DE CELORON'S
EXPEDITION TO THE OHIO IN 1749.
BY 0. H. MARSHALL
The extensive territory lying between
the Ohio River and
Lake Erie has been the theatre of many
remarkable historical
changes. Its earliest inhabitants left no record of their origin
or history, save in the numerous tumuli
which are scattered over
its surface, bearing trees of the
largest growth, not distinguish-
able from the adjacent forest. Measured by the extent and
character of those vast structures, the
race that built them must
have been intelligent and populous. When and how they dis-
appeared we know not. Whether they were
directly succeeded
by the present race of Indians, or by an
intermediate people, are
questions to which history gives no
answer. When LaSalle dis-
covered the Ohio he found it in the
occupation of the red man,
who claimed possession and ownership
over the territory com-
prised within the limits of Western
Pennsylvania, Ohio and In-
diana, until the close of the last
century. His villages were on
every stream, and his hunting grounds
embraced every hill and
valley.
The attractions of the fur trade
stimulated eastern adven-
turers to penetrate, from time to time,
the forest recesses of the
west, and glowing descriptions were
reported of the fertile soil,
mineral wealth and the abundance of the
fur-bearing animals.
It was not until England and France, the
two great rival powers
of Europe, became impressed with the
prospective growth and
value of the territory, and each
prepared to grasp the coveted
prize, that the native owners of the
soil began to take serious
alarm. On the one side, England claimed
to the northern lakes,
while France asserted ownership not only
as far south as the
Ohio, but over all the lands drained by
its extensive tributaries.
The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, to which
both of those powers
were parties, while it terminated a long
and sanguinary war in
* Republished from The Magazine of
American History vol. 2, pages
130-150.
(424)
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 425
Europe, left many subjects of
controversy still unsettled. Among
them were the boundaries between the
French and English in
America. At the conclusion (130)*
of that treaty England lost
no time in initiating measures for the
occupation and coloniza-
tion of the disputed territory, and
encouraged the formation of
the Ohio Company as one of the efficient
means for accomplish-
ing that purpose. Half a million of
acres were granted by the
Crown to that association, to be
selected mainly on the south
side of the Ohio, between the
Monongahela and Kanawha rivers.
This was coupled with the condition that
settlements, protected
by suitable forts, should be established
on the grant. The French
were equally alive on the subject, and
the demonstrations of the
English aroused the attention of the
Marquis de la Galissoniere,
a man of eminent ability and
fore-thought, who was then Gov-
ernor of Canada. In order to counteract the designs of the
English, he dispatched Captain Bienville
de Celoron,1 a chevalier
of the order of St. Louis in command of
a detachment, composed
of eight subaltern officers, six cadets,
an armorer, twenty soldiers,
one hundred and eighty Canadians, thirty
Iroquois and twenty-
five Abenakis, with orders to descend
the Ohio and take pos-
session of the country in the name of
the King. The principal
officers under him were de Contrecoeur,
who had been in com-
mand of Fort Niagara, and Coulon de
Villiers, one of seven
brothers, six of whom lost their lives
in the Canadian wars. Con-
trecoeur was subsequently in command of
Fort du Quesne, at
or immediately after the defeat of
Braddock.
The present article is designed to give
an account of that
expedition, to trace its route and to
identify as far as possible
the geographical points which it
visited. Only brief notices of
the undertaking have heretofore been
given to the public. The
discovery of some of the leaden plates,
buried by its officers on
the banks of the Ohio, have from time to
time awakened public
interest and curiosity, which the meagre
accounts already pub-
lished have failed to satisfy. While recently examining the
archives of the Department de la Marine
in Paris the writer met
with the original manuscript journal
kept by de Celoron during
* Bold face numerals in parentheses indicate pages in The Magazine
of American History, vol. 2.
426
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
his entire voyage. He also found in the Grandes Archives of
the Depot de la Marine, No. 17 rue de
l'Universite, a manuscript
diary of Father Bonnecamps, who styles
himself "Jesuitte Mathe-
maticien," and who seems to have
been the Chaplain, as well as
a kind of sailing master of the
expedition, keeping a daily record
of the courses and distances they
traveled, the latitudes and longi-
tudes of the principal geographical
points, with occasional brief
notes of the most important
occurrences. In another depart-
ment, called the Bibliotheque du depot
de la Marine, there was
found a large Ms. Map, 311/2 by 341/2
inches square, representing
the country through which the expedition
passed, including the
St. Lawrence (131) westward of
Montreal, Lakes Erie and On-
tario, the territory south of those
lakes as far as the Ohio, and the
whole course of that river from the
source of the Allegheny to
the mouth of the great Miami. This map forms an important
illustration of the expedition. On it
are delineated by appropri-
ate characters the points where leaden
plates were deposited,
where the latitudes and longitudes were
observed, and the locali-
ties of the Indian villages visited on
the route.
The journals of de Celoron and Father
Bonnecamps and
the map of the latter, have furnished
the ground-work of the
narrative. Explanatory and historical notes, drawn from other
sources, have occasionally been added.
The first of the leaden plates was
brought to the attention
of the public in a letter addressed by
Governor George Clinton
to the Lords of Trade in London, dated
New York, December
19, 1750, in which he states that he
"would send to their Lord-
ships in two or three weeks a plate of
lead, full of writing, which
some of the upper nations of the Indians
stole from Jean Coeur,2
the French interpreter at Niagara, on
his way to the river Ohio,
which river, and all the lands
thereabouts, the French claimed,
as will appear by said
writing." He further states
"that the
lead plate gave the Indians so much
uneasiness that they imme-
diately dispatched some of the Cayuga
chiefs to him with it,
saying that their only reliance was on
him, and earnestly begged
he would communicate the contents
thereof to them, which he
had done, much to their satisfaction and
the interests of the
English." The Governor concludes by
saying that "the contents
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 427
of the plate may be of great importance
in clearing up the en-
croachments which the French have made
on the British Empire
in America."3 The plate
was delivered to Colonel, afterwards
Sir, William Johnson, on the 4th of
December, 1750, at his resi-
dence on the Mohawk by a Cayuga sachem,
who accompanied it
by the following speech:
"Brother Corlear and War-ragh-i-
ya-ghey:4 I am sent
here by the Five Nations with a piece of
writing, which the
Senecas, our brethren, got by some
artifice from Jean Coeur,
earnestly beseeching you will let us
know what it means, and
we will put our confidence in you, our
brother; we hope you
will explain it ingeniously to us."
Colonel Johnson replied to the sachem,
and through him to
the Five Nations, returning a belt of
wampum, and explaining
the inscription on the plate. He told
them that "it was a matter
of the greatest consequence, involving
the possession of their
lands and hunting-grounds and that Jean
Coeur and the French
ought immediately to be expelled from
the Ohio and Niagara."
In reply, the sachem said that "he
had heard with great atten-
tion (132) and surprise the
substance of the 'Devilish writing'
he had brought," and that Colonel
Johnson's remarks "were fully
approved." He promised that belts from each of the Five
Nations should be sent from the Seneca's
castle to the Indians
at the Ohio, to warn and strengthen them
against the French
encroachments in that direction.
