he administration
of justice in Detroit under the rule of Lieutenant Governor Henry
Hamilton, and the presentment of Hamilton by the grand jury of Montreal
for murder in the execution of a Frenchman convicted of stealing. From
the Narrative were taken the charges made against Hamilton, when he was
a prisoner in Williamsburg, in consequence of which he was confined in
irons and barely escaped a more serious, and perhaps even a capital
punishment.[3] But little at the present time can be ascertained of
Dodge. He was born in Connecticut, July 12, 1751, and was the son of
John Dodge and his wife, Lydia Rogers.[4] John Dodge, the father, was a
Baptist minister by profession and a blacksmith by trade. His son John
was one of a numerous family of children. His brother Israel, who was
with him in the West, was nine years his junior, having been born
September 3, 1760. Before John had reached his nineteenth year he had
wandered into the northern part of the Ohio district and had entered
into business as a trader in Sandusky. He was familiar with the Indian
language used in his neighborhood and frequently acted as interpreter.

Many of the events of his life from this time, are contained in his
Narrative and it is needless to repeat them here, but mention might be
made of other acts of his and records pertaining to him, of which he
makes no mention. On the fourth day of April, 1776, Dodge, with William
Tucker, purchased a house and lot in Detroit, from Joseph Poupard
Lafleur, for 3,000 livres, and a few days later Tucker agreed to repay
Dodge whatever sums he had paid for this house if Dodge "went down the
country," as he then contemplated.[5] Dodge did not go "down the
country," but remained in Detroit and sold his interest in the land to
William Tucker July 6, 1777. In this deed Dodge is described as "a
trader of Detroit," and it is stated that he bought the house and lot
of Lafleur June 7, 1774.[6] His Narrative does not agree with the
records in all cases, for he says he was confined in jail from January
to July, 1776, in daily expectation of death, while the records show
that he purchased this house and lot during this period. The story of
the rescue of a prisoner from the Indians, related in his Narrative, is
contained in the report of the Virginia Council of June 16, 1779.
Sometimes at liberty, engaged in trading, and sometimes confined in jail
as a rebel, he remained in Detroit and Mackinac till May, 1778, when he
was sen