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MICHIGAN AS A PROVINCE 1 - 5
ne of these structures was designated as a chapel, and as such was dedicated July 26, the feast of St. Ann, and named in honor of that saint. The name has been perpetuated in successors of the little chapel to this day. Father Constantine, the Recollet, was the priest in charge. Father Vaillant, the Jesuit, who accompanied the expedition, after having tried to stir up strife and discontent among the soldiers and settlers, found the situation so uncomfortable for himself that after a sojourn of only a day he departed unceremoniously for Michilimackinac.
The natives were friendly enough. They flocked in from all directions, attracted by curiosity and the prospects of profitable trade. A large village of Pottawatomies had previously been established in this locality just below the site of the fort. There were also two villages of considerable size a short distance above. So long as all were on good terms this presence of savages was an advantage. Cadillac had brought a supply of provision for only three months and was compelled to rely on purchasing game from his savage neighbors for substance. It was too late in the season to cultivate vegetables or grain, but later the colonists were favored with an abundance of excellent native fruits. Cadillac had brought a quantity of French wheat for seed and the men were set at work clearing some land just outside the fort. In the fall twenty
acres were thus sown and in the following summer a fairly good harvest was reaped. This necessitated the building of a mill in which to grind the grain. A half acre of land was assigned to each soldier and about three acres in width to some thirty to forty in depth was given to each settler. The soldiers were expected to raise their own garden vegetables and the villagers were to cultivate their lands as a condition of ownership. Without suitable tools and with no oxen or horses for teams it may well be imagined that the subduing and cultivation of the land was laborious. But the soil was fertile and produced abundantly.
MICHIGAN
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