THE OHIO VALLEY-GREAT LAKES ETHNOHISTORY
ARCHIVES: THE MIAMI COLLECTION
It is noted that the following work from the Miami Archives should be read and
considered within the historical context in which it was composed and printed.
The opinions expressed and the language used do not reflect the opinions or
standards of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, but are, rather,
indicative of thought in that historical moment during which the document was
published.
Longueuil to the
French Minister
(April 21, 1752)
Longueuil, Charles le Moyne, Baron
de, in:Wisconsin Historical
Collections, XVIII,
pp. 104-117.
1752: NEWS FROM THE UPPER COUNTRY
[Letter from Longueuil to the French minister. Reprinted from N. Y. Colon. Docs., x, pp. 245-251.]
|
April 21, 1752. |
My Lord- The late Marquis de la Jonquiere had the honor to report to you in his letter of the 13th 7ber, the ill success of the orders he had given in a secret instructions to Mr. de Celoron; that the band of La Demoiselle and other Indians of the Beautiful river had pushed their rebellion to excess, had adopted the English and had openly declared themselves the sworn enemies of the French.
In the same letter that general had the honor to inform you that he had adopted wise measures to secure the conquest of La Demoiselle's fort, to expel the English from the Beautiful river, (page 105) to punish the Indian nations and to make them feel the King's power.
I doubt not, my Lord, but that letter had at first created great hopes of the execution of the expedition which was projected and concerted in the best possible manner by the late M. de la Jonquire.
But the despatch which that General had that honor to write to you on the 29th of October on the subject of Mr. de Belestre's voyage, and of the scalps taken by the Nipissings, will only create an apprehension in your mind that his orders and purest intentions would be fruitless.
In fact, my Lord, the orders which Mr. de la Jonquire despatched last spring to Mr. de Celoron, and repeated in his letter to him of the first of October, were not executed any more than those he had given him as far back as 1750, before his departure for Detroit. I cannot actually fathom the reasons which prevented that officer obeying them, as he makes no mention thereof in the letter he has written to the late Mr. de la Jonquire on the twenty-sixth day of January last.
That letter has been preceded by several despatches from Mr. de Celoron and the Commandants of our other posts at the South, even, I think, at Illinois, but neither the one nor the other has reached me. Mr. de Celoron had addressed these despatches to Mr. de la Lavalterie, the Commandant at Niagara, who detached a soldier to convey them to Fort Rouill, with orders to the storekeeper of that post to transmit them promptly to Montreal. It is not known what became of that soldier. About the same time a Mississagu from Toronto (page 106) arrived at Niagara, who informed Mr. de Lavalterie that he had not seen that soldier at the fort, nor met him on the way. 'Tis to be feared that he has been killed by Indians, and the despatches carried to the English. Mr. de la Valterie has not failed to recommend to this Indians to make every search on his way back to his village, and to assure him, that should he find that soldier, and convey the despatches entrusted to him to the storekeeper of Toronto, he would be well rewarded.
Mr. de Celoron's letter is accompanied by one that Mr. Desligneris wrote to the late Mr. de la Jonquire on the 4th of January. 'Tis from this last letter that I learned more particularly the unfortunate state of our affairs.
From the accounts which Mr. de Celoron transmitted to the late Mr. de la Jonquiere subsequent to those, a detail of which that General had the honor to give you, and previous to Mr. (page 107) Celoron's being able to receive his last orders, sent in his letter of the first of October, it appears that it will be out of his power to make any movement.
He observes, first, that after the arrival of the Militia men under the command of Lieutenant de Longueuil, and twenty day's consultation among the nations, the latter had concluded, our force being insufficient to attack La Demoiselle and his allies, to keep the hatchet to use it when complete success would be certain, and to wait until the spring; that the delay these Indians demand, put it out of his power to execute anything with the few Frenchmen he has; that it is easy to perceive by the manoeuvre of the Indians, that they cannot be induced to follow the French unless the latter are in strong force; that he has notified the Commandants of the River St. Joseph and of the Ouyatanons of the resolution these Indians had adopted, and that, should their Indians be of the same mind, nothing can probably be effected, and they must confine themselves to putting their post in a secure state.
In a letter of the 18th of September, Mr. de Celoron notifies Mr. de la Jonquiere that no dependence is to be placed on the Indians for any expedition, although Mikinac had assured him that nothing but the fear of the small pox had stopped him, and that all the villages will march in the spring, if forces be sent. Finally Mr. de Celoron states in his last letter, that he cannot say anything positively respecting the nations of his post, as he had not seen them since their departure for their winter grounds.
Mr. de Ligneris, Commandant at the Ouyatanons, believes that great reliance is not to be placed on the Maskoutins, and that their remaining neutral is all that is to be expected from them and the Kispapous. He even adds that we are not to reckon on the nations which appear in our interests; no Ouyatanon Chief has appeared at his post for a long time, although they had promised to inform him of all that they knew.
Mr. de Villiers, Commandant at the Miamis, has been disappointed in his expectation of bringing the Miamis back from the White River, part of whom had been to see him, the smallpox having put the whole of them to the route. Coldfoot and his son have died of it, as well as a large portion of our most trusty Indians. Le Gris, Chief of the Tepicons, and his mother, are likewise dead; they are a loss because they were well disposed toward the French.
The Nations of the River St. Joseph, who were to join those of Detroit, have said that they would be ready to perform their promise as soon as Onontio would have sent the necessary number of Frenchmen. The Commandant of this post writes on the 15th of January that all the Nations appear to take sides against us, that he would not be responsible for the good dis- (page 109) positions these Indians seem to entertain, inasmuch as they Miamis are their near relatives.
The Missilimakina Nations who had in like manner promised, have not budged either. Mr. Duplessis Fabert writes on the first of January that he has been informed some of the enemy have been seen on the Grand River.
It is exceedingly probable that the Commandant at Fort Chartres will not have any greater authority over the Nations of his post.
The result of all that I have the honor of reporting to you, my Lord, is that not only have our rebels of the Beautiful river not experienced any ill treatment from the Nations that the late Mr. de la Jonquiere had excited against them, but even moreover, that the same Nations promised wonders to that General only with a premeditated view to deceive him, and that at heart they preserve the same feelings of attachment for those rebels to whom they are connected by blood.
The perfidy of these Nations, however unfortunate it may be, is not the most untoward event that could happen to us, and it was not without reason that the late Mr. de la Jonquiere questioned whether the two scalps taken by the Nepissings would give any trouble to our rebels, or render them more mutinous. His alternative has been only too well realized to our greatest disadvantage.
On the other hand, Mr. de Joncaire repeats that the Indians of the Beautiful river are all English, for whom alone they work; that they are all resolved to sustain each other, and that not a party of Indians goes to Beautiful river but leaves some there to increase the rebel forces.
On the other hand Mr. de St. Ange, Commandant of the post of Vincennes, writes to Mr. Desligneris to use all means to protect himself from the storm which is ready to burst on the (page 110) French; that he is busy securing himself against the fury of our enemies.
The Commandants of our posts have so much more cause to be on their guard against all events as our enemies have steeped their hands in French blood, and as we deeply feel the cost of the two scalps taken by the Nepissings near La Demoiselle's village.
The Miamis of Rock river have scalped two soldiers belonging to Mr. de Villiers' fort; this blow was struck last fall, doubtless shortly after that of the Nepissings.
The Pianguichias, who were at war with the Chaouanons, according to the report, rendered by Mr. St. Clin to the late Mr. de la Jonquiere, have declared entirely against us. They killed at Christmas five Frenchmen at the Vermillion. Mr. Desligneris, who was aware of this attack, sent off a detachment to secure the effects of the French from being plundered, but when this detachment arrived at the Vermillion, the Pianguichias had decamped. The bodies of the Frenchmen were found on the ice.
Mr. Desligneris was assured that the Pianguichias had committed this act, because four men of their Nation had been killed by the French at the Illinois, and four others had been taken and put in irons. It is said that these eight men were going to fight the Chikachas, and had, without distrusting anything, entered the quarters of the French who killed them. It has been reported, also, to Mr. Desligneris that these Frenchmen had recourse to this extreme measure only, because a Frenchman and two slaves had been killed a few days before by a party of Pianguichias, and that the Indians in question had no knowledge of that circumstance.
The like report was made to Mr. de St. Ange, Commandant at the post of Vincenne, and that many of the Illinois had been defeated.
On the 19th of October the Pianguichias had killed two more Frenchmen, who were constructing pirogues, lower down than the post of Vincenne.
