USA > Louisiana > Sketches, historical and descriptive, of Louisiana > Part 6
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of getting him superceded in office by one of their own order) prevailed on the Regent to reduce by an arret the value of the paper, so as to bring it on a level with the coin, and other commodities of the kingdom. This reduction destroyed all public confidence ; it proved fatal to the minister, and to the splendid paper fabric, which vanished like a dream, and left the multitude to bewail their credulity, and to execrate the authors of their ruin.
Whoever takes a correct view of the transactions of the Mississippi Company, must be convinced that it was of infinite utility to Louisiana, perhaps the preservation of it ; particularly as it possessed energy and resources. The great misfortune was, that its exertions were not suf- ficiently seconded by the colonial authorities. We have already witnessed the extreme liberality of the company, and this liberality enabled the French to survive the pres- sure of war, and the still more dreadful scourge of fa- mine. The dissolution of it replenished the public trea- sury, and furnished the crown with the means to be ge- nerous. Hence, on the conclusion of the Natchez ar, the colony began to flourish, though it had lost much of its credit. The security of the people was less precari- ous, and the timely and liberal aids of the mother coun- try, contributed to their prosperity. From this period may be dated the gradual progress of the colony to a more eligible condition, though it was occasionally inter- . rupted by the Indians and Spaniards.
The earliest settlements, as has been stated, were formed on the Perdido, and about the Mobile ; but after the erection of New Orleans, and the dispersion of the people on plantations, they considerably declined. At those places, however, regular garrisons were maintained ; and another was eventually established on the Tombigbee, de- signed to keep in check the Chickasaws, and to interrupt the communication between them and the English. About these posts a number of settlers remained ; some to till
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the lands, but most of them to carry on the Indian and lumber trade. Other posts were established on some of the rivers, which were intended as annoyances to the En- glish and Spaniards, and to monopolize the internal com- merce. A trade was likewise opened with the Islands, and the advantages it afforded, gave a spur to agricul- ture, which enabled the planters, for the first time, to send to foreign markets the valuable products of their own industry. The war with the Chitimaches, and the conspiracy of the negroes to murder all the whites, inflic- ted no material injury on the colony. These evils were temporary, and soon repaired by the prompt measures and activity of the French.
The Chickasaws, from their attachment to the English, were never disposed to have much intercourse with the . French ; and as they were powerful within themselves, and powerfully supported, they stood in no great fear of their neighbors. The French anxiously waited for an opportunity of measuring their strength with them, and in this they were influenced by two motives ; they wished in the first place, to drive the English from among them, and secure the trade to themselves ; in the second place, they deemed it of importance to destroy their influence among the other tribes, and by this means render their frontiers, and trading parties, less exposed to depredati- - on. A plausible pretext for a quarrel occurred in 1736, and the French seized it with avidity. Part of the Natchez Indians, who escaped the general slaughter, claimed the protection of the Chickasaws, and were incorporated into their nation. M. Biainville demanded them ; and as this demand was treated with contempt, he resolved to carry the war into the Chickasaw country. He therefore marched a considerable army up the Mobile, attacked their fortification without success, and was obliged to make a digraceful retreat. The troops from the Illinois, who attacked them on the opposite quarter, where also
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obliged to seek safety in flight. These, when they march- ed up to the attack, had wool-sacks suspended from their necks in front of their bodies, as a security against the shot of the Indians. This kind of armor was first dis- covered by the English traders, who directed the Chic- kasaws to aim their shot at the heads and legs of the French.
These repulses served only to stimulate M. Biainville to another exertion, particularly as the people began to doubt his talents and skill as a general. He wrote to France for succors, and obtained them. In 1739, he as- cended the Mississippi, with much the largest army, in- cluding the Indian auxiliaries, ever witnessed in Louisi- ana, and landed at the mouth of Margot river, where he built fort Assumption. Here he incurred as much dis- grace by a peace he made in 1740, as he had experienced by his defeat four years before. ' Had he attacked the Chickasaws on his arrival, he might have obtained an easy .victory. But, instead of pursuing prompt and vigorous measures, he kept his army encamped in a state of inac- tivity, till his provisions were mostly expended, till his auxiliaries were uneasy, and ready to abandon him ; and he suffered the important moment to escape, when the terror, occasioned by the extent of his preparations, was little short of a defeat. In this situation he was compel- led to offer peace-to the Chickasaws; and happily for him, unacquainted with his weakness, they negociated with him.
