Sunday, May 3, 2009

Heward's Journal - Paddle Day 26 (last day)

Concluding Heward's Journey:

Paddle Day 26 - THEY ARRIVE AT CHICAGO

Sunday May 9th 1790    A Wind from the South West inclining from the Land    loaded & set off    our Course in a Bend nearly Nore West    a Strong Wind from the South South West but we were covered a little it being off the land & went with poles    Arrived at Grand Calamanuck (Calumet Harbor) & afterwards at Little Calamanuck   the Course Nore West  & from there arrived by a North Course under reefed Sail    the Wind very strong & in Blasts    missed the Entrance of the (Chicago) River & were obliged to go about a mile past to land.

My Notes: On Monday May 10th Heward made a deal with Jean Baptise du Sable who had a trading post at Chicago River mouth. He traded the two canoes for the trader's pirogue and bought flour and pork and paid him with cotton cloth. He spelled pirogue variously Purogue and pereogue.

He didn't say how big the dugout was but it had to be quite sizable to hold eight men and all their personal and trade goods that had been carried in two 20 foot canoes. My speculation is that it would have been a whitewood dugout 30 to 40 feet long or longer. One made in Lansing in the next century to carry freight from Jackson was 44 feet long. Daniel Boone moved his family from Kentucky to the Missouri River in a whitewood dugout 60 feet long.

On Tuesday May 11th Heward hired five Indians to help his crew of seven carry the pirogue and goods over the portage to the des Plaines River. It was a showery day with a west wind. The carrying place was about a half mile long and they got over it by mid day. He paid the Indians with two hands-full of gunpowder each and then they were off down the des Plaines heading for the Mississippi.

No comments: