IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) ^itLi:Ays , II /77() I .l.'^f . 7'//c .i/nrt.r iioii riif!,,l lumiftuit Ciis/iiiii Aoiui' 1111,1 Haiiaiks hn-t- 1/,. I(iii/t:iit ii'f riiiiriiil III, //(,v I'/, III liiit luiil no iiiiniLf ,il f/ir /nil,- R I y i: II (ioi'/M fn iifi unit \Lh:AyS /// ///>, /jr (h,,r' P,tfnn,n ,f U,, llnlush Arinv ^ 5 . . J-, . ■ «■• >, >* ■ •,.* - *•' its '-.'.^ .*'^S' " . - ■'■s • •* r 'f J • -,■* • ■ ..'•^:^- . '^i... .> -l^*; > : % -^ . ' ''" *A W / A '.ii'.«A* .-ft ■" ? ■■i*^^ * ■ - - ' v» f* .sr ■■•' ,,' -^^ •; «' ^ >/ / s s / s I I' r I (ioif /t't'f tv art null Soil llir n /itih- iiiii iiiti- III //ic linMi mi.-t •niulir iil\'i'fiiiAiiit,-ij\ii/i II /iiiiii/iii'Iti- I'il/iiii ,111, i ii iiri hiiliiii/ ilil,)i uil/i,itil o/' Ihe Ih'ih.s/i Aniiy ^n Q,> <^, ' '' 0(i"%i% LOUISIANA: ITS IIISTOKV AS A FEENCII COLONY. THIRD SERIES OF LECTUR BY CHARLES GAYARRE. DBBILE PKINCIPIUM MELIORA FORTUNA SEQUE Tl'R. NEW YORK : JOHN WILEY, I6Y BROADWAY. 1852. 7 X Entered, according lo Act of Con^reaa, In the year 1852, BY CHARLES OAYARRE, In Ihi; Clerk's Oflict niled Stiitcs' District Court for the District of Louiaiana K. CRAIGHEAD, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER. 53 yeicy street, y. V, I I :i CONTENTS. FIRST LECTURE, Anecdotes of D<> Vauflrcuil The riiickasftWH sue for Peace Effects of Paper Currency in the Colony Tradiiii,' Monoj.oly frranted to Deruissenu . Lend Minos discovered in Illinois Tnilian Difficulties Proposed Expedition against the Chiekasaws Census of Louisiana in 1746 Dispute between Lenormant and Vaudreuil Oljstructions at the mouth of the Mississippi Proposed Fortifications on the Mississippi Means of Defence of the Colony . Terrible Hurricane in Louisiana . Lenormant's Remarks on Paper Money Extent of the New Orleans District . Civil War among the Choctaws . Outrages committed by the Choctnws . Red Shoe killed Renewal of Hostilities .... Tixerant discomfited by Choctaw Hunters . The Indians attack the German Coast Planters Baby, the Dancing Master, repulses the Indians Death of Baby— Close of the year 1748 Views of the Government on Commerce PAGE 17 20 21 23 24 2C 27 28 29 30 31 34 3S 36 38 89 40 41 42 48 44 46 4« 47 IV CONTENTS. Aaccndcney of the French *"*?* Tranquillity rn-cxtabliBhed .^ Paper Money Incrensf of the Alilitnry Forces .o Paper Money coui.terfeited ... ,„ . ' ••••... 08 Picrn; Houcher .... ,. ***•■••* o4 Lettres do Cachet .... ,. DiHtrihution of the Troops . ' '*-***•. 00 Conii)luints aguiust Yaiidnuiil .- Coniphiitits ajjainst. Uoiivilli6rc -o Condition of tlio Colony ,„ Litroduetion of tiio Sugar-Cane go Exi)cdition against the Chickasawa . ! 64 State of Agriculture -, The Marquis of Vuudreuil . . a- ■■••••. 00 SECOND LECTURE Kerlerec's Opinion of the Indians Kerleroc Endeavours to Conciliate the Indiaus Changes among the Officers Slate of the Colony . Character of tin.' Troops Tribute to the Indians Tragic Occurrence Fears of Invasion Gain of the Mississippi on tl»e Gulf Fears of British Invasion Religious Warfare Intrigues of the English Discontent of tiie Indians Attack on Fort I)uquesu<; Rocheraore . Introduction of the Sugar Cane Recall of Rochemore . Help solicite|)(isitioiis of tlie Witnesses Tlie Council's Letter to the Duke of Prnslin Representations to tlio Kins;. Foucaiilt's i-eltcr to tlie Duke of Prnsliu Aul)ry'8 Letter to tlie Duke of Praslin . Position of iho Revolutionists Letters of Ulloa on tlie Pvovolution Petition of the Colonists Fouciuilt's Despatches . Aubry's Despatches Council of Ministers in Spain Grimaldi's Letter to Fuentes Symptoms of Reaction SIXTH LECTURE. 210 211 212 Letter of Aubry . . , . Aubry and tlio Council . . . Xew Di'lej^atea sent to France Foiioa\ilt's Treachery .... Departure of the Frigate . Increase of the Reaction Scheme of a Republic . Anxieties of the Public Miml Reaction hi l^ivor of the Spanish Officers Arrival of ()'R(>illy . Tlie Career of O'Reilly Messati;e from O'Reilly to Aubry Aubry's Speech to the People Deputation from the City . Address of Lafr6ni(5ro . O'Reilly's R,.ply . Close of the Interview Landinji; of th,' Spaniards . Landini,' of tiie Troops Reception of O'Reilly . The Closing Ceremonies Aubry's Despatches . Letter from O'Reilly to Aubry Aubry's Answ.ir . Aa-rest of the Insurgent Leaders PAGE 217 218 219 220 223 224 227 228 237 241 245 247 262 208 270 271 272 273 276 278 279 2S0 281 282 283 287 288 289 290 m 292 293 294 296 296 297 298 WO 301 Vlll CONTENTS. Death of Vnifrfi. . . , . O'Reilly's ProL'lamntion Arrest of Foucmilt Ceremony of Swearing Allegiance Procce(lini;s with respect to Foueault Letter frotn Aubry Foueault sent to Franco Release of Brand PAGE 308 305 306 307 308 309 810 811 SEVENTH LECTURE, A State Trial Presentment of the Attorney-General Remarks on the Plaa of the Accused Quotation from Yaftel The Judgment . Appeals to O'Reilly . nis Inflcxihility . The Negro Jeannot . Execution of the Prisoners . Dealh of Aubry . Comments on the Execution Despatch of 0']{eilly to Grimald. Feelings and Ideas of the Time Charge of Duplicity against O'Reilly Anecdote of Cardinal Richelieu Maisons d'Acadiens Polished Manners of the Colonists Census of the Inhabitants . , Concluding Remarks . Appendix 313 318 331 382 334 337 338 839 340 341 342 344 346 347 348 850 351 362 358 869 I FACi: 303 306 306 307 308 309 810 311 PREFACE TO THE THIRD SERIES LECTURES ON LOUISIANA. 313 318 331 332 334 337 338 339 340 841 342 344 345 347 348 350 351 362 353 859 xHis IS the third and last series of the Historical Lectures on Louisiana, embracing a period which extends from its discovery to 1769, when it was finally transferred by the French to the Spaniards, in virtue of the Fontainebleau treaty si<.ned in November, 1762. This work is, as far as I could make°it so a detailed and accurate history of Louisiana, ns a French colony The preface to the first series of Lectures, which was criticised by some as unworthy of the serious nature of the subject which I had undertaken to investigate, accounts for the defects apparent in the whole production, if tested according to the rules of regular and classical composition, and shows that they proceed, in part, from the very fact of its accidental creation As I already said in that Prefoce, I looked upon the first four Lectures, as miffce serice, to which I attached no more import- ance, than a child does, to the soap bubbles which he puffs through the tube of the tiny reed, picked up by him for the amusement of the passing hour. But struck with the interest whicli 1 had excited, I examined, with more sober thou-^hts the flowery field in which I had sported, almost with°the buoyancy of a school boy. Checking the freaks of my imacnn- ation that boon companion with whom I had been gambolirnrr 1 took to the plough, broke the ground, and turned myself to a more serious and useful occupation. This is, I think, clearly PREFACE. observable in the second series of Lectures. In the third and last series, which I now venture to lay before the public a change of tone and manner, corresponding with the authenticity and growing importance of the events which I had to record will be still more perceptible. ' Should the continuation of life and the enjoyment of leisure permit me to gratify my wishes, I purpose to write the history of the Spanish domination in Louisiana, from 1769 to 1803, when was effected the almost simultaneous cession of that province, by Spain to France, and by France to the United States of America. Embracing an entirely distinct period of history, it will be a different work from the preceding, as much perhaps in point of style and the other elementT of composition, as with regard to the characteristic features of the new Lords of the land. Whatever may be the defects of this work (and they are numerous), their exposure cannot give me pain by defeating mc in the pursuit of what I never aimed at-literary reputation. But notwithstanding their existence, I may be permitted to con- gratulate myself upon having thrown some light and interest on a subject, so far very little known— the history of the land of my birth. I rest satisfied with having been an humble pioneer, and with having erected in the wilderness the modest wooden structure, which, I hope, will soon give way to more stately edifices, showing the elegant proportions of a more clashical architecture. I beg leave, in conclusion, to refer those who think that the history of Louisiana which I have submitted to the public, is indebted to my imagination for many of its romantic incidents, and who may be willing to test the accuracy of my historical statements, to works, not of recent date, the authorship of whir-h is attributed to: Bossu, Perrin du Lac, Charlevoix Pittman, Dumont, Lc Page du Pratz, Hennepin, Lahontan,' Baudry des Lozicires, Laharpe, and Laval; and 1 also refer to voluminous manuscripts copied from the archives of France PREFACE. XI ! third and public, a ithenticity to record, of leisure ;ie history to 1803, I of that le United 3t period leding, as ments of es of the they are ingmcin on. But I to con- l interest the land humble 3 modest to more a more and Spain, and which have become the property of the State. These are my vouchers, and I have nothing to fear from their examination, however minute and critical it may be, with regard to the detection of any intentional errors on my part, conscious as I am, that, in the composition of this work, I have been animated with the same feelings which must glow in the breast of a devoted son, who attempts truthfully and scrupu- lously to reproduce and to perpetuate, with the painter's art the perishing features of a cherished moth -. ' Baton Rouge, July Wh, 1861. that the ublic, is icidents, istorical •ship of rlevoix, hontan, refer to France I! ^i I 1 IS' LOUISIANA: ITS HISTORY AS A FRENCH COLONY. FIRST LECTURE. AnM,N,STHAT,OX OP T„E M^maH, OK VAUDRKUa A« GoVKKXOR OK Lc.SUNA- Anecotes Illl'sthatixo „r.s Cuakacteu-tuk C„„.ka8a.vs si-k r„n Pku'e- \ AlI.KEL-aS AN.SWEn-OuD,NAXCE CONCEUN..NO LkveE.-ICkKKCT. OK T„kYw.. CnnuK^cv rN t„k r,„.o.sv-Aro.o,.o.,v ok 'IVu.k okaste,. ., Dk L ,",!^ Z 7 "TT^'T ""'""'" "^ ""^ C„:CKA«AWS-1VU.,.A„„.V OK /"w BY Red fenoE-KEroKTS on the iIoir„.s and Sam.-bars ok the Missksut MEA.V.S OK ..KKKN.E Ano„,:,. TO PUOTK.T Lor.S.AXA AO.U.VST K • vs^H "" n,.E IIun.,CA.E-F..VAME. OK THE CoLONv-PAPEn MoNKv 2 .Stock onB,K,. Civa Wa« AMo.va the Chttaws-A Pautv ok them VHUK TH. ,KUMA. COAST-GUEAT AlA„M-AsSA.S,.XAT.OX OK Re,, S„OE-i" k " „, THK N>ux D,«t™ba.c^^_Dak..v« ok the CHocTAWH-CowAamcE OK 'nxnu,;- MA.STE.S ^^i.E^ attacked mv the Cuocxuv.s-Commeuck ok the Co.onv lN.o.„A«E„E.vT o.vEN TO Aor.T,;..TnuE-Y.E..„ OK T„,: Wax Tm;;; Cra,o,,»:s ..eclaued nrpEST Men to wage War a,.unst „,k In,„.v.s-(- as„,"o BLOW O.VKV BV GnAN„.l.UK TO THE CHOCTAWS-lh. TuE Vrv OK P 1 w.™ ™at NAT,oN-r,.u.,E Kouc. „:nt to LOU.UNA-CO.; LkIm^ ^k TIE l.UEH M,..VKV OK T„E CoLO.NV BV A CoLORED MaN-H,S P,.S,s„,Xt (.KAN.,-P„. MADE A Kn.OHT O. St. LoUm-ORI«.N OK THE Gr X^P^ FAMaV ,N LoULSUNA-QfAURELS BET.VEEN Va.:„HEU,L AX„ Z V^^^^ M.CUKL „e i.^ RorvauEKE, t„e Sra-EBsou ok Lexormant-S,-. T Oan^ «KNT TO THE J^,n. OK Lov,.„ANA-Ar„,VAL OK S.XTV G „^-1m\x,L ™ ™ thev were Settle., ,n the Colo.sv-Fru.tle.s E^no' '^ V ™ ««Eua ACAINST THE Chukasaws-Aneodote OK T^.E To, .^^,«.^ fLI: .r;o''rAt„!T""''^-^n^ "^ *'~"^" "^ i>'A-.vHrE-VA. r""- SKNT TO Canada-Kerlerec, Goveknor ok Lo.ls.ana ,n- Feu.u:arv, 1763. The appointment of the Marquis of Vnudreuil as (governor of Louisiana, in the in plsieo nf Bjnnyijl^ "^ II- IS ANECDOTES OF DE VAUDREUIL. [)ro(liice(l ii favorable impression on tlio colonists, and «,nive rise to flatterin^r hopes. It was known tint the Marquis was the son of a dislinguished officer who had been Govcrnor-frcncral of Canada, and that he belonged to an influential family ;it the French court. His nomination Avas received as a token that the government intended to make serious efforts to put the colony on a more respectable footing, and it was presumed that the Marquis would not have accepted the post of a petty governor in so insignificant a colony, if he had not received promises that the province over which he had been called to rule, would soon be destined, under the powerful patronage of the mother country, to acquire more importance than it had so ftir possessed. His arrival in the colony was therefore hailed with joy, as the harbinger of better days. That joy rested also on the knowledge of the hereditary reputation of all the Vaudreuils for kind- ness and liberality. With respect to these qualifica- tioiis, the present Governor of Louisiana was no vmworthy representative of his ancestors. A few anecdotes related of him will fully jllustratc his cha- racter. It haj)pcned that one of his servants acted with insolence towards an officer of the garrison in New Orleans, who had come to pay his respects to the governor on one of his reception days. The marchio- ness having been informed of the fact, brought it to the knowledge of her husband, and insisted on the culprit's being dismissed. De Vaudreuil acquiesced in a demand which he thought just, and consented to part with that servant, although a favorite one. He sent for his privy purse, and after having paid the wages due to the servant, he added a bounty of three hundred livres. His wife expostulated with him on ANECDOTES OF DE VAUDREUIL. 19 lists, and th-t the ccr who that he ;h court, that the to put 1(1 it was icccpted ficant a that tlie c, would le of the than it ony was f better 3 of the )r kind- ualifica- wiis no A few lis cha- 3d with in New to the larchio- it it to on the seed in nted to le. He aid the •f three lim on this Htrange piece of liberahty, and observed that it was offering a reward to impertinence. Unmoved, and without returning an answer, the Marquis threw agam three hundred livres to tlie lacquey; and seeing the flush of anger rising on his wife's brov" : " JMadam," said he, with great composure, " I do not reward him for his insolence, but for his faithful past services, and if you show too much displeasure to the poor devil, I will give him the whole purse, to indemnify hhn for his having incurred the mortification which you now inflict upon him." Once, an oflicer of the garrison wrote against him to the minister of marine. The minister transmitted the letter to De Vaudreuil. One day, the same officer was addressing some gross flattery to the Marquis, who stood it for a while, but the dose becoming too nauseating, "What conduct is this?" exclaimed the Marquis, " how dare you thus give the lie to your own written assertions/ Is it possible that you should so soon have forgotten a certain letter which you have written against me ? " " A letter against you, general and from me?" "Yes, sir." "I swear that nothing can be more false." " Beware, sir; do not force me to look for that letter, for if you compel me to take that trouble, I will immediately have your commission taken away from you." The officer did not reply, and never, from that moment, did the Marquis open his hps on the subject, or show by any act that he remembered the circumstance. It also happened, that a menial in his household had lost or mislaid a valuable piece of plate. The Marquis was at table when the offence was discovered, and the guilty one, trembling with emotion, and overwhelmed with shame at his being accused of so much negligence, and perhaps of theft, was brought THE CHICKA8AW8 SUE FOR PEACE. 'Ili up to his presence. The Marquis, at first, looked at Jiiin with some severity of countenance, l)ut his face soon resumed its usual benevolent expression, and turnmg to his butler, he said : " Get a bottle of my best wmc and give it to this poor fellow to cure him of h,s fright." This is enough; no more can l,e wanted to give the measure of De Vaiidreuil's heart. Bienville, when he departed from the colony, had left It at war with the Chickasaws. These Indians, on their being informed that a new governor had arrived, sent to him four of their chiefs, with a frenchman, their prisoner, named Carignan, to sue tor peace. Vaudreuil answered that he would not treat with them, except it were in cop.—: .,ith hi<, alho<, the Choctaws, to whom they should make ampl^ amends tor all the injuries they had inflicted upon them at the instigation of the English, and except they should drive away from their villages the English traders, who, ho said, were the authors of all their misfortunes. The Chickasaws took time to consider ttiesc conditions. The necessity of providing against the ever threaten- ing overflows of the Mississippi had struck De Vau- dreuil and .jointly with Salmon, the king's commissary, l.e pubhshed, on the 18th of October, an ordinance which commanded the planters to have their levce« made, or m a safe condition, by the 1st of January, 1744, under the penalty of forfeiting their lands to the crown. Evidently, this penalty was sufficiently strmgen to secure the execution of the ordinance. Thus closed the year 1743, during which the ex- TZ ^L^" "^'"•"•^t'-^tion of the colony amounted to ,i4o,o28 livres. In the beginnmg of 1744, the Chickasaws informed De VandreuH that tl,ey „onld accept his conditions, I I ookod at liis face ion, and e of my 'ure him c wanted my, liad Indians, nor had with a to 8U0 'uld not i'ith his e ample id upon 0}>t tliey English dl their ;onsider ireaten- )e Vau- aissary, Jinance levees anuary, nds to iciently inance. lie ex- ounted formed litions. EFFECTS OF PAPER CURRENCY IN THE COLONY. 21 and dismiss the En<,diHh traders from their villnges, if the French could supply them with all the goods, merchandise, and amnumition, of which they stood in need. This, I)e Vaudreuil could not do, nor could he promise to do, without exposing himself to a brench of faith ; and with no small degree of concern did he learn that the Chickasaws were negotiating with the Choctaws, to conclude a treaty of peace with them, without including the French. On this state of things, he wrote to his government : " I will do my best to defeat these negotiations, which, if successful, would be ruinous to the colony. We must not forget that we are in a state of the utmost destitution, that our warehouses are empty, and that, between us, who can only make fair promises, and the English, who cnn ^ire, the Indians cannot hesitate in their choice. Many of them have already carried their furs to the English, and this example will be contagious. All that 1 can do' is, to insinuate to the Choctaws that the Chickasaws are not in good faith in their proposals for peace, and that probably their only object is to lull their enemies into unguarded security, and to strike an unexpected blow upon them, or perhaps that thoy seek, under cover of their pretended negotiations for peace, to keep the Choctaws in a state of inaction, and m' the mean time quietly to get in their harvests." The Marquis concluded his despatch by endeavoring to impress upon the government his conviction of the necessity of forwarding to him, as soon as possible, an ample supply of goods and merchandise. Vaudreuil had found the colony in a deplorable financial condition. It will be recollected that the government had, in 1735, contrary to the advice of Bienville and Salmon, called in the depreciated paper money of the India Company, and had replaced it by 22 i:ffi:ctr of papkr ivmiv^cy ix tiik tolonv. paMt.hoarcl nof^.s (hillrfs ./. rarfcs), whirl,, it wns snul om.rrd n,. .nf.nitHy l.rttor nocurity tl.nn tl.r prrccdinj onr bcT,..iso tl... king's ,K,,,or wn.s not to ho woi.rholl J" the s.-.,no seal, with th. Co.npm.y's ,.,,j,or. Uut ivinUy h;u] nin, yoarM (dapscl, whon this royal i.apor was as nn.ch dcprociat...! as its .no,-,, n.o.lrsi ,,r<.(l,>ros- 8or. I ho (lopivnation was snch, that it was nrcrssarv to «,v<> three hnndre.l hvres in ,,a,),.r for what nmdit have hoen ^ro, for uov hnndn.l hvres in coin. On U.o ^7th of April, the council of state decland that it cons,der(Ml tins condition of thin<.s as prejudicial to the tnmnc<>s of the ir(,v,.rrnnent, to the welfare of tho colony and th(> progress of connnerce, and that it had rosolved to pnt an <.nd to snch disorders. It, therefore ''">'"n"H.e'H^ iH.n.lred hvres for every two hnndrcd and fifty I.vns worth of pap,>r. Snch was the rate established, '"'cie, bu cons.sted n. giving drafts on the treasury in Fnvnce. On these drafts the holders had again to los,^ a I .^connt t was also decreed, that all the pasteboard notc>s which should not be brought in within two months after the pronuilgation of this edict, should .ecome null and void, fn support of the jjstice of t US lugh-handed and arbitrary nu^asure, it was stated ha he government did not M under the obligation to take up tiDse notes at par, because thev bar? been g.ven to meet expenses and claims which h.^i b< ^n raised in proportion to the actual or e.xpe.M.d dopre- c.nt.on ol the currency in which thes,! were to^c uuf. Such was the impotent apology offered by the government for its shameless breach of faith, and the poor, hclph.ss colonists had to be salisfled with 't. uy harl found out, too late, that the Kin . nMhAiiih it went by a more lolly name, OLOIVV, TKADINtJ MONOPOLY (JHAIVTKI) TO DKHI'ISSi: VI. 2!? w.'is smkI, )rrcc(lin^ W(!iir||o(l »or. Hut Kill [)}ipor )r<'(l(>r,o.s- ('crKSiiry at iui;ir|it On tlio that it licial to of tho It it had HTcforo, 1 to pay nd fifty ildishcd, ^-io, hut Franco. los(» a t<;hoard in two should itico of i stated Ii<,^ation id hoon 'i hi r»n doprc- to he ■od l)y til, and I with name, was as much of a ^^oithlrss ra;^ as the Compamfs paper. Unfortunatfdy, lh<; \liin|iiis of N'jiiidn'uil luarkc^d tho l)(>;4innin Missouri, and the; streams falling into that river. This privil(!irre annexed, amou'^ which were these: — r)eiiiiss( au hound himself to finish the fort estahlished on the Missouri territory, to keep in it a sufficient stock of merchandise to satisfy the wants of the Indians, to maintain, at his own expense, the several indiiiu trihes of that district in a state of amity among themselves and with the I'rench, to supply the garrison of the fort with the nec( ssary means of suhsisteiicc, to pay to its counnandcr an annual hounly of one hundred pistoles, and to trans- port to the fort, without charge, all the provisions and effects of that commander. It was sti()ulated hy the gov(>rnor, that he reserved 'to himself the right to modify, change, or alt< grant, according to circumstances, and in the way which the prosperity of the country might recjuire. In rendering an account of what he had done, De Vaudreuil said, in a dcsj)atch of the Oth f)f Dc'cendxr, that one of his reasons for granting to Deruisseau lh(> monopoly of trade in the Illinois district, was to deprive the colonists in that region of all means of carrying on any kind of commerce with the Indians, and thus to force them into the cultivation of the soil. He added : " It would he proper to j)rohihit the I f ::l 24 l^EAD MINES DISCOVERED IN ,^^,^^,^^ introduction of negroes intn ih . ".order to <^oneJT:iZ.nu£:l f .f" ^"-"^^' »d to oblige them to woA them ., "'« colonics, negroes would be more ZZ, 'r"'^«'™s. Moreover, of the colony, l wouldC^"' '" ',"" '°"- ?"« »«groes to be taken UB to ,1, %,"'P''^""'t 'o allow •he white inhabitams Should h "°"' '^*'='''" ^'■«" I'fe of wandering and I„,l "T"'' '''■•"" "'"i^ assumed sedentary habits'^ h' f"'', ^•''™' ''»'™g o'=cupied in cau/ng thS n! ^ "'*' "' '''''^' ^f '""d.. I send samples LmT' '° '""'™"' "'^i.- <=opper which we continne , """=' "f '"«<) and To work these mbTs 'it wol r"" "' "" ™'"°'^- convicts." ' ^""'^ »« necessary to send ,beeT';ietro::i7ob;tt:ai°V'"'"- "^^ '"^^^ '«"• topt in view, Hi Dc' V,^ ^T"*^'' S°'«"™ent ^amo delusion. I, j" diffie.^t f '"'' '^".<=°"'ag« "" provisions, that, if all the die . , ""^ '™'«^ "'ose are to bo taken' to the TeH?.'"' ■"■ "■" governors smce the very first day of .^ .J'""' "'" '"''aWtants, I'ad always been on rt/ et 'T'"™' "^ "'« =°'ony «-"il 'nmself, i„ a lett of L "strTt""- ^^ ^-- wrote ; " Jf flou„ ,,^ , "^ "^^ "^.^ -^^^h of October, 1744 •'■oops would tetK':' " "" '^'^P"-'' ""'' '"O'"'" In such cir«n ?""' ""^ "'<= want of hundreds of work , en C'T' " """''^ ^«™"' ■"ines Of Arkansas rofnhmisr",;"'''','"''^'' '" "'<= 't not have been to furnll! H • ,"™ ''''"<^"l' would for their mining^op t ^r'^i;^ f '''« "---™s INDIAN DIFFICULTIES. 25 outlays ? It is astonishing that tliese considerations should not have prechidec' the very conception of any project of the kind. It will be recollected that, shortly after the arrival of the Marquis of Vaudrcuil in the colony, the Chickasaws had made proposals for peace, but the Marquis had answered that he would not treat with them separately from his allies, the Choctaws; and when the Clioctaws showed themselves favorably dis- posed towards the Chickasaws, he, under some [)retext or other, postponetl the consideration of the peace negotiations which had been opened by the Chicka- saws, and succeeded at last in reviving the old hatred of these two tribes, and in renewing their acts of hosti- lity, which had been temporarily suspended. Red Shoe, whose intrigues and tamperings with the English had so long been a source of uneasmess to the French, had even been gained over by the diplomacy of the Marquis. The fact is that the policy of the French was to keep the Indian tribes at war with each other, in order to waste away their strength and power. The Indians were not so simple as not to be fully aware of the game that was played upon them. But, by the contact of the civilization of a superior race, they had been inspired with wants which they could not shake off, and had by this means been put under the complete dependency of these two European nations, the French and the English, on which they had now to rely for the gratification of their newly ac «"- ^e. stances, other fcr more 1 /^"' ™'''"' ^'"='' «'■•-=<">>- nations and . ; ^rl': rf ' """ "T '="''S'"»''«' 'I'e researches. ^ "'^ *"'"' "'""I'^s^ "ud expensive p-cd^:^;.;:tsoi:''?r ''''•' ""' ^'-^-- which car^d'desX :; /2Tt '"T'^'T colony. RpH oi,^„ •„ " '^"^™ "iroiiglioiit the even seduced his old ri ^1 A ^'"''' ''""' '"'>' hitherto constant friend of 'he P eTr" p*'™^''' "'^ the French l,nd thus n«,,t /*=''■ ''"'• ""h""gh of the Po,„,r. oTtJr' "'/»™'- f 'he Ca-sar a^d numerous illh,^Lf'I^''^' ■"''" '''"'"■■"'d English taction: I^X'^Zrl^!!^ T"'' ""^ excited that tirev n,..,>i , "^a'te") hecarne so 28th of Oc ol ."^ ,, t ■■'""■'" •" '•'""•^- "" the hi.' governn,* • ^ Thf c,'!;:',;:' ''"""'•'■"'' "■•'''<' 'o efforts to rouse tl,„ ^hickasaws, jn spiie of nur nations a.a n ,1 e™ "f ,'"' "" "" '"'"^■' 1™""'' he.hrou,=h":ir';r:r ;:rj^T->'^^ creases the diffiriiIfio= i '-M»^""ioii. j)elay ,n. eve..a,mor:^-::s:rxry-";,:n- PROPOSED EXPEDITION AGAINST THE CHICKASAWS. 27 are gradually enlisting the sympathies of the Chero- kees, who are powerful auxiliaries. All expeditions of this nature have been so unsuccessful, that I well conceive the reluctance of the government to renew the attempt. But the roads being now better known, Ave can accompUsh more, and at less expense. Two hundred recruits, in addition to the regulars and militia we already have here, would be all that is wanted. To avoid exposing our men, we would, in attacking the strongholds of the Chickasaws, have recourse to trenching and mining. In having them partially attacked and harassed, we have to spend much in presents to our Indian auxiliaries. It would be better to make short work of it, and to bring this matter to a conclusion." The Marquis closed his despatch by complaining of being entirely destitute of provisions, merchandise, and ammunition, and in- formed his government that the Choctaws were tired of their war against the Chickasaws. De liOubois, who was one of the oldest and most influential officers in the colony, advocated the same course which the Marquis of Vaudreuil was recom- mending, and, in a despatch of the 6th of November, strenuously insisted on the importance of forcing the Chickasaws to drive away the Enghsh, who, he said, had avowed territorial pretensions extending to the left hank of the Mississippi. For this reason, he agreed with De Vaudreuil in the conclusion, that another expedition against the Chickasaws was necessary. In a document presented to the French government in 1744, the white population of New Orleans was put down at eight hundred souls, not including two hun- dred soldiers and the women and children. The black population did not exceed three hundred. A few of the houses were of brick, nnd the greater portion 28 ^ENSrs OF LOUISIANA IN I745. '■Vfea. Al,„„.„ ^11 (,,„ ^° '"■«« I'undrcd tl,ous«„d fivo l„„,dr,.d n,.«r„ex, .c™ al n ' f'] '''""'• "'"' """« »";1 «lk ...aiMdlworics." l-'^'to'ious, bnck ki|„s, "'■itc inhn!,,-,!;,;;""^;;,, uirL *l"''; "••'= ""<> ''""d'od "o.- ■• «,u-.lo„i„,. a,„, ,,;:",;:■"'""' ■"••s™™- Occu„a. tl.eral.,i„j,„f|,^,;,i,;j'« <^"'"va..o„ of .ohacco ar,d I'^lucions: cat lo ,t co::;?' '""' ''"'"'-'' ^ucks. ' ^^' ^"i"» tobacco." At the Baluie, . ('•■rnwn Const, . I'ointo (\mj),'.e, . NiUcliitodios, Natclu'j;, Arkansas,. Illinois, Alissouri, IVtit Oiigas, ' I'lwca^mlas, . Wubilc, W^omcn and diildron about 'IBNKKAL TABLEAU. Whitoinl,abl(a,>i«(,„ai„). troops oDijr, n„ settlers. TVoops, 800 • 100 • 200 60 8 12 • 800 • 200 40 10 ISO 1700 1600 3200 . 800 4000 Black, of both io»«,. 30 300 200 400 200 16 10 600 10 6 60 200 2020 I DISPUTE HETWEEN LENORMANT AND VAUDREUIL. 29 between ' tw on ty- tli f'rorn 'iousiind I- TJic *o owns 'v kilns, lundred 'ccupa- undrcd 5o and )lack8. oth foxut. ) The old and the new Biloxi, the Pass Christian, and the Hay of St. Louis, whore the first French settle- ments had been made, sc^cm to have been entirely forgotten in this table, and yet they must certainly have retained some of the early settlors or their descendants. Taking into consideration omissions of this kind, and putting down the colonial [)Oj)ulation at .^500, it shows a remarkable decrease since 1731, when liOuisinna was r(^troceded to the king by the India Company, at which time its [)opulati()n was estimat(>d at 5000. This was a very discouraging proof of an absolute failure, so far, in the work of colonization, and yet the annual expenses of admi- nistration had been gradually increased, and now exceeded 500,000 livrcs. Salmon, who had been for many years the King's commissjiry in the colony, had been succeeded by Lenormant, who had hardly entered upon the duties of his office;, when he began to quarn;! with the Marquis of Vaudreuil. The governor, in a despatch of the 6th of January, 174G, informed his government that the commissary retained for his private use, all the merchandise which he ought to have delivered as presonts to the Indians, and that he had them retailed by his clerk to the inhabitants. Jiy which oi)eration, the Marquis pretended that [..enormant realized enormous profits. On the Oth of March, De Vau- dreuil reiterated his com|)laints against Lenormant, whom he accused of starving the troops and of failing to supply the dilferent settlements in the colony with the necessary provisions, and the Indians with the merchandise that they had a right to expect. " iJy his fiiult," said he, " 1 am placed in a very difiicult position, being destitute of the means of paying for scalps and of remuneratiuii our Indian friends and allies." iilil On tile OOJ „r vf 1 -^ « peace l,ohv<.,.„ ,1,0 CImcht, i'T'r. '" '"■"« ••'''«•" goods Ju. plundered. On ' •^'''''' '"'^ ^^''"^^ «"tn,l'ore ship. dra„i„;f,^„,' 7 ;, »,^''!! "f the lialize, lave I,eoi, al.le ,o n„ ,1,,.„,,, ' : ," '''^'"^'" '•=«« »atcr, iuid it lias ever ,i„ce ,? , "'" *'"""'" "" who wliose f this ^er to liiit it ?ineer Huent 'The oliths The tlie lined iize, Iter, ^'^, )<'ir ; ried It Jt to md 3en res PROPOSED FOUTIFICATIONS ON THE AIISSISSIPPI. 31 r in width from thirty to forty fathoms, and tlic current is very rapid." On th(! 21th of November, 1716, the Marquis of Vaudreuil wrote; to his government : " On being ap- prised of the dechiration of war, I visited the moutlih of tlie Mississippi. From the mobihty of the passes, and from the want of soUdity in the land bordehng on those passes, it is nearly impossible to think of erecting fortifications there. It is only necessary to preserve the fort which already exists at the IJalize, less on account of its being etFcctive as a means of defence, than because it serves as a place of dei)ot for our com- merce with the S[)aniards. Besides, it is useful to maintain a post there, from which we can keep watch over the sea coast, and get timely information as to what may be going on in the gulf." France being at war, it became necessary to provide for tin; defence of Louisiana. The spot which, on the Mississippi, seemed the most eligibU; for the construc- tion of ("ovtifications, was the Plaqucmine Turn, then considered as being thirty-three miles from the Balize. It was the first solid jrround to be met with on cominif CD f5 from sea, and on that account had been selected by tlu! Conmiissary Lenormant. " This reason appeared to me," said De Vaudreuil, in one of his despatches, " to be a good one, and I agreed to it, because fortifica- tions erected at that spot would have protected that considerabh; portion of the country lying between New Orleans and IMaqucmine Turn. But on re- flection, I observed (and the same observation struck with ecpial force both the engineiT and the port- master), that the situation of that Turn presented no obstacles to ships, which being once under weigh, could run up beyond it by the help of the same wind which had enabled them to come through the pass. » 32 PROPOSED FORT,riCAT.O.N.S ON THE mS8ISS,m. It would be impossible to stop them with .l,„ . e;g>.ee„.po„„ders, which are ' he ".ij Jiee 1 Z arfllery we can set up on each side of "^^ river becauso, ava.hng themselves of a fresh breeze .he 7nuWt \ A " '■"'"''' °f «"'• g™« before they could be fired at a second time. To command thn^ bS:; ':f";:i't'"', """''""^ '° ■■»- """"'"- river hL. l^ 'f"^ S»ns on each side of the nvcr, dose to each other, and this would cost immense wsn LSior:- rnstrjtirer:;- .i.e,^s,s.anceUm^htTa„ti;ltr^^^^^^^^^ me ttt ,1; .T""" ''^ '^™rectino- eflbctive ibrtificutionH at the lialize, and had cHtiniated their co.st at 5:J2,1()8 hvres 1 he Marquis of Vuudreuil entertained, as it is seen a (hHe,.ent view of the rjiicstion, and pref< rred the' i^nglisii I urn ; b„t modern engineers liave pronounced hemsch es m favor of the site ciiusen by I.enonnant, the 1 Imiuenunc Turn, where now stand the fortifica- tions called Forts Jackson and St. IMiilip On the 2Glh of November, the Marquis wrote to he Irench government : " I received, in September last, the letter ot the Oth of May, in which I was informed that three ships of the line and r>ne frigate had left Lngland, in the month of April, under the command of Admiral Knowles, who was to stop at Antigua and then at Jamaica. It is supposed that this armament is destined to ojjerate against Louisiana. 1 Have also been informed that General Ocrlethorpe was to return shortly to Georgia with additional troops, and that, perhaps. Admiral Knowles would combing with l.im in Florida. [ gave information of It. to the GoNcrnors of Pensacola, St. Marc, and St Augustin. " I am prepared for any event that may occur. J have the strong will to be equal to the emergency, whatever it may be, but I am sadly deficient in means to back this will. I have nothing wherewith to defend the Last Pass, where a new channel has formed itself in the parts nearest to the Balize. This channel IS trom fifteen to sixteen feet deep on the bar at low water, and measures in length two hundred fathoms, through the battures which advance most into the sea in the shape of a liorse-shoe. This channel is divided into three outlets, or mouths. Two of these outlets are froni ten to twenty-five fathoms in width each, and the third from thirty to forty, and they are separated from TERRIBLE HURRICANE IN LOUISIANA. 35 i at the >8 livres. is soci), ircd the iiounced loriiuint, fortifica- vrotc to ptemher I I was frigate der the stop at ed tliaf uisiana. ethorpe ditiona] would itiori of and St. cur. J rgcncy, means ith to formed ;liannel at low- thorns, le sea, livided 3ts are ud the d from each other by battures and mounds of loam, or unctu- ous, slimy, and adhesive earth emerging from the sea. The largest of these outlets is on the right as you come in. We have labored to fortify this new pasB with the help of the planters, who would have co- operated with more efficiency and readiness, if Mr. Lenormant had treated them differently. But he has even refused to supply them with the necessary tools, with provisions for the subsistence of their negroes, and with means of transportation. Latterly he went so far as to undertake to force them to complete the fortifications, to the injury of their crops. It was an unjust pretension, which was beginning to irritate the planters. I thought it proper, therefore, not to allow him to push the thing farther." " With regard to the forces of the colony, I can dispose of four hundred white men, five or six hundred Indians belonging to the small nations, and from two to three hundred negroes who are to be relied upon. But we are wanting in arms and ammunition." This was Louisiana in 1746. We have had its substitute under our eye in 1846. What a transforma- tion ! What a tale of wonder ! It beggars comment ! Miserable as it was, the colony's situation was made still worse by a hurricane, as terrible as those which had committed such damage in 1740. A portion of the crops was destroyed, and the lower part of Louisiana would have been exposed to famine, if assistance had not promptly come from the Illinois district, which annually supplied New Orleans with a great quantity of flour. The boats from Illinois used to arrive at that town towards the end of December, and to depart in January. In those days, it is certam that hurricanes were more frequent than in ours. Nor is it to be wondered at, since it is well known that 3fi i.KNORM ant's ri:m\rks us paper money. tl.o physical laws which rulo .-, wildorncss arc ffroatlv mo,hfi,d, ,n j»ro,.ortio„ as it is u,,uh,ally convort.d .nto .ho ,,ho(lo „t dvihzation. [f, soon.s that, as a r.nvnr(! or tho patient and pcrscvcrin^r h.hor of man nat,,n> disrohos horsolf of her primitive rndrnoss, and that thr d<.r,.(>n1s, coasin^r their old stn.ir.|os, aro Hoothcd nito ^rcntlenoss. lA'norrnant, whoso provinoo it w.-.s, in his capacity o mt(«ndm,t conunissary, to prosido ovor tho finances of tho col(,ny, rnado on thoin a report, in which ho said • As soon as il,<" pap«.r mon(>y he^ran to lose its value here was an on colony, in relation to "hills ol" exchange and dollars. It increased considerably clurmg the years 1741, 1742, and 174:J, but it would bod.hcult to convey an accurate idea of the Ibrment winch sprung up in the colony on that occasion, of the number of transactions incidental thereto, and of the sk, w.th which several individuals availed themselves of hose circurnstances, to the detriment of the interests of the king and the welfare of the colony." " With regard to the (luestion, whether it would be proper to venture on another on.ission of papcn- money, I rhmk that It would be attended with considerabh' difficulties, m as much as the quantity of paper to be emitted cannot be known in advance, no more than the " Every thing ,s to be feared from the avidity of the ".habitants of this colony, and from their disposition to stock-jobbing. Their industry, of which a better use might have been made, has, at all times, taken this ^ I :. LENORMANTS KEMaUKS ON PAPER MONEY. ui aro bad diroction ; lor, alllioutjli |ol)l)iiit^ on the paper currtiiicy of th(^ colony, on dollar.s and bills of o- chan^o, bciran only in 1737, jobbing on the. nier- cliandise in tlio kin<^'s warclionsoH, and on every tliint; which was susceptible of it, has always been a liivoritc occupation in tlu^ colony. It may be said that it is the only pursuit to w hich the inhabitants have steadily adhered, much to llu^ prejudice of the nobliu- one o| improvin*^ the lands, and in utter disr(;«j5ard of otij<;r resources, which, if attended to, would put the colony in a llourishiufT condition." "I admit that another emission of paper money, wi!l afford relief to the treasury of the marine de|)artment at home; but a relief, which would only b(^ temporary, and would not e\c(>ed the duration of one year, w ould not counterbalance the risks which are inseparabie from the introduction and existence of this khid of currency in the country." Thus, a century a«|o, Lenormant wrote, in anticipa- tion, the history of the deleterious effects of a system, which we lately saw stretched to its fullest extent, until its a[)parently stroni^ texture snaj)ped under the hands by which it had been woven. But the hotch- potch of corruption, of iiuancial (rambling, of frantic stock-jobbing and of thieving speculation, the mush- room wealth of the few amidst the sudden ruin of tlie many, and the mass of lasting depravation and misery, which ap[):Llled our sight, from the year ISii.j to ISIA, throw into the shade all the Ibregone calamities which paper money, ill devised and more foolishly applied, had entailed upim the colony since its foundatio':. The historical records of the world teem with tlie similarity of causes and effects through the long avenue of ages, on which the eye of study looks back with distinct vision, but it may be more than doubted ii ^■"> 38 EXTENT OF THE NEW ORLEANS DISTRICT. whother, from the observation of past events and Us deductions, any practical lesson has ever been derived for the benefit of mankind. i^envcd On the 11th of May, in the year 1747, the Marquis arisen a. to the precise extent of the New Orleans distnct, feeling of enmity against the French, which had been gradually instilled into a considerable jjortion of the Choctaw nation. It will hi recollected that, in 171f). Ued Shoe had nun-dc^ed tlu Chevalier de Verbois, and several trade rs, for ^\llieh deed no satisfaction liad as yet been given, in spite of t le re[)eated demands and exiitions of the Marquis of Vaudreuil. At the befin- ning of 1718, the animosity between the French and the Fnglish party among tlie Clioctaws ran so high, 10 OIIHWas lOinil,,,;,, us I,,,; , no, , UVN. ''"'■''"'' I''" '^ "'■"• '" «'«" nunonlv. an.l ur.r ,|„.,, '•"■; '""'••' "^"/^- '''•'<'> 'I'M'I-.I M,.l| I.H.Ml,. (o <'W.',Mln,.U IronMrMun,.., < >n. of ,1,.....- |.„n.ls ...nrkr.l '';■ ""••""" ,^'"'"' '". "'-^<• ^ <"• "M- (|,n.,|s, ^n,l(.,n,^,,|,,,„. ,,; f'""'^"""" ;" i"-<'-<'"-,M..n.„.. .i,c,.i,..,..,„ ,,■„,„.,„ , ""••"""7^ -'■ •i^",.,.,- 1.....:.„ ,. ,,., :,„ ,„„ ^^•;; •''"'"'• ;"'"<"• 'I— ..<.,...ss...i ,:,:.„,„ ^"'•' -'-'"'"l^' 'l-^ lu.l .luM.lo„..|, „ ,, ,j;. ;;;;■•'"';' ^'I'l"-''-.:....:. ...n .,,„„,„,, , ,^;;. ,,^- '"" • ""■ '•••"• •"■ ""' ••" ^ i-i ..<•.■...„... ,„ ..„ ,; , " * "V'; ''"'• •■" ""' '"'"'• "'••' '-'^'" '>.-M..i '■7''7';'''''';'''^'-^<"''-'''''N.Ni..sou,,iM.,,,i,...,,,,H,,H' •'--i^Huv i,v,„ ,1,.. i:„.,,..,,, ,,, ,„^^„,,,^, I iii.u Niioi; liii.i.ioii. It f ul' Iho I'1ii<>,IimIi |)iirlv xixl lvill*'o,Mih< HHinMi. Tlir li«'lil uiiM liiorr oltMliiiiilti lliiin IM i>riirnillv '''*' <'*'"'*' ■" ''xliiin u.'iiliirr, iiii,.li;|i and ol'llir l''n'iirli, who weir i>oadni<' liicni on willi iniilnid cninhilioii iind MnliMliirlioii. 'I'linrwisr nicii lirld Mrvcial «oiiimiI;', and il was al la;;| drlnniiiicd lo niaKf away willi Kcd Shoe, who \\as llir rliirr oltshK'lr lo llif ifsloral ion ol jKace. In (-onsr(|iicn(-<- of ihis dclriniinalion, IIiIm n-ldnalrd warrior was kilird, ai he wa:i reliirniii' lo Imm villa^M- nmIIi a ronvoy of l''ii;di,di inerchaiidi.ie. TliiM Mow nii^lil have |nd\ed elleclise, il llie uimmIm iilid llieir {''n/^lish owners had also he: n destroyed willi l{<'d Shoe; hul such was not the rase, and llie rji;.'liHli, availin;^ Iheniselves ol iIm- means ihey had on hand lo hi'ilie lii<> Indians, ;j,alliered a « h?,n • ^'r'' ''"■""' '""'*'«■"' in >«"l>"«ca,lc with k 0.1, but tlic rest cscapo,!, leaving all the l,or«o, of ctndTZ' '"'" ""' ™" "'»"°' ■" "- ^'^^ "f n„t r , "'■" •'■•■'I'K'f, acted with an encr..v which 3l.aquis of \ aiulivui , n lran'sinifth.,r t.. )• mr ": "f-"","^ """"■- '''^""'"-'■'- -''; thel-,Tl r ""' '■'■•' '"""""' I'"'' cone,.ivcd for t ei, 1 ffc ' f™"'r''""S 'l'" -""""OS. of their fore' . " h.n different selll,,nent.s and lo the h,-lief which I- warHo:l,V;;:':,j;;:;!/'"'"°"'"'"^^^ Innch took to be the enemy they were looking after, and two men were sent to reconnoitre. But they were discovered by three Choctaws who were on the watch, and who uttered their customary shrieks, to give warning to the rest of their party. The two Frenchmen took immediately to their lieels, and having joined their countrymen, comuumicated to them tlie panic with which they had been seized. The whole detachment retreated in haste, and did not think themselves safe, until they liad put a bayou between them and what they suj)posed to bo the enemy. Not satisfied with this natural protection, they set to work to fortify themselves. When the Indians saw the French retreat in a manner which resembled a flight, they, in the excitement of the momcMit, fired a few shots, which killed one soldier and wounded two. But the Fn^nch and the Indians having come to a parley, the chief of the Indians apologized for what had taken place, and aflirmed that the shots had been fired, not by his men, but by some runaway negroes whom he ofiered to deliver up to the French. Thus ended this affray; but the Manjuis of Vaudrcuil, having heard of it, was highly incensed at the want of firmness exhibited by V III 41 T.IE .,VmA.VS ATTA, K TU« «,;„„,VN <„AST PLAN, l.KS. the I'V,.,,,-!,. Ho c(Mi,|>l„incd l,itl,.,ly lo liis .r„v,.,-n ".ent Of ,1,.. e.„ul„ct ot Tix..n„„, Lw „m . " "'""". '"• ';•"' 'l.-unk.,..l, u,„l ,|,i, ,„lie,.r Is .gnoininioMslv ,lis,„is«.,l Ih.ni Ihc ,ir„,y. more lu.nsso.l l,y ,|,e i„e. . . of ,l,o IL ," These au.d<« I ollowed elo.e . ..,o l.oeh of . " h ,; ' ; ' '''"■' """^ "'<"• ""^ I ]'^'""'g "f the events wl eh I have .yhue.l, a parly of Indi.,,., ,„aI>|, «ill. the c.veeptnn, of two ,vl,it,. aion, aanied ionch,.rean an.l Ronssean, «ho r..,nained «i,l, t,™ I i>e the Jndians out of a house ,vl,ich thcy »oro I'lnndenng The ,«o iM-enelnn,., ,v,.re soo„ killed nelo^" T T ■'"'""'' "'" •" ^"^'^'1' ""■'"' '"" ""■ 'wo l.od,es of then- masters, that they l ""'""U re,ro„,i„, cno:'"::^;' di y" ^ ':;;:'"";:,:":;" "r •not .1,0 Cl,oo.a;., on .„o lia ■' n S ' .,„ '" J,,:™" -xharp onconntor ,„oic pinoo. AN ,ho ,.oo^^ ,„,„•' ^ n, l>rov,«,ons, boa.., an.l |,ri.,.„,.,, „,■ i,/™ " " fcM,mo,hc pos«.si„nof,l,oFr..nch; an,l .wo o Tf thc8c marau,lo,s, who ,ia»ho,| i„,,„ ,|,^ ™,„nns ■,, 1 wore los. s.ght of, conW make .l,oir ccap, " " ' i, ' wntos .ho Mar,,„is of Vandronil, wi.l, "'o.lo .1, J I of con.,,np., " wha. ha, causo.l so nn.oh ■Z„<,rf mhahitants of iho (iormm •<„„., "'" Now Orleans wo^oTr M.IIT hr',. t? o°f iniiijim or iiic Choctaw warriors lint i i. i ;hongh. ,ha. ,horo wore. a. .'no:^ n, ' , r " ^.n^'S twelve .0 hfteon vagabonds, who, knowing ,l,o Hd^" 1718. f f viKWS OF Tin: lv(>H JndiaiiH, led OIK? H! lU'cIv I in fii(> lie liad k, sont militia, icli t\w. I'lonch li« !•(! a nmimi- fndians ^n\y of s and 'lis is," rco of If the DSC of 3p of most Iways from nidity of t!i(! (icniiiiiiH, had conu; to stoni aomo of tlioir lU'trrocs Willi (ho intention of s(;llin^r th<;in to thr I':n^r|i,sh;' Tho Manjuis \v(>nt ."n,l,l lake ,,,, arm.,, i,„t tha /„rMo„,, r„ce (so called in the language of the treaty) as long as there should be any ,,«l,on of t remannng. -Ith. That in the villages of the rife fas were . les,gnated the Choclaws of the English, artvT a I the lorts ..honid be destroyed as spcedttyas ^1^' ■nd that, on both sides, the prisoners and the slaved taken during the war should bo restored. This was -lied the "ft^rf-Pr^ Treaty,'' and was int Id a a curb and a bridle stifficiently strong to manage tit Choctaws for the future. manage the Thus tranquillity was at last re-, stablislied ,n the colony. A detachment of troops was stationed at tie German Coast, and another at the Tunicas, whe«, -French. Those Indians had long since prayed for t,! :hSr"!',' !'• L^' - .P™-' '"oi' womefa'ld children when their warriors wore gone on war expeditions. With rcgar.l .^ th"; 'ch = awt: tZ ?venci: ::rn Jt''*^'' r'r""' ^"-"ss'^' "gainst 's; I rencn .ind (. hoctaws, Uu nucd for nnn,..? i ■ token of their desire to bury the hatcliet'^r.r^irnd Z the interpreter of their sentiments, they had sent ^o the Marquis ofVaudrenil a French woman and "on" children, whom they had, in the course of "he pr^ ceding year, made prisoners at the .Arkansas. The Iff m PAPRR MONEY. 51 sliare the 3 protect, cd by any ■rior, vvlio 'iige; and sought by ■ English- That the Ucike war ! to strike igo of the ion of it reheis (as h party), possible, !ie shives rhis was ended as "fige the J in the 3d at the , wlicre, t by the 1 for the icn and on war ^s, ttiey inst the and in , and as sent to d some lie pre- . The Marquis answered that he would take their petition into consideration, but that if they wished to obtain peace, it was necessary that they should behave better than they had done so far. The truth is that the French wanted no peace with the Chickasaws, who had been their implacabh.> enemies since the foundation of the colony, and that they had resolved on their entire destruction. With them, for the accomplishment of this purpose, it was merely a question of time. On this subject, De Vaudreuil wrote to his government : "With regard to the Chickasaws, we must wait patientty and postpone all action, until we are abli. to undertake another expedition against them. From the unsuccess- ful expeditions which took place from 1736 to 1740, the Indians have drawn the inference that we are not able to destroy or to subdue the red men. Until we have returned full retaliation for the failure of our past operations, and until the impression produced by that failure be entirely wiped off, we shall always be in an extremely critical situation." It will be remembered that, in 1747, the Intendant Commissary, Lenormant, had opposed a new emission of paper money; but his successor, Michel de la Rouvilliere, pursued a very different course. The expenses of the colony had greatly increased; its scanty resources had diminished ; and with almost a total absence of help from the mother country, it was very difficult for De Vaudreuil and Michel de la Rouvilliere to carry on the colonial government. To relieve their necessities, and perhaps also to gratify the wishes of many, who looked with delight at the pros- pect ever offered to the greedy, by the manufacturing and throwing into the market"^ of a quantity of paper money, these two high functionaries issued a joint ordi- nance creating notes of twenty to thirty iivres, and of no ii INCREASE OF THE MILITARY FORCES. greater value, if necessary. These notes were to be given in payment of all the King's expenses and debts and to be exchanged for all other papers, obhgations' and bonds, so that they should speedily become the' only currency of the colony. The French government received with astonishment the news that such a measure had been adopted, and expressed its disapprobation of it in very explicit terms. De Vaudrcuil and Michel de la Rouvilliere were energetically censured for having exercised a power which had never been delegated to them ; they were ordered to withdraw all the paper they had issued, and to exchange these obligations for drafts on the treasurers-general of the Crown in France. The mmisterial despatch on this subject contained these words :— " The experiment which was made in Louisi- ana, as to paper currency, ought to inspire great cir- cumspection, in so delicate a matter, and it cannot be doubted but that the Governor's recent ordinance would soon produce the same disorders which were formerly the result of measures of the same kind." Such was the view taken of the subject by the French government, and De Vaudreuil and Michel de la Rou- villiere were plainly told that their conduct, on that occasion, was without a shadow of excuse. If the Marquis of Vaudreuil had the mortification of incurring the displeasure of his government in this par- ticular act of his administration, he had the satisfaction, on the other hand, of succeeding, at last, in the appli-' cation which he had made, during so many years, for the increase of the mihtary forces of the colony. The King decreed that, for the future, there should be kept up in the colony thirty-seven companies of fifty men each, exclusive of officers. It was also decreed that the Go/eruor could discharge, annually, two soldiers i 1^ j*ji'.._ 91^ PAPER MONEY COUNTERFEITED. 53 ire to be nd debts, ligations, ome the lishment >ted, and explicit >uviJliere rcised a m ; they ley had rafts on e. The id these Louisi- eat cir- nnot be dinance h were s kind." French a Rou- m that ition of lis par- faction, 3 appji- irs, for . The >e kept ty men id that oldiers from each company, on condition that they should set- tle in the colony; and that, to all persons coming to establish themselves in Louisiana, there should be granted a supply of corn and rice for eighteen months, wiiii the necessary implements to improve the lands that would be conceded to them. By the same royal ordinance, to mechanics, settling in cities, a supply of provisions for six months was allowed, with the instru- ments required for their trade. But the Governor was instructed to take special care that the liberality of the King should not be turned to improper and unprofita- ble uses ; that the lands conceded should lie close to each other, and be well selected ; and that the forma- tion of villages be encouraged. On the 12th of October, Livaudais, the chief pilot and portmaster, made an interesting report on the mouth of the Mississippi. The attention of the French government had always been fixed on this important subject, on which, from time to time, all the informa- tion which could be collected from careful observations was solicited, and filed in the archives of France.* Towards the close of the year (1750), the colony was thrown into a state of excitement by the discovery, that a great deal of the paper currency of the country was counterfeited, and therefore entirely valueless. It gave rise to strict investigations, and a colored man, named Joseph, was tried, and convicted as one of the perpetrators of this crime. He was sentenced to be whipped by the public executioner, to have the mark of the flower-de-luco branded on his shoulder with hot iron, and to be transported for sale to one of the French West India islands. On the 12th of January, 1751, the Marquis of Vau- * See the AppnnHJT - »'l i 54 riKRRE BOUCHER. m dreuil wrote to his government to obtain the Cross of St. Louis for De Grand-Pre, as a reward for all the ser- vices which this distinguished officer had rendered in the wars with the Indians. The name of Grand-Pre, so well known in the oldest annals of chivalry, awakens stirring recollections of the past, and recalls to the mind the enlivening associations of history and of poetry. What says Shakspeare (King Henry V.) ? Messenger.-My Lord High Constable, tho English lie .vithin fifteen hundred paces of your tent. High Constable of France.— WYio hath measured thy ?Toundf Messenger.— The Lord Grand-Pr6. High Con,tahle.-A valiant and most expert gentleman. Would it were day! Alael poor Hany of England 1 he longs not for the dawning as we The Grand-Pres of Louisiana descend from Pierre Boucher, who was Governor of Trois Rivieres ui Canada m 1G53, and who published an interesting work on that country, then generally named New France. The title of the work is :— " Histoire naturelle et veritable des mceurs et productions du pays de la N'elle France, vulgairement dite le Canada." Of the most remarkable men whose deeds will have to be recorded, when the history of Canada sliaU be written as it deserves to be, Pierre Boucher is to be ranked among the first. The study of his character shews a mixture, delightful to contemplate, of Spartan heroism, of Christian meekness, of the fiery enthusiasm of the knight, and the ardent faith of the martyr, of womanly tenderness, of unshaken fortitude, of worldly shrewdness, and of almost virgin artlcssness, combined with a turn of mind productive of the energetic virtues of the feudal times— si baron and a saint— a man of aristocratic conceptions and bearing, with the uti.i.^.sl liberality of disposition, and the watchfulness of a sister 'I a LETTRES DE CACHET. 