Some years previously to these events, the European French began to entertain a more favorable opinion of Louisiana. They perceived, that the soil was prolific, and capable of yielding, with moderate industry, not only the necessaries, but also the luxuries of life. 'The peltry trade too, in their estimation, was nearly of equal importance ; and a commercial intercourse between the colony and Europe, particularly,the Islands, seemed to promise an
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opulent harvest. Full of these expectations, they em- barked considerable wealth in the trade of Louisiana ; and although they met with disappointment, (owing to the indolence of the settlers, and the great reduction of their number) the colony derived no small benefit from their enterprise. The pursuit of internal commerce was by no means profitable to those who engaged in it; nor were the products of agriculture sufficiently numerous and va- luable to reward the hopes of the European capitalists. Yet the first served to conciliate the minds of the Indians, and to excite a violent competition between the French, Spaniards, and English ; not more indeed from motives of wealth, than a mutual disposition to inflict mutual injuries. A regular intercourse with the Islands was of primary importance to the poor planters, as they ob- tained from them, in exchange for the scanty avails of their labor, many indispensable supplies. The Chicka- saws, and sometimes the Chocktaws, were in the interest of the English. Some chiefs of the latter went to Eng- land in 1730, and were presented to the king. They laid their regalia at his feet, and acknowledged themselves and nation as subjects of his dominion. Most of the o- ther Indians on the Mississippi, and indeed along its nu- merous waters, were the friends of the Fren. h.
That the early history of most of the American colo- nies should describe little else than Indian affairs, is, per- haps, not to be wondered at. The resistance of the abo- riginals in some instances wholly obstructed colonization, and it proved in nearly all, a source of lasting troubles. Like other nations, jealous of their territorial and other rights, they repelled encroachments, and endeavoured to punish aggressors. Some writers have represented them as treacherous and faithless. This character is inapplica- ble to much the greatest proportion of them. They are in general extremely scrupulous in regard to the fulfil- ment of national compacts; though, in their individual
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vapacities, they are less honest, and more inclined to e- vade their engagements. Their want of faith in most instances, where it has been manifested, may be traced either to the hard conditions imposed on them, or to the advantages taken of their ignorance. Whoever attentively examines into the merits of the numerous quarrels be- tween them and the whites, will be apt to find, that the latter were almost uniformly the aggressors. The French and Spaniards, in particular, never deemed their engage- ments any longer obligatory than wh.le they contributed to their interests. The least infraction of natural or sti- pulated rights, excited the jealousy of the Indians ; and if justice was denied them, as it almost uniformly was, they knew of no other mode of redress than a resort to war. If their mode of warfare appears cruel and barba- rous, let it be remembered, that this mode is universal among them; that it is adapted to their situation ; and that it seems, according to their apprehension, to be ab- solutely necessary. " Strike, but conceal the hand," is no less a maxim among them, than with some of their more civilized contemporaries. This maxim, indeed, as appli- cable to war, is a dictate of nature and self preservation.
From the year 1740, -to the commencement of the war between England and France, in 1754, few events of im- portance occurred in Louisiana. The colonists were ex- empted from disastrous wars, which enabled them to ex- tend their settlements, to cultivate their fields, and to prosecute their trade with the islands. They surmount- ed their poverty, the usual attendant on all infant colonial establishments, and began to export some cotton, as also considerable quantities of indigo, peitry, hides, tallow, pitch, tar, ship timber, and various other raw materials. These exports continued, and gradually increased, till the country was ceded to Spain ; though they were never `sufficient to procure the necessary supplies in return.
