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The hostages were taken to Detroit where they have complete freedom, and are
in a position to escape whenever they like; and the Sieurs de Vaudreuil and
Raudot have not heard that these savages have kept their word with the said
Sr. de la Mothe, but are convinced of the contrary. The Sieur de Vaudreuil always
pays great attention to keeping all the savage tribes on good terms with one
another. The Iroquois still observe the same neutrality, and he hopes that it
will continue, notwithstanding the arts which the English constantly practice
to make that tribe break it. We did not begin last year to prepare to resist
the English until we heard the news that the armament had set out from Baston.
The work which has been done on the batteries, by reconstructing all the platforms
which were quite rotten, was absolutely necessary. We could not have served
a single gun. The citadel battery was constructed entirely of walls, without
mortar, a foot and a half thick, and the embrasures of part of it were too high
and too narrow, and were constructed like windows so that a gun could not be
leveled properly there; it has been necessary to cover the whole of this battery
with gabions, without which it would have been impossible to serve it, because
the enemy's cannon shots coming and striking against this wall, would have wounded
everyone who was there, with splinters. The said Srs. de Vaudreuil and Raudot
have tried to save expense as far as possible, and have only had done what was
absolutely necessary on this occasion, according to the decisions of the councils
of war which have been held here, for putting
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This disturbance is not the only one which has occurred at Detroit since it was first established, and one of which I have the honor of informing you, My Lord, will not be the last, if this post is long in existence. In the month of April last, when the Miamis had killed three Frenchmen, one league from the fort M. de La Mothe sent a boat after the Sr. d'Argenteuil, whom he had sent to Saguinau to take the provisions which had been promised to the Outaois in the winter, to give him information as to what had taken place. He requested him to make as much despatch as he could, and to send to his assistance all the Outaois he found on his way. He informed the Sr. d'Argenteuil in his letter that he could assure the said savages that he would never make peace with the Miamis, and therefore they need only come and he would not fail them. On this statement, the Sr. d'Argenteuil went on day and night, and in a short time reached Saguinau, where he found some of the Outaois and Sauteurs, the remainder being still far inland. He sent for them and took them all to Detroit, to the number of about 1,300 persons. Among this number there were 300 men, besides those whom he had found on the road and had sent to M. de La Mothe's assistance, amounting to nearly 150. On his way back he met with another boat which M. de La Mothe sent him, through which he requested him to be as speedy as possible. The reason of his urgency was that he had many enemies around him, consisting of Hurons, Iroquois and Miamis, as these three tribes had determined to slay him with all the French people at Detroit; and this would have been carried out but for the Onyatanous who warned him of it at a council, giving him five bundles of furs. It was the Miamis of La Grue who had induced the other savages, by presents, to join the plot. The Sr. d'Argenteuil and the said Outaois were greatly astonished when they learnt from their men, who had arrived at first, that M. de La Mothe had not detained the Miamis but, far from that, had made peace with them on four conditions:- First,- that they should deliver the murderers to M. de La Mothe within 40 days.
2nd, that, within 15 days, they should give up a young Outaois they had taken.
3rd, that they should pay for an ox and a cow that they had killed. He insisted
strongly on this point which made the savages allied to us say
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4th, to return what they had stolen from the French people in their country.
As the Miamis did not send back within the 15 days the young Outaois they
have taken, M. de La Mothe determined to go and attack them in their fort, and
to that end he had a flag hoisted, to which he had had a tomahawk fastened,
without consulting either the officers or the savages, about it. Both of these
were rather discontented, especially the latter, who complained, saying that
M. de La Mothe was a cheat to go and attack the Miamis before the 40 days he
had given them, for they did not think that the young Outaois, whom they had
promised to return in 15 days, was sufficient reason why he should not wait
this time. Notwithstanding this discontent, they decided to follow him. He ordered
a war feast, but it was held at the expense of the French people, each of whom
had contributed to it, even the soldiers. Three days later he resolved to begin
the march. The Outaois begged him to delay one day more so that they might have
time to shut up their wives and children in the fort; he made them no reply,
and embarked while they were making them go in. The Sr. d'Argenteuil having
pointed out to him that it was dangerous to leave such a large number of Outaois
alone, he ordered him to stay with them and bring them as soon as he could,
and he would wait for him on the way, but he did not tell him where. The Sr.
d'Argenteuil remained and took them all next morning. On his way, four leagues
from the fort, he met a boat which M. de La Mothe had sent for the powder, which
he had forgotten- a proof of his lack of foresight and of the confused state
of his mind. While waiting for this powder, he spoke to the French and the savages
who were then with him, of the small value he set upon the Miamis, and how easy
it would be to take them and destroy them. It was represented to him that he
should not despise them so much, and that those people fought well, and he ought
to take all the precautions necessary against surprise; upon which M. de La
Mothe replied that they need not give advice to him. They remained there that
day, and went next day to encamp close to the enemy's lands. They represented
to M. de La Mothe that it was advisable to send scouts in boats and by land
to find out whether the enemy were making any movements, but he would not do
so. Next day he set out at noon just as if he were traveling in the midst of
profound peace. The savages again represented to him that it would be well to
lower the flags and go through the reeds so as not to be discovered, but again
he would do nothing of the kind. He stopped about two leagues from the entrance
to the enemy's river in broad daylight, where fires were lit, which made many
people say that apparently he did not believe they were in the fort. He called
together the French people and savages in the evening and told them
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He abandoned both parties, who were so tired that most of them threw themselves on the ground to rest, and for fear of splitting their boats. In the morning they found themselves at the foot of the rapids of the river, but none of them knew what had become of M. de La Mothe, which made them decide to go to meet him. He was found on land on such a bad path, and walking so slowly that he would not have got to the foot of the rapids for four days, but for the help of those who had come to meet him. He arrived there, like the others, at the rapids. He then ordered them to march in order, and after marching for some hours, the savages, thinking they were near the enemy's fort, shouted according to their custom. This made those who were behind with M. de La Mothe think they had taken the fort, but they were undeceived a short time after by the firing that they heard. M. de La Mothe went forward and took shelter behind a tree of enormous girth and never quitted it until very late in the afternoon, when he betook himself out of cannonshot range from the enemy's fort, although they had no cannon. From the morning until one o'clock in the afternoon the savages only fired with the small quantity of powder and bullets which the French gave them during the action; for M. de La Mothe had not taken the precaution to give them any the night before and if the French people had had no more forethought than he, they would have appeared in front of the fort without powder or bullets; and this made them say that he did not believe he would find the enemy there.
