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Gc 976.3 St6s 1764848
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02282 3725
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/sketcheshistoric00stod 0
SKETCHES,
HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE,
LOUISIANA.
BY MAJOR AMOS STODDARD,
MEMBER OF THE U. S. M. P. S. AND OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETT.
Altius omnem
Expediam prima repetens ab origine famam. VIRGIL.
Precipuum munus annalium reor, ne virtutes sileantar; utque pra- ris dictis, fuctisque, ex posteritate et infumid metus sit. TACITES
PHILADELPHIA :
PUBLISHED BY MATHEW CARET.
A. SMALL, PRINTER. 1812.
1764848
1
:
F 876 . 85
Stoddard, Amos, 1762-1813. Sketches, historical and descriptive, of Louisiana. By Major Amos Stoddard ... Philadelphia : Published by
Mathew Carey. A. Small, printer ..... 1812. viii, 488 p. 22}cm.
- CHRU CARD
1. Louisiana. 2. Louisiana purchase.
1-S738
Library of Congress
F369.886
Conv 2.
2941,
inAn
DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, TO WIT :
: Seal. BE IT REMEMBERED, Thit on the third day of September in the thirty seventh year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1812. Amos Stoddard of the said district, hath deposited in this of- fice the Title of a Book the right whereof he claims as author, in the words following, to wit ;
" Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of Louisiana. By Major Amos Stoddard, Member of the U. S. M. P. S. and of the New York Historical Society.
Altius omnem
Expediam primi repetens ab origine famam. VIRGIL.
Precipuum munus annalium reor, ne virtutes sileantur, utque pravis dictis, factisque, ex posteritate et infamia metus sit. TACITUS.
In Conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, intituled, " An Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprie- tors of such Copies during the times therein mentioned."-And also to the Act, entitled " An Act supplementary to an Act, entitled " An act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies du- ring the Times therein mentioned," and extending the Benefits there- of to the Arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and o- ther Prints."
D. CALDWELL, Clerk of the District of Pennsylvania.
366
.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE.
CHAPTER I. Historical Sketches of Louisiana,
1
II. Of the Floridas,
111
III. Extent and Boundaries of Louisiana, 131
IV. New Orleans .- The Delta, &c.
151
V. From Chafalia to Arkansas, &c.
177
VI. Upper Louisiana,
205
VII. Land Titles, &c.
243
VIII. Government and Laws,
~269
IX. Commerce and Manufactures
293
X. Learning and Religion,
307
XI. Character of the Louisianians,
319
XII. State of Slavery,
331
XIII. Antiquities,
345
XIV. Of the Rivers of Louisiana,
353
XV. Mineral Riches,
389
XVI. Aborigines,
409
XVII. A Welsh Nation in America,
.
465
PREFACE.
IT fell to my lot, in the month of March 1804, to take possession of upper Louisiana, under the treaty of cession." The high civil trust confided to me in that country, drew. my attention in the first instance to the jurisprudence, in the second to the principles of the French and Spanish co- lonial governments, and in the third to the civil history and geography of those regions. The records and other public documents were open to my inspection; and, as it was my fortune to be stationed about five years on various parts of the lower Mississippi, and nearly six months on Red river, my enquiries gradually extended to Louisiana in general .:
That country, even at this day, is less known than any other (inhabited by a civilized people) of the same extent on the globe. While it was in possession of France and Spain, at least till near the close of the American revolu- tion, it was almost inaccessible to us; nor were we influ- enced by motives of interest or curiosity to visit it. The · entrance of our vessels into its ports was either interdict- ed, or its commerce too unimportant to incite maritime adventures ; and the mountains and uninhabited wilderness on our frontiers, presented strong barriers to enterprise over land. The Spanish government, in particular, was al- ways actuated by a dark and intricate policy ; it was careful to exclude strangers from its dominions; to prohibit sur- vtys and discoveries, except for the benefit of the cabinet, and to place the seal of malediction on whatever was cal- culated to awaken the curiosity or envy of other nations,
vi
PRETACE.
