FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[1]Volume xxvii of our series begins with chapter xxxiii of the original New York edition (1838) of Flagg'sThe Far West. The author is here describing the part of his journey made in the late summer or early autumn of 1836.—Ed.[2]The Vermilion River (which Flagg incorrectly wrote Little Vermilion) rises, with several branches, in the western and southern portions of La Salle County, and flows north and west, entering Illinois River at Rock Island, in Livingston County.Steelesville (formerly Georgetown) is about fifteen miles east of Kaskaskia, on the road between Pinkneyville and Chester; the site was settled on by George Steele in 1810. A block-house fort erected there in 1812 protected the settlers against attacks from the Kickapoo Indians. In 1825 a tread-mill was built, and two years later a store and post-office were erected. The latter was named Steele's Mills. The settlement was originally called Georgetown and later changed by an act of state legislature to Steelesville, being surveyed in 1832.—Ed.[3]Chester is on the Mississippi River, in Randolph County, just below the mouth of Kaskaskia River. In the summer of 1829, Samuel Smith built the first house there, and two years later he, together with Mather, Lamb and Company, platted the town site. It was named by Jane Smith from her native town, Chester, England, and was made the seat of justice for Randolph in 1848.—Ed.[4]Flagg is probably referring to Colonel Pierre Menard. See our volume xxvi, p. 165, note 116.—Ed.[5]Philadelphia was founded in 1682. There has been much discussion about the exact date of the founding of Kaskaskia. E. G. Mason was of the opinion that this uncertainty had arisen in the confounding of Kaskaskia with an earlier Indian settlement of the same name on the Illinois River. It seems probable that Kaskaskia on the Mississippi was started in 1699. Consult E. G. Mason, "Kaskaskia and its Parish Records," inMagazine of American History(New York, 1881), vi, pp. 161-182, andChapters from Illinois History(Chicago, 1901); also C. W. Alvord,The Old Kaskaskia Records(Chicago Historical Society, 1906). See also A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 69, note 132.—Ed.[6]The church of the Immaculate Conception, the first permanent structure of its kind west of the Alleghany Mountains, was built in 1720. It was torn down in 1838 and a large brick church built. For a more detailed description of the former, seepost, pp.62-64.—Ed.[7]Hall.—Flagg.[8]Jacques Marquette was a Jesuit missionary, not a Recollect. Consult R. G. Thwaites,Father Marquette(New York, 1902). On Jolliet see Francis Parkman,La Salle(Boston, 1869); and the latest authority, Ernest Gagnon,Louis Jolliet(Quebec, 1902).—Ed.[9]For a short note on the Illinois Indians, consult our volume xxvi, p. 123, note 86.—Ed.[10]Flagg errs in saying that Jolliet published an account of his adventures. His journal was lost in the St. Lawrence River on the return journey. Father Marquette, however, wrote a journal of his travels. See Thwaites,Jesuit Relations, lix, which also contains Jolliet's map of North America (1674).—Ed.[11]The Island of Anticosti, in the estuary of St. Lawrence River, contains about 3,900 square miles, and is not only of importance as a centre of hunting and fishing interests, but is rich in undeveloped mineral resources. The population of a few hundred souls is chiefly concerned in fishing. The island is now the property of M. Henri Menier, a Parisian chocolate manufacturer, who personally rules his seigniory with benevolent despotism.—Ed.[12]Concerning La Salle's discoveries, see Ogden'sLetters from the West, in our volume xix, pp. 44-53, and accompanying notes.—Ed.[13]Concerning Hennepin's expedition from Crêvecœur to the Falls of St. Anthony, Flagg is in error. Hennepin was accompanied by two Frenchmen, Michel Accault and Antoine Auguel, and probably went merely as their spiritual companion. His publications were:Description de la Louisiane(Paris, 1683);Nouvelle Découverte d'un tres grand Pays Situé dans l'Amérique(Utrecht, 1697);Nouveau Voyage d'un Pais plus grand que l'Europe(Utrecht, 1698). The first was dedicated to Louis XIV, the last two to William III, king of England. For bibliography of Hennepin, see Victor Hugo Paltsits, "Bibliographical Data," in Thwaites,Hennepin's New Discovery(Chicago, 1903), pp. xlv-lxiv.—Ed.[14]M. Tonti, among other writers, speaking of the country, according to Mr. Peck's translation, says:"The soil is, generally speaking, so fertile, that it produces naturally, without culture, those fruits that nature and art together have much ado to bring forth in Europe. They have two crops every year without any great fatigue. The vines bring extraordinary grapes, without the care of the husbandman, and the fruit-trees need no gardeners to look after them. The air is everywhere temperate. The country is watered with navigable rivers, and delicious brooks and rivulets. It is stocked with all sorts of beasts, as bulls,orignacs, wolves, lions, wild asses, stags, goats, sheep, foxes, hares, beavers, otters, dogs, and all sorts of fowl, which afford a plentiful game for the inhabitants."In another place, this writer gives an amusing account of hunting "wild bulls," which "go always by droves of three or four hundred each." This description answers well for the buffalo, but it is not so easy to determine what animals they mistook for "wild asses, goats, and sheep."Passing down the Mississippi, Tonti mentions the same animals, and describes the forest-trees with tolerable accuracy, had he not added, "one sees there whole plains covered with pomegranate-trees, orange-trees, and lemon-trees; and, in one word, with all kinds of fruit-trees." Goats are frequently mentioned by different writers. Hennepin, while narrating the account of an embassy from Fort Frontenac to the Iroquois nation, and the reception the party met with, says: "The younger savages washed our feet, and rubbed them with grease of deer,wild goats, and oil of bears." When upset in their boat and cast on the western shore of Lake Michigan, an Indian of their company "killed several stags and wild goats."Wild goats are named so frequently, and in so many connexions, as hardly to admit of an intentional misrepresentation.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.For sketches of Charlevoix and Tonty, see Nuttall'sJournal, in our volume xiii, pp. 116 and 117, notes 81 and 85 respectively.[15]For a recent work on La Salle, consult P. Chesnel,Histoire de Cavelier de La Salle(Paris, 1901). With the exception of Crêvecœur, Prudhomme, and St. Louis, we have no definite proof that La Salle established any other forts in the Mississippi Valley. He erected a monument at the mouth of the Mississippi on April 9, 1682, on taking possession of the country in the name of Louis XIV. Kaskaskia and Cahokia were not founded by the associates of La Salle on the latter's return. For historical sketches of these towns, see A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 69, note 132, and p. 70, note 135, respectively. La Salle was assassinated March 19, 1687, on a branch of the Trinity River, in the present state of Texas.—Ed.[16]Father Marquette died May 18, 1675, on the present site of Ludington, Michigan.—Ed.[17]For the settlement of Peoria, see our volume xxvi, p. 133, note 93.—Ed.[18]Owing to the exhaustion of France following the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis XIV, determined to develop the resources of the vast Louisiana territory, granted (September 14, 1712) to Antoine Crozat, a wealthy merchant, the exclusive right of trade in Louisiana for a term of fifteen years. Among other privileges, Crozat was permitted to send one ship a year to Africa for a cargo of negroes; to possess and operate all mines of precious metals in the territory, on the condition that a fourth of the metal be turned over to the king; and to possess in perpetuity all buildings and manufactories erected by him in the colony. On the other hand, Crozat was obliged to import two shiploads of colonists each year, and after nine years to assume all the expenses of the government. In the meantime the king was to furnish fifty thousand livres annually. Crozat did all in his power to develop the resources of the country; but owing to discord among the subordinate officials, in despair he surrendered the charter to the prince regent (August 13, 1717). See Charles Gayarré,History of Louisiana(New Orleans, 1903). After Crozat's surrender, Louisiana territory was turned over to the Mississippi (or Western) Company, directed by John Law; seepost, p. 49, note28. Philip François Renault was made the principal agent for a French company, whose purpose was the development of the mines of the territory. In 1719 he sailed from France with more than two hundred mechanics, stopped at the West Indies, and secured a cargo of five hundred negro slaves, and in due course arrived at Fort Chartres in the Illinois (1721). Large grants of land for mining purposes were made to Renault—an extensive tract west of the Mississippi River; another, fifteen leagues square, near the site of Peoria; and still another above Fort Chartres, one league along the river and two leagues deep. He founded St. Philippe, near the fort, and built what was probably the first smelting furnace in the Mississippi Valley. In 1743 he returned to France, where he died.—Ed.[19]Pierre Charles le Sueur went to Canada when a young man, and engaged in the fur-trade. In 1693, while commandant at Chequamegon, he erected two forts—one on Madelaine Island, in Chequamegon Bay (Lake Superior), and another on an island in the Mississippi, near Red Wing, Minnesota. Later he discovered lead mines along the upper Mississippi. In 1699 he returned from a visit to France, and under Iberville's directions searched for copper mines in the Sioux country, where Le Sueur had earlier found green earth. Le Sueur reached the mouth of Missouri River (July 13, 1700) with nineteen men, according to Bénard de la Harpe's manuscript, compiled from Le Sueur's Journal—with twenty-nine men, as related by Pénicaut, a member of the expedition. The company was later increased to perhaps thirty or forty, but not ninety, as Flagg says. Le Sueur ascended the Mississippi, and its tributary the Minnesota, and erected a fort in August, 1700, one league above the point where the Blue Earth River (St. Peter's River, until 1852) empties into the Minnesota. This fort he named l'Huillier, in honor of his patron in France. Flagg has confused this site with that of Fort Armstrong at Rock Island, Illinois. In May, 1701, Le Sueur left the fort in care of d'Eraque, who remained in charge until 1703, when he abandoned the place. For extracts from original documents relating to Le Sueur's activities, consult: "Le Sueur's Mines on the Mississippi," "Le Sueur's Voyage up the Mississippi," and "Le Sueur's Fort on the Mississippi," inWisconsin Historical Collections, xvi, pp. 173, 174, 177-200.—Ed.[20]"Petits paysans."—Flagg.[21]The battle of Mauilla, to which Flagg is referring, was fought in October, 1540, between De Soto's men and the Mobilian Indians, near the present site of Mobile. Our author is mistaken in supposing that these Indians were the Kaskaskia. De Soto reached the Mississippi in May, 1541, and died May 21, 1542. He started on the expedition with less than seven hundred men, instead of one thousand. According to Herrera, his body was laid in a hollow live-oak log, and lowered into the Mississippi; but it seems more probable that the corpse was wrapped in mantles made heavy by a ballast of sand, and thus lowered into the water. See John G. Shea, "Ancient Florida," in Justin Winsor,Narrative and Critical History of America(Boston and New York, 1886), ii, pp. 231-283; also E. G. Bourne (ed.)Narratives of the Career of Hernando de Soto(New York, 1904).—Ed.[22]Annexed is a copy of the grant of the celebratedcommonsattached to the village of Kaskaskia. It is the earliest title the citizens hold to seven thousand acres of the most fertile land in the West—perhaps in the world."Pierre de Rigault de Vaudreuil, Governor andEdme Gatien SalmonCommissary orderer of the Province of Louisiana, seen the petition to us presented on the sixteenth day of June of this present year by the Inhabitants of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Kaskaskia dependence of the Illinois, tending to be confirmed in the possession of a common which they have had a long time for the pasturage of their cattle in the Point calledLa point de bois, which runs to the entrance of the River Kaskaskia. We, by virtue of the power to us granted by his Majesty have confirmed and do confirm to the said Inhabitants the possession of the said common on the following conditions—"First, That the concessions heretofore granted either by the India Company either by our predecessors or by us in the prairie of Kaskaskia on the side of the point which runs to the entrance of the river, shall terminate at the land granted to a man namedCavalier, and in consequence, that all concessions that may have been made on the said point from the land of the said Cavalier forward, on the side of the entrance of the said river shall be null and void and of no effect. In consequence of which, the said Point, as it is above designated, shall remain in common without altering its nature, nevertheless, reserving to us the power whenever the case may require it, of granting the said commons to the inhabitants established and who may establish, and this, on the representations which may be made to us by the commandants and sub-delegates in the said places."Secondly, on the road vulgarly called theSquare Linebetween the large and small line shall be rendered practicable and maintained for the passage of the Carts and Cattle going into the Common, and this by lack of the proprietors as well of the great as of the small line whose lands border on the roads of theSquare line. And as to the places which ought to run along the side of the village from the said road of the Square line unto the river, as also the one on the side of the point running to the Mississippi and to the Kaskaskia river, they shall be made and maintained at the expense of the community, to the end that the cultivated lands be not injured by the cattle."Thirdly, To facilitate to the inhabitants the means of making their autumnal harvest, and prevent its being damaged by the cattle, we forbid all persons to leave their cattle range upon cultivated lands—they are, notwithstanding, permitted to graze upon their own proper lands on having them diligently watched."Fourthly, Willing that the wood which is on the land granted belong to the proprietors of the said lands, we forbid all persons to cut down any elsewhere than on their own lands, and as to the wood which may be found in the commons to cut down for their own use, either for building or for fire wood, and this shall be the present regulation."Read, published and affixed to the end that no person may be ignorant thereof. Given at New-Orleans the fourteenth day of August, 1743.VAUDREUIL."Salmon."—Flagg.>[23]"Under the old management all the inhabitants had equal access to the commons for pasturage and fuel. By an act of the legislature passed in 1854, the citizens were authorized to elect five trustees every two years, who should exercise the charge of the commons, lease portions thereof, and apply the proceeds to church and school purposes only. The common fields were also originally owned jointly by the villagers, though each resident was assigned an individual portion. The United States commissioners, in 1809, determined the rights of each citizen, and the lots have since been held in fee simple." SeeCombined History of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, Illinois(Philadelphia, 1883), p. 308.—Ed.[24]For the memorial of George Morgan, upon these lands along the Mississippi River, the report of the committee to which the above had been referred, and the resolutions of Congress thereon (August 28, 29, 1788), seeLaws of the United States, etc.(Bioren edition, Philadelphia, 1815), i, pp. 580-585.—Ed.[25]For an account of the extermination of the Natchez, see F. A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 254, note 53.—Ed.[26]Doubtless an exaggeration.—Flagg.Comment by Ed."From 1810 to 1820 the town (Kaskaskia) probably contained more people than at any other period of its history. A census taken at that time showed a population of seven thousand." SeeHistory of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, p. 307.[27]A monastery and accompanying college, liberally endowed from Europe, was founded at Kaskaskia by Jesuit missionaries in the first quarter of the eighteenth century.—Ed.[28]"The idea," says Adam Smith, "of the possibility of multiplying paper money to almost any extent, was the real foundation of what is called theMississippi scheme, the most extravagant project, both of banking and stock-jobbing, that perhaps the world ever saw."—Flagg.Comment by Ed.John Law died at Venice, March 21, 1729. Concerning his financial methods, see Émile Levasseur,Recherches historique sur le system de Law(Paris, 1854). Ample and accurate is Andrew M. Davis'sA Historical Study of Law's System(Boston, 1887), reprinted fromQuarterly Journal of Economics(Boston, 1887), i, pp. 289-318, 420-452.[29]Breckenridge.—Flagg.[30]For an account of the early lead-mines, see Flagg'sFar West, in our volume xxvi, p. 95, note 60.—Ed.[31]For an historical sketch of Ste. Genevieve, see Cuming'sTour, in our volume iv, p. 266, note 174.—Ed.[32]The French civil law still prevails in Louisiana.For a good monograph on the Ordinance of 1787, and the text of the same, see Jay Amos Barrett,Evolution of the Ordinance of 1787, with an Account of the earlie Plans for the Government of the Northwest Territory(New York, 1891).—Ed.[33]Under the feudal régime in France, the local or customary laws of the more important centres of population came gradually to extend their sway over larger and larger districts. With the rising importance of Paris, thecoutume de Paris(common law of Paris), reformed in 1580 by order of the parliament, in time displaced all others; it breathed the national spirit. Codified, it was in a sense the forerunner of the Code Napoleon.—Ed.[34]Breckenridge—to whom the author is indebted for other facts relative to these early settlements.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.Henry Marie Brackenridge (not Breckenridge),Views of Louisiana(Pittsburgh, 1814).[35]Sganarelle.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.Sganarelle is a character in Molière's plays, notably in "Le Médicin malgré lui."