USA > Louisiana > Sketches, historical and descriptive, of Louisiana > Part 23
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The French and Spaniards of the new world are much attached to their own forms of government, however ra- dically defective they may be in principle. The laws of England were introduced into Canada in 1764. The trial
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by jury was established, and legislative assemblies, com- posed of the freeholders and planters, were chosen by the people to enact laws. This innovation was disagreeable to the Canadians, who petitioned against it in 1765, 1770, and 1773 ; so that in 1774 the parliament passed the Que- bec act, by which all former laws and ordinances of the English were abolished, and " the laws and customs of " Canada" established. The Louisianians are mostly go- verned by the civil law. "In the territory of Orleans the ancient forms of judicial proceeding, not incompatible with the change, are still retained.
SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
CHAPTER IX.
COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.
WHILE Louisiana was. in the hands of the French, great exertions were made to introduce a spirit of com- mercial enterprise among the people; but they were not attended with the success they deserved. Agriculture and industry, by which wealth is at first accumulated in new regions, necessarily precede commerce, and are the foundations of it. To promote this desirable object the crown lavished large sums to promote the interest of the colony, expecting to derive abundance of provisions and raw materials in return for the benefits conferred on it. The exertions of Crozat and of the company, to whom the
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SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
commerce of the province was successively granted, prov- ed equally fruitless. The poverty of the settlers, their want of industry, and the trouble given them by the Indians and Spaniards, were insuperable obstacles to commerce, and these unfortunate impediments continued for a great length of time. Indeed, during the existence of the French co- lonial government, the Indian trade almost wholly occu- pied the attention of the people, who were more disposed to provide for present necessity than to discover the means of future good. Louisiana involved France in hea- vy expenditures ; and perhaps the despair of remunera- tion was among the causes, which induced her so easily to cede the country to Spain.
When France first discovered Louisiana she was not in a condition to promote the settlement of it. The pressure of taxes, occasioned by complicated wars, deprived her of the means of colonization ; and she was for some time al- lowed only to anticipate what she wished to realize. The distance too of the colony from the mother country, al- though it increased the prospects of wealth, served to check the spirit of emigration among the opulent, and to confine it almost exclusively to the poor ; and even these . embarked in the enterprise, not to obtain wealth by the slow process of agriculture, but to seize on rich mines, and to monopolize the Indian trade ; the latter of which they fancied was not less valuable than the accumulated pro- . ducts of Potosi. They were not calculated to labor in the field : The climate was too warm, and proved injuri- ous to health ; and they were not able to procure a suffici- ent number of slaves to answer any valuable purpose. They soon found their expectations blasted, and regretted their destiny. Unable from extreme poverty to rejoin their connexions in Europe, and exposed to the vindic- tive rage of the Spaniards, and of some tribes of Indians, they mostly submitted themselves to indolence and fatuity. The little knowledge of agriculture they possessed was ne-
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ver reduced to experiment ; it expired with the first ge- · neration, and was never fully revived while the country re- mained in the hands of France. Hence there was a radi- cal defect in the first settlement of Louisiana, and it serv- ed to impede the prosperity of that colony through all the subsequent periods of its history. Had Indian commerce been wholly prohibited, or confided to a few exclusive traders only, and the settlers generally restricted to agri- culture, and to the acquisition of raw materials for foreign markets, the power of France in America would have been much more formidable than it was.
The Spaniards, after they obtained Louisiana, experi- enced no great difficulty from the Indians: but they found "a people who' had lost all industry, and nearly all their knowledge of agriculture. O'Reilly, and some of his im- mediate successors in the government, endeavored to re- vive a spirit of industry, and to awaken the people to a sense of their interest. Their exertions, though in some degree successful, did not produce all the desired effects ; and they saw with regret, that the inhabitants still retain- ed their habitual indolence, and an unconquerable predi- lection for the Indian trade, which was always precarious and unprofitable, and did not increase the aggregate wealth of the colony. Their object was to create a revenue e- qual to the expenditures of the government. They well knew, that this depended on agriculture, which is the foundation of foreign commerce ; and as they had ex- hausted every resource within themselves to promote it without effect, they resolved about the year 1787 to en- courage the industrious citizens of the United States to remove into the colony, partly to increase the means of wealth, and partly to serve as a defence against the threa- tened invasions of two of the European powers. This gave a spring to agriculture and commerce ; a spirit of foreign intercourse was diffused among all classes of the people ; exertions were made to prepare raw materials for
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SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
the West India and other markets; and the exports from Louisiana annually increased till the close of the Spanish government, though they never rose to the value of the imports.
