innumerable hardships reached Fort St. Louis in September.*

We have been somewhat particular in tracing the journeys, voyages, and explorations of the great discoverer, partly because of the intense interest still centered in them, but chiefly because of La Salle's connection directly and indirectly with the discovery and early settlement of Michigan. It is apparent to any one who takes the trouble to investigate closely the movements of the French in the region of the lakes, that the first post established within the borders of the lower peninsula was the one at the mouth of the St. Joseph River by La Salle, in November, 1679.†

According to the best authority there can be no doubt but La Salle was also the first white man (or one of a party of three) who ever visited the county of Kalamazoo, which took place in the latter place of March or forepart of April, 1680, when he was on his way to Canada from Fort Crèvecœur, on the Illinois; and the conclusion is irresistible that he and his companions encamped for the night on Prairie Ronde. The careful researches of the historian Francis Parkman among the Jesuit and colonial records of France and Canada put these matters beyond a doubt. (See his volume, “Discovery of the Great West." Boston Brown & Little, publishers.)

CHAPTER VII.

MICHILIMACKINAC.

Du Lhut-M. Perot-M. de la Porte Louvigny-M. de la Motte Cadillac-Tjugh-sagh-ron-die-Founding of Detroit-" Company of the Colony"-Trouble with Indians, 1703, 1712.

As we have seen, the mission of St. Ignace, of the Straits of Michilimackinac, was founded in 1671. The French gave this name to the adjacent region, and after the establishment of a military post there, which must have been about 1680, it became one of the most important points in the French possessions of North America. Daniel Greysolon Du Lhut seems to have been the first, or at least

*In addition to the services which we have seen Henri De Tonti performed, he led a strong band of French and Indians in Denonville's expedition against the Iroquois in 1687. This band was from the Illinois, and Tonti crossed from Fort Miami to Detroit, and probably passed through Kalamazoo County. He was proprietor of Fort St. Louis for several years after La-Salle's death, and carried on the fur-trade extensively until about 1702, when he was transferred to Louisiana. He was sent to Mobile Bay by D'Iberville, Governor of Louisiana, where he made a treaty with the Chickasaw Indians. The date of his death is not known. His brother, Alphonse De Tonti, was for many years commandant at Detroit. Fort St. Louis, on the Illinois, was occupied by the French until about 1720.

†The writer who contributed the history of Berrien County to the Pioneer Collections of Michigan undertakes to show that Fathers Allouez, Dablon, and Marquette visited this point between the years 1666 and 1670. Dablon and Allouez visited the Fox and Mascoutin Indians on the west side of the lake, but there is not a particle of evidence to show that they visited the east side of the lake. Father Marquette passed down near the east shore on his way to Mackinaw in May, 1675, but did not land at the mouth of the St. Joseph. Marquette died on the eastern shore on the 19th of May, 1675, as spoken of elsewhere. It is probable that a Jesuit mission was established here about the year 1700, when probably Allouez visited the place. (See Parkman's works.)

one of the first military commandants of this important post. At any rate he was there in 1683, and continued until 1686, when he was ordered by M. Denonville, Governor-General of New France, to establish a fortified post on the "d'etroit," near Lake Erie, which order he proceeded to put in execution; but he did not build the work on the Detroit River. It was situated on the site of Fort Gratiot, at the foot of Lake Huron, and was only kept up until 1688, when it was abandoned. It was named Fort St. Joseph,§ after the patron saint of New France.

In 1686, M. Perot succeeded Du Lhut in command of Fort Baude, at Mackinac.

M. Perot appears to have remained in command until 1691, when he was succeeded by M. de la Porte Louvigny, who was succeeded by M. de la Motte Cadillac, in 1694. At times this place was almost completely cut off from communication with Montreal and Quebec, but the hold of the French upon it was never relaxed.

