from my belt, and holding it in a careless position, passed close by him, to let him see I was not afraid of him.

"I learned soon after, from the other Indians, that this was a chief called by the French the Grand Sautor, or the Great Chippewa Chief, for they denominate the Chippewas, Sautors. They likewise told me that he had been always a steady friend to that people, and when they delivered up Michilimackinac to the English on their evacuation of Canada, the Grand Sautor had sworn that he would ever remain the avowed enemy of its new possessors, as the territories on which the fort is built belonged to him.

"Since I came to England I have been informed that the Grand Sautor, having rendered himself more and more disgustful to the English by his inveterate enmity towards them, was at length stabbed in his tent, as he encamped near Michilimackinac, by a trader."

For a little more than a year after the massacre, Mackinac was only occupied by the coureurs de bois and such Indian bands as chose to make it a temporary residence; but after the treaty with the Indians, Captain Howard, with a sufficiently large detachment of troops, was sent to take possession of it, and " once more the cross of St. George was a rallying point and the protection of the adventurous traders.

群

"In 1779 a party of British officers passed over from the point of the peninsula to the island of Michilimackinac, to reconnoiter, with the intention of removing the fort thither. After selecting a location, they asked permission of the Indians to occupy it. Some time elapsed before their consent could be obtained; consequently the removal was not effected until the ensuing summer. A government house and a few other buildings were erected, on the site of the present village, and the troops took possession on the 15th of July, 1780.

"The removal of the inhabitants from the main-land to the island was gradual, and the fort, which was built on the site of the present one, was not completed until 1783."

7

CHAPTER VI.

WAR OF 1812.

WHEN the war of 1812 broke out, the territory of Michigan was in a defenseless condition. The military posts about the lakes were but poorly fortified, and manned with insufficient garrisons. They were situated in the midst of almost impenetrable forests, filled with hostile savages, while at no great distance was a large body of British subjects who could easily be brought against them.

The garrison of Fort Mackinac, at the time, consisted of only fifty-seven effective men, under the command of Lieutenant Hanks. The fort itself was mainly the same as now. The walls which had been built by the British in 1780, and which are still standing, were surmounted by a palisade of cedar pickets about ten feet high, intended as a defense against the Indians. To make it impossible to scale this palisade, each picket was protected at the top by iron prongs, made sharp, and by hooks on the outside. Through it were numerous portholes, through which a leaden shower of death might be made to pour upon any foe that should dare to come in reach. Two or three guns of small calibre were planted at convenient places upon the walls, and one small piece in each of the three blockhouses which are yet standing. The town, at the time, was much smaller than now. Except the old distillery which stood upon the beach some little distance beyond the present western limits of Shanty Town, no building had been erected west of the house now occupied by Mr. Ambrose Davenport, and none east of the fort garden except one small shanty which stood near the present site of the old Mission Church. With one

THE WAR OF 1812.

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exception, the houses were all one story buildings, built of cedar and roofed with cedar bark. This. one house which formed the exception was then occupied by a Dr. Mitchell, and is still standing. The several traders then on the island had each what might be called a store, and there was one dock, so called, which consisted of two cribs filled with stone, and connected with each other and with the beach by two logs placed side by side.

In 1795, when the British gave up Fort Mackinac to the Americans, they repaired to the island of St. Joseph, which is situated in St. Mary's River, about twenty miles above Detour, and there constructed a fort. This fort was garrisoned, at the commencement of the war, by a small company of British regulars, under command of Captain Roberts.

When war was declared, there was an unpardonable negligence on the part of the War Department in not furnishing the western frontiers with information of that important event. Owing to this negligence, the English at Detroit were in possession of this important news before it reached the American side, and the English commander, taking advantage of that fact, hastened to transmit the intelligence to all his out-posts and take such steps as would best secure the interests of the British crown. Among his expedients was a plan for an immediate attack on Fort Mackinac. With almost incredible dispatch, a messenger was sent to St. Joseph, bearing a letter to Captain Roberts, which, strange to say, was franked by the Secretary of the American Treasury, containing the information of the declaration of war, and also the suggestion of an immediate attack on this fort as the best means of defending his own.

