Ph oto b M ron E Wh ee e y y . l r

’ ' Frontzspzece

TH E OLD CHIMN EY OF INDIAN CHIEF SHABWAWAY ’S LOG CABIN A Brief Histo ry

Le s Ch e n e au x I slan d s

So m e Ne w Chapters o f M acki nac History

F AN R V R R K . G R O E h

1 9 1 1

BOWMAN PUBLI SHI NG C OM PA NY

EV ANST O N, I LLI NOI S 1 1 9 1 ,

G rov er By Frank R . TO THE MEMBER S O F LES CHEN EAUX C LU B

A ND

T o al l those wh o admi re th e sc e n ic beauty or appre ci ate th e hi storic c h a rm o f T H E I S LAN D OF LES CHEN EAUX S ,

k te this boo is d e dic a d .

T CO N EN TS .

CHA I PTER . Outlin e H i sto ry

CHAPTER II . P eri o d o f E xplo rati o n CHA III PTER . Early In dian H i sto ry and Occ upatio n

CHAPTER I V . Later an d Recent In d ian H i sto ry

C H A R V PTE . — P eri o d o f th e Pi o n eers Fath er P ire t

CHAPTER V I .

Les u b H o s and Ch en ea x Clu , S um m er m e m er Re si d ents

CHAPTER V I I . Origin of N am e s o f I slan d s and Place s of In terest

CHAPTER V III .

s s s s G and Gam e T s I I I Fi h , Fi h ing , Fi h erie , am e , rail

X CHAPTER I . — N aviga tio n Ti d e s and Variatio n s in Wate r Level s

CHAPTER X .

H ss d e : HOtel s e el , Ce arvill

CHAPTER XI .

s and A o d rs at Les Briti h , French m erican S l ie — E s T d A er H Chen eaux ngli h ra er , lexan d en r and a e VVa-W a—Ta m y Ch ippew Chi f ,

P a ge 5 I LLUSTRAT ION S .

Th e Old Chim n ey of In dian Chi ef ’ Sh abwaway s form e r H o m e Fron ti spi ec e

M a of Les e ea s ds and it p Ch n ux I lan Vicin y ,

. 1 6 0 drawn by Fath er M arquette A D . 7

” Th e r ff o s esse of th e reat G i n , Fir t S ailing V l G Lak es

Les Ch en eau x I n d ian H o m es of th e Tw en ti eth Cen tury

sh -a- m i n - ik -w e a ed tt a om and B e , g O aw W an , Wi do w of th e La st Chief of the Ottawas and Chippewas

Th e Old P ortage Road

Log S ch ool H ou se on th e M a inl an d and R oad to th e Sault

f a A d e . r t er ort t o D . e e P rai F th er n r w J Pi , P ” “ ” M f th M a k a e e ich aux o e c in c N ov l , Ann

’ “ Fath e r Pi ret s La Fe rm e at Les Ch en eaux and P resent Day Vi ew of S am e

V i ews Am on g Les Ch en eaux I slan d s

Typical Sum m er H om es

A Tro ut Fi sh erm an

P a ge 6 - Y OUT LIN E H I STO R . — LOCATION OF THE ISLANDS ORIGIN OF NAME OF LES CH E — —“ ” “ NEAUX THE CHANNELS THE SNOWS A ND SNOW — ISLA NDS ERRONEOUS NAMES A GREAT HISTORIC HIGH — S BY EX R S FUR RAD RS A ND ESUI WAY U ED PLO ER , T E , J T MISSIONARIES I N SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A ND LATER -PART OF M I CH I LI M A CKI NAC AND TH E MACKINAC — DISTRICT CHANN ELS MUCH USED BY TH E INDIANS - I ET FI S H I EX RER I N I 6 —M AR J EAN N COL , R T W TE PLO , 34 OU ETTE M AKES MA PS OF THE ISLANDS AND CHAN N ELS IN

1 670 A ND 1 673 . There is probably no place in America more rich in historic associations th an the Straits of

M ackinac and their many islands . TO write a complete and accurate history of Les Cheneaux islands an d Of thei r many historic vis i tors and o and what these travelers saw did , w uld , Of of necessity, require the writing a complete his of N tory ew France , the Great Lakes and the M is si ssi i pp valley, during those memorable years of Am erican history that h ave intervened since the

1 6 . year 34 Indeed , if that history were both com l ete of p and accurate , much , necessi ty, would be written respecting Old England , from the time of of Oliver Cromwell ; and France , beginning with th e days Of the crafty Cardinal Richelieu and ex

P age 7 HI STORY O F L E S CH ENEAUX I SLANDS tending through and beyond the reign of that strik ’ ing figure in the world s history, the Grand X Monarch , Louis IV . Then , too , to do complete justice and not overlook the most attractive and — romantic subject o f all the Indian history duri ng r the same period , would equire still further atten tion and m uch more extended reference than will be attempted in these pages . A lmost every year , certainly every decade , suc ceedi ng the middle o f the Seventeenth century to the close of the fur trade two hundred years later was so eventful , so full of achievements of far reach r ing importance in the development of a vast empi e , so full Of that romance that will ever surround the Of t t com history his locali y, the exploits and the ings and goings of those h ardy and daring men — who first penetrated an unknown wilderness who the r the fi rst saw these islands , lakes , the rive s , t streams , and the forests in all hei r primeval one to beauty , that is at a loss where begin and where to limit thei r consideration . Therefore , within the space devoted to a brief history of Les

Cheneaux and Les Cheneaux Islands , references respecting those early years will be confined to n mere outline , leavi g the reader, should he be V o f interested in a closer iew, to the pursuit the almost unlimited writings and authorities that r p resent in entertaining detail chapters of histo y ,

P a ge 8 OUT LI N E HISTO RY

without parallel in the annals of this continent . Les Cheneaux Islands of Lake Huron consti tuting a most beautiful archipelago Of more than

- fifty islands , adjoin the main land of the northern peninsula of M ichigan , occupying from east to a o west a sp ce f about twelve miles . They are at o f the eastern extremity of the Straits M ackinac , constitute a part Of M ackinac county and their most westerly bounda ry is about ten miles due northeast from M ackinac Island . These islands were well known to the J esuits Of the Seventeenth o century as sh wn by their maps and writings . tw o r For more than hundred years this territo y, with other adj acent lands and islands in and about of the Straits M ackinac , formed part and p arcel of M i chil im a ki nac what was known by the term c , — A al and by its modern synonym M ackinac . s most every reade r knows Sault Ste M arie and M ackinac Island were and still continue to be most important places in the history and development of o f N A that wide domain orth merica , known N n first as ew Fra ce , late r in part as the northwest territory and finally divided between the United B 1 States and Great ritain . From the year 634 when J ean N icolet first passed the straits and through these channels on his way to and from Green B ay and the Illinois country to the time when the American Fur company ceased opera

Pa ge 9 HI STORY O F LE S CHENEAUX I SLAN DS — tions in the year 1 842 for over two cen turies the vast commerce of the Great Lakes incident to

the fur trade , was carried on almost entirely in

- birch bark canoes and batteaux . This commerce and communication by water between the S ault and M ackinac Island was so great and so constant that ’ of this water route by way the S aint M ary s river, of Lake Huron and the Straits M ackinac , and very frequently through the sheltering channels lying between the mainland and Les Cheneaux Islands , bec ame one of the great and p robably the most noted historic highway of inland North America . Of t Consequently, in the latter part the Seventeen h centu ry and for the next succeeding two hundred the r years , explorer , the J esuit missiona y and the of fur trader, making his most usual voyage the

Great Lakes , reached Georgian bay in his bi rch bark canoe before he saw the Falls of S ault Ste

M arie , and camped by night, or rested at noonday, amid the islands and channels Of Les Cheneaux o f before he reached the Island M ackinac . There is hardly a man Of note in American his to ry mentioned in the early annals of N ew France an d the M ississippi valley who has not been a trav eler along this historic highway . Here in thei r day and generation came all th at great and dis ti ngui sh ed company of Jesuit missionaries, ex pl orers and fur traders who both made and wrote

P a ge 1 0 OUTLI NE HI STORY the history of N ew France and the M ississippi valley in the very eventful years of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries and whose names are o stamped indelibly upon the maps of all ur states .

This water highway was , as we know from tradi f or tion , untold years before the coming Of the first Wh m an of ite , equal importance to the Indian tribes in their many and frequent wanderings and migrations about the Great Lakes and to and from the adj acent mainlands . B 1 6 0 Father ablon , writing in 7 , says Of M ack inac “ m d oo It for s the key an the d r , so to speak , for all the peo N ples of the South as does the Sault for those of the orth . For in these regions there are only th ose two passages by water f or

Of very man y nations , who must seek one or the other the two ” if they wish to reach the French settlements . Of The references M r . Thwaites to this locality “ ” in his Story of M ackinac are also of interest . Says Thwai tes “ e Early recognized as a vantage point, commanding th

of a — commerce the three upper l kes of the great Chain Huron , Michigan and Superior— red men and white men have strug

s gled for its ma tery, tribe against tribe, nation against nation .

T he —dc- fleur lis, the union jack and the stars and stripes , have

e here , eac h in their turn , b en symbols of conqueror and con ” “ quered When at last armed hostilities ceased through the final surrender to the Republic, when the toma — hawk was buried and the war post painted white—the com merci al - struggle of the great fur trade companies began . T heir

Pa ge 1 1 H I STO RY O F LES CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS rival banners contested the sway of lands stretching from Atha

s a ba c to the Platte, from the Columbia to Georgian Bay . It is a far cry from the invasion Of Chippewa M ichillim ackinac by the long haired coureurs de bois of New France to the in~ ” ion vas by that later and modern army of summer tourists . There are but few visitors to the Straits of M ack f o r inac , whether they come for a day or the sum ac mer months , who are not, in some measure , “ qu ai nted with the most interesting history of The ” Fairy Island . Countless writers have painted countless word pictures of its legends , its life and histo ry, covering nearly three centuries of time .

The novelist , with this inexhaustible mine for char acte rs and historic scenes ; the J esuit Fathers in thei r yearly Relations ; the fur trader in his mem of A oirs and repo rts ; the writers merican history, and lastly, those somewhat numerous , and indus trio ns folk who in these modern days write small guide books and pamphlets for the summer tourist, have in thei r time and in the aggregate , portrayed this historic island from almost every conceivable -b view point . In all these writings the near y Is oi Of lands Les Cheneaux , although forming part the same district where all these historic scenes were enacted , h ave been sadly neglected by most, if not all , of these writers . To those who have spe nt even a single summer among this beautiful group of islands and have f o r the slightest inclination historical research , it

P a ge 1 2 OUT LIN E HI ST ORY

must indeed be a sad disappointment to find , that, in most of the recent histories of M ackinac and the

M ackinac country, Les Cheneaux is either ignored o r dismissed with some scant reference respecting its merits for the sport Of modern anglers and fish ermen . When it is remembered , as will be shown own later, that Father M arquette drew, with his 1 6 0 the 1 6 hands , in the year 7 and again in year 73, the first two maps ever made of these islands , tracing with reasonable accuracy the outlines of the — largest one Of the group an island more than of twice the size the Island Of M ackinac , and f o r r which , at least a centu y has borne Father M ar ’ uette s not out q name, it certainly will seem Of place to give this historic spot more th an passing ref erence . In so doing it will be the purpose and aim of the writer to regard as nearly as possible the title page “ and present in a brief history o f Les Cheneaux ” Islands , what he has been able to learn Of this t locali y, omitting for the most part what has been o so ably and repeatedly written f M ackinac Island . I f the reader should then be interested in that V nearer iew , and consider the books and writings , o r of a any small part them , referred to in the p pended notes worth the reading, these pages will have served in some measure a useful pu rpose .

P a ge 1 3 HI STO RY O F LE S CH ENEAUX I SLAN DS

— The n ame Of these islands Les Cheneaux, is a “ ” French term meaning The Channels , and origi nating, no doubt, as it is s aid , by reference to the many channels or narrow bodies Of water between the islands and the mainland and between the A islands themselves . s to when they were first so called cannot be definitely stated ; p rob ably before white men saw them , for the Indians knew this “ ” “ ” Onom onee A nam i nan locality as , or g, mean

on t . ing, it is said good authori y, also , The Channels The name has had several corruptions both in spell — ing and in p ronunciation for illustration : In some of the earlier writings and Indian treaties the name is spelled phonetically The Islands of ” the Ch enos. In recent days it has been such a task to explain to the average summer tourist the meaning and pronunciation that some modern na tives and Others have in despair, cut the matter short and very erroneously designated them , both “ A in print and conversation as The Snows . gain , the newcomers , seeing and hearing the name , have taken still further liberties with it by calling them “ ” The Snow Islands . The term Les Cheneaux , eo like the term M ackinac , has also a further g graphical meaning and significance ( so employed in these pages ) , in that it designates the territo ry and region not only including the islands them selves , but part of the mainland as well , from Point

B rulee to Beaver Tail point, a distance of about twelve miles .

P a ge 1 4

HI STO RY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I S LAN DS

Therefore , considering the many successive years that must be taken into account respecting the pe ri od Of the explorers , the outline will be made by reference to years and to men , and then only to o f those prominence , and to those only whom it is either certain o r reasonable to believe from good authority, visited the Islands of Les Cheneaux in the voyages that will here be b riefly mentioned . 1 6 — Ni col et l i euten 34 J ean , a Frenchman , and ant of Champlain with an escort of seven Huron s - indian , in birch bark canoes visited the S ault, Les

Cheneaux , M ackinac , Wisconsin , and probably the Of Illinois country, in a voyage exploration To become acquainted with the Indian tribes lying ‘ ‘ ’ beyond Mer Douce ( Lake Huron ) ‘ an d to find The Sea of Chin a and thereby the - -f or A long looked short passage to sia . 1 6 — N 35 J ean icolet and the Hurons returned , p robably ove r the same route . — 1 650 A band o f the Hurons known as the TO N I ro bacco ation ( Tionontati ) , fleeing from an uoi s q attack in Georgian bay, passed the straits and channels taking refuge at M ackinac Island . — , 1 653 Eight hundred I roquois warriors passed the straits on an unsuccessful expedition to take the Hu ron fort at Green B ay — 1 654 Two famous French traders and expl o r ers ( brothers - i n- law) Pierre Esprit Radisson and

Pa ge 1 6

PERIOD O F EXP LORATION

houart vo Medard C Groseilliers , made a similar y age On their way to Green B ay . — 1 656 Radisson and Groseilliers returned from Green B ay with a large p arty ( one writer says five hundred) Hurons and Ottawas with sixty canoes heavily laden with valuable cargoes of furs f or the

French market on the Saint Lawrence . 1 66 — Ni col as 5 Perrot, noted explorer, daring voyager, interpreter and Indian agent, made this year a like voyage through the straits and channels f or on his way to Green B ay . Perrot was later and many years a striking figure in the history of N ew F of rance, and made many voyages these channels , of covering a period some thirty years , succeeding F 1 665. I t was he who participated in the rench of 1 6 1 and Indian treaty 7 at the S ault, interpret “ ” ing to the Indians the historic Process -Verbal the of X V by which representative Louis the I ,

‘ de u resence of com ( Sieur Saint L sson) , in the p a now to pany Of men all noted in history, assumed take possession Of N ew France and much of North A merica . 1 66 —F A 9 ather Claude llouez , Of historic fame , was the first J esuit missionary to visit Les Che O the neaux and the Straits f M ackinac . Leaving on N rd 1 66 two Sault ovember 3 , 9, with French “ companions and two canoe l oads of Pottawat ” “ tami es and con , they passed De Tour, when the

P ago 1 7 H I STORY O F L E S CH ENEAUX I SLAN DS trary wind was about to cast the canoe on the rocks they camped at Les Che neaux the night Of Novem “ h th 1 6 . A t ber 4 , 99 Father llouez says , On the s , upon waking, we found ourselves covered with Of snow and the surface the canoe coated with ice , “ ” we embarked with diffi cul ty our bare feet in the water The night of NO vember 5th they camped again on Little Saint ’ A “ M artin s Island , where , says llouez , we were ” detained six days by bad weather . The Indian companions of Allouez here related to him some of the same Indian legends handed down to School craft respecting M ackinac Island and the Islands “ of Les Cheneaux , including references to M ana h ” ’ boz o . , the prototype of Longfellow s Hiawatha O f this historic mythical character these Indian A own companions told llouez , as he tells i t in his words in writing an account Of this voyage : “ Th ey say t hat it was i n these Islands that he invented nets for catching fish after he had attentively consid " ered the spider working at her web in order to catch flies in it . — 1 670 I n J une Of this year Allouez returned to the Sault from Green B ay over the same route . 1 6 O — Dabl on A 7 Father , accompanied by llouez , A made a similar voyage . Leaving llouez at Green S of 1 6 0 - 1 B ay, he returned , and pent the winter 7 7 f o r at M ackinac , laying the foundation the later

mission of Saint Ignatius .

Pa ge 1 8 PERIOD O F EXP LORAT ION — 1 67 1 I n th e summer of this year (June o r later) Father M arquette and the Hurons , moving from Lake Superior to Mackinac Island , navigated the channels o f Les Cheneaux . I t is quite certain that during this voyage Father M arquette p ro cured . the data and drew maps of Les Cheneaux Islands as they appear upon the later map o f the o - Relation f r the years 1 670 7 1 .

- — I 67O 7 1 Father Dabl on attached to the Jesuit f or Relation those years a map of Lake Superior, part of Lake Huron and the straits , showing Les

Cheneaux Islands , the map probably drawn by t Fa her M arquette , which clearly indicates that these islands and channels had been carefully ex l ored p by the J esuits in the voyages here described , most likely by M arquette himself in his voyage AI with the Huron nation , and probably also by louez . 1 6 1 — A — of 7 utumn the Ottawas M anitoulin , who separated from M arquette, and the Hurons at

ost De Tour ( see Chap . I I I p ) passed the straits and channels on an unsuccessful war expedition am against the Sioux , and arrived with guns and munition Obtained at Montreal . 1 6 2— — 7 Summer M arquette , accompanied by A llouez , made another canoe voyage from M ack ’ inac to the Sault, and after fourteen days absence returned again , probably th rough the channels.

