Life in Post-Colonial Illinois for French Women and Families.

The American hero, George Rogers Clark, had just seized the French village of Kaskaskia from the British and now turned his sights on Vincennes. Clark appealed to the local French habitants for help. He found support in an unlikely place. With the encouragement of Kaskaskia's women, he had no trouble in finding male recruits eager to join him on his journey. The pivotal town of Vincennes fell to the Americans a short time later. Thanks, in part, to the women of Kaskaskia, Clark emerged victorious once again.

The role of French women in post-Colonial Illinois plays out in small sentences like this. There are very few studies on the women living in the area known as the Illinois Country between the years 1778 and 1818, the year Illinois achieved statehood. Yet French women played an important part in the history, settlement, and development of early Illinois. French settlers had come to the Illinois County in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, migrating south from Canada and north, via the Mississippi River, from lower Louisiana. Through trade and intermarriage, the French cultivated effective working relationships with native tribes. By 1778 French families on both sides of the river dominated the commercial, political, religious, military, and cultural frontier of early Illinois. The regional economic and social foundations constructed by the French were inextricably linked by their extended family networks. French women, in their roles as mothers, daughters, and wives, were crucial players in developing and maintaining these family networks.

In general, a woman's role in society was much more limited than that of a man's. Unlike her brothers, who might go off to boarding school for their education, French girls generally learned at home. Under a mother's tutelage, girls learned the basics of domesticity: washing, sewing, cooking, cleaning, gardening, and the many other tasks that accompanied running a household, including managing slaves. A few girls' schools were established in St. Louis in the early 1800s. There, formal instruction included the study of languages, mathematics, history, poetry, art, music, and even some simple philosophy. However, distance made the schools inaccessible to many girls, and the cost was prohibitive to nearly everyone except the wealthy.

The primary purpose of any girl's education—formal instruction or homeschooling—was to help her catch a husband. Since marriage was considered the societal norm, there were very few other options for women in early Illinois. Women could find work as governesses or teachers. Some women worked as midwives or healers, but generally, these women had been married before. Most of the French women who managed businesses on the Illinois frontier did so as widows who took over their husband's dealings upon his death. A final alternative to marriage was entering a convent, although, before 1833, this required leaving Illinois altogether.

With so few choices, it is not surprising that the women of the American bottom tended to marry in their teens, while their counterparts in Northern New England and the Mid-Atlantic farming communities during this period married between the ages of twenty and twenty-two. Most French women married into multi-family households, which were common on the Illinois frontier, where death often claimed spouses and remarriage was a necessity for survival. Husbands often came with children from previous marriages.

When Angelique Saucier married Pierre Menard in 1806 at age twenty-three, she was only ten years older than her eldest stepdaughter, thirteen-year-old Marie-Odile, one of four surviving offspring from Menard's first marriage. Angelique and Menard went on to have eight children together. In 1798 Nicholas Jarrot married Julie St. Gemme de Beauvais, with whom he had six children. Jarrot's daughter from his first marriage grew up in the family home with the rest of the Jarrot children. Most French homes had multi-family units. Living with many "step-people" and extended family members was common.

Pierre Menard House

Many women of varying ages (mothers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, cousins, etc.) in large French households provided many role models from which girls could learn and pattern their behavior. For example, there was twenty-nine years age difference between Sophie Menard, born in 1822, and her eldest stepsister Marie-Odile, born in 1793. Her second eldest stepsister was twenty years her senior. These women acted as second mothers to Sophie, who, at age seventeen, lost her own. At the same time, large families could bring conflict, living as they did in cramped quarters where both space and privacy were at a premium. The Pierre Menard Home, for example, located just outside Ellis Grove, Illinois and built between 1815 and 1818, measured only 71 x 43 feet. Although large for its day, it contained only three sleeping chambers and housed between ten and sixteen people, not including slaves.

Birth order was an important factor in when a woman could enter the marriage market. Usually, daughters were married off in order from eldest to youngest. If an elder daughter made a good (i.e., lucrative) match, the next in line was not under so much pressure to promote the family's aggrandizement. Moreover, the successful match of the first daughter signaled to the world that the family was up and coming. Oftentimes, a well-matched older sister provided an important entree into society for her younger siblings. If, on the other hand, the first daughter chose a less-than-adequate mate, the pressure intensified upon the next offspring to marry well.

Selecting a husband, however, was no easy task. The choice of a marriage partner was probably one of the most important decisions a woman would make in the early nineteenth century. The right husband offered financial support and physical protection from harm. A husband's good name (or lack thereof) determined a woman's status within the community. If she made the wrong choice—if she selected an abusive husband, a drunk, a lie-about who would not work, or a man of the low regard in the community-her place in life would suffer as well.

Men vastly outnumbered women on the Illinois frontier in the early nineteenth century. Consequently, a young French woman faced a wide variety of men, not always desirable, from which to choose. On the east coast and in more settled areas of America, a woman could rely on a long-established family's good name and reputation when sizing up her potential beaus. But in post-colonial Illinois, very few of the eligible young men came from established families. As the nineteenth century progressed, Americans and Germans migrating from the East began to replace the old French families. How could one know if these mobile, young men, who drifted in from parts and families unknown, whose accents, mannerisms, and even religions were so very different from the local customs, would make good husbands? To help them in their selection of a husband, women turned to family, friends, and their community for assistance. Parents, while not always arranging marriages, still held a great deal of control over their offspring's choice of spouse. Women, in particular, were often very active in the courtship process, arranging events where young people could meet and orchestrating the events to see that only the "right" people mingled together. Thus, while in many cases, a woman was virtually free to choose her own spouse, family and friends made sure that the pool from which she selected was limited and that only suitable partners were considered.

Just as the social elite could close their ranks on one less worthy, they eagerly embraced those they saw beneficial to their position. Therefore, a man's social and business connections were extremely relevant to his suitability as a husband, perhaps more important than religion or nationality. Conversely, in many cases, a man's success was inextricably linked to the women they married, the daughters they married off, and the networks these women helped them establish throughout the country. The ever-changing power struggles on the Illinois frontier required settlers to adapt to ensure political and financial survival. One way of adapting was to marry into the powerful political families of the day. Thus, ambitious newcomers to The Illinois country found the fastest way to ingratiate themselves with the local French elite was to marry their daughters. Pierre Menard, for example, came to Illinois in 1790 and quickly ingratiated himself into the local elite by marrying Therese Godin, whose family had lived in the area for nearly one hundred years. This marriage put him in the center of a ruling French elite, and what better place to be for a young entrepreneur like Menard? His second marriage was just as beneficial, and Menard went on to become a successful merchant, trader, Indian sub-agent, and the first lieutenant governor of Illinois.

