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.
Account of a Journey in the Country
of the Islinois by M. M. Beauvais,
Prevost and Des Posiers. [1683-1684]
In Ministere des Colonies, Canada, Corres. Genle., C. 11.,
Vol. 6, fol. 255 and in Margry, microfilm, vol. II, pp. 330-336.
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Part VII
VIII.
Seven French canoes attacked and
pillaged by the Iroquois.
_______________
We, the undersigned, Rene Le Gardeur, esquire, Sieur de Beauvais, Eustache
Provost, Jean Desrosiers called Dutremble and Francois Lucas, on our own behalf
and for Joseph de Montenon, Sieur de La Rue, Anthoine Desrosiers, called La
Fresnaye, Jacques Basten, Jean Pilotte, Martin Foisy, Laurent Lhyvernois, Jean
Lahaye, Jacques Mongeaux, Lestang and Jean Haultdecoeur, all partners for the
purpose of going to trade towards the Illinois country with the licences and permits
of the Governor-General, hereby declare that we set out from Missilimakina on
the 10th of August last and arrived on the 4th of December at the River
Teakiky, and being detained by the frosts we were compelled to winter at the
said place Teakiky; and on the 2nd of February following we sent off four of
our party, to wit, Jacques Baston, Francois Lucas, Lestang and Laurent
Lhyvernois, to go hunting on the said River of Teakiky in the direction of the
Ilinois, about six leagues below us, to try and get together some store of meat
for continuing our trading. They were discovered by sixteen Irocois and a woman
who had disguised themselves as Ilinois both in their language and their dress,
who carried a (page 331) white flag and called to them they had
nothing to fear, that they were all their brothers. They also slept with them
for a night and inquired of our four Frenchmen where their camp was, and how
many Frenchmen there were, and they told them, fourteen. They started with our
four Frenchmen to come to our said camp; they arrived there on the 26th of the
said month of February, keeping constantly on the watch and inquiring
continually of us whether there were no Ilinois, or Miamis, or other tribes or
those parts near to us. We replied, assuring them that they had all left to go
to the Great River; whereupon they made speeches to us, relating the news of
the journey of M. Le Moyne on behalf of the Governor-General, making us a
thousand compliments, saying that we were all brothers, that they had orders from
him to give us food when we had need of it and that we were to do the same for
them; this we did, giving them the half of an ox to put in their pots. The same
evening they asked leave to remain two days in our camp to rest, saying that
they were tired; and this was granted readily, after hearing what they had told
us about the Governor-General. The next day they made a pretence of going
hunting, in order to find out whether it was true that there were none of the
tribes near us; and for that purpose they asked us for some guns with a supply
of powder and lead, because theirs, they said, were not in order. This we
refused, telling them that there was no need to go hunting, and that we had
meat enough to feed them. However, they went off for about the space of two
hours, and during that time, their old men sent us word to assemble in our hut,
and that they wished to speak to us. We all did so, and when we (page 332) had assembled, they brought us three presents of
seven beaver skins, namely: the first, of two beaver skins, to thank us for the
kind reception and good treatment we had shown them; the second, of two beaver
skins, to beg us to take pity on them, and sell them a few necessary things
which they wanted; and the third of three beaver skins, asking us not to inform
the Governor-General, or any other tribe, that they were in that district and,
in case we should be among the tribes against whom they had come to make war,
that we should not side with either party, if they fought. We asked what they
could do, seeing that they were only sixteen in number. They told us that they
had 200 men six days' journey away, inland, and 100 men along the shore of the
lake, and 500 more on the Great River of the Mississippi, below the Ilinois.
However, we had already refused their third present telling them that we could
not accept it on those conditions; and that, if we were in their company and
their enemies came to attack them, we should range ourselves on their side
since they were our brothers; but that, nevertheless, if we were among their
said enemies, who were also their brothers, we should be obliged to defend
them. After they heard this they left the present with us, and left us at
liberty to do what we pleased, assuring us that we could go along the said
River Teakiky in complete safety; and that if we should meet their people, we
had nothing to fear; and they begged us to give their young men some tobacco.
