USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, the Spanish domination > Part 13
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"3º To encourage the commerce of the province to the ports of the Peninsula to which it is allowed, per- mission is given to export from New Orleans and Pen- sacola any species of merchandise directly imported there from Spain, to be landed in any port within the king's American dominions to which trade is allowed, paying only the duty with which such merchandise would have been charged on its exportation from the Peninsula, according to the regulations of the 12th of October, 1778; but the exportation of foreign merchan- dise imported in Louisiana is forbidden.
" 4° An exemption from duty is granted, during the same period, on negroes imported into Louisiana or West Florida, and permission is given to procure them in the colonies of neutral or allied powers, in exchange for pro- duce or specie, paying only, for such produce and specie, the duties mentioned in the 7th article. .
"5° In order that the colonists may fully enjoy the favors and privileges now granted, they are permitted during the term of two years, to be computed from the proclamation of peace in New Orleans, to purchase foreign vessels free from duty, and such vessels are to be considered as Spanish bottoms.
"6° The exportation of pipe and barrel staves from Louisiana to Spain is permitted free from duty.
" 7º It being just that commerce should contribute to the charges of the colony and to the expenses it occasions, a duty of six per cent. is laid on all merchandise exported
156
FATHER CIRILO MADE A BISHOP.
from, and imported by the king's subjects, in the Penin- sula, Louisiana, and West Florida, according to a mode- rate assessment.
" 8° Custom-houses are to be established in New Or- leans and Pensacola."
Galvez, whose enlightened mind had not been slow in discovering what would soon have converted Louisiana into a populous and wealthy colony, had recommended that it be granted the privilege of free trade with all the ports of Europe and America." But neither the Court of Madrid, nor the spirit of the age, was disposed to go so far.
The conquest of Pensacola by the Governor of Loui- siana was fully rewarded. He was promoted to the grade of Lieutenant-General, was decorated with the cross of knight pensioner of the royal and distinguished order of Charles III., was made a Count, and received the commission of Captain-general of the provinces of Louisiana and Florida.
Another individual, who had made himself conspicuous in a different field, under Unzaga's administration, was also promoted, about the same time. That was father Cirilo, the former antagonist and reviler of father Dago- bert. He was created a bishop in partibus infidelium, for the see of the town of Tricali in Greece. But he was appointed co-adjutor to his former patron, Don Jose Este- cheveria, who still occupied the see of Cuba, and he was directed to exercise his episcopal functionst in Louisiana.
A simultaneous attack of the French and Spaniards having been planned against the island of Jamaica, Gal- vez sailed for St. Domingo, where the combined forces were to assemble, and where he was to take the com- mand of those of Spain. On his departure, he intrusted
* Villars' despatch of the 20th of May, 1781.
+ Martin's History, vol. ii., p. 68.
157
TREATY BETWEEN SPAIN AND OTHER POWERS.
provisionally, the government of Louisiana to Colonel Mirò.
But the preliminary articles of peace between Great Britain, France, and Spain, were signed at Paris on the 20th of January, 1783, and the definitive treaties between Great Britain, the United States and Spain, were signed at the same city, on the 3d of September of the same year. By this treaty, Spain gained the provinces of West and East Florida, which were ceded to her by Great Britain.
By the same treaty,* Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States, and recognized, as their southern boundary, a line to be drawn due east from a point in the river Mississippi, in the latitude of 31 degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola, or Cataouche; thence, along the middle thereof to its junction with Flint River ; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's River ; and thence down along the middle of St. Mary's river to the Atlantic ocean. This line became the dividing one between the possessions of Spain and the United States.
By the 8th article of the treaty, the navigation of the Mississippi, from its source to its mouth, was expressly declared to remain for ever free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and to the citizens of the United States. This stipulation was destined to give rise to endless discussions between the two former allies, Spain and the United States-involving the future destinies of Louisiana.
On the 1st of January, 1784, M'Gillivray, a half-breed Indian, who was one of the most influential chiefs of the Talapouches, wrote to Arthur O'Neil, the Spanish gover- nor of Pensacola, to propose a treaty of alliance and
* Martin's History, vol. ii., p. 72.
158
M'GILLIVRAY, THE HALF-BREED INDIAN.
commerce with the Spaniards. He consequently repre- sented in glowing colors the advantages which Spain would derive from it, and, what is curious, he hints at a scheme which was subsequently adopted by the Court of Madrid, and which was, to separate the Western territories from the rest of the United States.
