NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 08192261 3 OUR IDISCONSIN J{ School "History OF The Badger Stale E. Q. OOUDNA Eau Claire Book & Stationerq Co. Eau Cldire. IPisconsin 1\, T .tf/^/ Our Wisconsin A School History of the Badger State By E. G. DOUDNA Superintendent of Schools Grand Rapids, Wis, 5AU CLAIRE BOOK & STATIONERY CO. EAU CLAIRE, WIS. ^ ■-» T ■ — V - 1920 1 COPYRIGHT 1920 by EAU CLAIRE BOOK & STATIONERY CO. PRINTED AND BOUND BV OEORQE BANTA PUBLISHINQ CO. MANUFACTURINQ PUBLISHERS WErtASHA, WISCONSIN PREFACE This little book has been prepared to meet the needs of schools for a short history of Wisconsin. It aims to tell the story of the state in its salient features, and to bring out the striking episodes which have lent picturesqueness to the earlier periods of our history and significance to the later developments when the commonwealth was in the making. It is not intended that the chapters dealing with the later development of the state shall serve as more than an introduction to these topics, which have been so fully treated in the special histories that have been pub- lished. The teacher of Wisconsin history should have at hand for reference the latest edition of the Blue Book and one of the more complete histories such as Thwaites' "Wis- consin," of the American Commonwealth series. The his- tory of the state should always be kept in strict subordina- tion to that of the United States, although we should not undervalue the trials and sacrifices made by the pioneers of the Badger Commonwealth. To understand and ap- ])reciate what these men and women did for us is an im- portant step in the development in our young people of the ideals of citizenship that obtain in our \\'isconsin. The basis of this book is "The Leading Events of Wisconsin History" written in 1898 by Henry E. Legler. The publications of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the many works of the late R. G. Thwaites have also been used constantly in verifying statements of fact. E. G. U. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. IL III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. xvii. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XVII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. Page Wi.SCONSTN IN 1634. 5 The Indians 7 The Coming of the White Men 18 The Strange Adventure of Radisson . . 21 Nicholas Perrot, Forest Ranger 31 The Wanderings of the Black Gowns 35 JoLiET and Marquette 40 La Salle and His Companions 47 La Salle and the Mississippi 't^I Famous Visitors })7 The War with the Fox Indians 62 Under the Flag of England 72 Charles Langlade 78 English Travelers in Wisconsin 83 Wisconsin in the Revolution 88 The Northwest Territory 95 Wisconsin in the War of 1812 100 Life in tite Early Settlement^ 105 From Fur Trading to Lead Minin ..... 109 Red Bird and Black Hawk 1 16 The Territory of Wisconsin 126 The Thirteenth Star 134 From 1848 to 1860 139 In the Civil War 146 The Melting Pot 154 Since the Civil War " 160 In the World War 165 Wisconsin in Industry 171 Wisconsin in Literature 179 The Growth of the Public Scliool. . . . 185 Our Wisconsin CHAPTER I WISCONSIN IN 1634 The story of Wisconsin begins with the visit of Jean Xicolet to the Indians at Green Bay in 1634. He was the first white man to set foot upon Wisconsin soil. To get a clear notion of what the early explorers and settlers had to overcome it is worth while to look at this region when 'Svilderness was king." We may go with the men and women who made the Badger state as they explore new territory and conquer the forces of nature. W^e may fol- low them on their weary journeys down unexplored streams, across almost impassable portages, and through trackless forests inhabited only by wild animals and the Indians. It is an interesting story and one that should make us take greater pride in our state. Location. The location of Wisconsin had much to do with its early discovery and thorough exploration. It is situated at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence and the Mississipj)i. So narrow arc the watersheds between the basins of these two great rivers that portage paths be- tween them were early worn by the Indians and follow ed by the French. At one point, only three-quarters of a mile separates the Wisconsin River which rises near the northeastern boundary and empties into the Mississipj)i near the southwestern line, from the Fox which passes 6 OUR WISCONSIN through Lake Winnebago and empties into Green Bay. A raindrop falHng between these two rivers may be car- ried down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, or through the Great Lakes, over Niagara Falls, into the St. Lawrence and thence to the great ocean. It was only natural, therefore, that travel from the French settlements in Canada to the settlements in the lower Mississippi valley should pass through this region. Products. The rich soil of Wisconsin produced dense forests over practically all of the state. In the northern part pine, spruce, hemlock, birch, and cedar abounded. In the southern part were many hardwood trees, especially the oak. The elm and maple grew in all sections of the state. It is estimated that nearly one hundred billion feet of pine timber stood in its forests when the white man came. In the open spaces berries grew in great abun- dance, and the wild grape climbed on many a tree. Near Lake Superior were enormous deposits of iron ore. Now more than three-fourths of all the iron mined in the United States comes from this region. The absence of coal and the difficulties of transportation made this sec- tion of the state of less importance in its early days than the lead region in the southwest. In what are now the counties of Grant, Iowa and LaFayette much lead and zinc were found, and by 1840. about thirty million pounds of this mineral were mined annually. Less lead is pro- duced now, but in the production of zinc the state ranks third or fourth. Soil. The soil of Wisconsin is very fertile, although even now not more than sixty percent of the state's land- area is in farms. Almost the entire state was at one time covered by glaciers, although the region in the southwest WISCONSIN IN I634 7 known as the ''driftless area" shows no indications of glaciation. There are three principal soil belts in the state. The nortberr: part bar- to;;': sand and clay soils. In the south is a clay-loam area of limestone rock; and between them is an area of lighter soil which, in the Wis- consin River valley, is quite largely sand. The southern part of the state was developed first for these reasons : its climate was warmer and its growing season longer, the hardwood lands were more easily cleared than the denser forests of the north, and transportation facilities were developed earlier in that section. The northern part is now developing steadily. Wild Animal Life. Just as the call of Europe for precious stones had much to do with the discovery of America, the demand for furs had much to do with the dis- covery and exploration of Wisconsin. A greater quantity of fur was to be found in Wisconsin than in any other part of the world, and it soon became the center of that great and romantic industry which contributed so much to the development of the Great Lakes region of North America. Here were found the beaver, the black bear, the fox, the marten, the otter and the muskrat, all valued for their pelts. Besides the fur-bearing animals the wolf, the lynx, the wildcat, the porcupine and the opossum lived in the woods and caves. Elk, deer, ducks, geese, grouse and other game were abundant and made it easy for the Indian and explorer to procure food in the spring, summer, and fall. Song birds nested in the trees, and the owl and the hawk were common. Many kinds of reptiles infested the forests, the rattlesnake being the most dangerous. On 8 OUR WISCONSIN the prairies in the south and west roamed great herds of buffalo, and the rivers abounded with fish. Over all of the state the red man was free to wander, and save for the few Indian villages it was one vast wil- derness. These resources were, of course, developed by the white people wdio found these natural riches the source of their prosperity. But a state is made by its men and its women, not by material things, and it is, therefore, the story of the men and women who made Wisconsin that we wish to tell. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. On a map of North America trace an imaginary drop of water from Portage to the Atlantic through the Wisconsin River; through the Fox River. 2. Locate all of the places named in this chapter. 3. Why were the southern and eastern parts of the state the first to be developed? 4. What is the area of Wisconsin? 5. What effect did Wisconsin's location have upon its early history? 6. Describe Wisconsin as it was before ^he white man came. 7. Give in detail the water route to the Mississippi from Canada by way of the great Lakes and the St. Croix River. 8. How would the fact that there are no coal beds in the state aflFect the development of the iron districts of northern Wis- coni;in? CHAPTER JI / THE INDIANS Tribes. During the period in which Wisconsin was being explored there were probably ten thousand Indians living within the present boundaries of the state. These Indians belonged to several tribes and families. We usually classify a people on the basis of the language spoken. Those who speak English, German, or Dutch are called Germanic ; those speaking Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish are Scandinavians; and the French, Spanish, and Italian are Latins. Indian families are classified on the same principle as Algonkins, Iroquois, and Dakotas. The Dakota family lived chiefly to the west of the Mississippi and the others to the east. The Winnebagoes. The Winnebagoes, a branch of the Dakotas, lived at the head of Green Bay and in the valleys of the Fox and W^isconsin Rivers. They were called by the other Indians The Men of the Sea, as it was believed they had come from near the ocean. Their early home had been beyond the Mississippi, and this river was probably thought to be near the sea. They were a savage looking people, with high cheek bones, flat noses, and eyes set far apart. In many respects they were wild and cruel like their cousins, the Sioux. It is now quite generally believed that the Winnebagoes built the strange earth works found in Wisconsin so long attributed to the mound-builders. When Nicolet came to the state they 10 OUR- WISCONSIN were warlike and possessed great physical strength, but those of their descendants now living are described as being ''the poorest, meanest, and most ill-visaged of Wis- consin Indians." In the northern part of Wisconsin and in upper Michi- gan and Canada were found the Hurons, an Iroquois tribe driven thither by the stronger Indian nations of the East. Here and there were other tribes, the Kickapoos, Mascou- tins, Illinois, Miami, and Ottawas being the principal ones. They influenced the history of the state but little. Location of Tribes. The Algonkins, the most numer- ous Indian family in Wisconsin, were also the most intel- ligent. To this family have belonged many of the cele- brated Indians of history; King Philip, Powhattan, Tammany, Pontiac, Tecumseh, and Black Hawk. The Ojibways, now called the Chippewas, were the least savage of this family. They lived along the shores of