Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1816-10-22

gxtract Of letter from an lntetligent or
Soar of the United States army ohis
sr;snd IN this place, dated Cd Septem-
her. Camp on Fox river. Green Bay
syru Will perceive that | have been
n.shsdto the remotest frontier post that
iga have A detachment of artillery,
fasr compa,Iies of infantry and two Of
M, commanded by Col. John Mill
lar comprising The force that performed
.sa .xned;tion. from MiekansW to this
,slscs We sailed on the 26th OF July in
tour vessels, and arrived in the mouth Of
s.h;s river on the 9th of August last. Two
snmnan;es of riiemen, and the same Of
tSe Sd Infantry, under The coamand q
IT, Cal Chambers, constitute tue force
"a This most. The other troops accom-
~ sar; , as Is A prccaution against any
d pa.,s from the Indians, who had
AZ -, r,snresented as hostile, and having
emhod;ed themselves to the nanlber Of
,;sbt hundred warriors, but we found
them few and most humble.
The vessels in which we came were
The FIRST of so large a SIZE that bad ever
attempted the Navigation OF TINS Bay,
which vas loun,i both easy and safe.
The bar oprosite the mouth Of this river
..,as sunposed to have only three feet
.-at.r unon it; but on examination a
s 800 of three fathoms water was dis
sna to esass it. This bay is calcu-
lstsd 10 be about ninety miles long and
Mackinaw about one hundred and sixty
a;,ss from this place, a, much shorter
distance than asreeSic to the French
Tb;s river empties On the S. W, eytre-
n;ty Of the Bay, is about four hundred
yards wide. of a gentle casrept,aad sui.
fciently deep to the portage Tor boats Of
cons;derab' E bur:hcn, adistaace OF ore
hundred and sixty niles from tbs ipeath,
thence TO the Oaisco9sin is one and an
half miles aad the Mississippi one hun-I
dred and sixty. The erection OF fort
At fine PORTAGE next sear IS IN contem-
plation-Msi. Gfatioi, Nhp IS here, has
selected for ours the poy1lisn q the oidI
French Fort, which is about one mliei
from the mouth oIiEis riger--ls isoplyy
fifteen feet above the river, yet IT com
msails the adjacent country. for at least
a mile, and although contiguous to the
several marshes is very healthy inueed,I
quite asmuch so as Mackinaw.
Gne halfmde above this commences
: French settlement extending the d's-I
lance of five miles on both stiles OF the RI
yer, occurred bs forty families, who eni !
grated from the Canadas and France mi
the YEAR l79o. in company with the mis-
sionariss, the French sent iuto their IN
dian Territories, and a small military
force intended for. their projection. But
since the time Of the surrender OF this
country to the British by the peace oil
lies, these people being out OF the reach
Of protection, have been exposed to In
dian depredations, cruelty and barbauty, j
and although in the possession of extern
siye and fertile farms, they were deferred
from making any exertions to acquire
more than fair subsistence, from the
certainty that all above that, and ettenI
their ali, would be taken by the first
band Of Indians that might visit the set
tlement.-The people are therefore In
doient and some have adopted the In
dian life.
BY intermarriage with the Indians, q
a lORS residence here, nearly the whole
Of this population is of the 6 the half
hreed.n There is not white female il,
the settlement, all speak fuently the In