" Having been informed a few days ago," said he, " by a letter received from St. Augustine, that the definitive treaty of peace between their Catholic and Britannic . Majesties was ratified in Paris on the 3rd of September last, I take the liberty to congratulate with you on this fortunate event. As this treaty confirms Spain in the possession of both the Floridas, I solicit, in the name of the Talapouche nation, the beneficent protection of his Catholic Majesty for our persons, and for the land which we claim, and of which we are in actual possession. If the fortune of war has compelled his Britannic Majesty to withdraw from us his protection, nevertheless he had no right to transfer us away, with our property, to any power whatever against our will and inclination.
" Certainly, as a free people, we have the right to choose our protector, and we do not see any one who answers our purposes better than the Sovereign of the two Floridas. I will therefore lay before you a few reasons to demonstrate, that it would be sound policy on the part of Spain to grant us what we desire.
" Since the publication of the general treaty of peace, the American Congress has brought to light a situation of its affairs, showing the debts and revenues of the con- federacy. By this statement it appears, that the debts contracted in Europe and America are estimated at more than forty-two millions of dollars, the interest of which is about two millions and a half. The Court of Versailles has urged upon the American Congress the necessity of paying the interest of the money due to
159
HIS PROPOSITIONS AND DISCLOSURES TO SPAIN.
France. In order to raise the necessary funds to meet these claims, the Congress has imposed duties, taxes and contributions, striking alike the Thirteen United States. This expedient has produced so unfavorable an impres- sion, that a good many of their citizens, in order to escape from the burden of taxation, have abandoned their dwellings for the woods,* and have marched towards the Mississippi, in order to unite with a certain number of disbanded soldiers, who are anxious to possess themselves of a considerable portion of the territory watered by this river, and they propose establishing what they call the Western Independence, and throwing aside the authority of the American congress. The emigrants are so numerous that, in a short time, it is possible that they may find themselves strong enough to carry into execution their scheme of separation ; and, if they once form settlements on the Mississippi, it will re- quire much time, trouble and expense to dislodge them.
" I can assure you that the Americans in the South employ every means in their power to enlist the feelings of the Talapouches on their behalf, and to secure the support of this nation. Should they succeed, the result of their influence will be, that the Indians, instead of remaining the friends of Spain, will become very dan- gerous neighbors, and will assist the Americans in all the designs which they may form against Pensacola, Mobile, or any part of the adjacent Spanish dominions ; and of all these things the Americans speak openly. I will now communicate my views as to the best course to be pursued to frustrate their designs." The course which he advocated was, in substance, to grant to the Tala-
* Buscando nueva morada en los bosques, dirigiendo principalmente su viaje al Mississippi para unirse con porcion de vagos soldados que desean poseer gran parte de las tierras de este rio, y piensan establecer lo que ellos llaman, la inde- pendencia occidental, fuera de la autoridad del congreso.
160
A CONGRESS OF THE INDIAN NATIONS.
pouches as many commercial advantages and other privileges as could be bestowed upon them.
Feeling how important it was to conciliate all the Indian nations, whose hostility or friendship was so inti- mately connected with the prosperity and safety of Louisiana, the Spaniards invited them to meet in what they called a congress, at Pensacola and Mobile, and it was resolved, in order to give more solemnity to the occasion, that this congress should be attended by the governor ad interim, Estevan Mirò, by the intendant Navarro, and by Arthur O'Neil, the commander of Pensacola.
On the 30th of May, 1784, the Indian congress was opened with great pomp and the usual ceremonies. The customary presents, with medals and other decorations, were given, and a treaty of alliance and commerce was sealed, much to the satisfaction of the parties. On the 6th of June, a liberal distribution of brandy, powder and every sort of ammunition was made, and after much feasting, McGillivray was dismissed with his Talapouches, who were delighted with their reception by the Span- iards. He had been appointed commissary-general of all the Talapouche tribes, with a monthly salary which was not to be less than fifty dollars.
.
On the 22d of the same month, Mirò presided, at Mobile, over another congress which was composed of the Chickasaws, the Alabamas, the Choctaws and the other smaller nations, who all came with their wives, and children. This vast concourse of people was magnifi- cently entertained at the expense of the Spanish govern- ment. Rich gifts were showered plentifully, chiefs cajoled-and finally, the same ceremonies which had been gone through at Pensacola, were reenacted at Mobile, only on a larger scale, and the same treaties of alliance and commerce were sworn to and signed.
