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 Vaudreuil with Comments
(August 27, 1706)
Cadillac, Lamothe in: Michigan Historical
Collections, XXXIII, pp. 272-285.
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The letter of Father Marest testifies to this point as to the prohibition which Monsieur de Vaudreuil issued against taking powder, and at the same time vindicates this from the accusation which M. de la Mothe brings against him, of having given ammunition to these hundred Missisaguez, for he declares in that neither he nor Maurice Mesnard has seen them at all, that they only heard it said that they had set out with the intention of going on the war path; and if Mons. de la Mothe received a letter from Father Marest on this same occasion, it is the people from Topicamiche who have joined the former, and may also have induced them to change their first intention.
Regarding the two Outaouas prisoners given up to these Missisaguets, Mons. de la Mothe says it was the Hurons who gave them up without his knowledge; the Missisaguets say it was M. de la Mothe. Time will show how the matter stands, and also the result of the councils held by the savages who will affirm that they will not hear a word about peace, while M. de la Mothe on the contrary does not himself despair of it, at the end of his speech, granting that there is nothing impossible to him.
The scheme of warfare against the Outaouas, which the Sr. de la Mothe frames, is very good it its success were as easy. There is no doubt that the Outaouas would be unable to resist an army of 800 men, coming to fall upon them suddenly. But it is necessary to get them together for that purpose, for M. de la Mothe at the time he writes this letter, has only 75 savages altogether at his post, according to a letter from the Sr. de la Forest of the same date as his. He must get provisions and build boats, all without being perceived. After that he must go to Mishilimakina; and as that is 100 leagues from Detroit, at a point at the mouths of two great lakes, it is almost impossible to get there without being discovered. What are you to do then? If you have less than 800 or 1,000 men, they will keep on the defensive and laugh at you, and will prevent your disembarkation. If you go with men enough to overpower them what will your success be? It will be the success we had in the campaigns against the Sonnontouans and the Onnontaguez. They will burn their villages themselves and retire inland with their women and old men, whence they will afterwards return to Michilimakina and follow you up in the rear, and fall upon you when you least expect it.
Nothing is more natural, nothing more necessary than not to allow the act of the Outaouas to go unpunished. It is a matter of importance to the French nation to expect vengeance for it, but the Sr. de la Mothe's proposal is ill-timed. Le Pesant and three or four others must be put to death. For that purpose we must get hold of them; and we shall never do so unless we sow dissension among them, which can only be done by exciting jealousy between one part of them and another. It was with this object that Mons. de Vaudreuil began to act this year on Companissé who, being full of energy and finding that he is esteemed by the young men, and by the French, will keep his word and, in spite of the Outaouas who have come from Detroit, will send all the French people down or will at least divide the village; he assured Monsieur de Vaudreuil of that when he left. What Monsieur de Vaudreuil said to Miscouaky, brother of Jean le Blanc, was also said with the same purpose. Jean le Blanc is the only man who can openly oppose Le Pesant. Monsieur de Vaudreuil would not accept his submission through his brother, but neither would he take from him all hope of returning, for his object was, not only to separate the Outaouas chiefs of Michilimakina from those who came from Detroit, but also Jean le Blanc from Le Pezant. If this plan succeeds it is the only one by which we can obtain satisfaction from Le Pezant; for, but for that, the Outaouas will never abandon their chiefs, and so long as they are united, to ask that one of them should be put to death is to ask that the whole tribe should be destroyed. This act must not however be left unpunished; and if the Outaouas do not begin this year to return all our French people, Monsieur de Vaudreuil has a plan in readiness of which he will give the Comte de Pontchartrain an account in time, which, as he flatters himself, will gain his approbation.
The Sieur de la Mothe is so much in the habit of stating what is untrue that (page 283, I) it is almost impossible for him to write otherwise. He complains that his men are kept when he sends any one down here. Mons. de Vaudreuil's letters prove the contrary, for the boat sent by the Sieur de Bourgmont arrived at Montreal on the 26th of June and returned on the 3rd of July, the men having asked for this time to rest; yet the Sieur de la Mothe imprudently says that he will send no more, because no trouble is taken to send them back again. It is the same with all the Sieur de la Mothe's statements. Monsieur de Vaudreuil begs that the Comte de Pontchartrain will observe this conduct and that of the Sieur de la Mothe, regarding the post of Detroit, and hopes that he will do him justice. The remainder of this letter consisting of points which concern Monsieur Raudot, or such as can only be settled by the Comte de Pontchartrain himself, Monsieur de Vaudreuil will not reply to them.
from the Iroquois that there were some Outaouas at the portage. They came indeed to the fort of the Sables because they knew very well that they would not find me there! However I had obtained a promise from the Iroquois that, if they came there they would escort them up to the portage at Niagara. The Hurons, to the number of 7 or 8, passed by the fort of the Sables and offered to take them, as an escort, but they would have none of it. Hence they deserve to pass the winter in prison and to be sent back in the spring.
