^olX' 1^' .T" '°'>t-Pecial permis- Colonel Wilkins, and some If bi T ""'^ P'-"'>iWtio„, treated the lands of the French 1 ^ '■'"""'' "> o^ee feted, and granted them awa> Tr^,'^ never received the sanction ofThe K '"'' "-""'"etione or judicial act did their proit V be ^'^' ""'' ^^ "" "'^"1 British crown.* ' ' *^ '"'eome escheated to the lieutenant Colonel Wilkin^' „ country eventually became m „ ^7'"'"?"' "' «'« Ulinoi, :;:: P'-«f^'-^«' 4.in»t hll • I it"'"'' r-«e charges o the public funds. ,f« asl^^d fo t 1 ""^PPropriation , ^™«^he was able to^t^t^urS:: " '"^''"""'' **-•««'«'.'"., 1st ed., p. ,«,. 398 Illinois Under British Domination. But he was deposed from office in September, 1771, and sailed for Europe in July of the following year.* Captain Hugh Lord, of the 18th regiment, became Wilkins' successor at Fort Chartres, and continued in com- mund until the year 1775. It was during his incumbency, in the spring of 1772, that the great freshet occurred in the Mississippi, which undermined and partly destroyed th fortress, so that it was abandoned. The seat of the local government was then removed to Kaskaskia, and the gar- rison took up their quarters at the old fort on the rocky hill or bluff, over against the town. This fort, as herein before stated, had been destroyed by fire in 1766, but it was now repaired or reconstructed, and was named Fort Gage, in token of respect to the British comnuinder-in-chief in America. At this time the liritish garrison here was quite small, comprising, it is said, only twenty men and one com- missioned officer, though there were two companies of mili- tia in Kaskaskia village. On the 2d of June, 1774, Parliament passed an act enlarging and extending the province of Quebec to the Mississippi River, so as to include the territory of the Northwest ; restoring to the people of Canada their ancient laws in civil cases; guaranteeing the free exerciee of their religion, and rehabilitating the Ronuin Catholic clergy with the privileges stipulated in the articles of capitulation at Montreal in 1760. This act was popularly known as the " Quebec Bill." It was intended not only to conciliate the French inhabitants of Canada, and to firmly attach them to the English crown, but to counteract the growing oppo- sition to the home government in the American colonies on the Atlantic seaboard. The measure was a master strok"! of policy on the part of the British ministry, since it allayed disafitection, and tended to prevent the revolt of the Canadian provinces in the War of the Revolution. Who was the immediate successor of Captain Lord in command of the Illinois, is not positively determined. It appears from a letter written by Governor Haldiraand ♦Moses' Hist, of 111., Vol. I., p. 141. ''■"«-!>^A-«:*4tSi .. , 1771, and nt, became led in com- icumbency, irred in the itroyed th^ >f the local id the gar- 1 the rocky t, as herein , but it was Fort Gage, -in-chief in •e was quite id one corn- lies of mili- ased an act bee to the :ory of the heir ancient ;iee of their lolic clergy capitulation lown us the nciliate the ittach them ►wing oppo- !an colonies 8 a master tiistry, since he revolt of i>lution. ptain Lord determined. Haldiraand Kennedy', Ri,,, y^^^^ ^eutena„t-oo„.„,a„,::f :^ Ztu ^'"^'"^ "" ^o"""- - May, 1781; but wo are ro tinfe'"/''"'" "ay, 1775, to offi-r v.a« stationed, or Xt ttT K "' '° ^'"''' '''='' thau to draw his pav * '"''""'' ^^ Performed other Pape" 'VLr;vtT;he'r„ t " t™"- '^'^'^'^ that Philippe Francoi, de Ba«t r'^^'r''^"^ "' Ottawa), command of the British at th!t!' ''*' ^^^''^Wavo was i as Oetober, 1776, and hat h / """ Kaskaskia as early waa approved by his I ^l rSir of " ^'T" -'™anda„^ blave was a native of n»„ 'i ' "^ Carleton.* Roche the French service, uS:'h'e T" ';' ''^''" ="' "^-^t O'-eat Britain he changed his an!'" "' "" -^"""'O- to P^moted. He resided" for m .,?!?"""'' "'"* '''''• «'" ^as was married there in Apri VS. ^""V" ^^'"'kaskia, and records. f '^"' "•'3, as ,s shown by the parish the journal of a river Voyatl " ^ ', '" '™^' '« ™"'ai»ed "edy, with several ™«„««l:,""' "; «'- Patrick Ken- '■■om Easkaskia village to tte t 'J "'" ■""""""■ "*' 3 773 ?» search of copper X F om « """'"•^ '" *''' I""--.' ng journal, we condense the s«w5 r"™™ "'"' ''"erest- -- -N»""- and o/tVe"tr::i,rrdt --, of the Missouri. S, t, l' ^'''<'.^-^°- 'he juu!tit on the.r right, the heavil/ 1 f.beref X'"'';''' "'^^ ""^^'^d, ar as to the site of the presen A U "^'""""a" I^ottom aa he chain of rugged rocks' .d 1^1.;' "r f'""'" *'"«1 the ftasa Bluffs and extends to and f' "''?'' '"S"'" ^elow l^^ljM-'ois. On quitting tteM-r ""^ """*'""'"«'' — — __ ng the M,ee,88.ppi and eater- Mose's HiHfo«, „* r,. ,. . V"il| M08e'« History of III., Vol. I., p. 142. 400 Illinois Under British Domination. ing the Illinois, they found the latter river bo low and its borders so full of weeds and bushes that their progress was much impeded, and they were obliged to row their boat in the deeper water of the channel. The banks are depicted by Kennedy as low on both sides; the course of the stream as N., N. Vj.', and the bottom land as being well timbered with pecan, maple, ash, button-wood, etc.* " There are fine meadows," he tells us, "at a little distance from the river, the banks of which do not crumble away as do those of the Mississippi." On the first day of August, after passing the mouth of the Macoupin, or White Potatoe Creek, the voyagers stopped to refresh themselves at an old wintering ground of the Peorias. In this lower part of the river, they en- countered several small islands, and saw many bufl['alo and deer feeding. On the following day they passed an island called Pierre d Fleche, which had its name from a large hill on the west side of the stream, where the Indians procured the stone from which they chipped their arrow-heads and gun fliui-s. On the 4th our voyagers passed the mouth of the Sangamo, or Sangamon River,f putting in from the east, and on the 7th they reached the southern extremity of Peoria Lake; concerning which, and the remains of the fort then standing there, Kennedy's Journal says: " The morning being foggy, and the river overgrowr>. with weeds along its sides, we could make but little (head) way. About twelve o'clock we got to the old Peoria fort and village, on the western shore of the river, and at the * " The kinds of timber most abundant (in Illinois) are oaks of various species, black and white walnut, ash of several kinds, elm, sugar- maple, honey-locust, hackberry, linden, hickory, cotton-wood, pecan, mulberry, buckeye, sycamore, wild-cherry, box-elder, sassafras, and per- simmon. Tn the southern and eastern parts of the state are yellow pop- lar and beech ; near the Ohio are cypress, and in several counties are clumps of yellow pine and cedar. The undergrowth is redbud, papaw, sumach, plum, crab-apple, grape-vines, dogwood, spice-bush, green- brier, hazel, etc. The alluvial soil of the rivers produces cotton-wood and sycamore timber of amazing size." — Peck's Oazetteer of Illinois. ' t To what extent, if any, the Sangamon was ever explored by the French does not appear of record. low and its )rogre88 was heir boat in are depicted f the stream i\\ timbered " There are C3e from the as do those the mouth be voyagers ring ground 'er, they en- buffalo and id an island a large hill ,n8 procured v^-heads and he mouth of n from the •n extremity riains of the ys: ' overgrown. little (head) Peoria fort , and at the s) are oaks of ids, elm, sugar- -wood, pecan, afras, and per- re yellow pop- il counties are edbud, papaw, B-bush, green- es cotton-wood / Illinois. ;plored by the Notice of Peoria Village. stockadeof th,-c r> • ^^^P"b]e current \\r v «ta„di„;* Tr/""™.f"rt d-troyed by fie hi 1°"."'' ""• 'S- i he summ t on wh- .»,\i ? ' ""^ ^^^ ^iouses If;, to the point where the rive '"^'^''"^' "'"J "P the to be navigable. A mil ! ^ ''"<' ""^en bed a« „{ f « -apids ia the im "if ,: ,7 ^' t'- voyage':',,:: 'ed !!!:" ""•'^-'■ve ...iles farther. fLTn. """'"'"''"' ">^ '""d _ Waving crossed a northern Tn tlie above citati was a familiar loopUf ; "^P^^' ^l^e southern extra J-. ^'''^'" the authentic account "^'^^ '" *heir wake Th '''^'^'''' ^^« ^'^^li as ity until I77rX .T^ '""'^'""°"« European J^,^^^ '"' '^'^^^^'-^''•, no north-western shte 0;'.,"'^ ^^ ^^ ^^"^^ ^'^^'r"'. '" ^^^'^ ^^-■- HypoliteMail et Who • ' '''^'- ^* *««k its natl T ^'^"" «" '^e quently chan«,P^ f Tu ^^'^ small Frem-h o / '^ '"^ bravery count of tef 't ^' "''' ^"d^^" Village at tho f ^'"^^"^ ^«« subse-' ^•""y efff cted1,7^^: !t^l^^:-^ othe? J^^^^^ ^^/^e lalce, on al of Peoria. (See E^h' '':' ^"^ ^^e new villat^,,^' " ^''""^f^r was was destroyed bvfr. I ^^'^^^^y ^^ Peoria 1 n ■'^"'^^ *^^ ^^me W What is now A In '^^T '''"'' ^^-^ly t::' tt"ed ^ "^^f ^'" of the villim. „ I • X. '^^"^ » wooden for^ ». "^"^tea to and be- '818; and f„:'":^ "- «""d F„„ cCtnt ZT" "' "" »i^ 26 'American pioneers. ^^^^ waa per- 402 . Illinois Under British Domination. tributary of the Illinois called the Fox River, they struck and followed a trail up the Illinois to an island, where some Frencli traders were found en camped. The latter, however, could give Kennedy no information in regard to the copper mine he was seeking. He now hired one of the traders to take himself and party in a canoe back to the place where they had left their boat. From thence, on the way down the Illinois, they met with a Frenchman named Jeanette, w)io assisted them in a further search for tlie mine; but Kennedy finally returned to Kaskaskia without having discovered any copper. The meeting with French- Canadians on this expedition showed that thoy still hunted and trafficked with the Indians in this part of the country.* In 1778, when Colonel George Rogers Clark, and his Virginia militia, numbering less than two liundred men, achieved the bloodless conquest of Illinois, not a single British soldier was found doing duty in the country, they having all been withdrawn to other and more important points. M. de Rocheblave was still in command for the En- glish at Fort Gage; but, owing to his contumacious behavior, he was sent a prisoner of war to Virginia, where he was pa- roled and afterward broke his parole. In Kaskaskia and Cahokia the French militia were well organized, and they were utilized by Clark f in maintaining his conquest. France had exercised sovereignty over the countr}'^ of the Illinois for ninety-two years, commencing with the dis- covery by Joliet and Marquette, in 1673, and ending with the surrender of Fort Chartres, in 1765. The actual En- glish possession lasted but thirteen years, or fifteen from the treaty of Paris in 1763 till 1778. In October of the latter year, the Virginia Legislature erected the conquered territory into the County of Illinois, and Colonel John Todd,| of Kentucky, was appointed lieutenant-commandant * See " Description of Western North America," by Captain Gilbert Imlay: 3d ed., London, 1797, pp. 507-512. t George Rogers Clark, the greatest character in the early American history of Illinois, was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, November 19, 1752, and died, unmarried, near Louisville, Ky., in February, 1818. X Todd was subsequently killed at the battle of Blue Licks, Ky., in 1782. n. 3r, they struck island, where I. The latter, n in res^ard to red one of the e back to the thence, on the chniau named earch for the ;a8kia without with Frencii- ly still hunted the country.