55 Cross of the ser- iered in ind-Pre, iwakens he mind poetry. en hundred lid it were ning as we I Pierre Canada ork on . The aritahle b'rance, II have va]} he to be aractcr >|)artan usiasm tyr, of vorldly nbined virtues iian of JtlilOSt , sisitcr of charity for destitution, sickness and affliction. Do Muys, who was appointed Governor of Louisiana in 1707, and who died in Havana on his way to that French colony, was his son-in-laWi Pierre Boucher left a large family, which divided itself into two branches. One of them, the Grand-Pres, has taken root in Louisiana, and the other, under the name of Boucherville, flourishes to this day in high social con- dition in Canada. On the 18th of February, the Marquis of Vaudreuil and Michel de la Rouvillierc published regulations of pohce, which, as forcible illustrations of the administra- tion of the colony, and of the manners, ideas, customs, and morals then prevailing, are given in the appendix to this work. These regulations are also an evidence of the legislation which was, at that time, thought most appropriate to the state of the country. Hard labor, for life, on the King's galleys, was inflicted for off'ences which, in our days, would hardly be visited with the penalty of a few hours' imprisonment. There is no doubt that Louisiana, under th<- arbitrary legislation of the despotic government of France, was frequently a sort of state prison or Rastile, to which were sent the victims of those orders of arrest, so well known under the name of Ldtrcs de Cachet. In con- nexion with the exercise of this kind of authority, there is a curious despatch of the Marquis of ViUidreuil, dated on the 15th of May, 1751, in which ho writes to the Minister in France : — " The situation of the i.ady of Ste. Hermino, who came to this colony, thirty years ince, by virtue of a Lettrc de Cachet, obliges me to represent to you that this lady is at present unable to maintain herself here any longer, on account of the ex- treme destitution to which she is reduced by the death of Mr. de Loubois, with whom she had always lived. 56 DISTRIBUTION OF THE TKOOPS. I bog permission to send her back, gratis, to France on one of the King's sliips. Moreover, the Lettre de Cachet iias expired, and the lady is very old." Under these cold lines, there lies, perhaps, a tale of deep woe and passion ; and who knows how many such have passed by, unnoticed, on the far distant banks of the Mississippi, and in the discreet solitude of the boundless domains of the Father of Rivers ! During the year, 1751, the colony found itself in a better state of protection than it had ever been This evidently proves the power of the Marquis at court • tor more had been done for him than for any of his predecessors. His salary was greater than that of any ot the preceding governors ; and he had under his orders two thousand regulars-a larger force than had ever been seen in Louisiana. The distribution of these troops throughout the colony, was as follows : District of Now Orlefins, 900 French, 75 Swiss 975 Mobile, 400 " 75 .. ,! ' ' »„ nUnois, . . '^ . 475 Arkansas, ... ^°^ Natchez, ... ^^ Natchitoches, ..'''''' ^^ Pointe Coupee, . . • • uw German Coast, . ®^ . 50 Total, . . 2000 This increase of troops and e.xpenses was received as a demonstration that the French goveriinient intended to push on the work of colonization, with more energy than It had previously done, and with the expectation of better results. But it was soon discovorc^d that it was a mere transient ellbrt ; that it had not originated trom any deep laid and settled plan, or from any firm resolve in a persevering course of action ; and that it was, either the offspring of accidental and ephemeral COMPLAINTS AGAINST VAUDREUIL. o7 determination from those in power, or of personal con- siderations and favoritism. Whatever may have been the cause of this unusual grant of protection to Louisi- ana, the events which followed in a few years, prove it to have been one of those fitful, apparent revivals of strength and health, which frequently precede the last agonies of death. Governor Vaudreuil and the Intendant-Commissary Lenormant had quarrelled, according to the good old custom prevailing in the colony since its foundation; and although the Marquis and Michel de la RouviHiere, the successor of Lenormant, had, at first, been on good terms, and had agreed on the issuing of paper money, which measure the French government had disapproved, they soon disagreed on every other act of administration. Hence followed, as usual, bickerings, recriminations, and mutual accusations, which disturbed the colony. These two high functionaries soon became more intent upon counteracting each other, than upon devising plans for the benefit of the colony; and the opposition which they made to each other, cramped and im[)eded the operations of their respective departments. On the 15th of May, 1751, Michel de la RouviHiere wrote to the French government : — " At the English Turn, Mr. de Vaudreuil has sta- tioned the Ensign, Duplcssy, who is a raw recruit, without either capacity or experience. This officer, being drunk, ill-treated the store-keeper, Carriere. But the Governor sided with the oflicer ; for, who says officer says all. When the word officer is uttered, the world must (juake. Hence, when one of those gentle- men has any misunderstanding with a private citizen, he never foils to exclaim ; ' Are you aware that you are speaking to an oflicer ?> And if, by chance, the afl^air comes before me, the defence of the officer against 58 <;OMIM-AINTS AGAINST ROUVILMEKE. whom tlio complaint is brought, may bo summed up in these words, which he utters in a tone of astonish- ment : ' What ! Sir ! he dares thus speak to, or thus act toward an officer !' and altliou officer may be m the wrong, judgment is always giv(>n against his adversary, l)ecause the military influence is predominant in the (^ouncil, through the; Governor, the Major, and the (Jovernor's flatterers. " No justice is to be expected from Mr. Do Vau- dreuil; he is too lazy, too negligent ;— his wife is too malicious, too passionate, and has too strong interests m all the settlements, and in the town of New Orleans, not to prevail upon him to keep on fair, and even on servde terms, with the body of officers, and with others," "He was to destroy the abuses which sprung into existence during tlu^ sway of iho Fndia (^ompany, but lie has carefully abstained from doing so. Those abuses are too flattering to his vanity, since Ik^ is the absolute master of every thing, and they are too favorable to his interests to be eradicated. The army and the old members of the council find tluMr advantage in this state of things, since they vex the public with impu- nity, as th(-y liave always done, through the prot(^ction they obtain from the (Governor, by their servile court- mg of that functionary." The Marquis of Vaudreuil, in his turn, did not, in his despatches, treat the Intendant Commissary, Michel dc la Kouvillicre, with more lenity, fn a communica- tion ol the 2O1I1 of July, he complained that the (^om- missary did not furnish the several militarv posts in the colony, with the supplies of which tlieV stood in need, and that it produced the worst effects on the troops, and provoked d(«sertion. Jl(> said tluit the Choctaws were impatient at not receiving their custo- m COMPLAINTS AGAINST VAUDREUIL. 59 inary prosonts ; that this delay was muclj to be regret- ted, and might have the most fatal consequences ; that he was even aware that tliey had had some conferences with the Enghsh, and that Michel de la Rouvillierc was only intent on gratifying his self-love and his taste for dcHpotism. On the very same day, Michel de la Rouvilliere was also scribbling away denunciations against De Vaudrcuil. He com})lained of the manner in which the King's merchandise was wasted, and de- clared that De Vaudreuil distributed it, capriciously, to his favorites at the different stations where they commanded, and that the Choctaws, through bad manag(!ment, were a source of enormous ex[)ense to the government. " Tlu!re is no question," — says he to the Minister, — " but that the Governor is interested, for one third, in the profits made at the post of Tombecboe, where De Grand-Prc commands, and that he has the same inte- rests in all the other posts. Nobody doubts it here, licnormant, my predecessor, must have proved it to >ou in his memorials, and in informing you that Mr. De Vaudreuil had gone security for the conmianders at tluiir respective [)osts, and for the traders who had tak(>n, on lease, the privilege of trafficking with the Indians. The Marquis is too proud to have thus be- haved, if he had not been prompted to it by self-inte- rest. The couunanders, at the posts, are all Canadians, who are his creatures, or who are kinsmen or relations of his own or of his wife." *' Mr. de Pontalba, the only one who does not belong to this gang, holds the government of Pointe Coupee, solely because he shares his profits with the Governor's liidy. I have it from his own mouth, and, surely, he will not be called upon to draw lots with his brother olli'ers, when the time shall come for the distribution 00 rOMIM.AIIVTS AdAINNT VAUDItKini,. I of M.0 (roops which arc to ^niiriHon om- |)<,HtM. Th.Tc will hv s,»i,u> ,,n«l,«.xt found to koj.,, hi,,. vvh(.,v h,. i„' "n«J as s,M>ci<.„s a o.k^ will no , who connnands at 'r,,,,,!,,.,.- •'«v, ami who will not rast lots. (,. ll„. inrantin,,., ,!„. cf)n,n,and of (l,o Kn^lish Turn has Immm, will,|„.|d (Von, IVlr d,. h, Ho„Hsayr, who has ^iv,.,. hi,„s,.|f a .r,vat *«''•' •^' •'••>"l.l" for tho w<.|fa,-o of fl,,. „,,,. sHINts at l'"t i:<»>',l. As usual,/.,/,- was lalvly sont to To,,,!,..,.. »»«^'N »«>•• tlu« jra,.,-,son ; hu( it was .sold, also as usual, and v (roops had arrived, and that lh(. o||irr,s of fho col.my worr to cast lots for tho distribution of Hio sovoral posts an.on^r ,h,Mn, and hoin^r anxious to mak(> suro ol his own, which is ono of th(> host in tho colony abandoned it, without pcM-.uission, loavi,... a co.|MM-al ,n connnand. Ilo a,Tiv<<,l l,o,-o, to tho .m.at aHt.unshnuM.t of ,.vo,-ybody. Mr. i]v Vaud,-ouil,"w|,o tolt tho cons.M|uonco of such in, act of insubo,-dination sent huu back within lorty-oi^rht hours, but indicted no punishmont. On his return to tho Arkansas, IVf,-. I)di„o Jound that tho co,-poral and tho rest of th.> h;aH(;, providfd thoy drink at the hcjuor shop ilfHi^rmitojl lor thcni ; and th(!y carry ont of it wiia; and spirits, which th«!y ro-scll to the nc/^rrocs and to the; Inchans. Thin has hjcn proved Icn limes lor one; everybody knows it, an forces merchants and f)ther individuals to tak(> charge of her mcTchandise, and to sell it at the price wJiich she fixes. She ke(;pH in her own house every sort of drugs, which are sold by her steward, and, in his absence, she docs not scruph; to descend, herself, to the occupation of measurement, and to betake liers(;lf to the (;|j. The husband is not ignorant of this. Uv d.aws from it a hand- some revenue, to obtain which is liis sole wish and aim." " The first use which has been made of your Excel- lency's order to put a cadet in each company, was to 'r • i 62 (ONDITION OF Tin: < OI.ONV. ln\Mh»\v llu>.Mi' liivorH on iicw-Ikm-ii rliiMnn. TIutc im> M dislrihufion orinovisions/' iMjrln'I i\r III Uonvillirn- (y (I,,' oIlifciM, .ind (•(•ni|)|jiins of lli(> IxuMidlcss |)ow,.r uliicli IIm'V |)oss.lteis, It cannot Im^ inlen-cd that he, liims< bej.n in a tr»dy tlt^plorabI(> UKual condition; lor tla-re j)revaile(j in it the most shamiMul venality, and the siream of corruption ori<;inated and ran down from the upper rejrions of society. It must have be(>n a miniature copy of what was tlu^n iroiujr on in iM-ance. 'IMiese low, but {rraphic, chMails, which hav(> b«.en ^iwu hero, will not, I ho|M', b(Mh>cmed unworthy of bein^r luiowii lor tlu>y are the b(\st illnstrati<»ns of niamiers ; nor i.H it to be for<:oll«>n that history, heiiifr ih,. (.nd)odiment of human nature, in its past actions and fe(.|inirs, js to be studied with mon^ ilVect in tlu> nnars only in her robes of diij;nity. In 1732, a royal ordinance had exempted from the payment of duty, [hiring ten years, all the merchari- INTIIUIM<<"|-|<)N OF rili; NIKJAK-CANi:. «:{ ^\'\i*v itnd jtoojIh imporfiMl (roin Fniiir«i into flu; colony, and Jilso lli«' iirodnrtion.s of |||(> colony r\|H)r(r(j Ut Fruncr. In 1711, thin ordinance had Immii renewed for ItMi years; and i.')w, on llie .'{Olli of Novend)er, ITf)!, il, was umxlv. known iliat the .sanic |»rivile2. TliiH was persn- verinfT in the ri^ht jiath ; lint the adoption of one lilM>ral nieasnre was not sidlicierit to estahlish the pros- perity of tlu; colony <»n a solid hasis ; it vvonid havo been necessary to <-o-or(linafe, or to link to^rdher, a ivhole eidi<,rh|,.|ied system of colonization, and to have; pu< it into operation with st(!adiness, honesty, and aliiliiy. It was in this year, 1751, that two ships, which were transporlin^r Uv,, hundred n>;^nihirs to f-ouisiana, stopped at llispaniola. The Jesnils of ihnt island obtained permission to put on boani of those; ships, and to send to the .lesnilH of Louisiana, some suel in heiuisiana, anel elenieuislrated te) be practie^-ible;. It was then that this pre'cie)us reed was really natu- ralizeel in the' e;e)le)ny, nnel l)e"tion of the ( oLONv— Cession of Louisiana to Spain and to the English— Protest of tiif jNi.IANS against THE CeSSION— KeRLEREC IS RECALLED AND THROWN INTO THE Bastille— D'Abbadib appointed Governor— Descriition of the Colony my Redon de Rassac— The English take possession of Mobile and Tombecbee— Bickerings between the French and English— Hostility of the Indians of Louisiana to the English- Engagement between the English Major Loitus and the Indians on the River .Mississippi-I'Ixi.ulsion of the Jesuits from THE Colony— D'Abbadie's Descriition ok the (\h,onv— Petition of the Merchants of New Orleans to lyAi.BADiE— His Opinion ok that Petition- Monopoly OF Printing granted to Braud— Letter of Louis XV. to D'Ab- BADIE on the Treaty of Cession. Kerlerec, the successor of the Miirquis ofVaudreuil, was a captain in the Royal Navy. lie was a distin- guished officer, who liad been in active service at sea twenty-five years, and wlio had been in four engage- ments, in wliicli he had displayed ability and courage, and had received several wounds. He reached the I * I *■"*.. i KERLEREC'S OPINION OF THE INDIANS. 69 1 THE Indians K LoULSIANA F THE FbENCII 'ENSES OF TIIE E.NSIOXS OF AN NDEu AT Cat CII THEY ARE AGAINST TIIE iRLEREc's Sen- French Admi- lND Jesuits — Ni) Louisiana ,'hoctaws and I Money Ope- JMENT — QuAR- smissei) from Manufacture AND A PaLI- tPTION OF THE OTEKT OF THE .VN INTO THE ( 'OLONY IIY TOMUECBEE B Indians of [ajor Loitus Jesuits from •ion (if the T Petition — V. TO D'Au- iiudreuil, a distin- :e at sea engagc- courago, lied the Balize on the 24th of January, 1753, New Orleans on the 3d of February, and was installed as Governor on the 9th of that month. Kerlerec began his administration . by showing him- self very well disposed towards the Indians, in whose favor he seems to have imbibed very decided impres- sions on his arrival in Louisiana. On the 11th of June, he convened a court-martial, to take into con- sideration the representations made by the Choctaws, on behalf of certain deserters who had been arrested by them and delivered up to the French, under the stipulations of a treaty, by which the Choctaws were bound to arrest all the French deserters, and the French, on the other side, had obligated themselves to pardon those that should be arrested and delivered up by the Choctaws. The Indians had fliithfully com- plied with their part of the treaty ; but the French seemed disposed to forget their obligations, and were detainmg in prison, probably with the intention of proceeding to more rigorous means of punishment, three deserters who had been put in their possession under the treaty. The Indians had justly threatened to consider themselves as released from their obliga- tion of arresting French deserteis, if those that t „.c in prison did not receive a full pardon. The court- martial, presided over by Kerlerec, decided in favor of the demand of the Indians, who were exceedingly gratified, when Kerlerec gave them the official infor- mation of that fact, and assured them that, for the future, the rights of the Indians and of the French would be impartially weighed in the same scales. On the 20th of August, the new Governor wrote to his government :-" I am satisfied with the Choctaws. It seems to me that they are true to their plighted faith. But we must be the same in our transactions ! I ti f?>" 70 KERLEREC ENDEAVOURS TO CONCILIATE THE INDIANS. n with them. They are men who reflect, and who have more logic and precision in their reasoning than it is commonly thought." At a meeting of the Choctaw chiefs, Kerlerec re- proached them, in a friendly tone, with their receiv- ing, in their villages, Englisli traders. He told them that, so long as they extended one hand to the French and the other to the English, they were to expect con- stant troubles, because they ought not to forget that the English were the originators of all the difficulties which had happened between the Choctaws and the French, and which had divided the Choctaws them- selves into hostile parties. To these observations, the Indians replied, with a good deal of sense and truth : " The original wrongs and faults are on the side of the French. They are the first of the white race whom we have known, and who have inspired us with new wants, from which we cannot free ourselves, and for the satis- faction of which they are often but partially prepared, when not totally unprovided. The English study our tastes with more care than you do ; they have a more diversified and a richer stock of merchandise. Hence are we driven to trade with them, when our hearts are with you. It is a matter of necessity, not of choice. Satisfy all our wants, and we shall, now and for ever, renounce the English." Kerlerec admitted the strength of these observations, to which he called the attention of the French govern- ment, and he took this circumstance as a theme for requesting a larger supply than usual, of every sort of merchandise. He also convened the chiefs of the Arkansas, whom he feasted with great liberality, and whom he dismissed, much delighted with their recep- tion at New Orleans, after having recommended them to send, all along the Mississippi, for about forty leagues ■I •# CHANGES AMONG THE OFFICERS. 71 the up and down, war expeditions against the Chickasaws, the Cherokees, and the Ciiaouannons. With regard to the Chickasaws, although their num- bers had been much curtailed, they were still very trou- blesome, and had lately killed all the men of a convoy destined for the Illinois district, sparing only one girl, ten years old, whom they carried away. Kerlercc be- took himself to ransoming several prisoners, who had long been among the Indians. For the ransom of every male adult, the Governor gave one hundred pounds weight of deer skin, and proportionately less for females and children. Kerlerec also proceeded to make some mutations among the officers of the several posts. " I have recalled," says he, in one of his despatches, " Mr. de Pontalba, who had the command of Pointe Coupee, although he ought to have been kept there for the good of that locality ; but I was obliged to give way under the pressure of the calumnies of a gang of intriguers, who had spread the rumor that Mr. de Pont- alba would retain his post, because he h d annually paid to the Governor a stipend of twelve thousand livres ; and that the same influence would be brought to bear upon me with the same results. Before the deparuire of Mr. de Vaudreuil, a petition signed by forty of the most respectable inhabitants of Pointe Coupee had been presented to me, to retain Mr. de Pontalba in the command. But I had to yield to malicious insinuations, and I must confess that this circumstance has filled me with grief, with humiliation, with contempt and disgust toward the people of this country." The fact is that Kerlerec, in less than six months after his arrival, was beginning to see the tide of a sea of trouble and vexations rising fast upon him. ,: tl 72 STATE OF THE COLON V. Many of the officers were discontent(>(l, and the Capu- chins, whom he seems to have oilended, were usiiicr against him all iheir priestly influence. The state of the colony itself was not such as to present a very gratifyinct, Kerierec wrote to his (Jerman Settlement has not re- covered from the unfortunate blow which it received from the Indians, in or about the year 1718. The inhabitants of that post withdraw from it insensibly, and th(>rcfore their mnnbers diminish every day. To those wlio remain nothing can inspire a feeling of security, and they are so disgusted with their present position, that many of them have petitioned me for lands elsewhcie, unless I grant them an increase of troops for their protection. They even desire that those troops be Swiss, on account of tlie sympathies and alhnities which they have with the men of that nation, and because the Swiss, b(>ing disposed to hard woridng, will help them in their agricultural labors, and will marry and settle among them, nuich more than the French arc likely to do. Another reason is, that the troops of our nation, on account of the horrid acts of which they are known to be capable, luive inspired the German settlers who have retained a proper sense of their worth and dignity, with a deep aversion to having with them any connnunication. 1 have sent to these Germans fifteen men of the Swiss company of Velezand, and for the reasons here given, f solicit an increase of the Swiss troops. The Swiss behave exceedingly well : it would be necessary to carry tlunr number to three hundred. I would prefer reducing the French troops and augmenting the Swiss ; such is the superiority of the latter over the former!" When reading the despatches of the governors of -■^. „ Jr-iV' ■w I; f \% CHARACTER OF THE TROOPS. 73 using Louisifmti for a scries of fifty-four years, one is lonipfod to b(!lieve, that tho French goveriuntsnt used to select Iroui tlie convicts in the King's jails, th(! men wlio were sent as soldiers to Louisiana. Bienville com[)i;ii ued of the disgrace and gri(>f inflicted upon liirn by putting under his conunand certain specimens of humanity, whose dwarfish siz(> did not exceed four feet and a half, whose stunted and crooked proportions offended the sight, and whose vices were only eciualled by their cowardice. Perier blushed at the necessity of confess- ing, that his soldiers isually fled at the first flash of an Indian gun. lie even said, in one of his despjilches, that his trooj)s were so wretchedly bad, that they seemed to have been picked ])urposely for the colony, and that it would be much better to trust negroes on the battle-fi(!ld, and use them as sokliors, were they not too valuable property, because they, at least, were brave men. Now comes Kerlerec, who, pouring out the fast and bitterest drop remaining in the vial of vituperation, informs his government that it would be more expedient to send him Swiss instead of French troops, on account of the decided superiority of the former, and because the apprehension of the horrid acts of which the French troops were known to be capable, had inrluced the colonists to wish to avoid tho contaminating and dangerous contact of such villains. What had become, one is tempt(!d to exclaim, of the soldiers of Turenno and of Conde / What liad become of the chivalry, that had tlireatened, under Louis XIV to subdue the whol(< of Europe ? What had become of the heroism, that bad blazed uninterruptedly through so many centuries, and that had so freely spilt the noble blood of France, in every part of the world, from tlie days when the sword of a (iaul weighed so heavily m the Roman scales at the foot of the Capitol, down 74 TRimiTi; TO Tin; Indians. i! It to tlio iTcuMilI)' r()Un()y ? Tlio fields" of Canuda wore soon destined to show tliat the French soidi<>rs, under jVlontcahn iind others, iuid nnderirono no d(^nera«'y. Hut the stern inij)iirtiidity ot the hist(M-i;m ninkes it his duty to record these words, which y\v\c written hy a French ollicer (Perier) when iiivinii an account of a panic : ^^ I aui grieved to see that t/icrc is less of the Frairli ton/xramciit in Louisinint tlinn afnjwiirrc r/.sr." It is a reiiel', however, to remark that every Governor, ahliouirii applyiufj; the most with<'ring expressions of contempt to the colonial l"'reiu'h solrs, who, <;(>nerally, W(>re counnatuh'd by ollicers of (hstin;2;uished abilities and <^reat intrepi(hty, sehhim fails to pay a (latterinfr homatre io the conras of the colony was composed of four com- panies of militia and one company of land waiters (oardes-cotes), the Avhole amount injr to about five hundred men. The object of this reduction was to diminish the expenses, which for this year, 1753, losc to 887,20.") livres. The color;' had been advancino- in -.n^e^ without having feathered stren year 1751, Kerlerec wrote to his go>ernnu'nt : " I lack mer- chandise to trade w ith, and, particularly, to make to the Choctaws the custonuiry presents Avhicli tlu^y expect, and of Avhich three have now become* due, without this debt having bee i discharged. This is the cause of their addressins; me vehement and even insolent re- proaches. They threaten to call in tlu; l^nglish." This year, the population of the colony was slightly ".t TRA«IC OCCURRF.NrF,. 75 JncroMRod, by flio arrival of some familios from liOr- raiiio. Tlicy wcn^ locatcid at tlio Gorman .sottlomcnt, which, as wo liavo noon, was uiidorf^oing a gradual procosH of dopopulalion, that was chockod by this cir- cumstanco. Thoy were induatrious people, and proved a valuables ac«iiiisition. The colony was, at this time, under great apprehen- sion of b(!ing attacked by tiie I'^nirjisii, and, on the {)th of July, K(;rl(!rec wrote to his government in v(;ry strong language, to represent the utterly defcncel(!ss Stan; of the colony, which was open on all sides, and destitute of everything. "And yet," said Kerlerec, " the English an; moving everywhere about us, and threaten to interrupt our communications with the Illinois.'" From the fear of danger coming from abroad, the attention of the colonists was diverted, for a time, i)y an event which filled them with horror, and the impression of which has been, in the traditions of the fireside, transmitted to us from generation to genera- tion. In Cat Island, there was a small garrison command- ed by an officer named Roux, or Duroux, who was extrem(>ly cruel and avaricious. He used to employ his men making charcoal, which he sold for his private benefit ; and for the slightest oflTcnce, ordering them to be stript stark naked, he had them tied to trees, in the midst of a swamp, and in the thickest of swarms of musquitoes. There he doomed them to endure the torments of a long night. The natural result ensued; the victims rose upon the tyrant, put liim to de-^th. fled to the mainland near Mobile, and, joining some English traders, endeavored to reach Georgia across the Indian territories. But, at the bidding of the French, a party of Choctaws " pursued the fugitives, and Iti lii ) 76 TRAiJir (MTIKKKNCf;. hi.'m'o iImmu [»ris(ui(M-x, willi the (ii of one, wlin livMu^yvtl liim.seir I'luv vv«>ri« takcMi l«» N<>\v OrN'iiiiH, wlu'rr they wen; Irieil. 'Vwo were broken on the uIutI, and onr ot'llirrn, who wut* Ji SwisM, wan, in c(in- fonuity, it is ^.lid, >villi tlic prnal <(m1(' ohscrvi'd by tlic Swiss in (lie snvicc i»l' I'mmr, (ilincd in a (-oHin, and (liorrcsco nMcn'iiH) savvrd asniulrf riti^ht a<;njss tin wiiisl, by t\v(i sorfj;('antM of \hv Swiss Iniops. In oni days, it is niorr than doubtful, conHi(|,vli(>tlunt as an atonement for the crinu!. It was the Alibamons who nr<^(>rnors of Louisiana, to ne^ijociatx? with the Indian nations, and km had always shown himself worthy of the trust reposed in him. He was held in hi<^h estimation by tb Indians, of whoso languages he had accjuinnl a perfect knowledge, and he was well ac|)t('d liitri, and lind ^'rarifcd liii[i all tlu' j)rivilcm'H poHHcsHcd by anv of tliiMr rac«!. Tln! ^^oldiors ol Roiix, idfcr lijivin;,' murdered fluiir corn- in.'iiidcr, (or(-(!d llaiidrot, to act as their ^iiidc, to a rcrf.iiii nt hiin hnek, with a c.ertificiitcj Hint he had yield gained, he was hrokc M on fJK^ wIkh-I, and hi< hcnly, hein^r den cd ('hristinn sepnitnn;, was flnni«rn invasion, ; id ;( became necessary to quiet the apprehensions of ft inhabitants by defensive pr(>[)arations. On the 2()th of September, Kerlcroc and tlu; Intendant Commissary, D'Auberviile, said, in a -^patcb to their jvovernm.nt :—" The land, which is formed ' alluvial deposits, at the mouth of the Mississippi, is so deficient in substance and solidity, that It is not possible, without consid rabk; expenses, to establish thereon a settlement or durable fortifica- tions. The fori 'Ications which the India Company had caused to be erected there, and which, were exten- 1 1 1 1 1 .1 * ShH ;i Bill II I* iiJBtoiiriiiitilKi 78 <;\iN or Till". .^iississii'iM on tiii: nvi.v Hivr, arr y»<|. TIumt ;irr rriniiiiiin^' luit li>w vcslinrrn of tliiiii, uliich jirr tliiily sinkiii<« into tho mud, iiiul iin> jiluays niHlcr wjiirr vvIk ii {\\v ti(l(^ riHOH, iiolwitlistjiiuliiin tlu' n>|»iiiis iiisulc lo (licin in 17 M and 171^'. It is iinport.-mt, however, to luivr at that localit)' a Hlicllrr lor a small garrison, lor pilots and tlnMr necessaries, and lor those thin;;s of which the coniini> and «le|)artin, with a solid hottom, a w(!ll caulked waist, and the rablets I'ronj stern to stem, u|> anast thirty years in the river. It would be th(^ best substitute lor a fort, which th(> nature of the soil renders impossible." A lact of some importance is mentioned in this very same despatch :— «' JJaiize Island, they said, which, tw(>nty y«>ars action of land which the J\!ississi|)pi oradually forms in carry iuir its waters into the (Jnlf. In this way, the island is now distant from the ships comini>- from sea. This circumstance makes it the more imperative to establish a lloatiuf* post." It there is no e.\aj>;«feration in the assertion of the fact mentioned in this despatch, the Mississippi had sained on the Ciulf, six miU's in twenty y(>ars, and if his j)ror than in 1751, in his career of comjuost over the sea, and in his Iovin<^ ap- proach tow ard the fair Island of Cuba. I'llARH OF OHITINII INVANION. 79 In \\\v month of DfuuMiibor, tlioro wjis iit Mobilo a \rrv\\V Icstivnl, ic and /trrcision in their reasoninrcnd Father Dagobert, the Superior of the Capuchins, had had the imprudent courtesy of inviting l^ither Baudoin, the Superior of the Jesuits, to give"his bene- diction to the Chapel of the Hospital, built for the poor of the parish of New Orleans. Father Baudoin, the Jesuit, assented with pious alacrity to the proposi- tion ot Father Dagobert, the Capuchin, which alacrity :i m ill ! II * M" 82 INTRIGUES OF THE ENGLISH. was stimulated by the circumstance that Father Dago- bert, on tliat occasion, had, with Christian meekness, offered to act, an ' did act, as aid, or assistant, to the proud Jesuit, thiit is, in an inferior capacity. Father J3audoin availed himself of this circumstance as a wea|)on against the Ca[»uchins. lie said that ho had published his letters patent as Grand Vicar, imme- diately after having received them, and that, altliough he had assumed this title, and announced his determi- nation to act as such, no objection had been raised to his causing, in this capacity, certain publication to be made, on the 26th of February, 1752, with regard to the celebration of the .Tubilec in the parish of New Orleans ; that, subsequently, he had given his bene- diction, in the same capacity, to the Chapel of the Hospital, and that, having thus been openly recognized Vicar General of LoweT Louisiana, it was now too late for the Capuchins to dispute his title and the |)reroga- tives thereto appertaining. This was the question which had agitated tlie colony for several years, and which still remained undecided in 1755. It was called the War of the Jesuits mid the Capuchins, and pro- duced much irritation at the time. It gave rise to acrimonious writings, squibs, pasquinades, and satirical songs. The women, in particular, made themselves conspicuous for the vivacity of their zeal cither for one or the other party. The year 175(5 passed off without leaving in its course anything worth recording. Kerlerec continued to complain of the grievous state of destitution from which the colony was suffering, and of the intrigues of the English, whom he represented as gaining much ground and influence with the Indians. In a despatch of tlic 1st of April, he says :— " The governors of Virginia and Carolina have offered rewards for our DISCONTENT OF THE INDIANS. 83 heads. I bolicvo that the Enghsh government is not aware of it ; otherwise, it would be an abomination. Our Indians have frequently proposed to bring to me English scalps, and I have always rejected their offer with indignation." Notwithstanding the destitution in which the colony was represented to be, its expenses went up, this year, to 829,3f)8 livres. On the 14th of March, 1757, the Intendant Com- missary, D'Auberville, died, and was succeeded, ad interim, l)y Bobe Dcsclozcaux. The English had nearly cut oft' all communication between France and Louisiana, and Kcrlcrec found himself so much in want of ammunition, that he sent to Vera Cruz for powder, but all he could obtain from the Governor of that place, was twenty-one thousand •six hundred and twenty-three pounds of an inferior Cjuality. On the 21st of October, Kerlerec informed his government that he had wi-ittcn fifteen despatches in cypher without receiving an answer, and that the colony WMS so defenceless, that it would yield to the first attack, particularly if the French were abandoned by the Indians, who, so far, had been their allies, and who were showing much dissatisfaction, " The English," Kerlerec wrote, *' have taken very eflicacious means to capture all ships bound to Louisiana. They have established a {jcrmancnt cruise ;>t Cape St. Antonio do Cuba, and their privateers, spreadinI/UI/ESM;. hud ( iiulod the vigilance of our oncmitiM, soiuc; revo- lution liit.il to us would lijive wprung up unionjr the Indiaixs." Threo eritical years had elap^ied, dnrin^ wliicli Louii-iiana s.'>eiu^ to have been aevered Iroui nil eoiiunu- nicatiou with Fniiice, when, in Anracy, to march at their head against the English sett'<>ments, and thus to operate a diversion in favor of f)e Vaudreiul, who wa.«f struggling at the North in tin- defence of Canada, but that lie had in vain, waited two yeara for the nc^ces- sary means to carry his j)lan into (\\(-cution. On the '20th of Decend)er, Kerlerec apphed for the Cross of St. r.ouis in favor of Captain Aubry, who wa.s destiiunJ, at a future ix'riod, to bo (iovcr/ior of Louisiana, and who was to play a con.'^picuous part in the drama by whicii her destinies were closed i\< a French colony. This officii had recently dislinguisIuMi himself at Fort Duquesne, and previously, on several other occasions. It seems that, on the 1 Ith of Sej)tem- bcr, at six o'clock in the morning. Fort I)a(|uesne had been attacked by an Fnglish detachment of nine HOCUi;!VIORH. 85 hundrrd men. Aubry, wlio commnndcd tlio T^oiiisinna trof»j)s, sjillicd out; at tlioir lioad lo uwvi thv enemy. Nolvvillislaiidintr llinM- nnirdcrons discliar*f('S of artil- lery and musl<(Mry, lie fell upon the Knglisli troops with t'wvd bayonets, and crushed them entirely. The I'Jijrhsh left ui)ou \hv battle groind three hnndn'd men, dead or n ortally wounded ; many '.vcrc drowned, aFid two hundred made prisoners. Such is the lprimanded for it by his government. Koehemore s(>ems to have eared very little for the blame he had incm-red, and did not hes'itatc^ to engae, whom he accused of being guilty of an illegal and corrupt traffic with the Indians, secretly en ..td on under cover- of the CJovernor's Secretary, Titon de Sil)eque. He also complained of th(> extravagant expenses in which the (Governor indulged, and informed the ImmmicIi gov(Ti.- ment that the co-- s of the administration of the^-olony would, this year, ris,; to one million of livres. It appears, however, that Rochemore had irrerrulari- ties enough of his own to be forgiven, and that he i t ^1 t ... .^i^KMaa. 86 ROniEMORE. ought not to have foU justified in lookino too closely Jind too criti.c;illy into tlic conchict of others; thus, not only liad he assumed the power of issuing paj)er money, but lie had also annulled certain concessions of lands, to bestow those lands on members of his own liunily. lie proceeded to dispose, in the most arbi- trary manner, of the King's merchandise, to the safe keeping of which he had appointed his brother-in-law. He whimsically a|)pointed to the office of Comptroller his friend and adviser, Destrehan, w ho was Treasurer of the colony : so tliiit Destrehan, the Comptroller, was c.\j)(xtcd to supervise, direct, and control the acts of DestrLUan, the Treasurer, lie went into suspicious partnerships with certain individuals, to whom lie had granted the execution of the public works, and to whom he had made considerable' and injudicious ad- vances. For these reasons, and on account of his hostility to Kerlerec, Uochemore was dismissed I'rom ollicc by a ministerial resolution of the 27th of August, 173i), His Secretary, Bellot, a sort of pettifogger, was arrested ^_ and sent to France;. In the j)ossession of IJellot wiwi'found forty thousand livres, which, con- sidering his small salary, could not have been honestly acquired in the course of one year, elai)sed since his arrival in the country. Destrehan was ordered back to France, as being loo rich and dangerous. All those who had supported Uochemore in his opposition lo the Governor, and tlun were numerous, highly eonnc^eled and powerfiil, incurred displeasure, i(j)riin;ui(l, or dis- missal from office, at the hands of the French govtirn- ment, and some of them were forcibly embarked by Kerlerec and transported to Franc<\ Therc^ is but too much evidence that, from the foun- dation of the colony, the French government, the j)rincely merchant Crozat and the India Company had INTRODUCTION OF THE SUGAR CANE. 87 by been shamefully defraiulod. Tims, two of the Kincr's shij)H, which had been sent to T.ouisimia with inercha'n- disc, ]y.i\\uir arrived on the 17th of An administration of Louisiana^and he, no doubt with reason, suspected that gross fraud had been practised on the King. The fact is that the fate of f.ouisiana, as a French colony, was rapidly approaching a crisis, and that the French gov(>rnment had grown disgusted with a possession which had been, for more than half a century, the cause of heavy expenses, without giving even a faint promise of adequate compensation in the future. It is not, there- fore, astonishing that the King, for the sake of economy, suppressed at once thirty-six companies of the T.oui- siana troops, and thereby reduced to almost nothing the forces of the Colony. The; colonists, howx^ver, were striving to increase their resources and to timelioratc their condition, by engaging with more perseverance, zeal, and skill in agricultural pursuits. Dubreuil, one of the richest men of the colony, v, hose means enabled him to make experiments, and wiir* owned that tract of land where now is l^splanade street, and part of the Third Municipality of New Orleans, seeing that the canes, introduced by the .Jesuits in 1751, had grown to maturity, and had ever since been cultivated Avith success, as an article of luxury, which was retailed in the New Orleans market, built a sugar mill and attempted to make sugar. Hut the attempt proved to be a complete failure. Although an order had been issued in l<'rance, on the 27th of August, 1759, to recall Rochemore, he was ! 9 i!H1 : 'w ■iifiiirmminiingaiat 88 RECALL OF ROCHEMORE. Still in office on the 2d of January, iTOO, and, as Intcnd- ant Commissary, lie took part in a Court Martial, in which it was unanimously resolved that it was expedi- ent to surround New Orleans with a ditch and palisade, in conformity with a plan made by the engineer Deverges. These fortifications were to be erected at the King's expense, because the inhabitants of New Orleans were too poor to undertake such works, and would be sufficiently taxed with the obligation of keeping them up. This Court Martial was composed of Kerlerec, as Governor, of Kochemorc, as Intendant Commissary, and of the following officers : Deverges, DTIerneuvillc, Grand-Pre, Grand-Champ, Maret de la Tour, Bellehot, Favrot, Poutalba, Dorville, and Tru- deau. On the 21st of December of the same year, 1760, the projected fortifications Avere completed, but Kerlerec wrote to his government that, to render them efficient, he wanted artillery, men, and ammunition. The officers who had sided with Rochemore against Kerlerec, and whom Kerlerec had forcibly sent ''back to France, had been so clamorous against tlie Governor and had advocated the cause of Rochemore with sucli zeal, that they had succeeded in suspending the execu- tion of the ministerial order dismissing the Connnissary from office. Among these oflicers, the most active and influential were G rondel and Marigny de Mandeville, and it was not long before Kerlerec perceived that they were no contemptible enemies. But, in 1701, new complaints, which were coun- tenanced by the Superior Council, having been made against Rochemore, he was definitively recalled, and Foucault, his successor, arrived in June of the same year. Describing the state of the colony in a despatch addressed to his government, Foucault said : '• I have found tile King's warehouses entirely empty, nierchan- i If HELP SOLICITED FROM SPAIN. 89 disc soiling at enormous prices, the papers and registers of the administration scattered about and intrusted to clerks, some of whom are no longer in the employment of the colony. There is atloiit more than sevim millions of paj)er money. Drafts on the treasury in France arc discounted at 100 and 500 per cent." * Hence it is difficult to imagine a more painful and precarious situation than that in which the colony found itself at the time. A few words, extracted from a desj)atch written by Kcrlerec, on the 12th of July, will complete the picture : " The Choctaws and the Alibamons," said he, "harass us daily, to have supp-^os and merchandise. They threaten to go over to the English, if we cannot relieve them, and, in the mean time, by their frequent visits, they devour the little that remains of our provisions and exhaust our meaf^re stock of merchandise. We have just ground to fear and to expect hostilities from them. Therefore our situation is not tenable, and the whole popr.kition is in a state of keen anxiety." Whilst Kcrlerec was drawing up such a delineation of Louisinna, the Ambassador of France at the Court of Madrid presented to that government, on the 31st of October, 1761, a memorial in which he made the humiliating confession, that France was unable to pro- tect Louisiana any longer, and solicited the help and co-operation of Spain, to supply the necessary wants of that colony, and to prevent her from falling into the hands of the English. The principal argument used to awaken the sympathy of Spain and to elicit favorable action on her part, was, that Louisiana was then the only bulwark between the Enohsh and her if; et'.l *Tlii.s iiiwuis tiiat fourortivolivivsofthe paper currency, or of drafts on the Treasury, were given for one livre in specie. mm 90 HELP SOLICITED IROM SPAIX. M i M own colonies. " T/iis cirrumsfanrr alone,"' said the French umhassador, " would he deserving of the atten- tion of Spain, if his Catholic ]\[ajcsty was not disposed as lie IS, to afford to France all ti.e assisti.nc(> in his power." The Anihassador concluded his memorial with the declaration, that France would reimhnrsc Spain, with the greatest puncfnalily, for all the pecu- niary advances which sh(> would make, and for all the sui)plies and ammunition wiili which she would furnish Louisiana. Kerlerec was made acquainted with this application to the Spanish government, and sent couriers in every direction to inform the Indians Ihiit, as the Spaniards were going to join the French in the protection of Louisiam, \w would soon he in a situation to supply all their wants, and to trade with tlicni on the largest scale. lie therefore counselled the Indians to sliow, on all occasions, their friendship and gratitude to the Spaniards. With a view to strengthen his administra- tion and to prevent opposition to his measures, he pro- ceeded to make some considerable changes among the officers in command. Thus, he ga/e the command of New Orleans to De la Iloussaye, in the plac(> of Belle- isle, a friend of Rochemore, and put De Crand-Pre in command of Mobile, removing the incumbent on account of some partiality shown to Rochemore. But Kerlerec was doomed to see all his hopes blasted, and to break all his [jromises. Spain, with her customary prudence, was j)oiidering or dozing on the application made by the French governmentrand had not allowed herself to be betrayed into any departure from h:>r usually slow mode of acting. She h->d remained passive so far, and had l(«ft Louisiana to her fate, and to the ineffectual protection of France. In 17G2, liowcver, some ships arrived at New Orleans f if DlCrAKTUUE OF ROCIIEMORE. 91 oin the parent loiinlrv hut contributed very little \ tlii" rrliof of the colony. Alliulincr to these ships, kv rlerec wrote on < '» * >r June : " They have brours of the colony, such as Belleisle, Cirondel, Grand-Chami), D'llauterive' Marigny de Mandeville, Rocheblave, Broutin, &c. Kerlerec transmitted also to his government a certifi- cate as to the mal-adininistration and evil doings of Rochemore, which was signed by sixty of the mos? res- pectable cili/XMis and by the members of the Superior Council. Foiicault, who had succeeded Rochemore, was the very personification of treachery, lie managed to Sifl-J s.'VJ v>. «>1^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) % '"'■'■ ^ //.. ■''sssr Mg. i< C/j % 1.0 14^ 128 2.2 I.I 1^ 1^ !^ Ji^ IIII2.0 1.25 1.4 1= 1.6 V] ^ /i /y m /^ <5> ej '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST VAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 •^ ,v %\^ -L ^l> M^.r i/x 92 CESSIOlSr OF LOUISIANA TO SPAIN. keep on good terms with the Governor, and this tiinctionary, in his despatches, bestowed the highest commendation on the new Commissary. But, whilst Kerlerec was acting so kindly towards Foucault, this individual was far from returning the favor, and, on the contrary, secretly accused Kerlerec of every sort of malfeasances, of a wasteful expenditure of the public monies, and of their appropriation to his own uses and purposes. Thus matters stood, when, on the 3d of November, 1762, the Marquis of Grimaldi, the Ambassador of Spain at the Court of Versailles, and tlie Duke of Choiseul the premier in the French ministry, signed at Fontaine- blcau, an act by which the French king ccdtd to Ms cousin of Spai?i, and to his successors, for ever, in full oionership and without any exception or 'reservation what- ever, Jrom the pure impulse of his generous heart, and from the sense of the affection and friendship existina- between these two royal persons, all the country known ■under the name of Loidsiana. This apparent act of generosity had been so spontaneous and unforeseen on the part of the French king, that the Spanish minister had no instructions on the subject, and accepted the giit conditionally, that is, snh spe rati, subject to the ratification of his Catholic Majesty. On the i;3th of the same month, the King of Spain declared that, in order the better to cement the union which existed, between the two nations as between the two kings, he accepted the donation tendered to him by the generosity of his Most Christian Majesty. These acts of donation and acceptance were kept secret, and the King of France continued to act as sovereign of Louisiana. Thus, on the 1st of .Januarv, 175.J, he appointed Nicholas Chauvin de la Freniere Attorney General, and, on ihe JOtb of I'ebruary, \w "4Uii 'm TREATY OF PEACE SIGNED AT PARIS. 93 appointed, as Comptroller, Foucault, who already held the office of Intendant Commissary, On the same day, a treaty of peace was signed at Paris, between the kings of Spain and of France on the one side, and the K^ng of Great Britain on the other, with the consent and acquiescence of the King of Portugal. The Art. 7 said : " In order to re-establish peace on solid and durable foundations, and to remove for ever all causes of dis- pute in relation to the limits between the French and British territories on the continent of America, it is agreed that, for the future, the limits between the possessions of his Most Christian Majesty and those of his Britannic Majesty in that part of the world, shall be irrevocably fixed by a line drawn along the middle of the River Mississippi, from its source to the River Iberville, and from thence by a line in the middle of that stream and of the Lakes Maurepas and Pontchar- train to the sea ; and to that effect, the Most Christian King cedes, in full property and with full guaranty, to his Britannic Majesty, the river and the port of Mobile, and all that he possesses, or has a right to possess, on the left side of the Mississippi, with the exception of the town of New Orleans and the island on which it stands, and which shall be retained by France, with the understanding that the navigation of tile Mississippi shall be free and open to the subjects of his Britannic Majesty as well as those of his Most Christian Majesty, in all its length from its source to the sea, and particularly that part of it which is between said Island and New Orleans and the right bank of the River, including egress and ingress at its mouth. It is further stipulated that the ships of both nations shall not be stopped on the river, visited, or subjected to any duty." .,-!' mm ! 1 W I 94 TREATY or PEACE SIGNED AT PARIS. By this treaty, the King of France renounced his pretensions tc^ Nova Scotia or Acadia, and guarantied the whole of It with its dependencies to Great Britain, ceding also Canada with its dependencies, and what- ever r mained of ],is ancient possessions in that portion ot JNorth America. The King of Spain ceded also to Great Britain the province of Florida, with the fort of St. Augustine and the Bay of Pensacola, as well as aJl the countrv he possessed, on the continent of North America, to the east and south-cast of the River Mississippi. It will be observed that, by this treaty, the Kin-r of France transferred to Great Britain, in 1763, pari of what he had already given to Spain in November, 1762. But, probably, Spain had very little objection to resign a portion of an acquisition which had been torced upon her, and to which she did not at the time attach much value. Thus France, with one stroke of the pen, found herself stripped of those boundless possessions which she had acquired at the cost of so much heroic blood and so much treasure, and which extended in one proud, uninterrupted line, from the mouth of the St Lawrence to that of the Mississippi. The adventurous' and much-enduring population which had settled there arid had overcome so many perils under the fla^ of trance, and for her benefit, was coldly delivered over to the yoke of foreign masters. Tradition points to the spot, called -El ultimo suspire del Mora- - the last sigh of the Moor," where the Infidel kin. driven away from his fair city of Granada, looked "back on her white towers glittering in the distance, and wept like a woman for the loss of that which he had not defended like a man. But he of France, the most Christian majesty, did he sigh at the immensity of his INDIGNATION OF TJIE INDIANS. 95 loss, ho wl.o never Imd either the tenderness of a woman s heart, the pride of a king, or the courage of a man ! "^ The Engh.h e„!Ied West Florida that portion of te rntory hey had acquired fron. Spain. George Johnston, havmg been appointed Governor of West Hor,da soon arrived at Pensacola, in company with Major Loftus who was to take connnand of the ilhnoi district, and they both lost no time in sendin.^ detach' ments to take possession of forts Conde, Toulouse «aon 1 onge, and Natchez. Thus, the British S had at last put h.s paw on a considerable portion of Louisiana, w.th no doubt a strong desire and with a lair prospect of grasping the rest at no distant time On the 16th of March, the King of Fr, n^ X St.! acted as Sovereign of that part of Louisiana 'which he had not ceded to Great Britain, but which he 1 ad given away to Spain, announced, through a Roval ordinance, that he had d. tennined to disband t^e roops serving in Louisiana, where his intention was to keep only a lactory, with four companies of infantry for Its protection and pohce. D'Abbadie was appoint d Director of the tactory, witli the powers of a ^1^ commander. "^maiy The Indians wero „,„c!, inconsod, when they hoard of the t,-ea y „l ce,,s,o„. They said that the Kin. of I-raneelmd no nght t„ Iransll-r them over to "am wh„e or red chief ,n the „„rl.l, and dispose otl2 d;o cattle, and they threatened resistance to the ewcT tion of the treaty. Several of ,he small nations, Ihat were much attac e,l to the l^rench, when they ™ the Irencl, Hag pulled ,low„, al.a.uloned their lands attd came dovvn to New Orleans. The (Governor ™is d he,r fido ,ty and granted the,„ lands on the We.t bank ol the Mississippi. K-i; lit I i; i I ' ! 1 : (! 96 DISSENSIONS IN THE COLONY. On the 2(1 of May, Govornor Kerlcrcc wrote to Ins crovcrnmcnt, that it was expedient to make the customary presents to the Indians, notwittistandina the state of penury ui which the treasury tlien was— l^t Because the government was pledged to it accordinor' to Its promises, in return for which promises, real services had been performed. 2d. Because this honest and loyal dealing would secure for ever the attachment ot tlie Indians, which would be handed down from generation to generation, and which might be of crreat help to the French, in case, on a favorable occa^'sion, l-ranco should ever attempt to recover by force that of which she had been deprived by force. He added that the Cherokees, the Choctaws, and the Alibamons when united, might set afoot more than twelve thou- sand warriors, and, therefore, that they would be no despicable auxiliaries in case of need. On the 29th of June, 17C3, D'Abbadic landed at JNew Orleans, and Kerlerec soon after departed for France, where, on his arrival, he was thrown into the Bastile. He had been Governor of Louisiana about ten years and five months. He was accused of several violations of duty and assumptions of power, and he was reproached, in particular, with having spent ten millions in four years, during the administration o^ thr Intendant Commissary, Rochemore, under the pretent^ of preparing for war. When Kerlerec and Rochemore accused each other with such virulence, the colony became divided into two camps, and the French government hesitated between the conflicting testimony adduced by the con- tending parties ; but it is a matter of little importance to posterity, to know which of the two was right, or whether both had not acted with impropriety.'' It is enough to be informed that their dissensions, like those DESCRIPTION OF LOUISIANA, BY IlKDON DE RASSAC. 97 of thoir predecessors, proved injurious to the colony ; and when each of them, being weighed in his turn, was found wanting in the scales, and alternately kicked the beam, it is probable that both of them deserved the treatment which they received at the hands of their government. In the archives of the Department of Marine in France is to be found a memorial, written on the 15th of August, 1763, on the situation of Louisiana, by one Redon de Rassac, who seems to have occupied an offi- cial position in the colony. Among the causes which he gives, as having operated as obstacles to the pros- perity of Louisiana, are the three following, described in his own style : — " 1. Says he, under Mr. De Vaudreuil, half of the married women sent to Louisiana had no children, and were between fifty and sixty. " 2. A good many families were located below the EngHsh Turn, on marshy and unwholesome ground, requiring incessant labor to make and keep up embank- ments. To this must be added the deleterious influ- ence of poverty, and of every variety of misery, the abjection of the men and the prostitution of the women. " 3. The officers, addicted to trading, and convertin^r their soldiers into slaves; a shameful system of plun^ der, authorized by the governors, provided they had their share of it ; the dissolute morals of the military ; drunkenness, brawls, and duels, by which half of the population was destroyed." What a frightful synopsis in these few words ! What a picture, if it be a representation of truth ! On the 20th of October, Robert Farmer took pos- session of Mobile, in the name of his Britannic majesty, and Tombecbec was delivered up to Thomas Ford, on the 23th of November. Hardly had the English set ■Is k ■fi' > Ml ir f '■' ji.i ■I 1 98 DISPUTES BETWEEN T„E iRENCII AND ENGLIS,,. loot on their newly-acquired territory, when the French perceived that they had to ,leal with ne.ghhors o" a very exacting disposition. Thus, on the 5th of Doc, Col ncl Kobertson wrote to D-Abbadic, to claim the u- dlory w ,ch had been withdrawn fron, Mobile, becau e irecity ot cession. On the 7th of the same month, D'Abbadio answered words . The most Christian King cedes to his Britan- nic majesty the river and the port of Mobile, and all We of "^rT' ""J"^- "■ '«'" '" P°^^<'^' on "'« l«ft New Orl T ^"'"'W'' "«' the exception of could apply outy to the soil and to the structures stand- ■ng thereon. He said, however, that, as a favor, he would not remove the guns from Fort Tombecbeo and om the for, at the Alibamons, on account of the diffi- culty which the English might experience in supplying t eir,, lace , and also that he would leave a few gunral 1 sloidriV" "T "'" Englisl. wanted them, but that It should be under a strict inventory, and with the promise on their part to give them back if he wa sit coTs^ru ^ " nr'' """ •="Sli«b government „ I construction of the treaty. Thus the French governor was acting with a cour- tesy which does not seem to have been acknowledged by the English, who made for it but a sorry return. ^_ They never fail on every occasion," wrote D'Abbadie, (ice, n^7 ""."'"' """">'<'™'>le objections and arti- For ;„!. '''""' "'"' "'°"- g'-»""dle«« chicanery, we a e bo ; f™"® """"• """S^' "'«y ™"i"tain tliit tre"^ia^"f '" P""^'=' """" "g'''-' '"« in-rsions of OPPOSITION OF THE INDIANS TO THE ENGLISH. 