The articles of export were sugar, cotton, indigo, rice, furs and peltry, lumber, tar, pitch, cattle, horses, lead, flour, beef, and pork. The annual exports from the province by way of the sea, the year before the cession to the United States, amounted to about two million one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, and the im- ports to about two million five hundred thousand dollars ; but in this sum is included plantation utensils, slaves, and a variety of other articles of value not generally enumerated among those of commerce ; so that the imports greatly exceeded the exports. Had the cession been deferred a few years only, the probability is, that the raw materials would have so much augmented in quantity and value as ` to have met the expenses of imported articles. This de- sirable occurrence has added new springs to population, commerce, and industry, and is already productive of in- dividual and public wealth.
It is impossible to ascertain the value of the trade in Upper Louisiana ; part of it-was connected with New-Or- leans, part with Canada, and no inconsiderable portion of it with the United States. This quarter alone furnished lead for the market, and also considerable quantities of salt, beef and pork, furs and peltries. 'The quantity and value of the two last articles may be estimated with some degree of certainty ; but of the others conjectures only can be formed. The traders procured most of their In- dian goods in Canada ; the other goods consumed by the inhabitants .were mostly purchased in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and the groceries and other heavy articles in New Orleans ; iron, steel, nails, and castings, were boat- ed from the Ohio and its waters. The furs and peltries . ..
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COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.
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were mostly exported to Canada. Considerable quanti- ties of salt and lead found their way up the Ohio : Part of the latter article, all the surplus beef and pork, and some other articles, were sent to the New Orleans market.
The furs and peltries are susceptible of more accurate calculation. Accounts of these for fifteen successive years, ending in 1804, were kept by a gentleman of the first re- pute in Upper Louisiana ; and their annual average quan- tity and value stand thus :
Castors
lbs. 36,900
valued at . $66,820
Otters
8,000
-37,100
Bear skins
5,100
14,200
Buffaloe skins
850
4,750
Raccoon, wild Cat, r
Fox skins
28,200
12,280
Martins
. 1,300
3,900
Lynx's --
300
1,500
Deer skins
158,000
63,200
Total S203,750
The French and Spaniards extended the Indian trade a considerable distance up the Arkansas ; along the whole extent of the St. Francis and White river, at least to the villages and hunting camps of the natives in those quar- ters ; up the Mississippi to the falls of St. Anthony, and to the sources of all the westerly branches of it below that point ; up the Missouri about nine hundred miles, as also most of its branches where Indians were to be found. A considerable trade was also carried on among the Indians to the eastward of the Mississippi, particularly with the Kickapoos near the head waters of the Kaskaskia river, and with the Piorias and other Indians on, and in the neighborhood of the Illinois river. The trade from the
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Missouri was much more valuable than that of any other river, and perhaps of the whole of them united, owing to 'the great length of it, to the vast number of Indians on its waters, and to the excellent quality of the furs and skins . obtained in those regions. The average value of the goods annually sent up the Missouri alone, during the fif- teen years already mentioned, was sixty one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. These were -exchanged for furs and skins, which on an average yielded an annual pro -. fit of sixteen thousand seven hundred and twenty one dol- lars, exclusive of all expenses, or about twenty seven per centum ; and by the same rule the annual profits of the whole Indian trade in Upper Louisiana amounted to up- · wards of fifty five thousand dollars ; a sum of considera- ble magnitude when compared with the scanty population of that country. The prices of the several articles men- tioned in this calculation were those of Upper Louisiana. Had they been rated according to those of London, to which place most of them found their way, the profits would have almost exceeded belief. Most of the traders were too poor to defray the expenses of freight, or to wait for the returns of an European market. They exchanged · the avails of their trade for supplies of Indian goods, which were sold them at about one hundred, and some- times at one hundred and thirty per centum, in advance of the original cost, and the expense of transporting them from Quebec to Michillimakinak, where they usually re- ceived them.
It is worthy of remark, that the Indian trade in this quarter was never liable to the same objection as that car- ried on in the Delta, and on the rivers flowing directly in- to it. The pursuit of it to the southward of the thirty se- cond degree only impoverished the country, because it not only induced the inhabitants to neglect agriculture, but also because the furs and peltries obtained by them were of little comparative value. The trade in Upper-Louisi-
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COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.
ana was widely different, and susceptible of- progressive improvement. The traders were always able to obtain suitable goods from Canada, and the furs and peltries i given in exchange for them were of an excellent quality, and commanded a high price. The Indians were also nu- merous, and stood in need of greater supplies than those in warmer latitudes ; they had it in their power from the multiplicity of game to make speedy returns for all the merchandise the traders were able to furnish them. IIence the ancient French in the Illinois country did not experi- ence the poverty of their friends about the Delta, though. "they were equally inclined to indolent habits, and enter- tained nearly the same aversion to agriculture. The Spa- niards seldom gave them any trouble, and they were most- ly exempt from Indian hostilities.
The Indians are much more particular in the color and quality of their goods than is generally suspected. Most of the tribes or nations differ in their choice of goods ; and indeed they are always known to each other by their dresses. Whatever be their wants they will seldom pur- chase strouding, blankets, or any other articles, unless they be of the size, color, and quality, to which they are ac- customed. They sometimes carry their fancies to such extremes as to involve themselves in distress; for they will endure the rigors of winter rather than cover their bodies with a blanket too large or too small, or which is deficient in a border, or has one too many, or the color of' which is not suited to their taste. The goods at present manufactured in the United States are in no estimation among them ; and they have, at least in one instance, re- fused to accept an annuity of merchandise of this de- scription. . Were our manufacturers supplied with proper patterns, no doubt they might be able to gratify the deli- cacy of our own red neighbours, and at the same time af- ford suitable assortments. The manufacturers in England are well acquainted with the nature of the goods wanted
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SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
in the various regions of the west and north-west : They also know how to apportion the different articles to the different nations, lakes, or rivers ; so that an assortment put up by them will always be found to answer the wants of the Indians for whom it is designed. It is of impor -- tance to the trader, that the various articles of his cargo be exhausted at the same time ; otherwise some items, and perhaps those of the most value, will remain unsold, and become mere remnants, because he has not others to match and accompany them : For if the Indians cannot obtain several different articles at the same time, so as to complete what may be called a suit, they will not pur- chase any, and frequently become offended. Hence their partiality for English merchandise is easily explained ;, and it is unfortunate, that our manufacturers are either unacquainted with these particulars, or are not sufficiently united in their endeavors to furnish the necessary supplies. If the labors of a certain number of gun-smiths, and of, manufacturers of cutlery and cotton stuffs, were united and directed to the same end, it would certainly be in their power to supply our Indian traders ; and the annual consumption of goods to the amount of more than two hun- dred thousand dollars, with the prospect of a gradual in- crease, ought to stimulate them to the experiment. Very few rifles are used by the I .. dians of Louisiana ; they pre- fer light muskets, though of some length.
The United States have adopted a liberal policy in their intercourse with the Indians, situated on our borders. These Indians are not only supplied at a cheap rate with all the conveniences of which they stand in need, but they gradually acquire habits of industry, exchange the fruits of the chase for the more substantial avails of agriculture, and at the same time become more sensible of their infe- riority, and of their dependence on us. Were the same policy extended to the Indians on the Missouri and the Upper Mississippi, no doubt the same effects would result.
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COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.