161
TREATY OF SPAIN WITH THE INDIANS.
The 6th article of the treaty with the Talapouches, which was also inserted in all the treaties with the other nations, redounds much to the glory of Spain, on the score of humanity, for which, unjustly no doubt, she is not generally given much credit. This article deserves to be quoted, and reads as follows:
"In conformity* with the humanity and the generous sentiments cherished by the Spanish nation, we (the Indians) renounce for ever the custom of raising scalps, and of making slaves of our white captives; and, in case of our taking any prisoners in consequence of the break- ing out of any sudden war against the enemies of his Catholic Majesty, we bind ourselves to treat those pri- soners with the kindness to which they are entitled, in imitation of the usages of civilized nations, reserving to ourselves the privilege of exchanging them against an equal number of Indians, or of receiving for them the quantity of goods which may be previously agreed upon, without making the slightest attempt against the lives of those captives."
By the last article of the treaty, it was stipulated in the name of the king, that he confirmed the Indian na- tions in the possession of the lands which they owned within his dominions, and that, in case they should be deprived of them by any of his enemies, he should then, in consequence of the love which he entertained for his Indian allies, grant them elsewhere, in some of the terri- tories belonging to him, and as an equivalent for their
* En obsequio de la humanidad, y correspondiendo á los generosos sentimi- entos de la nacion Española, renunciamos pará siempre la practica de levantar ca- belleras, ni hacer esclavos á los blancos. Y en caso de que una inopinada guerra contra los enemigos de su Majestad Catolica nos ponga en el caso de hacer algun prisionero, lo trataremos con la hospitalidad que corresponde, á imitacion de las naciones civilizadas, cangeando lo despues con igual numero de Indios, ó recibi- endo en su lugar la cantidad de generos, que privamente se stipulare, sin come- ter con ninguno de los expresados prisioneros de guerra el menor atentado á su vida.
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162
REGULATIONS FOR THE INDIAN TRADE.
loss, the same extent of lands, presenting equal advan- tages.
In order to avoid all future discussions, and to prevent deceit as much as possible, a minute tariff was agreed upon, in relation to the price and quality of every articlo which they were to be furnished with, and for which they were to give in return a certain quantity of peltries. The most stringent regulations were also made by the Spanish Governor, to protect the Indians against the malpractices of the traders, who were to be permitted to introduce their merchandise in their villages. These regulations began with this declaration as a preamble : " The trade with the Indian nations is to be conducted on principles of good faith and equity; and those that engage in it shall take care so to demean themselves as to secure, by all the means in their power, the attainment of so important an object, without availing themselves, to avoid these obligations, of the despicable subterfuges of fraud and deceit."
A contract was passed, on the 24th of July, between the Spanish government and James Mather, a resident and merchant of New Orleans, by which this individual bound himself, on certain conditions, to employ two ves- sels to import all the goods and merchandise wanted for the Indian trade. These two vessels were to navigate under the Spanish flag, and one was to land its cargoes at Pensacola, the other at Mobile. Mather had reserved to himself the privilege of sending his vessels for the supplies he was to procure, either to the Dutch, Danish, or English islands, in America, or to one of the European ports belonging to these three nations. His return car- goes from Pensacola and Mobile were to consist of the productions of the colony.
The fortitude of the inhabitants of Louisiana, to whom the Intendant Navarro, in his circular of the 29th of
163
EXTRAORDINARY SEVERITY OF THE WINTER OF 1784.
August, 1780, had recommended the patience of Job, was put to another trial by the prodigious rigor of the winter of 1784. The months of July and August of the preceding year had been so cool, that the colonists, to their great amazement, had to resort to their winter clothing. White frosts made their appearance in the beginning of September, and continued to be frequent to the 15th of November (1783) when the cold became intense .* There was a constant succession of squalls, and the wind blew with unheard of violence, from the north and north-east, and then from the south, going almost through the whole round of the compass. With rapid transition, the keen northern blast froze the ground, and the warm breath of the southern breeze brought back the genial temperature of the spring. The varia- tions of the weather were such, that, several times, in six hours, Reaumur's thermometer fell from twenty degrees above the freezing point to two and three degrees below it, in a closed room where fire was kept up. On the 13th of February, 1784, the whole bed of the river, in front of New Orleans, was filled up with fragments of ice, the size of most of which was from twelve to thirty feet, with a thickness of two to three. This mass of ice was so compact, that it formed a field of four hundred yards in width, so that all communication was interrupted for five days between the two banks of the Mississippi. On the 19th, these lumps of ice were no longer to be seen. " The rapidity of the current being then at the rate of two thousand and four hundred yards an hour," says Villars, " and the drifting of the ice by New Orleans having taken five days, it follows that it must have occupied in length a space of about one hundred and twenty miles. These floating masses of ice were met by ships in the 28th degree of latitude." * Villars' despatch, 25th of February, 1784.