Nicholas Jarrot House

This pattern of marrying into the elite was also adopted by Nicholas Jarrot. Within a year of his arrival in Cahokia, he confirmed his increasing stature in the community with his marriage to Marie-Louise Barbau, who came from a very well-known and respected family. Her father, Jean-Baptiste Barbau, had served as the first judge of St. Clair County. The witnesses at the wedding were from some of the most prominent families of Prairie de Rocher, including the names Janis, Dubuque, and Barbau. Jarrot's second wife, Julie St. Gemme de Bauvais, also hailed from a prominent well-established family. In another example, Pierre Martin, having migrated from Canada to settle at Cahokia, married a Cahokia widow whose inheritance from her father and first husband made her a lucrative catch. He later sold off her family property to pay his debts.

Likewise, long-established French families found that they could maintain their standing in the community—a community increasingly overrun by Americans—by allowing their daughters to take these men as their husbands. Pierre Menard's daughter Marie-Odile married Irishman Hugh Maxwell, a successful businessman. Alzire Menard married George Hancock Kennerly, a close relation to William Clark, the famous explorer, whose political ties helped further her father's business interests. A woman's choice of marriage partner meant personal security and securing the future wealth and position of her entire family.

Despite the emphasis placed upon choosing a marriage partner who would provide well and promote the family's aggrandizement, there is evidence of love matches taking place. Indeed, as the nineteenth century progressed, love, as a requirement for marriage, increased in importance. Extant letters between couples often reveal much affection and tenderness between husbands and wives.

Depending upon when and whom she married, a woman could be bound by one of two legal systems. A set of French laws, called the Custom of Paris, governed marriage contracts and inheritance in The Illinois Country long after the United States took control. Under the Custom of Paris, both husband and wife made monetary contributions to the marriage. A widow generally received half of her husband's estate upon his death. The other half was divided equally between the couple's children, both male and female. This system protected women from their husband's financial carelessness.

As increasing numbers of American settlers moved into Illinois, English Common Law replaced the Custom of Paris. Under this system, when a woman married, her husband became the owner of her property, land, or money. This greatly affected inheritance practices. While the interests of wives, sisters, and daughters were often protected, rarely were they given actual control over land because this land would become the property of her spouse, who might squander it away or allow it to pass out of the family's bloodline. From 1750 to 1820, however, dower laws expanded to offer more protection to women. These laws held that upon the death of her spouse, a woman retained one-third of her husband's real property and one-third of his personal property. The rest was divided, rarely equally, among the children, usually favoring the eldest son.

Since the primary purpose of marriage was to procreate and extend the family line, many years of childbirth and child-rearing awaited women after marriage. Large families were a way to secure the bloodline and provide numerous farm or business workers. Children could promote family interests by marrying well and by caring for their elderly parents.

Most women usually had their first child within two years of their marriage, and on average, they continued to give birth in two-year intervals over the next fifteen or twenty years. Yet having large families posed a significant risk to women. Pregnancy and childbirth were life-threatening endeavors. Multiple pregnancies depleted women's strength and nutritional stores, making each consecutive pregnancy, especially at close intervals, that much more difficult. Numerous medical problems, un-sterilized instruments, and the resulting infections and complications during birth also plagued these women, who lived without the benefits of modern medicine. Many French women and their babies died in childbirth on the Illinois frontier. Those who survived relied on other women to help them through the pregnancy and the delivery. Women often traveled to be together during their period of lying in, and they continued to turn to each other to help with the trials and tribulations of child-rearing.

In addition to raising numerous children, most women spent their time running their households. For many women, the domestic sphere was the only place in which they could gain the satisfaction and power unavailable to them in the public workplace. Daily chores were endless, and even wealthy women found themselves overseeing the kitchen and gardens, ordering supplies for the home, planning menus, directing cleaning, refurbishing or decorating, sewing and repairing garments, and supervising the family slaves. When business or trade required a man to travel far from home, women picked up the slack, acting as their husband's agents and taking over many of his managerial duties at home and in their business life, sometimes for months at a time.

For the well-to-do French wife, promoting the right public image became the hallmark of her role. A smoothly run household raised a family's standing within the community. Some wealthier women took up philanthropic activities, acting as benefactors for orphanages or religious schools. Angelique Saucier Menard was very active in establishing a girls' school in Kaskaskia, and she continued to support the Sisters of the Visitation throughout her lifetime. This, too, lent an aura of prestige to the family name. Displays of hospitality, meant to further business and social aims, also fell to women.

A further job of women was "kin keeping" or "kin work." Women, more than men, actively cultivated contacts among families and relatives, which tied households together. For many women, marriage meant leaving their homes and settling elsewhere. Separated from family, women on the Illinois frontier had to work to retain kinship ties and family networks. Through letter writing, mutual aid, visiting, and orchestrating societal functions, women allowed extended family relations to flourish. Women were key players in births, baptisms, weddings, confirmations, illnesses, death, and funerals. By providing social, emotional and even medical support to their kin, these women constructed and maintained the family ties upon which nearly all business and political pursuits were based in post-colonial Illinois.

The genteel society of the French elite society and culture cultivated and propagated by and through French women provided a model for civilization and social order on the frontier. As a result, many incoming American settlers sought alliances with the native Illinois French. Americans saw this French society, so similar to gentility systems in the East, as a place to begin advancing their own political, economic, and social agendas. Marrying these French families gave a boost to newcomers and, at the same time, allowed the old French families to maintain their place in the powerful circles of a new American government.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Exploring Seventeenth Century "Païs des Illinois," the Illinois Country.

In the late seventeenth century, Pere (Father) Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored what would become, a century and a half later, the state of Illinois. Entering the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Wisconsin River, they traveled downstream by canoe along the entire length of Illinois. At the mouth of the Des Moines River, they found a village of the Peoria, one of the tribes that spoke the Illinois language.

