' ""'•'^iW^'*''^ ^fW^"^ ^^^^W^^"" ^iWS*"^ 
 
 iV"^ 
 
 Lc.«**^t ^''N^,j>|j:.,.xo cr'>ol;>^'^i i^"''x,ji|f,«i'-^.» CXo. 
 ECLECTIC 'school READINGS 
 
 ^'^ THE DISCOVERY '^ 
 
 •M«H^1>^ 
 
 ^Ift. 
 
 OLD NORTHWEST 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 -^^ 
 
 ^1% 
 
 
 •#f%^ 
 
 .#1%' 
 
 -.«% 
 
 #1%. 
 
 ,^| 
 
 ,<%<> 
 
 ^#1^ #1%. 
 
 4% 
 
 
 
 ^rrsKTrsss*: 
 
 rw 
 
 NEW YORK ^ ClNCIMNATr • .€BICAGO 
 AMERICAN -■ BOOK • COMPAJMY ^ 
 
 /9^^rfyfS^TSTi^pi^<^>^^^rfi<^feMr^ ^^AY^^g.^^^,^ 
 
Book_^iS _ 
 CopightN" 
 
 COPyRlGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF 
 
 THE OLD NORTHWEST 
 
 AND ITS SETTLEMENT BY THE FRENCH 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES BALDWIN 
 
 M 
 Author of "Ba/chiui/'s A'lUiders," " The Story of Siegfried' 
 
 " The Book Lover" etc. 
 
 3i<XC 
 
 NEW YORK •:. CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 
 
 AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 
 
31^ 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 CONGRESS, 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 JUN. 1 1901 
 
 Copyright entry 
 
 CLASS (X XXc N». 
 
 COPY B. 
 
 Copyright, 1901, by 
 AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. 
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London. 
 
 DISC, old northwest. 
 \V. P. I 
 
PREFACE 
 
 While every American is familiar with the events con- 
 nected with the discovery and colonization of the eastern 
 shores of our country, the history of the Old Northwest — 
 that magnificent section of our country lying west of the 
 Alleghanies and bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio, 
 and the Great Lakes — is comparatively unknown. It 
 has a history as varied, as interesting, and as important 
 as that of any other portion of the North American conti- 
 nent, and yet few persons realize the extent to which the 
 events attending its early exploration, its conquest, and its 
 setftlement have determined the destiny of our country as 
 a whole. 
 
 So far as is known to the writer, no attempt has hitherto 
 been made to reli^ the story of these events in a con- 
 nected order, free from extraneous details and adapted to 
 the comprehension and tastes of younger readers. Park- 
 man, in his monumental series of historical narratives, has 
 told this story in connection with many others having but 
 shght relation to the Old Northwest ; Justin Winsor, in 
 his very scholarly volumes relating to the French regime 
 in America, has done the same. But the works of these 
 writers are too voluminous for general readers, and being 
 designed for mature thinkers they fail to be attractive to 
 the majority of young people just beginning to acquire a 
 taste for historical reading. The author of this volume, 
 
 3 
 
4 Preface 
 
 while indebted to Winsor and Parkman and many other 
 writers for the facts which he relates, has followed his 
 own method of teUing the story, keeping always in mind 
 as the central thought the discovery and development of 
 the Old Northwest and its final conquest for freedom and 
 civilization. 
 
 He has not attempted a complete history, but rather a 
 connected series of sketches, selecting from the very large 
 number of events "and incidents that might have been 
 related those which seemed to him most necessary to the 
 interest and the continuous unfolding of the narrative. 
 It is confidently believed that young readers of these 
 sketches will rise from their perusal with some new con- 
 ceptions of the history of our country, and especially of 
 that portion of it which seems destined to be — if it is not 
 already — the '' commanding field whence men and insti- 
 tutions will communicate their will to the nation." 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 HOW THE GREAT LAKES WERE DISCOVERED 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The First Approach 
 
 I. Jacques Cartier . . . . . . . .11 
 
 n. Hochelaga ......... 14 
 
 in. Mont Royal 18 
 
 The Closed Gateway 
 
 I. Samuel de Champlaiii ... . . . .22 
 
 n. Iroquois and Hurons ....... 28 
 
 III. The Beginning of a Long Struggle .... 32 
 
 IV. Etienne Brule . . . . . . . -35 
 
 V. The Fur Traders ....... 39 
 
 VI. Place Royale 41 
 
 An Imaginary Discoverer 
 
 I. Ambitious Dreams ....... 44 
 
 II. The Talk of Paris 46 
 
 III. The Ascent of the Ottawa 48 
 
 IV. The Tabagie at Chief Tessouat's .... 51 
 
 The First of the Great Lakes 
 
 I. A Brother of the Recollets 56 
 
 II. The Wilderness Way . . . . . -59 
 
 III. The Mer Douce of the Hurons ..... 61 
 
 The Second of the Great Lakes 
 
 L The Treaty with the Hurons ..... 64 
 
 II. Otouacha 67 
 
 5 
 
III. The Discovery of Lake Ontario . 
 
 IV. The Raid upon the Iroquois 
 
 The Third of the Great Lakes 
 
 I. The Young Man from Normandy 
 II. The Scouts of the Wilderness 
 
 III. The Governor's Commission 
 
 IV. The Discovery of Lake Michigan 
 V. The Men of the Fetid Sea . 
 
 VI. The "Father of Waters" . 
 
 The Jesuit Missionaries 
 
 I. The Residence of Sainte Marie . 
 II. The Sault Sainte Marie 
 
 III. The Captivity of Father Jogues . 
 
 IV. The Dispersal of the Hurons 
 
 The Fourth of the Great Lakes 
 I. Two Daring Fur Traders . 
 II. Tlie Manitou of the Copper Mines 
 
 The Fifth of the Great Lakes 
 I. The Hidden Water . 
 II. Louis Joliet .... 
 
 III. The First Voyagers on Lake Erie 
 
 IV. A Remarkable Meetins: 
 
 PAGE 
 
 71 
 73 
 
 76 
 
 80 
 84 
 
 85 
 88 
 92 
 
 96 
 
 99 
 
 102 
 106 
 
 109 
 121 
 
 124 
 125 
 127 
 129 
 
 HOW THE GREAT RIVERS WERE EXPLORED 
 
 The Beautiful River 
 
 I. La Salle 131 
 
 II. La Chine 133 
 
 III. La Belle Riviere 137 
 
Ox THE 
 
 Ui'i'KR Lakes 
 
 I. 
 
 Menard 
 
 11. 
 
 Allouez 
 
 III. 
 
 Afarquette . 
 
 I\'. 
 
 St. Esprit . 
 
 V. 
 
 Dollier and (^alincc 
 
 VI. 
 
 St. Ignace . 
 
 VII. 
 
 Saint-Lusson 
 
 The IIiddex River 
 
 I. The Explorer and the Missionary 
 II. The Fox and the Wisconsin 
 III. The Voyage 
 I\". The Return 
 y. The Mission of the Illinois 
 
 Fko.m Cataraqui to Crevecceur 
 I. Cataraqui . 
 II. Fort Frontenac . 
 
 III. Niagara 
 
 IV. The Griffon 
 V. The St. Joseph . 
 
 \T. The Kankakee . 
 
 * 
 
 \'II. Crevecoeur . 
 
 The Upper Mississippi 
 
 I. Accault and Hennepin 
 
 II. The Sioux . 
 
 III. The Captives 
 
 I\'. The Grand Hunt 
 
 V. Duluth 
 
 \T. Tonty and Membre 
 
To THE ("xREAT RIVER's AIOUTH 
 
 I. At Fort Miamis ........ 222 
 
 II. From Fort Frontenac to Natchez . . . .224 
 
 III. Louisiana ......... 227 
 
 La Salle's Last Enterprise 
 
 L F'ort St. Louis on the Illinois ..... 230 
 
 232 
 234 
 
 II. The Lost Colony ....... 
 
 III. The End of a Great Life ...... 
 
 HOW THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS WERE MADE 
 
 French Life in the Northwest 
 
 I. The Settlements ....... 237 
 
 II. The Settlers ........ 240 
 
 III. The Christian Indians ...... 244 
 
 IV. A Day in a French Village ..... 245 
 
 The Posts on the Lakes 
 
 I. Mackinac ......... 247 
 
 II. Detroit 248 
 
 The Firebrands of the West 
 
 I. The Fight at Detroit . . . . . . .251 
 
 II. The Little Hill of the Dead .... 258 
 
 III. The Quenching of the Firebrands .... 260 
 
 After Word . . . . - . . . . . . 262 
 
 Index ••.'...'.... 267 
 
THE DISCOVERY 
 
 THE OLD NORTHWEST 
 
HOW THE GREAT LAKES WERE 
 DISCOVERED 
 
 THE FIRST APPROACH 
 
 I. JACQUES CARTIER 
 
 IF you look at the map of Canada you 
 will see that the city of Montreal is 
 at the meeting place of two great rivers 
 From the southwest comes the mighty flood 
 of the St. Lawrence, smooth and placid 
 above, then rushing down rocky and - 
 dangerous rapids, and here expanding 
 into a small but beautiful bay before 
 proceeding on its majestic way to the distant 
 sea. From the west comes the Ottawa, a 
 smaller stream, which, before losing itself 
 in the St. Lawrence, divides into several channels, thus 
 enclosing on three sides the Island of Montreal. 
 
 To this place, somewhat more than three hundred and 
 fifty years ago, there came a party of P'rench- 
 men with their leader, Jacques Cartier. They 
 were the first white men that had ever sailed up the 
 broad current of the St. Lawrence. Cartier had been 
 sent out by the king of France to discover new lands 
 
 II 
 
 Jacques Cartier 
 
 1535 
 
12 
 
 The First ApproacJi 
 
 ?^ 
 
 and, if possible, find a water way through which ships 
 might sail westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the South 
 Sea, as people then called the Pacific. He had discovered 
 
 and named the Gulf of St. Law- 
 rence, and afterwards, leaving his 
 largest vessels in a safe harbor, had 
 gone on with a single ship to 
 explore the broad, mysterious river 
 whose sources were hidden in 
 the western wilderness. No 
 one at that time imagined that 
 the continent of North Amer- 
 _ ^_ ica was very broad even at its 
 
 r?^s^'^ broadest part ; and Cartier 
 
 ^^~ fondly hoped that this stream 
 was the water way which he 
 sought. 
 Some time before reaching the place 
 where the Ottawa joins the St. Law- 
 rence, the ship ran into shallow water 
 and was grounded. But Cartier was in 
 no mind to give up his venture. He 
 ordered the boats to be launched, and in these the com- 
 pany pushed onward up the river — now threading their 
 way through a maze of wooded islands, now hesitating 
 whether to follow the right hand channel or the left, and 
 at last emerging into a broad expanse of smooth water 
 with timbered shores stretching far on either side. 
 
 The whole country seemed like a fairyland. The time 
 was autumn, and the sun shone dimly through the smoky 
 
 " He had gone on 
 with a single ship " 
 
Jacques Carticr 13 
 
 haze that filled the air. The early frost had already 
 touehed the leaves and ehanged their green to garnet and 
 crimson and gold. The nuts were falling, and the vines 
 which trailed over bush and tree and hung in festoons 
 down to the water's edge were loaded with clusters of 
 purplish grapes. Squirrels frisked among the branches, 
 and wild deer cropped the herbage in the open glades ; 
 blackbirds and thrushes scolded in the thickets, and water- 
 fowl of various kinds swam in the creeks and sheltered 
 inlets. 
 
 And now among the trees on their right the Frenchmen 
 saw scores of Indians running. With signs of friendship 
 the savages beckoned to the 
 white strangers to approach the 
 shore, and with songs and 
 dancing they w^elcomed them 
 to their woodland home. ^f^*^ 
 
 That night Jacques 
 
 Cartier and his men en- ^ 
 
 camped on the beach of '>g 
 
 the island now known as ^ ''' "^^^^^^^ v^ .^ 
 
 the Island of Montreal. 
 
 "Wild deer cropped the herbage" 
 Along the river banks 
 
 and among the trees bonfires were blazing, and in the 
 light of these the Indians danced and rejoiced. They 
 thought that the Frenchmen were superior beings from 
 another world, and they hailed their coming as the begin- 
 ning of new and happier times — times foretold by their 
 wise men, when there should be no more toil nor sickness 
 nor pain. 
 

 " These palisades were of logs 
 
 14 T/ic First ApproacJi 
 
 II. HOCHELAGA 
 
 Early on the following morning Cartier and his com- 
 panions set out to visit the Indian town of Hochelaga, 
 
 which stood near the center 
 of the island. The fame of 
 ^ this town was known among 
 
 k'^''^Vl^\^\if -yrrv, the Indians far and near, 
 ^f^y"^rr,r^^ and Cartier had heard of 
 ^\V ^ \ its grandeur while still hun- 
 
 dreds of miles down the river. 
 Guided by the glad natives, 
 and following a path through 
 the thick woods, the French- 
 men soon came to a broad clearing in which were fields of 
 ripened corn ; and beyond these were other fields where 
 the ground was covered with green and yellow pumpkins, 
 emblems of peace and plenty. 
 
 Having passed around to the farther side of the clearing, 
 they found themselves in front of the tall palisades that 
 encircled the homes of the Indians. These palisades were 
 of logs set on end and ranged in three parallel rows three 
 or four feet apart. Those of the middle row stood up- 
 right ; but those of the outer and inner rows were leaned 
 towards each other until their tops met and sometimes 
 overlapped. Along the inside of this strange wall were 
 strong platforms, or scaffolds, on which were piles of 
 stones and other missiles ready to be hurled down upon 
 the heads of any foes that might approach too near or 
 try to scale the palisades. 
 
IlocJielaga 
 
 15 
 
 Passing through a narrow gateway, the Frenchmen 
 entered the village. Here were about fifty houses, built 
 in the strange, rude fashion common among the natives of 
 that region. Each house was more than a hundred feet 
 in length, and at least forty feet in width. It was built 
 of poles, and covered and weatherboarded with sheets of 
 
 >* ^>i n iiii^» ^ i<i Ta| i |M i ^« w»h,Ta 
 
 •• Each house was more than a hundred feet in length ' 
 
 bark. The roof was quite low and had many openings, 
 under each of which was a place for a fire. Each fire- 
 place was the center of a home, and therefore the number 
 of families in a house was always the same as the number 
 of holes in the roof. . 
 
 Jacques Cartier and his men were led to the center of 
 this strange village, where there was a kind of public 
 square. And now the women and children came running 
 from the houses, with wondering looks and cries of pleas- 
 ure, to welcome the white strangers. They seemed not at 
 all afraid, but filled with delight, as at the coming of well- 
 known and long expected friends. They gazed curiously 
 at the Frenchmen's weapons and their brilliant armor. 
 They touched the beard, the hair, the cheeks of Cartier, 
 as if to make sure that it was not all a dream. Then 
 they brought mats which they spread upon the ground, 
 
i6 
 
 The First xApproach 
 
 and the strangers were asked to sit down in the presence 
 of the chief of the nation. 
 
 This chief was very old and so helpless that he had to 
 be carried on a litter of deerskins by four of his most 
 trusted men. With signs and gestures he welcomed the 
 strangers to Hochelaga ; and then he made a short speech 
 
 They seemed not at all afraid " 
 
 which seemed very eloquent and very earnest, but which the 
 Frenchmen could not understand. In closing he pointed 
 to his helpless, shrunken limbs, as if imploring aid, and 
 spoke in piteous tones as though praying to be healed by 
 the white man's touch. 
 
 What could Cartier do but humor the fancy of the poor 
 old savage.-^ He laid his hands upon him ; he touched his 
 legs, his feet ; he stroked his long, thin hair. Then he 
 
IlocJicIaga 17 
 
 spoke of a Healer greater than himself who had gone 
 about curing the sick and giving sight to the blind and 
 raising the dead. The old chief understood not a word, 
 but his face beamed with hope, and his lips moved as if 
 expressing thanks. Then he gave to Cartier a little coro- 
 net of red-dyed porcupine quills which he had worn upon 
 his head as a sign of power. It was the gift of a reverent 
 and grateful heart. 
 
 Soon from all the houses others came to be cured. The 
 sick, the lame, the blind were led and carried to the spot 
 where the wonderful white man sat. It was a pitiable 
 throng — but all were happy because they believed that a 
 god had come to heal them of their infirmities. The heart 
 of the French captain was deeply moved, and he could 
 not tell them of their mistake. As each one was brought 
 before him he touched the diseased part and made the 
 sign of the cross. Then he uttered a prayer for their 
 benighted souls, and dismissed them with his blessing. 
 The poor savages said not a word, but, with awe in their 
 hearts, looked their grateful thanks to the strange being 
 who was showing th^m so great kindness. 
 
 When all the feeble and sick had been disposed of, Car- 
 tier caused presents to be distributed freely. To the men 
 he gave knives and hatchets ; to the women he gave beads 
 and pewter rings ; and among the children he flung small 
 pictures and images, and bright bits of colored glass. 
 Then, to the great astonishment of the natives, the 
 French buglers blew their horns, and strains of music 
 such as had never before been heard in that wild land 
 rose above the palisades and floated out over the fields, 
 
 OLD NORTHWEST — 2 
 
1 8 TJie First Approach 
 
 and were echoed back from the woods and hills. The 
 white strangers rose from their seats, and, following the 
 lead of their captain, marched in military order through 
 the village and out of the inclosure by the same gate 
 through which they had entered. 
 
 It had been the greatest day ever known in Hochelaga, 
 and the people were " loath to see their visitors depart. 
 The women followed them to the gate and pressed upon 
 them gifts of fish and corn and other food more than they 
 could carry. The men also followed, nor did they turn 
 back so soon. They wanted to serve the strangers, and 
 do them further honor by showing them the greatness and 
 beauty of the land in which they lived. 
 
 III. MONT ROYAL 
 
 On the side of the village opposite the cornfields there 
 was a lofty hill, the wooded slopes of which were gay with 
 all the colors which autumn foliage bears. It seemed so 
 much higher than the surrounding country that Jacques 
 Cartier wondered whether he might not from the top of 
 it catch sight of the great western ocean — the South Sea 
 which the Spaniard, Balboa, twenty years before, had 
 beheld from the peaks of Darien. He asked the Indians 
 about it, but they could not understand. Nevertheless, they 
 showed him the easiest path up the steep and rocky slope, 
 and would even have carried him over the roughest places. 
 
 As Cartier climbed up, step by step, he was charmed 
 by the wild beauty of the hill itself no less than by the 
 ever widening landscape that opened to his view. 
 
Moiit Royal 
 
 19 
 
 **This," said he, "is truly a royal mountain, a kin^^ly 
 lancliiKirk in the midst of the new and vast domain that 
 I have added to the Crown of France. Its name shall be 
 Mont Royal." 
 
 And Mont Royal (Mont Real) it is still called; and the 
 noble city, which now stands where then were Indian 
 
 s 
 
 |g|a|MaMB(? «.v^, -N - .__^^^ * "-^ ~ng^^^^^ 
 
 *^ ... 
 
 --^■-'^. i-- • - - W^ ^"'^''^^^''-J^^r^^^^.lfJ^S^^^^ 
 
 ^JL ^^:^^^^^f^ ^^^N-^'^.-^-^^'.«fiJ 
 
 wmmsm^mmi 
 
 " The noble city 
 
 where then were Indian cornfields" 
 
 cornfields and the forest red with autumn leaves, is 
 known by the same name — Montreal. 
 
 When, at last, after much climbing, Cartier reached the 
 top of the mountain, a wonderful vision met his gaze. 
 Looking eagerly toward the west he saw no sign of the 
 vast sea which was the chief object of his thoughts; but, 
 far as eye could reach, he beheld a succession of forest 
 plains and wooded hills stretching away and away until 
 they seemed to meet and mingle with the hazy skv. 
 
20 TJic First Approach 
 
 Directly in front of him, but miles away, he saw the St. 
 Lawrence emerging, as it were, from the mysterious West, 
 and then, as it approached, broadening into the beautiful 
 expanse since known as Lake St. Louis, from which, sud- 
 denly narrowing, it dashed in an impetuous flood down 
 the rapids, called in later years Lachine. Then, very near 
 upon his left, Cartier saw the same river spreading out 
 into a quiet bay, its watery gleaming like a mirror inrthe 
 autumn sunlight, while his own boats lay moored to the 
 nearest shore. Turning a little to the right, he caught 
 glimpses of the Ottawa, now expanding into beautiful 
 lakes, now dashing over rocky rapids and losing itself in 
 winding channels among overhanging trees, and at last 
 pouring its flood of waters into the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Of the strange secrets hidden in the wilderness before 
 him, Jacques Cartier could never have dreamed. He 
 could not have guessed that the far solitudes towards 
 which his eyes w^ere directed would in time become the 
 home of millions of happy people. No fancy of his 
 could have whispered that just beyond his line of vision 
 were fresh-water lakes larger than half the kingdom 
 of France, and that upon their shores would spring up 
 cities greater than any he had ever seen. That he was 
 still more than two thousand miles from the object of his 
 quest, the great western ocean, he could by no means have 
 imagined. But west, north, east, south, — farther than 
 eye could pierce, — the same riddle presented itself of 
 woods and hills and silent wastes, and the hazy sky 
 dome bending over all. He was indeed in the midst of 
 an unknown land. From the Gulf of Mexico to the 
 
Mont Royal 21 
 
 northern seas there was not one spot where a white 
 man had his dwenin<; ; indeed, the men who were to 
 make the earliest settlements in that region were not 
 yet born. 
 
 When Jacques Cartier at last descended from the royal 
 mount, and, with his men, returned to the boats, he had 
 given up the thought of finding there an easy passage 
 through the continent. To venture farther up the St. 
 Lawrence was clearly impossible ; for what vessel could 
 stem its turbulent rapids ? To ascend the Ottawa might 
 be easier, but this would most likely lead the voyager 
 only deeper and deeper into the wilderness. So, bidding 
 good-bye to the simple-hearted natives who watched them 
 from the shore, the Frenchmen turned their boats down- 
 stream, and, aided by the current, soon reached the ships 
 that were waitmg for them in the safe harbor far below. 
 They had not discovered a passage to the South Sea ; but 
 they had penetrated the continent farther than any other 
 Europeans had yet ventured, and in the name of the king 
 of France they had taken possession of an unknown coun- 
 try which might yet become the source of measureless 
 wealth and power. 
 
 The region known to us as the Old Northwest, with 
 its countless lakes and streams and its trackless woods 
 and prairies, was still untrodden by the feet of civilized 
 man ; but Jacques Cartier, without knowing it, had visited 
 the gateway by which it was to be approached from the 
 east, and from the top of Mont Royal he had seen on the 
 distant horizon the faint lines that marked a portion of its 
 boundary. 
 
THE CLOSED GATEWAY 
 
 I. SAMUEL DE CHAM PLAIN 
 
 IT was a long time before the island at the meeting of 
 the rivers was again visited by white men. In the 
 meanwhile many changes took place both in the Old 
 
 World and in the New. In 
 France the king and his 
 courtiers had so much to do 
 to keep crown and country 
 from falling into the hands 
 of their enemies that they 
 had no time to think of lands 
 and peoples beyond the sea ; 
 and so the discoveries of 
 Jacques Cartier were almost 
 In the wilderness by the St. Lawrence tragedy 
 upon tragedy had been enacted. The feeble okl chief at 
 Hochelaga had died and been forgotten ; and younger 
 chiefs had grown up and become aged in the shadow of 
 Mont Royal. Then dreadful days had dawned. The 
 woods and river banks rang, time and again, with the 
 whoops of savage foes, and the waters were reddened 
 with the blood of the slain. The cornfields were over- 
 run and trodden down by fighting warriors ; the strong 
 palisades were overturned and the village was taken by 
 
ScDHNi'/ dc C//aiflf>lllifl 
 
 23 
 
 storm ; the long houses were j)illaged and burned ; the 
 island echoed with the groans of the dying, the shrieks' of 
 captive women and children, and the shouts and jeers of 
 the pitiless victors. 
 
 Then, for many years, there was silence and solitude. 
 Dense thickets of underbrush grew up where the village 
 
 View on the St. Lawrence 
 
 had stood, and thorns and briers flourished where the 
 corn had rustled and grown ripe in the autumn sun. 
 Wolves hunted among the trees, and bears sunned them- 
 selves on the river's bank ; and no savage huntsman ever 
 disturbed them or made them afraid. No sounds were 
 heard save those of wildest nature, the chattering of 
 squirrels, the cries of waterfowls, the twittering of birds, 
 
24 
 
 TJic Closed Gatczvay 
 
 1603 
 
 and now and then the fierce growl of some beast of prey 
 or the scream of its helpless victim. 
 
 Sixty-eight years passed, and then on a certain day in 
 early summer another ship of France sailed up the St. 
 Lawrence, and another party of French explorers 
 appeared at the meeting place of the two rivers, 
 at the closed gateway to the great Northwest. 
 
 The leader of this party was Samuel de Champlain, 
 a gentleman of Saintonge in the west of France. He had 
 been a captain in the royal navy, and had 
 done some brave deeds in the service of his 
 master, King Henry the Fourth. More 
 lately he had commanded a Spanish vessel 
 on the high seas, and had made a voyage 
 of adventure to the West Indies and the 
 coast of Mexico. And now, still young and 
 ambitious, he had come to carry into these 
 new lands on the St. Lawrence the banner 
 of the French king and the cross of the 
 Catholic faith. It was his wish to do more. He fondly 
 hoped that, by exploring the great water courses of New 
 France, as the country was called, he might accomplish 
 that which Cartier had failed to do, and discover the long- 
 sought northern passage to the western ocean. 
 
 Champlain and his companions landed on the Island of 
 Montreal, but they received no such welcome as that with 
 which Jacques Cartier had been greeted. From river to 
 river there was no sign of human life. Nothing remained 
 to show that the place had ever been visited by man. 
 Climbing to the top of Mont Royal, the Frenchmen 
 
 Champlain 
 
Saiiiucl dc CJia)}iplain 25 
 
 scanned the country far and near, but only the great 
 forest and the rivers and the distant hills could they 
 discover. 
 
 The next day they explored the shore to the point 
 where the river, coming down from the west, makes an 
 elbow turn to the north. There they found themselves at 
 the foot of the turbulent rapids which had deterred Cartier 
 from proceeding farther. Surely no vessel, not even the 
 stanchest boat, could ever make its way against the wild 
 torrent which leaped and foamed down this long and 
 rough incline. The wished-for and long-dreamed-of water 
 route to the South Sea was plainly not through this dan- 
 gerous and impassable channel. 
 
 At the foot of the great rapids Champlain met a small 
 party of Indians who had come there to catch fish. They 
 were gruff, silent fellows, half afraid of the white strangers 
 and yet inclined to be friendly. Some of them had been 
 among the French traders near the mouth of the St. Law- 
 rence, and were able to understand a few simple words 
 when spoken to. From them Champlain tried to learn 
 something about the country through which the two great 
 rivers flowed, and whether the sources of these streams 
 were near the western ocean. These Indians, however, 
 could not tell him much. They knew but very little, and 
 since they could speak French no better than he could 
 speak their tongue, his curiosity was only whetted by the 
 few vague facts that he could learn from them. 
 
 One day the chief of the band visited Champlain on 
 board of his vessel. The Frenchman, by signs and such 
 words as they knew in common, urged him to tell all that 
 
26 T]ic Closed Gateivay 
 
 he knew about the great river. How far was it to the 
 head of these rapids ? Was the current above them 
 smooth or swift? Was the stream wide or narrow? From 
 what place did all this flood of waters come ? 
 
 The Indian told him that there were many rapids in the 
 St. Lawrence, and that, after passing them all, one would 
 come to a lake in which there were many islands. At 
 the end of this lake there was a high waterfall around 
 which a canoe might be carried to a smaller lake beyond. 
 This lake was sixty leagues in length, and the water was 
 fresh and sweet. It opened at its farther extremity into 
 a short but very broad river through which one might 
 pass into a much greater lake. "But," said he, ''none 
 of my people have ever visited that lake, and no man 
 living has seen its farther shore." 
 
 Then he took a piece of charcoal and drew a rude map 
 on the deck. He showed how the stream, above the 
 rapids, was very wide, forming what is now called Lake 
 St. Louis, and how it there receives the main part of the 
 Ottawa. Then, by a few rough strokes, he showed other 
 rapids and other wide expanses, and again still more rapids. 
 
 " Great fall ! Very great fall ! " he said, making a heavy 
 black line. And finally, with a flourish of the charcoal, 
 he exclaimed, ''Great water! Very great water!" and 
 strode away as having no more to say. 
 
 Champlain believed that the distant lake of which the 
 savage had spoken was connected with the western ocean, 
 and he half resolved to push forward. He thought that 
 if he could only make his way to the head of the first 
 rapids, he might succeed equally well with those above 
 
Samuel dc CJiamplaiii 
 
 27 
 
 and at last reach the source of the mysterious river, and 
 discover the "great water" beyond. A light skiff was 
 made ready for the dangerous ascent, and strong Indians 
 with poles and paddles undertook to guide it against the 
 rushing flood. But before they had climbed twenty 
 yards the frail vessel was dashed against the rocks and 
 overturned, and Champlain was glad to 
 escape with his life to the shore. 
 
 He now saw clearly that with the 
 means at his command it was impos- 
 sible to ascend the St. Lawrence 
 farther. He felt that by report- 
 ing the matter promptly to his 
 friends and the king, he might 
 be permitted to lead thither 
 another expedition better pre- 
 pared to overcome the diffi- 
 culties that were in the way. 
 And so, without doing more 
 than take note of the place 
 best suited for a fort or 
 trading post, the French cap- 
 tain turned his vessel about and sailed for France. 
 
 He was now more anxious than ever to renew his 
 quest of a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. He 
 wished also to establish settlements on the St. Lawrence, 
 and open up trade with the natives ; for he had found that 
 the country was not so poor and profitless a place as had 
 been supposed. While slowly making his way up the 
 river, he had taken pains to secure the friendship of the 
 
2cS TJic Closed Gateway 
 
 Indians through whose hunting grounds it flowed. These 
 often brought to the ship the furry hides of wild animals, 
 — of beavers, foxes, otters, and lynxes, — and were glad 
 to barter them for knives, hatchets, and trinkets. Why 
 might not this trade in furs be developed into a great 
 industry .'' Why might not the pathless forest be made 
 to yield wealth greater even than that derived from the 
 mines of Mexico and Peru 1 
 
 It was with thoughts such as these that Champlain 
 presented himself at the court of the French king, and 
 with patient argument tried to arouse among the wealthy 
 nobles some kind of active interest in his scheme of 
 exploration. 
 
 II. IROQUOIS AND HURONS 
 
 For five years Champlain was obliged to direct his ener- 
 gies toward other projects of discovery and colonization. 
 
 ^ ^ At leno^th, how- 
 1608 ° 
 
 ever, fortune 
 
 favored him, and he 
 again sailed into the St. 
 Lawrence, this time pre- 
 pared to do more than 
 make a merely passing 
 visit. But he stopped 
 far short of the Island 
 of Montreal. He had 
 decided to build a fort and trading post at the point since 
 called Quebec ; and for many busy months he was occupied 
 in that task. Near the site of the present market place of 
 
 Strong blockhouses were built " 
 
Iroquois and Iluroiis 
 
 29 
 
 the lower town of Quebec, strong blockhouses were built, 
 tall palisades were erected, and the whole was surrounded 
 by a deep moat. At last, when all had been made secure, 
 and the soldiers and traders were rejoicing over their 
 work, Champlain felt that the time had come for him 
 to continue the explorations which had so long been 
 interrupted. 
 
 In the meanwhile he had taken pains to learn all that 
 he could about the savages into whose country he had 
 come. He' was told that south of the St. 
 Lawrence was the home of a people 
 fierce and cruel and warlike that all 
 the surrounding tribes lived 
 stant dread of them. They 
 called themselves the Ho- 
 denosaunee, or People 
 of the Long House. 
 They lived as five 
 great families, and they compared their country to one 
 vast house with five fires blazing in it, and a thousand 
 warriors dancing around each fire. The French after- 
 ward called these Lidians the Iroquois, from cheir habit 
 of ending every important statement with the word " Iro," 
 which means, '' I have said it." It is by this name that 
 they are generally known in history ; and it is by this 
 name that we shall call them. Their five great families 
 were really five united tribes — the Mohawks, the Oneidas, 
 the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas ; and for 
 this reason the English in later years called them the 
 ''Five Nations." Their country included all of northern 
 
30 
 
 TJic Closed Gateway 
 
 and middle New York, extending east and west from the 
 Hudson to the Genesee. 
 
 Champlain learned also that, far to the west of the 
 Island of Montreal, there lived another nation, less war- 
 like and cruel, who called themselves Ouendats. They 
 were kinsmen of the People of the Long House, but 
 between the two nations there was 
 ^k ^fk undying hatred; and many and bloody 
 
 ^1 w* _^^ were the battles that had been fought, 
 
 jioammmir sometimes in the land of the Iroquois 
 
 and sometimes in that of the Ouendats. 
 Like the Iroquois, the Ouendats lived 
 in villages, each village containing a 
 number of long houses, and each 
 house having several fireplaces. The 
 French people who came with Cham- 
 plain called them, not Ouendats, but 
 Hurons, because of the grotesque 
 manner in which they wore their 
 hair — the French word hurc mean- 
 ing *' shock-head." The descendants 
 of these Hurons are now called Wyandots, the name being 
 merely an English variation of the old word Ouendats. 
 
 Between the two rival nations — the Iroquois and the 
 Hurons — lived many scattered tribes, speaking languages 
 somewhat alike, and claiming some sort of distant kin- 
 ship. But they were, for the most part, strangers to one 
 another, each tribe living to itself and defending itself as 
 best it could against their common foe, the dreaded Iro- 
 quois. They did not dwell in long houses, but each family 
 
 A Huron 
 
Tvoqiiois and Hnrons 3^ 
 
 had its own rude wigwam, built of poles and bark, and 
 many of them had no settled homes. Among the first 
 of these people to make friends with the French were 
 some bands who lived in the woods far up the Ottawa 
 and called themselves Algonquins ; and this name soon 
 came to be used by both English and French to desig- 
 nate almost any Indians who were neither Hurons nor 
 Iroquois. 
 
 In the autumn of 1608 there came to the newly built 
 fort at Quebec a young chief from the banks of the 
 Ottawa, He was filled with wonder at what he saw there, 
 and was eager to make a treaty of friendship with Cham- 
 plain. Would not the great white chief help his tribe in 
 the war which they were waging against the Iroquois } In 
 return for such service, he promised the friendship, not 
 only of his Algonquin tribe and kinsmen, but also that of 
 the remote Ouendats, or Hurons ; and he assured Cham- 
 plain that when they had once beaten the Iroquois in 
 battle he would guide him to the upper waters of the 
 Ottawa, whence there was no doubt that he could easily 
 reach the great western water beyond. 
 
 Cham plain was very willing to make a treaty with this 
 Ottawa chief. He thought that, by giving his aid to the 
 tribes unfriendly to the Iroquois, he might subdue those 
 warlike savages, of whose power he knew so little, and 
 at the same time secure the friendship of the Hurons, 
 whose help would be of the greatest value to him in his 
 exploration of the west. Pledges were therefore ex- 
 changed. The young chief promised that, with the 
 opening of spring, he would bring a host of warriors and 
 
32 TJie Closed Gateway 
 
 a fleet of canoes down the St. Lawrence to Quebec ; and 
 Champlain promised that he would give the Algonquins 
 every possible aid, and accompany them in their descent 
 upon the enemy's country. The matter being thus 
 arranged, the chief hurried home to tell his people of 
 the league which he had made with the French captain, 
 and to prepare his young braves for the war path. 
 
 III. THE BEGINNING OF A LONG STRIU;GLE 
 
 And so, in the early spring we hear of Champlain at the 
 head of a dusky war party that is stealthily making its 
 
 way by water southward into the land of the 
 1609 ^ . 
 
 Iroquois. The party is chiefly composed of half- 
 naked savages from the north and west — Montagnais 
 Indians from the neighborhood of Quebec, Algonquins, 
 Ottawas from the distant river that still bears their name, 
 and a few Hurons from the heart of the unknown wilder- 
 ness beyond. With them, besides Champlain, are eleven 
 Frenchmen armed with arquebuses — weapons at once 
 mysterious and terrible to the savages, who know nothing 
 of gunpowder, and carry only bows and arrows, stone 
 hatchets, and stone-pointed lances. 
 
 From Quebec they paddle up the St. Lawrence to the 
 mouth of the stream since known as the river Sorel, or 
 Richelieu. Then into this smaller stream they turn their 
 canoes, and, facing the noonday sun, they move steadily 
 onward, now gliding silently over long stretches of placid 
 water, and now forcing their way through swirling rapids 
 or against the steady flow of the deeper currents. The 
 
The Jh\i^hinini^ of a Long Struggle 
 
 33 
 
 savages are pleased with the wildness of the woods on 
 either hand ; they grow tired of the labor of paddling, and 
 go ashore to rest and have a feast. They quarrel, and 
 most of them return to their homes, glad of an excuse to 
 avoid a meeting with the Iroquois. Sixty warriors with 
 twenty-four canoes remain faithful and continue the jour- 
 ney, led by Champlain and two of his Frenchmen. 
 
 Soon, to the great joy of all, they enter the beautiful 
 lake which is to bear through all coming ages the name 
 
 Champlain advances" 
 
 among the trees 
 
 of its brave discoverer, 
 Champlain. They skirt the west- 
 ern shore of the lake, moving; 
 with much caution, for they are 
 now on the outskirts of the 
 enemy's country. They venture for- 
 ward only at night, lying hidden 
 during the day. The bravest of the 
 Ottawas tremble secretly at the thought of a contest 
 with the fierce warriors of the Long House. 
 
 At length, near the place afterward know^n as Crown 
 Point, they are discovered by a band of Iroquois, and both 
 parties prepare for battle. There are some two hundred 
 of the enemy, — tall, strong men, the fiercest warriors in 
 all America, — and the boastful invaders from the St. 
 Lawrence have good reason to fear. But now Champlain 
 
 OLD NORTH WESI — :; 
 
34 TJic Closed Gateway 
 
 advances, clad in glittering armor, his arquebus in his 
 hand. The lords of the forest pause in wonder, for this 
 is their first sight of a white man. He takes aim with his 
 arquebus ; there is a flash, a sound like thunder, and an 
 Iroquois chief falls dead. For a moment the astonished 
 warriors stand their ground, and send a shower of arrows 
 toward their foes. Then comes the sound of another gun- 
 shot, and another chief tumbles to the ground. Terror 
 fills the hearts of men who have never before felt fear, and 
 the Iroquois flee in dismay. 
 
 It is a great victory ; but the delighted Ottawas and 
 Huron s are in no mind to go farther into the enemy's 
 country. They hasten home to boast of their brave deeds 
 and amuse themselves by torturing their prisoners. Cham- 
 plain can do nothing but return to his new fortress at 
 Quebec, there to plan other expeditions into the wilder- 
 ness. He little thinks of the consequences that wdll fol- 
 low his great victory. He does not know that on account 
 of their bitter humiliation the Iroquois will henceforth 
 cherish an undying hatred toward the French. Had he 
 made friends with them instead of exciting their wrath, he 
 might have opened to the French all the country south 
 of the St. Lawrence and found an easy way of access to 
 the Hudson River and the Atlantic ; and in such case 
 the whole history of America would have been changed. 
 But now the fierce People of the Long House will stand like 
 an impassable wall to oppose any southward movement; 
 they will barricade the shortest way to the western lakes, 
 and for a hundred years they will dispute with the French 
 the possession of the forests and streams of the interior. 
 
Eticniw Ih'iile 35 
 
 IV. ETIENNE BRULE 
 
 From his Indian allies Champlain had heard vague 
 stories of the "great water" in the West, and his dream 
 of discovering a passage to the South Sea was revived. 
 He had also an eye to trade and profit in this vast 
 territory which Jacques Cartier's discovery had given to 
 France. The Hurons had told him of a land where the 
 rocks were of pure copper; the Ottawas had spoken of 
 forests where fur-bearing animals waited only for the 
 trapper and the trader. Here, then, was a land full 
 of golden promises, offering rich rewards to the person 
 that should explore it and help to develop its resources. 
 But Champlain needed men and ships before he could 
 accomplish more, and in the hope of procuring them he 
 hastened to make another visit to France. 
 
 Early in the following spring the brave captain was 
 again at Quebec, with stores for his little colony, but with- 
 out the aid which he had hoped to obtain for 
 , . . 1610 
 
 his western enterprise. Soon there came chiefs 
 
 from the Hurons and the Ottawas and other Algonquin 
 tribes repeating their story of wrongs suffered from the 
 Iroquois. 
 
 " Do but help us destroy these enemies of ours," they 
 said, "and we will lead you to the great water, we will 
 be }our brothers, we will help you to everything you 
 wish." 
 
 Another campaign was therefore planned against the 
 common enemy, and in June another fleet of canoes with 
 a host of savage warriors was making its way toward the 
 
36 
 
 The Closed Gateway 
 
 haunts of the Iroquois. Champlain and four French sol- 
 diers armed with arquebuses were in the van, and to them 
 the Indians looked for victory. 
 
 The war party had scarcely reached the mouth of the 
 Richelieu when they encountered a band of Iroquois 
 intrenched behind a barricade of trees. A terrible battle 
 followed, and the end would have been defeat had not a 
 boat load of French fur traders arrived just in time to save 
 
 The dreadful fire of the arquebuses 
 
 the day. The Iroquois were not able to stand against the 
 dreadful fire of the arquebuses, and were finally forced to 
 retreat, leaving more than half of their party dead on the 
 field, or prisoners in the hands of their foes. 
 
 As in the previous campaign, the savages had no 
 thought of following up their success. One such victory 
 was enough for one year. Hurons and Ottawas loaded 
 their canoes with prisoners and scalps and other battle 
 
Fjicnuc Brule . 37 
 
 trophies, and made ready to return at once to their vil- 
 lages and hunting grounds. Champlain would have gone 
 with them had not his duties forbidden. He was anxious 
 to see the Hurons in their homes, and, above all, to dis- 
 cover the great water which was said to border their 
 country on the west; but this was now impossible. He 
 cast about him to learn if any man in his company was 
 willing to undertake the long and perilous journey, living 
 the life of a savage, for the sake of spying out the secrets 
 of the wilderness. Not one was brave enough. 
 
 But young Etienne Brule, whom Cham])lain had brought 
 with him as a servant from France, said, " Let me go, 
 master. I am not afraid." 
 
 "What! You, Etienne .'^ " 
 
 *' Yes. I will go home w^ith the Hurons and live with 
 them until you send for me. I will see all the country 
 that I can. I will learn their language. I will make 
 myself used to their way of living, and be as much of a 
 savage as any of them." 
 
 "Etienne, I am proud of you," said Champlain. "You 
 will be worth more to me than a dozen men. You shall 
 do as you say." 
 
 The Indians refused at first to take the lad. "What if 
 our poor fare and hard life should disagree with him and 
 he should die } The white chief will blame us for it and 
 make w^ar upon us." 
 
 "True," answered Champlain, "if you should be unkind 
 to the boy or harm him purposely I would surely punish 
 you. But I know that you will take good care of him and 
 treat him kindly, and I trust him wholly to you." 
 
38 TJie Closed Gateway 
 
 In the end the savages agreed to take young Brule 
 with them on condition that one of their own young men 
 might go with Cham plain and remain with him until the 
 following summer. And so the exchange was made. 
 iStienne Brule was placed in the care of an Algonquin 
 chief whose name was Iroquet and who promised to teach 
 the lad the language and the lore of his nation. A young 
 Huron was given to Champlain as a hostage and a pledge 
 for the fair treatment of Brule ; and each party promised 
 the other that when the days were again at their longest 
 they would meet on the Island of Montreal below the 
 great rapids of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Etienne Brule embarked in the canoe of his friend 
 Iroquet and was soon speeding joyfully away toward the 
 home of the Algonquins. He was the first white person 
 to pass beyond the gateway overlooked by Mont Royal, 
 ascend the Ottawa, and visit the vast forest region in the 
 country of the Great Lakes. 
 
 As for the young Indian who went with Champlain he 
 was bright and quick, and soon became much attached 
 to his master. He was given the name of Savignon, and 
 was taken not only to Quebec but soon afterward to 
 France. What a wonderful world it must have been to 
 his savage mind as he walked the streets of Paris, or stood 
 in the king's palace to be gazed at by the lords and ladies 
 of the court ! 
 
 " Well, Monsieur de Champlain," asked his friends, 
 "what have you accomplished by this last voyage.-*" 
 
 Surely, what had he accomplished } He had struck 
 another blow, inflicted another indignity, upon the proud 
 
TJic Fur Traders 
 
 39 
 
 1611 
 
 Iroquois ; and in doing this he had deepened the hatred of 
 that people toward the French, and had caused the laying 
 up of wrath the consequences of which would endure for 
 more than a century to come. Had he not accomplished 
 enough ? 
 
 V. THE FUR TRADERS 
 
 Champlain was not the man to give way to discourage- 
 ment, and besides he remembered the promise he had 
 given his savage friends to meet them in the 
 early summer at the foot of the great rapids. 
 In May he was again sailing up the St. Lawrence. He 
 stopped for only a J^rief visit with the little garrison of 
 Quebec, for he was now determined to push ^ 
 onw^ard to the western goal that had so long 
 tempted him. 
 
 Stories of the great wealth of New 
 France had already brought a num- 
 ber of adventurers to the St. 
 Lawrence, and the little post 
 of Quebec w^as the center 
 of an active trade with the 
 Indians. As Champlain's 
 vessel made its w^ay up the 
 river it was followed by thir- 
 teen boats loaded with fur traders and their goods — 
 hatchets, kettles, knives, and trinkets. The news of their 
 coming had already been carried to the tribes on the 
 Ottawa and to the Hurons by the mysterious western 
 water. Iroquet and his Algonquin followers had been 
 
 ^'C^' 
 
 Followed by thirteen boats " 
 
40 TJie Closed Gateway 
 
 busy all winter, collecting furs and getting ready for the 
 expected meeting with the great white chief and his men. 
 
