Ep 204: Nain Rouge
“Suddenly across their path, trotting along the beach, advanced the uncouth figure of a dwarf, very red in the face, with a bright, glistening eye; instead of burning it froze, instead of possessing depth emitted a cold gleam like the reflection from a polished surface, bewildering and dazzling all who came within its focus.”
– Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin from her book, Legends of Le Détroit, 1884
Description:
As legend would have it, or at least how the story goes from Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin's 1884 book, Legends of Le Détroit, on the evening of the 10th of March, 1701, a lively banquet took place in the castle of St. Louis, Quebec. The celebratory dinner host was the governor of "New France," Hector Louis de Callieres. The guest of honor was Monsieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, Sieur de Douaguet, and Mont Désert, who had just been granted a commission of Commandant along with 15 square acres to locate a colony and build a fort wherever he saw fit at "le Détroit," or "The Straits." At the height of the merriment, the dinner party received a strange and mysterious visitor. A peculiar-looking woman called "Mère Minique, La Sorcière" offered to read the guests' fortunes. She would astound the officials with details of their lives she could not possibly know, yet La Mothe Cadillac remained skeptical, and against the advice of Mère Minique, bade her tell him of his future. She told him he would found a great city, but his policies and pride would cause his ruin, and his colony would be the scene of strife and bloodshed. Above all, she warned, to appease the Nain Rouge, beware of offending him! It would be six years of profitable growth for the settlement before Cadillac would be able to temp his fate. While on an evening stroll with his wife, the red devilish imp crossed their path as prophesied. And it takes no sibyl to guess that Cadillac let his impetuous temper get the better of him, and he lashed out at the goblin with a curse and his cane. The rest, it is said, is history, but certainly, history mixed with fact and folklore. So was the Nain Rouge nothing more than a cautionary tale of greed and undue ambition? Maybe an imagined scapegoat for the woes of this famed city or a tulpa-like harbinger of doom? Could it be that the Nain Rouge was, and is, an actual supernatural entity as possibly described in First Nations legends? If one is entertaining this last option, or when in doubt, perhaps it's always best to respect the specter, yet remember that our fate is always in our own hands.
Reference Links:
“Myths and Legends of Our Own Land” by Charles M. Skinner on gutenberg.org
“Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, founder of what is now Detroit” on RobinsonLibrary.com
“Native American Legends: Nanabozho (Nanabush)” on Native-Languages.org
“People of Detroit: Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac” on historydetroit.com
“The legend of Detroit’s Nain Rouge: Raising Nain” by Lee DeVito from The Detroit Metro Times
“THE RED DWARF OF DETROIT AND THE MARCHE DU NAIN ROUGE” on AbsoluteMichigan.com
“THE LINCOLN IMP: SURROUNDED BY MYTH AND LEGEND” on VisitLincoln.com
John E.L. Tenney and Jessica Knapik’s podcast on Spotify, “What's up Weirdo?”
“Gary Seven” character from the original Star Trek episode, Assignment: Earth
Red Devil, Inc. manufacturer of caulking, glazing, and sealants
Location:
The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, possibly near where author Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin in her 1884 book, Legends of Le Détroit, says Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and his wife were strolling in the old King’s Garden, formerly “between Jefferson avenue and Woodbridge street, near the site of the present Chamber of Commerce,” when they encountered the Nain Rouge.
Related Books:
Hear Scott and Forrest interviewed by their podcasting buddy Max Kreutzer for his comedy podcast, The Story Of, and visit his website, https://maxkreutzer.com/podcasts
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Credits:
Episode 204: Nain Rouge. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.