Roberts was but poorly prepared for an enterprise of such moment, yet, entering warmly into the views of his superior officer, and being cordially supported by the agents of the two western Fur Companies, he was not long in deciding upon his course. Messengers were hastily dispatched to the Ottawas and Chippewas, two neighboring Indian tribes, who, eager for

strife, soon flocked to his standard in large numbers. The French, jealous of the Americans, still farther augmented his strength, and, in the short space of eight days, he had a force, naval and military, of more than a thousand, at his command. On the 16th day of July he embarked.

Let us now turn our attention to Fort Mackinac. The first intimation which the little garrison and town received that all was not right, was from the conduct of the Indians. In obedience to the summons of Captain Roberts, they were going toward the Sault in large numbers. This caused some uneasiness, and Lieutenant Hanks, with the citizens of the place, made every effort to learn from them the object of their journey. Several councils were called, but in vain. See'gee'noe, chief of the Ottawas, was questioned closely, but not a word could be elicited from him which in any way explained their conduct. This caused the cloud of uncertainty to lower, and made the anxiety of the citizens more and more painful. Failing to get any satisfaction from the Indians, they next called a public meeting of the citizens, to consult upon the matter, and it was resolved to make yet another effort to unravel the mystery.

Mr. Michael Dousman, an American fur trader, had some time before sent two of his agents, William Aikins and John Drew, into the Lake Superior region to trade with the Indians for furs. He had heard of their return to the Sault, but knew of no reason why they had not returned to headquarters on this island. He therefore, on the 16th of July, under pretence of ascertaining the reason for the delay, but really to learn what it was that called so many of the Indians in that direction, set out for the Sault, starting about noon. When four or five miles this side of Detour, he learned the whole truth, for, meeting Captain Roberts' expedition, he was taken prisoner, barely escaping with his life.

When night had let her sable curtain fall over the wide expanse of water and forest, and the expedition was nearing the island, it was proposed by Captain Roberts to send one

Oliver, a British trader, to the people of the town, to inform them of his approach and conduct them to a place of safety. Mr. Dousman now urged upon Captain Roberts that the people would perhaps be slow to believe such a report from a stranger, and, anxious for the safety of his friends, asked leave to return on that mission himself. This he was permitted to do, having first taken oath that he would not give information of their approach to the garrison. Separating himself from his captors, he returned to the harbor in front of the town, and, an hour before day, proceeded to the house of Mr. Ambrose R. Davenport, and rapped loudly at the door. Mr. Davenport, on learning who was at the door, exclaimed, "What, Dousman, have you come back!" and rising hastily, came out. “Yes,” replied Dousman, "I have come back, and I have important news for you." After extorting from him a promise of secresy, he proceeded to inform him that war had been declared, and that the British had come to take the fort, being already upon the island. Judge of the surprise, we may say indignation, of the citizens, as, one by one, they received the information. We can well imagine that there was hurrying to and fro through the streets of Mackinac on that eventful morning. Fifty-eight years have run their courses and nearly two generations of the human family have passed away since that time, and yet we can see the anxious faces that looked out from every door and window as the unwelcome news was whispered in the ears of startled sleepers. "What can it mean!" is eagerly and simultaneously asked by every two that meet, but not a man in Mackinac can unravel the mystery. Word is circulated that if the citizens will flee to the distillery they shall be safe. Like wild-fire the message goes from mouth to mouth, until every man, woman and child is on the way to the place designated.

Meanwhile, Captain Roberts proceeded to the north-west side of the island, landed his forces, and began his march toward the fort. At the farm near the landing they took possession of a number of cattle belonging to Michael Dousman,