 Several days before the appointed time, the ship cast 
 anchor in the broad stream close to the Island of Montreal. 
 Sailors and traders went on shore, and a busy scene fol- 
 lowed, such as Mont Royal had never before looked down 
 upon. The Indians, eager for trade, were already there 
 in great numbers. They had come in their light canoes, 
 loaded with furs from the forest. Some had reached 
 the place by the lower channel of the Ottawa ; but most 
 had preferred the upper passage, and, crossing the lake 
 of St. Louis, had shot boldly down the long rapids with a 
 dexterity and daring very astonishing to the French. 
 
 Chief Iroquet was there, and with him was Etienne Brule, 
 none the worse for his winter in the wilderness and the 
 poor fare of savage life. The lad was dressed in the rude 
 toggery of the Indians, and so bronzed by the sun and 
 wind that Champlain scarcely knew him. But he was in 
 high spirits, and told the captain that he had been treated 
 with every kindness by his Indian friends, and that, besides 
 mastering their language, he had learned a great many 
 things about their country and its resources. 
 
 But the lad had very little of importance to tell Cham- 
 plain about the great water beyond the country of the 
 Hurons, and there is no certain proof that he had gone far 
 enough westward to see it with his own eyes. He had 
 come down the Ottawa with Iroquet's band of Algonquins 
 and two hundred Hurons; and in his canoe he had shot 
 boldly down the great rapids, — the first white person to 
 perform that perilous feat. 
 
Place Royalc 
 
 41 
 
 *' Four hundred other llurons were intending to come," 
 he said, " but they heard that the Frenchmen were bring- 
 ing a war party of Iroquois 
 to destroy them, and were 
 afraid to leave their homes." 
 
 Among those who had 
 dared to come were two 
 chiefs, one of them a brother 
 of Savignon, the young host- 
 age that had been given to 
 Champlain. Savignon w^as 
 deHghted to see them. He 
 told his brother that the 
 white men had given him 
 plenty of food and had been 
 very good to him ; yet he would rather dwell with his kin 
 and endure their hard fare and share their privations than 
 be the French captain himself. And so another exchange 
 was made, and the two youths returned, each to his own 
 people, — the one happy and contented, the other restless 
 and determined to escape again to the wilderness as soon 
 as an opportunity offered. 
 
 Champlain scarcely knew him " 
 
 VI. PLACE ROY ALE 
 
 On the following day the traffic in furs and trinkets 
 began. The French traders were insolent and overbear- 
 ing, and the Indians soon became alarmed. Rumors 
 spread among them that it was the intention of the traders 
 to fall upon them suddenly and kill them with their dread- 
 
42 
 
 TJic Closed Gat CIV ay 
 
 fill arquebuses. Their fears increased until, in the end, 
 they put their canoes upon their shoulders and by a devi- 
 ous pathway carried them back to the smooth waters of 
 Lake St. Louis above the rapids. The ill-behaved traders, 
 having already secured furs enough to load their boats, 
 
 " Dexterous canoemen carried them down " 
 
 cared Httle whether they went or stayed ; but Champlain 
 was unwilHng to have his dusky allies leave him in this man- 
 ner, for he counted largely on their future friendship. Tak- 
 ing young Brule with him, therefore, he followed the fleeing 
 Hurons and overtook them, just as they were entering the 
 Lake of Two Mountains at the mouth of the Ottawa. 
 
 "Oh, great white chief!" they said, "we trust in you, 
 we love you. Come to our country ; buy our furs ; live 
 
Place Roy ale 43 
 
 with us, and be our brother, l^ut, we pray you, keep this 
 crowd of ruffians away from us." 
 
 It was useless to try to persuade them to return ; but 
 they promised that in the following spring they would 
 come again, bringing such furs as they could collect. 
 Champlain, therefore, distributed presents among them 
 and bade them good-bye. 
 
 "My young men," said one of the chiefs, "will take 
 you down to the island much quicker than you can walk." 
 
 The captain and young Brule entered a canoe that was 
 in waiting, and with a swiftness that w^as truly alarming, 
 dexterous canoemen carried them dow^n the long succes- 
 sion of falls now known as the Lachine Rapids. 
 
 Champlain remained on the island only a few days 
 longer. He chose a site for a trading house and fort, 
 and his men cleared off the trees and stones and began 
 to build a wall of masonry along the river front. 
 
 Place Royale was the name which the captain chose 
 for his fort. It was on the spot where, long afterward, 
 stood the Hospital of the Gray Nuns. But, before the 
 small fragment of wall was completed, orders were given 
 that the work should cease, and the plan was abandoned. 
 Champlain summoned his men on board the ship ; the 
 vessel was loosed from her moorings, and, with the boats 
 of the fur traders trailing in her wake, sailed slowly back 
 to Quebec. The Island of Montreal was again left to its 
 solitude, and the gateway to the Northwest remained for 
 a little while longer the extreme Hmit of exploration. 
 
AN IMAGINARY DISCOVERER 
 
 AMBITIOUS DREAMS 
 
 AMONG the traders who came up the river with 
 Champlain, there was one young man who did not 
 
 return to Ouebec. His name 
 
 was 
 
 Nicholas Vignau, and 
 
 he was known among his 
 
 1611 
 
 friends as an indo- 
 lent fellow whose 
 word was not always to be 
 depended upon. He was of 
 a roving nature, and, having 
 already spent a winter or 
 two in the fort at Quebec, 
 he had become acquainted 
 with some of the Indians 
 and had learned their lan- 
 guage quite well. Erom a 
 band of Algonquins who 
 lived in the Ottawa country 
 he had, no doubt, heard 
 some vague hints of the 
 great water that was said 
 to lie in the distant West. 
 
 Had any of them seen 
 this great water } 
 
 44 
 
Ambitious Dreams 45 
 
 No ; but they had heard of it from their friends and 
 neighbors, the Hurons, whose homes were near its shore. 
 
 Nicholas, although not brave, was ambitious. He 
 thought what a glorious thing it would be to push on 
 ahead of Champlain and be the first white man to behold 
 that mysterious and long-sought sea. What if it should 
 indeed be the South Sea, with China, and India, and the 
 golden East lying on its farther shore .? He felt himself 
 already a second Balboa, surveying the vast sea from the 
 mountain tops, and taking possession of new worlds in 
 the name of his king. 
 
 He said nothing about the matter to his companions ; 
 but from Champlain he quietly obtained leave to spend 
 the winter among the Indians so as to become better ac- 
 quainted with their language and customs. And, indeed, 
 in doing this, he was only following the wishes of his 
 captain, who thought that, by sending some of his young 
 men among the Indians, he would the sooner acquire a 
 complete knowledge of the country. At the great meet- 
 ing on the Island of Montreal he took pains to make 
 friends with certain Ottawa chiefs whose homes were 
 somewhere near the source of the river that bears their 
 name. The red men were pleased with his manners, and 
 thought that he was very wise. Would he not go home 
 with them, and live with them, that they might learn some 
 of the wonderful things that he knew } 
 
 This was just the invitation that he wanted, and he was 
 not slow in accepting it. And so, when the Algonquin 
 Ottawas embarked in their canoes for their toilsome ho'me- 
 ward voyage, young Vignau went with them. 
 
46 A/i Imaginaiy Discoverer 
 
 II. THE TALK OF PARIS 
 
 For several months nothing was heard of the adventur- 
 ous young man ; but, early the next summer, just as a ship 
 was leaving for France, he suddenly appeared at 
 Quebec. He had come down the St. Lawrence in 
 a canoe, arriving barely in time to take passage for home. 
 To his friends at the fort, who were anxious to know 
 where he had been, he gave no information, preferring 
 to tell his adventures to other listeners. Indeed, when 
 he arrived the ship was already loosed from her moor- 
 ings ; and by the time he had clambered upon deck she 
 was well out in the stream. 
 
 When Vignau reached Paris he had a wonderful tale 
 to unfold. He said that with his Indian friends he had 
 ascended the Ottawa River for some distance ; he had 
 then arrived at a great lake bordered on every side by 
 trackless forests ; in a birch canoe he had paddled across 
 this lake and had come to its chief outlet, a river, smooth- 
 flowing and deep yet much larger than the Ottawa or the 
 St. Lawrence ; he had followed this river northward and 
 found that it flowed into a vast sea which could be none 
 other than the Pacific Ocean. He had stood on the shore 
 of that sea, which could be reached in seventeen days, 
 by canoe, from Mont Royal. He had tasted of its waters 
 and found them salt. 
 
 To this plain narrative Vignau added many tales of 
 hairbreadth escapes and of wonderful feats of daring. 
 Th6 teUing of them made him for the time the most 
 admired hero in France. His dreams of glory seemed 
 
The l\ilk of Paris 
 
 47 
 
 to have come true. He was petted and flattered and 
 dined and caressed until he hardly knew whether he was 
 still Nicholas Vignau or some one else. 
 
 It so happened that, at this very time, Champlain was 
 also in Paris trying again to interest the nobles of France 
 
 Tr^^t.i^'^- ^,_., 
 
 " He had a wonderful tale to unfold " 
 
 in his project of building up an empire in the valley of 
 the St. Lawrence. Nothing could have helped his cause 
 more than the wonderful tales of Nicholas Vignau. Men 
 who had hitherto refused to listen to any of his plans now- 
 urged him, for the glory of France and their own profit, 
 to accept their aid and push forward his explorations with 
 all possible dispatch. Here, surely, was at last the long- 
 sought northern passage. Champlain himself was filled 
 with new hope, and he could scarcely wait for the sailing 
 of the ship that was to carry him back to New France. 
 
48 A /I Ii)iaginary Discoverer 
 
 III. THE ASCENT OF THE OTTAWA 
 
 Late in the month of May the tireless captain was 
 
 again at the Island of Montreal, where the lower channel 
 
 of the Ottawa unites with the St. Lawrence, 
 1613 
 
 With him, besides his Indian guides, were five 
 
 Frenchmen, one of whom was Nicholas Vignau. The 
 young man had been persuaded, much against his will, to 
 return to America and pilot Champlain's party to the 
 scene of his late adventures, the great lake, and the salt 
 sea beyond. Strange to say, he did not seem anxious to 
 go forward, but was low-spirited and morose, sighing for 
 sunny France and the gay streets of Paris. But Cham- 
 plain, with his accustomed energy, was eager to push on 
 without delay. The Httle party embarked in two small 
 Indian canoes and paddled boldly up the Ottawa. 
 
 It was a hard voyage in the face of many difficulties. 
 Now the canoemen propelled their light vessels through 
 smooth, lake-like expanses dotted with numerous green 
 islets ; now they urged their way against swift currents 
 where all their strength could scarcely prevent the .frail 
 craft from being dashed in pieces upon the rocks ; and now, 
 encountering steeper rapids, that were wholly impassable, 
 they were obliged to carry their canoes on their shoulders 
 up long and difficult slopes, to launch them again on the 
 smoother water above. On both sides of the river was 
 the unending forest, so thick with underwoods that beyond 
 a few paces nothing could be seen. 
 
 At night they slept by a camp fire on the river bank, 
 one of their number keeping watch. Owls hooted in the 
 
The Ascent of the •Ottmva 49 
 
 branches above them, strange noises issued from the 
 thickets, the screams of wild cats and the howls of wolves 
 were heard in the depths of the forest. At daybreak all 
 were astir, and, having caught some fish, they broiled them 
 on the coals and made a royal breakfast. Then they em- 
 barked again, and, battling as before with the strong cur- 
 rent, they made their slow way from point to point and 
 from rapid to rapid, each stroke of their paddles carrying 
 them a little farther into the unknown wilderness. 
 
 Thus, day after day, they toiled onward. At length 
 they reached that expansion of the river called Lake Cou- 
 longe, above which lies the large island of the Allumettes. 
 Here and beyond was the home of the Algonquins — the 
 tribe which in time gave its name to the entire race of 
 which it w^as only a single, small division. Known first 
 to the French as the Nation of the Isle, this tribe is called 
 in history the Ottawas. 
 
 Soon the voyagers came in sight of some rude clearings 
 in the woods. The underbrush had been cut away, the 
 smaller trees had been felled, and the larger trunks had 
 been scorched by fire. Among the charred stumps and 
 decaying logs were patches of cultivated ground where 
 young corn was growing and pumpkin vines were begin- 
 ning to trail over the blackened earth. In a grove close 
 by were the huts of the Indian farmers — rude structures of 
 poles covered with pieces of bark and the boughs of trees. 
 
 Some naked children playing in the fields were the first 
 to see the two canoes coming up the stream. In great 
 alarm they ran to their mothers, and soon the entire little 
 settlement was aroused. The men, making signs of friend- 
 
 ULD NORTHWEST — 4 
 
50 An luiaginaiy Discoverer 
 
 ship, and covering their mouths with their hands in token 
 of astonishment, hurried out to meet the strangers. The 
 old chief, with the peace pipe in his hands, stood at the 
 water's brink and welcomed his visitors while he quieted 
 the fears of his little flock. 
 
 "These men," he said, "must have come to us on the 
 clouds ; for how else could they have found us here in the 
 thick woods } " 
 
 He begged the strangers to stay with him a few days; 
 and, when they would not, he gave them a great dinner of 
 broiled fish and sent some of his young men to guide them 
 to the larger settlements of the tribe. 
 
 Deep hidden in the woods, at some distance from the 
 river, stood the home of Tessouat, a chief of the Ottawas. 
 Here were his clearings and his cornfields and the huts of 
 his people. Here, shut in by dense underwoods and taller 
 growths of oak and elm and pine, the old chief lived in a 
 world that was all his own. But he was not wholly ignorant 
 of the greater world outside. Three times he had floated 
 his canoe down the river, carrying skins and furs to 
 barter with the white men ; and three times he had 
 returned to his wives and people, bearing in his hands the 
 profits of his trading, precious hatchets and knives and 
 beautiful bits of colored glass. In the solitude of his 
 forest home his delight was to tell strange stories of what 
 he had seen, and especially of the big white-wdnged canoes 
 that came floating like giant waterfowls up the broad 
 St. Lawrence. Great was his surprise one morning when 
 he saw Champlain and three other white m^n approaching 
 his clearing by way of the wood path from the river. 
 
The Tabagic at CJiicf Tcssouat's 51 
 
 "Am I really awake?" he cried, rubbing his eyes. 
 " Do I see the great white chief, or am I only dreaming ? 
 Yes, truly, here is our young friend Nicholas, also ! He 
 comes again to be the guest of his redskinned brother." 
 
 Then he hurried forward to salute the Frenchmen and 
 welcome them to his home. He bade his wives sweep his 
 best cabin and make it ready for the guests ; he ordered 
 a solemn feast, or tabagic, to be prepared on the morrow ; 
 and he sent swift runners to the neighboring clearings to 
 invite his brother chiefs to come and help show honor 
 to the strangers. The women and children, and such of 
 the young men as were at home, came to look at them, 
 and stood in awed groups about the cabins, wondering 
 what would happen next. " Our friend Nicholas has 
 come again," they whispered. But the young French- 
 man seemed not to relish their greetings. 
 
 V. THE TAB AG IE AT CHIEF TES SQUAT'S 
 
 The next day the tabagie was held. On the floor in 
 Tessouat's best cabin, skins were spread for Champlain 
 and his men to sit upon. Then the guests came, one 
 by one, through the low door, each carrying his own 
 wooden platter. " Welcome, white men ! " was their 
 brief salute. They sat down on the bare ground ; and 
 Tessouat, walking between the rows of squatting chiefs, 
 dealt out to each his due portion, first of boiled hominy 
 and fish, afterwards of broiled meats. 
 
 Of the latter the Frenchmen tasted warily, for whether 
 the flesh was that of dogs, or of wild animals, or of human 
 
Aji Iniaginary Discoverer 
 
 beings, they did not know. But the Indians ate greedily, 
 and soon everything was devoured. Then the women 
 brought in fire to Hght the pipes ; the cabin door was 
 closed ; and for many minutes the chiefs sat in silent 
 thought, smoking very busily, but saying not a word. 
 At last, when the pipes were emptied and the room was 
 
 ■' The next day the tabagie was held " 
 
 dark with smoke, Chamj^lain broke the silence. He made 
 a little speech in which he told the Indians that he loved 
 them more than he could tell, and that he had traveled 
 unknown miles for no other reason than to see them. He 
 said that he was so charmed with their country that he 
 would like to pass through the whole length of it, even to 
 
The Jabagic at Chief l\ssonaf s 53 
 
 their northern neighbors, the Nipissings, and to the mighty 
 water which was said to He beyond. Would they not 
 kindly lend him four good canoes and let some of their 
 young men go with him as guides ? 
 
 For a time the chiefs made no reply ; but they relighted 
 their pipes and smoked very hard, while they s]:)oke in low 
 tones to one another. 
 
 "Who has told him about the Nipissings and the great 
 water.?" some asked. 
 
 "The Nipissings are no friends of ours," murmured 
 others. 
 
 At last Tessouat stood up and spoke. He told Cham- 
 plain that they all loved him, and for that reason they were 
 unwilling for him to go among the Nipissings. " They are 
 a cowardly people," he said; " but they are very dangerous, 
 because they deal in poisons and charms and witchcraft." 
 
 Champlain answered that he was not afraid, and that his 
 mind was made up to visit the great water w^hich he knew 
 lay beyond the country of the Nipissings. 
 
 " But the river above us is full of waterfalls and rapids," 
 said Tessouat, " and the place that you name is far distant. 
 If you escape the whirlpools and the rocks, how can you 
 carry your canoes for miles through the forest } I tell you 
 that no one, save the Hurons who live on its shores, has 
 ever been able to reach the great water." 
 
 Then Champlain took Nicholas Vignau by the hand and 
 made him stand up before the council. " Here is a man," 
 he said, " who has been through the country of the Nipis- 
 sings, and he has sailed on the great water beyond it even 
 to the western sea. He did not find the wav so hard." 
 
54 Afi Imaginary Discoverer 
 
 "What! what!" cried Tessouat. "Does Nicholas say 
 that ? Nicholas, do you say you have been there? " 
 
 Young Vignau glanced around him, and for some moments 
 was dumb. Then he murmured, "Yes, I have been there." 
 
 At once a great outcry arose among the chiefs : " What 
 does he say } What does he say } " And they looked as if 
 they would tear him in pieces. But Tessouat made answer. 
 
 "Nicholas," he said, "why do you tell this lie.'* You 
 know very well that you slept here in my cabin every night 
 that you were among us, and that you were never nearer 
 the Nipissings than you are now. It was in my canoe that 
 you came up the Ottawa after the great meeting at the 
 rapids ; and it was in my canoe that you went back to 
 the St. Lawrence in the spring. Tell us when and how 
 you went to the country of the Nipissings." 
 
 Nicholas could not say a word. He could not look the 
 old chief in the face. Champlain was greatly annoyed. 
 He led the young man aside, and said : " Nicholas, tell me 
 if you have been deceiving me. Your own actions speak 
 against you. If you really went on to the great sea, speak 
 up and tell the chiefs all about it." 
 
 " I will, I will ! " cried Nicholas ; and then he stood 
 before the council and repeated the story he had told so 
 often in Paris. 
 
 When he had finished, the Indians broke forth in a 
 storm. "Who went with you.?" they cried. "Which 
 way did you go.'' You know that your story is false." 
 
 In the midst of the uproar, the young man stood trem- 
 bling, unable to say a word. Champlain took hold of his 
 arm. " Nicholas," he said, "you must explain all this. If 
 
The Tabagic at Chief Tcssouat's 55 
 
 you have deceived me, say so, and I will forgive you. But 
 if you say nothing, and I find your story to be false, I will 
 have you hanged." 
 
 The poor fellow could hold out no longer ; he fell upon 
 his knees and confessed that he had never been nearer the 
 great water than at that moment, and that all his wonder- 
 ful tales were untrue. Champlain was so angry that he 
 ordered the culprit from his sight, and forbade him ever to 
 come into his presence again. 
 
 ** Why did you believe this worthless fellow .'' " cried the 
 Indians. *' Why did you not listen to chiefs and warriors V 
 And then the solemn council broke up. 
 
 Champlain scarcely knew what step to take next. He 
 was now at the farthest western point that any white per- 
 son except the boy Brule had ever reached in that part of 
 the continent. Of the existence of a vast sea somewhere 
 beyond the great forest, there could be no doubt. But 
 how far was it to its shores t Chief Tessouat told him 
 that he had not yet made half the journey. If this were 
 true, his toil had scarcely begun, and without more men 
 and canoes it would not be wise to venture into the 
 unknown wilds before him. 
 
 And so the enterprise was given up. In a few days the 
 Frenchmen and their guides bade good-bye to Tessouat's 
 people and began their return voyage to the St. Lawrence. 
 Forty Indian canoes went with them, Toaded with furs 
 to be bartered to the traders who were expected to meet 
 them at the Island of Montreal. It was easier to float 
 down the stream than to paddle against it ; and so the 
 journey was quickly and pleasantly performed. 
 
 V 
 
THE FIRST OF THE GREAT LAKES 
 I. A BROTHER OF THE RECOLLETS 
 
 TWO years passed before Champlain made another 
 effort to discover the secret of the wilderness. Dur- 
 ing a part of that time he was at Quebec, strengthening 
 
 the Httle settlement he had planted there, doins: 
 
 1615 ° 
 
 what he could for the fur traders, who grew more 
 
 numerous each succeeding summer, and making friends 
 with the Indians west and north. But much of the time 
 he spent in France, trying to persuade the king and his 
 nobles of the importance of occupying the St. Lawrence 
 Valley and of making further explorations into the un- 
 known West. He still believed that the St. Lawrence was 
 part of a great water way across the continent, and he was 
 convinced that this water way, when once known to the 
 world, would be the source of vast wealth to the country 
 which controlled it. 
 
 In the spring of 161 5 there came to Canada four 
 brothers of the Recollet Order of Franciscan monks. 
 They had been invited to this field by Champlain ; for the 
 heart of that brave man had been filled with pity for the 
 wretched savages, ''living," as he said, "like brute beasts 
 without religion and without God," and he had resolved 
 to do what he could to promote their conversion to the 
 Christian faith. The four friars were full of zeal, and 
 
 56 
 
A Ihvtlur of the Kcco lifts 57 
 
 ready to bear all hardshij^s and brave all dangers, in order 
 to carry the cross to the benighted heathen. They had 
 scarcely set foot upon the soil of the New World when 
 each started forth to his allotted field of labor. 
 
 The vast region of the West had been assigned to Joseph 
 le Caron, the youngest and most enthusiastic of the four. 
 It was now the season when the Hurons and the Ottawas 
 with their loads of furs were hastening down the river to 
 meet the traders on their yearly visit to the Island of Mon- 
 treal. The good brother was impatient to begin his work, 
 and could scarcely wait for the slow-moving trading vessel 
 to bear him to the place of meeting. At last, one morning 
 in May, the shores of the island appeared on the right, 
 and Le Caron saw the river before him alive with the 
 fur-laden canoes of the savages. As the ship approached 
 the landing place he beheld crowds of wild, ignorant, and 
 naked men, moving among the trees, and his heart went 
 out to them in love. 
 
 *' These are the men to whom the rest of my life shall 
 be given ! " he cried ; and he hastened to go ashore. 
 
 He was dressed in the long gray robe of his Order, girt 
 round the waist by a knotted cord. The peaked hood that 
 was sometimes drawn over his head had fallen back upon 
 his shoulders, leaving his shaved crown bare. His feet 
 were protected only by sandals strapped about his ankles. 
 He carried no weapon, displayed no symbol of authority. 
 His whole appearance was so different from that of other 
 men that the Indians were filled with awe at sight of him. 
 They wondered whether he was not some higher type of 
 being hitherto unknown to them ; and when they learned 
 
58 
 
 TJic First of the Great Lakes 
 
 that he had come, not to buy their furs, but to Hve with 
 them and do them good, they were astonished beyond 
 measure. 
 
 Le Caron began his work at once. He went about 
 among the red men, and by word and action showed them 
 that he was truly their friend. He sat 
 before their camp fires, and smoked with 
 them the pipe of peace. He 
 slept in their wigwams. He ate 
 the same simple food as they. He 
 learned to paddle their canoes and to 
 ^ ' ~ ^ t'l catch fish from the rapids with a skill 
 { IJ »t| equal to their own. When soon the 
 
 jp.:r^ m iir ^^^ ^ Huron s had bartered away all 
 
 their furs and were ready 
 ^■\ to return to their homes, 
 ■'"f -^ one of their chiefs invited him 
 to go with them. 
 
 ''Gladly will I do so," he an- 
 swered, " for I am your brother. I will spend the winter 
 in your villages." 
 
 Champlain and the traders tried to dissuade him. They 
 told him of the hardships that he must endure among the 
 savages, of the extreme cold of the Canadian winter, of 
 the wretched hovels, of the poor food, of the thousand 
 perils he would have to face. 
 
 ** Why need I fear such things 1 " he asked, '' I who 
 have given my life to poverty and whose chief thought 
 is to serve God and do good to men." 
 
 And so when the Hurons began their homeward voyage 
 
 His heart went out to them " 
 
The Wilderness Way 59 
 
 up the forest-bordered Ottawa, Lc Caron obtained leave 
 to go with them. By order of Champlain twelve soldiers 
 accompanied him, not as a bodyguard, but to be in readi- 
 ness for an important expedition soon to be undertaken 
 from the Huron country. Only four or five of these 
 soldiers knew how to handle firearms ; but their valor in 
 war was unquestioned. Not even the friar was to have 
 a free passage, for every man was expected to wield a 
 paddle and help with the canoes. 
 
 II. THE WILDERNESS WAY 
 
 It was midsummer, and Nature in the northern wilder- 
 ness was at her best. In the woods, on both sides of the 
 river, thousands of singing birds filled the air with melody ; 
 the open glades were bespangled with wild flowers ; and 
 over river and forest there was the calm beauty of perfect 
 days. But the Indians cared little for these things. Very 
 few of them had ears for melody, eyes for beauty, or hearts 
 for the appreciation of Nature's bounties. The sights and 
 sounds which gave the good friar unmeasured delight made 
 no impression upon their savage minds. 
 
 A hundred times, where the water was shallow and 
 swift, Le Caron and his companions were obliged to 
 wade through the mud and over sharp stones, pushing 
 their canoes before them. Often everything had to be 
 carried around waterfalls or dangerous rapids, up steep 
 ascents, and through pathless underwoods. Often at the 
 close of the day there was nothing to eat save a little 
 pounded corn mixed with water and warmed over the 
 
6o 
 
 TJic First of tJic Great Lakes 
 
 coals of the camp fire. Every day there was weariness 
 and hunger. 
 
 ** It would be hard to tell you how tired I was," wrote 
 the friar to a friend in France ; and yet the thought of the 
 
 " Where the water was shallow and swift " 
 
 great work which he had undertaken made him happy 
 and contented. 
 
 Day after day the toiling savages kept on their way. 
 They paddled through the broad expanse of Lake Cou- 
 longe, and saw the lonely clearings of the Algonquins on 
 its banks. They passed the island of the Allumettes, the 
 home of Chief Tessouat, until now the farthest point in 
 the wilderness which any white man had reached. They ' 
 pushed steadily onward toward the sources of the Ottawa, 
 
The JMcr DoHcc of the Huvons 6i 
 
 their passage growini;- more and more difficult with each 
 day's advance. 
 
 At length, leaving the main stream, they entered the 
 Mattawa, a small tributary which flows into the Ottawa 
 from the west. From morning till night, and far into the 
 next day, they paddled onward, the banks ever drawing 
 closer together, the water ever growing shallower, until 
 the canoes would float no farther. Then the Indians 
 loaded everything upon their shoulders. Le Caron car- 
 ried his own canoe ; the soldiers bore their share of the 
 burdens. Following a narrow path through thickets and 
 over marshy places, they soon reached a placid lake with 
 a bold, wooded shore, trending east and west. 
 
 III. THE MER DOUCE OF THE HUROXS 
 
 They were now in the country of the Xipissings, the 
 nation of reputed sorcerers and spellworkers ; and here 
 no pause was made, for, of all the Algonquin tribes, the 
 Nipissings, though friendly, were least trusted. The 
 Hurons launched their canoes upon the lake — to this 
 day known by the name of the treacherous tribe — and 
 followed its nearest shore to its outlet on the west. This 
 outlet, known since that time as the French River, they 
 entered without hesitation and, lest the Nipissings should 
 cast a spell upon them, without looking back. Their 
 course was now downstream, but the current was not 
 swift, and the canoes moved slowly. 
 
 The Indians had eaten up all their pounded corn, and 
 were obliged to stop often to search for food. Here and 
 
62 TJie First of the Great Lakes 
 
 there they found blueberries ripening on sunny hillsides. 
 Now and then some skillful hunter with his bow and 
 arrow contrived to bring down a small bird or chattering 
 squirrel. With these and some succulent roots the party 
 fought their hunger, Le Caron sharing and suffering with 
 the rest. 
 
 And now the canoes glide for miles between picturesque 
 shores with stretches of barren land on either side where 
 only the hardiest shrubs find nourishment. The July sun 
 pours its beams upon the head of the toilworn friar, and 
 he falls back, overcome, into the arms of his companion. 
 But suddenly he is aroused by cries from the other canoes. 
 He raises his head and looks. They are approaching the 
 great water. Before them the vast sea stretches away 
 and away until it meets the blue sky in the far distance. 
 To the right and the left its shores extend northwestward 
 and southward farther than the eye can reach. Le Caron 
 staggers to his feet. His joy makes him forget for the 
 moment that he is only a poor friar whose sole ambition 
 is to carry the knowledge of the cross into the wilderness. 
 He can scarcely wait for his canoe to reach the mouth of 
 the stream and shoot out into the rippling waters beyond. 
 He dips his hand into the waves and raises it to his lips. 
 The water is sweet to the taste ; there is not the slightest 
 trace of the saltish bitterness that belongs to the ocean. 
 
 " It is the Mer Douce ! " cries the friar. '' It is the 
 great Fresh-water Sea of which we have heard so much ! " 
 He lands at once, and, planting a cross in the sand, gives 
 thanks that he has been brought safe to this remote spot 
 in the heart of the wilderness. 
 
TJic Mcr Douce of tJic J //irons 63 
 
 But now he remembers himself and his mission, and the 
 glory of his discovery is forgotten. He has come to the 
 New World, not to explore new regions, but to save souls. 
 To him the baptism of a single savage is of far greater 
 importance than the discovery of many seas. Hencefor- 
 ward nothing shall for a moment cause his mind to waver 
 from the great purpose to which he has dedicated his life. 
 
 It was thus that, in July, 161 5, the humble Recollet 
 brother, Joseph le Caron, discovered the first known of the 
 five Great Lakes. By the French it was long known as 
 the Mer Douce, or Fresh-water Sea, of the Hurons. Later 
 it received the name of Lake Iroquois ; but this designa- 
 tion soon gave place to its present title,- Lake Huron, thus 
 preserving the memory of the frowzy-haired savages whose 
 homes were near its shores. 
 
thp: sfxond of the great lakes 
 
 I. THE TREATY WITH THE HURONS 
 
 THE discovery of Lake Ontario followed quickly upon 
 that of Lake Huron, but it happened in a way that 
 )ou would never have supposed. Looking at a map of 
 
 the lakes, you would 
 ^•^>^ \ say that its discov- 
 ery was most likely 
 made by ascending 
 the St. Lawrence directly 
 from the Island of Mon- 
 treal. This certainly would 
 seem the easiest and most natural 
 way. But it must be remembered 
 that Champlain had no map, except a very imperfect one 
 of his own making,, and that, aside, from the vague descrip- 
 tions given him by the Indians, he was entirely ignorant 
 of the course of the river. He had been told that it was 
 obstructed by rapids and by waterfalls of immeasurable 
 height. Moreover, the region through which it flowed 
 was infested by the dreaded Iroquois, whose war parties 
 patroled the forests and were supposed to guard every 
 pass. Plainly, therefore, the only safe route westward 
 from the Island of Montreal was by way of the Ottawa 
 River, through regions inhabited by Indians not unfriendly 
 to the French. 
 
 64 
 
TJic Treaty with tJic lluiviis 65 
 
 Let us go back now to that time in May when the 
 Indians and fur traders had their spring meeting in the 
 shadow of Mont Royal, and when l^^ithcr le Caron made 
 his first acquaintance with savage life. Champlain was 
 at that meeting, doing all that he could to pro- 
 mote friendship among the Indians, and to unite 
 the tribes of the St. Lawrence in a league for self-defense 
 and the advancement of French interests. The Hurons 
 came to him with the old story of wrongs suffered from 
 the Iroquois; and they begged that he would help them 
 strike one more blow at their hated enemies. They would 
 raise a great war party, they said ; they would invade the 
 country of the Iroquois, and destroy their villages and 
 farms ; they would drive them far back from the St. Law- 
 rence — all this they would do, if only the white chief with 
 a few of his warriors would go home with them and put 
 himself at the head of their young braves and go on the 
 warpath with them. 
 
 Champlain did not need much persuasion. He had 
 already made the Iroquois his enemies. Knowing but 
 little of their strength, he beHeved that it would be easier 
 to crush them than by any means to win their friendship. 
 By fighting them he would secure the allegiance and aid 
 of all the tribes north of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 An agreement with the Huron chiefs was therefore 
 soon made. Champlain was to hurry back to Quebec to 
 make the needful preparations. The Hurons were to go 
 directly home, call their warriors together, and await his 
 coming. Then all were to join in a grand raid into the 
 land of the Iroquois. 
 
 OLD NORTHWES'l — C 
 
66 TJic Second of tJic Great Lakes 
 
 Within two weeks from the time that Father le Caron 
 had started on his wearisome voyage up the Ottawa, 
 Champlain had returned from Quebec and was following 
 on his track. With him were ten Indians and two French- 
 men, one of whom was young Etienne Brule, soon to 
 become known as the bravest among the scouts of the 
 wilderness. These, with the twelve soldiers who had gone 
 on before, were to be the French contingent of the war. 
 
 The company embarked on the Ottawa in two canoes, and 
 pushed forward with the hope of overtaking the Hurons 
 and the missionary. They passed the place where now 
 stands the capital city of Canada. They carried their 
 canoes around the cataract of Chaudiere, where the awed 
 Indians paused to throw gifts of tobacco into the whirling 
 stream to appease the manitou of the waters. They pad- 
 dled through Lake Coulonge, already familiar to Cham- 
 plain. They skirted the island home of Chief Tessouat, 
 but did not tarry to renew old friendships. They toiled 
 against the rapids in the upper course of the river, then 
 turned into the Mattawa, and crossed the short portage to 
 Lake Nipissing. Here they were entertained for two days 
 by a friendly band of Nipissings, who welcomed the white 
 men to their cabins and gave them a feast of fish and of 
 choice game from the woods. Then they embarked again, 
 and, floating down the French River, finally reached the 
 Mer Douce, the great lake of the Hurons, only ten days 
 after its discovery by Father le Caron. 
 
 What may have been the feelings of Champlain as he 
 at last stood upon the shore of this "great water" it is 
 impossible for us to know. True, it was not the western 
 
OtoiiacJia 6^ 
 
 ocean, the object of his desires, for the water here was 
 fresh ; but he had reasons to beheve that that greater 
 water was onl)^ a short distance farther west. He doubt- 
 less had dreams of the wonderful lands which he supposed 
 to lie beyond the western horizon. There, he imagined, 
 were China and India and the golden East ; but his 
 wildest fancy failed to picture the great hives of human 
 industry, the wealth and power, which now exist in that 
 then unknown region of the Old Northwest. 
 
 The home of Champlain's Huron allies was still far 
 away, toward the southern point of that arm of Lake 
 Huron which we call the Georgian Bay. The canoes 
 were therefore soon launched on the great water, and the 
 voyage was resumed. Day after day the adventurers held 
 on their course, keeping the land close on their left. They 
 skirted many a wooded island, and glided through many 
 a rocky channel where the only sound to be heard was 
 the lapping of the waves against the shore, or the scream- 
 ing of some fishhawk circling in the clear air above them. 
 Food became scarce, for the savages had eaten so heartily 
 at the beginning of the expedition that the supply was 
 exhausted. But some squashes and wild berries were 
 found on the shore, and with these the voyagers were 
 obliged to satisfy their hunger. 
 
 II. OTOUACHA 
 
 At length, early in the month of August, Champlain 
 and his companions reached the end of their voyage — 
 a voyage on rivers and lakes of nearly a thousand miles. 
 
68 TJic Second of the Great Lakes 
 
 The canoes were hauled ashore and Hfted upon the shoul- 
 ders of the brawny Indians. Then the whole party struck 
 inland. Following a narrow path through the tall grass 
 
 of the meadows and among the thickets which 
 1615 
 
 skirted the great forest, they came in time to a 
 
 large clearing upon the slope of a sunny hill. There, 
 surrounded by fields of corn and patches of gay sunflowers, 
 stood the village of Otoiiacha, one of the twenty or more 
 settlements of the Hurons. 
 
 In the village were perhaps thirty houses, all built in 
 the fashion peculiar to the Hurons and Iroquois. They 
 were much like the buildings which Jacques Cartier had 
 found at Hochelaga, eighty years before. Each house 
 was thirty or thirty-five feet in width, while several were 
 of great length, one of them measuring one hundred and 
 eighty feet from end to end. The framework was of stout 
 sapHngs bent over at the top, so as to form an arching 
 roof, and the whole was covered with layers of* bark. At 
 the middle of the roof, extending the whole length of the 
 house, there was an open space several inches wide which 
 served at once for window and chimney. The fires were 
 built on the ground directly under this opening, and each 
 fire served for two families. Ranged along the two sides 
 of the great room were scaffolds supported by poles and 
 covered with bark and skins. In the summer time these 
 were used as sleeping places ; but in the winter the fami- 
 lies slept on the ground, closely huddled together around 
 the fire. Suspended from the arched roof were bunches 
 of dried herbs, ears of unshelled corn, the skins of various 
 animals, and numerous ornaments and articles of dress. 
 
OtoiiacJia 
 
 69 
 
 In a sin<;lc house there were often as many as twenty 
 families. 
 
 The people of Otoiiacha received Chamj:)lain with many 
 expressions of joy. A great feast was made in his honor, 
 and vast quantities of pumpkins and corn and fish, with 
 
 
 H,. •-' 
 
 
 Interior oi a Huron house 
 
 roasted dog and other savory meats, were consumed. Run- 
 ners were sent to the other villages, and warriors began 
 to assemble, eager for the great raid into the land of the 
 Iroquois. 
 
 On the next day, Champlain began a tour through the 
 other settlements of the Hurons ; and hearty was the wel- 
 come with which he was everywhere greeted. One of their 
 
70 
 
 TJie Scco}ui of the Great Lakes 
 
 largest villages was Carhagouha, surrounded by high pali- 
 sades — three rows of tree trunks — and guarded by dusky 
 warriors. Here, whom should he meet but the humble 
 friar, Joseph le Caron, who, with his twelve soldier com- 
 panions, had arrived there several days before. *' Good 
 father," said Champlain, "the chase has been a long one, 
 but I have overtaken you at last." 
 
 The strong: men knelt in adoration " 
 
 1615 
 
 The Hurons, who had been strangely won by the gentle- 
 ness and unselfishness of the friar, had built for him a little 
 chapel of bark in the edge of the woods. And 
 there, on the twelfth of August, clad in priestly 
 robes, he stood before a rude altar which he had made 
 with his own hands and performed the ceremony of holy 
 mass. Champlain and Etienne Brule and the other 
 
The Discovery of Lake Ontario yi 
 
 Frenchmen who had ventured into that wilderness land 
 were ranged behind him. The priest raised aloft the 
 emblems of the Catholic faith ; the strong men knelt in 
 reverent adoration ; and then the voices of all joined in 
 singing a hymn of praise to God. Thus, in the quiet of 
 the ancient forest, just outside of the chief village of the 
 Hurons, was j^erformcd the first public religious service 
 in the country of the Great Lakes. 
 
 III. THE I)ISCO\'ERY OF LAKE ONTARIO 
 
 Meanwhile, the Huron warriors were getting ready for 
 the warpath, and there was much feasting and rejoicing 
 because of the victories that were hoped for, although 
 they had yet to be won. From Carhagouha, Cham- 
 plain and his men journeyed southward, where were sev- 
 eral villages close together, and where the beauty and 
 richness of the country were unexcelled. The French- 
 men were impatient to advance, but the Indians had so 
 forgotten themselves in their various festivities that they 
 were no longer anxious to go upon the warpath. It was 
 pleasanter to feast and dream of conquest than to endure 
 the hardships and dangers of a real campaign. After 
 many delays, however, everything was finally ready, and 
 the horde of dusky warriors, twenty-five hundred strong, 
 set their faces toward the enemy's country, their hearts 
 full of savage courage and hope. 
 
 Far to the south, three days' journey beyond the country 
 of the Iroquois, there lived a nation that had always been 
 friendly to the Hurons. The people of this nation were 
 
72 TJie Second of the Great Lakes 
 
 called Andastes. They dwelt in three villages near the 
 headwaters of a great river and could muster fully a 
 thousand warriors. They had more than once, in former 
 days, aided the Hurons in warfare against their common 
 foes, and they had promised to aid them again. If only 
 they could be told about the great war party that was now 
 on its way, they would no doubt send their young men at 
 once to attack the Iroquois from the south and thus make 
 the defeat doubly sure. 
 
 And so a council was held, and twelve warriors were 
 chosen to go with all haste, by the safest and most secret 
 route, to the country of the Andastes and secure their aid. 
 Champlain thought that for several reasons it would be 
 wise to send one of his white men with this embassy. He 
 had no trouble in making a choice ; for who was so well 
 fitted for this dangerous service as young Etienne Brule 1 
 
 Look now at the map, and trace the course of the great 
 war party of Hurons. On Lake Simcoe, which bounded 
 their country on the south, a fleet of canoes awaited them. 
 Embarking in these, they paddled eastward along its 
 northern shore for twenty miles or more. Then after 
 carrying their canoes through the woods for a long dis- 
 tance, they reached the chain of smaller lakes and streams 
 that form the headwaters of the river Trent. They made 
 many stops on the way, now feasting in some friendly 
 village, now fishing in the clear, cold streams, now 
 hunting deer and small game in the dense woods. 
 At length, late in September, the canoes glided suddenly 
 out from the mouth of the Trent, and the eyes of Cham- 
 plain were gladdened by the sight of the watery ex- 
 
The Raid uf^oji (Jif Iroqitois 73 
 
 panse of which he had already heard much from his 
 Indian friends — Lake Ontario, the second of the Great 
 Lakes to bo beheld by white men. ]^ut I^^tienne Brule, 
 hastenini,^ by the nearest route to the country of the 
 Andastes, had doubtless seen this lake and paddled his 
 canoe upon it several days before ; and it is to him rather 
 than to Champkiin that the honor of its discovery belongs. 
 
 W. THE RAID UPON THE IROQUOIS 
 
 The course of the invading warriors was now across 
 the narrow northeastern portion of the lake, where many 
 small islands lay in their way, making their passage easier 
 and safer. In a short time they landed on the opposite 
 side, in what is now the state of New York. They hid 
 their canoes in the thickets by the shore, and then, like 
 the skulking mob of marauders which they were, they stole 
 cautiously through the woods southward into the heart of 
 the Iroquois country. 
 
 We need not follow them. It is enough to know that 
 their invasion did not end in success. Without waiting 
 for the expected aid from the friendly Andastes, Huron s 
 and Frenchmen made a hasty attack upon a well-fenced 
 town of the Onondagas. But they met with such sturdy 
 resistance that they were glad to withdraw. The Iro- 
 quois were better fighters than they, and were not to be 
 thrown into a panic by the firing of a few arquebuses. 
 Champlain himself was wounded, and was carried away 
 in a basket. The great war party was broken up into 
 small bands, and each band made its way back, as best it 
 
74 
 
 The Second of the Great Lakes 
 
 
 
 could, to the homes of the nation by the shore of the Mer 
 Douce. 
 
 Champlain, after many thrilling adventures, succeeded 
 in recrossing Lake Ontario, and soon after the beginning 
 of winter was safely housed in one of the villages of the 
 Hurons. And there, suffering from his wounds and con- 
 fined by the storms of 
 a most rigorous season, 
 he was obliged to re- 
 main until the following 
 spring. 
 
 In the meanwhile. 
 Father le Caron had 
 found plenty to do in 
 the village of Carha- 
 gouha. He made him- 
 self at home with the 
 poor people there, and 
 interested himself in 
 their welfare. He sat 
 
 '"What good news have you now?"' .^^ ^^^^j^ Councils, and 
 
 smoked with the old men who were too feeble to follow 
 the warpath. He was always ready to offer a helping 
 hand to those who were in need, and to give a word of 
 kindly sympathy to those who were in distress. The 
 children loved him, and the whole village held him in 
 respect. But, while they regarded his religion as some- 
 thing to be thought of with awe and a species of rever- 
 ence, they could not understand it, and not one convert 
 did the good friar make. 
 
 .TO!te, 
 
The Raid upon the Iivquois 75 
 
 In the spring, for some reason that has not been ex- 
 plained, he decided to return to Quebec. He did not know 
 that Champlain had spent the winter in another village 
 not forty miles away ; for deep drifts of snow lay between 
 Carhagouha and the rest of the world, and for months no 
 news was brought in from the other settlements. With 
 the first breaking up of the ice the friar was ready to start 
 on the long voyage, by way of Lake Nipissing and the 
 Ottawa, back to the settlement on the St. Lawrence. Had 
 he waited ten days longer he might have had the company 
 of Champlain. It so happened, however, that the two 
 men did not see each other again until they met a month 
 later at the little fort of Quebec. We can imagine that 
 meeting and the heartiness with which the sturdy captain 
 greeted the meek and devoted friar. 
 
