A Little Girl in Old Detroit

A >> Amanda Minnie Douglas >> A Little Girl in Old Detroit

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The Sieur Angelot wrung the hand of his relative.

"It must be as the young people wish. And I would like to have her a
little while to myself."

"That is right, too. I could wish she were my daughter, only then my son
might miss a great joy."

So the matter was settled. M. and Madame Fleury would have opened their
house to Jeanne and her charge, but it was best for them to remain where
they were. Wenonah came in often and Margot was always ready to do a
service.

One day Jeanne went down to the wharf to see the vessel depart for the
North. It was a magnificent June morning, with the river almost like
glass and a gentle wind from the south. She watched the tall figure on
the deck, waving his hand until the proud outline mingled with others
and was indistinct--or was it the tears in her eyes?

M. St. Armand had some business in Quebec, but would remain only a short
time.

It seemed strangely solitary to Jeanne after that, although there was no
lack of friends. Everybody was ready to serve her, and the young men
bowed with the utmost respect when they met her. She took Pani out for
short walks, the favorite one to the great oak tree where Jeanne had
begun her life in Detroit. Children played about, brown Indian babies,
grave-faced even in their play, vivacious French little ones calling to
each other in shrill _patois_, laughing and tumbling and climbing. Had
she once been wild and merry like them? Then Pani would babble of the
past and stroke the soft curls and call her "little one." What a curious
dream life was!

They were busy with the governor's house and the military squares and
the old fort. The streets were cleared up a little. Houses had been
painted and whitewashed. Stores and shops spread out their attractions,
booths were flying gay colors and showing tempting eatables. All along
the river was the stir of active life. People stayed later in the
streets these warm evenings and sat on stoops chatting. Young men and
maids planned pleasures and sails on the river and went to bed gay and
light-hearted. Was there any place quite like Old Detroit?

Early one morning while the last stars were lingering in the sky and the
east was suffused with a faint pink haze, a scarlet spire shot up that
was not sunrise. No one remarked it at first. Then a broad flash that
might have been lightning but was not, and a cry on the still air
startled the sleepers. "Fire! Fire!"

Suddenly all was terror. There had been no rain in some time, and the
inflammable buildings caught like so much tinder. From the end of St.
Anne's street up and down it ran, the dense smoke sometimes hiding the
flames. Like the eruption of a great crater the smoke rose thick, black,
with here and there a tongue of flame that was frightful. The streets
were so narrow and crowded, the appliances for fighting the terrible
enemy so limited, that men soon gave up in despair. On and on it went
devouring all within its reach.

Shop keepers emptied their stores, hurried their stocks down to the
wharf, and filled the boats. Furniture, century-old heirlooms, were
tumbled frantically out of houses to some place of refuge as the fire
swept on, carried farther and farther. Daylight and sunlight were alike
obscured. Frantic people ran hither and thither, children were gathered
in arms, and hurried without the palisades, which in many instances were
burned away. And presently the inhabitants gave way to the wildest
despair. It was a new and terrible experience. The whole town must go.

Jeanne had been sleeping soundly, and in the first uproar listened like
one dazed. Was it an Indian assault, such as her father had feared
presently? Then the smoke rushed into every crack and crevice.

"Oh, what is it, what is it?" she cried, flinging her door open wide.

"Oh, Mam'selle," cried Margot, "the street is all aflame. Run! run!
Antoine has taken the children."

Already the streets were crowded. St. Anne's was a wall of fire. One
could hardly see, and the roar of the flames was terrific, drowning the
cries and shrieks.

"Come, quick!" Margot caught her arm.

"Pani! Pani!" She darted back into the house. "Pani," she cried, pulling
at her. "Oh, wake, wake! We must fly. The town is burning up."

"Little one," said Pani, "nothing shall harm thee."

"Come!" Jeanne pulled her out with her strong young arms, and tried to
slip a gown over the shaking figure that opposed her efforts.

"I will not go," she cried. "I know, you want to take me away from dear
old Detroit. I heard something the Sieur Angelot said. O Jeanne, the
good Father in Heaven sent you back once. Do not go again--"

"The street is all on fire. Oh, Margot, help me, or we shall be burned
to death. Pani, dear, we must fly."

