SOME SIGNATURES OF THE INDIAN CHIEFS AT THE GREAT PEACE
It was a momentous occasion. It was looked upon as the triumph of civilization and Christianity over barbarism and paganism. Montreal, so long the beleaguered outpost, the scene of many a bloody onslaught and carnage, was fittingly the arena of the joyous peace celebrations of that evening of August 14, 1701, heralding brighter days for the colony.
In the meantime, while the Indians were gathering at Montreal for the conclusion of the peace, a body of fifty regular soldiers and fifty Canadians left Lachine on June 1, 1701, under the command of Antoine de la Motte-Cardillac and accompanied by Capt. Alphonse de Tonti, the younger brother of Henri de Tonti, and the Lieutenants Dugué and Chacornelle. Not to draw the attention of the Iroquois, the expedition ascended the Ottawa River, entered Lake Huron and thence proceeded to Détroit to the new fort of Pontchartrain (or Détroit) rapidly rising and situated on the strait (Détroit) between Lakes Erie and Huron.
The establishment of this fort was the great desire of la Motte-Cardillac, for he deemed it of utmost importance and had obtained the permission from the secretary of the marine, Jérome Count de Pontchartrain. It secured the communications of the colony with the countries of the Miamis and the Illinois, and thence with Louisiana by the Mississippi. It was the key of the three upper lakes, a most desirable possession for the French. Moreover the climate of the strait was pleasant, the air healthful, the soil excellent and fruitful, and the hunting good. Incidentally the commandant saw an opportunity of enriching himself. But, to make such a settlement profitable, it was necessary to induce the Indians to settle there. At the congress of Montreal, the Governor de Callières, who had at first been hostile to the settlement of Détroit, as he feared with others like Champigny that it would be the ruin of Michillimackinac, invited the Hurons and Ottawas of Michillimackinac then present to change over to the new fort, and finally many of them did so. Thus was born the germ of the present Détroit.
Its founder was a familiar figure in Montreal. Antoine de la Motte-Cardillac belonged to a good family of Languedoc. At first a cadet in the regiment of Dampierre-Lorraine, then lieutenant in that of Clairembault, he passed over into Canada about 1683, desirous of making his fortune, being then not more than twenty-three years of age. His ready wit, intelligence, active ambition and never failing humour soon saw him advanced to a lieutenancy in the colonial troops, then to the rank of ensign of the navy and captain of the troops. Being a thorough Gascon, he gained the confidence of Frontenac, especially as he had no great love for the clergy, particularly the Jesuits. He was a railler, a skeptic and a critic of religion and morality, but knew how to play the game to suit his interests. He had undoubted ability and he acted as the ready tool of Frontenac. On September 16, 1694, he became the governor of Michillimackinac following Durantaye, and de Louvigny de la Port. His reign there was marked with the abuses prevalent among the trading posts of the period, where private commerce and self-interest among the soldiers were of more importance than the good of the natives or the development of the country. His frequent mêlées with the Jesuits, about whom he related contrary accusations of self-interested trading, brought it about that the French court determined to abandon Michillimackinac and when the order was rescinded, La Motte was so chagrined that finding it no longer likely to serve his interests, he refused to return there, being replaced by Alphonse de Tonti. Instead, he went to France to justify himself and to push the establishment of Fort Pontchartrain or Détroit as narrated, for he considered that wealth was in store for Détroit if the fur trade was restricted to it as he desired. This was likely to happen, for the policy of concentration was then in the ascendant, it being intended that the trade should seek the cities, while the western posts were being discouraged. Eventually the new trading company, which had been founded in October by the habitants of the colony for the exploitation of the beaver traffic and had most of the principal men as its shareholders, among them being many Montrealers who desired to concentrate the peltry trade towards Montreal, was restricted to Forts Frontenac and Détroit of the western forts. Finally, owing to trouble with the directors of the company, whom he bitterly accused of no desire but for gain, so that the fields were not sown and the cattle were destroyed, Détroit was handed over to Cardillac as commandant. But his ambitions were clipped, for by the ordinances of June, 1706, he could not trade in castors to more than fifteen to twenty thousand livres a year, so as not to increase the number of beaver skins, with which the company was already overloaded. He was forbidden, moreover, to trade except in his fort. His voluminous letters of this period are full of complaints against the Jesuits, the company and the head of the government. Thus Détroit struggled through a critical infancy but was gaining strength so that it had reached 200 souls, when its founder, [160] by letters of May 10, 1710, was appointed governor of Louisiana to succeed de Bienville.
On the first day of January, 1700, Marguerite Bourgeoys, now in her eightieth year, passed into her agony and on the 12th breathed her last, surrounded by the community she had founded and whose rule of life had at last been approved by Bishop St. Vallier on June 24, 1696. The funeral, which took place on January 13th in the parish church, was attended by all classes of Montreal from the governor general down to the simplest habitant, for she had been looked upon as the universal mother of the community. The vicar general of the diocese and the superior of the seminary, the aged Dollier de Casson, now bent under the weight of fourscore years of life and labours, pronounced the funeral oration. On the tablet of steel placed on the coffin, the epitaph ordered by him read as follows: