Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 23.djvu/90



62 T. C. ELLIOTT

since the French Lost the Command at (sic) the falls of St. Marys is calld the Best place in all these Lakes on account of the white fishing Especially in the fall where any Supplys Might

be had

Augst 29 this Day arrived at Michilimackinac here Ends this attempt to find out a Northwest Passage.

The entries in this journal were not made every day but every few days, and in some instances are quite voluminous in their descriptions of the country or events. Comment and com- parison with the text of Carver's "Travels" belongs more prop- erly to the history of Wisconsin than of Oregon and may be undertaken at another time. It is noticeable that Carver made no entries at all while returning from Grand Portage to Sault Ste. Marie although his book contains generous accounts of the north shore of Lake Superior; also that he was then merely one of the Tute-Goddard party.

For the better understanding of real conditions something should be said here as to the delay of Capt. Tute and Mr, God- dard in their movements. In the months of June and July, 1767 there assembled at Mackinac one of the most imposing and numerously attended Indian councils ever held in that romantic locality. 9 Indians came from all the regions around to meet the man whose life had been protected by the Gods of War and who had now come to live among them. This was a part of Major Rogers' scheme to extend the influence of British authority and increase the trade and he made special effort to reach the chiefs of the Mississippi valley and of the country beyond which was still under Spanish authority. These agents were evidently instructed, verbally or outside the lines of their letters, to spend the winter in promoting the attendance at this council ; and their attendance at the rendesvous at Prairie du Chien was necessary to assure the results.

In these three contributions sufficient evidence has been com- piled to indicate that Jonathan Carver was not an independent traveler or an independent writer. He did not travel to the West on his own initiative or according to his own plan, he

9 See "Ponteach," page 129, for mention of this.