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Cf- HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS Of LOUISIANA EMBRACING MANY RARE AND VALUABL E DOCUMENTS REl.ATINti TO THE NATURAL, CIVIL AND POLITIC \L HISTORY OF THAT STATE. •'IMI'Il.KD wnii IIISTOKICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION, BY C. F. FRENCH, of the .icademy of ^ratural .'sciences of PIMadclpMa, Jo. Hon<^ra,-y Member of the llistorUal Sockty of rem, .vha,,!,, ■ r -*•.!- - . ■' ■' ' "'"-V'laina, Corn spondmg Member PART I. IliSTORUAL IHIllMENTS FROM 1G78 TO 1091. NEW YORK: WILEY AND PUTNAM 1840. "^C(>eoi o I BsTERBD nccording to Act of Congress, in the yenr 1840, by B. F. FRENCH, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. I 109037 I" IIIK ••1 1 iZh;\s ,,F i.,n isi \x \ THIS WORK '^ ^'"^'' tiK:^ncii-:i.:.y i i:.,|(.■.vi I:l' i!i-.N.f v.v.'.v r. vni:s( ■ycir CrUa,,,. X„. |T.-, Caron.h/et st,;eL INTRODUCTION. i All tliat extensive trurt of cnuntry, formerly known l)y flie name of I/)ii- isiiina, boiiiiileil on the east Ity the Rio I'enliflo, west hy the Hio del Norte and stretcliin^f from tlie Gulf of Mexico to the shores of tiie I'acitic Ocean,* embracing the present disputed country of Oregon, was claimed by F'rance, by right of contiguity, discovery and settlement, as a part of her territorial possessions in North America, in the seventeenth century. As early as H)73 the discovery of the Mississippi river was accom- plished by Father Marcpiette and Sieur Joliet, who explored it to the Indian village of tlie Kappas, on the Arkansas river ; and there, having satisfied themselves that it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, to the west of Florida, they set out fur Canada on the 17th of July. Sieur Joliet returned to Que- bec to announce the discovery, while the holy father tarried by the way to preach the gospel to the Miamies of the lake. For two years ho toiled to convert the heathen, and expound to them the mysteries of the Catholic faith. Coasting tlie lake from Chicago to Mackinaw, on his holy mission, he landed on the banks of a stream, now bearing his name, which flews into Lake Michigan, and erected an altar. He then reipiestcd to be left alone • and, while offering up solemn thanks and supp'ication, he fell asleep to wake no more. " A light breeze from the lake sighed his requiem, and the Algon- quin nation became his mourners." Thus perished the discoverer of the river Mississippi. But the honor of perfecting the expL, • n of the Father of Waters, and the taking possession of the country u .ich he named Louisiana, was reserved for the most extraordinary man of his age, Robert Cavelier de i,A Sai,i.e. He was a native of France ; and when the attention of Europe, in the seventeenth century, was directed to the colonization of North America, he turned his steps thither. Under the patronage of Louis XIV., he explored the great, lakes of the North ; and sub.sequently returning to France, he was rewarded for liis services with a title of nobility, and a grant of lands around and including Fort Frontenac. He then returned to Canada, and occupied himself in rebuilding his fort, and pursuing his discoveries to the West. * According to old documents, the bishopric of Louisiana extended to the Pacific Ocean. ill t p I I I vin l\ IRiMUt TIOV. in l"i77, lie iT-vi-ili'il l''r;iiici'. aii'l oIIItciI to Sciirneliiy, tlio .<(in of tiio (ifpal (.'ultn'rt, liis |i!:iiis to ('xplori' llic rivi-r Mississippi tn its iiioiilli. mid f-t!i!)lisli !i rliiiiii of militiiry po.-is to (•(Uiricct tin' trrciit vulli'v of tlic Wi-.-t vvitli tlio I'lviu'li p(isM.'ssiiiiis ill CiiirnU. l/'tlcrs piitcnt were iicronliii^fly i-siit'(l. Acciiiiipiiiiii'il by tlir> Ihitliliil ('liiniilitT do Tonty. ho rpfiimcd In Ciiiiiida; mid, ill Fi'liriMiry. Kisj. set diil mi liis ('xpcdiiiDii In cxplnro tin' Missi-i-i|>pi, llio iiiDiiliis ol wliicli III' n-Jiclit' 1 'Ml till' mil III Ajiril, mid on tlic siiiiic diiy lie planted llie mins ol Fimici' on lis limiks. took possession of tlip cminlry in llie name of liis soviTciifii, ami ;.fave it tlie name of !/)( isiana. Ill' once more rctiinied In rniiii'i". In li;s|, lie ^ct out witli an expedi- tion of four .'-liips and two liundiid and fi^lity jiersoiis, with full |io"Aers fniin ills sovereijfii to build forts and coloni/.e Louisiana. On this nccasion Jie was fortunate in .-I'lectinir a Iridid. M, Joiilel, who proved no less I'aithliil than till- Clievalier de Toniy, mid who ultinnli-ly beciune llie lii-torian of the first ( iiloiiy planted in Louisiana. The llislorieal Journal of M. .ionf'd. a worl; extremely rare and intcre--t- iii'T, vvill ill.' i'oiiiid printed in this \(iluine. iM. la S.ille liiia'dy arrived in the (iiilf of .Mexico, hut beiii).j deceived in his reckoniiijf, he passed the mouths of the Missi>sippi, and after much difli- ciilty he eili'i'ted a landing in the liay of St. iJi-rnaid [\\><\v .Matajiorda). where he built, a lurt. .\t tlii> tiiiii'. no Sp,inisli setlleinriit. was nearer than I'a- niUM — and no I'ri'iich si'ttleiiieiit thmi Illinoi-. .\fler makiiiir rejieateil atteiiijits to tiiid the .Mississippi, ^L la Salle, with u party ol sixteen ini'ii, in ItJST, set out I'or Canada in (pie.st of .siippHos, leavini.'' the remainder of the colony at Tort St. lfassiiiated by one of his turbulent companion--. "Tims perished,"' says i'atlier .\na.~tii.-e. '•our wi.-^e <'oiidiii'tiir — censtanl in adversities, intrepid, {iienerous, >kiltul, and cajiable of miytliinj,'. Ik- died jii the vi;;or of life; in the midst of his career ami labors, without the con- solation of liaviiiif seen iheir results."' M. la Salle was universally re^rarded as the father of FreiRli coloniza- tion in the j;reat Valley of the \\'est. Ill Uiit'^, the Canadian brothers, D'Ibeiville. Iiienville, ae.d S:invo!e, set sail in two frij^ates, with about t'.vo hundred settler>. for the (iulf of .Mexico, to make a scllleinent on the .Mississippi, ami to crtablisa a direct iiitercourse between Franco and liouisiana. They readied the ("liaiideleiir Islands in January, Kiit'J, where the lleet cast anchor. In two barifes the brothers soiijiht the .Mississippi, and ascended it to t!ic village of the Bayagoulas. After leinaininL' there a few days to explore the country, they returned throut;uil ;:. lie ilied it the C()ii- 11 Oillnlliza- liilorriiurse ill I'JJ, tlio ho.iil-i|iinrUT- aoro triiiMi-nnl Irmii Hiloxi to Now ( )rloiiii- ; iiiil. Ill 17;>J. tho W'l'-iiTii ( ".',ii;i,iiiy siirri'ii liToij iln'ir y:r;mt tn Hi" kiiiij, 111 ITtiJ. Iiv II socrot IriMtv lii'twoi'ii th" iMiirN nt \'cr-iiilli'-< iiml .Mulriil. llii- CDiiiitry was onli'd tu Sjiaiii. 'I'lio i" ri'iii'li ciiloiii-ls (i|i('iily ri'->i>toi| tlic S|iaiiii-h ;;iivermiii'iit. but thi- roh"llinu wa-i linilly i|iifll'.'cl liy tin- arrival i.l' (it'iioral O'Ui'illy, wlm tuok [idsscs.-ioii ot Iho ((uiu'ry in ITiiH. Ill IMiiii, S|riiii rolri'i'inii'd i, uiisiaiiii to Kraiici" ; iiini. in I -'tKJ, I'mnc" •iiilil lilt" (Miin'ry to the I'nitoil States lur rii;>'on iiiilliipus of dullars. In oll'.'nir^f \\n'rMiiieiit of thi> country. it is well known, that wiiile this coniitry was in llicir po-^sc-sion, it was almost, inacci'ssilile to the peoj)le of tho Ainerii'aii culdiiies. 'I'iirir ve--i'!s were interdicted Iroiii enteriiii:: tli^'ir ports, ami other at'ts <>[' -airvi'lllaiu'e enforced, 'J'he Spani-!i ;,'criil;ny of llie world. Its coiiiiiial hi.-lory has hei-n. therefore, iuil little uiider^tuud, and much ignorance still jirevails in roi^jard to it. Ill tlirillinif incidents, and the nlittor and pomp of murtial (wpeditions, the history of JiO!iisian;'. is, puriiajis, not inrerior in iiitere.-l to any of the slate-- of the I'nion ; wliilc the records of the trial of Iiafreiiiere, .NOyan, .Ma/.an .\Iarcpiis, Villeru, Carrre, i'oisManc, i'eiit, .Millier, I'oiipet, Doucrt, Fumault and 15ieuville, will d','velii)ie a deepdai 1 plan to rid this country of Spanish 'yranny, and establish a n-piihlic on the plan of the Swiss Cantons. In 17()5, dopntios were sent to the Mni^li-li u'ovenior ot l'en>acola to .-olicit the aid of the Hnglish government in hehalf of this jiroject ; hut liiii^land was at that time too much onirau-ed in keepiii',' down the ropiihlican spirit o!' her own reliellions colonies to listen to or countenance any overtures uf that nature. It will lliiis he seen that the .-entimenls of I.il.erty and Indepeiul- enco wore not coniined,at this early iieriod, to the master-spirits of the ILi.-t, hilt animate;! alike the bo-oins of patriots lliroujriiout the whole e.xtent of North America. I oxclupive i :!: . :i 1 ' t ' 1 ! 1 r i 1 ■I i CONTENTS. |)iic (lelivercii hclorc tho IlintoriiMl SDCuMy »( Loiiisuiiu ... I Memoir of Rolx-rt Cavolier do la Sallu ou the iieeessity of littiri;; out ait Kxpcdition to ti\l<<' possession of Louisiana 23 Letters Putont to tlu' Sieur de la Salle ^') Memoir ol' the Sit'ur de la Salle, reporting to Moiiseiiiiieiir di' SL'i;;iielay the Disroveries made hy liiin under tlie order of his Majesty . i7 Account (Proc6s Veri)al) of the taking possession of Louisiana hy M. de la Salle t5 WillofM.de la Salle .')l Memoir sent in Ki'.i'l.on the discovery of the Mississip|)i, an the neij{h- horing Nations, hy M. dn la Sallo, from the year Ii>7S to the ,ime of hi.s Death, and hy tho Sieur de Tonty to the year IflOl .... 'yi Chevalier de Tonty's Petition to the Kim? 7v» Chevalier de Tonty's Account of the Route from tho Illinois hy the River Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico S? Joutel's Historical Journal of M. do la Salle's last Voyage to discover the River Mississippi S3 Account of the Discovery of the River Mississippi and tho adjacent Country by Father Louis Hennepin I 'JO Account of M de la Salle's Undertaking to discover the River Mississippi by way of the Gulf of Mexico, by Father Louis Hennepin 314 I * i 'i ! f ■'^U « 11 1 f A DISCOURSE DELtVKRED BEFORE Till HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LOUISIANA, JAN'UAllY 13, 1336. BY HENRY A. BULLARD PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETV. Gentlemen : At our preliminary meeting you were please I to request mc to read to you, at this time, a paper upon the expediency and utility of establishing a Historical Society in this State. The same causes which kept me from the discharge of public duties during the last summer and autumn, prevented my making any adequate preparation for this occasion, and the few remarks which I have to offer, are intended to evince my zeal in the cause which has called us together, and my ready obedience to your call, rather than as at all worthy of the subject or the occasion. To minds exclusively devoted to the pursuit of wealth, and bending all their energies to that single purpose, it would seem a startling proposition, that there could be anything either of interest or utility in inquiries into the history of the first discovery and settlement of Louisiana by Europeans ; in rescuing from threatened oblivion the records of ics first colo- nization ; in efforts to bring to light and to perpetuate, by means of the press, all such documents as would form the elements of an authentic history of our multiform population, 2 ill' lii ii' ! I y Dlr^COUnSE DELIVERED nEI'ORE THE and the jiiircos.sivc ch.'miros in the forms of colonial govcrn- iiicnt, and the piotrrt's.s ol" its sittlcmcnt luidcr the dilU rent sov('nM<,ms who have successivrly ruled this country. 13ul the time has arrived, I trust, when j)ursuits of a character purely literary, will have their value among us ; when those who engage in researches, having only truth for their ohject, although barren of immediate results, will be regarded as contributing in some measure to the public good, by adding something to the stock of our national literature. As contem- pctrary history is liable to be discolored by interest, by preju- dice and piission, each generation, as it passes away, is under obli<'ations to its successors to furnish them those authentic materials for which alone its true character can be known to posterity, and to perpetuate the public documents and corre- sponden(te which accompany and explain every public transac- tion. But we, who are enjoying the fruits of the labors, and fatigues, and sullerings of our predecessors, owe it also to their meuKtry, to snatch from i>bIivion the record of their actions, and no longer to leave their fame to rest on the loose, and garbled, and exaggerated narrations of contemporary writers, or catch-penny authors of what the world calls history. History, Gentlemen, as it is generally written, is at best but an apj)roximation to truth, I had almost said, an approximation to probability. It is true the exaggerated and marvellous statements of travellers, or discoverers and settlers, as to physical features and productions of a new country, and the characters of its aboriginal iniiabitants, may easily be cor- rected by subsequent observation and experience. The width of the Mississippi, for example, below this capital, had dwindled from a league to less tlian a mile ; JSt. Louis is no longer in latitude 45 north, and 270 longitude ; quarries of emeralds, silver mines and gold dust, are nowhere found in Louisiana. But the narratives of events and transactions, by real or pretended eye-witnesses, or by the authors of histories and memoirs, can only be tested by reference to authentic records, or by their own intrinsic evidence of their falsity or truth. This latter test is not always to be relied on, for the true is not always probable. Tradition, ornamented and colored by fiction, has always proved, from the earliest records ■f: HISTORICAL ^'0(•IETV OF I.OriSIANA. Ill govcrn- ic diiFcrent •. But the ctcr purely those %\ho icir object, ^gnrdf-'d as by adding As contcin- t, by prcju- ay, is under c authentic D known to and corre- jlic transac- labors, and also to their ncir actions, i loose, and ary writers, lis history, at best but proximation marvellous lers, as to ry, and the y be cor- Ince. The apital, had louis is no juarries of e found in [actions, by f histories authentic talsitv or ed on, for nented and st records I of our race, a larije inicredirnt in the composition of history. Ilonec the origin and early ;innals, not only of the people and states of anti(iuity, but of niiiny of coiiiparatively modern date, are involved in mystery and fible. IJut it would be a niatt( r of just reproach, if a j>L'OpK-. whose first lodgment on the con- tinent was made long since the disi.'overy of the art of print- ing ; whose entire annals embrace a period of the highest civilisation ; if such a j)e(>[)le, I say, should sutler to perish the muniments of its early history, and the mists of (iction to settle on its origin and progress. In many of the States of this Union, of British origin, historical societies have been organized, whose labors have been eminently successful. A mass of materials has been accumulated and preserved by means of the press, which ex- cludes the possibility <>f future misrepresentations in regard to the true history of the country, and the times to which they relate. It is singularly interesting to look at the conduct and characters of our ancestors throuudi such a medium. We sec them as thoy were ; we hear them speak the language of their own age; we are brought in immediate contact with the founders of our rising empire; wc trace the gradual progress of their settlement, from the sea-board to the interior ; we witness their pi ivations, their sutVerings, their unflinching lirm- ness and constancy of purpose. At a more recent period, wo are introduced into the primitive assemblies of the people; wo observe the gradual development of those o|iinions and princi- ples, which at this day lay at the foundation of cur free popular institutions ; the first discussed, when the threatened encroach- ments of power upon right were met and resisted, and the blood of the Barons of Hunymeade cried out for Magna Charta, in the wilderness of a new world. Gentlemen, the field of research which we propose to ex- plore, is vast and in a great measure new. It is j)roposed to extend our inquiries into the history of all that country formerly possessed by France and Spain, under the name of Louisiane ; to endeavor to bring to light and to perpetuate by means of the press, all authentic papers relating thereto ; to collect interesting traditions, private histories and correspond- ences, and pictures of manners ; to investigate the progress of 1' (!fij 4 DISCOURSE DELIVERED BEFORE THE our jurispnidencc ; the state of religion, and the condition of the Indian tribes in that whole reffion. It is obvious that many of the original documents and records, relating to the settle- ment and colonization of that extensive region, must exist in the public archives at Paris, Madrid, and Seville, as well as the Havana ; some in the archives of the former government in this city, at St. Louis and Natchez ; others again at nota- ries' offices, here ; in the parochial records of the different posts in the interior, and much interesting matter in possession of the families of some of the earlier settlers of the country. It is becoming more and more ditficult every day, to bring together from sources so various and so widely dispersed, such memorials as may yot exist. It is time, therefore, to begin the work in earnest and methodically. Before I proceed, Gentlemen, to make a few remarks on the several heads into which the programme of our proposed re- searches is naturally divided, let us pause and take a momen- tary survey of the population of the country as it exists, whose origin and first establishment it will become us to investigate more minutely in the progress of our labors. Like the rich soil upon our great rivers, the population may be said to be alluvial ; composed of distinctly colored strata, not yet per- fectly amalgamated ; left by successive waves of emigration. Here we trace the gay, light-hearted, brave chivalry of France ; the more impassioned and devoted Spaniard ; the untiring industry and perseverance of the German, and the bluff' sturdiness of the British race. Here were thrown the wreck of Acadie, and the descendants of those unhappy fugi- tives still exist in various parts of this State. Little colonies from Spain, or the Spanish islands on the coast of Africa, were scattered in different parts of the country. Such were New Iberia in Attaknpas, Valcnzuela in Lafourche, Terre aux Bccufs and Gulvezton. They still retain, to a certain extent, their language, manners and pursuits. There are, in the Western District, some families of Gipsey origin, who still retain the peculiar complexion and wildness of eye, that characterize that singular race. The traces of the Canadian hunter and boatman are not yet entirely eflaced. The Germans, I be- lieve, have totally lost the language of their fatherland. The ^ 4-if f ;ondition of ; that many the settle- ist exist in as well as government lin at nota- le diflerent possession lie country. J, to bring dispersed, lerefore, to arks on the roposed re- I a momcn- tists, whose investigate te the rich said to be t yet per- jmigration. ihivalry of niard ; the h, and the Ihrown the lappy fugi- lle colonies jfrica, were ^ere New laux BoDufs tent, their Western retain the aracterizc lunter and jans, I be- md. The IIISTOUICAI. SOCIETY OF LOUISIANA. 5 country of the German coast is, porh:ips, the only existing memorial of the celohriited John Law, the author of the most stupcndoLis scheme of banking, and stock-jobbing, and fraud, that was ever practised on the credulity of modern times. Among the earliest concessions of land in the province, was one in favor of Law, situated on the Arkansas, and piior to the settlement of New Orleans ; he had sent over a small colony of Germans to take jiossession and improve it; but on the downfall of the grantee, liis colonists broke up the esta- blishment, and returned to this city, where they ol)tained, each for himself, a small grant of land on the Mississii)))!, nt a place which has ever since been called the German coast. The 'w little colonies of Spaniards at New Iberia and Terre aux Bceufs, never had any written concessions, they were put in possession by the public surveyor, and it was not until long since the change of government, that their descendants ob- tained an authentic recognition of their title from the United States. But time does not permit me to pursue this subject any farther ; these few hints are intended merely to direct your attention to it, as one of curious interest. I proceed. Gentlemen, to submit a few remarks on some of the several heads of our proposed plan. 1st, The general his- tory of the province from its first discovery to the present day. 2d, The progress of our jurisprudence and state of reli- gion; and 3d, The condition of the Indian tribes. It is, by no means, my purpose to attempt to give you a full view of the present state of our knowledge on these topics, much less to collate or criticise the various histories and memoirs which have appeared, even if I were capable of the task. But let us see in what particulars our knowledge is clearly defective, and wiiether it be probable that by proper diligence the defi- ciency may be supplied, and errors or misrepresentations corrected. The successive changes of government form, naturally, the epochs of our history. The first extends from the discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi by La Salle in 1C81, from the interior, by way of the Lakes, until the grant to Crozat in 1712. 2d, Under the monopoly of Crozat, until 1717. 3d, Under the administration of the Western Company, until the surren- ■ M I I , ii; i»: -if LI . 'if 1 6 niscorRsK di;i,i\ eui:i) bf-iorf. the dcr of tlicir irraiit, 173'2. 4tli, Under the direct authority of the crown of France, until the final deHvery of the province to Spain, ITtJO, in pursuance of the treaty of Paris. 5tli, Under the government of tSpain, until the treaty of cession in 1803; and lastly, as an iuteirral part of the United States, whether as a territory or a state. I. 1 think it cannot he controverted, that Robert Cavcliei de la Salle fu'st discovered the mouth of the Mississippi on the 7th of April, 1G82. Accompanied by the Chevalier de Tonti, and a few followers, he descended from the mouth of the Illi- nois to theGulf of Mexico, passing' through numerous tribes of Indians, not in hostile array, but his most effectual arms, the Calumet of peace. De la Salle was. without doubt, a man of great energy and enterprise, ardent and brave, sagacious and pruilent, and of conciliatory manners. He appears to have been, at the same time, feared, respected, and even beloved by the natives. I should not have considered it necessary to mention this fact of the hrst discovery, as one well settled, if attempts had not been made to create some doubts about it, if not to deprive him of that honor, and to confer it upon Father Louis Hennepin, a missionary of the order of St. Francis. In the first volume of "The Condensed Geography and History of the Western States, or the Mississippi A^alley," published a few years ago at Cincinnati, under the particular head of "history," not a word is said of De la Salle having explored the course of the river as far as the Gulf, and of his having taken formal possession of the country, in the name of the King of France. On the contrary, it is asserted, that in the spring of the previous year, Hennepin, who had been instruct- ed, in the absence of De la Salle, to explore the sources of the river, finding it easier to descend than to ascend, had pro- ceeded down and reached the Balize in sixteen days, "if his word can be taken for it," says the author, from the time of his departure from the mouth of the Illinois. In the next place, the author rcj)rescnts thatDe la Salle, in 1683, after laying the foundations of Cahokia and Kaskaskia, left M. do Tonti in command of those establishments, returned to Canada, and thence made all haste to France, to solicit the co-operation of the French Ministry in his views. In addition to the utter i ■jr- 44 mSTOHICAI, SOCIETY OF I.Ol'IfHANA. lutliority of I'rovincc to 5th, Uiulcr on in 1803: 3s, whether rt Cavcliei sippi on the- ir de Tonti, of the Illi- 'US tribes of I arms, the t, a man of acious and rs to have beloved by tcessary to I settled, if about it, if 3on Father rancis. In id History ublished a r head of : explored lis havinsr o me of the lat in the instruct- •es of the had pro- " if his time of ext place, iiying the Tonti in ada, and oration of he utter improbability of this whole stor\. it is completely refuted by the testimony of the lieven-nd leather himself. His first pub- lication after his return to France, and the first edition of it, is now in my possession. It was published on the .^th of .Janu- ary, 1083, the author being then in I'aiis, and was dedicated to the king of France. The work is entitled, " Description de la Louisiane nouvellement decouverte au sud-oiiest de la Xou- velle Frniice." He "ives a minute account of his vovage from the mouth of the Illinois, to a considerable distance above the Falls of 8t. Anthony; of his captivity, during eight months, among the Indians of the Upper Mississip|)i ; and finally, of his return to some of the French posts in Canada about Whit- suntide (May), 1081. The '-Privilege du Uoi," for the publi- cation of this first work of Hennepin, was granted on the 3d of September, 1682. Not only is the author silent as to any voyage by himself down the river as far as the Gulf of Mexico, or of his having descended below the mouth of Illinois, but the concluding paragraph shows conclusively, that he at tliat time set up no such pretensions. He says, in conclusion, " They sent me word, this year (1082), from New France, that M. de la Salle, finding that I had made peace with the tribes of the north and the north-west, situated more than live hundred leagues above, on the river Colbert (]Mississipi)i), who were at war with the Illinois and the nations of the south, this brave captain, governor of Fort Frontenac, who, by his zeal and courage, throws new lustre on the names of the Caveliei's, his ancestors, descended last year with his followers, and our Franciscans, as far as the mouth of the great river Colbert, and to the sea, and that he traversed unknown nations, some of whom are civilized. It is believed he is about to return to France, in order to give the court a more ample knowledge of the whole of Louisiana, which we may call tin; delight and terrestrial paradise of America. The king might form there an empire, which, in a short time, will become nourishing in spite of the opposition of any foreign power." In another part of the same work, the good Father says," Wc had some intention to descend as far as the mouth of the river Colbert, which prohahli/ empties into the Gulf of Mexico, ra- ther than into the Vermilion Sea ; but those natives who had 8 DISCOURSn DELIVERED BEFORE THE , . 1. » • ,i; arrested us, did not allow us time to navigate the river both above and below.*' Here is a formal disclaimer of any dis- covery made by Hennepin, and an announcement that the dis- covery had been made by another ; and yet llie author of the Condensed History and Geography of the Western States re- presents Henne|)in, I know not on what authority, as having reached the Gulf of Mexico on the 2r)th of March, 1G80; a period when, according to his own account of himself, he was struggling in a frail canoe, against the ice and currents above the mouth of Missouri. One is tempted to repeat the reflec- tion of Voltaire, " c'est ainsi que Ton ecrit Thistoire." Father Hennepin did not certainly much overrate the great nalinal fertility and resources of Louisiana. But it is not a little remarkable, slow and lingering were the first attempts to colonize it, although made under the immediate auspices of the crown of France. The most superficial reader of history cannot have failed to remark the different spirit which charac- terizes the colonization of this continent by Spain, France arid England. The Spaniard came for conquest and for gold ; regarding the aborigines as enemies to God ; no alternative was left them but the cross, or the edge of the sword ; even submission did not save them from the most abject and oppres- sive servitude. France, on the contrary, cultivated the good will of the natives, and was, in general, eminently successful in gaining their friendship, so far at least as relates to Louisi- ana ; commerce with them, in the natural productions of the country, seems to have been their primary object. Trade, in fact, was the basis of her colonial policy ; trade, too, not open to all her subjects, but in the hands of monopolists by grants from the crown, and maintained in the enjoyment of it by naval and military power. The first establishments of the French were rather trading houses than colonies. The Eng- lish colonics, on the contrary, were for the most part the off- spring of individual enterprise. The basis of their system was agriculture combined with commerce ; they brought with them their household gods ; they sought a permanent abiding place, for themselves and their posterity ; many of them, far from enjoying the patronage and protection of the crown, fled from persecution and intolerance. They came, and as soon fii'l mSTORICAIi iaoriETY OF LOI'ISIANA. river both f any dis- lat the (lis- hor of the States rc- ns having h, 1G80; a ;lf, he was ?nts above ihe reflcc- > tlie great is not a ttempts to Jspicos of of liistory h charac- ance arfd for gold ; tcrnativG I'd ; even 1 oppres- the good jccessful ) Louisi- is of the rade, in ot open grants )f it by 3 of the e Eng. he off. system t with biding |m, far In, fled soon as private interest began to operate freely, on a soil comi)ara- liveiy sterile, and in a rignrous elimate, the country was con- verted into 'd garden. The l^nglish colonists brought with them the germ of ])opular self-government ; at very early periods, they made laws for themselves, sometimes in assem- Ijlics pinely democratic ; generally through their representa- tives, laws suited to their conditions and their wants. In the colonies of France and Spain, on the contrary, except in mat- ters of mere local police, all laws and regulations came over the ocean. Trade in its most minute ramificjitions, even do- mestic trade, was fettered with precise tariffs of prices and profits, instead of being left open to free competition. Ac- cording to a regulation established by the Western Company, 1721, the price of a slave sold to the colonists by the proprie- tary company, was fixed at six hundred livres, on a credit of one, two and three years ; tobacco, in leaf or twist, was bought at their warehouses at the rate of twenty-five livres per hun- dred ; rice, at twelve livres the quintal ; peltries and furs had their fixed prices. French goods were sold at Biloxi, jNIobile and New Orleans, at five per cent, advance on the invoice price in France ; at Natchez and Yazoo at seventy per cent, profit ; at Natchitoches and Arkansas, at eighty per cent., and at one hundred per cent, in Illinois. The price of wine was one hundred and twenty livres the harrupie. There sprung out of this spirit of petty traffic, a class of characters altogether unique and unknown elsewhere, called " coureiu's des hois,'" half pedlers and half hunters, with a little finish of the broker. It was through their agency that goods imported from France, were pushed into the most remote set- tlements of the country and to the Indian villages, and ex- changed for the productions of the country. When I first came to this country, I knew some old decrepid men of that class ; crippled, frost-bitten, and yet at an extreme old age retaining a singular predilection for that wandering, half savag, that Don Antonio de Ulloa was sent over to receive possession, in pursuance of previous instructions given by the king of France to D'Abbadie. Tiiere hangs over the conduct of Don Antonio, an extraordinary mystery ; although ho remained two years in the province at the head of a military force, he appears never to have taken formal possession of the country, and was finally compelled to withdraw, on his rellisal to furnish the council his powers and instructions from the king of Spain. I am not aware that his report to his govern- ment has ever been made public. We are, however, fully warranted in believing that such a report was made, and that it formed the motive or the ])retext for the sanguinary orders subsequently given to his successor, and led to- the fatal cata- !l 1 lUf V2 DHcoinsB i»K.i,tvF.RKit nr.Fonr, tiik l! ii" I m f t l¥ strojdio which ensued. If such a document exists, as \\c have every rcas(»n to suppose, a copy mi^dit he; jinicured l'n»iu Spain, and woidd throw ^'reat hyht on an obscure and in- teresting crisis in our annals. The hloody tragedy which fol- lowed on the arrival of Don AlcxandroO'Kcilly ney'i year, the total abolition of the council, and the introduction of the laws of Spain, as over a cony his olRcial acts. Within a coupU; of years, docinnents have come to light, through the agency of our late Minister at Madrid, which go to prove, not only his original jiowcrs, but the approbiition of the court of Spain of all his j)roceedings. Among other documents thus pro- cm-ed, is a copy (da royal order of the 28th of .January, 1771, in which the king declares that he had in 17(J5 appointed Don Antonio de Ulloa to proceed to the province of Louisiana, and to take possession as governor, making, however, no innova- tion in its system of government, which was to be entirely in- dependent of the laws and usages observed in his American domini«jns, but considering it as a distinct colony, having even no commerce with his said dominions, and to remain under the control of its own administration, council, and other tribu- nals. But he goes on to say, the inhabitants haring rebelled in October, 1708, he had commissioned Don Alexandro (/lleilly tct proc(>ed thither, and take formal possession, chas- tise the ringleaders, and to annex that province to the rest of his dominions. That his orders had been obeyed, the council abolished, and a cabildo established in its place, and the Spanish laws adopted. He proceeds to ratify and confirm all that had been done, and directs that Louisiana shall be united, as to its spiritual concerns, to the Bishopric of the Havana, and governed conformably to the laws of the Indies. It was made a dependency of the Captain-generalship and royal Hacienda of the island of Cuba, and as relates to the adminis- tration of justice, a special tribunal was created, consisting of "* lllrtrnUlcM, HuilKlV >iV l.itrirflANA. 13 , IIS \\i) have i>ciirc(| Irom lire niid in- y which l\>\. cy't year, the of the laws ')wii. Until ! was a niat- onnlycoiisi- Vom the (late sahrfti^'aled, ii(l^r(! of the liii a coiiplc! the agency re, not only Lirt of Spain s thus |)ro- luary, 1771, )ointcd Don uisiana, and no innova- cntirely in- American laving even finin inider 'ther tribu- g rebelled iexandro |sion, chas- ho rest of |ie council and the Ion firm all |bc united, Havana, It was id royal adminis- |sisting of the Captiiin-srincral as president, the auditors of war and ma- rine, th«.' attorm y ofilR' llaeienda, and the nofaiy of the gr»v. ernnient. T/Mhis tnlinial appeals were to go, and from it to the I "Uneil at Hr\ Hie, without resorting to the audieiicia of St. I>oiMingit, (>'l{eilly af )"'firs to have mfuje n fletailed rP|K)rt of his pro- eeedinirs, consistuig "f six distinct stateuiciits. These; state- nit'iils have never, prohahly, been made public /'// crfrnsn, but another document, procured at the same time at Madrid, enn- tains a minute analysis of them. I allude to a report m;ule to the king by the Council and ('hand)er ot' the Indies, to whom the whole matters had been referred. It is filled with the most extraviigant en(;oniiums upon ()'i{eilly. Tlu; proioiMidiiess of his comprehension, the sublimity of his spirit, the correctness of his judgment, the admirable energy displayed in his provi- sions for the civil, economical, and political goverimient, hiy delicate knowledge and acute discernment d in the dungeons of the Moro Castle, others shot down without mercy, without necessity, without a crime, unless it was a crime to love the land of their birth, the land in whose bosom repose the bones of their ancestors, — all entrapj)e(l at a moment of profound security and submission, under circum- stances of the most infamous treachery and tluplicity, and mocked with the forms of a trial, under a statute written in a foreign language, and never promulgated in the province. IN ' ii m m 14 DISCOURSE DELIVERED BEFORE THE i| «i::i iiii Docs no one yet survive, in this whole generation — no one yet ling(M-ing on the stage — who was an eye-witness of those triiiisactions, from whom we could hope to obtain a vivid pic- lure of the grief, consternation, and despair, which smote the heart of the country, while the place d'armes of New Orleans was reeking with its best blood, that we might hold it up to the most remote posterity, as a comment on the specious bombast of the Council of Seville? The commercial regulations proposed by O'Reilly, and which form the subject of his first statement, were undoubt- edly liberal, and calculated to advance the prosperity of the province. They contemplated a wide departure from the rigorous monopoly with which the commerce of the Spanish colonies had been shackled : a free trade between Havana and Spain, the productions of Louisiana to pay no duties when imported into that port, and no duty to be levied on exports from Havana to Louisiana ; the admission of all Louisiana vessels into all the ports of Spain as well as the Havana, pro- vided that none but Spanish or Louisiana bottoms should be employed in that trade. This system met the entire approba- tion of the council, except that the exemption from the payment of duties should be considered only as temporary. The second statement relates to the propriety of subjecting Louisiana to the same system of laws which prevailed in the other Spanish colonies, of carrying on legal proceedings in Spanish, the establishment of the New Appellate Tribunal, of which I have already spoken, with a direct appeal (nmi it to the council. These arrangements were sanctioned by the council, with this proviso: that the Intendants of Hacienda and Marine should have a voice and vote in the proposed tri- bunal. The third and fourth statements relate to the organization of the Cabildo, and the appointment of Don Louis de Unzaga as civil and military governor of the province. The fifth details the new ecclesiastical and economical ar- rangements. The sixth and last statement of O'Reilly informs the king that he had appointed a lieutenant governor for the district of Illinois and Natchitoches, encloses copies of his instructions, HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LOUISIANA. 15 -■no one yet 3S of those a vivid pic- 1 smote the cw Orleans it u|» to the us bombast leilly, and c LHidoiibt- jrity of tlic ) from the he Spanish lavana and ities when on exports Louisiana Lvana, pro- should be apjiroba- e payment subjecting ed in the 'cdings in •ibunal, of Torn it to by the lacicnda )osed tri- i/.ation of nzaga as meal ar- the king listrict of ructions, and proposes that the governor alone should Iiavc the power to grant lands, and that concessions should be made according to certain regulations which he had adopted on the advice of well-informed })crsons. This is the well-known ordinance of n7(). of which I may have occasion to speak hereafter. It cannot be denied, that in many respects the new govern- ment was liberal, and even i)aternal. Lands were distributed gratuitously i,r meet the wants of an increasing population, and direct taxation was unknown in the province. Jf the ratio of increase of the population be an index of its prosperity, Loui- siana was certainly flourishing and prosperous. In sixt(!en years from the year 1709, the population was uK^re than dou- bled by the ordinary means, independently of small colonies from iMalaga and the Canary Islands. In 1711 it amcninted only to four hundred, including twenty slaves. During thirty- four years of Sjianish domination in this country, its resources were considerably developed, and Louisiana has been regard- ed, perhaps with justice, as the favored j)et of Spain. Gentlemen, it does not enter into my plan to go into any historical details relating to the different periods of our histo- ry ; but my object is simply to call your attention to them, as worthy of minute investigation in the progress of our research- es. Much interesting matter might yet be brought to light, illustrative of the characters of many distinguished persons who figured, and some of whom suffered, in the crisis I have already alluded to. What has become of the memorials and correspondence of Mihlet, who was despatched by the Loui- sianians to France, to entreat the king not to compel his loyal subjects to pass under the yoke ol' Spain ? Who, that has read our earlier history, does not desire a more intimate ac> quaintance with the spirit of the times, and with the enter- prising men who laid the foundation of the colony, and to investigate more minutely its gradual development ? II. I proceed to make a few remarks upon the second head of our proposed inquiries, to wit : the progress of our juris- prudence. The most important part of the history of a state is that of its legislation. U})on that de|jends its prosperity, and the character and pursuits of the people. It is not a little re- markable, that although successively an appendage of the -!I'M ill li ' IG DISCOURSE DnHVERF.D Br.FORE THE I monarchies of France and S|)ain, Louisiana never knew any- thing liiic a rigiit of primogeniture and a privileged class. No j)art of feudality was ever kiKJVvn here, neitiier incquahty in the distribution of estates, nor iiei's, nor signories, nor may- ora/gos. The grants of land were all allodial, and under no other condition than that of cultivation and improvement within limited periods ; in fact, essentially in fee simple. The colonists brought with them, as the basis of their municipal law, the custom of Paris. By the charter in favor of Crozat, the laws, edicts, and ordinimces of the realm and the custom of Paris, arc expressly extended to Louisiana. To this cus- tom, which we all know was a body of written law, may be traced the origin of many of the peculiar institutions which still distinguish our jurisprudence from that of all the other states of the L^nion. I allude esjK'cially to the matrimonial community of gains, the rigid restrictions on the disinheritance of children, and the reserved portion in favor of forced heirs, the severe restraints upon widows and widowers, in relation to donations in favor of second iiusbands and wives, by the Edit des ISecondes Noces ; the inalienability of dower, and the strict guard.5 by which the para[)hernal rights of the wife are secured against the extravagance of spendthrift husbands. The community of acquests and gains between husband and w-ifc is altogether a creature of customary law, unknown to the jurisprud(>nce of Home, and even in those provinces of France formerly governed by the written law. It is said to be of German or Saxon origin, and during the regime of the first two races of the kings of France, the share of the wife was one-third, instead of one-half, of the property acquired during marriage, as regulated by the existing code. The in- troduction of the Spanish law, in 1709, produced but slight changes on most of these points. The general rules of de- scent, as regulated by the law of Spain, did not vary materi- ally from those of the custom of Paris ; a perfect ecjuality among heirs was the essential characteristic of both codes. The points of discrepancy will form a curious subject of inves- tigation to any one desirous of pursuing the inquiry. The existing code of this state has maintained to a certain extent it il HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LOUISIANA. 1? knew any- class. No inequality ;, nor mav- I under no provenient iple. The municipal of Crozat, the custom 'o this cus- \v, may be ons which 1 the other latrimonial inheritance reed heirs, in relation vcs, by the cr, and the le wile are lusbands. jand and novvn to ovinccs of is said to me of the the wife acquired The in- jut slight cs of de- materi- equality th codes, of inves- y. The in extent 1 mi those peculiarities, and they have become deeply rooted in the public mind. O'Reilly, when he introduced by proclamation the whole body of the Spanish law, published a Manual of Practice. How far the practice was changed in substance, by that regu- lation, from what existed before, I am not prepared to say. It is to be presumed, from the character of those who had been previously engaged in the administration of the laws, that the practice was very simple, and perhaps rude, and the records of judicial proceedings at these early periods are extremely meager. The order of the Commandant, after hearing the stories of both parties, was the decree to which all submitted. Until the cession of the country to the United States, the writ of habeas corpus and the trial by jury were of course unknown here. Of the first, it is sufficient to say, that with- out it there can be no genuine personal security. What- ever we may think of the trial by jury, as a test of right or law, as a tribunal to decide upon the disputed rights of the citizens in civil cases, there is one point of view in which it may be regarded as above all price, namely, as the means by which the citizens become insensibly instructed in the great leading principles of the laws, and the foundation and extent of their rights. It is the best school of the citizen. The people assemble at stated periods to attend the sessions of the courts ; the discussions are public ; the neighbors of the parties are called on to act as jurors ; they hear the laws com- mented on by ^counsel ; they receive the instructions of the court, and retire to deliberate on their verdict. Each juror feels the responsibility under which he acts. Thus, the citi- zens, in rotation, arc called on to perform highly important functions in the administration of the laws, and after serving a few terms, cannot fail to become pretty well acquainted with the great leading principles of the laws of their country, and more vigilant in maintaining their own rights. My own opi- nion is, that the trial by jury in the interior of this state has done more to enlighten the people, than all the means of edu- cation which have been provided by the munificence of the legislature. Many men who can neither read nor write, are yet capable of deciding as jurymen, a question of disputed 3 1 1{ m I m\ !i \l 18 DISCOUnSE DELIVERED BEFORE THE right between two of their fellow citizens, with admirajble dis- crimination. I think I can perceive, in this respect, a siingular improvement in the general intelligence of the people since I came to reside here twenty-two years ago, especially among that class of our population to whom the trial by jury and the publicity of judicial proceedings were novelties. A friend of mine used to relate an anecdote, which illustrates this position. Two honest Creoles were disputing about a point of law ; said one of them, " How, do you think I don't know, sir ? I am a justice of the peace !" " And I," said the other, " I ought to know something about it, I have been twice foreman of the grand jury." If I were to dwell longer upon the subject of our jurispru- dence, this address would swell into a dissertation. Permit, me to recommend this subject to your attention, and particu- larly an inquiry into the practical operation of the laws above referred to, which regulate the great relations of social and domestic life. Whether an equal participation of the wife in the property acquired during marriage — a right growing ori- ginally out of the presumed collaboration of the parties in a rude primitive state of society — ought still to exist in the present age of refinement and extravagance. Whether such a sys- tem be not productive of more frauds and injustice to credit- ors, and disruption of families and litigation, than of public good and domestic tranquillity, are questions more proper for discussion in the halls of legislation than here ; they belong rather to the legislator than the historian. III. I should hardly be pardoned, if I dwelt long on the next subject embraced in our plan, the state of religion. I wnll confine myself to a single remark. Fortunately Louisiana was ceded to Spain after the Inquisition had, even in that country of bigotry, been disarmed of most of its terrors ; and although in this country the Catholic religion was the only one openly tolerated, yet an attempt to introduce that most infa- mous of all human institutions was indignantly put down by the people and the local authorities. IV. The condition of the Indian tribes comes next. The Indians ! the Indians ! whether subjects of history or heroes of romance, or mixed up in the miserable ephemeral dramatic HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LOflSIANA. 