Some time in the year 1700, Cadillac, who had become convinced of the necessity of a strong fort on the Detroit, proceeded to France, and in a personal interview with the Count Ponchartrain,|| minister for the colonies, readily enlisted him in behalf of the project. Under the commission of the king, Cadillac returned to Canada, arriving at Quebec on the 8th of March, 1701. On the 5th of June he left La Chine with fifty soldiers, and about the same number of Canadian merchants and mechanics. Under him, with the rank of captain, went M. Alphonse de Tonti, a brother of Henri de Tonti, and two lieutenants. A Jesuit accompanied the expedition as missionary to the Indians, and a Récollet priest as chaplain. The command safely arrived at Detroit on the 24th of July, 1701.

Here he constructed a small stockaded work with two bastions at the angles, and inclosing sufficient space to contain a few log buildings for barracks. The roofs were thatched with grass. This work Cadillac named "Fort Ponchartrain," in honor of the French minister.

Fort Gratiot was built by an American officer of that name, in 1814.

? In the next year (1687) Baron La Hontan succeeded Du Lhut in command of Fort St. Joseph. He burned and evacuated the fort in 1688. There is considerable uncertainty about the name Du Lhut. Some writers speak of two brothers. The family name seems to have been Greysolon, or Grisolon, and Du Lhut the name of the estate, near Lyons.

This name is written Pontchartrain in Sheldon's History of Michigan.

There is at least the probability that there was a French fort at Detroit many years previous to 1701, though it may have been a post of the coureurs des bois, and not recognized by the government. From statements in the New York colonial documents it would appear that it was in existence as early as 1679. It is referred to in 1689 and 1691. Judge Campbell says it may not have been continuously occupied, and was probably never garrisoned by a regular military force until Cadillac's time, 1701.

In the autumn of this year a company was formed, called the "Company of the Colony of Canada," composed of merchants and traders interested in the fur trade of the country. A contract was drawn up and signed, of which the following is a true copy, from "Sheldon's History of Michigan":

COMPANY OF THE COLONY OF CANADA. "Contract made with the Company of the Colony of Canada concerning Fort Frontenac and Detroit, to enable said Company to traffic for beaver and other peltries, in conformity to the agreement made in a convention held at Quebec, Oct. 31, 1701

"Before the royal notaries at Quebec, in New France, appeared M. le Chevalier Callieres, lieutenant-governor for the king in this country of New France, and Monsieur Champigny, administrator of justice, police, and revenue of the said country, who testify that, in consequence of orders which they have this year received from his majesty, to entrust to the Company of the Colony of this said country the posts of Detroit and Fort Frontenac, there was held at the Chateau St. Louis, in this city, on the eighth of the present month, a general assembly of all the inhabitants of this country who have a deliberative voice in the said company, that all the arrangements might be made in their presence, if the company should decide to accept the said posts of Detroit and Fort Frontenac.

"There were present at this assembly the seven directors-general of the said company, the governors of Montreal and Three Rivers, many civil and military officers, and the merchants and other inhabitants interested in the company.

"After mature deliberation, the result was declared to be the acceptance of these posts by the company, for the purposes of trade in beaver and other peltries, to the entire exclusion of all private individuals who are now, or may hereafter become, residents of that country; and that the act of said acceptance shall be passed between the governor-general and intendant and the directors-general of the said company.

"In consequence of said decision, the following articles of agreement have been made between the governor-general and intendant on the one part, and Messrs. d'Auteuil, procureur-general of the king in the sovereign council of this country, Lotbinieres, licutenant-general of this city of Quebec, Irazeur, Gobin, Macart, and Pierre, gentlemen, merchants of this city of Quebec, all directors-general of the said company, on the other part.

"Be it known, that the governor-general and intendant, in consequence of the express orders which they have this year received from the king, do, by these presents and acceptances, in the name of His Majesty, cede and convey to the directors of the said Company of the Colony of the said posts of Detroit and Fort Frontenac, giving into the possession of the said Company of the Colony, from this day forth, the said posts in the State in which they now are, for their use to traffic in furs, to the exclusion of all other inhabitants of said country, so long as it shall please His Majesty.

