Old Mackinaw; Or, The Fortress of the Lakes and its SurroundingsStrickland, W. P. (William Peter)
History
Old Mackinaw; Or, The Fortress of the Lakes and its Surroundings
Strickland, W. P. (William Peter)
Great Lakes (North America); Mackinac Island (Mich. : Island) -- History; Michigan -- History
"On the 8th of August, 1800, Mr. Bacon left Hartford on foot with his
pack upon his back, and on the 4th of September he was at Buffalo,
having walked most of the distance. On the 8th, he left on a vessel
for this city, which he reached after a quick and pleasant voyage on
the 11th. He was made welcome at the house of the commandant, Major
Hunt, where, I believe, his first religious services were held. Gen.
Uriah Tracy, of Litchfield, Conn., General Agent of the United States
for the Western Indians, was then here, and, together with the local
Indian agent, Jonathan Schieffelin, took an active interest in the
mission of Mr. Bacon. John Askin, Esq., the same liberal-minded
merchant, who so essentially befriended the Moravians twenty years
before, and Benjamin Huntington, a merchant here, formerly of Norwich,
Conn., rendered him valuable information and assistance. Learning from
these sources that the Delawares at Sandusky, were about to remove,
that the Wyandottes were mostly Catholics, and that there were no
other Indians 'south and west of Lake Erie,' among whom there was an
inviting field of labor, his attention was turned to the north, and,
with the advice of these judicious friends, on the 13th of September,
he took passage with General Tracy in a government vessel bound for
Mackinac, and went to Harson's Island, at the head of Lake St. Clair,
near which there was quite an Indian settlement. Although only forty
miles distant, he did not reach there until the 17th, being four days
upon the voyage. Jacob Harson or Harsing, as it was originally
spelled, the proprietor of this island, was an Albany Dutchman, who,
in 1766, on appointment of Sir Wm. Johnson, came to Niagara as Indian
blacksmith and gunsmith, and his original commission or letter of
appointment, written by Sir William, is now before me. On the breaking
out of the Revolution, finding Mr. Harson friendly to the Americans,
the British stripped him of his property and sent him, sorely against
his will, to this frontier. He established himself upon the island as
early as 1786, where his descendants now reside, acquired great
influence with the Indians, and lived in a very comfortable manner. He
received Mr. Bacon in this beautiful retreat, with great kindness and
hospitality, and he thanks the Lord that he is provided a comfortable
house, a convenient study, and as good a bed and as good board as I
should have had if I had remained in Connecticut. I know of no place
in the State of New York so healthy as this, I believe the water and
the air as pure here as in any part of New England, and I have never
been before where venison and wild geese and ducks were so plenty, or
where there was such a rich variety of fresh-water fish. There were
many Indians in the vicinity. Mr. Harson encouraged the establishment
of a mission, and Mr. Bacon deemed it a most favorable opening.
Bernardus Harson, a son of Jacob, was engaged as interpreter. He
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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