|
From Mensagenda - January
2007
Western Wisconsin Area
by Richard Lee
Was it Étienne Brűlé in 1622 or Jean Nicolet in 1634? Was
Brűlé commissioned by Samuel de Champlain or was he used as another
"cover-up" in history? Only anecdotal evidence exists that Brűlé
visited Lake Superior and even that is clouded by events back in Europe.
The "official story" goes like this: Coming over to
La Nouvelle France with Champlain, young Brűlé impressed Champlain so much
that he was sent to live with the Hurons, learn their customs, and ultimately go
on in search of "the easiest way to China and the Indies."
"Being sent" to live with the Hurons is where the
two stories begin to diverge. The "unofficial story" has Brűlé
running away from Champlain to end his indentured servitude. Brűlé returned to
the colony after a few years indistinguishable from the "savages,"
clearly having retired from life as a European and living as a Huron.
Both versions mention the betrayal of Champlain by Brűlé in
the fall of Quebec to English merchants in 1629. Rumors circulated that Brűlé
piloted one of the English ships during the attack. Also, instead of leaving
with the French, Brűlé chose to stay in La Nouvelle France. He said he was
held against his will; others said he did not intend to leave the Hurons.
That Brűlé was the first European to set foot in Wisconsin
is suspect for a couple of reasons. He did not keep records of his travels, only
related them to others. To some, his descriptions of Lake Superior are vague
enough to be fabrications. In addition, when Brűlé arrived in present-day
Sault Ste Marie in 1622, the area was called "Sault de Gaston" by the
Ojibwa who lived there, named after the brother of Louis XIII. How can it be
that the natives used a French name for the area, even before Brűlé’s
arrival?
Why a cover-up? Of course, France was under great pressure to
find the passage to the Orient. Even Champlain’s commission was, first of all,
to find the passage. During this time, Cardinal Richelieu was the de
facto ruler of France, since Louis XIII was a young boy when he came to the
throne. Champlain originally went to La Nouvelle France in 1608, was expelled by
the English after 21 years without success in his primary mission. Before the
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1632 restored Quebec to France, Champlain
used much energy to ingratiate himself with Richelieu and was restored to his
command "in the absence of my Lord the Cardinal de Richelieu." In
order to save face, it might have been convenient to blame the boy in whom he
placed such early confidence.
 |
History doesn’t record the details of the 1634 murder of
Brűlé — that is also mired in controversy. The official story says that he
was killed by the Hurons, his own chosen people, supposedly for trading with the
Iroquois, their mortal enemies. The unofficial story claims that Brűlé had a
very high libido, which often got him in trouble, that he was murdered for
sexual improprieties, and that the Iroquois story was another cover-up.
Another great intrigue in Wisconsin history! Come to Terceiro Sábado on the
20th of January and join in discussion of this or other interesting topics.
| 
