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

It was now that Nicolet, after all ceremonies and "talks" with the Hurons were ended, began preparations for his voyage to the Winnebagoes. He was to strike boldly into undiscovered regions. He was to encounter savage nations never before visited. It was, in reality, the beginning of a voyage full of dangers – one that would require great tact, great courage, and constant facing of difficulties. No one, however, understood better the savage character than he; no Frenchman was more fertile of resources. From the St. Lawrence, he had brought presents to conciliate the Indian tribes which he would meet. Seven Hurons were to accompany him.31 Before him lay great lakes; around him, when on land, would frown dark forests. A birch-bark canoe was to bear the first white man along the northern shore of Lake Huron, and upon Saint Mary's strait32 to the falls – "Sault Sainte Marie;" many miles on Lake Michigan; thence, up Green bay to the homes of the Winnebagoes:33 and that canoe was to lead the van of a mighty fleet indeed, as the commerce of the upper lakes can testify. With him, he had a number of presents.

What nations were encountered by him on the way to "the People of the Sea," from the Huron villages? Three – all of Algonquin lineage – occupied the shores of the Georgian bay, before the mouth of French river had been reached. Concerning them, little is known, except their names.34 Passing the river which flows from Lake Nipissing, Nicolet "upon the same shores of this fresh-water sea," that is, upon the shores of Lake Huron, came next to "the Nation of Beavers,"35 whose hunting-grounds were northward of the Manitoulin islands.36 This nation was afterward esteemed among the most noble of those of Canada. They were supposed to be descended from the Great Beaver, which was, next to the Great Hare, their principal divinity. They inhabited originally the Beaver islands, in Lake Michigan; afterward the Manitoulin islands; then they removed to the main-land, where they were found by Nicolet. Farther on, but still upon the margin of the great lake, was found another tribe.37 This people, and the Amikoüai, were of the Algonquin family, and their language was not difficult to be understood by Nicolet. Entering, finally, St. Mary's strait, his canoes were urged onward for a number of miles, until the falls – Sault de Sainte Marie38– were reached: and there stood Nicolet, the first white man to set foot upon any portion of what was, more than a century and a half after, called "the territory northwest of the river Ohio,"39 now the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and so much of Minnesota as lies east of the Mississippi river.

Among "the People of the Falls,"40 at their principal village, on the south side of the strait, at the foot of the rapids,41 in what is now the State of Michigan,42 Nicolet and his seven Hurons rested from the fatigues of their weary voyage.43 They were still with Algonquins. From Lake Huron they had entered upon one of the channels of the magnificent water-way leading out from Lake Superior, and threaded their way, now through narrow rapids, now across (as it were) little lakes, now around beautiful islands, to within fifteen miles of the largest expanse of fresh water on the globe – stretching away in its grandeur to the westward, a distance of full four hundred miles.44 Nicolet saw beyond him the falls; around him clusters of wigwams, which two centuries and a half have changed into public buildings and private residences, into churches and warehouses, into offices and stores – in short, into a pleasantly-situated American village,45 frequently visited by steamboats carrying valuable freight and crowded with parties of pleasure. The portage around the falls, where, in early times, the Indian carried his birch-bark canoe, has given place to an excellent canal. Such are the changes which "the course of empire" continually brings to view in "the vast, illimitable, changing west."

Nicolet tarried among "the People of the Falls," probably, but a brief period. His voyage, after leaving them, must have been to him one of great interest. He returned down the strait, passing, it is thought, through the western "detour" to Mackinaw.46 Not very many miles brought him to "the second fresh-water sea," Lake Michigan.47 He is fairly entitled to the honor of its discovery; for no white man had ever before looked out upon its broad expanse. Nicolet was soon gliding along upon the clear waters of this out-of-the-way link in the great chain of lakes. The bold Frenchman fearlessly threaded his way along its northern shore, frequently stopping upon what is now known as "the upper peninsula" of Michigan, until the bay of Noquet48 was reached, which is, in reality, a northern arm of Green bay.49 Here, upon its northern border, he visited another Algonquin tribe;50 also one living to the northward of this "small lake."51 These tribes never navigated those waters any great distance, but lived upon the fruits of the earth.52 Making his way up Green bay, he finally reached the Menomonee river, its principal northern affluent.53

