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172S .- Bienville returned this year to France, after having passed twenty-nine years in Louisi-
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
ana : he left Perier to succeed him in the super- intendence of the colony.
Louisiana was now in a prosperous condition. Many new settlers had arrived ; agriculture was improving ; and indigo, rice, and tobacco were successfully cultivated. Fig-trees had been brought from Provence, and those of the orange from St. Domingo; and both were seen growing luxuriant- ly on the plantations around New-Orleans. The fig-tree has become completely naturalized; but the orange, though it thrives well and produces fine fruit, is sometimes destroyed by severe win- ters. Land now began to acquire a higher value. The superior council annulled all rights to unoc- * cupied lands which had been granted previous to the year 1723, and enjoined upon all proprietors to show their titles, and declare the quantity of land owned and occupied by them, under penalty of forfeiture. The share allotted to each proprie- tor was twenty-five acres along the river, or as much more as had been actually possessed and improved. Measures were taken for the con- struction of roads and levees, and for the defence of the colony, which at that time could muster only eight hundred soldiers, a force wholly in- sufficient for so extensive a country, surrounded as it was by warlike, and, for the most part, hostile tribes of savages.
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THE ILLINOIS.
CHAPTER VL
Indian Tribes.
WHEN the French commenced their settlements on the Mississippi, they found its banks occupied by different tribes of Indians, of which the prin- cipal were the Illinois, the Chickasaws, the Choc- taws, and the Natchez, all on the eastern side of the river. The Illinois inhabited the country now bearing their name : though their numbers were considerable, they were sparsely scattered over an extensive territory. The region bounded by the Ohio on the north, the Mississippi on the west, on the east by the Cumberland River, and extend- ing south into what is at present the State of Mis- sissippi, was the country of the Chickasaws, the allies of the English, and inveterate enemies of the French. Marquette found them, in his time, already in possession of guns, obtained probably from Virginia. La Salle built a fort, to which he gave the name of Prud'homme, on one of the bluffs bordering on the river within their terri- tory ; but their favourite place of abode was in the upland country which gives rise to the Yazoo
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and the Tombeckbee, and which possesses per- haps the finest climate and most fruitful soil on the Continent ; where the herbage is verdant in mid-winter, and where the bluebird and robin are heard in February ; where springs of the purest water bubble up through the white sand, and flow through natural bowers of evergreen holly; and where, if the earth be but sufficiently scratched to cover the kernels of maize, an abundant crop succeeds. No wonder that the occupants of this pleasant and fruitful region, savage as they were, should have highly prized it, and exerted all their courage in its defence.
Below the Chickasaws, between the Mississippi and the Tombeckbee, was the land of the Choc- taws, who, on their eastern frontier, were collect- ed .in villages, but were fewer in numbers and more widely scattered throughout the rest of their territory. Their country was favourable to till- age, the soil being fertile, and the surface level or gently undulating ; and they were more of ag- riculturists than any of the North American tribes, subsisting chiefly upon corn, and depending but little on the chase. They were a formidable na- tion, and could bring four thousand warriors into the field. They spoke a dialect of the Mobilian, the prevalent language of the Southern Indians,
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ACCOUNT OF THE NATCHEZ.
closely resembling that of the Chickasaws. Their customs are also similar to those of the latter. They were faithful in their friendship to the French, though they resolutely maintained their independence.
Of the Natchez, whose settlements were south of the Choctaws, and who dwelt in villages, the most important of which were situated on the banks of the Mississippi, tradition related the most singular stories. It was believed they had emi- grated from Mexico, and were kindred to the Incas of Peru ; and it was likewise said that they differed not only in language, but in their policy and customs, from the surrounding Indian nations, and that they were much farther advanced in civilization. This last supposition, however, has been shown to be wholly groundless, and that they were in no respect superior to their neighbours in the rude arts of savage life. Still it is certain that their language was entirely different from that of the other nations, as were also many of their customs. Although by all the Indian tribes religious ceremonies are observed, and the belief in a future state (everywhere imprinted on the heart of man) is universal among them, the Natch- ez alone had a consecrated place of worship, or temple. It was but a simple hut, to be sure, without a window, with a low and narrow open-
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ing on the side for the only entrance ; but here were preserved the most valued fetiches of the tribe, some of which were moulded from clay and baked in the sun; here, too, were gathered the bones of the dead, and on the surrounding pali- sades were suspended their horrid trophies, the scalps taken from their enemies. A perpetual fire was kept up by appointed guardians ; and when, in one of the awful storms common to those regions, the lightning had set fire to the sacred edifice, terror-stricken mothers, like the votaries of Baal, cast their infants into the flames to ap- pease the fury of the unknown power.
