THE HISTORY OF MICHIGAN

 The Early Years

May, 11,000BC

Clod, one of the original residents of Michigan, was the first known jogger in the state. Two archaeologists discovered this after they'd deciphered hieroglyphic writing found on a rock outcropping near Zipperfinch Lake.

Jogging was not one of Clod's strong points but he inadvertently began his running career one day near a receding glacier while fleeing from a pursuing giant beaver. Clod, winded but happy to see the beaver give up the pursuit, decided that running was not for him. Unfortunately, hunting with his primitive weapons wasn't in his repertoire of strong points either, and he frequently only aggravated an intended prey. As a result, running became an almost daily occurrence with Clod as he ran for his life, chased by giant beaver, mammoths, mastodons, and other equally fearsome animals of the era. In an amazingly short amount of time, Clod was in peak condition although he was on the thin side, having spent more time running than eating.

Clod's running abilities became legend and stories about him passed down from generation to generation. He is evidently known to many people even today. An automobile driver, while observing a jogger in a dark suit running down the middle of a roadway at night, will more than likely say, "Look at that Clod."

March, 1669

Father Jacques Marquette, while taking a cold canoe ride down the St. Mary's River, wondered why he'd left the cozy monastery in France. Tagee, the Chippewa guide, was wishing that Father Marquette would go back to his cozy monastery in France. His second wish was that the good father would pick up a paddle and do some of the work.

March, 1680

Rene'-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle trudged across the southern part of Michigan to Fort Frontenac at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, a thousand mile walk.

While history tells of many of the adventurous feats of La Salle, nowhere is his closest confidant and traveling companion, Louis Whitefeather Chauncey, mentioned. Chauncey's mother was of French extraction but his father was of dubious heritage which was a mixture of Indian, English, French, and Spanish. Chauncey himself reported that his ancestry was the result of his great-grandmother and his grandmother on his father's side traveling extensively throughout Europe and the New World.

It was Chauncey who convinced Louis XIV to confer upon La Salle a title of nobility. If it hadn't been for the title, history books would have probably recorded his name as just plain Cav, as he was known by his friends.

It was because of Chauncey that La Salle walked across Michigan. The history books say that La Salle received word that his ship, the Griffon, had sunk and wouldn't be returning to pick him up. The books don't tell that it was Chauncey who walked all the way back to Illinois to deliver the message to La Salle. When Chauncey informed him of the disaster, the famous explorer was crestfallen and on the verge of a total breakdown.

"Come on, Cav," urged Chauncey. "The situation isn't all that bleak. We can walk back to Fort Frontenac."

This statement upset other members of the party, especially the irascible and moody Friar Henepin who threatened Chauncey with excommunication from the Catholic Church until Chauncey explained that he was a Buddhist, a religion adopted by his grandmother while she was on her travels. Henepin began sulking and said he wasn't about to walk across Michigan where he'd heard that the mosquitoes were as big as hummingbirds. He then stalked off in the direction of Minnesota.

The other participant in the discussion, Italian soldier of fortune Henri de Forte, said he wasn't walking anywhere and began building a fortress right where they stood. Fort construction was a favorite pastime of the era.

Chauncey finally convinced La Salle that walking across Michigan was the only way to get out of their predicament. He took the explorer by the hand and led him off blubbering into the woods. The trip was long and hazardous. Chauncey had to comfort La Salle every evening by consoling him and keeping the fire burning brightly throughout the night.

It's all right, CavI" he said, placing a hand on La Salle's shoulder as the Frenchman peered wide-eyed into the darkness with tears running down his cheeks. "You don't have to worry about Indians here. They've never been known to turn savage until after the missionaries get to them. Which reminds me, traveling might be a little tough on the upper Mississippi after Friar Henepin gets finished there." Chauncey continued advising La Salle. "By the way, you wouldn't get so wet and cold all the time if you'd just open your eyes while crawling on those logs across the rivers. I'm sorry, but there are some places where it's just too awkward for me to carry you across on my back. Keep in mind that in the future I may not always find a long tree limb so I can fish you out of the water.

