USA > Louisiana > Louisiana : its history as a French colony. Third series of lectures > Part 8
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It is not to be wondered at, after all, that France felt inclined to fling away Louisiana, in despair at her
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.. ANXIETY OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.
want of success in colonizing that distant possession. Louisiana had proved a dead weight in the hands of the great merchant, Crozat, who had buried several millions in her wilderness. The India Company had, with the same result, devoted over twenty millions to carry into execution, on. the banks of the Mississippi, the grand scheme in which her charter originated. With regard to the French Government, it does not seem an exaggeration to suppose, that it had squan- dered from forty to fifty millions of livres in the attempt to colonize Louisiana. Thus, an enormous capital had been disbursed, no return had been made for it, and what was still more discouraging, was the conviction brought home to France, that, if she re- tained possession of Louisiana, she would be under the necessity of incurring still more considerable expenses, for, at the very moment when the cession of that colony was made to Spain, D'Abbadie was informing his government, in repeated despatches, that that French possession was in a state of complete destitution ; that it was a chaos of iniquities ; and that to re-estab- lish order therein, it would be necessary to have recourse to measures of an extreme character. Hence the anxiety of the French government to part with a territory which, at a later period and in abler hands, was destined to astonish the world by its rapid and gigantic prosperity.
In presenting his memorial on Louisiana, the object of Governor Kerlerec had been, no doubt, to show that, although laboring under the displeasure of his government, and immured between the four walls of a prison, he was disposed to act as a useful servant, and he probably hoped, in this way, to procure his release. But his enemies, or at least those who thought they had been his victims, were, at the same time, and in a
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ANXIETY OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.
manner not calculated to help him, calling the atten- tion of the government to his acts whilst Governor of Louisiana. Thus Philippe Marigny de Mandeville, an officer of the marine troops sent to Louisiana, who had been arrested by Governor Kerlerec, and dismissed back to France, was petitioning the Prime Minister, the Duke of Choiseul, to know the cause of the ill- . treatment inflicted upon him, and accusing Kerlerec of abuse of power, and other violations of duty. To this petition Marigny had annexed two certificates, one from Bienville and the other from Vaudreuil, in which the highest commendation was bestowed upon him by these functionaries, under whom he had served. He was the son of Marigny, who had died in command of New Orleans, as major, and who was a Knight of St. Louis.
On the eve of losing his faithful subjects of Louisi- ana, the King, to reward some of them for their good services, distributed a few favors among them, and granted the Cross of St. Louis to Favrot, a captain of foot, who had been wounded in the attack on the Village of Ackia, in 1736, and to Nyon de Villiers, who had long been commander of the Illinois District. An individual, named Braud, obtained, on the recom- mendation of D'Abbadie, the exclusive privilege of printing and of selling books in Louisiana. It was the last monopoly conceded by the French govern- ment.
On the 21st of April, 1764, the King wrote to D'Abbadie a letter containing an official communica- tion of the cession of Louisiana to Spain. To this document were annexed copies of the act of cession and of the act of acceptation. The letter of the King ran thus :
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LETTER OF LOUIS XV. TO D'ABBADIE.
" Louis XV. to Mr. D' Abbadie :
" Monsieur D'Abbadie, by a private act passed at Fontainebleau, on the 3d of November, 1762, having, of my own free will, ceded to my very dear and beloved cousin, the King of Spain, and to his succes- sors and heirs, in full property, completely, and without reserve or restriction, all the country known under the name of Louisiana, and also New Orleans, with the island in which it is situated ; and by another act, passed at the Escurial, and signed by the King of Spain, on the 13th of November of the same year, his Catholic Majesty having accepted the cession of Louisiana and of the town of New Orleans, as will appear by copies of said acts hereunto annexed, I write you this letter to inform you, that my intention is, that, on the receipt of it, and of the documents thereto annexed, whether they are handed to you by officers of his Catholic Majesty, or, in a direct line, by the French ships to which they are intrusted, you deliver up into the hands of the Governor, or of the officer appointed to that effect, the said country and colony of Louisiana, with the settlements or posts thereto appertaining, together with the town and island of New Orleans, such as they may be found on the day of said delivery, it being my will that, for the future, they belong to his Catholic Majesty, to be governed and administered by his governors and officers, as belonging to him, fully, and without reserve and exception.