 ** What good news have you now. Father le Caron ? " 
 ''Good news .-^ Why, the same story of hardships and 
 discouragements in a good cause. But shall we not per- 
 severe 1 " 
 
 "Indeed we shall, and we shall succeed, too." 
 But henceforth Le Caron's work was to be in other fields, 
 and we shall hear of him no more. 
 
THE THIRD OF THE GREAT LAKES 
 I. THE YOUNG MAN FROM NORMANDY 
 
 AT about the time that the Recollet friar, Joseph le 
 Caron, was returning from his winter's sojourn among 
 the Hurons, there came to Canada a young man from 
 
 , , Normandy whose name was Jean Nicolet. From 
 1616 ^ •' 
 
 boyhood he had been a restless fellow, fond of 
 
 adventure, and eager for new and dangerous enterprises. 
 His father had wished him to become a priest, and his 
 mother had taken pains to have him instructed in all the 
 common observances of religion. But he could not en- 
 dure restraint, and the free life of the woods with all its 
 perils seemed to him much pleasanter than the quiet hum- 
 drum of a village or the noisy bustle of a city. 
 
 He had heard much about the vast new country of Can- 
 ada, about its trackless forests and its rivers whose sources 
 no man had yet discovered. He had listened to strange 
 tales about the savage men and the wild beasts which lived 
 and roamed in that unexplored region ; and vague stories 
 had come to his ears of mighty seas hidden in the wilder- 
 ness, and of a direct passage through them to the golden 
 shores of China. A mind like his was easily stirred by 
 reports of this kind ; and, before the beard had begun 
 to grow on his chin, he had left his humble home and 
 
 76 
 
The \ 'oimg Man froji Normandy yy 
 
 embarked on a ship that was setting sail for this fairyland 
 of adventure. 
 
 When he arrived at the little station of Ouebee he was 
 without money and without friends. But of what use was 
 money in the wild woods where there was nothing to buy ? 
 And as for friends, would not his quick wit and his kind 
 heart win for him as many as he needed .'' Champlain, who 
 could read a man's character well, saw that Nicolet was 
 brave and shrewd, and that he was well suited for the 
 daring work of a scout and trader among the Indians. 
 He therefore advised him to go and live among the Algon- 
 quin s on the Ottawa, to learn their language and manners, 
 and to inure himself to all the hardships of life in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 A trading vessel was about to sail for the Island of 
 Montreal, and Jean Nicolet embarked as a passenger. 
 There were other adventurers on board, for it was at the 
 time of the spring meeting of traders and Indians at the 
 mouth of the Ottawa. The " beaver fair," as it came to 
 be called, was then rather a new thing; for the Indians 
 had only recently learned to carry their furs there to be 
 bartered to the French traders. It was soon to become 
 the great event of the year and the chief market for furs 
 in Canada. 
 
 There were some Ottaw^a Indians on the vessel — 
 going home after a visit to the great white chief ; and 
 with these Jean Nicolet hastened to become acquainted. 
 He took careful notice of everything that was said, and 
 soon learned many of their words and w^as able to talk 
 with them. They were much pleased with all this ; and 
 
78 
 
 TJic Third of tJic Great Lakes 
 
 when he told them that he was going to Hve Hke them in 
 the wdld woods, they said that he was very brave and would 
 be a great man. 
 
 When the ship arrived off the Island of Montreal, the 
 traders showed young Nicolet the place which Champlain 
 had chosen for a fort. "If a strong blockhouse were 
 
 " On the lookout for bargains " 
 
 built here," they said, *Mt would guard the only gateway 
 to the west, and make this point the chief center of the 
 fur trade and the most important place in Canada." 
 
 At this very place, lining the shore of the island, there 
 are now long lines of wharves and storehouses, and 
 narrow streets where the hum of traffic is daily heard. 
 But when Jean Nicolet landed there he saw only some 
 
TJic YoiDio- Man froin Xoruiandy 79 
 
 smouldering fires on the bank and a few straggling Indian 
 "huts among the trees. A little farther on, there was a 
 much busier scene. The river seemed alive with Indian 
 canoes and the boats of the traders. On the shore were 
 tents and booths and blazing camp fires ; and among these 
 moved Frenchmen, armed and gayly uniformed, and tall, 
 lithe savages in the scanty garb of the woods. 
 
 Both red men and white were on the lookout for bar- 
 gains. The former were neither so wise nor so wary as 
 they afterward became, and wxre willing to barter the 
 finest of their furs for a long knife, a sharp-edged hatchet, 
 or an iron kettle. The latter, knowing the value of each 
 class of goods, were intent upon getting as much as pos- 
 sible for as little as possible, and in this they succeeded 
 well. 
 
 Jean Nicolet's first care was to become acquainted with 
 the Indians. He was impatient to leave all signs of 
 civilized life behind him, to plunge into the depths of the 
 forest, to spend his days in hunting and trapping and 
 wild adventure. He mingled with the red men and 
 studied their manners; he threw aside his French cloth- 
 ing and- dressed himself in skins and the toggery of 
 a savage ; and before many days had passed he had 
 gained the admiration and confidence of more than one 
 Algonquin brave. At last, when all the furs had been 
 bartered away and the traders were getting ready to 
 return to Quebec, Nicolet had disappeared. He had 
 joined himself to a party of Indian hunters, and was 
 pushing his way through brakes and swamps and wild 
 woods toward the headwaters of the Ottawa. 
 
8o The Tliird of tJic Great Lakes 
 
 When next we hear of him he is with Chief Tessouat's 
 people on the island of the AUumettes. Then he is with" 
 the Nipissings, then with the Hurons, and then again 
 with the Ottawas. The free life of the forest was exactly 
 suited to his restless nature, and he endured its hardships 
 without any thought of complaint. Wandering freely 
 wherever his fancy led him, he explored all that region 
 which lies between the sources of the Ottawa and the 
 great lake of the Hurons. He learned all the woodcraft 
 of the Indians, and he knew their languages as well as 
 his mother tongue. Living this wild life for years, his 
 thoughts and habits became more and more like the 
 thoughts and habits of his dusky friends. But the lessons 
 of religion which his mother had taught him in his child- 
 hood remained deeply implanted in h'is heart, and these 
 served constantly to remind him of home and civilization. 
 
 II. THE SCOUTS OF THE WILDERNESS 
 
 There is no doubt that Jean Nicolet, when visiting the 
 Huron settlements, often met Etienne Brule, whose life 
 had been even fuller of wild adventure than his own. 
 Brule, as we have already learned, had been with Cham- 
 plain in the last disastrous raid of the Hurons into the 
 land of the Iroquois. He had been sent on a mission to 
 the Andastes Indians, enemies of the Iroquois, who lived 
 at some distance farther south. He had wintered with 
 these savages, and in the spring had floated down the 
 Susquehanna River to its mouth — being the first white 
 man to set foot in what is now Pennsylvania. Returning 
 
The Scouts of tJic Wilderness 
 
 81 
 
 1616 
 
 northward, he had been captured by a band of Iroquois, 
 
 who had burned his face with firebrands and tortured 
 
 him in the most dreadful manner ; but his fearlessness 
 
 and contempt of pain had won the admiration 
 
 of his captors; a sudden thunderstorm- so filled 
 
 them with superstitious terror that they set him free and 
 
 helped him on his way to the Huron country. Since then 
 
 l^rule had lived much of the time among the tribes by 
 
 the shores of the Mer 
 
 Douce; he had made long 
 
 voyages in his canoe, and 
 
 had explored the lake 
 
 country far to the west ; 
 
 and he had become so 
 
 inured to savage life that 
 
 he had no wish to return 
 
 to civilization. 
 
 It is interesting to im- 
 as^ine Brule and Nicolet 
 spending many days to- 
 gether, each telling the 
 other of the strange things 
 he had seen, of his ex- 
 ploits in hunting and in 
 war, and of his marvelous 
 escapes from flood and 
 
 fire and wild beasts and savage men. It is more than likely 
 that Brule then described a long canoe voyage which we 
 know he had recently made toward the remote West. It 
 was Champlain who had urged him to make this voyage. 
 
 Each telling the other of the things 
 he had seen " 
 
 OLD NORTHWEST 
 
82 The TJiird of the Great Lakes 
 
 With another white man, named Grenolle, and several 
 Hurons, he had paddled nine days along the great north 
 shore, coming at last to the mouth of a broad river which 
 enters the Mer Douce from the northwest. He had 
 ascended that river for three days, until he arrived at 
 the foot of some long and dangerous rapids, which pre- 
 vented his farther progress. He found there some fishing 
 Indians who called themselves Otchipwes (Chippewas), 
 and who spoke the Algonquin language. These savages 
 had told him that only a short distance above the rapids 
 one would come to the shore of a vast sea, the end of 
 which no man had ever yet beheld. And they gave him 
 a large lump of copper which had been found on the 
 shore of that mysterious water. 
 
 " And did you go onward and see with your own eyes 
 the wonderful things which these Indians told you about.? " 
 
 " If I had done so, would I not now be in Quebec 
 telHng Champlain of my discoveries .? I need not explain 
 why I did not go ; but at some time I hope to pilot our 
 captain to the shores of the western ocean and point out 
 to him the long-sought route to China." 
 
 " Do you really think that the great sea which the 
 Otchipwes told you about is a part of that ocean } " 
 
 " There is no doubt about it. By that vast water lies 
 the. way to the South Sea which the Spaniards discovered 
 more than a hundred years ago. Heretofore only one 
 gateway to that ocean has been known to the world, and 
 that lies at the southern end of the continent and is 
 controlled by Spain. Soon this other and shorter route 
 will be opened, and it shall belong to France." 
 
The Scouts of the Wilderness 83 
 
 Wc can imagine Nicole t listening with the greatest 
 attention. His knowledge of geography was very limited, 
 but he had often heard of China and India, and he knew 
 that for many years French and English navigators had 
 been seeking in vain for a new route to the western ocean. 
 He supposed that if that ocean could once be reached, it 
 would be an easy matter to cross over into the strange 
 lands on the other side. 
 
 " Did the Indians tell you anything about the people 
 who live beyond the western sea .'' " Such is another 
 question which he would probably ask Brule. 
 
 " Nothing definite. But they said they had heard of 
 men who looked a little like Frenchmen, but were of a 
 darker color and had neither beard nor hair. These men, 
 they said, dressed in a strange fashion, smoked long- 
 stemmed pipes, and were armed with stone hatchets." 
 
 ** The Nipissings, among whom I lived eight summers, 
 told me the same story." 
 
 What could better satisfy the restless nature of these 
 two rovers than to go in quest of the mysterious regions 
 in the distant West } They cared nothing for the glory 
 of discovery ; but the mere love of adventure was always 
 tempting them into new fields of danger. Yet we are 
 not told, nor is it Hkely, that they agreed upon any 
 plan of action. When they parted, each went his own 
 way. 
 
 Soon after this, a dreadful fate overtook Etienne Brule. 
 In some way, we are not told how, he gained 
 the ill will of certain young Hurons, and was 
 treacherously beaten to death in one of their villages. 
 
The Third of the Great Lak 
 
 -es 
 
 Not satisfied with killing their former friend, the wretched 
 
 savages made a feast and ate his body. 
 
 Brule's death was long 
 remembered and lamented 
 among the Indians ; and, 
 as they believed, it 
 was strangely avenged. 
 Alarmed at the cruel 
 deed which had been 
 done among them, the 
 people of the village had 
 deserted their homes and 
 built a new town several 
 miles away. But this did 
 not free them from a 
 feeling of guilt; for when, 
 soon afterward, a strange 
 sickness came upon them 
 and destroyed nearly half 
 
 of the Huron nation, they declared that this affliction had 
 
 come upon them as a punishment for their crime. 
 
 'A dreadful fate " 
 
 III. THE GOVERNOR-S COMMISSIOxN 
 
 In the following year a great beaver market was held 
 at the new trading post of Three Rivers, midway between 
 Quebec and the Island of Montreal, and Jean 
 Nicolet was there as interpreter for the Indian 
 tribes. To Champlain, who was now the governor of 
 New France, he no doubt related all that he had heard 
 
 1633 
 
The Discovery of Lake M iciiigau (S5 
 
 about the far distant West. Not only did he narrate the 
 story of l^rule's adventurous voyage and tell of the lump 
 of copper brought from the shore of the unknown sea, 
 but he repeated many vague tales which he had gathered 
 among the Nipissings and the Hurons. He spoke espe- 
 cially of the wonderful people who were said to be " like 
 Frenchmen, but had neither hair nor beards." These 
 people he believed to be the same as those whom the 
 Nipissings called " Ouinnepegs," which in the Algonquin 
 language meant ''men of the fetid water." Was it not 
 possible that they and the people known to Europeans as 
 Chinese were the same 1 
 
 Champlain was deeply interested in these stories, and 
 he determined to send some one to explore the water ways 
 of the distant West, to discover if possible the best route 
 to the South Sea, and to visit the country of the half- 
 mythical Ouinnepegs. 
 
 Who was better fitted for this mission than Jean Nicolet.^ 
 For a long time the heart of this brave woods ranger had 
 been set upon learning more about the unknown regions 
 toward the setting sun. Champlain saw in him one who, 
 by nature and by experience, was peculiarly quahfied for 
 such an enterprise. It was easy to persuade him to go. 
 
 IV. THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE MICHIGAN 
 
 In the following summer, therefore, Nicolet started from 
 
 Three Rivers on his long and dangerous voyage. 
 
 ^ " ^ ^ 1634 
 
 With him were two Jesuit priests, Brebeuf and 
 
 Daniel, bound for the Huron country, where the former 
 
86 TJic TJiird of the Great Lakes 
 
 had already spent some time, and where they hoped soon 
 to found a mission for the conversion of the savages. 
 Seven Indians undertook to paddle Nicolet's canoes and 
 guide him along the intricate shores of the lake. 
 
 They followed the route over which Father le Caron 
 had passed nearly twenty years earlier, tarrying a little 
 while with the Nipissings, who w^ere friendly to Nicolet, 
 ■T,^,^v ,-15^ e and by no means so 
 
 ^"^^ ^^—^^.--^^■..-^p^^ bad as their neiGfhbors 
 II,, ^'\.^ \^ had painted them. At 
 " ' the mouth of French River 
 
 the priests turned southwardly toward 
 their chosen field of labor, while Nicolet and 
 his canoemen struck boldly out in the opposite direction. 
 They crossed the head of Georgian Bay, and skirted the 
 southern shore of the Great Manitoulin Island. They 
 threaded their way among green islets and through wind- 
 ing channels, and at length entered the broad strait or 
 river of which Etienne Brule had spoken. The current 
 was not strong, and they paddled boldly onward through 
 scenes of striking beauty. For twenty leagues they 
 ascended the stream, when suddenly they were checked 
 by a long stretch of dangerous rapids. They were at 
 the spot since known as the Sault Sainte Marie. Many 
 Indians of the Chippewa nation were there, fishing ; and 
 Nicolet landed on the south side of the river, and held 
 a council with them. Thus, in the summer of 1634, if 
 we disregard the possible visit of Brule to the same spot, 
 did the foot of white man first tread the soil of Michigan. 
 
 The Chippewas told Nicolet that by carrying his canoes 
 
The Discovery of Lake MicJiigan 
 
 «7 
 
 
 ../;, ' 
 
 around the great sault, or rapids, and launching them 
 above, he would soon reach a boundless sea, but a sea of 
 fresh water, and, therefore, certainly not the salt ocean 
 which he had hoped to discover. Did the Ouinnepegs, 
 the "men of the fetid sea," live that way? Was there 
 anywhere on the shores of that water a people who had 
 neither hair nor beard, 
 and who smoked long 
 pipes and looked a little 
 like Frenchmen ? 
 
 The Chippewas were 
 acquainted with a tribe 
 called Ouinnepegs, or 
 Winnebagoes, living on 
 another lake some dis- 
 tance southward. But 
 whether these were the 
 men whom Nicolet sought, 
 they could not say. He 
 
 asked them to give him guides ; and, without taking the 
 trouble to visit the mighty lake which was almost in sight, 
 he ordered the canoes to be turned about, and forthwith 
 retraced his way down the broad river. 
 
 When they again reached the lake of the Hurons, the 
 explorers turned to the right, and, following the wooded 
 shore, soon arrived in sight of the bold cliffs of the 
 Island of Mackinac. And now Nicolet could see the 
 shore of the mainland on either side, and was told that 
 here was the passageway between the Mer Douce and 
 another large body of water on the west. Continuing 
 
 Chippewas fishing 
 
88 TJic TJiird of the Great Lakes 
 
 his course, it was not long until he entered that unknown 
 sea, and, first of white men, beheld the vast expanse of 
 waters since known as Lake Michigan. 
 
 Thus, ninety-nine years after Jacques Cartier stood 
 on Mont Royal and gazed with eager eyes toward the 
 northwestern wilderness, the third of the Great Lakes 
 was discovered. 
 
 V. THE MEN OF THE FETID SEA 
 
 Still keeping close to the right-hand shore, Nicolet 
 and his company paddled onward toward the west. 
 They stopped for a day with some Algonquin Indians 
 on the shore of the Bay de Noquet, and learned from 
 them that the people called Ouinnepegs (Winnebagoes) 
 or Men of the Fetid Water, lived south of them at a 
 distance of two days' journey. 
 
 And did these people really dwell on the shores of a 
 salt sea or fetid lake .'' No one knew of such a sea. 
 Then, why had they been given the name of Ouinne- 
 pegs.'* In former times they may have lived by some 
 such water, but the oldest man among them did not 
 remember it. 
 
 Nicolet still had the thought of the western ocean ,in 
 his mind, and he did not give up the idea that the 
 Ouinnepegs had come from the neighborhood of its 
 shores. He smoked the pipe of peace with the friendly 
 Algonquins, and then started again on his voyage. His 
 course was along the western shore of that arm of the 
 lake which we call Green Bay, but which the French 
 
The Men of the Fetid Sea 89 
 
 afterward named l^aic des Puans (Bay of the Fetids), 
 because "the men of the fetid water" lived near it. 
 
 On the following day Nicolet landed again and was 
 kindly received by some Indians of the tribe of Menom- 
 inees — eaters of wild rice, whose home was on the 
 river still known by their name. ■ To these Nicolet made 
 signs of friendship ; and when they learned whither he 
 was bound, they kindly offered to guide him to the chief 
 town of the Ouinnepegs, now not many leagues away. 
 
 At length the voyagers, approaching the head of the 
 bay, beheld the blue smoke curling up from the village 
 huts of the tribe they were seeking. They turned their 
 canoes into a narrow inlet near the mouth of the Fox 
 River, and leaped ashore on the spot where now stands 
 the city of Green Bay. 
 
 It was thus, while yet nearly the whole of North 
 America was an unknown land, that Wisconsin was first 
 entered by a white man. At that time scarcely half a 
 dozen settlements had been made in our entire country. 
 Not quite fifteen years had passed since the landing of 
 the Pilgrims at Plymouth. A few Dutch trading posts 
 had been established on the Hudson. In Virginia, a 
 feeble colony, founded twenty-seven years before, was 
 struggling for existence. Nowhere on the American con- 
 tinent had an Englishman ventured a hundred miles from 
 the Atlantic coast. Imagine, if you can, the wildness 
 and the vastness and the mystery of the country which 
 lay between Jean Nicolet and the nearest outpost of 
 civilization. 
 
 The voyage across the lakes had been a long one, 
 
90 
 
 The TJiird of the Great Lakes 
 
 and Nicolet believed that he must now be near the 
 western boundary of the continent. If that were true, 
 he thought that the shores of China could not be far 
 away — for he had no knowledge of the width of the 
 Pacific Ocean. Indeed, he reasoned that these "men of 
 the fetid water" were probably related in some way to the 
 
 " He went forward with great pomp and dignity- 
 
 Chinese. He lingered by the shore while he sent one 
 of his guides into the village to tell the Ouinnepegs 
 (Winnebagoes) that he, an ambassador of the French 
 nation, had arrived in their land and would at once pay 
 them a visit. Then he dressed himself in a long robe 
 of scarlet damask embroidered with birds and flowers, 
 and went forward with great pomp and dignity toward 
 
TJie Men of tJic h\'ti(i Sea 91 
 
 the little cluster of wigwams. In each hand he held a 
 pistol, while behind him was carried the white banner of 
 France. 
 
 All the people of the village had come out to meet 
 him ; and when he drew near them he flourished his arms 
 in the air and shot off his pistols. Hearing the deafen- 
 ing noise and seeing clouds of smoke rolling over the 
 white man's head, the Winnebagoes were terribly fright- 
 ened. The women and children ran back to their wig- 
 wams, crying that it was a spirit armed with thunder 
 and lightning who had come down from the skies to visit 
 them. But, the warriors, although trembling, stood their 
 ground ; and when Nicolet greeted them kindly in the 
 name of the king of France, they laid aside their fears 
 and welcomed him to their village and country. The 
 chief led him to his own wigwam and gave orders that 
 a grand feast should be made ready in honor of the 
 strangers. 
 
 That same afternoon Nicolet sat down with the Winne- 
 bago braves to a dinner, the like of which even he had 
 never tasted. A hundred and twenty beavers, roasted, 
 boiled, broiled, and fricasseed — besides green corn and 
 other delicacies — were devoured by the Winnebagoes and 
 their visitors. The pipes were lighted, and for some time 
 all sat in silence, sending whiff after whiff of fragrant 
 smoke into the air, w^hile they meditated upon the possible 
 outcome of the business that was before them. 
 
 Then Nicolet arose in his gorgeous robes and made a 
 speech. He spoke in the Huron tongue, and then in the 
 Algonquin, and then in all the Indian dialects of which 
 
92 The Third of the Great Lakes 
 
 he was master. But it was hard to make the Winneba- 
 goes understand ; for they were a branch of the great 
 Dakota or Sioux nation, and in speech and manners were 
 very unHke the Indians of the East. With the help of 
 his Chippewa guides, however, Nicolet at last made his 
 meaning clear. He explained the object of his visit ; 
 told the Winnebagoes about the great power and bound- 
 less possessions of the French king ; and said that his 
 master had sent him to make a treaty of peace with them, 
 and to ask them to join him against the dreaded enemy 
 of all good people, the pitiless Iroquois. 
 
 The chiefs and warriors listened and were pleased. 
 They answered that they were very willing to make a 
 treaty of peace with the French king, and to be friendly 
 with all his friends. As for the Iroquois, they had never 
 had dealings with them, but had heard of them as a blood- 
 thirsty and cruel race. And they ended with many assur- 
 ances of peace and good will. 
 
 VI. THE "FATHER OF WATERS'' 
 
 The business of the council being thus quickly and 
 pleasantly ended, the Winnebagoes would gladly have 
 persuaded Nicolet to stay with them for several days ; 
 but the summer season was near its close, and Nicolet 
 wished to make some further explorations before return- 
 ing to Canada and reporting his discoveries to Cham- 
 plain. He still believed that he was near the western 
 border of the continent, and he asked his new friends 
 about the great water that lies toward the setting sun. 
 
Tlic ''Father of Waters'' 93 
 
 They told him that there was indeed a " great water " 
 not very far to the westward ; and they gave him guides 
 to show him the shortest way thither. Choosing the light- 
 est eanoes, they guided him up the Fox River, skirting 
 the northwestern shore of Winnebago Lake, and then 
 threading the crooked channel of the river in its upper 
 course, until they reached the villages of a tribe of Indians 
 speaking the Algonquin tongue. They were the Mascoutins, 
 or Fire Nation, and their name had been heard even among 
 the Hurons as that of a tribe whose courage was unex- 
 celled. It was easy to talk with these remote kinsmen 
 of the Ottawas, and so, dismissing his Winnebago guides, 
 Nicolet determined to rest a few days in their wigwams. 
 
 He asked the Mascoutins about the great water he was 
 seeking. They answered that it was toward the southwest 
 and might be reached in three days. By ascending the Fox 
 a few miles farther he would reach a short and easy portage 
 over which the canoes could be carried to another and 
 larger river. That river, since known as the Wisconsin, 
 would carry him directly to the mighty '* father of 
 waters." 
 
 Nicolet did not clearly understand their meaning. He 
 had cherished the idea that he was approaching the 
 western ocean ; and when the Indians spoke of the 
 " father of waters " he did not suppose that they meant a 
 mere river. He was satisfied that he w^as now within 
 three days' journey of the Pacific, and that a safe and sure 
 route thither had been pointed out to him. But for some 
 unknown reason he decided not to go farther in that direc- 
 tion at present. 
 
94 TJic Third of the Great Lakes 
 
 There is no evidence that he even attempted to cross 
 the portage to the Wisconsin River. Pushing southward, 
 over-land and on foot, he visited various tribes of Indians, 
 and was the first of white men to set foot within the terri- 
 tory now comprising the state of Illinois. Two weeks 
 later, however, he was again, in company with his Huron 
 canoemen, skimming over the waters of Green Bay. This 
 time he followed the eastern shore, and on the peninsula 
 between the bay and Lake Michigan he met and made 
 friends with a band of Pottawattomies. Then venturing 
 again into the broader lake, the party returned without 
 further incident to the more familiar waters of Georgian 
 Bay, and thence to the villages of the Hurons. 
 
 Early the next spring Nicolet made his way back to 
 the St. Lawrence by way of the now well-known Ottawa 
 route. He had heard that Champlain was at Three 
 Rivers, where he had but lately built a fort, and thither he 
 went to give an account of his discoveries in the distant 
 West. It would be interesting to know what Champlain 
 thought of his story ; but that great man was now so 
 busily occupied in looking after other affairs in Canada, 
 that he was unable to do more than listen and commend. 
 
 He appointed Nicolet to be commissary and interpreter 
 for the new settlement at Three Rivers, and induced him 
 to give up the wild life of the woods and settle down to 
 the more quiet occupations of the frontier post. But 
 Nicolet always looked back with pleasure and regret to 
 the adventurous days which he had spent among the sav- 
 ages of the Ottawa ; and in his latter days he was often 
 heard to say that he would have lived and died as an 
 
The '' FatJtcr of Waters'' 95 
 
 Indian had it not l)ccn that he could not bear to absent 
 himself wholly from the sacraments of the church which 
 his mother had taught him to revere. 
 
 Seven years after his return from the West he was acci- 
 dentally drowned while on his way to a friendly tribe to 
 plead for the life of a savage prisoner who had been con- 
 demned to torture. " He left us examples," wrote a 
 Jesuit priest who knew him — '*he left us examples which 
 recall apostolic times and inspire the most pious of men 
 with a desire to imitate him." Three of the five states of 
 the Old Northwest — Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois 
 — honor him as their discoverer. 
 
 As for the great Champlain, who had done more than 
 
 any other man for the upbuilding of French interests in 
 
 Canada, he did not live lons^ enous^h to follow 
 
 1635 
 up the discoveries which Nicolet had made. On 
 
 Christmas Day, in the same year that the intrepid adven- 
 turer returned from the West, he died, a disappointed and 
 broken-hearted man. 
 
THE JESUIT MISSIONARIES 
 I. THE RESIDENCE OF SAINTE MARIE 
 
 YOU will remember that when Jean Nicolet was setting 
 out on his long voyage to the far West, he was 
 accompanied as far as to the Huron country by two Jesuit 
 
 priests, Father Brebeuf and 
 
 •^^ 
 
 "The vanguard 
 
 Father Daniel. These men 
 were the vanguard of a com- 
 pany of zealous missionaries 
 who, about this time, began 
 their labors among the sav- 
 ages of' Canada. At the 
 command of their Order 
 they had given up home, 
 country, friends — all that 
 makes life dear — to carry 
 the knowledge of their re- 
 ligion to the benighted 
 heathen. They went forth 
 without any means of sus- 
 tenance, trusting that Provi- 
 dence would each day supply 
 all their necessities. Hun- 
 ger, cold, abuse of every 
 sort, they bore without com- 
 
 96 
 
TJic Residence of Siiijite ^^arie 97 
 
 plaint. They braved every danger, they shrank from no 
 duty, they endured all things. Their motto was, " To the 
 greater glory of God." Some of the Indians received them 
 kindly and were glad to learn about the white man's reli- 
 gion ; but others treated them with disdain, preferring to 
 live in ignorance and to retain ** the low and filthy habits 
 of savagery." 
 
 It was not until after they had patiently suffered many 
 indignities that Brebeuf and Daniel were able to win even 
 the slightest favor from the Hurons. At length, however, 
 their courage, their gentleness, their kindness even to 
 their enemies, began to have an effect upon the depraved 
 hearts of these savages. The people of two of the vil- 
 lages joined together in building the missionaries a 
 house. It was a house after the Huron fashion, framed of 
 saplings and covered with sheets of bark. The priests 
 divided it by partitions into three rooms, one being a 
 storeroom, another the kitchen and bedroom, and the 
 third the chapel. In the chapel they built an altar, over 
 which they placed the images and pictures which they had 
 brought from France ; and here Brebeuf gathered such 
 of the people as would listen to him, and taught them 
 some of the simpler mysteries of the Catholic faith. 
 
 Soon other Jesuits came into the Huron country or were 
 sent out among the neighboring tribes. The red men 
 listened with some show of patience to all that the priests 
 said to them, and some of them professed to believe. 
 " Yes, it is all true," they would say ; but when urged 
 to adopt the Christian religion they would shake their 
 heads and say, "It is very good for you Frenchmen, 
 
 OLD NOKTHWKST — 7 
 
98 
 
 TJie Jesuit Missionaries 
 
 1639 
 
 but we are another people, and our ways are different 
 from yours." And so, undismayed by sore privations and 
 courageous in the face of repeated failures, the faithful 
 Jesuit fathers worked on with untiring zeal, teaching by 
 
 word and example the 
 nobility of the Christian 
 life and faith. 
 
 To promote the work 
 of the missionaries, and 
 provide for their greater 
 safety, the Jesuits finally 
 established, in the forest 
 near the south- 
 eastern point of 
 the Georgian Bay, a forti- 
 fied post which they called 
 the Residence of Sainte Marie. Here, protected on two 
 sides by walls of masonry, and on the other by a ditch and 
 a wooden palisade, were the headquarters of the Order. 
 It was a place to which the fathers might repair for shel- 
 ter in times of danger, or for needed rest after seasons of 
 labor and exposure. Within the inclosure were a church, 
 a large kitchen and dining hall, and lodging rooms for 
 sixty persons. Outside were a hospital and a long house 
 for the accommodation of Indian visitors. 
 
 To this place came others besides the Jesuit fathers — 
 a small company of soldiers to serve as guards, and a few 
 zealous lay brothers who were willing to serve the mission- 
 aries in whatever way they could, without pay. Some of 
 the latter spent their time in hunting and fishing ; some 
 
 In the chapel 
 
The Sault Saiiitc Marie 99 
 
 cleared the ground and cultivated corn and wheat and 
 garden vegetables ; some were engaged in the care of 
 poultry, swine, and cattle ; and some of greater 
 ability were intrusted with the management of 1639- 
 the household and the defense of the fortifica- 1648 
 tions. It was a strange community that thus 
 sprang up in the heart of the wilderness, and served for 
 a time as the outpost of Christendom and the base of sup- 
 plies for the Jesuit missions. 
 
 II. THE SAULT SAINTE MARIE 
 
 Seven years after Nicolet's voyage to the West, two of the 
 
 fathers started from the Residence of Sainte Marie to carry 
 
 the news of the Cross to the Indians on the upper 
 
 ^ ^ 1641 
 
 lakes. One of these was Charles Raymbault, an 
 
 enthusiast whose pious zeal was far superior to his bodily 
 strength. The other was Isaac Jogues, a young man from 
 Orleans, noted for his scholarship, his refined and gentle 
 manners, and his devotion to the Church. Both these men 
 had been for some time among the Hurons ; but now, 
 hearing of savages in more remote regions, they felt im- 
 pelled to carry to them also the Hght of the faith and the 
 knowledge of redemption. 
 
 It is not unlikely that the story of Jean Nicolet's dis- 
 coveries was well known to Raymbault and Jogues. For, 
 upon leaving the Residence, they turned their canoes 
 directly toward the head of Lake Huron. It was in June 
 when they began their voyage ; in September they landed 
 
 at the foot of the rapids which had turned Nicolet back 
 LofC. 
 
lOO 
 
 TJic Jesuit Missionaries 
 
 and prevented him from reaching that greatest of fresh- 
 water seas, Lake Superior. Raymbault and Jogues called 
 these rapids the Sault de Sainte Marie (Falls of St. 
 Mary), and that is the name by which they are known to 
 this day. 
 
 At the foot of the sault was the village of the band of 
 Chippewas who made this place their summer home ; and 
 
 ■ ■■irfF^^'airiftT^ 
 
 '• At the foot of the sault "' two hundred and fifty years later 
 
 on the hills overlooking the river, nearly two thousand 
 savages of other tribes were encamped. It was the cus- 
 tom for great numbers of Indians to gather here every 
 summer to catch the whitefish, which were very plentiful 
 and easily taken. Here was a band of Pottawattomies 
 from Lake Michigan, who had lately been driven from 
 
Tlic Sault Saiiiic Marie lOI 
 
 their homes by a war party of Iroquois. And here were 
 Indians of unknown nations from the more distant West, 
 who related strange tales of a mysterious river and of a 
 warlike people who dwelt near it and whose manners 
 reminded the priests of the wild Tartars of Asia. 
 
 Although we have no record of the fact, there is reason 
 to believe that Father Jogues ascended to the head of the 
 rapids and beyond, and that he was probably the first of 
 white men to behold the vast expanse of Lake Superior, 
 extending westward to meet the setting sun. But Father 
 Raymbault was unable to go beyond the sault. Ex- 
 hausted by the long voyage and the innumerable hard- 
 ships of it, his naturally feeble body could endure no 
 more. For a few days he lay helpless in the' bark wig- 
 wam of a friendly Chippewa, w^hile Father Jogues ten- 
 derly ministered to his needs. 
 
 "I had hoped," said the dying man, "to pass through 
 this wilderness to China; but God in his mercy has set 
 me in the path of heaven!" — and then he passed 
 av^^ay. 
 
 With tears and prayers Father Jogues laid the body of 
 his brother in the grave, and then, turning his back upon 
 the sault and the lake that lay unexplored beyond it, he 
 set out on his lonely return to the country of the Hurons. 
 Early the next summer he was back at Quebec, 
 whither he had gone, not to relate the story of 
 his adventures, but to solicit aid for his brethren at the 
 missions and at the Residence of Sainte Marie. Whether 
 it v/as his intention to revisit the sault we do not know, 
 for events soon took place which changed all his plans. 
 
102 TJic Jesuit Missionaries 
 
 III. THE CAPTIVITY OF FATHER JOGUES 
 
 On one of the last days in July, Father Jogues, having 
 completed his work at Quebec, set out on his return to the 
 missions in the Huron countr)'. In his company were 
 three Frenchmen and nearly forty Indians, some 
 of whom had been converted to the Christian 
 faith. They embarked in twelve light canoes, and, keep- 
 ing at a safe distance from the south shore, paddled 
 briskly up the St. Lawrence. For two nights they stopped 
 at the new fort at Three Rivers, and on the following day 
 entered that beautiful expansion of the river now known 
 as the Lake of St. Peter. 
 
 Suddenly, at a time when they thought least of danger, 
 they were surrounded by a fletH: of Iroquois canoes manned 
 by savage warriors yelling the fierce war cries of their 
 nation. The Hurons, frightened out of their senses, 
 paddled to the shore, and some of them escaped into the 
 woods. Father Jogues might have saved himself in the 
 same way, but, when he saw some of his friends in 
 the clutches of pitiless Iroquois, he could not leave them, 
 but gave himself up. 
 
 The victorious savages with twenty-two prisoners soon 
 set out on their return to their own country. They were 
 near the mouth of the Richelieu River, and into that stream 
 they paddled their canoes. Their course was southward 
 over the same track that Champlain had followed thirty- 
 four years before, when with his savage friends from the 
 Ottawa he had won the undying hatred of the Iroquois. 
 Entering Lake Champlain, they coasted along its western 
 
The Captivity of luxthcr Jogiics 
 
 103 
 
 shore until they reached, near its southern end, the narrow 
 and turbulent stream that rushes down into it from the 
 west. There, sliouldering" their canoes, they pushed for- 
 ward through the woods and over the hills, dragging their 
 prisoners after them, and making no pause until they ap- 
 proached another sheet of water — a small but surpass- 
 ingly beautiful expanse surrounded on every side by 
 
 '•The most romantic of all our lakes" 
 
 guardian mountains. This, the most romantic of all our 
 lakes, was known among the Indians as Andiarocte, or the 
 Place where the Great Water Ends. It was named by 
 Father Jogues the Lake of the Holy Sacrament ; and this 
 name it retained until the P^nglish, many years later, 
 changed it to Lake George. 
 
 What may have been the feelings of Father Jogues, 
 
I04 
 
 TJic Jesuit Missio7iaries 
 
 'I A 
 
 first of white men to behold this matchless sheet of water, 
 we cannot even guess. Suffering every kind of indignity 
 from his cruel captors, — his hands mangled by their 
 teeth, his body beaten with clubs, his face and hands 
 
 scorched with hot coals, — 
 he was not in a condition 
 to observe and appreciate 
 the beauties of nature. 
 Moreover, all his thoughts 
 were for his fellow-pris- 
 oners, some of whom were 
 in worse case than him- 
 self ; and, if he looked at 
 all at the placid waters 
 and at the silent, pitying 
 mountains, it was only to 
 contrastGod's eternal good- 
 ness with the savage cru- 
 elty of his creatures. 
 
 The Iroquois, after a 
 brief pause, again em- 
 barked in their canoes, 
 and, with their faces turned 
 southward, paddled onward without delay. They landed 
 near the spot where Fort William Henry was to stand in 
 later times. There they hid their canoes in the thickets ; 
 and, then, elated by the success of their enterprise, they 
 hastened through the woods to the Mohawk villages, on 
 the banks of the river which is still called by the name of 
 that fierce tribe. 
 
 He was led from town to town 
 
The Captivity of Father Jogiics 105 
 
 The story of the cruelties which these savages inflicted 
 upon Father Jogues is too painful to relate. For more 
 than a year he was made to suffer every abuse that hea- 
 then ingenuity could invent. He was led from town to 
 town, and in each w^as subjected to new and more terrible 
 tortures. Never for an hour was his life secure ; but he 
 was equally ready for any fate, and although death would 
 have been a welcome release from suffering, he gave 
 thanks daily for the preservation of his life. At length, 
 in the autumn of 1643, some Dutch settlers at Albany 
 helped him to escape from his cruel masters. A small 
 sailing vessel carried him down the Hudson to Man- 
 hattan; and from that place he shortly afterward took 
 ship for Europe. 
 
 In France this gentlest of missionaries was received with 
 the honor and reverence due to one who had borne so 
 much for the cause of God and humanity. The ladies of 
 the court vied with one another in showing him every kind- 
 ness, and the queen kissed his maimed hands. But by 
 Father Jogues these attentions were counted as nothing, 
 for his heart was set upon returning to Canada to 
 renew his work among the savages. Early in the 
 following spring he was again sailing up the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Two years later, at his own urgent request,' he received 
 permission from his Order to go as a missionary to the 
 Mohawk towns w^here he had suffered so much as a cap- 
 tive. " Ibo et non redibo," — I shall go and shall not re- 
 turn, — he said, as he took his departure. His words were 
 prophetic, for in October of that same year he was slain 
 by the hatchet of a treacherous Mohawk. 
 
io6 
 
 TJie Jesuit Missionaries 
 
 IV. THE DISPERSION OF THE HURONS 
 
 1648 
 
 In the meanwhile, in the country of the Hurons, dread- 
 ful dayvS were approaching. Each year the pitiless Iro- 
 quois pressed harder and harder upon their feebler 
 neighbors ; and each year the Hurons, in reckon- 
 ing up, found their strength diminishing and the number of 
 their warriors growing smaller. At length a party of Iro- 
 quois, mostly Mohawks and Senecas, 
 hastily crossed the St. Lawrence and 
 made a raid into the Huron country, 
 while the warriors of that tribe were 
 absent from home, hunting in the 
 great woods. They burned one of 
 the villages nearest Lake Simcoe, 
 destroyed the cornfields, killed the 
 old men and many of the women and 
 children, and carried many others 
 away as captives. 
 
 Six months later a stronger party 
 swooped down among the now thor- 
 oughly terrified Hurons. One of the 
 largest of the villages was taken and burned, and havoc 
 and death followed in the path of the fierce invaders. 
 Among the victims of Iroquois fury at this time was Father 
 Brebeuf, whom you will remember as the first of the Jesuit 
 missionaries to the Huron tribes. With Gabriel Lalemant, 
 a young priest noted for his scholarship and refinement, he 
 was made captive by the savages and doomed to die at the 
 stake. He was a man of grand physique and noble bear- 
 
 Bust of Father Brebeuf 
 in Quebec 
 
TJic Dispersion of the I lujviis 
 
 107 
 
 ing, and in the most terrible of all trials his courage never 
 
 failed and his sublime manhood never forsook him. While 
 
 suffering prolonged tortures too dreadful to be described, 
 
 he maintained such fortitude and valor 
 
 as no hero of ancient or modern times rf" .^ 
 
 has surpassed. 
 
 The Hurons were now so utterly 
 panic-stricken that they gave up 
 all hope and were unable to 
 offer any resistance to their 
 foes. They deserted and 
 burned their villages, one by 
 one, and then fled wherever 
 they fancied there was 
 promise of safety. Many 
 took refuge on the islands 
 in Georgian Bay, and there 
 perished from famine. A 
 few found their way to 
 Quebec, where, being 
 protected by the French, 
 they felt themselves se- 
 cure from the further 
 vengeance of their ene- 
 mies. Some fled to the dis- 
 tant West — to the peninsula 
 between Lakes Michigan and 
 Superior — where their de- 
 scendants long maintained their tribal existence. Others, 
 more cowardly, became renegades, and joined themselves 
 
 His courage never 
 failed " 
 
lo8 TJic Jesuit Missionaries 
 
 to the Iroquois tribes south of Lake Ontario, and became 
 more savage than the Mohawks themselves. 
 
 Thus the Huron nation ceased to exist. The country 
 which it had possessed for an unknown period was over- 
 run and ravaged by its foes, and the places which had 
 been occupied by cultivated fields and populous towns 
 were overgrown by briers and trees, and lost in the track- 
 less wilderness. 
 
 What could the Jesuit missionaries find to do in this 
 land of desolation .? They abandoned and burned their 
 Residence of Sainte Marie ; and such of them as survived 
 the fury of the Iroquois sought other fields of labor, chiefly 
 among the scattered tribes of the West. 
 
THE FOURTH OF THE GREAT EAKES 
 
 I. TWO DARING FUR TRADERS 
 
 ^mS duUirrcf 
 
 l.Sault de SleJnarie. 
 2.Jnackinac. 
 3.Xeu/eenau/J>eninsula. 
 4.JVhite/ishJ^oint. 
 5.Jiii/er St,/j?uis. 
 e.Ssle Jioyal. 
 y.J^anitoulin Jsland. 
 S.JMenominee Jiwer. 
 O.J^ission St,3r.Xai/ier. 
 
 10. J>Lc tared JiocKs. 
 
 11. Jia JPoint. 
 
 Copy of a map drawn by Jesuit missionaries in 1672 
 
 A FEW years after the dispersal of the Hurons, two 
 Frenchmen of noble descent made a voyage of ex- 
 ploration into the distant West. The elder of these 
 men was Medard Chouart, commonly known as Sieur 
 des Grosseilliers ; the younger was his brother-in-law, 
 Pierre d' Esprit, Sieur Radisson. They had already had 
 a long and varied experience in the wilderness and 
 
 109 
 
I lo The FourtJi of the Gi^eat Lakes 
 
 among savage men. Radisson when a mere boy had been 
 taken captive by the Iroquois and adopted into one of 
 their tribes, and during his stay with them had learned 
 much Indian lore and acquired an intense passion for the 
 woods. GrosseilHers was one of those unlicensed fur 
 traders who ranged the wilderness and traded with the 
 savages in defiance of the law which gave the control of 
 such traffic to a favored company holding a license from 
 the king. He had already made more than one visit to 
 the northern shores of Lake Huron, and had paddled his 
 canoe into alm.ost every inlet and creek between the coun- 
 try of the Nipissings and the Sault Sainte Marie. 
 
 From their Indian friends, GrosseilHers and Radisson 
 had heard vague stories of a great western river which 
 flowed, not into the Lakes, but into some distant sea. 
 Jesuit priests had also reported that it was only nine days' 
 journey from Green Bay to the water that lies between 
 America and China. The two men at length deter- 
 mined to make a voyage to the distant West, not so 
 
 much to see if these stories were true, as to find 
 1654 
 
 whether there was a field there for profitable 
 
 trade. It was past midsummer when they started from 
 
 Three Rivers ; but with strong, lithe Indians to paddle 
 
 their canoes they made good speed on rivers and lakes, 
 
 and before the autumn leaves had begun to fall they 
 
 had passed the Strait of Mackinac and were coasting the 
 
 northern shore of Lake Michigan. 
 
 The story of their adventures is by no means clear, and 
 
 historians are not agreed concerning their whereabouts 
 
 during the next two years. It is quite certain, however, 
 
Two Dariui]^ Fur Traders 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 that they crossed the Haie des Puans (Green Bay) which 
 Nicolet had discovered twenty years before, and landed 
 on the narrow peninsula which lies between that body of 
 water and Lake Michigan. There they were welcomed 
 kindly by a band of Pottawattomies, and with these 
 Indians they spent the winter. 
 
