History of the Discovery of the Northwest by John Nicolet in 1634 Part 3

[Footnote A: The figure 8 which occurs in this word in the _Relation_ of 1636, is supposed to be equivalent, in English, to "w," "we," or "oo."]

[Footnote 25: 'Iean Nicolet, en son voyage qu'il fit auec nous iusques a l'Isle souffrit aussi tous les trauaux d'vn des plus robustes Sauuages.'--Brebeuf, _Relation_, 1635, p. 30.]

[Footnote 26: Parkman's "Jesuits in North America," p. 53.]

[Footnote 27: The Mattawan has its source on the very verge of Lake Nip.i.s.sing, so that it was easy to make a "portage" there to reach the lake. The Indians, and afterward the French, pa.s.sed by the Mattawan, Mattouane, or Mattawin ("the residence of the beaver"), went over the small s.p.a.ce of land called the "portage," that exists between the two waters, floated on Lake Nip.i.s.sing, and followed the French river, which flows directly out of that lake to the Georgian bay.

A "portage" is a place, as is well known, where parties had to "port"

their baggage in order to reach the next navigable water.]

[Footnote 28: Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]

[Footnote 29: "Sieur Nicolet, interpreter en langue Algonquine et Huronne," etc.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 35.

The Hurons and Nip.i.s.sings were, at that date, great friends, having constant intercourse, according to all accounts of those days.]

[Footnote 30: "The People of the Sea"--that is, the Winnebagoes--were frequently at war with the Hurons, Nez Perces, and other nations on the Georgian bay, which fact was well known to the governor of Canada. Now, the good offices of Nicolet were to be interposed to bring about a reconciliation between these nations. He, it is believed, was also to carry out Champlain's policy of making the Indian tribes the allies of the French. Vimont (_Relation_, 1643, p. 3) says, he was chosen to make a journey to the Winnebagoes and treat for peace with them _and with the Hurons_; showing, it is suggested, that it was not only to bring about a peace _between the two tribes_, but to attach them both to French interests. The words of Vimont are these:

"Pendant qu'il exercoit cette charge, il [_Nicolet_] fut delegue pour faire vn voyage en la nation appellee des Gens de Mer, et traitter la paix auec eux et les Hurons, desquels il sont esloignes, tirant, vers l'Ouest, d'enuiron trois cents lieues."]

[Footnote 31: "Il [_Nicolet_] s'embarque au pays des Hurons avec sept Sauuages."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]

[Footnote 32: Saint Mary's strait separates the Dominion of Canada from the upper peninsula of Michigan, and connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron.]

[Footnote 33: The route taken by Nicolet, from the mouth of French river, in journeying toward the Winnebagoes, is sufficiently indicated by (1) noting that, in mentioning the various tribes visited by him, Nicolet probably gave their names, except the Ottawas, in the order in which he met them; and (2) by calculating his time as more limited on his return than on his outward trip, because of his desire to descend the Ottawa with the annual flotilla of Huron canoes, which would reach the St. Lawrence in July, 1635.]

[Footnote 34: The Ouasouarim, the Outchougai, and the Atchiligouan.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 34.]

[Footnote 35: Called Amikouai (_Rel._, 1640, p. 34), from _Amik_ or _Amikou_--a beaver.]

[Footnote 36: The Manitoulin islands stretch from east to west along the north sh.o.r.es of Lake Huron, and consist chiefly of the Great Manitoulin or Sacred Isle, Little Manitoulin or c.o.c.kburn, and Drummond. Great Manitoulin is eighty miles long by twenty broad. Little Manitoulin has a diameter of about seven miles. Drummond is twenty-four miles long, with a breadth varying from two to twelve miles. It is separated from the American sh.o.r.e, on the west, by a strait called the True Detour, which is scarcely one mile wide, and forms the princ.i.p.al pa.s.sage for vessels proceeding to Lake Superior.]

[Footnote 37: The Oumisagai.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p. 34.]

[Footnote 38: These falls are distinctly marked on Champlain's map of 1632; and on that of Du Creux of 1660.]

[Footnote 39: In giving Nicolet this credit, it is necessary to state, that the governor of Canada, in 1688, claimed that honor for Champlain (N. Y. Col. Doc, Vol. IX., p. 378). He says:

"In the years 1611 and 1612, he [Champlain] ascended the Grand river [Ottawa] as far as Lake Huron, called the Fresh sea [La Mer Douce]; he went thence to the Petun [Tobacco] Nation, next to the Neutral Nation and to the Macoutins [Mascoutins], who were then residing near the place called the Sakiman [that part of the present State of Michigan lying between the head of Lake Erie and Saginaw bay, on Lake Huron]; from that he went to the Algonquin and Huron tribes, at war against the Iroquois [Five Nations]. He pa.s.sed by places he has, himself, described in his book [Les Voyages De La Novvelle France, etc., 1632], which are no other than Detroit [_i.e._, "the straight," now called Detroit river] and Lake Erie."--_Mem. of M. de Denonville_, _May 8, 1688_.

The reader is referred to Champlain's Map of 1632, and to "his book" of the same date, for a complete refutation of the a.s.sertion as to his visiting, at any time before that year, the Mascoutins. In 1632, Champlain, as shown by his map of that year, had no knowledge whatever of Lake Erie or Lake St. Clair, nor had he previously been so far west as Detroit river. It is, of course, well known, that he did not go west of the St. Lawrence during that year or subsequent to that date.

Locating the Mascoutins "near the place called the Sakiman," is as erroneous as that Champlain ever visited those savages. The reported distance between him when at the most westerly point of his journeyings and the Mascoutins is shown by himself: "After having visited these people [the Tobacco Nation, in December, 1615] we left the place and came to a nation of Indians which we have named the Standing Hair [Ottawas], who were very much rejoiced to see us again [he had met them previously on the Ottawa river], with whom also we formed a friends.h.i.+p, and who, in like manner, promised to come and find us and see us at the said habitation. At this place it seems to me appropriate to give a description of their country, manners, and modes of action. In the first place, they make war upon another nation of Indians, called the a.s.sistagueronon, which means nation of fire [Mascoutins], ten days distant from them."--_Voyages_, 1632, I., p. 262 [272].

Upon his map of 1632, Champlain speaks of the "discoveries" made by him "in the year 1614 and 1615, until in the year 1618"--"of this great lake [Huron], and of all the lands _from the Sault St. Louis_ [the rapids in the St. Lawrence];"--but he nowhere intimates that he had made discoveries _west_ of that lake. It is, therefore, certain that the first white man who ever saw or explored any portion of the territory forming the present State of Michigan was John Nicolet--not Champlain.

Compare Parkman's "Pioneers of France in the New World," Chap. XIV., and map ill.u.s.trative of the text.]

[Footnote 40: Their name, as stated by Nicolet and preserved in the _Relation_ of 1640, was Baouichtigouin; given in the _Relation_ of 1642, as Pauoitigoueieuhak--"inhabitants of the falls;" in the _Relation_ of 1648, as Paouitagoung--"nation of the Sault;" on Du Creux'

map of 1660, "Pasitig8ecu;" and they were sometimes known as Paouitingouach-irini--"the men of the shallow cataract." They were estimated, in 1671, at one hundred and fifty souls. They then united with other kindred nations.

By the French, these tribes, collectively, were called Sauteurs; but they were known to the Iroquois as Estiaghicks, or Stiagigroone--the termination, _roone_, meaning men, being applied to Indians of the Algonquin family. They were designated by the Sioux as Raratwaus or "people of the falls." They were the ancestors of the modern Otchipwes, or Ojibwas (Chippewas).]

[Footnote 41: That this was the location in 1641 is certain. Shea's _Catholic Missions_, p. 184. In 1669, it was, probably, still at the foot of the rapids, on the southern side. _Id._, p. 361. Besides, when the missionaries first visited the Sault, they were informed that the place had been occupied for a long period. The falls are correctly marked upon Champlain's map of 1632.]

