Produced by Valérie Leduc, Curtis Weyant and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by Case Western Reserve University Preservation Department Digital Library) HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTHWEST BY JOHN NICOLET IN 1634 WITH A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE BY C. W. BUTTERFIELD Author of "Crawford's Campaign against Sandusky," "History of Wisconsin" In Historical Atlas of the State, "The Washington-Crawford Letters," "History of the University of Wisconsin," etc. CINCINNATI ROBERT CLARKE & CO. 1881 COPYRIGHTED, 1881, BY C. W. BUTTERFIELD. PREFACE. In the following pages, I have attempted to record, in a faithful manner, the indomitable perseverance and heroic bravery displayed by John Nicolet in an exploration which resulted in his being the first of civilized men to set foot upon any portion of the Northwest; that is, upon any part of the territory now constituting the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It is shown how he brought to the knowledge of the world the existence of a "fresh-water sea"--Lake Michigan--beyond and to the westward of Lake Huron; how he visited a number of Indian nations before unheard of; how he penetrated many leagues beyond the utmost verge of previous discoveries, with an almost reckless fortitude, to bind distant tribes to French interests; and how he sought to find an ocean, which, it was believed, was not a great distance westward of the St. Lawrence, and which would prove a near route to China and Japan. The principal sources from which I have drawn, in my investigations concerning the life and explorations of Nicolet, are the Jesuit Relations. So nearly contemporaneous are these publications with his discoveries--especially those which contain a record of them--and so trustworthy are they in their recital of facts connected therewith, that their value, in this connection, can hardly be over-estimated. Each one of the series having a particular bearing upon the subject of this narrative has been studied with a care commensurate with its importance. Other accounts of the same period, as well as of a somewhat later date, together with the researches of modern writers, concerning the daring Frenchman, whose name stands first on the list of the explorers of the Northwest, have, likewise, been carefully examined, the object being, if not to exhaust all known sources of information illustrative of these discoveries, at least to profit by them. Aid has been received, in addition, from several living authors, especially from Benjamin Sulte, Esq., of Ottawa, Canada, to whom, and to all others who have extended a helping hand, I return my sincere thanks. C. W. B. MADISON, WISCONSIN, 1881. CONTENTS.