Map of western New France, including the Illinois Country, by Vincenzo Coronelli, 1688.

Continuing downstream, they reached the mouth of the Arkansas River. Then, they retraced their route to the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, where they decided to return to Lake Michigan via the Illinois River. Near Starved Rock, on the river's upper reach, Marquette and Jolliet encountered the Kaskaskia, another tribe that spoke the Illinois language. After a visit, the French pushed on to Lake Michigan.

Jolliet lost his journal of the trip when his canoe overturned in the Rapids of La Chine above Montreal, and Marquette's accounts were vague and incomplete. The records of Marquette, Jolliet, and other French explorers provide much of what we know about seventeenth-century Illinois. Still, we can draw upon other evidence about this time and place to create a more detailed picture of the past.

There are many paths to the past—anthropology and archaeology, folklore, history, and natural history—each with a distinctive perspective, but they provide the most complete picture used together. A multidisciplinary approach to the past is beneficial when our destination lies at the frontier of history, where written accounts are sketchy and incomplete.

French Map of North America 1700 (Covens and Mortier ed. 1708)
"PAÏS DE ILINOIS," near the center.

History is the most frequently traveled path to seventeenth-century Illinois. Journals, maps, and other written documents provide firsthand accounts of places, people, and events. Historical accounts are often rich with information and details unavailable from different sources. In this context, folklore is part of history.

Archaeology is a less-traveled path to seventeenth-century Illinois, which is the best means to explore the past without documents or to supplement written records. Such records frequently guide archaeologists to seventeenth-century sites, but it is clear that objects often bear witness to events not otherwise recorded. An archaeologist "reads" objects to create an incomplete record of the past—and usually the only one.

The least-traveled path to seventeenth-century Illinois is natural history, studying past environments. Nature influences Life, and the work of geologists, biologists, and climatologists, among others, provides information about the environment at a particular time and place that allows us to study environmental change over time.

To arrive at the best vista of seventeenth-century Illinois, we must follow each path so our journey begins. The year is A.D. 1600, more than seven decades before Pere Marquette and Louis Jolliet recorded their exploration of the Illinois Country.

The Place: Païs de Illinois, the Illinois Country
Seventeenth-century Illinois would be familiar to us from a distance, but look more closely, and you will see some significant differences. Using historical records such as European crop production reports, botanical studies of pollen deposited in lake-bottom sediment, and other sources of information, Climatologists have identified a period of colder weather worldwide called the "Little Ice Age." Between 550 and 150 years ago, annual average temperatures dropped one to two degrees centigrade, enough to shorten the growing season and cause more severe winters.

Païs de Ilinois (Illinois Country) in 1717 French map.

Based on plant and animal remains discovered during archaeological excavations, the characteristics and distribution of certain soils, and later historical accounts, prairie— mostly wet prairie—dominated the flat lands of seventeenth-century Illinois. Forests persisted in areas of more topographic relief and, spurred by cooler weather, probably expanded their distribution, though enormous fires that periodically raced across the landscape impeded this expansion.

Walking across the state three centuries ago, a traveler would have seen bison, elk, bear, wolf, white-tailed deer, and many other species of animals. However, by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the large mammals were forced to find refuge elsewhere as increasing numbers of Europeans and then Americans settled here and eventually cultivated vast tracts of land.

The People: Indians in the Illinois Country
Historians and archaeologists are often asked, which tribes lived in Illinois before the arrival of the French? This is a simple question but difficult to answer. Without historical documents, archaeologists depend on their ability to recognize artifacts typical of a particular group or culture. For example, Marquette and Jolliet report finding the Kaskaskia tribe near Starved Rock in 1673.

In the late 1940s, based on French documents and maps, archaeologists from the University of Chicago and the Illinois State Museum located the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia, where Marquette and Jolliet had stopped in 1673. While excavating the site, archaeologists found examples of pre-contact artifacts, especially pottery, that they hoped would enable them to locate other Illinois villages that existed before the arrival of the French. They have yet to find late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century villages, which generally do not have artifacts comparable to those discovered at the Grand Village. Thus, it is unclear if artifacts found at older sites can be attributed to the Illinois' or another tribe. In short, archaeologists have been unable to link particular artifacts to specific tribes. Thus, we do not clearly understand which tribes lived in Illinois in the early seventeenth century, let alone earlier. In fact, growing evidence suggests that the Illinois tribes had not long been residents of the Illinois Country.

We recognize Marquette and Jolliet as the first Europeans in Illinois, but artifacts provide evidence of direct or indirect European contact before their arrival. Marquette noticed some French trade goods at the Peoria Village on the Mississippi River in 1673. Archaeologists found French trade goods at the Grand Village of Kaskaskia but are still determining whether they predate Marquette and Jolliet. Farther south, near the mouth of the Wabash River, European artifacts have been found on sites occupied during the late 1500s and early 1600s.

In the Chicago suburb of LaGrange, Illinois, the discovery of a 1669 French jeton may be evidence of earlier exploration or trade. Still, it is also possible that the coin was carried for many years before being lost. Nevertheless, these are among the few tantalizing bits of evidence that suggest Indian contacts with Europeans in Illinois are not recorded in historical documents.

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Jetons are tokens or coin-like medals produced across Europe from the 13th through the 17th centuries. They were produced as counters for use in calculation on a counting board or a lined board similar to an abacus.

The Event: French Exploration of the Illinois Country
Archaeological evidence suggests that nearly 150 years before they saw a European, native inhabitants of Illinois were affected by spreading European technology and culture. From the 1490s to the mid-1600s, diseases, changing economic relationships, and a few traded tools and ornaments began an inexorable change in the lives of the Indians. The first recorded contact between French traders and Indians in the Great Lakes region occurred in the 1630s. The first Frenchman who passed over the old trails of southern Illinois in 1673 was a poacher. The Illinois Country, more insular, would soon be recognized as the crossroad of the continent.

Trade is the best context in which to understand early Illinois history. In addition to French documents about trade with Indians, trade goods—glass beads, metal tools, containers, and textiles, among others—are readily identifiable in artifact assemblages from Indian sites.

