USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 59
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tween governor and commissary which had so often before rent the government of the colony in twain. In this quarrel the commissary finally prevailed as he had the ear of the court, and Kerlerec, when he finally returned to Paris in 1763, was cast into the Bastile charged with extravagance and usurpation. The period of his administration also witnessed the famous strife between the Jesuits and Capuchins as to jurisdiction. The campaign was sharp and brilliant, being characterized by "acrimonious writings, squibs, pasquinades and satirical songs," which were posted on the corners of the streets, while the songs enlivened the various coffee-houses. Eventually the Capuchins were left masters of the field, the Jesuits being expelled from all French and Spanish possessions, both in Europe and in the New World. Despite the great services of the Jesuit fathers to Louisiana, all their property including their splen- did plantation above New Orleans, then regarded as one of the very best in the province, was seized and sold at auction. The planta- tion brought the sum of $180,000, a very large sum for those days.
As an offset to England's primacy on the seas, the Duc de Choiseul concluded his famous Pacte de Famille in 1761, which federated the various branches of the Bourbon family, which led directly to the international war upon the Jesuits and the secret transfer of Louisiana to Spain by the secret treaty of Fontaine- bleau, concluded on Nov. 3, 1762.
The transaction ceding away from France this magnificent do- main remained a profound secret to the people of Louisiana until Oct., 1764, when M. d'Abbadie received official notice of it, and was instructed to hand the colony over to Spain whenever the proper representative of that nation should arrive. By the open treaty of Paris, Feb. 10, 1763, France ceded to Great Britain all her possessions east of the Mississippi, except the town of New Orleans and the island on which it stands. France had now lost the last vestige of her vast domain in America. England proceeded forthwith to erect the province of West Florida out of the eastern part of that domain, and gradually took possession of the various French posts. At New Orleans, and west of the river the French rule continued for some years longer, only awaiting the arrival of the Spanish envoy. The head of the colonial government was no longer styled governor, but had the title of director-general, and King Louis stated that he only intended to maintain a counting- house with a few companies of soldiers as a guard in Louisiana. D'Abbadie governed the province until his death on Feb. 4, 1765, when he was succeeded by Capt. Aubrey, the senior captain of the troops in Louisiana, who continued in command during the short interval which now elapsed before the formal transfer to Spain. Naturally the grief and indignation of the inhabitants of the colony knew no bounds, when they found themselves suddenly transferred to Spanish domination. But the French government remained deaf to all their prayers and entreaties. The grave and haughty Ulloa came in March, 1766, but he was accompanied by only a feeble military force, so that his position soon became untenable in the
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face of the hostile popular sentiment. A majority of the superior council acting in their official capacity ordered him from the colony and he was forced to depart, smarting under the indignity. The rebellious colonists, however, had only a short breathing spell. Spain was at last thoroughly aroused, and in 1769 Alexander O'Reilly, in command of a large Spanish force, arrived and reduced the province to actual subjection. Some dozen or more of the leading French citizens who had taken a leading part in the expul- sion of Ulloa, and whom O'Reilly was pleased to style rebels and conspirators, were imprisoned, tried and convicted. The death penalty was meted out to five of them, while the others were im- prisoned for various terms. The seditious documents of the supe- rior council were burned on the Place d'Armes. (See Superior Council.)
French Governors .- The following is a list of the French gov- ernors of Louisiana during the French domination, together with the dates of their administrations: De Sauvolle de la Villantray, May, 1699-Aug. 21, 1701 : Bienville, Jean Baptiste Lemoyne, Aug. 21, 1701-March 17, 1713 (during the period of the Crozat régime, and for several months after the formation of the Western Com- pany Bienville acted either as lieutenant-governor, or as acting governor, and again became governor in 1718) ; De Muys was appointed governor by Crozat to succeed Bienville in 1712, but never reached his destination, dying while en route: Cadillac, An- toine de la Motte, March 17, 1713-March 9, 1717 ; L'Epinay, March 9, 1717-February, 1718; Bienville, March. 1718-1725; Boisbriant, Sieur de, acting governor, 1725-Oct., 1726: Périer, M. de, Oct., 1726-1733; Bienville, 1733-May 10, 1743; Vaudreuil, Marquis de, May 10, 1743-Feb. 9. 1753 ; Kerlérec. Louis Billouart, Feb. 9, 1753- June 29, 1763; D'Abbadie. (under the title of director and com- mandant), June 29, 1763-Feb. 4, 1765: Aubrey, Feb. 4, 1765, to Aug., 1769, acting under Ulloa from 1766 to 1768, and until the arrival of O'Reilly in 1769.