99 In the Illinois district, the Indians showed a dispo- sition to resist the EngHsh, and to prevent them from taking possession of the country. Nyon dc Vilhers who was the commander of that district, wrote to HAbhadie that it was the fault of the English if the Indian nations manifested such enmity to them. « The English," said he, " as soon as they became aware of the advantages secured to them by the treaty of ces- sion, kept no measure with the Indians, whom thev treated with the harshness and the haughtiness of masters, and whose faults they punished by crucifixion, hangmg, and every sort of torments. They wish to wipe away from the minds of the Indians the very recollection of the French name; and, in thei'r harangues to these people, in order to induce them to forego their old attachment for us, they use, in refer- ence to our nation, expressions which are very far from being respectful, not to say gross and rude. I will however, endeavor to dispose the Indians favorably towards the English, although their hostility to them IS very great, and although they refuse to listen to words of peace on this subject. I doubt, therefore, whether the English will be able, for some time, to take possession of this district." An amiable man this Nyon de Villiers was, who carried Christian humility and charity so far as to attempt to dispose the Indians favorably towards the bnghsh by whom they were crucijied and huns, to pumshthem, no doubt, for the fault, among others, of regretting the French! It is, indeed, curious to observe such anxiety in a Frenchman to serve the English, who, not satisfied with having stript the French of almost all their magnificent American pos- sessions, used, in speaking of their vanquished foes, gross and disrespectful expressions!! The conduct !| , 1 I ■ I /■I • . J ; ; : I il : .' V i I i\ i i; II I * 100 EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS FROM LOUISIANA. Of VillicrB was the more remarkable, from the fact that thus gentleman was a chivalrons officer, who had highly distinguished himself in battle against the English, and who had had the honor to force Wash- ington to capitulate, at Fort Necessity, on the 4th of nf vir u^'^" '* '' considered that, in the opinion of Vilhers, his brother Junionville had been basely as- sassinated by the English, it must be admitted that his etter, as recorded here, is a monument of liis modera- tion and magnanimity, and is one of the proofs of the more than good faith with which the treaty of cession was executed by the French officers, and another demonstration that the complaints of the English about the obstacles thrown in their way by those officers, were not well founded. The circumstances accompanymg the death of Jumonville de Villiers had produced in France, at the time, a considerable degree of excitement, and became the subject of a short epic poem by the well-known French author, Thomas It wdl be remembered that the Capuchins had been struggling against the encroachments of the Jesuits "".'\^M^- .^"*' '" '™' ^^'^y ^^re rid of their' redoubtable adversaries, in consequence of the famous order of expulsion issued by the French government against this celebrated religious order. All their pro £i«n nno^''".'''''"^ ™ ''^''^' ^^"fiscated, and sold for ^180,000, a large sum at that time. It is well known that the Jesuits of Spain and Naples shared the same fate with those of France, and that they were almost simultaneously expelled from all the domains apper- taming to these three kingdoms. It was thought that these men, who held, it was said, every consideration secondary to the prosperity of their association, and whose attachment to it did not yield to that of Hora- tius, Scaevola, or Brutus for Rome, had become too COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE ENGLISH. 101 powerful ; and even kings had been taught to fear tho.r doctrnics which were represented as dangerous, and their amb.t.on which had expanded in proportion to the vast wealth of their order. When it was subse- quently abohshed by the Pope himself, in 1773, the shallow multitude, whose look does not penetrate beyond the epidermis of things, thought that the mighty society created by Loyola was really dissolved, l^ut those who were better acquainted with the prodi- gious organization of the Company of Jesus, and with the vitality ,t derives from it, smiled at the ignorant credulity of mankind. Were they not right ? Does not the year of our Lord, 1850, find the Jesuits in full resurrection everywhere, and is it not likely that 7^.77 P'''''''' '"°'^ property in Louisiana than in 1704 r D'Abbadie, in a letter of the 10th of January, 1704 contmued to complain bitterly of the conduct of the Lnghsh. " Immediately," said he, " after the delivering up of Mobile to Mr. Farmer, who took possession of It in the name of his Britannic Majesty, this officer issued a captious decree, which is calculated to pro- duce the greatest anxiety in the minds of the French inhabitants. " 1. He requires the French inhabitants to take the oath of allegiance within three months, if they wish to be protected in their property. What right has he to impose any such obligation on those inhabitants, since the treaty grants them a delay of eighteen months to emigrate, if they choose, and since it is stipulated that they shall be, under no pretext, subjected to any restraint whatsoever ? ":i. The French inhabitants are prohibited from disposing of any land or real estate, until their titles thereto are verified, registered, and approved by the 1 1 ^M : i ' i 1 102 MAJOli LOFTUS ASCKNDS THE MISSISSIPPI. coiinuanding officer. No titles are accepted as good, except those wliicli are founded on concessions in due form, given by tlie governors and the Inteiidant Com- missary of New Orleans, when, on account of the small number of the inhabitants, and of the immense extent of public lands, the mere fact of taking possession and the contmualion of it, on permission given to select a tract of land and to clear it of its timber, lias always been looked upon as a sufficient title." On the 7tli of April, Aubry, who commanded the lour companies left in New Orleans, wrote to the French government : " The English being prevented from going to the Illinois by the way of Canada, on account of the hostile attitude of the Indians, have been driven lo attempt to ascend t\w Mississippi up to that territory. Consequenlly, a number of officers, with three hundred and twenty soldiers, twenty women, and seventeen children, left New Orleans on the 27tli of February, under the command of an officer named Loftus, in ten boats and two pirogues. Mr. D'Abbadie had caused the Indians to be harangued in favor of the English, and had ordered the French commanders stationed at the several posts on the bank of the river, to afford aid and protection to Loftus and his i)arty,' and had given them Bcaurand as interpreter. He had thus done all that he could to ensure the success of their eipedition." On the 15th of March, the convoy had arrived, without accident, at Pointe Coupee, save the desertion of eighty men. When the English were at Pointe Coupee, something turned up which was very near briiighig them into collision with the French. It seems that an Indian slave had fled from New Orleans, and taken refuge on board of one of the English boats! At Pointe Coupee, this Indian uas recognised by c.iie I -, LOFTirS ATI IKED BY THE INDIANS. 103 of liis former masters, and claimed as a slave. Tho demand was backed by several persons who knew tho man to be a slave, and the French commander frrarited the order to arrest him, but gave courteous informa- tion of the fact to Loftus, before permitting the order to be executed. Loftus, however, disregarding all the reasonings assigned to justify the arrest, ''declared haughtily that he would protect the slave at all risks, and order(Hl his detachment to betake themselves to their arms in support of the position he had assumed. The French conmiand(>r, wishing to avoid a conflict, the consequences of which might be exceedingly serious, had the prudence to yield, and the slave remained free, in spite of the justice of the claim set up to him, in violation of the right of the master, and much to the annoyance and vexation of the inhabitants of Point(> Coupee and of the neighboring Indians, who Avould have been glad of an opportunity to give, by hard blows, substi^ntial evidence of their feelings towards the English. At the upper limit of the Parish of Pointe Coupee, Beaurand, the interpreter, took his departure, as it had been agreed upon, but not before having warned the English to b(uvare of the Indians. The advice was kindly meant, but the English took it for an ironical and treacherous show of sympathy. The English had come up to Davion's Bluff", or Fort Adams, when, on the 10th of March, at ten o'clock in the morning, some Indians, who were in ambuscade on both sides of tlif! river, fired at the two pirogues, which were reconnoitring ahead of the bulk of the convoy, killed six men and wounded seven. The pirogues f(>ll back on the main body of the iMiglish, who, Avithout firing a shot, slunk back to New Orleans, where they arrived on the 22d. The Indians who had ^■T^iH I'll P n ^ 1 , ^1 il i ' ill f 1 i i! i ^ I - 104 LOFTUS RETURNS TO NEW ORLEANS. attacked thorn did not number more than thirty men and might easily liave been xopuLsed. But Loftus and his party were frightened by the bugbear of French treachery, and were under the impression that whole Indian tribes had been instigated to lie i^: wait for them on their way to the Illinois. But no fears can have been more groundless, as demonstrated by the corre^-- pondence of the French officers, who acted not only with strict good faith, but also with something like a wonderful abnegation of sensitiveness, of pride, and of long-nourished prejudice towards an hereditary foe. -' " On the ret .11 of the English commander to New Orleans," says Aubry, in one of his despatches, " Mr D'Abbadie expressed to him his regrets at the unto- ward event which had happened, and tendered all the assistance in his power. But the English officer, far irom answering this act of kindness as he should, and lar from showing any gratitude for it, said that Mr 1) Abbadie was the cause of the failure of the En^rlish expedition, that the Indians had attacked his par^y in obedience to the orders of D'Abbadie, who afterwards, as he alleged, received from the chief of the Indians m person an account of what had been done. There never was a blacker or more atrocious calumny. Mr D'Abbadie used his best efforts to induc(> the Indians to remain quiet, and the English commander seeks in vain to excuse himself for the weakness of his nerves, and the little determination and judgnicut which he' showed on t!iat occasion." Much to the displeasure of the English, some of the Indian tribes continued to emigrate and to settle among the French. Two hundred Taensas and about as many Ahbamons were allowed to form two villages on Bayou Lafourche. In relation to these emigraliolis, CONDITION OF LOUISIANA. 105 '|l! D'Abbadie said to his government that they were pro- ductive of a good deal of expense, but that it was inevitable, and that he took care that it should be as moderate as possible. He further observed that these Indians could be turned to useful purposes, and might help in the defence of the colony, which therefore would receive the equivalent of the money they cost the government. But he severely animadverted on other sources of expense. " The expenses of the several posts in the colony," said he, " are analogous to those incurred in Canada, where, as here, everybody has some sort of justification for everything. It is a chaos of iniquities, the cause of which must be traced up to the chiefs, who ought to have been tlie first to check all abuses, and who have not done so. I cut down every claim on the government to one fourth, &c., &c. " With regard to the possession of that part of the colony which has remained ours, I shall always consider it very precarious, until it is made sure by new arrange- ments ; for, how can I licep it without troops, without ammunition, and without ships to protect the naviga- tion of the Gulf, and to defend the mouths of the Mississippi ?" On the 7th of June, D'Abbadie wrote to his govern- ment a very interesting letter, containing his views on the situation of the country : " I have the honor," said he, " to submit my obser- vations on the character and dispositions of the inhabit- ants of Louisiana. The disorder long existing in the colony, and particularly in its finances, proceeds from the spirit of jobbing which has been prevalent here at all times, and which has engrossed the attention and faculties of the colonists. It began in 1737, not only on the currency of the -ountry, but also on the bills of ' '8 I : 106 CONDITION OF LOUISIANA. exchange, on the merchandise in the Kinrr^s warp houses, and on everything which was susceptfblc of it" It ,s to this pursuit that the inhabitants have been addicted, m preference to cultivating their lands and to any other occupation, by which the prosper yj the colony would have been promoted. ^ I havl with tlfe 7'T'''' ^ ^^"- --ting in connexion with the King's warehouses, out of which merchandise French t,.oasury, has no fixed value, but only that so low that It loses three hundred per cent. wl,cn ex- changed for bdls of erod.t on the treasury a, hon,e . If the inhabitants of Louisiana had turned their ndustry to anything else beyond jobbing on 7e Kings paper and merehandise, they would have found groat resources in the fertility of the land and the mildness of the climate. But the faeilit; oflbred by oat:d™£bi;° '71 °" "^ ""'""' P-d„ctions h^ Tn«l r .°^ '"""''"'• T''" ™mo'lorate use of Taffia a kind of rum), 1ms stupefied the whole po,,„la on. riie vice of drunkenness had even crept into ■ the highes ranks of society, from which, however U has lately disappeared. "ever, it Jo ^T", ",'" 'P'"' °'" '"^"''"■•''in^tion and independ- ence winch has manifested itself under several ,ulmi- mstrations. 1 will not relate the excesses and outr es whieh occurred under Rochemore and Kerlevc iivery one knows how fhr they were carried Not' wit isl^andmg the present tranquillity, the same spiri of sedition does not the less exist in the colony' re-appears ,„ the thoughtless expressions of some mad- 111 I! •"B^ii CONIHTION OF LOUISIANA. 107 caps, and in the anonymous writings scattered among the public. The uncertainty in which I am, with regard to the ultimate fate of the colony, has pre- vented me from resorting to extreme measures, to repress such license ; but it will be necessary to come to it at last, to re-establish the good order '.vhich has been destroyed, and to regulate the conduct and morals of the inhabitants. To reach this object, what is first to be done is, to make a thorough reform in the composition of the Superior Council. I have already had the honor of expressing my opinion on the mem- bers of the council, and particularly on the Attorney- General Lafrenicrc. Subjects chosen in France, to fill Up the ofiices of CounselJors and of Attorney-General, would assist me in the intention I have, to devote myself exclusively to promoting the welfare of this colony, which has been ruined by the effects of jobbing, that first cause of all the evils from which we suffer here. Three fourths, at least, of the inhabitants are in a state of insolvency. But everything will again be set to rights, and with some advantage, through that severity which is required, to enforce the observation of the laws and to maintain good order. "As I was finishing this letter, the merchants of New Orleans presented me with a petition, a copy of which I have the honor to forward. You will find in it those characteristic features of sedition and insubor- dination of which I complain. Its allegations are false in every respect, &c., dec." D'Abbadie concludes hi- letter with the observation, that the complaints set forth in this petition of the merchants are presented in a style and manner which deserve to be treated by the minister with the utmost sevcritif. In the petition to which DAbbadie alludes, the merchants complained of the frightful condition fi i Hi ■'I ^ fp i ■p ,• ; 'i If : 108 WIlMdItlAI, or KIOUI.IOKiot;. It'' I «>/'nm,-M.„MuM-<»|,M,V,,.(||H. ,vpn,(,..l ,M,Hl,,OMr„M.„t '*' •'"' '"l""«la(.<.M ,.r flu. ,, n.m.n.y, „„,| oC ,|h, ••on.vss.oM l,y whirl, l>',Vhl..-.,l,<. nn„,lr'^''l»" .-< uh, wi.'s Hio,,r,| |,v ,|h> iMiiiripal tn.'irlmnis ,»C Nru ()il,.„„s >Miils( IKAI.hmli,. u„,s llms luldiTMsiiiir f|„. l,',,.,,,}, ^'ovnn.m.nl his ,MV(|,.r<.SMor, K^M-lnvc, who vvns hIIII *''"7'"<<' ".' >!'- ll<.s.i|<,v..,sH(rivi„^. I<> . ,xri(Mh<. sym. I»"o„.,.n.nH>n( ,., hJH fMvor, nn.l (o P'<'vn,( hnnsrir iVo.n hri„o \ny^uiWu in his W..n.r,.o,. loMrn.mphshlhisohir.l, |„« |„m| |h.|o,v ih,. nnrnMlrv !! "•;;"""•'"'' i" whul, l... ,,Mr,n|,lr«| lo show ||„. „li|„y '•••• ''•••""•'' •«» <-«»nv(M-t Louisi,,,,,,, in nmvwt will, Snni., ;"•'*"'■•*"""••'•'•''••' <''1»->N i" onh-,- lo |„n, ih,,l r.'lonv <«» Ho,.„. ,,n,|ii,,h|,. nrrounl. Thr „„„i,M|,.,-, K, whoso C..ns„h.,-.„o„ ih,s .lor„„„.,.l was s,MMi,,lly .-dn-rrd, ♦mkIois.mI ,1 u,lh Ihis i.oir: ■ .^ "r<.nsi,h.,-ii,. ih..„ ,1,,,,. ,,, i„ ihi, „„,,„,,„, ,,^,„,. <'«'<"'In, wh.d, .n.ohi |M,inl o„| loihrCo.MloC M,,.hi,l |>n>Mm.K,. r.„,s,.s of ,oi,(lirl will, Ih,. |.:„,r|ish, and ""■vlo,v,v,a|,M-ll,.MM-ssio,. of I is.ai.a I.ss arn.pla- '»!<• to N|M..,, ,1 s,M>„,s ,,n,,MM- Ihal this „„M„o,-ial ho n«n,sl,so as lo ^n'OiUwv a lavcM-ahh, ii„|„vssior, ,„>o„ H isrvi,. willH|,.awi„,o his arl of aocvnla'^ ■on, hal ,1 look <-vny ,„v<-a,.lioM lo ,uvvn,l 'his ^^^ ..fhoh.- IMaj..siv In.u, n-jrclinu H,,. .j,-, ,,.„,,,,,, ,,^ Kis nol lo hrwoiulond al, a fir,- all, ihal I'Vanc*. frit .nHHion. Lniiisi.inii |i!mI |>n>vr|)i, llir ^rniiid H«li<>in<' in which hrr chiiifn- oriLniiiiNul. Wilh HMrnrd jo the l-'rcnrh (iovnimuMil, it (Iocs not siMMii un cxfifrirniilion to Hii|i|)o,sr, that, it had M(|naii- drn'd iVoni loity to lil'ty inilhoiiH of ' rcH in ihr* attrmpi to <-oloni/c Louisiana. Thus, an c'noriPs.iH capital had hern «hshiiiS(Ml, no n'tiini hatl hron .na(h) lor it, and what was still more disronrairinjr, was the (Conviction hronuht home to I'Vancc, thai, if sIh; re- tained |)ossessioii of Louisiana, she would he. under the iKM-essily ol mciirriii"^ still more cle expenses, (or, at tln' very moni«nt when i\w (Mission of that, colony was made to Spain, D'Ahhadie was inrorniinff his ;^r(,vcrimi(Mit, in repeated (hspatclu-s, that that l^'rench possession was in a sldlr <>/' cnmjdrlr dvstlliilion ; that it was n r/mos <>/' Inhjuilirs ; and that lo re-estab- lish order therein, it, would h Id ne necessary to liav(! r<'<'ours(! to nicdsiirrs (>/' (III i.rlrniw r/iiinirlii: H(!nc'<'>NVENIEN.-F., THEKEOF-CONSTRUCTION OF EnOLISI, FoR^ AT MANcur, Baton Rouoe, ani. NATcnEZ-lNTRom-oriON of Neoro»>, „v t>,k Eno- Lisii-CuRiors Despatch from AfnRv on the DiFFicri-TiEs encountered nv „im_ Origin OF the name of IUton RoroE-REi-iu^ENTATioNs to t„k Kinc male nr rrm Ix„™ianian3 on t.,e treaty of C^ion-Tiiev send Jean Miui^rr iv.s their DELEOATE TO FrANCE-I.VTERVIEW OF JeAN M,U,».r AND BlENV.IXK W^T.™ Duke of Ciio«eu,._Deati, of B.envii.i.e-Ui.loa appointed Governor "loT siANA nv t„e Kino of Sp.mn-His letter to the Superior CofNcn,_lI,s arrivm AND HECEPrlON-GAVARUE APPOINTED CoNTADOm OR Co.MPTROLLER, „V THE KlN^^ Loyola, Commis«arv of War and Intendant; x^avarro, TreaIer-IWeI' MENT BETWEEN TJl.r.OA AN,, THE SUPERIOR Co.NC.I.-He RF^U^ES TO BLOW nl power.,_Hb reason, for it-He vi.sm the different po.« and si^tle™ of THE IR0V,NCE-He orders A CeNSUS TO BE MADE-Tt« RESUI.T-BlOORAPmCAL SKETCH OF Char,.f.s III., Ulloa, Lovola, Gavarke, and Navarro. '''"""^'"'^*'- With regard to that part of the Treaty of Cession which concerned the Enghsh, the French were execut- ing Its provisions with as much celerity as was permit- ted by the obstacles resulting from the hostility of the ^dians to these new European lords and masters, ^yon de Vilhers, who had the command of the Illinois District, abandoned it on the 15th of June, 17G4, and amved at New Orleans on the 2d of July, with six officers, sixty-three soldiers, and eighty of the inhabit- ants, including women and children. The Eno-Hsh were mdeed eager to avail themselves of all the adW tages and acquisitions they had lately secured, and I; : 1 l! !! il^l 1^1 ; i 1 ■ 1 1 ' >'l ■ lie AliUlVAL Ut' niK At ADIANS. Ui(;ir ships, imicli to tlio mortification of tli(> Fronrli, v/tTo s(-(Mi proudly parading up mul down on the bed of (he old lather of rivers. Tliey used to stoj), after huvin<» passed New Orleans, at the spot where is now situated tlic city of LafaycKe, and they sold con- traband jroods to the inhabitants of the town and of the neiy^hboring country. The wants of tiie colony were so pressing at (lu! time, that D'Abbadic overlooked this illegal traffic, which was as advantageous to the colo- nists as to the English. As it was under the pretext of proceeding to their possessions of Manchac and Baton Rouge, that the L^nglish continued to make a stay at the place above designated, it became custom- ary for one to say, when repairing to it for the purpose of smuggling : "I am going to Little Manchac." This phrase became proverbial, and the spot on which is now the city of Lafayette, long retained the name of " Little Manchac." On the ith of February, 17G5, D'Abbadie died, and Aubry becam.e his successor. During the course of that year, the population of that part of Louisiana remaining to France, was increased by a considerable emigration from the Alibamons and Illinois Districts, which had been ceded to the English, and from the province of Acadia, or Nova Scotia. The discovery of this province, in M97, has been attributed to the Cabots, but no settlement was formed in it before 1(504, when it was colonized by De Monts and a party of Frenchmen, who, it is said, called it Acadia, from the Indian name of one of its rivers. They were not allowed, however, peaceful possession of the far distant and wild home, which they had selected in the rugged country, where frowned an almost perpetual winter. The English claimed it as their own ({> n, iin, in virtue of the discovery of Sebas- EXPULSION OF THE A( \m\v.s. 117 liiin Cabol, and sent ji force >vlii(li siiccooded in driv- ing away those whom Miey looked npon as intruders. In Mm, a grant of the whole of tliis peninsula, under the nanic! of Nova Srotia, was made to Sir Wilhain Alexander. But the French regained a footing in it a second tiin(!, and retaiiuMl it until the strong and ever victorious arm of Cromwell, extended across the At- lantic, reduced IIkmu to suhjection in 1().')1. This sub- jection was not of long duration, and, in IGOT, Nova Scotia, or Acadia, was resigned back into the hands of tlkc French by the treaty of JJreda. Next came the treaty of Utrecht, in 17 1:{, which expressly conceded Nova Scotia, or Acadia, in its fidl extent, to I-'ngland. Then the treaty of Aix la Cliapelle, in 1718, re-estab- lished all things as the)/ were before the war. But iience arose the j)er[)lexing (piestions — What was the state of things before the war? What was the extent of the territory forming the province of Nova Scotia, or Acadia ? What were the limits between that |)ro- vince and Canada? From this source sprung claims which brought on, at first, partini collisions between the French and the English colonies on the North American continent, and those collisions were speedily followed by a war between France and I'higland. By the treaty of Utrecht, it had been stipulated that the French colonists of Acadia should retain their pos- sessions. So far, they had refused to take the oath of allegiance as British sid)jccts, except with the condition that it would not obligate them to bear arms against the French, even in defence of the province. The English government had not consented to this modification of the oath of allegiance, but had employed no means of coer- cion against a poor and scattered j)opulation, from which it anticipated no hostility, beyond that which consisted merely in the secret feelings of the heart. When, \ r 118 FATE OF THE ACADIANS. however, war broke out between the French and the i^ngiish, the Acadians, who were on the disputed terri- tory, openly sided with the Frencl,, and those wlio were withni tlie unquestionable and avowed limits of Acadia, such as it was adn.itted by the French them- selves to have be(-n ceded by the treaty of 1713 as- sumed the character and the name of neutrals. ' " They dwelt principally," says Williamson in his History of Maine, "about Annapolis, Chignecto, Bay Verte, the Basm of Minas, Cobaquid Bay, and in f^aar'''\^~^f altogether, made a population of 18,000 souls. They were an industrious, frugal people, strongly attached to the Frencli interest and the Catholic religion. So desirous were they of throwing off the yoke, that they had secretly courted the visit of the Trench troops, and furnished them and the Indians with intelligence, quarters, provisions, and every assistance, and a part of them had actually taken arms in violation of their oath of neutrahty. Nav ail of in.m, as heretofore, utterly refused to take tlij oath of unqualified allegiance to the British crown though such as had not appeared openly in arms, were assured, if they would take it, that they should still be allowed the unmolested enjoyment of their lands and liouses. "Perceiving the indissoluble attachment of the Aca dians, or ^French neutrals^ to their parent nation Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence, and the Provincial Council, with advice of Admirals Boscawcn and Mostyii, finally determined that the whole of them should be removed and dispersed among the British colonies, where they, being unable to unite in any offen- sivc measures, would become naturalized to the "-'-, knel I „„e,.e,|, , '■'■.'■I' l'""'-'--<'l«<.. sighs-lin-ewell! as the ,1,^ pnsonc-s advance,! with slow- a„,l ,.eh,c,a„t ' , wee,,,,,., ,„.ay„,g, ,„„, ,i„„i„„, , ,,^ The^e w..re follcnve,! hy lh,.ir se„io,.s, who ,asse,l tl ro„„|, „„, „. |,„„,.,.„,„,.^^ ^^^^^^^ ^_|. ^ diMrcss ; an, when other vessels arriv.l, they carried way also ,l„,i,. „i,„, „„, ,|,.,,,^„„ '^,„^,";<^ amved ,„ Massael„,s,.,ls a„,l Mai,,,, , |„„ , "' puhhc cl,a,-j;e, principally i„ ,.o„s,.,,a,.„,,. ,„• „„";;,,;' conclahic antipathy to Iheir sil„atio„. Also, llr, were «^nt to Pennsylvania, and so,,,,- «e,-,. (,-„„;po,-(,.,l ,a! far sonth as Cfeorgia. Snch was the w,-elcl„. 1 rf the I'rench nnilmhr A Ibv pages fi„-tl„.,-, the sa„,e a„(l„>rg„es on say- ing. An act pass,.dlhe n,..vl day (to wit, ll,eO,,l, of Deccnher. 175.-.,) for the ,lisi,.il„,(i„„ „|- „„, Irench „,.„|rals tlnongl, the pr„v,nce (Mas.sacl„,.se|,s), towns, „s benehcary panp.Ts. A ,„i„,her w,.,e DISPERSION OF TIIK ACADIANS. 121 m assigned to Miiiiie. The ovorsoors of the poor were re(iuirc(l to injikc suitable {)rovi.sioii for them at tlio charge of 'the province, unless they were remunerated by the Crown, or by the Clovernnient of Nova Scotia. IJigoted to the Romish rehgion, necessitous, disaffected, and unhappy, they entertained a settled, unconiiucra- ble dishk(! of the Enolish, their habits and sentinients —and being exil-s from tlnn'r native land, which they loved and longed to see, they were neither enterprising nor industrious, but an intolerable burden to the government. According to p committee's report, Jan. 25, 1700, then; were, even at that time, 1,017 of this miserable peoph; within tlu; province." Thus, the M"sseFiians, after their noble and pro- tract(!d struggle for independence against the Si)artans, bejng subjugated, were remorselessly driven away by their implacable foes from their blood-stained hearths and the honored graves of their ancestors, to wander through Crcecc in search of pity and assistance, and of a new home for the houseless exile in the land of the stranger. Thus at a later period, and by a more awful decree, Jerusalem was torn from her foundations, and th(^ Jews sown broad-cast over the face of the earth, to be the beasts of burden, the dogs, the foot- stools of every nation, or rather to be the swine of the human species, herding through so many centuries in th(> troughs and sewers of society, and battening upon its dregs and ofTals. The miserable outcasts who, by an English decree, had becMi made the Messenians ami the Jews of Am(!rica, could never] be reconciled to their fate, and, m the words of Williamson, retained an imcompicrahlc disUhv of the Enirlish. The race which, in Acadia, liad deprived them of everything, of all that is dear to th(> luunan heart, was the very same race they met u M i- 1 ii-i % !■ ! ,i !, "ATU,:„ OF rUE ACAH.ANS TO THE „:^c;^,s,,. li Til,l win I „ V '"■", "'""■ "I'l"---"-'". ^"i'l 111.' I.r.«ul -.n,«..,„..,„ a„,i „„„.,„iH,i„„ i„ „,;l,|, : "^ '; "1-. »..win,. .,,„ OnKon. too,,,, „i,r To J "|. "I Iu« ,lo nrn.y, 1 ,„ ,,„,,, j,,, ,,, j ''"» go.i.10,0 olai,„o,l! l)i„-i„,, „,„ .,,,,_ ,,, '''";"•"■ "loi«ht ol „„thinK olso lli,„l li.ulinj; tlio ,„o-,„s „f so<'<.ns ™.no Koni.l „|in,o, who,,, "„, v , ,| 1 1 n, ,::h; fJr' t ""■ '■■"•-'' ^^ iiiiii.'..si„ ^ a tor leu yoar,, of »„„■„,„,, ,„„, „r ,,^1,, |„„,,i„;:;;, '' .i:: .':,,:',;"::„::;;;;i"-^ ^ -"^'" "»«- -'• -."'v.ii« ... M;!"■^:;;;:,;;;;,;!;^;::r;[^::- -;;'■-;. .^'H, or arrivfwl nf V /^i '""""<<' .iiKMift} Acadi.ins had Hent to ,)rm sotHo.nonts in Attakapas and On. o s ""•'-• /'•<. c«„„uand of Andry In o , j^' ^i-,.atcl.os to his .ovennnont, th^ i:onJZ;^ ^. ■i'n SKTTI.rCMKNT OF ACADIANS IN LOUISIANA. 123 ;ill w caiilt, ol)S(!rv<;(l that tlio.so scttldiru'iitH would, in a fo yoai-H, lisc! to coii.sidcnihio iin|)()rtiiiic(', should Hayou PhKjucuiinc; ho cld, and .should th(!r(;hy a InM; coni- nuMiicaiion hv, ojx'nod frotn tho River Mississippi to tho (iuh" of M(!\ico. The arrival of ili(!S(! (;ini- <,n-ants threw tho |>rovi?icial authorities into a j^roat stat(! of p(!rplexity, by jorciu^r tJKiin into <'\penscs which they could not well meet, on account of tho d(>|)loral)l(! condition of the (colonial tr(!asury, and whi(th wen^ incurred to increase the population of a province no IonjT(.r l)elon«rinss anxi(!ty about their responsibility, in making disburs(!ments and in contractin«r obligations, which their governnnMit mi<.ht not apj)rovc. JJut the claims of tlu; uidorttmat(! exiles who had come to seek an asylum in f.ouisiaiia and im-, were too strong to be resisted, and th(«y obtained 1i!l the assistance; which tin; i)ublic purse, aided by private <'harity, could afford. This, how(!ver, was the least of all the difliculties which Aid)ry and l<\)ucault had to encounter in their administration of the colony. Hy making the Mississippi a connnon thoronghfan; for the ICnglish and tlu; I'rench, a wi(l(Mloor had been op<;ne(l to jc^alousies, appreh(;n- sions, misund(>rstandings, and conllicts of ev(!ry kind. The I'rench saw, with distrust, the freciuent transpor- tation of iMiglish troops, through tin; very heart of the j)oor r(«nmant of their once so extensive and magnificent possessions. They heard, with imeasiness, the morning and eNcning guns which the Mnglish fired, as they went up and down the river. 'I'his gun-tiring greatly alarnuul and excited the Jndiiins, who took it as a sign of hosti- lity or triumph. They could hardly be p(>nsuaded that It was no moie than a military usage, and they had ind)ibed tin; im[.ression, that the IVench admitted ill t\ '•■it i ; M «l ' 521 Tin; MISSISSIPPI A c (mmm TiioitoiionFARi!;. tlicir iiirciioriiy, or showed tl IIS pi-ovocutioii o(r(!r(Ml to ll|( Knglisl cowjirdicc, in not rcs( iitinir ni. 1 sovereignty were not conllned ( monsfnitions and the ,,ai;„h. of naval l^iit the acts of iViijat igiile Mas s(!nt to tl K' nuMifh of Mancl o empty do- f^trenv constni(tl(!(l. It e was to ascend to Tort was contcm- On the intli of May, Anl nient : " It is I tilde, to or us a, new and even an al )ry wrote to his irovern- see constan to hips of war and for <'y I iirmm^- sp(>c );issin<'t 1 feel inwardly, and, as it s(>ems that wc have nolh in "H^ indccorons not to hav(> any hattery on th(> riv(T • -|-|nc..tly, I |.d twenty p ion earnaoes m front of the barracks. In thi,' way, c shall re nrn n.ore d<>cently the salntes; and, b.^sides Jt commands respect. e-^7!h ^'"""''' '•"' "'■'^"'■'"' ^'"'">^^"lv<^^ to opc.i, with ease, the commnnication which had long lu>en stopped dw;.n I ake Maurepas anr Iberv,lh> (now Manchac), which is thirty-fit.. of'New (3 "'T'T'"'"^^ of ^c^ Orleans. I}„t this ent(>rpris(, is more dif- hcnlt than tlu>y had thought, and Dn Pare, an inhabi ant of tins colony, who had undertaken this task, with •ng than ,t ever was. It is exceedingly diflicnit to KNGMSII lOKTIl'KJATIONS. 125 conciliiifo, at the same time, the lui^hsh, the; French, and the Inchans, who are here pell-nuill. " The c<)rreHj)ondence which I am ohWavAl to liave with the iMighsh, who write to me from alJ parts, and |)iirtieiil:.rly with the (;overnor of Mohile, jrives me s(;rious occupalion. This <,rovern()r is an extraordinary man. As he knows that I speak En^rh.sh, he occasion- ally writes to me in verse;. He sp«>aks to me of I^-iincis I. and Charles V. He conmares Pontiak, an Indian chief, to Mithridates ; he says that he ^roes to bed with Montesqnieu. When there occur sonu) petty difri(Milti(!s between the inhabitants of i\(3w Orleans and Mobile, ho quotes to me from the Creat Charter (Miiuna, Chiirtii) and the laws of (ireat Britain. It is said that the l<:n«rlish Ministry sent him to Mobile to get rid of him, because Ik; was one of the hottest in the opposition. He pays me handsome compliments, which I duly return to him, and upon the whole, he is a man of parts, but a dang(irous neighbor, against whom it is well to be on one's guiird. " The ordinary communication from Mobile to New Orleans is through the J.akes and Hayou St. John. So far, we have always permitted the English to pass in that direction. I have latcjly, however, refusisd this privileg(> to Mr. Farmer, who is going to the Illinois with three; hundred men. He has the river; let him use it." And so did the l^iglish, in no sparing manner, and nuich to their comnKu-cial advantage. At the fort they had constructed at Manchac, and which they called lnt to Lord Jiutc, the celebrated favorite of tlxur King, as well as at 'their settlements of Baton Rouge and Natchez, they were carrying on a large contraband trade with the inhabit- ants of French Louisiana, who used to rej)air to these places lor all their supplies. Besides, the En.rjish ![i 'U i i: rzo l>KSIHI|-n(IN OK BATON m,,,,.,; "'"I"*' "' .«•""« "I' ' "v„ ,|„. rivrr. unrr „,.„v,.|v '■"«''«'"' '" "'"'Wli'W. ■■" »|M'.-..,llv. „„l,„|,.,l „| ..v,,v '"'"" " I"-;;; ""■ |<""i '"' •■■■""" - .„ n,,. »i„ fr "."" ""• !'l.'i"-n-. A» 11,,. ,-ni„„v „.„»„„, I,,. ,.v,. ""«,.,■„ ,„.r, (,„. I,,.,- ,n„l,., ,1„. K„v,.,-„„„.,„ «„,K,..I " Mil's,, ilhi'it (nin«ii,-liiiriH. •"■• '.".M, ,n„l ,vl,„.|, ,|,„v| ,„,„,, „' I '""'■;""':"'"'"'l'™l-« „. n,,,,,,!!.,,,,!™,, l"-nl,.l "..llnnK l„.,„,r ,|,,,„ „ „„s,.,.,l,|,. i;,,,|„, „ ,, i,;::; "■'.", "'';" -r t""""-' •■""■"• - ■■■ « '" '""'"•"' -"- '" «"• s.,,„. „r ,,„„i,,;„ :;"■' '";'''"':'-■ "i.,T,. ,i„. r, .,,, ,„,..,, ',"; '"'""' ,^'"'- I- •■-■-.I a„ ;„, , •"v„. s ,h,. „„.r„l,„... ,„„, ,„„„|i, ,„. |„.„„ , . .y m„l ,„„ „ „, I, ,,„,^„^,,„.,„ '' "" .'" ""'I '" l'l^'"» "1- .■■•lonn. ,r „„f, ,„ ,,|„. ,„.,,,.„. . ■-.M.i.rl,,. I,..,ul-,|,„„.l,.r» „ni,a. s|,i,.il„„l |,n,vi, ,„ h .11,. „ ,.„s„.||„„,<| |,„i|,|i„. I,,,,, ,,„„„ ,,,,„,,,., , ■"■'"■'•■'I "-, '""<««' ,s,yl,. „r J,Z tecturo, a„.l ,vl,i,.|, ..,.,.„„ ,„ |„„|, ,,„„ ;„„, „,„ ' i It DiiHf'nii'TfoN OF luroN nnvav.. 127 "' " '"*"*'"' '""•""' ">' •!'<■ fown, .'uhI (Ml thr rni.rl.fy viM'V lull.n^r mjijrMtiriilly „t tUv. Im.l, of if.s .Hiiow-wliilr low* 'I'M. Tiir nipilfil of l^oiiisiiinii dcHcrvcH fliot (Im; (,ii.,ir, „|- «IH ni.inc «,(• |{„fo„ |io„a,., <„• W,.,| mi,.|<, |„, n.ronJ..(l II IM vv.ll known Ili;,t 11,,. ,y|,n.HH trco, in tlii» Honlli..rn HiMIMl.MIHrS lo „ prodiui.M.H Im.|;m,., ,„„| thni itH Ik.Hv iH o( II ivdilisli Ini,-. liH fnink is .sliorn oC hrnndirM )«'hI lis Im'.-kI iil«,no wrm-H ;, IcnCy rrowii. In inliin's I'oolv of nirliilrrl,,,,., it rr^nrnnUn \hv. ,„||,,r „i(h Uh '•'"'IMt'T. |.„ I'a^r,. du |>ral/ rHnlrs that, in liis linu- I'hto was yvA |„ |,o ho,.|i, on llir pn-Hrnt nilr of flu, (•!<|>it!>l o( Louisiana, a (iinioiis ryiuTHH lm-,oiit of wliid, "■' «"'i»<'>'l'''- l"««l oir.ivd lo iMiild two bouts, on., of Hix- U'vn tons, and llu, othrr of roiirlrcn. "As tlic wood «>< tlm (viMvsH trn(. is ivd," says F.„ |'a;^r,. ,|.i |»,at/ " <»'•«• <>l Hio (ii-Ht IravrlliTH who aniv,! at this lorality' <>xcliiini.rv(.d lo have becMi handled by oiu; of the Titans (,f old (inM.ce. 'J'ho ancient Konuins, who used to .sen omens and presa^res in nverythin^r, would hardly have |"'l'"ly, nunposr,! of ,„,„. of \Uv .nos( <|,st.nu„islM>(| ini.ahilants o((lu. cohM.y, n.cl at Ny-(;.>n..ral Do,,..., M. .Mfr, P.n,y,ll,M-(sl)'AnM,sl,o„,..s.J,.an ,VIill,.t, tho w.-aMI.,rsl„.n.d,a„t .-ni,,. ro|.,„v. .I„s..,>|, Milh.Mus bn.tl.r,. St. Max,.,.,, I),, r., Cl.ais., Ma.<,„is, (ianr, M,isa„, MassanfTp, |>o„p,t, N,,va„, IJoisMa,,,., (;,,„";t<'!• ,|.. .oIo,.y, pn-s,....! a .vsolotion bVMhu-h ll.r o»|,>,Msts, ,„ a body, s„pp|in„,,| ,1,,. Ki„. ;>t l-ra„r,M,otfosrvn- ll„.,„ (n.,n ll.o ,„„il„.,T,o„n,rv^ ll.c .vso|„„„„ was ,.„a,.i„.o„s|y adopted, a,.<| .|,.a„ M.llu't was sol.cl,.d to cany it t,» tl,<. Coot of the tliron(>. "^ Thr fi,-s, caro of Jean Milh,.t, on his an-ival in Pari. was to wa,( o„ Mi.,.ville. That d,s,i„,n,ished ...an was' >'":•' "'.''- fti'3-u-,stHl.v,a.,.i,.,,howeve,-,ah..ost ""!"l';"'-^^^'' ^''^' "'<>'-<-^' =»'nl n.lellert,.al lac.lties whirl, had chamcten/ed hi,,, ,h,-o„.h life. The hody was notl-n^- hat ,l.e wreek of a goodly ship, whieli, after '•avi.,o- iMvn Jo„. h.,irc.ted by the sto,-,..s of th.> w(,rld was now last si„ki„ir i„to ,he yawning al.yss. J{„; 1.0 sp,r,tnal eo,..,„a,idei-, the so.,|, .....eorched by the turyoi tl.<> cont(M.di,.g ele.,.,.,.fs, fatig,,,,], „ot s„hd„ed or jl,sn..yed conid be seen pn.adly stanclin, o„ tl. I deck, serenely surveying the desolating scene and the approaches of desolation, and ready To spring np, at i riii:sr.NTATi<>N of tiik petition. 129 i lorn of On> Inst momciiif, iVoiii ulicrc i( stood, to tlio si , f-toriiiil |M'!ir<. and sj.tity, Drcply ^rri,.v,d uns Ik, iii hiiw lived lon^r oiio.i«,'li 1(» «,.„ tj,,, unulual aJMHcmcnt of J'nincr, and the; jKirlition of I.c.isiaiia hrtwcni Mn.rjand ii.d SpaiM. What had Imtoiuc o<- Canaihi, his rmtivo '•onntry f What ofhairor [< Was it for the Spaniards that he had call*.,! New Orleans int(. life!' Were the (.onisianians, were, JIm> innneroiis niernhers of his family, whose home In- had seleetcil in the r-ra consi({erati(uis whi/-|i, liJ tic appeal, not only to the reason, hut also to the sensihilit} of the powerful man who Ii(-ld in his ha-ids the fatvitl. a look of profound affliction, Uad nsc„ to (K.,Kirt, when liwmm ^r,ivc way to ti.c cn.o- tK)n« wind, so far l,a.l hoon pent ap i„ l.i, UcavL loars ^rushed from his cyvs, his tr..n»i«lon.M Immls s.-Jzod tliose ot the Duke, he bent his knee, ami in this humble posture with an ahnost sol>hin, ho prayed for a reconsideration of the decree issu.>d against the colony, 1 his was loo much even for the minister. He appeared greatly moved ; he hasti/y raise was founded on circumstances, which were inter(.reted by the colomsts m a manner favorable to their wishes For II.I,OA APPOINTKD CiOVEUXOK OF lOirisIA.NA. 131 . inslmico, on,, yonr l„„l ehpscl sincn tho rccoipt of tl,o n letter, 1,1 whici, t|„. Ivinj, |,^,| i„„r„c„,,| ,).^\|,;,,„|| ^ .ohver „,. Iho colony,,, ,|,„ fir..t SpnisI, offi,.,.r, who .liouW i.rcs,.,,, I,„„„.|rwitl, the .HxcHary power.-. Sueh an officer Imd not „.s yet arrive,!, and it see,n,.d that the Kni^rol Spam was nmkin^r no preparation to tali,, poa- »e..s,on o, the provinc,.. Thus, the lowerin. do , he among yon, in onler to proceed to the eye- that , w II airor,l mo lavorahle opp„r„mities, to render •on all the .erv.ees that yon an,l the inhabitants of yo.'r own may des.r,- ; of which I beg yon to give tim the as.snranc,3 fron, n,e, and to lo,",hen. know tha " -;n.m.s, only discharge my d,,ty and gratily'm'; AXTO.MO DE Ul.UH." ^ At the n,oment when the conntry was tbns on the eve of changmg .ts ol,l livery of colonial bonda-e ,or another one, the King of France thonght proper to",l,r oml oni,: ,-M r7'" ''""'' ■="' -fconsolation ?^; some of the faithful servants whom ho was abandoning 'I B« ; I Iri , t hi 'ffi 132 ARRIVAL OF ULLOA. and sent the decorations of the Cross of St. Louis to Marest de la Tour, Eonille, D'Arcnsbourg, and La- vergne. ^ August, September, October, November, December, passed away, and Ulloa did not come ! WJmt detained hmi, when so near ? Had counter orders arrived ? And hope, that foehng liappily so congenial to humr-n nature, of so rapid growtli and of so slow deca^^ began to revive in the breasts of the colonists The year 176G had begun its onward march, and had brought no Ulloa ' Many of the colonists now adopted the conviction, that the Treaty of Cession was nothing but a sham instru- ment, concealing some diplomatic manocuverino- In the month of February, 21G Acadians an-ived in Louisiana. The families, who had first souc^ht rofucre m the colony, had set up an example, which others had been eager to follow. Liiplements of husbandry were distributed to them at the cost of the government, and they were authorized to form settlements on both sides of the Mississippi, from the German Coa.t up to Baton Kouge, and even as high as Pointc Coupee. Hence the name of Acadian Coast, which a portion of the' banks of the river still bears. To theso Refugees, during the hrst year of their settlement, were given the same rations which were allowed the troops of the colony On the .5th of March, 17GG, the town of New Orleans was thrown into a great state of excitement. The lon.r expected Ulloa had arrived at last, and had landed with two companies of infantry commanded by Picrna^^ He was accompanied by Loyola as Commissary of War and Intendant, Gayarre, as Contador, or Comptroller, and Navarro, as Treasurer. Besides their respective attribu- tions, Gayarre and Navarro were made joint commis- sioners with Loyola, to take possession of the colony and to appraise all the objects belonging to the Kincr of TREATMENT OF THE SUPERIOR COUNCIL. 133 Franco, which tlic King of Spain might think convenient to keep for Ins own account. Tiie reception of Ulloa was respectful, but cold and sullen, betokening clearly the discontent of the population. Having been requested by the Superior Council to exhibit his powers, he re- fused, on the ground that he intended to postpone taking possession of the country, until the arrival of all the Spanish forces which he expected. He added that he had nothing to do with the Superior Council, which was nothing else than a civil tribunal, by which he could not possibly be called to any account ; and that, with regard to the delivery of the province into his hands, he had to deal only with Governor Aubry, m hom he recognized as the sole competent authority in that matter. Here was a bitter pill to swallow ; it was the first but decided mtimation to the Superior Council, that, henceforward, it was no longer to be, what it had been— one of the ruling powers of the colony. The members of that body had been used to believe that they were very great personages ; and to be suddenly told by a new- comer, that he had not of them the same exalted opinion, which they themselves entertained, was gall and worm- wood. Nothing can be more unforgiving than the wounded pride and self-love of petty functionaries ; and there is no doubt but that the cavalier and unconciliat- ing manner, in which the members of the Council thought they were treated by Ulloa, was one of the causes of subsequent events. Ulloa, although he refused to show his powers, and to take formal possession of the colony, proceeded, however, to visit its differem posts and settlements. At Natchitoches, particularly, h ^ remained a considerable time, studying the locality, aid making inquiries as to its fficihties of comnumication with the Mexican pro- vinces. He ordered a censrs to be made of the whole I hi' s Ml ! I ' m III h I I! ' M !'i 134 CHARACTER OF CHARLES III. \l ! II population of Louisiana, and tin; n^sult was found to be ; WXi men able to carry arms, lOM women, married or unmarried, 1375 male children, .and 1240 of the other sex. 'J\)tal, r>5G2. The blacks w<'re about as nume- rous. JJut the poj)-,-.lation was somewhat reduced by an epidennc which prevailed in that year (I7(5(J), and which, jt IS said, closely resembled the disease now so well known here, under the name of yellow fever. The monarch, whose subj(>cts the inhabitants oi' Loui- siana w(>re d(>stined to be, was far superior, as to lh(. quahlications of a nuui and ol' a king, (o the fe(>blc and corrupt Louis XV. Charles 111^ who wore the crown of Spain and of the Indies, was the son of Philip V. and ]<:iizabeth Fariiese, and was born in .Janu- ary, 1717.* Called to tin; succ(>ssion of Tuscany, wlu>n the last of the Medici hud died without leaving heirs to that illustrious name, C^harles, before the diimi of ado- lescence had shaded his chin, appeared in Italy in 1730 at the head of the armies of his father, the Catholic Kin./ I'our years alter, he invaded the kingdom of Naples, aird made a triumphant entry in its noble cai)ital, whoso gates liad been thrown ojx'n at tin; sight of the h(>roic bands of Spain. Proud of his son, IMiilip V. ceded to him all his rights to the kingdom of the two Sjcihes. IJut the imperial troops of (ierniany were ad- vancing, to wrest from the youthful warrior the fiiir prize he had grasped so boldly. The battl(« and victory of JJitonto secured to him the crown of which he was worthy, and the ])uk(> of Montemar, who commanded the troops of his Catholic Majesty, received the title of Duke of iJitonto. After having firmly established his authority in the kingdom of Naples, Charh«s invarmany, Very naturally, Cliarl(>s joined his forces to those of his father. Wlum the jarriiig cle- ments o< stri lb arc at work, l^ngland is never far off; and the I'.nglish admiral Martin l)ress did not bind himself to nMnain neutral and not to assist his lather. The first impulse of the young King was to refuse the unnatural re(|uest. Mar- tin (lr(!W his watch, and gave Charles one hour to deter- mine, wheth(>r hew()uldyi(.|dto the humiliating demaml addressed to him, or see his capital battered down. Unfortunately, Naples was in so def(>nceless a state, that no resistance! could be made ; and Charles had to obey the stern laws of necessity. I hit he never forgot the insult, whilst he waited for better times. As soon as the Mnglish disap|M^-ire<>|>S to join l||,,H(. ,,f I IIH .|<"n(l> \Mlh Jhr Diikr of \Io(| Niirccss, lh»> < I roil «• HilS !I|>|)0||||.mI (oiiun!iii,hT-iii-,hi,.r rliii. All i'V ,Sl> nv |))ii-liiil nii.iiulcd (he lii»|M«iijihMls. Chiirl 'imiM.s (.rS|»!iiii iiiiil Niiplrs uriT IIIKT (>r l^»Mv(>\Vll/., who CN WHS V(MV lU'ili «»«'iM- miKl,. iMis(.ii,.r: h.,1 Ih. S|,„ii,,inlM .s|Mril,h l""«'' rii.-mirH, ■" 'i«> hiul 111)1 known liow lo |M-olif l»v (I M'CM Ihrowii, JuKanlMM,.. 'i'|„,y ,.,ln,.vr(l hv iin.d <"uci> which hail I Icalrd III icir inoiiK'iilary |»r(»di away l»clon> (hcin in m^' hdccn vcais, lli(> liuils ol' I '•I" liiiM (ainpainn, Chailcs ciiioycd, di n- llis lh(> lal iiM nv«Miicd (he KniMd.Mii of Naples will KnidiicsH and wisdom ofn o,„,d and inl iinlil Ihr lOth of AiiiTiisI, r::)!), when I 'iiccrcd, on lli(> Ihn.n,. ,,(S t'iliii;cril man, »«'iiio- called (o N I., lie led (he lvili;4(l(»m ol" \;,|)l pain, hjs In-olhei,' l-'erdinaml Ihird ^oii. Charles, li'idinn I |)les lo I'Vrdinand, h iiins<ved Admiral INIailin, and tailed lo avail himsidr ol never Mnnlish (hat I •'Very oj»por(iniilv, (<» show (In i«' lunl a teiiad" close union all (he Coi of |{oiiil„)ii. M,. ,|„| „o( hesitate ( )ianches oj" lance in tli(> (wo wars which sh(« Iia«i ( I'ri.iLland. That of iVd'J o join <) wn'^v a<;ainsl w allied lis not la\»)iahle to (he ( wo powers; S|»ain lost Havana, (weKe si iijis ol liMc, immens,> (reasures, the l>liilippiu(^ Islamis, and \\ UH i iviii.irAUv rAitr.i'.it or riiAKi.i.s in. I. {7 roiii|»l('l(-ly loilrd in the <;iin|i!iijjiii vvliirli hIic iill<'iii|)l<'(l n^'iiiiisl l*oiliili^r,,(| (<> I'lcnrh DiiKr of Crillon, the coniiniirulc r «>r (he (roops of his ( 'iilliolic Miijcsly, look |>o,s,m!S,si(iii olMiihoM, in I7NI, und by Ihr Ircily ol pciMM-, IMinoicii. Jind I'loridii wwv, u^HUmnl lo S|>!iin. Kclcjiscd (Voni \Uv. Hlni-jnl,. uiili so poli'iil iin rnrniy ns iMi-rhind, ChiirlcM JiKcnipIrd lo «-|i(«ck (Ih> dc|»n'n<'c oCllic pinih-s of A|(.i,.|-s. ('(.mil O'lJcilly w.is iiiliMslcd wilh tlir connniMid of tli.-il iniporlnni <'\|>cdi- lioii. This olliccr had inihiiiry (nhnls and zeal, which \\r\r athrnltiMl even hy his cncniics ; hnl he was an Irishman hy hiilh, and Spanish pride ill hrookcd thai tlu' services of a loreiMiici- shonlil he preferred lo llios(' of so many worlhy sons of iIk; land. The dealh oflhe Manpiis of La Homana, who perishes which mined the e\|)edili(»n. This hriel" ahslracl of ihe events wlin-h mark.'d the mililary <-areer of Charles III., proves ihal il was nol irif^lorions. lint this prince sliowcid liimseirsiiJI oreater III lh«^ civil adminislralion of his Kinud(,nj. ||e carried iiilo r.vecution wilh itidoinilahle perHoveranc<> the plans of iiseliil reforms which he liad conceived on uscendino m Mir ■ i U ' -l-i •^WWiiw^ip n i l iip^ 138 ADMIMSTRATION OF CHARLES III. the throno. His was tho noble conception to revive the cner favor- ite nim.ster of Charles, the Marquis of Squilace, an Italian by birth, was dismissed, as being odious to the populace and to the nobility, and a sort of compromise ; I- Ml ADMINISTRATION OF CHARLES III. 139 mi; took phicc between the King and liis people as to the liats and cloaks. To gratify their Sovereign, the people gave up their broad brimmed hats ; but in return, to p ease his loyal subjects, the King had to tolerate the cloaks, i)rovided they should be somewhat curtailed in their length and width. On the fliith of these transac- tions, good harmony was restored, and the royal parent and his children were as loving as ever. Many arc the useful establishments and the public monuments which, at the present day, are to be traced up to the reign of Charles III. the high roads in bpain, the Custom House, and the Post Office building in Madrid, the works which have embellished that capi- tal^ind secured the health of its inhabitants, the Cabinet of Natural History, the IJotanical Carden, the Academies of Painting and Drawing, the canal of Tudela, that of Madrid, abandoned since his death, and many other im- provements, either originated with, or were perfected by him. He loved an upright and enlightened administra- tion of justice, and he selected, with rare discrimination, his magistrates and public functionaries among tlie most Viituous and learned citizens. From those whom he once tried and found honest and capable, he never with- drew his confidence on any insidious delation or un- founded and vague accusations. The Counts of Flori- da Blanca and of Campomanes were raised to the first offices of the Kingdom from a state of obscurity ; and, although they were rivals and hostile to each other, they both enjoyed, at the same time, the esteem of their So- vereign, who did not allow himself to be prejudiced Im- one against the other. Charles had the good sense of employing these two men, each in the department to which he was suited, and never permitted himself to be influenced by their passions. It is by such means that this prince succeeded in roushig Spain from the lethargy It': il:i f'ill ;f-f i f I HO ADMIMSTIIATION OF <-|IAUI.i:S III. x'cn s( in uliicli slic l>;i(i I IN. Ccrliiiiily, iiothiii^r hut ll (IcSj.OfM- S()V(Mvio„, ,.,,„I,| |,„v,, .sti,.,.,.,| i„to .„.( ) loiinr pl„nu,v,l, HiiKM^ IMiilip <'nrrt,ri(i.<-,(i()n. Ohsiiu-lrs of ,,ll woro to l,,> (•„niv(l, mid Climlcs did not slnink ( tlKi inif)l(>a.siiiif \i\H\i. We Iijiv<^ of | ics, conccnfralcd nilliin ilHidf .sorts roni iini soiiui sayimr.s wliich , or a family (|narr<'l, ho oask: "What monk is tJKMV at the hoiioin of iMd to spoak of the d li:i(l nnd fln' rccojloction of the least • i^^ono Ml war, and ulways trcasinrdnp faithfidlv rondcrcd him. 'IM service wliich had heeri tiiiiriii when ('hark the ( le corps of royal Carahiiieers had d l'<"d itself in the campai^riis of Italy. M Vdlet is- ri. s was (hat in dano(>r of hein^j; inad<; prisoner, anihmeers saved him. Years had ela|)sed ,siiic,(! ill", pro- economical reforms in <'veiil, when, oii(> day, the Minister of VV |)osmnco •"'''''"'•' <'">! oikm-ous (I Charles seemed not to have h(>ard his remarks, ^md <'l VI- i!in nseliii. no answer. The Minist ave er renewed his attacks, and spoke with more d(HMsion and pc^rtinacily. 'I'ho Kincr who, all (li(. uhil,>, was hroodinu oy,.,- |,*is an^r,.,-, thun" dcivd out, "If any one dares ars, I will have him I In 17')!), when he tool mill'-. k poss(>ssion of the throne of oin Spam, h(> wassiirpris(>d to s(>e a <,^rande(> of tlu> kin«rd prescMitiiiiT himself to perforin (he functions of (Ireal Chamherhiin, which a gentleman of the luime of J.osadu *kw'i- 1*1 HIS DIlATIf. HI Itl liad Ih'(>m arciislomcd lo (lisrlmiac ncnr liis person, for m.-my y«;.rM (.iisl. " WUvn-. is LosjuIj. r cried o„t, tl,,, Kin^' iiiipiiliciidy. TIh! wiiswcr wiis : " Sire, l.osadii is n«l ii {Tvntulvv ()fS|)jiiti. Tlio cliiiiicllc^ oftiK! <(.url n;- «|iiircs (lia( lie who Imsllir honor o(s<'rviii re^r„|j„.ity „f ,^ ^^]^,^,\.^ i,',.()m llu; 1st olMannary to the; :nst ofDecem' .-r, the precise hour Ihr (ivery occn|)ation and (;very pleasure; was set down and minntely ohscTved. Years in advance, every Spaniard knew when tin. Kin- would go to IxmI, wIkui he would le;iv(> it, mid the; exact day when he would midertaki! a particniar journey. Me was a, sort of al- manac in (lesh and Mood, indicating the rising and set- ting of th(! snn. Chark-s was c(>rtainly not g'ifted with the brilliant (|nalilies of a hero, hnt possessed a sonnd jndgni<>nt, a wise firmness of miiul, an excijMent nnder- standing, and above all, those; (|iialilications which con- stitute a good and ns(>fnl man. The; Spaniards still cherish the iiKMnory of his paternal administration and of his private virtm-s. lie di(>(l in Madrid, on tin; lHh of I)ec(Mnb(T, 1788, at the ag(^ of seventy-two, not v ith- onf having lor(>se(;n the storms which threahMied Europe and given judieions advice; to his successor. When King of Naples, he had cioate^l the deconilion of the ■i! !■: , ) ' . If ' i! 1 ^ I ! Ill ft 142 CAREER OF AXTOMO DE ULLOA. order of St Janvier, and when Kin^r of Spain, that of tlie Iininacidate Conception or Charles JIJ. Such was the prince into whose hands Lonisiana was to pass. o certainly paid her a ^n-eat con.phrnent, an.l gave her the measure of his rega^i, by the selection which he .nade of her first governor, ll coul.l harl have «ent her a more distinguished character than Don Antonio de Uloa, who had made himself illustrious in the republic of letters, and who was one of the brightest ornaments ot Spain in the eighteenth century, by his scent.hc labors and travels, and by his long ami useful services as a naval officer and an administrator. Anton.o de Ulloa* was born in Seville, on the 12tJ, of anuary, 171«. His family was already distin^nished in the mantmie annals of the conntry, and took care to h h„n for their hereditary career, by making him go n-ou.h the best course of studies. He entered the nav3^ as a midshipman, in n:}.3, and he soon acqnired a Sv TI ; r'"''""^"' <•'« l-Pos of his friends and amil> Ihe- first comnnssion with which he was in- rusted, was to join the learned expedition concerted between the governments of Spain and France, to mea- sure an arc of the meridian at the equcaor, which was an operation desired by the Academy of Sciences of lans, in order to determine the confi^r„ration of the car ., and which was to be executed by^three members of that body, IJouguer, I.a Coiidamine, and (;odin. It being thought that the province of Quito in Peru oliered the equatorial station most favorable to that enterprise, which would be a long and a laborious one, It had been found necessary to apply to the Spanish govermnent to obtain leave for foreigners to penetrate into tha. rich country, as the pioneers of science. Spain * Biograi.hie Universclle Je Michaud, ft ill' CAREER OF ANTONIO DE ULLOA. 