"It shall be the duty of the said company to complete the construction of the fort at Detroit, and the buildings properly belonging thereto; and the company shall in future keep said fort and buildings in good repair, that they may be maintained and rendered in the same state in which they are now, and better, if possible, whenever Ilis Majesty shall judge proper to receive them, if in the course of time

he so order.

"The Company of the Colony is also to take charge of the goods which have been sent to the said places, obeying the conditions that have been agreed upon,-Messrs. Radisson and Arnault to be overseers of the storehouse of the said goods which the intendant has placed in the hands of the directors of the company. They are also to have charge of the advances made by the king for this establishment, and to make payment for the said goods, and advances to the intendant, from the first bills which shall be returned from Detroit; and in case said bills shall not be sufficient, on the 1st of October, 1702, the said overseers shall give bills of exchange for the remainder, which shall be drawn upon the directors and commissioners of said company in Paris, payable to the securities and overseers of the storehouses, for the purpose of liquidating the claims against the said company, conformably with the agreement made with the said lord-lieutenant. "The intendant shall deduct from the amount due six thousand

livres, French money, being the gift ordered by His Majesty for the support of the honest families in this country who may need assist

ance.

"The payment of the said sum of six thousand livres shall be made by the company every year, on the said first of October, so long as it shall enjoy the commerce of the said post of Detroit.

"It is also agreed that the king shall support, at his expense, the garrison which the Governor shall order for the protection of the said fort of Detroit, and that the commandant and one other officer only shall be maintained by the company.

"The said commandant and soldiers shall not make any trade for furs with the savages nor French, directly nor indirectly, under any pretext whatever, under pain of confiscation of the said furs, and other punishment prescribed by the king.

"Moreover, the said company binds itself to cause to be conveyed from Montreal to Detroit, at its own expense, the provisions and other articles which His Majesty shall furnish to the said garrison, with the help of fifteen livres per hundred-weight, which the intendant shall cause to be paid from the treasury of His Majesty to the company.

"In regard to Fort Frontenac, it will remain as it now is, fully and entirely at the disposal of His Majesty, unless the company can advance some better claim than that of placing deputies there to make commerce in furs for their profit, to the exclusion of all others.

"Until His Majesty's orders shall be received, the deputies shall be lodged and their goods stored in the store-houses of the fort, as the magazine guard and the goods of the king have been heretofore.

There shall be made an inventory of all the effects which shall be found at the said fort, for the commerce of the said place, after the return of the last convoy for this year, which effects shall remain for the company, who shall be bound to pay for them at the price expressed in the invoice and statement which is in the hands of the intendant. The said amount to be paid during the year 1702, from the returns of the commerce; and in case that the said returns shall not be sufficient, the balance shall be paid in bills of exchange, which shall be drawn upon the said commissioners of the said company, and its director in Paris.

"The said company shall be required to pay the sum of seven livres and ten sous, French money, per hundred-weight, for the transportation of effects from Montreal to the said fort; and the said company enjoying, as herein before stated, the privilege of trading for furs at the said place of Fort Frontenac, exclusive of all others, will be required to transport to the said Fort Frontenac the articles necessary for the subsistence of the garrison of the said place, conformably to the orders of the king, contained in his dispatches of the present year. The commandant, officers, and soldiers which the governorgeneral shall hold there in garrison shall make no trade, directly or indirectly, on pain of confiscation of their furs and other punishments prescribed by the laws of the king, until the government be revoked. "Executed and conveyed at Quebec, Chateau St. Louis, in the forenoon of the thirty-first day of October, 1701, the said gentlemen interested and the notaries having signed at the time, the agreements remaining in the office of M. de Chamblon, one of the notaries."

Thus it appears that the original and principal cause of the establishment of a French post at Detroit was the desire to control the fur trade of the Upper Lake region,-a trade which, in the outset of the settlement, was placed under the control of a company of merchants, who were guaranteed a monopoly by both the colonial and home governments. The importance of the post from a military point of view, while of considerable moment, was subordinate to its commercial consequence, and, lastly, the establishment of missions in its vicinity was also a factor in the general plan.

