New-York tribune., 1901-08-31

Bros.
No chapter Of American history is fuller OF ro-
mantle and picturesque events than that relat-
ing TO the two centuries during which the great
Northwest was a subject Of contention between
the French and English explorers and settlers
Mr. Moore in giving an account or that periOo'
has treated il as a continuous whole, and gives
q clear and interesting account of the conflicts
and vicissitudes that ended with the incorpora-
ton Of the territory with the United States His
t,,la Is lively and full Of color and he has repro
duced for us the spirit of adventure and daring
that runs through the whole history He mas
written a work Of real researcl, and all uhroush
the book there are evidences OF his constant re-
cnrrence 10 the original sources OF information
He has made clear the continuity or the events
included within this period, and their close con-
rection with the larger movement or ahalrs
across the ocean. the political necessities arising
from the struggles between France and Eng
land. And he has aptly pointed out that while
we have been accustomed to regard the North-
west as a wilderness that grew into civilization
ly some vital force within itself, such was far
from being the case:
The name Of Michilimackinac was familiar
WORD in the Cabinets Of European monarchs pc
fore IL was known to the people dwelling along
the Atlantic The foundation or Detroit was
decreed in the councils Of France: ana the reia
tions Of the Jesuit missions in the Northwest
were read eagerly even by the polite society OF
Paris
The earliest records of exploration and dis
covery are meegpe and uncertain; and reputeo
discoverers in the Northwest are frequently not
The first who saw. but those who were so for
tunate as to leave some record Of their seeing
BruIe Champlain's interpreter. Parkman's 'pio-
neer Of pioneers'' is one of the earliest or the
uncertain figures that we see dinly outlined in
Ill., l.az -aFadp prpGT
the Susquehanna TO Chesapeake Bay. the first
70 make that massage. and he knew Of if he did
not actually see Lake Superior. More clearly
visible are Nicolet. Champlains ambassador 10
the Far Western Indians, who penetrated as far
as the strait that discharges the water OF the
greater lake into Lake Michigan; and the ad-
venturous priests Raymbault and Jaques Ihe
scourge Of the ferocious Iroquois waging war on
the Hurons pat an end for years to the work be-
gun by Nicolet. Then appear upon the scene
the daring adventurers Des Grosseilliers and
Radisson, who loom large in the early history
of the Northwest for their explorations and their
trading schemes, who are thought by some TO
have reached the Mississippi. and whose thrift
subsequently brought them to give their allie
glance TO Prince Rupert and TO assist in the
founding Of the great Hudson Bay Company
Marquette and Joliet further extended the
French name and influence as far as the Lake
Superior region, while La Sale and Hennepin
sailed the first ship through the upper lakes.
But the Lake Superior region, the first Of the
Northwestern territory to be explored and TO
boast OF settlements, was. as Mr. Moore points
out, a century and half after Marquettes day
an unknown and despised wilderness. Of which
Clay could say, in the United States Senate in
1929 that it was beyond the furthest haunts OF
civilization-if not in the MOON"
he end Of seventeenth century the
English were sending their scouts the Iroquois.
TO open avenues Of trade in the Northwest To
check H. m the French built fort at the head
of the ST Clair River. thus laying the founda-
tions OF Detroit, and beginning long series
OF conflicts. Cadillac sent to command these
regions, had large schemes for commercial de-
velopment, and seems TO have been one Of the
first TO have grappled with the question OF SELL
ing liquor TO the Indians. To retain the trade,
he must sell TO them; but ordered by tine gov
ernment and Paris TO desist he compromised
on a high license" plan; but even this was a
grievance. Those who viii have it," reported
a French visitor in 170S. ARE obliged to go 10
the storehouse to drink, and each can obtain,
at time only the twenty-fourth part Of a
quart. 1t is certain that the savages cannot
become intoxicated that quantity" The
Scotch-Irish immigration began TO press beyond
the limits of the Alleghanes into the western
country claimed by the English under early
grants stretching indefinitely westward; and by
the middle Of the eighteenth century We find
an active movement set on foot TO secure this
territory by such enterprising and able men
as the Washington family ard other leaders of
the Virginia colony In this connection young
Major George Washington was sent out on the
delicate task Of warning the French back from
the Ohio-a mission the report Of which reused
the colonial authorities in England 10 perceive
the need of united action against encroach-
ments on the west They sent the brilliant
Braddock: and his disastrous expedition, in
which the Kings regulars were badly routed.
brought TO the young Yirginian the beginnings
OF his laurels The bloody days of the French
and Indian War and the complex movements
that followed it resulted in putting England in
possession Of the Northwest. But the inhabi-
tants by no means changed their minds when
they changed their flag, and, Mr.. Moore
says I'm thought in customs, in speech. what
ever OF civilization there was in the country
was French, and so remained for hree-quarters
of a century.
To Franklin is due the credit of inducing the
English people TO retain Canada after they had
won il. William Burke. brother of the great
Edmund argued in favor of restoring ii to
France, keeping I'm its stead Guadaloupe, that
there might be enemy at the back OF the ar
rogant young colonies. Franklin, then in Lon
don, protested against the policy, that would
surely result in instigating the saVages to war
and was eloquent in his exposition OF the ad-
Vantages OF Canadian trade. Mr Moore gives
detailed account Of the events of the Revolu-
ton as they were enacted in the Northwestern
country, and of the negotiations that finally re-
suited in establishing the present boundary line
a perplexing question in which almost no light
is 10 be discovered from the prfnted corrasy,ona