USA > Louisiana > Historical memoirs of Louisiana, from the first settlement of the colony to the departure of Governor O'Reilly in 1770; > Part 3
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The parish church of New Orleans is built facing the Place d'Armes, t and is served by the Capuchins, one of whom is vicar-general of the Bishop of Quebec. At some distance from the city is a very fine house, the residence of the Jesuit
· "In the beginning of 1728," says Gayarre, " there came a vessel from France with a considerable number of young girls, of good moral character, who became known as the ' filles a la casette,' who were taken charge of by the Ursu- line nun», until they were provided with husbands. And, subsequently, it be- cune y matter of importance in the colony to derive one's origin from them, rather than from those who had been sent from houses of correction."
! A splendid cathedral now occupies the site of the old parish church.
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Fathers. It formerly belonged to M. Bienville, commandant- general in the country, who sold it to them.
Out of the city on the right was also built a brick convent,* for the Ursuline nuns, who came to the country, a few at a time, but at last formed an establishment. They employed their time in instructing youth and teaching children to read. Beside the convent is a military hospital, served by these good nuns. This hospital, for many years, was used also by the citizenst and country people, but at last another was built especially for them.
In this city there is a council, which meets generally every Tuesday and Saturday. It is composed of six councilors, an attorney-general, and an intendant, who is also commissaire of ordinance ; there is also a register and a secretary to the council. Law-suits are settled there without attorneys or counselors, and consequently without expense, on the pleadings of the party. In conclusion, this place, which at first was hardly a good-sized village, may now justly be called a city. On the levée, to the left, a little above the intendant's, is the market, and opposite the place, beside the storchouses, is the anchor- age for vessels, and beside it the guard-house. To avoid acci- dent by fire the powder-magazine is at a distance from the city. In a word, it may be said that this capital wants only fortifications, which have not yet been begun. On the whole, you will find there very fine brick houses, and a great many buildings four and five stories high.
* This ancient building still exists. The nuns continued to occupy it till 1824, when they removed to a more splendid building below the city. It is now the residence of the Bishop.
t A list of the names of these, to whom many of the present citizens of New- Orleans can trace their ancestry, is published in the 3d vol. of the Hist. Coll. of Louisiana.
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CHAPTER X.
THE CURRENCY OF THE COUNTRY.
WHEN, in 1716, the company began to send people to Dauphin Island, and then to Old and New Biloxi, there was almost no money in public circulation, except some Spanish and a little French silver, brought by individuals, who used it to buy of the old settlers some little luxuries, such as salad, milk, &c., the latter selling at Dauphin Island as high as forty sous the pot.
The company's goods were not paid for in money. When anybody wanted anything, he made out a statement or list of the articles, and presented it to one of the directors of the company, who, after deducting what he thought proper, wrote on it an order for the storekeeper. The applicant then went to the store to receive what was on his statement, and that amount was deducted from the total he was entitled to receive. In a word, the notes of officers, clerks and em- ployés, were then current in the community, and passed for money.
Afterwards, when all were assembled at the capital, as the people in the province could not share in the happiness of those who lived in France, who made fortunes by bank-bills then greatly in vogue, they resolved to make some at last of another kind, and paper money was made from fifty sous to fifty livres. For the advantage of such as could not read, they were made so that by mere inspection a man could tell the value of his note by the way it was cut. In the middle were the king's arms, with the number of the note on one side and the payee's initials on the other. The value was marked below thus, "Good for," &c. These cards were signed by the
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treasurer, commandant, and commissary ordinator. It was forbidden to refuse them in trade, even on the king's or com- pany's vessels. Yet, in spite of the precaution of having two different signatures, it certain that counterfeits to a pretty considerable amount were in circulation.
Scarcely had it been invented when small copper coin began to arrive. It had on one side two L's saltier, and on the other the legend "Colonie Françoise." This copper money had been struck at Rochelle.
