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Wabash. Later that summer word reached Canada that Dutisné had retreated from the mouth of the Wabash to the Mississippi with Cadillac. He had taken this step because he had found no one at the Wabash, but along the way he had picked up thirty coureurs de bois.36
Acting in accordance with the plans of the government, St. Pierre and Dupuy
set out in the autumn of 1714, the latter to carry out his instructions to unite
the Wea and Miami with the Illinois. Because his crew fell ill with the measles,
St. Pierre did not reach Michilimackinac until May, 1715. When Dupuy arrived
at Detroit, La Forest was absent; he himself therefore continued to the land
of the Miami and Ouyatanon. In January he reached the Miami of the Babiche,37
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36C11A35:99v; C13A3:853; C13A4:760, 1019; WHC, XVI, 319, 334. The exact date of Dutisné's trip is not quite clear. He was supposed to leave in March, 1713: Cl3A3:374; under date of October 20, 1714, Vaudreuil said he had left le printems dernier, which could mean either 1713 or 1714. "Vaudreuil correspondence," RAQ, 1947-1948, p. 283; C11A34:249v. The trip took three months, C13A4:995, and he was in Louisiana by Feb. 1, 1715, C13A3:853. As a result of Dutisné's mineral samples, Cadillac went upstream in search of mines, but one document says he went in 1714, another in 1715, C13A4:1019; C13A4: 995. According to the former, Dutisné left Quebec in 1713, and Quénet in the spring of 1714. But Bégon on November 12, 17l4, said the latter had not yet gone because of the troubles with the Fox. CllA34: 317v. Therefore it would seem that the Louisiana memoir which gives l713 for Dutisné's Journey and 1714 for Quénet is in error by one year.
37From context in this and subsequent instances, one is forced to the conclusion that either the Babiche was the Maumee or else the name of the Miami village on that stream. C13C2:248. Since the French had used the name Ouabache for that stream for many years prior to this expedition, there seems to be no logical reason for assuming that the scribe made an error in writing Babiche when he meant Ouabache.
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who were disposed to attack the Fox. He also proceeded to the Wea village, where he persuaded them to do likewise, although they were not inclined to do so. While he was among these tribes, he learned from Petit Enseigne Vincennes, who was commanding among the Miami, that peace had already been concluded in the preceding August. In the treaty, the Miami and Illinois had agreed to join in a war on the Fox. As proof of the sincerity of the Indians, Dupuy took back with him to Detroit the two most important Wea chiefs and three of the Miami of the Babiche. He also carried 130 minots of wheat from the Miami or Ouyatanon to Detroit.38
Rumors of the existence of two British posts in the Middle West, one at the
mouth of the Wabash, convinced the officials of New France that it would be
necessary to send an embassy to that region to hold the tribes to their promise
of attacking the Fox as well as to persuade them not to receive the English.
The ambassadors were Louis de Ramezay de Manoir, son of the governor of Montreal
and acting governor of New France, and Gabriel François le Moyne d'Adancourt.39
One of their instructions was to plunder any Englishmen they might find on the
way, if they were strong enough to do so and if the Indians would consent. They
were also to gather
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38CllA35: 72v-73, 101-101v, 228-228v, 266, 269; WHC, XVI, 311-313, 318, 327.
39The spelling of these two names varies considerably from document to document.
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the Miami, Wea, and Illinois warriors at Chicago, where the Detroit tribes were to join them. This force was then to proceed to attack the Fox fort sixty-five leagues from Chicago. Meanwhile Lignery was likewise to assemble the French and Indians of the vicinity of Michilimackinac and come to the Fox fort from the north. The two bodies were to meet at the end of August. Lignery, however, undertook nothing against the Fox because the convoy of munitions, provisions, and presents had not arrived. These articles had not been sent as early as had been planned because of the shortage of food in the upper country.40
The party of Manoir and d'Adancourt left Montreal in April, 1715, with Sabrevois,
the commandant of Fort Pontchartrain; it reached that post on June 15. Manoir
and d'Adancourt left Detroit June 23 to head for the upper country. After ten
days' walking they reached the Miami of the Babiche on July 3. On their journey
they lost from an attack of measles most of the chiefs whom they were taking
home. When they reached the village they found it empty; all the inhabitants
had fled because they had heard the French wanted to eat them. Later they returned,
and the French party remained in their village for five days. These Miami-at
least those who could walk-promised to join the French at Chicago with Vincennes
on August 10. Measles were so prevalent in their vil-
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40C11A35:73v-74v, 269v:WHC, XVI, 313-314, 319-321, 327; Kellogg, French régime, 283-284.
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lages, however, that the French feared the disease might hamper their participation. At this village d'Adancourt turned over the munitions to Vincennes, who was to bring them to Chicago by canoe.
Eight days later the two reached the Wea, who had been warned of their approach. There they were poorly received because of the death of the chiefs. They accused the French of killing them and of trying to mend matters by words. Consequently the legates experienced difficulty in winning back the spirits of the tribe. In an effort to calm them, they gave the savages hope that the governor would send them the officer and missionary for which they had asked. The only promise the whites succeeded in extracting was that when their people had returned from the hunt some would join the war party. The village was expected to contribute at least two hundred men. This decision meant that the French would have to wait for them. The Indians asked that one of the ambassadors remain with them until their party went to Chicago. The French feared that if this request were not granted, the Wea would not go to the rendezvous, in which case the Illinois would also refuse. Therefore d'Adancourt and four others remained. While he was awaiting their departure, an epidemic of measles broke out; the disease became so pernicious that from fifteen to twenty people died each day.
Manoir set out for the Illinois on July 24, with the understanding with the understanding that the two were to meet at Chicago on August 10. At the Illinois he collected 450 men, with whom he reached the rendezvous on August 17; he found no one there. After he had waited
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reimbursed for 223£ spent at Ouiatanon.9 During 1732 and 1733 Reaume was serving as commandant at the Wea post. While acting in that capacity, on August 11, 1732, he supplied a party of thirty Ottawa returning from an attack on the Chickasaw with maize, cowhides, hatchets, leggings, and deerskins. Two weeks later he gave the Piankashaw chiefs of the Rivière au Vermillon powder and bullets in an effort to persuade them to raise their village and come to live at the Ouiatanon post. And at the end of September he furnished a Wea war party under Memcehissiac with shirts, blankets, leggings, vermillion, powder, and brandy before they left for the Chickasaw country.
The Shawnee, a band of two hundred warriors who had settled south of the Ohio, received much attention from the French in 1732. In the preceding summer, they had come to Montreal to ask the governor where he wanted them to settle. Because the officials had always wished to attract this nation and to detach them from the English, they had decided to put them on the north shore of the Ohio and Joncaire had been sent to them to carry out this plan. The French considered that the Shawnee would be useful in case of a rupture with the Iroquois.
In the spring Joncaire reported that he had conducted par-
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9C11A62:65v
10C11A63:134v-135.
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The records for 1737 give a good indication of the number of war parties which traveled between Canada and the southern regions. From April 24 to September 8 the following groups passed the Piankashaw post: sixteen Kickapoo, April 24, three prisoners; sixty Sauk and Potawatomi of Rivière St. Joseph, May 9, three prisoners; forty Piankashaw of the Vermillion village, May 10, one prisoner and three scalps; a party of Miami with eight prisoners and scalps; twenty-three Ottawa of Detroit, July 6, returned August 26 with two prisoners and one scalp; twenty-six Potawatomi of Detroit, July 22, returned September 22 with one scalp; twenty Huron of Detroit, August 2, four prisoners and one scalp; twelve Huron, three scalps and three prisoners; thirty Mascouten; thirty Kickapoo, September 5; forty Wea, September 8, returned September 30, one prisoner and one scalp; a party of Saulteurs of Detroit, October 8, one scalp; a party of Kickapoo, which returned before November 15 with one scalp and one prisoner; a party of Kickapoo, July, two prisoners; two little parties of Huron, twelve prisoners; a party of Huron, twelve prisoners.10 A Wea party killed one Chickasaw man and captured three prisoners.11
At the Miami post, supplies were furnished to Huron parties on June 12, September
7 and 16; and to Iroquois parties, May 24, May 29,
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10C11A67:212-213.
11C13A22:102v.
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From the south came rumors that the Cherokee and Chickasaw had made peace between themselves at the instigation of the English.79 The Chickasaw had likewise asked the French for a cessation of hostilities and there was a possibility that the Cherokee would do so too. Vaudreuil, the new governor, proposed to investigate the situation.80
The bills presented by Beaulieu and Compagnie at the Wea post list seven parties which passed there in 1743,81 and at the Miami Clignancourt presented vouchers covering supplies.82
An interesting detail from the Wea post was also reported by means of a voucher.
On December 5, 1742, Sakarea, La Peau Blanche, and Le Vieux Sourd, Wea war chiefs,
gave the commandant a Chickasaw prisoner for Beauharnois. The Indian escaped
on April 20 but was
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79C13A28:112-112v.
80C13A28:92-92v, 95, 96.
81C11A81:373-373v, 354v; C11A85:284. On March 22 a party of six Ottawa of Sanguinant went south; April 5, twenty-eight Ottawa of the great village; May 22, twenty-four Ottawa of Detroit; May 28, another party of Detroit Ottawa; May 29, twenty Ottawa of Detroit and thirty Miami of St. Pierre's post; and June 2, thirty Ottawa. In September Michel Gamelin furnished supplies to fifteen and thirty-three Detroit Potawatomi returning from the Chickasaw.
82C11A81:378-385, 354v. The vouchers included: March 9, a party of fifteen Miami going to the Chickasaw; April 22, twelve Detroit Ottawa and Abenaki of St. Francis; May 2, twelve Saulteurs; May 23, fifteen Detroit Ottawa; May 25, twenty Ottawa of Saguinant; June 1, thirty Detroit Ottawa; June 4, thirty-four Miami, and June 10, ten Potawatomi.
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subsequently recaptured by the Piankashaw of the Vermillion, who then kept him in custody. In return for their gift, the chiefs were given brandy and a blanket, while the prisoner was furnished food and clothing.83
Among the congés recorded at Quebec were four for the Wea and one for the Miami.
Gaucher, farmer at the first post, recorded permits for his first, fourth, fifth,
and sixth canoes of five men each; the rôle of engagés was given in each case.
The Miami farmer, Lestage, registered only one canoe, but listed fourteen engagés.
No more congés were recorded until 1745.
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83C11A81:354v, 377.
84"Congés de traite conservés aux archives de la Province de Québec," RAQ, 1922-1923, pp. 204, 206.