It was in the Spring of 1831, from sunrise to sunset, through mist and sunshine, shower and shadow, a man paddled, and the nearer he drew to his destination, the wilder the country became, the more water fowl he saw, the more the river banks were marked with traces of big game. Signs told him that three bears had crossed the stream there, the muddy water was still trickling into the hoof print of a deer, and yonder a lynx had been fishing. As the traveler’s beautiful birchen craft still sped on her way, the handsome bow parted the shimmering waters and on a little passing breeze sent little running waves gurgling along her sides, while the splendor of the Spring sun was reflected on a far-reaching row of dazzling ripples that danced upon the water, causing the lone traveler to lower his eyes, give his attention to paddling as he was nearing his destination.

There were no other signs of life except an eagle soaring in and out among the fleecy clouds slowly passing overhead. All around was a panorama of enchanting nature.

The lone traveler was a "Free Trader" whose name was Marsaque. (Marsac); tall, straight, athletic, and of French lineage. Narrowing his vision he scrutinized the sky line for landmarks that had been impressed upon his tenacious mind two years previously.

Judging by the distance he had traveled from Michi-sawg-yegan (Lake Michigan) he knew that he was in the heart of Noonday’s hunting grounds—a thought that made Marsac happy as he made friends with Noonday’s Chief and Advisor, Cobmoosa; and then there was Jenute, a sister to Negake, the great medicine man of the Ottawas.  Dreams of Jenute caused the fiery Frenchman to land his heavy-laden canoe on the south bank of O-wash-to-nong, (Grand River,) directly across from the mouth of Quab-I-quash-sha (Flat River.) Hurriedly Marsac made camp and returned to renew the friendship with Cobmoosa, and perchance to steal a few words with the beautiful Jenute.  During that Spring Marsac established a fur trading post, and gained the good will of the Indians by carrying on a fur trade. Because of this friendship he was welcome in their wigwams, sat in at the councils and shared their protection and hospitality.

During the summer months Marsac learned that men of the tribe had what seems to have been a vacation, resting from their arduous Winter and Spring trapping trips. He also learned that the most important work undertaken by the men was canoe building. The most important work undertaken by the men was canoe building. As some of the men were more expert at this than others, it often happened that the bulk of this work was done by a few as a matter of business. The birch bark used for canoe building was gathered in early May. Other members of the tribe hunted water fowl while others did a little fishing.

The women, Marsac found, in addition to their regular routine of Summer camp duties, occupied themselves with sewing, fishing, moccasin making and berry picking.

The girls joined their mothers in picking berries which were very plentiful, and of great variety: raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, cranberries, bearberries and pheasant berries. They gathered wild celery, the roots of rushes, and the inner bark of the poplar, all of which was eaten raw. Before the Summer holidays were over the women usually secured a fair stock of dried berries, smoked meats, bladders and casings filled with fish oil or other soft grease, to help out their bill of fare during the long Winter months. The Ottawa women also did considerable gardening, raising corn, squash, pumpkins, melons and beans.

The women devoted most of their spare moments to bead, hair, porcupine, or silk work which they used for the decoration of their clothing. They made Mos-quit-moots, or hunting bags of deer silk thongs for the use of the men. The girls’ first lesson sewing was always upon the coarsest work, such as joining together skins for lodge coverings. The threads were made from the sinews of the deer or the wolf. These sinews were first hung outside to dry a little, and were then split into the finest threads. The thread maker passed each strand through her mouth to moisten it, then placed it on her bare thigh and with a sliding movement of her hand to twist it. Passing it again through her mouth she tied a knot at one end, pointed the other, and put it away to dry. The result was a thread like the finest hair wire.

Marsac found the dyes used for coloring moose hair or porcupine quills used for fancy work was obtained from nature. Boiled cranberries gave a magenta dye, from elder bark, boiled, beaten and strained they got a dark slate colored blue which was mixed which rabbits’ gall to make it adhere. The juice of bearberries gave a bright red, and from gunpowder and water they obtained a fine black. They relied chiefly, however, upon the red, blue, green and yellow ochres found in many parts of the state for the decorations applied to their wigwams and canoes.

It might be well to state here that the hunting grounds of the Indian tribes living in Michigan have been for centuries divided and sub-divided and allotted, either by bargain and by battle to the main families of each tribe, and in many cases the same hunting grounds have remained undisputed in the same families for generations.