143 luul always jealously guard,.,] hor provinces of America u^ra.n.st loreign intrusion, an,l against the investigations of cunosity. Jut the friendship which th,.. unit,.d the two courts, and a generous enu.lati„u in fivor of science' prcvaded ,m every other consideration. It was deci,le,; •at wo ofhcers ,>i the royal navy, capable of assisting the Lrench academicians in their labors, should be s,>nt with them or their protection, and to reomn.end them to he local authorities, as well as to share, in the name of their country, in the honor of that important opera- tion IheKingh^ft the choice of the two officers to he Roya Aca,lemy of Midshipmen, an,l the young An- tomo de Ul loa, who was hardly nineteen years ol,!^ was selected with aimther officer, named George Juan, who ■ had acjuired celebrity as a mathematician. lioth wor- hdy executed their commissi .„, work,.d together with he greatest harmony, and kept themselves free from those bickerings an,i ,,uarrels, which occurred amona lH3ir r rench associates. On their return, thirteen years after the.r ,l,.parture, an,I one year before the academi- Clans of Pans, they published the results of that great expcdit.,,,. (.eorge Juan, having more specially re- served to lumself the digesting and editing of tlie creo- metrical, physical an,l astronomical observations, ntadc cith,>r in common, or by each of them separat,.|y, pub- .she, m 1718, at the cost of the Spanish government lnsv,>lume of ''Observations," &c. Madrid, m .Ito.; an d a few months after, Ulloa published also at the cost of Uie Kmg, the " Historical relation of a voyage made to South Anierica, by order of the King, to measure some degrees of the meridian, and ascertain the true coufi.^ ration and size of the f-ivtl, «-wi. r "*^^'>'in„u- ind Ml.v«i,. 11 sta- tistics of the country, and the numners of its inhahit- ants, which are fully set forth in the relation of Ulloa, who showed himself |)osscssed of an ol)scrvinE ri.LOA. 1 15 liini to the vory vor^o oftl.o , in ono of ilio inoiin- tainouH rc^r.oiis of thut co.uilry. II,. illn.strutoH the prc- JiKl.ccs ol tl.c natives by s,,voraI liumcrous anecdotes, and, anion^r otiiers, that of an Indian wl.o, takin.r these I«Nirned men for inajrieians, fell on his knees before them, and supphcated Iheni fo reveid to hiniwho had stolen his ass. Towards the end „fSeptemher, 1710 wlien they were niakin^^ astronon.ieal observations, at one o( the extremities of the arc «»f the meridian which had be(!n measured, an order of the Viceroy of Peru obh<,red the two Spanisli oflicers to proceed su(hh>nly to Lnr.!.. War had just broken out between Kn.r|i,nd and Spam, and Vice-Admiral Anson was thrcatenin7r tlie coasts of the Spanish possessions. Ulloa and Juan were mtrusted witli the care of putting in a state of dehiuce the sea-coast in the latitude of Lima and Cal- iao. Wh(!n this was cx(>cut(>d, th(>y w(.r(; f)ermittcd to return to Quito, and resume their scientitic labors. But soon after they had reached th(>ir destination, th(iy were called to Cuaymiuil. The sacking of Payta by the English IhM't had scattered terror far and wide. It is iuipossible to form an adequate idea of the fatigues attending their goings forward and backward, without knowing fully the difliculty of travelling through the mountains of Peru. In every trying circumstance in which they w(>r(; placed, and what(!ver were the ob- stacles they had to overcome, Ulloa and .Tuau discharged tiieir duties with a zeal and fortitude which caimot^'be too highly ai)preciated. When they had provided for the safety of Guayaquil, only one of them was permitted to (k^part, and it was Ulloa who, although the season was extremely unliivor- able to travelling, hastened back through every fatigue and danger to Quito. On entering that city, he met^'an order to return in all haste to Lima, whither he went 10' '> ,< ' PI [ i i ..^iitji i:VllLY CAREER OF ANTONIO DE ULLOA. witii Juan, avIio joined liini on the way. There they took the command of two fVijratcs, to cruise on the coasts of Chili and of the island of Juan Fernandez. Fortunately, on the arrival of reinforcements, Ulloa and George Juan were permitted to resume their scientific mission at Quito, where, of all the French academicians, they Ibiuid only Godin, with whom they observed the comet of 1714. At last, imj)atient for a return to Europe with the fruits of tluur labors, they embarked at Callao, each in one of two French ships, which were to go round Cape Horn on their way to Brest. These ships were s(>[)arated in a stress of weather ; and the one on which Ulloa was, overtook two French ships, with which she was navigating in concert, when they were attacked by English privateers, mud superior to them in force. After very hard fighting, the two vessels, which had on board three millions of dollars, were captured, and UUoa's ship escaped with difliculty. To avoid new dangers, it was thought necessary to proceed in a totally diticrent direction, and the ship sailed towards North America. When she entered Louis- bourg, at Cape Breton, all on board congratulated them- selves on having escaped from so many dangers ; but this feeling of exultation was not of long duration, and they were obliged to surnMidcr to the English, who had just taken that town, and who had designedly ke[)t hoisted uj) the French flag as a decoy. A prisoner of war, Ulloa was transported to England, where he was treated with nmcli consideration. It is the |)rivile,\pulsion from that province. In the intervals of his canipaigns at sea, Ulloa used to correspond with nil the men who had acquired celebrity by their learning, and Avas elected on(^ of the associate members of the academies of Stockholm and IJerlin. Since 1748, he had been oiu\ of the regular correspond(>nts of the Academy of Sciences of Paris. In 1772, he published in Madrid, in I vol. in 4to,, a col- lection of observations under this title: "Noticias Ame- ricanas, entretenimientos physico historicos sobre la America Meridional, y la Septentrional Oriental." In this work, he revicnvs the soil, the climatie, the vem'tabl<>. aiumal, and mmeral productions of those vast countriijs. llisdistiuisitions on marine pc trifactions, on th(> Indians, their manners, usages, anti((uities, languages, and their probable origin, are full of interest, although sonn; of his hypothetical remarks will hardly be sanctioned by the sobriety of logical deductions. In 177;}, he pre- sented to the Spanish ministry another valuabh; work on the naval forces of Europe and Africa. In I77S, he published, at Cadix, his observations at sea of the eclipse of the sun which took place in that y(!ar. They made known a singular fact, which, for some time, en- gaged the attention of all the astronomers. The author i:arly ( /vhefr of antonio dk tjixoa. M9 assuros havinjr scon, for one minulo, (liirinjr tli(. oclipso of tho sun, and to liav(! caused to be .sc(^n hy several other persons, a brilliant spot on the moon, which he considers to be a real hole thron;,rh that planet. " Ac- cor(lin;,r to my calculations," said the celebrated astro- nonuir, i.alande, " that hole ou royal nnvies of Spain, when ho was or(l(n-ed, in 177<), to cruise; in the; latitude of the Azorc islands, to capture eight ICnglish vessels belong- ing to tin; IiKha Com[)any, and n^tiirning loaded with the wealth of Asia. He was next to proceed to I Favana, where Ik; was to be f)rovid(>d with additional forces, to iittack the |)rovinces of l<'lorida. His orders were to break the seal of his lettc^rs of instructions only in a certain latitude ; but Ulloa, absorbed in astronomical observations, or some deep study, forgot to open his letters of instructions in time, and returned at the ex- fnration of two months, after a useless cruise. He was accused of having allowed the eight l^nglish ships to pass without noticing them, and Of havrng suffered a Spanish frigate and a merchant ship from Manilla to be captured within sight of his own fleet, without intcrfer- ""lip i 111 ': ) - )( I f i. :, l-i I) if f li f II! 150 ms(' w(M-(' gnivc fjccusationK, wliicli cjuiHod his hfiiifr aiT(>sl(>(| niid hrouglit, in 1780, Ix-foro u court iiiiiitial, which, it must hv aaid, was convciuid at liis own rociiicst. I'jthcr bcc^iiuHo the acc'iiHalion was not proved, or lu'causo his su|)(Tior merit and the eminent services he had ren(U>r("d to his connlry, (hsposcid his judt^^es to he in(hild, and retained his gra(h>, titles, and di coratioi.s. Hut ho ceased to b(^ emjiloyed at sea; he servd a»i;e orei()fhty. 'J'ownsend the I'jii'lish travell(>r, who had visited liim in Cadix, eijvht years bel'ore, has h'ft of him the lollowinir portrait: "The Spaniard wjiose conversation interested mc most, was Don Antonio Ulloa. I foimd in him a true philosopher,* lull of wit and learning-, sprightly in his conversation, free and easy in his manners. He is of a small si/e, (wtrcMiU'ly thin, and bendin*; under the weioht ofyears ; h(> was dressed like a farmer, and surrounded by iiis numerous childriMi, the youngest of whom, two years old, was |)layin;L? on his knees. In the room where he uscmI to receive jiis visitors there coidd be S(hmi, lyino confusedly scattered, chairs, tabh's, trunks, boxes^, books, papers, a b(>dsti^ad, a j)rintin«); |>ress, nmbnjllas, articles of dothino;, carp.Miler's tools, mathematical instruuHMits, ;. baronu'tcM-, a clock, wcaiums, paintinly by servictis rcn(h>red to tlie stat(3, and by his superior aeciiiirements in the higliest depart- !n(!nta of seienc(>, thiit I'lloji, has left a nanio deservedly honored in his country. S|)ain owes to hiiu the creation of tJKi first cabinet of niitin-al history, jind the first labor- atory of metidlnr<,ry it possessed ; the conception of the canal of Old C'aslile, for navi^^ation and irri<>ation, <;onunenced under Charles JJI. and abandoned after the death of that monarch; the knowlc(l^r<, of j)laiiiia and its pro[)erties; of electricity and artificial mam.bles that of ('anterbury in ICngland ; and the secret of maHiifictmintf superfin<; cloth by raixinjr this wool with ihv. merino wool, lu order to demonstrate the a(lvantar(> sent to dillerent parts of ICurojJC, to be instructed in the lilxM-al and mechanical arts, which he wished to introduce into his own country. Such was the first Spanish Ciovernor<«iven to Louisiana, and well nu^Ui the most refined and fastidious com- munity have been proud of the choice. The companions of VWou and his associates in power were not unworthy of their chief, and mighf, at least, •t ' 152 DON i:ntkva\ oayarre. liiivc chjillon«r(.(l comimrison willi any of the. Froncli rulci-H who |)nH'.(>(lr(| ihcni in the colony. Don Juan Josopli do Loyola, tlicconnnissary of war and military inicndanl, was, ii is said, of the family which hoaslcd of haviiirr produced Inins rnn mad; ni a word, llie ori<;iualor of the most powerful associa- tion the world ever knew— the founder of the imMhrnous der of the .lesuits. Don Juan Joseph de Loyola was no imfit r(>pr(>sentative of the name he bore, lie liad the (>l<«oance of manners, the hi(rh br«>edinal(>d imairination, and the ndi«rious enthu- siasm which colored his life, which ^deamed like a snbdued fwe inuhn- the crust of his most worldly actions, and nuirked him as an interestin^r object of study to the obs(>rver, and as a. man of no ordinary stamp. Don lvstatrician house of tlu; kinjrdom of Navarre, in Spain. At tlu! iu^v of nineteen, on the 1st of November, 1711, he had souj^dit to IxMter his fortun(>s by the chances of war, and by eidisling in the army. bVoni 1742 to 1718, under the conmiand of his Royal lli^rhness Don I'elipe, he served with distinction in Italy. In his first campaign in Piemont, he w as in the (>ngag(>ments of Aygab(d and St. Andre ; in the S(>cond, he shared the dangers of the retreat through the defile of Lanell ;* in the third, he * This is the Spanish ortliogniphy of these naini's in the ihicunieiits which I possoss. nON ESTKVAN n thousimd Piemontese, assisted by tlu; l^nglish Admiral iHathews, with a portion of the marines and gmmers of his fleet. Both these for- tr(!ss<;s, which s(;emed impn^gnable, w(!re carried by a simultaneous assault of the I'nirich and Spaniards; the Pieniontesc; wer(> cut to pieces, and the l<:nglish put to flight. Twenty thousand prisoners, among whom was tlu! Count d(! T.a Suze, the commander-in-chicif, on(! hun- dred and seven pi(>ces of artillery, and tin; con(iu(>st of th(! (bounty of Nice, were the results of these two glo- rious exjK'ditions. ^ Don l':stevau Cayarre was also at the taking of the l*ost of tlu; |{arri(;a(l(!s, a, passage of eighteen f^ret wide, betw(!en two mountains towcjriug to tlic; sky, prot(>cted by the Stura, which tlui king of Sardinia had turned from its nntural course into tin; pr(!cipice, and by three intrenchments and a covered way; at the sieg(i of Demont, a fortress built at an immense cost on tlu; top of an isolated rock, in th(> midst of the valley of Stura, and which was taken on the 1 7th of August, 1711, after a si(>g(M)f on(! month; at the si(>ge of the fortified town of Com, and at what the; Spaniards called the irhrious battle of the Campo de la J/adoaa del Holnw. T'liis bat- tle, in which he was dangerously wounded, is the one wliK^h occurred under the walls of Coni, when th(! com- bined armies of Spain and Franco were attacked, on the i' ■ i I I t • I, ' 1' 1 '1 J i 1 ■ ^ ,, ; * ' ■ ' ■[ i 1 I vij. 1 r I!! ,|;i ( 154 DON ESTEVAN GAYARRE. 30tli of Soi)toinl)or, 1711, by tlio king of Sardinia at the licad of superior forces to tliosc of his adversaries. Tlie Pieinontes(>, with a loss of five thousand men, were beaten hacic by the Frencli and Spaniards, who foujrht with the jrencrous enudation of old rivnls in feats'' of arms and (h)eds of glory. In the campaign (jf the year 1747, in the county of Nice, Don Estevan Gayarre attracted the notice and obtained the connnendation of his superiors, by the zeal and hiielligence which he dis- playetl in several perilous sallies and partial expeditions, which he led through the country. On the 1st of December, 1751, after having served ten years, he aj)plied to the court to be permitted to retire from the army ; and considering, said his certificate of discharge,* that among the other causes of the step he had taken, was that of his having exhausted his patri- mony, by his just inclination to, and love of, the military career, and, above all, the pernuinent injury done to his health by the serious Avound he had received at the bat- tle of the Madona del Ilolmo, in 1741. lie was gra- ciously granted what he sued for, and was strongly recommended to the royal favor. Probably in conse- quence of it, he obtained, in .Tanuary, 1752, one of the most important ofllces at La Coruna, under Don Fran- cisco de Mendoza y Sotomayor, general Contador, or auditor and comjjtroller, for the army and kingdom of Gallicia. On the IHst of May, 1705," he received a let- ter from the M.irquis of Piedra Bucna, askir.g him whether he would, as Contador, or royal comptroHer of the province of Louisiana, accompany IHloa to that colony. ITis answer to this proposition is remarkably in harmony with the reluctance which Spain felt to take possession of the territorial present tendered to her by * La tie Jiavor oxfiiif^iiido m initrininiiio on justii iiicliiiiioioii y nmor do Ins arums, y In prinoipnl, dc la niinoraoion do sii salud por la gravodad do sii liorida. i ■■! DON MARTIN NAVARRO. 155 Franco, and is a cliaractcristic specimen of tlie litrht in which was considered a mission to a country, not tfien of very good fame, and certainly of very little import- ance, at the time, in European estimation. In his reply to the Marquis of Piedra Buena, Don Estevan Gayarre says that, " after havin/r had the honor of serving the king twenty-four years, his devotion and fealty to the royal person cannot i)ermit him to refuse to discharge any duties, which his mnjesty might think of imposing ujjon him." But, on signifying his acceptance to the Marquis of Piedra Buena, he dwells upon the merit which lie thinks he deserves by it, and stipulates that his going to America must be iuid(!rstood as not interfering with his promotion in the Peninsuhi. On the lOth of June, 17G5, he was fin.dly appointed by the king: Coii- Indor prinqml del Mi, listeria dc Guerra y Real Hacienda J P- in the province of Louisiana. Thus ikr go the public documents concerning this gentleman. There are others of a private nature, testifying to his many virtues, to the excellence of his mind, and showing that, in those quali- ties which adorn the soul, he could hardly bo excelled. He possessed, in an emin(-nt degree, all the noble traits of character which distinguish the healthy and hardy race of mountaineers, among whom he was born, in the valley of Roncnl in Navarro, amidst the impressive scenery of the Pyrennean heights. To those qualifica- tions he owed, no doubt, the many testimonials of res- l)oct and esteem he received, in the different situations in which he was placed, during the course of a long life vouchsafed to him by providence. Don Martin Navarro, the treasurer, represented among his colleagues the democratic element, which, in later days, was to exercise so powerful an influence over the destinies of mankind. He was the son of a poor tavern-keeper, and had risen, l)y dint of industry, [)erso- ,ry.*^ Mi! I i f-lf; li . i •1 j - 1 '' ir)0 DON MARTIN NAVAKItO. vorancp, nnd n(l(lr<>MH. Slircvvd, nci'wo, iiiid Iiorn'st, lio (IcscTvcd to Im> friisfcd; iirid Uviuif willinl a Imku. (-omi),!. iiion, !ind .skilliil in Hk. uiiys of llw world, he had IIioho <|iiali(i(iifion.s which molhly «mivv. coiicihafr opposifion, and render .smooth and easy the path to .MiiccesM. Lik,' water, which neeks its lev(>i, his taleiitM and ac(|nirenients had, hy slow de^n-ees, raised him to tli(> position in H()ci(>ty which was his dne. Such were the m(>n, who, In ITtJtl, liad come, in the nam(> of Charles III., kin^r of Spain, am! of the Indies, to take j)ossession of the ronntry ceded to him in ITti'i! I m. * Fonrrif j.ix'rrifu:. Ui..,a'h Sa,auv-1I,h lNMru„..i,oNH-II,s I.;,k..utm to kkk.- ,t rm ummurri, UKN.M I.A..KK Mo.,.:v-T„,.:hk |.;,....,u.h auk (•o,:..,.KUAr,K„ nv ...K .•.,.,.,^.s•;- ":';;:..;:,;;" ""* '''"" *" ■•^"^ '^'" ■^■"^ ^^"-'•'' "•" ^^'«'-- ► OK «.,„„ I,,„„A „„^>, N,,,. ,.,KK |.',.UMA,. I'cHHKHH.ON OK TI.K ('n>.ONV~|hH Im .•..K.HH..,N., (INKAVOHA,.,,. TO ,,„ V.:,V,..ru>.-l<'a^.rK «Kn.HKH „, PAV rMK J.^ ■KN.KH O,.- ,„. 0.,.ONV .,N,.,.: MAUn,, 17.1.;_T..KV A,U= A.H, M.U >,V n.K S..AN.H,. ()ovKaNMKNT-A.M.i.v u,.r.Am.s ,•,.,.; N,.m,na.. Comman,. ok ,„k Co.ovv ,, OOVKUNK A,...n,.,.,.o ,., „,,,,„.. ]„..rArK.S~.S,.AN,H„ ('..„MK..,.M,. LKrUK,,..; ,,,« (.11. OK Mav, l7(;i!-A,To>NrM,.;NT OK KuKNr., ( 'oMM.HHA.UK^, TO IVk.HASK AUT, '•..« OK^ KX,.n,nAT.nN_l;,,.OA V.H.TH THK HKVKKAI, I'oslH ANI. S^rm.KMI NTM- rUKU N,.AN,H„ |.„:.,.K.K OK CoMMK,..,.: ,N S,.;,.TKM,.Km MiM-Kn-KrVH OK THAT J>K.UK|.;~UKM0NHTlUN.i« OK THK CoLONlKTS AOAINHT ,— |-,H KxK.lrnoN H. .- KKM.KI, MV AnM.V-Ko.:.A.r,rH l,Krn.;K TO ,|W (JoVKKNMKNT ON TMK S.'.Jk.T- JIIK (OLONIMTM AUK ,.N,.K.U TIIK IMPIlKSHroN TM AT MIKIK As.rKNT ItldMW AM. I'm- V.,,K..K. A>.K S..:.r,UCl. KNI-KIVrUK TUKATV OK (Jk^IoN-IIlloA Sojouknk HKVKN MONTMH AT TMK HaI.I/.K-I I H Ma.U.,A.,K WITI, THK Ma,.M,0NKSS ok AlmAl.r — Al.lM.V. l)K,M,TUl.TION OK IJi.U.a'h ( '..AUAnK.K-CoMM.NWVnoN o, TI.K MaK.MIS oasK„H,„„ OK l,o, tsiana-Kkt.un ok ,Ikan M„.„,..t, tin.; 1)ki.k<.atk ok TIIK CoLommTH to •UANr.v-S,„NH „K IloHTlMTV To Till-; SkAMAKDH— IntKNHK Col.O IN IVliH- IN.'UKAHK OK K.X,TTK.V1KNT-llM,OAH TaH.KM, MaM.TS, AN,, 1 ),H,.os,T,oNH-l |,s WIKK OIVKS OkKKNCK-AuURV's OnHKKVATlo.NS ON IIIH <,WN lOXTUAOIM.INAUV I'os,. ri..N_CoN,sr,UA.v aoainht tiik Scamaui-k-I-ko, kki.inoh ok tmh Conh.mkatoks- (nAKA.TKK OK ImKKKNIKUH:, TMK KlNo's AtIOHNKV ( I KNKUAI.-TmK CoNSKiUATOUK TAKK loSHKSS.oN OK N KW OlM.KANH AT TMK MKAO OK TMK A.AI.UNS AN,, dm- mans_(.kn,;ha,, lNH,;,uiK.Ti.,N~Ai:miv'« (:oni..mt-(!,,,.oa |;kt,i;,:s on noAm. ok TMK S,•^M.^„ |-,:,„AT,C-LoVO,,A, (iAYAHIlK, NaVA.M.o, AN„ TMK OTMK,. S>.AN,V,<,H ..NTIIK ..OINTOK 1M.:|N,. KxTK>!M,NATK„-TmK , 'oLoMH,,, ]),,MANI, OK TMK SlTK- molt Co, N.TI, TMK KmtLS.oN OK TMK Sl^ANIAKMH-S,.,,,,,,, OK LAKUKN,..n.K IN H.K ro,N.M.-l)K,|U;K OK TMK ColNrll. AOAINHT n,.,.oA, (JaVAUU,:. T.OVO,,^ AN,. AAVAIim—A.MKv's I'UOTKHT AOA,N,HT ,T-( JKIN.ON KmiitKI- ,.V l.\,nAr,T ,N UIK ( orN.M,-lHNNKH AT Ko,..An,TS J loKSK-TlIK (•o,:n,II, V,«ith TIIK InsI.UMKN,^ ,N '' V— IlM,,,n„,s l!,:.,olC,N(iH ..K TMK I 'Kon I,— 1{ KKLIiCITONS !'! (, TiiK iiimuiil HJiIiiry Jillowcd to Don Aiiloiiio (h> UHoji, Jifl «r,,v(.rii(>r, ill J7o.;, mC ;i colony of^.n tlioiismul vvhpcs !in(l l)l!icks, wi.H $()()()(). 'J'|„. same .miiii is ^rranlod, in 1851, as a .sumcieiit rcnmiiciation Ibr his servrccs, to tlio 'I m. : r 158 riJ.OA*N INNTKIUlTKtNN. prrs.'iit ^Mucinor of I isijiim, uiili j, |»()|„iliiliuii of inoiv lli.iii .■»(»(),(><><) Monk (•(.iisi(lriiiiiirr oC ciniiiiisliiiucH, iirid of ihr n-|ji(i\r vjiliic of money nt thill linir nnnr ii ihoiiHiind allowed to tin; Vlar- (|iiiM of \ andrenil. Aiiidie(>s, want> and wishes of his new snhji'cts, Charhs III. Iia indepen- dent of t\w ministry oftlu' Indies (ministerio cte(l, that tluMc were in the colony seven millions of paper cnrrency, which had h(>en issued le rumor spread , anioii I'reiich liovernmenl. When tl that tlu^ Spaniards W('r(>comiiii,nip IIh* river other causes of consternation, was the nncerlainty existinnr as to that currency. Would the SpanisJi •Government ivj(>ct it altoyvther .'' Would it Im; sup- {)rcssed in private transactions/ Or would the now i:xnri:>ii:M' ro\ri:iiNiNci tih: |.aim;u < ruRi:N< v. If)') p.vrrni.M.nl m(,.,, i„t„ (|„. ph,,-,. „C (|„. o|,|, „imI Its ol»li;4ii(ioiiM|' III llijit IIMHIIIIH! ciiMc, would (lie |>;i|K'i-"Hinssni-y |<\Min,nlf;( li.Mi. 1,1 |,inis..|r,nMldird, loa's an-ivid, tJK crvK w vviMi |||(> Spanisji liiit, ill order to keep it in cii-. nilation nntil lie ivceived instrnrtions to stop it I ronversM.n into some oth.-r nirreiiey, h." wonl.l, iinm,, y its (liiitely after liavinjr tak that the |)aper issued |,y (he I'l-encl received as well anionif th«! S en possession of the colony, order I reiich, at the rate of 7 I iil Im; paniards as anionreciati(Hi arkiiowledo anxious was Ulloa to concihat,! those ovor wl ome to preside, that, havin;^ I destinies Ik^ had c i'lloriiM'd or th,!ir complaints, lu; resolv,>,l, l»"' i'" ••lid to their dis,ontent, to show them that I "d«'ntion was that lh,> Spanianis shonld (i.rc no I lOSO )een in order to than the colonist I lis )(!tt,'r l)oiii;ht with ,lo||j cent. tendered it to the accomplish this ohje,!, h,; dis(!()mit of seventy-(iv,! p,'r "'<' l»--'iM'r he conid n;r.\ in th,; market, and irs, at a (lis. Si •anish troops, in dischai-'r,; of one- ■ : I i I !■ :i •in 160 EXCITEMENT CONCERNING THE PAPER CURRENCY. third of tlicir pay. But these troops obstinately refused to receive it, and Ulloa found liimself opposed in this scheme, both by the French and the Spaniards. The inhabitants of Louisiana, who were in the habit of losing three dollars in four of the paper currency, in meeting the current expenses of life, and who had been eager to furnish the French government with as much of it as it had chosen to redeem at seventy-five per cent., refused to part with it on the same terms when offered by Ulloa ; and although it was to please them and to show his impartiality, that this functionary was attempting to give it in payment to his troops, yet it was with considerable difficulty that he could procure the small quantity which he had tendered to his troops, and at which they had scouted. The colonists gave as a reason, that the king of France would, if Louisiana had not been transferred to Spain, have called in all his paper at par, and that his Catholic Majesty was bound to do the same ; they further pretended, that althoucdi the colony had ceased to belong to the most Christian king, yet that, true to the plighted faith of his royal word, he would pay to the last cent the full amount of the depreciated paper. But the whole financial history of the colony gave the most emphatic contradiction to these assertions, and the pretensions of the colonists were provokingly unjust and unreasonable. They originated from the desire of throwing every obstacle in the way of the new government, and this was the true reason why UHoa's liberality met with so singular a return. This was the first trial which the phifosopliy of the man of science had to undergo in Louisiana; and It is not unfair to suppose that he came to the conclu- sion, that he had to deal with a very intractable set of people. Another cause of irritation for the Spaniards soon k ^•m ■ ■',' " f! k il DIFFICULTY WITH THE FRENCH TROOKS. 161 rollowod. France, in order to induce Charles III. to take charge of the burdensome colotly of Louisiana and m order to soften the prospect of L fruitle sdl: bursements with which he wa. threatened, in ca e of iHs accepting the donation pressed upon him, had represented to that monarch that it would n't be necessary for Spam to go to the immediate expense of transportmg troops, ammunition, &c., to that colony and had pronnsed that the three hundred men o mflmtry she had m Louisiana would remain thore M the service of h,s Catholic Majesty, as long as he plea.cd to retain them This was the cause of Tllloa/l av n' come only with mnety men to take possession of thf province. But the French troop., having for some time • past been entitled to their discharge, perempto% refused to pass mto the service of Sp^in It was n vain that Aubry, IJlloa, and Foucault assured them that heir engagement would not be of long duration, because troops were expected from the Peninsula • it was in vain they were informed that the wish of their k.ng was that they should so enlist, and that a promise to that efJect had been made by his most Christian Majesty ; ,t was in vain that their officers, at least ostensibly, urged them to continue to be on military duty under the Spanish banner. They answered that their tunc was out; (hat they were willing, however not to avail themselves of their right to be discharged' but that It was a sacrifice which they would undergo only to serve their legitimate king under the national «ag. Aubry convened all the French officers, laid before them the instructions which he had received Irom Ins government, to put the military forces of the colony at the disposal of the Spanish governor, and consulted them on the practicability of coercing the troops mto the service of Spain ; but the officers II ' I V-' M n I I 1 1*. 'r i i ' ',i ! ■ 'h \ a. , 1&2 Dii rnn/iii's wn ii im; lUitoPN. 'I ! m U ^! "iiummioiisly ,|,.rl!.iT s,1((m.i|,| w.miM Iw »'.\c.(>(«i.l ; mile-,!, j.i i| MivinJiy of f|„. loNvn, s(.in(> li,Mis,.s, in ul,i,.|, |„« i,„|ur,| his u.n r..rn- l"""«^'^ "'■ l<'<»t, .-n..! s.Mil i.nm,..•.>• oC (|„. S|);,niHli s(.Mi,-rs in ll.iviuiii u.-.s ll.irly.liv,. Iivivs ,„>,• n.nnU, ; |,ni |l||,,,, ,m, Imm nnivi.l in I.omsiim;., .v.liircd lo McNi-n livics i, nionll. Ih,. p.-.v „r tli« mn.-ly mmmi Ii,> |,;mI (nk.>n iil tl.;.| rilv, „„ |„s iv-.y to N.l.li(Ms .n Konisimi;,, un,i ll||<,;, I,hI, no '«I '>'■ pivv.-nlinjj; any iii\i,li(,„s .•ompariMon. |{„| ,( Avnsaslrokrori.a.lpoJM-y; il uas an a.( oC injnslin- (.» tlio Spanish In.ops, uj,,) lu'cainc nlr',l ; ;,n.| i( AVnsNvanl.no in lihrraiily In ihr I' itihIi, who raiN.I al tlu> ill-lnnrd ,Tononiy. Piohahly ilTlloa ha.l rais.Ml ||u> •''•'•nch pay ol scv.mi livivs to ihr Spanish pay ol' (hiilv- iiv.- p.-r month, (hr (<>n.plalion (o .nlisl uoiiNI |,;,v,. h,.," n sojitvaJ, dial (h.« aNnsion of (j... I'n,„.h ^^nuU\ have vicl(l<-(l lo iji,< allinvincnl Icnd.-iv.l |o (hcni. I ||o„:s <'<>iiis,-, on this occasion, nnisl .M.iiainlv hv hlam.-d unless he acl,-d nnder s|)ccial iiislnniions." 'nH's«'vvnv the diHic,iIli<.s he nicl on lli<> fhirshold '•"««l lli<«y pn.diurd on hint v.>ry nnla\ond.|.- iinpirssions' v.„ on the slron-esl mind, is u,.|| knou,, • •«'i.l 11 IS not Iheivloiv aslonishino i|,;,| (hr ..|„oniy •Mviiery of ihv IJali/.., of lh,. heavily fin.lMM-ed anil ""U'vated hanks of the Mississippi, as W(.|| iis (li,. line WIUnVlIK,. r«»M„T,oN -.. .:^:.r:,:;::::^;r;- s::::''',,;'7 "r -7.."'.":.»i;:;;.::";;;:;:::;^:rj:-:;-: '< iiiiisl. I),. adiniK.Ml, and " i'^ .•il)iiii(laii(ly proved l.v ""■ ;"'"'"'", "-' '■"'"-■•.... h.„i i„...„, ' ; OIIIU :i loll ( ...< . 1- . "> . IIH . II> "I ;i s(ar\iiio intro- licli had II Ulloa, 3 relieve to keep ich as it 3 known place in 1 usages is letter ince, in lis duty r to he remove oops on l>iiy, it t under lould be 3 much sought ! wants, 3nie to ips had ^r, and lie was h may •oaches CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS. 165 licsllav'^ T ''''- "^ '''' '''^'^ ^- the earliest day of the existence of the mlnnv r..^ Lamothc Cadillac to D'Abbadio „li'^'„|,"°S governors and high dignitaries had repre ntod nhj*,tants as a set of reprobates, infeid ™Uh to" rciMou. sp,ru of rc,n,hlka,mm ; that it had been without interruption, the urev m' i„* .■ , ' one iialf of th„ e ' ^ intestine dissens bns, otlior, and tLt ^^y^Z^^Z'^.:!!:^:^ in accus nxT each othm- ^e *\ imng— tliat is, ™p.io. an ^u'^^.lZr^^^:-^ record, under the liand and seal of 1,1,,. !,i through a long series of years ha "'■, '•"=''«'^"'''*«.«' the words of i)'Abbadio „ ./ /■ Louisiana was, m Laving said one word in o^tcnur, o7 "' steetr condemnation, had o-iven V\W. tr. ' /"^ ^^\ccping It , fe'*^'i Ulloa to understand tlmf between the perversity and the insubordinatio , wl el prevailed ,„ ,l,e past, and that which existed in h present, there was no perceptible -liirer ," i t " was not enough, Kerlcree, who was still detained n t ' Bas e wrote to Ulloa a letter, in which he gave "la igli ful picture of Louisiana, which he had a h . s! le od t™ years, and he concluded, saying : Fro "The n miwl !, . 1 he .Su],erior Council, the kin.r's attornev ti'ir wealth, occupied a high position, had those enemies whom men, un.ler such circumst mce T,o i:y'e;;;r::t\r"" ""''"'"' "^^ soneraScX eitencc'of -ed^o, "'"'!"""" "™""« fr""' '!'« nisience ot ical or supposed wrongs. These and other malcontents, who are always to°be found in c'" co,„„,un,ty, poured also their denunciations lllto tl^I I if U I i I i :t 16C i;imhakuassmi;nts or tiii: asy Ut (•onc'ive (h,> cll,.ct |)r(„I„c,.,| |,y 11,,.,^ i„ro,,nat coupled willi wlial h»> liad lona. lis arrival seen and experienced since; If Ifjloa could not take possession of the colony, I the causes aIr«Nid> known, the I''rencli anil IK) lony had been informed by the Vrend J, lor lorilies lind i-ovcTumenl, tl lilt their drafts on the Tr e.\p(Mises, would no loiiin.r | 1 mmistry, easury of I'V.-ince, for colonial th oven those lli(rnment, on the ^n-ound thai th. had be altl le expenses of (he b come Spanish since- the v«'ry day of tl louirh in ^\ i^pamards had d( lycHl ti md that the l-nMich had only :ulminister(«(l as t on tl 10 account and lor the benefit of S •yjince hy ' province 10 cession, ikin«r j)ossossi()n ; nislees. foro, that pouor was bound to ma(l(U)y the I'nMKli autlioril pjiin ; w hero- pay all the; expensve the oflj bis Most Christian iMajesly from tlu-ir end cers monls, and the colony from tln> state of it h;id bcM'ii reduced I>y ihis d )arrass- mis(>ry to nhicli court, Ull eeision of the ]• nt , Ulloa ii;rr,.,.d to loiin to l'\)ucault tl reiich cossary to (liscli;ir some of tl a^ moiK' le most i)ressin<>- o|,|i. 1 government before gat ions conlracted by flu- I'V(>ncl bis cominnr to the cdony, and assunuMl to lake (or'll iicconnt of Spain all the ,>xpenses of the adminislraiio'„ «ince tlu. .,lh <,f March ITdfi, when he had landenl(-(! lo ihis projmsi- Mcll as the ral 10 j)ul)hc lunclionaries and the troo() oti ions uiven to the Acadian as lor oxj)(-nses, were |)rovi(led for out of tl ind all lh(> treasury, as if l^llou had taken formal le Sj)aiiis!i possession. It was COJlllKRfiAl, l>l;""> 'I. Wlu,! ,.|s,. ,.„„l,l l,,.,v,. I,,.,,, ,1,,,,,/ „||,,. oon,|,n„„,s„ l,H,v,.,.„ ,|„. i,v„, it is ovi,l,.„t ,Uu To govrninunt .-..111,! !„„,■ s„l,wst,.,| <)" -I..' (ill, „r,VI„y, ll„. S|.„„sh «ov,.r .„t i«s„,.,l a '"."'"■"^ "'" '■'•' '"i-M-s ....1 i.: AMu.ril „ ; ^" 'X' in S piuiish sliins froni O-imrm^ r ,. ' I ■'•'iM V <<'"iii I'itniaii, in his work ments on the Mississippi, relates -urojK>an settlo- of tlu- stat«' of IJiintrs and in an anecdote illnstrati V(; 'V\ US aimers e.\istin, in tl said lie 176;{, and was Pel had I jrovcrned by a I'rcuich o(H «M-in, nil ih,. your I7(>7, when th.'inhal le y(>ar <'cr, named )itants, who ).>cn oppress.d hy tli(« tyranny which has been al ways e.\<-rte«l by oljicers of that nat ontposts, com|)Iain(Ml to Don Ant( Aubrv KHi commandiriiT Ull oiiiode Ulloa and Mons. I tiav , accnsino- him (I>el(>rin) also of sacrile.ro 1 lo iii^r forcibly taken possessicm of the plate; destined to the nso of the altar, and nsed it at I und his inhabitant lis own tabl(> er riii pretence of ke«>pinnr it i„ .security. 'I'his worked n more elVectiially than his ill treatment of tl tion. IIowev(>r, I and lu; was tlireatem>d with le was pmiish(>(l by imder"-oi lo cxcommiinica- penances enjoiiic-d by the pri(>sts, and nMideivd pable, by a sentence of a conrt martial of l''rencli o/l ol any employiiKMit military or civil. Tl m s(>verc ()( this s(>ttlem(>nt was aft to be chosen themselves. One company of militia was al lor tl inca- icers, 10 of the (>stablishin(>nt, and the oil pay h-om the Spanish i;ov(>riiin(Mit." leers On the (51 h and 7tli of S< -tenil )er, a score of soldiers. with fixed bayonets, and preceded by a drum, wl solemn and loud boatin.r attracted tl lose 10 attention and cxcitvd the aii-erof tlu, inhabitants, paraded the st of New Orl ro(>ts Anbry, an oidinan oans, and j)roclaiinod, by the ord,«r of Ullo; oo, which had been dictated 1 , HI conformily with the instructions he I lad ;lifi !!,r COMMEIU'IAL UECilLATIONN. 109 roco.vod frc.u Spain, ft containod eo„„„orc,ial rerjula- ioMs; and ann.n^r oth.Ts tl„. followin^r :-_i',,.nc,h sl.ip.s Imd W t(. I,nn^r f,,,,,, Ma,.,i„i,,,„ and St. Don.in.'o w.no, flonr, and oil,,.,- snppli,..., p,,,virtn,.r Iron, the kin^chun of Franc, th. nu-rchandiso T\ '•^'""';, ■^"I'l*"'^''^ .H-cossary to l.,nisi;,na ; |,„t "■•"•••••as, ' saal th,- ordinanr.. "th.-s. pcnnissions ''.•'v<« lM-'y him con- ;•""-■'<;;' ;«> "S -<•, IMnlip Aul>ry, .Vc, &c., have ''';"^'V ;■"'"'"" "^"''"" ''•'"" «t.J)omin..o,as -II as (ronM.-ance, and provHh.i with a p.ssporrn;an -c.xce!h.ncy,UH. secretary of state ,>fiHs'(-alhoIic Mnjesy (for olu,.rwise they w(Mdr n,ark(L The n.rrcl.ants -■^l«.-.II l.(« iumiul to rocoivc tlu, r.irrriuy of tin, counlry in payin.Mt lov tl.rir o<,o(Ls, and t.> tako oiu-.third of thoir r(> urn cari-o i., i-nnbor and othc-r product.ons of the colony.' A sn(l(!,.n jar in a bcoliivo avouM not have produced more bnz/.n^r and slirrin. than d.d tl.is ordinance in INow Orleans. Altbonoh it seems to l.ave b,>en !ran,ed •n the interest of the cnr.suuiors, yet it certainh was a severe blow to the importers, and they resent(c-r,, that the execution of vVubry's decree.' Ik, sus- 1><^"^ ed, until they should be heard on the subject, and sued for the groT.t of a delay, to prepare their r.«mon. stranees, winch were sid.mitted to the council on the l^tli; and also all tli. captains of ships in the colony presented a document of the sam(^ nature. The remonstrances of the merchants and captains were founded on the beli.-f of the existence of c(>rtain restrictions imposed on tlu> government of Spair. i,y trance when she ce.led Louisiana. The conunissary l^oucault seemed to have been himself under a similar impression ; for on the 2i)th of Sc^ptember, he wrote o the nnm-t,.r of the marine deparlment: " It has not been the intention of his majesty, on makimr ,I,o cession, to strip, for the be.u^lit of Spain, his "loyal sut)jects of the privileges and exemptions which they had always enjoyed. I beg your excellency to transmit o us the i.ecessary orders, to confirm the subjects of the king in the belief that they have suffered no dimi- nution of the advantages granted to them by his majesty." ^ noi IITS AS I,, TIIK A.V OF (russK.N. I71 TI,o ,,o,iii,„„ ,,i,, ,,„,•„,„ „„, „„,„„.,, ,^^^^^ ^^^ "I '". A ^ .,l,i,l nc us,ve. Ye, they ,„„st have been prepared li>r t' y he iransnnssion of laUf of the t,lrri„ry to ,h„ Wocld |.ra„ee hav,. ahandone.l .so rich a portion of ».M. \\,,s ,t not to the kuowle,I,,e of all, that the ;-u ; J.ver„„,ent l,ad refused ,o",eeept h^'lH;^ 7 Tir ■'-''■'"'" ,"' ""^ -I"- J-in^' the years «<•■■« to he pa,d !,y Spain ! Was ne,l ,l,en the ces"i™t thee,, , „,, no, rvance hold,,,,, r.oni.siana onl- ,s a •mro II...,. u 1 . '^^^'>^''^d»' '"'"•;' more import- ance liKtn u really had, and looked upon .t as a sort of .: ": fl R ' Vl-li t H W^i h-1 nl' 17i> noniTN AN TO Till,: ;^, ,. ,„, <'l;SNU»!V. ^lii^Mi;. Clijirfii, hiiuliii^r ,,„ j|„. I, <"i<,' of S|»;iiii, wliilsl ii "''••"•"••"^' «l (III III iiiidri- (li,. ,1 niiicc. '•>IIIMi!illil (hilt lie liiiil Jliul hv huprd lliiil |„s Ciilhul miii.ilioii of Spiiiii, toM il K'iri I'liii tli<-in in th M M •.r^i.v \v(Mii(i iiiiiiii. Vllc^rrs, IIIkI would IM.'d <' "•M.|<'vmri.l „r iill (hrir i-mhlsai.d tluufiH I.) uliirli II !<<' no MinovMlion jn ||, |.n- <• order of •<'V w.iT !!(•( iis|«' li;i(l no ,,(!„.,. ,,|,i,,,., ,1,.,,; ,, nvM I"* <"i|i|);ii«'nl l)ilt< I"" uliicli (lu'v li.id ( '•■'I '>r ^ildnnr III folonisM li.nl I <-nnn sw.illow i{ «'^lins;il ojlliosj- i!iv(> convinced iheni tlml |||,. i'<'ser\e i)ii hjisin-'- 1 1 K'll" |MT(en- n'llCll Idiin lo ,„,,, ,,|| »i'<"ii iiddrcMsed l.\ III, r(>!v (I ,in,nr ,,(• |,',.,,„ '""<•<•• M'lci-illl, |,;,d il •■*"""•"'"";•"'•<'. '•• l"in, i( coiiliiiiie.l <"< on the |)i,i| of III,. K' c\|)ression of u jsli ">",i!;IH ii«»l lake iiil <•'', which Ihe Kin-/ o|' S <> <'<)nsideiM(ioii. 'I'll |»;iin inii,r|i( or iiol b,. c(Mislnied inio ini| "" Spiinisli .roveniincnf, and 'i\ o«)nsti(nl,. nohis. of ^^j|iH| ih,. col <»sc wishes conid •••Sllll,^ illiy hindilll^r ,,hllnil||(,|| Ihcnisclv cs. (I Nrvcrthcl icn>ror(. could iiol OllisIS <(.|||d jnjlil «ich kmn's lelle, lo D'Ahhadie, v(>( \\ relied niak oil 11, /// njaifi/, iis liavinij >y virlne of Ih,. K'.V ininlll Ili|V(. the Iv 'I'f^ -•111 iippcill 1,, 1|„. ir,.,„.,.„silv iuid i: some moral fore,., w|„.„ n\ir ol Spain. «ii!i;Linaniniilv of ^^ hilst (ho colonii^t ^^wero in thai stale ol'evcitemeni IP III NWI.rKK.N III.' |.'|.|.„,j. I7;i ,'""" '"", ^;:"- "•■i"""» i-iMi- ;„■ ii„. n„i„i. i„ '" '""',«' "• ""■'■< ll„. .S|„„,Ml, „ ,,, „.|„rl, I'^i;'"" '"'-■■ k.i.n.Nv,Mi,,. .J„,ii, : , l'=" - l„„,„.,„„.,| ,|„. ,,,,,„ |!,„ wl„.„ ().■„, I ,,„,,i,,.,v,. ,,„,,,„„ I. „r,N„„.0|.|i™ ,' '''"'""■■'' ""'-I" I'.V "il „■ ilr -v „,,i,i „,■ |„^„, ' i::'"'"' ■■T.'in.,„i.ii,. „.,,,,:„„: 1>, "'."";, ;■"■"'■'! '^""v„- M.ii ii„. iki„v,i 1,1, i,,„i ,„ ,: -'■"'•'I I'"; ii...... w,,H „,„.|,, ,i,,„ ,,„„„,. ,|,„„ livi. „,„„„„ ;;"V""' TT'^' '^^ '" "' ' '- ''•'•H-. !"• i.mM,ii<™ "" " '■!■ "'"'•'' ■•""""iHh'.l ll,.„, „„ „,„,|i, ,i,„| ,|„.i" '■'■"'■"""V" '■""•■ >" l"-"|."r,i„„ ,„ , ,„„i, „,„,.,, ,1 • l...vohi (;„y„,,-,. „n.l N„van-o li,„|, ,ih,.n,at„|„ „„,| » .T,.Ms,v..|v v,s,„.,| ,|„.i,. el,i|.f ,11 III. li,i|i,,,/,,„" •".|H »,.,.„ ,11,., , i„ „ , ,v „,„„ : ._,,._; I ,. 1),,, thos,. „,i„.,„,, I i„„„,.n.,| i„ „,',„„„„„, wlM,.l liiiil |,,,n.„.| ,i,„, „||„„„,| „|| ., i'"ns,.ii|„ii,i,i,v,»i,„,iiii„„,mi„ „„iij ■;,„,„,, ;^ '•"'r'''', '''i''''''''.'nio,,,Hi,,,„i,i,,ik,,p,„,i,i,;,,'; "I the cil.Miy ,„ t|„, |i,Uizo,ai„l timi il,„ I'rcch (I,i,, l,„ ( i. ' ) . 1 I 'I ri 'II iff r .1 ^ ! (' ?Hi niOPt.sITIOX OF UI.LOA. Withdrawn, to bo succeeded by the Spanish l\... This p.-opos,t,„„ .surprised a„d e,ub.-„-,,,ssed Aubry, t]^ observed that the iuhabitauts, and even the J;J„, «l,o wore ,n the colony, woul.l be astonished if s, ch a, out o tlie «ay place were chosen for the tl.catre o ' so ..nportant a ceremony. He ren.onstrated that i was proper that ,t should be performed with all the re hX .oom,, and d,gn,ty in the capital i.self, and Tn e presence ol all the inhabUants, w ho would con e o ,a ," then- oat, ol allegiance, and who ,vould assure hin, f Majesty Hut Ulloa persisted in ids proposition and although ,t seemed singular to .\ubry, I , is officer aft« son,c d,fhcult,es, finally consented to it. Accor 1, d . the evenmg, an instrunient was .Irawn in writi.^/'bv winch Aubry declared that he bad delivered , mthe ar S oVtt% "'T'"""' "^ S""'™-*. ""til ; ciriival ot the Spiimsh troop,^. This dociininnt «., . s.gned by these two Ingb fuLtionaru..!.;' .,";': «.e nc.U mornn,g, whicl, was tbe time fi.ved f^- ',bo fo mal takmg possession ofl.ouisiana bv the Span ard Ulloa declared .bat he had rellectcd dur ng the ni., o ,' what had been done the ,lay previous, and that I c now thought that ,t would be bettor to postpone he "u emplated ceremony, until tl,e arriv'd of the S ,„, troops ; but that although the ■en,.an.on„,,t tb ■ concluded together luu^not been"c™ t'ed ,. would send a copy of the docun.ent they l,a,l s . e I to h.s court an,I that Aubry might do the sa, u wi n-gard to Ins government, should h<. deem it n es'a Uik,-ins, Ulloa re• the ibrtitude whic lffl"'n,,! V'""'''"™''" ■■"""^«' »' remained so lo,,g at . ch • no, 'h """^T:"' '° ''"" i;-;.^, ^^o;vc„'dd,:t:.r:;at"^/i ;:n^,';i: r :Hr -f ^^^^^^^^ ""' -'""y .soa.o,„ on tbe'»lu „; ile, drL: /, "7° mud and amidst the reeds of ,"1,! ! I "° "'<> '!•! , "'" "lontli of the Mis. S'^- p. I Ihose «ero the reflections and inquiries ;'"«"^l' •■• ".nn-l as that of Ulloa carried wi, i , Usnif a world ol enjoyments, which few '» ^^ "lauicuhitjcal, astronomical, and other i' ■ f !i ■' H I 17G sojoru.v oi- n.roA at tih; hai.izf;. scuMKilir inslninuM.fs; juul wIkmi HumMMid,.,! I)y tl he could 1)1(1 (l(>(i;mc(< to tlio ctuTs of oflic,. to t its(«ll, and lo the other loid iicnds whici inankiiid. Hi; Uody was at. Ww \h\\ lieu: inie IS (hdlised throu f Could he not li..| 1 el lauiT,. ,t at will!* Had |„. not tl wand f Had he not Aladdin's lam|) f Was I )Iace or time? Coidd I It it up if^ enchanter's ho eoidined creation of the earth, stiidv it almost chaotic state, and Ibll ><^ not <,r„ |);,(.|^ ^^^ .J le "I Ms j»rimiliv<« and infinite moditicationis Could lu! not, when it •>w It u|), throui-h its to its present orirani/.alion / lis i)Ieasure, liv(> jor ,1;,^,^ SUlt(^ iiinon- the Persians, the l-:-yptiaiis, the (;re(.ks. and Rom luis of old, and | Hirs ue throuj^rh cnturies the niiijhty revolutions of rmpir«.s-th,« hirths, th,. sfru.^.rh^ and the deaths of nations f VonUl hv not '-<'«'.ilat,„„» ad- wl- Lave to d'd ilth 1,L " '''"™'"-"" *" ""'«' 12 r I 178 LETTER OF THE MARQUIS OF GRIMALDF. P ■ ! ■m " Considering the change of government which the colony has to uiidergo, I liad wished that the officer sent to assume its command, had possessed the art of lAanagmg the public mind, and of gaining the hearts of the mhabitants. Men are not to be ruled with haughti- ness and pride, with threats and punishments. Marks of kmdness and benevolence, with judicious promises, would have been necessary, to reconcile the colonists to the change of dominion which has come upon them. This was the only course to be pursued, in order to win the affection of new subjects, who regret their former master. If the Spaniards do not act with mildness, and if they attempt to govern this colony like a Mexican Presidio,* most of the inhabitants will abandon their lands, to cross over to the English, who are on the opposite side, and who will neglect nothing to attract them, in this way, the Spanish portion of Louisiana, which had remarkably increased in population for the last few years, will soon become a desert." He con- cluded with informing the French Court, that the mea- sures adopted by Ulloa, were not calculated to give popularity to the Spanish government. In relation to the reproaches which were addressed to the Spaniards, as to their delaying so long the taking possession of Louisiana, and in relation to the expenses of the colony, which France wished Spain to pay, back to 1763, the Marquis of Grimaldi, who was a member of the cabinet of Madrid, wrote as follows, on the 11th of May, 170T, to the Count ofFuentes, the ambassador of Spain at Versailles : " Ulloa arrived at New Orleans, only on the 5th of March, 17G6. He did not then take possession, for the motives already explained. The Duke of Praslinf will * A.fremdio is both a Spanish nn.l Mexican establishment, half barrack, aud half jail for refractory soldiers and uiifortiiiiate convicts. t One of the lYench Ministers. ■1 t liich the 3 officer le art of learts of haughti- Marks romises, >nists to n them, r to win r former ess, and Mexican )n their on the attract uisiana, for the ie con- le mea- to give dressed >ng the to the >pain to lio was follows, tes, the i 5th of for tlie int will iTacki aud LETTER OP THE MARQriS OF GRIWALDI. 179 recollect that there were doubts on our part .s to fh acceptation of the domfinn ♦ i , V ' *" "'^ Christian Majesty tt Isthe"" '^ '" '"^^^ had made France be W fn A ^^ ''^'°"' ^^"^'^ sion, prompted Spai~ce^ '' ''' ^^«- assent, although it was wdl kl ' f. "" ^'"' '' ^'' change our ordinary way of proceeding, and to r,n after an onerous burden ^ Thm «Jr i . .1 " surprise at the Duke of P^ ;^ ' '„ „ trr:,,: °" may bo called upon to pay a„ the e~; ''',;: colony, from 1763, when the cessioS wa, m.de trance woul.l have as good grounds, ,o ask us .opt nj her expenses in Louisiana si„,;e its fomdatfoY Wha makes this pretension still more singu laT if la ' from ,|,e ,|a,e of the cession to Ulloa's arri va at' New raent of all the commercial ...vantages of that colonl «h,ch adva,,,ages she continues to c^njoy to the prosem day when the expenses of administration are not;:, he s. ^ot a single Spanish vessel has as yet cone to I II I V ik Ij ■ ! I' yj I ", 180 iitiTHiiN or ji;a\ mii,iii;t, I ji" «>x|..>iis,.s uliicl. Iiiid l)(>(Mi inniin'd, hcCon" Sp-in liad «(•( luM- loot ill thill new nosscssioii .'' "Thr Killer, nUviivH n-iuly (<> nvoid r.Mi.Miii^r i|„. |,.n,m |>«-«'.in(!irc I,, (ho iiUnvHls of tli,. [\1,,m( Chiisli.in Kin^r, Ins (Muisiii, uhhoii^rh kiu.wiii^r f,,,,,, fh*; hr^rinnin^r, ||„a th(> colony whs im iiiiprotilnhlr rhnroc, iihhon;,r|, Mr. i\r I'lloii was j)nd IVom tiikiii^^r poH.m-sHioii o{' il, thron^rh tl,,. ,,auj of co-opnntioiM.r tho Tivrirh Iroons,' on w hich W(> had hvvu led to h.-hcvr ihiil wr ,-oiild ,vly' »«"l nlthoiijrh all (|„> comin.MTc of ih,. rdo.iy Ins iu»l coasodio Im. in tho \iands of Ih,. I-Vciuh, ihr Km-, I siiy, lias di-rliiivd, flint lu; uoiild assiinu! all \\w. .r\i)(.ns<..s ii!«-iirr(>d Hincc Ulloa's aiTival." '['owards th<< ,.nd of tla> yo.-ir I7(>7, .lean Milhot n.tiinu.d Iron, rn.nr,', uliith,.,-, il will hv n.co||,.ct(.d, hr hiul lM-(>n s. .It as a dclr^rM,. |»y ij„. colonists, in I7()5, to ivmoiislijiti^ as of his iMIow riti/,,.ns, who supposed tlmt he would not have ivmained away lor so lon^r „ time, if ho I'fid not se illusions with whieh (hey had (h«l.ided themselves, tli(Mr exiispera- lion reaeh,>d its elima.v, and they did no! leiir to ^mv,. u> nioii an open manifestation of all their aversion Twr the Spanish domination. Thus closed the year ITC.T. Th.> ITtli and ISth of January, l7(iS, were the two coId,-st days tlu^l had ever l>«"«;n known in Louisiana. All the orano.. tre<.s |»(M-ished, a second lime, throiiirliont the colony, j.s in 17 IS. In front of New Orleans, the riv(.r was fro/,>n, on both sides, to thirty and forty fi-et from its banks. The riivor *»f the s.nisoi. did jiol divcM-t tlu' att(v .l,„.fl„ ; "«"V,.,„ I,. ,|,.„,,„ ,„ |„„^,, „.,,^ „,H w„h " , "'I'"'""; '"« I'l'"- '" l-nWi. w,.,.,. ,„„ „, r,t,„ . ."■I"-""" " I"" ilic \vc Conic «riip^f Mhu.i. i. .i • =;;ir:-s-;;;:l;;;:;.;:i-;;;. '""'",•■'";' ■"'""'. »i,h ,1 ,„„„ , „i„„„";„ , ;:;:r'''' "" --1,1,., ,,„„,,,„,„ i',:, '•'"-'. I '■ I«<1 I...,.,, „l«erv,Ml to 1... „,„,„l, „;,l ul,»,nut,. ■ .i ill II ■ IH'2 I'II.04'n TAHIKN, iiaiiitn, x , AND DINIMNI IION. w \\i\H n<|M>i-l<rnil dill CM, \\ lOIIH IIIkI lllHI;^r||ly. \l lO S( '"'" '"••''•nil I ,„ \uH (i.v..n(<.Htiuli,.H, u\ I '<"«• |»«'H.V ^rnrvmuT or H..m,. (nv,,,! mut\ IMtlMI liiid n«rrivr(i llic ihIiimI iniiiiiitr. Ml- Willi niiii m.'ihI Io Im< ill It |»|»lnnliuii, |ii< <'!• uilh ,Moiii(< |H'rvi,s|inrHN of UK HiinnHiii, iiiHJ hriirr I in|.nv|.,M,,oilM of Ins W(.I|||, h,. |,,o|, IMMI n II •n vnv iiiiirli oiil <»r liJM ,1 lo roiishlriT,! liiiiiHrir k vorv II H "<<'*! niiiKJsi 1, |»ooi-iiiul iliii,.,)!! <'lllrlil ill Loiiisiiilli <• <<>iiiiiiiiiiilv of a li< '<'<«siin,| soiiIm, inn rom,|,v Imnllv n-iirriiiril ( |»riiiiili\,. clmnirln- oC n \vi|,| mmrr Irll lor lli,. niiim. oil \v niin Its |»«»««M-M oj iiiirllr.t. TluMvloiv, I ''nirSM, h,. hiill Miy I, III,, >|H ;4;rnil iiiilivr iiiid ii('<|iiiivd |m»,s,mI lo hiiv,. I'rli il III ic liiiiy well Im< n III)- sioii wilhoiii I, mils. III,. 11 sii,|,|,.nl •<• ll^ro„„,s,,( II ||||,„|, „s,.,| |,> ,.V|,„n. imrr,nv,.sl |.,)ssild,' s|tii,-,., „ii,l i,. | V ol III,, li,,,. ,^|„,.,, ,,(• ,1 IIIVO l»'!lli/,,.,| III, ol III liiirx ljil,.s, il li,,s|i| H" itir, wliirli, ns ^\^^ |-,.,„| l»«>llli.. ||,.ii,>,>, I III n'tir,'iii,.|ii wjiiliii^r joi- |»,.||,.|- i «• iiKi^uiiiii liiid <■<. rived ii|i ill „ K- >v. Il IIIU'S. i(»s,. wUo rr,.,|m.iil,.,| liiM I or Iru'iuls, h,. show,., I || lOIIS,., iiM r,.|;ii||,.,-H mis ami ,>\,ii,.,| II,,.,,. wiiriii,.s| udnmnl «'!( to III,. h,.s| lldMilllllir, WW Uv II lOII. r iiH',' Imits iivn op,. II liissiilooiis, wli,.iv, jil I II II visitors, l,.w III imml>,.|-, ,is,.,| | not abov,. n «» Jisscmhl,. s,",>r,. , .r 1 1 r H' smim tier,' wjis ic colonists mid of III,. |'r,.n,.| oliiOMs, wli,) v,.ntmv,l to „tt,.n,l ,.ii || Tl icy w,.rc |||,i s«> wlio , lid icNc o<-<-iisi<»ns. siiowino ||,vs|il,iv loth,. S|>;inis|i( "<>( IcJir |,» nlislmii froni duMvl >v nia,!,' Iluinsrh .ov,.rnor, .-ind w|i,> |iii,| ^^chcs ,)lMioxions to III,. niaj,nitv of »'NI'Ol'|iI,/lHlTv Ol' liiN Wl rv. IH.I !!;;;,'"';;"■;:;;;:'"• "'"' • ■■• "■• r „Hi,...,.. ,vi„. ,„„. i"'"'" ". ""' «r'".""l. «nv,.n„„,,„. |.'„„.„„, I. ■'•iiHioiiiilly ji|>|»ciir, ImiI Midi" Ol \\)(" 11,.,,., .,,,„„,,,, „„. I,,,,. M„n.|,i,„„.„„ „r Al„-,„|„ ,, ;: ;;': ,'"; .v .i .i ,iv„„ • " >'»■ I ,..,.,1 1,,.,. ,i„. ,.,.M,„ •„ "v,',™,„,.„„.,.,„„„„|i;,,|„.,.|„,s|„„„|,|„,,„ .„„|^ I ; "'"'.''• I""'"1'IV. ",■,-,. I„„ , V ,|,i„f,-M ,„.,. , , I,, I., "v..r,-„„„, ,„„, |„„| ,.„.,„ ^„,„„ ^, _^^,_^.^^ _^^_ <■ ."Iv. I,y „|,|„.,„„,. ,„„v„|<,„j,|y „„|im.r..„( l„ ll,„ « ... : .„ .vi,„.i, si„. „.„s i„a „, „„.,. „r ,„,, „.',. ™..»,»l,.. ,ii„-„.>s,.,„,„„l3, |,r,„„|„,| ,,,„,,„,„„,,,. ,„„| ,,,,„. ' 1 i, 184 CWNVERSATIONAI. PolVKKs OF tll.I.OA. siorailo ul,u»(., l,y 8l,o« in^ herself i„ |,„|,lic, all „,M l,v ».H'..rnl ,■«,„,« Indian ^,rU, « l,„„, „l„. |,a,l l„„n.rht over ». 1. luT fr„n, I'crn, wlnnn she .l-.h^ht-.l t„ li:;,.||,, a» . or av™-,l,.„, and „|„„„ „,,„ ,,^.,^„,j ^^^^^^^^^^ ; th.,t k„„ ,,l lanuhanly >vhich is u.,c.l only lo>var,l« «,nalH. <)«„« „. ,1,,. dr.nn,.tu„cc, nn.ch hia.no s n,»n upon I,,, n, M„. colony, for /.,,„„. /« ,.„,„,„; Th, 1,.^ h"'' '■,"'"' '"• """>'"■'••"'"« will. «»/„„;,.,; Ih. hauf-hty snulo an.i ih,. ,n,.mnK.n., «i,|, ,vhi„|, „„. ar,s,o.raln., Ia,ly r,.,-,.iv«l this r,.|.or,, ,vl,on carrn.,1 , to hor ..ars, ,.avc s.ill ,|,.,.|„.r olll-nco to ih,. connnnnily , . ^" '""" •="'' " '"<"-o ™i,.rlainin« il,a„ ll||oa, in h » .no„,..n., of relaxation. Me wa, s,rri,h,lv a .'v.: playlul, and Ins conversation was a rich niivlnre of Wons w,, an.l deep learning. As a n,an v,ho had n, le Innsell hunons l.y his travels, he had an inev- llu nlc lund ol ohscrvations on th,. eonntries nal ■";""'-'»■■;' »l"'^l' IH' .e,..n.e li,nnliar; as Zo wh|. ha,l lelt no held „r .eienee nnexplor-.l he 1, ^"l t to hear even on the nnist c nionph.ee i„pi,. „„.l ., vanoty or kn„,vle.tec, that he clothed vv.'ti: 'i, ' what dul not seen, to a,l„„t .,( any. His li.voril ,;. l.on wiu, to .st,.nd „p at Ih,. n.anlel c,n„er of the lire- place, and there, with his I s hehin.l his hack, his eye, spark h„« and his face l.,.ar,.in,, with a„n„alio, , he S.U .red ,.„n,nl n... , kept, as it were lelK.red hy a .<|.. , a gronp o( adnnrir.j; l,sl,.n,.rs. II.. was a n.a,. of ;".W ■ statnre, stoopin,, a little, with pale cl,e U Lonshllnl b.-ow, h s tin,, and spare-i,, a word-th^ very prototype of the lov,.r of Ihe „,„l„i„|,t |„ and olhce.s were present on ll„.sc occasions. Of ,|.en. Urn n,ost conspicnons were : I.oyok,, the Connnkssary of War and Intendant, (;ayarre, the CVu.la.lor, or ]!,L Comptroller and .Auditor, Navarro, the Trea.snr..r, P.e ^Kf' -* LKTTKIt or A?;nKV. 185 nu., tho ccnm.-indcr (,f thn two companies >f foot that l.al, so as t<> make it play to the Spanish t.me. llie Spanish lla, e.vtn-nnties of be province. Jt is at the JJalize, at Missonri, on the hank ol the Iherville rive.-, and opposite Natchez. Mv. de LIloa has ,,.st eslahlished these fonr posts, and lius d..st,-,l..,t<.d a,,.,.,i,. ,|.,,„ tl,, ,i,„.i^ ,,,,,^ji,.,.^ ,,,^^^ ^.^^^^^^, with hiin. Ihis operation was ex(.cnted peaceahly, Withont a.,y accident, and has pi-odnc.-d no cl, .n.^e in our posts, whieh still continiie in existence as for the imst, so that, .1, all those which a,-e on th(> hanks of the Mississippi, from tlx^ Balize to the Jllinois, th«> French tlag 18 kept up as hefore. l:i ^ .( I . ; '! I! ^!! # IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. y 1.0 !:: I.I 1.25 . 2.8 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14180 (716) 872-4S03 186 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE SPANIARDS. " It is no pleasant mission to govern a colony, which undergoes so many revolutions, which has not known, for three years, whether it is Spanish or French, and which, until Spain shall take formal possession, is, to speak properly, without a master. When that event shall happen, I shall feel authorized to say to Mr. de Ulloa, that I deliver into his hands a Spanish colony considering the changes and novelties which I have in-' troduced in concert with him, during its French ad- ministration. " It seems to me that Mr. de Ulloa is frequently too punctilious, and raises difficulties about trifles. We sometimes dispute about things which are clear and just beyond any possible doubt, and about which there would be no discussion, even between two private indi- viduals in a state of poverty." With regard to Ulloa, he was so well pleased with Aubry, that, on his recom- mendation, the Spanish Government made to that offi- cer a present of three thousand dollars. Two thirds of the year, 1768, had passed away in apparent quiet. But a secret conspiracy had been kept alive in the town of New Orleans and in the neighbor- ing parishes, to drive away the Spaniards from the colony. The chief conspirators were some of its most influential men, such as : Lafreniere, the king's Attorney- General, Foucault, the Intendant Commissary, Masan, a retired captain of infantry, a wealthy planter, and a knight of St. Louis, Marquis, a captain in the Swiss troops enlisted in the service of France, Noyan, a retired captain of cavalry, and Bienville, a lieutenant in the navy, both, the nephews of Bienville, the founder of the colony, Doucet, a distinguished lawyer, Jean and Joseph Milhet, Caresse, Petit, and Poupet, who were among the principal merchnnts, Hardy de Boi^blanc, a former member of tne Superior Council and a ^^*i; CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE SPANIARDS. 187 planter of note, Villere, the commander of the German coast. Lafreniere was a native of Louisiana, and of an obscure family His father, a poor Canadian, who had followed Bienviile to Louisiana, had, by dint of indus- try, acquired some fortune, and had sent his son to be educated in France. A plebeian by birth, Lafreniere had the majestic aspect of a king, so much so, that he had been nicknamed Louis XIV. He was a man of strong passions, expensive tastes, and domineering tem- per. He was gifted with considerable eloquence, bor- dering, it is true, on the bombastic, but well calculated to produce an impression on the massts. His ambition was unbounded, and was supported by an indomitable energy. He had those qualifications of mind, soul, and temperament, which, under different circumstances, will, however paradoxical it may appear, make a man feel and act, truly and honestly to himself and to others, either as an intense aristocrat, or as an impetuous demagogue, a devoted tribune of the people — that being, whom Shakspeare calls: ^^ the iongne of the common month.