P a ge 1 9 HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

1 6 2— th of 7 December 7 th at year Louis Joliet, now educated as a p riest but an explorer, ami d the of ice and storms fast app roaching winter , passed through the straits and channels to meet M arquette at S aint Ignace in preparation f or the historic ex o ploration f the M ississippi river . ’ 1 6 — N Dabl on s s 73 Henry ouvel , uccessor at the on Sault, passed the channels his way to Saint

Ignace . 1 6 — On 1 th 73 M ay 7 , M arquette and Joliet with h on t ei r French and Indian companions , started thei r long voyage Of discovery, and M arquette in m aking his map Of that year again showed Les

Cheneaux Islands . — 1 674 Another party of Ottawas and other A l gonqui ans cam e from M anitoulin Island and the

Opposite shore to settle at S aint Ignace . 1 6 8— T Ofli ce r 7 he noted coureurs de bois , army , and explorer Du Luth , from whom the p resent city of Duluth , M innesota , takes its name , passed the straits on a voyage to the Sioux country, making many other like voyages during the succeeding years of that centu ry . ’ 1 6 — On A 26th 79 ugust , La S alle s expedition in the first vessel that ever sailed the Great Lakes , “ f The Grif on , reached the straits in a storm and was nearly lost while passing Les Cheneaux

Islands. Hennepin , the priest and adventurer,

P a ge 20

HISTORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS to punish by execution the Indian murderers Of two Frenchmen . — 1 684-1 687 M any like voyages by explorers and traders . 1 688—I n of H ontan J une , voyage B aron La , from the S ault to M ackinac and later the same year on a return voyage to Lake Erie . — 1 688 to 1 700 The Indian warfare and fur trad ing activities result in frequent and almost daily expeditions and voyages th rough the straits and channels . 1 — 1 7 2 Voyage of Father Charlevoix . — I 76 I Arrival Of B ritish troops at M ackinac . — 1 763 The Conspi racy and War of Pontiac re sul ted in many similar expeditions and voyages i n ci dent to the great Indian war and the resulting

Fort M ackinac massacre . I 6 —A 7 4 lexander Henry, the noted English trader and refugee from M ackinac , was at Les

Cheneaux . I 8 1 2— i th of July 5 . Expedition B ritish troops and Indi an allies , the day preceding the capture

Of Fort M ackinac . Rendezvous at Les Cheneaux XI ( see Chap . ) . — h 1 8 2 8t . 5 September 5th to , Henry R School craft was at Point B rulee storm bound ( see Chap .

VI I ) . The voyages above noted are but f ew of the many

Pa ge 22 PERIOD O F EXPLO RATION

of like character that could be recounted , includ ing almost every ye ar o f th e calendar from 1 669 to 2 Of 1 84 . Each and all them bore their part in the making of the nation ’s history as the mere mention of the names of the principal voyagers must indi o f cate . M any, if not all these expeditions , when considered in detail , present most interesting sub je ers for extended comment and consideration . In deed , the exploits and expeditions of these men of i ron and enterprise and their associates , and others making like voyages , really constitute the history not only of this locali ty but of N ew France and the

Northwest in the eventful years here considered .

' The importance of this highway is the subject of comment in Hulbert’s “ Historic Highways Of ” America where the author says ' “ ’ T he voyagers canoes followed the Ottawa river from

N a Montreal , then by portage to Lake ipissing and to Georgi n H bay and Lake uron , thence to Green Bay , the Fox river and by portage to the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers . It was the most natural route , because in every way it was the line of least resistance . It avoided the near approaches to the n Iroq uois Indian limits , and led directly to the numerous India ” s haunts around the Great Lake .

The same writer , speaking of the various port ages formi ng part of these highways further says : “ he T portage paths from the Great Lakes , or streams enter ing them , to the tributaries of the Mississippi river were of great importance during the era when that river was the goal ” “ The of explorers , conquerors and pioneers

P a ge 23 HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX ISLAN DS greater are worthy each of an exhaustive monograph and even those of least prominence were of importance f ar beyond our ” ability to understand in these days . In considering the activities Of this period— the of fu r trade , exploration and the work the church , two classes of men stand forth as potent and force — ful factors the J esuits and the French Canadians : TH E J ESUIT MISSIONARIE’S

f or o f re were the most part, men learning and finem ent , reared and educated amid the luxury and of of ease continental Europe , Often men fortune and noble bi rth , utter strangers to h ardship and of m anual labo r . The vows Of the Society Jesus , and thei r fidelity to its cause put behind them f o r ever all those things so dear to the average case loving , selfish man . er etuat The society, bent upon sp reading and p p ing the doctrines of the Church of Rome through out im os the world , undertook the gigantic and p sible task of turning the s avages of the far away land of North America from the medicine man and th e tom -tom to the p riest and to the cross of

Christ . The army of willing votaries and self -sacrifici ng volunteers who promptly responded to this call have earned a deserving place both in the history of the nation and of their church . The r of missiona y Of these days , wh atever creed

P a ge 24 PERIOD O F EXPLORATION sets out on his mission to foreign lands with all the our C ease , comfort and dispatch that modern ivil i z ati on and its swift means o f transportation so richly afford ; with few exceptions he lives in com parative comfort and with assured safety . Far dif f erent of was the experience these J esuit Fathers , f o r who , weeks and often months , were tossed in crowded and slow sailing vessels by the winds and of A waves the tlantic ocean , to lead , at the end too of the journey, a life Often shortly terminated t ’ by a mar yr s death , ami d hardships and dangers that no writer can appreciate or describe . The arrival at Q uebec or Montreal was Often but of f or o the mere beginning the journey, l ng, weary days and weeks and months must elapse with the hardest and most constant toil at the paddles of the

- birch bark canoes , amid sunshine and storm , rain and snow, up and down rivers , skirting the Great

Lakes , crossing smaller ones ; packing by hand , canoes , personal belongings and supplies over long portages or around impeding cataracts ; at times fighting thei r way through the country of hostile tribes , before the journey ended at last in the dis of s tant wilderness , where the real labors the e men began . A own fter building with thei r hands , from the raw material of a primeval forest, their wigwams , log cabins or mission houses , they were confronted

Pa ge 25 HI STORY O F LE S CHENEAUX I SLAN DS with the difli cul t task of telling th e story of the Christ and the Virgin to pagan savages in an un learned and difficult language which was theirs to of master . Though men letters , the many new p roblems in the great school of woodcraft had to be solved and also mastered as by little children i n ’ a primary school , e er they could hope to further penetrate wi th success the dark and silent forests , the endless and often unexplored wildernesses , with thei r many hidden dangers . In imperfect imagination only can we follow them in a very small part of their further trials and o r journeys , feasting starving with the particular

Indians with whom their lot was cast, enduring the

filth and vermin of an Indian village , accompany on - ing the tribe On the hunt, the war path , some of times pursuers and sometimes pursued , in dead winter on long snow-shoe journeys through the of deep snow in quest food , or to visit some distant o r band tribe , at all times striving to make the sav age a friend by giving materi al aid in sickness and in health , while ministering to supposed spiritual o f needs , constantly teaching the youth ; in times or O pestilence , famine other ill fortune in war , ften of facing the unrelenting vengeance , born savage of superstition , which charged the wearer the black o f mi sf or robe , as the sole author the particular tune ; Often paying the penalty with their lives after

Pa ge 26 TH E G R I P FON

Th e fir t ai i n v e e on the u e r ake bui t b La Sa e 1 6 s s l g ss l pp l s ; l y ll , 79

HI STORY O F LES CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS — cis Parkman wh at he says of these men , the rank and file in the companies of the explorers ( Con S i rac of 8 - 0 p y Pontiac , pp 4 5 ) “ I n all that pleases the eye or interests the imagination the

c Fren h Canadian surpassed his English rival . Buoyant and

gay, like his ancestry of France, he made the frozen wildern ess

ring with merriment, answered the surly howling Of the pine i forest w th peals of laughter, and warmed with revelry the

. La groaning ice of the St wrence . Careless and thoughtless , he lived happy in the midst of poverty, content if he could but

ai to i g n the means f ll his tobacco pouch , and decorate the cap of i h am his m stress wit a ribbon . The ex ple of a beggared no bili e ty, who, proud and pennil ss , could only assert their rank A s was . by idlene s and ostentation , not lost upon him rightful

r e heir to French brave y and French restl ssness, he had an eager love of wandering and adventure ; and thi s propensity

e he - ss found ample scope in the s rvice of t fur trade, the engro

e ing occupation and chief source of income to the colony. Wh n ’ A n the priest of St. nn s had shrived him of his si s ; when , after the parting carousal , he embarked with his comrades in the deep -laden canoe ; when their oars kept time to the measured

s cadence of their boat song, and the blue, sunny bo om Of the Ottawa Opened before them ; when their frail bark quivered among the milky foam and black rocks of the rapid ; and when

-fire around their camp , they wasted half the night with jest — and laughter then the Canadian was in his element . His

- footsteps explored the farthest hiding places of the wilderness .

c s In the evening dance , his red cap mingled with the scalp lo k

- and feathers of the Indian braves ; or, stretched on a bear skin b o y th e side of his dusky mistress , he watched the gamb ls of his hybrid offspring, in happy Oblivion of the partner whom he left unnumbered leagues behind .

P a ge 28 PERIOD O F EXP LORATION

The fur-trade engendered a peculiar class of restless bush

o rangers , more akin to Indians than to white men . Th se who had once felt the fascination Of the forest were" unfitted ever after for a life Of quiet labor ; and with this Spirit the whole colony was infected . Yet by the zeal of priests and daring enterprise of soldiers and explorers, Canada, though sapless and

all infirm , spread forts and missions through the western wil

r o derness . Feebly o ted in the soil she thrust out branches which overshadowed half America ; a magnificent Object to the r eye, but one which the fi st whirlwind would prostrate in the dust .

Such , as so graphically described by Parkman , was the French Canadian of this era ; later, in the r histo y of this region , he became in some instances f a man of a fairs and family, contributing sub stanti ally to the development and growth of the

Commonwealth . “ M r . Stanley Newton in his recent Picturesque and Legendary History of M ackinac Island and n co rrob Sault Ste M arie , prese ts the following orating incident of the statements in the preced “ ing paragraph : The French and English mer chants drove a thriving trade on M ackinac Island 1 in the early years succeeding 800 . I think it was a Frenchman of Point Saint Ignace who sent over to the Island the following requisition “ Y ou will put some shoe on my little families like this, and : send by Sam Jameson , the carrier One man , Jean St . Jean 2 ( me) 4 years ; one woman , Sophie St. Jean , ( she) 4 1 years ; H Le 1 1 8 ermedes and onore , 9 years ; Honore, years ; Celina,

Pa ge 29 HISTO RY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

1 N r 1 6 1 7 years ; a cisse, Octavia and Phyllis, , years ; Olivia, 4 1 A 1 years ; Phillippa, 3 years ; lexandre, 1 2 years ; Rosina, 1 1 0 years ; Bruno, years ; Pierre , 9 years ; Eugene, we lose him ;

Adrain Edouard and Eliza, 7 years ; , 6 years ; Camille, 5 2 1 i years ; Moise, years ; Muriel , year ; H lane, he go bare "” foot . How much This incident would seem to indicate that how ever appalling the race suicide question may be t — i n r with the F ench the mother count y, it could not have been a question of great m oment in those

days in and around the Straits Of M ackinac .

Pa ge 30 I I I .

EARLY IN D IAN H I STO RY AN D AT OCCU P ION . — — TH E ANCIENT HURONS OJ IBWAYS OR CH I PPEWA s WRITINGS ' O ScH OOLCRA rT— W S I F LONGFELLO H AWATHA, TAKEN ROM S I I S A ND I I - F LEGEND , TRAD T ON ND AN FOLK LORE GATH — ERED FROM THE INDIANS I N THIS LOCALITY VOYAGE or THE HURON NATION ACCOMPANIED BY FATH ER M AR —“ Q UETTE THROUGH THE CHANNELS IN 1 670 THE THREE ”— — FIRES PoNT1 Ac TH E SIEGE AND TRAGEDY or STARVED — — — ROCK THE IROQ UOIS J ESUITS AMONG THE HURONS THE — CHARM OF INDIAN HISTORY INDIAN LEGENDS A ND I I S TRAD T ON .

The charm of Indian history and Of Indian tales and legends seems to be without limit with the

American people . Since the discovery of this con ti nent the N A - orth merican Indian , his origin , his traditions and legends , his character , his manners and customs , his superstitions , his eloquence , the wars in which he has engaged , his tribal relations , his certain destiny, the wrongs he has done and ff those he h as su ered , have for four centuries , been f or favorite themes the histori an , the poet, the

. Y philanthropist, the ethnologist et, with all r these countless writings , eve y locality has its spe ci al Indian histo ry, and when that is considered , even by itself , the charm seems to increase rather

Pa ge 31 H ISTO RY O F LE S CH ENEAUX I SLAN DS — th an diminish Les Cheneaux is no exception to this rule . “ When' Longfellow wrote The Song of H iawa ” th a, he forever fastened this charm not only upon un his first readers , but upon their descendants yet born . Thirty years before Longfellow wrote the first of line H iawatha , a gentleman of learning, during tw t of en y years residence in this region , gathered from the primeval red man , the tales and legends and Indian stories told mostly in the Oj ibway dia A lect Of the lgonquian language , which he ably and indelibly wrote into o ur English literature and from which Longfellow secu red very much Of wh at he gave to the world by perpetuating in Hia

- watha the romantic features of Indian folk lore . o The writer thus referred t was Henry R . who 1 8 2 1 8 1 Schoolcraft LL . D . from 2 to 4 was the Indian Agent at S ault Ste M arie and at M ack inac Island , and who in those years was a very frequent visitor to these islands and channels . He was not only for many years agent of Indian af fai rs , the greatest authority upon Indian history and ethnology, a scientist and prolific writer, but during those years , and in this locality wrote what o so is perhaps his best book and literary p r duction , “ A Re helpfully used by Longfellow, lgic searches .

P a ge 3 2 EARLY I N DIAN HI STO RY

’ Longfellow s personal diaries and his own foot n the notes ot only acknowledge this use , but very first lines of Hi awatha corroborate this statement of its origin “ Should you ask me whence these stories ,

Whence these legends and traditions,

With the odor of the forest,

ws With the dew and damp of meado ,

s With the curling smoke Of wigwam ,

“

With the rushn of great rivers ,

With their frequent repetitions ,

And their wild reverberations , As of thunder in the mountains "

I should answer, I should tell you , ‘ e From the forest and the prairi s ,

rthl and From the Great Lakes o f the No , f ’ From the land O the Oj ibways . More extended reference will not be made to

M r . Schoolcraft, his life and able work so well and favorably known , but to the dwellers of Les “ — Ye wh o l ov e the hau nts o na Cheneaux, and f ” i f “ ” ture l ov e th e sha d ows of th e f orest “ l ov e the wi nd a m ong th e bra nch es “ ” i f l ov e the ba ll ads of a peopl e “ tha t like v oi ces from afar o ca ll ” — “ to us to pause and l iste n should read The So ng ” Of Hiawatha and the early Indian history of this region with a new meaning and app reciation . It o f is certainly interest to know that here , from t this immediate locali y, these legends and tradi

P a g e 3 3 HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

ou r tions were gathered , translated and written in own language with painstaking care , and again so reproduced with like fidelity by the great poet in verse, as to give to the world a true picture Of the of r not now romance Indian life and sto y, as it is , O nor as it was carelessly bse rved by grasping, sel

fish and exploiting traders , but as it was when the Indian was uncontaminated by the worst features ’ of — the white man s civilization when he was , in Of fact, the primeval red man the forest and o p rai rie . T those thoughtless people who measure Indian character by what they see of him in his modern degradation and decline , the reading Of ’ s h M r . Schoolcraft writings s ould give not only a new and more ch aritable view , but end much of the unfair treatment of the Indian by those who see o neither r mance nor merit in his character . Should a detailed account here be given of all of the Indians who have visited the Straits Of M ack inac and these islands and channels as shown by reliable historical writings , this subject alone not Of would only far exceed the limits these pages , t but would , of necessi y, describe the exploits , war not of p arties and wanderings of most, if all the tribes and bands , that have first and last, occupied Of this country north the Ohio river, and from A be the tlantic seaboard to the M ississippi , and yond . Therefore , in dealing with the early Indian

Pa ge 3 4

H I STO RY O F LE S CHENEAUX I SLAN DS

A tory on the tlantic seaboard , and a residence about Lake Superior and in this region as one writer ex “ ” p resses it, from time immemorial . The Oj i bway nation included at one time both who o the Ottawas and the Pottawatomies , , acc rd ing to tradition , separated into these separate tribes “ of in very early times at the S traits M ackinac , in their westward movement, h aving come at that time from some point north or northeast of M ack A inac . fter such sep aration the three tribes still maintained a sort of loose confederacy during the “ ” last century, designated as The Three Fires . This designation was the subject of frequent re ference by Indi an orators at treaty- making coun cils with the whites . The Ojibways were not only successful in ex tending their possessions wes tward and meeting in successful combat the warlike Sioux in thei r own of country, but they also took possession the ter ri tor y between Lake Huron and Lake E rie , driving — the I roquois confederacy before them a feat seldom accomplished by any o ther of the Algon quian tribes . They were concerned in all the wars against the frontier forts and settlements of their country, to Of Of 1 8 1 2 the close the War , and thei r importance and prowess , as viewed by the whites and Govern ment authorities is amply evidenced by the fact

P a ge 3 6 EARLY I NDIAN HISTORY

that they were not only consulted , but were con tracting pa rties in all of the Indian treaties of i m portance during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries , concluding Indian wars or disposing of the lands north o f the Ohio river and in the ter ri to r y above defined . Schoolcraft describes the Chippewa warriors as equaling in physical appearance the best o f the n orthwestern Indians , with the possible exception of the Foxes . H e was best acquainted with them during thi rty years of his greatest activities , and married M iss J ane Johnston , a descendant by the ’ “ ” mother s side of Wabojeeg a war chief Of this nation . M rs . Schoolcraft was an accomplished and highly educated woman , who aided her hus i n band greatly his work . 1 8 1 of : Parkman , writing in 5 , says the Oj ibways e In their mode of life , they were far more rud than the ” “5 Iroquois or even the Southern Algonquin tribes m Agriculture is little known , and through su mer and winter , they range the wilderness with restless wandering, now gorged to repletion , and now perishing with want . In the calm days of summer the Ojibway fisherman pushes out his birch—bark ” canoe upon the great inland ocean of the north “ again he explores the watery labyrinth where the stream

- be sweeps among pine tufted islands , or runs , black and deep ,

f - e neath the shadows O moss bearded firs , or he drags his cano upon the sandy beach , and while his camp fire crackles on the

as gr s plat, reclines beneath the trees, and smokes and laughs away the sultry hours in a lazy luxury of enjoyment .

