USA > Louisiana > Romance of the history of Louisiana. A series of lectures > Part 5
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
88
ST. LOUIS.
In spite of these circumstances, which must have been hateful to Voltaire's turn of mind, the recollection of such exalted virtue extorted from that celebrated wri- ter an eulogy which is doubly flattering to the memory of him to whom the tribute is paid, if the source from which it came be considered. That arch scoffer, that systematic disbeliever in so much of what is held sacred by mankind, said of St. Louis, " That prince would have reformed Europe, if reformation had been possible at that time: He increased the power, prosperity, and civilization of France, and showed himself a type of human perfection. To the piety of an anchorite, he joined all the virtues of a king; and he practised a wise system of economy, without ceasing to be liberal. Although a profound politician, he never deviated from what he thought strictly due to right and justice, and he is perhaps the sole sovereign to whom such com- mendation can be applied. Prudent and firm in the deliberations of the cabinet, distinguished for cool intre- pidity in battle, as humane as if he had been familiar with nothing else but misery, he carried human virtue as far as it can be expected to extend."
Thus, it is seen that the Bay of St. Louis could not borrow a nobler name than that under which it is de- signated. The magnificent oaks which decorate its shore, did perhaps remind Iberville of the oak of Vin- cennes, and to that circumstance may the bay be indebted for its appellation.
BAY OF BILOXI. 89
From the Bay of St. Louis, Iberville returned to his fleet, where, after consultation, he determined to make a settlement at the Bay of Biloxi. On the east side, at the mouth of the bay, as it were, there is a gentle swelling of the shore, about four acres square, sloping gently to the woods in the background, and on the right and left of which, two deep ravines run into the bay. Thus, this position was fortified by nature, and the French skilfully availed themselves of these advantages. The weakest point, which was on the side of the forest, they strengthened with more care than the rest, by connecting with a strong intrench- ment the two ravines, which ran to the bay in a paral- lel line to each other. The fort was constructed with four bastions, and was armed with twelve pieces of artillery. When standing on one of the bastions which faced the bay, the spectator enjoyed a beautiful pros- Įwet. On the right, the bay could be seen running into the land for miles, and on the left stood Deer Island, concealing almost entirely the broad expanse of water which lay beyond. It was visible only at the two ex- treme points of the island, which both, at that distance, appeared to be within a close proximity of the main land. No better description can be given, than to say that the bay looked like a funnel, to which the island was the lid, not fitting closely, however, but leaving apertures for egress and ingress. The snugness of the
5*
90
IBERVILLE'S DEPARTURE FOR FRANCE.
locality had tempted the French, and had induced them to choose it as the most favorable spot, at the time, for colonization. Sauvolle, a brother of Iberville, was put . in command of the fort, and Bienville, the youngest of the three brothers, was appointed his lieutenant.
A few huts having been erected round the fort, the settlers began to clear the land, in order to bring it into cultivation. Iberville, having furnished them with all the necessary provisions, utensils, and other supplies, prepared to sail for France. low deeply affecting must have been the parting scene! How many casual- ties might prevent those who remained in this unknown region from over seeing again those who, through the perils of such a long voyage, had to return to their home! What crowding emotions must have filled up the breast of Sauvolle, Bienville, and their handful of companions, when they beheld the sails of Iberville's fleet fading in the distance, like transient clouds! Well may it be supposed that it seemed to them as if their very souls had been carried away, and that they felt a momentary sinking of the heart, when they found them- selves abandoned, and necessarily left to their own resources, scanty as they were, on a patch of land, be- tween the ocean on one side, and on the other, a wil- derness which fancy peopled with every sort of terrors. The sense of their loneliness fell upon them like the gloom of night, darkening their hopes, and filling their hearts with dismal apprehensions.
91
THE COLAPISSAS.
But as the country had been ordered to be explor- ed, Sauvolle availed himself of that circumstance to refresh the minds of his men by the excitement of an expedition into the interior of the continent. He therefore hastened to dispatch most of them with Bien- ville, who, with a chief of the Bayagoulas for his guide, went to visit the Colapissas. They inhabited the north- ern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, and their domains embraced the sites now occupied by Lewisburg, Man- deville, and Fontainbleau. That tribe numbered three hundred warriors, who, in their distant hunting excur- sions, had been engaged in frequent skirmishes with some of the British colonists in South Carolina. When the French landed, they were informed that, two days previous, the village of the Colapissas had been attacked by a party of two hundred Chickasaws, headed by two Englishmen. These were the first tidings which the French had of their old rivals, and which proved to be the harbinger of the incessant struggle, which was to continue for more than a century between the two races, and to terminate by the permanent occupation of Louisiana by the Anglo-Saxon.