As trade expanded, Indian tribes in Illinois soon became more important. Based on archaeological research, Indians in Illinois sustained themselves through hunting, gathering, and farming before the arrival of French explorers. Their importance increased because they controlled a part of the continent where all the largest inland waterways converged, thus trade routes. The French called the land "Païs de Illinois," meaning "Country of Illinois." Farming, waterways, and trade routes defined the Illinois Country and its people, then and now.

Exploration offered trading opportunities. Although several European nations established trade colonies on the coasts of North America, only the French built trading posts and, later, more permanent settlements in the middle of the continent.

In the 1500s, the French explored the St. Lawrence River, the northeastern entrance to North America, while the Spanish approached the interior from the south. The search for trade routes to the Far East and Treasure motivated exploration. By the early 1600s, the French had organized Indian trading partners; they built settlements along the St. Lawrence River and called this place New France.

Although New France's trade radiated in all directions, it concentrated in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes appeared particularly attractive, with cold lands to the north and English and Dutch colonies to the south. Before the 1650s, Indians carried French trade goods far to the west and returned furs. Some tribes, such as the Iroquois, maintained their importance by preventing French traders from independently exploring the Great Lakes. The poorly known western lands became known as the "Upper Country," from whence flotillas of Indian canoes traveled "down" to New France to obtain goods.

Eventually, the reach of French trade extended to the land of the Illinois tribes. Soon, French traders were aware of a warmer land with large rivers and avenues of trade. These rivers promised the possibility of extending trade even further west, perhaps to the western sea and beyond to Asia.

French policy on expanding its settlements further inland swayed back and forth. The lure of fur trade fortunes and land was at odds with the government's desire to establish a strong colony before expansion. But what if other nations gained control of the interior? Although forbidden to trade in the interior, Canadians found resisting the opportunity for extraordinary profit difficult. In the end, profits won, and by the 1660s, the French had taken up residence in the western Great Lakes. The Illinois Country would be the next frontier.

Illegal French traders may have traversed the Illinois Country in the 1650s, but the expedition of Marquette and Jolliet in 1673 marked a commitment to colonize the area. Jolliet requested permission to establish a settlement, but politics favored René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (Sieur de La Salle being a title only). La Salle obtained permission to build trading posts, make land grants to followers, and explore the mouth of the Mississippi River. Arriving late in 1679 following setbacks and near disasters, La Salle's party soon established trade on the upper reach of the Illinois River. European artifacts found at Indian villages at Starved Rock and the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia, on the river's opposite bank, mark the beginning of this period of more intensive trade.

French trade expanded in the Great Lakes and Illinois Country during the next two decades. The French built military posts and Catholic missions at Starved Rock, present-day Peoria (where archaeologists continue to search for evidence of French occupation), and elsewhere as more traders arrived. Marriages and subsequent offspring resulted in a Metis society that mixed French and Indian heritage and culture.

The rapid expansion of the fur trade overwhelmed the marketplace and undermined fledgling French settlements in Illinois. Key settlements to the north, including Detroit and Green Bay, continued to grow, but the French maintained only a token presence in Illinois.

Marquette and Jolliet, La Salle, and others explored the Illinois Country, and it remained a little-known area on the frontier in the late seventeenth century. But this would soon change.

Map of settlements in the Illinois Country.
Thomas Hutchins map of 1778.

We must draw upon various resources to explore seventeenth-century Illinois to assemble the most complete picture. Written documents and maps generally provide the most detailed record, but artifacts and "ecofacts" often provide evidence not available elsewhere. Each source of evidence is biased, but a multidisciplinary approach to the past balances bias or at least points out inconsistencies in the evidence. 

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“Ecofacts” are biological objects found at archaeological sites, such as remains of plant and animal foods.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Illinois, a Brief History Beginning Around 12,000 B.C.

Southern Illinois is bordered on three sides by the Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash Rivers. Several other rivers traverse its countryside, including the Big and Little Muddy, Little Wabash, Saline, and Cache Rivers. The southern part of the state is characterized by wooded hills, farms, underground coal mines, strip mines, and low marshlands.

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The word "Mississippi" comes from the Ojibwe Indian Tribe (Algonquian language family) word "Messipi" or "misi-ziibi," which means "Great River" or "Gathering of Waters." French explorers, hearing the Ojibwe word for the river, recorded it in their own language with a similar pronunciation. The Potawatomi (Algonquian language family) pronounced "Mississippi" as the French said it, "Sinnissippi," which was given the meaning "Rocky Waters."

The earliest inhabitants of Illinois were thought to have arrived about 12,000 B.C. They were hunters and gatherers but developed a primitive agriculture system and eventually built rather complex urban areas that included earthen mounds. Their culture seemed to disappear around 1400-1500 A.D.

The Beardstown Mounds in 1817.

The Illinois (aka Illiniwek or Illini) is pronounced as plural: The Illinois was a Confederacy of Indian tribes consisting of the Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Peoria, Tamarais (Tamaroa, Tamarois), Moingwena, Mitchagamie (Michigamea), Chepoussa, Chinkoa, Coiracoentanon, Espeminkia, Maroa, and Tapouara tribes that were of the Algonquin family and spoke Algonquian languages.

Other Indian tribes, including the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa Nations, as well as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sauk (Sac), Meskwaki (Fox), Kickapoo, arrived in Illinois around 1500 A.D. Archeologists are not sure if these Indians are were related to the previous inhabitants. They left behind all artifacts, including burial sites burned-out campfires along the bases of bluffs, pottery, flints, implements, and weapons. Interesting structures that were built by Indian tribes are known as stone forts or pounds. Visitors can see the prehistoric Stone Fort built in Giant City State Park near Makanda. At least eight other structures are known in the region.

The French were the first Europeans to reach Illinois. The Very First Frenchman in Southern Illinois was a Poacher. When Marquette and Jolliet arrived in 1673, the Indians welcomed them. French explorers named Illinois by referring to the land where the Illiniwek Indian tribes lived.

The French explored the Mississippi River, establishing outposts and seeking a route to the Pacific Ocean and the Orient. Because of increasing Indian unrest and warfare in northern Illinois, the French concentrated on building outposts in the southern part. The earliest European settlers in Southern Illinois concentrated along the Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash rivers at the state's southern end. Their settlements became important way stations, supply depots, and trading posts between Canada and ports on the lower Mississippi River. Important early outposts in Southern Illinois were located at Shawneetown and Fort Massac on the Ohio River.