Lake Superior and as far south as the Black River. In the northwest lived the quiet and gentle Menomonies, known as Wild Rice Eaters. They were a fine looking people of comparatively light complexion who were not particularly warlike in disposition; From Green Bay southward along the shore of Lake Michigan lived the Pottawattomies, the most restless of the Algonkin tribes. Much of the material in Longfellow's Hiawatha comes from their traditions, although the background of the poem is the land of the Chippewas on Lake Superior. The Sacs, sometimes known as the Sauks, and the Foxes, often known as the Outagamies, were other important tribes, and the only ones to become unfriendly to the French. The Foxes eventually brought on an Indian war which all but exterminated them, and which greatly weakened the hold of the French on the West. THE INDIANS 11 Although the Indians shifted about somewhat as the seasons changed to seek game or to find fields best fitted for growing corn, they could not be called a nomadic people. In places where water and fish were easily pro- cured and where grain and potatoes were easily grown they pitched their wigwams and built their villages. In proportion to population, then and now, these villages had as many people as the cities and villages of today. The love of their home-land was deep and strong, and when driven from it they sought again and again to return. It was unusual for a family of Indians to live alone in the forest. The Indian Home. The Indian house was frequently a hut or tent which could be moved easily. It was made of slender poles tied together at the top and covered with animal skins, mats made of rushes, or sheets made of birch bark. It was usually called a wigwam but often was known as a tepee or lodge. The Hurons built their cabins entirely of bark, and long and high. Around their villages they built a double row of palisades, thus making a fortress. Sometimes cabins large enough to hold several families were built. These were sometimes a hundred feet long, twenty-five feet wide and twenty feet high. The Sioux built a cone shaped wigwam and the Chippewas a house shaped like half a baseball. Most of the houses were very insanitary. This condition led to many dis- eases, especially lung troubles and rheumatism. Contrary to the general impression the Indian was not unusually healthy. Epidemics of small-i)ox and other diseases often swei)t away half the population of a village. Before mid- dle age, both men and women usually looked old and hag- gard. The home life reflected the dirty, im|irovidcnt habits of the red man. 12 OUR WISCONSIN Clans. The Indians were divided into clans, each hav- ing its clan-sign or totem which represented some beast, bird, or reptile. I The clansmen were supposed to be rela- tives, although often not a single drop of blood was com- mon to all of them. Marrying within a clan w^as forbid- den ; a member of the ^^^olf clan, for instance, might marry into the Bear clan but not into the \\'olf clan even though no blood relationship existed between the mem- bers. Aw^ay from home the Indian ahvays found a wel- come among the members of his clan. To identify him- self, he often had his totem tatooed upon his body. The Indian's Squaw^ and Her Home Life. It was not uncommon for an Indian to have several wives. He was apt to tyranize over his squaw, or squaws, but usually he was a jolly, easy-going, shiftless fellow. He smoked tobacco in curiously carved pipes made from the red pipe- stone of Minnesota. ]\Iost of his food was obtained by hunting and fishing. A^^lcn the Indians raised corn, beans, melons, pumpkins and sunflowers, the ground was prepared by the women who also ]:)lanted and cultivated the crops. They made maple sugar and frequently dried the grapes and berries that grew in profusion everywhere. The Menomonies made use of the wild rice which grew in their section of the state. In general it may be said that the home life of the Indian was the least admirable part of his scheme of living. The Indian made fire in two ways. Sometimes two fiint-like stones were struck together and the sparks which resulted caught on dry, rotten w^ood called "punk." If flints were not available they rubbed two pieces of dry cedar together with great rapidity until the friction pro- duced sparks which set fire to the /'punk." Some tribes THE INDIANS 13 made beautiful cooking utensils but this was an unusual practice. Dishes were made of shells, bark or rude poL- tery. These could not be placed on a fire, therefore a primitive fireless cooker was devised ; that is, stones were heated and then put into dishes which were partly filled with water. In this way the water was made to boil and the meal was cooked. There were also riflle devices for pounding corn into coarse meal. These the women operated. Clothing. The clothing of the Indian was made prin- cipally of deer-skin. Xeedles of stone or bone were used to sew the skins together. Their garments were often handsomely embroidered, particularly the leggings and moccasins. Buffalo robes were common, and among some tribes the long wool of the bufifalo was spun into yarn and woven into cloth. Some of the Indians wore very ela- borate head-dresses of eagle feathers, each feather repre- senting an enemy slain by the brave. They i:)ainted their faces and sometimes decorated their bodies with gaudy red and green colors. If other colors were scarce, char- coal was used. Men usually wore their hair short, al- though one long lock, the scalp lock, was left on the top of the head. Government. There were no fixed forms of govern- ment. There were chiefs, but they were simply men who through personal influence were made leaders and ad- visers. They possessed no j^ower to compel obedience. If a chief had much natural ability, he had a strong fol- lowing and almost as much i)o\ver as a king; but without ability, hereditary power gave him little control. In order to arouse enthusiasm for wars and for hunting it was frequently necessary for the chief to hold noisy feasts and dances. The Indian liked to debate, and he held councils 14 OUR WISCONSIN at which every man who had taken an enemy's scalp was permitted to be heard. Most of the talking was done by these privileged men. Age was respected, and an old man was listened to with consideration. This was a primitive kind of democracy although not very efficient. Fear of common enemies and of famine kept the Indian from anarchy. Indian War Tools. The principal instruments of war were the bow and arrow. A typical bow was about three feet long and made of the toughest and most elastic wood to be found. The bow string was made of sinew twisted and braided until it was very strong. The arrow was made of hard wood or cane, had a point of stone and was tipped with feathers. Often the point was poisoned. The tomahawk was quite generally used, and in time it came to be considered a symbol of war. War-clubs, knives, spears, lances and shields were commonly U5ed imple- ments. Warfare was common, usually for defense or for revenge ; but military campaigns as we know them were imknown. Raids, ambuscades, and surprise attacks Avere the favorite forms of strategy. Prisoners were treated without mercy and cruelly tortured, although sometimes an Indian would rescue a captive and adopt him into the tribe to take the place of a member killed in battle. Scalping was a common practice, and the scalps were treasured and worn upon state occasions. When a war chief was preparing an attack, he usually held a feast of several days' duration. Its purpose was to arouse the enthusiasm of his followers and make them anxious for war. On the return from a successful raid another feast was held, accompanied by the war dance and THE INDIANS 15 Other ceremonies of celebration and thanksgiving. The Indian on such occasions was very particular to observe the correct forms and to preserve the dignity of the tribe. The calumet, or peace-pipe, was smoked with elaborate ceremony. W^ekome visitors received the pipe, and those whom the tribe particularly desired to honor were ac- corded a special program of speech-making, singing and dancing when the pipe was presented. The religion of the red man was like the rest of his ideas, primitive. He believed in good and bad spirits called manitoiis. Until after the coming of the white man, very few Indians believed in a "great spirit." However, they believed that the soul existed after the body was dead, and that it had wants like those the Indian had on earth. All sorts nf offerings were made at the burial, and these were I)laced in the grave with the departed. Manner of Living. After the coming of the white man the Indian quickly changed his manner of living. He adopted fire-arms and ''fire-water." He gave up his own methods of making a living and began hunting furs to sell to the fur-trader. He came to be dependent upon the trader and lost some of his original independence. At the best, his social development was not high, and it seemed to be easier for him to adoj^t the white man's vices than his virtues. The two centuries of struggle for possession of the continent ended with the Indian's living on reserva- tions provided by the government and depentlent upon the bounty of Congress, or more rarely, living the life of civilization among his conquerers. Indian Mounds. It would mn do to close this chapter without reference to the numerous mounds to be found i'l Wisconsin. For many years it was supposed that they 16 OUK WISCONSIN were built by a race that inhabited this country before the Indian came, but evidence seems to prove that they were built by the Indians. These mounds were usually found on the banks of streams and lakes or on high elevations near them. Once they must have been very numerous as more than two thousand have been counted in a single county. Many were built to resemble such animals as the lizzard, the turtle, the buffalo, or the squirrel. These are known as effigy mounds. Some of them are at least a thousand years old ; others were built probably after the coming of the white man. They seem to have been built to commemorate the burial places of important men, to designate the clan to which the Indian group belonged, or perhaps as fortifications. It is a curious fact that many of the important cities of the state arc located where the presence of numerous mounds shows Indian villages once to have been located. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY In the school library you may find Fredrick Starr's American Indians. If you are interested in Indians, read this book. Hiazvaflia, The Last of the Mohicans, and Ramona may also be read with profit. A number of other interesting books on Indian life may be found on the Wisconsin township library list. 1. Find on the map of Wisconsin as many Indian names as you can. 2. How many Indian reservations are there in the state? Lo- cate them. 3. Compare Indian warfare with that of the Great War. 4. The Indian is brown; why is he called red? 5. What vegetables in common use were first obtained from the Indians? THE INDIANS 17 6. How did the name Indian originate? 7. Some topics for additional study: Personal appearance of the Indian; Indian children; Indian farming; Wampum; Indian mj^ths. 8. Are there any Indians in your vicinity? If there are, report on them to your teacher. 