France and England in North America, Part III: La Salle, Discovery of The Great West
explored the coasts of Labrador, under the auspices of a company formed
for the whale and seal fishery. On his return, Frontenac made him royal
pilot for the St. Lawrence; and at about the same time he received the
appointment of hydrographer at Quebec. He died, apparently poor, in 1699
or 1700, and was buried on one of the islands of Mignan. The discovery
of the above facts is due in great part to the researches of Margry.
[64] Pierre Moreau, _alias_ La Taupine, was afterwards bitterly
complained of by the Intendant Duchesneau, for acting as the governor's
agent in illicit trade with the Indians.
[65] The contemporary _Relation_ tells us that a miracle took place at
the burial of Marquette. One of the two Frenchmen, overcome with grief
and colic, bethought him of applying a little earth from the grave to
the seat of pain. This at once restored him to health and cheerfulness.
[66] For Marquette's death, see the contemporary _Relation_, published
by Shea, Lenox, and Martin, with the accompanying _Lettre et Journal_.
The river where he died is a small stream in the west of Michigan, some
distance south of the promontory called the "Sleeping Bear." It long
bore his name, which is now borne by a larger neighboring stream,
Charlevoix's account of Marquette's death is derived from tradition, and
is not supported by the contemporary narrative. In 1877, human bones,
with fragments of birch-bark, were found buried on the supposed site of
the Jesuit chapel at Point St. Ignace.
In 1847, the missionary of the Algonquins at the Lake of Two Mountains,
above Montreal, wrote down a tradition of the death of Marquette, from
the lips of an old Indian woman, born in 1777, at Michilimackinac. Her
ancestress had been baptized by the subject of the story. The tradition
has a resemblance to that related as fact by Charlevoix. The old squaw
said that the Jesuit was returning, very ill, to Michilimackinac, when a
storm forced him and his two men to land near a little river. Here he
told them that he should die, and directed them to ring a bell over his
grave and plant a cross. They all remained four days at the spot; and,
though without food, the men felt no hunger. On the night of the fourth
day he died, and the men buried him as he had directed. On waking in the
morning, they saw a sack of Indian corn, a quantity of bacon, and some
biscuit, miraculously sent to them, in accordance with the promise of
Marquette, who had told them that they should have food enough for their
journey to Michilimackinac. At the same instant, the stream began to
rise, and in a few moments encircled the grave of the Jesuit, which
formed, thenceforth, an islet in the waters. The tradition adds, that an
Indian battle afterwards took place on the banks of this stream, between
Christians and infidels; and that the former gained the victory, in
consequence of invoking the name of Marquette. This story bears the
attestation of the priest of the Two Mountains that it is a literal
translation of the tradition, as recounted by the old woman.
It has been asserted that the Illinois country was visited by two
priests, some time before the visit of Marquette. This assertion was
first made by M. Noiseux, late Grand Vicar of Quebec, who gives no
authority for it. Not the slightest indication of any such visit appears
in any contemporary document or map, thus far discovered. The
contemporary writers, down to the time of Marquette and La Salle, all
speak of the Illinois as an unknown country. The entire groundlessness
of Noiseux's assertion is shown by Shea, in a paper in the "Weekly
Herald," of New York, April 21,1855.
CHAPTER VI.
1673-1678.
LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC.
Objects of La Salle.--Frontenac favors him.--Projects of
Frontenac.--Cataraqui.--Frontenac on Lake Ontario.--Fort
Frontenac.--La Salle and Fénelon.--Success of La Salle: his
Enemies.
We turn from the humble Marquette, thanking God with his last breath
that he died for his Order and his Faith; and by our side stands the
masculine form of Cavelier de la Salle. Prodigious was the contrast
between the two discoverers: the one, with clasped hands and upturned
eyes, seems a figure evoked from some dim legend of mediæval saintship;
the other, with feet firm planted on the hard earth, breathes the
self-relying energies of modern practical enterprise. Nevertheless, La
Salle's enemies called him a visionary. His projects perplexed and
startled them. At first, they ridiculed him; and then, as step by step
he advanced towards his purpose, they denounced and maligned him. What
was this purpose? It was not of sudden growth, but developed as years
went on. La Salle at La Chine dreamed of a western passage to China, and
nursed vague schemes of western discovery. Then, when his earlier
journeyings revealed to him the valley of the Ohio and the fertile
plains of Illinois, his imagination took wing over the boundless
prairies and forests drained by the great river of the West. His
ambition had found its field. He would leave barren and frozen Canada
behind, and lead France and civilization into the valley of the
Mississippi. Neither the English nor the Jesuits should conquer that
rich domain: the one must rest content with the country east of the
Alleghanies, and the other with the forests, savages, and beaver-skins
of the northern lakes. It was for him to call into light the latent
riches of the great West. But the way to his land of promise was rough
and long: it lay through Canada, filled with hostile traders and hostile
priests, and barred by ice for half the year. The difficulty was soon
solved. La Salle became convinced that the Mississippi flowed, not into
the Pacific or the Gulf of California, but into the Gulf of Mexico. By a
fortified post at its mouth, he could guard it against both English and
Spaniards, and secure for the trade of the interior an access and an
outlet under his own control, and open at every season. Of this trade,
the hides of the buffalo would at first form the staple, and along with
furs would reward the enterprise till other resources should be
developed.