P a ge 3 7 HI STORY O F LES CHEN EAUX I S LAN DS

u the But when winter descends upon the north , sealing p

am - fountains , fettering the stre s and tu rni ng the green robed forest to shivering nakedness , then bearing their frail dwellings upon their backs, the Ojibway family wander forth into the wilderness cheered only on their dreary track by the whistling of the north wind , and the hungry howls Of wolves. By the

z bank of some fro en stream , women and children , men and dogs lie crouched together around the fire . In vain they beat — the magic d rum and call upon their guardian m anitoesz the wary moose keeps aloof, the bear lies close in his hollow tree , and famine stares them in the face ” “ Such harsh sch ooling is thrown away on the northern Algonquin . He lives in misery as his fathers lived before him . Still in the brief hour of plenty he forgets the season of want ; and still the sl eet and ” the snow descend upon his houseless head . Widely varying estimates of the numbers of the f Oj ibways have been made at di ferent times , none of them p robably very accurate , but when it is con si dered that the American bureau of ethnology 1 0 estimates their numbers as late as the year 9 5, at over souls , some idea may be formed of the o former greatness f this people . m and Their customs , yths , traditions , legends - on thei r folk lore in general , has , p robably account re of thei r intimate association with the whites , ceiv ed more attention and publication , than in the “ case of most o f the other tribes The Ojibways of have a great number legends , stories and bistori o f cal tales , the relating and hearing which gives a vast fund of winter evening instruction and amuse

Pa ge 3 8 EAR LY I NDIAN H I STORY

” - O ib ment, says a well informed writer, a native j way, writing sixty years ago . This writer further “ says , There is not a lake or mountain that has not con nected with it some story of delight or wonder and nearly every beast and bird is the subj ect o f the ” - n . India story teller These myths and legends , so related , supplied the place of books and short ened the long wi nter eveni ngs for attentive audi ences that gathered from night to night in the wig wam of the Ojibway story- teller to hear his con ‘ ti nu e d tales . of Since the beginning our written history, and as we know from tradition , for centuries before that, the Sault , the Straits of M ackinac and these islands , have been the native homes of this nation of ex ce where many them still reside , a striking p tion in that respect to almost every other tribe of of Indians formerly located east the Mississippi , who have , almost without exception , left the land o f of own their fathers , for new homes , not thei r choosing, beyond the Great River and toward the setting sun . TH E R HU ON S. The Indian history of these islands would be i n complete without some reference to that once great and powerful Indian tribe from which the great — lake derives its name the Hurons . When first known to white men they were a powerful and

P a ge 3 9 HI STOR Y O F LE S CHENEAUX I SLAN DS

of warlike nation , traders and tillers the soil , liv ing on the eastern shores of the lake which , for over A l two hundred years , has borne their name . Of though speaking the same language , equal bravery, following the same manners and customs , and probably at one time of the same people as the or N N Y I roquois Five ations of ew ork , they were deadly enemies o f that fierce and blood - thirs ty con federacy . Though the Hurons numbered , accord ing to various estimates , from ten to thirty thou of sand people , the Iroquois , after many years war 1 6 0 i n re fare , finally about the year 5 succeeded duci ng the Huron n ation to broken bands of ter - of ror stricken fugitives . Some these bands per i sh ed of starvation in the northern forests of wh at no A of ue is w Canada . few them retreated to Q one bec , while village surrendered to the Senecas , one of the I roquois tribes , and settled in a separate village in the country of th e I roquois in N ew York . All th at was left of th e Hurons as an organized tribe was a band of that division then known as the t who Tobacco na ion (Tionontati ) , in the general disaster, deserted thei r burning towns and villages and were literally driven into the lake bearing the name of thei r tribe and forced to take refuge on ‘ o f the islands f Geo rgian B ay . Their suf erings there during a single winter from famine and dis e ase is one oi the darkest chapters of Indian his

Pa ge 40 EAR LY I N DIAN HI ST ORY

-sa ri fi ci n tory. The self c g deeds of those J esuit

Fathers living with the Hurons , who died the of death martyrs from I roquois torture , during this of war of extermination , and those who survived who and fled with them and , with superhuman de v oti on of , ministered to the wants the luckless Hur ons during that memorable winter in Georgian

. N 0 bay, will ever live in history reader who con templates these incidents i n all their details can have aught but the utmost admiration for those

“ o historic heroes f the Black Robe . Not content with a victory that had achieved all

- but annihilation , the relentless and ever present Iroquois again drove the Hurons from the islands of Georgian bay westward th rough the channels of Les Cheneaux to M ackinac Island where they remained f or a short time until threatened with e still another I roquois attack . From there they r moved again f or safety to the islands about Green of B ay, but their rest was short duration , for their merciless enemy, the I roquois , approached them again by the western shore of Lake M ichigan ; of thei r further flight and wanderings in Illinois , up the f or the M ississippi river , among S ioux, living now a time in what is Wisconsin and Minnesota , where they found this tribe first friends and then enemies as powerful and dangerous as thei r former — foes , the I roquois . Of thei r later residence near

P age 41 HI STORY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLANDS — the western extremity of Lake Superior no further reference will here be made except to state 1 6 0 of that in the year 7 , after twenty years wander w o f ing in the ilderness , like the ancient children

Israel , we find them in that year at La Pointe M is sion o n Ch equ am egon b ay under the care of that of good shepherd the Indian sheep, Father M ar ue e q tt . Who had been sent a year before ( Sep tember 1 669 ) on a long voyage to his second mis sion in that then far distant land to minister to their supposed spi ritual needs . We find them , too , n decimated in umbers , and in deadly fear of the Sioux who were about to attack them from the west as the I roquois had from the east, longing with common human instinct, to return again after these twen ty years of wanderings to thei r native land . Then began another long and toilsome jour ney of some five hundred miles in their birch - bark o f canoes . They coasted the southern shores Lake

Superior , accompanied by thei r steadfast friends , the Ottawas and by Father M arquette , by the way of th e Sault back to their former haunts around f or M ackinac , closing over a hundred years the missions and Jesuit activities in the locality which they then deserted . While the incidents of this voyage are full of S to interest, it will be of more pecial concern the o of summer c ttager Les Cheneaux, as he sits in

P a ge 4 2

HI STO RY O F LE S CHENEAUX I SLAN DS th e Parkmm of chief, and as s ays , the best allies C Pontiac , the great hieftain Of thei r friends the

Ottawas , in a further war, that will ever command respect for th e bravery and fidelity of that great th e im os leader and his followers , who undertook p sible task of driving the Englishmen back again across the sea . During the years th e Hurons spent at M ackinac on and S aint Ignace , they did not live entirely

M ackinac Island nor Point S aint Ignace , but were of on at times scattered about the Straits M ackinac , -b the mainland and the near y islands . Their tribe was then p robably strengthened by the retu rn of h th e some of t eir scattered bands , and there are best of reason s f or believing they were often at Les Cheneaux and perhaps in part dwellers upon th ese islands and along these ch annels . It is also stated , t of upon credible au hority, that at the time the removal from M ackinac Island to Green B ay, a part of the tribe in thei r eff orts to avoid the I ro quoi s went directly to Lake Superior by way of Les A of r of Cheneaux and the S ault . s tudy the histo y this tribe in detail and of all thei r activities during to one of the years here referred , presents the most o interesting histories f any o f the Indian tribes . It is of Special interest to know that in the year 1 634 seven Hurons formed the escort of the first white Ni col et t . man who explored this vicini y, J ean

P a ge 44 EARLY I N DIAN HI STORY

TH EOTTAWAS.

The Ottawas , meaning Traders ( as they were early noted as traders and barterers among neigh boring tribes) were formerly of the same nation as the Ojibways and became a separate tribe in early o r traditional times , at near M ackinac as above noted . There is much confusion in the writings of his tori ans and ethnologists respecting their history and the name has been frequently applied to widely scattered bands and tribes to which it does not belong ; thus Father B ablon writing in the Re l ati ons for the year 1 670 respecting the Algon qui ans says “ People commonly give them the name Ottawa because of more than thirty diff erent tribes which are found in those coun

e se tri s , the first that descended to the French ttlements were t all the Ottawas, whose nam e remained afterwards at ached to ” the others. Charlevoix and other writers also made the mis take Of erroneously designating all the Indians of the Ottawa river by that name . As appears both by tradition and the most cred of ible writers , the country the Ottawas was as early as 1 635 and long before that the islands of

Georgian B ay, especially M anitoulin Island , “ called by some early writers the Island of the h Ottawas , and also along the north and sout shores of Georgian B ay .

P age 45 HI STOR Y O F LES CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

The Ottawas were ever the steadfast friends o f both the French and the Hu rons , and in common with these friendly allies , were at constant war with the I roquois . The foregoing sketch of the Hurons covers also much of the history of the Ottawas during the same period , for the Ottawas followed the varying fortunes of the Hurons for more than a centu ry and were with them at all the localities above re ferred to . The Ottawas , too , accompanied Father M arquette and the Hurons in thei r journey from

Lake Superio r in 1 670 . They separated at De r Tour, the Hurons and M a quette going to M ack e inac as already d scribed , while the Ottawas returned to their former h ome on M anitoulin

Island . Later they again joined the Hurons at

S aint Ignace , and when the Hurons removed to Detroit the Ottawas ( 1 700 - 1 70 2 ) occupied parts o f the southern peninsula of M ichigan along the

' west shore o f Lake Huron from Saginaw B ay to Detroi t Later ( 1 706) a part of the tribe returned t still again to M ackinac and that vicini y, from which point they soon scattered in every di rection , of occupying parts Wisconsin , Illinois , Ohio , and even as far east as Pennsylvania . They returned in p art again to thei r favorite haunt and native land on M anitoulin Island , which they then shared

Pa ge 4 6 EAR LY I N DIAN HI ST O RY

with the Chippewas . Despite the scattered bands thus so far removed , a goodly portion of the tribe finally settled in the lower peninsula of M ichigan where they may still be found in a number of small o f villages and settlements . M any this tribe have intermarried and gone with the Chippewas , and , since tribal relations have disappeared , it is often h ard to trace o r distinguish them from these f o r ' fi mer tribesmen , and equally dif cult to compute now es their present numbers , which , however, is timated by the American bureau of ethnology at

people .

Like the Ojibways , they were not only concerned

- in all the war like enterprises of thei r time , but generally joined with those allies in all of the I n dian treaties of importance . It is a matter of his tory that they were enemies to be feared and were respected by every tribe with whom they were in friendly alliance . The Ottawas and thei r greatest chieftain for ever stamped their names upon the pages of Ameri can history i n the Conspiracy and War of Pontiac .

When this great leader met his death , at the hands of of an Indian of one the Illinois tribes , b ribed to of murder him , it is said , with a barrel whiskey, the Ottawas participated with their friends and allies and former kinsmen , the Pottawatomies , in wreaking dire vengeance upon the Illinois . In the

P a ge 47 HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

of historic tragedy Starved Rock, about the year 1 0 77 , they exterminated the tribe from which the of great state Illinois derives its name , by a p ro i n of of longed siege , resulting the death many the Illinois by starvation and the massacre of the sur vi vors as they attempted to escape in the night, in which attempt but eleven Illinois warriors were of successful . Starved Rock , situated on the banks of U the Illinois river, near the present city tica , is one of the historic monuments and landmarks Of

Illinois , deriving its present n ame from this inci dent . For nearly a century it was known as Fort

S aint Louis . I t will soon be dedicated as a state of park . On the half acre rock , standing high above the Illinois river, constituting the summit of LaSal l e this natural fortress , and his faithful u o of lieutenant, Hen ri de To ty, a her the eight eenth century, held , with their Indian allies , for two of decades in the name the French king , the possession of that part Of N ew France first ex l ore p d by M arquette and Joliet .

TH EIROQUOIS.

I ro ui s or N of New Yo The q , Five ations rk, have received the enthusiastic admi ration Of many of writers ; the best, and some of the worst traits Indian ch aracter found its highest development among them ; they are designated by one enthusiast

P a ge 4 8 EAR LY I N DIAN HISTORY

“

of . A as the Indians Indians nd , although their N Y of country was ew ork , they are well worthy f o r ex termi n mention in M ichigan history ; , after

ating and subduing their nearest neighbors , includ

ing the Hurons , the Eries and other tribes speak ing the same language , their thirst for conquest led them wes tward from their far - away eastern homes ; thei r war parties penetrated the intervening wil of derness forest and plain , navigated the western rivers an d Great Lakes and destroyed o r drove their enemies in terror before them not only through these channels and the Straits of M ackin of ac , but across the prai ries Illinois and along the

of . western shores Lake M ichigan Distance , hardships , winter , and time expended in travel presented no Obstacles to them and they scattered and all but destroyed the great and powerful o Algonquian tribes f the Illinois . The I roquois are thus described by Parkman :

Foremost in war , foremost in eloquence , foremost in their ” “ savage arts Of policy T hey extended their con quests and their depredations from Q uebec to the Carolinas ” and from the western prairies to the forests of Maine . “ n On the west they exterminated the Eries, and A dastes and spread havoc and dismay among the tribes of the ” if “ h Illinois . T e Indians Of New England fled at ” 9“ “ the first peal of the Mohawk war cry . And all ” i f “ the Canada shook with fury o f their onset. The blood -besmeared conquerors roamed like wolves am ong the

P a ge 49 HI STO RY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS burning settlements and Indian villages and the colonies trem ” 9“ “ bled on the brink of ruin . Few tribes could match them in prowess , constancy, moral energy or intellectual ” vigor . They in turn and within a quarter of a century

1 6 0 - 1 6 2 ( 5 7 ) exterminated four powerful tribes , the Hurons , late r known as the Wyandots , the neu A E tral nation , the ndastes and the ries , reducing the ancient and powerful Hurons , as above de

to . scribed , a band of fugitives Thei r ferocity and torture of captives were revolting traits e of i n their character . They were th worst con quero rs and the i r lust of blood and dominion is wi thout parallel in Indian history . of M r . M ason s ays of them ( Land the Illinois , “ 1 1 1 1 t pp . 3 , 4) Though numbering but twen y five o hundred warri rs , thei r superior weapons and experience in warfare h ad enabled them to defeat ” an d finally exterminate all thei r neighbors . “ a" They destroyed more than thirty na tions ; caused the death of more than per sons within eighty years and rendered the country a ” ’ bout the Great Lakes a desert , and M r . M ason s statement has ample corroboration . Such were the Indians who were often transient residents o f this locality both before and after the of coming the white man . Thei r depredations fu rnish the basis for many of the historical refer

P a ge 5 0

HI STORY O F LE S CHENiEAUX I SLANDS

“ was other connection Schuyler was brave , but he ” no soldier . The many unwelcome visits of this fie rce and warlike people to the Straits of M ackinac and to Les Cheneaux in pursuit of their enemies during the years succeeding the first exploration o f N i col et , i f described in detail , would require more space than is here devoted to the other nations .

Such in brief is the history of these four great tribes inti mately connected with the annals of Les

Cheneaux and the S traits of M ackinac . That o of fav rite theme historical writers , respecting the rise and fall of both civi lized and savage nations can have no more forceful illustration than is p re r sented by thei r h isto y . They h ave come and gone , of a few thei r descendants still linger, a sad and disappointing representation of the ancient chil of dren the forest, whom we can only intimately r know , by close study of the ve y few writers who have done them justice .

Pa ge 5 2 IV .

Y LATE R AN D REC ENT IN D IAN H I STO R .

INDIAN TREATIES OF 1 836 A ND 1 855~ PROVISIONS REGARDING “ ” — THE IS LANDS OF THE CH EN OS A ND THIS DISTRICT SHAB ~ WAWAY LES I I N I — IS S , CHENEAUX ND A CH EF H EFFORT R E E E S I D. 0 O H I S To I TH AT WA H NGTON, F PEOPL R TA N

— ’ ‘ ISLANDS HIS RESIDENCE HERE A ND ON M ARQ UEI T E I S — LAND FROM 1 770 TO 1 8 72 A ND H I S HISTORY OTHER CHIEFS PAY-BAW-ME-SAY MIS -H A -BOS CH USCO A ND -“ ” —“ ” N I GWEEGON CHIMNEY POINT THE OLD CHIMNEY. ” S - -M I - -WE OR S H A BWAY OT EE A N I x . S H , MR , THE AGED — TAWA WOMAN OF H ESSEL HER RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY — DAYS A ND INDIAN HISTORY T H E OLD INDIAN CEM ETERY — — OF LES CHENEAUX INDIAN TRAILS INDIAN VILLAGES.