Two days afterwards the Pianguichias killed two slaves in sight of Fort Vincenne.
The murder of these nine Frenchmen and these two slaves is but too certain.
Mr. de Joncaire was informed by the late Mr. de la Jonquiere, by a letter of the 6th of September, that he had been assured by a party of the warriors, that the Flatheads had scalped three Frenchmen at a place called La Chutte, in the lower part of the Beautiful river, and took a fourth Frenchman prisoner, whom they delivered, with the scalps, to the English; this news may be false, though there is reason to believe that it is true.
I expect nothing less than to learn by accounts I shall receive this spring, that other Frenchmen have been killed. The advices I have received from all quarters leave me no doubt on this head.
Mr. Desligneris thinks that many of the Ouiatanons, who form with the Pianguichias and the Miamis but one Nation, may join them.
A Squaw, the widow of one of the Frenchmen who had been killed at the Vermillion, has reported to Mr. Desligneris that the Pianguichias, Illinois and Osages were to assemble at the Prairies of * * * the place where the Messrs. de Villiers and de Noyelle attacked the Foxes about twenty years ago, and when they had built a fort to secure their families, were to make a general attack on all the French.
'Twas also reported to Mr. Desligneris that a Pouteouatami chief, of the River St. Joseph, being at the Ouyatanons in the fall with a letter for him, whilst he was at the Miamis, told a Pianguichas chief, privately, that his Nation would never accept the tomahawk to strike the Miamis. This assurance may greatly have emboldened the Miamis.
Mr. de Joncaire writes, on the 30th of August, that he had (page 112) just learned that a meeting of the Illinois, Ouyas, Pianguichas, Miamis, Delawares, Chaouanons, and the Five Iroquois Nations, was to be had this year at La Demoiselle's, and that the whole tends, in his opinion, to a general revolt.
The storekeeper at Toronto writes to Mr. de Verchres, Commandant at Fort Frontenac, that some trustworthy Indians have assured him that the Saulteux, who killed our Frenchmen some years ago, have dispersed themselves along the head of Lake Ontario, and seeing himself surrounded by them, he doubts not but they have some evil design on his fort.
There is no doubt, my Lord, but 'tis the English who are inducing the savages to destroy Fort Toronto, on account of the essential injury it does their trade at Choueguen.
The capture of the four English traders by Mr. de Celoron's order last year,62 has not prevented other Englishmen going to trade to the Vermillion river, where the Reverend Father la Richardie wintered.
It has been reported to Mr. Desligneris that other English traders had been to the Beautiful river and to the White river to trade, under the guidance of some Ouyatanons who were wintering there.
An English trader assured Mr. de Joncaire that the Governor of Virginia was coming the beginning of September with 800 horses, to the Beautiful river to hold a council with the Chaouanons at Cheningu.63
Finally, the English have paid the Miamis for the scalps of the two soldiers belonging to Mr. de Villiers' garrison.
To so many circumstances equally critical, are superadded the scarcity of provisions, and great appearance of famine at our Southern posts.
Mr. de Celoron writes, on the 12th of September, to Mr. de la Jonquire that the Indian corn is worth twenty livres the (page 115) minot, payable in peltries and that he will possibly be obliged to send away some of the Canadians from Detroit owing to the want of provisions.
To add to the misfortunes, Mr. Desligneris has learned that the Commandant of the Illinois would not permit the Sieurs Delisle and Fonblanche, who had contracted with the King to supply the Miamis, Ouyatonons, and Detroit with provisions from the Illinois, to purchase provisions for the subsistence of the garrisons of those posts, on the ground that an increase of troops and families had arrived who would consume the stock at the Illinois.
Mr. de St. Ange, Commandant at Fort Vincenne, does not state anything in this regard to Mr. Desligneris; he merely says that he has no intelligence from the Illinois, and that he is still uncertain whether the convoy had arrived there.
Whatever augmentation of troops and families may have taken place at the Illinois, 'tis certain that, on the receipt of the letter, Messrs. de la Jonquire and Bgon have written to the Commandant and Commissary of Fort Chartres, who will do their best in order that Messrs. Delisle and Fonblanche may perform their contract, unless they suffer from a similar scarcity to ours. The great difficulty is, the arrival of the General and Intendant's orders at their destination. Mr. Desligneris sent them off on the 3d of January by 4 Mascoutins, but he doubts much if they will reach the Illinois; he knows not, even, that they will arrive at the post of Vincenne, on account of the enemies that encompass him.