" I order you, accordingly, as soon as the Governor and the troops of that monarch shall have arrived in said country and colony, to put them in possession thereof, and to withdraw all the officers, soldiers, or other persons employed under my government, and to
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LETTER OF LOUIS XV. TO D'ABBADIE.
send to France, and to my other colonies of America, such of them as will not be disposed to remain under the Spanish dominion.
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: "I desire, moreover, that, after the entire evacuation of the said port and town of New Orleans, you gather up all the papers relative to the finances and adminis- tration of . the colony of Louisiana, and that you come to France to account for them.
" My intention is, however, that you deliver up to said Governor, or other officers duly authorized, all the papers and documents which concern specially the government of that colony, either with regard to the limits of that territory, or with regard to the Indians and the different posts, after having obtained proper receipts for your discharge, and that you give to said Governor all the information in your power, to enable him to govern said colony to the mutual satisfaction of both nations.
" My will is, that a duplicate inventory of all the artillery, warehouses, hospitals, vessels and other effects which belong to me in said colony, be made and signed by you and the Commissary of his Catholic Majesty, in order that, after your having put said Commissary in possession of the same, there be drawn up a verbal process of the appraisement of such of said effects as will remain in the colony, and the value of which shall be reimbursed by his Catholic Majesty, in conformity with said appraisement.
"I hope at the same time, for the advantage and tranquillity of the inhabitants of the colony of Louisiana, and I flatter myself, in consequence of the friendship and affection of his Catholic Majesty, that he will be pleased so to instruct his Governor, or any other of his officers employed by him in said colony and said town of New Orleans, that all ecclesiastics and religious
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REFLECTIONS ON THE FATE OF LOUISIANA.
communities shall continue to perform their functions of curates and missionaries, and to enjoy the rights, privileges, and exemptions granted to them; that all the Judges of ordinary jurisdiction, together with the Superior Council, shall continue to administer justice according to the laws, forms, and usages of the colony ; that the titles of the inhabitants to their property shall be confirmed in accordance with the concessions made by the Governors and ordaining Commissaries (Com- missaires Ordonnateurs) of said colony; and that said concessions shall be looked upon and held as confirmed by his Catholic Majesty, although they may not, as yet, have been confirmed by me; hoping, moreover, that his Catholic Majesty will be pleased to give to his sub- jects of Louisiana the marks of protection and good will which they have received under my domination, and which would have been made more effectual, if not counteracted by the calamities of war.
"I order you to have this letter registered by the Superior Council of New Orleans, in order that the people of the colony, of all ranks and conditions, be informed of its contents, and that they may avail them- selves of it, should need be ; such being my sole object in writing this letter.
" I pray God, Monsieur D'Abbadie, to have you in his holy keeping.
(Signed) (Countersigned)
LOUIS. DUKE DE CHOISEUL."
Thus ended, in Louisiana, the reign of Louis XV., which was as fatal to France itself, as to its colonial possessions in America.
When D'Abbadie published the instructions he had received, the colony of Louisiana was plunged into the deepest consternation. So far, mere surmises had been
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114 REFLECTIONS ON THE FATE OF LOUISIANA.
afloat as to the misfortune which threatened the colo- · nists ; there had been alternate fits of fear and hope, but hope, as is generally the case, had predominated ;. when, suddenly, truth came in a shape not to be ques- tioned, and sad reality put to flight all the fond delu- sions of the heart. Although partially prepared for the present evil by the dismemberment of Louisiana, which had been effected so recently in favor of the English, the fortitude of the colonists had not been steeled to meet this new blow. As Frenchmen, they felt that a deep wound had been inflicted on their pride by the severing in twain of Louisiana, and the distribution of its mutilated parts between England and Spain. As men, they felt the degradation of being bartered away as marketable objects ; they felt the loss of their national character and rights, and the humiliation of their sudden transformation into Spaniards or English- men, without their consent. As colonists, as property owners, as members of a civilized society, they were agitated by all the apprehensions consequent upon a change of laws, manners, customs, habits, and govern- ment. Such was the state of feeling in Louisiana, when D'Abbadie published the letter of Louis XV. in October, 1764.
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THIRD LECTURE.
