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A census taken in 1788 presented the following re-
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CENSUS
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sults: 17 Within the city of New Orleans, 5338; from the Balize to the city, 2378; at Terre aux Bœufs, 661; on the Bayous St. John and Gentilly, 772; Barataria, 40; Tchou- pitoulas, 7589; parish of St. Charles, 2381; St. John the Baptist, 1368; St. James, 1559; Lafourche, 1164; La- fourche, interior, 1500; Iberville, 944; Pointe Coupée, 2004; Opelousas, 1985; Attakapas, 2541; New Iberia, 190; Ouachita, 232; Rapides, 147; Avoyelles, 209; Nat- chitoches, 1021; Arkansas, 119; St. Geneviève, 806; St. Louis, 1197; Manchac, 284; Galveztown, 268; Baton Rouge, 682; Feliciana, 730; Natchez, 2679; Mobile, 1368; Pensacola, 265; total, 42,611. In Lower Louisiana there were 34,142 souls, and in Upper Louisiana, 2093. The number of white persons was 19,445. The increase in population since the last census (1785) was more than ten thousand. The progress of the colony had been very gratifying during Mirò's administration, and the only serious mishap had been the great conflagration in New Orleans in March, 1788.
CHAPTER V
GOVERNOR MIRO'S DEALINGS WITH THE INDIANS AND WITH THE WESTERN PEOPLE
Presents to the Indians-Trade with the Indians-The Choctaws-Captain de La Villebeuvre and Mirò mect the Indians-McGillivray's answer to Pickens and Matthews-McGillivray's letter to Mirò-Foundation of New Madrid-General Wilkinson-D'Arges in the pay of Spain-Product of Wilkinson's tobacco-Memorial of Colonel Morgan about New Madrid- Oliver Pollock-Death of Charles III- Expulsion of the commissary of the Inquisition-Wilkinson's letter to Gardoqui-State of Frankland-Mirò district -Failure of Mirò's plan-Communication of the cabildo to the King about the slaves-Arrival of comedians from Santo Domingo-Departure of Mirò from Louisiana-Authenticity of the Spanish documents-Don Pas- cual de Gayangos.
A S Don Francisco Bouligny had said in his memoir in 1776, it was indis- pensable to obtain the friendship of the Indians, and for that purpose he had suggested a plan for dealing with them. It is interesting to see, from the reports of Intendant Na- varro and Governor Mirò, what were the relations of the Spaniards with the Indians in 1788. Presents of mer- chandise, provisions, ammunition, and brandy were made to them, and the following table shows how expensive were those forced liberalities.1 It is reckoned in silver reales. In 1779 the cost was 175,603-22; in 1780, 163,-
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TRADE WITH THE INDIANS
670-02; in 1781, 103,855; in 1782, 1,038,243-30; in 1783, 594,946-23; in 1784, 599,972-27; in 1785, 119,630-17; in 1786, 124,903-24; in 1787, 250,791-10. Besides these amounts, Don Gilberto Maxent, who had been appointed by Galvez captain-general for everything concerning the Indians, received fifty thousand dollars (pesos fuertes) for his purposes, in November, 1781, and in 1782 goods were imported from Europe which were not included in the account above.
In another despatch, dated January 8, 1788, Navarro says the King has approved the permission given by Mirò, and by him to Don Guillermo Panton, Don Santi- ago Mather, and Don José Ramon de Urquijo, to export from London goods suitable for trading with the Indians. Commerce with the latter was conducted as follows, adds Navarro: The merchants who undertook it (referring to those of Mobile and Pensacola) were obliged, as soon as they established a store in those towns, to confide to a trader the goods they wished to risk in the commerce with the Indians. The trader carried the goods to the village of the savages, and sold them on credit, to be paid for after the hunting was over, so that he relied entirely on the good faith of the Indians. In such a trade the losses were so great that the merchant in the town charged one hundred per cent. on his goods, and the trader fifty per cent. more, which made the Indians pay for the goods, when by chance they did so, an extravagant price. Navarro recommended that the Spanish Governor should not attend to such a commerce; that the goods be sold the Indians according to the tariff agreed upon in
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1784; that McGillivray, commissioner of the Talapouches or Creeks, be interested in this trade; and that the traders be only those who are established among the Indians. The latter should be enabled to buy as many things as they wished, especially powder, guns, and bullets. The traders, says Navarro, are all Englishmen, but they have taken the oath of fidelity, and the Indians do not care whether they deal with an Englishman or with a Spaniard. The two houses in Mobile and Pensacola that attend to this commerce have been on the point of abandoning it, and it would be very unfortunate if Mather and Panton were to give up their exports from London.
