USA > Louisiana > Romance of the history of Louisiana. A series of lectures > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
With such dispositions, the Curate de la Vente soon became the terror of his flock, whose frailties he de- nounced with the epileptic violence of a maniac, and whose slightest delinquencies he threatened with eter- nal damnation. A fanatic disciplinarian, he had been shocked at the laxity with which the soldiers, the offi- cers, the Canadian boatmen and traders, and the other colonists, performed their religious duties. He did not take into consideration that a judicious allowance ought to be made for the want of education of some, for the temptations which peculiar circumstances threw in the way of others, and for the particular mode of life to which all were condemned, and which might be re- ceived in extenuation, if not in justification of many faults. He might have reclaimed some by the soothing gentleness of friendly admonition : he discouraged or
1 1
----
236
THE CURATE DE LA VENTE.
disgusted all by the roughness of intemperate reproach. Aware of the aversion which he had inspired, and in- dignant at the evil practices in which some indulged openly from inclination, and others, out of vain bravado to a minister they detested, he had supported Cadillac in all the acts of his administration, in all his represen- tations of the state of the country ; and he had himself more than once written to the ministry, that God would never smile upon a colony inhabited by such demons, heathens, and scoffers at the Holy Church; and he had recommended, not a Saint Bartholomew execution, it is true, but a general expulsion of all the people that were in the colony, in order to replace them with a more religious-minded community. As to the Indians, he considered them as sons of perdition, who offered few hopes, if any, of being redeemed from the bondage of Satan.
Seeing that the Ministry had paid no attention to his recommendations, he had determined to make, out of the infidels by whom he was surrounded, as much money as he could, which he intended to apply to the purpose of advancing the interests of the church, in some more favorable spot for the germination of eccle- siastical domination. With this view, he made no scruple to fatten upon the Philistines, and he opened a shop, where he kept for sale, barter, or exchange, a variety of articles of trade. He disposed of them at a
337
THE CURATE DE LA VENTE.
price of which the purchasers complained as being most unconscionable ; and he also loaned money to the Gen- tiles, at a rate of interest which was extravagantly usurious. As a salvo to his conscience, he had adopted the comfortable motto that the end justifies the means. The benighted Indians and the unchristian Christians (to use his own expressions) were not spared by him. When the circumstance was too tempting, and he had to deal with notorious unbelievers, he would even in- dulge in what he would have called actual cheating, if coming from a Christian dealing with a Christian. On these occasions, he would groan piteously, cross himself devoutly, fall on his knees before the image of our Sa- vior, and striking his breast with compunction, he would exclaim, "O sweet Jesus, if this be an infraction of thy law, it is at least a trifling one, and it is done for the benefit of thy church : forgive me, O Lamb of mercy, and I will, in expiation, say twelve paters and twelve aves at the foot of the altar of thy Virgin Mother, or I will abstain a whole day from all food, in thy honor." After this soliloquy, he would get up, perfectly recon- ciled with himself and with his Maker, to whom, in those cases, he always took care to keep his plighted word. Many a time, his worldly transactions for the glorification of the church, and for the increase of church property at the expense of those he considered as infidels, forced him to enter into such strange com-
238
ST. DENIS.
promises with his conscience and with his God. Hence the origin of the accusation brought against him by Bienville, in one of his dispatches, and which I have already reported, " that he kept open shop, and was a shrewd compound of the Jew and of the Arab." The truth is, that he was sincere in his mistaken faith, pious to the best of his understanding, a Christian in will although not in fact, a zealous priest in his way, which he thought a correct one, and a lamentable compound of fanaticism and imbecility.
In August, 1716, a short time before the recall of Cadillac, there had returned to Mobile a young man named St. Denis, who was a relation of Bienville, and whom, two years before, Cadillac had sent to Natchi- toches, to oppose the Spaniards in an establishment which it was reported they intended to make in that part of the country. His orders were, to proceed after- wards to New Mexico, to ascertain if it would not be possible to establish in that direction internal relations of commerce between Louisiana and the Mexican pro- vinces, where it was hoped that Crozat would find a large outlet for his goods. When St. Denis arrived at the village of the Natchitoches, hearing no tidings of the supposed expedition of the Spaniards, he left there a few Canadians, whom he ordered to form a settle- ment; and, accompanied by twelve others, who were picked men, and by a few Indians, he undertook to ac- complish the more difficult part of his mission
239
HIS CHARACTER.
