Full Text of History of Vermillion County Illinois -- Chapter I Scanning and OCR by Joy Fisher, jfisher@us-genealogy.net ------------------------------------------------------------------ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organiza- tions or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contri- butor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ----------------------------------------------------------------- HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY CHAPTER I. HOW THIS SECTION BECAME KNOWN TO THE CIVILIZED WORLD. VERMILION COUNTY HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS -BY WHAT NAMES THE COUNTRY WAS KNOWN BEFORE THIS TIME-WHERE FIND EARLY HISTORY OF ANY SECTION EAST OF THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS -COLONIES OF GREAT BRITAIN, HOLLAND, AND SPAIN, WHERE LOCATED-WHAT NATION DISCOVERED THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY- EXPLORING EXPEDITION OF JOILET AND MARQUETTE-LA SALLE DISCOVERS THE WABASH VALLEY-VERMILION COUNTY A PART OF NEW FRANCE. Vermilion County, as such, has been known less than a hundred years. The territory now known as Vermilion County had been recognized by the civilized world as a part of variously named lands for a century and a half previous to its organization as a county of the great state of Illinois. First it was as a part of the "Country of the Illini," or maybe the "Valley of the Oubache;" then, successively as the "Illinois Country," "New France," the "British Domain," the "Illinois County of Virginia," "the Northwest Territory," the "Indiana Territory," the "Illinois Territory" and at last, as a county of the state of Illinois. Each name involves a different story, and although permanent occupation by the white man did not begin until after it became a part of the state of Illinois, yet the beginning of the history of Vermilion County, must be sought in the beginning of the history of the territory of which it is a part. The account of the beginning of any section of the United States, east of the Alleghany Mountains is sought in the founding of Jamestown, the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, the discovery of the great river by Henry Hudson, or, it may be, the building of old St. Augustine. A study of the lives and service of John Winthrop, William Bradford, Capt. John Smith, Jacob Eelkin, and William Penn, becomes imperative that necessary sidelights be thrown upon the picture of any locality along the Atlantic coast. And behind these lives, the influence of their old homes, whence they had emigrated, lies strong, so that their story must include the tale of Great Britain, Holland, and even Spain in the seventeenth century. Such is not, however, the necessity in investigating the beginnings of the history of any section in the Mississippi valley. Early explorations and settlements did not come from the nations which colonized the eastern coast. It was a century after the Mississippi was known to the white man before Great Britain, Holland, or Spain knew much of its fertile valley. A different nation than any of these discovered, explored, and, in a way, colonized this section, and claimed it for its own. When Columbus discovered the new world, in the last decade of the fifteenth century, the pope decreed that Spain should have possession as far as forty degrees north latitude. Now Columbus did not discover the mainland of the continent; that honor was left to the Englishman, John Cabot, a few years later. Consequently, Great Britain claimed the western continent. The king of Great Britain, being a Protestant, ignored the claim made by Spain because of the authority of the pope, and made a grant of land in America to the London company, which included six degrees already accorded the. other nation by papal decree. All grants of land in America made, stated that the territory included between the two oceans was given, yet neither the king who made them nor the men who received them, had correct ideas of the extent of the territory. The Alleghany mountains presented a barrier which time and exploration alone could level and show the extent of country beyond. Great Britain busied herself building homes and establishing institutions in New England and Virginia; Holland contented herself with the strip of country along the Hudson river, for a century and more, unconscious of the possibilities of the country beyond the mountains; Spain had been active in exploring the new world, but her object being the acquisition of wealth, of itself, defeated any permanent possession of the land. During the sixteenth century Spain discovered, conquered, and might have to some extent colonized, a large portion of inland America. Indeed, she laid claim to the vast domain from Colorado to Buenos Ayres, extending from sea to sea. Her insatiate search for gold made her push to the north and northwest, leaving fertile plains for the Rocky mountains which might hold the coveted treasure. This was the direction of colonization of America by three of the great powers of Europe, in the early part of the seventeenth century: Great Britain on a strip along the Atlantic coast, Holland along the Hudson river, and Spain in South America, Mexico, New Mexico, and toward the Pacific coast. France was a powerful nation of Europe at that time. She was neither disinterested nor idle in her explorations of the New World. Catholic France recognized the claim of Spain because of the decree of the pope, to forty degrees north latitude, and so directed her explorations north of that limit. Thus France discovered and profited by the valuable fisheries and fur trade of the north. In 1534 Jacques Cartier discovered the St. Lawrence river. This gave France a valid claim to it. Early in the next century, Samuel de Champlain established New France there, by building Quebec. Two motives combined to further the extension of New France; one was the wealth in the fur trade and the other, the religious zeal of the Frenchman and his love for his church. The common spirit of the times was a love of adventure. This spirit took the hardy Frenchman further and further into the wilderness, even to the region of the Great Lakes. Wherever the explorer and trader went, he was accompanied by the priest, so that by a little after the middle of the seventeenth century, missions were established as far west as Lake Superior. In about 1634, Jean Nicolet was sent upon an embassy from Quebec to the Winnebago Indians near the heart of Green Bay, to secure their trade. Thirty- seven years later, Sieur de St. Lusson Jean Talon, the Intendent of New France, through his deputy, formally took possession in the name of the king of France, of "Sainte Marie du Sault, as also Lakes Huron and Superior, the Manitoulin Islands, and all the countries, lakes, rivers and streams contiguous or adjacent thereto." In this way New France extended westward and as a matter of course it fell to France to discover and explore the Mississippi river; that great, as yet, unknown waterway which ran through the heart of the continent, and at the same time to find the promising country of the Illini. Although some knowledge, more or less vague, of the great river came to the missionaries and traders who had penetrated .the wilderness, there was little definite information concerning it until, in a letter which he wrote to his superior while in charge of the mission at Chequamegon Bay in 1668, Father James Marquette made mention of it. This letter was written from the mission called La Point du Esprit, or Mission of the Holy Ghost, and is preserved in the Jesuit Relations for 1669 and 1670, and reads in part as follows: "When the Illini came to the Point (meaning to Chequamegon Bay where these Indians came to trade) they passed a great river which is almost a league in width. It flows from north to south and is so great a distance that this tribe, who know little of the use of the canoe, have never as yet, heard of its mouth. * * * "It is hardly probable that this great river discharges itself in Virginia. We are more inclined to believe that it has its mouth in California." The report of a great waterway, as yet unknown to the civilized world, came at a time when the idea of a direct and quick route to the Indies had not been abandoned. That this unknown waterway might be the coveted connection with the far East, was probably the great incentive to the exploration of the Mississippi river at this time. The government at Paris and at Quebec decided that the exploration should be delayed no longer. To this end, Sieur Louis Joliet was commissioned to go upon this expedition and Father Dablon appointed Father Jacques Marquette, the zealous priest at the Mission of the Holy Ghost, to accompany him. It was not a large expedition so far as numbers constitute size, which was sent. Two canoes were manned, each with an Indian oarsman and taking an Indian guide, these two Frenchmen set put to explore the unknown river. Courage and zeal were needed for this undertaking, and the two men chosen were indeed brave and zealous. A letter written by Count Frontenac, Governor of Quebec, to M. Colbert, Minister of the Navy at Paris, described Sieur Louis Joliet as a man of great experience in these sorts of discoveries, who already has been almost to that river, the mouth of which he promises to see. Joliet had previous to this time made several discoveries, among them being that of Lake Erie. Louis Joliet was a man of much learning, having been educated for a priest; but his love of adventure had proven stronger than his love of study and his interest in the life and affairs of the Indian deeper than either, so that life in the wilderness had lured the monk from the cloister. Father Jacques Marquette, the devout and zealous priest, makes his own record, that upon receiving his appointment to accompany Joliet he was "enraptured at the good news of seeing my design on the point of being accomplished, and myself in the happy necessity of exposing my life for the salvation of all these nations, and particularly for the salvation of the Illini who had very earnestly entreated me to carry the word of God to their country." These "Illini" were among the different tribes of Indians who traded at the Mission of the Holy Ghost on Lake Superior, of which Father Marquette had charge as he wrote concerning the Mississippi river. It is to this religious fervor that the country north of the Ohio river and east of the Mississippi river is indebted for being made known to the civilized world at this time. It is true that the interests of trade determined this expedition to a great extent, yet it would hardly have been accomplished had it not been for the enthusiasm of the men to carry the privileges of their church to the benighted heathen. The devout priest who was seeking the salvation of the souls of the redmen to the glory of his church, had braved every personal danger in pushing across the wilderness to the Great Lakes, and it was one of these men who says he "was enraptured at the opportunity for 'exposing his life' in this continued service." Unlike any other country, America has been conquered by the cross, rather than the sword. Freedom to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience brought the Puritan to the eastern coast; a desire to save the souls of the native, led the Jesuit priests into the wilderness of the Mississippi valley. Joliet and Marquette met at the Mission of St. Ignatius, at Michilimakinac. Marquette had two years previous to this time established this Mission of St. Ignatius. It was not on the Island of Mackinac, but on the point of land west of the island, extending from the north shore into the strait. The place is now called Point St. Ignace. Here the two men made ready for their journey. On May 17, 1673, they left the Mission of St. Ignatius and crossed Lake Michigan to the mouth of the Fox river. Ascending this stream as far as it was navigable, they carried their canoes across to the Wisconsin river. This carrying place, or portage as the French called it, is now marked by Portage City, in Wisconsin. Rowing down the Wisconsin river this little party found themselves entering the Mississippi river-the first white men upon the upper waters of the mighty stream. Their delight is told by Marquette in his Journal as "a joy I can not express." De Soto had discovered the Mississippi river near its mouth, one hundred and thirty odd years before this time, but as yet Spain had neglected to take advantage of the discovery. Joliet and Marquette, with their Indian oarsmen and guide, explored the river to within a ten days' journey of its mouth, encountering various adventures. When they reached a point at about a league from the mouth of the Arkansas river, they were satisfied with what they had learned about the great waterway and retraced their steps. They had found that the Mississippi river did not lead through Virginia nor yet into California, but into the Gulf of Mexico. They had also satisfied themselves that it was not the much sought quick way to the Orient. Returning up the Mississippi, Marquette became too ill to proceed, so they left their boats at the mouth of the Illinois river. Taking the advice of the natives when they were ready to continue their journey, they took the quicker route, going up that river. This change in their plans brought them within the boundaries of what is now the state of Illinois. The coming into this territory is the beginning of authentic history of the commonwealth of which Vermilion County is a part. Marquette makes record of this journey up the Illinois river by saying: "We had seen nothing like this river for the fertility of its land, its prairies, wood, wild cattle, stag, deer, swan, ducks, parrots and even beaver; its many lakes and rivers." The vast stretch of prairie over which the eye roamed to the sky line, with its waving grass, presented a picture as beautiful and as awe-inspiring as must have been the outlook to the pilgrims in mid-ocean or>the first sight of the Great Lakes to the white man. The soft sunshine, the gentle breeze, burdened with the fragrance of innumerable flowers, the gay winged insects, the water fowl, the singing birds, all lent charm to the scene. The buffalo and deer, not yet having been taught to fear the white man, came to the river's brink to satisfy their thirst. It was indeed a goodly land to look upon. These explorers ascended the Illinois river to where Peoria is now located where they found the large Indian village of Kaskaskia. Here they paused, and Father Marquette established a mission among the Indians. This mission, after more than two and a quarter centuries, yet exists, having been moved when the village was moved, to near the mouth of the Kaskaskia (Okaw) river. The Mississippi river changed its course, so that Kaskaskia is now an island in its waters, completely cut off from the Illinois shore. But the mission established by Marquette, remains the same in name and location. Joliet and Marquette parted company after they left the village of Kaskaskia