19 mirajble dis- t, a singular loplc since I ially among jury and the A friend of his position. )f la\/ ; said ir ? I am a " I ought to eman of the )ur jurispru- on. Permit, and particu- laws above f social and f the wife in growing ori- parties in a 1 the present such a sys- ce to credit- in of public 3 proper for they belong ong on the religion. I Y Louisiana ven in that srrors ; and e only one most infa- it down by lext. The Ir heroes of ll dramatic tra.sh of the day, always exaggerated, disfigured, caricatured. They have been represented by s^mc as brave, liigh-inindcd, and capable of sustaining extraordinary privations ; sometimes as cold, stern, taciturn ; sometimes as gay, lively, frolicksoine, full of badinage, and excessively given to gambling; some- times as cruel, and even man-eaters, delighting in the infliction of the most horrible tortures. Some will tell you that they .v have no religious notions, no conception of a great first cause ; others, that they have a simple natural religion ; or as the i)oet :; has it : " Ilis untutored mind, Sees God in clouds, and liears liim in tlie wind ; ■; His soul, proud science never taught to stray, ;d Far as the solar walk or milky way. •: Yet simple Nature to his hope has given, '^. Behind the cloud-topped hill, an humbler heaven, Some safer world, in depth of woods embraced, Some happier island in the watery waste. To be content, his natural desire, He asks no angel's wings, no seraph's tire, But thinks, admitted to that equal sky, His faithful dog shall bear him company."' Some of the earlier historians represent the Natchez as worshippers of the sun, or worshippers of fire ; as having a temple dedicated to the sun. keeping up a perpet al, a vestal fire. They conclude, of course, that those India must have been allied at least to the Peruvians or ]Mexica, -j, if not de- scended from the fire-worshippers of the East. The truth probably was, that in some miserable cabin or wigwam, a few chunks were kept burning, as is the case in every Indian en- campment, and indeed in every well regulated kitchen. The ■M fact is, that neither the pen of Cooper, nor the more eloquent and fascinatinjT stvle of Chateaubriand, can inspire the sliirht- est interest for their Indian heroes and heroines, in the mind of a man who has been much among the aborigines, and knows something of their real character and habits. With respect to those nations which yet exist, we are able to see for our- selves, and correct the false impressions which earlier writers may have produced. It is melanchofy to look over the list of ! I I ! i so IJI3COL'R3E DELIVERED BEFORE THE 'i I i-i;.; 'I'! Il'l '^li: Mllll i■^■ tribes, \vhicli were once scattered over the surface of lower Louisiana at early periods of the colony. How many of them arc totally extinct ! How many dwindled down to a mere shadow, and their feeble remnant confounded with some neigh- boring tribe ! The Attakapas, the Carancuas, the Opelousas, the Adaycs, the Natchitoches, the Natchez, where are they, and what monuments have they left us, by which any trace of their origin or their history may be known ? Of the Natchi- toches, only a single individual exists, and he has been adopted by the Cados. Who knows anything of the language of those nations ? Their language, certainly among the most curious of the remnants of erratic tribes, and by which an acute phi- lology might perhaps trace some affinities with other existing people, is known only to a few ; and they are not of that class from whom the republic of letters might expect some account of it. The powerful tribe of the Natchez is totally extinct ; its last miserable rcmnnnt took refuge among the Chickasaws. There remain a few degenerate (if such beings can degene- rate) descendants of the Tunicas, Chitcmachas, Pacagoulas, Apalaches and Beloxis. Neither the French nor the Spanish governments recog- nized in the Indians any primitive title to the land over which they hunted, nor even to the spot on which their permanent dwellings were fixed. They were often grantees of lands for very limited extents, not exceeding a league square, covering their village. They were sometimes permitted to sell out their ancient possessions, and had a new locality assigned them. Many titles of that kind exist at the present time, and have been subjects of judicial decision. But the policy of extin- guishing the primitive Indian title, as it is called, by purchase, which prevailed universally among the English colonists, ap- pears to have been wholly unknown to the French and Span- iards in Louisiana. The massacre of the French at Natchez, which led to the extermination of that tribe, was provoked by the atrocious attempt, by the commandant, to destroy their village atSt. Catherine's, in order to annex the land to his own plantation. There arc many indications here, as well as in upper Loui- siana and Ohio, of a race of men, long since extinct, who had -.-:'f. 4i ■*- " ' . i .*'". ' ".ji IHSTORICAI, SOCIETY OF T.OUtSIANA. 21 ace of lower nany of them a to a mere some neigh- e Opelousas, re are they, any trace of the Natchi- een adopted lage of those nost curious n acute phi- ;her existinfj of that class )me account illy extinct ; I^hickasavvs. :an degcne- Pacagoulas, ents recog- over "which permanent )f lands for covering ill out their ned them. and have of extin- purchasc, onists, ap- and Span- ; Natchez, )vokcd by roy their o his own per Loui- who had a M probably made considerable advances in some of the useful arts, and perhaps the art of defence. In Sicily Islnnd, in the parish of Catahoula, there is a curious circle of mounds, regu- larly disposed, embracing a large area of alluvial soil, but little elevated above high water mark. I believe the dwelling house of the present proprietor, Mr. Matthews, is built upon one of them. There are others equally curious on Black Uivcr; and near the village of Harrisonburg may yet be traced an exten- sive elevation of earth strongly resembling breast-works. The enemy against which these works were thrown up, was proba- bly the Mississippi, whose waters once flooded the whole of that region at certain stages. The study of Indinn mounds has heretofore led to no important discovery upon which much reliance can be placed. It is worse than idle to indulge in conjectures upon the origin of these monuments. A few skulls, picked up here and there, may indicate, perhaps, to the professed phrenologist, the former existence of a race more civilized than the present Indians, more capable of combina- tion, having the organ of constructiveness more amply deve- loped ; but no general conclusions can be safely drawn from indications so feeble and equivocal. It would be, in my opi- nion, equally philosophical to conclude with the poet, " The earth has bubbles as the ocean has, And these are of tliem." That there are, among the existing race of aborigines, instances of extraordinary capacity and power of combination, a few individuals, infinitely superior to the common herd, is undoubt- ed. What was the boasted Cadmus of antiquity, who intro- duced into Greece a few letters of Egyptian or Phenician origin, when compared with that poor, crippled Cherokee, of our own day, who, by the unaided efforts of mind, by the sim- ple power of induction, invented perhaps the most perfect alphabet of any existing language ? Gentlemen : in these hasty and imperfect glances over the wide field of our proposed inquiries, I have purposely omitted to touch upon the last, or rather the present, era of our his- tory, commencing with the annexation of Louisiana to the Federal Union, by far the most brilliant and important, and I ill ill iilil l.r oo D13COCRSE DELIVERED IJEFOUE THE ! ■ I ii 'I i ^ n marked by great and interesting events. In relation to Louisiana, this may Ijc properly designated as the epoch of constitutional, popular self government, and of steam, as ap- plied to navigation. The documents which illustrate this part of our history are within our reach, and ouijht to be collected and preserved. Forty years ago, what was New Orleans — what was Louisiana ? The mighty river which sweeps by us then rolled silently through an extended wilderness, receiving the tribute of its vassal streams from the base of the Rocky Mountains on one side, and the Apalachian chain on the other ; its broad and smooth surface occasionally ruflled by the dip of an Indian's paddle, or a solitary barge, slowly creeping up stream to the feeble settlements in the interior. What are they now ? This city has become the greatest mart of agricultural products on the face of the globe ; and yonder river traverses a double range of states, peopled by freemen, who, by the miracles of steam, arc brought almost in contact with the great market for the productions of their industry. That river is literally covered with floating palaces, which visit its most remote branches ; and along the extended levee fronting our port, a dense forest of masts exhibits the flags of every commercial nation in the world. At her annexation to the Union, the destiny of Louisiana became fixed — admitted at once to a participation in the great renown of the republic, connected with it by bonds of a common interest, she sprung forward, as it were by a single leap, from colonial dependence, to the glorious prerogatives of freemen, and to the enjoyment of the most luxuriant prosperity. Gentlemen, let us endeavor to make a wise use of this pros- perity, and do something for the cause of letters. Colleges are springing up under the generous patronage of the legisla- ture, which promise soon to be amply sufficient for the educa- tion of the rising generation. The Medical College of this city, the oflspring of private enterprise and sustained by the devotion of a few medical gentlemen to the cause of science, deserves public encouragement, and I trust will receive it. The Lyceum of this city promises to unite utility with all that is agreeable in the public discussion of interesting topics. Let HISTORICAL SOCIETY OK LOLISIAPfA. 23 relation to ^le epoch of cam, as ap- ite this part Liglit to be t was New Iver which 1 extended reams from e, and the nd smooth Ill's paddle, the feeble This city acts on the luble range 3 of steam, kct for the ly covered branches ; 3nse forest tion in the iestiny of rticipation i'ith it by is it were glorious the most us turn aside, occasionally at least, from the worship of mam- mon, and devote some of our leisure moments, stolen from mere sordid and engrossing pursuits, to the cultivation of liberal studies. Who does not sigh, sometimes, amidst the bustle and struggle of active life, to retreat upon the studies of his youth ; to fly to iiis early friends ; friends who never deceive him and never weary ; to the society of the philosophers, poets, historians of past times, and to bask in the mild radiance of those great luminaries of the intellectual world ; to renew again those studies — which, if you will allow me to paraphrase the splendid eulogiuin of the great master of Roman eloquence — studies which form the generous aliment of youthful mind ; the hoped for delight of declining years ; the best ornament of prosperity ; in adversity our surest consolation and refuge ; in- exhaustible source of the purest pleasure, whether at home or abroad, whether engaged in the bustle of the city, or enjoying the sober tranquillity of rural life ? '\\ this pros- Colleges e legisla- le educa- ' of this I by the science, ceive it. I all that IS. Let f; '1 .! i m m m r: i MEMOIR* OF ROBERT CAVELIER DE LA SALLE, ON THE NECESSITY OF FITTING OUT AN EXPEDITION TO TAKE POSSESSION OF LOUISIANA. .1^1 I The principal result which the Sieur de la Salle expected from the great perils and labors which ho underwent in the discovery of the Mississippi, was to satisfy the wish expressed to him by the late MoNSEiGNEUR CoLBERT, of finding a port where the French might establish themselves and harass the Spaniards in those regions from whence they derive all their wealth. The place which he proposes to fortify lies sixty leagues above the mouth of the Rivert Colbert (Mississippi), in the Gulf of Mexico, and possesses all the advantages for such a purpose which can be wished for, both upon account of its excellent position and the favorable disposition of the savages who live in that part of the country. * The memory of Robert Cavelier de la Salle has been treated with neglect by his countrymen. The little that we know of this distinguished man is only to be gathered from the communications made by him to his government ; from M. Joutel, the historian of his last expedition to Louisiana ; and from the very excellent work of Mr. Sparks. M. de la Salle was born at Rouen, France, and was educated at one of the seminaries of the Jesuits in that country. At an early age, he went to Canada, to seek his fortune, and was there patronized by M. Talon, the Intendant. In 1675, he visited France, and for his eminent services in the exploration of the Canadian lakes, he was rewarded with a patent of nobility. In 1678, he was commissioned to undertake the exploration of the Mississippi, in which he very fortunately engaged the services of the Chevalier de Tonty. In the same year he returned to Canada, and was there joined by Father Hen- nepin, the explorer of the Upper Mississippi. In 1780, he sent Father Hennepin on an expedition to the Sioux, and Tonty he placed in command of Fort Crevecoeur, while he returned to Montreal to at- tend some public affairs. Having there made liis will, he, with a party of twenty-three Frenchmen, and twenty-eight Indians, returned to the Miamis river— crossed the Portage at Chicago to the Illinois, — and on the Cth February, 96 HE LA SALLE ON TIIK NECESSITY OF I I I 1: ! •! Tlio right of tlio King to this territory is tho common right of all nations to lamls which tiicy have disjcovercd — a right which cannot ho ilisputetl nfker tho possession already taken in tho name of his Majesty, hy tho Sieur do la Salle, with tho consent of the greater number of its inhabitants. A colony can easily bo founded there, as the land is very fertile and produces all articles of life — as the climate is very mild — as a port or two would niake us masters of tho whole of this continent — as the posts there are good, secure, and lfi«2, ronc'liod tlio Mi )lr lississipi)! rivor to exploro it ti) it.s mouth, and to take for- mill possi'ssioii of tlu; coiiiitr)' in the iiiiiiii' of h\H Sovereign. This lie accoro- plisliccl on the 9th of April, IGS'2 ; a iiiinufc account of vshii-h is now pub- lislu'd in this voluinc. In consoi|UiMU'u of some sirkness, he did nr)t reach QiU'hec until the following Octnlier ; from wiiicii port he afterwards sailed for France. The Great Collii^rt was now no more, hut liis son Seignelay was Minister of Marine. To liini iii- delivered the two memoirs published in this volume. In the lirst, he urges an expedition hy sea to the Mississippi, with a memorandum of the eiiuipment and sujiplies reijuisite to undertake it. In the second, he gives a very full account of the country south of the Mississippi, in which he conlirms tlie statement of Father Hennepin, wiiicli has often been questioned, of his desire to seize tho mines of St. IJarbe, while at the same time ho alludes to the possibility of opening a passage to the South .Sea. The King acceded to the proposition of M. la Salle, and he was duly authorized to build forts and plant colonies in Louisiana. He accordingly fitted out an expedition of four ships, and two hundred and eighty i)evsons, among whom were included F'ather Zenobe and M. Joutel, the future bistorian of the expedition, and set sail from Rochelle on the 2lth July, l»'i'' I. AftiT a prosj)erous voyage, he reached the Gulf of Mexico, in December following, but missing the mouth of the Mississippi, be was compelled to effect a landing in the bay of St. Bernard, where he built a fort. He made several eflbrts to find the Mississippi, and during his last expedition he was assassi- nated by one of his countrymen. Thus ingloriously perished the man who has been styled the Father of French Colonization in the Mississippi Valley. In some of tiie higher attributes of character, says M. Sparks, " such as per- sonal courage and endurance, undaunted resolution, patience under trials, and perseverance in contending with obstacles, and struggling through embarrass- ments that might api)al the stoutest heart, no man surpassed the Sieur de la Salle. " Not a hint appears in any writer, that lias come under our notice, which casts a shade upon his integrity or honor. Cool and intrepid at all times, never yielding for a moment to despair, or even to despondency, he bore the heavy burden of his calamities to the end, and his hopes expired only with his last breath. To him must be mainly ascribed the discovery of the vast regions of the Mississippi Valley, and the subseijuent occupation and settlement of them by the French ; and his name justly holds a prominent place among those which adorn the history of Civilisation in the new world." TAKINti ro.-trtr.riSld.V OF LoflSIAN'A. 27 311 right of all which cannot > name of his if the greater mliMJ there, as r life — as the nasters of the . secure, and Hid to take for- Hiis Jie accom- "Ii is now jiul). (Iiy the oflicial instrument signed by all his companions, whieh was placed last year in the hands of Monseigncur Colbert by the Count do Frontenac : — as also by a report drawn up by the Reverend Father Zenoble, Missionary, who accompanied him during this voyage, and who is at this time (Juardian of Hapaume : — by the testimony of three persons who accompanied him, and whom ho has brought with him to France, and who arc now in Paris : — and by the testimony of many other persons who came this year from Ca- nada, and who have seen one Vital, sent by xM. de la Barre to col- lect information respecting him on the spot, and who has confirmed the truth of the discovery. All these proofs are sufficient to contradict whatever may have boon written to the contrary, by persons who have no knowledge of the country where the discovery was made — never having been there. Rut he hopes to remove all these prejudices, by carrying into execution the design which he entertains, under the favor o^ Monseigncur, of returning to the country of his discovery by the mouth of the river in the Gulf of Mexico, since he must have lost his sense, if, without being certain of the means of arriving where he proposes, ho exposed not only his own fortune and that of his friends to manifest destruction, but his own honor and reputation to the una- voidable disgrace of having imposed on the confidence of his Majesty and of his ministers. Of this there is less likelihood, because he has no interest to disguise the truth, since, if Monseigncur does not think it convenient to undertake any enterprise in that direction, he Avill not ask anything more from his Majesty, until his return from the Gulf of IMexico confirms the truth of what he has alleged. With reference to the assertion that his voyage would produce no profit to France, ho replies, that if he proposed it as a thing to be done, and on that account sought for assistance to undertake the enterprise, or reward after having succeeded in it, its usefulness would deserve consideration ; but being here only in order to render an account of the orders he received, he does not think himself to be responsible for anything but their execution, it not being his duty to examine the intentions of Monseigncur Colbert. Having, however, observed great advantages which both France and Canada may derive from his discovery, he believes that he owes this detail to the glory of the i !' I' 'I DK LA SALLE 3 DISCOVERIES. 80 cfiis — the only ) tiic aid which ho truth of his is coinpaniuiis, Dur Colbert by Avn up by the icd liim during lume : — by the I whom iiu iias aris : — and by year from Ca- i Barre to col- has confirmed ver may have • knowledge of having been s, by carrying r the favor o^ covcry by the t have lost his 'ing where he of his friends I to the una- his Majesty because he leur does not irection, he eturn from ged. With no profit to be done, and ■nterprise, or juld deserve n account of sponsible for examine the •r, observed derive from jlory of the :d s r( King, the welfare of the kingdom — to the honor of the Ministry of Monseigncur, and to the memory of him who employed him upon this expeditiun. IIo does this the more willingly, as his requests will not ex|)osc him to a sus[)i{;ioii of self-interest; and as the inlluence whicii ho has ac((uired i)Vor the people of that continent places him in a position to execute what ho proposes, the things which he states will find greater credit in the minds of those who shall investigate them. Firstly, the service of (iod may be established there by the preach- ing of the (iospcl to numerous docile and settled (scdenUiircs) nations, who will bo found more willing to receive it liian those of other parts of America, upon account of their greater civilisation. They have already temples and a form of worship. Secondly, we can ed'ect there for the glory of our King very im- portant conquests, both by land and by sea ; or if peace should oblige us to delay the execution of them, we might, without giving any cause of complaint, make preparations to render us certain of success whenever it shall please the King to command it. The provinces which may be seized are very rich in silver mines — they adjoin the River Colbert (the Mississippi) — they are far re- moved from succor — they are open everywhere on the side on which we should attack them, and are defended only by a small number of persons, so sunk in efleminacy and indolence as to be incapable of enduring the fatigue of wars of this description. The Sieur de la Salle binds himself to have this enterprise ripe for success within one year after his arrival on the spot, and asks only for this purpose one vessel, some arms, and munitions, the transport, maintenance, and pay of 200 men during one year. Afterwards he will maintain them from the produce of the country, and supply their other wants through the credit and confidence which he has obtained among those nations, and the experience which he has had of those regions. He will give a more detailed account of this proposal when it shall please Monseigneur to direct him. Thirdly, the river is navigable for more than a hundred leagues for ships, and for barks for more than 500 leagues to the north, and for more than 800 from east to west. Its three mouths are as many harbors, capable of receiving every description of ships ; where those of his Majesty will always find a secure retreat, and all that may be necessary to refit, and re-victual — which would be a great economy to his Majesty, who would no longer find it necessary to send the ,;|:f 'Mil M II I.,;-- il :■ ■!.; •10 MEMOIR Of things needed from Franco nt a preat expense, the country producing:; tho greater part of them. Wo could even build there as mnny ships as wc should desire, tlio materials {or !)uilding and rijiginij them being in abundance, with the exception of iron, which may perhaps be discovered. In tho first place wc should obtain there everything which has en- riched New England and Virginia, and which constitute tho founda- tion of their commerce and of their great wonlth — timhor of every kind — salted meat, tallow, corn, sugar, tobacco, honey, wax, resin, and other gums; immense pasturages, hemp, and other articles with which more than 1200 vessels arc every year freighted in Ncav Eng- land to carry elsewhere. The newly. discovered country has, besides its other advantages, that of the soil, which, being only partly covered with wood, forms a campaign of great fertility and extent, scarcely requiring any clear- ing. The mildness of tho climate is favorable to the rearing of a large number of cattle, which cause great expense where the winter is severe. There is also a prodigious number {ilus unnonihrc prodi- gi'cux) of buiTaloes, stags, hinds, roes, bears, otters, lynxes. Hides and furs are to be had there almost for nothing (a vil prix), the savages not yet knowing the value of our commodities. There are cotton, cochineal, nuts, turnsols — entire forests of mulberry-trees — salt, slate, coal, vines, apple-trees ; so that it would be easy to make wine, cider, oil of nuts, of turnsols, and of olives also, if olive-trees were planted there, silk, and dye-woods. It will not be necessary to import from Europe horses, oxen, swine, fowls, or turkeys, which are to It found in dillerent parts of the country, nor to import provi- sions for the colonists, who would quickly find subsistence. Whilst other colonies are open and exposed to the descents of foreigners by as many points as their coasts are washed by the sea, whereby they arc placed under a necessity of having many persons to watch these points of access ; one single post, established towards the lower part of the river, will be sufficient to protect a territory extending more than eight hundred leagues from north to south, and still farther from east to west, because its banks are only accessible from the sea through the mouth of the river, the remainder of the coast being impenetrable inland for more than twenty leagues, in consequence of woods, bogs, reeds, and marshes (terres tremblantes), through which it is impossible to march ; and this may be the rea- son why the exploration of that river has been neglected by the Spaniards, if they have had any knowledge of it. This country is nn i.A flAi.i,r,*s niscovEiuErt. 41 nfry producing as iiiniiy Hliips nfiirini,' tlieiu li iiiuy perhaps wliicli hns on- itn tlio foimda- nhor of every y, wax, resin, r articles with ill New Eng. jr advantages, Wood, forms a ing any clear- ( rearing of a ero the winter nomhrc prodi- nxes. Hides xril prix), the !. There are berry-trees — easy to make if olive-trees le necessary rkeys, which import provi- ice. descents of by the sea, lany persons hed towards a territory south, and y accessible nder of the cagues, in remblantes), be the rea- ped by the country is iV^. equally well defended in the iriterior against the irruptions of neighlinring I-inropenns, by great chains of mountains stretehing from east to west, from whieli i)riinches of the river lake their source. it is true that the country is more open towards the south-west, where it borders on Mexico, where the very navigable river the Seignulay, which is one of the branches of the Colbert (the Missis- sip|>i), is i)nly separated by a forest of three to four days' journey in depth. IJiit besides that the Spaniards there are feeble and far re- moved from tlie assistance of Mexico, and from that which they could expect by seu, this place is |)rotected fron) their insults by a great number of warlike savages, who close this passage to them, and who, constantly engaged with them in cruel wars, would certainly inlliet greater evil when snstained by some French, whose more mild and more humane mode of governing will prove a great means for the preservation of the peace made between them and the ISieur do la Salle. To maintain this establishment, which is the only one required in order to obtain all the advantages mentioned, 1200 men only arc needed, who wonld also construct the fortifications and buildings, and effect the clearings necessary for the sustenance of the colony ; after which there would be no fnrther expenditure. The goodness of the country will indnco the settlers (hahilann) to remain there willingly. The ease in which they will live will make them attend to the culti- vation of the soil, and to the production of articles of connnerce, and will remove all desire to imitate the inhabitants of New France, who are obliged to seek sul)sistencc in the woods under great fatigues, in hunting for peltries, which are their principal resource. These \agrant courses, common in New France, will be easily pre- vented in the new country, because, as its rivers are all navigable, there will be a great facility for the savages to come to our settle- ments, and for us to go to them in boats which can ascend all the branches of the river. If foreigners anticipate us, they will deprive France of all the advantages to be expected from the success of the enterprise. They will complete the ruin of New France, which they already hem in through Virginia, Pennsylvania, New England, and the Hudson's Bay. They will not fail to ascend the river as high as possible, and to establish colonics in the places nearest to the savages who now bring their furs to Montreal — they will make constant inroads into the countries of the latter, which could not be repressed by ordinan- ces of his Majesty. They have already made several attempts to t'i iiil t ■ ;'1 f1'! 42 MEMOIR OF fliilMi riMf 1 .1, 'i discover this passage, and they will not neglect it now that the whole world knows that it is discovered, since the Dutch have published it in their newspapers upwards of a year ago. Notliing more is re- quired than to maintain the possession taken by the Sieur de la SsUe, in order to deprive them of such a desire, and to place ourselves in a position to undertake enterprises against them glorious to the arms of his Majesty, who will probably derive the greatest benefits from the duties he will levy there, as in our other colonies. Even if this affair should prove hurtful to New France, it will contribute to its security, and render our commerce in furs more con- siderable. There will be nothing to fear from the Iroquois when the nations of the south, strengthened through their intercourse with the French, shall stop their conquests, and prevent their being powerful, by car- rying off a great number of their women and children, which they can easily do from the inferiority of the weapons of their enemies. As respects commerce, that post will probably increase our traffic still more than has been done by the establishment of Fort Frontenac, which was built with success for that purpose, for if the Illinois and their allies were to catch the beavers, which the Iroquois now kill in their neighborhood in order to carry to the English, the latter, not being any longer able to get them from their own colonies, would be obliged to buy them from us, to the great benefit of those who have the privilege of this traffic. These were the views which the Sieur de la Salle had in placing the settlement where it is. The colony has already felt its effects, as all our allies, who had fled after the departure of M. de Frontenac, have returned to their ancient dwellings, in consequence of the con- fidence caused by the fort, near which they have defeated a party of Iroquois, and have built four other forts to protect themselves from hostile incursions. The Governor, M. de la Barre, and the Inten- dant, M. de MeuUes, have told the Sieur de la Salle that they would write to Monseigneur to inform him of the importance of that fort in order to keep the Iroquois in check, and that M. de Lagny had proposed its establishment in 1678. Monseigneur Colbert permitted Sieur de la Salle to build it, and granted it to him as a property.* In order to prove to Monseigneur the sincerity of his intentions still more, and that he had no other motive in selecting this site than the protection of the men he has left there, and whom he did not think * The fort of St. Louis on the Illinois. 1 1 1 1 i : \ \i 'li DE LA SALLE S DISCOVERIES. 43 hat the whole 9 published it 1 more is re- ir de la SsUe, 2 ourselves in :s to the arms benefits from ranee, it will irs more con- n the nations I the French, irful, by car- , which they eir enemies, e our traffic rt Frontenac, ! Illinois and 3 now kill in le latter, not 3s, would be e who have d in placing t its elTects, Frontenac, of the con- I a party of selves from the Inten- they would ■f that fort agny had permitted property.* itions still than the not think right to place in such small number, within the reach of the Spa- niards, and without cannon and munition, or to Icp .c in so di tant a country, whore, in case of sickness, they could expect no assistance, nor to return home from thence without danger — he oifers again to descend the river a hundred leagues lower down, and nearer the sea, and to establish there another fort, demolishing the first, in the exp c tation, however, that Monsoigneur would consider the expenses incur- red in its establishment. It may be said, firstly, that this colony might injure tiie commerce of Quebec, and cause the desertion of its, inhabitants; but the answer is, that by descending lower down, no beavers will be found. Thus the first difficulty will be removed, which again would not have any foundation, even if Fort St. Louis were to remain. The Illinois will only kill the beaver, which, after their departure, would fall to the share of the Iroquois only, as no other nation dares to approacli those districts. There is also no likelihood that deserters would choose a long and difficult route, at the end of which they would be still sub- ject to be apprehended and punished, whilst they have another much shorter and easier one to New England, where they are quite secure, and which many take every year. A second objection would be, that the goodness of the country would attract so many people as to diminish the population of France, as it is said Mexico and Peru have depopulated Spain ; but, besides that France is more peopled than Spain has ever been, and that the expulsion of 1,800,000 Moors, added to the great wars she has had to sustain, is the real cause of its diminished population, it is cer- tain that the number of the few Spaniards in those kingdoms, who are not above 40,000, is not a number of emigrants sufficient to make any perceptible change in France, which already counts more than 100,000 settlers in foreign countries. It would be even desirable that instead of peopling other foreign kingdoms, the riches of the country newly discovered should attract them to it. Moreover, this objection has already been answered, when it was said that the country can be defended by one or two forts, for the protection of which only from 400 to 500 men are required, a number comprising only one- half of the crew of a large vessel. Whatever has been imagined respecting the mud and breakers which are supposed to stop the mouth of the river (Mississippi), is easily disproved by the experience of those who have been there, and who found the entrances fine, deep, and capable of admitting the largest vessels, [t would appear that the land or levees de terre |: , ;,'l M m II i I ■i , ; '■ 41 MEMOIR OF DE LA SALLE 3 DISCOVERIES. are covered in many parts with good growing along the channel of the river very far into the sea ; and where the sea is deep they would not be suspected, because even the creeks of the sea are tolerably deep at that distance, and besides, there is every appearance that the current of the river has formed these kind of dikes, by shoving on both sides the mud with which the winds fill the neighboring creeks, because those causeways are to the right and left of the river, forming for it a bed, as it were, by their separation. Nor can it be believed that these levies* will ever change their position, since they consist of a hard soil, covered with pretty large trees following regu- larly the banks of the river, which form the bed of it for more than six leagues into the sea. In the memoir respecting New Biscay, the difficulty has been dealt with respecting the inconstancy of the savages. They know too well how important it is to them to live on good terms with us, to fail in their fidelity. In which they have never been known to fail in Naw France. Such an event is still less to be apprehended from those who are obedient and submissive to their caziques, whose good-will it is sufficient to gain, in order to keep the rest in obedi- ence. * This word is in local use at New Orleans, to describe both the great artificial embankment of the river and any natural otnbankment. m 3. ;he channel of ep they would are tolerably pearance that ;s, by shoving e neighboring t of the river, IVor can it be )n, since they llowing regu- for more than Ity has been They know rms with us, m known to apprehended iques, whose ?st in obedi. great artificial 4 ACCOUXT OF THE TAKING POSSESSION OF LOUISIANA, BY M. DE LA SALLE. 1682. " PROCES VERBAL OF THE TAKING POSSESSION OF LOUISIANA, AT THE MOUTII OF THE MISSISSIPPI, BY THE SIEUH DE LA SALLE, ON THE UTH OF APRIL, 1682. " Jaques DE LA Metairie, Notary of Fort Frontenac in New France, commissioned to exercise the said function of Notary during the voyage to Louisiana, in North America, by iM. de la Salle, Governor of Fort Frontenac for the King, and commandant of the said Discovery by the commission of his Majesty given at St. Ger- main, on the r2th of May, 1678. " To all those to whom these presents shall come, greeting ;■ — Know, that having been requested by the said Sieur de la Salle to deliver to him an act, signed by us and by the witnesses therein named, of possession by him taken of the country of Louisiana, near the three mouths of the River Colbert,* in the Gulf of Mexico, on the 9th of April, 1682. " In the name of the most high, mighty, invincible, and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the Grace of God, King of France and of Navarre, Fourteenth of that name, and of his heirs, and the suc- cessor of his crown, we, the aforesaid Notary, have delivered the said act to the said Sieur de la Salle, the tenor whereof follows. « On the 27th of December, 1681, M. de la Salle departed on foot to join M. De Tonty, who had preceded him with his followers and all his equipage 40 leagues into the Miamis country, where the ice on the River ChekagoU) in the country of the Mascoutens, had ar- m 1:1- • if ■!|!i: .'! • Mississippi. 'i ; : ) ■ 1 ' 1 i ■ i 1 i li 1; 1 1 !■ 1 t i i :i.l li f "!t^i 40 ACCOUNT OF TIIF- rcstcd his progress, and where, when tlie ice boeaine stronger, they used sledges to drag tiie baggage, the canoes, and a wounded Frenchman, through the whole length of ihis river, and on the Illi- nois, a distance of 70 leagues. " At length, all the French being together, on the 2oth of January, 1C^"J, wo came to I'imiteoui. From tliat place, the river being frozen only in some parts, we continued our route to the River Colbert, 00 leagues, or thereabouts, from Pimiteoui, and 90 leagues, or thereabouts, from the village of the Illinois. We reached the banks of the River Colbert on the Gth of January, and remained there until the 13th, waiting for the savages, whoso j)ro- gress had been impeded by the ice. On the 13th, all having assem- bled, we renewed our voyage, being 22 French, carrying arms, ac- companied by the Reverend Father Zenobc iMembre, one of tiie Re- collet Missionaries, and followed by 18 New England savages, and several women, llgonquines, Otchipoises, and Iluronncs. " On the 14th, we arrived at the village of Maroa, consisting of a hundred cabins, without inhabitants. Proceeding about a hundred leagues down the River Colbert, we went ashore to hunt on the 26th of February. A Frenchman was lost in the woods, and it was reported to M. de la Salle, that a largo number of savages had been seen in the vicinity. Thinking that they might have seized the Frenchman, and in order to observe these savages, he marched throuiih the woods during two davs, but without findinij them, be- cause they had all been frightened by the guns which they had heard, and had fled. " Returning to camp, he sent in every direction French and savages on the search, with orders, if they fell in with savages, to take them alive without injury, that he might gain from them intelli- gence of this Frenchman. Gabriel Barbie, with two savages, having met five of the Chikacha nation, captured two of them. They were received with all possible kindness, and, after he had explained to them that he was anxious about a Frenchman who had been lost, and that he only detained them that he might rescue him from their hands, if he was really among them, and afterwards make with them an advantageous peace (the French doing good to everybody), they assured him tliat they had not seen the man whom we sought, but that peace would be received with the greatest satisfaction. Presents were then given to them, and, as they had signified that one of their villages was not more tlian half a day's journey distant, M. de la Salle set out the next day to go thither ; but, after travel- ■ i1 TAKING POSSESSION OF LOUItilANA. 47 .'I I trongcr, tliey a wounded id on the Illi- h of January, river bcins lo tlic River )ui, and 90 llinois. We anuary, and I whoso pro- iving assem- ig arms, ac- e of t!ie Re- iavages, and nsisting of a t a hundred on the 26th and it was es had been seized tiie le marclied I them, be- h they had ''rench and savages, to em intelli. jes, having 'hey were ilained to n lost, and Vom their nake with erybody), ve sought, tisfaction. ified that y distant, er travel. ling till night, and having remarked that they often contradicted themselves in their discourse, he declined going farther without more provisions. Having pressed tiiem to tell the truth, they confessed that it was yet four days' journey to their villages ; and perceiving that M. dc la Salle was angry at having been deceived, they proposed that one of them should remain with him, while the other carried the news to the village, whence the elders would come and join them four days' journey below that place. The said Sieur de la Salle returned to the camp with one of these Chikachas ; and the French- man, whom we sought, having been found, he continued his voyage, and passed the river of tlio Chepontias, and the village of the Metsi- gameas. The fog, which was very thick, prevented his finding the passage which led to the rendezvous proposed by the Chikachas. " On the 12th of March, we arrived at the Kapalia village of Akansa. Having established a peace there, and taken possession, we passed, on the loth, another of their villages, situate on the border of their river, and also two others, farther ofT in the depth of the forest, and arrived at that of Imaha, the largest village in this nation, where peace was confirmed, and where the chief acknowledged that the vil- lage belonged to his Majesty. Two Akansas embarked with M. de la Salle to conduct him to the Talusas, their allies, about fifty leagues distant, who inhabit tight villages upon the borders of a little lake. On tlie 19th, we passed the villages of Tourika, Jason, and Kouera ; but as they did not border on the river, and were hostile to the Akansas and Taensas, we did not stop there. " On the 20th, we arrived at the Taensas, by whom we were exceedingly well received, and supplied with a large quantity of provisions. M. dc Tonty passed a night at one of their villages, where there were about 700 men carrying arms, assembled in the place. Here again a peace was concluded. A peace was also made with the Koroas, whose chief came there from the principal village of the Koroas, two leagues distant from that of the Natches. The two chiefs accompanied M. de la Salle to the banks of the river. Here the Koroa chief embarked with him, to conduct him to his village, where peace was again concluded with this nation, which, besides the five other villages of which it is composed, is allied to nearly forty others. On the 31st, we passed the village of the Oumas without knowing it, on account of the fog, and its distance from the river. " On the 3d of April, at about 10 o'clock in the morning, we saw among the canes thirteen or fourteen canoes. M. de la Salle landed, ^1 >P ;, I ■ I Ill 48 ACCOUNT or THE with several of his people. Footprints were seen, and also savages, a little lower down, who were fishing, and who fled precipitately as soon as they discovered us. Others of our party then went ashore on tlie borders of a marsh formed by the inundation of the river. M. de la Salle sent two Frenchmen, and then two savages, to reconnoi- tre, who reported that there was a village not far ofT, but that the whole of this marsh, covered with canes, must be crossed to reach it ; that they had been assailed with a shower of arrows by the in- habitants of the town, who had not dared to engage with them in the marsh, but who had then vvithdrawn, although neither the French nor the savages with them i)ad fired, on account of the orders thoy had received not to act unless in pressing danger. Presently we heard a drum beat in the village, and the cries and bowlings with which these barbarians are accustomed to make attacks. We waited three or four hours, and, as we could not encamp in th.is marsh, and seeing no one, and no longer hearing anything, we ctnbarked. " An hour afterwards, we came to the village of Maheouala, lately destroyed, and containing dead bodies and marks of blood. Two leagues below this place we encamped. We continued our voyage till the 6th, when we discovered three channels by which the River Colbert (Mississippi) discharges itself into the sea. We landed on the bank of the most western channel, about three leagues from its mouth. On the 7th, M. de la Salle went to reconnoitre the shores of the neighboring sea, and M. de Tonty likewise examined the great middle channel. They found these two outlets beautiful, large, and deep. On the 8th, we reascended the river, a little above its confluence with the sea, to find a dry place, beyond the reach of inundations. The elevation of the North Pole was here about 27°. Here we prepared a column and a cross, and to the said column were afliixed the arms of France, with this inscription : ' LOUIS LE GRAND, ROI DE FRANCE ET DE NAVARRE, REGNE ; LE NEUVIEME AVRIL, 10S2.' The whole party, under arms, chaunted the Te Deum, the Exaudiat, the Domine salvumfac Regem ; and then, after a salute of fire-arms and cries of Vive le Roi, the column was erected by M. de la Salle, who, standing near it, said, with a loud voice, in French : — ' In the name of the most high, mighty, invincible, and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the Grace of God King of France and of Na- varre, Fourteenth of that name, this ninth day of April, one thousand six hundred and eighty-two, I, in virtue of the commission of his so savages, ipitately as ent ashore river. M. rcconnoi- it that the d to reach by the in- hem in the he French orders thoy esently we lings with We waited narsh, and ked. lala, lately )od. Two >ur voyage the River landed on !s from its the shores nined the ul, large, above its reach of bout 270. column REGNE ; Exaudiat, fire-arms la Salle, ■' In the Prince, Id of Na- housand n of his TAKIXr, rOr!SES:^rn\ or LOUISIAXA. 49 bv all -MajVsty which I hold in my hand, and wbicli may be scon wliDni it may concern, have taken, anri do now take, in tiie name of his ^fajpsty and of his successors to the crown, possession of this country of Louisiana, tlir seas, harbors, ports, bays, adjacent straits ; and all the luitions, people, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, iisheries, str(>ams, and rivers, comprised in tiio extent of said Louisiana, from tiie mouth of the great river St. Louis, on the eastern side, otbcrwiso called Ohio, Aligiiin, Sipore, or Chukagdua, and tin's with the consent of the Ciiaouanons, Cliikachas, and other people dwelling therein, witii whom we have made alliance -: as also along tiio River Collicrt, or .Mississippi, and rivers which discharge tl)emsclvcs therein, from its source ijcynnd the counlry of tiie Kious or Nadouessious, and this with their consent, and with the consent of the Motantecs, llinois, Mesigameas, Natchc, Koroas, which arc the most considerable nations dwelling therein, with whom also wc liavc made alliance, citlicr by ourselves or by others in our behalf;* as far as its moutii at the sea, or (!ulf of Mexico, about the 27tli degree of tlie elevation of the North Pole, and also to the mouth of the River of Palms ; upon the assurance wliicli we have received from all these nations, that wo are tlio first Kuroj)cans who have descended or ascended the said River Colljeit ; ]ierel)y protesting against all those who may in future undertake to invade any or all of these counlries, people, or lands, above described, to the prejudice of the right of his -Majesty, ae(|uircd I)y the consent of the nations lu rein named. Of which, and of all llial can be needed, I hereby take to witness those wb.o hear me, and demand an act of the Notary, as required by law.' " To w hicli the whole assembly resj)onded with shouts of Vice h Roi, and with salutes of fire-arms. Moreover, the said Sieur de la Salle caused to bo buried at the foot of the tree, to wiiicii tlie cross was attaclied, a leaden plate, on one side of which were engraved the arms of France, and the following Latin inscription : — LVDOVICVS MACXVS llECXAT. NOM) AI'RILIS CI.) IJC L.X-XXII. KOI'.ERTV.S CAVi:iJKR, V\S\ DO.MIXO ])K 'lOXTY. LKCATO, R. P ZKXoniO MI'.MllKK, RKCOLLKCri), KT VICl.XTI CAI.LIS, I'RI.AIVS HOr I'LVMKX, IXnK Al! ILIXKOHV.At PACO, I'.X A VI(;AV1'1'. i;.IV.S- QfK OSTIV.M FKCri' PKRVIVM, .XUXO APRILIS ANXl CIJ IJC LXXXII. * "There is an nhsciirity in tliis enumeration of jilaccs and Indian nations, wiiicli may he ascribed to an i;^nnrance of tlie wography of the country; but it It: in ' n "ll I'l' I '' >V .'