Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-30
THE CHICAGO MASSACRE.
TERRIBLE SCENES OF sEvENTY-EIGHT
YEARS AGO.
Destruction of the Fort and Butchery of
Men. Women and Children-Cap-
tain Wells Attempted Revenge.
From the Chicago Inter-ocean.

DE Paudace, encore de Paudace, ct tou'
jours de paudace, ct la France ct sauvee.-
.Ddaton.
The frenzied words of the famous French
revolutionist appear to be applicable in
general sense to the indomitable spirit
that settled and civilized tie great West
and peculiarly so to Chicago, either in its
infancy fifty years ago, or in its sturdy
youth to-day, the second city of the
Union.
Che can quo was the curious and not un-
musical word that won the attention
of Chevalier LaSalle over two centuries
ago, when he reached the reed-lined lake
shore, the site of Chicago. The name is
said to have come from the famous Chief
Chicago, combination of words of the Al
gonquin group-ko-go (something) and
chi, from gitchi great. There is consid-
cradle dispute as to the precise meaning of
the combination, but deodorizing preiu-
dice, tradition considered, 1t was derived
from the skunk-weed, or wild onion, then
fore the daring Canadian voyageurs, or
the dashing courier du bois, had ventured
thus far south along the line of the great
lakes the Indian trails had focused to-
ward this southwestern point of the far
thest inland sea- While this point may
have seemed dreary and unpromising
enough to the eyes of the pioneers, the in
,stinct of the aborigines for great point of
Capitalization, as circumstances have since
proved, was unerring.
In the year 1868 there landed in Mon
treal, Canada, young nobleman of France,
Robert Rene Chevalier de LaSalle, a man
of mighty ambition, who, like another
Ulysses, had burned his ships behind him.
He had heard of the great river with its
source in the southland of the Five Nations,
flowing toward the sea, and it furnished
him the incentive to move forward. A
year ago, when the form of the great ex-
plorer was embalmed in monumental
bronze in Lincoln Park, the Hon. E. G.
Mason gave the following brief but COM
prehensive tribute to the genius of La
Sale; "In July, 1868, he embarked on
his first voyage in the west with two
priests, who accompanied him to Lake
Ontario. Here they parted company.
During the next two years he was inces-
sanity traversing the wilderness between
the Ohio and the lakes, sometimes with
Frenchmen, sometimes with Indians only,
sometimes alone, with no other guide
SAYS his faithful Lieutenant Sonty, than
a compass and his own genius 1t is
certain that in these two years he discov-
cred the river Ohio, and followed it
Al foil 81 he 10 If 10
and it is probable he discovered the
Illinois river also. 1t is possible, moreover,
that he was the first white man to visit
the place where Chicago stands, and that
he crossed the portage between our river
and the Desplaines in 1911, or two years
before Joliet and Marquette were here.
1t was LaSalle, who in pursuance of
settled purpose and belief, completed the
exploration of the Mississippi from the
Falls of st. Anthony to the Gulf, solved
the problem of the mighty stream, which
with its tributaries included the whole
of the great west. established communica-
ton between the sea and that vast region,
and acquired its illimitable territory for
France So far as his predecessors are
concerned the Mississippi valley would
have been wilderness to-day. La-Salle
came, and with him civilization. He led
the vanguard of a never-ending army,
whoe march he directed, whose victories
he planned. He passed through the will
derness solitary figure, yet and not
alone, for at his back were the myriad
hosts of progress, by his side commerce
and law and government"
Louis Joliet, who is entitled to much
credit as a discoyerer came to Canada IN
1872 and in the fall of that year proceeded
to Macinac, where he wintered. Here he
met Father Jacques Marquette, who had
charge of the mission of st. Ignace; he was
yersed in the language of the Miamis, and
Joliet invited him to join his expedition
In June, 1873, everything being prepared
they journeyed as far as the mouth OF the
Ohio. Learning from the Indians the
shorter route via the Illinois river, they
concluded to return that way. 1t is sup
posed they arrived in this neighborhood in
August and after stop of single night
went on to Macinac, arriving there in
September. Joliet went to Montreal, but
his canoe was unfortunately overturned
and all the drawings and journals of his
expedition were lost This fact was re-
corded in his first brief report to the
II
West. In the fall of 1874 Father Mar
quette again went south IN compliance
with promise to preach to the Indians
and in mid-winter visited the site of thi:
city, then ravaged by famine. The brave
priest was almost worn out, and few
months later passed into the hereafter
While sick here he was visited by a Frencl
surgeon who was wintering with the Mi
amis Among other letters, the followin!
to a friend in Europe showed his spirit
"a life in the wilderness has its charms
and the rude hut of the savage is bette
adapted to a true disciple Of Christ thai
the palace of king Ny heart ofttime
swells with rapture as my canoe glide
over strange waters, or while Flooding M
way through thick forests, among briar
and thorns laboring for the cause of m
Redeemer."
After the death of Marquette, Farthe
Claude Allouez, very able and energeti
Jesuit, was appointed to the Illinois mis-
sion, to which he made several visit
the first in the spring of 1877, when h
was met by an Illinois chief and eighty In
dams, and was conducted by them to tn
mouth of the Chicago river and the lilinoi
village. The second he made in 1878, r.
naming until 1880; he again visited the sit
of Chicago in 1854 with Durantaye, and
is probable at this time that "the first fort
was built. LaSalle had built Fort Front'
nae at Kingston, and was establishin
a chain of forts from Canada TO the Missi
sippi to protect the vast possession he ha
claimed in the name of France. Tn
Chicago fort or trading post may have bee
one of them. 1t may be remarked as a
item of uncorroborated history that
Frenchman named Goris had built tras
ing post here and surrounded it with pal
sades as early as l640. Jean Nicolet ha
been here in 1854, shortly after discoyerin
Lake Michigan (lac des Illinois,. Faith,