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MICHIGAN AS A PROVINCE 1 - 5
Louis Armand de Lorme d'Arce, Baron Lahontan, was born in 1666 in the parish of Lahontan. He came over to Canada in his youth1 from love of adventure. In 1684 he joined an expedition sent out from Montreal against the Iroquois. In 1687 he was made commandant of Fort St. Joseph at the outlet of Lake Huron. He was then but 19 years of age. The post was regarded by the governor as a very important link in the chain of the outposts of New France. The following years shortage of provisions led to his making a trip to Mackinac to replenish his stores. He describes in the book which he wrote some time after, the particulars of his journey, including an account of Saginaw bay, Thunder bay, and the character of the Huron shore. He continued his journeys to Sault Ste Marie and seemed to be in no haste to get back to his post, where, in all probability he found life rather dull.
On his return to Fort St. Joseph he learned that Fort Niagara had been abandoned owing to the prevalence of scurvy. Fearing an irruption of the Iroquois, of whom he had an unaccountable dread, he abandoned and destroyed Fort St. Joseph and fled with all his followers to Mackinac. Here he spent the winter and here he met La Salle's men returning from the lower Mississippi. Impressed with their story he thought to become an explorer himself. Engaging a party he set out in the steps of Marquette and followed the route of that pioneer to the Mississippi.
One might speculate on the situation to-day if Lahontan had stuck to his post and made it a permanent settlement. If he had been of the same sturdy make-up as Cadillac, it seems altogether likely that the latter, instead of locating his colony at Detroit, would have turned his attention elsewhere. But he was a young unmarried man whose mind was unstable and filled with longings for adventure.
MICHIGAN
Page 23
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