I send you the proceedings against St. Jean at Fort Frontenac. Whether the decision be good or bad, it is conditional. It was given in haste, as this man presented himself just when we were going to embark and depart.
I am very much obliged to you for having forbidden the four boats which have gone to Mishilimakina to take powder there. I do not know whether your orders were carried out, for a hundred Missisaguez have come here, well armed, with a letter which Father Marest writes me. Who then supplied them with powder? They say that no one would take their beaver-skins but that all their sables were bought. I have forbidden any trading for powder with them here for fear it might be on behalf of the Outaouas, or that they might consent to give them some of it.
There came, then, a hundred warriors, Sauteurs, Missisaguets and Amikoéque, whom Father Marest and Maurice had got together near Tanpicaniche, perhaps in order to come and succor the Outaouas and assist them in getting away to Mishilimakina. This is believed to be so, for the savages had with them two Outaouas and an Outaouas woman; but as they had just been prompted or, rather, conferred with, when they saw the fort of the Outaouas burnt, they saw they must parley and, for that purpose, they set up three good white flags, the linen for which had apparently cost them nothing, and came in boats, by my permission, in front of the fort.
As it appeared that they had had not hand in the affair of the Outaouas against us I had to support them and, after many councils, to come to high words about them; for the Hurons and Miamis, who are no fools, saw well enough that these men came there on this occasion to aid the Outaouas.
The reasons they gave were very good ones, viz: that if these men had come there in peace they would not have come equipped as warriors, nor in such a large party, and would not have brought with them two Outaouas who were recognized as having been among those who had fought against them, and even an Outaouas woman.
I made vain endeavors to dissipate this notion. I saw very well that our people had good reason. But at last I spoke authoratively and said I would not permit them to kill men whom I knew to be innocent, and that I would rather die with them. On that the Miamis went out of the Fort armed and repaired to the village of the Hurons; while I had the gates closed and the guard doubled. Finally they came to council and I settled the matter peacefully, and all were satisfied.
The Rev. Father Marest and Maurice had chosen their time badly and given bad advice to these poor people who would have fallen victims to their passions if I had not set matters right. The Hurons had two or three prisoners; they have sent them back to Mishilimakina by the Missisaguez, but I have my suspicions about this- the Hurons are cunning.
I learnt in passing through Sonontouan that five Outaouas and two Miamis had gone to Orange to get brandy. I know not what became of the Outaouas; the Miamis have returned, and reported that the English detained them on the rumor of these disturbances.
This is the footing on which matters now stand here. The Hurons, Miamis, Onyatanous and a few Iroquois who are here have spoken as follows in all the councils:- We will never hear a word (page 281, II) of any arrangement with the Outaouas; on this point we do not listen to the Governor, nor to you either. If he were to give us all the goods in Quebec and Montreal, we should refuse them. (I very much doubt this, however.) We beg you to join your forces to ours. We have been killed for trying to keep your fort alive, and to avenge you. Mons. de Bourgmont had no powder, we gave him ours, for your defence. We will not have peace; that must not be spoken of; if you make peace with the Outaouas, we shall think bad thoughts. That is, in plain English, that if I make peace with the one set, I shall very likely have war with the other; but nothing can confound me, I shall succeed in my purpose but not without difficulty.
I have replied to them as follows.- We have been struck by the same hand. I will not make war in your way. I will make it in mine. You go in small parties and put small kettles on the fire often. But for my part I declare to you Hurons, Miamis, Onyatanous, Chavanons and Iroquois who hear my words, I will boil up only one big pot that I may plunge all the Outaouas in it at once. Hearken to me. If they discover our approach and take to flight, they will be unable to sow their corn; if they had already sown, we will ravage their crops. The Governor will not give them any powder; and those people will not be able to live by their bows and arrows, and are dead men without it costing you the loss of a single man. If they stand firm in their village and fortify themselves, I promise you to set fire to the palisade and get you in. I will myself be at the head of the French and your warriors, and I promise you not to let one Outaouas remain on the face of the earth.
Since that time we have had to pass day and night in council, and I am overwhelmed with it. I know not how I can ever find time to write you such a long letter, and I have not time to make you a copy of it.