In the valley of the Menomonee, Nicolet met a populous tribe of Indians – the Menomonees.54 To his surprise, no doubt, he found they were of a lighter complexion than any other savages he had ever seen. Their language was difficult to understand, yet it showed the nation to be of the Algonquin stock. Their food was largely of wild rice, which grew in great abundance in their country. They were adepts in fishing, and hunted, with skill, the game which abounded in the forests. They had their homes and hunting grounds upon the stream which still bears their name.55

Nicolet soon resumed his journey toward the Winnebagoes, who had already been made aware of his near approach; for he had sent forward one of his Hurons to carry the news of his coming and of his mission of peace. The messenger and his message were well received. The Winnebagoes dispatched several of their young men to meet the "wonderful man." They go to him – they escort him – they carry his baggage.56 He was clothed in a large garment of Chinese damask, sprinkled with flowers and birds of different colors.57 But, why thus attired? Possibly, he had reached the far east; he was, really, in what is now the State of Wisconsin.58 Possibly, a party of mandarins would soon greet him and welcome him to Cathay. And this robe – this dress of ceremony – was brought all the way from Quebec, doubtless, with a view to such contingency. As soon as he came in sight, all the women and children fled, seeing a man carrying thunder in his two hands; for thus it was they called his pistols, which he discharged on his right and on his left.59 He was a manito! Nicolet's journey was, for the present, at an end. He and his Huron's "rested from their labors," among the Winnebagoes,60 who were located around the head of Green bay,61 contiguous to the point where it receives the waters of Fox river.62 Nicolet found the Winnebagoes a numerous and sedentary people,63 speaking a language radically different from any of the Algonquin nations, as well as from the Hurons.64 They were of the Dakota stock.65 The news of the Frenchman's coming spread through the country. Four or five thousand people assembled of different tribes.66 Each of the chiefs gave a banquet. One of the sachems regaled his guests with at least one hundred and twenty beavers.67 The large assemblage was prolific of speeches and ceremonies. Nicolet did not fail to "speak of peace" upon that interesting occasion.68 He urged upon the nation the advantages of an alliance, rather than war, with the nations to the eastward of Lake Huron. They agreed to keep the peace with the Hurons, Nez Percés, and, possibly, other tribes; but, soon after Nicolet's return, they sent out war parties against the Beaver nation. Doubtless the advantages of trade with the colony upon the St. Lawrence were depicted in glowing colors by the Frenchman. But the courageous Norman was not satisfied with a visit to the Winnebagoes only. He must see the neighboring tribes. So he ascended the Fox river of Green bay, to Winnebago lake – passing through which, he again entered that stream, paddling his canoe up its current, until he reached the homes of the Mascoutins,69 the first tribe to be met with after leaving the "Winnebagoes; for the Sacs70 and Foxes71 were not residents of what is now Wisconsin at that period, – their migration thither, from the east, having been at a subsequent date. Nicolet had navigated the Fox river, a six-days' journey, since leaving the Winnebagoes.72

The Mascoutins, as we have seen, were heard of by Champlain as early as 1615, as being engaged in a war with the Neuter nation and the Ottawas. But, up to the time of Nicolet's visit, and for a number of years subsequent (as he gave no clue himself to their locality), they were only known as living two hundred leagues or more beyond the last mentioned tribe – that is, that distance beyond the south end of the Georgian bay of Lake Huron.73 Their villages were in the valley of the Fox river, probably in what is now Green Lake county, Wisconsin.74 They had, doubtless, for their neighbors, the Miamis75 and Kickapoos.76 They were a vigorous and warlike nation, of Algonquin stock, as were also the two tribes last mentioned. Nicolet, while among the Mascoutins, heard of the Wisconsin river, which was distant only three days' journey up the tortuous channel of the Fox. But the accounts given him of that tributary of the Mississippi were evidently very confused. A reference to the parent stream (confounded with the Wisconsin) as "the great water,"77 by the savages, caused him to believe that he was, in reality, but three days' journey from the sea; and so he reported after his return to the St. Lawrence.78 Strange to say, Nicolet resolved not to visit this ocean, although, as he believed, so near its shores.