|J;I 'r^ i'W 50 AN ACCOUNT OF THE TAKING POSSESSION OF LOUISIANA. After which the Sleur de la Salle said, that his Majesty, as eldest son of the Church, would annex no country to his crown, witliout making it his chief care to establish the Christian religion therein, and that its symbol must now be planted ; which was accordingly done at once by erecting a cross, before which the Vexilla and the Domine salvu?n fac Regem were sung. Whereupon the ceremony was concluded with cries of Vive le Roi. " Of all and every of the above, the said Sieur de la Salle having required of us an instrument, we have delivered to him the same, signed by us, and by the undersigned witnesses, this ninth day of April, one thousand six hundred and eighty-two. " La Metairie, " Notary. " De La Salle. " P. Zenobe, RecoUet Missionary. " Henry de Tonty. " Francois de Boisrondet. " Jean Bourdon. " SiEUR d'Autray. " Jaques Cauchois. " Pierre You. ** GiLLES Meucret. " Jean Michel, Surgeon. " Jean Mas. " Jean Dulignon. "Nicolas de la Salle." seems to be the design of the Sieur de la Salle to take possession of the whok- territory '.vatcred by the Mississippi from its mouth to its source, and by the streams flowing into it on both sides." — jYote by Air. Sparks. ANA. ', as eldest 11, witliout )n therein, ccordingly a and the ceremony ille having the same, nth day of •IE, Notary. the wholi- ind bv tlip WILL OF THE SIEUR DE LA SALLE. H5H1. Robert Cavelikr, Esquire, Sieur de la Salic, Soinrncur and Gover- nor of the Fort Frontenac in Now France, considering the great dangers and continual perils in which the voyages I undertake en- gage nie, and wishing to acknowledge, as much as I ain able, the great obligations which 1 owe to M. Francois Plet, my cousin, for tlic signal services which he has rendered to me in my most pressing neces- sities, and because it is tli rough his assistance that I have j)resorved to this time Fort Frontenac against the ellbrts which were made to deprive me of it, I iiave given, granted, and transferred, and give, grant, and transfer, by these presents, to tlic said M. Plet, in case of my death, the seigniory and property of tlie ground and limits of the said Fort Frontenac and its depending lands, and all my rigiits in the country of the Miamis, Illinois, and others to the south, together with the establishment wliich is in the country of the Miamis, in the con- dition which it shall be at the time of my death, that of Niagara, and all the others which I mav have founded there, towtlier with all barges, boats, great boats, moveables, and immoveables, rights, pri- vileges, rents, lands, buildintrs. and other things boloiniinn to me wiiich shall be found there ; willing that these presents be, and serve for my testament and declaration in the manner in which I ought to make it, sucii being my last will as above written by my hand, and signed by my hand, after having read it and again read it {lu ct relu). Made at Montreal, the lltli of August, lOSl. (Signed) Cavkliek de la Salle. :!i!|1 ■I ; « ;i 111 'i' ' ' i I Ifii^ III.-' k M K -M O 1 11 , * THE SIEUR DE LA TOM Y. " MKMOin SKNT IN KJOH, O.N THH DlScoVl'liV OK THK MlSSISSim AND Tin: Ni;iGiiBoinN(i nations jiv m. di; i.a sakli:;, kuom thk ykau 1078 TO Tin: ti.mk ok his dkatii, and nv Tin; .snn'ii ue tontv to the vkar lO'Jl." ! I Aftkk having been oijzlit years in tlic Froncli scrvicp. by land and by sea, and having had a hand sliot olF in Sicily by a grenade, I re- solved to return to Franco to solicit employment. At that time the late M. Cavkijer dk la Salle came to Court, a man of great intel- liffcncc and merit, who souc, on tiu^ banks of the Lake Frontenac (Lake Ontario), which is about, 800 leagues round. After staying there four days, we embarked in a boat of 40 tons burthen to cross the lake, and on Christmas day we were opposite a village called Ison- * This Memoir forms the l>;isis of a spiirimis work, printed in Paris, 1097, entitled " Doriiiei's Decouvt'iti's dans rAiiuTii|iU' St'iitt'iitiioiialc, de W. do la Sallo, par Chevalier Tonti, Gouveriieur du Fort .St. Louis, uux Illinois, Paris, 1GU7." I I f I MEMOIR or Tlir, SIELR UV. TONTV. 08 ISSiri'I AND TIIH YKAU . UE 'lOMV l)y land and 'iiadc, I re- al time the great intel- Ihe Gulf of ca. llav- rouirli the I\lonseig- and wlio wtd to ac- y assented nd arrived iiitod there iteiiac, as- rston). 1-20 iiac (Lake iiig tiicre cross the illcd [sou- P;iris. 1097, do J\l. di' la noi.s, Paris, noiitoiiaii, to which M.di- hi Salle si>iU some oanoos to procure Indian corn for our suh.sislencc. l-'nun tlicnee wc saileil towards \iagara» intending to look for a place ahove the Falls where a boat luight be built. Tlie winds were so contrary that we could not approach it nearer than nine leagues, wliicli obliged us to go by land. We found there some cabins of tiie lro(iuois, wlio received us well. NVe slept there, and the next day \vu went three 1 agues furtlier up to look for a good place to Ijuild a boat, and there encani|»ed. 'I'lie boat we came in was lost tlirough the oiistinacy of the pilot, wliom M. do la Salic had ordered to bring it asho 1' 10 crew and the tl UO'fS Ul It were saved. M. de la fialle determin(,'il to return to Fort [•'rontenac over tlie ice, and I remained in command at Niagara, witli u Father Recollet and 81) men. The bout was completi'd in the spring of 1079. I\I. de la Salle joined us with two other boats, ami several men to assist US to work tiie Ijoat up the Rapids, which I was not able to ascend on account of tlu; weakness of my crew, lie directed me to proceed and wait for him at tlie extremity of Lake Erie, at a place called Detroit, I'iO leagues from .Niagara, to join some Frencinnen whom he had sent olf the last autumn. I embarked in a canoe of bark, and when we were near Detroit tiie boat came n(). We got into it, and continued our voyage as far as Miciiiliniai;inac, where we arrived at tlie end of August, having crossed two lakes larger than that of F' rontenac (Ontario). We remained there Siome days to rest ourselves, and as M. de la Salle intended to go to the Illinois, he .sent me to the Falls of St. Mary, wliicli is situated where Lake Superior discharges itself into Lake Huron, to look for some men who had de- serted, and he in the meantime sailed for the Lake Illinois. Having arrived at Poutouatamis, an Illinois village, the calumet was sung, durinif which cercmonv presents were "iven and received. There is a post placed in the midst of the assemi)ly, where those who wish to make known their great deeds in war, striking the post, declaim on the deeds they have done. This ceremony takes place in presence of those with whom they wish to make friendship, the calumet being the symbol of peace. M. de la Salle sent his boat back to Niagara to fetch the tliing.s lie wanted, and, embarking in a canoe, continued his voyage to the Miamis River, and there commenced building a house. In the meantime I came up with the deserters, and brought them back to within 30 leaTnnirAI. rol.I-r.CTIONS OF I.onsi.AN'A. !i3. proceed tn tlio Illinois. I fliciTflirn rotrncctl my way fn find tlioni, but tlio violoiice of the wltid linccd mo to land, anil our canon was npsot by tlio violonco of Xhc waves. It was, liowovcr, suvod, but ovorytliinjj that was in it was lost, and for want of provisions wo lived for ll irec (lavs on acorns. 1 sent won lof lat bail bapiicni'il to M. de laSallo, and bo directed mo to join bini. I went back in my little canoe, and as soon ns I arrived we aseended 2r) leajiuos, as far as tlio porta<|o, where the men whom I had left iiehind joined us. We made the porfaf;(>, which extends about two lcaj,'ues, and came to the source of the Illinois River. Wo embarked there, and asci iidiii'' the at ilb )ftbo Th river for 100 leagues, arri absent bunting, and as we had no provisions wc opened some caches* of Indian corn. During this journey some of our I'renchmen were so fatigued that they determined to leave us, but the night they intended to go was so cold that their plan was broken up. We continued our route, in order to join the savages, and found them !)0 leagues above the vil- lage. When they saw us they thought we were Iroquois, and put tbemsolves on the defensive and made their women run into the woods ; but when they recognized us the women were called back with their children, and the calumc*. was danced to I\f. do la Salle and me, in order to mark their desire to live in peace with us. We gave them some merchandise for the corn which he bad taken in their village. This was on tlie Md of January, IGTO-i^O. As it was necessary to fortify ourselves during the winter we made a fort which was called Crcveccrur. Part of our people de- serted, and they bad even put poison into our kettle. M. do la Salle was poisoned, but be was saved by some antidote africnd bad given to him in France. The desertion of these men gave us less annoy- ance than the etlect which it had on the minds of the savnces. The enemies of M. de la Salle had spread a report among the Illinois that wo were friends of the Iroquois, who are their greatest enemies. The ellect this produced will be seen hereafter. M. de la Salle commenced building a boat to descend the river. He sent a Father Rccollet, with the Sieur Dean, to discover the na- r% * " The term cache, meaning a jilarc nf concealment, was originally used by the French Canadian trapjuM-s and traders. It is made by digging a hole in the ground, somewhat in the shape of a jug, which is lined with dry sticks, grass, or anything else that will protect its contents from the dampness of the earth. In this place tlie goods to bo concealed are carefully stowed away." — Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies, vol. i., p. OS. *» ■■^1 >ir,M"IU Ml Tin; BIKL'R l)K TONTY. 5') , 1 1 find tliom, caiif)p wns suvfd, l)iit lis wp lived (IK d to M. ill my little f fjir us tlie I lis. We a me tn the 'MidiiifT the They were 1)0 citc/ir.s* tigiied that to go was * rniite, in vc the vil- I, and put 1 i/ifo the lied haeli (' la Salle us. \Vo taken in inter we ['ople de- a Salle ad given s annoy- • s. The nois that enemies. e river, r the na- y used by lo in the lis, ffrass, le earth. ■Gregg's tion of tlif Sioux, 100 Ica'^U'^s from tin- Illinois on the Mississippi River southwards, a river that runs not less than HOO leagues to the sea without rapiils. He dctcruiiiu'd to go iiiwiself by land to l-'or' I'roiitenac, because he had heard nothing of tiie boat which he had sent to Niagara, lie gave nw the c; ommand of this place, and le ft U3 on thi- VJ'Jd of .March, with five men. On his road he nut with two men, whom he had sent in tin* autumn to Michilimaivinai' to obtain news of his boat. They assured him that it had not come down, and lie therefore determined to continue his journey. The two men were sent to me with orders to go to the old village to visit a iiigh rock, and to builil a strong fort upon it. Whilst I was pvoeecMling thither all my men deserted, and took away cvitn tiling that was most valua- ble. They left mo with two Ilecollets and three men, newly arrived from I'rance, stripped of evirytbing and at the mercy of tiio savages. All that I could do was to send an autlieiitic account of the a Hair to M. de la Salle. lie' laid wait fir them on Lake Fronteiiae, took some of them and killed others, after which he returned lo the lUi- nois. As for his boat, it was never heard of. During the time this happened the Illinois were greatly alarmed at seeing a party of GOO Iroquois. It was then near the month of Sep- tember. The desertion of our men, and the journey of iM. de la Salle to Fort Froiitenac, made the savages suspect that we inter.ded to betray tliem. They severely reproached me on the arrival of their enemies. As I was so reeeiilly come from France and was not then ac(]uainted witli their manners, I was euiliarrassed at this event and determined to go to the enemy with necklaces, and to tell them that I was surprised they slioultl come to make war witli a na- tion dependent on the government of New France, and which M. de la Salle, whom they esteemed, governed. An Illinois accompanied ine, and we separated ourselves from the body of the Illinois, who, to the number of 400 only, were fighting with the enemy. When I was within gun-shot the Iro(iuois shot at us, seized ine, took the necklace from my hand, and one of them plunged a knife into my breast, wounding a rib near the heart. However, having recognized nie, they carried me into the midst of the camp, and asked me what I came for. I gave them to understand that the Illinois were under the protection of the King of France and of the Governor of the country, and that I was surprised that they wished to break with the French, and not to continue at peace. All this time skirmishing was going on on both sides, and a warrior came to give notice that their left wing was giving way, and that they had recognized some ^:„. :i ! ■■■ ill ill ■l! i 5G IIISTURICAL Cdl.LI'.CTlOXS OF LOUISIANA. H ■nf ■r . I II Frenchmen among the Illinois, who shot at them. On this they were greatly irritated against me, and held a council on what they should do with me. There was a man behind me witli a knife in his hand, who every now and then lifted up iny hair. They were divided in opinion. Tegantouki, chief of the Isonoutoiian, desired to have me burnt. Agoasto, chief of the Onnoutagues, wisiied to have me set at liberty, as a friend of M. do la Salle, and lie carried his point. They agreed that, in order to deceive the Jlliiiois, they sliould give luc a necklace of porcelain beads to prove that they also were children of the Governor, and ought to unite and make a good peace. They sent mo to deliver this message to the Illinois. I had nmch difliculty in reaching them, on account of the blood I had lost, both from my wound and from my mouth. On my way I mot the Fathers Gabriel dc la llibourde and Zeiioblo ^lembre, who were coming to look after me. They expressed great joy that tliese barbarians had not put me to death. We went together to tlic Illinois, to whom 1 reported the sentiments of the Iroquois, adding, however, that they nuist not altoijether trust them. Tliev retired within their villaije, but seeing the Iroquois present themselves every day in battle array, they went to rejoin their wives and children, three leagues olF. When they went I was left with the two llecollets and three French- men. The Iroquois made a fort in their village, and left us in a cabin at some distance from their fort. Two days after, the Illinois appearing on tlie neighboring hills, the Iroquois thought that we had some communication with them ; this oi>liged them to take us within their fort. They jjressed me to return to the Illinois and in- duce them to make a treaty of peace. They gave mo one of their own nation as a hostage, and I went with Father Zenoble. The Iro- quois remained with the Illinois, and one of the latter came with mo. When we got to the fort, instead of mending matters, he spoilt them entirely by owning that they had in all only 100 men, and that the rest of their young men were gone to war, and that if tlie Iroquois really wished for peace they were ready to give them the beaver skins nnd some slaves which they had. The Iroquois called me to them and loaded me with reproaches ; they told me that I was a liar to have said that the Illinois had l,t200 warriors, besides the allies who had given them assistance. Wiierc were the GO Frenchmen who I had told them had been left at the village ? I had much ditliculty in getting out of the scrape. The same evening they sent back the Illinois to tell his nation to come the next day to within half a league of the fort, and that they would there conclude the peace, i 'I fi MEMOIR OF Till", SIELR I)E TONTY. i) t wliic-h in fact tlioy did at noon. Tlio Iroinmis ^avc tlicin prosonts of iit'ckliices and MicreliaiidisL'. The lirst necklace yignilifd liiat tiic (loverrmr of New France was anmy at their having come to molest tlieir hnilliers ; the second was addressed to M. do la Salle with the same nuaniii^ ; and tiie third, acenmiianii'd with iiiei-cliai;dise, hound tlioni as hy oatii to a strict alliance tliat liereafter tliey should live as brothers. Tliey then separated, and the Illinois helievcd, after these presents, in tli(> sincerity of the peace, w hieh induced them to conio several times into the fort of lro(|nois, where some Illinois chiefs having asked me what I thought, I told tiiem they had everything to fear, that their enemies luul no good faitii, that I knew thiittiiry were making canoes of (dm-hark, and that conse(pientl}' it was intemled to pursue tliem ; and that tliey should take advantage of any delay to retire to some distant nation, i'or that they would most assuredly be betrayed. The eighth day after their arrival, on the lOth of Septemiier, the Irofj 1101 s calleil me and iIk F ather Zeiiolile to council, and iiaving ■'ore us, made mo sit down, tliey placed six p.ackets of heaver skins he and addressing me, they said, that the two first pa with them, who kindly received us. 1 spent the winter with them, id the Father Zenoble loft us to pass the winter with the .Tesuits at the end of the buy. I left this place in the spring (lOSl) for Michilimakinac, hardly reco- vered from the eflects of what we had suffered from hunger and cold during thirty-four days. We arrived at Micliilimakinac about the fete Dim in October. M. de la Salle arrived with M. Forest some days afterwards, on his way to seek us at the Illinois. lie was very "lad to see us aiiain, and notwithstandinij the inanv past re- verses, made new preparations to continue the discovery which he had und'^rtaken. I therefore embarked with him for Fort Frontenac, to fetch things that we should want for the expedition. The Father Zenoble accompanied us. When we came to Lake Frontenac, M. de la Salle went forward, and I waited for his boat at tiie village of Te/agon. When it arrived there I embarked for Illinois, ^^t tiie Miamis River 1 assembled some Frenchmen and savajres f)r the voyage of discovery, and M. de la Salle joined us in October. We Avent in canoes to the River Chicagou, whore there is a portage which joins that of the lUinnis. The rivers being frozen, we made sledges and dragged our baggage thirty leagues below the village of Illinois, where, finding the navigation open, we arrived at the end of January at the great River Mississippi. The distance from Chicagou was estimated at 140 leagues. We descended the river, and found, six leagues below, on the right, a great river,* which comes from the west, on which there arc numerous nations. We slept at its mouth. The next day we went on to the villace of Tamarous, six leagues otfon the left. There was nn one there, all the people being at their * Missouri. •:t y : 'i ' fii r 1 ' :;.i lii Jits? m ' 'i\ CO IlISTOIUCAIi COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. winter quarters in tlic woods. \Vc niatlo marks to inform the savages that wc hail ])asse(I, and continued our route as far as tlic River Ouabache,* wiiich is eighty leagues from tliat of Illinois. It comes from the cast, and is more than 500 leagues in length. It is ijy this river tliat the Iro([Uois advance to make war against the nations of tiie south. Continuing our voyage about sixty leagues, we came to a place whicli was named Fort Prudiiommo, because one of our men lost himself there when out bunting, and was nine days without food. As they were looking for him they fell in with two Chikasas savages, wliose village was three days' journey inland. They liave 2,000 warriors, the greatest number of whom have JIal licads, wiiicii is considered a beauty among them, tlie women taking pains to llatten the heads of their cliildren, by means of a cushion whieii they put on the forelicad and bind with a band, which they also fasten to the cradle, and thus make their heads take this form. When tiiey grow up tlieir faces are as big as a large soup plate. All the nations on the sea-coast iiave the same custom. iM. de la Salle sent back one of them with presents to his village, so tliat, if they had taken Prudhomnie, they might send him back, but wo found him on the tenth day, and as the Chikasas did not return, we continued our route as far as the village of Cappa, fifty leagues oil'. We arrived there in foggy weatiier, and as we heard the sound of the tanibor wc crossed over to the other side of the river, where, in less than half an hour, we made a fort. The savages iiaving been informed that we were coming down the river, came in tlieir canoes to look for us. We made tliem land, and sent two Frencluuen as hostages to their village ; the chief visited us with the calumet, and we went to the savages. They regaled us with the best tlioy had, and after having danced the calumet to M. de la Salle, thcv conducted us to their villaire of Toyengan, eitrht lea^rues from Cappa. They received us there in tiie same manner, and from thence they wont with us to Toriman, two leagues further on, where wc met with the same reception. It nmst be here remarked tiiat tliese vil- lages, the first of which is Osotonoy, arc six leagues to the right denoending the river, and are conmionly called Akancas (Arkansas). The first tiirec villages are situated on the great river (Mississippi), M. de la Salle erected the arms of the King there ; they have cabins made witli the bark of cedar; they have no other worship than the adoration of all sorts of animals. Their country is very beautiful, Ohio. Aii:MOrR oi' run simn i»r, toxty. (51 having almiulancc of poacli, plum and apple trees, and vines (lourisli there; butUiloes, deer, stags, bears, turkeys, are very nuiueroiis. Tlicy iiavc even domestic fowls. Tliey have very little snow during the winter, and tii" iee is not thicker tiian a dollar. Tiiev i:av c us guides to conduct us to their allies, the Taencas, six leagues distant. The first day we began to see and to kill alligators, which are numerous and froi)-, 1.") to 'JO Iret long. When we arrived opposite to the village of the 'J'aencas, M. de la Salle desired me to go to it and inform the chief of his arrival. I went with our guides, and we had to carry a bark canoe for ten arpriift, and to launch it on a small lake in which their village was])laced. I was surprised to find lliiir cabins made of mud and covered with cane mats. The caijin of the chief was !() feet scpiare, the wall 10 feet high, a f)ol thick, and the roof, which was of a dome shape, about lo feet high. I was not less surprised when, on entering, I saw the chief seated on a camp bed, with three of his wives at his side, surrounded by more than (iO old men, clothed in large white cloaks, which are maile by the women out of the bark of the nnill)erry tree, and are tolerably well woi'ked. The women were clothed in the same manner; and every time the chief spoke to them, before answering h'uu, they howled and cried out several times — " O-o-o-o-o-o !" to show their respect fur him, for their chiefs are held in as much consideration as our kings. Xd one drinks out of the chief's cup, nor eats out of bis plate, and no one passes before him ; \\hen he walks tli(>y clean the jiath beinic biuK When he dies thev sacrifice his voungest wife, his house. steward (?na'i!>'c (I'li'tlc/), and a hundred men, to accompanj " im into the other worlil. They have a f)rm of worship, and adore the sun. 'J'here is a temple oiiposite the house of the chief, and similar to it, e\ie|)t that three eagles arc placed on this temple, who look towards the rising sun. The temple is surrounded with strong nuid walls, in which arc fixed s|)ikes, on which they j)lace the heads of tb.eir enemies whom they sacrifice to the sun. At the door of the temple is a block of wood, on which is a great shell [viirnot), and plaited round w iili the hair of their enemies in a plait as thick as an arm, and about '20 fathoms (Inisrs) long. The inside of the temple is naked ; there is an altar in the middle, and at the foot of the altar three logs of wood are placed on end, and a fire is kept uj) day and night liy two old priests (jnngkurs), who are the directors (nuutrcs) of their worship. These old men showed me a small cabinet within the wall, made of mats of cane. Desiring to see what was inside, the old men pre- '■ ij 1^ I ift I t iii' vented me, uiviiiir me to understand that their God was then -' D But '''\ GiJ JIlSTOKICAl, COI,I,ECTIO\tl OF LOUISIANA. 11 I liavL' since learnt tliat it is tlio place where tliey keep their treasure, such us line pearls wliich tiiey lisii up in the iieighhorhood, ami Eu- ropean uierchanciisc. At the last quarter of the moon all the cabins make an olleringof a dish of the best food they have, whicli is placed at the door of the temple. The old men take care to carry it away, and 10 make a good feast of it with their families. Every sj)riiig they make a clearing, which they name " the field of the spirit," when all the men work to the sound of the tambour. In the autumn the Indian corn is harvested with much ceremony, and stored in magazines until the moon of June in the following year, when all the village assemble, and invite their neigiibors to cat it. They do not leave the ground until they have eaten it all, making great re- joicings the whole time. This is all I learnt of this nation. The three villages below have the same customs. Let us return to the chief. When I was in his cabin he told me with a smiling countenance the pleasure he felt at the arrival of the French. I saw that one of his wives wore a pearl necklace. I pre- sented her with ten yards of blue glass beads in exchange for it. She made some difliculty, but the chief having told her to let me have it, she did so. I carried it to M. de la Salle, giving him an ac- count of all that I had seen, and told him that the chief intended to visit him the next day — which he did. lie would not have done this for savages, but the hope of obtaining some merchandise induced him to act tims. lie came the next day with wooden canoes to the sound of the tambour and the music of vhe women. The savages of the river use no other boats than these. M. de la Salle received him with much politeness, and gave him some presents ; they gave us, in return, plenty of provisions and some of their robes. The chiefs returned well satisfied. We stayed during the day, which was the 22d of March. An observation gave 3P of latitude. We left on the 22d, ami slept in an island ten leagues off. The next day we saw a canoe, and M. de la Salle ordered me to chase it, wiiich I did, and as I was just on the point of taking it, more than 100 men ap- pcarcd on the banks of the river to defend their people. M. de la Salle shouted out to me to come back, which I did. We went on and en- camped opposite them. Afterwards, M. de la Salle expressing a wish to meet them peaceably, I offered to carry to them the calumet, and embarking, went to them. At first they joined their hands, as a sign that they wished to be friends ; I, who had but one hand, told our men to do the same thing. I made the chief men among them cross over to M. de la Salle, •■^1 !l!*l MEMOIR OF THE SIF.UR I)E TONTY. o:j wlio accompanied them lo tlioir village, three leagues iiilami, ami passed the night there with some of his men. The next day he returned with tiio chief of the villngc where he had .slept, who was a brother of the great chief of the Natches ; he conducted us to his brother's village, situated on the hill side, near the river, at si.\ leagues' distance. We were well received there. This nation counts more than ;i()0 warriors. Here the men cultivate the ground, hunt, and fisli, as well as the Taencas, and their manners are tiie same. \Vc departed thence on Good Friday, and after a voyage of *J0 leagues, encamped at the mouth of a large river, which runs from the west. We continued our journey, and crossed a great canal, which went towards the sea on the right. 'I'hirty leagues further on we saw some fishermen on the bank of the river, and sent to recon- noitre them. It was the village of the (iuinipissas, who let fly their arrows upon our men, who retired in consequence. As 31. de la Salle would not fight against any nation, he made us embark. Twelve leagues from this village, on the left, is that of the Tangibaos. Scarcely eight days before this village had been totally destroyed. Dead bodies were lying on one another, and the cabins were burnt. We proceeded on our course, and after sailing 40 leagues, arrived at the sea on the 7th of April, 1682. M. de la Salle sent canoes to inspect the channels ; some of them went to the channel on the right hand, some to the left, and M. de la Salle clioso the centre. In the evening each made his report, that is to say, that the channels were very fine, wide, and deep. We encamped on the right bank, we erected the arms of the King, and returned several times to inspect the channels. The same rej)ort was made. This river is 800 leagues long, without rapids, 400 from the country of the Scioux, and 400 from the mouth of the Illinois river to the sea. The banks are almost uninhabitable, on account of the spring floods. The woods are all those of a boggy district, the c untry one of canes and briars and of trees torn up by the roots ; but a league or two from the river, the most beautiful country in the world, prairies, woods of mulberry trees, vines, and fruits that we were not acquainted with. The savages gather the Indian corn twice in the year. In the lower part of the river, which might be settled, the river makes a bend N. and S., and in many places every now and then is joined by streams on the right and left. The river is only navigable [for large vessels ?] as far as the village of the Natches, for above that place the river winds too much ; but this does not prevent the navigation of the river from the confluence of f '■ i i ■I it '*U ■ i- ■li ii! 01 iirnic lead mines, which yield two-tiiirds of ore to one of refuse. As these savages arc stationary [sctlciilnircs], and have some habits of subor- dinatiiin, they might be obliged to make silk in order to procure necessaries for themselves ; brintriiig to them from France the eu"s of silkworms, for tlie forests arc full of mulberry-trees. This would be a vahiiiiile trade. As for tiie country of Illinois, the river runs 100 leagues from the Fort St. Tiouis, to wiiere it falls into the I\Iississip|)i. Thus it may be said to contain s'ime of tlie fhiest lands ever seen. The climate is tlie same as that of Paris, though in the 4(P of latitude, Tiic savages there are active and brave, but extremely lazy, except in war, wlien they think nothing of seeking their enemies at a distance of .")00 or GOO leagues from their own country. This constantly occurs in the country of the Iroquois, whom, at my instigation, tliey contiinially harass. Not a year passes in which they do not take a lunnher of prisoners and sculps. A few pieces of pure coi)])er, whose origin we have not sought, arc found in the river of the Illinois country. Polviiamv prevails in this nation, and is one of the ureat hindrances to llie introduction of Ciiristianity, as well as the fact of their having no form of worship of their own. The nations lower down would be more easily converted, because they adore the sun, whicli is their divinity. This is all that I am able to relate of those parts. Let us return to the sea coast, where, provisions failing, we were obliged to leave it sooner than wc wished, in order to obtain provi- sions in the ncio;hboring villages. We did not know how to tret anything from the village of the (^uinijiissas, who had so ill received us as wc went down the river. Wo lived on potatoes until six leaiiues from their village, when wc saw smoke. M. de hi Salle scut to reconnoitre at night. Our people reported that they had seen some women. We went on at day-break, and taking four of the women, encamped on the opposite bank. One of the women was then sent with merchandise to prove that we had no evil design and wished for their alliance and for provisions. She made her I'eport. Some of them came immediately and invited us to cncan)p on the other bank, which wc did. We sent back the three other women, keeping, however, constant guard. They brought us some provi- ( MEMOtR OF THE SIEUR DE TONTY. 65 sions in the evening, and the next morning, at day-break, the scoun- drels attacked us. We vigorously repulsed them, and by ten o'clock burnt their canoes, and, but for the fear of our ammunition failing, we should have attacked thoir village. We left in the eveninji; in order to reach Natchcs, where we had left a quantity of grain on passing down. When we arrived there the cliief came out to meet us. M. de la Salle made them a present of the scalps we had taken from the Quinipissas. They had already heard the news, for they had re- solved to betray and kill us. We went up to their village, and as we saw no women there, we had no doubt of their having some evil design. In a moment we were surrounded by 1,500 men. They brought us something to eat, and we ate with our guns in our hands. As they were afraid of fire-arms, they did not dare to attack us. The chief begged M. de la Salle to go away, as his young men had not much sense, which we very willingly did — the game not being equal, we having only fifty men, French and savages. We then went on to the Tac.icas, and then to the Arkansas, where we were very well received. From thence we came to Fort Prudhomme, where M. de la Salle fell dangerously ill, which obliged him to send me forward, on the 0th of May, to arrange liis affairs at Missilimakinac. In pass- ing near the Ouabachc, I found four Iroquois, who told us that there were 100 men of their nation coming on after them. This gave us some alarm. There is no pleasure in meeting warriors on one's road, especially when they have been unsuccessful. I left them, and at about twenty leagues from Tamaraas we saw smoke. I ordered our people to prepare their arms, and we resolved to advance, ex- pecting to meet the Iroquois. When we were near the smoke, we saw some canoes, which made us think that they could only be Illinois or Tamaraas. Ti)ey were in fact the latter. As soon as they saw us, they came out of the wood in great numbers to attack us, taking us for Iroquois. I presented the calumet to them — they put down their arms, and conducted us to their village without doing us any harm. The chiefs held a council, and, taking us for Iro- quois, resolved to burn us ; and, but for some Illinois among us, we should have fared ill. They let us proceed. We arrived about the end of June, 1683 (1662), at the River Chicagou, and, by the middle of July, at Michilimakinac. M. de la Salle, having recovered, joined us in September. Resolving to go to France, he ordered me to collect together the French wlio were on the River Miamis to construct the Fort of St. Louis in the Illinois. I left with this G III) m I . k V. CO IIIriTOlllCAL COLLECTIONS (»F I.OIISIANA. design, and when I arrived at the place, M. de la Salic, having changed liis mind, joined me. They sot to work at the fort, and it was fniished in March, KWH.* During the winter I gave all the nations notice of what we had done to defend them from the IrocjUois, through wiiom they had lost 700 people in previous years. They approved of our good inten- tions, and estahlished themselves, to the number of 300 cabins, near the Fort Illinois, as well Miamis as Chawanons. M. de la Salle departed for France in the month of September, leaving njc to command the fort. He met on his way the Chevalier de Bogis, wiiom M. do la Barre had sent with letters, ordering M. de la Salle to Quebec, who iiad no trouble in making the journey, as he was met with on the road. M. de la Salle wrote to me to receive M. dc Bogis well, which I did. The winter passed, and on the '20th of March, 1G84, being informed that the Irocjuois were about to attack us, we prepared to receive them, and dispatched a canoe to M. de la Durantaye, (lovernor of Missilimakinac, for assistance, in case the enemy should hold out against us a long time. The savages appeared on the *21st, and we repulsed them with loss. After six days' siege they retired with some slaves which they had made in the neighborhood, who afterwards escaped and came back to the fort. M. de ia Durantaye, with Father Daloy, a Jesuit, arrived at the Fort with about sixty Frenchmen, whom they brought to our assist- ance, and to inform me of the orders of M. de la Barre, to leave the place. They stated that M. de Bogis was in possession of a place belonging to M. de la Foret, who had accompanied M. de la Salle to France, and had returned by order of M. de la Salle with a Icttre de cachet. M. de la Barre was directed to deliver up to M. de la Foret the lands belonging to the Sieur de la Salle, and which were occupied by others to his prejudice. lie brought me news that M. de la Salle was sailing by way of the islands to find the mouth of the Mississippi, and had at court obtained a company for me. He sent me orders to command at Fort St. Louis, as Captain of Foot and Governor. We took measures together, and formed a company of twenty men to maintain the Fort. M. dc la Foret went away in the autumn, for Fort Frontenac, and I began my journey to Blinois. Being stopped by the ice, 1 was obliged to halt at Montreal, where I passed the winter. When M. de la Foret arrived there in the spring, * This date is no doubt correct, for there is a letter of La Salle's in existence, dated at Fort St. Louis, April 2, 10S3. J ; ■ ii' MKMorR or TiiF. pir;ru de tonty. 67 we took new measures — lie retiirneil to I'roiiteiiac, and I went on to the Illinois, where I arrived in June ( Kif*.")). M. le Chevalier de Hogis retired from his coniuiand, according tu the orders that 1 brought liini Ironi M. de la Hurre. Tile iMiainis having seriously defeated the Illinois, it cost U8 1,000 dollars to reconcile these two nations, wliicii I did not accomplish without great trouble. In the autumn I cniharked fir Missilimakl- iiac, in order to (jl)fain news of M. dc la Salle. I heard there that Monseigneur i^c Dcnonville had succeeded M. de la IJarrc; ; and by a letter which he did me the honor to write to me, he expressed his wish to sec me, that we nn"glit take measures f(>r a war against the Iroquois, and informed me that M. de la Salle was engaged in seek, iiig the mouth of the Mississippi in the (iulf of Mexico. Upon hear- ing this I resolved to go in search oi' him with a number of Canadians, and as soon as I should have found him, to return back to execute the orders of I\I. do Dcnonville. I embarked, therefore, for the Illinois, on St. Andrew's Day (30th of October, 108.')); but being stopped by the ice, I was obliged to leave my canoe and to j)roceed on by land. After going 120 leagues, I arrived at the Fort of Chicagou, where M. de la Durantaye com- manded ; and from thence 1 came to Fort St. Louis, where I arrived in the middle of January, 1085 (1080). I departed thence on the loth February, with thirty Frenchmen, and five Illinois and Cha- wanons, for the sea, which I reached in Holy Week. After havinc passed the above-named nations, I was very well received. I sent out two canoes, one towards the coast of Mexico, and the other towards Carolina, to see if they could discover anything. They each sailed about thirty leagues, but proceeded no farther for want of fresh water. They reported that where they had been the land began to rise. They brought me a porpoise and some oysters. As it would take us five months to reach the French settlements, I pro- posed to my men, that if they would trust to me to follow the coast as far as Manhattc,* that by this means we should arrive shortly at Montreal ; that we should not lose our time, because we might discover some fine country, and might even take some booty on our way. Part of my men were willing to adopt my plan ; but as the rest were opposed to it, I decided to return the way 1 came. I ' III ! . 1 M I * That all tlie Patroons of colonies in New Netherlands, and of colonies on the Island of JManhatte, shall be at liberty to sail and tralllc all along tlie coast tVon\ Florida to Terra Neuf, Si-c.—C/iartir of Liberties, lO'iO. ! 1 1 V'l 1 ,■: 66 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS Ol' LOLISIANA. Tlif' tide (loos not riso nioro tlinn twn feet porpcndicMilnrly on the sea coast, nmi tlio lund is very low at tlio ftitrancc of the riviT. \Vu encamped in tlie place wliere M. de la Salle liad erected tlie arms of the Kinj,'. As they had been thrown down by the floods, I took them five leagues further up, and placed them in a liigher situation. I put a silver ecu in the hollow of a tree to serve as a marU of time and place. We left this place on Hnslrr Monday. When we eumo op- posito tlic (Juinipissas Village,* the chiefs brought ino the calumet, and declared the sorrow they felt at the treachery they had perpe- trated against me on our first vovaire. 1 made an alliance with them. Forty leagues higher up, ou the right, we discovered a village inland, with the inlialtitants of which we also made an alliance. These are the Oumas, the bravest savages of the river. When we were at Arkansas, ten of the Frenchmen who accompanied mv asked for a settlement on the lliver Arkansas, on a seignory that M. de la Salle had given me ou our first voyage. 1 granted the recjuest to some of them. They remained there to build a house surrounded with stakes. The rest accompanied mo to Illinois, in order to get what they wanted. I arrived there on St. John's Day {2Uh of June). I made two chiefs of the Illinois embark with me in my canoe, to go and receive the onlers of M. de Denonvillc, and we arrived at Mon- treal by the end of .July. I left that place at the beginning of October to return to the Illi- nois. 1 came there on the lUth of October, and I directly sent some Frenchmen to our savage allies to declare war against the Iroquois, inviting them to assenible at the Fort of Uonhomine, which they did in the month of A\m], 1(58(5 (1687). The Sicur de la Foret was already gone in a canoe with 90 Frenchmen, and he was to wait for me at Detroit till the end of May. I gave our savages a dog feast {fcstin de chien) ; and after having declared to them the will of the iving and of the Oovernor, I left with 105 Frenchmen and a guide for the Miami nation. We encamped half a league from the Fort, to wait for the savages who might wish to follow us. I left; 20 Frenchmen at the * It was at this village (also callod liayagoulis), that Ibbcrvillo, fourteen years al'tur, I'ouiul the following letter from Tontyto La Salle, dated 'inth April, IGS'), which the Indian cliiefs had carefully |)reservcd :— '■ Sir, having found the column on which yo\i had placed the arms of France thrown (!o\vn, I caused a new one to be erected, about seven leagues from the sea. All the nations have sung the calumet. Tiiese peo|ile fear us extremely, since your attack upon their village. I close by saying tliat it gives me great uneasiness to be obliged to re- turn under tlio misfortune of not having found you. Two canoes have examined the coast thirty leagties towards Mexico, and twenty-live towards Florida." '!('( MKMOIU OF THK aiLt'll UV. TONTY. 00 91 idon- the Illi- oiU some rcxjuois, tlicy did I't was wait for {fcstin iig and Miami for the at the lunrtecn nil April, found the caused a ons have M)ii tlit'ir :t'd to rc- xamined ida." Tort, and the Siour do Hfllcf )Hlaino to command ihrre during my ah- scncf. Fifty Chniianons, lliur I.onps, and si-vcn Miamis camt' to jnin mt' at nijilit; and the next day more tlian MOO Illinois canif, but ihey went baciv a;,'ain, with the exception of 1 10. This did not prevent my continuing my route ; and after 'JOO leagues of journey by lond, we came, on the lOth of .May, to Fort Detroit. We made some ca- noes of elm, and I sent one of them to I'ort St. .Joseph on the high ground above Detroit, ;}0 leagues from where we were, to give the Sieur Dulud, the Commander of this Fort, information of my arrival. The Sieur Iteauvais do Tilly joined me, and afterwards the Sieur dc la F'oret ; then tlu; Sieurs de la Duruntaye and Dulud. I made the French and the savages coast alony the bav. After Le Sieur Du- rantaye had saluted us, W(> returned tho salute. They had with them ;U) Fnglish, whom they had taken on the Lake Huron, at the place at which they had ri'ached it. We made canoes on our jour- ney, and coasted along Lake Krie to Niagara, where wo maiie a fort below the portage to wu there for news. On our way wo took HO more Knglishmen, who were going to Missilimakinac, commanded by Major Ciregory, who was bringing back some Huron and Outawas slaves, taken by the Irofjuois. Had it not been for these two moves of good luck our alFairs would have turned out badly, as wo were at war with the Iro([uois. The lOnglish, from the great quantity of brandy which they had with them, would have gained over our allies, and thus we should have had all the savages and the English upon us at once. I sent the Sieur de la Foret fljrward to inform ^L de Denonvillo of everything, lie was at the Fort of Frontenac, and he joined us at Fort Les Sables. The largo boat arrived and brought us provisions. M, le iMonseigncur sent us word by it that he expected to arrive by the 10th of July at the Marsh, which is seven leagues from Sonnon- touans. The Poutouatamis, Ilourons, and Ottowas, joined us there, and built some carloes. There was an Iroquois slave among them whom I pro- posed to have put to death for the insolent manner in which he spoke of the French. They paid no attention to my proposal. I'ive leagues on our march ho ran away and gave information of our approach, and of the marks which our savages bore to recognize each other, which did us great harm in the ambuscade, as will he seen. On the loth we arrived at the Marsh of Fort Les Sables, and the army from below arrived at the same time. I received orders to take possession of a certain position, which I did with my company and .•'< h. Ill r I ! ' 70 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. '!'i; :! llUiii Ml savages. We then set about building a fort. On the 11th I went with ")() men to reconnoitre tiio road, three miles from the camp. On the 12th the B'ort was finished, and we set oft" for the village. On the l;3th, half a league from the prairie (deserts), we found an am- buscade, and my company, who were the advance guard, forced it. We lost seven men, of whom my lieutenant was one, and two of my own people. We were occupieii for seven days in cutting the corn of the four villages. Wc returned to Fort Les Sables, and left it to build a fort at Niagara. From thence I returned to Fort St. Louis with my cousin, the Sieur Dulud, who returned to bis post with 18 soldiers and some savages. Having made half tlic portage, which is two leagues in length, some Ilourons who followed us perceived some Iroquois, and ran to give us warning. There were only 40 of us, and as we thought the enemy strong, we agreed to fall back with our ammunition towards the Fort, and get a reinforcement. We marched all night, and as the Sieur Dulud could not leave his detachment, lie begged me to go to the Marquis, while he lay in ambush in a very good position. I embarked, and when 1 came to the Fort, the Mar- Tuis was unwilling to give me any men, the more so as the militia ..as gone away, and he had only some infantry remaining to escort him ; however, he sent Captain Valicnnes and .")0 men to support us, who stayed at the portage ^vhilst wc crossed it. We embarked, and when clear of the land we perceived the Iroquois on the banks of the lake. We passed over, and I left the Sieur Dulud at his post at De- troit. I went in company with the Reverend Father Crevier as far as Missilunakinac, and afterwards to Fort St. Louis. There I found M. Cavelier, a priest, his nephew, and the Father Anastatius, a Recollet, and two men. Tiiey concealed from me the assassination of M. de la Salle ; and upon their assuring me that he was on the Gulf of Mexico in good health, I received them as if they had been iM. de la Salle himself, and lent thoni more than 700 francs (28/.). M. Cavelier departed in the spring, 1087 (1088), to give an account of his vovage at court. M. de la B'oret came here in the autumn, and went away in the following spring. On the 7th of April, one named Coutoure brought to me two Akansas, who danced the calumet. They informed me of the death of M. de la Salle, with all the circumstances wiiich ihey had heard from the lips of i\I. Cavelier, who had fortunately dis- covered the house I had built at Arkansas, where the said Cou- toure stayed with three Frenchmen. He told me that the fear of not MEMOIR OF THE SIEUR DE TONTY. 