"Where is Jeanne Angelot," exclaimed a sturdy voice. "Jeanne, if you do
not escape now--see, the flames have struck the house."

It was the tall, strong form of Pierre De Ber, and he caught her in his
arms.

"No, no! O Pierre, take Pani. She is dazed. I can follow. Cover her with
a blanket, so," and Jeanne, having struggled away, threw the blanket
about the woman. Pierre caught her up. "Come, follow behind me. Do not
let go. O Jeanne, you must be saved."

Pani was too surprised for any resistance. She was not a heavy burthen,
and he took her up easily.

"Hold to my arm. There is such a crowd. And the smoke is stifling. O
Jeanne! if you should come to harm!" and almost he was tempted to drop
the Indian woman, but he knew Jeanne would not leave her.

"I am here. O Pierre, how good you are!" and the praise was like a
draught of wine to him.

The flames flashed hither and thither though there was little wind. But
the close houses fed it, and in many places there were inflammable
stores. Now and then an explosion of powder shot up in the air. Where
one fancied one's self out of danger the fire came racing on swift
wings.

"There will be only the river left," said some one.

The crowd grew more dense. Pierre felt that he could hardly get to the
gate. Then men with axes and hatchets hewed down the palisades, and, he
being near, made a tremendous effort, and pushed his way outside. There
was still crowd enough, but they soon came to a freer space, and he laid
his burthen down, standing over her that no one might tread on her.

"O Jeanne, are you safe? Thank heaven!"

Jeanne caught his hand and pressed it in both of hers.

"If we could get to Wenonah!" she said.

He picked up his burthen again, but it was very limp.

"Open the blanket a little. I was afraid to have her see the flames.
Yes, let us go on," said Jeanne, courageously.

Men and women were wringing their hands; children were screaming. The
flames crackled and roared, but out here the way was a little clearer.
They forced a path and were soon beyond the worst heat and smoke.

Wenonah's lodge was deserted. Pierre laid the poor body down, and Jeanne
bent over and kissed the strangely passive face.

"Oh, she is dead! My poor, dear Pani!"

"I did my best," said Pierre, in a beseeching tone.

"Oh, I know you did! Pierre, I should have gone crazy if I had left her
there to be devoured by the flames. But I will try--"

She bathed the face, she chafed the limp hands, she called her by every
endearing name. Ah, what would he not have given for one such sweet
little sentence!

"Pierre--your own people," she cried. "See how selfish I have been to
take you--"

"They were started before I came. Father was with them. They were going
up to the square, perhaps to the Fort. Oh, the town will all go. The
flames are everywhere. What an awful thing! Jeanne, what can I do? O
Jeanne, little one, do not weep."

For now Jeanne had given way to sobs.

There was a rushing sound in the doorway, and Wenonah stood there.

"Oh," she exclaimed, "I tried to get into the town, but could not. Thank
the good God that you are safe. And Pani--no, she is not dead, her heart
beats slowly. I will get her restored."

"And I will go for further news," said Pierre.

Very slowly Pani seemed to come back to life. The crowd was pouring out
to the fields and farms, and down and up the river. The flames were not
satisfied until they had devoured nearly everything, but they had not
gone up to the Fort. And now a breeze of wind began to dissipate the
smoke, and one could see that Old Detroit was a pile of ashes and ruins.
Very little was left,--a few buildings, some big stone chimneys, and
heaps of iron merchandise.

Pierre returned with the news. Pani was lying on the couch with her eyes
partly open, breathing, but that was all.

"People are half crazy, but I don't wonder at it," said Pierre. "The
warehouses are piles of ashes. Poor father will have lost everything,
but I am young and strong and can help him anew."

"Thou art a good son, Pierre," exclaimed Wenonah.

Many had been routed out without any breakfast, and now it was high
noon. Children were clamoring for something to eat. The farmers spread
food here and there on the grass and invited the hungry ones. Jacques
Giradin, the chief baker in the town, had kneaded his bread and put it
in the oven, then gone to help his neighbors. The bakery was one of the
few buildings that had been miraculously spared. He drew out his
bread--it had been well baked--and distributed it to the hungry, glad to
have something in this hour of need.