Bienville returned to the fort to convey this impor- tant information to Sauvolle. After having rested there for several days, he went to the Bay of Pasca- goulas, and ascended the river which bears that name, and the banks of which were tenanted by a branch of
92
THE COLAPISSAS.
the Biloxi, and by the Moelobites. Encouraged by the friendly reception which he met every where, he ven- tured farther, and paid a visit to the Mobiliens, who entertained him with great hospitality. Bienville found them much reduced from what they had been, and lis- tened with eagerness to the many tales of their former power, which had been rapidly declining since the crushing blow they had received from Soto.
When Iberville had ascended the Mississippi for the first time, he had remarked Bayou Plaquemines and Bayou Chetimachas. The one he called after the fruit of certain trees, which appeared to have exclusive pos- session of its banks, and the other after the name of the Indians who dwelt in the vicinity. He had ordered them to be explored, and the indefatigable Bienville, on his return from Mobile, obeyed the instructions left to his brother, and made an accurate survey of these two Bayous. When he was coming down the river, at the distance of about eighteen miles below the site where New Orleans now stands, he met an English vessel of 16 guns, under the command of Captain Bar. The English captain informed the French that he was examining the banks of the river, with the intention of selecting a spot for the foundation of a colony. Bien- ville told him that Louisiana was a dependency of Canada ; that the French had already made several establishments on the Mississippi ; and he appealed, in
93
THE ENGLISH TURN-MISSIONARIES.
confirmation of his assertions, to their own presence in the river, in such small boats, which evidently proved the existence of some settlement close at hand. The Englishman believed Bienville, and sailed back. Where that occurrence took place the river makes a consider- able bend, and it was from the circumstance which I have related that the spot received the appellation of the English Turn-a name which it has retained to the present day. It was not far from that place, the atmos- phere of which appears to be fraught with some malig- nant spell hostile to the sons of Albion, that the English, who were outwitted by Bienville in 1699, met with a signal defeat in battle from the Americans in 1815. The diplomacy of Bienville and the military genius of Jackson proved to them equally fatal, when they aimed at the possession of Louisiana.
Since the exploring expedition of La Salle down the Mississippi, Canadian hunters, whose habits and intrepidity Fenimore Cooper has so graphically de- scribed in the character of Leather-Stocking, used to extend their roving excursions to the banks of that river ; and those holy missionaries of the church, who, 'as the pioneers of religion, have filled the New World with their sufferings, and whose incredible deeds in the service of God afford so many materials for the most interesting of books, had come in advance of the pick- axe of the settler, and had domiciliated themselves
9.4
FATHER MONTIGNY.
among the tribes who lived near the waters of the Mississippi. One of them, Father Montigny, was re- siding with the Tensas, within the territory of the pre- sent parish of Tensas, in the State of Louisiana, and another, Father Davion, was the pastor of the Yazoos, in the present State of Mississippi.
Father Montigny was a descendant from Galon de Montigny, who had the honor of bearing the banner of France at the battle of Bouvines. It is well known that in 1214 a league of most of the European princes, the most powerful of whom were the King of England and the Emperor of Germany, was formed against Philip Augustus. The allied army, composed of one hundred thousand men, and the French army muster- ing half that number, met at Bouvines, between Lille and Tournay. Before the battle, Philip reviewed his troops, and in their presence, removing his crown from his temples, said to the assembled host, " Peers, barons,
knights, soldiers, and all ye that listen to me, if you know one more worthy of the crown of France than I am, you may award it to him." Shouts of enthusiasm declared that he was the worthiest. " Well, then," said he, "help me to keep it." The battle soon began, and raged for some time with alternate success for the belligerents. To the long gilded pole which supported the banner of France, and towered in proud majesty over the plain, the eyes of the French knights, scattered
95
FATHER MONTIGNY.
over the wide field of battle, were frequently turned with feverish anxiety, So long as it stood erect, and as firmly fixed in Montigny's iron grasp as if it had taken root in the soil, they knew that the king was safe, it being the duty of the bearer of that standard to keep close to the royal person, and never to lose sight of him. It was an arduous and a perilous duty, which devolved on none but one well tried among the bravest ; and it was not long before Montigny had to plunge into the thickest of the fight, to retain his post near Philip Augustus, who felt on that trying occasion, when his crown was at stake, that the king was bound to prove himself the best knight of his army.
On a sudden, a cold chill ran through the boldest heart in the French ranks. The long stately pole which bore the royal banner, was observed to wave distressfully, and to rock like the mast of a vessel tossed on a tempestuous sea. That fatal signal was well known-it meant that the king was in peril. Simultaneously, from every part of the field, every French knight, turning from the foe he had in front, dashed headlong away, and with resistless fury forced a passage to the spot, where the fate of France was held in dubious suspense. One minute more of delay, and all would have been lost. The king had been un- horsed by the lance of a German knight, trampled under the feet of the chargers of the combatants, and
--
96
FATHER MONTIGNY.
had, with difficulty, been replaced on horseback. Those that came at last to the rescue, found him sur- rounded by the corpses of one hundred and twenty gentlemen of the best blood of France, who had died in his defence. His armor was shattered to pieces, his battle-axe, from the blows which it had given, was blunted into a mere club, and his arm waxing faint, could hardly parry the blows which rained upon his head. Montigny stood alone by him, and was defend- ing, with a valor worthy of the occasion, the flag and the king of France. That occasion, indeed, was one, if any, to nerve the arm of a man, and to madden such a one as Montigny into the execution of pro- digies.
To be the royal standard-bearer, to fight side by side with his king, to have saved him perhaps from captivity or death; such were the proud destinies of the noble knight, Galon de Montigny. ITis descend- ant's lot in life was an humbler one in the estimation of the world, but perhaps a higher one in that of heaven. A hood, not a crested helmet, covered his head, and he was satisfied with being a soldier in the militia of Christ. But if, in the accomplishment of the duties of his holy faith, he courted dangers and even cov- eted tortures with heroic fortitude-if, in the cause of God, he used his spiritual weapons against vice, error and superstition, with as much zeal and bravery as others
97
FATHER DAVION,
use carnal weapons in earthly causes-if, instead of a king's life, he saved thousands of souls from perdition -is he to be deemed recreant to his gentle blood, and is he not to be esteemed as good a knight as his great ancestor of historical renown ?
Father Davion had resided for some time with the Tunicas, where he had made himself so popular, that, on the death of their chief, they had elected him to fill his place. The priest humbly declined the honor, giving for his reasons, that his new duties as their chief would be incompatible with those of his sacred ministry. Yet the Tunicas, who loved and venerated him as a man, were loth to abandon their old creed to adopt the Christian faith, and they turned a deaf ear to his admonitions. One day the missionary, incensed at their obstinate perseverance in idolatry, and wishing to demonstrate that their idols were too powerless to punish any offence aimed at them, burned their temple, and broke to pieces the rudely carved figures which were the objects of the peculiar adoration of that tribe. The Indians were so much attached to Father Davion, that they contented themselves with expelling him, and he retired on the territory of the Yazoos, who proved themselves readier proselytes, and be- came converts in a short time. This means, that they adopted some of the outward signs of Chris- tianity, without understanding or appreciating its dogmas.
1
98
FATHER DAVION.
Proud of his achievements, Father Davion had, with such aid as he could command, constructed and hung up a. pulpit to the trunk of an immense oak, in the same manner that it is stuck to a pillar in the Catholic churches. Back of that tree, growing on the slight hill which commanded the river, he had raised a little Gothic chapel, the front part of which was di- vided by the robust trunk to which it was made to adhere, with two diminutive doors opening into the edifice, on either side of that vegetal tower. It was done in imitation of those stone towers, which stand like sentinels wedged to the frontispiece of the temples of God, on the continent of Europe. In that chapel, Father Davion kept all the sacred vases, the holy water, and the sacerdotal habiliments. There he used to retire to spend hours in meditation and in prayer. In that tabernacle was a small portable altar, which, whenever he said mass for the natives, was transported outside, under the oak, where they often met to the number of three to four hundred. What a beautiful subject for painting! The majesty of the river-the glowing richness of the land in its virgin loveliness- the Gothic chapel-the pulpit which looked as if it had grown out of the holy oak-the hoary-headed priest, speaking with a sincerity of conviction, an im- pressiveness of manner and a radiance of countenance worthy of an apostle-the motley crowd of the In-
99
FATHER DAVION.