71 obtaining from me wliat Iio desired had made him conceal the death of his brother, but that lie had told them of it. M. Cavelier told me that the Cadadoquis had proposed to accom- pany him if he would go and fight against the Spaniards. He had objected, on account of there being only 14 Frenchmen. They re- plied that their nation was numerous, tiiat they only wanted a few musqueteers, and that the Spaniards had much money, which they (the French) should take ; and as for themselves, they only wished to keep the women and children as slaves. Coutoure told me that a young man whom M. Cavelier had left at Arkansas had assured him that this was very true. I would not undertake anything with- out the consent of tlie Governor of Canada. I sent the said Coutoure to the French remaining in Nicondiche, to get all the information he could. He set otF, and at 100 leagues from the Fort was wrecked, and having lost everything returned. In the interval, M. de Denonvillc directed me to let the savages do as they liked, and to do nothing against the Iroquois. He at the same time informed me that war was declared against Spain. Upon this I came to the resolution of going to Naodiche, to execute what M. Chevalier had ventured to undertake, and to bring back M. de la f'^ille's men, wlio were on tlic sea coast not knowing of the misfor- tune that had befallen him. I set oil' on tlio 3d of October, and joined my cousin, who was gone on before, and who was to accom- pany me, as he expected that M. de la Foret would come and take the command in m}^ absence ; but as he did not come, I sent my cousin back to command the Fort. I bought a larger boat than my own. We embarked five French- men, one Chaganon, and two slaves. We arrive'; on the 17th at an Illinois village at tiic mouth of tlieir river. T.'oy had just come from fighting the Osages, and had lost 13 men, but brought back 130 prisoners. We reached the village of tlie Kappas on tiie lOth of January, where wc were received wiih demonstrations of joy, and for four days there was nothing but dancing, feasting, and mas- querading after their manner. They danced the calumet for me, wliich confirmed the last alliance. (Jn the tiOth of January we came to Tongenga, and they wished to entertain us as the Kappas had done ; but being in haste, I deferred it until another time. I did the same with the Torremans, on my arrival on the 22d. Leaving my crew I set ofi" the next day for Assotoue, where my commercial house is. These savages had not yet seen me, as they lived on a branch of the river coming from the west. Tiicy did their best, [ ■ 1 1, 1 1 1 ' i, ■ i i .' ,. ,» ■r. 11': iMi pi' 72 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. goinB- boats giving me two women of the Cadadoquis nation, to wliom I was I returned to Torrenians on tiio "iOtli, and bougiit there two We went away on the 27th. On the 29ih, finding one of our men asleep when on duty as sentinel, I reprimanded him, and he left me. I sent two of my people to Coroa, to spare myself the fa- tigue of dragging on with our crew six 'n ngucs inland. The French- man, with wiiom I had quarrelled, mad 3 with them a third. We slept opposite the rivers of the Taencas, which run from Arkansas. They came there on the 2d, this being the place of meeting. My Chagenon went out hunting on the other side of the river, where he was attacked by three Chacoumas. lie killed one of them, and was slightly wounded by an arrow on tiie left breast. On the 4th the rest of the party arrived. On the Hth, being opposite Taencas, the men wliom I had sent to Coroa not having brought any news of the two Frenchmen whom I was anxious about, I sent them to Natchcs. They found that this nation had killed the two men. They retired as well as they could, making the savages believe that we were numerous. They arrived on the 6lh of Feb- ruary. We set off on the 12th with 12 Taencas, and after a voyage of twelve leagues to the N.W., we left our boat and made twenty leagues portage, and on the 17th of February, 1G90, came to Nachi- tochcs. They made us stay at tlie place, wliicli is in the midst of the three villages called Nachitoches, Ouasita, and Capiche. The chiefs of the three nations assembled, and before they began to speak, tlie 30 Taencas who were with me got up, and leaving their arms went to the temple, to show how sincerely they wished to make a solid peace. Alter having taken their God to witness, they asked for friendship. I made tiicm some presents in the name of the Taen- cas. They remained some days in the village to traffic with salt, which these nations yot from a salt lake in the ncisrhborhood. After their departure they gave me guides to Yataches ; and after ascend- ing the river always towards the N.W. about thirty leagues, we found fifteen cabins of Xatches, who received us pretty well. We arrived, on the IGth of JMareii, at Yataches, about forty leagues from thence. The three villages of Yataches, Nadas, and Choye, are to- gether. As they knew of our arrival, they came three leagues to meet us with refreshments, and on joining us we went together to their villages. Tlie chief made many feasts for us. I gave pre- sents to them, and asked for guides to the Cadadoquis. They were very unwilling to give us any, as they had murdered three ambassa- dors about four days before, who came to their nation to make peace. MEMOIR OF THE SIEUR DE TONTV. 73 However, by dint of entreaties, and assuring them that no harm wouhi happen to their people, they granted me five men, and wo got to Cadadoquis on the 28th. At liic i)lace where wo were encamped we discovered the trail of men and horses. The next day some liorsemcn came to reconnoitre us, and after speaking to tlic wife of the chief wliom I brought baclc with me, carried back the news. Tlie next day a woman, wlio governed this nation, came to visit me, witii the principal, persons of the village. C>lie wept over me, de- mandinji revonso for the deatii of her liusband, and of tlie husband of tlie woman whom I was bringing back, both of wiiom had been killed by the Osages. To take advantage of everything I proniised that their dead sliould be avenged. We went togetiier to their temple, and after the priests had invoked their (Jod for a quarter of an hour they conducted me to the cabin of their ciiief. I'efure en- tering tliey washed my face with water, which is a ceremony among tliem. During the time I was there, I learnt from *hem that eighty leagues otF were the seven Frenchmen whom M. Cavelier had left. I hoped to finish my troubles by rejoining tbem, but the Frenciunen who accompanied me, tired of the voyage, would go no further. Tiiey were unmanageable persons, over whom 1 could exercise no authority in this distant country. I was obliged to give way. All that I could do was to engage one of them, with a savage, to accom- pany mo to the village of Naovediche, where I hoped to find the seven Frenchmen. I told tiioso who abandoned me, that to prevent the savages knowing this, it was best to say tiiat I had sent them away to carry back the news of my arrival, so tliat the savages should not suspect our disunion. Tlie Cadadoquis are united with two other villages called Natclii- tochcs and Nasoui, situated on the Red River. All the nations of this tribe speak the same language. Their cabins are covered with straw, and they are not united in villages, but their huts are distant one from the other. Tlieir fields arc beautiful. They fish and hunt. There is plenty of game, but few cattle (huriifo). They wage cruel war witii each other — hence their villages are but thinly populated. I never found that they did any work, except making very fine bows, which they make a traffic with distant na- tions. Tlie Cadadoquis possess about thirty horses, which they call *' cavali" (sp : cahallo, a horse). The men and women are tattooed in the Oice, and all over the body. They call this river the Red River, oecause, in fact, it deposits a sand which makes the water as iill I '■<, !p: I' : . '.ill 1;^ ' 1 ^{^■' 74 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. m i ■!•! red as blootl. I am not acr|uainted with their manners, having only seen them in passing. 1 left this place on the 6tli of April, directing our route southwards, with a Frenchman, a Chaganon, a little slave of mine, and live of their savages, whom they gave me as guides to Naouadiche. When I went away, I left in the hands of the wife of the chief a small box, in which 1 had put some ammunition. On our road we found some Naouadiches savages iiuntinfj, who assured me that the Frenchmen were staying with them. Tiiis gave me great pleasure, hoping to succeed in my object of finding them. On the 19th tiie Frenchman with me lost himself. I sent the savages who were with me to look for him. He came back on the 21st, and told me that, having lost our trail, he was near drowning himself in crossing a little river on a piece of timber. His bag slipped off, and thus all our powder was lost, which very much annoy il me, as we were reduced to sixty pounds of ammunition. On the 23d we slept half a league from the village, and the chiefs came to visit us at night. I asked them about the Frenchmen. They told mo that they had accompanied their chiefs to fight against tiie Spaniards seven days' journey oil'; that the Spaniards had surrounded them with their cavalry, and that their chief having spoken in tiieir favor, the Spaniards had given them horses and arms. Some of the others told me that the Quanouatins had killed three of tiiem, and that the four others were gone in searcii of iron arrow-heads, : I did not doubt but they had murdered them. I told them that they had killed tiie Frenchmen. Directly all the women began to cry, and thus I saw that what I had said was true. I would not, tlierefore, accept the calumet. I told the chief I wanted four horses for my return, and having given liim seven hatchets and a string of large glass beads, T received the next day four Spanish horses, two of which were marked on the haunch witli an II and a crown (coiironne fermee), and another with an N. Il'^rses are very common among tliem. There is not a cabin which has not four or five. As this nation is sometimes at peace and sometimes at war with the neighboring Spaniards, they take advan- tage of a war to carry otT the horses. Wo harnessed ours as well as we could, and departed on the 2!)tli, greatly vexed tiial we could not continue our route as far as M. de la Salle's camp. We were unable to obtain guides from this nation to take us there, tliuugh not more tlian ei one anotiier, from the nations on the Mississippi, and from those on the Red River, excepting the Nadouc, who are twelve leagues from the banks. In case the court wishes this discovery to be continued, I will add a note. In that I have stated it will l)e requisite to build a ship of fifty tons, to get to France from the Arkansas. Two pilots, &:c. ; particulars of every- thing necessary, and more numerous than set forth in .M. de la Salle's xNote. I undertake, with God's assistance, to descend the river, to take solar observations, to account for the expenses, ami to sail t) I'rance with the said vessel built in the Arkansas. Tliis is the place best adapted for the purpose, for we should not be interrupted by enemies ; and wood, and everything necessary for subsistence is there abun- dant. IIe.xkv w. Tontv. I'M I 1 1; 'U ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF WHAT WILL l!E lilUiflUED FOR mULDING THE VESSEL. I ! tagues from lagues [ation, |r, one \fe six |azou, from igucs The former statement related to the expenses of the voyage, and presents for the savages. In case his Majesty grants the above re- quest, I entreat Monseigneur de i'onteliartrain to be kind enough to send orders to M. the Intendant at Uochef nt to send the tbinf the most aiitlientic works on Louisiana. Joutel's description of the country of Texas, althouf;li written up- wards of one hundred and fifty years ajjo, is still amonn the best we have. i m n>. , .. . il 1 !■! 80 iiisTORrf.M, ror.r.r'fTioxfl of Louisiana. Mh \)oa.n\ aliniil two liuiulnil uml (■i;,'lity persons, including tlic crcus ; of wliicli nuriihiT there were one liundred soldiers, with tlieir olVicers ; one Talon, with his Canada family, alioiil thirty volunterrs, some youn;: women, and the nsl hired people and workmen of all sorts, re r I' 4i ! Ill !i! 88 IIJSTOBICAL C0LLKCT10N3 OF LOUISIANA. many have given an account of tlio nature of tliat fully, that it would be needless to repeat it here ; it may sufl'ico to say, that there arc three things to authorize it: 1. Custom; 2. The oath administered to those who are ducked, which is t<» this cHect, that they will not per- mit any to pass the tropics or the line, without obliging them to the same ceremony ; and 13, which is the most prevailing argument, the interest accruing to the sailors upon that occasion, by the refresh- ments, liquors, or money, given them by the passengers, to be excused from that ceremony. M. de la Salle being informed that all things were preparing for that impertinent ceremony of ducking, and that a tub full of water was ready on the deck (the French duck in a great cask of water, the English in the sea, letting down the person at the yard-arm), sent word that ho would not allow such as were under his command to be subject to that folly, which being told to M. dc Beaujeu, he forbid putting it in execution, to the great dissatisfaction of the inferior oin. cers and sailors, who exjiected a considerable sum of money and quantity of refreshments, or liquors, because there were many per- sons to duck, and all the blame was laid upon M. de la Salle. On the 11th of Se|)lend)er we were in the latitude of the island of St. Domingo, or Ilispaniola, being 20° north, and the longitude of S2{)°. We steered our course west, but the wind flatting, the ensuing calm (juite stopped our way. That same day M. Dainmaville, the priest, went al)oard the bark La Belle, to administer the sacraments to a gunner, who died a few days after. M. dc la Salle went to see liim, and I bore him company. The 21st, the ketch, which we had before lost sight of, joined us again ; and son)o complaints being made to M. de la Salle, by several jirivate persons who were aboard the flyboat, he ordered me to go thither to accommodate those diirorences, which were occasioned only by some jealousies among them. The Kith, we sailed by the island Sombrero, and the 18th had hard blowing weather, which made us apprehensive of a hurricane. The foul weather lasted two days, during which time we kept under a main course, and lost sight of the other vessels. A council was called aboard our ship, the Joly, to consider whether we should lie by for the others, or hold on our course, and it was re- solved that, considering our water began to fall short, and there were above live persons sick aboard, of which number M. de la Salle and the surgeon were, wc should make all the sail we could, to reach the the hard The ller a jther Is re- live re and lithe JOL'TKI. .i IIISTOniCAI. JOLRNAI,. 80 lirst port of the island Ilispaiiiola, being tiiat called Port dc Paix, or Port IVaco, which resolution was accordiniilv registered. Tilt' viOth we discovered the first land of Ilispaniola, being Cape Sanmiia, lying in 11)'^ of north latitude, and of longitude ^08-'. The '-ioth wc should liavc put into Port do Paix, as had been concerted, and it was not only the most convenient place for us to get refresh- nients, but also the residence of >[. de Cussy, (lovernor of the island of Tortiiga, who knew that M. de la Salle carried particular orders for hill) to furnish such necessaries as he stood in need of. Notwithstanding tiiese cogent reasons, M. de Henujeu was positive to pass further on in the night, weathering the island of Tortuga, which is some leagues distant from Port de Paix and the coast of Ilis|)aiiiola. He also passed Cape St. Nicolas, and the yntli of the said month wo put into the bay of Jaguana, coasting the island of Guanabo, which is in the middle of that great bay or gulf, and in conclusion, on the "iTtli, we arrived at Petit Gouavc, having spent .')8 days on our passage from the port of Ciief de Bois, near Rochelle. This change of the place for our little squadron to put into, for which no reason could be given, proved very disadvantageous ; and it will hereafter appear, as I have before observed, that those misun- derstandings among the ollicers insensibly drew on the causes from whence our misfortune proceeded. As soon as we had dropped anchor, a piragua, or great sort of ca- noe, came out from tl.e place, with twenty men, to know who we were, and hailed us. Being informed that we were French, they acquainted us that M. de Cussy was at Port de Paix, with the Mar- quis de St. Laurent, Lieutenant-General of the American Islands, and M. Begon, the Intendant, which very ;uch troubled lAI. de la Salle, as having ailUirs of the utmost co. , jence to concert with them ; but there was no remedy, and he wa* obliged to bear it with patience. Tlie next day, being the 2Sth, we sang Te Deum, in thanksgiving for our prosperous passage. J\I. de la Salle being somewhat reco- vered of his indisposition, went ashore witii several of the gentlemen of his retinue, to buy some refreshments for the sick, and to find means to send notice of his arrival to MM. de St. Laurent, De Cussy, and Begon, and signify tc them how much he was concerned that we had not put into Port de Paix. lie wrote particularly to M. de Cussy, to desire he would come to him, if possible, that he might be of assist- ance to him, and take the necessary measures for rendering his en- terprise successful, that it might prove to the King's honor and service. , •' ^1 Is 1 1.1 ; "' i - 1 ' , 1 , 1 , ^ ■ 'i i| 1 ,1 1 ■ i ; .1 ' • ! : i 1 1 ! : Ml 1 1 , 1 \ t l! t . ( ■ ! i' 1 • 1 il I ])0 IIMToRirAt, ( fiLLKCTIONS OF I.OUiaiANA. Ill tlio ini'nntiiiu*, the sick .sutrt'iidy very miicli aboard llie ships by reason of the hcut, and tln'ir bein^ too close tofjither, the soldiers Here jiiit u>hi)re, on a little islund, iicur IVtil iJonuves, which is tho usuul lturial-|tlii('e of the pcoiilc of the pretr >ded refi)nncd religion, >vh(|iosition, which I fn>t fih in the Inland of I'iiies, and afterwards turned lo a tertian ague, jirevented nie. 'J'lieretbre I can give no account of that island, any further than whiit I could see from the ships, wincli was ahundanee of that sort of palm-treeH in French called lataiders, fit for nothing hut making of liroonis, or scarce any other use. That day W(> saw some smokt's far \Nitliin the islam!, and guessed they might l>e n signal of the mnniier of uui ships, or else made by uome ol' the country hunters who had lost their way. 'J'he next night preceding the ITlh, the- wind freshening from the N. \V., and starting up all on a suilden, drove the vessel called Fja Helle upon her anchor, si» that she came f!)ul of the howsprit of llie Aimable, carrying away the spritsail-yard and the spritsail-topsail- yard ; and had not they inmiediately veered out the cable of the Aimable, the vessel La Uelle would have been in danger of perish- ing, but (scaped with the loss (jf her mi/en, winch came by the board, and of al)out a hundred fathoms of cable and an anchor. The Isilh, the wind being fresh, we made ready, and sailed about ten in the morning, stand N. and N. and by W., and held our course till noon ; the point of Cape .St. Anthony U-ariiig cast and west with us, and so continued steering north-west, till the l!tlh at noon, when we fouml ourselves in the latitude of *J'-i^ 58' north, and in 'iSl^ 54' longitude. Finding the wind shifting from one side to another, we directed oui course several ways, but that which proved advantageous to us was the fair weather, and that was a great help, so that scarce a day passed without taking an observation. The 'iUth we found the variation of the needle was 5" west, and we were in 2(»* 40' of north latitude, and iiSo" 10' longitude. The 23d it grew very cloudy, which threatened stormy weather, and we pre|)arcd lo receive it, but came otf only with the apprehension, the clouds dispersing several ways, and we continued till the 27lh in and about 28° 14', and both by the latitude and estimation it was judged that we were not far from land. The bark called La Belle was sent out to discover and keep be- fore, sounding all the way ; and half an hour before sunset we saw the vessel La Belle put out her colors and lie by for ua. Being II ih ('; 8, 94 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OB LOUISIANA. :''l|:,t 'I :' come up with licr, llie master told us he had found an oozy hottom at tliirty-two fathom water. At eiglit of tlie clock we sounded also, and found forty fathom, and at ten hut twenty. five. About midnight, La Iklle sounding again, found only seventeen, which being a de. monstration of the nearness of the land, wc lay by for the Joly, to know what M. de Beaujcu designed, who being come up, lay by with us. The iJTth. M. de Bcaujeu sent the Chevalier d'Aire, his .leutcnant, and two pilots to M. do la Salle, to conclude upon the course we were to steer, and it was agreed we should stand W. N. VV. till we came into six fathom water ; thai then we should run west, and when we had discovered tiie land, licats should be sent to view the country. l\Iatters being thus agreed on, we sailed again, sounding all the way for the more security, and about ten were in ten or eleven fal horns water, the bottom fine greyish sand and oozy. At noon, were in 26'^ 37' of north latitude. The 'J8th, being in eight or nine fathom water, we perceived the bark La Belle, which kept ahead of us, put out her colors, which was the signal of her having discovered something. A sailor Svas sent up to the main-top, who descried the lauv to the N. E., not above six leagues' distance from us, which being )ld to M. de Bcau- jeu, he thought fit to come to an anchor. There being no man among us who had any . \owlcdge of that bay, where we had been told the currents were rong, and sate swiftly to the eastward, it made us suspect that v were fallen olF, and that the land we saw must be the Bay of .nalache, which obliged us on the 29th to steer W. N. W., still 1- 'ping along the land, and it was agreed that the Joly should follow .s in six fathom water. The 30th, the Chevalier d'Aire and the second pilot of the Joly came aboard us to confer and adjust by our reckonings what place we might be in, and they all agreed, according to M, de la Salle's opinion, that the currents had set us to the eastward, for which rea- son we held on our course, as we had done the day before, to the N. W., keeping along the shore till the 1st of January, 1685, when we perceived that the currents forced us towards the land, which obliged us to come to an anchor in six fathom water. VV^e had not been there long before the bark La Belle made a sig- nal that she had discovered land, which we descried at about four leagues' distance from us. Notice was given to M. de Bcaujeu, who drew near to us, and it was resolved to send some person to discover and take an account of the land that appeared to us. 11^ Joly rea* kN. we liged sig. four who tover JOUTKI, S IHSTORICAI. JOUKNAL. 95 \ccor(liiigly a boat was inannecl, and into it went M. do la Sallo, the Chevalier d'Airo, and '-'•vcral others ; another boat was also put out, aboard whicii I went with ten or twelve of our fientlciiien. to join M. do la Salle, and the bark La Hello was ordered to follow, always keeping along the shore ; to the end that if the wind should rise we might get ahoiird her, to lose no time. Some of tlins(! who were in M. dc la Salle's boat, and the foremost, went ashore and saw a spacious jilain country of much pasture ground, but had not the leisure to make any particidar (liscf)vcry, because, the wind freshening, they were obliged to return to tiieir boat, to come aboard again ; which was the reason why we did not go quite up to the shore, but returned with them to our shi|i. All that could be taken notice of was a great quantity of wood along the coast. We took an observation, and found 129° 1(K of north latitude. The 2d, there arose a fog, which made us lose sight of the Joly. Tiio next day, the weather clearing up, we fired some cannon-shot, and the Joly answered ; and towards the evening we perceived her to the windward of us. We held on our course, making several trips till the 4th, in the evening, when, being in sight and within two leagues of the land, we came to an anchor to expect the Joly, for which we were in pain. The 5th, we set sail, and held on our course, W. S. W., keeping along the shore till about six in the evening, when we stood away to the southward, and anchored at night in six fathom water. The Gth, we would have made ready to sail, but the pilot perceiving that the sea broke astern of us, and that there were some shoals, it was l^iought proper to continue at anchor till the wind changed, and we accoixlingly stayed there the Gth and all the 7th. The 8th, the wind veering about, we stood out a little to sea, to avoid those shoals, which are very dangerous, and anchored again a league from tlienee. Upon advice that the bark La Belle had discovered a small island, which appeared between the two points of a bay, M. de la Salle sent a man up to the round-top, from whence botli the one and the other were plainly to be seen, and according to the sea charts wc had with us, that was supposed to be the bay of the floly Ghost. The 9th, M. de la Salle sent to view those shoals. Those who went reported there was a sort of bank which runs along the coast ; that they had been in one fathom water, and discovered the little island before mentioned, and as for the sand-bank there is no such thinu marked down in the charts. M. de la Salle having examined tho \ I % i:' m 1 1 . '*: , ■ ll ' !] IIh ii il '(M], tliey made signs to us with skins, to go to them, showed us tlieir h..\vs, wiiich tiiey hiid down upon the gro'.md. and drew near to tlio edge of tlie shore ; hut hecausc we could not "el ashore, and still tiiev continui'd their sig- nals. I put my handkerchief on the end of my firelock, after the manner of a flag, and made signs to tlieni to come to us. They were some time considering of it, and at last some of theni ran into the water up to tlieir shoulders, till perceiving that the waves over- whelmed tliem, they went out again, fetched a large \nccc of timber, wliicii they threw into the sea, placed themselves along both sides of it, holding fast to it with one arm and swimming witli the otiicr : and in that manner they dresv near to our boat. Being in hopes that M. do la Sallo miglit get some inflirmation from those sava"cs, we made no dillicultv of takiui; tiiem into our boat, one after anotlier, on each side, to the number of five, and tlien made signs to the rest to go to the other boat, wiiich they ilid, and we carried them on board. M. de la Salle was very well pleased to sec them, imagining they might give him some account of the river he sought after ; luit to no purpose, for he spoke to them in several of the languages of the savages, which he knew, and made many signs to them, but still they understood not what we meant, or if they did comprehend any- thing, they made signs that they know nothing of what he asked ; so that liaving made them smoke and eat, we showed them our arms and the ship, and when they saw at one end of it some sheep, swine, hens, and turkeys, and the hide of a cow we had killed, tliey made signs that they had of all those sorts of creatures among them. We gave them some knives and strings of beads, after w^iicli, tiiey were dismissed, and the waves hindering us from coming too near the shore, they were obliged to leap info tiie water, after we had made fast about their necks, or to the tuft of hair they have un the top of the head, the knives and other small presents .M. de la Salle had given them. They went and joined the others wiio expected them, and were making signs to us to go to them ; but not being able to make tlie shore, we stood off again and returned to our ship. It is to he ob- served, that when we were carrying tiiem back, tlicy made some signs 8 ;,i! • '■! ■fi M . r 3 ■:Nf!, lihllli' 08 JIISTORKAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUlf sent orders to that Cajitain to draw near tho bar, and t^) come in at high water, of wiiicli a signal should be given him ; he ulsoorderi'd the pibjt of the bark i^a Belle to go aboard t!ie llyboat, to be assisting when it came in. 'The Captain would not recoivo him aboard, saying he could carry in his ship without his help. All these precautions proveil of no use ; M. de la Salle could not avert his ill late, lie having taken notice of a largo tree on the bank of the river, which he judged fit to make a eaiifie, sent 7 or •» workmen to hew it down, two of whom returned some lime after, ih a great fright, and told him they had narrowly escaped being taken I'y a company of savages, and that they believed the otiiers had llilleii into their hands. M. de la Salle ordered us immediately to handle our arms, and to march with drums beating against the savages, whi' seeing us in that posture, faced about and went otl". iM. de la Sallo being desirous to join those savages, to endeavor to iret some information from them, ordered ten of us to lav down our urms and draw near them, making signs to them at the same time, to come to us. When they saw us in that posture and unarmed, most of them also laid down their bows and arrows and came to meet us, caressinjT us after their manner, and strokintj first their own breasts and then ours, then their own arms and afterwards ours. By these signs they gave us to understand that they had a friendship for us, which they expressed by laying their hands on their hearts, and we did the same on our part. Six or seven of those savages went along with us, and the rest kept three of our men in the nature of hostages. Those who went ^ ' yov to [11 our hic, to most |ct us, Tasts Itliese )!• us, [l we rest ^v■ent JOUTr.I, rt IIISToltK M, JDIUNAI, i()r> with us wcro made much of, hut M. do la SaUc couhl h^arn nothing' of them, fitlii'i' hy siiriis or otiicrwisr ; all tlicv could make us under- stand \\as, that there was f^'ond huntiui; ot' hullceUs in the country. W'e oltserved that their yea consisted in a cry, fetched from the l)ot- tom of the throat, not unlike the call of a hen to gather her ehiekeiis. .M. dc la Salle n'fT. 'I'liis last iiiiHlortutic Imppriu il oIsd in the nif^lit. Tliiis ( , ^vtliiiit; I ' out most uiiliaii|iily, for Imil lliat itcful- k'li ill til flay aluiu'lunfo of tliiiii,'s miju'lil liavc Ixt ii saved. W'liilst u wrrc U|)oii tins Mudanulioly iiii|iloyiii<'i)t, almiU a liiiiu difd or a liuiult'(/J and twnity of tin' natives came to mir tamp with tlu'ir iiows and arniUH. M. do la Sallo ordrrrd us to liaiidio our arms and stand uj)oii our {;uard. About twenty of llio^c Indians mixed themselves amon<,' us to ohsti c what we had saved of tlio shi|>wreek. upon which there were several senlinels to let none (;u»nc near the powder. The rest of the Indians stood in parcels, or peh tons. M. do la Salle, who was aeipiainted with their ways, onh'red us to oI)serve their behavior, and to take nothing' from them, whiidi nevcitheless did not hinder some of our men from receiving sonic pieces (d'meat. Some time after, when the Indians were about departing, they made signs to us to go a hunting with them ; but, besides that there was sulVieicnt cause to suspect them, \\c had enough other business to do. However, wc asked whether they would barter li)r any of their canoes, which they agreed to. The Sicur Harbier went along with them, purchased two for '.nlchets, and brought them. Some days after, we perceived a fire in the country, which spread itself and burnt the dry weeds, still drawing towards us; whereupon M. de la Salle made all the weeds and herbs that were about us be pulled up, and particularly all about the jdace where the powder was. Being desirous to know the occasion of that fire, he took about twen- ty of us along with him, and we marched that way, and even iieyond the tire, without seeing anyborly. We perceived that it run towards the W. S. W., and judged it had begun about our first camp, and at the village next the fire. Having spied a cottage near the bank of a lake, wc drew towards It, and found an old woman in it, who ficd as soon as she saw us ; but having overtaken and given her to understand that we would do her no harm, she returned to her cottage, where wc found some pitchers of water, of which we all drank. Some time after we saw a canoe coming, in which were two women and a boy, who being landed, and perceiving we had done the old woman no harm, came and embraced us in a very particular manner, blowing upon our ears, and making signs to give us to understand that their people M-ere a hunting. A few minutes after seven or eight of the Indians appeared, who, it is likely, had hid themselves among the weeds when they saw us iit i! ! 108 IIISTORI.AL COLLEf'TlONS OF LOUISIANA, coming. Being come up, tlicy sahitoil us after the same manner as the women had done, wiiich made us laugii. We stayed tiiore some time witli them. .Some of our men ijartercd knives for "oats' skins, after which we returned to our camp. Being come thither, M. de la Salle made me go ahoard the hark (ia Belle, v/here he had emharkcd part of the powder, with positive orders not to carry or permit any lire to he made there, having suflicient cause to fear everything after what had iiappenod. For this reason tliey carried me and all that were with me, our meat every day. During this time it was that L'Aimahle opening in the night, the next mornino' \vr- saw all the liiiht tliiniis tliat were come out of it floating aijout, and M. de la Salle sent men every way, who gatliercd up about 30 casks of wine and brandy, and some of flesli, meal, and gram. When we had gathered all, as well wiiat had been taken out of the shipwrecked vessel as what could he picked up in the sea, the next thing was to regulate the provisions we had left proportionably to the number of men we were ; and there being no more biscuit, meal was delivered out, and with it we made hasty pudding with water, which was none of the best ; some large beans and Indian corn, part of which iiad taken wot ; and everytliing was distributed very discreet- ly. We were \ery much incommoded for want of kettles, but M. de Beaujeu gave M. de la Salle one, and lie ordered another to be brought from the bark La Belle, by which means we were all served. We were still in want of canoes. M. de la Salle sent to the camp of the Indians to barter for some, and they who went thither observed that those people had made their advantage of our shipwreck, and had some bales of Normandy blankets, and they saw several women Jiad cut tliem in two and made petticoats of them. They also saw- bits of iron of the ship that was cast away, and returned immediately to make their report to M. de la Salle, who said we must endeavor to (jet some canoes in exchange, and resolved to send thither asain tiie n.xt day. M. du Ilamel, ensign to M. de Beaujeu, offered to go up in his boat, wliicli -M. de la Salle agreed to, and ordered MM. Moran- get, his nephew, Dosloges, Oris, Gayen, and some others to bear him company. No sooner were tiiose gentlemen, who were more hot than wise, landed, but they went up to tlie camp of the Indians with tiicir arms in their hands, as if they had intended to force them, whereupon se- veral of tliose people fled. Going into the cottages they found others, to whom M. du Hamel endeavored to signify by signs that he would hse, rms ise- prs, luld JouTLi, s mi?;toricai, journal. 100 have tlio blankets they had found irstDreil ; l)Ut the misfortune was, that none of thcni undcrstnod one another. Tlie Indians thou^lit it their i»est way to witiidraw, leaving behind them .some lilaidsets and skins of ijrasts, which those gentlemen took away, and fnuling some canoes in their return, they seized two, and got in to bring them away. liut having no oars, none of them knowing how to manago tiiose canoes, and lip'-ing only some jiitiful poles, which they could not tell the riL'ht use of, and the wind beiii'f also auainst them, thev made little way, which the Sieur du Hamel, w lio was in his boat, perceiv- ing, and that night drew on, ho made the best (jf his way, forsook them, and returned to the camp. Thus night came upon them, which obliged those inexperienced canoe-nien, beinu thorouiihlv tired, to iro ashore to take soiwc rest, and the weather being cold, they lighted a (ire, about which tiiey laid them down and tell asleep; the sentinel they had appointed doing the same. The Indians returning to their camp, and perceiving our men luid carried away two canoes, some skins, and blaidf the tools ; not sf) much for the value of the loss, as hrcauso it was furiiisliing the natives with such things as they nn'ght al'terwards iJiaUe use of against us. Ahout the beginning of April, we were alarmed by a vessel which appeared at sea, near enough to discern the sails, and we supposed tliey miirlit he Spaniards who had heard of our coming, and were ranging the coast to iind us out. That mat('r was befallen M. dc la Salle. I drew near and perceived it was Uuhaut the elder that was returned. I asked him whether ho had any letters from .\i, do la Salle; he an- swered he had not. It gave me some uneasiness, considering I was forbid admitting any man witliout an order in writing, and I was almost resolved to secure him ; but the account ho gave me of the occasion oi Ills returning, wholly cleared him. I admitted hini, and he uAd mo the whole matter, as follows: ]\I. ik' la Salle, having stayed some time on the sea shore, near the place where the bark was at anchor, he resolved to try the anchor- ing places of the coasts round about, to know how near the l)ark La Belle might come. To that purpose he sent the pilot with live of the best men to sound. The pilot did as he was ordered, he sounded and observed the pro- per places to come near several coasts. At night he and his men being in all likelihood tired, they thought (it to go ashore and lie upon the land. They made a fire, perhaps to dress some meat, but ueglecting to stand upon their guard tiiey were surprised, and all six of them killed by the savages ; who also broke their canoe, and thus- avenged themselves for tiie irruption M. de la Salle had lalidy made among them. iMore time being elapsed than M. de la Salle had allotted those men to return, ho grew uneasy and went himself along the coast, to see if any news could bi> had of them, and keeping along the shore he found the sad remains of those unfi-U'tunate wretches, whose car- cases, scattered about, were torn and almost devoured by wolves or wild dogs, a spectacle which went to his heart. However, this loss which alllicted him, and particularly for the liakc of the pilot, who was an able man, did not quite cast him down ; but exerting himself against his misfortunes he caused (lesh to be dried, and with that and the other provisions ho victualled the bark La Belle. He caused it to advance into the bay, put a good lunnber of men on board to secure it, among whom were iM. Cliedeville, the priest, and Planterose of Rouen, and ordered them not to stir from that place till they heard from him, and not to go ashore, unless with a good guard and neces.sary precautions. t: ill '"1 I 1)1 i 1 I i ! : .1 ! t i tit' . !; " ^Mlii 4i 1 ;': III ■. ■ i ■ i' li i:i 130 IIISTOUICAI. COr.I.ECTIOXH OF I.dflSI \\ \. Next, ho clioso out Iwriity imii, cuihp.rkcil (ni two canoes lie lin utensils for the kitehiMi, a few yoods to trade with the natives, if iio should fnid any soeiahle, and .so advanced inio the cmintry, to try if any notice could hi; had of the Mississi|i|ii. Aflf er several days niartdi, tli(>y came to a good pleasant nvcr, which they afterwards called I^a Malignc. M. de la Salle marching at the head of the company, and havintr ordered AI. i\Ioran,i,'et to keep in the rear, it happened that Dnhaut slopping to mend his knapsack and shoes which were in a had condition, ihe Sieur Morunget conung up, commanded him to march ; he desired him to stay a little, Moran- get would not, hut held on his way. Duhaut followed some time after, but having stayed too long, ho could not overtake the company, and found himself aljout night-fall in a plain full of weeds, where there were several tracks the way cattle had gone, hut knew not which of them to take. Ho fired his piece several times without hearing any- thini,' of his company, and was obliged to pass the night in that same place. In the morning ho shot again, spent the day and night again in that place, so that not knowing wliat to do, he returned the same way he had gone, and after a month's march, for he travelled only by night, for fear of meeting with the savages, living upon what he killed with much diniculty and danger, having before spent all his own provisions, at length, after most unaecounlable hardships and suf- ferings, he arrived at the |tlaco where the canoes had been sunk, He look one of them up, with incredible labor, and too long to relate, and so came to our habitation of St. Louis. Thus it pleased God that he who was to be one of the nuirderers of M. dc la Salle, should come off safe, and surmount almost infinite dangers. This account, which seemed to carry the face of probability, pre- vailed with me to receive the Sleur Duhaut, and in reality I could do no otherwise, and I made it my business to examine into his beha- vior, but could find nothing to lay to his charge. We continued some time longer as we had been before ; during which, I caused another little wooden structure to be made of timber I had got together, and in it I lodged the women and maidens by themselves. Having hitherto said nothing of the situation of our dwelling of St. Louis, nor of the nature of the country we were in, I will here venture upon a plain but true description. We were in about the 27th degree of north latitude, two leagues i!- -1 JoUTKl/H lllrtTORIf/VI. JolMlVAL. V2\ ind •'g P'O up till- lountry, lU'ur tlu' l»ay t»t' St. liouis uii'l tlif hank of tln' rivci uiix liifitfs, on n littlu hillock, wliciicu wu (li.scovt>ro(l va^t ami beau, tifiil jilaiiLs, oxt«'U(liiiy very fur to tlio wt'slwaid, all lovol ami full of greens, whicli ullord luihturc to un infuiitu number of beeves nml other creatures. Turning from the west to the soutliwanl, there u|i|)oareil other plains adorned with several little woods of several sorts of trees. Towards the south and east wore the bay and the plains that hem it in from the east; to the northward was the river runuin;' alon^r Ijy n little hill, beyond whicii there were other luri^e plains, with some little tufts of wood at small distances terminating in a border of wood, which seemed to us to bo very hi^h. Ik'tweeii that little hill and our d\*clling, was a sort of marsh, and in it abundance of wild fowl, as curlews, water hens and otluT sorts. In the marsh there were little pools full of lish. We had also an infi- nite nmnbcr of beeves, wild goats, rabbits, turkeys, bustards, geese, swans, fieldfares, plovers, teal, partridges and many other sorts of fowl fit to eat, and among them one called le graml gosier, or the great gidlet, because it has a very large one ; another as big and iK'shy as a pul- let, whicili we called the sjiatula, because its beak is shajied like one, and the feathers of it being of a pale red, arc very beautiful. As for fish, we had several sorts in the river and in the lakes I have mentioned. The river atlbrdod a sort of barbel, ditlering from ours in roundness, in their having three bones slicking out, one on the back, the others on each side of tiio head, and in the llesh, which is like cod, and without scales. The river supplied us with abundance of other fishes, whose ) prove mortal, as happened to one of our soldiers, who had eaten of them too greedily, and without that precaution. I have seen some trees resembling the palm, whose lofty and long branches spread like that called the latanier, bearing a fruit said to be indifferent good. Others of the same sort, but whose leaves are like gutters, harsh and so sharp pointed that they will pierce the thickest stufls. This tree has a sprout on the top which shoots out flowers in the shape of a nosegay, of a whitish yellow, and some of them at l-:l i JOUTEl/S IIISTOBIC.VL JOURNAL. 1-^3 the top of that sprout Imvc sixty or rifflity flowers hanging down, not unlike the (lower tic luce, ami after those flowers follows a fruit as long as a man's finger, and thicker than the thumb, full of little seeds, so that there is scarce anything but the riiul fit to eat, the taste whereof is sweet and delicate. There arc abundance of creeping vines, and otiiers that run up the bodies and to the tops of trees, which bear plenty of grapes, fleshy and sharp, not to compare to the delicacy of ours in luiropc ; but we made verjuice of them, which was very good in sauce. Mul- berry trees are numerous along the rivers ; their fruit is smaller, but sweeter and more delicious than ours ; their leaves are beautiful and larse, which would be of cfood use for feeding of silkworms. The plains are strewed with a sort of small sorrel, the leaf whereof is like trefoil, and the taste of it sharp like ours. There are abun- dance of small onions no bigger than the top of a man's finger, but very well tasted, and when the heat has scorched up the plains, that plant shouts out first, and produces flowers which look like an agree- able enamel. Nothing is more beautiful than to behold those vast plains when the blossoms appear ; a thousand sorts of ditlerent colors, whereof many have an agreeable scent, adorn those fields, and afibrd a most charming object to the eye. I have observed some that smelt like a tuberose, but the leaf resembles our borage. I have seen priinroscs having a scent like ours, African gillifiowers, and a sort of purple wind flowers. The autumn flowers arc almost all of them yellow, so that the plains look all of that color. The climate is mild and temperate, though we were about "JT- of north latitude, and yet the seeds I caused to be sowed did not thrive ; whether it was because they had been soaked in the sea water, or for any other reason. Some came up pretty well, as pompions, melons, parsnips and endive ; but the beasts and the insects left us not much. Wiien we come to the Cenis, and have traversed so many nations as lay between us and them, I shall speak of tiie reli- gion, manners, clothing, houses, and customs of the natives, wherein they differ but little from one another, though of several countries. M. de la Salle had been now long gone, and we began to be in pain f.)r him, when, about the middle of March, 1080, happening to be on the top of the house, I spied seven or eight persons coming towards us. I presently ordered eight armed men to follow me, to go meet them, and as soon as we drew near them we knew M. de la Salle, IM. Cavelier, his brother, M. Moranget, his nephew, and i'wc or |i iflU I hb '■'i\\ j m ■■v\ 124 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. ;M six men with them, the rest heing gone another way to find out the barlv La J?clle, to give notice of M. de la Salle's arrival. Tlioy were in a bad condition, their clothes ragged ; M. Cavelier's short cassock hung in tatters ; most of them had not hats, and their linen was no better ; however, the sight of M. de la Salle rejoiced us all. The account he gave us of his journey revived our hopes, thougl) lie had not found the fatal river, and we thought only of making ourselves as merry as we could. Only the sight of the Sieur Duhaut interrupted it for some time. M. de la Salle asked me in an angry manner, why I had received him, and Duhaut having given his reasons, as I and my men did, we were all satisfied. The next day, the Sieurs le Barbier, Biborel, Le Petit, Cavelier, the nephew, the surgeon and others, whom M. de la Salle had sent to find out and carry advice to the bark La Belle, returned, and said they could not find her, which was another fresh cause of much un- easiness to M. de la Salle. He had been guilty of the fault of put- ting aboard her, his clothes, his linen, his papers, and all his best effects, of all which he was then in the utmost need. Besides, that loss broke all the measures he had concerted during his last expedi- tion, because he had resolved to cause the said bark to go up one of the rivers he had discovered, to advance towards those nations, with whom he had contracted ■'ome friendship, and to send me in the same bark, with his nephew Moranget, to the islands to seek for some assistance, or else to return by sea to look for his river. All these designs being disappointed, he resolved to set out a second time, and travel by land, to find out his river. He stayed to rest him a while, and to provide for his departure, but having neither linen nor clothes, I supplied him with some I had ; I also afforded some linen to M. Cavelier, his brother, and M. Moranget, his nephew. All I had was at their service, and I deprived myself of all that was fit for them, even to ten or twelve pounds of strings of beads, and some knives and nails, which M. de la Salle took. The Sieur Duhaut, having several effects, as linen, hatchets, and other tools and commodities, which had been saved from the ship- wreck, iM. de la Salle took linen to make shirts, for such as wanted, as also the tools they stood in need of. The clothes belonging to MM. Thibault, Le Gros, and Carpentier, who were dead, were also distributed. A great belt I had, served to make shoes for M. de la Salle and M. Cavelier. All things being thus provided, M. de la Salle took twenty men along whh him, among whom were M. Cavelier, his brother, F. 1 • also de la men I-, F. ( JOUTELS HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 125 Anastasius, a RecoUet, M. Moranget, his nophew, the Sieiirs Hiborel, Le Clerk, Hurler, Duhaut, the younger, Ilicns, his surgeon, and his servants. He left behind those who wore not fit to undertake that second journey, among whom were little iM. Cavclior, his iiPiihew, the Sieur Harbier, Canadien, and some others. F.acii of the travel- lers made up his pack, and they set out towards the latter end of April, 1086, after having given mc the necessary orders, and we parted whhout ceremony, M. de la Salle desiring it should he so. Some days after he was gone, I heard a voice towards the lower part of the river, crying twice (pii vivc, or who are you for. 1 made that way, and perceived the Sieur Chedeville, a priest, the Sieur de la Sablonniere, and some others of those who had been put aboard the bark La Belle, and were now in a canoe. I asked abruptly what was become of the bark, and was informed, our continual mis- fortunes still pursuing us, that it had run aground on the other side of the bay. 1 caused the canoe to be unloaded, there being in it, among other things, M. de la Salle's clothes, part of his papers, some linen, a small quantity of beads, and thirty or forty pounds of meal, which was all they had left The next day, M. de Chedeville told me the particulars of that misfortune, and said, that having been some time with the bark, in the place where M. de la Salle had appointed them to wait, their water falling short, they had thought fit to send the boat ashore, with four or five casks to fill ; that the Sieur Planterose went in it with six of the b' ,t men. That towards evening they saw the boat coming back, but the wind being contrary and night coming on, they put out a light, which going out and the captain neglecting to put up another, in all likelihood the boat could not see the bark, and they never heard of it after, nor of any of those in it, who, it was probable, had all perished. That nevertheless, they continued some days in the same place, during which time three or four of their men died ; and at last, having no water, they eat up their swine, before they died witii thirst, and resolved to weigh anchor and draw near to the dwelling; but having few hands and those spent, and to add to their misfortune the wind proving contrary, they were driven to the other side of the bay, where they run aground. That having no boat, nor men enough to land their ellects, they had endeavored to make a float with some casks and planks, but that being ill made and joined together, the first that went upon it had perished. That having made another float better fastened together i' .! » ! i \ :i I , '. '•-, lil i. 1 1 ,1 1, I 120 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. than the first, they had by that means saved some sails and rigying, several inconsiderable things, linen, clothes and papers belonging to j\I. dc la Salle and others, and then stayed ashore, exi'ccting to hear some news, and had found a canoe, be'-ig the same that was before lost on the edge of the bay, which had been driven to the other side ; and that provisions at last beginning to fall short, they went aboard the said canoe and canic to us ; fortunate in that they had not been discovered by the natives, during their stay ashore, which was for the space of three months, and in finding the canoe to bring them back. When M. de la Salle went away, the Sieur Barbier had taken upon him to go a hunting, as also to provide bark to cover our houses, instead of hides, because the sun drying and contracting them, part oftiie top of our buildings was uncovered. I farther enjoined him to cut stakes,, to make a palisade about our dwelling, and the Sieur Chedeville having told me they had buried several things they could not bring away, I sent the Sieur Barbier Avith two canoes and fifteen men to the place, where they found some pedreroes, rigging and sails. The natives having discovered the concealment, had taken away some pieces of linen and iron tools, which they very much covet. The Sieur Barbier after his return, continuing his exercise of hunting, happened to meet with a parcel of the natives, some of whom had firelocks, which they had taken from our men, and with which they made some shots at him, but very weak ; and he firing three or four shot at them, they retired. He was then in a canoe on the river, and designed to have gone upwards ; but that rencontre having obliged him to take another way, and the savages perceiving it, eight of them swan over the river, hastening to get before the canoe, hid themselves among the weeds, near the way he was to pass, and when he was near enough, let fiy their arrows, which wounded several men. One shot the Sieur Barbier made, put them all to night again ; he held on his way and returned to our habita- tion. Some days after, we ])erccivcd a herd of bullocks flying, and guessed they were pursued by the savages, which afterwards ap- pearod to be true. Some of them drew near to our habitation, but a cannon shot I pointed towards the gang of them, and a musket-shot M. Barbier fired at the nearest, made them all fly fartlier olT. When the Sieur Barbier went out a hunting, I commonly sent with him some women and maids, to help the hunters to dress and and ap- )Ut a shot sent and JOUTELS HtSTOUrCAL JOURNAL. 