Near the temple, on an artificial mound, stood the hut of their chief, called the Great Sun, who was supposed to be descended from that lumi- nary, and all around were grouped the cabins of the tribe. Nowhere was the power of the chief- tain so despotic. The dignity was hereditary, and transmitted exclusively through the female line; and the race of nobles was so distinct that usage had moulded language into forms of rever- ence. In other respects there was among them no greater civilization than among the Choc- taws; and, allowing something for difference of climate, their manners differed but little from those of the more northern races.
Among the less considerable tribes, the Pumas
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INDIAN TRIBES.
occupied the territory of Baton Rouge and of the two Felicianas; between the Amite and the Fangipao lived the tribe of the latter name ; and more towards the east were the Colapipas, who numbered three hundred warriors. The Baya- goulas extended from the Iberville as far as New-Orleans, the site of which was then occu- pied by the Chapitoulas; and on the opposite bank were the Mongoulachas. On the Terre au Bœufs, at the English Turn, was the principal seat of the Chonachas, who claimed all the left bank of the river. The right belonged to the Onachas, whose name is still retained by a lake situated north of the Bay of Barrataria. The Chetimachas erected their huts on the banks of the River La Fourche, which at first bore their name. In the territory of the Attakapas lived the tribe of that name, which signifies eaters of men. At Pointe Coupée were the Tunicas, and at the mouth of Red River the Avoyellas. Natchitoches was occupied by the tribe of the same name; and west of Lake Bistineau were the Caddos, or Caddodaquis. The Dulcinos, On- chouis, and Yatapis were encamped between the Onachita and Red River, and the Onachitas and Tensas wandered along the banks of these two streams.
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These different tribes, which had, perhaps, been once powerful, were reduced to but a small number at the time the country was settled by the French. Some could muster no more than fifty warriors, and the most important scarcely five hundred. Neither horses, sheep, poultry, nor bees were found among them. The Atta- kapas alone possessed a few domestic fowls, saved from a shipwrecked vessel. They raised a small quantity of maize, sweet potatoes, and beans. Instead of tobacco they smoked the papona (the leaf of a thorny shrub common in Louisiana). Their huts were open; and, being thatched with leaves, were easily set on fire with burning arrows. Thus an enemy, surprising one of these villages in the night, could suddenly in- volve it in one wide conflagration, and, without opposition, destroy all its occupants. La Salle found on the banks of the Mississippi the ruins of an Indian village, its cabins all burned, and the wretched inhabitants massacred. They were continually at war with cach other; and to this is to be ascribed the smallness of their numbers. The Indian mounds and fortifications, which have so long excited curiosity and exercised con- jecture, have been supposed to indicate the exist- ence of a race of people not only much more
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INDIAN MOUNDS.
ancient, but also much more highly civilized than any found by the first discoverers. But a careful examination of these remains has proved that there was little more skill employed in their construction than is possessed by the Indians of the present day. Judging from the extent and number of their works, they must, however, have been a numerous people, whose principal habita- tions seem to have been in the central parts of the Valley of the Mississippi, in Ohio, Georgia, and Florida. Few traces of these ruins are found north or east of the great lakes, or east of the Alleghany Range. The most remarkable of these is a regular fortification in the interior of the State of Ohio, consisting of two circular ram- parts, connected with a square of the same con- struction, the gateways of which are perfectly distinct, though now overgrown with trees. At Circleville, on Paint Creek, on the east side of the Muskingum, and near Cincinnati, there are also extensive remains. Nearly opposite to St. Louis, also, there are several Indian mounds, among which the Big Mound of Cahokia is con- sidered the largest yet discovered. The circum- ference of its base is stated to be one hundred and eighty feet, and its height ninety. Several of the smaller mounds have been opened, and
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
found to contain human bones, coarse pottery, . and rude weapons and ornaments. On one of these large mounds a number of refugee monks, of the order of La Trappe, found a retreat for some years, during the troubles of their native land, and left to, the eminence the name of Monks' Mound. All researches have as yet failed in discovering who this lost people could have been.
