Antoine Auguelle

Who is Antoine Auguelle?

Antoine Auguelle Picard du Gay was a 17th-century French explorer. Born at Amiens in Picardy, Auguelle along with Michel Aco accompanied Father Louis Hennepin during his exploration of the Upper Mississippi River. Setting out from Fort Crevecoeur in present-day Illinois on February 29, 1680, the trio were briefly captured by a band of Santee Sioux on April 12, 1680 near Mille Lacs Lake in present-day Minnesota. During their captivity, they were escorted to such memorable Minnesotan landmarks such as Saint Anthony Falls, Lake Pepin, and Kaposia, in the process becoming the first Europeans to do so. They were finally released at the end of September 1680 at the insistence of explorer Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut.