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xvn 


THE    STORY    OF   THE    STATES 

EDITED   HY 

ELBKIDGE   S    BROOKS 


_ 


THE  STORY  OF  THE   STATES 

THE  STORY  OF  LOUISIANA 

iy\  ml 

BY 

MAURICE  THOMPSON 


IHwlralim,  fyL/  Brklgm* 


BOSTON 
D    LOTHROP   COMPANY 

PKANKMN    AND    HAWLEY   STREETS 


Copyright,  1888, 

BY 

D.    Lothrop   Company. 


BERWICK  A   SMITH,    PRINTERS,   BOSTON. 


\ 
I 


\ 


PREFACE. 


The  task  assumed  in  undertaking  to  write  this  "  Story  of 
Louisiana"  was  full  of  difficulties  of  a  kind  not  discoverable 
at  a  first  glance.  It  was  not  a  history  that  was  demanded  of 
me,  but  something  more  and  something  less  than  a  detailed 
record  of  all  the  events  of  interest  connected  with  the  birth 
and  growth  of  the  great  Commonwealth  under  consideration. 
It  must  be  a  connected,  succinct  story,  free  from  dreary  statis- 
tics and  relieved  of  everything  like  political  or  social  philos- 
ophy, and  yet  bearing  upon  its  current  the  very  sheens  and 
shadows  of  the  life  it  is  meant  to  reflect,  and  containing  in  its 
substance    the   essential    truths   of   the   history  it   represents. 

Such  a  story  is  not  to  be  well  told  by  him  who  runs  as  he  tells 
it.  Easy  reading  for  an  ease-loving  public  is  prepared  at  the 
expense  of  untiring  labor,  even  when  genius  drives  the  pen  and 
fiction  is  the  product  most  desired  ;  much  more  is  it  a  work 
of  toil  when  the  mere  uninspired  compiler  of  events  is  expected 
to  link  and  group  dry  facts  in  a  way  that  will  insure  the  most 
truthful  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  picturesque  impression 
of  the  history  involved.  The  novelist  may,  nay,  he  must,  take 
liberties  with  truth.  The  historian  has  no  alternative  ;  he  must 
follow  the  current  of  his  subject  from  fact  to  fact  and  take 
things  just  as  they  present  themselves.  This  Procrustean  de- 
mand of  truth  presents  to  the  writer  a  limitation  singularly 
inimical  to  unity  of  effect  and  peculiarly  deadly  to  dramatic 
directness  of  presentation,  especially  when  the  history  in  hand 
is  to  be  so  brief  as  to  enforce  the  utmost  economy  of  phrasing. 


PREFACE. 

The  history  of  Louisiana  is  so  rich  in  minor  incidents  and 
so  barren  of  any  great  features  exclusively  its  own,  that  to 
write  it  with  best  effect  would  require  several  volumes  as  large 
as  the  one  here  presented.  Much  that  belongs  to  the  stories  of 
Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Illinois  and  Texas 
would  have  to  be  included  in  such  a  work.  For  obvious  rea- 
sons, therefore,  I  have  confined  my  story  strictly  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  Territory  and  the  State  of  Louisiana.  I  have 
not  attempted  to  record  every  incident.  I  have  been  forced  to 
leave  out  many,  and  often  the  task  of  deciding  what  to  use 
and  what  to  reject  out  of  the  mass  of  materials  has  been  a 
vexing  one.  Throughout  this  labor  my  aim  has  been  to  give 
a  vivid,  truthful  and  impartial  impression  of  Louisiana's  civili- 
zation from  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  River  down  to  the 
present  time,  and  to  so  do  it  that  the  whole  could  be  dis- 
cussed fully  by  any  reader  within  the  space  of  a  few  hours. 


K^P£ccT/^^ 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

A  COLONY  OF   FRANCE II 

i 699-1 7 13. 
CHAPTER   II. 

A   PAPER    ELDORADO  35 

1713-1722. 

CHAPTER   III. 

IN   THE   DAYS   OF    BIENVILLE 62 

1722-1732. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

FROM    FRANCE  TO   SPAIN 88 

I734-I769- 

CHAPTER  V. 

UNDER  THE   FLAG   OF   SPAIN 113 

1769-1793. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

INTRIGUE  AND  UNREST 138 

I 793-1803. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

UNDER  THE   STARS   AND   STRIPES 1 62 

1803-1810. 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS 184 

1803-1815. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   ORLEANS 2IO 

1815. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  OLD   REGIME 235 

1815-1861. 

CHAPTER   XI. 

IN   THE  CIVIL   WAR 26 1 

1861-1874. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   PELICAN   STATE 284 

1874-1888. 

THE  CHRONOLOGICAL   STORY 303 

THE   PEOPLE'S  COVENANT 325 

BOOKS   RELATING   TO    LOUISIANA 330 

INDEX 333 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACiB. 

Packenham's  charge Frontispiece. 

De  Soto.    Initial n 

La  Salle  displays  the  arms  of  France 17 

At  the  English  turn      .                27 

John  Law.     Initial 35 

Bienville  building  Fort  Rosalie 41 

Laying  out  New  Orleans re 

Father  Charlevoix      Initial 62 

The  last  reed                          67 

Death  to  the  Natchez  I 81 

Bienville.     Initial 88 

A  primitive  sugar  mill 93 

Lafreniere's  appeal  to  the  council 105 

Don  Alexander  O'Reilly.     Initial 113 

The  death  of  Villie>e    .        .        .        . 119 

On  the  Bayou  Teche 131 

Etienne  de  Bore\     Initial 138 

The  sale  of  Louisiana 151 

General  Wilkinson.    Initial 162 

Filles  a  la  Cassette 167 

Governor  Claiborne.     Initial 184 

"  On  to  Orleans," :  The  Negro  Insurrection 193 

General  Jackson.    Initial 210 

Jackson's  Sharp-Shooters 221 

The  old  French  Market.    Initial 235 

In  Acadia 249 

A  Louisiana  "  Tiger."    Initial 261 

In  the  cane-brake 277 

Sorghum  and  pelican.    Initial 284 

By  the  old  quarters 289 

On  the  levee » 297 


THE  STORY  OF  LOUISIANA 


CHAPTER   I. 


A     COLONY     OF    FRANCE. 


'HE  vignette  for 
the  story  of 
Louisiana  was 
sketched  by  the 
hand  of  De 
to,  who,  during  four 
irs  of  wandering,  left 
romantic  autograph 
scrawled  from  Tampa 
Bay  to  the  Mississippi. 
Scarcely  three  and  a  half  centuries  ago  the  first 
rumor  of  the  great  western  river  reached  the  ears 
of  European  nations  already  tingling  with  the  fas- 
cinating stories  of  Columbus  and  his  followers. 
Mexico  had  fallen  before  Cortes;  Peru  had  poured 
her  spoils  into  the  bloody  hands  of  Pizarro.  Ships 
were  slipping  away  from  the  ports  of  Spain  with 
their  prows  to  the  southwest.     The  wind  in  their 


12  A    COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

sails  was  the  breath  of  fortune.  It  was  a  time  of 
discovery,  of  conquest  and  of  booty.  When  the 
ships  returned  they  came  loaded  with  gold  and 
bearing  the  heroes  of  wild  battles,  the  doers  of 
strange  deeds. 

Men  stood  upon  the  eastern  coasts  of  the  Atlantic 
and  shading  their  eyes  gazed  out  over  the  blue 
water  with  a  longing  which  was  compounded  of  all 
the  passions  and  ambitions  that  can  stir  the  human 
heart.  Over  beyond  the  dreamy  horizon  line  in 
the  far  southwest  lay  El  dorado,  the  land  of  eter- 
nal bloom  and  fragrance,  of  honors  easily  won,  of 
wealth  unclaimed  and  undefended,  the  land  of  health 
for  the  sick,  of  youth  for  the  aged  and  of  kingdoms ' 
for  the  ambitious.  There  too  was  outspread  a 
wide  field  for  the  enthusiasm  of  the  priest ;  there 
stretched  an  engaging  wilderness  for  the  labors  of 
the  scientist,  and  the  discoverer.  It  was  a  time 
of  longing,  of  expectation  and  of  surprise. 

Charles  V.  had  come  to  the  full  control  of  his 
vast  empire;  Villalar  had  been  fought,  Valencia 
had  been  subdued  and  the  Castilian  grandees  had 
been  shown  that  the  Emperor  was  indeed  their 
master. 

De  Soto  returned  from  Peru,  whither  he  had 
been  with  Pizarro.  He  was  covered  with  glory  on 
account  of  his  bravery,  his  energy  and  his  discov- 
eries.    Moreover  he  bore  a  burden  of  gold  which 


A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  1 3 

made  him  one  of  the  rich  men  of  Spain.  Charles 
borrowed  a  part  of  his  fortune  and  in  turn  appointed 
him  governor  of  Cuba  and  president  of  Florida. 
This  double  office,  coupled  with  the  wealth  and 
prestige  brought  from  Peru,  gave  De  Soto  an 
independence  and  power  practically  unlimited. 

At  once  he  formed  plans  of  conquest,  and  in 
*539  he  landed  at  Tampa  Bay,  Florida,  with  an 
enthusiastic  and  daring  band  of  followers  whose 
imaginations  were  on  fire  with  dreams  of  rich 
cities  to  be  plundered,  and  of  fertile  fields  to 
be  foraged  from.  Such  a  march  as  was  then 
begun  by  those  high-spirited  adventurers,  if  we 
may  believe  the  story,  has  no  parallel  in  his- 
tory. "It  was,"  says  Theodore  Irving,  "  poetry  put 
into  action ;  it  was  the  knight-errantry  of  the  Old 
World  carried  into  the  depths  of  the  American 
wilderness.  The  personal  adventures,  the  feats  of 
individual  prowess,  the  picturesque  descriptions  of 
steel-clad  cavaliers  with  lance  and  helm,  and  pranc- 
ing steed,  glittering  through  the  wildernesses  of 
Florida,  Georgia,  Alabama  and  the  prairies  of  the 
Far  West,  would  seem  to  us  mere  fictions  of 
romance,  did  they  not  come  to  us  in  the  matter-of- 
fact  narratives  of  those  who  were  eye-witnesses, 
and  who  recorded  minute  memoranda  of  every 
day's  incidents." 

The  wanderings  of  this  band  of  adventurers  in 


14  A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

search  of  an  empire  went  on  from  month  to  month. 
For  nearly  four  years  they  groped  in  the  jungles, 
waded  or  swam  the  rivers,  climbed  the  hills,  ran- 
sacked the  valleys  and  fought  the  wild  natives,  ever 
led  on  by  will-o'-the-wisp  rumors  of  a  fabulously 
rich  country  a  little  way  off,  mayhap  just  beyond 
the  very  next  wall  of  dense  forest. 

They  found  red  nomads  and  shifting  villages, 
they  saw  strange  vegetation,  they  encountered  wild 
beasts,  they  felt  in  their  blood  the  poison  of  the  fell 
malaria ;  but  here  was  no  gold ;  the  cities,  the  cas- 
tles, and  the  palaces  eluded  them ;  they  began  to 
fall  and  die  by  the  way. 

De  Soto  had  risked  his  private  fortune  in  the 
enterprise,  and  doubtless  felt  that  he  could  not 
turn  back.  His  hopefulness,  courage  and  energy 
were  magnetic,  as  such  high  qualities  always  are, 
and  his  men  kept  up  their  expectancy  without  flag- 
ging until  at  last  the  Mississippi  River  was  reached. 
Here  was  a  stream  of  immense  volume,  dark  and  tur- 
bulent, rolling  majestically  through  the  wilderness 
to  the  sea.  While  attempting  to  follow  the  river 
to  its  mouth  De  Soto  fell  ill ;  he  died,  and  on  the 
twenty-first  of  May,  1542,  his  body  was  buried  be- 
neath the  muddy  waters   of  "the  Hidden  River." 

Thus  the  hero  of  Darien  and  Peru  found  a  grave 
in  the  stream  the  discovery  of  which  was  the  only 
valuable  fruit  of  that  long  disastrous  journey.     His 


A    COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  1 5 

substance  was  wasted;  his  dream  of  empire  was 
dispelled.  "  The  Adelantado  of  Cuba  and  Florida," 
says  Dr.  Shea;  "he  who  had  hoped  to  gather  the 
wealth  of  nations,  left  as  his  property  five  Indian 
slaves,  three  hocses  and  a  herd  of  swine."  But  his 
discovery  of  the  great  river  of  the  West  and  the 
untold  difficulties  through  which  he  won  its  banks 
have  given  him  a  place  in  history  as  imperishable 
as  that  achieved  by  Cortes  and  Pizarro,  the  con- 
querors of  empires. 

De  Soto's  little  band  thus  deprived  of  their  inde- 
fatigable leader,  attempted  to  go  back  overland  to 
Florida,  but  were  unable  to  do  it.  They  returned 
to  the  river  and,  fighting  their  way  through  hosts 
of  Indian  foemen,  navigated  the  Mississippi  to  its 
mouth,  a  voyage  of  nineteen  days.  Once  more 
upon  the  sea  they  coasted  around  to  Panuco  in 
Mexico  whence  some  of  them  returned  to  Spain 
and  made  public  the  story  of  the  expedition. 
Thus  began  in  disaster  and  death  the  story  of 
of  Louisiana. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Mississippi  was  swollen 
by  the  spring  rains  at  about  the  time  of  De  Soto's 
death,  and  the  survivors  of  the  band  no  doubt  gave 
an  exaggerated  description  of  its  mighty  volume. 
The  imagination  of  the  Spaniard  clung  to  the  idea 
of  conquest,  and  the  thought  of  leading  a  fleet  up 
this  great  river  of  the  West  was  full  of  fascination. 


1 6  A    COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  had  discovered  Florida  in 
15 1 2,  but  had  failed  in  his  attempt  to  colonize  it. 
Sixteen  years  later  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  entered 
the  bay  of  Pensacola,  and  with  about  four  hun- 
dred men  remained  there  nearly  six  months; 
then  he  sailed  away  to  the  westward  and  went 
down  in  a  storm  on  the  gulf,  off  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi. 

In  1564  Rene  Gonlaine  de  Laudonniere  landed 
near  the  present  site  of  St.  Augustine ;  from  thence 
he  went  up  the  St.  John  River  and  built  Fort  Caro- 
line which  he  filled  with  a  garrison  of  Huguenots. 
This  was  deemed  an  insult  to  the  Spanish  Catholics 
and  was  resented  in  the  most  inhuman  way  by  Pedro 
Menendez  de  Aviles,  general  of  the  fleet  to  New 
Spain  and  Adelantado  of  Florida.  Hastily  gather- 
ing a  sufficient  force  Menendez  pounced  upon  the 
fort  and  murdered  every  Frenchman  it  contained, 
hanging  up  their  bodies  with  the  label  attached, 
"  I  do  not  this  to  Frenchmen,  but  to  Heretics."  A 
little  later  Dominic  de  Gourgues,  the  Frenchman, 
sailed  into  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John  and  in  like 
manner  hung  up  the  Spaniards,  not  because  they 
were  Spaniards,  but  because  they  were  "traitors, 
robbers  and  murderers."  It  was  by  such  bloody 
steps  as  these  that  the  reign  of  the  Buccaneers 
came  on  apace,  until  at  length  almost  every  sail 
on  the  Spanish  main  was  that  of  a  pirate. 


A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  IQ 

Meantime  on  the  Antilles  and  along  the  coasts 
of  Mexico  colonies  had  been  thriving  or  lan- 
guishing, feasting  or  starving,  as  the  fortunes  of 
the  time  favored  or  frowned ;  but  the  mouth  of 
the  great  river  had  called  in  vain  for  an  explorer. 
Indeed,  as  the  wealth  of  Mexico  and  Peru  dis- 
appeared and  as  the  wars  of  Europe  encouraged 
privateering,  the  business  of  exploring  was  given 
over  for  the  wild  life  of  the  corsair.  A  ship  with 
heavy  guns,  a  reckless,  motley  crew  and  a  ren- 
dezvous in  one  of  the  Caribbean  islands  were  the 
prerequisites  to  a  free  life  on  the  ocean  as  master 
buccaneer.  The  Gulf  of  Mexico  was  dotted  with 
the  dark  hulls  and  gleaming  sails  of  errant  vessels 
prowling  for  prey.  The  sentiment  flung  from  one 
deck  to  another  was  taking  the  form  of  "  Death  to 
the  Spaniard  !  " 

Little  enough  like  prosy  history  are  the  accounts 
we  have  of  those  strange  days.  The  picture  is 
peculiar  in  all  its  details.  Men  of  iron  hearts, 
without  conscience  or  the  sentiment  of  mercy, 
gathered  from  all  over  the  world  and  banded  them- 
selves together  for  two  purposes :  the  killing  of 
Spaniards  and  the  capture  of  gold.  All  the  sea, 
from  the  Antilles  to  the  western  shore  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  is  prowled  over  by  these  dark-faced, 
restless  corsair  bands,  who  descend  upon  the  Span- 
ish settlements    to   slay,   to  pillage   and    to  burn. 


26  A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

Wherever  a  priest  has  set  a  cross  and  said  a  mass 
or  sung  the  Te  Deum  in  the  name  of  Heaven  and 
the  Spanish  king,  comes  to  redden  the  spot  with 
blood  and  to  bear  away  its  booty  the  reckless  and 
remorseless  buccaneer. 

It  is  a  savagely  picturesque  life  of  which  the 
chronicles  of  the  old  voyagers  give  us  glimpses  — 
when  priests  were  pirates  and  gentlemen  were 
robbers,  when  Great  Britain  and  France  permitted, 
nay,  encouraged,  the  building  and  equipping  of 
buccaneer  vessels  in  their  shipyards,  and  bade 
them  godspeed  as  sails  were  set  and  prows  were 
boldly  headed  toward  the  Spanish  main.  We  can- 
not altogether  realize  that  we  are  reading  what  is 
substantially  true,  the  coloring  is  so  romantic,  the 
atmosphere  so  like  that  of  poetry,  the  grouping  so 
strangely  fantastic  and  the  whole  impression  so 
alien  to  the  lines  of  life  as  we  know  them.  There 
is  an  Homeric  ring  in  the  story  of  De  Soto  and  his 
battles,  his  wanderings,  his  dream  of  new  golden 
fortunes  and  his  pathetic  death  —  a  ring  which 
echoes  clearly  enough  from  beyond  the  booming 
of  corsair  guns  and  through  the  hoarse  shouts  of 
pirate  crews  boarding  the  hapless  merchant  ships 
of  the  Spanish  king  a  century  or  so  later. 

In  1673  Marquette  and  Jolict  reached  the 
Mississippi  from  the  Canadian  settlements  and 
navigated  its  waters  as  far  southward  as  the  mouth 


A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  21 

of  the  Arkansas  River.  Nine  years  later  the  Sieur 
de  la  Salle  set  out  from  Canada,  and  embarking 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River  went  down  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  where  he  set  up  a  cross 
bearing  the  arms  of   France. 

This  voyage  gave  rise  to  another  still  more  re- 
markable. La  Salle  returned  to  France  and  made 
such  representations  and  reports  as  secured  to 
him  the  command  of  a  fleet  sent  by  his  govern- 
ment, ostensibly  to  explore  and  fortify  the  mouths 
of  the  Mississippi,  but  really  to  make  conquest 
of  a  rich  mining  province  in  Mexico.  He  pre- 
tended to  lose  his  course,  and  so  steered  past  the 
Mississippi  and  entered  Matagorda  Bay  on  the 
coast  of  Texas.  Here  he  lost  a  part  of  his  fleet 
and  spent  a  long  time  making  excursions  into  the 
interior,  without  any  valuable  results,  after  which, 
having  looked  in  vain  for  reinforcements  that 
had  been  promised  to  him,  he  undertook  to  make 
his  way  with  fifty  men  to  the  Mississippi  and 
thence  on  to  Canada.  But  while  wandering  in  the 
Louisiana  marshes  he  was  basely  murdered  by  his 
companions  who,  after  incredible  hardships,  again 
reached  the  Mississippi,  and  ascending  it  returned 
to  the  French  settlements  and  thence  to  France. 

By  this  time  the  thought  of  taking  and  holding 
the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  had  fastened 
itself  in   the  minds  of  many  ambitious  men  who 


22  A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

began  to  see  that  the  river  was  the  key  to  the 
continent.  A  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  east- 
ward of  the  great  river  —  at  Pensacola  on  the 
western  coast  of  Florida  —  there  was  a  weak  set- 
tlement, chiefly  a  rendezvous  for  Spanish  pirates, 
though  on  good  terms  with  all  manner  of  roving 
free-booters  of  the  sea ;  but  from  this  point  west- 
ward to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and  far 
beyond,  the  coast  was  unoccupied.  The  prize,  the 
most  valuable  that  ever  was  captured  by  man,  lay 
untouched  ;  but  not  long. 

In  1699  Pierre  Le  Moyne  d' Iberville,  a  native  of 
Canada,  and  styled  by  his  admirers  "the  Cid  of 
New  France,"  came  from  France  with  emigrants  to 
the  Gulf  coast  and  cast  anchor  about  sixty  miles 
east  of  the  present  site  of  New  Orleans.  Soon 
there  were  French  colonies  at  Biloxi,  at  Bay  St. 
Louis,  and  on  Ship  Island  and  Cat  Island.  Mobile 
was  then  made  the  capital  of  so-called  Louisiana, 
and  thus  remained  until  some  time  after  the  found- 
ing of  New  Orleans. 

The  shores  of  all  the  little  bays  on  the  Gulf 
coast  between  Mobile  and  the  Mississippi's  mouth 
are  beautiful  white  bluffs  rising  from  five  to  thirty 
feet  above  the  water.  The  soil  is  sandy  and  light, 
but  the  forests  that  grow  from  it  are  dense  and 
dark,  composed  of  giant  live-oaks,  water-oaks, 
magnolias,  pines,   cedars   and   a   great   variety   of 


A    COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  23 

smaller  trees.  Viewed  from  a  distance  off-shore, 
these  bluffs  looked  like  a  range  of  low,  dark  hills 
with  chalk  cliffs  breaking  from  the  front.  A  line 
of  islands,  the  chief  of  which  are  Cat  and  Ship, 
runs  parallel  with  the  general  trend  of  the  coast  at 
a  distance  of  from  ten  to  thirty  miles  out,  forming 
a  sound  which  is  a  safe  harbor  for  small  craft,  and 
in  places  is  sufficiently  deep  to  accommodate  heavy 
ships.  Naturally  enough,  therefore,  these  beautiful, 
dry  and  breezy  bluffs  were  first  chosen  as  sites  for 
settlements.  The  aborigines,  too,  had  been  pleased 
with  the  region,  and  for  many  years  the  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  the  Southern  Indians  with  their  wives 
and  children  had  made  it  a  summer  resort,  camping 
on  the  high  points  under  the  spreading  live-oaks  and 
bathing  in  the  shallow  surf  of  the  sandy  beaches. 

The  place  was  one  to  invite  repose  and  dream- 
ing. The  placid  water,  the  blooming,  fragrant 
forests  and  the  warm  Southern  breezes  lulled  am- 
bition, quieted  avarice,  and  for  a  time  threatened  to 
overcome  even  the  restless  energy  of  the  explorers. 
The  estuaries  and  creeks  were  teeming  with  fish, 
and  the  woods  and  jungles  were  full  of  game,  so 
that  it  required  no  great  effort  to  procure  plenty  of 
food  of  the  most  wholesome  sort.  It  was  a  lotus 
land  in  which  the  careless  adventurers  lay  down  for 
a  time  to  laze  and  dream. 

D'Iberville,  however,  kept  his  mind  on  the  great 


24  A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

river  over  beyond  the  Rigolets  and  Ponchartrain. 
His  dream  was  of  founding  a  city  and  of  building 
up  a  rich  colony  in  this  charming  country. 

Meantime  the  Spanish  and  the  English  were 
feeling  their  way  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi.  Pensacola  was  the  base  of  Spanish 
operations  whilst  the  British  as  yet  had  no  im- 
mediate footing,  but  were  sailing  along  the  coasts 
and  seeking  a  favorable  spot  for  a  colony. 

Two  schemes  suggested  themselves  in  connec- 
tion with  the  plans  of  colonization :  one  maritime, 
the  other  agricultural.  On  one  hand  it  appeared 
practicable  to  build  a  coast  city  and  fortress  with 
a  good  harbor  from  which  the  navigation  of  the 
Gulf  could  be  controlled  and  the  trade  with  Mexico 
be  monopolized,  whilst  on  the  other  hand  the 
Mississippi  Valley  was  known  to  be  incomparably 
fertile,  and  of  an  extent  which  made  it  the  most 
promising  area  of  the  New  World  for  the  founding 
of  an  empire.  The  river,  however,  for  a  hundred 
miles  above  its  mouth  had  no  banks  that  offered 
a  site  for  a  town.  Dreary  marshes  and  dusky 
swamps  inundated  by  every  freshet,  alternated  with 
lakes  and  bayous,  the  haunts  of  water-fowl  and 
alligators  and  infested  with  tormenting  insects  and 
deadly  malarias. 

Against  the  project  of  building  a  city  on  the 
Gulf  bluffs  was  the  fact  that  the  soil  was  poor  and 


A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  25 

incapable  of  supporting  a  dense  population.  To 
this  day  those  beautiful  sand  bluffs  remain  what 
they  were  then,  simply  the  charmingest  spots  in 
the  world  for  refuge  from  the  heat  of  our  Southern 
summer  and  for  resting-places  during  the  cold  of 
our  Northern  winter.  To  Bay  St.  Louis,  Pass 
Christian,  Biloxi,  Mississippi  City,  and  Ocean 
Springs  the  wealthy  families  of  New  Orleans  go 
to  reside  during  the  sultry  months  in  picturesque 
cottages  overlooking  that  very  sea  whereon  the 
little  fleet  of  d'  Iberville  lay  at  anchor  in  the  last 
year  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  under  the  same 
wide-spreading,  dusky  oak-trees  that  sheltered  the 
light-hearted  and  reckless  adventurer  who  a  little 
later  followed  the  fortunes  of  his  brother  lieutenant 
Bienville. 

Soon  after  landing  at  Ship  Island,  d' Iberville 
found  his  way  into  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
and  proceeded  up  the  stream,  probably  as  far  as  to 
the  mouth  of  Red  River.  Returning  he  explored 
and  named  lakes  Maurepas  and  Ponchartrain.  It 
was  on  March  2,  1699,  that  the  commandant  first 
entered  the  Mississippi  "  With  two  row-boats,  some 
bark  canoes  and  fifty-three  men."  The  spring  was 
opening  and  the  scenes  that  greeted  his  eyes  were 
of  a  kind  to  impress  his  imagination  and  to  fill  his 
mind  with  glowing  anticipations.  He  saw  that  the 
country  was   one  of  incomparable   importance   to 


his  Government,  and  becoming  aware  that  British 
vessels  were  trying  to  find  a  suitable  spot  for  a 
colony,  on  May  3  he  left  his  company  under  con- 
trol of  Sauvolle  de  la  Villantry, "  a  discreet  young  ^ 
man  of  merit  and  capable  of  fulfilling  his  duty," 
and  sailed  for  France. 

At  this  time  the  chief  nations  of  Europe  were 
looking  askance  at  each  other,  regarding  the  out- 
come of  a  great  game  of  diplomacy.  The  represen- 
tative of  France  had  secured  a  controlling  influence 
over  the  court  of  Spain;  Charles  II.  had  been  in- 
duced to  make  a  will  nominating  Philip,  Duke  of 
Anjou,  as  his  heir  and  for  the  moment  Louis  XIV. 
was  happy,  feeling  that  civil  strategy  had  done 
for  him  what  war  could  never  have  accomplished. 
Complications  followed  almost  immediately,  how- 
ever, and  for  some  years  little  attention  was  paid  to 
the  brave  Canadian  and  his  handful  of  followers 
who  along  the  course  of  the  great  river  of  the  West 
were  struggling  to  secure  for  France  a  territory 
which  was  soon  to  attract  the  eves  of  the  whole 
world. 

Sauvolle  looked  about  him  for  the  best  means 
of  carrying  out  d' Iberville's  orders  to  explore  the 
country.  He  had  formed  pleasant  relations  with 
the  chief  of  the  Bavagoulas  Indians  and  he  dis- 
patched  a  party  of  his  men  under  Bienville,  with 
this  chief  as  guide,  to  the  region  north  of   Lake 


I 


A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  29 

Ponchartrain.  The  expedition  set  out  from  Biloxi, 
where,  on  the  east  coast,  cT  Iberville  had  erected  a 
rude  fort  between  two  ravines. 

Bienville,  who  had  been  named  by  d' Iberville  as 
the  "  lieutenant  of  the  king  "  or  the  second  in  com- 
mand, was  a  younger  brother  of  the  absent  d' Iber- 
ville. He  was  a  bright  young  fellow  of  eighteen, 
active,  ambitious  and  brilliant.  Such  a  mission  was 
exactly  suited  to  his  taste.  He  pressed  forward 
across  the  Jordan  and  Pearl  rivers  in  the  country 
of  the  Colipassas.  From  these  Indians,  who  were 
acquainted  with  the  English,  he  learned  that  British 
adventurers  had  recently  led  a  band  of  Chickasaws 
in  an  attack  upon  a  village  of  the  Colipassas. 

With  this  startling  intelligence  he  hastened  back 
to  the  fort  to  consult  with  Sauvolle,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  certain  suggestions  in  the  orders  left  by 
d'Iberville,  he  made  some  explorations  to  the  east- 
ward, and  then  sailed  around  into  the  Mississippi. 
After  an  examination  of  the  two  bayous,  Plaque- 
mines and  Chetimachas,  Bienville  on  the  sixteenth 
of  September  was  returning  home  when  at  a 
point,  eighteen  miles  below  where  New  Orleans 
now  stands,  he  suddenly  came  upon  a  British  frigate 
carrying  twelve  guns.  The  vessel  proved  to  be  one 
of  an  English  fleet  sent  by  a  claimant  to  a  large 
grant  in  the  province  of  South  Carolina.  The  in- 
trepid young  French  lieutenant  though  startled  at 


30  A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

the  sight  was  quite  equal  to  the  occasion.  He  told 
the  English  commander  a  fine  story,  representing 
that  France  had  already  taken  possession  of  the 
river,  that  colonies  had  been  planted  at  many  points 
on  its  banks,  and  that  he  was  just  now  returning 
from  a  visit  to  them.  Thereupon  the  vessel  turned 
about  and  with  a  threat  from  its  captain  to  return 
at  some  time  and  assert  England's  right  to  this  new 
discovery,  it  sailed  out  of  the  Mississippi,  and  left 
the  young  diplomat  master  of  the  situation.  And 
ever  since  that  day  the  bend  of  the  river  at  the 
point  where  this  strategy  was  performed  has  been 
called  the  English  Turn. 

The  colony  at  Biloxi  was  not  prosperous.  Sau- 
volle,  an  invalid  at  best,  was  slowly  dying  of  fever 
and  Bienville  could  do  no  more  than  make  rather 
aimless  excursions  hither  and  thither  while  waiting 
to  receive  aid  from  France.  The  days  and  months 
dragged  slowly  by  until  August  22,  1701,  when 
Sauvolle  died  suddenly  leaving  young  Bienville  at 
the  head  of  affairs.  In  March,  1702  d' Iberville 
returned  and  brought  supplies.  His  first  orders  to 
Bienville  were  to  leave  twenty  men  with  Boisbriant, 
his  cousin,  in  charge  of  the  fort  at  Biloxi,  and  with 
the  rest  of  the  garrison  to  go  over  to  Mobile  Bay 
and  establish  a  post  there.  This  was  promptly  done 
and  d' Iberville  returned  to  France.  Now  began  a 
long  and  bitter  period  of   waiting  and  watching, 


A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  3 1 

sickness,  starvation,  death.  For  a  time,  indeed,  all 
went  well.  The  colony  had  plenty  of  provisions 
and  even  sent  supplies  to  its  Spanish  neighbors  at 
Pensacola.  This  could  not  last,  however,  and  at 
length  the  men  were  reduced  to  the  last  extremity 
of  suffering. 

The  great  Continental  War  of  1703  had  begun 
and  d'Iberville  had  been  detained  and  ordered  to 
duty  in  the  French  navy.  The  mother  country 
had  little  time  to  think  of  her  weak  and  distant 
little  colony.  The  battle  of  Blenheim  was  in  the 
near  future,  and  the  whole  of  Europe  was  under 
the  strain  of  tremendous  excitement.  At  the  last 
moment  Bienville  received  some  supplies  from 
Pensacola,  and  a  little  later  a  French  vessel  com- 
manded by  d' Iberville's  brother  Chateauguay  came 
to  his  relief. 

In  1705  another  vessel  arrived  from  France  and 
the  supply  it  bore  to  the  bachelor  colonists  con- 
sisted in  part  of  twenty  poor  but  pretty  girls  sent 
to  them  by  their  king  with  the  following  note:  — 

"  His  Majesty  sends  twenty  girls  to  be  married  to  the  Canadians  and  to 
the  other  inhabitants  of  Mobile,  in  order  to  consolidate  the  colony." 

It  may  be  added  as  the  fitting  close  to  this  incipi- 
ent romance  that  this  "cargo  of  girls  "  was  speedily 
disposed  of  and  that  there  were  twenty  marriages 
within  thirty  days  of  the  arrival  of  the  cargo. 


32  A    COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 


Dissensions  arose  between  Bienville  and  some 
of  the  other  officials  of  the  colony,  and  the  former 
came  near  losing  his  place.  He  was  saved  by  an 
accident  and  by  almost  incredible  energy  and  tact 
kept  the  interest  in  Louisiana  from  dying  out  in 
France. 

Colonization  proceeded  but  slowly.  In  171 2  the 
total  population  reached  barely  four  hundred  per- 
sons, including  twenty  negroes,  and  it  is  asserted 
that  Bienville  was  compelled  to  keep  a  strict  watch 
over  the  few  "  rich  men  "  of  the  colony  lest  they 
should  run  away. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  September  of  this  very  year 
of  1 712,  the  French  government  granted  to  the 
Sieur  Antony  Crozat  the  exclusive  right,  for  fifteen 
years,  of  trading  in  the  undefined  territory  then 
claimed  bv  France  under  the  name  of  Louisiana, 
and  to  which  the  Mississippi  River  was  the  royal 
highway.  Crozat,  who  was  a  man  of  immense 
wealth  became  thus,  in  fact  if  not  in  name,  the 
owner  of  that  great  country.  He  sent  La  Mothe 
Cadillac  to  be  governor  in  place  of  Bienville.  The 
"  Father  of  the  Colony,"  as  Louisianians  love  to 
call  Bienville,  was  nominated  Lieutenant-Governor. 

Cadillac  and  his  subalterns  arrived  on  the  seven- 
teenth of  May,  1 713,  and  landed  on  Dauphine 
Island.  The  country  was  in  the  full  blow  of  a 
semi-tropical   spring,  but   Cadillac  had  no  eye  for 


A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE.  33 

the  picturesque.  He  was  greatly  disappointed. 
This  was  not  the  Eldorado  that  he  had  come  to 
find.  Crozat  believed  that  King  Louis  had  given 
him  a  lien  on  a  treasure  land  and  he  had  ordered 
his  governor  to  search  for  mines  of  precious  metal. 
Cadillac  had  thus  been  led  to  expect  that  a  career 
surpassing  that  of  Pizarro  in  Peru  would  at  once 
open  to  him.  Instead  of  this  he  found  a  poor- 
looking  sandy  coast  and  a  scattered  and  wretched 
little  colony,  whose  only  revenue  seemed  to  be 
derived  from  the  sale  of  vegetables  to  their  Spanish 
neighbors  of  Florida.  It  was  a  sad  blow  to  his 
high  schemes  and  he  could  see  but  a  gloomy  pros- 
pect in  every  way.  Bienville  received  him  with 
courtesy,  but,  naturally  enough,  felt  humiliated  by 
the  situation.  It  looked  to  the  brave  Canadian 
as  if  the  fourteen  years  that  he  had  given  to 
holding  Louisiana  for  his  king  were  but  poorly 
rewarded  when  this  domineering  and  irascible 
stranger  was  suddenly  sent  over  to  supersede  him. 
Nothing  was  left  to  him,  however,  but  to  put  on 
an  air  of  submission  and  to  trust  to  that  -fortune 
which  hitherto  had  favored  him. 

Cadillac  and  Bienville  were  not  constituted  to 
be  friends  in  any  sense  of  the  word.  The  pre- 
dicament of  their  official  relations,  therefore,  did  not 
tend  to  lessen  the  uncongeniality  of  their  natures. 
Bienville  felt  that,  in  a  certain  measure,  the  govern- 


34  A   COLONY  OF  FRANCE. 

ment  of  the  territory  of  Louisiana  belonged  of  right 
to  him.  In  his  eyes  Cadillac  was  a  usurper.  The 
new  governor  of  course  was  not  slow  in  discovering 
this.  He  was  of  a  haughty  and  arrogant  temper, 
and  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  use  his  authority 
in  a  way  that  would  make  Bienville  feel  most 
keenly  the  change  in  his  position. 

In  truth  the  colony  in  many  regards  was  in  a 
bad  condition.  The  settlers  had  grown  reckless 
and  dissolute  to  a  degree  and  even  under  Bienville 
had  been  inclined  to  do  about  as  they  pleased. 
The  coming  of  Cadillac  did  not  help  matters  any. 
It  was  not  possible  for  a  man  wholly  unacquainted 
with  the  life  and  requirements  of  colonists  in  a 
new  land  to  attract  to  himself  such  men  as  had 
for  so  long  been  the  companions  and  friends  of 
Bienville.  A  few  weeks  of  observation  convinced 
Cadillac  that  the  situation  demanded  prompt  and 
decisive  action  on  his  part.  He  must  either  subdue 
Bienville  or  get  him  out  of  the  way. 


\ 

<. 


CHAPTER    II. 


ROM  the  point 
of  view  afforded 
by  the  present 
time,  Crozat's 
purposes  appear  to  have 
been  flexible  enough  to 
cover  every  scheme  for 
money-making,  from  legiti- 
mate trading,  on  one  band, 
to  smuggling,  on  the  other, 
and  from  the  discovery  of  gold  mines,  if  possible, 
to  downright  piracy,  if  practicable.  Cadillac  was 
not  the  man  to  make  the  most  of  the  position 
he  now  held,  nor  were  the  resources  at  his  com- 
mand sufficient  to  carry  out  the  plans  matured 
by  his  master. 

The  whole  trouble  arose  out  of  a  misconception 
on  Crozat's  part  of  the  nature  of  the  country  and 
the  strength  of  the  colonies.  The  rumor  had 
gone  abroad  in  France  that  Louisiana  was  a  land 
of  indescribable  riches,  and  the  fact  that  from  time 


36  A  PAPER   ELDORADO. 

to  time  vessels  returned  from  sailing  on  the  West- 
ern seas  loaded  with  gold,  had  added  the  weight 
of  fascinating  substance  to  the  body  of  the  report. 
It  is  easy  to  understand  that  a  buccaneer  coming 
into  a  European  port  with  a  cargo  of  rich  booty 
would  prefer  a  romantic  lie  to  a  frank  confession 
of  the  truth.  Many  a  so-called  trader,  who  was  in 
fact  a  pirate,  after  making  a  successful  cruise  in  the 
Western  waters,  retired  to  a  pleasant  chateau  in 
France,  and  during  the  rest  of  his  life  told  over 
and  over  the  story  of  his  peaceful  but  amazing 
adventures  in  the  wild,  strange  countries  of  the 
great  American  continent.  Others  of  a  different 
cast  of  imagination  constructed  so-called  journals 
wherein  was  embodied  a  circumstantial  account  of 
explorations  and  martial  encounters  the  details  of 
which  were  almost  as  marvelous  as  those  of  the 
Arabian  Nights. 

Such  romances  served  the  double  purpose  of 
hiding  the  truth  and  of  inflaming  the  wonder- 
loving  minds  of  the  people.  The  rich  silver  mines 
of  Mexico  and  the  enormous  loads  of  precious 
metals  brought  to  Spain,  France  and  Great  Britain 
had  given  color  to  Crozat's  orders;  consequently 
Cadillac  began  a  fruitless  search  for  mineral  deposits. 
In  1 71 5  he  went  himself  to  the  Illinois  country,  but 
brought  back  no  gold.  By  his  avarice  and  cruelty 
he  alienated  the  savage  tribes  with  whom  Bienville 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  37 

had  established  friendly  relations.  Some  of  the 
men  sent  out  by  him  to  prospect  for  mines  were 
killed.  This  gave  him  a  pretext  for  dispatching 
Bienville  up  the  Mississippi  with  orders  to  punish 
the  Natchez  Indians.  A  fanciful  story  is  told  that 
Cadillac's  daughter  had  fallen  in  love  with  Bien- 
ville, and  that  this  expedition  against  the  Natchez 
was  planned  by  her  precious  father  with  the  hope 
of  having  the  young  Lieutenant-Governor  killed 
because  he  refused  to  return  her  affection. 

At  all  events,  in  the  month  of  April,  1716,  Bien- 
ville, who  had  been  commissioned  "  Commandant 
of  the  Mississippi,"  set  out  with  a  handful  of  fol- 
lowers and  made  his  way  up  the  great  river  to  one 
of  the  northern  islands.  Here  he  began  prepara- 
tions for  carrying  out  Cadillac  s  orders  against  the 
offending  tribe.  He  built  a  rude  fort  containing 
three  log  houses,  and  a  little  later,  having  brought 
the  offending  tribe  into  subjection,  and  having 
concluded  to  make  the  place  a  permanent  post,  he 
forced  the  Indians  to  aid  him  in  building  a  strong 
palisade  and  some  comfortable  houses ;  in  these  he 
remained  until  the  twenty-ninth  of  August.  This 
place  he  named  Fort  Rosalie. 

Leaving  the  post  in  charge  of  Pailloux  he 
returned  to  Mobile  and  found  that  Cadillac  had 
been  superseded  by  Monsieur  de  TEpinay.  The 
latter  was  not  present,  however,  and  orders  were 


38  A  PAPER  ELDORADO. 

awaiting  Bienville  to  act  as  governor  until  his 
superior  should  arrive.  This  turn  of  affairs  was 
a  matter  of  great  rejoicing  with  the  majority  of 
the  colonists,  who  were  heartily  tired  of  the  unwise 
policy  pursued  by  Cadillac.  Bienville,  too,  was 
delighted.  He  felt,  no  doubt,  that  at  last  his 
reward  was  near. 

L'Epinay  landed  at  Mobile  March  9,  171 7,  with 
three  companies  of  infantry  and  fifty  colonists,  and 
handed  to  Bienville  the  cross  of  St.  Louis  and  a 
grant  of  the  title  to  Horn  Island.  Bienville  had 
expected  more.  He  felt  that  L'Epinay  was  in  his 
path  quite  as  much  as  Cadillac  had  been.  Of 
course  quarreling  began  forthwith.  The  new  gov- 
ernor found  himself  confronted  by  insubordination 
from  the  start,  and  the  scattered  and  miserable 
condition  of  the  colonists  put  a  deadly  damper  on 
the  brilliant  anticipations  he  had  been  indulging. 
The  policy  of  Cadillac  had  demoralized  his  sub- 
jects; each  man  had  in  a  measure  taken  the 
law  into  his  own  hands.  There  was  no  organiza- 
tion, no  centralization,  no  government,  in  fact. 
L'Epinay  reported  the  condition  of  things  to 
Crozat,  who  in  August,  171 7,  threw  up  his  con- 
tract with  the  French  government  and  abandoned 
Louisiana  with  all  its  glamor  and  romance,  glad 
enough  to  be  freed  from  the  trouble  and  expense 
the  project  had  entailed  upon  him.     He  had  failed 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  39 

utterly  to  accomplish  anything  in  the  direction  of 
opening  a  trade  with  Mexico,  the  furs  obtained 
from  the  savages  were  not  valuable  and  not  a  gold 
mine,  a  silver  mine,  nor  a  pearl  fishery  had  been 
found  by  his  agents.  Moreover  agriculture  had 
been  almost  wholly  neglected,  whilst  debauchery 
and  indecent  wrangling  among  officers  and  men 
had  reduced  the  morals  of  the  colony  to  the  very 
lowest  ebb. 

Meantime,  however,  a  large  amount  of  valuable 
information  had  been  collected  regarding  the 
geography  and  the  natural  resources  of  the  great 
territory.  Bienville  had  made  many  excursions 
far  into  the  interior  and  Cadillac  himself,  as 
has  been  stated,  had  in  1715  penetrated  a  long  way 
northward  in  search  of  a  mining  region  reported 
to  him  as  very  rich  and  lying  somewhere  in  the 
country  of  the  Illinois.  He  was  absent  eight 
months ;  he  wandered  about  all  the  northern  wil- 
derness, and  of  course  returned  empty-handed. 

Without  doubt  Cadillac  was  the  worst  possible 
sort  of  a  governor,  and  yet  the  impartial  student  of 
the  old  records  cannot  fail  to  discover  a  strong 
element  of  truth  in  the  dispatches  sent  by  him 
to  the  French  government.  In  one  of  these,  so 
Gayarre  tells  us,  he  exclaims :  "  What  can  I  do 
with  a  force  of  forty  soldiers,  out  of  whom  five 
or  six  are  disabled  ?     A  pretty  army  this,  and  well 


40  A  PAPER  ELDORADO. 

calculated  to  make  me  respected  by  the  inhabitants 
or  by  the  Indians  !  As  a  climax  to  my  vexation, 
they  are  badly  fed,  badly  paid,  badly  clothed  and 
without  discipline.  As  to  the  officers,  they  are  not 
much  better.  Verily,  I  do  not  believe  that  there  is 
in  the  whole  universe  such  another  government" 

So  little  was  he  respected  by  the  colonists  that 
he  could  not  rely  upon  any  emissary  he  sent  out. 
The  Canadians  whom  he  dispatched  to  look  for 
gold  and  silver,  went  their  ways  as  they  pleased. 
His  collegue  Bienville  did  not  hesitate  to  balk  him 
in  every  available  way,  and  was  continually  writing 
to  France  the  most  disparaging  accounts  of  his 
government,  his  methods,  and  his  character. 

The  truth  appears  to  be  that  Bienville  was  a 
man  of  considerable  ability,  a  strong,  active,  rather 
far-seeing  and  somewhat  unscrupulous  schemer, 
who  from  the  first  felt  that  to  him  of  right 
belonged  the  task  of  moulding  the  destiny  of 
Louisiana.  His  genius  was  cunning  and  to  a 
degree  treacherous,  though  at  need  he  was  bold 
and  openly  courageous. 

L'Epinay  could  not  do  without  Bienville's  aid, 
and  yet  he  could  not.  bear  his  insubordination. 
Consequently,  instead  of  at  once  beginning  ener- 
getic measures  for  the  advancement  of  the  colonies, 
the  two  rivals  fell  to  quarreling  disgracefully  and 
so  added  to  the  prevailing  demoralization. 


A   PAPER  ELDORADO.  43 

Cadillac's  return  to  France  doubtless  added 
much  to  public  interest  in  the  subject  of  Louisiana 
colonization,  for  the  deposed  governor  was  a  mighty 
talker,  full  of  that  peculiar  enthusiasm  for  self- 
glorification  characteristic  of  the  men  of  Southern 
France.  He  made  the  most  of  the  history  of  his 
adventures,  his  achievements  and  the  ill-treatment 
he  had  received  from  his  government.  Indeed,  it 
would  appear  from  his  writings  that  this  old-time 
governor  was  a  sort  of  ancient  Tartarin  de  Tar- 
ascon,  boastful,  prevaricating,  inefficient,  but  not 
wholly  bad. 

And  now  came  a  new  era  in  the  checkered 
story  of  Louisiana.  A  dramatic  figure  appeared  in 
France  —  John  Law  the  Edinburgh  "financier." 
A  gambler  and  a  speculator  by  nature  notwith- 
standing his  deceptively-prosaic  name,  this  son  of 
a  Scotch  banker  became  one  of  the  most  daring 
of  adventurers.  Drifting  to  France  he  essayed 
the  role  of  capitalist,  gained  the  friendship  of  the 
regent  Orleans,  and,  rising  rapidly  in  his  strange 
financial  career,  rested  not  until  he  had  fixed  his  ro- 
mantic hold  upon  the  distressed  treasury  of  France. 
His  operations  were  shrewd  though  audacious,  and 
his  suggestions  of  relief  came  to  the  government 
as  those  of  ua  friend  in  need."  For  France  was  in 
a  desperate  financial  strait.  Her  treasury  was 
empty,  her  provinces  exhausted,  her  army  unpaid. 


44  A  PAPER  ELDORADO. 

Corruption  was  wide-spread,  and  the  official  decla- 
ration that  the  nation  was  bankrupt  had  been  seri- 
ously considered.  Just  then  came  Law's  gigantic 
scheme  of  speculation,  alluringly  presented.  It  was, 
in  effect,  to  monopolize  to  himself  the  foreign  trade 
of  France,  and  to  make  the  nation  the  universal 
banker.  In  1716  he  succeeded  in  securing  the 
right  to  establish  a  bank  with  a  capital  of  six  million 
livres,  and  so  well  did  he  manage  the  venture,  that 
the  Government  a  year  later  ordered  that  the  notes 
of  the  bank  should  be  taken  as  specie  by  the  treas- 
ury. His  next  step  was  the  forming  of  a  Royal 
Bank,  in  lieu  of  the  private  one,  and  of  this  he 
had  himself  appointed  Director-General.  Meantime 
the  Mississippi  Company  had  been  constituted  on 
the  sixth  of  September,  171 7.  To  it  the  regent 
had  granted  all  the  rights  and  privileges  thereto- 
fore enjoyed  by  Crozat.  Almost  unlimited  powers 
were  secured  by  the  Company  in  addition  to  those 
already  granted,  and  France  thus  gave  over  into 
the  hands  of  a  private  corporation  for  a  space  of 
twenty-five  years  the  practical  ownership  of  Lou- 
isiana. Law  was  appointed  Director-General  of 
this  company  also,  and  it  was  merged  into  the  bank. 
Next  he  obtained  control  of  various  other  com- 
panies, including  one  that  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of 
French  trade  in  China,  East  Indies,  and  the  South 
Seas ;  then  the  mint  fell  into  his  hands,  and  finally 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  45 

his  remorseless  monopoly  clutched  practically  all 
the  revenues  of  France. 

In  those  days  everything  romantic  drifted  toward 
Louisiana.  Law,  with  the  remarkable  knowledge 
of  human  nature  which  had  enabled  him  to  suc- 
ceed thus  far,  now  began  a  shrewd  system  of 
advertising,  sure  that  he  could  compass  his  desire 
by  appealing  to  the  imagination  of  the  people. 
His  methods  were  essentially  the  same  as  those  by 
which  in  our  own  day  we  see  large  ventures  on  the 
field  of  speculation  rushed  into  public  favor.  He 
flooded  the  country  with  pamphlets  and  other  docu- 
ments containing  fervid  descriptions  of  Louisiana: 
its  incomparable  climate,  its  inexhaustible  mines, 
its  rich  soil,  the  endless  variety  and  flowery  loveli- 
ness of  its  plant-life,  the  abundance  of  its  fish,  its 
game,  and  its  fur-bearing  animals.  Indeed,  the 
territory  was  painted  as  one  of  boundless  extent, 
and  possessed  of  all  the  beauties  and  charms  of  an 
earthly  paradise  with  the  added  value  of  more  than 
Golconda  riches  lying  ready  for  the  hand  of  the 
adventurer. 

This  elysium,  this  wild,  romantic,  wealth-burdened 
country  was  the  basis  of  Law's  dazzling  and  stupen- 
dous scheme.  In  effect  he  bonded  it,  as  our  railway 
syndicates  bond  the  franchises  of  their  roads.  He 
made  the  wilderness  of  Louisiana  the  subject  of  an 
issue  of  stock  watered  to  the  last  degree  of  dilution. 


Socially  and  politically  France  was  just  then  in  a 
situation  to  render  her  people  peculiarly  subject 
to  the  insidious  influence  of  this  financial  scheme. 
The  government,  as  has  been  shown,  was  virtually 
bankrupt,  and  a  system  of  ruinous  extravagance 
begun  by  Louis  XIV.  was  still  in  vogue  under 
the  regency  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  For  a 
time  repudiation  and  its  consequences  seemed  to 
be  the  national  destiny.  Everybody  was  alarmed. 
Public  and  private  credits  were  at  the  point  of 
vanishing. 

Law's  advertisements  appeared  just  at  the  fort- 
unate moment,  so  far  as  his  scheme  was  to  be 
affected.  It  offered  some  reason  for  hope,  and 
although  at  first  there  was  difficulty  in  gaining 
public  confidence,  the  leaven  of  speculation  was 
planted  in  the  minds  of  the  people  and  was  sure 
to  perform  its  work. 

It  did  this  speedily.  The  shares  of  the  Com- 
pany rose  to  forty  times  their  nominal  price.  All 
France  rushed  to  subscribe.  "A  sort  of  madness/' 
says  Mr.  Watt,  "  possessed  the  nations.  Men  sold 
their  all  and  hastened  to  Paris  to  speculate.  The 
population  of  the  capital  was  increased  by  an  enor- 
mous influx  of  provincials  and  foreigners.  Trade 
received  a  vast  though  unnatural  impetus.  Every 
one  seemed  to  be  getting  richer,  no  one  poorer." 

From    the   very   first    Law   and   his   immediate 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  47 

colleagues  must  have  foreseen  that  there  was  at 
that  time  but  little  in  Louisiana  upon  which  to 
base  a  great  issue  of  credit ;  in  order,  therefore, 
to  make  a  show,  no  matter  how  deceptive,  of  a  flour- 
ishing condition  of  the  colonies,  it  was  necessary  to 
effect  a  change  in  the  administrations  of  the  colo- 
nial affairs.  With  this  object  in  view  three  vessels 
with  sixty-nine  colonists  and  three  companies  of 
infantry  were  dispatched  to  Louisiana.  They 
landed  on  February  9,  17 18,  bringing  to  Bienville 
the  commission  of  governor.  This  lifted  him  once 
more  to  his  coveted  place  at  the  head  of  the  people 
for  whom  he  had  suffered  so  much,  and  with  whom 
he  had  struggled  through  good  and  bad  report  for 
nineteen  years. 

Understanding  the  effect  of  sudden  and  brilliant 
moves,  Law  directed  Bienville  to  seek  forthwith  a 
proper  site  for  a  town  on  the  Mississippi  River. 
His  company  was  the  Mississipi  Company  and  the 
name  would  acquire  greater  force  and  significance 
with  the  seat  of  colonial  government  fixed  at  a 
commanding  point  on  the  famous  stream.  He 
wished  to  proclaim  in  France  that  wonderful  pro- 
gress was  going  on  in  Louisiana,  that  towns  were 
springing  up  as  if  by  magic  and  that  the  mighty 
valley  of  the  West  was  giving  birth  to  an  empire. 

Bienville,  never  so  happy  as  when  engaged  in 
adventurous  undertakings,  made  haste  to  enter  the 


48  A  PAPER  ELDORADO. 

Mississippi,  and  was  not  long  choosing  the  site  for 
his  town. 

Prior  to  this,  under  the  administrations  of  Ca- 
dillac and  L'Epinay,  efforts  which,  viewed  from 
this  distance,  look  desperate,  had  been  made  to 
establish  an  overland  route  for  trade  with  Mexico. 
St.  Denis  and  others  groped  their  way  through 
Texas  to  the  Mexican  border,  but  their  mission 
was  as  vain  as  it  was  romantic.  At  the  end  of 
their  long,  lonely  and  perilous  journey  they  were 
robbed  and  imprisoned  by  the   Spaniards. 

This  policy  of  trading  and  smuggling,  of  gold- 
hunting  and  trafficking  had  the  necessary  effect 
of  filling  the  colonies  with  the  reckless  and  des- 
perate offscourings  of  France.  Bienville  in  his 
despatches  complained  that  the  men  sent  to  him 
were  the  worst  criminals  of  the  old  country  —  men 
of  the  vilest  propensities  who  cared  for  nothing  but 
the  most  degrading  licentiousness.  True  he  had 
an  influence  over  them  which  no  other  man  had 
ever  been  able  to  secure,  and,  in  a  way,  he  was 
fond  of  them;  but  their  recklessness  and  lack  of 
discipline  vexed  him  and  retarded  his  movements. 
When  he  received  permission  to  establish  a  per- 
manent colony  on  the  Mississippi  a  new  hope 
sprang  up  in  his  heart.  The  site  chosen  for  the 
proposed  settlement  was  that  now  occupied  by  the 
city  of  New   Orleans,  and  the  excitement  of   the 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  49 

undertaking,  which  involved  the  laying  out  of  a 
town  and  its  fortifications,  was  sufficient  to  raise 
his  spirits  to  something  like  their  old  buoyancy 
and  intrepidity. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  March,  1719,  a  French 
war-ship  bringing  a  hundred  "  passengers,"  reached 
Mobile,  and  on  April  the  twentieth  came  three 
more  with  an  hundred  and  thirty  colonists.  With 
these,  too,  came  Serigny,  brother  of  the  governor, 
also  Monsieur  de  Montplaissir  who  brought  with 
him  thirty  persons  to  establish  a  tobacco  manufac- 
tory, and,  besides  these,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
negroes  —  the  first  large  importation  of  Africans 
made  into  Louisiana.  But  more  important  even 
than  all  this  Serigny  brought  information  that  war 
had  begun  between  Spain  and  France,  and  pre- 
sented an  order  for  Bienville  to  go  at  once  and 
capture  Pensacola. 

Here  was  the  beginning  of  a  career.  Bienville 
sprang  with  alacrity  to  the  military  task  assigned  to 
him  and  by  the  thirteenth  of  May  he  was  ready  to 
strike.  His  fleet  consisted  of  the  three  war-vessels 
of  the  Mississippi  Company  recently  arrived  —  the 
Philippe,  the  Comte  de  Toulouse,  the  Marechal  de 
Villars  —  and  a  sloop,  carrying  two  hundred  and 
thirty  men  all  told.  With  this  force  he  sailed 
into  Pensacola  Bay  and  the  place  was  surrendered 
to  him  without  resistance.      The   prisoners  taken 


were  sent  to  Cuba  in  pursuance  of  the  terms  of 
surrender. 

Leaving  Pensacola  in  the  care  of  his  brother 
Chateauguay,  Bienville  returned  to  Mobile,  while 
two  of  the  vessels,  the  Comte  de  Toulouse  and  the 
Marechal  de  Villars,  sailed  for  Havana  bearing 
the  Spanish  prisoners.  In  perfect  accord  with 
the  spirit  of  the  time,  the  authorities  of  Cuba 
laughed  at  the  idea  of  giving  the  slightest  heed  to 
the  terms  of  an  honorable  agreement.  Instead  of 
permitting  Bienville's  vessels  to  return  unmolested, 
the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  the  Marquis  of  Vallero, 
quickly  manned  them  with  Spanish  soldiers  and 
sent  them  back,  along  with  a  fleet  of  twelve  vessels 
bearing  eighteen  hundred  men,  to  retake  and  hold 
Pensacola.  Of  course  the  task  was  an  easy  one. 
Chateauguay  surrendered  on  the  best  terms  he 
could  secure.  The  Spaniards  were  highly  elated 
and  thought  to  wipe  out  at  a  blow  the  whole  French 
colony  in  Louisiana.  With  this  purpose  three 
brigantines  of  the  fleet  proceeded  to  Mobile  Bay  to 
take  possession  of  Dauphine  Island.  The  French 
were  ill-prepared  for  an  attack  in  force,  but  Serigny 
whom  Bienville  had  placed  in  command  of  the 
island  stoutly  refused  to  surrender. 

The  Spaniards  under  cover  of  night  ran  into  the 
bay  and  landed  a  force  of  thirty-five  men  hoping  to 
surprise  and   pillage  a  defenceless   place  midway 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  5 1 

between  Mobile  and  Dauphine  Island.  But  the 
surprise  was  their  own,  for  a  party  of  French  and 
Indians  suddenly  fell  upon  them  routing  them 
completely,  killing  five,  capturing  eighteen  and 
driving  the  others  into  the  sea  where  six  were 
drowned. 

As  the  best  proof  of  the  low  state  of  morals  in 
the  French  colonies  at  this  time  it  is  sufficient 
to  note  that  among  the  prisoners  taken  in  the 
skirmish  just  described  were  a  number  of  French- 
men—  deserters  from  the  garrison  left  by  Bienville 
at  Pensacola.     These  were  shot. 

This  signal  victory  aroused  the  spirit  of  the 
little  band  on  Dauphine  Island  and  when  the 
Spanish  fleet  a  day  or  two  later  sailed  into  the  bay 
and  began  an  attack  it  was  answered  with  a  vigor 
that  was  wholly  unexpected.  Serigny  showed  great 
skill  in  arranging  his  defence.  He  anchored  the 
ship  Philippe  close  to  the  shore  so  that  the  fire  of 
her  guns  was  supplemented  by  that  of  a  battery  on 
the  island.  The  Spaniards  tried  in  vain  to  land  a 
force  on  the  shore.  They  were  repulsed  at  every 
point.  They  probably  thought  the  French  much 
stronger  than  they  really  were,  for,  after  lingering 
around  the  island  and  idly  firing  at  long  range 
without  effect,  they  withdrew  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
August  and  sailed  back  to  Pensacola. 

Almost   immediately  after  this,  on    the   first   of 


September,  17 19,  three  French  ships  of   the   line 

arrived   at    Mobile   Bay  bringing  in  some  vessels 

with  supplies  from  the  Mississippi  Company.     The 

ships,  which  were  well  manned  and  equipped,  were 

« 

commanded  by  the  Comte  de  Champmeslin,  a  naval 
officer  of  considerable  ability,  who  at  once  pro- 
posed an  attack  on  Pensacola.  This  was  just  what 
Bienville  and  his  men  most  desired.  A  plan  was 
therefore  arranged  by  which  a  land  force  under  the 
Governor  was  to  act  in  concert  with  the  fleet  under 
the  Comte  de  Champmeslin.  Bienville,  with  an 
energy  and  activity  scarcely  equaled  in  the  history 
of  military  operations,  called  together  from  widely 
scattered  sources  a  little  army  of  French  and 
Indians  which  when  marshaled  numbered  about 
seven  hundred  men.  The  main  portion  of  these 
had  been  massed  at  a  point  on  Perdido  River 
whither  Bienville  went  with  a  fleet  of  small  boats 
bearing  such  a  force  as  he  could  spare  from  the 
forts  at   Mobile  and  Dauphine  Island. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  September  all  was  ready. 
Champmeslin  sailed  boldly  into  Pensacola  Bay  and 
opened  fire  on  the  Rose  Island  fort,  while  Bienville 
marched  against  the  post  on  the  mainland.  The 
whole  movement  was  made  with  such  celerity  and 
secrecy  that  the  Spaniards  were  taken  by  surprise 
and  their  forces  separated.  Their  ships  were  at 
anchor  close  in   to  the   mainland  and   their  guns 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  53 

could  not  be  used  to  effect  in  any  direction.  Rose 
Island  fort  was  silenced  at  the  end  of  two  hours. 
Meantime  Bienville  had  completely  invested  the 
fort  on  the  high  ground  at  Pensacola  and  was  pour- 
ing into  it  a  rattling  fire  from  every  side.  The 
heavy  guns  of  Admiral  Champmeslin's  ships  were 
shaking  the  bay  with  their  thunders  and  the  Indians 
on  shore  were  howling  like  mad  beasts.  It  was  a 
short  but  brilliant  little  fight  at  the  end  of  which 
the  French  found  themselves  again  full  masters  of 
Pensacola  with  eighteen  hundred  prisoners  and 
a  considerable  store  of  provisions,  ammunition  and 
arms,  as  the  reward  of  their  action.  But  the  place 
seemed  fated  to  be  destroyed.  A  strong  fleet  of 
Spanish  men-of-war  from  Vera  Cruz  attacked  it, 
and  the  French  blew  up  the  forts  to  prevent  their 
capture. 

Louisiana  was  now  harrassed  in  every  direction 
by  the  insidious  operations  of  Spanish  emissaries 
among  the  savage  tribes  in  the  North  and  West. 
In  Texas  there  were  numerous  Spanish  posts  and 
agencies  from  which  as  bases  parties  were  sent  out 
to  incite  the  Indians  to  commit  depredations  upon 
the  French  colonies  on  the  Arkansas,  the  Missouri 
and  the  upper  Mississippi.  In  the  year  1720  a 
force  was  organized  at  Santa  Fe  for  the  purpose 
of  operating  in  the  Missouri  region.  It  was  well 
equipped  with  horses  and  domestic  herds,  and  was 


54  4  PAPER  ELDORADO. 

bountifully  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition. 
The  plan  was  to  plant  colonies  and  at  the  same  time 
drive  out  the  French  from  all  the  upper  part  of  the 
great  territory.  Men,  women  and  children,  soldiers, 
colonists  and  priests,  all  marched  together  through 
that  grand  wilderness  until  they  reached  the  coun- 
try of  the  Missouris  where  they  were  foolish  enough 
to  furnish  fire-arms  to  the  savages  with  the  under- 
standing that  they  were  to  become  their  allies. 
The  Missouris,  not  less  treacheorus  than  the  Span- 
iards, promptly  turned  their  new  weapons  to  good 
account  by  murdering  all  the  caravan,  save  one 
priest  who  returned  to  Santa  Fe  to  tell  the  woful 
story. 

From  Boisbriant,  among  the  Illinois  (to  whom  the 
tidings  had  been  told  by  certain  Illinois  "  who  had 
come  to  chant  the  calumet  bedecked  in  chasubles 
and  stoles")  news  of  this  expedition  reached  the 
ears  of  Bienville.  He  felt  at  once  the  necessity 
for  prompt  action.  For  a  long  while  he  had  been 
urging  upon  the  Company  the  policy  of  removing 
the  seat  of  territorial  government  to  some  point 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  move- 
ments of  the  Spaniards  gave  irresistible  force  to  his 
argument,  and  when  the  royal  engineer,  M.  Pauger, 
examined  the  place  selected  for  the  site  of  New 
Orleans  and  reported  favorably,  the  Company  con- 
sented to  have  its  principal  depot  established  there. 


\ 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  57 

The  Spaniards  continued  their  depredations  in 
Texas  and  forced  the  French  to  abandon  most  of 
the  territory  west  of  the  Sabine  River.  La  Harpe 
had  been  sent  to  take  possession  of  St.  Bernard 
Bay,  but  after  landing  and  establishing  a  post  he 
felt  compelled  to  abandon  it  as  unsafe.  Bienville 
insisted  upon  a  policy  of  concentration  and  con- 
tinued to  urge  upon  the  Company  the  importance 
of  establishing  agricultural  colonies  instead  of 
wasting  further  time  in  fruitless  wanderings  after 
gold  and  silver  mines. 

Meantime  emigrants  continued  to '  come  from 
France.  Of  these  the  greater  part  were  adven- 
turers, convicts  and  refugees  from  justice.  Many 
of  the  women  added  to  the  colony  were  from  the 
houses  of  correction  in  Paris,  and  were  sent  over 
by  the  Government's  order.  Thus,  though  the 
population  increased,  there  was  but  small  improve- 
ment in  its  moral  condition. 

The  Company  had  asked  the  government  of 
France  to  make  grants  of  land  in  Louisana  to 
various  influential  persons  upon  condition  that  the 
areas  granted  should  be  colonized.  This  was  done. 
John  Law  himself  was  one  of  these  grantees,  his 
portion  being  a  plot  twelve  miles  square  on  the 
Arkansas.  By  means  of  these  liberal  grants  nu- 
merous settlements  were  effected  in  the  territory 
now  occupied  by  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Louisiana, 


58  A   PAPER  ELDORADO. 

Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Florida,  as  well  as  cer- 
tain portions  of  the  region  farther  north.  But  the 
advice  of  Bienville  had  not  been  heeded.  Agricult- 
ure had  not  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion, consequently  famine  threatened.  France  was 
beginning  to  gather  the  destructive  fruit  of  Law's 
wild  financial  schemes,  and  the  bubble  of  a  specious 
credit  blown  to  the  utmost  tenuity  by  his  breath 
was  preparing  to  burst.  The  Company,  embarassed 
to  the  last  degree,  clutched  at  straws  and  struggled 
desperately  in  the  effort  to  revive  its  sinking  fort- 
une. As  a  matter  of  course  trouble  to  the  Com- 
pany meant  trouble  to  the  dependent  colonies  of 
France,  compelled  to  look  to  the  mother  country 
for  supplies.  And  now  these  supplies  began  to  fail. 
The  advertising  pamphlets,  circulars  and  romantic 
reports  of  the  Company's  agents  no  longer  satisfied 
the  people  of  France  and  it  was  growing  daily  more 
difficult  to  hold  the  scheme  together. 

Bienville  showed  himself  worthy  of  the  trust 
reposed  in  him.  Through  all  that  dark  time  his 
thoughts  never  turned  from  the  details  of  his  diffi- 
cult  task.  He  pushed  forward  the  buildings  at 
New  Orleans  and  was  soon  able  to  report  the 
founding  of  a  town  which  was  to  be  the  metropolis 
of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley. 

In  the  meantime  Fort  Chartres  in  the  Illinois 
country  had  been  begun  on   the  river  twenty-five 


A  PAPER  ELDORADO.  59 

miles  below  Kaskaskia;  Le  Sueur  had  erected  a 
fort  far  up  on  St.  Peter  s  River,  and  Fort  Orleans 
had  been  established  on  the  Missouri.  Thus  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1720  the  whole  of  Upper 
Louisiana  was  well  fortified  and  safely  held  in  the 
grasp  of  the  French.  Boisbriant,  who  was  stationed 
as  lieutenant  for  the  governor  in  the  Illinois  country, 
had  under  his  charge  a  contented  agricultural  colony, 
aggregating  some  two  thousand  white  residents,  and 
comprising  at  least  five  prosperous  villages.  Not- 
withstanding the  embarrassments  of  the  Company, 
the  whole  territory  west  to  the  Colorado  was  re- 
duced to  possession,  after  the  fashion  of  the  times, 
though  no  permanent  settlements  were  made  in  the 
Texas  region  west  of  the  Sabine  River. 

Bienville  continued  to  urge  forward  every  possi- 
ble scheme  for  the  encouragement  of  agriculture. 
Negroes  were  imported  in  considerable  numbers, 
plantations  were  opened  on  the  rich  alluvial  "  coasts  " 
of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  and  the  true 
wealth  of  Louisiana  was  beginning  to  appear  in  the 
very  midst  of  utter  depression  and  poverty.  The 
soil  was,  and  still  is,  the  richest  in  the  world,  and 
it  required  but  a  mere  garden  plot  to  produce 
enough  for  the  wants  of  a  family.  The  climate, 
moreover,  was  of  a  character  to  render  subsist- 
ence a  matter  of  small  effort.  Shelter  from  the 
rain  was  the  only  requirement  in  making  a  house, 


6o  A  PAPER  ELDORADO. 

and  the  Indians  taught  the  settlers  how  to  build 
with  the  least  expense. 

The  first  really  successful  tillers  of  the  soil  in 
the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans  were  a  company  of 
Proven9al  peasants  who  abandoned  their  homes  on 
Law's  grant  and  came  down  the  river  intent  upon 
going  back  to  their  old  country.  It  was  thought 
advisable  to  detain  them,  for  their  reappearance  in 
France  would  have  given  rise  to  unpleasant  inquir- 
ies. So  they  were  induced  to  remain  by  granting 
them  a  large  body  of  the  very  richest  Mississippi 
coast  lands  just  above  New  Orleans. 

Thus  the  affairs  of  Louisiana  progressed  until 
suddenly  the  inevitable  happened.  The  "  South 
Sea  Bubble  "  burst  and  the  schemes  by  which  John 
Law  sought  to  bolster  up  a  losing  speculation  all 
went  "  agley."  Disaster  and  confusion  swept  the 
victimized  land  of  France  and  thousands  were 
plunged  into  distress  and  ruin.  Law  fell  from  the 
height  of  success  to  the  depths  of  failure.  "  The 
public  wrath  and  indignation/'  says  Guizot,  "  fast- 
ened henceforth  upon  Law,  the  author  and  director 
of  a  system  which  had  given  rise  to  so  many  hopes 
and  had  been  the  cause  of  so  many  woes."  He 
became  an  object  of  hatred  where  he  had  before 
been  envied  and  courted.  Even  the  "  rash  infatu- 
ation "  of  the  Regent  could  no  longer  protect  him. 
His  carriage  was  knocked  to  pieces  in  the  streets. 


A  PAPER  ELD  OP  ADO.  6 1 

Ruined  in  fortune  and  in  reputation  he  fled  in  dis- 
grace from  his  enraged  dupes  and  died  at  Venice, 
in  1729,  poor  and  forgotten.  The  failure  of  his 
"  Company  "  meant  disaster  for  the  colony  across 
the  sea,  but  Louisiana,  fortunately,  had  already 
made^  a  progress  that  promised  permanence  and 
though  this  progress  was  discouragingly  slow  it  had 
been  steady  and  was  in  the  right  direction. 


CHAPTER   III. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    BIENVILLE. 


5HEN    Charle- 
voix visited 
New   Orleans 
in  January, 
1722,  he  found 
that   all   the 
stones  of  its  rapid  growth,  its 
wealth,  its  beauty  and  its  com- 
1  manding   situation    had    been 

greatly  exaggerated.  In  his  journal,  which  con- 
tains a  quaint  and  graphic  account  of  a  voyage  he 
made  down  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi,  he  says  : 
"  I  am  at  length  arrived  in  this  noted  city  to 
which  they  have  given  the  name  La  Nouvelle 
Orleans.  Those  who  have  thus  named  it,  supposed 
that  Orleans  was  feminine ;  but  what  of  it  ?  Cus- 
tom has  fixed  it,  and  custom  overtops  grammar's 
rules.  This  is  the  first  city  that  one  of  the  world's 
mightiest  rivers  has  seen  arise  on  its  banks."  Then 
he  goes  on  to  say  that,  instead  of  finding  eight 
hundred   fine    houses    and    five   parishes,   as   was 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BIENVILLE.  63 

represented  by  the  newspapers  two  years  before, 
he  sees  a  hundred  barracks,  rather  disorderly  in 
arrangement,  a  large  wooden  storehouse  and  other 
things  in  accordance.  It  was  "  a  wild  and  desert 
place  almost  covered  with  reeds  and  trees,"  but  he 
predicted  its  future  greatness  as  the  capital  of  a 
wealthy  and  powerful  colony. 

Father  Charlevoix  was  a  Jesuit  priest  of  high 
character  whose  life  was  spent  in  traveling,  execu- 
ting important  missions  and  writing  history.  He 
was  a  shrewd  and  accurate  observer,  as  observation 
went  in  those  days,  and  his  journals  are  full  of  the 
most  valuable  facts.  On  his  way  down  the  Missis- 
sippi he  stopped  at  Natchez  and  remained  there 
some  days,  besides  making  visits  to  the  forts  at 
Yazoo  and  other  points  farther  up  the  river.  It 
is  from  him  that  we  get  the  best  impression  of 
truth  regarding  the  debased  condition  of  the  colo- 
nists. He  found  the  marriage  relation  very  loosely 
adjusted  —  a  result  that  was  scarcely  surprising  in 
view  of  the  class  of  persons  attracted  to  the  new 
land  and  the  peculiar  methods  of  supplying  the 
matrimonial  deficiencies  of  the  colony.  Religious 
ceremonies  he  declared  were  scarcely  observed  at 
all.  What  he  says  about  the  notorious  schemer 
Law,  is  significant.  "  Mr.  Law  was  treated  badly, 
as  were  most  of  the  other  grantees,"  he  remarks ; 
"probably  it  will  be   a   great  while   ere  they  can 


64  IN  THE  DAYS  Of  BIENVILLE. 

make  such  large  levies  of  men  (referring  to  the 
failure  of  a  scheme  of  immigration  from  France). 
They  have  need  of  them  in  the  kingdom ;  and  in 
fact  it  is  usual  for  us  to  form  our  judgments  by  the 
success  of  such  undertakings,  in  place  of  noting 
what  was  the  source  of  their  failure."  In  speaking 
of  the  canton  of  Natchez,  he  says,  "  It  is  five  years 
since  mass  has  been  heard  here  by  any  Frenchman, 
or  since  one  has  even  seen  a  priest.,,  He  met 
at  Natchez  the  royal  engineer,  M.  de  Pauger,  who 
was  surveying  the  river  with  a  view  to  establishing 
forts. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  collapse  of  Law's 
gigantic  plan  began  to  make  its  effect  on  the  very 
foundations  of  the  colonies.  The  settlements  on 
the  Arkansas,  at  Washita  and  at  Fort  St.  Peter, 
were  reduced  to  a  state  bordering  on  starvation, 
and,  as  we  have  noted,  those  on  Law's  own  grant 
came  down  the  Mississippi  and  were  cared  for  at 
New  Orleans  by  a  grant  of  what  was  afterwards 
known  as  the  German  Coast. 

Bienville  suffered  all  the  agony  possible  to  an 
ambitious  man  who  waits  and  hopes  in  vain  for  a 
substantial  recognition  of  his  merits  and  achieve- 
ments. At  one  time  he  fell  very  ill,  so  that  for  a 
long  time  his  death  was  expected  every  day.  His 
malady,  it  was  said,  came  of  brooding  and  fretting 
over  the  ill-treatment  he  received  at  the  hands  of 


» 

i 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BIENVILLE.  65 

the  Company  and  from  the  Government  of  France ; 
but  this  statement  may  be  taken  with  liberal  allow- 
ance. The  city  of  New  Orleans  even  at  this  day 
is  badly  drained  and  subject  to  occasional  epidem- 
ics, although  in  a  general  way  extremely  healthy ; 
but  what  must  have  been  its  sanitary  condition 
in  its  season  of  beginning  when  its  few  log  huts 
and  scattered  barracks  stood  in  the  midst  of  stag- 
nant ponds,  cypress  swamps  and  dense,  dank  cane- 
brakes  ?  Slow  fevers  of  a  bilious  or  malarial  type 
were  common  all  along  the  Mississippi  then,  as 
now,  and  in  the  hot  season  yellow  fever  was  fre- 
quently imported  from  Mexico  and  the  Antilles. 

In  1723  a  change  was  made  in  the  government  of 
Louisiana.  Up  to  this  time  the  territory  had  been 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Canada.  Now  it  was 
made  independent  and  its  area  was  divided  into  nine 
parts,  or  parishes,  each  of  which  was  to  be  governed 
by  a  commandant  assisted  by  a  judge.  Bienville 
was  governor  and  commandant-general ;  but  he  was 
hampered  by  the  presence  of  a  king's  lieutenant  and 
by  a  director-general  of  the  Company ;  his  authority 
too  was  sadly  embarrassed  by  the  insubordination 
of  the  commandants  of  the  districts. 

The  gold  fever  was  still  burning  in  the  blood  of 
the  colonists,  and  the  search  for  mines  supposed  to 
exist  in  the  Illinois  region  was  of  far  more  interest 
then  were  the  laborious  processes  of   agricultural 


66  IN  THE  DA  YS  OF  BIENVILLE. 

progress.  The  policy  of  the  Company  added  fuel 
to  this  insidious  fire,  and  although  the  Indians  all 
along  the  river  were  growing  more  and  more  dis- 
satisfied, scarcely  any  attention  was  paid  to  their 
threatening  movements.  Suddenly  the  Natchez 
tribe  uprose  and  massacred  some  of  the  settlers  on 
the  St.  Catherine,  following  this  with  an  attack  in 
force  on  the  plantations  killing  a  number  and  carry- 
ing away  horses,  cattle,  hogs  and  grain.  Bienville, 
fully  aware  of  the  danger  now  impending,  made 
haste  to  use  his  unscrupulous  diplomacy  on  the 
Indian  leaders.  Securing  an  interview  the  French 
officers  made  peace  on  terms  which  were  ratified 
by  the  governor,  and  the  chiefs  well  satisfied  went 
away  feeling  secure. 

But  no  sooner  were  the  Indians  off  their  guard 
than  Bienville  gathered  a  force  of  seven  hundred 
men  and  secretly  occupied  Fort  Rosalie.  Thence 
he  marched  upon  the  neighboring  villages  and 
began  a  furious  onslaught,  killing,  burning,  and 
ravaging  without  mercy.  When  the  Indians  sued 
for  peace  he  demanded  that  their  leading  chief  be 
surrendered  to  him.  This  was  finally  done  and  the 
savage  was  brutally  executed.  After  this  outrage 
peace  was  no  longer  possible.  The  Indians  nursed 
their  wrath  and  pondered  over  plans  for  heaping 
dire  punishment  upon  their  enemies.  Nor  were  they 
wrong  in  so  doing.     With  all  faith  destroyed,  with 


IN  THE  DA  YS   OF  BIENVILLE.  69 

every  sacred  promise  of  the  French  broken  as  soon 
as  made,  with  their  plantations  in  ruins  and  their 
homes  in  ashes,  with  the  blood  of  their  wives  and 
children,  their  braves  and  their  chiefs  crying  to 
them  for  vengeance,  it  was  indeed  time  for  them 
to  strike.  Nevertheless  they  acted  with  great  pru- 
dence and  caution,  their  resentment  for  the  time 
manifesting  itself  more  in  the  reserve  and  gloom 
of  their  demeanor  than  in  acts  of  violence. 

Father  Charlevoix  had  seen  what  he  called  wild 
indigo  growing  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  he  shrewdly  observed  that  a  soil  which  would 
sustain  the  wild  plant  might  be  made  to  produce 
any  variety  of  indigo  if  but  the  seeds  were  planted. 
The  experiment  was  tried  with  the  excellent  result 
of  founding  a  new  and  remunerative  industry  in 
the  colonies. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1723,  there  had  been 
imported  into  the  territory  within  the  Mississippi 
Valley  a  large  number  of  negro  slaves,  between 
four  and  five  thousand  settlers  and  a  hundred  and 
forty  galley  slaves.  Agriculture  was  growing  rap- 
idly in  importance  as  its  value  developed.  At  last, 
if  only  by  a  few,  the  great  truth  was  discovered 
that  the  gold  mines  of  Louisiana  lay  hidden  in  the 
fertile  alluvions  of  the  so-called  coasts  of  her  rivers, 
creeks  and  bayous,  and  that  the  plough  and  the  hoe 
were  the  keys  to  the  lightly-locked  treasure.     There 


70  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BIENVILLE. 

remained  but  two  great  barriers  for  the  colonies  to 
overcome  before  they  could  reach  the  safe  ground 
of  prosperity  in  their  career  of  development  These 
were  the  financial  troubles  caused  by  the  Company's 
embarrassments,  and  the  half-hidden  but  deep-set 
hostility  of  the  Indians  due  to  a  long  series  of  in- 
sults heaped  upon  injuries  of  the  most  heartless  and 
revolting  kind.  The  use  of  an  enormously  inflated 
paper  currency  had  on  one  hand  driven  all  the 
specie  out  of  the  colonies,  whilst  on  the  other  hand 
it  had  filled  everybody's  pockets  with  a  roll  of 
money  which  purported  to  represent  wealth  when 
in  fact  it  was  utterly  without  value.  Every  species 
of  property  commanded  an  enormous  price;  specu- 
lation was  indulged  in  to  a  reckless  degree ;  gam- 
bling and  debauchery  of  every  sort  were  openly 
practiced  by  many,  and  indeed  the  color  of  colonial 
life  was  caught  almost  wholly  from  the  feverish 
spirit  which  is  always  engendered  by  a  dishonest 
management  of  a  government's  finances. 

Suddenly  the  bubble  burst  and  the  paper  cur- 
rency fell  in  value  to  a  point  which  was  much 
nearer  safety;  but  everybody  was  in  debt,  and  as 
money  became  scarce  the  difficulty  of  payment  was 
increased.  Specie  was  demanded,  dollar  for  dollar, 
upon  outstanding  contracts,  and  for  a  time  there 
appeared  to  be  nothi/  but  annihilation  in  store 
for  the   colonies.  -  T/\nd   so    the    darkest   day    of 


IN  THE  DAYS   OF  BIENVILLE.  7 1 

Louisiana's  life,  from  the  first  settlement  up  to 
1725,  fell  just  at  the  time  when  hope  had  begun 
to  rise  in  the  breasts  of  the  people.  But  happily 
the  gloom  was  of  short  duration.  The  French 
government  came  to  the  rescue  with  the  only  plan 
which  could  have  served  the  turn  of  the  troubled 
debtors  in  the  colonies.  By  edicts  of  the  King  of 
France  Mexican  silver  dollars  were  made  the  cir- 
culating  medium  in  Louisiana.  The  value  of  the 
dollar  was  arbitrarily  fixed  at  seven  and  a  half 
livres,  whereas  custom  heretofore  had  made  it  four 
livres.  This  change  was  life  to  the  debtor,  but  it 
was  a  species  of  robbery  in  the  estimation  of  the 
speculating  creditor.  It  did  infinite  good,  how- 
ever, rapidly  wiping  out  the  debts  of  the  colonists 
and,  in  a  degree,  restoring  the  equilibrium  of  trade. 
Then  came  another  edict  returning  to  the  Mexican 
dollar  its  ancient  value  of  four  livres.  By  this 
manipulation  of  the  currency  the  colonies  were,  in 
less  than  a  year's  space,  zigzagged  back  to  trade 
based  on  specie. 

Bienville  now  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  pros- 
perity begin  in  Louisiana,  though  the  gold  fever 
still  continued  to  burn,  and  the  Indians,  nursing 
their  enmity,  kept  up  a  desultory  fight  with  the 
settlers  in  the  districts  of  the  north. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1726  the  entire 
territory  was  in  a   prosperous  condition   and  the 


72  IN  THE  DAYS   OF  BIENVILLE. 

area  devoted  to  agriculture  had  been  doubled  and 
trebled,  whilst  New  Orleans  had  been  springing 
rapidly  into  a  very  picturesque,  if  not  very  elegant 
town.  The  Company  made  arrangements  for  still 
further  improvement  in  the  .condition  of  the  colo- 
nies, by  the  introduction  of  religious  and  educational 
influences.  Priests  and  nuns  were  imported,  and  a 
better  class  of  emigrants  were  brought  from  Canada 
and  France. 

Just  at  this  point  of  time,  when  all  was  bright 
and  encouraging,  and  when  the  worst  evils  appeared 
to  be  passing  away  from  the  people  of  Louisiana, 
Bienville  was  superseded  by  M.  Perier,  a  man  of 
excellent  abilities,  who  at  once  entered  with  great 
energy  upon  the  performance  of  his  duties. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  from  the  very  first,  the 
American  air  has  had  the  quality  of  engendering 
a  love  of  liberty  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  have 
breathed  it.  Valdeterre,  writing  of  the  colonies  of 
Louisiana  as  an  eye  witness  in  1726,  uses  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  language  upon  the  subject  of 
their  independence  of  spirit:  — 

u  The  inhabitants  of  this  country,  settled  here  so 
recently,  governed  by  the  Company,  instead  of  in 
the  name  of  the  king,  have  come  to  be  republicans 
in  their  thoughts  and  ways  and  look  upon  them- 
selves as  exempt  from  binding  allegiance  to  their 
sovereign." 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BIENVILLE.  73 

Perier  advanced  the  interests  of  the  province 
with  great  rapidity.  Indigo,  rice,  tobacco,  wheat, 
corn  and  domestic  animals  were  produced  in  abun- 
dance, and  tropical  fruits  were  beginning  to  be 
cultivated. 

Under  all  this  gratifying  prosperity,  however, 
was  a  smoldering  fire  of  destruction.  The  Natchez 
Indians  had  not  forgiven  nor  forgotten  the  massacre 
of  their  people  and  the  destruction  of  their  planta- 
tions. They  were  sullenly  biding  their  time  to  rise 
and  strike  their  enemies  to  the  heart. 

All  went  well  on  the  surface  of  things  until 
the  twenty-ninth  of  November,  1729,  when  like  a 
thunderbolt  the  blow  fell. 

Bienville  during  the  whole  of  his  administration 
had  urged  upon  the  Company  the  pressing  need 
of  military  precautions  in  view  of  the  number  and 
disposition  of  the  savages ;  but  his  advice  had 
been  thrust  aside.  No  sooner  was  Perier  installed 
than  he  renewed  Bienville's  recommendations  with 
great  emphasis.  He  too  was  refused  the  aid  he 
asked. 

Over  in  Carolina  the  English  traders  were  reach- 
ing far  westward  into  the  country  of  the  Chickasaws, 
and  their  influence  for  a  long  time  had  kept  that 
tribe  unfriendly  to  the  French;  but  a  great  con- 
spiracy between  them  and  several  other  tribes,  with 
a  view  to  overrunning  Louisiana,  came  to  naught. 


The  Natchez,  however,  matured  their  plans  with 
the  greatest  caution  and  foresight 

Chopart,  who  was  in  command  at  Fort  Rosalie, 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  overbearing  disposi- 
tion, despotic,  merciless  and  avaricious,  who  treated 
the  Indians  with  the  most  brutal  cruelty.  A  chief 
or  "  sun  "  of  the  Natchez,  who  lived  on  a  beautiful 
and  extensive  plantation  called  White  Apple,  which 
was  tilled  by  the  people  of  a  scattered  village  built 
thereon,  was  ordered  by  Chopart  to  abandon  his 
home,  take  with  him  his  people  and  his  houses, 
destroy  his  fields  and  go  elsewhere.  The  only  jus- 
tification for  the  order  lay  in  the  fact  that  Chopart 
desired  to  own  the  rich  and  beautiful  plantation 
himself.  Of  course  the  chief  refused  to  obey  so 
preposterous  a  command.  "  My  fathers,"  he  said 
with  dignity,  "have  occupied  that  spot  for  many 
years,  and  it  is  well  for  their  children  to  remain 
there."  Chopart  threatened  force  and  the  chief 
called  a  council  to  devise  means  for  averting  the 
impending  calamity.  A  treaty  ended  in  the  Indians 
accepting  terms  by  which  Chopart  was  to  receive 
a  certain  rental  from  the  savages  during  a  respite 
of  a  few  months  which  he  condescended  to  grant 
to  them. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  Death  was 
far  preferable,  the  Indians  felt,  to  permitting  the 
white  man,  in  his  avarice  and  brutal  arrogance,  to 


IN  THE  DA  YS  OF  BIENVILLE.  75 

take  possession  of  their  lands  and  their  homes. 
They  had  not  forgotten  the  perfidy  of  Bienville, 
nor  were  the  old  bloodstains  of  the  wholesale  mas- 
sacre committed  a  few  years  before  by  the  French 
yet  grown  dim  in  their  memory.  In  secret  council 
they  formed  a  plan  to  destroy  the  whole  French 
colony.  Emissaries  were  dispatched  to  all  the 
villages  of  the  Natchez  and  to  those  of  other  tribes 
with  whom  they  had  formed  an  alliance.  Their 
method  of  keeping  accurate  and  uniform  count  of 
the  time  until  the  day  agreed  upon  for  the  uprising 
was  as  picturesque  as  it  was  simple.  A  bundle  of 
reeds  containing  a  certain  number  of  stems  was 
sent  to  each  village  with  instructions  to  remove  a 
reed  at  sunrise  every  morning,  and  when  but  one 
reed  remained  that  would  signify  that  the  day  of 
vengeance  had  arrived.  The  order  was :  Draw 
the  last  reed  and  rush  at  once  upon  the  nearest 
French  settlement  with  fire  and  tomahawk.  Not 
a  soul  among  all  the  whites  was  to  be  spared. 

Meantime  the  Indians  paid  the  rental  or  tribute 
demanded  by  Chopart  and  appeared  to  be  perfectly 
submissive.  One  by  one  the  reeds  were  withdrawn 
until  the  last  slender  stem  awaited  its  turn.  The 
day  of  wrath  had  dawned,  but  the  French  were 
ignorant  of  the  fate  prepared  for  them  and  went 
about  their  routine  of  duties  and  pleasures  as 
usual 


76  IN  THE  DA  YS   OF  BIENVILLE. 

With  a  nupnber  of  picked  warriors,  apparently 
unarmed,  but  bearing  concealed  weapons,  the  chief 
or  "  Great  Sun  "  of  the  Indians  near  Fort  Rosalie 
entered  the  post  with  poultry  and  other  produce 
which  he  offered  to  barter  for  ammunition.  The 
garrison  of  Fort  Rosalie  felt  no  fear  of  defenceless 
Indians,  and  so  the  warriors  were  allowed  to  enter 
the  fortifications.  Quietly  they  scattered  them- 
selves about  and  watched  for  the  signal  of  their 
chief.  It  was  soon  given.  With  the  fury  of  wild 
beasts  hungry  for  blood,  the  warriors  fell  upon 
their  unsuspecting  victims  and  killed  all  within 
their  reach.  At  the  same  time  in  every  direction 
slaughter  was  begun  and  before  sunset  the  en- 
tire male  population  of  the  settlements  near  Fort 
Rosalie  had  been  destroyed.  Houses  were  burned, 
plantations  pillaged  and  the  whole  region  left  a 
smoking,  blood-covered  desolation. 

The  "Great  Sun,"  while  this  was  going  on, 
smoked  his  pipe  in  stoical  unconcern.  The  shrieks 
and  groans  of  the  dying,  the  cries  of  the  women 
and  children,  all  of  whom  were  taken  prisoner,  and 
the  roaring  of  flames  made  music  that  lulled  the 
grim  old  warriors  soul.  He  sat  in  the  principal 
warehouse  of  the  post  while  his  braves  brought  the 
heads  of  the  slain  and  laid  them  in  a  ghastly  pile  at 
his  feet ;  those  of  the  officers  and  men  formed  the 
base  of  this  horrible  pyramid,  at  the  apex  of  which 


IN  THE  DAYS   OF  BIENVILLE.  77 

and  crowning  the  work  was  placed  the  hated  head 
of  the  miscreant  Chopart 

Their  direful  vengeance  accomplished,  the  In- 
dians possessed  themselves  of  the  wine  and  brandy 
in  the  stores  of  Fort  Rosalie  and  forthwith  began 
a  wild  debauch  which  ended  only  when  the  sup- 
ply of  spirits  was  exhausted.  They  danced,  and 
chanted  their  war-songs,  they  screamed  and  bel- 
lowed and  gesticulated,  finally  lying  down  in  a 
drunken  stupor  among  the  headless  bodies  of 
their  foes.  They  spared  most  of  the  negroes  for 
use  on  their  own  plantations. 

On  the  Yazoo,  on  the  Washita,  and  at  the  settle- 
ment near  the  present  site  of  Monroe,  the  colonists 
were  all  killed.  More  than  two  hundred  men  died 
at  the  hands  of  the  savages  on  that  bloody  and 
long-remembered  day.  More  than  two  hundred 
and  fifty  women  and  children  were  taken  captive. 

It  was  by  such  an  example  that  the  Company 
was  shown  the  truth  of  Bienville's  arguments.  The 
necessity  for  prompt  military  action  was  very  evi- 
dent, now  that  two  hundred  of  the  best  men  in 
Louisiana  lay  rotting  on  the  field  of  massacre  so 
often  predicted  by  the  deposed  governor. 

P£rier  forthwith  dispatched  a  vessel  to  France 
with  an  account  of  the  horrible  butchery  and  de- 
manding soldiers  and  supplies.  Meantime  orders 
were  sent  to  the  commanders  of  all  the  posts  of  the 


78  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BIENVILLE. 

territory  bidding  them  make  ready  for  war.  Forti- 
fications were  built  around  New  Orleans,  the  in- 
habitants were  armed,  and  couriers  and  agents  were 
sent  to  all  the  Indian  tribes  that  were  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  French,  with  a  view  to  enlisting 
them  against  the  Natchez  and  their  allies.  There 
was  no  lack  of  military  precaution,  now  that  the 
blow  had  fallen. 

Le  Sueur  went  up  into  the  Choctaw  country  on 
the  Tombigbee  to  raise  an  army  of  that  tribe,  while 
a  force  of  six  hundred  men  marched  from  New 
Orleans.  An  insurrection  broke  out  among  the 
slaves  on  some  of  the  plantations,  just  at  this  crit- 
ical moment,  but  it  was  speedily  quelled. 

Le  Sueur  gathered  a  body  of  six  hundred  Choc- 
taw braves  and  by  a  hurried  march  was  upon  the 
Natchez  before  they  were  aware  of  his  movement 
Just  at  daybreak  on  a  January  morning  in  the  year 
1730  the  allied  French  and  Choctaws  fell  upon  the 
Natchez  villages,  and  a  desperate  fight  ensued. 
But  though  severely  punished  the  Natchez  were  by 
no  means  broken.  They  were  peculiarly  gifted  in 
their  own  rude  art  of  constructing  defences.  With 
much  skill  and  speed  they  at  once  built  a  strong 
fortification  and  awaited  the  approach  of  the  French 
from  New  Orleans.  Le  Sueur's  band  of  Choctaws 
had  returned  to  their  tribe. 

The   Chevalier  Loubois  with   the    six   hundred 


IN  THE  DA  YS  OF  BIENVILLE.  79 

New  Orleans  troops  of  Le  Sueur,  reinforced  by 
eight  hundred  more,  including  Indians,  reached  the 
Natchez  fortification  in  a  few  days  and  began  a 
systematic  investment  of  the  place.  Trenches  were 
opened,  batteries  planted  at  commanding  points 
and  a  regular  siege  begun.  The  Indians,  seeing 
that  they  would  probably  be  taken,  asked  for  a  par- 
ley and  obtained  a  suspension  of  hostilities  for  ten 
days  upon  condition  that  they  would  surrender  to 
the  French  the  two  hundred  prisoners  they  were 
holding.  During  this  cessation  of  hostilities  the 
Indians  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  Febru- 
ary stole  out  of  their  fort  and  escaped  leaving  the 
prisoners  as  they  had  promised. 

M.  Loubois  now  proceeded  to  build  the  new  Fort 
Rosalie  (afterward  so  famous  in  southwestern  story) 
on  the  bluff  below  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Natchez.  The  remains  of  this  old-time  stronghold 
may  still  be  traced  on  the  brink  of  the  Mississippi 
bluff  where  it  was  built  a  century  and  a  half  ago. 
Its  walls  could  tell  of  occupancy  by  the  garrisons 
of  four  nations,  for  over  its  ramparts,  during  its 
seventy  years  of  use  as  a  defensive  outpost,  floated 
the  flags  of  France  and  Spain,  of  England  and  the 
United  States.     It  was  finally,  abandoned  in  1800. 

The  Natchez  now  scattered  themselves  and  were 
never  again  an  independent  tribe.  A  large  num- 
ber of  them,  however,  established   themselves  in  a 


80  IN  THE  DA  YS  OF  BIENVILLE. 

fort  on  Black  River  just  below  the  confluence  of 
Little  River  and  Washita.  They  built  strong  in- 
trenchments  and  prepared  to  defend  the  place  with 
that  wonderful  courage  which  has  made  the  Natchez 
name  a  deathless  one  in  the  annals  of  Indian  hero- 
ism. Savages  those  men  were,  but  patriotism  never 
has  risen  to  a  higher  level  of  self-sacrificing  devo- 
tion than  was  registered  by  their  unswerving  forti- 
tude and  their  serene  and  desperate  valor. 

M.  Perier  well  knew  that  extermination  was  the 
only  means  of  freeing  the  colonies  in  Louisiana 
from  the  incubus  of  that  deadly  terror  of  the  red- 
man  which  had  fixed  itself  upon  them.  Every 
man,  woman  and  child  throughout  the  settlements 
was  haunted  with  visions  of  bloody  massacre  and 
of  death  by  slow  fire  at  the  stake.  Labor  was 
paralyzed  and  trade  on  the  Mississippi  virtually 
destroyed. 

In  the  meantime  the  English  in  Carolina  were 
busily  engaged  in  encouraging  hostility  to  the 
French  among  the  Chickasaws,  Creeks  and  Chero- 
kees.  Rumors  of  this  reached  the  French  early  in 
the  year  1731.  Their  alarm  increased.  The  dis- 
trust in  everything  Indian  extended  even  to  the 
governor  himself  and  moved  him  to  a  deed  of  blood 
that  had  neither  palliation  nor  excuse.  Determined 
to  "  make  an  example  "  that  should  be  heeded  by 
his  Indian  foes  Perrier  ordered  the  extermination 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BIENVILLE.  83 

of  the  Chouacas,  a  weak  band  of  absolutely  harm- 
less Indians  living  below  New  Orleans  in  the 
region  of  Lake  Barataria.  His  excuse  for  this 
cowardly  move  was  that  he  believed  the  Chouacas 
to  be  in  alliance  with  the  Chickasaws.  But  as  if 
such  a  deed  of  perfidy  could  enlist  in  its  behalf  no 
chivalrous  or  honorable  Frenchman  this  act  of  des- 
perate folly  was  delegated  to  a  force  of  armed  negro 
slaves  gathered  from  the  plantations  and  carefully 
drilled  for  the  work  of  butchery.  The  Indians  were 
entirely  defenceless ;  they  were  without  thought  of 
harming  any  one  or  of  being  harmed  themselves, 
when  suddenly  the  black  cloud  of  slaves  fell  upon 
them,  as  if  driven  by  a  tempest  of  death  itself,  and 
wrought  a  merciless  and  indiscriminate  slaughter 
of  men,  women  and  children.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  these  negroes  were  themselves  savages 
imported  quite  recently  from  their  African  haunts. 
One  cannot  imagine  an  act  of  more  abject  barbarity 
than  this  brutal  massacre  planned  by  a  so-called 
Christian  and  executed  by  a  mob  of  degraded 
heathen.  It  seems  but  a  logical  return  for  such 
"  Christian  "  perfidy  that  the  very  mob  of  slaves 
to  whom  had  been  committed  this  butchery  of 
defenceless  women  and  childre'n  should  have  com- 
bined, because  of  this  success,  against  their  white 
masters  and  abettors  and  soon  after  their  murder 
of  the  poor  Chouacas  planned  the  massacre  of  the 


84  IN  THE  DA  YS   OF  BIENVILLE. 

white  colonists  and  the  plunder  of  the  settlements. 
The  plot  was  discovered  almost  on  the  eve  of  its 
inception. 

Elated   with    his    fine    "  success "    against    one 
"  rebellious "   tribe    M.  Perier   now   went   forward 
with  great  energy.     He  raised  an  army  with  which 
to    strike    the    stronghold    of    the    Natchez    rem- 
nant  on    Black    River,   and  by   the  close  of    the 
year  1731  he  had  collected  a  force  of  six  hundred 
and  fifty  men.     On  the  fifteenth  of  November  he 
marched    northward,    receiving    reinforcements    of 
Indians    friendly  to   the    French.      His   combined 
force  thus   amounted    to   about   a   thousand  men. 
Reaching  the  mouth  of   Black  River  and  ascend- 
ing the  stream  in  a  fleet  of  small  boats,  the  army 
reached  the  Natchez  fort  and  began  to  lay  siege 
thereto  on  the  twentieth  of  January,  1732.     Next 
day  a  bombardment  was  opened.      Notwithstand- 
ing their  well-planned  defences,  the  fortifications  of 
the  Natchez  were  not  calculated  to  withstand  the 
destructive  artillery  of  France  and  the  Indians  were 
soon  forced  to  sue  for  quarter.     A  flag  of  truce 
was,    indeed,    hung    out    before    the   artillery    had 
really  done  serious  damage  to  the  works.     Perier 
demanded  the  surrender  of  all  the  Indian  leaders, 
but  this  was  refused  and  he  ordered   the  cannon- 
ade to   begin.     The    Indians   then  gave  up  their 
"  Great  Sun  "  and  a  war  chief ;    but   Perier  would 


IN  THE  DAYS   OF  BIENVILLE.  85 

listen  to  nothing  short  of  a  delivery  into  his  hands 
of  all  their  leading  men.  This  the  Indians  again 
refused  and  the  bombardment  was  reopened  at  once. 
Night  was  now  falling  and  soon  there  arose  one  of 
those  tempests  of  wind  and  rain  common  to  the 
mid-winters  of  the  Lower  Mississippi.  It  was  very 
dark,  water  came  down  in  a  deluge,  the  gale  was 
almost  a  hurricane.  In  the  midst  of  this  tumult 
and  darkness,  rain  and  wind,  the  Indians,  renewing 
the  tactics  of  a  former  occasion,  crept  out  of  their 
fort  and  stole  away  through  the  swampy  forests. 
Pursuit  was  made  and  some  of  them  captured, 
but  the  main  body  escaped. 

Among  the  Natchez  captives  taken  by  Perier 
were  the  "  Great  Sun  "  and  a  number  of  the  princi- 
pal war  chiefs  of  the  tribe.  A  terrible  fate  was  in 
store  for  these  courageous  and  freedom-loving  men. 
They  were  shipped  to  St.  Domingo  and  sold  into 
all  the  horrors  of  West  Indian  slavery. 

One  last  struggle  was  made  by  the  Natchez 
remnant.  They  gathered  a  band  of  about  two 
hundred  warriors  and  attacked  Fort  Natchitoches 
which  was  occupied  by  St.  Denis  with  a  small  gar- 
rison of  French.  The  Indians  were  repulsed  with 
heavy  loss,  whereupon  they  attacked  and  destroyed 
a  village  of  the  Natchitoches  and  proceeded  to  for- 
tify themselves  on  the  spot.  St.  Denis  did  not  let 
them  long  enjoy  their  new  quarters.      He  was  a 


86  IN  THE  DA  YS  OF  BIENVILLE. 

fighting  man  and  possessed  of  great  courage,  tact 
and  energy.  Promptly  organizing  his  men  and 
gathering  reinforcements  he  marched  to  attack  the 
fort  which  he  carried  by  storm,  putting  to  death 
ninety-two  of  its  defenders  and  giving  the  finishing 
blow  to  the  almost  complete  destruction  of  the  once 
great  Natchez  tribe. 

In  all  the  long  story  of  the  ill-treatment  of  the 
American  Indian  there  is  scarcely  an  instance  that 
exceeds  in  disgraceful  details  this  record  of  the 
decline  of  the  Natchez,  "  the  most  civilized  of  all  the 
southern  nations."  With  many  marks  of  refinement 
and  of  gentle  ways,  brave,  courteous,  friendly  and 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  better  processes  of  civili- 
zation they  were  from  the  first  despised,  juggled  with 
and  maligned.  Pushed  to  extremities  their  patriot- 
ism and  their  valor  alike  made  them  relentless  and 
bitter  foemen  and  they  fought  valiantly  for  their 
homeland  until  French  "diplomacy"  and  French 
gunpowder  wrought  their  ruin  and  their  death. 

On  the  tenth  of  April,  1732,  the  proclamation  of 
the  French  king  was  issued  declaring  the  territory 
of  Louisiana  open  and  free  to  all  his  subjects,  the 
Company  having  surrendered  its  franchises  to  the 
crown. 

Under  the  new  order  of  things  M.  Perier  re- 
tained his  position,  with  M.  Salmon  as  commissaire 
ordonnateur.      Loubois    and    D'Artaguette    were 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BIENVILLE.  87 

promoted  to  the  office  of  king's  lieutenants,  Loubois 
remaining  in  Louisiana  whilst  D'Artaguette  took 
charge  of  the  Illinois  territory. 

Thus,  at  the  close  of  1732,  the  French  colonies 
in  Louisiana  became  in  fact,  and  for  the  first  time, 
a  people  with  a  government  free,  at  least  in  name, 
from  the  insidious  influences  of  a  commercial  cor- 
poration whose  highest  aim  had  been  to  reap  a 
golden  harvest  from  the  labors  of  the  settlers. 

Peace  had  come  with  the  extermination  of  the 
Natchez  and  a  feeling  of  security  and  hope  had 
taken  the  place  of  that  dark  terror  which  so  lately 
had  hung  over  the  whole  territory. 

New  Orleans  was  now  placed  in  circumstances 
which  gave  great  impetus  to  its  growth  and 
prosperity.  By  an  order  dated  the  thirteenth  of 
September  the  king  removed  all  duties  from  mer- 
chandise going  from  France  to  Louisiana  and 
from  Louisiana  to  France,  thus  establishing  free 
trade  between  the  territory  and  the  mother 
country.  Moreover  the  circulating  medium  of 
Louisiana  was  becoming  more  stable  and  the 
trade  of  New  Orleans  was  attracting  the  atten- 
tion  of   the   mercantile   world. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


FROM    FRANCE    TO    SPAIN. 


~OT  long  after 
the  Company 
had  abandoned 
Louisiana,  and 
while  yet  the 
people  were  re- 
joicing over  the  bright  pros- 
pect of  peace  and  happiness 
which  had  dawned  upon 
the  colonics.  Bienville  re- 
turned from  his  long  stay 
in  France.  He  came,  in  the  fall  of  1734,  as  gov- 
ernor and  commandant-general  of  Louisiana.  He 
was  welcomed  most  cordially.  The  "  Father  of 
the  Colony  "  had  always  been  a  favorite  with  the 
people,  whilst  Perier,  though  an  excellent  officer, 
had  been  harsh,  willful  and  despotic  in  his  treat- 
ment of  his  subordinates  and  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  settlers. 

But  the  new  administration  of  Bienville  though 
begun  under  the  happiest  auspices  ended  in  dis- 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  89 

grace.  The  veteran  governor  was  now  quite  past 
the  prime  of  life,  but  he  no  sooner  felt  the  reins 
of  control  once  more  in  his  hands,  than  he  began 
to  look  about  for  a  chance  to  achieve  further 
renown  as  an  Indian  fighter.  The  Chickasaws 
offered  him  an  excellent  excuse  for  action.  They 
had  incorporated  within  their  tribes  the  remnant 
of  the  destroyed  Natchez  nation  and  having  allied 
themselves  with  certain  Carolina  traders  were  com- 
mitting many  outrages  along  the  Mississippi.  By 
their  restless  energy  navigation  of  the  river  was 
no  longer  safe,  nor  was  trade  on  its  borders  profit- 
able. These  hostile  red-men  had  their  strong- 
hold near  what  is  now  Pontotoc  on  the  banks  of  a 
small  stream  of  that  name  in  the  northern  part  of 
Mississippi  near  the  source  of  the  Tallahatchee 
River.  To  this  lonely  and  distant  point  Bienville 
led  an  army  composed  of  all  the  available  men  in 
the  colonies  of  Louisiana  and  all  the  friendly 
Indians  that  he  could  enlist  in  his  behalf.  He 
had  ordered  D'Artaguette,  son  of  the  Chevalier 
D'Artaguette,  a  brave  and  intrepid  youth,  to  march 
from  Fort  Chartres  with  all  the  force  at  his  com- 
mand in  the  Illinois  country  and  meet  him  at  a 
point  between  the  Yazoo  and  the  Tombigbee, 
and  near  their  sources  in  the  upper  part  of 
Alabama. 

It  was  on   the   fourth   day  of   May,  1736,  that 


90  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN. 

Bienville  departed  from  Fort  Tombigbee.  This 
stronghold  he  had  just  built  on  the  bank  of  the 
Tombigbee  River  as  a  base  for  his  operations.  He 
led  to  the  attack  the  largest  army  that  ever  had 
been  raised  in  Louisiana  and  with  high  anticipa- 
tions he  now  marched  forth  to  assail  the  stronghold 
of  his  enemy. 

By  some  mischance  D'Artaguette  failed  to 
arrive  at  the  appointed  time  and  place  and  Bien- 
ville's troops  would  not  be  restrained.  The  Indian 
fort  was  found  to  be  a  very  strong  one.  Indeed  it 
had  been  built  under  the  direction  of  the  English 
traders.  Not  only  a  heavy  palisade  but  powerful 
earthworks  as  well  presented  themselves  on  every 
side,  while  inside  of  the  palisades  was  a  wall  of 
boards  or  slabs.  Through  these  defences  port- 
holes had  been  cut  at  short  intervals,  and  all  around 
the  defences  overhead  there  was  a  grenade-proof 
extension  of  wood  and  earth. 

Instead  of  investing  the  place  and  laying  siege 
to  it  by  gradual  approaches  Bienville  made  a  mad 
effort  to  carry  it  by  storm.  No  doubt  he  was  exas- 
perated at  seeing  the  British  flag  floating  over  the 
palisades,  for  in  those  days  of  feud  the  sight  of 
England's  banner  on  what  was  deemed  French  soil 
was  at  once  an  insult  and  a  challenge  to  French 
honor.  Then  too  the  doughty  commandant  could 
scarcely  have  been  aware  of  the  great  advance  that 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  9 1 

the  Indians  had  made  in  the  art  of  war  since  the 
days  when,  as  a  youthful  adventurer,  he  had 
charged  over  their  puny  defences,  or  struck  terror 
into  their  hearts  by  the  roar  of  his  guns  and  the 
flash  of  his  grenades. 

Schooled  in  their  experience  of  the  white  man's 
ways  and  directed  no  doubt  by  the  English  traders 
within  the  forts,  the  besieged  Chickasaws  gave  shot 
for  shot.  As  Bienville's  men  rushed  forward  to  the 
assault  they  were  met  by  a  level  storm  of  bullets 
directed  by  cool-headed  and  skilled  marksmen. 
The  effect  was  terrible,  but  the  brave  Frenchmen 
pressed  right  on  close  to  the  face  of  the  works,  only 
to  find  that  it  was  impossible  to  break  over.  The 
artful  manner  in  which  the  defences  had  been 
constructed,  was  now  demonstrated.  The  hand 
grenades  of  the  Frenchmen  could  make  no  im- 
pression upon  them.  Meantime  the  deadly  fire 
from  the  port-holes  was  redoubled  and  the  savages 
within  the  fort  jeered  horribly  as  they  noted  the 
withering  effect  of  their  missiles.  Bienville  recog- 
nized, too  late,  the  fatal  mistake  he  had  made. 
He  had  no  artillery,  and  without  it  he  could  not 
succeed.  Stubbornly,  desperately,  for  four  hours, 
he  dashed  his  men  against  the  palisades.  It  was 
madness.  The  walls  were  impregnable,  and  baffled 
and  dispirited  he  was  forced  to  withdraw. 

Sadly  enough  he  made  his  way  back  to  New 


92  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN. 

Orleans,  only  to  learn  a  little  later  that,  on  the 
twentieth  of  May,  D'Artaguette  and  his  forces 
had  met  with  a  crushing  defeat  in  the  Chickasaw 
country  while  on  their  way  to  join  the  commander 
as  ordered.  D'Artaguette  himself  was  left  wounded 
on  the  field  along  with  a  number  of  his  officers 
who  had  charged  by  his  side.  All  of  them  were 
burned  with  slow  fire  at  the  stake.  Vincennes,  the 
brave  Canadian  lieutenant,  Senat,  the  priest,  and 
D'Artaguette,  the  heroic  young  leader,  were  the 
chief  victims  —  names  that  stand  for  heroism  in  a 
page  of  history  as  romantic  as  any  in  the  story  of 
our  country. 

Bienville  was  in  disgrace.  He  felt  that  by  his 
blundering  tactics  an  almost  crushing  blow  had 
fallen  upon  the  colonies.  Over  in  Georgia  and 
Carolina  the  English  were  delighted  to  hear  of 
his  discomfiture ;  his  enemies  in  Louisiana  and  in 
France  set  up  a  cry  of  contempt  and  derision. 
Hoping  to  redeem  himself,  he  asked  the  war 
department  for  permission  to  raise  another  army 
to  lead  against  the  Chickasaws.  Near  the  close  of 
1738  this  request  was  granted  and  he  at  once  began 
the  levy.  The  whole  winter  was  given  up  to  the 
task  of  collecting  and  equipping  a  force  which, 
when  brought  into  a  body  at  Fort  Assumption, 
numbered  three  thousand  and  seven  hundred  men; 
of  these  twenty-five  hundred  were  Indians,      This 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  95 

was  the  largest  army  that  Louisiana  had  ever 
raised  and  its  equipment  was  excellent. 

With  strange  feebleness,  Bienville  dallied  at  the 
site  chosen  for  Fort  Assumption  and  did  not  finish 
the  work  there  before  the  middle  of  August.  It 
was  not  a  salubrious  spot  in  the  heat  of  midsum- 
mer, surrounded  as  it  was  by  malarious  swamps  and 
dense  forests  that  shut  out  the  breezes.  Ague  and 
other  bilious  and  malarial  diseases  attacked  the 
men  and  rendered  their  lives  miserable.  Many  of 
the  whites  died.  By  the  time  that  autumn  had 
arrived  the  supplies  were  exhausted.  Another  long 
delay  followed,  waiting  for  stores  to  be  brought 
from  New  Orleans  and  other  points.  And  so  not 
a  move  was  made  until  in  March,  1739,  and  then 
the  only  result  was  a  tame  and  bloodless  peace 
after  a  wordy  powwow  with  the  chiefs  of  the 
enemy. 

This  in  effect  closed  the  public  career  of  Bien- 
ville in  Louisiana,  though  he  lived  to  be  quite  old 
and  never  ceased  to  take  great  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  colonies.  He  was  superseded  by  the 
Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  who  arrived  at  New  Orleans 
on  the  tenth  of  May,  1743. 

It  is  difficult  to  separate  the  elements  of  Bien- 
ville's character  so  as  to  make  a  fair  criticism  of 
the  man.  One  thing  is  plain,  however:  he  was 
true  to  Louisiana.     Moreover  it  must  be  admitted 


96  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN. 

that,  in  view  of  his  surroundings,  his  achievements 
were  remarkable.  In  reading  his  romantic  story 
no  one  will  fail  to  sympathize  with  him  in  the  dis- 
aster which  clouded  the  beginning  of  his  old  age 
and  haunted  him  with  its  shadow  all  the  rest  of 
his  life. 

De  Vaudreuil  found  the  colonies  of  Louisiana 
in  a  deplorable  state,  especially  as  regarded  their 
finances;  but  he  could  not  resist  the  temptation 
to  favor  certain  of  his  friends  with  monopolies. 
Since  the  peace  with  the  Chickasaws  had  been  con- 
cluded, the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  its 
chief  tributaries  had  been  open.  One  of  the  first 
acts  of  importance  marking  De  Vaudreuil's  admin- 
istration was  a  grant  to  one  Deruisseau  of  the  right 
to  control  the  trade  of  the  Missouri  and  its  tribu- 
taries. He  gave  great  credit  also,  as  had  most  of 
his  predecessors,  to  the  stories  told  of  rich  gold 
mines  in  the  North,  and  he  influenced  many  of 
the  colonists  to  make  vain  efforts  to  discover  the 
supposed  hidden  sources  of  wealth.  Notwithstand- 
ing these  shortcomings,  however,  he  was  a  good 
governor.  Under  his  direction  the  affairs  of  the 
territory  swiftly  righted  themselves  and  a  vigor- 
ous growth  of  agriculture  and  trade  continued  for 
several  years. 

New  Orleans  had  now  become  a  thriving  town. 
Up  and  down  the  river  for  many  miles  beautiful 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  97 

and  well-tilled  plantations  lay  at  either  hand. 
Orange  groves  loaded  with  their  golden  fruitage 
grew  around  spacious  and  comfortable  homes.  As 
the  facilities  for  religious  worship  and  social  inter- 
course had  increased,  the  morals  of  the  people  had 
greatly  improved,  and  the  administration  of  justice 
was  assuming  a  more  enlightened  and  comprehen- 
sive form. 

In  1745  a  tornado  passed  over  Lower  Louisiana 
doing  immense  injury  to  plantations  and  crops. 
The  rice  fields  were  almost  entirely  destroyed.  A 
famine  threatened  in  consequence;  but  the  colonies 
on  the  Upper  Mississippi  came  to  the  rescue  with 
supplies  which  served  to  avert  the  worst  results. 
This  disaster  having  been  averted  everything  went 
along  well  until  the  winter  of  1748-49,  when  a 
series  of  cold  waves,  or  "northers,"  reduced  the 
atmospheric  temperature  so  low  that  nearly  all  the 
orange  groves  were  killed  outright.  This  retarded 
for  many  years  the  maturing  of  tropical  fruit 
orchards  in  the  territory. 

The  colonies  continued  to  increase  in  every 
direction.  The  population  in  1745  had  grown  to 
over  six  thousand.  The  rich  alluvial  coasts  of  the 
Mississippi  became  garden-spots  of  a  varied  and 
exceedingly  remunerative  planting  industry.  Flat- 
boats  and  barges  came  down  the  river  from  the  far 
upper  settlements,  bringing  cargoes  of  hides,  skins, 


98  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN. 

cured  meats,  corn,  wheat,  and  other  northern  prod- 
uce, and  returned  loaded  with  various  articles  of 
foreign  merchandise,  together  with  rice,  sugar  and 
tobacco,  most  of  these  imported.  In  1750  cotton 
was  planted  successfully  for  the  first  time  and  in 
the  year  following  sugar-cane  was  cultivated  just 
above  New  Orleans.  Fourteen  years  later  the  first 
cargo  of  Louisiana  sugar  was  exported. 

Meantime  the  English  colonies  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  were  very  actively  engaged  in  attemping  to 
secure  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  the  Indians 
as  far  westward  as  to  the  Mississippi  River.  With 
this  object  in  view  their  emissaries  were  tireless  in 
the  effort  to  incite  the  Chickasaws  against  the 
French.  Traders  from  Georgia  and  Carolina  came 
boldly  to  the  Indian  towns  with  their  merchandise. 
They  made  themselves  useful  to  the  red-men,  and 
taught  the  chiefs  how  to  make  their  fortifications 
impregnable  to  the  attack  of  any  force  not  supplied 
with  artillery.  Not  the  Chickasaws  only,  but  the 
Choctaws  as  well  were  led  to  commit  depredations 
which  caused  a  war  in  1750. 

The  French  were  without  any  efficient  service  of 
artillery  and  Vaudreuil,  as  had  been  the  case  with 
Bienville,  suffered  in  consequence.  The  Chicka- 
saws, urged  on  by  the  English,  finally  became  so 
troublesome,  that  an  expedition  against  them 
became   necessary.      An   army   was   gathered   for 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  99 

this  purpose  consisting  of  seven  hundred  whites 
and  a  large  body  of  friendly  Indians. 

The  fort  erected  by  Bienville  on  the  Tombigbee 
River  was  enlarged  and  strengthened  to  be  used  as 
a  base  of  operations.  Vaudreuil  marched  boldly 
into  the  Chickasaw  country  and  assaulted  their 
fortifications  without  effect.  Not  being  able  to 
take  the  towns,  he  scoured  the  whole  region,  de- 
stroying the  corn  fields,  burning  the  houses  and 
laying  waste  the  plantations  of  his  foes.  After 
accomplishing  this  he  left  a  garrison  in  the  fort 
on  the  Tombigbee  and  returned  to  New  Orleans. 

In  1753'  Vaudreuil  was  appointed  Governor  of 
Canada,  and  on  the  ninth  of  February  relinquished 
to  his  commissaire-ordonnateure  M.  le  Capitain  Ker- 
lerec  the  chief  office  in  Louisiana.  In  some  regards 
this  was  a  wholesome  change.  Vaudreuirs  admin- 
istration had  been  extravagant  and  oppressive  to  a 
degree,  on  account  of  a  miniature  court  kept  up 
by  the  pleasure-loving  Marquis.  It  was  more 
than  hinted  besides  that  he  had  farmed  out  cer- 
tain offices  and  grants  in  order  to  swell  his  income 
sufficiently  to  meet  his  rather  reckless  expenses. 
Kerlerec  found  it  necessary  to  remove  some  of 
Vaudreuil's  appointees  because,  as  he  remarked  in 
his  dispatches  to  the  French  government,  the  peo- 
ple claimed  that  stipends  had  been  paid  to  the  gov- 
ernor annually.     Indeed  there  seems  little  doubt 


■>  *     "  j  - 


IOO  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN. 

that  a  great  deal  of  corruption  had  been  practiced 
in  Louisiana  from  the  first.  It  could  scarcely  have 
been  otherwise.  The  officers,  on  account  of  the 
great  distance  from  France  and  the  weak  state  of 
the  colonies,  exercised  almost  absolute  powers  and 
there  was  before  them  every  temptation  to  licen- 
tiousness and  malfeasance.  That  this  temptation 
was  not  resisted  very  successfully  is  proven  by  the 
case  of  M.  Roux,  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
post  on  Cat  Island.  It  was  well  known  that  he 
made  his  soldiers  fell  forests  and  burn  the  wood 
into  charcoal  which  he  sold  for  his  own  benefit, 
but  he  was  not  restrained  by  his  superiors.  So 
miserable  and  exasperated  did  his  garrison  become 
that  they  arose  in  mutiny  and  killed  him.  The 
punishment  meted  out  to  the  mutineers  was  cruel 
in  the  extreme.  Two  of  the  ringleaders  were 
broken  on  the  wheel  and  another  was  nailed  in  a 
wooden  box  and  sawed  in  twain  with  a  whip-saw 
by  two  subaltern  officers. 

During  the  first  year  of  Kerlerec  s  administra- 
tion the  French  and  British  at  length  came  to 
open  and  active  hostility  and  a  war  was  begun  for 
the  mastery  in  America  which  ended  only  in  giving 
Canada  and  a  large  part  of  the  great  territory  of 
Louisiana  to  the  English  by  a  treaty  dated  at  Paris 
on  the  tenth  of  February,  1763. 

During  this  war  Louisiana  suffered  greatly  on 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  IOI 

account  of  the  almost  bankrupt  state  of  the  French 
treasury.  The  paper  currency  of  the  colonies  fluct- 
uated disastrously  and  drove  all  the  coin  out  of  the 
territory.  British  cruisers  patrolled  the  seas  pre- 
venting any  efficient  aid  being  sent  from  France, 
whilst  dissensions  and  wrangling  among  the  offi- 
cers, civil,  military,  and  ecclesiastical,  kept  the 
inhabitants  restless  and  refractory.  Kerlerec  man- 
aged to  make  a  show  of  reduction  in  the  public 
expenditures,  but  he  was  hampered  on  all  sides  and 
could  see  no  immediate  relief  for  the  distressed 
and  apparently  forsaken  people  of  his  province. 
All  too  soon  the  English  began  to  threaten  New 
Orleans  from  the  sea.  There  were  no  adequate 
defences  on  the  river  in  the  direction  of  the  gulf, 
nor  was  there  a  fleet  at  Kerlerec's  command  fit  to 
guard  the  coast.  He  sent  message  after  message 
to  France,  but  received  no  answer. 

The  war  began  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Ohio  and  spread  thence  to  Canada.  Louisiana 
for  a  long  time  was  free  from  its  immediate 
effects,  but  her  currency  grew  in  volume  and 
shrunk  in  value  apace  with  the  progress  of  the 
struggle  and  the  steady  advance  of  the  English 
into  the  northern  territory.  One  by  one  the 
strongholds  in  Canada  fell  before  the  invaders 
until  the  end  came  with  the  taking  of  Montreal 
in   1760. 


102  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN. 

Meantime  there  had  been  a  great  increase  in  the 
population  of  Louisiana  by  immigration  from  the 
French  settlements  north  of  the  great  lakes.  Most 
of  these  sought  homes  on  the  prairies  and  bayou- 
coasts  of  Avoyelles,  Attakapas  and  Opelousas.  One 
colony  came  under  circumstances  which  not  alone 
the  dull  details  of  history,  but  the  genius  of  our 
greatest  American  poet  have  forever  impressed 
upon  the  memory  of  the  world.  The  British  gov- 
ernment, without  the  slightest  foundation  in  justice, 
ordered  all  the  inhabitants  in  the  province  of  Acadia 
to  be  seized,  put  on  board  English  vessels  and  trans- 
ported far  away  from  their  homes  and  country. 

At  that  time  Acadia  included  the  area  of  the 
present  province  of  Nova  Scotia.  In  obedience 
to  the  order  of  the  English  conquerors  the  inhabi- 
tants, men,  women  and  children,  old  and  young, 
sick  and  well  (about  four  thousand  in  all),  were 
seized  and  dragged  on  board  the  ships  sent  for  the 
purpose,  huddled  into  the  holds  like  cattle  and  in 
the  fall  months  of  1755,  conveyed  to  the  breezy, 
desolate  sand-coasts  of  Delaware,  Maryland,  New 
Jersey  and  Virginia  where  they  were  left  in  utter 
destitution  to  shift  for  themselves.  As  fast  as 
they  could  these  poor  outcasts  made  their  way  to 
New  Orleans.  Six  hundred  and  fifty  of  them 
arrived  early  in  1756  and  were  sent  to  Attakapas 
and  Opelousas.     So  began  the  Acadian  settlement 


r 


r 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  io^ 

in  the  western  part  of  Louisiana.  To  this  day  that 
section  of  the  State  is  inhabited  by  the  descendants 
of  those  refugees  from  English  outrage.  These 
people  have  preserved  with  remarkable  fidelity  the 
old-time  customs  and  habits  of  their  simple,  honest 
and  unambitious  ancestors.* 

In  1763  the  final  treaty  between  England  and 
France  was  perfected  and  France  agreed  secretly 
with  Spain  to  transfer  Louisiana  to  her.  By 
the  former  treaty  the  English  took  possession  of 
all  North  America  east  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
with  the  exception  of  that  small  area  extending 
from  lakes  Maurepas,  Ponchartrain  and  Borgne 
southward  and  westward  to  the  gulf  and  the  river, 
including  the  island  of  Orleans. 

The  people  of  Louisiana  were  not  at  once  in- 
formed of  the  fact  that  their  country  had  been 
ceded  to  Spain.  Gradually  the  news  crept  among 
them.  It  was  received  with  consternation  and 
resentment  which  soon  arose  to  the  highest  pitch. 


«« 


•"The  removal  of  the  French  Acadians  from  their  homes,"  says  Mr.  Charles  C  Smith, 
was  one  of  the  saddest  episodes  in  modern  history,  and  no  one  will  attempt  to  justify  it ;  but 
it  should  be  added  that  the  genius  of  our  great  poet  has  thrown  a  somewhat  false  and  distorted 
light  over  the  character  of  the  victims.  They  were  not  the  peaceful  and  simple-hearted  people 
they  are  commonly  supposed  to  have  been  ;  and  their  homes,  as  we  learn  from  contemporary 
evidence,  were  by  no  means  the  picturesque,  vine- clad,  and  strongly  built  cottages  described 
by  the  poet.  The  people  were  notably  quarrelsome  among  themselves,  and  to  the  last  degree 
superstitious.  .  .  .  Even  in  periods  when  France  and  England  were  at  peace  the  French 
Acadians  were  a  source  of  perpetual  danger  to  the  English  colonists.  .  .  .  But  all  this 
does  not  justify  their  expulsion  in  the  manner  in  which  it  was  executed,  and  it  will  always  remain 
a  foul  blot  in  the  history  of  Nova  Scotia."  This  is  the  other  side  of.  the  story  and  should  be 
quoted  in  justification.  But  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  real  facts  can  never  qualify  the  sym- 
pathetic love  for  the  Acadians  created  by  the  delightful  cadences  of  "  Evangeline."  — [Ed. 


i64  Prom  Prance  to  spam. 

The  Spanish  Government,  aware  of  this  feeling, 
hesitated  to  take  formal  possession  of  the  terri- 
tory. The  French  colonists  petitioned  their 
mother  country  in  vain  for  some  action  by  which 
they  might  continue  under  the  control  of  their 
king.  Nothing  could  be  more  bitter  to  them 
than  the  thought  of  submitting  to  Spanish  rule. 
No  doubt  this  sentiment  was  fanned  into  an  active 
flame  of  passion  by  the  men  who  were  controlling 
the  Mississippi  trade;  for  the  coming  of  the  new 
administration  would  end  their  monopoly. 

D'Abadie,  who  was  acting  as  director-general, 
held  his  office  for  two  years  after  he  had  received 
orders  to  surrender  the  government  of  Louisiana 
to  the  Spanish  sovereign.  Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa 
with  a  guard  of  infantry  reached  New  Orleans 
on  the  fifth  of  March,  1766.  He  came  with  in- 
structions  from  Charles  III.  and  was  directed  to 
take  possession  of  the  province  without  any  dis- 
play, using  every  means  in  his  power  to  pacify 
the  French  inhabitants.  This  task,  however,  proved 
a  very  delicate  and  difficult  one.  From  the  first 
he  was  met  with  the  most  stubborn  and  resentful 
bearing  by  the  people  over  whom  he  was  to  rule. 
He  hesitated  to  take  formal  and  public  possession 
of  the  country,  seeing  that  great  trouble  was  almost 
sure  to  follow.  The  longer  he  hesitated  the  higher 
rose  the  feelings  of  the  people.     Suddenly,  in  Sep- 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  107 

tember,  he  left  New  Orleans  and  went  to  the  Balize 
where  he  remained  a  long  time,  apparently  unmind- 
ful of  what  was  going  on.  Delegations  of  citizens 
and  officials  were  sent  to  him  from  New  Orleans, 
but  they  returned  no  wiser  than  when  they  started. 
This  was  exasperating.  Days  and  weeks  and 
months  went  by,  and  still  no  explanation  of  Ulloa's 
strange  action  was  forthcoming.  Gradually  a  feel- 
ing of  dread  began  to  take  the  place  of  resent- 
ment. It  might  be  that  Ulloa  was  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  a  Spanish  fleet  and  army  with  which  he 
would  proceed  to  grind  the  colonies  into  subjection 
so  that  he  could  govern  them  as  the  Mexican 
colonies  were  governed.  The  thought  was  terrible 
and  many  of  the  inhabitants  began  to  make  ready 
for  migration. 

Aubrey  had  succeeded  D'Abadie  as  director- 
general  and  while  he  was  waiting  to  surrender  the 
province  to  Ulloa  a  conspiracy  was  formed  among 
the  leaders  of  the  French  colonists  for  the  purpose 
of  resisting  the  transfer.  The  members  of  this 
organization  met  in  secret  to  perfect  their  plans. 
Finally  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  October,  1 768,  a 
revolutionary  movement  was  begun  by  an  upris- 
ing of  armed  citizens.  From  all  directions  the  set- 
tlements poured  their  men  into  New  Orleans.  The 
guns  about  the  city  were  spiked  and  the  mob  took 
control  of  the  streets. 


108  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN. 

Ulloa,  who  had  returned  from  his  hermitage  at  the 
Balize,  bringing  with  him  as  his  bride  a  Peruvian 
lady  of  great  wealth,  was  unaware  of  any  conspir- 
acy against  him  until  he  saw  the  armed  men  in 
New  Orleans  and  heard  their  wild  shouts  of  Vive 
le  rot/  Aubrey  was  as  much  surprised  as  Ulloa 
could  have  been,  for  the  insurgents  had  kept  their 
plans  so  hidden  that  he  had  never  suspected  their 
existence.  He  took  prompt  measures,  however,  to 
shield  the  Spaniards  from  harm.  Ulloa  and  his 
wife  were  hurriedly  put  on  board  a  vessel  which  at 
once  swung  out  into  the  middle  of  the  river. 
On  the  twenty-ninth,  in  spite  of  Aubrey's  en- 
treaties and  threats,  the  Supreme  Council  passed 
a  resolution  requiring  Ulloa  to  produce  at  once  his 
commission  or  give  proof  of  his  authority  from  the 
Spanish  Government.  Failing  to  do  this  he  was 
ordered  to  leave  the  country  within  a  month. 
Don  Ulloa  chose  the  latter  alternative  and  sailed 
for  Cuba. 

The  reason  for  this  delay  of  nearly  three  years 
on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  Government  before  it 
took  actual  possession  of  Louisiana  is  not  quite 
plain.  True  the  province,  in  a  financial  way,  was, 
at  best,  not  a  desirable  acquisition.  The  question 
regarding  the  management  of  the  worthless  paper 
currency  left  afloat  in  the  colonies  by  the  French 
Government  was  something  to  temporize  with,  but 


FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPAIN.  109 

still  it  is  not  easily  seen  why  these  considerations 
should  have  caused  such  dangerous  delays  in  the 
matter  of  assuming  local  control.  A  prompt  and 
firm  course  in  the  beginning,  if  accompanied 
with  kindness  and  justice,  would  have  prevented 
a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

Ulloa  had  been  exceedingly  kind  to  the  French 
and  the  treatment  he  received  at  their  hands  was 
far  from  justifiable.  While  he  was  in  the  vessel 
which  was  to  bear  him  from  New  Orleans  to 
Cuba,  a  party  of  noisy  rioters  marched  down  to 
the  river  bank  and  cut  the  cable  by  which  his  ship 
was  moored.  Then,  with  hilarious  delight,  they 
watched  the  result  as  the  strong  current  of  the 
stream  bore  the  vessel  rapidly  away. 

On  October  31,  the  Council  had  formally  over- 
ruled  Aubrey's  protest,  and  had  reaffirmed  its 
order  to  Ulloa.  Three  days  before  this  the 
planters  and  merchants  of  Louisiana  had  drawn 
up  an  address  or  manifesto  in  which  they  justi- 
fied the  revolution  and  heaped  many  accusations 
upon  the  head  of  Don  Antonio  Ulloa. 

As  Aubrey  had  virtually  recognized  Ulloa  as. 
ernor  of  Louisiana,  the  revolutionists  tf€ated  him 
also  with  contempt.  He  in  turn  told  th£m  that  they 
would  probably  come  to  the  end  usually  reached  by 
insurgents,  meaning  death  by  public  /execution  at 
the  hands  of  the  authorities. 


HO  FROM  FRANCE  TO  SPAIN. 

The  chief  instigators  and  leaders  of  the  re- 
volt were  Lafreniere,  the  attorney-general,  Focault, 
the  commissary,  Marquis,  a  captain  of  the  infantry, 
Mazent,  a  wealthy  planter,  and  two  of  ex-Governor 
Bienville's  nephews,  Doucet,  a  lawyer,  Villiere,  the 
commander  of  the  German  coast,  and  many  other 
leading  men  of  New  Orleans  and  vicinity.  Lafre- 
niere was  a  sort  of  Patrick  Henry,  eloquent,  fiery, 
impetuous,  just  the  man  to  influence  his  fellows  at 
such  a  time,  and  to  lead  them  as  he  pleased.  He 
delivered  an  address  to  the  Council  which  was  full 
of  cunning  appeals  to  French  prejudice  and  pas- 
sion, and  at  the  same  time  it  was  couched  in  terms 
of  bitterest  contempt  for  the  Spanish  intruders 
and  for  their  methods  of  procedure  since  their 
arrival  in  Louisiana.  It  was  this  speech  that  shaped 
the  policy  of  the  Council  and  drove  Ulloa  out  of  the 
province. 

The  revolution  was  complete  and  the  French 
found  themselves  masters  of  the  situation ;  but 
what  was  to  be  done  next  ?  So  soon  as  the  heat 
of  the  crisis  had  spent  itself,  the  more  thoughtful 
ones  among  the  insurgents  began  to  look  at  each 
other  askance.     It  was  the  lull  between  storms. 

At  this  time  New  Orleans  was  a  place  of  three 
thousand  tvW>  hundred  inhabitants,  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  strong  palisade  and  trenches.  Many 
comfortable,  aven  luxurious  homes  had  been  built 


From  francs  to  spa  in.  i  i  i 

and  a  circle  of  refined  and  elegant  society  had 
formed  itself  upon  the  model  of  Vaudreuil's  little 
court ;  but  the  province  had  not  yet  reached  the 
point  of  absolute  self  dependence,  and  in  order  to 
sustain  themselves  in  their  comparative  luxury  of 
living,  the  leaders  of  politics  and  society  must  have 
the  aid  afforded  by  a  rich  foreign  government. 
What  if  France  should  refuse  to  stand  by  them 
in  this  defiance  of  Spain  ?  What  if  Spain  should 
send  an  overwhelming  army  to  crush  them  into 
submission  ? 

A  delegation  was  dispatched  to  France  to  inter- 
cede with  the  Crown,  but,  of  course,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, the  mission  was  fruitless.  Louisiana 
just  then  was  a  load  of  which  the  French  Govern- 
ment was  glad  to  be  rid.  The  burden  was  on  the 
shoulders  of  Spain,  and  she  must  bear  it. 

The  revolutionists  began  to  count  the  chances 
of  the  future.  They  found  their  treasury  practi- 
cally empty,  their  supply  of  arms  and  muni- 
tions of  war  very  scant,  their  available  force  of 
men  not  exceeding  fifteen  hundred  or  eighteen 
hundred  at  most  and,  worst  of  all,  no  unanimity 
of  feeling  among  the  people.  Deep  down  in  their 
hearts  lay  an  awful  dread  of  Spanish  vengeance, 
and  well  it  might  lie  there,  for  the  whole  world 
knew  how  terrible  that  vengeance  could  be. 

Some  Spanish   officers   had   been   left  in    New 


1 1 2  FROM  FRANCE   TO  SPA/M 

Orleans  by  Ulloa.  These  were  treated  with  great 
consideration.  Aubrey  showed  them  every  courtesy, 
and  a  number  of  the  more  prudent  French  citizens 
became  their  staunch  friends  and  supporters. 

Thus  as  time  wore  on  the  suspense  became 
almost  unbearable  to  those  who  had  clamored  so 
loudly  for  the  expulsion  of  Ulloa.  There  •  was 
something  ominous  in  the  delay. 

At  length,  suddenly,  on  the  twenty-third  of  July, 
1769,  a  dispatch  was  received  announcing  the 
arrival  of  a  Spanish  fleet  at  the  Balize.  Nor  was 
it  a  mere  nominal  force  that  it  brought  upon  its 
decks.  The  twenty-four  vessels  were  heavily 
armed  and  bore  an  army  which  could  with  ease 
overrun  and  devastate  the  entire  province. 

Now,  indeed,  was  the  hour  come  for  the  insur- 
gents to  tremble.  Villiere  who  was  the  leading 
spirit  of  the  German  and  the  Acadian  coasts,  had 
kept  his  people  in  open  rebellion  to  the  last  mo- 
ment; but  now,  seeing  how  overpowering  were 
the  Spanish  forces,  he  began  preparations  to  leave 
the  territory.  It  would  appear,  however,  that  he 
received  assurances  of  kind  treatment,  for  he  seems 
to  have  changed  his  determination  and  to  have 
thrown  himself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  Spanish 
commander. 


m 


CHAPTER   V. 

UNDER   THE    FLAG   OF   SPAIN. 

Y  rejecting  with 

■^SffSSK^   w      t-J$ 

scorn  the  paci- 
fic overtures  of 

r  tm-mM^ 

'     Tc      M' 

Ulloa    and    by 

«i     mW'A 

maintaining    a 
rebellious    and 

\^^^V    ,  -      ^H  '■ 

threatening  at- 

titude,   the 

French    of 
Louisiana  had 

made  but   a 

poor  exchange  of  masters,  as  they 

soon  discovered. 

Don  Alexander  O'Reilly  who  was  now  at  their 

gates  with  a  strong  fleet,  many  cannon,  infantry, 

cavalry  and  mounted  riflemen  —  an 

army  the  like  of 

which  Louisiana  had  never  seen  — 

was  not  a  man 

to  be  met  with  even  the  slightest  show  of  resistance 

or  discourtesy.     He  was  a  man  of  courage,  firm- 

ness, executive  ability  and  great 

cunning,  and  he 

had  come  in  a  mood  anything  but 

gentle  and  tern- 

porizing.     The  Spanish  Government  had  breathed 
"3 

114  UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

into  him  the  breath  of  despotic  force.  Nor  is  this 
to  be  wondered  at,  when  all  the  facts  are  consid- 
ered. The  treatment  which  Spain  had  received 
cannot  be  called  fair.  Louisiana  was  not  only  a 
colony  of  France,  it  was  also  dependent  on  her  for 
existence  at  the  time  of  the  cession  to  Spain.  It 
was  France  and  not  Spain  with  whom  the  colonies 
had  the  right  to  find  fault.  But  liberty  is  dear  and 
the  preference  for  the  country  of  one's  ancestors  is 
founded  in  human  nature.  This  was  a  case,  how- 
ever, where  the  love  of  liberty  and  the  preference 
for  the  mother  country  were  permitted  to  over- 
ride the  best  dictates  of  a  necessary  prudence  and 
a  wiser  caution. 

When  O'Reilly's  fleet  appeared  before  New 
Orleans  the  people  were  ready  to  submit  to  Span- 
ish control  as  a  matter  of  self-preservation;  but  it 
was  a  terrible  ordeal  when  with  banners  flying  and 
guns  thundering  salutes,  two  thousand  six  hundred 
soldiers  landed  and  marched  in  splendid  array  into 
the  town,  shouting  Viva  el  rey!  and  taking  position 
in  the  form  of  a  hollow  square.  An  artillery  force 
of  fifty  guns,  some  mounted  militia  and  a  force  of 
light  infantry  and  mounted  riflemen  formed  an  im- 
posing part  of  the  parade. 

Crowds  of  people  from  the  various  settlements 
had  come  to  New  Orleans  to  witness  the  scene. 
They    returned    to    their    homes    overawed    and 


UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN.  115 

despondent.  Now,  indeed,  they  knew  that  they 
were  Spanish  subjects. 

O'Reilly  acted  with  a  promptness,  an  energy  and 
a  brutal  cruelty  worthy  of  the  dark  record  already 
made  by  his  Government  in  all  its  American 
provinces. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  August  he  called  before 
him  twelve  of  the  men  who  had  been  most  con- 
spicuous in  urging  the  insurrection,  and  after  hav- 
ing read  to  them  the  orders  of  his  sovereign,  he 
told  them  that  they  were  prisoners  and  must 
answer  to  a  charge  of  treason  and  insurrection. 

There  was  a  trial  and  five  of  the  twelve,  namely : 
Lafreniere,  Noyan  Bienville,  Caresse,  Marquis  and 
Milhet,  were  condemned  to  be  hanged,  one  was 
sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life,  two  to  ten  years' 
confinement,  three  to  six  years'  confinement,  and 
the  property  of  all  was  declared  confiscated  to  the 
king's  treasury.  This  blow  fell  with  crushing 
effect.  The  condemned  men  were,  most  of  them, 
connected  with  a  large  number  of  the  best  and 
most  prosperous  families  in  Louisiana. 

Villiere  had  already  come  to  a  tragic  death.  He 
had  been  confined  under  close  guard  on  a  Spanish 
frigate  in  the  river,  and  had  been  allowed  to  see  no 
one  but  his  captors.  His  wife,  frenzied  with  grief 
and  apprehension  visited  him,  but  was  refused 
admission    to  his  presence.     Villiere  hearing   her 


Il6  UNDER    THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

voice  tried  to  go  to  her,  and  in  a  struggle  with  his 
guards  was  killed  outright.  Madame  Villifcre  per- 
sisted in  her  attempts  to  reach  her  husband  until  at 
last  the  brutal  soldiers  flung  to  her  the  bloody  shirt 
of  their  mangled  victim  to  assure  her  that  he  was 
dead. 

A  few  days  after  their  trial  the  five  men  who  had 
been  sentenced  to  be  hanged  were  led  forth  and 
shot,  a  military  death  having  been  permitted  by 
O'Reilly,  in  lieu  of  the  more  disgraceful  one  at  the 
rope's  end. 

The  sorrow  and  distress  that  fell  upon  the  hearts 
of  the  colonists  as  the  result  of  these  terrible  trag- 
edies can  be  but  faintly  described.  Horror  hovered 
over  the  entire  territory.  The  distinguished  victims 
had  kindred  and  dear  friends  not  only  in  and  about 
New  Orleans,  but  in  every  settlement  in  Lower 
Louisiana.  Weeping  and  mourning  and  the  gloom 
of  funeral  sadness  took  possession  of  almost  every 
household. 

The  suave  manners  and  smiling  face  of  O'Reilly, 
his  kindly  words  and  his  acts  of  generosity  to  those 
who  had  not  incurred  his  displeasure,  made  the 
brutality  of  his  punishments  appear  all  the  more 
hideous.  He  was  looked  upon  as  an  affable  and 
gracious-appearing  fiend  who  might  be  expected  to 
wreak  his  terrible  vengeance  upon  any  one  at  any 
hour.     Nobody   felt   safe   for   a   moment,   day   or 


UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN.  1 17 

night.  Business  was  wholly  neglected  and  people 
were  almost  afraid  to  speak  to  each  other  for  fear 
that  they  might  be  accused  of  plotting  insurrection. 

O'Reilly  proceeded  to  organize  a  new  govern- 
ment based  upon  Spanish  methods.  He  ordered 
that  all  the  judicial  records  shall  be  kept  in  the 
Spanish  language,  and  that  there  should  be  no 
other  tongue  recognized  in  the  pleadings  and  pro- 
cedure of  the  courts. 

Although  he  was  a  severe  man  and  remained 
unpopular  during  his  administration,  he  studied 
the  interests  of  Louisiana  and  advanced  her  mate- 
rial prosperity  in  many  ways.  His  laws  appear  to 
have  been  wise  and  wholesome  in  the  main,  and 
his  influence,  barring  his  monstrous  acts  at  the  out- 
set of  his  career,  was  more  for  good  than  for  bad. 

Emigration  from  Spain  set  in  and  the  popula- 
tion of  Louisiana  was  greatly  increased.  The  new 
colonists  opened  settlements  on  the  Mississippi 
and  in  the  western  part  of  the  territory,  on  the 
prairies  of  the  region  lying  beyond  the  Teche. 

O'Reilly  closed  the  Mississippi  to  traders  from 
outside  of  Louisiana  and  prohibited  all  foreigners 
from  passing  through  the  province  without  a  pass- 
port from  him;  nor  was  any  person  permitted  to 
leave  Louisiana  until  an  order  had  been  granted. 

At  the  end  of  a  year  he  fell  into  disgrace  with 
the  Spanish  Government  and  was  superseded  by 


Il8  UNDER   THE  FLAG    OF  SPAIN. 

Don  Antonio  Maria  Bucarelly  who  held  command 
until  the  arrival  of  Don  Luis  de  Unzaga,  named  by 
O'Reilly  as  his  successor.  Unzaga  was  confirmed 
as  governor  of  the  province  on  the  seventeenth  of 
August,  1 772.  The  winter  following  was  extremely 
cold  and  for  the  third  time  since  the  founding  of 
New  Orleans,  the  orange  orchards  of  Louisiana 
were  all  killed. 

Unzaga  saw  that  O'Reilly  had  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  good  government  by  his  vigorous  action  in 
the  case  of  the   insurgent  leaders,  and  he  wisely 
sought    to   build    upon    it   by  a  kind  and   liberal 
administration.     Those  executions  have  been  char- 
acterized   as    brutal    and    cruel ;    but    it   must   be 
admitted  that  from  the  Spanish  point  of  view  they 
were  justifiable.      O'Reilly  was  a  military  despot, 
but  the  impartial  critic  must  accord  to  him  a  much 
better  character  than  historians  have  been  willing 
that  he  should  disclose  in   their  pictures   of   him. 
He  came    to  Louisiana  immediately  after  the  ex- 
pulsion  of    Ulloa  and  found  the   colonies  flooded 
with  incendiary  documents,  the  populace  in  arms 
against    his    king,   and    a   self-constituted    council 
usurping    the    power  of   government.     He    struck 
swiftly  and  without  mercy  at  the  heart  of  insubor- 
dination, and  by  one  fell  blow  taught  the  French 
that  they  were  not  to  consider  themselves  as  any- 
thing more  or  less  than  Spanish  subjects. 


UNDER    THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN.  121 

The  lesson  was  terrible ;  but  it  was  not  necessary 
to  repeat  it.  One  such  is  an  education.  Unzaga 
made  haste  to  draw  the  people  to  him,  and  so  kind 
was  he  and  so  watchful  of  their  interests  that 
he  soon  fixed  himself  firmly  in  their  confidence. 
Under  the  benign  influence  of  his  administration 
the  affairs  of  Louisiana  brightened  and  the  colo- 
nies prospered.  Population  increased  with  great 
rapidity  during  the  whole  period  of  his  stay  in 
Louisiana,  and  the  agriculture  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  was  vastly  improved. 

In  1776  he  was  appointed  captain-general  of 
Caraccas,  and  Don  Bernard  de  Galvez  took  the 
office  of  governor  of  Louisiana  on  the  first  of 
January,  1777. 

In  the  meantime  the  English  colonies  of  North 
America  had  declared  their  independence  and  a 
struggle  was  going  on  between  them  and  Great 
Britain.  All  the  territory  of  Louisiana  lay  remote 
from  the  chief  centres  of  Anglo-American  popula- 
tion, and  would  therefore  have  been  little  affected 
by  the  war  which  followed  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  had  Spain  but  kept  out  of  the 
controversy. 

France  ranged  herself  on  the  side  of  the  colonies 
early  in  the  struggle;  Spain  (having  offered  to 
interfere  amicably)  was  snubbed  in  the  most  offen- 
sive and  arrogant  way  by  England. 


122  UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

At  this  time  there  were  British  forts  and  garri- 
sons at  Mobile,  at  Baton  Rouge,  at  Fort  Bute  and 
at  Natchez.  Indeed,  as  the  war  progressed  many 
emigrants  from  the  English  colonies  settled  along 
the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi  where  they  hoped 
to  find  exemption  from  the  evils  of  the  bloody  and 
desperate  struggle  for  liberty.  Against  these  set- 
tlers the  people  of  Louisiana  nursed  a  deep-seated 
hostility  which  was  thoroughly  understood  and 
carefully  encouraged  by  their  Spanish  masters. 
When  England  went  to  war  with  France  the  old 
love  of  their  mother  country  still  smoldering  in 
the  hearts  of  the  French  Creoles  was  revived. 
They  burned  to  strike  their  ancient  enemy  the 
British  traders.  They  had  not  long  to  wait  for  the 
coveted  opportunity.  Galvez,  although  prudent 
and  cautious,  was  full  of  military  ardor.  He 
longed  for  the  turn  of  events  which  would  permit 
him  to  attack  Mobile,  Pensacola,  Baton  Rouge  and 
all  the  other  English  posts. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  April,  1777,  Colonel 
George  Morgan  of  the  American  colonial  army, 
who  was  in  command  at  Fort  Pitt,  wrote  to  Galvez 
asking  leave  to  pass  an  army  through  Louisiana 
for  the  purpose  of  attacking  Mobile  and  Pensacola, 
hoping  by  this  move  to  strike  the  English  a  telling 
blow  where  they  were  least  expecting  it.  But  the 
Spanish  governor  was  too  wise   to  permit  such  a 


UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN.  1 23 

thing.  In  the  first  place  he  was  not  entirely  sure 
of  the  loyalty  of  his  own  subjects,  and  then,  too,  it 
would  be  imprudent  to  take  the  step  without  the 
permission  of  his  king. 

Large  numbers  of  emigrants  continued  to  arrive 
in  Louisiana  and  there  was  a  steady,  healthy  in- 
crease in  the  agricultural  and  commercial  interest. 
Under  the  new  order  of  things,  which  permitted 
free  trade  with  all  the  Spanish  ports,  New  Orleans 
grew  in  importance  as  well  as  in  size.  Many  boats 
descended  the  Mississippi  from  the  settlements  on 
its  upper  waters,  bringing  down  heavy  cargoes  of 
produce,  and  for  a  time  the  colonies  were  exceed- 
ingly prosperous.  In  1779  a  body  of  four  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  emigrants  reached  New  Orleans 
from  the  Canary  Islands.  These  were  sent  to  the 
banks  of  Bayou  Teche  and  there  formed  the  settle- 
ment of  New  Iberia. 

The  formal  declaration  of  war  by  Spain  against 
Great  Britain  was  made  known  to  Galvez  at  the 
earliest  moment  and  he  was  authorized  to  treat  the 
English  as  enemies.  This  was  welcome  intelli- 
gence. He  chafed  to  begin  military  operations. 
In  the  summer  of  1779  he  organized  an  army  of 
fourteen  hundred  men  and  marched  against  Fort 
Bute  on  the  Manchac,  which  he  assaulted  and 
carried  by  storm.  With  great  promptness  and 
rapidity  he  followed   up  this  victory.      Reinforce- 


124  UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

ments  to  the  number  of  six  hundred  came  to  his 
aid,  and  by  the  twenty-seventh  he  had  reached 
Baton  Rouge.  This  was  the  most  important  Brit- 
ish post  on  the  river,  but  it  surrendered  to  him 
after  a  sharp  fight  of  two  hours.  The  fall  of  Baton 
Rouge  put  into  the  hands  of  Galvez  the  area  of 
country  now  occupied  by  the  parishes  of  Baton 
Rouge  and  Feliciana,  with  the  forts  it  contained. 
It  was  a  short,  brilliant  and  wholly  successful  cam- 
paign. The  people  of  Louisiana  were  greatly 
elated  by  it  and  Galvez  took  the  importance  of 
a  hero  in  their  estimation.  The  Spanish  king 
promptly  sent  to  him  the  commission  of  brigadier- 
general  of  the  royal  forces  of  Louisiana  and  ordered 
him  to  prepare  at  once  to  attack  the  other  British 
posts  within  his  reach. 

Without  delay  he  began  the  work.  So  rapidly 
did  he  organize  his  forces  that  on  the  fifth  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1 780,  he  set  sail  for  Mobile  with  an  army  of 
two  thousand  men.  On  the  gulf  his  fleet  encoun- 
tered a  severe  gale  which  did  considerable  damage 
to  some  of  the  vessels,  but  in  due  time  he  sailed 
into  the  Mobile  River  and  landed  his  forces  on  the 
eastern  point  of  the  river's  bank.  -  Thence,  after  a 
hurried  reconnoissance,  he  marched  boldly  up  to 
Fort  Charlotte  and  invested  it,  planting  six  bat- 
teries in  position  for  effective  bombardment.  All 
the  guns  were  put  into  action  and  served  with  fine 


UNDER    THE  FLAG    OF  SPAIN.  1 25 

results.  A  breach  \va3  made  in  the  wall  of  the 
fort,  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  March  it  was  sur- 
rendered to  the  brave  and  intrepid  Galvez.  The 
young  conqueror  was  then  but  twenty-four  years 
old. 

Feeling  that  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  continue  his  triumphant  campaign  against  the 
English,  Galvez  returned  to  New  Orleans  and  sent 
a  dispatch  to  the  captain-general  of  Cuba,  asking 
for  reinforcements.  These  being  delayed  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Havana  and  in  person  superintended  the 
fitting  out  of  a  fleet  and  army,  with  which  he  set 
sail  for  Pensacola  on  the  sixteenth  of  October.  A 
storm  broke  up  and  dispersed  his  fleet  before  he 
reached  his  destination,  and  after  a  month  of 
almost  superhuman  effort  in  re-gathering  his  scat- 
tered vessels  he  returned  to  Havana.  This  disaster 
did  not  daunt  him  in  the  least.  He  demanded 
another  fleet  and  at  length  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
February,  1781,  he  was  again  on  the  gulf  with  a 
ship  of  the  line,  two  frigates  and  several  transports, 
bearing  fourteen  hundred  soldiers,  formidable  artil- 
lery and  everything  that  in  those  days  went  to 
make  up  an  efficient  force.  Don  Jose  Cabro  de 
Izrabel  commanded  the  fleet,  though  Galvez  had 
controlled  the  expedition. 

Pensacola  was  reached  without  delay  and  on  the 
ninth  of    March    Galvez  landed   on    the  island  of 


126  UNDER    THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

St.  Rose,  where  he  erected  some  earth-works  and 
planted  a  battery  to  protect  the  vessels  while  pass- 
ing the  bar;  but  a  misunderstanding  arose  be- 
tween him  and  Izrabel,  and  the  fleet  was  not 
moved. 

The  Spanish  admiral  insisted  that  the  channel 
was  too  narrow,  too  swift  and  too  shallow  for  his 
vessels,  and  that  any  attempt  to  attack  the  fort  by 
water  would  be  utterly  fruitless.  Galvez  strenu- 
ously contended  that  the  attack  should  be  made 
by  the  fleet  and  the  land  forces  simultaneously ; 
but  finding  the  admiral  stubborn  he  set  about  the 
task  of  reducing  the  fort  with  the  troops  and  ves- 
sels that  were  exclusively  under  his  command. 

On  the  sixteenth  Espeleta  arrived  from  Mobile 
with  all  the  men  he  could  muster,  and  he  was 
followed  by  Mirb  who  brought  the  forces  from 
New  Orleans. 

Galvez  had  a  brig,  two  gun-boats  and  a  schooner. 
He  went  on  board  of  the  brig  and  ordered  his 
little  fleet  to  pass  the  fort  Sail  was  set  immedi- 
ately and  the  four  vessels  swept  slowly  on,  the  fort 
directing  upon  them  a  heavy  fire  to  which  they 
answered  with  spirit  and  effect.  Galvez,  whose 
feelings  had  been  aroused  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
indignation  by  the  stubborn  willfulness  of  the 
admiral,  purposely  exposed  himself  to  the  aim  of 
the  English  cannoneers.     The  fort  was  safely  passed 


\ 
> 


UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN.  1 27 

and  a  landing  made  at  the  end  of  the  bay,  the 
troops  cheering,  the  flags  flying  and  salutes  thun- 
dering across  the  water.  The  Spanish  admiral 
caught  the  enthusiasm  of  the  intrepid  and  coura- 
geous young  commander  and  at  once  prepared  to 
sail  over  the  bar.  When  the  tide  rose  next  day 
he  was  ready.  Leading  the  way  with  his  frig- 
ate he  safely  passed  the  obstructing  sands  and 
sailed  along  in  front  of  the  fort  under  a  heavy  fire. 
Galvez  in  an  open  boat  came  forth  to  meet  him 
and  to  direct  him  where  to  anchor.  The  coolness, 
alertness  and  bravery  of  the  governor,  his  forget- 
fulness  of  self,  and  his  zeal  and  energy  infected 
even  the  crews  of  the  fleet  and  stirred  their  feelings 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm. 

Galvez  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  but 
it  was  refused  after  much  parleying.  Preparations 
for  the  attack  were  then  rapidly  completed.  A  line 
of  investment,  with  batteries  placed  in  commanding 
position,  was  so  laid  that  the  fleet  could  co-operate 
effectively,  and  at  a  given  signal  the  assault  began 
from  all  sides  in  such  a  manner  that  the  apparent 
force  of  the  Spaniards  was  highly  magnified. 

Izrabel  felt  the  necessity  of  showing  a  courage 
and  enthusiasm  equal  to  the  occasion,  in  order  not 
to  appear  inferior  to  Galvez.  He  therefore  put  his 
fleet  into  position  and  poured  his  broadsides  into 
the  fort  in  a  steady  and  crushing  volume.    Espeleta 


128  UNDER    THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

and  Mirb  had  landed  their  forces  on  the  Perdido 
and  from  there  had  marched  to  a  position  on  one 
side  of  the  English  works  while  Galvez  pushed  his 
guns  close  to  the  other  side. 

The  English,  finding  that  the  heavy  guns  of 
Izrabel's  fleet  were  about  to  make  a  breach  in  the 
fort,  hastily  advanced  some  batteries  to  a  position 
not  commanded  from  the  water,  and  by  a  well- 
directed  fire  drove  the  vessels  to  the  other  side  of 
the  bay.  This  movement  left  Galvez  unsupported, 
but  he  was  not  daunted.  Concentrating  his  guns 
on  a  salient  point  of  the  enemy's  works  he  suc- 
ceeded in  lodging  a  shell  in  the  powder  magazine 
situated  therein  and  it  blew  up  with  a  terrific 
explosion.  Into  the  breach  rushed  Espeleta  with 
a  detachment  of  men  and  four  field  pieces.  Galvez 
saw  the  opportunity.  Forming  his  men  all  in  a 
body  and  placing  himself  at  their  head,  he  was 
just  ready  to  order  the  assault,  when  a  white  flag 
was  hung  out  from  the  fort. 

On  the  ninth  of  May  the  English  surrendered 
the  post  and  over  eight  hundred  prisoners,  thus 
giving  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  the  whole 
of  West  Florida. 

Meantime  there  had  been  an  insurrection  among 
the  English  colonists  in  the  Natchez  district  and 
Fort  Panmure  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
rebels.     These  did  not  hold  the  place  long,  how- 


UNDER    THE  FLAG    OF  SPAIN.  1 29 

ever,  for  hearing  of  the  victory  won  by  Galvez  they 
fled  toward  the  Atlantic  coast  and  after  terrible 
suffering  and  a  journey  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  days  a  part  of  them  reached  Savannah  in  an 
almost  starving  condition. 

The  civil  affairs  of  Louisiana  were  far  from  pros- 
perous during  the  years  1779,  '8o  and  '8i.  The 
commerce  of  the  colonies  had  suffered  every  possi- 
ble evil  and  agriculture  had  been  reduced  to  the 
lowest  point  of  depression.  In  August,  1780,  an 
awful  hurricane  rushed  over  the  province,  demol- 
ishing houses,  fences  and  granaries,  ruining  all 
the  growing  crops,  swamping  all  the  vessels  on 
the  river  and  lakes  and  making  utter  havoc  of 
everything  that  came  in  its  way.  This  was  the 
culmination  of  a  long  series  of  disasters.  Small- 
pox had  raged,  the  war  with  Great  Britain  had 
ruined  commerce,  there  had  been  floods,  inunda- 
tions and  hurricanes,  a  very  rainy  summer,  and  a 
winter  the  coldest  ever  known  in  Louisiana.  Gal- 
vez had  been  victorious,  however,  and  the  people 
stood  by  him  with  great  courage  and  fortitude. 
He  prevailed  upon  his  king  to  grant  to  them 
commercial  privileges  hitherto  withheld,  and  did 
all  in  his  power  to  advance  their  interests  and 
improve  their  condition.  Honors  flowed  in  upon 
him.  He  was  made  Lieutenant-General,  decorated 
with  the  cross  of  Knight-Pensioner,  commissioned 


130  UNDER   THE  FLAG  OF  SPAIN. 

Captain-General  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  and 
made  a  count.  A  little  later  he  was  appointed 
Captain-General  of  Cuba  and  of  Louisiana  and  the 
Floridas.  From  this  position  he  quickly  rose  to 
that  of  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  but  retained  still  the 
office  of  Captain-General  in  Louisiana  and  the 
Floridas.  During  all  this  time  he  was  as  beloved 
as  he  was  honored. 

There  is  no  more  striking  and  romantic  figure 
in  American  history  than  the  young,  magnetic, 
brilliant  and  successful  Galvez.  He  was  a  true 
Spaniard  of  the  very  best  sort,  brave,  magnani- 
mous, fond  of  dash  and  show,  an  aristocrat  and 
yet  a  lover  of  the  people,  the  friend  and  the  idol 
of  his  subjects.  His  wife,  a  native  of  Louisiana, 
was  a  brilliant,  kind  and  lovable  woman  who  won 
the  hearts  of  all.  His  career  closed  all  too  soon. 
He  died  in  Mexico  when  but  thirty-eight  years  old. 

On  the  twentieth  of  February,  1783,  was  signed 
the  treaty  of  peace  that  confirmed  the  independ- 
ence of  the  United  States.  It  also  fixed  the 
boundary  of  Louisiana  and  of  East  and  West 
Florida,  the  last-mentioned  provinces  having  been 
ceded  to  Spain  by  Great  Britain.  It  was  fully 
stipulated  in  this  treaty  that  the  Mississippi  River 
should  remain  forever  free,  from  its  mouth  to  its 
source,  to  navigation  by  all  British  subjects  and  by 
all  the  citizens  of  the  United  States. 


UNDER   THE  FLAG    OF  SPAIN.  1 33 

The  census  of  Louisiana  shows  a  population  in 
1785  of  thirty-one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
thirty-three.  The  number  of  slaves  nearly  equalled 
that  of  the  whites,  and  there  were  over  one  thou- 
sand free  persons  of  color.  The  population  of 
New  Orleans  was  about  five  thousand. 

No  sooner  had  the  American  war  ended  than 
emigration  to  Louisiana  revived.  Don  Estavan 
Mirb,  who  was  acting  as  governor  in  the  absence 
of  Galvez,  permitted  British  subjects  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  Spain,  and  granted  an  exten- 
sion of  time  for  the  preparations  making  by  those 
who  wished  to  remove  out  of  the  province. 

In  1787  a  feeling  was  prevalent  in  the  American 
settlements  adjacent  to  Louisiana,  that  longer 
adherence  to  the  Federal  Union  was  not  desir- 
able, and  that  some  plan  of  separation  should  be 
devised.  In  June  of  this  year  Colonel  James 
Wilkinson  (a  name  not  unknown  in  American 
"  diplomacy")  was  in  New  Orleans,  ostensibly  as  a 
merchant  trader  with  a  cargo  of  bacon,  butter, 
flour  and  tobacco,  but  in  reality  as  a  schemer  for 
some  sort  of  understanding  with  the  Louisiana 
authorities.  At  the  same  time  Mirb  had  his  agents 
at  work  using  every  means  to  promote  emigration 
from  the  United  States  into  his  province.  In 
January,  1778,  he  wrote  to  Valdes,  minister  and 
secretary  of  State  for  the  department  of  the  Indies: 


134  UNDER  THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

"  The  delivering  up  of  Kentucky  into  his  Maj- 
esty's hands,  which  is  the  object  to  which  Wilkin- 
son has  promised  to  wholly  devote  himself,  would 
render  that  province  a  lasting  bulwark  of  defence 
for  New  Spain." 

The  truth  of  this  matter  appears  to  have  been 
that  Colonel  Wilkinson  was  a  shrewd  trader,  bent 
upon  his  own  business,  and  that  by  professing  to 
favor  Mirb's  schemes  he  obtained  a  monopoly  of 
the  tobacco  trade  from  Kentucky  and  was  per- 
mitted to  bring  his  cargoes  to  New  Orleans  with- 
out competition.  Whether  or  not  he  was  really 
conspiring  to  put  Kentucky  into  Spanish  hands  is 
an  open  question.  That  he  professed  to  be  favor- 
able to  the  scheme  cannot  be  doubted. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-first  of  March, 
1788,  a  fire  broke  out  in  New  Orleans,  which 
destroyed  all  the  best  part  of  the  city.  Eight 
hundred  and  fifty-six  buildings  were  burned  with  a 
loss  of  more  than  two  and  a  half  million  dollars. 

In  this  year  a  census  was  taken  which  showed 
the  population  of  New  Orleans  to  be  five  thousand 
three  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  and  that  of  Louis- 
iana forty-two  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty- 
six,  a  gain  in  the  province  for  the  past  three  years 
of  ten  thousand.  Indeed  the  scheme  of  emigration 
had  succeeded  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 
people   of   Western  North   Carolina   had   become 


UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN.  1 35 

dissatisfied,  and  as  early  as  1 786  they  had  declared 
themselves  independent,  and  had  erected  a  new 
State  which  they  called  Frankland ;  this  creation 
however  had  but  a  short  life.  Its  destruction  in  the 
following  year  led  to  emigration  from  that  region  to 
Louisiana,  and  John  Sevier  who  had  been  elected 
governor  of  the  short-lived  State  wrote  the  Span- 
ish minister  to  the  effect  that  the  people  of 
Western  North  Carolina  were  tired  of  their  con- 
nection with  the  Federal  Union  and  were  unani- 
mous in  their  desire  to  join  Spain.  Indeed  the 
intrigues  of  Wilkinson,  Morgan,  White,  Dunn  and 
others,  with  the  governor  Mirb  and  the  Spanish  min- 
ister Guardoqui,  form  one  of  the  strangest  and  most 
intricate  episodes  in  the  history  of  America.  On 
the  part  of  the  Spaniards  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  negotiations  were  sincere  and  looked 
toward  the  acquisition  of  a  large  territory;  but 
in  the  light  of  the  facts  it  would  appear  that 
the  parties  of  the  second  part  were,  to  a  very 
great  degree,  bent  upon  the  acquisition  of  Spanish 
dollars,  without  regard  for  the  political  outcome 
of  their  acts.  But  whatever  may  have  been  the 
real  purposes  of  the  schemers,  one  thing  is  sure: 
Louisiana  was  the  gainer  in  the  outcome ;  for  the 
movement  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  Mississippi 
River  trade  and  started  a  tide  of  emigration  toward 
the  rich  districts  of  the  Spanish  province. 


136  UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  December,  1791,  Mirb  was 
superseded  by  Don  Francisco  Louis  Hector,  Baron 
de  Carondelet,  who  from  that  date  became  governor 
and  intendant  of  Louisiana  and  West  Florida. 

Meantime  a  bloody  revolution  in  St.  Domingo 
had  sent  many  of  the  French  residents  of  that  ill- 
fated  island  to  find  a  home  in  Louisiana.  Indeed, 
by  the  arrival  of  colonists  from  many  parts  of  the 
world  the  population  of  the  province  had  been 
greatly  increased.  New  Orleans  had  been  rebuilt 
with  much  better  houses  and  public  edifices  than  it 
had  contained  before  the  great  fire  of  1788,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  mar  the  prospect  save  the  growing 
fear  of  approaching  war  with  France  or  with 
England.  The  trade  between  New  Orleans  and 
Philadelphia  had  been  free,  and,  in  fact,  although 
the  Spanish  Government  had  forbidden  it,  foreign 
merchants  residing  within  Louisiana  were  allowed 
every  privilege  of  trade. 

Early  in  1793  came  the  information  that  Spain 
had  declared  war  against  France.  To  the  French 
population  of  Louisiana  this  was  by  no  means 
encouraging  news,  although  they  desired  nothing 
so  much  as  to  feel  themselves  once  more  subjects 
of  their  beloved  mother  country.  War  between 
Spain  and  any  country,  however,  could  not  fail  to 
cause  great  distress  in  the  colonies,  -for  it  rendered 
the    transportation   of   supplies   very  difficult   and 


UNDER   THE  FLAG   OF  SPAIN.  137 

irregular,  and  made  the  commercial  operations  of 
the  colonists  exceedingly  precarious.  Still  the 
feeling  in  favor  of  France  was  too  strong  to  be 
entirely  controlled  by  a  people  as  volatile  and  rest- 
less as  were  the  Creoles  of  those  days.  The  word 
was  passed  from  lip  to  lip  and  from  settlement  to 
settlement  that  France  might  soon  claim  her  own 
again,  and  many  a  heart  throbbed  the  quicker  at 
the  thought  that  one  of  these  days  a  fleet  bear- 
ing the  French  flag  would  come  up  the  river  and 
drive  the  Spanish  out  of  New  Orleans.  Not  that 
the  administration  of  Carondelet  had  been  distaste- 
ful ;  it  could  not  be  urged  that  any  French  governor 
had  been  wiser  or  kinder;  the  sentiment  was  the 
development  of  that  lingering  or  hereditary  home- 
sickness for  the  country  of  their  youth  or  of  their 
forefathers  which  made  the  Creoles  ever  ready  to 
grasp  at  the  shadow  of  a  hope  whenever  the  name 
of  France  was  spoken.  Even  to  this  day  something 
of  the  kind  is  observable  in  the  French-speaking 
population  of  Louisiana.  They  speak  of  "  our 
beloved  France  "  as  if  it  were  the  land  of  their 
allegiance,  and  as  if  the  phrase  were  the  final  ex- 
pression of  all  that  patriotism  can  mean. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


INTRIGUE    AND    UNREST. 


:  the 
sympathies  of  his 
French  subjects  were 
with  the  republic  of 
France  in  the  struggle 
now  going  on,  and  he 
well  knew  the  danger 
1  of  permitting  these 
sympathies  to  pass 
beyond  control.  The  very  words,  Liberty  and 
the  Republic,  were  significant  of  danger  to  the 
Spanish  hold  on  Louisiana.  On  every  hand  there 
was  talk  of  the  prospect  of  returning  to  the  arms 
of  the  mother  country.  At  the  theatre  the  audi- 
ences, fired  with  the  thought  of  France  and  liberty, 
shouted  to  the  orchestra  to  play  the  "  Marseillaise," 
while  the  more  anarchistic  of  the  rabble  bawled  out 
the  inflammable  catch-words  and  the  blood-thirsty 
songs  of  the  Jacobins. 

'38 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  1 39 

So  far  as  fortifications  were  concerned,  New 
Orleans  was  defenseless  at  this  time.  Carondelet 
was  therefore  too  wise  to  resort  to  vigorous  meas- 
ures for  suppressing  the  rapidly  rising  spirit  of 
revolt.  He  knew  that  the  thoughtful  leaders  among 
the  people  would  soon  see  that  it  would  be  foolish 
to  risk  a  rebellion.  Taking  council  of  these  he 
sent  out  papers  for  citizens  to  subscribe  in  which 
the  signers  bound  themselves  to  faithfully  support 
the  king  and  to  adhere  loyally  to  his  government 
in  Louisiana.  The  fate  of  Lafreniere  and  his 
coadjutors  was  not  so  far  in  the  past  that  its 
lesson  was  forgotten.  Men  were  really  in  no 
great  hurry  to  repeat  the  experiment  which 
exchanged  Ulloa  for  O'Reilly. 

With  great  promptness  and  energy  Carondelet 
set  a  large  force  of  men  at  work  building  defences 
around  New  Orleans.  He  issued  orders  that  revo- 
lutionary music  and  certain  martial  dances  should 
not  be  allowed  in  the  theatres ;  he  promptly  ar- 
rested and  transported  to  Cuba  six  persons  who 
had  been  over-bold  in  giving  expression  to  republi- 
can sentiments. 

His  next  step  was  to  seek  an  alliance,  offensive 
and  defensive,  with  the  neighboring  Indian  tribes. 
Five  of  the  most  powerful  of  these,  the  Chickasaws, 
the  Cherokees,  the  Creeks,  the  Alibamons  and  the 
Talapouches,  were   drawn    into   a  confederacy  by 


140  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

which  they  bound  themselves  to  stand  firmly  by 
Spain  against  her  enemies,  and  to  aid  the  govern- 
ment of  Louisiana  in  maintaining  itself. 

Above  and  below  New  Orleans  Carondelet  built 
strong  forts,  superintending  their  erection  in  per- 
son. He  also  reconstructed  the  fortifications  higher 
up  the  river.  About  this  time  he  wrote  to  the 
Spanish  Government  as  follows :  "  By  extreme  vig- 
ilance and  by  spending  sleepless  nights,  by  scaring 
some  and  punishing  others,  by  banishing  a  number, 
particularly  some  new-comers  from  France  who 
were  debauching  the  people  with  their  republican 
teaching,  by  intercepting  letters  and  documents 
suspected  of  being  incendiary,  and  by  prevaricating 
with  everybody  I  have  done  better  than  I  had  ex- 
pected, as  the  province  is  now  quite  orderly  and 
quiet." 

Truly  a  breezy  touch,  this,  of  diplomatic  descrip- 
tion; it  gives  us  a  refreshing  glimpse  of  official 
life  in  America  as  it  was  a  little  less  than  a  hun- 
dred years  ago.  The  tactics  of  the  Jacobins, 
who  had  a  society  in  Philadelphia  and  were  flood- 
ing the  country  with  their  peculiar  documents, 
had  forced  Carondelet  to  take  strong  measures, 
and  without  delay  he  placed  his  army  on  a  war 
footing,  making  a  great  show  of  confidence  and 
activity.  At  the  same  time  he  sought  to  hold  the 
friendship  of  the  colonies  on  the  Upper  Mississippi 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  141 

and  the  Ohio  by  granting  valuable  trade  privileges 
to  some  of  their  most  influential  men.  Nor  did  he 
neglect  to  keep  alive  the  schemes  for  drawing  these 
disaffected  colonies  away  from  their  allegiance  to 
the  Federal  Government  and  into  the  arms  of  the 
Spanish  king.  On  the  other  hand  the  French 
minister  to  the  United  States,  the  "fiery  and  in- 
discreet "  Monsieur  Genet,  was  making  every  effort 
to  organize  a  force  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  to 
be  led  by  him  in  person  against  the  Spanish  in 
Louisiana.  Thus,  menaced  from  within  his  prov- 
ince and  without,  Carondelet  was  in  no  enviable 
situation.  The  storm  blew  over,  however,  without 
bringing  disaster.  The  Federal  Government  dis- 
covered M.  Genet's  schemes  and  cut  them  short  by 
procuring  his  recall.  De  la  Chasie,  who  had  been 
Genet's  agent  in  Kentucky,  quickly  abandoned  the 
field  and  returned  to  France,  and  all  the  expeditions 
theretofore  planned  fell  to  the  ground. 

Carondelet,  seeing  all  danger  of  insurrection  ended 
and  the  threatened  invasion  thus  happily  prevented, 
bent  all  his  energies  to  the  task  of  winning  over 
the  western  territories  of  the  United  States.  The 
English  in  Canada  were  laboring  assiduously,  at 
the  same  time,  to  get  possession  of  that  field. 
The  Ohio  Valley  was  invested  with  the  emissaries 
of  these  insidious  and  crafty  schemers.  All  this 
was  without  notable  result,  however ;  the  finely  laid 


142  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

plans   found    no  permanent   support  among  loyal 
Americans. 

Preparations  for  war  are  but  poor  encourage- 
ment to  the  industries  of  a  weak  and  debt-ridden 
country.  The  extensive  operations  of  Carondelet 
in  putting  Louisiana  into  a  state  of  defence  and  his 
expensive  system  of  dealing  with  his  spies,  emissa- 
ries and  coadjutors  in  the  United  States,  had  not 
tended  to  engender  a  healthy  spirit  of  agriculture 
and  commerce. 

It  was  peculiarly  fortunate  that  just  at  this  point 
of  time  should  have  been  discovered  the  true  source 
of  prosperity  for  the  long-suffering  province. 

In  1795  Etienne  Bore  demonstrated  how  im- 
mensely profitable  was  the  industry  of  sugar 
making.  He  had  been  an  indigo  planter,  his  pos- 
sessions lying  six  miles  above  New  Orleans  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  river,  but  his  agricultural  ventures 
had  not  been  crowned  with  satisfactory  results,  and 
he  determined  to  risk  his  own  fortune  and  that  of 
his  wife  on  an  effort  to  establish  cane-culture  and 
sugar-making  in  Louisiana. 

Hitherto  sugar-cane  had  not  been  successfully 
used  in  the  province  in  any  better  manufacture 
than  that  of  syrup-making  and  the  distillation  of 
a  vile  spirituous  drink  called  tafia.  The  processes 
of  evaporation  and  granulation  had  not  been  intro- 
duced, consequently   the   small    amount   of    sugar 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  143 

made  was  very  dark,  wax-like  and  subject  to  great 
shrinkage  on  account  of  its  bulk  being  saturated 
with  syrup. 

Bore  proceeded  with  great  intelligence  and  fore- 
thought, but  also  without  regard  for  the  possible 
consequences.  Should  failure  result  instead  of  the 
success  he  so  confidently  anticipated,  his  ruin  must 
have  been  complete.  But  he  succeeded  even  be- 
yond his  expectations,  and  his  crop  of  cane  when 
reduced  to  sugar  sold  for  twelve  thousand  dollars. 
Here  was  the  first  bud  of  that  amazing  wealth  which 
afterward  flowered  forth  over  all  the  lower  valley 
of  the  Mississippi.  A  mighty  industry  arose  which 
gave  color  to  the  civilization  of  Louisiana  and  laid 
broad  the  foundations  of  a  commonwealth  at  once 
the  most  picturesque  and  the  most  steadfast  in  its 
elements  to  be  found  in  America. 

The  French  revolution  drove  many  noble  citi- 
zens from  France.  Louisiana  became  the  place  of 
refuge  for  a  number  of  these,  and  they  brought  with 
them  a  considerable  following.  Thus,  although 
the  means  of  education  had  been  almost  wholly 
neglected  in  New  Orleans  and  its  dependent  set- 
tlements, there  was  a  certain  courtly  politeness 
which  influenced  the  manners  of  the  better  class 
of  the  people  and  made  the  home  life  of  some  of 
them  charmingly  refined  and  engaging.  Still  by 
far  the  greater  number  of   those  who  formed  the 


144  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST 

population  of  New  Orleans  consisted  of  persons  as 
unscrupulous  as  they  were  rough  and  dangerous. 
The  city  itself  was  not  fair  to  look  upon,  though 
much  had  been  done  for  it.  Carondelet  cut  a  canal 
all  the  way  from  Lake  Ponchartrain  to  the  ramparts 
of  the  town.  By  this  means  small  vessels  were  able 
to  receive  and  unload  cargoes  at  this  point,  thus 
avoiding  by  way  of  the  lake  and  its  safer  outlets, 
the  difficult  navigation  of  the  Mississippi's  mouth. 
That  a  good  deal  of  smuggling  was  indulged  in 
at  this  time  can  scarcely  be  doubted.  There  was 
everything  to  incite  it;  it  was  highly  profitable  and 
but  few  barriers  were  placed  in  its  way. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  slaves,  while  it 
added  much  to  the  success  of  agriculture  in  a 
swampy  and  malarious  country,  was  attended  with 
a  danger  more  to  be  dreaded  than  all  the  others  put 
together.  A  rumor  of  the  revolt  in  St.  Domingo 
had  reached  the  ears  of  the  slaves  on  the  planta- 
tions  of  Louisiana;  and  in  the  lonely  parish  of  Pointe 
Coupee  the  dusky  half-savages  planned  a  massacre 
of  their  owners.  The  negroes  outnumbered  the 
whites  in  this  parish,  and  its  remote  situation  ren- 
dered the  bloody  task  an  easy  one,  if  but  the  secret 
could  be  kept  until  the  blows  were  ready  to  fall. 
It  is  hard  at  this  time  to  realize  the  awful  nature 
of  the  peril  hanging  over  those  scattered  and  help- 
less   families.     The    men    and    the    children  were 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  1 45 

to  be  killed  outright ;  the  women  were  to  be  sub- 
jected to  a  fate  an  hundred-fold  more  horrible. 
Everything  was  ready,  the  plans  all  perfected,  when 
by  the  merest  chance  (growing  out  of  a  disagree- 
ment among  the  leaders)  the  secret  was  divulged 
and  the  dreadful  deed  prevented.  A  very  effective 
example  was  made  of  the  ringleaders  by  hanging 
them  by  the  neck  until  they  were  dead,  and  then 
leaving  their  dangling  bodies  for  several  days  in  full 
view  of  the  public,  at  many  points  along  the  river 
and  elsewhere.  This  struck  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  the  negroes  and  put  an  end  to  the  danger  they 
had  engendered  by  their  plotting.  Some  whites 
who  were  suspected  of  complicity  in  the  movement 
were  transported,  although  their  guilt  was  not  shown 
by  any  competent  evidence. 

By  a  treaty  signed  the  twentieth  of  October^ 
1795,  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  the 
boundary  line  between  the  territories  of  the  two 
powers  in  America  was  settled,  at  least  nominally. 
The  United  States  took  possession  of  all  the  area 
east  of  the  Mississippi  as  far  south  as  the  thirty- 
first  degree  of  latitude,  leaving  Spain  master  of 
all  the  territory  west  of  the  river,  and  also  of  the 
area  south  of  the  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude. 
The  Mississippi  River  for  its  entire  width  and 
from  its  source  to  the  sea,  was  declared  forever 
open  to  all  the  citizens  of  tjbe  United  States. 


I46  INTRIGUE  AND   UNREST. 

This  treaty,  however,  did  not  put  an  end 
to  Carondelet's  tampering  with  the  people  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He  clung  with  great 
tenacity  to  his  hope  that  some  of  the  western 
colonies  of  the  United  States  could  be  induced 
to  sever  their  connection  with  the  Federal 
Government  and  cast  their  lot  with  Louisiana. 
Wilkinson  and  others  reaped,  or  tried  to  reap, 
a  rich  harvest  by  means  of  this  hobby.  The 
people  of  Kentucky  and  of  the  other  western 
territories  refused  to  listen  to  these  schemes,  and 
they  were  at  length  abandoned,  but  not  till  after 
the  Spanish  Government  had  long  delayed  carrying 
out  the  terms  of  the  treaty.  For  reasons  of  his 
own  Wilkinson  adroitly  withdrew  from  negotiating 
with  Carondelet's  agent  and  set  himself  to  favoring, 
in  every  way  that  he  could,  the  interests  of  his  own 
country. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  October,  1795,  a  French 
privateer  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and 
sent  some  men  ashore  who  took  possession  of  the 
Balize  and  destroyed  all  its  property.  A  force  was 
dispatched  from  New  Orleans  to  attack  them,  but 
they  set  sail  and  avoided  an  encounter.  This  was 
the  only  damage  suffered  by  Louisiana  on  account 
of  the  French  War. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  following  year  an  epidemic 
broke    out    in    New  Orleans ;    probably  it  was   a 


INTRIGUE  AND   UNREST.  I47 

malignant  kind  of  malarial  fever,  though  the  fact 
that  a  black  vomit  is  described  as  one  of  its 
symptoms  signifies  that  it  may  have  been  the 
terrible  yellow  fever  which  has  since  that  day  so 
often  and  with  such  terrible  results  visited  the 
great  city  on  the  Gulf. 

The  sanitary  condition  of  New  Orleans  was 
necessarily  bad.  The  river  flooded  the  streets  of 
the  lower  part  at  every  freshet  and  the  drainage, 
even  in  the  dryest*  season,  was  wholly  inadequate. 
A  moat  of  stagnant  water  surrounded  the  wall,  the 
canal  itself  was  little  better  than  a  ditch,  and  behind 
the  city  was  a  vast  swamp  stretching  away  to  the 
bayou.  In  summer  the  air  swarmed  with  mosqui- 
toes and  other  pestiferous  insects,  while  the  stench 
rising  from  the  ponds  and  marshes  was  suggestive 
of  all  manner  of  disease. 

A  Spanish  bishop,  in  a  letter  dated  at  New 
Orleans  in  1795,  incidentally  mentioned  that  there 
were  at  that  time  in  the  city  a  number  of  schools, 
only  one  of  which  was  Spanish.  The  French 
schools  displeased  him  because  they  appeared  to 
be  inculcating  principles  too  decidedly  French. 
The  morals  of  the  city  were,  he  said,  very  bad ; 
the  people  permitted  their  children  to  **  read  books 
written  against  religion  and  the  State'"  and  at  the 
dinner-table  they  made  use  of  "the/* most  shame- 
ful, lascivious  and  sacrilegious  son^s."     Indeed  all 


148  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

accounts  agree  in  describing  New  Orleans  as  a 
convivial  city,  not  given  to  the  observance  of 
all  the  moral  laws,  thoroughly  French  in  its 
tastes,  and  altogether  independent  of  leading- 
strings  socially,  politically  and  religiously.  It 
was  the  favored  resort  of  the  lawless.  Some 
pirates  lived  there,  not  a  few  smugglers,  and  a 
large  number  of  adventurous  persons  —  political 
and  criminal  refugees  from  the  Old  World.  A 
motley  population,  picturesque  from  every  point  of 
view,  actuated  in  a  large  degree  by  motives  that  for- 
bade moral  rectitude. 

In  describing  the  city  at  that  time,  General 
Collot  wrote:  — 

"  Its  defensive  works  are  composed  of  five  small 
forts  and  a  battery,  arranged  thus :  on  the  river 
front  at  each  end  is  a  fort  commanding  the 
stream ;  .  .  .  between  these  two  works,  before 
the  chief  street  of  the  city,  is  a  great  battery  com- 
manding the  river  ...  In  the  rear  of  the  city 
on  the  land  side  are  three  forts." 

Collot  shrewdly  remarks  that  Carondelet  probably 
erected  these  works  more  with  a  view  to  overawing 
his  rebellious  subjects  than  with  the  belief  that  they 
would  prove  an  efficient  defense  for  the  city  in  case 
of  attack.  This  doubtless  expressed  the  main  truth 
of  the  matter,  for  a  close  study  of  all  the  docu- 
ments bearing  upon  the  history  of  the  time  during 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  1 49 

which  Carondelet  was  governor  fails  to  show  that 
Louisiana  ever  was  in  any  real  danger  of  invasion 
from  either  one  of  the  enemies  the  good  baron 
pretended  so  much  to  fear. 

Carondelet  was  not  averse  to  turning  a  penny, 
and  Wilkinson  showed  him  how,  under  cover  of 
a  secret  compact  of  trade  and  a  public  pretence 
of  hatching  rebellion,  the  tobacco  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  could  be  turned  to  excellent  pecu- 
niary account.  The  jolly  baron  was  true  to  his 
king  in  religion  and  politics,  but  when  it  came 
to  money  he  was  inclined  to  look  out  sharply  for 
himself.  He  tried  very  hard  to  foment  a  revolt  in 
the  West,  yet  at  the  same  time  he  could  not  see 
any  harm  in  making  his  schemes  pay  a  good 
dividend.  General  Wilkinson's  rule  of  action  lay 
on  the  same  plane.  His  process  was  double.  To 
Carondelet  he  favored  secession  and  annexation, 
to  the  French  he  hinted  revolt  and  freedom,  and 
while  working  both  parties  he  "  feathered  his  own 
nest "  by  vigorously  pushing  his  tobacco  trade 
and  taking  all  the  gold  that  the  Spanish  would 
give  him  to  defray  imaginary  expenses  and  to 
corrupt  mythical  personages  of  high  influence  in 
politics. 

During  the  years  1796-97  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties exhausted  every  means  for  delaying  a  confir- 
mation of   the  boundary  line   as  set  forth  in  the 


/ 


150  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

treaty  of  1783.  By  one  pretext  and  another,  they 
avoided  the  surrender  of  the  Natchez  territory  and 
continued  to  hold  the  military  posts  therein.  Not 
until  the  twenty-third  of  March,  1798,  was  the 
final  step  taken  by  which  the  Federal  Government 
was  permitted  to  occupy  in  full  the  province 
of  Mississippi. 

The  Baron  Carondelet  was  appointed  governor 
of  the  Mexican  provinces,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth 
of  July,  1797,  Don  Manuel  Gayoso  de  Lemos 
having  received  the  commission  of  governor  of 
Louisiana,  took  up  his  abode  in  New  Orleans. 
In  the  year  following,  after  having  evacuated 
the  fort  at  Natchez,  he  issued  an  order  directing 
the  commissioners  of  Spain  to  meet  those  of  the 
Federal  Government  at  Bayou  Tunica  and  begin 
the  survey  of  the  boundary  line  in  accordance 
with  the  treaty  so  long  set  at  naught.  Soon  after 
this  we  find  the  newly  made  territory  of  Mississippi 
occupied  by  a  Federal  force  and,  strange  to  say, 
with  Gen.  Wilkinson  in  command.  The  man  who 
but  lately  had  been  playing  the  role  of  traitor,  spy, 
insurrectionist  and  smuggler,  was  now  chief  com- 
mander on  the  border  and  was  building  a  fort  at 
Loftus  Heights  just  above  the  boundary  line. 
The  new  governor  of  Louisiana,  seeing  the  hope 
of  detaching  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  fall  dead 
at  his  feet,  finally  turned  back  to  the  old  policy 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  1 53 

of  restricting  immigration  and  of  discriminating 
against  Protestants. 

By  the  treaty  signed  at  Madrid  in  1 795,  it  had 
been  stipulated  that  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  should  not  only  have  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  but  that  they  should  also  have 
the  right  to  deposit  in  New  Orleans  all  their  prod- 
uce during  the  space  of  three  years.  This  limit, 
it  was  agreed,  was  to  be  extended  by  the  Spanish 
Government,  or  instead  of  an  extension  of  time, 
a  new  point  on  the  island  of  New  Orleans  was  to 
be  designated  for  such  depot.  But  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  three  years  Morales,  the  Spanish  in- 
tendant  at  New  Orleans,  declined  to  permit  further 
deposits  there,  and  refused  to  designate  another 
place  in  accordance  with  the  stipulation.  This 
action  aroused  the  people  of  the  West ;  a  storm 
of  resentment  broke  forth  and  the  government  of 
the  United  States  was  forced  to  make  a  threaten- 
ing demonstration  in  the  direction  of  Louisiana. 
Three  regiments  of  the  regular  army  were  at  once 
dispatched  to  the  Ohio.  The  people  flew  to  arms. 
Invasion  appeared  imminent. 

At  this  time  New  Orleans  was  full  of  spies,  ad- 
venturers and  political  intriguers  and  lobbyists  from 
the  United  States.  This  restless  element  managed 
to  keep  up  a  feeling  of  jealousy  and  avaricious 
envy   between    Gayoso   and    Morales.     Wilkinson 


154  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

visited  New  Orleans  in  the  summer  of  1799,  and 
went  thence  to  Washington  to  report  upon  the 
state  of  things.  During  his  stay  in  the  capital  of 
Louisiana  he  held  high  carousal  with  Gayoso,  in 
the  course  of  which  the  Kentuckian  and  the  Span- 
iard became  very  communicative  to  each  other; 
but,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the  Kentuckian's 
capacity  for  resisting  the  effects  of  brandied  con- 
viviality enabled  him  to  secure  the  advantage  in 
the  exchange  of  secrets.  In  fact,  Gayoso  never 
recovered  from  the  debauch,  but  died  soon  after 
of  a  fever  induced  by  his  excesses.  Wilkinson 
appears  to  have  escaped  in  good  condition  with 
undiminished  appetency  for  further  feats  of  a  like 
nature. 

The  Marquis  de  Casa  Calvo  succeeded  Gayoso 
as  governor  ad  interim,  and  on  the  first  of 
January,  1800,  Don  Ramon  Lopez  y*  Angullo 
took  the  office  of  intendant.  Lopez  soon  received 
from  his  Government  orders  to  remove  the  inter- 
dict issued  by  Gayoso  and  to  restore  to  the  West- 
ern people  the  right  of  deposit  at  New  Orleans. 
These  orders  he  promptly  obeyed,  thus  reviving 
good  feelings  between  his  province  and  the  United 
States.  Trade  revived ;  immigration  increased ; 
agriculture,  relieved  from  the  ban,  made  the  most 
rapid  advances  in  all  the  districts  of  Louisiana. 
People  from   the    United    States  poured  into  the 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  1 55 

rich  delta  and  began  to  acquire  a  hold  upon  very 
much  of  the  best  land.  The  cultivation  of  sugar- 
cane and  the  manufacture  of  sugar  attracted  wide 
notice,  and  the  interest  of  men  of  enterprise  and 
sagacity  was  enlisted  in  the  development  of  this 
new  and  promising  industry. 

The  deluge  of  immigration  startled  the  Span- 
iards. They  saw  to  what  it  was  swiftly  tending. 
A  few  more  years  and  this  tide  would  rise  too  high 
to  be  resisted  and  Louisiana  would  be  lost  to  the 
king,  lost  to  the  holy  religion,  given  over  to  free- 
dom, republicanism  and  ruin. 

In  June,  1801,  Casa  Calvo  was  superseded  as 
governor  by  Don  Juan  Manuel  de  Salcedo,  and 
Morales  succeeded  Lopez  as  intendant.  On  the 
eighteenth  of  July  in  the  following  year  the  king 
ordered  that  no  more  grants  of  land  be  given  to 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  This  effectually 
killed  the  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and 
the  indignation  of  the  Western  people  knew  no 
bounds.  The  spirit  of  the  great  American  nation 
was  beginning  to  assert  the  right  to  dominate, 
even  in  Louisiana,  and  it  was  strongly  inclined  to 
over-ride  the  claims  of  the  Spanish  Government. 
Salcedo  and  Morales  felt  that  the  time  was  fast 
approaching  when  the  hold  of  their  Government 
would  have  to  be  loosed.  Rumors,  apparently 
well    founded,    were    afloat    that    the    irresistible 


156  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

genius  of  Napoleon  was  wringing  the  province 
from  Spain  and  that  this  meant  a  division  of  the 
territories  between  France  and  the  United  States. 
To  a  large  majority  of  Louisiana's  population 
these  were  thrillingly  welcome  rumors.  The  very 
thought  of  once  more  becoming  the  subjects  of 
France  was  enough  to  intoxicate  them  with  delight. 

The  treaty  of  Ildefonso,  however,  which  had  been 
ratified  at  Madrid  on  the  twenty-first  of  March,  1801, 
had  been  kept  a  secret.  Napoleon  had  hoped  to 
occupy  Louisiana  with  a  strong  army  consisting 
of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  together  with  a  fleet 
to  guard  the  coast;  but  his  implacable  and  ever 
watchful  foe,  England,  discovered  his  design  and 
thwarted  it.  But  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  the 
colony  and  province  of  Louisiana  had  gone  into 
his  hands.  He  must  take  possession  and  hold 
it,  or  he  must  see  England  become  its  master. 
Pressed  on  every  side  at  that  time  by  wars  and 
political  complications  and  well  understanding  that 
it  would  endanger  his  power  for  him  to  undertake 
a  grand  American  enterprise,  he  gladly  opened 
negotiations  with  the  United  States  looking  to 
the  cession  of   Louisiana  to  that   Government 

While  correspondence  and  conferences  on  this 
subject  were  going  on  between  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment and  the  French  consul,  the  people  of 
Louisiana  continued  in  a  state  of  excitement  and 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  1 57 

expectancy.  They  were  not  informed  that  nego- 
tiations had  proceeded  any  farther  than  to  a  con- 
firmation of  the  treaty  of  Ildefonso  by  which  their 
country  had  been  ceded  by  Spain  to  France. 
They  were  therefore  anxiously  waiting  for  the  day 
to  arrive  when  the  latter  power  should  take  posses- 
sion. It  was  a  time  of  suspense  and  uncertainty,  too, 
on  the  part  of  the  local  government  of  Louisiana. 
The  Spanish  governor  was  waiting  and  expecting 
and  looking  —  but  no  tidings  of  a  definite  nature 
came  to  him.     All  was  mystery. 

Neither  the  First  Consul  of  France  nor  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  was  willing  that 
the  king  of  Spain  should  even  suspect  what  was 
going  on  until  it  should  be  too  late  for  him  to 
interfere  successfully.  They  both  well  knew  that 
Napoleon  had  agreed  with  Spain  that  Louisiana 
should  not  be  ceded  to  any  other  power,  and  they 
therefore  wished  to  play  their  little  game  of  bad 
faith  somewhat  in  the  dark.  They  consoled  them- 
selves with  the  ancient  salve,  seeing  that  good  was 
to  come  of  their  evil-doing.  On  the  part  of  the 
French  the  memory  of  the  treaty  signed  in  igno- 
miny when  in  1762  France  had  ceded  Louisiana  to 
Spain,  was  hateful  in  the  extreme.  They  never  had 
ratified  that  act  in  their  hearts  and  had  always 
viewed  it  as  a  disgraceful  piece  of  folly  by  which 
the  honor  of  all  Frenchmen  had  suffered.     To  the 


158  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

United  States  the  acquisition  of  so  great  a  terri- 
tory, with  the  full  control  of  the  Mississippi  River 
forever,  was  not  to  be  pushed  aside  for  any  merely 
technical  reason.  Diplomacy  very  quickly  sur- 
mounted so  small  an  obstacle  as  the  promise  made 
by  the  French  to  the  Spanish  Government  in  the 
treaty  of  Ildefonso.  A  price  was  fixed  by  the  First 
Consul  and  the  terms  were  all  arranged  with  the 
utmost  dispatch.  At  last  the  territory  of  Louisiana 
was  about  to  find  a  permanent  government  and, 
with  it,  permanent  freedom.  Her  vast  area  was  to 
be  carved  into  pieces  and  the  real  Louisiana,  whose 
story  it  is  ours  to  outline,  was  to  emerge  from  the 
mist  of  romance  and  uncertainty  into  the  full, 
strong  light  of  American  liberty. 

The  treaty  of  cession  was  signed  on  the  thirtieth 
of  April,  1803,  the  United  States  agreeing  to  pay 
France  sixty  million  francs  as  the  purchase  price  of 
the  territory.*     Pausing  to  glance  at  this  strange 

transaction  by  which  one  republic  sells  outright  to 
another  republic  a  whole  country  without  in  the  least 
consulting  the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants  whose  alle- 
giance and  all  of  whose  political  and  civil  rights  are 
changed  thereby  we  are  tempted  to  wonder  if  the 


•  The  French  "  figure  "  for  its  province  was  at  first  eighty  million  francs,  with  the  fur- 
ther understanding  that  the  United  States  should  assume  certain  claims  due  to  American  citi- 
zens and  reckoned  at  twenty  million  francs  more.  The  price  finally  agreed  upon  was,  as 
stated  above,  sixty  million  francs:  and,  in  addition,  the  sum  due  American  citizens  ("The 
French  spoliation  claims")  was  assumed  by  the  United  States.  The  treaty  of  April  was 
ratified  by  Napoleon  in  May,  1803,  and  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  iu  October.      Ed. 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  1 59 

republic  of  the  United  States  could  to-day  sell 
Louisiana  with  the  same  impunity  that  attended 
the  purchase !  She  bought  the  country  and  its 
people,  just  as  she  might  have  bought  a  desert 
island  with  its  goats ;  why  could  she  not  sell  them 
to-day  and  ask  no  permission  until  after  they  had 
been  delivered  all  in  a  lump  to  the  buyer? 

With  a  smile  at  the  foolishness  of  our  question 
we  turn  to  view  with  feelings  of  patriotic  pride  the 
magnificent  results  of  that  famous  purchase.  Here 
was  a  vast  domain  whose  internal  wealth  was  as 
yet  little  dreamed  of  and  whose  importance  to  the 
United  States  could  not  be  over-estimated,  bought 
for  the  paltry  sum  of  sixty  million  francs. 

The  great  Napoleon  remarked,  at  the  time  of 
the  transfer,  that  he  was  ceding  to  the  American 
Union  a  domain  whose  greatness  was  immeasur- 
able and  whose  maritime  advantages  would  soon 
enable  it  to  humble  the  magnificent  naval  power 
of  Great  Britain.  He  was  a  grandiloquent  man, 
but  he  did  not  overstate  possibilities.  It  is  true 
that  the  United  States  had  never  shown  a  really 
great  navy;  but  at  need  she  can  present  to  the 
world  the  much  over-looked  fact  that  it  is  easy 
for  her  to  build  a  fleet  within  her  great  rivers  and 
send  it  forth  incomparably  equipped  without  a 
stick  of  wood  or  an  ounce  of  metal  in  it  or  upon 
it  which  has  been  imported  from  a  foreign  country. 


160  INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST. 

But  while  this  bargain  and  sale  had  been  rushed 
to  a  successful  end,  the  Spanish  authorities  at  New 
Orleans  did  not  know  of  it  and  they  were  impa- 
tiently awaiting  the  arrival  of  a  French  delegation 
wrhich  was  to  accept  the  transfer  of  Louisiana  to 
the  republic  of  France.  It  was  understood  that 
General  Victor  had  been  appointed  to  act  for  the 
French  Government,  and  when  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  March,  1803,  M.  Laussat,  the  prefect  appointed 
for  the  colony  by  Napoleon,  arrived  he  confirmed 
the  matter,  and  he  also  announced  the  form  of 
government  prepared  for  the  province.  General 
Victor,  he  said,  had  sailed  from  Holland  late  in 
January.  This  proved  to  be  a  mistake,  for  the 
French  fleet  was  so  closely  watched  by  an  English 
squadron  in  the  channel  that  it  was  impossible  for 
Victor  to  put  to  sea. 

The  expedition  was  therefore  abandoned  by 
Napoleon.  America  was  a  long  way  off  and  it 
would  be  hard  to  hold  Louisiana,  especially  so 
long  as  England  was  his  enemy.  Why  not  sell 
the  province  ?  He  did  sell  it,  and  never  did  any 
nation  make  a  finer  bargain  than  that  consum- 
mated by  the  United  States.  The  full  control  of 
the  Mississippi  River  and  of  all  the  great  valley 
drained  by  it,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  young 
republic  and  insured  the  control,  at  an  early  day,  of 
the  heart  of  the  continent.     What  a  teeming  popu- 


INTRIGUE  AND    UNREST.  l6l 

lation  was  to  flood  the  whole  area  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  what  prosperity  was  to  come,  what 
discoveries,  what  inventions,  what  commerce,  what 
wars !  Little  did  New  Orleans  dream  of  Packen- 
ham  and  Jackson,  or  of  Farragut  and  the  thunder 
of  the  iron-clads,  or  of  Butler  and  the  reign  of  ter- 
ror, or  of  Kellogg  and  the  fourteenth  of  Septem- 
ber,  1874.  Indeed  the  colonists  of  Louisiana  were 
not  taken  into  the  confidences  of  their  own  time. 
Napoleon,  always  able  to  keep  his  own  secrets,  felt 
the  need  of  unusual  reticence  in  making  the  trans- 
fer of  his  American  dominion  to  the  United  States, 
and  the  latter  government  was  too  well  aware  of 
the  precarious  tenure  of  France  to  wish  for  any- 
thing like  negotiations  with  Spain  touching  the 
territory  in  question.  It  was  a  crisis  in  the  history 
of  America,  the  turning-point  in  the  career  of 
Louisiana,  when  the  slightest  slip  in  the  move- 
ment of  the  world's  affairs  could  have  changed  the 
whole  future  of  the  Federal  union.  The  point  was 
passed,  however,  with  little  difficulty.  A  few  mil- 
lion dollars,  a  few  strokes  of  the  pen,  a  discreet 
silence,  until  the  arrival  of  the  proper  moment, 
and  then  prompt  action  secured  what,  twenty  years 
later,  could  not  have  been  bought  with  all  the  blood 
and  treasure  of  the  nation. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


UNDER   THE    STARS    AND    STRIPES. 


HE  population  of  Lou- 
isiana, exclusive  o  f 
Indians,  was,  in  1803, 
■"  about  fifty-five  thou- 
sand. New  Orleans 
had  begun  to  look 
like  a  city  with  its 
quaint  and  beautiful, 
if  rambling  and  primi- 
tive houses,  its  tree- 
shaded  streets,  its  clumps  of  palmettos  and  its 
wilderness  of  roses.  Twelve  thousand  people 
were  within  its  walls,  and  although  they  were, 
in  most  regards  and  taken  as  a  body,  a  reckless, 
gambling,  dueling,  immoral  people,  they  were 
restrained  by  the  hand  of  a  strong  government 
and  by  the  high  example  and  gentle  influence 
of  not  a  few  excellent  and  cultured  families.  Of 
necessity  society  had  begun  here,  in  the  days  of 
Bienville,  around  a  nucleus  of  galley  slaves,  bandits, 
half-breed    Indians,   trappers   and   aimless  adven- 


UNDER    THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.       1 63 

turers  of  the  lowest  order  among  men.  The 
women,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  ladies  the  wives  of  officers,  were  in  the  first 
place  exiles  thrown  out  from  the  French  houses  of 
correction.  Some  squaws  were  added  and  not  a 
few  negro  women  became  the  so-called  wives  of  the 
men.  It  was  a  drinking,  carousing,  excitement- 
loving  population.  We  are  given  scattered  but 
interesting  glimpses  of  the  drinking-rooms,  the 
gaming  places,  the  theater  and  the  public  meeting- 
places  of  the  people ;  but  the  chronicles  of  society 
are  contained  in  meager  and  accidental  paragraphs 
appearing  in  official  documents  and  in  the  romantic 
sketches  written  by  travelers,  priests  and  traders. 

The  administration  of  the  Spanish  authorities 
had  been  upon  the  whole,  able  and,  from  the 
peculiar  Spanish  point  of  view,  generous  and  en- 
lightened to  a  degree.  Against  the  sleepless  and 
insidious  hatred  of  the  French  they  had  opposed 
merciless  force  when  necessary,  pacific  politeness 
and  tolerance  when  safe. 

Corruption  in  office  was  practiced  in  the  most 
open  and  unblushing  way,  by  both  the  French  and 
the  Spanish  officials,  from  the  days  of  Bienville 
down  to  the  close  of  foreign  domination  in  Louis- 
iana. As  a  matter  of  course  this  political  loose- 
ness had  a  marked  effect  on  the  development  of 
New  Orleans  as  a  city  and  as  a  capital,  making  it 


1 64        UNDER    THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

the  centre  about  which  gathered  and  crystallized 
the  controlling  influences,  for  good  and  for  bad,  that 
moved  the  affairs  of  the  province  and  molded  the 
character  of  its  people.  Slave  labor  was  there 
from  the  first  in  its  worst  form.  The  negroes,  or 
at  least  many  of  them,  were  savages  fresh  from 
Africa,  without  any  of  those  better  traits  that 
characterized  the  slaves  fifty  years  later.  The 
44  black  codes "  now  and  again  adopted  by  the 
various  governors,  were  of  a  nature  applicable  only 
to  the  control  of  the  most  vicious  criminals.  The 
masters  were  given  a  police  power  over  their 
slaves  which  was  practically  unlimited  and  which 
was  used  with  arbitrary  malignancy  or  questionable 
leniency  as  the  whim  or  the  temper  of  the  individual 
dictated.  The  climate  was  not  stimulating  and  the 
temptation  to  seek  ease  and  to  indulge  in  enerva- 
ting practices  was  very  great.  Still  the  people  as 
a  whole  were  no  worse  than  were  those  that  the 
frontier  colonies  of  that  day  usually  held. 

What  is  now  Jackson  Square  in  New  Orleans 
was,  in  1803,  and  from  the  first  had  been  the  Place 
d'Armes.  Near  this  rectangle  stood  the  various 
government  buildings,  the  church  and  other  ecclesi- 
astical edifices.  The  Ursuline  nuns  had  a  nunnery 
hard  by  and  there  were  a  good  many  residences  of 
a  substantial  if  not  imposing  sort,  scattered  along 
the   river   "  coasts "   above   and   below   the  town. 


UNDER   THE  STAJRS  AND  STRIPES.       1 65 

Since  1728  the  improvement  in  public  morals  had 
been  fortified  by  the  introduction  of  virtuous  and  re- 
fined women.  A  "  cargo  "  of  young  women  had  been 
shipped  from  France,  consigned  to  New  Orleans, 
and  these  girls  have  gone  into  history  and  romance 
under  the  name  of  u  Filles  &  la  Cassette,"  on  ac- 
count of  the  little  box  or  casket  of  clothes  borne 
by  each.  These  "  girls  with  the  trunk  "  may  have 
had  their  origin  in  a  prolific  imagination,  but  to  this 
day  it  is  an  honor  if  a  Creole  family  can  fairly 
trace  its  genealogy  back  to  one  of  them.  Indeed, 
when  we  consider  that,  throughout  the  eighty-seven 
years  during  which  New  Orleans  was  under  for- 
eign control,  a  steady  though  slender  stream  drawn 
from  the  best  blood  of  France  and  Spain  had 
trickled  into  Louisiana,  we  can  understand  how, 
gradually,  the  population  imperceptibly  grew  to  be 
a  proud,  noble  and  intellectual  one,  with  a  social 
and  domestic  system  as  exclusive  and  peculiar  as 
it  was  picturesque  and  beautiful. 

We  have  seen  that  Laussat,  the  prefect  sent  by 
Napoleon,  arrived  at  New  Orleans  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  March.  He  was  received  with  great  pomp 
by  the  Spanish  authorities ;  but  to  his  surprise  the 
French  inhabitants  held  aloof  and  appeared  to  have 
no  word  or  sign  of  welcome  for  him.  The  reason 
for  this  lay  in  the  fact  that  a  rumor  had  become 
prevalent  charging  the  First  Consul  with  a  design 


1 66        UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

to  free  the  slaves  in  the  province.  The  disastrous 
result  of  freedom  in  St.  Domingo  was  a  heavy  load 
on  the  memory  of  some  citizens  of  Louisiana  who 
had  formerly  lived  on  that  unfortunate  island,  and 
who  had  brought  their  slaves  with  them  to  their 
new  homes.  From  lip  to  lip  had  passed  the  word 
of  doubt,  fear  and  gloomy  anticipation.  The  joy 
with  which  the  first  thought  of  returning  to  their 
French  allegiance  had  been  hailed  had  quickly  dis- 
appeared. It  were  far  better,  the  planters  thought, 
to  remain  under  Spanish  rule  than  to  have  the 
dear  old  country  for  which  they  had  so  long  sighed, 
send  over  an  agent  to  inculcate  the  doctrines  that 
had  destroyed  the  prosperity  of  the  other  French 
colonies. 

Laussat  found  Casa  Calvo,  the  Spanish  repre- 
sentative, very  polite  and  courteous  in  all  his  com- 
munications but  secretly  working  to  throw  in  his 
way  every  possible  barrier  toward  a  kindly  under- 
standing with  the  people.  Every  effort  had  been 
made  to  procure  from  the  colonists  an  expression 
favoring  adhesion  to  the  Spanish  government  and 
repudiating  the  cession  of  the  province. 

Casa  Calvo  was  a  wealthy  nobleman  with  every 
means  at  his  command  for  courting  the  favor  of 
society  in  New  Orleans  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. No  sooner  had  Laussat  arrived,  therefore, 
than  the  Spanish  dignitary  began  a  series  of  elabo- 


UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.       1 69 

rately  expensive  dinners  to  which  were  invited  all 
the  leaders  of  society.  With  courtly  grace  and 
dignity  and  yet  with  a  winning  warmth  of  manner 
Casa  Calvo  made  each  guest  feel  himself  especially 
favored.  Laussat  noted  the  effect  of  this  hospital- 
ity and  determined  to  offset  it  in  kind.  The  result 
was  a  battle  of  dinners,  a  campaign  of  soups  and 
viands  and  wines.  The  Spaniard  had  the  advan- 
tage by  reason  of  his  wealth,  and  poor  Laussat  was 
grievously  worried.  He  felt  that  the  French  Gov- 
ernment was  suffering  in  the  estimation  of  those 
whom  he  most  wished  to  impress  favorably,  and 
moreover  he  saw  that  his  noble  antagonist  was 
greatly  enjoying  the  situation. 

In  the  meantime  no  tidings  came  from  France, 
no  word  from  the  fleet  of  General  Victor;  but  from 
some  source  a  rumor  of  the  cession  of  Louisiana 
to  the  United  States  crept  through  the  colonies. 
Laussat  tried  in  vain  to  discover  what  if  any  foun- 
dation there  was  for  such  a  story,  and  at  length  he 
wrote  to  his  government  touching  what  he  deemed 
to  be  a  gross  calumny  against  the  honor  of  the 
First  Consul.  A  few  day  later,  however,  he  re- 
ceived direct  from  France  full  confirmation  of  the 
rumor.  With  it,  too,  came  instructions  to  deliver 
the  province  over  to  the  commissioners  of  the 
United  States  so  soon  as  Casa  Calvo  should  have 
delivered  the  same  to  him. 


170       UNDER   THE  STARS  AND   STRIPES. 

It  was  the  thirtieth  of  November,  1803.  The  flag 
of  Spain  was  waving  from  the  tall  staff  on  the  pub- 
lic square.  A  vast  crowd,  aware  that  an  important 
event  was  at  hand,  had  gathered  to  look  on.  The 
streets  were  full,  the  housetops  were  crowded  and 
every  balcony  and  window  was  packed  with  eager 
observers.  The  Spanish  soldiers  gaily  uniformed 
and  drawn  up  in  solid  order  filled  the  square  in 
front  of  the  hall. 

In  the  presence  of  this  throng  Laussat  presented 
his  credentials  and  received  from  Casa  Calvo  in 
due  form  the  keys  of  New  Orleans  and  possession 
of  Louisiana.  There  was  a  crash  of  artillery  and 
the  flag  of  Spain  began  to  descend  from  the  staff. 
While  this  was  passing  the  crowd  was  swayed  by 
a  conflict  of  emotions.  Many  there  were  who  re- 
gretted the  change  and  feared  the  worst  conse- 
quences; some  thought  the  time  had  come  for 
revolution  ;  but  the  majority  stood  passively  look- 
ing on  unable  to  see  much  to  care  for  in  the  oc- 
casion. The  flag  of  the  First  Consul,  the  banner 
of  the  young  French  republic,  climbed  to  the  top 
of  the  staff  while  another  artillery  salute  boomed  off 
across  the  stately  river.     So  ended  the  ceremony. 

Laussat  immediately  published  an  address,  in 
the  form  of  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  set  forth 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  by  which  the  province  of 
Louisiana  had  been  sold  to  the  United  States.    He 


UNDER    THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.       171 

particularly  called  attention  to  Article  Third  of 
that  treaty  which  guaranteed  to  the  citizens  of  the 
province  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  liberties  and 
property  and  the  unrestrained  exercise  of  their 
religion. 

At  the  same  time  he  began  the  reorganization  of 
the  government  by  appointing  provisional  officers 
from  among  the  leading  citizens  of  Louisiana. 
These  were  well  chosen  and  the  effect  upon  the 
people  was  reassuring,  although  the  persons  so 
honored  were  not  quick  to  accept  the  appoint- 
ments. Etienne  Bore  was  made  mayor  of  New 
Orleans,  and  Bellachasse  was  given  command  of 
the  militia. 

Governor  Claiborne  of  Mississippi  and  General 
Wilkinson  (who  invariably  presented  himself  when- 
ever there  was  anything  on  foot  in  Louisiana)  were 
the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  receive  the  ceded  province  from  the 
hands  of  Laussat.  Wilkinson  arrived  in  New 
Orleans  on  the  twenty-third  of  November.  He 
was  on  his  way  from  Florida  to  Fort  Adams,  where 
he  was  to  meet  Governor  Claiborne ;  he  had  an 
interview  with  Laussat  and  it  was  determined  be- 
tween them  that  every  precaution  should  be  taken 
against  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards. 
This,  however,  as  the  sequel  proved,  was  wholly  un- 
necessary.   Casa  Calvo,  it  is  true,  took  pains  to  cause 


172        UNDER   THE  STARS  AND   STRIPES. 

the  irascible  Frenchman  all  possible  uneasiness ; 
but  he  offered  no  resistance  to  the  formal  transfer 
of  the  province. 

Laussat  appointed  Villere,  a  son  of  the  former 
insurgent  of  that  name,  one  of  the  ten  members  of 
the  new  municipality.  "  It  is  with  a  true  feeling  of 
joy,"  he  wrote  to  the  French  Government,  "  that  I 
put  in  authority  M.  Villere,  the  son  of  one  of 
O'Reilly's  most  interesting  victims,  himself  much 
esteemed  in  the  province." 

Stinging  with  wounded  pride,  on  account  of. 
Casa  Calvo's  social  victories  in  the  recent  din- 
ing tournament,  and  desiring  to  show  a  spirit  of 
independence,  Laussat  flatly  refused  to  permit 
the  Spanish  Cabildo  or  the  military  officers  of  the 
Spanish  militia  to  take  any  part  in  the  ceremony 
of  transfer,  until  he  had  recommissioned  them. 

Claiborne  and  Wilkinson  marched  from  Fort 
Adams  and  encamped  two  miles  out  from  New 
Orleans  on  the  seventeenth  of  December.  Early 
the  next  day  they  sent  an  officer  to  inform  Laussat 
of  their  arrival  and  to  ask  him  to  set  the  time 
for  the  conference  preliminary  to  the  final  act  of 
transfer. 

The  town  was  again  filled  to  overflowing  with 
people  from  every  part  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Laussat  sent  out  a  company  of  his  improvised 
troops  to  meet  the  United   States  commissioners 


UNDER    THE  STARS  AND   STRIPES.        1 73 

and  conduct  them  through  the  gates.  The  cere- 
mony was  made  very  brief.  Governor  Claiborne 
presented  his  credentials  and  those  of  General  Wil- 
kinson, a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  was  fired  from 
the  forts  and  then  the  French  commissioner  deliv- 
ered to  Claiborne  the  keys  of  the  city.  As  the  ban- 
ner of  France  began  to  descend  from  the  top  of  the 
staff  in  the  square,  the  flag  of  America  rose  from 
the  bottom.  The  two  met  midway.  A  gun  was 
fired  to  signal  the  forts.  The  batteries  responded 
with  all  their  guns.  The  people,  however,  were 
quiet,  showing  no  enthusiasm.  Casa  Calvo  and 
his  official  coadjutors  had  scattered  the  seeds  of 
distrust  and  apprehension  in  the  hearts  of  many. 
A  considerable  number,  too,  were  stanch  royalists 
and  bitterly  opposed  to  passing  under  the  flag  of 
a  republic. 

Claiborne  hastened  to  issue  a  proclamation  dated 
the  twentieth  of  December,  1803,  in  which  he  gave 
an  outline  of  the  treaties  by  which  Louisiana  had 
passed  from  Spain  to  France  and  from  France  to 
the  United  States,  and  proceeded  to  explain  the 
general  features  of  the  laws  under  which  the  prov- 
ince henceforth  would  be  governed.  He  proclaimed 
that  the  liberty,  the  property  and  the  religion  of 
every  citizen  would  be  respected  and  protected. 
For  the  time  i>eing  he  kept  in  their  places  all  the 
civil  officers  of  the  city  and  province,  the  collectors 


174        UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

of  revenues  excepted,  reserving  to  himself  the 
powers  of  chief  executive  of  the  province  until  a 
regular  territorial  government  could  be  formed 
under  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

The  title  to  the  vast  country  known  as  Louis- 
iana was  now  vested  irrevocably  in  the  young  and 
vigorous  republic  of  America.  A  rough  inventory 
was  made  from  which  it  appeared  that  the  popu- 
lation of  the  province  was  between  fifty  and  sixty 
thousand  souls,  exclusive  of  Indians.  New  Orleans 
alone  held  nearly  twelve  thousand.  The  annual 
revenues  of  the  city  were  $19,278,  its  expenses  less 
than  $10,000.  The  agricultural  products  of  the 
colonies  amounted  annually  to  3000  pounds  of  in- 
digo, 20,000  bales  of  cotton,  5000  hogsheads  of 
sugar  and  5000  casks  of  molasses.  The  exports 
were  about  40,000  tons  of  the  value  of  $2,158,000, 
the  imports  were  valued  at  $2,500,000  per  annum, 
and  the  territorial  expenses  were  about  $800,000 
for  each  year,  while  the  revenues  were  less  than 
$120,000,  thus  showing  that  in  1802  the  provin- 
cial government  had  been  a  heavy  load  to  carry. 

It  remained  to  be  seen,  now  that  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment had  accepted  the  burden,  whether  the  load 
would  continue  to  increase,  as  it  had  been  doing 
ever  since  d'Iberville  first  set  his  foot  on  the  shore 
of  the  great  gulf.  The  young  republic  was  in  no 
condition  to  shoulder  a  heavy  financial  weight  in 


UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.       1 75 

addition  to  the  purchase-price  of  the  territory  and 
there  would  have  to  be  a  great  change  in  the 
management  of  affairs  to  make  the  province  self- 
supporting. 

When,  upon  the  surrender  of  the  territorial  keys 
by  Casa  Calvo  to  Laussat,  the  forts  around  New 
Orleans  were  evacuated,  there  were  no  troops  at 
the  French  commissioners  disposal  and  the  city 
for  a  time  lay  in  great  danger  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  reckless  and  desperate  element  of  its 
population.  The  United  States  Consul,  Daniel 
Clarke,  Jr.,  volunteered  to  take  command  of  a  body 
of  enthusiastic  young  Americans  for  the  protection 
of  public  and  private  property  and  the  preserva- 
tion of  peace  and  order.  In  this  he  was  promptly 
and  energetically  joined  by  a  large  body  of  Creoles, 
the  sons  of  the  best  families.  With  this  force  of 
three  hundred  men  he  offered  himself  to  Laussat 
and  was  of  great  service  in  guarding  the  forts, 
patrolling  the  city  and  protecting  society. 

In  the  meantime  the  people  were  at  a  loss  just 
how  to  view  what  was  going  on,  but  the  better 
element  felt  the  need  of  upholding  law  and  enforc- 
ing order,  no  matter  what  political  change  was  in 
store  for  them. 

Claiborne's  proclamation  gave  instant  relief  to 
many  who  greatly  feared  interference  with  slavery 
and  very  soon  a  feeling  of  security  spread  among 


176        UNDER   THE  STARS  AND   STRIPES. 

the  people.  At  once  there  was  a  considerable 
emigration  from  the  North  and  the  American 
spirit  began  to  take  firm  root  in  the  rich  soil  of 
Louisiana. 

But  what  was  Louisiana  at  this  time  ?  The 
question  cannot  be  answered.  Spain  claimed  an 
indefinite  contraction  of  the  loose  boundary  lines, 
while  the  United  States  contended  for  the  utmost 
stretch  of  their  elastic  quality. 

The  district  of  West  Florida  was  held  by  Spain 
to  extend  westward  to  the  Pearl  River  and  beyond 
to  the  Mississippi  embracing  the  posts  of  Manchac, 
Thompson's  Creek  and  Bayou  Sara.  This  area 
was  made  into  a  so-called  Spanish  province  called 
the  "  Government  of  Baton  Rouge,"  under  the  con- 
trol of  Lieutenant  Governor  Grandpre.  That  part 
of  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  reached 
westward  to  Texas,  wherever  that  was,  and  north- 
ward and  northwestward  to  some  wavering  confine 
in  the  untrodden  wilderness.  The  Ohio  Valley  and 
the  valley  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  were  already 
prosperous  and  their  settlements  and  towns  were 
assuming  important  dimensions. 

The  trade  of  the  great  river,  with  that  of  all  its 
tributaries,  was  soon  to  be  pouring  freely  through 
the  gates  of  New  Orleans.  The  eyes  of  far-seeing 
business  men  all  over  the  world  were  suddenly 
turned  upon  that  queer  little  city  in  a  Mississippi 


UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.       1 77 

swamp.  She  held  the  key  to  the  wealth  that  was 
fast  locked  in  the  inexhaustible  soil  of  all  that  vast 
region,  where  the  cotton  and  the  cane  were  just 
beginning  to  disclose  how  valuable  by  proper  care 
and  enterprise  slave  labor  could  be  made.  Many  a 
sail  was  set  for  this  new  land  and  Northern  sloop 
and  foreign  ship  alike  came  to  anchor  in  the  great 
river  before  the  levee  at  New  Orleans. 

Soon  enough  the  people  of  the  United  States 
felt  the  fever  of  fascination  that  is  caught  from 
well-told  stories  of  a  tropical  land  where,  as  the  ro- 
mance always  runs,  one  can  sit  forever  under  a  rose 
bower  and  eat  and  drink  and  be  merry  without  so 
much  as  a  thought  of  winter,  labor,  want  or  death. 
The  same  song  that  Law  had  sung  in  France,  only 
to  a  different  tune,  now  sent  its  alluring  undertones 
through  the  stubbornly-tilled  regions  of  the  colder 
North. 

Flat-boatmen  who  went  down  the  river  from  the 
Illinois,  the  Missouri  or  the  Kentucky  country,  came 
back  with  dreamy  stories  of  how  the  planters  on 
the  great  Louisiana  estates  dwelt  in  luxurious  ease 
in  their  spacious  homes  surrounded  with  servants, 
horses,  dogs,  guns,  wines,  fruits,  flowers  and  every 
comfort  of  life.  They  told  of  graceful  ladies,  dark 
and  beautiful,  gracious  and  kind,  sitting  under  the 
orange-trees,  or  on  the  vine-covered  verandas, 
dressed  like  queens,  with  lovely  quadroons  fanning 


178        UNDER    THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

them.  They  showed  conclusively  how  easy  it  was 
to  gain  princely  fortunes  in  that  land  of  eternal 
summer-time.  And,  to  the  rough  fellows  who  told 
them,  these  stories  did  not  seem  to  be  untrue ; 
for  they  had,  indeed,  seen  what  they  described. 
Many  of  the  so-called  coast  plantations  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi were,  even  then,  the  seats  of  large  and 
luxuriously  furnished  mansions  wherein  dwelt  peo- 
ple of,  culture  and  refinement  who  spent  money 
with  lavish  freedom  and  spared  no  pains  to  prac- 
tice a  hospitality  almost  bewildering  in  its  propor- 
tions. The  "Territory  of  Orleans,"  as  the  Amer- 
ican Congress  first  named  it,  was  on  the  tongue  of 
almost  everybody  who  felt  the  necessity  of  better- 
ing fortune  by  a  change  of  abode,  or  who  had  a 
natural  bent  for  seeking  adventure  of  a  mijd  sort 
in  a  strange  land. 

This  was  the  first  acquisition  of  provincial  area 
made  by  our  country,  and  the  very  fact  that  at  last 
foreign  domination  in  Louisiana  had  given  way  to 
a  government  erected  by  the  American  republic, 
added  a  mighty  force  to  the  romance  which  had 
clung  so  long  about  the  sunny,  swampy,  bloom- 
burdened  and  pirate-haunted  great  Southwest. 
In  that  day  railroads  were  not  thought  of.  The 
rivers  were  the  thoroughfares  of  travel  and  com- 
merce from  the  interior  to  the  seas.  We  can 
scarcely  realize  the  importance  of  such  a  stream  as 


UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.       1 79 

the  Mississippi  at  a  time  when  the  velocity  of  its  cur- 
rent exactly  measured  the  rate  of  traffic-movement 
over  the  largest  part  of  the  United  States.  Our 
exports  during  the  first  half  of  the  present  century 
were  chiefly  agricultural  products  and  lumber.  A 
tremendous  volume  of  these  found  ready  way  to  the 
sea  through  the  Mississippi,  much  of  it  starting 
from  points  far  up  the  Ohio,*  the  Illinois,  the  Ten- 
nessee, the  Cumberland  and  other  tributaries.  At 
first  the  system  of  navigation  was  rude  enough. 
Fleets  of  flat-boats  and  keel-boats,  clumsy  rafts  and 
cumbersome  barges  crept  down  the  slow  current 
for  days  and  weeks  and  months,  gradually  nearing 
the  low-lying,  motley,  genial  and  fascinating  French 
city  that  was  their  destination. 

One  feature  of  Louisiana  life,  dating  from  a  very 
early  point  of  time,  must  not  be  overlooked.  A 
considerable  number  of  free  negroes,  mulattoes, 
quadroons  and  other  persons  of  color,  formed  the 
nucleus  around  which  was  slowly  formed  a  nonde- 
script class  which  grew  as  surely  as  did  New  Orleans 
and  the  province,  and  strengthened  apace  with  the 
development  of  society  along  the  lines  early  laid 
in  the  history  of  colonization. 

From  the  first  there  had  been  a  great  excess 
of  males  in  the  population  and  many  of  the  care- 
less and  lawless  men  had  taken  so-called  wives 
from  among  the  negro  and  Indian  women  brought 


180        UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

to  New  Orleans  and  the  other  posts.  The  children 
of  these  associations  were  branded,  so  to  speak, 
and  set  apart  for  a  life  which  to  this  day  is  abso- 
lutely unique  in  the  world.  The  free  person  of 
color  came  to  be  a  floating  compromise  between 
the  negro  slave  and  the  free  white  person  ;  not  free 
enough  to  be  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  citizen, 
and  yet  sufficiently  free  to  hover  along  the  line  of 
an  indefined  equality,  touching  the  white  margin  of 
society  only  to  contaminate  and  to  be  contaminated. 
A  condition  of  this  kind  once  established  in  an 
isolated  community  grows  with  the  growth  of 
population  and  sends  its  cancerous  poison  farther 
and  farther  along  the  veins  of  society.  Writers  in 
every  department  of  literature  have  touched  this 
subject  only  to  exaggerate  its  effect.  The  truth  is 
bad  enough.  The  best  people  of  New  Orleans, 
the  true  representatives  of  its  social  texture,  were 
not  guilty  of  these  moral  infractions.  The  veins 
of  the  hundreds  of  old  and  justly  influential  families 
have  never  been  contaminated  directly  or  indirectly. 
It  is  a  burning  injustice  that  has  so  long  insinuated 
against  the  true  Creole  population  of  New  Orleans 
this  foul  and  wicked  libel.  It  is  well-known  by 
those  who  have  studied  the  subject  carefully,  that 
the  system  of  loose  morals  which  existed  in  New 
Orleans  was  largely  the  work  of  boatmen,  traders, 
gamblers  and  speculators  who  constituted  the  tran- 


UNDER    THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.        181 

sient  and  adventurous  part  of  the  city's  population. 
That  there  were  persons  of  high  local  standing 
and  of  great  influence  who  indulged  in  debasing 
practices  cannot  be  denied ;  but  these  were  the  ex- 
ceptions to  the  rule.  The  Creoles  of  New  Orleans 
are  now  and  always  have  been  a  people  of  virtue, 
of  honor,  of  steadfast  strength  of  purpose  and  of 
beautiful  domestic  purity.  The  free  people  of  color 
constituted  a  class  largely  given  to  a  life  of  loosely- 
defined  morals.  It  was  their  women  who  filled  the 
bagnios  and  kept  the  houses  of  assignation,  or  con- 
sorted to  the  best  possible  advantage  in  questionable 
relations  with  the  men  who  cared  to  spend  money 
freely  while  sojourning  in  the  city. 

This  is  the  long  and  the  short  statement  of  the 
simple  truth  freed  from  that  melodramatic  coloring 
so  much  affected  by  historical  romancers.  New 
Orleans  is  not  now  and  never  has  been  a  worse 
city  than  New  York  or  Boston,  than  Chicago  or 
St.  Louis.  It  is  now  and  it  always  has  been  very 
different  from  those  cities  (in  that  it  never  has 
been  more  nor  less  than  French  in  its  chief  charac- 
teristics) but  the  difference  is  one  of  race-origin 
rather  than  one  of  moral  oppositeness. 

New  Orleans  is  not  a  city  of  cellars.  She  is 
above  ground  physically  and  morally.  You  may 
look  through  her  windows  and  doors  upon  her 
trade,  her  dissipations,  her  virtues,  her  crimes,  her 


1 82        UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

charities,  her  religion.  What  she  is  and  what  she 
does  are  wholly  exposed  to  the  public  gaze.  In 
this  outright  quality  she  is  not  American,  nor  is  she 
politic  in  her  self-exposure,  but  we  must  remember 
that  it  is  physically  impossible  for  her  to  have 
underground  dives  and  subterraneous  hells.  The 
water  just  below  her  shallow  foundations  forces  all 
her  vices  up  to  the  plane  of  her  virtues.  Thus  it 
is  easy  for  the  superficial  observer,  in  comparing 
New  Orleans  with  other  American  cities,  to  rush 
hastily  into  print  with  a  decision  overwhelmingly 
condemnatory  of  the  Southern  metropolis.  In 
glancing  over  the  surface  he  has  seen  all  of  New 
Orleans,  while  such  a  view  of  a  Northern  city 
scarcely  reaches  the  fringe  of  its  great  undergar- 
ment of  sin  and  crime. 

The  growth  of  sugar-planting  and  sugar-manu- 
facture was  very  rapid  and  along  with  it  the  culture 
of  cotton,  rice,  Indian  corn  and  tobacco  increased 
with  amazing  rapidity.  Slaves  were  imported  in 
great  numbers  and  Louisiana  rapidly  developed 
into  a  rich,  self-sustaining  province.  Congress  was 
slow  to  act  in  her  behalf  and,  as  we  shall  presently 
see,  she  was  treated  much  as  if  she  had  been  an 
outlying  and  not  very  desirable  dependency, 
scarcely  worth  the  attention  of  statesmen. 

The  rapid  influx  of  American  people,  however, 
and  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  colonies  in  the  ter- 


UNDER   THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.       1 83 

ritory  between  Pearl  River  and  the  Mississippi,  at 
last  assumed  such  form  that  action  became  ab- 
solutely necessary. 

In  taking  leave  of  the  period  during  which  Louis- 
iana was  under  foreign  rule,  we  glance  back  over 
ninety-one  years  of  strange  vicissitudes.  Six  times 
had  the  province  changed  hands.  From  the  French 
king  to  Crozat  in  171 2,  from  Crozat  to  the  West- 
ern Company  in  171 7,  from  this  company  to  Louis 
xv.  in  1 731,  from  Louis  xv.  to  Spain  in  1762,  from 
Spain  to  France  in  1801,  and  from  France  to  the 
United  States  in  1803. 

Up  to  December  7,  18 10,  the  Spaniards  clung 
to  the  little  territory  between  the  Mississippi 
and  Pearl  River  and  then  relinquished  it  only  be- 
cause it  became  too  hot  for  their  hands.  The  re- 
publican spirit  was  spreading  over  all  the  area 
south  of  the  great  Northern  lakes  and  with  it  went 
the  courage  to  take  what  it  wanted  and  the  will 
and  the  power  to  hold  what  it  took.  It  was  not  a 
good  time  for  a  few  arrogant  Spaniards  to  set  up 
an  opposition  to  a  whole  colony  of  fearless  Ameri- 
can frontiersmen,  bent  upon  asserting  their  liberty. 
Andrew  Jackson  was  already  in  training  a  little  way 
north  of  the  Florida  line  and  the  time  could  be 
foreseen  when  not  only  the  little  "  patch  of  swamp  " 
but  both  Texas  and  Florida  would  fall  into  the 
arms  of  the  growing  and  vigorous  young  republic. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE   TERRITORY    OF   ORLEANS. 


HILE  the  Spanish 
Qj  were  yet  holding  on 
to  the  territory  of 
Baton  Rouge  which 
lay  between  the  Pearl 
River  and  the  Mississippi,  the 
American  population  therein 
were  restless  and  dissatisfied. 
No  opportunity  was  lost  by  them  to  show  their 
preference  for  the  Federal  Government,  and  a  num- 
ber of  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  organize 
insurrection.  Governor  Grandpre  caused  some  of 
the  leaders  to  be  promptly  arrested.  Notable  among 
these  were  the  three  Kemper  brothers  who  were 
kidnaped  in  American  territory  and  put  on  board 
a  boat  with  a  view  to  their  transportation;  but 
they  were  rescued  by  Lieutenant  Wilson  of  the 
Federal  Army  at  Point  Coupee. 

Casa  Calvo  also  continued  to  press  the  claims  of 
Spain  to  territory  cast  of  the  Sabine  River  and  petty 
depredations  were  committed  on  the  western  border. 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  1 85 

u  * 

Governor  Claiborne  and  General  Wilkinson  used 
every  argument  in  their  power  to  convince  the 
United  States  Government  that  there  was  need  of 
prompt  action  with  the  Spaniards,  but  nothing 
effectual  was  done  until  a  body  of  troops  came  into 
Louisiana  from  Texas  and  took  possession  of  Adaes 
about  fourteen  miles  from  Natchitoches.  At  the 
same  time  Don  Antonio  Codero,  governor  of  Texas, 
at  the  head  of  six  hundred  men  was  encamped  on 
the  Trinity  River,  awaiting  reinforcements.  To 
meet  this  invasion  Major  Porter  of  the  United 
States  Army  was  ordered  to  move  forthwith,  should 
the  Spaniards  refuse  to  give  proper  guaranty  of 
good  faith. 

Don  Rodriguez,  the  commander  at  Nacogdoches, 
in  answer  to  a  communication  from  Major  Porter 
said  that  no  invasion  was  intended  and  that  the 
rights  of  American  citizens  would  be  respected,  but 
that  he  could  not  agree  to  take  his  patrols  out  of 
the  territory  east  of  the  Sabine.  Moreover  he  took 
immediate  steps  to  demand  of  the  people  strict 
allegiance  to  the  Spanish  king. 

Major  Porter  hesitated  no  longer,  but  moved  at 
once  upon  the  post  at  Adaes  by  ordering  Captain 
Turner  to  oust  the  Spanish  garrison  and  remove 
it  west  of  the  Sabine.  This  was  done  without  blood- 
shed. Porter  was  then  reinforced  by  three  com- 
panies and  a  field  battery  of  four  guns  from  Fort 


1 86  THE    TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

Adams.  This  was  early  in  1806.  In  June  follow- 
ing General  Herrera  with  an  army  of  twelve  hun- 
dred Spanish  troops,  crossed  the  Sabine  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  region  of  Bayou  Pierre  twenty 
miles  from  Natchitoches.  Here  he  remained  until 
the  twentieth  of  September.  By  that  time  General 
Wilkinson  had  organized  an  army  and  was  ap- 
proaching with  great  rapidity.  Herrera  declared 
his.  determination  to  fight,  but  took  care  to  recross 
the  river  before  the  Americans  arrived. 

Here  again  the  financial  itch  attacked  Wilkin- 
son and  by  a  shrewd  bit  of  bold  diplomacy  he  tried 
to  wring  a  round  sum  of  money  from  Governor 
Codero,  while  at  the  same  time  he  ably  served  his 
country  in  arranging  for  a  settlement  of  the  bound- 
ary line. 

Aaron  Burr  was  just  then  exciting  the  West 
with  his  celebrated  scheme  for  the  invasion  of  Texas 
and  Mexico.  The  name  of  this  arch-conspirator 
was  at  that  time  a  potent  one  wherewith  to  con- 
jure America's  timorous  neighbor,  and  Wilkinson 
shrewdly  used  it  to  frighten  the  Spaniards  into  an 
acceptance  of  his  financial  alternative.*  Whether 
he  succeeded  or  failed  in  his  effort  to  extort  money 
he   certainly   forced    the    Spanish   commander   to 

*  It  is  claimed  that  Wilkinson  offered,  for  $300,000,  to  "  frustrate  the  designs  of  the  con- 
spirators and  save  the  provinces  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  from  invasion,  employing  for  that 
purpose  the  forces  and  other  resources  naval  and  military  of  the  United  States.0  The  real 
truth  will  doubtless  never  be  known,  but  certainly  the  career  of  this  American  "  free-lance," 
known  as  General  Wilkinson,  is  one  of  the  romances  of  American  history.  —  Ed. 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  1 87 

evacuate  all  the  posts  east  of   the  Sabine  and  to 
withdraw  his  army  from  the  territory  of  Louisiana. 

The  movements  of  Burr  and  his  coadjutors  were 
becoming  bold  in  the  extreme,  and  appeared  to 
threaten  New  Orleans.  Wilkinson  therefore  hur- 
ried back  to  that  city,  which  he  reached  on  the 
twenty-fourth  of  November,  and  began  strengthen- 
ing its  defences  and  making  everything  ready  in  a 
quiet  way  for  any  emergency  that  might  arise. 

On  the  tenth  of  December  the  army  arrived  in 
the  city  from  Natchitoches  and  martial  law  was 
immediately  proclaimed.  Fort  Adams  was  over- 
hauled and  made  ready  for  defending  the  river 
against  any  force  that  the  insurgents  could  send 
against  it  and  every  person  in  New  Orleans  or  its 
vicinity  suspected  of  being  in  close  sympathy  with 
Burr  was  arrested  and  held  in  confinement. 

Burr  had  sent  into  New  Orleans  and  its  envi- 
rons many  emissaries  who  were  secretly  agitating 
his  scheme.  Some  of  these  were  men  of  great 
courage  and  influence  who  lived  along  the  Missis- 
sippi country  about  Walnut  Hills.  Their  high  social 
standing,  their  acquaintance  with  the  people  and 
their  knowledge  of  the  country  gave  them  free  ac- 
cess to  the  homes  of  those  they  wished  to  bring 
over  to  Burr's  support.  Samuel  Swartw.out,  Peter 
V.  Ogden  and  Dr.  Erick  Boll  man  were  the  most 
prominent  among  these  disturbing  influences  and 


1 88  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

they  were,  accordingly,  speedily  arrested  and  sent  to 
Virginia  to  be  tried  for  treason  as  the  agents  of  the 
arch-conspi  rator. 

Governor  Claiborne  issued  a  proclamation  de- 
nouncing Burr's  project  and  warning  the  people  of 
the  penalty  affixed  to  treason  by  the*  laws  of  the 
United  States.  Before  Dr.  Bollman  was  sent  north 
to  Richmond  and  while  he  was  in  the  custody  of 
General  Wilkinson,  an  effort  was  made  to  have  him 
released  by  a  civil  court  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 
This  proved  successful,  the  judge  deciding,  properly 
perhaps,  that  the  prisoner  not  having  been  regularly 
charged  and  indicted  was  illegally  held.  Arrests 
continued,  however,  and  martial  law  prevailed. 
Those  who  were  made  prisoners  were  at  once 
hurried  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of 
Louisiana. 

Governor  Claiborne  had  organized  the  militia  of 
New  Orleans  into  a  battalion  and  this  he  kept  in 
constant  readiness  for  action.  Gunboats  lay  in  the 
river  before  the  city  and  General  Wilkinson's  troops 
were  disposed  to  the  best  advantage,  giving  the 
appearance  of  a  siege  rather  than  a  defence  of  the 
place.  A  force  of  patrols  scoured  the  city  and 
country  day  and  night. 

The  virus  of  Burr's  treason  had  gone  into  the 
blood  of  a  strong  minority  who  spared  no  pains  to 
ring  the  changes  on  the  phrases :  "  Freedom  of  the 


\ 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  189 

people,"  "  Military  usurpation  "  and  "  Denial  of  ha- 
beas corpus " ;  but  Claiborne  and  Wilkinson  were 
firm  and  able  men  supported  by  the  Government 
of  the  United  States.  They  well  knew  that  to 
shrink  or  waver  was  to  open  the  flood-gates  to  a 
wild  mob  of  invaders.  Moreover  the  main  body 
of  the  people,  and  especially  the  best  people,  were 
in  full  accord  with  the  governor  and  with  General 
Wilkinson. 

After  all,  however,  Burr's  long-dreaded  expedi- 
tion ended  in  a  way  which  made  the  whole  affair 
appear  scarcely  worth  note.  This  mighty  insur- 
gent, this  self-appointed  deliverer  of  Mexico  and 
"Sovereign  of  the  Southwest "  was,  toward  the 
end  of  January,  1807,  found  drifting  down  to  the 
Bayou  Pierre  at  the  head  of  his  "  Army  of  Inva- 
sion !  "  This  much-heralded  force  was  then  dis- 
covered to  consist  of  but  a  few  little  boats  and  a 
band  of  about  a  hundred  men  !  The  fallen  states- 
man and  his  misguided  followers  were  captured 
forthwith,  and  so  ended  the  notorious  scheme  for 
erecting  a  new  government  in  the  far  Southwest. 

This  season  of  turmoil  and  confusion  gave  rise 
to  a  great  deal  of  local  trouble  in  Louisiana,  and 
especially  in  New  Orleans;  personal  encounters, 
family  feuds  and  all  the  results  attendant  upon 
fierce  political  struggles  in  a  population  peculiarly 
excitable,  were  of  common  occurrence.     Immigra- 


190  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

tion  was  greatly  retarded,  because  every  stranger 
was  viewed  with  suspicion  and  arrested,  upon  the 
slightest  legal  pretext,  as  an  emissary  sent  by  Burr 
or  some  of  his  coadjutors.  The  arrest  of  Burr  him- 
self, however,  was  the  signal  for  a  strong  reaction 
which  put  an  end  to  all  the*  treasonable  scheming 
in  the  West. 

About  this  time  it  began  to  appear  almost  cer- 
tain that  there  would  soon  be  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Late  in  the 
summer  of  1808  General  Wilkinson  was  put  in 
command  of  a  strong  force  (amounting  to  nearly 
two  thousand  men  from  the  regular  army)  which 
had  been  sent  to  Terre  aux  Bceufs,  a  marshy  and 
malarious  district  on  the  Gulf  Coast  of  Louis- 
iana. It  is  difficult  to  imagine  any  good  reason  for 
selecting  such  a  position  for  a  camp  at  any  time, 
but  particularly  in  the  summer.  Disaster  was  sure 
to  follow.  A  pestilence  of  a  scorbutic  nature  soon 
developed  which  destroyed  more  than  a  third  of  the 
army.  The  suffering  remnant  was  taken  into  a 
fleet  of  small  boats  and  after  a  burning  voyage  pf 
forty-seven  days  during  which  the  plague  of  disease 
was  accompanied  by  a  plague  of  insects,  it  reached 
Fort  Adams.  This  dreadful  disaster  led  to  the 
suspension  of  General  Wilkinson,  who  was  su- 
perceded by  General  Wade  Hampton  on  the 
nineteenth   of    December,    1809.     Wilkinson    was 


"      THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  1 9* 

reinstated,  however,  and  returned  to  his  command 
a  little  later,  the  charges  against  him  having  been 
refuted. 

While  these  things  were  passing,  the  citizens  of 
the  Baton  Rouge  territory  were  forming  plans  for 
freeing  themselves  from  the  oppression  of  the  over- 
bearing Spanish  officers  who  pretended  to  govern 
them.  They  had  petitioned  the  United  States,  ask- 
ing the  privilege  of  coming  under  the  protection  of 
the  American  Union,  but  had  failed  to  receive  any 
positive  assurances.  Nevertheless  their  determina- 
tion was  not  shaken. 

They  awaited  an  opportunity  which  at  last  came. 
In  the  summer  of  1810  the  Spanish  garrison  at 
Baton  Rouge  was  weakened  until  there  remained 
in  the  fort  but  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
Ascertaining  this,  two  daring  and  courageous  men, 
Captain  George  Depassau  and  Captain  Thomas, 
called  together  one  hundred  and  twenty  riflemen 
and  boldly  dashed  into  the  town.  A  slight  skir- 
mish followed  in  which  Governor  Grandpre  was 
shot,  and  the  garrison,  seeing  no  chance  for  suc- 
cessful resistance,  soon  capitulated.  In  a  little 
while  the  news  of  the  victory  spread  over  the  terri- 
tory. The  people  were  called  together  at  Baton 
Rouge  and  a  provisional  government  established. 
An  act  declaring  the  independence  o(  the  territory 
was  passed  by  a  convention  on  the  twenty-ninth 


192  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

day  of  September,  1810.  In  this  act  the  terri- 
tory was  called  "  The  Territory  of  West  Florida  " 
and  was  set  up  as  a  "  free  and  independent  State." 
It  was  signed  by  John  Rhea,  president,  and  Andrew 
Steele,  secretary.  Congress  directed  the  President 
of  the  United  States  to  take  possession  of  the  prov- 
ince forthwith,  which  he  did  by  ordering  Governor 
Claiborne  to  assume  control  of  it  as  a  part  of  his 
territory. 

On  the  seventh  of  December  Claiborne  raised  the 
flag  of  the  Union  at  Francisville.  A  little  later  he 
issued  a  proclamation  annexing  the  district  to  the 
Territory  of  Orleans  and  dividing  it  into  six 
parishes :  East  Baton  Rouge,  Feliciana,  St.  Helena, 
St.  Tammany,  Pascagoula  and  Biloxi.  The  Span- 
iards, however,  continued  to  hold  possession  of 
Mobile,  Fort  Charlotte  and  the  district  immediately 
surrounding  them. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  year  181 1  came  an- 
other insurrection  of  the  negro  slaves  in  the  parish 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  thirty-six  miles  above  New 
Orleans.  It  was  as  barbaric  as  it  was  picturesque 
and  horrible.  About  five  hundred  of  these  half- 
savage  people  formed  themselves  into  a  column 
and,  with  flags  flying,  marched  to  the  time  of  wild 
music  made  by  blowing  into  reed  "  quills  "  and  by 
beating  upon  iron  kettles  and  other  sonorous  imple- 
ments.   They  moved  directly  toward  New  Orleans, 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  195 

destroying  the  plantations  in  their  way  and  forcing 
the  slaves  to  join  them.  The  ringleaders  of  the 
mob  were  acting  under  a  frenzy  of  excitement 
which  they  succeeded  in  communicating  to  their 
followers.  With  wild  yells,  barbaric  songs  and  the 
din  of  rude  musical  instruments  they  struck  terror 
to  the  hearts  of  the  white  settlers,  scattered  but 
thinly  along  the  route  of  rebellion. 

As  soon  as  information  reached  Baton  Rouge 
and  Fort  St.  Charles  the  garrisons  marched  in  all 
haste  to  the  scene  and  fell  upon  the  dusky  insur- 
gents without  mercy.  Many  of  the  negroes  were 
killed  outright,  some  were  hanged  as  soon  as  cap- 
tured and  sixteen  of  the  most  prominent  agitators 
were  taken  down  to  New  Orleans.  There  they 
were  tried,  condemned  and  executed.  Their  heads 
were  afterwards  placed  upon  poles  and  set  up  at 
conspicuous  points  along  the  river  as  a  terrible 
warning  to  the  survivors  and  their  friends.  It 
must  have  been  a  ghastly  sight.  As  late  as  Decem- 
ber, 1885,  the  old  negroes  of  Mississippi  and  Lou- 
isiana described  to  their  grandchildren  in  solemn 
whispers  the  terrible  retribution  of  the  whites  just 
as  their  sires  had  depicted  it  to  them. 

On  the  eleventh  of  February,  181 1,  the  American 
Congress  authorized  the  calling  of  a  convention  in 
the  Territory  of  Orleans  for  the  purpose  of  framing 
a  constitution  preliminary  to  its  admission  into  the 


196  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

Union  as  a  sovereign  State.  Louisiana  became  a 
State  on  the  eighth  of  April,  181 2.  Her  constitu- 
tion was  far  less  republican  than  were  those  of  the 
other  Commonwealths.  No  clergyman  or  priest 
was  permitted  to  be  a  legislator  or  a  governor,  and 
the  institution  of  slavery  was  guarded  and  pro- 
tected by  the  strongest  and  most  unequivocal  terms. 

So  far  the  parishes  of  the  district  between  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Pearl  River  had  been  left  out 
of  the  State,  but  on  the  fourteenth  of  April,  181 2, 
an  act  of  Congress  was  approved  enlarging  the 
State  of  Louisiana  so  as  to  include  those  parishes. 
This  act  gave  to  Louisiana  the  limits  which  form 
its  present  boundary.  These  are:  on  the  south, 
following  the  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  the 
mouth  of  Pearl  River  westward  to  the  mouth  of 
Sabine  River,  thence  northward  in  the  middle 
of  the  stream  to  the  thirty-second  parallel,  thence 
due  north  to  the  thirty-third  parallel,  which  forms 
the  northern  line,  and  east  to  the  Mississippi  River. 
From  parallel  thirty-three  the  boundary  follows  the 
meanderings  of  the  Mississippi  southward  to  par- 
allel thirty-one,  which  forms  the  line  eastward  to 
Pearl  River  whose  current  in  turn  bounds  the  east 
to  the  Gulf.  All  the  islands  along  the  Gulf  coast 
are  included. 

New  Orleans  was  rapidly  becoming  a  city  of 
importance ;   vessels  from  almost   every  maritime 


\ 


THE  TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  1 97 

country  lay  at  her  gates,  taking  or  discharging  car- 
goes, and  it  was  thought  by  some  who  were  counted 
as  the  most  far-seeing  men  of  the  time  that  she  was 
destined  soon  to  be  the  metropolis  of  America. 
Her  population,  however,  continued  to  receive  ele- 
ments of  a  most  undesirable  kind.  The  buccaneer 
spirit  still  hovered  over  the  Gulf.  Pirates  and 
smugglers  lurked  among  the  lakes,  inlets,  bayous 
and  islands  south  of  New  Orleans,  and  preyed  upon 
commerce  in  every  unlawful  way.  The  notorious 
Captain  Lafitte  had  drawn  together  a  considera- 
ble body  of  these  desperadoes  and  had  established 
them  on  a  wild,  almost  inaccessible  island  in  Lake 
Barrataria,  whence  they  issued  at  pleasure  to 
carry  on  their  piratical  and  smuggling  depreda- 
tions. Lafitte  had  many  friends  in  New  Orleans 
and  it  appears  that  he  was  not  without  accom- 
plices among  the  most  influential  business  men 
of  the  city. 

In  those  days,  and  especially  in  Louisiana, 
it  was  thought  scarcely  immoral  to  avoid  the 
revenue  laws  or  to  do  violence  to  Spanish  com- 
merce and  shipping.  Lafitte  was  quite  successful 
in  his  illicit  business  and  his  name  became  as  fa- 
mous as  that  of  Captain  Kidd.  Many  wonderful 
stories  of  which  he  was  the  hero  were  told  and  his 
piratical  forays  were  dreaded  by  every  merchant- 
man who  sailed  the  sunny  Gulf. 


198  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

Jean  Lafitte  was  a  blacksmith  who  came  to  New 
Orleans  from  Bordeaux,  in  France,  and  set  up  his 
forge  at  the  corner  of  Bourbon  and  St.  Philip 
streets.  It  is  not  known  how  he  came  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  the  Barratarian  outlaws  in  the 
first  place,  but  the  probability  is  that  he  began  by 
acting  as  a  middle  man  between  them  and  the 
traders  of  New  Orleans.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  fine  address  and  soon  worked  his  way 
up  until  he  had  become  the  supreme  commander 
of  the  whole  outlaw  fleet  —  a  sort  of  buccaneer 
commodore  or  admiral  whose  word  was  law  with 
the  lawless. 

His  adventures  would  fill  a  volume;  but  his 
chief  contribution  to  the  story  of  Louisiana  was 
the  service  he  rendered  the  people  of  New  Orleans 
by  informing  Governor  Claiborne  of  the  approach 
of  the  British  and  of  their  plan  of  attack.  The 
British,  indeed,  sent  a  man-of-war  to  Barrataria  and 
offered  Lafitte  a  large  sum  of  money  to  induce  him 
to  aid  them  in  taking  the  city.  The  pirate  chief 
rid  himself  of  his  tempters  by  at  once  accepting  the 
proposition  of  the  invaders,  but  he  as  promptly 
betrayed  them  by  conveying  to  Governor  Claiborne 
a  full  account  of  their  proposed  expedition.  This 
was  the  first  valuable  information  received  from 
any  quarter  touching  the  movements  of  the  British 
in  the  Gulf,  and  but  for  the  timely  warning  it  gave 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  1 99 

to  Louisiana  and  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  New  Orleans  must  have  fallen. 

The  population  of  Louisiana  increased  very 
rapidly  from  18 10  to  the  close  of  the  year  181 3. 
At  that  date  it  had  reached  nearly  ninety  thousand. 
A  majority  of  the  permanent  white  residents  were 
French,  though  north  of  the  Red  River  and  east 
of  the  Wichita  the  settlements  were  formed  largely 
of  Americans  from  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee  valleys 
and  from  the  Missouri  and  Illinois  regions. 

The  war  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  did  not  seriously  threaten  or  affect  Louis- 
iana until  near  the  close  of  the  struggle.  Nor  had 
any  preparations  been  made  against  attack.  The 
river  and  the  lakes  with  all  their  network  of  creeks 
and  bayous  were  scarcely  fortified  enough  to  turn 
back  barges  of  musketeers.  New  Orleans  sat 
there  behind  her  levee  without  any  efficient  fort 
between  her  and  the  sea.  General  Wilkinson, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  sent  back  to  his 
command,  urged  the  war  department  to  furnish 
him  the  means  with  which  to  erect  fortifications 
on  the  river  at  English  Turn,  Fort  St.  Philip  and 
the  Balize.  Nothing  to  this  end  was  done,  and 
if  ever  utter  disregard  for  the  safety  of  a  State 
can  be  justified  by  a  providential  turn  of  events, 
this  great  blunder  was  certainly  most  amply  justi- 
fied ;    for   Andrew   Jdckson    and    his   little   army 


200  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

proved  to  be  all  the  fortification  necessary  to 
defend  New  Orleans  and  the  Mississippi  Valley 
against  the  very  flower  of  the  British  veterans 
fresh  from  the  victorious  campaigns  of  Wellington. 

General  Wilkinson  was  again  removed  from 
command,  General  Flournoy  superseding  him  in 
June,  1813.  Much  dissatisfaction  was  the  result 
and  General  Flournoy  was  severely  criticized  for 
inaction  and  inefficiency;  but  it  is  difficult  to  dis- 
cover how  he  could  have  bettered  his  opportuni- 
ties seeing  that  nothing  was  furnished  him  with 
which  to  act.  Louisiana  was  infested  with  men 
who  but  lately  had  been  concocting  traitorous 
schemes  of  insurrection  and  who  were  ever  ready 
to  denounce  any  person  invested  with  Federal 
authority  who  would  not  fall  in  with  their  plans 
for  making  large  sums  of  money  by  illicit  means. 

General  Wilkinson  had  been  an  able  officer,  but 
his  evident  love  of  financial  intrigue  made  him, 
where  British  gold  might  reach  him,  a  very  unsafe 
person  to  trust.  So  at  least  it  would  appear, 
viewed  from  this  distance,  and  with  all  the  facts 
before  us.  General  Flournoy  was  not  the  man 
for  a  time  and  a  place  demanding  independent 
action  and  great  executive  ability.  He  waited  for 
orders,  and  did  nothing,  because  he  was  not  ordered 
to  do  anything  in  particular.  The  massacre  at 
Fort    Mims    was   an    intensely    horrible   one,   but 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  201 

General  Flournoy  had  been  misled  by  the  repre- 
sentations of  men  whom  he  trusted  and  he  was, 
moreover,  in  constant  fear  of  transcending  his 
authority. 

Fort  Mims  was  a  stockade  in  Mississippi  Terri- 
tory and  was  occupied  by  about  two  hundred  and 
seventy  persons,  many  of  whom  were  women  and 
children.  On  the  thirtieth  of  August,  1813,  the 
Creek  Indians  attacked  the  place  and  after  a  long 
and  desperate  fight  killed  all  but  seventeen  of  its 
inmates.  This  horrible  disaster  served  to  stir  up 
the  sluggish  authorities  at  Washington. 

Governor  Claiborne  had  done  everything  in  his 
power  to  avert  the  disaster,  but  his  forces  were 
weak  and  scattered,  while  the  Indians  were  able  to 
concentrate  at  any  point  without  difficulty.  Con- 
sternation spread  down  to  the  Gulf  coast  and  for  a 
time  it  looked  as  if  the  savages  would  have  noth- 
ing to  bar  their  way.  Claiborne,  however,  was 
always  efficient  and  as  true  as  steel.  He  pushed 
forward  the  organization  of  an  army  to  co-operate 
with  troops  from  Georgia  and  a  little  later  General 
Andrew  Jackson  marched  from  Huntsville  with 
the  force  of  Tennesseeans  under  his  command, 
fought  the  battle  of  Talladega  and  totally  routed 
the  army  of  the  Creeks,  killing  three  hundred 
warriors. 

A   British  fleet  had,  for  weeks,  been  hovering 


202  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

along  the  Gulf  coast.  Landing  at  Spanish  ports, 
it  had  furnished  the  hostile  savages  with  arms  and 
ammunition.  But  in  the  battle  of  Tohopeka, 
fought  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  March,  1814, 
General  Jackson  again  defeated  the  Indians  and, 
as  he  said  in  his  report,  forever  broke  their  power. 

At  the  close  of  the  Creek  war  General  Jackson 
was  sent  to  supersede  General  Flournoy  in  com- 
mand of  the  seventh  military  district.  This  in- 
cluded Louisiana.  His  first  step  was  to  send  a 
garrison  to  occupy  Fort  Bowyer  on  Mobile  Point 
which  commanded  the  entrance  to  the  Bay  of 
Mobile.  He  strengthened  the  works  and  erected 
batteries  consisting  of  twenty  guns.  The  fort  was 
attacked  on  September  the  fifteenth  by  a  com- 
bined land  and  naval  force.  The  British  fleet 
was  commanded  by  Sir  W.  H.  Percy ;  the  land 
forces,  most  of  them  Indians,  were  led  by  Colonel 
Nichols  and  Captain  Woodbine.  The  attack  was 
repulsed  ;  the  British  fleet  suffered  the  loss  of  a  war 
vessel  and  the  Indians  left  on  the  field  over  a 
hundred  warriors  dead. 

It  was  now  ascertained  beyond  a  certainty  that 
New  Orleans  would  be  attacked  as  soon  as  the 
British  could  concentrate  a  sufficient  force  for  the 
purpose.  General  Jackson,  after  taking  Pensacola 
early  in  September,  forced  the  enemy  to  blow  up 
Fort    Barancas   and  hastened  to  New  Orleans  to 


~  _  ■-. « 


THE   TERRITORY  OE   ORLEANS.  203 

put  the  defences  of  the  Mississippi  in  condition 
for  resisting  the  powerful  British  fleet  which  was 
already  in  the  Gulf.  He  found  the  militia  dis- 
banded and  scattered,  the  forts  worthless  and  a 
large  part  of  the  people  utterly  indifferent  to  the 
danger  that  threatened  New  Orleans.  Governor 
Claiborne  called  a  session  of  the  legislature  and 
did  everything  in  his  power  to  assist  in  raising  the 
means  of  defence ;  but  the  same  malcontents  and 
trouble-mongers  whose  counsels  and  schemings 
had  done  so  much  harm  to  Louisiana,  were  again 
at  work.  The  Legislature  fell  to  wrangling  and 
was  slow  to  act  in  co-operation  with  General 
Jackson  in  this  pressing  crisis.  The  man  of  iron 
was  not  to  be  put  aside,  however,  so  long  as  there 
was  any  emergency  to  meet.  He  took  everything 
into  his  own  hands,  his  grim  enthusiasm  and  tire- 
less energy  attracting  to  him  all  the  patriotic  spirits 
of  the  State. 

The  defence  of  New  Orleans  presented  diffi- 
culties that  seemed  almost  insurmountable  with 
the  scant  means  at  Jackson's  disposal.  The  lakes 
and  bayous,  the  many  mouths  of  the  river  and  the 
almost  innumerable  creeks  and  passes  demanded 
instant  attention.  But,  with  a  rapidity  and  direct- 
ness which  seem  next  to  incredible,  the  unflagging 
Tennesseean  personally  superintended  the  placing 
of  obstructions  across  many  of  the  smaller  chan: 


204  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

nels,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was  re-organizing 
and  strengthening  the  State  militia,  ordering  the 
movement  of  troops  from  points  on  the  river  above 
New  Orleans,  and  sending  a  fleet  of  gunboats  into 
the  lakes  and  bays  to  the  eastward. 

The  British  fleet  of  sixty  war  vessels  and  many 
transports  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
about  December  ninth.  Three  days  later  it  came 
to  anchor  in  Mississippi  Sound  near  Cat  Island, 
whence  the  commander  sent  out  boats  to  survey 
the  waters  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Ponchartrain. 

Lieutenant  Jones  was  at  once  ordered  to  move 
the  American  flotilla  of  five  gun-boats  into  the  Bay 
of  St.  Louis  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the 
enemy's  movements.  It  was  evident  that  the  Brit- 
ish were  preparing  to  enter  Lake  Borgne  and  pass 
thence  into  Ponchartrain.  The  American  flotilla 
was  far  too  weak  to  be  opposed  to  the  force 
brought  by  the  British;  it  should  never,  indeed, 
have  been  exposed  to  attack.  Lieutenant  Jones, 
however,  obeying  the  orders  of  Commodore  Patter- 
son, remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fleet  until  his 
flotilla  was  surrounded  by  the  enemy's  barges  and 
captured.  This  gave  the  British  as  they  thought 
an  open  way  through  Chef  Menteur  Pass,  but  Gen- 
eral Jackson  had  neglected  nothing.  A  battery  had 
already  been  erected  on  a  point  commanding  the 
pass,  while  a  battalion  of  colored    troops   and   a 


\ 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  205 

company  of  dragoons  were  stationed  on  the  Gen- 
tilly  road  within  supporting  distance.  The  fort 
on  the  Rigolets  was  also  well  manned,  and  Captain 
Newman  who  was  in  command  had  orders  to  hold 
it  at  all  hazards. 

A  situation  more  bewildering  than  that  in  which 
General  Jackson  now  found  himself  would  be  hard 
to  imagine.  General  Coffee  had  been  ordered  to 
New  Orleans  with  the  forces  at  Baton  Rouge  and 
demands  for  troops  had  been  sent  to  Mississippi, 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  ;  but  high  waters,  floods 
of  rain  and  a  lack  of  adequate  means  of  trans- 
portation had  prevented  their  arrival.  Happily 
the  enemy  moved  slowly,  blindly  feeling  the  way 
through  Louisiana  swamps  and  marshes,  bayous 
and  passes  toward  the  city  of  New  Orleans  which 
they  had  foredoomed  to  rapine,  pillage  and  fire. 

Bayou  Bienvenu  was  a  narrow  and  obscure  chan- 
nel leading  westward  from  Lake  Borgne  nearly  to 
the  Mississippi  River.  General  Villere,  whose 
plantation  was  on  the  head  waters  of  this  bayou, 
had  been  sent  with  a  few  men  to  plant  obstructions 
in  its  bed  and  to  do  picket  duty.  The  British 
came  upon  the  detachment  before  the  work  had 
been  done  and  taking  the  men  unaware  overpow- 
ered and  captured  them.  This  was  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  December,  18 14,  just  at  nightfall. 
Early   on  the  following  morning   General    Keane 


5o6  THE    TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

had  landed  an  army  of  three  thousand  men.  Dur- 
ing the  day  a  part  of  this  force  was  dispatched  to 
the  left  bank  of  the  river. 

News  of  the  enemy's  movements  quickly  reached 
General  Jackson  and  he  promptly  began  prepara- 
tions for  marching  to  the  attack,  knowing  that 
delay  would  be  disastrous.  His  plan  was  to  sur- 
prise Keane  by  a  night  assault. 

General  Coffee,  who  had  reached  New  Orleans 
by  a  forced  march,  was  placed  on  the  extreme  left, 
Colonel  Ross  with  Plauche  and  Dacquin's  com- 
panies occupied  the  centre.  On  the  right  were 
placed  the  United  States  troops  consisting  of  the 
seventh  and  the  forty-fourth  regiments,  while  the 
marines  and  artillery  under  Colonel  McRae  fol- 
lowed the  road  toward  Villere's  plantation.  Two 
vessels,  the  Caroline  and  the  Louisiana,  were  ordered 
to  drop  down  the  river,  keeping  on  the  line. 

The  British  forces  full  three  thousand  strong 
had  chosen  a  good  position  with  their  right  cov- 
ered by  a  swampy  jungle  and  their  left  resting  on 
the  river  bank.  They  were  not  expecting  attack 
and  had  taken  no  adequate  precautions  against  a 
surprise. 

General  Jackson's  land  force  amounted  to  about 
two  thousand  men,  a  great  many  of  whom  were 
quite  inexperienced  as  soldiers.  To  Coffee's  com- 
mand was  given  the  task  of  turning  the  enemy's 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  207 

right  and  assailing  his  rear.  General  Jackson  led 
the  forces  in  front,  while  the  Caroline  commanded 
by  Captain  Henley  was  to  rake  the  British  line 
from  the  river. 

General  Coffee's  men  dismounted  and  had  reached 
a  position  near  the  enemy's  right  when  the  schooner 
let  go  a  bellowing  broadside.  This  was  just  after 
nightfall  while  the  over-confident  British  were  clus- 
tered about  their  camp-fires  cooking  and  eating 
their  evening  meal.  The  river  was  level  with  its 
banks  and  the  grape  and  canister  from  the  Caro- 
line's guns  swept  the  ground  surface  like  a  storm. 
Instantly  Coffee's  men  charged  to  close  quarters 
and  poured  in  a  destructive  fire.  Jackson  rushed 
forward  with  equal  ardor,  his  troops  firing  volley 
after  volley  before  the  astounded  British  could 
rally  from  the  confusion  into  which  they  had 
fallen.  Between  three  hundred  and  four  hundred 
were  killed  in  the  camp  by  the  deadly,  concen- 
trated fire  which  raked  it  from  three  directions. 
The  British  soon  regained  their  dogged  coolness, 
however,  and  formed  their  line  in  the  darkness, 
first  having  put  out  their  fires.  Reinforcements 
were  already  on  the  way  and  they  slowly  fell  back 
toward  the  lake ;  but  the  Americans  pressed  hard 
upon  them  keeping  up  the  fight  vigorously  for  an 
hour,  driving  them  nearly  a  mile  from  their  qafrip. 

General  Jackson  then  withdrew  and  next  morn- 


208  THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS. 

ing  took  position  about  two  miles  farther  up  the 
river  along  the  line  of  a  considerable  sluice-ditch; 
his  left  rested  on  a  swamp  and  his  right  touched 
the  broad  river. 

The  fight  had  been  a  deadly  one,  considering  its 
short  duration  and  the  number  of  troops  engaged. 
The  American  loss  was  twenty-four  killed  and  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  wounded,  besides  seventy- 
four  prisoners.  The  British  loss  was  about  four 
hundred.  Colonel  Lauderdale  of  Tennessee,  a 
brave  and  chivalrous  man,  was  one  of  the  Ameri- 
can officers  killed,  and  among  the  prisoners  were 
some  of  the  leading  citizens  of  New  Orleans.  The 
blood  of  the  people  was  now  on  fire  and  every 
thought  was  of  fight.  General  Jackson,  notwith- 
standing some  powerful  enemies,  had  won  popular 
confidence  by  his  determined  and  successful  de- 
fence and  the  best  men  of  Louisiana  were  hasten- 
ing to  join  him.  Reinforcements  from  up  the 
river  were  slow  in  coming,  but  they  came  as  fast 
as  they  could.  Every  resource  was  strained  to 
prepare  for  the  onslaught  which  Jackson  felt  must 
soon  be  made  by  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy. 
To  lose  New  Orleans  would  be  an  irremediable  dis- 
aster; to  save  it,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances, 
would  be  an  achievement  of  the  most  heroic  kind. 
Andrew  Jackson  was  the  man  for  the  emergency. 
No  other  leader  could  have  commanded  just  then 


THE   TERRITORY  OF  ORLEANS.  209 

the  influence  that  would  hold  together  such  an  army 
as  was  his,  in  front  of  a  disciplined,  experienced 
and,  in  point  of  numbers,  overwhelmingly  superior 
enemy.  He  could  draw  to  him  all  classes  of  men 
and  could  inspire  them  with  that  superb  courage 
which  was  his  own  passport  to  success.  He  was 
a  fighter  at  every  point  of  his  nature ;  he  put  fight 
into  his  men ;  he  could  make  them  feel  that  there 
was  nothing  so  manly  as  desperate,  dogged  cour- 
age, nothing  so  despicable  as  cowardice. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  UATTLE  OK  NEW  ORLEANS. 


EW  ORLEANS  was 
now  a  city  of  about 
twenty  thousand  in- 
habitants. Within  its 
great  warehouses  were 
stored  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand 
bales  of  cotton,  ten 
thousand  hogsheads  of 
sugar  and  a  large 
amount  of  rice  and  molasses.  The  wharves  and 
river  were  crowded  with  idle  ships  which  since 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  had  been  unable  to 
sail  away  to  their  places  of  destination. 

The  language  of  the  city  was  French ;  the  bulk  of 
its  population  was  Creole — for  by  this  name  the 
American-born  French  citizens  called  themselves. 
The  Creoles  have  been  much  written  about  as  a  race 
strangely  conservative,  exclusive  and  peculiar.  The 
careful  student  of  American  life  will  modify  a  great 
deal  of  what  has  heretofore  been  currently  received 


THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         21 1 

as  truth  in  this  regard.  The  large  fact  is  that  any 
isolated  population  appears  peculiar  when  compared 
with  people  who  have  lived  in  the  full  glare  of  the 
world's  brightest  life.  New  Orleans  was  isolated, 
and,  even  from  its  foundation,  had  been  subjected 
to  a  multitude  of  singularly  lawless  and  conflicting 
influences.  Since  1803  it  had  been  the  objective 
point  of  almost  every  fugitive  from  justice  in  the 
United  States.  Some  of  its  most  energetic  and 
wealthiest  men  were  persons  whose  names  graced 
the  criminal  dockets  in  distant  jurisdictions.  These 
were  the  men  who  had  most  strenuously  favored 
Burrs  schemes;  they  were  now  opposed  to  Jack- 
son's military  movements.  Governor  Claiborne  had 
bitter  enemies  among  them.  In  the  legislature  they 
had  stirred  up  so  bad  a  feeling  that  it  appeared 
impossible  to  induce  that  body  to  act  in  a  prompt 
and  patriotic  manner.  But  these  were  not  Creoles. 
It  has  been  so  often  affirmed  and  reaffirmed  that 
the  Louisiana  French  were  not  loyal  to  the  United 
States  in  the  war  of  18 12,  and  so  little  has  ever  been 
said  to  contradict  it,  that  it  has  come  to  be  a  part 
of  every  so-called  historical  picture  of  Creole  life ; 
but  it  is  not  the  whole  truth.  Governor  Claiborne, 
although  a  good  and  true  man,  was  much  inclined 
to  have  his  own  way  at  all  hazards.  For  a  long 
time  he  and  Wilkinson  had  been  joint  autocrats  of 
Louisiana,  giving  little  heed  to  the  tastes  and  pref- 


212         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

erences  of  the  Creoles,  political,  social  or  religious. 
Most  of  the  lucrative  and  honorable  offices  of  the 
State  had  been  worked  into  the  hands  of  Protestant 
English-speaking  Americans.  The  disloyalty,  if  it 
existed,  was,  therefore,  local  and  directed  against 
the  State  government  rather  than  against  that  of 
the  United  States. 

Unquestionably,  however,  Jackson  had  a  power- 
ful alien  army  in  front  of  him  while  behind  him  in 
the  city  of  New  Orleans  was  a  dissatisfied,  restless 
and  divided  people  watching  him,  if  not  maliciously, 
at  least  suspiciously.  But  it  cannot  be  said  truth- 
fully that  the  Creoles  were  unpatriotic.  The  blood 
spilt  in  that  glorious  struggle  below  the  excited  city 
was  not  all  Anglo-American  blood ;  the  best  veins  of 
the  old  French  families  were  freely  opened,  whilst 
the  quadroon  smuggler  and  the  descendants  of  buc- 
caneer and  corsair  fought  to  desperation  and  fell  at 
the  front  of  every  charge  upon  the  invaders. 

General  Jackson  was  a  bluff,  gruff,  domineering 
man,  when  affairs  did  not  go  to  suit  him,  and  from 
the  moment  of  his  arrival  at  New  Orleans,  flushed 
with  the  brilliant  victory  that  he  had  gained  over 
the  British  on  the  Gulf,  he  had  treated  the  civil 
authorities  of  Louisiana  as  though  they  had  been 
mere  dust  that  his  breath  could  blow  away.  He 
was  a  fighter  who  fought  to  kill  and  who  would 
brook    no    interference  with    his    methods,  no   in- 


THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         213 

quiries  into  his  plans,  no  suggestions  as  to  the 
extent  of  his  authority.  It  chanced  that  he  was 
the  right  man  for  the  emergency ;  no  other  man 
could  have  saved  New  Orleans.* 

After  the  battle  of  December  23  the  Americans 
worked  like  moles  and  beavers  to  finish  their  line 
of  breastworks  before  the  British  could  attack 
them.  The  Rodriguez  canal,  chosen  by  Jackson 
as  the  line  of  his  defences,  was  an  old  mill-race 
flowing  between  the  river  and  the  swamp,  a  mere 
sluiceway,  full  of  aquatic  grass  and  miry  with 
black  mud.  On  the  side  of  this  ditch  nearest 
the  city  he  ordered  the  work  begun  and  the  men 
obeyed  with  such  a  will  that  the  oozy  earth  was 
heaped  up  as  if  by  magic.  It  was  like  jelly,  how- 
ever, and  would  not  stand  in  due  form.  Some  one 
suggested  that  a  ship  heavily  ladened  with  cotton 
was  anchored  in  the  river  near  by.  Why  not  go 
fetch  the  bales  and  use  them  for  breastworks  ?  No 
sooner  said  than  done.  That  cotton-bale  breast- 
work has    become   picturesquely  historic,  but,  the 


*  "  No  man  could  have  been  better  fitted  for  the  task.  He  had  hereditary  wrongs  to 
avenge  on  the  British  and  he  haled  them  with  an  implacable  fury  that  was  absolutely  devoid 
oi  fear.  Born  and  brought  up  among  the  lawless  characters  of  the  frontier  he  was  able  to 
establish  martial  law  in  the  city  without  in  the  least  quelling  the  spirit  of  the  citizens.  To  a 
restless  and  untiring  energy  he  united  sleepless  vigilance  and  genuine  military  genius. 
Prompt  to  attack  whenever  the  chance  offered  it.«elf,  seizing  with  ready  grasp  the  slightest 
vantage  ground,  and  never  giving  up  a  foot  of  earth  that  he  could  keep,  he  yet  bad  the 
patience  to  play  a  defensive  game  where  it  so  suited  him  and  with  consummate  skill  he  always 
followed  out  the  scheme  of  warfare  that  was  best  adapted  to  his  wild  soldiery.  In  after  years 
he  did  to  his  country  some  good  and  mure  evil ,  but  no  true  American  can  think  of  his  deeds 
at  New  Orleans  without  profound  and  unmixed  thankfulness.*'  —  Theodore  Roosevelt's 
41  War  </i8ia." 


214  THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

truth  is,  it  was  worse  than  none.  This  the  British 
cannon-balls  soon  demonstrated,  and  Jackson  rid 
himself  of  it  in  short  order.  The  cunning  foe,  not 
to  be  outdone  by  American  ingenuity,  opposed 
his  walls  of  mud  and  of  sugar-hogsheads  to  the 
cotton  fort ;  but  they  too  were  useless,  the  balls 
bounding  through  them  with  scarcely  a  diminution 
of  force. 

The  Caroline,  that  plucky  and  persistent  little 
schooner  ("  manned  by  regular  seamen,  largely  New 
Englanders,"  says  Mr.  Roosevelt),  crept  down  the 
river,  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth.  She 
anchored  near  to  the  shore  on  the  side  opposite 
the  camp  of  the  British  where  General  Keane  was 
commanding,  and,  as  soon  as  her  gunner  could  see, 
opened  fire  with  such  effect  that  the  whole  field 
was  swept.  The  British  could  not  move  and  they 
had  no  batteries  with  which  to  respond.  During 
the  entire  day  they  lay  behind  the  levee,  in  swales 
and  ditches,  under  cover  of  cabins,  and  waited  for 
night  to  come.  Meantime  the  Louisiana  dropped 
down  the  river  to  within  a  mile  of  the  Caroline. 
General  Jackson  was  never  at  rest.  He  saw  every 
pnrt  of  his  works,  encouraged  his  men,  gave  orders 
incessantly,  took  personal  control  and  direction  of 
everything. 

Was  New  Orleans  disloyal  ?  Were  the  Creoles 
traitors  to  the  stars  and  stripes  ?     Let  the  names 


THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS.        215 

of  Villere  and  Plauche,  of  Latour,  Dacquin,  and 
Lacaste,  and  of  the  Battalion  D'Orleans,  —  those 
brave  volunteers  who  worked  with  bare  and  bleed- 
ing hands,  without  food,  without  rest,  night  and 
day,  —  let  all  these  answer  such  questions.  And  let 
too  the  memory  of  those  courageous  French  women 
who  made  hospital  nurses  of  themselves  bear  wit- 
ness to  their  loyalty.  New  England  was  patriotic  to 
its  inmost  heart-core  and  yet  the  newspapers  of 
New  England  iterated  and  reiterated  the  declara- 
tion :  "  No  more  taxes  from  New  England  till  the 
administration  makes  peace."  Partisan  politics 
had  burned  hotly  and  the  thousand  things  said 
to  the  discredit  of  the  Creoles  of  Louisiana  were 
but  embers  blown  from  the  political  fireplace  and 
kept  aglow  for  electioneering  purposes.  If  New 
Orleans  and  the  Creoles  had  been  unpatriotic  Gen- 
eral Jackson  would  have  been  at  their  mercy. 

Claiborne  sent  a  proposition  to  the  Barratarian 
pirates  offering  them  full  pardon  for  all  past 
offences  if  they  would  come  to  the  aid  of  Louis- 
iana. This  was  accepted  and  no  braver  men 
fought  in  the  subsequent  battle. 

On  Christmas  day  Sir  Edward  Packenham 
arrived  at  the  British  camp  and  took  command. 
Major-General  Samuel  Gibbs  was  his  second  in 
command,  and  at  once  the  somewhat  disheartened 
army  was   flushed   with   new  hope   and   courage. 


2l6         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

General  Packenham  was  a  brother-in-law  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  an  officer  of  great  renown. 
He  had  fought  his  way  to  the  highest  place  in  the 
confidence  of  his  government  and  of  the  army 
Barely  thirty-eight,  brilliant,  the  bravest  of  the 
brave,  fresh  from  the  desperate  battles  of  the 
peninsula,  "trained  for  seven  years  in  the  stern 
school  of  the  Iron  Duke  "  he  certainly  seemed  the 
man  to  lead  this  army  to  assured  victory. 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  he  began  an  examination 
of  the  ground  between  his  own  and  Jackson's  posi- 
tion. His  first  thought,  almost,  was  directed  upon 
the  brave  little  schooner  Caroline..  During  the 
night  of  the  twenty-sixth  he  put  a  battery  in  posi- 
tion on  the  levee  and  erected  near  it  a  furnace  for 
heating  shot.  At  daylight  this  battery  opened  on 
the  Caroline  with  terrible  effect,  sending  its  white- 
hot  missiles  with  admirable  marksmanship,  right  into 
her  hull.  Captain  Henly  was  soon  forced  to  aban- 
don her,  and  scarcely  had  he  got  his  men  ashore 
when  she  blew  up  with  a  terrific  roar.  The  British 
cheered  madly  at  the  destruction  of  this  main 
obstacle  to  their  advance.  Then  they  turned  their 
hissing  hot-shot  upon  the  Louisiana.  There  was 
no  wind  and  Lieutenant  Thompson  set  his  sails  in 
vain.  A  shell  burst  on  deck  wounding  six  men. 
The  white-hot  round-shot  were  falling  in  the  water 
close  alongside  the  beleagured  vessel.     The  boats 


THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         21  J 

were  manned  in  sheer  desperation;  ready  hands 
pulled  at  the  oars  and  the  Louisiana  was  actually 
towed  away  out  of  danger  by  the  plucky  and  faith- 
ful crew.  And  now  the  Americans  yelled  as  only 
Americans  can. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  General  Packenham  made 
a  reconnoissance  in  force  after  having  formed  his 
line  with  greatest  care. 

It  was  a  fine  sub-tropical  winter  morning,  clear 
and  cool,  and  the  Americans  on  the  works  behind 
the  sluice-way  could  plainly  see  the  splendid  col- 
umns of  the  British  as  they  swept  out  from  the 
cover  of  some  plantation  quarters  five  hundred 
yards  distant.  They  came,  as  if  on  dress  parade, 
in  close  order  with  colors  flying  and  to  the  sound 
of  martial  music.  A  rush  of  congreve  rockets 
filled  the  air  in  front  of  them  and  their  advancing 
batteries  soon  enveloped  them  in  smoke. 

The  Louisiana  was  in  position,  her  eight-gun 
broadsides  raking  the  levee  and  dashing  up  the 
black  mud  and  watery  sand  beyond.  Her  guns 
were  served  with  remarkable  accuracy  and  rapidity, 
the  earth-jarring  explosions  following  one  another 
like  the  reverberations  of  a  terrible  thunder-storm. 

General  Jackson,  pale  and  haggard  from  disease 
and  loss-  of  sleep,  his  stern  features  moveless  as 
marble,  stood  on  a  slight  rise  of  the  land  behind 
his  works.     Through  an  old  field-glass  he  watched 


218         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

the  steadily  advancing  columns.  He  received 
reports  and  gave  orders,  in  a  voice  as  steady  and 
calm  as  if  he  had  been  at  dinner ;  he  saw  the  effect 
of  his  battery  and  his  ships  broadsides;  but  he 
saw  also  that  the  magnificently  equipped  British 
troops  came  right  on.  Was  it  to  be  a  battle? 
Would  they  attempt  to  storm  his  works?  Let 
them.  He  was  ready.  They  came  half-way  to  the 
breastworks  behind  which  lay  his  fighting-men; 
still  nearer  they  came.  There  they  halted.  The 
guns  of  the  Louisiana  had  smashed  and  silenced 
their  battery  on  the  levee  and  with  a  loss  of  fifty 
killed  and  wounded  they  retired  past  the  burning 
houses  fired  by  hot  shot  from  the  American  guns. 

General  Packenham  may  have  been  content  with 
the  information  obtained  by  means  of  this  move- 
ment. He  had  found  out  just  where  his  adversary 
lay  and  in  what  a  lair.  He  would  now  proceed  to 
run  him  out  and  dispatch  him. 

General  Jackson,  the  ever  alert  and  ever  ready, 
had  learned  something  also  by  the  day's  opera- 
tions. His  left  was  weak  and  could  have  been 
turned  easily  by  the  British  right.  Indeed  it  had 
been  turned  by  General  Gibbs  and  the  result  might 
have  been  disastrous  had  that  officer  pressed  his 
advantage. 

General  Packenham  and  his  staff  were  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  the  American  force  was  a  very 


THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         219 

large  and  effective  one.  A  council  was  held  and 
it  was  determined  that  the  works  of  General  Jack- 
son should  be  advanced  upon  by  a  system  of 
gradual  approaches  and  finally  carried  by  storm. 
It  was  the  Englishman's  great  mistake.  Such  a 
plan  in  such  a  country  appears  at  this  distance 
to  possess  neither  merit  nor  force. 

General  Jackson  at  once  set  his  men  at  work 
strengthening  the  defences  on  the  left  by  building 
heavy  mud  embankments  out  into  the  swamp  and 
planting  some  guns  there  to  prevent  another  flank- 
ing movement.  Indeed  every  moment  of  delay  on 
the  part  of  the  British  commander  was  used  by 
the  American  general  in  making  ready  for  the  next 
attack.  Reinforcements  reached  him  —  swelling 
his  army  to  about  six  thousand  regulars  and  militia 
all  told,  while  the  enemy  now  numbered  nearly  fif- 
teen thousand,  most  of  them  the  "  fierce  and  hardy 
veterans  of  the  Peninsular  War." 

New  Orleans  was  roused  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
excitement.  Everybody  was  fired  with  the  fighting 
enthusiasm.  Old  men,  young  men,  strong  and 
weak,  all  clutched  such  arms  as  could  be  had  and 
hurried  to  the  front.  It  was  a  motley  line  that 
lay  behind  those  rude  earthworks  on  the  eighth  of 
January,  18 15,  and  such  weapons  of  war  as  the 
men  had  would  make  a  soldier  of  to-day  laugh 
to  see.     Old   fire-lock  fowling-pieces,  bell-muzzled 


220         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW' ORLEANS. 

blunderbusses,  long  backwoods  rifles,  rusty  mus- 
kets, old  horse-pistols  —  anything  that  could  be 
made  to  fire  either  ball  or  shot  was  clutched  by  a 
resolute  hand  and  held  ready  to  be  aimed  by  a 
steady  eye.  Jackson's  grand  spirit  was  in  every 
breast;  his  enthusiastic  patriotism  had  become 
infectious.  There  was  little  rest  for  any  hand, 
little  sleep  for  any  eye. 

As  the  eighth  day  approached  it  became  quite 
evident  that  Packenham  was  making  ready  for  a 
grand  assault  with  a  force  apparently  overwhelm- 
ing. General  Jackson  had  caused  the  levee  to  be 
cut  both  above  and  below  the  British  lines,  but  the 
river  was  not  high  enough  to  do  the  work  intended 
and  the  water  really  helped  General  Packenham  in 
forwarding  his  reinforcements  and  supplies.  The 
Louisiana  took  good  care  to  manoeuvre  in  such  a 
way  that  she  kept  herself  well  out  of  her  enemy's 
reach,  and  at  the  same  time  she  kept  up  an  almost 
incessant  firing.  The  Americans  with  their  land 
batteries  kept  feeling  for  the  British  line  and  finally, 
by  elevating  the  guns  were  able  to  drop  both  shot 
and  shell  in  the  midst  of  their  camp.  Heavy  guns 
were  planted  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  so  as 
to  command  the  area  to  be  crossed  by  Packenham 's 
forces  in  assaulting  Jackson's  line.  On  the  left  the 
American  works  were  projected  far  into  the  swamp, 
and    a    reconnoitering   party  of   the    British  were 


THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         223 

repulsed  while  trying  to  feel  their  way  around  the 
extreme  wing.  Daring  sharp-shooters,  most  of 
them  Tennesseeans  who  were  armed  with  long 
deer-rifles,  crept  forward  and  annoyed  the  enemy's 
pickets  by  killing  a  man  here  and  there  from  the 
cover  of  the  thick  bushes  or  tall  grass. 

On  the  night  of  the  thirty-first  of  December, 
General  Packenham  sent  forward  a  strong  detach- 
ment which  erected  six  batteries  of  thirty  cannon, 
twenty  long  eighteen-pounders  and  ten  twenty-four 
pounders,  only  three  hundred  yards  distant  from 
the  American  line.  This  movement  was  skillfully 
performed  and  on  the  following  morning  an  almost 
disastrous  surprise  resulted. 

New  Year's  Day  dawned  gloomily  with  a  dense 
gray  fog  lying  close  to  the  ground.  All  was  still 
and  silent.  The  Louisiana  lay  some  distance  up 
the  river  and  a  part  of  her  men  were  planting 
another  heavy  gun  in  the  battery  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  river. 

General  Jackson  ordered  a  grand  parade  of  his 
men  between  the  lines  and  his  headquarters,  and 
while  this  was  going  on  the  fog  lifted  slowly  and 
the  sun  began  to  shine.  It  was  a  soldierly  way  of 
welcoming  in  the  new  year,  but  it  was  not  a  very 
wise  move  in  the  presence  of  a  wary  and  over- 
whelmingly strong  enemy.  Jackson  was  in  his 
room  getting  himself  ready  to  review  the  troops, 


226         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

for  the  attack.  By  Sunday  morning,  the  eighth  of 
January,  1815,  the  British  columns  were  formed  in 
front  of  that  low,  dark,  terrible  wall  beyond  the 
ditch,  and  the  British  leader  was  with  them,  ready  to 
show  that  he  was  their  leader  in  fact  as  well  as  in 
name.  He  had  been  at  Badajos  ;  he  had  dealt  the 
decisive  blow  on  "  the  stricken  field  of  Salamanca  " ; 
the  scars  of  many  wounds  were  on  his  body;  he 
was  not  a  man  to  shrink  from  any  danger.*  His 
officers  and  men  were  most  of  them  grim  veterans 
of  many  a  bloody  field.     He  could  trust  them. 

General  Jackson  was  well  aware  of  the  prepara- 
tions going  on  in  the  British  camp.  Indeed  his 
army  felt  what  was  coming,  and  each  man  nerved 
himself  to  do  or  die.  The  word  was  passed  from 
lip  to  lip  that  coolness  and  a  steady  aim  were  of 
the  highest  importance.  Every  bullet,  every  round- 
shot,  every  shell,  every  flight  of  grape  and  canister 
must  find  its  target. 

Take  a  glance  at  the  field.  Here  is  the  Ameri- 
can line  a  little  way  behind  the  muddy  sluice-ditch 
which  serves  as  a  moat.  The  breastworks  are  of 
earth  chiefly  and  made  very  thick.  In  front,  be- 
yond the  ditch,  the  ground  stretches  away  as  flat, 
almost,  as  water.     On  the  right  is  the  mighty  river 


*  "  He  was  not  the  man  to  flinch  from  a  motley  array  of  volunteers,  militia  and  raw  regu- 
lars, led  by  a  grizzled  old  bush-fighter,  whose  name  had  never  been  heard  of  outside  of  his 
own  swamps,  and  there  only  as  the  savage  destroyer  of  some  scarcely  more  savage  Indian 
tribes."  —  Rooshvki.t. 


THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS.        227 

level  with  its  bank,  save  that  a  levee  barely  over- 
looks it.  On  the  left  is  a  dense  swamp  jungle, 
dark  and  grim,  hung  with  long  moss  and  covered 
with  creeping  air-plants.  To  take  the  American 
works,  think  of  what  the  British  must  do.  In  the 
first  place  they  must  march  across  that  level  field 
which  is  raked  by  the  Louisiana  guns  and  by  the 
heavy  enfilading  batteries  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  At  the  same  time  the  batteries  of  the  works 
have  a  point-blank  line  of  fire  right  upon  their  front. 
This  is  the  beginning.  Next  comes  the  murderous 
storm  of  grape  and  cannister  at  short  range ;  then 
they  must  feel  the  withering  breath  of  rifle  and  mus- 
ket, they  must  flounder  through  that  muddy  ditch, 
they  must  rush  upon  the  belching  muzzles  of  steady 
guns,  they  must  climb  over  the  embankment. 

Does  it  appear  possible  for  men  to  do  all  this  ? 

We  who  remember  the  charge  of  Pickett  at 
Gettysburg  smile  at  such  a  question.  Those  who 
saw  Claiborne  at  Franklin  will  scarcely  lift  their 
eyes  as  they  answer,  Yes.  The  gallant  columns  of 
Sherman  at  Kennesaw  or  those  of  Grant  at  Peters- 
burg know  that  brave  men  can  accomplish  any- 
thing that  they  are  ordered  to  do. 

Jackson  was  fearless  and  his  courage  knew  no 
bounds,  but  his  wisdom  made  him  feel  how  doubt- 
ful was  the  issue.  One  point  of  his  works  carried 
and  all  would  be  over. 


228         THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

"  Can  we  withstand  an  assault  ?  "  he  inquired  of 
General  Adair. 

"  Yes,  possibly,  if  we  hold  a  strong  reserve  with 
which  to  reinforce  any  failing  or  breaking  part  of 
our  line,"  was  the  prompt  answer.  This  was  the 
whole  danger  expressed  in  the  fewest  words.  No 
part  of  the  line  was  strong  enough  to  resist  a  con- 
centrated and  determined  rush,  unless  a  reserve 
could  be  held  back  ready  to  step  in  promptly  at 
the  critical  moment. 

At  a  little  past  one  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  that  dreadful  but  glorious  Sunday,  Jackson 
arose,  called  to  his  dozing  aids  and  gave  orders 
for  everything  to  be  put  in  readiness  to  receive 
the  British. 

"The  enemy  will  be  upon  us  in  a  few  minutes," 
he  said ;  "  I  must  go  and  see  Coffee." 

General  Adair  was  placed  in  command  of  the  re- 
serve—  a  thousand  Kentuckians  —  and  ordered  to 
hold  himself  ready  to  support  Carroll  and  Coffee. 
All  along  the  line  everything  was  ready. 

As  morning  came  on  its  light  struggled  through 
a  film  of  silver  fog  that  veiled  the  field,  the  swamp 
and  the  river.  Just  at  the  break  of  dawn  two  rock- 
ets streamed  up  into  the  murky  air  as  the  signal 
for  the  British  advance.  By  six  o'clock  two  heavy 
columns  were  in  motion. 

The  Americans  lay  behind  their  works  in  breath- 


THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         229 

less  expectancy  listening  to  those  indescribable  but 
well-known  sounds  that  always  come  from  an  ad- 
vancing army.  Slowly  the  fog  lifted  and  dimly 
enough  a  dull  red  line  was  seen  steadily  moving 
out  of  the  distance.  A  gun  from  battery  six  sent 
the  first  shot  hurtling  off  to  meet  it.  Two  minutes 
later  the  magnificent  British  column  led  by  General 
Gibbs  was  full  in  sight  only  three  hundred  yards 
away,  sweeping  on  with  a  swift  and  even  motion. 
Three  batteries  opened  on  it.  Soon  obtaining  the 
range,  they  plunged  their  heavy  hail  of  iron  through 
from  front  to  rear,  crushing  it  horribly.  This  did 
not  even  check  it.  Right  on  it  came,  a  little  faster 
—  if  possible,  a  little  steadier.  The  cannoneers 
saw  and  wondered.  It  was  a  thrilling  exhibition  of 
cold,  determined,  dogged  courage.  No  batteries 
could  drive  them  back.  Patterson's  heavy  guns 
be^an  to  bellow  from  the  other  side  the  river. 

On  came  that  solid  column.  The  Americans 
had  formed  a  quadruple  line  of  riflemen  and  muske- 
teers one  behind  another ;  they  withheld  their  fire 
until  the  head  of  the  column  had  come  within  fair 
range ;  then  each  man  took  deliberate  aim  and  out 
leaped  a  rattling  volley.  At  the  same  moment  all 
along  the  works  the  batteries  blazed  together.  The 
British  staggered  a  moment,  then  came  a  forward 
rush ;  but  the  front  of  the  column  was  swept  down ; 
there  was  a  recoil,  a   break,  a  precipitate  retreat. 


230         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

At  this  signal  check  the  Americans  cheered  like 
mad  and  redoubled  their  deadly  fire. 

Packenham  rushed  headlong  among  the  men. 
After  a  desperate  effort  he  reformed  the  shattered 
and  panic-stricken  column  just  beyond  the  danger 
line  and  turned  it  again  toward  the  earthworks  and 
the  fringe  of  sulphurous  flames  that  flashed  above 
them.  This  time  there  was  to  be  no  faltering  or 
hesitancy,  no  thought  of  retreat.  Over  the  works 
or  die.  Hat  in  hand  General  Packenham  rose  in 
his  saddle  and  urged  his  horse  to  the  very  front. 
He  shouted  to  his  brave  men,  he  beckoned  them 
on,  and  then  they  set  their  teeth  and  followed  him. 
It  was  as  heroic  a  charge  as  any  in  history  and  it 
was  repulsed  by  as  fearful  a  fire  as  ever  belched 
from  a  repelling  line.  Packenham  led  the  right; 
Gibbs  the  left ;  the  British  columns  marched  steadily 
up  to  the  point-blank  range  of  the  batteries.  The 
Americans  were  ready,  cool,  steady;  their  aim,  ap- 
parently, was  absolutely  accurate,  for  the  front  ranks 
fell  like  grass  before  a  scythe.  A  musket  ball 
struck  General  Packenham  through  the  right  arm ; 
on  he  rode,  the  shattered  arm  dangling  by  his  side. 
He  did  not  notice  the  wound.  A  deluge  of  grape 
shot  poured  along ;  one  of  them  crashed  through  his 
thigh.  He  fell.  Still  another  struck  him,  and  there 
he  died.  General  Gibbs  was  borne  from  the  field 
writhing  under  the  terrible  pain  of  a  death-wound. 


THE  BATTLE    OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         23 1 

Down  fell  Colonel  Dale  of  the  Highlanders ;  down, 
too,  fell  the  Highlanders  themselves,  to  the  number 
of  five  hundred  and  forty-four,  never  to  charge  again. 
One  thirty-two-pounder  gun  was  charged  to  the 
muzzle  with  musket  bullets  and  fired  point-blank 
into  the  head  of  the  rushing  column  before  it. 
The  awful  blast  swept  away  two  hundred  men. 
The  riflemen  picked  their  red-coat  targets  and 
took  aim  as  if  shooting  for  a  prize.     Indeed  they 

• 

were  shooting  for  a  prize.  Behind  them  was  New 
Orleans ;  there  were  the  brave  women,  there  the 
little  children,  there  the  old  men.  Behind  them  was 
their  country,  before  them  its  invaders.  Out  sang 
the  bullets  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky;  forth 
whizzed  the  missiles  of  the  patriotic  Creoles ;  on 
crashed  the  grape  and  canister  aimed  by  the  Barra- 
tarians ;  far  bounded  the  heavy  round-shot  from 
the  Louisiana  and  from  the  guns  beyond  the  river. 
What  column  could  stand  all  this  ?  The  ranks 
of  the  British  melted  down  and  lay  doubly  red, 
strewn  like  flushed  autumn  leaves  over  the  shot- 
furrowed  field.  Thfe  survivors  could  not  come  on. 
They  turned  and  fled,  the  gusts  of  death  sweeping 
through  them,  the  hail  of  death  falling  on  them. 
All  this  time  General  Jackson  had  been  stalking 
back  and  forth  along  his  line  encouraging  his 
men  with  grim  sentences  of  exhortation.  "  Give 
it  to  them,  boys  !     Blow  'em  up,  boys !  "  he  would 


232         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

call  out  with  all  the  embellishments  of  frontier  em- 
phasis.    And  "  the  boys  "  heard  and  obeyed. 

By  eight  o'clock  the  harvest  was  over;  the  red 
field  of  the  eighth  of  January  had  been  mowed.  In 
front  of  Humphrey's  bakeries  stretched  the  tan- 
gled wind-rows  of  mangled  dead ;  prone  beneath  the 
deadly  riflemen  of  Beale's  little  command  the  red- 
coats lay  in  heaps ;  the  swaths  cut  down  by  Carroll 
and  Adair  were  horrible  to  see.  What  slaughter ; 
what  a  victory !  Over  two  thousand  British  lay  dead 
or  helpless  on  the  field.  And  what  of  Jackson's 
little  army  ?  How  many  killed  ?  Just  eight  men  ! 
How  many  wounded  ?     Thirteen  men,  and  no  more  ! 

Carry  the .  news  to  New  Orleans.  The  grand 
army  of  Packenham  is  crushed  into  fragments. 
The  city  is  saved! 

In  the  meantime  a  detachment  under  Colonel 
Thornton  had  been  ordered  by  Packenham  to 
cross  the  river  and  attack  the  American  works 
held  by  General  Morgan.  This  was  done  and 
the  works  were  carried  by  a  flanking  movement. 
Colonel  Thornton  was  wounded  in  the  assault, 
and,  soon  after  assuming  command,  Colonel  Gub- 
bins  was  ordered  to  retreat,  on  account  of  Packen- 
ham's  reverse.  He  hurriedly  recrossed  the  river 
to  find  Lambert  in  command  of  the  crushed  and 
disheartened  army.  Morgan  immediately  retook 
possession  of  his  evacuated  earthworks. 


THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS.         233 

And  so  ended  the  battle.  Fought  after  peace 
had  been  made  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  it  was,  alas!  a  useless  slaughter  of 
brave  men,  if  only  the  truth  could  have  been  known 
in  time. 

There  never  was  a  more  joyful  army  than  that 
which  cheered  and  tossed  hats  and  shook  hands  and 
exchanged  congratulations  behind  those  low,  sodden 
earthworks  of  Jackson's  line.  The  volatile  Creoles 
danced  and  hugged  one  another  and  sang  their 
gayest-  songs. 

General  Lambert  soon  sent  a  flag  of  truce  and 
asked  for  an  armistice  of  twenty-four  hours  with 
the  privilege  of  caring  for  his  wounded  and  bury- 
ing his  dead.  This  was  granted  by  General  Jack- 
son, who  could  now  well  afford  to  rest. 

Happily  the  American  army  had  but  few  dead  to 
bury,  but  each  grave  received  a  hero  worthy  a  place 
beside  those  who  stood  for  liberty  at  Lexington 
and  fell  within  the  breastworks  of  Bunker  Hill. 

The  British  felt  that  everything  had  been  done 
that  they  could  have  done,  and  all  in  vain.  The 
very  heart  and  flower  of  their  army,  including  the 
commanding  officers,  lay  weltering  and  writhing  or 
dead  and  cold  in  the  blood  pools  of  that  disastrous 
battlefield.  Mournfully  enough  they  performed  the 
depressing  duty  of  disheartened  soldiers,  gathering 
up  their  mangled   comrades  on  the  field  of   their 


234         THE  BATTLE   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

crushing  defeat.  Never  had  English  valor  wasted 
itself  upon  a  task  so  utterly  unworthy  of  it  and 
never  had  Englishmen  received  a  more  humiliat- 
ing repulse,  or  a  darker  dye  of  disgrace.  Little 
comfort  to  Packenham's  men  lay  in  the  thought 
that  they  had  shown  a  courage  which  the  brav- 
est of  their  enemies  had  admired ;  for  even  the  most 
brutal  musketeer  of  them  all  felt  keenly  the  re- 
proaches awaiting  them  when  they  should  return 
to  that  veteran  army,  of  which  they  so.  lately  had 
been  the  choicest  flower,  only  to  be  compelled  to 
acknowledge  utter  rout  at  the  hands  of  a  mere 
skirmish-line  of  backwoodsmen. 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE     OLD     REGIME. 


HEN  the  news 
of  the  victory 
reached  New 
Orleans,  there 
was  such  rejoic- 
ing as  comes 
only  to  those 
who  feel  sudden 
and  complete 
relief  from  over- 
whelming ter- 
ror. Women 
and  children, 
old  men,  invalids,  the  waiters  and  watchers,  had 
heard  the  rolling  thunder  of  the  fight  booming  up 
through  the  fog  and  their  hearts* had  stood  still 
with  dread.  It  had  been  currently  reported  that 
the  British  had  determined  to  pillage  and  burn  the 
city  —  yes,  and,  infinitely  worse,  that  they  had  fore- 
doomed the  women  to  a  fate  too  terrible  to  men- 
tion.    The  noise  of  the  battle  was  so  tremendous 

=35 


236  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

in  its  significance  that  when  it  ceased  the  blood  of 
the  listeners  almost  stopped  flowing  in  their  veins. 
What  meant  the  sudden  calm  after  the  storm  ? 
Was  it  victory  or  defeat?  They  waited  and  lis- 
tened and  watched,  but  no  news  came;  all  was 
ominous  silence  and  expectancy.  The  minutes 
wera  like  hours,  the  hours  like  days.  Suddenly 
down  on  the  battery  at  the  river  front  there  arose 
a  wild  shout,  and  a  hundred  voices  took  up  the  cry : 
"  Victory !  Victory !  Packenham  is  crushed ;  the 
British  are  whipped !  Hurrah  for  Jackson !  "  In- 
stantly New  Orleans  was  like  a  hive  when  the  bees 
are  disturbed.  The  people,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, black  and  white,  poured  into  the  streets,  yell- 
ing, screaming,  tossing  hats,  weeping,  laughing, 
wringing  hands,  praying,  dancing,  singing,  waving 
flags,  all  as  wild  as  the  hysterical  excitement  could 
render  them. 

Jackson  gave  the  British  every  facility  for  taking 
care  of  their  wounded  and  for  burying  their  dead  ;. 
but  so  soon  as  this  sad  duty  had  been  performed 
he  turned  again  to  strengthening  his  works  and  to 
watching  with  closest  scrutiny  the  movements  of 
his  enemy.  There  was  little  need  for  this  caution 
and  vigilance.  The  general  in  command  of  the 
British  felt  that  to  renew  the  fight  just  then  would 
be  madness.  He  would  wait  for  the  fleet  which 
was  expected  to  come   up  the    Mississippi.     Sup- 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  2 tf 

ported  by  this  he  might  yet  be  able  to  reach  and 
destroy  New  Orleans. 

Fort  St.  Philip  was  down  near  the  mouth  of 
the  river  —  a  slight  work  on  a  sand-bar,  but  armed 
with  some  heavy  ordnance.  In  this  fort  General 
Jackson  had  placed  three  hundred  and  sixty-six 
men  under  Major  Overton,  a  brave  and  able  officer. 

The  British  squadron  sailed  up  and  anchored 
within  range  of  the  fort  on  the  ninth  of  January. 
A  schooner,  a  sloop,  a  brig  and  two  bomb-vessels, 
all  well-manned  and  heavily  armed,  opened  fire. 
Major  Overton  returned  the  compliment  from  his 
water  batteries  with  such  effect  that  the  fleet  soon 
dropped  down  out  of  reach  and  with  their  heavy 
guns  and  some  large  mortars  pounded  away,  quite 
free  from  danger,  until  the  seventeenth.  By  this 
time  the  Americans  had  put  a  heavy  mortar  in 
position  and  its  great  shells  began  to  burst  all 
round  the  ships,  each  shot  showing  an  improvement 
in  aim.  It  was  a  mere  matter  of  time.  The  fleet 
was  doomed  if  it  remained.  It  did  not  remain. 
On  the  eighteenth,  when  Major  Overton  had  at 
length  found  the  range,  there  was  a  sudden  flurry 
on  board,  and  the  squadron  was  seen  setting  sail 
and  dropping  hastily  down  the  river.  It  had  found 
the  little  fort  an  impassable  barrier.  On  this  same 
day,  disheartened,  broken,  utterly  defeated,  the 
whole  army  in  front  of   Jackson   took  up  its  sad 


238  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

march  to  its  fleet  on  Lake  Borgne,  and  soon  after 
it  sailed  away  never  to  return.  Could  disaster  be 
more  humiliating?  Could  victory  be  more  glori- 
ous? New  Orleans  rang  her  bells,  filled  her 
churches  and  sent  up  to  Almighty  God  the  fervent 
thanks  of  a  people  snatched  from  the  very  jaws 
and  fangs  of  destruction. 

The  war  was  over.  The  news  soon  arrived  that, 
even  before  the  terrible  battle  was  fought,  peace 
had  been  established  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States. 

Louisiana  from  this  date  drew  closer  to  the 
Federal  Union,  feeling  that  the  blood  of  the  brave 
had  cemented  her  to  the  other  States  and  that 
henceforth  she  must  grow  with  the  growth  of  the 
nation  and  strengthen  with  its  strength.  Swift, 
indeed,  was  her  progress.  Population  increased 
over  all  her  area  and  her  agriculture  and  commerce 
swelled  to  amazing  proportions.  Along  the  Gulf 
coast  and  on  the  marsh-hummocks  the  culture  of 
rice  was  the  chief  industry,  whilst  in  the  rich  areas 
protected  by  the  levees,  and  on  the  fertile  borders 
or  "coasts,"  the  sugar  plantations  increased  with 
wonderful  rapidity.  In  the  northern  and  north- 
western parishes  cotton  was  the  staple,  though 
Indian  corn,  potatoes  and  tobacco  were  largely  cul- 
tivated. No  sooner  had  the  war  ended  than  there 
came  a  rush  of  immigration  and  a  mighty  activity 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  239 

in  the  shipping  interests-  of  New  Orleans.  The 
immense  accumulations  of  cotton,  sugar  and  mo- 
lasses found  quick  exportation  and  the  money  real- 
ized flooded  Louisiana  with  wealth.  Slave  labor 
became  profitable  almost  beyond  belief,  so  produc- 
tive was  the  soil,  so  valuable  were  the  products  and 
so  cheap  the  means  of  subsistence.  New  Orleans 
was  the  toll-gate  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  and 
right  liberally  was  the  toll  poured  into  her  till. 
Her  merchants,  factors,  bankers  and  warehousemen 
grew  rich,  she  swelled  to  the  proportions  of  a  great 
city,  her  population  was  as  various  as  the  peoples 
of  the  earth,  and  she  was  as  gay  and  dissipated  on 
the  one  hand  as  she  was  decorous,  stately,  cultured 
and  hospitable  on  the  other.  Despite  the  influence 
of  a  strong  and  growing  element  of  Anglo-Ameri- 
cans in  her  population  she  remained  a  Creole  city 
with  the  architecture,  the  language  and  the  cus- 
toms of  a  foreign,  or  rather  of  an  alien  race.  The 
French  language  was  the  vehicle  of  polite  expres- 
sion and  French  modes  and  customs  largely  pre- 
vailed. 

The  advent  of  steam  navigation  upon  the  river 
was  the  crowning  touch  to  Louisiana's  prosperity 
and  to  that  of  her  great  city.  The  whole  surplus 
produce  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  valleys  was 
poured  down  the  current  of  the  mighty  stream  and 
with  it  went  "  packet "  loads  of  planters,  traders, 


240  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

merchants,  pleasure-seekers,  gamblers,  speculators 
in  negroes,  and  who  not,  all  with  their  faces  set 
toward  the  alluring  fascinations  of  the  Crescent 
Queen  whose  gilded  gates  shone  far  down  on  the 
horizon  of  the  famous  "  Low  country.*' 

The  French  language  had  its  battle  to  fight 
against  the  English  as  the  two  tongues  began  to 
be  mingled  all  over  Louisiana.  Of  course  the 
Creoles  clung  with  uncompromising  persistence  to 
the  sweet  sounds  of  their  ancestral  language,  whilst 
the  aggressive  and  energetic  Anglo-Americans  did 
not  hesitate  to  consider  the  French  tongue  as  alien 
to  our  country  and  deleterious  to  its  unity  of  aim 
and  of  development.  It  has  been  said  that  in  this 
struggle  the  Creoles  fought  a  losing  fight,  but  the 
loss  has  been  negative  rather  than  positive.  The 
French  language  has  stood  still  while  the  English 
has  gained  by  steady  progression.  The  increment 
has  been  always  persistent,  but  never  large. 

One  result  of  this  battle  of  tongues  has  been 
that  most  of  the  wealthy  Creoles  have  sent  their 
children,  especially  their  sons,  to  Paris  for  their 
education.  Early  in  the  history  of  New  Orleans 
a  Creole  literature  with  a  marked  Parisian  flavor 
was  founded  by  some  brilliant  writers  most  of 
whom  had  been  educated  abroad.  Vaudevilles, 
comedies,  tragedies  and  other  theatrical  composi- 
tions formed  the  bulk  of  what  was  written.     The 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  24 1 

people  were  enthusiastic  play-goers  and,  besides, 
every  winter  the  city  was  filled  to  overflowing  with 
visitors  who  had  come  for  pleasure  and  who  would 
have  amusement  at  any  cost. 

In  time  the  influx  of  a  permanent  population  of 
English-speaking  people  divided  the  city  into  two 
areas :  the  French,  or  Creole  quarter,  and  the 
Anglo-American  quarter.  The  line  of  division  is 
a  very  sharp  one  even  now.     So,  too,  in  the  State 

• 

at  large  there  is  a  well-defined  boundary  to  the  two 
areas  :  English  and  French.  The  southern  part  is 
French,  the  northern  part  is  English,  so  far  as 
language  goes. 

The  Creoles  proper  and  the  Acadians  have 
kept  themselves  together  with  a  reserve  and  an 
exclusiveness  almost  impenetrable.  This  rural 
French  population  is  a  steady,  plodding,  honest, 
virtuous  and  simply  conservative  class  of  people, 
living  to-day  in  the  remote  ancestral  fashion  with 
little  change  of  dress,  architecture,  agricultural 
processes  or  domestic  customs  since  their  great- 
great-grandsires  began  to  struggle  with  poverty  in 
the  jungles  of  the  hummocks  or  on  the  wet  prairies 
of  the  Teche  and  the  Calcassieu,  the  Attakapas 
and  the  Opelousas.  They  are  sugar-planters,  cattle- 
herders,  cotton  and  rice-planters,  fishermen,  boat- 
men; but  in  everything  they  are  alien  to  the 
rushing,   bustling,   feverish    life    that    prevails   in 


242  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

America.  This,  of  course,  is  descriptive  of  only 
the  uneducated  classes  and  does  not  apply  to  the 
cultured  and  refined  Creole  families  in  city  or 
country.  The  latter  are  the  equals  of  the  best 
and  most  representative  people  of  any  part  of 
the  United  States. 

The  constitution  of  Louisiana,  as  first  framed, 
was  far  from  accordant  with  the  spirit  of  the 
American  Union.  It  had  been  made  to  satisfy 
the  alien  prejudice  in  favor  of  hereditary  govern- 
ment existing  in  the  State  during  its  early  years.  As 
the  immigration  from  the  Northern  and  Western 
States  continued  and  swelled  the  English-speaking 
population  of  Louisiana  her  constitution  became  a 
legislative  bone  of  contention  and  at  last  it  was 
remodeled  so  as  to  embody  most  of  the  distinctive 
features  common  to  the  constitutions  of  the  rest  of 
our  States.  This  new  constitution  was  framed  by 
a  convention  which  met  in  Baton  Rouge  in  1844, 
and  it  went  into  effect  January,  1846.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  State  was,  by  this  time,  over  four 
hundred  thousand  souls.  One  year's  crop  of  sugar, 
that  of  1842,  had  amounted  to  two  hundred  thou- 
sand hogsheads,  each  of  not  less  than  one  thousand 
pounds  in  weight.  The  cotton  crops  of  the  State 
were  enormous. 

From  first  to  last  the  history  of  New  Orleans 
has  been  the  history  of  Louisiana.     The  commerce 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  243 

of  the  city  has  ever  been  the  exponent  and  the 
index  of  the  State's  condition.  Between  181 5  and 
i860,  while  New  Orleans  was  growing  from  a  strag- 
gling place  of  twenty  thousand  people  into  a  mag- 
nificent city  of  over  two  hundred  thousand  souls, 
the  whole  State  was  rushing  on  apace. 

All  the  existing  conditions  were  against  the 
establishment  of  efficient  educational  institutions. 
Plantation  labor  was  all  done  by  black  slaves,  and 
the  city  and  all  the  towns  were  given  over  wholly 
to  commerce,  whilst  the  controlling  class  of  white 
people  were  inclined  to  seek  foreign  schools  rather 
than  to  build  home  ones.  The  conflict  of  tongues 
kept  up  an  insurmountable  barrier  between  neigh- 
bor and  neighbor  and  so  enfeebled  the  texture  of 
society  that  common  schools  were  not  to  be 
thought  of  in  the  thinly-populated  parishes.  The 
English-speaking  families  sent  their  children  to 
Georgia,  Virginia,  South  Carolina  or  New  England 
to  be  educated;  the  French  turned  their  eyes 
across  the  Atlantic  to  the  schools  of  Paris. 

This  educational  exclusiveness  worked  surely 
to  build  up  a  class  of  aristocrats,  rich,  cultured, 
refined  and  magnificently  hospitable ;  but  cut  in 
twain  by  a  language-line,  which,  to  a  great  extent, 
was  one  of  race  and  of  religion  as  well.  An 
educated  Creole  was  neither  an  American  nor  a 
Frenchman    in    the  eyes  of   his    English-speaking 


244  THE   OLD  REGIME, 

neighbor  of  corresponding  position  and  culture, 
and  the  Creole,  though  superbly  polite,  never  quite 
felt  that  his  friend,  the  Anglo-American  over  the 
way,  was  altogether  his  equal. 

General  Claiborne's  administration  closed  in  1816 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  General  Villere  who  was 
governor  of  Louisiana  until  1820,  when  Thomas 
B.  Robinson  was  elected. 

In  February,  1823,  a  terrible  wave  of  cold 
weather  froze  the  Mississippi  River,  killed  the 
orange  orchards  and  caused  the  death  of  many 
slaves  and  domestic  animals.  This  calamity,  fol- 
lowing closely  upon  a  dreadful  epidemic  of  yellow 
fever  and  being  shortly  succeeded  by  another, 
caused  much  depression  and  checked  the  pros- 
perity of  the  planters  in  the  sugar  districts. 

Henry  Johnson  was  elected  governor  in  1824; 
in  that  year  the  Bank  of  Louisiana  was  incor- 
porated. Pierre  Derbigny  was  the  next  governor; 
he  was  elected  in  1829  and  in  the  following  year 
the  seat  of  the  State  government  was  fixed  at  Don- 
aldsonville.  Here  was  convened  the  Legislature 
that  passed  the  well-known  and  much  discussed 
statute  fixing  the  penalty  of  death  to  the  crime  of 
inciting  servile  insurrection,  whether  the  act  were 
by  parol  expression  on  the  rostrum  or  in  the  pulpit 
or  by  uttering  printed  matter  charged  with  the 
virus  of  abolitionism.     An   act  was  passed  at  the 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  245 

same  time  forbidding,  under  pain  of  long  imprison- 
ment, the  teaching  of  any  slave  to  read,  a  measure 
deemed  necessary  in  view  of  the  fact  that  secret 
emissaries  were  supposed  to  be  at  work  sowing  the 
seeds  of  discontent  among  the  plantation  negroes. 
Governor  Derbigny  died  and  Jacques  Dupre,  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  filled  his  place  until 
the  following  year,  when  Bienvenu  Roman  was 
elected.  In  1832  a  penitentiary  was  built  at  Baton 
Rouge.  That,  too,  was  the  year  that  cholera  and 
yellow  fever  combined  to  make  such  havoc  in  New 
Orleans,  more  than  five  thousand  victims  falling 
before  the  terrible  scourge. 

The  sugar  industry  of  Louisiana  was  now  at  the 
high  tide  of  prosperity.  There'  were  more  than 
seven  hundred  sugar  establishments  in  the  State 
and  the  traffic  of  New  Orleans  was  enormous. 
The  river  was  almost'  blocked  up  with  ships  from 
every  country,  and  every  wharf  was  packed  with 
lines  of  steamboats,  one  behind  another.  The 
sugar-planters  had  become  a  wealthy  and  a  gen- 
erously open-handed  class ;  they  had  built  spacious 
mansions  and  were  living  in  almost  royal  style ; 
but  they  had  adopted  a  wasteful  system  of  finan- 
ciering, encumbering  their  estates  with  debts  and 
paying  a  ruinous  rate  of  interest.  Slaves  increased 
rapidly  in  number,  and  apace  with  all  this  accumu- 
lation of  wealth  and  mortgages  grew  the  deadly 


246  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

fascination  of  speculative  operations.  Land  rose 
to  an  inflated  value  and  men  went  wild  over 
schemes  for  the  founding  of  towns  some  of  which 
were  actually  surveyed  in  the  midst  of  cypress 
swamps  covered  with  water. 

Edward  White  was  elected  governor  in  1835, 
and  it  was  in  the  midst  of  his  official  term  that  a 
financial  crisis  was  reached  in  Louisiana  (in  the 
whole  country  as  well)  precipitating  distress,  and 
in  a  degree  ruin,  upon  the  sugar-planters.  The 
modification  by  Congress  of  the  tariff  on  sugar 
had  already  depressed  the  planting  industry  and 
now,  when  the  banks  suddenly  stopped  specie  pay- 
ment and  withdrew  much  of  that  liberal  support 
upon  which  the  planters  had  so  long  relied,  there 
came  a  panic  which  for  a  time  threatened  destruc- 
tion to  the  agricultural  staple  of  the  State. 

In  1839  Bienvenu  Roman  was  again  elected 
governor.  By  this  time  the  banks  had  resumed 
specie  payments  and  the  planters  were  beginning 
to  take  heart.  Alexandre  Mouton  was  elected 
Roman's  successor  and  took  his  seat  in  1843. 
Isaac  Johnson,  the  first  governor  under  the  new 
constitution,  was  inaugurated  on  the  twelfth  of 
February,  1846.  The  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico  came  on  soon  after  and  Louisi- 
ana bore  her  part  in  the  struggle,  sending  troops 
to  General  Taylor  and  sharing  in  the  victories  he 


THE    OLD  REGIME.  247 

gained.  Joseph  Walker  succeeded  Johnson  as 
governor  in  1850  and  Baton  Rouge  became  the 
capital  of  the  State.  It  was  about  this  time  that 
General  Lopez  the  "  filibuster "  began  his  prepa- 
rations in  New  Orleans  for  an  attack  upon  Cuba. 
He  succeeded  in  attracting  to  his  enterprise  a  com- 
pany of  imaginative  and  adventurous  young  men 
and  set  sail.  The  Cubans  captured  him  and  he 
was  executed  along  with  a  number  of  his  com- 
panions. Great  indignation  was  excited  in  New 
Orleans  by  the  news  of  the  fate  of  the  expedition 
and  the  Spanish  consul  was  mobbed  and  badly 
treated.  The  Know  Nothing  party  in  the  State 
now  added  its  influence  to  the  existing  prejudice 
against  aliens  and  there  was  tremendous  pressure 
brought  to  bear  on  the  public  temper  resulting  in 
most  disgraceful  scenes  at  elections. 

P.  O.  Hebert  was  elected  governor  in  1853.  It 
was  during  his  administration  that  railroads  were 
successfully  introduced  and  many  advances  made 
in  the  prosperity  of  Louisiana.  Robert  Wyckliffe 
came  next  in  the  succession  of  governors,  being 
inaugurated  in  1856.  He  was  succeeded  in  i860 
by  Thomas  O.  Moore. 

Such  is  an  outline  sketch  of  the  gubernatorial 
succession  in  Louisiana  up  to  the  eve  of  the  great 
fratricidal  war.  We  may  now  turn  back  to  note 
some  of  the  more  important  incidents  of  Louisiana's 


248  THE    OLD  REGIME. 

story  from  the  close  of  Claiborne's  administration 
up  to  1861. 

One  of  the  first  efforts  of  the  law-makers  was  in 
the  direction  of  suppressing  the  crime  of  dueling, 
but,  although  to  kill  another  in  a  duel  was,  as  early 
as  181 7,  declared  a  capital  offence,  there  appears 
to  have  been  no  enforcement  of  the  law.  Public 
sentiment  was  in  favor  of  the  "code  of  honor"  and 
enforced  it  with  relentless  severity.  There  were 
schools  of  fencing  in  New  Orleans  as  late  as  1858, 
where  by  expert  maitres  cTarmes  young  men  were 
taught  the  art  of  slashing  each  other  with  broad- 
swords, or  of  delivering  with  precision  and  grace 
the  fatal  thrust  of  the  rapier.  He  who  refused  to 
fight  when  properly  challenged  by  his  social  equal 
was  ostracised ;  he  who  failed  to  resent  an  insult 
in  due  accord  with  the  code  was  also  disgraced. 

At  one  period  the  Oaks,  or,  as  the  Creoles  called 
the  spot,  Chenes  (TAllard,  was  a  dueling  ground 
which  witnessed  almost  daily  the  fierce  and  bloody 
encounters  of  the  jeunesse  dor'ee  of  New  Orleans. 
Even  to  this  day  one  may  not  listen  long  among 
the  loungers  at  certain  haunts  of  the  Creole  youth, 
without  hearing  the  phrase  coup  de  pointe  a  droite. 

One  most  beneficent  effect,  however,  this  barbar- 
ous dueling  habit  wrought  upon  society :  it  forced 
men  to  be  polite  and  circumspect  in  their  inter- 
course with  one  another,  and  it  made  New  Orleans 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  25 1 

a  city  where  courtly  manners  exerted  an  influence 
wholly  charming  and  irresistible.  Under  the  sur- 
face, however,  there  was  a  brutalizing  tendency. 
It  was  impossible  for  a  civilized  and  highly-cultured 
people  not  to  feel  that  a  human  slaughter-pen 
under  the  name  of  a  dueling-ground  was  incom- 
patible with  the  development  of  a  Christian  pros- 
perity and  that  a  constant  defiance  of  law  and 
humanity  must  at  length  recoil  with  bitter  force 
upon  the  people  encouraging  or  even  tolerating 
it.  But  the  duello  had  attached  itself  so  firmly  to 
society  in  New  Orleans  that  it  was  not  shaken 
off  until  after  the  close  of  the  great  war. 

Another  excrescence,  seemingly  inseparable  from 
the  public  life  of  Louisiana,  is  the  lottery.  Frater- 
nal and  charitable  institutions,  schools  and  col- 
leges, land-improvement  companies  and,  indeed, 
nearly  every  enterprise  in  the  State  at  one  time  or 
another  has  appealed  to  the  aid  of  a  lottery  scheme 
to  fill  its  treasury  and  strengthen  its  credit. 

The  system  of  chartering  public  gambling  con- 
cerns under  the  title  of  Banking  Companies  was 
for  a  long  time  a  source  of  popular  corruption,  and 
although  penal  statutes  were  enacted  forbidding  a 
lower  order  of  gambling,  they  were  never  enforced ; 
the  gilded  hells,  where  went  on  day  and  night  every 
game  of  chance  or  skill  known  to  the  devotees  of 
sporting,   were   on   almost   every   street   in    New 


252  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

Orleans.  They  were  on  a  scale  of  splendor  and 
luxury  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  legion  of  inflated 
railroad,  improvement  and  banking  establishments 
whose  privileges  granted  by  legislative  enactment 
were  practically  unlimited. 

In  1836  the  general  assembly  chartered  corpora- 
tions whose  aggregate  capital  was  nearly  forty  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  Some  of  the  banks  issued  paper 
to  more  than  five  times  the  amount  of  their  avail- 
able assets  and  embarked  in  the  wildest  specula- 
tions drawing  with  them  a  large  number  of  the 
wealthy  planters  whose  paper  they  were  holding. 
The  mania  for  land-speculation  was  at  its  height 
when  on  the  thirteenth  of  May,  1837,  the  financial 
collapse  came  which  caused  fourteen  banks  in  New 
Orleans  to  suspend  specie  payments. 

For  five  or  six  years  great  depression  prevailed 
in  the  sugar  industry,  but  cotton-culture  increased 
rapidly,  the  area  theretofore  devoted  to  cane  being 
gradually  encroached  upon,  until  many  of  the  larg- 
est and  finest  sugar  plantations  had  been  turned 
into  cotton-fields.  Then  came  another  speculative 
rush  which  advanced  the  price  of  cotton  far  beyond 
the  line  of  safety  and  the  inevitable  consequence 
followed :  ruin  to  the  investors.  Land  fell  in  value 
to  such  a  degree  that  sales  were  almost  impossible. 
Banks  rushed  at  once  to  an  extreme  in  a  direction 
opposite   to   their  former  lavish   liberality  to   the 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  253 

planters  and  refused  to  aid  even  deserving  public 
or  private  enterprises.  It  was  not  before  1845  that 
light  began  to  break  through  the  financial  cloud ; 
but  the  planters  had  managed  their  own  affairs 
better  after  their  disastrous  experiences  and  were 
growing  independent  of  the  banks.  Gradually 
they  had  struggled  forth  from  their  incumbrances 
into  a  condition  of  prosperity  founded  on  a  solid 
basis. 

In  1846  the  general  assembly  appropriated  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  equip- 
ping and  forwarding  troops  to  General  Taylor  on 
the  Mexican  border.  Several  regiments  were  sent; 
they  arrived  just  in  time  to  be  available  at  Mata- 
moras.  On  June  first  of  this  year  the  State  granted 
to  the  United  States  the  right  to  erect  and  main- 
tain forts  and  public  buildings  at  Proctors  Landing, 
on  Lake  Borgne,  at  Forts  Jackson,  Wood,  Pike 
and  St.  Philip,  battery  Bienvenu  and  Tour  Dupre. 

In  1847  an  appropriation  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  was  made  for  the  erection  of 
a  new  state  house  at  Baton  Rouge.  During  this 
year  also  was  founded  the  University  of  Louisiana 
in  New  Orleans  and  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  was  appropriated  to  build  the  structures 
now  known  as  the  University  Place  on  Common 
Street. 

The  time  had  arrived  for  making  an  end  of  the 


254  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

bankrupt  corporations  which  had  been  preying  so 
long  on  the  commerce  and  agriculture  of  the  State, 
and  the  government  appointed  liquidators  for  them 
whose  duty  was  to  close  out  their  business  on 
equitable  terms. 

Meantime  almost  every  year  had  seen  more  or 
less  advance  in  the  improvement  of  levees  and 
water  channels  in  the  State.  Appropriations  for 
this  purpose  were  often  quite  liberal,  but  the  en- 
gineering was  badly  done  and  too  frequently  the 
contracts  for  public  works  were  loosely  let  and  still 
more  loosely  performed.  The  public  school  system 
of  the  State  was  formed  and  reformed,  organized 
and  reorganized  and  a  permanent  school  fund  was 
several  times  established  and  re-established.  In 
1855  New  Orleans  was  authorized  to  institute  pub- 
lic schools  of  her  own.  In  1856  a  singular  calam- 
ity overtook  three  hundred  persons  on  Last  Island 
westward  of  the  Mississippi's  mouth  and  just  off 
the  Gulf  coast  of  Southern  Louisiana.  The  island 
was  a  slender  crescent  twenty-five  miles  long  and 
less  than  a  mile  in  average  width  and  had  been  for 
many  years  the  summer  residence  of  planters  and 
their  families  from  the  Attakapas  and  La  Fourche 
region.  During  the  night  of  the  ninth  of  August 
a  storm  arose  which  rapidly  developed  to  frightful 
violence  with  a  deluge  of  rain  and  a  mighty  lifting 
of  the  sea.     All  the  boats  were  dashed  to  pieces 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  255 

and  every  building  blown  away.  When  daylight 
came  the  wind  was  still  increasing  and  in  the 
afternoon  the  island  was  overwhelmed  and  literally 
washed  away.  Nearly  two  thirds  of  the  unfortu- 
nate persons  sojourning  thereon  were  engulfed  and 
were  never  seen  again.  The  survivors  were  those 
who  clung  to  rafts  and  floating  pieces  of  wreck, 
or  who  climbed  into  the  tops  of  the  trees  on  the 
highest  part  of  the  island. 

The  excitement,  for  several  years  systematically 
worked  up  at  each  election  in  Louisiana  against 
foreigners,  culminated  finally  in  1858  and  for  a  few 
days  a  battle  was  every  moment  expected  at  New 
Orleans.  Five  hundred  men  armed  to  the  teeth 
and  acting  under  direction  of  a  vigilance  committee 
seized  the  Court  House  in  the  city  and  also  took 
possession  of  the  State  Arsenal  at  Jackson  Square. 
This  was  on  the  fourth  of  June,  three  days  before 
the  time  set  for  the  city  election.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  reinforcements  amounting  to  one  thousand 
armed  men  joined  them.  They  fortified  their  posi- 
tions and  erected  strong  barricades  across  the 
streets.  On  the  other  hand  the  Know  Nothings 
occupied  Lafayette  Square  with  a  strong  force  and 
a  battery  of  cannon.  Actual  collision  was  avoided, 
however,  and  by  dint  of  much  parleying  peace  was 
restored  in  time  to  insure  a  quiet  election,  the 
Know  Nothings  electing  the  mayor. 


256  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

During  the  next  two  years  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness reigned  throughout  Louisiana.  The  cotton 
industry  was  at  its  meridian  and  the  sugar  planta- 
tions were  abundantly  remunerative.  The  banks 
had  reached  a  safe  basis,  money  was  plenty,  there 
was  no  epidemic  of  yellow  fever,  the  slaves  were 
quiet;  indeed  every  element  of  commercial,  agri- 
cultural, social  and  political  prosperity  was  present. 
And  yet  all  was  not  well  with  the  people.  There 
was  a  cloud  on  the  horizon;  the  muttering  of  a  dis- 
tant but  approaching  storm  was  in  the  air. 

Over-statement  is  scarcely  possible  in  attempt- 
ing to  portray  the  domestic  charm,  the  ample 
leisure,  the  rich  luxury  and  the  almost  unlimited 
hospitality  which  belonged  to  this  closing  period 
of  the  old  regime  in  Louisiana.  The  plantation 
homes  were  not,  as  a  rule,  very  imposing  or  beauti- 
ful structures;  but  they  were  large,  airy,  comfort- 
able, built  for  use  from  veranda  to  garret.  This  is 
true  as  well  of  the  New  Orleans  mansions,  where 
room  appears  to  have  been  the  main  object  of  the 
builders.  Household  servants  were  numerous  and 
thoroughly  trained,  so  that  a  large  house  crowded 
with  guests  gave  no  trouble  to  host  or  hostess. 
Horses,  carriages,  dogs  and  guns  were  always  ready, 
every  comfort  and  luxury  that  wealth  and  liberal 
effort  could  procure  and  every  personal  attention 
that  politeness  could  suggest  made  the  social  rela- 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  257 

tions  of  the  people  peculiarly  charming.  Indeed 
many  of  the  grand  estates  were  comparable  in 
every  respect  to  those  of  England  and  France, 
while  the  hospitality  dispensed  by  their  owners 
was  on  a  scale  equaled  nowhere  else  in  the  world. 
The  intercourse  between  the  families  of  the  planters 
and  those  of  the  elite  of  New  Orleans  was  very 
intimate.  Visits  of  indefinite  duration  were  ex- 
changed and  in  the  hot  season  the  various  sum- 
mer resorts  on  the  coast  were  always  crowded  with 
coteries  of  brilliant  men  and  beautiful  women. 

At  the  base  of  all  this  ease,  luxury,  leisure  and 
domestic  and  social  happiness  was  negro  slavery 
with  its  attendant  evils  and  its  germ  of  destruction. 
For  years  there  had  been  intermittent  spasms  of 
uneasiness  among  the  people  on  account  of  certain 
evidences  tending  to  show  that  emissaries  from  the 
North  were  attempting  to  sow  the  seed  of  discontent 
and  revolt  in  the  hearts  of  the  plantation  slaves.  In 
response  to  the  forebodings  and  fears  aroused  by 
these  secret  agents  of  the  abolitionists,  the  legisla- 
ture of  Louisiana  passed  many  severe  and  much- 
criticised  black  laws.  Read  at  this  distance  from 
their  date,  these  appear  far  more  barbarous  than 
they  really  were.  They  grew  out  of  the  real  need 
for  heroic  measures  of  precaution  in  communities 
where  the  slaves  outnumbered  the  whites  ten  to  one. 

Fai>seeing  men  began  to  distinguish  signs  in  the 


258  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

political  sky  foretelling  the  approach  of  the  final 
struggle  between  the  North  and  the  South,  long 
before  that  struggle  took  any  definite  shape.  But 
when  the  Charleston  convention  had  broken  into 
factions;  when  the  elements  of  the  Democratic 
party  were  scattered  and  when  the  Republican  party 
had  solidified  its  forces  for  the  campaign  of  i860, 
a  waft  of  maddening  anticipation  passed  over  the 
people  of  the  South.  Singularly  enough,  however, 
Louisiana  was  closely  balanced  in  her  vote  at  the 
ensuing  election.  Breckenridge  received  22,681 
votes,  Bell  20,204  and  Douglass  7,625.  Thomas 
O.  Moore  was  elected  governor  and  immediately 
called  a  special  session  of  the  legislature.  This 
body  met  on  the  tenth  of  December  and  soon  after 
passed  an  act  for  an  election  to  choose  delegates 
to  a  State  convention. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  seventh  of  January, 
1 86 1.  The  legislature,  in  view  of  the  action  of 
other  Southern  States,  passed  an  appropriation  bill 
setting  apart  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  for 
military  purposes.  A  military  commission  was  ap- 
pointed and  every  step  was  taken  preliminary  to  a 
formal  withdrawal  from  the  Union.  The  gen- 
eral assembly  was  visited  by  Hon.  Wirt  Adams, 
the  commissioner  for  the  State  of  Mississippi,  who 
delivered  an  address  before  that  body  on  the 
twelfth  of  January,  detailing   the   plan    of    action 


THE   OLD  REGIME.  259 

matured  in  his  own  State  and  eloquently  insisting 
upon  the  prompt  co-operation  of  Louisiana.  South 
Carolina  had  already  seceded.  The  news  of  this 
decisive  step  had  been  celebrated  in  New  Orleans 
by  a  great  gathering  of  the  people,  who  showed  their 
approval  by  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the  display 
of  the  pelican  flag  amid  the  wildest  bursts  of  enthu- 
siastic cheering,  speech-making,  toast-drinking  and 
general  congratulations. 

When  the  convention  met  on  the  twenty-third 
of  January  at  the  State  capital  it  was  a  foregone 
conclusion  that  an  ordinance  of  secession  would  be 
adopted.  The  vote  was  taken  on  the  twenty-sixth, 
and  resulted  in  a  record  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
yeas  and  seventeen  nays.  The  ordinance  was  then 
presented  to  the  members  for  their  signatures. 
Seven  delegates  refused  to  affix  their  names;  the 
others  present,  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  in 
number,  promptly  signed  the  document ;  the  speaker 
pronounced  the  solemn  declaration  of  Louisiana's 
withdrawal  from  the  Federal  Union  ;  the  die  had 
been  cast. 

Soon  after  this  Governor  Moore  took  possession 
of  the  military  stores,  arsenals  and  forts  in  the 
State  and  the  legislature  in  regular  session  approved 
his  acts.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  January  the  con- 
vention was  again  brought  together  in  New  Orleans 
and  delegates  were  chosen  and  sent  to  a  general 


260  THE   OLD  REGIME. 

convention  of  the  Southern  States  to  be  held  in 
Montgomery,  Alabama. 

When  a  constitution  had  been  framed  for  the 
Confederate  States  it  was  promptly  ratified  by 
Louisiana  on  March  22,  1861.  At  this  time  the 
population  of  the  State  was  nearly  seven  hundred 
thousand  and  her  commercial,  agricultural  and 
financial  condition  surpassed  that  of  any  previous 
period  of  her  history.  Flushed  with  prosperity  and 
tingling  with  the  excitement  induced  by  the  stirring 
events  of  the  hour  her  people  felt  themselves  ready 
to  face  any  possible  emergency. 

It  was  not  for  human  vision  to  foresee  the  ter- 
rible consequences  of  the  struggle  which  was  be- 
ginning. It  was  not  for  human  ears  to  hear,  a  few 
months  in  advance,  the  thunder  of  Farragut's  guns 
as  his  fleet  steamed  up  the  river  past  the  forts. 
Who  could  dream  of  the  fate  in  store  for  the  beau- 
tiful Crescent  City?  Little  more  than  a  year's 
space  lies  between  the  gala  hour  when  the  first  brave 
young  men  enlisted  and  marched  away  from  New 
Orleans  to  join  the  Confederate  forces  and  that 
later  day,  too  dreadful  for  description,  when  amid 
fire  and  smoke  and  a  storm  of  shot  and  shell,  the 
Federal  fleet  ploughed  its  way  to  an  anchorage  in 
front  of  the  doomed  city  and  shook  out  the  folds  of 
the  triumphant  flag  of  our  country. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


IN     THE     CIVIL     WAR. 


E  expression  by  bal- 
lot showed  that  Louis- 
iana was  not  a  pro- 
nounced secession 
State.  In  other 
words  it  disclosed  a 
powerful  conservative 
element  favoring  a 
peaceful  settlement  of 
the  slavery  question,  without  separation  from  the 
Federal  Union.  There  were  very  few  abolition- 
ists within  the  limits  of  the  commonwealth  —  prob- 
ably none  save  emissaries  from  the  North,  and  these 
dared  not  express  themselves  publicly.  No  doubt 
a  considerable  number  of  thoughtful  men,  whose 
wealth  consisted  of  land  and  negroes,  hesitated  to 
take  the  daring  step  of  separation  mindful  the  des- 
perate risk  it  involved. 

Moreover  the  life  of  the  Louisiana  planter  was  a 
charming  one  and  furnished  with  every  element 
which  is  antagonistic  to  war.     Why  hazard  all  this 


262  IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR. 

wealth,  this  idyllic  isolation,  this  almost  absolute 
autocracy,  this  affluent  freedom,  on  the  dreadful 
and  tricksy  fortune  of  battle?  This  question  no 
doubt  arose  in  many  a  brave  heart  that  was  as  true 
as  steel  to  Louisiana  and  to  the  South.  There  was 
to  be  no  faltering,  however,  when  the  final  moment 
came.  The  drum-beat  on  the  Mississippi  was  the 
signal  for  the  perfect  crystallization  of  public  sen- 
timent throughout  the  State.  The  French  popula- 
tion at  once  stood  forth  and  heartily  joined  hands 
with  the  Anglo-Americans.  Differences  of  speech, 
religion  and  ancestry  gave  way  before  the  impulse 
of  a  courageous  and  chivalric  spirit.  Louisiana 
rushed  to  arms. 

The  Mississippi  River  cut  the  Confederate  States 
in  two.  It  was  a  mighty  highway,  a  stream  capable 
of  floating  fleets  of  any  size  from  St.  Louis  to  the 
Gulf.  As  a  consequence  it  very  early  became  the 
object  of  military  attention.  If  the  Federal  forces 
could  open  the  river  the  States  of  Missouri,  Texas, 
Arkansas  and  a  large  part  of  Louisiana  would  be 
severed  from  the  newly-formed  government  and 
rendered  practically  powerless  to  perform  their  part 
in  carrying  on  even  a  defensive  war.  New  Orleans 
sat  at  the  Gulf-gate.  Vicksburg  was  really  the  upper 
barrier,  although  strong  efforts  were  made  to  for- 
tify and  hold  Island  No.  10  and  other  points  farther 
north.     Forts  Jackson  and  St.    Philip  were  made 


IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR.  263 

very  strong  and  were  mounted  with  the  heaviest 
and  most  effective  guns  that  could  be  procured. 
Fort  Pike,  over  on  the  Rigolets  between  Lake 
Borgne  and  Lake  Ponchartrain,  was  also  put  in 
order  and  armed  for  the  defence  of  that  pass. 

Virginia  was  the  first  real  battle-ground,  but 
Louisiana  had  not  long  to  wait  for  her  turn.  While 
her  brave  sons  were  tramping  with  Lee  and  John- 
son and  Jackson  in  the  far-off  northern  Valley,  the 
plans  were  being  matured  for  an  invasion  of  her 
territory  and  for  the  capture  of  her  beautiful  and 
rich  old  city.  On  the  north,  in  Kentucky,  Missouri 
and  Tennessee,  powerful  Federal  armies  were  press- 
ing southward  accompanied  at  each  step  by  flotillas 
of  gun-boats  on  the  Mississippi,  the  Tennessee  and 
the  Cumberland  Rivers. 

War  meant  more  to  Louisiana  than  to  any  other 
State  in  the  South,  for  two  reasons:  she  was  a 
cotton  and  sugar  State  and  she  was  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Mississippi  River.  In  a  large  sense  New 
Orleans  was  Louisiana,  and  to  paralyze  New  Orleans 
was  to  utterly  ruin  the  State. 

Early  in  1862  a  formidable  expedition  against 
New  Orleans  was  fitted  out  consisting  of  a  land 
force  numbering  fifteen  thousand  soldiers  and  a 
fleet  of  forty-seven  vessels,  eighteen  steam  gun-boats 
and  twenty-four  schooners.  General  Benjamin  F. 
Butler   commanded   the  army,   Admiral    Farragut 


264  IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR. 

the  fleet.  The  plan  was  to  sail  round  io  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  enter  the  river,  reduce  the  forts 
and  capture  the  city.  It  was  an  experiment  of 
a  doubtful  nature,  but  well  worth  trying,  in  view 
of  possible  success. 

The  forts  were  powerful ;  they  were  near  to  each 
other,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  river ;  the  Confed- 
erates were  quite  confident  that  no  fleet  could  pass 
them.  New  Orleans,  already  drained  of  her  bravest 
and  best  fighting  men,  felt  no  sense  of  insecurity 
when  she  heard  the  thunder  of  the  first  guns  down 
the  river.  She  was  gay  and  defiant,  remembering 
the  fate  of  Packenham  and  the  victories  in  Mexico. 
She  knew  that  between  her  and  her  enemies  were 
as  good  soldiers  as  ever  went  to  battle,  forts  as 
strong,  so  she  thought,  as  could  be  built ;  a  flotilla 
of  iron-clad  gun-boats  believed  to  be  impregnable. 
Why  should  the  Cresent  City  be  afraid  ? 

Already  on  many  bloody  fields  the  Confederate 
armies  had  achieved  signal  victories  and  the  hearts 
of  the  Southern  people  were  beating  a  hopeful 
measure  from  Richmond  to  Galveston.  The  songs 
of  Randall  and-  Flash,  of  Requier  and  Hayne  and 
Ticknor  were  on  every  breeze ;  the  chivalry  of  the 
old  South  was  at  the  front ;  the  women  were  em- 
broidering its  flags  and  cheering  it  on ;  the  world 
was  watching  it;  even  the  slaves  were  more  docile 
and  industrious  than  in  the  days  of  peace. 


IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR.  265 

There  was,  however,  a  marked  change  in  the 
condition  of  New  Orleans.  The  river  was  no 
longer  full  of  foreign  vessels,  the  docks  were  not 
lined  with  double  and  triple  rows  of  steamboats, 
the  levee  had  lost  its  air  of  bustle  and  energy,  the 
sheds,  though  well  filled  with  cotton,  rice  and  sugar, 
looked  lonely  and  idle.  On  Canal  Street  the  shops 
were  not  crowded  with  transient  customers,  as 
*  any  fine  April  day  would  formerly  have  found  them. 
In  Royal  Street  the  polite  French  Creoles  met 
one  another,  shrugged  their  shoulders,  and,  wag- 
ging their  heads  in  the  direction  of  the  distant 
booming  broad-side  thunder,  exchanged  light  re- 
marks and  passed  on.  Jackson  and  St.  Philip 
would  soon  give  those  Yankees  enough  of  iron 
compliments.  Still,  as  the  pounding  increased  and 
no  news  reached  the  listeners  as  to  how  the  fight 
was  going,  a  chill  of  uneasiness  now  and  again  crept 
through  the  strongest  hearts.  What  if  the  forts 
should  fall  ? 

The  bombardment  began  on  the  eighteenth  of 
April,  1862.  General  Butler's  army  had  been  en- 
camped on  Ship  Island.  Commodore  Farragut's 
fleet  took  position  within  range  of  the  forts  and  for 
six  days  subjected  them  to  a  tremendous  fire  which 
was  returned  with  unflagging  spirit.  This  experi- 
ment disclosed  the  fact  that  the  forts  could  not 
be  reduced,  but  it  also  suggested  to  Farragut  the 


266  IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR. 

possibility  of  steaming  past  them  and  attacking 
the  Confederate  flotilla.  This  consisted  of  the 
two  rams  Manassas  and  Louisiana,  and  fourteen 
gunboats. 

The  Confederates  had  stretched  a  cable  of  iron 
across  the  river  from  bank  to  bank  and  near  the 
forts;  behind  this  barrier  lay  the  gunboats  and 
rams.  The  river  surface  gave  fair  space  for 
manoeuvring  and  those  who  witnessed  the  contest  , 
agree  in  describing  it  as  one  of  the  most  awful 
spectacles  imaginable. 

The  Federal  commander,  with  a  view  to  distract- 
ing attention  from  his  real  purpose,  opened  a  fire 
on  Fort  Jackson  from  every  gun-boat  that  could 
command  it,  and  then  in  the  midst  of  the  din  and 
excitement,  assailed  the  cable  and  the  Confederate 
fleet.  An  observer  who  had  the  best  opportunity 
to  view  coolly  and  calmly  a  large  part  of  the  scene 
says  that  at  one  time  the  splashing  of  the  water  by 
the  heavy  shot  and  shell  from  the  gun-boats  and 
from  the  forts  gave  the  river  the  appearance  of 
frightful  ebullition,  as  if  volcanoes  were  beneath  it. 

This  was  a  fight  very  different  from  the  one 
between  Packenham  and  Jackson.  One  discharge 
of  a  2[un  on  an  iron-clad  vessel  burned  as  much 
powder  as  Jackson's  riflemen  fired  during  the 
entire  day.  There  were  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  guns  in  the  forts,  most  of  them  very  heavy; 


IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR.  267 

but  many  of  them  were  old  and  inefficient,  while 
the  attacking  part  of  the  Federal  fleet  carried 
two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  guns  of  the  latest 
and  best  pattern.  To  aid  the  forts  the  Confed- 
erates had  a  fleet  of  thirteen  vessels  close  at 
hand  and  a  battery  on  shore  at  Chalmette  near 
the  old  battle-ground  of  the  famous  eighth  of 
January,   181 5. 

At  about  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-fourth  of  April,  the  final  assault  was  begun 
by  a  concentrated  fire  upon  Fort  Jackson  from 
the  entire  Federal  fleet.  Both  forts  immediately 
responded  with  every  available  gun  and  the  Con- 
federate steamer,  the  Governor  Moore,  joined  in 
promptly.  The  struggle  which  ensued  was  a  ter- 
rific one.  The  Federal  fleet  made  a  rush,  broke 
through  the  obstructions  and  steamed  in  between 
the  forts  under  a  cross-fire  which  it  would  seem 
impossible  for  any  vessel  to  withstand.  Thirteen 
of  them  passed,  however,  firing  tremendous  broad- 
sides into  the  Confederate  vessels  as  they  came  up 
with  them.  The  forts  had  done  everything  that  it 
was  possible  for  them  to  do.  For  six  days  and  six 
nights  the  brave  commander  Gen.  J.  K.  Duncan, 
and  his  heroic  men,  had  borne  up  under  hard- 
ships and  dangers  terrible  enough  to  have  appalled 
any  but  iron  hearts.  Now  nothing  but  the  Con- 
federate flotilla  and  the  battery  at  Chalmette  lay 


268  Itf  TH£   CIVIL    WAR. 

between  New  Orleans  and  the  Federal  fleet.  The 
Governor  Moore  of  the  Southern  fleet  engaged 
the  Varuna  and  with  the  aid  of  the  ram  Stone- 
wall Jackson  sunk  her,  but  the  Moore  was  in  turn 
disabled  and  had  to  be  fired  by  her  commander. 
The  Manassas  was  destroyed  by  the  Mississippi; 
the  Stonewall  Jackson  was  burned;  the  Louis- 
iana, the  McRae  and  the  Defiance  were  captured 
by  the  Federals;  in  a  word  the  Confederate  fleet 
was  swept  from  the  river  as  if  by  a  whirlwind.  As 
for  the  battery  at  Chalmette  it  was  powerless  to 
do  anything  without  the  aid  of  the  gun-boats  and 
rams. 

General  Lovell,  who  was  in  command  at  New 
Orleans,  had  come  down  the  river  in  a  steamboat 
to  observe  the  operations  and  was  very  nearly  cap- 
tured ;  he  hastened  back  to  the  city  to  withdraw 
his  forces.  When  the  news  spread  through  the 
streets  that  the  Federal  fleet  had  passed  the  forts 
and  had  destroyed  the  Confederate  flotilla,  a  strange 
scene  followed  ;  a  scene  impossible,  perhaps,  in  any 
other  American  city  under  parallel  circumstances. 

The  brave,  active,  fighting  men  of  New  Orleans 
were  far  away  in  the  armies  of  the  South ;  but 
they  had  left  behind  a  slinking  swarm  of  human 
vermin,  the  descendants  of  off-scourings  from 
Europe,  the  progeny  of  the  cordon  bleu,  the  squalid 
mongrels   that   haunted   the   dirty  alleys.     These, 


IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR.  269 

when  they  saw  a  hopeless  panic  seize  the  good 
people  of  the  city,  poured  forth  from  their  dens 
and  began  an  indiscriminate  pillaging  of  houses, 
shops  and  storage-sheds.  Thus  while  the  better 
class  of  citizens  were  frantically  setting  fire  to  the 
cotton  (some  twelve  thousand  bales)  the  cut-throats 
and  ruffians,  the  hardened  women  and  even  the 
lawless  children  were  raging  from  place  to  place, 
back  and  forth,  here  and  there,  wildly  plundering 
and  aimlessly  destroying  —  a  mob  of  thieves  mad- 
dened by  the  overwhelming  license  of  the  occasion. 
All  the  public  materials,  consisting  of  army 
supplies,  were  heaped  up  in  the  middle  of  the 
streets  and  burned.  General  Lovell  withdrew  his 
soldiers  on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-fourth,  leaving 
the  city  at  the  mercy  of  the  Federal  fleet,  which  at 
one  o'clock  on  the  following  day  steamed  up  the 
river  and  anchored  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  not 
far  from  the  foot  of  Canal  Street.  By  this  time  a 
degree  of  order  had  been  restored,  but  the  people 
were  still  wild  with  excitement.  They  could  not 
realize  that  New  Orleans  was  indeed  a  captured 
city;  that  the  "Yankee  "  fleet  was  lying  before  its 
open  gate.  The  mob  which  lately  had  been  com- 
mitting such  foul  deeds,  now  swayed  back  and 
forth  in  the  streets,  hooting,  yelling  and  cursing, 
urging  the  people  to  resist  the  landing  of  the 
Federals. 


270  IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR. 

Commodore  Farragut  demanded  the  formal  sur- 
render of  the  city,  but  the  mayor  was  powerless. 
He  could  not  surrender  the  city  while  the  people 
were  controlled  by  an  unreasoning  mob.  Conse- 
quently, on  the  twenty-ninth,  a  detachment  under 
command  of  Fleet  Captain  H.  H.  Bell  was  sent 
ashore  to  take  possession  of  the  public  buildings. 

Before  this,  however,  on  the  twenty-sixth,  a  flag 
placed  by  Farragut's  order  on  the  United  States 
Mint  had  been  hauled  down  by  W.  B.  Mumford 
and  delivered  over  to  the  mob  who  tore  it  into 
shreds.  General  Butler  afterwards  caused  Mum- 
ford  to  be  tried  for  treason  and  hanged. 

General  Butler,  once  in  possession  of  New 
Orleans,  placed  the  city  under  the  most  rigid  form 
of  martial  law  and  did  some  acts  for  which  he  has 
been  justly  criticised.  It  is  true  that  the  more 
violent  element  of  the  population  of  New  Orleans 
gave  him  great  provocation,  but  provocation  cannot 
be  considered  against  defenceless  women  and  chil- 
dren to  the  extent  of  justifying  their  over-harsh 
treatment  at  the  hands  of  a  man.  Of  course 
those  were  war-days  and  it  is  difficult  to  consider 
fairly  all  the  circumstances.  A  woman's  tongue 
is  sharper  than  a  sword,  but  a  man's  temper  should 
be  fine  enough  to  turn  its  point. 

In  the  main,  however,  General  Butler's  course 
was  the  best  possible  for  the  welfare  of  the  people. 


IN  THE  CIVIL    WAR,  27 1 

He  took  prompt  measures  for  cleaning  the  streets 
of  the  city  and  for  guarding  it  against  pestilence 
and  used  only  such  authority  as  he  deemed  to  be 
necessary  to  the  safety  of  his  command  and  for 
the  proper  government  of  the  place.  He  enforced 
at  least  a  show  of  respect  for  the  Federal  flag  and, 
grimly  enough,  mingled  acts  of  touching  kindness 
with  his  harshest  measures.  If  he  had  been  more 
successful  than  Packenham,  he  did  not  visit  upon 
the  captured  city  any  of  the  consequences  threat- 
ened by  the  boastful  English  invaders.  Still,  in 
many  a  breast  in  New  Orleans,  his  iron  adminis- 
tration will  long  be  remembered  with  a  shiver  of 
horror  and  resentment.  He  could  not  enforce  his 
authority  over  much  of  the  State  outside  the  city 
and  for  a  long  time  a  large  part  of  the  people  of 
Louisiana  were,  to  all  jntents  and  purposes,  with- 
out government  of  any  kind. 

It  appears  strange  that  the  Confederate  authori- 
ties should  have  been  permitted  this  easy  capture 
of  New  Orleans.  Realizing  the  immense  import- 
ance of  the  river  and  considering  the  depression 
which  they  well  knew  must  follow  the  loss  of  so 
prominent  a  city  they  should  have  defended  it  at 
all  hazards.  There  must  have  been  a  very  weak 
management  of  their  Navy  Department,  for  the 
iron-clads  were  all  found  to  be  either  unservice- 
able or  badly  mismanaged  during  the  fight.     Had 


272  IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR. 

they  been  fairly  manageable,  Farragut's  fleet  could 
have  been  held  under  the  fire  of  the  forts  until 
destroyed  or  driven  back. 

No  sooner  had  the  Federal  forces  settled  them- 
selves in  New  Orleans  than  the  Union  fleet  was 
made  ready  for  operations  farther  up  the  river. 
Baton  Rouge  was  taken  and  held  until  August 
when  General  Breckenridge,  whose  army  was  en- 
camped on  the  Amite  River,  marched  to  attack 
that  city.  He  expected  the  Confederate  iron-clad, 
the  Arkansas,  to  co-operate  with  him  ;  but,  like  all 
the  rest,  that  much-vaunted  vessel  was  unmanage- 
able and  had  to  be  burned  to  keep  the  enemy  from 
taking  her.  A  battle  was  fought  in  which  the 
Confederate  forces  were  for  the  time  victorious, 
but  a  little  later  Baton  Rouge  was  re-taken  and 
the  Federals  forthwith  began  preparations  for  over- 
running the  State.  General  Weitzel  with  a  strong 
force  set  out  from  New  Orleans  in  October  and 
after  a  number  of  light  engagements  drove  the 
Confederates  out  of  the  southern  parishes. 

General  Alfred  Mouton,  a  brave  and  intrepid 
Creole,  had  early  in  1863  collected  an  army  of  near 
two  thousand  men  and  was  encamped  in  the  Parish 
of  St.  Mary  not  far  from  Franklin.  In  the  mean- 
time General  Banks  had  succeeded  General  Butler 
in  command  at  New  Orleans,  and  on  the  fourteenth 
of  April  he  attacked  Mouton  with  a  largely  superior 


V 


IN  THE  CIVIL    WAR.  273 

force.  The  engagement  was  an  extremely  bloody 
one,  the  Confederates  fighting  with  the  heroism  of 
despair.  The  victory  was  with  the  Federals,  who 
after  a  heavy  loss  drove  their  enemy  back  upon 
Alexandria. 

Port  Hudson  was  now  the  only  strong  Confed- 
erate foothold  in  the  State  of  Louisiana,  and  this 
was  soon  relinquished.  General  Grant  was  pound- 
ing away  at  Vicksburg,  which  surrendered  on  the 
fourth  of  July,  1863 ;  on  the  eighth  General  Banks 
took  Port  Hudson.  This  was  the  last  blow  on  the 
gates  of  the  Mississippi ;  they  swung  wide  open;  the 
Confederacy  was  split  in  two. 

Louisiana,  however,  was  far  from  being  aban- 
doned by  her  plucky  defenders.  Under  the  Federal 
authority  an  election  was  held  on  the  twenty-second 
of  February,  1864,  a*  New  Orleans  and  a  few  other 
places  near  by,  by  which  Michael  Hahn  was  chosen 
as  governor  of  Louisiana.  About  two  weeks  later 
Colonel  Henry  Watkins  Allen  was  elected  to  the 
same  office  by  the  people  outside  the  Federal  lines. 
He  was  inaugurated  at  Shreveport,  which  was  now 
the  Confederate  seat  of  government  in  the  State. 

General  Kirby  Smith  was  in  command  of  all  the 
Confederate  forces  west  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
but  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  keep  his  men  together. 
Indeed  the  great  game  of  war  was  nearing  its  end. 
General  Banks  had  been  so  reinforced  that  his  army 


274  IN  THE  CIVIL    WAR. 

consisted  of  three  corps  aggregating  nearly  forty- 
five  thousand  men,  perfectly  armed  and  equipped. 
He  issued  orders  for  a  movement  upon  the  Con- 
federate army  in  the  Red  River  Valley,  and  in 
Western  Louisiana.  The  first  of  these  corps  he 
led  himself,  by  way  of  Bayou  Teche ;  General 
A.  J.  Smith  ascended  Red  River  with  the  second 
corps  and  General  Steele  marched  southward  from 
Camden,  Arkansas,  with  the  third. 

On  the  eighth  of  April  a  battle  was  fought  near 
the  small  village  of  Mansfield,  situated  between 
Shreveport  and  Natchitoches.  The  Confederates 
were  commanded  by  General  Richard  Taylor,  son 
of  President  Zachary  Taylor.  General  Banks  was 
defeated  and  driven  back  upon  Pleasant  Hill. 
Taylor  was  to  prevent  Banks  from  joining  Gen. 
A.  J.  Smith.  To  this  end  he  followed  rapidly 
and  brought  on  another  sharp  engagement  at  Pleas- 
ant Hill,  the  result  of  which  was  of  no  importance, 
as  the  signal  reverses  suffered  by  Lee  and  John- 
ston in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  a  few  days 
later,  put  an  end  to  the  war.  Indeed  the  opening 
of  the  Mississippi  should  have  terminated  the 
struggle ;  there  was  no  longer  any  hope  for  the 
South  with  that  mighty  highway  lying  unguarded 
from  St.  Louis  to  the  Belize.. 

General  Richard  Taylor  surrendered  to  General 
Canby,  on  the  fourth  of  May,  and  on  the  twenty- 


IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR.  275 

sixth  General  Kirby  Smith  laid  down  his  arms. 
A  long  breath  of  relief  escaped  from  the  lips  of  a 
depressed,  impoverished  and  decimated  people.  A 
shout  of  triumph  arose  from  the  conquerors.  The 
awful  period  of  carnage  was  completed. 

In  Louisiana  the  immediate  effect  of  peace  was 
nearly  as  dreadful  as  that  of  war.  The  flower  of 
her  male  population  lay  on  the  fields  of  Virginia, 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Georgia  and  Tennessee; 
her  homes  were  desolate ;  on  every  street,  in  every 
door-yard  limped  the  shattered  wreck  of  a  husband, 
a  father,  a  son,  a  brother,  a  betrothed.  The  calm 
after  the  storm  was  the  calm  of  despair. 

The  Proclamation  of  Emancipation  had  been  sent 
forth  by  President  Lincoln  on  the  first  of  January, 
1863,  but  it  had  no  general  effect  until  after  the 
surrender  of  the  Southern  armies.  With  peace  came 
freedom,  but  it  was  freedom  with  darkness  on  its 
wings,  with  gloom  in  its  face,  with  evil  spirits 
attending  it. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  negroes,  ignorant 
and  wholly  unused  to  an  independent  existence, 
were  turned  loose  upon  the  plantations  as  free 
as  their  late  masters,  but  penniless  and  helpless. 
The  planters,  on  the  other  hand,  who  were  the 
owners  of  the  soil  and  of  all  the  personal  property 
thereon,  found  themselves  almost  as  helpless  as 
were    the    negroes.       What    was    to/  be    done  ? 


276  IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR. 

There  was  no  money,  the  plantations  had  been  per- 
mitted to  run  down,  the  sugar-mills,  cotton-gins  and 
rice-mills  were  out  of  repair,  many  of  them  had 
been  burned.  Who  could  rebuild  them  ?  Who 
would  work  them  when  repaired  ? 

The  negroes  had  been  filled  with  a  crude  and  dan- 
gerous notion  of  the  extent  of  their  freedom  and 
they  began  to  look  about  them  for  the  great  reward 
which  American  Liberty  is  supposed  to  bestow. 
In  their  poor  benighted  imaginations  swam  dreams 
of  wealth  and  luxury,  the  social  position  of  the  white 
man,  the  power  of  politics,  the  fascinations  of  the 
cities.  Like  the  lotos-eaters,  they  would  not  worry 
or  work  any  longer ;  they  would  simply  grasp  free- 
dom and  float  away  into  the  heaven  of  rest  and 
plenty.  Why  had  all  this  fighting  and  bloodshed, 
all  this  wide  conflagration  and  all  this  terrible  sac- 
rifice of  life  and  limb  and  property  been  ordered 
and  executed,  if  not  for  their  sake?  And  where 
was  the  supreme  gain  to  them  ?  It  must  be  some- 
where. They  would  go  presently  and  find  it. 
Never  was  there  a  more  pathetic  phase  of  life, 
never  a  more  dangerous  one. 

The  planters,  most  of  them  scarred  veterans  of 
the  Southern  armies,  returned  to  their  spacious 
homes  and  their  broad  acres  to  find  themselves 
poor  and  unable  to  make  use  of  any  means  for  re- 
newing their  fortunes.      The   former  slaves  now 


\ 


IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR.  279 

hovered  around  them  in  a  dark  swarm  —  idle,  hungry 
freedmen  invested  with  all  the  rights,  privileges 
and  franchises  of  American  citizens,  but  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  demands  of  life,  without 
fitness  for  the  heavy  responsibilities  suddenly  cast 
upon  them.  The  negroes  were  largely  in  the 
majority ;  at  the  same  time  many  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  trustworthy  of  the  white  men  had 
been  disfranchised. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  what  a  field  Louisiana 
presented  for  the  operations  of  the  unscrupulous 
politician.  How  promptly  this  field  was  occupied 
and  to  what  an  unbearable  degree  of  shameless 
political  debauchery  its  chief  possessors  progressed 
before  they  were  throttled  by  a  maddened  people 
is  better  left  out  of  this  story,  or  sketched  by  hints 
rather  than  painted  in  full  colors.  The  political 
sequels  that  followed  the  disease  of  war  may  be 
analyzed  by  a  specialist.  I  have  no  taste  for  the 
task. 

Happily  the  impressionist  in  historical  work  can 
represent  a  great  deal  by  what  he  does  not  describe. 
It  would  seem  impossible  for  the  public  life  of  any 
State  to  reach  a  lower  condition  of  moral  and  po- 
litical rottenness  and  depravity  than  that  of  the 
Louisiana  Government  from  the  close  of  the  war 

up  to  the  fourteenth  of  September,  1874.  On  that 
day  there  was  a  revolution. 


280  IN  THE  CIVIL    WAR. 

The  white  people  of  New  Orleans  and  of  the 
State  had  borne  all  that  it  was  possible  for  them  to 
bear.  Defeat  in  battle  and  reduction  from  affluence 
to  poverty  could  be  endured,  but  a  corrupt,  ava- 
ricious and  fraud-engendered  system  of  government 
which  set  ignorant  negroes  and  conscienceless  aliens 
as  absolute  rulers  over  the  destiny  of  Louisiana  and 
over  the  very  liberties  and  lives  of  her  people,  could 
not  be  submitted  to  by  the  sons  of  the  men  who 
fought  with  Andrew  Jackson  at  Chalmette  and  with 
Zachary  Taylor  in  Mexico.  It  was  not  a  question  of 
politics,  it  was  a  question  of  existence  in  every  sense 
of  the  word.  The  white  people  at  length  resolved  to 
overturn  the  power  of  what  was  called  the  "  carpet- 
bag "  government.  The  result  could  not  be  doubtful. 
The  negroes  as  a  mass  knew  nothing  about  govern- 
ment, the  needs  of  the  people  or  the  organization 
necessary  to  political  power.  Moreover  they  cared 
nothing  at  all  for  such  matters,  except  as  they  were 
urged  to  artificial  excitement  by  designing  emis- 
saries of  the  "carpet-bag"  clique  in  New  Orleans 
then  under  the  direction  of  William  Pitt  Kellogg. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  September,  1874,  a  com- 
mittee of  citizens  was  sent  to  the  State  House  to 
demand  of  Kellogg  his  resignation ;  but  he,  having 
heard  of  what  was  about  to  happen,  had  taken 
refuse  with  the  Federal  garrison  and  refused  to 
accede  to  the  committee's  demand.     At  once  the 


IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR.  281 

people  flew  to  arms.  Taking  possession  of  the  public 
buildings,  arsenals  and  weapons  of  war,  they  formed 
themselves  into  a  column  and  marched  to  the  levee 
at  the  foot  of  Canal  Street.  Here  they  fortified 
themselves  by  barricading  the  way.  It  was  at  this 
point  that  General  Longstreet's  Metropolitan 
Guards,  expecting  an  easy  victory,  assaulted  them 
with  a  great  flourish.  But  the  Guards  were  re- 
pulsed, their  cannon  captured  and  turned  upon  them 
and  by  this  decided  action  the  Kellogg  govern- 
ment was  ended  there  and  then.  This  revolt,  al- 
though partisan  excitement  was  running  high  at 
the  time  all  over  the  United  States,  was  hailed  with 
approval  by  every  person  who  felt  that  by  such  a 
means  intelligence  and  honesty  had  cast  out  fraud 
and  debauchery. 

Eleven  men  were  killed  on  the  side  of  the  citizens. 
Six  of  them  bore  Creole  names ;  five  of  them  were 
either  German  or  Anglo-Americans.  In  sound  at 
least,  they  are  representative  names.  They  stand 
for  victims  who  offered  themselves  up  for  a  sacrifice 
in  order  that  New  Orleans  and  Louisiana  might 
once  more  be  free  from  alien  domination.  They 
settled  forever  the  problem  of  mastership  and  de- 
clared that  the  owners  of  the  soil,  the  possessors 
of  intelligence  and  the  descendants  of  those  who 
hewed  Louisiana  out  of  the  swamps  and  forests  and 
built  her  magnificent  city  are  the  rightful  controllers 


282  IN  THE   CIVIL    WAR. 

of  her  destiny,  and  that,  come  what  may,  they  will 
control  it. 

And  so  once  more  Louisiana  drew  herself  out  of 
the  mire  and  set  herself  to  the  task  of  building  her 
fortune  anew.  The  situation  was  one  calling  for  the 
utmost  prudence,  caution,  reserve  and  patience.  A 
deadly  bitterness  of  feeling  had  been  engendered 
and  the  least  sudden  inflammation  of  the  popular 
temper  was  likely  to  bring  on  the  most  deplorable 
excesses  of  race-oppression. 

Unscrupulous  adventurers  from  the  North,  bent 
upon  acquiring  money  irf  the  name  of  philanthropy 
and  careless  as  to  its  cost  to  the  people  of  Louisiana, 
studiously  wrought  upon  the  ignorance  and  the  half- 
savage  natures  of  the  freedmen,  hoping  through 
their  votes  to  get  possession  of  the  State  treasury 
and  of  the  Federal  patronage. 

The  white  people  of  Louisiana  were  resolved  that 
this  should  never  be  done.  They  had,  at  last,  ob- 
tained a  firm  hold  on  the  reins  of  public  affairs  with 
full  power  to  check  and  finally  to  terminate  the  ruin- 
ous waste,  fraud  and  crime  that  had  been  the  chief 
element  of  the  State  government  for  the  past  ten 
years.  They  could  not  afford  to  let  go  this  hold 
under  any  circumstances  whatever.  On  the  other 
hand,  however,  there  was  a  ring  of  unscrupulous 
politicians  to  the  manner  born  who  stood  ready  to 
rush  to  the  utmost  extreme  of  cruelty  and  oppres- 


IN  THE  CIVIL    WAR.  283 

sion  in  order  to  insure  a  lasting  control  of  the 
State's  finances.  It  was  too  much  to  expect  that 
a  just  equilibrium  should  be  reached  at  once  in 
public  affairs,  but  the  best  element  of  the  people 
gradually  assumed  the  mastery  in  New  Orleans. 
And  this  meant  the  full  mastery  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana. 

During  these  years  of  political  excitement,  of 
domestic  depression  and  gloom  there  was,  of  course, 
very  slight  progress  in  the  agricultural  and  commer- 
cial interests  of  the  people;  but  the  time  was  at 
hand  when  the  process  of  adjustment  must  begin, 
for  the  world  could  not  longer  do  without  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  great  Creole  State.  Mere  partisan 
political  considerations  must  give  way  before  the 
larger  and  more  valuable  demands  of  a  civilization 
to  which  the  new  force  of  freedom  had  given  an 
irresistible  impulse. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


THE     PELICAN     STATE. 


HE  prosperity  of  Lou- 
isiana, after  the  four- 
teenth of  September, 
1874,  depended  upon 
the  temper  of  the  na- 
tive white  people.  The 
negroes  were  harmless 
if  left  to  themselves. 
Although,  as  a  rule, 
idle  and  shiftless  they 
were,  when  properly  treated,  inclined  to  make  some 
show  of  industry. 

Their  stumbling  block  was  politics.  In  this  regard 
they  were  a  social  problem.  Owing  to  their  numbers 
and  to  the  fact  that  they  were  all  partisans  to  one 
side  (and  that  side  in  its  local  management)  they 
were  inimical  to  the  interests  of  the  native  whites, 
a  standing  menace  to  good  government  and  a 
bar  to  the  safety  of  person  and  property.  If 
the  whites  had  been  divided  politically,  or  if  the 
negroes  had  been  able  to  judge  intelligently  of 
*8+ 


THE  PELICAN  STATE,  285 

the  public  needs  and  to  steer  clear  of  unscrup- 
ulous aliens,  the  difficulty  would  have  been  greatly 
softened.  In  reality  it  was  not  so  much  a  question 
of  which  party  should  control  as  it  was  a  question 
of  preventing  the  supremacy  of  u  carpet-bag  "  ad- 
venturers whose  only  object  was  plunder. 

In  1876  the  presidential  election  was  a  most 
bitter  and  unscrupulous  struggle  between  the  two 
great  parties,  and  it  turned  out  that  Louisiana  and 
Florida  became  the  centres  of  partisan  attention. 
The  parishes  of  Louisiana,  in  which  the  negroes 
greatly  outnumbered  the  whites,  were  the  scenes  of 
unprecedented  proceedings  at  the  polls,  and  it  was 
claimed  by  both  the  parties  that  fraud  had  been 
committed.  Emmissaries  from  the  North  rushed 
to  New  Orleans.  And  now  a  most  disgraceful  spec- 
tacle was  exhibited  to  the  world  —  the  spectacle  of  a 
sovereign  State  turned  over  into  the  hands  of  a  mob 
of  wrangling  alien  partisans,  without  responsibility 
or  scruple,  bent  upon  twisting  facts  to  suit  the 
needs  of  the  moment.  Florida  was  in  the  same 
condition.  The  outcome  of  it  all  was  a  congres- 
sional commission  which  by  a  strictly  partisan  vote 
declared  Mr.  Hayes  elected  as  President  of  the 
United  States  over  Mr.  Tilden,  by  counting  the 
two  contested  States  in  Mr.  Hayes'  favor.  It  was 
too  late,  however,  for  the  alien  adventurers  and 
irresponsible  tricksters  to  ever  again  get  possession 


286  THE  PELICAN  STATE. 

of  the  government  of  Louisiana.  No  illegal  tribunal 
was  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  State  elections, 
and  as  soon  as  this  condition  was  assured  agricul- 
ture, commerce,  education  and  social  improvement 
began  to  move  in  happy  lines. 

With  a  consciousness  of  self-command  came  a 
pleasure  in  self-control  and  at  once  the  whites  and 
the  negroes  took  a  step  nearer  each  other.  The 
latter  were  made  to  feel  that  their  existence  de- 
pended upon  work,  not  upon  elections ;  that  their 
happiness  rested  upon  their  good  behavior  and  not 
upon  the  success  of  some  penniless  and  vicious 
"  carpet-bagger  "  whose  inflammatory  speeches  had 
so  long  led  them  astray ;  that  before  they  could  truly 
enjoy  freedom  they  must  first  learn  in  the  school 
of  experience  that  freedom  is  not  moral  exemption 
or  political  license ;  in  short,  that  there  is  no  royal 
road  to  intelligent  citizenship  and  that  before  con- 
trol comes  the  right  to  control,  which  cannot  be 
conferred  by  mere  proclamation  ;  that  emancipation 
is  one  thing,  but  that  the  right  of  political  domi- 
nation is  quite  another. 

Since  1874  Louisiana  has  shown  a  wonderful 
march  of  prosperity.  Immigration  has  been  rapid 
and  steady,  lands  have  advanced  in  value,  crops 
have  been  enormous  and  the  people,  black  and 
white,  have  enjoyed  every  blessing  of  industry  and 
good  government.     New   Orleans,  though   unable 


THE  PELICAN  STATE.  287 

to  regain  the  control  she  once  held  over  the  Mis- 
sissippi Valley,  has  taken  great  strides  toward  a 
permanent  prosperity. 

Among  the  planters  the  great  question  has  been 
that  of  well-controlled  and  justly  remunerated 
labor.  The  swarms  of  former  slaves  lingering  for- 
lornly about  their  old  quarters  appealed  from  the 
first  to  the  sympathy  of  quondam  masters,  but  the 
question  of  a  fair  division  of  the  results  of  agricul- 
ture under  the  new  order  of  things  was  a  puzzling 
and  vexatious  one.  It  was  natural  that  the  negroes 
should  be  indolent  and  improvident  to  a  degree, 
and  that  their  suddenly-conferred  freedom  should 
affect  their  bearing  toward  the  whites ;  but  the  fact 
that  they  were  subject  to  the  influence  of  political 
agitators,  threatened  for  a  time  to  become  an  im- 
passable barrier  between  themselves  and  the  only 
persons  upon  earth  who  were  able  or  willing  to 
assist  them  by  furnishing  them  the  means  by 
which  they  could  subsist. 

Slowly  but  surely,  however,  the  two  races  ar- 
ranged themselves  in  the  order  of  intelligence  and 
experience,  the  whites  as  the  employers,  the  blacks 
as  the  employed.  Year  by  year  their  relationship 
has  become  more  and  more  cordial  and  mutually 
remunerative.  The  negroes  have  availed  them- 
selves of  the  new  opportunities  afforded  them 
and  in  numerous  instances  have  caught  from  the 


288  THE  PELICAN  STATE. 

whites  the  secret  of  money-making  and  economy. 
Many  of  them  have  grown  rich  and  influential, 
setting  a  valuable  example  for  their  race  every- 
where to  follow. 

In  the  winter  of  1884-85  an  industrial  exposition 
was  held  in  New  Orleans  as  a  centennial  celebra- 
tion of  the  first  exportation  of  cotton  from  the 
United  States.  Congress  had  passed  an  act  creat- 
ing the  corporation  and  naming  it  the  World's 
Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition ;  a 
loan  was  voted  of  one  million  dollars  and  an  addi- 
tional sum  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  for 
a  National  Exhibit.  The  State  of  Louisiana  and 
the  city  of  New  Orleans  each  appropriated  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  which  was  added  a 
popular  subscription  of  about  five  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  In  addition  to  this  there  were  liberal 
donations  from  counties,  towns  and  cities. 

The  Board  of  Management  chosen  under  the 
provisions  of  the  congressional  enactment,  pro- 
ceeded to  select  the  grounds  and  erect  the  neces- 
sary buildings.  These  were  upon  a  grand  scale 
and  of  imposing  appearance,  covering  a  far  larger 
area  than  any  exposition  buildings  ever  before 
constructed.  The  display  was  remarkable  and  the 
result  of  the  exposition  was  the  drawing  together 
of  the  Northern  and  the  Southern  people  and  the 
engendering  of  a  more  cordial  understanding  and 


THE  PELICAN  STATE.  291 

a  sincerer  confidence  between  them.  For  the  first 
time  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  leaders  of  the 
social  life  of  Boston  and  of  New  York  found  them- 
selves under  the  roofs  of  the  exclusive  and  ultra 
Southern  homes.  Hospitality  and  cordial  welcome 
were  offered  without  reserve,  and  the  swarms  of 
Northern  visitors  were  given  the  freedom  of  New 
Orleans.  Contact  in  the  streets,  the  hotels,  the 
exposition  buildings  and  at  the  theatres  and  restau- 
rants did  much  to  rid  both  Northern  and  Southern 
minds  of  baseless  prejudices,  and  to  confirm  an 
already  growing  belief  that  the  country  was  healing 
its  ghastly  wound,  without  salve  or  ligature,  by 
spontaneous  reunion  of  the  parts  so  painfully 
severed  in  the  years  gone  by. 

Meantime  the  internal  improvement  of  the  State, 
both  public  and  private,  had  progressed  rapidly. 
New  railroads  were  built,  highways  were  remodeled, 
the  levees  perfected  in  many  deficient  places  and 
new  ones  constructed.  Improved  machinery  for 
working  up  the  sugar  cane  and  for  disposing  of 
the  cotton  and  rice  products  added  a  great  force  to 
the  planting  and  manufacturing  interests.  These 
consequently  attracted  wide  attention  and  greatly 
stimulated  immigration. 

The  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River,  by  the 
building  of  an  extensive  system  of  jetties,  was 
greatly  improved  and  the  channel  made  sufficiently 


292  THE  PELICAN  STATE. 

deep  to  float  over  all  the  bars  the  largest  ocean 
vessels  that  could  ever  desire  to  sail  into  the  har- 
bor of  New  Orleans. 

Louisiana  has  excellent  schools  and  colleges  and 
at  New  Orleans  a  university,  which,  since  the  lib- 
eral gift  of  a  noble  citizen,  is  developing  rapidly  to 
the  proportions  of  a  first-class  American  institution. 
The  struggle  so  persistently  kept  up  between  the 
two  languages  has  ceased  to  be  violent.  The 
French  tongue  is  no  longer  progressive,  or,  at 
least,  its  area  is  not  increasing.  In  New  Orleans 
the  old  French  quarter  is  beginning  to  show  signs 
of  change,  as  if  a  reaction  had  at  last  set  in  even 
among  the  Creoles  themselves.  The  Acadian 
country  has  received  a  large  number  of  Anglo- 
American  immigrants  and  the  whole  western  and 
northern  area  of  Louisiana  bids  fair  to  become  one 
of  the  most  prosperous  and  beautiful  regions  in 
the  South. 

Vast  bodies  of  undrained  land,  incomparably 
fertile,  lie  untouched  in  the  southern  half  of  the 
State.  Ditching  and  dyke-building  are  going  for- 
ward year  by  year ;  the  great  forests  of  pine,  oak 
and  cypress  are  being  utilized  and  are  yielding 
rich  returns  in  lumber  and  spars,  in  ship-timber 
and  shingles, 

The  story  of  Louisiana,  no  matter  how  lightly 
sketched,  cannot   be   concluded  without  giving  a 


THE  PELICAN  STATE.  293 

glimpse  of  its  intellectual  development.  This  must 
be  the  merest  impression,  however,  drawn  from  the 
grouping  together  of  a  few  prominent  figures  and 
instances. 

Slavery  as  an  institution  in  America  was  inimical 
in  its  very  nature,  to  the  growth  of  art  and  letters; 
for  in  order  to  sustain  slavery  it  became  absolutely 
necessary  to  forbid  free  thought  and  free  speech. 
To  have  permitted  a  free,  open,  unlimited  discussion 
of  slavery  in  the  South  would  have  been  to  incite 
servile  insurrection  with  all  its  terrible  consequences. 
Art,  in  all  its  forms,  is  nothing  if  not  free.  The 
spirit  of  poetry,  painting,  sculpture,  fiction,  the 
drama  and  music,  feeds  upon  life  and  depends  upon 
the  deepest  suggestions  of  life  for  its  materials. 
Take  from  it  one  large,  prominent  and  picturesque 
element  of  the  human  problem  before  it  and  it  is 
helpless.  Criticism  and  caricature,  the  merciless 
truth,  the  high  idealization  and  the  temper  to  bear 
the  profoundest  probing  of  the  needle  of  reform 
are  absolutely  prerequisite  to  the  development  of 
genuine  art.  This  temper  the  South  could  not 
afford  to  encourage,  for  to  do  so  was  to  introduce 
the  acid  that  would  bite  at  the  very  base  of  her 
civilization. 

Louisiana  was  pre-eminently  a  slave  State ;  her 
whole  social,  domestic,  commercial  and  political 
fabric  was  founded  upon  slavery.     The  servile  pop- 


294  THE  PELICAN  STATE. 

ulation  greatly  outnumbered  the  whites  and  the 
danger  of  revolt  was,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
more  than  once  realized.  It  was  never  known  how 
small  a  spark  might  inflame  the  tinder  of  the  half- 
slumbering  insurgent  spirit.  Free  discussion,  free 
criticism,  the  painting  of  the  dark  side  of  slavery 
and  the  display  of  the  full  glory  of  freedom  were 
of  necessity  forbidden.  The  predicament  was  a 
singular  one  and  little  understood  by  the  world. 

It  was  not  that  the  Southern  people  were  heart- 
less, they  were,  in  the  main,  gentle  and  indulgent 
masters  almost  worshiped  by  their  slaves ;  but  the 
conditions  forbade  even  the  slightest  agitation  of 
the  subject  of  freedom  or  of  the  abuses  of  slavery. 
This  being  so,  how  could  a  Southern  genius  write 
a  poem  of  Southern  experience  and  passion  or  a 
novel  of  Southern  life?  Only  one  side  of  the  sub- 
ject was  open  to  him.  He  dared  not  approach  the 
other.  Social  ostracism,  or  something  even  worse, 
awaited  him  if  he  chose  to  depict  a  view  of  the 
obverse  side  of  the  medal,  because  such  a  view 
was  in  fact  absolutely  incendiary  and  would  tend 
to  produce  the  most  horrible  consequences. 

At  the  North  this  phase  of  the  matter  did  not 
make  itself  felt.  The  zealous  abolitionist,  bent 
upon  securing  the  freedom  of  the  slaves,  was  blind 
to  the  effect  that  his  efforts  were  certain  to  produce 
upon  the  whites.     When  the  white  Southerner  said 


THE  PELICAN  STATE.  295 

firmly:  "You  must  not  and  shall  not  scatter  the 
fire  of  revolt  amongst  our  slaves,"  the  emissary  of 
freedom  could  not  see  that  it  was  the  instinct  of 
self-preservation  that  made  the  Southerner's  de- 
claration far  stronger  than  any  desire  to  be  arbi- 
trary and  wrong-headed  could  have  done. 

Much  of  what  came  to  be  known  as  Southern 
arrogance  was  merely  a  hard  name  by  which  to 
designate  the  impatience  generated  by  a  sense  of 
constantly-impending  danger  to  the  whole  social, 
political,  commercial  and  domestic  tissue  of  the 
slave  area.  Under  such  circumstances  art  could 
not  and  did  not  exist  as  an  appreciable  element  of 
life.  The  artist  cannot  be  a  cutter  and  trimmer,  a 
dodger  of  issues,  a  suppresser  of  truth,  an  ignorer 
of  facts,  a  prejudiced  and  handicaped  observer. 
To  him  every  subject  must  be  open  for  exhaustive 
discussion ;  every  phase  of  life  must  be  free  to  his 
investigations,  subject  to  his  merciless  analyses  and 
to  his  lofty  idealizations. 

This  could  not  be  in  the  South. '  Slavery  forbade 
it  The  Southern  genius  must  either  paint  slavery 
to  suit  the  taste  of  masters  or  he  must  not  paint 
it  at  all.  This  was  not  arrogance,  it  was  the  most 
pressing  demand  of  necessity;  it  was  the  only  course 
compatible  with  safety  so  long  as  slavery  existed ; 
any  other  course  would  have  led  to  revolt  and  to 
all  the  unspeakable  horrors  of  servile  insurrection. 


296  THE  PELICAN  STATE. 

Necessarily,  then,  the  creative  energy  of  the  South- 
ern mind  was  in  a  large  degree  shut  out  from  the 
Eden  of  poetry,  fiction,  painting  and  sculpture.  Not 
wholly  shut  out,  however,  for  there  were  brilliant 
poets,  notable  novelists  and  some  painters  and 
sculptors  in  the  Old  South.  The  talent  of  the 
slave  area  turned  chiefly  to  oratory  in  one  form  or 
another;  a  race  of  politicians  sprang  up  with 
power  to  control  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

Slender,  however,  as  the  currents  may  have 
been,  Louisiana  was  not  without  her  art  and  her 
literature,  running  apace  with  the  progress  of  her 
agricultural,  commercial  and  political  prosperity. 
The  Creoles  of  New  Orleans,  many  of  them  as  we 
have  seen,  educated  in  France,  were  the  first  to 
address  themselves  to  literature.  Lepouse,  St. 
Ceran,  Allard  and  Audubon  are  names  closely  con- 
nected with  the  French  civilization  in  Louisiana. 
Canonge,  Delery,  Dufour,  Dugue,  Delpit,  Mercier 
and  the  brothers  Rouquette  are  notable  examples 
of  Creole  genius  in  letters.  Charles  Gayarre  has 
written  a  monumental  history  of  the  Foreign 
Domination  in  Louisiana.  His  fugitive  romantic 
sketches  and  his  descriptive  papers  touch  the 
legends,  traditions  and  folk-lore  of  the  Louisiana 
colonies.  Judge  Martin,  also,  has  written  a  volu- 
minous History  of  Louisiana  from  its  discovery 
up  to  181 6,  with  some  additions  of  a  later  date. 


THE  PELICAN  STATE.  299 

Not  till  after  the  close  of  the  great  war,  however, 
was  there  any  remarkable  advance  in  the  matter  of 
literature  in  the  Southern  States.  Louisiana  had 
been  the  typical  slave  State ;  but  she  was  one  of  the 
first  States  of  the  South  to  feel  the  reaction  from 
the  intellectual  stupor  or  reserve  induced  by  her 
peculiar  ante  bellum  circumstances.  Within  the 
first  twenty  years  of  freedom  she  has  given  to  the 
world  literary  work  the  purpose  and  the  art  of 
which  are  of  the  best.  George  W.  Cable,  Miss 
King,  Mrs.  Davis,  Lafcadio  Hearn  and  many 
others  have  emphasized  the  value  of  perfect  liberty. 
The  pendulum  once  released  may  have  swung 
rather  far  to  the  other  extreme  in  one  or  two  bril- 
liant instances,  but  the  gain,  even  if  this  is  so,  has 
been  priceless. 

It  would  be  delightful  if  it  were  possible  to  pro- 
ject the  story  of  Louisiana  into  the  future.  Stand- 
ing here,  now,  with  the  impression  of  the  past 
sharply  set  in  our  memory,  what  if  we  could  look 
forward  over  the  next  century  of  life  in  the  low- 
country  of  the  Mississippi  Valley ! 

We  have  seen  De  Soto  wander  blindly  to  the 
banks  of  the  great  river  and  die ;  we  have  watched 
the  struggles  of  De  Bienville,  the  heroism  of  the 
men  who  followed  him,  the  dashing  valor  of  Gal- 
vez,  the  cruel  perfidy  of  O'Reilly  and  the  fatherly 
kindness  of  Caroncjelet.     We  have  seen  Louisiana 


3<X>  THE  PELICAN  STATE. 

grow  from  a  little  colony  of  adventurers  into  a 
mighty  and  prosperous  State.  We  have  noted  the 
growth  of  great  industries.  We  have  watched  the 
development  of  New  Orleans  from  a  cluster  of 
huts  in  a  swamp  to  one  of  the  great  cities  of 
the  world.  We  have  fought  with  Jackson,  we 
have  seen  the  victory  of  Farragut,  we  have  wit- 
nessed the  rise  and  fall  of  slavery ;  now  we  stand 
on  the  brink  of  the  future.     What  do  we  see  ? 

If  we  may  judge  by  the  past  the  way  lies  onward 
and  upward.  Not  even  the  destructive  influences 
of  the  recent  war  could  permanently  check  the 
progress  of  Louisiana.  To-day,  with  her  popula- 
tion of  twelve  hundred  thousand  freemen,  confi- 
dently facing  the  future,  the  Pelican  State  is 
greater  and  happier  than  ever  before.  Who  shall 
say  that  her  race  is  to  be  ended  soon  —  that  she 
is  not  to  round  any  goal  of  the  future  ? 

It  is  well  to  read  the  history  of  one's  country  if 
for  nothing  more  than  to  catch  from  it  a  new  con- 
sciousness of  the  value  of  steadfast  patriotism. 
To-day  Louisiana  is  as  true  to  the  American  flag 
and  as  loyal  to  the  American  meaning  of  freedom 
as  any  State  in  the  Federal  Union.  The  fierce 
and  terrible  fi^ht  that  she  made  for  the  "  Lost 
Cause"  and  the  defeat  and  humiliation  which  fol- 
lowed could  not  drive  from  the  hearts  of  her  sons 
that  love  of  liberty,  that  fealty  to  the  spirit  of  our 


THE  PELICAN  STATE.  301 

constitution  which  after  all  must  be  the  bed-rock 
of  American  patriotism. 

Loyalty  to  one's  State  and  a  belief  in  its  best 
possibilities  are  proof  at  once  of  the  value  and  the 
strength  of  citizenship.  But  higher  than  sectional 
loyalty  is  love  of  country ;  broader  than  belief  in 
the  neighborhood's  future  is  faith  in  the  nation's 
development.  As  individual  factors  in  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  American  Union  the  dweller  in  Maine 
and  the  citizen  of  Oregon  should  find  both  interest 
and  pride  in  the  growth  of  Texas  and  the  Caro- 
linas.  It  is  for  the  American  wherever  his  home 
and  whatever  his  occupation  that  the  Story  of 
Louisiana  has  here  been  told. 

It  is  the  privilege  of  the  politician  to  drag  up 
the  dark  scenes  of  the  past  for  partisan  purposes, 
but  it  is  the  duty  of  all  good  and  true  citizens  to 
encourage  that  patriotism  which  sees  only  the 
welfare  of  the  whole  country. 


THE   STORY   OF   LOUISIANA 


TOLD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME. 


The  historical  happenings  of  Louisiana  are  many ;  they  date  back  to  the 
days  of  the  early  discoverers.  Even  to  one  who  traces  the  dry  chronological 
record  the  adventure,  the  romance  and  the  daring  that  mark  the  beginnings 
of  the  Pelican  State  are  at  once  apparent.  And  yet,  could  we  but  fathom 
its  mysteries,  the  antiquity  of  Louisiana  is  fully  as  eloquent  in  the  unwritten 
history  of  its  prehistoric  days  as  is  its  checkered  and  eventful  history  so 
forcibly  outlined  by  the  dates  that  have  been  secured  to  us. 


THE  ERA  OF  BEGINNINGS. 

How  great  is  this  antiquity  no  one  may  truthfully  say.  The  much-discussed 
skull  unearthed  some  years  since  beneath  the  decaying  remains  of  four  suc- 
cessive layers  of  gigantic  cypress  forests  tells  of  the  existence  of  man  in 
Louisiana  thousands  of  years  ago.  The  age  of  this  skull  has  been  variously 
estimated  at  from  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred  to  fifty-seven  thousand 
years.  In  the  loamy  deposits  of  the  Mississippi  near  Natchez  human 
remains  have  been  discovered  lying  side  by  side  with  those  of  mylodon  and 
megalonyx  —  creatures  of  a  far-off  prehistoric  existence.  All  along  the 
Mississippi  are  other  indications  of  the  human  inhabitants  of  Louisiana  — 
of  men  and  women  who  hunted  over  its  plains  in  the  age  of  the  mastodon 
and  even  amid  the  great  convulsions.  Within  the  limits  of  Louisiana  have 
been  found  those  peculiar  shell  heaps  or  "  kitchen  middens  "  that  tell  of  a 
progressive  stage  of  man  from  brutality  to  barbarism,  while  the  elevated 
"  garden  beds "  discovered  in  the  State  prove  it  to  have  been  one  of  the 
agricultural  centers  of  the  semi-civilized  Mound-Builders. 

The  story  of  the  Indian  occupation  of  the  State  could  it  be  satisfactorily 
told  would  also  be  found  of  absorbing  interest.  The  most  advanced  of  all 
the  Southern  tribes,  the  fire-worshiping  Natchez,  occupied  the  greater  part 
of  the  State  though  portions  of  it  were  also  under  the  domination  of  certain  of 
the  confederated  tribes  of  the  Creek  nation.  These  courteous  though  war- 
like peoples  (the  Natchez)  held  control  of  the  lands  about  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  until  the  strong  arm  of  the  white  man  swept  them  all  away. 

303 


3<H  ERA   OF  DISCOVERY, 


THE  ERA  OF  DISCOVERY. 

At  precisely  what  date  the  first  white  discoverer  coasted  the  low  Gulf  lands 
of  Louisiana  or  saw  the  many  mouths  of  its  giant  river  has  not  been  deter- 
mined. As  early  as  1 510  attempts  had  been  made  by  the  Spanish  conquerors 
of  the  West  Indies  to  explore  and  subdue  the  countries  north  of  the  Mexi- 
can gulf.  Nothing  definite,  however,  is  recorded  until  the  alleged  discovery 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  (or  as  then  called  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo)  by 
Alonzo  de  Pineda  in  1519.  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  lost  and  wandering  after  the 
wreck  of  Narvaez'  ill-starred  expedition  to  Florida,  came,  probably  first  of  all 
Europeans,  to  the  banks  of  the  mighty  river,  on  the  thirtieth  of  October,  1528, 
when  he  crossed  one  of  its  broad  mouths.  With  the  visit,  in  1540,  of 
De  Soto  the  unlucky,  the  real  record  of  discovery  begins  : 

1540.     De  Soto  crosses  the  Mississippi  at  Chickasaw  Bluff  —  May  26. 

1673.     Joliet  and  Marquette  reach  the  Mississippi  from  Canada — June  17. 

1682.  La  Salle  descends  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth  —  April  6.  La 
Salle  names  the  surrounding  country  Louisiana  and  takes  possession  in 
behalf  of  the  King  of  France  —  April  9.  La  Salle  returns  to  Canada  and 
announces  his  discovery.     La  Salle  sails  for  France  —  October. 

1684.     La  Salle  sets  out  for  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  —  July  4. 

1687.     La  Salle  murdered  by  his  men  in  Texas — March  19. 

1698.  A  squadron  sent  out  to  Gulf  of  Mexico  under  D'Iberville — 
October  24. 

1699.  D'Iberville  enters  the  Mississippi  —  March  1.  Establishes  a  set- 
tlement at  Bay  of  Biloxi  —  May  1.  D'Iberville  sails  for  France  leaving 
Sauvolle  in  command  —  May  3.  Bienville  encounters  an  English  ship  in 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  —  September  15.  D'Iberville  returns  from 
France  —  December  7.     Sauvolle  appointed  Governor —  December  7. 

1700.  D'Iberville  establishes  a  fort  on  the  Mississippi  —  January. 
D'Iberville  ascends  the  Mississippi  to  conciliate  the  Indians  —  February. 
D'Iberville  returns  to  France  —  May. 

170Z.  Death  of  Sauvolle.  Bienville  succeeds  to  the  command.  Settle- 
ment established  at  Dauphine  Island.  Assistance  sent  to  the  Spaniards  at 
St.  Augustine. 

1704.  Detachment  of  French  soldiers  cut  off  by  Indians.  Arrival  of 
supplies  from  France.  Expedition  by  Bienville  against  the  Alibamo*. 
Arrival  of  soldiers,  girls  and  supplies  —  July. 

1707.  Bienville  relieves  Pensacola,  besieged  by  Indians  and  English. 

1708.  De  Muys  appointed  Governor-General  of  Louisiana.  Diron 
d'Artaguette  sent  out  from  France  to  investigate  the  management  of  colony. 
Death  of  De  Muys  on  passage  to  Louisiana.  Depredations  committed  by  a 
privateer  from  Jamaica  —  Septeml>er. 

1709.  Settlement  at  Mobile  transferred  to  a  point  higher  up  the  river. 
Arrival  of  a  frigate  with  provisions  from  France  —  September. 

1711.     Return  of  D'Artaguctte  to  France  to  report  progress. 

171a.     Grant  of  the  King  to  Sieur  Antony  Crozat  of  exclusive  trading 


ERA   OF  FRENCH  COLOXIZA  TIOX  305 


rights  for  ten  years  throughout  Louisiana  subject  to  government  of  New 
France  —  September  14.  Four  hundred  persons  in  the  colony.  Legal  govern- 
ment established  —  December  18.  ^. 

1713.  Arrival  of  Cadillac  as  Governor  —  May  17.  Arrival  of  ship  La 
Louisiane  with  provisions  and  passengers.  Trading  house  established  at 
Natchez. 

1714.  Alliance  with  the  Choctaws  renewed  by  Bienville. 

1715.  Bienville  makes  peace  among  the  Choctaws.  Garrison  re-enforced 
by  two  companies  of  infantry.  Bienville  appointed  Commander-General. 
Death  of  Louis  XIV.  —  September  1.  Cadillac  goes  silver-hunting  in  the 
Illinois  country. 

1716.  Attack  of  the  Natchez  on  French.  Bienville  seizes  and  imprisons 
Natchez  chiefs.  Fort  Rosalie  constructed  on  the  territory  of  the  Natchez. 
Arrival  of  St.  Denys  at  Mobile,  from  Mexico. 

1717.  Arrival  of  L'Epinay,  as  Governor,  from  France  —  March  9.  Sur- 
render of  privileges  by  Crozat  —  August  23.  Illinois  country  incorporated 
with  Louisiana  —  September.  Company  of  the  West  chartered — Septem- 
ber 6.     Law's  Banque  Royal  established  in  France  —  December. 

1718.  Company's  ships  arrive.  Bienville  appointed  Governor — Febru- 
ary 9.  Foundations  of  New  Orleans  laid  —  February.  Chateauguay  sent 
with  fifty  men  to  take  possession  of  Bay  of  St.  Joseph.  Bienville  lays  out 
New  Orleans.     Large  grants  of  land  made  to  distinguished   Frenchmen. 

1719.  L'Archambault  arrives  at  Mobile  with  one  hundred  passengers. 
France  declares  War  against  Spain.  Arrival  of  Serigny  and  thirty  passen- 
gers—  April  29.  Expedition  against  Pensacola.  Great  popularity  in 
France  of  Law's  Mississippi  scheme. 

1720.  Settlement  of  New  Biloxi.  Arrival  of  a  fleet  commanded  by  Lau- 
geon  bringing  582  passengers.  Transportation  of  vagabonds  and  convicts 
forbidden  by  King.  Arrival  of  two  line  of  battle  ships  from  Toulon  —  June. 
Five  hundred  negroes  arrive  in  Company's  ships.  Arrival  of  large  numbers 
of  settlers. 

ERA  OF  FRENCH  COLONIZATION. 

1721.  Arrival  of  three  hundred  settlers  and  eighty  girls  —  January  3. 
Two  hundred  German  settlers  and  five  hundred  negroes  arrive.  Arrival  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  passengers  —  June  4.  Arrival  of  Duvergier  as  Direc- 
tor and  La  Harpe  —  July  15.  Arrival  of  three  hundred  negroes  —  August 
15.  Departure  of  La  Harpe  for  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard  —  August  26. 
Pauger  prepares  a  plan  for  the  proposed  city  of  New  Orleans. 

1722.  Appointment  of  Loubois  as  Commander  of  Fort  St.  Louis.  Set- 
tlement of  Germans  established  around  New  Orleans.  Erection  of  Battery 
with  garrison  on  the  Island  of  the  Balize.  New  Orleans  made  the  prin- 
cipal establishment  of  the  colony —  May.  Return  of  La  Harpe  from  River 
Arkansas  —  May  20.  Peace  established  between  France  and  Spain.  Re- 
moval of  Bienville  to  New  Orleans  —  August.  Arrival  of  Boismont  and 
Capuchin  monks.     Failure  of  Law's  Bank. 


306  ERA   OF  FRENCH  COLONIZATION. 


1723.    Value  of  silver  dollar  in  Colony  increased  by  law  —  January  12. 

1725.  Black  code  promulgated  for  the  punishment  of  slaves.  Edict  pub- 
lished prohibiting  interception  of  letters.  Edict  published  putting  to  death 
any  person  killing  or  wounding  another's  cattle — May  26.  Arrival  of 
Lachaise  and  Perrault,  commissioners  ordered  to  report  condition  of  affairs 
in  Province. 

1726.  Establishment  of  the  Jesuits  confirmed  —  February  20.  Establish- 
ment of  the  Capuchins  confirmed.  Ursuline  Nuns  invited  to  Louisiana. 
Arrival  of  Perier  as  Commander-General  of  Louisiana.  Recall  of  Bienville 
to  France. 

1727.  Arrival  of  Jesuits  and  Ursuline  Nuns.  Erection  of  a  nunnery. 
Erection  of  a  Government  House.  Ditch  dug  in  Bourbon  street.  Arrival 
of  girls  intended  as  wives  for  the  Colonists  — "  Filles  a  la  Cassette."  Cul- 
ture of  indigo  begun ;  also  of  figs  and  oranges. 

1728.  Publication  of  edict  regarding  distribution  of  lands  —  August  10. 

1729.  Conspiracy  of  the  Chickasaws  against  the  French.  The  com- 
mandant of  Fort  Rosalie  quarrels  with  the  Natchez.  Massacre  at  Fort 
Rosalie  of  all  its  occupants  by  the  Natchez  —  November.  Murder  of  Father 
Soulet.     Massacre  at  Fort  St.  Peter  of  its  garrison. 

1730.  Defeat  of  the  Natchez  —  February  26.  Arrival  at  the  Balize  of 
troops  under  Perrier  de  Sal  vert  —  August  10.  Execution  of  leading  negroes 
for  insurrection.     Expedition  of  Perrier  against  the  Natchez  —  November. 

1731.  Perrier  defeats  the  Natchez  —  January.  Seizure  of  the  Great 
Sun  of  the  Natchez.     Four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  prisoners  captured. 

1732.  Company  of  the  West  surrenders  its  charter  and  privileges  to  king 
—  April  10.  Salmon  appointed  King's  Commissioner.  Natchez  attack  St. 
Denis  and  the  Nachitoches  and  are  repulsed.  Severe  defeat  of  the  Natchez 
by  St.  Denis.     Conspiracy  of  the  negroes.     Ringleaders  seized  and  hung. 

1733.  Reappointment  of  Bienville.  Settlements  at  Manchac,  Baton 
Rouge  and  Point  Coupee. 

1736.  Predatory  attacks  by  the  Chickasaws.  Defeat  and  murder  of 
D'Artaguette  by  Chickasaws.  Expedition  made  against  the  Chickasaws  by 
Bienville.     Defeat  and  repulse  of  Bienville  —  May  26. 

1740.  Return  of  Bienville.  His  second  expedition  against  the  Chicka- 
saws. Chickasaws  sue  for  peace.  Count  de  la  Galissoniere,  Governor- 
General  of  New  France. 

1743.  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  appointed  Governor  of  Louisiana  —  May  10. 
Bienville  returns  to  France. 

1751.  King  exempts  all  the  imports  and  exports  of  Louisiana  from  duty 
for  ten  vears. 

1752.  Arrival  of  two  hundred  recruits  from  France.  Arrival  of  sixty 
poor  girls  from  France  —  April  17.  Macarty  takes  command  of  Fort 
Chartrcs  in  the  Illinois — August  20. 

1753.  Corruptions  among  the  Chickasaws.  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil 
marches  against  the  Chickasaws.  Fort  of  Tombeckbee  enlarged  and  garri- 
soned. 


ERA   OF  SPANISH  OCCUPATION  307 


1754.  Kerlerec  succeeds  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  as  Governor.  Vau- 
dreuit  appointed  Governor  of  New  France.  Defeat  of  French  by  Washing- 
ton—  April.  French  under  Villiers  capture  Fort  Necessity  —  July  4.  Mur- 
der of  Roux  by  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  of  Cat  Island.  Favrot  marches 
to  the  Illinois  with  two  hundred  men. 

1755.  Transportation  of  Acadian  settlers  by  British.  Arrival  of  Aca- 
dians  at  New  Orleans.  Braddock's  defeat — July  9.  England  declares  war 
against  France. 

1757.  Death  of  Auberville;  succeeded  as  Commissary  Ordonnateur  by 
Bobe  Descloseaux. 

1758.  Evacuation  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  by  the  French.  Arrival  of  its  gar- 
rison at  New  Orleans.     Erection  of  Sugar  Mill  in  New  Orleans. 

1759.  Arrival  of  Rochemore  as  Commissary  Ordonnateur.  Quarrel  be- 
tween Kerlerec  and  Rochemore. 

176a.  A  secret  treaty  signed  at  Paris  giving  Louisiana  to  Spain  —  Nov- 
ember 3. 

1763.  Peace  between  England,  Spain  and  France — February  16.  Ker- 
lerec recalled.     Succeeded  by  D'Abadie  as  Director-General. 

1764.  English  troops  take  possession  of  Baton  Rouge  and  other  posts  in 
"West  Florida"  —  February.  Skirmish  between  Major  Loftus  and  the 
Indians — March  20.  D'Abadie  receives  official  announcement  of  the  ces- 
sion of  Louisiana  to  Spain  —  October. 

1765.  General  Council  called  to  consider  the  matter.  Jean  Milhet  sent 
to  France  with  a  petition  begging  that  Louisiana  might  not  be  severed  from 
the  mother  country.  District  of  Feliciana  settled  by  British  residents.  British 
take  possession  of  the  Post  of  the  Illinois  and  drive  out  St.  Ange,  the  com- 
mandant. St.  Ange  and  his  followers  cross  the  Mississippi  and  found  St. 
Louis  and  St.  Genevieve.  Destrehan  and  other  planters  erect  sugar  mills. 
A  ship  laden  with  sugar  sent  to  France.  Milhet  fails  to  accomplish  his 
mission.  British  establish  a  post  at  Bayou  Manchac.  D'Abadie  dies. 
Aubry  succeeds  him. 

1766.  Letter  received  from  Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa  announcing  his  inten- 
tion of  taking  possession  of  Louisiana.  Ulloa  lands  at  New  Orleans.  He 
declines  to  show  his  powers  or  take  formal  possession.  Census  of  the 
province  shows  population  of  10,000.     Province  visited  by  yellow  fever. 

1767.  Ulloa  receives  additional  troops  from  Havana.  He  orders  three 
forts  built  on  the  Mississippi.     Return  of  Jean  Milhet  from  France. 

1768.  Council  order  Ulloa  to  produce  some  certificate  of  his  powers 
or  else  leave  the  province.  Ulloa  leaves  Louisiana.  General  meeting  of 
deputies  convened  at  St.  Orleans.  A  second  petition  sent  by  St.  Lette  and 
Lessassier. 

THE  ERA   OF  SPANISH  OCCUPATION. 

1769.  Failure  of  the  petition.  Deputies  obtain  from  King  of  France  a 
reduction  of  the  paper  currency  —  March  23.  Intelligence  received  at  New 
Orleans  of  the  arrival  of  a  Spanish   frigate  —  July  23.     Express  sent  to 


308  ERA    OF  SPANISH  OCCUPA  TIOAT. 


Aubry  from  Don  Alexander  O'Reilly,  commander  of  the  Spanish  forces. 
Inhabitants  send  deputation  to  O'Reilly  asking  two  years  to  remove  their 
effects  from  the  town.  Arrival  of  O'Reilly  with  his  armament.  Aubry  re- 
ceives him  and  surrenders  possession  —  August  18.  O'Reilly  orders  a  cen- 
sus of  New  Orleans  (3,190).  O'Reilly  arrests  Focault,  Noyan  Bienville, 
Boisblanc,  Lafreniere  and  Brand  —  August  31.  O'Reilly  arrests  Marquis, 
Doucet,  Petit,  Mazent,  the  two  Milhets,  Caresse  and  Poupet.  O'Reilly  arrests 
Villere.  Villere  slain  by  the  soldiers.  O'Reilly  condemns  Noyan  Bienville, 
Lafreniere,  Marquis,  Joseph  Milhet  and  Caresse.  The  condemned  shot  — 
September,  28.  Boisblanc,  Doucet,  Mazent,  John  Milhet,  Petit  and  Poupet 
transported  to  Havana  and  thrown  into  prison.  O'Reilly  abolishes  by  proc- 
lamation the  Superior  Council  and  substitutes  a  cabildo  composed  of  six 
perpetual  regidors,  two  ordinary  alcades,  an  Attorney-General-Syndic,  over 
which  the  governor  presides.  Regiment  raised  in  the  province.  Dearth  of 
provisions.  Arrival  of  Oliver  Pollock's  brig  from  Baltimore  bringing  pro- 
visions. Don  Luis  de  Unzaga  assumes  the  position  of  governor.  Unzaga 
publishes  a  code  of  civil  and  criminal  legislation. 

1770.  O'Reilly  publishes  a  set  of  regulations  in  regard  to  grants  of  land 
—  February  8.  Tax  imposed  on  taverns,  boarding-houses,  brandy,  etc.,  to 
give  a  revenue  to  the  city  of  New  Orleans  —  February  22.  Certain  piece 
of  land  granted  to  the  city  as  public  square.  Black  code  re-enacted.  Law 
passed  prohibiting  purchasing  articles  from  persons  navigating  the  Missis- 
sippi O'Reilly  with  all  his  troops  except  twelve  hundred  departs.  Don 
Antonio  Maria  Buccarelly  appointed  Captain-General  of  Louisiana. 

1771.  Permission  granted  for  admission  of  two  vessels  every  year 
from  France.  Merchants  of  New  Orleans  complain  of  the  arbitrary 
restrictions  on  trade. 

1772.  Arrival  of  Colonel  Estacheria  to  take  command  of  the  Louisi- 
ana regiment.     Country  desolated  by  a  terrific  hurricane  —  August  31. 

1775.  Unzaga  promises  amnesty  to  runaway  slaves  if  they  return  to  their 
masters.     Battle  of  Lexington — April  19. 

1777.  Don  Bernado  de  Galvez  begins  as  Governor  —  January  i.  Don 
Diego  Joseph  Navarro  appointed  Captain-General  of  Cuba  and  Louisiana. 
Oliver  Pollock  of  Baltimore  appointed  United  States  commercial  agent  at 
New  Orleans. 

1778.  Galvez  affords  aid  of  ammunition  to  the  Americans  —  January. 
France  concludes  a  treaty  with  the  United  States —  February  6. 

1779.  Eighty-seven  United  States  citizens  take  temporary  oath  of  fidelity 
to  the  king  of  Spain.  Arrival  of  a  number  of  families  from  Malaga.  Set- 
tlement formed  by  them  on  Bayou  Teche  called  New  Iberia.  Arrival  of  six 
Capuchin  friars.  Visitation  of  the  small-pox  in  New  Orleans.  England 
declares  war  against  France.  Spain  declares  war  against  England  —  May  8. 
Galvez  commissioned  Governor  and  Intendant.  Galvez  organizes  a  small 
army.  Galvez  captures  Fort  Bute  on  Bayou  Manchac  —  September  7. 
Galvez  captures  Baton  Rouge  and  five  hundred  British  soldiers  —  Septetn- 
l>er  21.     Surrender  of  Fort  Panmure  at  Natchez.     Galvez  returns  to  New 


ERA   OF  SPANISH  OCCUPATION.  309 


Orleans,  leaving  Don  Carlos  de  Grandpre  at  Baton  Rouge.     Congress  sends 
a  minister  to  Madrid  to  negotiate  a  treaty. 

1780.  Galvez  commissioned  Brigadier-General.  Galvez  undertakes  an 
expedition  against  Fort  Charlotte  on  the  Mobile  River.  Fort  Charlotte 
capitulates —  March  14.  British  attack  St.  Louis.  Clark  relieves  St.  Louis. 
Spain  refuses  to  acknowledge  the  Independence  of  the  United  States. 

1781.  Galvez  sets  out  against  Pensacola  —  February  28.  Galvez  arrives 
at  Pensacola  and  invests  it.  Pensacola  capitulates  —  May  9.  Span- 
iards evacuate  Fort  Panmure  —  April  29.  Louisiana  desolated  by  a  hurri- 
cane —  August  24.  Galvez  commissioned  Lieutenant-General  and  Captain- 
General  of  Louisiana  and  Florida.  Father  Cyrillo  made  Bishop  of  Louisiana. 
Galvez  sails  for  San  Domingo  to  superintend  attack  on  the  Bahama  Islands. 
Don  Estevan  Miro  provisionally  takes  possession  of  government. 

1782.  Considerable  commercial  privileges  granted  to  the  Province. 

1783.  Treaty  of  peace  between  Great  Britian,  United  States  and 
Spain,  signed  at  Paris  — September  3.  Treaty  conferred  to  Spain  all  the 
Floridas  south  of  Latitude  31. 

1785.  Hospital  for  lepers  erected.  Census  taken  by  order  of  Galvez 
(Lower  Louisiana  28,047;  West  Florida  3,477;  Upper  Louisiana  1,491). 
Arrival  of  Acadian  families. 

1786.  Don  Estevan  Miro  receives  the  commission  of  Governor.  Miro 
issues  his  proclamation — June   2. 

1787.  New  Orleans  sends  a  company  of  infantry  to  build  and  garrison 
a  fort  near  New  Madrid.  Arrival  of  General  Wilkinson  at  New  Orleans 
with  goods.  Wilkinson  has  an  interview  with  Miro  and  returns  to  Phila- 
delphia —  September. 

1788.  Tremendous  conflagration ;  nine  hundred  houses  burned  — 
March  21.  A  contract  made  with  the  United  States  for  flour  to  relieve 
the  distress  and  permission  given  contractors  to  import  merchandise. 
Permission  granted  Wilkinson's  agent  to  send  to  New  Orleans  from  Ken- 
tucky launches  loaded  with  tobacco.     Census  taken  (42,611). 

1789.  Arrival  of  Wilkinson  in  New  Orleans.  Arrival  of  settlers  from 
western  part  of  the  United  States  to  settle  near  Natchez  and  Feliciana. 

1790.  Treaty  of  peace  with  the  Creeks  —  August  7.  Southwestern 
territory  formed ;  Wm.  Blount  governor. 

1791.  Massacre  of  French  in  San  Domingo  —  August  23.  Arrival  of 
French  refugees  from  San  Domingo.  Schools  and  theatre  opened  by 
refugees.     Departure   of  Miro. 

1792.  Arrival  of  Don  Francisco  Louis  Hector,  Baron  de  Carondelet  as 
governor  and  intendant  of  Louisiana  —  January.  Don  Nicholas  Maria  Vidal. 
appointed  Lieutenant-Governor.  Proclamation  of  Carondelet  —  Janu- 
ary 22.  Carondelet  issues  a  proclamation  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of 
slaves — July  11.  Carondelet  prohibits  the  introduction  of  negroes  from 
French  and  British  islands.  Population  of  New  Orleans  6000.  Philadel- 
phia merchants  establish  branch  houses  in  New  Orleans. 

1793.  The  King  issues  a    proclamation,  encouraging  the  slave  trade. 


3io  ERA   OF  SPANISH  OCCUPATION. 


Death  of  Louis  XVI.  on  the  scaffold.  Spain  declares  war  against  France  — 
January  21.  Carondelet  prohibits  the  playing  of  Revolutionary  airs  at  the 
theatres.  Arrest  of  six  upholders  of  French  principles.  Carondelet  re-builds 
the  fortifications  around  the  city. 

1794.  Don  Francisco  de  Rendon  appointed  Intendant.  Don  Louis  de 
Penalvert  appointed  Bishop  of  Louisiana  and  Florida.  Genet,  the  French 
ambassador  to  the  United  States,  plans  an  expedition  against  the  Spanish 
dominions.  Genet  gains  recruits  in  the  bordering  States.  Carondelet  com- 
pletes the  fortifications  of  New  Orleans.  Publication  of  the  first  newspaper 
—  Le  Moniteur  de  la  Louisiane.  Beginning  of  a  canal  drawing  off  stag- 
nant waters  from  New  Orleans. 

1795.  Carondelet  sends  Don  Manuel  Gayoso  de  Lemos  to  New  Madrid 
to  detach  Ohio  from  the  United  States.  Intended  insurrection  of  the 
slaves  discovered.  Slaves  resist.  Twenty-five  killed.  Twenty-five  more 
hung.    United  States  and  Spain  conclude  a  treaty — October  27. 

1796.  Cabildo  petition  the  King  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of  slaves. 
Business  of  growing  sugar  cane  has  a  new  lease  of  life.  Completion  of  the 
"  Canal  Carondelet."  Grants  of  land  made  to  French  loyalists.  Tax  im- 
posed on  bread  and  meat  and  wheat  to  light  and  provide  watchmen  for  the 
city.     Spain  declares  war  against  England  —  October  7. 

1797.  Cabildo  increased  by  six  additional  regidors.  Don  Manuel  Gayoso 
de  Lemos  appointed  Spanish  Commissioner  to  meet  United  States  Commis- 
sioner. Andrew  Ellicot  appointed  United  States  Commissioner.  Caron- 
delet refuses  to  surrender  the  Posts  on  the  Mississippi  Expedition  sent 
to  detach  the  Western  Country  from  the  United  States.  Commotion  at 
Natchez  —  June.  Gayoso  issues  a  proclamation  commanding  the  people 
to  return  to  their  allegiance.  Meeting  of  the  people  of  the  district.  Com- 
mittee sent  to  Gayoso  demanding  they  should  be  left  unmolested.  Gayoso 
grants  the  request.  Yellow  fever  in  New  Orleans.  Departure  of  Baron  de 
Carondelet.     Don  Manuel  Gayoso  de  Lemos  succeeded  as  Governor. 

1798.  Gayoso  issues  his  proclamation  —  January.  Fort  Paumure  evac- 
uated by  the  British  —  March  23.  Fort  at  the  Walnut  Hills  evacuated  — 
March  29.  Mississippi  territory  erected  —  April  7.  Winthrop  Sargent  ap- 
pointed Governor  of  the  territory.  Royal  Schedule  gives  the  intendant  the 
right  of  granting  lands  belonging  to  the  crown  —  October  21. 

1799.  Don  Joseph  Vidal  Commandant  of  Concordia  makes  an  arrange- 
ment with  Governor  of  Mississippi  territory  for  reciprocaj  interchange  of 
slaves  —  April  30.  Morales  refuses  to  allow  a  place  of  deposit  to  United 
States  citizens  in  New  Orleans.  Gayoso  and  Wilkinson  enter  into  a  pro- 
visional agreement  for  mutual  surrender  of  deserters  in  respective  armies. 
New  Madrid  annexed  to  Upper  Louisiana.  Death  of  Gayoso  —  July  18. 
The  Marquis  of  Casa-Calvo  military  Governor.  Don  Ramon  de  Lopez 
y'Angullo  arrives  at  New  Orleans  as  Intendant  of  Louisiana  and  West 
Florida. 

1800.  Existing  prohibition  of  the  introduction  of  slaves  suspended. 
Spain  promises  to  surrender  Louisiana  to  France  —  October  1. 


ERA   OF  FORMA  T/ON.  3 1 1 


1 80 1.  Right  of  Deposit  in  New  Orleans  restored  to  citizens  of  United 
States.  Cession  of  Louisiana  to  France  effected  —  March  21.  Napoleon 
appoints  General  Victor  Captain-General.  By  Royal  Schedule,  King  ap- 
proves Carondelet's  proposition  for  draining  the  city  —  May  10.  Thomas 
Jefferson,  President  of  the  United  States.  Treaty  ratified  between  the 
United  States  and  France  —  June  1.  Arrival  of  Don  Juan  Manuel  de 
Salcedo  as  Governor  of  Louisiana  and  West  Florida  —  June.  Departure 
of  Marquis  de  Casa  Calvo  for  Havana.  Daniel  Clarke  appointed  United 
States  Consul  in  New  Orleans.  Treaty  concluded  between  Chickasaws  and 
United  States — October  24.  Treaty  concluded  between  Choctaws  and 
United  States — December  17. 

1802.  Peace  of  Amiens  —  March  25.  King  forbids  by  Royal  Schedule 
the  grant  of  any  land  in  Louisiana  to  any  citizen  in  the  United  States  — 
July  18.  Citizens  refused  the  right  of  deposit  in  New  Orleans  and  impor- 
tation of  goods  prohibited  in  American  bottoms.  Departure  of  Lopez  for 
France.     Death   of    Lopez  on    the    voyage. 

1803.  Morales  issues  a  proclamation  permitting  importation  of  flour  and 
provisions  from  United  States.  King  orders  that  the  United  States  should 
enjoy  their  right  of  deposit  in  New  Orleans  —  March  1.  Act  of  Congress, 
providing  the  granting  of  licenses  at  the  custom-house  of  Fort  Adams. 
Arrival  of  Laussat,  the  Colonial  prefect,  at  New  Orleans.  Laussat  issues 
a  proclamation.  Address  presented  to  him  by  merchants  and  planters. 
Arrival  of  the  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo  from  Havana — April  10.  The  United 
States  purchase  Louisiana  from  France  (for  sixty  million  francs),  by  treaty 
signed  April  30.  Casa-Calvo  issues  a  proclamation  surrendering  Louis- 
iana to  Spain  —  May  18.  King  of  Spain  protests  against  the  sale  of 
Louisiana.  Departure  of  Spanish  nuns  for  Havana.  Claiborne  and  Wil- 
kinson appointed  United  States' Commissioners  for  receiving  Louisiana  from 
France.  Surrender  of  the  keys  of  New  Orleans  to  France  by  Spanish  officers 
—  Nov.  30.  Laussat  issues  a  proclamation  announcing  the  sale  of  Louis- 
iana to  the  United  States.  Laussat  issues  proclamations  in  regard  to 
government  of  the  province.  Arrival  of  United  States  troops  under  Clai- 
borne and  Wilkinson  —  December  20.  Formal  surrender  of  Louisiana  by 
laussat  to  the  United  States  —  December  20.  Claiborne  issues  a  procla- 
mation as  Governor-General  and  Intendant  of  the  province  —  December  20. 
Claiborne  establishes  a  court  of  pleas  composed  of  seven  judges  —  Decem- 
ber 30.    Convention  between  United  States  and  Spain  ratified. 

THE  ERA  OF  FORMATION. 

1804.  Louisiana  divided  into  the  territories  of  Orleans  and  District  of 
Louisiana  by  Act  of  Congress —  March  26.  New  form  of  government  goes 
into  operation  with  Claiborne  as  Governor,  Prevost  as  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court,  Hall  as  District  Judge  of  the  United  States  and  Dickenson,  District 
Attorney  —  October.  Territory  divided  into  twelve  counties  with  an  in- 
ferior Court  with  one  Judge — December.  New  Orleans  chartered  a  city. 
Committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  civil  and  criminal  code.    Office  of  dis- 


312  ERA   OF  FORMATION. 


count  and  deposit  established  by  the  bank  of  the  United  States  in  New 
Orleans. 

1805.  Act  passed  by  Congress  establishing  a  government  in  Louisiana 
similar  to  that  of  the  Mississippi  territory  except  in  regard  to  estates  of  peo- 
ple dying  intestate  and  the  prohibition  of  slavery  —  March  2.  Act  passed 
confirming  inchoate  titles  and  grants  to  land.  Provision  made  by  the  Legis- 
lative Council  for  relief  of  insolvent  debtors  and  improvement  of  land  navi- 
gation—  June.  Court  of  probates  established.  Treaty  with  Cherokee 
Indians  in  regard  to  United  States  mail  —  October  7.  Treaty  with  Creek 
Indians  in  regard  to  United  States  road.  Spanish  governor  of  Texas 
assumes  a  threatening  attitude. 

1806.  Meeting  of  the  first  territorial  Legislature — January  25.  Act 
passed  regulating  the  care  of  slaves.  Act  passed  establishing  schools  fn 
the  several  counties  and  for  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Canal. 
Colonel  Cushing  marches  to  Natchitoches  with  four  companies.  Wilkinson 
arrives  at  Natchitoches.  Porter  sent  to  New  Orleans.  Reports  of  Burr's 
conspiracy.  Wilkinson  arrives  at  New  Orleans.  Meeting  of  merchants  at 
New  Orleans  —  December  9.  Burr's  plans  exposed.  Sum  raised  to  pay 
expenses  of  sailors  needed  in  the  United  States  service.  Bollman,  the 
abettor  of  Burr,  arrested.  Arrest  of  Ogden  and  Swartwout  by  order  of 
Wilkinson.  Release  of  Bollman  on  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  Workman 
addresses  an  official  Communication  to  Claiborne. 

1807.  Meeting  of  Legislature — January  12.  Arrest  of  General  Adair  by 
Wilkinson's  connivance.  Arrest  of  Workman,  Kerr  and  Bradford.  Release 
of  Workman  and  Kerr  on  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  Arrest  of  Burr.  Legislature 
passes  an  act  abolishing  County  Courts.  Legislature  passes  an  act  fixing 
the  members  of  the  house  of  representatives  at  twenty-five.  Pike,  while 
seeking  for  the  source  of  the  Red  River,  arrested  by  Spaniards.  Pike's 
papers  seized  and  retained ;  he  is  released.  A  court  of  inquiry  into  Wilkin- 
son's conduct  held. 

1808.  Meeting  of  the  Second  Territorial  Legislature  —  January  8.  Leg- 
islature passes  an  act  establishing  the  civil  and  criminal  code.  Act  passed 
establishing  a  school  in  every  parish.  Court  of  inquiry  reported  in  favor  of 
Wilkinson.  England  assumes  a  threatening  attitude.  Wilkinson  ordered 
to  assemble  troops  at  New  Orleans. 

1809.  Congress  passes  an  act  appropriating  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
to  extend  the  canal  Carondelet  to  Mississippi,  if  advisable — February  9. 
Madison  President.  Wilkinson  arrives  in  New  Orleans.  Ordered  to  Fort 
Adams.     Recalled  and  his  place  supplied  by  Wade  Hampton. 

1810.  Legislature  appropriates  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  college.  United  States  citizens  drive  out  the  garrison  at  Fort 
Baton  Rouge.  Meeting  of  a  convention  at  St.  Francisville.  A  constitu- 
tion framed  and  Fulwar  Skepwith  appointed  governor.  President  issues  a 
proclamation  claiming  the  disputed  territory  for  the  United  States  —  Octo- 
ber 16.  Claiborne  takes  possession  of  the  disputed  territory.  Committees 
of  Congress  investigate  Wilkinson's  conduct. 


ERA   OF  FORMATION.  313 


181 1.  Revolt  of  slaves  in  the  parish  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  Revolt 
put  down;  sixty-six  slaves  killed.  Two  new  judicial  districts  erected  by 
legislature.  Town  of  Vidalia  established.  Charters  granted  to  the  Planter's 
Hank  and  the  Bank  of  Orleans.  Exclusive  privileges  granted  to  Livingston 
and  Fulton  to  build  boats  employing  steam  for  eighteen  years.  Congress 
passes  an  act  enabling  the  people  of  the  territory  to  form  a  State  govern- 
ment—  February  11.  Court-martial  ordered  for  the  trial  of  Wilkinson. 
Convention  to  adopt  a  State  Constitution  meets  at  New  Orleans — Novem- 
ber 1.     Court-Martial  acquits  Wilkinson  —  December  23. 

1812.  Arrival  at  New  Orleans  from  Pittsburg  of  the  New  Orleans,  the 
first  vessel  propelled  by  steam — January  10.  State  constitution  adopted 
and  signed  by  members  of  the  convention  —  January  22.  Act  passed  by 
Congress  for  the  admission  of  Louisiana  as  State  —  April.  Same  act  declared 
all  waters  of  said  State  free  to  all  United  States1  citizens  and  not  taxable. 
Congress  passes  an  act  extending  limits  of  the  State.  Wilkinson  directed 
to  return  to  New  Orleans  and  resume  command  —  April  12.  Arrival  of 
Wilkinson  in  New  Orleans  —  June  8.     Congress  declares  war  on  England 

—  June  18.  First  session  of  State  Legislature  —  June  27.  Claiborne  elected 
governor.  Country  devastated  by  a  hurricane  —  August  19.  Second  ses- 
sion of  the  Legislature  —  November  23.  Supreme  district  and  parish  courts 
organized. 

1813.  Congress  orders  the  President  to  occupy  that  part  of  West  Florida 
west  of  the  River  Perdito  —  February  12.     Wilkinson  seizes  Fort  Charlotte 

—  April  13.  Massacre  at  Fort  Mims  by  Creek  Indians  —  September  13. 
Defeat  of  the  Creeks  at  the  Tallusatche  towns  —  November  3.  Defeat  of 
the  Creeks  at  Talledega  by  Jackson.  Defeat  of  the  Creeks  at  Autosse  and 
Tallahassee. 

1814.  Defeat  of  the  Creeks  by  Jackson  —  March  27.  Peace  made  with 
Creeks  —  August  9.  Arrival  of  Colonel  Nichols  at  Pcnsacola.  He  issues 
a  proclamation  trying  to  stir  the  people  of  Louisiana  to  revolt  —  August  29. 
Repulse  of  Perry  at  Fort  Boyer.  Jackson  drives  the  British  from  Pcnsa- 
cola—  November  7.  Jackson  arrives  in  New  Orleans  —  December  2. 
British  threaten  New  Orleans.     Gunboats  under  Lieutenant  Jones  captured 

—  December  14.  Jackson  issues  a  general  order  putting  the  city  under 
martial  law.  Legislature  grants  an  amnesty  to  the  pirate  Lafitte  and  those 
of  his  followers  who  enlisted  to  serve  during  the  war. 

1815.  Battle  of  New  Orleans.  Defeat  of  the  British  — January  8. 
Legislature  appropriates  two  thousand  dollars.  News  received  of  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  signed  December  24 — February  13.  Jackson  orders  all  French 
subjects  possessing  certificates  of  discharge  to  retire  into  the  interior  — 
February  28.  Jackson  has  Louallier  arrested  on  the  ground  of  his  being  a 
spy  —  March  5.  Hall  grants  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  favor  of  Louallier. 
Hall  arrested  as  aiding  and  abetting  mutiny.  Hollander  arrested.  Hollan- 
der discharged.  Court-Martial  sustain  Louallier — March  9.  Jackson  re- 
leases Hall  — March  11.  News  of  peace  confirmed;  Louallier  released  — 
March  13.     Jackson  fined  one  thousand  dollars  for  his  high-handed  methods. 


314  ERA   OF  DEVELOPMENT. 


1816.  Villere  elected  governor  —  December. 

1817.  Ex-Governor  Claiborne  elected  United  States  Senator — January. 
Branch  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  established  in  New  Orleans 
Death  of  Claiborne  —  November.  Johnson  succeeds  as  United  States  Sen- 
ator. Criminal  Court  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans  established  —  March. 
Louisiana  State  Bank  incorporated. 

1819.  Legislature  appropriates  annually  six  hundred  dollars  for  public 
schools  and  three  thousand  dollars  for  college  of  New  Orleans,  and  em- 
powers Regents  of  the  college  to  raise  by  lottery  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars. Canal  projected  by  Orleans  company  to  connect  Marigay's  Canal  with 
Mississippi.     New  Orleans  inflicted  with  yellow  fever. 

1820.  Law  passed  organizing  the  militia.  Alexander  Millne  and  others 
empowered  to  open  turnpike  road  from  Lake  Pontchartrain  to  Mississippi. 
Governor  Villere  instructed  to  urge  on  President  of  the  United  States  the 
expediency  of  completing  fortifications  in  Louisiana.  Trials  by  jury  granted 
to  the  parish  courts  of  St.  Helena  and  Washington.  Town  of  Franklin 
made  a  seat  of  justice.  Monroe  incorporated.  Thomas  B.  Robertson 
elected  governor. 

1821.  City  Government  empowered  to  sell  its  landed  property  on  the 
terms  of  perpetual  grounded  rent.  Board  of  Public  Health  established. 
Act  passed  for  extending  and  improving  public  school  system.  Act  passed 
prohibiting  gambling.     Opelousas  incorporated. 

THE   ERA   OF   DEVELOPMENT. 

1822.  Legislature  divides  the  State  into  three  Congressional  districts. 
Appropriations  made  for  the  improvement  of  navigation  in  Pearl  and  Red 
Rivers.  Legislature  authorizes  New  Orleans  to  create  public  fund  or  stock 
to  the  amount  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended  in  paving 
and  watering  the  city. 

1823.  Frost  of  great  severity —  February  16.  Town  of  Donaldson  incor- 
porated.    Charter  of  the  Bank  of  Orleans  extended  to  1847. 

1824.  Bank  of  Louisiana  established.  State  being  one  half  shareholder. 
Governor  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature  urges  their  attention  to  the  fail- 
ure of  the  General  Government  to  take  proper  measures  in  regard  to  the 
public  lands.  Revised  civil  code  and  new  code  of  practice  promulgated. 
Governor  Robertson  resigns  to  become  a  judge  of  the  United  States  Dis- 
trict Court.  President  Thibodaux  of  the  Senate  acts  as  Governor.  Henry 
Johnson  inaugurated  governor  —  December. 

1825.  Arrival  of  I^afayette.  Legislature  appropriates  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  for  his  entertainment.  I^aw  passed  prohibiting  aliens  from  holding 
office  within  State.  City  Court  of  New  Orleans  organized.  Public  road 
ordered  to  be  opened  from  Vidalia  to  Harrisonburg.  Act  passed  establish- 
ing College  of  Louisiana  to  be  supported  by  public  school  funds  of  East 
and  West  Feliciana  and  by  annual  appropriation  of  five  thousand  dollars 
heretofore  voted  to  the  College  of  Orleans  —  February  18.     Company  in- 


ERA    OF  DEVELOPMENT,  3*5 


corporated  for  opening  of  turnpike  road  from  New  Orleans  to  Mississippi. 
Duties  of  the  Board  of  Health  conferred  upon  City  Council  of  New  Orleans. 
Memorial  sent  to  Congress  by  Legislature  urging  Construction  of  Canal 
direct  from  Lake  Pontchartrain  to  Mississippi.  Act  passed  removing  seat 
of  government  from  New  Orleans  to  Donaldsonville  —  February.  Act 
passed  prohibiting  the  bringing  of  slaves  into  the  State  for  sale.  Clos- 
ing of  Bayou  Manchac  authorized.  Board  of  Internal  Improvements 
created. 

1826.  Two  Primary  and  one  Central  School  established  in  New  Orleans. 
College  of  Orleans  discontinued  and  its  State  support  voted  to  the  schools. 
Unlimited  issue  of  gambling  licenses  by  State  Treasurer  decreed  to  raise  a 
fund  for  the  support  of  the  Charity  Hospital  Orphan  Asylum  College  of 
Louisiana  and  Schools.  Tax  imposed  on  two  city  theaters  for  the  good  of 
the  schools. 

1827.  Memorial  forwarded  by  Legislature  to  Louisiana  Senators  for  pre- 
sentation in  Congress  begging  for  adjustment  of  the  Public  Lands  Question. 
$10,000  voted  to  the  heirs  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Act  passed  abolishing  any 
sentencing  for  white  persons  to  the  pillory.  Emancipation  of  slaves  under 
thirty  years  permitted  in  certain  cases.  Barataria  and  Lafourche  Canal 
Company  formed  to  build  a  canal  from  the  Mississippi  to  Bayou  Lafourche. 
Public  School  System  amended  and  Fund  increased.  College  of  Louisiana 
permitted  to  raise  $40,000  by  lottery.  Regents  of  Public  Schools  permitted 
to  raise  $40,000  by  lottery. 

1828.  Visit  of  General  Jackson.  Celebration  of  the  Anniversary  of 
Battle  of  New  Orleans  —  January  8.  Annual  Message  of  the  Governor 
touching  public  lands  question.  Legislature  resolved  that  the  policy  of 
Government  had  retarded  and  repressed  the  progress  of  the  State.  Prohibi- 
tion upon  the  introduction  of  slaves  removed.     Pierre  Derbigny  Governor. 

1829.  Edward  Livingston  elected  Senator  of  United  States.  Act  passed 
prohibiting  the  introduction  into  the  State  of  a  slave  child  ten  years  or  under 
separate  from  its  mother ;  any  one  selling  such  a  child  held  liable  to  a  fine. 
Act  passed  providing  for  a  complete  levee  system.  Death  of  Derbigny  — 
October  7.     Jacques  Dupre,  President  of  the  Senate,  acting  Governor. 

1830.  legislature  meets  for  its  tenth  Session  at  Donaldson  —  January  4. 
Pontchartrain  Railroad  Company  incorporated.  Attempts  made  to  incite 
blacks  to  insurrection.  Act  passed  making  it  death  for  any  one  to  excite 
the  slaves  against  the  whites.  Act  passed  prohibiting  the  teaching  of  slaves 
to  read.  Provision  made  for  running  boundary-line  between  Louisiana  and 
the  territory  of  Arkansas  according  to  the  act  of  Congress  approved  May 
19,  1828.  Two  thousand  dollars  appropriated  for  opening  Bayou  des 
(Raises  to  navigation.  Act  passed  excluding  free  persons  of  color  from 
the  State.     Franklin  and  Thibodauxville  declared  incorporated  towns. 

1831.  New  Orleans  again  made  the  seat  of  government  —  January  8. 
Bienvenu  Roman  elected  as  Governor  —  January  31.  Law  relating  to 
expulsion  of  free  persons  of  color  amended.  Orleans  Fire  Company  organ- 
ized.    Gambling  houses  prohibited  outside  of  New  Orleans.    George  A. 


316  ERA    OF  DEVELOPMENT. 


Waggaman  elected  United  States  Senator,  vice  Livingston  resigned.    New 
Orleans  and  coast  generally  damaged  by  hurricane  —  August  16. 

1832.  Lake  Borgne  Navigation  Company  incorporated.  Union  Bank  of 
Louisiana  incorporated.  Jackson  and  Covington  incorporated  towns. 
$50,000  appropriated  for  a  penitentiary  at  Baton  Rouge.  Gambling  saloons 
permitted  in  New  Orleans,  but  taxed  annually  $7,500.  Louisiana  depopu- 
lated by  Asiatic  cholera. 

1833.  $20,000  voted  to  the  College  of  Jefferson.  Lafayette  chartered 
a  town.     Provision  made  for  a  State  Library.     Lotteries  abolished. 

1834.  New  Orleans  Improvement  Company  organized.  Chamber  of 
Commerce  organized.     Act  passed  relative  to  steamboats. 

1835.  Edward  White,  Governor.  State  made  a  stockholder  in  the  Bara- 
taria  and  Lafourche  Canal  Company.  Law  enacted  imposing  fine  or  impris- 
onment upon  keepers  of  gambling  saloons. 

1836.  Louisianians  moved  by  the  struggles  of  the  Texans  for  indepen- 
dence. Governor  proclaims  neutrality.  War  against  Seminoles  in  Floridas. 
$75,000  appropriated  for  equipment.  Large  number  of  Railroad  Company's 
troops  incorporated  as  well  as  many  other  stock  companies.  Robert  C. 
Nichols  chosen  United  States  Senator. 

1837.  Fourteen  banks  suspend  specie  payments  —  May  13.  Inundation 
of  rag  money.  Numerous  bankruptcies.  Lake  Borgne  Navigation  Company 
incorporated.  Loan  of  $500,000  in  State  bonds  made  to  the  New  Orleans 
and  Nashville  Railroad.     Alexander  Mouton  chosen  United  States  Senator. 

1838.  Banks  issue  post-notes.  Port  Hudson,  Springfield  and  Thibodeaux 
incorporated  towns.     Education  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  authorized. 

1839.  Banks  reinstated  in  their  privileges.  Number  of  Justices  of 
Supreme  Court  increased  to  five.  Commercial  Court  of  New  Orleans 
created.  Law  against  betting  enacted.  Act  passed  against  the  carrying 
away  of  slaves.  New  Orleans  Exchange  destroyed  by  fire  —  February  12. 
Bienvenu  Roman,  Governor  —  February  4. 

1840.  Legislature  abolishes  imprisonment  for  debt.  Legislature  makes 
appropriation  for  the  cutting  of  a  channel  through  the  falls  at  Alexandria. 
Extraordinary  rise  of  the  Mississippi.  Banks  again  suspend  specie  pay- 
ments. 

1841.  Clinton  and  Port  Hudson  Railroad  ordered  forfeited  to  the  State. 
Work  undertaken  by  the  Board  of  Public  Works  to  open  the  mouth  of  the 
Atchafalaya  and  of  the  Grand  River.  Lotteries  again  generally  abolished. 
State  grants  her  share  of  the  Public  Lands.  Bill  passed  submitting  to 
popular  vote  the  question  of  calling  a  convention  to  amend  Constitution. 

1842.  Law  enacted  prohibiting  banks  from  violating  charters  and  provid- 
ing for  the  liquidation  of  insolvent  banks.  Seven  banks  fail.  I^aw  passed 
retrenching  expenses  of  State  Government.  Tax  imposed  upon  real  estate 
in  several  parishes ;  other  levies  also  imposed  to  increase  State  resources. 
More  efficient  organization  of  Militia  ordered.  School  System  reformed. 
Howard  Association  of  New  Orleans  organized.  Civil  Code  amended. 
I  >Uastrous  fire  in  Baton  Rouge. 


ERA    OF  DEVELOPMENT.  3*7 


1843.  Alexander  Mouton,  Governor.  Insolvent  Laws  revived.  Court 
of  Errors  and  Appeals  in  Criminal  cases  organized. 

1844.  Convention  convened  at  Jackson  to  amend  Constitution — August 
5.  Convention  adjourned  to  New  Orleans.  Henry  Johnson  elected  United 
States  Senator. 

1845.  New  Constitution  adopted  in  Convention  —  May  14.  New  Consti- 
tution ratified  by  popular  vote.  Act  passed  for  the  adjustment  and  liquida- 
tion of  debts  proper  of  the  State.  Arrival  of  Hubbard  from  Massachusetts. 
Hoard  of  Commissioners  for  better  organization  of  schools.  College  of 
Louisiana  ordered  sold.  City  of  Carrollton  incorporated.  Appropriation 
made  for  the  encouragement  of  silk  culture. 

1846.  Isaac  Johnson  elected  Governor.  Hostilities  break  out  on  the 
Kio  Grande.  Legislature  votes  $100,000  for  raising  and  transporting  four 
regiments  to  aid  of  General  Taylor. 

1847.  Money  voted  for  the  closing  of  crevasses  at  New  Carthage  and 
Grand  Levee  and  for  erection  of  a  break-water  at  Bayou  Lafourche.  $1 50,000 
appropriated  for  the  erection  of  the  New  State  House  at  Baton  Rouge. 
University  of  Louisiana  established.  State  Insane  Asylum  at  Jackson 
established.  Treasury  Department  created.  Act  passed  providing  for  the 
disposal  of  the  "  Improvement  lands  "  granted  by  Congress.  School  fund 
created  based  on  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  public  lands.  Houses  of  refuge 
for  vagrants,  etc.,  established  in  New  Orleans.  Pierre  Soule  elected  United 
States  Senator. 

1848.  Road  and  Levee  fund  created.  Internal  Improvement  Fund  created. 
Thirty-five  thousand  dollars  voted  for  the  University  of  Louisiana.  Bureau 
of  Statistics  created.  Law  about  divorce  amended.  Extra  Session  of  the 
Legislature  called  by  Governor  —  December  24. 

1849.  Five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  appropriated  for  support 
of  schools.  Ten  thousand  dollars  voted  to  completion  of  Barataria  and 
l^afourche  Canal. 

1850.  Legislature  convened  in  the  new  State  House  at  Baton  Rouge  — 
January  21.  Joseph  Walker  inaugurated  Governor  —  January  28.  Grant 
of  way  through  lands  belonging  to  the  State  to  the  New  Orleans  and 
Jackson  R.  R.  Co.  Twenty  thousand  dollars  granted  for  the  completion  of 
Barataria  and  Lafourche  Canal.  Jefferson  City  incorporated.  Board  of 
Health  created. 

1851.  Convention  to  amend  Constitution  meets  —  July.  Constitution 
ratified  by  popular  vote  —  November. 

1852.  Bureau  of  Statistics  abolished.  One  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
thousand  dollars  voted  for  school  expenses.  State  Institution  for  the  deaf, 
dumb  and  blind  founded  at  Baton  Rouge. 

1853.  Paul  O.  Hebert  inaugurated  governor  —  January.  Horrible  epi- 
demic of  yellow  fever.  Legislature  sanctions  a  general  system  of  free 
banking.  Reorganization  of  the  school  system.  Reclamation  of  swamp 
lands  granted  by  Congress  begun.    Tragic  ending  of  the  Lopez  expedition. 

1854.  Another  yellow  fever  epidemic.    Free  School  Accumulating  Fund 


318  ERA   OF  CONFLICT. 


created.  Appropriation  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  reclamation  of  swamp 
lands.     Local  Option  law  passed.     Drainage  Tax  imposed. 

1855.  Act  prohibiting  aliens  from  holding  office  passed.  State  Insane 
Asylum  established.  New  Orleans  empowered  to  establish  free  schools. 
Married  women  enabled  to  contract  debts.  Town  almshouse  incorporated. 
New  Orleans  Savings  Institution  incorporated.  Robert  C.  Wyckliffe  in- 
augurated Governor. 

1856.  The  Last  Island  storm  —  August  10.  One  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  dollars  voted  to  the  Penitentiary. 

1858.  Political  disturbance.  Five  hundred  men  claiming  to  act  under 
a  Vigilant  Committee  seize  Court  House  and  State  Arsenal.  "  Know 
Nothing  "  Party  take  possession  of  Lafayette  Square.  Disturbance  subsides. 
Gerard  Stitto  elected  mayor. 

1859.  Judah  P.  Benjamin  United  State  Senator. 

i860.  Lincoln  elected  President.  Thomas  Overton  Moore  elected  Gov- 
ernor. Extra  session  of  Legislature  —  December  10.  Act  passed  calling 
for  a  State  Convention.  Appropriation  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  arming  of  volunteers.  Hon.  Wirt  Adams  Commissioner  for  Mississippi 
addresses  Legislature,  announcing  what  his  State  has  done  and  asking 
co-operation  of  Louisiana.     Immense  Popular  Meeting  held  at  New  Orleans 

—  December  21.  Enthusiastic  demonstrations  made  upon  the  news  of  the 
secession  of  South  Carolina.  Governor  Moore  issues  a  proclamation  for 
an  extra  session  of  the  Legislature  —  November.  Legislature  meets  and 
passes  an  act  providing  for  a  State  Convention —  December  10.  Act  passed 
providing  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  organization  and  arming  of 
military  companies.  Mass  Meeting  held  to  ratify  nomination  of  "  Southern 
Rights  "  candidates  for  Convention. 

THE  ERA  OF  CONFLICT. 

1861.  State  Convention  meets  —  January  23.  Ordinance  of  Secession 
adopted  —  January  26.  Resolution  passed  in  regard  to  the  navigation  of 
Mississippi.  Barracks  and  arsenal  at  Baton  Rouge  occupied  by  State 
troops  —  January  11.  Delegates  to  the  Convention  for  the  formation  of 
a  Southern  Confederacy  elected  —  January  3a  Meeting  of  Convention  — 
February  4.  Jefferson  Davis  elected  President.     Surrender  of  Fort  Sumter 

—  April  13.  Battle  of  Bull's  Run  —  July  21.  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip 
and  the  Arsenal  at  Baton  Rouge  seized  —  January  10.  United  States 
Revenue  Cutter  Lewis  Cass  seized  —  January  13.  Barracks  and  Marine 
Hospital  at  New  Orleans  seized.  State  Convention  meets  —  January  24. 
Ordinance  of  Secession  adopted  —  January  26.  Act  passed  transferring 
$536,000  to  Confederate  Government  —  January.  Confederate' Government 
demands  troops.  Three  thousand  troops  raised.  Governor  Moore  calls  for 
three  thousand  additional  troops  —  April  24.  Sixteen  thousand  men  under 
arms  —  June  1. 

1862.  Federal  naval  force  under  Admiral  Farragut  and  military  force 


ERA    OF  CONFLICT.  319 


under  General  Butler  dispatched  against  New  Orleans  —  January.  Farra- 
gut  passes  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip  —  April  24.  Capture  of  New 
Orleans  —  April  25.  Surrender  of  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip  —  April  28. 
Capture  of  Baton  Rouge  and  Natchez.  Governor  Moore  calls  for  five  and  a 
half  regiments  —  February  14.  General  Butler  takes  possession  of  the  city. 
General  Shepley  appointed  Military  Governor  of  Louisiana  —  August. 

1863.  Surrender  of  Vicksburg  —  July  4.  General  Shepley  provides  a 
system  of  courts  for  the  State.  Free  State  General  Committee  appointed. 
Michael  Hahn  elected  Governor  —  February  22.  Henry  W.  Allen  chosen 
Governor  by  Confederates. 

1864.  Convention  for  revision  of  Constitution  held  —  April  6.  Constitu- 
tion abolishing  slavery  adopted.  Constitution  adopted  by  the  people  — 
September  5.  legislature  elected  and  five  delegates  to  Congress  —  Septem- 
ber 5.  Legislature  rejects  bill  giving  colored  people  power  of  Suffrage. 
Board  of  Education  for  Freedmen  established  by  General  Banks.  Major- 
General  Canby  relieves  Major-General  Banks. 

1865.  Troops  drafted  by  Major-General  Canby  —  February  15.  Gov- 
ernor Hahn  resigns  and  is  succeeded  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Wells  — 
March  4.  Surrender  of  Lee  —  April  9.  Confederate  Governor  Allen  resigns 
from  his  position  —  June  2.  Governor  Wells  elected  —  November.  Legis- 
lature assembles  —  November  23.  Randall  Hunt  and  Henry  Boyce  elected 
United  States  Senators  —  December  6.  Bill  passed  appropriating  twenty 
thousand  dollars  for  relief  of  disabled  soldiers.  Amendment  to  Constitu- 
tion adopted  by  Legislature. 

1866.  Regular  session  of  Legislature  —  January  22.  Bill  passed  authoriz- 
ing election  of  Municipal  officers  at  an  earlier  date  than  fixed  by  charter. 
Bill  vetoed  by  the  Governor.  Bill  passed  over  Governor's  veto.  John  T. 
Monroe  elected  mayor  of  New  Orleans  —  March  12.  General  Canby  sus- 
pends Monroe  from  the  duties  of  Mayor  because  he  had  refused  to  take 
oath  of  allegiance  —  March  19.  General  Canby  appoints  J.  A.  Roziere, 
Mayor  pro  tempore.  President  revokes  General  Canby's  order  and  reinstates 
Monroe.  Convention  of  1864  meets  at  New  Orleans  —  July  30.  Riot  in 
New  Orleans.  Forty  policemen  and  rioters  killed  —  July  30.  Legislature 
meets  —  December  28.  Legislature  refuses  to  ratify  fifteenth  amendment 
to  the  Constitution. 

1867.  Military  Reconstruction  Act  passed  —  March  2.  Louisiana  joined 
with  Texas  to  form  fifth  Military  District.  General  Sheridan  appointed 
Commander  of  district  —  March  19.  General  Sheridan  removes  Herron, 
Attorney-General,  Monroe  Mayor  of  New  Orleans  and  Abell,  Judge  of  first 
district  Court  and  appoints  successors  —  March  27.  General  Sheridan 
begins  the  registration  of  voters  under  the  Reconstruction  Act  —  May  15. 
Governor  Wells  substitutes  Board  of  Levee  Commissioners  for  those 
appointed  by  legislature.  General  Sheridan  appoints  another  set  of  Com- 
missioners. General  Sheridan  removes  Governor  Weils  and  substitutes 
Durant  —  June  3.  Durant  declines  and  Benjamin  F.  Flanders  is  appointed. 
General   Sheridan  closes  the    registration  of    voters — July  31.     General 


320  ERA   OF  CONFLICT. 


Sheridan  relieved  and  General  Hancock  substituted  —  August  17.  People 
vote  for  a  convention  —  September.  Constitutional  Convention  meets  — 
November  22.     Constitution  enacted. 

1868.  General  Hancock  relieved  and  General  Buchanan  substituted  — 
March  18.  Constitution  ratified  —  April  18.  Henry  C.  Warmouth,  Gov- 
ernor. Mr.  Conway  elected  Mayor.  Act  by  Congress  admitting  Southern 
States  to  the  Union  becomes  a  law  —June  25.  Legislature  meets  —  June  27. 
Fourteenth  Amendment  adopted.  William  P.  Kellogg  and  John  S.  Harris 
elected  United  States  Senators.  Political  Riots  in  Northern  Louisiana. 
Political  Riot  at  Opelousas  —  September  28.     Conflict  in  St.  Bernard  Parish 

—  October  26. 

1869.  legislature  assembles  —  January  4.  Passage  of  the  Social  Equality 
Bill.  Passage  of  the  Public  School  Law.  Passage  of  Act  authorizing  a 
loan  of  five  million  dollars.  Passage  of  Act  incorporating  Ship  Island 
Canal  Company.  Act  to  incorporate  Crescent  City  Live  Stock  Landing  and 
Slaughter  House  Company  declared  unconstitutional.  Act  to  incorporate 
Louisiana  Transit  Company  passed.  New  Vagrant  I^aw  enacted.  Revenue 
Bill  passed.  Fifteenth  Amendment  Ratified  —  February  28.  Contention 
about  the  power  of  the  Governor  to  fill  vacancies.  Wyckliffe,  Auditor  of 
the  State  indicted  on  charges  of  corruption. 

1870.  Legislature  meets  —  January  3.  Governor  vetoes  twenty-one  bills 
involving  appropriations  to  the  amount  of  $6,875,000.  Extra  session  of  legis- 
lature convened  —  March  3.  Education  Bill  passed.  Bill  passed  giving  city 
of  New  Orleans  anew  charter.  Bill  passed  to  maintain  the  freedom  and 
purity  of  elections  —  February  18.  Registration  Bill  passed.  Act  passed 
granting  to  New  Orleans,  Mobile  and  Chattanooga  R.  R.  Co.  three  million 
dollars  in  State  bonds.  Act  passed  establishing  Eighth  District  Court  in 
New  Orleans.  Auditor  Wyckliffe  impeached.  Wyckliffe  convicted  and  re- 
moved from  office  —  March  3.  James  Graham  elected  auditor  and  Antoine 
Dubreclet  State  Treasurer  —  November  2.  People  ratify  four  Constitutional 
Amendments. 

1871.  Legislature  meets  —  January  2.     General  J.  R.  West  elected  Senator 

—  January  10.  (The  cost  of  this  legislature  to  the  State  was  about  $960,000.) 
Injunction  granted  at  request  of  Governor  restraining  State  Auditor  from 
the  payment  of  warrants  outstanding  against  appropriations  made  by  the 
legislature.  Commission  appointed  to  investigate  the  matter.  Investigation 
reveals  a  regular  system  of  forgery.  Ix>ose  manner  of  issuing  warrants 
strongly  condemned.  State  Central  Committee  call  a  State  Convention  — 
July.  Committee  announces  Convention  would  be  held  in  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  Room  —  August  8.  Opposers  of  Warmouth  meet  in 
Custom  House  —  August  9.     Friends  of  Warmouth  meet  in  Turner's  Hall 

—  August.  Death  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Dunn  —  November  22.  Gov- 
ernor calls  an  extra  session  of  Senate  to  fill  the  vacancy  and  for  other 
business  —  Deceml>er  6.  Senator  Pinchl>eck  elected  Lieutenant-Governor. 
Act  passed  providing  for  State  Board  of  Education. 