The following is a literal copy of the
inscription in question.
It was sent by Governor Clinton to the
Lords of Trade on the
17th of January, 1751:
"L'AN 1749 DV REGNE DE LOVIS XV ROY
DE
FRANCE, NOVS CELORON, COMMANDANT D'VN
DE-
TACHMENT ENVOIE PAR MONSIEVR LE MIS. DE
LA
GALISSONIERE, COMMANDANT GENERAL DE LA
NOUVELLE FRANCE POVR RETABLIR LA TRAN
QUILLITE DANS QUELQUES VILLAGES SAUVAGES
DE CES CANTONS, AVONS ENTERRE CETTE
PLAQUE
AU CONFLUENT DE L'OHIO ET DE TCHADAKOIN
CE
29 JVILLET, PRES DE LA RIVIERE OYO
AUTREMENT
428
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
BELLE RIVIERE, POUR MONUMENT DU
RENOUVEL-
LEMENT DE POSSESSION QUE NOUS AVONS PRIS
DE LA DITTE RIVIERE OYO, ET DE TOUTES
CELLES
QUI Y TOMBENT, et de TOUTES LES TERRES
DES
DEUX COTES JVSQVE AVX SOURCES DES DITTES
RIVIERES AINSIQV'EN ONT JOVI OU DV JOVIR
LES
PRECEDENTS ROIS DE FRANCE, ET QU'ILS S'Y
SONT
MAINTENVS PAR LES ARMES ET PAR LES
TRAIT-
TES, SPECIALEMENT PAR
CEVX DE RISWICK,
D'VTRECHT ET D'AIX LA CHAPELLE."
The above is certified to be "a
true copy" by "Peter De Jon-
court, interpreter."
TRANSLATION.
"In the year 1749, of the reign of
Louis the 15th, King of
France, we Celoron, commander of a
detachment sent by
Monsieur the Marquis de la Galissoniere,
Governor General of
New France, to reestablish tranquility
in some Indian villages of
these cantons, have buried this Plate of
Lead at the confluence
of the Ohio and the Chatauqua, this 29th
day of July, near the
river Ohio, otherwise Belle Riviere, as
a monument of the re-
newal of the possession we have taken of
the said river Ohio,
and of all those which empty into it,
and of all the lands on
both sides as far as the sources of the
said rivers, as enjoyed
or ought to have been enjoyed by the
kings of France preceding,
and as they have there maintained
themselves by arms and by
treaties, especially those of Ryswick,
Utrecht and Aix la
Chapelle."
On the 29th of January, 1751, Governor
Clinton sent a copy
of the above inscription to Governor
Hamilton of Pennsylvania,
informing him that it was "taken
from a plate stolen from Jon-
caire some months since in the Seneca
country as he was going
to the river Ohio."5
The expedition was provided with a
number of leaden plates,
about eleven inches long, seven and a
half inches wide and one-
eighth of an (133) inch thick, on
each of which an inscription in
French, similar to the one above given,
was engraved or stamped
in capital letters, with blanks left for
the insertion of the names
of the rivers, at the confluence of
which with the Ohio they
should be deposited, and the dates of
their deposit. The name
De Celoron's
Expedition to the Ohio in 1749. 429
of the artist, Paul de
Brosse, was engraved on the reverse of
each. Thus provided,
the expedition left La Chine on the 15th
of June, 1749, and
ascended the St. Lawrence to Fort Frontenac.
From thence, coasting
along the eastern and southern shore of
Lake Ontario, they
arrived at Fort Niagara on the 6th of July.
They reached the
portage at Lewisston on the 7th, and ascended
the Niagara into Lake
Erie. On the 14th, after advancing a
few miles up the lake,
they were compelled by a strong wind
to encamp on the south
shore. They embarked early on the
morning of the 15th,
hoping to reach the portage of "Chatakouin"
the same day, but an
adverse wind again forced them to land.
The southern shore of
the lake at this point is described as
"extremely
shallow, with no shelter from the force of the winds,
involving great risk
of shipwreck in landing, which is increased
by large rocks,
extending more than three-fourths of a mile
from the
shore." Celoron's canoe struck on
one, and he would
inevitably have been
drowned, with all on board, had not prompt
assistance been
rendered. On the 16th at
noon they arrived at
the Chatakouin
portage. This was an open
roadstead, where
the United States
Government many years ago attempted un-
successfully to
construct a safe harbor. It is now
known as
Barcelona or Portland.
As soon as all preparations were made
for the overland
passage, and the canoes all loaded, Mm. de
Villiers and le Borgue
were dispatched with fifty men to clear
the way, while Celoron
examined the situation of the place, in
order to ascertain its
fitness for the establishment of a Post. He
says: "I found it
ill-adapted for such a purpose, as well from
its position as from
its relation to the navigation of the lake.
The water is so
shallow that barks standing in cannot approach
within a league of the
portage. There being no island or harbor
to which they could
resort for shelter, they would be under the
necessity of riding at
anchor and discharging their loading by
batteaux. The
frequency of squalls would render it a place of
danger. Besides, there are no Indian villages in the
vicinity.
In fact, they are
quite distant, none being nearer than Ganaougon
and Paille Coupee. In
the evening Messrs. de Villiers and le
Borgue returned to
lodge at the camp, having cleared the way
for about
three-quarters of a league." Up to
this time, the
430
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
usual routes of the French to the
Mississippi (134) had been
by the way of Detroit, Green Bay, the
Wisconsin, Lake Michigan
and the Illinois River. They had five
villages on the Mississippi,
near the mouth of the Illinois, as early
as 1749.
"On the 17th," continues the
Journal, "at break of day, we
began the portage, the prosecution of
which was vigorously main-
tained. All the canoes, provisions,
munitions of war, and mer-
chandise intended as presents to the
Indians bordering on the
Ohio, were carried over the
three-quarters of a league which
had been rendered passable the day
previous. The route was
exceedingly difficult, owing to the
numerous hills and mountains
which we encountered. All my men were
very much fatigued.
We established a strong guard, which was
continued during the
entire campaign, not only for the
purpose of security, but for
teaching the Canadians a discipline
which they greatly needed.
We continued our advance on the 14th,
but bad weather pre-
vented our making as much progress as on
the preceding day.
I consoled myself for the delay, as it
was caused by a rain which
I greatly desired, as it would raise the
water in the river suffi-
cient to float our loaded canoes. On the
19th, the rain having
ceased, we accomplished half a
league. On the 20th and 21st
we continued our route with great
diligence, and arrived at the
end of the portage on the banks of Lake
Chatacoin on the 22d.
The whole distance may be estimated at
four leagues. Here I
repaired my canoes and recruited my
men."
It is a little over eight miles in a
direct line from the mouth
of Chautauqua Creek on Lake Erie to the
head of Chautauqua
Lake.
The route taken by the expedition would of course be
more, and probably equal to the four
leagues, or ten miles, stated
by Celoron. The difficulties they encountered must have been
exceedingly formidable. Chautauqua Lake is 726 feet above
Lake Erie, and in order to reach the
water-shed between the
two lakes, an ascent of at least one
thousand feet had to be
overcome. Although at that early day,
when the forests were
yet undisturbed, the Chautauqua Creek
flowed with fuller banks
than now, yet even then but little use
could be made of it by
loaded canoes, except near its
mouth. The portage could only
be accomplished for the greater part of
the way by carrying the
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 431
canoes, baggage, provisions and supplies
on the shoulders of the
men up the steep mountain sides to the
summit, from which the
waters flowed southward into Chautauqua
Lake. Looking back
from this elevation, a magnificent
panorama must have presented
itself to Celoron and his companions.
Lake Erie lay at their feet,
with the Canada shore, forty miles
distant, in plain sight, while
the extremities of that great inland
sea, extending east and west
were lost below the horizon.
(135) The expedition did not loiter long
on the banks of
Chautauqua Lake. On the 23d they
launched their bark flotilla
on its clear, cool waters, and paddling
south-eastward through the
lake, passed the narrows at what are now
known as Long and
Bemus Points. The shape of the lake is quite peculiar. Its
northwestern and southeastern
extremities, which are nearly
equal, and comprise the greater part of
the lake, are connected
by two short irregular straits, between
which nestles a small
beautiful bay. The singular configuration of the whole gives
plausibility to the interpretation of
the Indian name, Chautauqau,
which is said to signify "a sack
tied in the middle."
On the evening of the 23d of July the
expedition encamped
on shore within three miles of the
outlet. The lake is stated by
Celoron to be "nine leagues,"
or about twenty-two miles long. The
actual length is less than sixteen.
Distances are almost always
overstated by the early French voyageurs
in America. In the eve-
ning a party of Indians, who had been
engaged during the day
in fishing in the lake, reported they
had seen the enemy watching
them from the adjacent forest. They had
fled as soon as dis-
covered. Early on the morning of the 24th the expedition en-
tered the outlet, a narrow stream,
winding through a deep
morass, bordered by a tall forest,
which, over-arching the way,
almost shut out the light of day. The
water being found quite
low, in order to lighten the canoes,
they sent the greater part
of their loading about three-quarters of
a league by land, over
a path pointed out by the Sieur de
Saussaye, who was acquainted
with the country.6 The
distance they accomplished this day by
water did not exceed half a league. It probably carried them
through the swamp as far as the high
land in the neighborhood
of the present village of
Jamestown. The next day, before
432 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
resuming their march, Celoron deemed it
expedient to convene a
council to consider what should be done
in view of the evident
signs of an enemy in the vicinity, who
on being discovered had
abandoned their canoes and effects and
fled, carrying the alarm
to the adjacent village of Paille
Coupee. The council decided to
dispatch Lieutenant Joncaire, some
Abenakis and three Iroquois,
with three belts, to assure the
fugitives of the friendly object
of the expedition. After the departure of the embassy the
march was resumed over the rapids, with
which the outlet
abounded.
"We proceeded," says the
Journal, "about a league with
great difficulty. In many places I was
obliged to assign forty
men to each canoe to facilitate their
passage. On the 26th and
27th we continued our voyage not without
many obstacles; not-
withstanding all our precautions to
(136) guard our canoes, they
often sustained great injury by reason
of the shallow water.
On the 29th at noon I entered the 'la
Belle Riviere.' I buried a
plate of lead at the foot of a red oak
on the south bank of the
river Oyo (Ohio) and of the Chanougon,
not far from the vil-
lage of Kanaouagon, in latitude 42°
5' 23".7 It is unnecessary
to give a copy of the inscription on the
above plate, as it is
similar to the one which was sent to
Governor Clinton, as before
related, except slight variations in the
spelling, accents and ar-
rangement of lines. The three plates
which thus far have been
discovered present the same
differences. The places and dates
of deposit are coarsely engraved,
evidently with a knife. In the
one just described the blanks were
filled with the words: "Au
confluent de l'Ohio et Kanaaiagon, le 29
Juillet."
"At the confluence of the Ohio and
Kanaaiagon the 29th
of July."
The river, spelled
"Kanaaiagon" on the plate, "Chanougon"
by Celeron in his Journal, and
"Kananouangon," on Bonne-
camps' map, is a considerable stream
that rises in western New
York, and after receiving the Chautauqua
outlet as a tributary,
empties into the Alleghany just above
the village of Warren.
It is now known as the Conewango. On the
site of Warren, at
the northwesterly angle of the two
rivers, there was, at the time
of Celeron's visit, an Indian village,
composed principally of
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 433
Senecas, with a few Loups, bearing the
name of Kanaouagon.
It was opposite the mouth of the
Conewango, on the south bank
of the Alleghany, that the leaden plate
was buried. The follow-
ing is Father Bonnecamps' entry in his
diary:
"L'on a enterre une lame de plomb,
avec une inscription, sur
la rive meridionale de cette riviere, et
vis-a-vis le confluent des
deux rivieres."
"We buried a leaden plate bearing
an inscription on the
south bank of this river, and opposite
the confluence of the two
rivers."
The place of deposit is a little
differently described in the
Proces Verbal drawn up on the occasion.
"Au pied d'un chene
rouge, sur la rive meridionale de la
riviere Ohio, et vis-a-vis la
pointe d'une ilette. ou se joignent les
deux rivieres Ohio et
Kanaougon." "At the foot of a
red oak on the south bank of
the Ohio river, and opposite the point
of a small island, at the
confluence of the two rivers Ohio and
Kanaougon." It will be
noticed that the inscription on the
plate recites that it was buried
on the south side of the Ohio, opposite
the mouth of the
"Chanougon" (Conewango).
This presents a discrepancy between the
inscriptions as given
in the Journals of Celoron and
Bonnecamps, and the one on the
plate forwarded by Colonel Johnson to
Governor Clinton in 1751
as above described.. (137) The latter states it to have been
buried "at the confluence of the
Ohio and Tchadakoin." The
solution of the difficulty seems to be,
that the latter plate was
never buried or used, but was abstracted
by the Iroquois friendly
to the English, and another plate,
having a correct inscription,
was substituted by the French. The
inscription on the one sent
to Governor Clinton, was undoubtedly
prepared on the supposi-
tion that the Chautauqua outlet emptied
into the Ohio. But
when that outlet was found to be a
tributary of the Conewango,
and that the latter emptied into the
Ohio, a corrected plate, con-
taining the name of the Conewango
instead of the Chautauqua,
was substituted and buried, as stated in
Celeron's journal.8 The
latter plate has never been found. This
solution is strengthened
by the fact that none of the accounts of
the plate sent to Gov-
Vol. XXIX-28.
434
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ernor Clinton state that it had been
buried, or had been dug up.
The Cayuga Sachem, in his speech quoted
in Colonel Johnson's
letter of December 4th, 1750, states that
"the Senecas got it by
some artifice from Jean Coeur."