[Footnote 42: The earliest delineation, to any extent, of the present State of Michigan, is that to be found on Du Creux' Map of 1660, where the two peninsulas are very well represented in outline.]

[Footnote 43: The names of the tribes thus far visited by Nicolet, and their relative positions, are shown in the following from Vimont (_Relation_, 1640, p. 34), except that the "cheueux releuez" were not called upon by him until his return:

"I'ay dit qu'a l'entree du premier de ces Lacs se rencontrent les Hurons; les quittans pour voguer plus haut dans le lac, on truue au Nord les Ouasouarim, plus haut sont les Outchougai, plus haut encore a l'embouchure du fleuue qui vient du Lac Nipisin sont les Atchiligouan.

Au dela sur les mesmes riues de ceste mer douce sont les Amikouai, ou la nation du Castor, au Sud desquels est vne Isle dans ceste mer douce longue d'enuiron trente lieues habitee des Outaouan, ce sont peuples venus de la nation des cheueux releuez. Apres les Amikouai sur les mesmes riues du grand lac sont les Oumisagai, qu'on pa.s.se pour venir a Baouichtigouin, c'est a dire, a la nation des gens du Sault, pource qu'en effect il y a vn Sault qui se iette en cet endroit dans la mer douce."]

[Footnote 44: Lake Superior is distinctly marked on Champlain's map of 1632, where it appears as "Grand Lac." Was it seen by Nicolet? This is a question which will probably never be answered to the satisfaction of the historian.]

[Footnote 45: Sault Sainte Marie (p.r.o.nounced _soo-saint-mary_), county-seat of Chippewa county, Michigan, fifteen miles below the outlet of Lake Superior.]

[Footnote 46: The Straits of Mackinaw connect Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. Of the word "Mackinaw," there are many synonyms to be found upon the pages of American history: Mackinac, Michillmakinaw, Michillimakinac, Michilimakina, Michiliakimawk, Michilinaaquina, Miscilemackina, Miselimackinack, Misilemakinak, Missilimakina, Missilimakinac, Missilimakinak, Missilimaquina, Missilimaquinak, etc.]

[Footnote 47: Machihiganing was the Indian name; called by the French at an early day, Mitchiganon,--sometimes the Lake of the Illinois, Lake St.

Joseph, or Lake Dauphin. I know of no earlier representation of this lake than that on Du Creux' map of 1660. It is there named the "Magnus Lacus Algonquinorum, seu Lacus Foetetium [Foetentium]." This is equivalent to Great Algonquin Lake, or Lake of the Puants; that is, Winnebago Lake. On a map by Joliet, recently published by Gabriel Gravier, it is called "Lac des Illinois ou Missihiganin."]

[Footnote 48: Bay du Noquet, or Noque. That the "small lake" visited by Nicolet was, in fact, this bay, is rendered probable by the phraseology employed by Vimont in the _Relation_ of 1640, p. 35. He says: "Pa.s.sing this small lake [from the Sault Sainte Marie], we enter into the second fresh-water sea [Lake Michigan and Green bay]." It is true Vimont speaks of "the small lake" as lying "beyond the falls;" but his meaning is, "nearer the Winnebagoes." If taken literally, his words would indicate a lake further up the strait, above the Sault Sainte Marie, meaning Lake Superior, which, of course, would not answer the description of a small lake. It must be remembered that the missionary was writing at his home upon the St. Lawrence, and was giving his description from his standpoint.]

[Footnote 49: Synonyms: La Baye des Eaux Puantes, La Baye, Enitajghe (Iroquois), Baie des Puants, La Grande Baie, Bay des Puants.]

[Footnote 50: Called the Roquai, by Vimont, in the _Relation_ of 1640, p. 34--probably the Noquets--afterwards cla.s.sed with the Chippewas.]

[Footnote 51: Called the Mantoue in the _Relation_ just cited. They were probably the Nantoue of the _Relation_ of 1671, or Mantoueouee of the map attached thereto. They are mentioned, at that date, as living near the Foxes. In the _Relation_ of 1673, they are designated as the Makoueoue, still residing near the Foxes.]