It was summer and warm, and the homeless dropped down on the grass, or
in the military gardens, and passed a strange night. The next morning
they saw how complete the destruction had been. Old Detroit, the dream
of Cadillac and De Tonti, La Salle and Valliant, and many another hero,
the town that had prospered and had known adversity, that had been
beleaguered by Indian foes, that had planted the cross and the golden
lilies of France, that had bowed to the conquering standard of England,
and then again to the stars and stripes of Liberty, that had brimmed
over with romance and heroism, and even love, lay in ashes.

In a few days clearing began and tents and shanties were erected for
temporary use. But poverty stared the brave citizens in the face.
Fortunes had been consumed as well. Business was ruined for a time.

Jeanne remained with Wenonah. Pani improved, but she had been feeble a
long while and the shock proved too much for her. She did not seem to
suffer but faded gently away, satisfied when Jeanne was beside her.

Tony Beeson, quite outside of the fire, opened his house in his rough
but hospitable fashion to his wife's people. Rose had not fared so well.
Pierre was his father's right hand through the troublous times. Many of
the well-to-do people were glad to accept shelter anywhere. The Fleurys
had saved some of their most valuable belongings, but the house had gone
at last.

"Thou art among the most fortunate ones," M. Loisel said to Jeanne a
week afterward, "for thy portion was not vested here in Detroit. I am
very glad."

It seemed to Jeanne that she cared very little for anything save the
sorrows and sufferings of the great throng of people. She watched by
Pani through the day and slept beside her at night. "Little one," the
feeble voice would say, "little one," and the clasp of the hand seemed
enough. So it passed on until one day the breath came slower and
fainter, and the lips moved without any sound. Jeanne bent over and
kissed them for a last farewell. Father Rameau had given her the sacred
rites of the Church, and said over her the burial service. A faithful
woman she had been, honest and true.

And this was what Monsieur St. Armand found when he returned to Detroit,
a grave girl instead of the laughing child, and an old town in ashes.

"I have news for you, too," he said to Jeanne, "partly sorrowful, partly
consoling as well. Two days after reaching her convent home, your mother
passed quietly away, and was found in the morning by one of the sisters.
The poor, anxious soul is at peace. I cannot believe God means one to be
so troubled when a sin is forgiven, especially one that has been a
mistake. So, little one, if thou hadst listened to her pleadings thou
wouldst have been left in a strange land with no dear friend. It is best
this way. The poor Indian woman was nearer a mother to thee."

A curious peace about this matter filled Jeanne Angelot's soul. Her
mother was at rest. Perhaps now she knew it was not sinful to be happy.
And for her father's sake it was better. He could not help but think of
the poor, lonely woman in her convent cell, expiating what she
considered a sin.

"When Laurent comes we will go up to your beautiful island," he said. "I
have bidden him to join me here."

Jeanne took Monsieur around to the old haunts: the beautiful woods, the
stream running over the rocky hillside, the flowers in bloom that had
been so fateful to her, the nooks and groves, the green where they put
up the Maypole, and her brave old oak, with its great spreading
branches and wide leaves, nodding a welcome always.

One day they went down to the King's wharf to watch a vessel coming up
the beautiful river. The sun made it a sea of molten gold to-day, the
air was clear and exhilarating. But it was not a young fellow who leaped
so joyously down on to the dock. A tall, handsome man, looking something
like his own father, and something like hers, Jeanne thought, for his
eyes were of such a deep blue.

"There is no more Old Detroit. It lies in ashes," said M. St. Armand,
when the first greetings were over. "A sorrowful sight, truly."

"And no little girl." Laurent smiled with such a fascination that it
brought the bright color to her face. "Mademoiselle, I have been
thinking of you as the little girl whose advice I disdained and had a
ducking for it. I did not look for a young lady. I do not wonder now
that you have taken so much of my father's heart."

"We can give you but poor accommodations; still it will not be for long,
as we go up North to accept our cousin's hospitality. You will be
delighted to meet the Sieur Angelot. The Fleury family will be glad to
see you again, though they have no such luxuriant hospitality as
before."