French Settlement, a money order post-village, in the southern part of Livingston parish, is situated on the Amite river, about 10 miles northeast of Brittany, the nearest railroad station. It is an old town, having been settled during the early part of the 18th century. Today it is a trading center for a large district, and has an estimated population of 300.
Frenier, a village situated in the eastern part of St. John the Baptist parish, is on the west shore of Lake Pontchartrain and the Illinois Central R. R., about 25 miles northwest of New Orleans. It has a money order postoffice, express office, telegraph and tele- phone facilities, and in 1900 reported a population of 63.
Fricke, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Washington parish, is about 5 miles southwest of Franklinton, the parish seat and nearest railroad town.
Friendship, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Bienville parish, is situated on Brush creek about 4 miles west of Danville, the nearest railroad station.
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Frierson, a village in the northeastern part of DeSoto parish, is a station on the Kansas City Southern R. R., about 4 miles south of Wallace lake and 15 miles north of Mansfield, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice, express office and telegraph sta- tion, and in 1900 had a population of 54.
Frogmore, a village in the northern part of Concordia parish, is on Bayou Cocodrie and the Natchez & Western R. R., about 15 miles west of Vidalia, the parish seat. In 1900 the population was 43.
Fromentin, Eligius, U. S. senator from Louisiana, was born in France. He received a classical education ; studied law ; was ad- mitted to the bar and practiced at New Orleans. In 1813 he was elected U. S. senator from Louisiana and served from May 24. 1813, to March 3, 1819. He was appointed judge of the criminal court of New Orleans in 1821, and U. S. district judge for the district of Florida in Jan., 1822, but soon resigned to resume the practice of law at New Orleans. He and his wife contracted . yellow fever, of which both died within 24 hours at New Orleans, Oct. 6, 1822. During his life he published, Observations on a Bill respecting Land Titles in Orleans.
Frozard, a post-hamlet in the southern part of St. Landry parish, is about 4 miles east of Sunset, the nearest railroad station, and 10 miles southeast of Opelousas, the parish seat.
Fulford, a post-hamlet in the eastern part of Jackson parish, 5 miles southeast of Nash, the most convenient railroad station, and 12 miles southeast of Vernon, the parish seat.
Fullerton, a post-village of Vernon parish, is located about 15 miles cast of Leesville, the parish seat, in a lumber district, and is the terminus of a short line of railway called the Gulf & Sabine River R. R., which connects with the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe at Nitram.
Fulton, Robert, civil engineer and inventor, was born at Little Britain, Pa., in 1765. At the age of 17 years he went to Philadel- phia and began his career as a portrait and landscape painter, in which he succeeded well enough to buy a small farm in Washing- ton county, Pa., upon which he settled his mother and then went to England to study painting under Benjamin West. After being in England a short time he gave up art for civil engineering. formed the acquaintance of James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine, and vainly tried to interest certain Englishmen in steam navigation. He then went to Paris, where in 1801 he met Robert R. Livingston, the United States ambassador to France, to whom he explained his plans for the construction of a vessel to be pro- pelled by steam. Mr. Livingston agreed to furnish the funds, and in 1802 the first experiments were conducted at Plombieres on the Seine. The following year Livingston secured from the New York legislature the exclusive privilege of navigating the waters of that state by steam, and on Ang. 11-12, 1807. the "Clermont." the first steamboat on the Hudson river, made the passage from New York . to Albany in 32 hours. In 1811 Livingston and Fulton obtained
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from the legislature of Louisiana an exclusive right to operate steamboats on the navigable waters of that state. (See the articles on. Livingston, Robert R., and Steamboats.) Mr. Fulton died in New York city on Feb. 24, 1815.
Funston, a post-village in the western part of DeSoto parish, is a station on the Houston & Shreveport R. R., about 8 miles north- east of Logansport, and 12 miles west of Mansfield, the parish seat.
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Gaars Mills, a post-village and station in the northern part of Winn parish, is on the Tremont & Gulf R. R., 12 miles northeast of Winnfield, the parish seat. It is located in a pine district, has . lumber industries and in 1900 had a population of 60.