The English ruled the Lower Great Lakes region after defeating the French in the French and Indian War and with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Their rule of this area was short-lived.

During the American Revolution in 1778, the state of Virginia backed a military expedition led by 23-year-old George Rogers Clark. Landing at Fort Massac in Illinois (which was abandoned a decade earlier), his force of 175 soldiers marched across Southern Illinois. It defeated the English at Forts Kaskaskia, Illinois, and Vincennes in western Indiana. This laid the claim by the Americans to this territory. When news of the conquest by Clark reached Virginia, it claimed Illinois as one of its counties. Virginia ceded the county of Illinois to the federal government in 1783 when it realized it could not govern so sparsely populated and distant land.

Non-French-speaking settlers arrived slowly in Illinois, and probably less than 2,000 non-Indians lived in Illinois in 1800. But soon after that, many more settlers came from the backwoods of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas. These early settlers were of English, German, Scottish, and Irish descent. They chose to settle in the southern part of Illinois as its wooded hills reminded them of the mountains they left behind. They found abundant wood and lived off the land, growing crops, fishing, and hunting for game.

In 1787, the federal government included Illinois in the Northwest Ordinance, including Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Illinois became a part of the Indiana Territory in 1800. Illinois settlers wanted more control over their own affairs, and Illinois became a separate territory in 1809.

On December 17, 1811, a great earthquake at Cahokia Mounds awakened the settlers in Illinois with a violent trembling. Fields rippled like waves on an ocean. Trees swayed, became tangled together, and snapped off with sounds like gunshots. In some places, sand, coal, and smoke blew up into the air as high as thirty yards. People as far away as Canada and Maryland felt the tremors. It was reported that the earthquake shook so violently that tremors were felt as far away as Boston. It was reported that this earthquake made the Mississippi River flow backward momentarily. The river changed its course in several spots due to the earthquake, as new islands appeared and others disappeared in the river. The earthquake is estimated to have been equivalent to an 8.0 on the Richter scale, although the Richter scale did not exist at that time. Fortunately, few people lost their lives because the quake centered in a sparsely populated area.

Cave-in-Rock

There was very little violence in the Illinois frontier. Murders and violent assaults were rarely reported. However, bandits and river pirates operated along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers for decades. On the Ohio River, these bandits and pirates are often located in or near Cave-in-Rock, a natural cave facing the river. The bandits and river pirates added to the hazards and uncertainties of pioneer life. Murders and counterfeiting (aka: 'coiners') made settlers eager to have law enforcement agencies nearby.

In 1818, the U.S. Congress approved an Act that enabled the Illinois territory to become the 21st state of the Union. Immigration to Illinois increased after it became a state as more settlers arrived from New England and foreign countries. These settlers tended to migrate to central and northern Illinois, causing a noticeable Yankee influence in northern Illinois as opposed to the southern influence in the southern region due to a majority of settlers coming from southern states. The state's population exploded from 40,000 people in 1818 to 270,000 in 1835. The 1850 census reported that 900,000 people lived in Illinois.

Early statehood problems engulfed Illinois. In the 1830s, the state was near bankruptcy because of government financing of canals and railroad construction. The national financial Panic of 1837 added to the state's problems before the prosperity of the 1850s relieved this situation. Railroads like the Illinois Central Railroad were built to allow the state's agricultural products to be shipped to market.

Sometime in the 1830s, Southern Illinois became known as Little Egypt. The most likely reason this region is known as Little Egypt is that settlers from northern Illinois came south to buy grain during years when they had poor harvests in the 1830s, just as ancient people had traveled to Egypt to buy grain (Genesis 41:57 and 42:1-3). Later, towns in Southern Illinois were named Cairo, Thebes, and Karnak, following the Little Egypt theme.

In 1830, Congress passed a bill permitting the removal of all Indians living east of the Mississippi River. For the next 20 years, Indians were marched west to reservations in Arkansas and Oklahoma, including the bands of the Illiniwek tribes living in Illinois. In the Fall and Winter of 1838-39, Cherokee Indians were marched out of Georgia and the Carolinas across Southern Illinois to reservations in the west. It was estimated that 2,000 to 4,000 Cherokee men, women, and children died during this 1,000-mile journey west. It became known as the Trail of Tears due to the many hardships and sorrows it brought to the Indians.

The first bank to be chartered in Illinois was located at Old Shawneetown in 1816 and was built of logs. The first building, used solely to house a bank in Illinois, was built in 1840 in Old Shawneetown and was used until the 1920s. The Old Shawneetown State Bank has been restored as a historical site.

The Old Shawneetown Bank

Cotton and tobacco were grown in the extreme southern region of Illinois. Cotton was grown mainly for the home weaver, but during the Civil War, enough cotton was grown for export since a regular supply of cotton from the South was unavailable. Enough tobacco was grown to make it a profitable crop for export. Cotton and tobacco are no longer grown for export in the region. Other Illinois foods for export included maple syrup, honey, grapes, roots, berries, crab apples, plums, persimmons, mushrooms, nuts, fish, deer, fowl, hogs, cattle, and poultry. The invention of the steamboat greatly expanded the profitability of crops exported from Illinois.

The County of Saline was named for its ancient salt works along the Saline River. It attracted deer, buffalo, and antelope, who obtained salt simply by licking the mud banks along the river where Indians and the French made salt. From 1810 until 1873, commercial salt production produced as much as 500 bushels daily. The owner of one of the salt works built a large house in the 1830s on the Saline River near Equality, known today as the Old Slave House. Still standing, its small attic rooms were thought to be used to house slaves or indentured servants who toiled in the salt works.

Old Slave House

Even though it was prohibited since the 1780s under the Northwest Ordinance that established the territory, slavery continued in Illinois. Indian tribes were the first to have slaves (usually captives from another tribe), and the French introduced it in the 1700s. Laws were passed in Illinois after it became a territory in 1809 and later when it became a state, which allowed people to own indentured servants in Illinois, an equivalent to slavery. Other laws were enacted that prohibited people from coming to Illinois to free their slaves.

As many of the original settlers in Southern Illinois came from southern states, many had pro-southern sympathies and a fear that freed blacks would flood into their new homeland. The underground railroad existed in Southern Illinois but was not as active as in other parts of the state. The Civil War caused many families to have divided loyalties.

