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 1711 French Settlement is the beginning of today's Peoria, Illinois.

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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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At what time the French commenced a settlement at Peoria has long been a controverted point on which history and tradition are alike defective. Some believe it began when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (Sieur de La Salle is a title only: translating to "Lord of the manor.") built Fort de Crévecoeur in the year 1680, and from that time people continued to reside here.

Many claim the first Peoria location dates to 1691, when French soldiers, traders, and missionaries joined several thousand Illinois Indians as they moved from the Village of La Vantum to the Starved Rock area, 65 miles upriver. Add in all the French traders and soldiers who married Illinois Indians, creating a multi-cultural community. 

REFERENCE

The 1691 La Vantum Village Massacre of the Illinois Indians by the Iroquois and its Aftermath.

The Village of La Vantum, aka Grand Village of the Illinois Tribe (home to thousands of Indian residents), Fort St. Louis du Pimiteoui (serving as the administrative center for French military and traders), and the Mission of the Immaculate Conception (continuing the work begun by Father Père Jacques Marquette in 1673).

Others fixed the permanent settlement of the place in 1760 from an old letter in the possession of a descendant of an early pioneer and traditional accounts. It commenced at an early period.

Historians over the years have given this subject much attention, gathering up scraps of history relating to it and conversing with many of the descendants of the Peoria French, some of whom trace their genealogy back to the days of La Salle. By comparing these different accounts, it is shown conclusively that the settlement at Peoria commenced in the year 1711 and under the following circumstances:

In the summer of 1711, Father Marest, a Jesuit priest from Canada, preached to the Indians at Cahokia. By the force of his eloquence, many of them were converted to Christianity. Among these converts was a chief named Kolet from Peoria, who was visiting friends at the time in Cahokia. The chief prevailed on Father Marest to accompany him home to his village at Peoria Lake and proclaim salvation to his people. Late in November, the priest and chief, accompanied by two warriors, started in a bark canoe for Peoria, but after going ten leagues, the river froze up so that further progress by water was out of the question; therefore, the travelers hid their canoe, with most of their baggage, in the thick river timber, and continued their journey on foot.

Lake Pimiteoui, today's Peoria Lake.

They waded through snow and water for twelve days, crossing extensive prairies and through thick timber full of briars and thorns. Sometimes, crossing marshes and streams where the ice would give way, letting them into the water up to their necks. At night, they slept on dry grass or leaves, gathered from under the snow, without shelter or anything but their blankets to protect them from the cold winter blast. The provisions for their journey, as well as their bedding, were left with their canoe. Consequently, they were obliged to subsist on wild grapes and game killed. After many days of fatigue and exposure, their limbs frostbitten, and their bodies reduced in the flesh from starvation, they, at last, reached the village and, from the Indians, received a hearty welcome.

This Indian village (afterward called Opa by the French) was situated on the west bank of Peoria Lake, one mile and a half above its outlet. On La Salle's first visit to this place, thirty-one years before, he found a large town cordially received by the head chief, Niconope. This chief had long since been gathered to his fathers, and his place was occupied by Kolet, as referred to above.

Father Marest found quarters in an Indian lodge and remained in the village until spring without meeting with one of his countrymen. He preached to the Indians almost daily, many of whom embraced Christianity, and their names were afterward enrolled in the church book.

In the following spring, the French at Fort St. Louis established a trading post at Peoria Lake, and several families came there from Canada and built cabins in the Indian village. For fifty years, the French and half-breeds continued to live in the town with the Indians, and during that period, peace and harmony prevailed among them. But this town was abandoned for one that figured extensively in its day and is known in history as La Ville de Maillet.

In the summer of 1761, Robert Maillet, a trader of Peoria, built a dwelling one and a half miles below the town, near the outlet of the lake, and moved his family there. He called it La Ville de Maillet (the New Village). Here, the land rises gradually from the water's edge until it reaches the high prairie in the rear, forming a beautiful sloping plateau unequaled by any spot on the Illinois River. This locality for a town was considered preferable to the old one, with the ground being dryer, the water better, and it was considered healthier. Consequently, others came and built houses by the side of Maillet's.

The New French Village - La Ville de Maillet- is along the river in modern-day downtown Peoria. This substantial trading village was the site of Robert Maillet's fort, built in 1761, and then an American Fur Company post. The town was burned out by American soldiers in 1812, and the Americans built their own fort (Fort Clark) the following year.

The inhabitants gradually deserted the old town for the new one, and within a few years, the latter became a place of great importance.

Fort Maillet was built in 1761. The fort was located along the river in modern-day downtown Peoria.

No French lived in the old town after 1764, but for many years, it remained an Indian village, and the houses vacated by the French were occupied by the natives until they rotted down.