[36]A land-office was established at Kaskaskia by act of Congress approved March 26, 1804, "for so much of the lands included within the boundaries fixed by the treaty of the thirteenth of August, one thousand eight hundred and three, with the Kaskaskia tribe of Indians, as is not claimed by any other Indian tribe;" this was discontinued by order of the president, November 12, 1855. The records were transferred to Springfield the following February.—Ed.[37]During the Indian troubles a fort was erected in 1736 on an eminence, later known as Garrison Hill, opposite Kaskaskia. It was repaired and occupied by a French garrison at the opening of the French and Indian War. In 1766 the fort was burned, but another soon afterward built, was occupied by the English (1772) and named Fort Gage, in honor of the British commander-in-chief. On the night of July 4, 1778, Colonel George Rogers Clark captured the fort and made it his headquarters while in Illinois. It was abandoned at the close of the Revolution, but was re-occupied for a short time by American troops in 1801. Colonel Pike's regiment was stationed there for a short period. See R. G. Thwaites,How George Rogers Clark Won the Northwest(Chicago, 1903).—Ed.[38]The reader will recollect that these notes were sketched two years ago. Since that time some changes in this old edifice have taken place; the whole southwest angle has fallen to the ground, and, agreeable to the text, the entire roof would have followed but for the extraordinary strength of one solitary piece of timber. High mass was in celebration at the time, and the church was crowded, but no accident occurred. The old building has been since dismantled, however; its bell removed from the tower, and the whole structure will soon, probably, be prostrated by "decay's effacing finger."—Flagg.[39]The earliest "extract from the baptismal records of the mission among the Illinois, under the title of the Immaculate conception of Our Lady," bears date March 20, 1692. The first ceremony recorded after the removal of the mission to Kaskaskia, was performed April 17, 1701. See "Kaskaskia Church Records," in Illinois State Historical LibraryPublications(Springfield, 1904), pp. 394-413; Edward G. Mason, "Kaskaskia and its Parish Records," inFergus Historical Series, No. 12 (Chicago, 1881), pp. 1-22; C. W. Alvord,The Old Kaskaskia Records(Chicago Historical Society, 1906);Magazine of American History, vi, pp. 161-182;Michigan Pioneer Collections, v, pp. 94-109.—Ed.[40]A convent of the Visitation was established at Kaskaskia in May, 1833, by a colony from the parent house at Georgetown, District of Columbia. It was patronized by Pierre Menard, and connected with the academy named in his honor. A large building was erected and opened for pupils in 1836. The institution enjoyed a high reputation until the flood of 1844 forced its abandonment. SeeHistory of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, p. 308.—Ed.[41]I give the tradition of the farmers now resident upon the spot. History differs somewhat.Most of the historical facts relative to the extermination of the Abnaquis will be found condensed in the subjoined extract from a late valuable work."Determined on destroying this assemblage of Indians, which was the headquarters of the whole eastern country at this time, the English, in 1724, sent out a force, consisting of 208 men and three Mohawk Indians, under CaptainsMoulton,Harman, andBourne, to humble them. They came upon the village the 23d August, when there was not a man in arms to oppose them. They had left 40 of their men at Teconet Falls, which is now within the town of Winslow, upon the Kennebeck, and about two miles below Waterville College, upon the opposite side of the river. The English had divided themselves into three squadrons: 80, underHarman, proceeded by a circuitous route, thinking to surprise some in their cornfields, whileMoulton, with 80 more, proceeded directly for the village, which, being surrounded by trees, could not be seen until they were close upon it. All were in their wigwams, and the English advanced slowly and in perfect silence. When pretty near, an Indian came out of his wigwam, and, accidentally discovering the English, ran in and seized his gun, and giving the warwhoop, in a few minutes the warriors were all in arms, and advancing to meet them.Moultonordered his men not to fire until the Indians had made the first discharge. This order was obeyed, and, as he expected, they overshot the English, who then fired upon them in their turn, and did great execution. When the Indians had given another volley, they fled with great precipitation to the river, whither the chief of their women and children had also fled during the fight. Some of the English pursued and killed many of them in the river, and others fell to pillaging and burning the village.Mogg, their chief, disdained to fly with the rest, but kept possession of a wigwam, from which he fired upon the pillagers. In one of his discharges he killed a Mohawk, whose brother, observing it, rushed upon and killed him; and thus ended the strife. There were about 60 warriors in the place, about one half of whom were killed."The famousRasleshut himself up in his house, from which he fired upon the English; and, having wounded one, LieutenantJaques, of Newbury, burst open the door, and shot him through the head, althoughMoultonhad given orders that none should kill him. He had an English boy with him, about 14 years old, who had been taken some time before from the frontiers, and whom the English reportedRaslewas about to kill. Great brutality and ferocity are chargeable to the English in this affair, according to their own account; such as killing women and children, and scalping and mangling the body of FatherRasle."There was here a handsome church, with a bell, on which the English committed a double sacrilege, first robbing it, then setting it on fire; herein surpassing the act of the first English circumnavigator in his depredations upon the Spaniards in South America; for he only took away the gold and silver vessels of a church, and its crucifix, because it was of massy gold, set about with diamonds, and that, too, upon the advice of his chaplain. 'This might pass,' says a reverend author, 'for sea divinity, but justice is quite another thing.' Perhaps it will be as well not to inquire here what kind ofdivinitywould authorize the acts recorded in these wars, or, indeed, any wars."Upon this memorable event in our early annals, FatherCharlevoixshould be heard. There were not, says he, at the time the attack was made, above 50 warriors at Neridgewok; these seized their arms, and run in disorder, not to defend the place against an enemy who was already in it, but to favour the flight of the women, the old men, and the children, and to give them time to gain the side of the river, which was not yet in possession of the English. FatherRasle, warned by the clamours and tumult, and the danger in which he found his proselytes, ran to present himself to the assailants, hoping to draw all their fury upon him, that thereby he might prove the salvation of his flock. His hope was vain; for hardly had he discovered himself, when the English raised a great shout, which was followed by a shower of shot, by which he fell dead near to the cross which he had erected in the centre of the village: seven Indians who attended him, and who endeavoured to shield him with their own bodies, fell dead at his side. Thus died this charitable pastor, giving his life for his sheep, after 37 years of painful labours."Although the English shot near 2000 muskets, they killed but 30 and wounded 40. They spared not the church, which, after they had indignantly profaned its sacred vases and the adorable body of Jesus Christ, they set on fire. They then retired with precipitation, having been seized with a sudden panic. The Indians returned immediately into the village; and their first care, while the women sought plants and herbs proper to heal the wounded, was to shed tears upon the body of their holy missionary. They found him pierced with a thousand shot, his scalp taken off, his skull fractured with hatchets, his mouth and eyes filled with dirt, the bones of his legs broken, and all his members mutilated in a hundred different ways."Such is the account of the fall ofRasle, by a brother of the faith; a deplorable picture, by whomsoever related! Of the truth of its main particulars there can be no doubt, as will be seen by a comparison of the above translation with the account preceding it. There were, besidesMogg, other chief Indians who fell that day: 'Bomazeen,Mogg,Wissememet,Job,Carabesett, andBomazeen'sson-in-law, all famous warriors.' The inhumanity of the English on this occasion, especially to the women and children, cannot be excused. It greatly eclipses the lustre of the victory."Drake's Book of the Indians, b. iii., c. 9.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.Instead of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Flagg is doubtless referring to Queen Anne's War (1702-1713).A large amount of valuable but scattered documentary and secondary information concerning this massacre and the causes leading to it may be found under captions "Norridgewock" and "Rasle" in indexes to Maine Historical SocietyCollections, andDocuments relative to Colonial History of State of New York(Albany, 1854-61). See also William Allen,History of Norridgewock(Norridgewock, 1849).[42]Prunus Americana.—Flagg.[43]Indian Date, by the French called Placminier,Diosporus Virginiana.—Flagg.[44]Morus RubraandAlba.—Flagg.[45]Prunus Cerasus Virginia.—Flagg.[46]Custard apple,Annona glabra.—Flagg.[47]Breckenridge.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.Henry Marie Brackenridge,Views of Louisiana, p. 60.[48]For a sketch of Prairie du Rocher, see A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 70, note 133.—Ed.[49]This tradition does not appear to have been noticed in the local histories of the region.—Ed.[50]For sketches of Forts Presqu' Isle (present site of Erie), Machault (on Allegheny River), Duquesne (present site of Pittsburg), Le Bœuf (near the present town of Waterford, Pennsylvania), St. Joseph (Michigan), and Ouiatonon (on the Wabash), Detroit, and the fort on the Maumee River, see Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 101, note 62; p. 102, note 64; p. 85, note 45; p. 102, note 65; p. 117, note 85; p. 55, note 18; and p. 122, note 87, respectively. On Forts Chartres (on the Mississippi) and Massac (on the Ohio), see A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 71, note 136, and p. 73, note 139, respectively. Fort Massac was the only one upon the Ohio. Juchereau's post was erected (1702) at the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi, but was soon abandoned.—Ed.[51]Prunus Angustifolia.—Flagg.[52]Immediately after the erection of Fort Chartres (1720), a village sprang up and the Jesuits established there the parish of Ste. Anne de Fort Chartres. The earliest records of this parish now extant, bear the date 1721.—Ed.[53]Philip Pittman, who visited Fort Chartres in 1766, says in hisPresent State of the European Settlements on the Missisippi(London, 1770), p. 46, concerning Fort Chartres: "In the year 1764 there were about forty families in the village near the fort, and a parish church, served by a Franciscan friar, dedicated to St. Anne. In the following year, when the English took possession of the country, they abandoned their houses, except three or four poor families, and settled at the villages on the west side of the Missisippi, chusing to continue under the French government."In a personal letter dated November 3, 1762, Louis XV deeded to Charles III of Spain all of the French territory in North America lying to the west of Mississippi River; see Shepherd, "Cession of Louisiana to Spain," inPolitical Science Quarterly, xix, pp. 439-458; also Thwaites,France in America(New York, 1905), pp. 272-275. Napoleon coerced Charles IV to retrocede Louisiana to France, by the secret treaty of St. Ildefonso, signed October 1, 1800. Three years later (April 30, 1803), Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States for $15,000,000.Captain Louis St. Ange de Bellerive formally surrendered Fort Chartres to Captain Sir Thomas Sterling on October 10 (not July), 1765, went to St. Louis, and entering the Spanish service was placed in command of the little garrison there, composed almost wholly of his French compatriots who had removed thither from the Illinois. For a sketch of St. Ange, see Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 138, note 109.—Ed.[54]Sir Thomas Sterling (1733-1808), commissioned captain of the 42nd Highlanders (1757), served with his men in the conquest of Canada, and the capture of Martinique (1759) and Havanna (1762). Having taken command of Fort Chartres in October, 1765, he was relieved of this unpleasant duty, December 4 of the same year, by Major Robert Farmer, heading a detachment of British foot from Mobile. Sterling and his regiment set sail from America (1767), but returned (1776) and served with distinction at the storming of Fort Washington (1776) and of Elizabethtown (1779). He was wounded at Springfield (Massachusetts) in June, 1780. Promoted through the various ranks, he was made a royal aide-de-camp of the king and in turn a colonel (February 19, 1779), major-general (November 20, 1782), and general (January 1, 1801). He became baronet of Andoch on his brother's death, July 26, 1799. Several Illinois historians strangely persist in killing Sterling in 1765, shortly after he took command at Fort Chartres. SeeDictionary of National Biography; andDocuments relative to Colonial History of New York, vii, p. 786.Lieutenant-Colonel John Wilkins, appointed captain of the 55th foot (1755) and then major (1762), commanded at Niagara. In 1763, while marching to relieve Detroit, he was attacked by Indians and forced after heavy losses to retreat to Fort Schlosser. Later, he made an unsuccessful attempt by water, but was caught in a disastrous storm. In August, 1764, Wilkins was promoted to the majorship of the 60th, and in the following January was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 18th Royal Irish with seven companies. In May, 1768, he was ordered from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt, and thence to Fort Chartres. His administration was unpopular, and grave charges—notably misappropriation of land and funds—were brought against him. He was suspended in 1771, set sail for Europe the following year, and either died or left the army (1775). SeeHistorical Magazine, viii, p. 260; andDocuments relative to Colonial History of New York, viii, p. 185.—Ed.[55]Subjoined is a copy of the preliminary proceedings of the first regular court of justice held in Illinois while under the British government. It purports to be transcribed from the state records, and first appeared in a Western newspaper. It lays before the reader a view of the subject, which the most graphic description would fail to present."At a Court held atChartresVillage, in the Illinois, this sixth day of November, in the eighth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c., &c., &c., in the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, 1768."Present, George Morgan, James Remsey, James Campbell, James M'Millar, Jean Baptist Barbeau, and Peter Girardot, Esqrs., Justices. Commissions of the peace granted by John Wilkins, Esqr., Governor and Commandant of the said country, and directed to the gentlemen named, were produced and read."Whereupon the said Justices took the severaloathsof allegiance to his Majesty's person and government, and also the oaths of Justices of the peace; which oaths were administered to them by the Governor and Commandant aforesaid."A commission from the said Governor to Dennis M'Croghan, Esq., to be Sheriff of the country aforesaid, was produced by the said Dennis M'Croghan, Esq., and read, who took and subscribed the usual oaths of allegiance to his Majesty's person and government, and also the oath of sheriff for said country."The Governor and Commandant aforesaid entered into a recognizance in the sum of five hundred pounds lawful money of Great Britain for the said Sheriff's due performance of his office."It would appear from the following deed, made by amilitary sergeant, executing the office of sheriff under the style of Provost under Commandant Hugh Lord, in 1772, that the government in Illinois was then purelymilitary."Be it remembered that on this nineteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two, by virtue of a writ unto me directed, I, Andrew Hoy, Provost, did seize, levy, and distrain upon the dwelling-house and lot of John Baptist Hubardeau, situated in the village of Kaskaskia, for a debt due aspernote of hand, of the signature of the aforesaid Hubardeau, for the sum of two thousand and fortylivres,with interest anddamages.Now, know ye, that the aforesaid writ ofFieri Faciaswas issued by Hugh Lord, Esq., Captain in his Majesty's 18th or Royal Regiment of Ireland, in manner and form following:"George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c."To Sergeant Hoy, Provost."We command you that you cause to be made of the (goods) and chattels of John Baptist Hubardeau, in your bailiwick, two thousand and fortylivres,which Franks & Company, lately, in our court, before us, at Kaskaskia, recovered against him by virtue of a power of attorney, for a debt, with lawful interest, and damages which they have sustained, occasioned as well by the detaining of the said debt, as for their expenses and costs by them laid out in and about their suit in that behalf, whereof the said Hubardeau is convicted, and have you the money before us at Kaskaskia as soon as the sale of said effects shall admit, to render to the said Franks & Company their debt and damages aforesaid, and have then there this writ."Given at Fort Gage, this 19th day of December, 1772."Hugh Lord, Commandant of Illinois."Andrew Hoy, Provost."Moreover, that in consequence of further orders from the commandant aforesaid, I did give general notice of the sale thereof by the following advertisement, which was publicly placed for perusal and knowledge of the inhabitants in general, both here and at the village ofCaho.