of the old inhabitants at Vincennes, dated in November, 1793, is found the settlement spoken of, as having been made before 1742;* and such is the general voice of tradition. On the other hand, Charlevoix, who records the death of Vincennes, which took place among the Chickasaws, in 1736, makes no mention of any post on the Wabash, or any missionary station there; neither does he mark any upon his map, although he gives even the British forts upon the Tennessee and elsewhere. Vivier, in 1750, says nothing of any mission on the Wabash, although writing in respect to western missions, and speaks of the necessity of a fort upon the "Ouabache." By this, it is true, he meant doubtless the Ohio, but how natural to refer to the post at Vincennes, if one existed. In a volume of "Memoires" on Louisiana, compiled from the minutes of M. Dumont, and published in Paris, in 1753, but probably prepared in 1749, though there is an account of the Wabash, or St. Jerome, its rise and course, and the use made of it by the traders, not a word is found touching any fort, settlement or station on it. Vaudreuil, when Governor of Louisiana, in 1751 mentions even then no post on the Wabash, although he speaks of the need of a post on the Ohio, near to where Fort Massac, or Massacre, was built afterward, and names Fort Miami, on the Maumee. Still further, in "The Present State of North America,' a pamphlet published in London, in 1755, with which is a map of the French posts in the west, it is stated that in 1750 a fort was founded at Vincennes, and that in 1754, three hundred families were sent to settle in that region. The records of the church of St. Francois Xavier, at Vincennes, show no earlier date than 1749. They are given as interesting memorials of western history. *American State Papers, XVI, 32. There were four places called "Miami," one at the junction of the Little St. Joseph and Ste. Marie, in Indiana, now called Fort Wayne. The second was at the mouth of the St. Joseph's river of Michigan. The third was on the Illinois river, and placed by Charlevoix on his Map of New France, 1723. The fourth was the fort erected by the British, early in 1794, at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee, about fifteen miles from the west end of Lake Erie. Some of the authorities quoted, by the "Ouabache" mean the Ohio river, which had the name of "Ouabache," in French and English documents until about 1735. These records were furnished to the publisher through the politeness of Rev. E. Audruin, Parish Priest of St. Xavier's Church, at Vincennes. But few of the old records of the early French missions are available. In 1840, the publisher visited Rev. Dr. Wiseman, of St. Mary's Seminary, in Missouri, to inquire for the materials of the early "In the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, and on the 21st day of April, after having published three bans, between Julien Trothier Des Rivieres, son of Julien Trothier Des Rivieres, of the Parish of Montreal, and Josette Marie, daughter of Antoine Marie and Marianne Chicamise, her father and mother, residing in this parish; there having been no impediment, I, the undersigned, missionary of the company of Jesus, doing the duties of Curate, having received their mutual consent of marriage, give unto them the nuptial benediction, with the ceremonies prescribed by the Holy Church. In the presence of Monsieurs De St. Ange, Lieutenant of a detached company of Marine, Commandment of Post Vincennes, and of Jean Baptiste Guilbert, Toussaint, Antoine Bouchard, Jean B. Pudet, Louis Gervais. Witnesses who did sign with me. S. L. MEURIN, Jesuite. ST. ANGE, Commandant of Post Vincennes. J. C. RIDDAY, LOUIS GERVAIS, BOUCHARD, FILLATRAUX." "On the 4th of June, 1749, I baptized Jean Baptiste, son of Pierre Yiapichagane, "Little Chief," and Catharine Mskicse. The god-father and mother were Francois Fillatraux and Marie Mikilchensecse Laframboise. SEBAST. LUD. MEURIN, S. J." "I, the undersigned, gave the nuptial benediction to Pierre Yiapichagane, Little Chief, and Mskicse, united previously by a natural marriage, June 26th, 1749. S. L. MEURIN, J.” From this date until 1780, after the conquest of Illinois, there were about fifty marriages of the French, and one more only of the Indians, (in July, 1749,) and one hundred and ninety baptisms, a history of those missions, and was informed by him that after a great flood of the western waters, during the French domination of Louisiana, many of the inhabitants who had emigrated from New Orleans became alarmed and returned thither, and, at the suggestion of the clergy, carried the greater portion of the mission and church records with them, for greater safety. There they were deposited in a vault of the principal church of that place, where they remained for many years untouched. When afterward they were brought to light and examined, it was discovered that they were entirely decomposed by the humidity of the atmosphere. portion of whom were adults. In the same period there are recorded the baptisms of sixteen Indian slaves and four Africans. Among these records is the following statement: "Pierre Godere, son of Francois Godere and Agnes Richard, was born at Ouias, and married the 5th of May, 1760, at Vincennes, to Susan Bolon, daughter of Gabriel Bolon and Susan Menardwhich Susan Menard was born at St. Joseph, and supposed to be the first white child born in Indiana." In the same church is found the following, being the earliest records of the settlement at Ouitenon:* 66 "To-day, 21st of the month of May, feast of Whit-Sunday, of the year 1752, I baptized, solemnly, Charles Mary, the legitimate son of Charles Boneau, and of Genevieve Dudevoir, who have settled at this post; said child being born yesterday evening at ten o'clock. The god-father was M. Francois Mary Merchant, Esquire, Sire De Ligneris, Captain of Infantry, commanding for the king at this post. The god-mother, Elizabeth Cardinal, wife of Claude Dudevoir, and grandmother to the child. Done at Ouitenon, the year and day above mentioned. Signed, P. DU JAUNAY, Missionary of the Company of Jesus. CHARLES