Gahagan, a village in the western part of Red River parish, is situated on the Red river and the Texas & Pacific R. R., about 5 miles west of Coushatta, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice, express office, telegraph station and telephone facilities, and is the supply and shipping point for a large area of the Red river farming lands.
Gaines, Myra Clark, who became famous throughout the country by her legal contests, was born in New Orleans in 1805, a daughter of Daniel Clark and a young Frenchwoman to whom he was secretly married in 1803, the ceremony having been solemnized by a Catholic priest in Philadelphia, Pa. Her father made a will in 1813, in which he acknowledged the legitimacy of his daughter and left her all his property. In 1832 Myra was married to W. W. Whitney of New York, and after his death to Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, the second marriage taking place in 1839. Later she filed a bill in equity to recover certain real estate then in possession of the city of New Orleans, the value of which was estimated at over $30,000,000. A decision was rendered in her favor in 1867 and during the next decade she obtained $6,000,000 through the courts. Her father's will had disappeared and could not be found, but upon hearsay evidence it was admitted to probate and subsequently Mrs. Gaines obtained several judgments, each of which was ap- pealed to higher courts for adjudication. The will was ultimately sustained by the courts, but the final decision was not rendered until some years after the death of Mrs. Gaines, which occurred in New Orleans on Jan. 9, 1885.
Galbraith is a postoffice of Natchitoches parish.
Gallion is a village in the central part of Morehouse parish, is a station on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern R. R., about 6 miles north of Mer Rouge. It has a money order postoffice, express office, telegraph station and in 1900 had a population of 32.
Galloway is a post-hamlet in the northern part of St. Tammany parish, is about 8 miles northwest of Thomasville, the nearest railroad station, and 12 miles north of Covington, the parish seat.
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Galvez .- (See Galveztown.)
Galvez, Bernardo de, fourth Spanish governor of Louisiana, was born at Malaga, Spain, in 1748. His father, Don Mathias de Galvez, was appointed captain-general of Guatemala in 1781 and about two years later became viceroy of Mexico. An uncle, Don Josef de Galvez, was a great favorite of Charles III, who appointed him secretary of state and president of the council of the Indies, a posi- tion which conferred on him a power only a little less than that of the king's. At the age of 16 years, Bernardo was made a cadet in the Walloon guards, and during the next three years served in France as a subaltern in the regiment of Cantabria. In 1775 he was with Gen. O'Reilly in the unsuccessful expedition against Algiers, where he won the rank of brigadier. The following year he came to Louisiana, was made colonel of the regiment of Lou- isiana and appointed second in command of the provincial forces. Through the influence of his uncle, he was appointed provisional governor of Louisiana to succeed Gov. Unzaga, beginning his duties on Feb. 1, 1777, when 29 years of age. On April 17 he issued a proclamation, permitting the inhabitants of the colony to trade with the United States, and three days later another proclamation gave the liberty to export their products to any port of France. He reduced the duty about one-half and during his administration the trade of the province, which had been previously controlled by the English, was largely diverted into French and American chan- nels. The greatest achievement of Gov. Galvez was the conquest of West Florida. (See Spanish Conquest.) After the Revolu- tionary war he recommended free trade for Louisiana with all the ports of Europe and America, but the proposition was too liberal for the Spanish ministry to accept. Early in 1785 he was appointed captain-general of Cuba, Louisiana and the Floridas, and upon the death of his father was made viceroy of Mexico. He died at Tacu- baya on Nov. 30, 1786, aged 38. Gayarre describes Galvez as hav- ing "that nobleness of mien, that gracefulness of manner, that dig- nified and at the same time easy affability for high and low, which, in persons of his rank, never fail to win the heart," and M. de Pontalba wrote: "He was distinguished for the affability of his manners, the sweetness of his temper, the frankness of his char- acter, the kindness of his heart and his love of justice." Gov. Galvez married a Miss Maxent, a native of Louisiana and sister to the wife of Gov. Unzaga, a woman of great beauty, whose char- ity and intelligence added to her husband's popularity.