* Jiark, and his lundred men, not a single country, they 3re important nd for the En- ious behavior, sre he was pa- Laskaskia and zed, and they •nquest, he country of • with the dis- . ending with 16 actual En- r fifteen from 'ctober of the he conquered !;!olonel John ■commandant Captain Gilbert early American jinia, November ebruary, 1818. le Licks, Ky., in states. ^""■"■O" to the Govern^rt'^^X'ir"^'' me United kask hiind ^'''•^uly, 1778, when CoJ i ! ""> high, rto Ja'Z„" f """"io-ale poputoTo " 'tT'"-'*"' '"o '?*'- 'he J[«i,,i i " o » n,™ skeleton „f her fo^ ° """h date she ""age byadeep ,.h. , '^'"''aAia River, "f °™wee)f. I„ A„ri| "'■'".'ha. /o™:'^h,S '""'" "- '"""rh^Tr,""'""' """ve .ha has become a insert ZPT'''- "''ereoTth" *r"" »"«•". and *:tereZ,?r-'-^^^^^^^^^^^^ '»™er great„e« " ° ™.'"' h"' yet have 1ft T*'"' Town', a"d "^-hshestoo,^.^";;- »-.th old Karta^a Vr: "'"" °' 'heir l,„o« . , '*^ >''*-. i™™i„,,„e:,",r"'/S"'«"''„.oed . "-l-ia :fthrt:'?"^ -""'hn, the ha„ . "" "' "" "enrj. s. Baker, betor "ttT''-" ''^'«'« "-on aTa^T' *" "■■"«« '''«™-«ateBar..„rt,::<'r:,tfs^^^^ 404 G-encral Deseription of thr FVench Colonifits. CHAPTER XXI. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FRENCH COLONISTS. In this concluding chapter it is proposed to depict, with as much fidelity as possible, considering the distance of time and place, and the scantiness of authentic data, the village abodes, household and farming implements, occupa- tions, dress, manners, customs, amusements, the social and religious life, peculiar to the early French communities iti Illinois and Louisiana. Unlike the English and American pioneers, who pre- ferred sparse settlements and a free range on account of their desire to become land owners, the French settlers in- variably established themselves in irregular yet compact villages, with such nari'ow streets between the houses tliai they could easily carry on their light and animated conver- sations across them. These villages were commonly located on the banks of some river, adjacent to a fort or other se- cure place, and convenient to both timber and prairie ; the one furnishing them with firewood and building material, and the other svith ground for tillage. Their primitive habitations were doubtless little better than the Indian wigwams — a mere protection from the weather — but in j)roeoss of time they erected more sub- stantial houses. In general, their dwellings were one story liigh, built in a simple and inexpensive way, after the style brought from Canada, or France. The framework con- sisted of roughly }iewn posts, firmly set in the earth, a few inches (sometimes a few feet) apart, and bound togetlier by horizon*^al cross-timbers, — the spaces between being filled in with mortar, made of common (jlay and Spanish moss * or cut straw. The walls were whitewashed, both within * This mosB wan found growing in great abundanoe on the foreHt frees of the count: y. "i^ta.iit-jijVi-i":^" liMs. 'ri'eir House, and FurnUare. ONISTS. d to depict, the distance tic data, the Bnts, occupa- e social and imunitieH in rs, who pre- 1 account of li settlers in- y'et compact I houses thai ated ccnver- lonly located or other se- prairie ; the ng material, little better Du from the more sub- sre one story "ter the style ework con- earth, a few togetlier by being tilled misb moss* both within I rrn the totmi »nd without whi\J ^^^ "^f^nted wif 1 I *^t;ic laicl with n7itw,k batte,, work, and „«,„ „''';,"'• h" ''"<"'« were of nl,i, '^'7low«^^e,,«,,„,, ; °% out of ,valnut. T e •;•"■"'■ .»'.vle, H,o„.,, JZ'tZ. "" "'""" '" ''- «""*• Pe- '"■■^■'"■.v we,.e «, be f,„„„ ' ' "'l"f"w«Hhe,|. Few artiel™ „f »"por»ti,ion. '" ■' l'«-P'« .neli„„,J to ,„■„»,. ,;;"j '" fi.e V.t'n,''irv'lll'''''''" " •'""' " '■"""»"» Hel,le " „„, , • ■ l'»^- 1 " ea^l. vill.if,, „,,;"^^ .77'''''-<' t.-eate,l i„ this f co.muo„ «„M, ti„r„,t; , ' ^^;' " '-■'.".. ,,o,.ti „; "■' '" ""-' '""' -"■ '- m V Th' T'" r"""^ '•'■"1-"-- ■ 406 General Description of the French Colonists. the person in possession became idle or negligent so as to injure the common interest, he forfeited his claim. As ac- cessions were made to families from time to time, by mar- riage or otherwise, portions of land were taken from the commons and added to the common field for their benefit. The time of plowing, sowing, and harvesting was subject to the enactments of the village council and comniandaut. Even the form and construction of the inclosures to tlieir dwellings and other buildings were made a matter of special regulation by the local c;ommandant, and were ar- ranged with a view to defense in case of any sudden up- rising of the Indians. In the gardens of the villagers, the common culinary plants, witii some medicinal herbs and small fruits, were cultivated by the side of the modest violet, the fragrant rose, and the stately sunflower. Here, too, the apple, peach, and pear trees blo8S)me<- and matured their de- licious fruits; and the prolifii^ 3'Va,pe-vine, trained along the inclosures or against the eaves of the cottages, yielded its rich vintage in its season. In addition to the varied pro- ducts of their gardens, the!" ta])les were otherwise well sup- plied from the spoils of the ciiase. There was always a considerable diversity of pursuits among the French inhabitants of Louisiana proper, but in the dependency of the Illinois, the colonists applied themselves mainly to agriculture. The principal crops raised were wheat, oats, rye, hops (for the breweries), and tobacco. The last named article was highly esteenv^d Vjy the nuiles for smoking, and by the elderly fenuilet; * -" when it was cured and pulverized into snuff. Indian ii vas not much grown, excjept for hominy, and to fatten , • ine. For use as bread, the French entertained for it a settled aversion. Their horses, of which they did not have a great number, had iieen introduced chiefly from the vS})anish settlements in Mexico, and were small, yet strong and hardy, perform- ing well for their size. Horned cattle were easily and ex- tensively raised. They were first brought into Illinois from Canada, and, though not large, were neat and well formed. Farming and other Implements. 407 30 as to As ac- by mar- [Voni the r benetit. ,8 subject luaudaut. i to their natter of [ were ar- iddeii up- II culinary ruits, were e fragrant the apple, L their de- d aU)ng the yielded its varied ]>ro- Ise well sup- |of pursuits fr,butinthe themselves hiised were lid tobacco, he males for ihcn it was l\8 not much For use id iiversion. nit nund)er, Hcttlements |y, pcrform- *ily and ex- [\io lUitioifl lilt and well The farming implements of the colonists were of the crudest and most primitive pattern. They used wooden plows* for breaking and tilling the ground, hand-tiails for threshing their grain, and rude wooden carts, without a particle of iron, in place of wagons. These implements were mostly the liandiwork of the farmer himself, aided by his slaves (if he had any), or by those of his more fortunate neighbor. Oxen were employed in plowing or breaking the earth, and horses for riding and drawing the carts. The oxen were yoked by the horns instead of the neck, and were guided by strips or ropes of untanned hide. The horses were driven tandem, that is, one before the other, and were directed and controlled by the whip and voice, without the convenience of reins. The harness used was made of raw hide, since they had no tanned leather for any purpose. Although cows were plentiful and milk abundant, the common churn was a thing unknown to these simple colon- ists, thei|* butter being nuide by shaking the cream in a bottle, or breaking it in a bowl with a spoon. Nor were the spinning-wheel and loom (so conunon with the Ameri* can pioneers) to be seen in their houses. The traders sup- plied all goods or stuff's for the use of both sexes, not from stocks exposed on shelves in stores, as at present, but from chests and trunks, or tied up in bales. The costume of the early French settlers was some- what motley in its composition, but they had an inherited predilection for the blue in color. For clothing, the men wore bhirtf and waistcoats of cotton, with coarse blue cloth or deer-skin trousers, and moccasins, after the Indian fashion. Over these was worn, in winter, the indispensable capote, or long woolen coat, with a blue hood attachment, which, in wet or cold weather, was drawn over the head, and at other times fell back on the shoulders as a cape, like * "The old plow used by tht* French would be a euriosity at this day. It had no ooultor, but l^d a larirt^ wooden mold-board. The handleH were short, and ptood almost perpendicular. The beam was nearly straight, and rested on an axle supported by two small whoels, which made the plow uusteaily." — AVy/cj/c/s' Pioneer History. mm I 408 General Description of the French Colonists, thsit of the habitants of ^jower Canada. Among the voy- af/eurs and traders, the head was more often covered with a blue cotton handkerchief, folded in the shape of a turban. In like manner, but neatly trimmed with ribbons, was formed the fancy head-dress worn by the young w^omon at balls and other festive occasions. The dress of the matron, though plain and with the antique short waist, was neat and varied in its minor details to suit the diversities of womanly taste. Both sexes wore moccasins of Indian manufacture, which, for jtublic occasions, werie variously decorated with small shells, beads and ribbons, giving them quite a showy appearance. Notwithstanding their tawny complexions, and an ap- pearance of languor among the people, the efiects in part of climate, there was nothing of that sickly, cadaverous look, and listless air and bearing so observable in the Cre- oles of the West Indies and Central America. The counte- nances of the young maidens in particular were lively and engaging, with their black eyes, raven tresses, graceful forms, and quick, elastic steps, like that of the mountain 3f whom Scott has TTiaidt »g "A foot more light, a step more true, Ne'er from the heath-fiower dashed the dew." They were all essentially French in character, with something of the Spanish gravity, but the tout ensemble indicated cheerfulness and an agreeable composure.* A quick-witter' people, they had a penchant for nick-names, both as applied to persons and i)lace8. For example, they iirst named Ste. Genevieve, Mo., Misere^ <is expressive of the misery or poverty of the place. Carondelet received the derisive tuime of Vide Foche, or Empty Pocket,t and St. Louis was long known as Pain Court, or Short-bread. ♦ Breose's Early Ill's, p. 103. ' t (krondelet, Mo., was founded by Clement Delor de Tregette, as early*aH 17(17, and was afterward iinnied in cotriplinient to the Karon de (carondelet, who was Spanish governor of fjouisiana from 1792till 175)7. ThiH P'reueli village is siluat(>d about six miles south of the county court house, in St. Louis, and now forms a part of the latter eity. Boating on the Mississippi. 