Such were the vast projects that unfolded themselves in the mind of La
Salle. Canada must needs be, at the outset, his base of action, and
without the support of its authorities he could do nothing. This
support he found. From the moment when Count Frontenac assumed the
government of the colony, he seems to have looked with favor on the
young discoverer. There were points of likeness between the two men.
Both were ardent, bold, and enterprising. The irascible and fiery pride
of the noble found its match in the reserved and seemingly cold pride of
the ambitious burgher. Each could comprehend the other; and they had,
moreover, strong prejudices and dislikes in common. An understanding,
not to say an alliance, soon grew up between them.
[Sidenote: PROJECTS OF FRONTENAC.]
Frontenac had come to Canada a ruined man. He was ostentatious, lavish,
and in no way disposed to let slip an opportunity of mending his
fortune. He presently thought that he had found a plan by which he could
serve both the colony and himself. His predecessor, Courcelle, had urged
upon the King the expediency of building a fort on Lake Ontario, in
order to hold the Iroquois in check and intercept the trade which the
tribes of the Upper Lakes had begun to carry on with the Dutch and
English of New York. Thus a stream of wealth would be turned into
Canada, which would otherwise enrich her enemies. Here, to all
appearance, was a great public good, and from the military point of view
it was so in fact; but it was clear that the trade thus secured might be
made to profit, not the colony at large, but those alone who had control
of the fort, which would then become the instrument of a monopoly. This
the governor understood; and, without doubt, he meant that the projected
establishment should pay him tribute. How far he and La Salle were
acting in concurrence at this time, it is not easy to say; but Frontenac
often took counsel of the explorer, who, on his part, saw in the design
a possible first step towards the accomplishment of his own far-reaching
schemes.
[Sidenote: EXPEDITION OF FRONTENAC.]
Such of the Canadian merchants as were not in the governor's confidence
looked on his plan with extreme distrust. Frontenac, therefore, thought
it expedient "to make use," as he expresses it, "of address." He gave
out merely that he intended to make a tour through the upper parts of
the colony with an armed force, in order to inspire the Indians with
respect, and secure a solid peace. He had neither troops, money,
munitions, nor means of transportation; yet there was no time to lose,
for, should he delay the execution of his plan, it might be
countermanded by the King. His only resource, therefore, was in a prompt
and hardy exertion of the royal authority; and he issued an order
requiring the inhabitants of Quebec, Montreal, Three Rivers, and other
settlements to furnish him, at their own cost, as soon as the spring
sowing should be over, with a certain number of armed men, besides the
requisite canoes. At the same time, he invited the officers settled in
the country to join the expedition,--an invitation which, anxious as
they were to gain his good graces, few of them cared to decline.
Regardless of murmurs and discontent, he pushed his preparation
vigorously, and on the third of June left Quebec with his guard, his
staff, a part of the garrison of the Castle of St. Louis, and a number
of volunteers. He had already sent to La Salle, who was then at
Montreal, directing him to repair to Onondaga, the political centre of
the Iroquois, and invite their sachems to meet the governor in council
at the Bay of Quinté on the north of Lake Ontario. La Salle had set out
on his mission, but first sent Frontenac a map, which convinced him that
the best site for his proposed fort was the mouth of the Cataraqui,
where Kingston now stands. Another messenger was accordingly despatched,
to change the rendezvous to this point.
Meanwhile, the governor proceeded at his leisure towards Montreal,
stopping by the way to visit the officers settled along the bank, who,
eager to pay their homage to the newly risen sun, received him with a
hospitality which under the roof of a log hut was sometimes graced by
the polished courtesies of the salon and the boudoir. Reaching Montreal,
which he had never before seen, he gazed, we may suppose, with some
interest at the long row of humble dwellings which lined the bank, the
massive buildings of the Seminary, and the spire of the church
predominant over all. It was a rude scene, but the greeting that awaited
him savored nothing of the rough simplicity of the wilderness. Perrot,
the local governor, was on the shore with his soldiers and the
inhabitants, drawn up under arms and firing a salute to welcome the
representative of the King. Frontenac was compelled to listen to a long
harangue from the judge of the place, followed by another from the
syndic. Then there was a solemn procession to the church, where he was
forced to undergo a third effort of oratory from one of the priests. _Te
Deum_ followed, in thanks for his arrival; and then he took refuge in
the fort. Here he remained thirteen days, busied with his preparations,
organizing the militia, soothing their mutual jealousies, and settling
knotty questions of rank and precedence. During this time, every means,
as he declares, was used to prevent him from proceeding; and among other
devices a rumor was set on foot that a Dutch fleet, having just captured
Boston, was on its way to attack Quebec.[67]
[Sidenote: FRONTENAC'S JOURNEY.]
Having sent men, canoes, and baggage, by land, to La Salle's old