I would recommend this expedition of St. Denis, and his adventures, to any one in search of a subject for literary composition. It i It is a fruitful theme, affording to the writer the amplest scope for the display of tal- ent of the most varied order. St. Denis is one of the most interesting characters of the early history of Louisiana.
" He hither came, a private gentleman, But young and brave, and of a family Ancient and noble."
He was a knight-errant in his feelings and in his doings throughout life, and every thing connected with him, or that came within the purview of his ex- istence, was imbued with the spirit of romance. The noble bearing of his tall, well proportioned, and re- markably handsome person was in keeping with the lofty spirit of his soul. He was one in whom nature had given the world assurance of a man, and that as- surance was so strongly marked in the countenance of St. Denis, that wherever he appeared, he instanta- neously commanded love, respect, and admiration. There are beings who carry in their lineaments the most legible evidence of their past and future fate. Such was St. Denis, and nobody, not even the wild and untutored Indian, could have left his presence, without at least a vague impression that he had seen
240
JOURNEY OF ST. DENIS TO MEXICO.
one, not born for the common purposes of ordinary life.
. The laborious journey of St. Denis, from Mobile to Natchitoches, the incidents connected with it, the description of the country he passed through, and of all the tribes of Indians he visited, would furnish suf- ficient materials for an interesting book. But what an animated picture might be drawn of that little band of Canadians, with St. Denis and his friend Jallot, the ec- centric surgeon, when they crossed the Sabine, and entered upon the ocean-like prairies of the present state of Texas ! How they hallooed with joy, when they saw the immense surface which spread before them, blackened with herds of buffaloes, that wallowed lazily in the tall luxuriant grass, which afforded them such luscious food and such downy couches for repose ! For the sake of variety, the travellers would some- times turn from nobler to meaner game, from the hunchbacked buffalo to the timid deer that crossed their path. Sometimes they would stumble on a family of bears, and make, at their expense, a de- licious repast, which they enjoyed comfortably seated on piled-up skins, the testimonials of their hunting ex- ploits. Oh! there is sweetness in the prairie air, there is a richness of health and an elasticity of spirit,
"Which bloated ease ne'er deigned to taste."
241
SURGEON JALLOT.
But these pleasures, exciting as they were, would perhaps have palled upon St. Denis and his compan- ions, and might, in the end have been looked upon as tame by them, from the frequency of their repetition, if they had not been intermingled with nobler sport, which consisted in oft-recurring skirmishes with the redoubtable Comanches, upon whose hunting grounds they had intruded. On these occasions, St. Denis, protected against the arrows of the enemy by a full suit of armor, which he had brought from Europe, and mounted on a small black jennet, as strong as an ox and as fleet as the wind, would rush upon the aston- ished Indians, and perform such feats with his battle- axe, as those poor savages had never dreamed of. These encounters gave infinite satisfaction to Jallot, who was a passionate lover of his art, and who never was seen in a good humor, except when he was tending a wound. In that respect, with the Indians he had very little chance, except it be that of dissecting them, for, in most cases, the stroke of the white man's weapon was certain and instantaneous death. But he found some compensation in the numerous wounds inflicted by the Indians on his own companions ; he had a fond- ness for arrow wounds, which he declared to be the nicest and genteelest of all wounds. One day, he was so delighted with a wound of this kind, which he pro- nounced, much to the exasperation of his patient, to
242
ST. DENIS ARRESTED
be supremely beautiful, that he actually smiled with self-gratulation and cracked a joke !- to do this, his excitement must have been immense. Another day, when an Indian had been struck down by the battle-axe of St. Denis, without, however, being killed outright, he felt such a keen professional emotion at the pros- pect of probing and nursing a gash which he thought rare and extraordinary, that he franticly jumped upon St. Denis, hugged him with enthusiasm, called him his best friend, passionately thanked him for the most valu- able case he had given him, and swore that his Indian should be carried on, whatever impediment it might be to their march, until he died or was cured. Who would have thought that this man, when he was not wielding his surgical instruments, was the most hu- mane being in the world, and concealed, under an ap- pearance of crabbed malignity, the tenderest sensibili- ties of the heart? Such are the mysteries of human nature !