^'' This was the man who was the acknowledged leader of the anti Spanish party, and his efforts had been incessant, to pave the way to the contemplated insurrection. A secret association had been formed, and the chiefs of the conspiracy used to meet, either at Masan's house, or at a house situated out of the precincts of the town, but contiguous to it, which belonged to one Mrs. Pradel, who was the avowed mistress of the Intendant Foucault. This house was surrounded by a large gar- den, thickly shaded with those magnificent trees, which are the pride of I^ouisiana. There the conspirators used to resort, at night, one by one, from difterent directions, and discussed the plans they had prepared. ■ : II 188 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE SPANIARDS. rherc, after the dangerous oceiipation for which thev had met was over, they saunt(>rcd in tlic perfumed alleys of roses, myrtles and magnolias of their fair assoaate m the partnership of conspiracy, and then they ended the evening in merriment and in the enjoyment of a luvunous hanquet. This circumstance puts one in mmd of tlic meeting, as related by Alfred de Vi.r„y of young Cinq-mars and his friends, at the fiousc of' the aithhvss courtezan Marion de Lorme, when that unfor- tunate favorite of Louis XUL dared to head a co.ispi- racy aga.ust the omnipotent and all-seeing minister, Carduml Uichelieu. JJut the secret of this conspiracy was better kept than that of the one to which I have alluded, and Aubry and Ulloa were not informed of it, before the 25th of October, when it was too late and all was^ ready to insure success. The (Germans and Acadians had been long tampered ^vith, and Ulloa having lately sent Maxcnt, with ba-rs of tlollais, to pay these people, for grains and other provi- sions winch the Spanish Government had bought, and Of vv uch the payment had been delayed, the conspira- tors becjime npprchensive that this circumstance would operate unfavorably for them, on these Germans and Acadians, wliom they had p.Tsuaded that their claims would never be acknowledged and settled. Therefore wiion iMaxent stopped at the house of D'Arensbourg, the' old Swedish captain, who, it will be remembered, had come to the colony, in i7;:l, after having distinguished Inniself at the battle of Pultawa, and who was one of the most respected inhabitants of Louisiana, he was arrested by Verret, UTider the authority of Villere, who commanded at the German coast, anil all (he Govern- ment money was taken away from him. A ca'J)uchin, who was the curate of that settlement, had been one of the most active tools of the conspirators, and, by circu- m OENKRAL INSURRECTION. 189 lating every kind of cxcitinjr rumors, ho had powerfully helped th(!ni in inducing the Germans and Acadians to rise ncted her with the bank of the river, and moved off 1o cast anchor in deeper water. The rumor that she was going to lire at the town produced the wildest excitenujut. All the private and public houses closed their doors, jind heavy patrols of the insurgents, who were completely masters of New Orleans, paraded through its streets. Aubry took, with great celerity and energy, all the necessary measures to protect the Spaniards, and to save niloa from injury. He had cartridges distributed to his men, who numbered only one hundred and ten, the rest being scattered throughout the colony in its dif- ferent posts, and liad them ready for action. He assembUxl their officers, and told them that he would die, rather than suffer that a hair should be touched on Ulloa's head, and that he relied on their zeal and fideli- ty. He sent for Lafreniere, and urged him to desist from an enterprise, which would be his perdition and the ruin of the colony j ho told him that he would ¥• f ■;■ ■! i : i lUi%' lOO (IKNIJIIAI. IKNlKUKtTioN. '''-•-•"- .^ "Ml. S,.nn,MlmMHM-oMMnotH,n,H.. w. h a ln,,naU .mr Mo s.nt also f.,.. r,,.,,,,,;,,, „, j ask,..! Inni wl.ut hmI,. ho w.m.M (nkr. ()„ iMMi.-miirs anHw,.rm^r ,vi(h Ins nsuni uuAn^uUy, Anhry |<,|,| hi,,, thai lie wc.l.l n„„ h,„.s..|r hovond ,vWrM.,»1ioi,, if hr „nu,lt io ,u„-m„o „„y ,hri(hMl ron,-Ho. I lis appeals t<. f h,> oth(.r lo.uhM-s w..,-.. ,.|nallv fh.ifl.HH. In tho evMun^r, Hr,.,n^r thaJ, fo „so h.s own rxpn-MHions, „// imv m n^tiifc of nmhustion. |„. .vniird on Ullon, a.,r.mn^r h.n, that h. conhl no( answ,..- Co,- his hf;.,' .v- J|.H^stc-(l n,u to jvdro nilh his wii;. <,n l..anl oi ,ho ^MU„n.l lUloa ,o di.. wilh or savo hin,. Th,,y had .arricadcHl h.s h.H.s.., and pnt it in sn.-h a st.to of .lo- eiics as wouM have onahl..! th.Mn t.. slan.l a ..<., an.^ to s.dl the.r hvos .loarly. Aft.-r Ifjloa's r.^tr..,! to the fngat.3 l,oy ro.nu.ned in th.. sanu. position, ,.x,„>.tin. to be attackod at every moment, an.l ontinue.l in that state ..t nnnnnent .lang.^r an.l anxi..nssns,»..,s.., lor three or tour .lays. Oceasionally, th., people vvonl.l co.ne rushm^r on, as .t were to stonn th., fortif,cati.>ns which had been «ot up on the spur .,f the m.Muent, and, utt'T- .n« fi.^rce shouts, w.>,dd with wil.l gestur..s, h..ap abuse ou he .Spanuirds an.l their king, an.l .lealen their cars with loud hiuTuhs ibr the King of France. JU.f, on I ii; OICNKItAL INNiriciMU'TION. lf)l Ill- livery OIK- of tlicHr ocjiiHioiis, Moiiii; ortix! chiefs jiiiiong tlm iiiHiir^rciitH, wli(» hcm-iiumI (l(MrniiiiHMl (o l^-op tlio proplo Ironi coinmiltin^r jiiiy uiiii('c,(!,sHnry oiitnuro, ii|»|M!iiml miion^r ||u.|ii, niid hy tlicir (fxliortatioiiH, 7n- (liHcd lIuMii to uhstiiiii Irom dVcdM of violence, mid to act with tlint iiiiifrniiiiiiiiity which (ht; coiiHcioiiHiieHs of viiMt Hii|)('riority ol" force oiiirht to inHj)ire. 'J'h(.y Jissnnid them that the; S|i!iiii!irds would retire without rvery time, in draw- iii/r them away from the Hpot, to which lUvy wcsn; j)ut too olt(!n recalled hy their excil(!(l p.-iHHioiiH. I{(!Hi(hiH, it wan evident, from IIk^ most curnory .survey, mad(! («v(!n hy an unmilitnry stron/jrhold of tla; Spaniards, that, with tli(! unyiiddiiifr temper which is tli(! ho well known iittrihut<> of their rac(>, they had ina(l(! them- Helves ready for the inoHt desperate strii^r^'h;. This also, conlrilmted p(;rliapH to ward olf the thnjatened hlow. Tlu^ followiii;r pussii^M; in Aiihry's letUir to O'Keilly, when niiuhn-in^ an account of those events shows how ^rrciit tla; dan^Mir had heen : "Several times," siiid he, " tla; party of tla; ndMsIs and that of the S|)aiiiiirds, which certainly was not the Htroii^Msst, were near comin/r t() hiowH. Should that misfortune have happened, your JvvcelK^iicy would now bo treading on th(! asluis of New Orleans." In compliance with Foiicault's convocation, the Superior C'ouncil had met at ei^rht o'clock on the inorn- iiii 1 1, 1J)2 im:titi«)n for tiu: kwvlswn of ri,i.<)A. gnuifiiifr „r now privilcijrrH, and llu« ««x|Milsioii of l!||rm »>i»l oCd.r other S|,„niHl.-<,Hi,-,rrM. Tliis petition, which JN Hjiid f., Iij.vr hvvu wriflri, hy l^ariviii,-,-,, nrul Doiicct, wuH not niul, h„|, uiiH ivfcnTd to llnchrt do K,>n.ion und l)(! I.nunay, with instniclioiiH to n-jiort on the loll(,ui.i^r,|ay. ()„ th(! in-o|»oMitioii of Lalivniens who ivi)ivs..ni,.d that Ihcro would not Iv u tidl council at tho iirxt nicctmjr, on account of sickness anion^r the n.cndxTH, and that it was inipossihl,. to terniin,«(l that HUj)ernunierary nieinhers of tlu^ council he appointed. On tho joint recoinniendalion of I'oucault and Lalre- iiiere, M(>ssrs. Hardy d(! Koishlanc, 'riioniassin, I'leiuiau, Hobe, Ducros, and F.aharre wcn^ i'Uict.'d, and a. resolu- tion was j)assed, invitin^r them to In; prcvsenl at the meeting of the i>!)th. The petition pr(>s(>nt(>d to the Sup(>rior (\)uncil for tho expulsion of Ulloa, had he(n phic(! early on the; \>Sth, and which had boon addressed with great vehemence by Lufrenieri", Doucet, Jean and J<>se|)h Milh(>t. On the 2l)th, tiio Superior Coimcil mv\ at nine o'clock m tho morning, to take into consideration that petition. To back it, the insurgents, to tho numlM>r of about one thousand, were ass(>mbled on tlu^ public square, round a white Hag, which they had hoisted up in its centre, and declared that they would exterminate all the Spaniards and their "dherents, if the decree- of expulsion should not bo issued, b»ter- niinod to submit to no other government than that of France. Tlu; Sup(>rior C^ouncil, composed of thirteen niombors, before deliberating, inquired of Aubry, throu.rli Its president, whether lUloa had exhibited to him his powers to take possession of tiie colony in the name of the King of Spain. Aubry answered tliat I ♦' i>ii(>(!i':i':i>iNurpoS(! of exe<;utiiis, to tla; present day, have heen i.ssued arul carried into ex(!Cution. 'I'lu; act of cession, tla; only titl(! (»f which his (!atholic lVI(lj(^sty^s connnission(!r can avail hims('lf, to make; his demands (turlorilnfc ct pro- prktnU,, was addressed to the late; Mr. D'Ahhadi*', with orders to cause it to he rejfistercid in the Suj)erior Council of the colony, to thsir«s uas addivsMcd t(» you, gciillciucu, Willi a rrqucHt to u.ako it known to llu> Haid inludMlanIs, that in iIuih aclin^r, |„, ^yould only di.Mrliar^o Iuh duly and ^r,ali|y his inolinalions. Ihv snid l<>tlt>r wjim, hy your decree, aller (nil dc-hUeni- tion, puhlished, net np, and re^rjs((>red, as a pled^,, lo the iidiabilanlN, of happinesH and Ir.inciuillily. Anollier I(>tter of the month of ()el<»l>er lasl, wrhlen lo Mr. Anhry, proves thnt justie(> still eonlinties to b(; admi- Mistered in th»« eolony, in ihe name of [.onis Ihe >v(>ll beloved. Il results from Uie solenm acl of cession and Its accessories, that the planlers, inerchnnts and oth(«r inhahilaiils have the most solid basis to stand upon, when they present yon will. Iheir most hmnble remon-' strnncos; and that yon, (ienllemen, an; fully jmlhori/ed to pronounc(> tht us now proc(-ed lo a scrui)Mlous <>xaminalion of ihe act of cessi<.n, and of Ihe letter wriUen by V\Uni to ll.«> Superior Council. I ihiidv It hk(>wise uuMunbent on me lo eil,., word for word, an extract of th(^ King's letter, which was published, sc^t nn, and rejristered. ' "This very solenm act of cession, which irives the title of pn)perty to his C\-,tholic MMJesty, secures for the inhabitants of Ihe colony the preservation of ancient and known pnvileires ; nnd the royal word of our sovereifrn Lord the Kin^. pron»is<-s, and cts enjoy. The ancient pnvilejres having Ixhmi sn,,preHS(.(i 'by the authority of his Catholic Majesty's commissioner, pro- perty becomes precarious. The act of cession, winch was the mere result of good will and friendship, was made with reserves which confirm the liberties and piU)ci:i;inN(Js iiKFOHi: hie c*()»;ncil, 11>0 priviN'gcH of (Im- inliiibitiintH, and wliirli |»n»iiiiH(> tlioiri u lir«M)l' triiiu|iiilliiy, iinclcr ilm protcr.lion and hIk^IIci- ot tlu'ir canon iind e and Iranf/uillity of the inha- Inlants, and that they shall he ruled, and their fortunes and estates managed according to the laws, forms' and customs of said colony. Can Mr. Mlloa's titles ^rivo authority to onhnances and orders, which violate; the reH|)ect du(; to thiNkk tiii: toi/Nni.. you and the iiihahitmils nf ijnnr town mmj dvsirr— of whirl, I hro i/nu In i^irr //,nn Ihr msnmmr from mr, and to let than know thai, in a,'tini>- thus, I nnhj dischnrntti/'fi mi/ inrlimtlions. "Mr. (!<• V'Wmx |,r„vw«l lIxTrbv llic unl.r.s uliirl. Iir liJul rornvmM nrt i.rcoHsion, nml muiiilisir.l a smtimri.t wl.irli is itHliMi.,>i.sMl>N. in nny frovornor, wl..» is (Nvsirous ol ivn(l(.rmj,r nr,H„l s<>rvic<o|,Mh.lion. In j)ro|),Mlion fo ||,<' rxtcnt of holh, is llir soliWily of thnuu-s; i),>]|, .-.iv \\h\ l»y hlM-rly and coniiMMition, wl.irli an' tli,. nni^inrr inollirrH of ||h> Stale, of whirl, ihr spirit, ofinono,,„Iy is tho tyrant and st,>|Mn„thrr. Without lilurty, thcr(«"an« iM.t lew v.rtnrs. l).«s|,oiisi.. Inv.ds i.nsilliM.in.iiy and (i«M«|u>ns thr abyss of vi,-,«s. Mnn is ronsidcivd as s.nnn.ij: l"'f<>n« (Jod, o.,|y Immjihs,. Ih. .rt.-.ins his Ww Will. W Ihm-.' is t!a« lihc-ty of onr pinnlrrs, „f <,„.- n.cr- chantH and of all o..,- inlmhitj.nts i* IVolrction and I)rm'V()l(M.co have irivcn way to (h'spotisni ; a sin^Io mithority would ahsoih and annihilate ovory tliin<,'. All ranks,withont distinction, ci.n no lon^rpp, .vithont nmnin.r the .-.sk ot hv,xv^ \n\vi\ with j^iiill, do any thi.i^r ,.|s,. 1,,^ tro.nblo, l),>w their i.(>(ks io the yoke, and lirk tim dust. Tho Snpc-rior Council, bulwark of the tran- qn.Ihty of virtnons citi/,(>ns, has snpported itself only by the cond)iiu>(i force of the probity and dis- interestedness of its n.end)ers, and of tho co..fidencc of the people in that tribunal. Withont lakin- possession ol tho colony, withont ivjristerin^r, ;,s was necessary in tho Superior Council, his titl(«s and pj.tents, accordin.r to the laws, forms and customs of tho colony, and without prosentat.on of tho act of cession, Mr. do Ulloa has caused a president, three counsellors and a secretary PRo<;i:i:i)i!V(iN iii;k»ici; thi: council 197 nomiimlcd lor ihr imrixiHc, t<» Ink,, co^rriizmir,,! of lactH, wlii«li l)cl()iij;(.(| i«, iIh, jiiriHilirtioii of (Ik; Sii|Mui()r Council, 1111(1 ill \vlii
  • ivHH«!(l (!iti/(«UH. 'I'lic |ov(. of youf country, and the H(uiHr thou^rhi proper t<. inak(? rcprcscntationH on the '•'•••m-tiouH (,f the a(^t (.r cession. You liav(; always feared (<» u,v(, (>ncourajr,.ni(;nt to a niasH of (liMcont(Mitcd people., threat(.ne(l with the most dreadfid calami(i(>s ; you have pr(!ferred |)id)lic tran(|uillily. IJui now. the whole hody of tlu; planters, UKU-chants, and other udia- hitants of [.oiiisiana apply to you for justice. " i.et us now proceed to an accinat*^ and scrupulous examination of the <,m,!van(-(%s, complaints and impu- tations contained in tla; representations of the planters, merchants and other inhahitants. What sad and dismal pictures do tlu; said n^preseiitalions l)rinayment of sv.xm millions of th(! Km<,r's pap(!r moiu^, issued to supply tlu; calls of the service, and receiv<;d with confidenci! by tin; inhahitantfi of the ':o|ony, had ohstructed (Ik; ease and facility of the circulation, hut the activity and industry of the plant(!r and of the VivAich merchant had almost ^rot the hotter of all dilliculties. Tla; most remote corners of the posH(!SHions of tlu! Savages had heen discovered, the fur trade had h(!en carried to its hifr|„;,st j)erfection, and th(! iwA\ culture of cotton, joiruHl to that of indigo and tobacco, secured cargoes to those who were engaged V •i ! ■ i '1'. 14. ii ' 'J fs. I l\ - ■'■ t 198 PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COUNCIL. jn fitting out ships. The commissioner of his CathoHc Majesty had promised ten years of free trade— that period being sufficient for every subject of France, attached to his sovereign Lord and King. But the tobacco of this colony being prohibited in Spain, where those of Havana are the only ones allowed, the timber (a considerable branch of the income of the inhabit- ants) being useless to Spain, which is furnished in this article by its possessions, and the indigo being inferior to that of Guatimala, which supplies more than is requisite to the manufactures of Spain, the returns of the commodities of the inhabitants of this colony to the Peninsula became a ruinous trade, and the inhabitants were delivered up to the most dreadful misery. His Catholic Majesty's commissioner had pubhcly declared his conviction of the impossibility of this country's trading with Spain ; all patronage, favor, and encourage- ment were formally promised to the inhabitants ; the title of protector was decreed to Mr. Ulloa ; the hope and the activity necessary to the success of the planter- were nourished by the faith and confidence reposed in these assurances of the Spanish governor. " But by the eflfect of what undermining and imper- ceptible fatality, have we seen a house, worth twenty thousand livres, sold for six thousand, and plantations, all on a sudden, lose one half and two thirds of their intrinsic value ? Fortunes waste away, and specie is more scarce than ever; confidence is lost, and dis- couragement becomes general; the plaintive cues of distress are heard on every side ; the precious name of subject of France is seen to be eclipsing itself, and the fatal decree concerning the commerce of Louisiana, gives the colony the last fatal stroke which must lead to its total annihilation. The Spanish flag is set up at the Balize, at the Illinois, and other places j no title, no PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COUNCIL. 199 letters patent Mere presented to the Superior Council ; time flies apace ; the delays fixed for the liberty of emigration will soon expire, force will tyrannise, we shall be reduced to live in slavery and loaded with chains, or precipitately to forsake establishments trans- mitted down from the grand-father to the grandson. Ail the planters, merchants and other inhabitants of Louis- iana call upon you, to restore them to their sovereign Lord the King Louis the well beloved 3 they tender to you their treasures and their blood to live and die French. " Let us proceed to sum up the charges, grievances and imputations. " Ma dc Ulloa has caused counsellors, named by himself, to take cognizance of facts, concerning French subjects, which appertained only to the jurisdiction of the Superior Council. The sentences of that new tribunal have been signified to, and put in execution against. Mess. Cadis and Leblanc. Mr. Ulloa has supported the negroes dissatisfied with their masters. He has presented to the Superior Council none of his titles, powers and provisions, as commissioner of his Catholic Majesty ; he has not exhibited his copy of the act of cession, in order to have it registered ; he has, without the said indispensable formalities, set up the Spanish flag at the Balize, at the Illinois, and otlier places ; he has, without legal authority, vexed, punished and oppressed subjects of France ; he has even confined some of them in the frigate of his Catholic Majesty ; he has, by his authority alone, usurped the fourth part of the common of the inhabitants of the town, has appropriated it to himself, and has caused it to be fenced in, that his horses might graze there. "Having maturely weighed all this, I require in behalf of the K.ng: "^ '^W ,t ' 1 If 1 1. 'in B"'' f ■ j fi," i ''1 i HI 11 il'i!! 200 PROCEEDINOS BEF'^HE THE COUNCIL. " That the sentoncos pronounced by the counsellors nominated for the purpose, and put in execution against Mess, (.\idis and Leblanc, subjects of France, be declared encroachments ui)on the authority of our sovereign Lord the King, and destructive of the respect due to his supreme justice, seated in hie Superior C^ouncil, in as much as they violate the laws, forms and customs of the colony, conlirmed and guarantied by the solemn act of cession. " That Mr. de Ulloa be declared to have violated our laws, forms and customs, and the orders of his Catholic Majesty in relation to the act of cession, as it appears by his letter, dated from Havana, on the lOtli of Julv 176,1. ^^ " That he be declared usurper of iliogal authority, bv causing subjects of France to be punished and oppressed, without having previously complied with the laws, forms, and customs, in having his powers, titles and provisions registered by the Superior Council, with the copy of the act of cession. "That Mr. Ulloa, commissioner of his Catholic* Majesty, be enjoined to leave the colony in the frigate m which he came, without delay, to avoid accidents or new clamors, and to go and give an account of his cx>nduct to his Catholic Majesty ; and with regard to the (hflercnt posts established by the said Mr. Ulloa that he be d.^s.red to leave in writing such orders, as hJ shall think necessary ; that he be declared responsible, for all the events which he might have foreseen; and that Mess. Aubry and Foucanlt be requested and even summoned, in tli(> name of our sovereign Lord the King, to continue to govern and administer the colony as heretofore. -^ " That all shii)s, sailing from this colony, shall not be despatched, without passports signed by Mr. Foucanlt, rilOCKKDINCiS BEFORE THE COiJNCIL. 201 as intondant commissary of liis most Christian Majesty. "That the takinrs from his most Christian Majesty. "That Messrs. Loyola, Cayarro, and Navarro be declared guarantees of their signature, on the bonds which they have issued, if they do not produce the orders of his Catholic Majesty, empowering them to issue said bonds and papers ; and that a sufficient time be granted them to settle their accounts. " That the i)lnnt(n-s, nuu-chants and other inhabitants be einpower«>(l to eh^ct deputies, to cfirry their petitions and supplications to our sovereign Lord the King. That it be resolved and determined, that the Superior Council shall make representations to our sovereign Lord the King ; that its d(xree, when ready to be^Kssued, lu) read, set up, published and registered. " That collated copies thereof be sent to his Cracc the Duke of l'r;islin, witli a letter of the Superior Council, and likewise to :ill the posts of the colony, to be there read, set up, published and registercnl." Then Mess, lluchet l)e Kcn-iiion and I'iot Do Launay, to whom the petition of the colonists had been referrcxi, having made th(>ir report, the whole l)eing duly weighed and deliberated upon, the attorney general having been heard and having retired, the Council proceeded to frauK! its decree. Every one of fhe thirteen members gave his opinion separately, and in writing. Hardy dc Boisblane, during the delilxn-ations, was observed to be one of th(^ mosl violent advocates of the expulsion of lHloa. vVubry, who luul put his handful of men under arms, and wlio had b(!en very active in every part of the lown, to maintain order as much as possible, and to prevent tho I Ull : (1 ( ■ " i t ' i j 1 \ ■ ! i ^ i I i^ i ' . r Ill 202 DECREE OF THE COUNCIL. outbreaking of popular passion into deeds of blood presented himself before the Council, and remonstrated agamst the decree, which, he was informed, thev were gomg to adopt. He called their attention to the consequences of what they were doing, and to the magnitude of the affair, of which they presumed to take cognizance. He told them that they had no jurisdic tion over the case on which they were preparing to decide, that Ulioa was the commissioner and represel' tative of a great king, and that they would provoke the resentment of their most Christian and Catholic Majes- ties by sending him out of the colony. But seeing he said, that neither prayers nor threats could produce any impression, except on two or three, who seemed to be moderate, and that the rest allowed themselves to be swayed by the sentiments of Lafreniere, he desisted trom his vam attempts. At 12 o'clock, the Superior Council adjourned, after having, with Foucault's exception, agreed on their aecree. It was m conformity with Lafreniere's conclu- sions, which were all adopted, and almost in the very words he had used. The time allowed Ulloa to quit the colony was only three days, and he was to depart, either m the frigate of his Catholic Majesty in which he had come, or m whatever other vessel he should think proper. Loyola, Gayarrc and Navarro were permitted to remain to settle their accounts, but were made personally responsible for the bonds and papers they ftad put in circulation, unless they showed their authority to emit them, under the special orders of his Catliohc Majesty. In conclusion, the Council said: V^e order all our bailiffs and sergeants to perform all tne acts and formalities requisite for carryin^r the present decree into execution; we, at the same" time, empower them to do so. We also enjoin the substitute OPINION OF FOrCAULT. 203 of the King's attorney general to superintend the execu- tion, and to apprize the court, thereof, in due time. "Given at the Council chamber, on the 29th of October, 1768." Foucault, who had been, under ground, one of the most ardent firebrands of the insurrection, and who had secretly goaded on the conspirators in every step they had taken, faithful to the plan he Had followed, to shelter himself against any future contin^/encies of aanger, to save his responsibility, and to insure his safety, by not breaking into any open and palpable act of rebellion, on the plea that, as the French King's intendant, he was restrained, and forced to a great deal of caution, by his official position, and that, by appearing not to be entirely with his associates, he could afford more real and effective aid to their cause, gave his opinion in writing, as follows : " The intention of the King, our master, being that the colony should belong, fully and without reserve, to his Catholic Majesty, by virtue of the treaty of cession, my opinion is that none of the Spanish officers who have come here by order of their government, can be legally sent away ; that, considering the causes of dis- content enumerated in the petition of the citizens, and Ulloa's omission to take possession of the colony with the usual formalities, he, the said Ulloa, should be pro- hibited from exercising the powers of Governor, in any- thing relating to the French subjects now in Louisiana, or who may come thereto, hereafter, either as colonists or not ; and that every thing appertaining to the com- merce carried on by the French and other nations with this colony, be regulated, as it was before his arrival ; nevertheless, that all q • officers of the Spanish admi- nistration should continue their respective functions, in order to provide for the supplies necessary to the town Kl : I I iUhU 204 PROTKST OF AUBIIY. I ^ and to the Posts, for tl.c payment of all salaries, and for tlie expenses of the French troops, which will continue o serve and of the works which will be deemed proper J tins, nntd the decision of the conrts of France and Spam be known, reserving to the deh^gates of the people the right to address his Catholic Majesty, in the most respectiu and lawful manner, in order to obtain the privileges they claim." Aubry, with his characteristic energy and frankness ot behavior, without hesitation or equivocation, pro- tested agamst the proceedings of the Council in these terms : "I protest against the decree of the Council which dismisses Don Antonio de Ulloa from this colony. 1 heir most Christian and Catholic Majesties will be offended at the treatment inflicted on a personage of his character; and though I have so small a force subject to my orders, I would, with all my might, oppose his departure, More I not apprelu usive of endangering his coLy. '' '''' ^'""" °^ ^" '*'" ^P""''"^^' ^" t^' Oclo^berl'Tm'''' '''' ^''""''' ''''"'^^''■' ^" '^'' ^^'^' ^^ C^! 1 ""^""^''t ■^'- ^- ^^'" *'^^^'^'^ "^ the Superior Co mcil was oflicially communicated to Ulloa on board 01 tlie trigate, and to the assembled insurgents " The most intense enthusiasm," said the (Council in a letter to the trench government, "followed this information, when given to the people. Women and childivn were seen rushmg at the post which supported the TVench «ag, and kissing it with passion ; the air was rent with thousands o cries of: Lo.. live the King! Long //,, l^ms the well beloved ! What a glorious moment? sire, tor so great a monarch ! " On the adjournment of the Council, its members had REFLECTIONS ON LAFRKNIERE's ADDRESS. 205 been mvitccl by Foucault to dine at his house. They took their scats at the tablo, at 2 o'clock, and at five whilst they .voro enjoyin- the last course of the ban-' quet, ^oyau and sonic others entered the room, and, ad- dressing Foucault and J.afreniere, begged them to pre- vail on the ( ouncil to visit the IJnrracks, where all the p anters, merchants and other colonists were assem- bled. Coftee,* to close the convivial festivity, was muned.ately c.dled for, and then, at the re(,iu.st of Foucault and Lalreniere, the Council, in a body, with tlie exceptK>n of Messrs. Lalandc d'Apremont and Huchct de Kermon, who said that ihcy were sick and retired, proceeded to meet the insurgents, by whom they were W(>lcomed with loud acclamations, and the welkm rang with tumultuous and prolonged cries of- , T'^" i'T t. ^'"'^' "^" ^''*^^''' • ^""-' ^"'^' ^«'^*"^' ^^'^ ^M bc/ovcd ! 1 hese cries were responded to and repeated by the Council in a body. From the Barracks, the Council, followed by some citizens of note and conse- quence vvent to Aubry's house. There, both Foucault and J.afreniere addressed him, and requested him to re- sume the government of the colony in the name of the King of France. Aubry again reproached them with what they had done, and said that they would soon see his prophecies reali/x'd. Some reflections present themselves to the mind, in reviewing Lafreniere's address to the Council. Thus it is apparent that he had assumed false and untenable grounds, and he must have known them to be such when he argued in the Council, that the treaty of ces- sion was with conditions and reserves, that the letter of Louis XV. to D'Abbadic was binding on the King of Spam, and that it secured in law to tiie colonists their * Soc the writton deposition of Garic, (he clerk of the Council, on the trial of I-afreniure and otiiors. flk, '!' ■■ ■ If ■ ! 1 ■J» ,, 1 n 206 KEFLECTIO.\S ON LAFRENIERe's ADDRESS. ancient rights and privileges. It is equally evident that It was, by the njost forced construction, that he inter- preted into an acknowledgment of those riglits Ulloa'a letter to the Council, which this officer wrote from Havana, givnig notice of his coming, and which con- taincd nothing but empty and vague expressions of civihty usual on such occasions. Foucault was there- fore right when he said, that the treaty of cession was absolute that the officers of the King of Spain could not legally be dismissed from the colony, and that, if the colonists were oppressed by those officers, their only course, save the inalienable right of revolution in cases of extreme hardship, was to apply to his Catholic Majesty for redress. But, in his desire to pursue a mid- dle course and to keep on terms with both parties, he tell into a state of contradiction and inconsistency. To mvite and to allow Ulloa to pay all the French func tionaries and the French troops, and to assume all the expenses of the colony, was to invite and to allow him to be its governor. He could not, except as such, per- ioral what he was requested to do ; and the public func- tionaries, as soon as they accepted the pay of Spain ceased to be French and became Spanish. The French' troops, from the moment that they were supported by the Spamsh treasury, had virtually passed into the service of Spam, and owed obedience to the Spanish governor. Thus Aubry, having consented to Ulloa's assuming all the expenses of the colony, acted logical, Jy in executing the mandates of that officer, and in be- having only as his lieutenant. It was too late to allendati(m to retain IJlloa in the colol ny, as merely a French i)ay„,aster, and to deprive him o all authority as a Spanish governor, seems to be almost ludicrously incoherent. The fact is, that the colonists had achieved a revolution, and had, by force of arms, annulled the treaty of cession made between trance and Spam. Foucault forgot that, on such occasions, men must have the courage of acknowledg- ing the paternity of their acts; that, as a revolution cannot be disguised, it had better be proclaimed ; and that It IS a futile attempt to reconcile with the existing political organization and laws, and to defend in their name, what is fre(,uently their manifest disrupture and violation, and a return to the reserved and natural rights of man. » There is a passage in Lafreniere's address, of which Louisiana may well be proud, and of which she can boast, as spoken by one of her children, in 1768 before the vo.ce of 1776 was heard. " In proportion," said he, to the extent both of commerce and population, is the sohdity of thrones ; both are fed by liberty and compe- tition, which are the nursing mothers of the State, of which the spirit of monopoly is the tyrant and step- mother. Without liberty there are but few virtues. Despotism breeds pusillanimity, and deepens the abyss ot vices. Man is considered as sinning before God only because he retains his free will." To appreciate tins bold language, it must be remembered that it was officially uttered by the attorney general of an abso- ute King, and that it was'intcnded to reach the ears of the despotic government of France. Another passage of Lafreniere's address must be li'i rf i! II ■Ill" ^il SON < IIAIlAf TKU OF Ill.l.,,* ^„ <,«VKI,N„H. IN i ( comuH.,,1,.,1 „|,„„ i„ j„„,i,.,, ,„ „||„„ l^u-n,;,- ,,.1 ,„,l,l„.|^ ,„,„„v,l l,is convi..i,„„',„- ,| . "r''"'"> ".' "- -■ "■>■' -™.li..« will, .S|,„in. A 1 .n.n,,s,.c,,,,l„.,,,,,,|,i,,,,,,.,,|,,. ,;,,,, ,,,.,^;^ .W.I,,,Mr.|.,«,,l,..|,.,|,,. .hviu, „.„..™ o ho »,„.oc,, „ ,,i,„,„,, „„^,, ^„,,^,- , y ll|ln|, ,m I,,., ,„T,v.l i„ r,„„isi,„m. Ilis ,.„li.-l,„., m,ndhu,l „,„„,.,|„„„|j. ,|i.,e.,v,.,- I ,|,„ «„,„,:,■,„ colony, mu ,t l„„l ,.„s, l,i,„ „„ ,,|lort ,„ 1,„ cnvinrcl He luul ,.x,,r..».s,.,l ,srl( lo ,|„„ ,ffi.cl, ,„ul Im.l pro„u«vl,i,;|, |„„1 been .l.srefrar.le.l. Ins.ea,! of invi.inf., !„, |,„.| .l„,„.e. cute.1, Ihe .■o,„nu.n-,al d..cr,.e ivhiel. had I,,.,.,, sen lo hnn (,o,„ Ma,l,id «|,ieh I,.- l,a.l l,e.,.„ ho„ , ,,„, i„ force and which had ,,ro,lu<-e,l «, nnich ,li.s,.„nten! It was therefore with j;r,.at injustice that, in this instance, he had been charged by the inhahitalita with dnplicily and wanton tyranny. ' ^ But whatever ha.l been IdH faults, his virtues, the merits and demerits of his .leeds, his connection with Louisiana, as governor, had now censed for ever FMTH TJicTimr:. Ammv'rt llEFi.KfrrroNs on tiik latk Kuvoninov t,,.. a OK ..u,o.. i).....,.._m;:z . m .^:;;;:;;: ''::'^-^'"''''"-^-- i-n,..,.. ,.K ..K s...... „.„..,:, ;; n .,:^ "t,;: <:::'j:;;t:';;; ^"" ^"^ Ti.m H.uu,,T-K„.,.,v,„,T's l),.;s,..v.v,..-s TO ,_„,■' 7' *'";'■■ ^ J "^'■'"•^►: "N 'IWn.c..v-A,.„Kv's (,nN,..s ..„-,,„. \s -VKKN-MKsr-Hm ^.s... ... V.W. ..,.,..., ..... ■^::";;;;..;^;;.;L:;^,_^;;:-™7:::; UKVou-r,ov uKvouK. S,.,..-n,.:,,,...u.no.. ..k ™k C...r,'Z^^Z:^^ S.-A.V ATT,,,.: (-on.T ... V,:„s.;,,,,Ks_„„;.L. "( ,, ;^r,^7;7^""" "" OMl.o ;Wth of ()ctol,(M-, 17(i.S, Auhry sent to one of the irnniHlors ,n France, n iUMnWvd ^intrnwut of all that iind occurmi, and said of tlir .SupiM-ior Connci! : '' Sccin- t'.ati could not oppose what llu>v L.-ul resolved upoi? .■"'(1 that their minds were made up, I protested acrajnst Ihoir decree which orders the expulsion, within three days, of hnn whom his Catholic Majesty had sent to take poss(.ssion of the colony. 1 look up^on this action as one of the gr(>n,test outrnaes that could be conunit- ted. If a dozen mdividuals, who had contributed not a 11 i i ! .1 > ■ ii! UIO r)i:ii:<.ATi:.s AiToiNrrn iiv Tin: issinuisrs. liUir I.) srl .ill on (iiv, hixl hern s|,iinMl \Uv rmmUy, tliut rvrnt U(Hil,. Ii;,|.|.(-iir.l. It in luy (M(Km- <»f lli,« day. iM.ali appaivnt r(<.s|M.ft i.s HJioun lo nu«, lait J an. not olM>y..d. Ilavin^r no troops at n>y disposal to ('nforct' my antliority, it is reduced to a mere hIukIow, and n»y person and llu> di|rnity of my ollico are biMli (le<,Maded." This despaleli was intnistcMJ to De F.ap.^riere, a Kni^dil of St. r.onis, Aviiom Anhry s«>nt to hVanee, to giv.> all the inlormation that nn^dit he wanled in r(«lali».n to the late revolution. The insin-cr,.ntH lost no lim(> in seleetin^rtlu.irdelefritoH, to carry (heir re:)res,>nialionH to the loot of the throne. Lesasnier was ap|)oin(ed by Ihe Superior Council, Mieiiville, a r.ieul(>nant in the iia\y, hy the planters, and j\Iilh,.t hy the merchants. nienvdie havino; ivfused, on Ihe ojroiind that hi.s mihtarv eomnussion was incoinpalihle with the mandate for which he had b.'cn chosen, St. Lette was put in his place. With rejrard to Ulloa, lie was preparino- to leave the country within the time which had he«Mi allotted to I ' 'if wrote to Anhry, to aulhori/e him to wifhd aiK I i th«> S pied, and to send tlani (o II l)anish troops Iro.ii the posts whi- It fl iim, raw avaua. ac/irrouti. s;ii( 1 Aul n-y, " a.s to order the \\\)\'h they occn- llc hna ciH'n hcc/i so 'hfl' ush ionnnis- sarj^ to continur to pai/ the Fnnvh troops and their o/lirer^ " On (he ;nst of ()ctob(>r, th(> Council met airain, and annulled, in the followimr tc u il rms, Aubrv' •y's j)rotest i'v i\.jr. A avin^r taken into coiisideralion the protest njadc * ubry, Knight of the royal and military order EmnAiiKATiox or ri.i,oA, •> II of St. I.,„,i„, p,v,„,,„r „r ,|,i, ,„i,„.„ ,. II ( l.mn,,,, M,,j,..,,,,,, ,.,,„i, ,1,. ,|,„,.„ „r „,„ M,. Illlo,, ■,>,„„„„s,„„or „r |,i„ (;,„|,„||, m,,^" ^ tins ,,n..,.H. „M,«n.,„l „hi|„i th. ,.„.li,.nc,. w„, 1, '""' "'"' '": '-"«-^ ■'""""7-«> n,i l„.i„,, |„„,nl t Ic . ':''""";" ■■"""« '!"■ '"..livcH ,vl,i,.l, l,„v,. n,„s,.,i Mr Auhry to ,,ro„.st „,,ainst ,h. .U-cn: oC .„„rt, „C , i »lK,l iM. ..x,r„f,.,l „c,-o,-,Ii„„ to ,,„ Cnr „,| (,,„or. < .ct,,!;;!; 'Ti'";';;';.-'''' ""■' -'""• ■" ""^ ^•""-'' "■ '-. On tl„,t,l„y, ll||„„ „.rot(, to Aul,ry: " no rcpronrli,., " " ■'■"'"■'^ •<> <"'■; for, if 1 l,ml (oris ..onlt,-,,,' I ""■f"" ""y ""','■'■ "'"■ '"i«. it w„s witi, y„,„. ,„ivi,.,: niKl .■oils,,,,!, ,„i,l with tho ,ip|„ol,„lion of tj,„ ki,,,. ,„v .nasi,.,- ,o „,o,„ tl.n colony |,,|„nK», nn.l y„,„. ;;.,j! loncy 1,,.„,„ ,!„. p„l ,„ Now Orleans, i„ onlor to |,lou,,o l,'' .'"","'« "'I'»l" t-S miKl, to tl,oi,- nroLlico wmoh ^zrzrT' r •"'""• ""™ "" '-o .iirit pin rshcd , that, for his own personal convonionco ho "< ionoroachod o„ a stroC, which h.- l,a,I r,., ccT'to a .K h ol .„,v,oo„ foot, and that l,c had thoush, ro o ■ to ronTri-fi' ""' S'"- <"■ "- town, still J hi: peisoiial gratjficution. rcvorono" ™| ni , ^T^'"'' "'='"-J-'«'n<'ral and ourato. He 10 sacu. out of niarnngo to l,c administcrod m his own l«'">;0 by Ins chaplain, without ,l,o io,H,iro,l, p -ov Z pii il.ca.,o,,s, and without tho usual Ib'rn.ali i,!^,?", o, 1 "'^i, """■'■'"'' "oroawhitcnianaud a black «oni,.n Tho witness declares that I nnrrin.re took n:::rthe""* I'r tt""'- "'■' "''•'■'• "-' '™- 1 : tl at 10 ha, mass said ni il, li.r ,.i„|itoeii months l,v lli, cliaplau, of the fngate, and, liirlliAmoro, tlia li'o o wt no d«.o,it place for the ostahlisliiiioi,, of sa i, „ , n said house. Tho deponent allirms tha, Miss I „' said Illloa had carried her up ii, triumph to Now Orl, 'iiis pretending to have married lier at tho Bali.o, wlioro the ■«">: .OILVC/S LETT,:,. TO T„n n„KE OF ,.aAS,,,N. 219 m.pli|,l l,ono,liclion l,»,l boon a,Imi„i,tcro,l to thorn by 1I.C clu,|,l,t,„ o( tl,o Injraio, but witl.cut tl.c ,,or.„i,.,ion °i.d,':;i',i;;'i"'' """,""':'" "■" '■'"'"'^"' ■-'■"li-ation CO 1^ ?o "°'- '"T"'"' ""•"■■ 1"="" "Ulborizod to CO d ;t< '"'""™, '" "'," '"■"""™- '""'her D„gob,.rt so,K i , h'^';'"' "," ""f '"■■'"'"8" ''"^ c.„«ed much I, ,™!'' '".""■• '""-• '""< "I">"'"1 timorous ,u„l scrunu- ous cou«c,e„ccs, n„,l ,b.t it i, bolievcl to be clan, o,- .0 on „oe„un, of ibo ,v.n, of con.plinncc with tho civil and cnnon tonus and laws. On tho aai of November, the Superior Council ad- di-esse, to ll,e Dnke ofPn.sliu a lo ter, iu uhici lut bofflo, !,„„,„ support ,he .epresonlations tliey n t^ I'c laid at the foot of the throne. In this letfer "hey 1 "y', o " ,"" ";." ',^™"">' ^-'^""'"ci.y, and i,,flo.vi- doc.™! o T "' "'"' ""^"''' '■""' ""= ''•™»'-™ in- decency ol Ins deportment. They said: "The court S, nd ,v,tl,out b,.n,g recreant to the most essential I "."ol""'"""'' ''^ '■"''"'"" ™'' '"""""''y- -«-« '" I ,? "^■'^"■™:""" ""*■'■ '•■' ""«-i<'»:ilie ju.stiee "liKii U eianued, w,lh so unich earnesti„.ss, against the ,- K'Cl the Conned eerhunly pn.venlo.l the counnission I .1 Mrdung act ot .l..spair, which woid.l have tarnished le li,sln= ol ,1,.. r-V,.neh name, rn.ler ,l,e inlhieuc of . le re,!" r?'" ''""•■' '"'"''•"■'^ "S"inst tha, officer a 0,0 "' 't" I"''," ""^'^ ''" '""""'I"'' '" >»'"• Evcel. V L u ■'■""" """™"' "'" 'l«ument, eon- . u,,„ ,h„ repres..nlal,o„s, „ hieh ,vere to be laid belb,-e the l\nig, ,u the name of llie Council III thos.. rop,-esoulalions, ,|,e Council made tho most tl 1, no" ";f' ■'I'""" <"' ">« l»-o.perity of the eol.a.y at the time of the cession, a descrij: m < 1 i i't , lion wliich it IS 1 mpos- 220 REPRESENTATIONS TO THE KING. f!i 'M I I . I ■ wfth ini "r" 'L ^^^responding with facts. But witl. Ulloa as they affirmed, came the most disastrous /A. 7W," they sa,d, "on //^e 22./ of February, 1166. 6./«n^. 0/ TVm. Or/mn., on the ruh of .March, at noon- After ment.on„.g these bad omens, (hey thei recap t- lated tl e grievances which have already been stated and made to them some additions, for ins'lance: £ Ulloa mamtanied that he was the king of the colony tha he treated with the utmost contempt tiie Superio Counci, whose powers lie wished to destroy, and vio- ated a] those rights which had been secured by the and Jlin ,'^^^^'°".^"^the King's letter to D'Abbadie; and that Jie carried the infraction of the most sacred among other powers, exclusive jurisdiction over al questions connected with the regulations or decrees on exportation, importation, and other commercial matters 1 he sentences rendered by that tribunal were annexed to the petition, in order that the King might judge of heir illega ity. The Superior Council furlher alleged ha three Acadian families, having arrived in the colfny at their own expense, asked Ulloa for leave to buy land m the vicinity of their relations and friends, in the ui> per part 01 the Mississippi river; but that Ul'loa, irriti ed by the cries of their clnldren, by the critical state of and bTn "" '" ^'" ''' ^^ '^^^«"""^^ ^^ '-ther, and by the representations of the men, forbade their re- maining in the colony, and had them put on board of an Y'g'isli ship sailing for New England ; and that he de- c ared his intention to sell as slaves other Acadians, who had dared to make some humble representations to him- that the subjects of France were threatened with RErRESENTATIOlVS TO THE KING. 221 Slavery, wl.ilst Nogroos wore raised by doprocs to the d.gn.ty of froomon; that ho hastened to show antipathy to the pop.dation of the colony, by sendin. to Havana for a nurse for his child, in order that it nd^h' not suck one drop of French blood. " What pernidoll pnnaplcs arc these !" they exclaimed " W/.l/l 7 dispositions r ^ ^''''^ harharous They further represented that, through the mis- deed, of Ulloa, the colony had been thrown into such a state of nusery, that half of it was reduced to live o,^ Fouc!^.l''T ' T\ '''"' ^'''""* ^''^ ^^'^^ precautions of Foucault who had a certain quantity of these articles of k>od brought down to New Orleans, fathers and mothers would have had, even in the capital, nothing to offer but tears to the plaintive cries of' their famisled chddren ; that the people became persuaded that Ulloa and that he was determined to reduce the subjects of France to have no other food than the tortilla * that a general feelmg of despair pervaded the colony ; that all the colonists, deprived of their ordinary aliments, were condemned to fatten vampires with their life blood, and tliat, by a malicious and restrictive legislation, they were prevented from acquiring the means of paying their old debts. 1 he Superior Council then proceeded to relate the events winch preceded the revolution, those of the revolution itself, and what had followed. They con' c uded with supplicating the King to retake possession of the colony, and annul the treaty of cession. " Your Majesty," they said, " will find in all the citi- zens brave soldiers, who offer to shed their blood and sacrifice their fortunes, to protect the Mexican provinces of ^pain and to support your allies, provided they beloncr the rrl:::i:;;i,:tf a ;;;'^^ -"' ^" '^"^'<='" ^^^-^ ^--^ ^^•■-^ - ^^^ - '-d, ■.. ,;i". pie. 222 iiepkhsentatioss to tiik kino. o"ly to you, Sire, their most honored I „r,l nn.l i- I.OM,s tho well beloved. O .rr, u 'i, ,: , "^'. la.st hesitafion or e„„i. vocation an nnj.lacahle hatred for the I-'rench nation, and marked every day that he passed here with acts of i„. .unnan.ty and despotism." I fe then goes into the details of al his exertions to prevent the expulsion of Ulloa, an( declares that it originated in the many causes of irrita ion and provocation which the people had ; he mys that he harangued them several times to induce tK.n to remain quiet, and affirms, in direct contradic- tion ofAubry's declarations in one of his despatches hat, on the breaking out of the insurrection, he joined nind He concludes with saying that all the colonists hope o resume the privileges and name of Frenchmen and that rather than lose these precious advantages' they would quit the colony with their negroes, chattels' goods and all the other property suscq>tible of S earned away, leaving nothing but a desert to the Sm- niards. ^ wrnioT^.f'^" '"'"■•"" "" -^"' "f November, A „brv wrote to tlic same minister : " I |,e,r yo„, ,„v I onl to deign to cam your eye o„ a letter, wiT J, 1 'hajtl. lI'J: to write to you, on the IlOlh of March, 17(17. You will see m three Hiflerent passages, that I Corosaw the „„ . you that Mr. de Uiloa wa.s not the projier person to h,°s7ale„;'", .^^y- .""'";"'•'*'"■'<'"« •- vast intellect, h.8 talents. Ins learning. Ins great reputation in all the academies of Europe, and although lie is full of honor! of probity, and of zeal for the service of his sovereig, He does not possess the necessary .jualificatioiis to command Frenehmen. Instead of endeavoring to -an the hearts (wliieh is absolutely necessary in a change of government,) he has done all that could tend to AirilKY's LETTER TO TIIR mrKE OF PRASLIN. 225 iilionato them. He soomod to dospiso the first nion of the colony, and piirticnhirly the nimnhors of the Supe- rior Conned. My his indiscreet expressions, and by threats which shadowed the forthcomin^r of a frjaht- tnl despot.sn., he caused the Spanish domination to be clreaued, and ^rnvo rise to the supposition that he did not like our nation, lie has alarmed every body, and, by a deportment as unbecon.infr as it was surprising in a man o( so distinguished a mind, he has not a little con- tributed to draw down upon himself and his nation the storm which has swept him away. "In another letter of the 4th of April, 17G8, I had the honor to inform you of the deplorable state and of the (rightful misery to which this colony is reduced. Ihe uncertainty about the ultimate fate of the French F)aper currency, the prolonged delays in the payment of the debts ot his Catholic Majesty, who has assumed the expenses of the colony, the scarcity of specie, the in- solv.-.ljihty of three fourths of the debtors, a diminution m the value of lands and negroes and of every kind of property, amounting to a loss of two thirds, the regret ot passing under a foreign domination, which inspires the i)eoplc with the apprehension of their being unhappy the Governor's want of capacity to conciliate the attec-' tion and esteem of the inhabitants, the news of a decree rendered by his Catholic Majesty, which deprives the colony of its commerce with the Islands and with France —all these motives united, and made still more power- ful by the effects of the extreme misery which has pre- vailed here for so long a time, and which increases daily, have at las* goaded the people into desperati^ i, and produced this fatal revolution, which would not have happened, had I had at hand only a body of tlirce hun- dred men. ' i •llh-' 15 I 'I , I 22G AUBRY'S LETTER TO THE DUKE OF PRasun. " It would pcrhcaps be dangerous, at this mnmnnf i ':rjT """"'^ '"•" '"^ ^-•'' -- J of Sot'n : ami of 1,0 ngorous ,„u,i>,hmont» to wliici, tl,cy ov»"«o privileges ;fF,.oncl,mcr'' ■«™<'. d'aractor und they had ostablished their head „ .^T'a" "■''" POSITION OF THE REVOI.IJTIOIVI.STS. 337 the work of four years, and all the .lispositions which I had taKenonbohalfoftho crown of Spain. An uda' c.on» ,,ct,t,on msnlting to the Spanish iation, rebolC asa.nst the K,ng of Franco, whose orders it ," , naught and signed I,y six hundred planters and other ud,„l,,.an.s was presented .0 demand Ulloa's ex I smn,"&c &e._Snch being the light under which a I'rench Governor considered this act of the colonists i^ not aston,sh,ng that the Spaniards should have lol "pon ,t as a most hcnous offence, and should have punished it accordingly. Thus was the revolution accomplished. A ponula- tion, which hardly numbered eighteen hundred m™, able to carry .arms, and which had in its bosom sever" thousands ot Wack slaves, whom it was necessary ^ intimidate mto subjection, had rebelled againsl tl7w » of !• ranee, had flung the gauntlet at the .Span's monarchy, and was bearding a powerful notion.wZse .hstinguished trait of character did not consist i, ,1 e forgiveness of injuries, particularly when her piLle was wound,i,l. With regard to France, it was evident tn .t was vam to rely on her support, since it was it consciousness o her weakness which had compel ed her to give up ,l,„t colony, and to offer it to the'Ki„1 of Spain, who did not care fbr it. Ilesidcs, sl3 France have been dispos«l to assist the coloni ts, how could she withdraw the donation she had pressed uZ S>pa.n, without mdemaifying her for her expenses inZ colony, and without ,,u„isliing the authors of an o rage, to which she lad e.xpose.l an ally, whoso soil object, m accepting tl c donation of Lotiisiana, wa to be serviceable to the donor! The colonists I „d fon. since sent to France intelligent men, as delegate "S urge upon the king their wisiies, that the c.Zss on If Louisiana be rescinded; and those delegates, on thel ;; i^ If •II 228 m < a ' ,i» ;, LETTERS OF ITLLOA ON THE REVOLUTIOIV. return, must have informed tliem of tlic true state of tlunss and made it known to tl.em, l>ow fru fes t would be, to endeavor to force France into tl e esu, ,„ t>on o. a provu,ce. which she considered as a burZ and whose expenses she could no longer meet on account of the embarrassed situation of"ler ^ance It .s therefore impossible not to be astonished at seein. one of these delegates engaged in a conspiracy a^aZf the Spaniards, and not to wonder at the temerily If ,Te colon,st«, m atle„,pti„g a revolution, of wMeh t e du-eful consequences to them it «•■,, !>„. .„ foresee. "'"">"« as but too easy to on tne 4th ot December, wrote as follows to the M-ii- qms o Grnnaldi, one of the „,inisters in SpLin : Ihere bemg a rumor, on the 28th of October that IthraTt^l',""""'"' '° "'""^'^ '"^ '-- during' le .hem, in U\l 'ile" m-eTorfoim-rr .t reasurers of his Majesty, as rebels general 7 oct^j' ^ a case ol msurrection, and having been wlrneTni hat they bad resolved to do the sLe " "tl 1 e trng" treasury, where they expected to find a canita of .1 *^ than one hundred thousand dollars, and to a tack 7 fr.ga,e of his Majesty, the KoW,, t„ ^h d, tl v imagined also that there was money and fi, .1 . ^ the,r .ntention was to get hold of^i.cp' e" '^f "" government, and particularly of my corrcsnLd With your Excellency, I retired on Z.ZZmZ" whither I carried along with me all the,„ 1 ^ ' order to keep then, safe'fron. al7da;ter ""'""' '" in.. ?had;ren 'alllr '"'""' ^"-^ °' "'"" '™ "rew- '»„, 1 naa taken all the measures which cirmm^fn^ had perniitted. to put the frigate in a ^latt "^tfrn/e: lETTERS OF «I,LOA ON THE REVOLUTION. 229 attempt of the k.nd had been made on the I,t of November, when I embarked with all mv household hf n I-reneh ship for Havana, in conformity wh the summons wh,cl, had been addressed to me. .l>c m™ i: o'f"'th' ''°"'"''"',' '""" °™' "- ''""t den «,,;„!' " '"'y.P'^'"'"' "■■'"go'ion. «he result of a dcpar uro so precipitate as not to give me time t provide for any thing. " ""^ '" " I briefly related to the Governor of this place what had happened and, in the evening of the .s„ me dav a piopti to do, ,n order to afford assistance lo .h„ •Spanish and French troops in I.ouisianr li". t most I kely to meet the views of his Majesty. Tl " last council was co,„po.,ed of the Governor, of the m1,i , .';ftr;t":rrair'''' ""' "'' '"'"-" "^^^^ and dihculties that may arise, but also to furnish you tt c^^"'', """ "^■"^^■•y "'fo^a'ions to ecu e regaid to the principal chiefs of the rebellion or on other points, for, I an, aware that, in such cat, t Is very important to know well, not o^ly the injure of h„ n-ins to he employed, but also the "^^ime nd , ,e c . cumstances most opportune for their use. Bu those I ' II n 230 LETTERS OF L1.LOA ON THE REVOLUTION. gentlemen were of a different opinion, and it seemed to them that it would be more prudent lor me, to wait for the orders oi his Majesty, to execute what it micrht please him to decide in this affair, and they thought that the interval of four or live months, which it would require to receive the instructions of his Majesty, would not be detrimental to his service. "I therefore yielded to their sentiment, although with reluctance, considering that much time would have been gained, had I followed my first impulse, since it would have been as easy for me to go to Spain as to forward a letter." At the same time, he sent to the Marquis of Grimaldi a despatch containing a relation of the events of the 28th and 29tli of October, and the following observa- tions : '• 1 beg you to recall to your memory a letter, which 1 wrote to you in March, 17GG, a few days after my arrival m New-Orleans, in relation to the character of the inhabitants. What I communicated to you on (he subject, was founded on the preliminary informations which Governor Aubry had given to me, and on a letter which I received from Mr. do Kerlerec, in which he gave me an abstract description of the colony, and pitied me much for having been sent to govern such a country and finally, on what I had experienced myself, during the few days that had elapsed since my coming to this province, as well as on the liberty which the merchants had taken, to present me with a kind of mam esto, containing different articles, on each of which they asked me for a decision, in order that they might frame their measures accordingly. I sent to your Excellency a copy of that memorial, in order that you might know the audacity of the people with whom you would have to deal, who aimed at no less than forcing I LETTERS OF ULLOA OX THE REVOLUTION. 231 llicir sovereign to capitulate with them, and whose expressions, ikr from being respectful and supplicating, were imperious, insolent and threatenin.r. " About three months before the outbreak of the revolution It was known that Mr. de Bienville, the brother of Noyan, and Mr. Masan, the son of the con- p.rator of that name, had gone secretly to Pensacola, through a canal on the plantation of the latter, which communicated with lake Borgne, without its bein. ascertained what was the object of their voyage. About the same time, a Frenchman, who was a stranger m the colony, and who had come to take possession of certain property belonging to his nephews, hen in France and minors, being exasperated at a decree which the Council had rendered against him, under the dictation of Lafrenierc, and witnessing mJ want of power to have done to him such justice as he thought he deserved, assured me that tliere were traitors in the town and that those traitors were persons intrusted with high powers, giving me to understand that they were the very persons who, to-day, make a ligure at the head of the insurrection. " When the insurrection began to manifest itself, the persons who were not participators in it, and whose number was pretty considerable, loudly declared what had been the motive of Bienville and Masan's visit to lensacola, and the conspirators themselves did not hesitate to confess, that these emissaries had gone to solicit the assistance of the English governor general, and to beg him to send troops to support the rebels, after the breaking out of the insurrection. It seems mat the Governor's answer was not favorable. For, the said Governor, having reflected maturely on tliat affair, sent them back, without encouraging their designs. " It IS proper that your Excellency should know that ■n 232 LETTERS OF ULLOA ON THE REVOLUTION. her plans underwent more than one modification, and that one ot them was, as reported, to transform this colony into a republic, under the protection of En-r. land ; but seemg that they could not obtain from her the assistance which they wished for, they came to the determmatiou to rise witho- ^^ and tu trample under toot the orders of their SO' * « * * * * * "Hence the origin of the conspiracy. It is proper that should make you acquainted with the inlerests and the relations of the inhabitants among themselves, m order to give to every one his due. " The commissary Foucault has always kept up a scandalous connection with a certain widow called Pradel, living with or, even when he resided in a d fferent house, and frequently cohabiting with her on a Ncw-Orleans. About the same time when IJienvillc PrndJf"'"". "TT' '"''''^y *° Pensacola, Madam ladel went with Foucault to her plantation, the dwel^ ng house o which is contiguous to the town and the e day On the breaking out of the insurrection, it was pubhcly said that there were in that residence fi-equ n wlT'oth"'"' ""'^ '^"^^"^ '-^^'•^'•"-•^' ^- -'^tions and the other conspirators, and that, after the convivi- ahties were over, these men passed the rest of the night m the garden, where they had their confereL . o tha It IS not doubtful but that the blow was s tuc k irom that quarter. ^'' " ^^1;^ ^f Pt'-^in of the German militia, called Villere me niece of D Arensbourg, who commands at the German Coast. The captain of the Tchoupitou mihtia is an individual named Leiy, who is LafrS I.KTTERS OF CL..OA o» Til,! REVOL„T.ON. 233 loLTf'W "","' "'" ''"'""''' of I-f^^ni^^o are sup. n aM „, ■ ''■'"'" """ "'" "''°l« •'olony is put m^a state o( insurroct.on at the voiec of cue .single people l,e L^l U^o 'Tmrl""!' '"" """T" brothers, of the surname of I ' " '""" '"^ assumed Hitler utrZes in r"^' •"""' '^''''^^^'-''i'' M-<,ir.o he eaiie., uS-:e t^:::;;:^.;- ^^^^^^^ ioauheu, au,l the fourth, Chauvin. Ttese fou c";' 'l.ans were of so low an e.vtrae.ion, and had oh tie" education, that they eould not write, and had come fh of lUrbelN 'r^ """" "" "'"'' "" '^'-'■^ "■"• """■ors " III a letter which I had the honor to write to voiir Excellency, hefore the even, of the rebell o'lVha .nionued you of the precaution which I had taken to en< Mr. Maxent, with fifteen hundred dollarMo ,,w Jk! Germans for the provisions which had been hou'.M ho", them, ,n onh.