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.
Reports to Raymond
(March-April, 1750)
In: Archives Nationales,
Ministere des
Colonies, C11A 95:386 and in
Illinois Historical Collections,
French Series, vol. III,
pp. 166-178.
Report of Le Porc Epic, March 15, 1750
This Indian says that he knows past a doubt that the English are working more than ever, to stir up all the nations against the French. For eight years they have not ceased to work among these Indians in order to make themselves masters of the upcountry. He does not doubt of their success since he knows that they have gained all the Indians and that they are all against us. In a little time we will see a general treason against the French. The Five Nations and Le Huard Noir, chief of the Foxes who live among the Five Nations, are working actively among the tribes of this country and higher up even to the north in order to induce them to a general revolt.
Report of L'Escabiat of Le Pied Froid, arrived from Great Miami River March 17.
La Demoiselle will not return here with his band. They have (page 167) sent to Philadelphia to ask a commandant. An officer has come to Great Miami River to get information about the place. He is gone back and should return this spring with one hundred fifty men as garrison. They have paid La Demoiselle's Miamis to cut and haul wood for their buildings. They have brought a long document, a large wampum belt, and strings of wampum from their king to the effect that they are to lift the tomahawk against the French if the French try to prevent the English from settling or trading on the Sandusky, Ohio, and Great Miami rivers and elsewhere. La Demoiselle and his band have accepted this message. The Delaware and the Shawnee have brought a wampum belt to La Demoiselle to strike the French, and he has accepted it. The Delaware, the Iroquois, the Shawnee, the tribes of Detroit, La Demoiselle and his band have renewed their alliance and are mutually agree by a treaty to succor each other offensively and defensively against the French. All these tribes have traded all winter at Great Miami River as well as the (page 168) Potawatomi of St. Joseph and the Piankashaw. The Ottawa of Detroit were to make their village at La Roche de Bout1 to be closer to the English of Great Miami River who have promised to sustain them and to supply all their needs. The English have been several times with forty or fifty horse loads of goods to the upper part of the river at Grand Glaize where the greater part of the tribes have wintered. From the upper part of this river to Great Miami River it is about six leagues by land. Two war parties have left Great Miami River to seek opportunity for killing the French at the Miamis fort. One of them was composed of eight men including Potawatomi of St. Joseph, Ottawa of Detroit, Delaware, Shawnee, Iroquois and La Demoiselle's Miamis. The other party consisted of three men. (Several people have seen these two parties.) The English of Great Miami River have put a price on the head of the commandant of the Miamis fort. This is what L'Escabiat of Le Pied Froid has reported to me.
Report
of the Sieur Roy, interpreter, who arrived at Great Miami River April 1,
whither I had sent him in order to be informed of what was happening in
that direction.
La Demoiselle and his band told him that they would not return, that they had not promised to return here by the belts given to M. de Celoron. Further they had won all the Miami of Le Pied Froid's band who had promised them to abandon their village to settle with them at Great Miami River. La Tortue, a renegade of La Demoiselle's band, was actually at Ouiatanon, whither he had carried a large red wampum belt, strings of wampum, a scalp, and two small bales of goods to support the decisions of the secret council which was to be held with the Wea, Mascoutens, Piankashaw, and Kickapoo. The pretense of La Tortue in order to give the French no suspicion and to keep from them the knowledge of this secret council was to be that the wampum belt, the strings of wampum, the scalp, and the two small bales were to cover the death of Le Jarret. This council (page 170) was for no other purpose than to loose against the French the revolt with which all the tribes threatened us. After the council was held the Wea, Mascoutens, Piankashaw, and Kickapoo were to go to Great Miami River whither La Graine, a Wea who was at Quebec last summer, was to carry a wampum belt and a red flag in discontent at having been ill-received and at having had no present from M. the general. These are the complaints which that Indian and those who were with him are making everywhere even among the English. Along with the four tribes mentioned there were to be at the council one hundred Shawnee, one hundred Iroquois, the Chippewa, the Potawatomi, the Ottawa, and all the tribes of Detroit and Saginaw. It is the Indian named Chinaouhetou of Chikatoilien's band who brought hither the belts of the English and of La Demoiselle on the subject of the council.
After the arrival of all these tribes at Great Miami River the council was to be held. As it was to be settled the method of carrying out the revolt which they were meditating- of which the English and the Iroquois were the sole movers- as well as their measures to destroy the French detachment which they (page 171) expect to come up next summer whither M. de Celoron passed last year.
They knew well that he had come up only to get information about their country. Even if the French were two thousand men, they would defeat them because they knew well enough that the French could not bring enough provisions to remain long in their country. The low water in the rivers was an aid to them the better to destroy the French. If the number of the French was much above theirs, they would take refuge in the woods. If they were of equal force they would attack the French first. They were vexed at having let them pass last year, and after their departure they would assemble in greater numbers.
Next summer an English commandant was to come to Great Miami River with a garrison of 150 men. He was to take possession of the whole Ohio River and to establish in villages there all the tribes of the upcountry. All the lands to the south belonged to them. The French had no claim there. The tribes (page 172) who were settled there need fear nothing on the part of the French; moreover there was free trade between the King of France and the King of England, who today held each other by the hand. They had begun to get together stone at Great Miami River where the English were to place their fort. In the village of Nicolas there was a fort commanded by an English officer with four hundred men, both Indians and English.
The Hurons who had remained faithful to the French up to now had let themselves be won over. Next autumn they were to take goods on credit from the French as usual and then withdraw to Nicolas' village no more to return to Detroit. It was Nicolas who gave them this assurance with whom they had been to speak that winter. Chikatoilien was to make his village at the mouth of the Maumee River where formerly Guillet had his cabins. (This would close that river to us.)