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One of the first symptoms of an approaching war be- .tween France and England, was a dispute about boun- daries as early as 1747. The English extended their claims to the river St. Lawrence, while the French on. their part contended for all the country to the westward of the Apalachean mountains. It was not believed at that ยท time, that either intended to insist on the extent of its - claims ; but it will appear in the sequel, that France was extravagant in her pretensions. Perhaps the proximity of settlement, and the reciprocal attempts to corrupt the In- dians, and to precipitate them into hostilities with the whites, served to inflame the gathering storm, and to hasten its approach.
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After the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, the French ministry more attentively examined the strength and re- sources of Canada and Louisiana. The position of these colonies, stretching from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to that of the Mississippi, with an almost uninterrupted inland water communication between the extremities of both, seemed to unfold the means of subduing the Eng- lish power in America. This scheme was the more rea- dily adopted by the French, as they were anxious to rival the Spaniards in the splendor of their conquests, and to share with them the wealth, and other resources, of the new world. A sudden and unexpected blow was deemed impolitic. Exertions were therefore made to postpone hostilities, and to appease the fears and suspicions of the English. They gradually strengthened their posts on the lakes, and along the Mississippi, and endeavoured to ren- der the communication between them as safe and expedi- tious as possible.
The French in 1749, explored the Ohio, and ascer- tained the geography of the country about it, and its prox- imity to the English settlements. "They even flattered themselves with the hope, that the Apalachean mountains
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would prove an insuperable barrier to the incursions of th ir rival neighbors. They took measures to extend their trade among the Indians ; well aware that, in case of a rupture, they would prove useful friends, or danger- qus enemies. Their supplies, however, were scanty, and inadequate to the wants of the Indians, who were obliged to resort to the English traders. These carefully watched the policy of the French, and endeavoured to counteract their influence., They formed what was called the Ohio Company, intended as a counterpoise to the numerous French traders on our frontier ; and to facilitate their schemes, a considerable tract of land was granted them on that river, as also an exclusive trade. But the exer- tions of this company failed of the desired success. The Indians were displeased with the grant, especially as they had not been consulted. The French took advantage of the irritation it excited, and thereby secured the affections of the Indians. They therefore seized on the English traders, confiscated their property, and then loudly com- plained of the encroachments made on their territory.
This, and some other checks experienced by the Eng- lish, so much emboldened the French that, in 1753, they began to erect new forts, and to form new establishments, more in the neighbourhood of their rivals, particularly at Crown point, Niagara, Riviere au Beuf, and at the junc- tion of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers. These advances, attended too with hostile appearances, were not viewed with indifference. Complaints were made to the French court, which extorted reiterated promises of re dress, without the least intention of performing them ; and, to gain as much time as possible, the English were amused with the most specious reasons for the delay of retribution. This evasive conduct was considered as tan- tamount to a direct denial of justice ; particularly when it was known, that the French were fortifving themselves along the lakes, and on the Ohio and Mississippi.
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The English cabinet resolved to be no longer amused by the artifices of the French. Orders were despatched in 1754, to the governors of provinces, directing them to resort to force in defence of their rights, and to drive the French from their station on the Ohio. The New Eng- land provinces formed a political confederacy for mutual defence. Measures were taken to detach the Indians from the French, but with little or no effect. The illustrious Washington now commenced his military career. He was appointed to the rank of colonel, and detached from Vir- ginia with four hundred men to erect some works of de- fence on the banks of the Ohio. Here he was attacked by a superior force, and obliged to capitulate ; after which he was severely handled by the Indians on his return from the expedition.
Complaints were again made to the French king on the repeated aggressions of his subjects: But as it was evi- dent, that he considered the Ohio, and all the recent esta- blishments made in that quarter, as within his territories, a rupture was deemed inevitable, and both nations prepa- red for it. French troops were sent out to Canada, and all the posts in that province, as well as in Louisiana, put in the best possible state of defence. A temporary disunion among the English colonies, rendered it difficult to collect a sufficient force to oppose them in season.