[Footnote 52: "Au dela de ce Sault on trouue le pet.i.t lac, sur les bords duquel du coste du Nord sont les Roquai. Au Nord de ceux-cy sont Mantoue, ces peuples ne nauigent guiere, viuans des fruicts de la terre."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, pp. 34, 35.]

[Footnote 53: The Menomonee river forms a part of the northeastern boundary of Wisconsin, running in a southeasterly direction between this state and Michigan, and emptying into Green bay on the northwest side.

The earliest location, on a map, of a Menomonee village, is that given by Charlevoix on his "Carte des Lacs du Canada," accompanying his "Histoire et Description Generale de la Nouvelle France," Vol. I., Paris, 1744. The village ("des Malonines") is placed at the mouth of the river, on what is now the Michigan side of the stream.]

[Footnote 54: Synonyms: Maroumine, Oumalouminek, Oumaominiecs, Malhominies,--meaning, in Algonquin, wild rice (_Zizania aquatica_ of Linnaeus). The French called this grain wild oats--folles avoine; hence they gave the name of Les Folles Avoine to the Menomonees.

"Pa.s.sant ce plus pet.i.t lac, on entre dans la seconde mer douce, sur les riues de laquelle sont les Maroumine."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1640, p.

35.]

[Footnote 55: I have drawn, for this description of the Menomonees, upon the earliest accounts preserved of them; but these are of dates some years subsequent to Nicolet's visit. (Compare Marquette's account in his published narrative, by Shea.) Vimont seems not to have derived any knowledge of them from Nicolet, beside the simple fact of his having visited them; at least, he says nothing further in the _Relation_ of 1640.]

[Footnote 56: "Two days' journey from this tribe [the Winnebagoes], he sent one of his savages," etc.--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3. This was just the distance from the Menomonees. Du Creux, although following the _Relation_ of 1643, makes Nicolet an amba.s.sador of the Hurons, for he says (Hist. Canada, p. 360): "When he [Nicolet] was two days distant [from the Winnebagoes], he sent forward one of his own company to make known to the nation to which they were going, that a European amba.s.sador was approaching with gifts, who, in behalf of the Hurons, desired to secure their friends.h.i.+p." But the following is the account of Vimont (_Relation_, 1643, p. 3), from the time of Nicolet's departure from the Huron villages to his being met by the young men of the Winnebagoes:

"Ils [_Nicolet and his seven Hurons_] pa.s.serent par quant.i.te de pet.i.tes nations, en allant et en reuenant; lors qu'ils y arriuoient, ils fichoient deux bastons en terre, auquel ils pendoient des presens, afin d'oster a ces peuples la pensee de les prendre pour ennemis et de les ma.s.sacrer. A deux iournees de cette nation, il enuoya vn de ces Sauuages porter la nouuelle de la paix, laquelle fut bien receue, nommement quand on entendit que c'estoit vn European qui portoit la parole. On depescha plusieurs ieunes gens pour aller au deuant du Manitouiriniou, c'est a dire de l'homme merueilleux; on y vient, on le conduit, on porte tout son bagage."]

[Footnote 57: Compare Parkman's "Discovery of the Great West," p. xx.

"Il [_Nicolet_] estoit reuestu d'vne grande robe de damas de la Chine, toute pa.r.s.emee de fleurs et d'oyseaux de diuerses couleurs."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]

[Footnote 58: Wisconsin takes its name from its princ.i.p.al river, which drains an extensive portion of its surface. It rises in Lake Vieux Desert (which is partly in Michigan and partly in Wisconsin), flows generally a south course to Portage, in what is now Columbia county, where it turns to the southwest, and, after a further course of one hundred and eighteen miles, with a rapid current, reaches the Mississippi river, four miles below Prairie du Chien. Its entire length is about four hundred and fifty miles, descending, in that distance, a little more than one thousand feet. Along the lower portion of the stream are the high lands or river hills. Some of these hills present high and precipitous faces towards the water. Others terminate in k.n.o.bs.

The name is supposed to have been taken from this feature; the word being derived from _mis-si_, great, and _os-sin_, a stone or rock.