1872.  legislature  meets  —  January  1.     Resolution  passed  declaring  con- 


ERA    OF  CONFLICT.  32 1 


fidence  in  George  W.  Carter,  the  speaker — January  2.  Governor  Warmouth 
arrested  by  United  States  officials.  Governor  Warmouth  calls  an  extra 
session  of  Legislature.  Speakers  chair  declared  vacant  and  O.  H.  Brewster 
chosen  to  fill  the  same.  "  Carterites  "  assemble  in  the  "  Gem  Saloon  "  and 
style  themselves  "legal  house  of  Representatives."  Both  rival  bodies  in 
session  —  January  6.  Wheyland,  member  of  the  Warmouth  House  killed 
in  a  street  scuffle  —  January  7.  Expulsion  of  Carter  and  election  of  Brewster 
ratified  —  January  24.  Committee  appointed  by  Congress  to  investigate. 
Bill  passed  funding  the  indebtedness  of  the  State.  Continuous  political 
contentions  and  frauds.  Convention  of  the  "Custom  House  Ring"  headed 
by  Packard  held  at  New  Orleans  —  April  30.  Association  formed  for  the 
resistance  of  excessive  taxation.  Resolutions  adopted  condemning  the 
extravagance  of  State  Government  —  May  6.  Wing  of  the  Republican 
party  headed  by  Pinchback  nominates  State  Officers — May  28.  Democratic 
Convention  assemble  in  New  Orleans — June  3.  Reform  Convention  assem- 
ble in  New  Orleans  —  June  4.  Democratic  Reformers  and  Liberals  nominate 
McEnery  for  Governor.  United  Republicans  nominate  Kellogg.  Election 
takes  place  —  November  4.  Dispute  with  regard  to  returns.  Kellogg  brings 
suit  for  an  injunction  restraining  the  Warmouth  board  from  canvassing  the 
returns.  Governor  Warmouth  calls  extra  session  of  legislature  —  Decem- 
ber 9.  Governor  Warmouth  promulgates  the  new  election  law.  Judge 
Durell  decides  in  favor  of  Kellogg.  Warmouth  publishes  his  idea  of  the 
election  returns.    Legislature  (as  formed  by  Republican  statement)  meets 

—  December  9.  Governor  Warmouth  impeached  and  suspended  from  office. 
Lieutenant-Governor  Pinchbeck  assumes  the  duties  of  Governor.  '*  Fusion  " 
Legislature  meets  in  City  Hall  —  December  11. 

1873.  William  P.  Kellogg  and  John  McEnery  each  inaugurated  as  Gov- 
ernor—  January  14.  Congress  appoints  a  committee  to  investigate  the 
trouble.  Committee  makes  a  report  recommending  Congress  to  pass  a  bill 
to  insure  an  honest  re-election  under  the  authority  of  United  States  — 
February  20.  Bill  lost.  Mass  Meeting  held  passing  resolutions  supporting 
the  McEnery  government  —  March  1.  Members  of  the  McEnery  Legisla- 
ture seized  and  marched  as  prisoners  to  guard-house  —  March  6.  Act 
passed  by  Kellogg  Legislature  for  enforcement  of  the  collection  of 
taxes.  "  Committee  of  two  hundred "  issues  an  address  to  the  people. 
Conflict  between  negroes  and  whites  in  Colfax — April  13.  Convention  of 
the  people  held  in  New  Orleans  —  November  24.  Similar  Assemblage  held 
by  Kellogg  party.  Louisiana  case  argued  by  Congressional  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Privileges.     No  decision  reached. 

1874.  Legislature  assembles  —  January  5.  Act  passed  prescribing  regula- 
tions for  a  registration  of  voters.  Five  Constitutional  Amendments  ordered 
to  be  submitted  to  the  people.     State  Convention  of  Republican  party  meet 

—  August  5.  Antoine  Dubruclet  nominated  for  State  Treasurer.  Democratic 
State  Convention  meet  —  August  24.  John  C.  Monicure  nominated  for 
treasurer.  Coushatta  tragedy — August  30.  Mass  Meeting  held  at  New 
Orleans  to   protest  against  the   Kellogg   administration  —  September  14. 


322  ERA    OF  PROGRESS, 


D.  B.  Penn,  unsuccessful  candidate  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  calls  on  the 
people  to  arm  themselves  and  drive  out  the  usurpers  —  September  14. 
Severe  conflict  in  New  Orleans  between  insurgents  and  police.  Latter 
worsted  —  September  14.  McEnery  and  Penn  surrender  the  State  build- 
ings to  General  Brooke  —  September  17.  General  Brooke  appointed  military 
governor.  Governor  Kellogg  resumes  his  duties  —  September  19.  Advisory 
Committee  appointed  from  both  parties  to  agree  upon  some  system  of  regis- 
tration—  September  29.  Election  held  —  November  2.  Returning  Board 
canvasses  the  returns  of  the  election.  Oscar  Arroye  resigns  from  the 
board  on  the  ground  of  its  unjust  and  false  methods.  Returning  Board 
completes  its  labors  and  publishes  the  returns  —  December  24.  Dubruclet 
elected  treasurer.  Fifty-four  Republicans  and  fifty-two  Democrats  elected  to 
Legislature.  President  orders  General  Sheridan  to  make  a  tour  of  inspec- 
tion South  and  assume  command  of  Department  of  South,  if  necessary  — 
December  24. 

1875.  Legislature  meets.  Great  disturbance.  United  States  troops 
called  in  —  January  8.  Congressional  Committee  makes  a  report  to  Con- 
gress—  January  15.  Another  Congressional  Committee  sent  to  New  Or- 
leans —  January  22.  u  Wheeler  Adjustment "  agreed  to.  Governor  Kellogg 
calls  an  extra  session  of  the  Legislature  —  April  14.  Wheeler  adjustment 
ratified  by  Legislature.  Estilette,  Conservative,  elected  speaker.  Suit 
brought  against  the  auditor  for  irregularity  in  his  accounts. 

1876.  Democratic  Conservative  Convention  meets  —  January  5.  Don 
A.  Pardie  elected  United  States  District  Court  Judge,  but  not  confirmed  by 
Senate.  Legislature  meets  —  January  3.  J.  B.  Eustis  elected  United  States 
Senator  by  Democrats,  only  three  Republicans  voting.  Act  passed  making 
five  Amendments  to  the  Constitution.  Judge  Hawkins  removed.  Governor 
Kellogg  impeached  by  the  House  of  Representatives — February  28.  Senate 
acquits  him.  Republican  Convention  to  nominate  State  officers  held  — 
May  30.  Democratic  Convention  to  nominate  State  officers  held  —  July  24. 
President  sends  a  Committee  of  Republicans  to  inspect  election.  Deputation 
from  Democratic  party  also  go  to  New  Orleans.  Presidential  election  held— 
November.  Both  parties  claim  the  victory.  Both  Houses  of  Congress  send 
Committees  to  New  Orleans  to  make  investigation. 

1877.  Both  Governors  inaugurated  —  January  8.  Both  Legislatures  meet. 
President  sends  a  commission  to  New  Orleans  —  April  5.  Packard  Legis- 
lature breaks  up  —  April  21.  Government  troops  withdrawn  —  April  24. 
Nichols  Government  takes  possession  of  the  State  House.  Judge  Henry 
M.  Spofford  elected  United  States  Senator.  Act  passed  regulating  assess- 
ment of  taxes.  New  election  law  enacted.  New  school  act  enacted.  Mem- 
bers of  the  late  returning  board  charged  with  making  counterfeit  returns 
—  July  5. 

THE   ERA   OF    PROGRESS. 

1878.  Thomas  C.  Anderson  convicted  —  January  28.  Thomas  C.  Ander- 
son acquitted  by  Supreme  Court  —  March  18.     legislature  pass  a  resolution 


ERA   OF  PROGRESS.  323 


condemning  the  admission  of  Kellogg  as  Senator  in  place  of  Spofford  — 
January  17.  Legislature  pass  twenty-one  amendments  to  State  Constitution. 
Legislature  convened  in  extra  session  —  March  8.  Acts  passed  relating  to 
the  retrenchment  of  expenditures.  Yellow  Fever  Epidemic.  Riot  in  Tensas 
and  Concordia  Parish.  Appropriations  made  to  increase  the  depth  of  the 
water  on  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  Wide  channel  cut 
through  the  sand  bar.  Democratic  Conservative  Convention  —  August  6. 
Republican  Convention  —  September  18.  State  election  held  November  5. 
Large  Democratic  gains. 

1879.  Legislature  meets — January  6.  J.  T.  Moncure  elected  Speaker.  Act 
passed  providing  for  a  State  Constitutional  Convention.  B.  F.  Jonas  elected 
Senator.  Difficulty  in  assessing  the  taxes.  Election  of  delegates  to  Con- 
stitutional Convention  —  March  18.  Meeting  of  Convention  —  April  21. 
Ordinance  relative  to  State  debt  ordered  to  be  submitted  to  the  people. 
Constitution  enacted.  Democratic  State  Convention  —  October  6.  Repub- 
lican State  Convention  —  October  21.    Constitution  ratified  by  the  people 

—  December  8.  Wiltz  elected  Governor.  Ordinance  relative  to  State  debt 
passed. 

1880.  Legislature  meets  under  the  new  Constitution  at  Baton  Rouge—: 
January  14.  Bureau  of  Agriculture  and  Immigration  created.  Act  passed 
providing  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  the  public  debt.  Act  passed 
to  liquidate  the  indebtedness  of  New  Orleans  through  a  Board  of  Liquida- 
tion. Bands  of  negroes  strike  work  in  parishes  St.  John,  St.  James  and 
St.  Charles  —  March.  University  for  Higher  Education  of  colored  boys 
opened. 

1 881.  Organized  strike  in  New  Orleans — September  1.  Great  railroad 
development  in  Louisiana.  Death  of  Governor  Wiltz.  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor McEnery  succeeded  him  —  October.    Special  Session  of  Legislature 

—  December  5.  Act  passed  completing  restoration  of  Capitol  at  Baton 
Rouge.  Act  passed  making  appropriations  for  expenses  of  Government, 
interest  on  public  debt,  public  schools,  and  public  charities,  etc.  Legislature 
begins  its  second  extra  session  —  December  26.  Act  passed  providing  for 
the  investing  of  the  interest  tax  fund  and  for  payment  of  reduced  interest 
on  State  bonds. 

1882.  Unprecedented  floods  and  overflows.  Louisiana  State  University 
reorganized.  Governor  expresses  dissatisfaction  with  the  Constitution  of 
1879.  Acts  passed  to  meet  the  heavy  debts  of  New  Orleans.  Mr.  Tulare,  a 
citizen  of  New  Orleans,  gives  large  donations  for  the  education  of  the  white 
youth  of  that  city.  Two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Mississippi  by  I^a  Salle  —  April  10. 

1883.  Cases  in  which  Vermont  and  New  York  brought  action  against 
Louisiana  to  enforce  payment  of  consolidated  bonds  dismissed  by  Chief- 
Justice  Waite  —  March  5.  Levee  Convention  held  at  Baton  Rouge  —  June  19. 
Democratic  Convention  at  Baton  Rouge  —  December  18.  Governor  McEnery 
renominated. 

1884.  Republican   State  Convention  held  at  New  Orleans  —  March  5. 


324  ERA  OF  PROGRESS. 


John  A.  Stevenson  nominated  for  Governor.  Election  held  —  April  22. 
McEnery  elected  Governor  and  Knoblock  Lieutenant-Governor.  Legislature 
meets  —  May  12.  James  B.  Eustis  elected  United  States  Senator — May  20. 
Convention  held  in  favor  of  Republican  Presidential  Candidates  —  August  30. 
Presidential  election.  State  largely  Democratic  —  November  4.  Mississippi 
Valley  Railroad  completed. 

1885.  Citizen's  Committee  of  one  hundred  organized  in  New  Orleans 
—  May.  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  formally 
closed  —  June  1.  Prohibition  Convention  held  —  August  19.  State  Execu- 
tive Committee  constituted.  North,  Central  and  South  American  Exposition 
opened  —  November  10.     Randall  L.  Gibson,  United  States  Senator. 

1886.  Legislature  meets  —  May  10.  Act  passed  closing  all  places  of 
business  on  Sunday.  Act  providing  for  police  juries  throughout  the  State. 
Act  passed  for  the  protection  of  settlers  on  State  Lands.  Act  passed  for 
the  protection  of  alluvial  State  Lands  by  erection  of  levees.  Act  passed  to 
collect  and  enforce  payment  of  annual  License  tax.  Act  passed  appropriat- 
ing fourteen  thousand  dollars  to  Southern  University  of  New  Orleans. 
Act  passed  regulating  the  hours  of  labor  for  women  and  children. 

1887.  Political  contest  between  Governor  McEnery  and  Ex-Governor 
Nichols  to  secure  the  nomination  of  the  Democratic  Convention  —  August. 

1 888.  Howard  Memorial  Library,  valued  at  $100,000,  erected  in  New 
Orleans  by  the  heirs  of  Charles  T.  Howard  of  that  city. 


THE   PEOPLES'   COVENANT 

AS    EMBODIED    IN    THE    CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    STATE 

OF    LOUISIANA. 


The  changing  conditions  of  so  peculiarly  constituted  a  people  as  were 
the  citizens  of  Louisiana  necessarily  resulted  in  a  varying  succession  of 
desires  as  to  the  composition  of  the  bond  of  union  that  held  together  the 
people  and  sections  of  the  Commonwealth.  This  led  to  a  frequent  change 
of  constitutions  but  shows  the  growth  and  progress  of  the  State  alike  in 
population  and  in  ideas. 

The  first  Constitution  was  adopted  January  22, 181 2.  It  gave  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  adult,  white  male  tax-payers  of  one  year's  residence.  Repre- 
sentatives must  own  $500  in  land;  senators  $1,000  in  land;  governor  $5,000 
in  land.  Governor  chosen  by  legislature  from  two  highest  candidates  in  a 
popular  election. 

The  second  Constitution  was  adopted  November  5, 1845.  I*8  chief  object 
was  to  restrict  the  legislature  in  chartering  corporations  and  to  prohibit 
State  aid  to  corporations.  It  dropped  the  property  qualification  and  made 
the  choice  of  a  jgovernor  depend  on  popular  vote. 

The  third  Constitution  ^was  ratified  November  1,  1852.  It  secured  an 
elective  judiciary  for  short  terms. 

The  fourth  Constitution  was  ratified  September  5,  1864.  It  made  no 
limitation  except  for  crime  on  adult  white,  male  suffrage.  First  constitution 
to  mention  slavery  for  the  purpose  of  abolishing  it.  It  was  never  recognized 
by  Congress. 

The  fifth  Constitution  was  ratified  August  17-18,  1868.  It  prohibited 
slavery,  gave  the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  adult  male  citizens  of  one  year's 
residence  and  in  other  ways  accepted  the  results  of  the  war.  It  was  amended 
in  1870  and  1874. 

The  sixth  and  last  Constitution  was  ratified  in  December,  1879. 

[In  1861  a  State  Convention  passed  an  ordinance  of  secession  which  it 
refused  to  submit  to  the  popular  vote.  In  the  same  way  it  ratified  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Confederate  States.] 

The  Constitution  of  1879  ls  divided  into  a  preamble,  19  sections,  264 
articles  and  4  ordinances.     The  PREAMBLE  reads  as  follows: 

"  This  Constitution  is  framed  to  secure  to  the  people  with  the  aid  of  God, 

325 


326  THE  CONSTITUTION. 


the  author  of  all  good  government,  public  peace  and  prosperity  and  the 
blessings  of  liberty."  . 

Section  One  embraces  in  12  articles  a  declaration  of  rights: 

Article  I.  The  government  derives  its  powers  from  the  will  of  the  people 
and  its  sole  object  is  to  protect  them. 

Article  II.  The  people  shall  be  secure  against  unreasonable  seizure  of 
person  and  property. 

Articles  III.  and  IV.  The  right  of  bearing  arms,  religious  freedom,  the 
right  of  assembly,  the  right  of  petition,  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press 
shall  be  inviolate. 

Article  V.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  shall  ever  he  per- 
mitted except  as  a  punishment  for  crime.  No  person  shall  be  put  on  trial 
twice  for  the  same  offence. 

Article  VI.  The  law  must  give  reparation  for  injury  without  unreason- 
able delay.  No  person  shall  be  condemned  without  due  process  of  law. 
The  accused  is  not  bound  to  witness  against  himself. 

Article  VII.  Criminal  trials  must  be  held  in  the  town  where  the  offence 
is  committed.  In  specified  cases  the  jury  may  count  less  than  twelve  mem- 
bers. 

Article  VIII.  The  accused  shall  have  the  right  of  challenge.  (Here 
follows  a  detailed  method  of  conducting  trials.) 

Article  IX.  Bail  shall  be  allowed.  Excessive  bail  or  excessive  fines  can- 
not be  imposed  nor  cruel  nor  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

Article  X.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  be  suspended  only  when  in 
case  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  demands  it. 

Article  XI.    The  military  power  is  subject  to  the  civil  power. 

Section  Two  treats  of  the  distribution  of  powers : 

The  powers  of  the  government  are  three  —  Legislative,  Executive  and 
Judicial.  These  powers  must  not  infringe  except  in  so  far  as  this  Constitu- 
tion directs  or  permits. 

Section  Three  deals  with  the  legislative  department.  This  is  vested  in 
a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  The  number  of  members  is  deter- 
mined by  population.  Qualifications  of  members :  five  years  citizenship  of 
the  State,  and  two  years  residence  in  the  district  which  elects,  and  oath. 
Term  of  office :  four  years.  Members  are  subject  to  certain  incapacities  as 
to  holding  office.  Their  persons  shall  be  inviolable  during  the  sessions.  If 
they  have  any  interest  in  the  pending  deliberations  they  must  declare  them- 
selves interested  parties  and  abstain  from  voting. 

Iiiennial  sessions.  Verification  of  powers,  rules  of  procedure,  choice  of 
the  functionaries,  disciplinary  power,  adjournment,  quorum,  printing  of 
journal  all  carefully  provided  for.  Promulgation  by  insertion  in  the  official 
journal.  The  chambers  alone  can  pardon  treason,  suspend  the  laws,  limit 
the  disciplinary  powers  of  the  courts. 

Appropriation  and  revenue  bills  must  take  their  initiative  in  the  House 
but  the  Senate  may  amend. 

The  governor  may  veto  but  a  two  thirds  vote  of  both  houses  overrides  his 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  327 


veto.  Appropriations  may  be  vetoed  in  part.  The  governor  may  not  keep 
a  bill  more  than  five  days.  Adjournment  of  the  legislature  before  the  expi- 
ration of  this  limit  prevents  a  bill  from  becoming  a  law. 

The  chambers  can  involve  the  State  in  debt  only  to  repel  an  invasion  or 
put  down  an  insurrection. 

Except  in  giving  to  railroads  and  canals  the  right  of  way  over  public  lands 
the  State  cannot  aid  corporate  or  individual  enterprises  and  cannot  abandon 
claims  against  them.  It  cannot  furnish  pecuniary  aid  to  any  religion,  nor 
to  institutions  of  charity  not  under  its  authority.  The  law  cannot  fix  the 
price  of  manual  labor,  nor  grant  a  preference  to  any  religion.  In  a  very 
large  number  of  cases  special  and  local  laws  are  prohibited.  Where  the 
Constitution  does  not  prohibit,  laws  of  private  or  local  interest  are  permitted. 

Section  Four  deals  with  the  executive  department.  This  is  composed 
of  a  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  auditor,  treasurer  and  secretary  of  state. 
The  governor  is  elected  by  the  same  electors,  at  the  same  time  and  in  the 
same  places  as  the  members  of  the  two  houses.  Term  of  office :  four  years. 
A  majority  elects.     In  case  of  a  tie  the  chambers  in  joint  session  elect. 

Qualifications.  Thirty  years  of  age,  ten  years*  citizenship  of  United 
States  and  residence  in  the  State,  neither  a  member  of  Congress,  nor  federal 
office-holder,  or  have  ceased  to  be  for  at  least  six  months.     Salary,  $4,000. 

Powers.  Execution  of  the  laws,  command  of  the  militia,  right  to  demand 
reports  of  his  subordinates  and  to  send  messages  to  the  legislature,  also  to 
convoke  the  legislature  in  extraordinary  cases  but  not  for  more  than  twenty 
days,  pardoning  power,  nominating  power  in  specified  cases  and  filling  of 
vacancies  with  consent  of  the  senate,  if  in  session.  Time  and  place  of  elec- 
tion, term  of  office  are  the  same  for  the  lieutenant-governor  as  for  governor. 
Circumstances  in  which  he  becomes  acting-governor  specified.  He  presides 
in  the  senate,  but  does  not  vote  except  in  case  of  a  tie. 

Treasurer,  auditor  and  secretary  of  state  are  elected  for  four  years. 

Section  Five  deals  with  the  judicial  department.  It  has  four  divisions. 
1.  The  Supreme  Court.  11.  Courts  of  Appeal,  in.  District  Courts,  iv. 
Justices  of  the  Peace. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  a  chief  justice  and  four  judges,  nominated  by  the 
governor  with  the  senate.  Term  of  office:  twelve  years.  Qualifications: 
ten  years  law  practice.  Salary  $5,000.  Jurisdiction,  time  and  place  of  sit- 
ting, rules  of  procedure  and  accountability  defined. 

Qualifications,  time  and  manner  of  appointment,  terms  of  office,  salaries, 
rules  of  procedure,  jurisdiction,  accountability,  issue  of  writs,  time  and  place 
of  sitting  determined  for  the  three  other  courts.  Powers  and  duties  of  the 
procuror-general,  clerks  of  the  courts,  coroners,  sheriffs  and  constables. 

Section  Six  treats  of  the  State  militia.  A  well-ordered  militia  is  neces- 
sary. No  pay  except  for  active  service.  The  police  cannot  form  a  part  of 
the  militia.  In  time  of  peace  soldiers  can  not  be  lodged  at  a  private  house 
except  with  the  consent  of  the  owners.  Citizens  may  be  excused  from 
service. 

Section  Seven  defines  suffrage  and  election.    Vote  is  to  be  by  ballot. 


328  THE   CONSTITUTION. 


Qualifications  of  elector :  male  sex,  citizen  of  United  States  or  having  ex- 
pressed legally  an  intention  of  becoming  one,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  resi- 
dence of  one  year  in  State,  six  months  in  parish,  thirty  days  in  the  electoral 
district.  Qualifications  for  office  holding :  citizen  of  the  State,  resident  and 
voter  in  the  place  where  office  is  bestowed.  Disqualifications  for  both : 
conviction  for  crime,  idiocy,  insanity.  Race,  color  or  former  condition  of 
servitude  no  disqualification.  Electors  privileged  from  arrest  on  the  day  of 
election.  No  liquors  sold  on  election  day  within  a  mile  of  voting  places. 
Contested  elections  provided  for. 

Section  Eight  treats  the  power  of  impeachment  and  removal.  All  ex- 
ecutive officers,  superintendent  of  public  instruction  and  the  judges  of  the 
courts  of  record  may  be  impeached.  Process  described.  The  governor 
may  remove  every  office  holder  at  the  request  of  two  thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers of  each  chamber. 

Section  Nine  is  devoted  to  taxes  and  the  revenue.  Taxes  are  levied  by 
the  State,  counties  and  towns.  Purposes  carefully  limited.  Manner  of  col- 
lecting described.  No  revenue  bill  can  be  passed  by  legislature  within  the 
five  days  of  the  close  of  the  session  nor  for  a  period  longer  than  ten  years. 
Exempts  certain  professions,  also  certain  kinds  of  property.  Provides  for 
poll  tax  not  to  exceed  $1.50,  also  for  levee  tax.  Public  calamities  alone  can 
authorize  the  chambers  to  delay  the  payment  of  the  taxes.  Mode  of  pro- 
cedure in  case  of  non-payment. 

Section  Ten  defines  the  rights  of  debtors  and  creditors,  and  fixes  the 
amount  of  property  allowed  the  debtor. 

Section  Eleven  treats  of  the  public  schools.  The  State  must  support 
public  schools  for  all  children  between  six  and  eighteen.  Poll  tax  goes  to 
the  schools  of  county  where  it  is  raised.  Other  taxes  distributed  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  of  children.  No  part  of  public  school  revenues  can  be 
given  to  religious  schools. 

The  State  must  support  the  University  of  New  Orleans,  organize  a  special 
university  for  the  blacks,  and  maintain  the  University  of  Baton  Rouge. 

Section  Twelve  deals  with  the  construction  of  corporations.  General 
laws  must  direct  the  organization  of  private  corporations.  Every  corpo- 
ration must  conform  to  the  Constitution.  Banking  institutions  cannot 
without  crime  or  pecuniary  responsibility  receive  deposits  or  contract  debts 
if  they  know  themselves  to  be  insolvent. 

Every  monopoly  is  abolished  except  the  railroad.  Regulates  the  building 
and  use  of  abattoirs. 

Section  Thirteen  treats  of  the  affairs  of  the  several  counties.  The 
chambers  form,  modify,  dissolve  them.  Determines  the  minimum  extent 
and  population. 

Section  Fourteen  states  special  provisions  and  exceptions  to  the  general 
provisions  of  the  Constitution  respecting  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 

Section  Fifteen  states  that  the  government  shall  have  full  control 
of  the  new  canal  and  Shell  road  and  determines  that  they  can  neither  be 
sold  nor  leased. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  329 


Section  Sixteen  embraces  certain  general  provisions. 

Seat  of  the  government  at  Baton  Rouge.     Treason  defined. 

The  law  may  regulate  the  sale  and  use  of  spirituous  liquors  and  prohibit 
gambling.  Every  town  or  county  must  support  its  own  poor.  Every  lottery 
shall  be  prohibited  after  Jan.  1,  1895,  and  every  lottery  shall  be  subject  to  a 
tax  of  at  least  $40,000.  The  law  must  protect  the  working  classes  and 
assure  them  the  payment  of  their  wages.  It  must  establish  a  Bureau  of 
Health,  protect  against  the  illegal  practice  of  medicine  and  organize  a 
Bureau  of  Agriculture.  Conviction  of  crime  punishable  by  imprisonment 
renders  incapable  of  jury  service.  No  one  can  hold  two  offices,  nor  after 
handling  public  revenues  accept  an  office  without  previous  discharge.  Office- 
holders cannot  receive  other  remuneration  than  their  regular  salary.  Eng- 
lish the  official  language,  but  the  laws  may  be  promulgated  in  French. 

Section  Seventeen  establishes  the  method  of  amendment  and  revision. 

Two  thirds  of  both  houses  must  first  vote  in  favor,  then  a  majority  of  the 
popular  vote  makes  the  change. 

Section  Eighteen  is  devoted  to  a  schedule  facilitating  the  application  of 
the  Constitution. 

Section  Nineteen  incorporates  four  ordinances  with  the  Constitution. 
The  first  facilitates  the  payment  of  various  taxes.  Second  provides  for  the 
payment  of  a  large  sum  due  the  fiscal  agent  of  the  State.  The  third  pro- 
vides for  a  loan  of  $25,000.  The  fourth  provides  for  the  payment  of  the 
interest  on  State  bonds. 


A   SELECTION   OF   BOOKS 


TOUCHING   UPON   THE   STORY   OF  LOUISIANA. 

The  books  devoted  to  the  story  of  the  growth  of  Louisiana 
from  the  earliest  times  through  the  Spanish  and  French  domi- 
nation are  many.  Nearly  all  the  best  works  are  in  French  or 
are  translations  from  the  French.  The  literature  of  the  period 
of  the  American  rule  is  rather  scanty.  As  has  already  been 
shown  the  fiction  and  romance  of  the  State  are  of  comparatively 
recent  growth  but  they  are  very  promising  and  enlist  now  the 
best  work  of  some  of  America's  most  popular  writers.  The 
histories  of  the  State  are  classed  in  the  following  list : 

I.  "  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,"  by  B.  F.  French  in  5  vols. 
(1846-53).  This  is  one  of  the  fullest  works  on  the  early  history.  Does  not 
go  beyond  1770.  II.  The  second  of  the  great  works  on  early  Louisiana 
history  is  the  "  History  of  Louisiana,"  by  Charles  Gayarre\  in  5  vols..  (N. 
V.  1851-54.)  President  Adams  of  Cornell  says  of  the  volumes  that  this 
work  is  "  The  fruit  of  arduous  and  loving  study,  not  only  in  Louisiana  but 
also  in  the  archives  of  France  and  other  European  States."  III.  His  final 
work  was  published  in  1S85.  Was  mainly  the  same  as  the  preceding,  but 
was  brought  down  to  1S61.  In  this  edition  two  volumes  are  given  to  the 
French,  one  to  the  Spanish  and  one  to  the  American.  Its  title,  "  History 
of  Louisiana:  the  Spanish  Domination,  the  French  Domination,  the 
American  Domination."  IV.  (Jayarre  publishes  still  another  work  not  to 
be  confounded  with  the  preceding :  "  Louisiana,  its  Colonial  History  and 
Romance."  It  abounds  in  anecdote  and  is  valuable  as  a  picture  of  early 
Southern  life.  V.  "The  History  of  Louisiana  from  the  Earliest  Periodfw 
by  Francois  Xavier  Martin,  2  vols.  (N.  O.  1827-29.)  "A  complete  and 
in  the  main  accurate  compendium  of  the  materials  at  his  command,"  says 
Mr.  A.  M.  Davis.  Extends  to  1S15.  In  1882  a  new  edition  was  published 
to  which  was  appended  Annals  of  Louisiana  up  to  i86r.     By  J.  F.  Condon. 

VI.  Other  works  dealing  with  portions  of  the  period  prior  to  the  Civil 
War  are : 


fiOOA'S  RELATING    TO  LOUISIANA.  331 


r.  "A  Description  of  Louisiana."  By  Father  Louis  Hennepin.  Trans- 
lated from  the  edition  of  1683.  (N.  Y.  1880.)  "The  most  valuable  as  well 
as  the  most  graphic  of  the  original  accounts  of  La  Salle's  explorations  and 
the  only  detailed  narrative  of  Hennepin's  voyage  up  the  Mississippi" 
President  Adams.  2.  "  History  of  the  American  Indians"  by  James  Adair. 
A  work  of  great  value.  It  treats  particularly  of  those  nations  adjoining  the 
Mississippi.  3.  Description  of  the  English  Province  of  CarolcLtia,  by  the 
Spaniards  called  Florida  and  by  the  French  Louisiana.  By  Daniel  Coxe. 
A  very  curious  work.  4.  Travels  through  that  part  of  North  America  for- 
merly called  Louisiana.  By  M.  Bossu.  (London,  1771)  2  vols.  5.  "Early 
Voyages  up  and  down  the  Mississippi."  By  Dr.  Shea.  A  collection  of 
translations  of  several  voyages.  Carefully  annotated.  6.  Early  Jesuit 
Missions.  By  Bishop  Kip.  (Albany,  1866.)  7.  Sketches,  Historical  and 
Descriptive  of  Louisiana.  By  Major  Amos  Stoddard.  (181 2.)  An  unos- 
tentatious and  modest  book.  8.  New  Orleans  and  Environs.  A  brief 
historical  sketch  of  the  territory  and  State  and  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans 
from  earliest  period  to  1845.  9-  Charlevoix's  "  New  France."  Translation. 
(London,  1763.)  An  account  of  personal  adventures.  10.  Butel  Dumont, 
George  M.  History  of  Louisiana  from  1 687-1 740.  Derives  its  interest 
from  his  personal  experiences.  11.  History  of  Louisiana.  By  La  Page. 
(London,  1774.)  Because  of  his  residence  has  a  value  which  his  manifest 
egotism  and  whimsical  theories  cannot  entirely  obscure.  12.  "Travels  in 
Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  in  the  year  1802,"  giving  a  correct  picture  of 
those  countries.  By  Benjamin  Duvallon.  Translation.  (N.  Y.  1806.) 
13.  Fifty  Years  in  Both  Hemispheres;  or  reminiscences  of  the  life  of  a 
former  merchant.  Translated  from  the  German.  (N.  Y.  1854.)  Relates 
largely  to  affairs  in  and  about  New  Orleans  during  the  early  part  of  this 
century.  14.  History  of  Kansas.  Embracing  a  concise  sketch  of  Louis- 
iana in  its  relations  to  American  slavery.  By  John  N.  Holloway.  (1868.) 
15.  Memoir  of  the  War  in  Western  Florida  and  Louisiana.  By  Arsine 
Latour.  Translation.  (Phil a.  181 6.)  16.  Bonner's  History  of  Louisiana  to  1840. 

VII.  Numerous  works  in  French  treat  of  the  same  period,  but  they  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  translated. 

VIII.  For  the  Louisiana  Purchase  see  Constitutional  History  of  United 
States,  by  Von  Hoist.     Vol.  I. 

IX.  There  is  no  comprehensive  work  upon  the  period  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Civil  War.  There  are  the  various  histories  of  the  Rebellion ;  also : 

1.  "General  Butler  in  New  Orleans"  by  James  Parton.  2.  "  Life  of 
A.  P.  Dostie  or  the  Conflict  in  New  Orleans  "  by  Emily  Hazan  Reed.  3. 
"  Life  of  David  Glasgow  Farragut,  First  Admiral  of  the  United  States  Navy," 
by  his  son.  (New  York.)  A  large  space  devoted  to  the  capture  of  New 
Orleans  and  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi.  4.  A  soldier's  Story  of  the 
War.  Including  the  marches  and  battles  of  the.  Washington  Artillery 
and  other  Louisiana  troops.  An  appendix  of  camp  stories  and  tales  of 
the  Crescent  City.  5.  "  The  Creoles  of  Louisiana  "  by  George  W.  Cable. 
(N.  Y.,  1884.)     A  history  of  the  Creoles  and  of  New  Orleans. 


332  BOOKS  RELATING    TO  LOUISIANA. 


In  Fiction  Louisiana  forms  the  setting  for  the  following : 

i.     "  Atala  "  by  Chateaubriand,  a  story  of  Indian  life  in  Louisiana  founded 

upon  the  author's  travels  there.     Romantic  but  not  accurate.     2.     "  Rene  " 

by  Chateaubriand.     Another  Indian   tale   similar   to   Atala.     3.     "Creole 

Stories "  by  Prof.  James  A.  Harrison.     4.    "Creole  Tales"  by  J.  B.  Cobb. 

5.  "  Lafltte,  the  Pirate  of  the  Mexican  Gulf."    A  tale  by  J.  H.  Ingraham. 

6.  "Old  Creole  Days,"  "Dr.  Sevier,"  "Madame  Delphine,"  " The  Gran- 
dissimes "  and  "  Bonarventure "  by  George  W.  Cable.  7.  "  Monsieur 
Motte,"  "  Bonne  Maman  "  and  "  Madame  Lareveilliere  "  by  Grace  King. 
"  A  faithful  presentation  of  the  impulsive  Southern  temperament  instinct 
with  the  warmth  of  the  Southern  sun."  8.  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin "  by 
Harriet  Beccher  Stowe.  Has  an  alleged  but  not  entirely  trustworthy  picture 
of  slave  life  in  Louisiana  before  the  war.  9.  "  The  Man  without  a  Coun- 
try "  by  Edward  Everett  Hale.  10.  "  Philip  Nolan's  Friends"  by  Edward 
Everett  Hale.  11.  "In  War  Times  at  La  Rose  Blanche"  by  Mrs.  M.  E. 
M.  Davis.  A  lively  and  pathetic  picture  of  home  life  in  Louisiana  during 
the  Civil  War.     (Boston,  1888.) 

In  Poetry,  the  following  titles  may  be  enumerated  as  bearing  on  Ixmis- 
iana's  Story : 

1.  "Evangeline"  by  Henry  W.  Longfellow.  2.  " Ballads  of  the  War" 
by  A.  J.  II.  Duganne.  3.  "Louisiana"  by  Mrs.  Hemans.  4.  "The 
Battle  of  New  Orleans  "  by  Thomas  Dunn  English.  5.  "  Out  of  the  Plague 
Stricken  City"  by  M.  B.  Williams.  Yellow  fever.  6.  "War  Lyrics  "  by 
Henry  Howard  Brownell.  Several  of  them  deal  with  events  in  Louisiana 
—  The  River  Fight  in  particular.  7.  "The  Heart  of  Louisiana"  by 
Harriet  Stanton.  8.  "We  Come!  We  Come!"  by  W.  Mayfield.  9. 
"  Mumford  the  Martyr  of  New  Orleans  "  by  Ina  Porter. 


INDEX. 


Abadie,  M.  de,  governor  of  colony,  104; 
surrendered  colony  to  Spain,  104. 

Acadian  settlers  in  Louisiana,  102, 103,  241. 

Adair,  American  general  at  Battle  of  New 
Orleans,  228. 

Atkins,  Henry  Watkins,  Confederate  gover- 
nor, 273. 

Aubrey,  M.,  director-general  for  France,  107 ; 
shields  the  Spaniards,  10S;  provost  over- 
ruled by  colonists,  109 ;  recognizes  Ulloa 
as  governor,  109 ;  courtesy  toward  Spanish 
officers,  112. 

Baton  Rouge,  British  fort  at,  122 ;  captured 
by  Galvez,  124;  citizens  ask  protection  of 
United  States,  191 ;  establishes  provisional 
government,    191 ;    State   House  erected, 

253- 

Battalion  d' Orleans,  The,  215. 

Bay  St.  Louis,  settlement  at,  22 ;  natural 
beauties  of,  25. 

Bienville,  LaMoyne  de,  his  mission  to  the 
Indians,  28;  meets  English  frigate,  29; 
succeeds  Sauvolle,  30;  establishes  post  at 
Mobile,  30;  receives  supplies,  31 ;  quarrels 
with  colonial  officers,  32  ;  made  lieutenant- 
governor,  32;  dispatched  against  the  In- 
dians, 37 ;  builds  Fort  Rosalie,  47  ;  quarrels 
with  L'Epinay,  38;  character  of,  40;  or- 
dered to  secure  a  site  for  a  town  on  the 
Mississippi,  47 ;  commissioned  as  governor, 
47  ;  chooses  site  of  New  Orleans,  48 ;  cap- 
tures Pensacola,  49;  recaptures  Pensacola, 
53 ;  urges  agriculture,  59;  cast  down  by 
Law's  failure,  64;  occupies  Fort  Rosalie, 
64 ;  attacks  the  Indians,  66;  sees  prosperity 
in  the  colony,  71 ;  superseded  by  PeVier, 
72 ;  again  appointed  governor,  88 ;  attacks 
the  Indians,  89;  defeated  by  them,  91 ;  in 
disgrace,  92;  again  fails  in  Indian  cam- 
paign, 95 ;  superseded  by  Vaudreuil,  95  ;  his 
character,  96. 

Bienville,  Noyan,  arrested  by  O'Rielly,  115; 
executed,  116. 

Biloxi,  settlement  at,  22 ;  natural  beauties  of, 
25  ;  condition  of  the  settlement,  30. 


Bollman,  Dr.  Erick,  arrested  for  conspiracy, 
187;  released  on  habeas  corpus  %  188. 

Bore',  Etienne,  establishes  sugar-cane  culture, 
142  ;  mayor  of  New  Orleans,  171. 

Boisbriant,  M.  de.  in  charge  of  fort  at  Biloxi, 
30;  among  the  Illinois,  54;  governor  of  the 
Illinois  country,  59. 

Buccarelly,  Don  Antonio  Maria,  Spanish 
governor,  118. 

Buccaneers,  The,  19,  20 ;  see  Lafitte. 

Burr,  Aaron,  intrigues  of,  186;  threatens 
New  Orleans,  187;  arrest  of,  189. 

Butler,  General  B.  F.,  in  New  Orleans,  270. 

Cable,  George  YV\,  299. 

Cadillac,  La  Motte,  governor  of  colony,  32 ; 
goes  gold-hunting,  36;  superseded  by 
L'Epinay,  37. 

Canal,  from  Lake  Ponchartrain,  made  by 
Carondelet,  144. 

Caresse,  arrested  by  O'Reilly,  115  ;  executed 
116. 

Caroline,  the  schooner,  at  Battle  of  New 
Orleans,  214;  blown  up,  216. 

Carondelet,  Don  Francisco  Louis  Hector, 
Baron  de,  Spanish  governor,  136;  fortifies 
New  Orleans,  139;  makes  treaties  with 
Indians,  139;  intrigues  for  United  States 
territory,  141 ;  cuts  canal  from  Lake  Pon- 
chartrain, 144;  tampers  with  people  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  146 ;  and  Wilkin- 
son, 149;  appointed  governor  of  Mexico, 
150. 

Casa  Calvo,  Marquis  de,  Spanish  governor, 
154;  superseded  by  Salcedo,  155;  returns 
to  province,  166 ;  his  campaign  of  dinners, 
169;  delivers  province  to  France,  170. 

Cat  Island,  settlement  at,  22  ;  location  of,  23 ; 
mutiny  at,  100;  invested  by  British,  204. 

Champmeslin,  Comte  de,  attacks  Pensacola, 

52- 
Chopart,  commander  at  Fort  Rosalie,   74; 

killed  by  Indians,  76. 
Charles  V.  of  Spain  and  Germany,  12,  13. 
Charlevoix,  Father,  in  New  Orleans,  62  ;  sees 

wild  indigo  growing  in  Mississippi,  69. 


333 


334 


INDEX. 


Chateaguay,  La  Moyne  de,  left  in  command 
at  Pensacola,  50;  surrenders  to  Spaniards, 
50. 

Claiborne,  Governor,  of  Mississippi,  commis- 
sioner to  receive  Louisiana  for  United 
States,  171;  takes  possession,  173;  issues 
proclamation  as  governor,  173  ;  urges  action 
against  Spaniards,  185;  denounces  Burr's 
treason,  1S8;  organizes  militia,  188;  raises 
American  flag  at  Francisville,  192;  unable 
to  avert  Indian  troubles,  201 ;  assists  Jack- 
son, 203;  in  1815,211;  seeks  aid  of  Lafitte's 
pirates,  215;  administration  closed,  252. 

Clarke,  Jr.,  Daniel,  raises  militia  for  protec- 
tion of  New  Orleans,  175. 

Codero,  Don  Antonio,  Spanish  governor  of 
Texas,  invades  Louisiana,  185 ;  intrigues 
with  Wilkinson,  186. 

Coffee,  General,  American  general,  205,  206, 
207. 

Collot,  General,  on  defenses  of  New  Orleans 
in  1795,  148. 

Creeks  and  Chickasaws  (see  Indians). 

Creoles,  The,  their  love  for  France,  122; 
their  "  genealogy,"  165  :  join  Clarke's  mili- 
tia, 175;  defense  of,  180;  loyalty  of  in 
1812,  211,  212,214,  215;  in  Louisiana,  240; 
interested  in  literature,  296. 

Crozat,  Sieur  Antony,  granted  exclusive 
right  of  trade  in  Louisiana,  32 ;  ignorance 
regarding  the  colony,  35 ;  abandons  his 
contract,  38. 

Dacquin,  at  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  215. 

D'Artaguette,  marches  against  the  Indians, 
89;  defeated  by  them,  92. 

Davis,  Mrs.  M.  E.  M.,  299. 

DeLeon  (see  Leon). 

Depnssau,  Captain  George,  leads  an  attack 
on  Baton  Rouge,  191. 

Derbigny,  Pierre,  elected  governor,  244  ;  dies 
in  office,  245. 

Deruisseau,  M.,  granted  control  of  trade  of 
the  Missouri,  96. 

DeSoto  (see  Soto). 

Delery,  21)6. 

Dufour,  2t/>. 

Dugue\  296. 

Del  pit.  2</>. 

Doucet,  M.,  joins  revolt  against  Spain,  no. 

Dupre,  Jacques,  succeeds  Governor  Der- 
bigny, 245. 

English,  in  Louisiana,  24.  20.80.  oS,  122,  124, 
12^,  201  ;  defeated  at  Mobile,  202:  appear 
before  New  Orleans,  204  ;  entrenched  near 
New  Oil  nns,  214;  attack  the  Ameiicans, 


207;  defeated  in  Battle  of  New  Orleans, 

233. 
Espeleta,  joins  expedition  against  Pensacola, 

126,  128. 
"  Filles  a  la  Cassette,"  165. 
Flournoy,    General,  supersedes   Wilkinson, 

200;  superseded,  202. 
Focault,  commissary,  joins  in  revolt  against 

Spain,  no. 
"  Frankland,  State  of,"  desires  to  join  Spain, 

US- 
French  privateer  threatens  New  Orleans,  146. 
Galvez,  Don  Bernard  de,  Spanish  governor, 
121;  and  Col.  Morgan,  122;  assaults  the 
English,  123  ;  captures  Baton  Rouge ;  made 
brigadier-general,    124;    leads    expedition 
against  Mobile,  124;  captures  Mobile,  125; 
assaults  Pensacola,  125;  branch  of,  127; 
captures  Pensacola,  128;  honored  and  re- 
warded, 129;   made  captain-general,*  130; 
his  character,  130;  his  wife,  130. 
Gayane',  Charles,  his  history  of  Louisiana, 

296. 
Gayoso,    Don    Manuel,   Spanish   governor, 
150;  restricts  immigration,  153;  death  of, 

154. 

Genet,  M.,  intrigues  against  Louisiana,  141. 

Gibbs,  Major-General  Samuel,  British  gen- 
eral, 215;  leads  British  charge,  229. 

Gourges,  Dominic  de,  16. 

Grandprl,  Governor,  184,  191. 

Guizot,  on  John  Law's  failure,  60. 

Hahn,  Michael,  elected  governor,  273. 

Hearn,  Lafcadio,  299. 

Hebert,  P.  O.,  elected  governor,  247. 

Herrcra,  General,  invades  Louisiana,  186; 
retreats  before  Wilkinson,  186. 

Iberville,  Pierre  Le  Moyne  de,  reaches  Louisi- 
ana, 22,  23;  enters  the  Mississippi,  25; 
sails  for  France,  26;  returns,  30;  sails  for 
France,  30;  detained  in  Europe,  31. 

Indians,  troi.ble  with,  66;  outbreak  of,  75; 
capture  Fort  Rosalie,  76;  excesses  of,  77; 
attacked  by  Le  Sueur,  78;  defeated  by 
Perier,  84 ;  Natchez  tribe  make  a  last  stand. 
85-86;  defeat  Bienville  and  D'Artaguette, 
91-95  ;  make  treaties  with  Carondelet,  139; 
attack  Fort  Mims,  201. 

Irving,  Theodore,  on  De  Soto,  13. 

Izrabel,  Don  Jose  Cabro  de,  commands  Span- 
ish expedition  against  Pensacola,  125;  de- 
lays the  attack,  126;  supports  attacked  by 
Galvez,  127. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  180,  199;  routs  the  Indians 
at  Talladega,  201 ;  at  Tohopeka,  202 ;  super- 


INDEX. 


335 


sedes  General  Floumay,  202  ;  strengthens 
defenses,  202  ;  takes  Pensacola,  202  ;  forti- 
fies New  Orleans,  203  ;  movements  against 
British,  204,  205,  206;  engages  British 
forces,  207;  "  the  man  for  the  emergency," 
20S;  enemies  in  New  Orleans,  212;  fights 
the  battle  of  New  Or'eans,  219,  224,  227, 
231. 

Johnson,  Henry,  elected  governor,  244. 

Johnson,  Isaac,  elected  governor,  246. 

Joliet,  Louis,  20. 

Jones,  Lieutenant,  his  flotilla  captured  by 
British,  204. 

Kemper  brothers,  the,  arrest  and  rescue  of, 
184. 

Kerlerec,  M.  le  Capitain,  governor  of  colony, 
99;  troubles  of ,  101. 

King,  Grace,  299. 

"  Know  Nothing,"  disturbance,  255. 

Lacaste,  at  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  215. 

Lafitte,  Jean,  the  buccaneer,  197,  198;  joins 
the  American  forces,  215. 

Lafreniere,  attorney-general,  leads  revolt 
against  Spain,  no;  arrested  by  O'Reilly, 
11$;  execution  of,  116. 

La  Salle,  Robert  Cavelier  de,  21. 

Last  Island,  destruction  of,  254. 

Laussat,  M.,  French  prefect,  160;  arrives  in 
New  Orleans,  165;  and  Casa  Calvo,  169; 
instructed  to  deliver  Louisiana  to  the 
United  States,  169;  publishes  terms  of 
treaty,  170;  snubs  Spanish  officers,  172; 
delivers  province  to  United  Stater,  173. 

Law,  John,  43 ;  his  financial  schemes,  44-4^ » 
secures  grant  of  land  in  Louisiana,  57 ;  fail- 
ure of,  60. 

Laudonniere,  Rene  Gonlaine  de,  16. 

Leon,  John  Ponce  de,  16. 

L'Epinay,  M.  de,  governor  of  colony,  37,  38. 

Lepouse,  296. 

Le  Sueur,  M.,  marches  against  the  Indians, 
78. 

Lopez,  Don  Ramon,  Spanish  Intcndant, 
154;  removes  restrictions  of  Gayoso,  154. 

Lopez,  General,  the  "  filibuster,"  247. 

Loubois,  Chevalier,  attacks  the  Indians,  79; 
builds  new  Fort  Rosalie,  79. 

Louisiana,  first  settlement  of,  22 ;  natural 
beauties  of,  23 ;  light  of  trade  in,  granted 
to  Crozat,  32 ;  under  Law's  schemes,  45 ; 
character  of  early  settlers,  48 ;  harassed  by 
Spaniaids  and  Indians,  53 ;  lands  granted 
to  prominent  Frenchmen,  57;  first  success- 
ful planters  in,  60;  made  independent  of 
Canada,  6$;   resources  of,  69;   prosperity 


begins,  71 ;  trouble  with  Indians,  75-77 ;  de- 
clared free  to  all  Frenchmen,  86 ;  devastated 
by  tornado,  97 ;  cotton  and  sugar  cultivated, 
98;  financial  depression  in,  101;  growth 
of,  102 ;  transferred  to  Spain,  103 ;  resists 
transfer  to  Spain,  107;  submits,  115;  under 
O'Reilly,  118;  under  Unzaga,  121;  during 
American  Revolution,  121;  growth  of 
emigration,  123 ;  elation  at  successes  against 
British,  124  ;  depression  in,  129;  boundaries 
fixed  by  treaty  of  1783,  130;  population  of, 
in  1785,  133;  revival  of  emigration,  133; 
fortified  by  Carondelet,  140;  development 
of  sugar  industry,  145;  boundaries  by  treaty 
of  1795,  145;  troubles  with  United  States, 
153;  increase  of  immigration,  155;  ceded 
to  France,  156;  sold  to  United  States, 
157*  ignorance  of  Napoleon's  plans,  161 ; 
population  in  1803,  162;  state  of  province, 
174;  boundaries  of,  176;  attractions  of, 
177;  called  "  Territory  of  Orleans,"  178; 
society  in,  179;  sugar  industry,  182;  dur- 
ing Burr's  insurrection,  189;  admitted  into 
the  Union,  196;  enlarged,  196;  population 
in  1813,  199;  careless  as  to  defenses,  203; 
after  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  238 ;  Consti- 
tution of,  242;  classes  in,  243;  sugar  in- 
dustry most  prosperous,  245  ;  sends  troops 
to  Mexican  War,  246 ;  depression  in  busi- 
ness, and  finances,  252  ;  society  and  life  in, 
255;  slavery  in,  257;  secession  of,  259; 
expedition  against,  263  ;  after  the  war,  27$, 
279;  prosperity  of,  286. 

Louisiana,  The  ship,  at  Battle  of  New  Or- 
leans, 214;  escapes  from  British,  217;  si- 
lences the  British  batteries,  218. 

Mansfield,  Battle  of,  274. 

Marquette,  Father,  20. 

Marquis,  Captain,  joins  revolt  against  Spain, 
no;  arrested,  115;  executed,  116. 

Mazent,  M.,  joins  revolt  against  Spain,  no. 

Menendez,  Pedro  de  Aviles,  16. 

Mercier,  296. 

Martin,  Judge,  his  History  of  Louisiana,  296. 

Milhet,  arrested  by  O'Reilly,  115;  executed, 
116. 

Mims,  Fort,  massacre  at,  293. 

Mir6,  joins  expedition  against  Pensacola,  126, 
128;  strives  to  promote  emigration  to 
Louisiana,  133;  and  Wilkinson,  134;  in- 
trigues of,  135. 

Mississippi  City,  natural  beauties  of,  25. 

Mississippi  Company,  The,  constituted,  44; 
send  war-ships,  49;  send  supplies  and  rein- 
forcements,  52;   embarrassments  of,  59; 


33& 


INDEX. 


failure  of,  60;  surrender  all  rights  to  the 
crown,  86. 

Mississippi  River,  The,  reached  by  De  Soto, 
14;  navigated  by  Spaniards,  15;  reached 
by  Joliet,  20;  by  La  Salle,  21;  region 
about  its  delta,  22;  above  its  mouth,  24; 
entered  by  d' Iberville,  25  ;  closed  to  traders 
by  O'Reilly,  117 ;  made  free  by  treaty,  130 ; 
commerce  restricted  by  Salcedo,  155  ;  con- 
trol secured  by  United  States,  160;  trade 
of,  176;  enjoys  steam  navigation,  239; 
frozen,  244 ;  opened  by  Federal  forces, 
273;  improvements  of,  291. 

Mobile,  first  capital  of  Louisiana,  22. 

Montplaissir,  M.  de,  establishes  tobacco  fac- 
tory, 49. 

Moore,  Thomas  O.,  elected  governor,  247; 
seizes  arsenals  and  military  stores,  259. 

Morgan,  Colonel  George,  asks  right  of  pas- 
sage for  American  army,  122. 

Mouton,  Alexander,  elected  governor,  246. 

Mouton,  Alfred,  Confederate  General,  272. 

Napoleon,  his  design  against  Louisiana,  156; 
sells  Louisiana  to  United  States,  158. 

Narvaez,  Pamphilo  (or  Panfilo)  de,  16. 

Natchez,  The  (see  Indians). 

Negro  plot,  144,  and  insurrection,  192. 

New  Ibeiia,  settlement  of,  123. 

New  Orleans,  22  ;  site  of,  chosen,  48 ;  visited 
by  Charlevoix,  62 ;  poor  sanitary  arrang- 
menfs  of,  65,  condition  of  in  1726,  72, 
fortified,  78,  prosperity  of  in  1732,  87; 
resists  Spanish  occupation,  107  ;  society  in 
1766,  no,  submits  to  O'Reilly,  114;  fire 
at,  134,  census  of,  134;  rebuilt,  136;  tiadc 
with  Philadelphia,  13ft;  defenceless  condi- 
tion of,  139;  fortified  by  Carondelet,  139; 
place  of  refuge  for  French  emigres,  143  ; 
sanitary  condition  of,  in  1795,  147 ;  defenses 
of,  15^;  overrun  with  spies,  153;  character 
of  in  1803,  162,  163:  real  character  of, 
181  ;  martial  law  in,  187;  Burr's  emissaries 
>",  187;  growing  importance  of,  i</>, 
threatened  by  British,  203 ;  and  General 
Jackson,  212  :  Battle  of,  224,  229:  rejoicing 
over  victory,  235  :  a  Creole  city,  239:  enor- 
mous traffic  of,  245;  expedition  against, 
2f*\,  Farragut  captures,  270;  disturbances 
in,  z^>,  281  :  exposition,  2S8. 

Nichols,  Colonel,  leads  Ihitish  land  forces, 
20;. 

Oaks,  The,  dueling  ground,  248. 

Ocean  Springs,  natural  beauties  of,  25. 

Ogden,  Peter  V.,  arrested  for  conspiracy, 
1S7. 


O'Reilly,  Don  Alexander,  lands  at  New 
Orleans,  113:  arrests  the  insurrectionists, 
ri5*,  punishes  them,  115  ;  stamps  out  insur- 
rection, 116;  his  character,  116,  118;  his 
administration,  117;  superseded  by  Bucca- 
relly,  118. 

Packenham,  Sir  Edward,  British  commander 
at  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  215:  makes  a 
reconnaissance,  217;  at  Battle  of  New 
Orleans,  226 ;  death  of,  230. 

Panmure,  Fort,  captured  by  English  insur- 
gents, 128. 

Pass  Christian,  natural  beauties  of,  25. 

Pauger,  M.  de,  examines  site  of  New  Or- 
leans, 54. 

Pensacola,  22,  24 ;  captured  by  Bienville,  49; 
retaken  by  Vallero,  50 ;  captured  by  Champ- 
meslin  and  Bienville,  $3;  captured  by 
Spaniards  under  Izrabel  and  Galrez,  138; 
captured  by  Jackson,  202. 

Percy,  Sir  W.  H.,  commands  British  fleet, 
202. 

Perier,  M  de,  supersedes  Bienville  as  gover- 
nor, 72;  asks  aid  against  Indians,  73;  re- 
ports Indian  troubles,  77;  determines  to 
exterminate  the  Natchez  Indians,  80;  mas- 
sacres the  Chouads,  83;  destroys  the 
Natchez,  84;  disliked  by  colonists,  88. 

Planche.  at  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  215. 

Port  Hudson,  captured,  273. 

Porter,  Major,  drives  Spaniards  from  Ameri- 
can territory,  185. 

Rhea,  John,  president  of  "West  Florida," 
192. 

Robinson,  Thomas  R.,  elected  governor, 
224. 

Roman,  Bienvenu,  elected  governor,  245; 
again  elected,  246. 

Roosevelt,  T.  L.,  on  The  Caroline,  214. 

Rosalie,  Fort,  built,  37;  destroyed  by  In- 
dians, 76;  new  fort  built,  79. 

Roux,  M.,  commandant  of  Cat  Island,  killed 
by  his  soldiers,  100. 

St.  Ceran,  296. 

Salcedo,  Don  Juan  Manuel  de,  Spanish  gor- 
ernor,  155;  restricts  the  Mississippi  com- 
merce, 155. 

Sauvolle,  de  la  Villantry,  lieutenant  of  d' Iber- 
ville, 26;  death  of.  30. 

Serigny,  La  Moyne  de,  arrives,  49. 

Sevier,  John,  governor  of  "  Fiankland,"  135. 

Shea,  Dr.,  on  De  Soto,  15. 

Ship  Island,  settlement  at,  22;  location  of, 

23- 
Shreveport,  Confederate  capita.   273. 


INDEX, 


337 


Smith,  Charles  C,  on  Acadian  settlers,  103 
(note). 

Soto,  Hernando  de,  11-15. 

Spaniards  in  Louisiana,  24;  attack  Mobile, 
50;  harass  the  colony,  53-57;  obtain  col- 
ony by  treaty,  103  ;  delay  taking  possession, 
108;  colonial  revolt  against,  no;  fleet  and 
army  dispatched  to  Louisiana,  112;  in- 
trigues to  gain  United  States  territory,  135 ; 
ignorance  of  Napoleon's  p!ans,  160;  admin- 
istration of,  163;  delivers  province  to 
France,  170;  relinquish  last  territory,  185. 

Steele,  Andrew,  secretary  of  "West  Florida," 
192. 

Swartwout,  Samuel,  arrested  for  conspiracy, 
187. 

"  Territory  of  Orleans,"  see  Louisiana. 

"Territory  of  West  Florida/'  The,  organ- 
ized, 192 ; .  annexed  to  "  Territory  of  Or- 
leans," 192. 

Thomas,  Captain,  leads  attack  on  Baton 
Rouge,  191. 

Ulloa,  Don  Antonio  de,  arrives  to  take  posses- 
sion of  Louisiana  for  Spain,  104;  delays 
the  act,  107;  resisted  by  colonists,  108; 
sails  for  Cuba,  108. 

United  States,  Independence  of,  130;  citizens 
intrigue  for  union  with  Spain,  135 ;  troubles 
with  Louisiana,  153 ;  purchases  Louisiana 
for  France,  158;  takes  possession  of  Louis- 
iana, 173. 


Unzaga,  Don  Luis  de,  Spanish  governor, 
118;  his  administration,  121. 

Vallero,  Marquis  of,  retakes  Pensacola,  50. 

Vaudreuil,  Pierre  Francois,  Marquis  de,  gov- 
ernor of  colony,  96;  attacks  the  Indians, 
98;  appointed  governor  of  Canada,  99; 
character  of  his  administration  in  Louis- 
iana, 99. 

Victor,  Genera],  acts  for  French  govern- 
ment, 160. 

Villiere,  General,  at  Battle  of  New  Orleans, 
215;  elected  governor,  243. 

Villiere,  M.  de,  joins  revolt  against  Spain, 
no;  drives  Ulloa  from  the  province,  no; 
attempts  to  leave  colony,  112;  murder  of, 
115. 

Watt,  Mr.,  on  Law's  schemes,  46. 

Walker,  Joseph,  elected  governor,  247. 

White,  Edward,  elected  governor,  246. 

Wilkinson,  James,  appears  in  New  Orleans, 
133  ;  favors  Miro's  schemes,  134;  intrigues 
of,  135;  and  Carondelet,  149;  andGayoso, 
150;  in  New  Orleans,  154;  U.  S.  commis- 
sion to  secure  Louisiana,  171 ;  takes  posses- 
sion, 173;  marches  against  Spaniards,  186; 
intrigues  with  Governor  Codern,  186, 
(note);  fortifies  New  Orleans  against  Burr, 
187;  urges  new  fortifications,  199;  super- 
seded, 200. 

Wyckliffe,  Robert,  elected  governor,  247. 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    STATES 

EDITED    BY    ELBRIDGE    S.    BROOKS 

The  Story  of  Louisiana  is  the  third  issue  in  the 
proposed  series  of  graphic  narrations  descriptive 
of  the  rise  and  development  of  the  American 
Union.  As  the  record  of  a  commonwealth- whose 
people  are  unique  alike  in  effort  and  environment 
and  whose  story  is  opening  to  modern  romancers 
a  most  attractive  field  for  study  the  publishers 
indulge  the  hope  that  this  volume  will  receive  from 
every  section  of  the  great  Republic  the  popular 
recognition  and  approval  that  so  charming  a  story 
of  so  interesting  a  State  would  seem  to  warrant. 

Great  care  is  being  exercised  in  the  selection  of 
writers  for  the  series  and  the  expressions  of  pop- 
ular and  critical  approval  of  the  plan  adopted  are 
gratefully  acknowledged  by  the  publishers. 

This  third  volume  will  be  speedily  followed  by 
two  others  already  in  press: 

The  Story  of  Vermont  by  John  L.  Heaton. 

The  Story  of  Kentucky  by  Emma  M.  Connelly. 

The  Story  of  Massachusetts  by  Edward  Everett 
Hale  will  be  one  of  the  earliest  issues  in  the  spring 
of  1889. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  STATES. 

Among  the  other  volumes  secured  for  the  series, 
several  of  which  are  already  well  toward  completion, 
are : 


rl  he  Story  o 
The  Storv  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Storv  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 
The  Story  o 


California 
Virginia 
Connecticut 
Missouri 
Texas 
Maryland 
Delaware 
the  Indian  T 
Michigan 
Colorado 
the  District 
Oregon 
Maine 
Pennsylvania 
Kansas 
Mississippi 
Wisconsin 
Florida 
Alabama 
Tennessee 
Arkansas 


erritory 


• 
of  Columbia 


By  Noah  Brooks 

By  Marion  Harland 

By  Sidney  Luska 

By  Jessie  Benton  Fremont 

By  E.  S.  Nadal 

By  John  R.  Coryell 

By  Olive  Thorne  Miller 

By  George  E.  Foster 

By  Charles  Moore 

By  Charles  M.  Skinner 

By  Edmund  Alton 

By  Margaret  E.  Sangster 

By  Almon  Gunnison 

By  Olive  Risley  Seward 

By  Willis  J.  Abbott 

By  Laura  F.  Hinsdale 

By  Reuben  G.  Thwaites 

By  S.  G.  W.  Benjamin 

By  Annie  Sawyer  Downs 

By  Laura  C.  Hollow  ay 

By  Octave  Thanet 


The  stories  will  be  issued  at  the  uniform  net 
subscription  price  of  #1.50  per  volume.  Announce- 
ments of  additions  to  the  series  will  be  made  in 
succeeding  volumes.  Inquiries  respecting  the 
series  may  be  addressed  to  the  publishers, 

D.    LOTHROP   COMPANY,    BOSTON. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  STATES. 


(Already  published.') 

I— The  Story  of  New  York,  by  Elbridge  S.  Brooks. 
II  —  The  Story  of  Ohio,  by  Alexander  Black. 

The  initial  volumes  of  this  new  and  notable  contribution  to 
American  history  have  been  so  favorably  received  that  little 
doubt  can  remain  as  to  the  need  of  the  series  they  inaugurate 
and  the  permanent  popularity  of  the  style  adopted  for  their 
telling. 

"  Of  the  series  instructively,"  says  the  Boston  Globe,  "  one 
can  hardly  say  too  much  in  praise.  In  a  new  field  it  contrib- 
utes essentially  and  influentially  to  the  right  estimation  of 
national  character  and  of  the  mission  of  the  future." 

I  — THE   STORY   OF   NEW  YORK. 

One  volume,  8vo,  fully  illustrated,  $1.50. 

Every  American  should  read  this  book.  It  is  not  dull  history. 
It  is  story  based  on  historic  facts.  *'  With  all  the  fascinations 
of  a  story,"  says  the  Journal  of  Education,  "  it  still  remains  loyal 
to  historic  facts  and  the  patriotic  spirit.1 


»» 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

u  A  valuable  contribution  to  picturesque  history."  —  Boston  Advertiser. 

"  Vivid,  picturesque  and  entertaining."  —  Minneapolis  Tribune. 

"  To  one  familiar  with  the  history  of  New  York  State  this  book  will  be  exceedingly  refresh- 
ing and  interesting.  Mr.  Brooks  is  an  entertaining  writer  and  his  Story  of  New  York  will  be 
read  with  avidity.  He  is  no  novice  in  historic  writing.  This  book  will  add  to  his  reputation 
and  will  find  its  way  into  thousands  of  private  libraries." —  Utica  Press. 

"  Admirable,  terse,  breezy,  vernacular,  entertaining  and  ingenious." —  Brooklyn  Times. 

"Its  method  and  style  are  to  be  welcomed  as  original  and  new  to  American  histories  and 
are  to  be  commended  strongly  for  the  study  and  skill  with  which  they  are  employed.  .  .  . 
It  is  particularly  adapted  to  the  business  spirit  which  now  controls  American  effort,  and  con- 
tributes to  healthful  encouragement  of  it.  .  .  .  A  fascinating  interest,  as  well  as  an  intelli- 
gent understanding,  is  secured  without  any  abatement  in  any  of  its  periods,  an  interest  thai 
at  times  is  as  controlling  as  that  which  is  enjoyed  in  the  novel.  .  .  .  The  series  will 
oocupy  a  unique  and  high  place  among  American  histories  in  literary  power  and  agreeable 
instruction."  —  Boston  Globe. 

"There  is  not  a  slow  page  in  the  book."  —  Christian  at  Work. 

"  Mr.  Brooks  has  already  amply  proved  his  skill  as  a  writer  of  historical  books.  His  style 
is  lucid,  and  he  has  in  an  eminent  degree  the  faculty  of  selecting  and  presenting  facts  in  a 
fashion  to  interest  the  imagination  as  well  as  to  instruct  the  mind.  In  the  present  volume  the 
human  element,  the  effect  of  character  upon  surroundings  and  of  surroundings  upon  character, 
the  picturesque  features  of  colonial  life,  the  important  landmarks  in  State  growth  have  been  so 
combined  and  worded  into  a  consistent  and  often  amusing  narrative  that  one  forgets  at  timet 
whether  he  is  reading  dry  history  or  pleasant  romance.*'  —  Christian  Union. 

"  One  of  the  most  noticeable  features  of  the  book  is  the  absence  of  the  dullness  which  neces- 
sitilv  attends  a  minute  description  of  the  formation  and  growth  of  a  State,  for  Mr.  Brooks  has 
skipped  .ill  this  and  catching  the  spirit  of  the  times  has  given  page  after  page  of  historic 
events  and  not  one  dull  one."  —  Leroiston  Journal. 


THE   STORY  OF  THE  STATES 


II  — THE   STORY   OF   OHIO. 

One  vol.,  8vo,  3:6  pages,  fully  illustrated,  $1.50. 

This  volume  has  been  received  with  the  most  enthusiastic 
approval.  No  existing  work  occupies  precisely  the  same  field. 
It  is  at  once  picture,  text-book  and  story.  Mr.  Black's  skill  in 
condensing  into  so  brief  a  compass  so  much  valuable  matter, 
his  deft  handling  of  all  the  varying  phases  of  Ohio's  story  and 
his  picturesque  presentation  of  what  in  other  hands  might  be 
but  the  dry  details  of  history  have  secured  alike  popular  recog- 
nition and  popular  approval. 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

"  To  incorporate  within  some  three  hundred  pages,  even  an  intelligible  sketch  of  the  history 
of  Ohio  is  something  of  a  literary  feat,  and  to  make  such  a  sketch  interesting  is  still  more 
difficult.  Mr.  Black,  however,  has  succeeded  in  doing  this.  .  .  .  His  book  is  welcome 
and  valuable  and  is  well  adapted  for  popular  use  and  reference."  — New  York  Tribune. 

"  One  of  the  warm,  lively,  picturesque  narratives,  lighted  up  with  bits  of  personal,  human 
interest  and  clean  glimpses  of  a  people's  every-day  life  which  will  closely  interest  the  general 
reader."  —  Chicago  Times. 

"  Mr.  Black's  book  is  a  success  from  the  first  page  to  the  last.  It  is  one  of  those  rare  vol- 
umes which  the  reviewer  not  only  reviews  but,  defying  time,  reads  through  and  thoroughly 
enjoys.  Written  in  a  vein  of  bright  and  fascinating  simplicity  it  presents  the  dry  facts  of 
history  in  a  manner  so  pictuiesque  and  romantic  as  to  make  every  page  a  true  and  pure 
delight." — Boston  Commercial. 

"  Told  in  a  manner  so  attractive  that  young  readers  will  find  their  minds  full  of  the  history 
of  the  great  northwest  of  early  days  when  they  come  with  regret  to  the  closing  page."  — 
Milwaukee  Wisconsin. 

"  Just  the  book  to  put  into  the  hands  of  voung  or  old  to  learn  the  story  of  this  great  central 
commonwealth  of  our  nation."  —  Philadelphia  Lutheran  Observer. 

"A  bright,  concise  and  picturesque  record."  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  It  is  history  popularized  without  the  loss  of  the  scholarly  quality  and  we  are  glad  to  com- 
mend it  as  a  creditable  and  enjoyable  book."  —  The  Congregationalism 

"  A  connected  account  — pleasing,  popular  and  inspiring."—  The  Independent. 

"  A  story  of  rare  completeness  and  thrilling  intereit."—  The  Christian  Leader. 

"Than  this,  no  history  can  be  more  alluring  or  more  reward-bestowing."—  Washington 
National  Republican. 

"  A  remarkable  story  uncommonly  well  told."  —  Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  The  book  reads  like  a  pleasant  story  and  the  interest  of  the  student  is  retained  to  the 
end."  —  Albany  Express. 

"  A  notable  addition  not  only  to  historical  but  to  general  literature."  —  Boston  Traveller. 

"  A  picturesque  and  dramatic  story  told  naturally  and  easily."  —  Springfield  Union. 

"A  storv  well  worth  reading.  .  .  .  T  e  literary  quality  is  suited  to  the  enjoyment  of 
any  age  which  can  appreciate  vigorous  and  yet  smoothly-flowing  English."  —  Chicago  Interior. 

*'  The  story  of  the  people  we  have  here  set  forth  may  be  read  wuh  pride  by  every  American. 
—  Portland  Transcript. 

"  A  timely  and  interesting  contribution  to  American  history."  —  .?/.  Louis  Republican, 

"A  cheerful  storv,  full  of  vigor,  of  picturesque  and  romantic  scenes  and  of  striking 
figures. "  —  Boston  Post. 

"  A  succession  of  episodes,  clearly  pictured  and  crisply  written."  —  Cincinnati  Commer- 
cial Gazette 


I  MfeW 


ii 


r 


Regine  Hubert-Robert 


L'Histoire  Merveilleuse 

de 

LA  LOUISIANE 
FRANCAISE 


Chronique  des  XVII*  et  XVIII*  Siecks 
et  de  la  Cession  aux  Etats-Unis 


Copyright  1941  by 

Editions  de  la  Maison  Francaise,  inc. 

610  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


HT7 


il  a  ete  tir6  db  cet  ouvragb: 

50  bxemplaires  sur  papier  texte 

numerotes  de  1  a  50, 

150  ezemplaires  sur  papier  corsican 

NUMEROTES  51  A  200. 


Didii 


&  la  mimoire  de 


M.  d'Ibberville 


et 


M.  de  Bienville 


Entre  les  troncs  fonces  des  pins,  le  soleil  rencontre  des  eclats  mi- 
talliques,  et  immediate  me  nt  en  fait  des  miroirs.  L'insolite  fulgurance 
avance  en  ligne  brisee  dans  ce  pays,  qui  n'a  jamais  connu  que  les 
pas  feutres  de  pattes  velues  et  de  pieds  nus. 

La  terre  est  marielee  par  un  cadencement  pesant,  des  cliquetis 
[intent  dans  l'air  propre,  couvrant  le  vrombissement  menu  dun 
triangulaire  vol  d'oies  sauvages. 

Par  cette  fin  d'automne  1540,  tout  le  long  de  la  jaunissante  vallee, 
la  cavalcade  se  deroule  :  porte-fanions  arrogants  ;  seigneurs  en  ar- 
mure  gravec,  monies  sur  des  coursiers  caparaconnes  d'acier  ;  soldats 
en  cotte  de  maille,  tenant  droit  leur  pertuisane  ;  sombres  ecclesi- 
astiques. 

Eperdus,  les  coqs  d'Inde  jaspes  s'enfuient  dans  l'herbe  haute  ; 
les  opossums  ramettent  precipitamment  leurs  petits  dans  leur  poche 
et  regagnent  les  broussailles  d'un  pas  digue  ;  les  faons  passent  peu- 
reusement  la  lete  hors  des  halliers,  et,  comme  les  rats  musques, 
caches  dans  les  roseaux,  regardent  avec  consternation  ces  grandes 
betes  droites,  qui  brillent. 

Le  cortege  s'arrSte  au  bord  de  l'eau,  sous  la  protection  d'enormes 
chenes-verts,  d'oii  se  balancent,  au  rythme  du  vent,  de  longues  che- 
velures  argentees,  abandonees  par  quelques  Absalons  presses,  et, 
comme  le  reste,  intouchees. 

Les  arquebusiers  couchent  leurs  armes  ;  les  hommes  6tent  leur 
morion  et  leur  corselet  de  campagne,  harassant  dans  ce  climat  rnol  ; 
les  chargeurs  andalous  sont  debarrass^s  de  leur  housse  a  maillons,  et 
les  chevaux  de  train  de  leurs  fardeaux.  On  allume  de  grands  feux, 
mppurants  de  resine,  et  des  odeurs  domestiques  s'epandent  dans 
1'odeur  primitive  de  vegetation. 

Devant  une  tente  ecussonnee,  sur  un  siege  de  cuir  frappe,  res- 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


congru,  s'as-     I 


semblant,  dans  cette  valine  touie  neuve,  a  un  trone  incongru,  s 

Don  Hernandez  de  Soto,  Lieutenant-General,  Grand  d'Es- 
pagne,  avec  Pizarro  un  des  Conquistadors  du  Perou,  qui,  le  18 
Mai  1539,  a  quitte  Cuba  avec  onze  voiliers,  pour  decouvrir  un 
nouveau  morceau  de  Floride,  et  —  parce  qu'apres  avoir  fondu  sur 
des  Incas  on  a  toujours  soif  d'or  —  pour  puiser  aux  mines  fabu- 
lcuses  annoncees  par  le  navigateur  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  un  des  rares 
survjvants  de  la  desastreuse  expedition  de  Pamphilo  Narvaez,  en 
1528.  L' imagination  du  narrateur  etant  grand e.  il  a  fait,  a  Madrid, 
de  cette  Floride,  une  description  etourdissante.  Sous  les  4  perruques 
a  la  Francaise,  »  Don  de  Soto  m^dite  sa  deception,  trainee  de  la  Baie 
Eipiritu  Santo  aux  Monts  Apalachiens. 

Dans  la  serenite  vegetale,  les  armuriers  retrempent  les  armes,  en 
oubliant  l'horreur  du  dernier  massacre.  Aucune  humanite  n'entoure 
le  ramp.  La  nature  a  pnrtout  son  epiderme  de  chose  vierge.  Des  vols 
migrateurs  tranchent  l'immensite  lavande,  qui  se  referme  intacte 
apres  leur  passage.  Les  combes  sont  fleuries  de  jaune  et  poivrees  de 
lauriers  attardes. 

La  treve  ne  dure  pas  longtemps.  En  Janvier  1541,  dans  la  nuit 
opaque,  des  Chicachas  approctient,  incendient,  tuent.  A  l'aurore, 
les  chenes  emergent,  entiers,  du  brouillard  ;  les  mousses  sont  sereine- 
ment  gouttelees  d'argent,  comme  si  la  mort  n'avait  pas  fait  une 
elfroyable  escapade  nocturne  ;  les  aum6niers  chantent  la  messe  des 
Trepasses  devant  cinquante  cadavres. 

La  marche  vers  le  Nord  reprend,  dans  des  savanes  d'herbe  reche. 
des  marecages  engluants,  des  futaies  tissues  de  broussailles,  et,  un 
matin  resplendissant  de  Mai,  Don  de  Soto  arrive  devant  un  immense 
!!euve  noiratre,  charriant  des  arbres  feuillus  et  des  troncs  morts, 
devant  un  fleuve  jamais  contemple  par  un  Blanc,  que  les  sauvages 
du  voisinage  appellent  Cicuaga,  et  qu'il  appelle  tout  simplement 
«  Rio  Grande  »,  parce  qu'il  est  tres  large.  II  ne  sait  pas  qu'il  est 
aussi  tres  long. 

Dans  leau.  des  alligators,  en  en  supputant  le  gout,  devisagent  ( 
choses  pales,  qui  les  etonnent  beaucoup. 

La  rive  la  plus  (ointaine  est  toujours  la  plus  belle.  On  abat  des 
arbres,  pour  assembler  des  bateaux  de  fortune,  et  on  amenuise  des 
rames. 

De  l'autre  c6ie  du  fleuve,  on  continue  a  travers  la  plaine  occllee 
de  bouquets  epineux,  des  marais  sournoisement  masques  par  des 


LA    LOUISIANA     FRANfAISE 

glacis  d'herbe.  Epuises  par  les  privations,  a&sommes  par  la  chaleur, 
les  homines  tombent.  Au  confluent  du  fleuve  et  d'une  eau  rouge, 
Ie  go  Juin  1542,  atteint  a  son  tour  de  fievre  quarte,  Don  de  Soto  rend 
a  Dieu  son  a  me  curie  use. 

On  couche  le  grand  seigneur  espagnol  dans  un  cercueil  de  cypres, 
alourdi  de  boulets,  et,  pieusemem,  pendant  que  la  voix  des  chape- 
lains  se  gonfle  en  un  dernier  Requiem,  on  descend  le  cercueil  au 
fond  du  Rio  Grande. 

Don  Muscoso  de  Alvarado  fait  construire  des  embarcations,  dans 
lesquelles  trois  cents  hommes  s'entassent,  poursuivis  par  des  sau- 
vages  en  pirogues.  Le  vent  —  misericordieux  —  pousse  les  barques 
vers  la  mer, 

Abandonnant  la  chasse  trop  rapide,  les  sauvages  regagnent  la  terre 
ferme,  et,  leur  dur  visage  tourne  vers  1'Est,  sans  humilite,  adorent  le 
soleil  levant  et  lui  adressent  un  remerciement  poli,  pour  avoir  chasse 
les  envahisseurs  blancs. 

Les  alligators,  ayant  vu  tout  ce  qu'il  y  avait  a  voir,  bSillent  large- 
ment  et  reprennent  leur  sieste  sur  la  berge  ;  les  chats-pecheurs  et 
les  skunks,  delivres  d'un  vague  malaise,  se  remettent  a  pecher  et  a 
grignoter  ;  les  oies-bleues  ecartem  les  joncs  de  leur  patte  mauve, 
pour  en  verifier  le  contenu  ;  les  grebes  chargent  sur  leur  dos  leurs 
oistllons  beiges  et  leur  font  faire  un  petit  tour  sur  l'eau  ;  les  ibis 
blancs  decapitent  les  buttes  des  6crevisses,  pour  les  saisir  de  leur  long 
bee  gourmand. 

Le  silence,  lourdement,  nappe  le  glissement  du  fleuve.  Seule,  la 
stridulation  des  cole'opteres,  imperceptiblement,  troue  l'air  topaze. 

On  est  de  nouveau  chez  soi,  dans  la  quietude,  une  quietude  qui 
va  durer  cent  trente  ans. 


Aux  alentours  de  1671,  dans  son  austere  demeure  de  Quebec,  qui 
loise  de  haut  le  Saint-Laurent,  Jean  Talon,  filleul  de  Louis  XIII 
et  Intendant-General  de  la  Nouvelle-Francc,  dont  le  Comte  de  Fron- 
tenac  est  Gouvcrneur-G£ne>aI,  aime  s'entretenir  avec  les  Jesuites 
des  Missions,  lorsque  ceux-ci  regagnent  la  ville. 

Les  «  hommes  noirs  »,  comme  les  appellcm  les  sauvages,  tout  en 
dejeunant  lui  racontent  leurs  drames,  peiits  et  grands.  Leur  vie  n'est 
qu'une  obstination  perilleuse,  toujours  dans  la  balance.  Sans  armes, 
seuls  de  leur  couleur,  ils  s'enfoncent  dans  l'interieur,  visiles  de 
temps  en  temps  par  des  coureurs-de-bois  el  des  trappeurs. 

De  leur  mieux,  ils  evangelisent  des  peuplades,  spasmodiquemenl 
docile*  ou  belliqueuses.  Les  sauvages  les  plus  confiants  se  font  bap- 
liser,  se  mettent  au  service  de  la  mission,  pour  une  cenaine  periode 
deviennent  des  <  donnes  >.  une  facon  ires  efficace  de  racheter  leurs 
fames. 

Souvent,  ils  parlent  aux  Peres  du  Meschacebe,  «  le  Pere  des 
Grandes  Eaux  »,  appele  aussi  suivant  les  Nations  Namesi-si-pou, 
4  la  Riviere  aux  Poissons  >,  Meschasipi  <  la  Grande  Riviere  >,  ou 
Messesipi  <  la  Riviere  Partout  »,  qu'ils  connaissent  par  oui'-dire  et 
qui  coule  vers  l'Ouest. 

Les  Peres,  a  leur  tour,  rapportent  ces  propos  a  M.  Talon,  qui 
finit  par  s'en  emouvoir.  Si  un  fleuve  coule  vers  l'Ouest,  pourquoi 
ne  se  dechargerait-il  pas  dans  l'Ocean  Pacifique  ?  C'est  pcut-ctre  la 
le  passage  cherch^  vers  la  Chine.  II  faut  voir.  Le  pis  serait  qu'il 
descende  vers  le  Golfe  du  Mexique,  et  a  cela  M.  Talon  ne  voit  pas 
grand  inconvenient.  II  lui  faut  des  hommes  aguerris,  nompletement 
f  ami  tiers  avec  les  difficultes  qui  les  confronteront  a  tout  moment 

II  y  a  justemem,  lui  dit-on,  un  J&uite  de  Laon,  Jacques  Mar- 
quette, un  ires  saint  honime  elevi  dans  ia  religion  a  Pont-a-Mousson. 


LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRANfAISE  IJ 

qui  a  recemment  qui  tic  la  Mission  de  l'ile  Michilimakinac,  situee 
a  l'etranglement  reliant  le  lac  Michigan  (ou  Dauphin)  au  lac  Huron 
(ou  d'Orleans) ,  a  350  lieues  de  Quebec,  pour  aller  fonder  la  Mis- 
sion Saint  Ignace,  chez  les  Hurons. 

Ce  Pere,  dont  on  dit  merveille,  parle  six  dialectes  et  s'est  fait  aimer 
de  tous  les  sauvages  qui  1'ont  approche,  c'est  un  homme  de  res- 
sources  et  de  tolerance.  Le  Pere  Marquette  semble  tout  indique 
pour  une  telle  expedition. 

M.  Talon  fait  appeler  Louis  Jolliet,  un  Quebecquois  eleve  des 
Ji'suiies  qui,  grand  voyageur,  fait  la  traite  des  fourrures  et  sait  aussi 
dessiner  les  cartes. 

II  lui  explique  son  plan,  met  quelques  fonds  a  sa  disposition  et 
lui  enjoint  de  rejoindre  sans  tarder  le  Pere,  au  Saul  t-Sainte- Marie, 
avant  que  les  rivieres  soient  prises. 

Dans  un  canot  de  bouleau  avec  ses  voyageurs,  il  arrive  avant  le 
grand  abattage  de  neige  a  Michilimakinac,  od  il  passe  la  mauvaise 
saison  a  preparer  son  voyage,  avec  le  Pere  Marquette. 

On  fait  repeter  aux  sauvages,  qui  dans  les  plus  fortes  bordees  de 
neige,  sur  leurs  raquettes,  arpentent  la  foret,  allumee  de  girandoles 
cristallines,  ce  qu'ils  savent  de  la  Grande  Riviere.  C'est  peu  de  chose, 
ils  sont  seulement  certains  de  son  danger,  elle  est  pleine  de  monstres 
et  ses  rives  sont  habhees  par  des  casseurs  de  tete.  Comme  ils  aiment 
beaucoup  le  Pere  Marquette,  ils  le  supplient  de  ne  pas  s'aventurer 
si  loin. 

Au  debut  de  mai  1673,  les  aboiteaux  de  glace  ont  fini  de  fondre 
dans  les  rivieres  et  les  preparatifs  sont  termines.  Sept  hommes  blancs 
et  les  conducteurs  sauvages  se  repartissent  dans  deux  longs  canots 
d'ecorce,  qui  contiennent  deja  des  provisions,  une  chaudiere,  des 
instruments  rudimentaires  d' astronomic  des  presents  pour  les  sau- 
vages de  rencontre,  et  l'indispensable  pour  le  saint-office. 

Le  Pere  Marquette  s'agenouille  pour  mettre  le  voyage  sous  la 
protection  de  Madame  la  Vierge,  il  monte  a  son  tour,  et  les  pagaies 
s'enfoncent  dans  le  lac  Dauphin. 

Par  la  riviere  des  Renards,  les  canots  glissent  a  travers  le  pays 
des  folles-avoines,  le  riz  sauvage  qui  fremit,  dans  les  ruisseaux  bour- 
beux.  Pour  rejoindre  la  riviere  des  Ouisconsins,  le  portage  est  long, 
des  sauvages  complaisants  les  aident  a  transporter  les  canots. 

La  prairie  est  belle,  balafree  parfois  par  la  course  rapide  d'un 
chevreuil.  La  riviere  des  Ouisconsins,  claire  et  calme,  est  resserree 


14  LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

par  des  petites  Jles  verdoyantes,  sur  lesquelles  on  cabane  la  nuit, 
dans  l'odeur  immense  d'eie  commengant.  Les  Peres  ne  sont  jamais 
venus  aussi  loin.  Des  coteaux  boursouflent  l'etendue  ;  des  houx,  de 
trente  pieds  de  haut,  se  mirent  dans  l'eau. 

Apres  une  semaine  sans  aventure  de  pagayage  et  de  rations  £ru- 
gales,  de  la  bouillie  de  bU  d'Inde  et  des  tasseaux,  ou  lanieres,  de 
viande  sechee  au  soleil,  le  6  juillet  1673,  en  debouchant  d'un  coude, 
la  perspective  s'amplifie.  C'est  un  confluent,  le  fleuve  transversal 
satire  sur  une  petite  lieue  de  large.  «  Meschacebe  I  »  s'ecrient  les 
conducieurs,  dune  voix  un  peu  contenue.  Leur  joie  est  melangee 
d'une  certaine  apprehension,  on  a  peur  de  ce  qu'on  a  tant  entendu 
vamer. 

De  tous  Ieurs  yeux,  ils  regardent,  s'attendant  a  voir  surgir,  d'une 
minute  a  l'autre,  une  preuve  tangible  de  la  superiorite,  ou  du  moins 
de  la  paternity  de  la  riviere. 

A  voix  haute,  le  Pere  remercie  Madame  Marie  de  les  avoir  si 
honneternent  conduits.  Amen,  repondent  les  guides  distraits,  en 
etudiant  songeusement  l'horizon.  «  Monsieur  le  Cure,  si  vous  voulez 
m'en  croire,  nous  appellerons  cette  riviere  Frontenac  »,  conseille 
Jollict,  pratique  et  bon  courtisan,  et  le  Pere,  preoccupy  de  choses 
celestes,  n'y  voit  aucune  objection. 

Les  canots  sont  maintenant  sur  le  grand  fleuve,  et  aucun  monstre 
n'apparait,  les  rameurs  s'enhardissent.  Limpide  et  profond,  il  des- 
cend en  serpentant  paresseusement  ;  des  prairies  paisibles  sont 
ourlees  d'arbres  majestueux  ;  a  droite,  des  montagnes  bleuissent  ; 
des  ties,  habillees  de  vert,  pointillent  les  boucles  du  fleuve.  Chaque 
jour,  les  homines  mettent  pied  a  terre  pour  celebrer  la  messe  et  pre- 
parer les  repas,  mais  par  precaution,  ils  dorment  dans  les  canots, 
apres  avoir  dit  leurs  patenotres.  Ils  n'ont  encore  rencontre  personne. 

Un  matin,  apres  avoir  dejeune  sous  un  saule,  ils  apercoivent  des 
empreintes  de  pieds  dans  la  glaise.  Laissant  derriere  eux  leurs  com- 
pagnons,  sans  armes,  le  Pere  et  Jolliet  suivent  ces  traces  pendant 
plusieurs  lieues,  jusqu'a  une  riviere  aupres  de  laquelle  trois  cent 
cinquante  cabanes  sont  massees  sur  des  hauteurs.  Au  loin,  on  aper- 
toit  d'autres  villages. 

Les  habitants  n'ont  pas  l'air  hostile,  bien  que  stupefaits  de  cette 
arrivee,  le  Pere  Marquette  les  interpelle  et  comprend  tant  bien 
que  mal  leur  langue,  qui  s'apparente  a  1'Algonquin.'  Ce  sont  des 
Illinois. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  15 

La  nouvelle  de  l'arrivee  des  Strangers  s'est  propagee  dans  le  vil- 
lage. Le  chef,  un  vieillard  nu,  les  attend  debout  devant  sa  cabane. 


En  les  voyant,  il  south,  et  de  sa  main  fait  une  visiere  sur  ses  yeux 
pour  se  proteger  de  la  Incur  hypothetique  qui  l'aveugle  :  «  Francais, 
que  le  soleil  est  beau,  quand  tu  nous  fais  l'honneur  de  ta  visite  I  » 

La  bourgade  se  range  en  cortege  pour  escorter  les  voyageurs  jus- 
qu'au  Grand  Chef  de  la  nation,  qui  habite  un  village  proche.  Le 
Grand  Chef  est  assis  tout  nu,  et  nus  aussi  sont  les  deux  patriarches, 
qui  l'encadrent  sur  une  sorte  de  gradin.  D'autres  personnages,  cou- 
verts  de  cuir  souple  de  bison,  sont  accroupis  a  terre. 

Le  Pere  Marquette  se  presente,  on  e change  des  petits  discours 
extremement  polis.  L'homnie  noir  et  rhomme  nu  semblent  fitre  les 
meilleurs  amis  du  monde.  Avec  beau  coup  de  civilite,  les  Francais 
offrent  leurs  presents,  et  le  Grand  Chef,  pour  ne  pas  etre  en  reste, 
leur  donne  un  petit  esclave  et  un  magninque  calumet,  dont  la  pipe 
de  pierre  rouge  mouchetee,  aussi  belle  que  du  porphyre,  est  fixee 
a  une  canne  longue  de  deux  pieds,  ornee  de  plumages  multicolores  : 
un  calumet  laissez-passer  qui  impressionnera  les  gens  les  moins  bien 
disposes. 

Des  hommes-manitous,  vetus  en  femmes,  et  de  toute  evidence 
jouissant  de  leurs  prerogatives,  s'empressent  a  leur  tour,  a  la  satis- 
faction de  tous  ;  leur  jugement  a  un  grand  poids  dans  la  nation,  et 
ce  respect  les  conipense  de  ne  pouvoir  danser  et  d'etre,  dans  les 
combats,  reduits  a  la  massue,  tandis  que  les  guerriers  ont  de  si  beaux 
arcs. 

Un  grand  banquet  champetre  suit,  les  visit eurs  avalent  succes- 
sivement  la  sagamite,  bouillie  de  ble"  d'Inde  ou  de  Turquie,  que 
les  sauvages  appellent  mahiz,  accommodee  a  la  graisse  d'ours,  la 
venaison  boucanee,  les  poulets  d'Inde,  mais  ils  se  refusent  a  gouter 
au  chien,  qui  compose  le  service  suivant.  Pendant  tout  le  repas,  des 
recitants  chantent  les  faits  d'armes  de  la  nation. 

Aussi  bien  Irakis  qu'ils  soient,  le  Pere  croit  qu'il  vaut  mieux  ne 
pas  s'appesantir,  les  demonstrations  sont  trop  accablantes. 

Ils  regagnent  leurs  canots  et  les  sinuositis  du  fleuve.  L'eau  n'est 
plus  claire,  elle  est  noire  et  boueuse,  encombre-e  d'embarras-de-bois, 
que  le  Missouri  crache  p£le-mele. 

Des  hordes  de  quatre  a  cinq  cents  bisons  que  les  Francais,  n'en 
ayant  jamais  vus,  trait  cm  irrespectueusement  de  boeufs  sauvages, 
broutent  lourdement.  En  venant  boire  au  fleuve,  ils  ont  fraye  dans 


-  €  Bo 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

1'herbe  haute  des  passages  battus  sur  lesquels  aucun  vert  ne  pousse. 
Leurs  gttes  nocturnes  se  reconnaissent  a  l'abon  dance  de  pourpier 
croissant  la. 

Voici  sur  la  bergc  les  monstres  annoncis,  ma  is  ils  sont  de  bois  et 
de  rocher,  barbouilles  de  coloris  violents  :  dragons  barbares,  croco- 
diles a  visage  humain. 

D't'iniiis  poissons  gauches,  longs  de  dis  pieds,  heurtent  au  pas- 
sage les  canots,  parce  qu'ils  sont  presses  et  qu'on  les  gene. 

Sur  la  rive,  boisee  de  gros  Hards,  un  arbre  blanc  dont  on  fait  des 
pirogues,  des  sauvages  amies  sont  un  peu  inqui£tants.  Ils  veulent 
seulement  faire  preuve  d'hospitalite,  ils  invitent  les  voyageurs  a  un 
festin  de  boruf  sauvage  prepare"  a  1'huile  d'ours,  qu'on  leur  met 
dans  la  bouche  avec  politesse  et  des  mains  douteuses. 

Les  forets  font  des  masses  sombres.  Les  maringouins  sont  feroces, 
on  se  protege,  comme  on  peut,  avec  des  peaux  Vendues. 

Voici  un  village,  les  gueiTiers  ont  saute  sur  leurs  arcs.  A  tout 
hasard  le  Pere  brandit  le  calumet  du  chef  Islinois,  qui  semble  pos- 
sider  une  ceriaine  magie.  Son  geste  attire  l'attention  d'un  vieillard, 
et  aussitdt  le  pacific  Ce  sont  des  Arkansas. 

Le  lendemain,  dix  sauvages  en  pirogues,  les  conduisent  a  un 
grand  village,  fait  de  cabanes  rondes,  en  perches  rejointes  en  dome, 
recouvertes  dun  bousillage  de  terre  et  de  mousse,  et  de  nattes,  et 
de  cabanes  fortes,  carries,  percees  de  meurtrieres,  pour  se  d^fendre 
en  cas  de  siege,  situe  pres  de  1'endroit  ou  la  riviere  des  Arkansas  se 
dfcharge  dans  le  Beuve. 

Le  chef  du  village,  nu  ainsi  qu'il  sied,  et  accompagne  d'un  nomine 
dans  le  meme  costume,  vient  au  devant  d'eux  en  chantant  le  calumet 
et  les  recoil  avec  beaucoup  d'egard. 

Dune  (aeon  myst^rieuse,  tous  ces  sauvages,  ont  entendu  parler 
des  <  homines  noirs  »,  les  manitous  d'un  dieu  de  Blancs. 

On  est  dans  la  troisieme  semaine  de  Juillet,  et,  paratt-il,  a  peu 
de  distance  de  la  mer.  Le  Pere  Marquette  et  Jolliet  tiennent  un 
long  conciliabule. 

Est-il  necessaire  d'aller  plus  loin  ?  Le  fleuve,  a  coup  sur,  se  jette 
dans  le  golfe  du  Mexique.  Le  bon  Pere  pousse  un  petit  soupir  de 
regret.  <  Q'aurait  ete  bien  agreable,  pourtant,  qu'il  se  decharge  a 
I'Ouest.  dans  la  Mer  Vermilion,  mais  enfin,  on  a  fait  de  son  mieux. » 
Bon  dommage,  opine  Jolliet,  d'un  sens,  on  n'y  peut  rien.  > 


LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRANfAISE 


Les  Sauvages  ant  parle"  d'Espagnols,  it  serait  peut-etre  imprudent 
de  continuer.  lis  deaden  t  de  regagner  le  Nord. 

lis  vont  chercher  une  autre  route.  En  remontant  le  fleuve,  sur 
leur  droite,  ils  apercoivent  une  fourche  importante,  et  s'y  engagent. 
La  Riviere  des  islinois  ondule,  large  et  placide,  dans  une  contr^e 
pastorale,  goiiMee  de  bosselures  retombant  en  chutes  mollcs,  piquie 
de  boqueteaux  d'ormes,  de  merisiers,  de  noyers,  de  pommiers  et 
pruniers  sauvages,  aux  fruits  aigrelets,  d'asseminiers,  dont  les  fruits 

»sont  d'un  beau  jaune,  ou  bien,  festonnee  de  marecages,  languit  sur 
de  longues  distances. 
Jolliet,  habitue  a  un  pays  apre,  est  tout  content  de  ce  qu'il  voit. 
«  J'aime-t-y  done  ca,  j'aime-t-y  done  ca,  mon  bon  Pere.  Par  icite, 
un  homme  passerait  point  des  annees  a  abtmer  du  bois  et  a  bruler, 
dans  le  meme  jour,  il  mettrait  le  soc  dans  la  terre.  On  pourrait  faire 
de  bonnes  vignes,  greffer  de  bons  arbres  fruitiers.  C'est,  pour  le  stir, 
un  bon  pays.  » 

Le  Pere  ne  peut  pas  register  a  son  sacerdoce,  durant  trois  jours, 
malgre  l'impatience  de  Jolliet,  il  entretient  de  Dieu  le  village  des 
Perouacas.  Les  sauvages  aiment  entendre  cet  homme  chauve  et  doux, 
qui  sait  parler  a  tous.  Au  moment  ou  il  va  partir,  on  lui  apporte  un 
nfant  mourant,  pour  qu'il  lui  donne  le  bapteme  blanc. 
A  leur  tour,  les  Kaskakias  le  supplient  de  les  evangeliser,  il  leur 
omet  de  retourner  parmi  eux.  Deja  conquis,  ils  l'escortent  jus- 
qu'au  portage  de  Chicago,  pour  1'aider  a  passer  sur  le  lac  Dauphin. 
Apres  quatre  mois  de  voyage,  les  canots  n'ont  plus  qu'a  remonter 
s  la  Baie  des  Puants. 

t  Mission  Saint-Francois  Xavier,  le  Pere  et  Jolliet  sont  trei 
affaires  pendant  l'hiver,  qui  est  particulierement  rigoureux.  Le  lac 
est  solidement  gele\  la  neige  poudre  sans  arret. 

De  sa  plus  belle  caligraphie,  le  Pere  recopie  son  journal  de  route, 
<  le  ricit  d'un  Voyage  plein  de  rareti  et  de  curiositi.  »  Se  rappelant 
son  sijour  a  Perouaca,  il  termine  sur  une  note  modeste  :  c  Si  mon 
voyage  peWilleux  n'a  pas  eu  d'autre  avantage  que  de  sauver  une  dmc, 
j'estime  que  mes  dangers  ont  Hi  suffisamment  recompense's.  > 

Jolliet  dessine  sa  carte,  en  s'appliquant  beaucoup.  La  neige  main- 
tenant  se  liqu^fie,  en  salissant  la  for£t.  La  debacle  commence,  la 
glace  des  rivieres,  avec  des  claquements  sees,  delate,  se  chevauche, 
glisse,  s'amoindrit  en  petits  glacpns,  les  arbres  bourgeonnent,  les 
laux  s'accouplent,  le  printemps  de  1674  est  la.  Les  deux  homines 


I 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

font  leurs  preparatifs  de  depart,  le  Pere  Marquette  va  tenir  sa  pro- 
messe  et  retourner  fonder  ia  Mission  de  rimmacul^e-Conception 
chez  les  Kaskakias.  Vleuii  par  eux,  il  y  mourra  le  19  mai  1675. 

Par  les  grands  lacs,  apres  avoir  fiche  dans  son  esquif  une  petite 
voile,  Jolliet  repart  vers  Quebec.  II  joue  de  malheur,  comme  il 
approche  de  lilt  dc  Montreal,  son  canot  tourne  dans  le  rapide  de 
la  Chine,  ses  deux  rameurs  el  l'esdave  donne  par  le  chef  Islinois, 
sont  engloutis  par  les  remous,  lui-meme  e"chappe  a  grand -peine  au 
torrent.  II  se  retrouve,  froisse  et  transi,  sur  la  berge,  ayant  perdu 
dans  l'avemure  tout  son  bagage,  c'est  a  dire  sa  carte  et  le  journal  du 
Pere,  dont  heureusement  une  copie  est  restee  au  Sault  Sainte-Marie. 

A  Quebec,  Jolliet  est  accueilli  avec  des  cris  dallegresse,  on  n'etait 
pas  sur  de  le  revoir.  Le  Gouverneur  et  1'Intendant  le  recoivent 
seance  tenante.  A-t-il  trouv£  le  fleuve  monstrueux  ?  11  la  trouve  et 
navigue,  le  fleuve,  sans  l'ombre  d'un  douie,  se  jette  dans  le  Golfe 
du  Mexique,  quon  peut  atteindre  en  canot,  de  Quebec,  par  le  Saint 
Laurent,  avec  un  portage  la  oil  le  lac  Erie  tombe  dans  le  lac  Ontario, 
c'est  a  dire  au  Grand-Sault  du  Niagara. 

Jolliet  annonce  a  M.  le  Gouverneur  qu'il  a  donne  au  fleuve  le 
nora  de  Fromenac,  le  Comte  de  Frontcnac  est  ires  content,  parce 
que  c'est  un  ires  grand  Heuve,  qui  lui  fail  honneur.  Apres  un  mo- 
ment de  reflexion,  il  se  ravise.  Non  moins  bon  courtUan  que  1'autre, 
U  decide  :  c  Nous  allons  l'appeler  Colbert,  c'est  plus  convenable, 
M.  Jolliet.  >  Et  il  le  quitie,  pour  aller  mander  cela  a  M.  Colbert,  le 
minis  ire  de  la  marine. 

La  bonne  ville  de  Quebec  est  toute  rejouie  par  la  nouvelle.  Jolliet 
est  un  enfant  du  pays,  on  1  arret c  au  coin  des  rues  en  raidillons  pour 
lui  demander  des  details  sur  ses  peregrinations,  il  ne  se  fait  pas 
prier,  longuement  il  deem  la  fertility  du  pays  des  Islinois,  qui  l'a 
de^idement  impressionne  :  <  C'est  riche  sans  bon  sens,  bien  meilleur 
que  par  chez  nous  ou  la  terre  est  sous  la  neige  six  mois  de  l'annee. 
La-bas,  e'esi  comme  qui  dirait  doux,  et  c'est  pas  4  desarter.  II  y  a 
des  cinq  a  six  cents  bceufs  sauvages  abandes,  en  guise  de  poils 
couvcris  de  laine,  dont  on  ferait  de  belles  couvertes.  > 

Tout  le  monde  parle  de  la  grande  decouverte,  des  nouveaux  ew- 
blissements  qu'on  va  entreprendre,  de  cetie  prestigieuse  artere  de 
communication  qui  projette  la  Nouve lie-France  a  travers  un  con- 
tinent. Le  Gouverneur  va  offrir  a  Jolliet,  pour  le  r<5compenser  de 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  ig 

ses  perils,  rile  d'Anticosti,  allong£e  comme  un  chien  de  garde,  k 
I' entree  du  Saint-Laurent. 

Dans  l'aprts-midi  claire,  les  cloches  sonnent  k  toute  vol£e.  En 
grande  pompe,  le  clerg£,  le  Comte  de  Frontenac,  M.  Talon,  Jolliet, 
toute  la  population  de  la  ville  chantent  k  la  cath£drale  un  Te  Deum 
de  gratitude. 

Quebec  aujourd'hui  est  en  grande  liesse. 

Et  puis,  le  lendemain,  Quebec  ne  pense  plus  du  tout  k  ce  fleuve 
lointain. 


Un  grand  garcon  serieux,  d'une  vingtaine  d'annees,  en  1667,  est 
descendu  d'un  batimeni  francais,  a  Quebec,  et,  de  mauvais  porte- 
manteaux  aux  mains,  a  regards  la  falaise  abrupte  et  la  citadelle,  qui 
la  couronne,  d'un  air  de  defi. 

C'etait  le  fils  d'un  honorable  commercant  de  Rouen.  Novice  a 
Saim-Sulpice,  professeur  dans  plusieurs  maisons  de  l'Ordre,  a  Blois 
comme  a  Tours,  il  avail  toujours  reve  de  terres  inconnues.  Ses  supe- 
rieurs  avaient  refuse"  de  l'envoyer  a  l'etranger,  comme  il  les  en  avail 
supplies,  l'avaient  durement  tailed,  pour  chatier  ce  desir  d'evasion, 
qui  n'etait  pas  d'un  esprit  chretien. 

II  avail  quitte  la  compagnie,  et,  avec  un  tout  petit  pecule,  s'etait 
embarque  a  l'avenlure  pour  ce  Canada,  ou  Jean,  son  frere  alne, 
Sulpicien  lui-aussi,  se  trouvait  depuis  quelque  temps. 

Robert  Ignace  Cavelier,  anriennemeni  clerc,  s'est  adapte  a  ce 
pays  rude,  comme  un  mocassin  au  pied  d'un  coureur-de-bois,  II  ne 
s'esl  pas  auarde  dans  la  ville,  qui  l'aurait  etouffe  comme  l'om  ctoude 
les  villes  de  France.  II  a  fait  la  traite,  battu  la  foret,  dchangeant  des 
peaux  de  castor  contre  sa  pacotille  :  des  ha  dies,  des  couteaux,  des 
alencs.  de  la  rassade,  des  perles  de  verre,  dont  les  sauvages  aiment 
se  parer. 

Sans  perruque,  sans  entraves,  il  a  erre,  jamais  rassasie  d'espace  et 
de  liberie"  ;  de  lemps  en  temps,  levant  ses  mains  ecariees,  pour  seniir 
sur  une  plus  grande  surface  la  rencontre  de  l'air  affile',  qui  n'a  encore 
effleure"  que  des  plaines  blanches  et  des  bois  nettoyes  a  grands  coups 
de  froidure  ;  tendant  son  visage  aux  gros  flocons,  si  distants  du 
<  duvet  d'ange  >  de  son  enfance. 

Le  jeune  Cavelier  est  imperious,  cassant,  mais  infaiigable,  et 
adroit  avec  les  sauvages,  qu'il  sail  dominer.  Avec  eux,  il  a  parle 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANf  AISE 

dti  Meschacebe  ;  depuis  le  voyage  de  Jolliet,  il  parle  du  fleuve 
Colbert. 

II  possede  la  terre  de  La  Chine,  a  Montreal.  Ses  affaires  pros- 
perent,  mais  ne  le.garrottent  pas.  Depuis  longtemps,  on  a  commence 
a  compter  avec  lui,  maintenant  on  demande  son  avis.  Dans  cet  ete 
1674,  le  Comte  de  Frontenac  le  prie  souvent  a  sa  table. 

Cavelier  a  des  visions  larges,  il  assure  a  Son  Excellence  qu'on 
devrait  agrandir  le  fort  Cataracoui,  pour  le  moment  simple  fortin 
de  terre  palissade  et  gazonne,  plante  a  l'entree  du  lac  Ontario. 

S'ils  etaient  visiblemcnt  proteges  contre  les  Iroquois,  des  paysans 
francais  viendraient  s'etablir  aux  alentours,  on  construirait  des  bar- 
ques pour  trafiquer  avec  les  nations  des  lacs,  ce  n'est  point  le  bois 
qui  manque,  La  traite  deviendrait  facile. 

On  pourraii  elever  une  chaine  de  forts  reliant  le  Saint-Laurent 
au  fleuve  Colbert.  On  pourraii  faire  tant  de  choses  dans  ce  pays  tout 
neuf,  plein  d'olfrandes  secretes,..  <  d'apres  les  informations  que  j'ai 
reunies,  je  crois  pouvoir  affirmer  que  le  fleuve  prend  sa  source  quel- 
que  part  dans  l'Empire  Celeste,  la  France  serait  ainsi  maitresse  pas 
seulement  du  pays  entre  ce  fleuve  et  le  Saint-Laurent,  mais  aussi 
commanderait  le  commerce  de  la  Chine,  qui  emprunterait  la  nou- 
velle  voie  que  j'ouvrirais  jusqu'a  la  mer  du  Mexique...  * 

Le  comte  de  Frontenac  s'interesse  a  ces  plans,  mais  avec  des  res- 
trictions. <  Possible,  possible,  M.  Cavelier,  mais  c'est  une  responsa- 
bilite  que  je  ne  saurais  assumer  de  mon  chef,  la  depense  sera  con- 
siderable. Le  mieux  serait  que  vous  vous  rendiez  en  France  et  que 
vous  obteniez  1'appui  de  Sa  Majeste.  » 

Cavelier  ne  se  fait  pas  repeter  le  conseil,  puisque  justement  un 
vaisseau  est  au  port,  il  part. 

Apres  bien  des  diffkultes,  grace  a  la  lettre  de  recommandation 
que  lui  a  remis  le  Gouverneur,  il  parvient  jusqu'au  Prince  de  Conti, 
qui  le  presente  a  la  Cour. 

Le  roi  Louis  XIV  est  favorable  au  projet  grandiose,  d'autant  plus 
qu'il  n'apparalt  pas  tres  onereux  pour  la  tresorerie.  Le  13  mai  1675, 
il  accorde  a  Cavelier  des  lettres  de  noblesse,  une  vaste  seigneurie 
rampant  tout  autour  de  fort  Cataracoui,  a  charge  pour  lui  de  le 
rebatir  en  pierre  de  taille  et  d'en  payer  la  garnison  ;  il  lui  concede 
aussi  le  privilege  exclusif  de  la  traite  parmi  les  sauvages  de  son 
voisinage. 

Robert  Cavelier,  sieur  de  la  Salle,  n'est  pas  plut6t  rentre  a  Quebec, 


I.OUISIANE     FRAN^AISE 


qu'il  se  met  en  route  pour  Cataracoui.  Avec  quelques  tacherons  et 
scieurs  de  pierce,  qu'il  2  ramenes  de  France,  et  des  Iroquois,  il  rem- 
place  le  fort  de  terre  par  un  autre  de  pierre  taillee,  de  trois  cent 
soixante  toises  de  tour,  le  fortifie  de  quatre  bastions  revetus,  et  le 
rebaptise  <  Frontenac  ».  un  nom  plus  conforme  a  la  dignite  d'un 
eiablissement  coutant  quarante  mille  livres.  11  construct,  en  ron- 
dins  de  grume,  une  chapelle  et  une  cure  pour  deux  Peres  Recolleis, 
un  village  pour  une  douzaine  de  families  franchises  et  un  second 
village  pour  une  centaine  de  sauvages. 

Sur  le  lac  Ontario,  maintenant  Frontenac,  il  amenage  un  petit 
port,  et  fait  ajuster  quatre  barques  pontees  pour  le  naviguer. 

On  defriche  les  clairieres,  on  ensemence  des  emblavures,  que  vient 
parfois  flair  er  le  muffle  ballant  d'un  orignal,  dont  les  enormes  bois 
plats  sont  decoupes  en  feuilles  de  houx.  Les  sauvages  apportent 
leurs  pelleteries. 

M.  de  la  Salle  est  en  train  de  s'enrichir,  mais  il  n'a  pas  letoffe 
d'un  commercant  apre,  les  profits  le  laissent  indifferent.  II  a  l'ame 
et  1 'endurance  d'un  explorateur,  il  lui  faut  incessamment  de  nou- 
veaux  horizons. 

II  repart  a  Versailles,  ou  il  n'est  plus  un  inconnu  dont  on  se  gausse, 
mais  un  gentilhomme  audacieux,  doni  on  admire  le  teint  hale  et 
les  gestes  precis. 

En  1678,  il  obtient  du  roi  des  lettres-patentes  l'autorisant  a  pour- 
suivre  la  decouverte  de  la  partie  occidentale  de  la  Nouvelle- France, 
c  dans  laquelltr  il  y  a  apparence  que  Von  trouvera  un  chemin  pour 
pinitrer  jusqu'au  Mtxique  »,  a  Clever  de  nouveaux  forts,  dans  les 
memes  conditions  que  le  precedent,  et  lui  accordant,  pour  cinq  ans, 
le  monopole  de  la  traite  des  cuirs  de  bceufs. 

Le  Prince  de  Conti  presente  a  M.  de  la  Salle  un  de  ses  proteges 
qu'il  vante  fort.  C'est  un  gentilhomme  de  marque,  desireux  lui  aussi 
de  voir  du  pays,  le  Chevalier  de  Tonti,  ancien  garde  de  la  marine 
volontaire  des  galeres,  qui,  au  siege  de  Libisso,  a  eu  la  main  droite 
arrachee  par  une  grenade,  et  fait  prisonnier.  a  ete  echang£  contre 
le  fils  du  gouverneur  de  Metasse.  Sa  main  a  eti  remplacee  par  une 
autre  de  cuivre.  dont  il  se  sert  avec  une  dexterite  incroyable. 

II  s'embarque  a  la  Rochelle,  le  14  juillet  de  cette  annee  1678, 
avec  M.  de  la  Salle,  le  Sieur  de  la  Mothe,  30  ouvriers,  forgerons, 
seieurs-de-long,  macons,  charpentiers,  tailleurs  de  pierre,  mariniers, 
ct  le  Pcre  Louis  Hennepin,  un  Recollet  verbeux  du  Hainaut,  qui 


LA     LOUISIANA     FRANfAISE 


2  3 


avt 


a  deja  roule"  sa  bosse  en  Europe  Septentrionale,  en  frere  qufiteur, 
et  demeure  trouble1  par  le  demon  de  l'aventure. 

Aussit6t  arrive  au  Fort  Frontenac,  M.  de  la  Salle  exp^die  une 

tie  de  son  monde,  par  dela  le  Cap  Enrage,  a  deux  lieues  au 

sus  du  Grand-Sault  du  Niagara,  sur  le  Lac  Eri£,  qui  devient 

afin  d'y  construire  le  bateau  de  bon  tonnage  dont  il  aura 

besoin,  puisque  le  portage  d'un  pareil  poids  serait  impossible. 

Le  Chevalier  de  Tonti,  qui  s'est  revele  un  compagnon  incom- 
parable, mene  rondement  les  travaux.  A  un  endroit  naturellement 
de  defense,  il  £leve  une  maison  fortifiee,  le  Fort  Conti,  ou  tous  se 
logent.  Les  sauvages  ne  soul  pas  hostiles,  cenx  du  village  voisin, 
apres  avoir  fume1,  pr&enrent  un  superbe  calumet  «  garni  de  plumes 
toutes  sortes  de  couleurs  melies  et  rangies  fort  propremcnt  avec 
•lusieurs  nattes  de  cheveux  de  femme  lades  de  diverses  manieres 
avec  deux  ailes,  comme  I' on  a  coutume  de  reprisenter  le  Caduce'e 
de  Mercurc.  > 

En  quelques  mois,  la  barque  de  cinquante  tonne aux,  armee  de 
sept  petites  pieces  de  fonte,  est  terminee.  Puisqu'un  griffon  soutient 
les  armes  de  la  Nouvelle-France,  ce  sera  le  nom  de  l'embarcation. 