9. Are there any mounds near where you live? If there are. describe them. CHAPTER III THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN Discovery and Exploration. It was a hundred and forty years after the discovery of America before a white man set foot upon Wisconsin soil. Through the forests roamed the Indians unvexed by the knowledge that some day a great state, governed by a race of men of whom they had never heard, would take the place of their hunt- ing grounds. Suddenly out of the East a Frenchman, Jean Nicolet, skirted the coast of Green Bay, made a spectacular entrance into their villages, explored the Fox River, and returned to the mysterious country whence he came. For twenty years more the Indian held undisputed possession with no white men coming to molest him. Then began the long procession of ex- plorers, traders, priests, and soldiers who laid the foun- dations of our Badger state. These men were nearly all French ; therefore, it is to France we owe the discovery and exploration of Wisconsin. First Settlement. When the news came from Spain that a new world of untold riches had been discovered^ the French, eager to obtain a share of the vast wealth to be had for the taking, fitted out an expedition under Verrazono an Italian in the employ of the King of France. In 1524 he explored the coast of North America from South Carolina to New Hampshire and thus gave France a claim to the continent. A few years later THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN 19 Jacques Cartier was sent out to explore the lands west of New Foundland. His voyage resulted in the discovery of the St. Lawrence River and his taking possession of it in the name of the King of France. But attempts at set- tlement failed, and it was nearly a century before the French made their first permanent settlement at Port Royal in 1604. Four years later Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec which soon became the starting point for French explorations. New France. All the French possessions in America were named Xew France, and Champlain was made governor. He was the most brilliant and successful of French explorers and colonizers. In 1609 he joined a party of Algonkin Indians and reached the lake which now bears his name. Xear there they met a band of fierce and hostile Iroquois. In a short battle the Iroquois were driven away in panic, but thereafter were the enemies of France. For a hundred and fifty years, ally- ing themselves with the English and Dutch colonists the Iroquois controlled Lake Erie and compelled the French to send all of their exploring parties through the region to the west controlled by the friendly Algonkins. This mistake of Champlain was largely responsible for the early discovery and exploration of the upper Mississippi Valley. Like all early explorers Champlain believed America to be much smaller than it really is. Nothing was known of the western country, although most men believed it to be but a narrow strip west of the Great Lakes through which rivers flowed into the China Sea. Wandering Indians brought strange tales to the settlers about the region to the west and thus kept alive the desire to get 20 OUR WISCONSIN the rich trade of the East. Champlain studied such re- ports carefully and made a map of the region as he sup- posed it to be. Champlain was the moving spirit in all of the early French activities. In 1611 he established a trading post at Montreal. He selected young men to live among the Indians to study their languages and customs and to in- crease French influence. He sent them on long journeys to make treaties with the Indians and to bring back in- formation about the Western frontier. Through this severe training he developed young men who had all of the physical endurance of the savage combined with the intelligence of the white man. The explorations of these men greatly extended the boundaries of New France, but when Champlain died on Christmas day, 1635, their activities were discontinued for a quarter of a century. French Motives. In their explorations the French were impelled by several motives. Four which seemed to give direction to their work were : 1. Desire for territorial expansion. The Frenchman wanted his flag to fly in every part of the world. He wanted to settle every available foot of land not already held by some other power. 2. Religious zeal. The Catholic church, through its missionaries, wanted to gather all of the Indians within its fold. 3. The fur-trade. Fur-trading was a very profitable industry. 4. Love of adventure. Popular imagination was kindled by the reports of adventures to be had in the New World. THE COMIXG OF THE WHITE MEN 21 Jean Nicolet. One of the young men who heard of these adventures was Jean Xicolet, the son of a mail- carrier of Xormandy. He came to Quebec in 1618 when he was twenty years of age, a vigorous, ambitious and daring young Frenchman. He was immediately em- ployed by Champlain who sent him on a mission to the Algonkins. There on the Ottawa River, three hundred miles from Quebec and with no companions of his own race he spent two years, undergoing many hardships and perils. An old French chronicle says : "He often passed seven or eight days v^ith- out food, and once, full seven weeks with no other nourishment than a little bark from the trees." Afterward he was stationed for ten or eleven years among the Xipissings near the lake of that name. He be- came one of them and seemed to enjoy their manner of living. He prei:)ared notes of their life and customs which later fell into the hands of a French missionary. In 1632 he returned to Ouebec, which had been re- stored to the French after a short ownership by the En- glish. Here he was employed by the company which had control of the development of X^ew France. Chami)lain was anxious to have more explorations made to the west and X^icolet was eager to undertake the work. Accus- tomed as he was to the fatigues and privations of the wilderness and with a full knowledge of Indians and Indian life, he was just the man to be sent into the un- known West. ''People of the Sea." One of the reasons why Cham- plain was anxious to have X^icolet undertake this journey was a story that had come from Indians trading at Quebec, which told of a nation of Indians dwelling some 22 OUR WISCONSIN distance westward known as the People of the Sea. The Frenchmen beheved that these must be Chinese and that at last they were to reach the East by sailing west. These Indians were, however, a branch of the Dakotas, later known as the Winnebagoes but then called the Ouinipeg. The term ouinipeg means bad smelling water and was thought to refer to the salt water of the ocean as contrasted w^ith the fresh water of the inland lakes. The "sea" from which they came was undoubtedly the Mississippi River, and the "bad smelling water" is now believed to have referred to a group of sulphur springs near Lake Winnipeg. The fanciful descriptions of these people had confirmed Champlain in the belief that he had at last found the long-sought route to China. He chose Nicolet as his ambassador to go to these people, make a treaty of peace with them and secure their trade for New France. At Lake Michigan. In July of the year 1634 Nicolet left Quebec in company with some Jesuit missionaries who were leaving to establish a mission in the Huron country. He went up the Ottawa River to his old station among the Algonkins. There he left the priests and went on alone, following the Mattawan River to its source. He carried his canoe and baggage over a portage to Lake Nipissing, crossed the lake and followed the French river down to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. Champlain had been this far before, probably the farthest point yet reached in the westward exploration. Nicolet was now in a land absolutely unknown to white people. He spent some time there, gaining such information as he could about the People of the Sea and other tribes along the lake shores. He induced seven Huron Indians to ac- THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN 23 company him to assist him in his voyage. In a long birch-bark canoe they went slowly and cautiously along the northern shores of Lake Huron. His Indians were often weary and anxious to give up the trip and, like the sailors of Columbus, were unnerved by superstitious fears. However, the masterful Nicolet overcame all op- position and finally reached the place where dwelt The People of the Falls, now known as Sault Ste. Marie. Here he and his seven Hurons rested. Some think that he may have ascended the St. Mary's River far enough to get a view of Lake Superior although this is unlikely. Recuperated and encouraged, he retraced his way down the strait and entered Lake Michigan through the Macki- nac passage. For the first time a white man saw the broad surface of this inland sea along whose shores are now four important states. This lake has been called by many names its present one being a corruption of the early Indian Michigonong. Other names used have been Lake of the Illinois, Lake St. Joseph, Lake Dauphin, and Algonkin Lake. Leaving Mackinac, Nicolet's canoe was paddled by his Indians along the northern shore of Lake Michigan. He stopped for a brief parley with the Indians upon the shores of Bay de Noquet, an arm of Green Bay, and finally came to the mouth of the Menominee River. There for the first time a white man set foot on Wiscon- sin soil. The Menominees, who lived there, had much lighter complexions than any other Indians he had known. There Champlain's messenger learned that but a short distance to the south he would find his long sought People of the Sea. In the beginning he probably had some doubt about finding them to be Chinese, and long 24 OUR WISCONSIN before he reached their village he had fairly definite ideas about them. However, he sent one of his Hurons for- ward as a herald to notify the Winnebagoes that a white stranger was coming to offer them peace and good-will. At Green Bay. Before leaving Quebec Nicolet had provided himself with a ''grand robe of China damask, all strewn with flowers and birds of many colors." This robe, gorgeous as Joseph's coat, was to be worn when he met the Chinese ruler. He knew the value of appealing to the imagination of the Indian, although this was an extraordinary garment to wear even among savages. The Winnebagoes had sent several men to meet him and conduct him to their village. The strange procession of Winnebago burden-bearers, seven nearly naked Hurons and a white man arrayed in his many colored gown en- tered the excited village. As Nicolet strode forward "the women and children fled at the sight of a man who carried thunder in both hands," for thus they referred to the two pistols that he held. His theatrical entrance to the village, where now stands the city of Green Bay, made a favorable impression and soon a great feast was made for him at which four or five thousand Indians were present. With true French adaptability he made the best of the situation and with much feasting, speech- making and giving of presents, he won them to New France. He obtained their promise to come to Montreal to barter and an agreement not to engage in wars with the friendly Hurons. Near the Wisconsin. When he left the Winnebagoes, Nicolet proceeded up the Fox River through the great regions of wild rice marshes to a point near where Berlin, in Green Lake County, is now situated. There he made a THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN 25 treaty with the Indians. He was but a three days' journey from the Wisconsin River of which he seems to have heard but which he did not seek. Instead, he went south into the Illinois country and thus missed discovering the Mississippi. In the spring of 1635 he returned to Quebec. For nearly a quarter of a century no French voyager dared to follow up his achievements ; yet X'icolet had blazed the trail. Wisconsin was, as has been related, one of the earliest parts of America to be entered by the white man. Xo- where had an Englishman been more than a hundred miles from the Atlantic coast. There were not more than half a dozen settlements in the entire country. X'icolet had found the gateway through which civilization later entered the ^Mississippi valley. The French, however, were explorers not farmers, traders not settlers; and eventually they lost the territory they had penetrated. Had the French induced their colonists to develop the agricultural possibilities of the country instead of en- couraging them to roam the woods for beaver j^eltaries, perha])s the history of the Mississippi Valley and the world would have been different. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. How many years before Wisconsin was discovered was Jamestown settled? Massachusetts? New York? 2. Compare Champlain's map with the corresponding one in your geography. What places did he locate correctly' What errors did he make? .3. Draw a map to indicate the route taken by Xicolet. 4. Compare the story of Nicolet with thai of Columbus. 5. How did Champlain's battle with the Iroquois affect Wis consin history? 26 OUR WISCONSIN 6. Why were early explorers so anxious to reach the East? 7. Compare French motives for discovery with those of the English. 8. Why was Nicolet chosen by Champlain to make this long journey? 9. In your United States history read the chapters on French explorations and discoveries. CHAPTER IV THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF RADISSON By the middle of the seventeenth century Wisconsin had become crowded with Indian villages and had a larger number of red men living within its borders than at any other time in its history. There had grown up a large fur trade with the French and with the Indians to the west who had never seen a white man; So profitable was this trade that the rulers of New France seemed to think it the only industry worth developing. The govern- ment gave a monopoly in the fur trade to a company known as The Hundred Associates. The company was also given many powers ordinarily exercised only by a government. In order to trade with the Indians it was necessary to obtain a license either from the Associates or directly from the government, and to pay well for the privilege. Goods to be traded to the Indians must be bought from the company at very high prices and the furs must be sold to them for whatever the Associates cared to pay. Many restrictions were placed upon the freedom of the trader and many rules were made which were extremely difficult to obey. Because of these restrictions many men began to trade without securing the necessary license. Legally they were outlaws and were usually called courcnrs dc hols which means zvood rangers. At times they were more numerous than the licensed traders, especially at those periods when the 28 OUR WISCONSIN rules were not strictly enforced or when officers encour- aged their violation. A few of the coureurs have left records of their travels, and careful historical study is revealin'g their names and deeds. First in Wisconsin. Two young Canadian coureurs, Pierre Radissen and his brother-in-law, Medart des Groseilliers, are believed to have been the first white men after Nicc^et to come to Wisconsin.^ Little was known of them until a manuscript written by Radisson was found in a library at Oxford and published in London about the middle of the nineteenth century. It is the product of a man of limited knowledge, and its descrip- tions are so vague that it is difficult to ascertain exactly where they traveled. Radisson *eems to have had many thrilling experiences, and his accounts of them remind one of the romantic adventures of John Smith in Virginia. Radisson and Groseilliers probably made two trips to the west, the second being the more important. In 1654"^ they left Quebec *'to discover the great lakes that they heard the wild men speak of." They followed the route taken twenty years before by Nicolet and, like him, they traveled with Indians who accompanied them to paddle their canoes. They visited "ye nation with ye standing hairs" as the French termed the Ottawas, and spent the winter with the Pottawattomies on the peninsula east of Green Bay. They explored somewhat. Radisson writes, "^^^e weare 4 moneths in our voyage without doeing any- thing but goe from river to river." They do not seem to have made any map of the region through which they Avent. Their trade with the Indians gave them a good idea of the country. They describe vaguel}^ a trip to "ye * Evidence divided. Perhaps 1654 safer than 1658. Thwaitcs prefers 1654. THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF RADISSON 29 greate river that divides itself in 2," which may mean the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri. If so, they discovered the Mississippi many years before the date commonly assigned to its discovery. Returning to Sault Ste. Marie they explored a long stretch of the southern shore of Lake Superior and even went as far north as Hudson Bay.- They returned to Quebec in 1635 with a quantity of valuable furs, and were received with great rejoicing in sj^ite of the fact that they had been trading without a license. During their absence, wars with the Iroquois had interrupted the trade with the Northwest and the return of two men who had resumed trading with the interior tribes was looked upon as the beginning of a new era. First Habitation in Wisconsin. Three years after their return the two men determined upon a second voyage. Unlicensed traders were now forbidden to go into the Northwest but they left secretly for the upper lakes. Going along the southern shore of Lake Superior until they came to Chequamegon Bay, they continue^l thtir explorations. ^ Near where the city of Ashland now stands they constructed the first habitation ever built by white men in A\''isconsin and arounrl it built a little fort ' of stakes outside of which was a long cord upon which bells were tied. The next winter was very severe. As a result, they were reduced to eating boiled skins, ground bone and the bark of trees. In Radisson's words, "finally we became the very image of Death. Here are -above 500 dead." Regarded As An Outlaw. When spring came the Frenchmen went with the Hurons into that part of Minnesota Ivincr between the St. Croix River and the 30 OUR WISCONSIN Mississippi. Later they returned to Chequamegon Bay and built another fort. There they traded with the Hurons and after collecting a good cargo of furs returned to Montreal. They were not treated royally at this second home-coming; they were now classed as outlaws and their furs were taken from them. Radisson was extremely angry at this treatment and went to Paris where he hoped to secure recognition be- cause of his services to New France. He was dis- appointed and went to London where he offered himself to the English. While there he wrote his journal. He succeeded in interesting some men in England who or- ganized The Hudson Bay Company which later con- trolled the great fur trade of the Northwest. He died in London, not highly regarded by the English and con- sidered a traitor by the French. Radisson will be remembered because he opened up the Wisconsin country to the fur trade, explored the region of Lake Superior and the vast territory border- ing Hudson Bay, deeply interested the Jesuit mission- aries who had much to do with the opening of the great Northwest to civilization, and told the story of his strange adventures in his journal. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What was the difference in the attitude of the French and that of the English toward the New World? 2. Of what importance to France was the fur trade? 3. Why did not the fur trade lead to permanent settlements? 4. Compare the motives of Radisson with those of Nicolet. 5 Why was Radisson received so warmly on his first return to Montreal and so differently the second time? 6. Write a short summary of this chapter. CHAPTER V NICHOLAS PfeRROT, FOREST RANGER We have been told in the story of Radisson how the coureur was regarded by the government. The return of Radisson and Groseilliers to Montreal from the North- west had created great excitement and every young man in New France dreamed of the wealth to be found in the forests of Wisconsin. These men were largely the younger sons of the nobility of France or were returned soldiers. They had no ties binding them to a home, and with utter disregard of the hazards and hardships of forest life they penetrated into the remotest regions of the lake country. They were not careful to obtain a license to trade but relied upon themselves. In seeking furs they opened up the country to the white men. In fact, it is difficult to determine whether the coureurs or the missionaries were of greater importance in the development of Wisconsin. The Forest Ranger. The forest ranger was a pictur- esque character. As the trade in furs was profitable and the roving life, free from restraints, had many charms that aj)pealed to the ardent French temperament, the number of traders constantly increased. Unlike the Eng- lishman the Frenchman did not seek to crowd out the Indian but adopted his habits and customs and lived the life of the red man. He could paint and tattoo himself, dance with the braves or smoke the pipe of peace in the 32 OUR WISCONSIN councils of the tribe. In the lodges of the Indian he wooed and won the dusky maidens of the woods. At times the ranger would be seized with a desire to return to the settlements on the St. Lawrence. Laden with his furs he would make his way through the wilder- ness until he reached a settlement. Then, having sold his furs, he would seek the company of others like himself for a season of joviality and gayety lasting until his purse was empty. With money gone, he would make his peace with the church and return to the home of the beaver and the lodge of the Indian. The rangers kept the friendship of all the Algonkin tribes but one, the Foxes, and were thus able to hold the trade of the region against the en- croachments of the English. The forest ranger was the advance guard of the civilization that followed the open- ing of the great highways of trade in the western coimtry. Nicholas Perrot. One of the most famous of the forest rangers was Nicholas Perrot. Little is known of his early years except that he accompanied missionaries as a hunter to provide necessities for them while they sought for converts among the red men. In 1665, when he was about twenty-one years of age, he came to Wis- consin and made the acquaintance of the Pottawattomies. He always had a strong influence over the Indians and was entrusted b}^ the government to keep peace with various tribes. Four or five years he spent in eastern Wisconsin visiting and trading with the natives, joining in their feasts and smoking with them