Governor Clinton, in his letter to the
Lords of Trade, states
that some of the upper nations, which
include the Senecas, "stole
it from Jean Coeur, the French
interpreter at Niagara, on his way
to the river Ohio." The Governor
states the same in substance
in his letter to Governor Hamilton, of
Pennsylvania. The theft
must therefore have occurred while the
expedition was on its
way to the Ohio, and before any of the
plates were buried. The
original plate was probably soon after
carried to England by
Governor Clinton. The names
"Chatacoin" and "Chatakouin,"
as spelled by Celeron in his journal,
and "Tchadakoin," as in-
scribed on the plate, and
"Tjadakoin," as spelled by Bonne-
camps on his map, are all variations of
the modern name Chau-
tauqua.
It will be found differently written by several early
authors. Pouchot writes it
"Shatacoin;" Lewis Evans, 1758,
"Jadachque;" Sir William
Johnson, "Jadaghque;" Mitchell, 1755,
"Chadocoin;" Alden, as
pronounced by Cornplanter, "Chaud-
dauk-wa." It is a Seneca name, and in the orthography of that
nation, according to the system of the
late Reverend Asher
Wright, long a missionary among them,
and a fluent speaker of
their language, it would be written
"Jah-dah-gwah," the first two
vowels being long and the last
short. Different significations
have been ascribed to the word. It is
said to mean "The place
where a child was swept away by the
waves." The late Dr.
Peter Wilson, an educated Seneca, and a
graduate of Geneva
Medical College, told the writer that it
signified literally, "where
the fish was taken out."
He related an Indian tradition connected
with its origin.
A party of (138) Senecas were returning
from the Ohio to Lake
Erie. While paddling through Chautauqua
Lake, one of them
caught a strange fish and tossed it into
his canoe. After passing
the portage into Lake Erie, they found
the fish still alive, and
threw it in the water. From that time
the new species became
abundant in Lake Erie, where one was
never known before.
Hence, they called the place where it
was caught, Jah-dah-gwah,
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 435
the elements of which are Ga-joh,
"fish," and Ga-dah-gwah,
"taken out." By dropping the prefixes, according to
Seneca
custom, the compound name
"Jah-dah-gwah" was formed.
Among other significations which have
been assigned to the word,
but without any authority, may be
mentioned "The elevated
place," and "The foggy
place," in allusion probably, to the situa-
tion of the lake, and the mists
which prevail on its surface at
certain seasons.
It will be noticed the Alleghany is
called by Celeron the
Ohio, or "La Belle Riviere."
This is in accordance with the
usage of all early French writers since
the discovery of the river
by LaSalle. The same custom prevailed among the Senecas.
They have always considered the
Alleghany as the Ohio proper.
If you ask a Seneca his name for that
river, he will answer O-hee-
yuh. If you ask him its meaning, he will
give it as "Beautiful
river."
Mr. Heckewelder, the Moravian
missionary, supposing the
word to be of Delaware origin, endeavors
to trace its etymology
from several words, signifying in that
language, "The white
foaming river." The late Judge Hall
of Cincinnati adopted the
same derivation. Neither of them seem to have been aware
that it is a genuine Seneca word,
derived from that nation by the
French, and by the latter written
"Ohio." Its pronunciation by
a Frenchman would exactly represent the
word as spoken by a
Seneca, the letter "i" being
sounded like "e." The name "Ohio"
was, therefore, correctly inserted on
the plates buried on the
banks of the Alleghany, above its
junction with the Monongahela
at Pittsburgh.
At the time the plate was interred
opposite the mouth of
the Conewango, as already narrated, all
the officers and men of
the expedition being drawn up in battle
array, the chief in com-
mand proclaimed in a loud voice,
"Vive le Roi," and that pos-
session was now taken of the country in
the name of the King.
The royal arms were affixed to a
neighboring tree, and a Proces
Verbal was drawn up and signed as a
memorial of the ceremony.
The same formality was adopted at the
burial of each succeeding
plate. This proces verbal was in the
following form, and in each
instance was signed and witnessed by the
officers present: (139)
436
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
"L'an, 1749, nous Celeron,
Chevalier de l'ordre Royal et militaire
de St. Louis, Capitaine Commandant un
detachement envoye par
les ordres de M. le Marquis de
Galissoniere, Commandant
General en Canada, dans la Belle Riviere
accompagne des prin-
cipaux officiers de notre detachement,
avons enterre (Here was
inserted the place of deposit.) une
plaque de plomb, et fait
attacher dans le meme lieu, a un arbre,
les Armes du Roi. En
foy de quoi, nous avons dresse et signe,
avec M. M. les officiers,
le present Proces verbal a notre camp,
le (the day of the month)
1749." "In the year 1749 we,
Celeron, Chevalier of the Royal
and military order of St. Louis,
commander of a detachment
sent by order of the Marquis of
Galissoniere, Governor General
of Canada, to the Ohio, in presence of
the principal officers of
our detachment, have buried (Here was
inserted the place of
deposit) a leaden plate, and in the same
place have affixed to a
tree the Arms of the King. In testimony whereof we have
drawn up and signed, with the officers,
the present Proces verbal,
at our camp, the (day of the month),
1749." This method of
asserting sovereignty over new territory
is peculiar to the French,
and was often adopted by them. La Salle,
at the mouth of the
Mississippi in 1682, thus
proclaimed the dominion of Louis Le
Grand, and more recently the same
formality was observed when
a French squadron took possession of
some islands in the Pacific
Ocean.
A few miles from Kanaouagon, on the
right bank of the
Alleghany, just below its junction with
the Brokenstraw Creek,
was the Indian village of "Paille
Coupee," or Cut Straw, the
name being given by Celoron as
Kachuiodagon, occupied prin-
cipally by Senecas. The English name,
"Broken Straw," and the
French name, "Paille Coupee, were
both probably derived from
the Seneca name, which is
De-ga-syo-noh-dyah-goh, which signi-
fies literally, broken straw.
Kachuiodagon, as given by Celoron,
and Koshenunteagunk, as given on the
Historical Map of Penn-
sylvania, and the Seneca name, are all
three the same word in
different orthography, the variation in
the first two being occa-
sioned by the difference between the
French and English mode
of spelling the same Indian word. Father Bonnecamps states
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 437
the village to be in latitude 41° 54'
3" and in longitude 79° 13'
west of Paris.
While the expedition was resting in the
vincinity of these
two Indian villages, a council was held
with the inhabitants, con-
ducted by Joncaire, whom Celoron states
had been adopted by
the Senecas, and possessed great
influence and power over them.
They addressed him in the council as
"our child Joncaire." He
was probably the person of that name met
by Washington at
Venango four years afterwards,9 and
a son of (140) the Jon-
caire mentioned by Charlevoix as living
at Lewiston on the
Niagara in 1721, "who
possessed the wit of a Frenchman and
the sublime eloquence of an
Iroquois." The father, who was a
captive, died in 1740, leaving two
half-breed sons, who seem to
have inherited his influence and
distinction. Their names were
Chabert Joncaire, Junior, and Philip
Clauzonne de Joncaire.
Both were in the French service, and
brought reinforcements
from the west to Fort Niagara at the
time it was besieged by Sir
William Johnson in 1759. Their names are
affixed to the capitu-
lation which took place a few days
later. The former was in
command of Fort Schlosser, his brother,
who was a captain in
the marine, being with him. They were both in the expedition
of Celoron.
