Frontier Fort

We've all seen a western movie starring a young cavalry officer. His station is a frontier fort made of rough, log walls. Inside this wall of logs, a raised platform (called a gallery) was used by riflemen and cannon to defend the fort from attack. If you look closely at an old fort, you'll also notice one or more heavily-built structures situated at strategic points like the corners of the walls or over the main gate These structures, called blockhouses. are often two stories high with the top floor wider than the bottom. Both levels might have window openings that were protected by heavy shutters. Cut in the shutters, as well as the upper walls were narrow slits. These slits, dating back to Medieval castles, originally protected archers. In the American West, the slits were wide enough so that a rifleman, stationed inside the wall, could pivot his weapon and aim at anything in a wide arc. From the outside, the slit offered a very small target to the attacker. The top floor of the blockhouse was the last bastion for the forts' defenders. It had a ladder that could be pulled up and a heavy trap door that could be slammed shut. Slits in the floor might be used to pour boiling water or shoot attackers who dared breach the walls. Thus, the fort and blockhouse were important buildings in North America. Once inside, a small group of armed defenders might survive attack from a far superior force.

Hand-split Clapboard

In the old days, wood siding was split from logs and attached with hand-made iron nails. I asked an enactor at the Plymouth Settlement why clapboards were used on these houses, but not on houses in the Jamestown Settlement? Both settlements dated to about the same time. Both settlements built timber frame houses with the walls filled in with waddle (branches woven together) and daub (a mixture of mud and organic materials added for strength).He told me that they didn't have a good source of lime in the Plymouth area. They had tried burning oyster shells but it was very labor intensive. The lime, when added to mud, would waterproof the mixture. Without lime, the mud walls were quickly eroded by rain. Also, as the Bay Colony is much colder than Virginia, an additional layer of clapboard better insulated the homes.

Rustic Log Cabin

In pioneer days, when shelter was needed, it was common to build a rustic log cabin. A crew of lumbermen might need winter quarters in the area where they were cutting virgin timber. A miner or trapper, merchant or farmer had moved into a new territory and needed a safe, cozy shelter. With a minimum of tools and time, a log cabin home could be constructed. No nails were used in this structure. The log walls are interlocked and the thick roof shingles are held in place by a crude external framework of saplings. Often the floor was dirt. As there is no chimney visible on this rough structure, it might have been used for storage rather than "living space"? Over time, additional structures might be raised to be used as a stable, barn, chicken house, spring house, smoke house. As the community grew, the pioneer families might build a rustic log cabin church, school, grist mill or barn.

Two-Pen Dog Trot

This log cabin miniature is based on a pre-Civil War log cabin home I visited several years ago. If you are a real estate agent you might list this dwelling as double cabins connected by a breezeway. The folks who built the original called this log cabin home a two-pen-dog trot. Let me explain. The pioneers called a room a pen. This cabin has two rooms . . or two pens. The open, roofed area between the cabins was called a dog trot. Likely, this area was taken over by the family dogs as they were protected from inclement weather and close to family members who fed, played and hunted with them. If you have a few dogs, you know how restless they can get! Thus, the antsy dogs trotting around in this sheltered space became part of the description.

La Salle and the Griffin, Part 2

In 1678-79 La Salle, the famous French Explorer, financed the construction of the first sailing ship on the Great Lakes. The ship was built in the wilderness near Niagra Falls on the Niagara River. La Salle’s plan was to buy a ship-load of furs at deeply-discounted wilderness prices and sell them in Montreal at a huge profit.

In May 1679, the hull of the sailing ship was launched into the Niagara River. A party of Iroquois Indians who watched the launching were amazed that the Frenchmen could build, what the Iroquois thought was a  floating fort, so quickly.

LaSalle named his ship Le Griffon (The Griffin), after a mystical creature with the body and legs of a lion and the beak and wings of an eagle. The ship carried a carved image of Le Griffon on her bow.

The Griffin was anchored in the Niagara River for several weeks while her masts and rigging were completed and supplies and gear loaded aboard. The ship carried small arms, powder, trade goods, merchandise, provisions and seven cannon for protection.

On August 7, 1679, Le Griffon was towed into Lake Erie. A hoped-for wind from the northeast arose. The 32 Frenchmen on board asked God to bless their venture as Le Griffon got underway.

For eons, the Native Americans could only hug the safety of the shore as they paddled their fragile Birch- bark canoes around the lakes. Le Griffon was the first craft to boldly cross the fresh-water seas called the Great Lakes.

Three days later, August 10th, Le Griffon reached the Detroit River, sailing between Grosse Isle and Bois Blanc island. The river was bordered on each side by vast prairies. In the distance were hills covered with vines, fruit trees, thickets and tall forest trees. Wild game abounded, including many species new to the crew. Soon the sails used to shade the deck of the Griffin, sagged with the carcasses of several deer killed by the crew. A variety of trees, suitable for building, covered the shore. Nut and fruit trees as well as wild vines, heavy with ripening grapes, grew in abundance.


The Griffon entered Lake Huron on August 23, crossed the Bay of Saginaw and was becalmed among the islands of Thunder Bay. Near Presque Isle on the 25th and 26th of August, the ship was battered by storms and rough seas.

On the 27th of August the ship rounded Point St. Ignace, and anchored in the bay of Michilimackinac. Here the crew found a settlement of Huron, Ottawa and a few Frenchmen.

The weary crew rejoiced as The Griffin anchored in this safe harbor. A salute was fired from the deck, and thrice answered by Huron firearms. The Franciscans celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Ottawa, thanking God for their safe arrival. La Salle attended the Mass, dressed in fine clothes, including a scarlet cloak bordered with gold lace. More than a hundred bark canoes, filled with curious Indians, swirled around the mighty ship.

The Griffin

For over 100 years, New France dominated the fur trade. Frenchmen penetrated far into the North American wilderness to purchase furs from the Native Americans. The French traded for the furs with a variety of manufactured items such as iron cookware, cloth, mirrors, blankets, guns, brandy and knives which they carried with them.


All the trade goods and furs were transported in hundreds of birch-bark canoes. The fragile canoes were 35-40 feet in length and capable of carrying about two tons of cargo. Crews of men, known as voyageurs, paddled the canoes and carried their cargo and canoes over dry land when a “portage” was necessary.

A round trip voyage, which began and ended in Montreal, was long, dangerous, time-consuming and physically demanding. The fur trading companies needed to hire hundreds of young men from the fledgling colony of New France which often created a shortage of labor.

Hiring crews of young, strong men was not difficult. Paddling a canoe, discovering new lands, living with Native Americans, trading for furs and making good money was far more exciting than the drudgery of clearing new farmland and performing the never-ending chores of farming.

In 1678, Rene Robert Cavelier de la Salle, the famous French explorer, thought he had a better idea.

La Salle’s plan was to build the first ship to sail the Great Lakes. The ship, constructed on the Nigara River, could sail the Great Lakes, around the clock, in most kinds of weather and require just a few men to transport a large cargo.

Fill the ship with a cargo of trade goods and supplies. Deliver the supplies at Fort Michilimackinac. Use the trade goods to refill the ship with furs purchased cheaply around the Great Lakes.

Sail back to Lake Erie and transship the furs to Montreal where they could be sold at an huge profit.

In 1678, la Salle led a party of Frenchmen he had hired to a site on the Niagara River. Here, his men were ordered to build a sailing ship of about 45 tons burden. This large schooner would be the first sailing ship to ply the waters of the Great Lakes.

It took most of the winter of 1678-79 to construct the ship. La Salle was absent much of the time as he needed to resolve his private financial affairs. Building a large ship, especially in the wilderness, required the transportation of men, tools and many supplies. . . all of which had to be carried by canoes. The men would also build rough-hewn log cabins in which to live and work.

Midwest Exploration

Part of the upper Midwest was once called the Northwest Territory. This vast area was home to many Amerind tribes. In 1673, the first European explorers (Marquette and Jolliet) explored the upper Mississippi River. Their voyage took them along the western shore of Lake Michigan, into Green Bay, down the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi. They paddled the Mississippi River to the Arkansas River. Their return trip took them up the Illinois River, the Des Plaines River, through the Chicago Portage, and the Chicago River and back into Lake Michigan. Later, La Salle continued the exploration of the Mississippi River to its' mouth and claimed a huge territory for France. In time, the French built forts throughout the Great Lakes at Detroit, Duluth, Niagara, Pittsburgh, Mackinaw and down the Illinois River. This was at a time well before English settlers had passed through the Cumberland Gap to settle the Ohio Valley and Kentucky. French Voyageurs traveled as far as the Rockies, naming the Grand Tetons near today's Yellowstone Park. The Great Lakes and the St Lawrence, Ottawa and many other river systems were the French men's super highways. The wealth they gathered were the skins of wild animals, especially Beaver, that flourished in the interior. The economy of New France depended on these skins arriving in Montreal and Quebec each year. The native peoples trapped, prepared and traded these skins for metal knives, tools, kettles, blankets, guns, gunpowder, brandy and many other trade goods. Tons of these animal skins were shipped to France most years where they were processed into felt and made into stylish hats.