These tribes wanted to go to Michili- (page 282, II) makina and to form a party of three hundred men, and they ask me to join them with a hundred Frenchmen. I have put off this party till next spring when they have decided to march with eight hundred men.
It is for you, Sir, to consider what you must do. You have time enough to let us hear from you by sending me your orders promptly in the autumn by a small boat which will hold on as long as it can, and if the winter overtakes it, the men can come by land.
My opinion is that we must not leave this action unpunished. I believe it will be necessary in order to settle everything peaceably, to shoot Le Pezant and three or four others, and to pardon the rest of the tribe. This punishment will make the chiefs of all the tribes wiser and more prudent, for they are the originators of the wrong that is done and of their [?the savages] disobedience. Besides Le Pezant is an old man, and his missionary will pray for him after his death, and will give him absolution if he asks for it.
I should have sent a strong boat with some men to inform you of all that has taken place here, so that you might take whatever steps you thought necessary, but the soldiers who were sent by Mons. de Bourgmont, as well as my correspondents at Montreal, had assured me that no one took any trouble to send them back nor to find a boat for them; and that, at least, it was necessary to supply them with one at my expense and even to advance them money. If you do not give me a definite assurance, Sir, that in future the parties I sent to inform you of what takes place within your command will be paid for by the King, I hope you will be pleased to content yourself with receiving news from me only when opportunity offers, for I am not rich enough to bear all these expenses. You know better than I that parties of this sort have always been well paid for, and that the expenditure on them has always been passed; everything is quite new now. I also hope (page 283, II) that you will be good enough to speak to the Intendant on three matters; the first, that I should be paid for the boat which the soldiers sent by M. de Bourgmont, took at Montreal, which they had made almost unfit for use. The second, that I should be supplied with a boat in place of that furnished by me (which was quite new) for conveying the 800# of powder and 300# of bullets which the Intendant issued for the defence of the Fort, and other occasions. The third, to let me decide on the reckoning with the soldiers. Since when has the soldier had only 3s for his food? Since the 1st of January this year, and it has not been at the same rate within the last ten years.
Why does not the Intendant undertake the supply of food to the troops in this garrison at the Quebec rate, as he maintains that I should do? Have I not made him the offer? Why has he refused to do so? Next year also I shall be very much please if he will accept it, I ask nothing better. It is so great a difficulty to me that I know of none greater, and it is the only trouble I have here.
I do not bind myself to discount with the soldiers at the same rate as they did four days ago, so to speak, at Quebec. If the Intendant were informed that the fat that is given to the soldiers, being better than bacon fat, is worth fifteen sols per pound, he would not decide so hastily as to the soldiers' discount. In a word, if he think the thing possible, he has only to do it; I agree to it most heartily. For when I undertook to feed the men for their pay, it was only to remove the objections which might have been made. I cannot but believe that you will, with the Intendant, pay attention to my requests and that you will be good enough to grant them.
I give you notice that the Hurons and Miamis are about to go on the road to Michilimackina to pillage any Frenchmen who go to that place, so as to prevent any powder and bullets being taken (page 284, II) there. Lastly, Sir, the acts of the Outaouas are of importance; you are well-informed and know the interests and the customs of the tribes, consider what you wish me to do. I beg you to allow M. Riverin a merchant of Quebec, and M. Hardouin of Montreal to send necessary articles to me and to the officers by such persons as they propose to you; also to permit those who wish to come and settle here to do so. But, as you usually are at Quebec, I also beg you, Sir, to give order to Mons. de Ramezay on this matter, that this post may not suffer by the delay. Permit me to take the liberty of subscribing myself with very deep interest, Sir, your very humble and most obedient Servant.
My wife and daughter are most grateful for the honor of your remembrance of them; they present their very humble respects to you and to Mme. de Vaudreuil.
Mons. de Boucherville has requested me to ask you to be good enough to permit him to go down if his father wishes him to do so in order to help him; and to say that Mons. de Niverville, his brother, will come and take his place. For my part I shall be quite satisfied with that.
Since I had the honor of giving you a list of the soldiers who had deserted from the detachment at La Chine or Montreal, the man La Roche of St. Ours' company has deserted at the Cascades. He has carried off all his provisions and one of the King's axes. He is married to the servant of the Procureur of Montreal. La Violette, a pay-clerk from Dejordy, and the Fleming, De Beaucours, have also deserted in the direction of Onontaé to the English. I had made them an advance of 40# owing to what the Intendant said to me at La Chine, that it would be well to make advances to the soldiers. I replied that I would do so, but that he had put me in a difficulty, since they would not be passed from the day of their death or deser-
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