Tout  est  pret,  avec  des  arquebuses  a  crocs,  des  munitions,  des 
marchandises  de  traite,  M.  de  la  Salle,  trois  Recollets  —  Louis  Hen- 
nepin, Zenobe  Membre,  Gabriel  de  la  Ribourde,  qui  va  ttter  ses 
soixante-dix  ans  —  et  trente  hommes  s'embarquent,  traversent  le 
Lac  Conti,  par  le  Detroit  debouquent  du  petit  lac  Saint-Clair  dans 
le  grand  lac  Huron,  dit  d'Orleans,  puis  entrent  dans  le  lac  Dauphin 
ou  des  Islinois. 

A  l'entree  de  la  Baie  Verte,  M.  de  la  Salle  trouve  une  quantite- 
de  pelleteries  accumulees  par  scs  coureurs.  II  y  en  a  pour  douze 
mille  livres,  qui  seront  les  bienvenues,  car  il  est  harcele  par  ses 
crediteurs,  II  les  charge  sur  le  Griffon  et  renvoie  la  barque  au  Fort 
Conti  du  Niagara,  d'oii  les  peaux  iront  a  Quebec.  Elle  viendra  le 
retrouver  a  l'entree  de  la  riviere  des  Pe  tits- Mi  amis. 

Dans  les  canots  d'ecorce  dont  il  dispose,  M.  de  la  Salle  entasse 
le  reste  de  son  expedition,  les  Recollets,  des  ouvriers,  le  Chevalier 
de  Tonti,  Nika  le  domestique  chaouanon,  qui  lui  est  tout  devoue, 
un  chasseur  sauvage  pour  les  approvisionner  en  route,  et  un  truche- 
ment,  autrement  dit  un  interprete,  gagne  l'embouchure  de  la  riviere 
ou  Ton  s'est  donnd  rendezvous  et  y  commence  le  Fort  la  Salle. 

Dans  les  founds,  on  a  decouvert  des  raisins,   dont  les  grains. 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

isolts  ou  jumeaux,  sont  aussi  gros  que  des  prunes  de  Damas.  Dans 
un  mortier  de  bois,  servant  de  pressoir,  on  fait  pour  la  messe  un  vin 
atgrclet,  qu'on  passe  a  travers  une  serviette  d'autel  dans  un  seau 
d'icorce,  et  qu'on  met  dans  des  gourdes,  pour  le  conserver  dans  la 
terre.  Avec  le  marc,  on  fait  du  resine  au  sucre  d'erable. 

Le  Griffon  ne  revient  pas,  ainsi  qu'il  en  £tait  convenu.  M.  de  la 
Salle  s'impatiente.  l'inactivite'  lui  pese.  En  D£cembre,  la  riviere  n'est 
pas  completement  prise  par  les  glaces.  Laissant  au  fort  dix  hommes, 
dans  huit  canots  il  part  avec  le  reste  de  son  monde,  par  la  riviere 
des  Miamis  ou  Saint-Joseph,  et  apres  un  portage,  gagne  la  riviere 
des  fslinois,  qu'il  rebaptise  de  Seigneley,  le  nom  du  nouveau  mi- 
nistre  de  la  marine. 

c  II  fait  une  bonne  escousse  de  frete  »  fait  remarquer  un  Canadien. 
Pendant  plusieurs  jours,  on  suit  le  fil  de  la  riviere  qui,  borde>  de 
marecages  de  joncs,  se  replie  continuellement  sur  elle  mfme.  Sur 
quarante  lieues,  les  voyageurs,  pourvus  chacun  d'une  natte  et  d'une 
couverture,  ne  trouvent  aucune  berge  solide  pour  cabaner,  ils  en 
sont  rlduits  a  dormir  et  a  faire  le  feu  sur  des  bancs  glacis. 

Les  marais  s'arretent,  mais  sur  les  deux  rives  la  prairie  a  eie  in- 
cendiee  par  les  sauvages  pour  rabattre  le  gibier  dans  leurs  embus- 
cades.  Sur  soixante  lieues,  on  tire  un  chevreuil,  deux  outardes  et 
trois  cygncs,  c'est  peu  pour  trente-deux  hommes  aft'ames.  II  n'en 
reste  rien. 

C'est  le  premier  Janvier  1680.  Les  Francais  devraient  feter  l'an 
neuf,  £ire  attabUs  comme  il  convient,  ils  n'ont  ni  les  moyens  de 
festoyer,  ni  l'humeur  de  pritendre  le  faire.  Leurs  coeurs  et  leurs 
levres  sont  sans  chansons,  leurs  bras  sont  lourds,  leurs  pieds  gelis. 
Les  peres  celebrent  la  messe  et,  consciencieusement,  embrassent  tout 
le  monde  pour  alleger  la  peine  et  faire,  esperent-ils,  oublier  la  faim, 
mais  la  charite  chrctienne  ne  remplit  pas  la  panse. 

On  partage  les  glands  trouve's  sur  la  terre  humide,  aux  endroits 
ou  elle  n'est  pas  caparaconnle  de  glace,  et  la  <  tripe  de  roche  », 
une  mousse  engagee  dans  les  pierres. 

On  a  d^passe  le  lac  des  Deux-Mamelles,  parcouru  cent  trente 
lieues  depuis  le  lac  Dauphin.  Voici  un  gros  village,  quatre  cem- 
cinquante  longues  cabanes  en  berceau,  de  quatre  a  cinq  feux  cha- 
cune,  on  va  peut-£tre  se  ravitailler.  Mais  le  village  est  abandonnl, 
les  habitants  sont  en  chasse.  M.  de  la  Salle  sail  fort  bien  que  les 
naturels  interdisent  qu'on   louche  a   la  provision   de   ble   d'Inde 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 


25 


M 
au 


cachee  dans  la  fosse  commune,  pourtant  il  va  violer  la  loi  sauvage. 

preleve  vingt  minots,  pour  lesquels  il  s'acquittera  tot  ou  tard. 

Le  5  Janvier,  apres  un  coude  brusque  de  la  riviere,  quatre-vingt 

banes  de  chasse  apparaissent.  Les  sauvages,  occupes,  ne  les  ont 
pas  entendu  approcher  et  sont  stupefaits. 

Avant  eux,  M.  de  la  Salle,  qui  a  une  longue  habitude  des  me- 
fiances  sauvages,  pousse  un  grand  cri.  Les  guerriers  n'ont  pas  eu 
le  temps  de  se  precipiter  sur  leurs  arcs,  qu'il  a  mis  pied  a  terre  et 
commence  a  parler  et  a  faire  parler  son  truchement,  pour  les  ras- 
surer  sur  ses  intentions. 

Les  Islinois  acceptent  ses  ouvertures,  puisqu'il  vient  en  ami,  il 

ra  bien  traite.  Les  Francais  ont  froid  et  faim,  on  les  caresse,  de- 
vant  un  grand  feu  on  frotte  leurs  jambes  avec  de  l'huile  d'ours  pour 
les  delasser,  et,  civilement,  on  leur  porte  a  la  bouche  les  trois 
premieres  bouch£es  de  viande  boucanee.  Les  Islinois  sont  fort  polis. 

M.  de  la  Salle  distribue  des  couteaux,  des  haches  et  des  alenes. 
II  explique  qu'il  a  fait  main  basse  sur  leur  ble  et  offre  le  paiement 
qu'ils  jugeront  equitable,  puis  il  propose  a  la  nation  une  alliance. 

Avec  leur  aide,  il  batira  un  fort,  qu'ils  devront  respecter,  et  ou 
il  laissera  un  forgeron  pour  affuter  leurs  haches  gouffres  et  raccom- 
moder  leurs  outils. 

Les  chefs  sont  partisans  d'une  alliance,  mais  un  emissaire  secret 
des  Iroquois,  excite  les  esprits.  Si  les  Francais  sont  allies  aux  Iro- 
quois, leurs  ennemis  hereditaires,  les  Islinois  n'en  veulent  pas. 

La  neige  floconne  par  grandes  bordees,  la  riviere  est  bloqu^e  par 
des  glaces  en  desordre,  les  Francais  sont  immobilises.  M.  de  Tonti, 
pour  oublier  les  intemperies,  etudie  les  naturels  et  couche  ses  obser- 
vations sur  son  carnet  de  route  :  <  De  belle  taille  et  liber  tins,  ils 

nt  fort  ardens  pour  les  femmes  et  encor  plus  pour  les  garcons, 
aussi  deviennent  ils  presque  effeminez  par  leur  trap  grande  mollesse 
et  par  leur  abandonnement  au  plaisir  ;  soit  que  ce  soit  le  vice  du 
climat,  soit  que  ce  soit  un  effet  de  leur  imagination  pervertie,  on 
remarque  parmi  eux  un  grand  nombre  d' Hermaphrodites.  > 

Le  15  Janvier,  la  riviere  redevient  libre  et  on  continue.  Pour  son 

rt,  M.  de  la  Salle  choisit,  a  une  portee  de  fusil  du  village,  et  a 

ux  cents  pas  de  la  riviere,  un  morne  horde"  sur  deux  cotes  de 

vins. 

On  cerne  le  talus  exterieur,  on  fait  des  chevaux  de  frise  et  on 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

escarpe  le  monticule,  protege  par  une  palissade  de  vingt-cinq  pieds. 
Sur  le  haut  du  tertre,  un  parapet  de  terre  abrite  deux  logements 
Tangle. 

Le  travail  est  penible,  il  n'y  a  plus  un  tasseau  de  viande,  plus  de 
vin,  il  a  fallu  remplacer  la  messe  du  dimanche  par  des  vepres. 
Comme  d'habitude,  M.  de  la  Salle  mene  durement  ses  hommes, 
aigris  et  debilites  par  l'insufnsancc  de  nourriture.  Ce  sont  des  artisans 
de  Normandie  et  de  Saintonge,  inhabuues  aux  rigueurs.  lis  n'ont 
pas  la  resistance  voulue  pour  lutter  contre  tant  d' obstacles,  ils  ne 
font  plus  confiance  a  leur  coramandeur. 

Un  soir,  les  mecon  tents  jettent  du  poison  dans  la  marmite  du 
souper,  pour  empoisonner  M.  de  la  Salle  et  sa  table.  Aussit6t  apres 
le  repas,  les  convives  sont  saisis  de  sueurs  froides  et  de  convulsions, 
heureusement  ils  en  pressentem  la  cause  et  s'administrent  de  la 
theriaque,  qui  les  sauvent. 

11  fallait  baptiser  le  fort.  Dans  un  acces  d'amertume,  M.  de  la 
Salle  lui  donne  le  nom  decourage  de  «  Creve-Cceur  ». 

Le  Pere  Hennepin,  geignant  et  hablcur.  est  de  plus  en  plus 
insupportable,  un  abces  a  la  bouche,  qu'il  promene  depuis  une 
an  nee.  augmente  sa  mauvaise  humeur.  Pour  faire  diversion  a  ses 
idees  sorabres,  M.  de  la  Salle  decide  de  l'expedier  en  canot,  avec 
Michel  Accau  et  Picard  du  Gay,  continuer  la  riviere  de  Seigneley  et 
explorer  l'amont  du  fleuve  Colbert. 

C'est  une  forme  comme  une  autre  de  soigner  un  abces,  qui  ne 
fait  aucun  plaisir  au  Pere  Hennepin.  II  voudrait  mourner  a  Que- 
bec se  faire  panser. 

M.  de  la  Salle  menace  de  se  plaindre  a  ses  superieurs  de  son 
insubordination,  le  Pere  de  la  Ribourde,  son  maltre  de  Noviciat, 
1* assure  que  <  s'il  meurt  de  son  infirmity,  Dieu  s'en  trouvera  glorifii.  > 
Pour  mettre  en  son  cceur  un  peu  de  baume,  on  lui  concede  la  plus 
belle  chasuble  de  brocard  que  Ton  possede.  II  ne  trouve  rien  a 
repondre  a  ces  arguments,  mais  n'en  pense  pas  moins. 

Le  s8  fevrier,  1680,  le  Pere  de  la  Ribourde  benit  le  Pere  Henne- 
pin et  prie  le  Seigneur  de  lui  donner  de  nombreuses  ouailles  a  edi- 
fier.  En  soupirant,  il  embrasse  tout  le  monde  et  gagne  le  petit  canot, 
un  instrument  fragile  pour  s'enfoncer  dans  1'inconnu.  Les  pagaieurs 
sont  deja  a  I'ceuvre  qu'on  l'entend  encore  maugreer  sur  l'eau  tran- 
quille  :  «  Jesus,  Marie,  Joseph,  faut-il  en  voir  I  Jesus,  Marie,  Joseph  1 » 

En  mars,  pendant  qu'il  emerge  de  la  riviere  Seigneley  et  com- 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE  *7 

mence  A  remonter  Ie  fleuve,  sans  savoir  s'il  n'en  sortira  pas  en  Chine, 
sans  savoir  surtout  qu'il  sera,  le  mois  suivant,  capture  par  les  Sioux 
et  delivre  plus  tard,  pres  du  Sault  Saint-Antoine,  par  le  fameux 
coureur-de-bois.  Greysolon  du  Lhut  ;  pendant  que  le  chevalier  de 
Tonti  s'appr£te  a  construire  le  fort  Saint-Louis  dans  le  village  Isli- 
nois,  qu'on  a  trouve  abandonne,  M.  de  la  Salle,  avec  quatre  Fran- 
$ais  et  Nika.  a  pied,  a  travers  savane,  ronciers,  marecages  et  for£ts, 
retourne  a  rembouchure  de  la  riviere  des  Miamis.  ou  il  retrouve 
ceux  qu'il  avait  laiss^s  derriere.  sans  aucune  nouvelle  du  Griffon. 

II  retourne  au  Grand-Sault  du  Niagara.  La  grande  barque  n'est 
jamais  parvenue  au  fort  Conti,  elle  repose,  eVidemment,  au  fond 
de  1'eau  avec  son  Equipage  et  sa  cargaison  de  pelleteries.  Le  premier 
vaisseau  des  lacs  n'a  pas  eu  un  sort  heureux. 

II  regagne  le  fort  Frontenac.  On  le  disait  bel  et  bien  mort  :  puis- 
qu'il  est  vivant,  ses  creanciers  se  jettent  sur  leur  proie.  II  est  oblige 
d'aller  a  Quebec,  ou,  le  Gouverneur  1'appuyant,  il  retrouve  un  peu 
de  credit.  II  est  de  ceux  qui  ne  cedent  jamais  lorsqu'ils  ont  un  but. 

Lorsqu'il  revient  a  Frontenac,  avec  ses  canots  recharges,  un 
coureur  lui  apporte  un  billet  du  Chevalier  de  Tonti.  Les  Francais, 
apres  avoir  termini  le  fort  St.  Louis,  se  sont  mutines  et  enfuis.  II 
y  demeure  seul,  avec  les  Recollets.  dans  des  circonstances  diffiriles. 

Quelques  temps  auparavant,  les  Islinois  1'ont  prie  de  s'entremet- 
tre  aupres  des  Iroquois,  pour  faire  une  paix.  Avec  le  Pere  MembrS, 
il  s'est  rendu  chez  ceux-ci,  qui  l'ont  fait  prisonnier.  et  l'ont  blesse' 
d'un  coup  de  couteau  vers  le  cceur,  heureusement  devie1  sur  une 
cote.  lis  ont  fini  par  le  relacher,  mais  les  Islinois  ont  £te  fort  irrit^s 
de  son  inefficadte\ 

Peu  de  jours  apres,  les  Iroquois  l'ont  rappele.  avec  le  Pere,  de- 
vant  leur  Conseil.  c  lis  nous  ont  fait  asseoir,  et,  devant  nous,  ont 
pose"  sis  paquets  de  castor,  its  nous  ont  dit  alors  que  la  nation  nous 
ofjroit  ces  prisens  et  nous  prioit  de  donner  de  leur  part  les  deux 
premiers  paquets  a  M.  le  Cotnte  de  Frontenac,  leur  pere,  et  de  V as- 
surer qu'ils  ne  voulotent  plus  manger  des  Islinois,  ses  enfans  ;  qu'ils 
me  donnoient  le  ?  pour  servir  d'empldtre  a  ma  plate  ;  que  le  4* 
nous  serviroit  d'huile,  au  pere  Zenobe  et  a  moi,  pour  nous  frotter 
les  jambes  au  cours  de  nos  voyages  ;  par  le  5*  que  le  soleil  Stoit 
beau  ;  et  qu'enfin,  par  le  6*,  ils  nous  sommoient  de  Aicamper  le 
lendemain  et  de  nous  retirer  dans  nos  habitations  francoises.  » 


I 


sest  un  p 
pom  die: 
la  tete  a 


10  LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRANfAISE 

M.  de  Tonti  les  a  remercie  de  leurs  politesscs  et  leur  a  demande 
quand  Us  comptaient  remettre  les  Islinois  dans  leurs  terres,  comme 
Us  l'avaient  promis. 

c  lis  m'ont  ripondu  que  puisque  j'itois  si  curieux,  Us  alloient  me 
le  dire,  que  ce  serait  apris  avoir  mange"  quelques  uns  de  nos  freres 
ou  des  islinois.  J'ai  repoussi  du  pie"  leurs  prisens  et  m'en  suis  re- 
tourni  au  fort.  > 

Sans  ferir,  M.  de  la  Salle  lui  depeche  M.  de  la  Forest,  le  gouverneur 
de  Fort  Fromenac  avec  quelques  hommes,  et  au  passage  happe  les 
desert eurs,  qui  se  dirigent  vers  Quebec. 

Au  milieu  d'aout,  il  repart  accompagne  de  quinze  hommes,  mais 
quand  il  arrive  a  la  riviere  des  Miamis,  l'hiver  bat  son  plein.  La 
ramure  givree  des  cerfs  ressemble  a  des  formations  de  corail  blanc, 
les  branches  tristes  sont  nicllees  dans  le  verglas  transparent.  «  Toute 
l'eau  n'est  qu'une  grande  campagne  glacee,  sur  laquelle  on  peut 
aller  comme  sur  un  marbre  uni.  » 

Inquiet,  il  n'ose  pas  hiverner.  Dans  l'air  cassant,  sur  ses  raquettes, 
a  pas  difficiles,  cingles  par  la  neige  et  le  gresil,  il  traverse  les  Islinois. 
Le  pays  n'est  pas  toujours  aussi  enchanteur  que  l'a  vu  Jolliet. 

Le  fort  Saint-Louis  n'est  plus  qu'une  ruine  deserte,  les  champs 
sont  brules.  Le  coeur  serre.  il  ose  a  peine  approcher.  Sur  six  poteaux 
rouges,  des  hommes  aux  yeux  bandes  sont  grossierement  peints.  Un 
peu  plus  loin,  une  rangee  de  pieux  est  surmontee  de  teles  humaines, 
nettoy£es  par  les  vautours. 

Bouleverse,  il  se  precipite,  en  d^croche  une,  e'est  peut  etre  celle 
de  M.  de  Tonti.  A  son  immense  soulagement,  il  constaie  que  ces 
gros  cranes  n'ont  pas  appartenu  a  des  Blancs. 

Dans  une  inquietude  mortelle,  il  bat  les  alentours,  esperant  trou- 
ver  des  traces  des  siens.  Apres  plusieurs  jours  d'allees  et  venues,  U 
rencontre  M.  de  la  Forest,  qui,  de  son  c&te,  le  cherche. 

Qu'est-il  arrive  ?  Eh  bien,  M,  de  la  Forest  explique,  les  Iroquois 
ont  attaque  les  Islinois  ;  les  Franeais,  pris  entre  deux  feux,  ont  cm 
prudent  de  quitter  ces  lieux.  Au  petit  bonheur,  en  s'egayant,  Us  se 
sont  diriges  vers  le  Nord-Esr.  En  mai,  M.  de  Tonii  est  parti  avec  cinq 
hommes  ct  les  deux  peres,  en  canot,  mais  le  lendemain  le  vieux 
Pere  de  la  Ribourde,  qui  marchait  sur  la  berge  en  disant  son  office, 
1'est  un  peu  eloigne  et  a  disparu.  On  a  appris  depuis  par  des  Quica- 
pous  cherchant  a  vendre  son  breviaire  a  un  Jisuite,  qu'il  avail  e 
la  tete  coupee  par  cette  nation. 


LA     LOUISIANE     rRANf  AISE  »9 

Les  survivants  ont  gagne1  le  village  des  Pontoualamis,  sur  le  lac 
Dauphin,  oil  ils  ont  hiverne"  avec  d'autres  Francais  ;  le  Pere  Zenobe, 
qui  a  trouvd  plus  convenable  de  s'ecarter  de  sauvages  aussi  libertins, 
est  a  la  mission  de  Michilimakinac. 

Une  fois  de  plus,  M.  de  la  Salle  rebrousse  chemin,  repart  pour 
la  mission  et  le  fort  Frontenac  ou  il  cltoisira  des  hommes  reposes. 

Le  6  F£vrier  1682,  la  petite  flottille  de  M.  de  la  Salle,  vingt-trois 
Francais  et  dix-huit  sauvages.  ayant  par  le  portage  de  Chicago  gagne 
la  riviere  Seignelay,  cinquante  lieues  apres  le  fort  Crevecceur,  di- 
bouche  dans  le  Heme  Colbert,  et  tournant  a  gauche,  commence  a 
en  suivre  les  meandres  entre  le  semis  d'ildts. 

«  Ce  fleuve  sera  Saint-Louis  et  tout  ce  pays  sera  Louisiane  »  an- 
nonce  M.  de  la  Salle,  que  le  roi  a  daignd  ecouter. 

Apres  la  fourche  de  l'Ohio  —  la  Belle-Riviere  —  la  rive  se  hausse 
en  ecore  ou  petite  falaise.  On  tarit  la,  pour  Clever  le  fort 
Prud'homme,  du  nom  d'un  Francais  qui  s'est  egare  dans  ces  parages 
et,  contre  tout  espoir,  a  die"  retrouve. 

Lea  tnuriers  sont  deja  verts,  sur  la  berge  les  cannes  deviennent 
plus  encombrantes.  A  quatre  jours  du  fort,  M.  de  la  Salle  fait 
alliance  avec  les  Capas  et  obtient  d'eux  des  conducteurs  pour  con- 
tinuer  le  Metchagamoui,  «  la  riviere  en  tous  lieux.  >  Chaque  nation 
a  son  nom  pour  le  Fleuve. 

Il  est  a  la  fourche  de  l'Arkansas,  au  terme  du  voyage  du  Pere 
Marquette.  Au  bord  du  fleuve,  il  visile  un  village,  Togengau,  puis 
Ozotoni,  le  Grand  Village.  La,  devant  un  grand  concours  de  na- 
turels,  au  bruit  des  mousquets,  il  arbore  les  armes  du  roi.  Le  chef 
du  village  et  ses  guerriers  frottent  leurs  mains  sur  le  poteau  graved 
puis  se  frottent  de  la  tcte  aux  pieds.  pour  marquer  leur  satisfac- 
tion de  cette  soudaine  allegiance,  a  laquelle  probablement,  ils  ne 
comprennent  pas  grand-chose. 

Les  «  cocodrilles  >  commencent  a  apparaitre.  A  l'aurore  leurs 
meuglements  se  rdpondent,  de  place  en  place,  comme  ceux  d'un 
troupeau. 

Soixante  lieues  apres  les  Arkansas,  un  lac,  auquel  on  donne  Saint- 
Joseph  pour  patron,  s£pare  du  village  des  Taencas.  Le  Chevalier 
de  Tonti  part  avec  son  truchement  Abenagui  et  des  conducteurs, 
portant  le  canot.  Apres  deux  heures  de  traversed,  il  arrive  au  grand 
'llage. 

Par  la  main,  il  est  conduit  a  la  cabane  du  Chef.  Celui-ci  coiffe1 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

d'une  tiare-emonnoir,  en  jonc  travaille,  surmontee  d'un  bouquet 
de  plumes  multi  col  ores,  et  vetu  d'une  mante  de  peau  blanclie  ornee 
de  houppes  de  couleur,  est  assis  dans  une  grande  saile  carree,  tendue 
dc  nattes,  sur  un  lit  qui  est  peut-etre  un  trone.  Quatre  fort  jolies 
femmes  «  au  teint  bise  >,  partiellement  couvertes  de  peaux  et  de 
bijoux,  1'emourent.  Une  soixantaine  de  vieillards,  en  mante  blanche, 
constituent  sa  cour. 

Par  le  truchement,  on  echange  des  amenues.  Au  nom  de  M.  de 
la  Salle,  le  Chevalier  offre  une  alliance  avec  le  plus  puissant  roi  de 
la  teire.  Gravement,  le  Chef  ecoute  ces  propositions,  pose  des  ques- 
tions. II  se  laisse  convaincre,  frotte  le  ventre  de  M.  de  Tonti,  le 
serre  dans  ses  bras.  Chaque  fois  qu'il  ouvre  la  bouche,  les  sauvages, 
qui  prennent  bien  soin  de  ne  pas  passer  devant  lui,  crient  Ho,  Ho, 
Ho  1  pour  niarquer  leur  admiration  et  letir  respect. 

Le  Chevalier  presente  de  la  part  de  son  maitre,  le  Roi  d'apres  le 
Grand  Lac,  une  epec  a  garde  damasquinee  d'or,  un  flacon  d'eau 
de  vie,  un  ecrin  de  velours  grenat  garni  de  sept  rasoirs,  une  paire 
de  ciseaux.  Par  l'importance  de  ces  presents,  le  Chef  peut  concevoir 
la  puissance  du  roi  lointain,  qui  s'appelle  Louis  XIV. 

Lorsqu'il  est  restaur^,  on  lui  fait  les  honneurs  du  temple,  enfermi 
dans  une  redoute  palissadee  de  dix  pieds  de  haut,  flanquee  a  chaque 
angle.  Le  comble,  comme  celui  de  la  cabane  du  chef,  est  en  berceau  ; 
sur  la  facade,  autour  d'un  billot  dc  vingt  toises,  surmonte  d'un  grand 
coquillage,  des  inormes  nattes  faites  des  chevelures  levies  aux  en- 
nemis,  sont  enroule>s  en  trophee. 

A  l'interieur  de  la  net  bigarree,  sur  un  grand  foyer,  trois  grosses 
buches  brulent  bout  a  bout,  veillees  par  deux  pr£tres  drapes  de 
peaux  blanches. 

Dans  un  cabinet  decore  de  nattes,  deux  aigles  suspendus  a  la 
voute,  sont  toumis  vers  le  levant.  On  lui  dit  que  c'est  le  tabernacle 
de  1'Esprit  Supreme. 

A  quelque  distance  du  village,  on  lui  montre  «  le  champ  de 
1'Esprit  >,  1'espace  vierge  que  les  guerriers  defrichent  et  ensemenccnt 
it  la  fin  de  l'hiver,  et  ou  ils  vont  se  recueillir  et  attendrc  l'inspiration 
divine.  La  recolte  en  est  mangee,  avec  de  grandes  rejouissances,  a 
la  premiere  lune  de  Juin. 

M.  de  Tonti  repart  en  excellents  termes  avec  tous.  A  peine  a-t-U 
rejoin t  M.  de  la  Salle,  que  le  Chef  des  Taencas  arrive  en  \ ' 


en  pirogue. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  3' 

avec  ses  femmes  et  ses  tambours,  pour  assurer  de  vive  voix  le  chef 
francais  de  sa  soumission  au  Roi  inconnu. 


.  de  la  Salle  fume  avec  lui.  On  apporte  de  l'eau-de-vie  sucrie, 
aromatisee  de  noyaux  d'abricot,  et,  au  bruit  des  mousquets,  on  boit 
a  la  sant6  de  Sa  Majesty,  Louis  le  Quatorzieme,  et  du  Chef  sauvage, 
qui  se  retire  fort  satisfait,  apres  avoir  offert  une  pirogue  de  vivres. 

Le  fleuve  coule  toujours  magnifique,  en  multipliant  les  anses, 
les  crocodiles  sont  nombreux,  mais  discrete. 

Sur  la  rive  gauche,  une  centaine  de  sauvages  surgissent,  Tare 
barule.  Les  Francais  les  mettenl  en  joue,  avec  leurs  mousquets,  et, 
de  stupefaction,  ils  lachent  leurs  amies.  M.  de  la  Salle  debarque, 
et,  apres  quelques  caresses,  se  rend  avec  eux  au  Grand  Village  des 
Natchez,  oil,  ires  bien  recu,  il  arbore  les  armes  du  Roi. 

Dans  des  canots  de  cypre  de  trente  pieds  de  long,  les  sauvages  lui 
font  un  bout  d'escorte. 

En  pane  d'oie,  le  fleuve  s'ecarte  en  trois  chenaux,  stpares  par  des 
plateaux  fangeux  de  cannes,  tous  piaillants  d'^chassiers.  M.  de  la 
Salle  s'engage  dans  celui  de  l'Ouest,  le  Chevalier  de  Tonti  dans 
celui  de  l'Est,  et  M.  de  la  Forest  poursuit  par  le  milieu.  Dix  lieues 
plus  loin,  tout  le  monde  se  retrouve. 

On  est  dans  l'estuaire  du  fleuve  Saint-Louis,  d'apres  les  calculs, 
a  27°  du  Pdle. 

Le  pere  Zenobe  consulte  le  calendrier  de  son  breviaire,  sur  lequel 
il  a  marque  les  jours  ecoules,  en  disant  sa  messe,  et  rend  grace  a 
Dieu  d' avoir  protege"  leurs  huit  cents  lieues  de  navigation. 

Les  hommes  prennent  leur  cognee.  Dun  grand  fut  de  cypre,  lis 
font  une  colonne  tfcorcee,  sur  laquelle  ils  tracent  les  armes  de  France, 
au-dessus  d'une  inscription,  <  Louis  le  Grand,  Roy  de  France  et  de 
Navarre,  regne  le  9  avril  1682.  »  Puis,  sous  les  ordres  du  Recollet, 
ils  dolent  une  grande  croix,  grossierement  equarrie. 

Les  Francais  mettent  leurs  meilleurs  vetements,  des  pourpoints 
uic.'i  d'hommes  courageux,  fichent  en  terre  la  colonne,  et,  au  garde- 
a-vous,  font  demi  cercle. 

M.  de  la  Salle,  dont  toute  la  fatigue  a  glisse"  des  epaules,  arrache 
une  motte  d'herbe,  et,  d'une  voix  puissante  et  solennelle,  proclame  : 

«  Au  nom  du  Ires  haul,  Iris  puissant  Prince,  invincible  et  victo- 
rieux,  Louis  le  Grand,  par  la  grace  de  Dieu,  Roi  de  France  et  de 

Etatorzieme  de  ce  nom,  ce  neuvieme  jour  d'Avril  1682,  en 
revet  de  Sa  Majesti,  que  je  tiens  dans  ma  main,  et  qui 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANf  AISE 

petit  itrc  vu  par  tons.  J'ai  pris  et  je  prends  maintenant,  au  nom  de 
Sa  Majeste"  et  de  Ses  Successeurs  d  la  Couronne,  possession  de  ce 
pays  de  Louisiane,  des  mers,  ports,  villes,  villages,  mines,  mineraux, 
piches,  ruisseaux  et  rivieres  dans  I'itendue  de  ladite  Louisiane, 
depuis  Vambouchure  de  la  grande  riviere  St.  Louis,  connue  aussi  sous 
le  nom  d'Ohio,  Olighinsipou  ou  Chikagoua,  et  ceci  avec  le  consente- 
nent  des  Chaouesnons,  Chieachas  et  autres  nations  y  risidant,  avec 
lesquelles  nous  avons  fait  alliance,  comme  aussi  le  long  de  la  riviere 
Colbert  ou  Mississipi  et  les  rivieres  qui  s'y  dichargent  depuis  sa 
source  jusqu'a  son  embouchure  dans  la  mer  ou  golfe  du  Mexique, 
avec  le  consentement  des  nations  les  plus  considerables  y  demeurant 
et  dans  noire  alliance,  et  aussi  jusqu'a  I'embouchure  de  la  Riviere 
des  Palmes,  sur  I'assurance  que  nous  eumes  des  naturels  de  ces  con- 
tries,  que  nous  sommes  les  premiers  Europiens  qui  ont  jamais 
descendus  ou  remontis  la  dite  Riviere  Colbert,  Par  Id  protestant 
contre  quiconque  voudrait  par  la  suite  entreprendre  d'envahir  en 
partie  ou  en  totalitS  ces  pays,  peuples  et  terres  menlionnis,  au  pre- 
judice des  droits  de  Sa  Majeste1,  acquis  avec  le  consentement  des 
nations  y  demeurant.  De  quoi  et  de  tout  autre  nicessaire,  par  Id  je 
prends  d  timoin  ceux  qui  m'entendent,  et  je  demande  acte  du 
notaire  ici  present.  > 

A  une  petite  distance,  on  plante  la  grande  croix,  et,  au  pied  on 
enterre  une  plaque  en  cuivre  de  chaudiere,  portant  d'un  cote  les 
armes  de  France  avec  l'inscription  :  c  Ludovicus  Magnus  regnat 
nono  aprilis  1682  »,  et  a  son  revers  le  nom  des  personnes  present  a. 

Sur  une  patte,  les  aigreues-neigeuses,  en  tenue  nuptiale,  surveil- 
leni  gravement  ces  agissements,  et,  dans  1 'expect at ive,  gonflem  les 
brim  delies  de  leur  dos,  pour  ressembler  a  quelque  dentelle  pure, 
absurdement  precicuse  dans  ces  perspectives  vegetales. 

Les  spatules  roses  commenteni  la  chose  a  coups  de  battoirs. 

Auiour  de  la  croix,  les  horames  s'agenouillent  pour  recevoir  la 
benediction  du  pere  Zenobe  et  entonnent  le  Te  Deum,  qu'ils  font 
suivre  de  1'Exaudiat  et  du  Domine  Salvum  fac  Regem. 

lis  se  relevent,  dechargent  une  mousqueterie  dans  Tair  etonne, 
et  tous  en  chcrur  s'ecrient  :  <  Vive  le  Roy  1  > 

Les  grues  blanches,  qui  entendent  ce  cri  pour  la  premiere  fois,  le 
cou  tendu,  avec  une  sonnerie  claire  de  troropette,  s'elevent  des 
Cannes,  et  I'acclaroation  sur  leurs  ailes  monte  comme  un  chant  triom- 
phal,  a  la  couleur  de  France,  dans  lc  del  vierge. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  SS 

Jacques  de  la  Mltairie,  le  notaire  de  Fort  Frontenac,  complete 
le  proc&s-verbal  de  la  cfrlmonie.  A  tour  de  rdle,  sur  la  souche,  d'oii 
est  tomWe  la  croix,  les  Frangais  signent  l'acte  :  Robert  Cavelier  de 
la  Salle,  Zenobe  Membrl,  Henri  de  Tonti,  Frangois  de  Boisrondet, 
Jean  Bardon,  d'Autray,  Jacques  Cavehois,  Gilles  Meneret,  Jean- 
Michel,  Jehan  de  Lignon,  Nicolas  de  la  Salle. 

Et  les  sujets  du  roi  retournent  la  proue  de  leurs  itroits  canots  vers 
le  NonL 


rv. 


Lorsque  M.  de  la  Salle  regagne  Quebec,  tout  content  de  lui,  le 
Comic  de  Frontenac  n'est  plus  la.  M.  Le  Febvre  de  la  Barre  lui  a 
succide. 

M.  Le  Febvre  ne  prele  a  M.  de  la  Salle  qu'une  attention  distraite 
et  douie  beaucoup  de  cette  histoire  de  fieuve  majesmeux,  de  forts 
echelonnes. 

Eh  bien,  s'il  y  a  un  fort  dans  les  Islinois,  pourquoi  ne  le  repren- 
drait-on  pas  a  ce  M.  de  la  Salle,  un  brin  presomptueux,  qui  casse 
la  tete  de  tout  le  monde  avec  son  refrain  de  Louisiane.  Est-ce  que 
la  France  a  besoin  de  cette  Louisiane,  si  tant  est  qu'elle  existe,  ce 
qui  pour  lui  n'est  point  sur. 

M.  de  la  Salle  possede  de  grandes  qualites  mais  la  patience  n'est 
pas  sa  vertu  cardinale.  Fatigue  et  indigne  de  purler  dans  le  vide, 
en  Septembre  1683,  il  s'en  vient  en  France  s'epancher  aupres  du 
Ministre  de  la  Marine,  M.  de  Seigneley,  qui  a  succide"  a  son  pere, 
M.  Colbert,  et  corner  au  roi  les  merveilles  de  sa  nouvelle  terre. 

Le  roi  Soleil  lui  accorde  gracieusement  une  audience.  Entre  les 
mains  royales  M.  de  la  Salle  remet  le  proces-verbal  de  la  prise  de 
possession.  S'il  pouvait  atteindre  directement  par  mer  1' embouchure 
de  la  riviere  Saint-Louis,  il  etablirait  une  colonic,  la  Nouvelle- 
Biscaye,  dont  la  prosperite  eclipserait  rapidement  celle  de  la  Nou- 
velle-France,  puisqu'on  n'aurait  pas  a  lutter  contre  les  epouvantables 
hivers. 

Sa  Majesty  s'imeresse  grandement  a  ce  qu'elle  entend,  il  lui  plait 
de  savoir  ses  sujets  implantes  a  I'autre  bout  du  monde,  et  ce  nom 
de  Louisiane  lui  est  cher.  Ce  n'est  pas  tous  les  jours  qu'on  depose 
aux  pieds  d'un  roi  un  territoire,  parait-il  vingt  fois  plus  grand  que 
U  France,  ce  territoire  fut-il  vierge. 

Par  lettres  patentes,  Louis  XIV  nomme  M.  de  la  Salle  Vice-Roy 


J 

ma 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  35 

de  l'Am^rique  Septentrionale  et  met  a  sa  disposition  des  fonds  et 
tous  les  elements  ndcessaires  a  un  premier  I  ta  bliss  erne  nt,  c'est  a  dire 
des  batiments,  des  hommes,  des  armes  et  des  approvisiomiements. 

M.  de  la  Salle  rassemble  son  monde  a  la  Rochelle  :  une  centaine 
de  soldats  :  douze  gentilhommes  volontaires  ;  douze  families  de 
cultivateurs  ;  des  ouvriers  ;  son  frere,  Jean  Cavelier,  et  un  autre 
Sulpicien,  le  pere  Chefdcville  ;  trois  Recollets,  Anastase  Douay, 
Maxime  Le  Clerc,  et  Zenobe  Membri,  qui  la  deja  accompagne  dans 
sa  premiere  expedition  ;  deux  neveux,  le  jeune  Cavelier  qui  a 
quatorze  ans  et  Moranget  ;  M.  Joutel,  de  Rouen,  un  homme  estima- 
ble ami  de  la  famille  Cavelier  ;  les  deux  freres  Duhaut,  negotiants 
et  le  jeune  Merlin,  dont  le  pere  est  un  des  plus  gros  marchands  de 
la  Rochelle.  Avec  les  Equipages,  deux  cent  quatre  vingt  personnes. 

Les  explorateurs  s'embarquent  a  la  Rochelle,  le  24  juillet  1684, 
avec  du  matenel  agricole,  pour  six  mois  de  vivres  et  quelques  pieces 
d'ordonnance,  sur  trois  batiments  :  la  Belle,  frigate  de  six  pieces 
torn  1  nan  dec  par  deux  mattres  de  barque  ;  I'Aimable,  flute  de  trois 
cents  tonneaux,  appartenant  a  Mafiot,  marchand  de  la  Rochelle, 
qui  pone  les  effets  pour  l'^tablissement,  dont  M.  Duhaut  possede 
une  grosse  part  ;  le  Saint-Francois,  caiclie  de  trente  tonneaux. 
charg^  de  munitions  et  de  marchandises. 

Le  brick  le  Joli,  de  trente-six  canons,  les  escortera  jusqu'a  I'estu- 

e  du  Satnt-Louis. 

M.  de  la  Salle  indiquera  la  route  et  commandera  I'etablissement, 
mais  en  attendant  l'escadre  est  commandee  par  le  Capitaine  de  Beau- 
jeu,  du  Joli,  un  loup  de  mer  de  vieille  race,  qui  fait  bien  vite  voir 
ce  qu'il  pense  d'un  ancien  manant,  un  clerc  devenu  coureur-de-bois. 
C'est  entre  les  deux  hommes,  malheureusement  a  bord  du  m£me 
vaisseau,  une  lutte  me"prisante  et  quotidienne. 

Une  temp£te  disperse  la  flotte  voguant  vers  Hispaniola.  L'Aima- 
ble  et  la  Belle  arrivent  a  la  meme  epoque  au  Petit  Goave,  ou  le  Joli 
les  attend,  le  Saint-Francois  a  6t£  capture"  par  des  corsaires  espagnols. 

M.  de  la  Salle,  sou  ff rant  de  la  fievre  chaude,  est  oblige1  de  faire 
une  longue  escale  a  Saint-Domingue,  au  grand  contentement  des 
passagers  et  de  l'equipage,  qui  profitent  de  ce  rlpit  pour  se  gorger 
et  se  jeter  dans  les  bras  des  femmes,  fort  capiteuses,  de  1'tle.  Ce 
n'est  qu'a  la  fin  de  Novembre,  qu'il  est  assez  solide  pour  s'embarquer, 
cette  fois  sur  VAimable,  ou  il  est  debarrassl  de  la  presence  du  Capi- 
taine de  Beaujeu. 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN$AISE 

La  petite  flotte  entre  dans  le  Golfe  du  Mexique  et  louvoie  a 
quelques  lieues  du  rivage,  les  navigaieurs  ecarquillent  les  yeux, 
aucun  d'eux  ne  connait  cette  cdte,  ils  veulent  reconnaitre  ce  qu'ils 
n'ont  jamais  vu. 

Pendant  des  jours,  ils  cherchent  l'embouchure.  En  chaloupe,  ils 
s'approchent  des  ba lures  de  sable  qui  jalonnent  la  c6te.  La  mer  est 
mauvaise  amour  des  recifs,  pourtant  chaque  fois  que  M.  de  la  Salle 
apercoit  une  enfoncure,  il  saute  dans  son  canot,  mais  revient  tou- 
jours  desappointe. 

Pendant  qu'un  brelan  de  matelots  est  a  terre  en  quete  d'eau 
fraiche,  pour  la  premiere  fois  des  sauvages  surgissent.  Ils  sont  com- 
pletement  pacifiques  et  enchanted  d'avoir  des  visiteurs.  Pour  que 
personne  ne  se  meprenne  sur  leurs  intentions,  debonnaires,  Us  posent 
leurs  arcs  a  terre  et  se  promenent  de  long  en  large,  les  bras  croises. 

M.  de  la  Salle,  reprenant  espoir,  sur  le  pont  de  I'Aimabte,  agite 
un  mouchoir  attache  a  un  mousquet,  les  sauvages  comprennent  im- 
raetliatemeni  1'invitation,  ils  jettent  a  I'eau  un  arbre  mort,  et  non- 
chalamment,  un  bras  passe  amour  du  tronc  pour  se  somen  ir,  ils 
nagent  vers  les  bailments. 

On  ne  peut  tirer  d'eux  aucune  explication,  ils  ne  comprennent 
pas  les  dialectes  connus  de  M.  de  la  Salle  et  se  contentent  de  sourire 
de  toutes  leurs  dents  en  montrant  avec  une  convoitise  non  dissimu- 
lee  les  poules  et  les  cochons  parques  dans  l'entrepont.  On  se  debar- 
rasse  d'eux  avec  des  couteaux  et  quelques  brasses  de  rassade. 

M.  de  la  Salle  craint  d'avoir,  sans  sen  apercevoir,  de  passe  l'em- 
bouchure,  il  voudrait  revenir  en  arriere,  etudier  la  c6te  et  les 
batures  plus  minutieusement,  mais  le  Capitaine  de  Beaujeu  s'y 
oppose.  Le  <  bougre  dine  >  a  voulu  vcnir  au  Saint-Louis  du  Mis- 
sicipy,  qu'il  le  montre  son  fleuve,  quant  a  lui  il  s'en  lave  les  mains. 

En  desespoir  de  cause,  M.  de  la  Salle  decide  en  Decembre  de 
debar  quer  dans  un  renfoncement,  et  de  chercher  a  pied,  avec  quel- 
ques bommes.  L'endroit  n'est  pas  tres  seduisant,  la  cdte  basse  et 
sablonneuse  est  sans  vegetation,  agitee  de  cormorans  et  de  pelicans. 
11  arpente  des  lieues  de  sable  crissant,  franchit  des  trous  d'eau 
itagnants  habites  par  des  outardes  et  des  sarcelles,  qui  les  aident  a 
vivre. 

Joutel,  a  son  tour,  descend  du  vaisseau  avec  120  hommes  i 
poursuit  cette  marche  a  la  decouverte,  sans  eioile,  pendant  qui 


LA    LOUIStANE    FRANfAl.SE 

capitaine,  riant  dans  sa  barbe  de  la  deconvenue  g£n<*rale,  suit  a  la 
voile. 

Les  vivres  commencent  a  faire  defaut.  Apres  avoir  trains  leurs 
brodequins  a  travers  dunes,  roseaux  et  halliers,  les  hommes,  epuis£s, 
s'arretent  au  bord  d'une  riviere,  le  long  de  laquelle  des  vignes 
rampent.  La  cote  forme  ici  une  anse  assez  belle,  dans  laquelle  la 
flotte  pourra  entrer. 

Le  capitaine  fait  passer  la  barre  au  Joli  et  a  la  Belle.  L'endroit 
parait  assez  propice,  on  va  commencer  le  Fort  Saint-Bernard.  Des 
sauvages  rodent,  ce  sont  des  Clamcoets,  guerriers  farouches  a  figure 
peinte.  Quand  le  gros  des  Francais  s'installe,  ils  avancent,  les  cares- 
sent  en  passant  leurs  mains  sur  leur  ventre  et  ensuiie  sur  ceux  de 
leurs  visiteurs,  mais  quand  ils  se  retirent,  on  s'apercoit  qu'ils  ont 
capture1  le  marquis  de  la  Sabloniere,  lieutenant  d'infanterie,  et  un 
autre  homme. 

M.  de  la  Salle  rev£t  ses  soldats  de  gilets  de  douves  pour  les  prote- 
ger  des  traits,  et  part  a  leur  secours.  Dans  le  village,  cinquante 
cabanes  de  roseaux  et  de  peaux,  les  sauvages  se  tiennent  tapis.  Au 
premier  coup  de  feu,  effray^s,  ils  se  montrent,  rendent  leurs  prison- 
niers  et.  en  contrition  offrent  de  la  viande  boucanee  et  des  morceaux 
de  raarsouins  decoup£s  avec  des  couteaux  de  pierre. 

Quand  il  revient  au  camp,  M.  de  la  Salle  apprend  le  naufrage  de 
I'Aimable.  Les  marins,  ont  sauve"  quelques  tonneaux  de  farine,  trente 
pieces  de  vin  et  d'eau-de  vie,  et  un  peu  de  poudre. 

II  est  urgent  de  se  proteger  des  sauvages,  qui  de  temps  en  temps 
s'approchent.  Des  femmes  viennent  embrasser  les  Francais,  en  souf- 
flant  centre  leurs  oreilles,  et  traiter  des  peaux  de  chevreuil  contre 
des  couteaux. 

Les  ouvriers  travaillent  mal.  ils  ont  £te  recrut^s  autour  de  Roche- 
fort,  «  oii  ils  ont  gueuse  toute  leur  vie  »,  pendant  leurs  dissipations 
au  Petit-Goave  ont  contract^  des  maladies,  et  ils  souffrent  du  scorbut. 
La  nourriture  est  peu  variee,  de  la  bouillie  de  farine  cuite  dans 
une  mauvaise  eau,  des  poissons  plats  peche's  dans  les  lacs  proches. 
Hcureusement,  on  trouve  du  sel  naturel  dans  les  1'iaques. 

La  situation  est  tres  tendue  entre  M.  de  la  Salle  et  le  Capitaine  de 
Bcaujeu,  qui  refuse  de  d^barquer  les  boulets  enferm^s  dans  la  cale 
du  Joli.  Aprcs  une  discussion  plus  vive,  le  capitaine  refusant  de 
ramener  en  France  1'equipage  de  I'Aimable  a  moins  qu'on  ne  lui 


LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

remette  une  partie  des  provisions  de  I'etablissement,  deja  bien  di- 
minuees  par  la  pene  du  Saint-Frangois  et  de  I'Aimable,  le  15  mars 
1685,  accompagne  du  Chevalier  d'Aire  et  du  pere  Dainmaville,  le 
Capiiaine  de  Beaujeu  leve  l'ancre,  laissant  derriere  lui,  dans  une 
baie  inconnue,  qu'on  appelle  Saint-Bernard,  faute  d'autres  preci- 
sions, plus  de  deux  cents  personnes,  n'ayant  pour  se  defendre  que 
des  mousquets  et  des  pistolets  de  ceinture,  une  petite  reserve  de 
poudre  et  de  balles,  et  huit  pieces  d'artillerie,  mortiers  et  obusiers, 
sans  un  seul  boulet  pour  les  charger. 

Pendant  que  [outel  fait  construire  un  petit  fort,  M.  de  la  Salle 
poursuit  ses  allees  et  venues,  desesperement,  cherche  «  la  riviere 
fatale  »,  dont  tous  s'entretiennent.  Ayant  remonte  un  aimable  coun 
d'eau,  la  Riviere-aux-Bceufs,  a  cause  de  tous  ceux  qui  s'y  abreu- 
vent,  il  decide  de  transporter  I'etablissement  au  bord  de  ces  eaux 
vives,  a  deux  lieues  dans  les  lerres. 

Les  boeufs  sauvages  seront  une  ressource  precieuse.  On  les  tue 
assez  facilement,  quand  le  vent  est  contraire,  car  leurs  longs  crins 
retombant  boucheni  leur  vue.  Les  males  ont  une  odeur  de  bouc  tres 
prononcee,  mais  les  vaches  a  pis  rentre,  sont  fort  bonnes.  Sur  place, 
on  mange  fratches  leur  bosse  et  leur  Iangue,  apres  les  avoir  empalees 
sur  un  pieu  incline,  pres  d'un  brasier.  pour  les  faire  cuire,  et  on 
boucane  a  feu  doux  le  reste  de  la  viande,  coupee  en  tranches  plates, 
sur  des  clisses  de  cannes  posees  sur  des  fourrhes  de  bois.  Avec  1'os 
a  moelle,  on  fait  un  excellent  bouillon. 

Les  travaux  sont  fort  penibles.  La  foret  i\  plus  proche  est  a  une 
lieue  du  nouvel  etahlissetnent  ;  apres  avoir  al>attu,  ecorce  et  equarri 
les  arbres,  il  faut  les  trainer  a  la  main,  ce  n'est  qu'apres  bien  des 
jours  qu'on  pense  a  les  charger  sur  des  affuts  de  canon.  M.  de  Ville- 
perdry  et  trente  personnes  meurent  d'epuise-nent,  aucun  des  survi- 
vants  ne  connalt  la  charpenterie  ;  maintenant  que  le  maitre  des 
outrages  est  enterre\  M.  de  la  Salle  est  oblige  de  marquer  les  pieces 
lui  meme  et  de  conduire  les  travaux. 

Le  fort  Saint-Louis,  en  Aout.  est  termini  et  fortement  palissade. 
L'habitation  de  palissade.  couverie  de  peaux  de  bceuf,  est  divisee 
en  trois  parties  :  1'une  est  riservee  a  M.  de  la  Salle  et  aux  officiers. 
la  seconde  au  clerge,  dans  la  3*  les  families  prenncnt  gtte.  Le  reste 
don  en  plein  air. 

Autour  du  fort,  de  vastes  prairies,  parsemees  en  cctte  saison  de 
leurs  multicolores,  ondulent.  Mel£s  aux  chenes-verts,  des  muriers 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

sont  charges  de  fruits  de'lideux.  On  trouve  des  raisins  acres  don- 
nant  un  bon  verjus  pour  les  sauces. 

Le  garde-magasin  Legros,  qui  le  jour  de  Paques  a  £te  pique1  par 
un  serpen t-a-sonnette,  va  de  mal  en  pis,  le  chirurgien  Thibault  a 
beau  lui  couper  la  jambe.  la  gangrene  se  met  de  la  partie  et  il  expire. 
Son  trepas  est  suivi  de  bien  d'autres. 

Pendant  que  Joutel  met  autant  d'ordre  qu'il  se  peut  dans  une 
compagnie  aussi  indiscipline^,  les  Recollets  pr£parem  des  potagers, 
les  paysans,  a  la  houe,  tracent  des  guerets,  les  audacieux  chassent 
et  boucanent  les  bceufs.  D'autres  chassent  les  courlieux,  les  poules 
d'Inde,  les  grives  et  les  b£cassines,  pechent  des  barbues  et  des  truites, 
et  en  mer  des  anguilles  et  des  poissons-rouges,  qui  coupent  les  filets 
avec  leurs  bees  durs. 

La  cote  est  pommelee  de  tortues  de  mer  et  d'e'normes  <  caouanes  », 
des  tortues  a  machoire  saurienne,  pesant  jusqu'a  cent  vingt  livres, 
qui  pondent  des  ceufs,  soigneusement  caches  dans  le  sable,  dont  on 
fait  des  sauces  excellentes  et  des  <  amelettes  ».  On  coupe  les  tortues 
vertes  en  morceaux  pour  faire  des  gibelottes. 

Dans  les  halliers,  on  tue  les  serpents-a-sonnette  pour  les  cochons 
qui  s'en  regalent.  Les  Francais  n'aiment  pas  la  chair  blanche  des 
cocodrilles  de  la  riviere,  parfois  de  vingt  pieds  de  long  et  de  quatre 
a  cinq  pieds  de  rondeur,  mais  les  cochons  font  la  cure'e  chaque 
fois  qu'on  en  extermine  un. 

Avec  son  frere  et  quelques  compagnons,  M.  de  la  Salle,  une  fois 
de  plus  retourne  a  la  baie.  M.  Duhaut  qui  a  mis  toutes  ses  Economies 
dans  l'aventure  prend  tres  mal  son  e'ehec  et  l'accuse  d'incapacite". 
c  Que  diable,  crie-t-il  au  nez  de  Joutel  scandalise^  quand  on  ne 
sait  pas  oil  est  un  pays,  on  n'y  vient  pas  1  » 

On  a  ensemence',  mais  le  grain  vient  mal.  Les  vingt  poules  pondent 
bien  et  les  soixante-dix  cochons  engraissent,  mais  les  citrouilles  et 
les  chicories,  comme  tous  les  autres  legumes  sont  d^vorees  par  les 
insectes  et  les  animaux  aussitot  qu'elles  Invent.  Le  soleil  a  tant 
re'trexi  les  peaux,  que  le  toit  de  1'habitation  est  a  moitie'  d^couvert, 
on  fait  provision  d'ecorce  pour  recommencer  la  toiture. 

En  Mars  1686,  M.  de  la  Salle  et  ses  compagnons  reviennent  de 
leurs  vaines  errances,  les  pieds  en  sang  et  les  vetements  en  charpie. 
<  Mon  pauvre  monsieur  l'abbe\  remarque  Joutel,  dans  toute  votre 
soutanelle  on  ne  trouverait  pas  de  quoi  envelopper  pour  deux  liards 
de  sel.  >  Dans  un  village,  ils  ont  de"couvert  des  enclumes,  une  couleu- 


LA     LOU1SIANE     FRANCHISE 


istille,     | 
en  dc     I 


vrine  de  bronze  et  une  plaque  de  cuivre  aux  arraes  de  Castillo, 
datee  de  1588,  dont  les  sauvages  ont  oublie  la  provenance,  rien  dc 
plus. 

A  la  fin  d'Avril,  apres  avoir  ecoute  pieusement  la  messe  et  recti 
une  benediction  qui  s' impose,  M.  de  la  Salle  repart  avec  vingt 
hommes.  Tous  ses  effets  sont  sur  la  Belle,  qui  etudie  la  cote,  pour 
s'equiper  il  a  distribue  aux  vivants  les  hardes  des  morts  et  dans  le 
grand  baudrier  de  Joutel,  on  2  taille  des  souliers  pour  lui  et  son 
frere  1'abbe. 

II  est  ft  peine  reparti  que  le  Marquis  de  la  Sablonniere  et  plusieurs 
autres  em  barques  sur  la  Belle,  font  une  apparition  desolee.  lis  ont 
atteint  le  point  indiqul  par  M.  de  la  Salle,  cotnme  l'eau  douce 
manquaii,  Planterose,  le  maitre  de  barque  et  six  matelots  sont  partis 
a  terre,  en  chaloupe.  On  ne  les  a  pas  revu.  A  bord,  n'ayant  rien  pour 
apaiser  leur  soif  et  peu  de  chose  a  manger,  plusieurs  matelots  sont 
morts,  puis  le  vent  s'est  leve,  il  ne  restait  plus  un  marin  d'experience, 
chacun  a  fail  de  son  mieux,  ce  n'etait  pas  suffisant,  faut-il  croire, 
le  batimem  a  echoue  sur  un  banc  de  sable  et  s'est  brise. 

Sans  chaloupe,  on  a  fait  deux  cajeux  de  planches  arrimees  sur  des 
barriques,  le  premier  a  sombre  avec  deux  hommes,  les  autres  se 
sont  sauves  sur  le  second,  avec  quelques  hardes  et  les  papiers  de 
M.  de  la  Salle,  ils  rapportent  son  bcl  habit  bleu,  galonne  d'or,  et  un 
habit  ecarlate.  A  terre,  ils  ont  trouve  un  canot  cache  par  une  de 
leurs  expeditions  precedentes,  et  les  voila,  fourbus,  affames  et  de- 
courages. 

Joutel,  les  soigne,  galvanise  son  petit  monde,  <  parce  que  Voisiveti 
tngendre  bien  sauvent  I'ennuy  et  Vimpatience  »,  il  fait  doucement 
travailler  et  le  soir  pousse  chacun  a  se  divertir  en  chantant  et 
dansant. 

II  y  a  sept  femrnes  au  fort  :  des  paysannes,  la  veuve  Talon,  dont 
le  mari,  soldat  canadien,  est  mort  recemmem  et  qui  a  Spouse,  pres- 
que  sur  le  champ,  un  autre  militaire,  parce  qu'elle  aime  l'uniforme  ; 
une  femme  qui  repete  a  tout  venant  qu'elle  est  la  cousine  du  cure 
de  Saim-Eustaehe,  comme  si  c'etait  la  un  titre  de  gloire  irrifuuble. 
la  veuve  Talon  ne  la  croit  pas,  parce  qu'elle  n'a  pas,  trouve- t-elle, 
la  figure  de  quelqu'un  qui  serait  la  cousine  d'un  cure  de  nulle  pan  ; 
une  demoiselle  de  Saint-Jean  d'Ang&y,  et  une  demoiselle  c  de 
Pahs  >,  dont  on  n'en  sail  pas  plus  long. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

Des  idylles  ne  tardent  pas  a  s'ebaucher,  la  cousine  du  cure  de 

.  Eustache  suit  souvent  en  chasse  le  Lieutenant  Barbier,  pour 
aider  a  boucaner  la  viande,  on  en  fait  <  des  railleries  assez  bien 
fondees  »,  croit  Joutel.  lis  veulent  s'epouser,  Joutel  aimerait  qu'on 
attende  le  retour  de  M.  de  la  Salle,  mais  les  Peres,  inquiets,  ne  * 
pas  de  cet  avis,  si  Ton  doit  faire  une  ceremonie,  autant  la  faire  a 
temps. 

L'abbe  de  Chefdeville,  avec  un  soupir  de  satisfaction,  revet  son 
plus  beau  surplis,  il  n'a  officii  jusque-la  qua  des  funerailles.  En 
grande  pompe,  le  mariage  est  celebre  en  plein  air,  devant  la  c 

La  demoiselle  de  Paris  est  verte  d'envie  et  regarde  a  droite  et  a 
gauche.  II  y  a  ce  Marquis  de  la  Sablonniere,  un  grand  niais,  marqui 
des  suites  du  Petit-Goave,  qui  court  apres  tous  les  jupons.  Elle  jette 
sur  lui  son  devolu,  parce  qu'elle  n'est  pas  tres  exigeame  et  qu'il 
est  marquis.  Lui  veut  bien  I'epouser,  puisque  tout  le  monde  s'^pouse, 
mais  Joutel,  cet  empecheur  de  danser  en  rond,  s'y  oppose,  parce 
qu'il  ne  trouve  pas  convenable  qu'on  se  marie  dans  un  pareil  etat 
de  sant£.  C'est  un  beau  vacarme  dans  l'habitation  des  femmes,  oil 
les  voix  montent  d'une  tierce  et  donnent  la  quarte. 

Pendant  ce  temps,  M.  de  la  Salle,  parti  avec  un  certain  Hiens, 
engage1  a  St.  Domingue,  un  savant  lutherien  du  Wurtemberg  de 
passe1  flibustier,  qui  sail  l'anglais  et  les  mathematiques,  avec  le  reste 
de  ses  compagnons  marche  vers  l'Est  dans  la  savane. 

La  petite  troupe  est  attaquee  par  des  Chinanoas,  plus  loin  une 
riviere  large  les  oblige  a  fabriquer  des  cajeux  de  branches.  Un 
instant,  M.  de  la  Salle  a  cru  que  c'etait  la  sa  precieuse  riviere  si 
bien  cachee,  mais  des  sauvages  l'ont  detrompe. 

Dans  un  village  des  Cenis,  autour  duquel  des  chevaux  paissent, 
bien  que  ce  soil  un  animal  tres  rare  chez  les  nations,  il  decouvre 
de  I'argenterie,  des  ecus  d'Espagne  et  un  exemplaire  de  la  bulle 
pontificale,  exemptant  le  Mexique  du  jeune,  pendant  l'ete\  Sur  une 
ecorce  les  Cenis  font  un  trace'  grossier  indiquant  qu'ils  sont  a  six 
jours  de  marche  d'un  poste  espagnol. 

Le  charme  des  femmes  Nassonnites  paraft  irresistible  aux  Fran- 
cats,  qui  s'attardent  pour  faire  soigner  M.  dc  la  Salle,  empoisonn£ 
par  des  baies.  Quatre  d'entre  eux,  incapables  de  s'arracher  a  leurs 
bras,  de'sertent. 

On  a  franchi  cent  cinquante  lieues,  on  devrait  aller  plus  loin, 
mais  les  munitions  sont  presque  epuisees  et  les  hommes  aussi,  M. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

de  la  Salle  est  encore  faible.  A  contre-cceur,  il  donne  l'ordre  du 
ret  our. 

Le  triste  retour,  vingt  sont  partis  et  huit  reviennent  :  du  Mesnil 
a  £t£  devore  par  un  crocodile  en  traversant  une  riviere  a  la  nage  : 
Clerc,  Hurie1  et  le  jeune  Duhaut.  souffrants,  1'ont  quitti  pour  ren- 
trer  au  fort,  mais  il  ne  les  irouve  pas  a  son  arrivee,  il  faut  les  porter 
di  spar  us  :  Bihorel  s'est  egare  ;  quatre  ont  d£sert£  chez  les  Cenis. 

Duhaut  raine*  g£mit,  lance  des  imprecations,  accuse  M.  de  la 
Salle.  11  etait  tres  attache"  a  son  benjamin. 

J outel  n'a  pas  de  meilleures  nouvelles  a  annoncer.  En  leur  absence, 
trois  personnes,  dont  le  chirurgien  Thibault,  ont  &i£  enter-rees,  et 
la  perte  de  la  Belle  confond  M.  de  la  Salle,  cVtait  son  dernier 
espoir,  si  tout  le  reste  manquant,  il  fallait  aller  chercher  du  secours 
a  St.  Domingue.  De  son  voyage,  il  n'a  appr^cu*  que  le  territoire  des 
Cenis.  «  C'est  un  pais  enchantez,  explique-t-il,  tant  pour  la  nourri- 
ture  que  pour  faire  des  itablissements  aisez.  > 

La  rentr^e  d'une  expedition  £tait  auparavant  le  signal  des  rt- 
jouissances,  on  se  retrouvait  en  famille,  on  se  sentait  les  coudes, 
Cette  fois  tout  le  monde  est  trop  las,  trap  endeuille"  pour  qu'il  soit 
question  de  se  rejouir. 

Seules,  les  femmes  ont  conserve1  leur  vitality  et  l'agiliti  de  leur 
langue.  La  Vve  Talon  et  la  femme  Barbier  passionn^ment  se  chi- 
canent,  parce  que  Sa  Majeste\  par  lettre-patente,  a  accord^  la  no- 
blesse au  premier  n6  des  colonies  francaises  de  l'Amerique. 

La  Vve  Talon,  qui  avail  deja  trois  enfants,  a  accouche  en  mer, 
et  la  femme  Barbier  est  enceinte.  La  premiere  estime  que  le  vaisseau 
etait  le  commencement  de  la  colonie,  et  la  seconde  est  sure  que 
colonie  vcut  dire  terre  ferme.  chacune  a  ses  partisans. 

Main  tenant  que  M.  de  la  Salle  est  la,  un  semblant  de  vie  normale 
s'enchaJne.  La  recolte  de  grain  n'a  pas  ete  trop  mauvaise,  les 
potagers,  mieux  proteges,  r^ussissent.  La  petite  colonie  si  perdue, 
en  fail  elle  ne  sail  pas  ou  elle  se  irouve,  c^Iebre  la  Noel  de  1686. 

Dans  la  nuit  tiede.  on  se  rend  amour  de  la  croix  qui  sen  de 
chapelle.  II  n'y  a  pas  de  lanternes,  pas  de  cierges,  la  vote  lactee  iclaire 
suffisaniment.  Un  autel  soigne"  a  itt  prepare,  garni  de  deux  brassies 
de  fleurs  Granges,  le  clerge"  a  rev£tu  ses  plus  beaux  ornements  sacer- 
dotaux,  qui  chatoient  mysterieusement  a  cette  heure  insolite. 

Le  Pere  Zenobe,  pour  sonncr  les  douze  coups  de  minuit,  agile  sa 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANCHISE  43 

tintenelle.  qui  detache  dans  le  desert  endormi  des  sons  greles, 
pitoyablement  fragiles. 

L'Abbe  de  Chefdeville,  chapelain  du  fort,  assiste  par  1'Abbe 
Cavelier,  officie.  Des  voix  maladroites  eparpillent  a  contre  temps, 
dans  l'immense  clarte  lunaire  . 

«  II  est  ne",  le  divin  enfant,  > 

«  Jouez  hautbois,  rdsonnez  musettes  >... 

Au  fond  de  la  plaine,  le  meuglement  des  bisons  leur  envoie  la 
reponse  d'une  creche  sauvage.  Des  larmes  roulent  dans  le  coeur 
de  plusieurs,  qui  se  sentent  si  loin  du  doux  pays  de  Caux. 

Le  i«  Janvier  1687,  on  festoie.  On  a  sacrifie  un  gargoussin,  il  y 
a  des  langues  de  bceuf  pour  supplementer  les  boudins  et  les  an- 
douilles,  des  feves  recemment  recoltees,  des  compotes  de  fruits  sees, 
qui  murirent  au  soleil  de  1'IIe-de-France.  On  se  fait  les  compliments 
dusage. 

M.  de  la  Salle  a  revfitu  son  habit  bleu,  passemente  d'or,  et  sa  per- 
ruque.  un  tantinet  echevele.  Ce  n'est  plus  un  heroi'que  vagabond, 
aujourd'hui  il  est  Vice-Roy  de  l'Amerique  Septentrionale,  bien  qu'il 
ne  sache  pas  tres  bien  ou  est  son  royaume.  II  represente  la  France. 

Les  femmes  echangent  des  jolivetes,  mises  en  reserve  pour  quelque 
circonstanee  extraordinaire,  les  poupees  ont  des  robes  neuves  tail- 
lees  dans  les  vieux  sarreaux  et  les  gamins  des  sifflets  de  roseaux  et 
des  arcs. 

On  s'accroche  a  toutes  les  brindilles  pour  trouver  une  occasion 
de  sourire.  On  tire  les  Rois,  le  beurre  est  absent,  mais  les  femmes 
ont  fait  des  gaieties  a  la  graisse  d'andouille  pour  cacher  la  feve.  Le 
roi,  la  reine  et  leurs  sujets  trinquent  a  l'eau  pour  ne  pas  diminuer 
la  petite  provision  de  vin,  reservee  aux  messes.  On  s'encourage  avec 
des  couplets  gaulois. 

Trois  femmes  rient  grassement  parce  qu'elles  ont  trouve  un 
homme  dans  cette  solitude  et  sont  presqu'heureuses. 

M.  de  la  Salle,  lui,  sait  que  la  situation  actuelle  ne  pent  pas  (hirer. 
On  ne  peut  vivre  ainsi,  sans  savoir  sur  quel  point  du  globe  on  pose 
ses  pieds.  L'homme  a  besoin  de  relativite  et  de  continuite. 

On  se  prepare  deja  a  repartir,  pour  faire  du  linge  aux  voyageurs, 
on  met  en  pieces  les  draps  de  lit  et  on  taille  des  habits  dans  les  voiles 
sauvees  de  la  Belle. 

Le  is  Janvier,  les  adieux  recommencent,  un  peu  plus  dechirants 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISK 


I 


que  les  precedents.  Le  pere  Zenobe  assure  a  M.  Joutel  <  que  jamais 
separation  ne  luy  avoit  iti  si  sensible  ». 

Sous  le  com  man  dement  du  Lieutenant  Barbier,  vingi  hommes 
restent  au  fort. 

La  petite  troupe  reprend  l'ancien  itineraire,  avec  les  m£mes  diffi- 
cultes  :  mauvais  terrains  mouchetes  de  bois-piquants,  rivieres  dont 
on  ne  trouve  pas  toujours  le  gue\  pluies  diluviennes.  Un  homrne 
est  tue  par  une  fleche,  Ruiter  deserte. 

Presque  chaque  jour  on  rencontre  des  sauvages,  M.  de  la  Salle 
a  interdit  loute  brutalitc,  il  cherche  a  se  les  concilier  avec  de  la 
rassade  et  des  bouts  de  tabac.  Dans  les  villages  la  nouvelle  se  reparni 
des  bons  traitements  des  Francais,  les  sauvages  viennent  les  caresser 
a  leur  maniere. 

Le  sol  defoncd  fait  trdbucher.  Les  quantiers  ou  mocassins  en 
peau  de  chevreuil,  mal  passee,  se  racomissent  avec  la  chaleur 
et  blcssent,  quand  on  en  a  l'occasion,  on  plonge  les  pieds  dans  1'eau 
pour  les  ramollir  ;  ils  s'usent  tres  vite,  il  taut  sans  cesse  les  remplaccr. 

Dans  un  village  Cenis,  on  a  traite  des  chevaux  contre  des  h  aches, 
pour  porter  les  fardeaux.  Depuis  deux  mois,  on  marche,  maigrement 
nourris.  On  a  du  gibier,  mais  pas  un  chanteau  de  pain,  et  pas  de  sel. 

M.  de  la  Salle,  extraordinairemem  endurci  lui-meme,  ne  supporte 
pas  la  faiblesse  et  le  decouragement  chez  les  auires,  il  exige  de  tous 
la  vaillance  dont  il  donne  l'exemple.  C'est  demander  beaucoup  a 
de  simples  hommes,  1' effort  continu  ddpasse  1'endurance  des  medio- 
cre). 

Duhaut,  pour  qui  la  grande  aventure  a  si  mal  tourn-*,  l'a  pris  en 
baine  avec  tous  les  siens,  le  tient  pour  responsable  de  la  mort  de 
son  frere. 

Le  17  mars  1687,  avec  un  deUchement  d'hommes,  a  une  cer- 
taine  distance  du  camp,  il  chasse  et  boucane  les  bceufs.  M.  de  la 
Salle  a  envoyd  vers  eux  son  neveu  et  ses  domestiques  pour  rapporter 
de  la  viande  fralche  au  camp,  et  Moranget  a  die  tres  irrite  de  trouver 
tous  les  bceufs  boucanes  et  les  bons  morceaux  mangds  par  les  chas- 
seurs. 

La  joumee  a  ete"  dure  et  agitee,  dans  l'herbe  haute,  il  dort  avec 
Nika  et  Sager,  le  valet. 

Autour  du  feu  qui  se  consume  avec  des  petits  sursauts.  Duhaut. 
Hiens,  Lanqueiot,  Tessier  et  Larcheveque  en  viennent  aux  confi* 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE  45 

dences.  Tous  tnettent  en  commun  leurs  rancceurs  et  cela  fait  une 
£norme  somme  d' animosity. 

A  force  de  parler,  ils  se  grisent  de  leur  propre  deception.  Les  void 
en  pleine  deraison.  Le  chirurgien  Lanquet&t  saute  sur  une  hache 
et,  feVocement,  en  ahanant,  massacre  les  trois  dorraeurs. 

La  riviere  qui  se'pare  les  chasseurs  du  camp  a  gondii  en  leur 
absence  et  retards  leur  retour.  M.  de  la  Salle  inquiet,  le  19,  avec 
le  pere  Anasta.se  Douay,  part  a  leur  rencontre,  en  recommandant  a 
Joutel  d'entretenir  le  feu,  qui  sen  de  point  de  repere. 

II  rencontre  Lancelot  et  lui  demande  ou  est  son  neveu.  Sans  mot 
dire,  Lancelot  montre  du  doigt  un  tourbillon  noir  de  vautours, 
masse  a  une  demi  lieue. 

Sans  comprendre,  il  pose  la  merae  question  a  Larcheveque,  qui 
vient  d'apparaitre.  c  Oh,  repond  celui-ci,  il  est  parti  a  la  derive,  en 
fourchant  la  riviere.  » 

Avant  qu'il  ait  fini  sa  phrase,  M.  de  la  Salle  sYcroule,  face  contre 
terre,  la  tfite  trouee  d'une  balle  tir£e  par  Duhaut,  dissimule-  dans 
un  four  re. 

Tous  les  complices  sortent  de  l'embuscade.  Terrific,  le  pere  Douay 
tombe  a  genoux,  ne  demandant  que  le  temps  de  se  mettre  en  regie 
avec  Dieu,  mais  il  parait  que  les  a  Litres  ne  lui  veulent  aucun  mal. 

Lanqueldt,  dont  toute  la  haine  remonte  aux  levres,  donne  de 
grands  coups  de  pieds  a  l'homme  intripide,  qu'on  vient  d'abattre 
dans  sa  43™°  anne'e.  II  lui  crie  sa  jalousie  d'etre  interieur  :  <  Ah 
te  voila,  grand  bacha,  te  voila  !  > 

Les  autres  l'arretent  pour  pouvoir  dipouiller  le  cadavre  ;  en 
ricanant,  on  lui  arrache  ses  vitements,  pourtant  bten  piteux,  son 
pauvre  linge  effilochA 

Hiens  et  Lanquetflt  prennent  le  corps  nu,  par  les  pieds  et  par 
la  t£te,  le  balancent,  une,  deux,  trois  1  et  le  corps  est  lancif  dans 
le  roncier-  —  Un  beau  sou per  pour  les  mauvaises  bites,  Messei- 
gneurs  I 

Le  soir.  au  camp,  tout  le  monde  tremble.  L'abbe"  Cavelier  a  fait 
le  sacriBce  de  sa  vie  en  son  for  interieur.  D'abord,  pour  rassurer, 
Duhaut  repete  d'un  air  hibeie'  :  «  C'est  tout,  c'itait  un  coup  de 
'r,  un  coup  de  ddsespoir  comme  ca,  mais  c'est  tout  1  > 

Apres  un  temps,  il  retrouve  sa  superbe  et  d'autoriti  prend  le 


4°  LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN9AISE 

commandement  :  <  C'est  moi  le  chef  et  on  m'obeit.  »  Deja  ses 
complices  coramencent  a  gromraeler.  Dans  1'ombre,  les  religieux, 
a  genoux,  prient  pour  les  disparus,  dont  aucune  tombe  ne  marquera 
la  place. 

La  bande  decimee  repart  au  hasard.  Devant  elle,  un  cavalier 
basan£,  magnifiquement  vetu  d'un  pourpoint  de  soie  bleue  a 
manche  de  fuiaine  blanche  brodee,  d'une  culotte  claire  ajustee,  de 
bas  des  tame  blancs  et  d'un  chapeau  plat  a  l'espagnol,  debouche, 
accorapagne"  de  deux  hommes  nus,  aussi  a  cheval  et  d'une  cavale 
grise  chargee  de  deux  banneites  de  canne. 

Malgre"  sa  noble  mise,  c'est  un  sauvage,  qui  a  visite"  jadis  un 
presidio  espagnol,  ou  il  s'esi  procure  ces  atours.  Le  chef  du  village 
voisin,  ayant  appris  la  presence  des  Franca  is,  leur  envoie  les  deux 
hottes,  plelnes  de  farine  grdlee  de  ble"  d'Inde,  et  les  prie  de  s'arreter 
chez  lui. 

Le  Chef  et  ses  guerriers,  jius  sous  une  peau  de  chevreuil,  passee 
en  sautoir,  les  atiendent.  £n  les  apercevant  ils  levent  les  bras  au 
ciel,  et  caressant  leurs  visiteurs,  font  de  grands  hurlements  de 
bienvenue. 

lmmediatement,  on  se  trouve  en  pays  de  connaissance,  des  hommes 
nus  leur  sautent  au  cou.  II  y  a  la  plusieurs  dfaerteurs  du  fort  St. 
Louis  ;  Ruter,  le  Breton,  Francois  Provencal. 

Le  village  est  forme  d'une  longue  cabane  reservee  aux  assemblers 
et  de  grandes  loges  rondes,  dans  chacune  desquelles  une  vingtaine 
de  families  vivent  dans  leurs  meubles,  sans  aucune  separation  entre 
les  logements.  Au  milieu,  un  feu  de  longs  arbres  joints  chauffe  toute 
1' habitation. 

Le  visage  des  hommes  est  Uirbouillc  de  noir  et  de  rouge,  leurs 
corps  sont  piques  de  dessins  d'animaux  et  de  fleurs.  Les  femmes, 
habillies  seulement  dune  courte  jupe  de  natte,  sont  piquees  j  usque 
sur  les  seins  de  feuillage  et  d'ornements  geometriques.  Elles  servenl 
aux  voyageurs  la  sagamite,  des  melons  d'eau,  des  courges  et  des 
feves  rouges. 

Les  Krancais,  repus  et  reposes,  se  divisent  en  deux  camps.  Duhaut 
et  les  auires  assassins  veulent  rctourner  au  fort  St.  Louis,  fabriquer 
un  bateau  et  gagner  St.  Domingue. 

Les  gens  honnftes  prtferem  remonter  vers  la  Nouvelle-France. 
Cet  itineraire,  maintenant,  tente  Duhaut,  qui  decide  de  les  a 
pagner. 


LA     LOU1SIANE    FRANfAISE 


47 


Hiens  s'en  tient  a  sa  premiere  idee  et  s'empare  de  sa  part  de 

tin,  seance  lenante  il  revet  1'habit  d'ecarlate  de  M.  de  la  Salle, 
la  doublure  duquel  on  a  cousu  quelques  pieces  d'or,  leguees 
un  decede  a  ses  parents  de  France. 

Duhaut  n'a  aucune  intention  de  partager  et  veut  reprendre 
1'habit.  Son  avarice  lui  reussit  inal.  Hiens  lui  envoie  une  balle 
dans  la  t£te,  et  Ruter  en  envoie  trois  dans  celle  de  Lanquetdt,  qui 
a  dit  ne  pas  aimer  ces  manieres. 

Ruter  endosse  1'habit  bleu  du  Viceroy  et  entame  une  transaction 
avec  l'Abbe  Cavelier  :  il  lui  rendra  les  papiers  de  son  frere  s'il 
lui  signe  un  billet  certifiant  qu'il  n'a  pas  participe  au  meurtre  de 
M.  de  la  Salle. 

L'Abbe  s'execute.  Le  certificat  ne  sert  pas  a  grand  chose,  car 
Hiens  et  Ruter,  apres  une  querelle  violente,  s'entretuent. 

L'Abbe  traite  ses  couteaux  et  ses  aiguilles  pour  un  cheval,  du 
Me  d'Inde  et  des  feves.  Les  Francais  repartent  en  confiant  leur 

le  a  Dieu,  qui  n'en  veut  pas  —  faut-il  croire  —  sur  le  champ,  car 

•es  des  semaines  de  marche  et  de  privations,  ils  arrivent  sur  la 
riviere  des  Arkansas. 

II  ne  reste  aucune  pacotille,  l'Abbe  reunit  les  rosaires,  en  fait 

des  colliers  et  des  bracelets,  qu'il  traite  pour  un  canot,  dans  un 

village  de  la  rive.  Sur  l'Arkansas,  ils  rencontrent  deux  Rouennais, 

de  Launay  et  Couture,  un  charpentier,  detaches  du  Fort  St. 

uis  des  Islinois,  pour  batir  ce  petit  fort  St.  Etienne.  lis  accueillent 
voyageurs  avec  transport  et  les  restaurent.  La  suite  du  voyage 
parah  a  tous  un  jeu  d'enfant,  apres  la  misere  qu'ils  ont  subie. 

Par  le  Fleuve  St.  Louis  et  la  riviere  des  Islinois,  ils  atteignent 
le  morne  sur  lequel  le  Fort  St.  Louis  se  dresse,  command^  par  M. 
de  Belle-Fontaine,  en  l'absence  du  Gouverneur  qualifie,  le  Che- 
valier de  Tonti,  a  qui  M.  de  la  Salle,  avant  de  repartir  en  France, 
a  adjoint  le  Chevalier  de  Bogia,  son  parent. 

Le  Chevalier  de  Tonti,  ayant  appris  que  M.  de  la  Salle  avait 
quitte  la  France  pour  faire  un  etablissement,  est  descendu  quelques 
mois  plus  tot  jusqu'a  I'embouchure  de  la  riviere  pour  l'aider,  et 
vainement  a  cherche  tous  les  chenaux  et  les  cours  d'eau.  II  est 
revenu  Men  chagrine  de  son  echec. 

Les  Francais,  qui,  pour  des  raisons  mysterieuses,  cachent  la  mort 

;  M.  de  la  Salle,  reprennent  leurs  forces  au  fort.  Comme  le  pere 
kfarquette,  l'Abbe  Cavelier  s'eprend  de  cette  region.  <  Le  pais  des 


Me 
am* 
apr, 
nvr 
I 
des 

M.' 
Loi 
ces 


48  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

Islinois  est  acompli,  icrit  il,  non  settlement  pour  Vornemen,  mats 
encore  pour  tout  ce  qui  est  nicessaire  &  la  vie  humaine.  » 

Sans  encombre,  guides  par  des  conducteurs  sauvages,  en  passant 
par  le  fort  des  Miamis,  oh  M.  de  Lude  commande,  et  le  Fort  St. 
Joseph,  dirigl  par  M.  de  la  Durantay,  les  survivants  traversent  les 
lacs,  remontent  vers  Montreal  et  Quebec  oh  Us  arrivent  le  27  juillet 
1688,  et  s'embarquent  pour  la  France. 

Pendant  ce  temps,  le  Fort  St.  Louis,  de  M.  de  la  Salle,  a  eu  une 
fin  tragique.  Les  Clamcoets  ayant  observe  le  depart  d'une  partie 
des  Fran9ais,  ont  attaqud  et  massacre  tous  les  habitants,  k  l'excep- 
tion  des  trois  enfants  Talon  et  du  petit  Eustache  de  Brlman,  que, 
deux  ans  plus  tard,  Alonzo  de  Leon,  en  explorant  pour  le  compte 
de  Philippe  II,  anxieux  de  d£barrasser  le  Mexique  de  tout  Itablis- 
sement  Stranger,  retrouvera  dans  un  village  sauvage  et  offrira  k  la 
Comtesse  de  Gabez,  la  femme  du  vice-roy,  qui  les  attachera  k  sa 
personne  et  plus  tard  les  raminera  en  France. 

De  l'ltablissement,  il  ne  verra  qu'un  fort  de  bois,  plein  d'osse- 
ments  humains,  et  dans  la  baie  qu'on  a  baptist  St.  Bernard,1  une 
coque  6chou6e. 


L  Tana. 


Une  brise  legere  gonfle  les  voiles  des  cinq  batiraents,  battant  pavil- 
ion dc  France,  dont  les  etraves,  par  ce  beau  Janvier  1699,  laminent 
l'cau  moiree  du  Golfe  du  Mexique. 

La  petite  flotte  range  la  c6te,  qui  du  gaillard  d'avant  est  observee 
avec  beaucoup  d'attention.  Quand  elle  arrive  en  vue  d'une  echan- 
crure,  une  chaloupe  se  detache  en  reconnaissance.  La  baie  Achusi 
upee  par  deux  vaisseaux  ;  trois  cents  Espagnols  de  Vera-Cruz 
sont  en  lasses,  aupres  d'un  village  sauvage,  dans  un  miserable  petit 
fort  qu'ils  appellent  Pensacola,  sous  les  ordres  de  Don  Andres  de 
la  Riola,  qui  recok  les  et  rangers  fort  civilement,  mais  leur  fait 
comprendre  qu'il  est  chez  lui,  si  bien  comprendre  en  fait  que  M.  de 
Lescalette  et  ses  chaloupiers  dissimulent  le  but  de  leur  voyage.  lis 
pretendent  etre  a  la  recherche  de  quelques  Canadiens  cgarcs,  et 
gagnent  leur  bord. 

Lentement,  la  flotte  continue  sa  route,  a  quelque  distance  du 
rivage,  pour  n'en  rien  perdre.  Chaque  fois  qu'il  s'infiechit,  des 
chaloupes  partem,  furettent  dans  chaque  anse.  Indecis,  les  batiments 
mouillent  dans  la  petite  rade  d'une  lie,  une  lie  blanche,  reposant 
tomme  un  os  de  seiche  sur  1'eau  jacinthe  :  sept  lieues  plates  de  sable, 
tres  chaud  malgre  la  saison,  terminees  par  une  pinede,  flanquee  de 
elques  cypres. 

Nulle  part  l*ile  ne  depasse  un  quart  de  lieue  de  large,  on  l'ap- 
pelle  c  du  Massacre  >,  parce  que  des  ossements  humains  font  des 
grands  tas  blanchatres. 

Les  vaisseaux  arrivent  de  la  Rochelle,  d'ou  ils  sont  partis  le  »6 
Septembre  precedent  :  deux  fregates  du  Roi  de  trente  canons,  la 
Badine,  le  porte-flamme,  commandee  par  M,  d'Ibberville,  le  Marin, 
commanded  par  M.  de  Surgeres,  deux  traversiers  du  Port,  de  quarante 
tonneaux.  Depuis  St.  Domingue,  ils  ont  6te  convoyed  par  le  Fran- 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

feu,  frigate  de  cinquante  cations,  sous  les  ordres  du  Marquis  Jou- 
bert  de  Chateaumorant,  qui,  fort  sagement,  s'est  fait  lui-meme  piloter 
par  un  mbustier  d'envergure,  Laurent  de  Graai,  autrement  dit  M. 
de  Grave,  Hollandais  francisi,  philosopbe  et  loyal  A  ses  heures, 
qui  conn  ait  les  abords  et  les  courants  du  Guile,  pour  y  avoir  pirate 
un  brin. 

Pierre  le  Moyne  d'Ibberville,  Lieutenant  de  la  Marine,  commande 
l'exp£di(ion.  C'est  un  homme  de  haute  stature  de  trente-sept  ans, 
qui  a  grande  allure  avec  sa  lourde  perruque  boudee  encadrant  son 
intelligente  figure  basanee,  un  homme  <  aussi  militairc  que  son 
ipie  >  a  dit  M.  Gautier  de  Compene,  le  Directeur  de  la  Compagnie 
du  Nord. 

C'est  un  Canadicn,  le  troisieme  fils  d'un  cabaretier  de  Dieppe, 
Charles  le  Moyne,  venu  avec  quelques  ecus  au  Canada,  lorsque  la 
Sodete"  de  Ville-Marie  a  demande  des  volontaires.  D'esprit  doux  et 
pieux,  il  s'est  <  donne  >  pour  quatre  ans  aux  Jesuites  evangelisant  les 
Iroquois,  dont  il  a  appris  la  langue,  a  ete  interprete  a  Trois- Rivieres, 
et  s'est  enfin  install^  en  1657,  en  face  de  Montreal,  dans  la  terre  de 
Longueil,  plus  tard  erigee  en  seigneurie  et  conceded  avec  droits  de 
haute  moyenne  et  basse  justice.  De  sa  femme,  Catherine  Primot, 
orpheline  de  Rouen.il  a  eu  quatorze  enfants,  dont  neuf  fils. 

Get  officier  criant  des  ordres,  Pierre  le  Moyne,  Sieur  d'Ibberville, 
a  toujours  entendu  parler  de  la  Louisiane  par  les  Jesuites,  les  cou- 
reursKle-bois  et  les  Iroquois  pour  lesquels  son  pere  servait  de  trait- 
d'union.  Bien  souvem.  dans  son  enfance,  avec  ses  freres  favoris, 
Francois- Marie,  Sieur  de  Sauvolles  de  Villantray,  Antoine,  Sieur  de 
Chateauguay,  Joseph,  Sieur  de  Serigny,  Jacques,  Sieur  de  Ste  Helene, 
Jean-Baptiste,  Sieur  de  Bienville,  il  a  evoque  la  Grande  Riviere, 
coulant  vers  les  pays  sans  neige,  un  phenomene  qui,  pour  des 
enfants  canadiens,  paraissait  tenir  du  miracle. 

A  quatorze  ans,  il  etait  garde-marine  ;  a  vingt-cinq  arts  enseigne 
de  vaisseau  et  sol  da  t  aguerri.  Tres  vite,  il  s'est  couvert  de  gloire. 
En  1685,  pour  le  compte  de  la  Cie  du  Nord,  avec  deux  de  ses  freres 
et  une  ten  tain  e  d'homme,  il  a  enleve  aux  Anglais,  dans  la  Baie 
d'Hudson,  les  forts  Moose,  Charles  et  Albany  ;  dans  un  canot 
d'ecorce,  avec  neuf  Canadiens,  U  s'est  empare  a  l'abordage  d'un 
batiment  anglais  de  douze  canons  ;  en  1689,  avec  quatorze  soldats, 
il  a  victorieusement  defendu  le  fort  Ste.  Anne,  attaque  par  deux 
navires  ;  I'annee  suivante,  sur  ses  raquettes  a  neige,  il  a  participe 


LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRANfAlSE  51 

a  l'expcdition  contre  Schenectady,  un  village  important  de  Hol- 
landals. 

En  1694,  il  a  repris  dans  le  nord  le  fort  Bourbon,  biii  en  168s 
par  Radisson  et  Chouard  des  Groseilliers  ;  en- 1696,  s'est  empare 
dans  la  Baie  de  Fundy,  du  fort  Pemaquid  ;  a  Terre-Neuve,  a  enleve 
les  forts  Nelson  et  St.  John  ;  enfin,  reparti  dans  la  Baie  d'Hudson 
sur  le  Pelican,  navire  de  cinquante  canons,  manie  par  cent  cinquante 
hommes  valides,  en  1697,  il  a  rencontre  trois  vaisseaux  anglais  de 
124  canons,  a  coule  le  Hampshire,  oblige  I'Hudson  Bay  a  se  rendre 
et  mis  en  fuite  le  Dehring,  avant  de  prendre  le  fort  Nelson. 

Le  Comte  de  Pontchartrain,  Ministre  de  la  Marine,  decourage 
par  l'echec  de  M.  de  la  Salle,  a  mal  accueilli  les  ouvertures  du  Che- 
valier de  Tonti,  et  en  decembre  1697,  celles  du  Chevalier  de  Remon- 
ville,  fraicheinem  rentre  d'une  expedition  dans  les  Islinois  avec 
M.  le  Sueur,  geologiste  canadien,  qui  lui  proposait  d'etablir  sur 
le  neuve,  en  commun  avec  les  freres  Fouessin  et  quelques  amis,  une 
compagnie,  avant  que  William  Penn,  qui  deja  avait  envoy£  cin- 
quante Quakers  de  Pennsylvanie  sur  la  Ouabache,  puisse  atteindre 
le  Mississippi,  si  tel  etait  son  but. 

Lorsque  M.  d'lbberville,  a  son  tour,  a  offert  de  proceder  a  un 
etablissement  en  Louisiana,  le  Ministre  a  ete  conquis  par  l'air  d'in- 
trepidite  et  de  decision  de  ce  Canadien,  dont  le  passe  se  porte  garant 
du  futur. 

Bien  que,  depuis  douze  arts,  seuls  quelques  missionnaires  et  quel- 
ques trappeurs  s'y  soient  aventures,  on  parle  beaucoup  de  la  Loui- 
siane en  France.  Le  Pere  Hennepin,  tout  dolent  encore  de  ses 
mesaventures  chez  les  Sioux,  en  1684  a  publie  une  <  description  de 
la  Louisiane,  nouvellement  decouverte  au  Sud-Ouest  de  la  Nile 
France  »,  dedice  a  Sa  Majeste. 

c  Nous  avons  donne"  le  nom  de  la  Louisiane  a  cette  grande  Dt'- 
eouverte,  estant  persuadez  que  VOTRE  MAJESTE  ne  desapprou- 
veroit  pas  qu'une  partie  de  la  terre  arrosie  d'un  Fleuve  de  plus  de 
800  lieues  &  beaucoup  plus  grande  que  V Europe,  que  nous  pouvons 
appeler  les  delices  de  VAmirique  <&"  qui  est  capable  de  fournir  un 
grand  empire  Jul  dorenavant  conniie  sous  I'auguste  nom  de  LOUIS  ; 
afin  qu'elle  eut  par  Id  une  espece  de  droit  de  pritendre  a  I'honneur 
de  Sa  protection  &  espirer  Vavantage  de  luy  appartenir  »... 

c  //  semble,  SIRE,  que  Dieu  vous  aver,  destine'  pour  en  estre 
Maitre,  par  le  rapport  heureux  qu'it  y  a  de  voire  glorieux  no 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANf  AISE 

au  soleil,  qu'its  appellent  en  leur  langage  LOOIS,  &  auquel,  pour 
marque  de  leur  respect  &  de  leur  adoration,  avant  que  de  fumer  Us 
pre'sentent  leur  pipe  avec  ces  paroles  :  Tchentiouba  LOOIS  ;  c'est 
a  dire  fume  soleil.  Ainsi  le  nom  de  VOTRE  MAJESTE  est  a  torn 
momens  dans  leur  bouche,  ne  faisant  rien  qu'apres  rendu  hommage 
au  Soleil,  sous  ce  nom  de  LOVIS.  » 

Le  Pere  Hennepin  a  libe>alement  interpret^  pour  les  besoina  de 
la  cause,  le  salut  dont  les  Sioux  saluent  le  soleil  levant  <  ou'ie,  ouie !  > 

Le  Pere,  qui  devenait  encombrant  a  ii€  chasse  de  France  par  M. 
de  Louvois,  et  puis,  M.  de  la  Salle  ayant  bel  et  bien  disparu,  il  a 
eu  beau  jeu  pour  improviser.  Bien  viie,  il  a  preiendu  avoir  ete  le 
premier  a  decouvrir  1'embouchure  du  fieuve.  A  Utrecht,  en  1689 
il  a  detlie  a  Guillaume  d'Orange,  dont  il  convoitait  les  faveurs  «  La 
Nile  Decouverte  d'un  tres  grand  Pais  situe"  dans  I'AmSrique  »,  un 
recit  grandement  enjolive,  puis,  s'enhardissant  encore,  l'annee  sui- 
vante  <  Le  nouveau  voyage  d'un  Pais  plus  grand  que  VEurope  >,  qui 
netail  plus  qu'une  affabulation,  sans  ombre  de  veraciti. 

Racine  ei  Boileau  sourient  de  cette  literature  ampoulee,  mais 
le  nom  de  Louisiane,  dont  la  consonance  plait,  est  iamilierement 
employe  a  la  cour. 

Sur  les  batiments  fraichement  arrives  a  l'lle  du  Massacre,  une 
compagnie  de  la  marine,  deux  cents  colons,  avec  femmes  et  enf ants, 
des  Canadiens  libeY^s  du  service  en  France  apres  la  derniere  guerre 
ou  compagnons  de  M.  d'lbberville  a  la  Baie  d'Hudson,  ses  deux 
freres  Francois -Marie  de  Sauvolles  de  la  Villantray,  Li,  du  Roi,  et 
Jean-Baptiste  de  Bienville,  qui  a  dix-sept  ans  a  participe  a  la  fameuse 
bataille  devant  le  fort  Bourbon,  dans  laquelle  il  a  etd  blesse,  et 
a  maintenant  vingt  ans,  le  Pere  Anastase  Douay,  qui  vraiment  se 
d£courage  difficilement,  sont  entasses. 

Les  distractions  sont  rares,  on  s'amuse  a  ddnommer  les  !les  qu'on 
apercoit,  suivant  leurs  particularity  ou  les  evinements  qui  s'y  de- 
roulcnt.  Le  jeune  Penicault,  de  Rochefort,  qui  a  seize  ans  vient  de 
s'engager  au  service  de  Sa  Majeste,  comme  charpentier,  a  une 
imagination  feconde. 

II  y  a  1'ile  a  la  Come,  sur  laquelle  un  soldat  a  perdu  sa  corne  a 
poudre  :  l'lle  au  Vaisseau,  de  cinq  lieues  de  long,  boisee  et  fourmil- 
lante  de  rats,  devant  laquelle  on  mouille  dans  une  rade  namrelle  ; 
l'lle  aux  chats,  pleine  de  chats-pecheurs  qui,  a  marfe  basse  passem 
une  langue  gourmande  dans  le  baillement  des  hultres  et,  quelque- 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN^AISE 

fois,  pris  au  piege,  sont  obliges  d'attendre  la  maree  suivante  pour 
degager  une  patte  imprudente.  Pour  leur  tenir  compagnie,  on  laisse 
avec  eux  les  cochons  marrons,  c'est-a-dire  mi-sauvages,  qu'on  a  ameni 
de  St.  Domingue. 

II  y  a  l'ile  au  Breton,  autour  de  laquelle  d'enormes  poissons,  les 
grandes-ecailles,  font  des  sillages  brutaux  dans  l'eau  etale  ;  l'fle  dc 
la  Chandeleur,  signalee  ce  jour-la. 

Les  oddments  mouillent  entre  cette  lie  et  l'ile  au  vaisseau,  pour 
reconnaltre  la  passe  d'une  baie,  dans  laquelle  les  traversiers  s'en- 
gagent.  Ayant  fait  son  devoir,  le  Mis  de  Chateaumorant  ne  les  suit 
pas  ;  le  si  fevrier,  avec  M.  de  Grave,  il  retourne  a  ses  moutons,  ou 
plutot  a  ses  palmiers  de  St.  Domingue,  en  criant  <  Bonne  Chance  >, 
a  ceux  qui  restent. 

M.  de  Lesquelet  fait  decharger  dans  l'ile  au  Vaisseau  les  bois 
prepares  et  les  fournitures  apportees  sur  La  Radine  et  on  commence 
immediatement  a  assembler  felouques  et  biscayennes.  On  abat  quel- 
ques  pins  pour  les  terminer  et  monter  des  cabanes  de  poteaux. 

II  fait  grand  vent  et  des  eclairs,  des  hommes  sont  partis  en  cha- 
loupe  tftudier  la  terre  ferme,  dont  on  est  a  quatre  lieues.  Des  sau- 
vages  curieux  s'approchent  d'eux.  Par  signes,  on  les  persuade  d'aller 
jusqu'aux  vaisseaux,  tandis  que  M.  de  Bienville  restera  en  otage 
sur  la  c6te,  pour  les  rassurer.  A  bord,  on  leur  offre  des  haches  dont 
ils  se  montrent  enchantes,  n'ayant  eu  jusque  la  que  des  haches  de 
cailioux  dont  le  tranchant  est  use  en  biseau,  mais  on  comprend  diffi- 
cilement  leurs  explications.  lis  sont  de  la  nation  des  Biloxis,  t  la 
premiere  des  nations  »,  leur  nom  devient  celui  de  la  baie. 

A  leur  tour,  quatre-vingt  Bayagoulas  de  passage  visitent  les  bati- 
ments. lis  font  comprendre  qu'ils  habitent  sur  le  bord  d'une  grande 
riviere,  a  l'Ouest,  et  s'en  vont  guerroyer  contre  les  Mobiliens,  un 
pen  plus  loin  sur  le  Grand  Lac,  nom  par  lequel  ils  designent  la  mer, 
comme  toutes  les  nations. 

M.  d'Ibberville  cherche  le  Mississipi  et  pour  se  guider  il  n'a  que 
les  recits  fantastiques  du  Pere  Hennepin,  qui  n'a  jamais  mis  les 
pieds  dans  cette  region.  M.  de  la  Salle  a  ele  trop  loin,  M.  d'Ibber- 
ville s'est  arrets  trop  tfit. 

Laissant  son  monde  sur  les  vaisseaux,  le  a"}  Fevrier  1699,  avec  ses 

ux  freres,  le  Pere  Douay  et  trente  hommes,  tant  canadiens  que 

bustiers,  il  part  dans  deux  felouques,  armies  chacune  de  deux 


LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRAN^AISE 


a  tout  prut 


piemen  et  diargees  de  munitions  et  de  vivres.  II  faut  a  t 
trouver  cette  riviere,  qui  a  elude1  M.  de  la  Salle. 

Le  ciel  bitumens  est  maussade,  il  vente  fortement.  «  J'rai  la  vour 
que  commandez,  mais  les  ajcts  sont  point  bons.  Le  temps  peut 
s'abeaudir,  bien  sur,  mais  tant  qu'a  moi  j'ai  souleur  qu'y  mouillera 
pas  plus  tard  qu'a  tantdt  »,  pronostique  le  pilote  canadien.  <  D'un 
sens,  e'est  probable,  convient  M.  d'Ibberville,  mais  le  temps  dure 
trop  a  esperer.  » 

Cardan  t  la  cote  sur  leur  droite,  pour  ne  pas  s'egarer,  les  felou- 
ques,  en  donnant  plusieurs  accoulees,  se  faufilent  entre  des  batures 
de  sable  et  des  recifs,  suivem  chaque  enfonc;ure.  Sous  une  cagoule 
de  nuages  houlants.  qui  les  aspergent  de  tristesse,  les  navigateurs 
avancent,  le  plus  souvent  a  la  rame,  entre  des  roches  et  des  obstacles 
de  toutes  sortes.  lis  passent  la  nuit  sur  une  bat  lire  a  demi  submergee, 
ou  ils  dorment  mal,  en  compagnie  de  marionnettes,  les  canards  a 
grosse  tete,  qui  ont  pris  la  leurs  quartiers  d'hiver. 

Le  lendemain,  il  n'y  a  pas  d'aurore.  On  embarque,  mais  le  brouil- 
lard  est  si  dense  que  par  ce  temps  gat£  il  serait  imprudent  de  con- 
tinuer.  On  dresse  le  camp  sur  un  banc  de  sable  et,  tout  aussitot, 
1'orage  explose.  L'ouragan,  la  pluie,  les  Eclairs  transforment  la  halte 
en  cauchemar.  Les  homines  sont  transperces,  le  banc  est  submerge 
par  un  pied  et  demi  d'eau  :  avec  leur  Ieger  bagage  ils  echafaudent 
une  plate-forme  de  fortune,  sur  laquelle,  sans  dormir,  ils  restent 
ram  asses  la  nuit  entiere. 

Le  jour  suivant.  z  mars  1699,  ils  ne  sont  pas  plutdt  remontes  dans 
les  fclouques.  sur  la  mer  demomce  qu'un  vent  violent  les  pousse  vers 
la  c6te,  maintenant  courant  au  Sud-Est. 

Au  crepuscule,  brusquement,  un  cap  rocheux  surgit  en  noir  de- 
vant  eux,  au  milieu  des  embruns.  Pendant  plusieurs  heures,  ils  font 
des  efforts  inoui's  pour  s'en  Eloigner,  boulinent,  les  brisants  veulent 
a  toute  force  les  ^eraser  contre  ce  roc. 

La  nuit  commence  a  tomber,  tout  est  preferable  a  une  nuit  dans 
la  tempete,  qui  ine\itablement  les  broiera.  M.  d'Ibberville,  sur  la 
premiere  felouque,  decide  de  se  laisser  porter  vers  le  cap  par  le 
flux  et  le  vent  et  d'essayer.  avec  un  coup  de  barre  desesper£,  de  le 
contourner.  M.  de  Sauvolles  suit,  dans  la  seconde  embarcation. 

Et  voila  qu'en  approcliant  le  grand  rocher  noir  s'ecarte  a  deux 
batiants,  le  jour  fuyant  se  faufile  entre  les  vantaux  sombres,  i 
derriere  une  eau  irisee  bouillonne. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN^AISE 

Porte  par  une  dizaine  de  pieds  d'eau,  M.  d'Ibberville  penetre  dans 
1'entreMillement  des  rocs  noirs,  qui,  avec  1'heure,  commencent  a 
prendre  des  formes  fantastiques,  et,  quittant  la  mer  houleuse,  re- 
tombe  sur  un  lit  mol,  dont  le  courant  est  assez  fort. 

Partout  des  masses  sombres  emergent,  il  s'apercoit  que  ces 
rochers  sont  des  agglutinements  d'arbres  petrifies  et  de  graviers 
cimentes  de  limon  durci,  avec  les  siecles  devenus  cette  lave  funebre. 
II  devine  alors  qu'il  est  dans  ce  Rio  Palissado  mentionne  par  les 
Espagnols,  car  la  riviere  semble  effect ivement  etre  barree  par  eux. 

II  s'engage  dans  un  dedale  de  mar^cages,  de  terres  basses  et  fan- 
geuses  couvertes  de  Cannes  grosses  comme  le  poignet,  par  endroit 
herissees  de  vingt  pieds,  fief  d'innombrables  oiseaux  aquatiques 
masses  en  efflorescence  multicolore,  qui  protestent  a  grands  coups 
de  bee  contre  cette  invasion. 

Les  ibis  blancs,  dont  la  tete  est  rose  comme  un  cerisier  d'avril,  sont 
si  indignes  qu'ils  en  oublient  leurs  reptiles,  les  spatules  enflammees 
sont  furieusement  loquaces,  les  sans-joie  bleus  eploient  en  grand 
leurs  ailes  et  s'envolent,  le  cou  tortueux. 

En  s'epongeant  le  front  et  en  soupirant  d'aise,  les  hommes  met- 
tent  pied  a  terre  pour  cabaner  sur  un  terrain  detrempe  et  s'aban- 
donner  a  la  joie  grave  d'etre  hors  de  danger. 

Le  matin  du  mardi-gras,  on  constate  que  cette  riviere,  qui  est  peut- 
fitre  le  Mississipi,  est  divisee  en  trois  fourches.  La  cdte  moutarde 
est  toujours  aussi  basse  et  marecageuse,  pointillee  par  les  buttes  de 
rats  musques.  <  On  varasse  >,  disent  les  rameurs  qui  n'avancent  pas. 

Void  enfin  un  bois.  On  va  faire  le  premier  feu  et  la  chaudiere,  on 
dfnera  de  bouillie  au  lard  et  on  dormira  a  sec,  ce  qui  n'est  pas  arrive 
depuis  qu'on  a  quitt£  les  vaisseaux. 

On  dort  «  d'aguette  >  et  1'heure  tourne  vite  pour  les  hommes 
fatigues.  Sur  le  haut  du  jour,  sahie.  par  les  grues  miles  d'un  grand 
coup  de  trompette,  M.  d'Ibberville  les  fait  lever.  La  nuit  s'echappe 
en  f unices  tenues,  les  ombres  du  fond  allegees  s'entr'ouvrent  par 
petits  bonds  precautionneux  et  laissent  apercevoir  des  trainees  cy- 
clamens, la  riviere  a  des  chatoiements  timides  et  des  transparence* 
inattendues. 

Amour  du  feu,  qui  les  a  a  peine  rechauffes,  avant  de  monter  dans 
les  felouques,  les  hommes,  qui  viennent  de  planter  une  croix,  en- 
tendent  la  messe  et  recpivent  pieusement,  des  mains  du  Pere  Anas- 


I 


5b  LA     LOUISIANE     FRANCHISE 

tase,  les  cendres,  des  cendres  ticdes  a  odeur  de  lointain,  rejoignant 
l'encens  dcs  eglises. 

La  riviere  musarde  en  astragales,  <  C'est  point  l'arbe  qui  manque, 
asteur,  il  y  en  a  autanl  corame  autant  >,  raarmotte  le  pilote  ennuye. 
En  diet,  les  bois  sont  si  touffus  qu'ils  font  ecran,  le  vent  de  la  mer 
re  parvieni  plus  dans  les  anses  :  on  pone  en  avant  le  cordage  des 
bateaux  qu'on  attache  a  un  gros  tronc  et  on  vire  au  cabestan. 

M.  de  Bienville  a  pris  un  des  canots  pour  cotoyer  la  rive  de  plus 
pres  et  tirer  quelques  bamaches,  ces  oies  sauvages  a  poitrail  blanc, 
qui,  par  centaines,  sont  descendues  du  Canada.  H  espere  toujours 
rencontrer  des  sauvages. 

II  a  devine  juste,  le  7,  il  apercoit  trois  pirogues  qui  s'enfuient  a 
sa  vue.  Un  sauvage  moins  farouche  reste  a  portee  de  la  voix  ;  un 
beau  couteau  le  fait  approcher,  bientdt  suivi  des  autres.  Ce  sont  des 
Bayagoulas,  qui  reviennent  de  la  chasse,  ils  donnent  de  la  venaison 
et,  par  signes,  font  comprendre  que  cette  riviere  est  la  Malabouchia 
ou  Malbanchia,  et  que  leur  nation  habite  plus  haut,  au  bord  de 
1'eau,  avec  les  Mougalachas  ;  un  des  sauvages  propose  de  les  y  con- 
duire. 

M.  d'Ibberville  s'egare  de  plus  en  plus  dans  tous  ces  noms,  est-il 
sur  le  Mississipi  ?  Cette  riviere  legendaire  a  plus  de  noms  que 
l'hydre  a  de  t*tes,  rien  de  ce  qu'il  voit  dans  ce  deroulement  mono- 
tone, pour  le  moment  traite  en  grisaille,  ne  correspond  a  la  descrip- 
tion du  Pere  Hennepin.  La  riviere,  assez  claire,  a  pres  d'une  demi 
lieue  de  large  ;  les  berges,  epaisses  de  cannes,  sont  tranchew  de 
failles  et  de  coulees  ;  la  vegetation  est  plus  variee,  l'ossature  hiver- 
nale  des  chenes  et  des  noyers-blancs  se  melange  au  vert  profond  des 
cypres  et  des  cedres  du  Liban. 

Des  cap-caps,  petits  herons  verts,  les  devisagent  curieuseraent  au 
passage  ;  des  bec-en-ciseaux,  en  nageant,  nonchalamment  ecument 
1'eau  de  leur  mandibule  inferieure,  plus  grande  que  celle  du  haut  ; 
les  bec-eroches,  des  grands  ibis  blancs,  plongent  leurs  longs  bees  dans 
les  taupinieres  suspectes  pour  y  trouver  une  icrevisse  ;  des  sacs-a- 
plomb brusquemem  plongent  avant  qu'on  ait  eu  le  temps  de  le* 
viser  ;  Des  herons  dos-blanc,  cou  contre  cou,  caressent  les  femelles 
et  tendrement  s'epluchent. 

Chaque  soir,  on  fait  le  cabanage  au  bord  de  1'eau.  Guettes  par 
les  yeux  calculateurs  des  loups-ccrviers  et  survoles  par  les  gros  bruits 
d'aile  des  era  pa uds- volants,  les  faucons  nocturnes  dont  la  bouche 


mi 

«, 

rt: 
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ne 
tra 

J 

pa; 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

iemble  a  celle  des  batraciens,  tandis  que  la  vase  respire  douce- 
mem  aux  endroits  ou  les  petites  tortues  se  sont  enfoncees  pour  fairc 
leur  somme,  on  dort  sur  des  paillasses  posees  a  terre. 

Le  temps  s'epure.  Le  long  des  bStures,  les  garde-soleil,  sur  une 
patte,  le  regard  perdu  contemplent  longuement  l'astre  repoli.  Le 
soir,  les  arbres  soni  garnis  de  canards-branchus  au  plumage 
changeant,  coiffes  d'une  houppe  rutilante,  et  de  coqs  d'Inde,  qui 
se  perchent  pour  dormir.  On  les  tire  sans  difficulte,  le  bruit,  nou- 
veau  pour  eux,  des  fusils,  ne  les  effraie  pas.  Quand  ils  ne  sont  pas 
trop  gras,  les  canards  sont  bons ;  les  coqs  d'Inde  pesent  une  vingtaine, 
voire  une  trentaine  de  livres,  et  font  bien  l'affaire  des  voyageurs, 
mis  depuis  longtemps  a  la  portion  congrue. 

Des  betes-puantes1,  noires  ou  bardees  de  blanc,  dressent  des  barri- 
cades de  pestilence  contre  les  violateurs  de  leur  solitude.  D'autres, 
ressemblant  aux  marmottes,  que  le  sauvage  appelle  <  arakouns  t3, 
(aux  doigts  grifFams)  et  les  Canadiens  chatouis,  guettent  les  poissons 
dans  les  trous  d'eau. 

C'est  un  decor  sans  beaute,  sans  relief,  humecte  par  une  senteur 
mc'diane  de  commencement.  Seuls,  les  arbres  sont  puissants,  presque 
:ernels  ;  leurs  courbes  noueuses,  bien  degagees,  soulignent  des 
resistances  contre  les  elements,  leurs  grands  membres  allonges  mon- 
trent  des  choses  que  peu  d'entre  eux  savent  dechiffrer,  parce  qu'elles 
ne  sont  pas  a  l'echelle  humaine,  et  que  la  nature  douce,  sans  con- 
trastes  grineants,  resie  fermee  a  l'ame  des  simples. 

Jean-Baptiste  de  Bienville,  lui,  connait  une  plenitude.  II  eprouve 
etrange  contentement  a  se  sentir  perdu  dans  l'inconnu  ;  n'ayant 
pas  les  responsabilites  de  son  frere,  il  peut  tendre  l'oreille  a  un 
prelude,  jouir  de  l'heure  rare  oil  rien  autour  de  soi  n'a  perdu  sa 
spoman^ite  de  jaillissement  jamais  profane  par  des  mains  avides. 

Dans  son  canot,  il  s'efforce  d'apprendre  du  sauvage  les  rudiments 
de  son  dialecte,  sa  connaissance  de  l'iroquois  l'aide  a  comprendre 
les  sons  gutturaux. 

Apres  avoir  rame  huit  jours,  on  arrive  au  debarquement  des 
Bayagoulas  et  Mougalachas.  Derriere  le  rivage  noy£,  le  village, 
forme"  de  grandes  cabanes  en  d6me,  est  entoure  d'une  palissade  de 
dix  pieds.  Tout  aupres,  de  grands  piquets  sont  terminus  par  des 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

ballots  enveloppes  de  nattes,  une  nuee  de  carencros,  des  vautours 
noirs  dont  la  tete  corail  ressemble  a  cellc  du  coq  d'Inde,  les  survo- 
lent  de  cercles  curieux.  Le  naturel  explique  a  M.  de  Bienville  que 
la  petite  verole  a  recemment  decime  le  village,  ce  sont  les  cadavres 
qui  sont  si  bien  enveloppes. 

Les  chasseurs  ont  annonce  l'arrivee  des  Francais.  Le  chef  des 
Mougalachas  les  recoit  majesiueuscment.  II  s'esl  pour  la  cireonstance 
habille  d'un  capot  bleu  en  serge  du  Poitou,  a  la  canadiennc,  donne 
croit-on  comprendre  par  «  la  main  de  fer  »,  autrement  dit  le 
Chevalier  de  Tonti.  Ses  cheveux  sont  retenus  sur  sa  tete  par  un 
bouquet  de  plumes  multicolores.  Comme  ses  guerriers,  il  se  livre 
a  de  grandes  manifestations  de  joie,  etend  ses  bras  vers  le  soleil, 
se  frotte  le  ventre,  puis  frotte  celui  de  ses  visitant  qu'il  etreint  en- 
core d'un  geste  large.  Les  Francais  lui  rendent  la  politesse,  avec 
moins  de  savoir-faire  ;  toute  1'assistance  pousse  de  grands  hurlemems 
d'enthousiasme. 

