Wilmont Kreis

Some years later, the boys unite with Antoine one last time for the longest voyage of all, from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico where they set Fort New Orleans and rescue a runaway slave named Tom, whose descendants will follow the Allard Series up to the American Civil War and beyond.
Now we’ll return to Quebec for a while and follow the Allards to the French and Indian War in Book Three: Peace and War. Read More 

Some years later, Cadillac again enlists Jean-Baptiste and Joseph to travel with him to set a post on a river connecting Lakes Erie and St. Clair. He names the post with the French term for narrow straights: Détroit. The boys stay here for the early days of this city in the wilderness which will become a focus of the remainder of the Allard Series. Photo: Detroit today, Cadillac’s Fort was located on land just to the left of the Renaissance Center. Read More 

During a scouting party for Cadillac in now northern Michigan, the boys encountered a wooden ship hidden on a small river. The lost ship of LaSalle and first ship on the Great Lakes, the Griffin, had been abandoned with a hold full of furs. When Cadillac discovers this, he swears the boys to secrecy and uses the furs to his personal advantage, later taking the empty boat into the lake and sinking it in deep water where it would remain for centuries. Needless to say, some of this story is my invention. Read More 

Following a few years raiding English ships with the famous French-Canadian privateer, Francois Guyon, Antoine Cadillac appeared at the home of young Jean-Baptiste Allard, now eighteen years of age. In a local tavern, he had heard the story of Jean-Baptiste and Joseph’s heroism against the Iroquois raiding party. Like most unreliable people, Cadillac trusted almost no one, but he developed a trust in Jean-Baptiste that would serve them both for some time. Jean-Baptiste and Joseph agreed to accompany him as personal guards to set a fort and trading post at the straits between what are now known as the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. A place the natives called Michillimackinac. Read More 

Antoine Cadillac is, in my opinion, one of the four most interesting historical figures in the history of Detroit (Gabriel Richard, Augustus Woodward and Henry Ford are the others). I’ll touch on them later. Cadillac came to New France as a young adventurer; he brought with him an impressive pedigree which, as with many things Cadillac, was false. He detested the Jesuits, held the natives in the lowest regard, was able to convince the authorities of whatever suited him, and was constantly in search of what benefitted him. Read More 

It was just such a raid by the Iroquois on the Allard’s home village of Charlesbourg. This raid begins the action in Book Two: The Hunter. While out hunting, young Jean-Baptiste Allard and Joseph happen upon the raiding party. More from luck than skill, the boys thwart the effort and are regarded as heroes. You will have to read the book to discover how, but this notoriety drives much of their young adult lives. Read More 

Indian raids were common in both the French and English Colonies, and they were often related to the alliances between the two native groups and the two European colonies. Several famous raids are part of the stories and are found as late as Book Five: The City in the Wilderness. A few are well-known like the wars of Pontiac and Tecumseh and more are less renowned but equally interesting. Read More 

For two hundred years, the Jesuits sent reports of their dealings with the Native Americans back to France where they were published and sold in chronicle form. In their day, they were among the most widely read publications in France. Originally published in Latin, French and Italian, today the enormous collection of 73 volumes is available in many languages including English. They provide researchers with priceless information of the times and the native people. I also drew upon these books when researching The Allards. Read More 

A Catholic teaching order, the Jesuits are still active today and run many American Catholic schools and Universities. They were not the only order active in French-Canada but arguably had the greatest impact, particularly on the natives who they taught and converted regularly. Unfortunately along with religion they spread many diseases new to the New World such as smallpox, eliminating great swaths of the population. Read More 

The Allard Series Native American characters are for the most part fictitious with the exception of the few famous characters such as Pontiac and Tecumseh. I drew their characters from French-Canadian histories, folk tales, and the stories of my ancestors. I would be the first to admit that I have romanticized them. The family of Henri (Book One) follows the Allards into the later volumes. They were Christian as were many Canadian Algonquin having been converted by the Jesuits. They lived and worked closely with the Allards. This was much more common in New-France than in New-England. Read More