The French

 The French settled in Detroit from1701 to secure the area for their King and to get beaver furs which were made into hats. They lived peacefully with the Indians. However they were at war with the British so they gave the Indians Scalping knives and guns to kill and scalp everyone else. About 160 years of French rule came to an end in 1760.

The arrival of the Europeans

            In the 1600’s Europeans were venturing into Michigan.  At first most were from France but also from other countries.  They discovered a wilderness covered with huge trees, white pines over five feet in diameter at the base and 200 feet tall, abundant wildlife such as beaver, lakes and streams with fish.  1600-1668 French missionaries and fur traders ventured into upper Michigan especially the area of Sault Ste Marie.  In 1668, the legendary Jesuit missionary and explorer Fr. Jacques Marquette renamed this burgeoning European settlement Sault Ste. Marie, the first “city” in the Great Lakes region.  According to Michigan History magazine (http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/kids/pdfs/guide1.pdf) When the French arrived in the upper Great Lakes in the mid-seventeenth century, they discovered nine

Indian tribes that totaled an estimated 100,000 people. The largest was the Huron, which lived in the region between Lakes Erie, Ontario and Huron. Tribes living in present-day Michigan included the Ojibway, the Odawa and the Potawatomi. Other tribes living in the area included the Menominee, the Sac (also Sauk), the Fox, the Winnabago and the Miami.” They shared three beliefs: 1) Spirits were more powerful than men; 2) Nature—the land, animals and plants—belonged to everyone; and 3) No one had the right to run another person’s life.  Everyone living in an Indian village worked.”  “Michigan Indians were not as warlike as other Native Americans. When they did fight, it was because another group had moved too close to their territory. They also fought to avenge a wrong done to one of them by someone from another village or tribe.”

            Under the French the area was exploited for furs along the lakes and streams.  The French gave the Indians beads, blankets, tomahawks, copper kettles, and guns.

Unfortunately the flat terrain particularly to the west and southwest of Detroit became wet areas in the spring and fall. Because much of these wet areas had very poor drainage they did not dry out until summer resulting in huge numbers of mosquitoes.  With the poor drainage after a big summer rain there were even more mosquitoes.  With them sometimes came the diseases malaria and ague.  Sometimes the Indians and pioneers rubbed garlic or onions on their skin to ward off the insects.

            By 1710 nearly 6000 Indians from many tribes were visiting near the area of the Fort at Detroit trying to get the French to give them things. This meant that they were hunting in Warren.  In the past the French had given lots of gifts to the Indians.  But the King of France had ordered an end to buying furs and an end to the giving of gifts.  This angered the Indians and led to the murders of many French fur traders.  Soon the tribes were fighting amongst themselves for territory.

1745 parties

You don’t want to go to this party!

Into this wonderful land of beauty and peace, again as in countless times before, came strangers and killed the peaceful settlers.  Men, women and children were needlessly massacred.   Why?

Silas points out that as early as 1745 the French outfitted war excursion parties.  These killed scalped, tortured any settler or anyone that they did not like.  They also took many women and children as slaves. I quote Silas “The fact is undoubted and indisputable that at Detroit and other posts under both French and English rule, the Indians received goods in payment for human scalps as regularly as for coon and muskrat skins.”  (Farmer p232)

On August  31, 1747 a settler named Martineau wandered a little to far from the fort and was scalped by four Indians.

George Washington

Colonel George Washington in 1753 on his return trip from interviewing the French commandant was himself narrowly escaped being massacred by the Indians.  p232