D TRE T ES OF M RCH 28TH 1 8 6 AND OF IN IAN A I A , 3 ,

'

L 1 ST 1 8 . J U Y 3 , 55

These two Indian treaties dealing directly with

Les Cheneaux Islands , and the adjacent main o f land , are also general interest and important o how d cuments in M ichigan history . They show to the Indians , when forced surrender more than a half the present state of M ichigan , clung with p trio tic tenacity to this group of islands f o r perma t o nent homes and reservations . The trea y f 1 836 is a most interesting document . to f t Prior the conclusion o this trea y M r . Henry h . w o f o r R Schoolcraft, acted as commissione r the

Pa ge 5 3 HI STORY O F LE S CHENEAUX I S LAN DS

government, and many of the chiefs and delegates of the Chippewas and Ottawas had assembled for

M r. this purpose at Washington , D . C . When Schoolcraft learned that it was the pu rpose of the government to conclude a treaty ceding so much territory, he insisted that the negotiations be de

- layed until many of the chiefs and head men , not f o r then in Washington , should be sent and con l t d su e . , which was done The treaty, when finally o f concluded , ceded much the State of M ichigan , estimated by the government agents at sixteen mil o f lion acres , including the whole the southern peninsula lying north o f a line drawn from Grand river to Thunder bay and nearly as large a tract of the northern peninsula . The most casual reading of this treaty will indi cate that its purpose was not only to Obtain posses of of : sion this vast tract land , and as the treaty says “ A s soon as said Indians desire it, a suitable loca tion shall be provided f o r them west of the M issis o r sippi , but to begin the termination Of tribal gani z ati ons which was finally consummated by the

of 1 8 . treaty 55 Still , in justice to the commis si oner , it must be truly said that the treaty also contemplated , as its terms indicate , the supposed possibility of successful civilization , which p rob ably accounts for the p rovi sion for removal to the ” w “ i t t est , when said Indians desi re ; the trea y

Pa ge 5 4 LATER A ND R ECEN T I N DIAN HIST ORY

also made fairly liberal provisions for annuities , “ teachers , missions , school houses , books in thei r ” own language , agricultural implements , black ’ “ smith shops , cattle , mechanics tools , and such

other objects as the President shall deem proper, not to overlook some other items more dear to the n o f Indian heart and fancy , includi g the item pounds of tobacco annually for twenty ” and years , and to the joy of all , in goods provi sions to be delivered at M i ch i l im acki nac o n

h i i o hi rea t e ra t fica t n of t s t ty. Also an item of “ for the payment of just debts against n n the said I dia s . The many reserv ations of both large and small

o f o f n tracts land , payments an uities and cash in hand to a large number of chiefs , half breeds and individual Indians , would seem to indicate great d ifli cul ty in consummating the deal and satisfying individual demands and that the negotiations must have been quite prolonged . “ Chabowaywa ( as his signature appears on “ ” this treaty Oppo site the notation his X mark ) who w as known as Les Cheneaux chief ( else where Specially noted i n these pages ) was not only at Washington , but seems to have made most stren nous efforts for the rights Of himself and his “ A ” people , for rticle 3 of the treaty provides ( among other like reservations )

P a ge 5 5 HI STORY O F LE S CH EN ‘EAUX I S LANDS

e h e s There shall also be r served for t e use Of the Chipp way ,

Of M ichilimackinac living north of the Straits , the following ” “ the C e e tract s , that is to say The Islands of h n s with a part of the adj acent north coast of Lake Huron , corre sponding in length and one mile in depth . But the fai rness with which this stipulation was treated may best be shown by the fact that two 2 th 1 8 6 months later , and on M ay 7 , 3 , when this treaty was ratified by the President and Senate of the United States ( so far as can be told after Shab waywa and his associates h ad departed for thei r homes ) the following words were appended to the treaty

Ratified wi th the following amendments thereto : Articl e

‘ ’ 3 after the word tracts for the term Of five years from the rat

ification e of this treaty and no longer , unless the United Stat s grant them permission to remain on said land for a longe r pen By article 1 0 of this treaty thi rty thousand dol lars was to be paid to the vario us chiefs named in th ree appended schedules from which the follow ing quotations are made :

Th e o I . following chiefs shall c nstitute the first class and

are entitled to receive Five Hundred Dollars each , namely 1" “ ” at T he Chenos Chabowaywa

The 3 . following persons constitute the third class and ” e are ntitled to One Hundred Dollars each , namely “ ‘ Nagaumiby and Keway G ooshkum of the Chenos as e as

Pa ge 5 6 LATER AN D RECENT I N DIAN HI STORY

That Ch abwaywa was a man of force and a chief of importance , would seem to be the case from the foregoing provisions and his designation as a chief “ ” of the first class . Whether the names appear “ ” “ ” ing in schedule 3 were chiefs as the treaty says , “ or e n just p rso s , as designated in the schedule does not appear . There are many other interesting of stipulations in this treaty , a few only which will

A 6 : be mentioned . rticle contains the following “ T he said Indians being desirous of making provisions for

al re n ne their h f breed relatives , and the P sident havi g determi d h t at individual reservations shall not be granted , it is agreed that in lieu thereof shall be set apart for said half breeds. Then follows a p rovision f or a census of the half to breeds , dividing them into classes be designated by the chiefs and a pro ra ta division according to f o r circumstances , and classes , with p rovisions also o i n wid ws and orphans , an d payments in annual stallm ent n s in the discretion of the President . A other provision of interest provided f or building a dormitory for Indians visiting the Island of M i chil im acki nac and to supply it with a keeper and firewood for ten years ; also for the appoint ment by the President of two farmers with two “ assistants and two mechanics to teach and aid the ” Indians in agriculture and the mechanical arts . “ This treaty also shows that Chusco of M i chili

P a g e 57 H I STO RY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I S LANDS

mackinac , an aged Ottawa chief , signed the o f 1 1 treaty Greeneville , Ohio , in 793 ( 795 in A f o r fact) with M ad nthony Wayne , and plead an annui ty on that account and by reason o f ol d age and poverty of himself and wife which was granted “ in the modest sum of fifty dollars a year during ” n his natural life . For similar reaso s , the further “ o f Ni wee on pleading his clansmen , g g or the ” Wing , another Ottawa chief , received one hun dred dollars per annum during a like period . Further reference to the consideration o f our

o f government for these children the forest, indi cated by the provision s Of this treaty will here be concluded with the statement of M r . Schoolcraft “ : t himself , set forth in his book later written Thir y Y ” ears with the Indian Tribes . On page 535 he states that when the treaty was concluded the United States had paid just twelve and one half cents an acre for this land and that the Indians departed from Washington with great rejoicing , and well satisfied with the bargain .

TRE T F 1 A Y O 855.

o f 1 st 1 8 The treaty July 3 , 55, also with the

Chippewas and Ottawas was concluded at Detroit , and provides for the withd rawing from govern ment sale f or the benefit o f the Indians various tracts o f land on both the north and south penin

P a ge 5 8

LAT ER AND R ECEN T I NDIAN HI STORY

o f sulas of M ichigan . The second article that treaty provides For the use of the bands who wish to reside east of the S M T 2 N 1 2 traits of ackinac, ownship 4 orth , Ranges and West, N R n I T N T ownship 43 orth , a ge West , and ownship 44 orth ” 1 2 Range West . Two of these townships include the land on the north shore of Lake Huron opposite Les Cheneaux n Islands , beginni g at the meridian near Cedarville , ’ and extending west to Saint M artin s bay and near l two y to Pine river , also the most northerly points n n of la d on M arquette isla d , which are now known “ ” “ ” - - - - as Ke che to taw non and Club points . This treaty granted to each Chippewa and Ot tawa Indian the head o f a family eigh ty acres of land ; to each single person over twenty -one years n of age , forty acres and to each family of orpha children u nder that age and consisting of two or more persons eighty acres and for each ~ si ngl e or pha n child under twenty- one years o f age forty s acre of land . Further providing Each Indian entitled to land under this article m ay make his own selection o f any land within the tract reserved herein for the b and to which he may belong . Provision was fu rther made for the p reparation of a list of the Indian grantees by the India n agent ; that such selection of land by the Indians should be made within five years after the prep aration of such list and be filed with the In

P a ge 5 9 HI ST O RY O F LE S CH ENEAUX I SLAN DS

dian agent at Detroit to be transmi tted to Washing ton ; that the Indians making such selections should

- take immediate possession , receiving non assign able certificates , prohibiting sales by the certificate holders ; that after ten years such restrictions should be withdrawn and patents issued , subject, however, to the right of the President in special on cases , the recommendation of the Indian agent to appoint guardians for those incapable of man f aging thei r own a fairs and , in special cases , to per mit sales prior to th e expiration of such ten years . The lands not so selected were to then be open again to general sale by the government and the of t resident homesteaders at the date the trea y, were protected in thei r occupancy an d existing A to I n rights . lso provided for the payment the dians in annuities and cash and in expenditures fo r o f them during a term ten years , for educational purposes , agricultural implements , cattle , house hold goods and otherwise , the sum of This tre aty was of far reaching importance in of f o r the history the Chippewas and Ottawas , its real purpose was to finally dispose of the Indian question in the state of M ichigan and to forever relieve the government of any further responsibi l of ity for its Indian wards this state , these facts are A expressly indicated by rticles 3 and 5, from which the following quotations are made

Pa ge 6 0 LATER A ND R ECENT I N DIAN HI STORY

The O ttawa and Chippewa Indians hereby release and discharge the United States from all liability on account of former treaty stipulations , it being distinctly understood and agreed that the grants and payments hereinbefore provided for are in lieu and satisfaction of all claims , legal and equitable, on the part of said Indians j ointly and severally against the United ” States . “ T he T ribal organization Of said Ottawa and Chippewa

s s Indians , except so far as may be nece sary for the purpo e of carrying into eff ect the provisions of this agreement is hereby dissolved , and if at any time hereafter further negotiations with

e the United States, in. ref rence to any matter herein contained

s n Should become nece sary , o general convention of the Indians ” shall be cal led . The list of the Indian beneficiaries provided f o r t in this trea y was apparently made , but it was not 6 1 8 1 until J une th , 7 , that the selections and orders for patents respecting the “ M ackinac band o f Ottawas and Chippewas , was filed in the gen Ofli ce For I eral land . this reason , the ndians in this district were obliged to wait nearly twen ty years before they received patents to the small par cels of the great tracts of land they ceded to ou r government . An examination o f the records of M ackinac coun ty will disclose that comparatively few of the Chippewas and Ottawas in this locality of profited by this transaction in the way lands , still such patents were issued f or a small part o f these lands , including a very small part of M arquette is r i n t land , eciting general terms the trea y provi

P a ge 61 HI ST ORY O F L E S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

sions . The p resent Indian ownerships for the most part in this locality are based upon this treaty and such patents and the same situation probably exists respecting other present Indian ownerships th roughout the state of M ichigan .

SH B - A- OF LE H E E X H EF OF TH E A W WAY S C N AU , C I A D OJ IBWAY ND OTTAWA IN IAN S.

Almost every locality has at least one more or less noted and romantic hero in the personality of

o f . an Indian chief . Some boast many such heroes Thei r historic importance and the distinction o f thei r exploits very frequently increase in alarming rapidity with the lapse o f time and the varying moods Of their biographers . But in presenting the biography of our particular Les Cheneaux Indian — -wa-w a chief and hero Shab y, the story of his life and deeds will here be outlined as we find it from o f written history and from the men , many them still living, who knew him intimately and well . to Leaving the historian and poet of the future , -wa- when Shab way has been longer dead , to paint his character in those bright and glowing colors that will far outshine the war -paint of his ances — tors , thus giving him an even chance with all those “ good Indian ” chiefs of the M ackinac straits who have not only p as sed to the happy hunt o f ro ing grounds , but through the kindness these

Pa ge 6 2 LAT ER A ND RECEN T I N DIAN HI STO RY

o f mantic writers , into the lasting halls historic fame . - a- 1 0 Shab w way was born about the year 77 , which date is fixed by Indian and pioneer tradi tion , as all agree that he was over one hundred oc years of age at the time of his death , which i n 1 8 2 curred the year 7 , in his log cabin , which stood on the present grounds o f Les Cheneaux club on M arquette Island . From credible tradition it is believed that his ancestors lived upon that island at the time o f his birth and for several p receding generations . There is a conflict o f authority as to whether he “ -a was by birth an Ojibway or an Ottawa . Besh ” - ik-w e min ( the aged Ottawa woman of Hessel , “ ” Sh abwa as . known by local residents M rs y, and w son wido Of his ) says he was an Ottawa by birth , while Schoolcraft in his “ Thirty Years Among the ” Indian Tribes , page 459 , calls him a Chippewa as - of do some the local living Indians who knew him .

Like the names of many Indians , his is variously “ s I 1 8 6 Ch abowa wa pelled , ( ) in the treaty of 3 y , “ 2 h o wa S ab wa . ( ) by Schoolcraft , ( 3 ) in U . S “ Patent Shab -Wa-way ( 4) by local white residents “ ” “ Sh abway and ( 5) by an Indian linguist as Shab ” - we we . Two definitions o f his name have been — “ given us by Indian linguists o f ability Echo “ A from a distance , and penetrating sound , e . g .

P a ge 6 3 HI STO RY O F LE S CH ENEAUX I S LAN DS

A that would go through a wall or the earth . s “ Echo from a distance” seems more appropriate in writing his history some hundred and forty years after his bi rth , th an to suggest that he was an Indian no ted for making such a great noise that it would penetrate the earth , the former definition o is respectfully recommended t the reader . Tradition seems to indicate that he became a h chief by eredity, but at what date is uncertain , as is also the extent of his domains and the number o au f his people . He certainly was the chief in tho ri t y, not only at Les Cheneaux , and Les

Cheneaux Islands , but, as the Indian treaties with our government and Indian tradition seem to S t how, of all the mainland lying be ween the S aint ’ r o f M a y s and Pine rivers , a distance some thirty miles and extending as far north as the Monos r kong . When it is considered that this territo y was such a favorite haunt fo r the Chippewas and

Ottawas , there is little doubt that his band and one people were , at least at time , important in point of numbers . Shab -wa-way not only extended marked hospi t tali y to the early voyageurs and white pioneers , who , it is said , were ever welcome at his little log one now cabin , but there is more than man living who can truly testify to the fact that he was a go od entertainer , not only in cheerfully furnishing food

Pa ge 6 4

HI STOR Y O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

o f few of the virtues , thei r white teachers . He may have participated in the activities o f the o f o f 1 8 1 2 Indians the straits , in the War , and in the military Operations engaging Indian allies at n M ackinac Island , but if so , there is no k own rec o rd o f it .

“ TH LD C E O HIMN EY. On the grounds of Les Cheneaux club at what ” is sometimes called chimney point, in a little clearing and in plain view from passing yachts

S o f and teamers , stands the Old chimney Shabwa ’ o f way s former home , and also some the fruit trees th at surrounded his cabin . Some of these apple trees are hidden away in the heavy forest near his garden Spot that has grown u p around them since his ancestors first planted this orchard , r mute but convincing witnesses , that ve y many years have elapsed since his p rogenitors first oc cupi ed this attractive part o f M arquette Island . “ ” N atu rally this history and the Ol d chimney o f ’ Sh abwaway s l og cabin are treasured by the mem s m ber of Les Cheneaux club . This chi ney was , until some five years ago , in the condition shown by the frontispiece when some campers thought lessly tore down the upper part o f it . One Of the club members replaced it as carefully as possible , with the same stones thus torn down , and upon the

P a ge 6 6 LATER AND RECENT IN DIAN HI STORY

same foundation . Its significance as an historic land mark is now prese rved by a tablet or Sign board erected by the club and bearing the follow ing inscription

TH E LD C IM O H NEY .

On this spot stood the log cabin of Chabowaway ( some ‘ ’ ‘ ’ times called Shab-wa-way or Shabway ) a leading chief Of the Ottawa Indians . Here he and his ancestors lived for over a e century and in this cabin he died about the year 1 872 at the ag , th 1 . 1 it is said , of over 00 years March 28 , 836, he represented his tribe and signed the Indian treaty at Washington , D . C. , ceding most of northern Michigan to the United States , but reserving for himself and for his people ‘The Islands of the ’ Chenos T 1 8 . 1 ( Indian reaties Ed . of 73 , Vol , page He ‘ ’ - - - was succeeded by his son , Pay Baw Me Say, who took his ’ h al ar father s name and W o so died in this cabin , about the ye 1 882 . Soon thereafter the cabin was burned down by a com ” pany Of hunters .

A on round this Old chimney, many summer

” of nights , gather the children and young folk Les Cheneaux club and thei r neighboring friends , “ ” f or marshmallow toasts and other entertain ments . Then the fire roars in the Old fire place , as it did when kindled with Indian hands , lighting up the little clearing where Indian children used S to play, and , as the parks float away in the ’ branches of Sh abwaway s ancient apple trees and the adjacent forest, there sits around the Old hearth -stone and in the former door yard of this

Pa ge 67 HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLANDS

of Old Indian home , another audience , another o people , telling ther stories , Of other days .

PAY- -M E- A BAW S Y .