[56]"PAR AUTORITE."Vendredi, à onse heur du Matin le 29th du mois prochain, sera vendu au porte de L'Eglise, la Maison et Terrain du Sieur Jean Baptist Hubardeau, qui est puis en exêcution, payable en Pèlletrie, Bon Argent, lettres de change, ou la bon esclaves, dans le moi de Mai qui vient."Au Kas,[57]Decembre 29 [19] th, 1772."Andrew Hoy, Provost."Making allowances for bad French, the following is a translation of this notice:"BY AUTHORITY."Wednesday, at eleven o'clock in the morning of the 29th of next month, I shall sell at the gate of the church, the House and lot of Mr. Jean Baptist Hubardeau, which is taken in execution, payable in peltry, good silver, bills of exchange, or in good slaves, in the month of May coming."Kaskaskia, Dec. 19th, 1772.""At the expiration of which time, the aforesaid house was, agreeable to law, justice, and equity, exposed to sale, first at the church gate, and afterwards at different parts of the village, to prevent as much as possible, any persons pleading ignorance of the sale thereof. Now, know ye, in discharge of the duty of my office and the trust reposed, after having kept up the said house and lot from the hours of ten to two at the sum of 3200livres, and no person bidding higher, or likely so to do, that the same was struck off to James Remsey, inhabitant of Kaskaskia, who, by these presents, is invested with full right and title thereto, to have and to hold the said messuage and tenements, and all and singular of the premises above mentioned and every part and parcel thereof, with the appurtenances unto the said James Remsey, his heirs and assigns forever: and I, the said Andrew Hoy, Provost, from myself my heirs, the said messuage and tenement and premises and every part thereof against him and his heirs, and against all and every other person and persons whatever, to the said James Remsey, his heirs and assigns shall and will warrant and forever defend by these presents. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal."Andrew Hoy, Provost. (L.S.)"Fort Gage, 29th Dec., 1772."Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of"William Dunbar,"Isaac Johnson.""By virtue of the power and authority in me invested, I do hereby grant unto Mr. James Remsey, late Lieut. of his Majesty's 34th Regiment, a certain tract of land containing—acres in part from the river Kaskaskia to the Mississippi, once the property of one La Bacchou, whereon formerly did stand a water mill, the remains of which are now to be seen. The whole being agreeable to his Majesty's proclamation, confiscated to the King, and is hereby given to said James Remsey, in consideration of His Excellency Gen. Gage's recommendation and for the speedy settlement of his majesty's colony, as likewise the frame of a house with a lot of land thereunto appertaining, opposite the Jesuit's College in the village of Kaskaskia."Given under my hand, at Fort Chartres, Nov. 12th, 1767."GORDON FORBES,"Capt. 34th regiment."This grant of land where theold millstood, is now the site of a speculativecitycalled "Decoigne," and is about five miles from Kaskaskia on the road to St. Louis.—Flagg.[56]Cahokia.[57]Kaskaskia.[58]Flagg's description agrees in the main with that given by Philip Pittman (seeante, p. 77, note53), save that the latter is more detailed. Judging from the phraseology, Flagg must have read Pittman's description.—Ed.[59]Relative to Fort Chartres, seeante, p. 75, note50.—Ed.[60]Hall.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.Flagg's authority is James Hall,Sketches of History, Life, and Manners in the West(Philadelphia, 1835).Owing to the encroachments by the Mississippi, Fort Chartres was abandoned in 1772, and was never again used as a garrison. The legend given by Flagg is somewhat exaggerated. The French settlements adjacent to Kaskaskia readily accepted the situation on being invited by Clark's representatives, who were accompanied by Kaskaskians as friendly interpreters.[61]Hall.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.Compare with R. G. Thwaites,How George Rogers Clark won the Northwest, pp. 52-62.[62]A fort was begun by Charles Trent, with a few Virginia troops, in February, 1754. On April 17, Contrecœur took the place, completed the fort, and named it Duquesne in honor of the then governor of New France. See Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 85, note 45; also F. A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 156, note 20.—Ed.[63]Renault sailed from France in 1719, but did not reach Illinois until 1721. For a short sketch of Renault, seeante, p. 42, note18.St. Philippe, five miles from Fort Chartres on the road to Cahokia, was founded about 1725 by Renault, on a tract granted to him in 1723. Philip Pittman, who visited the place in 1766, wrote that there were about sixteen houses and a small church left standing, although all the inhabitants save the captain of the militia had crossed the Mississippi the preceding year. In 1803, John Everett was the sole inhabitant.—Ed.[64]For location and settlement of Herculaneum, see Maximilian'sTravels, in our volume xxii, p. 212, note 122; for the shot-towers there, see our volume xxvi, p. 103, note 66.—Ed.[65]Milk-sickness, no longer so diagnosed by medical authorities, is described by early writers in the Middle West as a malignant disease attacking both men and stock. It was supposed that the disease was contracted by eating the flesh or dairy products of animals that had grazed on a certain weed. In the case of the human being the symptoms were intolerable thirst, absolute constipation, low temperature, an extreme nervous agitation, but with an absence of chills and headaches. Recovery seemed to be the exception. Although no specific remedy was used, the best results were thought to be obtained by judicious stimulation and careful nursing. The same disease among stock was usually known as "trembles." The symptoms were the same as with men, and death followed, generally within eight or ten days. A farm where this dreaded disease had come was called a "milk-sick farm," and was rendered almost unsalable. For a later and more detailed account, see Thomas L. M'Kenney,Memoirs, official and personal, with Sketches of Travels among the Northern and Southern Indians, etc. (New York, 1846), p. 141. Dr. William M. Beach, a pioneer physician in Ohio, who had had much experience with milk sickness, wrote an article for Albert H. Buck,Reference Handbook of Medical Science(New York, 1884-87), volume v. An abstract of the above article by Beach is given in the edition for 1902.—Ed.[66]Two ranges of cliffs are known by this name. One is below Ste. Genevieve.—Flagg.[67]For further information on the pigmy cemetery in the Meramec, see our volume xxvi, p. 105.—Ed.[68]Mr. Flint's remarks respecting the Ancient Pottery found in the West coincides so well with the result of my own more limited observation, that I subjoin them in preference to extended description myself. Preceding these remarks is an interesting notice of the Lilliputian graves on the Merrimac, to which allusion has several times been made."At the time the Lilliputian graves were found on the Merrimac, in the county of St. Louis, many people went from that town to satisfy their curiosity by inspecting them. It appears from Mr. Peck that the graves were numerous; that the coffins were of stone; that the bones in some instances were nearly entire; that the length of the bodies was determined by that of the coffins which they filled, and that the bodies in general could not have been more than from three feet and a half to four feet in length. Thus it should seem that the generations of the past in this region were mammoths and pigmies."I have examined the pottery, of which I have spoken above, with some attention. It is unbaked, and the glazing very incomplete, since oil will soak through it. It is evident, from slight departure from regularity in the surface, that it was moulded by the hand and not by anything like our lathe. The composition, when fractured, shows many white floccules in the clay that resemble fine snow, and this I judge to be pulverized shells. The basis of the composition appears to be the alluvial clay carried along in the waters of the Mississippi, and called by the French 'terre grasse,' from its greasy feel. Samples of this pottery, more or less perfect, are shown everywhere on the river. Some of the most perfect have been dug from what are called the 'chalk-banks,' below the mouth of the Ohio. The most perfect that I have seen, being, in fact, as entire as when first formed, was a vessel in my possession. It was a drinking jug, like the 'scyphus' of the ancients. It was dug from the chalk-bank. It was smooth, well-moulded, and of the colour of common gray stoneware. It had been rounded with great care, and yet, from slight indentations on the surface, it was manifest that it had been so wrought in the palm of the hand. The model of the form was a simple and obvious one—the bottle-gourd—and it would contain about two quarts. This vessel had been used to hold animal oil; for it had soaked through, and varnished the external surface. Its neck was that of a squaw, known by the clubbing of the hair, after the Indian fashion. The moulder was not an accurate copyist, and had learned neither statuary nor anatomy; for, although the finish was fine, the head was monstrous. There seemed to have been an intention of wit in the outlet. It was the horrible and distorted mouth of a savage, and in drinking you would be obliged to place your lips in contact with those of madam the squaw."—Flint's Recollections, p. 173-4.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.For bibliography on Indian antiquities, see our volume xxvi, p. 69, note 33; p. 159, note 111; and p. 184, note 128.[69]Waterloo, in Monroe County, about thirty miles northwest of Kaskaskia, was incorporated in 1848. In 1818 George Forquer purchased the land on which the village now stands, and in the same year he and Daniel P. Cook (later a member of Congress) laid out and named the town. In 1825 the county seat was changed from Harrisonville to Waterloo. About 1830, John Coleman erected a large wind-mill, later changed to an ox-mill (1837).Bellefontaine is the name applied by the early French to a large spring a mile south of the present site of Waterloo. In 1782 Captain James Moore, who had served under George Rogers Clark, settled at this spring, and in accordance with orders from the Virginia government built a blockhouse fort as a protection against the Indians. Owing to his tact and good judgment, amicable relations with the Indians were maintained until 1786, when serious trouble really began. During the next decade the Indians killed several whites.—Ed.[70]Columbia, eight miles north of Waterloo, and fifteen miles south of St. Louis, was laid out in 1820 on land belonging to Louis Nolan.—Ed.[71]With reference to the American Bottom, see Ogden'sLetters from the West, in our volume xix, p. 62, note 48.—Ed.[72]See our volume xxvi, p. 263, note 163.—Ed.[73]The passage subjoined relative to theGeological Transformationswhich have taken place in the Mississippi Valley, is extracted from "Schoolcraft's Travels in its central portions," and will be found abundantly to corroborate my own observations upon the subject."It seems manifest, from various appearances, that the country we have under consideration has been subjected to the influence of water at a comparatively recent period; and it is evident that its peculiar alluvial aspect is the distinct and natural result of the time and the mode in which these waters were exhausted. One striking fact, which appears to have escaped general observation, is, that at some former period there has been an obstruction in the channel of the Mississippi at or near Grand Tower, producing a stagnation of the current at an elevation of about one hundred and thirty feet above the present ordinary water-mark. This appears evident from the general elevation and direction of the hills, which, for several hundred miles above, are separated by a valley from twenty to twenty-five miles wide, which now deeply imbosoms the current of the Mississippi. Wherever these hills disclose rocky and precipitous fronts, a series of distinctly-marked antique water-lines are to be observed. These water-lines preserve a parallelism which is very remarkable, and, what we should expect to find, constantly present their greatest depression towards the sources of the river. At Grand Tower they are elevated about one hundred and thirty feet above the summit level, at which elevation we observe petrifactions of madrepores and various other fossil organic remains which belong to this peculiar era. Here the rocks of dark-coloured limestone, which pervade the country to so great an extent, project towards each other as if they had once united; but, by some convulsion of nature, or, what is still more probable, by the continued action of the water upon a secondary rock, the Mississippi has effected a passage through this barrier, and thus producing an exhaustion of the stagnant waters from the level prairie lands above."—Schoolcraft's Travels, p. 218, 219.—Flagg.Comment by Ed.This hypothesis, in the main formulated by H. R. Schoolcraft, is still in its general features accepted by many geologists. See also Elisée Reclus,The Earth and its Inhabitants(New York, 1893), article "North America," iii, pp. 224, 225.[74]A similar spring is said to issue fromdebrisat the foot of the cliffs on the Ohio, in the vicinity of Battery Rock. Its stream is copious, clear, and cold, ebbing and flowing regularly once in six hours. This phenomenon is explained on the principle of the syphon. Similar springs are found among the Alps.—Flagg.[75]Flagg is somewhat mistaken concerning the age of the block-house settlement. Previous to 1800, the only American settlement in St. Clair County was Turkey Hill, which at that date numbered twenty souls. William Scott, the first settler, moved thither with his family from Kentucky in 1797, and became a permanent resident. About 1810, Nathaniel Hill, Joshua Perkins, Reuben Stubblefield, James and Reuben Lively, and Richard Bearley settled in the southeastern corner of St. Clair County, and for protection against the Indians built a block-house near the present city of Hillstown on Dosa Creek (a tributary of the Kaskaskia). The fort was later abandoned, and the settlers moved to other parts of the state. For a description of the fort, seeHistory of St. Clair County, Illinois(Philadelphia, 1881), pp. 261, 262.—Ed.[76]William Buckland (1784-1856), a distinguished English geologist, who was as well canon of Christ College, Oxford (1825), and dean of Westminster Abbey (1845), contributed many valuable papers to geological publications. The Royal Society'sCatalogue of Scientific Papersshows that Buckland was the author of fifty-three memoirs. His most important publication,Geology and Mineralogy Considered with Reference to Natural Theology(a Bridgewater thesis, 1836), attempts to prove by aid of science, "the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation."—Ed.[77]George Leopold Crétien Frédéric Dagobert, baron de Cuvier (1769-1832), a French naturalist, was founder of the science of comparative anatomy. He was chosen as one of the original members of the Institute, organized in 1795. After holding various administrative offices under Napoleon, he was appointed (1814) a councilor of state, which position he held under Louis XVIII. In 1819 he was made president of the committee of the interior, and chancellor of the University of Paris. Louis Phillipe made him a peer of France. Cuvier's scientific work falls into three divisions—paleontology, systematic zoology, and comparative anatomy. He wrote extensively in all these fields, and in each achieved high recognition. Consult: Sarah Lee,Memoirs of Baron Cuvier(London, 1833), and Ducrotay de Blainville,Cuvier et Geoffrey Saint Hilaire(Paris, 1890).—Ed.[78]Prairie du Pont (Prairie Bridge), located upon a creek of the same name, was so christened for a log bridge which in early times crossed the creek at this point. The settlement was first made about 1760 by people from Cahokia who, according to tradition, fled thither from the floods; the site is ten or twelve feet higher than that of Cahokia. The Sulpician missionaries had built a mill there in 1754. In 1844 the place was nearly destroyed by floods.—Ed.[79]For a short historical sketch of Cahokia, see A. Michaux'sTravels,in our volume iii, p. 70, note 135. Flagg, in common with the earlier writers, places the date of Cahokia too early.—Ed.[80]By act of Congress approved March 1, 1791, "a tract of land including the villages of Cohos [Cahokia], and Prairie du Pont, and heretofore used by the inhabitants of the said village as a common," was, "appropriated to the use of the inhabitants ... to be used by them as a common, until otherwise disposed of by law." By the same act, four hundred acres were ordered to be laid out, and "given to each of those persons who in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three were heads of families at Vincennes, or in the Illinois country, on the Mississippi, and who, since that time, have moved from one of the said places to the other."—Ed.[81]In 1815 Etienne Pinçoneau (now spelled Pensoneau) laid out a town on the present site of East St. Louis, and named it Jacksonville. His efforts proving unsuccessful, he sold the land to McKnight and Brady, who in May, 1818, platted the site and named it Illinoistown. During the succeeding autumn, the citizens of Cahokia appointed five agents to lay out a town site on the Cahokia commons. Illinois City thus came into existence, and the action of the citizens was legalized by Congress (May 1, 1820). Illinoistown, Illinois City, and other small villages were later united to form East St. Louis, which was incorporated in 1861 and chartered four years later.—Ed.[82]Father de Smet was sent on the mission to the Flathead Indians by Joseph Rosati. For an account of the latter, see Flagg'sFar West, in our volume xxvi, p. 164, note 115.—Ed.[83]In 1821, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., of the American Fur Company, established a general agency in the bottom opposite Randolph Bluffs, about three miles below the present site of Kansas City. His buildings having been destroyed by a flood in 1826, he erected others on higher ground, in the present Guinott addition, near the foot of Walnut street. The place was called Chouteau's Warehouse, and soon became a favorite shipping point for the Indian trade. In 1831 John McCoy built a trading house at the crossing of the roads from Chouteau's Warehouse and Independence. Two years later he platted a town at this point and named it Westport. Westport first used Chouteau's Warehouse as a landing place, but later built a wharf on the high rocky bank of the river, at the present foot of Grand Avenue, Walnut, Main, and Delaware streets. Because of superior natural advantages, this latter place soon became the principal landing, and in 1838 a company purchased the site, platted a town, and named it Kansas City. Westport thus became the starting point for the caravans to the Western country.Prior to 1822, the overland expeditions seem to have been composed of men on foot carrying their wares in packs. Later, pack horses were substituted, and by 1830 wagons were used almost exclusively. Owing to the dangers from hostile Indians, the traders going to Santa Fé or points in the Rocky Mountains formed themselves into caravans for mutual protection, with an organized system of guards and camps. See Gregg'sCommerce of the Prairies, in our volume xix, pp. 198-201, for a description of these caravans.—Ed.