St. Denis and his troop reached at last the Rio Bravo, at a Spanish settlement then called the Fort of St. John the Baptist, or Presidio del Norte. Don Pedro de Villescas was then the commander of that place. He received the French with the most courteous hos- pitality, and informed them that he could not make any commercial arrangements with them, but that he would submit their propositions to a superior officer,
.
243
BY THE GOVERNOR OF CAQUIS.
who was governor of the town of Caouis, situated at the distance of one hundred and eighty miles in the interior. Spaniards are not famous for rapidity of ac- tion. Before the message of Villescas was carried to Caouis, and before the expected answer came back to the Presidio del Norte, St. Denis had loved, not with- out reciprocity, the beautiful daughter of the old Don. What a pretty tale might be made of it, which would deserve to be written with a feather dropped from Cupid's wing ! But when the lovers were still hesitat- ing as to the course they would pursue, and discussing the propriety of making a full disclosure to him who, in the shape of a father, was the arbiter of their des- tiny, there arrived twenty-five men, sent by Don Gas- pardo Anaya, the governor of Caouis, with secret in- structions, which were soon made manifest, to the dis- may of the lovers; for, these emissaries seized St. Denis and his friend Jallot, and conveyed them to Caouis, where they were detained in prison until the beginning of 1715. From his place of confine- ment, St. Denis, fearing that the hostility evinced towards him, might be extended to the rest of his companions, ordered them to return speedily to Natchi- toches.
Ye Bulwers of America, I invite your attention ! Here history presents you with the ready-made ground- work for whatever superstructure and embellishments
214
THE LOVES OF ST. DENIS
you may choose to imagine for the amusement of your readers.
Don Gaspardo Anaya had been the unsuccessful suitor of Doña Maria, the daughter of Villescas. What must have been his rage, when he was informed by his spies that the new comer, the brilliant French- man, had triumphed, where he had failed ? But now, he had that hated rival in his clutches, and he was omnipotent, and if the stranger died in the dungeon of Caouis, who, in these distant and rugged mountains, would bring him, the governor, to an account ? Peril- ous indeed was the situation of St. Denis, and heavy must have been his thoughts in his solitary confine- ment! But what must have been his indignation when, one day, Anaya descended into his dark cell, and told him that he should be set free, on condition that he withdrew his plighted faith to the daughter of Villescas ! How swelled the loyal heart of the captive at this base proposal ! He vouchsafed no answer, but he gave his oppressor such a look as made him stagger back.and retreat with as much precipitation, as if the hand of immediate punishment had been lifted up against him.
· For six months, St. Denis was thus detained pris- oner, and the only consideration which saved his life, was the hope, on the part of Anaya, that prolonged sufferings would drive his victim to comply with his
-
215
AND DONNA MARIA.
request. At the same time, he repeatedly sent secret messengers to Doña Maria, whose mission was to in- form her that her lover would be put to death, if she did not wed Anaya. But the noble Castilian maid invariably returned the same answer : " Tell Anaya that I cannot marry him, as long as St. Denis lives, because St. Denis I love ; and tell him that if St. Denis dies, this little Moorish dagger, which was my mother's gift, shall be planted, either by myself, or by my agent's hand, in the middle of his dastardly heart, wherever he may be." This was said with a gentle voice, with a calm mien, as if it had been an ordinary message, but with such a gleam in the eye as is no- where to be seen except in Spain's or Arabia's daugh- ters. The words, the look and the tone were minutely reported to Anaya, and he paused !- and it is well that he did so, and a bolder heart than his would have hesi- tated ; he knew the indomitable spirit of his race-he knew the old Cantabrian blood-and that Spain's sweetest doves will, when roused, dare the eagle to mortal combat !
The Spanish maid did not remain inactive, and satisfied with deploring her lover's captivity. She despatched to Mexico a trusty servant, such as is only found in Spanish households, one of those menials that never question the will of their lord or lady, dogs for fidelity, lions.for courage, who will tear to pieces what-
246
ST. DENIS SENT PRISONER
ever is designated to them, if such be the order of their masters. His mission was to find out the means of informing the Viceroy, that a Frenchman, a pre- sumed spy, had been for several months in the hands of the governor of Caouis, who was suspected of concealing his captive from the knowledge of the higher authorities, in order to tamper with his prisoner for a ransom. The object of this false information was to excite the jealous attention of the government, and to withdraw St. Denis, at all risks, from the dan- gerous situation he was in. This stratagem succeeded, and much to his astonishment, Anaya received a peremptory order to send his prisoner to Mexico, with a sure escort, and at the peril of his head, if he failed !