He traveled no further upon the Fox river,79 but turned his course to the southward. And the Jesuits consoled themselves, when they heard of his shortcoming, with the hope that one day the western sea would be reached by one of their order.80 "In passing, I will say," wrote one of their missionaries, in 1640, "that we have strong indications that one can descend through the second lake of the Hurons … into this sea."81

But why should Nicolet leave the Fox river and journey away from the Mascoutins to the southward? The answer is, that, at no great distance, lived the Illinois.82 Their country extended eastward to Lake Michigan, and westward to the Mississippi, if not beyond it. This nation was of too much importance, and their homes too easy of access, for Nicolet not to have visited them.83 Upon the beautiful prairies of what is now the state bearing their name, was this tribe located, with some bands, probably nearly as far northward as the southern counties of the present State of Wisconsin. It is not known in how many villages of these savages he smoked the pipe of peace. From their homes he returned to the Winnebagoes.

Before Nicolet left the country, on his return to the St. Lawrence, he obtained knowledge of the Sioux – those traders from the west who, it will be remembered, were represented as coming in canoes upon a sea to the Winnebagoes; the same "sea," doubtless, he came so near to, but did not behold – the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers! Although without beards, and having only a tuft of hair upon their crowns, these Sioux were no longer mandarins – no longer from China or Japan! Bands of this tribe had pushed their way across the Mississippi, far above the mouth of the Wisconsin, but made no further progress eastward. They, like the Winnebagoes, as previously stated, were of the Dakota family. Whether any of them were seen by Nicolet is not known;84 but he, doubtless, learned something of their real character. There was yet one tribe near the Winnebagoes to be visited – the Pottawattamies.85 They were located upon the islands at the mouth of Green bay, and upon the main land to the southward, along the western shores of Lake Michigan.86 On these Algonquins – for they were of that lineage – Nicolet, upon his return trip, made a friendly call.87 Their homes were not on the line of his outward voyage, but to the south of it. Nicolet gave no information of them which has been preserved, except that they were neighbors of the Winnebagoes.88

So Nicolet, in the spring of 1635,89 having previously made many friends in the far northwest for his countrymen upon the St. Lawrence, and for France, of nations of Indians, only a few of which had before been heard of, and none ever before visited by a white man; having been the first to discover Lake Michigan and "the territory northwest of the river Ohio;" having boldly struck into the wilderness for hundreds of leagues beyond the Huron villages – then the Ultima Thule of civilized discoveries; returned, with his seven dusky companions, by way of Mackinaw and along the south shores of the Great Manitoulin island to the home thereon of a band of Ottawas.90 He proceeded thence to the Hurons; retracing, afterward, his steps to the mouth of French river, up that stream to Lake Nipissing, and down the Mattawan and Ottawa to the St. Lawrence; journeying, upon his return, it is thought, with the savages upon their annual trading-voyage to the French settlements.91 And Nicolet's exploration was ended.92

CHAPTER IV.

NICOLET'S SUBSEQUENT CAREER AND DEATH

It is not difficult to imagine the interest which must have been awakened in the breast of Champlain upon the return of Nicolet to Quebec. With what delight he must have heard his recital of the particulars of the voyage! How he must have been enraptured at the descriptions of lakes of unknown extent; of great rivers never before heard of – never before seen by a Frenchman! How his imagination must have kindled when told of the numerous Indian nations which had been visited! But, above all, how fondly he hoped one day to bring all these distant countries under the dominion of his own beloved France! But the heart thus beating quick with pleasurable emotions at the prospects of future glory and renown, soon ceased its throbs. On Christmas day, 1635, Champlain died. In a chamber of the fort in Quebec, "breathless and cold, lay the hardy frame which war, the wilderness, and the sea had buffeted so long in vain."

The successor of Champlain was Marc Antoine de Bras-de-fer de Chasteaufort. He was succeeded by Charles Huault de Montmagny, who reached New France in 1636. With him came a considerable reinforcement; "and, among the rest, several men of birth and substance, with their families and dependents." But Montmagny found the affairs of his colony in a woful condition. The "Company of One Hundred" had passed its affairs into the hands of those who were wholly engrossed in the profits of trade. Instead of sending out colonists, the Hundred Associates "granted lands, with the condition that the grantees should furnish a certain number of settlers to clear and till them, and these were to be credited to the company." The Iroquois, who, from their intercourse with the Dutch and English traders, had been supplied with firearms, and were fast becoming proficient in their use, attacked the Algonquins and Hurons – allies of the French, interrupting their canoes, laden with furs, as they descended the St. Lawrence, killing their owners, or hurrying them as captives into the forests, to suffer the horrors of torture.

