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INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |
in the spring of 1718 because the Indians had more respect for an officer of
this rank than they did for a subordinate. He selected Charles Renaud Dubuisson
as the most capable officer available. Dubuisson had distinguished himself in
the Indian wars of 1712, when he had commanded at Detroit.6
For several years officialdom discussed the project of moving the Wea and the Miami back to the Lake Michigan area, but small success followed. In 1720 the governor dispatched Ensign Dumont and Simon Reaume to pacify these tribes and to keep them from being deceived by their pro-English chiefs. Should the two nations decide to migrate, traders were to go to them at St. Joseph. Although from forty to fifty Wea did move to the Kankakee, they refused to remain there when the majority of the tribe did not follow. Likewise most of the Miami remained at the headwaters of the Maumee, where the elder Vincennes had died in 1719.7
After these refusals, the governor felt that it was very important not to abandon the Indians. He therefore sent Dubuisson in August, 1721, to occupy a post among the Miami and to command there as well as among the Wea, but Dubuisson was to live with the Miami so that he could forestall the effects of English intrigue. At the Wea post the younger Vincennes,
6Dubuisson was unable to go to the post immediately. C11A38:164-164v: C11A40:184v-187; C11A41 :145-147v, 220-220v; C11A124:9-9v, 46-48; Public Archives of Canada, B42-4 :303. The Wea warrior strength was estimated as 1,000 or 1,200 in 1718. C11A39:361v. A discussion of the founding of Ouiatanon usually raises the question of priority. Apparently Ouiatanon was the first official French post within the boundaries of the state. It is true that the elder Vincennes had been with the Miami before this date, but seemingly his role was that of a resident agent, although there is no official statement to that effect. At any rate, surviving records do not mention an official post at the head of the Maumee until 1721, when Fort Saint Philippe was constructed.
7C11A41:145-146: C11A42:158-160v, 166v-169; C11A43:42-49v, 137-140v, 326-326v, 328-328v; C11A44:356-362, 366-367v; C11A124:551v-552, 626; Wisconsin Historical Collections, XVI, 394-395, 399; Public Archives of Canada, B44-2 :318-319, B45-1:279-281: Richard, "Report on Paris Archives," in Report on Canadian Archives, 1904, K, 27.
146 |
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |
ing as commandant at the Wea post. In August of the former year . he gave the
Piankashaw chiefs of the Rivière au Vermillon powder and bullets to persuade
them to move their village to Ouiatanon.14 During that same year
negotiations were begun to persuade a band of Shawnee to move into the region
north of the Ohio. To facilitate these plans, the French consulted with the
Huron, Miami, and Wea to gain their reactions to the presence of such neighbors
in the Wabash area. Although the Huron objected, when the Wea, who were the
closest neighbors of the Shawnee, bore witness to their joy,
the matter was considered as settled.15
The Miami, Wea, and Piankashaw all suffered many deaths in 1733. Although the commandant at the Miami blamed the casualties on a subtle poison which the English had added to four hundred kegs of brandy the Indians had brought from Oswego, it is much more probable that they died from smallpox, which was reported to be raging among them. The deaths were estimated at 150 among the Miami and at 130 among the Wea.16
An instance of disorder, known as the Ouiatanon war, occurred at the post in 1734. Two young men, a Frenchman and an Indian, had fought, with the white man winning the advantage. The disgruntled Indian aroused his friends, who pillaged the post during the absence of the commandant. When the commandant sent to Detroit for assistance, a force of 120 Frenchmen, 115 Huron, and a large number of Ottawa as-
14C11A62:65v; C11A63:134-136. Apparently not all the Wea left with Vincennes, or perhaps some of them had returned.
15The movement did not take place for a number of years, however. C11A57:332v-334v. 355-355v; C11A58:222v; C11A60:432; B63:632; Richard, "Report on Paris Archives," in Report on Canadian Archives, 1904, K. 159-160, 177; Wisconsin Historical Collections, XVII, 156; Public Archives of Canada, B59-1:219, 327; Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, edited by Edmund B. O'Callaghan (11 volumes. 1856-87), IX, 1033, 1035.
16C11A57:348-350; C11A59:4-5,
19-19v, 37-37v; C11A60:439-439v, 444v-446; Michigan Pioneer
and
Historical Collections, XXXIV, 108-109.
DOCUMENTS |
No. 1. M. de Vaudreuil,1 Quebec, November 11, 17172
I have designated the Sieur3
Dubuisson,4 captain, to go as commander-in-chief in the post of the
Ouiatanon, where I have already sent the Sieur de Bellestre,5
ensign. I will have the Sieur Dubuisson leave next spring to go there in the
summer.
Of all the officers, he is the one who seemed to me to be most capable of
occupying this post, which is the most advanced toward the English.
He commanded at the fort of Detroit and he distinguished himself there in a fight against the Fox, in which he destroyed more than a thousand souls. I very humbly ask the Council to procure for him also a Cross of St. Louis,6 which seems to me to be necessary for him to give him more prominence in the post where he is going to command.
[Signed] VAUDREUIL |
---------------------------
1Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil (b. 1640), was governor
and lieutenant general of New France from 1703 until his death in 1725. "Le
Marquis Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil," in Rapport de l'archiviste
de la Province de Québec pour 1938-1939, pp. 10-11.
2C11A38:164.
3This term was used in speaking of gentlemen. Although its translation into English is awkward, it has been retained because in some instances deletion would have created even greater awkwardness.
4 Charles Renaud Dubuisson (1664-1739). In 1712 he defended Detroit when it was besieged by the Fox; in 1717 he was ordered to command the Wea post, but did not reach there until 1721. Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, XXXIV, 307-8; Wisconsin Historical Collections, V, 118.
5François Picoté de Belestre
(Bellestre), 1677-1729, father of Marie-François Picoté de Belestre (b. 1719),
who was in command at Detroit when Montreal capitulated to the English. Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections, XXXIII,
749, XXXIV, 336-40.
6The Order of St. Louis was established by Louis XIV in 1693 to reward distinguished army and naval officers.
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INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |
No. 2. M. the Marquis de Vaudreuil, December 12, 17177
* * * * *
[In margin: They are settled on the Wabash River toward the English] Because the Ouiatanon are too close to the English of Carolina and exposed to their practices, and the latter spare neither solicitations nor presents to detach these savages from our interests and to attract them to their side, he [Vaudreuil] had contemplated sending a captain, a subaltern, a sergeant and ten soldiers among them to establish a post there to disrupt these practices and to keep them at peace with the Illinois. But since the region where they are at present is too far from the colony to take there easily what is necessary to support a post and a garrison, he believed that it was more appropriate to begin by urging them to return to Chicago or else to the upper Kankakee, where they formerly lived and where they would no longer be tempted to have connections with the English.
From this viewpoint and in order to satisfy the eagerness of this nation, which for a long time has been asking for an officer to govern them, a missionary to instruct them, and a blacksmith, he sent them the Sieur de Bellestre, ensign, with four soldiers and three other Frenchmen whom he permitted him to take, and the Sieur de Sabrevois8 sent a blacksmith from Detroit. Because this nation two years ago lost two chiefs, who died at Detroit, he had some goods of the king delivered to the said Sieur de Bellestre to cover these dead men. He also had other goods delivered to him to give to this nation, or rather to its chiefs, to urge them to work effectively so that it might leave the country where it is.
7C11A23:46v-48. This document, written in the third person, is apparently a summary of a longer report by the governor to the French court. This type of document will recur later.
8Jacques-Charles de Sabrevois de Bleury (ca. 1665-1727), commandant of Detroit from 1715 to 1717. Claude de Bonnault, "Le Canada militaire, état provisoire des officiers de milice de 1641 à 1760," in Rapport de l'archiviste de la Province de Québec pour 1949-1950 et 1950-1951, p. 278.
OUIATANON |
161 |
He also wrote to the Sieur de Vincennes9 to act on his part, for
although he is among the Miami eighty leagues10 this side of the
Ouiatanon, since he often, communicates with the latter and since he has as
much influence among them as among the Miami, he can do much for the success of
this business.
By the speeches which the Sieur de Bellestre is to carry on his part to the Ouiatanon, he is to make known the necessity for their approaching the lakes, so that a missionary can be sent to them.
Whether they decide to go to Chicago or remain where they are, he is determined to send next spring a captain capable of governing them, because the savages have much more respect for an officer of this rank than they have for a subordinate; furthermore it is necessary to have officers in each post because of their distance, for if one should happen to be absent, the other could supply the deficiency.
* * * * *
No. 3 Memoir on the Savages of Canada up to the Mississippi River, Containing the Customs and the Trade of these Savages [1718]11
* * * * *
This river Wabash is the one on which the Ouiatanon are settled. They are five villages, and what concerns all of them one calls Ouiatanon; another, Peanguichias; another, the Peticotias, and one the Gros; I do not remember the last, but they are all Ouiatanon, who speak like the Miami and are their
9Jean Baptiste Bissot de
Vincennes, born 1778, died among the Miami in 1719. He was the father of
François Marie Bissot de Vincennes. Pierre-Georges Roy, The Sieur de Vincennes
Identified (Indiana Historical Society Publications, VII,
No. 1, Indianapolis, 1923).
10A league was a measure of distance which varied from place to place.
11C11A39:361v. This memoir is sometimes attributed to Sabrevois. It may have been written from the reports of voyageurs and soldiers rather than from his own experience. The complete document appears in translation in the Wisconsin Historical Collections, XVI, 363-376.
OUIATANON |
163 |
the said creditor in his residence in this town or to the bearer, etc., in the
month of August of next year, or sooner if their goods or they come down, in
beaver and furs at the price at which the merchant equippers will take them and
at the choice of the said creditor, under penalty, etc., under obligation and
for the execution, etc., have chosen their residence in this town in the house
of the late Maillou, Rue Outaouese, to which place, etc., notwithstanding,
promising, acknowledging, and renouncing, etc. Done and passed at said
Villemarie [at Montreal], office of said notary, in the year one thousand seven
hundred eighteen, the twenty-sixth of May, in the afternoon, in the presence of
said Sieur Ignace Gamelin and Simon Reaume, merchants, witnesses, residents of
said Villemarie, and have signed with the exception of the said Lajeunesse who,
when called upon, declared that he did not know how to sign.
|
CLAUDE LE PINE |
GAMELIN P. RAIMBAULT |
No. 5. List of permits granted in 1717 by M. the Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor and lieutenant general for the King in all New France, certified by M. Begon, intendant14 of the said country, to go trade with the savages of the posts established in the upper country, and of the use of said permits by those to whom they were granted, to wit:15
* * * * *
For the Ouiatanon
1. Permit granted to the widow de Villerai and to the Sieur L'Espinat, habitant of Beauport, and sold to Pierre Cosmes of Montreal and Claude L'Espine of Quebec, who left in a canoe of four men, including themselves, at the end of last May.
1. Ditto of August 18, 1717, to the Sieurs Douville and La
14Michel Bégon, VI, 1664-1747, intendant of New France, 1712-25. The intendant was the officer in charge of administrative business; he had wide jurisdiction over judicial, financial, police, seignorial, and trade matters.
15C11A38:86v-87.
164 |
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |
Chavignerie. Sold to Joseph Larche of Quebec and Jacques Monboeuf of Montreal,
who left at the end of May.
1. Ditto to the demoiselles de Cabanac and to the Sieur Monplaisir, habitant of Champlain and major of the militia of the government of Three Rivers, sold to Estienne Roy of Montreal, who left June 1, 1718, in a canoe of three men, including himself.
1. Ditto to Michel Perrot, habitant, of
Becancour, who has not yet validated it nor gotten rid of it.
___________
For the Ouiatanon, 4 permits
* * * * *
No. 6. M. Vaudreuil, Quebec, October 28, 171916
* * * * *
Furthermore it seems to me to be very necessary for the Sieur Dubuisson to continue to serve in this country, since he is more capable than any other officer of governing the Ouiatanon and the Miami, who know and esteem him and among whom he is held in high repute since the defeat of the Fox at Detroit, where he was commanding in the absence of the Sieur de la Forest and where the Miami and the Ouiatanon came to trade, their village at that time being not very far from this post. These two nations have not yet made any move to go, one to the Rivière St. Joseph, the other to the Kankakee. They promised me by speeches which I received from them last summer that they would not fail to go there this autumn, but they have changed their sentiment since then, for I learn by the last letters which came to me from the Miami that, since the Sieur de Vincennes died in their village, these savages had resolved not to go to the Rivière St. Joseph but to remain where they are.
16C11A40:184v-186v.
172 |
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |
be regarded as the king's service, under penalty of disobedience. Done at
Montreal, August 7, 1721. Signed,
VAUDREUIL, and farther down, for monseigneur, Signed, DE LESTAGE.