Galveztown .- In the year 1778 the king of Spain, at his own expense, sent several families from the Canary islands to Louisiana. Some of them, under the leadership of St. Maxent, located on the high ground near the junction of the Amite and Manchac rivers. about 24 miles from Baton Rouge, where they formed a settlement. upon which they conferred the name of Galveztown, in honor of Bernardo de Galvez, at that time governor of Louisiana, as it was under his administration they had found a refuge in the New World. Ten years later, according to De Bow's Review, the town
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had a population of 256. The site of the ancient village is now occupied by the little hamlet of Galvez, in Ascension parish.
Game Laws .- The legislature of 1906 passed stringent laws for the protection of fish, deer, fur-bearing animals and birds. By the provisions of these acts fish and deer were declared to be the prop- erty of the state ; no black bass or green trout could be caught be- tween Feb. 1 and May 15 of each year; striped bass or bar fish were to be protected from Dec. 1 to March 1; and buffalo fish and catfish (except the spoonbill variety) from March 1 to May 1. No bass were to be taken at any time except with the rod and line, and all fish of this species under 4 inches in length were to be re- turned to the water. Dynamite and other explosives, drugs and sawdust were strictly prohibited, as well as the method known as "striking" at night, and no seining was to be done except upon written permission of the board of commissioners for the protection of birds, game and fish. Officials were authorized to confiscate any seines, nets, etc., used without such permission. Deer could not be trapped nor snared, hunted at night, nor killed on high grounds where they might congregate in time of flood, and does and fawns were not to be killed in any manner at any time. The open or hunting season was fixed at seven months in each year, the parish police juries to fix the closed season, provided that north of the line of 31° no deer were to be killed during the months of May, June, July and August. No one was to be permitted to kill more than 2 deer in any one day, and not more than 6 during any one season. Fur-bearing animals were not to be caught nor killed from March 1 to Nov. 15 each year. All wild birds, other than game birds, were declared to be the property of the state. Game birds were defined as follows: Geese, brant, wild and wood ducks, rails, coots, gallinules, snipe, woodcock, sandpipers, quail, curlew, sand-hill cranes, tattlers, plover, wild turkey, imported and grouse pheasants, prairie chickens, doves, and ortolans or cedar birds. All other species of wild, resident and migratory birds were to be considered as non-game birds, entitled to the protection of the state at all times, with the exception of certain varieties of the hawk, the great horned owl, the English sparrow, kingfishers nest- ing in levees, and birds, such as the crow and blackbird, destructive to crops, but none of these non-game birds thus unprotected coulel be offered for sale. The nests and eggs of birds were also to be protected, and islands for breeding purposes were to be posted for protection. It was made unlawful to sell or offer for sale the plumage of protected birds, and common carriers were prohibited from transporting birds or game in violation of the provisions of the act. Agents of such common carriers to be fined $10 to $25 for each deer, and from $1 to $5 for each fish or bird. Birds were not to be trapped at any time under a penalty of from $5 to $10 fine, to which might be added imprisonment from 5 to 10 days. Any one convicted of killing birds or taking eggs for otlier than scien- tific purposes was subject to a fine of from $50 to $100, or impris- onment from 10 to 30 days. Ornithologists could procure certifi-
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cates upon payment of a fee of SI that would entitle them to pursue their investigations. Non-resident hunters were required to pay a license fee of $10 in each parish where they proposed to hunt, and professional hunters-that is those who hunt for profit-were strictly forbidden to follow such occupation in Louisiana under a penalty of from $50 to $100 fine for each conviction.
To encourage in the young people of the state a proper respect for law, and to teach them to foster the protection of birds, an act was passed on July 12. 1906, designating May 5, the anniversary of the birth of John J. Audubon, as "Bird Day." The state and parish boards of public education were directed to provide for the celebration of the day in all the public schools of the state by suitable ceremonies.
Gansville, a money order post-village in the northern part of ' Winn parish, is about 2 miles southwest of Wyatt, the nearest railroad station, and 15 miles north of Winnfield, the parish seat. It has sawmills and other lumber industries, and in 1900 had a population of 122.