[1]Volume xxvii of our series begins with chapter xxxiii of the original New York edition (1838) of Flagg'sThe Far West. The author is here describing the part of his journey made in the late summer or early autumn of 1836.—Ed.

[2]The Vermilion River (which Flagg incorrectly wrote Little Vermilion) rises, with several branches, in the western and southern portions of La Salle County, and flows north and west, entering Illinois River at Rock Island, in Livingston County.

Steelesville (formerly Georgetown) is about fifteen miles east of Kaskaskia, on the road between Pinkneyville and Chester; the site was settled on by George Steele in 1810. A block-house fort erected there in 1812 protected the settlers against attacks from the Kickapoo Indians. In 1825 a tread-mill was built, and two years later a store and post-office were erected. The latter was named Steele's Mills. The settlement was originally called Georgetown and later changed by an act of state legislature to Steelesville, being surveyed in 1832.—Ed.

[3]Chester is on the Mississippi River, in Randolph County, just below the mouth of Kaskaskia River. In the summer of 1829, Samuel Smith built the first house there, and two years later he, together with Mather, Lamb and Company, platted the town site. It was named by Jane Smith from her native town, Chester, England, and was made the seat of justice for Randolph in 1848.—Ed.

[4]Flagg is probably referring to Colonel Pierre Menard. See our volume xxvi, p. 165, note 116.—Ed.

[5]Philadelphia was founded in 1682. There has been much discussion about the exact date of the founding of Kaskaskia. E. G. Mason was of the opinion that this uncertainty had arisen in the confounding of Kaskaskia with an earlier Indian settlement of the same name on the Illinois River. It seems probable that Kaskaskia on the Mississippi was started in 1699. Consult E. G. Mason, "Kaskaskia and its Parish Records," inMagazine of American History(New York, 1881), vi, pp. 161-182, andChapters from Illinois History(Chicago, 1901); also C. W. Alvord,The Old Kaskaskia Records(Chicago Historical Society, 1906). See also A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 69, note 132.—Ed.