the pipe of peace. The French were extremely anxious to protect their fur trade from the English who were developing a trade of their own in the Hudson Bay country. For this reason, Perrot was appointed by the authorities of New France NICHOLAS PERROT, FOREST RANGER 33 to assemble the western Indians in a great peace council at Sault Ste. Marie and to negotiate with them a treaty which would bind the Indians to Xew France. With this purpose in mind, Perrot spent the winter of 1670 along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron where he induced fourteen tribes to send delegates to the meeting held in the spring of 1671. Father Marquette was there with the Ottawas, and the famous Louis Jol- iet, who knew many dialects, acted as official interpreter. An impressive ceremony took place with j^riests and warriors chanting the praises of God and of King Louis XIV. The Indians acknowledged themselves subject to the French king and recognized the authority of the French «overnment over their territorv. As a svmbol of possession the Frenchmen nailed to a cedar pole a great tablet of lead bearing the arms of France. Hardly had the gorgeous pageant come to an end when the Indians celebrated the event by stealing the tablet. "Commandant Of the West." Perrot went back to the vSt. Lawrence, was married, became the father of many children, and acquired considerable influence. In the meantime much exploring, to be described in later chapters, was done in the Wisconsin country. But in 1681 Perrot returned to the woods, and was finally made Commandant of the West. In 1689 he repeated on Wis- consin soil the ceremony that had been performed at Sault Ste. Marie and took ])ossession of the land in the name of the King of France. lie was no longer a ranger but held a license and had under him a company of twenty soldiers. The W^isconsin and Mississipj^i Rivers had now been discovered. Conse(|uently he went over the Fox-\M'sconsin River route to the Mississij)j)i. He 34 OUR WISCONSIN then ascended the Father of W^aters and established a number of French posts, one near Prairie du Chien, one near Trempeleau, and one at Lake Pepin. He seems also to have gone down the river and to have built a stockade to guard a lead mine he had discovered near Galena, Illinois. He had many adventures, once being condemned to be burned at the stake. He escaped, however, and managed to reach friends at the mouth of the Fox River. In 1699, the Fox Indians having begun war against the French, the King of France ordered all of the western forts abandoned. Perrot's career in Wisconsin thus came to an abrupt end and he returned to the St. Law- rence country a poor man. As long as he ruled in the West he maintained French authority and exercised a wonderful influence over the Indians. He died when he was about seventy-five years old, lonely, broken-spirited and neglected by the government for which he had toiled and borne hardships for so many years. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Compare Nicolet and Perrot. 2. Why did the French give up their western trading posts? 3. Why did the French use so much ceremony in dealing with the Indians? 4. Describe the life of a forest ranger. 5. How do you account for Perrot's influence over the Indians? CHAPTER VI THE WANDERINGS OF THE BLACK GOWNS The Jesuits. Although the forest rangers did much of the exploring in Xew France they seldom wrote their stories, and as a result have received but little credit for their work. But close upon the heels of the soldier of fortune came the soldier of the cross with his crucifix. Not a little of the pioneer work of opening up the ]\Iis- sissippi \^alley to civilization was done by the Jesuit mis- sionaries, members of a brotherhood of the Roman Catholic church to whom was assigned entire charge of the missions in the Canadian country. These wandering "black-gowns," as the Indians called them, were required to report in writing at regular intervals to their superiors in Paris. Their reports were collected and published annually from 1632 to 1672 and are now known as The Jesuit Relations. These reports are almost the only sources of reliable information concerning this interesting period of a history of the N^orthwest. Their Life. The story of the wanderings of these men of the church is one of patient devotion to work in a barren and un])rofitable field. They had a vision of a new world to be brought to their church and their king. For this they were willing to endure every physical discom- fort, even undergoing the hideous tortures of the stake while seeking converts among the heathen red men. They 1)uilt rude bark chapels and even when half starved 36 OUR WISCONSIN and suffering from the rigors of a northern cHmate, con- tinued to chant the simple service of their faith to a few- miserable savages. They failed in their principal . aim but their work was of great value to the king of France, for they helped to hold, the Indians to their alliance w^ith the French and to keep back the English. The names of three Jesuits — Rene Menard, Claude Allouez and Jacques Marquette — are inseparably associated with the history oi Wisconsin. Rene Menard. The first of these white missionaries to come to Wisconsin was Rene Menard. He was a white-haired man of fifty-five, *'his form bent with age," w^hen he was summoned to go to Lake Su|)erior and fol- low up the work of Radisson. He accepted his new duty with a feeling that there he should meet his death. Going to Canada when a young man to work for the church, he had baptized over four hundred friendly Indians and had even worked among the hostile Iroquois. He heard the call of duty and could not refuse to heed it. To a young man the journey would have been a hardship; to an old man it was almost unendurable. He set out with some Indian comp*anions \yho treated him cruelly. He was compelled to paddle constantly and to carry heavy packs over the difificult portages ; but through all of the terrible hardships the old man did not lose heart. The party reached the region of Lake Super- ior when an accident happened to his canoe and Menard with three Indians was left alone on the south shore of the lake. Here they suffered greatly from hunger and were reduced to subsisting upon soup made from ground bone. Had it not been for the hospitality of a group of Ottawas at Keweenaw, themselves almost at the THE WANDERINGS OF THE BLACK GOWNS 37 point of starvation, they would have perished. But even under tliese circumstances the faithful priest started a mission. In the spring of I60I a band oi Hurons sent him an invitation to visit them near the headv^^aters of the Black River. In July he set out with a French companion and a party of Indians. Before long" the Indians deserted, leav- ing the Frenchmen to obtain food as best they could. They were now on the A\^isconsin River not far from the present city of Merrill. Either in crossing the portage from the A\'isconsin to the Black River or in going around some rapids, the missionary and his companion were separated and ^Menard was never seen again. He may have perished from exposure, or a victim of the tomahawk of a murderous Sioux. His cassock and kettle were later found in the lodge of an Indian, a circumstance pointing to his murder. Thus passed away the great pioneer missionary who five years before Marquette came to America was serving his church in A\"^isconsin. Father Allouez. Menard w^as succeeded by Father Claude Allouez who in 1665 established the first mission on Wisconsin soil at Chequamcgon on Lake Superior. This great lake was then known as Lake Tracy. Xot far from the site of Radisson's first trading hut he erected his cha])cl of l)ark and began his mission. Allouez was a ])erfect type of the Jesuit missionary. He carried Christianity into the wilderness and from the wilderness he sent information about the land and people to his native country. He had entered the priesthood in France while still a boy, had received a splendid educa- tion and for a year had preached in a Jesuit church in France. His superior wrote of liim. "He is possessed 38 OUR WISCONSIN of a vigorous constitution, of a fine mind and disposition, of good judgment and great prudence. He is firm in pur- pose, proficient in literature and theology and eminently fitted for missionary work." His life confirmed this high estimate. Allouez reached Quebec in 1658 where, as Nicolet had done, he spent some years studying the Hurons and Algonkins to fit himself for his work. He set out for the region of Lake Superior in August, 1665, with a company of four hundred Indians who had come to Quebec to trade with the French. The treatment he received from these savages was similar to that which poor Menard had ex- perienced. He was compelled to paddle and to carry heavy packs until his strength gave out. ''I imagined myself a malefactor condemned to the galleys," he wrote. The Indians, wishing to discourage him from conducting a mission, devised many ways to compel him to turn back. They stole his clothing and his blankets and gave him almost no food. But in spite of hardships his strong constitution and his indomitable will enabled him to reach Chequamegon Bay where on a peninsula he founded his mission and named it La Pointe. He re- mained there four years, undergoing every danger and hardship incident to life among the savages. First Building in Wisconsin. For two years he was stationed near the present city of Berlin where Nicolet had once been, but in the winter of 1671-72 he found a more favorable site near the rapids of De Pere and es- tablished a mission there. The following year a fine church, the first permanent building in Wisconsin, named St. Francis Xavier, was built. Allouez remained in Wisconsin until 1676 -^hen he went south into Illinois. THE WANDERINGS OF THE BLACK GOWNS 39 He died in August, 1689, after having devoted a quarter of a century to labors among the savages. The De Pere mission became a center for the fur trade and for the mission work of the church. The ten years following its construction were the most flourishing in the history of Jesuit missionary work in Wisconsn. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Read in an encyclopaedia or other reference work an ac- count of the Jesuits. 2. Find out what you can of the historian, Francis Parkman 3. What did Menard do for Wisconsin? 4. What was Lake Superior formerly called? 