One morning, St. Denis found himself suddenly seated on a strong, powerful horse, amidst a detach- ment of twenty men, who were evidently prepared for a long journey. He asked whither he was to be car- ried, and was particularly inquisitive about his friend Jallot, who had been put into a separate dungeon, and of whom he had heard nothing since his captivity, but he was dragged away, without any answer being given to his inquiries. Seven hundred and fifty miles did he travel without stopping, except it be for such time as was absolutely necessary to take a hurried rest, when the magnificent city of Mexico burst upon his
-
247
TO THE CITY OF MEXICO.
sight, in all its imperial splendor. There, he flattered himself that he would obtain justice, but he soon expe- rienced that change of place had been for him no more than a change of captivity. Look at the woe-begone prisoner in that horrible dungeon, where he is chained to the wall, like a malefactor! His constitution is completely broken down ; his body is so emaciated by his long sufferings and by the want of wholesome food, that it presents the appearance of a skeleton ; his long matted hair shrouds his face, and his shaggy beard hangs down to his breast. Who would have recog- nized the brilliant St. Denis in this miserable object, in this hideous-looking, iron-bound felon-a felon in aspect, if not in reality !
One day, an unusual stir was observed in front of his prison. The short, brief word of command outside, the clashing of arms, the heavy tramping, of horses, St. Denis could distinctly hear in his dismal abode. The noise approached ; the doors of his cell turned slowly on their rusty hinges ; on came the bustling and obse- quious jailër, ushering in an officer, who was escorted by a file of soldiers. It was one whom the Viceroy had ordered to examine into the situation of all the prisons of Mexico, and to make a report on their un- fortunate tenants. " Who have we here?" said the officer, in an abrupt tone. " I," exclaimed St. Denis, starting to his feet, "I, Juchereau de St. Denis, a gen-
248
ROMANTIC RELEASE OF
tleman by birth, a prisoner by oppression, and now a suitor for justice." On hearing these words, the officer started back and looked wild with astonishment; then, rushing to St. Denis, and putting his face close to his face, removing with his trembling hand the dishevelled locks that concealed the prisoner's features, and scan- ning every lineament with a rapid but intense look, he said, with a quivering voice, which, through emotion, had sunk to a whisper, " You were born in Canada ?" " Yes." " Educated in France, at the Royal College of Paris ?" " Yes." " You left France to seek your for- tune in Louisiana ?" " I did." "By heaven, jailer, off with these accursed chains! quick! set those noble limbs free !" And he threw himself sobbing into the arms of the astonished St. Denis, who thought himself the dupe of a dream, but who at last recognized in his liberator, one of the companions of his youth, his best early friend, the Marquis de Larnage, who, with some other young Frenchmen, had entered into the Spanish army, and who had risen to be the Viceroy's favorite aid-de-camp. What a dramatic scene ! And would not this incident of Louisianian history be welcomed on the stage by an American audience !
- What a change! Here we are in the gorgeous halls of Montezuma, where the barbaric splendor of the Aztec emperors has been improved by the more correct and tasteful application of Spanish magnificence : there is a festival at the palace of the Viceroy :-
249
ST. DENIS FROM PRISON.
" The long carousal shakes the illumined hall ; Well speeds alike the banquet and the ball."
Noble and beautiful dames !- Silk, brocade, and dia- monds !- Gentlemen of high birth-renowned soldiers -glittering uniforms, studded with stars and other de- corations-breasts scarred with wounds-brains teem- ing with aspirations-grave magistrates-sage council- lors-subtle diplomatists-scheming heads! What sub- jects for observation ! The walls are alive with paint- ings which court the eye, or ornamented with mirrors which multiply the reflected beauty of the glorious pa- geantry. Now and then, scions of the greatest houses of Spain ; younger sons, that had been sent to Mexico to better their fortunes ; men whose names, when pro- nounced, sound like a trumpet inciting to heroic ex- ploits, would make their appearance, and to let them pass, the crowd of brilliant guests would reverentially open their ranks. Such is the involuntary respect paid, mechanically as it were, to those who carry round their foreheads the agglomerated rays derived, through the magnifying focus of one thousand years, from the his- torical distinction of a long, uninterrupted line of illus- trious ancestors !