409 ; the rov- ed witli a a turban. 3ons, was women at le matron, s neat and : womanly luufacturc, rated with te a showy and an ap- cts in part cadaverous s in the cre- Thecounte- e lively and ;e8, graceful e mountain iracter, with \out ensemble ^losure.* A nick-names, :ample, they Ixpressive of , received the [et,t 51 "d St. )hort-bread. i(li> Trcgotte, as to the Baron tul7«2tilU797. |u> county court Ity. Kaskaskia was familiarly called An Kns, which became corrupted into Okaw. Among- these colonists, the mechanical occupations were confined to a few carpenters, tailors, stone-masons, boat-builders, and blacksmiths ; which last could repair a firelock or a rifie. The artisans journeyed from village to village in quest of employment, and were ready to turn their hands to any kind of work. Now and then might be found among them a millwright, who could nutke or repair the run- ning-gear of a water-mill, or build a horse mill The only wind-mill in the (.'OUTitry, of which we find any mention, stood on the road between Kaskaskia and Prairie du Kocher. Coopers were sciarce, though they should have been in de- mand, for large quantities of fiour were manufiu'tured and shipped to the southern markets ; but no other bagging ap- pears to have been used in the packing and shipment of flour than that Jittbrded by dried elk and deer-^kins. Aside from the business of Imnting and snuUl trattick- ing with the Indians, which attracted the more indolent, the most captivating and adventui'ous em[>loynient for the young or middle-aged Frenchman was boating on the Mis- 8is8i])pi River. Success in this arduous calling <leiuanded the cOiiibined exercise of many qualities, such as bodily activity, (;oura&'e, capability of undergoing great fatigue, a quick eye, a steady hand, and withal good judgment. The voyage from Fort Chartres oi* Kaskaskia to New Or- leans was the principal and niost important one. It usually consumed about three months' tiin.-, and was more .lifiicult and hazardous than a tri[) across the Atlantic, even at that day. The river, then as now, was tortuous and I'apid, its deep chaniu^l being obstructed by snags and sawyers, and continually shifting its course. Nor were these the only difficulties to be encountered in navigating the stream. From Kaskaskia to the vicinity of New Orleans, there were no white settlements ol' any couHecpience, exc^ept at the Arkansas, Natchez, and, later on. Baton Rouge; and the route was more or less beset by marauding bands of Chickasaws and other Indians, whom French i)ower had not been able to subdue. Mie 410 General Description of the French Colonists. The voyage waa made in large bateaux,^ each manned by from sixteen to twenty hands, and going in convoys for mutual safety. The boats were laden with the surplus pro- ductions of the Illinois country, which were exchanged for such necessaries and luxuries as their own labor or soil did not produce, or else converted into the gold and silver coin- age of France. Accoun.ts were all kept in livres; and, be- sides coin, good pelts, at a fixed rate per pound, were a recognized measure of values, and passed freely in com- mercial transactions throughout the province. The upward or return voyage was very tedious and laborious, generally taking from three to four months. Every means was resorted to by the boatmen — by keeping in the eddies near the shore, by sometimes crossing the river, and by the frequent use of the tow rope — to make headway against the dead weight of the current. Under such circumstances an Indian ambuscade might be fatal to the crew of one boat, but as several went together the danger was proportion- ately lessened. Attacks from the savages, however, were less to be dreaded than the malignant fevers, which swept away numbers of the men annually. The flotilla was usually commanded by an officer of the king's troops, when a suitable one could be had, or, if not, one was selected from among the more experienced of the boatmen themselves. To reach this distinction, or ev^en that of captain of a single boat, was deemed an object worthy of ambition ; yet but few attained this coveted prize of their perilous calling. Strict militar}^ diRcii)line was enforced, and a regular guard was mounted at each stop- ping place at night. On returning from their protracted river voyages, the boatmen, like sailors the world over, were very prodigal of their earnings. " They were as liberal as princes, and valued money as nothing more than a means ])y which pleasure could be purchased and t;i>petites in- dulged. Saving was no part of their economy." | In con- * The bateau was a long and rather light huilt hoat, of about twenty tons burden. t Breese's Earlj' IlIinoiH, p. 'JOS. ^ Social Condition an Environments. 411 I manned nvoys tor rplus pro- anged for or soil did ilver coin- ; and, be- d, were a ly in coni- edious and .ths. Every ping in tlie iver,andby way against •cunistances 3rew of one proportion- wever, were yliich swept m officer of lo bad, or, if L'xporicnced ^tinction, or Ld an ()\)ject l)veted prize loipline was eacdi stop- protracted |l over, were liB liberal as m a means jupetites in- |- In con- 1 about twenty vival intercourse, they were much addicted to relating long stories about their voyages, adventures, and hair-breadth escapes among the savages. For ordinary locomotion on water, the canoe was in- dispensable to the early French settler. Those in common use were mostly hollowed out of the trunks of trees, that of the cypress being preferred on account of its lightness and elasticity. The birch bark canoes came from the region of the high northern lakes, and were principally used by the Canadian coyagcurs and fur-traders. They were con- structed of a slight frame-work of cedar, incased with the flexible bark of the "Canoe Birch," and were remarkable fci' their lightness and buoyancy. Of difterent sizes, they were finished alike at both ends, and were built to carry from four to twelve persons. Charlevoix informs us that the Ottawa Indians were the most expert builders of these canoes, but that the French were more skillful in handling them. Owing to their extraordinary tact for ingratiating themselves with the aboriginal tribes, by whom tliey were surrounded, the Illinois French escaped almost entirely those broils and border strifes which weakened and some- times destroyed other and less favored European colonies. Whether navigating the interminable rivers of the country, or threading the solitudes of the wild forests and prairies in quest of game ; whether at home in their villages, or as participants in the religious exorcises of the same Catholic church, the red men became their every-day associates acd assistants, and were treated with the kindness and considera- tion of brothers. The social condition of the early colonists was thus formed, to some extent, by the influence of their Indian neighbors with whom they nuiintained such friendly relations. But while the barbarism of the savages was, in some degree, softened by this intercourse, the uiorals of the French were not improved. Many of the original settlers, and particularly the tra\>pers and traders, contracted mar- riages or temporary alliances with the Indian women, from which sprang the mixed progeny known as "half- 412 General Description of the French Colonists. breeds."* They made expert hunters and trappers, and indefatigable boatmen, but in their general characteristics partook more of the savage than the civilized man. The natural home of the "half-breed'' is on the outskirts, the boundaries of American civilization, where he still flour- ishes as in days of yore. The example of the Canadian and Illinois French in amalgiunating with the Indians, although adopted more per- haps as a matter of policy and convenience, was not one to be commended ; for time and experience have abundantly shown that all such intermixture of races degrade the su- perior witliout materially improving the inferior race. In the case of the French, thev did not sink to the level of barbarism, yet they were left in a condition below that of true civilization. There are, it is true, some English and American half and quarter-breeds; but, as a rule, the Anglo-Americans have ever disdained to mingle their blood with a distinctively inferior race, and to this circum- stance they owe, in no slight degree, their pre-eminence among the enlightened races of mankind. In the early years of the French settlements in Louisi- ana, there was very little money of any kind in circulation, business being transacted by barter and exchanf'e. After the collapse of Law's "credit system" (1720), the money in use consisted of gold and silver coins of the French and Spanish mints. The value of every thing was reckoned in livres ; the livre being equivalent to the modern franc, five of which equal ninety-five cents. Then there was the louis d'or, a French gold coin, valued at $4.84, and the Spanish doubloon, a gold coin worth about |15.93. During Gov. Kerlerec's administration, a paper money called bans was extensively issued at New Orleans, but it never had much circulation in the dependency of the Illinois. It was emitted in sums of from ten sous or cents to one hun- dred livres, was signed by the governor and intendant of the province, and was so called from the first word on the * In the French villages of Missouri, the half-breeds received the uic-naino of "Gumbos." ts. Their Amusements and Festal Days. 413 ppers, and ,racteri8tic8 man. The Ltskirts, the still flour- ; French in sd more per- 8 not one to abundantly •ade the bu- lor race. In the level of elow that of English and a rule, the mingle their ) this cireum- pre-eminence nts in Louisi- n circulation, •vnr-e. After i), the money French and as reckoned [lodern franc, ;here was the .84^ and the 93. During >y called bons lit never had Illinois. It to one hun- intendant of ord on the Ids received the face of the paper — Bon pour la somme payable en lettre de change sur le tresor. Separated from their mother-land by the Atlantic Ocean, and by a thousand miles of interior navigation from Montreal on the one hand, and from New Orleans on the other, the French colonists of Illinois were obliged to rely upon themselves not only for the necessaries of life, but also for their amusements. Socially inclined, light- hearted and gay, their principal diversion was dancing, in which all classes freely joined, to the enlivening music of the violin. When parties were assembled for this purpose, it was customary to choose some of the older and more dis- creet persons to direct the entertainment, preserve order, and see that all present had an opportunity to participate in the pleasurable pastime. Whenever those in authority on such occasions decided that the entertainment had been pro- tracted long enough, it was brought to a close, and thus excesses were avoided. Then, again, the monotony of their existence was broken by the nmny fetes or festal days connected with the Catholic church. All the people shared alike in the harm- less merriment of shrove-ti*''^ and in the fun and frolic of the carnival, and at its close i. 