Many of these Illinois Black Codes or Laws remained on the books until November 4, 1864, when John L. Jones, born a free Negro, distributed his pamphlet, "The Black Laws of Illinois and a Few Reasons Why They Should Be Repealed," spurring the Illinois General Assembly to repeal all of them. Within weeks, Gov. Richard J. Oglesby signed the bill repealing the black laws.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The La Vantum Village Massacre of The Illinois (Illiniwek) by the Iroquois Indians and its aftermath in 1691.

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In historical writing and analysis, PRESENTISM introduces present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Presentism is a form of cultural bias that creates a distorted understanding of the subject matter. Reading modern notions of morality into the past is committing the error of presentism. Historical accounts are written by people and can be slanted, so I try my hardest to present fact-based and well-researched articles.

Facts don't require one's approval or acceptance.

I present [PG-13] articles without regard to race, color, political party, or religious beliefs, including Atheism, national origin, citizenship status, gender, LGBTQ+ status, disability, military status, or educational level. What I present are facts — NOT Alternative Facts — about the subject. You won't find articles or readers' comments that spread rumors, lies, hateful statements, and people instigating arguments or fights.

FOR HISTORICAL CLARITY

When I write about the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, I follow this historical terminology:

• The use of old commonly used terms, disrespectful today, i.e., REDMAN or REDMEN, SAVAGES, and HALF-BREED are explained in this article.

Writing about AFRICAN-AMERICAN history, I follow these race terms:

• "NEGRO" was the term used until the mid-1960s.
• "BLACK" started being used in the mid-1960s.
• "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" [Afro-American] began usage in the late 1980s.

— PLEASE PRACTICE HISTORICISM —

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PAST IN ITS OWN CONTEXT.

 

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After most of the soldiers had deserted from Fort de Crévecoeur, Henri de Tonti, with those remaining, consisting of Father Gabriel, Father Zenobe, and three soldiers, abandoned the place. All the valuables in the fort were put into two canoes, and the party ascended the Illinois River as far as the Village of La Vantum. 

The Village of La Vantum was located on the north bank of the Illinois River east of today's North Utica, Illinois.

Here they found quarters among the Indians while waiting for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle's return from Canada. Tonti applied himself to learning the Indian language. The two priests were engaged in preaching to the natives—while the soldiers were spending the honeymoon with their squaws, whom they had recently married.

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René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle: "Sieur de La Salle" is a title translating to "Lord of the Manor."

About three miles from the town, Father Gabriel and Zenobe erected a temporary altar amid a thick grove of timber. Every third day they repaired thither for prayer and meditation. Here in this lonely spot, far away from the noise and bustle of the Village, the two holy Friars would spend long summer days, from early morning until late at night, communing with Virgin Mary, saints, and angels.

Notwithstanding, these priests preached and prayed with these Indians almost daily, promising them success in war, hunting, etc., if they would embrace Christianity, but few converts were made. Chassagoac, the chief, having embraced the Christian religion seven years before under the preaching of Father Pére Jacques Marquette, still continued in the faith. The chief, his household, and a few of his friends had taken the sacrament from the bands of the priests. Still, all the other chiefs and principal warriors denounced Christianity, adhering to the religion of their fathers.

The wine brought from Canada for sacramental purposes having been drunk by La Forge, as previously stated, it became necessary to procure a substitute, as the administration of the sacred rights could not be dispensed with. During the winter, the priests gathered wild grapes, pressed out the juice, and put it away in the sacramental cask for future use. This wine answered the purpose very well so long as the weather remained cool, but it soured and became unfit for use during the summer.

The time came to administer the sacrament. Tonti, the three soldiers with their wives, Chassagoac, and family, with a few friends, were assembled in the council-house on the Sabbath day to receive the sacred emblems. Father Gabriel, wrapped in his long black robe with a gold cross suspended from his neck, preached to them, speaking of Christ, of the apostles, of saints, and of the kingdom to come after preaching, all knelt around the altar engaged in prayer, while Father Gabriel made preparations to administer the sacrament. He was horrified to find the wine sour, and the transubstantiation miracle (converting it into the blood of Christ) could not be performed. Consequently, the sacramental service was postponed until another day.

Time hung heavy with the French; days and weeks passed away. Spring was gone, the summer had almost ended, and no news from La Salle. It has a dull, monotonous appearance in an Indian village, where there are neither hunting war parties nor national dances to keep up the excitement. Warriors lay under the shade of trees, sleeping or amusing themselves in games of chance, while squaws were working in cornfields or preparing food for their families. Naked children were playing on the green or rolling in the dirt, while young maidens, with their lovers, were gathering flowers in the grove, fishing on the banks of the Illinois River, or rowing their canoes across its waters, unconscious of the great calamity that was about to befall them.

It was near the close of a warm day in the latter part of August of 1680; when a scout arrived with his horse in a foam of sweat and shouting at the top of his voice that the Iroquois were marching against the Village. All was now excitement and confusion; squaws screamed, children quit their plays on the green and ran away to their homes; warriors caught their weapons and made preparations to defend their Village and protect their squaws and little ones. During the night, fires were kept burning along the Illinois Riverbank, and every preparation was made to defend the Village in case it should be attacked. The warriors greased their bodies, painted their faces red, and ornamented their beads with turkey feathers; war songs were sung, drums beat; warriors danced, yelled, and brandished their war clubs to keep up their courage. At last, morning came, and with it, the savage Iroquois.

Iroquois Indians

When news came of the approaching Iroquois, a crowd of excited savages collected around Tonti and his companions, whom they had previously suspected of treachery, and charged them with being in league with their enemies. A report had reached them that many Jesuit priests and La Salle himself were with the Iroquois, leading them to the Village. The enraged warriors seized the blacksmith forge, tools, and all the goods that belonged to the French and threw them into the Illinois River. One of the warriors caught Tonti by the hair of his head and raised his tomahawk to split his skull, but a friendly chief grabbed the savage by the arm, and his life was spared. With that boldness and self-possession which was characteristic of him, Tonti defended himself against these charges and, to convince them of his good faith, offered to accompany them to battle.

Father Gabriel and Zenobe were away at their altar, spending the day praying and meditating and had no warning of the danger that awaited them. On their return home late at night, they were surprised to find the Village in a whirlpool of excitement; squaws were crying and bewailing their fate while the warriors were dancing, yelling, and offering up sacrifices to the Manito of battle.

On the arrival of the two priests, the savages collected around them, charging them with treachery and being the cause of the Iroquois invading their country. The priests, with uplifted hands, called God to witness their innocence of the charge, but their statement did not change the minds of the excited Indians. A loud clamor was raised for their blood, and several warriors sprang forward with uplifted tomahawks to put an end to their existence. Still, as they drew near and were about to tomahawk them, Father Gabriel drew a small gold image of the Holy Virgin from his bosom and held it up before their would-be executioners. On seeing this sacred talisman, the Indians paused a moment and returned their tomahawks to their belts. Father Zenobe afterward said this was another proof of the Virgin Mary protecting the Jesuits in North America.

All the squaws and children, with the old Indians unable to bear arms, were placed in canoes and taken on the Illinois River to a large marshy island during the night.

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Thls island ls situated between the Illinois River and Depue Lake which is 19 miles due west, of several hundred acres of marshland, a part of which is covered during the summer with reeds and bulrushes. Formerly it was surrounded by water, but from the washings of the Illinois River the upper end is filled up so that in an ordinary stage of water It connects with the mainland.

About sixty warriors were left for their protection, and they all secreted themselves in the reeds and high grass, so they could not be seen by the Iroquois. But the sequel shows that they did not escape the enemy's vigilance, and this island of supposed safety became their tomb.

At the time of the Iroquois invasion, there were only about five hundred warriors at La Vantum, Chief Chassagoac, and a large portion of his braves had gone to Cahokia to attend a religious feast. But this band, small as it was, boldly crossed the Illinois River at daylight and met the enemy, whose number was five times as large as their own. While they were ascending the bluff, a scout met them, saying that the enemy was crossing the prairie between the Vermillion River and Illinois timber. As the invaders approached the Illinois River timber, they were surprised to meet The Illinois, lying in ambush, and received them with a deadly fire. At this unexpected attack, the Iroquois were stricken with panic and fled from the field, leaving the ground covered with the dead and wounded. But they soon rallied, and the fight became bloody, arrows and rifle balls flying thick and fast, while the woods far and near resounded with the wild whoops of contending savages.

Tonti undertook the perilous task of mediating between the contending parties during the fight. Laying aside his gun and taking a wampum belt in his hand, he held it over his head like a flag of truce amid showers of arrows and bullets. He walked boldly forward to meet the enemy. As he approached, the Iroquois warriors collected around him threateningly, one of whom attempted to stab him in the heart, but the knife striking a rib inflicted only a long, shallow gash. As the savage was about to repeat the blow, a chief came up and, seeing he was a white man, protected him from further assault and applied a bandage to the wound to stop its bleeding. The fighting has ceased. A warrior took Tonti's hat and, placing it on the muzzle of his gun, started toward The Illinois, who, on seeing it, supposed he was killed and again renewed the fight. While the battle was in progress, a warrior reported that three armed Frenchmen were with The Illinois forces and firing on them. When this announcement was made, the Iroquois became enraged at Tonti and again gathered around him, some for killing and others for his protection. One of the warriors caught him by the hair of his head, raising it up, and with his long knife was about to take off his scalp when Tonti, with his iron baud, knocked down his assailant others attacked Tonti with knives and tomahawks, but he was again rescued from death by the head-chief.

For a long time, the battle raged. Many of the combatants on both sides were slain, and the yells of the warriors could be heard far away. But at last, The Illinois, whose force was inferior to their adversary, were overpowered and driven from the field. The vanquished fled to their Village to defend it or perish in the attempt.

Near the center of the Village, on the Illinois River's bank, was their great council-house, surrounded by stockades, forming a kind of fortification called Le Fort des Miamis by the French (Fort Miami). To this, the remnant of the warriors fled and hastily tore down the lodges and used the material to strengthen their works.

The Illinois had crossed the Illinois River in canoes, but their pursuers having no means of crossing at this point, were obliged to go up to the rapids where they forded it. In a short time, the Iroquois attacked the Village, setting fire to the lodges and Fort Miami, which was soon a mass of flames. Many of the besieged were burned in their strongholds. Others were slain or taken prisoners as they escaped from the flames; a few only succeeded in preserving their lives by fleeing down the Illinois River. The Village, with Fort Miami and the great council-house and fortifications, was destroyed by fire, and nothing was left of them except the blackened poles of which the lodges were constructed.

When the victory was completed, they bound the prisoner's hands and feet and commenced torturing them to make them reveal the hiding place of their squaws and children.

On obtaining the necessary information, a large war party took the canoes left by vanquished Illinois and descended the Illinois River searching for the squaws and children. While these defenseless beings were secreted among the reeds and high grass of the island, they were discovered by the savage Iroquois, and all of them slain. The sixty warriors left to guard them fled on the enemy's approach, crossing the lake and secreting themselves in the thick Illinois River timber.

On the following day after the battle, the victors made preparations to torture the prisoners; their barbaric acts probably never have been equaled by any of the savages of the West. The warriors were formed into a large circle, and the prisoners, bound hand and foot, were conveyed thither when the work of torture commenced.

Jesuit Missionaries Tortured by the Iroquois.

The doomed prisoners were seated on the ground awaiting their fate, some weeping or praying while others were singing their death song. A warrior with a long knife cut off the nose and ears of the prisoners and threw them to their hungry dogs. Pieces of flesh were cut out of their arms and breasts while the prisoners sat writhing with agony, and the ground around them was red with human gore. The work of torture went on-the executioners continued to cut off limbs and pieces of flesh-and in some cases, the bowels were taken out and trailed on the ground, while the groans and screams of the victims in their death agonies were terrible to witness.

Tonti and his companions looked at these barbarous acts of the Iroquois with horror and astonishment. Still, they dared not remonstrate as prisoners and did not know that a similar fate awaited them.

While the torture was going on, the two priests were engaged in baptizing the victims to absolve them from past sins. As each one was about to expire, they would hold the crucifix before his eyes, so he might look on it, and through its divine efficacy, his soul would be saved from perdition.

When the prisoners were all dead, the warriors cut out their hearts, roasted them, and ate them to make them brave.