The result of the council held by
Joncaire was not satis-
factory to the French. It was very
evident there was a strong
feeling among the Indians on the
Alleghany in favor of the
English. It did not, however, prevent
the French from descend-
ing the river. After pledging the
Senecas in a cup of "Onontios
milk" (brandy) the expedition left
the villages of Kanaouagon
and Paille Coupee on the first day of
August, and after proceed-
ing about four leagues below the latter,
reached a village of
Loups and Renards, composed of ten
cabins. The Loups were a
branch of the Delawares, called by the
English Munseys. Four
or five leagues farther down they passed
another small village,
consisting of six cabins, and on the
third of August another of
ten cabins. The next was a village on
the "Riviere aux Boeufs."
According to Father Bonnecamps, they
passed between Paille
Coupee and the Riviere aux Boeufs one
village on the left and
four on the right, the latitude of the
third on the right being
438 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
41°, 30' 30", and the longitude 79° 21' west of
Paris. The
Riviere aux Boeufs is now known as
French Creek, it having
been so called by Washington on his
visit there in 1753. The
English named it Venango. A fort was built by the French in
1753-4 on its western bank, sixty rods
below its junction with the
Alleghany, called Fort Machault. In 1760,
when the English
took possession, they built another,
forty rods higher up, and
nearer the mouth of French Creek, which
they called Fort
Venango. In 1787 the United States
Government sent a force to
protect the settlers, and built a fort
on the south bank of the
creek, half a mile above its mouth,
which was called Fort Frank-
lin. From all of which it appears that
this was at an early day
an important point on the river. It is now the site of the flour-
ishing village of Franklin. At the time of Celeron's visit the
Indian village numbered about ten
cabins.
(141) After passing the Riviere aux
Boeufs and another
on the left, the expedition reached on
the same day a bend in
the river about nine miles below, on the
left or eastern bank
of which lay a large boulder, nearly
twenty-two feet in length
by fourteen in breadth, on the inclined
face of which were rude
inscriptions, evidently of Indian
workmanship, representing by
various symbols the triumphs of the race
in war and in the
chase. It was regarded by the natives
attached to the expedition
as an "Indian God," and held
in superstitious reverence. It was
a well-known landmark, and did not fail
to arrest the attention
of the French. Celoron deemed it a
favorable point at which to
bury his second leaden plate. This was
done with due form
and ceremony, the plate bearing an
inscription similar to that
on the first, differing only in the date
and designation of the
place of deposit. Celoron's record is as follows: "Aout
3me,
1749.
Enterre une plaque de plomb sur la rive
meridionale de
la riviere Oyo, a 4 lieues, au dessous
de la riviere aux boeufs,
vis-a-vis une montagne pelle, et aupres
d'une grosse pierre, sur
laquelle on voit plusieurs figures assez
grossierement gravees."
"Buried a leaden plate on the south
bank of the Ohio river, four
leagues below the river Aux Boeufs,
opposite a bald mountain,
and near a large stone, on which are
many figures rudely en-
graved."
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 439
Father Bonnecamps states the deposit to
have been made
under a large rock. An excellent view of the rock in question,
with a fac-simile of the hieroglyphics
on its face, may be found
in Schoolcraft's work on the "Indian
Tribes in the United States,"
Vol. VI, p. 172. It was drawn
by Captain Eastman of the U.
S. Army while standing waist deep in the
river, its banks being
then nearly full. At the time of the
spring and fall freshets the
rock is entirely submerged. The abrasion of its exposed sur-
face by ice and floodwood in winter has
almost obliterated the
rude carvings. At the time of Celoron's visit it was entirely
uncovered. It is called "Hart's
rock" on Hutchins' Topographi-
cal Map of Virginia. The distance of
"four leagues" from the
mouth of the river Aux Boeufs, or French
Creek, to the rock,
as given by Celoron, is, as usual, a
little exaggerated. The
actual distance by the windings of the
river is about nine miles.
The league as used by Celoron may be
estimated as containing
about two miles and a half. The leaden
plate deposited at this
point has never been found, and some
zealous antiquarian living
in the vicinity might, from the record
now given, be able to
restore it to light, after a repose of
more than a century and a
quarter.
From this station Celoron sent Joncaire
forward to Attigue
the next day, to announce the approach
of the expedition, it
being an Indian settlement (142) of some
importance on the left
bank of the river, between eight and
nine leagues farther down,
containing twenty-two cabins. Before reaching Attigue they
passed a river three or four leagues
from the Aux Boeufs, the
confluence of which with the Alleghany
is described as "very
beautiful," and a league farther
down another, having on its
upper waters some villages of Loups and
Iroquois.
Attigue was probably on or near the
Kiskiminitas river,
which falls into the south side of the
Alleghany about twenty-
five miles above Pittsburgh. It is
called the river d'Attigue by
Montcalm, in a letter dated in 1758.10
There were several Indian
villages on its banks at that date. They
reached Attigue on the
sixth, where they found Joncaire
waiting. Embarking together
they passed on the right an old
"Chaouanons" (Shawnees) vil-
lage. It had not been occupied by the
Indians since the removal
440
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
of Chartier and his band to the river
Vermillion in the Wabash
country in 1745, by order of
the Marquis de Beauharnois. Leav-
ing Attigue the next day, they passed a
village of Loups, all the
inhabitants of which, except three
Iroquois, and an old woman
who was regarded as a Queen, and devoted
to the English, had
fled in alarm to Chiningue. This village
of the Loups, Celoron
declares to be the finest he saw on the
river. It must have been
situated at or near the present site of
Pittsburgh. The descrip-
tion of the place, like many given by
Celoron, is so vague that
it is impossible to identify it with any
certainty. The clear,
bright current of the Alleghany, and the
sluggish, turbid stream
of the Monongahela, flowing together to
form the broad Ohio,
their banks clothed in luxuriant summer
foliage, must have
presented to the voyagers a scene
strikingly picturesque, one
which would hardly have escaped the
notice of the chief of the
expedition. If, therefore, the allusion
to "the finest place on the
river" has no reference to the site
of Pittsburgh, then no mention
is made of it whatever. On landing three
leagues farther down,
they were told by some of their Indians
that they had passed a
rock on which were some inscriptions.
Father Bonnecamps and
Joncaire, who were sent to examine it,
reported nothing but some
English names written in charcoal. This
was near the second
entrepot of the English.
Their camp being only two leagues above
Chiningue, they
were enabled to reach the latter the
next day. They found the
village one of the largest on the river,
consisting of fifty cabins
of Iroquois, Shawnees and Loups; also
Iroquois from the Sault
St. Louis and Lake of the Two Mountains,
with some Nippis-
singues, Abenakis and Ottawas.