'paired to the sacred precincts of the sanctuary to receive the sprinkling of ashes, typica' of their conclusion. All, too, observed the same self-denying ordinances during the Lenten season, wliich terminated with the festival of Easter. Society, of course, had its di- visions even here ; but those artificial distinctions between the rich and the poor, which obtain in older and more pol- ished communities, were not recognized or maintained among these secluded colonists. In ^aeir domestic relations, they were in general ex- emplary and kind, aftectionate to their children and lenient toward their slaves. In fact, the family circle was usually a very cheerful and happy one. The male servants worked in the fields with their masters, faring as well as they did, and had small plots of ground assigned them, and the use of their master's team to cultivate the same; thus mutual esteem and confidence were inspired. The females assisted 414 General Di'^cription of the French Colonists. their niistresHes in the kitchen and nursery, and then, in neat attire, accompanied them to matins and ves- pers. When sick or disabled, they were nursed with tenderness and care ; and, in fine, were the recipients of so much liurnane treatment as to be wholly unmindful of the fetters with which custom and state policy had bound them. The language spoken by the commonalty was not pure French, but a patois^ or corrupted i)rovincial dialect. No common schools existed in the country, nor any system of public instruction. The Jesuits imparted some little of that learning, with which they were so richly endowed, to such young Creoles as they found " thirsting for the waters of the Pierian spring;" yet no plan of general education was ever adopted, or even seriously considered, by those in au- thority. Hence the charge of illiteracy is laid against this people; but, as the poet Gray has said — .. " Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." The Roman Catholic creed, however, was instilled into the minds of all from their earliest childhood, and the ta- pering spires of its little churches or chapels arose in every hamlet. In them was performed the marriage ceremony, the priest consecrating the nuptial tie and recording the act, which was attested by witnesses. There the sacrament of baptism was administered to infants and adults; there, too, were held the last sad obsequies for the dead, and masses were said for the souls of those " not dying in the odor of sanctity." * "• Separated thus from all the world, these people ac- quired many peculiarities. In language, dress, and man- ners, they lost much of their original polish ; but they re- * Breese's Early 111., p. 209. i ^^ .;.::. Note. — " The inhabitants," writes Reynolds, " were devout and strong believers in the Roman Catholic Church. They were willing to fight and die for the maintenance of the doctrines of their church. They considered the Church of Rome infallible, emanating directly from God, and therefore all the dogmas were received and acted on without a why or wherefore." — Pivucer HiMory of Illinois, p. 55. Origin of the Different Classes q/" Colonists. 415 ind then, and ves- rsed with ents of so iful of the lad hound L8 not pure alect. No system of ittle of that ed, to such -^ waters of ication was hose in au- igainst this e." nstilled into and the ta- ose in every ceremony, cording the e sacrament ults; there, dead, and ying in the people ac- and man- )ut they re- )ut and strong ,'illing to fight church. They jtly from God, /ithout a why tained, and (tlieir descendants) still retain, many of the leadiiii^ characteristics of their nation. Tliev took care to keep up their ancient holidays and festivals; and with few luxuries, and fewer wants, they were prohahly as cheer- ful and as happy a people as any in existence.*' * The foregoing descriptiv* account applies not only to the early French colonists in Illinois and all Northern Lou- isiana, hut also, with only slight alteration, to their village settlements in Southern Louisiana. At New Orleans, the po- litical and commercial seat of government, there was always a certain number of people of family and education. There were the rude semblance of a court, a kind of theater, and amusements of a liigher grade than could be found else- where within the limits of the large province. The deni- zens of New Orleans were wont to look upon their rural countrymen in much the same manner as they themselves were regarded bv the refined circles of Paris. Amonor tiie mixed jtopuiation of that colonial metropolis, however, drunkenness, brawls, and dueling were unhappily too prev- alent, both before and after the Spanish occupation of the country.f Some few of the Louisiana colonists were of noble origin ; msmy were military officers, while others were born gentlemen, and the ecclesiastics were all educated people. AVith but few exceptions, the original immigrants to Illinois had come by way of Canada from the north of France, and mostly belonged to the bourgeois and paysan classes. But many of those who afterward settled in Lower Louisiana were from the south-western provinces of France, bordering on the Pyrenees and the Atlantic. A number of these were well educated business men from the larger cities and towns, and some of them made their. way up the Mississippi to Kaskaskia and St. Louis, where they founded influential families, still cxisting.l It was, perhaps, a fortunate trait, and certainly an amiable one, in * Sketches of the West, by Judge James Hall, vol. 1, p. 150. t Gayarr^'e Louisiana, vol. 1. X Billon's Annals of Early St. Louis. 416 (Tenerol Description of the French Colonists. the French character, that such men could so readily re- sign the comforts and pleasures of civilized life in their natal land, and make themselves contented among savages in the remote and uncultivated regions of the Mississippi, where they seldom heard from their homes over the sea more than once in twelve months. [ AUTHORITIES.] For the facts embodied in the foregoing chapter, we are indebted to various sources, but chiefly to the labors of Judge Sidney Breese and ex- Gov. John Reynolds, both of whom had early an excellent opportuni- ties for observing the French character and manners. Breese resided in Kaskaskia from 1S18 to 1835, and then at Carlyle, Illinois, until his death in 1878; while Reynolds lived in Cahokia from 1814 to about 1830, and afterward in Belleville, 111., until the close (if his life in 180"). It may be added here that Breese's "Early History of Illinois '' was first given to the public in the shape of an extended historical address, in December, 1842, but it was not published in book form until aft(ir his decease, and, then, without his previous revision or correction. ReyuoMs' " Pioneer History," an < rtaining and instructive work, lirst appeared in 1852. Among 1 1 writers on French- American history, the two most distinguished are Francis Parkman and the laU; Dr. John (iilmary Shea.* Their various and valuable publications cover the entire period of the French rule on this continent, and are characterized by profoundness of erudition and elegance of style. To these may now be added Dr. Wm. Kingsford, of Ottawa, Canada, whose elaborate and able " History of Canada from the Earliest Times to 1841," has taken rank among the standard publications of the day. But those who would become thoroughly informed ooncernini: this early and intricate branch of American history, should study the writings of Charlevoix, Hennepin Le Clercq, Bossu, La Hontan, and the Jesuit missionaries. ♦ This emiiKMit Catliolic .scholar, after a 1i>iik and laborious literary i-areer, died at his home in Elizabelli, New .Jersey, the 22d of February, 18!V2, aged si.xty-uitie. ts. readily re- fe in their ng savages Mississippi, /er the sea re indebted to Breese and ex- ent opportuni- eese resided in until his death \)out 1830, and W,,"). It may be s lirst given to 1, in December, is decease, and, lolds' " Pioneer leared in 1852. f, the two most (^ilmaryShea.* period of the y profoundness be added Dr. |l able " History [ink among the would become ;ate branch of oix, Hennepin Is. [iry career, died at sixty-nine. INDEX. A. . Abenakis Indians, a band of near Fort Miami on Lake Michigan, page loO; they form a pan of La.^alle's colony on the Illinois River, 148. Abcrcrombie, General, and commander-in-chief of the British army (1758), 332; repulsed by Montcalm at Ticonderoga, 333. Acadia, settled by the French under DeMonts, 10, 11; origin of the name, 10, note ; when changed to Nova Scotia, 329, note. Acadiaus, deportation of to English colonies, 329 and note; settlement formed by in Lower Louisiana, 368. Accault or Ako, Michael, companion of Father Hennepin on the Mia- si.ssippi, 105; his wife the daughter of a Kaskaskia chief, 204. Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 313, 329. Akansoa, or Akansa. (See Arkansas.) Algonqi'.i'is, on the St. Lfwrence, 13 and note; mention, 34, 48. Alibamoiir, location of, 2(;c, note. Allouvz, Claude, founds the Jesuit Mission on Green Bay, 51 ; intrigues with the Miamis against La Salle, 92; re-establishes Marquette's mis- sion at the great town of the Illinois, 196; his description of the town, 197; death at Ft. Miami, on Lake Michigan, 198. Amusements of the early Illinois colonists, 413. Anticosti Island, discovered by Cartier, 5 ; granted to Joliet, 68. Aquipaguetin, a Sioux chief, the adopted father of Hennepin, 107. Arkansas River, discovered by De Soto. 29. Arkansas Post, 181, note; established by Henri de Tonty, 182; mention, 190, 242. " : . .: . Arkansas, villages of the, 58, 138, 183. Aubry, Charles, Chevalier de, defeats an English force near Fort Du- quesue, 334 ; becomes acting French governor of Louisiana, 367 ; Champigny's portrait of, 367-8, note; he delivers possession of the province to O'Reilly, 374; perishes by drowning in the river Ga- ronne, 379 and note. Authorities cited in this work, 416, note. B. Bahamos, or Ebahamos, an errant tribe of southern Texas, 162, 167. Bancroft, George, references to his History of the United States, 29, note, 205, 219, note, 285, 290. Balize, a hamlet at the mouth of the Mississippi, 371, note. Beaujeu, Captain or Count de, pilots La Salle's Sea expedition into Gulf 27 (417) .i'.»M.W^!.i.-..l»;,„.