[6]The church of the Immaculate Conception, the first permanent structure of its kind west of the Alleghany Mountains, was built in 1720. It was torn down in 1838 and a large brick church built. For a more detailed description of the former, seepost, pp.62-64.—Ed.

[7]Hall.—Flagg.

[8]Jacques Marquette was a Jesuit missionary, not a Recollect. Consult R. G. Thwaites,Father Marquette(New York, 1902). On Jolliet see Francis Parkman,La Salle(Boston, 1869); and the latest authority, Ernest Gagnon,Louis Jolliet(Quebec, 1902).—Ed.

[9]For a short note on the Illinois Indians, consult our volume xxvi, p. 123, note 86.—Ed.

[10]Flagg errs in saying that Jolliet published an account of his adventures. His journal was lost in the St. Lawrence River on the return journey. Father Marquette, however, wrote a journal of his travels. See Thwaites,Jesuit Relations, lix, which also contains Jolliet's map of North America (1674).—Ed.

[11]The Island of Anticosti, in the estuary of St. Lawrence River, contains about 3,900 square miles, and is not only of importance as a centre of hunting and fishing interests, but is rich in undeveloped mineral resources. The population of a few hundred souls is chiefly concerned in fishing. The island is now the property of M. Henri Menier, a Parisian chocolate manufacturer, who personally rules his seigniory with benevolent despotism.—Ed.

[12]Concerning La Salle's discoveries, see Ogden'sLetters from the West, in our volume xix, pp. 44-53, and accompanying notes.—Ed.

[13]Concerning Hennepin's expedition from Crêvecœur to the Falls of St. Anthony, Flagg is in error. Hennepin was accompanied by two Frenchmen, Michel Accault and Antoine Auguel, and probably went merely as their spiritual companion. His publications were:Description de la Louisiane(Paris, 1683);Nouvelle Découverte d'un tres grand Pays Situé dans l'Amérique(Utrecht, 1697);Nouveau Voyage d'un Pais plus grand que l'Europe(Utrecht, 1698). The first was dedicated to Louis XIV, the last two to William III, king of England. For bibliography of Hennepin, see Victor Hugo Paltsits, "Bibliographical Data," in Thwaites,Hennepin's New Discovery(Chicago, 1903), pp. xlv-lxiv.—Ed.

[14]M. Tonti, among other writers, speaking of the country, according to Mr. Peck's translation, says:

"The soil is, generally speaking, so fertile, that it produces naturally, without culture, those fruits that nature and art together have much ado to bring forth in Europe. They have two crops every year without any great fatigue. The vines bring extraordinary grapes, without the care of the husbandman, and the fruit-trees need no gardeners to look after them. The air is everywhere temperate. The country is watered with navigable rivers, and delicious brooks and rivulets. It is stocked with all sorts of beasts, as bulls,orignacs, wolves, lions, wild asses, stags, goats, sheep, foxes, hares, beavers, otters, dogs, and all sorts of fowl, which afford a plentiful game for the inhabitants."

In another place, this writer gives an amusing account of hunting "wild bulls," which "go always by droves of three or four hundred each." This description answers well for the buffalo, but it is not so easy to determine what animals they mistook for "wild asses, goats, and sheep."

Passing down the Mississippi, Tonti mentions the same animals, and describes the forest-trees with tolerable accuracy, had he not added, "one sees there whole plains covered with pomegranate-trees, orange-trees, and lemon-trees; and, in one word, with all kinds of fruit-trees." Goats are frequently mentioned by different writers. Hennepin, while narrating the account of an embassy from Fort Frontenac to the Iroquois nation, and the reception the party met with, says: "The younger savages washed our feet, and rubbed them with grease of deer,wild goats, and oil of bears." When upset in their boat and cast on the western shore of Lake Michigan, an Indian of their company "killed several stags and wild goats."

Wild goats are named so frequently, and in so many connexions, as hardly to admit of an intentional misrepresentation.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.For sketches of Charlevoix and Tonty, see Nuttall'sJournal, in our volume xiii, pp. 116 and 117, notes 81 and 85 respectively.

[15]For a recent work on La Salle, consult P. Chesnel,Histoire de Cavelier de La Salle(Paris, 1901). With the exception of Crêvecœur, Prudhomme, and St. Louis, we have no definite proof that La Salle established any other forts in the Mississippi Valley. He erected a monument at the mouth of the Mississippi on April 9, 1682, on taking possession of the country in the name of Louis XIV. Kaskaskia and Cahokia were not founded by the associates of La Salle on the latter's return. For historical sketches of these towns, see A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 69, note 132, and p. 70, note 135, respectively. La Salle was assassinated March 19, 1687, on a branch of the Trinity River, in the present state of Texas.—Ed.

[16]Father Marquette died May 18, 1675, on the present site of Ludington, Michigan.—Ed.

[17]For the settlement of Peoria, see our volume xxvi, p. 133, note 93.—Ed.

[18]Owing to the exhaustion of France following the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis XIV, determined to develop the resources of the vast Louisiana territory, granted (September 14, 1712) to Antoine Crozat, a wealthy merchant, the exclusive right of trade in Louisiana for a term of fifteen years. Among other privileges, Crozat was permitted to send one ship a year to Africa for a cargo of negroes; to possess and operate all mines of precious metals in the territory, on the condition that a fourth of the metal be turned over to the king; and to possess in perpetuity all buildings and manufactories erected by him in the colony. On the other hand, Crozat was obliged to import two shiploads of colonists each year, and after nine years to assume all the expenses of the government. In the meantime the king was to furnish fifty thousand livres annually. Crozat did all in his power to develop the resources of the country; but owing to discord among the subordinate officials, in despair he surrendered the charter to the prince regent (August 13, 1717). See Charles Gayarré,History of Louisiana(New Orleans, 1903). After Crozat's surrender, Louisiana territory was turned over to the Mississippi (or Western) Company, directed by John Law; seepost, p. 49, note28. Philip François Renault was made the principal agent for a French company, whose purpose was the development of the mines of the territory. In 1719 he sailed from France with more than two hundred mechanics, stopped at the West Indies, and secured a cargo of five hundred negro slaves, and in due course arrived at Fort Chartres in the Illinois (1721). Large grants of land for mining purposes were made to Renault—an extensive tract west of the Mississippi River; another, fifteen leagues square, near the site of Peoria; and still another above Fort Chartres, one league along the river and two leagues deep. He founded St. Philippe, near the fort, and built what was probably the first smelting furnace in the Mississippi Valley. In 1743 he returned to France, where he died.—Ed.

[19]Pierre Charles le Sueur went to Canada when a young man, and engaged in the fur-trade. In 1693, while commandant at Chequamegon, he erected two forts—one on Madelaine Island, in Chequamegon Bay (Lake Superior), and another on an island in the Mississippi, near Red Wing, Minnesota. Later he discovered lead mines along the upper Mississippi. In 1699 he returned from a visit to France, and under Iberville's directions searched for copper mines in the Sioux country, where Le Sueur had earlier found green earth. Le Sueur reached the mouth of Missouri River (July 13, 1700) with nineteen men, according to Bénard de la Harpe's manuscript, compiled from Le Sueur's Journal—with twenty-nine men, as related by Pénicaut, a member of the expedition. The company was later increased to perhaps thirty or forty, but not ninety, as Flagg says. Le Sueur ascended the Mississippi, and its tributary the Minnesota, and erected a fort in August, 1700, one league above the point where the Blue Earth River (St. Peter's River, until 1852) empties into the Minnesota. This fort he named l'Huillier, in honor of his patron in France. Flagg has confused this site with that of Fort Armstrong at Rock Island, Illinois. In May, 1701, Le Sueur left the fort in care of d'Eraque, who remained in charge until 1703, when he abandoned the place. For extracts from original documents relating to Le Sueur's activities, consult: "Le Sueur's Mines on the Mississippi," "Le Sueur's Voyage up the Mississippi," and "Le Sueur's Fort on the Mississippi," inWisconsin Historical Collections, xvi, pp. 173, 174, 177-200.—Ed.

[20]"Petits paysans."—Flagg.

[21]The battle of Mauilla, to which Flagg is referring, was fought in October, 1540, between De Soto's men and the Mobilian Indians, near the present site of Mobile. Our author is mistaken in supposing that these Indians were the Kaskaskia. De Soto reached the Mississippi in May, 1541, and died May 21, 1542. He started on the expedition with less than seven hundred men, instead of one thousand. According to Herrera, his body was laid in a hollow live-oak log, and lowered into the Mississippi; but it seems more probable that the corpse was wrapped in mantles made heavy by a ballast of sand, and thus lowered into the water. See John G. Shea, "Ancient Florida," in Justin Winsor,Narrative and Critical History of America(Boston and New York, 1886), ii, pp. 231-283; also E. G. Bourne (ed.)Narratives of the Career of Hernando de Soto(New York, 1904).—Ed.

[22]Annexed is a copy of the grant of the celebratedcommonsattached to the village of Kaskaskia. It is the earliest title the citizens hold to seven thousand acres of the most fertile land in the West—perhaps in the world.

"Pierre de Rigault de Vaudreuil, Governor andEdme Gatien SalmonCommissary orderer of the Province of Louisiana, seen the petition to us presented on the sixteenth day of June of this present year by the Inhabitants of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Kaskaskia dependence of the Illinois, tending to be confirmed in the possession of a common which they have had a long time for the pasturage of their cattle in the Point calledLa point de bois, which runs to the entrance of the River Kaskaskia. We, by virtue of the power to us granted by his Majesty have confirmed and do confirm to the said Inhabitants the possession of the said common on the following conditions—

"First, That the concessions heretofore granted either by the India Company either by our predecessors or by us in the prairie of Kaskaskia on the side of the point which runs to the entrance of the river, shall terminate at the land granted to a man namedCavalier, and in consequence, that all concessions that may have been made on the said point from the land of the said Cavalier forward, on the side of the entrance of the said river shall be null and void and of no effect. In consequence of which, the said Point, as it is above designated, shall remain in common without altering its nature, nevertheless, reserving to us the power whenever the case may require it, of granting the said commons to the inhabitants established and who may establish, and this, on the representations which may be made to us by the commandants and sub-delegates in the said places.

"Secondly, on the road vulgarly called theSquare Linebetween the large and small line shall be rendered practicable and maintained for the passage of the Carts and Cattle going into the Common, and this by lack of the proprietors as well of the great as of the small line whose lands border on the roads of theSquare line. And as to the places which ought to run along the side of the village from the said road of the Square line unto the river, as also the one on the side of the point running to the Mississippi and to the Kaskaskia river, they shall be made and maintained at the expense of the community, to the end that the cultivated lands be not injured by the cattle.

"Thirdly, To facilitate to the inhabitants the means of making their autumnal harvest, and prevent its being damaged by the cattle, we forbid all persons to leave their cattle range upon cultivated lands—they are, notwithstanding, permitted to graze upon their own proper lands on having them diligently watched.

"Fourthly, Willing that the wood which is on the land granted belong to the proprietors of the said lands, we forbid all persons to cut down any elsewhere than on their own lands, and as to the wood which may be found in the commons to cut down for their own use, either for building or for fire wood, and this shall be the present regulation.

"Read, published and affixed to the end that no person may be ignorant thereof. Given at New-Orleans the fourteenth day of August, 1743.

VAUDREUIL."Salmon."—Flagg.>

[23]"Under the old management all the inhabitants had equal access to the commons for pasturage and fuel. By an act of the legislature passed in 1854, the citizens were authorized to elect five trustees every two years, who should exercise the charge of the commons, lease portions thereof, and apply the proceeds to church and school purposes only. The common fields were also originally owned jointly by the villagers, though each resident was assigned an individual portion. The United States commissioners, in 1809, determined the rights of each citizen, and the lots have since been held in fee simple." SeeCombined History of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, Illinois(Philadelphia, 1883), p. 308.—Ed.

[24]For the memorial of George Morgan, upon these lands along the Mississippi River, the report of the committee to which the above had been referred, and the resolutions of Congress thereon (August 28, 29, 1788), seeLaws of the United States, etc.(Bioren edition, Philadelphia, 1815), i, pp. 580-585.—Ed.

[25]For an account of the extermination of the Natchez, see F. A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 254, note 53.—Ed.

[26]Doubtless an exaggeration.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed."From 1810 to 1820 the town (Kaskaskia) probably contained more people than at any other period of its history. A census taken at that time showed a population of seven thousand." SeeHistory of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, p. 307.

[27]A monastery and accompanying college, liberally endowed from Europe, was founded at Kaskaskia by Jesuit missionaries in the first quarter of the eighteenth century.—Ed.