No wonder then that Louisiana at the time of the cession, was so little known to the United States. They had suddenly and unexpectedly acquired a territory of which they knew not the extent; they were equally unacquainted with its climates, soils and productions, the magnitude and impor- tance of its numerous rivers, and its commercial and other natural advantages. I therefore indulge the expectation, that the subsequent SKETCHES, however inaccurate or errone- ous, will not prove wholly unacceptable to the public; par- ticularly as no one before me, to my knowledge, has at- tempted an history and description of this territory ..
Historians have but partially noticed that country ; none of their works seem'to embrace, in regular detail, any con- siderable number of years; they are extremely barren of events, and unfortunately contain many chasms. These are in part supplied from some ancient manuscript journals, and other documents, to which I gained access; yet it is to be regretted that materials are still wanting to exhibit even the prominent historical features of Louisiana. The writings of missionaries at least those I have seen, and the accounts pub- lished by French officers who were employed in the coun- try during part of the two last centuries, are mostly of an uninteresting nature. I am, however, much indebted to both dead and living authors; and if I have been less solicitous . to acknowledge my obligations to them, than to collect and arrange the substance. of their labors, it was because I relucted at marginal and other references.
These are some of the obstacles in the way of a regular and correct civil history of Louisiana. Those opposed to a complete geography and natural history of that country, are still more insuperable. All the old maps are extremely de- fective. The one prefixed to the work of Du P'ratz, is un-
vii
PREFACE.
questionably the best. No detailed accounts of the interior are to be found in the records of Louisianian literature: On Indian traders, and other transient persons, we are obliged in most instances to rely for what limited information we possess. They present us indeed, with an exuberant mass of materials, but extremely crude, confused and contradic- tory ; and it requires no small share of patience and atten- tion to distinguish truth from fiction. I am indebted to some fugitive and other publications relative to particular portions of Louisiana; and to the authors of them I am proud to pay my acknowledgements. Respectable men, in most of the districts, furnished me with such local and other information as they possessed, and I have made the best use of it in my power. My own excursions in that coun- try were extensive, and I have endeavored to describe what fell under my own observation with as much fidelity as possible. The notices of the Floridas are partly derived from the valuable work of Bernard Romans, and partly from an equally valuable manuscript of an itinerant friend.
These are some of the materials on which the subsequent SKETCHES are founded; and yet it is believed that few or none more accurate or authentic are at present in exist- ence, except those in possession of our late western travel- lers; time and enterprise are necessary to afford the world a just conception of Louisiana. The paucity of veracious materials, forbade the hope of an entire and complete work, and therefore SKETCHES only have been attempted. That there are many omissions and errors, is more than probable; but who is able at this early period, to supply the first, or fully to correct the second ?
'The avocations of military men are seldom favorable to literary pursuits; their studies are usually desultory, and
1
PREFACE.
more multiform in their nature than is consistent with la- bored disquisition. During the progress of the ensuing work, I was wholly secluded from the literary world, and the aid of literary friends, destitute of books, and most of the time afflicted with the endemics of the climate. This will in some measure account for occasional aberrations of manner and style; imputable in part, perhaps, to the rug- ged service of eighteen years, "in the tented field." I am fully apprised of the danger to which I expose myself in this literary attempt. I expect not the approbation of sci- entific men, though I hope to escape their censure. If they cannot think favorably of my genius or erudition, I trust they will at least commend my industry and motives. I worship not in the temple of science; my devoirs are limited to its humble vestibule.
Persuaded I am, that, when Louisiana is accurately known, when the advantages it affords are manifested and felt, not. an enemy to the cession will remain. No doubt much of the opposition to it (perhaps, in some measure, stimulated by the prejudices of party) arose from the want `of information, which dictated caution. It requires no great penetration to perceive that, if the arbiters of Eu- rope, and indeed of the world, had spread themselves o- ver that country, the tranquility of the United States would have been disturbed, and perhaps their liberties jeo- pardized. Whatever may be my speculative opinions on political subjects, I have felt no disposition to yield to them; solicitous as a public servant to avoid the exacerba- tions of party ; steady in the pursuit of truth.
AMOS STODDARD, MAJOR,
Fort Columbus 1812.
Corps United States' Artellerists.
HISTORICAL
SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
CHAPTER I.