They all went to the plain small shelter in which the Fleurys were
thankful to be housed, and none the less glad to welcome their friends.
They kept Jeanne to dinner, and would gladly have taken her as a guest.
M. Loisel had offered her a home, but she preferred staying with
Wenonah. Paspah had never come back from his quest. Whether he had met
with some accident, or simply found wild life too fascinating to leave,
no one ever knew. To Wenonah it was not very heart-breaking.

"Oh, little one," she said at parting, "I shall miss thee sorely.
Detroit will not be the same without thee."

And then Jeanne Angelot went sailing up the beautiful lakes again, past
shores in later summer bloom and beauty and islands that might be fairy
haunts. They were enchanted bowers to her, but it was some time before
she knew what had lent them such an exquisite charm.

So she came home to her father's house and met with a warm welcome, a
noisy welcome from two boys, who could not understand why she would not
climb and jump, though she did run races with them, and they were always
hanging to her.

"And you turn red so queerly sometimes," said Gaston, much puzzled. "I
can't tell which is the prettier, the red or the white. But the red
seems for M. St. Armand."

Loudac and the dame were overjoyed to see her again. The good dame shook
her head knowingly.

"The Sieur will not keep her long," she said.

Old Detroit rose very slowly from its ashes. In August Governor Hull
arrived and found no home awaiting him, but had to go some distance to a
farm house for lodgings. He brought with him many eastern ideas. The old
streets must be widened, the lanes straightened, the houses made more
substantial. There was a great outcry against the improvements. Old
Detroit had been good enough. It was the center of trade, it commanded
the highway of commerce. And no one had any money to spend on foolery.

But he persevered until he obtained a grant from Congress, and set to
work rectifying wrongs that had crept in, reorganizing the courts, and
revising property deeds. The old Fort was repaired, the barracks put in
better shape, the garrison augmented.

But the event the Sieur Angelot had feared and foreseen, came to pass.
Many difficulties had arisen between England and the United States, and
at last culminated in war again. This time the northern border was the
greatest sufferer on land. The Indians were aroused to new fury, the
different tribes joining under Tecumseh, resolved to recover their
hunting grounds. The many terrible battles have made a famous page in
history. General Hull surrendered Detroit to the British, and once more
the flag of England waved in proud triumph.

But it was of short duration. The magnificent victories on the lakes and
Generals Harrison's and Winchester's successes on land, again changed
the fate of the North. Once more the stars and stripes went up over
Detroit, to remain for all time to come.

But after that it was a new Detroit,--wide streets and handsome
buildings growing year by year, but not all the old landmarks
obliterated; and their memories are cherished in many a history and
romance.

Jeanne St. Armand, a happy young wife, with two fathers very fond of
her, went back to Detroit after awhile. And sometimes she wondered if
she had really been the little girl to whom all these things had
happened.

When Louis Marsac heard the White Chief had found his daughter and given
her to Laurent St. Armand, he ground his teeth in impotent anger. But
for the proud, fiery, handsome Indian wife of whom he felt secretly
afraid, he might have gained the prize, he thought. She was
extravagantly fond of him, and he prospered in many things, but he
envied the Sieur Angelot his standing and his power, though he could
never have attained either.

Pierre De Ber was a good son and a great assistance to his father in
recovering their fortunes. After awhile he married, largely to please
his mother, but he made an excellent husband. He knew why Jeanne Angelot
could never have been more than a friend to him. But of his children he
loved little Jeanne the best, and Madame St. Armand was one of her
godmothers, when she was christened in the beautiful new church of St.
Anne, which had experienced almost as varying fortunes as the town
itself.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.

Page 4, "loops" changed to "loups". (the _shil loups_)

Page 55, "Pere" changed to "Pere". (And Pere Rameau)

Page 56, "Longeuils" changed to "Longueils". (even the De Longueils)

Page 60, "considere dquite" changed to "considered quite".

Page 78, "mattter" changed to "matter". (for that matter)

Page 270, "inquiried" changed to "inquired". (she inquired)

Page 276, "he" changed to "She". (here. She bought)

Page 315, "om" changed to "from". (from vague bits)

Page 336, "beanty" changed to "beauty". (beauty was her)

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