[28]"The idea," says Adam Smith, "of the possibility of multiplying paper money to almost any extent, was the real foundation of what is called theMississippi scheme, the most extravagant project, both of banking and stock-jobbing, that perhaps the world ever saw."—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.John Law died at Venice, March 21, 1729. Concerning his financial methods, see Émile Levasseur,Recherches historique sur le system de Law(Paris, 1854). Ample and accurate is Andrew M. Davis'sA Historical Study of Law's System(Boston, 1887), reprinted fromQuarterly Journal of Economics(Boston, 1887), i, pp. 289-318, 420-452.

[29]Breckenridge.—Flagg.

[30]For an account of the early lead-mines, see Flagg'sFar West, in our volume xxvi, p. 95, note 60.—Ed.

[31]For an historical sketch of Ste. Genevieve, see Cuming'sTour, in our volume iv, p. 266, note 174.—Ed.

[32]The French civil law still prevails in Louisiana.

For a good monograph on the Ordinance of 1787, and the text of the same, see Jay Amos Barrett,Evolution of the Ordinance of 1787, with an Account of the earlie Plans for the Government of the Northwest Territory(New York, 1891).—Ed.

[33]Under the feudal régime in France, the local or customary laws of the more important centres of population came gradually to extend their sway over larger and larger districts. With the rising importance of Paris, thecoutume de Paris(common law of Paris), reformed in 1580 by order of the parliament, in time displaced all others; it breathed the national spirit. Codified, it was in a sense the forerunner of the Code Napoleon.—Ed.

[34]Breckenridge—to whom the author is indebted for other facts relative to these early settlements.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.Henry Marie Brackenridge (not Breckenridge),Views of Louisiana(Pittsburgh, 1814).

[35]Sganarelle.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.Sganarelle is a character in Molière's plays, notably in "Le Médicin malgré lui."

[36]A land-office was established at Kaskaskia by act of Congress approved March 26, 1804, "for so much of the lands included within the boundaries fixed by the treaty of the thirteenth of August, one thousand eight hundred and three, with the Kaskaskia tribe of Indians, as is not claimed by any other Indian tribe;" this was discontinued by order of the president, November 12, 1855. The records were transferred to Springfield the following February.—Ed.

[37]During the Indian troubles a fort was erected in 1736 on an eminence, later known as Garrison Hill, opposite Kaskaskia. It was repaired and occupied by a French garrison at the opening of the French and Indian War. In 1766 the fort was burned, but another soon afterward built, was occupied by the English (1772) and named Fort Gage, in honor of the British commander-in-chief. On the night of July 4, 1778, Colonel George Rogers Clark captured the fort and made it his headquarters while in Illinois. It was abandoned at the close of the Revolution, but was re-occupied for a short time by American troops in 1801. Colonel Pike's regiment was stationed there for a short period. See R. G. Thwaites,How George Rogers Clark Won the Northwest(Chicago, 1903).—Ed.

[38]The reader will recollect that these notes were sketched two years ago. Since that time some changes in this old edifice have taken place; the whole southwest angle has fallen to the ground, and, agreeable to the text, the entire roof would have followed but for the extraordinary strength of one solitary piece of timber. High mass was in celebration at the time, and the church was crowded, but no accident occurred. The old building has been since dismantled, however; its bell removed from the tower, and the whole structure will soon, probably, be prostrated by "decay's effacing finger."—Flagg.

[39]The earliest "extract from the baptismal records of the mission among the Illinois, under the title of the Immaculate conception of Our Lady," bears date March 20, 1692. The first ceremony recorded after the removal of the mission to Kaskaskia, was performed April 17, 1701. See "Kaskaskia Church Records," in Illinois State Historical LibraryPublications(Springfield, 1904), pp. 394-413; Edward G. Mason, "Kaskaskia and its Parish Records," inFergus Historical Series, No. 12 (Chicago, 1881), pp. 1-22; C. W. Alvord,The Old Kaskaskia Records(Chicago Historical Society, 1906);Magazine of American History, vi, pp. 161-182;Michigan Pioneer Collections, v, pp. 94-109.—Ed.

[40]A convent of the Visitation was established at Kaskaskia in May, 1833, by a colony from the parent house at Georgetown, District of Columbia. It was patronized by Pierre Menard, and connected with the academy named in his honor. A large building was erected and opened for pupils in 1836. The institution enjoyed a high reputation until the flood of 1844 forced its abandonment. SeeHistory of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, p. 308.—Ed.

[41]I give the tradition of the farmers now resident upon the spot. History differs somewhat.

Most of the historical facts relative to the extermination of the Abnaquis will be found condensed in the subjoined extract from a late valuable work.

"Determined on destroying this assemblage of Indians, which was the headquarters of the whole eastern country at this time, the English, in 1724, sent out a force, consisting of 208 men and three Mohawk Indians, under CaptainsMoulton,Harman, andBourne, to humble them. They came upon the village the 23d August, when there was not a man in arms to oppose them. They had left 40 of their men at Teconet Falls, which is now within the town of Winslow, upon the Kennebeck, and about two miles below Waterville College, upon the opposite side of the river. The English had divided themselves into three squadrons: 80, underHarman, proceeded by a circuitous route, thinking to surprise some in their cornfields, whileMoulton, with 80 more, proceeded directly for the village, which, being surrounded by trees, could not be seen until they were close upon it. All were in their wigwams, and the English advanced slowly and in perfect silence. When pretty near, an Indian came out of his wigwam, and, accidentally discovering the English, ran in and seized his gun, and giving the warwhoop, in a few minutes the warriors were all in arms, and advancing to meet them.Moultonordered his men not to fire until the Indians had made the first discharge. This order was obeyed, and, as he expected, they overshot the English, who then fired upon them in their turn, and did great execution. When the Indians had given another volley, they fled with great precipitation to the river, whither the chief of their women and children had also fled during the fight. Some of the English pursued and killed many of them in the river, and others fell to pillaging and burning the village.Mogg, their chief, disdained to fly with the rest, but kept possession of a wigwam, from which he fired upon the pillagers. In one of his discharges he killed a Mohawk, whose brother, observing it, rushed upon and killed him; and thus ended the strife. There were about 60 warriors in the place, about one half of whom were killed.

"The famousRasleshut himself up in his house, from which he fired upon the English; and, having wounded one, LieutenantJaques, of Newbury, burst open the door, and shot him through the head, althoughMoultonhad given orders that none should kill him. He had an English boy with him, about 14 years old, who had been taken some time before from the frontiers, and whom the English reportedRaslewas about to kill. Great brutality and ferocity are chargeable to the English in this affair, according to their own account; such as killing women and children, and scalping and mangling the body of FatherRasle.

"There was here a handsome church, with a bell, on which the English committed a double sacrilege, first robbing it, then setting it on fire; herein surpassing the act of the first English circumnavigator in his depredations upon the Spaniards in South America; for he only took away the gold and silver vessels of a church, and its crucifix, because it was of massy gold, set about with diamonds, and that, too, upon the advice of his chaplain. 'This might pass,' says a reverend author, 'for sea divinity, but justice is quite another thing.' Perhaps it will be as well not to inquire here what kind ofdivinitywould authorize the acts recorded in these wars, or, indeed, any wars.

"Upon this memorable event in our early annals, FatherCharlevoixshould be heard. There were not, says he, at the time the attack was made, above 50 warriors at Neridgewok; these seized their arms, and run in disorder, not to defend the place against an enemy who was already in it, but to favour the flight of the women, the old men, and the children, and to give them time to gain the side of the river, which was not yet in possession of the English. FatherRasle, warned by the clamours and tumult, and the danger in which he found his proselytes, ran to present himself to the assailants, hoping to draw all their fury upon him, that thereby he might prove the salvation of his flock. His hope was vain; for hardly had he discovered himself, when the English raised a great shout, which was followed by a shower of shot, by which he fell dead near to the cross which he had erected in the centre of the village: seven Indians who attended him, and who endeavoured to shield him with their own bodies, fell dead at his side. Thus died this charitable pastor, giving his life for his sheep, after 37 years of painful labours.

"Although the English shot near 2000 muskets, they killed but 30 and wounded 40. They spared not the church, which, after they had indignantly profaned its sacred vases and the adorable body of Jesus Christ, they set on fire. They then retired with precipitation, having been seized with a sudden panic. The Indians returned immediately into the village; and their first care, while the women sought plants and herbs proper to heal the wounded, was to shed tears upon the body of their holy missionary. They found him pierced with a thousand shot, his scalp taken off, his skull fractured with hatchets, his mouth and eyes filled with dirt, the bones of his legs broken, and all his members mutilated in a hundred different ways.

"Such is the account of the fall ofRasle, by a brother of the faith; a deplorable picture, by whomsoever related! Of the truth of its main particulars there can be no doubt, as will be seen by a comparison of the above translation with the account preceding it. There were, besidesMogg, other chief Indians who fell that day: 'Bomazeen,Mogg,Wissememet,Job,Carabesett, andBomazeen'sson-in-law, all famous warriors.' The inhumanity of the English on this occasion, especially to the women and children, cannot be excused. It greatly eclipses the lustre of the victory."Drake's Book of the Indians, b. iii., c. 9.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.Instead of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Flagg is doubtless referring to Queen Anne's War (1702-1713).

A large amount of valuable but scattered documentary and secondary information concerning this massacre and the causes leading to it may be found under captions "Norridgewock" and "Rasle" in indexes to Maine Historical SocietyCollections, andDocuments relative to Colonial History of State of New York(Albany, 1854-61). See also William Allen,History of Norridgewock(Norridgewock, 1849).

[42]Prunus Americana.—Flagg.

[43]Indian Date, by the French called Placminier,Diosporus Virginiana.—Flagg.

[44]Morus RubraandAlba.—Flagg.

[45]Prunus Cerasus Virginia.—Flagg.

[46]Custard apple,Annona glabra.—Flagg.

[47]Breckenridge.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.Henry Marie Brackenridge,Views of Louisiana, p. 60.

[48]For a sketch of Prairie du Rocher, see A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 70, note 133.—Ed.

[49]This tradition does not appear to have been noticed in the local histories of the region.—Ed.

[50]For sketches of Forts Presqu' Isle (present site of Erie), Machault (on Allegheny River), Duquesne (present site of Pittsburg), Le Bœuf (near the present town of Waterford, Pennsylvania), St. Joseph (Michigan), and Ouiatonon (on the Wabash), Detroit, and the fort on the Maumee River, see Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 101, note 62; p. 102, note 64; p. 85, note 45; p. 102, note 65; p. 117, note 85; p. 55, note 18; and p. 122, note 87, respectively. On Forts Chartres (on the Mississippi) and Massac (on the Ohio), see A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 71, note 136, and p. 73, note 139, respectively. Fort Massac was the only one upon the Ohio. Juchereau's post was erected (1702) at the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi, but was soon abandoned.—Ed.

[51]Prunus Angustifolia.—Flagg.

[52]Immediately after the erection of Fort Chartres (1720), a village sprang up and the Jesuits established there the parish of Ste. Anne de Fort Chartres. The earliest records of this parish now extant, bear the date 1721.—Ed.

[53]Philip Pittman, who visited Fort Chartres in 1766, says in hisPresent State of the European Settlements on the Missisippi(London, 1770), p. 46, concerning Fort Chartres: "In the year 1764 there were about forty families in the village near the fort, and a parish church, served by a Franciscan friar, dedicated to St. Anne. In the following year, when the English took possession of the country, they abandoned their houses, except three or four poor families, and settled at the villages on the west side of the Missisippi, chusing to continue under the French government."

In a personal letter dated November 3, 1762, Louis XV deeded to Charles III of Spain all of the French territory in North America lying to the west of Mississippi River; see Shepherd, "Cession of Louisiana to Spain," inPolitical Science Quarterly, xix, pp. 439-458; also Thwaites,France in America(New York, 1905), pp. 272-275. Napoleon coerced Charles IV to retrocede Louisiana to France, by the secret treaty of St. Ildefonso, signed October 1, 1800. Three years later (April 30, 1803), Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States for $15,000,000.

Captain Louis St. Ange de Bellerive formally surrendered Fort Chartres to Captain Sir Thomas Sterling on October 10 (not July), 1765, went to St. Louis, and entering the Spanish service was placed in command of the little garrison there, composed almost wholly of his French compatriots who had removed thither from the Illinois. For a sketch of St. Ange, see Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 138, note 109.—Ed.

