THE OHIO VALLEY-GREAT LAKES ETHNOHISTORY
ARCHIVES: THE MIAMI COLLECTION
It is noted that the following work from the Miami Archives should be read and
considered within the historical context in which it was composed and printed.
The opinions expressed and the language used do not reflect the opinions or
standards of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, but are, rather,
indicative of thought in that historical moment during which the document was
published.
Letter to Croghan
(Detroit, Feb. 19, 1768)
Hay, Jehu in: (Enc. in Croghan to
Gage, April 14, 1768), William
L. Clements Library, Gage
Papers, American Series.
|
Detroit February 19th, 1768 |
Sir
It is not I believe necessary, and it would take up too much of your time to read every Circumstance, of somethings that have happened in this Country since you left it, but I shall mention the heads of them, with my Proceedings as short as Possible.-
After what I mentioned to you of the Death of one Rogers, killed by the Puttawattamies of St. Josephs, I received several Letters from thence from Lewis Chevallier and one Bernard or Beau Soleil, mentioning a great many particulars, & in Short seemingly trying to show us that no French Man there had any hand in it, some of which I answered but not in a manner as If I suspected them; Since which I received several others from Detailly and the above mentioned persons, dated the 29th of December last, & others of the 8 of January. Bernard wrote me that the Indians told him & Louis Chevallier in presence of other Frenchmen, that they killed Rogers because they would not suffer an Englishman among them, & that it was upon Conditions that we should send no Englishmen to their Country, that they made peace, or renewed their Alliance with us here last year.
Detailly wrote me that some time after Rogers was killed, the Indians that did it came to St. Josephs and the first house they went to was L. Chevalliers, and desired him to send for this Bernard & some other Frenchmen, & told them to write to me and the Commanding officer, that their Intentions were bad, and that they would either come here or go to Fort Pitt to take Scalps as soon as the Snow was gone, and that neither Chevallier or any other of them offered to reason with them or prevent them, they likewise said they had Heard Mr. Hamback was in the River Miames & they would go and kill him. This Letter was confirm'd by one Moran a Frenchman who was present when the Indians said this at Chevalliers, and repeated the affair to me himself having been sent by Detailly, to let me know that an old Indian first informed him of it, and beg'd a Belt from him to stop them which Detailly gave him with some Cloaths.
While these things were passing an accident happened at this place, the 21st of January in the Evening a Huron (page 2) brother to the one that was murdered here by one Proser four years ago, was drunk with a Puttawattamie & being refused Admittance into one Labadies House, they had some words, & the Huron Stabed one of Labadees Sons and run off, but was pursued by two other Sons of Labadie near to Mr. Navares House where they knock'd the Huron down, and took his knife from him and came to make a Complaint to me, but the Huron when found was dead. I informed Capt. Turnbull of the affair and told him I thought it necessary to enquire particularly into it, and next Morning he assembled twelve people and held a kind of Inquest on the Body, a Copy of which is inclosed, the Inquest & Evidences were Sworn, but notwithstanding their opinion I told Captain Turnbull I thought the French Man should be aprehended but he thought other wise.
I immediately sent for Baby & his Brother & all the other Hurons relations of the dead Indian that was near this, and spoke to them with a large Belt and two strings of Wampum and gave the Man's Sister & other relations a small present and had him decently buried by the Priest at their request, and as the Hurons here hinted to me that the people at Sandusky would be much displeased and might perhaps do something in revenge, I sent them a Belt also, but am nevertheless afraid some accident will happen there, as there is some people there, who have rum, The Hurons returned many thanks for the manner their deceased brother was buried &c. but told me it was very hard that people should give them so much rum in the Fort, and at night to be turned out drunk, as they must Freeze in that Condition if no one took them in their Houses, and hoped if the Traders were not prevented from giving them rum in such quantitys, that the Country people would be spoke to not to use them so roughly.