The new town took the name La Ville de Maillet (Maillet's village) after its proprietor and existed for fifty-one years. A fort was built on high ground, overlooking the lake on one side and the sloping prairie on the other. This fort consisted of two large blockhouses, surrounded by earthworks and palisades, with an open gateway to the south next to the town, and was only intended as a place of retreat in case of trouble with the Indians. The fort was never occupied except for a short time by Robert Maillet, who used one of the blockhouses for a dwelling and the other for the sale of goods. Some years afterward, Maillet left the fort for a more desirable place of residence and trade, and it remained vacant for many years, the enclosure within the stockades being used by the citizens in common for a cow yard. 

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In 1820, Hypolite Maillet (a decedent), in testifying in the United States Court, in a snit brought on French claims, said that he was forty-five years old and was born in a stockade fort which stood near the southern extremity of Peoria Lake.

In the winter of 1788, a large party of Indians came to Peoria for trade and, by their former practice, took quarters in the old fort. They purchased a cask of brandy to have a spree. All got drunk, had a war dance, and, during their revelry, set blockhouses on fire, and they burned down.

When the Americans commenced a settlement at Peoria in the spring of 1819, the outlines of the old French fort were plain to be seen on the high ground, near the lake, and a short distance above the present site of the Chicago and Rock Island depot. The line of earthworks could be traced out by the small embankments; in some places, pieces of pickets were found above ground. Back of the fort was the remains of a blacksmith shop, and nearby grew a wild plum tree. This plum tree was dug up by John Brisket, the owner of the land, and under it was found a vault containing a quantity of old metal, among which were several gun barrels, knives, tomahawks, copper and brass trinkets, etc. Among other things in this vault were silver and brass plates for inlaying gun stocks, ornamenting knife handles, etc. These things appeared to be the stock in trade of a gunsmith and, for some unknown reason, were buried here.

According to the statements of Antoine Des Champs, Thomas Forsyth, and others, who had long been residents of Peoria before its destruction in 1812, it's believed that the town contained a large population. It formed a link between the settlements of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Canada, and it is situated in an Indian country, making it an excellent place for the fur trade. At one time, it contained about sixty houses, besides many lodges occupied by Indians for part of the year. The town was built along the beach of the lake, and to each house was attached an out-lot for a garden, which extended back some distance on the prairie. The houses were all constructed of wood, some with framework and sided up with split timber, while others were built with hewed logs, notched together after the style of a pioneer's cabin. The floors were laid with puncheons, and the chimney was built with mud and sticks.

General Clark conquered Illinois and took possession of the settlements at Kaskaskia and Cahokia in 1778, after which he sent three soldiers with two French Creoles, in a canoe to Peoria to notify the people that they were no longer under British rule, but citizens of the United States. Among these soldiers was Nicholas Smith, who was later a resident of Bourbon County, Kentucky, and whose son, Joseph Smith (Dad Joe), was among the first American settlers at Peoria. Through this channel, we have an account of Peoria, which appeared over two centuries ago and agrees well with other traditional accounts.

Mr. Smith said Peoria, at the time of his visit, was a large town built along the beach of the lake, with narrow, unpaved streets and houses constructed of wood. In the back of the city were gardens, stockyards, barns, etc., and a wine press with a large cellar or underground vault for storing wine. A church with a large wooden cross rose above the root and gilt lettering over the door. There was an unoccupied fort on the bank of the lake, and close by it was a windmill for grinding grain. The town contained six stores or places of trade, all of which were well filled with goods for the Indian market. The inhabitants consisted of French half-breeds and Indians, not one of whom could speak or understand English.

The Old French Village consisted of French settlers and was located near today's Detweiller Marina, 2 Caroline Street, Peoria. The American government recorded portions of the old properties and lot lines in the 1820s.

The inhabitants of Peoria consisted of French Creoles, emigrants from Canada, and half-breeds. Many intermarried with the natives, so their posterity at that time showed strong marks of Indian origin. They were peaceable, quiet, ignorant, superstitious, and influenced very much by the priests. They had no public schools, and few of them, except priests and traders, could read or write. Out of eighteen claimants for the land where Peoria stands, all but three signed their names with a mark. Among the inhabitants were merchants or traders who made annual trips to Canada in canoes, carrying thither pelts and furs and loading back with goods for the Indian market. Mechanics were among them, such as blacksmiths, wagon-makers, carpenters, etc., and most of the implements used in farming and building were home-manufactured. Although isolated from the civilized world and surrounded by savages, their standard of morality was high; theft, murder, and robbery were seldom heard of. They were happy, joyous people, having many social parties, wine suppers, and balls, living in harmony with the Indians, who were their neighbors and friends, and trading with them, they accumulated most of their wealth.

The French settled at Peoria without a grant or permission from any government, and the title to their lands was derived from possession only. But these titles were valid according to usages and a village ordinance, and lands were bought and sold the same as if patented by the government. Each person had a right to claim any portion of the unoccupied land, and his title was regarded sacred when in possession. Every settler had a village lot for a garden attached to his residence, and if a farmer, a portion in the common field.