DAVID Clerk |
No. 11. M. the Marquis de Vaudreuil, October, 6, 172125
* * * * *
The Ouiatanon have also refused to go to the
Kankakee, and the little band which had settled there abandoned it when they
saw that the remainder of the nation was not moving there. Thus the hopes he
had of attracting the Miami to the Rivière St. Joseph and the Ouiatanon to the
banks of the Kankakee have entirely vanished; but since it is very important
not to abandon these nations, he had the Sieur Dubuisson, captain, leave last
August to go establish a post among the Miami and to command there as well as
at that of the Ouiatanon. He will reside at the Miami, since it is necessary
that he remain there to impede the effect of the practices of the English, who
continue to speak to them by means of some Iroquois who go almost every year to
the Miami under pretext of visiting them as friends. Those emissaries who spent
the winter this year in the village of the latter chose the time that the Sieur
Dumont was at the Ouiatanon to take away eight or ten canoes of Miami savages
to Albany to trade. He hopes that the Sieur Dubuisson will find means to have
these practices cease by means of
the influence he has on the spirit of these savages.
* * * * *
No. 12. Permission to Jean Richard, September
3, 172226
[In margin: Richard, permit for the Ouiatanon. Took out sixteen pots of
brandy for the four men, left September 9.]
25C11A43:328v-329v.
26Congé à Jean Richard, le 3 septembre 1722. Registre des Congés, Ordonnances et Arrêts Conservé aux Archives Judiciaires de Montréal, 9477, typed copy.
Indiana Historical Society
Publications, vol. 18.
Permit to Sieur Gaudet, May 8, 1730.
pp. 177-179.
174 |
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |
consists of only one hundred pounds of powder, one hundred pounds of lead, nine
ells of woolen cloth, a gross of knives, and two pounds of vermilion. We forbid
the said Richard to carry or to allow to be carried in said canoe for his three
employees any other merchandise or brandy than that declared above under the
penalties carried by the ordinances: we also forbid them to do any trading or
commerce with the savages in the dependencies of Fort Frontenac, of Detroit, or
elsewhere than at said post of the Ouiatanon. The said Richard will be required
to have these presents registered before his departure from this town at the
record office of the royal jurisdiction of Montreal. We enjoin the three
employees of the said Richard
to return to this colony and to be back during the month of July of next year
at the latest each with his gun, which they will be required to have on leaving
from here and to bring back upon their return, without being allowed to get rid
of them by trading them to the savages under penalty of three months in prison.
Done at Montreal, September 3, 1722; signed, VAUDREUIL, and lower down, for
monseigneur, DE LESTAGE.
DAVID |
No. 13. M. de Vaudreuil, Quebec. October 24, 172227
* * * * *
The Sieur de Vincennes fils, who is only a cadet in the troops, commands among this nation [Ouiatanon] under the orders of the Sieur Dubuisson. He has been there since 1718, and he serves very usefully because of the great influence he has acquired among these savages, who keep for him the same attachment they had for the Sieur de Vincennes, his father. His services merit that the council pay some attention to them. If I had foreseen the establishment which the king made this year of an enseigne en second in each of the twenty-eight companies which His Majesty supports in Canada, I would have
27C11A44:367v-368v.
Indiana Historical Society
Publications, vol. 18.
Permit to Sieur Gaudet, May 8, 1730.
pp. 177-179.
178 |
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |
Dubreuil, chevalier of the military order of St. Louis, lieutenant for the
king, commandant in the government of Montreal and its dependencies.
We have permitted the Sieur Gaudé to leave
this town at once with a canoe manned by five men including himself, whose
names and addresses he has given us, according to the order and authority given
us by M. the general by his letter of the third of this month, to go to the
Ouiatanon; we permit said Sieur Gaudé to embark in his said canoe the rations,
provisions, merchandise, and goods proper for trade in the said post and all
its dependencies, as he shall deem best for his interests,
as well as rations for his subsistence and that of his people during the
journey. We forbid said Sieur Gaudé to trade with savages other than those of
said post of the Ouiatanon, and its dependencies, where the Sieur de Vincennes
commands, and we even permit him to go up to the Illinois if he judges it
proper. The four employees whom he is taking in his said canoe will each be
required to have his gun while going up as well as returning , without being
allowed to get rid of them by trading them to the savages or otherwise, under
penalty of three months' imprisonment, and also to have these presents
countersigned by M. the subdelegate to the intendant, if he is in this town,
and to have them registered at the record office of the royal jurisdiction of
Montreal before their departure, to be back in this town in the month of August
of the next year, 1731, and to bring back a certificate of good conduct from
the commandant at said post, which certificate they will have registered at the
record office at their arrival, all under the penalties declared against the coureurs
de bois without permits; we permit the said Sieur Gaudé and his men each to
take aboard four pots of brandy per man which will serve for their use
only, without their being allowed to trade it to the savages under any pretext
whatever; furthermore, we enjoin him to go along the north side of Lake Ontario
and not the south under penalty of confiscation of his merchandise, and to show
the list of his