5. Locate La Pointe and De Pere on the map. 6. What was the importance of the De Pere mission? CHAPTER VIT JOLIET AND MARQUETTE In the journals of the early explorers are many refer- ences to a great river to the west, so that it is possible one of them may have discovered the Mississippi although no account of such a discovery has come down to us. We do know, however, that in 1673 Joliet and Marquette set out to find the Great River and that they succeeded. The lower part of the ^Mississippi had been discovered by DeSoto more than a century before, but this discovery had not been followed by exploration and development. As the French discovery of the upper Mississippi re- suited in exploration, trade, and settlement, the French are justly entitled to the credit for finding* it. It is in- teresting to note that the exploration and settlement of tliis great river valley began near its source and slowly worked toward the sea, whereas almost every other river valley has been developed from the sea toward the head- waters. Louis Joliet. Louis Joliet, who is entitled to more credit for the discovery of the Mississippi than he has had in the past, was the son of a wagon-maker employed by the Hundred Associates at Quebec. Here in the New World the future explorer was born and educated. His schooling was received ^from the Jesuits, and he early resolved to give his life to the service of the church. At the age of eighteen he became a priest but soon renounced JOLIET AND MARQUETTE 41 his clerical vocation and turned his attention to the fur trade. He learned several Indian languages and made numerous journeys into the wilderness. We have seen him acting, as interpreter for Perrot in the great Indian gathering held at Sault Ste. Alarie in 1671 where he im- pressed both the missionaries and officers as a man well fitted to take up the work of exploration. Jacques Marquette. Joliet is usually associated with a man of entirely different type, the Jesuit missionary, Jacques Marquette, who came of a race of soldiers. At an early age he too resolved to become a Jesuit. In 1666, when he was twenty-nine years of age, he was sent to Quebec as a missionary. We have seen him at Sault Ste. Marie and we remember that he succeeded Allouez at La Pointe. From there he was removed to Mackinac where he remained until May, 1673. A man of great en- terprise and a preacher of undoubted ])Ower, he was also one of the purest souls in the history of his order. Al- though he was eight years older than Joliet, the two be- came fast friends. New France now had a governor. Count Frontenac, who was very anxious to have discovered the river of which he had heard so much. Here was a mysterious waterway of which no white man knew the beginning or the end but which was believed to empty into the Gulf of California and, consequently, to make easy the journey to obtain the riches of the Indies. Frontenac had re- ceived his idea of an ex])edition to explore the river from Jean Talon ; therefore to the latter we owe indirectly the discovery of the Mississippi. Exploring for Mississippi River. To carry out 'I'alon's project I'Vontenac appointed Joliet to go in 42 OUR WISCONSIN search of the Great River. In those days no exploring party was complete without a priest as the conversion of the Indians was deemed as important as the adding of new territory or the development of the fur trade. Jol- iet was instructed to go to Mackinac where Marquette was stationed and there to deliver orders to the mis- sionary to accompany his party. Joliet reached the mis- sion in December, 1672, and decided to spend the winter there. Marquette had long wanted to visit the hospitable Indians of Illinois and gladly embraced the opportunity of joining the exploring party. During the long winter nights by the light of the logs that blazed on the hearth- stone, they made ])lans and drew maps to guide them on their journey. The Start. On the seventeenth of May in the fol- lowing year Joliet and Marquette with five other French- men began their famous voyage in two birch bark canoes which were stored with a quantity of Indian corn and smoked beef. They went westward through the Strait of Mackinaw and down along the shores of Lake Michi- gan and Green Bay to the village of Menomonies. There they heard tales that would have caused men less deter- mined to give up their plans. They were told of ferocious tribes along the river who put all strangers to death, of demons and monsters of every kind and of heat so in- tense that should they escape the other perils they would certainly be burned to death. ^Marquette calmed the fears of the Indians, taught them a prayer and pushed on. Near Portage. They travelled over the route that had been taken by Nicolet, Radisson, and Allouez, reach- ing the mission near the present city of Berlin on the seventh day of June. Calling the chiefs and elders of the JOLIET AND MARQUETTE 43 region into council, Joliet told them that the governor of Canada had sent him to discover new countries and his companion to teach Christianity to the inhabitants. The explorers were treated with kindness and given two In- dians to act as guides. They followed the Fox River through its tortuous channel until they came to the bend in the river near the present citv of Portage. The river had become a labyrinth of lakes and marshes so choked and covered with wild rice as to make it almost impos- sible to follow the channel. They were now but a short distance from the \\^isconsin and on the threshold of the great discovery. They carried their canoes across the prairie and launched them upon the Wisconsin to con- tinue their journey. Mississippi Reached. On the seventeenth of June, 1673, the canoes floated otit upon the broad expanse of the Mississippi. There at the picturesque delta of the \\'is- consin they found the noble stream which they had been sent to discover. It was a great moment but they had not yet accomplished all they had set out to do. They had been instructed to find out whether or not the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of California. Information ob- tained from the Indians led them to believe that it flowed into the Culf of Mexico. However, they continued their voyage down the river. As they travelled, Marquette made accurate observations of the country and of its vegetable and animal life. The journey down the ]\Iississippi was not without adventure. Although some Indian tribes proved friendly others were disposed to threaten them. They went as far south as the mouth of the Arkansas River. At last they were convinced that the river would not take them 44 OUR WISCONSIN across the contirxent to the Pacific. Reluctantly they turned toward Canada with their dream shattered. They had clung to the hope that had led Columbus, Hudson, Nicolet, and Cabot to undertake their great journeys of discovery and exploration, and like each of them had made an important discovery. Their Return. Through the burning heat of July and August they paddled northward against the current, homeward bound. Instead of returning by way of the AA'isconsin River they followed the Illinois to the port- age near Chicago and in September, after a journey of nearly twenty-eight hundred miles in a little more than four months, were back at the Jesuit mission at De Pere. As Marquette's health had failed on the return journey he remained at the mission while Joliet went to Quebec to report to his superior officers, ^^^^ile approaching Montreal the canoe in which Joliet was traveling upset and he narrowly escaped death. His journal and notes were swept away and never recovered. He had to make an oral report to Frontenac and retrace his maps from memor}^. Because of this accident it remained for Mar- quette to relate for future generations the narrative of this expedition. We know little of the later years of Joliet's life. Like many another brave Frenchman who had brought glory to France, he Avas neglected b}^ his government. He was given, in mockery it seems, an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence where he built a fort and a dwelling for his family. Within two years his island was taken by an English fleet and he and his family fell into the hands of the English commander. His propert}^ was thus lost, but he soon recovered his freedom. Of his last vears we JOLIET AND MARQUETTE 45 know only that he died in poverty some time previous to 1737, others reaping the benefits of his discoveries. Marquette's Last Days. A sad interest attaches to the fate of the gentle Marquette. After remaining at De Pere until October, 1674, he returned to Illinois and reached the Chicago River early in December. Ex- ])OSure to the cold had brought a return of a disease from which he suffered and he was obliged to spend the winter in a wretched Indian hut near Chicago. There he worked with the Indians and held one large meeting at which he preached Christianity with such power that the Indians begged him to remain with them. But his body had be- come so enfeebled that he felt the end was near and at- tempted to return to his old mission at Mackinac in company with two Frenchmen. He was so weak that most of the time he lay in the bottom of the boat. On the eighteenth of May he passed away without having reached Mackinac. He was a young man just thirty- eight when he died, but he had given his life to his country and his God. It will be remembered that under the rules of the Jesuit order cacli missionary was to send a report an- nually to liis superior at Quebec. During the winters of 167v3 and 1674 both Marquette and Joliet had prepared reports from their journals. \\'e have learned how the report of Joliet was lost. Marquette sent his report to Quebec together with his journal and a map of the region which had been explored, but for some reason it was not included in the now famous Jesuit Relations. The complete journal was not jniblished until 18.^2. By this time Joliet was almost forgotten and Marcjuette has received most of the credit for a discovery which belongs to both. 46 OUR WISCONSIN There has been a great deal of unnecessary argu- ment as to which of the two is more entitled to be honored. Such argument is never profitable. These two men were such close friends and of such fine natures that it seems certain they would disapprove of contro- versy on this point. Joliet represents the French genius for trade ; Marquette, the French genius for spirituality. Each appreciated the gifts of the other. The practical, hard-headed biisiness man, Joliet, loved and admired the romantic and spiritual Marquette ; and Marquette re- spected and understood the talents of Joliet. The truth seems to be that to Jean Baptiste Talon, intendant of Canada, belongs the credit for the idea that led to the discovery of the Mississippi ; to Louis Joliet, the credit for the execution of the plan ; and to Jacques Marquette, the credit for the preservation of the incidents of this discovery. To Robert Cavelier de La Salle belongs the glory of achieving that which made the exploration and settlement of the Mississippi Valley possible. His story we shall now hear. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. . How many years elapsed between the discoveries by Nicolet and those by Joliet and Marquette? 2. Trace on a map the journeys of Joliet and Marquette. 3. What debt does Wisconsin owe to the Jesuits? 4. What were the aims of the French explorations? 5. How has Wisconsin perpetuated the name of Marquette? 