and Joliet returned directly to Quebec, where he made his report of the expedition, telling the direction and extent of the Mississippi river, as well as telling of the Illini country. The civilized world first learned through this report of the existence of this great waterway, and of the fertile land in the heart of the new continent The later explorations of Joliet, or missionary work of Marquette, in no way influences the section whose history is here being given. The glowing report of Joliet aroused public interest which crystalized into the subsequent plans of La Salle, who with the invincible Tonti, explored the Mississippi to its mouth a few years later and formally declared the entire Mississippi valley a part of France. The plans of La Salle included a chain of forts from Quebec to New Orleans. To this end he fortified Fort St. Louis (now known by the name of Starved Rock) and also attempted to plant colonies at the Gulf and, but for his untimely death, might have built a permanent New France in America. The New France, as recognized, included the vast domain north of the Ohio river and east of the Mississippi river. This territory is often spoken of as the country of the Illinois or the Illini, but in reality the country of the Illini was restricted on the east by that ridge which divides the tributaries of the Illinois river from those of the Wabash river. Such being the case, that territory now known as Vermilion County was never a part of the country of the Illini, and only in a general way, as being a part of the country north of the Ohio river and east of the Mississippi, seeks the beginning of its history in the discoveries of Joliet and Marquette. In truth Vermilion County is a part of the Wabash valley, belonged to the Wabash country, and must look for its early history in the story of that section. Four years before the exploration of Joliet and Marquette, it is said, La Salle set out from Montreal upon an expedition into the far country to the southwest. Unfortunately, the account of this journey is among the records that have been lost since the middle of the eighteenth century. No official account can now be found of the two years following La Salle's leaving Montreal, upon this, his first journey. There is a memorandum in existence which states that "after leaving Lake Erie six or seven leagues distant, he came to a stream which he descended to the River Ohio," but no mention is made of the name of this stream. It is, however, highly probable that it was along the historic Wabash (or Oubache, as the Indians called that river), that La Salle made his way to the Ohio. Later, the French had a favored route from Lake Erie, via the Maumee and Wabash rivers to the Ohio river. Granted that La Salle paddled his canoe down the Wabash river in 1669, and, by the right of discovery, has the prior claim to this section, and that the Wabash valley was made known through records now lost, conditions here remain about the same. La Salle's discovery made the Wabash valley a part of the same government as had claim to the Illinois country through the explorations of the -Mississippi river by Joliet and Marquette. The later exploration of the Mississippi river by La Salle himself, following in the lead of Joliet and Marquette, put this entire country of the Mississippi valley into New France, and the only question arises is whether history of the section which embraces what is now called Vermilion County, Illinois, begins in 1669, when La Salle is supposed to have discovered the Wabash valley, or in 1673 when Joliet and Marquette are known to have discovered the Illinois country, or yet later, in 1680 when La Salle formally took possession of the country drained by the great Mississippi river in the name of the king of France. But it matters little whether this section belonged to the careless monarch, whose interests in New France it was impossible to arouse, a few years sooner or later, for what possible effect could it have had upon the people whose homes were here at that time? What cared the dusky subjects who roamed the banks of the Vermilion and its tributaries, fought others of their race because of real or fancied wrongs, whether or not far away an indifferent France did or did not own the soil during this decade in the seventeenth century! The journey down the Wabash must have been similar to that made by Joliet and Marquette, up the Illinois. Vast forests lined the banks, beyond which the grass waved on the Wea Plains and other prairies of Indiana. Singing birds in the tree tops, wild game coming in places to the river's brink, the ripple of the placid stream-all were the counterpart of that other journey made with the Lilies of France unfurled to the breeze of the new West on the Illinois river. Whether Vermilion County, as a part of the state of Illinois, or a part of the Wabash Valley, was first explored, the fact is undisputed, it owes its discovery to the French and was made known to the civilized world through the records of the French government.