164
GALVEZ, VICEROY OF MEXICO.
Another cause of distress for the poor colonists was the depreciation of the royal paper money, which had been issued at par to meet the expenses of the war, and which had fallen down fifty per cent. of its original value. As if this was not enough, commerce was crippled by a decree of the Court of Spain, which was published in New Orleans, in the beginning of September, and which prohibited foreign vessels from entering the river under any pretext whatever, either stress of weather, or want of provisions, &c. The administration of the colony considered this decree as being a revocation of the sche- dule of 1776, in relation to the French Islands, and wrote to Spain to obtain further instructions as to the manner of carrying the new decree into execution.
In the beginning of the year, 1785, Galvez was ap- pointed Captain-general of the island of Cuba, of the province of Louisiana, and of the two Floridas. But, on the death of his father, in the summer, he succeeded him in the viceroyalty of Mexico, and was allowed the privi- lege of retaining the captain-generalship of Louisiana and the Floridas.
Galvez was one of the most popular viceroys that Mexico ever had. He governed that extensive country nine years, with all the powers of absolute and despotic sovereignty ; and his administration was so mild, so just and so enlightened, that he became the idol of the people. He had that nobleness of mien, that graceful- ness of manner, that dignified, and, at the same time, easy affability for high and low, which, in persons of his rank, never fail to win the heart. He was a man of profuse magnificence in his habits, and the gorgeous displays which he used to make on public occasions, were much to the taste of all classes of the population.
Then, as I said, the Duke, great Bolingbroke-
Mounted upon a hot and fiery steed,
165
THE CHARACTER OF GALVEZ.
Which his aspiring rider seemed to know- With slow, but stately pace, kept on his course, While all tongues cried-God save thee, Bolingbroke ! You would have thought the very windows spake, So many greedy looks of young and old Through casements darted their desiring eyes Upon his visage; and that all the walls, With painted imag'ry, had said at once- Jesu preserve thee! Welcome, Bolingbroke! Whilst he, from one side to the other turning, Bare-headed, lower than his proud steed's neck, Bespake them thus-I thank you, countrymen : And thus still doing, thus he passed along.
His wife, who was a native of Louisiana, was of sur- passing loveliness, and as charitable, gracious and intel- ligent as she was beautiful. She was literally adored by the Mexicans and Spaniards, and she greatly contributed to her husband's popularity.
Galvez had caused to be constructed, at a short dis- tance from his capital, for himself and his successors, as he pretended, on the rock of Chapultepec, which has since become famous in the war of the United States against Mexico, a superb country seat, which had cost him immense sums. Surrounded by large and deep ditches, flanked with strong bastions well supplied with artillery on the side looking towards Mexico, and pro- tected on the northern side by an immense forest, this edifice, whatever might be the name and the disguise given to it, looked more like a fortress than a peaceful seat of rural enjoyment. Immense subterraneous vaults, filled with provisions to last many months, and many underground ways, communicated from the castle both with the city and the forest. This pretended country seat was, in fact, an impregnable fortification, and as it could not be intended by Galvez against the people, whose idol he was, and to whom it would have been impolitic, under such circumstances, to show any distrust, it became an object of wondering comments, hints and
166
DEATH OF GALVEZ.
insinuations. It was even rumored that Galvez, who was the son of a viceroy, and who had succeeded his father in the same capacity, as it were by the regular laws of legitimate succession, was not disposed to relin- quish, at the caprice of his sovereign, the power which he considered to be an hereditary heir-loom in his family, and that he was secretly aiming at occupying the throne of Mexico, not as the representative of the king of Spain, but in his own right. It is said that, owing to these vague and probably calumnious whisperings, the Court of Madrid was preparing to recall Galvez, when, in con- sequence of too much exposure and fatigue in hunting, he died in August, 1794. He was then in the full meridian of life, being only thirty-eight years old. His death was felt to be a great public calamity, and was deplored as such by the whole population of the king- dom of Mexico.