EXECUTION OF THE TREATY OF CESSION TO THE ENGLISH-SMUGGLING TRADE CARRIED ON BY THE ENGLISH-MEANING OF THE PHRASE, "I AM GOING TO LITTLE MAN- CHAC"-DEATH OF D'ABBADIE-AUBRY, HIS SUCCESSOR-ARRIVAL OF THE ACADIANS IN LOUISIANA-CAUSES OF THEIR EXPULSION FROM ACADIA OR NOVA SCOTIA-THEIR SETTLEMENT IN LOUISIANA-THE MISSISSIPPI, A COMMON THOROUGHFARE FOR THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH-INCONVENIENCES THEREOF-CONSTRUCTION OF ENGLISH FORTS AT MANCHAC, BATON ROUGE, AND NATCHEZ -- INTRODUCTION OF NEGROES BY THE ENG- LISH-CURIOUS DESPATCH FROM AUBRY ON THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY HIM- ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF BATON ROUGE-REPRESENTATIONS TO THE KING MADE BY THE LOUISIANIANS ON THE TREATY OF CESSION-THEY SEND JEAN MILHET AS THEIR DELEGATE TO FRANCE-INTERVIEW OF JEAN MILHET AND BIENVILLE WITH THE DUKE OF CHOISEUL-DEATH OF BIENVILLE-ULLOA APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF LOUI- SIANA BY THE KING OF SPAIN-HIS LETTER TO THE SUPERIOR COUNCIL-HIS ARRIVAL AND RECEPTION-GAYARRE APPOINTED CONTADOR, OR COMPTROLLER, BY THE KING; LOYOLA, COMMISSARY OF WAR AND INTENDANT; NAVARRO, TREASURER-DISAGREE- MENT BETWEEN ULLOA AND THE SUPERIOR COUNCIL-HE REFUSES TO SHOW HIS POWERS-HIS REASONS FOR IT-HE VISITS THE DIFFERENT POSTS AND SETTLEMENTS OF THE PROVINCE-HE ORDERS A CENSUS TO BE MADE-ITS RESULT-BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHARLES IIL, ULLOA, LOYOLA, GAYARRE, AND NAVARRO.
WITH regard to that part of the Treaty of Cession which concerned the English, the French were execut- ing its provisions with as much celerity as was permit- ted by the obstacles resulting from the hostility of the Indians to these new European lords and masters. Nyon de Villic.s, who had the command of the Illinois District, abandoned it on the 15th of June, 1764, and arrived at New Orleans on the 2d of July, with six officers, sixty-three soldiers, and eighty of the inhabit- ants, including women and children. The English were indeed cager to avail themselves of all the advan- tages and acquisitions they had lately secured, and
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ARRIVAL OF THE ACADIANS.
their ships, much to the mortification of the French, were seen proudly parading up and down on the bed of the old father of rivers. They used to stop, after having passed New Orleans, at the spot where is now situated the city of Lafayette, and they sold con- traband goods to the inhabitants of the town and of the neighboring country. The wants of the colony were so pressing at the time, that D'Abbadie overlooked this illegal traffic, which was as advantageous to the colo- nists as to the English. As it was under the pretext of proceeding to their possessions of Manchac and Baton Rouge, that the English continued to make a stay at the place above designated, it became custom- ary for one to say, when repairing to it for the purpose of smuggling : "I am going to Little Manchac." This phrase became proverbial, and the spot on which is now the city of Lafayette, long retained the name of " Little Manchac."
On the 4th of February, 1765, D'Abbadie died, and Aubry became his successor.
During the course of that year, the population of that part of Louisiana remaining to France, was increased by a considerable emigration from the Alibamons and Illinois Districts, which had been ceded to the English, and from the province of Acadia, or Nova Scotia.
The discovery of this province, in 1497, has been attributed to the Cabots, but no settlement was formed in it before 1604, when it was colonized by De Monts and a party of Frenchmen, who, it is said, called it Acadia, from the Indian name of one of its rivers. They were not allowed, however, peaceful possession of the far distant and wild home, which they had selected in the rugged country, where frowned an almost perpetual winter. The English claimed it as their own domain, in virtue of the discovery of Sebas-
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EXPULSION OF THE ACADIANS.