The Choctaws played an important part in the history of Louisiana during the French domination, and a rem- nant of this once powerful tribe still lingers on our soil. Choctaw women may still be seen at the French market in New Orleans selling herbs and delightful gumbo, and having by their sides little children who sit as quiet as their ancestors, the savage warriors, when they smoked the calumet with the Frenchman or with the Spaniard who had come from far-away lands to occupy their hunting-grounds. Now there are no warriors among the Choctaws, and the white man has nothing to fear from the red man; but it is interesting to look at the savages as they were in 1788, in order to catch a glimpse of them before they disappear as tribes of importance.
In January, 1788, Captain Don Juan de La Ville- beuvre returned from his journey to the Indian nations,
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' having accomplished his mission perfectly.2 There had been a meeting of the whole Choctaw tribe, which prom- ised that hereafter they would not receive the Americans, and would remain entirely under the protection of His Catholic Majesty. At the village of the Yazoos the prin- cipal chiefs met Captain de La Villebeuvre. The king, or first chief, of the Choctaw nation was present with his uncle Taskatapo, a man of great influence in his tribe. ' After the captain's address, three Choctaw chiefs-Tran- chimastabe, Mingohuma, and Chetonaque-answered him. The king of the Chickasaws and several men of the tribe went to New Orleans to assure Mirò of their devotion to the King of Spain, and to deny having made a treaty with the Americans. The governor received the Indians well, and announced his satisfaction at the re- sult of the meeting. He recommended the appointment of a commissioner of the Choctaws and Chickasaws, who should reside among them, and whose chief duty should be to counteract the efforts that the Americans might make to attract them to their side. The commissioner should be allowed to spend two months every year in New Orleans, and should receive fifty dollars gratuity every month, besides a good salary. Mirò reports Captain de La Villebeuvre as having rendered meritorious services in his journey of one hundred and twenty-eight leagues in uninhabited regions, and recommends that the captain be made a lieutenant-colonel.
The speech of Tranchimastabe at the Yazoo, on No- vember 1, 1787, in answer to Captain de La Villebeuvre, is characteristic of Indian eloquence. He said:
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The two chiefs of New Orleans say they are astonished to see that the chiefs of the Choctaw nation have not kept the word which they gave at the congress of not admitting Americans on their lands. They are right; but I was not there, because two chiefs slandered me, saying that I was a man of nothing. I have not broken my word, and I prove that I am a man of firmness who has only one word, one heart, and one way of thinking. The English, before I left them, told me to remember them and to follow them, and they gave me many goods, but already I find myself with my last shirt. I hope that the Señor Mirò and the Señor Intendant are not very angry with me for having loved a white man who did me good; and as they are willing to receive me, I accept their hand with pleasure, and put aside the English banner to hoist that of the King of Spain, assuring Señor Mirò that once I have taken his word I am like a strong tree which no wind can overthrow, and I receive it with pleasure, hoping that he will come to Mobile to see us, which is the place where all the white men have always seen the red men. When a father desires to see his sons, he does not expose them to crossing deep waters. Finally, to show that I listen to his word with pleasure, I send him a white necklace and a white wing, which are our tokens of friendship, and four of my captains, hoping that they will send me a banner wider and larger than the one that you have brought to me.
The speech of Mingohuma, chief of the village of Ope- lousas, is not very interesting; but that of Chetonaque, who spoke in the name of the chiefs of the six villages, deserves to be noticed :
I have heard with pleasure the word of the chiefs of New Or- Jeans, and that of the chiefs of the great and of the small parties, and I see with satisfaction that we are going to unite all the chiefs of the Choctaw nation, in order to have only one White Father,
بلات
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SPEECHES OF THE INDIANS
one heart, and one way of thinking. All the bad words will be finished; let us live in tranquillity with our wives and children. Why go to seek a white man so distant? Do we not have the Spaniards, who give us what we need? You, Tranchimastabe, do not think any more of the English; they are very far away and will not return. Since the Spanish chiefs give you their hand, accept it, and do not listen to the words of one and the other. The red men say many lies, which have no foundation ; you must not believe them. Go to New Orleans ; the road is not as long as you believe; I have never heard it said that a red man has been drowned in the crossing; and, on the other hand, are we not men to die when it is necessary? As for what concerns the six villages, we have not gone to see the Americans, nor do we wish to do so, and we have always the hand of the Spaniards. If any white man of another nation comes, we shall send him away, and if he does not wish to go, we shall have him tied and taken to Mobile.