 In the spring they again embarked in their canoes, 
 
 A great flotilla of fur-laden canoes 
 
 pushed on to the head of the bay, and visited the spot 
 
 where Nicolet in his flowery robe had astonished the nation 
 
 of the Winnebagoes. They paddled slowly up 
 
 the Fox River, now swollen by April rains, and 
 
 at length reached the country of the Mascoutins. There 
 
 they remained during a part of the summer, but whether 
 
112 TJie Fourth of tJie Great Lakes 
 
 they ventured farther westward at that time we have no 
 certain information. They may have crossed the short 
 portage to the Wisconsin and floated down to the Mis- 
 sissippi, but of this there is no plain record. Radisson, 
 many years later, wrote, "We were four months in our 
 voyage, doing nothing but go from river to river ; " and 
 yet he leaves us in doubt as to whether he is telling of 
 this voyage or of a later one. 
 
 About two years after the departure of the adventurous 
 traders from Three Rivers, a great flotilla of fur-laden 
 
 ^ ^ canoes descended the Ottawa, shot the rapids 
 1656 ^ 
 
 above Montreal, and continued its course on- 
 ward to Quebec. The canoes were paddled by Chippewa 
 Indians from Sault Sainte Marie, and the furs were 
 those which Radisson and Grosseilliers had gathered in 
 the distant West, from the tribes on the northern shores 
 of Lake Michigan and in the forests farther away. 
 
 For many months the fear of the Iroquois had prevented 
 the friendly nations from visiting the posts on the St. Law- 
 rence, and no furs had been brought to the markets. The 
 one business in which every person in New France was 
 interested seemed to be destroyed. Without the fur trade 
 there would soon be no New France. 
 
 It is easy to understand, therefore, the warm welcome 
 which the returning traders received at Quebec. Guns 
 were fired from the fort, and traders and soldiers and 
 servants ran down to the water side to see the rich 
 cargoes of furs that were to restore prosperity to New 
 France. Radisson and Grosseilliers had bought these 
 furs without license or permission from the government, 
 
Tivo Dnrino- J^nr Traders 
 
 T13 
 
 J 
 
 and were therefore liable to punishment. But every one 
 was so well pleased that the king's officers and the 
 licensed traders dared not lift a finger, and all they 
 could say was, " Don't do it again." 
 
 What the two men did during the 
 next three years is unimportant. But 
 at the end of that time they left 
 Quebec secretly, and, joining 
 a band of returning Indians, 
 started again for the West. 
 They ascended the Ottawa, 
 crossed over to 
 Lake Huron, ^ ^,„. 
 
 "The warm welcome which the returning traders received" 
 
 paddled wearily over the route now so familiar to them, 
 and reached in due time the villages of the fishing In- 
 dians at the foot of the sault 
 
 After resting there a few 
 
 OLD NORTHWEST 
 
114 '^^'■^ FoiirtJi of the Great Lakes 
 
 days, they carried their canoes around the rapids and pre- 
 pared to launch them on the waters of the lake above. It 
 is very possible that, since the discovery of this great water 
 by Father Jogues, other white men had stood upon that 
 very place and had gazed with questioning wonder upon 
 that mightiest of all our inland seas. It is even asserted 
 that, during their former expedition, Radisson and Gros- 
 seilliers had paddled many miles along the shore of this 
 lake, making friends with the savages whom they met, 
 and buying furs wherever they could find them. Be this 
 as it may, they were now about to begin the first voyage 
 upon Lake Superior of which we have any actual record. 
 
 With four Huron Indians as canoemen the traders 
 embarked, pushing boldly onward in a westerly direction, 
 and never losing sight of the woods and low hills on their 
 left. They rounded Whitefish Point, and after some days 
 passed the famous Pictured Rocks, which, even in our 
 time, excite the wonder of all who come within sight of 
 them. They carried their canoes across the narrow neck 
 which joins Keweenaw to the mainland, and launched 
 them on the western side of that peninsula. Still follow- 
 ing the south shore, they at length reached a group of 
 green islands seeming to guard the entrance to a beautiful 
 bay. They turned into the bay, and, near its head, landed 
 upon a small triangular bit of ground which the French 
 afterward called La Pointe, not far from the site of the 
 present city of Ashland. It was a pleasant spot, and the 
 voyagers decided to make it for a while their home and 
 headquarters, perhaps a sort of trading post where the 
 neighboring savages might bring their wares. They cut 
 
Two Dai'inc Fur Iradcrs 
 
 115 
 
 down trees and built a rude hut of logs, which they 
 covered with bark and brushwood. Then, to protect 
 the place from surprise by prowling Indians, they planted 
 a row of tall stakes across the head of the little penin- 
 sula, and on the side most exposed to attack they piled 
 underbrush and branches 
 of trees, among which were 
 twined a number of cords 
 attached to little bells. This 
 humble hut, so strangely 
 fortified, is well worth re- 
 membering, for in truth it 
 was the first dweUing built 
 by white men within the 
 limits of the Old Northwest. 
 
 After staying in this place 
 for a few weeks, the traders 
 hid their canoes and goods in 
 secret places in the woods, 
 and set out to visit some 
 kinsfolk of the Hurons who 
 were said to be living in 
 
 the interior, many miles away. For six days they traveled 
 in a southerly direction, and on the seventh found, far 
 hidden in the wilderness, the little band for which they 
 sought. 
 
 These people, w^hom the French called Petuns, or 
 Tobacco Indians, because they raised tobacco, were a 
 tribe of the Hurons who had sought in this distant 
 land a refuge from the fury of the Iroquois. They 
 
 The first dwelling built by 
 white men " 
 
Ii6 The Foui'tJi of the Great Lakes 
 
 told the two Frenchmen of their sad adventures since 
 being driven from their homes on the shores of the 
 Mer Douce. 
 
 In company with some Ottawas, they had gone first to 
 the islands near the entrance of Green Bay ; but hardly 
 had they put up a few rude shelters when word came that 
 the Iroquois were on their track. Terrified, they fled to 
 the mainland, and, with their faces turned westward, made 
 their way through the wilderness until they reached a clear- 
 flowing stream (the Wisconsin) whose banks were bordered 
 by groves of giant trees. There they built themselves 
 canoes in w^hich they floated until they reached another 
 and much nobler river — a river as beautiful and grand as 
 the St. Lawrence. They ascended this river a few leagues 
 and entered a smaller stream, the Ayoes (Upper Iowa) 
 which flows into it from the west. It was a pleasant 
 stream, and buffaloes and other wild game were plentiful ; 
 but the land was bai'e of trees, and the Hurons loved 
 the woods. They therefore returned to the great river 
 and paddled slowly northward against the current until 
 they came into the country of a warlike nation called the 
 Dakotas or Sioux. At first the Sioux were friendly and 
 encouraged them to make their homes among them. But 
 soon difficulties arose, and the fugitives were obliged to 
 seek some other abiding place. Going back, down the 
 great river, they saw entering it on the left a forest- 
 bordered stream which seemed to offer the means of 
 refuge from both Sioux and Iroquois. Near the sources 
 of this river the Hurons decided to stop and make new 
 homes. They put up a few lodges, began a small clearing, 
 
Two Daring Fur Traders 1 1 7 
 
 and felt that, after so many weary years, they were safe 
 from their foes ; and it was here that Radisson and Gros- 
 seilliers found them. Their Ottawa friends who had shared 
 their wanderings did not stop with them, but continued 
 their journey northward to the shores of the great lake. 
 
 The two traders remained with the fugitive Hurons 
 several weeks, hunting and trapping and making long 
 journeys in various directions. But it is to be regretted 
 that they left us no clear account of their adventures, and 
 we shall never know how far they went into the interior 
 of the country. 
 
 Radisson long afterward wrote a brief, hazy narrative 
 of some of their explorations, but whether his story relates 
 to this journey or to the earher one from Green Bay, there 
 is some doubt. ''We went," he says, ** to the great river 
 which divides itself in two where the Hurons had retired. 
 The river is called the Forked, because it has two branches, 
 one toward the west, the other toward the south, which 
 we believe runs toward Mexico." 
 
 Could this mysterious stream have been the Mississippi } 
 In another place he relates that they embarked upon a 
 " great river " which flowed southward, and that, after 
 journeying for many days, they reached a land where the 
 air is always warm, and the climate " finer than that of 
 Italy." 
 
 From their Huron friends the traders heard many 
 wonderful stories about the Nadouechiouec, or Sioux, 
 who roamed over the vast treeless plains of the West 
 and had many customs unknown to the red men of the 
 East. They were said to be as warlike and cruel as the 
 
Ii8 TJie FourtJi of the Great Lakes 
 
 Iroquois, and were the terror of all the neighboring tribes. 
 The two Frenchmen supposed that they were now quite 
 .near the borders of China, for the Sioux seemed to them 
 to resemble in many respects the Tartars of eastern Asia. 
 They were therefore anxious to make the acquaintance of 
 these people and learn more about their habits and the 
 country in which they lived. And so, late in autumn, 
 they left the Huron settlement and started in a north- 
 westerly course through the pathless wilderness toward 
 the country of the Sioux. To woodsmen like Radisson 
 and GrosseilUers the way was not difficult, and they soon 
 arrived in the well-watered region which lies between the 
 St. Croix River and the upper waters of the Mississippi. 
 There they were met by a small band of Sioux who wel- 
 comed them to their country, and led them to their village 
 on the shore of a little lake. They remained with their 
 savage friends all winter, hunting and fishing, and learn- 
 ing something of the Sioux language, which was very 
 different from that of any other Indians they had met. 
 As soon as the snows were melted in the spring they 
 returned to La Pointe, where they found their goods and 
 canoes just as they had left them ; but the little hut had 
 suffered from the storms of winter and required rebuilding. 
 Here they rested for some time ; but game was scarce 
 and food was hard to find, and so in early summer they 
 again embarked in their canoes and set out for a further 
 exploration of the lake. With their faithful Huron canoe- 
 men they followed the windings of the shore, stopping 
 now and then to trade with the strolling savages whose 
 hunting grounds were there. They reached the western 
 
Tivo Darimr Fur Traders 
 
 IIQ 
 
 end of the lake, and in the prairie region beyond met with 
 a band of Sioux called Poualaks, with whom they made 
 a short and not unpleasant stay. Some of these Indians 
 lived in tents made of skins and others in houses of turf ; 
 
 " Stopping now and then to trade " 
 
 and, as wood was very scarce, they made fire with coal 
 which they found in the earth. 
 
 Radisson and Grosseilliers would have been glad to go 
 farther into the interior ; but the short summer was now- 
 more than half gone, and they w^ere anxious to 
 return home before the coming of cold weather. 
 Everything seemed to favor them, the journey was 
 
I20 
 
 The Fourth of the Great Lakes 
 
 made without mishap or delay, and before the end of 
 August they were in Montreal. They brought with them 
 sixty canoes, paddled by three hundred Indians, and laden 
 with all kinds of precious furs and peltries. 
 
 Their reception this time was not a pleasant one. They 
 w^ere guilty of violating the law ; they had traded with the 
 Indians without Hcense from the gov- 
 ernment; they had boldly disobeyed 
 the commands of the king's officers 
 not to return to the Great Lakes. 
 Their entire store of furs, 
 which they had collected 
 with so much labor and 
 peril, was therefore seized 
 upon by the officers and 
 confiscated for the king. 
 Can we wonder that after 
 receiving such treatment, Gros- 
 seilliers and Radisson were ready 
 to seek service in some other coun- 
 try where they would be dealt with 
 more justly .? They went first to New 
 England and then to London, where 
 they aroused much interest in the fur trade of North 
 America. They also persuaded some English merchants 
 and noblemen that it would be easy to discover a short 
 passage to the South Sea by sailing around 
 the northern part of the continent. At length 
 a ship was fitted out for them and they made a voyage 
 to Hudson Bay, returning with a rich cargo of furs 
 
 In Hudson Bay 
 
 1668 
 
The MiDiitoii of the Copper Mines 121 
 
 and glowing accounts of the country they had visited. 
 Two years later, largely through their inHuence, a trading 
 company was chartered, — the ** Hudson's Bay Company," 
 — which grew to control, and still controls, the greater 
 part of the fur trade in America. 
 
 II. THE MANITOU OF THE COPPER MINES 
 
 No other Europeans had penetrated so far into the 
 interior of North America as Radisson and Grosseilliers, 
 and we may safely infer that when they first returned to 
 the St. Lawrence they related many strange tales of 
 what they had seen and heard. Everybody in Canada 
 became greatly interested in the newly found regions 
 bordering upon Lake Superior, and much was said about 
 their wealth, not only in furs, but in precious metals. 
 
 There was no doubt now as to the place where Etienne 
 Brule's famous lump of pure copper had been found. 
 In a little book written at this time and published in Paris, 
 it was stated that "in Lake Superior there is a great 
 island which is fifty leagues in circumference, in which 
 there is a very beautiful mine of copper." 
 
 It was also said that along the shores of the lake large 
 pieces of pure copper could be picked up, and that in one 
 place some Frenchmen had seen a single mass of the metal 
 which they thought would weigh more than eight hundred 
 pounds. The Indians knew where many rich mines might 
 be found, but they would not tell any one, lest they should 
 offend the manitou, or spirit, that guarded these treasures. 
 
 " A long time ago," they said, *' men knew nothing 
 
122 
 
 TJie FourtJi of tJic Great Lakes 
 
 about this precious metal. They saw it lying upon the 
 ground, but regarded it no more than the worthless stones 
 that are found everywhere. One day four hunters in 
 their canoe were driven by a storm far out into the lake. 
 They saw an island before them and hastened to land 
 upon it. There they built a fire, and, having caught a fish, 
 they thought they would boil it for supper. Their only 
 
 kettle was of bark, and into 
 this they put the fish and 
 some water. Then they 
 picked up the stones that 
 lay on the shore and heated 
 them red hot and threw 
 them in. They were unlike 
 any other stones they had 
 ever used in this way ; they 
 were pure copper. As the 
 yellow pieces fell into the kettle, fearful sounds were heard 
 in the air, and threatening voices cried out from among the 
 trees. The flames of their camp fire blazed up high and 
 became green as grass, and the smoke that rose from it 
 was full of dancing creatures unlike any that had ever 
 before been seen. The hunters ate their fish in great 
 dread and then hastened to embark in their canoe. The 
 island seemed full of lynxes and hares as large as dogs, 
 and the men were glad to get away from it ; but they took 
 with them some of the shining pieces of copper. As they 
 paddled from the shore, a voice called after them in tones 
 of thunder, ' Who are these thieves that steal my chil- 
 dren's playthings .'' ' It was the manitou of the island, or 
 
 The island seemed full of lynxes 
 
TJic UlanitoN of the Copper Mines 
 
 123 
 
 else the god of the waters. The hunters were almost 
 overcome with terror, and no sooner had they reached the 
 mainland than three of them died. The fourth, pursued 
 by fearful phantoms, ran into the forest and after many 
 days came to his own village. There he told the wonder- 
 ful story, but while he was yet speaking he fell back dead. 
 Do you wonder that the Indians will not tell you where 
 the copper may be found ? " 
 
THE FIFTH OF THE GREAT LAKES 
 
 I. THE HIDDEN WATER 
 
 THE Jesuit missionaries and the fur traders in the 
 country of the Hurons had become well acquainted 
 with all that region which lies between Lake Ontario and 
 the head waters of the Ottawa. But southward and west- 
 ward they dared not 
 go, so great was their 
 fear of the Iroquois 
 whose war parties were 
 known to infest that 
 region. From the time 
 of Champlain's earli- 
 est visit to the St. 
 Lawrence, frequent re- 
 ports had come to the 
 French of a great 
 inland sea which was 
 said to lie between 
 the Mer Douce of the Hurons and Lake Ontario. 
 
 Indeed, from the vague descriptions given by the Indians, 
 maps had been drawn showing the possible location and 
 extent of that unknown water — marvelous waterfalls at its 
 outlet, and its northern and southern shores of indefinite 
 extent stretching in hazy lines to the right and the left and 
 
 124 
 
Louis Jolict 125 
 
 ending in mysterious and unknown regions. It is not 
 unlikely that some daring woods ranger had visited these 
 shores, but, if so, he had carried back to civilization no 
 account of what he had seen. 
 
 The lake remained unknown to Euro])eans — as com- 
 pletely removed from the knowledge of the world as were 
 the mighty rivers which, hidden deep in the wilderness, 
 were waiting silently for the coming of their discoverers. 
 From time to time meager reports were brought in by 
 wandering savages, vague hints were dropped of avast sea 
 in the midst of an uninhabited region. But these reports 
 only awakened curiosity and spurred to no determined 
 effort to discover the hidden water. 
 
 II. LOUIS JOLIET 
 
 After the return of Grosseilliers and Radisson, there 
 was scarcely a summer that did not see some bold trader 
 or some zealous missionary among the Indian tribes on the 
 shores of the great upper lake. All brought back the 
 same story of hidden treasures of copper; and some did 
 more, for they carried with them nuggets of the yellow 
 metal which they had picked up or had bought from the 
 natives. 
 
 The intendant (general manager) of Canada, Jean Bap- 
 
 tiste Talon, hearing of these things, was fired with the idea 
 
 of discoverins: the secrets which he believed still 
 
 . 1667 
 
 lay concealed in the lake regions of the West. 
 
 Was there really a passageway by water to the South 
 
 Sea } If so, he must find it. Was it indeed true that 
 
126 The Fifth of the Great Lakes 
 
 vast mines of copper existed along the shores of the upper 
 lake ? If so, he must must know about them. After hav- 
 ing studied these questions with much care, he went to 
 France and laid the whole matter before Colbert, the 
 prime minister of the king. 
 
 "By all means," said Colbert, ** discover those deposits 
 of copper and find some way by which to send the metal 
 to France. If there is any truth in the stories which you 
 tell me, this will be of far greater importance than the 
 discovery of a new route to China." 
 
 When Talon returned to Canada, he sought out Louis 
 Joliet, the son of a wagonmaker at Quebec, and 
 
 ^ intrusted to him the task of exploring the shores 
 
 of the upper lake and of discovering the hidden treasures 
 of that remote region. 
 
 Joliet was then twenty-four years of age. He had 
 been educated by the Jesuits, and from his boyhood had 
 expected to be a priest. But the fur trade proved to be 
 more attractive to him than the Church ; and so, after hav- 
 ing fitted himself for the priestly vocation, he at the last 
 hour changed his mind and decided to become a trader 
 and adventurer. The intendant knew him to be a man of 
 rare good sense, cautious, and at the same time fearless of 
 danger ; and he selected for his companion a young voya- 
 geur named Pere, who had spent much of his life on the 
 rivers and lakes of the western wilderness. 
 
 The two explorers were sent out without any definite 
 instructions as to what they should do or how long they 
 should stay. In such matters they were to be guided by 
 their own judgment. 
 
TJie First Voyagers on Lake Erie 12/ 
 
 III. THE FIRST VOYAGERS ON LAKE ERIE 
 
 Of the adventures of Joliet and Pere in quest of the 
 
 hidden mines of copper we know but Httle, for neither of 
 
 them left any written account of their lon<^ and 
 
 . 1669 
 
 hazardous voyage. It is enough to say that, after 
 
 spending a whole summer on the shores of Lake Superior, 
 
 they had found no more of the ruddy metal than they 
 
 could easily carry in their canoes. They therefore 
 
 decided to give up the search and, if possible, make some 
 
 new discoveries elsewhere. From the Indian tribes along 
 
 the shore of the lake they had heard vague references 
 
 to a great water that lay far to the west and south ; but 
 
 whether this water was a lake, an arm of the ocean, or a 
 
 broad river, they could obtain no definite information. 
 
 Joliet was anxious to push on by the nearest route from 
 Lake Superior and discover this water ; but the summer was 
 now well advanced, and he agreed with Pere that it would 
 be wiser to postpone such enterprise until another year. 
 
 The two explorers therefore turned in another direc- 
 tion. They retraced their way to the outlet of the lake, 
 passed the Sault Sainte Marie, where there was now a 
 Jesuit mission, and paddled down the broad river until it 
 lost itself in the upper reaches of Lake Huron. Then, 
 turning to the right, they followed in the track of Jean 
 Nicolet along the wooded shores of the upper peninsula. 
 They passed, on their left, the rocky islet of Mackinac, 
 and they saw the sea of Lake Michigan stretching south- 
 ward farther than eye could reach. They entered the 
 Baie des Puans — Green Bay — and pushed onward until 
 
128 TJic Fifth of tJie Great Lakes 
 
 they came to the mouth of the Fox River. The Winne- 
 bagoes whom Nicolet had found dwelhng there had removed 
 farther inland, and other Indians had their bark wigwams 
 near the head of the bay. With these Joliet and Pere 
 smoked the pipe of peace, and from them they heard still 
 other stories of a great water farther west — no doubt the 
 same of which Nicolet had been told, and which he declared 
 to be only three days' journey from the portage of the Fox. 
 
 The two explorers did not remain long at Green Bay. 
 Embarking again in their canoe, they retraced their way 
 as far as Mackinac. They then crossed the strait, and, 
 holding close to the western shore of Lake Huron, pushed 
 boldly along through unknown waters toward the south- 
 east. No other white men had ever followed this route 
 in returning to the St. Lawrence. 
 
 They passed Thunder Bay and the much broader 
 
 entrance to Saginaw Bay. They rounded Point aux 
 
 Barques, and skirted the green shores southward until 
 
 the lake had narrowed to a strait, and they entered the 
 
 stream that has since been called the St. Clair River. 
 
 Following this sluggish current, they passed onward into 
 
 the shallow lake of the same name, and thence into the 
 
 broad channel of the Detroit, from which they finally 
 
 emerged upon the sleepy waters of the Lake of the Fries. 
 
 It was thus that the fifth and last of the Great Lakes 
 
 was discovered and entered by white men. Fifty-four 
 
 years had elapsed since Joseph le Caron had 
 1669 
 
 first beheld the Mer Douce of the Hurons, and 
 
 thirty-five since Jean Nicolet had passed the Strait of 
 
 Mackinac and paddled his canoe on Lake Michigan. 
 
A RcDiarknhlc Mcctiiii^ 129 
 
 IV. A REMARKABLE MEETING 
 
 Joliet had not found the copper mines as Talon had 
 desired, but he had made a discovery of far greater impor- 
 tance. He had found a new way to the distant West 
 — a way which would shortly supersede the toilsome 
 route up the Ottawa River and across the lake of the 
 Nipissings. 
 
 After passing the Detroit, the explorers turned to the left 
 and skirted the north shore of Lake Erie. They moved 
 with the greatest caution, for they were now near the 
 haunts of the dreaded Iroquois. With each hour's prog- 
 ress the fears of their guides became greater ; and so, 
 instead of following the shore to the point where the 
 lake finds an outlet by way of Niagara, they turned into 
 Grand River and made their way up that stream to the 
 place where it approaches nearest to the western end of 
 Lake Ontario. Then, shouldering their canoe, they pushed 
 through the woods to a village of friendly Indians near 
 the site of the present city of Hamilton. 
 
 A pleasant surprise was in store for them. Scarcely 
 had they set foot in the village when they learned that 
 another party of Frenchmen had just arrived from the 
 east. One of these men proved to be Robert Cavelier 
 de la Salle, a young man of great ambition, who had 
 lately come to Canada with the intention of thoroughly 
 exploring the rivers, the lakes, and the woods of the 
 unknown West. With him were two Sulpician priests, 
 Fathers Dollier and Galinee, and a number of hired men, 
 interpreters, and Indian guides — twenty-three persons in 
 
 OLD NORTHWEST — 9 
 
I30 
 
 TJic Fifth of tJic Great Lakes 
 
 all, and seven canoes. La Salle was bent on discovering a 
 river whose sources were said to be in the forest south of 
 the lakes. The Sulpicians were seeking for a place where 
 they could establish a mission without trespassing upon 
 the territory already occupied by the Jesuits. 
 
 All listened with the utmost interest to Joliet's story of 
 his voyage through the lakes. He showed them a map 
 
 of the route which he had 
 followed, and told them 
 of the various tribes of 
 Indians he had visited. 
 The priests were delighted 
 to hear of regions and 
 peoples hitherto unknown, 
 and believed that Provi- 
 dence had miraculously 
 opened new fields for the 
 exercise of their mission- 
 ary zeal. They therefore determined to go on to the upper 
 lakes, following the route by which Joliet had come ; and 
 being told of the benighted Pottawattomies somewhere in 
 the vast region beyond the Mer Douce, they resolved to 
 carry to those people the knowledge of the cross. 
 
 On the last day of September the three parties sepa- 
 rated. La Salle, with his Indian guides, started southward ; 
 the Sulpician fathers began their long journey 
 into the wild Northwest ; and Joliet and his com- 
 panion betook themselves to their canoe and continued 
 their homeward voyage along the north shore of Lake 
 Ontario. 
 
 A pleasant surprise was in 
 store for them " 
 
HOW THE GREAT RIVERS WER 
 EXPLORED 
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL RIVER 
 
 I. LA SALLE 
 
 ROBERT CAVELIER, Sieur de la Salle, was a native 
 of the old Norman city of Rouen, and his father had 
 been one of the wealthiest merchants of France. The 
 young man had been educated with great care by the 
 Jesuits, and it was supposed that when 
 he came to the proper age he would 
 join himself and his fortunes with them. 
 But, being of a restless nature, and his 
 mind full of ambitious dreams, he chose 
 another career. 
 
 His elder brother, the Abbe Jean 
 Cavelier, was a priest of St. Sulpice and 
 had been in Canada for several years. 
 Through him La Salle heard wonderful 
 stories of the endless forests, the great 
 lakes, and the hidden rivers of North 
 America. He heard, too, of the wealth that might 
 be gained by trading w^ith the Indians, and of the fame 
 that might be won by making new discoveries in that 
 
132 The Beautiful River 
 
 land of marvels. And so, at the age of twenty-three, he 
 left his home and sailed for Canada, resolved to find there 
 a fortune and the long-dreamed-of northern passage to 
 the South Sea and the golden East. 
 
 He stopped neither at Quebec nor at Three Rivers, but 
 went directly to Montreal. For the island at the meet- 
 ing of the rivers was now no longer a solitude, 
 but the center of many commercial and religious 
 activities. Near the spot where Cartier had landed and 
 where Champlain had planned his Place Royale, a forti- 
 fied town had been built. It had been founded by reli- 
 gious devotees from France, just one year before the 
 birth of La Salle. These people had begun by building 
 a church and a hospital, after which they had invited 
 settlers to come and put up houses. and make homes in 
 the near neighborhood. Then it had become necessary 
 to build a palisade around the dwellings and to construct 
 a fort that was strong enough to protect the place from 
 the attacks of any enemy. And very soon a busy, thriv- 
 ing town had sprung up not far from the site of the 
 ancient Hochelaga. 
 
 The religious association which had brought all this 
 about had soon given place to a corporation of priests 
 called the Seminary of St. Sulpice. This corporation 
 was the owner of all the lands on the island and in its 
 neighborhood ; it made the laws for the government of 
 the settlers ; it regulated and controlled all the affairs 
 of the town and the country around it. One of the 
 Sulpicians or priests composing this powerful corporation 
 was La Salle's brother, the Abbe Cavelier; and it was 
 
La Chine 133 
 
 through his persuasion that the young man made Mon- 
 treal the starting-place for the accomplishment of his 
 ambitious projects. 
 
 II. LA CHINE 
 
 It was a strange assemblage of people that La Salle 
 saw when he landed in Montreal. Here were priests 
 and nuns in great numbers, Jesuit missionaries just re- 
 turned from the haunts of savagery, French fur 
 
 ^ ^ 1667 
 
 traders, noblemen and ladies late from the gay 
 
 circles of Paris, voyageurs from the inland lakes and 
 rivers, soldiers, half-naked Indians from the north and 
 west — and even a sprinkling of Iroquois from the south, 
 for that nation had recently made a treaty of peace with 
 the Canadian governor. 
 
 The Sulpician brotherhood welcomed the young adven- 
 turer warmly, for they looked upon him as a recruit to 
 their ranks and one who would be useful to them in their 
 management of public affairs. They did not suspect that 
 he had plans of his own, which he intended to carry out 
 whether favorable to their interests or not. Being just 
 now free from the dread of the Iroquois, they were anx- 
 ious to estabHsh a line of settlements westward along the 
 St. Lawrence to serve as outposts to Montreal ; and they 
 needed but little persuasion to induce them to grant to 
 young La Salle for his own use a large tract of land at 
 the head of the rapids about eight miles above the fort. 
 The land was covered with dense woods, but it was just 
 the place for a trading post, being near the upper end 
 of the island and right in the way of the flotillas of canoes 
 
134 
 
 TJie Beautiful River 
 
 as they came down the St. Lawrence laden with furs for 
 the markets below. 
 
 La Salle began work without delay. He gave small 
 plots of ground to as many settlers as would become his 
 
 La Salle"s house at La Chine in 1900 
 
 tenants, and with their aid he proceeded to cut down the 
 trees and clear away the underbrush. By the 
 end of the next year he had built a village with 
 
 a strong paHsade around it, and his people had planted 
 
 ten or twelve acres of corn. 
 
 From the windows of his house La Salle could overlook 
 
 the river, seeing on his left the rushing rapids which had 
 
La Chine 135 
 
 daunted the enterprise of Cartier and Champlain, and on 
 his right the beautiful expanse known as Lake St. Louis. 
 At this time his mind was full of projects for discovering 
 the long-sought passage to the South Sea, and he looked 
 upon this clearing on the banks of the St. Lawrence as 
 his first station on the road to China. His enemies, of 
 whom there were soon many enough, laughed at his 
 pretentious dreams, and in derision called his estate La 
 Chine (which is the French way of saying China); and 
 to this day the Sault St. Louis, which there begins its 
 grand rush to the lower level of the river, is known as 
 Lachine Rapids. 
 
 But it must not be supposed that La Salle, while over- 
 seeing this work of clearing and building and planting, 
 was forgetful of other enterprises. He was not idle for a 
 moment. He studied the languages and habits of the 
 Indians — not only of the Algonquin and Huron tribes, but 
 of the Iroquois also. He made a journey up the Ottawa, 
 talked with traders and priests and voyageurs, and at last 
 made up his mind that the future water route across the 
 continent was more likely to be found toward the south- 
 west than elsewhere. 
 
 He was more than ever confirmed in this idea by some 
 Iroquois chiefs of the Seneca tribe who visited his settle- 
 ment the following winter. They told him that, by going 
 into the wilderness, a little way beyond their own country, 
 one might come to a great and beautiful river flowing 
 toward the southwest. 
 
 The name of that stream was Ohio, an Indian word, 
 which in French meant La Belle Riviere, or in Lnglish 
 
136 The Beautiful Rivei' 
 
 the Beautiful River. The Indians declared that a voyage 
 from its source to the place where it emptied into the 
 salt sea could not be accomplished in the swiftest canoe 
 within a shorter period than eight months. Such a voy- 
 age, they said, would be attended with many difficulties, 
 and he who should once descend the river could scarcely 
 hope ever to return. 
 
 La Salle questioned the Senecas very closely, and there 
 is reason to suppose that they told him much more than 
 they knew. After studying over the matter he concluded 
 that this mighty river of the Ohio must have its outlet in 
 the Vermilion Sea, now called the Gulf of CaHfornia, and 
 that through it might be found the desired passageway 
 to the western ocean. He decided, therefore, to lose no 
 further time, but to begin his explorations in search of 
 that river as soon as possible. 
 
 He visited Courcelle, the governor of Canada, and 
 Talon, the intendant, and told them his views and plans. 
 They listened to his reasoning and were easily convinced ; 
 and the governor gave him a letter authorizing him to 
 discover the Ohio and follow it to its mouth,' taking 
 possession of the lands on both sides of it in the name 
 of the king of France. 
 
 But La Salle had no ready money, and none of his 
 friends were willing to invest anything for the promotion 
 of so uncertain an enterprise. The only thing to be done, 
 therefore, was to sell his estate of La Chine and hazard 
 everything upon the success of this first venture. With 
 a part of the money so obtained he bought four canoes 
 and supplies for a long voyage, and hired fourteen men 
 
La Belle KivicTi 
 
 n? 
 
 as canoemen and guides. Two Sulpician priests, . Dollicr 
 and Galinec, eager to establish a mission in some quarter 
 unoccupied by the Jesuits, were just ready to start to the 
 distant West, having with them three canoes and half a 
 dozen assistants. These gladly agreed to bear La Salle 
 company, at least for a part of the way. 
 
 III. LA BELLE RIVIERE 
 
 On the 6th of July the little company embarked at 
 
 La Chine, and paddled up the St. Lawrence. It was 
 
 a time of peace with the Indian tribes, and 
 
 1669 
 hence they were safe from the Iroquois bands 
 
 who usually patrolled the woods on the south bank of 
 
 the river. At length they reached Lake Ontario, and, 
 
 turning to the left, skirted its southern shore. After 
 
 seven weeks of toil and exposure they entered Ironde- 
 
 quoit Bay, a few miles east of the place where now 
 
 stands the city of Rochester. 
 
 They landed, and La Salle, with Father Galinee and a 
 few others, made his way to a village of the Senecas some 
 distance inland. He hoped that among these Indians he 
 would find guides to show him the most direct way to 
 the head waters of the Ohio. But his knoAvledge of the 
 Iroquois language was not very perfect, and the wily 
 savages either could not or would not understand what 
 he said. Nevertheless they made a feast for their visitors, 
 and tried to entertain them by torturing a prisoner whom 
 a band of their braves had captured in the far interior. 
 
 Only one of the Indians was willing or able to give 
 
138 The Beautiful River 
 
 them any information. He told La Salle that it was 
 folly to try to reach the Beautiful River, for the savage 
 people who haunted its shores would surely kill him. 
 When questioned further he said that he did not know 
 much about the river in question, but that he had heard 
 of a region in the south where there were no trees, and 
 of a fertile country hard by a noble stream that flowed into 
 the salt sea ; but whether this stream was the Ohio or some 
 other river whose name was unknown, he could not say. 
 
 Before the feast was fairly at an end most of the 
 Seneca braves were wildly drunk, and La Salle and his 
 companions were glad to retire and hasten back to their 
 canoes. The party now moved on, following the shore 
 of the lake toward the west. On the third day they 
 passed the mouth of a great river, and heard the roar 
 of a distant cataract — the cataract of Niagara. At last, 
 late in September, they came to an Indian village at the 
 extreme western end of the lake. There, to their great 
 surprise, they were met, as we have already learned, by 
 the two explorers Joliet and Pere, returning from an 
 expedition to the upper lakes. 
 
 In this village was a prisoner awaiting the day when 
 he. should be tortured to death for the amusement of 
 his captors. He was said to belong to a distant tribe 
 known as Shawnees — a tribe whose home was in the 
 depths of the forest on the banks of the undiscovered 
 Ohio. La Salle eagerly sought this prisoner and ques- 
 tioned him about the hidden river. The savage gave 
 him a glowing account of the beautiful stream and of 
 the country through which it flows, but told him that 
 
La l^cllc Rivic)\ 
 
 139 
 
 it would require six weeks of hard traveling to reach it. 
 If now the French chief could only secure his freedom he 
 would guide him thither by the easiest and shortest route. 
 La Salle hastened to ask the villagers to give him their 
 captive ; and after he had appeased them with presents, 
 the grateful Shawnee was delivered into his hands. 
 
 After parting with Joliet and the Sulpician priests on 
 
 "The grateful Shawnee was delivered into his hands " 
 
 that last day of September, La Salle with his canoemen 
 and his Shawnee guide directed his course southward. 
 But by what route he went we are entirely igno- 
 rant; for now for several months he dropped, 
 as it were, out of sight. It seems quite certain, however, 
 that, early in the following year, he discovered the river 
 Ohio, and that he floated down its broad current as far 
 as to the falls where the city of Louisville now stands. 
 
 1669 
 
140 
 
 TJie Beautiful River 
 
 Some suppose that he crossed the narrow divide on the 
 southeast of Lake Erie, launched his canoes on Chautau- 
 qua Lake, and thence, floating down the Allegheny, found 
 the Ohio at the place of its true beginning. Others think 
 that he followed the south shore of Lake Erie to the 
 mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and then, going up that 
 stream and making a short portage, he found an easy 
 passage to the Muskingum and through it to the Ohio. 
 Of this, however, we have no certain information, and shall 
 never be able to do more than guess at the truth of it. 
 
 La Salle's men, it is said, deserted him in the wilder- 
 ness, and it is not known that one of them ever returned 
 to Canada. Some, however, made their way to the Dutch 
 settlements on the Hudson, and others were heard of 
 afterwards in New England. But La Salle was not 
 daunted by difficulties. He went back alone to Montreal, 
 still cherishing the hope, not only of discovering the 
 secrets of the Northwest, but of making his discoveries 
 profitable both to himself and to France. 
 
ON Tin- I/T^M'.R l.AKI^S 
 I. MENARD 
 
 SOUTH of Lake Superior and far toward its western 
 extremity there were a number of fugitive Ilurons 
 and vagrant Ottawas, who had fled thither from the fury 
 of the Iroquois. So utterly crushed and terrified had 
 these people been after the destruction of their ancient 
 homes near the shores of the Mer Douce, that they 
 seemed to think of nothing but to hide themselves away 
 in places too remote to be discovered by their relentless 
 foes. Not far from the shores of Chequamegon Bay, in 
 Wisconsin, the Ottawas had finally made a halt ; and, 
 being pleased with the place, they built there a few huts 
 and began to make some small clearings. The Hurons 
 had stopped in the marshy wilderness, many miles farther 
 south. 
 
 The first white men to discover these people in their 
 new homes were the French traders, Grosseilliers and Ra- 
 disson, while making their famous tour of Lake Superior 
 about the year 1659. These men carried back to Quebec 
 the story of the flight of the fugitives and of their poverty 
 and friendlessness in a strange land. The story was lis- 
 tened to with eagerness by the Jesuit fathers, and Rene 
 Menard, a priest who had seen years of the hardest service 
 among the Hurons and the Iroquois, was selected to be 
 
 141 
 
142 On the Upper Lakes 
 
 the apostle of these unfortunate people. The heart of 
 the good father was moved with pity for the wretched 
 heathen, living and dying like cowering beasts in the 
 forest. 
 
 *' Yes, I will go," he said; ** I will give my life for 
 them." 
 
 When the Indians who had come down with Grosseil- 
 liers and Radisson were ready to return to their homes, 
 Father Menard asked and obtained leave to accompany 
 them. With him went his servant, Jean Guerin, and seven 
 other Frenchmen, intent upon trading with the distant 
 tribes. 
 
 The journey, as we know, was a long one, and Menard 
 
 was little able to endure the labor and privations which it 
 
 entailed. He was fifty-seven years old, but the toil and 
 
 suffering which he had already endured among the sav- 
 
 ^^ ao:es had whitened his hair and enfeebled his 
 1660 ^ 
 
 body until he seemed a venerable man of eighty. 
 Yet his strong will buoyed him up, and after a few days' 
 rest at the Sault Sainte Marie he was ready and anxious 
 to hasten forward. 
 
 It was the intention of the party to proceed to La Pointe, 
 the place where Grosseilliers and Radisson had built their 
 hut, but, on account of an accident to one of their canoes, 
 Menard with his servant went on shore near the head 
 of Keweenaw Bay. He at once sought out a band of 
 vagabond Ottawas, who had set up their lodges a short 
 distance inland. But these degraded people did not 
 feel that they needed such sympathy and help as the 
 missionary had come to offer them. While treating him 
 
Mciiard 143 
 
 with some show of friendship, they laughed at his kindly 
 concern for their souls, and refused to listen to his 
 religious teaching. 
 
 The winter came, very cold and cheerless in the 
 wretched huts of the Ottawas. Father Menard, himself 
 the soul of kindness, met with nothing but rebuffs and 
 cruel neglect. The coldness of the north wind hurtling 
 through the thin walls of his bark hut was less distressing 
 than the utter indifference, the thanklessness, and folly of 
 the savages whom he wished so much to help. He could 
 not make a single convert — scarcely could he win a single 
 friend. 
 
 As soon as the spring was well advanced, Menard 
 
 determined to go in quest of the Hurons who lived a 
 
 hundred miles southward. It was the first of 
 
 1661 
 July, however, before he was able to set out, 
 
 taking with him Jean Guerin and some Huron hunters as 
 guides. The ground was soft, and the streams were 
 swollen from recent rains. There was no road — not 
 even a footpath ; and the way led through tangled 
 thickets and treacherous marshes. The feeble mission- 
 ary was unable to keep up with his guides, and he and his 
 servant were left behind. The two men contrived to fol- 
 low the trail of their faithless friends until they reached 
 a small lake whose outlet was a southward flowing river. 
 Here, after fifteen days of aimless wandering, they found 
 a canoe which they thought had been left there for their 
 use. They embarked, and floated with the stream — it was 
 the main branch of the upper Wisconsin. The change 
 was very grateful to Father Menard, whose strength could 
 
[44 
 
 Oil the Upper Lakes 
 
 not have carried him much farther. Sitting at his ease in 
 the bow of the canoe, he murmured hymns of thanksgiving 
 for the mercies he had received. 
 
 Thus they had floated for fifty miles or more, when 
 they saw rapids ahead, strong and turbulent, tumbling 
 
 „ , wildly over rocks and 
 
 - among drifts of fallen 
 timber. 
 
 '' Do you think you 
 can guide the canoe 
 safely through that 
 ^-* - fearful turmoil .'' " 
 
 '' I will try, master." 
 " It would be easier if it were 
 not loaded so heavily. Let me 
 lighten it by going ashore. I will 
 walk through the woods and meet you 
 at the foot of the falls." 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^x 
 
 ''^ ^ And so the feeble man was put ashore. 
 But there was no trail around the rapids. The way was 
 obstructed by thick underwoods, briers, traihng vines, 
 quagmires, and fallen trees. At last he found what 
 seemed to be a faint path ; he followed it ; it led farther 
 and farther from the river. The sound of the rushing 
 rapids was soon lost to his ear. Night was coming on ; 
 Father Menard stumbled along through the darkening 
 woods ; he listened, but the silence of the forest was 
 about him ; he called, but received no answer. And now 
 the path disappeared, there was nothing to guide his 
 footsteps through the lonely solitudes ; he knew not 
 
I\fni(7i(/ 
 
 45 
 
 whether the river was on his ri<;lU IkiiuI or on his left; 
 he was hopelessly lost. 
 
 When Jean Guerin reached the foot of the rapids he 
 waited long for his master. He called, but 
 onlv the echo of his own voice answered. 
 Five times he fired his gun, hoping to 
 direct the wanderer to the right 
 spot. He built a fire and sat by 
 its blaze all night, listening for 
 any sound that might betoken 
 the nearness of the good father. 
 
 On the following day he met 
 a band of Hurons and besought 
 them to go in search of their 
 lost friend ; but in their heart- 
 lessness they refused. A few 
 weeks later a Sac Indian came 
 to the Huron settlement 
 
 The priest" s breviary and cloak 
 
 with the camp kettle which 
 Father Menard was in the 
 habit of carrying with him. 
 He had picked it up in a 
 thicket of underwoods where were footprints pointing 
 westward. Some Sicnix Indians, while hunting in another 
 place, found the priest's breviary and cloak lying on the 
 ground, probably where their owner had stopped to rest. 
 But Father Menard was never seen again ; and no one 
 knows how he perished, whether from hunger or exhaus- 
 tion, or whether he was slain by w^ild beasts or savage 
 men. 
 
 DLI) NORTIIWKSr lO 
 
146 Oil tJic Upper Lakes 
 
 II. ALLOUEZ 
 
 When the story of Father Menard was told to his 
 
 brethren in Canada, they resolved that his death should 
 
 spur them to more heroic efforts for the salvation of 
 
 unworthy souls. But it was four years before any active 
 
 steps were taken to carry on the work which he had 
 
 attempted to begin. At length Claude Allouez, a man in 
 
 the prime of life, brave, zealous, and born to leadership, 
 
 was chosen to be missionary to the fugitive Hurons. It 
 
 was past midsummer when he started to the field .of his 
 
 labors. Four hundred savas^es, who had come 
 1665 
 
 down from the upper lakes to barter their furs, 
 
 were returning to their homes ; and the sturdy missionary 
 was pleased to make the greater part of the journey with 
 them. 
 
 How wonderful had been the change in the life and 
 customs of the Indian nations since the coming of the 
 French traders into the valley of the St. Lawrence ! 
 Formerly each tribe had dwelt in its own place in the 
 forest, its men seldom venturing far from their own clear- 
 ings and villages. They were contented with their little 
 belongings, and their knowledge of the world was limited 
 by the horizon. But when the traders came, and the red 
 men learned that for a few furs they could purchase won- 
 derful articles, both useful and beautiful, a new epoch 
 began for them, and their ways of life were altered. 
 Their hunters and trappers traversed the forests far and 
 near in quest of fur-bearing animals. They became 
 acquainted with distant tribes, and were easily persuaded 
 
Allouc: 147 
 
 to change their phices of habitation ; and they undertook 
 long and perilous journeys to dispose of the peltries which 
 they had gathered, and to see the ways of the white men. 
 Thus it had happened that the savages of the upper lakes, 
 who had so lately been unknown, had felt the charm of the 
 traders' presence and had come out of their solitudes to 
 have intercourse with the superior race — an intercourse 
 which in the end would be their destruction. 
 
 It was early in September when Allouez reached the 
 Sault Sainte Marie, and there he parted from his savage 
 escort. The Ojibways, or Chippewas, welcomed 
 him to their village at the foot of the rapids, and 
 with them he would gladly have tarried ; but duty required 
 him to go forward to a more distant field. With only a few 
 companions he embarked on the upper lake, a portion of 
 whose shores had been made known through the explora- 
 tions of Grosseilliers and Radisson. The visit of Joliet 
 and Pere to these waters, of which we have already learned, 
 did not take place until three years later. 
 
 Allouez was delighted with his voyage upon the upper 
 lake. Of all the fresh-water seas he had beheld, this 
 seemed to him the grandest; and in his enthusiasm he 
 christened it Lake Tracy, in honor of the Marquis de 
 Tracy, the new lieutenant general of Canada, from whom 
 the Jesuits expected great things. 
 