TJUGH-SAGH-RON-DIE.

This was the Indian name of a Huron village which formerly stood on the site of Detroit, probably as early as 1650-55,* and quite likely planted there upon the disper

* Some writers claim that there was an Indian village here in 1620. It is also stated that a colony of Hurons settled on the site of Detroit in 1680. There were probably Indian settlements there at various

periods.

sion of the Hurons by the Iroquois; though when the two Sulpitian priests-Dollier and Galinée-passed through the strait in the spring of 1670 they made no mention of any village, only recording the fact that they found on the site of the future city what they supposed was an Indian god, roughly carved in stone, and which they piously broke in pieces with their axes and sunk in the river.

It is quite probable that the village was not a permanent one, but only located there during the fishing season, or possibly for a few years at a time. The name is curiously interwoven in an interesting poem by Levi Bishop, of Detroit.*

It seems to have been a grand plan of M. de Cadillac to gather all the Indians of the West-at least those in the vicinity of the lakes-around the new post at Detroit. He cordially hated the Jesuits, and they, in turn, bore him no good-will. The Jesuit father Marest clung tenaciously to the mission at Mackinac, and determined that there should be no great gathering of the savages at Detroit, certainly not to the detriment of his mission.

But, notwithstanding the obstinacy of the priests, Cadillac succeeded in persuading a great number of the Western Indians to come to Detroit, and the fur trade largely centered there for many years. Among the nations who were represented at Detroit in 1703, Cadillac enumerates the Sauteurs,† Mississagués, Hurons from Mackinac, several bands of the Miamis, Ottawas, and others.

The colony seems to have been similar to the one gathered by La Salle and Tonti at the great Illinois town twenty years before.

In the year 1702 the "Company of the Colony" becoming dissatisfied with the first contract made at Quebec, entered into a new one with M. de Cadillac, with the consent of the Governor-General and intendant. By this new arrangement Cadillac was to have one-third of the commerce of the post, and the company were to be relieved from all responsibility to other officers. This not proving satisfactory, another contract was entered into, by which Cadillac was to be paid two thousand francs a year, and his subordinate, M. de Tonti, thirteen hundred and thirtythree francs per year, in consideration of which sums Cadillac agreed not to traffic with the savages. This agreement continued in force for about one year, when the Governor detected M. Tonti and the commissioners carrying on a contraband trade. He reported them, and thereby got himself into trouble, for they were highly connected, and in 1704, when Cadillac was in Montreal, he was arrested and a suit commenced against him, which was not decided until 1705.

In the mean time M. de Tonti was in command at Detroit until, at the request of Cadillac, M. Bourmont superseded him.

The establishment of the post at Detroit was strongly objected to by the Iroquois, and the Jesuits were also opposed to it. In 1702 war broke out between England, France, and Holland, and its consequences were felt to a greater or less degree in America. In the summer of 1703

Mr. Bishop writes it Teuchsa Grondie. In the Ojibwa language this place was called Wa-we-at-a-nong.

† Probably Ojibwas.

the English invited the Indian nations living in the vicinity of Detroit to a grand council at Albany. It does not appear that any except the Ottawas accepted the invitation. But these returned with a bitter prejudice against the French, who, the English informed them, had established a fort at Detroit with the ulterior purpose of exterminating them.

The attempt to destroy the fort soon after the return of their chiefs from Albany was probably traceable to the hostility of the English.

M. de Cadillac was cleared from all the charges against him, and in August, 1706, returned to the command of the post.

Difficulties increased, and the savages, in 1707, murdered three Frenchmen near the fort. It would appear that the principal people of Canada were greatly opposed to the establishment of the post at Detroit and to the "Company of the Colony," because of their monopoly of the fur trade.