That done, they traded with us to about the value of two packages of beaver
skins, and sold us one of their guns so that we might be the less likely to
suspect the treachery which they intended to practice upon (page 333) us. On the 28th of the said month of February they
left our camp, telling us that they were going back to their country, and that
they were going to take their men as they passed. Two days after, we mended our
canoes. During this time, four Mascoutins arrived who came scouting on behalf
of the chief of the Outagamis, who had been told by three women who had escaped
from the Irocois that the said Irocois were going on the warpath against them.
This we confirmed, showing them the camp which the said Iroquois had made near
to ours, which they recognized clearly by certain proofs, which they took away
to their village in order to satisfy their people of it. We made use of that
opportunity to write to the Reverend Father d'Allouez, the Jesuit missionary,
in order to warn the tribes and also such Frenchmen as might be in those parts,
to be on their guard, and we informed him of all that had taken place.
On Sunday the 5th of March we resumed our journey to go down along the River of Teakiky and reach Fort St. Louis, where we hoped to do our trading; but we were greatly astonished when, after travelling two hours, we saw the said Irocois, to the number of 200 men, waiting for us at a place where a rapid has to be passed, where there was no prospect of our being able to defend ourselves. However, we determined to cross to the other side of the said river, and make use of our bales of goods and our canoes to fortify our position, and make such arrangements that we could defend ourselves in case of an attack. But it was all in vain; for sixty of them threw themselves into the water in the rapid, shouting to us, "Do not be afraid," "we are your brothers, and wish to trade with you." We replied that we were going to land, below the rapid, to speak to them; but our (page 334) plan was to go further on, to reach a small island which would have been a very advantageous position in which to defend ourselves. But the said sixty men stopped two of our canoes in the rapid, fawning upon us and saying: "Fear nothing, we want to trade." The rest of our men, seeing that we had been stopped, immediately came to us, to see what was happening; but they had no sooner reached us than they were captured, as we had been, although the Irocois did not cease calling to us, "Do not be afraid, we are your friends and brothers, we want to trade with you." At the same moment they seized our weapons and took us, in our seven canoes, to land, where they pillaged all our goods and canoes indiscriminately, and would listen to no reason afterwards although we showed them the licences from the Governor-General and his letters to M. de La Durantaye and the Chevalier de Baugis, which they tore up with great scorn. And when we asked them why they treated us in this manner and pillaged our goods, they replied, "What do you come here for? This is our country. Do you not know that M. Le Moyne told us to make war on the tribes in this country; and that, if we met any Frenchmen, we were to plunder them, and if they tried to defend themselves, to kill them?" We told them that that was not treating us like brothers, and that they were breaking the promise which they had just given us, that we had nothing to fear; but they told us arrogantly that they had no ears to hear us, that our words were too insolent, and, in a word, that we were to be silent. We asked them, nevertheless, what they intended to do with us. They first told us that we were their slaves, and that they were going to take us away to their country. They kept us with them (page 335) nine days, marching on land in the direction of Fort. St. Louis with 150 of them, and the rest in our canoes with our goods, inquiring every day whether M. de Tonty, whom they call Bras coupé, was in the fort, and how many men he might have with him, and whether M. de La Salle was there also. We told them that the Governor-General had recalled M. de La Salle and had sent another commandant in his place. They told us that they knew that well, and that the questions they asked us were only to see whether we would speak the truth: that they were going to attack the said fort; that when we were within fifteen leagues of it, at a river called Chicagou, they would send us off wherever we wished to go, except that we were not to go in the direction of the fort, and if they found us there they would tomahawk us. Accordingly, when we arrived at the River of Chicagou, they did indeed let us go, but without either provisions or canoes, or arms, except two worthless guns and a little lead, for which we asked them so that we might try to obtain food on our march. We set out, therefore, on the 14th of March with our wretched outfitt of two guns, which did not avail to prevent us from fasting until the 19th of the said month, when we fell in with thirty Mascoutins, among whom were the four whom we had seen before, when they came on the warpath against the said Irocois. We begged them to take pity on us, and give us something to eat, and some guide to direct us, for we did not know where we were going. They did so, willingly, giving us four old men to guide us to a village of the Outagamis, and requested us to inform the Governor-General of the service they had done us, saying that they were most obedient to their father.
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