THE Spaniards and the French discovered and settled Florida and Canada long before Louisiana was known. These early events have a direct bearing on the subse- quent affairs of those nations in the new world ; and hence a concise detail of them will not be deemed foreign to the design of these Sketches, particularly as they serve to throw much light on the policy pursued by both in the es- tablishment of their Colonies.
After the Spaniards landed on the Islands, nearly twen- ty years elapsed before they attempted any new discove- ries. During this period they collected immense quanti- ties of gold, especially in Cuba and Hispaniola. They first deprived the natives of their treasure, and then con- demned them to seek for more in the bowels of the earth, or among the rocks of the mountains. These people were unable to satiate the avidity of the Spaniards. Mil-
B
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
lions of them perished, and the remainder were doomed to ignominious slavery. No sooner were the Islands ex- hausted of their wealth than the Spaniards turned their attention to other regions. They penetrated to the isth- mus of Darien, and attempted to form settlements in the bay of Campeachy.
Perhaps they became acquainted with the discoveries of Sabastian Cabot along our coast in 1497. Ponce de Leon, a celebrated Spanish adventurer, was induced to discover and explore the continent from a singular mo- tive. The Caribbees informed him, that a fountain ex- isted in that quarter, whose waters were calculated to transform the aged into youth. He landed in the month of April 1512 in N. Lat. 30 deg. 8 min. (some say N. Lat. 38 deg. 8 min.) and the country he named Florida, because he found it in full bloom at that early season of the year. He made a fruitless endeavor to discover the fountain ; and great numbers of his followers probably pe- rished in the wilderness, as they never returned to their companions. He even made a second voyage, which pro-' ved as unsuccessful as the first, and chagrin and disap- pointment drove him back to the Islands. The name he gave the country was extended to all North America, and was attached to it till 1586, when it was restricted to a ter- ritory of inconsiderable extent to the northward of the gulf.
These adventurers convinced the Spaniards of the ex- istence of other unexplored regions, and they readily con- ceived them to be filled with the precious metals. They determined to realize what their imaginations painted in such fascinating colours. Accordingly a body of them un- der Grijalva landed on the coast of Florida in 1518. The Indians gave them a friendly reception, and presented them with pearls, silver, and gold. When they were about to retire, they ungratefully seized a number of these innocent people, and reduced them to slavery in the Is- lands.
.
3
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
Providence seldom permits such acts of cruelty and in- justice to remain long unpunished ; and the injuries in- flicted by the Spaniards drew on them, in a variety of in- stances, the vengeance they merited. Their evil genius led them to pay these people another visit in 1520, when the manner of their reception induced them to make a precipitate retreat from the country. Not discouraged at this repulse, they again landed on the same coast in 1522, when two hundred of their men perished by the hands of the natives.
Florida was now of sufficient importance to attract the notice of the crown. Francis de Geray obtained the first grant or patent of that country about the year 1524 ; but he did not long survive this mark of favor, and was suc- ceeded by de Allyon, who visited his province.
The Spaniards for some time were confounded at the vigorous opposition of the natives ; they did not perceive, that the inhabitants of the continent were more resolute and hardy, more independent and lofty in their sentiments, than those of the Islands, whom they had enslaved. They at last concluded, that the country abounded in the pre- cious metals, and that the natives were possessed of im- mense wealth, which they were determined to defend with their lives : On no other principle were they able to ac- count for the numerous obstacles opposed to their pro- gress. These conceits served to swell their prospects, and to urge them on to new exertions. Accordingly in 1528, Pamphilo Narvaez, on whom the province had devolved, landed in Florida with a considerable body of Spaniards. The Indians made use of a stratagem to draw them into the interior. They presented some gold to them, and at the same time intimated, that this treasure abounded in the Appalachian mountains. The Spaniards marched di- rectly into the wilderness, extremely delighted with the prospects before them. But how great was their surprise, when they found themselves in an ambuscade, and vigo-
4
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
rously attacked by several nations ! The contest was long and bloody. Narvaez perished with many of his men. The remainder attempted to regain their ships. Their provisions were soon expended, which reduced them to the painful necessity of feeding on the carcasses of their dead companions.