 Near the end of the month the intrepid missionary 
 reached La Pointe, at or near the place where Radisson 
 and Grosseilliers had built their hut. In a straggling village 
 close by, where Indians of several tribes had come together, 
 he founded the mission of St. Esprit, and there he built a 
 
MS 
 
 On the Upper Lakes 
 
 bark chapel as a place of worship — the first church, if we 
 may call it such, within the limits of the Old Northwest. 
 Not far from the head of the bay were other villages, 
 where, lived some eight hundred savages belonging to 
 various Algonquin tribes, the greater number being vagrant 
 
 Ottawas. Over all these, as 
 well as over the Hurons, far- 
 ther inland. Father Allouez 
 hoped to extend some sort 
 of pastoral care. 
 
 To the mission of St. 
 Esprit the savages soon 
 began to resort in large 
 numbers; and the zealous 
 Allouez used many devices 
 to secure their confidence 
 and friendship. He told 
 them that the French would 
 surely crush and utterly sub- 
 due their old enemies, the 
 Iroquois ; and he assured 
 them that the time would 
 soon come when they could 
 return to their old homes by the head waters of 
 the Ottawa and on the shores of the Mer Douce. 
 With their young men he explored much of the country 
 along the lake shore ; and from them he heard of the 
 mysterious copper mines, and of ::he great water called 
 "Missipi" which flowed through mysterious regions far 
 to the south. On one of his excursions he fell in with 
 
 " He built a bark chapel 
 
Marquette I49 
 
 a roving band of Sioux Indians — the terror of the West 
 — and from them he learned that their home was on 
 the treeless prairies farther west, while beyond was an 
 unknown land bordered by the great salt sea. But, with 
 all his zeal and enterprise and patience, the missionary of 
 St. Esprit made but few converts, and the savages, espe- 
 cially the Ottawas, remained as savage and degraded as 
 before. 
 
 III. aiaroup:tte 
 
 About a year before the coming of La Salle to Canada 
 there arrived on the St. Lawrence a young Jesuit priest, 
 whose name was Jacques Marquette. He was of 
 a gentle disposition, refined, well educated, and 
 intent only upon doing good. No sooner had he set foot 
 upon Canadian soil than he began to prepare himself for the 
 duties of a missionary among the savages of the Northwest. 
 After spending a year and a half at Three Rivers, study- 
 ing the languages of the principal Indian tribes, he set out 
 with a party of returning natives to the distant shores of 
 Lake Superior. He arrived at the Sault Sainte Marie 
 without mishap, and took up his abode with the Chippewas, 
 who rejoiced that he had come to estabUsh a mission among 
 them. There he was soon joined by another missionary, 
 Claude Dablon, and the two, with the help of their first 
 converts, built a little church on the bank of the river, 
 and surrounded it with cedar pickets. It was near the 
 spot where the gentle Raymbault had been laid by his 
 sorrowing companion. Father Jogues. 
 
 The rude building had scarcely been completed when 
 Marquette was commanded to go still farther west and 
 
150 0)1 tJic Upper Lakes 
 
 assume charge of the mission of St. Esprit at La Pointe. 
 He obeyed without asking why; but when he presented 
 himself to take the place of the veteran Allouez he 
 learned the reasons for the change. Among the Indians 
 on the shore of Green Bay there had lately come from 
 Canada a party of reckless young Frenchmen — lawless 
 woods rangers, or courcurs dc hois — who were outdoing 
 the savages in deeds of violence and crime. The Potta- 
 wattomies and other tribes near the River Fox, degraded 
 though they were, were horrified by the doings of these 
 desperadoes. To Father Allouez in the distant mission 
 of St. Esprit they sent a messenger, praying him to come 
 and tame the wild spirits of the men of his own nation. 
 " We are daily in fear for our lives. We are terrified by 
 their wickedness. Come, and teach them something about 
 that religion of gentleness of which we have heard." 
 
 Could the veteran missionary refuse to listen to this 
 appeal.'* To the superior of his Order in Canada he 
 wrote an account of the whole matter ; and the result was 
 that he received permission to go among the tribes of Green 
 Bay, to preach conversion to the red savages and to reprove 
 and restrain the white. But who should carry on the work 
 which he had begun at La Pointe.'* Surely no man was 
 better fitted for that duty than young Father Marquette. 
 
 And this was why Marquette had been removed from 
 
 his appointed field at the Sault Sainte Marie. Allouez 
 
 proceeded at once to the Green Bay region ; and 
 1669 
 
 on the Fox River, not far from its mouth, he 
 
 set up among the Pottaw^attomies and other tribes the 
 
 mission of St. Francis Xavier. 
 
St. lispnt 
 
 •51 
 
 IV ST. ESPRIT 
 
 The mission of St. Esprit had never prospered. The 
 Indians for whom it had been estabHshed were hardened 
 wretches whose hearts could not be touched. The com- 
 manding presence of Allouez and the f^entle ministrations 
 
 " Vengeance was sure and swift " 
 
 of Marquette failed alike to win them to virtue and piety. 
 There were, it is true, a few converts among the women 
 and children ; but the men, while tolerating the mission- 
 aries, took pleasure in making their lives as uncomfort- 
 able as possible. 
 
 Soon after Marquette's arrival at the mission there came 
 to La Pointe a small party of red men, who brought furs 
 to barter to the French traders. Marquette was struck 
 by the gentle manners of these men, so different from 
 
152 On the Upper Lakes 
 
 the rude insolence of the Ottawas, and he asked them the 
 name of their tribe. They told him that they were Illi- 
 nois, and that their home was far southward in a land 
 of prairies beyond a mighty river. They listened with 
 great patience to Marquette while he tried to unfold some 
 of the truths of religion, and this so filled his heart with 
 pleasure that he vowed to visit their country and establish 
 a mission among them. 
 
 Wandering bands of Sioux — daring and haughty sav- 
 ages — also came to La Pointe and repeated the story of 
 the "Missipi," of treeless plains beyond it, of a mysteri- 
 ous sea of fetid water. And from still other Indians 
 Marquette heard strange tales of a distant country where 
 the corn ripened twice a year, and the people wore glass 
 beads, and winged canoes went swiftly up and down the 
 river. Surely he was on the threshold of a strange new 
 world wiiich no European had yet entered or explored. 
 
 But for the heathen around La Pointe dreadful days 
 were near at hand. To the unhappy Hurons, hiding from 
 the vengeance of the Iroquois, there seemed to be no end 
 of misfortune. Scarcely had they begun to feel settled in 
 their new home when another terrible disaster befell them. 
 Some friendly Sioux who were visiting in the villages were 
 set upon and treacherously murdered by a party of hot- 
 headed young Ottawas. Vengeance was sure and swift. 
 A war party of Sioux — Iroquois of the West, as Mar- 
 quette called them — swooped dowm upon their settlements, 
 and Hurons and Ottawas, like frightened sheep, fled into 
 the forest. The houses and wigwams were burned, the 
 crops were destroyed, the whole country was laid waste. 
 
Dollicr ami Galiiicc 
 
 153 
 
 The trading post at La Pointe was burned, the mission of 
 St. Esprit was abandoned, and Father Marquette, fleeing 
 with his flock, finally made his way back to the Sault 
 Sainte Marie, there to await whatsoever might occur. 
 
 DOLLIER AND (iALINEE 
 
 One afternoon in May the two missionaries, Marquette 
 and Dablon, were told that some white strangers were 
 
 -f" 
 
 " In the foremost sat two priests " 
 .approaching- the sault from below. Going down to the 
 
 river's side they saw four canoes coming slowly 
 
 1670 
 
 up the stream. These were manned by Huron 
 Indians, and in the foremost sat two priests wearing garbs 
 that were plainly not those of Jesuit missionaries. 
 
154 On the Upper Lakes 
 
 The two newcomers proved to be our old acquaintances 
 of the Sulpician brotherhood, DolUer and Galinee. We 
 have already seen how, in the preceding summer, they 
 had set out with La Salle upon a tour of exploration, and 
 how in the early autumn they had met Joliet in an Indian 
 village at the head of Lake Ontario. After leaving the 
 village they had launched their canoes on Grand River 
 and descended that stream to Lake Erie. In a sheltered 
 grove, secure from the northwest winds, they built some 
 bark huts and in one of them erected an altar ; and there, 
 with their servants and followers, they spent the winter. 
 With the opening of spring they began to make ready to 
 continue their voyage. Not far from the water's edge they 
 raised a cross, and, with much ceremony and in the name 
 of the French king, took possession of the lake and all the 
 land surrounding it. Then, embarking in their canoes, 
 they paddled westward, keeping close to the northern shore 
 and looking in vain for some sign of human life. After 
 losing one of their canoes, which was blown away from 
 its moorings while they. were asleep on land, they safely 
 entered the broad river Detroit. A favoring wind helped 
 them on their way northward, and, passing through the 
 St. Clair, they emerged upon the bosom of the Mer 
 Douce of the Hurons. Following the windings of the 
 shore of that great water they continued on their course. 
 They crossed the head of the lake, threaded their way, 
 through a labyrinth of green islands, paddled slowly up the 
 River Sainte Marie, and finally, as we have seen, arrived 
 at the already famous sault. They were the first white 
 men to journey from the St. Lawrence to the region of 
 
Marquette 
 
 155 
 
 the upper lakes l^y way of the now familiar route through 
 the lower lakes and the Detroit. 
 
 Marquette and Dablon received the two Sulpicians 
 kindly, but with no great show of hearty welcome. With- 
 out unnecessary rudeness they soon made it ])lain to 
 DoUier and Galinee that they were looked upon as tres- 
 passers in a field of labor which was already occupied. 
 The Sulpicians therefore wisely concluded not to stay long 
 
 Map drawn by Galinee 
 
 where their presence was disagreeable. After a few 
 days' rest at the sault they bade their hosts good-bye, 
 and, giving up their schemes for missionary labor, started 
 homeward. With a French voyageur as guide, they fol- 
 lowed the old route back by way of Lake Nipissing and 
 the Ottawa, and before the end of June were among their 
 brethren in Montreal. They had been absent more than 
 ten months, and were obliged to report to their brethren 
 that their journey had not been as successful as they had 
 hoped. 
 
156 
 
 0)1 iJic rppcr Lakes 
 
 VI. ST. IGNACE 
 
 In the meanwhile, what was the fate of the remnant of 
 the Hurons in the far Northv/est } With the vengeful 
 Iroquois on the one hand and the ferocious Sioux on the 
 other, these people were in desperate straits. But they 
 remembered that the French had befriended their nation 
 on more than one occasion, and they believed that in the 
 neighborhood of the trading posts they might find protec- 
 tion from their foes ; and so in their distress they resolved 
 to go back to their old hunting grounds near the shores of 
 the Mer Douce. When, however, they reached that point 
 of land which extends southward into the Strait of Macki- 
 nac, their dread of the Iroquois became so strong that 
 they halted there and were unwilling to go farther. The 
 
 water was full of fish, 
 life would be easy, their 
 enemies would scarcely 
 dare to seek them in 
 that secluded spot. It 
 was a good place in 
 which to make new 
 homes for themselves. 
 Some of their Ottawa neighbors who had suffered with 
 them settled also on the same peninsula ; but the greater 
 number continued their flight to the Manitoulin Islands 
 at the head of Lake Huron. 
 
 When news of the whereabouts of the fugitives was 
 carried to Father Marquette at the Sault Sainte Marie, 
 he at once hastened to join them and to offer them such 
 
Saiut-Liissofi 157 
 
 help and encouragement as was in his power to give. On 
 the shore of the strait, within sight of the rocky islet of 
 Mackinac, he set up the mission of St. Ignace, and began 
 to orather around him the wretched remnants of the scat- 
 tered tribes. The Indians called the entire region Michili- 
 mackinac (Mackinac), and by that name the post was 
 known, both while it was on the north side of the strait 
 and also after its removal, many years later, to the oppo- 
 site shore. 
 
 VII. SA1NT-LI\SS0N 
 
 While Marquette was busy building his chapel at Macki- 
 nac, and doing deeds of kindness to a suffering people, 
 preparations were being made for a strange 
 and imposing ceremonial at the Sault Sainte 
 Marie. French officers from Quebec were expected, and 
 there were to be solemn feasts with the Indians, and mock 
 battles, and a grand pageant such as had never Leen seen 
 on the American continent. Messengers had been sent 
 out to invite all the friendly tribes from Lake Nipissing to 
 La Pointe, and from Green Bay to the frozen rivers of the 
 North, to come and take part in the festivities. The cere- 
 monial had been planned by Nicholas Perrot, a young 
 ranger of the woods, who even at that early period dimly 
 recognized the vast importance of the lake region and saw 
 in the wilderness Northwest the scat of future empire. It 
 had been sanctioned by Talon, the intendant of Canada ; 
 and he had selected the Sieur Saint-Lusson, a soldier of 
 France, to represent the French king before thQ savage 
 nations that were invited to attend. 
 
158 
 
 On the Upper Lakes 
 
 Oil the fourteenth of June the hosts had arrived. The 
 Sieur Saint-Lusson, clad in the brilliant regalia of his office, 
 ascended the slope that rises from the south side of the sault. 
 With him as aids and lieutenants were Louis Joliet, already 
 famous for his explorations, and Nicholas Perrot, the 
 ranger and trader, besides several Frenchmen from Mon- 
 treal and four Jesuit fathers dressed in their priestly robes. 
 
 \\n 
 
 
 Father Dablon went forward" 
 
 P'ollowing these was one of the strangest throngs ever 
 seen in our own or any other country. There were fur 
 traders and trappers, Canadian voyageurs, and soldiers 
 of France ; and flanking the hill on both sides were the 
 warriors and chiefs of fourteen savage nations, gay in 
 their holiday trappings, hideous with paint and feathers, 
 loathsome in person and in manners — all mingling together 
 in strange and unaccustomed friendship. 
 
S(iint-L iLs'son 159 
 
 A huge wooden cross had already heen carried to the 
 top of the hill, and around it the motley procession moved. 
 Then, while all stood still and made some show of rever- 
 ence. Father Dablon went forward and blessed it ; and 
 when the emblem had been reared and firm])' planted, 
 the Frenchmen, with uncovered heads, sang an ancient 
 
 hymn : — 
 
 '' The banners of heaven's King advance ; 
 The mystery of the cross shines forth." 
 
 By the side of the cross a cedar post was raised, and 
 upon it was nailed a metal plate inscribed with the royal 
 arms of France. This done, the Sieur Saint-Lusson 
 stepped forward, and, raising a sod of earth with one 
 hand and flourishing his sword with the other, made proc- 
 lamation in the name of Louis XIV., the king of France. 
 He declared that he took possession " of this place, Sainte 
 Marie du Sault, as also of Lakes Huron and Superior, the 
 Island of Manitoulin, and all countries, rivers, lakes, and 
 streams contiguous and adjacent thereunto: both those 
 which have been discovered and those which may be 
 discovered hereafter, in all their length and breadth, 
 bounded on the one side by the seas of the North and 
 West, and on the other by the South Sea." 
 
 At the close of this speech the Frenchmen shouted 
 " Vive le roi ! " and the Indians, not to be outdone, yelled 
 and hooted like thousands of demons. Then Father 
 AUouez made a speech to the dusky warriors, telling them 
 of the grandeur and might of his master Louis XIV., 
 who was ''more terrible than thunder, and moved in the 
 midst of his warriors covered with the blood of his ene- 
 
i6o On tJie Upper Lakes 
 
 mies. . . . But what shall I say of his riches ? " he con- 
 tinued. "You think yourselves rich when you have ten 
 or twelve sacks of corn, a few hatchets, beads, kettles, and 
 other things of that sort. He has cities of his own, more 
 than there are of men in all this country for five hundred 
 leagues around. In each city there are storehouses where 
 there are hatchets enough to cut down all your forests, 
 kettles enough to cook all your moose, and beads enough 
 to fill all your lodges. His house is longer than from here 
 to the top of the sault [that is, more than half a league] ; 
 it is higher than your tallest trees ; and it holds more 
 families than the largest of your towns." 
 
 It was a wonderful sp.eech, adapted to the understand- 
 ing of the savages and appealing to their wildest fancies. 
 When it was ended there was another tremendous chorus 
 of yells ; and then white men and red men returned to the 
 village to enjoy the feast that had been prepared and to 
 witness the sham battles with which the great day was 
 closed. Thus, by an imposing ceremonial in the heart of 
 the wilderness, France took formal possession of the Great 
 Lakes, the unknown rivers, and all the rich lands of the 
 Northwest. 
 
THE MIDDEN RIVEl 
 
 Mv 
 
 I. THE EXPLORER AND THE MISSIONARY 
 
 LOUIS JOLIET had other business at the Sault Sainte 
 Marie besides attending the grand ceremonial to 
 which Saint-Lusson had invited him. The discovery of 
 the hidden river of the West was the one object of his 
 thoughts, and all his energies were now 
 being directed to its accomplishment. 
 Of the Indians who had come to the 
 sault from the West and the South, 
 he asked many questions about this 
 mysterious stream ; but they could tell 
 him nothing of value, and their vague, , 
 disconnected stories only whetted his 
 desire to see and know for himself. 
 He returned to Quebec much discour- 
 aged, but not yet ready to give up hope. 
 In the following spring a new gov- 
 ernor took charge of affairs in Canada. 
 Louis de Buade, but he is known in history by his title, 
 
 Count Frontenac. Next to Champlain he stands 
 
 1672 
 highest among the makers of New France. He 
 
 was already growing old, was headstrong and extravagant, 
 
 but just the kind of man to deal wisely with the Indians 
 
 and extend the French influence in the Northwest. He 
 
 161 
 
 Count Frontenac 
 
 His name was 
 
 OLD NORTHWEST 
 
1 62 TJic Hidden River 
 
 heartily hated the Jesuits, and it was not long before he 
 had a bitter quarrel with the Sulpicians. It was plain to 
 everybody that a new order of things was about to begin 
 in Canada. 
 
 Count Frontenac had already heard of Louis Joliet. 
 The intendant, Talon, had spoken to him of that young 
 man's rare ability as an explorer and had told him of 
 his discoveries on the lakes. He was asked to speak 
 for himself, and, before the summer was ended, he was 
 commissioned to make an expedition into the far West, 
 and, if possible, discover the mysterious river of which 
 so many rumors were afloat. 
 
 Joliet did not waste any time in making preparations. 
 Early in December he arrived at Mackinac, where Father 
 Marquette was busy attending to the needs of 
 the little band of Hurons that had gathered 
 around his mission of St. Ignace. The explorer had 
 heard of the gentle priest as a man who had made a 
 careful study of all that was known about the country 
 west of the lakes, and he believed that from him he 
 would be able to learn many valuable facts. 
 
 Marquette was delighted to receive his visitor, for he 
 was already deeply interested in the project Joliet had 
 undertaken. We can easily imagine the two men sitting 
 in the missionary's little cabin and talking about the 
 subject that was dearest to the thoughts of both. 
 
 "When I was at La Pointe four years ago," we may 
 suppose Marquette to say, '* I heard a great deal about 
 the undiscovered river of the West. The Indians who Hve 
 near it call it the Missipi ; and they say that for more 
 
TJic Expiate f (unf tJic Missionary 163 
 
 than three hundred leagues from its mouth it is wider 
 than the St. Lawrence at Quebec. For a long distance 
 it flows through a treeless prairie land ; but as it nears 
 the sea its banks are again bordered by forests. Along 
 the river, from the country of the Sioux to its mouth, 
 there are many tribes of savages who speak different 
 languages and ha\'e different customs, and are always 
 waging war upon one another. These are some of the 
 things that were told me by a band of red men who 
 call themselves Illinois. I would that I could go to them 
 in their own home in the Missipi country, as indeed I 
 promised them ; for they are truly a gentle-hearted people, 
 eager to learn, and not so utterly depraved as some of 
 the more northern tribes." 
 
 This and much more did the missionary impart to the 
 explorer; and it was almost unnecessary for Joliet to say 
 that he had brought from the governor, and from the 
 Superior of the Jesuits at Quebec, definite instructions 
 to Marquette to be his companion in a tour of discovery 
 beyond the Great Lakes. The good priest needed no 
 other commission. It was agreed that, early in the fol- 
 lowing spring, as soon as the lakes should be free from 
 ice, they would set forth together and not return until 
 the mystery of the hidden river was solved. 
 
 The winter w^as spent at Mackinac, putting everything 
 in readiness for the voyage. From Indians who had 
 been at Green Bay, Marquette made careful inquiries 
 about the country and the best westerly routes ; and from 
 such information as was given he drew a rough map — 
 mostly mere guesswork — of their intended course, 
 
164 The Hidden River 
 
 II. THE FOX AND THE WISCONSIN 
 
 On the 17th of May the explorers set out in two birch- 
 bark canoes, with five men as assistants and guides. "I 
 placed our expedition," wrote Marquette, " under 
 the protection of the Holy Virgin Immaculate, 
 promising that if she granted us the favor of discovering 
 the great river, I would give it the name of Conception." 
 They followed the same route along the northern shore 
 of Lake Michigan that Jean Nicolet had traversed thirty- 
 
 X/Sti 
 
 ^M^^y^s^ 
 
 " They beheld an Indian town " 
 
 nine years before. They entered Green Bay, and stopped 
 a day in the village of the Menominees, or Wild Rice 
 Indians. These friendly people were astonished when 
 they heard that the white men were on their way to 
 the great river. 
 
 ''The river," said they, ''abounds in monsters which 
 devour both men and canoes ; and the nations that dwell 
 along its banks never spare the strangers that venture 
 am on 2: them." 
 
The Fox and tJic Wisconsin 165 
 
 " I will gladly lay down my life for the salvation of 
 souls," answered Marquette ; and, uttering a simple 
 prayer which he desired them to repeat, he left them 
 wondering. 
 
 The next stop was made at the head of the bay, and 
 near the De Pere rapids they found Father Allouez at 
 his mission of St. Francis Xavier. There they tarried a 
 day or two, and then, still following in the track of Jean 
 Nicolet, they pushed onward up the river of the Foxes. 
 
 They skirted the shores of Lake Winnebago, and fol- 
 lowed the winding stream beyond, now paddling through 
 thickets of wild rice, and now gliding between wooded 
 shores where they caught glimpses of rolling meadows 
 in the distance. At length they came into the country 
 of the Mascoutins, the Miamis, the Kickapoos, and the 
 Foxes. They beheld an Indian town, built on a hill in 
 the midst of a prairie ; and as they drew near, Marquette 
 was rejoiced to see a cross planted in the center of a 
 cluster of wigwams. The intrepid fathers, Allouez and 
 Dablon, had visited this spot three years before ; they 
 had set up this emblem of the Christian faith ; they had 
 explained its mystic power, and taught the natives to 
 hold it in reverence. The simple-hearted savages had 
 decorated it with their most precious possessions, bows 
 and arrows and savage ornaments, to appease the Great 
 Manitou of the white man and give him thanks for the 
 game and the plenteous harvests that he had sent them. 
 
 The explorers landed, and, going up to the village, 
 called a council of the chiefs. They came, eager to see 
 their visitors and learn their wishes. Among them were 
 
1 66 The Hidden River 
 
 stately warriors of the Miami nation with locks of hair 
 falling over their ears, Mascoutins of smaller stature and 
 ruder mien, and Kickapoos with ungainly forms and 
 unpleasing features. Joliet explained to these savages 
 the object of their journey, saying that he himself had 
 been sent out by the French king to discover new coun- 
 tries, and that Marquette had come as the messenger of 
 the Great Manitou to enlighten the hearts of the red men. 
 Then, after telling them that two guides were needed to 
 show the way, he gave to each man a present, and sat 
 down. The phiefs, who had Hstened with great interest, 
 not only consented to give them the guides, but presented 
 them with a mat to be used as a bed during the voyage. 
 On the loth of June the explorers again embarked 
 in their canoes. Guided by two Miamis, they followed 
 
 the narrowino: stream through swamps and wet 
 1673 
 
 meadow lands until at length they reached the 
 
 place of portage and must needs carry their canoes and 
 goods across the land. Their path led them through a 
 level prairie, dotted with ponds where wild rice was 
 growing, and, after a winding course of two miles, ended 
 on the banks of a westward-flowing stream. Here, with- 
 out more delay than was necessary, the travelers again 
 launched their canoes. "The guides returned," says 
 Marquette, "leaving us alone, in this unknown land, in 
 the hands of Providence." 
 
 The stream upon which they embarked was broad, 
 with many sandy shallows. It would carry them to the 
 great hidden river ; but whither then would they be 
 borne.? Did the waters of the "Missipi" flow westwardly 
 
The Fox and the Wisconsin 
 
 T67 
 
 to the Gulf of California, or may ha]) directly into the 
 South Sea? Or did they pursue a more eastward course 
 and finally empty into the Mexican Gulf or into the Sea 
 of Vir<;inia ? These were questions which the explorers 
 hoped to solve, but which they now asked themselves 
 with many doubting surmises. 
 
 Followin<; the winding current of the Wisconsin, they 
 floated onward, now passing between grassy banks 
 shadowed with thick foliage, and now emerging 'into a 
 region of rich bottom lands bordered by tree-covered 
 bluffs. Tall oaks and wal- 
 nuts and trees of unknown 
 species grew along the shore ; 
 and the banks were lined 
 with thickets of underbrush 
 and trailing vines. In the 
 forest they saw little game ; 
 but, now and then, in the 
 prairie-like openings, they 
 caught glimpses of deer and 
 other animals grazing among 
 the rank herbage. 
 
 This river, upon which 
 they floated for about forty 
 leagues, was called by Mar- 
 quette the Mesconsing, for 
 so he understood the Indians 
 
 to pronounce it ; and the French traders who afterward 
 came into that region gave it the similar name, Ouisconsin 
 — or, as it is spelled in I^2nglish, Wisconsin. 
 
 -f^: 
 
 They caught glimpses 
 of deer " 
 
1 68 TJic Hidden River 
 
 III. THE VOYAGE 
 
 It was the 17th of June when, as Marquette relates, 
 the explorers ** entered happily the Great River with a joy 
 that I cannot express." Johet, in gratitude to 
 Count Frontenac for sending him upon this 
 expedition, named the river La Buade ; but Marquette, 
 remembering the vow he had made, called it the Concep- 
 tion. ' Neither of these names, however, was able to 
 supplant the Indian designation, Mississippi, "the Father 
 of Waters." 
 
 No one can understand the feelings of the explorers as 
 their canoes shot out upon the deep current of the myste- 
 rious stream which had so long been the goal of all their 
 hopes. Throughout the day they kept in midstream and 
 paddled leisurely along with the current. Toward even- 
 ing they landed in some secluded nook to cook and eat 
 their supper ; then, as darkness began to fall, lest they 
 should be surprised by some lurking foe, they pushed 
 out from the shore and anchored, lying in their canoes 
 until morning. 
 
 Thus, for more than a week, they continued their voy- 
 age, their way lying between the banks that border the 
 present states of Illinois and Iowa. On either hand they 
 saw broad prairies interspersed with groves and watered 
 by many streams. Now they caught sight of flocks of 
 deer browsing on the uplands ; now they heard the call 
 of wild turkeys among the trees by the shore ; and now 
 they beheld large droves of buffaloes — " Ilhnois oxen 
 clothed in wool" — moving slowly over the grass-covered 
 
The Voyage 
 
 169 
 
 plains. From time to time they saw monstrous fish in the 
 water, and one of these struck so violently a<;ainst the canoe 
 that the voyagers were in clanger of being thrown into the 
 water. And once they saw a monstrous panther, " with 
 
 ' ' Illinois oxen clothed in wool ' 
 
 the head of a tiger, and a pointed snout like a wild-cat's," 
 swimming in the stream. 
 
 At length, on the western bank, they discovered the 
 footprints of men and a well-trodden path leading up to 
 a beautiful prairie. They landed, and Joliet and Mar- 
 quette fearlessly followed this path, anxious to know what 
 sort of people lived in that region. It led them a distance 
 of six miles, over hills and through meadows and woods, 
 until they came within sight of a village on the bank 
 
170 TJic Hidden River 
 
 of a river. With hesitating steps and prayers for God's 
 protection they went forward until they were near enough 
 to hear the voices of the Indians in their wigwams. 
 Then, halting, they uttered a loud shout. 
 
 The Indians heard them. Four old men came out 
 to meet them, carrying the calumet, or peace pipe, deco- 
 rated with many kinds of feathers. They walked very 
 slowly and with great deliberation ; and when at last 
 they drew quite near they stopped and gazed at the 
 strangers, not saying a word. 
 
 Marquette, who understood many Indian languages, 
 asked them who they were. " We are lUinois," they 
 said, meaning thereby, "We are men;" and they offered 
 the peace pipe. Indians and Frenchmen then walked 
 together to the village. 
 
 The chief of the tribe stood naked in the doorway of 
 his cabin to welcome the strangers. 
 
 "Oh, strangers," he said, "how beautiful is the sun 
 when you come to visit us ! Our whole village welcomes 
 you, and you shall enter all our wigwams in peace." 
 
 Having said this he led them inside, where were all the 
 warriors and great men of the village, eager to greet them. 
 "Well done, brothers," they said; "it is kind of you to 
 visit us ! " And then all smoked the calumet together. 
 
 Soon there came other savages to invite the strangers 
 to visit the great chief of all the Illinois, whose village was 
 on a hill not far away. They went, and were followed by 
 a crowd of men and boys who danced by the roadside and 
 tumbled among the grass in their excessive joy at behold- 
 ing the faces of white men. Upon arriving at the second 
 
The ]^oyagc I71 
 
 village they were received by the great chief with hearty 
 expressions of joy. " I thank thee, Blackgown," said he 
 to Marquette, " for taking so much pains to come and 
 visit us. Never has our river been so calm, nor so free 
 from rocks, which your canoes have removed as they 
 passed ; never has our 
 
 tobacco had so fine a ^^^^^^^^^''^3^«=^^J&. 
 flavor, nor our corn ap- j^^''^^iX\\ 
 
 peared so beautiful as ^0^&mh 
 
 . ^ Pj V ? \^ 
 
 we behold it to-day." ^ J ■> ) 
 
 . , The calumet 
 
 And then he gave pres- 
 ents to the white men : a little slave and a calumet adorned 
 with colored feathers. 
 
 After this a great feast was served, consisting of hom- 
 iny, fish, a broiled dog, and fat buffalo meat. The two 
 Frenchmen tasted sparingly of the first two, and refused 
 to touch the third ; but the fourth was more appetizing, 
 and of it they ate heartily, much to the satisfaction of 
 their hosts. At the close of the feast they were led 
 through the village, so that all the natives might see them 
 without being troublesome ; and every one was anxious 
 to give them some sort of present, a belt, or a garter, or 
 some simple ornament made of feathers or of the hair of 
 the buffalo dyed red, yellow, and gray. When night came 
 on they were led back to the chief's wigwam, and buffalo 
 robes were spread upon the ground for them to rest upon. 
 
 The next day, escorted by nearly six hundred of the 
 natives, the Frenchmen returned to their canoes and 
 again embarked upon the Mississippi. Paddling along 
 with the current, they passed on their left the mouth of 
 
172 TJic Hidden Rive J' 
 
 the river afterward known as the IlUnois, and looked up 
 with wonder at castle-like rocks along the shore, on which 
 the Indians had painted the figures of horrible monsters. 
 A few days later they heard the roar of the Missouri, 
 called by the Indians the Pekitanoui, or muddy river; 
 and soon saw its swift current rushing like a conqueror 
 into the quieter Mississippi, and seeming to hurry it along 
 in its journey toward the sea. Whence came this mighty 
 river if not from a region bordering upon the western 
 ocean ? '' I have hardly any doubt," said Marquette, "that 
 through this river lies the way to the Vermilion or Cali- 
 fornia Sea, and I do not despair of one day making the 
 discovery." 
 
 Continuing their course, the explorers passed the site 
 of the present city of St. Louis ; but in the dense forest 
 which then covered the spot there was nothing to fore- 
 shadow the bustling marts and the noisy streets of the 
 future metropolis of the West. A few days later they 
 glided past the mouth of the Ohio, or La Belle Riviere, 
 which Marquette called the Ouabouskigon. Its low and 
 swampy shores were covered with dense canebrakes, and 
 Marquette saw here nothing to indicate the greatness of 
 the stream or to hint of the beauty of its upper reaches. 
 He was told that it came from a country inhabited by 
 the Chaouanons [Shawnees], a populous but peace-loving 
 nation much harassed by roving bands of Iroquois. 
 
 And now, with the hot July sun above them, the explor- 
 ers floated onward, past densely wooded shores and broad 
 marshes, until they approached on the left a long range 
 of lofty bluffs overlooking the riverside. Here they saw 
 
The Voyage 
 
 ^71 
 
 on the shore some Indians armed with c^uns ; and Joliet 
 rightly guessed that they had gotten these in barter with 
 the English in Virginia. Marquette offered the feathered 
 calumet, and the savages invited them to go on shore. 
 They visited the cabins of the red 
 men, who made them a feast of 
 buffalo meat and bear's oil and 
 ripe plums, in token of their 
 good-will and friendship. 
 
 These savages were the 
 Chickasaws, whose coun- 
 try extended many miles 
 along the eastern shore 
 of the river. They told 
 Marquette that it was 
 not more than ten 
 days' journey to the 
 sea ; and that there 
 were white men living 
 some distance to the 
 eastward, who sold 
 them guns and knives and beads and glass bottles. Much 
 encouraged by what these people told them, the French- 
 men again embarked and paddled onward with renewed 
 ardor.- They soon arrived at the mouth of a large river 
 which Joliet called the Bazire, after a friend in Montreal, 
 but which we now know as the Arkansas. On the opposite 
 bank of the Mississippi stood a village of the tribe called 
 Akamsea. Here the voyagers landed, and were led with 
 great ceremony into the presence of the chief. Rush 
 
 "They saw Indians armed with guns' 
 
1/4 TJic Hidden River 
 
 mats were spread upon the ground in front of his wigwam, 
 and upon these Marquette and Joliet were invited to sit. 
 The warriors sat around them in a semicircle, then came 
 the elders of the tribe, and behind all stood a wondering 
 crowd of women and children. The men were naked, 
 but had strings of beads in their ears and noses ; the 
 women wore the skins of wild animals about their 
 persons, and tied their hair in knotted clumps behind 
 each car. 
 
 The chief made a long speech ' of welcome to the 
 strangers ; food was brought in on earthen platters, and 
 all were regaled on hominy, mush, and roasted dog. All 
 day the feast continued ; and at night the chief attended 
 his visitors to their canoes and danced the calumet dance 
 to assure them of his good will. 
 
 It chanced most happily that among the villagers there 
 was a young man who had been among the Indians of the 
 North, and could speak the language of the Illinois. He 
 told Marquette that it would be dangerous to go farther; 
 for the tribes along the river had firearms and were of a 
 cruel and warlike nature, and would most surely try to do 
 them harm. The explorers considered what they should 
 do. They were now certain that the river flowed, not to 
 the Pacific Ocean, nor yet into the Atlantic by the Vir- 
 ginian coast, but into the Gulf of Mexico. They had, 
 therefore, solved the great problem of the river's course. 
 By going farther there was much to be risked and little 
 to be gained ; and if they should perish at the hands of 
 the savages or be taken prisoners by the Spanish, all the 
 fruits of their discovery would be lost. They therefore 
 
The Rctitni 175 
 
 resolved to return without unnecessary dela)-. They had 
 reached a point which by Marquette's observations was in 
 latitude 33*^ 40' north of the equator. 
 
 IV. THE RETURN 
 
 On the 17th of Jul\', just one month after entering the 
 river at the mouth of the Wisconsin, the explorers began 
 their long and weary voyage homeward. Day 
 after day they toiled, paddling against the adverse 
 current ; night after night they encamped on the oozy 
 banks, amid the unhealthful vapors of the bayous and 
 marshes. At last they reached the mouth of the Illinois 
 River, and were told by the Indians dwelling there that 
 by ascending that stream they would find a safe and easy 
 passage to the Great Lakes. They therefore turned 
 their canoes into it and were delighted with the change. 
 The current was not strong, and for sixty-five leagues 
 there were neither rapids nor waterfalls. The fertility of 
 the country, with its w^oods and prairies, was a source of 
 constant wonder. 
 
 They stopped for three days in a village of the Illinois, 
 where Marquette busied himself in consoling the sick and 
 expounding the mysteries of religion. " Had this voyage 
 caused but the salvation of a single soul," he said, ** I 
 should deem all my fatigue well repaid." In this village, 
 which was called Kaskaskia, there were more than seventy 
 lodges, with several fires and families in each ; and the 
 people were so impressed by the kindness of the missionary 
 that they besought him to come back and live with them. 
 
1/6 TJic Hidden River 
 
 This he promised to do ; and when he renewed his jour- 
 ney one of the chiefs with his young men went a long 
 distance with him as guide and protector. 
 
 The party now pushed onward up the ever narrowing 
 stream, and at its forks turned to the left into what is now 
 known as the Des Plaines River. With the level prairies 
 stretching like a green sea on either hand, they continued 
 toward the northeast. They passed near the broad knoll 
 where in later times was to stand a city named in honor 
 of Joliet. They carried their canoes across the short por- 
 tage — less than half a league — to the river Chicago, and, 
 launching them upon that narrow and sluggish stream, 
 paddled tirelessly onward through oozy solitudes never 
 before seen by the eyes of civilized man. Soon, to their 
 joy, they beheld the great lake of the Illinois [Michigan], 
 its waters sparkling and dancing in the light of the noon- 
 day sun. They were at the spot where now are the busy 
 wharves and towering warehouses of the second city of 
 the American continent ; but there was nothing to be seen 
 in the desolate prairie land about them to indicate that 
 here, in course of time, the hum of busy traffic would 
 be heard, and millions of human beings would find their 
 homes. 
 
 Once on the waters of the lake, it was easy to find the 
 way to Green Bay — "the Bay of the Fetid," as Marquette 
 calls it — and there the two explorers separated. Joliet 
 went on by way of Mackinac to the Sault Sainte Marie ; 
 but Marquette, too feeble to proceed farther, remained 
 through the winter with Father Allouez at his mission 
 near the head of the bay. 
 
TJie Mission of tJic Illinois 1 77 
 
 V. THE MISSION OF THE ILLINOIS 
 
 Early in the following year, Joliet, with some Huron 
 canoemcn, set out for Quebec. On the way he stopped 
 for a few days at a new French post called Fort 
 Frontenac, near the eastern end of Lake Ontario. 
 Then, canoeing down the St. Lawrence, he was almost at 
 the end of his long journey when a most serious accident 
 occurred. At the foot of Lachine rapids his canoe was over- 
 turned, two of his men were drowned, and all his charts 
 and papers were lost. It was midsummer when he finally 
 arrived at Quebec and related to Count Frontenac the 
 history of his explorations. 
 
 In the meanwhile Marquette, in the lonely mission at 
 Green Bay, had written the journal of his voyage down the 
 Mississippi, and had sent it to the superior of his Order; 
 but his feeble health forbade his undertaking any active 
 labor. The summer dragged on, and October with its charm- 
 ing skies and bracing air gave new life to the invalid. He 
 remembered the promise given to the Illinois, that he would 
 return to them, and he resolved to set out for their country. 
 
 On the 25th of the month he started, having with him 
 two hunters, Pierre and Jacques, and several Indig.ns. 
 They embarked on Lake Michigan in ten canoes, and made 
 their way slowly along the western shore, hindered much 
 by storms, and made wretched by chilling winds and driv- 
 ing rains. When, at last, they turned into the mouth of 
 the Chicago River, Marquette was too feeble to go farther. 
 His Indian escort left him ; but Jacques and Pierre staid 
 by him and built on the shore a rude hut of sticks and 
 
 OLD NURrHWEST — 12 
 
1/8 TJic Hidden River 
 
 grass — the first human habitation on the site of the 
 present city of Chicago. 
 
 Here Marquette spent a long winter in meditation and 
 prayer. There was no lack of food, for the prairie and 
 marshes were full of wild game ; and the two hunters did 
 all they could to make everything comfortable. Some 
 Indians in the neighborhood came to see the sick man and 
 asked him for pow^der. " Powder I have not," answered 
 he. " I have come to spread peace through the land, 
 and I do not wish to see you at war with the Miamis." 
 
 At the approach of spring Marquette's strength began 
 to revive ; and, as soon as the ice was melted in the river, 
 the party started again on their journey. They followed 
 the windings of the narrow Chicago, crossed the portage 
 where now flows the great Drainage Canal, and, launching 
 their canoes on the then overflowing Des Plaines, soon 
 arrived at the village of the Illinois. The savages wel- 
 comed the missionary ''as an angel from heaven," for, 
 among all the tribes of the West, these seem to have 
 been the gentlest and most open-hearted. 
 
 Marquette went from lodge to lodge explaining to old 
 and young the mysteries of the Christian faith. On the 
 open prairie, not far from where the village of Utica now 
 stands, two thousand savages, not counting women and 
 children, met together to hear him preach, and many of 
 them professed to be converted. But the missionary's 
 strength was unequal to his zeal. He knew that his life 
 was fast drawing to a close, and he wished, if possible, to 
 die among his own people. The Indians were unwilling 
 to part with him ; but he promised that he or some other 
 
The Mission of the Illinois 
 
 179 
 
 of the fathers would return to them, and they bade liim a 
 tearful farewell. 
 
 Thmkini^ to find a shorter route to Mackinac, Marquette 
 and the faithful Jacques and Pierre crossed the head of 
 Lake Michigan to some point near 
 the St. Joseph River, and then fol- 
 lowed its eastern shore toward the 
 north. After some days they came 
 to the mouth of a small river, and 
 seeing a grassy knoll near one of 
 the banks, Marquette told his com- 
 panions that there was the place of 
 his last repose. They carried him 
 ashore, kindled a fire, and built 
 over him a rude shelter of green 
 branches and strips of bark. When 
 they had made him as comfortable 
 as they could, they left him at his 
 devotions and went a little way into 
 the woods. When they returned 
 shortly afterward, they found him 
 dead. After shedding many tears 
 over his body, they buried it under 
 the trees, and then in great sadness continued th.eir voy- 
 age to Mackinac. 
 
 A year afterward some Ottawas from the mission of St. 
 Ignace visited the spot where Marquette had died. They 
 remembered the many kind deeds which the missionary 
 had wrought among their own people, and how he had 
 given his life for the sake of the red men. 
 
 li ,uu. .-.: i'i:i 
 
 Statue of Marquette 
 at Washington 
 
 With greatest 
 
i8o The Hidden River 
 
 care they opened his grave, they took up his bones, and 
 laid them in a case of birch bark which they had prepared. 
 Then, at the head of a long procession of canoes, they car- 
 ried the remains to Mackinac. There, beneath the little 
 chapel of the mission of St. Ignace, they buried all that 
 was left to them of the gentle, the accomplished, the self- 
 sacrificing Marquette. 
 
 Two hundred years later, beneath the spot where the 
 chapel is supposed to have stood, a search was made, and 
 a few fragments of a skeleton were found. Whether these 
 were really the remains of the sainted missionary, no one 
 can ever know ; but they were gathered together with 
 care, and with much reverence were reburied. 
 
FROM CATARAQUI TO CRKVKCCEUR 
 I. CATARAQUI 
 
 YOU remember how Louis Joliet in 1669 discovered 
 the water way between Lake Huron and Lake 
 Erie, and made known a new route to the distant West 
 by way of the upper St. Lawrence and the lower lakes. 
 Count Frontenac, the new governor of Canada, was quick 
 to see the advantages of this route and the wonder- 
 ful possibilities which it offered for trade and explora- 
 tion. As a first step toward opening it and providing 
 for its security, he decided to build a fort at some con- 
 venient spot on the shore of Lake Ontario. Such a fort, 
 well manned, would help to overawe the Iroquois, who, 
 although then at peace with the French, patrolled the 
 country south of the lakes and made perilous the portage 
 around Niagara. It would serve also as a frontier trading 
 post to which the red men of the Northwest would bring 
 their furs, instead of carrying them to the English who had 
 lately established themselves in New York. 
 
 At the very time that Joliet and Marquette were mak- 
 ing their memorable voyage down the Mississippi, Fron- 
 tenac, with a flotilla of two flatboats and a hundred and 
 twenty canoes, was slowly ascending the St. Law- 
 rence. Early in July the flotilla sailed through 
 the labyrinth of the Thousand Islands; and on the 12th 
 
 iSi 
 
1 82 From Cataraqui to Crk'cc'ceur 
 
 of the month the governor and his followers and assistants 
 landed with great pomp and ceremony at the place which 
 had been selected for the fort. It was near the outlet of 
 the lake, on the site of the present city of Kingston. The 
 spot was known to the Indians as Cataraqui. 
 
 Many Avorkmen were soon busy, felling trees, hewing 
 logs, and digging intrenchments, and within a surprisingly 
 short time the fort w^as ready for occupancy. 
 
 Encamped by the edge of the forest were numbers of 
 Indians, chiefs and warriors of the five nations of the 
 Iroquois, who had gathered there to see what "Onontio," 
 as they called the governor of Canada, was about to do. 
 With these Count Frontenac called a council. After the 
 pipes had been smoked in silence and the stern-faced 
 chiefs had pondered long on the business that had brought 
 them together, the governor arose and spoke to them. 
 " Children," he said, " I am glad to see you here, where 
 I have lighted a fire for you to smoke by, and for me 
 to talk to you." And then while reminding them of his 
 power to punish them for any misconduct, he told of the 
 great good will which he felt toward them, and said that 
 he would build at Cataraqui a storehouse where they could 
 barter their furs for every kind of goods they needed. 
 He warned them to beware of acting rashly, and advised 
 them to listen only to the counsels of ''men of character 
 like the Sieur de la Salle." 
 
 This speech had a great weight with the dusky braves 
 who listened to it, and through them it had an effect 
 upon the whole Iroquois nation. They saw that the new 
 governor was a man of determined character and large 
 
Cataraqui 183 
 
 resources, and that it would be dangerous to offend him. 
 While they feared his enmity, they respected his courage ; 
 and they felt themselves to be indeed only children in the 
 presence of a stern and judicious father. The result was 
 that for several years the Iroquois ceased to molest the 
 French, and the savage prowess of their young warriors 
 found vent in long and bloody raids \\\)(^w the scattered 
 Indian tribes who occupied the forest region between the 
 river, Ohio and the Great Lakes. 
 
 As soon as the palisades and intrenchments were 
 finished, the governor returned to Montreal, leaving at 
 Cataraqui as many as were necessary to hold the place. 
 In the following July, as we have already learned, Louis 
 Joliet, on his way home from the discovery of the Missis- 
 sippi, stopped a few days at the new fort. There, if we 
 may credit reports, he met the governor's most 
 trusted friend, Robert Cavelier de la Salle, and to 
 him he gave a glowing account of what he had seen in the 
 distant West — of the lakes, the rivers, the forests, the 
 prairies, and the boundless resources of the region which 
 he, with Father Marquette, had been the first to traverse. 
 We know that it had been one of La Salle's dreams to 
 discover a water way across the continent to the Pacific. 
 Joliet's narrative showed him that some of his theories 
 were false, and that the Mississippi must find its outlet, 
 not into the South Sea, as he had imagined, but into the 
 Gulf of Mexico. In such case, what might not be gained 
 by bringing all that part of the continent under French 
 control, and establishing a monopoly of trade in the 
 valley of the newly discovered river ? 
 
184 From Cataraqui to Crevccoeiir 
 
 II. FORT FRONTENAC 
 
 La Salle was above all a man of action, and before the 
 end of autumn he was on shipboard, bound for France, to 
 lay his plans before the king. In his pocket he 
 carried a letter from Count Frontenac, saying 
 that the bearer was a man of intelligence and ability, and 
 ** more capable than any one else to accomplish any kind 
 of enterprise." 
 
 The letter must have had the desired effect, for the 
 king listened to the young man with marked interest and 
 granted all that he asked. He made him owner and gov- 
 ernor of the seignory of Cataraqui, which included both 
 the new fort and the adjacent lands with a water front of 
 twelve miles ; he granted him the exclusive right to much 
 of the far trade in the West — enough to insure him great 
 wealth ; and he raised him to the rank of a nobleman of 
 France. No man could have asked for more ; and when 
 La Salle returned, the next summer, to Canada, his heart 
 was full of hopes for the future. 
 
 In his wilderness home at Cataraqui he was now lord of 
 
 all he surveyed. Around the fort — which he named Fort 
 
 Frontenac — he built stone walls to take the place 
 1675 
 
 of the wooden palisades. Inside, he erected a 
 
 blacksmith's shop, a mill, and roomy barracks for the 
 
 soldiers. He placed nine small cannon on the walls, and 
 
 put the place in good shape to resist any attack. He 
 
 founded near at hand a village of French families who 
 
 cleared a hundred acres of land and planted it in grain. 
 
 He brousrht a number of cattle from Montreal, to be 
 
Fort Front cnac 185 
 
 pastured upon the meadow lands of Cataraqui. He 
 began the building of some small vessels to be used in 
 carrying on trade with the natives on the farther shore 
 of the lake. In these and in many other ways he proved 
 himself worthy of the high commendation he had carried 
 to the king. 
 
 But, with all his apparent prosperity, he had many ene- 
 mies and their number was increasing every day. He was 
 a silent man, slow to confide in others, and never asking 
 their advice. Men said that he was haughty and over- 
 bearing, and this may have been true. • The merchants of 
 Montreal hated him, because he had taken from them a 
 part of their trade in furs ; the Jesuits regarded him with 
 suspicion, because he was the governor's friend and the 
 governor was their enemy ; the Sulpicians were bitter 
 against him, because he did not exert himself to forward 
 their interests ; men who had once been his friends were 
 now arrayed against him, because they were jealous of his 
 prosperity. Nevertheless, he changed none of his plans, 
 but held firmly to the purpose which he had long had in 
 mind. Fort Frontenac and the lordly estate of Cataraqui 
 were but steps to far greater things. 
 
 In the meanwhile, La Salle was gathering from Indians 
 and woods rangers and fur traders all the information that 
 could be obtained about the country south of the Great 
 Lakes. He w^ished particularly to find the easiest and 
 shortest route from Canada to the Mississippi. 
 
 If you will look at any good map of that region you will 
 see that there are many places where tributaries of the 
 great rivers approach very close to tributaries of the lakes. 
 
1 86 From Cataraqni to Crevecoeur 
 
 From Joliet, La Salle had heard of the portage between 
 the Fox River and the Wisconsin, and also of that of Chi- 
 cago. From other sources, he had learned that the In- 
 dians of the Southwest often brought their canoes to Lake 
 Erie by way of the Wabash and the Maumee. He had 
 been told also that near the southwest corner of Lake 
 Michigan there is a river called the St. Joseph which at 
 one place bends southward and almost touches a small 
 tributary of the Mississippi. It was a part of La Salle's 
 plan to open, by way of one of these four portages, a safe 
 route to the Mississippi Valley, and thus extend his trade 
 and the power of France through all that unexplored 
 region. 
 
 Having matured his plans, he again sailed for France. 
 
 He carried with him a memorial to be presented 
 
 1677 
 
 to the king's prime minister,' in which, while out- 
 lining his projects, he gave a glowing description of the 
 country northwest of the Ohio. 
 
 "It is nearly all so beautiful and fertile," he said; "so 
 free from forests, and so full of meadows, brooks, and 
 rivers ; so abounding in fish, game, and venison, — that one 
 can find there, in plenty and with little trouble, all that 
 is needful for the support of flourishing colonies. The 
 soil will produce everything that is raised in France. 
 Flocks and herds can be left out at pasture all winter ; 
 and there are even native wild cattle which, instead of 
 hair, have a fine wool that may answer for making cloth 
 and hats." 
 
 He explained still further that a large and profitable 
 trade in skins and buffalo wool might at once be estab- 
 
lished in that region. And he siif:;^gested that, if a way 
 could be opened to the mouth of the Mississippi, the 
 greater part of this traffic might be carried on directly 
 by ships from France instead of passing through Canada. 
 King Louis XIV. and his ministers were so impressed 
 by these things that they granted to La Salle most of the 
 privileges he desired. They confirmed his title to Fort 
 Frontenac, and gave him the exclusive right to build forts 
 in the country south of the Lakes, and to trade in the furs 
 and other products of the Mississippi valley. 
 
 III. NIAGARA 
 
 Late in the following summer, La Salle returned to 
 
 Canada, He brought with him a number of shipwrights 
 
 and mechanics, and also sails, cordage, and an- 
 
 1678 
 chors for a vessel which he proposed to build 
 
 and launch on Lake Erie. With him came Henri Tonty, 
 an Italian officer, who had become deeply interested in his 
 plans and whom he had enlisted in his service. This man, 
 as we shall see, proved to be his most faithful friend and 
 helper in all his undertakings. 
 
 At Fort Frontenac was another man who was to take a 
 prominent part in the proposed exploration of the West. 
 This man was Louis Hennepin, a Recollet friar who had 
 come over from France three years before. He was of 
 a restless, roving disposition, and by nature better fitted 
 to be a conreur de bois than a priest. Since coming to 
 Canada he had spent the most of his time at Fort Fron- 
 tenac, where he busied himself building a chapel, preach- 
 
1 88 From Cataraqiii to Crevccceur 
 
 ing to the Indian bands who had settled there, and 
 enjoying the companionship of the soldiers. He also 
 made long excursions into the Iroquois country, learned 
 the Mohawk and the Algonquin languages, became expert 
 in woodcraft, and inured himself to all the hardships of 
 the forest. Upon La Salle's return from France, this 
 erratic priest entered most heartily into his plans and 
 offered to give him all the aid in his power. 
 
 In November everything was in readiness for the de- 
 parture of La Salle's expedition. Sixteen men, under 
 
 ^ „ command of La Motte de Lussiere, and accom- 
 1678 
 
 panied by Father Hennepin, embarked in a small 
 
 vessel which was expected to proceed directly to the 
 mouth of the Niagara River. La Salle and Tonty, with 
 the remainder of the company, sailed in another vessel for 
 the same point; but, instead of going straight across the 
 lake, they coasted along the south shore in order to visit 
 some villages of the Iroquois and make sure of the friend- 
 ship of those jealous lords of the forest. 
 
 In due time all arrived in safety, although not without 
 peril and serious mishap, at the mouth of the Niagara. A 
 palisaded house was built a little below the point where 
 the present town of Lewiston stands, and in it a part of 
 the supplies for the expedition were stored. Some of the 
 materials for shipbuilding, brought from France, had been 
 lost in the rough weather which had made the last days 
 of the voyage so perilous ; but the anchors and cables and 
 most of the tools had been saved, and these were now 
 landed. 
 
 A party of scouts with Father Hennepin were sent in 
 
Niagara 189 
 
 advance up the right bank of the river to find the easiest 
 road around the falls, learn what obstacles must be over- 
 come, and report whether it would be at all possible to 
 carry tools and supplies up the toilsome way to the higher 
 levels of the stream. It is impossible for us to imagine 
 the feelings of these men as they approached the great 
 cataract and the tremendous flood of waters burst upon 
 their view. For sixty years these falls had been known to 
 the French through hearsay from wandering Indians. It 
 is not unlikely that more than one ranger of the woods, 
 some Brule or Nicolet, possibly La Salle himself, Ivid vis- 
 ited the spot and gazed with rapt wonder upon the rushing, 
 mighty waters. But they left no record behind them, and 
 hence, so far as we know, the priest Hennepin and his 
 companions were the real discoverers of Niagara. For, 
 indeed, who shall be honored as the discoverer of any 
 hitherto unknown thing if not the man who, from per- 
 sonal observation, first tells the world of its existence and 
 appearance .'* 
 
 From the top of the cliff where tourists now stand to 
 observe the Horseshoe Fall, Father Hennepin viewed 
 the cataract with the enthusiasm which marked all his 
 conduct. He drew a picture of the scene as it appeared 
 to him — the first picture of the falls ever published, per- 
 haps the first ever drawn. He afterwards described them 
 as *' a vast cadence of water, of which the Universe does 
 not afford its parallel." "The waters, falling from a 
 height of five hundred feet," he says, " do foam and boil 
 after the most hideous manner imaginable, making outra- 
 geous noise more terrible than that of thunder ; for when 
 
190 From Cataraqui to Crevecceiw 
 
 the wind blows out of the south, their dismal roaring may 
 be heard more than fifteen leagues distant." 
 
 In the meanwhile much dissatisfaction was breeding at 
 the little fort at the mouth of the river. Many of the 
 men, disheartened because of the difficulties to be over- 
 come, were ready to give up the enterprise before it 
 had been fairly begun ; and some, being in the pay of 
 La Salle's enemies at Montreal, were on the point of open 
 mutiny. The captain, La Motte de Lussiere, was himself 
 suspected of doing what he could to increase this ill 
 feeling, and he was permitted to return to Fort Fronte- 
 nac. In the end the strong will of the commander pre- 
 vailed, and arrangements for building a ship above the falls 
 were soon completed. La Salle and Tonty went forward 
 to find a suitable place for the work. They selected a 
 little cove about six miles above the falls, where the stream 
 now called Cayuga Creek flows into the Niagara. To this 
 spot, late in January, the men began to carry the 
 tools, the cordage, and the anchors. It was no 
 easy matter to lift their heavy burdens up the steep cliffs, 
 to the plateau above, and to carry them nearly twenty 
 miles over the rough, unbroken country ; but, wading 
 through snow and slush, all struggled bravely forward and 
 in time reached the appointed place. Father Hennepin, 
 rugged and strong, carried an altar strapped upon his 
 back, and cheered the lagging ones by his enthusiasm. 
 
 As soon as the materials for the ship were on the 
 ground. La Salle put Tonty in charge of the work and 
 hastened back to the mouth of the Niagara, where he 
 began the construction of a blockhouse to serve as a base 
 
Niagara 
 
 191 
 
 ^^^; 
 
 of supplies for the expedition. l^ut when the spring 
 thaws had l^egun and the ice had disappeared, he left 
 this post in charge of a few trusted men, and returned, on 
 foot, along the north shore of Lake Ontario, to Fort Fronte- 
 nac and his estate of Cataraqui. It was high time that 
 he was there ; for his enemies were slandering him, his 
 creditors w^ere seizing upon his goods, and everything was 
 in a state of confusion. 
 
 On the Niagara, however, Tonty was pushing forward 
 the work on the ship. 
 Trees were cut down ; a 
 forge was built; the me- 
 chanics from France were "^^ 
 busy hewing, planing, and 
 fitting the framework of 
 the vessel. There were no 
 idlers at Cayuga Creek, 
 save some straggling Iro- 
 quois, who loitered around 
 the camp and threatened The Griffon 
 all kinds of mischief to 
 
 the workers. They were angry at this invasion of their 
 country, and declared that they would burn the ship as 
 soon as she was finished. 
 
 Early in May the vessel was ready to be launched. 
 She was a bark of sixty tons, and well built in every part. 
 Her sides were pierced with five portholes, from each of 
 which a small cannon peeped forth. Upon her prow the 
 workmen had carved the figure of a griffin supporting 
 the arms of Count Frontenac ; and for this reason she 
 
192 From Cataraqni to Creveccvu)- 
 
 was called the Griffoji. As she slid into the water, Father 
 Hennepin pronounced a blessing upon her, the workmen 
 and crew sang the Tc Dcum, the cannon were fired, and the 
 visiting Indians howled in chorus. She was then towed 
 out into the stream and anchored where the treacherous 
 Iroquois could do her no harm. 
 
 IV. THE GRIFFOiX 
 
 Nearly three months passed before La Salle returned 
 from Fort Frontenac. Tonty and a few trusted boatmen 
 embarked in canoes, intending to paddle along 
 the northern shore of Lake Erie to some point 
 near the mouth of the Detroit, where it was expected that 
 the Griffon would overtake them. The rest of the men 
 waited impatiently for the arrival of their leader. Early 
 in August he came, bringing with him two more priests, 
 Zenobe Membre and Gabriel Ribourde, RecoUet brothers 
 who desired to carry the faith to the savages of the far 
 West. On the 7th of the month all was in readiness, and 
 the Griffon, first of ships to sail on the Great Lakes, was 
 loosed from her anchorage. She was towed with ropes to 
 a point near the outlet of Lake Eric ; then the sails were 
 spread, and the voyage was begun. 
 
 Three days later the stanch little vessel entered the 
 Detroit, and there Tonty and his men were taken on 
 board. The winds were favorable, and in a short time the 
 voyagers were gladdened at beholding and entering the 
 sea-like expanse of Lake Huron. Keeping within sight 
 of the Michigan shore, they held steadily on their way 
 
TJic (rriffon 
 
 193 
 
 northward. But now a storm arose ; the wind blew a 
 hurricane ; the waves seemed mountain high ; the timbers 
 of the Httle bark creaked and groaned ; and the crew 
 feared every moment that she would go to pieces. At 
 length, however, they 
 outrode the storm ; and, 
 passing the cliffs of 
 Mackinac Island, they 
 beheld the point of St. 
 Ignace and the vil- 
 lage of Mackinac close 
 at hand. The Griffon 
 rounded to in front of 
 the mission ; the five 
 cannon were fired off 
 by way of salute, and 
 soon a hundred canoes 
 filled with wonderin 
 
 were 
 
 swarm- 
 
 ing around the vessel. 
 La Salle, clad in a gor- 
 geous robe of scarlet •• La Salle was the first to land" 
 and gold, was the first 
 
 to land. Then, with his men, the friars and soldiers and 
 sailors and traders, he entered the bark chapel and heard 
 the priests of the mission say mass. 
 
 After resting a few days at Mackinac, the company 
 again embarked, and the Griffon sailed onward, skirting 
 the northern shore of Lake Michigan, and at length arriv- 
 ing without mishap at the head of Green Bay, still called 
 
 OLD N( )R IH WEST — I X 
 
194 From Cataraqiii to Cr^veca'ur 
 
 by the French the Bay of the Fetid. They cast anchor 
 near the mouth of Fox River, and for a short time were 
 the guests of the priests who had succeeded Father Allouez 
 in the mission of St. Francis Xavier. La Salle was 
 pleased to find at this place several traders whom he had 
 sent on before him to buy furs and have them in readiness 
 for the coming of the ship. By the commission which he 
 held from the king he was expressly forbidden to trade 
 with the Indians of this region, for this right belonged to 
 the licensed merchants of Montreal and a fur-trading asso- 
 ciation known as the Company of Canada. But when he 
 saw the pelts and rich furs which his traders had gathered 
 there, he was wilHng enough to take them ; and he decided 
 to load them upon the Grijfon and send her back to 
 Niagara, whence her cargo could be carried to Fort Fron- 
 tenac and afterward shipped to France. 
 
 This first shipload of furs, so quickly although illegally 
 obtained, would prove to the king that La Salle had not 
 overrated the wealth of the great Northwest. But what 
 of the traders of Montreal whose rights he had invaded } 
 They were already his enemies, and now they would be 
 ten times more bitter against him. 
 
 It was about the middle of September when the Grijfon, 
 loaded with a great store of furs, started on her home- 
 ward voyage. She had on board a pilot and six 
 other men, and the furs and skins that she 
 carried were worth a handsome fortune. She was scarcely 
 well out upon Lake Michigan when a strong gale sprang, 
 up, lashed the waters into fury, and then suddenly died 
 away. Whether the Griffon foundered in that gale, 
 
The St. JoscpJi 
 
 195 
 
 or whether she rode safely through it, nobody knows. 
 Some said that while she was makin^^ her slow way 
 along the coast, unfriendly savages waylaid her in their 
 canoes, murdered her crew, and sunk her in the lake. 
 Others said that the crew themselves ran her ashore in 
 order to steal her precious cargo ■ — and this last tale was 
 believed by La Salle to be the true one. All that we know 
 to a certainty is that the vessel never returned to Niagara, 
 and was never again heard of. 
 
 V. THE ST. JOSEPH 
 
 On the day after the sailing of the Griffoji, La Salle, 
 with fourteen men and four canoes, started to cruise south- 
 ward along the west shore of Lake Michigan. Tonty, with 
 another party, was sent across the lake to explore the east 
 shore. He was to meet 
 La Salle at the mouth 
 of the St. Joseph River. 
 
 And now many perils 
 beset the voyagers. 
 There were storms al- 
 most every day, and 
 La Salle's party was 
 often obliged to find 
 refuge in some shel- 
 tered cove or inlet. 
 
 Their progress was very slow. Food was hard to find, 
 and they were more than once on the point of starvation. 
 On some days they had nothing to eat but a handful of 
 
196 /vv;// Cataraqui to Crevecoeur 
 
 corn ; and once they were glad to feast on the carcass of 
 a deer which the buzzards had begun to devour. They 
 passed several Indian villages, and in some of therii were 
 entertained with kindness and supplied with food. Near 
 the southern end of the lake they met a band of warriors 
 who threatened to attack them; but a parley was called, 
 and after La Salle had explained that his errand was a 
 peaceful one, the savages laid down their arms and offered 
 to help the strangers on their way. 
 
 On the first day of November La Salle and his party 
 arrived at the mouth of the St. Joseph But Tonty had 
 not come ; and so, while waiting for him, the men busied 
 themselves chopping down trees and building a 
 fort, which they surrounded with palisades. 
 Three weeks were spent at this task before Tonty and 
 his men made their appearance; and it was not until the 
 3d of December that the party was ready to leave F'ort 
 Miamis — as the place was named — and renew the 
 journey. 
 
 Ten men remained at the fort to wait for the Ginffou, 
 which had been ordered to sail there on her return from 
 Niagara. La Salle and the remaining thirty-three em- 
 barked in eight canoes upon the St. Joseph. The river 
 was already beginning to show signs of ice upon its sur- 
 face, and the meadows and woods had put on the dreary, 
 brown vesture of winter. The party paddled briskly 
 up the stream, helped along by the sharp northwest 
 wind which blew steadily their way, and, while chilling 
 them to the bone, lessened their labor and increased their 
 speed. 
 
The Kankakee 
 
 VI. THE KANKAKEE 
 
 197 
 
 At length, near the place where now stands the city of 
 South Bend, their guides found the portage of which La 
 Salle had been informed. Carrying their canoes, with 
 their arms and tools and a blacksmith's forge and mer- 
 chandise for trading with the Indians, they painfully made 
 their way over half-frozen marshes to the Kankakee River, 
 five miles south. Then, embarking on this sluggish tribu- 
 tary of the Illinois, they followed its westward course 
 through, dismal swamps and thickets of underbrush where 
 often the stream was scarcely w^ide enough to permit two 
 canoes to float abreast. 
 
 Presently the scene changed, and they emerged into 
 the open prairie, now brown and sere and desolate. The 
 whole country seemed like a barren desert. No game 
 was to be found, and the men began to suffer from hun- 
 ger. One day, to their great joy, they came upon a buf- 
 falo stuck fast in the oozy ground near the river. He was 
 so large that after they had killed him it took twelve men 
 to haul him out of the mud ; but they loaded a canoe with 
 the carcass, and for many days thereafter they feasted on 
 steaks and chops to their hearts' content. 
 
 By and by they emerged from the Kankakee into the 
 Illinois, a pleasant river flowing through a broad valley 
 bordered on one side by low grass-covered hills. Soon 
 the stream widened, and the canoes glided among small 
 islands, and between shores lined with groves of slender 
 trees and dense underwoods. Presently, on their left, 
 they passed the ribbed precipice, afterward known as the 
 
198 From Cataraqui to Crcvccccur 
 
 Great Rock, and still later as Starved Rock, the tree-clad 
 summit of which jutted over the water's edge. 
 
 Only a short distance below this place, the voyagers 
 saw an Indian village close by the shore. It was a vil- 
 lage of Ottawas, and contained four hundred wigwams; 
 but the people had gone away on their winter hunt, and 
 every wigwam was empty. Searching through the vil- 
 lage some of the men found a store of corn which the 
 Indians had hidden in pits, and of this they took about 
 fifty bushels, promising themselves to pay the owners 
 in case they should ever meet them. 
 
 VII. CREVECCEUR 
 
 It was near the lower end of that expansion of the 
 river, now known as Peoria Lake, that the first Indians 
 were met. At sight of the long line of canoes approach- 
 ing their village the savages were much alarmed. The 
 warriors snatched their weapons and ran yelling to the 
 water's edge; the squaws screamed with terror; and 
 the children hid themselves in the huts. For a few 
 moments there was general confusion, and the savages 
 made as though they would attack the canoes. But 
 La Salle, unarmed, boldly landed ; and the chiefs, see- 
 ing that he meant no harm, went to meet him, bearing 
 the calumet, or pipe of peace. 
 
 Soon the alarm was at an end. Presents of tobacco and 
 hatchets were given to the Indians, and Father Hennepin 
 busied himself making friends with the children. Food 
 was placed before the strangers, and the savages rendered 
 
Crcvccceur 1 99 
 
 them honor by rubbing their feet with bear's grease. A 
 council was called, and after the peace pipe had been 
 smoked, La Salle explained to the assembled warriors 
 that he had come into their country to open a way for 
 traders who would bring them many things that they 
 desired. And he promised that, if they would allow him 
 to build a fort in their country, he would protect them 
 from the Iroquois, who were beginning to send their 
 dreaded war parties into that distant region. The sav- 
 ages listened with attention and then agreed to do all 
 that he wished. They told him that they were Illinois 
 and loved peace, that although they were content with 
 the few necessaries which they already possessed, still, if 
 the traders should come among them they would be 
 welcome. 
 
 But, notwithstanding his seeming good fortune. La 
 Salle began to feel that much trouble was ahead. He 
 fancied that the Indians were not sincere in their prom- 
 ises, and he believed that his enemies had sent agents 
 among them to poison their minds against him. Two 
 of his best mechanics deserted him, and some others 
 who could be easier spared were missing. The chief of 
 the village advised him not to venture upon the Missis- 
 sippi. Its shores, he said, were infested by dreadful 
 monsters, while the river itself was full of dangerous 
 whirlpools which would surely swallow up his canoes. 
 La Salle thanked him for his kind advice, but gave him 
 to understand that no dangers, however great, would pre- 
 vent him from carrying out his plans. The mechanics 
 and canoemen, however, who listened to the old chief's 
 
200 
 
 From Cataraqui to Ci'evecccur 
 
 warnings, were very much disturbed, and some of them 
 flatly refused to go farther. 
 
 Seeing that he could not prevail upon these mutinous 
 fellows and that it would be folly to go forward without 
 them, La Salle decided to build a fort near by, and to 
 remain there until the coming of spring, when the voyage 
 would be attended with fewer risks and discomforts. 
 
 " La Salle named the fort Crevecceur " 
 
 On the east side of the river, some distance from the 
 Indian village, there was a high knoll with marshy 
 ravines on both sides, and this he chose as a suitable 
 spot. A deep ditch was dug around the farther side of 
 the knoll, so as to connect the two ravines. Earthworks 
 were then thrown up, the sides of which sloped directly 
 down to the inner edge of the ditch and the marshes. 
 Inside of the earthworks, palisades twenty-five feet high 
 
Crh 
 
 ?0I 
 
 were phmted so as to inclose a large rectangular space. 
 At two of the corners of this space log huts were- built 
 for the men to lodge in ; at a third corner was a small 
 house for Father Hennepin and the two other priests that 
 were with him ; and at the fourth was a shop where the 
 forge was set up and the tools kept. In the center stood 
 the tents of La Salle and Tonty. 
 
 La Salle named the fort Crevecoeur — heartbreak. 
 Whether he did this because of his many disappoint- 
 ments and his failure at this time to reach the Mississippi 
 no one can tell. More likely, however, he called it so in 
 memory of an ancient French fortress of the same name 
 
 in which his family had an interest. It was now 
 
 . . 1680 
 
 midwinter, and while waiting for the coming of 
 
 milder weather. La Salle laid the keel of a vessel in 
 which he meant to sail down the Mississippi. It was forty- 
 two feet long with a beam breadth of twelve feet, and the 
 deck was surrounded with high bulwarks as a protection 
 against hostile Indians. 
 
 The winter passed, but to La Salle at his lonely fort 
 on the Illinois no news came from the lakes or from 
 the more distant St. Lawrence. What had been the 
 fate of the men left behind at Fort Miamis } Had the 
 Grijfoji made a successful voyage to Niagara, and had 
 she returned to Lake Michigan with supplies and reen- 
 forcements as had been directed .-^ To solve these ques- 
 tions and to bring to Fort Crevecoeur more men and the 
 necessary equipments for his new vessel. La Salle decided 
 to return to the lakes. The fort was already completed, 
 and the little ship was well begun. Tonty would remain 
 
202 Fro})i Cataraqui to Crcvecceur 
 
 in command of the post, while others of his most trusted 
 companions would explore the Illinois River to its mouth 
 and prepare the way for the expedition down the Missis- 
 sippi, For this latter undertaking three men were chosen : 
 Michel Accault, a brave and faithful woods ranger, skilled 
 in all the lore of savage life. Father Hennepin, and a 
 hunter known as Le Picard du Gay. 
 
 Father Hennepin had no great desire to leave his com- 
 fortable quarters at Fort Crevecoeur and brave the uncer- 
 tain dangers of the wilderness. But La Salle urged him 
 to go, and his brother priests encouraged him by telling 
 him that if he died on the way he would find his sure 
 reward in heaven. "True, my son," said the aged Father 
 Ribourde, ''you will have many monsters to overcome, 
 and precipices to pass, in this enterprise which requires 
 the strength of the most robust ; you do not know a word 
 of the language of the tribes whom you are going to try 
 to win for God — but take courage, you will gain as many 
 victories as you have combats." Thus encouraged, the 
 reluctant friar at last consented to go. 
 
 "Anybody but me," he afterwards wrote, "would have 
 been very much frightened at the dangers of such a jour- 
 ney ; and, in fact, if I had not placed all my trust in God, 
 I should not have been the dupe of the Sieur de la Salle, 
 who exposed my life so rashly." 
 
 On the last day of February the three explorers, 
 
 Accault, Hennepin, and Du Gay, began their adventurous 
 
 voyage. Their canoe contained a quantity of 
 
 tobacco, cloth, knives, and trinkets, to be given 
 
 to the Indians whom they should meet; and with Du Gay 
 
Crcvcavur 203 
 
 at the stern paddle it glided rajMdly down the now swollen 
 stream. 
 
 On the very next day, La Salle himself, with four 
 Frenchmen and an Indian, also departed from Fort 
 Crevecoeur ; but his canoe was turned upstream and his 
 destination was the lower lakes and Fort Frontenac. 
 Toiling slowly against the current, it was not until sev- 
 eral days later that he passed under the shadow of that 
 remarkable cliff, the Great Rock. As he looked up at 
 its steep sides of yellow sandstone, he observed how 
 easily it might be fortified and defended against any 
 enemy. During the rest of his journey the thought of 
 this natural stronghold often came into his mind ; and 
 when he reached Fort Miamis he sent back a messen- 
 ger with a letter to Tonty, bidding him, in case of need, 
 to abandon Crevecoeur and take refuge on the rock. 
 
THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI 
 I. ACCAULT AND HENNEPIN 
 
 WHILE La Salle is returning to Fort Frontenac, let 
 us follow Michel Accault and Father Hennepin 
 on their adventurous tour into unknown wilds. We have 
 only Hennepin's journal to tell us of their wan- 
 derings ; and it is so full of falsehoods that we 
 cannot always sift out the truth. He makes it appear 
 that he, and not Accault, was the leader of the party ; and 
 he claims for himself the honor of all the discoveries 
 that were made. And yet he should not be judged too 
 harshly; for he gave to the world the first account of 
 the upper Mississijlpi, of which he was in truth the 
 discoverer. 
 
 The explorers floated down the Illinois without meeting 
 with any adventure, and on one of the first days in March 
 their canoe shot out into the broad current of the Missis- 
 sippi. What now should they do .'' Should they return to 
 Fort Crevecoeur and report no new lands discovered, no 
 savages converted ? Or should they push boldly onward 
 and seek adventures in regions more remote .'' Why not 
 turn their canoe downstream, and follow the river's course 
 to the great Gulf — thus forestaUing the enterprise which 
 La Salle was planning to accompHsh ? Father Hennepin 
 afterwards claimed that this was what they actually did, 
 
 204 
 
The Sioux 
 
 205 
 
 but this part of his story is so improbable and so full of 
 contradictions that nobody believes a word of it. 
 
 La Sitlle had directed Accault to explore the upper 
 course of the river and, if possible, follow it to its hid- 
 den source ; and it was therefore to this enterprise that 
 the party really addressed 
 themselves. They turned 
 their canoe to the right, and 
 began a toilsome voyage up 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 The air was raw and 
 damp, and the river was 
 full of ice ; but spring had 
 already opened, and the 
 woods and prairies were 
 beginning to put on their 
 
 Hvery of green. Keeping quite near to the leeward shore, 
 they avoided both the ice and the swifter current. They 
 killed more game than they needed — deer, wild turkeys, 
 and now and then a bison or a bear. Along the woodland 
 streams many beavers were seen. Fish, too, were abundant 
 and easily taken. Every morning and night the friar said 
 prayers, not omitting the angelus at noon ; and each day 
 he besought St. Anthony of Padua to protect them from 
 harm. 
 
 Beavers were seen " 
 
 THE SIOUX 
 
 Full of enthusiasm and buoyed with high hopes, the 
 explorers held bravely on their way ; and, as no serious 
 mishap befell them, they began to feel careless of danger. 
 
2o6 The Upper Mississippi 
 
 They passed the mouth of the Wisconsin, and on the iith 
 of April landed near the place where the city of Lacrosse 
 now stands. Here, while cooking a turkey for dinner, 
 they were surprised by a war party of Sioux who came 
 sweeping down the river in thirty-three bark canoes. The 
 naked savages, of whom there were more than a hundred, 
 leaped on shore, and with hideous yells surrounded the 
 astonished voyagers. It was their intention rather to 
 frighten than to injure, but they soon learned that the 
 three explorers were not so easily terrified. Hennepin 
 held out the calumet, and one of the savages snatched 
 it away. He offered them some tobacco, " better for 
 smoking than theirs," and they received it wdth pleasure. 
 They then gave him to understand that they were on 
 their way to fight the Miamis ; and when the friar, by 
 the aid of signs, explained that the Miamis had fled to 
 the eastward and were beyond their reach, the chiefs 
 laid their hands on his head and set up a dismal wailing. 
 The savages would not smoke the peace pipe with 
 the Frenchmen, but held them as captives. In a short 
 time the whole flotilla started up the Mississippi, strug- 
 gling hard against the current and making but slow 
 progress. Several Indians took their places in the French- 
 men's canoe and helped with the paddling. At night they 
 camped on the banks. When the weather was fair they 
 slept on the bare ground ; but when it rained they built 
 little huts of bark and green branches. Every morning at 
 daybreak an old man shouted aloud the signal for depar- 
 ture ; and then the warriors leaped into their canoes and 
 plied their paddles against the current, sometimes without 
 
TJic Sioux 
 
 20: 
 
 having tasted of breakfast. At one time a bear was killed, 
 and the whole party stopped to dance the medicine dance 
 and have a great feast. Sometimes they landed for a 
 buffalo hunt on the neighboring prairies. There was 
 
 ^\ > ■•'.' ■• Pj y 
 
 " The whole party stopped to dance the medicine dance " 
 
 plenty of meat, and both the Indians and their captives 
 fared sumptuously. 
 
 On the nineteenth day after the capture of the French- 
 men, the party came to the expansion of the river a short 
 distance below the spot where now stands the city of St. 
 Paul. There the Indians hid their canoes in a thicket of 
 
2o8 TJic Upper Mississippi 
 
 alder bushes near the shore. They then divided the goods 
 of the Frenchmen among themselves and broke Hennepin's 
 canoe in pieces. 
 
 Ail then started across the country on foot, steering 
 their way directly towards the homes of the Sioux. The 
 Indians, being tall and active, walked with great speed, 
 and it was with much difficulty that the friar and his com- 
 panions could keep up with them. Their course was 
 nearly due north. 
 
 Ice still lingered on the ponds and marshes, and Henne- 
 pin almost perished with cold while wading and swim- 
 ming the many streams that crossed their path. Accault 
 and Du Gay, being small men, fared better than the tall 
 friar, for the Indians carried them on their backs across the 
 deepest water ways. Sometimes when Hennepin, from 
 sheer weariness, lagged in the march, his captors set fire to 
 the grass behind him, and then, seizing him by the hands, 
 ran forward to escape the flames, dragging him after them. 
 
 On the fifth day of this painful journey the party reached 
 a village of bark huts near a lake, probably the same water 
 now known as Mille Lacs. Here the captive explorers 
 found some sort of release from their troubles. The 
 shrewd Indians had already had some profitable dealings 
 with the French traders on Lake Superior, and they had 
 no intention of harming their prisoners. Savage and 
 warlike though they were, these terrors of the distant 
 West seldom practised the dreadful cruelties that were 
 so common with the Iroquois. For the present it was 
 their policy to cultivate the friendship of the white 
 strangers who had so lately become their neighbors. 
 
TJie Captives 209 
 
 III. THK CAPTIVES 
 
 An agreement was soon made concerning the captives. 
 
 Hennepin was assigned to an old chief who had formerly 
 
 treated him very harshly, but who now adopted 
 
 1000 
 him as his son. Accault and Du Gay were 
 
 given to other chiefs, and the three explorers were obliged 
 
 to part. The friar was forced to follow his adoptive father 
 
 several miles through woods and marshes to another small 
 
 lake, which Hennepin called Lake Buade, and which he 
 
 said was about seventy leagues west of Lake Superior. 
 
 There some canoes were waiting, and the party was ferried 
 
 to an island where the chief had his home. 
 
 At the door of the wigwam an old Indian, withered with 
 age, welcomed the captive priest and offered him a peace 
 pipe. He then led him to the fire, and, having placed him 
 on a bearskin that was spread before it, he rubbed his legs 
 and feet with the fat of a wild-cat. His new father soon 
 afterward introduced him to six or seven of his wives, and 
 told him that he was to regard them as his mothers. He 
 then gave him a platter of broiled fish, and covered him 
 with a robe made of ten beaver skins, embroidered with 
 porcupine quills. 
 
 Seeing that Hennepin was too weak to rise from the 
 ground without help, his father made a sweating bath for 
 him. Four Indians led him naked to a small hut covered 
 with buffalo skins, and, when they had entered, every 
 crack or opening in the walls was tightly closed. Red- 
 hot stones were lying on the ground, and upon these 
 water was poured until the place was filled with steam. 
 
 IJLI) NORTHWEST — I4 
 
210 
 
 TJic Upper Mississippi 
 
 The Indians then began to sing "in a thundering voice," 
 and all laid hands on the poor friar and rubbed him 
 unmercifully, "while they wept bitterly." He was obliged 
 to submit to this heroic treatment three times a week, until 
 he felt as strong as ever. 
 
 About the middle of summer the Indians started 
 southward on a great buffalo hunt. There were more than 
 two hundred warriors in the party, besides all their women 
 
 Waited in vain for sonie one to invite hini to go along " 
 
 and children. Father Hennepin saw them embark on the 
 Rum River — or St. Francis, as he called it — and waited 
 in vain for some one to invite him to go along. 
 
 To his great disappointment, however, there seemed to 
 be no room for him in any of the crowded canoes, and 
 he became alarmed lest he should be left behind alone 
 in the deserted village. He stood on the bank and hailed 
 
TJic Captives 2 1 1 
 
 the passing vessels as they glided swiftly down the stream, 
 but none of the Indians listened to him. Soon Accault 
 and Du Gay came past in a small canoe which they had 
 borrowed, and he called to them. But Accault, who hated 
 him because of his boastful and overbearing manner, 
 answered, "We have already paddled too long for you!" 
 And they left him. 
 
 At last two Indians consented to take him on condition 
 that he would bail the water out of their canoe; and, as it 
 was quite full of little holes, he had quite enough to do. 
 
 Four days after their departure the band reached the 
 Mississippi at the place where now stands the town of 
 Anoka, Minnesota. There the Indians made a grand en- 
 campment on the west side of the river, and there they 
 staid several days until they had eaten up all their provi- 
 sions and were threatened with famine. The three French- 
 men had no food except unripe berries which disagreed 
 with them and made them sick ; and Hennepin says they 
 might all have died had it not been for some magical pills 
 which he happened to have with him. 
 
 One day the friar and Du Gay made up a story, which 
 they told to their captors, of some French traders who, 
 they said, were expected to visit the Wisconsin at about 
 that time. They asked permission to go in search of 
 them, and used every argument to persuade the Sioux 
 that this would be to their mutual advantage. The chiefs, 
 after much parleying, agreed to let them go ; but Accault, 
 who was a favorite with the savages, and enjoyed nothing 
 so much as the wild freedom of the woods and prairies, 
 preferred to stay and take part in the great hunt. 
 
212 TJie Upper Mississippi 
 
 \\. THE GRAND HUNT 
 
 It was near the end of July when Hennepin and Du 
 
 Gay embarked in a wretched, leaking canoe and began 
 
 their lonely voyage. They had only a gun with 
 
 lOoO 
 
 fifteen charges of powder, an earthen pot, a 
 knife, and a beaver robe which the Indians had given 
 them ; but they set out with brave hearts, expecting to 
 make a journey of two hundred leagues before seeing 
 the faces of friends. 
 
 They had floated down with the current about twenty- 
 five miles when their progress was interrupted by great 
 waterfalls. They drew their canoe to the shore and stood 
 admiring the wild grandeur of the scene, little dreaming 
 that this charming but solitary place would become the 
 site of a busy city more populous than any they had ever 
 seen. Father Hennepin called these falls the Falls of 
 St. Anthony, in honor of his patron saint, Anthony of 
 Padua. In the book which he published some years 
 later he described them as being forty or fifty feet 
 in height and of surpassing beauty. Around them on 
 both sides now lies the city of Minneapolis with its hum- 
 ming mills, its busy traffic, and its thousands of pleasant 
 homes. 
 
 The two men did not stop long. They shouldered 
 their canoe and carried it around the cataract to launch 
 it upon the smooth water below. Five Indians were sit- 
 ting among the branches of an oak tree overlooking the 
 principal fall, and praying in woeful tones to the great 
 manitou of the waters, while on another tree hung a rich 
 
The (jiaiid IliDit 213 
 
 robe of beaver skins which the savages had hung there 
 to appease the spirit of the falls. 
 
 The voyagers again launched their canoe, and, gliding 
 in the shadow of limestone bluffs, looked up at the sloping 
 heights whereon St. Paul, the capital city of Minnesota, 
 was in time to be built, with its palatial homes and terraced 
 lawns and magnificent views. F'irst of white men to pene- 
 trate to this remote spot, Father Hennepin, with all his 
 lively imagination, was unable to foresee the wonderful 
 cl^anges that were to transform this region from a solitary 
 wilderness to a fruitful garden and a busy mart of human 
 industry. 
 
 Onward down the great river they sped, having more care 
 for their personal safety than for the grand scenery which 
 opened on either hand. Game was so scarce that they 
 were hard set for food and at times were on the point of 
 starvation. Finally, however, after having fasted for 
 forty-eight hours, Du Gay succeeded in killing a buffalo 
 cow. Hennepin hastily cooked some morsels of the fat 
 meat, and both ate so eagerly that they were sick for two 
 days. 
 
 '' Never have we more admired God's providence than 
 during this voyage," says the friar; ''for, although we 
 did not always find deer, and could not kill them when 
 we did, yet the eagles which are very common in those 
 vast countries sometimes dropped from their claws large 
 carp which they were carrying to their nests." 
 
 Soon after passing through Lake Pepin, Hennepin was 
 astonished to meet the old Sioux, his savage father, whom 
 he supposed to be a hundred miles behind. The chief 
 
214 ^^^^'■' ^'pp(-^^ Mississippi 
 
 appeared to be in excellent good humor, and gave the 
 voyagers some wild rice and a slice of buffalo meat to 
 eat. He then hastened onward in advance of them, hop- 
 ing to meet at the mouth of the Wisconsin the Frenchmen 
 of whom Hennepin had told him, and to "carry off what 
 he could from them." Of course he did not find them, 
 and three days later he returned to Hennepin and Du 
 Gay. He told them that there w^ere three hundred Sioux 
 Indians hunting buffaloes farther up the river, and advised 
 them to give up their voyage and go back with him. This 
 they decided to do, and all set out in search of the hunters' 
 camp. 
 
 The next day they met the Indians and were welcomed 
 with as much kindness as savages are wont to show to 
 their friends. Their old comrade, Accault, w\as with the 
 hunters, and all enmity between him and Hennepin was 
 soon forgotten. There was a grand 'hunt on the open 
 prairie, and a great many buffaloes were slain ; and in 
 a few days the whole party, having laid up a plenteous 
 supply of meat, turned their faces homeward, slowly re- 
 tracing their way up the right bank of the Mississippi. 
 
 About this time two squaws, corning from the Lake 
 Superior region, reported that they had met "five spirits" 
 — five white men — who were on their way to the Sioux 
 country from the North. Hennepin, full of anxiety to 
 know who these strangers were, hastened forward toward 
 the place where they were said to be ; but before reach- 
 ing the Falls of St. Anthony he met them coming down 
 the river. They were Daniel Duluth, and four other well- 
 armed Frenchmen. 
 
Dnluth 
 
 215 
 
 V. DULUTH 
 
 Who was this Daniel Dukith ? He was a cousin of 
 Tonty, the friend of La Salle, and one of the most adven- 
 turous ^<?//;r//ri- dc bois of his time. In the autumn of 1679 
 he first visited the country of 
 the Sioux west of Lake Supe- 
 rior, landing not far from 
 where the city named in his 
 honor now stands. The fur 
 traders of Montreal claimed 
 that either Frontenac or La 
 Salle had sent him there to 
 buy furs, contrary to the law 
 or agreement which had given 
 to the Company of Canada 
 the monopoly of trade in that 
 ofion. In the fol- 
 
 1680 
 
 lowing summer he 
 
 A Sioux wigwam 
 
 again returned to the head of 
 the lake, having in his com- 
 pany an Indian interpreter and 
 four Frenchmen. He was intent upon finding a water 
 way into the heart of the Sioux country, and with two 
 light canoes started up the Bois Brule, a little river 
 which enters the lake from the south. This voyage 
 was not an easy one ; for the current was often obstructed 
 by brushwood and fallen trees, and in its upper course the 
 stream was almost lost in weedy marshes. After making 
 many portages, however, the party launched their canoes 
 
2i6 The Upper Mississippi 
 
 upon another little river, the waters of which flow south- 
 ward. It was the stream now known as the St. Croix, 
 and upon it the explorers floated without mishap down 
 to the Mississippi. Duluth was filled with enthusiasm. 
 He supposed himself to be much farther west than was 
 really the case, and he believed that the river which he 
 had now entered must, within a short distance, flow into 
 the Gulf of California. 
 
 While resting a few days at the mouth of the St. Croix, 
 he learned from some straggling Sioux that the warriors 
 of their tribe were near at hand, returning home from the 
 summer's hunt, and that they had three white men with 
 them. Duluth w^as anxious to know who these men were, 
 and so made all haste to meet the hunters as they were 
 coming up the river.. When he saw Hennepin and his 
 two companions he w^as overjoyed, for he had feared that 
 the white strangers might prove to be Spaniards or Eng- 
 lishmen exploring a region which the French claimed as 
 their own. 
 