The Sr. d'Argenteuil asked to go to the palisade with such as wished to follow
him, among whom would have been many of the savages, as he has very great influence
over those people. It cannot be doubted that he would have carried the fort,
which is not worthy of the name, for it is nothing but a simple square inclosed
with crossed stakes, and has no bastions or other works flanking it; but he
refused him and said that he wished to blow it up. Every one felt sure that
he would not do so; and, in fact, a short time after, he sent the Sr. du Figiuez,
ensign, to the Sr. d'Argenteuil, lieutenant, who was in direct command after
him, de La Mothe, not to let it be known he was retiring, and that he would
remain some time longer with the French and savages who were in ambush. The
Sr. d'Argenteuil obeyed his order and had the wounded car-
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1D, Aigremont calls Chauvin a relative of Cadillac. The relationship
was not very close. Jean Guyon had among his children two sons, Denis and Michel.
Marie Therese Guyon, a daughter of Denis Guyon, born April 9, 1671, at Quebec,
married Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, June 25, 1687. Gilles Chauvin married
Angelique Guyon, a daughter of Michel Guyon, November 24, 1700. Thus it will
be seen that the wife of Cadillac and the wife of Gilles Chauvin were cousins.
There were three men by the name of Chauvin among the early settlers at Detroit;
Louis, Jean Baptiste and Gilles, all brothers, I think.- C. M. B.
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Heretofore he has not taken any more care of the sick soldiers. I have, however, obtained from the almoner a memorandum of what he has supplied for the sick from the month of June, 1706, when he went up to Detroit to the month of July in the present year, which amounts to 410 livres; and if this were reduced to its true value it would not amount to 30 livres; for brandy is set down at 24 livres a pot, bread at 15 and 20 sols a livre, and the powder which served to pay for a part of what was supplied at one crown a livre.
As the Superior of the Hospitallers of Montreal is in France, I believe he will have the honor of conversing with you, My Lord, as to the request which M. de La Mothe makes for some brothers of his community to take care of the sick at Detroit. When a month had elapsed and M. de La Mothe had heard nothing from the Miamis, he sent a boat to them with four Frenchmen. The said Miamis kept two of them and sent back two Miamis to M. de Lamothe again assuring him that they would do what they had promised him; but there is no ground for believing it for they have withdrawn from their fort and two months have passed by without any news having been received from them. I have no doubt My Lord, that it is the impunity of Le Pesant which has given rise to this war, and that it will be the cause of many others that will occur at Detroit. But the private interest of M. de La Mothe prevailed in that over the justice he ought to have done; for if he had put this savage to death, those of the Outaois who came and settled at Detroit would not have come, and he prefers their furs to those of the Miamis, which are, for the most part, only roe-buck skins, whereas those of the Outaois are almost all beavers.
It is certain, then, that Detroit will some day be the theatre of a war between
the savages; for, as many of these tribes have been enemies, they will infallibly,
as I have already said, make attacks upon each other. But, My Lord, even if
it were possible for these tribes to live at peace, which is not to be expected,
another evil would arise, namely, as stated above, that
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The man St. Germain, an armorer, has been to the Bay of Saguinau under the pretext of a permit to hunt, and saw three boat-loads of furs taken. Another armorer, Sarrasin, was with the said St. Germain.
A man named Trudaut confessed to me that he had also been there under the pretext of a hunting license, and had brought back 8 bundles of furs as his share.
The man Langlois also went there, on the pretence of going to look for hidden treasure. He had taken vermilion, powder, bullets, and even Indian corn.
The man Gignières is at Ouabache among the Onyatanous, under the pretext of obtaining from these savages what they owe him. He sent M. de La Mothe six canoes laden with furs, which he brought into the fort during the night.
M. de La Mothe told me that he had been accused of trading with the English, and of employing the Sr. Bourgmont for that purpose; but there is no ground for believing that that is so. He is too clever to put his interests in the hands of a man so dissolute as the Sr. Bourgmont, who deserted from Detroit to go after a woman called La Chenette, referred to above, with whom he is living in the woods like a savage.
In accordance with what has been said above, it is certain that, if the post of Missilimakinac were given up entirely, and all the Outaois there were to go and settle at Detroit, the greater part of the beaver-skins of Canada would go to the English, by the agency of the Iroquois. For the savages, and all others who were settled there, could not be compelled to sell their beaver-skins to us, except by our making our goods as cheap to them as the Iroquois sell those of the English; and this we could never do, whatever measures we might adopt. If any one thought he could compel them by force to do so, he would make the greatest of all possible mistakes.
It is also to be observed, My Lord, that if all the Outaois settled at Detroit,
we should lose the trade of the northern part of Lake Superior
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