I have said that even vessels were forbidden to refuse paper money: but, after all, they had no interest in so doing, for when ready to clear for Europe, they received bills of ex- change on France, on paying into the company's treasury the sum received in notes. But this was not the case with indi- viduals who wished to return. Either to compel them to stay, or for some other reason, they obliged them to exchange their paper money for Spanish dollars at considerable loss. In 1728, in the time of the company, the dollar, worth only five livres in French silver, was rated at ten crowns paper money ; but ten years after, when the company had surrender- ed its charter to the king, the dollar sold only for seven livres, ten sous. At the present time, I hear that a royal commis- sary, an intendant of marine, who had gone to the colony, has stopped the circulation of paper money, and that French silver alone is now current.
On the whole, however, it must be remarked, that money of any kind can be of use in that country only to such as live in the capital or its vicinity. As for the settlers in distant posts, I never could see how they needed money; all their trade ivith the Indians is by exchange. But it is time for me to speak of the different posts formed in the interior of the country, either for the security or advantage of those settled there.
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CHAPTER XI.
THE POST OF BALIZE.
AFTER the Sieur de la Tour had, as I have already stated, completed the plan of New-Orleans, he went down to the mouth of the river St. Louis (Mississippi) with the Sieur de Pauger, second engineer, whom he appointed to establish there a post called Balize,* (the buoy,) to serve as a guide to vessels wishing to ascend the river. This was undertaken in 1722. For this purpose they took a heap of large trees, canes and brush- wood, which the river in its floods brings down to the mouth, and which, gathering at a point on the left as you enter, have formed a pretty wide ground. On this tongue of land is a hole, which has been very often sounded, though they could never find bottom. It is remarkable that if you insert into it a long, straight cane, heavy at one end, and drive it down with all your might, it will come out a quarter of an hour after, and rise almost out of sight in the air with the velocity of an arrow.
On this ground the Sieur de Pauger built a fort which cost the company a great deal, for not a single pile was put there that was not driven in by hard work, and the whole is built on piles. It has a fine battery of cannon, which covers the anchorage and defends the entrance of the river, a church, barracks, store-house, and dwelling for the captain command- ing, all built of wood, on the surface of the ground.
What I have said shows that this post was established not only to show vessels from France the way, but also to
. This post no longer exists. The magazine, and part of the fortification, was swept away into the river, and a new Balize was established, by Don Ulloa, for the accommodation of the pilots, in 1768.
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close the entrance to strangers and enemies; there is, ac- cordingly, a company of soldiers with a captain always stationed there to guard it. This garrison lives pretty well in winter, as game is abundant, but, from the beginning of spring through the summer, they have to go pretty far inland to get even water to drink, for the mouth of the river is then brackish. It is true that the fishery is always abundant, but meat is more nourishing than fish, so that they take care to pickle goose, duck, teal, bustard, and sometimes crane legs, which, with a little salt pork, carry them through the hot weather. Even vegetables succeed but poorly at this post; some, however, raise Milan cabbage, but they rarely come to a-head.
CHAPTER XII.
THE POST OF THE NATCHEZ; OR, FORT ROSALIE.
THIS post is a hundred leagues from the capital, up the river St. Louis, and was begun in 1717 by the Sieurs Hubert* and Le Page,t before any concessionary had arrived in the province. Le Page had already begun to cultivate a plot, a league and a half from where the capital is now, but he abandoned it to go to the Natchez with the Sieur Hubert, and built a place there. The latter, besides being a settler, was also commissary and director. He was a man of talent; and of all that part chose, a league from the bank of the river, what he deemed the most
* " M. Hubert was the king's commissary of the colony. He sided with the new governor, L'Epinay, in his animosity against Bienville, and charged him with being a pensioner of Spain, who was bribed to check the settlement of the colony." -- Martin.
t M. le Page afterwards published a History of Louisiana, in which he makes free use of Dumont.