For several days, the Iroquois continued to rejoice over their victory, spending the time singing and dancing around the scalps and causing the timber and Illinois River bluffs to re-echo with their yells and wild whoops.

Two days after the Iroquois victory, the French were set at liberty and departed in an old leaky canoe. After going about six leagues, they stopped at the mouth of a large creek to repair the canoe and dry their clothing. While thus engaged, Father Gabriel, who was always fond of solitude, wandered off into the thick Illinois River timber for the purpose of prayer and meditation. When the canoe was repaired, clothes dried, and the time of departure came, Father Gabriel was missing, and they searched for him among the thick timber, but he could not be found. During the night, fires were burning along the Illinois Riverbank, and guns were discharged to direct him to camp, but all in vain. During the following day, they searched the woods far and near for the missing priest, and Father Zenobe prayed to the Holy Virgin for his safe return, but all to no purpose, so they gave him up for lost and continued their journey. For many days they mourned the loss of the Holy Father, as he was an old man of nearly three score years and devoted to the church's work.

Afterward, it was ascertained that Father Gabriel was taken prisoner by the Indians and carried to their camp some miles off, where he was executed. While his friends searched for him, those savages danced around his scalp.

While Father Gabriel was at prayer in the thick timber, some distance from his companions, he was approached by two Indians in a threatening manner. With his head uncovered, he arose to meet them, with one hand pointing heavenward and the other to the gold cross on his breast, making them understand that he was a priest. In vain, he told them that he was their friend and had come from afar across the big waters to teach them the ways of truth and happiness. Regardless of his entreaties, they bound his hands behind his back and led him off a prisoner to their camp. A council was held over the captives, and it was decided that he should die. With his hands and feet pinioned, a stake was driven into the ground, and Father Gabriel tied to it. He sat on the ground, bound to the stake, with his long hair and flowing beard white with the snows of seventy winters, waving to and fro in the wind. The Indians formed a circle around their victim, singing and dancing while flourishing their war clubs over his head and occasionally yelling at the top of their voices. This performance continued for some time while the victim sat with his head bowed down, his eyes fixed on the gold cross which hung on his breast, and in silence, awaited his doom.

Under repeated blows from war clubs, Father Gabriel fell to the ground and soon expired. His clothing and scalp were taken off by the savages, and his remains were left to be devoured by wolves.

Thus perished Father Gabriel, the only heir of a wealthy Burgundian house, who had given up a life of ease and comfort, with all the enjoyment of riches and society in the old world, to preach the gospel to the heathens of the West, whom at last became his murderers.

Four years after this affair, a trader at Fort St. Louis bought from an Indian a small gold image of the Virgin Mary, with Father Gabriel's name and that of the owner engraved thereon. This image was presented to Father Gabriel the day he sailed for America by the cardinal-bishop of Normandy, and he carried it in his bosom near his heart until his death. Some years afterward, this golden image was taken back to France and is now seen in the museum at Rouen.

It was mid-winter, three months after the massacre of The Illinois Indians, when La Salle, with twelve companions, returned from Canada to look after his little colony on the Illinois River. As the travelers urged their canoes down the swollen stream, their eyes were directed to Starved Rock, where they expected to find Tonti within his Fort St. Louis. But no palisades were there-no smoke ascended from its summit, nor could signs of human habitation be seen. Passing down the rapid current for about two miles, they were surprised to find that the great town of the west had disappeared. The large meadow, covered with lodges and swarming with human beings only a few months before, was now a lonely waste, a representative of death and desolation. On the charred poles, which had formed the framework of lodges, were many human heads, partly robbed of flesh by birds of prey. Gangs of wolves fled at their approach, and flocks of buzzards raised from their hideous repast and flew away to distant trees.

Even the burying ground showed marks of the vindictive malice of the conquerors. They have made war on the dead as well as the living. Graves had been opened, bones taken out and piled up in heaps or broken into fragments and scattered over the prairie. The scaffolds which contained dead bodies had been torn down, and their contents were thrown hither and thither on the prairie. The blackened ground was strewn everywhere with mangled bodies and broken bones of unfortunate Illinois. The caches had been broken open, the contents taken out and burned by the victors.

Amid these ruins, the conquerors had erected an altar to the God of war, and the poles surrounding it were capped with heads of victims whose long hair and ghastly features were sickening to look upon. The stench from putrefaction was so offensive, and the scene so horrifying, that La Salle and his party turned away from it and encamped for the night on the opposite side of the Illinois River. During the long winter night, the loneliness was increased by the howling of wolves and buzzards winging their flight back and forth through the dark domain.

On the following morning, La Salle returned to the ruined town and examined the skulls of many of the victims to see if he could find among them the remains of Tonti and his party, but they all proved to have been the heads of Indians.

On the bank of the Illinois River were planted six posts painted red, and on each of these was a figure of a man drawn in white. La Salle believed these figures represented six white men, prisoners in the hands of Indians; it is the number of Tonti's party.

La Salle and his companions again boarded their canoes. They started down the Illinois River, hoping to learn something about the fate of their comrades, but nothing was discovered.

As the travelers passed down the Illinois River, they saw many human figures standing erect but motionless on the island where the squaws and children had taken refuge. They landed from their canoes with great caution to examine these figures and found them to be partly consumed bodies of squaws, who had been bound to stakes and then burned. Fires had been made at their feet, consuming the flesh off their legs and crisping their bodies but leaving the remains bound to the stakes, standing erect as though in life; poles were stuck into the marsh and children placed thereon, while others were hanging by the neck from limbs of trees, with the flesh partly eaten off their bodies by birds of prey. Among these remains, no warriors were found, as they had fled at the enemy's approach, leaving the squaws and children to their fate. The sight of these dead bodies was so revolting to look upon that the French turned away from them, not knowing at what moment they would fall victim to the savage Iroquois.

A few years after this event, according to tradition, Father Zenobe, with others of his countrymen, visited this island and found a large piece of ground strewn with human bones.

In 1829, a black man named Adams built a cabin opposite the island's upper end at the mouth of Negro Creek. The following spring, Mr. Adams discovered many human bones sticking out of the bank on the island, where the floods had washed away the dirt. The same thing was noticed by John Clark, Amos Leonard, and other early settlers. It appears the bones were covered up by the overflowing of the island and afterward brought to light by washing away the bank.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.