BONEAU, Marchant Des Ligneris. Soon after the visit of La Salle, Allouez, with some traders, located themselves at the site of Kaskaskia, which was named "the Village of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin." In 1690, Gravier succeeded Allouez, and Pinet established a mission at Cahokia, then called "Notre Dame des Kahokias." Rasle came to Kaskaskia in 1692, and remained in charge of the mission for two years; and subsequently Marest succeeded him, and was remaining there in 1712; and, during the greater part of the time, seems to have had all the missions under his charge. During the same period, Ribourde and Mambre were employed mainly, it is probable, about Fort St. Louis. The success of these missions was, it appears from the letters of the missionaries, not flattering, but they served as points of attraction for the French traders in the west; and accordingly Kaskaskia, in 1712, had become a village; land titles were acquired, and it was chosen as the capital of the Illinois. *Wah-wee-ah-tenon was the Indian name of the residence of Ouias, and was a French missionary station and fort. The treaty of Ryswick contained a claim of jurisdiction, on the part of England, over the Iroquois; but the French afterward disregarded the claim, and sought, through the influence of the Jesuits, to secure a peace with, and an ascendency over, that powerful confederacy. They were successful, and in 1700 a treaty was negotiated by De Callieres between the French and their allies on the one side, and the Iroquois on the other; by which the French secared peace and trade with all the tribes from the English borders to the Mississippi, and the possession of the line of the lakes. To secure the benefits of that treaty to France, De Callieres sent out De la Motte Cadillac, with a Jesuit missionary and one hundred colonists, to take possession of the Detroit river. In July of that year, he arrived, and built a fort, which he named Ponchartrain, on the site of the present city of Detroit. In 1705, Cadillac was invested by the king with authority to cede the lands about that post to French settlers. The terms of one of these grants* will show the tenure by which they were held, and will illustrate the policy the French government pursued in regard to its colonies, and the meager encouragement it bestowed upon the great interest of agriculture. The grantee was bound to pay a rent of fifteen livres a year, in peltries, to the crown forever; to improve the grant within three months from the date of the contract; to plant a May-pole, on May-day, in each year, before the door of the manor-house; to make fences for his grant in a prescribed manner, and, when required, to assist in making his neighbors' fences. He was forbidden to buy or sell articles of merchandise, carried to or from Montreal, through servants, clerks, or foreigners; to work, directly or indirectly, for ten years, at the business of a blacksmith, locksmith, armorer, or brewer; to sell brandy to the Indians; or to mortgage the land without consent of the government. The crown reserved the property of all minerals, and of timber for military purposes. The grantor reserved the right of hunting rabbits, hares, partridges, and pheasants; and the right to grind all the grain produced on the land, receiving toll according to the custom of Paris. On every sale of the land a tax was levied, and the government reserved the right to take precedence of any buyer, and take the land at the price offered. Agriculture, under such restrictions as these, could not prosper. At Detroit, as elsewhere throughout New France, except in favored localities, the cultivation * Dillon's Indiana, p. 29. of the soil was neglected, the attention of the settlers was directed to trade, mining, and hunting; and, consequently, when the day of trial came, the French were found unable to contend with the more powerful and more compact colonies of the English. The climate and scenery of Detroit, nevertheless, invited emigration; a French village grew up around Fort Ponchartrain; a village of Hurons and one of Ottawas were built under the protection of the fort; and Detroit became one of the most flourishing of the French posts in the west. In 1713, the Foxes from the west attacked the fort, then under the command of Du Boison.* The fort was defended by only twenty men, till Du Boison was enabled to collect a force from the friendly tribes, and the hostile band was compelled to surrender. The warriors were put to death, their women and children were divided among the victors. Aside from the permanent settlements of Detroit, Vincennes, and the Illinois, explorations were made, and in some instances posts established, at different points along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. In 1695, La Seurt was sent out to establish peaceful relations with the Chippewas and Sioux, whose acquaintance had been made by Hennepin, in 1680. For this purpose he established a fort on the Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the Chippewa; left there a garrison, and, after exploring the St. Croix and the St. Pierre for forty leagues, where he discovered, as he supposed, copper mines, he returned to Montreal, with a chief of the Chippewas and one of the Sioux. A treaty was made between these, as representatives of their tribes, and Frontenac; and it was stipulated that La Seur should return to the St. Peter's in the next year; but the Sioux chief died during the winter, and he returned to France to obtain the privilege of opening the mines he had discovered. He received his commission in 1697, and on his return to Canada, was captured by the English cruisers, and threw his commission overboard, to avoid a discovery of his plans. After the peace of Ryswick, he returned to France, received a new commission, in 1698, and joined the expedition of D'Iberville to the mouth of the Mississippi, for the purpose of ascending that river, under the direction of L'Huillier, contractor-general of the crown, with thirty workmen, to the mines. On the 12th of July, 1700, he set out to * Du Boison's report, Detroit, 1845. |