Part – 5 (Western Sun. Vincennes, April 20, 1839)
1708-10-the fort is built; the French flag hoisted; the settler and. the trader feel secure, at least more comfortable. But can we speak of settlers? It seems too early, although a French fort, and some sort of a village, were always synonymous. The Canadian or regular commander’s lady, and some of the soldier’s wives, white or red blood; some civil officer or agent; the priest called for, which bye the bye, would hot have been the case, had not the growing imprtance and future prospects of the place justified it. We must take the words “establir un fort’; to settle a fort or post, more in extenso, than raising a mere stockade, or a temporary block house.——The French were come to “establish” themselves where they meant thence—forth to reside. A “post” where they have ever since resided, close by the Indian village thay lay on the east, and remained for nearly a century under the name first of Mascoutens, then of Plankashaws, in the most friendly union; nay, come occasional amalgamation with the fort’; the “post” the “post” “St. Vincent’: or Vincennes
That wine, “a pleasant red wine’; was made here of old, say Mr. Scott in his Gazetteer, of 1793, but how early had the good thing began to be made we know not. That is was at an end even long before our temperance societies we may set down in sober assertion, as a truth. In 1765, when Col. Croghan, deputy agent of that veteran Indian diplomatist, Sir. William Johnson, was sent from Fort Pitt, to visit the Miami and Illinois tribes; he parised. “Fort Vincent” as “one of the finest situations that can be found
He praised the soil as “very rich producing wheat and tabacco’; he did not mention that “pleasant wine but he was pleased with our promitive tobacào, that he says, “I think it preferable to that of Maryland or Virginia And lo! tobacco is nearly all gone also!
Col. Crogham also says, “Port Vincent is a place of great consequence for tradet.’, but we leave his interesting journal to be consulted in the appendix to Bulter’s History of Kentucky. And having them justly appeared such to the combined sagacity of the French and Indians, their allies we feel justified in believing that the settlement was more ancient than the fort, settled to protect it, and of the truth of the assertion frequently made, that the settlement of Vincennes was contemporary with that of Philadelphia, which bears date from the 17th century, and may have originated in traditions older then our present documents; and that we were very little posterior to the first epochs of St. Louis, of Peoria, or of Kaskaskia.
Our early neighbors, the Mascoutens, acquainted with the Illinois language, were no doubt of the same nation, marked on the early maps of Father Marquette, of 1673 annexed to the relation of his discovery of the Mississippi with N. Joliet, as living south of Green Bay, and west of Chicago, were never connected no more than the Kickapoos, Outagamies, or the more southern and western Illinois, with the English and their traders. (See Croghan).
Were their successors, the Piankashaws, of a different language and tribe, as are the Miamies and Twightwees tribes, is a doubtful point. Themselves rather in the French interest, were, however, occasionally visited and influenced by the British agents and Croghan mixing with them at Vincennes, says, “I had been well acquainted with them several years before this time 1765. He considered the Piankashaws as connected with the Twrightwees themselves connected with the Pennsylvania’.’
That the Mascoutens had first occupied the village east of our port and fort is proved by the relations of Father Marmet and Father arest, sent to the French settlement on the Ouabache, Father Narmet accquained with the Illinois language, and of those tascoutens, tried to make them christians. However, he found them strongly attached to their superstitutions and their jugglers,.and succeeded with difficuly in haptising only a few.
In vain he used argument and urged this plausible one; you worship the mani— tous of deer, buffaloes and bears; yet you see that man, masters them——the manitoes of men, setting at naught such worthless inanitoes; you ought not to pay them your homage. They began only to dread too the rnanitoes of men more then the others but did not raise to much more enlightened notion.
[to be continued…]