 Soon after this unexpected meeting the eight white men 
 parted from the Sioux, who had now become quite friendly, 
 and set out together on their return to Canada. They 
 floated slowly down the Mississippi, stopping often to hunt 
 on the prairies which bordered its banks. Game was 
 plentiful, and they tarried several days at the mouth of the 
 Wisconsin, drying the flesh of the buffaloes which they 
 had killed. Autumn was well advanced when they crossed 
 the pprtage where Joliet and Marquette had passed in the 
 opposite direction, seven years before, and embarked on 
 the Fox River, which Hennepin described as "a stream 
 
Diiluth 
 
 217 
 
 which winds wonderfully." They visited the village where 
 the Miamis had formerly dwelt, but* found there only some 
 xMascoutins and Kickapoos and a band of wild Outagamis, 
 or Fox Indians. 
 
 Near the mouth of the river they met some Frenchmen 
 who were there trading with the Indians in defiance of 
 orders from the governor. Father Hennepin was 
 
 the mission of 
 
 no 
 St. Francis 
 
 doubt kindly entertained at 
 Xavier, for he says that 
 "all our Frenchmen went 
 to confession and com- 
 munion, to thank God for 
 having preserved us amid 
 so many wanderings and 
 perils ; " and yet, since 
 the station was in charge 
 of the Jesuits and not of 
 his own Order of Recol- 
 lets, he carefully omits all 
 mention of it. 
 
 After a stay of only two 
 days at Green Bay, the 
 
 party pushed onward to Mackinac, where they were obliged 
 to stay all winter. In the spring, before the ice 
 had melted from the lakes, Hennepin parted from 
 Duluth and started, with several Frenchmen and Indians, 
 for the settlements on the St. Lawrence. When he arrived 
 at Fort Frontenac, a few weeks later, his friends welcomed 
 him as one risen from the dead ; for they had heard that 
 the Siou.K had hanged him with the cord which he wore 
 
 " Barefeet is a spirit " 
 
 1681 
 
i68o 
 
 218 The Upper Mississippi 
 
 about his waist. The Indians at the fort also crowded 
 around him, putting' their hands to their mouths in token 
 of wonder, and saying, " Barefeet is a spirit to have traveled 
 so far." 
 
 VI. TOXTV AXI) MEMBRE 
 
 Let us return now to Fort Crevecoeur on the Illinois. 
 Tonty, who had been left in charge of that station, found 
 it no easy matter to control the rude men who 
 composed the garrison. All were heartily sick 
 of the enterprise in which they had engaged, and some 
 were openly mutinous. Early in April two messengers 
 arrived whom La Salle had sent back from Fort Miamis 
 on the St. Joseph. They brought a letter to Tonty, 
 advising him to abandon Fort Crevecoeur and remove 
 to the Great Rock. They also told doleful tales of their 
 leader's inability to carry out his plans, and enlarged 
 upon his haughtiness and his cruelty. The discontent 
 increased ; and one day when Tonty was absent the men 
 destroyed the palisades, stole all they could carry away, 
 and deserted the place. Only three persons besides the 
 priests, Membre and Ribourde, remained faithful to their 
 leader. Tonty might now have returned to the lakes ; 
 but, after talking the matter over, his little company 
 decided to go to the Illinois village near the Great Rock, 
 and stay there until La Salle should come back from 
 Canada. The Indians seemed glad to have their company, 
 and the six white men passed the summer pleasantly 
 in their wigwams. 
 
 The two priests spent their time in trying to teach the 
 
To)ity (Dili Menibre 219 
 
 savages some of the principles of religion and morality ; 
 but, as Father Membre relates, they found them *' idle, 
 fearful, irritable, and thievish," and so brutal and corrupt 
 that it was almost impossible to make them better. 
 
 As for Tonty, he too was busy. He taught the sav- 
 ages how to use firearms, and persuaded them to build 
 a little fort with intrenchments for the protection of 
 their village. But he found them to be most arrant 
 cowards, and very averse to fighting. 
 
 One day, early in the fall, a Shawnee Indian came 
 down the river bringing fearful news. He said that he 
 had seen a large band of Iroquois, four or five hundred 
 strong, marching across the prairie toward the Illinois 
 towns, and destroying everything that fell in their w^ay. 
 In the village there was now the greatest confusion. 
 The women and children were hastily sent away to an 
 island several miles below, and the men made ready to 
 defend their homes as best they could. 
 
 The very next day the enemy was upon them — sav- 
 age Iroquois and fierce Miamis in great numbers. The 
 cowardly Illinois, even with the help of the Frenchmen, 
 could not have stood long before such foes as these. 
 Under pretense of giving themselves up, they induced 
 the Iroquois to delay the attack; and then they fled 
 down the river to join their women and children. The 
 Iroquois would have killed the six white men, had they 
 not been reminded that their nation was then at peace 
 with the French, and that Onontio, the great white father, 
 would fearfully avenge any injury that might be done 
 to his children. As it was, the chiefs advised Tonty to 
 
220 TJic l^pper Mississippi 
 
 escape from the place without delay, for they would not 
 be able long to control their hot-spirited young braves. 
 
 In a leaking canoe, the six men embarked upon the 
 river and paddled upstream with all the speed they 
 could' make. Through the night and till noon the next 
 day they toiled onward, fearing every moment to be 
 overtaken or waylaid by their savage enemies. At last 
 the canoe became so full of leaks that they were obliged 
 to stop and mend it. While the men w^ere at this work, 
 the aged Father Ribourde walked out into the woods, 
 repeating his breviary as he went. He never returned. 
 His friends sought for him on both sides of the river, 
 and, despite the danger they were in, waited about the 
 spot for twenty-four hours before renewing their journey. 
 They afterward learned that three wandering Kickapoos 
 had waylaid him not far from the landing, and, having 
 killed him, had hidden his body in the earth. A few 
 weeks later these same Kickapoos appeared in the Indian 
 villages near Green Bay, having the scalp of the mur- 
 dered priest, which they boasted was that of an Iroquois 
 chief. 
 
 There were now but four men with Tonty, and, still 
 fearing pursuit by the Iroquois, they pushed forward in 
 their frail canoe, not daring to tarry longer. They had no 
 food except such as they could find, and w^ere obliged to 
 live on acorns and wild onions and such small animals 
 as happened to come in their way. Very soon their canoe 
 failed them altogether, and they were forced to make the 
 rest of their journey by land. They were barefooted, and 
 the ground was covered with snow and ice ; but Father 
 
Tonty and Afcinbre 221 
 
 Membre made shoes for himself and his companions from 
 an old cloak that Father Ribourde had left with them. 
 
 For nearly a month they wandered through the woods 
 and prairies, and, having no compass, sometimes found 
 themselves in the evening back at the place they had 
 started from in the morning. At last, more dead than 
 alive, they reached a village of friendly Pottawattomies, 
 where they were kindly nursed back to health and 
 strength. The chief of this village had been to Montreal, 
 and was well acquainted with the French people; and he 
 boasted that there were but three great captains in the 
 world, himself, Count Frontenac, and the Sieur de la Salle. 
 
 As soon as Tonty and his companions were strong 
 
 enough to go onward again they set out, with some Indian 
 
 guides, for Green Bay. The journey was made without 
 
 mishap, and at the mission of St. Francis Xavier they found 
 
 a most friendly welcome. The Jesuit missionaries 
 
 ^ 1681 
 
 entreated Tonty and the Recollet brother to be 
 
 their guests through the winter. '* We cannot sufficiently 
 
 acknowledge the charity which these good fathers displayed 
 
 toward us," wrote Membre. 
 
 All were grateful for the rest and security that were 
 
 offered, and the generous invitation was accepted. As 
 
 early in the spring, however, as the weather would permit, 
 
 Father Membre set out for Mackinac, hoping to find news 
 
 there from Canada. But Tonty remained a little longer 
 
 at Green Bay. 
 
TO THE GREAT RIVER'S MOUTH 
 I. AT FORT MIAAIIS 
 
 AT the very time that Tonty and his four companions 
 were wandering bewildered through the woods and 
 prairies west of Lake Michigan, La Salle with canoes and 
 supplies was hastening along the eastern shore of that 
 lake toward the mouth of the St. Joseph. He tarried but 
 a brief time at Fort Miamis, and then hurried onward. 
 Following the same route as that of the previous 
 year, he crossed the portage at South Bend, floated 
 down the marsh-bordered Kankakee, and late in Novem- 
 ber arrived in the country of the Illinois. 
 
 He had with him six white men and an Indian, having 
 left five men at Fort Miamis. As they paddled swiftly 
 down the river they were startled and amazed at sight of 
 the desolation which the marauding Iroquois had left 
 behind them. The Ottawa village was in ashes. The 
 Great Rock, farther down, was bare and tenantless. The 
 village of the Illinois had been utterly destroyed. At Fort 
 Crevecoeur everything was in ruins ; the palisades were 
 broken down; the unfinished keel of the ship was in 
 pieces, the savages having carried away every nail and 
 bolt and bit of iron they could find. 
 
 Sick at heart. La Salle with his companions again em- 
 barked and paddled onward down the river. They passed 
 
At Fort Miauiis 223 
 
 the spot where the Iroquois had overtaken the fleeing TIH- 
 
 nois and had massacred their women and children with all 
 
 the fiendish cruelty in which these savages excelled. Still 
 
 urging their canoes onward, they finally arrived at the 
 
 Mississippi. It was La Salle's first sight of the great 
 
 river — the river which for years had been the subject of 
 
 his thoughts and the goal of his ambition. His men 
 
 offered to go with him, if he chose, to discover the mouth 
 
 of the mighty stream. But his good judgment told him 
 
 that, with so small a force, this would be folly. He wTote 
 
 a letter for Tontv, and, having tied it on a tree 
 
 '' ^ 1 60 1 
 
 overhanging the bank, he gave orders to return 
 
 to the lakes. The beginning of the new year found him 
 
 with eleven men again safely housed in the log fort near 
 
 the mouth of the river St. Joseph. 
 
 The fort was in the country of the Miamis, and several 
 Indians belonging to various tribes of the middle North- 
 west were encamped in the neighborhood. During his 
 intercourse with these savages. La Salle formed a plan to 
 unite the Miamis, the Shawnees, the Illinois, and their 
 related tribes in a great league against the Iroquois. 
 For, although the French were now nominally at peace 
 with those terrors of the forest, he plainly saw that, unless 
 their power was utterly crushed, they would offer a con- 
 stant menace to the fur trade south of the lakes, and be 
 a great obstacle to the success of his own ambitious 
 projects. 
 
 During the winter La Salle held councils with many of 
 the tribes, and persuaded them to join the league; and 
 toward the end of May he went down to Mackinac to 
 
224 To the Great River s MoutJi 
 
 gain the support of some of the more northern bands. 
 What was his joy, on landing at that post, to meet his old 
 comrade Tonty, whom he had almost given up as lost ! 
 The two friends related their adventures and talked over 
 their plans, and the old project of exploring the Missis- 
 sippi and establishing a line of trading posts to its mouth 
 was revived. The Indian league was for a time forgotten, 
 and, in June, La Salle and Tonty voyaged back to Fort 
 Frontenac. 
 
 11. FROM FORT FRONTENAC TO NATCHEZ 
 
 La Salle found that his enemies had increased in num- 
 ber, and that his creditors were more unreasonable and 
 more clamorows than ever. The former, among whom 
 were both Jesuits and Sulpicians, he defied in a manner 
 which only increased the bitterness of their hat j ; the lat- 
 ter he tried to conciliate by giving them a lien upon his 
 estate of Cataraqui and upon all the profits which he hoped 
 to gain from his western enterprise. But even this failed 
 to satisfy them or win their friendship. 
 
 In August, with Tonty and a company of fifty-four 
 
 persons, he again started for the Mississippi country. It 
 
 was near the betrinnint^ of winter when all arrived 
 1681 "" "^ 
 
 at Fort Miamis. Here it was decided to leave 
 
 some of the party while the rest went forward in two com- 
 panies. Tonty, v^^ith most of the men, crossed the head 
 of the lake to the mouth of the Chicago, and from that 
 point the canoes were dragged on sledges over the 
 frozen streams to the Illinois. La Salle, following the old 
 
From lu^j-f Froiittuac to XatcJicz 225 
 
 route down the Kankakee, overtook the first party near 
 the mouth of the Des Plaines. 
 
 Not until after they had passed the site of Fort Creve- 
 cceur was the river open enough to allow their canoes 
 to float on the water. But below this point the adven- 
 turers found the middle of the stream free from ice; 
 and so, launching their canoes, they paddled onward with 
 the current. It was early in February when they 
 arrived at the Mississippi. This mighty stream, 
 at that time known as the River Colbert, was full of 
 floating ice, and it was several days before La Salle 
 deemed it safe to continue their voyage. At length, 
 boldly embarking on its chilly waters, the explorers 
 glided swiftly dowqiward with the flood, now sw^ollen by 
 spring rains and the melting of northerly snows. They 
 passed the' mouth of the unexplored Missouri — then 
 called the Osage — and three days later reached the 
 Ohio. La Salle beheld here a vast outpouring of water 
 between low marshy banks and thickets of cane and 
 underwoods, and did not realize that it was the same 
 Belle Riviere whose upper courses he had explored more 
 than thirteen years before. The Lidians near its mouth 
 called it the Ouabache (Wabash), and by that name its 
 lower portion was generally known for half a century 
 afterward. 
 
 A few days later the party encamped near the third 
 Chickasaw Bluff in what is now the state of Tennessee. 
 Here a hunter named Prudhomme strolled away from 
 his fellows and was lost in the woods. On the top of 
 the bluff La Salle built a stockade ; and when, after 
 
 OLD NoRTlIWKS'r — Is 
 
226 To tJic Great River's Month 
 
 nine days, the hunter was found half dead from starva- 
 tion, they named the place in his honor. Fort Prudhomme. 
 Here Prudhomme was left with a few men to guard the 
 stockade, and the others went on. 
 
 About the middle of March they reached a village of 
 the Arkansas Indians. While staying with these hospi- 
 table people. La Salle planted a cross by the riverside, 
 placed upon it the arms of France, and with great cere- 
 mony took possession of all the country in the name of 
 King Louis XIV. Father Membre, who was with him, 
 sang the -Exaudit te Dormjius, a volley of musketry was 
 discharged, and the whole company shouted three times 
 *' Vive le roi! " The Indians, not understanding what was 
 meant, looked on with delight, and joined in the general 
 acclamation. 
 
 After three days spent at this place the party con- 
 tinued their voyage. About three hundred miles below 
 the Arkansas they stopped to visit the great town of 
 Taensas, which was built on a lake at some distance 
 from the river. Tonty, in describing it afterward, said 
 that he had never seen anything like it. The dwellings 
 were large and square, built of sun-baked mud mixed 
 with straw, and arched over with a dome-shaped roof 
 made of reeds. The people were worshipers of the sun. 
 
 Lower down the river the Frenchmen came to a vil- 
 lage of the Natchez Indians, where they tarried a little 
 while. La Salle slept in the village, and was struck 
 with the great difference between* these people and any 
 other savages he had ever seen. They also were sun- 
 worshipers. Before leaving this place La Salle planted 
 
Louisiana 227 
 
 in the midst of the village a wooden cross upon which 
 were affixed the arms of France. The natives looked 
 on with pleased wonder, believing that this was done in 
 token of friendship to them. 
 
 III. LOUISIANA 
 
 On the last day of March the voyagers passed the mouth 
 
 of the Red River, below which they found the natives not 
 
 so friendly. A week later they reached a point where 
 
 two large islands separate the river, causing it to flow in 
 
 three channels. In order not to miss the right way. La 
 
 Salle now divided his company. He himself 
 
 . 1682 
 
 took the right hand channel ; his lieutenant led 
 
 a party down the passage on the left ; and Tonty with 
 Father Membre and some others followed the middle cur- 
 rent. The three parties reached the waters of the Gulf 
 nearly at the same time, and on the 9th of April came 
 together at the mouth of the middle outlet. 
 
 A short distance above this place the whole company 
 landed. Here a wooden column was raised, hymns were 
 sung, a blessing was pronounced by Father Membre, and 
 La Salle proclaimed in a loud voice, " In the name of 
 Louis the Great, king of France and of Navarre, four- 
 teenth of that name, I ... do take possession of this 
 country of Louisiana, the seas, harbors, ports, bays, straits, 
 and all the nations, peoples, provinces, cities, towns, 
 villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams, and rivers, 
 within the extent of said Louisiana, from the mouth of the 
 great river St. Louis, otherwise called the Ouabache [Ohio], 
 
228 
 
 To the Great River s Month 
 
 as also along the river Colbert, or Mississippi, and the 
 rivers which discharge themselves thereinto, from its 
 somxe beyond the country of the Sioux as far as its 
 mouth at the sea, or Gulf of Mexico, and also to the 
 mouth of the River of Palms, upon the assurance we have 
 had from the natives of these countries, that we are the 
 first Europeans who have descended or ascended the river 
 
 ' In the name of Louis the Great 
 
 Colbert ; hereby protesting against all who may hereafter 
 undertake to invade any or all of the aforesaid countries, 
 peoples, or lands, to the prejudice of the rights of his 
 Majesty, acquired by consent of the natives dwelling 
 herein. . . ." 
 
 When he had ended, the men shouted Vive le roi, and 
 fired off their guns. Then a cross was raised by the side 
 
L 
 
 ON IS land 
 
 of the column, and in the ground at its foot was buried a 
 leaden plate bearing the arms of France and the inscrip- 
 tion Ludovicus Magjius regnat — " Louis the Great reigns." 
 
 By his discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi, La 
 Salle proved that ships from liurope might sail direct to 
 the vast interior of the continent. He now hoped that by 
 colonizing the valley of the Mississippi he might not only 
 add a new empire to the crown of France, but acquire 
 much wealth and great renown for himself. 
 
 The return up the river was fraught with trouble. 
 Food was hard to find ; the Indians were unfriendly ; and 
 when the voyagers were still a hundred leagues below the 
 Illinois, La Salle was seized with a dangerous illness which 
 continued for forty days. It was not until the end of Sep- 
 tember that he reached Fort Miamis, whither Tonty had 
 preceded him by several weeks. He would have hastened 
 on to Quebec and thence to France to tell his story to the 
 king; but when he arrived by slow journeys at Macki- 
 nac, he found the season so far advanced that he did not 
 think it wise to go farther. 
 
LA SALLE'S LAST ENTERPRISE 
 • I. FORT ST. LOUIS ON THE ILLINOIS 
 
 WHILE waiting for the return of health and the pass- 
 ing of the long winter, La Salle was by no means idle. 
 He now decided, with the help of his ever faithful friend 
 Tonty, to establish a fort and colony on the Illinois that 
 should serve as a rallying point for the friendly 
 Indians and a defense against the raiding Iroquois. 
 He had long had such a project in mind, and the time 
 seemed favorable for putting it into execution. The fort 
 would be the first of a chain of trading posts which he 
 hoped to build from the Illinois country to the mouth of 
 the Mississippi ; by these all the trade of that region 
 which he had named Louisiana would be controlled ; and 
 the furs and other products collected or procured from the 
 natives could be shipped direct to France by way of the 
 Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 The two friends resolved to begin their work without 
 delay. Tonty, therefore, with a strong company of men 
 and plentiful supplies, returned at once to the Great Rock 
 on the Illinois River — the most suitable place for the 
 building of a strong fortification and the establishment of 
 a trading post. This rock or hill rises abruptly to the 
 height of more than one hundred feet above the level of 
 the plain around it. Its summit, which is about an acre 
 
 230 
 
Fort St. Louis on tJic Illinois 
 
 23 
 
 in extent, is somewhat level and can be reached only from 
 one side, where a narrow pathway winds up from the 
 wooded ravine below. On the side next to the river it 
 overhangs the water, and the remaining sides are steep 
 as castle walls. It is in itself a natural fortification. 
 
 As soon as Tonty and his men arrived at the spot, they 
 began their work. They cleared the trees and shrubs 
 from the summit of the 
 rock, and leveled off a 
 space for the inclosure ; 
 and when La Salle joined 
 them, a few weeks later, 
 all hands were engaged 
 in building palisades and 
 making intrenchments. 
 Inside of the inclosure, 
 storehouses and dwell- 
 ings were put up, and at the corners blockhouses were 
 built. 
 
 This stronghold, La Salle named Fort St. Louis. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Indians belonging to various tribes 
 had come and put up their huts on the plain within 
 sight of the fort. They came for the protection which 
 they knew the Frenchmen could give them in case of 
 another raid by the Iroquois. They came also for trading 
 purposes, for a trading post always had great attrac- 
 tions for the Indian. Here were soon gathered six thou- 
 sand Illinois who had lately been scattered to the four 
 winds by the destroying Iroquois. Hither also came 
 Shawnees from the Wabash country, Miamis from Lake 
 
 The Great Rock 
 
232 La Salic s Last Enterprise 
 
 Michigan, and Abenakis whose kinsmen lived in distant 
 Maine. Within a few months it was estimated that four 
 thousand warriors and more than twenty thousand per- 
 sons were settled in the near neighborhood of Fort St. 
 Louis. 
 
 II. THE LOST COLONY 
 
 Early in the following summer La Salle, leaving Tonty 
 in command of the fort, started again to Canada. He had 
 heard that a new governor had been appointed 
 in place of Count Frontenac; and so he was not 
 surprised to learn, before reaching Quebec, that all the 
 privileges granted to him in the Northwest and on the 
 Mississippi had been withdrawn. His enemies had tri- 
 umphed, and now he must either give up all hope of success, 
 or again lay his case before the king. He decided to do the 
 latter, and so in the following November sailed for France. 
 King Louis XIV. listened with pleasure to the story of 
 the discovery of Louisiana; and when La Salle proposed to 
 found colonies in that vast region and to open direct com- 
 munication between France and the Mississippi through the 
 Gulf of Mexico, he gave the project his hearty approval. 
 
 Before midsummer, four ships were ready to sail with 
 La Salle to the Louisiana country. Two hundred and 
 eighty persons, including thirty gentlemen and a 
 hundred soldiers, " mere wretched beggars solicit- 
 ing alms," embarked on these vessels, ready to aid in the 
 great enterprise and especially anxious to reap profit for 
 themselves. There were six priests in the company — 
 three Sulpicians and three Recollets — and among them 
 
The Lost Co/oH}' 
 
 233 
 
 were Father Membrc and La Salle's brother, the Abbe 
 
 Cavelier. There were also on board of La Salle's ship two 
 
 of his nephews, one of them only fourteen years of age. 
 
 The vessels sailed from Rochelle on the 24th of July. 
 
 From the very first there were delays and disasters. One 
 
 of the ships was captured by the Spanish ; and it was not 
 
 until the followins^ January that the other three 
 
 . 1685 
 
 reached the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 They could not find the mouth of the Mississippi, but 
 
 sailed past it and finally landed on the Texan shore at a 
 
 place now called Matagorda Bay. 
 
 A fort was built. La Salle took possession of all the 
 adjoining country, and 
 the arms of France 
 were carved upon the 
 forest trees. One of 
 the ships returned to 
 France, and the other 
 two, while exploring the 
 coast in a vain quest 
 for the hidden, river, 
 were wrecked. 
 
 The colonists were 
 ofreat distress and 
 
 m 
 
 ' They could not find the mouth 
 of the Mississippi " 
 blamed La Salle for all 
 
 their misfortunes. Many were sick and all were suffering 
 
 for the necessities of life. La Salle, in desperation, started 
 
 with canoes to look for the Mississippi, but after four 
 
 months returned, having lost a dozen of his men. 
 
 Late in the following April, he started northward with 
 
234 ^-^^ Sa lie's Last Enterprise 
 
 twenty men, hoping to reach the IlHnois Country by 
 an overland journey through the wilderness. But this 
 
 adventure also failed, and it was not long until, 
 1686 
 
 having used up all their powder, the company re- 
 turned to the fort. They had suffered great hardships, and 
 of those who had started out half had perished by the way. 
 Of the company that had sailed with La Salle from 
 France, there were now only forty-five persons alive. These 
 no longer hoped for aid from any quarter, either by 'land 
 or by sea. All they could do was to persevere in the 
 search for the Mississippi, and, having found it, to ascend 
 it to the Illinois, where they would doubtless find friends. 
 
 III. THE END OF A GREAT LIFE 
 
 Early in January La Salle started again. \\\ his com- 
 pany were his brother and one of his nephews, a faithful 
 soldier Joutel, a Recollet priest, an adventurer named 
 Duhaut, two Indians, and several others, — in all, fifteen 
 men and a boy. Their course was toward the northeast, 
 across vast plains where they encountered many bands of 
 wandering Indians. Rains were frequent, the streams 
 were swollen, and progress over the broken country was 
 slow. Most of the men were discontented and mutinous, 
 and even La Salle's nearest friends failed to give him the 
 support which he needed. His nephew and an Indian who 
 had always been faithful to him were murdered. 
 
 It was the middle of March when the party reached the 
 stream in eastern Texas now known as the Trinity River. 
 There the mutineers formed a plot to kill La Salle and lead 
 
The E}id of a Great Life 235 
 
 the expedition themselves. One morning Duhaut and an- 
 other Frenchman, lurking in the tall- prairie grass, waylaid 
 the great explorer and shot him dead. They stripped the 
 body and left it to be devoured by wild beasts. 
 
 Very soon the conspirators were quarreling among them- 
 selves. The two men who had murdered La Salle were 
 slain. The others, seven in all, seized upon whatever they 
 could, and then started westward to join the Indians and 
 lead a savage life in the wilderness. 
 
 Those who were left placed themselves under the 
 leadership of Joutel. They found three Indian guides who 
 led them northeastward, through the Red River country, 
 and finally to the Arkansas near its mouth. There, to 
 their great surprise, they saw on an island a large cross, 
 and near it a log hut. A moment later two Frenchmen 
 issued from the hut and ran to welcome them. 
 
 Tonty, in his fort of St. Louis on the IlHnois, had heard 
 of La Salle's voyage and failure, and a year ago had set 
 out with twenty-five white men and eleven Indians to find 
 him. He had reached the mouth of the Mississippi, and 
 had searched for thirty leagues on either side, but with- 
 out seeing any signs of the lost colony. In despair he 
 had turned back, but at the mouth of the Arkansas he had 
 decided to leave six men, in the hope that they might there 
 hear some news through the Indians who often passed that 
 way from the Gulf. It was two of these men that now 
 welcomed the wanderers to their hut on the island. 
 
 Summer had gone and the autumn frosts had begun to fall 
 when Joutel and his party reached Fort St. Louis. Tonty 
 was not there at the time, having gone on a visit to Canada, 
 
236 La Salle s Last Enterprise 
 
 but they were received by his Heutenant, and there they 
 remained several days. Strange to say, they did not tell 
 of La Salle's death, but declared that he was well and was 
 even then on his way to join them. They met Tonty at 
 Fort Miamis, and deceived him with the same story. In- 
 deed, it was not till they had reached France that the Abbe 
 Cavelier told the truth about his brother's tragic fate. 
 
 The king was busy with his own affairs, and took no 
 steps to find the colony at Matagorda Bay and relieve 
 the few sufferers whom La Salle had left behind. It is 
 thought that they soon afterward perished at the hands 
 of marauding Indians. But the faithful Tonty, when at 
 last the story of La Salle's death was known to him, 
 started without delay in search of the lost colonists. 
 
 It was early in December when, with eight men, he 
 left the Illinois country and began to descend the Missis- 
 sippi. In the following March he reached the 
 
 1689 
 
 Red River region, where six of his men deserted 
 
 him and he lost all his powder. Under these circum- 
 stances it was plainly impossible for him to go farther, 
 and so with aching heart he returned to Fort St. Louis. 
 About twelve months later he was pleased to receive 
 from the king a royal grant of the region adjoining the 
 fort ; and there he lived for several years, trading with 
 the Indians and sending canoe loads of furs every spring 
 to Canada. In 1702, however, he was induced to join a 
 new colony that was making a settlement near the mouth 
 of the Mississippi. Fort St. Louis on the Illinois was 
 abandoned, and Tonty's connection with the Old North- 
 west was ended. 
 
HOW THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS WERE 
 
 MADE 
 
 FRENCH LIFE IN THE NORTHWEST 
 I. TH?: SETTLEMENTS 
 
 AT the close of the seventeenth century France was 
 in possession, not only of Canada and the Great 
 Lakes, but also of the 
 entire valley of the 
 Mississippi and the un- 
 explored country be- 
 yond. By looking at 
 the map you can see 
 how large a portion of 
 the continent this was. 
 The French people 
 claimed that this vast 
 region was theirs by 
 right of discovery. 
 They had been the 
 first to navigate the 
 Great Lakes, the first 
 to explore the numer- 
 ous rivers, the first to penetrate the mighty forests or 
 make their way across the boundless prairies. Saint- 
 
 ^o7 
 
 At the close of the seventeenth century 
 
238 F7'e)ick Life in the Nort Invest 
 
 Lusson, at the Sault Sainte Marie, had made formal proc- 
 lamation that all the lands adjoining the Great Lakes 
 were under the dominion of France ; and the Sieur de la 
 Salle, at the mouth of the Mississippi, had taken possession 
 of that river and its tributaries in the name of King Louis 
 the Great. It would seem that no other European nation 
 could show a better title to this fair country. 
 
 The discoveries of La Salle and his companions had 
 aroused great interest both in Canada and in France. 
 Wonderful stories were told of the beauty and fertility of 
 the country between the lakes and the great river. It 
 was described as a region of rare promise, where the 
 climate was mild and bracing, where the woods and 
 prairies were full of game and delicious wild fruits, and 
 where men might live and enjoy the fullest freedom. 
 Compared with the cold and sterile regions of Canada 
 this land was indeed an earthly paradise. 
 
 These stories caused many people of the more adven- 
 turous sort to leave the older settlements on the St. Law- 
 rence and make their way westward. Those who went to 
 the Illinois country followed La Salle's route up the lakes 
 and through the straits of Mackinac, and then southward 
 to Fort Miamis at the mouth of St. Joseph River. From 
 this point some passed on to the Illinois by way of the 
 Kankakee, others crossed the lake to the Chicago River and 
 then followed Marquette's old route down the Des Plaines. 
 
 Soon trading posts and missionary stations grew up in 
 many places, and to these came other immigrants attracted 
 by the glowing accounts that were given of that delightful 
 country. In the last year of the century a Jesuit mission 
 
The Set I lent cuts 239 
 
 was founded near the Mississippi, midway between the 
 
 mouth of the Missouri and that of the Ohio. 
 
 1700 
 To this place came the two priests, Jacques 
 
 Gravier and Gabriel Marest, with a number of Indian 
 converts from Marquette's old mission of Kaskaskia on 
 the Illinois. They had fled thither to escape the maraud- 
 ing Iroquois ; and on the banks of a small river, two miles 
 from the Mississippi, they built a church with a cluster 
 of huts around it, and began life anew. 
 
 They called the place Kaskaskia, from their old home ; 
 and to the little river behind the village they gave the 
 same name. Soon other Indians came, and French trad- 
 ers and -woods rangers made their homes there ; and thus 
 the mission became the first permanent settlement in the 
 Mississippi Valley. It was for a time the center of traffic 
 up and down the great river, and the point from which 
 many of the furs of the Northwest were shipped to the 
 Gulf. When Charlevoix, a French traveler, visited the 
 place in 1721, he found there a Jesuit college and about 
 a hundred families of French people, besides a great 
 number of dependent Indians. 
 
 There were settlements also at Cahokia, Prairie de 
 Rocher, and other points on or near the Mississippi ; but 
 none of them was of so much importance as Kaskaskia. 
 In the time of its greatest prosperity several hundred slaves 
 were held there by their well-to-do owners ; and Philippe 
 Francis Renault brought two hundred miners there to 
 search for precious metals and work in the lead mines 
 on the opposite side of the Mississippi. 
 
 The Illinois Country, as it was called, was a part of the 
 
240 French Life in tJic NortJnvcst 
 
 Louisiana which La Salle had added to the domains of 
 the French king. It included at first the region between 
 the Ohio and the Great Lakes, and extended indefinitely 
 along both sides of the great river. At a later period the 
 name was restricted to the district nearest the Mississippi, 
 while the region farther east was called the Wabash 
 Country, and was for the most part under the jurisdiction 
 of Canada. 
 
 But for half a century longer, in all the region east of 
 the Wabash, and about the head waters of the Ohio, there 
 was no attempt at settlement. The fear of the Iroquois 
 prevented priest and trader alike from trespassing upon 
 these great hunting grounds of the red man. 
 
 II. THE SETTLERS 
 
 It is interesting to learn how the French people in the 
 Illinois Country lived in friendship with the savage tribes 
 around them. The settlements were usually small villages 
 on the edge of a prairie or in the heart of the woods. 
 They were always near the bank of a river ; for the 
 water courses were the only roads, and the light canoes 
 of the voyageurs were the only means of travel. There 
 the French settlers lived like one large family, having 
 for their rulers the village priest and the older men of the 
 community. 
 
 The houses were built along a single narrow street, and 
 so close together that the villagers could carry on their 
 neighborly gossip, each from his own doorstep. These 
 houses were made of a rude framework of corner posts, 
 
The Settlers 241 
 
 studs, and cross ties, and were ])lastered, outside and in, 
 with ''cat and clay" — a kind of mortar, made of mud 
 and mixed with straw and moss. Around each house 
 was a picket fence ; and the form of the dooryards and 
 gardens was regulated by the village lawgiv^ers. 
 
 Adjoining the village was a large inclosure, or " common 
 field," for the free use of all the villagers. The size 
 of this field depended upon the number of families in the 
 settlement; it sometimes contained several hundred acres. 
 It was divided into plots or allotments, one for each house- 
 hold ; and the size of the plot was proportioned to the 
 number of persons in the family. Each household attended 
 to the cultivation of its own ground, and gathered its own 
 harvest And if any one should neglect to care for his 
 plot, and let it become overgrown with weeds and thistles, 
 he forfeited his right to any part of the common field and 
 his ground was given to another. 
 
 Surroundins: the common field was a larire tract of 
 cleared land that was used as a common pasture ground. 
 In some cases there were thousands of acres in this tract, 
 and yet no person was allowed to use any part of it except 
 for the pasturage of his stock. When a new family came 
 into the settlement, or a newly married couple began 
 housekeeping, a small part of the pasture ground was 
 taken into the common field, in order to give the new 
 household its proper allotment. 
 
 The priest occupied the place of father to all the vil- 
 lagers, whether white or red. They confided all their 
 troubles to him. He was their oracle in matters of learn- 
 ing as well as of religion. They obeyed his word as law. 
 
 OLD NORTIIWKST — 1 6 * 
 
242 Fniic/i Life in the Xorthwest 
 
 The great business of all was fur trading and the care 
 of their little plots of ground. The women kept their 
 homes in order, tended their gardens, and helped with the 
 plowing and the harvesting. The men were the protectors 
 of the community. Some were soldiers, some were trad- 
 ers, but most were engaged in hunting and in gathering 
 beaver skins and buffalo hides to be sold to the traders 
 and finally sent to Europe. 
 
 The traders kept a small stock of French goods, laces, 
 ribbons, and other articles, useful and ornamental, and 
 these they exchanged for the products of the forest. The 
 young men, as a rule, sought business and pleasure in the 
 great woods. Some of them became voyageurs, or boat- 
 men, in the service of the traders. In their light canoes 
 they explored every rivulet and stream, and visited the 
 distant tribes among the sources of the Mississippi and 
 Missouri. Others took to the forest as woods rangers, or 
 courein's de hois, and became almost as wild as the Indians 
 themselves. They wandered wherever their fancy led 
 them, hunting game, trapping beavers, and trading with 
 their dusky friends. Those who roamed in the lake 
 regions built, here and there, small forts of logs and 
 surrounded them with palisades. In one of these forts 
 a company of two or three coureurs would remain for a 
 few weeks and then leave it to be occupied by any one 
 who might next come that way. A post of this kind was 
 built at Detroit long before any permanent settlement was 
 made there; and, scattered long distances apart, on the 
 lake shore and in the heart of the wilderness, were many 
 others. ■ 
 
The Settlers 243 
 
 The northern coureurs, when returning from the woods, 
 resorted to Mackinac as their headquarters ; or, loaded 
 with beaver skins, they made their way to Montreal, where 
 they conducted themselves in a manner that would have 
 shamed a Mohawk or a Sioux. But the rangers of the 
 Illinois Country were in the habit of returning once each 
 year to their village homes. There they were welcomed 
 with joy, balls and festivals were given in their honor, 
 and old and young gathered around them to hear the story 
 of their adventures. 
 
 Thus, in the heart of the wilderness, these French 
 settlers passed their lives in the enjoyment of unbounded 
 freedom. They delighted in amusements, and there were 
 almost as many holidays as, working days. Being a thou- 
 sand miles from any center of civilization, they knew but 
 little of what was taking place in the world. In their 
 hearts they were devoted to their mother country ; they 
 believed that " France ruled the world, and, therefore, all 
 must be right." Further than this they troubled them- 
 selves but little. They were contented and indolent, and 
 never allowed themselves to be annoyed by the carking 
 cares of business. 
 
 They had no wish to subdue the wilderness, to hew 
 down the forest, and make farms, and build roads, and 
 bring civilization to their doors. To do this would be to 
 change the modes of living that were so dear to them. It 
 would destroy the fur trade, and then what would become 
 of the traders, the voyageurs, and the coureurs de bois ? 
 These French settlers were not the kind of people to 
 found colonies and build empires. 
 
244 ' FreiicJi Life in the Xort Invest 
 
 III. THE CHRISTIAN INDIANS 
 
 The Indians who had been converted by the mission- 
 aries lived in friendly intercourse with the French vil- 
 lagers. The Jesuit fathers had taught them many of the 
 ways of civilized life. At Kaskaskia they learned to 
 cultivate the ground with wooden plows. They had rude 
 mills for grinding their grain, and these were sometimes 
 run by horse power, sometimes by windmills. They, as 
 well as the French, owned cattle and sheep ; and they 
 traded in horses which had been brought from the dis- 
 tant plains of Texas. 
 
 Father Marest, one of the founders of Kaskaskia, has 
 left an interesting picture of life and manners among these 
 half-civilized people. "The chase and war," he says, 
 " are the sole occupations of the men, while the rest of the 
 labor falls upon the women and girls. They are the per- 
 sons who prepare the ground for sowing, do the cooking, 
 pound the corn, build the wdgwams, and carry them on 
 their shoulders in their journeys. 
 
 " These wigwams are constructed of mats made of 
 plaited reeds, which they have the skill to sew together 
 in such a way that the rain cannot penetrate them when 
 they are new. 
 
 " Besides these things, they occupy themselves in manu- 
 facturing articles from buffaloes' hair, and in making 
 bands, belts, and sacks ; for the buffaloes here are very 
 different from our cattle in Europe. . Besides having a 
 large hump on the back by the shoulders, they are also 
 entirely covered with a fine wool, which our Indians manu- 
 
A I)(7}' ill a I'lrnch ]l/i(ii 
 
 245 
 
 facture instead of that which they would procure from 
 sheep. 
 
 ** These Indians are very different from what they 
 formerly were. Christianity has softened their savage 
 customs, and their manners are now marked by a sweet- 
 ness and purity which have induced some of the French 
 to take their daughters in marriage." 
 
 IV. A DAY IN A FRENCH VILLAGE 
 
 It is to Father Marest that we are also indebted for a 
 description of the daily routine of life among the converts 
 and French settlers at Kaskaskia. At early 
 dawn his pupils came to him in the church, 
 where they had prayers and all joined in 
 singing hymns. Then the Christians in the 
 village met together to hear him say mass, — 
 the women standing on one side of the room, 
 the men on the other. 
 
 The French women were dressed in pret- 
 tily colored jackets and short gowns of 
 homemade woolen stuffs, or of French 
 goods of finer texture. In summer most 
 of them were barefooted, but in winter 
 and on holidays they wore Indian mocca- 
 sins gayly decorated with porcupine quills, 
 shells, and colored beads. Instead of hats 
 they wore bright-colored handkerchiefs interlaced with 
 gay ribbons, and sometimes wreathed with flowers. 
 
 The men wore long vests drawn over their shirts, leg- 
 
 A villager 
 
246 FrciicJi Life in tJic Xori/iwcst 
 
 gins of buckskin or of coarse woolen cloth, and wooden 
 clog shoes or moccasins of heavy leather. In winter they 
 wrapped themselves in long overcoats with capes and 
 hoods that could be drawn over their heads and thus serve 
 for hats. In summer their heads were covered with blue 
 handkerchiefs worn turbanlike as a "protection from mos- 
 quitoes as well as from the rays of the sun. 
 
 After the morning devotions were over each person 
 betook himself to whatever business or amusement was 
 most necessary or congenial ; and the priest went out to 
 visit the sick, giving them medicine and consoling them 
 in whatever way he could. In the afternoon those who 
 chose to do so came again to the church to be taught the 
 catechism. During the rest of the day the priest walked 
 about the village, talking with old and young, and enter- 
 ing into sympathy with all their hopes and plans. In the 
 evening the people would meet together again to chant 
 the hymns of the church. This daily round of duty and 
 devotion was often varied by the coming of holidays and 
 festivals, and sometimes by occurrences of a sadder na- 
 ture — death, or misfortune, or the threatened invasion of 
 savage foes. 
 
TIIK POSTS ON THK LAKES 
 I. MACKINAC 
 
 YEAR after year passed by, and there were few 
 changes in the Old Northwest. The Indian tribes 
 still occupied the woods and roamed freely over the prai- 
 ries. The few French settlements were like scattered 
 encampments in a land of strangers. A few new posts 
 were now and then established ■ — but not many. A 
 shorter route to Canada was opened by way of the 
 Wabash and the Maumee ; and stockades were built at 
 Ouiatenon on the Wabash, and at the portage where 
 now stands the city of Fort Wayne. Unlicensed traders 
 and coureurs de bois carried on a profitable business, not 
 being restrained by fear of the law. Within a single year 
 fifteen thousand skins and furs were gathered from the 
 Wabash country and shipped down the Mississippi to the 
 French ports on the Gulf. 
 
 Along the lakes the French had established several 
 fortified posts. The oldest was that of Mackinac at Point 
 St. Ignace, where' Marquette had set up his mission among 
 the vagabond Hurons many years before. Here was Fort 
 Buade, surrounded by palisades and defended by a garri- 
 son of two hundred well-drilled soldiers, ** the most ath- 
 letic to be found in the New World." The French village 
 contained sixty houses, built along a single straight street, 
 
 247 
 
248 TJic Posts oil the Lakes 
 
 and not far away were the long houses of the Hurons, 
 precisely like those seen by Cartier at Hochelaga. 
 
 Mackinac was the chief resort of all the fur traders 
 and voyageurs in the region of the lakes ; and at certain 
 seasons thousands of Indians assembled there from the 
 West and South. They came not only to trade with the 
 French, but to catch fish; *' for," says Father Marest, 
 "during the greater part of the year one sees nothing 
 but fish." 
 
 There were other posts on the lakes, at Green Bay, 
 at the River St. Joseph, and at the Sault Sainte Marie ; 
 and there was a stockade at or near Chicago. At 
 each of these posts there were a commander or gov- 
 ernor, a Jesuit missionary, a few soldiers, and several 
 traders. There was a fort with a chapel, and at a httle 
 distance were the wigwams of the friendly Indians. Next 
 to Mackinac, the post at Green Bay was for a long time 
 the most flourishing. It was a favorite market for furs, 
 buffalo hides, and corn, which the Indians sold to the 
 traders who came hither both from Canada and from 
 the Illinois Country. 
 
 II. DETROIT 
 
 The most famous of all the commandants who from 
 time to time had charge of the post at Mackinac was 
 a French captain named La Motte Cadillac. He it was 
 who first saw the importance of a fort or settlement on 
 the detroit, or strait, between Lake Huron and Lake 
 Erie. This strait, he said, was the key to the upper 
 lakes and the fur-producing regions around them. It 
 
Detroit 249 
 
 was through this strait that the Iroquois sent their canoe 
 
 parties to the rich hunting grounds of the North. It 
 
 was through this strait also that the English east of the 
 
 AUeghanies had but lately been trying secretly to open a 
 
 trade with the Indians of the upper lakes. If a strong 
 
 fort were built on its shore, both the English and the 
 
 Iroquois would be held in check. 
 
 La Motte's plans were received with favor by the 
 
 French colonial minister, and he was commissioned to 
 
 carry them into effect. On one of the last days 
 
 ^ •' 1701 
 
 in July in the first year of the new century, he 
 
 took possession of the site where now stands the city of 
 
 Detroit. He had with him fifty soldiers and fifty traders 
 
 and artisans, besides two priests — one a Recollet friar to 
 
 minister to the troops, the other a Jesuit father to preach 
 
 to the Indians. 
 
 The fort, which he built close by the water's edge, was 
 merely a strong stockade of wooden pickets with a small 
 blockhouse at each corner. Within the inclosure several 
 houses made of logs and thatched with grass were soon 
 in readiness for the officers and soldiers. La Motte 
 called his fortress Fort Pontchartrain, in honor of the 
 colonial minister ; but in history it is generally known 
 as Fort Detroit. 
 
 In a short time many Indians began to build villages 
 above and below the fort, looking to La Motte for protec- 
 tion against the Iroquois. The Hurons, of whom there 
 were but few, came from Mackinac ; several bands of 
 Miamis came from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan ; 
 and the Ottawas at Mackinac secretly sent La Motte a 
 
250 TJic Posts on the Lakes 
 
 necklace to let him know that they also would come when 
 they had gathered their harvest. All these had suffered 
 much, in times past, from the cruelties of the Iroquois, who 
 had driven them from their homes and slaughtered their 
 bravest warriors ; and they still lived in constant dread of 
 these unpitying and powerful foes. Cadillac advised them 
 to '' weep their dead, and leave them to sleep coldly until 
 the day of vengeance should come ; " and he promised that 
 he would help them sweep the land of their enemies. 
 