[54]Sir Thomas Sterling (1733-1808), commissioned captain of the 42nd Highlanders (1757), served with his men in the conquest of Canada, and the capture of Martinique (1759) and Havanna (1762). Having taken command of Fort Chartres in October, 1765, he was relieved of this unpleasant duty, December 4 of the same year, by Major Robert Farmer, heading a detachment of British foot from Mobile. Sterling and his regiment set sail from America (1767), but returned (1776) and served with distinction at the storming of Fort Washington (1776) and of Elizabethtown (1779). He was wounded at Springfield (Massachusetts) in June, 1780. Promoted through the various ranks, he was made a royal aide-de-camp of the king and in turn a colonel (February 19, 1779), major-general (November 20, 1782), and general (January 1, 1801). He became baronet of Andoch on his brother's death, July 26, 1799. Several Illinois historians strangely persist in killing Sterling in 1765, shortly after he took command at Fort Chartres. SeeDictionary of National Biography; andDocuments relative to Colonial History of New York, vii, p. 786.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Wilkins, appointed captain of the 55th foot (1755) and then major (1762), commanded at Niagara. In 1763, while marching to relieve Detroit, he was attacked by Indians and forced after heavy losses to retreat to Fort Schlosser. Later, he made an unsuccessful attempt by water, but was caught in a disastrous storm. In August, 1764, Wilkins was promoted to the majorship of the 60th, and in the following January was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 18th Royal Irish with seven companies. In May, 1768, he was ordered from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt, and thence to Fort Chartres. His administration was unpopular, and grave charges—notably misappropriation of land and funds—were brought against him. He was suspended in 1771, set sail for Europe the following year, and either died or left the army (1775). SeeHistorical Magazine, viii, p. 260; andDocuments relative to Colonial History of New York, viii, p. 185.—Ed.

[55]Subjoined is a copy of the preliminary proceedings of the first regular court of justice held in Illinois while under the British government. It purports to be transcribed from the state records, and first appeared in a Western newspaper. It lays before the reader a view of the subject, which the most graphic description would fail to present.

"At a Court held atChartresVillage, in the Illinois, this sixth day of November, in the eighth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c., &c., &c., in the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, 1768.

"Present, George Morgan, James Remsey, James Campbell, James M'Millar, Jean Baptist Barbeau, and Peter Girardot, Esqrs., Justices. Commissions of the peace granted by John Wilkins, Esqr., Governor and Commandant of the said country, and directed to the gentlemen named, were produced and read.

"Whereupon the said Justices took the severaloathsof allegiance to his Majesty's person and government, and also the oaths of Justices of the peace; which oaths were administered to them by the Governor and Commandant aforesaid.

"A commission from the said Governor to Dennis M'Croghan, Esq., to be Sheriff of the country aforesaid, was produced by the said Dennis M'Croghan, Esq., and read, who took and subscribed the usual oaths of allegiance to his Majesty's person and government, and also the oath of sheriff for said country.

"The Governor and Commandant aforesaid entered into a recognizance in the sum of five hundred pounds lawful money of Great Britain for the said Sheriff's due performance of his office."

It would appear from the following deed, made by amilitary sergeant, executing the office of sheriff under the style of Provost under Commandant Hugh Lord, in 1772, that the government in Illinois was then purelymilitary.

"Be it remembered that on this nineteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two, by virtue of a writ unto me directed, I, Andrew Hoy, Provost, did seize, levy, and distrain upon the dwelling-house and lot of John Baptist Hubardeau, situated in the village of Kaskaskia, for a debt due aspernote of hand, of the signature of the aforesaid Hubardeau, for the sum of two thousand and fortylivres,with interest anddamages.Now, know ye, that the aforesaid writ ofFieri Faciaswas issued by Hugh Lord, Esq., Captain in his Majesty's 18th or Royal Regiment of Ireland, in manner and form following:

"George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c."To Sergeant Hoy, Provost."We command you that you cause to be made of the (goods) and chattels of John Baptist Hubardeau, in your bailiwick, two thousand and fortylivres,which Franks & Company, lately, in our court, before us, at Kaskaskia, recovered against him by virtue of a power of attorney, for a debt, with lawful interest, and damages which they have sustained, occasioned as well by the detaining of the said debt, as for their expenses and costs by them laid out in and about their suit in that behalf, whereof the said Hubardeau is convicted, and have you the money before us at Kaskaskia as soon as the sale of said effects shall admit, to render to the said Franks & Company their debt and damages aforesaid, and have then there this writ."Given at Fort Gage, this 19th day of December, 1772."Hugh Lord, Commandant of Illinois."Andrew Hoy, Provost."Moreover, that in consequence of further orders from the commandant aforesaid, I did give general notice of the sale thereof by the following advertisement, which was publicly placed for perusal and knowledge of the inhabitants in general, both here and at the village ofCaho.[56]"PAR AUTORITE."Vendredi, à onse heur du Matin le 29th du mois prochain, sera vendu au porte de L'Eglise, la Maison et Terrain du Sieur Jean Baptist Hubardeau, qui est puis en exêcution, payable en Pèlletrie, Bon Argent, lettres de change, ou la bon esclaves, dans le moi de Mai qui vient."Au Kas,[57]Decembre 29 [19] th, 1772."Andrew Hoy, Provost."Making allowances for bad French, the following is a translation of this notice:"BY AUTHORITY."Wednesday, at eleven o'clock in the morning of the 29th of next month, I shall sell at the gate of the church, the House and lot of Mr. Jean Baptist Hubardeau, which is taken in execution, payable in peltry, good silver, bills of exchange, or in good slaves, in the month of May coming."Kaskaskia, Dec. 19th, 1772.""At the expiration of which time, the aforesaid house was, agreeable to law, justice, and equity, exposed to sale, first at the church gate, and afterwards at different parts of the village, to prevent as much as possible, any persons pleading ignorance of the sale thereof. Now, know ye, in discharge of the duty of my office and the trust reposed, after having kept up the said house and lot from the hours of ten to two at the sum of 3200livres, and no person bidding higher, or likely so to do, that the same was struck off to James Remsey, inhabitant of Kaskaskia, who, by these presents, is invested with full right and title thereto, to have and to hold the said messuage and tenements, and all and singular of the premises above mentioned and every part and parcel thereof, with the appurtenances unto the said James Remsey, his heirs and assigns forever: and I, the said Andrew Hoy, Provost, from myself my heirs, the said messuage and tenement and premises and every part thereof against him and his heirs, and against all and every other person and persons whatever, to the said James Remsey, his heirs and assigns shall and will warrant and forever defend by these presents. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal."Andrew Hoy, Provost. (L.S.)"Fort Gage, 29th Dec., 1772."Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of"William Dunbar,"Isaac Johnson.""By virtue of the power and authority in me invested, I do hereby grant unto Mr. James Remsey, late Lieut. of his Majesty's 34th Regiment, a certain tract of land containing—acres in part from the river Kaskaskia to the Mississippi, once the property of one La Bacchou, whereon formerly did stand a water mill, the remains of which are now to be seen. The whole being agreeable to his Majesty's proclamation, confiscated to the King, and is hereby given to said James Remsey, in consideration of His Excellency Gen. Gage's recommendation and for the speedy settlement of his majesty's colony, as likewise the frame of a house with a lot of land thereunto appertaining, opposite the Jesuit's College in the village of Kaskaskia."Given under my hand, at Fort Chartres, Nov. 12th, 1767."GORDON FORBES,"Capt. 34th regiment."

"George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c.

"To Sergeant Hoy, Provost.

"We command you that you cause to be made of the (goods) and chattels of John Baptist Hubardeau, in your bailiwick, two thousand and fortylivres,which Franks & Company, lately, in our court, before us, at Kaskaskia, recovered against him by virtue of a power of attorney, for a debt, with lawful interest, and damages which they have sustained, occasioned as well by the detaining of the said debt, as for their expenses and costs by them laid out in and about their suit in that behalf, whereof the said Hubardeau is convicted, and have you the money before us at Kaskaskia as soon as the sale of said effects shall admit, to render to the said Franks & Company their debt and damages aforesaid, and have then there this writ.

"Given at Fort Gage, this 19th day of December, 1772.

"Hugh Lord, Commandant of Illinois.

"Andrew Hoy, Provost.

"Moreover, that in consequence of further orders from the commandant aforesaid, I did give general notice of the sale thereof by the following advertisement, which was publicly placed for perusal and knowledge of the inhabitants in general, both here and at the village ofCaho.[56]

"PAR AUTORITE.

"Vendredi, à onse heur du Matin le 29th du mois prochain, sera vendu au porte de L'Eglise, la Maison et Terrain du Sieur Jean Baptist Hubardeau, qui est puis en exêcution, payable en Pèlletrie, Bon Argent, lettres de change, ou la bon esclaves, dans le moi de Mai qui vient.

"Au Kas,[57]Decembre 29 [19] th, 1772.

"Andrew Hoy, Provost."

Making allowances for bad French, the following is a translation of this notice:

"BY AUTHORITY.

"Wednesday, at eleven o'clock in the morning of the 29th of next month, I shall sell at the gate of the church, the House and lot of Mr. Jean Baptist Hubardeau, which is taken in execution, payable in peltry, good silver, bills of exchange, or in good slaves, in the month of May coming.

"Kaskaskia, Dec. 19th, 1772."

"At the expiration of which time, the aforesaid house was, agreeable to law, justice, and equity, exposed to sale, first at the church gate, and afterwards at different parts of the village, to prevent as much as possible, any persons pleading ignorance of the sale thereof. Now, know ye, in discharge of the duty of my office and the trust reposed, after having kept up the said house and lot from the hours of ten to two at the sum of 3200livres, and no person bidding higher, or likely so to do, that the same was struck off to James Remsey, inhabitant of Kaskaskia, who, by these presents, is invested with full right and title thereto, to have and to hold the said messuage and tenements, and all and singular of the premises above mentioned and every part and parcel thereof, with the appurtenances unto the said James Remsey, his heirs and assigns forever: and I, the said Andrew Hoy, Provost, from myself my heirs, the said messuage and tenement and premises and every part thereof against him and his heirs, and against all and every other person and persons whatever, to the said James Remsey, his heirs and assigns shall and will warrant and forever defend by these presents. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

"Andrew Hoy, Provost. (L.S.)

"Fort Gage, 29th Dec., 1772."Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of

"William Dunbar,"Isaac Johnson."

"By virtue of the power and authority in me invested, I do hereby grant unto Mr. James Remsey, late Lieut. of his Majesty's 34th Regiment, a certain tract of land containing—acres in part from the river Kaskaskia to the Mississippi, once the property of one La Bacchou, whereon formerly did stand a water mill, the remains of which are now to be seen. The whole being agreeable to his Majesty's proclamation, confiscated to the King, and is hereby given to said James Remsey, in consideration of His Excellency Gen. Gage's recommendation and for the speedy settlement of his majesty's colony, as likewise the frame of a house with a lot of land thereunto appertaining, opposite the Jesuit's College in the village of Kaskaskia.

"Given under my hand, at Fort Chartres, Nov. 12th, 1767.

"GORDON FORBES,"Capt. 34th regiment."

This grant of land where theold millstood, is now the site of a speculativecitycalled "Decoigne," and is about five miles from Kaskaskia on the road to St. Louis.—Flagg.

[56]Cahokia.

[57]Kaskaskia.

[58]Flagg's description agrees in the main with that given by Philip Pittman (seeante, p. 77, note53), save that the latter is more detailed. Judging from the phraseology, Flagg must have read Pittman's description.—Ed.

[59]Relative to Fort Chartres, seeante, p. 75, note50.—Ed.

[60]Hall.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.Flagg's authority is James Hall,Sketches of History, Life, and Manners in the West(Philadelphia, 1835).

Owing to the encroachments by the Mississippi, Fort Chartres was abandoned in 1772, and was never again used as a garrison. The legend given by Flagg is somewhat exaggerated. The French settlements adjacent to Kaskaskia readily accepted the situation on being invited by Clark's representatives, who were accompanied by Kaskaskians as friendly interpreters.

[61]Hall.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.Compare with R. G. Thwaites,How George Rogers Clark won the Northwest, pp. 52-62.

[62]A fort was begun by Charles Trent, with a few Virginia troops, in February, 1754. On April 17, Contrecœur took the place, completed the fort, and named it Duquesne in honor of the then governor of New France. See Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 85, note 45; also F. A. Michaux'sTravels, in our volume iii, p. 156, note 20.—Ed.

[63]Renault sailed from France in 1719, but did not reach Illinois until 1721. For a short sketch of Renault, seeante, p. 42, note18.

St. Philippe, five miles from Fort Chartres on the road to Cahokia, was founded about 1725 by Renault, on a tract granted to him in 1723. Philip Pittman, who visited the place in 1766, wrote that there were about sixteen houses and a small church left standing, although all the inhabitants save the captain of the militia had crossed the Mississippi the preceding year. In 1803, John Everett was the sole inhabitant.—Ed.

