Pierre-Charles Le Sueur

Pierre-Charles Le Sueur

Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (c. 1657, Artois, France – 17 July 1704, Havana, Cuba) was a French fur trader and explorer in North America, recognized as the first known European to explore the Minnesota River valley.

Le Sueur came to Canada with the Jesuits to their mission at Sault Ste Marie, but very soon he turned himself to fur trade and became a coureur des bois. He was fluent in several Native languages, which was crucial to his success in trade. Around 1683, he received some samples of bluish clay from the middle reaches of a tributary of the Mississippi and took it back to France to be analyzed. A chemist, L'Huillier, deemed it to be copper ore. Le Sueur returned to New France in order to mine this ore, but was waylayed by, among other things, a prison term for overreaching his trade privileges. He was present at the formal assertion of French sovereignty of Canada, declared in 1689 by Nicholas Perrot at Green Bay. Eventually, however, he was given a royal commission to open a copper mine (although some suggested he was more interested in "mining furs"). In 1699, he was with the group that ascended the Mississippi River from Biloxi to the "country of the Nadouessioux", stopping to overwinter at Isle Pelee or Fort Perrot above Lake Pepin. He went upstream as far as Saint Anthony Falls. After trading with the local Dakota bands (the Mdewankantons, Wahpetons and Wahpekutes) in the area, in the summer and fall of 1700 he and a group of 20 men went further up the river known to the native population as "minisota", or "cloud reflected water". This river was known to later voyageurs as the St. Pierre, but it is unclear if it was known as such to Le Sueur at the time. The group continued to the Blue Earth River, where they built Fort L’Huillier. (Named for the chemist who declared it to be copper ore,Alexandre L’Huillier). They overwintered at Fort L'Huillier, trading furs and other merchandise with the local Indian bands. They found the prairies full of bison, and learned to subsist largely on a meat diet. In May of 1701, Le Sueur left a garrison of men at the fort under the command of d'Eraque and accompanied a large quantity of the blue earth (Dakota language: "mah kato") back to Fort Mobile for further analysis, which revealed that it was not copper and thus worthless. Later that year, Fort L'Huillier was attacked by Sac and Fox Indians. An estimated 15 Frenchmen were killed in the attack and buried at Fort L'Huillier, which was abandoned by 1702. The survivors, including the "intelligent carpenter" Penicaut (see "The Relation of Penicaut", University of Louisiana Press), made it back to Louisiana to relate their harrowing experiences. Le Sueur sailed to France to secure a commission to serve as a local magistrate in what is now Alabama, but died of yellow fever shortly after his return in 1704. He never saw the Minnesota country again, though a city and county in Minnesota were named in his honor. Blue Earth County and its seat, Mankato, were named for the Dakota "blue earth" that Le Sueur had mined nearby. The supposed site of Fort L'Huillier is marked with a signpost along U.S. Route 169 south of Mankato.

References

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=949 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Flesueur Charles Alexandre Le Sueur Works of Art on Paper at Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pierre-Charles Le Sueur — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lesueur. Pierre Charles Le Sueur (1657 1704), explorateur, trappeur et négociant français de la Nouvelle France. Pierre Charles Le Sueur est né en Artois en 1657. Après des études liturgiques, il s embarqua pour… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pierre-Jean Jouve — Nom de naissance Pierre, Charles, Jean Jouve Activité(s) écrivain, poète, romancier, critique, traducteur Naissance 11 octobre 1887 Arras Décès 8 janvier 1976 Paris Langue d écriture français Œuvr …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pierre Lefort — croqué en 1899 par Sporrer pour son futur buste. Naissance 18  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pierre Jean Jouve — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Jouve. Pierre Jean Jouve Nom de naissance Pierre Charles Jean Jouve Activités écrivain, poète, romancier, essayiste, traducteur Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Le Sueur County, Minnesota — Location in the state of Minnesota …   Wikipedia

  • Fort Le Sueur — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Chambly. Fort Le Sueur Présentation Date de construction …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Le Sueur, Minnesota — Infobox Settlement official name = Le Sueur, Minnesota settlement type = City nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image imagesize = image caption = image mapsize = 250px map caption = Location of Le Sueur, Minnesota mapsize1 = map… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Pasqua — (1987) Charles Pasqua (born 18 April 1927) is a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was Interior Minister from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac s cohabitation government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government of Edouard… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Gautier — (born 25 January 1945) is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Loire Atlantique department. He is a member of the Socialist Party. References Page on the Senate website …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Guené — (born 6 April 1952) is a French politician and a member of the Senate of France. He represents the Haute Marne department and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement Party. References Page on the Senate website …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”