- ,„ supply the Acadians with Ih™ I eTcT ;;',';;"'""'"'•■' '"" "™""' "---'vcs „f t" picte.xt, that tins j)ayinont would never be nnHe in U,, the day following Maxent's departure, r.afivniere and another individual, named Man uis, sent, eirlv b he morning, Villere and Verret, in pursuit o M It CXISflflir no 0n5r(>r. fl.o^n 1. ^ •..,/' ... ' "^''^' I "! i^vr, these people niight* withdraw iv oni 231 LETTERS OF ULLOA ON THE REVOLUTIOIV. t%<, i the conspimcy, and thus force tlie conspirators to give up their designs. Maxent arrived at the plantation of D'Arcnsbourg, for whom I liad given him a letter, and when he delivered it to that gentleman, he found him so difl'erent from what he expected, that, notwithstandin. At the same time and in the same letters, I informed your Ivxcellency that Lafreniero was considerably in debt— so much so, that the whole of his property could not pay the obligations he had contracted in Franco. De Noyan, his son in law, Vil- lore, Milhet, and the principal chiefs of the conspiracy are in the same position. "It would entirely suit their convenience, that this colony should remain a French possession, that T.afreniere should be the head and the master sjjirit of the Superior Council, by which means, he, Lafreniero, would bo able to defraud his baffled creditors, and to prevent his friends and relations from beinre e court of France, and represented the riskst ^^hK,h the colony ^vas exposed from the senseless mid.it.on of a suhject, wlio pretended to unite in his ner- son all the powers of the ^.overnment ; and he earnestly uisisted on the necessity of removin^r |,i,„ fr,„„ j,,J oftce of Attorney (General, which had been .iven to Inni only or a lunited time. If the court of France did not comp y with his representations, it is because, the cession of Louisiana having, been made, it was deemed cxped.ent to leave it to Spain, to act on the reforms which micrht be thouprosont : That this slow proccod.iicr has „o tciulcncy to prochico tr.-.n(,uilhtv and jrcM.oral satisfaction ; that dovotcdly ohcdinit to iho orders of his most Christian Majesty, the colonists chor.sh and .-evero all that hears such a character; hut that th(.y hold m utter detestation all that can mnvvUi- ate to tl.e.r eye the in,a;ro of the Spanish authority and ho traces o the administration, which Ulloa presen((.d to hem under so threatenin^r ,u. aspect, well seconded as he was, by a I those to whom he had dcle^r,u.d the slightest particle of the powers he assumed ; that the petitioners have lately received sad news, in relation to those who have exercised those illegal powers ; that the morchants, Kivard and Berard, who were ^oing to c Ihnois, have been forced to land at the Ailan.S.s, no' tohear any lonj^er the insuhing langua.re, in which a certain Catalan, named Chouriac, whT, ^^;s sent by the Spaniards to the Illinois, as storekeeper and commi.4rv expressed himself towards the Fn-nch nation; that Pic"r' nas the command-r of the Spanish troops, when .roiuff with said C hounac to the Illinois district, to assume it government, had met, at the Econ.s d Marmot, a boat which was coming down ; that said i'iernas and Chouriac stopped her, and pressed out of her two rowers to in crease their own crew, by threatening to fire at the boat With their swivel gun if they were not obeyed, and to put in chains the nine men who manned her; that not Avithstanding they could spare no one out of their small number, yet they drew lots to ascertain which of them would embark in the Spanish boat, in which they had nothing to expect but ill usage ; that having attenipted to stipulate for their wages, the said Chouriac told them that they must go to work for the service of the Kincr without further discussion. ^ " The petitioners beg leave to state in addition, that M- PETITION OF THE COLONISTS. this circumstance recalls to mind another, which is not a less powerful demonstration of the evident tyranny already exercised hy the officers acting under the com-' mand of Mr. Ulloa ; that these facts are related such as they happened, without the least passion or rancor- and the petitioners ardently wish that the pure spirit of truth which guides their pen, may open the eyes of some had citizens, if, unfortunately, there should he any amoncr them, whose base and venal souls should still be waverinS between the choice of liberty or slavery. Thus the petitioners represent, that Mr. Chamard departed last year in his boat for the Illinois; that having stopped at Natchez, Mr. Piernas, the Spanish commander at that place, addressed one of the passengers on board Clia- mard's boat, and asked him for provisic is, as he feared that ho would soon be in need of them ; that this pas- senger answered that some might easily be procured at Pointe Coupee or elsewhere, adding that the boats bound from New Orleans to the Illinois, flir from beino- able to sell their provisions, were obliged to purchase some for their own use at all the postd estabhshed on the banks of the river; that Mr. Piernas having retired the men of the boat thought they had done with him' and that they were pushing from the shore, when sud- denly Mr. Piernas had a piece of artillery loaded, to fire at the boat, if she dared to leave the landing, and caused the alarum bell to be tolled, (the ordinary signal to take up arms,) collected his troops, and ordered Mr. de La- villebeuvre to put himself at their head ; that this officer notwithstanding the strong reluctance which he felt, was obliged to obey, and the provisions had to be delivered up to Piernas ; that there never was a specimen of more complete vexation and of better circumstantiated vio- lence ; that the natural inference is, that they the colonists, must be looked upon by the Spaniards as' aal- FOjrCAULT's DESPATCHES. 241 ley slaves ; finally, that the haughty temper and tyran- nical pretensions of that self styled officer of his Catiiolic Majesty cannot but be the cause of unbounded indieua- tjon. ° " The petitioners further represent, in their aforesaid capacities and character, that it falls within the province of the court to apply the remedy to the evil which they expose, and they do not hesitate to say, that the con- tinuance of these vexations would convert the colony into a desert. -^ "Therefore they beg the Council to solicit from Mr. Aubry's sense of justice, that he should invite the captain of the Spanish frigate, the Volante, to hasten his departure, in the interest of public tranquillity." The Superior Council, on the conclusions of the at- torney general, who supported the petition, rendered a deci-ee m conformity with the prayer of the petitioners. Un the 23d of December, Foucault, continuing the part which he had so long been playing, of secretly in- stigating insurrection and ofopenly disclaiming all par- ticipation in it— nay-of apparently opposing the mea- sures which he had provoked by underhand suggestions, wrote to his government : " On the 9th inst. (December, 1708) the syndics of the j)lantcrs, merchants and inhabitants of this colony handed to me a petition addressed by them, in their ofhcial capacity, to the Superior Council, begging that the frigate of the King of Spain, which is moored at the quay of the town, together with the officers and other persons having titles or brevets from his Catholic Ma- jesty, or commissions from Mr. Ulloa, the same having come with him or in other Spanish vessels, be compelled to withdraw from this colony, within the shortest pos- sible delay. I was aware of the vexations which had given rise to this demand, and they were so iniquitous, 16 1 I 1 •i 1 1 ■1 i . 1 u . !r I 242 FOUCAULT'S DESPATCHES. t int I could not help blaniirifr inwardly capfniii Vwrm^ llie Spanish conunandor at Natchez, and Chouriac, Avhoni Ulioa had s(r of sailors, workmen, or whatever other things he mi.d.t deem necessary to have, in order to enable him to m.it the colony. I complied with the wishes of the Council foii(,aiii,t's niisPATnins. 243 on thiY"I..ioct „„,witl,„„,„lins H.i' r,.|„cl„„co whicl, r born„«. ,v„h r,.s„nl ,„ ,,r„visio„, ,„„| „,|K.r ™,„ m" i ""' "--'1""R»I"'^ 1 I co„l, |„„„ „nn .l,n Kin -s ,; -rn,, n„no«.,f, ,.„,„,„ „r,l„- rop.rt c,f,l,. conn , Z f 3':'';''" , '.V ""'«. i.i -■onConnilv will, ,l,o ,.,'^™ winch 1„. n„lrc.»,.,l ,o Mr. Anh,,-, nn,! ,l„.y s ,„ll ,o o, .■n|>„..) I,y ,l„. hVcnch, un.il „n receive ,1,,. or,l v^," , wo have „s ...1 for. Wc h„vc hccu for „, n,™ , „ o, f •■*'"" "I III" "'"«» .It the Itnliz,.. Mr. Anhrv ncl n rir :|v. sen, Mr. An.lry, ™b.e„«ineer, ,o ,lo L f ^ !">< ( atholic Mnjerty, „|,o c„,n,nan.l ,■„ ,|,ese ph,ce» ,„ "•"I '«"k,: an „,ven,ory of nil ,he nrtillery, provi n " n.n,n,„„„on, „,erchnn,iise .^„,l cIi.t effi.cis l„,re I I ! I'"... , .1, concert with tho,,c eo,n,„nn,li„« ollic-rs d .he s„rel<,.eper.,, to receive ,|„. ,vho|,. „„; |,|, cn.„o X =in"-i * to e„,| |,,re ,>„ acconnt of the s„,„|| ,n„nher of them tfiiil arc Merc." »'mu I'oucanlt conchHles with saying, ,|,at all the Sp.nniar.l, nre ,v,th,ir|,w,ng lro,n the other posts, and that s nsree,! w„h then, thnt, alter ,h„ o vent' „f „„"^ , :. Octoher, he e.pe„se.s of the colony sholl, noverthele,, hcsnp,,orte.l l,y the King of Sp, ,, ;„ „„ , 'J "^^ Oecc her next „,c ,„vely, and that the acconnt .,h,d l)c sottlcd accordingly. This dospatcli is anotlicr [)roof of tho !7l!S0?'.n!)j'^ 244 foucault's despatches. .,,vi •* shuffling, to which Foucault resorted in oil those trans- actions. Ilis plan had been to show himself, in his official acts, as favorable to the insurgents as he possibly could, and to encourage them as far as he could go, without committing himself too much in the eye of the French and Spanish governments. Thus, he had affected to oppose the expulsion of the frigate and of the Spanish officers, and at tlie same time, he had recommended to suspend from their functions any of these very same officers who might be deemed guilty of an abuse of power. Yet to a man of his intelligence this dilemma must certainly have presented itself: the colony was either a Spanish, or a French province. If French, the colonists had the right, not only to prevent the Spanish officers from exercising their usurped functions, but also to expel them altogether, as intruders and trespassers. On the other hand, if Louisiana was a Spanish pos- session, and if, as Foucault maintained, th^ officers of his Catholic Majesty could not be driven away, whence did the colonists derive their authority, save from the right of revolution, to suspend them from their func- tions, on the plea of abuses of power ? Whence the right assumed by Foucault, on behalf of the colonists, to account for so high handed a measure, not to the King of Spain, their new master, but to the late one, the King of France ? These inconsistencies evidently proceeded from his desire to steer his bark safely between two opposite shoals. On the very day when Foucault was writing the preceding despatch, Aubry, whose mind was sufficiently enlightened, and whose judgment was sufficiently calm, to foresee the fatal consequences of what had happened' in Louisiana, and therefore whose anxieties were inces- santly growing, communicated to the Minister his reflections on the revolution which he had witnessed. AllBRv's DESPATCHES. 245 He wrote : " I find myself under the sad necessity nf fiener"| lTw„- """' ^"^r"^ '"""y- The attorney mi. de Ulloa committed several faults l„,i „.., underwenl. '"""" '"^ ''«'"™"* -'"<=" he !^ho.lld this revolution produce no chansre in the to TL ^'"""' '"■°"™'"S P""l™ ""d oHivion, save to a few who are guilty, and whom it is abso „te v .~'wdl Pr''%«-W-. i' i^ probable- th*'tt rhey'sirallTl't^r^ofr^;.*^ '^"»*'" *" " It IS much to be desired that t'he officer who mav .h /:: „'' 1 "'uf" ^^^J"^'^' '° '^'" PO--ion o'f f Mr " ruilo ":", T "r ""^™^"y q-lifications. 1 ivir.de Ulloa had been of a milder and more com Plaisan. disposition, the colony would long a^" ,Z" hocome Spamsh , all would have remained nult a"d we should not he in the situation in which we are no v l^n'::izz '■""• "'"•• ""' '"' '-' '■" -"'^ i-™ uctn sent away two yoars nsro. "It is desirable that, for some time, vessels Jrom the Islands. It ,s the greatest benefit thnf his 'i I 24G aubky's despatches. Catholic Majesty could coiircr on the inhabitants of Louisiana. " Should the province remain to France, its inhabit- ants would be transported with joy. It would be the most agreeable news they could receive, as they gene- rally have French hearts. But I am certain that, at prcs(>nt, tiiey would prefer passing under the English domination than the Spai.ish, unless his Catholic Majesty should be disposed to grant them some pri- vileges and advantages, to induce them to live under his flag. Ulloa's too great severity has frightened them, and they fear to be governed as despotically as the' Mexicans. " VV ith a million a year, France could keep up here a sufficient force to support the administration of this possession, and to make to the Indians the necessary presents, and she would preserve a colony, where a great attachment is felt for lier, and whose commerce may be very advantageous." It must be observed that Aubry denounced to his government a dozen of Jlrvhrunds, who hod become the masters of the countri/, and whom it was absolute/i/ necessary to punish; and declared that the honest administration of jusiiee was trampled under foot by the Superior Council. If such were the sentiments oi" a Frenchman, whose prejudices and feelings must have been enlisted 111 favor of his countrymen, if such was the language of the chief of the colony, when addressing his "own government, what nnist have been the impressions of the Spaniards, and is it to be wondered that they subse- (jucntly pursued the course wliicli I shall have to describe ! When IJlloa arrived at Havana, he found in that city ' eight hundred trooj)s, that were preparing to couk; to New-Orleans, with Urissa, late consul of Spain at Bar- n ) COUNCIL OF MINISTEKS IN SPAIN. 347 o..n ,„ com ,„ Louisiana, l,a,l arrived 72^ iu'' I'l-y that there wonhl have l,een no revoLbr' „ ™ l.ou,K ...formed of the trcat.uent inflieta " ' U oa' Umsa determined to return to Europe. "' bpa.n u, forty days, and a cahinet council was l.eld o.. thosuhjcct, to .letenniue. whether Spain oud.li Lughsi,,or leave ,t „, ,l,c hands of Franco. The com cil M„; ' ""•'""" ''■■'«»'•.» Muniain, Don Mi-uel de Muz<|,uz, the Count of Aranda, the baron Don Julia, de A.-na,,a and the Mar,„us of Sau .Ju.au do PiedrafA Iba" I was on the 1 1,1, of February, 17(i9, that the M™I: Ultuts relative to what had occurred in I,ouisi-,n-i request,,,, then, ,o give, individually, thei, s ,anUe omnon ,n wr,„„g. On the 5,1, of March, the D k of r^tCo ",|, T""™;' -=l--'--«ic opinion. It"b a s inc stamp ot the hereditary temper of tlie men of ti.nt i»!iusl,ty and inflexible hou/e. ""^ " 1 nm of opinion that the Kin--'., o (iucu.irbL' |)or du lu Fraiicia. V. 248 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. wt ■*■ " That his Majesty should choose a man of intelH- gence and energy, and send him with the necessary forces to subject those people, and, at the same time, with all the powers to cure such disorders, by strikine them at the root. " That the form of the government in the colony be radically changed, in order to leave no means within the reach of the malice or audacity of those people, to attempt other revolutions. " That all the members of the Superior Council there existing, and the deputies of the commerce of Bor- deaux, be immediately transported to Europe, and also every other person that may be suspected. " And, taking into consideration that, from the pos- session of that colony, it does not seem that any other advantage ^an be derived, than that of determiniiiff incontestable hmits between the neighboring powers, I am of opinion that it be reduced within very narro'w bounds, in order that its administration should cost the King as little as possible. " But finally, what, to my judgment, appears to be of more importance than all the rest, is that it be seen throughout the world, and particularly in America, that the King knows and is able to repress any attempt whatever, derogatory to the respect due to the royal majesty."* *^ Don .Jaime Masones de Lima, Don Mifruel de Muzquiz, and Don Julian de Arriaga gave their opinions on the 21st of March. Don Jaime Masones de Lima said : " Having examined the documents submitted to my consideration, it seems to me that it would be proper * Lo que cnfin importa mas que to,lo, d mi parocer, es que se voa en el mundo y en America eBpecialmente, que el Key sabe y puecJe reprimir cualquicra intento contrano .11 respeto que se debe d la Majestad COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. 249 to retain possession of tiiat colony, considering lliat the river Mississippi fornifi an already established line of demarcation between the possession of the French and of the English. I have only to add that this advantage, which IS the only one I can conceive, is not counter- balanced by the inconveniences which I foresee, as being likely to result, in the future, from retainincr pos- session of that colony. " " One of them is, that the colony is entirely inhabited by Frenchmen, who are oi)enly inimical to our govern- ment, and who are supported by the partiality of their countrymen in France ; that there is no fortified place m It (presidio) and that the quality of the soil docs not admit of such works, the want of which would require a larger number of troops, to keep the colonists in sub- jection. Such being the case, it is proper to consider whether the expenses of retaining that possession, arc not liable to exceed the damages which we may suffer Irom Its contraband trade, should it be in other hands. " The Count of Fucntes, in the letter which was read to the council of ministers, treats this question with sufficient precision and details, and in a manner which did not fail to produce much impression on my mind. "But I further say that, in case my opinion should not prevail, on the policy of our retaining that colonial possession, and in case, for the reasons given by the Count of Fuentes, and for the inconveniences I have pointed out, his Majesty sh ,uld be inclined to leave it in the hands of Frnnce, then, the better to provide for the future, I recommend a ^:ipulation by which it should be understood, that France shall ncAcr cede that pro- vince, either to the English or to the colonists them- selves, without the consent of Spain, reservin^r its reversion to us, whenever France shall feel disposed to part with it. l;!| ■i 'I '■: 250 COUNCIL OF MIMSTERS m SPAIN. Ml„,,, as tlus snbjoc. ,. so,«ewl,a. conn.cte.I «i,|, Z o llMt <,„l„„y „ecor,l,„g to my „pi„i„„, j e„ ,si,l,.,- tm most severe »„d r.gorous ,,unisl„„e„i, on aecount of K c,rc,.,„st,.„ce., „l,ich aceon,,,,,„ie,l ts comtn™ „n iiic iv.ns and to lus sul>jects, it remains not tlio less in o. ■■ajre a;;a,nst the Majesty of the .nost Chri ia„ K ,"" l.eea„.se, so ar as we are eoneeraed, tl,e eolo i,"s 1 » ' "« bclore then, no „tl,..r doet.ment l,a,. tl'e "." tf ce ' .on n,ade by Ids ,„„s, Christian Majesty, de^s"^' 0-. CrSnperiorCouneil, an.l ,„„il „o , S.ir , ,' rovil"",'; ■'"''''" "'' "''^™ ^"''""" l'"«-'-" i" o bf o^n,ee, the eorreet eonslruetion to be nut on vim iV t Int .L •' ""' "',"" "'"°"S "«• «"t. <="nsider. "g that the eol„n,sts declare themselves to be tile sub jocts of his most Christiaji Miinstv ti, .i "''""-*""- (heir cnhribll;.,- „ J"''.C'I>. tlioy thus increase plead their ignorance of the treaty of eession. «.t, Mbatcver be tiic means that «e may emnlov^^ obtain satisfaction for so enormons an oilence i Z'u d ''nrr 'so";;,r f"'" ™""' '- - "■'•''■-""'-«: p. hn'iont.M'.^ J" ""'"■'"" ''" '^"'"^"""■ce in the imshmont of that oHence, we shall avoid that aiiv mi litary operation, to which we might proceed l^o™.' P ., >^ COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. 251 selves bo accused of b.ing unjust, by those who con- sider tlie question of poss(,ssion as doubtful, and who would ar^uo that we enforce, our authority, without havn,g previously established our sovereignty, because we never uuule apparent and publicly known to the colonists, by any act of notoriety, the new obli^nition of assalnge to w nch they were subjected, by virtue of tlie cession made by his most Christian Majesty. 1 his IS all that my poor abilities venture to su^^cst o t,, K„ ^,,,^,,. j,,^^^ , .^ ^ resolve that nay be most a^n-eeablc to his royal breast, as the de- ernnnation which he will take, will certainly be the best lor the occasion." ^ So much for the very considerate and courtier-like opinion of Don Jaime Masones de Lima. Now comes lJon.Juan de Arria^ra. " From the moment, said he, that France oflercd to cede Louisiana, it seemed opportune to me to take her, not because it mioht be a profitable possession to us in a pecuniary point of view, but because of the advantaoe which we obtain, of securing- indisputable limits between "-S and ihe Lnolish, who never stand in need of some pretext or other to overstep them, without any open and avowed act of transgression. ' "For the same reason, I persist in my fornuT opinion ; Hit I ecommend that proper precautions be taken in tlic establishment ot the government of that colony, not only on account of what occurred recently, as on account ot the informations we have acquired on the composi- ion ofthat population, which, as Ulloa says in one of ns despatches, is made up of all sorts of people, without calty, witJiout law a.d without religioii. It is there lore evident that, unless we cut off and remove the most conspicuous and most vitiated portion of tiiat popula- tion, and unless we establish for the rest new rules of ,1 I I ! ,i ■i ,1 I 4 M'\n 252 COirNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. govprnmont, not only with regard to the pohtical, but also tlie religions organization of that colony, we can- not, with any security, rely on that possession, except it be through force, and with the aid of iroops to bring those people to submission; the consequences of which measures would be our going into enormous expenses, an-l our being in a state of constant suspicion and anxi(>ty. '' The examination of the means to be employed re- quires the most serious reflection, and calls for the most detailed information from Ulloa, because the points which it is necessary to regulate are numerous. One of the first to be taken into consideration, is the number of troops to bo sent there, and the expenses it will put us to, in order to restrict them within what can be sup- I)lie(l out of the royal revenue and treasury of Mexico ; and although it is not to be ho|)ed that the commerce of that colony can be of any advantage to his majesty, nevertheless, it is necessary to determine by whom and how it is to be carried on, it being important that there be no failure in that j)art of it which is relative to the Indians, with whom we must, by all means, keep on terms of amity." As to the Marquis of San Juan de Picdras Albas, he said : " I think that it is of extreme importance for Spain, to retain under her domination that part of the colony of Louisiana which was ceded by France, not only be- cause it IS a valuable barrier and a means of protection for the provinces of New Spain and the Mexican Gulf, but also for the other reasons which were given verbally in the cabinet council, ahU which have convinced me in the most eftcctivc manner, that, taking into considera- tion the position of Louisiana, in no other hands than in ours can that colony, for the present and for the COUNCIL OF MINLSTEUS IN SPAIN. •wOo future, be as inij)ortant and usoful to Sj)aiu ; and, under tlio circuuistancos in which we arc placed, siipposinir that France persists, as she does beyond a doubt, i[i her disposition to ratify her voluntary donation to Spain, and is prepared, (considerin5(i fOUNtIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. *yi ^ I to c«'dc it to the Kn«rlisli, wlioin it isuits exceedingly, and would use it so jis lo obtain better terms for peace. " I can easily iniauine tbe costs of fittinjr out the proper e.\|)edition, to retake possc^ssion of Louisiana, as well as to keep her for tli(> future, and also the doubts wliieli presiMit llieinselves, wlietlier, in the projrnss of time, tlie profits which mijjrht be deprived from that colony, would compensate for the immediate expenses to be incurred, or, at least, in(>et thos(> that would be rcijuired annually. Mut all these reasons, individually and collectively, cannot counterbalances in my hnhr- luent, thos(> which militate on the other side, consi- (hM-iuij; that the keepinh exjjensive, is necessary to |)res(u-ve our principal domi- ni(ms. "Of what imi)ortance to us is it, that tla; l''r(>nch should retain their known limits with re I'hiolish, w hen such not bein;L;' the case on tln^ side of our territories, it will be left to their own i)l(>asure, on their retakinepinhbower mii>ht recognize no barriers to his own encroachments upon our possessions. 'J'hus, for the very reason that there are no established limits between Louisiana and Mexico, the present rebels would, if (h(>y w(>r«> per- mitted to remain so, have a |)r(>te\t for claimin<>- an arbitrary extension of t(>rrit()ry, and, besides the dis- putes to which it would give rise, it would put us under the neci'ssity of going to the expense of establishing a new cordon. " It seems to nic, therefore, that the best policy is to III* COUNCIL OF MIMSTKKS IN SPAIN. 257 roposso,» „„r,„:v,,s „f N„w-Orlo„„.s with suffiri™, fo cos to pnn.<.„t thn ,,o>-„il,ility of „„y .lis.n.co t |^ K,„K »„,„«; to «|,cl (■„„„ „,„ colony alT those X, v.cr,. the cauHc, „1 tho l„t. ,ro„|,l,.>., conli,«.ti„„ t ° roporty as a ,„„„»h,„.„l for thdr r,.|„.|li„„ ; to"o ,! .t „l tho.. who „ro i„„oc.„,, l„,t wl,o ,„„;„„ chooHo t., s„l„„,t ,l„.,„„„|v„„ t„ t|,„ „„, ,,„ jyl .r,u,s|,ort,.,l o |.-n,„c., or wh.ro th.y |,lo,,so ; to ■ d /•"""'^'^."'-l'"P"lmi""whichiston,loh,,to ;;•"""•>■ ' " I.'";"' '•■>'• < •.•«.^"<, that |,o|,„|a, th. .x,„„t wh„.,h w,IM,o «uni.-,„„t to l<„ .,,' „„, ,1 ^, ' m ■•no,,. o( .„hiva,io„ ,o „„-,l»>[ ii,.„(s „f i,is „,„|,,,|.. "■"!.'"■ Ilie l""-|."«ii of n,.l ... y as |„,.,.„l.h, to c»,„hhsh all alon, those otio '."Khsh n d,an, ol posts, at res..lar intervals of thirty "'lies, or at the most inip.irlani points. ^ "J «... also of opinion that wo o„«ht not to have in N.nv-Orleans more than one small fort, to kcM. the lH..ple ... snl,,,.,.,,ion, a,,,! ,o canse the flag of hi« Majesty to I.e r,.spe,.,e,l, i,, ea.se any insnit tolt shonld ''" "."'. s,.rve to .-arry on fnrlher .fosigns' against Me.Mco, an,l o„r othcT .lo.nains in that part of Ante- "What is also (>r i,np.)rlanc(., is to i„^M-a(iafo our- selves with those mvrrnt In.ha,. nations that are on bad tonus w.th the ICn^hsh, heca..se, hy Ihnu-nting host.hties on th(, part of th<.se Indians, uc' shall kee^ 17 ^ if ni 258 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. I I f' 'i the northern estabhsliments of the English in a state of alarm, and by this means, oblige them to retain there all their forces, because, siiould they dare to do other- wise, the Indians I have spoken of, being on their shoulders, would immediately devastate their territories bj their irruptions." On the 24th, Don Miguel de Muzquiz delivered his written opinion in these terms : " I find inconveniences in leaving Louisiana to the French, but still greater ones, and more certain, in its being retained by Spain. " From the moment that the French made their first settlements in that country, they have been, to the present time, imagining more than one project to approach the provinces of Texas and New-Mexico, and they have not been able to execute their plans, not 'only on account of the distances to be overcome, but also because they never could gain the good will of the Indians, and because they had to watch the proceedings of their English neighbors. These same obstacles still subsist for the French and preserve us from the threatened danger of their penetrating into Texas and New Mexico. " The French have long been in possession of that province, where they are accustomed to enjoy a free dom as to their persons and as to their commerce, which our laws do not admit of; but they are obliged to suffer and tolerate the excesses which are committed by the Indians, and as these savages prefer a state of war to any other, and as they are armed, they can make sudden and fatal attacks. "The navigation of the Mississippi is common both to the Irench and to the English, and, although their respective territorial limits are determined, it will be impossible for them to avoid having disputes arising COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. 259 Lou... .. ,.., ir^::\:!iz::^z^: inui.iiis because tliov woiiM 1,^1- tu^ not conceive that tJie object to h^ ..tJ- i ^ ^^ cost. •' ^ iitta.ned is worth the " it is true that the Frcnrh will i...., • Gulf of Mexico, under hei, 0^^^ ^^''' '''"'''' '"*« the and will be ab le T ' ^ ""^^"'"^ ^^ ^0"'«'^ina, ^0*. .,t: tl Lsr.: — "in- ^"'' were Louisiana ours, it does ,„f ^ , *""'' ''™" would entaiTl,,", T '"" P"^^«^^'»» °f "-' -lin, tliousaud dollars, put our'oUes „ Ir.t "" ''""''""^ incrcHing the uu'u.ber 7our oleT, t ■'"'"''''^ "'' caus.es of difKculties „it|, the fe A T'"""' cncouuter nuu.erous obstacles in hi 1 ''■'™ '° that possession. " '"''°">'«fation of provlnee" nd^'ir' "" '''°"'" ''"™ •" -""--co that mer«ca tmito g Jto. '^""''- '*'''J"™' '"'I"- "" ^oncibo que el objeto 2G0 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. 11' ^^ defence of more essential points ; so that, weakened as we are at present, by the necessity of providing for so many scattered posts in America, we should Increase our weakness by putting ourselves to the charge of maintaining and defending Louisiana, whilst, leaving her to the French, it is probable that they would protect her against the English better than we can do. " For these reasons and others to be deduced from them, my opinion is, that it is proper for the crown to abandon T ouisiana to the French. It remains to be examined, whether the King can do so, without any forfeit of honor. Ulloa took possession of the govern- ment of the colony, only ad interim, so that said act may be considered as merely preparatory to the solemn formality of a final taking of possession, by the officers and troops he was waiting for ; and thus, according to my judgment, the offence is common to the "two crowns, and should Louisiana remain in the hands of France, it would become her sense of self dignity, not to suffer to go unpunished those who have disobeyed the orders of her king." On the 31st (March), Don Juan Gregorio Muniain closed the consultation with the following concise opinion : " The situation of the colony of New-Orleans which with its limits, extends itself all along the right bank of the Mississippi, as far as the unknown mountains, many leagues beyond its meeting with the Missouri, secures the following advantages : " r.— It establishes between New-Mexico and the territories ceded to England invariable limits, such as the course of a river which preserves its name from its source to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. " 2°.— By giving to that colony the same uniform COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN SPAIN. 261 system Of government Which has been imposed on all our American provinces, and by keeping in active service at the port of New-Orleans a small and light Irigate, we shall repress the commercial frauds which are meditated against us from Florida, and put a stop to the contraband trade. ^ « :r.—By encouraging the cultivation of wheat, and other grams and plants, we shall promote a trade in flom and vegetables, of extreme utility to Havana Puerto-Rico and the o acr Islands. ' " 4°.-It seems to me that the expenses attendinroved of the conclusions to which had come the council of ministers, not only on account of the reasons by them expressed, but also on considering that, if what had occurred in Louisiana remained unt punished, this bad example might have a fatal influence over our other American possessions, and even over those of the other powers, in which a spirit of sedition and mdependence ^as begun to spread, as it appears by what lately happened to the French themselves in the Island of St. Domingo. His Majesty concluded also, that from his being essentially in possession of Louisiana in 1^ ' «RIMALDI'S LKTTRR TO FUENTES. 263 Virtue of a very legitimate title, altiiough it is not com- pleted by the ceremony of taking possession, that colony was to be reputed a province of the crown, and its in- habitants, his subjects ; from which it resulted that it appertained to his Majesty alone, to recover that pos- session, and to punish the temerity of the colonists, and the offence of which they have been guilty towards his government and his people. His Majesty thought also, that It was necessary that it be seen throughout the world, that he knew and was able, without the assistance of any foreign power, to repress the audacity of sedition, and all designs whatever, derogatory to the respect due to his dignity and to his crown. In accordance with these principles, his Majesty lu.s resolved to use force to reduce the rebels to submission, and has ordered that the necessary measures to that effect be taken without delay. " Don Alexandro O'Reilly, Inspector and Lieutenant general of the royal armies, had already been dcsicr„atcd by the King to repair to Havana and to other ci'ties in New-Spain, in order to review the troops and militia, and It seemed to his Majesty that this officer could at the same time be intrusted with the expedition against Louisiana. Consequently, being f)rdered to hasten his departure, O'Reilly immediately went to Cadix, where lie found a frigate which had been prepared for him. He embarked, and he must be, at present, near the Is- land of Cuba. He has drawn none of his means of operation from Cadix, because it was thought proper to conceal the object of his commission. To that effect, he received an ostensible order, which treated of nothing else than of inspection and general review, but he well knew that he would find at Havana all of which he stood in need. The instruction given to him was, to take at that place the battalions of infantry, the ammunition 2G4 iJIUMALDl's LKTTER TO FlfENTKN. 'i III aiu! the other luatorinh wliich ho ini^rht dcoin nccoa- sai>,to transport l-i.k.hI (o r.ouisinna, iind, alkr havii.^r taken posses.^;, M of !.,;• :„ th(; name of his MajeHly, to have the heads of the rebolhon tried and punished ac cordMired O'Keilly to be informed that his will is, that a lenient course b(> i)ursued in the colony, and that (wpulsion from it be the only punish- ment inflicted on those who have deserved a more severe one. " I could have informed you sooner of all this, but, as you wdl not have to act in the matter, because the King has assumed to take satisfaction himself for the otl'enco committed by the inhabitants of the colony, we judged that it would be useless to send you, by the ordinary courier, the great mass of papers wiiich would be neces- sary, to make you acquainted with all that had occurred. I had also thought of transmitting to you, with these GRIMALDI'S MiTTKK TO Fl lOIVTEN. ^05 clocu.nontH, tlu. Mcnoria' or Muninnto published by tho - .ab.uu.t. of Lo.us,una. lUa I .n ...sun, with the ch,c.-ec oSupc...- Com^^^ I .lo ..ot th.Mk rhat I aui at 'xrly o couceal b„,u you, Sir, that, uh.... the Kiu.r was ...adc. awa.v ol ,.e i,.sol.>ut language of tiuit ilocu- ' ' ri ''" T y """«"""^ ""•' •l''-^t i'i.^ indi^M.at.ou v.. ,.ot less. wlu... he was iulor.ued Ihat the a,.thors of tl'a .,.ei„o.-,al had .u)t (u.ly sueeeeded .„ u.akiu.r Jt Pnl.hr, but als<, h.id caused to be i.,se,-teu in diirere..t i'^nropeau ^ra/,.,tes, uuder th. head of a 7V/.s ,,;•/.•/,. a crrta... co.upoMt.oii in which our ^rovernn.ent a..d nation W( .•(. rep..ese..led nn.hu- 1 e blaclu-st colo.-s. T.ic cntoo y><' caused f. be punished the audac.ty of reprintin^r and republisln.i.r ,„ Spain injur.ous writh.gs to the gov<.r..n,ent of his ...ost ( hristian' Majesty and to tla^ , rench nation. IJis Ma)."sty thou.rht that we must not rc.nain contented with the int.n.Stc ^ ^mk '«Mi(» (UtlMAI.I)lN IJITTKIl TO Firi:NTi:N. imioii wliicli Mrids tlu« Iwo moiuirclis mikI (lie Iwo miiiiMt««rs, hut lli.il wv iiiiist imikf il cmln-jicr Mir Iwo iiiKioiis, iiiid he \» corlaiii (lint writings ultliiM kind \\\\\ not pn.diicf Hiich itsiiIIm. \'oiir IvvccIIcik y knows very wril Ihiit Ihr loss of o;n>jit iiifcr.'sls is looked upon in Spain with iiKlillririuM', hut (hut it is not so with irunnj to insiills and i-onlunu'lics. " As soon as w(< nccivcd the saiti inanili'sto of the colonists, it was (h'trrniiiH-d that Mr. d(- Tlloa should answer the fahk's and th(> (>\ad to for- ward to you. Tlu'se two dojMinuMits will demouslrale to you, that tlu> true ohjeet of the inhahitants of the colony, and particularly of the heads of th<' S(>(lilion, was to live in the most absolute independence, wilhout laws, without police and without onh'r, ami that th(> Kiiim, at all future lime, with kimliu>ss, and to favor them with marks of pnMlilec- tioii and with a <,M-anl of liberty, far dilfeniit from those which his otli(>r American colonies have been |)ermille(l to cujoy, whatever may be their merit, and whatt'ver services they may hav** rendered to the metro|>olis. *' You will ";i;"'-<"»Mu.|v...«. Only, i,Ml„. I.,,,.,- ,snl,Hrn„.n.ly wnl.;nto.V1.|)vvi,|.,.,,,.,,,,,,,,.,,^ .".s.m.a ., ,o ,ho Km. Ins rousir. Ihh rsin.:iaUou. Jt ..H(ml,olM. \1a,rsly wonl.l nninlnin (I.,, ini.ahilanls in I'- <-"jo.y,„n,t <,r ih.ir |„.iv,|<..,.s. This is wl.a. (ho IM..^' was .vHolvod ..|u>„, a„,| h,. j,,,,! ,.,«.„ iss„r.l „n|,.,H '"•'^'»nl'"«ly, h.it saal irihahiCnls l,;,vo nndo lh<..„solv..s umunWiy ol ihi.s liivor hy their rch,.|lio,i '7'"r '' ""' •'•'*' ^''"■'^ ' ''••'^" •'» '•'• 'SI >•"„ to atlond <"' '>'• ""• |»n>s,.nt ; for aitho,,.!, ll„. ( ia/.otio of |-Vanco* <»«'Kl.l, as a n.att.M- of .-oars,., ,o h.-.vo disavowod tho art.rl. n.sortod in soa.o of tho |,,,,,n-s of ,ho f.ow <.UMtruvsnnd.Tth.Ua.Mlo(/V/,.AV,^^^^^ »«• H I'ttlo to«» lato to d,> so, and i( w,>Ml,l,u,r iM.ro.no US loH<,|uMtH„cl,alhin^r. Wo hav,. ro„t,M.t..d o,.rsolv,.s w.fh wnl.n^r to Vi<.,ma and Holland, to havo tho n.nody ii|)|)h('d to th,> (.yil." ^ ;'''"' '>'•' l"'>vs,„„n, and |,artionIarly in this phras,.: 1 our h.vnUrnr,i h„n,rs rrn/ ircll timf Ihr loss of nrait mlrrrsfs ,s loohul upon i„ Sj,ain will, indiprrn,rj>u7 (l>a( // /.v nofso w,fh rr.ard to insults and rontumdivsr As an <'X|Mvss,on of r<.,.|in^rs and sontin.(-nts, a.s an o.xhil.ition <> <-<>'<« '".d sohMnn n.;.i(>sty, this doonn.ont is as <"l''"««-tonsl,c, n. its way, of tho Spanish nation, as tho uwo inspn-niir .ra..d.-nr(,rthat a.rhitcrlnral wonder, tl... well known pal.icc; of th(> Ivsninal. Wliil,> (!„. rat(! of [.onisiana was thns discussed and settled n. Span., that e<.lony had resn.ncMl a e(Mlain dc^n-oe ol apj.areiil tran(|nillity, l.nl it is to ho (luostioncd * 'J'lio ofliciiil jourii;il. MPTOMS OF REACTION. whether it was not as much the torpor occasioned by fear, as the calm which betokens true repose and a sense of security. Now that the revolution had been accomplished, its results could be measured with more accuracy. Now that the storm was hushed, that the angry waves were smoothed into a liquid plain, it was easy to discover if any thing was left floating on its surface to inspire hope. Now that the excitement of action liad given way to the considerate workings of reflection, there was ample leisure to examine the extent and nature of the dangers which had been brooding, and which many thought they saw rising up like black clouds on the verge of the horiijon. What would France do ? What would Spain resolve ? These were questions which anxiety propounded to itself, and could not answer. They were not few, those who al- ready repented of what they iiad done, and who ear- nestly struggled to show that they had not participated in the revolution. As it had frequently occurred in simi- lar circumstances, the leaders were beginning to find themselves in a state of isolation, and to be alone point- ed out to the anger of the coming avenger. The crowd, among which they had lately stood, now shrank away from them gradually, in obedience to the same instinct which prompts the wayfarer to avoid, when the light- ning flashes, the proximity of those tall trees, whoso shade he would have courted, had heaven smiled on the green honors of their majestic heads. SIXTH LECTURE. Co,,OXV-SKCON-n BKCKK. OK T, K 00,',!" """"' ^ """"^ ™"-« ''- ..K.. OK A.KV „v T,.K co.ns;,:;:^^: x;- ---^^ ™.s TUI.K AGAINST TllK InsURGFNTS— T.,P P„, . "'"'"^^ ANSV tn— His BOLD AITI- uv-Av„av-. ™u TO THK ! ..5^: 'l,:."""'^ "' ""^ ^''•'^^ -I'«- sEur,-DEc„EE OK THE FiiE^niCo.lT "' '^" """= ^^■"'^ «*'f'"°i- OK ™e CO..O.V .TO nc^ ™"™;ss;:;:,"': ™ ^^^^-^^^^ CCNKEDKRATES-IlE DE.NOLNTla TIIKM TV .7 ^ "'''■"'■"' ™EAr„KnYTO HIS MEST-ThIKO DEMONSTHATro. AC™' 1 r ^ T't ^ "" "'""•"' ^""^"■'^- INCEEASE OK THE IfKV.T.OV ' "'''^•';^*«'"-^^ """ OCCTRRED ON THE 0«-A,sro.N- LEADERS OK rJl^Z^^Z^Z ^IT''"^^'''''''' "•=^"^"'"- "™ INTO THE ARMS OK ExCL.M.It, iv Ln ''"'""'^ '"' '""•^^^' -^"^'^^'VES TROOLS-THEm ,..AN OK A Kk n u pf " """'' ^""'^' ""^ ^""^ 1"--- The LEA..E.S are .nj,,,^^]^''^,:^]^^"', — '— ^ ok a Ban._ i5.u.E .„.H SPANISH -.,..sJvA™^i:r^7':™;Li;;:^:^ ^^ --^ mS ASSOCUTI. IXKOUM Au.KV THAT THEV SVnM.T TO T^X ;;i: ^^^ "" BIOORAPHY— He sends BoUfKJNV AX A x,u:.^.- . '^l '»MAM>S— () BEILr.v's LOVO.A, OaVARR,, AND ^^^Z.^r^^^T'!^ T '''''''-'''' "-«"-^- "V DEPORTMENT ON T^Vr O....AS,.;v"\, " IZ^ J"'"'"' ::" M.DNH;„I.-An,Rv'.S THEIR HOMAGE TO O'KeII LY— I u-.i^.v,,' ,„. ,. , TOESENT answer_A.rrv .k,es down Tnt Z r^ ,"" ""'" --'-'— ^'Reilly's AuBRY's l.Ro..IA^,AT,„^- V^H, u ?; ot" r'%"" r'""" '° *''^^^"-"- THE CoU-NY taken ON ThJ 8. Z Xu^ ^^.^ ^^ "'--S-Po.ESS>ON OK GOVEHNMKNT ON THIS EVKNT_GT„;: ' ^ ' •;?-^'"''» ** ■"«>'^TC„ TO H,s AND THE Fr,:n,h ai^ho m Z^^Pn L " ' "'"'' " "'"°" "-^ ^^""^ BUY'S akswer-Aruk^o THE oZ^ '■'""" '" '"'"'" ^ ApnuY-A,- •i»>ii.r,Bi ut IHE CHIEK ( OXSPIUATons ( I'l^tir r ..•, u Tiirw T,,,.... ,,.., I ' ' ■'. 1 lUAioKh — WIitll.LYS SPEECH To ;^» - ,„ „ „„. »" " :;;:„;;;="r=.,r;:cisi:r r,;::,!_ r: :,:- .r;;;™:,:', •"« «■-'« »..».-..« r: I 270 M/rrilK OF AI'IIUY. KNTHIHMSM I'-OII, (»'l!ltlll,V I.ITrHU TO TIIK. 1''lirNlll (JdVK IINMKNT, IN \Mllcll IIK I'.MKIN l.:VMIV M-r .11. O'Ukimv (I'ltKni.v'x OlINIKN (.1. I'.Mll'Alll.T— Anmv'H SrKni'ii m (fUMii i.v, in his i>v OK I''iii.:miii ii.»r OK riiM wiioi.K in 'rm; year I7(I(S had (IohimI in jjtlooin lor llu* coloiiisls, mid no snnsliinc liiid o|mmumI the <'iinMd hv Sjniin nnd I'Vnncc, W(M. TIk- chirts of lln' insnijit-nls w.-ic rvid«>n(lv losinn; frronnd, >ind \\\v Spanish odicn-s, I,ovoIii. (iavjinc, and Naxainf Ix'^ran to nuM'l with n\on> sniilrs than I'rownH, and to discover ii \vv\ \\viTv\)t\\)\v dis|>osition to ronil th«Mr lavor. (Jovcinor Anbrv hinisrh" appears to liav(> been ucluated In tins let'lino, when, on the ITith of l-'el Hilary, I7(»!), K' ciiptain le he spontaiK'onslv wrote this letter to ll jfeneral of the island of Cnha : " I hope that Mr. I'lloa do(>s me insli((>, and that I lias t<>stili(>d to my yood eondnct ; for, no one ever loved and veniM'atiMl the Spanish nation mon> than I do. This revolnlion disoranvs the |''n>neh ol' Louisiana. Althouiih if has not as y(>t spent its fnry and its frenzied eoin-s(>, yet it S(>eins to ni(> that som<> of the most obstinate amono- the insiirii«>nls, b(>oin to look into the future with some uinasinessi, and 4'V(MI fear; aiul if, in these eiirumstanees, \\c W(>re favon-d with the arrival ol a battalion and tln' receipt of fome money, coupled with assuranci>s that all tlait has occurn^d shall be forn or forr the inlliction of tlu< just |)unislun<>nts which they deserve, on a small number of seditious persons, who have usurped all p.)wers in this colony and who liav(> done all the lianu." Nevertheless, those chiefs of tl le insurrection, to Al'imV AND Till.; |rN(:||.. ■jnt WI....M A,,l„-,. ,v„. „||,„|i„j,, ,„„| „|,„ |„„| „|^, I l; ■!" "I l,nr ,„„.„„„ ui.l, „„ |i,|„.Hn. L." I>,j n,..l „ ,.,„l,„|,|,.„ ,|„.„. ,„„|;.,|„,. ,7 3; ; •" thnr ..nil, ,„ .I,,.,,- „l,i„,„„. „„,„;„ „„„ ,„„\,, ' '"1'"'"';;" ' '"-' -'"■". - ■ I ..h „r „,.,.,„," - "'"'"'■'■'■'I II'.- .-..plni • ,|„, sn N ;;•" I';""'-"' ,"- 1-" h m , ,■,,,„, ' ' """">' ""■" """I" "> i'''»i.'" ii,„ |,.,„„,, i„. ,,\„ "^ ' ■ I""'- '"'I ■"'■". si„M„si, ,„„i i.v..m.i, ,„ I, , : ' »•"" ■ ""■! <" «!."« ,l„„ |,„ „,,s ,l,.,..n„„„., ,0 ,,,,;„' n« ,1,... ,r„„„„. ThiH ,l,.„,„„si,,,„„„ ,,., . ' l'l'™vKv,h..Su|„.,i,„-C„„„nl,i„. «,™„i„ ':;■ .1" "nnrr ,,r,l,.|. ,,, ,.,v,,,,l.s,n,, .«,,i,,.,Ml,. inj,,,,,, , " "'" '"• ;'''»-•"■- "« Aul.rv, «l,„ h,Ml I,,.,.,, HO S':T.:^''''^r''''" ""''''■ ''■■•-' - •" ^ •l(M(i.l . I I ,.s,. ,v,.r,. mili„»r„l>al,l,; xijji.s „f ,|„, „,„„. iioii »:iicii iiiiii i,iii,,|| pi,,,,,, " '»•■<-- "'" ",!•', "•■" "!'" I""l rc.n„ii„.,| ii,ii|,f„| („ „„, "■"":;■ '" ""■.->" "". ■-"-. I... •.'(.,:, ., M ,.c ™ ,- ,.H,,u,,Mo ,l,,M.uk.M,r ,W,i,,, i,, ,,,;,^ ; , '' "" '" 'I""-' ■""■■ '!"■ k"W, , v|„,,„.,l „l,„,a ■ ii .i Ni;\v i)i;i,i;(iATi:s si;nt to Fuwrr. i \ \ '% in had iis(>(I ill their lonucr luldrcssos. Sirnihir aj>j)hc!i- tions had Ihm'u iiumU' to every prince of llie l)I()()d, j,iid almost to every j)erti()ii suinxKsed to cxcrciso sonio iiillu- eiice at court. When this ad(lr(!ss read the niiiiister Duke; of Prashii, ho, ahnost at the .same time, receiviid a despatch, of the 1st of April, from Aiihry, in which this oliicer informed him that the people- hein^r o\er\vheliiied by the misiM-y to which they were rednced, were niiir- nmrino; aiijainst tlu^ chiefs of the insurrection, whose party was rapidly tliinniii*,^ away. Ill the mean tini(>, the new de|iiities, whom the colonists had sent to France, succeeded no l)(>tt(>r tjian their predecessors. Itienville, on whose suj>[)ort tlu^y mio-ht have relied, so far as it went, had ceased to (>xist, and the minist(>r Duke of Choisenl, who had advised the cession, was still in office. St. Lette, one of the deputies, had, in (>arly life, attracted the friendly re<.;ir(l of that noldiMiuin, and a sort of intimacy had sprung up between them. The Duke welcomed with open jmns the friend of his youthful days, and prevented his return to f.ouisiana, by givind dis- pl((-essarv orders !<» take possession of the |U'ovince. NothiiJr now ninaiiu'd for the deputies to do, but to hasten back and to inform their fellow citizens of their irrevocable doom. 'rh(>sc dej)utios had also been instructed to solicit from the l''ron«ls iM-m-.n-r ;,., intnvsf of (iv,- ,>,.,. cent, i.nt.l rom- l>;;l'' |M.y.n..,.f. It ^v,ll h. n.-oH,,,,.! that IMIon had "'''''•«■«'; •" «7<5 this ,m|„>r at ti.o rat<. of ';7-i.«tion, (T.Vmt rr„l.,)-uhidi had hrrn (ix<-d hv ' '«; l^nM.d, o,,vc.nm...,,t itsc-h; and to pay (or its vah,,. i,, r^ollais. I Ur, .olonisls i.a.l rdns,.!, on' the uro.nul that f"l»'''" '•'"•'••'"'•)• '•'< I'-""-. Thns, as it is s.vn, th.>ir '<>|M-s ^^cvv not ivali/.,.,!. aiul thn conNvrsion which ha,l «>•'<•" .vs.n-l,.d (<,, hrin.- look,.,! upon as an (xprd.rnt of <'.""'>""'l d'Hiact,.,-, uhich pron.is.'d liitl,. (or the fntniv ■' .■MM"-«''-'.>l<'vvuucv of ih(> past, Mas not Ciilcnlah^d to ivstoi-c any dvu^voc of, .as., to Ih.; alD.irs of lli(! ('olony. '^^'•"canh, who had taken so actiN(> a part in tho (-onspn-acy, ahhon^h in his ollicial arts and his h,n.rna<.e '" 1'"'''"^' ''^' '""I •'"dravor.-d so to (.p.ivocate '-.s ?„ '>'• i'l'l*' , not fo show th.' tni.. diaract.-r •"•"••all. lis folds, hni loallou the hea.l of ih.. inlorin,.r t<» p<-«T out, and watch Ih.. opporhinify for op,.n ''''"""''"'^'*"'- ''''"•> "i lli«' --Msl of March, 1... had wrill..n to tin. l^.-nc-j cahinet at Vcrsailh.s, lo ,nslify l'ims..|l (or havni^r (.onvoned th.^ (V)nncil, whi.-h hall <'X|M'll,.d I lloa, and he had ^iv.-n it ont as an ..xcnso tluitho hudyiehhd to Ibrce (nily, as he had not at his 18 \ . 274 foucaflt's treachery. .i ■ disposal over one liundred and fifty men, to oppose the one thousand rebels who threatened the Spaniards. He also declared that, if there were any truth in the rumors whispered about, the Syndics or headmen, who had been selected by the different classes of the inhabitants, to watch over their interests, had sadly misused the powers delegated to them ; that the number of persons demanding the complete expulsion of the Spaniards had considerably diminished, and furthermore, that many were opposed to it, because they feared losing, in that case, Avhat was due to them for the Spanish obligations they held in their hands. The cautious phraseology in which the whole of Foucault's despatch is written, may be offered as a model of compJbstion to such artful villains. "Were it possible for me," said he, " to feel the public pulse on these matters, I should perhaps verify that these rumors are well founded. Should this be the fact, I would then, jointly with Mr. Aubry, pursue such a course as would be sufficient to overawe certain individuals, who take themselves to be very important beings. They are, after all, but pretty bad fellows, who, being loaded with debt, seem striving, with eager emulation, to avail themselves of the overthrow of the colony, in order to retain with impunity the funds which have been advanced to them, and who are indifferent about the country they may live in, considering that they are not bound to Louisiana by the actual possession of any real estate. I think that, were it not for them, I should no longer stand witness to the most indecent and audacious deportment. There would no longer be any reason to fear the execution of the detestable project, which is said to have been formed, of burning New-Orleans, on the first news of the arrival of the Spanish troops, if it be still decieed that Louisiana must belong to his foucault's treachery. 275 Catholic Majesty. Mr. D'Acosta, the captain of the frigate, would be at hberty to prepare himself quietly to regulate ns departure, according to the orders given to nm l>y Ulloa and the other Spaniards might do the same. The officers of the Spanish administration would no longer be exposed to a forced departure, without havmg time to settle their accounts, and the anarchy and confusion which have taken the place of the small amount of good order that prevailed in this colony, would soon disappear. But, being under the apprehen' sion when trying to avoid one evil, of falling into another equally great, I iiave taken the resolution to be silent and inactive, whilst waiting for the orders of the two courts of I ranee and Spain. Without caring, however, for he discontent produced by all my acts of opposition to the enterprises of these turbulent spirits against the Spaniards I will use the most practicable means, to contrive that the officers of the Spanish administralion remain here untd the receipt of those orders " It IS no very far stretch of the imagination to suppose that, on the very day when this letter was writtei, in which the fathers of the insurrection to which Foucault had stood sponsor, were denounced as bankrupts, thieves, detestable incendiaries, and the like, this snme man enter- tamed at supper, as usual, at the country seat of his paramour. Madam Pradel, those turbulent spirits and would be important beings whom lie had denounced to the Irene, government, and who, of course, could be no other than his friends and confederates, Lafreniere,' Villere Noyan, Masan, &c.-whom he had goaded on to shake ofi the hated Spanish yoke, and with whose destinies he seemed to have linked his fortunes. Tiiere are few conspiracies and perilous enterprises, in which such men as Foucault are not to be detected They arc the alloy, the baser metal which appears to be 27G DIM'AllTUUE OF TIIK FRKJATi:. npccssary to the composition of tlio jrrcat liuiiuvn coiiiajro. ICxpcriciicc tcacln'S, and the study of histori- cal rocords dornonst rates, that, within the shadow of every man of noble thoui,d»ts and dush, and vatchin*^ for every oj)poriuni(y to j)rey on the object of their envy and hatrscence ! IJut the captain of the frigate, in order to do away with all pret(\\ts for further disturbances, resolved to sail on the 2()th of April. On that day, all the oflicers of that vessel waited in a body on (Governor Aubry, and thanked iiim for the protection and the many favors they had received at his hands. On their returnin the n.asls, and sic bcnui to jnurllK^r, road sails to the s,ron,hreeze winch coul^^ lien, to Its c.nhrace. Soon afl.M-, the three, Spanish d,.,nt„,es, Loyola, (;ayarre and Navarro, who 1 ul ac compan.ed D'Acosta on board, were seen descending into then- boat, and rapidly approac.hin. the bank of the mn. On their lanchn^, the crowd opened before tnem Hh respect, and as these ^M-ntlen.en trod thron-d. this Uinan avenue, on thnu>nt, the n^ he, broadsides, ,n a salute to the town, and e.nennn.r from the cloud of smoke, will, all her colors gaily sifort'! mg m the wind, was seen, in a few minutes, tnrnin. lound tha point, on the opposite, side of the river, where now stands the town of Algiers. Thus the last satis- taction which the cJonisfs had desired, had been > I 141 ■ 1 278 INCREASE or THE REACTION. u granted to them ; yet it was evident that no feeling of exultation existed among the assemblage, that stood gazing at the turbid waters of the Mississippi, for some time after the frigate had disappeared. No shouts of joy or triumph had been uttered ; silence was on the lips, and anxiety in the hearts of all. They seemed to be in an atmosphere of gloom ; and that undefined feel- ing which proceeds from the vague anticii)ation of coming danger, pervaded the whole nmltitude. At last, they dispersed in small detached groups, whispering to each other, and bearing stamj)ed on their brows the thoughts that worked in their brains. The revolutionary tide Avas indeed ebbing fast away, and leaving stranded on the shore, those it had borno onward to momentary success. The conspirators had hoped at nrst, that, on their showing a strong aversion to a foreign domination, and on their expelling the Spanish Governor, they might have induced both the French and Spanish governments, to consider as null the treaty of cession— the more so, that Spain did not seem to set any value on the donation which had been presented to her. When this hope i.ad been frustrated, they attempted to throw^ themselves into the arms of England, by sending emissaries to the governor of Pen- sacola, with Mhom they w^ere to enter into arrange- ments. But the reception which they met in that quarter, convinced them that they were to look else- where for support. England, besides the breach of faith of which she would have been guilty, and besides giving the bad example of encouraging the rebellion of colonies', was not then disposed to renew the long wars she had Avaged against France and Spain, merely for the then prltry consideration of the acquisition of Louisiana. Reduced to the last stage of despair, the Hotspurs among the insurgents proposed to expel yVubry, and the SCHEME OF A REPUBLIC. 279 few Wencli troops thnt wore in the colony, to prochiim .ew-()rleans a Iroe po, and to form a republic, where ^e f.ppre8sed a \ th nco ' „nong ail tlie nations of the earth, would fin .,„d ^ i,o„ie. The chief oi the ropubhc v as u, bv styled Prolcctor, and to be assisted by a council of forty men elected by the people, either (or li' or for a certain number of years. A bank, on th( plan of that of Amsterdam or of Venice, was to be created, and to furnish the commonwealth witii the currency of which it would stand in need, l^ho Swiss captain Marquis had originated this scheme of arepublicj and he violently and op ly reconunended its adoption —so much so, that it .,. came a subject of discussion, for and against, in printed and in manuscript documents w uch were circulated through the c lony, and some of which are really of a curious character. If the plan of Maniuis could have been executed, and a Lord Protector elected, it is probable that Lafreniere would have become the Cromwell of Louisiana. There IS no doubt but that the colonists would have eagerly adopted this form of government, had it been poSible at the tunc ; for it must be recollected that, from the earliest existence of the colony, almost all its governors liad uniformly complained of the republican spirit which they had observed in the inhabitants. It would seem as if the European emigrants, on their arriving in Loui- siana, had so imbibed the conception and the love of independence from the roaming life of the aborigines, from the sight of the boundless forests, from the im- mensity of the domain which invited conquest, that they waxed impatient of the yoke imposed upon them by a dis^tant power. But the colonists, on maturer and cooler reflection, became convinced that France, Spain and England, for reasons too obvious to be enumerated, would never permit their rebellion to terminate successfully i^^^o, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) .