The Huron was hardly buried when Mr. Labute came to me with two Ottawas of Saquinan to Inform me that one of their people being in liquor the night before about a mile in the Woods Struggled from his Companions and this morning they found him froze to death, I sent for the Body and examined it, but there was no marks of Violence, and had a Coffin made and buried him next day for which they returned many thanks.-
The fourteenth Instant I received Letters from Mr. Lorrain and Mr. Perrot from Miamies informing me that five Puttawattamie (page 3) men and as many Women came there from St. Josephs about the 15 of January and asked Mr. Hamback frequently during three days where his goods was, and when they found his rum was at Maisonville's they Murdered him in his house at about one O Clock in the Morning of the 19 of January, and went to Seize his rum &c: threatening Maisonville to burn his House if he did not give it, however, he saved two Barrells of it, and his dry Goods which were in the hands of one Bartholemeu upon Commission, they likewise wanted to take, but Bartholemeu told them the Merchandise belonged to him, and not to Hamback and by that means saved them, but the little Peltry he had they took as also his Papers the last of which they would not return tho' desired by several of the French people, which is something extraordinary, for I can't think what use they could have for them.
St. Germain and Chevallier at St. Josephs owed Hamback a good deal of Money and this Circumstance make many people judge hardly of them.
These Indians shewed a Belt which they said the Spaniards sent them which had one end printed blue, and which the Spaniards was to reden themselves but they said they had just begun to reden it for them, they likewise said that four such Belts had come to their Village with a Letter informing them how to act; the largest of Which with the letter was in the hands of one of their Chiefs called Naneegoiby.
Mr. Hamback had been frequently acquainted with the Intentions of some of the Indians at St. Josephs against him as the begining of December by Maisonville and others, and afterwards at the end of December the Petit Gree came to Mr. Hamback and desired him to go with him to his Cabin and live with him the Winter and he would be Answerable no accident should happen to him, but he would not. These same Indians came down the River Miamee having said they were to strike against all English people wintering among the Indians and along the rivers and were near killing one Tucker at Minechesnes House.
As soon as I received this Intelligence I assembled the Traders, and told them what had happened, and as they had (page 4) people and property in the river Miamee, I thought they should take some means to prevent any accident happenin[g] to them, and advised them either to get some french Men to go and take care of their Effects till they could be brought away or else desire their people to get to gether who with the help of two or three frenchmen might be in safety, which last proposal has been Executed, I sent Isidore Chisne with Letters to his Brother Minichare and the people at the Miamee, with Wampum for Minischesne to spake to the Ottawas to desire they would not suffer the Puttewattamies to offer any insult to our people in that river, That I was persuaded they had not forgot their promise, the nature of which were to defend any English Subject that might go among them and help to revenge any insult offered to them: I likewise sent a Belt with a speech of the same nature to the Petit Gree at the Miamee, and mentioned that I did not believe Mr. Hambach would have been kill'd had he or any of his people been there at the time, and desired him to assist Lorrain and Bartholomew in preventing the Puttawattamees from coming to take away Hambachs Goods which it seems they said they would do.
The Ottawas do not seem content at the behavior of the Puttawattamees and the Miamees look upon this as a great insult and say this is the second time they have Spilt blood in their Village. I can't learn that the other nations about this are ill inclined, Tho the Hurons at Sandusky I am afraid will be discontent with this late accident that is happened to them. Some of the Hurons of this place desired me not to write to you or Sir William Johnston about it, but for what reason I don't know.
When I assembled the Traders I took the oppertunity while the accidents that happened here and else where, were fresh in their memory; to speak to them of the ill Consequence of selling their rum in the Manner they did and of giving the Indians such quantitys to drink and requested they would consult and fall upon some Method to prevent it, each as putting in a General Store, which they Immediately did and brought me their resolutions, the principals of which were, not to have any rum sold but at one place for the good of the Whole, (page 5) and that no Trader was to give an Indian more than a Glass of rum in a day, and that not if the Indian appeared to be the least in liquor, to which they all Signed a Bond Payable to each other for one Hundred Pounds, to be received at this place if any of them break, that or any other article, and a Certain number was immediately appointed to receive the rum in Store which was all to be Merchantable. The Store is hired by themselves, but it is only a temporary thing all together, for when the Majority does not choose to continue it, rum will be sold as before.
|
I am Sir |
|
To
George Croghan Esqr.
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