At a point to which was given the name of Sillery, four miles above Quebec, a new Algonquin mission was started; still, in the immediate neighborhood of the town, the dark forests almost unbroken frowned as gloomily as when, thirty years before, Champlain founded the future city. Probably, in all New France, the population, in 1640, did not much exceed two hundred, including women and children. On the eighteenth of May, 1642, Montreal began its existence. The tents of the founders were "inclosed with a strong palisade, and their altar covered by a provisional chapel, built, in the Huron mode, of bark." But the Iroquois had long before become the enemies of the French, sometimes seriously threatening Quebec. So, upon the Island of Montreal, every precaution was taken to avoid surprise. Solid structures of wood soon defied the attacks of the savages; and, to give greater security to the colonists, Montmagny caused a fort to be erected at the mouth of the Richelieu, in the following August. But the end of the year 1642 brought no relief to the Algonquins or Hurons, and little to the French, from the ferocious Iroquois.

It was not long after Nicolet's return to Quebec, from his visit to "the People of the Sea," and neighboring nations, before he was assigned to Three Rivers by Champlain, where he was to continue his office of commissary and interpreter; for, on the ninth of December, 1635, he "came to give advice to the missionaries who were dwelling at the mission that a young Algonquin was sick; and that it would be proper to visit him."93 And, again, on the seventh of the following month, he is found visiting, with one of the missionaries, a sick Indian, near the fort, at Three Rivers.94 His official labors were performed to the great satisfaction of both French and Indians, by whom he was equally and sincerely loved. He was constantly assisting the missionaries, so far as his time would permit, in the conversion of the savages, whom he knew how to manage and direct as he desired, and with a skill that could hardly find its equal. His kindness won their esteem and respect. His charity seemed, indeed, to know no bounds.95 As interpreter for one of the missionaries, he accompanied him from Three Rivers on a journey some leagues distant, on the twelfth of April, 1636, to visit some savages who were sick; thus constantly administering to their sufferings.96

Notwithstanding the colonists of New France were living in a state of temporal and spiritual vassalage, yet the daring Nicolet, and others of the interpreters of Champlain, although devout Catholics and friendly to the establishment of missions among the Indian nations, were not Jesuits, nor in the service of these fathers; neither was their's the mission work, in any sense, which was so zealously prosecuted by these disciples of Loyola. They were a small class of men, whose home – some of them – was the forest, and their companions savages. They followed the Indians in their roamings, lived with them, grew familiar with their language, allied themselves, in some cases, with their women, and often became oracles in the camp and leaders on the war-path. Doubtless, when they returned from their rovings, they often had pressing need of penance and absolution. Several of them were men of great intelligence and an invincible courage. From hatred of restraint, and love of wild and adventurous independence, they encountered privations and dangers scarcely less than those to which the Jesuit exposed himself from motives widely different: – he, from religious zeal, charity, and the hope of paradise; they, simply because they liked it. Some of the best families of Canada claim descent from this vigorous and hardy stock.97

"The Jesuits from the first had cherished the plan of a seminary for Huron boys at Quebec. The governor and the company favored the design; since not only would it be an efficient means of spreading the faith and attaching the tribe to the French interest, but the children would be pledges for the good behavior of the parents, and hostages for the safety of missionaries and traders in the Indian towns. In the summer of 1636, Father Daniel, descending from the Huron country, worn, emaciated, his cassock patched and tattered, and his shirt in rags, brought with him a boy, to whom two others were soon added; and through the influence of the interpreter, Nicolet, the number was afterward increased by several more. One of them ran away, two ate themselves to death, a fourth was carried home by his father, while three of those remaining stole a canoe, loaded it with all they could lay their hands upon, and escaped in triumph with their plunder."98