dians, listening attentively, some with awe, others with meck submission, a few with a sneering incredulity, which, as the evangelical man went on, seemed gradu- ally to vanish from their strongly marked features-in the background, a group of their juggling prophets, or conjurers, scowling with fierceness at the minister of truth, who was destroying their power ;- would not all these elements, where the grandeur of the scenery would be combined with the acting of man and the development of his feelings, on an occasion of the most solemn nature, produce in the hands of a Salvator Rosa, or of a Poussin, the most striking effects ?
Father Davion had acquired a perfect knowledge of the dialect of his neophytes, and spoke it with as much fluency as his own maternal tongue. He had both the physical and mental qualifications of an orator : he was tall and commanding in stature ; his high receding fore- head was well set off by his long, flowing, gray hairs, curling down to his shoulders ; his face was "sicklied over with the pale cast of thought ;" vigils and fasting had so emaciated his form that he seemed almost to be dissolved into spirituality. There was in his eyes a soft, blue, limpid transparency of look, which seemed to be a reflection from the celestial vault ; yet that eye, so calm, so benignant, could be lighted up with all the coruscations of pious wrath and indignation, when, in the pulpit, he vituperated his congregation for some act
100
FATHER DAVION.
of cruelty or deceit, and threatened them with eternal punishment. First, he would remind them, with apos- tolic unction, with a voice as bland as the evening breeze, of the many benefits which the Great Spirit had showered upon them, and of the many more which he had in store for the red men, if they adhered strictly to his law. When he thus spoke, the sunshine of his serene, intellectual countenance would steal over his hearers, and their faces would express the wild delight which they felt. But, anon, when the holy father recol- lected the many and daily transgressions of his unruly children, a dark hue would, by degrees, creep over the radiancy of his face, as if a storm was gathering, and clouds after clouds were chasing each other over the mirror of his soul. Out of the inmost recesses of his heart, there arose a whirlwind which shook the holy man, in its struggle to rush out : then would flash the lightning of the eye; then the voice, so soft, so insinu- ating, and even so caressing, would assume tones that sounded like repeated peals of thunder ; and a perfect tempest of eloquence would he pour forth upon his dis- mayed auditory, who crossed themselves, crouched to the earth and howled piteously, demanding pardon for their sins. Then, the ghostly orator, relenting at the sight of so much contrition, would descend like Moses from his Mount Sinai, laying aside the angry elements in which he had robed himself, as if he had come to
101
FATHER DAVION.
preside over the last judgment ; and with the gentle- ness of a lamb, he would walk among his prostrate auditors, raising them from the ground, pressing them to his bosom, and comforting them with such sweet accents as a mother uses to lull her first-born to sleep. It was a spectacle touching in the extreme, and angeli- cally pure !!
Father Davion lived to a very old age, still com- manding the awe and affection of his flock, by whom he was looked upon as a supernatural being. Had they not, they said, frequently seen him at night, with his dark, solemn gown, not walking, but gliding through the woods, like something spiritual ? How could one, so weak in frame, and using so little food, stand so many fatigues ? How was it, that whenever one of thein fell sick, however distant it might be, Father Da- vion knew it instantly, and was sure to be there, before sought for? Who had given him the information ? Who told him whenever they committed any secret sin? None; and yet, he knew it. Did any of his prophecies ever prove false ? By what means did he arrive at so much knowledge about every thing? Did they not, one day, when he kneeled, as usual, in solitary prayer, under the holy oak, see, from the respectful dis- tance at which they stood, a ray of the sun piercing the thick foliage of the tree, cast its lambent flame around his temples, and wreath itself into a crown of glory,
1
--
-
102
FATHER DAVION.
encircling his snow-white hair ? What was it he was in the habit of muttering so long, when counting the beads of that mysterious chain that hung round his neck ? Was he not then telling the Great Spirit every wrong they had done ? So, they both loved and feared Father Davion. One day, they found him dead at the foot of the altar : he was leaning against it, with his head cast back, with his hands clasped, and still retain- ing his kneeling position. There was an expression of rapture in his face, as if, to his sight, the gates of para- dise had suddenly unfolded themselves to give him admittance : it was evident that his soul had exhaled into a prayer, the last on this earth, but terminating, no doubt, in a hymn of rejoicing above.