At first the Indians observed with tranquil cu- riosity the adventurers who had come to their shores. The idea of contending with them for land, of which they knew not the limits or value, did not enter their minds. The forests abounded with game, furnishing both clothing and food ; the rivers with fish; and in all these their new guests were at liberty to share. They supposed the strangers must have come from some coun- try deficient in all such necessaries, and that they had braved the dangers of the ocean in quest of them. But when they found themselves driven from their accustomed hunting-grounds, saw the game grow scarce, and found their little planta- tions encroached upon, they began to look upon the intruders with an evil eye. Notwithstanding the general kindness with which the French treat- ed them, among such a motley multitude acts of
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INDIANS JEALOUS OF THE FRENCH.
injustice and tyranny could not but occur ; while the natural inclination of the Indians for war, fos- tered by their continual quarrels among them- selves, joined to their vindictive spirit, disposed them bitterly to revenge every aggression of the strangers. In vain the more enlightened of the French commanders endeavoured to preserve peace. In vain the missionaries tried to soften the character of the natives by instructing them in the useful arts. On the slightest pretence, they. abandoned their peaceful occupations to engage in war with the foreign intruders or with each other.
The Natchez were the first to commence hos- tilities. Their chiefs had viewed with jealousy the settlement of the French, whose proximity, numbers, and courage rendered them formidable neighbours. The progress of these wars, which were carried on with the most determined perse- verance, will be related hereafter.
The Mongoulachas having destroyed a village of the Bayagoulas, the latter revenged them- selves by exterminating their enemies to a man. Some time after this, the Tensas, being driven from their homes by the Yazoos, took refuge among the Bayagoulas, and were received by them as brothers. But, as a reward for this hos-
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pitality, they arose in the night and murdered their hosts.
The Tunicas had robbed two English traders ; and the Alibamons and Chickasaws, who had been employed to revenge this act, drove them from their camp. They fled to the Oumas for protection, and were treated by them with the utmost kindness, which they treacherously repaid by killing or making prisoners of as many of their benefactors as was in their power; and the Ou- , mas who escaped sought refuge on the shores of the Bayou St. John.
The Chickasaws, in a time of profound peace, fell suddenly on the Choctaws, carried off a great number of them prisoners, and sold them for slaves in Carolina. About thirty individuals, men, women, and children, belonging to the of- fending nation, were encamped around the fort of Mobile. To return to their homes they had to pass through the country of the Choctaws, and, dreading their vengeance, they asked of Bienville an escort for their protection, which he thought proper to grant. St. Denis, with twen- ty Canadians, was employed in this service. As they approached the nearest village of the Choc- taws, this officer, advancing alone, requested of the Indians a free passage through their territo-
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MASSACRE OF THE CHICKASAWS.
ry for himself and the people under his charge. This they consented to allow, on the condition of being permitted to reproach the Chickasaws with the treachery of their nation. The latter, with arms in their hands, stood in an open plain, and were soon surrounded by the Choctaw chiefs, attended by about three hundred war- riors. An old sachem, holding the calumet in his hand, after giving full scope to his indigna- tion, concluded by saying that the French pro- tected their enemies only because they were ig- norant of the crimes of which they had been guilty, and that the Chickasaws then present de- served death, as a just retribution for the treach- ery of their tribe. He then threw down the cal- umet, the Choctaws drew their bows, and most of the Chickasaw warriors fell dead. The sur- vivers made a vain attempt at resistance, but none except the women and children were spared. St. Denis received a wound as he was endeavouring to restore peace. A large body of the Choctaws conducted the French in safety to Mobile, to express their regret at this unfortu- nate occurrence.