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excellent spot, where he raised a house, which he called St. Catharine's. He had a great idea of this post at the Natchez, so that when there was a talk of forming a second establish- ment, he advised building the capital there and making merely a depot of New-Orleans. The opinion of M. de Bienville, the commandant, prevailed ; for having been a very long time in the country, where he came with his brother, M. d'Iberville,* the famous navigator, he was believed to know better than any other the most proper locality for the capital of the colony. This did not discourage the Sieur Hu- bert; he went to France in hopes of carrying out his views, and his project having in fact found favor with the minister, he was about to return to Louisiana, when he fell sick and died. After his death St. Catharine's was sold to the Sieur de Koly, and passed into his hands.t
As the soil at Natchez is excellent, many Frenchmen, soldiers and workmen, after obtaining their discharge, went and settled there, and new dwellings were built. Most bought their lands of the Idnians of the place, who lay more than a. league and a quarter from the river bank, in five villages half a league apart. That called the, Great Village, the residence of the great chief of the tribe, was built along a little river called White River, St. Catherine's Creek. West of this village the French built a fort on a hill and called it Fort Rosalie.t It was merely a plot twenty- five fathoms long by fifteen broad, inclosed with palisades, without any bastion. Inside near the gate was the guard- house, and three fathoms off along the palisade ran the
. See Historical Collections of Louisiana, vol. ii., p. 10-20.
? Sieur de Koly was afterwards massacred by the Natchez .- Hist. Coll. of Laimana, vol. iii., p. 155.
: This fort (" Rosalie,") was built by Governor Bienville in 1716, on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi, the remains of which are still to be seen.
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barracks for the soldiers. At the other, opposite the gate, a cabin had been raised for the residence of the commanding officer, and on the right of the entrance was the powder maga- zine. At this post the company maintained a company of soldiers, with an ensign, sub-lieutenant, and a captain to com- mand. South of the fort was another little Indian tribe called the Tioux, who willingly traded with the French, but some years after abandoned their village to go and settle elsewhere, and before leaving sold their ground to one of the richest set- tlers in the country, the Sieur Roussin.
It is certain that the ground at Natchez is the best that the French can boast of having in all Louisiana, both for its natural fertility and for its being elevated, and thus not sub- ject to be covered by the inundations of the river. And this does not prevent its having a number of fertile plains and val- leys. This canton would be very favorable for the culture of the vine, which would succeed perfectly, as would tobacco, indigo, wheat, flax, hemp, &c. Silk worms, too, might be raised, the forests being full of mulberries, with leaves much larger than ours. This post is indeed somewhat removed from the water, but this can be remedied by cisterns; it may too be not impossible to find springs. Besides, the Indians of that tribe seemed much disposed to live on good terms with the French, as may have been remarked from all that we have said. For some articles of merchandise they would serve as hunters or even slaves, digging the ground, or bringing wood, water, and whatever was needed. In fine, this establishment began to prosper, and there was ground to hope that it would one day be very flourishing, when an unfortunate accident blasted in an instant these fair hopes, as we shall show.
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CHAPTER XIII.
FORT NAQUITOCHES.
FORT NAQUITOCHES is situated on Red River, so called from its sand, which is really of that color. It is called by Joutel, in his map, the river of the Oumas; it is seventy-five leagues from the river (Mississippi), and as you ascend it, it runs WV. N. W. A French post was established there in 1718 .* The fort is a square palisade, where a little garrison is kept as a barrier against the Spaniards, to prevent their entering Louisiana. In 1722, the commandant of this post was the Sieur de St. Denis, Knight of St. Louis, and cousin of the com- mandant of the colony. He was a famous voyageur, who had not only been to Mexico, but had also visited almost all the Indians of that great continent, whose languages he spoke very well. He was, besides, a good captain and a brave soldier, dear to the French, beloved by all the Indians friendly to the nation, and a terror to their enemies.
The ground of this post is not bad. Tobacco succeeds pretty well, except that it seems full of saltpetre, which induces the belief that the ground in that canton is strongly impregnated with nitre, and that very productive saltpetre works might be established there. This post is but a short distance from some rocks where silver mines have been found. A Canadian voy- ageur named Bonhomme, while hunting in that quarter, stop- ped two days to rest, and tried some of the ore; he brought
. This post was established by M. Bienville. In 1719 M. de la Harpe pro- ceeded with a detachment of troops as far as the Nassonite village, one hundred and fifty leagues above Naquitoches, and established a fort there, in about the parallel of 33º 35' N. lat .- Sec La Harpe's Journal in Historical Collections of Louisiana, vol. iii., p. 69.
3
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back a lump as large as an egg, which, though not well puri- fied, seemed very good silver. Forty leagues from this post the Spaniards have on this same Red River a post they call the Cado-de-Kious, where La Salle's companions passed after the death of their chief .*
CHAPTER XIV.
