The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1886-08-18
SETTLEMENT OF DETROIT.
Tho First Permanent Settlers Of Now
Prosperous Am erican City.

prosperous Am erlcAn Citys
II was sweltering day in July, 17ol,
when Cadillac, with his little feet OF
birch-bark canoes, turned southwest
from Lake st. Clair and entered the
broad, clear, beautiful river now known !
as the Detroit. Had some native Of
the forest stood then upon its banks, he
must have been lost in wonder at tho |
unwonted spectacle of the strange
fotilla. Twenty. five birchen boats
some measuring six feet vile and thirty
five feet long-gaudily decorated with
Indian symbols and waving gaily the
flags of France, glided gracefully down
the stream to the exhilarating sounds
of the life and drum, and the joyful
shout that n long journey was over. The
boats were manned by fifty soldiers in
"bright blue coats and white facings;'
and carried four officers and fifty emil
grants, with an abundant store of pro
visions and all the tools and utensils
needed in the building and settling Of
a new town in the wilderness. Besides.
there were on board two Roman
Catholic priests, for, like all good
Frenchmen, Cadillac had a tender con-
cern for the souls of his people. He
intended they should not neglect the
mass, or forget their pater-noster.
They had come a weary journey OF
forty-nine days, in those frail boats,
over rough waves, the mon bearing
them on their shoulders on the long
portage between the Ottawa river and
Lake Huron, and it was but natural
they should rejoice at the end of their
voyage.
Where the river leaves Lake Huron
it is more than half league in width
and broken by picturesque islands;
but rs it flows southwestward it con-
tracts into single channel, and grad
ually narrows till at about ten miles
distance it has breadth of only half a
mile. This is the, strait which was to
give its name-Detroit-to both the
river and the city to be built upon its
northern bank. Here, at a sudden
bend in the stream, the canoes were
drawn up on the beach, and landing.
the voyagers assembled to level plateau
which rose BY successive terraces to q
height of about fifty feet above the bed
of the river. From this elevation they
had view of the whole broad water
as it flows southwark, shut in Mt first
by steep bluffs. but then hroadenin 9
ont, dotted with beautiful islands, till
at the distance of about twenty miles
its clear green current is lost in the
deep blue waves of Lake Erie. The
river here is three miles wide, discharg-
ing greater volume of water than
any other in the world, excepting only
the Niagara and St. Lawrence, which
receives its flow. Cadillac was a man
of broad, forecasting intellect, but IL
may be questioned If even he would
have credited q prediction that within
two hundred years that river, frost
bound as it is nearly four months ir
I the year, would give passage to i
greater annual tonnage than would
enter LondSn-the largest seaport ir
the world. And yet such is the fact
as shown By the maritime tables for th'
| year 1884.
4 Cadillac formed temporary en-
campment under the great spreading
trees. and. within two days, laid the
foundation Of a church ln which t.
worship God after the manner of hi
fathers. Then he staked o1t the grount
for fort aud u stockade, and set a
work to get the settlers heused befor
the winter, which he knew from expe
ricnce to be sometimes severe in thi
: latitude. IAe stockade is supposed t
. have included about twenty acres.
/ was located on the first rise of groun
, near the riVer-in what rs now tn
business part of the city--that the gun
of the fort might command the strai
and the opposite shore; and was mad
thus roomy IL allow each settler spac
for dwellinginside the piekets, safet
, being the thing to be first thought O
by the new settlement. The settler
were but handful. and they knew
themselves surrounded by at least fort
thousand savages, friendly then. brl
liable mt any moment to become hostil
upon occasion Of some real or fancie
l injury. The area within the stockad
surrounded by lane twelve feet il
width, to allow the garrison. in tn
event of attack, free access to ever.
part of the enclosure. Thus Cadilla
Was soon in command of walled city
built, it is true, of rough logs. and no
in the latest style of European archi
lecture, but reasonably secure,
bravely defended, against attacks fron
such desultory warriors as the Indians
By means Of this fort the Frenc
|. secured control of the Great Lakes an,
the fur trade of the Northwest; an,
here the traders and soldiers of tina
nation congregated, and proclaime
Louis XIV. lord paramount of all tn
vast region that stretches away to tn
setting sun. '".
The adventurous Frenchman had no,
built a capital and assumed the gov
ernorship of vast territory. His mex
step was to people his settlement. an
obtain the permanent goodwill of tn
natives of the lake region. To thes
} ends he resorted to the novel expedien
Of settling the Indians about him, an
encouraging his soldiers to marry thei
young women. In this way he hope
} 10 augment his population, and attac
the aborigines to him by ties of kinship
The natives received his overture
! kindly, and before long four differen
tribes had established settlements with
in cannon-shot of the fort-the Miami
and Pottawatamies within half mil
on its either side, and the Hurons an,
Ottawas on the opposite side of tn
river, near the present town of Wind
sor. His scheme for intermingling tn
, white and red races was equally sue
cessful, for the Indian maiden 500
learned to prefer Johnny Crapeau TO
husband. He did not require her Il
| plant his corn and dig his pOtatOe