Charles De Langlade and Alexander Henry survive a game of lacrosse that ends in a massacre.

If you have been following my blog you probably recognize the name Fort Michilimackinac and know that it is the central hub of the Great Lakes Fur Trade, which is also called the Indian Trade. After the French and Indian War, the British acquired Canada and the Northwest Territory in the Great Lakes Region. This presented a challenge for the British as they had new land to explore, but that land was full of tribes which had previously been loyal to the French crown. The governor of the new lands, General Amherst, saw the natives who inhabited the newly acquired lands as subjects and savages. As a result, the Indian custom of gift giving was stopped by the British, a custom that the natives used as a sign of good relations. Native tribes everywhere started to see that the British did not have their best interest in mind and started to resist missionaries and colonists settling on their land. 

An Ottawa Chief named Pontiac had influence in other tribes across the region and started to visit these tribes in the winter of 1763, telling them that the British had come to take their lands. It was his wish that tribes all across the country would rise up with their tomahawks in hand and fight against the British. The assault was to be held in secret by the tribes until the time was right, which would be dictated by the phase of the moon. That signal came in May of 1763 and tribes all across the country rose up and began attacking all British forts and settlements in the territory. It wasn't until June that Fort Michilimackinac where our beloved fur traders Charles De Langlade and Alexander Henry resided would be assaulted.

Charles De Langlade, having lived among the Indians and being part Indian himself, was well aware of the conspiracy that was to befall Fort Mchilimackinac. Being in the office that dealt with Indian affairs, he warned the Captain of the Fort on several occasions of a potential threat among the natives. Captain Etherington dismissed Langlade's repeated warnings calling them "women stories." Another voice of reason, Alexander Henry, who grew to know of the conspiracy through his Indian family, also warned the Captain of a potential threat but the Captain dismissed him as well. 

Signs of the assault to come began to show themselves to the watchful eyes of Henry and Langlade. Three or four hundred Indians gathered around the fort and repeatedly went inside to trade for knives, tomahawks, gun powder, and lead during the days prior to the assault. Alexander Henry remarks that they would enter his post and ask to see jewelry but never traded for it; in his journal he supposes this was in an effort to see where his goods were stored so they could take them during the following days.

A ruse was planned by the Natives that would involve inviting all the inhabitants of the fort to watch a game of lacrosse put on by native tribes. The wives of the native warriors were to hide weapons underneath their blankets and keep them at the ready. Captain Etherington himself sat to watch the game along with many others, while Charles Langlade watched the game from a window in his house and Alexander Henry stayed inside to write letters. 

The signal for the attack began when the ball was thrown high into the air and landed in the fort. At once the warriors raced for their weapons and started attacking the unsuspecting and unarmed victims. They made their way into the fort where Henry describes seeing many of his country men killed and several others scalped while still alive. Henry then describes seeing Lieutenant Jamet defend himself with a sword admirably, taking thirty six wounds before being swarmed and killed. Captain Etherington was taken captive. 

Henry armed himself with a fowling piece loaded with swan shot and looked for a safe place. He raced to the house of Charles Langlade and begged Langlade to shield him from the natives. Langlade, being indifferent to Henry's plea, said that there was nothing he could do. Langlade himself was in no trouble; he was a Frenchman and half Ottawa. Henry makes remarks in his diary that the Indians were solely attacking Englishman while Canadians and French alike stood by without being harmed. One of Langlade's servants invited Henry to stay in the store shelter of Langlade's house, where he waited as the massacre unfolded. Henry heard the assailants enter Charles Langlade's home and ask if there were any Englishman hiding. Langlade responded, either in truthful ignorance or an effort to conceal Henry that, "he did not know of any." Unfortunately Henry would soon be discovered.

Henry describes the Indians entering the room in which he hid and how they came so close that he could reach out and touch them. However, it was so dark in the room that the Indians never found him, they turned around and locked the door behind them. Henry spent the day in the room and slept on a feather bed. When dusk came, Langlade's wife came into the room and though surprised, told Henry that the massacre was over. Mrs. Langlade brought him water and Henry spent his time deciding his next move.

His options for escape were bad and worse. Detroit was over 400 miles away and over Indian country. Henry knew he couldn't stay where he was, but he remained in a vulnerable spot. The Fort was swarmed with Indian warriors looking for him and to flee into the wilderness without any provisions would mean certain death. 

Henry slept the night in the loft and was awakened in the morning by a rustling followed by Indian voices. The Indians told Mr. Langlade that they had not found Henry among the dead and they thought that he was hidden somewhere. With the Indians pressuring them, Mrs. Langlade broke and told Mr. Langlade in French that Henry was hidden in the house. Mr. Langlade hesitated to tell the Indians but then informed them that Henry was in the house without his knowledge and that he would take the Indians to him. Henry says that as he heard this conversation, he resigned himself to his fate. Henry exposed himself from his hiding place and waited. 

When the Indians and Mr. Langlade entered the room, one of the Indians grabbed Henry and held a knife in a position to stab Henry. Surprisingly he then dropped the knife and said, "I won't kill you." Instead, this Indian adopted Henry as a brother. The Indians attempted to take Henry but Mr. Langlade said it would be better for Henry to stay until the right time. This only lasted one hour before a different Indian came to get him and led him out of the fort. Henry was forced to wear Indian garb and surrender his own clothes. The Indian tried to kill him, but Henry fled and went right back to Langlade's house where his Indian brother stood. The Indian who had tried to kill Henry gave up the attempt. Henry was then led out with other captives in the cold and mostly naked. Henry received a blanket from a Canadian before he and the rest of captives were then led out of the fort and departed across Lake Michigan to Beaver Island. 

The man who did not heed the concerns of the inhabitants of his fort, Captain Etherington, was tied to a tree with bundles of kindling placed at his feet. When the natives were ready to set fire to him, a man wearing a hunting cap and featured long flowing black locks of hair jumped in the way and cut the captain loose. He threw away the bundles of firewood and challenged the natives. None accepted the challenge; they knew better than to test the mettle and fight the man Charles De Langlade, whom they regarded as the Bravest of the Brave.