M.  de  Bienville  comprend  deja  suffisamment  son  langage  pour 
pouvoir  converser  avec  lui.  Le  chef  montre  fierement  ses  tresors  : 
des  couvertures.  qui  semblent  provenir  du  Canada,  un  corset  d'arme 
a  doubles  m  allies  en  fil  d'archal,  qui  a  certainement  appartenu  a 
I'expedition  d'Hernandez  de  Soto,  enfin  des  poules  obtenues  des 
Attakapas.  *  les  mangeurs  d'hommes  »,  une  nation  de  l'Ouest  habi- 
tant la  c&te,  apres  qu'un  navire  espagnol  eut  sombre  sur  des  ecueils. 

M.  de  Bienville  demande  si  l'equipage  du  navire  a  £t£  sauve. 
«  Trois  hommes  ont  gagn£  la  edte,  repond  le  chef  indifferent,  nam- 
rellement  on  les  a  manges.  > 

En  bon  Canadiert  qu'il  est,  M.  d'Ibberville  observe  tous  les  usages. 
Bien  qu'il  ait  le  tabac  naturel  en  honreur.  il  fume  un  calumet,  dont 
la  longue  tige  est  reconvene  du  col  chatoyant  d'un  canard  branchu. 
II  passe  un  tres  mauvais  moment  en  tete-a-tete  avec  son  estomac 

II  offre  ses  presents,  des  haches,  des  couteaux,  et  un  long  calumet 
d'acier  sur  la  pipe  duquel  sont  gravees  les  amies  du  Roi  Soleil  ; 
en  echange.  le  chef  lui  fait  hommage  de  peaux  d'ours.  On  lui  fait 
visiter  le  village,  les  grandes  loges  dans  lesquelles  plusieurs  families 
habitent.  couchant  sur  des  tits  de  natte  reposant  sur  quatre  piquets 
de  trois  pieds.  pour  permettre  de  faire  des  feux  doux  au-dessous. 
quand  les  nuits  sont  fraiches. 

On  conduit  les  visiteurs  au  temple,  un  edifice  circulaire  en  piliers 
de  trente  pieds  formant  berceau  et  bousilles  jusqu'a  mi-hauteur. 


A  l'entree,  sur  deux  grands  pieux,  des  oiseaux  fantastiques  et  un 
opossum,  grossierement  sculptes,  moment  la  garde.  Auiour  de  la 
table-autel  ou  des  buches  couvent  du  feu  rituel,  des  peaux  d'ours 
et  une  bouteille  sont  accrochees  en  ex-voto  au  manitou  marsupial 
de  la  nation,  lopossum,  dont  la  silhouette  rouge  et  noire  couvre  les 
murs  de  facon  halludnante. 

Dans  la  loge  d'Assemblee,  on  les  fait  asseoir  sur  des  peaux.  Les 
sauvages  ne  possedent  pas  grande  chose,  des  couvertures  de  bceuf 
trouees  par  l'os  d'une  patte  de  heron  et  cousues  de  nerfs  battus, 
l'ete  ils  couchent  du  c6te  du  cuir  et  l'hiver  du  c&te  du  poil  ;  pour 
cultiver  le  sol  ils  n'ont  que  des  os  de  boeufs  emmanches,  et  le  gibier 
est  suffisamment  eloigne  pour  rendre  la  chause  difficile.  lis  donnent 
de  bon  cceur  le  peu  qu'ils  ont,  on  sen  de  la  sagamite  de  feves  molles 
cuite  dans  un  bouillon  d'os  a  moelle,  de  la  viande  boucanee,  et  des 
gros  pains  de  mahiz  cuits  sous  la  cendre. 

M.  d'Ibberville  offre  aux  notables  un  coup  d'eau-de-vie  etendue 
d'eau,  c'est  la  premiere  fois  qu'ils  en  goutent,  ils  trouvent  la  boisson 
trop  forte,  s'etranglent,  et  la  crachent  en  grimacant. 

Pendant  le  festin,  servi  avec  des  cuilleres  en  corne  de  boeuf  et  des 
couteaux  faits  de  Cannes  conchac,  fendues  en  quatre,  dont  le  tran- 
chant  s'emousse  vite,  tout  le  village,  c'est-a-dire  quatre  a  cinq  cents 
personnes,  tourne  autour  des  convives.  Les  hommes  ages,  soigneuse- 
ment  epiles,  comme  les  jeunes  garcons  sont  entierement  nus  ;  le 
trace  vermilion  de  leurs  arcades  sourcillieres  et  l'ossement  de  leur 
nez  leur  tient  lieu  d'habillement.  Les  jeunes  adultes  ont  des  cein- 
tures  bariolees  de  plumes,  qui  flottent  derriere  eux  en  longue  queue  ; 
d'autres  ont  des  ceintures  de  peau  auxquelles  sont  pendus  des 
fragments  de  metal  tintinabulants. 

Les  femmes.  dont  les  cadenettes  noires  sont  entrelacte  de  fils 
de  couleurs,  de  la  taille  au  genou  sont  dissimulees  par  l'alconan, 
une  jupe  en  fibre  d'ecorce,  rouge  et  blanche  :  des  bracelets  d'os  et 
de  bois,  etages  a  leurs  poignets  et  leurs  chevilles  completent  leur 
parure.  Leur  baste  nu  est  pique  et  matache  de  vermilion,  comme 
leur  visage. 

Les  jeunes  filles  se  contentent  d'un  petit  paquet  de  mousse 
attach^  a  une  etroite  ceinture  de  peau  et  a  leurs  cuisses  ;  aussi  long- 
temps  qu'elles  possfedent  leur  virginite,  l'alconan  leur  est  interdit. 

Le  lendemain,  apres  avoir  cabane  sur  la  rive,  M.  d'Ibberville  offre 
au  Chef  de  nouveaux  presents,  un  justaucorps  d'ecarlate  garni  de 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANCHISE 

galons  d'or  faux,  des  bas  rouges,  des  miroirs,  et  a  l'entree  du  village 
il  plante  une  grande  croix.  Mais  la  bonne  humeur  ne  dure  pas  long- 
temps. 

Le  Pere  Anastasc  pretend  qu'on  lui  a  derobe  sa  besace  contenanl 
son  breviaire  et  son  petit  journal  de  voyage,  il  est  inconsolable.  Le 
Chef  convoque  ses  hommes,  mais  le  Pere  a  beau  pleurer  a  chaudes 
larmes  pour  les  attendrir,  ils  assurent  n'avoir  rien  pris,  et  sont  de 
plus  ties  mecontents  de  voir  le  Pere  bouleverser  les  cabanes,  sous 
pretexte  de  perquisition. 

M.  d'Ibberville  retablit  la  paix  en  offrant  quelques  menus  objets, 
mais  les  Mougalachas  se  drapent  dans  leur  dignite,  un  geste  difficile 
a  bien  faire  quand  on  est  mi.  Ils  font  des  adieux  civils,  mais  ne 
donnent  pas  tous  les  pains  qu'on  esperait. 

M.  d'Ibberville  continue  vers  le  village  des  Oumas,  qu'on  lui  a 
dit  etre  plus  haut.  Le  17,  il  apercoit  au  bord  de  la  riviere  <  un 
grand  may  sans  branches,  rougy,  de  tStes  de  poissons  et  d'ours  at- 
tachies  en  sacrifice.  »  Le  poteau,  decile*  aux  esprits  de  la  chasse,  sert 
de  limite  de  chasse  entre  les  Bayagoulas  et  les  Oumas.  L'endroit 
prend  le  nom  de  «  Baton-Rouge.  > 

Un  peu  plus  loin,  un  enorme  cedre  aux  racines  saillantes  le  fait 
arreter  d'etonnement,  on  mesure  le  tronc,  qui  a  douze  brasses  de 
tour.  Le  lendemain  il  s'apercoit  que  la  riviere  decrit  une  large 
boucle  presque  fermee.  Pour  l'eviter,  il  donne  l'ordre  de  degager 
un  bras  d'eau,  completement  obstrue  par  des  embarras  de  bois.  A 
coups  de  hache,  les  Canadiens  ouvrent  cette  «  Fausse-Riviere  >, 
pour  haler  les  embarcations  ;  la  section  isolee  par  leur  manccuvre 
devient  «  Pointe  Coupee  ». 

Trois  jours  plus  lard,  une  deputation  de  sauvages  recoit  M. 
d'Ibberville  au  d^barquemcnt  des  Oumas.  Ils  ont  apport£  une 
croix  blanche,  qu'ils  s'imaginent  vaguement  etre  le  manitou  de  paix 
des  Blancs.  £n  chantant,  1  t ravers  une  lieue  de  cannes  epaisses  et 
noyees,  ils  conduisent  les  voyageurs  harasses  jusqu'a  leur  village. 
enfonc£  de  plusieurs  lieues  dans  les  terres. 

Le  chef  du  village,  un  vieillard  au  crane  aplati,  offre  le  calumet 
et  M.  d'Ibberville  present  e  ses  cadeaux.  des  alenes,  des  grelots,  des 
miroirs.  A  chacttn  d'eux,  les  sauvages  se  levent,  ouvTeni  dramatique- 
ment  les  bras  et  poussent  un  long  grognement,  presumablemem  de 
reconnaissance,  H6,  Hd,  H6  1 

Au  milieu  du  jour,  le  repas  est  suivi  de  danses.  Les  musiciens 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  bl 

secouent  en  cadence  leurs  chkhicois,  des  gourdes  renfermant  cail- 
loux  et  feves  s<5chees,  ec  percees  a  leurs  deux  extremites  pour  laisser 
passer  une  baguette,  dont  la  partie  inferieure  serl  de  manche.  Les 
jeunes  gens  el  jeunes  filles,  nus  et  peints,  et  pares  de  plumages, 
bondisseni  en  figures  etourdissantes.  Quand  la  nuit  tombe,  des 
cannes  seches  sont  allumees  et,  a  la  lueur  de  ces  torches  detonnantes, 
les  guerriers  armes  d'arcs  et  de  hachettes,  autour  du  feu  crepitant, 
executent  leurs  danses  de  guerre. 

Au  matin,  on  plante  une  eroix,  en  signe  de  prise  de  possession  ; 
par  gentillesse,  les  Oumas  tournent  autour,  en  agitant  comme  des 
etendards  les  petites  croix  qu'ils  se  sont  fabriquees,  et  jettent  des 
fragments  de  tabacs  sur  les  bras  etendus  de  la  croix,  pour  rendre 
hommage  aux  manitous  des  Blancs. 

M.  d'Ibberville  repart  sur  la  riviere.  II  ne  va  pas  loin.  A  la  re- 
flexion, les  cent  trente  lieues  qui  le  separent  de  ses  vaisseaux  parais- 
sent  suffisantes,  il  va  redescendre  le  courant.  Par  les  conducteurs 
Bayagoulas,  il  vient  d'apprendre  qu'il  y  a  dans  leur  village  un  billet 
laisse  par  la  Main  de  Fer  pour  des  Francais,  que  le  Chef  a  oublie 
de  montrer,  a  moins  qu'il  ne  1'ait  cache  par  rancune  contre  le 
Recollet.  II  doiine  a  M.  de  Bienville  1'ordre  de  se  le  procurer  au 
passage. 

Celui-ci  trouve  effectivement  une  lettre  jaunie,  ecrite  en  avril 
1687  par  le  Chevalier  de  Tonti,  a  I'adresse  de  M.  de  la  Salle,  lorsqu'il 
revint  douze  ans  plus  t6t  de  ses  infructueuses  recherches  a  1'estuaire 
de  la  riviere.  Apres  un  peu  de  persuasion,  le  Chef  consent  a  lui 
vendre  le  papier  contre  une  grande  hache. 

M,  d'Ibberville  va  enfin  savoir  ou  il  est,  fievreusement  il  dechiffre 
la  missive  fanee  <  ...  les  Quinipissas,  ayant  fume"  le  calumet,  je  laisse 
avec  eux  ce  billet  pour  vous  assurer  de  mon  humble  respect  $r  vous 
laisser  scavoir  les  nouvelles  que  j'eu  de  vous  au  jort,  &  scavoir  que 
vous  aviez  perdu  un  vaisseau  et  aviez  £ti  pills'  par  les  sauvages.  Sur 
cette  nouvelle,  je  descendis  avec  25  francois,  5  chouanons  ir  5 
islinois...  Nous  trouv&mes  la  colonne  sur  laquelle  vous  avez  arbori 
les  armes  du  Roy  abattue  par  les  bois  flottants,  aiant  dressi  un  grand 
Pillter,  nous  y  attachdmes  une  croix  &  au  dessus  un  icusson  de 
France... 

Cette  lettre  leve  les  derniers  doutes.  On  est  sur  le  Mississipi,  mais 
les  Quinipissas  sont  devenus  les  Mougachalas. 

En  redescendant  le  fleuve  sinueux,  M.  d'Ibberville,  tout  content 


6*  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

de  sa  nouvelle  certitude,  retrouve  le  cours  d'eau  que  les  chasseurs 
bayagoulas  ont  dit  emprunter  pour  se  rendre  plus  rapidement  dans 
le  Golfe.  Laissant  M.  de  Bienville  continuer  par  le  Mississipi  avec 
les  f&ouques,  il  s'engage  en  canot  dans  cette  riviere,  large  de  quinze 
pieds,  qui  devient  d£s  lors  €  d'Ibberville  ». 

Son  cours  est  encombr£  de  bois  renvers^s,  ce  qui  n£cessite  de  nom- 
breux  portages.  Comme  les  provisions  sont  £puis£es,  il  se  decide  k 
go&ter  au  crocodile,  dont  la  chair  blanche  est  mangeable,  lorsqu'elle 
a  perdu  son  insupportable  odeur  de  muse 

II  traverse  un  lac,  rid£  par  d'aristocratiques  aigrettes-cailles 
blanches,  qu'il  baptise  €  Maurepas  »,  puis  un  second  lac  saum&tre, 
long  de  quinze  lieues  et  large  de  huit,  cern£  de  terrains  bas  noy&, 
bois£s  de  cypres  d'une  hauteur  prodigieuse,  qu'il  appelle  €  Pontchar- 
train  »,  un  hommage  au  ministre  qui  a  facility  son  entreprise,  et, 
ayant  franchi  le  lac  c  Borgne  >,  qui  n'a  qu'une  issue,  une  semaine 
apr&s  avoir  quitt£  le  Mississipi,  il  d£bouche  dans  la  Baie  St.  Louis 
et  regagne  ses  vaisseaux. 

«  C'est  un  mestier  bien  gaillard  de  descouvrir  les  cdtes  de  la  met 
avec  des  chaloupes  qui  ne  sont  ny  asses  grandes  pour  donner  A  une 
cdte  plate  ou  elles  ichouent  et  touchent  d.  demy  lieue  au  large  » 
6orit-il  dans  le  journal  de  bord,  qu'il  remettra  au  Comte  de  Pontchar- 
train. 


M.  d'Ibberville  cherche  tin  site  propice  pour  son  etablissement,  A 
neuf  lieues  de  l'ile  au  Vaisseau,  dcrriere  la  petite  ile  au  Chevreuil, 
la  Baie  des  Biloxis,  sertie  de  cannes,  est  fort  plaisante,  bien  que  ne 
tirant  que  sept  pieds  d'eau,  ce  qui  oblige  a  s'approcher  en  chaloupe. 

Au  fond  d'une  plage  profonde  de  sable  immaculc,  griffee  jusque- 
la  par  les  seules  pattes  des  grands-gosiers,1  des  cormorans  et  des 
pluviers  dores,  dont  le  rayonnement  se  confond  avec  celui  du  sable, 
une  pinede  dresse  un  ecran  sombre,  retouche  par  le  printeraps  de 
petits  attendrissements  pales,  qui  tranchent  sur  la  maturite  severe 
de  leur  vesture  pereniale. 

Des  magnolias  luisants  chavirent  de  fleurs  passionnees ;  d'enormes 
ch£nes-verts  sont  drapes  de  gazes  cendrees,  les  «  barbes  espagnoles  »  ; 
des  lataniers  freles  eploiciu  Invent  ail  de  leurs  feuilles  pointues, 
impuissants  4  rafraichir  l'accablement  des  calices  ivoires. 

Dans  l'air  therebentine,  des  oiseaux  au  plumage  vif  posent  des 
eclats  precieux.  Des  gros  cardinaux,  vetus  de  pied  en  cap  d'ecarlate, 
sifflent  eperdument  le  bonheur  de  vivre,  accompagnes  par  le  ramage 
tendre  des  petits  ev&ques  mauves  a  c  a  mail  violet,  dont  les  in  term  ena- 
bles trilles  se  terminent  en  chuchoiements  ;  de  temps  en  temps,  un 
pape,  etrangemem  emplume^  de  rouge  et  de  vert,  et  miir£  de  bleu, 
ajoute  son  mot  harmonieux  au  conclave. 

II  y  a  un  peu  d'eau  douce,  suffisament  <  d'arse  >  ou  espace,  on 
va  entamer  le  pays  vierge.  Les  Canadiens  commencent  a  <  abimer 
les  arbes  >,  sous  les  ordres  de  M.  de  Lesquelet,  a  grands  coups  de 
cogn^e  font  tomber  les  pins,  les  chines  Iaqu£s  et  quelques  ormeaux- 
gras,  dont  les  feuilles  a  peine  dechiffonnees  pointent  encore  en  haut, 
comme  des  petits  doigts  roses  suppliants,  pour  elever  une  palissade 
et  un  fort  a  quatre  bastions,  revetus  en  double  palissade,  armes  de 
quatorze  pieces  chacun,  et  des  maisons  de  poteaux  et  de  planches. 

De  nie-au-Vaisseau,  on  leur  porte  des  reconforts  materiels  et 
spirituels.  Le  jour  des  Petites-Paques,  le  Pere  Anastase,  accompagne 

1.  Pelicans. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

de  M.  de  Beauharnais,  enseigne.  sc  rend  a  leur  camp  pour  celebrer 
la  messe  et  benir,  au  lieu  du  buis  tradition  nel,  des  branches,  vague- 
ment  pecheresses,  de  magnolias,  qui,  n'ayant  point  de  nom  dans 
leur  vocabulaire  nordique,  inhabitue  aux  corolles  voluptueuses, 
deviennent  des  <  bois-de-rameaux.  » 

II  retourne  aupres  d'eux  la  veille  de  Piques,  pour  confesser  et 
dire  I'office,  servi  par  les  bucherons  aux  mains  call  e  uses.  A  la  relevee, 
sur  la  plage  liede,  entre  les  troncs  etendus  degorgeant  des  senteurs 
apres,  il  chante  les  vepres  et  fait  un  sermon  edifiant. 

Le  iK  Mai  i6og,  les  tambours  battent  au  champ,  les  Hires  en- 
[anient  un  air  de  marche,  de  marche  vers  l'avenir,  vers  l'epanouisse- 
ment  de  la  colonie  vagissante.  Leurs  notes  claires  et  joyeuses  font 
taire  les  oiseaux,  si  stupefaits  de  cette  concurrence  toute  nouvelle 
qu'ils  n'en  croient  pas  leurs  oreilles.  Le  fort  est  aclieve  et  ses  mortiers 
bouleversent  grandement  les  sauvages  du  voisinage,  qui  pendant 
la  construction  se  sont  craintivement  approches,  lorsqu'ils  crachent 
le  feu  pour  la  premiere  fois.  II  s'agit  la  d'un  phenomene  redoutable, 
dont  il  faut  s'assurer  l'amitie. 

Pour  les  rassurer  M.  d'Ibberville  les  caresse,  leur  offre  des  miroirs, 
des  haches,  du  vermilion,  et,  sur  les  conseils  du  Pere  Anastase,  des 
pieces  de  limbourg  rouge  et  bleu,  pour  faire  des  brayers  ou  braguets 
et  cacher  c  ce  que  toute  la  posterke  d'Adam  regarde  comme  hon- 
teux,  >  avant  1'arrivee  des  femmes.  lis  passent  les  bandes  d'^toffe 
entre  leurs  cuisses  et  dans  une  etroite  ceinture  de  peau,  en  laissant 
Hbrement  retomber  les  pans  par  devant  et  par  derriere,  et  se  trou- 
vent  fort  bicn  habilles. 

Les  eclaireurs  repartent  vers  les  villages  jouxtant  de  plus  pres 
le  fort,  pour  raconter  ces  faits  merveilleux.  Sur  la  foi  de  leurs  recits, 
plusieurs  chefs  de  village  viennent  c  sans  dessein  >,  c'est  a  dire 
sans  rien  attendre,  fumer  le  calumet  avec  M.  d'Ibberville,  dont  ils 
barbouillent  respectueusement  le  visage  de  terre  blanche. 

Apres  avoir  trois  jours  durant,  trois  fois  par  jour,  chante  et  danse 
hors  de  la  palissade,  ils  enfoncent  un  pieu  solide,  et,  precedes  des 
musiciens  a  chichicois,  retournent  au  fort  chercher  M.  d'Ibberville, 
qui  prend  un  repos  bien  gagne. 

Un  sauvage  le  monte  sur  son  dos,  pendant  qu'un  autre  lui  sou- 
tient  les  pieds,  dans  cet  equipage,  ils  le  portent  jusqu'a  une  robe  de 
chevreuil  etcndue  i  terre.  Trois  cents  autres  robes  sont  dispt 
en  rond,  pour  faire  asseoir  les  officiers  et  les  soldats. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISF.  t>5 

Un  des  chefs,  par  derriere,  met  ses  mains  sur  les  epaules  de  M. 
d'Ibberville  et  gentiment  le  berce,  comme  un  enfant  qu'on  veut 
endormir.  Pendant  ce  temps,  les  guerriers,  nus  sous  la  peau  d'ours 
couvrant  une  e^paule,  arc  el  carquois  au  dos,  frappent  le  poteau 
avec  le  bouclier  de  bois  revetu  de  castor,  qu'ils  tiennent  de  la  main 
droite,  et  proclament  leurs  prouesses. 

M.  d'Ibberville,  un  peu  endolori  de  tant  d'attentions,  offre  des 
presents.  II  a  apporte  de  France  des  soufflets,  des  calumets  d'acier, 
des  pointes  de  Heches,  des  peignes,  des  aiguilles,  des  coquemardes, 
des  grelflts,  des  epees  et  des  armes  a  feu,  et,  pour  les  puissants,  des 
jaquettes  de  futaine,  des  surtouts  et  des  justaucorps  de  limbourg 
rouge,  genereusement  galonnes  d'or  faux.  II  n'a  qu'a  choisir. 

On  apprend  aux  sauvages  a  charger  les  mousquets,  dont  ils  ont 
une  peur  ^pouvanlable,  I'un  d'eux  s'enhardit  et  tire  a  blanc,  mais 
comme,  habitue  au  tir  a  l'arc,  il  s'est  cambre  en  arriere,  H  est  bru- 
taleraent  renverse  par  la  decharge.  Personne  ne  touchera  a  un 
fusil  pendant  plusieurs  semaines. 

Malgre  ces  petits  incidents,  tout  le  monde  est  acclimate,  on  vivra 
en  bonne  intelligence.  Quatre-vingts  hommes  vont  tenir  garnison 
au  fort,  qui  fleure  bon  la  charpente  resin^e  :  M.  de  Bienville, 
Lieutenant  du  Roy,  M.  le  Vasseur  de  Boussonelle,  un  Canadien  qui 
sera  Major,  M.  de  Bordenac,  le  Chapelain  de  la  Badine.  M.  Care, 
le  chirurgien,  soignera  les  vingt  sous-ofnciers,  vingt-cinq  soldats  de 
la  marine,  dix-huit  Hibustiers,  treize  canadiens,  et  les  artisans,  canon- 
niers,  matelots,  cultivateurs  de  l'etablissement,  qui  sera  commands 
par  M.  Francois- Marie  de  Sauvolles  de  la  Villantray,  enseigne  de 
vaisseau. 

Le  4  mai,  M.  de  Sauvolles  et  M.  de  Bienville,  venus  du  fort  en 
biscaycnne,  font  leurs  adieux  a  leur  frere.  Avec  les  equipages,  trois 
fois  ils  crient,  a  1'aurore  qui  se  pastellise,  a  la  mer  qui  commence 
a  devenir  glycine,  a  la  cote  dessinee  d'un  trait  leger  comme  un 
souvenir  :  <  Vive  le  Roy  I  » 

M.  d'Ibberville,  sur  la  Badine,  apres  avoir  place  la  petite 
colonie,  a  laquelle  il  reste  pour  quatre  mois  de  victuailles,  sous  la 
garde  de  Dieu,  tire  le  coup  de  parlance,  et,  ayant  defile  son  petit 
ramier,  appareille,  suivi  de  MM.  de  Surgere  et  de  Leogane,  sur  le 
Marin. 

traversiers  restent  au  mouillage,  lorsqu'il  en  sera  temps, 
i  la  provende  a  St.  Domingue. 


Les  voisins  blancs  les  plus  proches  sont  les  Espagnols  de  Pensacola 
en  Floride. 

Les  Francais,  les  premiers,  out  fonde  des  etablissements  dans  la 
Floride  devenue  Caroline.  Avant  eux,  Luc  Vasquez,  Ponce  de  Leon, 
Pamphilo  de  Narvaei,  Hernandez  de  Soto  none  fait  que  passer. 
En  156!,  le  Capitaine  Jean  Ribault,  appuye  par  1'Amiral  de  Coligny, 
ay  ant  obtenu  de  Charles  IX  le  necessaire  pour  etablir  une  colonie 
de  Huguenots  en  Floride,  le  1"  mai  de  cette  annee-la,  est  arrive 
avec  deux  vaisseaux  a  lembouchure  de  la  Riviere  de  May,  sur  la 
cote  orientale,  a  plante  un  pilier  de  pierre  dure,  grave  aux  armes 
du  roi,  apporte  de  France,  et  pris  possession  du  pays,  au  nom  de 
son  mai t re,  ceremonie  recommencee  en  plusieurs  lieux.  II  a  suc- 
cessivement  decouvert  ei  reconnu  l' entree  de  nombreuses  rivieres, 
la  Sonune,  la  Loire,  la  Seine,  la  Charente,  la  Gatonne,  Bellevoir, 
la  Gironde,  la  Belle,  la  Grande,  le  Jourdain,  Port-Royal  ;  il  a  fait 
alliance  avec  les  <  paracoussis  >  ou  rois  sauvages,  et  sur  la  riviere 
baptisce  Clienonceaux,  un  bras  de  la  Grande,  a  bati  le  Fort  Charles, 
dont  les  vingt-six  homines  de  garnison  plus  tard  deserterent  pour 
rentier  en  France. 

En  Juin  1564,  le  Capitaine  Rene  Landonniere,  accompagne  de 
MM.  d'Ottigni  et  d'Erlach,  envoye  par  1'Amiral  de  Chastiilon  avec 
une  seconde  expedition  de  calvinistes,  apres  avoir  mouille  devant 
la  Somme,  la  riviere  des  dauphins  et  la  Seine,  a  jete  l'ancre  en  face 
de  la  riviere  de  May,  et,  a  quelque  distance  de  lembouchure,  a 
eleve  le  fort  Caroline,  nomine  en  l'honneur  de  Sa  Majeste.  La  garni- 
son, surprise  par  des  vaisseaux  espagnols,  a  ete,  pour  la  plus  grande 
paitie,  massacree  et  pendue,  le  reste  a  regagne  la  France.  Defaite 
vengee  en  1567,  par  l'expedition  du  Chevalier  de  Gourgues,  qui 
aneantit  la  troupe  espagnole  en  possession  du  fort  Caroline  et  de 
deux  forts  moindres,  sur  la  meme  riviere. 


LA     LOU1S1ANE     FRAN£AISE  67 

De  ces  prises  de  possession  et  de  ces  eiablissemertts,  la  France  n'a 
;l'ii  conserve. 

M.  de  Sauvolles,  qui  commande  le  fort  St.  Louis  de  Biloxi  est 
un  esprit  singulieremenl  distingue,  qui  a  fait  en  France  de  bril- 
lantes  etudes.  Racine  l'a  appele  «  le  prodige  d'Amerique  »,  le  Mare- 
chal  de  ViiJars  a  assure  que  c'etait  un  marechal  en  herbe,  el  Bos- 
suet  qu'il  avait  l'etofie  d'un  orateur. 

Mais  M.  de  Sauvolles,  lui,  sait  qu'il  ne  sera  rien  de  tout  cela,  car 
ses  jours  sont  comptes.  11  est  4  poumonique  »  disent  ses  compatriotes. 
Pour  avoir  le  temps  de  faire  ceuvre  utile,  il  a  supplit  ses  freres  de 
1'einmener  dans  leur  expedition,  et  sa  grande  sagcssc,  deja  detachcc 
des  petitesses  terrestres,  iniluence  ses  compagnons,  lui  peranet  d'ob- 
tenir  un  seuiblant  de  discipline  inalgre  les  disparites. 

Apres  la  diane,  chaque  journee  commence  par  la  messe,  cel^bree 
sur  le  sable  par  le  chapelain. 

Puisque  les  sauvages  sont  d'un  naturel  paisible,  les  homines  s'en- 
hardissent  a  explorer  le  pays  et  les  villages  des  environs.  Le  temple 
des  Biloxis,  un  peu  isole  et  dont  la  pone  est  ouverte  a  tout  venant, 
les  com  blent  d'etonnement. 

Comme  les  Pascagoulas,  les  Biloxis,  quand  leur  Grand  Chef  meurt 
boucanem  au  leu  son  cadavre.  Quand  il  est  reduit  a  l'etat  de  sque- 
lette,  ils  l'exposent  dans  le  temple,  sur  un  autel  bas  de  Cannes  cou- 
veri  dune  natte  a  carreaux  rouges  et  blancs,  debout  et  attache  par 
la  taille  a  une  grande  perche  rouge  surmontee  de  son  calumet. 
D'une  main  il  tient  son  casse-tete  et  de  1'autre  sa  pipe,  chaque  jour 
on  depose  sur  l'autel  un  peu  de  nourriture,  sur  laquelle  les  soldats 
n'hesitent  pas  a  faire  main  basse. 

L'ancien  chef,  ayant  ete  par  force  dernenage,  a  pris  sa  place  dans 
la  rangee  de  squelettes  debout  au  fond  du  temple. 

Les  sauvages  commencent  a  trailer  des  marchandises  au  fort,  des 
peaux  de  chevreuils,  d'ours  et  de  bceufs,  qu'ils  preparent  en  les 
tendant  sur  des  cadres  de  bois  apres  ies  avoir  fait  tremper  plusieurs 
jours,  et  en  les  grattant  avec  des  eclats  de  pierre  a  fusil  emmanches 
pour  faire  tomber  le  poil  et  les  assouplir.  Pour  les  rendre  moelleuses, 
ils  les  passent  avec  la  cervelle  cuite  des  chevreuils. 

Pour  leur  propre  usage,  ils  peignent  ces  peaux  blanches  avec  des 
couleurs  vegetales,  rouges,  vertes,  jaunes,  noires,  bleues,  diluees  dans 
la  colle  liree  des  peaux. 

Ces  peaux  racornissent  lorsqu'elles  sont  mouillees.  S'ils  veulent 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

eviter  cet  inconvenient,  les  sauvages  creusent  dans  le  sol  de  grands 
entonnoirs,  qu'ils  remplissent  de  bouses  de  bceuf  et  de  feuilles  pour- 
ries  ;  iis  allument  ces  feux  sans  flammes,  el  au-dessus,  sur  des  ber- 
ceaux  de  Cannes,  etendent  les  peaux  en  emerram  hermetiquement 
leurs  bonis,  dans  la  terre.  Quand  elles  sont  bien  boucanees  et  rous- 
ses,  ils  recommencem  1'operaiion  de  l'autre  cdte  ;  semblables  a  du 
chamois,  elles  peuvent  alors  se  laver,  si  on  les  (ait  secher  a  l'ombre. 

Les  Canadiens  et  les  Francais  s'en  font  des  culottes,  des  vestes, 
des  mitasscs,  —  sorte  de  houseaux  montant  jusqu'en  haut  des  cuisses 
—  et  des  quan  tiers. 

En  biscayenne  et  en  canot,  M.  de  Bienville  reprend  ses  explora- 
tions. Avec  une  douzaine  de  Canadiens,  en  passant  par  la  Taleatche, 
la  Riviere-aux-perles,  dans  laquelle  on  ramasse  une  douzaine  de 
pedes  de  coquillage  pour  les  envoyer  en  France  et  connaiire  leur 
valeur,  U  se  dirige  vers  le  lac  Pontchartrain,  dont  la  passe  est  liseree 
d'un  amo nee  1  lenient  de  coquilles,  les  burgos.  Des  be  cs-de-h  aches, 
rouges  des  pieds  a  la  tete,  sont  fort  occupes  a  happer  de  leur  bee 
ecarlate  les  huitres  baillantes  et  les  petits  crabes  en  promenade. 

Par  dela  cette  Pointeaux-Coquilles  et  une  Pointe-aux-herbes,  M. 
de  Bienville,  apres  avoir  traverse  maims  rigolets,  fait  alliance  avec 
les  Colapissas  ou  Aquilais  Pissas,  «  la  nation  des  hommes  qui  en- 
tendent  et  qui  voient  »,  trois  cents  guerriers  habitant  a  la  droite  du 
Lac,  sur  le  Tchoupic,  a  peine  plus  large  qu'une  coulee. 

Les  forets  sont  jaillissantes  de  printemps,  les  Irenes  perdent  leurs 
chatons  en  ondees  vertes  sur  les  chooaile-rouge  tourbillonnants, 
les  canards-branch  us  trepignent,  les  meres  canes  quittent  leurs  nids 
haut-perches  en  portant  dans  leurs  bees  leurs  petits  jusqu'a  l'eau, 
des  aigles  enormes,  couleur  d'ecaille  et  blanc  de  tete,  de  ires  haut, 
comme  un  malheur  foudroyant,  s'abattent  sur  quelques  poissons 
marques  par  le  sort. 

Sur  la  riviere  des  Pascagoulas,  <  la  nation  du  pain  >,  M.  de  Bien- 
ville, qui  a  rebrousse  chemin,  fume  avec  des  Mobiliens,  qui  lui 
offrent  de  la  sagamite  de  choupichoul,  ou  belle-dame  sauvage,  une 
sorte  de  millet  murissant  a  Tautomnc,  sur  des  Cannes,  de  la  viande 
d'ours,  des  feves  et  des  giromons,  les  potirons  qu'ils  font  cuire 
sous  la  braise,  pour  transformer  le  sue  en  syrop. 

Le  village  des  Mobiliens,  sans  temple,  presente  un  aspect  singu- 
lier,  pres  de  chaque  cabane  un  mausolee  de  terre  est  couvert  d'ecorce, 
et  une  grande  perche  en  emerge,  a  laquelle  sont  attaches  les  attri- 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  69 

buts  des  defunts,  un  calumet  pour  un  chef,  une  chevelure  ou  un 
casse-tete  pour  un  guemer,  un  pilon  pour  une  femme.  Chaque 
disparu  don,  ies  pieds  tournes  vers  sa  cabane,  les  vivants  el  les  morts 
continuent  ainsi  de  compagnie. 

Les  mobiliens  apprennent  a  faire  des  canots  sans  efforts.  N'ayant 
pas  de  haches,  ils  mettent  le  feu  a  la  base  du  cypre  choisi  et  at- 
tendent  qu'il  tombe.  A  terre.  ils  brulent  le  tronc  a  longueur  voulue, 
puis  l'interieur  ;  quand  ils  estiment  l'evidement  suffisant,  ils  arre- 
tent  le  feu  avec  un  mortier  de  terre  humide,  grattent  et  polissent 
avec  les  epaisses  coquilles  du  rivage. 

Chaque  soir.  comnie  toutes  les  nations  de  1'Est  de  la  grande 
riviere,  les  hommes  boivent  la  cassine  011  apalachine,  une  infusion 
diuretique  des  feuilles  grillees  du  cassinier,  un  arbuste  fort  comraun. 
Avant  de  partir  en  guerre,  ils  en  vident  de  grandes  calebasses  pour 
se  donner  de  la  vigueur  et  diminuer  la  faim  a  venir,  ils  en  passent 
aussi  des  calebasses  en  fumant  le  calumet.  Quand  ils  veulent  se 
purger,  ils  ajoutent  de  l'eau  de  mer,  s'ils  en  ajoutent  trop,  ils  trepas- 
sent.  Les  femmes  ne  goutent  jamais  au  breuvage. 

La  colonie  n'est  pas  si  isolee  qu'elle  se  l'imaginait,  elle  recoil  deja 
des  visites.  Le  I"  juillet,  elle  voit  arriver  dans  deux  canots  d'ecorce 
des  Canadiens  et  deux  Peres  de  la  Congregation  de  la  Mission,  le 
Pere  de  Montigny  et  le  Pere  d' Avion. 

Apres  avoir  contribue  4300  livres  de  leurs  deniers  aux  10.800 
livres  necessaires  a  une  expedition  sur  le  fleuve  St.  Louis,  avec  le 
Pere  Buisson  de  St.  Cosme,  Thaumur  de  la  Source  et  onze  autres 
engages,  sur  la  fiotille  d'Ouawa,  le  16  juillet  1698,  ils  ont  quitte 
Quebec. 

Le  Pere  de  Montigny  a  etabli  le  Pere  d'Avion  a  l'ecore  des  Yazoux, 
devenue  <  la  roche-a-D avion  »  ;  le  Pere  St.  Cosme,  apres  fitre  remonte 
chez  les  Tamarois,  a  juge  preferable  de  redescendre  chez  les  Natchez, 
dont  il  est  en  train  d'apprendre  le  langage. 

Les  Peres  ont  eu  vent  de  I'etablissement  francais  et  sont  venus 
bavarder  un  peu.  Ils  repartent  le  11  juillet. 

Quelques  chefs  Bavagoulas  et  Oumas  s'aventurent,  jusqu'au  fort. 
M.  de  Sauvolle  ordonne  de  remplir  la  chaudiere  d'equipage,  au 
couverde  de  cent  hommes,  et  sachant  que  e'est  la  leur  plus  grand 
plaisir,  «  leur  donne  a  manger  tout  leur  saoul  »,  tandis  qu'en  leur 
honneur  il  fait  battre  le  tambour  et  tirer  deux  coups  a  balle. 

lis  sont   terrifies,   puis  enchantes,  et  demandent  la  permission 


I 


i 


d'aller  ehercher  leurs  femmes,  qui  les  attendent  de  l'autre  c6t£  de 
la  baie,  pour  qu'on  leur  rende  les  memes  honneurs.  Le  chef  Oumas 
emmene  avec  lui  le  petit  Saint-Michel,  qui  a  treize  ans,  pour  qu'il 
apprenne  le  langage  de  la  nation,  il  le  traitera  comme  son  fils. 

Des  Pascagoulas,  en  pirogue,  le  long  de  la  cote,  pechent  des  huttres, 
dans  des  vaisseaux  de  terre  les  font  cuire  a  moilie  dans  l'eau  bouil- 
lante,  les  e^outtent  sur  des  claies,  les  boucanent,  et  dans  des  sacs 
de  natle  les  emportent  dans  leurs  villages  des  lerres,  ou  apres  les 
avoir  fail  tremper,  a  la  mauvaise  saison,  ils  les  feront  cuire  avec 
leur  sagamite. 

L'ete  s'annonce  penible,  le  soleil  arde  les  tetes,  il  fait  insupporta- 
blement  chaud  dans  le  fort,  encercle  de  martinets,  de  vire-vire  et  de 
moqueurs-des-bois  raillant  sans  arret.  Le  diquetis  des  serpents-a- 
sonnette  dont  la  queue  se  desarticule  a  la  moindre  alerte,  se  fail 
souvent,  entendre,  on  en  rencontre  de  quinze  pouces  de  rondeur,  et 
on  en  voit  dormir,  love  dans  l'herbe-a-coquin.  le  ventre  deforme 
pour  avoir  avale  un  lapin  entier. 

Les  t  siffleurs  »  surpris  par  un  pas,  aplatissent  leur  cou  et  sifflent 
de  facon  menacante,  mais  ne  sont  pas  a  craindre.  Des  serpents-noirs 
dangereux,  dont  on  combat  les  piqures  avec  la  theriaque  et  l'orvie- 
tan,  dlnent  de  grenouilles,  les  officiers  en  font  des  fourreaux  d'epee  ; 
des  serpen  ts-cuivres  et  des  petits  «  arlequins  »  rouge,  jaune  et  bleu, 
rampent  en  se  depechant,  on  en  garde  la  peau  pour  les  sauvages, 
qui  en  couvrent  le  tuyau  de  leur  pipe. 

Tous  ces  fourmillements  dans  les  patouillages  encagent  les  habi- 
tants dans  la  palissade  et  la  plage,  ou  tout  en  «  charrant  »,  aux  fins 
de  jour  pervenches,  soufflees  de  grosses  bouffees  d'air  mol,  ils  s'amu- 
sent  a  emdier  les  jeunes  pelicans,  presque  nus,  qui,  avec  des  gestes 
gauches  de  leurs  ailerons  denudes,  plongem  voracement,  quelque- 
fois  deux  a  la  fois,  jusqu'aux  epaules.  dans  le  bee  de  leur  mere  pour 
extraire  leur  pitance  de  sa  besace. 

Les  mariniers,  moins  sensibles,  tuent  les  grands-gosiers  pour  s'em- 
parer  de  leur  poche,  qui,  sechee  bien  serree  autour  d'un  boulet  de 
morticr.  fait  un  sac  a  tabac  impermeable.  D'autres  en  font  des  calot- 
tes de  tete. 

Des  bandes  de  becassines-de-mer  survolem  les  vagues  hesitantes  : 
le  crepuscule  ramene  les  damiers  et  les  fois.  qui  se  laissent  attraper 
a  la  main. 

Les  maringoutns,  et  les  frappe-d'abord,  gros  comme  des  guepes. 


LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 


qui  tourbillonnent  en  nuees  jaunStres  et  piquent  avant  meme  d'etre 
poses,  «  gatent  le  dormitouere  ».  On  doit  sans  cesse  inventer  de 
nouvelles  berres,  des  toiles  posees  sur  des  berceaux  de  Cannes,  pour 
echapper  a  leur  impudence. 

La  foret  assoiffee,  dont  les  cailles-de-bois  recherchent  l'ombre, 
lorsqu'un  orage  est  proche,  se  garnit  de  mouches-a-feu,  et,  le  soir, 
est  illuminee  de  sarabandes  feeriques  accompagnees  par  les  cris  in- 
quietants  des  hiboux-grosse-tete. 

Les  rats  trottinent  partout  dans  le  sable,  se  glissent  dans  le  fort, 
rongent  les  murs  de  poteaux  et  les  crosses  des  fusils.  L'eau  est  poluee, 
les  flux-de-ventre  se  multiplient,  mais  les  sauvages  de  1'Ouest  ap- 
portent  des  gaieties  seches  excellentes  contre  la  dysenteric  faites 
de  plaquemines,1  des  beaux  fruits  oranges  un  peu  fades,  qu'ils  pilent 
entre  deux  pierres,  pour  faire  ces  pains  plats  boueanes. 

M.  de  Bienville,  que  ces  petits  ennuis  ne  sauraient  decourager, 
recharge  ses  canots,  et,  par  les  lacs,  regagne  le  Mississippi,  dont  il 
veut  connaltre  la  rive  occidentals 

Les  ormeaux  posent  des  masses  blondes  dans  la  frondaison  dure 
des  chenes-verts ;  les  bois  d'arc,  edaires  par  le  soldi,  semblent  peints ; 
les  prairies,  ou  jouent  les  cheval-diables,2  sont  bruissantes  de  cigales, 
et,  le  soir,  ponctuees  de  vers-lutsants  et  de  larves  eclairees,  en  quete 
d'escargots. 

La  diere  est  bonne.  Le  gibier  d'ete  picore  les  arbres-volaille,  une 
sorte  de  manioc,  dont  ils  aiment  les  graines. 

Son  enfance  canadienne  a  mithridatise  M.  de  Bienville,  pres- 
qu'aussi  endurci  que  les  sauvages,  dont  il  se  sent  proche.  II  nage  dans 
des  eaux  infestees  de  crocodiles,  traverse  des  rapides  sur  des  cajeux 
inquietants,  sans  qu'il  lui  mesarrive.  11  envie  seulement  ses  com- 
pagnons  plus  grands  ;  tandis  qu'ils  se  contentent  de  barboter  jus- 
qu'a  la  ceinture,  lui  est  presque  a  la  nage  et  oblige  de  pousser  de- 
vant  lui  son  petit  bagage  sur  des  branchages.  Lorsque  le  terrain 
est  trop  submerge  pour  pouvoir  cabaner,  comme  les  coqs  d'Inde,  il 
passe  la  nuit  dans  les  arbres,  ou  il  trouve  moyen  de  se  reposer. 

II  est  si  vaillant,  si  tenace,  malgre  sa  jeunesse  et  sa  taille  cour- 
taude,  qu'il  gagne  la  confiance  de  toutes  les  nations,  dont  il  apprend 
peu  a  peu  les  dialectes.  Ses  compagnons  lui  sont  completement  de- 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

voues.  c  C'est  un  hommc  cccureux  et  fort  le  diable  »,  disent-ils  de 
leur  commandeur  de  vingt  ans. 

Aux  louanges  de  M.  de  Sauvolles,  dom  il  est  le  bras  droit,  il 
repond  legerement  :  <  C'est  la  un  bon  metier  pour  tempirer  les 
feux  de  la  jeunesse.  Nous  ne  laissons  pas  de  chanter  et  de  tire  pour 
faire  voir  a  nos  guides  que  la  fatigue  ne  nous  fait  pas  de  peine.  » 

Le  16  Septembre,  a  vingt-huit  lieues  de  la  mer,  dans  un  coude  de 
la  riviere,  il  rencontre  une  fregate  anglaise  de  seize  canons.  Le 
capitaine,  pas  tres  enthousiasme  par  le  panorama  qu'il  a  sous  les 
yeux,  lui  confie  qu'il  a  et£  envoy£,  avec  une  autre  fregate  arrfitee 
devant  la  passe,  a  la  recherche  de  la  riviere  mentionnec  par  le  Pere 
Hennepin  dans  ses  livres,  par  un  Daniel  Coxe,  qui  posscde  en  New 
Jersey  une  immense  concession  octroyee  par  Charles  1".  Quand  il 
aura  trouve  son  affaire,  le  Capitaine  Bar  reviendra  avec  quatre  vais- 
seaux  et  des  families  anglaises,  pour  fonder  un  etablissement. 

II  n'est  pas  sur  d'etre  sur  le  Mississipi,  car  ce  n'esl  pas  14  du 
tou!  le  paradis  terrcstre  que  le  Pere  a  depeint.  M.  de  Bienville  pro- 
file de  cette  incertitude  pour  lui  assurer  que  la  riviere  cherchde  est 
bcaucoup  plus  a  l'Ouest,  et  que  cette  riviere  est  une  d£pendance  du 
Canada,  dont  le  roi  de  France  a  regulicrement  pris  possession.  Le 
capitaine  n'a  plus  qu'a  virer  de  bord  et  chercher  ailleurs. 

A  son  insu,  un  de  ses  ingenieurs,  Second,  protestant  francais,  a 
remis  a  M.  de  Bienville,  pour  le  roi,  un  placet  proposant  d'etablir 
dans  la  colonie  400  families  huguenotes,  emigrees  depuis  la  revo- 
cation de  l'Edit  de  Nantes  et  actuellement  dans  les  Carolines,  pouxvu 
que  la  libertd  de  conscience  leur  soit  assured. 

Apres  cet  eVenement,  l'anse  devient  <  le  Detour  des  Anglak  ». 

L'ete"  prolong^  a  paru  tres  dur,  les  maringouins  ont  harcele  et  se 
sont  montres  beaucoup  plus  mauvais  voisins  que  les  sauvages.  Molle- 
meni,  ks  colonistes  ont  essaye  d'ensemencer  un  peu  de  ble,  mais  il 
a  iii  brule.  Autour  d'eux  le  sol,  lorrefie  comme  un  mok.a  d' Arabic, 
est  iropropre  a  toute  culture. 

Us  prtfparem  pour  Paris  des  billets  disabuses  :  <  Le  terrain  est 
asseurSment  fort  ingrat,  ce  n'est  que  du  sable  bruslant,  tout  Vherbage 
y  est  bruit  par  t'ardeur  du  Soleil,  le  mois  de  Juin  y  est  tres  chaud  et 
Von  manque  d'y  e"tre  en  grande  disette  d'eau.  » 

Pour  supplemt-nter  Ic  peu  d'eau  fraiche,  on  recueille  I'eau  de  pluie 
dans  des  troncs  d'arbres  cvides  en  auge,  mais  en  ete  on  ne  peut  comp- 
ter que  sur  les  pluies  d'orage.  Un  traversier  a  et£  s'approvisiortner  2 


■ 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN 

St.  Domingue,  a  rapporte  de  la  clairine.  un  rhum  foudroyant,  mais 
les  vivres  sont  deja  en  grande  partie  engloutis. 

II  faut  beaucoup  de  choses  pour  nourrir  ces  robustes  Canadiens. 
lis  allongent  leurs  menus  de  mademoiselles,  maquerillots,  taires  et 
raitons.  des  raies  grosses  et  petites.  Barbotant  jusqu'a  la  ceinture, 
Us  pechent  des  coquillages,  des  moules,  des  enormes  crabes,  les 
<  tourlourous  »,  des  araignees  de  mer,  ils  tendent  sous  l'eau  des 
nasses  de  lianes  appatees  de  gibier  pour  attraper  «  la  viande  a  gens 
saouls  >,  autrement  dit  la  chevrette,1  qui  est  enorme. 

Ils  font  preuve  de  ressources  culinaires,  savent  griller  l'affreux 
rat-des-bois,  a  moustaches  gauloises,  l'oppossura  des  sauvages,  qui 
remplit  de  graisse  la  lechefrite  ;  on  en  trouve  partout,  boueux  d'ap- 
parence,  se  promenant  a  pas  tratnants  en  quete  de  glands  et 
d'oiseaux,  les  pctits  passant  une  tete  pointue  hors  du  bavolet  de 
teur  mere.  Quand  on  approche,  au  lieu  de  s'enfuir,  ils  se  couchent 
et  font  le  mort,  esperant  se  conFondre  au  terrain.  A  la  saison  des 
nids,  males  et  femelles  partem  a  la  recherche  d'herbe  douce  et  seche  ; 
quand  la  provision  est  rongee,  la  femelle  se  couche  sur  le  dos  en  ser- 
rant  son  butin  entre  ses  pattes,  sur  son  ventre,  et  le  male,  serrant 
les  dents,  la  traine  par  sa  longue  queue  guilloch^e,  sans  poil,  jus- 
qu'a I'endroit  degage  par  eux  dans  les  broussailles,  au  pied  d'un 
arbre. 

Les  Vatels  en  chamois,  apres  en  avoir  arrache  le  muse,  farcissent 
de  ciboulette  et  d'onionette  sauvage  les  portitis.* 

Sur  leur  gril,  ils  arrangent  des  becassines,  des  cache-cache  et  des 
petits  oiseaux  gras,  qu'ils  appellent  ortolans  ou  driers,  parce  que 
leurs  ailes  et  leur  queue  semblent  etre  scellees  de  minuscules  cachets 
rouges.  lis  font  mitonner  les  lapins  impregnes  d'hysope  et  d'estra- 
gon,  qu'ils  ont  enlumes  a  la  mousse  dans  les  creux  d'arbre  leur 
servant  de  terrier  ;  tournent  des  gibelottes  d'ecureuils  rouges  ou 
banded  de  jaune,  mais  ils  refusent  de  toucher  aux  ecureuils  volants, 
qui,  leurs  membranes  etendues  planent  d'un  arbre  a  l'autre,  en 
uiilisant  leur  queue  comme  gouvernail.  c  Ces  [aeons  d'aller  en 
gorouage  nous  tribulent  >,  avouent  les  chasseurs,  troubles  par  cette 
locomotion  peu  naturelle. 

La  chair  noire  des  papegais,   les  perroquets  £meraudcs  coiffes 

1.  Cfevette 

2.  Porc-ipici 


d'aurore,  est  assez  bonne  rdtie,  mais  ils  n'y  touchent  qu'en  derniere 


Dans  les  futaies  de  ehenes  et  de  noyers  hlancs.  pepi  antes  de  man- 
geur-moqueurs  et  d'oiseaux-bleus,  ils  vont  chercher  de  longues 
morilles  dont  ils  font  des  fricassees,  et  sur  les  liards  et  les  irenes 
pourris,  une  autre  espece  de  champignons  qu'ils  appellent  gras- 
double,  sous  pretexte  qu'ils  en  ont  le  gout. 

Sur  les  arbrisseaux  des  terres  maigres,  ils  cueillent  les  bleuets 
suer£s,  gros  comme  des  grains  de  genievre.  des  airelles,  des  mures 
trainantes,  des  raisins  violets  arrondis  isolement  ou  en  jumeaux  sur 
les  vignes  parasites  des  plaquebieres,  et  qui,  prives  de  soleil,  ne 
parviennent  pas  a  maturity,  mais  sont  bons  en  confiture,  lorsqu'on 
a  du  sucre,  ce  qui  n'arrive  pas  tous  les  jours. 

Les  lauriers-sauce,  le  file,  obtenu  en  pilant  les  feuilles  seches  des 
grands  sassafras,  et  les  aromates  sauvages  servent  d'assaisonnement. 

La  prairie,  qui  au  temps  rouille  se  damasse  de  fleurs  jaunes  et 
bistres,  comme  un  dessin  persan  ton  sur  ton.  est  pietin^e  par  les 
vanneaux  hupp£s  autour  des  flaques  ;  des  enormes  passages  de 
corbijeaux  nuances,  dans  une  plainte  a  fendre  l'ame.  arrivent  sur 
la  cote. 

Le  gibier  d'eau  est  moim  abondant  que  dans  le  delta,  mais  aux 
canards- branch  us,  aux  canards  noirs  des  lies  et  aux  sarcelles.  qui 
attendent  1'etre  automnieres  pour  endosser  leur  beaute  bleue,  s'a- 
joute  l'hiver  la  migration  du  Nord  :  les  grosses  outardes  cendrees, 
au  cri  aigu  ;  les  oies-nonettes.  au  blanc  jabot  ;  les  oies-aigles,  dont 
les  ailes  sont  en  demi-deuil  ;  les  blancs  canards  d'Inde  a  bajottes 
rouges,  (res  delicats  tant  qu'ils  sont  jeunes  ;  les  canards  francais 
granivores,  a  tete  et  cou  de  velours  vert,  tout  le  long  de  leur  voyage 
gorges  de  folle-avoine  et  de  champichoul,  excellents  avant  qu'ils  ne 
touchent  au  poisson  ;  les  canards-cheval,  dont  le  profil  est  vague- 
ment  chevalin  ;  les  pailles-en-queue,  derriere  lesquels,  chei  les  males, 
deux  longues  plumes  oscillent  ;  les  canards-mulet,  n£s  des  amours 
coupables  des  canards  d'Inde  et  francais  ;  les  canards  noirs  du  Nord. 

Descendant  du  cercle  arctique,  le  chceur  de  basse  des  cygnes- 
siffleurs  nappe  la  plaine,  quand  leur  vol  passe.  On  ne  voit  d'eux 
que  leurs  immenses  ailes  deploy^es,  comme  des  voilures  au  sechage. 
et  la  tache  de  leurs  pattes  noires.  Les  Francais  se  taisent  pour  £couter 
le  roulement  module,  qui  les  remue  comme  une  sorte  de  message 
celeste,  parce  qu'il  vient  d'en  haul.  Quand  ils  sont  poses,  l'envoute- 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AI5E 


75 


mem  cesse,  on  Ies  mange.  Les  sauvages  depouillent  les  beaux  cygnes 
immacules  pour  faire  des  palatines  de  duvet  aux  jeunes  gens  de 
leurs  nations,  des  diademes  de  plumes  a  leurs  Souverains,  des  mantes 
a  leurs  femmes  nobles,  des  bouquets  de  t£te  a  leurs  guerriers. 

On  leur  reserve  tous  les  plumages  abattus.  Sis  les  prennent  lors- 
qu'ils  viennent  traiter  du  limbourg  bleu  ou  rouge  et  des  munitions 
pour  la  farine  de  ble  d'Inde  que  les  femmes  apportent  sur  leur 
dos  dans  leurs  banneties,  des  marines  rondes  et  profondes  de  cannes, 
soutenues  au  front  et  aux  epaules  par  des  bandes  de  peau  d'ours 
passees  en  blanc. 

Le  mahiz,  chez  eux,  murk  en  epis  enormes.  II  y  en  a  de  deux 
sortes  ;  1'un  blanc,  a  grains  plats,  rides,  fort  tendres,  dont  on  fait 
une  farine  naturellement  tres  blanche  ;  l'autre  jaune,  a  grains 
ronds  et  luisants,  tres  durs,  que  l'on  concasse  pour  faire  le  grut. 
Dans  les  terres-hautes  on  recolte  un  mahiz  analogue,  dont  les  grains 
roses,  bleus  et  mauves  ressemblent  a  la  rassade.  Une  autre  espece, 
«  le  petit  bled  »  pousse  en  epis  moins  gros,  plus  delicats  au  gout, 
qu'on  mange  parfois  entiers,  cuits  sous  la  cendre. 

Pour  obtenir  la  farine,  les  sauvagesses  font  cuire  a  moitie  le  grain 
dans  1'eau,  lorsqu'il  est  sechd,  le  «  grole  a1  mele  de  cendre  pour 
1'empecher  de  bruler  dans  un  plat  de  terre.  Quand  il  est  roussi, 
elles  passent  la  cendre  dans  un  van  finement  clisse,  et  dans  la  pile, 
un  tronc  fort  proprement  evide  au  feu,  elles  ecrasent  ce  grain  avec 
un  peu  d'eau  et  de  la  cendre  de  favioles.  La  farine,  bien  sech£e,  se 
conserve  six  mois  si  on  a  soin  de  I'exposer  de  temps  en  temps  au 
soleil. 

Les  sauvages  apportent  aussi  des  pistaches2  a  coques  parchemin^es, 
qu'ils  trouvent  dans  la  terre  en  processions.  Les  colons  les  grolent 
dans  la  cendre  chaude  et  les  pilent  pour  en  faire  une  sorte  de  cacao. 

Depuis  novembre,  les  truites  pointillees  et  les  poissons -rouges  re- 
montent  l'emboucliure  des  rivieres  pour  frayer,  ce  qui  facilite  la 
peche. 

En  fin  de  compte,  tout  le  monde  grommelle  mais  se  porte  bien.  On 
s'habitue  a  la  proximity  des  sauriens  et  des  batraciens,  bien  que  le 
jargonnement  des  gros  ouaouarons,8  qu'on  garoche  a  coups  de 
coquilles  pour  les  faire  taire,  soit  insupportable  nuitamment. 

1.  Grille 

2.  Arachide* 

3.  Grenouillcs 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANCHISE 

Cependant  apres  la  chaleur  torride  des  mois  passes,  le  froid  erispe 
rnordille  les  oreillcs,  penetre  le  drap  d'Usseau  des  cottes,  le  vent 
qui  .-.oik  ]u'  les  troncs  flexibles  des  lataniers  paralt  desagreable,  la 
brume  est  frequente. 

c  Aver  patience,  le  doux  temps  va  prendre  a  bient6t  >,  assurent 
les  Canadiens,  qui  en  ont  vu  bien  d'auires. 

Au  debut  de  Decembre,  le  fort  entend  le  canon  et  depeche  une 
felouque  jusqu'a  l'lle  au  Vaisseau,  pour  voir  de  quoi  i!  s'agit. 

C'est  tout  simplement  La  Renammte,  fregate  de  50  canons,  et 
la  Gironde,  qui  arrivent  de  France,  avec  M.  d'lbberville  et  M.  de 
Surgeres,  accompagnes  de  M.  Pierre  Duguet  de  Boisbriant,  un 
cousin  des  Lemoyne,  qui  va  prendre  la  majorite  de  Biloxi,  de  Mes- 
sire  Louis  Juchercau  de  St  Denis,  apparentc  a  M.  d'lbberville,  et 
M.  de  Mai  ton,  tons  deux  officiers  bleus,  du  Chevalier  de  Remonville, 
du  Pere  du  Ru,  lesuite,  et  d'une  cinquantaine  de  tacherons  franca  is. 

A  bord  se  trouve  aussi  M.  Le  Sueur,  geologiste  Canadien,  que 
M.  1'Huillier,  fermier-general,  a  envoys"  pour  eiudier  la  mine  de 
terre  turquoise,  qu'il  a  decouverte  en  1695,  a  deux  cents  lieues  au 
dessus  de  la  Riviere  des  Islinois,  tandis  qu'il  construisait  un  fort 
pour  le  Couvernement  de  la  Nile  France. 

La  venue  des  vaisseaux  de  France  est  un  eVenement  capital  pour 
la  petite  colonic  Quand  les  chaloupes  approchent  tout  le  monde 
est  sur  la  plage.  On  s'etreint,  il  y  a  des  billets  des  absents,  des  pa- 
quets.  des  nouvelles,  des  affutiaux  neufs. 

Sa  Majeste  a  nomme  M.  de  Sauvolles  Gouverneur  de  la  Colonie 
et  M.  de  Bienville  Lt.  Gouverneur.  Maintes  rejouissances  com- 
mencent,  on  a  des  vivres,  du  bon  vin  de  France  «  a  goueche  >,r  un 
gros  fiit  de  goutte.  On  peut  se  remettre  a  chanter,  a  <  s'ejouir  >  en 
buvant  de  grandes  lampees  gaillardes,  a  feter  le  siede  qui  commence, 
qui  sera  peut-etre  meilleur  que  tous  les  autres. 

On  ne  s'apercoit  plus  du  froid.  ni  de  l'eloignement,  on  est  pour 
quelques  jours  une  province  de  France,  au  garde-manger  bien  garni. 


VIII. 


Lorsque  M.  d'Ibbervillc  apprend  l'histoire  de  la  frigate  anglaise, 
il  juge  imperatif  de  s'dtablir  au  plus  l6t  sur  le  Mississipi,  ou  ne 
se  trouvent  encore  que  des  Peres,  jusque  chez  les  Kaskakias. 

Le  15  Janvier  1700,  dans  irois  chaloupes,  avec  le  Pere  du  Ru  ct 
cinquante  Canadiens,  il  se  dirige  vers  les  lacs  et  apres  quelques  jours 
de  traversee  debouche  sur  le  fleuve. 

M.  de  Bienville  l'a  precede  en  felouque  pour  demander  conseil 
au  chef  des  Bayagoulas,  quand  au  choix  d'un  lieu  a  l'abri  des  inun- 
dations. Les  Bayagoulas  out  indique  au  dela  de  l'arbre-a-bouteille, 
un  point  solide,  un  peu  sur£leve  sur  le  fleuve,  a  dix-huit  lieues  de 
la  mer. 

A  cet  endroit  le  delta,  pel£  par  plaques  d&olees  de  limon  dur 
ressemblant  a  la  peau  des  crocodiles,  sen  de  villegiature  d'hiver  aux 
aigrettes-neigeuses,  qui  a  cette  epoque  n'ont  pas  encore  revetu  leur 
parure  amoureusc,  aux  ibis  mordores  dont  le  dos  est  pourpre,  aux 
aigrettes-bleues  qui  au  temps  des  amours  se  laissent  flatter  de  la 
main  et  tombent  au  rang  d'aigrettes-folles,  aux  grebes  affublees  de 
fremissames  oreilleres  oranges,  aux  pieds-verts,  aux  bec-scies  broyant 
la  chevrette,  aux  butors  roux  dont  les  cris  gonfles  semblent  des 
mugissements. 

La  percussion  des  cognees  fait  sursauter  l'atmosphere  cristallisee. 
Cinquante  cypres  sont  par  terre.  On  eqttarit  leur  bois  rougeatre 
pour  mooter  le  fort  Maurepas,  dont  le  corps  de  logis,  a  deux  etages 
et  machicoulis,  aura  s8  pieds  sur  chaque  face,  et  sera  arme  de  six 
pieces. 

Void  sur  le  fleuve  un  canot  pagaye1  par  sept  hommes,  il  approche. 
C'est  le  Chevalier  de  Tonti,  qui  se  presente  a  M.  d'Ibberville  et  lui 
off  re  ses  services. 

II  a,  lui  aussi,  entendu  parler  de  1'etablissement  francais  et  a 


. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANf  AISE 

voulu  s'enquerir.  Sa  Majesty  lui  a  fait  don  du  Fort  St.  Louis  des 
Islinois,  en  commun  avec  M.  de  la  Forest,  mais  en  i6gS,  il  en  a 
abandoning  le  commandemem  a  son  frere  auquel  il  a  c£de  la  rnoitie 
de  sa  part.  Son  ncveu,  M.  de  Liette,  venu  au  Canada  en  1687,  reprf- 
sente  ses  interets  dans  les  Xslinois,  il  dispose  de  tout  son  temps. 

<  Es-tu  la  ?  »  sYcrient  les  Canadians,  en  tombant  dans  les  bras 
les  uns  les  autres.  On  parle  de  ceux  qu'on  a  laisse'  derriere  soi  a 
Quebec,  Montreal,  Trois- Rivieres  ;  les  Canadiens  ont  tous  des 
parents  et  des  amis  mutuets. 

Pendant  que  sous  la  surveillance  de  M.  de  la  Ronde,  garde  de 
la  marine,  et  de  M.  de  Malion,  le  fort  se  termine,  avec  le  Chevalier 
de  Tonii,  MM.  d'Ibberville  et  de  Bienville  remontent  le  fteuve. 
Le  temps  a  changed  La  campagne,  dissoute  et  fondue  dans  le  bn.mil- 
lard,  qui  en  soustrait  cous  les  volumes  et  les  tonalites,  a  1'air  d'avoir 
ere*  lichee  par  un  chien. 

Le  Mississipi  est  maintenant,  sur  douze  lieues,  frang^  de  grands 
bonds  de  pierre,  et  presque  tout  de  suite  on  arrive  au  debarquement 
des  Natchez. 

M.  d'Ibberville  decide  d'aller  au  Grand  Village.  «  le  plus  beau 
du  monde  en  Louisiane,  constate  Periicault,  embelli  par  de  tres 
belles  promenades  formees  par  la  nature  sans  artifice.  Ce  sont  des 
prairies  a  1' en  tow,  entrecoupecs  de  petits  costeaux,  sur  lesquels 
sont  des  bouquets  de  toutes  sortes  d'arbres  odorife'rants.  » 

Le  Grand  Village,  sur  la  Riviere  Blanche,  est  fait  de  huttes  carries 
de  Cannes,  accroupies  chacune  sur  un  petit  tertre,  et  dun  temple 

<  rond  au  dehors,  basty  avec  des  arbres  de  noyer  gros  comme  la 
cuisse  piiis  en  haul  en  demi  cercle  et  joints  ensemble  »,  dit  Pen  i  caul  t 
qui  s*y  connait  en  construction.  Des  mutes  de  cannes  recouvrent 
les  murs  crlpis.  Sur  le  toit  en  berceau,  trois  gros  oiseaux  de  bois, 
sans  pattes,  emplumes  rouge  et  blanc,  regardent  l'Orient. 

Le  Pere  St.  Cosme  vient  a  la  rencontre  de  M.  d'Ibberville,  ill 
echangent  des  salutations  cmues  et  bien  vile  le  Pere  met  les  nouveaux 
venus  au  courant  des  us  et  particularity  des  Natchez,  la  plus  intel- 
ligente  et  la  plus  affinee  des  nations  sauvages,  venus,  pre'tendent-ils 

<  de  quelque  part  pres  du  Soleil,  >  dans  lent  langue  «  oiia  >,  en 
passant  par  ce  qui  semble  etre  le  Mexique,  ou  d'apres  leur  <  vieille 
parole  >,  ainsi  qu'ils  appellent  la  tradition,  elle  comptait  autrefois 
s  00.000  guerriers. 

Les  Natchez  cruient  dans  une  deite1  supreme  *  coyocop  chili  t, 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  79 

l'Esprit  infiniment  grand,  qui  est  entoure  des  «  coyocop  thecou  », 
les  Esprits  servheurs.  Seul,  le  Malire  des  Mysteres  s'entretient 
farnilierenient  avec  lui.  Dans  le  temple,  separe  en  deux  pieces 
inegales,  brule  le  feu  rituel,  provenant  dit-on  du  Soleii,  des  buches 
de  noyer  blanc  ecorce\  sur  lesquelles  huit  gardes,  releves  trois  fois 
par  jour  et  un  commandeur  veillent,  en  les  attisant  d'^pines  de  la 
passion,  un  arbrisseau  barbell  d'epines  dures  en  forme  de  croix. 
Dans  la  deuxieme  partie  du  Temple,  sur  un  autel,  un  long  cofiret 
clisse'  contient  les  os  du  dernier  chef. 

Les  Natchez  croient  qu'apres  la  mort  l'ame  des  guerriers  va  vivre 
dans  un  pays  giboyeux,  pullulant  de  bceufs  sauvages,  tandis  que 
l'ame  de  ceux  qui  n'ont  pas  tue'  erre  dans  un  pays  de  lacs,  ou  pour 
subsister  elle  doit  se  contenter  de  crocodiles  et  de  poissons. 

Pour  arriver  a  cet  £tat  de  guerrier,  a  douze  ans  les  garcons  sont 
confic-s  au  membre  le  plus  age  de  la  famille,  qui  leur  enseigne  <  la 
parole  >,  c'est  a  dire  les  croyances  spirituelles  de  la  race,  a  tirer  l'arc 
d'acacia  tendu  d'un  nerf  de  bceuf  avec  des  traits  de  roseau,  emplu- 
mes  et  terminus  par  une  pointe  d'os  pour  la  chasse  aux  bceufs,  et  les 
en  train  e  a  la  course. 

La  nation  forme  cinq  villages.  Elle  est  commandee  par  un  Grand 
Soletl,  assiste  de  Petits  Soleils,  les  fils  de  femmes  de  race  royale 
qui  ^pousent  toujours  des  hommes  obscurs  ;  les  fils  de  Soleii  ne 
sont  que  des  chefs  de  guerre.  Le  systeme  est  matriarcal,  car  seul 
le  ventre  ne  peut  pas  mentir, 

Apres  les  Soleils,  vient  la  Noblesse,  la  descendance  generate  des 
femmes  Soleii,  puis  une  troisieme  caste,  les  Considiris,  de  la  lignee 
des  grands  Chefs,  et  enfin  les  manants  designed  par  le  nom  plus 
cruel  de  Puants.  Les  Puants  peuvent  devenir  Considered  en  faisant 
quelqu'action  d'eclat  :  lever  une  chevelure,  offrir  un  enfant  en 
sacrifice  a  la  mort  du  Grand  Soleii. 

La  nation  a  deux  langages  :  le  vulgaire,  qui  est  celui  des  puants, 
et  un  autre  reserve"  a  la  noblesse. 

Le  Grand  Soleii  vit  dans  une  enorme  cabane,  batie  sur  un 
monticule  plus  haut  que  les  autres.  Ses  sujets  ne  1'approchent  qu'a 
distance,  seule  sa  femme,  une  Puante,  peut  manger  et  dormir  dans 
la  meme  salle  que  lui  ;  matin  et  soir,  tous  les  deux  vont  prier  au 
temple. 

Lorsqu'un  Grand  Soleii  expire,  sa  femme  et  de  nombreux  fideles 
se  font  joyeusement  e'trangler  devant  sa  depouille,  car  en  l'escortant 


LA    LOU1SIANE     FRAN£AISE 

dans  le  monde  des  esprits,  ils  sont  certains  d'avoir  acces  a  la  felicite 
eternelle. 

Pendant  que  M.  d'Ibberville  ecoute  ces  explications,  qui  lui 
permettront  d'observer  toutes  les  amenites,  le  Grand  Soleil,  assis 
dans  un  palanquin  a  berceau,  couvert  de  peaux  peintes,  et  reposant 
stir  des  epaules  humaines,  s'avance  vers  lui. 

II  a  vraiment  une  prestance  royale.  Sur  sa  tete  un  diademe  de 
plumes  s'eleve  triangutairement,  surmonte  d'un  peu  de  fourrure 
et  d'une  crete  rouge  en  crin  de  cheval. 

II  est  suivi  d'un  long  cortege  :  le  Maltre  des  Ceremonies  et  des 
Mysteres,  qui  n'a  droit  qu'a  une  demi-couronne,  mais  compense 
cette  parcimonie  par  le  bouquet  de  plumes  attache  a  son  baton 
rouge  ;  son  <  Lone  >,  un  Considere  charge  d'allumer  sa  pipe,  qui  est 
en  meme  temps  son  porte-parole  ;  des  homines  de  haute  stature,  tres 
cuivres,  aux  traits  fins,  dont  le  crane  aplati,  en  parlie  rase  au 
charbon  ardent,  est  surmonte  de  quelques  meches  noires  attachees 
par  des  plumes  teintes,  une  longue  meche  Hotte  sur  leur  epaule 
gauche.  Leur  corps  nu,  epile,  est  frotle  d'huile  d'ours  et  peint  de 
vermilion  arabesque  de  blanc.  Les  oreilles  des  guerriers  sont  dis- 
tendues  par  des  ornements,  leur  nez  pique  est  traverse  dun  os,  sur 
leur  epaule  droite,  sonant  d'une  peau  de  chevreuil,  blanche  ou 
noire  selon  leur  rang,  un  casse-tete  est  pique  et  au-dessous  le  signe 
de  la  nation  qu'ils  ont  vaincue. 

Les  femmes  qui  les  accompagnent  sont  fort  laides,  et,  confie  le 
Pere  a  1'oreille  de  M.  d'Ibberville,  fort  licencieuses,  car  seules  les 
filles  ayant  comble  beaucoup  d'hommes  peuvent  franchir  Teiroite 
passerelle  conduisant  aux  villages  d'apres  la  mort.  Les  femmes 
Soleil  font  casser  la  tete  de  leur  mari  infidele,  mais  peuvent  avoir 
autant  de  galants  qu'elles  souhaitent.  Le  Pere  n'approuve  pas  cette 
indulgence. 

Les  Puantes,  vetues  comme  toutes  les  femmes  d'un  long  alconan 
blanc  en  fibre  de  murier,  sont  piquees  d'une  ligne  verticale  au 
front  et  au  menton  :  les  Considerees  le  sont  au  visage  et  aux 
epaules  ;  les  femmes  nobles,  en  marque  <  de  valeur  »,  sont  piquees 
sur  les  seins  et  sur  le  ventre  de  soleils,  de  serpents,  d'oiseaux  et 
d'hieroglyphes. 

Leurs  longs  cheveux  noirs,  attaches  en  queue,  sont  retenus  par  un 
filet  de  murier.  Quelques  Puantes  sont  couvertes  d'une  mante  en 
plumes  de  coqs  d'lnde  ajustees  sur  un  filet  de  murier  a  mailles 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


81 


serrees,  laissant  passer  une  ipaule  et  un  sein  nu  ;  celles  des  Con- 
siderces  sont  en  plumes  blanches  de  canard  d'Inde  ;  celles  des 
femraes  Soleil  en  plumes  de  cygne  blanc. 

Les  fillettes  impuberes  ont  noue  par  des  glands,  amour  de  leur 
Milk*,  une  coune  frange  de  murier  ;  leur  ventre  est  emprisonm* 
dans  un  rcseau  du  meme  fil. 

Les  gar^ons  qui  n'ont  pas  atteint  l'age  nubile  sont  completement 
nus,  et  simplement  piques  sur  le  nez. 

Dans  ce  village,  deji  habitue  a  une  presence  blanche  et  respectee, 
les  Francais  sont  fort  bien  recus.  En  passant  pres  d'eux,  les  naturels 
disent  en  langue  vulgaire  :  <  Ichla  mougala  >,  te  voila  raon  ami, 
et  discr-hement  s'eloignent. 

Le  calumet  dure  trois  jours.  On  fume  le  feningue,  du  tabac  sau- 
vage  meld  de  feuilles  de  vinaigrier.  On  mange  des  ourspns  rotis,  la 
saga  mil  (5  de  conchac,  ces  Cannes  minces  et  dures,  poussant  naiurelle- 
1  hi  in  dans  les  terrains  sees,  qui  apres  avoir  graine,  ce  qui  demande 
plusieurs  annees,  meurent  et  ne  repoussent  pas  de  longtemps. 

Le  soir,  sur  la  place  ou  deux  torches  de  pin  sont  plantees,  trente 
couples  maries,  a  la  cadence  des  tambours  et  des  mains,  dansent 
des  quadrilles  barbares.  A  minuit,  les  jeunes  gens  et  les  jeunes  filles 
prennent  leur  place  ;  les  uns  et  les  autres  ne  se  melangent  jamais. 

Maintenant  qu'il  a  distribue  tous  ses  presents,  M.  d'Ibberville 
commence  le  trace  du  fort  qu'il  se  propose  d'elever  a  quelque  dis- 
tance du  village,  sur  une  ecore  argileuse  de  aoo  pieds  de  haut.  II 
s'appellera  <  Rosalie  >,  parce  que  e'est  le  nom  de  la  Comtesse  de 
Pontchartrain,  et  qu'il  veut  montrer  sa  reconnaissance  au  Ministre 
qui  a  favorise  ses  projets. 

Puis  M.  d'Ibberville,  avec  six  hommes,  part  dans  un  canot  d'ecorce 
chez  les  Taensas,  pendant  que  M.  de  Bienville  reste  avec  les  Natchez, 
pour  faire  preparer  une  provision  de  farine  de  ble  d'Inde. 

Pendant  que  les  femmes  pilent,  les  Natchez  jouent  a  leur  jeu 
favori.  Sur  un  terrain  battu,  une  dizaine  d'entre  eux  jettent,  tous 
a  la  fois,  une  perche  de  la  grosseur  du  poignet  et  de  quinze  pieds 
de  long,  a  la  suite  d'une  boule  roulante.  La  perche  la  plus  proche 
de  la  boule  gagne  le  point.  lis  prennent  leur  jeu  au  serieux,  les 
maladroits  perdent  leurs  arcs,  leurs  pelleteries  et  quelquetois  tous 
leurs  biens. 

Au  village  des  Taensas,  a  quatre  lieues  dans  les  terres,  M.  d'Ibber- 


82  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

ville  trouve  le  Pfcre  de  Montigny,  qui  a  d£ja  mont6  une  cabane  et 
commence  une  mission,  il  trouve  aussi  une  catastrophe. 

Le  feu  du  del  vient  de  tomber  sur  le  temple  et  l'a  embrasl,  la 
nation  a  aussitdt  conclu  que  c'ltait  une  vengeance  de  l'Esprit,  parce 
que  le  Pire  les  a  dissuades  de  sacrifier  des  victimes  pour  faire  cortege 
dans  le  pays  de  la  mort  a  leur  chef  r6cemment  d£c£d£. 

Le  grand  Pr£tre,  un  vieillard,  dame  devant  les  flammes  : 
«  Femmes,  par  valeur,  sacrifiez  vos  enfants  pour  apaiser  l'Esprit  1  > 
Et  les  mires,  le  visage  transfigure  jettent  leurs  nouveaux-n£s  dans 
le  brasier.  Cinq  sont  consumes  avant  que  M.  d'Ibberville  puisse 
arrtter  1'holocauste. 

M.  d'Ibberville  est  tr&s  affaibli  par  les  fi&vres  malignes  contract&s 
a  son  premier  voyage.  II  a  parcouru  200  lieues.  Avec  le  P&re  de  Mon- 
tigny, qui  a  d£dd£  de  Faccompagner  en  France,  il  va  regagner  Bi- 
loxi,  pendant  que  M.  de  Bienville  avec  1'infatigable  M.  de  St.  Denis, 
continuera  a  explorer  la  Ouachita  et  la  Rivifcre  Rouge,  le  territoire 
des  Outchioumis,  Nacassas,  et  Yatasses  pour  s'informer  des  postes 
espagnols  qui  pourraient  s'y  trouver. 


Le  nouvel  &ablissement  francais  a  suscite'  des  protestations.  A 
Madrid,  la  Junta  de  los  Indios  a  declare'  la  Louisiane  d£pendance 
du  Mexique,  et  deux  fois  Espagnole,  puisque  le  pays  du  Mississipi 
a  £li  d^couvert  par  des  sujets  d'Espagne  et  aussi  en  vertu  de  la  bulle 
d'Alexandre  VI  qui  partage  le  nouveau-raonde  entre  Espagnols  et 
Portugais. 

Le  Comte  dc  Pont  char  train  a  r^pondu  a  Don  Castel  del  Rio, 
1'Ambassadeur  a  Versailles,  que  Don  de  Soto  a  bien  dicouvert  le 
fleuve,  mais  n'a  proc£d£  a  aucun  &ablissement,  done  l'Espagne  ne 
peut  se  retrancher  derriere  un  droit  d'occupation.  Quant  a  la 
bulle,  elle  est  si  peu  effective,  que  Sa  Sainted  elle-meme  a  nomme" 
un  eveque  francais  a  Quebec.  Les  Espagnols  ont  Pensacola,  qtt'ils 
se  contentent  de  ce  Fort. 

En  l'absence  de  M.  d'Ibberville,  Don  Andri  de  la  Riola,  le  Gou- 
vemeur  de  Pensacola,  est  venu  jusqu'a  I'lle  au  Vaisseau,  sur  un 
navire  de  20  canons  suivi  d'une  balandre,  avec  l'intention  de  mettre 
les  Francais  en  fuite.  Quand  il  a  apercu  les  deux  frigates  royales, 
ses  intentions  sont  devenues  sensiblement  moins  belliqueuses,  il 
s'est  contente"  de  remettre  a  M.  de  Surgeres,  pour  qu'il  la  transmette 
au  roi,  une  protestation  6crite,  dont  M.  d'Ibberville  prend  con- 
naissance. 

En  mai  1700,  il  met  a  la  voile  pour  regagner  la  France,  oil  l'attend 
sa  femme,  Dame  The^ese  Pollet  de  Lacorabe-Pocatiere,  fille  d'un 
capitaine  du  regiment  de  Carignan,  qu'il  a  £pouse>  a  Quebec  en 
1693.  II  va  demander  a  Sa  Majeste"  d'envoyer  en  Louisiane  c  de 
jolies  filles  raisonnables  et  bien  faites  >,  des  moutons  espagnols  et 
un  grand  e  talon. 

Le  22  Juillet  1701,  M.  de  Sauvolles,  auquel  la  brume,  qui  chaque 
soir  divernit  le  paysage,  ne  vaut  rien,  se  sent  plus  mal  et  dans  la 
soiree  rend  sa  belle  ame  a  Dieu. 


84  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

M.  de  Bienville,  tout  atiristl,  prend  le  commandement  de  la 
colonie  ei  du  fort.  II  a  vingt-deux  ans. 

11  i  ■.  1,1. i:  ta  visile,  <  sans  dessein  >,  de  plusieurs  chefs  Chactas,  dont 
le  nom  signifie  «  voix  charmante  >  ;  une  nation  de  85.000  guerriers 
relativemcnt  humaine,  ct  se  voulant  musicale,  qui  possede,  entre  le 
Mississipi  et  la  Torabecbee,  un  vaste  territoire,  avec  cinquante  vil- 
lages disse  mines  du  Lac  Pontcharirain  a  la  limite  des  Yazoux. 

Les  Chactas,  accompagn&  de  leurs  ta'iques,1  ont  une  notion 
vague  de  la  puissance  francaise.  Au  fort,  leur  premiere  question 
est  pour  s'enquerir  s'il  se  trouve  autant  d'hommes  en  France  que 
dans  1'Etablissement.  Cependant,  ils  sont  sufnsamiuent  impression- 
nes  par  les  bouches-a-feu  pour  implorer  la  protection  de  M.  de  Bien- 
ville, contre  les  Chicachas,  leurs  voisins  du  nord,  dont  les  deux  a 
uois  niille  guerriers,  qui  ne  revent  que  plaies  el  bosses,  sont  echelon- 
nes  dans  neuf  villages,  plantes  dans  une  plaine  ferule  et  giboyeuse. 

M.  de  Bienville  ne  s' engage  a  rien,  mais  les  assure  du  paternalisme 
du  Roi,  et  les  convainct  de  son  amitie.  II  est  de  lignee  normande. 
et  s'en  souvient  toujours  a  propos. 

L'hiver,  cette  annee,  commence  ires  mal.  Les  poules  d'lnde  sont 
devenues  mefiantes  et  se  uennent  a  distance  respectueuse  du  fort. 
Outre  les  coquillages,  le  poisson  et  le  gibier  d'eau,  la  colonie  pour 
subsister  n'a  plus  que  le  ble  d'lnde  que  les  sauvages  apportent  par- 
cimonieusemeni  par  litrons  au  lieu  des  boisseaux  coutumicrs,  car 
la  recolte  a  ete  mauvaise.  La  dysenteric  fait  rage,  60  personnel 
meurent  en  trois  mois  ;  il  n'en  resie  plus  que  150. 

En  Decembre,  par  M.  de  la  Sourdiere,  enseigne  de  la  marine, 
qui  s'en  vient  en  chaloupe,  on  apprend  l'arrivee  au  niouillage  de 
Tile  de  M.  d'lbberville  sur  la  Renommtfe.  Son  frere,  M.  de  Serigny 
Lt,  de  marine,  la  accompagn^  sur  le  Palmier.  Cette  fois,  ce  n'est  pas 
de  nouvelles  dont  on  est  impatient,  mais  de  ravitaillement,  on  veut 
d'abord  manger,  on  lira  les  billets  ensuite. 

M.  de  la  Sourdiere  apporte  a  M.  de  Bienville  l'ordre  d'tfvacuer 
Biloxi,  detidement  trop  sterile,  ct  de  s'etablir  sur  la  riviere  Mobile. 
M.  dlbberville,  maintenant  Capitaine  de  Fregate  et  Commandant- 
General  de  Louiiiane,  est  immobilise  depuis  son  depart 
Dominguc  par  un  abces  au  c6t£. 


Tout  marri,  M.  de  Bienville  preside  aux  fetes  de  la  nouvelle 
annee  1701.  C'est  la  seconde  fois  qu'on  fait  bombance  depuis  1'ar- 
rivee,  Biloxi  est  approvisionne,  on  a  de  la  farine  de  froment  pour 
petrir  des  couronnes  blanches  et  des  miches  tressees,  des  pieces  de 
gros  vin  rouge,  une  ancre  d'eau-de-vie  qu'on  n'osait  plus  esperer, 
des  pains  de  sucre. 

Pour  la  circonstance,  M.  de  Bienville  a  revet u  son  habit  ventre- 
de-biche  des  grands  jours,  dont  l'or  est  un  peu  terni,  sa  rapiere  de 
§remonie.  Sa  perruque  a  connu  des  temps  meilleurs,  il  semble  que 
ctes  de  Louisiane  aient  un  penchant  pour  les  boucles.  II  a 
neanmoins  fort  bon  air,  bien  qu'un  jouvenceau  encore,  sa  bouche 
bien  dessinee,  ses  grands  yeux  volontiers  reveurs  revelent  la  droi- 
ture  de  son  esprit. 

t  l'axe  de  la  petite  bande  francaise,  qui,  a  la  moindre  alerte 

i  serre  autour  de  lui,  corome  des  brebis  apeurees,  parce  que  de 

tous  c'est  le  moins  depa)-se  et  le  plus  ardent.  Cette  vie  primitive 

atteint  par  ses  repondances  les  aspirations  de  son  enfance  du  Nord, 

et  quand  on  a  recu  sa  premiere  blessure  a  17  ans,  on  ne  craint  plus 

.  II  est  honnetement  modeste,  mais  il  a  foi  dans  sa  mission  et 

tns  la  Louisiane  ;  imaginatif,  il  antiripe,  pressent  l'avenir. 

Aussit6t  que  les  rustiques  agapes  sont  terminees,  avec  20  soldats 
t  Canadiens,  il  s'achemine  en  chaloupe  vers  la  Baie  de  la  Mobile, 
pour  chercher  un  emplacement  favorable. 

Au  passage,  il  s'arrete  a  l'lle  du  Massacre,  promue  Ue  Dauphine, 
011  il  trouve  M.  d'Ibberville  alite.  et  a  son  grand  contentement  deux 
autres  freres  :  Antoine  de  Chateauguay  age  de  so  ans,  et  Joseph  de 
Serigny,  qu'il  n'a  pas  vus  depuis  plusieurs  annees.  II  les  embrasse 
comme  du  bon  pain. 

II  fait  aussi  connaissance  avec  le  commissaire-ordonnateur  du 
Roi,  Nicolas  de  la  Salle,  qui  sans  etre  parent  de  la  famille  Cavelier, 


86  LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

a  accompagne  M.  de  la  Salle  dans  sa  premiere  expedition  a  l'era- 
bouchure  du  Mississipi,  et  dont  le  nez  pined  ne  lui  dit  rien  qui  vaille. 

Puisqu'on  a  decide  de  transporter  la  colonie  dans  le  voisinage 
et  que  le  mouillage  est  meilleur  la  qu'ailleurs.  les  charpentiers  des 
vaisseaux  sont  en  train  de  construire  dans  I'lle  Dauphine,  sur  le 
sable  crissant  deja  souille,  des  cabanes,  un  magasin  et  un  petit  fort. 
Le  Chevalier  de  Remonville,  le  premier,  a  bati  une  habitation,  dans 
laquelle  une  grande  piece  sen  de  chapelle. 

L'ile  est  boisee  sur  un  quart  de  sa  longueur  de  pins  et  de  chenes 
blancs,  qui  conviennent  pour  la  charpente  et  font  de  bonnes  vergues. 
La  porcelaine,  un  pourpier  sauvage.  galope  a  leur  ombre,  et  les 
matelots  se  sont  aper^us  que  les  fruits  aigrelets  des  poiriers  £pineux 
sont  excellents  pour  la  dysenteric  On  p£che  de  grosses  sardes,  des 
raies  bouclees,  des  poissons-rouges  aux  ecailles  enormes,  mais  aucun 
legume  ne  vient  dans  le  sable  reverberant,  dont  l'eclat  blesse  les 
yeux  au  grand  soleil.  On  a  decouvert  dans  l'ile  une  Strange  par- 
ticularity :  a  quelques  pas  du  rivage,  il  suffit  de  creuser  dans  le  sable 
un  puits  de  quelques  pieds  et  d'y  mettre  une  barrique  defonc^e  pour 
tirer  de  l'eau  douce. 

Avec  M.  de  Surgeres,  M.  de  Chateaugnay  et  quarante  tacherons, 
a  mi-chemin  de  Biloxi  et  Pensacola,  M.  de  Bienville  entre  dans 
la  baie  de  la  Mobile,  semee  de  petites  iles  auxquelles  on  donne  une 
identite  :  Ile-aux-huitres,  au-cochon,  aux-statues...  Au  fond  de  la 
bate,  qui  a  neuf  lieues  de  profondeur,  il  rencontre  I'estuaire  d'une 
riviere  «  aussi  large  que  la  Seine  devanl  les  Invaltdes  ». 

Sur  la  riviere,  bordee  de  cannes,  a  16  lieues  de  l'ile  Dauphine, 
une  gibbositl  de  la  rive  se  hausse  a  ao  pieds,  dpaissement  verdie 
par  une  chesniere  reraplie  de  moqueurs-des-bois,  des  cypres  degrin- 
golem  les  pentes. 

On  va  faire  «  un  petit  desert  >,  e'est  a  dire  defricher  et  bruler. 
La  place  sera  sure  a  la  noyade,  pense  M.  de  Bienville.  On  dit  id 
<  a  la  noyade  >,  comme  on  dit  aillcurs  a  V&ii  ou  a  I'hiver. 

Le  io  f^vrier,  M.  le  Sueur  revient  au  mouillage  de  l'ile  Dauphine 
avec  aooo  quintaux  de  sa  fameuse  terre  verte  et  blene,  qu'il  a  Hi 
chercher  chez  les  Sioux  pour  faire  examiner  par  l'Hdtel  des  Fermes. 
M.  d'lbberville  est  toujours  allonge  et  s'ennuie  beaucoup  de  cette 
inactivity  insolite,  il  est  curieux  d'entendre  parler  de  ces  Sioux, 
dont  il  ignore  tout. 

M.  le  Sueur  a  beaucoup  de  choses  a  raconter.  Parti  en  chaloupe 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

avec  S5  hommes  et  les  outils  necessaires,  en  route  il  a  reconnu  tout 
un  territoire  sur  lequel  on  ne  possedait  aucune  precision  :  a  420 
lieues  de  la  mer,  l'embouchure  du  Missouri,  un  courant  tres  rapide 
et  fangeux,  qui  en  temps  de  crue,  arrache  les  arbres  de  ses  fles  et 
de  ses  rives  pour  les  vomir  dans  le  Mississipi,  jusque-la  calme  et 
digne  ;  dans  les  Islinois,  la  mine  de  plomb  de  Maramecq,  pres  de 
la  Riviere-a-Ia-Mine. 

II  a  reconnu  la  Riviere-aux-Bceufs  jusqu'a  la  Montagne-qui- 
trempe-dans  l'eau,  avant  la  prairie-auxmoines,  1'entree  de  la  Riviere 
des  Ouisconsins,  celle  des  Paquelinettes  le  long  de  la  Prairie-aux- 
Ailes,  le  Lac  du  Bon-Secours,  ou  dans  l'lle  Pelee,  Nicolas  Perrot  batit 
un  fort  trcnte-rinq  ans  plus  tot,  la  riviere  St.  Pierre,  enfin  la  Riviere 
Bleue,  dont  le  lit  a  l'embouchure  est  fait  de  terre  bleue,  une  colora- 
tion due,  croit-il,  au  silicate  de  fer  en  dissolution. 

II  a  eu  des  aventures.  A  la  Riviere-aux-roches-plates,  des  sauvages 
en  l'apercevant  out  pousse  leur  cri  de  mort  ;  il  a  defendu  a  ses 
hommes  de  tirer,  et  une  heure  durant,  les  a  fait,  sans  arret,  entrer 
et  sortir  d'un  petit  bois,  comme  des  polichinelles,  si  bien  que  les 
sauvages  ont  cru  avoir  affaire  a  une  troupe  nombreuse  et  se  sont 
retires. 

Au  printemps,  apres  le  Cap  St.  Antoine,  il  a  manque  de  provi- 
sions, les  hommes  ont  et£  reduits  a  boire  la  seve  des  arbres,  a  manger 
les  feuilles  tendres  et  les  boutons  de  muriers.  Des  chasseurs  ont  tra- 
verse le  fleuve  et  rapporu*  deux  ours.  Un  peu  plus  loin,  un  mission- 
naire  les  a  ravitailles,  puis  ils  ont  trouve  la  Petite-Riviere-Salee,  oil 
les  Canadiens  et  les  Islinois  viennent  chercher  leur  sel,  et  autour  de 
laquelle  il  y  avail  beaucoup  de  chevreuils,  eux  aussi  friands  de  sel. 

La  Riviere-Bleue  se  trouve  chez  les  Sioux  de  l'Ouest,  nomades, 
vivant  sous  des  tentes  de  peaux  de  ba?uf  cousues,  n'ayant  pas  de 
canots,  et  ne  cultivant  pas  la  folle-avoine,  puisque  les  chevreuils, 
les  ours  et  les  boeufs  abondent  dans  leur  prairie,  qui  s'e'tend  du 
Mississipi  au  Missouri.  Ce  sont  des  chasseurs  remarquables. 

Les  Sioux  de  l'Est,  qui  prennent  le  pas  sur  ceux  de  l'Ouest,  parce 
qu'ils  ont  des  mousquets,  n'ont  pas  approuve  le  point  oil  il  s'eiait 
arrets.  Ils  lui  ont  demande  de  s'etablir  sur  le  Mississipi,  ou  toutes 
les  nations  Sioux  pourraient  le  visiter,  sans  empieter  sur  les  ter- 
rains de  chasse  de  leurs  rivaux. 

Pour  1'attendrir,  ils  ont  pleure  sur  sa  tete,  en  criant  :  «  Ourachis- 
son  outepanimanabo  !  >  Ayez  pitie  de  nous  ;  mais  c'etait  la  fin  de 


SIANE    FRANfAlSE 

septembre,  la  glace  se  formait  deja,  il  a  ete  ferme  et  leur  a  dit  que 
la  saison  etait  crop  avancee  pour  qu'il  change  ses  plans. 

II  a  commence  le  fori  1'Huillier,  au  bord  de  la  Riviere-Bleue, 
par  laquelle  on  pourrait  aller  a  la  mine.  Le  temps  etait  ires 
mauvais,  venteux  avec  deja  de  bonnes  gelees.  Pendant  qu'une  partie 
des  hommes  construisaient  la  palissade  et  les  cabanes,  l'autre 
chassait.  lis  ont  rapporte  quatre  cents  bceufs,  qu'on  a  depeces,  et 
arranges  au  froid  sur  un  echafaudage,  a  1'abri  des  carnassiers. 
Tout  1'hiver.  on  a  vecu  de  cette  viande,  sans  un  morceau  de  pain. 

Pendant  le  gel,  sept  Canadiens  sont  arrivds,  dont  M.  d'Eraque, 
qu'il  avait  connu  autrefois,  disant  que  les  Sioux  les  avaient  depouilles 
de  leurs  bagages  et  de  leurs  pelleteries. 

Les  Sioux  du  voisinage  venaient  fumer  avec  In i.  lis  rejetaient 
la  fumee  par  le  nez,  et  avaient  des  croyances  curieuses.  lis  assuraient 
qu'ils  avaient  trois  ames  :  celle  qui  fait  le  bien,  apres  la  mort  allam 
dans  les  pays  chauds  ;  celle  qui  fait  le  mal,  allam  dans  les  pays 
froids  ;  et  une  autre  qui  garde  le  corps. 

Un  jour  des  Sioux  Onjaiespouctous,  <  village  disperse"  en  plusteurs 
bandes  >,  dont  il  avait  appris  les  meiaits,  sont  venus  le  visiter.  II 
a  refuse  de  les  recevoir,  disant  qu'il  ne  voulait  pas  voir  des  hommes 
ayant  tue  —  equivalent  sioux  pour  piller  —  des  Canadiens. 

lis  ont  penetre  de  force  dans  sa  cabane.  pour  pleurer  sur  sa  tete, 
en  repetam  *  Ouachisson  Ouapanimanabo,  ce  n'est  pas  nous  qui 
avons  tue,  ce  sont  les  autres,  >  et  deposer  a  ses  pieds,  en  present, 
des  peaux  de  castor. 

A  la  fin  il  s'est  laisse  toucher.  II  a  refusi  les  castors  mais  fait 
quelques  menus  cadeaux  aux  sauvages,  pour  leur  donner  une  idee 
de  la  benevolence  des  Franca  is. 

Ayant  resolu  de  faire  une  alliance  generale  avec  les  nations  Sioux  : 
les  Psimomanhimous,  <  village  de  la  grande  folle-auoine  »  ;  les 
Tintangaoughiatous.  <  village  de  la  grande-cabane  »  ;  les  Oughetgeo- 
datous,  t  village  de  la  fiente  >  ;  les  Ouapeontetous,  «  village  de  ceux 
qui  tirent  dans  un  grand  pin  >,  et  les  autres,  il  a  convoque  au  fort 
les  Chefs  pour  une  certaine  epoque. 

Lorsqu'ils  ont  ete  tons  arrives,  le  Chef  des  Ouatancapai  l'a  prie 
de  se  rendre  dans  sa  tente.  Seize  hommes  et  plusieurs  enfants  et 
femmes  barbouilles  de  noir  l'attendaient  a  1'interieur,  on  lui  a  fait 
signe  de  s'asseoir  au  milieu  sur  un  tas  de  cuir  de  bceuf,  et  sur  sa 
ictc  lous  ont  pleure"  pendant  un  quart  d'heure,  puis  le  Chef  a  pone 


A     LOUISIANE    FRANfAIS 

bouche  trois  bouchees  de  folle-avoine,  disant  que  ces  gens  etaient 
des  parents  de  Tioscate,  un  jeune  Sioux  qu'en  1695  il  avait  emmene 
a  Montreal,  oil  il  etait  mort,  et  qu'ils  esp^raient  de  lui  de  la  poudre 
et  des  balles  pour  leur  permettre  de  vivre. 

Se  conformant  aux  usages  Sioux,  il  s'est  retire"  sans  repondre  au 

rt.  tous  l'ont  suivi  et  tournc  trois  fois  autour  de  la  palissade  en 

euram  :  «  Athdouanan  !  mon  pere  ayez  pitie  de  nous  1  > 

Le  Iendemain,  il  a  reuni  les  Chefs,  leur  a  promis  du  ble  de 
lence  et  sa  protection  s'ils  consentaient  a  abandonner  leur 
isme  et  a  s'etablir  autour  du  Fort.  Ensuite,  il  leur  a  remis 

fusils,  50  livres  de  poudre  et  autant  de  balles,  10  haches,  10 
brasses  de  tabac  et  un  calumet  d'acier. 

Pour  manifester  leur  reconnaissance,  les  Mantantous,  c  village 
du  grand  lac  qui  se  ddchargc  dans  le  petit  >,  l'ont  invite"  a  un  grand 
repas.  On  a  fume  le  calumet  et  ils  lui  ont  donne  un  sac  de  folle- 
avoine  et  une  esclave. 

Ouacantapei  s'est  leve  et  a  annonce"  qu'ils  etaient  decides  a 
devenir  francais.  Apres  un  long  discours,  il  s'est  convert  la  tete  de 
sa  robe  et  les  autrcs  l'ont  imite  ;  tous  se  sont  mis  a  pleurer  et  a 
chanter  1'adieu  a  leur  pays. 

Quelques  mois  plus  tard,  trois  chefs  Mendeoucantous,  c  village 

u  lac  d'esprit  >,  sont  venus  le  voir  au  fort,  et  en  contrition  du  pillage 

Canadiens,  lui  ont  apporte  400  peaux  de  castor,  qu'il  a  achet^es. 

lis  ont  promis  de  sYtablir  au  fort,  lorsqu'ils  auraient  r^colte'  leur 

folle-avoine. 

Au  printemps,  12  mineurs  et  4  chasseurs  sont  partis  a  la  mine, 
situee  a  une  lieue  du  fort,  et  en  douze  jours  ont  cnkve  au  pic  et  a 
la  pelle,  30.000  tonnes  de  terre,  dont  il  a  trie  la  plus  belle. 

11  a  laisse  au  Fort  l'Huillier  quelques  Canadiens,  sous  le  cora- 
mandement  de  M.  d'Eraque,  a  qui  il  a  promis  d'envoyer  des  son 
retour  une  chaloupe  de  provisions  pour  passer  l'hiver  prochain,  et 
il  est  redescendu  sans  encombres,  au  fil  de  l'eau,  avec  son  chargement, 
qu'il  espere  pr^cieux. 

Le  recit  de  M.  le  Sueur  a  si  bien  diverti  M.  d'lbberville  qu'il  se 
sent  assez  remis  pour  quitter  son  lit. 

Le  15  fevrier,  il  part  a  la  Mobile  rejoindre  ses  freres.  Le  terrain 
est  <  desarte  »,  on  est  en  train  de  bruler  les  dernieres  souches.  II 

ce  lui-meme  le  plan  du  nouveau  Fort  St.  Louis,  qui  mesurera  60 
carr£,  avec  batterie  de  6  pieces  a  chaque  coin.  A  1'interieur, 


LA     LOUISIANA     FRANfAISE 

les  logements  du  gouverneur,  des  officiers  et  des  families,  les  magasius 
et  un  corps  de  garde  seront  groupes  autour  d'une  petite  place 
d'armes.  Les  casernes  des  Canadiens  et  des  soldats  seront  a  l'exterieur 
de  la  palissade. 

Comme  eglise,  on  aura  au  bout  de  la  place  d'armes  une  grande 
croix.  autour  de  laquelle  on  s'agenouillera  pour  ecomer  les  offices, 
et  les  jours  de  mauvais  temps  une  grande  cabane  qu'on  appellera 
chapelle. 

Les  travaux  marchent  si  vite  qu'en  mars  190  arpents  som  endos 
et  80  cabanes,  en  planches  de  cypre,  sont  pretes.  On  les  a  couvertes 
de  feuilles  de  latanier  attachees.  serrees  sur  des  cannes,  retenues 
aux  chevrons  par  des  ecorces  de  lilleul,  et  maintenucs  par  de 
longues  cannes  exterieures.  Ces  loitures  resisteront  aux  imemperies 
presqu'aussi  longicmps  que  l'ecorce  de  cypre,  qu'on  leve  au  prin- 
temps  et  a  la  seve  d'aout. 

M.  Nicolas  de  la  Salle  quitte  1'Ile  Dauphine,  avec  sa  famille  et 
ses  effets,  pour  s'installer  dans  le  nouvel  etablissement.  11  manifeste 
une  certaine  satisfaction. 

<  Dans  le  fond  de  cette  baye,  4crit-il,  la  rwie're  Mobile  y  vient 
aboutir  et  adoucir  les  eaux.  Cette  riviere  est  assez  belle,  il  n'y  a  que 
6  pieds  dean  sur  la  barre  de  marte  basse,  &  I'entre'e  d'kelle,  le  pays 
y  noie  dans  les  grandes  eaux,  il  n'y  a  que  des  joncs  le  long  des  abnrds 
I'espnce  de  4  Heues,  apris  quoy  les  bois  viennent  joindre  la  rwie're 
des  deux  bords,  il  y  croit  beaucoup  de  bois  de  cypre,  qui  sont 
admirables  et  aussi  beaucoup  de  chesnes-verds.  * 

A  l'exception  des  ao  personnes  qui  tiennent  garnison  a  Biloxi, 
sous  les  ordres  de  M.  de  Boisbriant,  la  colonie  entiere  s'y  transporte 
pen  a  peu,  e'est  a  dire  279  personnes,  dont  122  soldats  et  officiers  et 
60  Canadiens. 

M.  d'Ibberville,  en  costume  d'apparat  :  cuirasse  a  poitrail,  bras- 
sards travailles,  fin  jabot  de  dentelle  et  grande  perruque  a  boucles, 
inaugiire  le  Fort.  Apres  la  messe  et  la  benediction,  une  decharge 
des  pieces  ouvre  la  eerehionie,  qui  se  termine  par  le  cri.  maintenant 
familier  aux  grenouiiles  qui  ne  se  donnent  plus  la  peine  de  sortir 
la  tete,  «  Vive  le  Roy  I  > 

Comme  Tun  des  traversiers  vient  de  revenir  de  Vera  Cruz,  ou 
il  avait  etc  a  la  provende,  on  petit  festoyer  pour  cel^brer  l'evenement. 

Le  24  Avril  1702.  M.  d'Ibberville  fait  ses  adieux  a  tout  le  ri 
et  rcpart  avec  M.  le  Sueur  et  sa  terre  turquoise. 


XI. 


tethargique,  pendant  l'annee  1703.  Depuis  le 
es,  apres  avoir  ii£  en  avril  marbrees  de  fraises, 
mres  sont  ramagees  d'anemones  muiticolores. 
Les  petites  fleurs  purpurines  des  plats-de-bois,  sortant  de  la  plan- 
chette  decoupee  qui  scpare  leurs  tiges  du  sol,  ressembleni  a  des 
bruyeres.  Les  eglantines  et  les  chevre-feuilles  courent  les  futaies. 

Des  poules-de-bois  cognem  sur  les  arbres  morts  de  leur  bee  ivoire, 
et  dans  leur  percee  enfoncent  une  langue  gluame,  qu'elles  retirent  un 
moment  apres,  chargee  de  fourmis,  avec  la  satisfaction  d'avoir  bien 
fait  leur  marchc. 

Les  pique-bois  tete-rouges,  plus  petits,  coiff£s  d'une  houppe  rubis, 
et  les  pique-bois  jaunes  collent  leur  ventre  sur  les  troncs  pour 
ecouter  s'ils  sont  habitus  par  les  vers,  ei  dans  cette  posture  maladroite 
se  haussent  jusqu'a  ce  qu'ils  entendent  le  bruit  cherche. 

Les  perroquets  verts,  aux  cris  assourdissants,  sans  vergogne  agran- 
les  irous  commences  par  les  pique-bois,  pour  en  faire  leurs 


disse 

nids. 

Al 


Au  lieu  d'une  plage  a  grands-gosiers,  la  Colonie  a  sous  les  yeux 
une  riviere  aux  Cannes  croassantes,  sur  lesquelles  se  balancent  les 
c  yeux-clairs  »,  des  pluviers  dores  par  le  soleil,  des  «  cou-colliers  », 
au  cri  plaintif,  cravatts  de  deux  bruns,  des  <  piaillards  >,  des  <  cou- 
blancs  »  et  des  oiseaux-de-cannes. 

Son  ombrage,  au  lieu  de  pins  et  de  magnolias,  est  fait  de  cypres, 
dans  lesquels  des  grandes-queues  imitent  le  coucou,  et  des  gros- 
grassets,  comme  des  corneilles  qu'ils  sont,  abattent  non  des  noix, 
mais  des  petits  fruits  noirs  en  forme  d'olives. 

Elle  manifeste  la  meme  indifference  pour  tout  ce  qui  est  culture. 
qu'on  s'acagnarde,  avouent  les  Quebecois.  On  vagn 
ir  de  ce  temps  dolle,  e'est  point  l'adon  qui  manque  p< 


I    FRANfAISE 


tirer  les  rangs,  mais  les  bonnes  terres  sont  plaquees  a  d£samain, 
alors  on  prend  son  en  belle,  faute  de  pire.  > 

Les  Fran^ais  ont  consent!  a  s'expatrier,  leur  effort  ne  va  pas  plus 
loin.  Sans  assiduite  aucune,  ils  s'atiendent  a  ce  que  la  France  et 
les  lies  les  pourvoient  dans  tous  leurs  besoins, 

Ils  touehent  leurs  rations,  font  la  mendienne  dans  l'air  balsami- 
que,  donnent  de  la  voix.  Les  <  abatteux  d'ouvrage  ».  en  g£neVal  des 
Canadiens  qui  traitent  les  autres  de  <  douilleteux  »,  pechent  el  chas- 
sent,  pendant  que  les  femmes.  lorsqu'clles  oni  termini  <  la  gogatlle  >' 
et  bnulangl  le  pain,  qu'elles  font  cuire  dans  des  fours  roods  de 
terre  avoisinani  les  cabanes,  en  jabotam,  filent,  rafralchissent  leurs 
affiquets,  taillent  des  adriennes1  et  des  capulets  dans  les  pieces  d'escot 
et  de  crapaudaille  qui  resteni  au  magasin,  lavent  leurs  coiffes, 
t  beurdassem  »,  se  chicotent. 

Ce  ne  sont  pas  de  mauvaises  gens,  mais  des  gens  abasourdis  par 
la  transplantation  et  1'itrangeti  de  leur  environnement. 

Ils  ont  troque"  leurs  champs  bien  dessines  contre  des  marais 
grouillants,  des  for£ts  compactes  aux  essences  inconnues,  qui  exsu- 
dent  une  certaine  nostalgie,  leur  ciel  leger  et  sage  contre  des  fluctua- 
tions d'atmosphere  et  des  tonalit^s  souffrifes,  dont  ils  ne  reconnaissent 
pas  la  generation  et  la  cadence,  Ils  ont  perdu  tout  sens  d'orientation. 

La  pierre  leur  manque.  C'etait  une  borne  qui  jalonnait  leur  vie 
sur  la  terre  de  France,  le  matenau  v£nere\  Le  bots  dont  ils  disposent 
ne  leur  paralt  pas  une  chose  durable,  a  transmettre,  qui  vraiment 
abrite  des  dangers  exterieurs  et  de  soi-meme,  ne  leur  donne  pas  un 
sentiment  de  per£nUe\  les  laisse  transitoire,  en  campement,  en 
attente. 

Des  ev^nements  mal  enchalnes  pointillent  les  mois.  Don  Martin 
a  appris  que  I'Espagne  et  1'Angleterre  sont  en  guerre  et  que  St. 
August  in  de  Floride  est  assiegl  ;  M.  de  Bienville  lui  fait  tenir  500 
livres  de  poudre  et  de  balles  et  100  mousquets. 

II  y  a  des  soubresauts  plus  tragiques  :  5  Franca  is  sont  tu6s  par 
des  Taogarios  ;  a  l'automne,  le  Pere  d'Avion  et  le  Pere  Limoges, 
Iperdus,  arrivent  au  Fort  en  annnncant  que  le  Pere  Foucault  a 
itt  tue"  par  deux  Courois,  au  dessous  dc  la  riviere  des  Yazoux. 

Les  <  trimballeux  »  canadiens,  vont  et  viennent  avec  leurs  four- 
rures  le  long  du  Mississipi,  dont  la  Mobile  est  eloignee  de  25  lieues. 

I.  I.i  cuiiine. 
.'   Jupci. 


LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRAN£AISE 


93 


M.  d'Ibberville  deconseille  cette  instability  des  Canadiens.  «  //  n'est 
rien  de  si  avantageux,  a-t-il  ecrit  au  Comte  de  Pontchartrain,  pour 
I'avantage  d'une  colonic  que  d'empichcr  dans  les  commencements 
ces  sortes  de  commerce  de  pelleterie,  qui  empichent  son  avancement, 
el  par  un  tres  grand  nombre  d'hommes  et  les  meilleurs  qui  se 
debandent  et  ne  cuttivenl  point  les  terres  ni  ne  se  marient.  > 

Le  Canada  est  tres  irrite  de  ce  vagabondage,  dit  que  la  Louisiane 
veut  sa  ruine,  cherche  a  d^tourner  la  traite  du  castor  dans  sa  direc- 
tion. Quebec  reclame  les  Islinois  jusqu'au  Detroit  entre  les  lacs 
Huron  et  Erie,  demande  a  Sa  Majeste  de  fixer  la  limite  de  la  Nile 
France  au  confluent  du  Mississipi  et  de  la  Ouabache. 

Le  Due  d'Anjou  est  monte  sur  le  tr6ne  d'Espagne,  la  guerre  de 
Succession  a  commence,  M.  d'Ibberville,  Capitaine  de  Vaisseau,  a 
repris  le  service  du  Roi  et  court  les  mers  a  la  poursuite  de  1'ennemi. 

Les  sauvages  donnent  beaucoup  de  tracas  a  M.  de  Bienville.  Dix 
Alibamons,  dont  la  nation  est  sournoisement  poussee  par  les  trafi- 
quants  anglais,  viennent  prevenir  le  fort  qu'ils  ont  une  belle  recolte 
de  b\£  d'Inde  a  vendre. 

Cinq  Canadiehs  retournent  avec  eux  pour  conclure  l'achat  et  rap- 
porter  les  sacs.  A  deux  journees  de  leur  village,  les  Alibamons  les 
prieut  d'attendre  tandis  qu'ils  vont  chercher  leur  chef  pour  fumer 
le  calumet.  Cette  bonne  volonti  n'est  qu'une  feinte,  dans  la  nuit 
quatre  hommes  sont  massacres  dans  leur  sommeil  ;  le  cinquieme, 
en  pleine  obscurity,  se  jette  a  la  riviere,  une  hachette  lancee  au 
hasard  1'atteint  a  l'epaule,  il  rentre  au  fort  epuis^,  apres  avoir 
cicatrise  sa  blessure  avec  de  la  gomme  arrachee  a  un  arbre. 

M.  de  Bienville  est  outr£  dune  pareille  perfidie.  Sur  le  champ 
il  part  sevir.  Au  bout  de  plusieurs  jours  de  marche,  il  apcrcoit  14 
pirogues  vides  et  le  camp  des  sauvages  en  chasse,  il  prend  possession 
du  village  et  revient  vers  les  sauvages.  La  nuit  est  epaisse,  mais 
its  ont  l'oreille  fine,  au  premier  bruit  ils  s'egaient  en  tuant  deux 
Francais,  mais  leurs  pertes  sont  beaucoup  plus  grandes  et  ils  bat- 
tent  en  retraite. 

La  France  est  tres  affairee  a  sa  guerre.  Pour  la  premiere  fois  la 
Louisiane  est  abandonnee  &  ses  propres  ressources,  qui  sont  minces. 
II  lui  reste,  bien  sur,  ses  coquillages  et  ses  poissons,  mais  elle  n'a 
pas  un  grain  de  fronient,  partant  pas  de  pain  blanc,  et  sauf  une 
eau  douteuse,  rien  a  boire.  Le  dernier  pot  d'eau-de-vie  est  vide,  et 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

c'est  l."i  que  le  bat  la  blesse.  On  a  t  soue  >,  que  ne  donnerai t-on  pas 
pour  un  seiicr  de  goutte  I 

Autour  de  Mobile,  l'hiver,  les  lagunes  sont  chaioyantes  de  canards 
faisant  leur  toilette,  quand  its  prennent  peur  c'est  un  papillottement 
blanc  et  mordore  qui  trouble  les  yeux.  Quelquefois,  une  aile-poin- 
tue,  le  faucon  friand  de  leur  chair,  dans  un  plongeon  vertigineux 
bouscule  un  «  sauvage  »  de  sa  patte  puissante  et  descend  le  ramasser 
sur  leau  qui  a  amorti  sa  chute  etonnee. 