The crops have also failed at the Beautiful river. Mr. de Joncaire and the other Frenchmen have been reduced to a couple of handsful (une jointe) of Indian corn a day; neither meat, nor grease, nor salt.
Famine is not the whole scourge we experience; the small pox commits ravages; it begins to reach Detroit. One woman has died of it at the Huron village.
This disease prevails also at the Beautiful river.
'Twere desirable that it should break out and spread, gener- (page 116) ally, throughout the localities inhabited by our rebels. It would be fully as good as an army.
Before the smallpox broke out at Detroit, 40 persons died belonging to the village of the Outtauois, and almost as many at the Pouteouatamis.
Kinousaki is likewise dead. We lose a chief who was, apparently, much attached to the French.
Mr. de Celoron has again been told that the remainder of the fugitive Huron will retire to Detroit this spring. The contagious disease will contribute a great deal to their return.
You are fully informed, my Lord, by the detail that I have just had the honor to submit to you:
1st That the expedition which Mr. de Celoron was ordered to get up, did not take place.
2nd That the promises the Indians had made to the late Mr. de la Jonquire were feigned, and that they are more in favor of our rebels than of us.
3d That the attack of the Nepissings has only rendered our rebels more dangerous.
4th That the Miamis have scalped two soldiers.
5th That the Pianguichias have killed 7 Frenchmen and two slaves.
6th That the same Nation had, shortly before, killed another Frenchman and two slaves.
7th That, according to what has been stated to M. de Joncaire, the Flatheads have scalped three Frenchmen and taken a 4th whom they delivered to the English with said scalps.
8th That we are menaced with a general conspiracy.
9th That we must fear even for Toronto.
10th That the English are the indirect authors of the murder of the French.
11th That famine at Detroit and its dependencies is quasi certain.
12th That smallpox is ravaging the whole of that Continent. You perceive, my Lord, the sorrowful condition of the entire of that Upper Country.
I shall dispatch this summer 400 Canadians, under the command of Chevalier de Longueuil, to Detroit, to proceed thence to winter at the other posts nearest our enemies. Next spring I shall send off five or six hundred Canadians to form a junction with the former at the rendezvous to be designated by Mr. de Longueuil. I shall transmit to him, then, my orders which I regulate according to his experience, and the accounts he will send me during the winters. I could not be beforehand with my orders, because our affairs will possible change from one moment to another.
I shall not employ any Indians on this expedition, unless they offer to follow the French, to aid them in looking up the bones of their brethren.
Should Chevalier de Longueuil's mission be as successful as he and I dare hope, the Upper country will be free, and the French able to trade there in all surety. The Indian nations will return to their attachment to us, and then I shall have it in my power to adopt measures to oblige the English to disburse. But I must have the honor to observe to you, my Lord, that however fortunate this expedition may be, and whatever foresight I may have in closing the road on the English, their avidity will lead them to surmount all risks, and the Indians are capable, besides, or making by-roads to escape my vigilance.
My Lord, it would therefore be of infinite importance to limit the possession of the English, and that the boundaries of the two extremities of this Colony should be so firmly regulated that the English could not find any pretext to trouble us in our territory. I am persuaded that the capture of the four English traders by Mr. de Celoron, and the letter Mr. de la Jonquire had the honor to write you on the 16th of 7ber will not have contributed a little to accelerate the labors of the Commissioners. The tranquility of this Colony depends on their decision.
I am with most profound respect, My Lord, Your most humble and most obedient servant
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LONGUEUIL. |
___________________
62 The British subjects captured by Celoron's orders, were: Luke Irwin, an Irishman living in Pennsylvania, and an employee of George Croghan; he spoke the Shawnee language, and was accustomed to trade at the Scioto town. Joseph Fortiner (Faulkner) of New York, likewise an employee of Croghan and licensed by the governor of Pennsylvania. Thomas Burke (Bourke), an Irish inhabitant of Lancaster, and an employee of John Martin. The three were captured at Sandusky, and carried to Detroit. John Pattin of Pennsylvania was taken by De Villiers at Fort Miami, under pretext that he was laden with wampum and present with which to seduce the Miami of that region into an agreement to remove to La Demoiselle's village. After a short detention in Detroit all four of the captive traders (Irwin, Fortiner, Burke, and Pattin) were sent by way of Niagara to Montreal. There they were interviewed by La Jonquiere; see memoir designated Conduct of the English Ministry (several editions), appendix v. After a searching examination, in which it is claimed that they admitted that the English traders instigated Indians to murder Frenchmen, all the prisoners but Fortiner, who was ill, were sent to France, and imprisoned at Rochelle. In November, 1751, they appealed to the English authorities and were finally released; see N. Y. Colon. Docs., x, p. 241. The whole incident was the occasion of much diplomatic fencing between the two nations; see Id., VI, pp. 711, 731-733, and Penn. Colon. Recs., V, pp. 552-556; see also Gist's Journals, pp. 37, 108, 109.