CHAPTER IV.
MIRÒ'S ADMINISTRATION.
1785 to 1789.
GALVEZ was succeeded ad interim by Mirò, and Don Pedro Piernas took the place of Mirò as colonel of the regiment of Louisiana.
One of the first measures of Mirò's administration was one of charity. It is remarkable that leprosy, which is now so rare a disease, was then not an uncommon afflic- tion in Louisiana. Those who were attacked with this loathsome infirmity generally congregated about New Orleans, where they obtained more abundant alms than in any other part of the colony. They naturally were objects of disgust and fear, and the unrestrained inter- course which they were permitted to have with the rest of the population was calculated to propagate the dis- temper. Ulloa had attempted to stop this evil, by confining some of the lepers at the Balize, but this measure had created great discontent and had been abandoned. Mirò now determined to act with more efficacy in this matter, and, on his recommendation, the cabildo, or council, caused a hospital to be erected for the reception of these unfortunate beings, in the rear of the city, on a ridge of land lying between the river Mississippi and bayou St. John. The ground they occu- pied was long known and designated under the appella- tion of La terre des Lépreux, or Lepers' Land. In the course of a few years, the number of these patients
168
WHAT IS A JUEZ DE RESIDENCIA ?
gradually diminished, either by death or transportation, the disease disappeared almost entirely, the hospital went into decay, and Lepers' Land remained for a con- siderable length of time a wild looking spot, covered with brambles, briers, weeds, and a luxurious growth of palmettoes. It is, in our days, a part of suburb Trémé, and is embellished with houses and all the appliances of civilization.
Hardly had Mirò entered upon the duties of his office, when he was instructed to inquire into the official acts of one of his predecessors, Governor Unzaga, and to report thereon to his government. When an individual is called upon to discharge these functions, he receives the commission of what is termed in Spanish jurispru- dence, A Juez de Residencia, or a Judge of Residence. According to the laws of Spain, this inquiry takes place into the official conduct of public functionaries, when they are removed by death or any other cause. It is made at the most important part of the district in which the late officer exercised his jurisdiction; and from the decision of the Judge of Residence there lies an appeal to the Council of the Indies. This law never had the salutary effects which were intended. The object of the legislator was apparent. Power, he thought, is liable to abuse, and great power is vested in all the officers of the Spanish monarchy, within the sphere, high or low, in which each is called to act. Let him know, therefore, that, as soon as he is stript of the power intrusted to his hands, there shall be a thorough investigation of all his acts, private or public; that every one shall have the right and the opportunity to accuse him fearlessly, even from malice, caprice, or envy; let him know that, whilst he is in the discharge of his functions, he is surrounded by the observing vigilance of a whole population, from the ranks of which numerous accusers and witnesses.
169
WHAT IS A JUEZ DE RESIDENCIA ?
when he is rendered powerless, may start up to impugn his motives, to blacken his character, to arraign his acts, to bring into broad daylight every circumstance of his life, and to drag him like a culprit before the seat of Justice. This, no doubt, must be an effectual safeguard against his partiality, his cupidity, and his other passions. So schemed theory; but practice told a very different tale. The Judge of Residence could be bribed, intimi- dated, or otherwise influenced. If not, he found his inquiries generally baffled by the combined efforts of those who ought to have afforded him assistance. There is a sort of free-masonry and sympathetic alliance be- tween all persons in office, which makes them opposed to seeing any one of them subjected to censure. They may quarrel together, but an esprit de corps will unite them against any censor that will presume to sit in judgment over any one of them. Thus, when a Spanish functionary went out of office, the Judge of Residence soon discovered that he was opposed by a league of all the other officers of the district in which had officiated the late incumbent, against whom no accuser presented himself, from the fear of having to struggle against the friends he had left behind him, or might have at court, from the unwillingness to incur the displeasure, or excite the suspicions of the other functionaries, and from many other considerations. Besides, not unfrequently, the officer, whose conduct was to be investigated, had been promoted to a more important office, and, although he might have been sent away to some distant part of the Spanish dominions, yet who would run the risk, except under extraordinary circumstances, of incurring the hatred and oppression of a man rising in power? More -. over, the Judge of Residence was himself, generally, a man of ambitious aspirations, and had been, or would be in some responsible office sooner or later, and had been,
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