tian Cabot, and sent a force which succeeded in driv- ing away those whom they looked upon as intruders. In 1621, a grant of the whole of this peninsula, under the name of Nova Scotia, was made to Sir William Alexander. But the French regained a footing in it a second time, and retained it until the strong and ever victorious arm of Cromwell, extended across the At- lantic, reduced them to subjection in 1654. This sub- jection was not of long duration, and, in 1667, Nova Scotia, or Acadia, was resigned back into the hands of the French by the treaty of Breda. Next came the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, which expressly conceded Nova Scotia, or Acadia, in its full extent, to England. Then the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in 1748, re-estab- lished all things as they were before the war. But hence arose the perplexing questions-What was the state of things before the war ? What was the extent of the territory forming the province of Nova Scotia, or Acadia ? What were the limits between that pro- vince and Canada ? From this source sprung claims which brought on, at first, partial collisions between the French and the English colonies on the North American continent, and those collisions were speedily followed by a war between France and England.
By the treaty of Utrecht, it had been stipulated that the French colonists of Acadia should retain their pos- sessions. So far, they had refused to take the oath of allegiance as British subjects, except with the condition that it would not obligate them to bear arms against the French, even in defence of the province. The English government had not consented to this modification of the oath of allegiance, but had employed no means of coer- cion against a poor and scattered population, from which it anticipated no hostility, beyond that which consisted merely in the secret feelings of the heart. When,
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FATE OF THE ACADIANS.
however, war broke out between the French and the English, the Acadians, who were on the disputed terri- tory, openly sided with the French, and those who were within the unquestionable and avowed limits of Acadia, such as it was admitted by the French them- selves to have been ceded by the treaty of 1713, as- sumed the character and the name of neutrals.
" They dwelt principally," says Williamson in his History of Maine, " about Annapolis, Chignecto, Bay Verte, the Basin of Minas, Cobaquid Bay, and in that vicinity-and altogether, made a population of 18,000 souls. They were an industrious, frugal people, strongly attached to the French interest and the Catholic religion. So desirous were they of throwing off the yoke, that they had secretly courted the visit of the French troops, and furnished them and the Indians with intelligence, quarters, provisions, and every assistance, and a part of them had actually taken arms in violation of their oath of neutrality. Nay, all of them, as heretofore, utterly refused to take the oath of unqualified allegiance to the British crown, though such as had not appeared openly in arms, were assured, if they would take it, that they should still be allowed the unmolested enjoyment of their lands and houses.
"Perceiving the indissoluble attachment of the Aca- dians, or 'French neutrals,' to their parent nation, Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence, and the Provincial Council, with advice of Admirals Boscawen and Mostyn, finally determined that the whole of them should be removed and dispersed among the British colonies, where they, being unable to unite in any offen- sive measures, would become naturalized to the govern- ment and the country. Without knowing their des- tiny, they were summoned to meet in their chapels,
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September 5th, 1755, to hear their doom. At Grand Pré (Minas and Horton), assembled 1923 persons, aged and young, whom General Winslow met, and after animadverting upon their disloyal conduct, said to them : 'I now declare to you his Majesty's orders. Know then, that your lands, tenements, cattle, and live stock of all kinds, are forfeited to the Crown, with all other effects of yours, excepting your money and household goods, which you will be allowed to carry with you : and that yourselves and families are to be removed from this province to places suiting his Majesty's pleasure ; and in the meantime, to remain in custody, under the inspection and control of the troops I have the honor to command. In a word, I now declare you all the King's prisoners.' Shocked and petrified at this thrilling decree, some of them burst into tears, and some fled to the woods, whose houses were committed to the flames, and country laid waste, to prevent their subsistence. Indeed, every possible measure was adopted to force them back into captivity.
" When the transports arrived at Annapolis, to convey away the ill-fated people from that place and vicinity, the soldiers found the houses entirely deserted by the inhabitants, who had fled to the woods, car- rying with them their aged parents, their wives, and children. But hunger, infirmity, and distress soon compelled the return of numbers, who surrendered themselves prisoners at discretion. The more athletic penetrated into the depths of the wilderness, and encamped with the savages; and a few wandered through the woods to Chignecto, and thence escaped to Canada.