6. Why has Joliet received so little credit for his work? CHAPTER VIII LA SALLE AND HIS COMPANIONS Following the discovery of the ^Mississippi River a notable group of adventurers came to the Wisconsin region. By far the greatest of these men was La Salle, one of the most remarkable characters in American his- tory. With two companions, the brave and faithful Italian, Henry de Tonty, and the boastful friar, Louis Hennepin, he made the explorations that gave to France the great empire of the Mississippi Valley. A soldier of fortune, Daniel Graysolon Duluth, a cousin of Tonty, also played an important part in the remarkable career of La Salle. The story of these men and their adventures is as marvelous as the romances of Sir Walter Scott. Life and Characteristics. Robert Cavelier was born at Rouen, France, in 1643, on an estate known as La Salle. He is commonly known by the name of the estate rather than by the name of his family. Like many of the French explorers he had early in life consecrated himself to the priesthood. He was educated in a Jesuit school where for ten years his naturally strong mind developed under the iron discipline of that society. La Salle was by nature little fitted for a life of seclusion from the world, and giving up his ambition to serve the church he emigrated to Canada where his brother Jean was living. On the St. Lawrence River he built himself a cabin, bar- tered with the Indians for furs and studied the languages 48 OUR WISCONSIN and customs of the red men. His dream, like that of many other explorers, was to find a way to China. He built a trading post which his unsympathetic neighbors nicknamed La Chine. He dwelt among the Indians, half- breeds, traders, voyageurs, forest rangers, and Fran- ciscan monks, ruling with a rod of iron, enforcing respect by his energy and making enemies by the sternness of his discipline. He was a shy, cold, stern man but was liked by the Indians and the few white men who recog- nized his great ability. He ruled by fear rather than by love and was somewhat tactless in his handling of men. He was self-reliant and resolute, incapable of repose, energetic and, if stern to his followers, was pitiless to himself. Parkman says of him, "He was a tower of ada- mant, against whose impregnable front hardship and danger, the rage of man and of the elements, the southern sun, the northern blasts, fatigue, famine, disease, delay, disappointment and deferred hope emptied their quivers in vain. To estimate aright the marvels of his patient fortitude, one must follow his track through the scenes of his interminable journeyings, those thousands of miles of forest, marsh, and river, where, again and again, in the bitterness of baffled striving, the untiring pilgrim pushed onward toward the goal which he was never to attain. America owes him an undying memory; for, in his masculine figure, she sees the pioneer who guided her to the possession of her richest heritage." Henry de Tonty. La Salle's lieutenant, Henry de Tonty, was an Italian in the service of the French. He was the son of a banker in Italy who had invented a sys- tem of life insurance once very popular but now dis- credited. In seven campaigns on board ship and in the Devils Lh aik, ai Dallks ok the St. Ckoix So ' OUR WISCONSIN galleys Tonty had fought for France. He had lost his right hand by having it shot away by a grenade and had replaced it with an artificial hand made of iron which he used wuth good effect among the Indians when they be- came disorderly. As he wore a glove over the hand they could not understand how he could deal such blows. He could knock out their teeth or crack their skulls at a single blow, hence they regarded him as a wonderful man. He was a bold, adventurous spirit but, unlike his leader, he was kind and gentle and had a tactful, sunny temperament. His complexion was as dark as that of an Indian, his hair was black and curly and his eyes fear- less but kindly. He could control men when the harsher methods of La Salle failed. Father Hennepin. La Salle had quarreled with the Jesuits but as one priest was considered necessary to every exploring party he chose for his companion Father Louis Hennepin, a member of the order of St. Frawcis. Hennepin was a man of adventurous spirit and much shrewdness but he was much given to magnifying his own achievements and belittling those of others. Clad in the coarse gray gown of his order, with a girdle at his waist, sandals on his feet, and a portable altar on his back he was a strange figure even in the wilderness. He was fond of travel in strange countries and among strange people, and he dearly loved adventure. His imagination, however, often seemed to get the better of his memory and many of his tales of adventure are pure fiction. His stories were eagerly read in Europe and were translated into almost every language spoken on the continent. But after making due allowance for his inaccuracy, his accounts of the La Salle expedition are wonderfully Interesting. LA SALLE AND HIS COMPANIONS 51 Duluth. Another famous explorer was Daniel Gray- solon Duluth, a cousin of Tonty of the iron hand. He was born about 1647 in a little village near Paris and, like his cousin, was at one time a brave soldier in Europe, serving as a member of the Royal Guard. In one bloody battle he had two horses killed under him. For some un- known reason he gave up the opportunity to win military glory and chose to become a wanderer among the Indians of the New World. His career in many ways resembles that of the famous Perrot. He w^as the first white man to journey in a canoe from Lake Superior to the Mis- sissippi by w^ay of the St. Croix River. He was extremely successful as a fur-trader but had to make a journey to France to prove that he was not a coureur de bois. Whatever may have been his status, he returned by way of the Wisconsin River, with a license to trade among the Sioux. La Salle protested that the territory was his and must not be invaded by the rival trader. Duluth seems to have held his trade but with much opposition. He died in 1709 as a result of diseases brought on by the hardships of his life. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What qualities do you admire in each of these four men? 2. Do travelers always tell the exact truth? 3. Which of the followinp: motives led each of these Frenchmen into the new country: a desire for wealth, conquest, ex- ploration, missionary zeal, love of adventure? 4. What does Wisconsin owe to these men? 5. In what respects does Duluth resemhle Perrot? 6. How have the names of these men been perpetuated? CHAPTER IX LA SALLE AND THE MISSISSIPPI The discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet and Mar- quette did not result in any knowledge of the body oi water into which this river empties, although Marquette seems to have suspected that it found its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Five years after the discovery La Salle set out from Canada with authority from the French king "to labor at the discovery of the western part of Xew France" and to follow the river to the sea. He was given the official privilege to build forts and to engage in trade but he was to pay his own expenses. In September, 1678 he sent a party of men to the banks of the Niagara River with anchors, cordage, sails and other supplies with which to build a sailing vessel for the Great Lakes. He had gone heavily in debt to procure this equipment, hoping to pay his creditors with furs. He dreamed not only of wealth for himself but of a great empire to be won for France in the unexplored ^^^est. "The Griffin." Xot far from the present city of r>uf- falo, which is on Lake Erie, La .Salle's men built the first ship that ever floated on the Great Lakes. It was named the Griffin. On the prow of the vessel was a rudely carved representation of the fabulous monster, half eagle and half lion, whose name the ship bore. The vessel was not large, as ships go, but it carried a crew of thirty-one men. After a journey of twenty days the vessel cast LA SALLE AND THE MISSISSIPPI 53 anchor in the Strait of ^Mackinac from which, six years before, Toliet and Marquette had begun their famous journey. The Indians gathered on the shore were astonished to see the gigantic "canoe" and Hke the In- dians who first beheld the ships of Henry Hudson, mar- veled at a ''house that walked on the water." From Mackinac the Griffin proceeded to Green Bay where La Salle collected a cargo of furs, enough to pay his debts and leave him money for further exploration. He sent the ship back to the trading post at Niagara but the Griffin was never heard from again. WHiether it foundered in a storm or whether the cut-throat crew, ripe for mutin}^ before their departure from Green Bay, scut- tled the ship after stealing the cargo and escaped to the Indians of the North, remains a mystery. The Great Lakes have had many appalling shipwrecks of which this may have been the first. ml Post Established. From Green Bay La Salle with fourteen followers went in canoes along the western shore of Lake Michigan on a journey of exploration. At one time a violent storm compelled him to land at the mouth of the river where the city of Alilwaukee is now situated. At this point was a village of Pottawattomies who. fearing the white men, had abandoned their cabins and supplies. La Salle took such jorovisions as he needed, leaving in their place a quantity of the goods which were usually traded to the Indians for food and furs. He then went around the southern end of the lake and ^^^oon reached the mouth of the St. Joseph River where Mar- quette had died. There he met Tonty, who with a similar party had oxj)lored the eastern shore of the lake. A rude stockade was built there anrl a few men left in charge. La Salle, Tonty and Hennepin pushed on. 54 OUR iVISCONSIN Fort Crevecoeur. Leaving Lake Michigan they went down the Illinois River to Peoria Lake where they built a fort and named it Fort Crevecoeur, The Fort of the Broken Heart. He had ample cause for discouragement as the Indians threatened hostility, his men lost heart and grew mutinous, the Jesuits were unfriendly and no word came from the Griffin. Discouraged but not defeated La Salle determined to make a journey on foot to Mon- treal to learn wdiat had become of his boat and its cargo. He left Tonty in charge of the fort and sent Hennepin and two companions down the river with instructions to reach the Mississippi and explore its northern waters. Disasters. It took La Salle sixty-five days to make the journey to Montreal. He traveled more than a thou- sand miles through a country where every form of peril and obstruction beset him. Says the old chronicle, "It was the most arduous journey ever made by a French- man in America." He reached his goal only to find that the Griffin had not arrived at Niagara and w^as un- doubtedly lost, to discover that his agents had plundered him, to find his creditors trying to seize his property and his enemies, commercial and political, rapidly increasing in number. If ever a man was beset by both man and nature, that man was La Salle. Yet he kept up his courage, found more followers, obtained fresh supplies and returned to Peoria Lake only to learn of fresh disaster. Tonty's Hardships. Tonty, who it will be remem- bered w^as left in charge of the fort while La Salle and Hennepin journeyed in opposite directions, was soon deserted by all but five of his Frenchmen. He spent the fall makinsf friends with the Illinois Indians. A war be- r^-i S.-iLLE AXD THE MISSISSIPPI 55 tween the Illinois and the Sioux followed, in which Tonty nearly lost his life in trying to protect his friends the Illinois. Thereupon he and his five men sought safety by departing for Green Bay. He missed La Salle, who was hurrying back along the opposite shore of Lake ^Michigan with reinforcements. In Wisconsin Tontv and his men suflfered all of the hardships of the wilderness. They went for days with no food except nuts, roots and wild garlic which they dug from under the snow. Father Gabriel was killed by the Indians while at prayer in a secluded place. Their shoes wore out and they had to make moccasins of beaver skin. It grew 1)itterly cold and they almost starved but the providential killing of a stag gave them renewed courage and supplied them with food. They came to an Indian village which they hoped would afford relief but it was deserted. They were now at their last extremity and had given uj) hope. Tonty was attacked bv a fever and one of his men was suff'erinsf terribly. \\^hen it seemed that nothing could save them, two Indians chanced by their camp and brought relief to the starving men. Among the friendly Pottawattomies in what is now the ])eninsula of Door County. Tonty passed the winter and recovered from the hardshi]:)s of his terril:)le journey. In the spring he crossed to ^^acki- nac to which place La Salle had also returned after find- ing his fort deserted. Together La Salle and Tonty went back to Fort Frontenac to begin again. Second Expedition. 