// V- ^A ■WJ^.r m. m. "^ fA '^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 14^ lio IIM 1.4 M IIM 1.6 %^- /] / V % //, Photographic Sciences Corporation 4(^ «v ^ '^,:v N> ^9) .V 'Oi O \ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^^L ^ ^ •WJ^.r M6 11 n 280 J' I I ANXIETIES OF THE PUBLIC MIND. into the establi.shmeiit of a republic in Louisiana. Tiiey tliercfore abandoned the idea as quixotic; but they, nevertheless, bequeathed to their posterity the right of claiming for Louisiana the merit of liaving been the first European colony that entertained the design of pro- claiming her independence. The stoutest hearts, how- ever, ana the noblest minds cannot achieve impossibili- ties. The thought of a rei)ublic had been but a rosy colored bubble of the imagmation, or rather a flittino- rainbow, spanning the firmament of a dream, and cZ couragmg hopes but to have them extinguished in the night of the gathering storm. So was it with the majority of the colonists, who, in the wreck of their fortunes, having in vain looked round for any means of salvation, now abandoned themselves to the course of events, and were constrained passively to wait for what tate would ultimately decide. Rumors were rife in the colony, as to the prepara- tions which Spam was making, to 'take possession of Louisiana, and to punish the insult which iiad been offered to her. Nothing positive, however, could be ascertained, and tlic very vagueness of the information received, added to the anxieties of the public mind, lliose who had played the most conspicuous part in the conspiracy were advised to fly ; but this could be more easily proposed than exc-cuted. It would liave been impossible for them to sell their property, on account of the extreme penury to which the province was reduced; and jf there had been men able to purchase, they would have hesitated to invest their money in so insecure a manner; for, these sales might perhaps have been set aside, on the ground that they were not made in good faith, but, in collusion, only to protect traitors, and to defraud the Spanish treasury of what confiscation would have brought into its coffers. The leaders of the li i 11 • :* REACTIOX IN FAVOR OF THE SPANISH OFFICERS. 281 )ccn insurrection, tliorcforo, recoiled from the idea of break- ing the ties which bound them to Louisiana, where some ot tiiem were born, and wliere the rest had passed the greater portion of their hves ; and they turned away troni tlie dire prospect of dragcrin;., in poverty, with their famihes, the miserable existence of exiles in foreign lands. Besides, many among them flattered themselves that a prompt and entire submission on their part, coupled with assurances of repentance, would secure pardon and safety. In proportion as all ideas of resistance were gradual- ly abandoned, and as the schemes of the authors of f lie revolution were successively demonstrated to be imprac- ticable, Loyola, Glayarre, and Navarro, had seen the circle of their friends increasinjr, and their own importance rising in the colony. It was supposed that, from their having gone througli all the i)hases of the revolution, and from their official position, they mioht exercise great influence on the determination, which The Spanish government might subsequently take, and it is very natural that a propitiation of their favor should have been sought by those who trembled for their lives or for the safety of the objects they loved. These three Spanish officers were men capable of sympathiz- ing with the deep anxieties which they saw, and they became painfully affected by the direct and indirect appeals, which w^ere repeatedly made to their feelin-rs i^ot knowing what their government intended to do, and carelul not to commit themselves to any course of action ill their official capacity, they were obliged to act with a coiisid(.rable degree of caution, imposed upon tliem by the peculiar circumstancc^s under which they were placed, and they had to confine themselves to mere assurances, as to their personal feeliims and wishes, and as to the expectations to be formc°d from if 282 ARIMVAL OF o'reiLLY. \^'- n the Acll-kiiown clcinoncy, which was a distinguished feature in the; character of Charles III. 'J'hiis matters stood, when, on the mornincr of the 2-^1 th of .Inly, 1 7()!), Jic whole town of New Orleans was thrown into violent commotion, by the news that a formidahle Spanish Ih-et had made its apj)earance at the Balize, that (ienerai O'UeiJly was the officer whom the court of Miidrid had appointed to take possession of Louisiana, and that he broncrjit with him such large forces, that any attempt at resistance would be prepo's- teroiis. Mar Spaniards, whom, he said, the colonists were bound to tight to the last, and declared iiimsclf ready to j)low out the brains of every coward that woidd not co-operate in that holy war. But they both soon retired, when they found out that their words m(>t with no sympathizing echo, and that theirs was the voice in the wilderness. Seemg the ho[)elessness of their condition, the leaders of the insurgents became greatly alarmed, on being convinced that they could not even make a show o{ r(>sislance, so as perha|)s to secure favorable terms of caphiilation; and, being humbled by the desperate state to which they were reduced, |)resented themselves before Aubry, to ask for his advice and protection. They were (ividently thrown into dismay, by the magni- tude of the armament wliich had been fitted out a of the Kinp-, not to stir, under the penalty of being punished as relxls! The Spanish general, whose arrival was soon to be expected, was born in Ireland,* about the year 1735. He was a Catholic, and following the exami)le of many of his countrymen who belonged to that cn^ed, and who, on that account, labored under many disabilities in their native country, lie sought to better his fortunes by cnhstmg in the arnu'es of one of the continental powers. For this purpose, Alexander O'Reilly went to Spain, when very young, and entered the service of the Spanish nation, by joining a body of Irishmen known under the name of the Hihcrma rc<>-imcMt. In the war to which gave rise the pretensions of the dilferent princes of Europe to the Austrian succession, on the death of the emperor Charles VI., who left no other lineal descendant than Maria Tlu^resa, O'Reilly served with distinction in Italy, and received a wound which lam(>d him for th(> remnant of his days. In 1T.")7, he obtained permission to enter the Austrian army, and, under the orders of his countryman, Field-marshal do * Biograpliiu uiiiversflle de I\Iicli;uul. 284 THE CAREER OF O'rEILLY. m Lascy, ho made two cjiinpainrns njrainst tlic Prussians. In 17.-)!), he vohintocrod in the armies of France, and distiiiirnished liinisclfso nuich, that the Marsihal Duke of IJro^rlu. warmly recommended him to the Kin^r of Spain, wlien lie returned to that country. This reconnnenda- tion procured for (VJJeilly the illy ohtamed ^rreat reputation at the head of a hody of lio-ht troops, which had heen intrusted to his com- mand. Even at that time, lie was rei)uted one of the best ofhcers m the Spanish armies. Hence he soon rose to the raidv of Urioradi^.r-tJeneral, and the post of drilJinrstnnJ which was composed of forty ships of the Ihie, three nmdredand fifty transports, and thirty thousand men: but this immense convoy did not ari-ive in time; and U Kcilly not receiving, when wanted, the flat boats which had been prepared to facilitate a simultaneous landing of the whole of his forces, and after having waited hiteen days, in daily danger of running his ves"- sels aground, was obliged to resort to a partial landincr of his troops, and j)ut out a body of ten thousand iihmk commanded by the Mnnpiis of La Romana. This corps had been ordered so to establish itself on the shore, as to protect the landing of the rest of the army, liu La Uomana, carried away l,y his own imj.etuosity and by that of his men, pursued the vanguard of the enemy to a point in the interior, where he had to con- tend with v(«ry superior mimhers, intrenched behind fio- trees and hedges of nopals. The Spanish troops fourines, that he had exposed his person with the utmost recklessness, and that the horse he mounted had received two wounds. The unfortunate result of this expedition lowered him, however, in the estimation of tlie Spanish nation; but the King remained true to him and put him at the head of a military school, lately established. He was after- wards appointed Commander-general of the province of Andalusia and governor of Cadix, Avhere he exhibited all the talents of a great administrator. f3ut, at the death of Chiirles III., in I)ecend)er, 1788, he fell into com- plete disfavor, and lived in absolute retirement in the province of Catalonia. His name had, nevertheless, retained considerable influence in the Spanish armies ; and, after the death of Ceneral Ricardos, in 1794, he was thought to be the most skilful general to be opposed to the French. He was therefore appointed to tlie com- mand of the army of the Eiist Pyrenees, and he was on his way to his destination, when he died suddenly at an advanced age. His descendants now reside in the island of Cuba. " CJeneral O'Reilly," says Michaud in his biographical sketch of that officer, " had always been an object of malignant envy, and had many ene- mies, whom the flexibility of his temper and the soft I(ll^' MESSAGE FROM o'uEILLY TO AUBRV. 287 influoncc ol his conciliating manners could not reconcile to Ins advancement, in a nation proverbially proud and suspicious of foreigners." It was, as I said, on the morning of the 2hh of July that the inhabitants of New Orleans were informal of the arrival of O'Reilly at the Balize. In the evening there came the intelligence that a Spanish officer, bear- ing despatches from O'Reilly to Aubry, was ascending the river. There was, on that night, no thought of sleep for the greater part of the population, and they were seen clustering in groups in the streets, or hurryincT from house to house. At about ten o'clock, Loyohr Gayarrc, and Navarro, preceded by torches and fol-' lowed by their subordinates, friends, and adherents, were observed traversing the town, and moving towards the landing place. At eleven, the Spanish envoy, whose name was Trancisco Bouligny, arrived in front of the public square, and, leaping ashore, was greeted by his countrymen, to whom he was a token of speedy relief Passing through the large and anxious crowd that had gathered round them in silence, the Spanish officers went to the house of the French go^ernor, who had retired to bed. He was immediately waked up, accor- ding to the instructions which he had left, and he received with much affability O'Reilly's messenger, who delivered to linn the letter of which he had charge Aubry read it twice over, but, on his not beincx able fully to understand its meaning, Rouligny proposed to trans- k c ,t and his ofTer was accepted. In this letter ORcilly mformed Aubry of the object of his mission, and requested the French governor to take all the necessary measures, to fliclitate the transfer of Louisiana from France to Spain, and the execution of the designs of their respecuve sovereigns. " Tell General O'Reilly," said Aubry to Boulignyin answer to ■i I •^ss AMiiiv's siM:i;rii to riii: i»i:ori.i;. tliis (I('Sj);i((li, "ihiit I ;mi i-cimIv ;i( !iii\ lime Io rriiels." On tli.> 'j;)tli, noniionv, (l.-iy.'iiTe. \;iv;iito, nnd l.i»vol;i (Inicd ;it Anlnx's, willi the hiulu-sl ninono llic (•i\il inillioriiics jind the most inllnentiid .-Mnoni,' tin- I'rench oHleers ;ind colctnists. The p.ist seemed to h;ive l"'en Hn-iiolten, the dnnier n;is \rr\ o;,y, :in peo|>le /i,i(/ at htsl iistnicil In llie coiinsils of priiildirr, mitl litnl htkrn l/ir on/i/ irso/iifinii ir/iich could sore llw roloiii/ from complete des/niedo/i. In the (>\enini:, Houliiiny and the other Spanish ollicers I)ronienad«>(l ihrouuh tJu- stri>ets ol' the town, and wcvc irreeled («\er_v\\ lu-ri> with cordiality, and evi-n with api>arenl demonstrations ol' joy. On the next dav, the -(illi. at nine of the mornin«j:, Auhry addressed in llies(« NNords the p(M>p|(«, whom h(> had summoned to meet on tile i)nhlic s.pian^ : "I hav(> to announce to you that Mr. D' OMuMJiy is now in th«> ri\(>r, at the iiead <»i" s«'veral reoimenis that hav(« conu> with him Ironi Spain. Me is s(-nt to take |)ossession of [-onisiana, in the name of the Kinn ol' Spain, by virtiu- oC th(> sacr(<(l ord(«rs of their most Christian and Catholic Majesties, and li(« will presiMit m(> \\\\\\ his credentials, at our lirst m(>etniif. \on can jndov of tli(> d(\orr(> of irritation which the Kino- of Spain nmst I'eel, from his sendiui.- lo this distant country a (u^iUM-al of such «rn.at distinction. It is lher(>lore prudi'nt lor you to open your (>xes on your Jiast conduct, and to prevent your own ruin and thiil of yonr native or adopt(>(l country. 'N on must he avvaro lluit nothino- short of a promj)t and entin* suhimssion, I l>HI'I.T*rillN KIKIII T,,,, ,,,.,. .,.>,!» '"" ",""■ "•■■"■'' "»■ 'I n»liM-h„„.» will, «l,i,.|, v„„ „„, '7;::;;: , ' ""';|- """• "• ""- '"■""■ —-"'"■ I >.m nil,. „„ ,■,.„,»,„„.■,., (.u,,.,-,,! (.-((.HIv «,llin.„ >'""'",":'''{• "'" '.Vn„„,||,„„ |,„,|„,,,J,' """« '"'I '"I ' -Inn v , I,,,, „ ;"'""'■' "y ""■'■!"« "i„i („ r,„.iM.„r ihM,, („i<„ ■ , r ^'"■i';"'' >< ' ""iii|tiimoiis to O'Ueilly. who n. (.alVeiiierewas to he the spokesman of his party, hut, when iiitro(hir;»l to the presi'iice of O'Keilly, heleh one of those siulhs(>rved in ()'U«'illy's face, he'^soon ralh«'d,an«l, in a somewhat faherin«jr voic(>,dehvered the fol- li)winir ad(h-(>ss, wliich O'Keilly onh'red |{ouli<>iiy to tak(> down: " i:.\C((l to come and assure your Ivxcellency of their suhmission to the orders of their Catholic and most Christian Majesties, and of their veneration (or the virtues and military tal(>nts which have raised you to tlu> eminent di^'uities with which you are clothed. We are inslruct(>d to «'xpress to you the profound respect of the colony for his Catho- lie Majesty, and its love for his most Christian Majt'sty, and for all the au^Mist house of Hourl)on. The colony never had tlu' intention to be wantinjr iu the profound respect which it cherishes for the rsion of the privihjres jruarantied by the act of cession, were the oidy causes of the revolution which took place in the colony. We betr your J''.xcel- Icncy not to consider L»)uisiana as a concjucred country. Tlie orders of which you are the /oarer, an; sufficient to put you ill possession of this i)rovince, and they make a greater impression on our hearts, than ihe arms which "'iimi.i.v's iim-iv. 3»I ynu curry w„l, .yo,,. Tl„. I',-,.,,,-!, ,„v ,ln,-il,,,u„l ,„■,•„,. ".■-■ry.,„,.,li»,.„..,l,„yi.,|,,,,,,,-.,|i,,,,, ,,,,!,,,' r"l;".-..Mlu.«n,,,,,.r,,r,vii,,.,..,,,,,,l(V,,n,y„J i : cllooHr to <'iiii;,'nile." ■' :" "'""■""|.li"« t n,(„r,„n.l„i „ ' « " , i • ■" Nwni.y n.,,„„.,.,l. ".■tl,n,mHwor,.,l:"(i,.„ll,.,n,. '^^c l„,rc,„l„.,.o,,,,M,c,|,,,,inl,.,l„i,lM|„...v|,„|,.,,,„ "• J.-.I l..r yo„r .,„»,i|i,.„i„„. Y„„ ,„„v ,-,.„. „,,„,; ^t, '"'" ^ '"•"'■'• -li^" f.,m,u,r.;Z « ". s,.rv„.,.. ,„ ,1,. „„is,H, „n,l tl„„ ,„y.loi„,, ,; ■'" ;"« I m..y possii.iy .ii,|,„.,. or, ,„ .,,„l,i„ ,„„ ,„ ;; 1;': " ,; :,';:,7; ■','' --'^ • -"' -"...•......, .,:i 1 •lie 11, m.,| lo „,y ,.,|u,n,cl,.r. I son will, ,,lo,.,»„r,. ,|io yo,, ,„„y „.„ ,„ ,.,,„„,.,,„, t,,„, , „„„|,| ,„„;; -| I' H .., I wo„l.l |,,,v.. ailo,v..««: »ZlT.i:,f:';;;:;,,t''r "■" "" "■ -" " '■■" 292 CLOSK OF THE INTERVIEW. i have ascended the river as high as tlie Ilhnois, it neces- sary. Men, when in a state of frenzy, do not rellect, and cannot see the consequences of their actions. If it were not so, how could a handful of jxiople, Hkc you, have imagined themselves capable of resisting one oi the most |)owerful sovereigns of Europe ? Ilow could you think that the most Christian King, bound to the king my master, by the tics of blood and by those of the closest friendship, could ever have assisted you, and lent a willing ear to the clamors of a seditious people ?" Here, Manjuis interrupted the General, to object to the application of the wo»-d seditions, and to give some reasons; in explanation of the course })ursued by the colo- nists. The Gcnerf.' answered with gentle condescen- sion : " 13e at ease ;* I have already told you, gentlemen, that I will listen with pleasure to your arguments, when the time shall come. God be })raised, I am free from all prejudices, and I am aware that things, which from afar may look as if they were clothed with the dark hue of guilt, may, at a shorter distance, appear decked in the white robes of innocence." The General detained them to dine with him, treated them with the most delicate politeness, with the utmost suavity of manner, and sent them back, says Bouligny, one of the persons present at the interview, ///// of ad- miration for his talents^ and with ^ood hopes that their past faults should he forgotten. O'Reilly, in order to have proper quarters prepared for his troops, sent back Bouligny to New Orleans, with two other officers named Karbonary and Bordenave. On the ib\\\ of August, Aubrv went down the river, to * El Genera) le respondio ocn dtilzura— Yii Iio dioho ii Vs, Sonorcs, que {i un tienipo esi'iu'liarc eon guato las razones dc Vs. A Dios graeias, cstoy libro do Iireoeupaoiones, y no ignore que niuelias voces las cosas que pnrcceu ncgras desdo lejos, suelen verso blancas, cjuando nno se aprocsima. LANDING OF THE SPANIAKDS. 29.*] offer his respects to O'Reilly, who was on his way up, mid to come to an understanding with him, as to the man- ner vm\ time of taking possession of the colony. (),. consultafon, they fixed the iSth for that ceremony. On tlio Gth, Aubry returned to New Orleans, and issued a proclamation, enjoining the inhabitants of the town and the most respectable among those of the neighborin.r country o be at the a.^ust ceremony, and to he ready Po nrese,^ themselves to hi, E.celienc,,, Bon AleJdro and of he,r mmolahle fdehty to his Catho/ie Majestu. On he 17th, in the morning, the whole Spanish ileet num- bermg twenty-four sails, appeared in front of New Or- loans, rmmed.ately all the necessary preparations were made for land.i.g, and flying bridges were dropped from the vessels to ti.e bank of the river. On the 1 8th, early m tlie day, the French governor, with a numero,.; train ot officers, came to compliment the new governor, who went ashore m company with his visiters, and proceeded With them to the house which was destined for him. But before 12 o'clock, O'Reilly ret.nned to his fleet in forces*'' P'^f^^"'^ ^'"'- *»'« landing of the whole of 'his At 5 o'clock, in the afternoon, a gun fired by the flacr ^np gave the signal for the landing of the Spaniard^ The French troops and the militia of the colony, with Aubry at thc.r head, were already drawn up in a line parallel to the river, and in front of the ships, in that' p^iit of the pubhc square which is nearest to the church On the signal being beard, the Spanish troops were seen pouring out of the fleet in solid columns, and moving, with admirable precision, to the points which had been designated to them. These troops, numbering j-OOO men, were among the choicest of Spain, and had been picked by O'Reilly himself. With ' )lors fly nil 294 LAXliING OF THE TROOPS. and with the rapidity of motion of the most practised veterans, thi«y marched on, battalions after battahons, exciting the a(hniration and the awe of the j)oi)uhition by their martial as[)ect and their brilliant equipments. The heavy infantry drew themselves up in j)erpendicu- lars, on the right and left wings of the French, thus form- ing three sides of a S(iuare. Then came a heavy train ofartillery of fifty guns, the light infantry, and the com- panies of mountain riflemen, (fusileros de monlaiias,) witl« t!ie cavalry, which was composed of forty dragoons, and fifty mounted militia men from Havana. Airthesc corps occupied the fourth side of the square near the river, and in front of the French, who were drawn up near the cathedral. All the vessels were dressed in their colors, and their riggings were alive with the Span- ish sailors in their holiday apparel. On a sudden, they gave five long and loud shouts of: Viva d Rcy—Lon<>- live the KiniT, to which the troops, on the square, re^- sponded in a similar manner. All the bells of the town pealed merrily ; a simultaneous discharge from the guns of the twenty-four Spanish vessels enveloped the river in smoke ; with emulous rapidity, the fifty guns that were on the square roared out their salute, making the ground tremble as if convulsed with an earth(nmkc ; and all along the dark lines of the Spanish inlimtry, flashed a sheet of fire, as the weaker voice of musketry, also shouting in jubilation, attempted to vie with the thunder of artillery. All this pomj) and circumstance of war announced that General O'Reilly was landing. He soon appeared in die s(iuare, where he was re- ceived with all the honors due to a captain general, drums beating, banners waving, and all sorts of nmsica! instruments straining their brazen throats, and by their wild and soul stirring sounds, causing the heart to leap and the blood to run electrically through the hot veins. RECEPTION Of O'REILLY. 295 He was pro<;,odcd by s,,l< .ulidly accoutred men, who bo c heavy «. ver nmces ; and the whole of his retinue, which was of the most Mn,,osing cha .cter, was well calculated to stnke the i.ua«iuation of the people. With a shghtly ha t.n. ^.ait he advaucecl towards the l^Vench governor, who with the members of the Council and .1 the men of note m the colony, stood near a mast Inch suppored the. 11a. of France. Immediately be- nnd O'l edly followed the officers of the coloni^U ad- .nm.strat.on of Louisiana, Don Joseph Loyola, the conmnssary of war and intendant; Don Estevan (ia;arre the contador, or royal comptroller ; and Martin NaVarro,' the treasurer, who were to be restored to their rest.ective functions, which had boen interrupted by the revilution. S.r, saul O'K.dly to Aubry,"! have already com- "um.cated to you the orders and the credentials with which 1 am i,rov.ded, to tak(. possession of this colony, m the name o his Catholic Majesty, and, also, the in- stiuctions of his most Christian Majesty, that it be col.vered up to me. I be. you to read them aloud to the peop e." Aubry complied with this request, and tnen, addressm. the colonists by whom he was sur- rounded, saul : " (ientlemen, you have just heard the sacred orders of their most Christian" and Catholic Majesties, m relation to tlu, province, of Louisiana, winch =s irrevocably ceded to the crown of Spain. From this moinent, you are the subjects of his Catholic Majesty .'tml by virtue of the orders of the Kin., my master, I absolve you from your oath of fidelity and obedi.mce to his most Christian Majesty." 'J'h(.,. turnin. to O'Reilly, Aubry handed to him the keys of the ^.ites of the town! The banner of I ranee sunk from the \mn\ of the must where it waved, aiul was replaced by that of Spain.* * Los Franceses, diri-ridos por su Gobemador, dieron cinco v.ces : Viva el •>t» i'oll THi; t i.(»siN«j < i:iti;>ioMi:s. • Mviiiij il„. ,»\;,in|>lr iiihI ||n< ordcis of Aiihrv, (In I uiis n'|t< ! \\ liicl iniiu III iiiiisuii S|t!misli n»>»)|)s. who nM-oinmnirrd lli(>ir ( '^Mih ||k< lln llnvsludd l.v iIh- flrri-v. \mIIi all I w Ihmiois of ih,. Pj,!. Iii'i'i i iiiid mill iii<> «>ili,'r iisiiid s(»l»'iniiili(«s.| 'rii(> ♦ iiriilt . or \ M-nr lM«ii('i;d, in ||i<< nMnic iiiid on Ix'luiir,.! llH'|Mii|>|>orl 111,' anllionU oflli,' K r r«'sn,>,|,>d, |,> iiii; and llic honor ,»r his arin,'^ '> ,l,'\o Ir lnins,'ir |o ih,. pnhli,- i-,,,,,!, and lo ,1, .l"^'"'" <•' -'ill- ll»> llwn ,'nl,-r,',| |||,< ,|iiiirli, w| r,- 1> (I. el icrc a cinn was sniio. dnrniii w huh ihf Iroops and ih renew,',! li icn- (lisriiarixes in lok,'ns of n-joicin. 'i<"n Ih,' pioiis c'n'inoiiN was ov,'r, O'Keillv an,l A ish Iroivps lilcd ,)il" l),'|on' ih,. o,>\,.|-| ifi)iihtn/i' oi iihi\ ivlnrii,',! lo ihe piihiic s,inarr. w h,-r,' all llic S[ Min- (Irr and ti/rii),inr, sa\s Anl (irs|)aleli,'s. muj, atl( . I lors, /// (fit- iiiDsf n- n\ III one oC his tl liiMiio saliiled Ihein, relired lo H'lr n's|>,',-ii\e ,|iiarl,'rs. n .•; ar^ |)alel 1 ni wliieli. s,»in,' tune aller llie laKin< lM>ss,'ssionotili,',„,i,i|,v hv Ih,- Spaniards, h,- ivn.h'i-ed t») one or ihe I'reiuh nui iisiers an aeeoinil oClhe ,'\,'iih }\i'\ ' Niiotni 1n.|,;i 1,, oj.viil.i (r.^s v, mmuo ti.-mi... .jn,. In njiha .1, 1,., iv,.!,r,ii.i .•,-MiMn.l;iti(, '<•'■< iMii HUM .li'sciiroM "ijiiu';!. V Ml A Mill <>(' rMiui|>\. iiM.il r whii'li llu' CI IMSl' of till' JMIl'llMlisI IH CMnil'll III |>iiii't'S'(i(insi. I Kl .MUM .. Vu-an,> I'nn.'ipM! hi/,, m S, K. „„m Mivn.rM i„iiv ,,m1. lira ..n n.Mul.n ili'l I'lU'lilo. y oon lii.s iiuis tii'iiiMs i.ivU'stns .lo li.loJi.lM.I. M IUIV'n hlNI'AlrillN. !;:"''' ^''^"'">'^ ■•"•'•-"' -. I .M,...,.,, Anhrv HMVM- "'•"•'•"ins|„nrrMMo,|r,,lnn,l.|r. uMh.H.l (r.HmM, with- "<".rv, u.lhonl .vsonnvM, uHl.uul .MM.slnnr.,., Imv- '"\" ' ••''"'">"-^. I .. I V' "'"• ^'•'•V "l.mirnl uhrn ;il| MiM-MH-.l (o |„. lom "■"^"'••"•■••'•'••'-••""l'">^.^'<«n<.r I- n'|'.-sninM.,Hl|,y|„Mw,s,|om -,i,in,Mns,.,H,.v,.H,.|,|,s|inls. (.-ml.l,. ah.n.iH ;'""' -"ll'«-t'""H, in ^roviMiMii. . rolniiv, uliTli I srvrnil "...s saw on .li,-vnyhnnkHnll.|,.,nw;,,,anis,wl.o, •■'"*"'■' '•"'>«l'--'",lMlirrs,,iHh|,s„nlrrM,M,.,.nlh.st(|„. 298 I.KTTKIl FIKMl o'ltlMM.V TO AlHUV restoration of poaco niul justice in the coiiiitrv. 'J'lio thanks wliicli tlic (u'iu>ral was |)I«'as(«(l to address to mo at the heaopl(>, and the approbation which he e\|)ress(Ml ofmy coiuhict past nnlorlinjate occnrn iicvs, are to mv a snre plc(l of its ohlainin^- also the sanc- tion of your Ivxcellency." On tlu> l<)th, the day t'ollowinir the ceremony ol'tak- 1,^ possession, (VKeilly jj;avc, with «!;rcat |)onip, a. din m to the l-'n-nch «rovernor, the S|)anish md l''rcnch antl ifies, and all th(> p(>rsons of distinclion in iIk^ coIo In tlu^ m(>an tinn-, with his cnslomarv hahits of aclivit ner lor- '»y- ho had not. aIlow(Ml these fe of the pres»>nt day, to int(>rfere with th(> I stivili(>s of th(> precedinj^f an had on hand, and h(> had proceeded in secret lo tal the d ko epositions ot witnesses, as to what had occnrred in the colony, and to pernse all th(> papers and docunuMits ir«'d informations on th(> snhject. whicli ( onid •live thed esi On th(> very day he thus ent(>rtained Ani of the chi(>ts of the )r^ .ind somi* revolntioii, he addressed to that of- hcer the followinjj 'lett(>r Sir, as von witnessed al that occurred in this colony, wIumi Don Antonio do Ulloa, appointed or<)v,.nior ot" the same by his (^itholic M Jjesty, was expc'lled from it, 1 hersons who induced the peop|«> to com- mit th(> olVtMice of presentinn- thems(>lves with arjus in their hands, to (>nforce the violent expulsion of Don A le sanu^ (\\c(>ss(>s aiiainst n- tonio d(> nioa, and to reiunv ll all the Spanish ollicers and troops in the colonv, M As (Governor of this colonv for h is most Christian ijesty, and as the commander of the l-'rench troops, ized Don Antonio dv Tlloa as the person yon recoirn desiirnated by his Catholic Majesty to take, in his royal I.KTTIMl l'K.)M «)'ki;ii,,,v TO AinutV. !.'!)() imino, full |)(>ss,..ssi„n uiul connuaiid oClliis cojonv. Con- S('«|ii.«MMy, y„u ^r,,v(, to lJ||<,u ,M)HS(.s.sion onii,. |^,|i/o juul ol (,f|uM- posts, a,n,l tl.o c.,n.|»lot(, (•..ssioi, u,,s ,1,.^ '''••'•(Ml ,»„lv at the solicilalmn oruij,,;,, liimsHi; until tlio ••mva ol ,|,e Spanish i;,,-,,. which !,<• .■.xp,.cl,- lh(. kindness to com- '""""•<"*' »<> •"« , HH soon as possihlc, all that yon may kn<»w m .vlation K, sait«S "(•'••ally, all the orders, protests, and puhli^ or secret doeuin.M.ts, to which you n.ay hav(. had re,-oiirse, duty, th(! duels and a^r,>„is of the conspiracy. "It IS very essential that I should know who is the jHU-son who wrote, printed and circulated the doc,in..-nt .avm. l<,r ,ts title : J)arrr of ,/,■ Counri/, ,latnl Orlohn; I /(»H, and un(h«r what authority this was done. I desire tlio sa.ne inlorination with re^r,,r;;„/ of ,/,r inhahilanis of Lo,mi,wa on the nrni 0/ the mh Orlolnr, ITllH, l.ecause all th,. artich>s ol said (h)cmuents claim my special attention. I shall Putentn-o laith m your informations, and I aoain ix-r you not to (umt any circumstance ndalivo to men and tlimos, ui what coiuM'rns said revolution." On the 20th, without losin^r sioht of th,. „I,j<.ct of his iuvesfiuations,()'|{,.illy wcM.t to pay a formal visit to tho "rei.ch -ov(«rnor, with the whol,. hody of Spanish of- licors.* On that vc>ry day, Aul.rv answ.Mvd th(> <-om- uuuucation which he had nreived from (rileilly,on the luvcedm^. o"*'- Aul.ry's hotter is a very lon^r document; ui winch he desijrnates all tho chiefs of the revolution and rolat(ly their r,«spective shar(^s in that UI ciu'ipo lie (itu'Mics iiiu'stros, 300 AlfBRl's ANSWER. event. No attorney general could have drawn a more precise and more fatal indictment. He concludes in these words : " I will communicate to your Excellency all the decrees, memorials, and other pieces of iniquity which were flihricated in those times of disturbances and disorders. I will deliver into your hands all the protests which I made against such injustices. My con- duct shall be laid bare before the most equitable and the most '^"'ightcned of judges. His apj)robation, which I dare flatter myself to deserve, will be the greatest honor and the handsomest reward which I can ever receive." This communication, which is a model of humility and servility, does not redound to the credit of Aubry. Far from interceding in favor of his unfortunate fellow citizens, far from endeavouring to palliate their guilt, which he could have done without deviating from truth, he arraigns them w'th bitter asperity, and, certainly, is answerable, to a considerable degree, for the sheddin-: of the blood of those he had accused with such violence If he had contented himself with this brief answer : " The King of France, my master, appointed me governor of this colony, and I cannot believe that the King of Spain wishes to convert me into a common informer," he, perhaps, would have stood higher in the estimation of O'Reilly himself, and, undoubtedly at least, in that of posterity. On receiving Aubry's communication, O'Reilly's mind was inmiediatcly made up. On the next day, the 21st, he communicated to Aubry, at eight o'clock in the morning, the orders of his catholic majesty to arrest and bring to trial, in accordance with the laws, the chiefs of the revolution. Aubry, in one of his despatches, says that he never suspected before that O'Reilly had been invested with any such powers. The Spanish Governor, without loss of time, whilst Aubry was with him, drew Um ARREST OF THE INSURGENT LEADERS. 301 ,. » to his house, under different pretexts, nine of tlie lead- ers of tlic late insurrection, and liad three others, of an inferior rank, arrested in the town hall. They were Nicolas Chauvin de Lafreniere, Jean Baptiste de Noyan, Joseph Villere Pierre Caresse, Pierre Marquis, .Joseph Milhet, Jean Milhet, Joseph Petit, Balthasar de Masan, Juhen Jerome Doucet, Pierre Poupet, and Hardy de Boisblanc. When they were all in his presence, and Aubry standing by, he thus addressed them : " Gentle men, the Spanish nation is respected and venerated all over the globe. Louisiana seems to be the only coun- try which IS not aware of it, and which is deficient in the respect due to that nation. His Catholic Majesty IS much displeased at the violence which was lately exer- cised in this province, and at the offence which was committed against his governor, his officers and his troops. He has been irritated by the writings which have been printed, and which revile his government and the Spanish nation. He orders me to have arrested and tried, according to the laws of the kingdom, the authors 01 these excesses and of all these deeds of violence " After having read to them the orders of his Catholic Majesty, which prescribed to him the course he was pursuing, he added : " Gentlemen, I regret to say, that you are accused of being the authors of the late insur- rcction. I therefore arrest you in the King's name My earnest wish is, that you may prove your innocence! and that I may soon set you free again. Here arc your judges (pointing to some officers who were in the room) They are as equitable as they are learned, and thev will hsten to your defence.* The only part which I shall take in the trial will be, to favor you as much as I may *Dij6 quo S. E. no toniaria otra parte en esta causa (cuyos juecos estaban alli presontes, y les h,z6 ver), que la que fuese conduc-onte f. fa ee o^^^^ que (leseaba que todos pudiesen justificar, plenamentc su conduct. ^ ; j ao2 AllUKST or THE INSIROKNT mADEUS. If ji be pnniiUcd. In llic moan tini<>, all your pr()|)n-ty, ac- cordin-r to the cuHtoin of Spain, with r(> treated as well as possible, in the places where you shall be respectiv(>ly contined. As to your wives and children, be |)ersuaded that I shall r ; and the unfortunate |)rison. ers, alter they had somewhat recovered Irom the lirat shock tli(^y had felt at such a proeee{linn," resunu>d O'lfeilly, "please to deliver up your swords." Whilst this scene was actincr, the whole house had been surrounded by troops, and the rooms had been tillinir up with trivna- diers. One of O'Reilly's aids received the swords of the i)risoners, and some otHcers of trrenadiers cour- teously taking, one the ri,,are(l to fiy with his family and negroes, when he had heard of the arrival of th/ So-i niards. If.s plan was to retire to Manclmc, under he protection of the En^rjish llacr. JJut, either hein.r (h.c(>iv.d as some say, by a letter from Aubry, who pled^^.n.iu,' sell for h.s safety, or believinnr, wlum he was informed of the kmd reception made to his associates in th(> late revolution, that it was not the intention of the Spanish Government to act with riral iis he was ; that we were ready to slied our blood for the service ol' the King of Spain, just as wilhnjrly as for the King of France ; and that, in so doing, we would merely execute the Avill of the King, our master, which was all that we wished. He was completely satisfied with this demonstration, and an- swenul MS in the most obliiiinir manner." On the 'iTth, the Acadians and (Germans who, althouirh they had made all {)ossible haste to reach New C)rl(>ans on the 2()th, had not been able to accomplish their ob- ject, were admitted to take their oath of allegiance, and Mere immediately sent back to tiieir rural occupations. On the 28th, the Spanish troops were cngjiged in landing from the tleet all the anununitioii, |)rovisions, and other materials and elfects, of which it had brought an ample supi)ly. Oil that day, by the order of Aubry, Major de Cirand-maison, with Captains Lamazeliere and Trudcau, assisted by the notary Garic, and in the pre- sence of Bobe, the marine comj)troller, proceeded to raise the seals which had bee'i afiixed in Foucault's house, and to inventory all the papers relative to his office, and which were to be handed to JJobe, his suc- cessor. " I had also ordered the same officer," wrote Aubry, " to require of I'oucault a declaration under oath, of all the moveable and innnoveable prop»>rty he owned in the colony. It aj)pears from his own showing that he owns little or nothing, and has a heavy amount of debts, both in France and in this colony." Although the preceding operations had given much occupation to General O'Reilly, he did not neglect to I-UTTKR FROM AUBIIY. 309 nfor n Inmsolf „unut,.|y of „|| the want, of ,1,„ colony. lie ,I,..|,„tche will nianitam and cause to l,o eyecnted -ill tl.e w,se an.l nsoful regnla.ion,, which the gZ , .;, ' on aceonnt of ,t., weak,,,..,, had „ot l,een\,hl„ u c ,- or,. , or several yoa,-s back. Ho will ke,,, in force ■ Black Code, winch, he think.,, contain., <..4cllen( provi- s,on«„ot only w,ti, re^ar,! to the ,li.,ciplinc wl < t cstahh.,l,c» among the negro,.,. l,nt al,< i„ ..elation to he >no,l..rat,„„ which ,t p,.,.scril„., ,o „,a,te,. mtl e reahncnt ol tho,r .,lave,. Thi., ha, infinitely !„ . , tl,e n,hal„tant,. I have the honor to lr.nsn,it , , „„ , ! or,hna„ce, winch h,- has i.,.,nn,| on thi., snbjcct. ,1 "" '""« ''"■'"'"""' "''» '»I"".V- it i^ surprising t l,.,t the ,n,.,.,. p,-c.„.nce of ,„„. i,„|ivi,|„a| sh„„|d i„ ,« s ho a ton,., have rc,to,-c,l goo.l onl,.,-, peace a„,| tran- t .nt (.ene,a <)-Ke,lly l,a,l ar,-ive,l sooner, it wo'.ld n,.ver Uv seen all the calan,itie, f,„n, which it ha, snllLred. W,ll, the ,.xc,.pt,„„ ol ,1 sn.all ,„„„ber of famili,.,, which n-,. i„a,f,,le of .u„,sten,alion, on acconnt of what ha, so JUS ly be al .,, ,on,e ofth,.ir ,ne,nl„.,-s, who have ben ar- r.;sted,all the n.st „f ,he eoionist, are, ,„iet an.l satisfi,., . hey arc gratelnl to his Catholic Majesty for having sent th,',,, a governor, who listens >vith ' ' itii kindness to tl lose r< utm * mt>« iji^ m i a 10 FOI'CAirf/r SKNT TO IIlANCi:. wlu) liiivo any hiisiiuis,- with him, and who, althoiioli ro- sjM'ctcd and Irarcd, iw not the less lovnd lor his (rciio- ro.sity, his ina<;iia,niniily, and hin o(juity, of which all of lis feel lh(! cilocls. lie will nuiko the hapjjiness of this colony." ( )n tli(^ r>th ofOclohiM-, Anhry,at the ro(inost of ( Vlloilly, |)roc('(ul('d to \\w interrogation of Foncaidl, who declined Hnswerinad not seen any order of arrest issned against him by his most Christian ]Mai(!sty, he j)rotest<>d against the; decrees of which he was the ohject, and excepted to the jnrisdiction of any Spanish Irihinial, for acts which he had done ollicially, in the n;iin(! of the King of France, and on his behalf. Several attempts were made to induce him to undergo an «'xaniination, but he n>niained ol)stinateIy silent on those occasions. He merely said that he was willing to stand his trial in I"' ranee, and h(^ repeatedly ask<;d to be pent thilh(>r. Fpon consideration, it was thought proper to c()m|)ly with his recpu'st, and, on the IJth of October, ho was embarked for France, where, on his arrival, ho was thrown into tiic Jiastilo. S[)eaking of Foucault, in a letter written to the Mar- quis of (Jrimaldi, O'Keilly says: "He is a conceited and narrow minded man, who lias cheated a host of peopUi Ihm'c, as it is demonstrated by the amount of debts which he l(>aves." Indeed it appears from Tou- cault's own stat(MU(!nt of his aliairs, that his d<>bts ex- ceeded his worldly goods by twenty-seven thousand dol- lars, which was a pretty considerable sum at that epoch. The schedide of his debts proves tiiat he iiad even j)os- sessed the art of duping those, Avhose destruction or ex- pulsion fro'ii the colony Jio had aimed at ; for the Span- II RKLEASE OF DIlArO. :ni ish Coritador, Don Entcvari Gayarrc, is put down for $780, on the list of iiis private creditors. IJraiid liad also been arrested, for liavin«r printed the nieniorial of tlie i)la!iters, merchants, &c. of Louisiana on tlie event of the 29th of October, 1708. IJut he pleaded in justification that, as the King's printer, he was bound, by the tenure of liis office, to print all that was sent to him by the King's commissary, and he showed Foucault's signature, at the bottom of the manu- script which he had i)ublished. This defence was ad- mittcd as good, and he was set free. This was the prelude to the great trial which was soon to begin, and which, ending with the shedding of the blood of men who were loved and respected, what- ever their faults may have been, left a deep and indelible impression in the annals of the colony. SEVENTH LECTURE. A State Trial in 1709, and one in 1851— Indictment and Arguments riiE- sKNTKi. iiY THE Attoiinky-(!knkrai. Don Felix del lUv aoainbt Lakueniehk AND THE OTHER CONSIMUATOlW—TllElR DeKKNCK— KeKLECTIONS ON THE UIGIIT WUICII TJIK C0L0N18TS HAD TO HKSIST THE CeKSION— (JfOTATIONS FROM VATrEL'rt LAW OK NATIONS— JlIIKiMENT AC1AIN8T THE ACCUSED— SoME OF THEM ARK SENTENCED TO THE (JaLI.OWS, AND OTHERS TO IMPRISONMENT— VaIN EFFORTS TO OBTAIN A RfMI-ITE FROM (VReILLY— O'RkILLY DISPOSED TO CONNIVE AT THE Flight of Novan, who refuses to avail himself of this favoraiii.e circum- stance-Want OF A AVhite Hangman in the colony— Anecdote of the Black, Jeannot, to whom these functions were tendered -For want of a White Man, as Puni.ic Executioner, the accused, who were sentenced to he IIlno, ARE Shot— The Memorial o*- the Planters, Merchants, and other inhaiiit- ANTS of Louisiana on the event of the UIIth of Octouer, 17C8, is iiurnt on TiiB fUDLio square- The son of Masan gous to Spain, and throws himself at THE FEET OF THE KiNG— IIe OBTAINS THE TaRDON OK HIS FaTIIER AND OK THE OTHER Prisoners- Auimv, on his Return to France, is Shipwrecked and Lost— Anecdotm ok the slaves Artus and Cupido— TnEin heroic Answer to O'Reilly — O'Reilly's I^kspatch to (■rimaldi, in relation to the Triai, the Judgment and its Knecution— Audry's Leiteu on the same suiiject— Reflec- tions ON THE COURSE PUHSCED BY O'HkIMV— An AnECIX.TE OK CARDINAL Richelieu and 1)e Thou, applied to O'Keii.i.v— Sequestration and Confisca- tion OK THE Property ok the Culprits— Cosin ok the Trial— Inventory ok BAiD Property— I)ia*CRiPTioN ok the Furniture ok the wealthiest houses in Louisiana, 17ti9— Spartan Simplicity— Description ok the Dwellings, Man- nf;rs, and Customs ok the Colonists at the time— Census ok the Colony— Its Commerce, Agriculture, and Finances— Final Reflections, If twelve among tlie most distiiigiiisliod citizens of Louisiana were now brought to trial for high treason, as they were in 1709, it would require no efibrt of the imagination to conceive and portray the scenes, that would be the natural consequences of such an event. What an excitement there would be through the broad length and breadth of the land! What an array of A STATE TRIAL. 313 friend., family connexions, wealth, talent, and social mfluence, ruslnng to the rescue ! What passionate d cussK>ns„. every place of public resort, aril in the sane- tuary of every man's household ! Could that queen of ho mmd, to whom none so hi,.h as not to \lo he rcvcrer.ce, and none so low as to be beyond the reach o her care and power, could the press remain in>passive when subjected to the thousar.d currents of electri ty that would play upon i,er ! Would she not, like a mir^ ror, be compelled to reflect the passions of the m It . tude around and be exi,osed, under the pressure of tl o moment, to be broken and divided into fragments, r p sontn..r perhaps the antagonistical images of pros^cu ion and deer.ce/ Would she not, on one side, c..l o Z ••ue and cry of hatred or prejudice, and, ontheotle' would she not repeat the pathetic or argumentative r-' guage of justification ? Or, if soaring\bove the fiel s of contention, she rose up to the pure atmospher of imp--t.ahty, would she not, like the eagle, look do.^ ^^t\ - .,,er impatience at her quarry, and could nhe sup- pie. : -he shrill cry of exultation, at sight of the rich food prepared for her craving appetite ? Hut, whatever "iigh be the scenes acted and the persons iu plav it would be on the broad theatre of the most unlimit'ed freedom, ui the cheering and illuminating lio-ht of the glorious sun of publicity, and under the scn.timzin.r eye of the whole civilized world. "" Now comes the day of trial. J.ook at that vast room where stands the seat of judgment. All the doors arc open, and withm and without the palace of justice are o be seen the serri(>d ranks of an eager crowd. I<^-om far and wide, perhaps from the most distant parts of the great American confederacy, men and women have come to share in the emotions of the fiimous trial which occu- pies the attention of all, and the preliminaries of which 314 A STATE TRIAL. have, Tor months past, with our modern means of con- ycynig inteni<,^rnce, been made as familiar to the dweller in the remotest villa«re of Mjiine, as to the immediate nei A ST ATI; III I A I, cl<>s(>(l, and \\\o field of !ir«riiin('iit is opcMi. N <>\v coniCH iiblimoHt of all s|)(()iis armor of rlo- iiC(>. It sheds no Idood, bm only the divine elfnl;,renc of nrnd, l)roii ball,, of spirits of the air, of areliano;els fi^ditiii^r, as the hard saM th(>m. with heavenly Aveanons. lint the storm i H over, and a! the artillery of arxhaiisted its missiles. Now is Inward the clear and nnimpassioned voice of tho judo;(> addressin<,r the jnry ; he analyses tl:«^ (>videiic(>, lie sums up th(> artrn- meiifs, he confutes sophistry, he (vxpounds th«« law, and recommends its imi)artial a|>plicatioii. The verdict of the jury closes tho soliMnn sc«Mie. In I7(i!), far dillenMit proceedin, tho judutes descended into the cells of th(> accused, and forced tluMU to answer minutely all the (iU(>stions they deemed proper to propound. The ])risoiu>rs inner saw the wit- nesses who were hrouyht a'^ainsl them, and uvwr knew who they won Tl lese witnesses were examiii'Ml i n secret ; and, with the same* secrecy, the rest of the evi- dence was takr. thai, with r(>arly proved. Indeed they had been of so |)ul)lic ;i nature that tli(>y could not be denied. TluMvforo, tho accused, them- selves, admitted most of them to be true, and confessed the respective parts they had acted in the last insurrec- tion. Mut they rested their defence on tlu^ followinir ijfrounds : The King of Spain, they said, had never taken possession of Louisiana, and Ulloa, who allon,vn,ee ,a>l having become Spanish, it loIK.ued that It n-mained I'reneh. Anhry ha^ witlmnt exhihiti..g any credentials, either from r.ouis XV., owerH m the .olony f And when he did so, was it not the dn(y of the colonists lor their protection, in vindication ol (h.-ir dignity, and in c.nlornnty with what was due to then- legitimate sovc^reign of France, to eject the lortHgn trespass.M- / ib.t, adnntting that the takinu possession ot tli(« colony hy tia. Spaniards, or that som. - thmg tantamount to it, had been .Ifc-cted, or that said formal ceremony of taking possession was not absohitclv nocessary to establish in Louisiana the Spanish domina- tion, yet it could not be pretended that the French laws bad ever been repejded, and tlajrefon;, they,th(> accused were to be tried and judged according to the principles' forms and usag(>s of French jurisprudence, and hy those' brench trihmials and authorities that were competent to take cognizance of their pretended olfences, at the time they were alleged to have been committed. Thus they protested against the application of the Spanish la'ws to .if Uu 318 iMti;si:NTMi:.\T of tiik attorni:y-cji;neuai,. tlicir cihsc, Nvlu'ii those laus liad ncvor been cxtc^ndcd over the colony. The Fiicenciate Don Fehx del Key, a practitioner be- fore tJie Koynl Coin-tH of St. l)on»iii«fo and Mexico, wlio had been Jijjpointed the prosecutinj^ Attoriiey-(J( nerni on behalf of the kiiiff, against the anthors of the insnr- rection of the '28th of October, 17(58, presented to the Conrt, on the !20th of October, 17()!), (idl Spanish judi- cial proceedings beinji; in writinj^,) a lonj; docnin(>nt, in which he reviewed, with <;r(^at ability, all the evidence that had been intnxUiced, toji^Mher with the laws a|)pli- cable to tlu^ cise ; and he came to the conclusion that the accused had connnitt(>d the crime of rebellion, wherefore ho be<;y be condenuied, each and severally, accordinjr to their res[)ectivc d(^;^ree of <^uilt, to underj^o the penalty th(!y had deserved. Hi; com- mented with severity on the acts of the prisoners, and particularly on those of I.afreniere and Villere. The latter bein ,: ''•'"'" ' " ""ll""-'ty i„ri»,hclio„ of his , m r ow.r 01 t,,k„,i; cof;,„za„co of a „,aitor fiir bcv.,,,,! ii. Will ,1 |„, k„,fr,, „,„ r,«so„., ofStut,. which 1,^1 -r ards,a„d,ha, h u-ould Uou, out the brails of Ike elZd "t" ■'''»"'' "'[ '^Wcrmil^. These ,are the most a rodo ,s offences wliieh eould be committed by a porsonag" Z much msignific-nce. Notwithstanding I is fury and the gigantic proportions of his pretensions: it was'iiot pos! 8.ble for him to do more. Thus, considering only what 31 ■ ti 322 PRESENTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL. lie did, there is no reason to doubt, however, that he was one of the most obstinately violent actors among the rebels, and that he would have taken liis share in offences still more serious, if his intellectual capacity and the contexture of his j)hysical organization had furnished him with better means of conception and execution." Don Felix del Rey thus reviewed all that had been proved against every one of the accused, and presented it to the court under its most striking colors. After liaving related all the events of the revolution, and ana- lysed all the evidence on record, he proceeded to an examination of the laws which he thought applicable to the case. " Although," said he, " according to th strict letter of the law, the crime of high treason or re- bellion end)races equally all those who have any share in its enormities, yet our sovereign, the most clement of kings, willing, in order to preserve the people against greater misfortunes, that punislunent be inflicted only on a few, with the view of making it an exam[)lc to others, has ordered by his royal schedule (H.) annexed to the record, that only the chief authors of the revolu- tion and their principal accomplices be brought to trial, and punished in accordance with the degree of their guilt. There is no doubt but that the fact of conspiring, in a seditious manner, against the State, renders the chief authors of this crime and their accomplices equally guilty, although it may not have had for its main object the royal Majesty itself, beciiuse, if it be not directed against the person of the prince, it is nevertheless, by its nature, and in its very essence, an act of high treason, * and, consequently, it nmst be followed, on conviction, by the application of the pain of death and by the con- fiscation of property. " I do not intend to descend into the abyss of that roiiSENTMENT „r Tin, ArronNEV-OKNEUAl. 323 mimifude oflaws, wl.icl, I might suuuno,, ,„ ,!,« support "I the conclusions to wliich 1 Imve come. I sl,.,l] •out myself with establishing my po i i™ „f 1 "• aha able foundation „f a few^a>^s ll I'L: tcUv' on tins case, and which arc decisive against t1 e ac^se f The first law which I shall ,„„te, is tira. wl ieh d cCT ' that any ,ed,Uom or /odious indiMml ,oh .kdl^Z ' A;«% of k:sk ,.rc.so,. This' law il rttdf 3 Its exact application to this case is o.nnll - 1 .| 'i ' ^idcring that the accused i.lduced ,1 c'iul abl, ,^ VT^ provi,.e to take „p anns. in o^lft " ra:'"« no„ Antonu, de Ulloa the rights which Ty SZ , law that . ,f„„,j nnc producrs disl„rlm„ccs or rn,ol„ 2 ,hc ku,,do,n, ,,, ,.u,.si„g „:/,>,, ,„ „„,/,,,„„;; :; ''^^ toosscmbk m „rms, „ff„;„>,l the ,.mcr „nd dinuJ'ZZ w^/rwca oj all ihat Im mau possess. Another I-,,., ,.^ ■n -pport of this one, anydoclares ^l^dlZCZl <.....« such Ilion ae guilty of the crime of rebellion and high treason against him. This is the weakest kind of sophistry, and its refutation is easy. If the accused were not the sub- jects of his Catholic Majesty, they were, at least, resi- a t« b C ir PRESENTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY-<;eNERAL. 320 dents in his domain; and it is a legal doctrine, well set- tled, long ago, that those who are domiciliated in a foreign country, or who are mere travellers therein, although they are aliens and the subjects of another power, and have not taken the oath of allegiance to the sovereign ot the country, in which they happen to be, are bound, during their residence in it, either perpetual or temporary, to be true and obedient to that soverei-m, m return for the protection and security which is ex- tended over them ; and that they may be as much guilty of rebellion and high treason against him as his natural born subjects. It has even been determined that fonsign ambassadors wen^ obliged to abstain from doin.r any- thing derogatory to the respect due to the sovereign in whose court they were sent to reside, and could be dis- missed for any act done in violation of his rights, of his royal dignity and of the laws of his kingdom ; an. if cer- tain immunities on that ground have been granted to Uiem, It is a matter of national courtesy and not of right, and should ambassadors proceed to any overt acts of violence against the sovereign, they would be liable to be punished according to the laws of the land." " My preceding observations are sufficient to remove all the doubts which may have been raised '^y the alle- gations of the accused: that Ulloa had not taken pos- session ot the colony, at the time when the crimes with which they are charged were alleged to have been com- mitted; that they had not sworn fealty to the King of Spain ; and that they had remained bound by their oath to the King of France, until they were absolved from it by the solemn ceremony which took place, slionly after General O'Reilly's arrival." " The true statement of the case may be summed up ma very tew words. vVfter the treaty of c(>ssion, Lou- isiana had, for more than two years, been a Spanish pro- ■ m '3'M) I'llIISF.NTIWKNT OF TIIK ATTORNKY-tJKNIlKAI,, viiico ill llio oyoH of tlio world, and tlin coloni.stH tlioni- solvcH, «liii-iiitlin loss ofthoir lormcr importaiicc, rtoduct'd \\u) I'vM of tho |MM>plo niidcr failsi* prcttixts and by circulatin<; tho most infamous calunmics, and avail(>d tliomscIvcH of tho irritation prochicod by a commorcial o unj)alatabh> to tho nuMrhants of Now -Orleans, to brin^r oi, t|„. insurrection of th(> 'J!)th of (>otol)(y would thus dis<^nist Spain with tlu; now aiMiuisilion which had Immmi t«!ndorod to her, and force Franco to take them back unto her bosom, in on\cv to prevent their throwing thonisolvos into tho arms of I''nir|aii are so authentically proved, the defence of the accused m is so futile, and tlu* laws, whoso ajosty is to bo vindicatt>d, sp(Hv, they had Uv.v.u clothed by lh(« soverri^r,,, ,uh| t„ hstci. to ar^niinents afr„inHl their jurisdiction. This was a matter for th(! consideration of iiin Irom whom th(>ir powers originated. Hut, if Dor, l'clix(h'| Uey had not considered it nseU'ss to (Miter into th(. (hscnssicm of this ,,|„a, net up hy the acciis.ul, ho mi-ht have answenul : Tnat a distinclien the civil and politicnl laws, those which ranilale llu; relations of citizens amoiifr tluuiiselveH, »'ul thos(. wlii(-li are estnblish(Ml for the protection and Hocunty of tli(> Sfaf<^ When a territory is ac(|nin;d hy H nation, ilu; civil laws which exist«ul there at tla; time, must undoiihtedly continue in vi^rc,,-, „„ti| they an; ahro- S<-«l<"nH,on wherever it is carried, and are in force, at the very monxMit wImm. that sov(>reiunty is established, Ihus, wIkmi in I8():{, (;ov. Claihorne took possession of Louisiana in the name of the Uiiit(>d Stat<-s of Am(>rica, the civil laws of that province w(>re not altcTcnl by this fact. JJut suppose the inlmbitants of the country, as they did in I7()H, had taken up arms, and violently resisted and e.vpc^lled (Governor Claiborne. This would hav(> constituted tli(« (-rime of n'bellion or liijrh tn^ason ajrainst the United States. Would the trials, which would have been the inc^vitable cons(M|iiences of such deeds of violence, have be(«n conducted accordin^r to the forms, rul(!s, customs and laws of France, or Spain, or HI coiilormity with the laws of the United States, as applicable to sued, cases ? Clearly, in accordance with the last, which, almost as a component j)art of the flao ot the United States, would have followed it into the 332 QUOTATION FROiM VATTEL. ife' province, and have been in force by the mere fact of possession, without requiring any special promulgation ; and all outrages, such as acts of rebellion or high trea- son, against the collective sovereignty of the United States, would have been repressed, tried and punished according to the laws of these States, and by the tribunals of their own creation, and not according to the laws and by the tribunals established for the pro- tection of the sovereignties of Spain and France. This distinction between civil and political laws is essentially required by their very nature. Thus it seems that the plea set up by the accused in 17G(), and on which I do not think it out of place to venture these few remarks, although Don Felix del Rey deemed it unworthy of notice, did not, in reality, rest on any solid foundation. Be it as it may, it is certain that, if the colonists, instead of having accepted for two years the Spanish domination, had resisted it in the beginning, on the ground that they were no herd of cattle, and could not be transferred away without their consent, they would have presented a more plausible justification, by relying on the following passage of Vattel's law of nations.* " If the nation has conferred the full sovereignty to its conductor, if it has intrusted to him the care, and, with- out reserve, given him the right, of treating and con- tracting with other States, it is considered as having invested him with all the powers necessary to make a valid contract. The prince is then the organ of the nation ; what he does is considered as the act of the nation itself; and though he is not the owner of the public property, his alienations of it are valid, as being duly authorized." * Vattel's Laws of Nations, Chap. xxi. Of the alienation of the public pro- perty, or the domain, and that of a part of a State. LXL QUOTATION FROM VATTEL. 