The Indians were of two tribes, the Hurons and the Ottawas, the latter of whom grew corn enough to supply the whole settlement. Connected with this settlement in the seventeenth century were men whose memory is still cherished. The first is James Marquette, a noble and sincere man and devoted priest. His part in the discovery and exploration of the Mississippi has brought him lasting fame. But his real life work, brief because so arduous, was as missionary to the natives in and about our borders, to the Illinois, the Menominees, and the Chippeways of Lake Superior, as well as to those gathered at St. Ignace and St. Mary's. And then Du Lhut, the greatest leader of coureur de bois, and the Baron la Hontan, who has left us a spirited if not always a reliable account of what he saw in America, and La Mothe Cadillac, who is still to play an important part in our history, were all at various times commanders at Michillimackinac, at a time when military commanders were the only rulers.

34. The beginning of the new century brought great changes to conditions here in Michigan. Things were not altogether lovely in connection with French trade. As has been stated this trade was always a monopoly, and as a result high prices must be asked for goods sold, and low prices were paid for furs. The English were now anxious to get into the interior, and with free trade, could offer better goods at very much lower prices. Hence Canada was just now threatened with a loss of its trade altogether. For if English traders once got into this upper country, that trade would surely be gone. While La Mothe Cadillac was commander at Michilimackinac he comprehended fully the situation, and saw more clearly into the future than

any other Frenchman then in America. So he resigned and went to France, and succeeded in enlisting the king and his great minister Pontchartrain in the plan which he had conceived and now set about to carry out. His plan was to found, not a trading post, but a great settlement on the Detroit. Had his design ever been fully realized, Michigan would still be a part of Canada, and perhaps also the whole of the Old Northwest.

35. In 1701 Cadillac returned to Quebec and at once proceeded to his destination. He came to the Detroit River by way of Lake Huron and reached the present site of the city, July 24, 1701, with a hundred men, fifty soldiers, and fifty settlers. Here he built Fort Pontchartrain and was soon firmly established. The next year his wife and the wife of his captain, Tonti,1 also came to the post, the first white women to come to Michigan.

36. Cadillac had two great purposes in connection with his settlement. One was to draw about him and establish as many of the natives as possible; and the other was to grant lands and build up a large French population. In the first of these he was entirely successful. In four years the mission of St. Ignace was abandoned for want of Indians, and the chapel was burned. St. Joseph and St. Mary's had a similar experience, all these Indians gathering about Fort Pontchartrain. Cadillac estimated that the Indian population on the Detroit was more than 8,000.

In the second of his purposes Cadillac made but slow progress. Quebec was the capital of the province, and the Jesuits were still in control of Quebec. Moreover

1

1 Pierre Alphonse de Tonti, brother of the more noted Henri Tonti, the companion of La Salle.

they were hostile to Cadillac and to his settlement. At first he could not get permission to grant land, so that his first grant was not made until 1706, and was of a village lot. In four years 67 other such grants were made. During the same period there were 31 grants of farm lands, mainly up stream from the village, and 13 garden plots.1 Corn and wheat were soon grown to supply the community. An official report shows but 63 white settlers in 1708. Horses and cattle were first brought to the colony in 1706. But this settlement grew very slowly, and until it came into the possession of the United States, it never realized Cadillac's hopes or expectations.

37. With the establishment of Detroit the importance of all the upper posts greatly diminished. For a time they sunk so low that their garrisons were withdrawn. But a few settlers still remained in them and a few traders still continued to gather. In 1714 the garrison was restored to Michilimackinac, but a new fort was built and was located on the south side of the Straits instead of the north. Charlevoix visited it in 1721 and describes it as a "sorry village" but with considerable trade. St. Joseph also in time got back its garrison. Detroit, however, became the most considerable trading post of the Northwest. But all French trade was languishing, as English goods got pretty full possession of the markets.

38. Cadillac remained at the head of his colony until 1711, and before his departure had to crush out an almost general Indian uprising. In 1712 Detroit was suddenly attacked by a band of 800 Fox warriors who had come down from St. Mary's. After severe fighting this band of Foxes was wholly destroyed. Once 1See Cadillac's Village, pp. 8-12.

after, about the middle of the century, there seems to have been some kind of attack on the place, but no record of it has come down to us. For the most part the last half century of French dominion here was a time of continuous peace.

39. During all French rule the only government of the upper posts was the government of Canada, and the fundamental laws of all the province were the ordinances of the king and the Coutume de Paris. The government of Canada was a strangely complicated and confusing one with much conflicting authority, but such as it was, none of its ordinary machinery could ever reach such remotely outlying posts as those within our borders. During most of French history the only officials here were the post commandants, who received their appointments from the governor-general, and the French government of these posts, though it seems never to have been harsh, was thus a military one. But in 1730 Robert Navarre came to Detroit as notary and subdelegate of the Intendant.' He was thus the first civil officer of Michigan, and of the Northwest, and to the end of French dominion this seems to have been the only civil officer in this whole region.

'The chief judicial officer of Canada.

Original: Alexander Henry's Travels and Adventures in Canada and Indian Territories (1760-1766). Montreal, 1809.Three Years' Travels Throughout the Interior Parts of North America, by Captain Jonathan Carver (1766-8). Boston, 1797.—Journals of Major Robert Rogers. Edited by F. B. Hough, Albany, 1883.- Much valuable material, easily accessible but generally poorly edited, is found in the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, of which there are now 32 volumes. The most important for this period are: The Gladwin Manuscripts (Pontiac War), Vol. XXVII., pp. 605680. The Bouquet Papers (Pontiac War), Vol. XIX., pp. 27-295. The Pontiac Manuscript, Vol. VIII., pp. 266-366. And the statements obtained by Mr. C. C. Trowbridge, pp. 340-367.-The Haldimand Papers (Revolutionary), Vol. IX., pp. 343-658; Vol. X., pp. 210-672; Vol. XI., pp. 319-656; Vol. XII., pp. 307-315; Vol. XIX., pp. 296-675; Vol. XX., pp. 1-298. -Papers from Archives at Ottawa (post-Revolutionary), Vol. XII., pp. 1-306. Colonial Office Records (Indian War), Vol. XXIV., pp. 1-699. Colonial Office Records (Indian War), Vol. XXV., pp. 1-135. Indian Affairs (Indian War), Vol. XX., pp. 304-464. Audrain Journal (Indian War), Vol. VIII., pp. 444-447. Journal of Rev. D. Jones (Indian War), Vol. VIII., pp. 393-396. O. M. Spencer's Account of Detroit in 1793.

Secondary: Parkman, Montcalm and Wolf; The Conspiracy of Pontiac.-Lanman's History of Michigan, chapters VI.VIII.-Historical and Scientific Sketches. Papers III. and IV. -Cooley's Michigan, chapters III.-VI.-Campbell's Political History, chapters VI.-VIII.-Hinsdale's Old Northwest, chapters V.-X.-Moore's The Northwest Under Three Flags, chapters IV.-VIII.-Sketch of the siege of Detroit, by J. T. Headley, Harper's Magazine, 1861, or Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, XXI., 613.-Sketch of Charles Langlade, 'The manuscript itself is now in possession of Mr. C. M. Burton, of Detroit.