Pay-baw-me -say or Be-Ba-mis -se ( Flying of Sh abwawa B ird) , son y, was later known and ’ hi s or called by father s name , with the addition rather prefix of the plain Anglo -Saxon name of “ ” so John , and his name appears in a United

S tates patent and in a deed given by him . His surviving Spouse and othe r Indians say that at the ’ t time Of his father s death he became by heredi y, chief of the depleted band of Chippewas and Ot tawas then remaining here . Considering the of to small number the band , said be all told about two hundred , considering also , that the occasions and emergencies requi ring the use o f the high p re ro atives o f C g an Indi an hieftain did not then exist, and that by the treaty of 1 855 tribal relations had f o r been abolished nearly twenty years , this dis t - tinction was certainly an emp y honor . Pay baw

- me say also lived and died in this same log cabin , h e o r his death occurring about t year 1 882 . Ten fifteen years after his death there was an unkind ( and it is to be hoped untrue ) rum or o r tradition among the very early summer residents , Often told with such variations as would entertain newcomers , to the eff ect that hi s death was due to falling into

P a g e 68 Photo by th e a u thor ( 1 901 )

BESH -A -M I N-I K-WE

Age d Indi an woma n of H s - e se l and gre at grand d aughte r Eli z a

LATER AN D RECENT I NDIAN HISTORY

“ the fire place o f the Old chimney one night after a ’ to visit some white man s tavern , but this state ment is both strenuously resented and denied by his

family .

- - M IS HA BOS.

There was also , it is said upon good authority “ another Indian o f Les Cheneaux who was a sec ” ” ondary chief M i sh abos ( Great Hare ) by name , regarding whom the writer has no furthe r in formation .

“ ” “ S HAB AY OR ES -A-M IN-I K- E — TH E M R . S W B H W

AGED OTTAWA WOMAN OF H ESSEL.

- i n—l aw o f Sh abwawa The daughter Chief y, “ ” h a a on called by her white neighbors M rs . S bw y account of that relationship ( widow of Pay-baw “ m e- -a say) , whose correct Indian name is Besh ” “ -ik-we min , although sometimes written Pay ” she -min -e-qua and whose portrait appears on an other page , must, of necessity, be given more than f or t passing notice , as , twen y years , she has been a very important personage in the annals o f Les

Cheneaux . Summer residents and tourists h ave , on account o f her marriage into the former reign o f on of ing family these parts , and also account her supposed extreme Old age , given her and her history unusual attention . This they have done ,

Pa ge 6 9 HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS especially by adding from three to five years to her age for each decade , until she has at various times one reached many venerable ages , ranging from one tw t - hundred ten to hundred en y eight years , while some conservative folk about the year 1 890 conceded that her age was not then over one hun dred five . Her reputation for such unusual lon evi t g y and as a former Indian princess , has caused many pilgrimages Of i dle and curious tourists to of her humble Hessel home , and the telling many impossible tales of her presence at the Fort M ack inac massacre and her marriage during the War

of 1 8 1 2 . I t is with the utmost reluctance and regret that the writer questions the exceptional mathematical skill that has thus p rovided Les Cheneaux with one of its most important Objects of historical i n terest , but, having over ten years ago , entertained the fear that with her then supposed advanced age of one hundred fifteen years or thereabouts , her recollection of ancient events might be forever lost to posterity, he obtained an interview , spent the best part of a day with a competent Indian inter preter ( as she does not speak a word Of English ) , and then learned facts that would indicate her age at the present time ( 1 9 1 1 ) to be between eigh ty-fiv e w o f and ninety years , hich is also the Opinion the best Indian authorities .

P a ge 7 0

HI STO RY O F LE S CH ENEAUX ISLAN DS

years before he died . When the treaty was signed we had few neighbors and we had the only perman ent house except the

Catholic priest around here , or on the lands which the Indians

of n gave up ; the rest the India s, I cannot tell how many there were, roamed around and lived in b ark wigwams ; they used m to come two or three fa ilies and live near us . I used to hunt and trap and work in the field and set bear traps. There were no other Indians living on Marquette Island during Shah-wa

’ ‘ ’ T oschcono e way s time , except , a Chipp wa, and his family . ’ n H He was on the isla d a few years , opposite Patrick s . e asked Shab -wa-way if he could come and Shab -wa-way let him

T oschcon come ; o died before the first treaty. I had ten chil

an dren d they and all my grand children are dead now, except ‘ s Besoiea Wa-ba—oo one grandchild , Jo eph , Indian name , ’ o see living at Hessel . ( He is working t day for Mr. Charles H h Stoll at the club house . ) e has but one child , in Englis we call her Eliza. We also have an Indian name f or her which ‘ ’ means Laughing Water . We were the only Indians on Mar

e te e I - - qu t Island xcept as have stated . Shab wa way told me h h t at long ago before his people lived here, t ere were other t I Indians on the point of Marquet e Island opposite Hessel . h do not remember any name we had for t at island . We called ‘ ’ the water be tween the Islands and the main land Onomonee “ [Anaminang] which means in Engl ish the Channels ; I re

e n memb r no wars in which the Indians were engaged . Whe

I first came to Marquette Island , there was a Catholic priest

" ’ d o on the mainland where Derby s farm now is . I o not kn w m his name in English , but the Indians called him a na e in ‘ ’ Chippewa which means Iron Head . He baptized all the ”

n n. I dians he could and died at Sheboygan , Michiga [Error

a r as to date. Undoubtedly Father Piret, who c me the e much “ h bwawa 1 later . ] S a y was over 00 years old when he died ; he

P a ge 7 2 LATER AN D RECENT I NDIAN HI STORY

as w quite a hunter ; he had only two children , sons, one died and d I married the other. We raised near the old chimney, corn an potatoes and had apple an d plum trees and gooseberry bushes; I left the Old log house eighteen years ago when my grandson was - four years old , he is now twenty two ; the log house was

e burned up by white p ople after I left it . My daughter had an other log house where the club house stands that was

too . ld m burned up by the whites , When the o chief died , y ‘ ’ b-wa- husband was chief , and was known as Sha way Two [The Second] This inte rview was Obtained and written down on A 8 1 0 1 ugust th , 9 , and is transcribed from the original notes and is here written as given by the to two interpreter the writer, except that, in or three instances , sentences relating to the same sub j cet are placed together which were separated in exce the original notes , and also with the further p tion that the interp reter repeatedly (with uncon cious wit and perhaps with no little literal truth) “ ” o t th e treatm ent A spoke f the trea y as . t that “ ” Sh a wa . b time , M rs y seemed to h ave good rec oll e i o ct n and was in perfect health . She was then living as she is at this writing, in the Indi an set tl ement at Hessel and in those days was very ac tive in the summer time , weaving Indian rugs and mats that were in great demand by her cus tomers s among the summer resident , with whom she could and did drive good bargains , thus sus taining the tribal reputation as a trader . I n W i n

P 8 8 0 73 HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I S LAN DS

, ter she was equally active with her traps with which she caught mink and rabbits , traveling con si dera l b e distances through the snow in so doing . to i nfi rmi ti es of D uring the past ten years , due the e age , she has been less and less active each succ ed an ing year . The photograph appearing upon other page was taken by the writer the day of this e intervi w, and the child in her arms is her great E Besoi ea granddaughter, liza , mentioned in the foregoing inte rview . Whatever m ay be the pres of Besh ami nikwe ent age , her life and recollection of of early events and the Indians Les Cheneaux, of i n before the white settlers arrived , is certainly

terest.

INDIAN TRAILS.

In many places the Old Indian trails are of such historic importance that they have received care one vol ful study by historians , writer devoting a “ ’ — ume to the subj ect of Red M en s Roads The ” o Indian Thoroughfares f the Central West . Such trails o ften connecting by the most direct routes prominent places and trading posts , were es later used by the pioneers , and finally became a h t bl i s ed roads and great modern thoroughfares .

Here , however, Indian travel is and ever has been of the almost enti rely by water, as the Indians

- Great Lakes were expert canoe men . Therefore ,

Pa ge 7 4 P hoto by D . G. M cGrew

THE OLD PORTA G E R OAD

LATER AN D R ECEN T I NDIAN HI STORY there are few Indian trails of any great length or of Special historic importance at Les Cheneaux , but there are many short ones . The most impor tant in point of length was the old trail leading from the S ault, more than forty miles long, which reached Les Cheneaux at the p resent site of Hes of sel . M any short trails follow the shore Lake Huron or shorten distances across the many small peninsulas of the mainland and the narrow parts of many of these islands . Most Of these trails can not yet be easily found and followed , only by the trails themselves , worn deep into the soil and showing continued use for many years , but in many of instances , by the blaze marks ( probably white

on . origin ) the trees , still plainly visible M any of these trails were used as portages or

one carrying places , and will receive special men

—“ ” " tion , The Old Portage road . I t runs east and west through the forest across the northern

part of Point B rulee , beginning immediately ’ west of Rogers island , leading to Search bay, and again continuing across Saint M artin ’s point to ’ S aint M artin s bay . This is indeed an ancient

highway , as it was used often by the explorers and

early voyageurs , quite probably by the Indian allies

“ o f the B ritish , when they attacked Fort M ackinac 1 8 1 2 f o r un in , and according to Indian tradition one reckoned time by the Indians themselves , as

P a ge 7 6 HI STORY O F LE S CHENEAUX ISLAN DS

relator states since the year One . This road has been frequently used in recent years for winter travel to M ackinac , the journey being made by team . In earlier years , it was also used with sleds drawn by dogs . The route from Les Cheneaux to M ackinac o r Saint Ignace was on land across Points B rulee and Saint M artin ’s and over the ice of Search bay and the straits for the remainder of the distance . Taking almost the identical route traveled by Father Claude Allouez on the 5th day o f N 1 6 ovember, 99, and by Father Pi ret with his - 1 dog team 1 850 860 . For many years it was the mail route in winter . of Further mention these Indian trails , portages and carrying places , will not be made here , but it presents an interesting subject f or investigation . to one or I t is be hoped th at day, rather during some summer season , some diligent antiquarian will spen d a useful vacation here , supplying this o f of chapter the Indian history Les Cheneaux , with more detail , and also with such accurate maps as h ave in other places proved acceptable ad dirions to local historical data .

LD O INDIAN CEMETERY.

of On the banks the mainland , opposite M ar uette q Island , between Les Cheneaux and t th e f or Pensylvania ho els , at location known

Pa ge 7 6

HI STOR Y O F LE S CHEN EAUX I S LAN DS

- a- poses the dust of Chief Shab w way . For sev eral years , Indian buri als h ave not been permitted in this cemetery, as the Indians failed to Obtain o r title to the land , to legally establish cemetery of l i er rights . M any the graves have been ob t ated . It would certainly be an approp riate p roceeding to preserve this land mark, at least, by erecting a ’ monument, marking the site of the old chief s grave . A lthough a digression , it may here be noted that among the Hurons there was the same myth as among the Norsemen— that the M ilky Way formed the spi ritual b ridge across which departed souls reached this same immortal and coveted of goal , while the souls dogs took another route , “ of by certain constellations , known as the Way the ” of own - Dogs , possibly the origin ou r folk lore ex “ ” o a e p ression going to the dogs . ( S agard V y g

e urons d s H ,

P a ge 7 8

V .

PE RIOD OF TH E P ION EERS .

I F W D. . I E I R S O C I ATHER ANDRE J P R T, CATHOL C P E T F MA K NAC A ND LES I S I S CHENEAUX, THE F R T PERMANENT WH TE ET 1 8 o—H I S ISSI S I I S TLER, 5 M ONARY LABOR AMONG THE ND AN “ ” L S O I - N OW A FERME HOME TEAD N TH E MA N LAND , ’ — DEREY S FARM A ND GOLF GROUNDS HIS PREDECESSORS — A ND SUCCESSORS IN MISSIONARY WORK FATHER CHAM EON ND I I GA GNI EU R A . , FATHER J ACKER FATHER W LL AM F , — S . STE ES J . OF SAULT MARIE PROTESTANT CHURCH I I I I — I W LL AM A . PATR CK, AN EARLY P ONEER OTHER P O — N EERS SUDDEN CHANGE OF LES CHENEAUX FROM INDIAN

— - CAM PS To SUMMER HOMES A TRIP ON THE MAIN LAND ROM LES O S — IRET F CHENEAUX T THE AULT FATHER P , THE " ” CHARACTER PERE M I CH A Ux I N TH E MACKINAC NOVEL “ E ” ANN .

The histo ry of the pioneers and early permanent of settlers most localities , especially in and east of the M ississippi valley, generally includes an ex of tended period time, covering in some places , more than a centu ry . The pioneer period , is gen orally supposed to mean those years interv ening between the Indian occupation and that period when agriculture is well and permanently estab i h l s ed .

of Les Cheneaux , like many other parts north on ern Michigan , in the heavily wooded country the lake shores , is a marked exception to this gen

Pa ge 7 9 HI STO RY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

. o f F eral rule With the exception ather Piret,

A . William Patrick , and the fishermen and lum berm en , there were very few permanent white set tl ers 1 880 here , prior to the year , so that the t 1 0 pioneer period is not only very short, but his cal i t i nterven y seems almost at once , without the of to ing development the farmer, h ave changed from Indian camps to summer homes . The gen of eral definition the pioneer period , beginning Of not with the end the Indian occupation , does apply here , as the Indian occupation has not yet entirely ceased . Should the reader wish even today to see pre o f re sented in reality the traditions his ancestors , al specting pioneer life and times , and also to see ’ most every stage o f American rural life in a day s travel by team , he can have that instructive enter tai nm ent by starting at Hessel o r Cedarville and driving across the northern peninsula of M ich igan to the Sault, a distance of about forty miles .

Should he start at Hessel , he will first pass a small Indian settlement called by the tourists “ the In ” ’ dian village within a stone s throw of Lake H u ron and Hessel , where the Chippewas and Ottawas still live in log houses The next ten ‘miles of travel through the “ slashings’as left by the waste ful lumbermen , and through a great native forest of hard wood , will suggest recollections of early

P a ge 8 0 PERI OD O F THE PIONEERS

f or days , here and there along the few roads through this wild woodland , will be seen the pioneer, clearing his homestead around his log cabin , with a little garden spot and rail fences , in the same manner as the father or grandfather o f “ ” the reader has pictured the scene in early days , “ ” in York State or elsewhere .

Then too , will also be seen the Older settler, har vesting his crop by hand , with cradle or sickle , among the stumps of an Older clearing . Coveys of partridges and deer tracks in the road , the tinkling of distant cow bells and the ring of the ’ woodman s axe far away in the forest will also re o f vive recollections pioneer days , as will the little log school house by the road -side and the bare - footed boys and girls at recess who stare with interest and curiosity at the tourists as they drive by . o f Later in this journey, at the summit the - water shed between Lakes Superior and Huron , when still some thirty miles away from the Sault, of will be seen far below , the country hamlet Pick ford , and , in picturesque panorama , the rich and M onoskon beautiful valley of the g river, p resent ing in every feature of its farms and modern build ings another and later stage of agricultural devel O m en — p t. Beyond this fertile garden spot again on ho r will be seen the forest, and , far away the

P a ge 8 1 HI STORY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

izon , i f the day be clear, S ault Ste M arie , not the

S ault of the explorers and early Jesuits , but the modern metropolis with all its water power, turning wheels and locks and boats and commerce . ’ Such a variety of scenes in one day s travel by wagon road is exceptional these days in the set tl ed of d parts the Unite States , and present an instructive lesson to the student of the history and ’ o development f the nation . After such a day s

one not of . travel , will question the statement M r

Joseph Fenlon of Hessel , that at the time his father of and family settled a mile north that village , in “ the early eighties , there was an Indian settle ment at Hessel consisting of about twen ty bark wigwams , such as the Indians used before they moved into houses , and several log cabins , all one of Chippewa Indi ans , and but them could o speak a word f English . However interesting biographical sketches of of the pioneers this region might p rove to be , it is deemed most expedient to here presen t but a list o f the early settlers . M any of thei r names appear in the chapter devoted to the names o f islands and of places interest , to wh ich reference is made , and therefore will not here be repeated . With the exception of Father Pi ret to whom more ex tended reference will be made and those also ap

ost pearing p ( Chapter VI I ) , the early settlers of

Pa ge 8 2

HI STORY O F LES CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

’ r Hessel , which is still occupied during the summe months by his family.

T E RET TH E F R T P FA H R PI , I S ERMAN ENT WHITE ETTLER F LE E E S O S CH N AUX.

Some thirty years before the coming of the later

i A D . . i of settlers and p oneers , ndrew J P ret, the of Catholic p riesthood , then pastor the Catholic church at M ackinac and S aint Ignace , became o the first permanent white settler f Les Cheneaux . He acquired by patent from the government and of on by purchase , a tract about one hundred acres the mainland opposite M arquette Island Thi s of tract ran to the water, the p resent site the gol f o f links Les Cheneaux club , and the same land constituting in part what is now known as “ the ” f of . o Derby farm , p roperty William M D erby f o . Chicago , a member Les Cheneaux club Here Father Pi ret made an extensive “ clearing” an d built a log house and other buildings on the of f or banks the channel , which he occupied many years , and during his pastorate at M ackinac which included most of the inte rvening years from 1 846 ’ o 1 o Pi ret t 874. On account f Father s prom i nence this homestead was at that time widely known throughout the entire region of the upper “ lakes , and the Catholic diocese by the name of Le ” Ferme ( the farm) .