Yaganchuma, second chief of the Choctaws after Tranchimastabe, spoke to Governor Mirò, in New Or- leans, on January 3, 1788. He said that he and many other chiefs had accepted the word sent them through Captain de La Villebeuvre to come to New Orleans and place at the governor's feet the English medals, banners, and papers, and get others from him, because they were Spaniards from that moment. He, their father, had re- proved them for having gone to the Americans, but it . was not to give them lands: it was because all the red men are poor and do not know how to do anything, and they are obliged to go to the white nations, which do all things, in order that the Indians might receive presents. The Americans asked for lands, but the chiefs said they were not authorized by the nation to give lands to any.
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one. Nevertheless, papers were prepared and the In- dians signed them, thinking it was to receive presents. When they understood that the papers were to give away lands, they burned them. The Americans, however, made them drink strong water, or fire-water, and when they were drunk they made their mark again on other papers and received a banner. This banner was given to Mirò, and Yaganchuma concluded his speech with these words, which the governor must have heard with a smile, as he knew so well the duplicity of the Indians: " To-day we take your hand; you are our father, and we are your sons. I beg you to forget all that has happened, and never to speak again of the false treaty."
Taskutoka, king of the Chickasaws, spoke in favor of the Choctaws, and testified to their good faith. He must have forgotten the wars of the times of Bienville and Périer, when the Choctaws were the allies of the French against the Chickasaws.
On March 29, 1788, Andrew Pickens and George Mat- thews addressed a letter to Alexander McGillivray and other chiefs of the Talapouche or Creek nation, saying that the United States desired a durable peace with them. As this letter is dated from Fort Charlotte, and Mirò sent a translation of it to his government, it is evident that the Spanish governor must have approved of its purport. On April 1, 1788, Mirò addressed a communication to Don José de Ezpeleta, Governor of Havana, about the Choctaws and the Chickasaws. He mentions the chiefs Taboca and Mongulachamingo, who had gone to Phila- delphia and had obtained a passport from Benjamin
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ALEXANDER McGILLIVRAY,
Franklin. Translations are given of letters of Knox, Secretary of War, about the Choctaws and the Chicka- saws. The importance of peace with those tribes was well understood both by the Americans and by the Spaniards, and the latter seemed in 1788 to have succeeded better than the Americans in conciliating them.
On June 4, 1788, Alexander McGillivray, the cele- brated Talapouche chief, answered the letter addressed to him on March 29 by Pickens and Matthews.3 It is a well-written and very bold paper, and does credit to McGillivray. He says the war was caused by the at- tempt of Georgia to take possession of the lands of the Indians. He refers to the threats made by Congress to chastise the tribe if they do not submit to conditions that are considered just and reasonable. He appeals to the sense of justice of the Americans, who should not at- tempt to exterminate the first inhabitants of this coun- try and to take possession of lands that have been theirs from the beginning of time and are absolutely necessary for their subsistence. He adds that the assembly desired by the Americans may take place in September, at which time it would be found, perhaps, that their respective ter- ritories are sufficient for each proprietor, without its being necessary to usurp the neighboring lands.
On June 12, 1788, McGillivray wrote a long letter to Governor Mirò, in which he says the latter has informed him that it was the desire of the King that the Talapouche nation should make peace with the United States. Mc- Gillivray's letters are dated from Pequeño Talasée.