Suddenly, the large folding doors of an inner apart- ment are thrown open, and the Viceroy is seen at table, with a few favored and envied guests, enjoying the delicacies of the most gorgeous banquet. What an
12
250
AFFECTION OF THE VICEROY FOR ST. DENIS.
accumulated treasure of gold and silver, under every form that convivial imagination can fancy, and in the shape of plates, dishes, chandeliers, and every sort of admirably chiseled vases! But who is that noble-look- ing cavalier on the right-hand side of the Viceroy? Can it be St. Denis, the late tenant of a gloomy jail ? It is. Presented by his friend, the aid-de-camp, to the repre- sentative of the Majesty of Spain, to the Duke of Li- nares, he has become such a favorite that his daily and constant attendance is required at court. Nay, the affection which the Viceroy had conceived for St. Denis, had so grown upon that nobleman, that he had insisted upon the young Frenchman being lodged in the palace, where every favor was at his command. The whole city of Mexico had been convulsed with astonishment at the unexpected turn of fortune, which was the lot of the foreign adventurer. Marvelous indeed, and in- explicable did the fascination exercised by St. Denis on the Viceroy, seem to the multitude ! Instead of attri- buting it perhaps to its true cause, to the congenial affinity of mind to mind, and of heart to heart, they indulged in a thousand wild conjectures. At last, these surmises had settled in the belief that St. Denis had saved the life of the Viceroy, in a nocturnal adventure. It was positively ascertained, however, that St. Denis, a short time after his liberation, passing in a secluded street, heard the clashing of swords. Rushing to the
251
TEMPTATION OF ST. DENIS.
spot from which the noise of conflict came, he saw a man with a mask on his face, and with his back to the wall of a house, who was sorely pressed by three other men, masked also, who were attacking him with the greatest fury. St. Denis took side with the weaker party, and put to flight the cowardly assassins. He never said to whom he had rendered such an eminent service, and if he knew-
-
" He shunned to show,
As hardly worth a stranger's care to know ; If still more prying such inquiry grew, His brow fell darker, and his words more few."
His secret died with him!
Amidst all the festivities of the vice-regal court, St. Denis had but one thought, one aspiration, that of returning to his lady love, and to his friend Jallot. He had even refused the most brilliant proposals from the Viceroy, such as a high grade in the Spanish army, saying, " I can serve but one God and one king. I am a Frenchman, and highly as I esteem the Spaniards, I cannot become one." " But," replied the Viceroy, "you are already half a Spaniard, for you have confessed to me that you love a Spanish maid." " True," observed St. Denis, " but it is not certain that I can marry her, because I consider her father's consent as doubtful." " Well then, accept my offers," exclaimed the Viceroy,
252
ST. DENIS REMAINS FIRM.
" and I pledge my knightly word to remove every obstacle that may be in your way." St. Denis ex- pressed his thanks, as one overwhelmed with gratitude at such kindness, but could not be shaken from his determination. " At least," continued the Viceroy, "do me one favor. Do not depart now. Take two months for reflection on what you reject. When that delay shall have expired, I will again put this question to you -will you attach yourself to my person, and transfer your allegiance from the Bourbons of France to the Bourbons of Spain ?" The two months rapidly flew by, and the chivalric St. Denis remained firm to his purpose. " To lose such a man as you are," said the Viceroy, " is a serious trial to me, but I admire, even in its exaggeration, the sentiment by which you are actu- ated. Farewell, then, and may God bless you and yours forever. My last hope is, that Doña Maria will induce you to adopt New Spain for your country. With regard to the commercial relations, which, in the name of the governor of Louisiana, you have asked me to permit between that province and those of my government, tell him that it is not in my power to accede to his propositions." The preparations of St. Denis for his departure were not of long duration, for the lady of his heart beckoned to him from the walls of the Presidio del Norte. The Viceroy presented him with a large sum in gold, which he graciously said, was
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.