Pa ge 8 4 FATHER ANDR W I E D . J . P RET

Pe re M i aux o f the M a ki a ove A i o i ch c n c n l nn e , p n e e r re s d e nt of Les C he ne aux and missi onary among the I ndi ans ( 1 8 46 -74)

HI STO RY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

M ackinac , page 47 ) has this notation respecting “ ‘ ’ : him Retired to Cheneaux , It is difli cul t to fix the exact date when Father

Piret first located here , but from the o riginal patent and title papers kindly furnished the writer by M r . Derby, and from other information , it is quite certain that it was as early as the year 1 850 or 1 85 1 and possibly before that . Father Piret still owned this farm at the time of his death , A 2 2 nd 1 8 which occurred at Cheboygan , ugust , 75,

’ - at the age of seventy three . ’ Father Pi ret s home was always open to the o f travelers those early days , and many stories and traditions are related of his kindly hospitality . Among his visitors at one time was Captain Allan M cI nt re y , master for many years of the well “ ” known steamship M anitou , who came in winter v over the ice from the S ault to M ackinac , a oiding the shorter route across the mainland on account

of of . the wolves , deep snow and lack roads Cap M cI nt re tain y was caught in a snow storm , and spent several days with Father Piret who was then “ r l o living all alone at La Fe me , in the g build ings part of which still stand at thei r original lo cation . Father Pi ret was a man of high character and great intellectual force ; he was the character so forcefully, and , as we are told upon excellent

P a ge 8 6 PERIOD O F T H E PI ON EERS

n a authority, with painstaki g accur cy, portrayed by Miss Constance Fenimore Woolson ( a grand niece of J ames Fenimore Cooper) in her very pop “ A ular M ackinac novel nne , under the name of “ Pere M ichaux” —the Catholic priest so inti mately connected with that ideal picture of M ack A of inac life , which nne presents the years when

M iss Woolson and Father Piret lived there . not Therefore , it will be out of place to present , ’ f ew s by a extract from Miss Woolson s book , not only a more graphic picture of this prototype of

Pere M ichaux , but of the labors of the priest and missionary whose chosen field was the native peo ple of these straits and islands

Pere M ischaux was indeed a man of noble bearing ; his n face , although benign , wore an expressio of authority which m came fro the submissive Obedience of his flock , who loved him as a father and revered him as a pope . His parish , a dio

S S cese in ize, extended over the long point of the outhern pen insula ; over the many islands of the straits , large and small ,

un— he some of them noted on t map , yet inhabited , perhaps , by

f ew a half breeds , others dotted with Indian farms ; over the village itself , where stood the small weather beaten old church

Of of St . Jean , and over the dim blue line the northern coast , as far as eye could reach or priest could go . His roadways were over the water , his carriage a boat , in winter a sledge . H e was priest , bishop , governor , judge and physician ; his word

H - was absolute . is parti colored flock referred all their dis putes to him and abided by his decision—questions of fishing nets , as well as questions of conscience , cases of jealousy, to

Pa ge 8 7 HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLANDS

gether with cases of fever . H e stood alone. He was not ’ propped . H e had the rare leader s mind . T hrown away do you say on the wild northern borders " Not any more than

Bishop Chase in Ohio, Captain John Smith in Virginia , or

other versatile and autocratic pioneers. M an y a man can lead

am in cities and in camps , ong precedents and rules, but only a

born leader can lead in the wilderness, where he must make ” his own rules and be his own precedent every hour.

’ And Should one wish to look into Father Pi ret s i al home at Les Cheneaux , as the novel st saw it , though she located i t in the novel on an island i n of stead the mainland , possibly describing it with of a little touch of fancy and the romance fiction , and yet, most probably, truly depicting it, we can read again from “ Anne ” that

“ Pere M ischaux took his seat in his large arm chair near ” ‘E “ the hearth The appearance of the room was pe

t . w culia yet picturesque and full of comfort It as a long, low apartment , the walls made warm in winter with skins instead t i of tapestry, and the floor carpeted with blankets ; o her sk ns

was lay before the table and fire as mats . The furniture rude, but cushioned and decorated , as were likewise the curtains , in

a - a fashion unique, by the hands of h lf breed women who

h embroid had vied with each other in the work , t eir primitive ery, whose long stitches Sprang to the center of the curtain or

a n cushion like the rays of a rising sun , and then b ck agai was as unlike modern needle-work as the vace-pictured Egyp i d r tians , with eyes in the sides of the r heads, are unlike mo e n

re photographs ; their patterns , too, had come down from the

e mote ages of the world cal led the New, which is , how ver, as old as the continent across the seas . Guns and fishing tackle

P a ge 8 8

HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I S LAN DS

sail of his boat went gleaming by in the summer night, or the —‘ sound of his sledge bells came through their closed doors he ’ ‘ has been to see the dying W ife of Jean or to carry medicine ’ to Francois . On the wild nights and the dark nights , when r no one could sti abroad , the old priest lighted his lamp and

had fed his mind with its Old time nourishment . But he noth ”

o . ing m dern , no newspapers M iss Woolson ’s account ( and it must be remem be red she lived at M ackinac during the years o f ’ Pi ret s Father residence there , and thus obtained an intimate knowledge of him ) clearly indicates

that he was , like Henry R . Schoolcraft, a man with many friends with whom he kept in close con

tact by correspondence , although they lived far away and remote from Le Ferme ” and its sur rounding islands This is clearly indicated by one of her references which is as follows

’ hl icha x Pere u s correspondence was large . From many a college and mi ssion station came letters to this hermit of the North on subjects as various as the writers : the flora of the

region , its mineralogy , the Indians and their history, the lost grave of Father Marquette ( in these later days said to have

- been found ) the legends of the fur trading times, the existing

commerce of the lakes, the fisheries and kindred subjects were mixed with discussions kept up with fellow Latin and Greek

off scholars exiled at far southern stations , with games of

chess played by letter, with receipts for sauces , and with hu m orous skirmishings with New York priests on topics of the

day in which the northern hermit often had the best of it .

H on The writer is indebted to . Benoni Lachance

P a ge 9 0 PERIOD O F TH E PION EERS

of M ackinac island , fo r information respecting

Father Piret, which entirely corroborates the fore going estimates of his personali ty and character . no t Lachance only knew him intimately, but dur ’ ing the latter days of Father Pi ret s life was his business agent . Lachance says of him Father Piret was a Belgian by birth and was reputed to belong to the Royal House of that country . He was educated in Europe and is said to have graduated from the Medical m n Acade y of Paris . He was a grand a d great man and priest, f and in his day also noted here as a physician O ability. He was

c a large man physically, of handsome physique and appearan e,

Six l not less than feet ta l , straight as an arrow and with a per f ect military bearing ; he was at Les Cheneaux as early as 1 850 ; he went there to build a secl uded home and chapel where he could minister to the welfare of the Indians among whom he r constantly labored , and over a wide territo y including Mack

o inac , Manitou , Cheboygan , Chippewa, and Sch olcraft

DeT ou r counti es . He owned lands at and in many places along the north shore of Lake Michigan and elsewhere . He died and was buried at Cheboygan in 1 8 78 at the age of sev ” ent - y eight years . In the recent and very interesting Histo ry of the Diocese o f S ault Ste M arie and M arquette and o f the development of the Catholic church in u p ” n A per M ichigan writte by Father ntoine J . Rezek “ o f 1 06 Houghton ( 9 ) Father Piret , and his Le ” Ferme homestead at Les Cheneaux , are given ex tended reference from which the following ex tracts are quoted

Pa g e 9 1 HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX ISLAN DS

He was one of the only two priests laboring in upper

its Michigan when Baraga became first Bishop . He came as a secular priest to Detroit in 1 846 and then received his first I appointment to the historic sland of Mackinac. Many long

years of service followed . Despite the ups an d downs in the

as a early missionary life , he continued in the p torate of the du l — I r . O parish St . gnace Mackinac, for over twenty yea s S attached he becam e to this romantic region that he was deter

Les mined to live out his days there . He acquired a farm on ‘ Cheneaux Islands and built up a home widely known as Le

’ Ferme . T his home very much resembled a European castle, but was nothing more than a modest house with an adjoining A 1 868 r chapel . fire destroyed the buildings in when Fathe

c Piret retired from work. He moved to Cheboygan , Mi hi A 22nd 1 8 - gan, where he died ugust , 75, aged seventy three ” years. Father Rezek gives in his book a fanciful but ve ry interesting picture ( by his courtesy shown on “ ’ another page ) entitled : Father Pi ret s La Ferme ” at Les Cheneaux Islands showing an extensive es tabl i shm ent of many buildings , some adorned with

towers , of Gothic and mediaeval architecture, which does not seem to support the text to the effect that the establishment “was nothing more ” than a modest house with an adjoining chapel .

This picture , Father Rezek informs the writer, was originally “ drawn from reality just before the

fire destroyed the buildings , by a visiting acquaint ” ance of Father Pi ret .

P a ge 9 2

PERIOD O F THE PIONEER S

L TER C THOL C PR E’STS AND M SS O R ES A A I I I I NA I , ERS KER D A I E F TH C CH MBO AN G GN UR. A J A , A N

The view given in the novel of the character and especially of the labors Of this Catholic priest and missionary of the straits is not overdrawn . While

of the life of the early Jesuit was one untold labor, of hardship and peril , still the Catholic priest the efli ci ent straits , even in these later days , who does missionary work among the Indians , with a flock ofli ci ates so widely scattered , and who at churches so wide apart, pursues a life of labor and toil .

He may in summer, use the passenger boats and reach easily the few places where they land , but he is Often his own sailor and exposed not only to the perils o f navigation but to wintry storms and long tedious voyages and delays . Father Pi ret is not the only man who with self -sacri fici ng devo tion has thus pursued his calling and sri ch mis si onary labors at Les Cheneaux . Among others may be named Rev . Father Edward J acker, “ ’ ” ( Discoverer of M arquette s grave ) a gentle of t man learning and abili y, an expert Indian lin guist, who in the years intervening between 1 873 and 1 886 while stationed at M ackinac DeTou r o Island and , also labored here ; Father J

m . se h . . p F Cha bon , S J , who gave over thirteen years of his life to this work on the northern pen

P a ge 93 HI STOR Y O F L E S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

S insula and in this locality . Later till , Father

a ni e r . o f . G u . William F g , S J , S ault Ste M arie , who for the past fifteen years has been so well and favorably known both at the S ault and at Les fi Cheneaux , of ciating at stated times , as he still o f does , at the little Catholic church Hessel , t -five a o founded some twen y years g , and to whom the writer is under obligations here acknowledged , f o r many items of information respecting Les Che neaux .

H is letters , coming as they have , from widely distant points about the S ault and the straits , are

' not of interest alone for the information so kindly supplied , but corroborate the statement th at this work is even now much as it was in the days of

Dabl on A . , llouez , M arquette and Piret Short extracts from two letters dated at D rummond N l oth 1 2th 1 1 0 Island , of ovember an d , 9 , will here be given . “ I am on this island in a wilderness called by the natives ‘ ’ ” Half Way and I am writing from an Indian home .

- ew I am still wind bound . I have asked a f questions of ” the Indians here and found some Of my Opinions confirmed .

i i ’ The protestant denominations and thei r pastors have also shown creditable activity in the founding and support o f their churches at Hessel and Ce

P a ge 94

VI .

LE S C H EN EAUX CLUB ; S UM M ER H M AN U M M R R NT O ES D S E E S I D E S . — LES CHENEAUX CLUB HISTORY OF ITS ORGANI" ATION I N 1 890 —“ ” — CLUE POI NT FORMER INDIAN OWNERSHIP CLUB HOUSE GROUNDS FORMER HOME OF LES CHENEAUX INDIAN — ’ C I SH A BWAWAY PIRET S M S EAD NOW H EF, FATHER HO E T , ’ D Y RM S GOL DS—S M M S ERB FA , CLUB F GROUN U ER HOME

A ND SUMMER RESIDENTS .

LES CH EN EAUX CLUB . The members of Les Cheneaux club were pion neers as summer residents and entitled to the credit of early discovering and appreciating the natural t beau y of these islands for summer homes , for when the club house was Opened and the cottages of f or its members occupied the first time in July,

1 8 0 one . 9 , there was but other summer cottage here Fo r some five years p rior to 1 888 M ichel S aint ’ Ledger , a Frenchman , from whom S aint Ledger s l o on Island takes its name , was living in a g house ’ the spot now occupied by the lodge of the club s of caretaker . St . Ledger had no ownership the land but was tenant at will o r by sufferance Of the

Indian owners . He was a fisherman and for sev eral years earned a frugal living by boarding vis iting fishermen and hunters in this l og house and

P a ge 9 6 Photos b D M c ew a n th e a h y . G. Gr d u t or

AM ON G LES CHENEAUX I SLAN DS

HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

dense underbrush he did not know was there . This old cabin had been the homestead of a grand of -wa- daughter Shab way, the Indian chief . 1 888 In the same year, , this tract of land was

- subdivided into building lots , highways , foot paths ’ and parks for the use of the club s members and “ ” designated as Les Cheneaux subdivision . The enterprise was administered in the first instance h th rough an improvement association . T e club fi was also then organized , of cers were elected and ou fiel Albert E . B s d of B ay City chosen as its first fi f or president, which of ce he held continuously some ten years . Plans f or the club house and sev eral cottages were p repared and during the years 1 889 and 1 890 these buildings and the appurtenant docks , walks , boat houses , water works , and other sufli ci ent m imp rovements , for the me bership , were so far completed that the club house Opened for the entertai nment o f its members and their

1 8 0 . families for its first season in July , 9 The conception of its founders is thus stated in “ the first club book or prOSpectus: The idea of the

' associ ation is the formation o f a club of friends to occupy a point of land in Les Cheneaux Islands where they may make improvements f or the com f o rtabl e housing of members and thei r families , l eav i ng th e su rroundi ngs i n their natu ra l condi ” i o t n. This conception has always been adhered

Pa ge 9 8 Photos b D G M c Grew a n d th e a u thor y . . V I EW S A T LES C H EN EAUX

HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

of o i lock , a respected citizen this l cal ty, the club to o of caretaker , elected this high and resp nsible fi ce about ten years ago , and who may be seen any ’ summer s day from the decks of passing yachts

1 a and steamers , has , at this writing, made but - at single arrest . M ay the restful and law abiding m osphere of this cool northland insu re f or his suc cessors in ofli ce the same measure of inactivi ty as a peace offi cer " I t is not within the scope o f this brief history to go into details regarding the personnel of the members and ofli cers of this club who have thus p rovided and maintained this beautiful summer f or home thei r families and friends , but it may be generally and truthfully stated , that the names that have appeared and do appear upon its member no i n ship list, have borne unimportant part the ’ world s aff airs . I ts members were in the first

I of e nstance mostly citizens M ichigan , later thos S from Chicago predominated , till later a like num ber f rom the good Old southern clime of Kentucky . At the present writing at least ten States of the Union are represented in the membership and their families . Some of the members have Spent more than twenty summers here and have observed the little children of their club friends and summer neigh bors ripen with the years into useful men and wo

P a ge 1 00 TYPICAL S UMMER H O MES OF LES CHEN EAUX

HI STORY O F LE S CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

The objections to the usual crowded summer re at sorts , many points about the lakes , have brought S to this ideal pot citizens of many states , who not only love and admire the beauty and the charm of a island and mainland , lake and bay and ch nnel , W Ol d the ild woodland , the cool breezes of Lake Huron and all the romance of the most l n teresti n of g history Les Cheneaux, but who have come to stay and to enjoy for themselves , with thei r families and friends what Henry Van Dyke names as one of the guide posts and foot- paths to peace— “ To spend as much time as you can with ’ ” - of - body and with Spirit in God s out doors . I t would indeed be a pleasure and not a task f or the writer to speak of many of these resi o f not o f dents by name and some, if all those friends and summer neighbors , that it has been the good fortune Of himself and his family to see and to know in twenty summers spent amid these islands . However, still again remembering that l “ ” the tit e page contains the words b rief history, he must deny himself that pleasure and p rivilege , and be content as a candid annalist and with true patriotism to say that take them all in all , on no o r of or mainland , island lake sea , will be found a better community in which to dwell , be it for a l im e o r o r i f t . day, a summer , for a

P a ge 1 02 VI I .

ORI G IN OF NAM E S OF I SLAN D S AN D PLAC ES AP P EARING UPON MAP S H N AUX OF LES C E E .

M any places and points of interest appearing upon the maps of Les Cheneaux prepared and n published by the governme t from lake su rveys , f and upon other maps not o ficial in ch aracter, are of derived from the names early lumbermen , set tl er Fo r s and homesteaders . convenience and reasonable brevity an alph abetical list of some of the most prominent sites will be given . This list is compiled from information derived in part from old settlers , and , while there may be some inac curacies , it is believed that in the main the origin o f the names given will be found correct .

— Ar Ar e OI T . ARNOLD P NT From Mr . George nold of the n old T ransit Co. , of Mackinac Island , former owner. I SL D— o o ALL GATOR I AN From its shape , also kn wn as Ech

Island . — — BEAR I SLAND O rigin of name unknown probably on ac

count of some early adventure of a hunter with a bear .

’ BUSH S “ BAY— From an early lumberman ( 1 880 ) of that

name . — BIRCH I SLAND From a former dense growth of birch trees

on this island . — e BOOT ISLAND From its shap .

P a ge 1 03 HI STO RY O F LE S C H EN EAUX I S LAN DS

BEAVER TAIL POINT—From its oval shape like the tail of a beaver . — CEDARVILLE So named by early residents when the post 1 886 Ofli ce was established there in , and having reference to t the extensive trade in this locali y in cedar poles, posts and railroad ties .

I OI — The CH MNEY P NT Called also old chimney, site ’ of Chief Shabwaway s log cabin , Les Cheneaux club grounds on Marquette Island .

— fisher S OI . COAT P NT From Captain L . B Coats, an early man . ’ — S OI . CONNOR P NT From Charles Connors, former owner ’ L — an S S D . . CORYELL I AN From W H Coryell , owner , early pioneer and homesteader. ’S OI — H CORYELL P NT From W . . Coryell , owner .

OI — of CLUB P NT Site Les Cheneaux club , Marquette

Island .

' OI — ee e- - — - CUBE P NT S K che to taw non Point. RM— DERBY FA From present owner , William M . Derby , ’ r formerly Father Pi et s farm . — DOLLAR I SLAND From the fact that it was first bought at government sale at that price .

ND — S ad DOT ISLA From its small size and circular hape , ’ joins St . Ledger s Island . DUCK BAY—From the abundance of the water fowl found there .