THE ARCANCAS POST.
THIS post is properly only a continuation of the establish- ment formed by the French around the house which Joutel and his companions reached in the month of July, 1687,t and where, before arriving, they perceived a cross planted, which consoled them in their pains and hardships. From that time to the present the nation has always remained in possession of that territory; and when M. le Blanc sent men to take possession of the grant made him on the Yazoux River, a hun- dred and forty leagues from the capital, the little garrison, kept till then by the company at that place, retired to the Arcanças post, then commanded by the Sieur de la Boulaye. There is no fort in the place, only four or five palisade houses, a little guard-house and a cabin, which serves as a storehouse. This French post was established as a stopping-place for those going from the capital to the Illinois.
When the new settlers were scattered through the colony, each grantee of a concession went to take possession of the ground
* It appears from this remark, that notwithstanding the settlement made by De la Salle, in Texas, as early as 1686, the Spaniards continued to push their claims to this country, and established missions throughout Western Texas, as far as the banks of the Adayes, within a short distance of the Naquitoches, up to 1718.
t See Joutel's Journal in Historical Collections of Louisiana, vol. i., p. 174.
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assigned him ; the people sent by Law came and settled about a league from the Arcanças post in the depths of the woods, where they found a beautiful plain surrounded by fertile. val- leys, and a little stream of fine, clear, wholesome water. This settlement began to prosper-pavilions were already erect- ed for the officers, and cabins for the workmen, almost all, as I have said, were Germans, married men ; large store-houses were even built, and every thing seemed to promise that it would soon become flourishing, when those who composed it, learning the fall of their patron, disbanded. Most of them abandoned the post and returned to the capital, intending to cross over to Europe ; but the council of the country opposing this design, they chose a place ten leagues from New-Orleans, where each one settled on his own account. This place, now called the German coast, was commanded, when I left Louisiana, by the Sieur d'Arensbourg ;* the ground was very well cultivated by the new settlers, who were by no means indolent, and this place may be considered the garden of the capital.
In 1721, some visionaries having assured the company that there was an emerald rock on the Arcanças River, Captain de la Harpe was sent to look for it. He had with him a detach- ment of twenty-two men, with the Sieur de Franchomme as lieutenant, and one Bessan for sergeant, and, as I was then at the Yasoux as lieutenant and engineer, he took me along as math- ematician. We ascended the river for more than two hundred and fifty leagues, without being able to discover this pretend- ed treasure, probably because it existed only in imagination ; we even advanced nearly fifty leagues further by land into the country, till complaints arising in the troop, the Sieur de la
* This distinguished Swedish officer was sent out to Louisiana in 1722, at the head of 250 Germans, by the famous John Law. His sword is still in the hands of his descendants in Louisiana .- Gayarre.
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Harpe, who apprehended a fate similar to La Salle's, resolved to retrace his steps and return to the capital. If, in this expe- dition, we had not the good fortune to discover the emerald rock, which gave it rise, we had the satisfaction of traversing a very beautiful country, fertile plains, vast prairies covered with buffalo, stags, does, deer, turtles, &c. We saw rocks of jaspar marble, at the foot of which lays slabs cut by nature's hand, others of slate and talc, very fit for making plaster. I have no doubt there are gold mines in the country, as we dis- covered a little stream which rolled gold dust in its waters. At some distance from this stream in the Arcanças River itself is a salt spring, though it is nearly three hundred leagues from the sea. With care and labor it would undoubtedly furnish salt.
CHAPTER XV.
THE ILLINOIS FORT.
IT seems almost unnecessary to speak here of this fort, which has been called Fort St. Louis, as a description of it may be found in the Journal of the Sieur Joutel .* Neverthe- less, I deemed it not unnecessary to remark, that since the time when that author passed through, that is, 1687, the ap- pearance of the post has greatly changed. Instead of the then existing fort, of mere logs and palisades, there is now one of stone, well fortified, containing fine barracks and store- houses, with a very convenient house for the commandant. It has a pretty good garrison, many settlers, both French and
* Sce Joutel's Journal in Historical Collections of Louisiana, vol. i., p. 183.