La Salle promised that he would try to do better so they traveled on, finally reaching Fort Frontenac. There was much jubilation among the inhabitants and they all slapped La Salle on the back and told him what a wonderful feat he'd accomplished. He didn't mention that it was due to Louis Chauncey's help and encouragement that he'd survived the trip at all.

Louis Chauncey was, in fact, the person responsible for all of La Salle's fame. It was he who suggested to La Salle there might be a way to reach the Orient via the inland lakes and rivers of the western frontier. Chauncey's theory started La Salle thinking about the riches such a discovery could lead to. As it turned out, La Salle claimed a vast tract of land for France which was to later become the Louisiana Purchase. History books claim that La Salle named the territory after King Louis XIV but La Salle himself wrote in an obscure diary that he named the land for Louis Chauncey.

Sadly, Chauncey was resting at Fort Frontenac following an attack of malaria when news reached him that La Salle's own men had shot and killed him in Texas. Word spread fast among the inhabitants of Fort Frontenac and a few wide-eyed liberals immediately began pushing for gun control on the frontier. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed. Chauncey was sure he could have prevented the mutiny in Texas had he been there.

Following La Salle's death, Chauncey again walked across Michigan to Father Marquette's mission, located near what is now Chicago, where he succumbed in 1705.

July, 1701

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit, named for France's Minister of the Marine, Jerome de Pontchartrain. Cadillac commanded Fort Michilimackinac from 1694 to 1697, which was not nearly enough time for him to learn to pronounce the name of the fort.

He'd joined the French Army in 1677 as a way to seek his fortune after an elder brother squandered their father's estate. Being a French officer in the colonial era had as a benefit the opportunity to make a fortune operating large, clandestine businesses on the side, not unlike today's political office holders who enjoy the same benefits.

Cadillac was in Detroit for only a year when he received word that his wife would soon be arriving along with two of his children. The thought of having her around again sent chills up and down his spine.

When Cadillac and his wife lived in Port Royale, Acadia, he went on a military expedition, ostensibly exploring the New England coast but, in truth, he just had to get away from the woman for awhile. While he was away, William Phipps, an English privateer came from Boston on a raiding expedition and burned Port Royale to the ground. Spanish pirates spotted Mrs. Cadillac and the children stranded on the beach so they captured them and held them for ransom. It was a matter of only a few days before the pirates couldn't take any more of her. The kidnappers paid a large sum of money to her family and they agreed to take her back. The pirates then had to pay Mrs. Cadillac a large sum of money so she would take her children with her. The sightings of Spanish pirates in the area were almost non-existent for many years afterward.

Cadillac involved himself in lucrative beaver pelt trading schemes. The pelt price was low on the overstocked French markets but he got around this by trading with the English. Pontchartrain, finally fed up with Cadillac's many enterprises, transferred him to Louisiana in 1710.

When Cadillac returned to France after his escapades in Louisiana, the French government detained him briefly in the Bastille. He hadn't made the fortune he'd planned on.

May, 1703

Fur trapper Pierre "Frizzy Hair" Gratoine became the talk of Detroit when Indians and other trappers reported lightning had struck him many times during his trapping expeditions. Most people found it astounding that he survived the lightning bolt strikes. Pierre went into the history books as the first European to accomplish this feat. While Pierre was in Detroit during a thunderstorm, he was known as "the very lonely one."

Pierre remained a trapper for only three years and then, tiring of the frequent shocks to his system and ego, returned to France where he opened a pastry shop in Paris.

History does record that Pierre was not the first human in Michigan to receive multiple lightning strikes and survive. That honor belongs to a Potowatomi warrior whose given name is unknown but settlers and soldiers called him Black Beak after he suffered three consecutive direct hits by lightning during one storm. It is unfortunate that he had his nose in the air observing the thunderheads at the time.

Lightning continued to strike Black Beak frequently during the next few years but there is no existing record to support the stories that he turned up in Paris as a partner in a pastry shop.