33,1 "The question becomes more distinct, when it re- Jates, not to the aUenation of some parts of the pubhc property, but to the dismemberment of the nation or ^tate itself-the cession of a toAvn or a province that constitutes a part of it. This question, however, admits ot a sound decision on the same principles. A nation ought to preserve itself_it ought to preserve all its membcrs-it cannot abandon them ; and it is under an engagement to support lliem in their rank as members of the nation It has not, then, a right to traffic with their rank and hberty, on account of any advantages It may expect to derive from such a negotiation. Thev hpr^rr .r' "T'^^""' '^^ purpose of being mem. bers of ,t-thcy submit to the autiiority of the State, for the purpose ot promoting in concert their common wel fare and safety, and not of being at its disposal, hke a farm or a herd of cattle. But the nation may lawfully abandon them m a case of extreme necessity; and she has the right to cut them off from the body, if the pub- ic safety requires it. When, therefore, in such a case, the btate gives up a town or a province to a neighbour or to a powerful enemy, the cession ought to remain valid as to the State, since she has a right to make it • nor can she any longer lay claim to the town or province thus alienated, since she has relinquished every right she could have over them." "But the province or town thus abandoned and dis- membered from the State, is not obliged to receive the new master whom the State attempts to set over it Being separated from the society of which it was a member, it resumes all its original rights ; and if it be capable of defending its liberty against the prince who would subject it to his authority, it may lawfully resist him. 1-rancis I. having engaged, by the treaty of Madrid, to cede the Duchy of Burgundy to the emperor Charlee 334 THE JUDGMENT. v., the states of that province declared, ' That, having never been subject but to the crown of France, they ivould die subject to it ; and that, if the King abandoned them, they would take up arms and endeavor to set themselves at liberty, rather than pass into a new state of subjection.^ It is true, subjects are seldom able to make resistance on such occasions ; and, in genera], their wisest plan will be to submit to their new master, and endeavor to obtain the best terms they can." This, indeed, would have been the wisest course which the colonists, weak as they were, could have pursued, iind it is much to be regretted that they did not do so. Blood would not have been uselessly shed, in an enter- prise in which success was materially impossible. On the 24th of October, the Court found the prison- ers guilty, and O'Reilly, as its president, pronounced and signed the judgment, which read thus : " In the criminal trial instituted by the order of the King, our Sovereign, to discover and punish the chiefs and authors of the conspiracy which broke out in this colony, on the 29th of October of the last year, (1768,) against its Governor Don Antonio de Ulloa, all the grounds of the accusation having been substantially in- vestigated, according to the due forms of law, between the parties,— on one side, the Licentiate Don Felix del Rey, a practising advocate before the royal courts of St. Domingo and Mexico, here acting in his capacity of Attorney General appointed by me for the King, accord- ing to the royal authority vested in me,— and on the otherj Nicholas Chauvin de Lafreniere, ex-Attorney General for the King of France, and the senior member of the Superior Council, Jean Baptiste Noyan, his son- in-law, Pierre Caresse, Pierre Marquis, Joseph Milhet, an attorney to the memory of Joseph Villere, on account of this culprit's demise in prison, Joseph Petit, Balthasar '.ajL. !i|: (I .J* .. i: HI !l^ THE JUDGMENT. 335 Masan Juhen Jerome Doucet, Pierre Hardy de Bois- blanc, Jean Milhet and Pierre Poupet, accused of hav- ing participated in the aforesaid crime and in the subse- quent seditions which broke out against the Spanish govermr.^nt and nation ; having perused the information, deposit-ons and other documents inserted in the proces verbal ot this case ; having compared the confessions of the accused with the papers found in the possession of some of them, and by them acknowledged as theirs : the accused being heard in their defence, and the charges brought against them being accompanied with theirfe- spective proofs; having heard the conclusions of the Attorney-General in his bill of indictment ; all beincr examined and considered, either in point of fact or ol" law, m a case replete with circumstances so grave and so extraordinary; and taking into consideration all that results from said trial, to which I refer, I have to declare and I declare, that the aforesaid Attorney General has completely proved what he had to prove, and that the accused have not proved and established the allegations set up in their defence ; that they have made out no ex- ception which frees them from the crime imputed to them, and still less saves them from the penalties which according to our laws, they have incurred for their re- spective shares in the excesses which have been enume- rated by the Attorney General Don Felix del Rey • so that, from the present, I have to condemn and I do con- demn the aforesaid Nicolas Chauvin de Lafreniere, Jean Baptiste Noyau, Pierre Caresse, Pierre Marquis and Joseph Mdhet, as being the chiefs and principal movers ot he aforesaid conspiracy, to the ordinary pain of the gallows, which they have deserved by the infamy of their conduct, and ipso jure, by their participation in so horrible a crime, and to be led to the place of execu- tion, mounted on asses, and each one with a rope round - 1 336 THE JUDGMENT. his neck, to be tlicn and there hung until death ensue, and to remain suspended to the gallows until further orders ; it being hereby given to be understood that any one having the temerity of carrying away their bodies without leave, or of contravening, in whole or in part, the execution of this very same sentence, shall suffer death. And, as it results also from said trial, and from the declarations of the aforesaid Attorney General, that the late Joseph Villere stands convicted, likewise, of having been one of the most obstinate promoters of the aforesaid conspiracy, I condemn, in the same manner, his memory to be held and reputed for ever infamous ; and, doing equal justice to the other accused, after hav- ing taken into consideration the enormity of their crime, as proved by the trial, I condemn the aforesaid Petit to perpetual imprisonment in such a castle or fortress as it may please his Majesty to designate ; the aforesaid Bal- thasar Masan and Julien .Jerome Doucet, to ten years' imprisonment ; and Pierre Hardy de Boisblanc, Jean Milhet and Pierre Poupct to six years' imprisonment ; with the understanding that none of them shall ever be permitted to live in any one of the dominions of his Ca- tholic Majesty, reserving to myself the care to have every one of these sentences provisionally executed, and to cause to be gathered up together and burnt by the hand of the common hangman, all the printed copies of the document entitled ' Memorial of the planters, mer- chants, and other inhabitants of Louisiana on the event of the 29th of October, 1768,' and that all other publi- cations relative to said conspiracy be dealt with in the same manner ; and I have further to decree, and I do decree, in conformity with the same laws, that the pro- perty of every one of the accused be confiscated to the profit of the King's treasury ; and judging definitively, I pronounce this judgment, with the advice of Doctor APPEALS TO o'nEII,LY. 337 Don Maimol lose ,le Urn.ti,-,, Auditor of war and of tl>o navy, for the harbor and city of Havana, and the spodal authority ; and km foes, as well as those of the officers om^oyed .n th„ trud, shall he paid out of the confiscated l)roperty, m the manner prescribed by law." Signed, Ai.EXANDi:ii 0'Reii,i,y. Countersigned, Manuel Jose de UitiiuTU. Wiien this sentence was known, the offects which it produced can easily be conceive.!. The most st ^0. efforts were made, to obtain from O'lteilly that its eve cution be suspended until «„ „pp„„| ^<, ^,i ^^ „ f _,^;^ clemency of Charles III. With the same gentlenes of manner which characterised all his act,,, but wi h t| e 2h .. ^rl"" "' ""'''"'"""" ""tcTminationT t- plied : " Tha the Court had given its decisiou, and that ..was final , that be had merely presided over tlie Court but that, according to lus plighted faith ami well-known that of taking care that the accused bo as favorahlv treated as possible ; that he had strictly and lionora ly kept Ins word ; that he could do no more ,• that he lad .n« ructions which he could not disregard, imd wh c| if I 'ills "Z'T;''"' '■" '"""■^ •" "'- "»™''"<' ■■""■ '" tl-ir riends; that those instructions ordered him to proceed to an immediate execution of the sentence of the Court whatever 1, might be, and that he would do so, in con-' orniity with bis duty, however painful it might be to l"s lathers < brothers had remained faithful to the Spanish eausc, thought that, owing to this circumstancer tiey might perhap., exercise some influence over General O He lly ; and finding their way to him, they made a pas 6i«natc appeal m favor of the condom^edlsuch an ap. 22 '^ :w8 HIS iM"i,i;xiniiJTY, |)(vil as llu! rcinah' lirart alone can iiusj)iro. 'I'lion; wt>iv more tlian oik* Lady T\Iar«ian't and one Miss I'Mitli WvU Iciidcn, who, Avifli iVanics (r(Mnl)lin<^ with anxiety, |)()ur(>d ont their souls in supplications to O'Keilly. Likr (irahani or(Mav(>rhousi>, whos(> eharacttr bore coiisi(l(>r- al)le allinitv to his own, he resisted their intercessions with the most (vxipiisitj' politeness, but Avitli an inexora- ble teni|)er, although ho was, at that «iin(>, hardly nior<> than thirty-lour years old, therefore in the prini(> of life, and still at that aye whei; the soul of man is not v«'t to be supposed st«Mars of \\oman and the soft emotioi\s of pity and o»>nerosity. it is said that sonio of the Spanish oHici>rs, and particularly Loyola. (Jayarn> and Navarro, actinjr under the iidluence of their own feelini2;s, and the promptin<>s of thos(^ fri(Muls, whom, durintr a residi-ncc; of nearly three years in the colony, they had made to themselves anions;' the l''n>nc"» poi>nlation, advised O'Keilly to assunu^ the r<>sponsibility of snsp(>ndin<]; the (>xocution of the Court's jud receiv«>d fromSi)aiii; but, all their aj)plications remained fruitless, and it was soon ascen rendered on the 'J 1th of October, and it becanu' known that those who w(M(> condennied to death, would be executcnl on the next day. If tradition is to 1>(> beli(>ved, 0'K<>illy, although in- xible in appearance, was s(>cretly moved to compas- sion in favor of Noyau, the son-in-law of Lafreniere. Tins s, j)leade(l as strongly in his favor as the numerous friends who left no means untried to sav(> him. ('(M'tain words which dro|)|)«>d from the (ieneral's mouth yav(> it to be under- th stood that the escajx* of this prisoiuT would be conniv(>d at. Uut Noyan, on being informed of it, heroically ro- I 'I'lin NKcnil JKAMVOT. 339 I M-,1 (,, „v,„ |,„„S,.|| „(• ,|,i» f„vo,.,,l,|„ ,i„. ,,„„,„ •'t::::'''''' '•" '■ "-i-«i,hin, ,,..„„.„. ■ I iMi,..„l, „l,„ «,„l,. „ „,„.|i „„ |,,„„,si,„m l„ 17V. ;■;;:, ;;'f ";;." "" '•'•^'"'•■■•■lv •■."-i ,-.n,,.,„.,„,iv-,iii,.,i C m ,,,.n.,,,|,,,,,.,lv ,,,n,..,M,,,, n,v,,,.. f..,, l|, ' J M UlKH.,vm-,«,.r „.n„i,K.,l ,„ ll.r..,. ,,,,,7^ h ., „ nnMn,Mo ,lu. ,Wuc,. ,vlH.. h,Mv., ,..i,:,,| ; ' .; • ' .'» ll^".K"nn, l,„ s|,„«,,| „, ,|„, „»s,,,„|,|,,| ,„„|,i|,„, "■ ' ^"•''''y '" "iH'l. IK^ wns, ,.. |,oWi.n„ ,1,. 1,1- '",""";'"« V: '"'"• ■'''"■''''■■•"<-l'w..r. .„n,d/ I, '''""■^"'""■■""l-''"-'"""l»Ms„p„„i,„..,lov..rxo,.r , • "" "7« '"■l'>"K"iK I" UISO!Si':i(M. orcx(MMi(iii j)ris()iH'rs nliot, l)iit without removing ilic infjuuy vvliich would have resulted I'roui tli(>ir Hull'erinjj^ dentil on the irallows. O'Reilly iissiMitetl to this re«|U(^st, juul Francisco Xavier l{o clerk of the C'ourt, cution, which took place in liis presence, at thr(>e o'clock in the afternoon. It ap- pears by this |)roc<\ss verbal that Nicolas Chauvin dc Lafrenicre, Pierre Manpiis, .Ios(>ph iMilhet, .l(Min IJaptisto Noyan and Pierre Caresse, beinjr tak«Mi out of |)rison, and with their arms well pinioniMl, were conducted, und*^' u heavy escort of jj^renadiers, to the places of »\\(U'ution, which was occupied by a hw^^c body of Spanish troops formini; a s(|uare. The prisoners beintjf introduced into the middle of this sipians Uodri«rue/,, th(^ clerk of the Court, road to them their sentenct? in Spanish, and it was then repeated to them in I'riMJch by ll(MH-y (Jardc^rat, assisted by two other interpreter's, Jean nai)tisto (Jaric, and the Lieutenant i^f artillery, Juan Kely, who had all been specially appointed by O'Reilly to act as inter- preters on the trial. Then a copy of the sentence was delivered into the hands of the public crier, who went round, and n^ad it to all th(> troo|>s and to th(> j)(!opl(i, in a loud and intelli son of Masnn vv(M.t to iMadnd, threw hin.Hcn'at th<> liM-t ofthc Kin^r, and hcra.-d that hiH lathi'r ho pardorwd, or that he he |)erniitt('^(l hy th(^ l-Veneh atrd)assador, to.ieh(>(l (he Kin^r, who frn,nt(Ml a full pardon, not only to Masan, hut also (o |)„„r,.i, Moishlane, Milhot, lonpetand IVtit. Non.. ofih.M.. relurn.ul to Louisiana, and It IS heli(.v<.(l Ihat tli,>y went to n^side at the (.'ap rranvais in St. Doininjro. Auhry I(>rt l^onisiana for Hordeaux in the hri.r;,ntine call(>d the l\-rr ;,nt and two sail- ors, who siicc<>e(l.'d in reachinnr iho |,md i,, safety. The Kinor, in ord(>r to show how much he appreciated the services of Auhry, ^rraiited a pension to tlu« hrolher and to the sister of that officer. Aiil)ry, |)ofbre his departure from r.oiiisiana, had heen oflVred a liiol, un.d,. i,, the Spanish army, as a, token of safisfiictioii at th(> lil)(>ral coiirs,> which he had pursued towards that nation in the colony, hut he refus(>d, on the ^rr(,„„,| ,i,.,t ho intended to devote tli(' remnant of his ,iuence of the imprudent" denunciations of that oflicer and of his servility to (VReilly and the Spaniards. |{y thcMii his melancholy end was looked upon as an act of the retrihutive justice of Heaven. It is relat(Ml that, amoii confiscated slaves of J.a- freniere, there was oik; named Artus, who had tlu^ re- putation of heina an adinirahle cook. ()'l{eilly sent for Artus, and said to him :" You are now the Kin ('ourt : "TIh> M-ial wliicli l)('(rari licnV' nuid he, "a^ruiriHl tlu- twvUv cliicls, movers and ac(oiiij)li(M's of (lu; inHurror.- tioii wliich look place in this proviiuu', is at an end. Six of tlu'in, having' des<'i'ved d(>alli, \v(>i(' sentenc(>d to he lnni;,s l,ut one of these eidprits huvin<,Mlie(l in |)iison, iive only wi-rv, executed, and, as there is no ex(>cntion(T liero, they were shot on the 'Jfith of this month (Octo- ber), at three o'clock of the afternoon. The six otluMVS were s(Mitenced »o he impris()n«>d in one of the Kin«r's cas- tles, that is, one for life, two lor ten years and three for six years, and llie j)roperly of th<' twelve was conliscatiMl." "The six who w<>re sentenced to he imprisoned will be sent to day to one of the forts at Havana. 1 trans- luit t(. the Captain (Jeneral of that place a copy of the juden seques- trated, from the be^rim,inr creditors may he jrjven to them, and the balance be delivered up into the Kind's treasury," 79"°^ " This judjrment wipes off entirely tlu? insidt iWo\o the di natun; of the evidence on which tins judgment was founded. KKKMNCJS AND IDKAN OF TIIK Vim:. ;m5 'I Will trcal, lor \\w r.itnr,., willi ini.rkcMl ^ron||rn.«ss all tlios,. wliosi;r,H.(| tiM, r(;(M•(^s,>I,tiltionH nddrcsscd to Iho i oimcil, and it udl l.(> u lloc(ion or that an(laciv all tlM> nin.ns "' my i.ou.M-, and nolhin^r will !„. n.orc conducive, to '• >''^' l^'"!':' "(• liiH acts. E„cn,hnd,,, says 1.0 wnh (>xnltali(,n, nrhmoU^^rs H,r. nrrrssin/, the jnsfL and the rlnnrnn, of this j,>,fo;nrnl, whirl, svis an r.ramulr. nrr to he rnunnhnrd. And it mnst not he for-ron,.,, Iliat (;()V(>rnor Anhry, writing to his (,wn froverm.ient, takes the same vnnv of the course, of action adopted oy licilly. / hniw the honor, said hn to the l<^rench minis- tor, o/ ,rndmelin.rs of humanity, and with those notions of ri.rht and wr'^on.r. 3U\ i'i:i:i,iN«JN AM> M>i:\N ov tiii; timi: IfiW tii wU'nh now |>n'Viiil llir()iiij[li<»iil ili(> civili/cd world. In ls:)|, F-alVciiirrr and his iuM()in|»li((«s would not, |>rol>ii- bly, liiivr luHMi condniuu'd lo mi i«,'nominious dratli, for - wlial IIm'v did in 17(>8. Tliry lind n'sintcd iho rxiM-ciso of ixmcrs which I hey (hon^jht oppn'ssivc! to tluMii, nnd which W(Mt< wielded hy aii olliccr, whom th(>y hciicvcd t(> [»(« clolh(>d with dnhioiis anlhorilv ; lh(>v hiid r(\soi-(«<(l fo vwiy inciins, even violence, not (o he severed iVoin that kin<,'d>>ni, to whi<'h the colony was indehled for its hirlh. IJnt tln-y had .shed no l)lood ; and when e.\|)(Mience s ol'heinfr re.aime.\(>d to l'ranct>, or to set n|) for theniselv(>s nnder an independent jioverinnent, were visionary ; when O'KtMlly arrived with such lorces as it wonid liav(> heen madiu^ss to co|)(« with, they tend(>n'd, at once, their lidl and entin* submission to the ••■overn- meat of Spain. Il must l)e recollected, however, that a century ayo, the sli<>Iit(>sl athMupt against royal author- ity was considered as one of the most heinous crime.'* that could l)e commilted, and was punished with a severity, which now would not he tolerated hy |)ul)l opinion; and that ollences Avhich thei deserve death, would not now he th w 1 W(>r(! (I(>enu'd to «' cans(! even ol put- tinjr a man on his trial. It is not astonishinir ther(>lbrc that hoth Anhry and (Vileilly should I iav(> noiuvs tly thouiiht that, to pick out of the rehellions colonist tw(>l\(> lea(i(>rs only, six of whom should l)(> shot, and six imprisoned tor a <^rea!eror lesser period of time, and to <]frant a full and unconditional pardon to the rest, was an extremely merciful act. Hesides, there is no douht hut that O'Reilly was moved hy considc^-ations of |)()licy. As Spain did not int(>nd to keei) ui) a lai'ije military lorce in l.ouisiana, it was necessary to produce such an • • . ' •■I impression on its iidiahitants, as to |)revent the rejx'ti- tion of what had occurred ; and above all, it was ex pc- VUMWK OF lun.niTY A13AIN.ST o'uilIM.V. .{fT H(>( n Hjiliitiiiyrxiimplc bcfon. Ilio otlirr col Ionics. II siiiiiliir «Mi((>r|)iiscH, and to show, (lie liiiinjnnjr,. iis,.,| |,y (|„. |)„|^,. ,,|- ,^|,|,,^ j„ j, <>|»iiiioii oil iIh; iiHuirs of l.on III ic U'lllf(;n '•» IIk' Ivin^r ,iH ,1 m,.|nl),.|' of |,is ciJ isiiiiiii uiiic.li Ii(> pn'Mcnlcd /k'/K ton/ to the rrspcrl dttr to tli •iiK't : lliitl the /• w and was ahlr to rrf,nssan,, aUnnfU w/,alnrr, d Ilia rroaa- S royal aiit/inrifi/. ;.""" «l"''-<' ;ur wlioiic,nKH(,0'|{nllyoVln.;u-|irrv nii,! <"i JKToiint ,,r il„. inlcr|)r,.|,iUioM wliicli' i| ic (lii|»Ii<'ity p"' "" ti'«- mnrkr.i ,iviii(i,.s wiiidi 'i,,r,;,,;n;;;.;;;j "I,;';! <"H( ..rs ol II,. ii.s.invc.tioii, whni lli,.y w,.,v inli-o,lnc..,l •<> iimi, and oil ||i(. ^.^^^ nliicli li(' iiddrcsscd lo il l|S liiniriliKT O r^ sc K'ln. Tliry liclic.vc f|i;il iIk in(M. had ;,, i-,;^I,|^ ,„ in(;,r n-on, ()M(,.illy's dr,,oMi,i,.,.l, tt«'ii, and tliiit lln'y lliul llie ir |)!ist i]vvi\s wen; (onr( would not liill<>d h »<; l»'-')ii!rlit to trial; it is said tlinl (rUciJIy "'<"'.'> "Ho s(<; n'lidy to iiiTcst, ;i( the same siii SOItK! Sl|-(MI, and who snid : //,„/ i/, nnth h is unv ,iJ:ood hojirs that Ih 'irir not iistonishini.-, thcrcfoi-ii, that La( Kfilly, at 'ir srnirral sc„l ihci hack- l>nsl faults should he for^yoHcn. and Milh<>t t(>riii slionid have shared with Honl •Miicrc, M!tn|iii,' 1? impression.- TIk! ;''<'-'lmted to ()'Jlt intentioiiH of d(M;eit .l"^tice to him, it must I conrt(\sv of his In (ui true, but still, in )<> HMiiarked that the extreme siiflicient, of itself, t ii^iiaire nnd of his deportment is not o warrant the conclusion that it w; dictate({ by (luj>li(;ijy. ft "'^fnil tone ol" the hilousas parishes. They arc the tenements of our small plant(>rs mIio own only a few slaves, and they retain the ap|)ellation of Maisoiis d'Acadinis, or Araclian houses. Villere's planta- tion, situated at the German coast, was not large, and the whole of his slaves, of both sexes and of all ages, did not exceed thirty-two. His friends and brother con- spirators, who were among the lirst gentlemen in the land, did not live with more ostentation. All the sc([ues- POLISHED MANNERS OF THE COLONISTS. .351 trafcd propcn-ty bcin^r sold, it ^^■as found that, after havirur distnbut.^d arnono- the widows and other creditors wha't hey were entitled to, and aftcu- paying the eosts of the trial an( niventornss, the royal treasury had notl.ind only to 782 livres, or about !$1.)7, for each ot tlu' persons convicted There were but lunnhh. dw(>llin.rs in Louisiana in 170^ ana he who would have judged of their tenants cm their outward appearance would have thoucrht that hey were occupied by n.ere peasants, but had he"passed then- thresholds he would have been an.azed at bein. welcomed w.th such manners as were habitual in the most pohshed court of J.:urope, and entertained by men and wcHucM, wearing with the utn.ost ease and grace the elegant and r.ch costume of the reign of Loms XV. Ihere the powdered head, the silk and gold flowered coat t, ,,ee and frills, the red heeled sh^e, the ste 1 l^'trH lea sword, the sdver knee buckles, the hi-d, and courteous b,.arn.g of the gentleman, the hoop pcUtieoat ebroca ed gown, tl. rich heaks, the artificially gracehd de- portment, and the aristocratic features of th(> lady tormcd a strange contrast with the roughness of sur' roumhng ep in a soIn tiule, where none but beasts of prey were expected to " One of the first acts of O'Heilly's administration," says .Judge Martm, in his history of Louisiana, " was an order (or a census of the inhabitants of New Orleans It was executed witii great accuracy. It appeared that ;ir)2 ri'.NSUS OF Tin; INIIAIUTANTS. Ili(» iiiinn-ijiilc |»()|)iil;iti(>ii iiinoiinlcil l<> llircc^ tliousiind one ImiKlrcd :iiul niiicly persons, of ('vcry iii>(>, hox hihI color. 'riu> jiiimlKM- of froo |)(M-soiih was iiinctccMi Iiiin- (Ircd and two; (liirly-oiH'orwIioin wore black, and sixty- cinlit ol" iMi.\(>(l blood. Tbrn! were t\v(«!v(> lnindr(>d and twcnly-liv(> slaves, and sixty doniiciliatiMJ Indians. Tlic lunnbcr of lionscs was four lnnidr(>d and sixty-ci<;|it. The /rrca test |)art of tli(>in W( tliird and fonrlli streets from the wat(>r, and principally in tli(> Iall(>r. " No censns was taken in the rest; of the j)rovincc, bnl, froiM a reference to the prccedinii; and succeedinur years, the h>llowiiii;- statement is b«di(;ve, - l''roni llie Uali/e to the town, - IJayon Si. .lohn and (ii^ntilly, - 'I'choupitoulas, _ _ . St. Chark's, - St. .lohn the Haptist, Lafonrche, lb»M-ville, Pointe C'Onpec, Attakapas, Axoyelles, Natchitoches, Uapides, Onachita, y\rkansas, St. Lonis (Illinois), - ;{i!)() r)7() ;{()7 111)2 ();{!) 2()7 :{?<) 78;} dOf) :ni Nil 17 no 88 8!)1 l.'{,.'-):{8 Abont half of this i)0[)ulalion was wliitc. " The exports of the province, dnrintr the last year of its snbjection to J''rance," says the same anthor, "were us follows : <'ONri,Il|)iivcj UIOMARKS. In Indian, - Dt^erslviiiH, - lairnhcr, Naval Sforos, lliv.c, pofiH mu\ boaiiH, Tallow, An infiM-lopo trade with tl,o Spanish colonics took away j^roods worth - - . The colonial tn-nrnvy ^avc hills on irovcrn- incnt in France lor - $HUM)0() 12,000 1,000 4,000 $250,000 (>0,000 .'{()0,000 So that the province afl'orded meann of remit- " tanci! for - _ „,._ « ., , - - - . $(,70 ()()() low merchant vessels came IVon, France ; hnt the llandol M.span.ola carried on a hrisk trade ;ith New Orleans, and son.e vessels came from Marlini<,ne. Kn.ir.s v..ssels brought whafver was nec<«ssary li,r th<' troops, and .roods Ibr the Indian trade." " T''*' '"•';«'> <'[ ^<»uisiana was ^n-eatly inferior to that of Hispamolu; the planters hein^r ,,,„„■ nnskillid and natter, .ve ,n the n,a,Milaet,,n-e of it. That of sn.^ar had been alKUHh>n..d, hnt so.ne plant<«rs near Near Orh.u.. rais('(l a few can(t." Such was the emhryo eolony which France had createcl, and w ,ch she had possessed seventy vears. A Ithongh ceded to Sp,un in 1702, it was not umhT the entire contro of that power before the iNth An«nst, 1701), when ( Redly took forn.al possesion of the conntry. It had be(m mn<-,h '{ 354 CONCLUDING REMARKS. wv space cnoufrh for an iminensc population ; and a better administration than tliat of France, conducted on far different principles, might have obtained results more favorable than those which had crowned her efforts. It is not a high estimate to suppose that Louisiana, from 1099, the date of its colonization, to 17C9, when it was finally delivered over to Spain, must have cost, directly and indirectly, from fifteen to twenty millions of dollar ■! dis- bursed by Crozat, the India Company, and France, who never got any returns for this very large expenditure. Of all the great powers of Europe, France, with her spirit of enterprise, her brave and intelligent population, and her vast resources, had been the least successful in her attempts at establishuig colonies ; and, after an infinite waste of courage and perseverance, of hardy labor, of blood and of treasure, she had lost, at last, almost every inch of her once nhmiint boundless possessions on the continent of America. Spain and England had divided the shreds of that gorgeous mantle which adorned her shoulders, but which she had allowed to drop as a heavy incumbrance. The preceding pages have been written to very little purpose, if they have not made apparent to the reader, the causes which checked the prosperity of Lotiisiana, and rendered her a worthless possession in the hands of France. Those causes lie on the surface of the history itself which I have sketched, and it requires no depth of research, nor any recondite analysis to discover them and appreciate their nature. To one of them, however, I nuist, in concluding this work, nuike a |)assing allusion, because it is still in existence, and exercises a fatal influ- ence over the destinies of Louisiana to this present day. It is, that those who came to her, never considered that they had found a home m her bosom. With tlui excep- tion perhaps of the Acadians and of the German,- wliom CONCLUDING REMARKS. 355 Lawhad sont to the colony in 1722, tliose whom sho roccivcd (n her hip were not .rrateful for the ho^nitahtv and deemed themselves lo he miserahh^ exiles. Vll the nuhtary officers and other persons en.ployed hy the government had hut one ohject in view, tha{ of availincr themselves, to ohtain promotion, of their services in thai distant country, and of Ihe reputation of perils which they were really exposed to, or were supposed to have encountered ; and they nlso hothought themselves of no- thing else than malcin. money, hy fiiir or foul means, ac- cordmg to their different dispositions, in order to rettirn With increased honors, or with ampler m<-ans of enjoyment to then- cherished native- country, to the heautiful France which tluy could not forget. With regard to that part of the population which was not composed of officials a good many had heen transported lo Louisiana hy force and detested a country which they looked upon as a prison. Others, whose coming had been the result of their own volition, had Ix-cn deceived hy wild hopes by nnrenhzed promises, and hy exaggerated representations of what they were to expect in the land to which their omigration had been solicited. They smarted under the anguish of disappointiiK-nt, and if they labored at all it was to acqmre the means to go back', hcfor<> closin-r their career, to their birth-place in Europe, and th(>y had even impregnated their offspring with these notion's. Unfor- unately, Louisiana was a mere place of transient and temporary sojourn, nothing better than a hostelry acara vansary, but no home for any one. Ihm could it be loved '"^'.^•';ve as- sociations, not a link of that mystic chain connectiuo- the present with the past and the future, which producu^ fin attachment to locality. The waters of patriotism had not yet gushed from their spring, to fertilize the land. 1 here were \ renchmen in Louisiij but no Louisiani m^. 356 C'dNi'M'niNC.' ItKMARKS. Now n cliiui'^r liiul coiih' in li(>r pro^rcsMivo (losliiiios, mul she loiiiid IkmscU'm portion of (lie Spanish monarchy. Hut neither nnch-r the tla;:; ol' l''ranc.(% nor niuhn* tluit of S|)ain was it, tliat fsl conception ol" her future prosperity, and ol' the d(>v(^lop- nn'ut of those innnens(M-«>soin"ces, which, to nnfohl ihein- selv(>s, recpiired the touch ol'a nui>hly tnajriciau, whose in- cantations a <|uick ear nii;];ht perhaps, even at that time, ha\e h(>ard from alar, it was not, when a poor colony, and wlun iLjiven away like a farm hy a friend to anoth(M*, royal thoun miserably clad with the tatter(>d livery of lu'r colonial hon(Iae her li^lorious dismemherment into sove- reignties, the least of whiclMx'cupies so proud a position in the ey<' of the world. This miracl(> was to l)(> the eonscMiuence of the apparition of a banner, which was not in existtMic(> at the lime, which was to be the laba- rum of the advent of lihcM'tv, iho harbinjjer of the reire neration of nations, and which was to form so important an era in the history of the ri,a , he Despatch writtm on the V2lh of OctoUr, l1,o bu Limudmn, the Harbor Maater and Vhiej PU„t, ' Ml' Loud : ,« s,. , , ,. w„.,„ .,„. „„,. ,.,irz!r.;;Jr»;;;:..:;'';::;;,,; 1.0 .ul .. tlu. I ass ra„ .soul soutl.-east, and i.ortl. norti wost n,iH .as boon but too f.v.uont fW thoso twonty-fivo yonrs, clu,,- " .I.i I U- ..nt .y th.. suno way i„ whi.h I took thorn iu ; ami these cWc. At that tunc tho tKl..s ascvncl thirty-thrco n.iles. Now, it will !.< 1 '' ary ... vosse s w.s in^ to con.o in, t., cast anchor to thi oast a tl - a! and west south-west of tho houses of tho ]Jalize Post. Regulations of Police. Wo rierre l%a«t, Manjuis of Vaudrouil, Governor .ft,. Province of I.n„s,ana, and I[onor6 Ml. hel de la Houvilii^re, the I ,.'s , .uns lor pZ;ri^^"-'''H '' '" ''T'- ^'■'^"'■^'"-^' -J i"Unen, and thereby exposed to all sorts of casualties, in order to assemble with those of the country, who come prowling through the town, to commit every kind of malfeasances, and to be drinking at he taverns, to the amount of what they can obtain for what objects they liave stolen from the public and from their masters ; we exhort and even order al the citizens carefully to watch these nocturnal excesses, to wh,c^ our police sliall be actively alive ; and if, through our combined efforts we can d.scx>ver the authors of such iniquities, the severe justice which shall be administered to them, shall intimidate all othei who may bo disposed to produce such scandalous disorders. The inhabitants of the country may powerfully contribute to put an end to this state of things, by retaining their negroes on their respective plantations. Aht. 28. Any negro or other slave, either in town or in the country, who shall tail m the respect and submission which he owes to white people-that IS to say who may be so insolent as to elbow them on the high roads and public ways, and who, finally, forgetting that he is a slave, shall offend them in any way whatsoever, shall be punished with fifty lashes, and shall be branded with the flower de Luce on his back (sur la fesse) in order to make known, in case of need, the nature of his crime. Akt. 29. All the negroes and other slaves who go to church, shall attend the hrst mass said m the morning. In the country they shall be led to church by the overseer of each gang, who shall take them back iinme- oiately atter diyine worship is over; and should there be servants in the habit of following their masters to any other mass than the first one in the morning, «uid servants shall stop at the door of the church, and wait th.re for their masters, under the penalty of being chastised. AuT. 30. We have just explained the respect and obligations due by the black. to the <.hites, and particularly to their masters. But it is proper to inform the public that this docs not apply indifferently to everybody A private person, a soldier, or any other individual, bus not the right to APPENDIX. 365 ill-trea a negro who ,s guilty of no offence towards Lim. In certain asos, tl.o porson offended may arrest Mm, and ask that he may beTeaU vv> h accord„,g to the dictates of justice, because the negro i subL only to the pohce regulations of the country and to the tribunal of'h o^vn master Consequently, and in compliance with the orders o h Majesty, we forb.d that any one should take the liberty to ill-treat slave and for any v.o afon of tins prohibition, the person so offendingX l' m^ergo an arb.trary punishment, according to the circumstances'of h Decree of the Superior Council of the Province, referred to in Page 103 of Vol. II. Louis by the grace of God, King of France and of Navarre, to all who shall SCO those presents, greeting : We make it known that the Supenor (Jouncd of the Province of Louisiana, having taken i to con- side,.t,ou the humble representations n,ade, this day,^to that C urt by the planters, merchants, mechanics and others ; and whereas the reh f of a peop e, to whon. the Council is as a father, U.e support of tl e la so w .ch ,t .s the depository and intorpreter, and the im'provem f .X' culture and commerce, of which it is the patron, are the motives of the representatums of said plantors, merchantiand others; said Co Li i proceeded to adjudicate, as follows, on thes^ importanl matters : What momentous objects are these fc. the Council ! Can it after havmg duly wcghed them, give attention to any other subject ex en TuspiTit rr""rf"^« ^^ ^-- ^'--^ ix/it,forafeii:::£ suspend U arduous labors, to attend to those subjects, which are now lepresented as most worthy of its attention ano affairs of the u„!,aj,],y viotini o na ov..nt, l.as l...fo,-o its oyes a .norc striki,,,. picture of o.,,- ,„isfor: W.S |.a„ n, ,s iH>ss,b o tor us to paiut. ]{ocovo.-...I fn.n, the clepr-ssion t- wl-h thoy had been ph,n....I, th. oitizous of Louisiaua hai ho.un ■ t last to breathe ; thoy had considered the conclusion of the wa,- as the <.nd of her misfortunes, and ontortaine.l hopes that the return of p -ee ,vouid he the n.on.ent destined for their reh'ef A-nieuhure (sa.d tl- plan,..,.) that surest and most positive wealth for a nation, that prl .ho s..un.e from .Inch flow ail the hlessin,.s which we eaj..v, will Lw he _rev>vew become of you ^ The planter, the n.erchanC ^H '' anl^ and Classes u, I,e colony, un.Iergo, in the most profound peace, misfortunes and c, nmf.cs ,hich they never felt during a long and bloody war ihe hrst stroke by which the colony was atilicted, was the infornuUion doubt ess, will bo surprised at tlie profound grief which this news excited m all hearts. The French love their monarch above all thi.,,. and . "appy i.r.;,ud,ce makes all men nat.u-ally incline to the government under wlucbtlK,- are born. Let us cast a veil over this ev..n, ; ZZ JnTs from the hand of a Frenchman when he attempts ,o ai.alvsi u! >V li.U at piesoent seriously occupies, and should engross the whole "atten- tmn of the court, is the contemplation of those facts which are the fore- rujmo.. of that shivery with which a new administration threatens the CO onisis of Louisiana. At one time we behold an exclusive company which, to the prejudice of the nation, is empowered to carrv on ..ll tlfo' commerce of the remaining possessions of the French in North AnL-rici • we next see ;he a,,pearance of an edict, which confines within the nar- rowest bounds the liberty necessary to commerce, ami forbids the French to have any con.iexion with their own nation ; it is replete with prohibi- tior.s and re.a-amts ; the merchant, of Louisiana every where meet with obstacles to be surmounted, difliculties to be overcome, and (if it be a livable to make use of such an expression) enemies of their Vountry to bo .nerthrown. In Europe, a period of six months will sometimes elapse before persons that fit out vessels know nhetlu.r thev shall obf-iin to his uver (Mississippi) are in .piestion. The iVince of Ml^nbazon, Commander General of the island, begins fo refuse them. In Loui.i: ana, m the very centre of the colony, wiiere a person of the meanest ( ■■*■ ;r.«...; ^'-"jkr. APPENDIX. 307 and umlcrstanding sees, at tlie very first ...lanco, J.ow mn^h it stands in no. . of onco„ra..n.ent and patronag., wo do .it n.ot with 1 "ft" orN;;^::rs x:t:r'''' a,o^^>H.dethei„.,::;.i.„ . low t( ruble and liow dostructive a course of action is tliis ' Tf pro,,,,,. ,....,1 f .„;, „, i;;::j,'r„,:;' :';:tjr:r;::; <:: L„"^", Ui :,^* '"'»"'" ""' ^^*^''^--; 'i'-'OV-n the contrary, tx hsne ,.rnd..ges may he jn.stly considered as a sort Jf va nir whli;;;:!:::,:';::!::;!:'"^"'^ ^?:— ^ >^ - -^ "n'-sive n.ethod; sinvc banislied from winch, fur the happine.ss of mankind, ],as been long Uio I'roncii co]( lilies. * of w u 1 we have here the hon-r of preseiUing them. We al no ".p^ to atnrn, that the carrying of the phm^hieh it co, t ' -ocmion, would rn.n the clony, by giving agric.I.nrc and comi.i 1.0 most dangerous wounds. The inhabitants of Louisiana air -u v despair o, the preservation of their country, if the priviLg,. and Z^ ottl. tat.d dec ee, which has alarmed all hearts and lill.d them with of Jus Ca ho he Majesty, on the fith of September l7G0,„f whi..li a copy .s l>ere subjoined, is not annulled as illegal in ail its points, an s c Z -y to the .ncreasc of agriculture and commerce ; H' iina »; . ^ b. N ..l.tled. Wo sl....aM never forget the sublime .liscoursc, which an h^trious magistnac ad i. esses to the legislators ,.f the ea^h : •' aI^ 0", says he ■> desirous of abrogating any Ian-, tou.h it but with a trembling hand. Approach it with .. much solemnhv. use m. ma,,; .^^ caution., that the people may natur.ally conclude that U.e law.s are s^ic cd •s.nce «o many formalities are required in the abrogation of them." 368 APPEXDIX. How mortifying is it for Frenclimen, to suffer all the rigore to which their commerce is subjected, whilst a foreign nation, their ambitious nval, openly carries on the trade of the colony, to the prejudice of the nation to which it belongs, which contributed to its establishment, and which IS at the expense of it ! We do not fear that it will be objected that the French alone are not ;ible to supply the continent with all the commodities which it wants. A loan of seven millions, which the inha- bitants of Louisiana made to the king, from the year 1758 to 17G3 will be an eternal monument of the extent of the French commerce, and of the attachment of the colonists to tlieir sovereign's service. It is just at the time when a new mine has been discovered • when the culture of cotton, improved by experience, promises the planter the reconripense of his toils, and furnishes persons engaged in tittino- out vessels, with cnr^foes to load them ; when the manufacture of Indi..o may vie with that of St. Domingo ; ^vhen the fur trade has been carried to the highest degree of perfection, which it has as yet attained ; it is in these happy circumstances that certain enemies to their country, and broachers of a false system, have imposed upon persons in ofHce to induce them to sacrifice the inhabitants of New Orleans. Let 'the court no longer defer the relief of a people which is dear to it • let it make known to those invested with royal authority the exhausted state to which this province would be reduced, if it were not soon to be freed trom the prohibitions, which would plunge it into irremediable ruin. What would be thought of a physician, who being possessed of a panacea, or universal remedy, should wait for a plague in order to reveal It . It IS by the trade to the leeward islands that the inhabitants of Louisiana find means, every year, to dispose of four score or a hundred cargoes of lumber. Should this branch of trade be taken away, the colony would be deprived of an annual income of five hundred thousand ivres at least-a sum, which the work of the negroes and the applica- tion of the master produces alone, without any other disbursement. According to the observation of a celebrated author, it would be better to lose a hundred thousand men in a groat kingdom by an error in po itics, than to be guilty of one which should stop the progress of a.m- culture and commerce. It is well known that those who present plans to obtain exclusive privileges, are never without plausible reasons to make them appear economic and a^lvantageous, as well to the kiiu-- as to Uie public ; but the experience of all ages and all countries evfdently demonstrates, that those who seek exclusions have their private interest solely m view ; that they have less zeal than others for the prosperity of the state, and have less of the spirit of patriotism. The execution of the decree relative to the commerce of Louisiana ■i'il APPENDIX. 300 would rorluce the inhabitants to the sad alternative of either losing their harvest, for want of vessels to export them, or of exchanging theifcom mod.fes .n a fraudulent manner with a foreign nation, ^xpasin! th m- Ives to undergo the rigor of the law, whid. ordains' thlt thas X, W 't TlilT r r'/T'^ ^'"" '"'" ^''^^ ^'^^ ''- -d liberties. Wha a 1 fe is this ! what a struggle ! It is but too true, as has b.en already observed, that the report of the new ordinance alo e has cau. J a consKlerabe dunmution, not only in the articles of luxury, but lik ■ vi^e iv :" t uT\ ^ 'rr "'''^'^ '"''' ''^''^^^^-^ -'-^^^ twenty tho^I d hv e. .ould hard y sell for five thousand. Some will, perl'xps, .ss.-rt that the scarcity money contributes also to this diminution. P.it how muh greater will be the scarcity of specie, when the colony shall eithe" be cehvered up to an exclusive company, or to the ambition of fi o ^x individuals, who form but one body? It will then resemble a mernber grown to a monstrous bulk, at the expense of the subs ance of the rest, winch would become withered and palsied. The bo v would thereby find itself threatened with a total destruction It was only by openly favoring the introduction of negroes, th a t "is I ; was ™sed to the flourishing state which it ap^ared to have attJ^i Perliaps it will be said, to dispel these alarms, that the gold and silver which has been made to abound in the place by a new ^dministra on naay in emnify for the losses of agriculture and commerce. Bu u": mg of the future by the experience of the past and of the preso t t ^t resource will be found to be very weak, as' nobody can prelnd not to know tha, among the various treasures which the' eartl/contains i iu^ bosom, go d and silver are neither the chief riches nor the most desir b e Th se metals have reduced their natural p<.:sessors to a deplorable sme and he mastei-s of those slaves have not thereby become iLre pi v S They appear, from that moment, to have lost all spirit of industry disposi ion to work, like a laborer who should find a treasure in th mi. of his fie d, and thereupon forsake his plough for ever. Beside. w many acts of severity have been committed\ngainst peaceabl ciis by a stranger, who, though invested with a respectable character I ^ ii:ii:r °V'; '" •"'^'■^"^■^' •"'• i--^°™-i -y of ti. duties' p: quilhty We shall mention an old ship captain, who was confined bv b.s orders, and whose vessel was detained in port duriW eight o ten months, for not having been able to read in the decrees of IVovSe ce t ." the vessel in which he had despatched certain packets, intrusted to h^ care, would be .ist away. A similar tyranny was exer ised by th p son invested with this illegal and unjust authority, against tw pt i s 370 APPENDIX. iflil' belong ng to Mart.n.co, ,vho had been guilty of no other crime, than that of no having guessed that the Council of Louisiana had issued an edict forb.dd.ng the .ntru.!uction of the creolized negroes of the Leeward Islands. What ill usage has an old citizen suffered, on account of a packet which had been put ,nto the hands of the captain of one of his ships, wlio hav- ing met with contrary winds, was unable to deliver it at Havana ' ' treieL "tI "' '^''i\'^'' barbarity with which the Acadians were rea ted ? Ihese people the sport of fortune, had determined, under'the mipulse of a patnot.c sp.r.t, to forsake all that they might possess on the Enghsh terntor,es, in order to go and live under the h!ppy laws of thei had they cleared out a place sufficient for a poor thatclied hut to stand upon when, m consequence of some representations which they han- P-ed to make to Mr. Ulloa, he threatened to drive them out of I which the king had given them ; at the same time directink we can pre- sume to onclude, without exaggeration, that it is diametrically contrary lt\™u.r' "Tr ^''^'' '""'^ '''' encouragement of popLtion; J a 1 ts b, uuhcs and by every means. Those who complair (and wh^ is n..itl ,^~'''~"^' ^''■^ ^''^'''■•^ '^' '^''' ^^>« <^'"'Pl^"n are mints li " ;. '"'Tir^'''^ ^'"'^'"'^ '' ^'"^ ^^''^«' -"d -"t to the Tul ntv r'' ' '"'■ ''""'^ '"'■*>' ^"^'^ ^^•^■^ '---^-1 -th some au tioritv, his prince never commanded him to exert it in a tyrannical po^^ers S ch oppressions are not dictated by the hearts of kin-ns • they dt:; th i iT ' '""' '""^"'^^ ""''''' '^'''^'^^ ^^- characte'r, an uuecis tncir actions. of ^^ OH '; ,rr ''"° ", '"'"' '' '^" '" --t'fi-t-- -1-1' the French rec od would not be a matt^^ compL ,nt on the , part. In the meantime, the preservation of their ^v s, beir obligation, to their creditors, their sense of honor, which rt om the sacred source of patriotism and of duty, finally the circl stance of the attack made on their property and means of ' ubsistencr W .j-r i i APPENDIX. 371 that r'ery decree, induce them to offer their All . . - possessions and their] to preserve for ever the dear and inviolable title of Frencli citi/en. AH that has hitherto been said leads them naturally to demands or re.,uests to ^vlnch the zeal of the court for the public good, and its steadiness in upportmg the laws of which his most Christian majesty has made them he depositories, assure them that it will give the most favorable recep- tion. But before they proceed to state their rcjuest-^thev must acknow- iedgo the kindness with which they were treated by Mi. Aubry The wishes of tlie public have always corresponded with the choice of the pnnce in assigning him the chief command over the province of l^ouisiana ; his virtues have caused the titles of honest man and equita- ble governor to be adjudged liim ; he never made use of his power but to do good, and all unjust deeds have to him ever appeared impossible. iliey are not afraid of being reproached that gratitude has mar", them exaggerate in any particular. To neglect bestowing deserved t.raises is to keep back a lawful debt, and they conclude, finally, by intreating the 1. To obtain that the privileges and exemptions which the colony has enjoyed, smce the cession made by the company to his most Christian majesty, should be maintained, without any innovations bein-. suffered to interrupt their course, and disturb the security of the citizens. ^. lliat passports and permissions be granted from the governors and commissioners of his most Christian majesty, to such captains of vessels as shall set sail from this colony to any ports of France or America whatever. 3. That any ship sailing from any port of France or America what- ever, s uill have free entrance into the river, whether it sail directlv for the CO ony, or only put in accidentally, according to the custom w'hich has hitherto prevailed. 4. That fi-eedom of trade with all the nations under the goven ment ot ns most Christian majesty be granted to all the citizens, in conformity to the kings orders to the late Mr. D'Abbadie, registered in the archives r I \Z' '"' '" <^"»f«™ity to the letter of his Grace the Duke of Choiseul, addressed to the same Mr. D'Abbadie, and dated the yth ot ioir ships in the port, with.-nt any cause, and for having ordered subjects of France to bo confined on board of a Spanish frigate. 3. For having caused councils, in which decrees were issued concerning the inhabitants of Louisiana, to be held in the huuse of Mr. Dcstrehan. They request that, on account of these grievances, and many others publicly known, and likewise for the tranquilh-ty of all the citizens who apply for the protection of the council, they be freed for the future, from the fear of a tyrannical authority, and exempted from observing the conditions enjoined in the said decree, by means of tl.e disimssioii of Mr. Ulioa, who should be ordered to embark on board of the first vessel which shall set sail, in order to depart, whenever he tliinks i)r(.per, out of the dependencies of this province. G. That orders be given to all the Spanish ofiicers who are in this city or scaUucu throughout the posts appertaining to the colony, to quit them, m order to depart likewise, whenever they shall think i)roper, out of the dependencies of the province ; and, finally, that the court be pleased to order that its decree, when rendered, b. read, published, and set uj) in all the usual places of the town, and collated copies sent to all the posts of the said colony, _ The foregoing representations being signed by five hundred and thirty- six persons-planters, merchants, tradesmen, an-1 juen of note ; consider- ing, likewise the copy of the decree, ],ublishcd by orders of his Catholic Majesty, neither signed nor dated, and an..ther copy of an ordinance published ,n this city, by order of Mr. Ulloa, of the Gth of September 17C0_; the interlocutory decree issued yesterday, upon the requisition of the kings attorney-general, ordering and directing that, before the deci- sion of the court, the said representations be put in the hands of Messrs Huchet de Kernion, and Plot de Launay, titular councilors, to be by them examined, and afterwards communicated to the king's council in order that what the law directs may be enacted concerning them-all these particulars being taken into consideration, the king's attorney stood up and said : a j ^ " Gentlemen, " The first and most interesting point to be examined is the step tatm by all the planters and merchants in concert, who, bein.r threat- ened with slavery, and laboring under grievances which hitve been Fl APPENPIX. 373 ^Miumeratod,mUlre.s.s yo,„ bunal, and require justice for violations , " the solemn act of oeHsion of this onhny. " I' rr "" ''""^'^ '"' "•« ^^"^^ complaints just ? ve«f S'!*'^" "^^ r"^' ^^^"'e the extent of the rov.l authority vestal m the suponor council. The parliaments and superior couneHs nltnlJ V 'T "■' '''"''^^ ""^' '^'•^""'==«J to be. from the tery thej are estabhshed for the purpose of executing the ordinances, edicts ^'^^^^^^^^^i^'S^:^terU.ey^eregi.t.L Such has been l^' will and pleasure of Louis, the well-beloved, our lie^^e lord and kin. in whose name all your decrees, to the present day, have been is u Und Catho Ic Majesty's com,; ry can avail himself, to make his demands orders to cause , to be registered in the superior council of the colony to the end that the different classes of the s,.,d colony may be inform d of Ua content, and may be enabled to have recourL to^t uponTc; «M Vt ,'"f "™'"* ^''"^ calculated for no other purpose. Mr. U ba s letter, dated from Havana, July 10, 176.5, which expresses his d,sposn:ons to do the inhabitants all the servic s the^ can des Lwl addressed to you gentlemen, with a request to make it known T;! saul mhabuants that, in thus acting, he would onlv discharge his d t^ and gratify h,s mclmations. The said letter was, bv your decree, after full dehberafon published, set up and registered/ as' a'pledge of 1 appt n^s and tranqu, hty to the inhabitants. Another letter of the month of be admin? T"^" ^^^ Aubry, proves that justice still continues to It ;esuTf f r ? '"""-"'" '^' "^'"^ '' ^^"'"^ the well-beloved. I results from the solemn act of cession and its accessories, that the planters, merchants and other inhabitants have the most solid basis to stand upon, when they present you with their most humble remon- strances ; and that you, gentlemen, are fully authorized to pronounce thereupon. Let us now proceed to a scrupulous examination of the act of cession and of the letter written by Ulloa to the Superior Council. I thmk ,t hkew.se mcumbent on me to cite, word for word, an exf ,ct th«K'ngs letter, which was published, set up and registered llm very solemn act of cession, which gives the title of property to his Catholic Majesty, secures for the inhabitants of the colony the pre- servation of ancient and known privileges; and the royal word ,y{ our Sovereign Lord, the King, promises, and gives us ground to hope for, others, which the calamities of war have prevented him from makinrr his subjects enjoy. The ancient privileges having been suppressed by the 25 ■f IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT.3) ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■ 50 ^^ 12.5 2.2 L8 U il.6 ^^ V] ^^,-., Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 <\ % .V I' ^\ '■% -fS^. ■*.. ^-b^ ■<> ' Mess. Aubry and Foucault be requested, and even umZll t " rr:h?:,^:;rferS:""-'-°*-°-^^^^^^^ Chrilliau Mtjesty '^ "' "" """"'''"' »">">i»")' of his most " That the taking possession of the colony can neither le proposed nor 378 APPENTHX. attempted by any moans, without new orders from bis most Cliristian Majesty. " 'Ibat Mess. Loyola, Gayarre and Navarro be dcclaieJ guaranties of their signature on the bonds which tliey liave issued, if they do not pro- duce tiie orders of his Catholic Majocty, empowering them to issue said bonds and papers ; aud that a suUicient time be granted them to settle their accounts. " That the planters, merchants and other inhabitants be emj)owered to elect dei)Uties to carry their petitions aud supplications to our Sovereign Lord, the King. " That it be resolved aud determined that the Superior Council shall make representations to our Sovereign Lord, the King; that its decree, when ready to be issued, be read, set up, published au'l registered. " That collated copies tliereof be sent to his grace the Duke of Praslin, with a letter of the Sui)eriur Council, and likewise to all the posts of the colony, to be there lead, set up, published aud registered." The report, being heard, of Mess. Iluchot de Kernion and Riot de Launay, councilors and commissioners appointed for this purpose, the whole being duly weighed, and the subject deliberated upon, the Attor- ney-General having been heard and having retired : The Council, composed of thirteen members, of which six were named ad hue, having each of them given his ojiinion in writing, pronouncing upoii the said repiesentations, has declared and declares the sentences rendered by the councilors nominated by Mr. UUoa, and carried into execution against Mess. Cadis and Leblanc, subjects of France, to be encroachments upun the authority of our Sovereign Lord, the King, aud destructive of the respect due to his supreme justice, vested in his Supe- rior Council ; has declared and declares him an usurper of i'lcga' I'thor- ity, in causing subjects of France to be punished and oppresseil, ithout having previously complied with the laws and forms, having neither pro- duced his powers, titles and provisions, nor caused them to be registered, and that, to the prejudice of the privileges insured to them by the said act of cession ; and to prevent any violence of the populace, and avoid any dangerous tumult, the Council, with its usual prudence, finds itself obliged to enjoin, as in fact it enjoins, Mr. Ulloa to quit the colony, allowing him only the sj)ace of three days, either in the frigate of his Catholic Majesty in which he came, or in whatever vessel he shall think proper, and go and give an account of his conduct to his Catholic Majesty. It has likewise ordained and it ordains that, with regard to the posts established by him !\t the upper i)art of the river, he shall leave such ot-ders as ho judges expedient, making l\im at the same time responsible for all the events .vhich he miglit have foreseen. It has re(iuested and APPENDIX. 379 oquost. Mess^AuLry and Foueault, and oven summoned them in the name o our Sovercgn Lord, the King, to continue to eommTnd and govern te colony as they did heretofore. At the same tim., i^ 1:' forbuls al those uho fit out vessels, and all captains of sln'ps to klnlh ny vesseJ w.th any other passport than that if Mr. FoucL'lt w ot 1 tha ThelT- '' "*"'• "^ '^^'""^'^^^^-^ ' '^ ''^^^ ••^'- order Id ordel hat the taking possession for his Catholic Majesty can neither be n' posed nor attempted by any means, without new'orders f Vom h,s m' It' Christian Majesty ; that, in consequence, Mr. Ulloa shall emba t inT space of three days in whatever sl^ he 'shall think pr^lL. "'"' '" '" C.l,„l,c Majesty „„