Pattin left an account of his captivity, the manuscript of which is owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society, whose librarian, Dr. Samuel A. Green, has kindly furnished us with a copy, from which we extract the following:
"John Pattin of the Province of Pennsylvania, Indian Trader, says, that some time in Novr 1750, he went with Goods a trading to the Miamis, otherwise called The Twigtwee Town which lies near the head of that Western Branch of the Ohio called by the English Miamis River, but by the French La Riv: Rochers or Rocky River and is about 200 Miles by Water & 100 by land to where it empties itself into the Ohio, and from there up to Log's Town is about 450 Miles by Water that this Miami Town was computed to have about 200 fighting men, all of the Twigtwee Nation settled therein and are some of those who left the french 7 or 8 Years ago in order to trade with the English. That being informed here that there were some Indians a hunting at the Cross (a place about 65 Miles from the Miamis Town where the French have erected a large Wooden Cross to be worshipped by their Traders who pass this way) he went thither & traded with them but wanting sundry Necessaries he went from thence to a Fort which the French have on the Branch of the Lake Erie called by them Miami River, thinking as there was peace between the English & French, he would be in no danger, but contrary to his expectation when he came there he was immediately seized & kept in close confined; that the River at the Fort is about three Rods wide, on the other side of which about a mile & half from the Fort is the French Miamis Town, where there are about 150 Indians the remainder of those who came over to the English as mentioned before; that the Fort is small, stock round with Pallisadoes and had at the time he was there a Capt. Lieut. & 50 Men, but that most of these men were traders, who were continually passing to & fro, & by what he could learn there were but about 9 or 10 who constantly resided there; that the French talk of destroying this Fort, & building one three Miles below on the other side of the River, in a Fork between the Miamis River & a River which leads to a Portage near the head of Wabash, that the Land from the English Miamis Town to the French Fort is for the most part Savannahs & Plains, but here & there some fine Timber Land interspersed that from hence he was sent under a guard of 9 Men to Fort Detroit, which is about 240 Miles by Water, that the passage to this Place is down Miamis River, which is full of small Falls, into Lake Erie & then up the Streights between Lake Erie & Huron, on the West side of which streight stands the Fort about 40 Rods from the River, that it is a large Pallisadoed Fort, containing about 100 small Log & other Houses that there are bout 400 Men settled in & about the Fort, that they have got but one Swivell Gun mounted here, tho this is the most considerable settlement the French have in these Parts they raise Grain & most kind of Provisions to supply the other Forts about the Lakes; that great encouragement is given to young married People to settle there, the French designing to make it a large settlement if Possible; that the Streight is about a Mile across at the Fort, that there are Plantations all the way from Ft: Detroit to Lake Huron which is about three Leagues; that the French go in three days from Fort Detroit to Fort Sandoski, which is a small Pallisadoed Fort, with about 20 Men lying on the South side of Lake Erie, and was built the latte rend of the Year 1750, that after being kept Prisoner about 4 Months at Detroit he was sent under a guard to Niagara Fort"- and thence to Toronto, Frontenac, Montreal, and Quebec. After a long confinement he was shipped from Quebec to Rochelle.- ED.
63 This treaty was actually held in June, 1752. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie appointed as commissioners therefor, Joshua Fry, Lumsford Lomax, and James Patton, who secured a confirmation of the Lancaster treaty of 1744. See "Dinwiddie Papers," Virginia Historical Society Publications, i, p. 6; Plain Facts (Phila., 1781), p. 38; and Goodman, Journal of Captain William Trent, pp. 83, 84.- ED.
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