These instances show the vindictive spirit of the Indians, and the persevering, though gener- ally unavailing, efforts of the French to preserve harmony among them.
الفلس بلد
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
At last, however, the French succeeded in ac- complishing their object : they effected a peace among the tribes of the Valley of the Mississippi, which lasted for twelve years. It was then in- terrupted by the English ; and after the conquest of Canada by the latter, there was no possibility of restoring it. These two European nations were guided by very different principles. The English colonists sought to possess themselves of the land; the French were principally anxious to secure the fur-trade. This alone will account for the prosperity of the former, and the ruin of the latter. The French desired to promote peace ; the English, continual wars, which should involve the destruction of the Indians. With their views, the French frequently intermarried among the Indians : a connexion always repugnant to the other nation .. There is but a single marriage of this kind recorded of the English colonists, that of Rolfe with Pocahontas. In the early periods of their settlements, the English paid but little attention to religion or morality in their inter- , course with the Indians ; while the French mis- sionaries, prompted by religious zeal, were inde- fatigable in their efforts to win them to their faith. But, although the English might better have imitated the kindness, good temper, and
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HOSTILITY OF CHICKASAWS AND NATCHEZ. 85
social qualities of their rivals, it may be thought that these qualities were often carried by the lat- ter too far; and that the French traders, instead of raising the Indian character, often sunk to its level themselves.
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· CHAPTER VIL
War of the Natchez.
1729 .- THE Chickasaws and Natchez had for some time watched the French with a jealous eye, when the erection of Fort Rosalie greatly inflamed their hostile feelings. They manifested so much dissatisfaction on the occasion, that Pe-" rier, the successor of Bienville in the government of Louisiana, deemed it expedient to solicit as- sistance from the Western Company. This, how- ever, was refused, and the situation of the colony became daily more critical, the two tribes already mentioned having succeeded in drawing all the neighbouring nations into a confederacy against the French, with the exception of the Illinois, the Arkansas, and the Tensas, whose fidelity remain- ed unshaken. At a concerted signal, they were
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
to make a general attack, and massacre all the colonists. But the French having prevailed in detaching the Choctaws from the league, the Chickasaws concluded to defer the attack to a more favourable opportunity. The Natchez, however, having, in the course of this year, been treated with the greatest injustice by the com- mandant of Fort Rosalie, the smothered flame burst forth, and threatened not only the safety of the fort, but the existence of the whole colony.
* This commandant, whose name was Chepar, wishing to form an extensive agricultural estab- lishment, could not find any place so suitable for the purpose as the village of La Pomme, belong- ing to the Natchez. Instead of endeavouring to get possession of it by negotiation, he sent for the chief of the place, and ordered him immediately to evacuate it. In vain did the Indian seek to divert him from his purpose. . " When," said he, "you and your brothers came here to ask us for land, we did not refuse it; there was enough for you and for us : we might have hunted in the same forests, and been buried in the same place. Why .will you drive us from the cabins where we have received you with kindness, and smoked with you the calumet of peace ?"
But this simple and affecting expostulation
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INDIANS CONSPIRE AGAINST THE FRENCH. 87 .
was of no avail. The inexorable commandant persisted in his brutal purpose. All that could be obtained from him was permission for the Indians to remain until after their harvest had been gathered in; and even for this small indul- gence he demanded a tribute of corn. The Natchez vowed a payment of blood. They as- sembled their chiefs, and resolved on the destruc- tion of the French; and, not satisfied with the death of the offenders, they determined to exter- minate the whole race of strangers. The neigh- bouring chiefs all entered into the combination : a bundle of reeds was sent to each ; and, begin- ning from the next new moon, one was daily to be withdrawn from the heap, and the last to be the signal for the attack.
The conspiracy was disconcerted by the wife of a chief. Whether moved by pity or love is not known; but she determined to save the French, and for that purpose managed to sub- tract a few reeds from several of the bundles. Some rumours of the intended plot reached the ears of the French, and the commandant was se- cretly informed of it. But the infatuated man refused to believe he had any reason to fear the vengeance of those whom his barbarity had so justly enraged: he accused the officers who
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
brought him the intelligence of cowardice, and even ordered some of them to be arrested.