Bonnecamps estimated the num-
ber of cabins at eighty, and says,
"we called it (143) Chiningue,
from its vicinity to a river of that
name." He records its lati-
tude as 40° 35' 10" which is nearly
correct, and longitude as
80° 19'. The place was subsequently known as
"Logstown," a
large and flourishing village which
figures prominently in Indian
history for many years after this
period. Colonel Croghan, who
was sent to the Ohio Indians by Governor
Hamilton, of Pennsyl-
vania, in August, 1749, mentions in his
journal that "Monsieur
Celaroon with two hundred French
soldiers, had passed through
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 441
Logstown just before his
arrival."11 Crogan inquired of the
inhabitants the object of the
expedition, and was told by them
that "it was to drive the English
away, and by burying iron
plates, with inscriptions on them at the
mouth of each remarkable
creek, to steal away their
country."
On reaching Chiningue Celoron found
several English
traders established there, whom he
compelled to leave. He
wrote by them to Governor Hamilton,
under date of August 6th,
1749, that he was surprised to find
English traders on French
territory, it being in contravention of
solemn treaties, and hoped
the Governor would forbid their
trespassing in future. De
Celoron also made a speech, in which he
informed the Indians
that "he was on his way down the
Ohio to whip home the
Twightwees and Wyandots for trading with
the English." They
treated his speech with contempt,
insisting that "to separate them
from the English would be like cutting a
man into halves, and
expecting him to live."12 The Indians were found so unfriendly
to the French, and suspicious of the
objects of the expedition, as
to embarrass the movements of de
Celoron. His Iroquois and
Abenaki allies refused to accompany him
farther than Chiningue.
They destroyed the plates which, bearing
the arms of the French
King, had been affixed to trees as
memorials of his sovereignty.
After leaving Chiningue, they passed two
rivers, one on
either side, and crossing the present
boundary line between Penn-
sylvania and Ohio, reached the river
Kanououara early on the
13th. Here they interred the third
leaden plate, with the usual in-
scription and customary ceremonies. The
blank in the plate was
filled as follows: "Enterre a l'entree de la riviere, et
sur la
rive Septentrionale de Kanououara, qui
se decharge a l'est de la
riviere Oyo." "Buried at the mouth and on the north
bank of
the river Kanououara, which empties into
the easterly side of
the Ohio river." Neither Celoron nor Bonnecamps gives such
a description of the locality as to
warrant a positive identification
of the site. The plate was probably buried on the northerly
bank of Wheeling Creek, at its junction
with the Ohio, in the
present state of (144) Virginia, and
near where Fort Henry was
subsequently built in 1774. No vestige of the plate has been
discovered so far as known.
442
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
The expedition resumed its voyage on the
14th, passing the
mouths of three streams, two on the left
and one on the right.
Deer abounded along the banks. Two of
the rivers are stated
to be strikingly beautiful at their
junction with the Ohio. On
the 15th they arrived at the mouth of
the Muskingum, called by
Father Bonnecamps Yenanguakonnan, and
encamped on the
shore.
Here the fourth leaden plate was buried on the right
bank of that river, at its junction with
the Ohio. Celoron de-
scribes the place of deposit as
follows: "Enterre au pied d'un
erable, qui forme trepied avec une chene
rouge et un orme, a
i'entree de la Yenanguakonan, sur la
rive occidentale de cette
riviere." "Buried at the foot
of a maple, which forms a triangle
with a red oak and elm, at the mouth of
the river Yenanguako-
nan, and on its western bank."
In 1798, half a century later, some
boys, who were bathing
at the mouth of the Muskingum,
discovered something project-
ing from the perpendicular face of the
river bank, three or four
feet below the surface. With the aid of a pole they loosened
it from its bed, and found it to be a
leaden plate, stamped with
letters in an unknown language. Unaware
of its historic value,
and being in want of lead, then a scarce
article in the new
country, they carried it home and cast a
part of it into bullets.
News of the discovery of so curious a
relic having reached the
ears of a resident of Marietta he
obtained possession of it, and
found the inscription to be in
French. The boys had cut off
quite a large part of the inscription,
but enough remained to
indicate its character. It subsequently
passed into the hands of
Caleb Atwater, the historian, who sent
it to Goveronr De Witt
Clinton. The latter presented it to the
Antiquarian Society of
Massachusetts, in the library of which
it is now deposited. A
poor fac-simile of the fragment is given
in Hildreth's Pioneer
History of the Ohio Valley, at page 20. It appears to have
been substantially the same as the other
plates which have been
discovered, with the exception of a
different arrangement of the
lines. The place of deposit is given as
"riviere Yenangue" on
the part of the plate which was rescued
from the boys. Mr.
Atwater, Governor Clinton and several
historians, misled by the
similarity between the names
"Yenangue" and "Venango," sup-
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 443
posed that it had originally been
deposited at Venango, an old
Indian town at the mouth of French Creek
in Pennsylvania, one
hundred and thirty miles above the mouth
of the Muskingum,
and had been carried down by a freshet,
or removed (145) by
some party to the place where it was
discovered. The Journal
of de Celoron removes all doubt on the
subject, and conclusively
establishes the fact that the plate was
originally deposited where
it was found, on the site where old Fort
Harmer was subse-
quently built, and opposite the point
where the village of Marietta
is now situated.
After the deposit of the fourth plate
was completed, the
expedition broke up their forest camp,
embarked in their canoes,
and resumed the descent of the river.
About three-fourts of a
mile below the Muskingum, Father
Bonnecamps took some ob-
servations, and found the latitude to be
39° 36' and the longi-
tude 81° 20' west of Paris. They accomplished twelve leagues
on the 16th, and on the 17th, embarking
early, they passed two
fine rivers, one on each side, the names
of which are not given.
On the 18th, after an early start they
were arrested by the rain
at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, which
is called by Father
Bonnecamps
"Chinodaichta." The bank of
this large stream,
flowing from the southeast, and draining
an extensive territory,
was chosen for the deposit of the fifth
plate. Only a brief
record of the ceremony is given. A copy
of the inscription is
omitted by Celoron, but his record of
the interment of the plate
is as follows: "Enterree au pied
d'un orme, sur la rive meridion-
ale de l'Oyo, et la rive orientale de
Chinondaista, le 18 Aout,
1749." "Buried at the foot of an elm on the south bank of
the Ohio, and on the east bank of the
Chinondaista, the 18th
day of August, 1749.
Fortunately the discovery of the plate
in March, 1846, leaves
no doubt of the inscription. It was
found by a boy while play-
ing on the margin of the Kenawha river.