On the prairie west of the town were extensive farms, all enclosed in one field, and each person contributed his share of fencing. The time spent securing the crops and pasturing the stock was regulated by a town ordinance. The boundaries of these farms could be traced out in the early settlement of Peoria, as the lands showed marks of having been cultivated. When a young man married, a village lot and a tract of land in the common field (if a farmer) were assigned to him, and it was customary for the citizens to turn out and build him a house.

The inhabitants of Peoria had extensive vineyards and each year made a large quantity of wine, much of which they traded to the Indians in exchange for furs. They domesticated the buffalo and crossed them with native cattle, which was found to improve the stock. These cattle could live during the winter without the expense of feeding, but while buffalo remained in the country, they lost many by straying off with the herd. The following summer, after the French were driven away from Peoria, a party of adventurers from St. Clair County came here and drove many of these cattle home. The inhabitants prized these cattle as they would winter on the American Bottom without feeding them. This cattle stock was known here for many years, and their hides were frequently tanned for robes.

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For one hundred years after the French made a settlement in the west, they used no horses except Indian ponies, and for the first thirty years, cattle and hogs were unknown. Tradition says two young pigs were brought in a canoe from Canada to Fort St. Louis, and from these, hogs were raised to supply the settlements on the Mississippi River. At Cahokia, the settlers caught a number of buffalo calves and raised them with the expectation of domesticating them, but it proved a failure, for they went off with a herd of wild ones. It Is said when Crozat obtained a patent for the Illinois County in 1771, his agent, Colonel De Mott, employed two half-breeds to drive a herd of cattle through the wilderness from Canada to Kaskaskia, and from these originated the stock in the Mississippi Valley.

When a settlement was commenced at Peoria, the country belonged to France, afterward to Great Britain, and lastly to the United States. When Illinois came under British rule in 1756, Captain Stirling, commanding at Kaskaskia, sent a messenger to Peoria to notify them that they were British subjects. Afterward, when Illinois by conquest came under United States authority, they were again informed of a change in government, but they still remained French in feeling and sympathy. They claimed no allegiance to any government, paid no taxes, and acknowledged no law except their village ordinance. While these people were living in peace and harmony, being two hundred miles from the nearest point of civilization, they were attacked by an armed force, their town burned, and the heads of families carried off prisoners of War. There are many incidents related, showing that trouble existed at different times between the French and their Indian neighbors, among which are the following:

In the year 1781, a Frenchman killed an Indian with whom he had trouble, and for a time, the white population was threatened with destruction. A large party of warriors came to Peoria and demanded the murderer, but he could not be found, having fled down the river, as was afterward shown. But the Indians believed that the murderer was secreted by his friends, so they gave the French three days to deliver him up, and if he was not forthcoming at the specified time, they would burn the town. This caused a great panic; some fled for Cahokia, and others took quarters in the fort, but before the time had expired, the Indians were convinced that the murderer had fled. Consequently, pledges of friendship were renewed.

Again, in 1790, about five hundred warriors came to Peoria and demanded the surrender of a particular trader whom they accused of causing the murder of Pierre de Beuro but finally left without him.

It is claimed that four and seven forts and stockades were constructed along Peoria's waterfront between 1691 and the 1820s.

The remains of the 128 years between the 1691 Peoria settlement and the initial 1819 American settlers have only been found in a few areas. However, the precise locations of the Illinois Indian villages, the Jesuit mission, and various French forts are still unknown. The area outside the pre-1939 flood levels along the shoreline north and south of Detweiller Marina is undoubtedly the prime location for such remains.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

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Peoria, Illinois History as Presented Today:
What has become Peoria and the surrounding area bears many remnants of Native Americans. Artifacts and Native American burial mounds show that people lived in the area as far back as 10,000 BC.

The French were the first Europeans to explore the area that would become Peoria in 1673. Father Père Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the region, finding the Illinois Indians who were part of the Algonquian people. Those tribes that were part of the Illinois Confederacy then were the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Cahokia, and Tamaroa.

In 1680, two French explorers, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (Sieur de La Salle being a title only), and Henri de Tonti, constructed the first fort on the east bank of the Illinois River and named it Fort de Crévecoeur. Eleven years later, in 1691, another fort was built by Tonti and his cousin, François Dauphin de La Forêt. It is believed the fort was near present-day Mary and Adams Streets. Called Fort Street  Louis II, it is also known as Fort Pimiteoui. The fort and the town established around it was the first European settlement in Illinois.

The settlement became legally British in 1763 after the French and Indian War but remained French. By 1778, the village had become part of the territory of the new United States, and George Rogers Clark appointed Maillet as a military commander. Robert Maillet established a new town, 1½ miles south of the old one. It later became known as "La Ville de Maillet" and was on the present-day site of downtown Peoria. The new village was considered better situated, and by 1796 or 1797, all the inhabitants of the old town had moved to the new location.

Peoria was incorporated as a town in 1835, with a population of about 1,600. In 1845, it was incorporated as a city.

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.