On the 28th of November the Indians pre- sented themselves before the fortress, each bearing a portion of the tribute of corn. They were al- lowed to enter without the least precaution. Some crowded to the residence of the command- ant, others to the dwellings of the officers, while the rest surrounded the fort. " The signal was . given, the tomahawk raised, and the massacre began. The soldiers, surprised and thrown into confasion, were easily slaughtered. All the men in the fort were put to death, except a carpenter, a tailor, and a few negroes, who, with the women, eighty in number, were carried away captive; also one hundred and fifty children, though many of the infants were killed because their cries disturbed the victors. The negroes submitted without the least resistance ; most of them, indeed, having been drawn into the con- spiracy under a promise of liberty, and that they should be given the wives of their masters. Che- par met the fate his tyranny deserved, being consigned to an ignominious death at the hands of the squaws.
A similar scene of carnage was at the same time enacted among the Yazoos, where a French
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MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH.
fort was likewise surprised, and its occupants all put to death. The destruction, indeed, would have had a much wider range, had not the strat- agem of the Indian woman hastened the time of the rising. Several tribes, finding themselves left out, and supposing they were betrayed, remain- ed inactive, in the belief that the French were on their guard. Meanwhile, at New-Orleans a con- spiracy was discovered among the blacks, which in all probability was connected with the rising of the Natchez.
The news of this dreadful tragedy filled the population of New-Orleans with horror and rage. Below the town, near the English Turn, there was a village of the Chonchas; and they being sus- pected of having an understanding with the Natchez, the negroes were commanded to put them all to death, which they did with every re- finement of cruelty. ,
1730 .- Perier determined to avenge the mas- sacre at Rosalie, but his own forces were insuf- ficient to allow of his attempting it alone. He determined, therefore, to accept the alliance of the Choctaws, though he could not but consider the sincerity of their professions as extremely doubtful, notwithstanding that they gave him the strongest assurances of their good faith. They H 2
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had been a party to the conspiracy ; but, consid- ering themselves deceived by the Natchez, who had not waited for them to commence hostilities, and had retained to themselves all the spoils of their victory, they vowed revenge against them, and used their utmost efforts to persuade, the French that their alliance with their enemies had · been merely a feint, and that they had kept it secret only that they might the more effectually throw them into their power.
The Natchez, after destroying Fort Rosalie, had with its materials constructed a new fort in another situation. Twelve hundred Choctaws, commanded by Lejeuer, advanced against it. They attacked the enemy so vigorously that they killed eighty of their warriors, losing themselves only two men; recovered fifty of the women and children, the two mechanics, and a hundred and six negroes. The Natchez would have been completely destroyed at this first onset if the Choctaws had waited for the arrival of a corps of Louisianians, who were advancing under the orders of Loubois.
This corps, consisting of twelve hundred men, and comprising all the disposable force of the colony, was encumbered with cannon, which were entirely useless, as there were none of them .
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DEFEAT OF THE NATCHEZ.
who knew how to manage them. Five hundred Chetimachas, Oumas, and Tunicas followed them. They found the Natchez intrenched in a strong position, where they vigorously defended them- selves for several days against the fiercest at- tacks." At length, however, they offered to ca- pitulate, promising to restore all their prisoners, but threatening to put them to death if their pro- posals were rejected. To avoid this catastrophe, Loubois consented ; but, as soon as he had the women, the children, and the negroes in his pos- session, he erected a fort near theirs to overawe them. But the Natchez, taking advantage of a dark night, suddenly decamped; part of them took refuge with the Chickasaws, and the rest, crossing the river, escaped into the depths of the forest.
Scarcely had the colony recovered its tranquil- lity, when information was received that the Chickasaws were again plotting against them, and that the Natchez had become more audacious than ever, as though the chastisement they had received had been just sufficient to irritate them. In this emergency, Perier thought it advisable to renew his alliance with the Choctaws, whose intentions were the more doubtful, as the English were then tampering with them. But it was ne-
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