In 1755, general Braddock arrived with a considerable body of troops from England, and marched over the mountains to attack fort du Quesne, the ruins of which are still to be seen at Pittsburgh. He suffered himself to be drawn into an ambuscade a few miles from the fort, in in which he lost his life, and seven hundred of his men perished with him. Ilis ignorance of savage warfare was probably the cause of this disaster. He rejected the advice of Washington, to whose lot it fell to collect the fugitives, and to lead them back to fort Cumberland. This loss was in some measure compensated the same
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year, by the defeat of the French at fort Edward under Baron Dieskau, who was wounded and taken prisoner.
The clamors raised in England against the tardiness of the ministry, for a while disconcerted the military opera- tions of the English. In 1757, the celebrated William Pitt, afterwards Lord Chatham, came into office, when the war was prosecuted with vigor, though at first with various success. The French laid siege to fort William Henry, and obliged the garrison to capitulate. The troops were permitted to march out with the honors of war, when they were attacked by the savages, and many of them inhumanly butchered.
The year 1758, is memorable from the conquest of Cape Breton, the reduction of Cadaraqui, and fort du Quesne. The English and provincial troops, however, were shamefully. defeated near Tyconderoga, where Lord Howe was slain.
From this period the exertions of the English were at- tended with uninterrupted success. Crown point and Ty- conderoga were considered as the keys of Canada, yet the French were obliged to abandon them in 1759, especially after their defeat near Niagara, and repair to the defence of the capital. The contest on the plains of Abraham decided the fate of the French possessions in North Ame- rica. The intrepid Wolfe was wounded, and expired in the arnis of victory .. The no less brave Montcalme was likewise wounded, and lived only to witness the disasters of the day, and to lament the misfortunes of his country. Quebec was invested, and it soon fell into the hands of ' the victorious English ; and its fall drew after it the ces- sion of Louisiana.
Thus on the heights of Abraham two illustrious gene- rais expired on the bed of honor. Their respective nati- ons have done justice to their memories. Westminster Abbey contains a magnificent monument of Wolfe, descrip- tive of his dying moments. The French minister re- quested, and obtained permission to erect a monument at
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Quebec, to perpetuate the memory of Montcalme. Such national honors paid to the manes of military men, arve ty animate those in arms to deeds of enterprise and glory.
Notwithstanding the success of the English, the Indi- ans continued their depredations on our frontiers. In the: year 1760, the Cherokees were instigated by the French of Louisiana to fall on the English traders and settlers among them, whom they pillaged and slaughtered with- out mercy. About twelve hundred men from South Ca -. rolina marched against them, attacked and defeated them, laid waste their towns, and destroyed their provisions. The Indians soon assembled again, and in their turn laid siege to fort Loudon, and obliged the garrison to capitu- late. These brave troops, while retiring homewards, on the faith of stipulated agreements, were ambuscaded, and many of them put to death.
Yet these inroads of the Indians had no effect on the great contest between the two nations. As the power of France in America rapidly approached its dissolution, she resolved to retrieve all her misfortunes by the invasi- on of England. No sooner was this resolution made known to the English ministers, than they despatched two formidable fleets to sea. Admiral Boscawen attacked and defeated the Toulon squadron near the straits of Gibral- tar; and within three months afterwards, Sir Edward Hawke obtained a signal victory over another French fleet in the bay of Biscay. These misfortunes effectually "checked the spirit of invasion.
Never was France more humbled in her pride and glo- ry than during this war: Her subjects were oppressed with taxes, her fleets destroyed, and her islands captured. Her armies were likewise hard pressed on the continent of Europe, and the terrible defeat before Minden in 1759, seemed to be the precursor of still greater calamities. With infinite regret she found herself obliged to solicit peace, and to accept it on such terms as England was
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. pleased to prescribe. The treaty was finally concluded between them February 10th. 1763 ; by which France ceded Canada to Great Britain, as also all her possessions on the east side of the Mississippi. On the third day of the preceding November, France ceded to Spain all her territories on the west side of that river, including the island and city of New Orleans, which cession was ac- cepted by the latter power on the thirteenth of the same month.