The Governor of Louisiana appeared to be willing to
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help the Americans in their dealings with the Indians, and was also very desirous of attracting immigrants from the West, and even of separating that part of the coun- try from the Union. In 1787 George Morgan of Penn- sylvania received the grant of a large tract of land, in what is now Missouri, on which he laid in 1788 the foun- dation of a city, which he called New Madrid. "The extent and plan of the new city was but little, if any, in- ferior to the old capital which it was to commemorate. Spacious streets, extensive public squares, avenues, and promenades were tastefully laid off to magnify and adorn the future city. In less than twelve months from its first location, it had assumed, according to Major Stoddard, the appearance of a regularly built town, with numerous temporary houses distributed over a high and beautiful undulatory plain. Its latitude was determined to be 36 degrees 30 minutes north. In the centre of the site and about one mile from the Mississippi was a beautiful lake, to be inclosed by the future streets of the city." 4
Don Diego de Gardoqui, Spanish minister at Wash- ington, accepted the proposition of the Baron de Steuben to settle on the banks of the Mississippi and form a colony of persons who had been lately in the army. The Span- ish government, however, did not approve this plan. The state of affairs in Kentucky in 1787 and 1788 was very uncertain. The inhabitants of that district considered that they had great grievances, and " they were divided," says Judge Martin, " into no less than five parties, all of which had different if not opposite views. The first was
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GENERAL WILKINSON
. for independence of the United States, and the formation of a new republic, unconnected with them, which was to enter into a treaty with Spain. Another party was will- ing that the country should become a part of the province of Louisiana, and submit to the admission of the laws of Spain. A third desired a war with Spain, and the seiz- ure of New Orleans. A fourth plan was to prevail on Congress, by a show of preparations for war, to extort , from the cabinet of Madrid what it persisted in refusing. The last, as unnatural as the second, was to solicit France to procure a retrocession of Louisiana, and extend her protection to Kentucky." 5
Now appears in the history of Louisiana General James Wilkinson, a personage whose acts have given rise to numerous controversies. In his Memoirs he declares that he was treated with injustice and was persecuted. He was twice tried by a court martial at his own request, and twice acquitted, and he rose to the highest command in the army of the United States. He had served in the War of the Revolution, had retired from the army with the rank of colonel and brigadier-general by brevet, and in 1787 was engaged in mercantile business in Ken- tucky. Butler, in his History of Kentucky, mentions a document that General Wilkinson presented to Mirò in New Orleans, in June, 1787, in which he urges the natural right of the Western people to follow the current of the rivers flowing through their country to the sea. He sets forth the advantages that Spain might derive from allowing them the free use of the river. He describes the general abhorrence with which they received the in-
التالي
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telligence that Congress was about to sacrifice their dear- est interest by ceding to Spain, for twenty years, the navigation of the Mississippi; and he represents it as a fact that they are on the point of separating from the Union on that account. He addresses himself to the gov- ernor's fears by an ominous display of their strength, and argues the impolicy of Spain in being so blind to her own interest as to refuse them an amicable participation in the navigation of the river, thereby forcing them into violent measures. He mentions the facility with which the province of Louisiana might be invaded by the united forces of the English and the Americans, the former ad- vancing from Canada by way of the Illinois River, and the latter by way of the Ohio River. Monette says on this subject: " The statement of Colonel Wilkinson, and the influence of his address and talents, were the first efficient means which led to the change of policy in the govern- ment of Louisiana. Through Colonel Wilkinson's ne- gotiation and his diplomatic address, the governor was convinced of the policy of conciliating the Western peo- ple, and of attaching them as far as practicable to the Spanish government." " Martin mentions Wilkinson as follows:
The idea of a regular trade was first conceived by General Wil- kinson, who had served with distinction as an officer in the late war, and whose name is as conspicuous in the annals of the West as any other. He had connected with it a scheme for the settlement of several thousand American families in that part of the present State of Louisiana now known as the parishes of East and West Feliciana, and that of Washita, and on White River and other
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1788]
· streams of the present territory of Arkansas. For those services to the Spanish Government, he expected to obtain the privilege of introducing, yearly, a considerable quantity of tobacco into the Mexican market.
General Wilkinson arrived in New Orleans in June, 1787, with a cargo of tobacco, flour, butter, and bacon, which at first was seized but afterward was released and allowed to be sold without paying duty. He had an interview with Governor Mirò, and he again visited New Orleans in 1788. From that moment begins a most cu- rious and interesting correspondence between General Wilkinson and the Spanish officials, which Judge Gay- arré was the first historian to publish, and which has been reproduced nearly in full by Z. F. Smith in his His- tory of Kentucky, published in 1886. Gayarre speaks severely of General Wilkinson, and it is to be admitted that he deserves censure for his expressions of devotion to the Spanish interests. The correspondence quoted by Gayarré is to be found in the copies of the Spanish manu- scripts made in Seville under the superintendence of Pas- cual de Gayangos, and in compliance with a resolution of the Legislature of Louisiana. These are now in the custody of the Louisiana Historical Society.
The first time that General Wilkinson's name is men- tioned in the Spanish documents is in a despatch from Governor Mirò, dated January 8, 1788. He speaks of the project of Don Pedro Wouver d'Arges, approved by the government, of taking from Kentucky into Loui- siana several families to establish settlements. He says he fears that D'Arges's undertaking may interrupt the
,
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principal object of Wilkinson, and he adds: " I have been reflecting many days whether it would be proper to in- form D'Arges of the ideas of Wilkinson, and the latter of the errand of the former, in order to unite them, that they might work in accord with each other; but I do not dare to adopt the first idea, because D'Arges may con- sider that the great projects of Wilkinson might destroy the merit of his own and precipitate (a thing which is possible) the confiding of them to some one capable of having Wilkinson arrested as a criminal, and also because the latter would be greatly disgusted that another person should share a confidence on which depend his life and honor, as he himself says in his memoir. For these rea- sons I am not able to declare the matter to D'Argès, nor could I confide the errand of the latter to the former be- fore knowing the intentions of His Majesty about Wil- kinson. The delivery of Kentucky to His Majesty, the principal object to which Wilkinson has promised to de- vote himself entirely, would assure forever this province as a rampart to New Spain, for which reason I consider the project of D'Argès a misfortune." Mirò continues that commercial franchises should be given only to those individuals who have influence in that country, as was proposed in the memoir of Wilkinson, as the others, see- ing those advantages, might be persuaded that the way of acquiring privileges is to become Spaniards. The gov- ernor also opposes granting to the immigrants the free exercise of their religion. They should not be molested, and perhaps the Irish priests might succeed in convert- ing some of them, if their ministers are not allowed to come with them.
GENERAL JAMES WILKINSON 1757-1825
Commander-in-chief of the United States army and one of the commissioners of the United States to whom Loui- siana was transferred from France in IS03. From a con- temporary painting belonging to his great grandson, Mr. Theodore Wilkinson, New Orleans, La.
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LETTER OF WILKINSON 133
On April 11, 1788, Mirò announces the arrival at New Orleans of a pirogue containing three men sent by Gen- eral Wilkinson for the sole purpose of announcing the Jatter's arrival in Kentucky. The governor says that he was on the point of distrusting Wilkinson's promises, as he had assured him that he would hear from him in the beginning of March. The latter relates in a letter his long and laborious journey, and in the cipher agreed upon he announces what will be seen in the accompanying translation. It is very satisfactory to see one of Wil- kinson's predictions accomplished,-the separation of Kentucky from Virginia. Mirò ends his letter by saying that Wilkinson has requested that nothing be given to the men of his pirogue, as he has instructed his corre- spondent in New Orleans to receive them and provide for their return.
The following letter of General Wilkinson to Mirò and Navarro, transmitted by Mirò, is so interesting that we translate it in full from the Spanish :
KENTUCKY, May 15, 1788.
MY LOVED AND VENERATED SIRS : I have a second time the plea- sure of writing to you, and I flatter myself that you received a long time ago my first letter, which I sent by a messenger in a pirogue with two oarsmen, an answer to which I am expecting every moment.
Major Isaac Dunn, bearer of this, an old military companion of mine, came to establish himself in this country during my ab- sence. The confidence which I have in his honor, discretion, and good talents has induced me (after having with precaution sounded his inclinations ) to choose him to aid me in our political designs, which having adopted with cordiality he will then present
W Tos
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himself in order to confer with you about those points that may need information, and concert with you whatever means you may judge proper to make our project progress, and through him I shall be able to receive the new instructions you may deem expe- dient. I have also chosen him that he may bring me the product of the present cargo. For all which I beg you to permit me to recom- mend him to you as a safe man and as a man of judgment, who knows profoundly the political condition of the American Union, and the circumstances of this country. I wish his stay in Loui- siana to be the shortest possible.
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