The Mascoutens, Wea, Piankashaw, and Kickapoo had assured the English that they would reject the French and would (page 173) cleave to them. The Piankashaw L'Enfant,2 who last summer was with La Graine at Quebec, gave it out everywhere even among the English that M. the general had wished to have them thrown in the sea; that was the reason he rejected the French. Le Gris, chief of the Miamis at Tippecanoe, had wished to come here to settle with his band as he had asked to do last fall, but the widow of Le Jarret, his mother, had opposed it. Now she had let herself be won over by the English and La Demoiselle, and had promised them that she, her son, and his band would go next fall to settle with them at Great Miami River. (This may be true, but I do not think so.) The Potawatomi of St. Joseph were working underhand against the French. They had been last winter at Great Miami River. They were in the intrigues of the English and La Demoiselle. The latter chief and his warriors had received the Sieur Roy ill and proposed to him to remain with them. La Demoiselle and Le Pian3 were at outs (page 174) and had not spoken to each other since last fall. The latter has his cabin outside the fort. It was he who told all to the Sieur Roy and who promised him that after the council which was to be held he would come here to report on what had happened. It is important to know if the man indeed spoke sincerely and if he has not lied in what he told the Sieur Roy. This is what the latter told me word for word and what he learned from Le Pian. I am giving information of it to MM. the commandants at Ouiatanon, at Vincennes, at Detroit, and at St. Joseph that they may take the measures that they think proper with the Indians of their posts.
Report
of the nephew of M. the commandant at Ouiatanon,
who came here April 2 after the remainder of the supplies for his uncle.
He said that the nations of the post at Ouiatanon were very ill-disposed and spoke ill, among others the Piankashaw, many of whom had died last winter. They said it was the bad medicine (page 175) which the French had thrown them which had made them die. (Monsieur his uncle writes me the same thing.) The news had come to Ouiatanon that these Indians had set fire to their village to drive away the bad air. On the Wabash he had met La Tortue, who was going to Ouiatanon with two other Indians. They carried in front of their canoe a large red wampum belt, strings of wampum, and a scalp. This is the warriors' message to support the council mentioned which they are going to hold at Ouiatanon.
|
Report of Le Porc Epic of April 5 as to what La Tortue told him when passing his cabin on his way to Ouiatanon with the wampum belts, strings, and scalps mentioned and the two small bales. He saw him as he was leaving for Great Miami River where I sent him, and he halted the journey to be present at the council which was to be held there. |
His report is the same as that of the Sieur Roy, and he further said that the Chippewa of Detroit and Lake Huron had (page 176) demanded of Nicolas and his band if they were still of a mind to strike the French. They had replied, no, that they were sorry that they had done it. It was the Iroquois who had made them do it and who had ruined them. The Chippewa had replied to them that they for their part had rejected the French and had given themselves to the English, who gave them their goods at a much better bargain. Their tribe on the two lakes which they inhabit could make eight hundred men. They did not fear the French and would attack them everywhere, if the French marched against them. L'Enfant, the Piankashaw, had said everywhere that they wanted to throw him into the sea at Quebec; that he and all those who had gone down with him had been ill-received and allowed to depart without any present; that they would reject the French to give themselves to the new fathers whom they found on Great Miami River who made them more presents than they could wish for.
La Mouche Noire was carrying as far as the Illinois the (page 177) wampum belt which La Tortue brought to bid them come to Great Miami River.
February 15 I relieved from her mourning the widow of Le Jarret, mother of Le Gris, when she came here with her son. I learned in the last few days that she had gone to attack the Flatheads.
Le Pied Froid, whom you ask for, will come down to Montreal as soon as his son returns from his winter camp. As the English raise the devil with those in this country, I am much afraid that he may change his mind. Those who have appeared to me most faithful change from one moment to another. The English overwhelm them with a profusion of good things and sell them everything for nothing; they enter into huge expenses to draw to them all the Indians. It is certain that the Indians have not been so well treated by the French. We are too much afraid of expense and that is what loses us the Indians who are for those who give them most; their self-interest only causes them to act. The Sieur Roy, the interpreter whom I am sending (page 178) down with Le Pied Froid, will have the honor to tell you that the English of Great Miami River make the Indians masters of their goods; they take all that they wish. Those who go to Philadelphia with messages are so loaded with presents that they cannot carry them.
There is a Fox slave settled here who has remained with the Potawatomi of St. Joseph and who twice since Christmas has come here to kill me. The brother of the Sieur Roy and Le Garloup, his brother-in-law, have seen and spoken with him. This Indian says that I am all he wishes and that he will continue to come to the neighborhood where he stays hid until he has killed me.
I shall send Pacane,4 brother of the Sieur Roy,
to great Miami River to be at the council which is to be held there. Le Porc
Epic, his brother-in-law, whom I am also sending, will accompany him. I neglect
nothing to be informed of what is happening and to give you an account of it.
_____________________
1 La Roche de Bout was on the Maumee about a mile above Waterville, Ohio.
2 (1, p. 173) L'Enfant was a Piankashaw, one of the chiefs of the village at the Vermilion. In 1750 he was reported disaffected at his reception at Quebec. His loyalty was vouched for at times. He was accused of being responsible for the pillaging of De Ligneris' boat. Post, 454, 523.
3 (2, p. 173) With Le Sac a Petun, Le Pian was said to be one of the chiefs of the band of Miami that followed La Demoiselle. Post, 197, 395, 396.
4 (1, p. 178) See ante, xxx, n.
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