-,,„. ,», 418 Index. of Mexico, 156; his bickerings with I.a Salle, 156-7; takes leave of the latter on coast of Texas, 150. Beaujeu, Daniel Lienard de, i>lans defeat of Braddock on the Monon- gaheia, 827 ; is killed in the battle, 328. Belle Fontaine, lieutenant under Tonty at Fort St. Louis, of the 111., 184. Bellerive, Louis St. Ange de, commandant at Post de Vincennes, 302; he surrenders Fort Chartres to Capt. Stirling, 360; twice ap- pointed commandant at Fort Chartres, 361, note ; goes to St. Louis, Mo., and takes command there, 385; is admitted into a Spanish regiment, 385 ; dies in St. Louis at a ripo age, 386, note. Bienville, Jean Baptiste, Sieur de, accompanies his brother Iberville to Louisiana, 213; succeeds Sauvolle in command at Fort Biloxi, and on the Mobile, 223; is appointed lieutenant-commandant under Crozat, 239; erects Fort iiosalie at Natchez, 241 ; commissioned governor of the Province of Louisiana, under the Company of the West, 260; founds the city of New Orleans (in 1718\ 263; takes Pensacola from the Spaniards, 26(>-7 ; his first campaign against the Chickasaws 2iK); second campaign, 295 ; retires from office under a cloud, 296; sails for France regretted by the colonists, 297; his in- terview with the Duke de Choiseul, to protest against the transfer of Louisiana to Spain, 369; death and character, 369 and iwk. Billons (F. L.) Annnls of early St. Louis, 389, 415. Boating on the Lower Mississippi, 409. Bceuf, Fort Le, gr Fl. sur la rhnere au B(mf, situation of, 321 ; Washing- ton's wintev journey thither, 322 ; mention, 350. Boisbriant, Pierre Duqu^ de, arrives in Louisiana as king's lieutenant, 260; is sent to command at the dependency of the Illinois, 270; builds old Fort Chartres, 271 ; land grants executed by, 272-3; be- comes governor ad interim of Louisiana, 276. Bossu, M., Captain in the French marines, and Chevalier of St. Louis, his account of the Spanish-Mexican expedition into the country of the Misfouri Indians, 269; a id notice of the rebuilding of Fort ('hartres, 313, note. Bouquet, Col. Henry, conquers the Delawr.res and Shawnees on the river Muskingham, 351 ; releases many wliite prisoners, 351. Braddock, Fdward, Uritish general, lands at Alexandria, Va., and marches against Fort Duquesne, 326 ; his disastrous defeat at Battle of the Monongahela, 327; skstoh of his military career, 328, note. Br6benf, Jean de, one of the first Jesuit missionaries in Canada, 16, 18. Breeae, Sidney references to and citations from his Early History of Illinois, 89, mle ; 96, note; 112, nok ; 147, 204, 273-4, 287, 305, ?10, 314, 381, 408,410, 414,416, note. Brenil, M. de, erects first sugar mill at New Orleans, 297. British tnilitary govera ^rs of Illinois, 394, 395. Buffalo Rock (60 feet high), on the Illinois River, about three miles above Starved Rock, 90. 0. Cabots, John and Sebastian, early voyages of discovery to North Amer- ica, 2 and 3. Index. 419 26 leave of le Monon- le Til., 1«4. •nnes, 302 ; twice ap- , St. Louis, a Spanish er Iberville [i'ort Biloxi, idant under ninuHsioneil pany of the , 26'.'.; takes 1 against the tlice under a 297 -, his in- le transfer of l\ ; Washing- 8 lieutenant, Illinois, 270; ,y, 272-3; be- ef St. Louis, Ihe country of Idini,' t)f I'^ort Miees on the 361. [ia, Va., and tfeat at Battle r, 328, noU. lanada, lii, 18. \y History of 1305, ?10, 314, le miles above iNorth Amer- Cadiliac, Antoine de la Mothe, governor of Louisiana under Crozat, 238 ; skitch of, 239, note ; founds the post of Detroit, 344. Cadodaquis, an Indian tribe on Red River, 180, 188. Cahokia, first settlemeiit of, 207; Charlevoix' account of the mission at, 209 ; Pittnian's description of the village, 392, 393 and note. Canada, discovery of, .3 ; derivation of the name, 7, note. Canoep, birch bark, how constructed, 411. Carondelet, village of, when and by whom founded, 408, note. Cartier, Jacques, French navigator, discovers and explores the St. Law- rence, 5 ; with Roberval he attempts a settlement on that river, 7 ; is rewarded for his services to the king with a patent A nobility, 8. Cavelier, the Abb<i Jean, a Sulpitian priest and brother of La Salle, 72; he accompanies La Salle in his last expedition, 155 ; deception prac- ticed by him on Tonty, 18G. Cenis Indians, on Trinity River, Texas, visited by La Salle, 164; also by Joutel et al., 176. Champlain, Sanniel de, i)arontage and early career, 9; is sent by the governor of Dieppe on an exploring expedition to the St. Lawrence, 10; assists DeMonts in colonizing Acadia, 11; with Pontgrave he founds Ciuebee, 12, l.'»; surrenders that post to the English, and is carried a prisoner to England, 17; his return to Canada, and death at Quebec, 18: analysis of his character, 19. Champlain Lake, when discovered, 14. Charlevoix, Pierrr^ Francois Xavier de, a distinguished Jesuit scholar and liistorian ; references to and quotations from his works, 12, note; 16, note; 62, 65, note; 208-240, 263; biographical notice of, 211, not( . Chateaugu^, Antoine le Moynede, brother of Iberville and Ilienville,225. Checagou, chief of the Kaskaskias, 290. Chickasaw liluils, mention, 28, 137, 292. Chickasaw nation, 289; Frencli wars with, 290, 295, 298. Chicagoii or Chicago, site fif wintered on by Marquette, 63 ; visited by lia Salle on his way to the gulf, 1.35-6. ChoiBeul, Duke de, prime minister of Louis XV., letter to the Count de Fufuites, 364; he refuses pi'tition i»f the inhabitants of La., 369. Clark, Va)\. (ieorge iiogers, his expedition to, and cunqiiest of the Il- linois country, 402 and vnU\ 403 note. (V>lbort, Jean Baptiste, a great minister under Louis XFV., favors La Salle's enterprises, 80, SI ; decease of, 163, tuite. Columbus, Christopher, mention, 2. Comet of 1680, 120, note. Commons, right of granted to the inhabi1,ants of Ka.skaskia, 304, 305. Common Fields, descri[)tion of, 273. Copper mines, search for, 40, 46, 399. Cortereal, (iaspar de (Portiiguese navigator), voyages to Labrador, 3. Cotton, when culture of introdiux'd in Louisiana, 298. Court of " Royal Jurisdiction" in the Illinois, 309, 310. Court, first common law, in Illinois, 395. wmmmmmmm I'T 420 Index. Coureurs des hois, or runners of the woods, attempts of the Canadian government to suppress, 118, 195. Courcelles, Daniel de Kdmy, Sieur de, second Canadian governor under the royal provincial government, 20 ; recall of, 45. Cr^ve-coeur (See Fort Cr^ve-coeur). Craig, Captain Thomas, destroys French and Indian village of Peoria, 401, nok. Croghan, Colonel George, conciliatory mission to the Western Indians, 353 ; his journey over the mountains to Fort Pitt, 353 ; he descends the Ohio, 355 ; is captured by a band of Kickapoos below mouth of the Wabash, 355 ; taken as a prisoner to Vincennes, 350 ; released at Fort Ouatanon, 356; he meets and confers with Pontiac, 357; peace speech by to the Indians at Detroit, 358 ; success of his mis- sion, 360. Crozat, Antoine, Marquis de Chatel, is gra.nted a monopoly of the com- merce and government of Louisiana, 234 ; his letters patent, 234-237 ; mercantile and mining operations of, 238, 239 ; surrenders his charter to the crown, 240. D. Dablon, Claude, eminent Jesuit missionary, 42 ; notice of his life and writings, 43, 44, note. D'Abbadie, M., succeeds Kerlerec as acting governor of Louisiana, 314, 303 ; death of in New Orleans, 367. D'Artaguettc, Diron, coinmissalre ordonnnteur in Louisiana, 233, 288. D'Artaguette, Pierre, serves in the Natchoz war, 288; is made command- ant at tiie Illinois, 288; leads an expedition against the Chickasaws, 292 ; wounded and taken prisoner, 293 ; perishes au the stake, 294. Davidson and Stuv^'s History of Illinois, references to, etc., J 32-3, 286, 298, 347, 389, 396, 397. D'Autry, the Sieur, explores passes of the Mississippi with La Salle, 144. Delaware Indians, mention, 320, 351. Do Leon, Don Alonzo, expedition of from Mexico to Fort St. Louis, of Texas, 190. De Luna, Don Tristan, leads a Spanish army jf Invasion into West Florida, 33, 279. De Motits, Pierre du (iuast, Sieur, an officer of Henry IV. 's household, 1(1; under letter patent he plants the iirsl French colony in Acadia, 11; loses his inflnence at court on death of that monarch, 15. Detroit, founded by La Mothe Cadillac (in 1701), 341; its situation and early military history, 344; Indian siege of under Pontiac, 349. De Villiers, Capt. Neyon, overcomes Washington at Fort Necessity 325; is made commandant of the Illinois at Fort Chartres, 312, 342 and Hole; he resigns and goes to New Orleans, 363; n>ceiveB tlie decora- tion of the (^rosB of St. Louis, 303. De Vin(!enneH (or Vincenne) .Jean r..ii)ti8te IJissot, sketch of, 299; estab- lishes the post of Vincennos, 299, 301; joins D'Artaguette in his expedition against the Chickasaws, 292; and shares that officer's lamentable fate, 293. Index. 421 ;he Canadian ivernor under age of Peoria, atern Indians, ( ; he descends elow mouth of ^ SoG; released I Pontiac, o^7; jesB of bis rais- jly of the corn- patent, 234-237; ders his charter , of his life and £ Louisiana, 314, la, 233, 288. [made command- the Chickasaws, the stake, 294. , etc., 132-3, 286, ith La Salle, 144. fort St. Louis, of liision into West llV.'s household, jlony in Acadia, Inarch, 15. lis situation and lontiac, 340. It Necessity 325; Ires, 312, 342 and lives the decora- |h of, 29i) ; ostab- KuKuette in his Jth that officer's Des Ursius, Marc Antoine de la Loire, commissary and judge for the India Company in Illinois, 272, 273; killed at Natchez, 382. Dieskau, Lu<lwig August, Baron, a German-French general in the '■'jven Years' War, 330; mortally wounded in battle near Crown Point, 330. Dinwiddle, Robert, colonial governor of Virginia, sends Washington on mission to the French, 321 ; orders the raising of a regiment to drive the French from Virginia territory, 323. Domestic Al'iancesof the French colonists with the Indians, 8, 204, 303, 412, Donnacona, an ludian potentate at Quebec, 5; is carried by Cartier to France, 7. < Douay, Father Anastasius, RecoUet missionary, 155 ; his account of La Salle's murder, IGH*; ascends the Mississippi and Illinois with Abb^ Cavelier, et al., 183-4 ; returns to France, 187; he accompanies D'lber- ville in his colonizlTig expedition to the Mississippi, 215 and note. Du (Tay, Picard, companion of Hennepin in his Sioux o-aptivity, 105, 107. Duhaut, M., principal assassin of La Salle, 170; is himself slain in an altercation with Hiens, 177. Du L'Hut, Daniel Greysolon, penetrates the Sioux country from Lake Superior, and effects the release of Hennepin, et al., 108; sketch of his adventurous career, 108, nnle. Dumont's Historical Memoir of Limisiana, 2H7, 27U, 280, 282, note, 292. Durret's, R. T., Kentucky Centennial Address, 38. E. Edict of Nantes, when enacted and revoked, 248 nolt. Englisli, early efforts to discover the Mississippi, 38; surrender of the Illinois country to, 300; duration of their rule, 402. " English Turn," on Lower MissisRip]>i, origin of the phrase, 220. Epinay, M. de L', succeeds Cadillac as governor of Louisiana, 245. ^. F. Farmer, Major Robert, relieves Captain Stirling, in command at Fort Chartres, 394. Florida, when discovered, 24; Soto's remarkable adventures in, 24-32; Narvaez's expedition to, 25. Forbes, (leneral Joseph, leads the second English expedition against Fort Duquesne, 333 ; death of, 