Long after Davion's death, mothers of the Yazoo tribe used to carry their children to the place where he loved to administer the sacrament of baptism. There, those simple creatures, with many ceremonies of a wild nature, partaking of their new Christian faith and of their old lingering Indian superstitions, invoked and called down the benedictions of Father Davion upon themselves and their families. For many years, that spot was designated under the name of Duvion's Bluff. In recent times, Fort Adams was constructed where Davion's chapel formerly stood, and was the cause of the place being more currently known under a different appellation.
103
IBERVILLE'S RETURN.
Such were the two visitors who, in 1699, appeared before Sauvolle, at the fort of Biloxi, to relieve the monotony of his cheerless existence, and to encourage him in his colonizing enterprise. Their visit, however, was not of long duration, and they soon returned to discharge the duties of their sacred mission.
Iberville had been gone for several months, and the year was drawing to a close without any tidings of him. A deeper gloom had settled over the little colony at Biloxi, when, on the 7th of December, some signal guns were heard at sea, and the grateful sound came booming over the waters, spreading joy in every breast. There was not one who was not almost oppressed with the intensity of his feelings. At last, friends were coming, bringing relief to the body and to the soul ! Every colonist hastily abandoned his occupation of the moment, and ran to the shore. The soldier himself, in the eagerness of expectation, left his post of duty, and rushed to the parapet which overlooked the bay. Pre- sently, several vessels hove in sight, bearing the white flag of France, and, approaching as near as the shallow- ness of the beach permitted, folded their pinions, like water-fowls seeking repose on the crest of the billows.
It was Iberville, returning with the news that, on his representations, Sauvolle had been appointed by the king, Governor of Louisiana; Bienville Lieutenant- Governor, and Boisbriant commander of the fort at
1
104
TONTI.
Biloxi, with the grade of Major. Iberville, having been informed by Bienville of the attempt of the English to make a settlement on the banks of the Mississippi, and of the manner in which it had been foiled, resolved to take precautionary measures against the repetition of any similar attempt. Without loss of time, he departed with Bienville, on the 17th of January, 1700, and run- ning up the river, he constructed a small fort, on the first solid ground which he met, and which is said to have been at a distance of fifty-four miles from its mouth.
When so engaged, the two brothers one day saw a canoe rapidly sweeping down the river, and approach- ing the spot where they stood. It was occupied by eight men, six of whom were rowers, the seventh was the steersman, and the eighth, from his appearance, was evidently of a superior order to that of his companions, and the commander of the party. Well may it be ima- gined what greeting the stranger received, when, leap- ing on shore, he made himself known as the Chevalier de Tonti, who had again heard of the establishment of a colony in Louisiana, and who, for the second time, had come to see if there was any truth in the report. With what emotion did Iberville and Bienville fold in their arms the faithful companion and friend of La Salle, of whom they had heard so many wonderful tales from the Indians, to whom he was so well known
105
NATCHEZ.
under the name of " Iron Hand!" With what admi- ration they looked at his person, and with what increas. ing interest they listened to his long recitals of what he had done and had seen on that broad continent, the threshold of which they had hardly passed !
After having rested three days at the fort, the inde- fatigable Tonti reascended the Mississippi, with Iber- ville and Bienville, and finally parted with them at Natchez. Iberville was so much pleased with that part of the bank of the river, where now exists the city of Natchez, that he marked it down as a most eligible spot for a town, of which he drew the plan, and which he called Rosalie, after the maiden name of the Count- ess Pontchartrain, the wife of the Chancellor. He then returned to the new fort he was erecting on the Mis- sissippi, and Bienville went to explore the country of the Yatasses, of the Natchitoches, and of the Ouachi- tas. What romance can be more agreeable to the imagination than to accompany Iberville and Bienville in their wild explorations, and to compare the state of the country in their time with what it is in our days ?
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.