1: dry llic flpsli ; but being infunncd that lie used to slip aside from the company, witli a young inuid he had a kindness lor, and wliieli gave occasion to some well-grounded railleries, the said iJarbier being told I was acquainted with that allair, came and spoke to nic in j)ri- vate, desiring leave to marry that young wuman. I made some dilli- culty of it at first, advising him to stay till M. de la ^alle returned ; but at last, considering they might have anticipated upon matrimuny, I took the advice of the Recollet Fathers, and of M. Chedeville, the priest, and allowed them to marry. M. le JNIanjuis do la Sabloinn'ere following this examjjle, asked the same liberty, being in love with a young maid, which I absolutely refused, and tbrbid them seeing one another. Some time passed in which nothing happened to us worth obs<'rv- ing ; however, I will mention two things which befol our llecolkl Fathers. One was, that Father Anastasius, beinii a huntinif l)uUoeks with me, and coming too near one I had shot, and was fallen, the beast, as much Iiurt as he was, started up, attacked and threw him down ; he had much ado to get oiF, and I to rescue him, because I durst not shoot for fear of killinfj him. The bullock being weak, fell again ; the Father was delivered, but lay ill some months. The other was, that Father Maximus had written some memoirs concerning IM. de la Salle's conduct, condemning him upon several occasions. I was told of it, found means to get those memoirs, threw them into the fire, and so the Father came off. About the same time, most of our men seeing M. de la Salle did not return, began to mutter. The Sieur Duhaut, who, perhaps, had been the first fomcnter of thoM' discontents, Ijacked the complaints of the disgusted party, promised them great matters under his conduct, and oOered to supply them with such effects as he had in possession, endeavoring, as I suppose, by those means to gain their ail'ections, for a mischievous design, which it is likely he had even then con- ceived. It was not loniT before I had intimation of the whole affair, and I h id done M. de la Salle a singular piece of service, had I then put to death the person who was to be his murderer ; but I rested satisfied with giving him a severe reprimand, and threatening to cause him to be secured if he persisted, being able to do no other under uiy circumstances. However, I talked to all concerned, and put them in such hopes of M. de la Salle's return, and that things would soon change to their satisfaction, that they were all pacified. But in regard that idleness often occasions uneasiness and impa- HiJ *' J:. 1 'HI i i; : !! ; 128 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. ticnco, I used all possible means to keep tliem employed in the most obliging manner 1 couki, setting some to cut down tbc bushes about our duelling, others to hew down trees that hindered the prospect, others to mow the grass that fresh might grow up for our cattle ; and at night I made them divert themselves with dancinji and sincinir. Whilst we thus passed away tiie time the best we could, M. de la Salle had penetrated very far up into the country, inclining towards the northern part of Mexico. He had travelled through several nations, the inhabitants whereof were, for the most part, sociable, and had concluded sort of alliance with thein, and particularly with the Cenis and others whose names I shall mention. He had discovered charming countries abounding in all things that could be wished, as well for sustenance as for making of easy settlements, and after he and his nephew IVIorangct liad escaped two dangerous sicknesses, he returned to our habitation with five horses he had purchased, and arrived at it in August, 1680. Hcarin" of his voice, I was one of the first that ran towards the river. We took our canoes to bring him, his luggage and some pro- visions over, and the horses swam. We were extraordinary glad to see our commander-in-chief return safe, though his journey had not advanced his design. M. de la Salle had not found out his river, nor been towards the Illinois as we had hoped. Only eight men returned with him of twenty he carried out, and all the visible advantage of that journey consisted in five horses, laden with Indian wheat, beans and some other grain, which was put into the store. M. de la Salle asked me, as soon as he came, whether the Sieurs Clerc, Ilurie, Duhaut the younger and two others, were come, be- cause they not being able to endure the fatigue of the journey, he had given them leave to return, and hearing they were not, he con- cluded the savages had killed them. We were also informed that the Sieur Biborel had strayed and was lost, so that there had been no news of him since ; that one of M. de la Salle's servants had been dragged down to the bottom of the water and devoured by an alii- gator, and that four others had deserted and abandoned M. de la Salle, when he was about the country of the Cenis. This was a very dismal -^nd deplorable account ; but the even temper of our chief made all men easy, and he found, by his great vivacity of spirit, expedients which revived the lowest ebb of hope. He rejoiced at the return and sight of M. Chedeville ; he was pleased at the recovering of his clothes and part of his papers ; and after some time of rest, he proposed to undertake a journey towards the JOUTELS IIISTOKICAL JOURXAL. l-^!> alii, e la even ;reat ope. ised ifter the Illinois, and to niako it tin; main business, by tiie way, to lincl the Mississippi ; but it was tiiuuglit proper to let the great heats pass before that enterprise was tal*Jce of which might have been fortunate to him, had he followed it sooner. He therefore caused a fire to be made, gave him to eat and smoke, and afterwards a bit of roll-tobacco, and some other trifles. M . de la Salle gave him to understand that he came not to hurt any man, but to settle peace in all places, and so dismissed him. The Indian recovered himself a little of his fright, but being still dubious what his fate might be, he at first walked away gently, still looking about him, and when at a good distance made olf as fast as he could. We held on our way, and soon after saw another Indian running after the bullocks. M. de la Salle caused him to be taken, brought to us, and treated as the first had been. We had not gone far before wo spied a company of natives com- ing towards us, on our left, but we held on our way till they were over against us, when M. de la Salle caused us to halt. The sava- ges seeing us halt, stood still also, which M. de la Salle perceiving, he laid his firelock on the ground, and advanced towards them, mak- ing signs to him that commanded them, who was a handsome man, to draw near. That Indian came forward, and was followed by the M i!' ■'1 ; 1 t < t 1 1 , ■ ' i 132 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. !fl > rest, all of tlioni rarossinfr ns aftor tln^ir mannor, which \vo returned the host wc won- able, and then made tlioin snioko. Next M. do la Sallo gave tliem to understand, that wo wcro going towards the Ccnis, that wo desired to bo at peaco with them all, and that wo would return to our own country whence we would bring thoni all tliey had occasion for. Then we distributed among thoin some bits of roll-tobacco, some strings of beads, and knives, which they seemed to bo pleased with, and all this was done by signs. Then every man went his own way. VVc advanced half a league farther, to get into a wood, where M. de la Salle had encamped when he went that way before ; we cut down trees to secure our post, and lay there that night. Before our entrenchment was finished, we discovered, first one Indian, then two, and afterwards three, coming one after another ; which giving M. do la Salle some jealousy, he caused us to handle our arms, with orders to stand upon our guard, for fear of being surprised, and went towards them. They signified to him, that their people had told them we did not hurt anybody, which was very well, and that they were come to see us. They were enter- tained as the others had been, and then signs were made; to them to withdraw, because night drew on, and having observed that they took notice of our fortifying ourselves, we kept a good guard all the night, without any disturbance. The 15th, we marched on, intending to find out a ford, in the river called the Princess, where M. do la Salle had passed before ; but missing it, and the river being swollen, we were obliged to go up higher, sometimes crossing curious meadows, and sometimes woods of tall trees of several jorts, but all young, of the same thickness, and straight, looking as if they had been planted by a line. The river running through the midst of those curious shady groves, which were also watered by several little brooks of very clear and good water, aflbrded a most delightful landscape. We also met with some woods so thick, that it was requisite to hew a passage for the horses. Towards the evening we killed a bullock, and went to encamp in a little coppice, with our usual pre- cautions. The l()th, we continued our journey, still following the river up- wards, and from time to time meeting the same sort of pasture grounds and the obstacles of woods, where wc were fain to cut our way through, which fatigued us very much ; but the plenty of wild fowl, and j)articularly of turkeys, whereof we killed many, was an JOUTKI, d IIIS'lH)ltltAI. JOURNAL. i:):i niiiong verv ^itc to l(-d a pre- ease to our suirorings, and liclp to bear our toil willi moro satisfac- tion. The 17th was a very toiisumo day's journey, by reason of the woods and rivulets we were to cross ; alter w Inch we oanie to a little hill, on wliicli there were 2 or HOO cottages of the natives. Those huts were like large ovmis, consisting oI" long poles stuck in the earth in a circle, and joining altovt! to make the dome or round top. They liad been dwellings of the natives, who being gone, had carried away the hides that covered them, and the mats which are used to hang tlu! insides, and to make their beds of. After a march of some hours, our Indian having found a herd of beeves, wo killed seven or eiglit, took the best of the meat, and held oil our way across a wood. We forded a branch of the river, and proceeded to tlie bank of another, the bottom whereof being foul, we encamped on the edge of it, and the rain falling at night and con- tinuing all the next day, were obliged to stay there. The loth, the rain ceasing, we proceeded through a thick fog, and over places where the water was often up to our knees, and some- times higher ; wliich, together with our being forced to cut the way athwart the hushes, with our hatchets, gave us inexpressibU; trouble, and it had been much greater, had wc not resolved to follow the ways beaten by the bullocks, whom a natural instinct always leads to those parts which are easiest to pass. Wo were not free from another inconveniency in those tracts, which was their being full of water and very rugged, a thing no way agreeable to our shoes, which were no other than a piece of bullock's hide or goat's skin quite green, whereof we made a sort of buskins, to serve instead of shoes, but when those wretched boots were dried by the heat, upon our feet, they hurt us very much, and we were often obliged to set our feet in the water, to soften those buskins. However, we marched all the day, notwithstanding all those incon- veniences, without linding a proper place to encamp, and at last came to a river, whose high bank aHorded us a spot to rest on. The '~JOth, a small rain did not obstruct our march, and having crossed a wood, half a league athwart, and a marsh of the same ex- tent, we came into a large plain, cut across by great tracks of bul- locks, which went towards the river, and made us supi)ose there might be a ford. We followed that way, but found the river so swollen, and its stream so rapid, that it was impossible to cross it, but were obliged to halt upon its bank, whence we went to hunt bul- locks, wliereof we had no want, nor of turkeys and other wild fowl. (. !■ -i(»' ■ I'll i j I l.'M IIISToniCAI. COI.M,rTIONS OF LOUISIANA. The 'J 1st, wo procci'tli'd up that river, ami ('oiiihI u narrow deep place, near wliicli we liewcd down a trop, making it fall so as to roacli from tlio one bank to the other, hi tlic natun; of a plunk, ami handed our baggage fr^m one to another over it. The horses swam over, and we (•iicam|)ed on the otliersido, near a very beautiful plain. VViiilst we were hewing down some little wood to entreueh our- selves, wc heard a voice, whereupon, handling our arms and going to the place where wo heard it, wo saw a company of lifteen savages, who were coming towards us, and made signs to us to go to them, laying down their bows, in token of peace. We also made our sign to them to draw near ; they did so, and caressed us after their man- ner. We made them sit down and smoke, after which M. de la Salle began to converse with them by signs, and by helj) of some words of tlie language of the Cenis, which he was skilful in, lie un- derstood that these were their neighbors and allies ; tliat their village was not far off, and that their nation was called llebahamo. Some small presents were given them, and tiiey withdrew, promising to return the next day. The 2'-2d, our horses being spent and hurt, and we much tired, the day was given to rest, and the natives did not fail to come, being twenty-five in number, some of whom had bucklers or targets made of the strongest part of the bullocks' hides. They gave us to under- stand that thev were entraKcd in war towards the N.W., and told us they had seen men like us, who wore but ten days' journey from that place. Other tokens they gave made us suppose it was New Spain that they t.^lked of. M. dc la Sallo took several words of their language, which is very different from that of the Cenis, and more dillicult. As for their customs, they arc much alike. In fine, having shown us, that to- wards the N.W. we sliould meet with plains, where the way would be easier, and we should shun the woods, we gave them to eat, and some presents, and they took leave of us. A rain falling and hold- ing all the night, we did not march the 24th. The 2.'5th, we travel- led not far, by reason of the rains continuing, and that there were several rivers in tiie way mucii swollen. The 2()th, we proceeded on our journey, and came to the river called La Sablonniere, from the many sand banks there are in it. The 27th, departing from it, we came to another little narrow river, but very deep ; going up higher we found a ford, and went to en- camp beyond it, in a little wood, where we had a very bad night, because of the rain which fell again, and the overflowing of the JOUTKI.ri IIISTOntrAI, JniliN.M,. m:) Some It, und hold. travel, were river in it. river, to en- niglit, If the i river, whicli olili^'cd us to nmke a litth^ sort of s(air>ltl, to hiy mu powder and clothes on, thut tiny iniyht imt be wet. 'l'li(> in ,\t (Uiy being the 'J^th,ohserving thut the wutcr was still rising, we dceaiii|ieil to go a league farther, to a higher ground, where we made a great fire to warm and dry us. We took notice the country was very good, the plains extending as far as the eye could reaeli, and adorned with many little cii|tpicc8, atrording a very agreeaiile prospect. We marched over part of them the "iOth and Mdth ; after three hours' travel, f mud a way full id" water, whicii obliged us to encamp on the Imnk of a river ; passeil it the Hist, anil encamped in a wood close hy. The next day, being the first of February, l(i'<7, M. de la Salle loft me to guard tlie camp, and took along with him M. (!av(dier, his brother, and seven men, to go see whether he cnuld fmd anybody in several cottages our hunters had discovered. JIu f)und twenty-four or twenty-five of them, l)uilt round like those I have before mentioned, standing on a rising ground, almost encon)passeil by the river, in each of which there were four or five men, and several women and children. The savages were somewhat surprised at 1\I. de la Salle's cotuing; however, they received him in a friendly manner, and conducted him to their connnandcr's hut, which was inmiediately fdlcd with people, who came to see him. The elders came together there, bullocks' hides were laid upon the ground, on which they made M. de la Salle and his company sit. Tiicy gave them hung beef to eat, and then signified to them that some of their allies had given them notice of our being in this country, and that we were going to the Cenis, and they iiad imagined that we would pass through their country. M. de la Salle presented them with some knives and bits of tobac- co, and they gave him bullocks' hides, very well dressed with the hair ; they gave one for a knife, and would have given many more, but that wo told them that wo had no conveniency to carry tliem, and that if they had any horses, he would give them axes in ex- change. They answered, tiiey had but two, whicli they could not part with. It being late wiien iM. de la Salle returned, we stayed there the rest of the day, and several Indians came to see us, in hopes of receiving some present, offering us bullocks' hides dressed, which we would not burden ourselves with. The second, we set out again, and halted some lime in that village, wl'.ere, by the way, we bartered for some collars, or a sort of knots made of bullocks' hides well dressed, which the natives make use of I i: li ! 1 ';i 13G HISTORICAL COLLECTION'S OF LOUISIANA. B:l i: i 'I I |1 ' m to carry their burdens, whether of wood, utensils, or the meat they kill. They proved of use both to us and our horses, because the thongs of those collars served to make fast our burdens. We proceeded on our journey, through a country pleasant enough, but sandy, and having crossed a large plain, came to the bank of a fine river, called La Maligne, or the Mischievous, because in M. de la Salle's former journey, an alligator devoured one of his servants, who was swimming over it. This river is as wide as the Seine at Rouen, seems to be very navigable, and has a very pleasant country about it. We encamped in a little wood adjoining to it, and barked the aspen trees to hut. Our hunters killed beeves, wild goats, turkeys, and other wild- fowl ; and among the rest, some creatures as big as an indifferent cat, very like a rat, having a bag under their throat, in which they carry their young. They feed upon nuts and acorns, arc very fat, and their flesh is much like pig. Hard by there, we found a place where M. de la Salle, in liis former journey, had hid some parcels of strings of beads in the trunks of trees, and we rested there till the eighth of the month. During that time, no day passed without seeing some of the natives, who sometimes spent the whole day with us, and said they were of several nations. We made them smoke, and always gave them some small presents. They admired that after we had written down some words they spoke to us, we repeated them, looking on the paper. Whilst we stayed, M. de la Salic set men at work to make a porta- ble canoe, of long poles, hewed and joined, and then covered with bullocks' hides sewed together, having pulled ofTthe hair or wool, as it may be called there. That canoe was of great use to us, to cross rivers, as well for ourselves as for our baggage, but the horees swam over. The ninth, we put our canoe into the water, and passed the river in it, and encamped half a league from thence, on account of the grass, which our horses stood in need of to recover themselves a little. The tenth, we held on our journey, crossing several spacious plains, the grass whereof was burnt, whence IM. de la Salle con- cluded that there were many natives thereabouts. He thought it convenient to provide a store of dried flesh, for fear wc should not find game in the country we were going to enter upon, and accord- ingly caused several beeves to be killed for that purpose. For that reason, we continued there till the 12th, when we went \n I JOUTELS HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 137 went and encamped on the bank of a river, which M. de la Salle had in his former journey called d'i*]ure. At night there arose a storm, followed by thunder and rain, which swelled the streams, and obliged us to stay there. The 13th and 14th, we crossed four or five largo rivulets, and then a fine curious country, diversified with seve- ral little woods, hills, and small brooks, affording a delightful i)ros- pect. That pleasant country was terminated by a wood, which we were to cross, and were favored in it by a way beaten by the bullocks, and at night we encamped there. The 15th, we travelled along a fine meadow, then over plains that had been burnt, and at night went to take our rest on the bank of a small rivulet, about which we saw several footsteps of natives, which made us conclude we were not far from them ; and therefore we doubled our guard, to prevent being surprised. The IGth, M. de la Salle left me at the guard of the camp, and took M. Cavelier his brother, and seven men with him, to go find out the Indians. They had not gone half a league before they spied horses and a number of cottages, without being themselves seen by the savages. That village stood on the side of a hill, and contained about forty huts, standing together, besides several others strajjillin". When M. de la Salle entered the village, the savages seeing him, came to meet and conduct him to the cottage oflheir chief, where he and his company were seated on bullocks' hides. The elders being come, he signified to them the occasion of his coming, as he had done the other nations, with which they seemed to rest satisfied. Some presents were made them, according to custom, and they otrered him a quan- tity of hides, which he refused, telling them, that when he returned from the Cenis ho would trade with, and furnish them with all they had occasion for. They confirmed what the others had told us, con- cerning a nation, where some of them had been, the men whereof were like us, meaning the Spaniards. He named to them the nations we had passed through from our dwelling of St. Louis, to the river Maligne, which we had lately passed. The names of tiiose nations are as follows : The Spicheats, Kabayes, Thecamons, Theauremets, Kiahoba, Choumenes, Kouans, Arhan, Enepiahe, Ahonerhopiheim, Korenkake, Korkone, OmeaofTe, Keremen, Ahehoen, Maghai, Thecamenes, Oten- marhem, Kavagan and Meracouinan. These are the nations that lay on our road ; those on the west and north-west of the said river, were the Kannehonan, Tohaka, Pehir, Coyabegux, Onapien, Pichar, ; I : ii' I !1 1 :ti w ^V' w 11 Ml 138 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. Tohan, KiafTess, Chanzcs, Tsera, Bocrcttes, Tscpohocn, Fercouteha, Pancgo, Petao, Petzarcs, Peisacho, Peihoum and Orcampion. Those we were with then, were called Teao, whom wo liad not before heard named. They talked of a great nation called Ayona and Canohatino, who were at war with the Spaniards, from whom they stole horses, and told us, that one hundred Spaniards were to have come to join the Cenis, to carry on that war, but that having heard of our march, they went back. M. de la Salle gave them to understand, that we were at war with the Spaniards, and that we feared them not ; and that he was sent on their account by the great captain of tiie world, who had charged him to do them all good, and to assist them in their wars aorainst such nations as were their enemies. Those savages gave M. de la Salle notice, that he would find three of our men among the Cenis, wliich put him in hopes they were those he had given leave to depart at his former journey, and of whom he never since heard. He proposed to them to barter for horses ; but they had caused them to be conveyed out of the way, for fear we should take them away, excepting only one bay, which M. de la Salle agreed for and returned to us. The 17th, we passed a small river, with some difficulty, and encamped beyond it. The 18th, one of our horses going along the edge of an upright bank, fell into the water, and came off with only a hurt on the shoulder; but we were fain to unload him, and distri- bute his burden among us, every one making a pack ; and thus we crossed a curious plain diversified with woods, hills, rivulets, and delightful meadows. The 19th, we travelled along the tops of those hills, to avoid the bottoms, and found a difficulty to get down, by reason of the rocks we met with at the end of them, and a river we were to cross. Whilst we were passing that river, we heard dogs hunting the buUoeks, two of which coming near us, one of them was shot dead. The natives who were hunting spying us, sent out two of their number, who, creeping from tree to tree, drew near, and then stood still, without daring to proceed any further. We made signs to them to come, which they did, and we made them sinokc till M. de la Salle returned, being gone a little way to observe the body of those people. When come, he told them he would entertain peace with them, that we were going to the Cenis, and he believed that these very men were of their nation, because they had their accent and some of their words. They told him their village was near that place, JOUTEL S HItiTORICAL JOURNAL. 139 lem, and bore us company to our camp, where, after some small presents given tliem, they were tiismissed. The 20th, M. de la Salle sent M. Moranget and some others to the village of those natives, to try whether they could harter with them for some horses. In the meantime two savages came to us, one of them being the same that was with us the night before, and they expressed much friendship for us. That particular Indian told us his name was Palaquechaune, that they were allies to the Cenis, that their chief had been among the Choumans with the Spaniards ; that the Choumans were friends to the Spaniards, from whom tliey got horses, and added some farther particulars, which the others had before signified to us; so that we had good reason to judge we were not far from North Mexico. He also told us, that the Choumans had given their chief some presents to persuade him to conduct us to them ; that most of the said nation had flat heads ; that they had Indian corn, wiiicli gave M. de la Salle ground to believe, that those people were some of the same he had seen upon his first discovery. That same native had a very fine goat's skin, which I purchased of him for four needles, after I had shown him how to use them, and that skin was of good use to make us shoes instead of raw bullocks' hides. Some time after M. Moranget returned, gave M. de la Salle an account of his short journey, and said that one of the natives, who saw us the night before, came to meet and conduct him to the chief's cottage, where forty ancient Indians were, by whom he had been kindly received ; that the chief had in his hand a reed, at the end whereof was made fast a leaf of a French book, which he liad an extraordinary respect for ; that they had been made to sit on bullocks' hides, and treated with dried beef. That after these first ceremonies, the chief had given them to understand that some of their people had been conducted, by a man like us, to our habitation, and that the said man had promised to bring them to talk with us, in order to treat of peace ; but that, on the contrary, we had fired on them and killed one of their men, which had obliged them to kill the man that led them, and tliat then they returned. It is not improper here to put the reader in mind, that I have before mentioned this accident, when the Sieur Barbier, crossing the river in a canoe, was called upon by some person, who was among the natives on the bank of the river, who had made two shots, as it had been only the priming of a piece, which the Sieur Barbier had looked upon as an insult, and therefore he had also 1 '■ '^1 ! : ' ii'i I ill. 11 I ,! ■ 'ii: i! '. i^ II il 'i' 140 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. lired, with all the other particulars, as mentioned before ; an acci- dent that iiappencd for want of understanding one another ; which, together with M. de la Salle's forbidding us to have any communi- cation with the natives, was very prejudicial to us afterwards. After much other discourse, M. Moranget having given them some small presents, they made their return in bullocks' hides, and goats' skins well dressed. He asked them for some Jiorses to barter ; they answered, they had no more than what they stood in need of. We innncdiately proceeded on our journey, and that day being the 21st, went to encamp at the edge of a wood. The 22d, we went up to an eminence, terminated by a rock, at the foot whereof ran a little river, the bottom whereof was all of flat rocks, fit for building. Thence we descried two natives driving of bullocks, which made us stand upon our guard, and it appeared to be our Indian, who had met another, with whom he had been acquainted among the Cenis, and whom he had brought along with him. M. de la Salle was very glad to see him, and remembered he was one of those of whom he had purchased a horse. He asked several questions of him, and among the rest, whether he had not seen the four men who deserted in his former journey, or heard any talk of the others, to whom he had given leave to return to our dwelling. He answered, ho had seen one among the Cenis, and two others among the Assonis ; but that ho had not heard of any more, and that they must needs be dead ; as also the Sieur Biborel, who was like- wise mentioned to him. He furtlier told us that there were four or five cottages there- abouts, in which about fifteen men resided. At night he went away. Our Indian had killed a cow at a great distance, and shot her quite through, at which the other, who had been an eyewitness to it, stood a long time amazed, without speaking one word, admiring the effect of our pieces. That cow was sent for, and the flesh brought to our camp. The 23d, we passed by the cottages we had been told of, where the natives were with their wives and children. M. de la Salle caused us to halt in tiie village. We were well received ; they pre- sented us with dried beef, and we returned it in some knives. We saw two horses, one of them a little grey, indifferent handsome. They told us they would soon depart that place, to go join their companions, who were in war with their enemies. The rest of our men being come up, we went on to encamp a league from thence, ig the rought We I JOL'TEl's HISTORICiM, JOURNAL. 141 on the bank nf a rivulet, and at tlie foot of one of the higlicst moun- tains in the country. Unloading our horses, we perceived there wanted a large axe- which served us for hewing down trees. M. de la Salle sent his Indian to demand it, at the village we came from last ; tlie savages said they had not seen it, and it was lost. lie brought back word that the savages had told him that if we would stay for then), they would go along with, and show us the way. However, we went on the 24th, and encamped on the edge of a marsh. The lioth, the rain hindered us from marching. The "JOth, M. de la Salle perceiving how ditlicult and dangerous it was to cross that marsh, sent his Indian to the others, to know whether they really designed to go with us. They answered, we must return thither to join them. The 27th, we decamped, in order to it ; but took another way to go meet the Indians. The 28th, we saw them marching at a distance. One of them was detached to come tell us, that he would show us the way to crons the marsh, and we went on and encamped at the foot of the high mountain I have sjwken of. The 1st of March we joined the Indians, on the edge of the marsh, which we had just crossed, where the rains kept us till the 5th, during which time we went to find out where we might pass a rapid torrent that discharges itself into the river, called Canoes, which we passeu me lith, in the canoe we had made, and which did us good service, to pass other rivers we met with, the 7th and the oili, on our way. The 9th, we did not stir, because of the rain. Tiie 10th, en- camped on the bank of a small river, which we crossed the 11th, and the same day another, and encamped on the bank of it, and found it adorned with very fine muU)erry trees. The 12th, we crossed another river, and encamped near it. The Hith, came again to the river of Canoes, so called by M. de la Salle, because lie the first time put canoes into it, at his former journey. \Vc passed it the 14th, and encamped on the other side, where we again joined the Indians. The lilth, we held on our journey with them, and found a plea santer country than that we had passed through; and M. de la Salle having, in his former journey, hid some Indian wiieat and buans, two or three leagues from that place, and our provisions beginning to fall short, it was thought fit to go to that place. Accordingly he ordered the Sieurs Duliaut, Iliens, Liotot, the surgeon, his own Indian, and his footman, whose name was Sagct, who were Ibllowed !'■! ; 1 1 i 1 t 1 ■ J it ■-! M m m , * i> I I!'' ;di ^1 ■ '^ tA. "::l lKM'.rrJ|, ^f'-^'il ^at'^i'lE 1 1 112 lllriTOUICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. by Konio natives, to go to the place lie described to thein, where they found all mtten, and quite spoilt. The Kitii, in their return, they met with two bullocks, whicli M. de la Salle's Indian killed, whereupon they sent back his footman, to give him notice of what they had killed, that if ho would have the flesh dried ho might send horses for it. The 17th, M. de la Salle had the horses taken up, and ordered the Sieurs Moranget and De Male, and his footman, to go for that meat, and send back a horseload im- mediately, till the rest was dried. M. Moranget, when he came thither, found tiiey had smoked both the beeves, though they were not dry enough ; and the said Sieurs Liotot, Iliens, Duiiaut, and the rest, had laid aside the marrow-bones and others to roast them, and eat the flesh that remained on them, as was usual to do. The Sicur Moranget found fault with it ; he in a passion seized not only the flesh tiiat was smoked and dried, but also the bones, without giving them anything ; but, on the contrary, threat- ening tliey should not eat so much of it, as they had imagined, and that he would manage that flesh after another manner. This passionate behavior, so mucij out of season, and contrary to reason and custom, touched the Surgeon Liotot, llcins, and Duhaut, to the quick, they having other causes of complaint against Moran- get. They withdrew, and resolved together upon a bloody revenge; they agreed upon the manner of it, and concluded they would mur- der the Sieur Moranget, M. de la Salle's footman, and his Indian, be- cause he was very faitiiful to him. Tlicv waited till night, when those unfortunate creatures had supped and were asleep. Liotot, the surgeon, was the inhuman execu- tioner ; he took an axe, and began by the Sieur Moranget, giving him many strokes on the head ; the same he did by the footman and the Indian, killing tiiem on the spot, whilst his fellow villains, viz., Du- haut, lliens, Teissier, and Larchevaque, stood upon their guard, with their arms, to fire upon such as should make any resistance. The Indian and the footman never stirred, but the Sicur Moranget had so much vigor as to sit up, but without being able to speak one word ; and the assassins obliged the Sieur de Marie to make an end of him, though he was not in the conspiracy. This slaughter had yet satisfied but one part of the revenge of those murderers. To linish it, and secure themselves, it was requi- site to destroy the commander-in-chief. They consulted aboui: the safest method to cilect it, and resolved to go together to M. de la Salle, to knock out the brains of the most resolute immediately, and then it JOUTEL S HISTORICAL JOl^UNAL. 149 had !xecu. Iiiin id the Du- with The lad so ord ; him, ge of cqui- the >alle, en it would bo easier to overcome tiie rest. But the river, which was be- tween them and us, being much swollen, the dilliculty of passing it made them put it off the IStii and 19th. On the other hand, M. de la Salle was very uneasy, on account of their long stay. His impa- tience made him resolve to go himself to find out his people, and to know the cause of it. This was not done without many previous tokens of concern and apprehension. lie seemed to have some presage of his misfortune, inquiring of some, whether the Sieur Liotot, Hiens, and Duhaut, had not expressed some discontent ; and not hearing anything of it, he could not forbear setting out the 20th, with Father Anastasius ,uid an Indian, leaving me the command in his absence, and chargng me from time to time to go the rounds about our camp, to prevent being surprised, and to make a smoke for him to direct his way in ease of need. When he came near the dwelling of the murderers, looking out sharp to discover something, he observed eagles fluttering about a spot not far from them, which made him believe they had found some carrion about the mansion, and he fired a shot, which was the signal of his death, and forwarded it. The conspirators hearing the shot, concluded it was M. de la Salle, who was come to seek them. They made ready their arms, and pro- vided to surprise him. Duhaut passed the river, with Larcheveque. The first of them spying ]\I. de la Salle at a distance, as he was coming towards them, advanced and hid themselves among the high weeds, to wait his passing by, so that M. de la Salle, suspecting no- thing, and having not so much as charged his piece again, saw the aforesaid Larcheveque at a good distance from him, and immediately asked for his nephew Moranget, to which Larcheveque answered, that he was alony the river. At the same time the traitor Duhaut fired his piece and shot M. de la Salle through the head, so that he dropped down dead on the spot, without speaking one word. Father Anastasius, who was then by his side, stood stock still in a friglit, expecting the same fate, and not knowing whether he should go forwards or backwards; but the murderer Duhaut put him out of that dread, bidding him not to fear, for no hurt was intended him ; that it was despair that had prevailed with him to do what he saw ; that he had long desired to be revenged on Moranget, because he had designed to ruin him, and that he was partly the occasion of his uncle's death. This is the exact relation of that nmrder, as it was presently after told me by Father Anastasius. Such was the unfortunate end of M. de la Salle's life, at a time when «: I liii jlli' I m Ml 144 IirSTOniCAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. lie niiglit oiitortixin tlic greatest liopcs, as the reward of liis labors. lie had a capacity and talent to make his enterprise successful ; his con- stancy and courage, and his extraordinary knowledge in arts and sciences, which rendered him fit for anything, together with an inde- fatigable body, which made him surmount all difliculties, would have procured a glorious issue to his undertaking, had not all those excel- lent (|ualities been counterbalanced by too haughty a behavior, which sometimes made him insupportable, and by a rigidness towards those that were under his command, which at last drew on him implacable hatred, and was the occasion of his death. Tlio shot which had killed M. de la Salle was also a signal of the munlcr to the assassins for them to draw near. They all repaired to the i)laco where the wretched dead corpse lay, which they barbarous- ly stripped to the shirt, and vented their malice in vile and opprobri- ous language. The surgeon, Liotot, said several times in scorn and derision, " There thou licst, great bassa, there thou liest." In conclu- sion, they dragged it naked among the bushes, and left it exposed to the ravenous wild beasts. So far was it from what a certain author writes, of their having buried him, and set up a cross on his grave. When those murderers had satiated their rage, they set out to come to us at our camp, with the dried llcsh which they had caused to be brought over the river by the Indians, who had been spectators of the murder, and of all the inhuman actions that had been com- mitted, with amazement and contempt of us. When they were come to the camp they found MIM. Cavelier, the one brother, the other nephew, to the murdered commander, whom Father Anastasius ac- quainted with the dismal end of our chief, and enjoined them silence, which it is easy to imagine was very hard upon them ; but it was absolutely necessary. However, jNI. Cavelier, the priest, could not forbear telling them, that if they would do the same by him he would forgive them his murder, and only desired them to give him a quarter of an hour to prepare himself. They answered, they had nothing to say to him ; that what they had done was the clFect of despair, to be revenged for the ill usage they had received. I was absent at that time ; he thoy called Larchevcque, who, as I have said, was one of the conspirators, had some kindness fur me, and knowing they designed to make me away too, if I stood upon my defence, he parted from them, to give me notice of their mis- chievous resolution. He found me on a little rising ground, where I was looking uj)on our horses as they grazed in a little adjacent hot- JOUTEI, S IIISTOUICAI. JOURNAL. 115 torn. Ilis intelligence struck nie to the heart, not knowing wiictlier I should fly or stay ; but at length, having neither powder, nor shot, nor arms, and the said Larcheveque giving me assurances of my life, provided I was quiet and said nothing, I committed myself to God's protection, and went to them, without taking any notice of what had been done. Duhaut, puffed up with his new gotten authority, procured him by his villainy, as soon as he saw nif cried out, " Every man ought to command in his turn ;" to which I made no answer ; and we were all of us obliged to stifle our resentment, that it might not appear, for our lives depended on it. However, it was easy to judge with what eyes Father Anastasius, MM. Cavclier, and I, beheld these murder- ers, to whom we expected every moment to fall sacrifices. It is true we dissembled so well that they were not very suspicious of us, and that the tem[)tation we were under of making them away in revenge for those they had murdered would have easily prevailed and been put in execution, had not IM. Cavclier, the priest, always positively opposed it, alleging that we ought to leave vengeance to God. However, the murderers seized upon all the eflects, whhout any opposition, and then we began to talk of proceeding on our journey. "We decani jed the 2lst, with our Indians, and marched with such a heavy rain, that we were obliged to halt on the bank of a great stream, where one of the liativcs that had left us arrived with his wife. We went on the 22d and 23d, and passed the river where Fathtr Anastasius, M. Cavclier, and I, who could not swim, had been crowned but that the natives assisted and saved us. The 24th, we weiit on through a marshy country, never quitting a small path which led to the village of the Cenis, till the 28th, when wc rested on the bank of a river of the same name, though about ten leagues distant from the village. We had hoped to ford that river, as M. dc la Salle had done, when he returned from that country ; but it was so swollen that there was no doing it, and we were forced to make a canoe of bullocks' hides. AVhilst we were employed at that work, the Indians swam over and went to "ive notice to the Cenis of our arrival. We found the country pleasant enough about that river, though the land did not seem to be any of the best ; but still it was delight- ful to the eye, well planted with fine trees of several sorts, among which is one that M. de la Salle had named Copal, being very beau- tiful, the leaves of it between those of the maple and the lime trees in resemblance, and from it comes a gum of a very agreeable scent. 11 • i ' li HP i ^''■M m iiii; ,* > rl 'i < i] in thoy bull their (lesh or routs, or sagumise, vviiicli, as has i)iscribe that ceremony, which, after being performed in the cottages of the chief men, was repeated in ours. In the first place, the cottage was made very clean, adorned, and abundance of mats laid on the floor, on which the elders and the most considerable persons sat ; after which, one of them, who is in the nature of an orator, or master of the ceremonies, stood up and made a speech, of which wc understood not a word. Soon after that dis- course was ended, the warriors arrived, who had slain any in battle, marching in their proper order, each of them carrying a bow and two arrows, and before every one of them went his wife, carrying the enemy's head of hair. Two little boys, whose lives they had spared, as has been said before, one of them who was wounded, be- ing on horseback, closed the j)rocession ; at the head whereof was a woman, carrying a large reed or cane in her hand. As they came up to the orator, the warrior took the head of hair his wife had brought, and presented it to him, which the said orator received with both his hands, and after having held it out towards the four quarters of the world, he laid it down on the ground, and then took the next, performing the same ceremony, till he had gone over them all. When the ceremony was ended, they served up the sngamite, in the nature of hasty pudding, which those women had provided, and before any one touched it, the master of the ceremonies took some in a vessel, which he carried as an oflering to those heads of hair. Then he lighted a pipe of tobacco, and blew the smoke upon them. That being performed, they all fell to the meat. Bits of the woman that had been sacrificed were served up to the two boys of her na- tion. They also served up dried tongues of their enemies, and the whole concluded with dancing and singing after their manner. Af- 12 I; I N-- 10^ lltrtTORICAI. COM.IXTIONS OF I.UUIHIANA. tor whicli, they woiif to othor cottages to rcpont tl)« sanic core- nioiiy. 'I'liero was no talk of our design till tlioso rejoicings were over, unil 1 l)('guti to conceive good hopes nf our success. The two mur- derers, Teissier unit Larchcve(|uc, who hud both a hand in the death of M. do la Salle, had promised to go along with us, provided M. Cav(dier would |tar(lon llieni, and he had given them his word so to do. In this exix-ctation we continued till the 'jrMli, when our French- men who had been at the war, repaired to our cottage, and we con- suited about our business. Iliens an encamped on the hank of the river we had left not long before ; lay there that night, and the next day cut down trees to mak(> a sort of bridge of planks to pass over it ; handing over our goods from one to another, and swinnning over our horses; which work we were frequently obliged to repeat, and as often as we had afterwards occasion to pass rivers on our way, which we held on till the 2dlh, every day meeting with some cottage, and at last, a hamlet or village, into which we went, and the Indian in- habitants told us they were called Nahordikiie, and that they were allies to the Cenis. We bartered with them for some provisions, and their chief ofTered to go with us as far as the Assonys, who were not farther olF than about three leagues, which ho accordingly did ; but it happening to rain when we came thither, and the Assonys having had no notice beforehand, we found but indiflerent reception. However, we were conducted to the chief's cottage ; the elders had notice given them, they resorted thither, and when our horses were unloaded, and our goods placed in a corner of the cottage, which the chief had allotted us, we gave them to understand, that our intention was to go further, to fetch commodities to trade with them, at which they were pleased. They gave us to eat, and the elders stayed some part of the evening with us, which made us somewhat uneasy, and 'I I'll 1 ¥ ill 1/ ■ IPi iMii f .1 i: i; if! •ii! 164 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIAN.A. obliged us to be upon our guard ; however, the night passed witliout any disturbance. The next morning the elders came to us again. They had pro- vided mats witliout tiie cottage, and made signs to us to j^j thither and sit down upon them, as we did, leaving two of our company to guard the baggage. VVe repeated to them what we had said the night before, and made them some presents of axes, knives, strings of beads and rings. They signified they were sorry we would go away, and endeavored the best they could to make us sensible of the same obstacles the others had signified to us ; but it was all in vain ; how- ever, we stayed till the first of, June, all the while bartering and gathering the best stock of provisions we could. The second, we removed from that cottage, whore we had some jealousy, and went to another, a quarter of a league from it, where the chief of it gave us a very good reception. An old woman, who was either his mother or governess of the cottage, took particular care of us. VVe were first served at eating, and to keep her in that good mind, we now and then made her some little presents, whilst sli- by her care and kindness, spared our provisions, which were ne- cessary for our journey. A continual rain obliged us to stay there till the 13th. During our stay the natives made several feasts, to which we were always invited ; and at length the rain ceasing we resolved to set out, notwithstand- ing all M. Cavelier and the priest's apprehensions, which we surmount- ed, and dl"ected our course towards tlie N. E. with two Indians, who were to conduct us only a small way, and who accordingly soon left us, whatsoever promises we could make them. Tiiey departed to return home, promising they would come to us again. VVe encamp- ed that night on the bank of a rivulet. The 14th and 15th, we held on our way, frequently meeting with sloughs, which very much fatigued us, because we were obliged to unload our horses for them to pass, and prevent their sticking in the mire and fat soil, whence we could not have drawn them out, and consequently we were fain to carry all our luggage on our own backs. Whilst we halted about noon that our horses might graze, as was usually done by us, Ave discovered our two Assony Indians returning towards us, at which we were much rejoiced, because they had a better notion than ourselves of the way we were to go. VVe made them eat and smoke, and then set out again. :!i JOUTEI/S HISTORirAI- JOt'RWT,, 105 • own The IGth, we came to a groat river, which we passeil as we liad done tlie first, and after that met with very had ways. The 17th, one of our company being indisposed, we could not sot out till noon, and held on till the lilst, crossing several sloughs and rivers, and then one of our Indians being out of order, it obliged us to st.-'.y on the bank of a river we had passed. The other Indian, seeing his comrade sick, wont a hunting, and brought a wild goat; for there are many in that country. The Indians have the art of dressing the heads of those creatures, which they put upon their own, and imitate them so exactly, that they can come very near to them, and then seldom fail of killing. The same method they use for turkeys and other wild fowl, ond so draw them close to themselves. The 2'2d, our Indian being somewhat recovered, we decamped, and proceeded along abetter way and j)leasanter country than that we had left behind, and as we inquired the best we could of those our In- dians concerning the neighboring nations and those we were going towards, among others they named to us, that they called Cappa. M. Cavelicr told us he remembered he had heard his late brother, M. de la Salle, name that nation, and say that he had seen it as he went from Canada towards the Mississippi. This put us in hopes that wo should succeed in our discovery. The 23d, beinir near a villace we had been in search of one of our Indians went before to give notice of our arrival. lit the mean- time we crossed most lovely plains and meadows, bordered with fme groves of beautiful trees, where the grass was so high that it hin- dered our horses going, and we were obliged to clear the passage for (hen^ When we were within half a league of the vi'Uige, we saw an Indian mounted on a large grey mare, coming alon^- with our native to meet us, and were told that horseman was tiic chief of the vil- lage, attended by some others of the same place. As soon as that chief came up to us ho expressed very much kindness and affection ; we gave him to understand that we did nobody any harm, unless we were first attacked. Then we made him smoke, and when that was done he made signs to us to follow him, which we did ^ill we came to the bank of a river, wliere he atiain desired us to stav whilst he went to "ive notice to the elders. Soon after a .lumber of them came, and having joined iis, sigiii- fied that they were come to carry us to their villairo. Our Indians made signs that it was the custom of the country, and we must sub. niit and let them do as thev thonorht fit. I'hoiifrh we were much out 11 r!'l m I ^' 1 Ml M ■ ! ■ 1G6 HISTOUICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. 1 \i 1 \J ■;1 1 ,■ |. 1. of countenance at that ceremony, seven of the prime men among tlieni would have us mount on their backs or slioulders. M. Cave- lier, being our ciiief, mounted first, and tlien the rest did the same. As fur my own part, being of a pretty large size, and loaded with clotlies, a firelock, a case of pistols, powder, and ball, a kettle, and other implements, tliere is no doubt but I n ade a sufficient burden for him that carried me, and because 1 was taller than he and my feet would have hung upon the ground, two other Indians held them up for me J so that I had three to carry me. Other Indians took hold of our horses to lead tliem, and in tiiat ridiculous equipage wo arrived at the village. Our carriers, who had gone a long quarter of a league, had need enough to rest, and we to be set down, that wo might laugh in private, for it behoved us to take care not to do it before them. As soon as we were come to the ciiief's cottage, where we found above two hundred persons who were come tJ see us, and that our horses were unloaded, the elders gave us to understand that it was their custom to wash strangers at their first coming ; but that we be- ing clad, they would only wash our faces ; which one of those elders did with fair water they had in a sort of earthen vessel, and he only washed our forehead. After this second ceremony, the chief made signs to us to sit down on a sort of little scatlbld raised about four feet above the ground,, and made of wood and cane", whero, when wo were placed, the chiefs of the villages, being four in number, came and made speeches to us one after another. We listened to them witii i)atience, though we understood not one word of what they said to us; being tired with the length of their harangues, and mucli more witli the violent heat of the sun, which was just over our heads. When the speeches were ended, the purport whereof, as near as we could guess, was only to assure us that we were very welcome, we gave them to imderstand that we were going into our own country, designing to return speedily, to bring tiiem several sorts of commo- dities and such tilings as they should stand in need of. Next, wo niuiie them the usual presents of axes, knives, strings of beads, needles, and jiins, for tiieir wives, telling tliem, that wiicn we returned we would j^ive them more. We farther signified to them that if they would afibrd us some corn or meal we would give them otiier things in exchange, w liich they agreed to. After this they made us eat sagamite, or hasty- pudding, bread, beans, pumpkins, and otlier things, wliicli we iuid In' ^1 some \\ liich JOLTEI, S IltriTORICAL JOURNAI,. 1()7 sufficient need of, most of us liaving scarce eaten anytliing all tliat day, some for want, and others out of devotion, as M. Cavclier, who would observe the fast of St. John Baptist's Eve, whose name he bore. It is to be observed tliat the pumpkins are incomparably bet- ter there than with us. The 24th, tiie elders met ajtain in our cotfaii-o. We jjavc them to understand they would oblige us in furnishing guides to conduct us to the village of Cappa, which was in our way ; but instead of granting it, they earnestly entreated us to stay with them, and go to the wars against their enemies, having been told wonders of our (Ire- locks, wiiich we promised to do wiien we returned, and that it should be shortly, and they seemed to rest satisfied. Thus our hopes increased, but the joy it occasioned was allayed by a dismal accident that befel us. IM. de Marie, one of the prime men of our company, having breakfasted, would needs go bathe him- self in the river we had passed the day before, and not knowinjj how to swim, he went too far and stepped into a hole, wlit ncc he could not recover himself, but was unfortunately drowned. Young M. Cavclier having been told that M. dc Mario was going to bathe innv self, ran after him, and coming to the river, saw he was drowning, he ran back to acquaint us. We hasted thither with a number of Indians, who were there before us, but all too late ; some of them dived, and brought him up dead from the bottom of the water. We carried him to the cottage, shedding many tears; tlic Indians bore part in our sorrow, and we paid him the last duties, oflcring u]) the usual prayers, after which he was buried in a small field behind the cottage ; and, whereas, during that doleful ceremony, we prayed, reading in our books, particularly M. Cavelier, the priest and Father Anastasius, the Indians gazed on us with amazeuK'nt, because we talked, looking upon the leaves, and we endeavored to give them to understand that we prayed to God for the dead man. pointing up to heaven. We must do this right to those good people, as to declare, that they expressed singular humanity upon that doleful accident, as appeared by the sensible testimony of their actions, and all the methods they used to let us understand how great a share they bore in our sorrow ; which we should not have found in several parts of Europe. During our short stay in that place, we observed a ceremony that was performed by the chiefs wife, viz. : that every morning she went to M. de IMarle's grave, and carried a little basket of parched ',}: i! <:.| ■1' I ■f %^ I' f P^W IGS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 01' LOUISIANA. ears of corn to lay on it, the moaning whereof we could not under- stand. Before our departure, we were informed that the villages belonging to our hosts, being four in number, all allied together, were called Assony, Nathosos, Naciiitos, and Cadodaquio. On the 27th, having been informed by the natives that we should find canoes to pass a river that was on our way, Father Anastasius and 1 went to see whether what they told us was true. We found that river was a brancli of the same we had already passed, the cliannel of it being pleasant and navigable, and sav/ some canoes, in one of wiiich the Indians carried us over to the other side, whither we went to sec what convenient place there was for our horses to come ashore. We found a very proper place, and, returning, made our report to M. Cavelier, who being then mucli out of order, with pains in his feet, we were obliged to stay there till the 30tii. During that time we were frequently visited by the Indians, both old and young, and of both sexes, and even tlie chiefs of the nation, called .Faniciuo, canu) to sec us, and with them we often conversed in dumb show ; and every evening the women, attended by the warriors, vvitli tlieir bows and arrows, resorted to our cottage to sing a doleful sort of song, shedding tears at the same time. This would have given us some uneasiness, had we not before seen the same cere- mony, and been informed that tliose women repair in that manner to the chief's cottage to entreat him, singing and weeping, to take revenge on those wiio have killed their husbands or relations, in former wars, as 1 have observed before. In all other respects, the manners and customs of tiiis nation being much the same as those of the Cenis, 1 shall add no more concerning them. ■ The ^iitii, at night, we gave notice to the chief that we would set out the next day ; we made him some presents in particular, and the like to his wite, because she had taken special care of us, and de- parted on the 30th. Tlie chief, attended by many otiier Indians wiKn.. we found in tlie cottages on our way, went to conduct us as far as the river, wlii"h we crossed in canoes, and swam over our horses. There we took leave of our conductors, to whom we gave some strings of Ijeads lor their wives, ami their chief would needs conduct us to tlie next village. By the way we came to a cottage, where our guide made us halt, and there they gave us to cat. Then we held on our journey to a village called Cadodaquio, and were conducted to the chief 's cottage, who received us courteously, being a friend to him tliat went with us. It was requisite to unload our horses to lie there, and we JOUTELS IIISTORIC.M. JOL'UNAL. 1(59 signified to the cliicf that \vc stood in need of j)rovisions. lie spoke to the women, who brought us some meal, wliich wc purchased with strings of beads, and the chief, who conducted us thitiier, took his leave. Having no design to stay there any time, wc had desin.d tlie cliief to appoint some person to guide us to tlie village calh'd Cahainihoua, which was in our way. It haj)pcned by good fortune that there were then in that place some men and women of the said village, who were come to fetch some wood fit to make bows, there being plenty of that sort of trees they make them of, about the village we were in. We signified our design to them, and they gave us to un- derstand they would be glad to bear us comi)any. In the conversa- tion we had with them, they made us comprehend that they iiad seen pco])L like us, who had firelocks and a house, and that they were acquainted with the Cappas, which w as very pleasing to us. Be- cause they were not to depart till two days after, we resolved to stay for them. We observed, that there was a dificrcncc between the language of those people anil the inhabitants of the village we were in from that of tlieCenis,and that they had some peculiar ceremonies, one w hereof is, that when the women have their terms, they leave the company of their husbands and withdraw into other cottJ gcs appointed for that purpose, which no person is to come near, upon pain of being reputed unclean. Those women have their faces still more disfigured than the others we had seen before ; for they make several stn aks or scores on them, whereas the others had but one. They adorn themselves with little locks of line red hair, which they make fast to llieir cars, in the nature of pendants. In other respects they are not disagree- able, and neither women nor maids arc so ill-natured as to make their lovers pine for them. They are not diillcult of access, and they soon make a return for a small present. The men wear their hair short, like our capucins ; they anoint it with a sort of oil or grease, and curl it like snails, afier which they strew on it a sort of down or lint, dyed red, as wc do jiowder, wiiieli is done w hen they design to be very fine, in order to appear in their assemblies. They are very fond of their children, and all the way of chastising them they use is to throw water at them, without ever beating or crivinK them ill words. The Indians that were of the village of Cohainilioua and to eon- duct us thither, not being ready to set out on Wednesday, the 2d of ^ ''I 170 lUSTOUICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. hf:J> ! I I July, as tlicy Iiad promised, a young Indian ofTered himself, saying, lie would conduct us safe tliitlier, and we set out with him, still di- recting our course towards the N.E. We kept close along the same river we had crossed, and found it very j)leasant and navigable, the hanks of it covered witii fine trees of several sorts. VVc had not travelled ahove a league, hefore our guide gave us to understand, that he had forgotten a piece of hard dried skin he had to mauc limi sli0( ■s, which he would jjo fetch and return to us. po uitniG to us with his hand which way we were to go, and telling us we sliould soon come to a river. This sudden change in the Ind ihat Ai ho was somew wever, we held on our way, ising, and and very much perplexeu us ; however, we held on our way, and soon came to the river he had mentioned to us, which was very pleasant and deep. We crossed it the next day, on a sort of float, wiiicli we made with uiucli toil and labor, and our horses swam over. Some time after we were passed, we saw the Indians coming, who had promised to bear us company, and were glad to find our float, to cross the same river, as they did, and proceeded on our journey all together. Tiie 4tli, .'3th and Glh, wo did the same, crossing a very fine country, but watered by many brooks, streams and rivers. Wc found abundance of wild goats, tui'keys and other wild-fowl, whereof our Indians killed many. On the Gtii, whilst we halted on the bank of a river to eat, we heard the tinkling of some small bells ; which making us look about, we spied an Indian with a naked sword-blade in his hand, adorned with featliers of several colors, and two large hawks' bells, that occasioned tlie noise wc had heard. He made signs for us to come to him, and gave us to understand, that he was sent by the ciders of the village, whither we were going, to meet us, caressing us aflci an extraordinary manner. I observed ''.lat it was a Spanish blade ho had, and that he took pleasure in ring- ing the hawks' bells. Having travelled about half a league with him, we discovered a dozen of other Indians coming towards us, w ho made very much of and conducted us to the village, to the chief's cottage, where we found dried bear-skins laid on the ground, and they made us sit on them, where we were treated with eatables, as were the elders after us, and a tlirong of women came to see us. The Till, tlie ciders came to trive us a visit, liriiiijinsf us two bullocks' hides, four otters' skins, one white wiklyoat's skin, all of th fol afl Tf no| sts en -1. -,t ■W JOUTEI. S IllSToniCAI. JOURXAL. 171 thorn well (Irird, aiul four bows, in return for tlie prosciit we had he- fore made thfiii. The chief and another came again some time after, bringing two loaves, the finest and the best we had yet seen. They looked as if tiiey had been baked in an oven, and yet wo liad not observed that there were ovens among any of tiiom. That chief stayed with us some iiours ; he seemed to be very ingenious and dis- creet, and easily understood our signs, which were most of the lan- guage we had. Having ordered a little boy to bring us all we had occasion for, he withdrew. Towards the evening, we were entertained with a ceremony we had not seen before. A company of elders, attended by some young men and women, came to our cottage in a body, singing as loud as they could roar. The foremost of them had a calumet, so they call a very long sort of tobacco-pipe, adorned with several sorts of feathers. When they had sung a whilo, before our cottage, they entered it, still singing on for about a quarter of an hour. After that, they took M. Cavelier the priest, as being our chief, led him in solemn manner out of the cottage, supporting him imdor the arms. When they were come to a place they had prepared, one of them laiil a great handful of grass on his feet, two others brought fair water in an earthen dish, with which they washed his face, and then made him sit down on a skin, provided for that purpose. When M. Cavelier was seated, the elders took their places, sitting round about him, and the master of the ceremonies fixed in the ground two little wooden forks, and having laid a stick across thein, all being painted red, he placed on them a bullock's hide dried, a goat's skin over that, and then laid the pipe thereon. Tiie song was begun again, the women mixing in the chorus, ano the concert was heightened by great hollow calabashes or gourds, in which there were large gravel stones, to make a noise, the Indians striking on them by measure, to answer the tone of the choir ; and tlie pleasantes' ))' all was. that one of the Indians placed himself behind M. Cavelier to hold him up, whilst at the same time he shook an lionnr'd as our cliief, i'm- l»in'' IjrotlitT to liini who had been so. Wo wero iiif()rnied by thetn, tli;it tliey had \>rr\\ six, sent liy M. Tonty, when ho roturned fVoni the voyage he had nuidi' down the CoIi)ert or Mississippi river, pursuant to tlie orders sent liiin hy tlic late M. do la Salle, at his di^pirturo from I'ranee. imd that the said Sieur Tonty had connnanded them to buihl the afiresuid house. That having never since received any news from the said M. de la Salle, four of them were gone haeh to M. Tonty. at the loit of the Illinois. In conclusion, it was agreed among us to go away as soon as pos- sihle, towards tho Illinois, and conceal from the Indians tiie deutii of M. de la Salle, to keep them still in awe and under sulMiiis>ion, whilst we went away with llu; first ships that should happen to sail from Canada for France, to give an account at court of what had haitpened, and to procure succors. In the meantime the chief of the Indians came to invite us to eat. W'c found mats laid on the grc^ <\ for us to sit on, and all the village met to see us. We gave them to understand, that we came from M. de la Salle, who had made a settlement on the Bay of .M".\ico ; that we had passed through many nations, which we named, and that we were going to Canada for commodities, and would return down the river ; that we would bring men to defend them against their enemies, and then settle among thein ; that the nations we had passed through had appointed men to guide us, and we desired the same favor of them, with some canoes and provisions, and that we would reward our guides and pay for what they furnished us. The convonicncy of an interpreter, we then had, gave us the opportunity of making ourselves be easily understood, and the chief answered to our proposals, that lie would send men to the other vil- lages to acquaint them with our demands, and to consult with them what was to be done in that case ; that as for the rest, they were amazed at our having passed through so many nations, without hav- ing been detained, or killed, considering what a small number we were. When the discourse was ended, that chief caused meat to be .set before us, as dried flesh, bread made of Indian corn of several sorts, and watermelons ; after which he made us smoke, and then we l« '. ' w ?V^ 7 Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ iV ^^ ^\^^ ^> - t^ o^ ■-<^.*'- 17G inSTOniCAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. I^i returned to our liouse, wliere being cased of all those impediments, wo (fave eacli other an account of our alfairs, at leisure, and were infi)i-in''d that those people impatiently expected the return of M. dc la Salle, which coniirnied us in the resolution of concealing his death. We ohserved the situation of that post, and were made acquainted with the nature of the country and tlie manners of those people, of whieli I shall give the following remarks. The liouse we were then in, was built of pieces of cedar laid one upon another, and rounded away at the corners. It is seated on a small eminence, half a nmsket-shot from tiie village, in a country abounding in all things. The plains lying on one .side of it are stored with beeves, wild goats, deer, turkeys, bustards, swans, teal and other game. 'i'he trees produce [)lcnty of fruit, and very good, as peaches, plums, mulberries, grapes and walnuts. They have a sort of fruit they call piaguimina, not unlike our medlars, but much better and more delicious. Such as live near the rivers, as tiiat house is, do not want fi)r fish of all sorts, and they have Indian wheat, whereof they make good bread. There are also fine plains diversified with several .sorts of trees, as I have said before. The nation of the Accanceas consists of four villages. The first is called Otsotchove, near which we wore ; the second Toriman, both of them seated on the river ; the third Tonginga, and the fourth Cappa, on the hank of the Mississippi. These villages arc built after a dillereiit maimer from the others we had seen before, in this point, that the cottages which are alike as to their materials and rounding at the top, are long, and covered with the bark of trees, and so very large that several of them can hold two hundred persons, belonging to several families. The people are not so neat as the Cenis, or the Assonis, in their houses, for some of them lie on the ground, without anything under them but some mats or a dressed hide. However, some of them have more conveniences, but the generality has not. All their moveables consist in some earthen vessels and oval wooden j)latters, which are neatly made, and with which they drive a trade. They are generally very well shaped and active ; the women are handsome, or at least have a much better presence than those of the other villages wo passed through before. Tluy make canoes all of one piece, which are well wrought. As for themselves they are very faithful, good-natured, and warriors, like the rest. Tiie 25th, the elders being assembled came to see us, and told the J0UTKL8 HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 177 Sieur Couture, tliat tlioy designed to sing and dance tlie caUunet, or pipe ; because tlie otiiers had sung it, some uf tliem to the late M. de la Salle, and the rest to M. Tonty, and therefore it was but reasonable they should do the same to get a firelock, as well as the otheis. M. Cavelier was informed of it, and it was requisite to consent to it to please those Indians, because we stood in need of them. The ceremony began with M. Cavelier, who was led under the arms and seated on a hide without the cottage. The forks, the skins laid on it in honor of the pipe, the singing as loud as they could roar, both by men and women, and all the other ceremonies were observed, as I have mentioned them before ; so that IVI. Cavelier being weary of them, he caused the chief to be told that he was out of order, and desired his nephew might be put in his place, which was done ac- cordingly, and they spent the whole night in singi.ig. In the morn- ing they performed some other ceremonies not worth relating. The solemnity being ended by every man's smoking of the pipe, the Indians took it, with some bullocks' hides, and goats' and otters' skins, and a collar made of shells, all which they carried to our house, and we gave them a firelock, two axes, six knives, one hun- dred charges of powder, as much ball, and some strings of beads for their wives. The chief having given notice of our coming to the other villages, their deputies came to see us ; we entertained them in the house, and proposed to them our designs, as had been done to the chief. They stood considering a while, then held a sort of con- sultation among themselves, which held n"t long without talking, and then agreed to grant us what we asked, which was a canoe and a man of each village to conduct us, upon the promised consideration, and so they went away to the cottage of the chief of the village. The 27th, the chief and the elders met again to consult about what we demanded of them ; the length of the journey made them apprehensive for those who were to conduct us ; but at length we having dispelled their fears by our arguments, and they having again deliberated some time, agreed to our request. We again made them a present, promising a good reward to our guides, and so we prepared to set forwards. Little Bartholomew, the Parisian, having intimated to us that he would willingly stay in that house, because he was none of the ablest of body, we recommended him to the Sieur Cou- ture. We desired those that remained there to keep the secret of M. de la Salle's death, promised to send them relief, left them our horses, which were of great use to go a hunting, and gave the i fifteen or si.vteen pounds of powder, eight hundred balls, three hundred flints, 13 W t ■ I 'I 178 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISilANA. IM m twenty-six knives, and ten axes, two or three pounds weight of beads; M. Cavelicr left them part of his linen, hoping we should soon ho in a place where we should get more ; and all of them hav- ing made their peace with Clod, by means of the sacrament of penance, wc took leave of them, excepting the Sieur Couture, who went to conduct us a part of the way. We embarked on a canoe belonging to one of the chiefs, being at least twenty persons, as well women as men, and arrived safe, with- out any trouble, at a village called Toriman, for we were going down the river. We proposed it to these people, or rather demanded it of them to confirm what had been granted us by the others, and they referred giving us their answer till the next day ; for they do nothing without consulting about it, and we having brought a sack of Indian wheat from the Frenchmen's house, desired the chief to cause women to pound it, for which we would give them something. Immediately he made a sign to his ofBoers to go call them, and they went as readily. There were seven or eight of those officers always about him, stark-naked, and besmeared, some after one fashion and others after another. Each of them had three or four calabashes, or gourds, hanging at a leather girdle about their waists, in which there were several pebbles, and behind them hung a horse's tail, so that when they ran the gourds made a rattling noise, and the tail being borne up by the wind, stood out at its full length, so that nothing could be seen more ridiculous ; but it behooved us to take heed of showing the least smile. The remaining part of the day was spent in going with Sieur Cou- ture to see the fatal river so much sought after by us, called Colbert, when first discovered, and Mississippi, or Mechassippi, by the natives that were near us. It is a very fine river, and deep ; the breadth of it about a quarter of a league, and the stream very rapid. The Sieur Couture assured us that it has two branches or channels which parted from each other above us, and that we had passed its other branch when we came to the first village of the Accanceas, with which nation we still were. The 28th, the chief and the elders being assembled, they granted our requests. We were to part, in order to be entertained in several places, where we took notice of some particular ceremonies, which we had not seen among the other nations. One of them is, that they serve up their meat in two or four large dishes, which are first set down before the two principal guests, who are at one end, and when JOUTELS IIISTOrMCAL JOURNAL. 179 ir Cou- :olbert, natives adth of The which other , with ranted leveral which U they *st set when they have eaten a little, those dishes are shoved down lower, and others arc served up in their place, in the same manner ; so that the first dislies are served at the upper end, and thrust down lower as others come in. He who treats does not sit down with the company, nor does he eat, but performs the part of a steward, taking care of the dressing and of the placing of the moat served up ; and to the end he may appear the finer, he never fails to besmear himself with clay, or some red or black coloring they make use of. The 29th wo set out from that village, and embarked on two ca- noes to cross the Mississippi. The chief and about a score of young folks bore us company to the next village, called Tonningua, seated on the bank of that river, where we were received in the chief's cot- tage, as we had been in the others. The elders treated us in their turns, and the descriptions before given will serve for this place, there being but little difference between them and their neighbors. The 30th, we set out for Cappa, the last village of the Accanccas, eight leagues distant from the place we had left. We were obliged to cross the river Mississippi several times in this way ; because it winds very much, and we had some foul weather, which made it late before we could reach Cappa. A great number of youths came to nneet us ; some of them conducted us to the chief's cottage, and others took care of our baggage, which was restored to us very ho- nestly. We found the elders waiting for us ; a great fire was kin- dled to dry us, and the cottage was lighted by several burning reeds, which they make use of instead of flambeaux ; after which we were served as in other places. The 31st, we received visits from the elders. Their discourse ran upon the war they designed to make, thinking to engage us in it, and we returned the same answer as we had done to the others, that we should soon return with all things we stood in need of. We asked a man of them, which was granted, and the day ended in feasting. We would willingly have set out the first of August; but the chief came and told us it could not be, because the women had not pound- ed our corn, which, however, was done ; but they made use of that pretence to oblige us to stay, and to have leisure to give us some di- version, after their manner. Accordingly, about ten in the morning, the warriors and youth came together to dance. They were dressed after their best manner, some of them wearing plumes of several colors, wherewith they adorn their heads ; others, instead of feathers, had two bullocks' horns, and were all besmeared with clay, or black I < ■ lii 1 tl!i i\'H ■il ;, ■■ ki ^ll Ms 180 iriSTOniCAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. and red, so that they really looked like a company of devils or mon- sters, and in those figures they danced as I have described it, speak- ing of the other nations. The 2d, we made ready to be going. The Indian given by the first village for our guide, would not go any farther. A man, said to be a hermaphrodite, offered to supply liis place, saying he was wil- ling to go to the Illinois. We trok leave of the Sieur Couture, to whom M. Cavelier made an exhortation, encouraging him to perse- vere and have patience, in hopes of the relief we would send him, and so we embarked on the Mississippi in a canoe, being nine in num- ber, that is, five of us, and the four Indians that were our guides. We were obliged to cross that river very often, and no less frequent- ly to carry our canoe and goods, as well on account of the rapidity of the river, and to find it slacker on the one or the other side of it, which was very troublesome to our guides, as because of the little islands we met with, which are formed by the impetuous beating of the water upon the banks, that oppose its course, where the channels happen not to lie straight ; there it washes away the earth, and bears down great trees, which in process of time form little islands, that divide the channel. At night we encamped on one of those small islands, for our greater safety, for we were then come into an ene- my's nation, called Machigamea, which put our Indians into great fright. It is certain our toil was very great, for we were obliged to row in the canoe, to help our Indians to stem the current of the river, be- cause we were going up, and it was very strong and rapid ; we wore often necessitated to land, and sometimes to travel over miry lands, where we sunk up halfway the leg; other times over burning sands, which scorched our feet, having no shoes, or else over splinters of wood, which ran into the soles of our feet, and when we were conic to the resting place, we were to provide fuel to dress our meat, and provide all things for our Indians, who would not have done so much as go fetch a cup of water, though we were on the bank of the river, and yet we wore happy enough in having them. We proceeded on, continually undergoing the same toil, till the 7th, when we saw the first bullock we had met on our way since our coming among the Accanceas. The Indians, who had a great mind to eat flesh, made a sign to me, to go kill it. I pursued and shot, but it did not fall ; the Indians ran after, killed, and came to tell us it must be parched, or dried, which was accordingly done. I '■ JOUTEI-a HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 181 ^ 11 row in must here take notice of a ceremony our Indians performed when they came near the bullock, before they flayed it. In the first place they adorned his Iiead with sonic swnn's and bus- tard's down, dyed red, and put some tobacco into liis nostrils, and between the clefts of the hoofs. When they had Hayed him, they cut out the tongue and put a bit of tobacco into its place ; then they stuck two wooden forks into tiie ground, laid a stick across them, on which they placed several slices of the flesh, in the nature of an of- fering. The ceremony being ended, wo parched or dried the best parts of the beast, and proceeded on our journey. The Uth, we found the banks of the river very high, and the earth of them yellow, red and white, and thither the natives came to fur- nish themselves wilij it, to adorn their bodies on festival days. We held on our way till the l4tli, wiien we met a herd of bullocks, whereof we killed five, dried part of them, and proceeded till the 18lh. The lOtli, we came to the mouth of the river, called Ilouabache, said to come from the country of the Iroquois, towards New England. That is a very fine river, its water extraordinarily clear, and the cur- rent of it gentle. Our Indians ofiercd up to it, by way of sacrifice, some tobacco and beefsteaks, which they fixed on forks, and left them on the bank, to be disposed of as the river tliought fit. We observed some other superstitions among those poor people, one whereof was as follows. There were some certain days on which they fasted, and we knew them, when, as soon as they awaked, they besmeared their faces and arms, or other parts of their bodies, with a slimy sort of earth, or pounded charcoal ; for that day they did not eat till ten or eleven of the clock at night, and before they did eat they were to wipe ofl'that smearing, and had water brought them for that purpose. The occasion of their fasting was, as they gave us to understand, that they might have good success in hunting, and kill abundance of bullocks. We held on our way till the 25th, when the Indians showed us a spring of salt water, within a musket shot of us, and made us go ashore to view it. We observed the ground about it was much beaten by bullocks' feet, and it is likely they love that salt water. The country about was full of hillocks, covered with oaks and walnut trees, abundance of plum trees, almost all the plums red and pretty good, besides great store of other sorts of fruits, whose names we know not, and among them one shaped like a middling I'M m 182 IMSrORICAI. COLLECTIONS OF I.OUIflr.AN'A. iiil pear, with stones in it as big as large beans. When ripe it peels like a peach ; tlje taste is indiflerent good, but rather of the sweetest. The 27th, having discovered a herd of beeves, we went ashore to kill some ; I shot a heifer, which was very good meat ; we put aboard the best of it, and held on our way till the evening, when we en camped on an island, where we observed an alteration in the humor and behavior of our Indians. This put us under some apprehension, and the more, for that he who was reckoned a hermaphrodite, told us they intended to leave us, which obliged us to secure our arms, and double our watch during the night, for fear they should forsake us. With that jealousy we proceeded on our journey the 28th and 29th, coasting along the foot of an upright rock, about si.xty or eighty feet high, round which the river glides. Held on the 30th and Hist, and the 1st of September passed by the mouth of a river called Missouri, whose water is always thick, and to which our Indians did not forget to offer sacrifice. The 2d, we arrived at the place where the figure is of the pre- tended monster spoken of by Tather Marquet. That monster con- sists of two scurvy figures drawn in red, on the flat side of a rock, about ten or twelve feet high, which wants very much of the extra- ordinary height that relation mentions. However, our Indians paid homage, by otFering sacrifice to that stone ; though we endeavored to give them to understand that the said rock had no manner of virtue, and that wo worshipped something above it, pointing up to heaven ; but it was to no purpose, and they made signs to us that they should die if they did not perform that duty. We proceeded, coasting along a chain of mountains, and at length, on the 3d, left the Missis- sippi, to enter the river of the Illinois. We found a great alteration in that river, as well with respect to its course, which is very gentle, as to the country about it, which is much more agreeable and beautiful than that about the great river, by reason of the many fine woods and variety of fruit its banks are adorned with. It was a very great comfort to us to find so much ease in going up that river, by reason of its gentle stream, so that we all stayed in the canoe and made much more way. Thus we went on till the 8th, without stopping any longer than to kill a bullock, and one of our Indians, who had a craving stomach, having eaten some of its suet hot and raw, was taken very ill, and died of it, as I shall mention in its place. JOUTEI< 8 HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 183 The 0th, \vc came into a lake, about half a Ii'a«,'Uo over, wliici) we crossed, and rcturmd into the cliannfl of the rivor, on the hanks whereof we found several marks of the nativts iiaving been cncainped there, when they came to fish and dry wliat they caught. Tiie lOlh, we crossed another lake, called Priniitehouy, nturned to the river, and the 11th, saw Indians before us, encanipHl on the bank of a river, whereupn wo stopped and made ready our arms. In the mcantinie, one of them came towards us by land, autl we put un our canoe towards him. VVhen that Indian was near, he stood gazing on us without speak, ing a word, and then drawing still nearer, we gave him to understand that we were sent by M. de la Salle, and came from him. Then ho made signs to us to advance towards his people, whom he went before to acquaint with what we had said to him, so that when we were come near theni they fired several shot to salute us, and we answered them with our firelocks. After that mutual salutation, they came into our canoe to signify they were glad to hear news of M. do la Salle. We asked them what nation they were of; they answered, they were Illinois, of a canton called Cascasquia. We inquired whether M. Tonty was at Fort Louis ; they gave us to understand that he was not, but that he was gone to the war against the Iroquois. They invited us ashore to go with them to eat of such as they had ; we thanked them, aiid they brought us some gourds and watermelons, in ex- change for which we gave them some parched flesh. We had not, by tiie way, taken notice of a canoe, in which was a man with two women, who, being af- : • of us, had hidden themselves among the reeds; but that man seeiii, ; stop among his countrymen, took heart, came to us, and having tolu us that lie belonged to a vil- lage near Fort Louis, we set out together, and one of our Indians went into that canoe to help them to shove, so thoy call the way of pushing on the canoe with poles instead of rowing. On Sunday, the 14th of September, about two in the afternoon, we came into the neighborhood of Fort Louis. Drawing near, we were met by some Indians that were on the bank, who having viewed us well, and understanding we came from M. de la Salle, and that we belonged tc him, ran to the fort to carry the news, and immediately we saw a Frenchman come out, with a company of Indians, who fired a vol- ley of several pieces, to salute us. Then the Frenchman drew near and desired us to come ashore, which we did, leaving only one in the canoe to take care of our baggage, for the Illinois are very sharp = 1 ''4 i I \ i 184 IHSTORIC.M, COLLECTIONS OP LOUIStANA. at carrying ofT unytliing tlicy can lay their liands on, and consc- (|Uontly notliing near so honest as the i>ntions wo had passed through. We all walked together towards tlio liirt, and fonnd three French- men coming to meet lis, and among them a clerk who had belonged to the lute M. do la Salle. They immediatcdy asked us where M. de la Salle was ; we told them he hud brought us part of the way, and left us at a place about forty leagues beyond the Ccnis, and that lie was then in good health. All that was true enough ; for M. Ca- velier and I, who were the persons that then spoke, were not present at M. de la Salle's death ; he was in good health when he left us, and I have told the reasons we had for concealing his death, till we came into France. It is no less true that Father Annstasins, and he they called Teissier, could have given a better account, the one as an eyewitness, and the other as one of the murderers, and they were both with us ; but to avoid lying, they said nothing. We farther told them we had orders to go over into France, to give an account of the discoveries made by RI. de la Salle, and to procure the sending of succors. At length we entered the fort, where we found and surprised several persons who did not expect us. All the French were under arms, and made several discharges to welcome us. M. de la Belle Fontaine, lieutenant to M. Tonty, was at the head of them, and complimented us. Then we were conducted to the chapel, where we returned thanks to (lod, from the bottom of our hearts, for having preserved and conducted us in safety ; after which we had our lodg- ings assigned us, M. Cavelier and Father Anastasius had one cham. bcr, and wo were put into the magazine or warehouse. All this while the natives came by intervals to fire their pieces, to express their joy for our return, and for the news we brought of M. de la Salle, which refreshed our sorrow for his misfortune, perceiving that his presence would have settled all things advantageously. The day after our arrival, one of the Indians who had conducted us, having been sick ever since he eat the raw beef suet I mentioned before, died, and his companions took away and buried him privately. We gave them the promised reward, and the part belonging to the dead man, to be delivered to his relations. They stayed some time in the fort, during the which we took extraordinary care of them, and at last they returned to their own homes. As far CT we could gather by half words dropped there by one or other at the fort, something had been done there prejudicial to the service of M. de la Salle, and against his authority, and therefore JOUTKI. f) mSTORICAI, JorUNAI.. 185 lam- this sonic (Iri-adod his return, hut more rsprcially a Jesuit was in groat constL'rnaliotJ. IIo was sicii ; M. Cavolior, I'allior Anastasius, mid I, wont to visit him. IIo incinired very partic iilarly of all |Hiiiits, and couM not concoal his troublo, which wo would not sconi to take notice of. Our design boing to make tlio host of our way to Canada, in order to sot out aljoard the first Fronch sliips that shouM sail for Franco, we inquired how wc were to |>roceod, and met with several dill'icul. tics. The navigation on that river was very dangerous by reason of the falls there are in it, which nuist be carefully avoided, unless a uian will run an inevitable hazard of perishing. There were ft.'W persons capable of managing that atlair, and the war with the Iro- quois made all men afraid. However, the Sieur Uoisrondet, clerk to the late M. do la Salle, havinji told us he had a canoe in which he designed to I'n down to Canada, wc prepared to make use of that opportunity. Care was taken to gather provisions for our voyage, to got furs to barter as wo passed by Micilimaquinay. The visits of two chiefs of nations, called Cascasquia I'eroueria and Cacahouanous, discovered by the late M. de la Salle, did not interrupt our affairs, and all things being got ready we took leave of those wc left in the fort- M. Cavelier wrote a letter for M. Tonty, which he left there to be delivered to him, and we repaired to the lake to embark. It would be needless to relate all the troubles and hardships we met with in that journey ; it was painful and fruitless, for having gone to the bank of the lake in very foul weather, after waiting there five days for that foul weather to cease, and after we had embarked, not- withstanding the storm, we were obliged to put ashore again, to re- turn to the place where we had embarked, and there to dig a hole in the earth to bury our baggage and provisions, to save the trouble of carrying them back to Fort Louis, whither we returned, and arrived there the 7th of October, where they were surprised to see us come back. Thus were we obliged to continue in that fort all the rest of autunm and part of the winter, to our great sorrow, and not so much for our own disappointment as for being, by that means, obstructed from sending succors as soon as we had expected, as well to the said fort as to those French of our own company, whom we had left on the coast of the Bay of Mexico. It was then the good season for shooting. Those gentlemen at the fort had secured two good Indian sportsmen, who never let us want -}. 11 INO IIISTOKICAI. rOI.I.ECriKNS OF I.OiriHIANA. t! for wild-fowl (tf ull sorts; besides wc had f,'ood broad, and as good fruit, and bud tbcro been ai)y tiling to drink besides water, we bad fared well. The b'isurc wc bad during our stay there, gavo nic an opportunity of making tho following remarks, aa well of my own observation, as what 1 learned of the French residing there. [•'ort Louis is in the country of tho Illinois, and seated on a steep rock, iibout two hundred ft et high, the river running at the bottom of it. It is unly ft^rtilied with stakes and palisades, and some bouses advancing to the edge of tho rock. It has a very spacious es|)lanadc, or pluee of arms. The place is naturally strong, and might bo made so by art, with little expense. Several of the natives live in it, in their huts. 1 cannot give an account of the latitude it stands in, for want of proper instruments to take an observation, but nothing can be pleasanler ; and it may be truly ailirmed, that the country of the Illinois enjoys all that can make it accomplished, not only as to orna- ment, but also for its plentiful production of all things requisite for the support of human life. The plain, which is watered by tho river, ivS beautified by two small hills, about half a league distant from the fort, and those bills are covered with groves of oaks, walnut-trees, and other sorts I have named elsewhere. Tho fields are full of grass, growing up very high. On the sides of the bills is found a gravelly sort of stone, very fit to make lime for building. There are also many clay-pits, fit for making of earthenware, bricks, and tiles ; and along the river there arc coal-pits, the coal whereof has been tried and found very good . There is no reason to question but that there are in this country- mines of all sorts of metals, and of the richest, the climate being the same as that of New Mexico. Wo saw several spots, where it ap- peared there were iron mines, and found some pieces of it on the bank of the river, which nature had cleansed. Travellers who have been at the upper part of the Mississippi, aflirm they liave found mines there, of very good lead. That country is one of the most temperate in the world, and con- sequently whatsoever is sown there, whether herbs, roots, Indian, and even European corn, thrives very- well, as has been tried by the Sieur Doisrondet, who sowed all sorts, and had a plentiful crop, and we cat of the bread, which was very good. And whereas we were assured, that there wore vines which run up, whose grapes are very good and delicious, growing along the river, it is reasonable to be- lieve, that if those vines were transplanted and pruned, there might I jnuTKi, s iiirtTonuAr. joi kn.m. 1H7 ho very ^'ood wino made of iliciii. Tlioro is alsf) plnity of \vil(ln|)|il»' mill [icar-trrrs, oikI of scverul other sorts, wliicli would ulli>rd t'Xt.fU It-nt fruit, wero tlioy grafted and transplanted. All other sorts of fruit, us plums, peaches, ami others, wherewith the coiuitry uhounds, would Iteconie extjuisite, it the same uiilustry were used ; and other sorts of fruit we have in !•" ranee would thriv(» well, if they were carried over. 'I'he earth produces a sort ol" henij), whereof cloth miyht l)e made and cordage. As for the tnanners aud customs of the Illinois, in many particu- lars they arc the same as those of the other nations we have seen. They are naturally fierce and revengeful, and among them the toil of sowing, planting, carrying of burdens, and doing all other things that belong to the support of life, ojipertains peculiarly to the women. The men have no other business but going to the war and lumting, and th(i women must fetch th<' game w hen tlu^y have kiilni it, which sometimes they are to carry very far to their dwellings, and there to parch, or dress it any other way. When the corn, or other grain, is sown, the women secure it from the birds till it comes up. Those birds are a sort of starlings, like ours in France, but larger, and fly in great swarms. The Illinois have but few children, and are extremely fond of thetn ; it is the custom among them, as well as others 1 have men- tioned, never to chide or beat them, but only to throw water at them, by way of chastisement. The nations we liuve spoken of before, are not at all, or very little, addicted to thieving; but it is not so with the Illinois, and it behoves every man to watch their feet as well as their hands, for they know- how to turn anything out of the way most dexterously. They are subject to the general vice of all the other Indians, which is to boast very much of their warlike exploits, and that is the main subject of their discourse, and they are very great liars. They pay a respect to their dead, as appears by their special care of burying them, and even of putting into lofty coffins the bodies of such as are considerable among them, as their chiefs and others, which is also practised among the Accanceas, but they dilFer in this particular, that the Accanceas weep and make their complaints for some days ; whereas the Chahouanous, and other people of the Illi. nois nation, do just the contrary ; for when any of them die, they wrap them up in skins, and then put them into coffins made of the barks of trees, then sing and dance about them for twenty-four hours. Those dancers take care to tie calabashes or gourds about ifll I 188 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. :i their bodies, with some Indian wheat in tlicm, to rattle and make a noise, and some of them have a drum, made of a great eartlien pot, on which tlicy extend a wild goat's skin, and beat thereon with one stick, like our tabors. During that rejoicing, tliey throw their presents on the cofFm, as bracelets, pendants, or pieces of earthenware, an<' 'strings of beads, encouraging the singers to perform their duty well, if any friend happens to come thither at that time, he immediately tiirows down his present, and falls a singing and dancing like the rest. When that ceremony is over, they bury the body, with part of the presents, making choice of such as may be most proper for it. They also bury with it some store of Indian wheat, with a pot to boil it in, for fear the dead person should be hungry on his long journey ; and they repeat the same ceremony at the year's end. A good number of presents still remaining, they divided them into several lots, and play at a ^ame, called of the stick, to give them to the winner. That game is played, taking a short stick, very smooth and greased, that it may be the harder to hold it fast. One of the elders throws that stick as far as he can, he young men run after it, snatch it from each other, and at last, he who remains possessed of it, has the first lot. The stick is then thrc n again ; he who keeps it then has the second lot, and so on to the e \ The women, whose husbands have been slain in war, often per) "m the same ceremony, and treat the singers and dancers whom tin have before invited. The marriages of the Illinois last no Ion r than the parties agree together ; for they freely part after a 1 iting bout, each going which way they please, witliout any cerer ny. However, the men are jealous enough of tlieir wives, and wht.. hey catch them in a fault, they generally cut up their noses, and I saw one who had been so served. Nevertheless, adultery is not reckoned any great crime among them, and there are women who make no secret of having had to do with Frenchmen. Yet are they not sufficiently addicted to that vice to offer themselves, and they never fall, unless they are sued to, when they are none of the most difficult in the world to be prevailed on. The rest I leave to those who have lived longer there than me. We continued some time in Fort Louis without receiving any news. Our business was, after having heard i«ass, which we had the good fortune to do every day, to divert ourselves the best way we could. The Indian women daily brouglit in something fresh ; we JOUTEI.a HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 189 vice to, liled iian we we wanted not for watermelons, bread made of Indian corn, baked in the embers, and other such things, and we rewarded tiiem by little presents in return. On the 27th of October, of the same year, M. Toiity returned from the war with the Iroquois. Our embraces and the relation of our adventures were repeated ; but still concealing from him the death of M. de la Salle. He told us all the particulars of that war, and said that the Iroquois having got intelligence of tlie march of the French forces and their allies, had all come out of their villages and laid themselves in ambush by the way ; but that having made a sudden and general discharge upon our men, with their usual cries, yet without much harm done, they had been repulsed with loss, took to flight, and by the way, burnt all their own villages. That M. d' Hennonville, chief Governor of New France, had caused the army to march, to burn the rest of their villages, set fire to their country and corn, but would not proceed any farther. That afterwards he had made himself master of the several canoes belonging to the Eng- lish, most of them laden with brandy, which had been plundered; that the English had been sent prisoners to Montreal, they being come to make some attempt upon the Illinois. We continued after this manner, till the month of December, when two men arrived from Montreal. They came to give notice to M. Tonty, that three canoes, laden with merchandize, powder, ball, and other things, were arrived at Chicagon j that there being loo little water in the river, and what there was being frozen, they could come no lower; so that it being requisite to send men to fetch those things, M. Tonty desired the chief of the Chahouanous to furnish him with people. That chief accordingly provided forty, men as well as women, who set out with some Frenchmen. The honesty of the Chahouanous was the reason of preferring them before the Illi- nois, who are naturally knaves. That ammunition and the merchandize were soon brought, and very seasonably, the fort being then in want. We stayed tliere till the end of February, 1G88, at which time we fixed our resolution to depart, though we had no news from Canada, as we expected. We found there were some canoes ready to undertake that voyage, and we laid hold of that opportunity to convey each other to the Micili- maquinay, where we hoped to meet some news from Canada. M. Cavelier, the priest, had taken care, before the death of M. de la Salle, his brother, to get of him a letter of credit, to receive either a sum of money or furs in the country of the Illinois. He tendered I I il 1 ! ■■■' ' 190 HJ.STOKICAL COLLKCTIONS OF LOUISIANA. that letter to M. Tonty, who believing M. do la Salle was still alive, made no dilliculty of giving him to the value of about 4000 livrcs in furs, castor and otter skins, a canoe and other eilucts, for which the said M. Cavelier gave him his note, and we prepared for our jour- nev. I have before observed that there was a Jesu'% whose name was Dalouez, at Fort Louis, and who had been very much surprised to hear that M. de la Salle was to come in a short time, being under great apprehensions on account of a conspiracy intended to have been carried on against M. de la Salle's interest. That father per- ceiving our departure was fixed, moved first, and went away fore- most, to return to Micilimaquinay j so that they were left without a priest at Fort Louis, which was a great trouble to us, because we were the occasion of it, and therefore, those who were to remain in the fort, anticipated the time, and made their Easter, taking the ad- vantage of the presence of F. Anastasius and M. Cavelier. At length, we set out the 21st of March, from Fort Louis. The Sieur Boisrondet, who was desirous to return to France, joined us; we embarked on the river, which was then become navigable, and before we had advanced five leagues, met with a rapid stream which obliged us to go ashore, and then again into the water, to draw along our canoe. I had the misfortune to hurt one of my feet against a rock that lay under water, which troubled me very much for a long time ; and we being under a necessity of going often into the water, I suffered extremely, and more than I had done since our departure from the Gulf of Mexico. We arrived at Chicagon on the 29th of March, and our first care was to seek what we had concealed at our former voyage, having, as was there said, buried our luggage and provisions. We found it had been opened, and some furs and linen taken away, almost all of which belonged to me. This had been done by a Frenchman, whom M. Tonty had sent from the fort during the winter season, to know whether there were any canoes at Chicagon, and whom he had directed to see whether anybody had meddled with what he had con- cealed, and he made use of that advice to rob us. The bad weather obliged us to stay in that place till April. That time of rest was advantageous for the healing my foot ; and there being but very little game in that place, we had nothing but our meal or Indian wheat to feed on ; yet we discovered a kind of manna, which was a great help to us. It was a sort of trees, resembling our maple, in which we ntiade incisions, whence flowed a sweet liquor, and care iving, ind it all of ■hom :now had con- That here our nna, our uor, JOUTELS HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 191 and in it we boiled our Indian wheat, which made it delicious, sweet, and of a very agreeable relish. There being no sugar-canes in that country, those trees supplied that liquor, which being boiled up and evaporated, turned into a kind of sugar somewhat brownish, but very good. In the woods we found a sort of garlic, not so strong as ours, and small onions very like ours in taste, and some charvel of the same relish as hat we have, but different in the leaf. The weather being somewhat mended, we embarked again, and entered upon the lake on the 5th of April, keeping to the north side to shun the Iroquois. We had some storms also, and saw swelling waves like those of the sea ; but arrived safe on the l.jth at a river called Quinetonan, near a village, whence the inhabitants depart during the winter season, to go a hunting, and reside there all the summer. The sport is not there as in tiioso countries from whence we came ; but, on the contrary, very poor, and we found nothing but some very lean wild goats, c.jd even those very rarely, because the wolves, which are very numerous there, make a great havoc of them, taking and devouring great numbers after this manner. When the wolves have discovered a herd of wild goats, they rouse and set them a running. The wild goats never fail to take to the first lake they meet with. The hunting wolves, who are used to that, guard the banks carefully, moving along the edges of them. The poor goats being pierced by the cold of the lake, grow weary and so get out, or else the river swelling forces them out with its waves, quite benumbed, so that they are easily taken by their ene- mies, who devour them. We frequently saw tiiose wolves watching along the side of the lake, and kept off to avoid frightening them, to the end the wild goats might quit their sanctyary, that we might catch some of them, as it sometimes fell out. The 28th, we arrived among the Poutouatannis, which is half way to Micilimaquinay, where we purchased some Indian corn for the rest of our voyage. We found no news there from Montreal, and were forced to stay some time to wait an opportunity to go down the river, no man daring to venture, because of the war with the Iroquois. There are some Frenchmen in that place, and four Jesuits, who have a house well built with timber, enclosed with stakes and pali- sades. There are also some Hurons and Outahouacs, two neighbor, ing nations, whom those fathers take care to instruct, not without 193 IIISTORICAI, COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. kl,l. ! ! m ■1 1 1» very much troul)lo, those people being downright libertines, and there are very often none but a few women in their churches. Those fathers have each of them the charge of instructing a nation, and to that effect have translated the proper prayers into the language peculiar to each of them, an also all other things relating to the Catholic faith and religion. They ollered Father Anastasius and M. Cavelier a room, which they accepted of, and we took up our lodging in a little hovel some travellers had made. There we continued the rest of May and part of June, till after the feast of Wiiitsuntide. The natives of the country about till the land and sow Indian corn, melons and gourds, but they do not thrive so well as in the country we came from. However, they live on them, and besides they have fish they catch in the lake, for flesh is very scarce among them. On the 4th of June, there arrived four canoes, commanded by M. de Porncuf, coming from Montreal, and bringing news from the Marquis d'liennonville, and orders to send to the settlements which were towards the Lake des Puans and others higher up, towards the source of the river Colbert, to know the posture and condition of affairs. We prepared to be gone with the two canoes. M. Cavelier bought another, to carry our baggage, and left part of his furs with a merchant, who gave him a note to receive money at Montreal. I did the same with those few furs I had, the rest of them having been left at Micilimaquinay. We took leave of the Jesuits, and set out in four canoes, viz., two belonging to M. de Porncuf, and two to M. Cavelier, one of which had been brought from Fort Louis, and the other bought as I have just now said, we being twenty-nine of us in those four canoes. We rowed on till the 24th, when M. de Porneuf left us to go to St. Mary's Fall, to carry the orders given him. The 25th we got out of the lake of the Illinois, to enter that of the Hurons, op the banks whereof stands the village called Tessalon, where M. de Porneuf came again to us, with a canoe of the natives, and with him we held on our way. We proceeded to Chebonany the 30th of June, and the 3d of July entered the French river, where we were forced several times to carry our canoes to avoid the falls and the rapid streams, observ- ing as we went a barren and dry country, full of rocks, on which grew cedar and fir trees, which take root in the clefts of those rocks. The 5th, we entered upon the little lake of Nipicingue, adjoining to a nation of that name. We got out of it again and entered upon JOUTELS HISTORICAL JOURNAL. 193 two 3(1 of I times aserv- Ivhicli rocks. pining I upon the great river, where, after having passed the great fall, we arrived the 13th at the point of the island of Montreal. We landed at a village called Lachine, which had belonged to the late M. de la Salle. M. Cavelier set out the 14lh for Montreal, where we came to him the 17th. At Montreal we found the Marquis d'llcnnonville, M. de Noroy the Intendant, and other gentlemen, to whom we gave an account of our long and painful travels, with the particulars of what we had seen, which they listened to with satisfaction, but without mentioning M. de la Salle's death. We told them the occasion of our going over into France, and they approved of it, being of opinion with us that we ought to hasten our departure as much as possible. We made us some clothes, whereof we stood in need. The Sieur Teissier, who came along with us, and was of the reformed religion, knowing the exercise of it was forbid in France, abjured it in the great church of Montreal. The 27th, we went aboard a bark to go down the river to Quebec, where we arrived the 29th. Father Anastasius carried us to the monastery of the fathers of his order, seated half a league from the town, on a little river, where we were most kindly received by the father-guardian and the other religious men, who expressed much joy to see us, and we still more for being in a place of safety, after so many perils and toils, for which we returned our humble thanks to Almighty God, our protector. We chose rather to take up our lodging there than in the town, to avoid the visits and troublesome questions every one would be put- ting to us with much importunity, which we must have been obliged to bear patiently. M. Cavelier and his nephew, whom we had left at Montreal, arrived some days after us, and were lodged in the Seminary. We stayed in that monastery till the 21st of August, when we em- barked in a large boat, eighteen persons of us, to go down the river of St. Lawrence, aboard a ship, that was taking in and fishing of cod ; we went aboard it the 30th of the same month, and after hear- ing mass, made ready and sailed for our dear country ; arrived safe at Rochelle on Saturday, the 9th of October, 1688, whence setting out by land, the 15th, the same Providence, which had protected and conducted us, brought us without any misfortune to Rouen, the 7th of October, the same year. 14 i! I'll ■ i ,! ACCOUNT OK THE DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI, AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY, BY FATHER LOUIS HENNEPIN.* U Finding in myself a strong inclination to retire from the world, 1 entered into the Franciscan order, where I was overjoyed in reading the travels of the fathers of my own order, who were indeed the first that undertook missions into any foreign country. I thought notiiing greater or more glorious than to instruct the ignorant and barbarous, and lead them to the light of the gospel. In order to which I went ;.:)| * Louis Hennepin, the discoverer of the Upper Mississippi, was born in Flanders about the year 1640. He entered a convent of the order of St. Fran- cis, and afterwards, with the permission of his superior, he embarked in the same vessel that brouj^jht over Robert Cavelier de la Salle to Canada, in 1075. He was some time employed as a missionary at Fort Frontenac, and among the Iroquois Indians. In one of his excursions he visited Albany, then called New Orange, and other frontier settlements of New York. IJut being of a restless disposition, he did not stay long in any one place. In lOSO he accompanied La Salle to Illi- nois, from whence he was sent by him to explore tl>e river Mississippi to its source. He proceeded as far as the Falls of St. Anthony, and went from thence by land to the river St. Francis, which he named in honor of the patron saint of his order. After remaining among the Indians a short time he returned to Que- bec, having been absent about eight months. In 16SI he returned to France, and published a work entitled " Description de la Louisiane nouvelleme.it uejoi.verte au sud-ouest de la Nouvelle France : Paris, 16S3." Thirteen years after he disgraced himself by publishing at Utrecht, Holland, a work entitled, "Nouvelle description d'une grand Pays siiue dans L'Ame- rique entre le Nouveau Mexique et la mer Glaciale," 1707; the most part of which is a fabrication, made up in part from the reports of other travellers, and embellished with the romance of his imagination. He died at Utrecht, shortly after the publication of this fictitious work. '' li lit m (H ' ll: l\ ih d\ 19G HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. missionary for Canada, by command of my superiors ; and embarked at Rocliollc, in company of M. de Laval, since bishop of Quebec, the capital city of Canada. Our crew was about one hundred men, to three- fiiurtlis of whom I administered the sacrament, they being Ca- tholics. I likewise performed divine service every day when the weather was calm, and wc sung the Itinerary of the clergy, trans- lated into French verse, after evening prayers. I shall omit the accidents that befel us, being such only as are in- separable companions of all great voyages. Soon after my arrival, I was sent in mission about one hundred and twenty leagues beyond Quebec, accompanied by Father Luke Buisset. We went up the river St. Lawrence southwards, till we came to Fort Frontenac, dis- tant from Quebec one hundred leagues. It was built to prevent the excursions of the Iroquois, and to interrupt the trade of skins these savages maintain with the inhabitants of New York, who furnish them with commodities at cheaper rates than the French of Canada. The Iroquois are an insolent and barbarous nation, and have shed the blood of more than two millions of people in that vast extended country. They would never cease from disturbing the repose of the Europeans, were it not for fear of their firearms. For they enter- tain no commerce with them unless it be for arms, which they buy on purpose to use against their neighbors ; and by means of which they have extended their bloody conquests five or six hundred leagues beyond their own precincts, exterminating whatever nation they hate. I had already acquired some small knowledge of the Iroquois language ; and Father Luke and I translated the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Litany, which we caused them to get by heart, and re- peat to their children. They pronounce no labial letters, such as B, P, M, F. Here we remained two years and a half, till we saw our house of mission finished, and then returned in a canoe down the river St. Lawrence to Quebec. Having tarried there till those who were expected from Europe to bear part in this discovery were arrived, I embarked in a small canoe, made of the bark of birch trees, carrying nothing with me but a portable chapel, one blanket, and a mat of rushes, which was to serve me for bed and quilt. I arrived at Fort Frontenac the 2d of November, 1678, and on the 18th embarked in a brigantine of about ten tons and fifteen men, the Sieur de la Motte, commander. We sailed on till we came to the further end of the Lake Ontario, and on the 6th of January entered the River Niagara, where we set i DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 107 )pe to panoe, (but a rag to le 2(1 ne of Inder. |tario, re set our carpenters and the rest of the crew to work in building a fort and some houses; but foreseeing that this was like to give jealousy to the Irmiuois, and to the English who dwell near ihein, and have a great connnerce with them, we told those of the village of Niagara that we did not intend to build a fort on the bank of their river, but only a great store-house to keep the commodities we bail brought to supply their occasions. And to remove their suspicions M. de la Motte thought it absolutely necessary to send an embassy to the Iro- quois ; telling me, " lie was resolved to take along with him seven men out of sixteen that we were in all, and desired me to acconipany him, because I understood in a manner the language of their nation." We passed through forests thirty-two leagues, and after five days' journey came to a great village, and were immediately carried to the cabin of their principal. The younger savages washed our feet, and rubbed them over with the grease of deer, wild goats, and oil of bears. They are for the most part tall and well shaped, covered with a sort of robe made of beavers' and wolves' skins, or black squirrels, holding a pipe or calumet in their hands. The senators of Venice do not appear with a graver countenance, and perhaps do not speak with more majesty and solidity than those ancient Iro- quois. One of our men who well understood their language, told the as- sembly, 1. That we were come to pay them a visit, and smoke with them in their pipes. Then we delivered our presents, consisting of axes, knives, a great collar of white and blue porcelain, with some gowns. The same presents were renewed upon every point we proposed to them. 2. We desired them to give notice to the five cantons of their na- tion, that we were about to build a ship or great canoe above the great fall of the river Niagara, to go and fetch European commodi- ties by a more convenient passage than that of the river St. Law- rence, whose rapid currents make it dangerous and long. And that by these means we should afford them our commodities cheaper than the English of Boston, or the Dutch, at that time masters of New York. This pretence was specious enough, and very well contrived to engage the barbarous nation to extirpate the English and Dutch out of that part of America. 3. We told them that we should provide them, at the river Niagara, with a blacksmith and gunsmith to mend their guns, axes, dsc, they having nobody among them that understood that trade. I! lOR HlflTORirAI. rOM.EC'TrONS OF LOUFSIANA. We nddcd inniiy other reasons which we thought proper to persuade them to fuvnr our dcNiyn. The presents we made unto them in cloth or iron, were worth ubove fi)ur hiuidred livrcs, besides some other European conimodities, very scarce in that country ; for the best reasons in tin; woild are not listened to among them, uidess they are enforced witli presents. The next diiy tlieir speaker answered our discourse article by article, secminjj; to bo pleased with our |)roposals, thoufrh they were not really so, having a {greater inclination f()r the Isnglish and Dutch than for us. Whilst we were with them, their [larties had made an excursion towards Virginia, and brought two prisoners. They spared the life of one, but put to death the other with most exquisite torments. Tliey commonly use this inlmmanity towards all their prisoners, and their torments sometimes last a month. When they iiavc brought them into their canton, they lay them on pieces of wood, like a St. Andrew's cross, to which they tie their legs and arms, and expose them to gnats and flies, who sting them to death. Children cut pieces of flesh out of their flanks, thighs, or other parts, and boiling them, force those poor soids to eat thereof. Their parents cat some themselves, and the better to inspire into their children a hatred of their enemies, give them some of their blood to drink. This cruelty obliged us to leave them sooner than we would have done, to show them the horror we had of their inhumanity, and never ate with them afterwards ; but returned the same way we went, through the woods to the river Niagara, where wo arrived the 14th of January, much fatigued with our voyage, having no food on the way but Indian corn. M. de la Motte, no longer able to endure so laborious a life, gave over his design, and returned to Canada, having about two hundred leagues to travel. On the 2Uth, M. de la Salle arrived from Fort Frontcnac, with a great bark to supply us with provisions, rigging, and tackling for the ship we designed to build at the mouth of the lake Erie ; but that bark was unfortunately cast away on the lake Ontario, within two leagues of Niagara. On the 2'-id, we went two leagues above the great fall of Niagara, where we made a dock for building the ship. M. de la Salle returned to Fort Frontenac, leaving one Tonti, an Italian, for our commander. He undertook this journey afoot, over the snow, having no other provision but a little sack of roasted Indian corn. However, he got home safely with two men and a dog, who dragged his baggage over the frozen snow. Most of the Iroquois were now gone to wage war on the other side DISrOVKRY OK THE RIVF.R Mlrt.SISSMM'I. 100 th a the that two the lip. an ver ited nog, lide the lake Krie, and our men continued, with great applicatioi), to huihl our ship; for the Ir(M|.iois, svho 'vere left lichind, were not so insolent as hefljro, though they eainc sometimes to our doek, and expressed some discontent at what wo were doing. Wo made all the haste wo could to get our ship afloat, though not altogether finished, to prevent their designs of burning it. She was called tlu! (Jiinin, about sixty tons, and carried five small guns. We fired three gmis, and sung Tc Dcum ; and carrying our luinnuucks aboard, the same day were out of the reach of the savages. JJcfore wo could proceed in our intended discovery, I was obliged to return to Fort Frontenac, to bring along with tno two monks of my own order, to help nic in the function of my ministry. I concealed part of the discouragements 1 had met \\ith, ixcauso 1 designed to engage Father (Jabriel and /eiiobe in our voyage. Having despatched our alUiirs, we three went aboard a briganline, and in a short time arrived at the river which runs into the lake Ontario, where we continued several days, our men being very busy in bartering their conunodities with the natives, who exchanged their skins for knives, guns, powder and shot, but especially brandy, which they love above all things. M. do la Salle arrived in a canoe eight days after. These impediments retarded us so long that we could not reach the river Niagara before the !30th of .Inly. Father Gabriel and 1 went overland to view the great fall, the like whereof is not in the whole world. It is comiwunded of two great cross streams of water, and two falls, with an islo sloping along the middle of it. The waters which fall from this vast height do foam and boil after the most hideous manner imaginable, making an outrageous noise, more terrible than that of thunder; so that when the wind blows from the south, their dismal roaring may be heard above fifteen leagues ofl'. The river Niagara having thrown itself down this incredible precipice, continues its impetuous course for two leagues with an inexpressible rapidity ; and the brinks are so prodigious high, that it makes one tremble to look steadily on the water, rolling along with a rapidity not to bo imagined. It is so rapid above the descent, that it violently hurries down the wild beasts, endeavoring to pass it to feed on the other side, casting them down headlong above six hundred feet. A bark or greater vessel may pass from Fort Frontenac until you come within two leagues of the fall, for which two leagues the people are obliged to carry their goods overland ; but the way is very good, and the trees are but k\v, and they chiefly firs and oaks. :iMi I 200 lllfTORICAl, fOI, LECTIONS OF TOUIStANA. I i W i: I . - VVero it not for tlii;* vast cataract which iritorrupt.s navij^atinn, we might sail with harks or greater vessels above four hundred and fiAy leagues further. Oil the 7th of August, wo went on board, being in all thirty-four men, and sailed from the mouth of the lake Erie, and on the llth, entered a strait thirty leagues long and one broad, except in the middle, which makes the lake of St. ('lair. On the '2nd, wc got into the lake Huron. The yOth, we had so violent a storm that wc brought down our yards and topmasts, and let the ship drive at the mercy of the wind, ktiowing no place to run into to shelter ourselves. M. do la Salle, notwithstanding he was a courageous man, began to fear, and told us we were undone ; whereupon every, body fell on his knees to say his prayers and prepare himself for death, except our pilot, whom wc could never oblige to pray ; and he did nothing all that while but curse and swear against M. do la Salle, who had brought him thiihcr to make him perish in a nasty lake, and lose the glory he had acquired by his long and happy navigations on the occun. When the wind abated we hoisted our sail, and the next day arrived at Missilimakinak. On the '-.'d of September, we weighed anchor, and sailed to an island at the mouth of the bay of Puans, forty leagues from Missili* makinak. The chief among them, who had been formerly in Canada, received us with all the civility imaginable. M. de la Salle, without asking any other body's advice, resolved to send back the ship to Niagara, laden with furs and skins, to discharge his debts. Our pilot, and five men with him, were therefore sent oack, and ordered to return with all Imaginable speed to join us towards the southern parts of the lake, where we should stay for them among the Illinois. They sailed the 18th, with a westerly wind, and fired a gun as taking leave. It was never known what course they steered, nor how they perished ; but it is supposed that the ship struck upon a sand, and was there buried. This was a great loss for M. de la Salle and other adventurers, for that ship with its cargo cost above sixty thousand livres. We continued our voyage in four canoes, being fourteen men in all, and departed the 19th of September. We steered to the south towards the continent, distant from the island near forty leagues. On the 1st of October, after twelve leagues rowing, we were in so great danger by stress of weather, that we were forced to throw our- selves into the water, and carry our canoes on our shoulders to save them from being broken to pieces. I carried Father Gabriel on my niHCOVRRV OF TIIR RIVRR MIH8I8HIPPI. 201 among fired they le ship ,t loss I cargo ken in south ^gues. I in so our- save In my back, whoMc ^roat ago, being sixty-five yi'ars, did not porniit hini to venlwri' ir;to tlje wulT* Having /(() acquaintunro with the savages of the village near wit. '^ we landed, we j»re|mred to iiiake a vigorous defonce in rase of an att«' k. and in order to if, pnsscsse*! ourselves of a rising ground where we could not be surprised. U'e then sent three men to buy provisions in the village, with the calumet or pipe of peace, which those of the island bad given u>. And because the cnluinet of peace is the most ;>acred thing among the savages, 1 shall here describe the same. It is a large tobacco pipe, of a red, black, or white marble. The head is finely polished. The (juill, which is commonly two feet and a half long, is made of a pretty strong reed or cane, adorned with feathers of all colors, interlaced with locks of women's hair. lOvery nation adorns it as they think fit, and according to the birds they have in their country. Such a pipe is a safe-conduct amongst all the allies of the nation who has given it ; and in all embassies the calumet is carried as a symbol of peace, the savages being generally persuaded that son)e great misfortune would befal them, if they should violate the public foith of the calumet. They fill this pipe with the best tobacco they have, and then present it to those with whom they have concluded any great affair, and smoke out of the same after them. Our three men, provided with this pipe and very well armed, went to the little village three leagues from the place where we landed ; but finding nobody therein, took some Indian corn, and left instead of it some goods, to let them see that we were no robbers nor their enemies. However, twenty of them armed with axes, small guns, bows, and clubs, advanced near the place where we st(X)d ; where- upon M. de la Salle with four men very well armed, went toward them to speak with them, and desired them to come near us, for fear a party of our men who were gone a hunting, should meet with them and kill them. They sat down at the foot of the eminence where we were posted, and M. de la Salle spoke to them all the while concerning his voyage, which he told them he had undertaken for their good and advantage. This was only to amuse them till our three men returned, who appearing with the calumet of peace, the savages made a great shout, and rose and began to dance. We ex- cused our taking some of their corn, telling them we had left the true value of it in goods ; which they took so well that they sent immediately for more, and gave us next day as much as we could Vil MM iil ,1 I- I 202 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OP LOUISIANA. carry awav in our canoes. They retired towards evening, and M. de la Salle ordered sonic trees to be cut down and laid across the way, to prevent any surprise from them. The oldest of them came to us next morning with their calumet of peace, and brought us some wild goats. We presented them with some axes, knives, and several little toys for their wives, with which they were well pleased. We left that place the 2d of October, and coasted along the lake, which is so steep that we could hardly find any place to land. The violence of the wind obliged us to drag our canoes sometimes to the top of the rocks to prevent their being dashed in pieces. The stormy weather lasted four days, during which we suffered very much, and our provisions failed us again ; which, with the fatigues of rowing, Caused old Father Gabriel to faint away in such a man- ner that I thought verily he could not live. We had no other sub- sistence but a handful of Indian corn once every twenty-four hours, which we roasted or else boiled in water; and yet rowed almost every day from morning till night. Being in this dismal distress, we saw upon the coast a great many ravens and eagles, from whence we conjectured there was some prey ; and having landed upon that place, we found above the half of a fat wild goat which the wolves had strangled. This provision was very acceptable to us, and the rudest of our men could not but praise the divine Providence who took so particular a care of us. Having thus refreshed ourselves, we continued our voyage directly to the southern parts of the lake. On the 10th, we met with abundance of game. A savage we had with us killed several stags and wild goats, and our men a great many turkeys, very fat and big; wherewith we provided ourselves for several days, and so em- barked aerain. On the 1st of November we came to the mouth of the river of the Miamis, which runs from the south and falls into the lake. Here we spent all that month in building a fort forty feet long, and eighty broad ; made with great square pieces of timber laid one upon the other. On the 3d of December we embarked, being thirty-three men, in eight canoes, and having rowed about twenty-five leagues up the river Miamis to the southwest, we could not find the place where we were to land, and carry our canoes and equipage into the river of the Illinois, which falls into Mississippi. Our savage, who was hunt- ing ashore, not finding us at the place of portage, came higher up the river, and told us we had missed it. So we returned and car- ried our canoes over land to the head of the Illinois river, which is li i so em- louth of nto the ty feet timber tncn, in jup the jre we liver of hunt- licr up Id car- Inch is DfSCOVERY OP THE RIVER MfSSISSrPPI. 203 but a league and a half from that of Miamis. VVe continued our course upon tliis river very near tlie whole month of December, to- wards the end of which we arrived at the village of the Illinois, about one hundred and thirty leagues from Fort iMiamis. We found nobody in the village, which caused a great perplexity among us ; for though we wanted proviisions, yet we durst not meddle with the corn iii^y had laid under ground for their subsistence, and to sow their lands with ; it being the most sensible wrong one can do tliem, in their opinion, to take some of their corn in their absence. How- ever, our necessity being very great, and it being impossible to con- tinue our voyage witliout it, M. do la .Siillc took about forty busiiels of it, hoping to appease them with some presents. VVe embarked again with this fresli provision, and fell down the river the first of January, 1G80. We took the elevation of the pole, which was 33° 45'. Altiiough we used all the precaution we could, we found ourselves on a sudden in the middle of their camp, which took up both sides of the river. Tlie Illinois being much terrified, though they were several thousand men, tendered us the calumet of peace, and we offered them ours. M. de la Salle presented tliem with Rlartinico tobacco, and some axes. lie told them, " He knew how necessary their corn was to them ; but that being reduced to an unspeakable necessity when he came to their village, and seeing no probability to subsist, he had been forced to take some corn from their habitations without their leave. That he would cive them axes and other things in lieu of it, if they could spare it ; and if they could not, they were free to take it again." The savages considered our proposals, granted our demands, and made an alliance with us. Some days after, Nikanape, brother to the most considerable man among them, who was then absent, invited us to a great feast, and before we sat down, told us, "That he had invited us not so much to give us a treat, as to endeavor to dissuade us from the resolution we had taken to go down to the sea by the great River Mississippi.'" He said, " Tliat tiie banks of that river were iniiabited by barbarous and bloody nations, and tiiat several had perished upon the same en- terprise." Our interpreter told iiim, by order of M. de la Salle, " That we were much obliged to him for his advice ; but the ditli- culties and dangers he had mentioned would make our enterprise still more glorious. That we feared the Master of the life of all men, who ruled the sea and all tlie world, and therefore would think it happiness to lay down our lives to make his name known to all his ;i I ll;i i'il m ill m m I 204 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OP LOUISIANA. creatures." However, Nikanape's discourse had put some of our men under such terrible apprehensions, that we could never recover their courage nor remove their fears; so that six of them who had the guard that night (among wiiich were two sawyers, the most ne- cessary of our workmen for building our ship), ran away, taking with them what they thought necessary. But considering the coun- try through which they were to travel, and the season of the year, we may say, that in avoiding an uncertainty, they exposed them- selves to a most certain danger. M. de la Salle seeing those six men were gone, exhorted the rest to continue firm in their duty ; assuring them that if any were afraid of venturing themselves upon the river of Mississippi, because of the dangers Nikanape had mentioned, he would give them leave to return next spring to Canada, and allow them a canoe to make their voyage ; whereas they could not venture to return home at this time of the year, without exposing themselves to perish with hunger, cold, or the hands of the savages. On the 1.5th, we made choice of an eminence on the bank of the river, defended on that side by the river, and on two others by two deep ditches made by the rains, so that it was accessible only by one way. We cast a line to join those two natural ditches, and made the eminence steep on every side, supporting the earth with great pieces of timber. By the first of March, our fort was near finished, and we named it Crevecoeur, because the desertion of our men, with the difficulties we labored under, had almost broken our hearts. We had also built a bark for the continuance of our discovery. It was forty-two feet long by the keel, and was in such forwardness, that we should have been in a condition to sail in a very short time, had we been provided with all other necessaries. But hearing nothing of our ship Griffin, and therefore wanting the rigging and other tackle we expected by her, we found ourselves in great perplexity, and did not know what to do in this sad juncture, being above five hundred leagues from Fort Frontenac, whither it was almost im- possible to return at that time, because the snow made travelling very dangerous by land, and the ice made it impracticable to our canoes. M. de la Salle did now no longer doubt 'but his beloved Griffin was lost ; but neither this nor the other difficulties dejected him. His great courage buoyed him up, and he resolved with three men to return to Fort Frontenac by land, notwithstanding the snow and the unspeakable dangers attending so great a journey, and to bring i-fi ■ n-. ■ DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 205 Griffin 'd him. fee men low and lo bring along with him the necessary things to proceed on our discovery ; while 1 with two men should go ia a canoe to the River Mississippi, to get the friendship of the nations inhabiting the banks thereof. Then calling his men together, told them, " He would leave M. Tonti to coiim)and in the fort, and desired them to obey his orders in his absence, to live in a Christian union and charity, to be coura- geous and firm in their design." He assured them, " lie would return with all the speed imaginable, and bring with him a fresh supply of meat, ammunition, and rigging for our bark ; and that in the meantime he left them arms and other things necessary for a vigorous defence, in case their enemies should attack them before his return." Then telling me, " That he expected I should depart without further delay," he embraced me and gave me a calumet of peace, with two men to manage our canoe, Picard and Ako, to whom he gave some commodities to the value of about one thousand livres, to trade with the savages or make presents. He gave to me in particular, and for my own use, ten knives, twelve shoemaker's awls or bodkins, a small roll of Martinico tobacco, two pounds of rassade, i. e. little pearls or rings of colored glass, to make bracelets for the savages, and a small parcel of needles ; telling me, " He would have given me a greater quantity if it had been in his power." Thus relying on the providence of God, and receiving the blessing of Father Gabriel, I embraced all our men, and took my leave of M. de la Salle, who set out a few days after for Canada, with three men, without any provisions but what they killed in their journey, during which they suffered very much by cold weather, snow, and hunger. We set out from Fort Crevecceur on the 29th of February, myself, Picard and Ako, and when we had gone fifty leagues down the river, we came to the place where it falls into the Mississippi, between thirty-five and thirty-six degrees of latitude. The Mississippi runs to the south-southwest, between two ridges of mountains, is in some places a league broad, and a half a league where it is narrowest. The ice which came down stopt us here till the 12th of March. Then after prayers we embarked, and continuing our course down the river, we discovered three savages on the 15th, and landing, marched up to them ; whereupon they ran away. But after some signs, one returned, and presented us the calumet of peace, which, when we had received, the two others came back. We could not understand one word of their language ; and when we named two or lii ■■ 1 Hv •200 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. m 1 i i 1 *"l*. 