This disaster checked for a while, but did not damp the ardor and perseverance of the Spaniards ; nor did it serve to restrain their ambition and avarice. On the death of Narvaez, that celebrated adventurer, Ferdinand de So- to, succeeded to the Government of Florida. This man was of a temperament not to be intimidated by the mis- fortunes of others ; nor to despair of attaining what his predecessors had attempted in vain. He was one of the most distinguished Knight-errants of the age ; and his ac- tions in Florida sufficiently attest his courage, hardihood, and romantic turn of mind. He explored almost all parts of that Country with the speed of a courier ; and the long time he remained in it was mostly employed in seeking new dangers, and in encountering them. He attacked the natives every where, and every where committed great slaughter ; destroyed their towns, and subsisted his men on the provisions found in them. He even spent some winters among them, particularly one in the Chickasaw nation ; the next spring crossed the Mississippi, explored the regions to the westward of it, and in 1542 ended his days on Red river.
This was the first dawn of the Spanish power in Flori- da. Most of the Indian nations were either extremely in- timidated, or greatly reduced. They became convinced *of their. own weakness, and found themselves obliged to yield to the superior skill of their enemies. "Notwithstan- ding this, they disdained to become slaves, or to survive the loss of their freedom ; and therefore gradually retired from the coast, and planted themselves beyond the reach of the invaders,
5
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
After the death of Ferdinand de Soto, no more disco- veries were undertaken in this quarter; the prospects of mineral wealth abated, and the poor Spanish settlers left to bewail their misfortunes. They found themselves ob- liged, much against their inclinations, to turn their atten- tion to agriculture and the fisheries. They opened an in- tercourse with the few remaining Indians along the coast ; but this proved unprofitable, and the only refuge they found from want was in manual labor.
The French about this period began to view, with jea- lous eyes, the discoveries and settlements of the Spaniards. France was among the last of the European nations to ex- plore distant regions, and to plant Colonies in them. Her ambitious views were for a long time confined to the Mi- lanese, and the two Sicilies, to which she had some ancient claims : Nor was she easily. persuaded, that any perma- nent advantages were to be derived from the establish- ment of distant colonies, particularly at a time when the nation was agitated by religious disputes and commotions. Yet, notwithstanding she entertained these sentiments, she secretly envied the progress of her rival in the new world, determined to interrupt it, and to participate in the glories of enterprise.
'The execution of this project was wholly confided to the discretion of the great Admiral de Coligny. ffe there- fore fitted out a considerable fleet in 1562, and embarked a Colony of French Protestants. Ribaud conducted the expedition to Florida, and planted the settlers within about thirty miles of St. Augustine, where they erected a Fort for their protection, and named it Charles, in honor of Charles IX.
Astonishment seized the Spaniards at this unexpected intrusion. Menendez, however, after recovering from the first shock of perturbation, assembled the forces of the pro- vince, attacked Fort Charles, and carried it by storm. Those of the miserable French, who escaped the sword
$
.
6
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
were doomed to the halter, with this label on their breasts, " not as Frenchmen, but as heretics."
France was not then in a situation to punish this out- rage ; nor, perhaps, as she was evidently an aggressor, had she just cause to complain. But a private Gentlemen of rank, by the name of Dominique de Gourgues, resolved to become the avenger of his nation. In 1567, therefore, he fitted out a fleet at his own expense, arrived in Florida, attacked the Spanish settlements, and those who fell into his hands, were suspended by the neck, with this inscrip- tion, " not as Spaniards, but as assassins."
This success was productive of no important benefit. The French were obliged, in the course of a few years, to retire from the Country ; and the Spaniards in this quar- ter experienced no more trouble from them till after the discovery and settlement of Louisiana.
Even at this early period the French were not wholly unacquainted with the continent more to the northward : For Verazzani, in 1524, coasted it from Florida to New- foundland, and gave to the territories he discovered the name of New France. The commercial importance of the fisheries was satisfactorily ascertained by him : But the hopes of more profitable discoveries, added to the * peculiar situation of France, served to postpone the pur- suit of them.
Ten years elapsed before the French determined to form settlements in the more northern regions. Cartier was employed in 1534 to explore the coast about New- foundland, and to select some suitable place for a Colony. During this expedition he examined the shores of Aca- dia, entered the straits of Belleisle, and visited the har- bors on the coast of Labrador. In the bay of Gaspe he performed the ceremony of taking possession of the Coun- try in the name of the French King. This seems to have been understood by the Indians ; for one of their Chiefs, clothed in a Bear-skin, gave the intruder to understand,
.
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HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
that the Country belonged to him. Cartier sailed some distance up the river St. Lawrence : but the advanced state of the season obliged him to return to France.
The next year he was again despatched to the continent with three ships. He now sailed up the river St. Law- rence to the Isle of Orleans, secured his fleet in the mouth of the St. Croix, took formal possession of the Country, and spent the winter in it. He visited Hochelaga, the In- dian Capital, and the hill in the vicinity of it he named MONTREAL. The scurvy made great havoc among his people ; and this, together with the failure of his provi- sions, rendered it necessary for him to return to France as soon as the ice disappeared in the river.
The information obtained on this voyage served to awa- ken the curiosity of the French. The Indians gave Car- tier to understand, that he might continue sailing up the river for three months, passing over two or three great lakes, beyond which there was a sea of fresh water, (pro- bably lake Superior) of which they knew no bounds ; and that on the other side of the mountains there was ano- ther great river, (no doubt the Mississippi) which flowed to the south-west, through a Country full of delicious fruits, and destitute of snow and ice. They at the same time led Cartier to believe, that the Country abounded in silver and gold ; particularly as they described to him the colors, and in some measure the qualities of those metals.
*
He was sent out on his third voyage in 1540. Ile spent another winter at his old station in the mouth of the St. Croix. Roberval spent the succeeding winter at the same place. Both obtained some additional information rela- tive to the interior. These voyages exposed both to im- minent dangers.
The French made no other attempts on Canada till af- ter the lapse of half a century; though they carried on the fisheries and peltry trade along the coast.
8
INSTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
.When France found herself in some measure recovered from a succession of religious and other wars, she resum- ed her projects of discovery, and was enabled to prosecute 'them with more system, and with better prospects of suc- cess. She readily perceived, that any attempts to dislodge the Spaniards from Florida, would be attended with more loss than gain; particularly as their jealousy was excited, and their ports strongly fortified. She was likewise well aware, that the fisheries were of consequence, and that the skins and furs obtained in northern regions were more va- luable than those about Florida ; and she was in hopes of. finding a water communication to China by means of the great lakes in Canada. Another voyage was therefore undertaken in 1603, and the prosecution of it confided to Champlain. IIe arrived at Cartier's station in the river St. Lawrence, endeavored to investigate the geographical · position of the lakes, and became acquainted with the Iro- quois, or five nations, into whose Country he penetrated by the way of the lakes Champlain and George ; after which he returned to France.
All the territory between the fortieth and forty-sixth degrees of North latitude was the same year granted by the French King to Du Monts, who formed a settlement in Acadia; which, in the course of five years, was partly destroyed by the English, and partly exchanged for Ca- nada.
. The Canadian coast was visited by the English and Spaniards prior to the discoveries of the French ; but as neither of those nations attempted settlements in that quar- ter, a secure and lasting possession seemed to present it- self to view. A sufficient number of Colonists was soon - collected, a fleet fitted out, and the whole committed to the direction of Champlain. They sailed directly for Cu- nada, where they arrived ir. 1608, and laid the foundation of the City of Quebec. This was the first permanent
9
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
icttlement made by the French in this part of the new world.
1
At the time. of their arrival a destructive war raged be- tween the several Indian nations of Canada and the Iro- quois, situated at some distance from them. 'They con- ceived it good policy to assist their neighbours ; particu- larly as such a step seemed likely to secure their friend- ship and trade. The Dutch settlers of New York espou- sed the cause of the Iroquois from similar motives. Both unfolded to the natives the use of the musket, and libe- rally supplied them with ammunition. The dreadful ra- vages committed by the hostile parties, served not only to increase the effusion of human blood, but likewise to re- tard and embarrass the French settlements in Canada.
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