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Canadian, and a large and beautiful church, served by the Reverend Father Jesuits, who, by their zeal for the propaga- tion of the faith, their preaching and good example, have succeeded in converting almost all the Illinois Indians to Christianity. These tribes now, in fact, form but one nation with the Canadians and French, and intermarriages daily take place between them.
The winter here is very severe; the river St. Louis is some- times frozen so hard that you can cross boldly on foot from one side to the other. In 1719, a mining company, com- manded by the Sieur Renault, was sent there to work at the sil- ver and lead mines, and it is certain that some were opened. The enterprise was subsequently abandoned, for what reason we know not. On the whole, they grow as good wheat here as in France, and voyageurs bring down cargoes every year to the capital, where it sells at ten francs a quintal. They also bring excellent hams. Beaver are plenty in that country, and a kind of little water-rat, which, I was told, produced musk, though I would not vouch for it. In 1735, the Sieur Dar- taguette commanded at this post, which is 500 leagues from the capital, and lies in lat. 45 deg. N., long. 276 deg.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE MISSOURI POST.
As it was known that the company in France readily favor- ed any proposition made for the advancement of the colony of Louisiana, an officer represented that it would be advan- tageons to form a post on the river of the Missouris, in the vicinity of an Indian tribe of that name. This project was
-
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approved, he was named commandant of the new post, re- paired to New-Orleans, showed his orders, received three boat- loads of provisions and necessaries for the execution of his plan, and some soldiers, to act first as boatmen, then as garri- son of the fort he was to build. They sailed up in 1720, and on arriving were well received by the Missouris, who gave them a suitable site for the new establishment. A palisade fort was at once thrown up, with a cabin within for the com- mandant and officers, and another for the soldiers' barracks.
All went on peaceably at the new post, where they lived in perfect harmony with the Indians, when the commandant, who had formerly rambled much in those parts, and spoke heir language very well, endeavored to persuade some of them to go with him to France, where he told them he would show them everything fine. At the same time he told a thou- sand wonderful stories of that country, so that by dint of presents and promises he succeeded in getting eleven to follow him, with the great chief's daughter, who was, it was said, his mistress. The voyage being thus decided on, the command- ant embarked in some piraguas with these twelve Indians, and a sergeant named Dubois, leaving his lieutenant in command of his fort and garrison ; then descending the river St. Louis, they landed at New-Orleans, whence, after some days' rest, they embarked for France. No sooner had they arrived than the commandant proceeded with them in all haste to court, where they were presented to the king; thence they were taken to the Bois de Boulogne, where they hunted a stag in their way, that is, by running. In a word, they pleased the court. They then appeared at Paris, and danced Indian dances at the Italian theatre. The girl became a Christian, and was baptized at Notre Dame, after which Sergeant Dubois married her, and in consequence of this alliance was made an
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officer, and commandant of the Missouris. What advantages could not now be expected from the conversion of the great chief's daughter, and her marriage with a Frenchman ! She received presents from all the ladies at court, and from the king himself ; nor were her Indian companions forgotten-they all received fine blue coats, trimmed with gold, and laced hats. In fine, they set out very well satisfied, and repairing to L'Orient, embarked to return home. As for the commandant, who had brought them, he remained in France, where he had just been made a knight of St. Louis, and afterwards married a very rich widow.
The voyage of M. and Mme. Dubois and their suite to America was a very prosperous one; all arrived in good health at New-Orleans, and while they remained there to rest, were supported at the expense of the company, which also furnished them a boat, with soldiers and boatmen, to carry them to their village. On their way they passed to the Natchez, then to the Arcanças, and at last arrived at the Mis- souris. What joy for those Indians to see once more their countrymen, whom they had given up for lost, and see them return rich, and loaded with presents ! On their arrival there were dances and games in all the village. Mme. Dubois re- mained at the fort, and went, from time to time, to visit her family. But, either because she did not love her husband, or that her own people's way of living suited her better than the French, the boats which brought them had scarcely left, when the Indians massacred the Sieur Dubois and butchered the whole garrison, not one escaping; after which Madame Dubois renounced Christianity, and returned to her former mode of life, so that the post no longer exists.
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