Nicolet frequently visited Quebec. Upon one of these occasions he had a narrow escape. He found the St. Lawrence incumbered with ice. Behind him there came so great a quantity of it that he was compelled to get out of his canoe and jump upon one of the floating pieces. He saved himself with much difficulty and labor. This happened in April, 1637.99 On the twenty-seventh of the same month Nicolet was present at Quebec, on the occasion of a deputation of Indians from Three Rivers waiting upon the governor, asking a favor at his hands promised by Champlain. He was consulted as to what the promise of the former governor was.100

In June, he was sent, it seems, up from the fort at Three Rivers to ascertain whether the Iroquois were approaching. He went as far as the river Des Prairies – the name for the Ottawa on the north side of the island of Montreal.101 In August, the enemy threatened Three Rivers in force. The French and Indians in the fort could not be decoyed into danger. However, a boat was sent up the St. Lawrence, conducted by Nicolet. The bark approached the place where the Iroquois were, but could not get within gun-shot; yet a random discharge did some execution. The enemy were judged to be about five hundred strong. Although the fort at Three Rivers was thus seriously threatened, no attack was made.102

On the seventh of October, 1637, Nicolet was married at Quebec to Marguerite Couillard, a god-child of Champlain.103 The fruit of this marriage was but one child – a daughter. Nicolet continued his residence at Three Rivers, largely employed in his official duties of commissary and interpreter, remaining there until the time of his death.104 In 1641, he, with one of the Jesuit fathers, was very busy in dealing with a large force of Iroquois that was threatening the place.105

About the first of October, 1642, Nicolet was called down to Quebec from Three Rivers, to take the place of his brother-in-law, M. Olivier le Tardiff, who was General Commissary of the Hundred Partners, and who sailed on the seventh of that month for France. The change was a very agreeable one to Nicolet, but he did not long enjoy it; for, in less than a month after his arrival, in endeavoring to make a trip to his place of residence to release an Indian prisoner in the possession of a band of Algonquins, who were slowly torturing him, his zeal and humanity cost him his life.106 On the 27th of October,107 he embarked at Quebec, near seven o'clock in the evening, in the launch of M. de Savigny, which was headed for Three Rivers. He had not yet reached Sillery, when a northeast squall raised a terrible tempest on the St. Lawrence and filled the boat. Those who were in it did not immediately go down; they clung some time to the launch. Nicolet had time to say to M. de Savigny, "Save yourself, sir; you can swim; I can not. I am going to God. I recommend to you my wife and daughter."108

The wild waves tore the men, one after another, from the boat, which had capsized and floated against a rock, and four, including Nicolet, sank to rise no more.109 M. de Savigny alone cast himself into the water, and swam among the waves, which were like small mountains. The launch was not very far from the shore, but it was pitch dark, and the bitter cold had covered the river banks with ice. Savigny, feeling his resolution and his strength failing him, made a vow to God, and a little after, reaching down with his feet, he felt the bottom, and stepping out of the water, he reached Sillery half dead. For quite a while he was unable to speak; then, at last, he recounted the fatal accident which, besides the death of Nicolet – disastrous to the whole country – had cost him three of his best men and a large part of his property. He and his wife suffered this great loss, in a barbarous country, with great patience and resignation to the will of God, and without losing any of their courage.110

The savages of Sillery, at the report of Nicolet's shipwreck, ran to the place, and not seeing him any where, displayed indescribable sorrow. It was not the first time he had exposed himself to danger of death for the good of the Indians. He had done so frequently. Thus perished John Nicolet, in the waters of the great river of Canada – the red man and the Frenchman alike mourning his untimely fate.111

Twelve days after the shipwreck, the prisoner to the Algonquins, for whose deliverance Nicolet started on his journey, arrived at Sillery – the commander at Three Rivers, following the order of the governor, having ransomed him. He was conducted to the hospital of the place to be healed of the injuries he had received from his captors. They had stripped the flesh from his arms, in some places to the bone. The nuns at the hospital cared for him with much sympathy, and cured him so quickly that in a month's time he was able to return to his country. All the neophytes showed him as much compassion and charity as the Algonquins had displayed of cruelty. They gave him two good, Christianized savages to escort him as far as the country of a neighboring tribe of his own, to the end that he might reach his home in safety.112