3:54. Fort Hiloxi, or Maurepas, built by Ihervilh', 219 ; unfavorable site of, and removal of the colony from, 224; New IJiloxi, 207, w)U'. Fort Chartres, lirst building of, 271 ; wlien rebuilt, 313; Broese's remarks on, 314; PittMian's description of, 315 ; substMiueJit history, 310-318. Fort Crrfve-coenr, building of, 93; wliy so named, 94; dt'seribed by Hen- nepin, h)1. Fort Duquesne, begun by agents of the Ohio (/onipany, 323 ; completed and named by (-aptain Contrecoeur, 323 ; taken by the English un- der (ieneral Forbes, and name changcul to Fort Pitt, 334. Fort Frontenac, when built, 79 ; granted in seigniory to La Salle, 80 ; * III this account, the dute of Lu Salle's murder should read the 19lh instead of the 9th of March, 1687. " iS I.: ill 'i! I ■ I- 422 Index. captured and demolished by the English provincials under Colonel '• Bradstreet, 333. Fort Gage, near Kaskaskia, removal of British troops to from Fort Char- tres, 316; Pittman's notice of, 391 ; is taken by Colonel Clark, 402. Fort Massac, or Marsiac, on the Lower Ohio, 335; brief hist, of; 335, note. Fort Miami, at mouth of the St. Joseph, built by La Salle, 89. Fort Prudhomme, on the Mississippi, 137, 145. Fort Rosalie, at Natchez, when built, 242 ; rebuilt, 284 ; Pittman's de- scription of 289, note. Fort St. Claude, on Yazoo River, French garrison at massacred by the Natchez Indians, 283. Fort Si. Louis of Illinois, when built, 147 ; decline of, 195. Fort St. Louis of Texas, 1(>1 ; destruction of, 191. Fort Louis de la Mobile, when first built, 224 ; site of changed, 227. Fort Ouatanon, on the Wabash, mention, 299, 303, note. Fort Toinbecb^, on the Tombigbee River, built by Bienville, 291. Fox River, oi Wisconsin, discovered by Ni'^olet, 3(i; mention, 51, 195. Foxes, or Rinards. (See Sacs and Foxes.) Fowls, domestic, among the southern Indians, 38, 216. France, New. (See New France.) Francis I. of France, mention, 4, 7. Franciscan friars, 96, note. Fraser, Lieutenant Alexander, associated with Croghan, 353; he descends the Ohio to Illinois, 354 ; is buflfeted by the Indians at Kaskaskia, and flees down the Mississippi to New Orleans, 354. French-Canadian population at the beginning of long war, 325. French Commandants at the Illinois, tabV of, 361. French Colonists in Illinois and Louisiana, general description of, 404. Frontenac, Louis de Buade, Count de, celebrated governor of Canada, 45 ; he sends Joliet to explore the Mississippi, 46 ; dispatch of re- lating to his discovery, 69 ; erects Fort Frontenac at the outlet of Lake Ontario, 79 ; recommends La Salle to Colbert, 80 ; indorses Tonty's petition, 232 ; expires in Quebec, 46. Gage, General Thomas, liritish commander, proclamation by to the in- habitants of Illinois, 361, 362, note. Gayarr6, Charles, references to and citations from his History of Louisi- ana (3 vols.), 213, noU, 219, 293, note, 295-6, notes, 312, note, 35J-2, notet, • 369, 379, 415. Gravier Jacques, one of the missionary founders of Kaskaskia, 198, 199. Green Bay, discovered by Nicolet, 36 ; mission station at, 51, 61. Griffin, construction of at Niagara, 86 and nole ; lost on the upper lakes, 88. Growth of the French settlements in Illinois, 208, 271, Gulf of California, mention, 59, 78. Gulf of Mexico, long a closed sea to the French, 38, 154. Gulf of St. Ijawrence, explored and named by Jacques Cartier, 5. Gumbos, a nickname for the half-breetls in Missouri, 412, note. Index. 423 ider Colonel a Fort Char- Clark, 402. . oi, 335, wi^' i9. >ittman's ile- lacred by the aged, 227. le, 291. tion, 51, 195. );V, he descends , at Kaskaskia, ir, 325. iptioii of, 404. nor of Canada, dispatch of re- [t the outlet of It, 80; indorses by to the in- Itory of Louisi- lo«e, 351-2, not<;«, liiskia, 198, 199. 151,01. Iipper lakefl, 88. Iiirtier, 5. H. - Halifax, town of, British fleet sails from for the reduction of Louisburg, 332. Havana, Soto's expedition sails from to Florida, 24 ; taken by the En- glish, 1)39 ; restored to Spain, 352, note; French state prisoners sent to from Louisiana, 376. Helena, Arkansas, mention, 59, note,. Hennepin, Father Louis, his nativity, 96 ; early monastic life and travels, 97 ; comes as a IlecoUet missionary to Canada, 98 ; liis active life at Quebec, 98; joins La Salle's expedition to the West, 99; visits Niag- ara Falls, 99, note ; makes a journey to the principal village of the Senecas, 100; embarks on the Griflin, 100; his account of Fort Cr^ve-coeur, 101 ; his daring canoe vovage up the MiH8i8sii)pi, 105; is captured by a party of the Sioux Indians, 106 ; adventures among the Sioux, 107; is released from captivity, 108; return journey to Canada and France, 109; his expulsion from France, 110; with- draws into Holland, and enters the service of William IH., 110; decease, 110; review of his writings. 111, 112; his conflicting esti- mate of La Salle, 171. Henry IV. of France, issues letters patent to De Monts, 10. Hiens, one of the conspirators against Morangetand La Salle, 107; mur- ders Duhaut, 177. Huguenots, 9 ; driven by persecution from France, 248. Huron, Lake, discovered by Champlain, 16. Huron Indians, mention, 16, 35, 39, 48, 109, note. Iberville, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur de, early naval career of, 212 ; his colo- nizing expedition to the Mississippi, 213, 214; plants a colony in Lower Louisiana, 218; revisits his colony, 220, 224; decease and character, 226. Illinois Indians, loose confederations of, 53; meaning of the word Illini or Illinois, 53; they are invaded by the Iroquois, 121, 122; they aid the Frenc^h in the Chickasaw war, 292 ; are defeated by the Sacs and Foxes, 387 ; Pittman's notice of, 394. Illinois country, explored by Joliet and Marquette, 53, 60; military oc- cupation of by I>a Salle, 94; a dependency of Canada, 194; a part of Louisiana, 233 ; under M. Crozat, 234, et seq.; under Boisbriant and the C'onipany of the West, 270; under the lloyal government, 288; under the English sway, 384; conquest of by Col. Clark, 402. Illinois Kiver, mention, 43,60,77,90, 105; Kennedy's voyage on, 399; Inilay, Capt. Gilbert, work on North America, 399. India Company, Hoyal, successor to the Company of tlie West, 272; surrender of the company's charter, 286. Indian allies, value of to the French in war, 326. Indian colony of La Salle on the Illinois, 148. Tntendant, office of, 40, note. Iroquois (or Five Nations), 13 ; army of invade the Illinois country, 122 ; 424 Index. burninp; of the great town of the Illinois, 124 ; massacre of women and children, 127. J. Jesuits, their first appearance in Canada, 16; missions of in IllinoiK, (ili, 190, 1!)!>; are banished from Louisiana, 379. Jesuit Order, history of, I'SO, S81 ; suppressed by Pope Clement XIV., 382; revived by IMuH VII., .'{82. Jesuit Relations, ;?>S;>. Johnson, Clen. Sir William, mention, 32(5, 330; report of, 348, note. Joliet, T.ouis, comniisHioned to explore the Misnissippi River, 46; his birth and edncaticMi at (iueboc, 4() ; is first sent by Talon to look for copper mines at Lake Superior, 4(); with Father Marquette, he rei'ches the Mississippi, 52 ; descends tnat river to the vicinity of the Arkansas, 51) and )m(c ; returning, he ascends the Illinois, 60; stops at the Indian villages en route, 61 ; he loses his manuscrii)tK in the rapids at La Chine, 67; reports his discoveries to Gov. Frontenac, 67; his marriage, 68; makes a trip to Hudson's Bay, 68; is given the Island of Anticosti, 68; surveys the coast of Labrador, 68; is granted the seigniory of " Joliitte," 6S ; death and character, 68, 69. Joliet, city of in 111., named for the explorer, 69. Joutel, Henri, soldier, accompanies La Salle's expedition to Texas, 154 ; his account of La Salle's assassination, 169; his Journal Ilutorique of the expedition, 187. Juchereau, Sieur de, a Canadian olhcer, 299, 300, note. Juiitonville, Sieur Coulon de, killed In action at Little Meadows, 324, and note. K. Kankakee (Te-a-ki-ki) River, a constituent branch of the Illinois, men- tion, 90, 135, 197, note. Kappa, or Quappa, a noted village < the Arkansas on Lower Missis- sippi, 58 note, 138, 183. • Kaskaskia, Indian village on the Illinois River, first visited by Joliet and ^larquette, 60; Mission of the I. (1 V. founded there by Father Marquette, 63; re-established by Father Allouez, 198; removal of the mission and tribe to the site of the present Kaskaskia, 199; early history of the mission and settlement on the Missi88i})pi, 204; Charlvoix' visit to, 209; Pittman's descrijition of, 390; subsequent decline of the village, 403, note. Kaskaskias, a leading tribe of the Illinois, mention, GO, 63, 196, 202, 209, 290, 394. Kennedy, Patrick, his journey up the Illinois River in search of copper mines, 399. Kerlerec, M. de, governor of the Province of Louisiana (1753-1763), 312; ordered to return to PVance, and incarcerated in the Bastile, 314 ; paper money issued under his administration, 412. ^Kingsford, William, references to his History of Canada, 20, 67, note, 416, note. '.^I^HJ jVl»l,'A'.«v«iiiJl 'i-Hiifif, Index. 425 • of women Illinois, (>!^, ment XIV., S, note. ivor, 4(); bis n to look for iirqiu'tte, he ii'inity of the jis, 60 ; stops scripts in the J. I'rontenac, , m ; is fiiven )nulor, (58; is racter, (38, 0«.). ,o Texas, 154; -nal JH»torique vlcadows, 324, llinois, nien- .ower Missis- i)y Joliet and o by Fatlier ; r("nioval of skaskia, lUO ; isissippi, 204; ; subsetiuent 101), 202, 209, k;h of copper [8-1763), 312; 1 Bastile, 314 ; 20, 67, noU;, Kiskakons, a christianized branch of the Ottawa Indians, disinter and remove Marquette's remains, 05. L. l.rfibrador, visited l)y the Cortereals to, 3 ; coast of surveyed by Joliet, H8. Lu liarre, Le Febvre de, governor of Canada (1683-1085), 149; he de- deposes La Salle from the command of Forts Frontenac and St. Louis, l.'>2. La F?nissonicri', Alplionee de, suceeeds D'Arta^uette as commandant at the Illinois, and takes part in tlie second ('hickasaw wir, 2i»5. Lacl6(le, Pierre Ligucst, })rincipal founder of St. Louis, Missouri, 385 ; sketch of, ;5S5, note. La Forrest, a lieutenant of La Salle, 118, 120, 15:i, 154, 105. Iva Ilarpe, J^crnurd dc, adviiturcH of in the southwest, 2()(), 2()! ; is sent by Bienville to form an establisliment on the Bay of St. Bernard, 202. La Ilontan,' Arinand Louisde Delondane, Baron de, a noted French odi- cer and traveler, 50, riote ; his curious account of MichiliiiiackiMac, 100, note; his notice of the priest Cavelier and his traveling party, 180, not£. La Motte, de Lusiere, an associate of La Salle in his first great exploring enterprise, 83, 85, 80. IjB v^alle, llobert (kvelier Sieur de, his Norman birth and parentage, 71 ; receives his education from the .Jesuits, 71, 72; emigrates to Canada, 72; founds Tiachine, above Montreal, 72; discovers the Ohio, 76; se- (;ures the patronage of (Jov. Frontenac, 78 ; is granted the seigniory of Fort Frontenac, 80; builds the Griffin on the Niagara, 86; voy- ages with her through the upj)er lakes, 87 ; he enters the country of the Illinois, 80; difficulties with the natives and his nu'ii, 02; builds Fort Crc've-coeur at foot of I'eoria Lake, 0.'