Like that at the mouth
of the Muskingum, it was projecting from
the river bank, a few
feet below the surface. Since the time it was buried, an ac-
cumulation of soil had been deposited
above it by the annual
river freshets for nearly one hundred
years. The day of the
deposit, as recorded on the plate,
corresponds precisely with the
444
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
one stated by de
Celoron. The spelling of the Indian
name
of the river differs
slightly from the Journal, that on the plate
being
"Chinodahichetha." Kenawha,
the Indian name of the
river in another
dialect, is said to signify "The river of the
woods." The place
selected by Celoron for the interment of the
plate must have been
one of surpassing beauty. The native
forest, untouched by
the pioneer, and crowned with the luxuriant
foliage of Northern
Kentucky, covered the banks of both rivers,
and the picturesque
scenery justified the name of "Point Pleas-
ant," which was
afterwards bestowed by the early settlers. On
the 16th day of
October, 1774, it became the scene of a bloody
(146) battle between
an army of Virginians, commanded by
Colonel Lewis, and a
large force of western Indians, under the
leadership of the
celebrated Cornstalk, Logan, and others, in
which the latter were
defeated.13
The expedition was
detained at this point by the rain. It
re-embarked on the
2oth, and when they had proceeded about
three leagues, Father
Bonnecamps took the latitude and longitude,
which he records at 38°
39' 57" for the former, and 82° 1' for
the latter. Joncaire was sent forward the next day with
two
chiefs from the Sault
St. Louis and two Abenakis, to propitiate
the inhabitants of
"St. Yotoc," a village they were now approach-
ing. They embarked early on the morning of the
22d, and
reached St. Yotoc the
same day. This village was composed
of Shawnees, Iroquois,
Loups, and Miamis, and Indians from
the Sault St. Louis,
Lake of the Two Mountains, as well as
representatives from
nearly all the nations of the "upper coun-
try." The name "St. Yotoc" seems to
be neither French nor
Indian. It is probably a corruption of Scioto.
Father Bonne-
camps calls it
"Sinhioto" on his map. He records the latitude
of the south bank of
the Ohio, opposite its mouth, at 38° 50' 24",
and the longitude 82°
22'. Pouchot, in his "Memoires sur la
derniere
guerre," French edition, vol.
III., page 182, calls the
river
"Sonhioto." This village of St. Yotoc, or Scioto, was prob-
ably on the north bank
of the Ohio, a little below the mouth of
the Scioto, now the
site of Alexandria. Its principal inhabitants
were Shawnees.
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 445
The expedition remained here until the
26th of August. On
the 27th they proceeded as far as the
riviere La Blanche, or
White river, which they reached at ten
at night. On the bank
of the Ohio, opposite the mouth of this
river, Bonnecamps
found the latitude to be 39° 12'
01", and the longitude 83° 31'.
Embarking on the 30th, they passed the
great north bend of the
Ohio, and reached the riviere a la
Roche, now known as the
Great Miami. Here their voyage on the Ohio ended, and they
turned their little fleet of bark
gondolas northward into the
channel of its great tributary.
The sixth and last of the leaden plates
was buried at this
place. The text of Celoron's Journal
reads as follows: "Enterree
sur la pointe formee par la rive droite
de l'Ohio, et la rive gauche
de la riviere a la Roche, Aout 31,
1749." "Buried on the point
formed by the intersection of the right
bank of the Ohio, with
the left bank of the Rock river, August
31, 1749." So far as
known, this plate has never been
discovered. Celoron calls the
Great Miami the Riviere a la Roche, and
Pouchot, quoted above,
and other French writers give it the
same name.
The expedition left its encampment at
the mouth of this
river on the (147) first day of
September, and began the toil-
some ascent of the stream, now greatly
diminished by the summer
drought. On the l3th they arrived at "Demoiselles,"
which
Father Bonnecamps, with his constant
companion the astrolabe,
found to be in latitude 40° 23' 12".. and longitude 83° 29'. This
was the residence of La Demoiselle, a
chief of a portion of the
Miamis who were allies of the English.14 The fort and village
of La Demoiselle were mentioned by M. de
Longueil in 1752.
It was probably situated on what was
afterwards known as
Loramie's Creek, the earliest point of
English settlement in Ohio.
It became quite noted in the subsequent
history of the Indian
wars, and was destroyed by General Clark
in his expedition of
1782. A fort was built on the site
several years afterwards by
General Wayne, which he named Fort
Loramie. Here the
French remained a week to recruit, and
prepare for the portage
to the Maumee. Having burned their
canoes, and obtained some
ponies, they set out on their overland
journey. In arranging
for the march, M. de Celoron took
command of the right, and
446 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
M. de Contrecoeur of the left. The
distance was estimated by
Celoron as fifty leagues, and five and a
half days were allotted
for its accomplishment.
They completed the portage on the 25th,
and arrived at
Kiskakon. This appears to be the Indian
name for the site of
Fort Wayne, which was built there in
1794. Celoron found it
a French post, under the command of M.
de Raymond. It un-
doubtedly took the name of Kiskakon,
from a branch of Ottawas
that removed to this place from
Missillimackinac, where they had
resided as late as 1682. It was here
that de Celoron provided
pirogues and provisions for the descent
of the Maumee to Lake
Erie. The Miami Chief "Pied
Froid," or Coldfoot resided in
the village. He appears not to have been
very constant in his
allegiance either to the French or the
English.
Leaving Kiskakon on the 27th of
September, a part of the
expedition went overland to Detroit, and
the remainder descended
the river by canoe. The latter landed
near Detroit on the 6th
of October. Having renewed his supplies and canoes for the
transportation of his detachment,
Celoron prepared for the re-
turn to Montreal by way of Lake
Erie. His Indian allies, as
usual, occasioned some delay. They had
stopped at the mouth
of the Maumee, and were overcome by a
drunken debauch on
the white man's fire water. It was not
until the 8th of October
that the party finally launched their
canoes, and descended the
river into Lake Erie. Their first night
was spent on its northern
shore at Point Pellee. Nothing worthy of
note occurred during
their traverse of the lake. They reached
Fort Niagara on the
19th, where they remained three (148)
days. Leaving there on
the 22d, they coasted the south shore of
Lake Ontario, and ar-
rived at Fort Frontenac on the 6th of
November, their canoes
badly shattered by the autumnal gales,
and their men greatly
fatigued with the hardships of the
voyage. They pushed on,
however, with as little delay as
possible to Montreal, which they
reached on the loth of October, having,
according to the esti-
mate of both de Celoron and Father
Bonnecamps, traveled at
least twelve hundred leagues.
Allusion has been made to the changes
which took place
in the Ohio Valley prior to the
expedition of de Celoron. Those
De Celoron's
Expedition to the Ohio in 1749. 447
which have since occurred are no less
remarkable. Both the
French and the English continued equally
determined to possess
the country north of the Ohio. The former stretched a chain
of posts from Niagara to the
Mississippi, as a barrier against
English encroachments, and to exclude
the Indians from their
influence and control. To counteract
these demonstrations, Gist
was sent by the Ohio Company in 1750 to
survey its lands pre-
liminary to their occupation and
settlement. In 1753 Washing-
ton was dispatched by Governor Dinwiddie
to Venango and Le
Boeuf on what proved to be a fruitless
mission. A post was
established the same year by the English
at Pittsburgh, which
was captured the next by the French, and
called after the Marquis
du Quesne. It was occupied by the latter
until retaken by Gen-
eral Forbes in 1756.
This was followed the next year by an
expedition under
Washington, who at the age of twenty-two
drew his maiden
sword at the Great Meadows in an
encounter with a detachment
of French under Jumonville, which
resulted in the death of the
latter. Washington pushed on farther
west, but the advance
of the enemy with strong reinforcements
compelled him to fall
back to the Great Meadows, which he
strengthened and fortified,
under the significant name of Fort
Necessity. Here he was
attacked by the French under Coulon de
Villiers, a brother of
Jumonville, with a vigor inspired by the
desire of avenging his
brother's death. Washington was compelled to capitulate. The
French were thus enabled to acquire
complete control for the
time being over the disputed
territory. Thus was the opening
scene in the great drama of the
"Old French War" enacted. The
disastrous defeat of Braddock followed
the next year, and ex-
posed the whole frontier to the hostile
incursions of the French
and Indians.
