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MICHIGAN AS A PROVINCE 1 - 5
Yet aside from the coureurs de bois and the traders who came hither for commerce with the natives there could scarcely be said to be a permanent settlement. A fort was erected and a few soldiers were brought in to preserve the peace, but many years elapsed before there was a serious attempt to colonize. The activity of the English in respect to the fur trade inspired the French to more decisive action to retain control of the west. Jonquiere was governor under Louis XIV and he was entrusted with the interests of the French crown in the matter. Upon his request the home government made
a grant of land six leagues square, or thirty-six square leagues, on the south side of St. Mary's river at the falls to Chevalier de Repentigny and Captain Bonne, on the condition that a fort be erected and maintained at their expense and the ground thereabout placed under cultivation. Bonne was a nephew of the governor but he never took any active personal interest in the concession and was not at any time seen in its vicinity. Repentigny came of one of the oldest and most distinguished families of New France. He was a brave soldier and an educated Christian gentleman who had had much experience in the colonial service. He proceeded to the Sault where he established his headquarters in 1750 in fulfillment of the terms of the concession. His name appears solely in all subsequent transactions; Bonne's name is conspicuously absent. He built the palisaded fort upon the site which was afterward occupied by Fort Brady, and inaugurated farming operations. A band of followers was installed upon the land, which was laid out on the plan of the seignories established from the beginning of colonization upon the St. Lawrence. The lord of the manor had his own establishment near the fort in the center of the tract, and his concessioners were given narrow tracts each with a frontage on the river and extending back a considerable distance into the interior. The advantage of this arrangement was that it brought the dwellings near together for social and neighborly convenience and was an aid in self defense against marauding savages.
MICHIGAN
Page 53
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