11ie story of La Salle and Tonty and their subsecpient exi)lorations is less intimately as- sociated with the history of Wisconsin. In 1682 they undertook their second expedition down the Mississippi. .After many exciting adventures they reached its mouth 56 OUR WISCONSIN and took possession, in the name of Louis XIV, of all the country drained by its streams — an empire reaching from the Alleghanies to the Rockies. The land in this great valley was named Louisiana. La Salle had won an em- pire for his king but the king was unable to hold it. Two years later the enterprising La Salle endeavored to reach the mouth of the Mississippi by way of the Gulf of Mexico but the squadron missed its destination and was cast away on the inhospitable coast of what is now Texas. Some of his men shot him from ambush and his unburied bones were left to bleach under a southern sun. "Starved Rock." His faithful friend Tonty had been left in command at Starved Rock, a fort on the Illinois River, where he ruled his savage vassals. He heard of the landing of his old commander and started down the river to join him. He was forced, however, to return. He remained at Starved Rock until 1700. In 1704 he died of yellow fever. He is remembered as one of the bravest, most loyal, steadfast and lovable of our i)ioneers. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What were the motives that led to La Salle's explorations? 2. What kind of man was he? 3. Why did the Griffin surprise the Indians? 4. Trace La Salle's journeys on a map. 5. Why were these men willing- to undergo such hardships? 6. Why is La Salle's work so important? 7. Why was the territory called Louisiana? 8. Would you have liked Tonty? CHAPTER X t FAMOUS VISITORS **Lake of Tears." It will be remembered that before La Salle left the Fort of the Broken Heart he had sent Father Hennepin and two companions to explore the upper waters of the Mississippi. They went down the Illinois to the Mississippi and then up the great river until they reached Lake Pepin where some Indians made them prisoners. Hennepin called this lake the Lake of Tears because the Indians who had captured them wept the wdiole night to induce the other warriors to consent to the death of their captives. Their lives were S]:)ared, however, and they were taken to the Minnesota villages of the Sioux where the Frenchmen had many curious ex- l)eriences. They finally reached the Falls of St. Anth(^ny. Although held as prisoners they were taken on hunting exjjeditions by the Sioux. They were released by Duluth. Tonty's cousin, who with a small band of followers was trading with the Indians in behalf of Count Frontenac. He accom])anied Hennepin and his com])anions over the Wisconsin-Fox River route to Mackinac where the Jesuits entertained them until spring when the}' returned to Fort Frontenac. Hennepin's Story. Soon after his adventure Hennepin returned to France where he wrote an account of his ex- ])erieiices in America, mingling fact with fancy until it is difficr.lt to determine exactly what his real experiences 58 OUR WISCONSIN were. In a second book, he claims to have traversed the Mississippi from its source to its mouth and to have been the first to reach both places. As his stories were not accepted as true, he spent his last years in obscurity and disgrace. But despite his inaccuracy, the accounts are invaluable contributions to American history and to the story of Wisconsin. Hennepin was not the real leader of the expedition but he was the usual and necessary priest who went with all such parties. Because of his education he was the chronicler of the journey, for which reason historians have quite generally given him the credit of being the leader although the official head of the party was Michael Accau. Duluth's Journeys. It was lucky for Hennepin and his companions that Daniel Graysolon Duluth appeared on the scene and rescued them from the Indians. Duluth was a powerful coureur de bois and next to Perrot the most important man in the fur region. He had been spending the winter at Mackinac where he learned that he was accused of being an unlicensed trader. To set himself right he went to France to plead his cause. So successful was he that he convinced the authorities that his trade was legal and returned to trade among the Sioux. Duluth made many journeys over the Fox-Wis- consin River route but most of his adventures have little to do with the history of Wisconsin. It will be remem- bered that he was a cousin of Tonty and that like him he had served as a brave soldier in Europe. For some un- known reason he gave up a career which promised great military glory to become a wanderer among the bar- barians of the New World. He was the first white man to journey in a canoe from Lake Superior to the Mis- FAMOUS VISITORS 59 sissippi River, his route being by way of the St. Croix River. He died in 1709, the victim of diseases brought on by the hardships he had suffered in behalf of Xew France. Pierre Charles le Sueur. Another famous visitor to Wisconsin in the days of its discovery and exploration, was Pierre Charles le Sueur. He, too, had come from France when a young man to have a part in the develop- ment of the Xew World. Within ten years after the journey of Jcliet and [Marquette he went over the \Ms- consin-Fox River route, ascended the Alississippi to the Falls of St. Anthony and engaged in trade with the Sioux of that section. His fur trade became very large and as he had unusual business ability he soon became one of the most prominent of the licensed traders. He was one of the witnesses to Perrot's act of taking possession for France of the upper Mississippi region at Lake Pepin. To protect his trade he built forts at Chequamegon Bay and near the mouth of the St. Croix River. The Wis- consin fort became an important trading center for the western country. Discovery of Mines. In 1697 Le Sueur obtained per- mission to work certain "mines of lead, copper, and blue and green earth" whicli liad been discovered in the Mis- sissippi and Superior regions. He met with some diffi- culty in carrying out his project and went to France for authority and assistance. He returned in 1699 but in- stead of going north he went to the newly established French colony at Biloxi. in Louisiana. In December of the same year in company with twenty-nine inspectors, he went up the Mississippi and visited some mines near the present sites of Galena, Illinois; Potosi, Wisconsin; 60 OUR IV I SCON SIN and Dubuque, Iowa. From there he went up the river to the Falls of St. Anthony and engaged again in profitable fur trade with the Sioux. His mining experiments ended in failure. However, the lead deposits wdiich he dis- covered in the southwestern part of \\'isconsin continued to be worked by the French, as bullets were very im- portant in the carrying on of the fur trade. In 1703 there was published in England a book known as Voyages to North America. It was written by Baron Lahontin, the son of a famous French engineer whose fortune had been lost in legal strife. This work was a book of travel filled with stirring tales of adventure that may have given Swift a hint for Gulliver's Travels. Lahontin's career was much like that of the other ex- plorers. Unlike the others, however, he was a cordial hater of priests and an ardent social reformer. His book is written in such a satirical style that it is often said to be a tissue of falsehoods. Nevertheless, it is a valuable account of the early AVisconsin and the Xorth American wilderness. The men described in this and preceding chapters must not be thought of as the only Frenchmen who ])assed through or tarried in \\^isconsin during the seven- teenth century. There were doubtless scores of priests, voyageurs, fur-traders and soldiers going over the AA^is- consin-Fox River route from Canada to the Xorthwest. The ones to whom we have given our attention are those of whom records were left. The others died unknown to fame. FAMOUS VISITORS 61 SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Make a table of the French discoveries and explorations in Wisconsin, using the information given in the preceding chapters. Name of discoverer or explorer Date Place or region Results 2. Why did lur trading not lead to fixed settlements? 3. Why did the French usually go over the Fox-Wisconsin River route? 4. What was the importance of the missionaries taken on each expedition ? 5. Compare Hennipin and Marquette; Nicolet and La Salle. 6. Find on a map of Wisconsin as many geographical names as you can derived from these explorers. 7. Why did these men cling so persistently to the idea that China was to be reached by traveling west? CHAPTER XI THE WAR WITH THE FOX INDIANS One of the bloodiest struggles in the long history of Indian warfare was that in which the French tried to ex- terminate the Fox Indians of Wisconsin. For more than a quarter of a century there was constant war between the French and the Foxes. xA-t its close these Indians were almost destroyed and ''the entering wedge of ruin for the French domain in America" had been driven into the Mississippi \^alley. Wisconsin River Routes. Wq have seen how im- portant the Fox and Wisconsin River Valleys had be- come to the French fur traders. It was possible to take other routes from the Great Lakes to the interior, but this was the easiest to travel and was therefore the favorite gateway to the fur country. For many years it had been controlled by the stubborn and crafty Indians who inhabited the Fox River Valley. Nicholas Perrot was the first white man to visit them. His description of their village of six hundred cabins is a disagreeable picture. Accounts by Allouez and other missionaries and traders agree with Perrot's poor opinion of this tribe. However, it is only just to the Indians to say that, with the exception of Perrot, they found the French traders unjust, deceitful and vicious. As a result the missionaries made very little headway with them. During the period of discovery when Nicollet, Radisson, Marquette, Joliet, THE WAR WITH THE FOX INDIANS 63 La Salle and other explorers were traveling through their territory, the Foxes did not molest them, but when the fur traders followed, there grew up a deadly enmity be- tween the French and the Indians which threatened to overthrow the work of half a century. The French gov- ernment therefore resolved to exterminate the Fox tribe. The Fox war was the result of this policy. Causes of the War. The long struggle between France and England for the control of the fur trade lay at the bottom of this war. The Algonkin Indians were generally in sympathy with the French, and the Iroqu(