Alexander Henry (1739–1824) was the oldest son of a New Jersey merchant. Working out of Albany, New York, he helped supply the British army during the Seven Years’ War. After the fall of Montreal in 1760, he was given a permit by General Thomas Gage to enter into the fur trade. Following an arduous journey by canoe, Henry arrived in Michilimackinac in the fall of 1761. Michilimackinac had long been an important crossroads of trade, controlled by the Anishinabeg, or the “people of three fires”: the Ottawas, Ojibwes, and Potawatomies.
In Michilimackinac, Henry encountered the Ojibwe headman Minavavana (he is called Chippewa in the text; Chippewa is a cognate of Ojibwe). Minavavana pointedly told Henry that Britain had not conquered the Ojibwes and had no right to their territory; however, he permitted Henry to stay since he came intending only to trade. Henry passed two winters as a trader at nearby Sault Ste. Marie. He returned to Michilimackinac in June 1763 and witnessed the capture of that fort by Ojibwe warriors who orchestrated their attack by staging a lacrosse game outside the fort’s walls.
Henry’s narrative offers a vivid portrait of life in the upper Great Lakes. While Great Lakes peoples were willing to accept British traders in their midst, they refused to acknowledge British political authority over them. The following excerpt begins with a description of the fort and proceeds to a narrative of Henry’s experiences.
Fort Michilimackinac was built by order of the governor-general of Canada, and garrisoned with a small number of militia, who, having families, soon became less soldiers than settlers. Most of those whom I found in the fort had originally served in the French army.
The fort stands on the south side of the strait which is between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. It has an area of two acres, and is enclosed with pickets of cedar wood; and it is so near the water’s edge that when the wind is in the west the waves break against the stockade….
Within the stockade are thirty houses, neat in their appearance, and tolerably commodious; and a church in which mass is celebrated by a Jesuit missionary. The number of families may be nearly equal to that of the houses; and their subsistence is derived from the Indian traders who assemble here in their voyages to and from Montreal. Michilimackinac is the place of deposit and point of departure between the upper countries and the lower. Here the outfits are prepared for the countries of Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, Lake Superior, and the Northwest; and here the returns in furs are collected and embarked for Montreal….
At two o’clock in the afternoon the Chippewa came to my house, about sixty in number, and headed by Minavavana, their chief…. Minavavana appeared to be about fifty years of age. He was six feet in height, and had in his countenance an indescribable mixture of good and evil….
At length the pipes being finished, as well as the long pause by which they were succeeded, Minavavana, taking a few strings of wampum in his hand, began the following speech:
“Englishman, it is to you that I speak, and I demand your attention!
“Englishman, you know that the French king is our father. He promised to be such; and we in return promised to be his children. This promise we have kept.
“Englishman, it is you that have made war with this our father. You are his enemy; and how then could you have the boldness to venture among us, his children? You know that his enemies are ours.
“Englishman, we are informed that our father, the King of France, is old and infirm; and that being fatigued with making war upon your nation, he is fallen asleep. During his sleep you have taken advantage of him and possessed yourselves of Canada. But his nap is almost at an end. I think I hear him already stirring and inquiring for his children, the Indians; and when he does awake, what must become of you? He will destroy you utterly!
“Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us! We are not your slaves. These lakes, these woods and mountains were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance; and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live without bread — and pork — and beef! But you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us in these spacious lakes and on these woody mountains….
“Englishman, your king has never sent us any presents, nor entered into any treaty with us, wherefore he and we are still at war….”
[Henry passed two winters trading in and around nearby Sault Ste. Marie. He returned to Michilimackinac after Pontiac’s forces had begun their siege at Detroit. What follows is a description of events on June 4, 1763.]
The morning was sultry. A Chippewa came to tell me that his nation was going to play at Baggatiway [lacrosse] with the Sacs …, another Indian nation, for a high wager. He invited me to witness the sport, adding that the commandant was to be there, and would bet on the side of the Chippewa….
I did not go myself to see the match which was now to be played without the fort, because there being a canoe prepared to depart on the following day for Montreal I employed myself in writing letters to my friends…. I heard an Indian war cry and a noise of general confusion.
Going instantly to my window I saw a crowd of Indians within the fort furiously cutting down and scalping every Englishman they found. In particular I witnessed the fate of Lieutenant Jemette.
I had in the room in which I was a fowling piece, loaded with swan-shot. This I immediately seized and held it for a few minutes, waiting to hear the drum beat to arms. In this dreadful interval I saw several of my countrymen fall.
Source: Alexander Henry’s Travels and Adventures in the Years 1760–1776, ed. Milo Quaife (Chicago, 1921), 40–45, 78–79.
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