THE FIREBRANDS OF THE WEST 
 
 THE FIGHT AT DETROIT 
 
 IN the ancient country of the Winnebagoes, in eastern 
 Wisconsin, many alien tribes and bands of Indians had 
 made their homes. Among these were the Sacs, the Kick- 
 apoos, the Miamis, and the Mascoutins. 
 Within recent years the Miamis had 
 emigrated to the country south and 
 east of Lake Michigan, and their places 
 had been taken by a fierce and restless 
 nation called Outagamis, or Foxes. 
 They .were distantly related to the Iro- 
 quois, and resembled them in many of 
 their ways. They were the firebrands 
 of the Northwest, always ready to fol- 
 low the warpath, and eager to carry 
 death and destruction among their foes. 
 They looked upon the Jesuit mission- 
 aries with distrust, and felt but little 
 friendUness toward the French. But 
 they were on the best of terms with 
 their Iroquois kinsmen ; and messages of peace and good 
 will were often sent back and forth between the two 
 nations. 
 
 In the autumn of i/io, some Iroquois scouts made 
 
 251 
 
 One of the 
 firebrands ' 
 
25:2 The Firebrands of tJic West 
 
 their way through the wilderness and appeared in the 
 country of the Foxes. They brought news of much in- 
 terest from the East. A war, they said, had actually 
 begun between the English and the French ; but just 
 what it was about they could not tell. The Iroquois 
 Q would take sides with the English, as they had 
 ^^ done heretofore ; and they hoped that their kins- 
 men, the Foxes, would do the same and help to 
 drive the hated French out of the country. 
 
 Much more was said by these messengers. They 
 gave to the Fox chiefs long strings of wampum 
 from Dutch and English traders in New York, and 
 told them how anxious the English were to buy 
 furs from the Indians of the Northwest, and how 
 they would give them more firewater and better 
 goods than the French had ever given. Just what 
 else was said, we do not know ; but it was believed 
 that a secret treaty was made between the Foxes 
 and the Iroquois, for the Fox warriors were always 
 Strings of g^ggj- fQj. thg warpath. 
 
 wampum • r 1 r n • n r 
 
 In the sprmg or the toUowmg year a neet or 
 canoes put out from Green Bay, crossed the foot of Lake 
 Michigan, skulked along the southern shore of the strait 
 of Mackinac, and then turned southward toward Detroit. 
 These canoes bore the flower of the Fox nation — the 
 wisest chiefs, the bravest warriors, and more than seven 
 hundred women and children. There were also several 
 Menominees and Sacs in the company, friends and neigh- 
 bors of the Foxes, all eager for any adventure that called 
 for bravery and held out the promise of plunder. 
 
The Fight at Detroit 
 
 253 
 
 One day, late in April, this great array of savages sud- 
 denly appeared before the fort at Detroit. It is not cer- 
 tain that they had any evil intentions a^rainst the 
 French at that point. On the contrary, it is 
 reasonable to suppose that they were not yet ready to 
 begin hostilities ; for it was not the custom of Indians to 
 take their women and children with them upon the war- 
 path. But they pitched their camp within fifty paces of 
 the fort and began to build around it a rude bulwark of 
 trees and brush and palisades. 
 
 In the fort at that time there were no French soldiers ; 
 but the place was held by thirty voyageurs and coureurs 
 de bois under a certain M. Du Buisson, 
 who had succeeded Cadillac as com- 
 mandant of the post. It was but 
 a small force to contend with 
 so many savages ; for all the 
 Hurons, Ottawas, and other 
 friendly Indians who dwelt 
 near by were away on their 
 great annual hunt, and their 
 wigwams by the riverside were 
 empty. 
 
 When Du Buisson asked the 
 Foxes why they had come and 
 what were their wishes, they at 
 
 first answered that La Motte Cadillac, the founder of the 
 post, had invited them, as he had invited the Hurons and 
 the Ottawas, to come and make their homes in the shadow 
 of the fori. But Du Buisson felt sure that they meant 
 
 " They killed the chickens " 
 
254 ^/^^' Firebrands of tJic West 
 
 mischief, and inquired why they were building a barricade 
 around their camp. The Foxes then became insolent and 
 declared that, since the country was really their own, they 
 had a right to do as they pleased. 
 
 Matters grew worse every day. The Foxes killed the 
 chickens and pigeons belonging to the French, swaggered 
 into the fort itself, and made bloody threats against its 
 inmates. Du Buisson at last became thoroughly alarmed, 
 and sent out messengers to summon his Indian allies. 
 
 In the meanwhile seven or eight French traders under 
 the Sieur de Vincennes happened to come in from the 
 West ; but so few men could give but little aid in so great 
 a crisis. Within a week, however, Hurons, Ottawas, Pot- 
 tawattomies, and even some Chippewas came hurrying to 
 the relief of the fort. "Father," they cried, "behold, thy 
 children compass thee round. We will, if need be, gladly 
 die for our father — only take care of our wives and our 
 children, and spread a little grass over our bodies to 
 protect them." 
 
 The Foxes were taken by surprise. They hastily with- 
 drew into their camp and made ready to defend themselves 
 behind their rude intrenchments. They were at once 
 surrounded by their foes, who outnumbered them four 
 to one. 
 
 Du Buisson urged his allies to spare the lives of the 
 Foxes, and be content with driving them back to their own 
 country. But the Hurons would not listen to him. They 
 had always hated the Foxes with the bitterest hatred, and 
 now they thirsted for their blood. They declared that they 
 would have vengeance for the injuries they had suffered 
 
TJic Fight at Detroit 255 
 
 from the Fox nation, and threatened to attack the fort 
 itself if Du Buisson would not help them. 
 
 The beleaguered Foxes defended themselves bravely in 
 their palisaded camp. Their enemies watched them from 
 every side, and fired upon them day and night, but dared 
 not make an assault. There was no water in the camp, 
 and the Foxes with their women were soon without food. 
 Yet they held out bravely for nineteen days. 
 
 At last, almost dying with hunger and thirst, they called 
 out to Du Buisson and offered to surrender if he would 
 draw off his Indian allies and allow the starving Foxes to 
 seek food for their women and children. The answer was 
 given by the savage Hurons : " We see plainly that you 
 mean only to deceive our father. If we should leave him 
 as you wish, you would fall upon him and kill him. The 
 English have sent you here to cut our father's throat and 
 give this country to them. But we shall see who is mas- 
 ter." And they began to fire at them again. 
 
 In despair and great rage, the Foxes resolved now to 
 defend themselves to the last. They shot blazing arrows 
 over the palisades of the fort upon the grass-thatched roofs 
 of the buildings within. Some of the houses were soon in 
 flames ; and it was only by covering the rest of the roofs 
 with hides that any part of the fort was saved from this 
 rain of fire. 
 
 The French themselves were now in hard straits, for 
 most of their stores had been destroyed, and their ammu- 
 nition was running low. The Hurons and Ottawas were 
 also discouraged, and declared that they would give up the 
 fight and return to their hunting, for the Foxes could never 
 
2 $6 The Firebrands of the West 
 
 be taken. The coureurs and voyageurs begged Du Buis- 
 son to abandon the fort and retreat to Mackinac. But 
 the commandant called a council of his allies and made 
 a speech which so aroused the pride of the Indian braves 
 that they declared they would show him what they 
 could do, and would dislodge the Foxes before the rising 
 of another sun. 
 
 Night came on, very dark, with wind and a drenching 
 rain. The Hurons and Ottawas gathered around their 
 camp fires, singing their war songs, and dancing the war 
 dance, and boasting of their deeds of blood. Then, at a 
 given signal, all seized their weapons and, rushing out into 
 the darkness, made a sudden onset from all sides upon the 
 camp of the Foxes. They crashed through the brush 
 piles, scaled the pahsades, and with fearful yells leaped 
 down among the wretched wigwams where they supposed 
 their foes were sleeping. 
 
 But the Foxes were not there. They had stolen away 
 under cover of the darkness, and were now hastening 
 through the woods toward the north. At the earliest 
 peep of day the Hurons and Ottawas were on their trail. 
 The Frenchmen joined the pursuit, and before night the 
 fugitives were overtaken and forced to stand at bay. 
 Upon a little peninsula that juts out into Lake St. Clair 
 the Foxes again intrenched themselves behind a hastily 
 built barricade of brush and trees, and made another brave 
 fight for life. 
 
 The French and their allies charged madly upon them, 
 and were met with fierce resistance. On both sides of the 
 barricade the ground was soon heaped with the dead and 
 
The Fight at Detroit 
 
 257 
 
 the dying, and the alHes were driven back with great loss. 
 The French soldiers saw that some other plan must be 
 adopted to drive the Foxes from their new stronghold. 
 They hastily brought two small swivels from Detroit, and 
 put up a battery that would command the whole front of 
 the camp. Then French and Indians began the siege in 
 
 On the fourth day the Foxes, utterly worn out with 
 hunger, announced to the besiegers that they would sur- 
 render and trust them- 
 
 -^C'^ 
 
 selves to their mercy. The ^' ^^ti 
 
 Hurons and Ottawas and 
 the French coureurs rushed 
 at once into the encamp- 
 ment and began a pitiless 
 slaughter. They killed all 
 the warriors who bore 
 arms ; the rest, including 
 the women and children, 
 they divided among them- 
 selves as slaves. On the 
 following day all returned . --^ — 
 
 to Detroit, drago^ing their ^^ l- . c ^. ■ 
 
 ^^ '^ The chief amusement of the victors 
 
 captives with them. For 
 
 some time afterward the chief amusement of the victors 
 was to torture, or otherwise put to death, four or five 
 captive Foxes daily. Before the beginning of the autumn 
 hunt all were slain. 
 
 In this unfortunate expedition the Foxes lost more than 
 two thousand of their tribe. 
 
 OLD NORTHWEST — 1 7 
 
258 The Firebra7ids of the West 
 
 II. THE LITTLE HILL OF THE DEAD 
 
 But the firebrands were not yet wholly extinguished. 
 There were still several scattered bands in the region 
 west of Lake Michigan, and all these vowed to avenge 
 the death of their kinsmen. They collected in the neigh- 
 borhood of their old home in the valley of the Fox River, 
 and began a ruthless warfare against all the tribes that 
 were friendly to the French. Their warriors lay in wait 
 at the portages and skulked along the rivers that were 
 used as highways of travel to the west and south. They 
 cut off for a time all communication between Canada and 
 the Illinois Country, and filled the land with terror almost 
 equal to that caused by the Iroquois. 
 
 To meet this new danger the governor of Canada made 
 a fresh treaty with the friendly tribes of the lakes, and 
 all united to destroy the common enemy. Eight 
 hundred French and Indians were soon marching 
 to the Fox River country under command of Captain de 
 Louvigny. The Foxes, when they heard of their com- 
 ing, collected all their warriors at a place since called the 
 Petit Butte des Morts (Little Hill of the Dead), not far 
 from the present town of Neenah, where they shut them- 
 selves up in a camp surrounded by three rows of strong 
 palisades. In this camp five hundred fighting men and 
 nearly three thousand women and children awaited the 
 approach of their foes. 
 
 It was not until late in the following summer that 
 Louvigny arrived with his rabble of soldiers, coureurs de 
 bois, and Indian allies. When he saw how strongly the 
 
The Little Hill of the Dead 259 
 
 Foxes had intrenched themselves, he feared to make a 
 direct attack upon them, and began to open trenches 
 
 around the camp. By this means he was able 
 
 ^ ■' 1716 
 
 on the fourth day to approach within twenty- 
 five yards of the outer palisade. The Foxes bravely 
 defended themselves, the women fighting as furiously as 
 the men. But just as Louvigny was getting ready to 
 undermine the palisades they sent word that if the French 
 would make a treaty of peace with them they would 
 surrender. 
 
 A council was held and the whole matter was soon 
 settled. The Foxes agreed to cede their country to the 
 French ; to pay, in furs, the expenses of the war ; to give 
 up all their prisoners; and to deliver to the allied Hurons, 
 Ottawas, and Pottawattomies one slave for every captive 
 that had perished while in their hands. These slaves 
 were to be obtained by making war upon the Pawnees 
 and other distant nations. 
 
 Louvigny soon afterward returned to Canada, taking 
 with him six young chiefs as hostages for the faithful 
 performance of the treaty. 
 
 The Foxes gave no more trouble for some time, but 
 they neglected to send either the furs or the slaves which 
 they had promised. The French still distrusted them, 
 and for a long time it was thought unsafe for any one 
 to go from the lakes to the lUinois Country without the 
 protection of a strong guard. Communication between 
 Canada and the Mississippi was carried on with much 
 difficulty, and the trade in furs was obstructed, to the great 
 loss of all who were connected with it. 
 
26o TJie Fi7'ebrands of the West 
 
 III. THE QUENCHING OF THE FIREBRANDS 
 
 For several years the restless Foxes contrived to keep 
 a nominal peace with the French and with their Indian 
 neighbors. At length, however, an incident 
 occurred that involved them in another war and 
 brought upon them even greater misfortunes than before. 
 It chanced that one of their chiefs, while out on a maraud- 
 ing expedition, was captured by the Illinois and burned 
 at the stake. This aroused the fury of the Foxes; they 
 gathered their warriors together, made an attack upon 
 the Illinois, and drove them to seek refuge on the rock 
 where Fort St. Louis, built by La Salle and Tonty, 
 had once stood. There was no help for the lUinois, and 
 the Foxes might have kept them hemmed in until they 
 starved ; but the latter feared the vengeance of the French, 
 and after a few days skulked away, allowing their enemies 
 to escape. 
 
 When the news of this incident reached France, every- 
 body blamed the Foxes and said that there could be no 
 safety in the Illinois Country until these firebrands were 
 utterly extinguished ; and it was announced that the king 
 would handsomely reward any officer who would destroy 
 them. But the French traders of the Northwest knew 
 that this would not be an easy thing to do. **To try to 
 exterminate them and fail would be disastrous," they said. 
 
 It was not until two years had passed that any direct 
 movement w^as made against them. Finally, in the early 
 summer, a great flotilla of canoes, carrying five hundred 
 French soldiers and a thousand Indians, under the Sieur 
 
TJic Quoichitig of tJic Firebrands 261 
 
 dc Lignery, set out for the Green Bay region. They 
 paddled up the Fox River, but found all the country 
 deserted. They could do nothing but burn the 
 villages and destroy the cornfields. At one place 
 they found three squaws and an old man cowering with fear 
 among the deserted wigwams. The women were taken as 
 slaves by the allies, and the old man w^as roasted to death. 
 Having passed Lake Winnebago, they came to the last 
 stronghold of the Foxes, on the banks of a small tributary 
 to the Wisconsin. But they found no one there ; and so, 
 after burning their houses and destroying their fields of 
 corn, they turned about and paddled back to Mackinac, 
 whence Lignery and his soldiers soon returned to Mon- 
 treal. 
 
 At different times after this, other expeditions were sent 
 out against the Foxes. Every man's hand seemed against 
 them, and both French and Indians were bent upon 
 their destruction. Even the Iroquois joined their former 
 enemies in a war party that was organized to make an end 
 of the poor Foxes. Thus hunted and betrayed, these un- 
 fortunate people sought refuge in vain among the hills 
 and woods of their native country. In 1736 they could 
 muster only sixty or seventy warriors, besides tw^o hun- 
 dred or three hundred women and children. They were 
 no longer strong enough to call themselves a nation ; and 
 so, leaving their old homes, they joined themselves with 
 their friends and neighbors, the Sacs, whose hunting 
 grounds lay along the banks of the Mississippi below 
 the mouth of the Wisconsin. 
 
AFTER WORD 
 
 TWO hundred years had passed since Jacques Cartier 
 had sailed up the St. Lawrence and from the summit 
 of Mont Royal had gazed inquiringly toward the west, try- 
 ing in vain to probe the secrets that lay hidden just beyond 
 the horizon. One hundred years had elapsed since Jean 
 Nicolet, coasting the lakes in his Indian canoe, had made 
 the first white man's visit to the shores of Wisconsin and 
 Michigan. It was more than fifty years since La Salle 
 had given the vast province of Louisiana to France. 
 And yet how little had the French done toward develop- 
 ing the resources of their possessions ! A few feeble 
 settlements here and there in the ancient forest, a few 
 trading posts for traffic with the Indians, a few clumsy 
 boats and bark canoes creeping along the waterways, — 
 these were all that they could show as the results of a 
 century of occupation. 
 
 There is no knowing how long things might have gone 
 on in the same slow, easy fashion had not events happened 
 to change the whole current of American history. It was 
 not the wish of the French king to build up a new empire 
 in America, — far from it. The colonies were maintained 
 not for the benefit of the people, but to increase the king's 
 
 262 
 
After Word 263 
 
 revenues and enrich the king's officers and favorites. In 
 everything that was done, the interests of France were 
 carefully considered, and the interests of Canada or of 
 Louisiana, of the Illinois country or of the lake region, 
 were as carefully ignored. 
 
 Latterly very few families emigrated from France to 
 America. The newcomers were for the most part single 
 men, many of them soldiers, who were given their dis- 
 charge and a year's pay on condition that they would 
 become settlers at places named by the king. These 
 settlers always remained Frenchmen. They looked up 
 to the king as their great father and guardian who 
 would provide whatever was necessary for their welfare. 
 And the king favored them with an oversight that was 
 indeed fatherly, although it was always so directed as 
 to turn everything to his own advantage. He not only 
 selected the places for them to go, but he made laws to 
 keep them there. Their farms must be of such shape and 
 size as he should dictate. They must never go very far 
 from the settlement in which their lot was cast. They 
 must not trade in furs without a permit from the govern- 
 ment. If their young men strayed into woods and became 
 hunters and trappers, they were declared outlaws. Thus 
 the rank and file of the settlers were in much the same 
 condition as the peasants in old France — they had no 
 rights, but were so cheerful and so easily satisfied that they 
 had no thought of claiming any. Those in the higher 
 ranks of life — king's officers, soldiers, traders — were no 
 less French than they. Their chief ambition was to 
 reproduce in the new world the manners and modes of 
 
264 Aftei' Word 
 
 thought of old France, to serve the king, and to enjoy 
 whatever of good might come in their way. 
 
 Is it any wonder that the wilderness remained a wilder- 
 
 ness 
 
 But in both New France and the English colonies east 
 of the AUeghanies, forces w^ere at work which after many 
 years would bring about great changes, put the country 
 into the hands of new masters, and prepare the way for 
 the upbuilding of mighty commonwealths and the develop- 
 ment of boundless wealth in the regions so long covered 
 with wild forests and unbroken prairies. In the very first 
 years of the eighteenth century the English were begin- 
 ning to look with covetous eyes toward the country of the 
 lakes and the valley of the Mississippi. Dutch-English 
 traders at Albany and Oswego were persuading the Iro- 
 quois to deed them their hunting grounds south of Lake 
 Erie. Pennsylvania traders had visited the Ohio and were 
 tampering with the Miami Indians whose homes were 
 between that river and the head waters of the Maumee. 
 The governor of Virginia was urging the English Lords 
 of Trade to fortify the mountain passes of the AUe- 
 ghanies and make settlements on the lakes. The pro- 
 prietor of Carolina was planning to establish a colony 
 on the banks of the Mississippi. Enghsh merchants 
 were impatiently anxious to secure a part or all of the 
 trade in furs with the western Indians — a trade which 
 the French had heretofore monopolized at their pleasure. 
 Sooner or later it would be decided whether France or Eng- 
 land had the best right to the central portion of the con- 
 tinent, and especially to that part which we now know as 
 
After Word ■ - 265 
 
 the Old Northsvest. A struggle of half a century's dura- 
 tion had already begun ; but the question of the final occu- 
 l)ation and destiny of the country was not to be settled 
 until after a second struggle, shorter, but equally impor- 
 tant in its results, had been brought to a close. 
 
 The story of these two struggles and of the winning of 
 the Old Northwest for civilization and freedom must be 
 reserved for another volume. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abenaki Indians, 231. 
 
 Accault accompanies Hennepin to the 
 
 upper Mississippi, 202, 204-218. 
 Akamsea, 173. 
 Algonquins, 31,49, 60, 88, 93, 105. See 
 
 Ottawa Indians. 
 Alleghany Mountains, 264. 
 Allegheny River, 146. 
 Allouez, Claude, at Sault Ste. Marie, 147, 
 
 159; at St. Esprit, 146; at Green Bay, 
 
 150, 165, 176. 
 Allumettes, Island of, 49, 60, 80. 
 Andastes, 72, 73, 80. 
 Andiarocte, 103. See Lake George. 
 Anoka, Minnesota, 210. 
 Arkansas Indians, 173, 226. 
 Arkansas River, 173, 235. 
 Ashland, Wisconsin, 114. 
 
 Balboa, 45. 
 
 Baie des Puans, 89, in, 127. See Green 
 Bay. 
 
 Bay de Noquet, 88. 
 
 Bay of the Fetids. See Green Bay. 
 
 Bazire, 173. See Arkansas River. 
 
 Beautiful River, The, 136. See Ohio 
 River. 
 
 Brebeuf, Father, 85, 96, 106. 
 
 Brule, Etienne, with Champlain, 35, 66 ; 
 among Hurons, 37, 55, 70, 81 ; at 
 Montreal Island, 40; discovers Lake 
 Ontario, 73; on the Susquehanna, 80; 
 probably meets Nicolet, 81 ; visits the 
 Northwest, 82; his death, 83. 
 
 Buade, Lake. See Lake Buade. 
 
 Buade, Louis de, 161. See Frontenac. 
 
 Buade River, 168. See Mississippi 
 River. 
 
 Buffaloes, described by Marquette, 168; 
 by La Salle, 186; hunted by Sioux, 
 212. 
 
 Cadillac, La Motte, 248, 253. 
 
 Cahokia, 238. 
 
 California, Gulf of, 136, 167. 
 
 Calumet, the, 171. 
 
 Canada, 11, 76, 92, 121, 131. See New 
 France. 
 
 Carhagouha, 70, 74. 
 
 Carolina, proprietor of, 264. 
 
 Cartier, Jacques, 11, 24, 35, 68, 88, 132. 
 
 Cataraqui, 181. 
 
 Cavelier, Abbe, 131, 132, 232, 235. 
 
 Cavelier, Robert. See La Salle. 
 
 Cayuga Creek, 190. 
 
 Cayugas, 29. See Iroquois. 
 
 Champlain, Samuel de, early life, 24; 
 founds Quebec, 28 ; goes against Iro- 
 quois, 32, 35, 65-74; at Quebec, 31, 
 32, 34, 38, 43, 56, 65, 74; at Montreal, 
 39, 132; in Paris, 47, 56; governor, 
 84 ; ascends Ottawa, 48, 65 ; at Three 
 Rivers, 84, 94; death, 95. 
 
 Charlevoix, in the Northwest, 239. 
 
 Chaudifere, cataract, 66. 
 
 Chautauqua Lake, 140. 
 
 Chequamegon Bay, 141. 
 
 Chicago, 176; first habitation, 178. 
 
 Chicago River, portage, 176, 186, 224. 
 
 Chickasaw Bluff, 225. 
 
 Chickasaws, 173. 
 
 China, dreams of finding a route to, 25, 
 35. 45. 56. 67, 76, 82, 90, loi, no, 118, 
 135- 
 
 Chippewas, 82, 86, 100, in, 147, 149, 
 
 254- 
 
 267 
 
268 
 
 hidcx 
 
 Colbert, prime minister, 126. 
 Colbert River, 225. See Mississippi. j 
 Conception River, 164. See Mississippi. 
 Copper, in Superior region, 35, 82, 85, { 
 
 121-123, 125, 129, 
 Council, at Chief Tessouat's, 51 ; with 
 
 Hurons, 74; with Winnebagoes, 91; 
 
 with Mascoutins and Miamis, 165 ; \ 
 
 with Illinois, 171; with Arkansas [ 
 
 Indians, 174. 
 Coulonge, Lake, 49. 
 Courcelle, Governor, 136. 
 Coureurs de bois, 150, 242. 
 Crevecoeur, 198. See Fort Crevecceur. 
 Crown Point, 33. 
 Cuyahoga River, 140. 
 
 Dablon, Claude, 149, 158, 165. 
 
 Dakotas, 92. See Sioux. 
 
 Daniel, Father. 85. 
 
 Des Plaines River, 176, 178, 225. 
 
 Detroit, first post at, 242; founded by 
 Cadillac, 248; threatened by Fox Indi- 
 ans, 253-260. 
 
 Detroit River, discovered, 128 ; 154, 192. 
 
 Dollier, Father, 129, 137, 153. 
 
 Drainage Canal, 178. 
 
 Du Buisson, 253. 
 
 Du Gay, 202. 
 
 Duhaut, 234. 
 
 Duluth, Daniel, on Lake Superior, 215; 
 with Hennepin, 214, 216. 
 
 Dutch-English traders, 252, 264. 
 
 English, in New York, 252, 264; in 
 
 Virginia, 173 ; claims, 264. 
 Erie, Lake. See Lake Erie. 
 Esprit, St., mission of. See St. Esprit. 
 
 Falls, of Ohio, 139; of Niagara, 138. 
 " F"ather of Waters," 92. See Mississippi. 
 Fetid Water, men of the, 88, 151, See 
 
 \Vin7iebagoes. 
 Fire Nation, 93. See Mascoutins. 
 Five Nations, the. See Iroquois. 
 Fort Buade, 247. See Mackinac. 
 Fort Crevecoeur, 198, 218, 222. 
 Fort Frontenac, 177, 182, 184, 217. 
 Fort Miamis, 196, 201, 222. 
 
 Fort Pontchartrain, 249. See Detroit. 
 
 Fort Prudhomme, 226. 
 
 Fort St. Louis on the Illinois, 229, 235, 
 
 236, 260. 
 Fort Wayne, Indiana, 247. 
 Fort William Henry, 104. 
 Fox Indians, 165, 217, 251-260. 
 Fox River, 89, 93, 128, 150, 165, 194, 216, 
 
 260. 
 P'ranciscans, 56. See Recollets. 
 French River, 61, 66, 86, 
 French village, day in, 245. 
 Frontenac, Count, 161, 177, 181, 231. 
 Frontenac, Fort. See Fort Frontenac. 
 Fur trade, 28, 35, 39, 55, 57, 77, 109, iii, 
 
 112, 120, 121, 134, 181, 183, 194, 243, 
 
 247, 264. 
 
 Galinee, Father, 129, 137, 153. 
 
 George, Lake. See Lake George. 
 
 Georgian Bay, 67, 86, 94, 98, 107. 
 
 Grand River, Canada, 129, 154. 
 
 Gravier, Jacques, 239. 
 
 Great Manitoulin, 86. 
 
 Green Bay, 88, 94, no, 117, 127, 164, 193, 
 
 217, 221, 248, 252. 
 GrenoUe, with Brule, 82. 
 Griffon, built, 191 ; voyage, 192 ; lost, 
 
 194, 201. 
 Grosseilliers, Medard Chouart, Sieur de, 
 
 109-121, 125, J41. 
 Guerin, Jean, 142, 145, 
 
 Hamilton, Canada, 129. 
 
 Hennepin, Father, at Fort Frontenac, 
 187 ; at Niagara, 188 ; in Illinois, 198, 
 202; on Mississippi, 204; a captive, 
 209 ; returns to Canada, 217. 
 
 Henry IV. of France, 24. 
 
 Hill, Little, of the Dead, 258. 
 
 Hochelaga, 14, 68, 132, 248. 
 
 Hodenosaunee. See Iroquois. 
 
 Hudson River, 34, 89, 105, 140. 
 
 Hudson's Bay Company, formation, 121. 
 
 Huron, Lake. See Lake Huron. 
 
 Hurons, homes, 30, 64, 68 ; as fur traders, 
 40, 57; war with Iroquois, 65-72, 106; 
 kill Etienne Brule, 83 ; treatment of 
 missionaries, 97 ; dispersion, 106, 116, 
 
Index 
 
 269 
 
 I40; in Wisconsin, 116, 143. 152: 
 St. Ignace, 156; at Detroit, 249. 
 
 at K' wecnaw, 114, 142. 
 
 Kickapoos, 165, 217, 220, 251. 
 
 Illinois, discovery, 94. 
 
 Illinois country, 239, 260. 
 
 Illinois Indians, 151, 163, 198,218,231,260. 
 
 Illinois River, 172, 197, 201, 218, 222. 
 
 Indians, great change in modes of life, 
 146; at Sault Ste. Marie, 158; Chris- 
 tians, 244. See names of different 
 nations or tribes. 
 
 Irondequoit Bay, 137. 
 
 I roquet, Ottawa chief, 38, 40. 
 
 Iroquois, country, 29 ; campaigns against, 
 
 31. 32. 35- 65~74"> antipathy to French, 
 
 32, 38, 102, 112, 181; their treatment 
 of other nations, 32, 92, 106, 115, 129, 
 156, 219, 222, 250 ; cruelty, 102, 105, 107, 
 137, 219, 223; disperse the Hurons, 
 106, 141 ; make peace with the French, 
 182; vengeance upon them promised, 
 250. 
 
 Jesuits, missionaries, 9.6; Allouez, 146; 
 Brebeuf, 85, 96; Dablon, 149; Daniel, 
 85, 96 ; Jogues, 99, 102, 105 ; Lalemant, 
 106; jSIarquette, 150, 163; Menard, 
 141; Raymbault, 99; at Sault Ste. 
 Marie, 127 ; at residence of Ste. Marie, 
 96; relations with the Sulpicians, 130, 
 137. See also names of individuals. 
 
 Jogues, Isaac, at Sault Ste. Marie, 99, 
 149; at Lake Superior, 114; captivity, 
 102-104; death, 105. 
 
 Joliet, Louis, sent to Lake Superior, 126, 
 147 ; at Green Bay, 127 ; at Sault Ste. 
 Marie, 158, 161 ; first to traverse Lake 
 Erie, 128; meets La Salle, 129, 138, 
 154, 177, 183 ; recommended to Fronte- 
 nac, 162; joins Marquette, 162; on 
 the Wisconsin, 167 ; discovers the Mis- 
 sissippi, 168 ; returns to Canada, 175, 
 177. 
 
 Joutel, with La Salle, 234 ; at Fort St. 
 Louis, 235. 
 
 Kankakee River, 197, 222, 225. 
 Kaskaskia on the Illinois, 175. 
 Kaskaskia on the Kaskaskia, 239, 244. 
 
 La Belle Riviere, 135. See Ohio 
 River. 
 
 La Buade, 168. See Mississippi. 
 
 La Chine, 133; La Salle's house at, 134, 
 136. 
 
 Lachine Rapids, 25, 27, 40, 134, 177; 
 view of, 42. 
 
 Lacrosse, Wisconsin, 206. 
 
 Lake Buade, 209. 
 
 Lake Champlain, discovered, 33 : 102. 
 
 Lake Coulonge, 49, 60, 66. 
 
 Lake Erie, early reports of, 124; trav- 
 ersed by Joliet, 128; by La Salle, 140, 
 192; by Dollier and Galinee, 154; first 
 ship on, 192. 
 
 Lake George, discovery of, 102. 
 
 Lake Huron, discovery of, 56-63; trav- 
 ersed by Brule, 82; by Nicolet, 86; by 
 Joliet, 128 ; by Dollier and Galinee, 
 154 ; by La Salle, 192. See Mer Douce. 
 
 Lake Michigan, discovery of, 76-88 ; 
 traversed by Nicolet, 94; by Grosseil- 
 liers and Radisson, in ; by Joliet, 127, 
 176; by Marquette, 179; by La Salle, 
 
 193. 195. 
 
 Lake Nipissing, 66, 74. 
 
 Lake of the Holy Sacrament, 103. See 
 Lake George. 
 
 Lake of the Two Mountains, 42. 
 
 Lake Ontario, discovery of, 64-73 '. trav- 
 ersed by La Salle, 137 ; Ijy Count 
 Frontenac, 181 ; by La Salle and 
 Tonty, 188. 
 
 Lake Peoria, 198. 
 
 Lake Pepin, 213. 
 
 Lake St. Clair, discovery of, 128, 256. 
 
 Lake St. Louis, 20, 40, 42, 135. 
 
 Lake St. Peter, 102. 
 
 Lake Sinicoe, 72, 106. 
 
 Lake Superior, discovery of, loi, 114; 
 first exploration, 116-121; copper re- 
 gions, 35, 82, 85, 121-123 ; missions 
 on, 142, 148. 
 
 Lake Tracy, 147. See Lake Superior. 
 
 Lake Winnebago, 93, 165, 261. 
 
 Lalemant, Father, 106. 
 
2/0 
 
 Index 
 
 La Motte Cadillac. See Cadillac. 
 
 La Motte de Lussiere, i88, 190. 
 
 La Pointe, 114, 119, 142, 147, 151. See 
 St. Esprit, Mission of. 
 
 La Salle, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de, his 
 youth, 131 ; comes to Canada, 132; at 
 La Chine, 133 ; starts on an expedition, 
 137 ; meets Joliet, 129, 138, 154 ; proba- 
 bly discovers the Ohio, 139 ; his sec- 
 ond enterprise, 185 ; at Cataraqui, 182 ; 
 with Frontenac, 183 ; commands Fort 
 Frontenac, 184 ; in France, 186 ; honors 
 and privileges granted to him, 184; 
 gains aid of Tonty, 187 ; at Fort 
 Frontenac, 188 ; builds the Griffon, 
 191 ; his enemies, 135, 185, 190, 199, 224, 
 235; voyage on Lake Erie, 193; on 
 Lake Michigan, 195 ; down the Illi- 
 nois, 197; at Cr^vecoeur, 198-202; re- 
 turns to Canada, 203; meets Tonty, 
 224; reaches the Mississippi, 225; 
 takes possession of Louisiana, 227 ; re- 
 turns to Illinois, 229; at Fort St. Louis, 
 230; in France, 232; voyage to found 
 colony on the Mississippi, 232; on the 
 Texan coast, 233; his last expedition, 
 234; death, 235; fate of his colony, 
 236. 
 
 Le Caron, Joseph, 57, 66, 70, 74, 76, 86, 
 128. 
 
 Lewiston, 188. 
 
 Lignery, 260. 
 
 Louis XIV., 159, 187, 226, 227, 232. 
 
 Louisiana, 227-229. 
 
 Louisville, Kentucky, 139. 
 
 Louvigny, 258. 
 
 Mackinac (Michillimackinac), 127, 156, 
 
 162, 179, 193, 247. 
 Mackinac Island, 87, 193. 
 Manhattan, 105. 
 Manitoulin Islands, 86, 156. 
 Maps : part of Canada, showing the first 
 
 approaches to the Old Northwest, 10; 
 
 island of Montreal, 22; country of the 
 
 Iroquois, 29; country of the Hurons, 
 
 64; Nicolet's route to Green Bay, 86; 
 
 old Jesuit map of Lake Superior, 109; 
 
 Joliet's route through the lakes, 124; 
 
 Lake Erie and the Ohio, 140; Gali- 
 nee's map of the lakes, 155 ; the Illinois 
 River and its approaches, 195; North 
 America at the close of the seventeenth 
 century, 237. 
 
 Marest, Gabriel, 239, 244. 245. 
 
 Mascoutins, 93, iii, 165, 217, 251. 
 
 Matagorda Bay, 232, 236. 
 
 Mattawa River, 61, 66. 
 
 Maumee River, 186. 
 
 Membre, Zenobe, 192, 218, 226. 
 
 Menard, Rene, 141, 144. 
 
 Menominees, 89, 164. 
 
 Mer Douce of the Hurons, 61, 66, 82, 87, 
 141, 156. See Lake Hurott. 
 
 Mesconsing, 167. See Wisconsin River. 
 
 Mexico, Gulf of, 174, 227, 230. 
 
 Miamis, 165, 166, 206, 217, 219, 223, 231, 
 251. 
 
 Michigan, 86. 
 
 Michigan Lake. See Lake Michigan. 
 
 Miile Lacs, 208. 
 
 Minneapolis, Minnesota, 212. 
 
 Minnesota, Hennepin in, 209-216. 
 
 Mississippi River, heard of by Nicolet, 
 92; visited by fleeing Hurons, 116; 
 supposed to have been seen by Gros- 
 seilliers and Radisson, 117; intima- 
 tions of, 124, 148, 151, 161, 162; discov- 
 ered by Joliet and Marquette, 168-175 ; 
 explored by Accault and Hennepin, 
 204-218 ; La Salle descends to its 
 mouth, 222-229; he fails to reach it 
 from the Gulf, 233 ; Tonty explores 
 country on both sides, 235; colony 
 near its mouth, 236 ; explored by voy- 
 ageurs, 242; French settlements on, 
 239 ; early commerce, 239, 247. 
 
 Missouri River, discovered by Joliet, 
 172; seen by La Salle, 225. 
 
 Mohawks, 104, 106. See Iroquois. 
 
 Montreal, 11, 19, 132, 140, 155. 
 
 Montreal, Island of, 11, 22, 24, 30, 38,40, 
 43. 45. 48, 55. 57. 64. n, 84. 
 
 Mont Royal, 18, 22, 24, 38, 40, 46, 65. 
 
 Muskingum River, 140. 
 
 Natchez Indians, 226. 
 Neenah, Wisconsin, 258. 
 
Index 
 
 71 
 
 New France, its products and industries, 
 
 39, 47, 112, 131; Its extent, 273. See 
 
 Canada and Louisiatta. 
 New York, Indians of, 29; English in, 
 
 181, 264. 
 Niagara Falls, heard by La Salle, 138 ; 
 
 discovered by Hennepin, 189. 
 Niagara River, 188. 
 Nicolet, Jean, 76-95, 128, 165. 
 Xipissing Lake, See Lake Nipissing. 
 Nipissings, 53, 61,66, 80, 83, 85. 
 Northwest Passage. See South Sea. 
 
 Ohio Rivp:r, intimations of, 135, 138 ; 
 discovered by La Salle, 139; seen by 
 Marquette, 172; its mouth passed by 
 La Salle, 225 ; English traders on, 
 264. 
 
 Ojibways, 147. See Chippewas. 
 
 Old Northwest, first approach to, 11; 
 gateway to, 21, 24, 43; unknown, 67 ; 
 first white man's dwelling in, 115 ; first 
 church in, 148 ; France takes formal 
 possession of, 158; described by La 
 Salle, 186; visited by Charlevoix, 239; 
 wonderful stories of, 238 ; few changes 
 in, during French rule, 247, 262 ; French 
 life in, 237. 
 
 Oneidas, 29. See Iroquois. 
 
 Onondagas, 29, 73. See Iroquois. 
 
 " Onontio," Indian name for the governor 
 of Canada, 182, 219. 
 
 Ontario Lake. See Lake Ontario. 
 
 Osage River, 225. See Missouri River. 
 
 Otchipwes, 82. See Chippewas. 
 
 Otoiiacha, 67. 
 
 Ottawa Indians, 31, 35, 40, 45, 56, 77, 93, 
 94; original home of, 31, 49, 77; in 
 Wisconsin, 116, 141, 142, 148, 152; at 
 St. Ignace, 179; in Illinois, 198, 222; 
 at Detroit, 249. 
 
 Ottawa River, at Montreal, 11, 20,40, 42; 
 ascent of, 48, 59, 66 ; La Salle on, 135 ; 
 route to the lakes, 129, 155. 
 
 Ouabache, 225. See Wabash River. 
 
 Ouendats, 30. See Hurons. 
 
 Ouiatenon, 247. 
 
 Ouinnepegs, 85, 87, 89. See Winnebagoes. 
 
 Outagamies, 251. 'See Fox Indians. \ 
 
 Pacific Ocean, efforts to' find a pas- 
 sage to, 21, 35, 46, 67, 90, 93, 183. See 
 China. 
 
 Paris, the talk of, 46, 48. 
 
 Pawnees, 259. 
 
 Pekitanoui, 172. See Missouri River. 
 
 Pennsylvania first entered by Brul6, 
 80; traders invade the Northwest, 
 264. 
 
 Peoria Lake, 198. 
 
 Pepin Lake. See Lake Pepin. 
 
 Per6, 126, 138, 147. 
 
 Perrot, Nicholas, 157. 
 
 Petuns, 115. See Tobacco Indians. 
 
 Pilgrims, landing of, 89. 
 
 Pointe aux Barques, 128. 
 
 Pottawattomies, 94, 100, in, 150, 254. 
 
 Poualaks, 119. See Sioux. 
 
 Prairie de Rocher, 239. 
 
 Puans, Baie des. See Green Bay. 
 
 Quebec, Champlain at, 28, 31, 32, 34, 
 38, 39, 43, 56, 65, 74; visited by Nico- 
 let, 77 ; by Jogues, loi ; Radisson and 
 Grosseilliers, 111-113; Joliet, 117; La 
 Salle, 231; Hurons, 107; Chippewas, 
 III. 
 
 Radisson, Pierre d' Esprit, Sieur de, 
 
 109-121, 125, 141. 
 Rapids in the St. Lawrence, 25, 40, iii. 
 
 See Lachine Rapids. 
 Raymbault, Charles, 99, 149. 
 Recollets, first missionaries to Canada, 
 
 56 ; with La Salle, 192, 232 ; entertained 
 
 at Green Bay, 217, 221 ; with Cadillac, 
 
 249. 
 Red River, 227, 235. 
 Renault, Philippe Francis, 239. 
 Ribourde, Gabriel, 192, 202, 218, 220. 
 Richelieu River, 36, 102. 
 Rochester, New York, 137. 
 Rock, the Great ("Starved Rock"), on 
 
 the Illinois, 198, 203, 218, 222, 230, 260. 
 
 See Fort St. Louis. 
 Rum River, 210. 
 
 Sac Indians, 145, 251, 261. 
 Saginaw Bay, 128. 
 
272 
 
 IndeA 
 
 St. Anthony, falls of, 212, 214. 
 
 St. Anthony of Padua, 205, 212. 
 
 St. Clair Lake. See Lake Si. Clair. 
 
 St, Clair River, 128, 154. 
 
 St. Croix River, 118, 216. 
 
 St. Esprit, mission of, 147, 149, 151, 152. 
 
 St. Esprit, Pierre d". See Radisson. 
 
 St. Francis River, 210, See Rum River. 
 
 St. Francis Xavier, mission of, 150, 165, 
 194, 217, 221. See Green Bay. 
 
 St. Ignace, mission of, 156, 162, 179, 180, 
 193. See Mackinac. 
 
 St. Joseph River, 179, 195, 222, 248. 
 
 St. Lawrence River, 11, 24, 39, 50, 56, 
 102, 181 ; view of, 23. 
 
 St. Louis Lake. See Lake St. Louis. 
 
 St. Louis, Missouri, 172. 
 
 Saint-Lusson, Sieur, 157, 237. 
 
 Ste. Marie, residence of, 96-99, 108. 
 
 Ste. Marie's River, 154. 
 
 Ste. Marie, Sault. See Sault Ste. Marie. 
 
 St. Paul, Minnesota, 207, 213. 
 
 Sault Sainte Marie, 86, 99, no; view of, 
 at present time, 100; mission at, 127, 
 142, 149, 153, 156; Saint-Lusson at, 
 157 ; trading post, 248. 
 
 Savignon, 38, 41. 
 
 Senecas, 29, 106, 135, 137. See Iroquois. 
 
 Shawnees, 138, 172, 223, 231. 
 
 Simcoe Lake. See Lake Simcoe. 
 
 Sioux Indians, 116, 117, 145, 151, 162; 
 visited by Grosseilliers and Radisson, 
 117; by Allouez, 149 ; capture Henne- 
 pin, 205-217. 
 
 South Bend, Indiana, 197, 222. 
 
 South Sea, dreams of finding a passage 
 to, 21, 25, 35, 45, 46, 56, 67, 82, 85, no, 
 127, 
 
 Sulpicians, 129, 131, 132, 137, 139, 155. 
 162, 232. See DoUier and Galinee. 
 
 Superior Lake. See Lake Superior. 
 
 Susquehanna River, 80. 
 
 Tabagie at Chief Tessouat's, 51. See 
 
 Council. 
 Talon, Jean Baptiste, 125, 136, 157, 162. 
 Tartars of Asia, loi, 118. 
 Tennessee, 225. 
 Tessouat, Chief, 50, 60, 66, 80. 
 Texas, La Salle's colony, 233 ; horses 
 
 brought to Illinois, 244. 
 Thousand Islands, 181. 
 Three Rivers, 84, 94, 102, no, in, 
 
 149. 
 Tobacco Indians, 115. See Hurons. 
 Tonty, Henri, with La Salle, 187 ; at 
 
 Niagara, 191; at Cr^vecoeur, 201; 
 
 adventures, 218 ; at Green Bay, 221 ; 
 
 on the Mississippi, 225 ; tries to succor 
 
 La Salle, 235; at Fort St. Louis, 236; 
 
 in Louisiana, 236. 
 Tracy Lake. See Lake Superior. 
 Tracy, Marquis de, 147. 
 Trent River, 72. 
 Two Mountains, Lake of, 42. 
 
 Utica, Illinois, 178. 
 
 V'ERMILION Sea, 136, 172. See Cali- 
 
 forjtia, Gulf of. 
 Vignau, Nicholas, deceptive story, 44- 
 
 55- 
 Vincennes, Sieur de, 254. 
 Virginia, 89, 173, 264. 
 Voyageurs, 158, 242. 
 
 Wabash Country, 240. 
 
 Wabash River, 186, 225, 247. 
 
 Wild Rice Indians, 164. See Menominees. 
 
 Winnebagoes, 85, 87, 89, 90, in, 251. 
 
 Winnebago Lake. 'See Lake Win7iebago. 
 
 Wisconsin, 89, 141, 167, 251. 
 
 Wisconsin River, 93, no, 116, 143, 
 
 216. 
 Wyandots, 30. See Huro7is. 
 
 TYPOGRAPHY BY J. S. CU5HING &, CO., NORWOOD, MASS. 
 
J.UN 1 1901 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 yiiiiiiiiHii liiiiiiii 
 
 014 571 603 2 •