!, 04; sends ll<;nnepin to exi)lore the Upper Mississippi, 05 ; his return journey to Fort Fron- tenac, 115; second expedition to the West, 118; its failure, 120; he negotiati's with the Western tribes, 131 ; descends the Mississippi to the Chilf, l.']0-141 ; takes possession of the country for the King of France, 142; erects Fort St. Louis on the Illinois, 147; forms an In- dian colony around it, 148; corresponds with (lov. La Barre, 140, 150; is dismissed from his command ))y that functtionary, 152; he goes to Old F'rance, 153; is given audience by the King, 154; sails with a colony for the mouth of the Mississippi, 150; kinds at .^Lltagorda Bay, 158; builds a fort there, 100; wamlerings in t lie wilderness of Texas, 102, 1()3; sets out for the Illinois and Canada, but returns, 104; he again sets forth and is assassinated on the way, 105; analysis of his character, 171 et seq.; concealment of his death, 183, 185; de- struction of his colony, 101. La Salle Co., Illinois, named in memory of the great explorer, 100. La Tour, early French engineer in Louisiana, 263. Lake Michigan, or Lac des Illinois, discovered by Nicolet, 35-6. Lake Superior, mention, 39, 40, 48. •Incorrectly printed La Houtan, in note on page 99. 426 Index. Law, John, Scotch financier and adventurer, birth and education of, 249; his th30ry of banking, 249; is patronized by the Duke of Orleans, 250; he establishes a bank in Paris, 250; his Mississippi scheme, 251 ; public infatuation thertat, 252; progress of his credit system, 253; its collapse, 257 ; he flees from France, 258 ; dies in poverty at Venice, 259. Lead mines in Missouri, worked by the French, 239; in Illinois, 275 and note. League, French, length of, 52, 7iot£. Le Clercq, Father Cr^tien, 104, note; his History of the Establishment Of the Faith in New France, 112, note ; his account of La Salle's last ex- pedition by sea, 161, ncte. Le Clercq, Father Maximus, RecoUet missionary in Texas, 155, 192. Lesdigueres, Duchesse de, mention, 211. Le Su' ur, Pierre, a French voyageur, mention, 201, .'300, note. L6vis, Chevalier de, successor to Montcalm, 338. Letters patent to La Salle, 81 ; to M. Crozat, 234. Liotot, surgeon, and one of La Salle's assassins, 170; his violent death, 177, 178 and note. LoftuH, Major Arthur, his unsuccessful attempt to ascend the Mississippi to Fort Cliartres, 352. Lord, Captain Hugh, English commandant at the Illinois, successor to Wilkins, 398. Louisiana, liower, permanent settlement of by the French, 212; cession of the country to Spain, 304, 365. Louis XIV. of France, falls heir to the thror.e at the age of five years, 246; erects Canada into a royal province, 19 ; issues patent of nobility to La Salle, 80; demise of, 246; review of his reign and character, 247, 248. Louis XV., cedes Western Louisiana by private treaty to Spain, 339, 363; his letter concerning tlK^ cession to Gov. d'Abbadie, 365, 366. Louisburg, fortress of, taken by the English, 312 ; second siege and cap- ture of, 332, 3:53, note. Loyola, Ignatius, originator of the Order of Jesuits, 380. M. Macarty, Chevalier de, nuijor-commuudant at the Illinois during the rebuilding of Fort Cliartres, 313; mention, 324, 361. Major-commandants, functions of the, 308. ' , Manitou, Indian name for the Deity, 51 and nol/'. Maps, Marquette's, 50, 62 ; Joliet's, 67 and note ; Franquelin's and Henne- pin's, 9S ; Delisle's, 99, note. Marest, Gabriel, missionary priest at Kaskaskia, 199 ; he transfers the mission of the Immaculate Conception from the Illinois River to ihe site of the jjresent Kaskaslvia, 199-20:5; extracts from his cor- respondence, 205, 20a. Margry, IMerre, I'>ench author, references to his works, 68, 76, note, 10-1-5, votes, 151, note, 191, vide, 197, vote. ' . < Index. 427 ion of, 249; of Orleans, )pi scheme, dit system, I poverty at lois, 275 and >lishment Of lUe's last ex- ,55, 192. iolent death, le Mississippi I, successor to ,212; cession age of five iues patent of liis nngn and |o Spain, 339, ]ie, 365, 3G6. iege and cap- daring the 1 and Henne- transfers the I River to ihe |)ni his cor- l()8, 76, noif, Marquette, P^re Jacques, born at Laon, France, 47 ; he enters the So- ciety of Jesus, and is ordained to the priesthood, 47 ; sails as a mis- sionary to Canada, and studies the Indian languages under Father Dreuilletes, 47 ; witli Father Dablon, he founds the mission of St. Mary of the P'alls, 48 ; iis thence sent to St. Esprit near western ex- tremity of Lake Superior, 48; returning, he founds the mission of St. Ignace at Old Mackinac. 49; with M. Joliet, he discovers and ex- plores the Mississipi>i River, oO-HO; table of the distances traveled, 61 , notr ; his journal of their great canoe voyage, 61 , 62 ; he establishes the miBsion of the Immaculate Conception on the Illinois River, 63; sets out from thence on his return to St. Iguace, 64; dies and is buried on the eastern shore of Lake Michiga?- 65; removal of his remains to St. Ignace, 65 ; his religiou.s and general character, 66. Mascontins, allied tribe of the Miamis, 51, 92. Massac, or Marsiac. (See Foit Massac.) Mason, E. G., his account of the Kaskaskia JMission, 200-203 ; also of the ruins of Fort Chartres, 31t). Maillet, M. Hypolite, founds French village on Peoria Lake, 401, note. Membre, Zenobius, Recollet friar and follower of La Salle, 85, 87 ; his description of the Illinois Indians, 103; exciting experience with the Iroquois, 124, 125 ; he perishes at Ft. Louis of Texas, 192; notice of his life, 192. Menard, Father Renu, first French missionary in the region of Lake Superior, 39 and notf. Mermet, Jean, a missionary priest on the Lower Ohio, 300 and note; and an associate of Father Marest at Kaskaskia, 205. Meurin, Sebastian Louis, last Jesuit missionary in the Illinois, 391, note. Mexico, French atte- ipts at trade relations with, 240, 242. Miamis Indians, a kindred tribe of the Illinois, 51, 132, 133, 299. Michilimackinac, or Mackinac, 49 and note ; mission of St. Ignace at, 49; visited by La Salle intheGritlin, 87; described by Laliontan, 109, note. Mills, water, at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, 271. Missionaries in Illinois and Louisiana, Jesuits, 63, 194 ; Recollets, 103, 121 ; Sulpitians, 393. Mississippi Company, Laws, 251, 252; its advantagv^s to the Province of Louisiana, 250, 286. Mississippi River, Spanish discovery of the, 24; different names of, 28, note; Frei.ch discovery and exploration of, 45. Missouri River, discovered by Joliet and Marquette, 56; said to have been first explored by La Ilontan, 56, note. Missouri Indians, allies of the French, destroy expedition of the Spau- iarils from New Mexico, 268. Mobile River, visited by De Soto, 26; French fort on, 224. Mohegan Indians, band settle at Ft. Miami, 130; party of, follow LaSalle to the outlet of the Mississippi, 135. Monso, a Mascoutin chief, intrigues with the Illinois against Im Salle, 92. Montcalm, Louis Joseph, Marquis de, captures Fort Ontario and Fort William Henry, 330, 331 ; defeats Abercrombie at Ticonderoga, 333; 'li! !i I ill liii 428 Index. is vanquished by "Wolf at Quebec, 337, 338 ; sketch of his brilliant ca- reer, 340, note. Montmafjny, Charles Huault de, succesds Champlain in the government of the Canadian colony, 18. Montreal, when settled, 22 ; religious origin and early annals of, 22, 23. Moranget, i^ieur de, nephew of La Salle, 155 ; murder of, 107. Moses, John, History of Illinois, references to, (;2, 207, 394, note, 395, 398, 399. Mound Riiildcrs, ancient, 33, 2S."), note. Morris, Captain Thomas, adventures with the Indians, 351, 2b- and note. Muscoso, Luis de, lieutenant and successor to De Soto, 31 ; conducts the rf'maius of Soto's expedition to Panuco, Mexico, 32. N. Nadouepsiouxs. (See Sioux.) Narvaez, Paniphilio de, a Spanish adventurer in Florida, 25. Natchez Indians, visited by La Salle, 140; their strange history, 277-279 ; they massacre the French at Fort Rosalie, 282; war with, 284 ; ex- • termination of the nation, 285. Natchitoches, post of, when established, 245; mention, 260, 378. Natchitoches Indians, mention, 188, 242, 2()0, 285; New Chartres, when built, 313, 314. New Orleans, origin of, 246 ; founded by Bienville, 263; named for the Duke of Orleans, 263 ; visited by Charlevoix (1721), 263, 264 ; is made by Gov. Bienville the capital of Louisiana, 164. New France, a name originally bestowed by the navigator, Verruzano, upon the north-eastern coast of North America, 13; History of. (See Charlevoix.) Niagara Falls, Hennepin's visit to and description of, 99 and note. Nicanope, a chief of the Peorias, 92. Nicolet, Jean, early life of, among the Ottawas and Nipissings, 34; his voyage of discovery in the North-west, 35, 36; he marries an adopted daughter of Champlain, 37 ; is drowned in the St. Lawrence, 38. Nipissing Lake, discovered by Champlain, 16. Nonville (or Denonville), Jacques Rene de Brisay, Marquis de, governor of Canada (1085-1089), 229, 231 and note. Northmen, in North America, 1 and 2. Nouvellc France, a name applied to all the French-Canadian coun- try, 13, 19. Nova Scotia. (See Acadia.) » < • Ohio River, discovery of by La Salle, 76, 77. Onondagas, a tribe of Iroquois, 70, 79, 123. Onanghisse, a Pottawatomie sachem, noted saying of, 129. Ortiz, Juan, interpreter for De Soto, 25, 29. O'Reilly, Don Alexandro, Spanish military governor of Louisiana, 373 ; sketch of, note ; his proclamation of amnesty, 375 ; he punishes the revolutionary leaders and reorganizes the government of Louisiana, 376,377. :._.-.-;: : his brilliant ca- he government rials of, 22, 23. 167. t, note, 395, 3J»8, I, 252 and note. ; conducts the Index, 429 itory, 277-279 ; with, 284 ; ex- ), 378. hartres, when amed for the , 264 ; is made ir, Verrazano, i; History of. d note. sings, 34 ; his KS an adopted rence, 38. de, governor adian coun- lisiana, 373 ; )uni8hes the f Louisiana, '^ylrench explorers to the Foxes. 131. Paris, Treatv of ^4(» . , ' 7o, note, 77, ]-J0 note !'>7 ,-, ^''^^ ''*"'! Quotations f- -,, i • p:r,nl,ri;1^■■■™- -" '"• '"• '"■ '"• - -■ --r' PeDsacola, Flor <l„ '.„ . ' """-"yed 'otake,,, a„d°;,.r„ir;S'",' "'^ "" ■'>«'"'a^"». 214- i, ,-, , , Knt-lish i... ,1, '"'""''"' I'y tlic. Frcn.'li 2117. . .' ' 'a''*'". I'-Haiat.'la't ™'^-^[f;;.?;-r«-"* • ''■""'^'' '° ""^ Peorvf,L,„. '■"■"'^*->«- or ..„,„,,,„, notice oui„ .i,r,";. t""";:" ""'I "X'«.t of. -,,, ,„,. „, , . Peoria Villas,, K, ;'*;-*• '"."""lj"« visit .„ W ' '^'""•'"•oix' promote,! to tl,e rank of uZ,: ,"""*■' "'"' -''atfhra war 07- ?' P;a„k,«l,aw,, village „f „„ , '' .-''"""J-^''"""!. -'S8. ""' '■ ' ■ " phS:^::;:'^:;;;:':;;:;:-, from I,i8 account of ''"..'""^'"•■'•'■■'""■iJa (176.31 3,9. . , 390-3!)j. '" "'" ^'■'-'"oh settlements on tl L a'^'- .'"'■"^'» Pontchartrain, Count ,1,. 1,>„„,„ „ . . ""'"^'P"'' 'o the aimlication ef h. """'»'<■>■ of colonics 2»0. l,.