—~ EAST ENTRANCE One of the three channels navigable for

. IX . large boats , east of Boot Island ( See Chap ) L N — ECHO IS A D Opposite Club Point, so named by early Les Cheneaux club members by reason of the echo heard from the club house grounds before a fire destroyed part of the

A n S . timber, known also as lligator Isla d on account of its hape

P a ge 1 04

HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

r e of that fish , the bay at southerly end of the, island epres nting the open mouth of the fish . Same as Long Island .

S S U 1 2 6 8—So on I LAND N MBER , , 3 , 4, 5, , 7 and named up maps of government surveys ( of 1 840 and as one in “ ” formant says, when the surveyors ran out of names . “ ” — - — KE-CH E-TO TA W NON POINT From an Indian who oh ine 1 ta d government patent , pursuant to Indian treaty of 855 “ designated also on one government map as Cube Point, the latter name referring also to a l ocal Indian of that name ’ r known also as Stoll s Point ( from fo mer owner, Mr. Charles r H . Stoll ) , now owned by Mr. F. A. Ha dy . ” - - — KEE WAY DI N I SLAND ( The Home of the North West — Wind ) from Hiawatha, same as Rogers Island . — LAKE H U RON From the Huron Indian nation : called ’ al so by Champlain Mer Douce Shown on Hennepin s map “ ” Kare nondi I n as Lake Huron or g , the latter designation the dian name in 1 679 according to Hennepin ; known al so by very “ early writers as Lake Orleans. — I E SL D N Le I M rs. L TTL I AN ear St . ger sland , property of

a f o . Nathalie Buch nan , o L uisville, Ky — LA SALLE A ND LITTLE LA SALLE ISLANDS From the

explorer, date first so called unknown , probably from very early

of times . Outline ( but not name) shown on Jesuit maps - 1 tw a 1 670 7 . The larger one of the o isl nds designated upon “ ‘ the maps of government survey of 1 840 and 1 845 as La Salle ” Island .

O E S S SL D— G esish a L N U AN I AN From Susan , an Indi n

woman who camped there, name first given by Capt . C. K. n i - L Bra don of Detroit , former V ce President of es Cheneaux

club , one of its most respected members , now deceased , who w built the first cottage at Club Point, and as a charter mem

ber of Les Cheneaux club .

P a ge 1 06 ORI GI N O F GEO GRAPHICAL NAMES

’ L SL ND— k Seiberlin s ONG I A From its shape, nown also as g

. A A . from its present owner, Mr Frank Seiberling, of kron , “ - - Ohio . See , for correct name and its origin , Isle Cauk ge nah gwah . M SL D— r ARQ UETTE I AN From Fathe Marquette, date first so called unknown , but quite accurately designated ( but not by n ame) on maps drawn by Father Marquette himself in 1 6 0 1 6 U 7 and 73 , designated upon maps of . S . land surveys “ ” of 1 840 and 1 845 as Marquette Isle .

’ M K S — M cKa C AY BAY From John y, a lumberman . M IDDLE ENTRANCE -One of the three channels navigable for large boats and located between Marquette and Li ttle La X Salle Islands. ( See Chap . I . ) — M USCALLONGE BAY From the great number and size of

a the fish of that n me caught there .

M OSCOE N L— M oscoe CHA NE From , an Indian living there

for many years and until recently .

I M E — am M S R BAY From a lumberman of that n e .

’ EL — M CH OI R S POINT From Milo Melchoir.

OLD P ROAD - S ORTAGE From its use for a long pace of time ,

probably as early as the seventeenth century, and before that

as by the Indians , and by the early explorers a portage or car r in y g place. “ ” — OUTARD POINT ( Goose Point) . Not appearing by

that name on present day maps , probably identical with either “ ” Point Brulee or Point Fuyards , most likely the former, “ ” th origin of name same as Isle Aux Outardes . September s H ac to 8th , 1 825, enry R . Schoolcraft, on his way from Mackin

Island to the Sault, was here stormbound . For details of his

voyage and a poem here written in his camp by Mr . School “ ” ’ “

utard . r craft, entitled O Point See Schoolcraft s Thi ty ”

T . 2 1 2 2 2 Years with the Indian ribes ( pp 3 , 3 , 33 ,

Pa ge 1 07 HI STO RY O F LES CH EN EAUX I SLAN DS

PRENTI ss — BAY From George H . Prentiss . P ’ — m S . ECK BAY Fro Frank Peck, an early lumberman PE ’S OI — ’ CK P NT Same origin as Peck s Bay. “ P IC J S) " — ATR K Location of first hotel , and homestead of

a A Willi m . Patrick , a pioneer. — POINT FUYARDS Most southerly point of Marquette Is “ ” land , from wreck of a fishing vessel owned by Joe Fuyard , “ “ which drove ashore in it is said ( see also Outard ” Point ) Shown upon various maps by the following other ” “ ” “ Fo ard names , Pt . Fugard , Pt . y , Point Fuyard , used frequently by early explorers and Jesuits as a landing and camp

ing place . P I RU L — O NT B EE Origin of name unknown , probably from the noted interpreter for the Huron nation ( 1 6 1 5 “ ”

uta . Etienne Brule . See also O rd Point P ’S S —A OLLOCK I LAND small reef due north of Club Point, — - w from John Pollock , club care taker and marshal , O ner of

an adjacent farm on the mainland , who claims title by right of

o f first discovery and possession ( in a year low water) .

’ R S SL D— rs OGER I AN From its owner, Mr . James H . Roge , “ - - of Cleveland , Ohio ; same as Kee way din Island .

R I SL D - ROVE AN Origin unknown . — SEARCH BAY Origin doubtful . One authority says from the fact that navigators frequently ran their vessels there by “ ” mistake for the West Entrance and then searched for the

Pos si l navigable channel and an outlet from the bay . s b y on account of a search along its shores , by the Indians , for a boy lost and found dead in the woods, who undertook to reach the ’ Sault from Mackinac through the forest. See Schoolcraft s account of this incident . - . SL ND h Le e fisher ST LEDGER I A From Mic el Saint dg r, a

Pa ge 1 08

HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

historic explorers , mentioned so often in history , and who were frequent visitors here , h ave been honored in like manner . It is respectfully sug l now gested that, as time goes by, and the is ands bearing numbers , receive names by new or present owners that this omission may be corrected .

P a ge 1 1 0 VI I I .

F H N G AN F H R . FI SH , I S I D I S E I ES

HISTORIC REPUTATION or LES CHENEAUX FOR FISH A ND FISH — — —“ I N G G AME FISH TH E FISHERMEN TRUE FISH STO i i RI — I — Es C OMM ERCI A L FISHERIES GAME A ND GAM E TRAILS .

From the earliest times the Straits o f M ackinac h ave h ad an exceptional reputation for fish and

fisheries . Long before the coming of white men n and u til recent years , the Indian tribes came here from far and near to take in unmeasured quantities the great white fish , M ackinac trout and other fish common to the Great Lakes . Here in the early years these fish were found in greater numbers than in any other inland waters of America with the possible exception of the S ault . Later after the n decli e of the fu r trade , the fisheries of the straits were the chief industries for many years . Les Cheneaux h as not only shared in common with M ackinac this historic reputation in respect to its of fish , but the bays and channels these islands have in this regard a particular and unique histo ry of wn their o .

Here it was , if we credit Indian tradition , that ” ’ o r of M anabozho Hiawatha Longfellow s poem , of invented nets for catching fish . ( See voyage Allouez supra

Pa ge 1 1 1 H I STORY O F LES CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

For t over th ir y years this locality was , as i t is A now, the yearly resort of many of those merican followers of Si r Izaak Walton who ever seek the r of M uscall on e romo e haunts the game fish , the g , finn bass , pickerel , brook trout and all the y tribes f rod that a ford the true sportsman , with his and line , hook and fly, with that sport and pastime that will engage for all time to come , as it h as in all times p ast, the endless activities of mankind . The game fish in these waters were so abundant and the sportsmen so many who came here each year, th at Les Cheneaux has acquired and still holds a repu tati on not for game fish excelled , if equalled by any other waters of the Great Lakes . Should extended reference here be made to the visits and adventures of all the more o r 1 6 33 noted who fishermen h ave frequented Les Cheneaux , of even in these modern times , the relation would , necessity , extend beyond the limits that could be devoted to the exploits o f the early voyageurs .

Then , too , the writer of histo ry, however modest confi and brief , must, should he retain the of f or dence his readers , have that regard truth fulness that must always be found in history, and which might be lacking should he go far into a subject Where even the most honest o f historians — — have marred i f not lost thei r reputations . Therefore if the reader be one of these old time

P a ge 1 1 2

F F ISH , ISHIN G AND FI SHERIES

W Les Cheneaux fishermen , he will know ithout the telling, and i f he be a newcomer he can , if he be i also diligent and cur ous , learn all there is to know f or himself without reference to what has been done in this regard before he came . For all those

' o f reat rea t true and wonderful stories g catches , g con fish and overflowing creels , the reader must e o r sult the guide books , his own exp rience , those ol d -time fishermen who have not lost the mental partition that of t divides memory from imagina

— i h e t l e re t l tion f such there be w n a s of fish a o d . Should this newcomer consult all o f these sources “ of of information , it is believed that his fund true fish stories ” will be without parallel in the annals of the American angler .

ERC L F S ER E COMM IA I H I S. Like all other places in the waters lying between

M ackinac Island and the Sault, Les Cheneaux has had its share of those h ard -working men who have followed fishing as a business . When the birch bark canoe of the fur trader disappeared , it was closely followed by the M ackinaw sail boat of the commercial fisherman . Even now, it is an interest ing diversion of the summer tourist, to go at sun rise , with the few men remaining , who still follow — this trade , in thei r still newer craft the motor boat, and see them lift their nets . Extended ref

P a ge 1 1 3 HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS erence will not be made to this industry except to briefly refer to two men who were both pioneers of this district and of this business . A nthony H amel , it is said was the first commer ci a l fisherman . Coming here in the year 1 876 in

f . the employ o F . R Hulbert . Five years later in 1 1 88 M r . H amel established the fishery shown upon the last government map and upon most of the maps of these islands published during the last of thirty years . M r . H amel is a respected citizen this locality, and he and his family are well and favorably known both by the permanent and sum mer residents of Les Cheneaux . The most westerly point of M arquette Island is wh at is designated upon the governm ent maps as “ ’ ” of Coat s Point . Upon the maps twen ty years ago this same point was designated as “ Coats ’ ” Fisheries . Here a successful fishe ry was estab l i sh e . of d by Captain L . B Coats M ackinac Island about the year 1 880 which h as been carried on un til very recent years . One credible authority is to the eff ect that a fishery was established at this point “ fifty years ago .

GAME LARGEAND SMALL.

That much of this region is still from one view

point, a wild and unsettled country , is demon strated by the fact that here may still be found the

P a ge 1 1 4

H I STORY O F LES CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

Cheneaux and its vicinity has aff orded and will af f or s an ford , many year to come , ample field , whether the nature -lover roams along trout stream or ol d or n logging road , game India trail by day, - or fire . To sits by his camp at night the writer, his o family and camp companions , this precious p ortuni t one of bri h est p y coming every year, is the g o and most restful charms f Les Cheneaux .

Pa ge 1 1 6 I X .

NAVI GAT ION— TI DES AN D VARI A T AT ION S IN W E R LEVELS .

The channels as heretofore shown were water — highways for the craft o f early times canoes and fish batteaux, later for the craft employed in the the eries and lumber trade , later still , and during t f o r past twen y years , the excellent and commo di ous excursion steamers of the Arnold Transit company in charge of courteous captains and of fi cers and manned with competent crews that dur ing the summer season ply daily between these is lands an d M ackinac . But still other craft seen in these waters have multiplied wonderfully in recent o r years , almost every owner of a steam sailing yacht making a cruise for pleasure t0 ~ M acki nac f or Island , comes to Les Cheneaux either fishing, so or to enjoy a cruise among these islands , that summer residents see much of yacht owners and thei r friends . These waters are full of reefs and shoals and with craft of even the lightest draught the utmost care in navigation and attention to government charts is a necessity . Hardly a year goes by that some careless or unlucky skipper does not find his f r yacht upon some o these reefs o rocks .

P a ge 1 1 7 HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

There are but three passages into the channels which are safe for boats of ordinary light draughts , “ ” : tw viz The West Entrance , lying be een Point ’ B rulee of the mainland and Coat s Point of M ar “ ” uette be q Island ; The M iddle Entrance , lying s tween M arquette and Little La alle Islands , and “ ” o The East Entrance lying east f Boot Island . As there are no passable wagon roads on any of the islands , and until recent years , but very few on the mainland , which reach the summer homes , travel by summer residents is much as it was and is now by the Indians , almost entirely by water , so that the cottagers who visit thei r neighbors or go to the f or stores at H essel and Cedarville , the mail or to trade , travel very much as they do in Venice . With the advent and late improvement of the motor now boat, these craft are almost as common in the channels as are automobiles on an urban highway . too to of It is , an interesting sight see the Indians the straits in thei r M ackinaw sail boats , going to f ro n and with thei r families , avigating daily the channels used f o r centuries of time by their pro

— - genitors the primeval canoe men .

TH E TIDES AND VARIATIONS IN WATER LEVELS.

1 6 0 Beginning with the year 7 , the tides of the o r Great Lakes , wh at appear to be tides , and which are particularly noticeable in the Straits of

P a ge 1 1 8

HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAND S

to a changes in water levels , due natur l and artificial causes , but the varying stages here are much more noticeable and p robably greater than at any other on of ecu place in the Great Lakes , account the p liar location of these islands . A steady and heavy wind blowing up Lake Huron drives the water be fore i t in a northwesterly course directly into these di rec channels , and a like wind from the Opposite tion down Lake M ichigan through the straits of M ackinac h as a like result by driving the water in a northeasterly di rection ; and , considering the of f n arrowness the channels , the ef ect is imme i atel d y noticeable and the subject of comment . We are told that on one occasion years ago the water suddenly rose , to an unp recedented height, p re sum abl —a y from this cause , steady and heavy storm , now like a tidal wave , covering the land occupied by the golf club shelter on what was then Father ’ Pi ret s an elevation of some eight o r ten feet .

P a ge 1 20 X .

H AN AR — H T ES S EL D CED VI LLE O ELS .

H ESSEL .

’ A wh o passenger , of a summer s day, boards one of the little steamers at M ackinac Island f o r Les of Cheneaux, will after a voyage a little over an ’ hour reach th e steamer s first stopping place on the Hessel , a little settlement the mainland, site of a former Indian village , consisting of three or two one four stores , churches , saloon and about

twenty houses and rapidly extending its limits by. of the addition summer homes . Rather a bleak and desolate hamlet it may be supposed in winter ; but well filled in all the summer days by a pOpul a — tion from many states , the summer residents , who s throng its docks and stores , coming in motor boat , e yachts and sailing craft to buy suppli s , get the mail and daily papers or to meet their friends “ ” o when the boat comes in . I f the passenger be b se rving he will also see among the people upon th is of dock, residents an Indian settlement called by summer visitors “ The Indian village” lying back o n from the shore . These Indians w small tracts of the land of which they and thei r ancestors held for centuries undisputed ownership , and here lives “ ” B -a- -ik-we esh min , the aged Indian woman ,

P a ge 1 21 . HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

of former wife the local Indian chief, elsewhere mentioned .

This place takes its name from John Hessel , still of living here , proprietor a saw mill , and its first postmaster who received that appointment S ep z rst 1 888 -office tember , , when the post was first established . The first white settlement here was 1 88 one Ed in the year 5, and of the pioneers was — s ward Fenlon Fenlon B ro , his sons , being now its leading merchants .

ED R LLE C A VI . While Hessel is the settlement and trading post at the western part of Les Cheneaux, Cedarville is o f equal importance in the eastern p art of the channels . It is situated on the mainland , opposite s one of La alle Island , in the most beautiful loca tions , a growing hamlet with p rosperous stores , chu rch , school and business enterprises , and with a summer population and trade rapidly increasing r eve y year . It is said that the name was given to Cedarville by J acob M esmer, William Clark , George Lamer eaux and John Weston at the time when the post ffi 1 886 o ce was first established there in the year , at which time J acob M esmer was appointed as the

first postmaster . The early settlers and pioneers of Cedarville and its vicinity are elsewhere given

Pa ge 1 22

XI .

BR T H FR N H AND AM R AN I I S , E C E I C SOLDI ERS AT LES C H EN EAUX T OF A EXAN E R H EN RY VI S I L D , TH E EN G LI S H TRADE R AND N T H P P WA H F O ED C I E C I E , “ ” WA -WA -TAM TO GOO S E AN I N 1 I SL D 764.

CHANN ELS A HIGHWAY I N EARLY DAYS FOR MILITAR—Y EXPEDI TI ONs PASSING FROM TH E SAULT TO M ACKI NAc WAR OF — — 1 8 1 2 1 NDIAN ALLIES OF BRITISH MEETING AT LES CH E — I S — E H E TH E NEAUX M CHAEL DOU MAN ALEXAND R NRY, “ ” ENGLISH TRADER AND WA-WA-TAM PARTING AT GOOSE IS A IS A UX U ARDES M AY 1 0TH 1 6 L ND ( LE O T ) , 7 4.

RE R T S ND ER L F NCH, B I I H A AM ICAN SO DIERS AT L HE E X ES C N AU .

The use of these channels and the adj acent road stead as a highway between the Sault and M ack not ex l or inac was confined alone to the Indians , p ers , fu r traders and early missionaries , but from the beginning of the French military occupation of 1 8 1 8 1 the Seventeenth century to J uly th , 5, when the B ritish soldiers finally reti red from M ackinac ’ to D rummond s Island , it was frequently a mil i tary highway as well . It was very frequently used ‘ A s con by the French , B ritish and merican soldier

Pa ge 1 24 SO LDI ERS AT LES CHENEAUX cerned in the military occupations and transactions of in and about M ackinac . While the details many of these excursions of the military between the

Sault and M ackinac are of interest, in connection one o f with Les Cheneaux history, but them will be given particular notice .