The traders in these quarters put an enormous price on their commodities, though the profits of the trade are not very exorbitant, and this arises on the great advance charged on the goods obtained from Canada. The Uni- ted States can supply the Indians at nearly one hundred per centum under what our traders now demand from them; and supplies in this way would serve to restrain the impositions at present practiced on them. Such a dif- ' ference would soon be felt by the Indians ; and the pros- ... pects of a successful issue seem fully to justify some fur- ther arrangements on the subject.
To carry such a plan into effect it may be necessary to establish several trading houses ; perhaps one at the mouth of the Ouisconsing, or Prairie des Chiens, one at the mouth of the St. Pierre, one at the mouth of the Osage river, or near the Osage villages, one on or at the mouth of the river Platte, one on Red River, and also another on the Arkansas. These positions are not only calculated for the Indian trade, but trading houses at the two former would serve to obstruct the trade at present carried on from Canada, and secure it to ourselves. The Canadian traders must pass to the Upper Mississippi, at least to that part of it visited by our own traders, through lake Michi- gan, by way of the Illinois, or the Ouisconsing. The first is sufficiently guarded by the garrison at Chicago, and another at the mouth of the latter would interdict all improper communications between the Mississippi and Canada, except to the upper part of that river by way of Lake Superior. The Canadian traders annually rendez- vous at Prairie des Chiens, where they have built a small village. From this place they dispatch their goods in va- rious directions, particularly to the Rivers des Moins and St. Pierre, which fall into the Mississippi from the west, and no small proportion of them find their way across to the Missouri. If circumstances will not allow us to pro- hibit the Canadian trade at present carried on at the Man-
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SKETCHES OF LOUISIANA.
dan nation, and other Indians on the upper parts of these two great rivers, still we have it in our power. to check them ' below the points just mentioned. These traders will en- deavor to render public trading establishments unpopular, because they will in some measure deprive them of the trade, and force them either to lower their prices, or to withdraw their goods from market. They even contend that, since the cession of Louisiana, they have a right by ' subsisting treaty stipulations to extend the Indian trade in- to our territory on the west side of the Mississippi : But this claim is inadmissible.
On this subject, however, one difficulty presents itself, which, perhaps, cannot be easily removed. The merchants of Canada send their clerks and dependants to reside at Michillimakinak, within our territory, where they obtain naturalization. The trade is conducted in their name ; but in fact they are no more than agents ; and their prin- cipals, who belong to Quebec and Montreal, reap the fruits of their enterprise. "To prohibit the exportation of mer- :'chandise from Canada would prove extremely injurious to our own citizens ; but it would cure the evil.
The acquisition of the Indian trade by the English is the smallest evil we have to apprehend. While they engross the trade, the Indians, with whom they have an intercourse, will ever be under their control; and when- ever they are prompted by interest or prejudice, they will be able to stimulate them to hostilities. By presents and misrepresentations they have caused some of our own tra- ders to be either plundered of their property, or driven from their stations. 'They even prejudice the Indians against the citizens of the United States generally ; repre- sent them as disobedient and refractory children ; as less numerous and less powerful than their red neighbours, whose objects are to encroach on them, and, under the appearance of friendship, to practice every species of treachery and deception ; to take their lands from them;
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COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.
and finally to extirpate them. These topics, most of all others, alarm the fears and jealousies of weak minds, and serve to create a deadly enmity ; especially as many of the Indians have long viewed with pain the rapid progress of the whites westward ; their ancient domains in a de- gree usurped ; their game destroyed by culture, and in- numerable disorders introduced among them, unknown before the beams of civilization disfigured their horizon. Independent from nature, and the only legitimate proprie- tors of the soil, many of their wisest men view these things with regret, and lament the necessity, which obliged their ancestors to yield so much to the whites. They con- sider almost every treaty, especially if lands be granted away, as in a degree extorted from them, and therefore no longer obligatory than while their weakness prevents a . reclamation of their rights. Such feelings and sentiments are excited in the minds of the Indians by thuse, who are inimical to the interest of our government and citizens ; and they can only be softened or rendered useless by some · firm and placable measures on the part of the United States, and by banishing from among them all those whose interets are disconnected with our national safety.
The boats used by the Indian traders are of various sizes ; but those the most commonly preferred carry from fifteen to twenty-five thousand weight. Their sides are low, and their cars short, so that they may be navigated near the shore, where the counter currents or eddies acce-, lerate their progress ; their bottoms are nearly flat, so that they are enabled to pass in shoal water ; they are also somewhat narrow, and their length is generally from forty- five to sixty feet. The boats emploved between New- Orleans and the Illinois country are differently construct- ed ; they are higher out of water, and sink deeper into it ; .of much greater width, and supplied with keels ; hence .they are called barges, and many of them will carry forty tons. The number of boatmen is usually desig-
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nated by the weight of the cargo; one is required to every three thousand pounds. These are equal to any in the world ; they generally consist of French whites, and French, mulattoes ; and as they are accustomed to the water from their childhood, they are capable of sustain- ing the greatest fatigue. 'They are seldom known to be. impatient of labor, or to be affected by the heat ; and on these accounts they are to be preferred to others. They are also accustomed to live on what would starve an Eng- lish American. A small quantity of corn meal, and bear's grease, are all the articles of nourishment allowed them in Indian countries, except when they are so fortunate as to kill game: 'They are seldom furnished with salted meat, except when employed in the neighbourhood of the whites, where it can be occasionally obtained.
: Very little can be said on the subject of domestic ma- nufactures. At the time of the cession a small quantity of cotton was manufactured along the coast into quilts and cottonades. Most of the people in the neighbourhood of New-Orleans, and in the other settlements, especially" at Point Coupee, on Red River, and in the Atacapas, and Apalousas, spun and wove such articles of clothing as were necessary for their slaves ; and these consisted of a mixture of cotton and wool. They find on experiment, that such domestic manufactures are of great importance, and begin pretty generally to metamorphose some of their female slaves into spinners and weavers, and some of their male slaves into smiths and carpenters. When we took possession of Louisiana, the Island of Orleans contained only one machine for spinning cotton ; another was in ope- ration in the Apalouses. In New-Orleans there was one manufactory of cordage, and several of shot and hair powder. In the neighbourhood of that city were also twelve distilleries for making taffia, a spirit somewhat si- milar to New-England rum, and likewise one sugar re- finery.
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COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.
The manufactures in Upper-Louisiana, especially in ar- ticles of clothing, were of a similar nature. The inhabi- tants generally cultivated a sufficient quantity of cotton for family purposes, and spun and wove it into cloth. They were not able to defray the expenses of foreign ma- nufactured articles ; the prices of which in these upper regions, were very exorbitant. They were, however, des- 'titute of regular manufacturing machinery, except those of simple construction, generally used among the more indigent class in the states ; these required much labor, and the process was slow. The manufacture of lead and · salt is mentioned in. another place. These articles, as well as iron in various forms, ship building, duck, and cordage, leather, and a variety of others, might be manufactured to 'a great extent, if the inhabitants were possessed of enter- prise, and of capitals equal to the objects.
Luxury in every country treads closely on the heels of industry. The attention of people is usually drawn in the first instance to the manufacture of necessary articles, next. to those of convenience, and then to those of voluptuous- ness. Thus it happened on the Mississippi, and indeed in all our western possessions. The manufacture of taffia at New-Orleans, and of whiskey in Upper Louisiana, was early introduced. It unfortunately happens, that men in our warm climates, especially of the laborious class, are attached to stimulating liquors, and this proves their de- struction. They are guided more by their appetites than ' by their reason. Ashamed, however, to confess such a dereliction of principle, they have invented many inge- nious arguments to prove the absolute necessity of a copious use of ardent spirits. One has the gout, and stimulating potions will drive it away. A second is cold, and they will warm him. A third is warm, and they will cool him. A fourth is disturbed in his mind, and they will obliterate his cares. A fifth complains of the foul- ness of the water, and they will purify it. A sixth, from
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