Jacques Legardeur De Saint-Pierre: Officer, Gentleman, Entrepeneur

Michilimackinac, 1747–l 749

98 Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre murderers and reported them to Saint-Pierre after the arrival of his convoy in the middle of October, forty-five days after his departure from Montreal. Saint-Pierre achieved one of his most outstanding accomplishments at Michilimackinac when he took the murderers into custody in 1748 and delivered them to the governor-general.20 MICHILIMACKINAC, 1747-1749 Upon arriving at his strategic new post among the Ottawas in October 1747, Saint-Pierre found them "ill-disposed" and unwilling to deliver up the murderers to the French authorities. The new commandant-general, Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissoniere, who had succeeded Beauharnois as governor of the colony in September 1747, described in 1748 to the minister of Marine, Jean-Frederic Phelypeaux de Maurepas, how Saint-Pierre was able to pressure the Ottawas to turn the guilty parties over to him. (Saint-Pierre's own account of this and other noteworthy events in his career up to 1749 is contained in the statement of his services that he submitted to the governor and minister of Marine, translated later in this chapter):21 ... Mr. de St. Pierre detained all the voyageurs and goods at Missilimakinac, and answered the different deputations of Indians only by threatening not to send any more traders to their country, and leave them in want of everything, if they did not deliver the murderers of the Frenchmen into his hands, and restore the plunder they had got. His firmness met every success. The Saguinan people brought in one of the murderers; those of Missilimakinac brought in another; others, belonging to Saguinan brought in two hostages in lieu of the murderers, whom they could not overtake; a portion of the plunder has been paid for, and arrangements have been made to pay for the remainder. Saint-Pierre's new command was one in which he received only the modest, standard supplementary pay of 3,000 livres per year for commandants at posts whose trade operated under the conge system and not leases, namely Detroit and Michilimackinac.22 As he was not permitted to engage in trading at his post, the only records of his transactions at Michilimackinac located for this study are vouchers related to his official duty. Translations of these records, dating from 22 October 1747 through 26 July 1749, his last Michilimackinac, 1747-1749 99 day at the post, can be found in appendix 2. The intendant's official statement of income and expenses for the upper-country posts for the period 1747 to 1749 contains the data from the Michilimackinac post during SaintPierre 's two-year command there. The pertinent figures are excerpted here.23 [Folio 144 recto] Statement of the Amounts coming from the income doc. 36b of the posts of the upper country received by the Marquis de la Galissonil.~re both from the Marquis de Beauharnois According to the Statement from him made up on 14 October 1747 and from the leaseholders of the said posts or from those to whom Conges to go up there were sent after the making of the said Statement and from the payments made Out of the said Amounts up to 23 October 1748, To Wit RECEIPTS [Folio 144 verso] Turned over in cash by M. de Beauharnois to M. de la Galissoniere and by him to the treasurer responsible for accounting for it. For the income from one conge given by M. de Beauharnois for the illinois post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500# For the income from nine conges at 400# each, given by Mons. de Beauharnois for the Missilimakinak post24....................... 4300 [Folios 146 verso - 147 recto] For the Conges for the Missilimakinak post From Sieur moniere for one canoe sent to jean 4800 Giasson under the leadership of Sieur Volan . . . . . . 600 From Sieurs hubert la Croix or jean Giasson and ignace hubert for one canoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 From Sieur Chenevert for one canoe ........................... 600 From Sieur Michel hamelin for one canoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 600 100 Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre From Sieurs Du fresne and St. Dizier for ditto......................600 From Sieurs joseph hubert and Laurent Bertrand for ditto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 From Sieurs Ducharme and St. Germain for ditto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 From Pierre hubert La Croix for one canoe . . . . . . . . . . . ................ 600 From Madame de Quindre and Sieur la Perriere Marin for one canoe without permission to trade for furs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 From Sieur Charles hamelin for half a canoe for which he paid Baron de Longueuil ...... 300 [Folio 148...