Prior to this period the whole territory on both sides of the Mississippi, situated between the lakes and the gulf of Mexico, and between' the Mexican and Alleghany mountains, went under the general name of Louisiana. That part of it ceded to the English lost the name ; but the new acquisitions of Spain retained it.
The fate of the Louisianians was made known to them by a letter signed by the French king, dated April 21st, 1764, addressed to M. D'Abbadie, whom he calls the. Director General and Commandant of Louisiana, inform- ing him of the treaty of cession, and directing him to give up to the officers of Spain the country and colony of Louisiana, together with the city of New Orleans, and all the military posts. He expressed a desire for the pros- perity and peace of the inhabitants of the colony, and his confidence in the friendship and affection of the king of Spain. Ile at the same time declared his expectation, that the ecclesiastics and religious houses, which had the care of the parishes and missions, would continue to ex- ercise their functions ; that the superior council and ordi- nary judges would continue to administer justice accord- ng to the laws, forms, and usages of the colony ; that the inhabitants would be preserved and maintained in their estates, which had been granted to them by the governors and directors of the colony ; and that, finally, all these grants, though not confirmed by the French authorities, would be confirmed by his catholic majesty.
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The treaty of cession, dated the third of November . 1762, was never published, and the terms of it remain a secret to this day ; but there is good reason to believe, that the sentiments expressed by the French king corres- ponded with the stipulations it contained. His letter was published in New Orleans in October 1764, and it created a great ferment in the colony. Don Ulloa, in 1766, ar- rived with a detachment of Spanish troops, and demand- ed possession of M. Aubry, who at that time exercised the functions of governor .* This gentleman united with the people in opposing the designs of Spain. They complained that a transfer without their consent, was un- just, and in a moment of irritation resorted to their arms, and obliged the Spaniards to measure back their steps to the Havanna.
Things remained in this situation till the 17th of Au- gust 1769, when O'Reilly arrived, and took peaceable possession of the colony. He immediately selected twelve of the most distinguished leaders of the opposition, as the victims of resentment. Six of them were devoted to the halter, to gratify the malice of arbitrary power, and to strike terror into the other malecontents. The other six deemed less guilty, and surely they were much less fortu- nate, were doomed to the dungeons of Cuba. This scene of blood and outrage made a deep impression of horror on the minds of the people, and will never be forgotten. In 1770, the Spanish authorities were established in Up- per Louisiana, where some small settlements were made four years before, under the direction of their French predecessors.
O'Reilly was the first governor and intendant general, who exercised the Spanish power in Louisiana. As go- vernor-general he was vested with the supreme power of the province, both civil and military ; and as intendant-
. M. D'Abbadie died just before this period.
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general he granted lands, prescribed the conditions, and confirmed the concessions made by his subordinates ; su- perintended the fiscal department, and the affairs of the Indians. 'This arrangement, with some slight modifica- tions, continued till 1799, when a department of finance was created.
The English in 1764, took possession of Florida under the treaty of the preceding year. A regiment on its way up the Mississippi to Natchez, was attacked by the Ton- nicas at the clifts, where fort Adams now stands, and en- tirely defeated. In this rencounter Major Loftus lost his life, and ever since that period the clifts have borne his name. The bones of those killed in the action have been uncovered by the ebrasion of the rains, and a considera- bie slaughter appears to have taken place.
After the Spanish authorities had gained possession of Louisiana, it was not long before the people became in some measure, reconciled to the change. The severity exercised on the leaders of the opposition excited horri- ble sensations in their minds ; though, when their hopes were blasted, and their fate inevitably fixed, they endea- vored to bear their misfortunes with becoming fortitude. Perhaps the similarity of their religious principles, and modes of worship, urged them the more readily to a speedy acquiescence ; especially when they found them- selves abandoned by their mother country, and menaced by the whole power of Spain.
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