[64]For location and settlement of Herculaneum, see Maximilian'sTravels, in our volume xxii, p. 212, note 122; for the shot-towers there, see our volume xxvi, p. 103, note 66.—Ed.

[65]Milk-sickness, no longer so diagnosed by medical authorities, is described by early writers in the Middle West as a malignant disease attacking both men and stock. It was supposed that the disease was contracted by eating the flesh or dairy products of animals that had grazed on a certain weed. In the case of the human being the symptoms were intolerable thirst, absolute constipation, low temperature, an extreme nervous agitation, but with an absence of chills and headaches. Recovery seemed to be the exception. Although no specific remedy was used, the best results were thought to be obtained by judicious stimulation and careful nursing. The same disease among stock was usually known as "trembles." The symptoms were the same as with men, and death followed, generally within eight or ten days. A farm where this dreaded disease had come was called a "milk-sick farm," and was rendered almost unsalable. For a later and more detailed account, see Thomas L. M'Kenney,Memoirs, official and personal, with Sketches of Travels among the Northern and Southern Indians, etc. (New York, 1846), p. 141. Dr. William M. Beach, a pioneer physician in Ohio, who had had much experience with milk sickness, wrote an article for Albert H. Buck,Reference Handbook of Medical Science(New York, 1884-87), volume v. An abstract of the above article by Beach is given in the edition for 1902.—Ed.

[66]Two ranges of cliffs are known by this name. One is below Ste. Genevieve.—Flagg.

[67]For further information on the pigmy cemetery in the Meramec, see our volume xxvi, p. 105.—Ed.

[68]Mr. Flint's remarks respecting the Ancient Pottery found in the West coincides so well with the result of my own more limited observation, that I subjoin them in preference to extended description myself. Preceding these remarks is an interesting notice of the Lilliputian graves on the Merrimac, to which allusion has several times been made.

"At the time the Lilliputian graves were found on the Merrimac, in the county of St. Louis, many people went from that town to satisfy their curiosity by inspecting them. It appears from Mr. Peck that the graves were numerous; that the coffins were of stone; that the bones in some instances were nearly entire; that the length of the bodies was determined by that of the coffins which they filled, and that the bodies in general could not have been more than from three feet and a half to four feet in length. Thus it should seem that the generations of the past in this region were mammoths and pigmies.

"I have examined the pottery, of which I have spoken above, with some attention. It is unbaked, and the glazing very incomplete, since oil will soak through it. It is evident, from slight departure from regularity in the surface, that it was moulded by the hand and not by anything like our lathe. The composition, when fractured, shows many white floccules in the clay that resemble fine snow, and this I judge to be pulverized shells. The basis of the composition appears to be the alluvial clay carried along in the waters of the Mississippi, and called by the French 'terre grasse,' from its greasy feel. Samples of this pottery, more or less perfect, are shown everywhere on the river. Some of the most perfect have been dug from what are called the 'chalk-banks,' below the mouth of the Ohio. The most perfect that I have seen, being, in fact, as entire as when first formed, was a vessel in my possession. It was a drinking jug, like the 'scyphus' of the ancients. It was dug from the chalk-bank. It was smooth, well-moulded, and of the colour of common gray stoneware. It had been rounded with great care, and yet, from slight indentations on the surface, it was manifest that it had been so wrought in the palm of the hand. The model of the form was a simple and obvious one—the bottle-gourd—and it would contain about two quarts. This vessel had been used to hold animal oil; for it had soaked through, and varnished the external surface. Its neck was that of a squaw, known by the clubbing of the hair, after the Indian fashion. The moulder was not an accurate copyist, and had learned neither statuary nor anatomy; for, although the finish was fine, the head was monstrous. There seemed to have been an intention of wit in the outlet. It was the horrible and distorted mouth of a savage, and in drinking you would be obliged to place your lips in contact with those of madam the squaw."—Flint's Recollections, p. 173-4.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.For bibliography on Indian antiquities, see our volume xxvi, p. 69, note 33; p. 159, note 111; and p. 184, note 128.

[69]Waterloo, in Monroe County, about thirty miles northwest of Kaskaskia, was incorporated in 1848. In 1818 George Forquer purchased the land on which the village now stands, and in the same year he and Daniel P. Cook (later a member of Congress) laid out and named the town. In 1825 the county seat was changed from Harrisonville to Waterloo. About 1830, John Coleman erected a large wind-mill, later changed to an ox-mill (1837).

Bellefontaine is the name applied by the early French to a large spring a mile south of the present site of Waterloo. In 1782 Captain James Moore, who had served under George Rogers Clark, settled at this spring, and in accordance with orders from the Virginia government built a blockhouse fort as a protection against the Indians. Owing to his tact and good judgment, amicable relations with the Indians were maintained until 1786, when serious trouble really began. During the next decade the Indians killed several whites.—Ed.

[70]Columbia, eight miles north of Waterloo, and fifteen miles south of St. Louis, was laid out in 1820 on land belonging to Louis Nolan.—Ed.

[71]With reference to the American Bottom, see Ogden'sLetters from the West, in our volume xix, p. 62, note 48.—Ed.

[72]See our volume xxvi, p. 263, note 163.—Ed.

[73]The passage subjoined relative to theGeological Transformationswhich have taken place in the Mississippi Valley, is extracted from "Schoolcraft's Travels in its central portions," and will be found abundantly to corroborate my own observations upon the subject.

"It seems manifest, from various appearances, that the country we have under consideration has been subjected to the influence of water at a comparatively recent period; and it is evident that its peculiar alluvial aspect is the distinct and natural result of the time and the mode in which these waters were exhausted. One striking fact, which appears to have escaped general observation, is, that at some former period there has been an obstruction in the channel of the Mississippi at or near Grand Tower, producing a stagnation of the current at an elevation of about one hundred and thirty feet above the present ordinary water-mark. This appears evident from the general elevation and direction of the hills, which, for several hundred miles above, are separated by a valley from twenty to twenty-five miles wide, which now deeply imbosoms the current of the Mississippi. Wherever these hills disclose rocky and precipitous fronts, a series of distinctly-marked antique water-lines are to be observed. These water-lines preserve a parallelism which is very remarkable, and, what we should expect to find, constantly present their greatest depression towards the sources of the river. At Grand Tower they are elevated about one hundred and thirty feet above the summit level, at which elevation we observe petrifactions of madrepores and various other fossil organic remains which belong to this peculiar era. Here the rocks of dark-coloured limestone, which pervade the country to so great an extent, project towards each other as if they had once united; but, by some convulsion of nature, or, what is still more probable, by the continued action of the water upon a secondary rock, the Mississippi has effected a passage through this barrier, and thus producing an exhaustion of the stagnant waters from the level prairie lands above."—Schoolcraft's Travels, p. 218, 219.—Flagg.

Comment by Ed.This hypothesis, in the main formulated by H. R. Schoolcraft, is still in its general features accepted by many geologists. See also Elisée Reclus,The Earth and its Inhabitants(New York, 1893), article "North America," iii, pp. 224, 225.

[74]A similar spring is said to issue fromdebrisat the foot of the cliffs on the Ohio, in the vicinity of Battery Rock. Its stream is copious, clear, and cold, ebbing and flowing regularly once in six hours. This phenomenon is explained on the principle of the syphon. Similar springs are found among the Alps.—Flagg.

[75]Flagg is somewhat mistaken concerning the age of the block-house settlement. Previous to 1800, the only American settlement in St. Clair County was Turkey Hill, which at that date numbered twenty souls. William Scott, the first settler, moved thither with his family from Kentucky in 1797, and became a permanent resident. About 1810, Nathaniel Hill, Joshua Perkins, Reuben Stubblefield, James and Reuben Lively, and Richard Bearley settled in the southeastern corner of St. Clair County, and for protection against the Indians built a block-house near the present city of Hillstown on Dosa Creek (a tributary of the Kaskaskia). The fort was later abandoned, and the settlers moved to other parts of the state. For a description of the fort, seeHistory of St. Clair County, Illinois(Philadelphia, 1881), pp. 261, 262.—Ed.

[76]William Buckland (1784-1856), a distinguished English geologist, who was as well canon of Christ College, Oxford (1825), and dean of Westminster Abbey (1845), contributed many valuable papers to geological publications. The Royal Society'sCatalogue of Scientific Papersshows that Buckland was the author of fifty-three memoirs. His most important publication,Geology and Mineralogy Considered with Reference to Natural Theology(a Bridgewater thesis, 1836), attempts to prove by aid of science, "the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation."—Ed.

[77]George Leopold Crétien Frédéric Dagobert, baron de Cuvier (1769-1832), a French naturalist, was founder of the science of comparative anatomy. He was chosen as one of the original members of the Institute, organized in 1795. After holding various administrative offices under Napoleon, he was appointed (1814) a councilor of state, which position he held under Louis XVIII. In 1819 he was made president of the committee of the interior, and chancellor of the University of Paris. Louis Phillipe made him a peer of France. Cuvier's scientific work falls into three divisions—paleontology, systematic zoology, and comparative anatomy. He wrote extensively in all these fields, and in each achieved high recognition. Consult: Sarah Lee,Memoirs of Baron Cuvier(London, 1833), and Ducrotay de Blainville,Cuvier et Geoffrey Saint Hilaire(Paris, 1890).—Ed.

[78]Prairie du Pont (Prairie Bridge), located upon a creek of the same name, was so christened for a log bridge which in early times crossed the creek at this point. The settlement was first made about 1760 by people from Cahokia who, according to tradition, fled thither from the floods; the site is ten or twelve feet higher than that of Cahokia. The Sulpician missionaries had built a mill there in 1754. In 1844 the place was nearly destroyed by floods.—Ed.

[79]For a short historical sketch of Cahokia, see A. Michaux'sTravels,in our volume iii, p. 70, note 135. Flagg, in common with the earlier writers, places the date of Cahokia too early.—Ed.

[80]By act of Congress approved March 1, 1791, "a tract of land including the villages of Cohos [Cahokia], and Prairie du Pont, and heretofore used by the inhabitants of the said village as a common," was, "appropriated to the use of the inhabitants ... to be used by them as a common, until otherwise disposed of by law." By the same act, four hundred acres were ordered to be laid out, and "given to each of those persons who in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three were heads of families at Vincennes, or in the Illinois country, on the Mississippi, and who, since that time, have moved from one of the said places to the other."—Ed.

[81]In 1815 Etienne Pinçoneau (now spelled Pensoneau) laid out a town on the present site of East St. Louis, and named it Jacksonville. His efforts proving unsuccessful, he sold the land to McKnight and Brady, who in May, 1818, platted the site and named it Illinoistown. During the succeeding autumn, the citizens of Cahokia appointed five agents to lay out a town site on the Cahokia commons. Illinois City thus came into existence, and the action of the citizens was legalized by Congress (May 1, 1820). Illinoistown, Illinois City, and other small villages were later united to form East St. Louis, which was incorporated in 1861 and chartered four years later.—Ed.

[82]Father de Smet was sent on the mission to the Flathead Indians by Joseph Rosati. For an account of the latter, see Flagg'sFar West, in our volume xxvi, p. 164, note 115.—Ed.

[83]In 1821, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., of the American Fur Company, established a general agency in the bottom opposite Randolph Bluffs, about three miles below the present site of Kansas City. His buildings having been destroyed by a flood in 1826, he erected others on higher ground, in the present Guinott addition, near the foot of Walnut street. The place was called Chouteau's Warehouse, and soon became a favorite shipping point for the Indian trade. In 1831 John McCoy built a trading house at the crossing of the roads from Chouteau's Warehouse and Independence. Two years later he platted a town at this point and named it Westport. Westport first used Chouteau's Warehouse as a landing place, but later built a wharf on the high rocky bank of the river, at the present foot of Grand Avenue, Walnut, Main, and Delaware streets. Because of superior natural advantages, this latter place soon became the principal landing, and in 1838 a company purchased the site, platted a town, and named it Kansas City. Westport thus became the starting point for the caravans to the Western country.

Prior to 1822, the overland expeditions seem to have been composed of men on foot carrying their wares in packs. Later, pack horses were substituted, and by 1830 wagons were used almost exclusively. Owing to the dangers from hostile Indians, the traders going to Santa Fé or points in the Rocky Mountains formed themselves into caravans for mutual protection, with an organized system of guards and camps. See Gregg'sCommerce of the Prairies, in our volume xix, pp. 198-201, for a description of these caravans.—Ed.

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