In 1759 the grand scheme for the
conquest of Canada, con-
ceived by the illustrious Pitt, was
carried into execution. The
expeditions of Amherst against
Ticonderoga, Wolfe against
Quebec, and Prideaux against Niagara,
resulted in the fall of
those important fortresses. (149) Major Rogers was sent
to the Northwest in 1760 to receive possession of the French
posts, which had been surrendered to the
English by the capitu-
448
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
lation of Quebec. He was met at Cuyahoga
by Pontiac, the Ot-
tawa, who forbade his farther progress.
"I stand," says he,
"in your path; you can march no
farther without my permis-
sion." A friend to the French, a leader in the attack on Brad-
dock, ambitious and vindictive, Pontiac
was a chief of command-
ing intellect and well qualified for
bold enterprises and strategic
combinations. These qualities were
indicated in his great con-
spiracy for the simultaneous capture of
the ten principal posts
in the Northwest, and the massacre of
the English trading in
their vicinity. Eight of those posts, embracing Sandusky,
St.
Joseph, Miami, Ouatanon, Mackinaw,
Presque Isle, Le Boeuf
and Venango successively fell before the
deep laid plans of the
wily chieftain. Forts Pitt and Detroit successfully
withstood
the most vigorous assaults, and the
latter a protracted siege con-
ducted by Pontiac himself.
Now war in all its horrors raged with
savage intensity along
the entire frontier. The unprotected settlers, men, women and
children, were massacred and scalped, or
if spared, borne away
into a hopeless captivity. The English colonists were aroused
to meet the emergency, and Colonel
Bouquet was sent in 1763
with a large force into the Indian
territory to relieve the western
posts, but was compelled to halt at
Pittsburgh.
The succeeding spring found the Indians
again on the war-
path, and Detroit was invested for the
second time by Pontiac.
An expedition was sent to the
Northwestern posts under Brad-
street, and another under Bouquet
penetrated the interior of
Ohio.
Bradstreet was duped by his crafty adversaries into a
peace not intended to be kept, but
Bouquet, undeceived by similar
artifices, pushed on to the heart of the
Indian country. At the
junction of the White Woman and
Tuscarawas rivers he dictated
a peace by his bold and energetic
movements, which, with the
exception of occasional outbreaks, was
destined to last until the
commencement of the great contest
between the colonists and
the mother country.
The treaty of 1783 left the western
tribes without an ally,
and the United States became free to
extend the arts of peace
over their new territory. The pioneers shouldered the axe and
the rifle, and marching westward in
solid column, invaded the
De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio
in 1749. 449
land. The frail canoe and sluggish
batteau, which had so long
and wearily contended with the adverse
currents of the Ohio,
were soon replaced by the power of
steam. The dense forests
that for a thousand miles had fringed
both borders of the (150)
river were opened to the sunlight, and
thriving cities and smiling
villages arose on the ruins of the mound
builders. The narrow
trails of the Indian, deep worn for
centuries by the tread of
hunter and warrior, were now superseded
by the iron rail and
broad highway. The hardy emigrants and
their descendants
subdued the wilderness, and with the
church, the school-house,
the factory and the plough planted a
civilization on the ruins
of a fallen barbarism.
The dominion and power of France have
disappeared, and
no traces of her lost sovereignty exist,
save in the few names she
has left on the prominent streams and
landmarks of the country,
and in the leaden plates which, incribed
in her language and
asserting her claims, still lie buried
on the banks of the "Beauti-
ful River." O. H. MARSHALL.
NOTES.
1. This name is usually spelled Celeron, but incorrectly.
M. Ferland, in his Cours d'Histoire
du Canada, vol. ii, p. 493,
calls him Celoron de Blainville.
2. Joncaire.
3. N. Y. Col. Doc., vi, p. 604.
4. The Indian name of Sir William
Johnson. It signifies
"Superintendent of Affairs."
5. V. Penn. Col. Records, p. 508.
6. N. Y. Col. Doc., ix, p. 1097.
7. This observation, like most of those
taken by Father
Bonnecamps, is incorrect. Either his instruments were imper-
fect or his methods of computation
erroneous. The true latitude
of the mouth of the Conewango is less
than 41° 50', as it is
twelve miles south of the boundary line
between New York and
Pennsylvania.
8. On Crevecoeur's Map of 1758, in
Depots des Cartes,
Ministere de la Guerre, Paris, the
Conewango is called the
"Chatacouin" as far down as
its junction with the Alleghany.
9. Governor Clinton, in his address
before the New York
Historical Society in 1811 , inquires if
the Joncaire met by Char-
Vol. XXIX- 29.
450 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. levoix and Washington were the same. They could not have been, for the one mentioned by Charlevoix died in 1740. 10. N. Y. Col. Doc., IX, 1025; X, ib., 901. 11. N. Y. Col. Doc., VII, p. 267. 12. N. Y. Col. Doc., VI, pp. 532-3. 13. See Vol. 1, p. 747, Magazine of American History. 14. N. Y. Col. Doc., X, pp. 139, 142, 245 and 247. 15. Major Long of the U. S. Army, in his second expedi- tion to the St. Peter's River in 1823, traveled over the same route. |
|
DE CELORON'S
EXPEDITION TO THE OHIO IN 1749.
BY 0. H. MARSHALL
The extensive territory lying between
the Ohio River and
Lake Erie has been the theatre of many
remarkable historical
changes. Its earliest inhabitants left no record of their origin
or history, save in the numerous tumuli
which are scattered over
its surface, bearing trees of the
largest growth, not distinguish-
able from the adjacent forest. Measured by the extent and
character of those vast structures, the
race that built them must
have been intelligent and populous. When and how they dis-
appeared we know not. Whether they were
directly succeeded
by the present race of Indians, or by an
intermediate people, are
questions to which history gives no
answer. When LaSalle dis-
covered the Ohio he found it in the
occupation of the red man,
who claimed possession and ownership
over the territory com-
prised within the limits of Western
Pennsylvania, Ohio and In-
diana, until the close of the last
century. His villages were on
every stream, and his hunting grounds
embraced every hill and
valley.
The attractions of the fur trade
stimulated eastern adven-
turers to penetrate, from time to time,
the forest recesses of the
west, and glowing descriptions were
reported of the fertile soil,
mineral wealth and the abundance of the
fur-bearing animals.
It was not until England and France, the
two great rival powers
of Europe, became impressed with the
prospective growth and
value of the territory, and each
prepared to grasp the coveted
prize, that the native owners of the
soil began to take serious
alarm. On the one side, England claimed
to the northern lakes,
while France asserted ownership not only
as far south as the
Ohio, but over all the lands drained by
its extensive tributaries.
The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, to which
both of those powers
were parties, while it terminated a long
and sanguinary war in
* Republished from The Magazine of
American History vol. 2, pages
130-150.
(424)