Garay, Francisco de, Spanish governor of Jamaica in 1519, was a man of wealth, ambition, and prestige at the court of Spain. Actuated by the reports of Cordova and Grijalva, who brought back from Mexico on their voyages to that country gold to the amount of $35.000 or $40,000, he fitted out an expedition in 1519 and sent it under command of Alfonso Alvarez de Pineda to explore the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida westward. In the letters patent issued to Garay is the following account of the voy- age: "Francisco de Garay appeared and said that with the author- ization of His Majesty, and at his own cost, he sent four ships to discover new countries for the service of the Crown; which were found and discovered by the grace of God our Lord, who showed the way. Nor was a landing effected in any land or part already found or disclosed by any one else at the time. This was from Rio del Espiritu Santo over a great extent of country, further below in the direction of the north (sic) towards the river called San Pedro e San Pablo, where the ships arrived." There is little doubt that the Spaniards constituting Garay's expedition were the first white men to explore the coast of what is now the State of Louis- iana, as well as the coast to the southwest nearly to Vera Cruz. Navarette, who published about 1840 a "Collection of the Voy- ages and Discoveries made by the Spaniards since the close of the Fifteenth Century," says of Pineda's voyage: "They sailed eight
or nine months. * * and followed the coast towards the west, examining carefully the country, harbours, rivers, inhabitants, and all that which deserved to be noted on the said coast, * *
% until they met with Hernando Cortez and the Spaniards who were in the same locality. * * % They then turned back with the said ships, and entered a river which was found to be very large and deep, at the mouth of which they said they found an extensive town, where they remained forty days and careened their vessels. The natives treated our men in a friendly manner, trading with
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them, and giving what they possessed. The Spaniards ascended a distance of six leagues up the river, and saw on its banks right and left. forty villages."
From the reports made by Pineda and his associates, Garay pre- pared a map, which was published about 1521, and which shows a fairly accurate outline of the Gulf coast. The only river named on the map is the Rio del Espiritu Santo-a name afterward given by the Spaniards to the Mississippi-and this fact, coupled with the statement of Navarette that they "entered a river which was found to be very large and deep." has led some writers to advance the theory that Pineda was the discoverer of the Mississippi. The map, however, shows the mouth of the Rio del Espiritu Santo by a slight indentation only, just as the mouths of other rivers are shown, and the statement of Navarette does not positively iden- tify it as the river entered by the expedition. W. B. Scaife, in his "America, its Geographical History," and P. J. Hamilton, in his "Colonial Mobile," appear to have established the fact that the Rio del Espiritu Santo of Pineda is the Mobile river.
Garden City, a post-village in the central part of St. Mary parish, is situated on the Bayou Teche and the Southern Pacific R. R., about 3 miles southeast of Franklin, the parish seat, in the rich sugar belt and has sugar industries, an express office and telegraph station, etc.
Gardner, Franklin, soldier, was born in 1823. His family moved west when he was quite young, and at the age of 16 years he was appointed to the U. S. military academy from Iowa. After gradu- ating in 1843 he was promoted to brevet second-lieutenant of the 7th infantry and served in garrisons at Pensacola harbor and on the frontier, in the military occupation of Texas, and in the war with Mexico. He took part in the defense of Fort Brown, the battle of Monterey, where he was promoted to first-lieutenant for gallantry in action, the siege of Vera Cruz, the battle of Cerro Gordo, where he was brevetted captain, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey and the capture of the city of Mexico. After peace was declared, he served at various frontier posts in the south and west. At the time of the outbreak of the Civil war he was cap- tain in the 10th infantry, which was stationed in Utah. He had spent a great part of his army life among the Southern people, with whom he was in sympathy, and with many other army officers he resigned his commission in the U. S. army on March 16, 1861, and entered that of the Confederacy, with the rank of lieutenant- colonel of infantry. His services during that year were confined to Tennessee and Mississippi. He was commissioned brigadier-gen- eral a few days before the battle of Shiloh, where he commanded a brigade of cavalry. A short time after the battle Gen. Beaure- gard expressed his appreciation of Gen. Gardner in the following language : "The general commanding avails himself of this occa- sion to return thanks to Gen. Gardner for his service in the reor- ganization of the cavalry of this army." Gen. Gardner was soon appointed to the command of a brigade in Polk's corps and shared
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in the battles of the Kentucky campaign. On Dec. 13, 1862, hie received the commission of major-general in the army of the Con- federate States. Early the following year he was placed in com- mand of Port Hudson and conducted its defense, until its sur- render. He was soon exchanged and assigned to duty in Missis- sippi, and after the close of the war lived near Vermilionville, La., on a plantation, where he died on April 29, 1873.
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