" In Cumberland, the summons were generally dis- obeyed, and hence it was found necessary to resort to
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DISPERSION OF THE ACADIANS.
the most severe measures. Here, 253 of their houses were set on fire at one time, in which a great quantity of wheat, flax, and other valuable articles were con- sumed : the country presenting, for several days and several miles, a most direful scene of conflagration. As the different Acadian settlements were too widely extended to admit of an actual subjugation at once, only 7,000 were collected at this time and dispersed . among the several British colonies. On the 10th of September, 1755, one hundred and sixty-one young men, taken from among the prisoners belonging to the district of Minas, were driven by a military guard on board of five transports, stationed in the River Gas- pereaux. The road from the chapel to the shore, one mile in length, was lined with women and children, all of whom, bathed in tears, knelt and uttered, amid deep heart-broken sighs-farewell ! as the dejected prisoners advanced with slow and reluctant steps, weeping, praying, and singing hymns as they passed. These were followed by their seniors, who passed through the same heart-rending scene of sorrow and distress ; and when other vessels arrived, they carried away also their wives and children. About 1,300 arrived in Massachusetts and Maine, and became a public charge, principally in consequence of an irre- concilable antipathy to their situation. Also, 415 were sent to Pennsylvania, and some were transported as far south as Georgia. Such was the wretched fate of the French neutrals."
A few pages farther, the same author goes on say- ing : "An act passed the next day (to wit, the 24th of December, 1755,) for the distribution of the French neutrals through the province (Massachusetts), and the support or relief of them in the different towns, as beneficiary paupers. A number were
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DISPERSION OF THE ACADIANS. ,
assigned to Maine. The overseers of the poor were required to make suitable provision for them at the charge of the province, unless they were remunerated by the Crown, or by the Government of Nova Scotia. Bigoted to the Romish religion, necessitous, disaffected, and unhappy, they entertained a settled, unconquera- ble dislike of the English, their habits and sentiments -and being exiles from their native land, which they loved and longed to see, they were neither enterprising nor industrious, but an intolerable burden to the government. According to a committee's report, Jan. 25, 1760, there were, even at that time, 1,017 of this miserable people within the province."
Thus, the Messenians, after their noble and pro- tracted struggle for independence against the Spartans, being subjugated, were remorselessly driven away by their implacable foes from their blood-stained hearths and the honored graves of their ancestors, to wander through Greece in search of pity and assistance, and of a new home for the houseless exile in the land of the stranger. Thus at a later period, and by a more awful decree, Jerusalem was torn from her foundations, and the Jews sown broad-cast over the face of the earth, to be the beasts of burden, the dogs, the foot- stools of every nation, or rather to be the swine of the human species, herding through so many centuries in the troughs and sewers of society, and battening upon its dregs and offals.
The miserable outcasts who, by an English decree, had been made the Messenians and the Jews of America, could never be reconciled to their fate, and, in the words of Williamson, retained an unconquerable dislike of the English. The race which, in Acadia, had deprived them of everything, of all that is dear to the human heart, was the very same race they met
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HATRED OF THE ACADIANS TO THE ENGLISH.
in Massachusetts, in Pennsylvania, in Virginia, in all the English colonies to which they were transported. It was the race of their oppressors, and the bread which pity or charity presented to them, was English bread offered by an English hand ! How could they not be broken-hearted, when the very words of en- couragement and consolation in which they were addressed, were in a language hateful to their ears ! How could they be industrious, when their industry · would have brought them into more immediate con- tact with those they cursed as the authors of their misery ! How enterprising, in a land from which they longed to flee ! How could they forget their wrongs, and labor on English ground! How could they plough the soil that England owned, unless it were with the hope of sowing the Dragon's teeth, destined to spring up in hostile array, and to shed the blood that ven- geance claimed ! During ten years, the Acadians thought of nothing else than finding the means of seeking some genial clime, where they could be gathered under the flag of France, and kept their eyes steadily fixed on the French West India Islands, and particularly on Louisiana. Luckily for them, they proved, as they wished, and as the historian of Maine says, an intolerable burden to the English colonies, and, after ten years of sufferings and of vain longings, many of them were permitted, encouraged, and assisted to execute their deeply cherished design of moving to the French colonies.
Thus, between the 1st of January and the 13th of May, 1765, about six 'hundred and fifty Acadians had arrived at New Orleans, and from that town had been sent to form settlements in Attakapas and Opelousas, under the command of Andry. In one of his despatches to his government, the Commissary, Fou-
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SETTLEMENT OF ACADIANS IN LOUISIANA. 123
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