In the same year, 1707, Cadillac led a party of four hundred French and Indians into the country of the Miamis, and compelled them to come to terms and furnish hostages for their good behavior, besides paying dearly for their depredations.

In the summer of 1711, M. du Buisson succeeded M. de Cadillac in command at Detroit. The war between the French and English involved the Five Nations (made six in 1712 by the admission of the Tuscaroras from North Carolina), and they had stirred up some of the Western nations against the French,-among others the Outagamies, or Foxes, and the Mascoutins, who dwelt west of Lake Michigan.

In May, 1712, a large number of these nations appeared before Detroit, and throwing up intrenchments, it is said within fifty yards of the fort, sat down to a regular siege. of the place. The French garrison consisted of only thirty men, and their allies, the Ottawas, Hurons, and others, were absent hunting. The enemy made a fierce onslaught, but were bravely met by the garrison under M. du Buisson, and held in check until their Indian allies returned.

The church and several buildings outside the pickets were pulled down by order of the commandant, lest they should be set on fire by the savages, and thus endanger the fort.

On the arrival of the friendly Indians the contest grew more and more furious, until at length, outnumbered and beaten, the enemy were forced to retreat from the vicinity to a fortification which they had previously thrown up. Here they were besieged for a period of nineteen days, when they asked for terms. A parley ensued, but ended without definite results, and the fight was renewed. At length the Foxes and Mascoutins took advantage of a rainy night to steal away from their works, and retreated to an island in the river above Detroit, whither they were pursued, and after a siege of several days their stronghold was taken, all the warriors slain, and the women and children (if there were any present) taken prisoners. M. du Buisson estimated their total loss at over one thousand.

From a letter written by Father Joseph Marest, from Mackinac, in June, 1712, it would appear that as a military post it had been abandoned since the establishment of De

troit; but the mission had been kept up, and constant endeavors made by the father to have the post restored. The letter in question contains a renewed request for the re-establishment of the post, because of the danger of attack from the Sacs, Foxes, and Mascoutins, who would fall upon Mackinac to revenge themselves for their defeat at Detroit.

Deserters and coureurs des bois were then in control of that post, and the missionaries prayed for a military commandant and garrison.

The complete defeat of the Foxes and Mascoutins before Detroit did not destroy these warlike people, and their depredations continued until the French Governor-General, M. Vaudreuil, determined to humble them. To this end a strong force of eight hundred men was fitted out and placed under command of M. Louvigny, the lieutenant of Quebec. In the spring of 1716 this force proceeded to the country of the Outagamies, whom they found intrenched and ready for battle in the vicinity of Green Bay. This expedition was successful, and the Outagamies were compelled to sue for peace, which was granted upon terms greatly to the advantage of the French, and henceforth they were troubled no more by the warriors who had been such formidable enemies.

It would appear from certain correspondence that the post of Mackinac was re-established about 1713.*

M. de Tonti was again in command of Detroit in the fall of 1717. Under his administration the fort was rebuilt in a more substantial manner, the lands adjacent were sold to actual settlers, the colony increased, and prosperity generally smiled upon the country.

In June, 1721, M. de Tonti held a council with the chiefs of the Hurons, Ottawas, and Pottawattomies, and united them in a league against the warlike Indians living beyond Lake Michigan. M. Vaudreuil, the Governor-General, died on the 10th of October, 1725. He had been Governor for a period of twenty-one years. His successor was M. Beauharnais.

Nothing of great importance concerning the territory of Michigan occurred while it remained under French rule, from this period to 1760, when the whole country held by the French in what is now British America fell under the dominion of the English. The forts and missions in the neighborhood of the lakes were kept up, and occasionally a new one was added. Detroit and Mackinac continued to be the principal centres of the fur trade, and the former grew slowly in population and commercial importance. It is stated, on good authority, that in 1749, under the rule of Count de Gallissionière, the French cut a military road from Detroit to the Ohio River. This road crossed the Maumee River at the "rapids," above Toledo. The first settlements at Vincennes and other points on the Wabash, in the present State of Indiana, were made from Detroit as a base of operations, and it was the centre of the fur trade for the larger portion of the lower peninsula and all the country now occupied by the States of Indiana and Illinois, and portions of Ohio and Wisconsin.

*The new post of Michilimackinac was built on the south side of the strait, and thither also the mission and chapel of St. Ignace followed. The fort on the island of Mackinac was built and garrisoned by the British in the summer of 1780.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE COLONY UNDER ENGLISH RULE.

Surrender of Detroit to Captain Rogers-Pontiac's War-Siege of Detroit- Bloody Bridge-The "Quebec Act"-Detroit during the Revolution-Expeditions.

THE French war of 1754-60, which resulted in the surrender of Canada to the British, did not seriously disturb the French posts in the West. It is probable that small bands of savages may have joined the French from this region in their war against the English; and it is claimed by some writers that the celebrated Ottawa chieftain, Pontiac, with a band of trusty followers, took part in the bloody defeat of Braddock on the Monongahela, in July, 1755, but the evidence is not satisfactory on this point.

In 1759, when the gallant Capt. Pouchot was struggling against the army under Sir William Johnson, at Niagara, M. de Aubrey collected a force of seventeen hundred French troops, coureurs des bois, and Indians, from the posts of Detroit, Mackinac, and the Wabash, and attempted to raise the siege, but the English force was too strong for his motley army; he was defeated with loss, and the post surrendered.

With the surrender of Montreal, on the 8th of September, 1760, to Gen. Amherst, virtually fell all the French possessions in America; though some of their settlements and posts were not occupied by English troops for a considerable period thereafter.

On the 12th of the same month, Maj. Robert Rogers, a provincial officer, born in New Hampshire, and a comrade of Stark and Putnam, was ordered by Gen. Amherst to proceed with a detachment of rangers to the Western lakes, and take military possession of the French posts. The major left Montreal on the 13th, with a command of two hundred rangers, in fifteen bateaux. Slowly toiling over the rapids of La Chine and the Cedars, they entered Lake Ontario, and skirting its northern shore in rough and boisterous weather, reached Fort Niagara on the 1st of October.

Carrying their boats and supplies over the portage, they launched them again above the falls, and leisurely pursued their voyage, while Rogers, with a few men, made a journey to Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), overland, to deliver dispatches to Gen. Monckton, then in command of that post. This accomplished, the major rejoined his command at Presque Isle about the last of the month, when the detachment proceeded more rapidly on its voyage along the southern shore of Lake Erie. "The season was far advanced. The wind was chill, the lake was stormy, and the forests along the shore were tinged with the fading hues of autumn.'

On the 10th of November they reached the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and encamped for the night on the site of the present city of Cleveland. It was the first time a body of English troops had penetrated so far to the West. Rain set in, and Rogers determined to rest his troops until the weather became more favorable. They pitched their tents in the neighboring woods, on the spot where now are found the busy streets and buildings of a city of one hundred and fifty thousand people.

THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN.

Be

The command had not been long in their temporary camp when a party of Indian chiefs and warriors entered it from the west and announced themselves as an embassy from Pontiac, who claimed to be ruler of all the adjacent country, sent forward by the chief to forbid their farther advance until he should hold a conference with them. fore the close of the day Pontiac himself appeared at the head of a strong war-party, and haughtily demanded of Rogers, "What is your business in this country, and how dare you enter it without my permission?" Rogers explained that the French had surrendered all their possessions to the English, and he was on his way, under orders from the British commander-in-chief, to take possession of Detroit. Pontiac listened attentively, but made no reply except “I shall stand in the path until morning,” and withdrew.

This was the first time an English officer or body of troops had met the famous Ottawa warrior.

He was then about fifty years of age, and occupied the position of head chief of the Ottawas, and controlled also the Ojibwas and Pottawattomies-these three tribes being somewhat loosely united in a kind of confederacy. His influence extended over all the northwestern nations from the head-waters of the Ohio to those of the Mississippi. He was the model of the great Tecumseh in later years.