- Louisiani V °" ""«"™°' '»"'"'™ fro.n Ca;^i^ ^^^^ - Pontiac, celebrated Ottawa cl.i.t ■ . ai::ir.re ?''p"'^^"^^ --""rs.:\t™' ^^'-^ «^^ Detroit -^4.. *, '"' '^-^^ ''' '■'f?.; uns„ccessfnl ", ^"^'^^y «»d war -uetroit, 34f); capture of other Wo<.tJ '"^^''^^^ '"ind siege of — ... coione, c:;sar:;t^t,^,::;:^t^3 «f^ n 430 Index. i speeches at Detroit and Oswego, 359, 360 ; retires to the shades of the Maumee, HGO ; his lust visit to the Illinois, 386 ; is murdered Ikjf a Kaskap'aa Indian at Cahokia, Illinois, and huried by Captain St. Ange in St. Louis, Missouri, 387 and note. Population (foreign) oi Illinois at the time of the British occupation, 389. Population of the province of Louisiana at the beginning of the Spanish rule, 377, 378. Pottawatomie Indians, first visited by Nicolet, 37; mention, 88, 128. Prairie du Chien, village of, on the Upper Mississippi, 52, note. Prairie du Pont, a suburb of Cahokia, 394. Prairie du Kocher, a village in vicinity of Fort Chartres, 276 ; Pittman's account of, 391, nolr. Prudhomme, Pierre, with La Salle on the Mississippi, 137; fort named for, 137. Q. Quebec, city of, site first visited b)' Cartier, 5 ; founded by Cham plain, 13; surrendered to the English under Captain Kirk, 17; restored to the French, 18; faihire of Sir William Pliipps' attack upon, 20; stone fortifications at, 21 ; the city is taken by the English under Wolfe, 337, 338 ; unsuccessful efforts of the French to retake the citadel, 338. "Quebec Bill," its efTects upon the French colonists. Quints, bay of on Ontario Lake, seat of a Sulpitian mission, 73 and note. Quinipissas Indians (the Bayagoulas of Iberville and Bienville), La Salle's experience with, 141, 144; Tonty leaves a letter with one of their chiefs, 182, 216. R. Randolph County, Illinois, ruins of Fort Chartres in, 317. Rasles, Sebastian, a noted Jesuit missionary in Illinois and Maine, 198. Red River, of Louisiana, discovered by the Spaniards, 31. Renault, Philip, Francois de, director-general of the mining operations of the Mississippi Company, 274; he founds the village bearing his name, 275. Reynolds, John, Pioneer History of Illinois, references to and quota- tions from, 317, 335, note, 346, note, 394, 407, note, 414, note. Ribaut, Jean, attempts to plant a Huguenot colony in East Florida, 9. Ribourde, Gabriel de la, a Recollet friar with La Salle in Illinois, 84, 101, 104; is slain by a scouting party of Kickapoos, 126. Richelieu, Cardinal, organizes the company of " One Hundred Asso- ciates," 17; charter of, when abandoned, 19. Rio del Norte, or Rio Grande, reached and crossed by St. Denis, 243. Rocheblave, Philippe Francois de Rastel de, commands for the British at Fort Gage, 399; is sent a prisoner to Virginia by Col. Clark, 472. Rogers, Major Robert, takes military possession of Detroit, 343 ; and of other western posts, 345. Roman Catholic Church, devotion of the French colonists to, 414 and note. Rosalie. (See Fort Rosalie.) Ryswick, Treaty of,|212. Index. 431 ! BhadeB of udered by Captain St. pation,389. the Spanish 88, 128. , ite. >; Pittman's fort named r Chaiuplain, ' ; restored to ck upon, 20; liiglish under to retake the n, 73 and note. pienville), La r with one of Maine, 198. Ing operations ^e bearing his \o and quota- Florida, 9. Ilinois, 84, 101, lindred Asso- )eni8, 243. [r the British i\. Clark, 472. I, 343 ; and of 414 and not^. Sacs, or Sauks, and Foxes, mention, 36, 131, 2(J9. Sangamon River, mention, 400 and note. . * - Santa F^, New Mexico, when Kcttled, 267, note. Sault de Ste. Marie, iiiiHsion established at by the Jenuits, 48. Sauvolle— M. de Sauvolle de la Villantry— a brother or associate of D'lber- ville. and first colonial governor in I^ouisiana, 213, 219; his early- death at Fort Biloxi, 2l'3. Senat, a Jesuit Father and volunteer in D'Artaguette's southern expe- dition, L'Oi.' ; lu' is martyred at the stake by the Chiekasaws, 294. Shawiiees, rcKtlcss character of, 56, note. Shea, John (iilmary, references to and quotations from his Avorks, 12, note, 39, note, 64, (to, 76, noit; 104, note, 113, note, 163, note, 197, note, 228; decease of, 416, note. Ship Island, first landing-place of Iberville's colony, 214. Sioux Indians, 4S, 1(I6 and note. Slaves, Negro, introduced inu ' ouisiana by Crozat, 238; number of at the close of the French rww., 337. Soto, Hernando dii, Spanish discoverer of the Mississippi, 24; his re- markable expedition through Florida, 24-32. Starved Kock, legend of, 387. Stirling, Captain Thomas, takes Brirish possession of Fort Chartres, 360; what became of him, 394, note. Stoddard, Major Amos, 317 and note. St. Anthony's Falls, discovered and named by Hennepin, 107; descrip- tion of, 107, 108, note.. St. Cosme, Jean Francois Buisson de. a missionary priest at the Natchez, 200 ; sketch of, 201 , note. St. Croix, or St. Charles, a tributary of the St. Lawrence at Quebec, 5, 7, 12. St. Francis Xavier, name of the .lesuit mission on Green Ray, 51, 61. St, Denis, or Denys, Louis Juchereau de, his adventurous overland jour- ney to Mexico, 242-244 ; appointed commandant at the post of Natch- itoches, 244 ; skiitch of, 245, note. Ste. Genevieve, ^lissouri, when settled, 306. St. Louis Missouri, when and by whom founded, 385 and not^. ; early his- tory of the village, 388. St. Lusson, Simon Francois Daumont de, sent by Talon on a mission to the upper lake region, 40 ; he holds an important conference with the North-western tribes, 41, 42. St, Peter's ( Minnesota) River, French fort erected on by I>e Sueur, 221 , note. St, Philippe, a small village ii' the neighborhood of Fort Chartres, 275, St, Pierre, Le Gardeur de, commanding officer at Fort mr la riviere au Boeuf, 322 ; his letter of reply to Governor Dinwiddle, 322, 323. Sugar-cane, when introduced into Louisiana, 297. I 432 Index. . T. Talon, Jean Baptiste, first intendant of Canada under the government of the crown, 20; slight sketch of, 40, nnte ; he recommends the ap- pointment of Joliet to explore the Mississippi, 46. Taensas In<lian8, a kindred tribe of the Natchez, La Salle's arrival among, 189; their habitations, life, and worship, 139, 140. Taniaroas, one of the five tribes of the Illinois, mention, 105, 127; Jesuit nii.ssion established among. 207. Tampa Bay, Florida, landing-place of De Soto, 25. Tojas Indians, name of Texas derived from, 104, note. Texas, country of claimed by Spain, 190; unsuccessful attempts of the French to plant colonies in, 194, 202. Timber, kinds of most abundant in Illinois, 400, note. Tomhigbee River, ascended by Bienville in his expedition against the Chickasaws, 291 ; also by Governor de Vaudreuil, 298. Tonty, Henri de, lieutenant of La Salle, 83; his early military career, 84 ; accompanies La Salle to New France (1077), 85; superintends the construction of the Crrilliu, 80 ; .sails with his chief to Mackinac, 87; goes thenco to S;iult de Ste. Marie, 8S; arrives in the Illinois, 88; \a left in command at Fort Cr^vc-coeur, il5; his perilous encountar with the Iroquois, 123; escapes with his party to the Pottawatomies, 128, 129; he descends the Mississippi with La S;Ule, \\)b, et scq.; as- sists in construciing Fort St. Louis on the Illinois iviver, 147; is given charge of the fort by La Salle, but superseded in conniiand by De Baugis, 152; afterward reinstated, 182; his river voyage to the Gulf in search of La Salle, 182; establisheKu post on the Arkan,m.s, 182; heroic attempt to succor the remains of La Salle's Texan col- ony, 188; is continued in connuand at the Illinois, 194, 195; finally joins D'IberviUe on the Lower Mississippi, 221 ; is sent thence on u , mission to the Chickasaws, 22S ; dii>s at Fort Louis, on the Mobile, 228; summary of his character, 229; printed memoirs of, 230; his petition to (/Ount Pontchartrain, 231. Tonty, Alphonse de, brother of Henri, 229. Trois Kivieres, town on the St. Lawren('(>, founded by Chami;Iaiii, 18, mention, 37, 47, Tunica Bend, scene of Major Loftus' attack by Tunica Indians, ;152. Tuscarora Indians, a sixtii iribe of the Iroquois nation, 320, note, U. Ulloa, Don Antonio de, first Spanish governor sent to Louisiana, 371 ; letter of to the Superior Council, 371 ; his expulsion from the prov- ince, 373. Ucita, an Indian town on Tampa Bay, Florida, 25. Utica, Illinois, mention, 140, 190. Utrect, Treaty of, 21. - - V. - - ■ ■ Vaca, Cabeca, or Cabeza de, an early Spanish wanderer in Florida, 29 and note. Vaudreuil, I'ierre Franci)is de Kigau<l, Mrinpiis le, gover-ior of Louisi- i .i> Bte i < jyiM i ji Qgi i limi l - Index. 433 )vernment ids the ap- val among, 127 ; Jesuit iipts of the agaiust tlie •y career, 84 ; rintcmls the ku'kinac, 87; lUnois, 8S ; is us iMH'.ountsr .)ttawatomiefl, ::,o, etsfq.; aa- iUver, U7 ; is in connuaml voyage to the the Arkansas, l'.'b Texan col- 4, nt,-)-, finally t thence on a ,n the Mobile, ,v of, 230 ; his ;;hauii;laiii, 18, liiins, 352. lo, note. Louisiana, 371 ; liom the prov- ll'lorida, 2i) and iMor of Louiai- ana (1742-1753), 200; prosperity of the province under his admin- istration, 297 ; he is promoted to the governorship of Canada, 312; jealouay and contentions with (xeneral Montcalm, .''', note ; charges preferred ag linst him by friends of the latter, on which he is tried and acquitted, 340, 341, note ; death of in Paris, Ibid. Vega, (iarcilaRSO de la, a Spanish historian of De Soto's Expedition, 30, 33, notr. Venango, Indian village and military post on the Alleghany River, 321,350. Verrazano, Juun, a celebrated Florentine navigator; early voyage of dis- covery to North America, 4. Vexilla, or rcriUa reyiii jirodctoit, iirst (tie of grand Latin hynm, 144, 198. Vicanque, ancient Indian town on the upp v ^ ters of the Arkan- sas, 29. Vincennes, Jean Raptiste BisHot de. (See 1\ 'iiT>".'i,nes.) Vincennes, Indiana, beginning of, 299; early hisiory, 301, 302; visited by Croghau, 303, note. Virginia, Illinois made a county of, 402. W. Wabash River, when French posts first established on, 299. Washington, (ieorgo, mission to the h('a<hvat('rs of the Ohio, 321 ; sur- renders Fort Necessity, 325; gallant conduct at Braddock's de- feat, 328. Wars of the French with the Spaniards, 205-2(18; with the Natchez, 277-285; with the Chickasaws, 290-29S; with the English, 20, 312, 319-339; Pontiac's war, 34()-3(;0. West, Company of the, when organized, 252; operations of in Louisi- ana and Illinois, 259, 571 ; charter of surrendered to the crown, 28(i; benefits of its sway, 2S7. Willian) III. of England, sends two vessels to explore the outlet of the :\[ississippi, 113,220. Winnebago Indians, a branch oi' the Sioux or Dakota nation; Nicolet's visit to and account of, 31); mention, 41. Wilkins, liieutenant-C'olonel John, succeeds Colonel Reed as English conunandant at the Illinois, 395; account of his administration, 395-39S. Will of La .Salle, 134, note. Wolfe, General James, distinguishes himself at the reduction of Louis- burg, 33(1; his 8i(>ge of Quebec, 337; dies on the field of battle, 338. Wolfe and Montcalm Monument, 341, note. Wolfe's column, Ibid. • Y. Yazoo River, I>e Soto winters at village on, 27 ; Frencli Fort on, 283. Yalobusha Hiver, in Xorthern Missi;-ifiii)pi, r-iidczvous of DWrlaipietto in his unfortunate expuilition against the Chickasaws, 292. , • ■" ■ FINIS.