Allottments of lands generally took the form of wedge-shaped intersections of these converging boundary lines and the common centers became the hubs of various districts. The Tribal summer camping grounds were situated on the natural highways of the country to the principal rivers and lakes. These camping sites were also fishing stations. Here, too, the Indians had their burial grounds.

The three tribes of Michigan Indians united to protect themselves from the Prairie Indians to the south. It took three defeats before the Prairie Indians moved to the west leaving these Michigan tribes, known as the Three Brothers, in peace. So it came to pass that these tribes parted as friends, the Chippewas settling the northern; the Pottawottamies the southern, the Ottawas was the central part of the state, and so it was in the summer of 1761 that Chief Pontiac came into the Grand River Valley to address these tribes and urge them to join with the French to expel the English who were encroaching on the French lands in the east.

During the Summer months Daniel Marsac divided his time between building his log hut and wooing the beautiful Jenute. The nearer the cabin came to completion the stronger became his desire to possess the beautiful Indian maiden for his own. Sitting in the last glow of his evening fire Marsac found life without the forest maid would be unbearable. Had he not a new home for a wife, in fact the only one of its kind in the settlement? Was he not a successful trader? Had he not wealth, prestige, and friends among the Red men, and also among the Pale Faces in far off Detroit? So meditating Marsac decided it was time to speak. Seeking the beautiful Jenute he told her of his growing and undying love. She  hardly deigned to answer him. Marsac then displayed his wealth, his stock of trinkets, saying they should be hers. She loathed the sight, and turned her back on him with indifference. He then told her that after they had accumulated sufficient wealth he would take her happy in a life of splendor. He painted a word picture telling her of the luxury and comforts of the White people, and promising that they would bid farewell to the forests and the her Indian kin forever. Jenute was moved to anger by this plea and drawing her slim figure to its fullest height, her black eyes flashing the anger of her heart, Jenute said: "Young man, never, no never! Jenute will never forsake her people for all the splendor of a thousand cities or even worlds. They would be displeasing in my sight—the Great Spirit has given me the woods, I love the streams, they are my delight. I love my people. How can you ask me to barter my kindred, my friends, my playmates, and my birthplace, all that is dear to me for the society of strangers? Go and seek a daughter from among the Pale Faces. Your works may please her but to me they are cold and hard!"

Marsac stood speechless, so unexpected was this answer to his offer of marriage. Jenute aroused him when she said: "Speak, do the words of Jenute displease you?"

"Jenute," Marsac said, "you make me very sad. Long have I watched your footsteps. I have been sad and lonely in your absence. My heart has gone out and followed you, and when you returned my spirit revived and I was happy. You do not stop to consider that I have come a long way to be one of your people.  The Great Spirit has told me that Jenute can make my heart throb with jo. You forget that I, too, have forsaken my home, my relatives and friends and the beautiful rivers that I might live among your people. And now if Jenute will not accept my offer of love, take my heart and keep it, for you robbed me of it.

As Marsac finished this last declaration he could see that Jenute’s attitude had changed. He attempted to fold her in his arms and Jenute, pretending bashful alarm, took flight.

Though fleet of foot, Jenute soon suffered Marsac to overtake her and catch her by the arm, and hold her while she feigned to struggle desperately for freedom. Than won, she turned to Marsac and sad:

"Since you have forsake your people and are making your home among my people, it is not well that you live alone, Jenute takes you for her man." So it came to pass that Marsac and the lovely Jenute were married with all the pomp and ceremony of the Ottawa tribe.

Jenute was very happy in her new home, as a baby girl had been born to them. For five years she watched and and cared for little Marie as only a loving mother can. Marsac had been suggesting that Marie be educated in the white man’s school and now at the age of five took Marie to Detroit and entered her in school. This nearly broke Jenute’s heart, but all would have been well only baby Marie became ill and died. The loss of her only child nearly broke Jenute’s heart.

By this time other white settlers had come into Marsac’s territory, bringing their white wives with them. Marsac’s pride would not allow them to call him a "squaw man" so on one of his trips to Detroit he married Colette Beaufait, a woman of French lineage. When Marsac announced this at his trading post it broke Jenute’s heart and she soon died. With this breach of faith Marsac lost the respect and trade of the Indians, so within a short time after Madame Beaufait was established at the head of the Marsac household, Marsac sold the post and went to farming on a 40-acre tract of land he had cleared adjacent to the Trading Post. Later he sold or traded this land on the south bank of the Grand River and took up a 40-acre plat on the north bank of Grand River and east of Flat River—a portion of which he later platted and called Dansville which name was later changed to Lowell.