From his earliest manhood to this time he had been the fast friend of the French, who had studiously treated the Indians, and especially their principal chiefs, with the greatest deference. But he was shrewd and politic, a man of great natural abilities, while at the same endowed with all the cunning and treachery characteristic of the Indian race. The news of the overthrow of the French fell like a thunder-clap upon him; but he was sagacious enough to see that he might enter into an alliance with these new sovereigns of Canada which would be as advantageous to him and his people as had been his former connection with the French.

The detachment of Rogers stood well on their guard during the following night, fearful of treachery on the part of the Indians, but the hours passed quietly, and in the morning Pontiac returned to the camp and replied to Rogers that he was willing to let the English remain in the country and to treat them as he had the French, provided they showed him proper respect as became his position.

The peace-pipe was now passed around and smoked by Pontiac and his chiefs and by Rogers and his officers, and harmony reigned among them.

The expedition was detained by stormy weather until the 12th, when it was again in motion, and in a few days arrived at the head of the lake, where Rogers learned that a force of four hundred savages were in ambush at the mouth of the Detroit River to cut him off.

But this threatened danger was swept aside by the powerful wand of Pontiac, who ordered the path cleared for the English, and the command continued on unmolested up the river.

In the mean time Lieutenant Brehm had been sent forward with a letter to Captain Beletré, the French officer in command at Detroit, informing him of the conquest of

Canada, and that he was deputed to receive the surrender of the post. But that officer totally disregarded the report, and resolved to hold the place.

Failing in his first attempt, Rogers now sent forward Captain Campbell with a copy of the capitulation of Montreal, and a letter from M. Vaudreuil (late Governor-General), directing that the place should be given up in accordance with the terms between himself and the English commander. This brought Beletré to terms, and he reluctantly yielded the place and pulled down the flag of France, which had waved in triumph over the walls of the border fortress for a period of fifty-nine years.

This surrender occurred on the 29th of November, 1760, in the presence of a great assemblage of Indians, who could not conceal their astonishment at the forbearance of the conquerors in not destroying their enemies at once. The French garrison was sent down the lake, and the Canadians were allowed to remain on condition of swearing allegiance to Great Britain, which, "making a virtue of necessity," they at once proceeded to do. An officer was sent down the Wabash to take possession of the posts at Vincennes and Ouatenon, and Fort Miami on the Maumee was also occupied by the English. Rogers took upon himself the task of proceeding up Lake Huron and taking possession of Mackinac, the second most important post held by the French in these waters, but the lateness of the season compelled his return after reaching the outlet of the lake, and Mackinac, Green Bay, St. Marie, and St. Joseph remained in the hands of the French until the following season, when a detachment of the 60th Royal Americans took possession of them, and nothing remained in the power of France except the posts on the Mississippi.*

PONTIAC'S WAR.

It was fondly believed by the English government and by the American colonists that the transfer of the French possessions to the British government would be the beginning of an era of peace and prosperity, and under this belief the settlements increased and spread wonderfully throughout all the frontiers. But the calm which followed the war was of short duration.

very

The English government treated the Indians differently from that of the French. While the latter had always paid them proper respect and deference, the former, on the contrary, almost immediately began to thrust them aside and treat them as vagabonds and dependents upon public charity. They also kept continually encroaching upon their domain, through unauthorized treaties with petty chiefs, or by the strong hand of might. Even the Iroquois, who had been the allies of the English since the days of Champlain, began to murmur, and had refused to come to the aid of Braddock in the disastrous campaign in which he lost his army, his reputation, and his life. It is even possible that outlying bands of the Seneca nation, under Guyasutha, took part in the bloody encounter on the Monongahela.

Scarcely had the English garrisons taken possession of the various posts vacated by the French, when complaints

*From 1760 until 1775, Detroit and the surrounding settlements were under military rule.