1 f il three diflbrent nations to them, one answered three times, Chiquacha. They gave us some pelicans tiiey had killed with their arrows, and we presented them with part of our meat. Two days after, we saw many savages near the river, crying aloud, Sasacouest, that is. Who goes there? as I have been informed. They sent a pirogue or heavy wooden canoe towards us, wherein were the three savages we had met two days before. We presented our calumet of peace, which they received, but gave us to understand by signs, that we must go to the Akansa, pointing to the savages ashore. We could not avoid it ; and as soon as we were landed, the three Chiquachas took our canoe upon their shoulders, and carried it to the village. These savages received us very kindly, and presented us with beans, Indian corn, and flesh to eat. We made them also a present of som.e of our European commodities, which they admired, putting their fingers upon their mouths, especially when they saw our guns. The 18th we embarked again, after having been entertained with danc- ing and feasting, and carried away our commodities, though the savages were very loth to j)art with them ; but having accepted our calumet of peace, they did not presume to stop us by force. We passed by the nations of Taensa and Coroa, by both which we were kindly received, and on the 24th came to the nation of Quini- quissa. The next day we came to a point where the Mississippi divides itself into three channels. We took the middle one, which is very broad and deep. The water began there to taste brackish, but four leagues lower was as salt as the sea. We rowed about four leagues further, and discovered the sea. The mouth of the river is very deep, without being interrupted with any sands ; so that great ships may go up as far as the Illinois river, which is two hundred leagues. Its course, from its source to the sea, may be eight hun- dred leagues, including windings and turnings. It falls into the Gulf of Mexico, between twenty-seven and twenty-eight degrees of latitude. Its mouth may be about thirty leagues from Rio Bravo, sixty from Palmas, and cigiity or one hundred from Rio Panuco, the nearest habitation of the Spaniards. My two men were very glad of this discovery ; but on the other hand they expressed a great deal of dissatisfaction to have been at such trouble without making any profit, having found no furs to ex- change for their commodities. Tiiey were also much afraid of the Spaniards of New Mexico, and were perpetually telling me, " That if they were taken, the Spaniards would never spare their lives, or at least give them the liberty to return to Europe." I knew their DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 207 great indred hun- |to the !es of Iravo, I, the their fears were not altogether unreasonable ; and therefore I resolved to go no further, though I had no reason to be afraid for myself, our order being so numerous in New Mexico, that, on the contrary, I might expect to have had in that country a peaceable and easy life. We lay, during the time we were ashore, under our canoe, sup- ported with four forks, and made curtains of some rolls of birch bark, hanging from the top to the ground, to defend us from the rain. We saw nobody, and therefore cannot tell whether that coast be inhabited. We squared a tree of twelve feet high, and making a cross of it, erected it in that place, leaving there a letter signed by me and my two men, containing an account of our voyage, country, and profes- sion. Then kneeling near the cross, we sung some hymns, and em- barked again on the 1st of April, to return towards the source of the river. It is observable, that during the whole course of our sailing, God protected us against the crocodiles, which are very numerous in that river, especially towards the mouth. They looked dreadful, and would have attacked us, had we not been very careful to avoid them. Our canoe being loaded with three men only and our provisions, did not draw three inches water, and therefore we could row very near the shore, and avoid the current of the river. The next day, April 2d, we saw, towards break of day, a great smoke not far from us, and soon after discovered four savage women loaded with wood, marching as fast as they could to get to their villa e before us. But some buzzards coming near us, one of my men ( ild not forbear to shoot at them, which so frightened the women . ait they left their wood, and ran away to their village, where they arrived before us. The savages having heard the noise, were in as great fear as their wives, and left their village upon our approach. But I landing, im- mediately advaneed alone whh the calumet of peace, whereupon they returned, and received us with all the respect and civility ima- ginable. We made them some small presents to show our gratitude, and left that place April the 4th, and rowed with such diligence that we arrived the same day at Koroa. I was surprised to see their In- dian corn, which was left very green, grown already to maturity ; but I have learned since that their corn is ripe sixty days after it is sown. They have three or four crops of Indian corn in a year, having no other winter than some n\in. They have all sorts of trees we have in Europe, and many others unknown to us. There are iil m^ m 308 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OP LOUISIANA. the finest cedars in the world, and another tree from which drops a most fragrant gum, which in my opinion exceeds our best perfumes. The cotton trees are of a prodigious height ; the savages make them hollow with fire, to make their pirogues of them. We saw some of them, all of a piece, above one hundred feet long. They told us, " That to the westward are some beasts who carry men upon their backs," and showed us the hoof and part of the leg of one, which was certainly the hoof of a horse ; and surely horses are not utterly unknown in northern America ; for near the cape named by us St. Anthony, we saw a horse and some other beasts painted upon the rock with red colors, by the savages. But whereas we had been told that the Spaniards of New Mexico lived not above forty leagues from them, and supplied them with European commodities, we found nothing among them that might be suspected to come from thence, unless it be some little pieces of glass strung upon a thread, with which the women adorn their heads. We left the habitations of the Akansas, the 4th of April, and during sixty leagues saw no savage. Our provisions being spent, we had nothing to live upon but the game we killed, or the fish we could catch. On the 12th, as my two men were boiling a buzzard, and myself refitting our canoe on the bank of the river, I perceived on a sudden, about two o'clock in the afternoon, no less than fifty canoes made of bark, manned with one hundred and twenty savages stark naked, coming down the river with an extraordinary swiftness, to surprise the Miamis and Illinois, their enemies. We threw away the broth which was preparing, and getting aboard as fast as we could, made towards them, crying out in the IroCjUois and Algonquin languages, " Comrades, we are men of wooden canoes ;" for so they call those that sail in great vessels. This had no effect, tor they understood not what we said ; so that surrounding us immediately, they began to let fly their arrows at us, till the eldest amongst them perceiving that I had acalumet of peace in my hand, came up to us and prevented our being murdered by their warriors. They presently jumped out of their canoes, some upon land, others into the water ; surrounding us on all sides with shrieks and outcries that were indeed terrifying. It was to no purpose to resist; being but three to so great a number. One of t'l 'is, snatched the pipe of peace out of my hand. We presented ♦hem with some small pieces of Martinico tobacco, and made signs to them with our oars i pon the drops a erfumes. ike them ' some of told us, ion their B, which )t utterly id by us upon the lad been r leagues we found I thence, ad, with ns of the o savage. but the 1, as my canoe on I'clock in ned with the river Illinois, getting It in the men of vessels. so that vs at us, of peace ered by 3, others ■ outcries being pipe of pieces I pon the DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER MISSIPHlrPI. 200 sand, that the Miamis, their enemies, whom thoy were in search of, had passed the river, and were gone to join the Illinois. Being then out of all hopes of surprising their enemies, throe or four of the eldest of them laid their hands on my liead, and bcj^an to weep bitterly, accompanying their tears with such mournful acconts as can hardly be expressed ; while I, with a sorry haiulkorcliicf 1 had left, made shift to dry up their tears ; however, to very little purpose; for refusing to smoke in our calumet, they thereby gave us to understand that their design was still to murdor us ; and one hundred of their leaders coming up to us, made us to understand l)y signs, that tlieir warriors were resolved upon our dcatli. This obliged me to apply myself to their chiefs, and presented them with six hatchets, fifteen knives and some pieces of tobacco ; after whicli, bending my neck and pointing to a liatchrt, I signifted to them, by that submission, that we threw ourselves on their mercy. The present had the good effect to soften some of them, who, ac- cording to their custom, gave us some beavers' flesh to eat, them- selves putting the three first bits in our moutiis, having first blown upon it, because it was hot ; after this thoy set their platter before us, made of the bark of a tree, leaving us at liberty to feed after our own fashion. These civilities did not hinder us from passing the night away very uneasily, because in the evening, before thoy went to sleep, they had returned us our calumet of peace. The two canoemen resolved to sell their lives as dear as thoy could, and to defend themselves like men to the last, in case they should attack us. For my part I told them, I resolved to sufier myself to be slain with- out the least resistance, in imitation of our Saviour. However, we watched all night by turns, that we might not be surprised in our sleep. The next morning early, one of their captains who had been for killing us, came and demanded my pipe of peace ; it being delivered him, he filled it with tobacco, and made the rest who had been for putting us to death to smoke in it ; then he made signs that we must go along with tliem into their country, to which they wore tlien re- turning. This proposal was very welcome to us, and we rowed in their company for nineteen days together, sometimes north, and sometime northeast, according to the best observations wo could make by our compass; so that after these barbarians had forced us to follow them, we made more than two hundred and fifty leagues up the river Mississippi, and we were got about one hundred and fifty leagues up the same, above that of the Illinois, when we were 15 i'l!! I. 210 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. m first taken by them. One of the nineteen days of our most tire- some voyage, a captain called Aquipaguctin, who afterwards adopted me for liis son, liad killed a large fat deer, to which he invited the chief captains of the warriors. After the repast, the savages, with their hair anointed with oil of bears, and stuck all over with red and white feathers, and their heads covered with the down of birds, began to dance with their hands upon their hips, and striking their feet with great forcQ against the ground. During the dance, one of the sons of the ma?: or of the ceremonies made them all smoke in the pipe of war, himself shedding abundance of tears. The father in tiie meanwhile laying his hands on our heads, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, bathed himself in tears. As for us, as far as we could judge, all this grimace boded us no good ; and indeed, we afterwards understood that he meant nothing less than our destruc- tion by it. But finding the opposition ho was like to meet from the other chiefs, who were of a contrary opinion, he was content to sufier us to re-embark, resolving, however, to make use of some other stratagem to get into his own hands, by little and little, the rest of our things; not daring to take them from us openly by force, for fear of the rest of his own nation ; by which it plainly appears, that he was a crafty designing knave. His son was killed by the Miamis, and finding he could not revenge himself on that nation, he vented his passion upon us. Having thus travelled nineteen days in our canoe by water, we came within six leagues of the fall of St. Anthony, where they held an assembly to consult what they should do with us. At last they separated and gave us to three of their chiefs, in- stead of three of their sons which had been killed in the war j then they seized our canoe and took away all our equipage ; our canoo they pulled to pieces ; their own they hid among the alders, so that though we might have gone conveniently enough quite up into their country by water, yet we were obliged by their conduct to travel no less than sixty leagues afoot. Our ordinary marches were from break of day till ten at night j and when we met with any rivers, we swam them, themselves (who for the most part are of an extraordinary size) carrying our clothes and equipage on their heads. We never eat but once in twenty- four hours, and then noti)ing but a few .scraps of meat dried in smoke, after their fashion, which they aflbrded us with abundance of regret. I was so weak vhat I often lay down, resolving rather to die than follow these savages any farther, who travelled at a rate so extraor- dinary, as far surpasses the strength of any European. However, DISCOVERY OF THK RIVKK MISSISSIPPI. 211 night; s (who jlothes kventy. smoke, regret, than ttraor- /ever, to hasten us, they sometimes set fire to the dry grass in the meadows through which wo passed, so tiuit our choice was, march or burn. When we had thus travelled sixty leagues afoot, and undergone all the fatigues of hunger, thirst, and cold, besides a tiiousand outrages duily done to our persons ; as soon as we approached their habita. tions, which are situated in morasses inaccessible to their enemies, they thought it a proper time to divide the merchandize they had taken from us. Here they were like to fall out and cut one another's throats about the roll of Martinico tol)acco, which might still weigh about fifty pounds. Then arose a higli dispute about the distribution they were to make of our persons. At last, Aquipaguc- tin, as head of the party, carried it ; who turning towards me, pre- sented me his calumet of peace to smoke in, receiving from me at the same time that which we had brought, and then adopted me for his son, in the room of him he had lost in the war. Two other captains did the same by the two canoemcn. This sc. paration was very grievous to us, though somewhiit allayed by the satisfaction we had to find our lives were safe. Picard, being sensi- ble of the uncertain condition his life was in among so barbarous a people, took me aside to confess him. I should have been overjoyed to have seen Ako so well disposed. Being thus parted, the savages led us away, each to his own village. I came to Aquipaguetin's habitation in the month of May, 1680. The next day he showed me to six or seven of his wives, telling them that they were to esteem me as one of their sons, and ordered those about him to give me the title that was due to the rank which I was to hold amongst my new kindred. I spent three months very ill in this place among the Issati and Nadovessians. My new father gave me nothing to eat but a few wild oats five or six times a week, and the rocs of dried fish. He sent me into a neighboring isle with his wives, children, and servants, where 1 digged, with a pickaxe and shovel I had recovered from those that robbed us. Here we planted tobacco, and some European pulse which I brought from thence, and were highly prized by Aqui- paguetin. During my stay among them, there arrived four savages in em- bassy, who said they were come above five hundred leagues from the west, and had been four moons upon the way. They assured us there was no such place as the strait of Anian, and that they had marched without resting, except to sleep, or kill game for their sub- 313 HFSTORrCAI, rOLr.ECTtONS OF LOUIStANA. I I sj I-' ' sistcncp, anfl had not seen or passed over any groat lake ; by which phrase they always mean the sea. They further informed us that the nation of the Asscnipoulacs, who lie north-east from tiic Issati, was not above six or seven days' journey from us ; that none of the nations witliin their knowledge, who Ho to the west or north-west of them, had any great lake about their countries, which were very large, hut only rivers, which, coming from the north, run across the countries of their neighboring nations which border on their confines on the side of the great lake, which in their language is the same as sea. They further assured us that there were very few forests in the countries through which they passed on their way hither, insomuch that now and then they wore so put to it for fuel that they were forced to make fires of bulls' dung to boil their victuals. All these circtui'isttnces make it appear that there is no such place as the straits uf A nian, as wc usually see them set down in maps. And whatever efforts have been made for many years past by the lOnglish and J)utc?i, t!.:; two nations of the world who arc the greatest navigators, to find out a passage to China and Japan through the frozen sea, they have not yet been able to effect it. But, by the help of my discovery, and the assistance of God, I doubt not but a passage may still be found, and that an easy one too. For example : one may be transported into the Pacific f.ea i>y rivers wliich are large and capable of carrying great vessels, and from thence it is easy to go to China and .fapan without crossing the equi- noctial line ; and in all probability Japan is on the same continent as America. Towards the end of July, the Sieur de Luth, accompanied with five men, arrived in our cainp from Canada ; end because \ had some knowledge of the language of the Issati, he desired that I, with Pi- card and Ako, might accompany him to the villages of those people. I was very willing to undertake it, especially when I understood that they had not received the sacraments in the whol'> two years and a half that they had been out upon their voyage. We arrived at the villages of the Issati the 14th of August, and having exchanged our commodities we returned to the camp. Towards the end of Septem- ber we let them understand, that to procure them iron and otlier merchandises which was useful for them, it was convenient that we should return to Canada; and that at a certain time when we should agree upon between us, they should come half the way with their furs, and we the other half with our European commodities. Upon by which nipoulaes, 'vcn (lays' oowlodgo, akc about ;li, coming iig nations ivc, which c(l us that hich they they were ulls' clung ppcar that (' see them for many the world >hina and e to cfiect of God, 1 y one too. li>y rivers and from le equi- incnt as 10(1 with ad some with Pi- jicople. ood that and a at the fifed our eptem- d other hat we should h their Upon DISCOVERY OF THE RIVEU MISSISSll'I'l. 2i:i this they held a great oouncil, and consente(l to our niiirn. Onasi- coude, their chief captain, gave us some bushels of wild oats for our subsistence on the way, having first ngukd us in the best manner ho could. These oats are better and more wholesome than rice. Then, with a |)ciicil: he marked down on a sheet of paper which I had left, the course we were to keep for four hundred leagues toge. ther. We put ourselves into two canoes, being eight I'^uropeans of us in all. Wo fell down the river of St. Francis into the Mississippi, and thence went up the river Wisconsin, navigable f!)r large vessels above one hundred leagues; then we carried our eanoes overland half a league. Thus having made more than four hundred leagues by water since our departure from the country of the Issati, we arrived at last at the great bay of the Puans, where we found many Cana- dians, who were come hither to trade ; they having some wine with them, I administered the sacrament and preached. After two days' stay, we departed ; and after one hundred leagues' rowing, having coasted along the great bay of Puans.. we arrived at Missilimakinak, where we were forced to winter. We parted from Missilimakinak in Easter week, lGRl,and having rowed one hundred leagues along the side of the lake Huron, we passed the straits, which are thirty leagues through, and the lake of St. Clair, which is in the middle ; thence over the lake Eric to the tall of Niagara, from whence we carried our canoe two leagues be- low, and came to the lake of Ontario, or Fiontenac. When we came to the fort we were kindly received by Father Luke Huisset and M. la Fleur, who had the command of the fort in the absence of M. de la Salle. But our men being eager to return to Canada, we took leave and vvcnt for Quebec. In two days we came to Montreal, si.xty leagues. Count Fiontenac, looking out at a window, saw me in the canoe, and took me for Father Luke Fillatre, who served him as chaplain ; but one of his guards, knowing me again, went to him and acquainted him with my coming. lie was so kind as to come and meet me, and gave me the best reception that a missionary might expect from a person of that rank and quality. lie wondered to see me so much altered, being lean, tired, and tanned. Me carried me to his own house, where I continued twelve days to refresh myself. He forbade all his servants to give me anything to eat, lest I should fall sick if left to my own discretion after so long hardships; and gave me himself what he thought best. w 214 iiiflTORirAi. roM.rcTioNH or i-Oijibiana. Wlion 1 (Irsirpd his pormission to go to (Juoboc, ho appnintrd two of his yuunls, who iiruh'rMtooil very woll to inanagc a caiior, to carry nw thither, wiiero the proviiniul tomiDissary of the RecuUotfi ordtTtHi me to return to l'lun)j)c. AN ArrOIJNT OF M. OR LA SAIJ.F.'s t;Nlli:KTAKtN(} TO DISroVRR THK RlVKIl MISSISSM'i'l, UY WAY OK THE (iULK OF MEXICO. bY FATHEK LOUIS HENNEl'lN. Jil'' ';■:! M. IlonKUT Cavklieii de la Salle was a person cjiialifird for the greatest undertakings, and may be justly ranked amongst the most famous travellers that ever were. This will appear to whomsoever will consider that he spent liis own estate about the greatest, most important, and most perilous discovery that has been yet made. I lis design was to (ind out a passage from the northern to the south sea without crossing the line, which a great many have hitherto sought in vain. The river Mississippi docs not indeed run that way ; but he was in hopes by means of that river to discover some other river running into the south sea. In order whercunto, ho endeavored to find out by sea the mouth of Mississippi, which discharges itself into the Gulf of Mexico, to settle there a colony, and build a good fort to be as his magazine, and serve as a retreat both by sea and land, in case of any mishap. He made his proposals to the French King's council, who, ap- proving the design, his most Christian Majesty gave him all necessa- ry authority, and supplied him with ships, men, and money. The ships were the Toby, one of the King's men of war of fifty-six guns, a great fly-boat, a small frigate, and a ketch. This fleet was com- manded by M. Bcaujeau, who was victualled for a year; and M. de la Salle had under his command one hundred and fifty land-men, who were to settle in the country ; he had also with him twelve gentlemen who appeared to him vigorous, and like to bear the fatigues of the voyage, among whom were two of his nephews, viz., M. Moranger and M. Cavelier, the last but fourteen years old. They sailed from Rochelle, August the 5th, 1684, and, passing by Martinico and Guadaloupe, took in fresh provisions and water, with divers volunteers. The ketch being separated by storm, was taken by the Spaniards ; the other three ships arrived about the middle of poinfrd two oe, to carry ! Hecull(!ts rOVRR THK ItY l-ATHKR fiod for the St the most >lioiiisoever ■atest, most made. His 5 south sea prto soiiifhl way ; but other river eavored to itself into nod fort to land, ill who, ap- necessa- cy. The ■six guns, was com- and M. and-men, in twelve bear the !ws, viz., Id. jssing by tor, with as taken liddle of lUSCOVKKY OK THP. RIVEU Ml.SrtlSSMMM. 215 February, in the bay of Spiritosanio, and al»out ton Icairuos olT found a large bay, which M. de la Suili- took lor lli<- ri^hl arm \>\' the Mississifipi, and called it St. Louis. lie souniied the bay, which he found dcip, but nuriow ; and therefore had expressly forbid the captain of the lly-boiit to attempt to come into it, without having on board tli(! pilot of the frigate, who was an exp(;rienced man ; and for a greater security, had conunanded hitn to unlade his guns into the pinnace to make the ship lighter ; yet that brute neglecting those orders, and without taking notice of the pedes they had |ila('ed on the sands to show him the channel, sailed his ship at random, and ran her against a sand, wher:? she remained. M. do la Salle was ashore, and fearing the fate of I .s ship, was going on board to save her. but was prevented by about one hundred and twenty savages who came to attack him. lie put his men in a posture of detence, but the nois(' alone of the drums put the savages to (light. M. de la Salle following them, presented the calumet of peace, which they accepted, and came along with him to his camp, where he entertained then), and sent them back with some [U'esents. They were so pleased that they brought some provisions tin; next day, and made an alliance with him, which would have proved very advantageous to M. de la Salle, had not an unlucky accident broken that good intelligence. As they were uidoading the lly-boat which had struck upon the sand, to endeavor to get her oil', a pa(;k of blankets fell into the sea, which the waves drove upon the shore. The savages found it ; and M. de la Salle having notice of it, sent to demand it of them in a very civil manner ; they showed some reluctance, whereupon the oificer, instead of acting the prudent part, threatened to kill them un- less they restored it immediately. This so frighted and incensed them, thai they resolved to be avengeil of that allVont ; and in order thereto, got together in the night time of the seventh of March, 1G85, and marched to surprise the French camp. They advanced as near as they would, the sentinel being asleep, and made a discharge of their arrows, which killed four gentlemen od'iccrs and volunteers, and wounded M. Moranger and another volunteer. The French ran to their arms and fired upon the savages, who ran away, though none were wounded ; and the next day killed two of M. de la Salle's men whom they found sleeping. In the meantime, the fly-boat was unloaded, which was too far sunk to be got oil', and most of the goods saved ; and as they were endeavoring to save the rest, she was dashed in pieces by the vie- II 21G HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. ili M ' lence of the waves, and several men were in danger of being drowned, but by the {rrace of God all escaped. M. IJeaiijeau scL'ing all the goods and merchandize landed, arJ a fort almost finished, sailed the twelfth of March for France ; and M. de la Salle having fortified his magazine or fort, left one hundred men under command of M. Moranger, his nephew, for defence of it; and with the rest, being fifty, and three missionaries, viz., M. Cave- lier, brother to M. de la Salle, Zenobe, and Maxime, advanced into the country, in hopes of finding the Mississippi. They built a fort in a very advantageous post, defended by twelve pieces of cannon, and then razed the first fort. The men grew so sickly that a great many died witMn a few days, notwithstanding they were carefully looked after and supplied with proper remedies. On the ninth of August, three of our men being gone a shooting, the noise of their guns was heard by the savages, who immediately got together in great numbers and surrounded the three Europeans, who killed with the first shot the general of the savages. This sad acci- dent terrified them so much that they ran away, notwithstanding the disproportion in number ; but they continued lurking about the fort, and killed a Frenchman who had advanced too far into the woods. M. de la Salle seeing no way to bring them to an alliance, re- solved to make war upon them to oblige them to come to peace, and supply him with their pirogues or wooden canoes, which he wanted. Therefore lie set out from his fort the 13tli of October with sixty stout men, having provided them with a kind of breast-piece of wood to cover them against the arrows of the savages. lie was not far advanced when he found them encamped, and had several skirmishes, killing and wounding a great many, and returned with many prison- ers, lie had ordered the captain of the fripate to sufier none of his men to lie ashore ; however, the cajjtain, with six of his best men, charmed with the sweetness of the country, went ashore, and leaving their canoe upon the ooze v ith their arms, went into a meadow where they fell asleep, and were all killed by the savages, who broke their arms and canoe. This sad accident put the colony into a consterna- tion. M. de la Salle, having buried his men, resolved to travel along the coast to find out the mouth of the Mississippi ; and, leaving the in- habitants and soldiers who were to remain in the fort, set out with twenty men and M. Cavelier his brother. The continual rains made the ways very bad, and swelled several small rivulets, which gave him a world of trouble. At last, on the 13th of February, 1686, he thought to have found his so much wished for river ; and having DISCOVERY OF TIIK RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 217 fortified a post on its bank, and left part of liis men for its s'^curity. he returned to his fort the thirty-first of March, charmed with his discovery. But this joy was overbalanced by grief for the loss of his frigate. This was the only ship left unto him, with which he intended to sail in a few days fiir St. Domingo, to bring a new sup- ply of men and goods to carry on his design ; but it ran unfortu- nately aground, by the negligence of the pilot, and was dashed in pieces. All the men were drowned, except the Sienr Chcdeville, the captain, and four seamen ; the goods, linen, and cloth of the colony, with the provisions and tools, were all lost. M, do la Salle seeing all his ail'airs ruined by the loss of his ship, and having no way to return into Europe but by Canada, resolved upon so dangerous a journey, and look twenty men along with him, with one savage called Nicana, who had followed him into France, and had given such proofs of his allcction to his master, that he relied more upon him than upon any European. M. Cavelier, Morangct, and Father Anastasius, desii-ed likewise to accompany him. They took with them powder and shot, two axes, two dozen knives, several pounds of glass beads, and two kettles to boil their meat ; contenting himself w^ith these provisions, in hopes to find out easily the Illinois, and return in a short time. Having assisted at the divine service in the chapel of the fort, to implore God's mercy and protection, he set out the 22d of April, 1G86, directing his march to the north-east. It is likely they wanted pirogues and canoes, or else M. de la Salle was not sure that he had found out the mouth of the Mississippi, otherwise it had been much easier to have found out the Illinois country by water, he knowing that the river of the Illinois runs into the Mississippi. After three days' march, they discovered the finest campaign coun- try in the world, and were met by many men on horseback, with boots, spurs, and saddles, which shows they had commerce with the Spaniards ; then marching two days over vast meadows, they saw such numbers of wild oxen, that the least droves consisted of about four hundred ; they killed ten of them, and rested two or three days to broil the meat for the rest of their voyage. M. de la Salle here altered his course, marching directly to the eastward. As he told nobody the reason of it, it was impossible to know what was his motive ; he was secret to a fault, and likely would have prospered better, had he been somewhat more commu- nicative. In their march, Nicana the savage cried out of a sudden that he was a dead man, having been stung by a rattlesnake. This Ii ' ii ' f' [1, ! ! ', .1' ? Ii Ii ;!■ f 218 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. obliged them to tarry some days in that place. They gave him im- mediately some orvietan ; and having scarified the wound, applied to it some salt of vipers, whereby he was recovered. After several days' march through a most delicious country, they came to a village of the Cenis, one of the most populous and largest in America, being about twenty leagues long, not in a continued street, but because the hamlets are so near one another that the whole looks as if it were but one. They found among them several things which they must have had from the Spaniards, as pieces of eight, silver spoons, lace, clothes, and horses. They had also a bull of the pope, exempting the Spaniards of New Mexico from fasting in sum- mer. Horses are so common that one was exchanged for an axe, and a fine one was oflered for Father Anastasius's capuch. They presented M. de la Salle with their calumet of peace in great cere- mony. By them he understood their country to be but six days' journey from the Spaniards. Having tarried several days among the Cenis, he continued his march through the country of the Nas- sonis, where four of his men ran away to that people, which sadly vexed him ; and a few days after, he, together with M. Moranget, his nephew, fell sick of a violent fever, which obliged our travellers to tarry in that place for several weeks ; for, notwithstanding they recovered, it vvas a long time before they were able to continue their voyage. This distemper disappointed all their measures, and was the occasion of several misfortunes that befel them afterwards. They tarried two whole months, being reduced to the greatest extremities. Their powder was almost spent, though they were not advanced above one hundred and fifty leagues in a direct line. Some of his men had deserted ; others began to be irresolute ; and all these things being carefully considered, M. de la Salle resolved to return to Fort Louis. Everybody approving it, they returned the same way, with- out meeting any remarkable accident, except that one of them was swallowed by a crocodile of a prodigious size in repassing a river. They came to their camp the 17th of October, 1686, where they were received with an incredible joy by their companions, who gave them over for lost among those barbarous nations. He remained two months and a half at Fort Louis, during which time he forgot not to comfort his small colony, which began to multiply, several children being born since their arrival. Having cast up an intrenchment about a large enclosure, wherein were the habitations of the colony, under the cannon of the fort, and taken all other precautions for their security, he called the inhabit- DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER MISSISSrPPI. 219 •emities. vanced of his things to Fort with- im was river. 5 they ) gave lained forgot iveral lerein t, and liabit- ants together, and made so pathetic a speech to thorn ahout the necessity he was under to make a voyage to the Illinois country, that he drew tears from every one of the assembly, for he was very much beloved. Then taking twenty men with liini, with his brother, his two nephews, Father Anastasius, and the Sieur .loutel, after public prayer, he set out a second time from Fort Louis, and resolved not to return till he had found the Illinois. M. de la Salic set out from the fort the 7th of January, 1087 ; and having crossed the river Salbonniero and I liens, with divers others which were mightily swollen by tiie rains, they came into a fine country for hunting, where his people refreshed tliemsclves after their tiresome travel, with excellent good cheer for several days together. lie had sent out M. Moranger his nephew, his lackey Saget, and seven or eight of his men to a certain place where Nika, his huntsman aforementioned, had laid up a stock of wild bulls' flesh, that they might get it smoked and dried to carry along with them, and so not be obliged to halt so frequently to hunt for provisions. With all his prudence, he could not discover the conspiracy of some of his people to kill his nephew ; for they resolved upon it, and put it in execution, all of a sudden, on the 17th of March, wounding him in the head with a hatchet. They slew likewise the lackey and poor Nika, who had provided for them by his hunting, with great toil and danger. Moranger languished under his wound for two hours, forgiving his murderers, and embracing them fre- quently. But these wretches, not content with this bloody fact, resolved not to stick here, but contrived how to kill their master too, for they feared he would justly punish them for their crime. M. de la Salle was two leagues from the place where Moranger was killed, and being concerned at his nephews' tarrying so long (for they had been gone two or three days), was afraid they were surprised by the savages ; whereupon he desired Father Anastasius to accompany him in looking after his nephew, and took two savages along with him. Upon the way, he entertained the father with a pious dis- course of divine Providence, which had preserved him in the many dangers he had undergone during twenty years' abode in America ; when all of a sudden Father Anastasius observed that he fell into a deep sorrow, of which he himself could give no account. He grew mighty unquiet and full of trouble, a temper he was never seen in before. When they were got about two leagues, he found his lackey's n ! I 220 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. i \:' i n ■! |l; lU bloody cravat, and perceived two eagles (a common bird in those parts) hovering over his head ; and at the same time, spied his people by the water side. He went to them and inquired for his nephew ; they made him little answer, but pointed to the place where he lay. Father Anastasius and he kept going on by the river side, till at last they came tc the fatal place, where two of the villains lay hid in the grass; one on one side, and one on the other, with their pieces cocked. The first presented at him, but missed fire ; the other fired at the same time, and shot him in the head, of which he died an hour after, March 19th, 1687. Father Anastasius seeing him fall a little way froni him, with his face all bloody, ran to him, took him up in his arms and wept over him, exhorting him as well as he could, in this conjuncture, to die a good Christian. The unfortunate gentleman had just time enough to confess part of his life to him, who gave him absolution, and soon after died. In his last moments he performed, as far as he was ca- pable, whatsoever was proper for one in his condition, pressing the father's hand at everything he said to him, especially when he ad- monished him to forgive his enemies. In the moan while, the mur- derers, struck with horror at what they huri committed, began to beat their breasts, and detest their rashness. Anastasius would not stir from the place, till he buried the body as decently as he could, and placed a cross over his grave. Thus fell the Sieur de la Salle, a man of considerable merit ; con- stant in adversities, intrepid, generous, courteous, ingenious, learned, and capable of everything. He had formerly been of the society of Jesus, for ten or eleven years, and quitted the order with consent of his superiors. He once showed me a letter, written at Rome, by the general of the order, testifying that the Sieur de la Salle had be- haved himself prudently in everything, without giving the least occasion to be suspected guilty of a venial sin. He had the ill hap to be massacred by his own servants, in the vigor of his age. The pious design he was upon, in relation to the conversion of those igno- rant nations, seems to have deserved a better fate. But as God's ways are not our ways, we must submit to Divine Providence, with- out troubling ourselves about a vain inquiry into the secrets of God Almighty. Father Anastasius hastened to find out M. Cavelier, brother of the defunct M. de la Salle, who was a pious and discreet ecclesiastic, perfectly qualified for a missionary, to whom he related his death. Pi? ■ ■ DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 221 10- Id's Ith- lod The murderers came rudely into the same cabin or Iiut presently after, seizing upon all they found in it. M. Cavolier, and the Sieur Cavelier, his nephew, expecting the villains came to butcher them, fell down on tiieir knees, and prepared themselves to die like Ohris- tiaps ; but the assassins, moved with compassion at the sight of the venerable old man, and being sorry besides for their late wicked deeds, resolved to spare them upon condition they should never return into France ; but they were a long time befi)re they fixed Opon granting them mercy. Some of tiiem that hail a mind to see their kindred once again, endeavored In clear themselves from so detest- able an action ; others said it was safest to rid their hands of these two innocent men, or else they might one day call them to an ac- count, if ever they met again in France. Tln^y chose the nmrderer of M. de la Salle (or their leader ; and upon deliberation resolved to go to the famous nation of the Cenis. These infamous murder- ers, in their march, made the two Cavcliers servo them as valets, giving them nothing but their leavings to eat. Upon the way, a contest arose between the nmrderer of M. de la Salle and one I fans, a German, about superiority; whereupon their men divided, one party following Hans, the other the murderer. Hans taking his opportunity, fired a pistol at the murderer; the bullet pierced Ids heart, and he dropped down dead upon the place. One of Ilans's crew shot him that killed M. Moranger, in the side ; and another let fly just at his head ; there was no ball in his musket, but the powder setting fire to his hair, catched his shirt and clothes with so much violence that he could not put it out, but expired in the flame. Thus Hans became leader of this miserable troop ; and the Cenis being then ready to march against their enemies, took Hans and some other Europeans along with them ; the rest waited till they should return, though Ilans would have persuaded them all to go, but they would not stir. As soon as Hans and his party were gone, the two Caveliers, the Sieur Joutcl, Father Anastasius and others, departed out of the country. The Cenis gave them two savages for guides. Each had his horse, powder, and lead, with some goods to defray their charges on the way. They marched north-eastward through the finest country in the world. On the 5th of September, they ar- rived at the mouth of the River Illinois, distant one hundred leagues from Fort Crevecceur, and navigable all the way for large vessels. A savage seeing them enter his village, ran by land to carry the news to M. 13olle Fontain, commander of the fort, who would not 222 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF LOUISIANA. believe liim. They following apace after him, came to the fort September 14th, and were presently conducted to the chapel, where Te Deum was thankfully sung. They tarried here till the spring of 1688 ; and, arriving at Quebec the 27th of July, they sailed for France the 20th of August following. J:.,- the fort (1, where spring of ailed for NEW AND VALUABLE BOOKS, PUBLISHED BT WILEY AND PUTNylM. '^'1 n ■i ! NEW YORK: 1846. 161 Broadway, January, 1846. WILEY AND PUTNAM'S LIBRARV OF CHOICE READING. BOOKS WHICH ARE BOOKS." 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Tlu,' author has the rare faculty of making' his readers feel as it they were his cnmjin^nons de vo)/a/^e ; and everuhini.; that he relates seems to becoivc witii them almost a matter of personal experience. The grace and beauty .iiid power witi> wiiich he describes the scenes and places that he witnessed and visitetl, have not been surpassed by any modern traveller." — Albany .Ir^u.i. "■ This is, indeed, a relreshiiiL; book. It is from the pen of a man of known science; but he is also a philosopher, and one who looks rather ut tlie i^reat causes and their cllects in Nature and in society, tiian at those trilled whicii take up the attention of lesser minds, and u[)on which such minda but too iVeipiently, alone deligiit to dwell." — Buffalo Pilot. " Few books more really valuable have recently iieen issued from the American \iVi-Ai."~liuffalo Advertiser. " Its scientilic investi;;ations, and its impartiality as a Journal, render this work Worthy of beins? e.xlensively read." — Hunt's Ala^azine. '• We iiave read this book with great pleasure and instruction, .... and can confidently recommend it." — ^V. O. Delta. "We must now leave this desirable and instructive publication to the popularity it so well deserves, both from the scientific and the general xeiAex"— Anglo-American.