Captain Charles Roberts , the B ritish com ’ on mander at S aint Joseph s Island , was advised 1 th 1 8 1 2 of July 5 , , of the declaration war and by the same message directed by his superior Officer M i chi l im acki nac to immediately attack Fort , then in the hands of a very small garrison O f United ofli ce rs States troops , consisting and all , of but fif t - f y seven e fective men . On the following morn l 6th out of ing , July , he set with all his available o of t -two ofli cers f rce , consisting for y regulars , four , t o t and w hundred and six y Canadians . He also added to their number about seven hundred I n dians , mostly Chippewas and Ottawas , but among o f them also quite a number Sioux , Winnebagoes , and M enomonies . They reached M ackinac in ten N batteaux , seventy canoes , and the orthwestern ’ “ Fur company s ship Caledonia , which was

- equipped with two iron six pound guns .

Lieutenant Porter Hanks , in command of Fort

M ackinac , learned the same day through an Indian that such an attack was contemplated and after con ference with his associates and the citizens sent

Pa ge 1 25 HI STOR Y O F LE S CHEN EAUX I S LAN DS

' M ichael Dousman of M acki nac I sl and to watch the movements of the Indians in order to ascertain whether the rumor was true , not knowing that the B ritish forces were then so near and not then even knowing that war had been declared . Dousman met the B ritish commander and his forces at Les

Cheneaux late in the evening of the same day, was captured , p aroled and allowed to land on M ack inac Island at daybreak the next morning, in order to warn the citizens (but not the garrison ) so that they could reach a place of safety should a fight of ensue . The landing the B ritish and the blood less capture of the fort need not be recounted . As to the exact place at Les Cheneaux where Dous man met the B ritish and was captured there seems

. ofli ci al re to be no data Lieutenant H anks , in his of A l ath 1 8 1 2 port ugust , , simply says that it was “ ” within ten or fifteen miles of M ackinac Island . A of n early writer ( Strang, the Mormon king — “ B eaver Island ) writing in I 8S4 Ancient and ” Modern M i chi l i m acki nac says : He met them ” at the Cheneaux . There are the best of reasons for believing that Les Cheneaux was the place of rendezvous for these Indian allies Of Captain of Roberts , as many the Indians hastily left M ack inac the same day in this direction and were later I t i s a l found among his forces . . more th n p robab e

Pa ge 1 26

HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

of K those days , and of the soldiers His M ajesty ing

George the Third . We cannot say th at it would be a true pic ture to describe their voyage , in true military or naval pomp and procession , with the good ship “ ” Caledonia with a fair wind , in the van , and all the allies following according to order of impor

' tance with thei r craft in single file . But when it is how considered quietly they moved and landed , ol d and , without alarming the garrison , planted the on of six pounders the summit the island , at what S has ince been known as Fort Holmes , we know there must h ave been , and so far as we can tell , perhaps at Les Cheneaux , some has ty but well ar ranged plan of march and approach . Possibly the Indians took the shorter route by the Old Portage ’ road and th rough Saint M artin s B ay in order to “ reach , quietly and without detection the B ritish ” o r h Landing, , perhaps , t ese forces moved but in one the procession under cover of darkness , quietly “ ” o f and directly from the west entrance , Les o Cheneaux t this final goal .

ALEXANDER H ENRY AND TH E NOTED CHIPPEWA CH EF WA-WA-TAM AT LES CHENE I , AUX,

MAY 8TH TO 1 0TH 1 6 . , 7 4 The travels and sti rring exploits of that noted A English trader, lexander Henry, and especially

Pa ge 1 28 ALEXANDER H ENRY AT LE S CHENEAUX

his adventures and escape at the time o f the mas sacre at Old Fort M i chi l im acki nac in 1 763 have been recounted time and again . Indeed , the his of re tory M ackinac to be authentic and complete , ’ qui res copious extracts from Henry s own account of that great tragedy, constituting a very impor ’ tant chapter in the history of Pontiac s conspiracy . ac Of equal importance , in correctly presenting an Of count the massacre and concurrent events , is the of W a-wa- sto ry the Chippewa chief , tam , whose

fidelity to his adopted brother, the English trader, saved the Englishman ’s life many times when it A hung by a thread . pprop riate praise has been W a-wa- of given tam , not only in the dry prose many historical writers but in the verse o f more than one Mackinac poet . These very interesting and well -known events re will not here be recounted , but it will be called that after hiding in “ Skull cave ” on M ack S inac Island for a time , Henry had pent nearly a year in Indian garb following the fortunes of W a-wa-tam and his family in Indian camps and ’ on villages and in the winter s hunt, what is now o f the southern peninsula M ichigan , and when 1 6 th ey returned in the Spring of 7 4, to what was su pposed at last to be a place of safety at ol d Fort ’ . M ackinac , Henry s life was again in danger To prevent his mu rder at the hands of hostile sav

P a ge 1 29 HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

ages , his Indian benefactor fled with him in the night to Point S aint Ignace , from there to the B ay “ ” ’ of Boutchi taon y ( now S aint M artin s bay) , and from thence to “ Isle Aux Outardes ” ( Goose Is I on of land) . t was this island Les Cheneaux 1 0 th 1 6 group , M ay , 7 4, that Hen ry made his final escape and was rescued by the Chippewa wife of of M . Cadotte , a trader historic renown , a friend ’ of Henry s and her three French boatmen of the

Sault . I t was also here that Henry bade farewell f o r to his Indian brother , who , nearly a year , had S many times tood between him and instant death .

Of this visit to Les Cheneaux , Henry himself has left in his memoi rs an exact account, and while his S o f whole tory is exceptional inte rest, we will quote only that portion relating to this inciden t ’ which in Hen ry s own words is as follows “ Wa-wa-tam was not slow to exert himself for my preser

M ichilima kin vation , but leaving c ac in the night, transported myself and all his lodge to Point St. Ignace on the opposite side

Of the strait . Here we remained until daylight and then went

B u t hita n en into the Bay of o c o y, in which we sp t three days

fishing and hunting and where we found plenty of wild fowl . I A Leaving the Bay we made for the sle ux Outardes , where we were obliged to put in on account Of the wind coming ahead . We proposed sailing for the Sault the next morning. “ ’ — - But when morning came Wa wa tam s wife complained

she that was sick , adding that she had had bad dreams , and knew that if we went to the Sault we should all be destroyed . To have argued at this time agai nst the infallibility of dreams

Pa ge 1 30

HI STORY O F LES CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS that I could not suff er myself to look to the event with any

o . E o o strength of c nfidence n ugh , h wever, appeared at length to demonstrate itself to induce me to dm nd the tree and repair

o h o to the l dge with my tidings and sc emes f liberty. The f am ily congratulated me on the approach of so fair an Opportunity to escape and my father and brother ( fon he was alternately ‘ each of these) lit his pipe and presented it to me saying My

e m m son , this may be th last ti e that you and I shall ever s oke Y out of the same pipe. I am sorry to part with you . ou kn ow the aff ection which I have always borne you and the d angers to which I have exposed myself and family to preserve you from

o m e your enemies , and I am happy to find that my eff rts pro is ’ he not to have been in vain . At this time a boy came into t lodge informing us that a canoe had come from M ichilimack

was inac and was bound to the Sanl te de S ainte Marie . I t manned by three Canadians and it was carrying home M adame

i . r . Cadotte, w fe of M Cadotte , al eady mentioned “ My hOpe of going to Montreal being now dissipated I resolved to accompany M adame Cadotte with her permission

m e a to the Sault. On com unicating my wishes to Madam C

as e am as dotte she cheerfully s nted to them . Mad e Cadotte I have already mentioned was an Indian woman of the Chip al pewa nation and she was very gener ly respected . “ Our departure fixed upon I returned to the lodge where I packed up my wardrobe, consisting of my two shirts, pair of

s o n ammuni leggins and blanket. Be ides these I t ok a gu and

s . I al o t e tion , presenting what remained further to my ho t s tu rned the silver arm bands with which the family had d eco

rated me the year before. “ We now exchanged farewells with an emotion entirely ra reciprocal . I did not quit the lodge without the most g teful sense of the many acts of goodness which I had experienced in

Pa g e 1 3 2 A LEXANDER HENRY A T LE S CHENEAUX

it, not without sincere respect for the virtues which I had wit ne sed s among its members . All the family accompanied me to the beach and the canoe no sooner put Off than Wa-wa-tam ’ ’ I - - - commenced an address to the G chi M ani to , beseeching H im ar to take c e of me , his brother, until we should next meet .

This he had told me would not be long, as he intended to re

M ichilimackinac turn to for a short time only, and then he would follow me to the Sault. We had proceeded to too great a distance to allow our hearing his voice be fore W a-wa-tam ff r had ceased to O er up his praye s . “ Being now no longer in the society Of Indians, I laid aside

s of —a the dre s , putting on that a Canadian molton or blanket coat over my shirt and a handkerchief about my head , hats ” being very little worn in this country. of Goose Island , the scene these events and “ ” to A known the French as Isle ux Outardes , lying two of miles south and west M arquette Island , is nearer to the roadstead o f the straits used by the f re larger craft . I t is mentioned by name more quently in early writings than any othe r of Les Cheneaux group by reason Of its location and also of by reason of its frequent use as a place refuge , by those canoe voyageurs who were caught in sud den storms i n traveling the main roadstead instead S o f the channels nearer the mainland . uch was the case with a company of soldiers in 1 784 and h 1 S t 8 2 . with Schoolcraft, eptember 5 , 5

The history of Les Cheneaux to which has here been given but scant and imperfect reference ,

Pa ge 1 33 HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS opens a wide field f or the entertainment and i h of of struction the reader and student history, o f This , and the adj acent roadstead the straits , was not only an historic highway f or over two cen tu ri es , but also the doorway to a vast empire and wi c de domain , where , in endless pro ession and panorama , men and events were p resented that A will ever live in merican history . Through that doo rway and into that field considering the appro ri ate of p limitation these pages , we will wander no farther . N early three centuries have rolled by, since the of sturdy paddle strokes the ancient Hurons , car ried the first white man in his westward journey along this highway ; the p ri m i ti ve wigwams of the Oj ibway and of the Ottawa are seen no more in the

- forest, nor their bi rch bark canoes upon the water ; the I roquois warriors have long Since departed to “ the undiscovered country ; the explorer , and the of un wearer the black robe , journey no more to nor f o r known lands , in fruitless search the short passage to the Orient ; the fur trader lives only in o r N - memory , in another orth Land ; the last note of - the boat song of the French voyageur, has long Since died away in the distance and is now forever hushed ; the ceaseless change of th e N ine teenth and Twentieth centuries has given to Les

Cheneaux a new meaning, but amid these islands

Pa ge 1 3 4

TES AN L P NO D BIB IOGRA HY .

CHAP. I .

For first map of Les Cheneaux Islands ( 1 688 ) drawn by Mar “ u et e T e q t , see hwaites Father Marqu tte , p . 70 . See

also 55 Jesuit Relations , p . 94.

’ - For Marquette s second map ( 1 673 74) showing these islands,

. R . . 1 0 8 . 59 J , p - f 1 . Chart O Les Cheneaux Islands, latest map ( 906 0 7 ) U . S

Lake Survey. ’ Regarding the Fur Trade see M acKenz ie s Voyages and His

T A . . 1 tory of the Fur rade, m Ed ( 803 ) Memoirs of Gur ’ ’ : a a don S . Hubbard ; Irving s Astoria B iley s M ckinac . General History of Mackinac Island and the Mackinac Dis — ’ triet see Newton s Mackinac Island and Sault Ste M arie ’ h Bailey s Mackinac ; T e Story of Mackinac, by ’ A R . G . T hwaites ; Kelton s nnals Of Fort Mackinac ; ’ ’ Van Fleet s Old and New Mackinac ; Williams ’ Early Mackinac, The Fairy Island E . O . Brown s Two Missionary Priests and Parish Register at M ichili ’ mackinac ; Strang s Ancient and Modern Mackinac ; Mich

ilimackinac n , a Important Rendezvous for the Indian Na 6 1 1 tions, J . R . Vol . 5 , p . 7 .

CHAP. II .

N L h Jean icolet , ife and Voyages , see Wisconsin under Frenc Dominion ; Discovery of the North West by Jean Nicolet

- 1 1 . . . . 1 2 8 . 88 H . ( Cincinnati ) Wis ist Colls , Vol II , pp 5 J

R. , pp . 99 . 295 . ’ T 6 1 0 Huron Voyages , see hwaite s Marquette, pp . 9 , 5 Park ’ N Am 2 man s Jesuits in orth erica, p . 4 5.

P a ge 1 3 6 NOTES AN D B IO GRAPHY

: 1 1 H - . . o . 6 6 Radisson and Groseilliers Wis ist C lls , pp . 4 9 ; 42

R. . 2 2 1 2 6. J . , pp , 9 N : 2 2 icolas Perrot 73 R . J . 9 ; Frontenac and New France ’ L X IV 1 6 1 under ouis , Parkman ; J . R . 7 ; Bailey s Mack - 2 R . 1 0 inac, 44 5 ; 55 J . , 7. ’ Father Claude Allouez s , account Of his first visit to Les Che

- . R . 1 2 1 0 . neaux , 54 J 9 7 For other voyages of the J e R e suits see elations for the resp ctive years . “ T ont La Salle, Hennepin , y, and V ov age of The Griffon see ’ ’ Parkman s L N 1 1 a Salle ; Hennepin s ew Discovery , p . 4 ’

c E . ( Mc lurg s d ,

A H The Of lexander enry ; Conspiracy Pontiac by Parkman ,

1 1 Vol . , p . 34 . ’

. H . O S . Grover s Father Pinet ( Chicago ist . Colls ) For chronological lists Of other voyages not above noted see

histories of Mackinac in notes to Chap . I , especially Kelton , “ 1 1 ost hronol p . 4 and p , under title Historical Events C og ll A ” ’ ica y rranged and Bailey s Mackinac, p . 1 55 and post “ l R under title Historica esume, see also V. Minn , Hist.

Colls . , pp . 399 to 470 .

CHAP . III .

’ Oj i bways : Warren s History Of the Oj i bway Nation in Minn .

f Am I . . o . . O Hist C lls Vol V ; Hand Book erican ndians, Vol

I 2 2 8 1 Am . . pp . 77 , and authorities there cited ; Bureau of ’ o Ethnology, Bulletin 30 , part I ; Sch olcraft s Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes ; Jesuit Relations Respecting the “ ” Ottawa Missions ; The American Indi an , by Elijah Haines ( Chicago 1 888 ) Our Indian Predecessors the Fi rst

i . O. . Evanston ans, by Grover , Evanston Hist S Colls

A I . 8 : oo of a . Hurons Hand B k merican Indi ns, Vol , pp 5 4

Pa ge 1 37 HI STO RY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

N Arnerica m 2 - 590 ; The Jesuits in orth , Park an , pp . 4 54

Jesuit Relations Respecting Huron Missions ; Haines Id . - — 6 1 2 o A I . s . 2 . I Ottawa Vol , pp 7 7 Hand Bo k of merican n

s Am . e of o W s dians, advance sheet of Bur au Ethnol gy, a h

ton . R ing , D C Jesuit elations Respecting Ottawa Mis

sions ; Haines Id . ’ Iroquois -Colden s Five Nations ; Schoolcrafts n otes on the ’ ’ Iroquois ; M ason s Illinois ; Parkman s Jesuits in North

America .

I . CHAP . V

1 1 R I Indian Treaties of 836 and 855, evision of the ndian Trea

- 1 . . . . 06 6 1 . ties ( 873 ) U S Pub , pp 6 9 ’ ’ Indian T rails : Hulbert s Red Men s Roads ; T he Indian T hor

hfares W oug of the Central est .

A . CH P V.

: Father Piret Anne , by Constance Fenimore Woolson

e . ( H arp r Bros , 1 899 ) History of the Diocese of Sault Ste

. A o Marie Marquette by Rev . J . Rezek ( H ughton , - . . 1 2 o . . Mich , Vol , pp . 34 344 ; Evanst n ( Ills ) Hist

Colls.

CHAP. V I I .

Of Les 1 - Chart of U . S . Lake Survey Cheneaux Islands ( 906 0 7) n shows quite fully all of the islands, bays , cha nels , Sites

e and locations h re enumerated .

A X CH P . I . T : R 1 6 6 . 1 s . ides 55 Jesuit elations 3 ; 5 Id 3 7 , Lt . Col . J a . D Am Graham , . Assn . for Advancement Of Science ( 1 860 ) “ ” “ r Prof . Salisbu y in Physiography ; U . S . Coast and G e i ” odet c . A . Survey Report , R . Harris, p . 473

P a ge 1 3 8

HI STORY O F LE S CHEN EAUX I SLAN DS

I r — Chapters from llinois Histo y Mason . ’ Co wa s r i N p y T aditional History of the Oj bway ation . ’ M acKenz ie s Voyages in the years 1 789 and 1 793 and History he F of t ur Trade .

A r a—b W I sto i y ashington rving. ’ a Ea a e w She s rly Voy g s up and do n the Mississippi . o e L I and V yag s and Travels of John ong, an ndian Interpreter 1 - Trader, 768 1 782 ( Reprint The Peace of Mad Anthony Wayne and the Indian Treaty of W Greenville by ilson ( Greenville, Ohio, ” — Anne Constance Fenimore Woolson . A — The Historic Highways of merica Hulbert .

Charts of U . S . Lake Surveys of Straits of Mackinac and Les

Cheneaux Islands. ’ Colden s History of the Five Nations. — The Honorable Peter White The Lake Superior Iron Coun

a try, by Ralph D . Williams ( Clevel nd

Of Of The Story Mackinac, and the Story La Pointe in ’ T hwaites s George Rogers Clark and Essays in Western M l r History ( cC u g, Chicago,

P a ge 1 40