A  l'arriere,  guettes  par  les  tiercelets,  dans  la  prairie  ou  se  cachent 
les  becassines  grosses- tetes,  aux  premiers  froids,  des  gros  etourneaux 
grisatres,  les  «  carouges  ».  d'autres  noirs  aux  moignons  rouges,  les 
«  coinmandeurs  »,  arrivent  du  Nord  en  essaims  presses.  On  les  prend 
au  hlet  et,  sans  les  vider,  on  ies  etend  fcndus  en  deux,  sur  le  gril. 

Les  ramiers,  en  quantite  prodigieuse,  descendent  du  Canada. 
Obscurcissant  presque  le  cicl,  leur  vol  passe  en  colonnes  denses, 
ebranlant  I'air  de  leur  grondement.  lis  encerclent  les  chenes-verts  de 
leur  protestation  bourrue  et  se  jettent  sur  les  glands. 

Les  cygnes-trorupettes  surs  de  leur  beaute  et  trop  surs  de  leur 
immunite,  gaiement  claironncm.  ■ 

Mais  a  la  belle  saison,  a  1' exception  de  quelques  canards  noirs 
des  lies  et  des  sarcelles,  redevenues  printanieres  et  pauvres,  tout 
le  gibier  hivernaiu  repart  vers  la  tralcheur  et  les  graines  du  Canada, 
les  cygnes  vont  aimer  dans  les  froidures  du  Grand  Nord. 

Saul  quelques  chevreuils  aventureux,  les  grosses  betes  ne  descen- 
dent pas  aussi  bas.  11  faui  aller  les  cherchcr  loin,  dans  les  forets, 
ou  de  monstrueuses  araignees  vcninieuses  tissent  des  ills  durs,  cou- 
pant  le  tront  au  passage,  ou  bien  dans  les  terres-hautes  et  le  chemi- 
nement  nest  pas  plaisant  dans  l'herbe-a-trois-quarts  fr61ee  de 
reptations.  Les  serpen  is-a-sonne  tie  ne  respectent  que  les  herbages 
meles  de  pouiiot,  une  men  the  sauvage,  et  de  dictame  de  Virginie, 
dont  ils  detestent  l'odeur. 

On  depece  les  grenouilles,  dont  on  mange  le  corps  entier.  Les 
cotillons  rouges  des  ferauies  se  volatilisent  peu  a  peu  en  lanieres, 
au  grand  disaccord  des  menages.  On  pile  les  tubercules  des  can- 
taques,  un  siiulax.  pour  en  allonger  la  farine,  comme  font  les 
Chactas. 

C'est  assez  pour  vegeter,  mais  les  figures  sont  longues  et  les  propos 
amen  :  «  Chameau  a  deux  bosses,  quel  sacre"  pays,  mon  gieu  Sei- 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


95 


escousse  qu'on  n'a  pas  pris 

souffler   lcurs   sautillantes 


gneur,  c'est  plus  souffrable.  Ca  fait  un 
une  bafree  I  ■<>  so  up  i  rent  les  deracines. 

Les   fifres   n'om   plus   d'ardeur  poi 
marches  et  leurs  ritournelles. 

Penicauh,  le  charpentier  litteraire  a  ses  heures,  qui  tient  ses 
memoires  et  fort  bien,  essaie  de  faire  sourdre  un  peu  de  gaiete 
dans  1'ambiance  morne,  mais  n'est  pas  seconde. 

Un  des  traversiers  est  parti  a  St.  Domingue  chercher  des  bceufs 
de  charrois  ;  celui  de  M.  de.  Becaucourt  revient  enfin,  bien  pansu, 
de  Vera-Cruz.  Les  armoires  sont  momentanement  garnies,  mais  la 
sensation  d'isolement  persiste.  Les  Francais  sont  vraiment  tres  seuls 
et  tres  loin,  le  trait  d'union  de  M.  d'Ibberville  manque  de  fa  con 
incroyable. 

II  est  peut-etre  sur  ce  vaisseau,  dont  les  greements  se  haussent 
a  1'  horizon. 

Il  n'y  est  pas,  la  Loire  amene  seulement  des  victuailles,  des  effets, 
17  passagers  et  une  compagnie  de  la  marine  levee  par  M.  de  Chateau- 
guay,  qui  va  prochainement  revenir.  Le  Chevalier  de  Perrot,  en- 
seigne  de  vaisseau,  repond  de  son  raieux  aux  multiples  questions 
de  M.  de  Bienville.  A  la  verite,  il  sait  peu  de  choses  sur  les  evene- 
ments  actucls,  il  est  depuis  longtemps  en  mer  et  il  a  eu  bien  des 
preoccupations,  alors  que  tant  de  fregates  ennemies  et  de  corsaires 
etaient  aux  aguets. 


Les  sauvages  avcc  lesquels  on  a  fait  alliance  travaillent  pour  ? 
de  Bienville,  les  Chitachas  et  les  Chactas  lui  apportent  les  scalps 
de  plusieurs  Alibamons  ;  pour  chaque  chevelure,  ainsi  qu'il  en  a 
ite  arrange  par  le  traile,  ils  recoivenl  un  mousquet,  cinq  livres  de 
balles  et  5  livres  de  poudre. 

Au  Fort  St.  Louis,  on  ne  s'occupe  toujours  pas  de  culture,  en  re- 
vanche on  soigne  bien  le  petit  cheptel,  Vtii  c  on  met  le  bestial  au 
pare  >  dans  !a  prairie,  parfumee  d'estragon  et  de  marjolaine,  dont 
1'herbe  monte  au  genou,  et  dans  les  baisseurs  arrive  a  hauteur 
d'homme.  L'hiver.  on  1'affourage  dans  1'enclos  avec  1'herbe  fauchee 
«  a  grandes  menses  »  quelques  mois  plus  tdt. 

On  a  maintenam  9  borufs,  dont  5  appartenam  au  Roi,  5  bouvil- 
lons  et  autant  de  vaches,  3  chevres,  100  verrats  el  truies,  et  400 
poulcs  qu'il  faut  proteger  contre  les  <  mangeurs-poulets  »,  des  en- 
goulevenls  voraces,  les  <  mange  urs-d'eeufs  »,  des  sournois  serpents 
jaunes,  et  les  <  chats-pitois  »,  des  rodeurs  nocturnes,  qui  les  saignent. 

Le  14  Juillet  1704,  il  y  a  grand  branle-bas  au  Fort.  Un  vaisseau 
du  Roi,  le  Pe'lican,  de  Rochefort,  est  arrive  a  l'lle  Dauphine.  M. 
Ducoudray  de  Guimoni,  Capitaine  de  Galiote,  a  transfere"  ses  pas- 
sages dans  des  chaloupes,  et  la  population  reunie  au  grand  complet 
sur  la  berge  voit  d^barquer  le  plus  grand  assortiment  de  Francais 
qu'elle  ait  jamais  accueilli. 

M.  de  Chateauguay,  qu'on  connait  deja,  amene  75  soldats  ;  M. 
de  la  Vente,  des  Missions  Etrangeres,  est  accompagn£  de  5  pretres 
et  de  s  sceurs  grises  ;  il  y  a  4  families  d'artisans.  Mais  ce  n'est  pas 
tout.  A  la  suite  d'une  demoiselle  de  condition,  13  femmes  voilees. 
habillces  de  grisette,  descendent  pudiquement,  et  sans  regarder  a 
droiie  ni  a  gauche,  se  dirigent  en  procession  vers  une  habitation 
que  M.  de  Bienville,  apres  avoir  pris  connaissance  d'une  depeche, 
a  fait  precipitammem  evacuer. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  97 

Les  langues  vont  bon  train,  mille  suppositions  sont  faites.  Qui 
t-elles  ?  Que  viennent-elles  faire  ?  Les  nouvelles  venues  demeu- 
rent  invisibles.  De  1 'affaire,  on  en  oublie  les  billets  recus  et  les 
bonnes  choses  que  les  chaloupes  ont  degorgees. 

Le  dimanche  suivant,  a  la  messe,  M.  Huve,  pretre  officiant,  donne 
communication  de  la  missive  adressee  a  M.  de  Bienville  :  Sa 
Majeste  a  daigne  envoyer  23  jeunes  filles  «  d'une  vertue  connue  et 
sans  reproche  >,  choisies  par  Mgr.  de  St.  Vallier,  eveque  de  Quebec, 
recernment  en  France,  <  dans  des  maisons  qui  ne  pouvoient  estre 
soupconnees  d'aucune  dibauche  pour  estre  marines  a  des  Canadiens 
ou  autres,  capables  de  les  faire  subsister  avec  quelque  sorte  de  com- 
modile,  afin  que  la  colonic  puisse  s'Stablir  solidement.  » 

Le  mystere  est  eclairci,  les  femmes  sont  soulagees,  on  sait  qui  sont 
ces  filles.  A  1'exception  d'une,  qui  se  raontre  fort  difficile,  en  moins 
d'un  mois  toutes  sont  mariees  a  des  Canadiens,  enchantes  de  leur 
c  petite  garce  a  vouele  ». 

M.  de  Boisbriant  rrouve  fort  a  son  gout  la  demoiselle  de  condi- 
tion, qui  les  a  accompagnees  :  Marie-Francoise  de  Boisrenauld, 
cboisie  par  Mme  de  Montespan  a  l'Abbaye  de  Fontevrault  pour 
s'occuper  du  Couvent  de  l'Annonciation,  d'ou  elle  vient  par  ordre 
du  Roi,  apres  avoir  passe  six  mois  a  l'hopital  de  Rochefort  avec 
les  orphelines. 

Maintenant  que  celles-ci  sont  mariees,  sans  responsabilit.es,  elle 
donne  des  lecons  «  aux  Francoises  capables  de  recevoir  de  I'instruc- 
lion  >  et  s'occupe  des  sauvagesses,  les  persuade  de  ne  pas  compri- 
mer  le  crane  de  leurs  nouveaux-nes.  Le  soir,  elles  les  allongent  sur 
des  planches  dans  lesquelles  un  trou  est  creuse  pour  loger  la  tete, 
elles  etendent  un  mortier  de  terre  grasse  sous  la  tete  et  sur  le  front 
de  I'enfant,  et  entre  deux  bois  seirent  fortement  avec  des  ligaments 
en  cuir  de  bttuf.  L'enfant  hurle,  devient  noir,  ecume,  et,  supplied, 
finit  par  s'endormir  dans  Teffroyable  berceau,  pour  subir  le  merae 
sort  le  lendemain  soir. 

Avec  le  Pelican,  qui  eclat  ait  de  victuailles,  l'abondance  est  reve- 
nue. Le  Fort  St.  Louis  de  la  Mobile  gonfle  d'orgueil  son  jabot  ecor- 
ceux. 

C'est  maintenant  un  ^tablissement  d'importance  :  180  horames 
y  soni  bons  pour  les  amies,  27  families  ont  leur  habitation.  De 
nouveau  on  a  le  sens  d'etre  reunis  a  la  France  par  les  sillages 
traces  sur  l'Ocean  par  les  navires. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Cette  prosperjte  parait  bonne  apres  lam  de  privations.  II  fait 
beau  et  chaud,  les  camharides  rehaussent  d'emaux  les  chenes-verts, 
les  moqueurs  oranges,  a  crete  arrogante,  et  les  grives-batardes,  toutes 
bleues,  chantent.  Des  fleurs  embaument,  dans  les  ravins  umbrages 
les  capillaires  fremisscnt  sous  les  lauriers-doux.  On  se  laisse  porter 
par  Je  temps,  on  meprise  les  maringouins.  Les  naturels  ont  appris  a 
soigner  les  piqiires  des  serpen  ts-a -son  nette,  on  mache  l'oignon  de 
I ' her be-a -serpent  et  on  applique  la  pate  sur  la  plaie,  en  quelques 
heures  le  venin  est  tire  ;  en  reraerciement,  on  leur  remet  les  serpents 
[lie,  dont  1'huile,  dlsent-ils,  est  excellente  pour  les  plaies  et  les 
douleurs. 

Et  puis,  comme  la  foudre,  la  maladie  s'abat.  Le  Pe'Ucan,  qui  a 
louche  St.  Domingue,  a  rapporte  les  gcrmes  de  la  fievre  jaune. 

M.  Barrot,  le  chirurgien,  fail  de  son  mieux,  mais  la  pharmacopee 
de  la  colonie  est  limitee.  L'arbre  de  cinchona  ne  vient  pas  en 
Louisiane,  son  ecorce  serait  precieuse  a  ce  moment.  Les  sauvages, 
pleins  de  zelc,  font  des  decoctions  de  lianes-barbues  arrachees  aux 
copalmes,  et  d'esquine,  une  autre  liane  ronceuse,  font  bouillir  les 
ratines  du  salsepareille  et  les  plats-de-bois,  mais  tous  ces  sudor  ifiques 
ne  parviennent  pas  a  enrayer  le  fieau. 

En  septembre,  les  fossoyeurs  ne  dorment  plus.  On  enterre  le 
Chevalier  de  Tonti,  le  Pere  Donge,  M.  le  Vasseur,  30  soldats  et  une 
grande  partie  de  l'equipage  du  Pelican. 

Enfin  apres  avoir  sonne  tant  de  glas,  la  petite  cloche  sonne  un 
bapteme.  Le  4  Octobre  1704,  M.  Huve,  cure  de  la  paroisse,  une 
paroisse  sans  eglise,  le  jour  de  sa  naissance,  baptise  le  premier  enfant 
ne  a  la  colonie  :  Jean-Erancois  Le  Camp. 

En  cet  automne  nefaste,  75  sont  partis  et  un  est  arrive,  la  balance 
est  bien  inegale,  mais  ceite  unique  arrivee  est  symbolique,  la  colonie 
a  cre£.  C'est  le  commencement  d'une  nouvelle  ere. 

Toute  la  fin  de  l'annee  1705  est  employee  par  le  Gouverneur  a 
nictire  la  paix  dans  les  nations  turbulentes.  II  r^concilie  les  Mobiliens 
avec  les  Thomes,  les  Chactas  avec  les  Chicachas,  les  Pascagoulas  avec 
les  Touachas.  11  a  ete  promu  arbitre  de  toutes  les  guerres  intestines 

ides  Rouges,  pour  tous,  c'est  le  «  Pere  Blanc  >. 
Les  sauvages,  tres  vindicatifs,  sont  plus  ruses  que  braves  et  prefe- 
rent  les  surprises  aux  combats  ouverts.  Lorsqu'ils  pillent  un  village 
ennemi,  en  ['absence  des  habitants,  ils  ont  soin  d'y  laisser  des  «  bois- 
graves  >,  les  massues  de  bois  gravees  aux  armes  de  leur  nation  :  un 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

;oleil  pour  les  Natchez,  une  ecrevisse  pour  les  Oumas,  un  crocodile 
our  les  Bayagoulas  et  ainsi  de  suite. 

Si,  en  s'approchant,  les  guerriers  trouvent  un  village  d^fendu,  ils 
retirent  prudemment,  apres  avoir  £t£te"  un  arbrisseau,  l'avoir 
fendu  en  deux  pour  enterrer  les  deux  extr£mit£s  et  peint  un  de 
ces  demi-cercles  en  rouge  et  1'autre  en  noir.  Ceci  indique  qu'ils  sont 
venus  et  reviendront  a  un  meilleur  moment.  Sur  les  arbres  voisins, 
ils  entaillcnt  leur  blason,  pour  qu'on  sache  a  qui  on  a  failli  avoir 
affaire. 

M.  de  la  Vente,  moins  patient  que  M.  de  Bienville,  a  souvent  maille 
a  partir  avec  les  sauvages,  dont  il  condamne  les  mceurs  et  la  simplicity 
de  ceremonies.  Lorsqu'un  homme  fait  choix  d'une  nouvelle  com- 
pagne,  il  lui  dit  :  <  Veux-tu  venir  avec  moi,  tu  seras  ma  femme.  » 
Sans  re'pondre,  elle  s'asseoit  a  terre,  prend  sa  t£te  dans  ses  mains  et 
longuement  m^dite,  pendant  qu'il  en  fait  autant.  Si  au  bout  d'un 
moment,  elle  repond  :  <  J'en  suis  contente  I  »,  il  conclut  par  un 
mot,  <  onS  »,  voila  qui  est  fait,  et  tout  est  dit,  la  c£remonie  nuptiale 
est  terminee.  Ils  se  quittent  aussi  facilemeni  qu'ils  se  sont  li£s. 

Un  Pere  tance  un  sauvage  pour  son  manque  de  suite  dans  les 
id£es  conjugales.  <  Ne  vois-tu  pas  bien,  repond  I'homme,  que  tu 
n'as  pas  d'esprit  ?  Ma  femme  ne  s'accommode  pas  de  moi  et  moi 
pas  d'elle,  elle  s'accommodera  avec  un  autre  qui  ne  s'accorde  pas 
avec  la  sienne.  Pourquoi  nous  rendre  tous  malheureux,  ce  serait 
manquer  d'esprit.  » 

M.  de  la  Vente  a  beau  faire,  il  ne  comprendra  jamais  la  logique 
i  sauvages.  Heureusement  que  Dieu  lui  manage  des  satisfac- 
ons  dans  ce  pays  a  l'envers,  voici  un  enfancon,  Claude  Jousset  de  la 
oire,  qu'on  va  tenir  sur  les  fonts. 


Le  Pere  Gracio,  un  Jesuite,  en  Janvier  1706  arrive  ties  Islinois. 
blessc  a  l'epaule  d'une  fleche  et  au  bras  d'un  coup  de  hache.  Les 
Islinois  se  sont  declares  contre  les  Franca  is,  e'est  miracle  qu'il  ait 
pu  s'echapper. 

Quand  le  printemps  reviem,  la  disette  le  suit,  on  est  revenu  aux 
coquillages  et  au  ble  d'Inde.  Les  femmes  nouvellemcnt  arrivces  nc 
goutent  pas  du  tout  ce  regime,  elles  execrent  le  mahiz,  qu'cllcs 
considerent  bon  tout  au  plus  pour  la  volaille,  et  trouvent  que  le 
gibier  d'eau  sent  l'buile.  Elles  sont  peut-etre  vertueuscs,  comme  1'a 
assure  le  ministre,  mais  ce  sont  des  parisiennes,  peu  faiic-s  pour  la 
dure  ;  elles  sont  gourmandes,  et,  disent  les  premiers  arrives  <  sont 
perdues  de  vanite  >.  N'ont-elles  pas  imagine  de  remplacer  le  di- 
manche  leur  simple  cotillon  de  reps  par  la  fidele,  la  friponne  et  la 
modeste,  les  trois  atours  qui  ballonnent  les  handles  des  dames  de 
qualitc. 

Comme  des  furies,  elles  assiegent  la  maison  de  M.  de  Bienville, 
<  en  peslant  beaucoup,  ecrit-tl,  contre  M.  VEvSque  de  Quibec,  qui 
leur  avail  fait  entendre  qu'elles  seraient  dans  un  pays  de  promts- 
sion.  > 

Ce  n'est  pas  la  du  tout  la  terre  d'abondance  qu'on  leur  a  fait 
miroiter.  «  L'insurrection  des  jupons  >  ne  dure  pas  longtcmps,  mais 
pendant  qu'elle  dure  fait  beaucoup  de  bruit,  autant  que  les  milans 
dont  les  cris  aigus  assourdissent  les  oreilles  pendant  qu'ils  tourbillon- 
nent  avani  de  fondre  sur  les  reptiles  et  les  grenouillcs  qu'ils  con- 
voitent. 

Le  1"  Aofli,  M.  de  Bienville  fait  dresser  un  etat  du  Fort  par 
M.  de  la  Salle.  35  vaches  et  taurailles,  5  taureaux  et  6  becufs.  dont 
4  sont  au  Roi,  com  pose  tu  le  cheptel. 

Avec  les  difficultes  grandissantes,  les  vexations  se  multiplient,  I 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE 

racteres  s'aigrissent  et  les  querelles  font  rage.  La  colonie  est 
partag^e  en  trois  camps  :  celui  de  M.  de  Bienville,  qui  possede  les 
pouvoirs  temporels  et  qui  est  appuye1  par  M.  de  Chateauguay,  le 
Pere  Gravier,  M.  Barrot  le  chirurgien,  et  son  cousin  de  Boisbriant, 
bien  qu'il  n'en  approuve  pas  les  amours,  car  il  n'aime  guere 
Demoiselle  de  Boisrenauld  ;  le  camp  de  M.  de  la  Vente,  cur£  de 
Mobile,  qui  tient  le  sceptre  spiricuel  ;  le  camp  de  M.  de  la  Salle, 
commissaire-ordonnateur,  qui  dedent  les  ecus  et  la  clef  des  mar- 
chandises. 

A  l'occasion,  ces  deux  derniers  pactisent,  se  tendent  la  main  pour 
tomber  sur  le  premier.  La  jalousie  aveugle  tout  le  monde,  on  glose 

^a  tort  et  k  travers,  on  se  calomnie,  on  ne  se  contcnte  pas  de  se 
lancer  a  la  tete  des  choses  desagreables,  on  en  icrit. 
Le  Comte  de  Pontchartrain  recevra  toute  une  collection  de  recri- 
minations. 

M.  de  la  Vente  accuse  M.  de  Bienville  de  fomenter  des  divisions 
dans  la  colonie  et  d'aggraver  la  misere  <  qui  ne  saurait  cesser  tant 
que  nous  n'aurons  pas  un  gouverneur  d'esprit  honntte.  »  M.  de  la 
Salle  icrit  que  c  MM.  d'Ibberville,  de  Bienville  et  de  Chateauguay, 
les  trois  freres,  sont  cottpables  de  toutes  espices  de  mifaits  et  sont 
des  voleurs  et  des  fripons,  qui  dilapident  les  effets  de  Sa  Majesty.  > 
11  en  dit  autant  de  «  toute  la  clique  des  Canadiens,  pleins  d'hable- 
rie  et  de  menterie.  »  Quant  a  M.  Barrot,  c'est  un  ignorant  et  un 
fripon,  double  d'un  ivrogne,  qui  vend  a  son  benefice  les  potions 
du  Roi,  dans  son  officine. 

M.  de  Bienville,  qui  sail  de  quoi  les  autres  sont  capables,  lui 
aussi  se  plaint  au  ministre  :  M.  de  la  Salle  manque  de  justesse  dans 
ses  comptes  ;  quant  a  M.  de  la  Vente,  «  il  n'a  pas  honte  de  tenir 
boutique  comme  un  juif  arabe  >.  II  ajoute  «  Je  vous  avoue,  Monsei- 
gneur,  -que  je  ne  sois  ce  que  seroit  devenue  cette  colonie,  si  j'eussc 
congidii  les  Canadiens,  comme  M.  Bigon,  Vlntendant  de  Rochefort, 
m'en  pria.  Les  Canadiens  sont  des  hommes  propre  a  tout,  sur  les- 
quels  on  peut  compter.  > 

Les  Sarurs  Grises,  elles-memes,  se  laissent  gagner  par  cette  epide^ 
mie  de  ddnigrement  et  d^noncent  tout  ce  qu'elles  voient. 

II  y  a  cependant  bien  autre  chose  a  faire  qu'a  se  chicaner  ;  mais 
hommes  ct  femmes  ont  de  bonnes  raisons  d'exasperation.  Le  sol 
est  presque  aussi  aride  qu'a  Biloxi.  Deux  annees  consecutives  on 
a  seme  du  bli,  d'abord  il  vient  d'assez  belle  apparence,  puis  quand 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANCHISE 

il  est  en  epi  le  brouillard,  presque  journalier,  le  fait  couler  et  il 
ne  reste  Hen  a  recolter.  «  C'est  pas  la  peine  de  s'echiner,  constatent 
les  exiles,  on  n'aboute  pas.  > 

C'est  vrai  que  les  colons  sont  des  agriculteurs  d£plorables.  ils 
revent  de  mines  fabuleuses  qui  les  enrichiraient  sans  fatigue,  les 
femmes  soupirent  apres  la  parure,  les  Canadiens  preferent  a  tout  le 
trafic  des  pelleteries.  en  particulier  des  castors  et  des  ciiirs  de  bceuf. 
qu'ils  echangem  dans  les  villages  contre  des  objets  sans  valeur. 

Les  hommes  fianent  entre  le  Fort  Biloxi  et  le  fort  de  la  Mobile, 
engouffrent  le  brandevin,  quand  il  s'en  trouve,  puis  <  charges  a 
dos  »  ou  «  incendies  ».  suivant  qu'ils  sont  Canadiens  ou  normands, 
ronflent  a  ] 'ombre  des  cypres.  On  recoil  des  rations  quand  il  y  a 
quelque  chose  a  rationner.  ce  n'est  pas  arrive1  depuis  Iongtemps. 
Depuis  six  ans,  personne,  pas  meme  un  officier,  n'a  touche  sa  solde. 

Apres  d'interminables  parties  de  brelan  et  de  loto,  pour  tromper 
leur  ennui  les  officiers  mandent  a  leurs  families  bien  des  choses 
curieuses,  qu'elles  liront  Dieu  sail  quand.  Ils  decrivent  les  sauvages 
en  tenue  le/gere  et  ajoutent  que  des  Francais  faisant  profession  de 
c  voyageurs  »  ont  adopt  i?  Ie  braguet  et  se  font  aussi  piquer,  bien  que 
cette  operation  soil  fort  douloureuse.  Les  sauvages  sur  un  bois  plai 
attachent  irois  par  trois,  bien  senses,  six  aiguilles,  tracent  leur 
dessin  au  charbon.  jusqu'au  sang  piquent  deux  doigts  du  trace, 
puis  frottent  de  charbon  de  pin  pile,  de  cinabre  ou  de  vermilion. 
Ce  proc£de  donne  la  fievre,  fait  enfler  le  corps,  une  gale  longuc 
a  secher  apparait.  mais  le  resultat  est  indelebile. 

Un  officier  de  marine  confie  a  sa  belle,  grande  dame  de  Paris  : 
<  J'di  vu,  ma  ckere,  un  officier,  homme  de  condition,  dont  vous  pour- 
riez  connaltre  le  nam,  qui,  outre  une  image  de  la  Vierge  avec  {'En- 
fant JJsus,  une  grande  croix  sur  I'estomac  avec  les  paroles  miracu- 
leuses  qui  apparurent  a  Constantin,  et  une  infinite'  de  piqiires  dans 
le  goiit  sauvage,  avoit  un  serpent  qui  lui  faisott  le  tour  du  corps, 
dont  la  langue  pointue  et  prite  d  se  darder  venoit  aboutir  sur  une 
extrimiti  que  vous  devineres,  si  vow  pouvez.  » 

Une  nouvelle  epouvantable  parvient  a  la  Colonic  par  un  courrier 
de  St.  Domingue.  M.  d'lbberville.  avec  une  escadre  de  onze  bail- 
ments royaux,  a  fait  voile  pour  les  lies  du  Vent,  s'est  approch£  des 
Barbades,  a  ravage1  St.  Christophe,  oblige^  le  fort  de  Nieves  a  capitu- 
ler,  avec  ses  prisonniers  est  reparti  a  la  Martinique,  puis  a  fait  route 
vers  la  Havane. 


Frappe  d'une  attaque  de  fievre  jaune,  le  g  Juillec  1706,  il  a  expire 
sur  le  Juste,  le  vaisseau  qui  arborait  sa  cornette. 

Une  fois  de  plus  M.  de  Bienville  est  en  deuil,  un  deuil  partage 
par  touie  la  Colonie,  deja  bien  eprouvee  par  son  ignorance  des 
choses  de  France. 

Le  1"  Janvier  1707,  apres  avoir  entendu  dans  un  vent  froid,  sous 
le  bruissement  aigu  des  oiseaux  de  passage,  le  Saint  Office,  on  festoie 
comme  on  peut,  c'est  a  dire  maigrement.  Pendant  le  dessert  un  canot 
approche,  le  Pere  Berguier,  vica ire-general  de  Quebec,  en  descend. 
II  vient  des  Islinois  et  annonce  que  le  Pere  St.  Cosme  et  trois  Fran- 
c;ais  ont  ete  massacres  par  un  parti  de  Chetimachas. 

Sur  le  champ  M.  de  St.  Denis  part  avec  7  Canadiens  et  des  pre- 
sents demander  l'appui  des  chefs  allies.  II  enleve  le  grand  village 
de  1'ennemi,  le  brule  et  devaste  ses  champs. 

Une  balandre  francaise  de  la  Havane  arrive  au  mouillage  le  9 
Janvier  1708,  avec  un  chargement  d' eau-de-vie,  de  tabac  et  de  lard, 
qu'elle  detaille  a  rile  Dauphine.  Que  n'est-elle  arrivee  plus  t6t,  les 
fetes  auraient  ete  dignement  arrosees  [ 

Le  10  fevrier,  un  vaisseau  du  Roi  lui  succede,  la  Renommie, 
amenant  M.  Diron  d'Artaguette,  le  nouveau  commissaire-ordon- 
naceur.  II  appert  que  M.  de  Pontchartrain,  exceeds  des  recrimina- 
tions qu'il  recoit,  a  trouve  cette  rageuse  colonie  encombrante,  en 
Juillet  dernier,  il  a  revoque  M.  de  Bienville,  gouverneur  depuis 
la  mort  de  M.  de  Sauvolles,  et  M.  de  la  Salle,  pour  couper  court 
aux  protestations.  II  a  nomme  M.  de  Muys  Gouverneur,  malheu- 
reusement  M.  de  Muys  est  decide  pendant  le  voyage. 

M.  de  Bienville,  blesse  de  se  voir  sacrifie,  desire  repartir  sur  la 
Renomme'e,  mais  M.  d'Artaguette  lui  fait  remarquer  que  M.  de 
Muys  etant  mort,  il  demeure  en  fait  Gouverneur,  et  ne  peut  aban- 
don ner  sa  charge. 

M.  d'Artaguette  est  un  charmant  homme,  qui,  secretement,  a  etc 
charge  d'enqueter  sur  les  difficultes  de  la  Colonie  et  la  gestion  de 
M.  de  Bienville,  que  M.  de  la  Vente  accuse  <  de  fermer  la  bouche 
a  tons  les  plaignans  et  mescontans  ».  II  debrouille  rapidement  l'e- 
cheveau  d'envie,  tout  de  suite  il  est  conquis  par  le  courage  et  la 
sincerite  de  M.  de  Bienville.  II  rapporte  au  ministre  que  le  Gou- 
verneur agit  pour  le  mieux,  est  magnifiquement  tenace,  infatigable 
dans  ses  efforts,  et  «  qu'il  s'itoit  acquis  une  estime  ginirale  et  un 


IANE    FRAN^AISE 

cridit  itonnant  sur  tous  les  sauvages  dont  il  parle  les  langues  9, 
consideration  imponante  pour  la  securite  de  la  Louisiane. 

La  Colonie  fete  son  neuvieme  anniversaire.  Le  gouvernement  du 
Roi  a  cesse"  depuis  quelque  temps  d'envoyer  des  vivres,  elle  est 
irregulierement  a  p  provision  nee  par  les  navires  qui  trafiquent  sur 
la  cote  du  Golfe.  122  hommes,  dont  76  soldats,  14  offiriers,  13  mate- 
lots,  3  pr£tres  et  24  habitants,  avec  28  femmes  et  85  enfants,  peuplem 
la  Louisiane,  el  une  soixantaine  de  Canadiens  vagabonds  circulent. 
On  a  epargne  le  bewail,  qui  s'est  multiplied  les  toits  de  lataniers 
abritent  pele-mele  50  vaches,  40  veaux,  4  taurcaux,  8  bceufs,  1400 
codions  et  2000  poules. 

Ce  cheptel  est  la  seule  fortune  visible,  d'autant  plus  que  le  maga- 
sin  de  Tile  Dauphine  a  etc"  pille  par  un  corsaire  de  la  JamaTque. 

En  Septembre,  la  Renommte  revient,  chargee  de  vivres  envoyes 
par  le  negoce  de  France.  Jacques  de  Ste  H^lene,  garde  de  la  marine, 
un  frere  de  M.  de  Bienville,  est  a  bord  ;  les  deux  freres  se  retrou- 
vent  avec  de  grands  transports,  c'est  la  reprise  de  leur  jeunesse 
canadienne. 

M.  d'Artaguette  retourne  sur  la  fregale,  pret  a  assurer  au  ministre 
que  M.  de  Bienville,  malgre"  la  meilleure  volonte"  du  monde,  ne 
pent  faire  progresser  la  Louisiane  avec  les  moyens  sommaires  dont 
il  dispose.  Le  Gouverneur  propose  de  transferer  r^tablissement  sur 
les  bords  du  Mississippi,  oil  le  sol  serait  bon  pour  la  culture,  il  de- 
mande  qu'on  lui  envoie  des  ouvriers  agricoles  et  des  artisans,  et 
ajoute  M.  d'Artaguette,  «  des  filles  de  laboureurs  et  de  pareilte 
condition,  gue'rie  du  faste  et  de  la  vanite"  ou  de  celles  qui  ne  la  con- 
noisse  point.  > 

En  17119,  la  famine,  debridement  endemique,  est  affreuse,  Dans 
les  bois,  on  cherche  les  baies,  on  ra  masse  les  glands  pour  les  piler. 

Avec  la  faim,  la  tn&entente  s'exacerbe.  M.  de  la  Salle,  qui.  de- 
pouille  de  son  titre,  est  reste"  a  la  colonie,  est  plus  aigre  que  jamais 
et  intrigue  avec  M.  de  la  Vente  eontre  M.  de  Bienville. 

Pour  endormir  leur  appeut.  les  habitants  et  les  soldats  s'amusent 
aves  les  <  chauvagesses  »,  bien  que  M.  de  Pontchartrain  ait  ecrit  a 
M.  de  Bienville  d'empecher  la  colonie  «  de  vane  dans  une  dibauche 
outrie  ». 

Les  sauvagesses  leur  d^montrent,  sinon  leur  propre  venu,  cello 
des  simples.  Le  baume  des  copalmes  guerit  les  blessures  et  les 
ulcere*  ;  l'ecorce  interieure  du  bois  d'amourette,  appliquee  sur  la 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 


;  .05 

i!e  salsapareille 
ic  ramollies  au 


ma  choir  e  apaise  )c  mal  au  dent  ;  les  cataplasmes 
soulagent  les  douleurs  de  tete  ;  les  feuilles  d'esquine,  ramollies  au 
feu  sont  efficaces  contre  les  brulures  ;  l'huile  ou  tremperent  des  mil- 
lepertuis,  devenue  rouge  comme  du  gros  vin,  est  souveraine  pour 
les  coupures  ;  l'herbe-a-malo,  un  plantain  d'eau,  ferrae  les  bles- 
sures  ;  I'infusion  de  mamou,  l'arbre  aux  grains  de  corail,  guerit  la 
loux  de  poitrine. 

La  graisse  des  cygnes  est  recommand^e  pour  les  humeurs  froides  ; 
les  gousses  vertes  des  cypres  males  suintent  un  baume  pour  les  cou- 
pures ;  la  racine  des  cotonniers,  bouillie,  rend  une  eau  vermeille, 
qui  purilie  fes  ecorchures  et  les  blessures,  qu'on  enduit  ensuite  des 
cendres  de  leur  ecorce  pour  les  cicatriser. 

Elles  ont  tout  un  attirail  de  medecine  vegetale  pour  les  fievres 
de  tierce  et  de  quarte,  et  aussi  des  remedes  brutaux.  Si  les  sauvages 
ont  mal  aux  jambes  ou  aux  cuisses,  ils  se  les  entaillent  et  raclent 
le  sang  jusqu'a  ce  qu'il  soit  tari,  frottent  la  cicatrice  avec  de  l'huile 
d'ours  et  pretendent  se  trouver  fort  bien  de  ce  traitement,  une 
forme  primitive  de  saignee. 

En  1710,  les  circonstances  sont  devenues  si  critiques  que  le  Gou- 
verneur  envoie  les  hommes  vivre  avec  les  sauvages,  qui  plus  aptes 
ont  toujours  dans  leurs  cabanes  un  peu  de  sagamite  au  lard  d'ours. 

Joyeux  et  fureteur,  Pe'nicault  estime  qu'il  n'est  point  necessaire 
de  prendre  les  choses  au  tragique,  il  se  prepare  a  voir  du  pays  et  a 
passer  un  hiver  inslructif.  Avec  son  ami,  Picard,  dont  le  violon  ne 
quitte  pas  le  bras,  et  douze  jeunes"Francais,  heureux  de  courir  le 
guilledou,  il  part  dans  un  canot  charge^  de  trois  jours  de  rations  et 
d'une  coquemarde,  a  travers  le  lac  Pontchartrain. 

Ils  vont  rendre  visite  aux  Colapissas  et  Natchitochez,  qui  habitent 
par  la.  dans  des  cabanes  rondes  de  terre  et  dont  on  leur  a  dit  grand 
bien. 

Arrived  a  leur  destination,  ils  sont  fort  bien  accueillis,  les  femmes, 
font  cuire  les  grosses  pieces  de  venaison  qu'ils  ont  apportees.  Tout 
le  monde  est  d'humeur  joyeuse,  Picard  prend  son  violon  et  com- 
mence a  jouer,  les  sauvages,  emerveilles  de  ces  sons  jamais  entendus, 
font  des  bonds  de  faons  pour  manifcster  leur  appreciation.  Deux 
jeunes  Francais  dansent  la  pavane,  la  joie  devient  delirante. 

Picard  et  sa  quintette  s'installent  chez  le  Chef  des  Colapissas  et 

nicault  chez  le  Chef  des  Natchitochez,  qui  a  deux  filles  :  Oul- 


» 


UISIANE     FRAN^AISE 

chogonume,  la  bonne  fille,  et  Oulchil,  la  belle  tisseuse,  auxquelles  il 
apprend  le  francais,  et  probablcment  beaucoup  d'autres  choses. 

En  Mars,  les  sauvages  preparcnt  leur  semis.  lis  coupeni  les  Can- 
nes dures,  qui  font  pr&ager  un  bon  terrain,  arrachent  au  baton  les 
broussailles  des  eclairries,  et  quand  elles  sont  seches  les  brfilent,  les 
cendres  servant  d'engrais.  Avec  un  baton  pointu,  ils  font  des  trous 
rcgulierement  espac£s,  dans  chacun  desquels  ils  de'posent  cinq  a 
six  grains  de  mahiz.  Toujours  au  moyen  de  leur  baton,  pour  ne 
pas  se  pencher,  ils  recou vr en t  de  terre  et  rentrent  chez  eux.  Au 
primemps,  ils  sarderont  ces  champs  avec  beaucoup  de  soin,  avec 
une  pioche  de  noyer  blanc. 

Pendant  ce  temps,  les  femmes,  parees  de  colliers  en  nacre  de 
burgos,  usee  en  pieces  rondes  sur  une  pierre  dure,  et  de  boucles 
d'oreilles  en  nacre,  de  la  forme  d'un  clou  a  grosse  tete,  preparent 
des  pots  de  sagamite"  suHisant  a  plusieurs  families  pour  quelques 
jours,  le  <  machecou  »,  des  £pis  entiers  cuits  sous  des  oignons  sau- 
vages.  des  gaieties  avec  les  £normes  noix  des  noyers-noirs  dont 
l'rfcorce  bossetee  est  si  dure  a  casser.  Elles  ramassent  les  champignons 
accroche's  aux  souches  de  noyer,  pour  les  ajouter  a  leur  grut  de 
mahiz,  et  pilent  les  falnes. 

L'archer  du  menestrier  est  infatigable.  Dans  les  clairieres  de  la 
foret,  autour  de  grands  feux,  dans  lesquels,  pour  les  rendre  plus 
aromatiques,  on  jette  des  branches  odorantes  de  copalme  et  des 
copeaux  cannelle  de  sassafras,  les  sauvagesses,  nues  ou  vetues  d'une 
poigne"e  de  mousse,  sous  la  direction  de  P^nicault,  avec  des  airs  ires 
serieux  ct  de  profondes  r£ve>ences  de  cour,  dansent  le  menuet  et  la 
gavotte  avec  les  jeunes  Francais. 

Elles  trouvent  le  jeu  delicieux.  et  quand  la  saison  se  termine, 
sont  de- solves  de  voir  repartir  leurs  visiteurs. 

II  n'y  a  pas  grande  chose  de  neuf  a  la  Colonic  Le  Capitaine  de  la 
Vigne-Voisin,  venant  de  Touspe\  ou  on  lui  a  refuse"  ses  marchan- 
dises,  arrive  sur  la  fregate  St.  Avoie,  de  St.  Malo.  II  reprfoente  M.  de 
Corsac,  qui  a  obtenu  un  illusoire  privilege  de  commerce  sur  le 
Golfe.  On  l'autorise  a  s'&ablir  dans  J'lle  Dauphine.  A  la  pointe,  il 
construtt  un  petit  fort  avec  embrasure  montee  d'un  canon,  une 
chapelle  pour  les  equipages  des  vaisseaux.  et  une  vingtaine  d'habi- 
tations  de  poteaux  ou  de  planches,  dans  lesquelles  des  families  s'ins- 
tallent,  visitles,  de  temps  en  temps,  par  M.  de  Bienville,  qui  habite 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  107 

une  maison  de  charpente,  sur  la  c6te,  a  une  petite  distance  de  Fort 
St.  Louis. 

On  a  transplant^  des  glycines  sauvages,  des  ch&vrefeuilles  roses 
et  des  Eglantines  blanches,  qui  lui  font  un  jardin  de  fortune.  De- 
vant  ses  fenitres  Mantes,  les  pigeons-de-mer  tourbillonnent,  les 
queues-a-ciseau  rlpondent  d'un  cri  t£nu  au  rire  sarcastique  des 
mouettes  effilles  en  noir,  des  alcyons  violets,  une  aile  en  l'air  contre 
le  vent,  ressemblent  a  de  minuscules  voiles  latines. 

Les  officiers  sont  affectls  a  des  postes  de  plus  en  plus  isol£s.  M. 
de  Waligny  et  35  hommes  sont  installs  sur  la  Riviire-aux-Poissons, 
a  l'Est  de  la  Baie,  dans  un  village  d'Apalachiens  catholiques,  qui  ont 
£chou£  la,  on  ne  sait  trop  comment. 


Au  mois  de  mars  1711,  St  Louis  de  la  Mobile,  qu'on  avail  si  bien 
pensi  a  1'abri  des  eaux  est  noye  par  une  crue  etonnante.  On  aban- 
donne  letablissement  el  on  le  recommence  huit  lieues  plus  loin, 
esperant  bien  cetie  fois  etre  hors  de  portee. 

Les  conditions  s'ameliorent  un  peu,  ou  plutdt  l'endurance  et 
l'ingenuice  des  gens  se  developpent. 

Apres  douze  ans  d'incubation.  la  Louisiane  est  encore  un  immense 
pays  vierge,  aux  contours  indecis  et  inconnus,  en  £tat  preparatoire. 

300  habitants  et  175  soldats  sont  dissemin£s  dans  5  forts  palissades, 
separes  par  des  rivieres,  des  forets  presque  impenetrables,  des  savanes 
et  des  marais  mortels  :  Mobile,  Biloxi.  l'lle  au  Vatsseau,  I'lle 
Oauphine,  et  sur  le  Mississipi,  un  miserable  fort  dans  le  delta 
maricageux  et  fetide,  avec  pour  seule  compagnie  des  macrcuses, 
des  grands-plongeons,  des  flamands  gris,  des  aigrettes-cailles,  des 
petites  tortues,  et  des  <  cocodrilles  ».  dont  en  mai,  dans  les  recoins 
des  anses,  chaque  nid  de  limon  et  de  Cannes  seches  expose  au  soleil 
du  midi  une  soixantaine  d'rcufs  parchemines,  jaunes  et  b  lanes, 
transformed  quelques  deux  mois  plus  tard  en  petit  pensionnat  de 
<  cocodries  >,  qui  sans  meme  attendre  d'avoir  toui-a-fait  qnitte 
1'ceuf,  se  trainent  jusqu'a  1'eau  pour  y  plonger  leur  logis  brise\  et 
docilement  a  la  queue-leuleu  suivent  la  mere  dans  ses  promenades. 
Autour  du  Fort,  dans  la  paille-chat-tigre  et  le  caniche.  les  rats  mus- 
ques  font  leurs  nids. 

Chei  les  Kaskakias,  dans  la  peninsule  entre  le  Mississipi  et  la 
Riviere  Kaskakias,  M.  de  Favrot  commence  un  fort. 

II  n'y  a  pas  un  champ  de  cereales,  pas  un  verger.  A  la  Mobile,  on 
a  attribue  une  grande  parcelle  a  chaque  famille,  qui  en  a  fait  un 
petit  desert  et  y  cultive  les  feves  rouges  et  noires,  les  fades  fives 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


109 


apalaches,  rampantes  comme  le  lierre,  les  giraumons  dont  on  fait 
de  bonnes  soupes  et  des  fricassees,  quand  on  est  las  de  les  manger 
au  four  ou  a  la  cendre. 

Les  yammes  ou  ignames  viennent  bien  depuis  qu'on  a  appris  de 
St.  Doiningue  a  les  cultiver.  Sur  le  terrain  brulg  des  coteaux,  a  la 
fin  de  1'hiver,  on  prepare  des  centaines  de  petiles  buttes  de  terre 
en  pains  de  sucre,  dans  lesquelles  on  enfouit  des  morceaux  de 
tubercule.  Bient6t,  les  monticules  se  couvrent  de  lianes  garnies  de 
pattes  et  de  feuilles,  assez  bonnes  en  sauce.  En  Avril,  sur  un  autre 
terrain,  dans  des  buttes  semblables,  on  repique  quatre  boutures  de 
lianes,  a  deux  nceuds  et  deux  pattes  chacune.  Les  yammes  du 
premier  plan,  qu'on  ramasse  a  la  St  Louis,  sont  bonnes,  mais  celles 
du  second  plan,  r^coltees  au  d^but  de  1'hiver,  sont  meilleures  et 
plus  sucrees,  on  les  mange  cuites  a  la  braise,  ou  tranchees  dans  du  lait. 

Avec  le  surplus  de  legumes,  on  ravitaille  Pensacola,  ce  qui  enrichil 
I'^tablissement  de  quelques  monnaies  d'Espagne. 

Tant  bien  que  mal,  les  habitants  subviennent  a  leur  alimenta- 
tion. Dans  les  magasins  du  Roi,  ils  se  procurent  le  vin,  l'eau-de-vie 
et  la  farine. 

Les  Natchitochez  apportent  du  sel  gemme  de  leurs  mines,  et  des 
«  faons  d'huile  >,  qu'ils  traitent  contre  un  fusil.  Les  ours,  en  petit 
nombre  vivenl  chez  eux  loute  1'annee  ;  a  l'entree  de  1'hiver,  ils 
descendent  par  bandes  du  Canada  neigeux,  traversent  le  ileuve  a 
la  nage,  et  s'arretenl  sur  la  rive  de  l'Ouest,  bien  fournie  en  glands 
et  racines. 

Engraisses  et  lourds,  en  decern bre,  ils  se  cabanent  dans  le  creux 
des  arbres  morts,  d'ou  ils  sortent  en  mars  ou  avril,  les  meres  avec 

^ leurs  oursons,  ridiculeraent  petits,  nes  un  mois  auparavant. 
Avant  qu'ils  soient  bien  endormis,  les  sauvages  qui  reconnaissent 
les  griffures  des  troncs,  les  frappent  pour  s 'assurer  qu'ils  sont  ha  bites, 
et  se  cachent.  Peniblement,  les  ours  se  haussent,  viennent  regarder 
qui  cogne  a  1'huis,  et  se  retirent  chez  eux,  completement  degoutes 
de  s'etre  deranges  pour  rien. 

Sur  de  son  fait,  un  chasseur  monte  a  califourchon  sur  une  bran- 
che,  et  au  bout  d'une  canne  fait  tomber  un  tison  et  un  paquet  de 
*  tondre  >,  le  bois  mou  des  bosses  de  muriers  ressemblant  a  l'ama- 
dou,  dans  l'arbre  inflammable,  obligeant  l'animal  a  sortir.  On  le 
ue  alors  aisement,  sa  pesanteur  augmentant  sa  maladresse. 
Lorsque  la  viande  est  un  peu  passee,  les  sauvages  font  cuire  p€le- 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

mfile  en  morceaux,  chair  et  graisse,  dans  leurs  chaudrons  de  terre, 
puis  videm  la  grais.it;  liede  dans  une  outre  de  chevreuil,  faite  d'une 
peau  soigne usement  videe  par  le  col,  dont  on  a  ferme  les  ouvertures 
des  membres  avec  des  ecorces  de  lilleul  el  un  mastic  de  suil  et  de 
cendre. 

Les  Francais  trouvent  que  cette  graisse  sent  le  fauve.  Pour  la 
puriher,  ils  la  metient  a  fondre  dans  un  chaudron  en  plein  air,  avec 
une  poignee  de  feuilles  de  laurier-sauce,  et  quand  elle  est  ires 
chaude,  laspergent  d'eau  bien  salee.  Une  epaisse  fumee  se  degage, 
qui  emporic  lodeur  forte,  lis  laissent  reposer  une  huitaine  le  li- 
quide  iransvase,  et  a  ce  moment  recueillent  a  la  micouenne,  leur 
louche  de  bois,  l'huile  daire  Uotiant  a  la  surface.  Par  dessous,  ils 
trouvent  un  saindoux  iininacute  et  mol.  Huile  et  graisse,  disem-ils, 
son  t  excellentes. 

Les  Missionnaires  s'enfoncent  courage  usement  chez  les  sauvages. 
Une  fois  apprivoises,  ceux-ci  aiment  discuier  de  choses  prolondes 
avec  le  Pere,  qui  setforce  en  employ  ant  leur  langue  de  les  impres- 
sioniier  en  leur  parlam  du  ciel,  un  mol  qui  pour  eux  n'evoque  que 
la  voute  bleue. 

«  —  Le  del,  objecieni-ils,  si  nous  y  avions  ete,  nous  pourrions  en 
savoir  queique  chose.  Tu  n'as  point  d'esprit  de  nous  demander  dun 
lieu  si  eleve  au-dessus  de  notre  tele,  oil  il  esi  impossible  que  les 
homines  moment.  Peux-tu  nous  montrer  un  homme,  qui  esi  revenu 
de  la-haut  et  nous  dire  la  maniere  dont  il  y  est  monte  ?  > 

Patiemment,  le  Pere  explique  que  ce  soni  les  ames  des  Chretiens, 
qui  moment  au  del.  <  —  Voila  qui  est  de  valeur  pour  ceux  de  ton 
pays,  concedent  les  sauvages,  sans  vouloir  demordre.  Tout  ce  que 
tu  nous  dis  est  bon  peut-etre  pour  ceux  qui  vivent  sur  1' autre  bord 
du  grand  lac,  mais  nous,  nous  ailons  au  pays  des  ames  oil  nos  gens 
vont  a  la  chasse  et  vivent  plus  iranquillement  qu'id.  >  lis  estiment 
qu'ils  font  bcaucoup  mieux  les  choses. 

Les  coureurs-de-bois  suivent  les  <  robes-noires  ».  Chaque  mission 
est  le  centre  d'un  terrain  de  chasse  et  de  iraite  couvrant  des  cen- 
taines  de  lieues. 

Les  sauvages  servent  de  <  decouvreurs  >,  ce  sont  d'habiles  chasseurs. 
Ils  aitrapent  les  chevreuils  en  encapuchonnant  leur  main  gauche 
de  la  tete  videe  et  sechee  d'un  chevreuil,  qu'ils  agitent  dans  les 
halliers  en  imitant  son  cri,  sans  menance  les  autres  s'approchent. 

Avant  de  chasscr  les  bcculs,  au  lieu  de  se  servir  de  tondre.  Us 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


amorcent  leur  pipe  avec  une  bouse  sechee  de  ces  Wies,  pour  se 
donner  <  de  la  valeur  ». 

Lorsque  les  coureurs  ont  complete'  leur  charge  nient  de  peaux  et 
de  fourrures,  qu'ils  preservent  des  insectes  avec  des  morceaux  sees 
de  <  pecheurs  >,  un  oiseau  dont  les  mites  n'apprecient  pas  l'odeur, 
ils  descendent  le  Mississipi  et  a  la  Mobile  echangent  leur  butin 
contre  des  annes,  des  munitions,  de  l'eau-de-vie  et  quelques  mar- 
chandises  de  traite. 

Les  bucherons  abattent  a  grands  coups  les  forets  seculaires  ;  Les 
immenses  cypres,  dont  le  bois  rougeatre,  s'il  est  renverse  entre 
octobre  et  fevrier,  est  excellent  pour  la  coque  et  les  mats  des  ba- 
teaux, et  aussi  pour  les  habitations,  puisque  les  vers  ne  l'attaquent 
pas  ;  les  chenes-verts,  superieurs  a  tout  pour  les  charpentes  ;  les 
chenes-blancs  et  sur  les  coteaux  les  chenes-noirs,  dont  une  eau 
sanguinolente  s'echappe  quand  on  les  abat  ;  les  liards,  dont  le 
bois  blanc  pliant  fait  des  pirogues  legeres  ;  les  cedres  rouges  et 
blancs  du  Liban,  dont  on  fait  des  maisons  odorantes  ;  les  pins,  dont 
on  taille  les  planchers  et  les  ais  ;  les  chataigners,  les  noyers- blancs, 
autour  desquels  les  perroquets  tourbillonnent  et  jacassent  en  man- 
geant  lews  noix  ameres  ;  les  noyers-noirs,  presque  aussi  fonces  que 
l'ebene,  et  les  noyers-rouges  ;  les  cotonniers,  grands  sycamores  a 
duvet,  dont  le  bois  jaune,  si  pesant  qu'il  ne  surnage  pas,  convient 
■our  la  menuiserie  ;  les  acacias,  au  bois  dur  et  incorruptible,  bon 
our  les  batiments  quand  il  est  ecorce,  pour  eviter  qu'il  ne  prenne 
;  les  frenes,  dont  les  charrons,  pour  les  chars-a-bceufs,  tirent 

s  roues,  qu'on  ne  ferre  pas  puisqu'il  n'y  a  pas  de  pierres  ;  des 

meaux-gras,  des  hetres. 

Les  beaux  copalmes  souples,  cuirasses  de  noir  et  embaumes  de 
gomme,  sont  epargnes,  leur  bois  travaille  trop  pour  etre  utilisable. 
Des  tilleuls,  qui  abondent  partout,  on  tire  du  fil  et  des  cordes. 

Sur  toutes  les  rivieres,  on  voit  Hotter  des  voyages-de-bois  qui  de- 

Pscendent  au  fil  de  l'eau,  surveilles  par  des  pirogues. 
Autour  de  la  Mobile,  on  prepare  du  goudron.  Pendant  plusieurs 
mois,  on  debite  les  pins  en  rondins,  fendus  ensuite  en  eclats.  Sur 
des  barres  de  fer,  en  £normes  pyramides,  entrecroisees  pour  que  l'air 
y  penetre,  on  fait  bruler  ces  morceaux  au-dessus  de  fosses  com- 
municantes  creusees  dans  la  terre  argileuse,  pour  recueillir  le  gou- 
dron. 

Pour  faire  le  brai,  on  jette  deux  boulets  de  canon,  rougis  au  feu, 


I 


112  LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

dans  une  fosse  de  goudron.  Une  £pouvantable  detonation  fait  sauter 
en  l'air  flore  et  faune,  le  goudron  s'enflamme  avec  des  volutes  de 
fumle  Acre  et  bouillonne.  Quand  on  le  trouve  suffisamment  diminu£, 
on  l'^teint  en  recouvrant  la  fosse  avec  des  daies  chargles  de  terre. 

Lorsqu'il  est  refroidi,  &  coups  de  hache,  on  en  fait  sauter  des 
pieces  dures  et  luisantes. 

Des  vaisseaux  de  n£goce  de  St  Domingue  et  de  la  Martinique 
viennent  chercher  ces  marchandises  et  en  ^change  laissent  du  sucre, 
de  la  m£lasse,  du  cate,  du  cacao,  du  th£,  du  rhum,  de  la  vanille, 
des  Ipices. 


Louis  XIV,  non  seulement  ne  veut  plus  rien  envoyer  a  la  Loui- 
siana mais  il  ne  veut  plus  en  entendre  parler.  Le  bel  engouement 
s'est  eteint  comme  un  feu  de  paille.  La  colonie,  jusqu'a  present, 
n'a  6te  qu'une  cause  de  depenses,  un  tonneau  des  Danai'des,  qui 
n'a  pas  donne  en  excuse  le  moindre  Hard  de  profit.  Si  M.  de  Bien- 
ville, un  gentilhomuie,  ne  sait  pas  s'en  tirer,  un  marchand  [era 
peut-etre  l'affaire. 

Le  14  fevrier  1712,  Sa  Majeste  accorde  a  Antoine  Crozat,  un  ple- 
beien  qui  est  devenu  fort  riche  dans  le  negoce,  directeur  de  l'As- 
siente  et  de  la  Cie  de  St.  Domingue,  et  sera  cree  Marquis  de  Neuf- 
chatel  lorsqu'il  aura  assez  d'ecus,  le  privilege  exclusif  du  commerce 
dans  tout  le  pays  situe  entre  les  Carolines  et  le  Mexique  ou  Nou- 
veau-Mexique,  arro.se  par  le  Mississipi  et  ses  affluents,  depuis  le 
Golfe  jusqu'au  Detroit  reliant  les  lacs  Huron  et  Erie\ 

line  fois  l'an,  il  pourra  envoyer  chercher  en  Afrique  un  charge- 
merit  d'esclaves,  il  possedera  les  terres  qu'il  defrichera,  les  construc- 
tions qu'il  elevera,  tous  les  etablissements  qu'il  pourra  fonder,  et 
pendant  quime  ans  les  mines  qu'il  exploitera,  a  charge  d'aban- 
donner  a  la  Couronne  le  quart  de  Tor  et  de  l'argent  extrait,  et  le 
dixieme  des  autres  metaux  ;  il  gardera  les  quatre  cinqui  ernes  des 
perles  et  pierres  precieuses  decouvertes  a  la  colonie,  le  reste  allant 
au  Roi,  qui,  pour  parer  aux  premiers  frais  d'exploitation,  lui  fera 
tenir  50.000  Livres. 

En  echange  de  quoi,  H  sera  tenu  d'envoyer  annuellement  en 
Louisiane  deux  vaisseaux  de  colons,  et  sur  chacun  10  garcons  et 
10  filles  de  seize  a  vingt  ans.  choisies,  sur  l'ordre  du  Comte  de 
Pontchartrain,  par  M.  Clairaimbault,  de  Port  St.  Louis,  parmi  les 
orphelines  elevees  des  leur  bas-age  dans  les  hdpitaux  d'Hennebont, 
Auray  et  Quimperle,  c  force  que  les  autres  qui  ont  vicu  une  fois 


LA     LOU1SIANE    FRAN£AISE 

dam  le  disordre,  portent  leur  vice  partout  et  sont  ordinairement 
glorieuses  et  jaineantes.  > 

Apres  neul  am,  M.  Crozat  assuniera  toutes  les  depenses  de  la 
colonie,  \  compris  la  solde  de  la  garnison,  dont  les  orders,  nornmes 
par  lui,  devrunt  recevoir  1' appro  bad  on  du  Roi. 

Les  lois,  ordonnances,  coutumes  el  usages  de  la  Pr£vot£  et  Vi- 
comte  de  Paris  scront  en  vigueur  a  la  colonie.  Un  Conseil  Superieur, 
ctabli  sur  le  modele  de  celui  de  St.  Domingue,  determinera  les  cas 
dvils  et  criminels. 

M.  Crozat  ignore  tout  de  la  Louisiane,  qu'il  s' imagine  opulente 
parce  quelle  est  lointaine  et  que  la  distance  embellit  tout.  II  ne 
songe  vraiment  qu'aux  metaux  et  pierreries  qu'il  va  en  tirer.  Si 
jusqu'a  present,  on  n'a  pas  controle  leur  existence,  c'est  parce  que 
des  maladroits  eiaient  en  pouvoir,  il  va  mener  les  choses  rondement 
et  montrer  ce  qu'un  audacieux  sail  faire. 

Le  i"  mai  1713,  le  Baron  de  la  Fosse,  commands  par  M.  de  la 
Jonquiere,  mouille  devant  l'lle  Dauphine. 

(,'n  grand  personnage,  en  souiflani,  descend  l'echelle.  II  porte, 
sur  sa  lourde  perruque  tirebouchonnee  un  magnifique  chapeau  a 
plume  trissonuaiue,  un  habit  a  jupe  ample,  de  soie  puce  damassee, 
releve  de  parements  brudes,  sur  lesquels,  au  col  ei  aux  poignets, 
voltigent  des  volants  de  point  d'Angleterre.  Une  large  ceinture  de 
soie  ponceau  enveloppe  un  ventre  important,  le  vent  espiegle  en 
rudoie  les  pans. 

Cest  le  Lt.  Colonel  de  la  Mothe-Cadillac,  gentilhomme  borddais, 
andennement  du  Canada,  ou  il  a  commence  letablissement  du 
Detroit  et  commande  le  Fort  Po  11  tchar train,  nomine1  par  le  Due  de 
Lauzun  Gouverneur-Gcneral  de  Louisiane.  Sa  femme  et  scs  enlants 
l'accouipagnent,  suivis  de  quelques  valets  et  feinmes  d'ouvrage. 

Avec  lui  arrive  tout  le  personnel  de  M.  Crozat  :  M.  Duclos,  com- 
mis5aire-or  donna  leur  ;  M.  le  Bar,  controleur  ;  MM.  Dirigoin  et 
la  Loire  des  Ursins,  direcieurs,  qui  doivent  s'etablir  sur  le  Missis- 
sipi  ;  le  Capuaine  de  Richebourg,  ancien  volontaire  de  la  maison 
du  Roi,  major  aux  dragons  de  Chatillon  et  au  regiment  de  Limoges. 

Tout  ce  monde  vient  administrer  la  curatelle,  chcrchcr  les  fa- 
incuses  mines,  si  bien  ca  dices,  et,  avec  des  bailments  legers  com- 
merccr  sur  la  cote  espagnole. 

M.  Crozat  n'a  point  fait  rappeler  M.  de  Bienville,  de  l'experience 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

duquel  il  compte  beneficier,  il  est  simplement  demis,  redevient 
Lieutenant-Gouverneur. 

Au  lieu  de  continuer  sa  route  vers  la  Mobile,  M.  de  Cadillac 
s'arrete  a  I'lle  Dauphine,  ou  quelques  petites  maisons  somnolent 
autour  de  l'habitation  4  deux  etages  de  M.  Trudeau,  un  Canadien 
aise. 

M.  de  Cadillac  n'a  pas  plutot  jete  les  yeux  sur  son  domaine,  qu'il 
bleroit  de  rage.  11  est  vaniteux,  ponipeux,  arrogant,  penetre  de  lui- 
menie  et  de  sa  naissance,  qu'il  considere  iilustre  ;  d'emblee  il  prend 
le  pays  en  horreur. 

11  ne  perd  pas  de  temps  pour  exprimer  sa  decon  venue.  M.  de  la 
Jonquiere  remportera  au  Due  de  Lauzun  un  billet  dans  lequel  il 
s'epanche  jusqu'au  bout  ;  <  Je  peux  attester  a  Voire  Grandeur,  que 
toute  la  fortune  de  I'lle  Dauphine  tient  dans  une  douzaine  de  fi- 
guiers,  }  poirters  sauvages,  $  pommiers,  un  prunier  rabougri  de  3 
pieds  de  haut,  qui  parte  7  prunes  de  mauvaise  apparence,  36  plants 
de  vigne  avec  9  grappes  mi-pourries,  mi-seches,  40  giraumons.  Voila 
le  Paradis  de  M.  d'Artaguette,  la  Pomone  de  M.  de  Remonville  !  * 

Son  sejour  a  la  colonie  n'ameliore  pas  son  humeur.  Le  brouillard 
defrise  ses  perruques,  qu'il  ne  peut  plus  faire  testonner,  et  les  eda- 
boussures  des  «  voitures  »,  ainsi  qu'on  appelle  canots  et  chaloupes, 
gitent  ses  habits. 

11  cherche  noise  a  tout  le  monde,  gourmande  les  habitants  parce 
qu'ils  sont  dissolus  et  n'ont  pas  encore  bati  d'eglise  ;  les  omciers, 
parce  qu'ils  negligent  d'assister  aux  offices  ou  sont  enclins  a  mal- 
traiter  leur  troupe  ;  les  soldats  parce  qu'ils  sont  mal  disciplines  ; 
M.  Duclos,  parce  que  n'ayant  trouv£  pour  se  loger  qu'une  mechante 
m  arson,  il  lui  a  en  joint  de  construire  dans  le  Fort  une  habitation 
digne  de  lui  .  1  Le  Roi  n'envoie  pas  un  Gouverneur  en  Louisiane 
pour  le  faire  coucher  dans  la  rue.  >  M.  Duclos  n'a  real  de  la  Cie  ni 
instructions,  ni  fonds  a  cet  usage,  il  n'a  pas  de  charpentiers,  mais 
il  est  pret  a  louer  pour  le  Gouverneur  la  maison  des  Pretres,  qui 
demandent  un  loyer  annuel  de  100  piastres.  Pendant  que  M.  de 
Cadillac  s'en  va  faire  un  tour  a  Pensacola,  les  pretres  changent  d'a- 
vis  et  gardent  leur  maison.  M.  de  Cadillac  est  hors  de  lui.  «  C'est 
bon,  me  void  dans  la  rue,  le  Gouverneur  du  Roi  est  dans  la  rue  I  > 

II  d^teste  M.  Dirigouin,  parce  que  c'est  un  imbecile  et  un  scelerat 
qu'il  va  faire  renvoyer  ;  le  Cap.  de  Richebourg  parce  qu'il  a,  pen- 

nt  le  voyage,  seduit  les  Bretonnes  a  marier,  et  les  filles  parce 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANt^AISE 

qu'elles  se  sont  laissees  seduire  et  ne  peuvem  plus  trouver  preneur. 

A  la  verity,  les  divertissements  de  la  traversee  im  portent  peu  aux 
hommes  de  la  colonic.  Si  on  montre  si  peu  d'empressement  pour 
elles,  c'est  qu'elles  sonl  laides  et  fort  mal  faites.  M.  Clahraimbault 
n'a  pu  s'entendre  avec  les  direoteurs  des  hdpitaux,  et,  en  desespoir 
de  cause,  a  choisi  is  lilies  chez  les  pauvres  de  Lorient,  pour  com- 
pleter son  chargement  de  passagers. 

Mais,  cotnme  ecrit  M.  Duclos,  indigne  :  <  les  Canadiens  sont 
difficiles  an  point  de  s'attacher  plustot  a  la  figure  qu'a  la  vertu,  > 
et  puis,  en  1'occurence,  ils  n'auraient,  semble-t-il,  ni  1'une  ni  l'autre, 
un  march  6  de  dupe. 

La  sage-femme,  que  la  Cie  envoie,  Marie  Grizot,  dite  la  Sans- 
Regrets,  n'aura  guere  a  faire  de  ce  cotd-ci,  et  couune  elle  refuse  de 
soigner  les  femmes,  autrement  qu'accouchees,  malgre"  ses  protesta- 
tions, M.  Duclos  ramene  son  salaire  annuel  de  400  Livres  a  aoo. 

M.  de  Cadillac,  ombrageux  par  nature  et  aigri  par  sa  demi- 
pauvrete  et  son  ambition,  n'en  est  pas  a  une  dispute  pros.  II  pre- 
tend  que  M.  Duclos  cache  des  vivres  et  refuse  la  farine  aux  habitants 
mourarit  de  faim,  incite  ceux-ci  a  piller  les  magasins.  Pour  retablir 
une  sorte  de  calme,  M.  Duclos  doit  faire  publier  par  le  crieur  1'in- 
ventaire  des  marchandises  apponees  par  le  Baron  de  la  Fosse  : 
pas  un  ecu,  quelques  effets  deja  distnbues,  600  livres  de  poudre, 
ta  grosses  de  couteaux,  48  aulnes  de  colonnade  rouge  pour  les  sau- 
vages,  400  livres  de  farine,  et  quand  on  a  ouvert  les  tonneaux,  on 
s'est  aper^u  que  les  negotiants  charges  de  la  fourtiiture  avaieni 
place  une  mince  couche  de  belle  farine  au  dessus  d'un  fond  gltd 
et  inuiilisable.  '  , 

On  ne  sail  pas  quand  un  autre  bitiment  viendra,  il  faul  econo- 
miser  le  peu  qu'on  a.  La  farine  est  pour  les  soldats,  M.  de  Cadillac 
n'a  qua  donner  sa  provision  personnelle  aux  habitants,  il  sera 
rembourse"  a  la  prochaine  arrivee. 

Le  Couverneur  repcte  a  tout  venant  :  <  Le  commissaire  fait  fausse 
route  en  se  querellant  avec  moi,  un  Gouverneur  est  la  supreme 
autorite  de  son  Gouvernement,  surtout  dans  ces  pays  si  eloign  es  du 
soleil.  >  II  s'enlise  dans  l'animosite  qu'il  exsude,  sa  hargne  omnu- 
bile  sa  conscience,  il  va  se  venger  de  tous  I  II  se  venge  betement. 

II  faut  retinir  une  cour  martiale  pour  juger  des  deserteurs,  il 
choisit  son  jeune  ids,  deja  aussi  insupportable  que  lui,  et  le  Che- 
valier d'Epervanchc,  qui  a  S2  ans.  11  organise  le  Conseil  Superieur, 


LA     LOU1SIANE    FRANfAISE  "7 


prevu  par  lettres  patentes  :  comme  procure ur-general,  il  nomme 
un  garde-magasin,  auquel  on  viem  d' a p prendre  a  signer  son  nom  ; 
pour  greffier,  il  £lit  un  soldat,  et  pour  eonseiller  judiciaire  un 
chirurgien.  C'est  le  moyen  de  faire  progresser  la  Colonic 

Un  parti  de  Chactas  est  venu  lui  chanter  le  calumet,  mais  il  est 
re'fractaire  aux  amenites  sauvages. 

Pendant  que  lout  ce  fiel  bouillonne,  M.  de  Bienville  construit 
chez  les  Alibamons,  avec  leur  aide.  Fort  Toulouse.  Le  Cap.  de  la 

ITour  va  y  tenir  gamison. 
Chez  les  sauvages,  il  est  a  l'abri  des  petitesses,  sinon  du  danger. 
Son  frere,  Jacques  de  St  He'lene,  qui  se  trouvait  chez  les  Chicachas 
au  moment  ou  cette  nation  etait  mal  avec  les  Anglais,  a  ete  pris 
pour  l'un  d'eux  et  tue.  M.  de  Bienville  a  perdu  trois  des  siens  en 
quelques  ann^es.  II  a  bien  de  la  misere,  comme  il  dit. 

Ecceurf,  il  assiste  a  la  debacle  de  la  petite  colonie,  que  la  suffi- 
sance  de  M.  de  Cadillac  et  son  ingerence  dans  tout  ce  qui  ne  le 
regarde  pas,  ex  as  per  e. 

«  —  Que  le  diable  me  pete  un  singe  si  j'en  prends  davantage  a 
dos  de  ce  coquecigrue,  assure  le  maltre  d'ouvrage  canadien  arrive 
au  debut.  Comme  si  qu'on  etait  pas  tant  assez  deja  dans  les  for- 
doches  sans  ce  gesteux,  il  y  a  bel  age  que  j'en  at  ma  sumsance.  > 
M.  de  Bienville  essaie  de  calmer  son  vieux  compagnon  :  «  Aye 
patience,  nous  ne  mangerons  peut-etre  point  un  boisseau  de  sel 
ensemble  !  >  Le  Canadien  refuse  de  se  laisser  convaincre  :  «  Vous 
pouvez  guetter,  notre  Commandeur,  j'ai  doutance  que  ces  chico- 
teries  aboutent  bien.  »  M.  de  Bienville,  lui  aussi  doute. 

La  Loire  amene  de  nouveaux  passagers,  des  marchandises  pour 
les  magasins,  mais  n'apporte  rien  pour  apaiser  les  esprits,  sinon  la 
nouvelle  de  la  Paix  d'Utrecht,  signee  par  les  Pouvoirs  en  1713. 

Tout  le  monde  se  dechire  a  grands  crocs.  Pour  ne  plus  voir  M.  de 
Cadillac,  «  ce  sottiseux  belette,  qui  coupe  la  peau  chatoui  »,  une 
bande  de  Canadiens  remonte  vers  le  Nord. 

Dans  tomes  les  directions,  le  Gouvemeur  envoie  des  hommes  pour 
reperer  les  mines,  et  les  hommes,  sachant  la  course  inutile,  «  pren- 
nent  une  bauche  »,  s'essaiment  a  1'Ouest  du  fleuve  pour  chasser  et 
pecher,  sous  la  guidance  de  «  decouvreurs  »  sauvages. 

Dans  la  savane,  au  printemps,  ils  sont  reveilles  des  Paurore  par  le 
cri  amoureux  des  poulets  de  prairie,  qui  porte  a  un  quart  de  lieue. 
Avec  precaution,  ils  approchent  de  ces  volailles  grivelees,  aux  plumes 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

herissees  en  minuscules  cornes,  dont  le  sac  d'air.  a  ce  moment,  res- 
semble  a  un  gros  ceuf  jaunt-,  incongrument  enfoui  dans  leur  cou, 
et  les  regardent  danser  devant  leurs  belles  en  pamoison. 

Les  perdrix  s'appellent  en  sifftant  deux  fois,  de  grandes  bandes 
de  becassines  sont  toisees  par  quelques  faisans,  qui  les  trouvcnt 
vulgaires. 

Au-dessus  de  la  riviere  Arkansas,  les  coteaux  boises  sont  vrilles 
par  les  tanieres  des  renards  roux.  Les  chevreuils  et  autres  betes  a 
pied  fourchu  se  rassemblent  pour  lecher  avec  gourmandise,  apres 
chaque  pluie,  1'argile  salee  et  salpetreuse  des  ravins  ;  quelques  petits 
<  tigres  bay-ardent  >  guettent  le  menu  gibier. 

Le  Mississippi  et  toutes  les  rivieres  sont  pleines  de  barbues.  qu'ils 
trouvent  succulentes,  d'achigans,  de  carpes  atteignant  quatre  pieds 
de  long,  meilleures  a  mesure  qu'on  s'ecarte  du  delta  vaseux.  Les 
pecheurs  se  tiennent  a  distance  des  «  poissons-armes  >,  cuirasses 
d'ecailles  ivoirees  dures  et  inextricablement  enchevetrees,  qui  me- 
surent  10  pieds  et  plus  et  dans  le  fleuve  ressemblent  a  des  bois 
flottants.  Leur  machoire,  aussi  demesuree  que  celle  des  crocodiles, 
epouvante  ;  la  chair  coriace  est  d'ailleurs  fort  mauvaise,  et  seul  le 
feu  permet  d'avoir  raison  des  ecailles. 

Apres  quelques  semaines  de  bonne  vie  libre,  les  hommes  rentrent 
a  I'lle  Dauphine  et  assurent  a  M.  de  Cadillac  qu'ils  n'ont  apereu 
nulle  trace  de  mines. 

Les  troupes  c  font  un  vacarme  de  tous  les  diables  »,  reclamem 
du  pain  de  froment.  Les  comptoirs  de  la  Cie  Crozat,  seule  ressource 
des  habitants,  maintiennent  des  prix  disproponionnes  :  le  quart 
de  farine  blanche  vaut  go  Livres,  les  has  de  sole  40  Livres,  et  les 
garde-magasins  refusent  d'accepier  les  bons  de  solde  des  officiers, 
ils  exigent  des  ecus,  on  n'en  a  pas.  D'ailleurs  1'argeni  de  France  est 
tres  deprecie. 

Les  habitants,  auxquels  on  a  inierdit  de  commercer  avec  Pensa- 
cola,  se  plaignent  amerement.  Pour  acheter  les  choses  essentielles, 
ils  sont  obliges  de  vendre  le  pauvre  mobilier  qu'ils  se  sont  fabrique. 
lis  depouillent  Pierre  pour  couvrir  Paul. 

M.  Duclos  supplie  le  Due  de  Lauzun  de  bien  vouloir  le  rap] 
«  a  cause  de  M.  de  Cadillac  avec  lequei  il  m'est  impossible  de 
en  bonne  intelligence.  Je  suis,  Monseigneur,  d'un  naturel  tres  pa- 
'ifique,  et  tort  tranquille,  comme  chacun  pent  vous  en  asseurez,  mais 


ique. 

pcler 
vivrt 


M.  de  Cadillac  est  trop  infatue"  de  son  esprit  supirieur  et  trop  arti- 
'  ieux.  > 

Suivant  les  instructions  de  M.  Crozat,  le  Gouverneur  a  envoye 
les  traversiers  de  la  Cie,  charges  de  marchandises,  vers  les  ports  du 
Mexique,  a  Campeche,  Tampico,  Vera  Cruz,  mais  les  Espagnols,  sous 
pritexte  de  conventions  passees  avec  les  Anglais,  ont  refuse  l'entree 
des  ports  aux  batiments,  permis  seulement  d'acheter  du  betail,  trans- 
port^ au  mouillage. 

Disappoints  de  ce  c6te\  M.  de  Cadillac  charge  M.  de  St.  Denis 
de  faire,  par  voie  de  terre,  une  liaison  avec  le  Mexique  pour  ou- 
vrir  des  relations  commerciales  entre  les  deux  pays.  On  lui  confiera 
des  marchandises,  et  le  Gouverneur  prelevera  un  dixieme  sur  toutes 
les  ventes  effectuees.  «  Apres  tout,  explique  Madame  de  Cadillac, 
mon  mari  a  £t£  d^possede  de  45.000  Livres,  lorsque  Sa  Majeste  lui 
a  fait  quitter  Fort  Pont  char  train,  en  abandonnant  ses  effets  a  son 
successeur,  il  est  bien  juste  qu'il  refasse  sa  fortune  au  service  du 
Roi,  > 

M.  de  la  Vente,  qui  a  ecrit  au  ministre  que  M.  de  Cadillac  «  itait 
un  homme  tres  bien  rigli  et  bien  intentionne  »,  trouve  ces  pre- 
tentions un  peu  excessives.  «  Ce  que  j'en  dis,  M.  le  Gouverneur, 
c'est  pour  voire  conscience.  »  —  «  Pardonnez  moi,  mon  Pere,  r£pond 
le  Gouverneur,  mais  si  quelqu'un  voulait  vous  offrir  un  cadeau  de 
1000  Livres,  est-ce  que  votre  conscience  vous  empecherait  de  les 
accepter  ?  » 

M.  de  St.  Denis,  le  33  Aout  1714,  avec  30  Canadiens  et  5  canots, 
charges  de  10.000  Livres  de  marchandises,  s'en  va  vers  le  Mississipi. 

M.  de  Cadillac  continue  a  jacter  et  a  avoir  peu  d'amis.  II  desap- 
prouve  tout  et  constate  «  que  s'il  fallait  renvoyer  toutes  les  femtnes 
de  mauvaise  vie  de  ce  pays,  il  n'en  resterait  presque  pas.  »  M.  de  la 
Vente  semble  reconnaitre  ses  meriies.  Ce-dernier  est  tres  occupe  a 
depeindre  sous  des  couleurs  blafardes  la  Colonie  au  ministre,  il 
l'assure  que  tous  les  habitants  sont  des  possede's,  vivant  dans  un  con- 
cubinage scandaleux  avec  les  sauvagesses,  ils  ne  s'approchent  pas  des 
sacrements  et  ils  ont  de  qui  tenir,  car  le  mauvais  exemple  vient  de 
haul,  M.  de  Bienville,  M.  de  Boisbriant  et  M.  de  Serigny  n'ont  pas 
fait  leurs  Paques  depuis  sept  ans. 

M.  de  Cadillac  est  tout  a  fait  du  meme  avis  que  son  cure,  c  D4- 
cidiment,  ecrii-il  au  Due  de  Lauzun,  cette  Colonie  ne  vaut  pas  un 
fitu  de  paille,  et,  selon  le  proverbe,  mauvais  pais,  mSchantes  gens. 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Chacun  accomptit  son  service  a  sa  mode,  les  soldats  sont  indiscipline's, 
la  population  entiere  n'est  qu'un  ramassis  de  la  lie  du  Canada,  ou 
des  gaillards  de  sac  et  de  corde  sans  honneur  et  sans  subordination 
pour  la  religion,  tels  que  les  peints  M.  de  la  Vente.  > 

II  m-  se  fait  pas  d'illusion  sur  1'-'  developpement  de  la  Louisiane, 
les  plans  de  la  Cie  ne  recueillent  de  lui  qu'un  sourire  sceptique. 
<  Quand  a  I'ouloir  remonter  le  Mississtpt,  c'est  vouloir  prendre  la 
lune  avec  ses  dents,  I'idde  d'itablissements  si  iloignis  comme  celui 
des  Ouabaches  et  des  Islinois  sera  pernicieuse  a  I'entreprise  et  en 
mtme  temps  insoutenable.  Un  tel  pais  est  un  monstre.  Les  Ro- 
manistes  ont  publics  qu'il  itoit  semblable  aux  lis  Fortunies,  c'est 
une  erreur  manifeste,  j'ai  vu  un  mimoire  que  M.  Crozat  envoya  a 
son  directeur,  j'ai  cru  qu'il  venoit  de  Vile  de  Pathmos,  comme  I'A- 
pocalypse.  >  Toutes  ses  depeches,  colorees  par  l'inimitie,  sont  aussi 
partisanes. 

M.  Charles-Claude  du  Tisn£.  enseigne  de  compagnie  au  Canada, 
au  debut  de  1715,  arrive  a  la  Mobile,  avec  sa  femme,  pour  offrir  ses 
services  a  la  Cie.  et  montre  a  M.  de  Cadillac  deux  morceaux  de 
quartz  qu'it  a  trouves  chez  les  Illinois  et  qu'on  lui  a  dit  provenir 
du  pays  voisin  des  Kaskakias. 

M.  de  Cadillac  les  fait  analyser  par  ses  chimistes,  le  quartz  con- 
tient  de  l'argent  en  quantite  appreciable.  Ravi  de  1'aubaine,  en 
grand  mystere,  il  part  avec  son  fils  aux  Illinois.  Lorsqu'il  arrive 
apres  un  voyage,  a  son  gout,  fort  desagreable,  chez  les  Kaskakias, 
il  apprend  que  toute  1'histoire  est  une  plaisanterie,  on  s'est  moqui 
d'un  Canadien  bejaune.  Le  quartz  avait  eie  donne,  comme  curiosite, 
aux  sauvages,  par  des  Espagnols  qui  I'avaient  apporte  du  Mexique. 

Decontenanrt,  le  Gouverneur  visite  les  mines  de  plomb  du  voi- 
sinage,  et  retourne  sur  son  sillage.  II  est  de  si  mechanic  humeur 
qu'au  passage  il  refuse  le  calumet  des  Natchez,  ce  qui  equivam  a 
une  declaration  de  guerre.  II  s'aliene  aussi  les  Chactas  parce  qu'il 
a  persuade  au  frere  du  Grand  Chef  de  massacrer  celui-ci  et  lui  a 
promis  de  le  reconnaltre  a  sa  place. 

Depuis  son  retour  des  mines,  M.  de  Cadillac,  est  devenu  encore 
plus  insupportable  et  raultiplie  les  exactions.  Maintenant,  il  se  croit 
persecute,  il  quitte  la  Mobile  et  se  refugie  a  I'lle  Dauphine,  comme 
un  sanglier  dans  sa  bauge.  M.  le  Gouverneur  boude. 

II  est  veritablement  ha'i  pour  ses  comportements,  seme  partout  la 
discordance.  II  n'a  qu'un  ami,  le  cure  de  l'lle,  M.  le  Maire,  ancien 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

vicaire  de  St.  Jacques  le  Boucher,  misskmnaire  apostolique,  et 
d'apres  ses  dires  geographe,  qui  s'en  est  entiche,  parce  qu'U  est,  lui 
aussi,  d'un  temperament  rimer. 

M.  le  Maire  fait  grief  aux  habitants  et  aux  soldats  de  leur  pen- 
chant pour  les  sauvagesses  «  qui  sont  potties  par  leur  naturel  a 
toutes  sortes  de  derigiement.  »  II  est  sur,  ecrit-il  au  Conseil  de  la 
Marine,  <  que  la  moitie"  des  enfants  concus  dans  ces  conjonctions 
illicites  ne  voiaienl  pas  le  jour  grdce  a  mille  manieres  diaboliques  >. 

II  ajoute  que  «  les  petits  entrainis  par  le  mauvais  exemple  des 
grands,  et  les  grands  hors  d'itat  de  riprimer  les  de're'glements  des 
petits  par  la  participation  aux  mimes  disordres,  faisoient  du  pays 
une  veritable  Babylone,  qui  apres  avoir  secoui  le  joug  de  Dieu, 
pourroit  bien  secouer  le  joug  du  Prince.  > 

M.  de  Cadillac  se  venge  des  haines  qu'il  suscite  par  des  mesqui- 
neries.  II  defend  aux  civils  le  port  des  armes,  sous  peine  d'une 
amende  de  300  Livres  ou  un  mois  de  prison.  Avec  quoi  chassera- 
t-on  ?  Et  si  Ton  ne  cha.sse  pas,  que  mangera-t-on  ? 

Les  personnes  nobles  devront  prouver  leur  droit  au  port  de  l'epee, 
en  deposant  au  greffe  du  Conseil  leur  titre  de  noblesse.  Toute  la 
colonie  se  gausse,  les  plaisa  ruins  improvisent,  avec  papiers  a  1'ap- 
pui,  «  1'ordre  des  chevaliers  du  Veau  d'Or  »,  pour  commemorer  la 
remarquable  decouverte  des  mines  de  M.  le  Gouverneur. 

U  a  les  yeux  hors  de  la  tete.  «  Dicidiment,  mande-t-il  au  ministre, 
d'une  plume  d'oie  indignee,  cette  colonie  est  un  monstre  sans  queue 
ni  tete,  et  son  gouvemement  une  absurditi  sans  forme.  II  n'y  a  rien 
tcy,  ni  orge,  ni  tabae,  ni  makiz,  ni  indigo,  rien  tie  viendroit  dans  ce 
chien  de  pays.  > 

Le  Roi  songe  a  donner  des  concessions,  <  Croyez  moi,  ce  conti- 
nent tout  entier  ne  vaut  pas  la  peine  d'itre  posse'de'.  Nos  colons 
sont  si  mal  satisfaits  qu'ils  sont  prets  &  tout  quitter.  Donnez  aux 
colons  autant  d'arpens  qtt'Hs  ddsirent,  pourquoi  etre  avaricieux  t 
la  terre  est  si  mauvaise  que  ce  n'est  point  la  peine  d'en  limiter  le 
nombre,  une  distribution  copieuse  seroit  une  libiraliti  a  bon 
compte. » 

Pour  comble  de  malheur,  Demoiselle  de  Cadillac  est  folle  de  M. 
de  Bienville  et  se  jette  a  sa  tete  sans  modestie,  mais  il  est  bien 
decide  a  rester  garcon.  Le  Gouverneur  confie  a  ses  familiers  :  <  M.  de 
Bienville  me  hait,  parce  que  je  lui  ai  refuse  la  main  de  ma  fille.  » 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAlSK 

M.  de  Bienville,  quand  on  lui  rapporte  le  propos,  haussc  les  epaulcs 
€  II  l'a  refuse  1  C'esi  moi  qui  n'ai  pas  voulu  de  sa  fille.  » 

Le  jour  de  l'Assomption  1715,  la  flute  «  la  Dauphins  »,  partie  de 
Names  en  mars  precedent,  mouille  devant  l'lle.  Le  Chevalier  Fran- 
cois de  Mandeville  de  Marigny,  qui  arrive  avec  deux  compagnies 
de  troupe  a  pied,  apporte  un  brevet  du  Roi  a  M.  de  Bienville,  prorau 
Commandant  de  tous  les  etablissements  de  Louisiane. 

M.  Raujon,  directeur  de  la  Cie,  vient  remplacer  M.  Dirigotiin.  II 
est  accompagne"  du  Cap.  Rene  Avril  de  la  Varennes,  tils  de  Pierre 
du  Templier,  seigneur  de  la  Varennes,  conseiller  au  Presidential 
d'Angers,  et  de  Marie  Avril  de  Louzil.  qui,  douze  ans  durant,  a 
servi  au  regiment  de  Champagne,  et  en  1711  a  Amiens. 

Et  puis,  void  Manon,  la  Froget,  qui,  a  peine  arrivee,  change  d'a- 
vis  et  se  fait  appeler  Quentin. 

Aussit6t  d£barque\  M.  de  la  Varennes  part  en  pirogue  ex^cuter 
une  reconnaissance  dans  les  Illinois.  M.  Raujon,  son  ami,  prend 
sous  sa  protection  la  Quentin,  qui,  depuis  qu'il  n'est  plus  la,  se 
pretend  la  femme  de  M.  de  la  Varennes.  II  l'installe  dans  une  petite 
maison  a  proximite  du  magasin  de  la  Cie,  et  comme  La  Douceur  et 
La  Chevaliere.  les  magasiniers,  sont  fort  occurrfs,  elle  aide  a  d^biier 
les  marchandises,  moyennant,  dit-on,  une  commission  de  5%  sur 
ses  ventes. 

Cette  protection  paratt  des  plus  suspectes  a  M.  de  Cadillac.  Cette 
femme  est  ignorante,  le  soir  venu,  M.  Raujon  fait  tirer  les  volets, 
et  en  particulier  lui  donne  les  lecons...  d'addition,  assure-t-il. 

Des  lecons  d'addition  I  M.  de  Cadillac  leve  les  bras  au  del.  est-il 
possible  de  jouer  ainsi  sur  les  mots.  II  n'est  point  dupe.  II  sail  fort 
bien  que  La  Quentin  n'est  pas  du  tout  l'epouse  de  M.  de  la  Varen- 
nes, mais  une  femme  de  moeurs  irregulieres.  qui  a  ete  mariee.  Vest 
peut-<tre  encore,  et  chassee  d'Angers  s'est  reTugiee  a  Nantes.  Lors- 
que  1'eveque  d'Angers  a  connu  sa  residence,  il  a  communique  avec 
le  Cur£  de  St.  Nicolas,  de  Nantes,  afin  qu'on  la  fasse  enfermer  au 
plus  vite.  mais  la  femme  alertee,  on  croit  par  M.  Raujon,  s'est  enfuie 
a  bord  de  la  Dauphine. 

M.  de  Mandeville,  premier  ofncier  du  vaisseau.  lui  a  raeonte  que 
M.  le  Cure  de  St.  Nicolas,  en  presence  de  M.  de  la  Tour,  lui  a  remis 
un  certificat  tcstifiant  que  cette  creature  ehont^e  avait  seduit  M.  de 
la  Varennes,  au  grand  deplaisir  de  tome  sa  famille. 

Tout  le  monde  jase.  On  ne  peut  supporter  un  tel  scandale.  Le 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  1*3 

Gouverneur,  le  cure,  les  habitants  epiloguent,  se  cachent  demere 
les  rideaux  de  mousseline  pour  espionner  les  allees  et  venues  de  la 
Quentin  et  M.  Raujon,  a  qui  M.  de  Cadillac  et  M.  le  Maire  envoient 
des  billets  indignes. 

M.  Raujon  defend  passion  nement  la  Quentin,  la  femme,  insiste- 
t-il,  de  son  ami.  Non  seulement  il  leur  respond  vertement  de  se 
meler  de  ce  qui  les  regarde  et  lache  une  bordee  d'insultes  sur  M.  de 
Mandeville,  qu'il  qualifie  de  coquin  et  de  drflle,  mais  il  fait  lire  a 
qui  veut  la  copie  de  sa  re'ponse  a  M.  le  Cure. 

La  Quentin  adresse  au  Gouverneur  une  petition  l'adjurant  de 
deTendre  son  honneur.  Des  officiers  et  des  habitants  de  consequence 
se  rallient  a  son  parti.  Manon  est  belle  et  mysterieuse. 

M.  de  Mandeville  parle  d'embrocher  M.  Raujon,  le  Gouverneur 
le  supplie  de  n'en  rien  faire  avant  qu'on  n'ait  recu  des  avis  de 
France.  Autant  qu'il  en  route,  on  est,  helas,  oblige  de  manager  M. 
Raujon,  un  directeur  de  M.  Crozat,  dont  tous  dependent  ;  il  a 
peut-etre  le  bras  plus  long  qu'on  pense.  II  envoie  au  ministre  une 
copie  de  la  lettre  de  M.  Raujon  et  le  certificat  de  M.  de  la  Tour. 

M.  Raujon  se  plaint  violemmem,  a  sa  Cie,  de  M.  de  Cadillac  et 
de  son  cure1  ;  comme  preuve  de  leur  malveillance,  il  envoie  une 
fable  satyrique,  composee  a  son  adresse  par  M.  le  Maire.  L'Abbe 
Fay,  passager  de  la  Dauphine,  appuie,  devant  le  Conseil  de  la  Ma- 
rine, sur  les  mauvais  traitements  que  le  Chevalier  de  Mandeville 
a  fait  subir  a  la  Quentin,  pendant  la  traversee. 

Une  petition  circule  parmi  les  habitants,  assez  enclins  a  la  signer, 
accusant  M.  le  Maire  d'attaquer  publiquement  <  cette  concubine, 
qui  n'a  Hi  marine  par  aucun  pritre,  en  tous  les  cas  par  aucun  pritre 
ayant  dispensation  de  son  iveque,  ou  le  consentement  de  la  famille 
't  la  Varennes,  et  dont  le  certificat  de  voyage  porte  un  nom  fictif 
t  tnconnu.  » 

Tout  le  sort  de  la  Louisiane  semble  se  jouer  dans  cette  petite 

aison.  couverte  de  latanier.  On  ne  parte  plus  d'autre  chose. 

M.  de  la  Varennes  rentre  des  Islinois,  et  le  vacarme  reprend  de 
plus  belle.  II  proteste  bruyamment  contre  les  agissemcnts  du  Gou- 
verneur et  de  M.  le  Maire,  qui  ont  profile  de  son  absence  pour  in- 
suiter  sa  femme. 

Certainement,  sa  femme  !  S'il  est  marie  clandestincment,  c'est  son 
affaire.  II  n'est  venu  en  Louisiane  que  pour  echapper  au  joug  de 
sa  famille  irritee.  Dans  deux  mois,  il  atteindra  sa  majorite,  et,  ses 


1*4  LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

trente  am  sonnls,  il  comptait  se  marier  au  grand  jour,  suivant  les 
usages  du  pays.  Devant  le  mauvais  vouloir  de  tous,  il  prlftre  re- 
gagner  la  France,  oft  il  ne  sera  pas  plus  mal  qu'ici. 

M.  le  Maire,  qui  a  tant  tonnl  contre  la  concupiscence,  devant 
cette  bonne  volonti  se  calme  et  profite  de  l'occasion  pour  se  ficher 
avec  le  Gouverneur,  comme  si  toute  l'affaire  £tait  de  sa  faute,  et, 
quand  il  est  fichl  cet  Ipistolier  £crit  d'abondance  ;  c  Cet  homme 
sans  foi,  sans  scrupules,  sans  religion,  sans  honneur,  sans  conscience 
est  capable  d'inventer  les  calomnies  les  plus  noires  contre  tons  ceux 
qui  ne  partagent  point  ses  passions.  » 

M.  de  Cadillac  reste  tout  seul.  II  s'en  console  parce  qu'il  a  trouv£ 
un  bon  prltexte  pour  se  d£barrasser  de  sa  bfite  noire,  de  cet  incom- 
parable M.  de  Bienville,  qu'on  lui  jette  toujours  k  la  t£te.  II  vient 
d'apprendre,  par  M.  de  la  Loire  des  Ursins,  que  les  Natchez  ont  cassl 
la  t£te  de  quatre  Fran^ais,  faisant  route  vers  les  Illinois.  Puisqu'il 
s'entend  si  fort  avec  les  sauvages,  il  ira  ch&tier  la  nation,  et,  s'il  se 
peut,  faire  une  alliance. 


XVI. 


La  Paix,  un  navire  de  M.  Crozat,  en  1716,  amene  des  marchan- 
dises  et  des  passagers.  On  apprend  la  mort  du  Roi  Louis  XIV,  sur- 
venue  en  septembre  precedent,  l'avenement  du  Roi  Louis  XV  et 
la  regence  du  Due  d'Orleans. 

Pour  les  counisans  et  les  prebendiers,  la  main  est  changee.  Comrae 
le  fait  remarquer  le  Chevalier  de  Longueville,  les  cartes  ont  ete 
battues,  il  va  talloir  se  faire  servir  de  nouveau. 

Les  croquants  et  les  Canadiens  se  desinteressent  du  changement 
de  chiffre,  pour  eux,  un  roi  est  toujours  un  portrait  en  manteau 
d'hermine,  un  profil  sur  une  piece,  le  symbole  de  l'autorite  qu'ils 
ne  verront  pas. 

M.  de  Bienville  a  d'autres  souds,  le  34  avril,  accompagne  du  Cap. 
de  Richebourg,  il  campe  dans  une  petite  lie  du  Mississipi. 

Sans  faire  allusion  a  la  mort  des  Francais,  il  fait  prevenir  le 
Grand  Soleil  qu'il  desire  etablir  un  poste  de  traite  s'il  consent  a 
une  alliance. 

Trois  Natchez  viennent  lui  offrir  le  calumet.  Connaissam  ses  gens, 
il  le  refuse,  puisque  le  Grand  Soleil  est  absent.  Si  vous  ne  voulez 
pas  accepter  ma  proposition,  leur  dit-il,  je  transporterai  mon  poste 
chez  les  Tonicas,  qui  sont  les  amis  de  mon  Roi.  Courtoisement,  il 
partage  avec  eux  sa  chaudiere,  les  renvoie  rendre  compte  de  leur 
11  Grand  Soleil,  et  1'inviter  a  conferer  avec  lui  dans  un  camp 
.■•11  bord  du  fleuve. 

Cinq  Soleils  et  sept  Chefs  de  village,  avec  quelques  guerriers  se 
endent  au  camp,  mais  maintenant  M.  de  Bienville  preiend  ne  pas 
ouloir  les  recevoir  avant  que  la  mort  des  Francais  ne  soit  expiee. 
t  tres  etonnes  de  le  trouver  au  courant  de  ce  lout  petit  inci- 

Le  Soleil  le  plus  important  se  tourne  vers  Tastre  solaire  et,  les 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

bras  teves,  d'liu  air  tragique,  lui  adresse  une  Evocation  destinee  a 
faire  sourdre  la  clemence  dans  le  cceur  dun  Francais,  puis  il  oflre 
le  calumet,  que  M.  de  Bienville  refuse. 

II  n'y  aura  pas  de  reconciliation  tant  qu'on  ne  lui  aura  pas  ap- 
porte  la  tete  de  «  Terre  Blandie  »,  le  responsable.  On  a  beau  lui  ex- 
pliquer  que  <  Terre  Blanche  >  est  un  Soleil  et  un  diet  considerable, 
qui  de  plus  est  en  fuite,  il  demeure  intraitable  et  fait  mettre  aux 
fers  les  19  Natchez  presents. 

Un  sauvage  en  grand  costume  se  presente  pour  etre  execute,  mais 
M.  de  Bienville  apprend  que  e'est  un  substiiut  et  refuse  de  l'arreter. 
Un  grand  parti  de  Natchez  arrive  alors,  prets  a  se  sacrifier  pour  leur 
Soleil,  M.  de  Bienville  refuse  leur  sacrifice. 

11  n'a  qu'une  trentaine  d'hommes  pour  trailer  avec  une  nation 
de  1200  guerriers,  il  faut  arriver  pacifiquement  a  une  solution.  11 
Unit  par  dedarer  qu'il  est  sur  de  la  complicity  de  c  la  Bar  be  >,  un 
des  Soleil  detenus,  il  se  contentera  de  sa  tete,  mais  comme  celui-d 
est  venu  librement  dans  son  camp,  il  ne  l'executera  que  si  le  Grand 
Soleil  refuse  absolument  la  tete  de  1' assassin. 

Les  Natchez  sont  enchantes  de  la  proposition,  lis  disent  que  ce 
n'est  pas  la  peine  d'attendre,  que  d'ailleurs  Us  n'aiment  pas  du  tout 
ce  Soleil,  mais  M.  de  Bienville  veut  lapprobation  de  toute  la  na- 
tion, et,  1'ayant  eue,  fait  casser  la  tete  de  «  la  Barbe  »  et  celle  de 
trois  autres  homines. 

II  condamne  ensuite  la  nation  a  restituer  les  marchandises  de- 
robees,  a  payer  une  indemnite  en  fourrures,  a  jurer  quelle  n'aura 
pas  de  commerce  avec  les  Anglais,  a  couper  2500  troncs  da  cad  as, 
dc  13  pieds  par  10  pouces  de  diametre,  et  a  lui  apporter  sur  le  bord 
du  tieuve,  pour  construire  un  fort  dans  lequel  M.  de  Pailhoux  se 
tiendra  pour  recevoir  les  teles  des  ennemis. 

Les  plans  du  Fort  Rosalie  ont  ete  traces  par  M.  d'Ibberville,  il 
n'y  a  qua  les  mettre  a  execution.  II  aura  25  toises  sur  15,  et  sera 
fortifie  sans  bastion. 

Autour  de  la  petite  eminence  du  fort,  les  prairies  bombees,  sur 
lesquelles  les  champignons  blancs  tapent  des  gammes,  sunt  mou- 
chetees  d'innombrables  petites  gueules-de-lion  multicolores  et  se- 
mees  de  fraises.  Le  houblon  chevauche  les  ravines.  Dans  les  bouquets 
de  dienes-noirs  et  de  bois-connu  ou  sacre,  dont  on  se  sert  au  temple, 
des  vignes  et  des  eglantines  rampent.  Des  poulets  d'Inde  picorent 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE  «7 

dans  l'herbe-a-perdrix,  les  vallonnements  sont  embaumes  de  sentcurs, 
les  asminiers,  dont  le  fruit  fade  resscmble  a  une  longue  courge  pale, 
tendent  leurs  arabres,  les  pSchers  ploient  sous  des  fruits  gros  comme 
le  poing. 

Chaque  annee,  en  juillet,  on  celebre  la  fete  de  la  «  Tonne  de 
Valeur  ».  La  tonne  est  une  cabane  ronde  et  haute,  semblable  a  un 
silo,  dans  laquelle  les  sauvages,  a  chaque  lune,  deposent  les  prentices 
de  leur  recolte  ;  grains,  legumes,  fruits  s£ch£s.  Au  debut  du  mois,  la 
ceremonie  commence  ;  pour  faire  place  aux  premices  de  l'annee, 
on  va  manger  en  commun  le  contenu  du  silo. 

Depuis  huit  jours,  on  taille  dans  1'herbe  un  sentier  du  Grand 
Village  a  la  tonne,  situee  a  une  lieue  et  demie.  Autour  d'elle  on 
eleve  des  htittes  de  feuillage  et  une  loge  pour  le  Grand  Soleil.  Les 
femmes  des  cinq  villages,  deja  sur  place,  pilent  le  mahiz,  preparent 
la  sagamite  et  le  grut,  r6tissent  les  viandes. 

Le  jour  fasie  arrive.  Le  Grand  Soleil  s'asseoit  clans  son  palanquin, 
ses  guerriers  le  saisissent  et,  par  dessus  leur  tele,  lancent  legerement 
de  mains  en  mains  leur  chef  entr6ne\  jusqu'a  la  tonne.  Une  raala- 
dresse  le  ferait  decapiter. 

Le  Grand  Soleil  penetre  dans  sa  cabane  et  fume  le  calumet  avec 
M.  de  Bienville  et  ses  offiriers.  Devant  lui  350  plats  de  terre  garnis 
de  toutes  sortes  de  mets  sont  deposed,  il  y  goute  et  les  fait  distribuer 
a  son  peuple,  qui  sur  1'herbe  mange  par  groupes,  sexes  et  castes 
separgs. 

Du  seuil  de  sa  cabane,  le  Grand  Soleil  semonce  la  nation  pour  sa 
negligence,  la  rappelle  a  ses  devoirs  hospitaliers.  Devant  les  Francais 
on  apporte  des  monceaux  de  viande,  des  quartiers  d'ours  et  de  bceuf, 
des  chevreuils,  des  ecureuils,  soigneusement  prepares  pour  l'evene- 
ment,  car  toute  la  piece  est  rcglee  d'avance.  Des  presents  sont 
^changes  entre  le  Grand  Soleil,  son  peuple  et  les  Francais. 

Chacun  etant  satisfait  el  repu,  les  jeux  commenceni.  Les  sauvages 
se  divisent  en  deux  camps  de  800  hommes  chacun,  par  dessus  les 
tetes,  le  Grand  Soleil  jette  une  grosse  balle  de  cuir  remplie  de  son. 
Les  bras  en  l'air,  les  camps  font  voler  la  balle  et  marquent  des 
points  quand  elle  tombe  a  terre.  Un  breton  reconnait  le  jeu  de  la 
Soule,  de  sa  province.  La  partie  dure  trois  heures,  les  sauvages  ne 
sachant  pas  calculer  plus  loin,  comptent  par  dizaines. 

Le  soir,  a  la  lueur  des  torches  de  Cannes,  les  tambours  et  les  chi- 
licois  se  mettent  en   branle,   les  sauvages  chantent  en  cadence 


I 


118  LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISK 

*  Honathea  !  honathea  !  >  en  frappant  un  grand  coup  sur  leur 
estomac,  qui  transforme  le  en  en  haletement  animal.  Quand  la 
musique  s'arrete,  un  par  un,  les  guerriers  viennent  trapper  le  po- 
teau  surmonte  d'un  calumet  de  ceremonie.  «  Ichela  !  >  me  voila... 
a  chacun  de  leurs  exploits,  le  chceur  des  assistants  repond  :  <  horn, 
horn  !  »  c'est  bon. 

Les  hommes,  apres  les  fetes,  reprennent  leur  chasse  et  leur  peche, 
ils  aura pent  les  petits  poissons  au  filet  et  tirent  les  gros  ;i  l'arc 
Lorsqu'ils  rentrent  de  la  chasse,  ils  jettent  aux  pieds  de  leur  femme 
la  langue  fratche  de  leur  dernier  gibier,  c'est  peut-etre  un  hommage, 
mais  c'est  ausst  l'ordre  d'aller  boucaner  les  betes  ou  elles  sont  et  de 
rap  porter  les  tranches  de  viande. 

Les  femmes  sont  fort  occupees,  elles  font  tremper  dans  les  coulees 
le  gros  chanvre  sauvage  et  les  retiges  de  muriers,  coupees  sur  les 
souches  avant  que  la  seve  soil  passee,  les  rouent,  decolorent  les 
ecorces  a  la  cendre  ou  les  bralinent  a  la  rosee,  les  teignent  en  jaune 
dans  l'eau  nauseabonde  oil  le  bois-ayac  a  bouilli,  et  ensuite  dans 
une  decoction  de  racines  d'achetchy,  pleines  de  sang  carmin,  si  elles 
desirent  des  fibres  ponceaux. 

Avec  le  ill  blanc  des  muriers,  sur  un  metier  fait  de  deux  piquets 
Aches  en  terre,  et  traversed  de  gros  fils,  elles  tissent  leur  alconand. 
Avec  les  fils  de  couleur,  elles  font  des  ceintures  flech^es,  des  besaces, 
des  couvertures  qu'elles  dexorent  de  silhouettes  animates  et  geome- 
triques,  et  bordent  de  plumes  stylisees,  arrachees  au  quetzal  jade  de 
leurs  ancetres.  Avec  les  poils  d'oppossum  teints  en  rouge,  elles  tis- 
sent des  jarretieres.  De  la  peau  blanche  et  noire  des  pores-epics,  elles 
font  des  ouvrages  deli  cats. 

A  l'ecore  blanc,  raye  d'ocre,  de  la  rive,  elles  ramassent  i'argile  grasse 
et  fine,  la  nettoient.  la  melangent  de  coquillage  finement  broye,  et, 
en  l'arrosant.  la  petrissent  de  la  main  et  du  pied  ;  puis,  sans  tour, 
prenant  un  rouleau  de  pate  de  la  main  droite  qu'elles  tournent  en 
spirales  rapides,  avec  le  pouce  gauche,  souvent  trempe  dans  l'eau, 
elles  modelent  des  ecuelles,  des  terrines,  des  cruches  de  40  pintes 
pour  1'huile  d'ours,  des  bouteilles  a  long  col.  Elles  les  font  sicher, 
decorees  d'ornements  etrxnges  et  azteques  applique^  avec  des  terres 
coloriees  et  des  couleurs  v£g£tales,  les  installent  au  milieu  de  grands 
foyers  de  braise,  en  les  recouvrant  de  charbons.  Leurs  poteries, 
d'un  beau  rouge,  supportent  bien  le  feu  et  sont  fort  resistantes. 

Avec  les  fils  de  1'ecorce  des  tilleuls,  elles  maillent  des  filets  de 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  189 

peches  et  des  filets  fins  pour  les  mantes  de  plume  et  le  ventre  des 
fillettes. 

M.  de  Bienville  est  maintenant  tres  bien  traitc  par  les  sauvages, 
dont  il  parle  la  langue  vulgaire.  lis  l'entretiennent  de  leur  «  vieille 
parole  >,  et  lui  demandent  des  explications  sur  «  1'etoffe  parlante  9, 
les  livres  des  Francais. 

II  est  iiui  dans  les  cabanes,  empuanties  par  la  fumee  qui  ne 
s'echappe  que  par  le  trou  du  toit.  Te  voila,  mon  ami,  disent-ils  a 
son  entree.  lis  le  font  asseoir,  apres  lui  avoir  respectueusement 
laisse  un  moment  silencieux  de  repos,  lui  presentent  a  manger,  et, 
comme  eux,  it  a  soin  de  commencer  par  Jeter  quatre  morceaux  aux 
quatre  coins  de  la  terre.  lis  causent  l'un  apres  l'autre,  ainsi  que  le 
veut  la  bienseance.  lis  constatent  en  souriant  :  <  Quand  plusieurs 
Francais  sont  ensemble,  ils  parlent  tous  a  la  fois,  comme  un  troupeau 
d'oies. » 

Les  c  alexis  »  ou  jongleurs  le  prennent  dans  leurs  confidences,  ils 
sont  quelquefois  fort  savants.  Quand  un  Natchez  souflre  de  dou- 
leurs  aux  membres,  ils  le  font  etendre,  nu,  sur  un  lit  has  de  cannes 
et  un  matelas  de  barbe  espagnole,  le  recouvrent  entierement  de  cette 
herbe,  en  ne  laissant  passer  que  la  tete,  sous  le  lit  arrangent  des 
charbons  ardents,  qu'ils  etouffent  d'herbe  mouillee,  et  sur  le  tout 
posent  une  couverture  de  bceuf  touchant  terre.  Le  malade  transpire 
abondamment  et  guerit...  ou  meurt.  Dans  les  deux  cas  la  question 
est  reglee. 

Certains  jours,  les  sauvages,  pour  amuser  le  Grand  Soleil,  font  la 
Danse  au  Chevreuil.  Une  centaine  d'entre  eux  partent  a  la  recherche 
dune  victime,  et,  1'ayant  trouvee,  quand  le  Chef  est  arrive,  en- 
tourent  la  bete  d'un  grand  cercle  pas  ferme.  Le  chevreuil  cerne 
bondit  vers  une  des  poinies  du  croissant,  le  mouvement  des  chas- 
seurs qui,  1'arc  bande,  font  tourner  la  boucle,  le  rejette  vers  l'autre 
pointe.  Des  heures  durant,  le  manege  dure,  jusqu'a  ce  que  l'animal 
epuise  s'affaisse.  lis  le  saisissent  vivant  et  le  deposent  devant  le  chef, 
qui  se  contente  d'approuver  par  un  :  <  e'est  bon  I  »  Les  chasseurs 
l'eventrent,  et  le  Grand  Soleil  leur  en  distribue  les  morceaux. 

M.  de  Bienville  assiste  a  la  fete  du  Nouveau  Ble.  L'annee  des 
Natchez,  qui  commence  en  Mars,  est  divisee  en  treize  lunes  :  celle 
des  cerfs,  des  fraises,  du  vieux  ble  d'Inde,  des  melons  d'eau,  des 
peches,  des  mures,  du  nouveau  ble,  des  coqs  d'Inde,  des  bceufs,  des 
ours,  des  oies,  des  matrons  et  des  noix.  Chaque  nouvelle  lune  est 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

cdldbree  par  un  festival,  et  le  Grand  Soleil  recpit  une  part  abon- 
dame  de  la  recolte. 

La  lime  du  nouveau  ble  est  la  plus  importante.  Un  parti  de  guer- 
riers  a  seme"  en  son  temps,  dans  une  clairiere  de  terre  vierge,  di- 
frichee  par  eux,  un  carrd  de  bid  d'Inde.  Au  ddbut  de  septembre 
le  bid  est  mur.  En  frottant  deux  morceaux  de  bois,  les  guerriers  font 
un  feu  nouveau,  pendant  qu'on  va  querir  le  Grand  Soleil  dans  son 
palanquin. 

Le  Grand  Soleil,  en  arrivant  devant  le  feu,  s'incline  successive- 
ment  vers  les  quatre  coins  du  monde,  remercie  l'Esprit  de  ses  fa- 
veurs  et  annonce  que  le  moment  est  venu  de  distribuer  le  ble  sacrd. 
Une  longue  exclamation  abonde  dans  son  sens.  Les  guerriers  s'af- 
fairent  a  la  preparation  du  grain.  Lorsqu'il  est  cuit,  on  en  remplit 
deux  grands  bols  de  jonc  finement  tressd,  n'ayant  jamais  servi,  et  on 
les  remet  au  Grand  Soleil.  Celui-ci  les  pone  dans  sa  cabane,  les  pr6- 
sente  aux  quatre  coins  du  monde,  qui  sont  ceux  de  sa  piece,  puis 
les  renvoie  au  Chef  des  Guerriers  avec  un  seul  mot  :  *  Packcou  *, 
mangei. 

Les  guerriers  mangent  les  premiers,  puis  les  jeunes  gens,  ensuite 
les  femmes  et  en  fin  les  jeunes  filles.  Longuement  les  guerriers  chan- 
tent  leurs  exploits,  et  tous  les  spectateurs  approuvent  par  un  long 
hullulemem. 

Quand  la  nuit  tombe,  aoo  torches  de  roseau  sec  sont  allumees 
pour  eclairer  les  danses.  Un  musicien  tient  entre  ses  jambes  un 
chaudron  de  terre  contenanl  un  peu  d'eau,  et  couvert  d'un  cuir  de 
bccuf  bien  tendu,  sur  lequel,  d'une  main  il  tambourine. 

Autour  de  lui,  rangdes  en  cercle,  les  femmes,  pardes  de  bracelets 
de  plumes,  qu'elles  font  glisser  autour  de  leurs  poignets,  tournent 
en  cadence,  de  gauche  a  droite. 

Les  hommes,  agitant  leurs  chichicois,  a  six  pieds  derriere  les 
femmes,  forment  un  cercle  et  suivent  la  meme  cadence,  mais  en 
tournant  de  droite  a  gauche. 

M.  de  Bienville  s'egaie  de  tout  ce  mouvement,  mais  il  finit  par 
en  avoir  la  vue  brouillde,  il  retourne  a  son  camp. 

Le  Fort  Rosalie  est  terming.  Apres  en  avoir  laissd  le  comma  nde- 
ment  a  M.  de  Pailhoux,  et  inspect^  le  fort  de  la  Ouabache,  ddihe 
en  iiicniL-  temps,  il  rentre  a  la  Mobile. 

II  y  trouve  un  ordre  du  ministre  le  priant  de  reprendre  ses  pou- 
voirs  de  Gouverneur,  en  attendant  1'arrivee  de  M.  de  I'Epinay, 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  IS1 

nomrni  pour  succ&ler  k  M.  de  Cadillac,  que  M.  Crozat,  excldl, 
rappelle  ainsi  que  M.  Duclos,  car,  a-t-il  fait  remarquer  au  ministre 
€  outre  qu'ils  n'ont  pas  toute  I'intelligence  qui  seroit  nicessaire,  ils 
ne  sont  occupis  que  de  leurs  intirits  particuliers.  » 

M.  de  Cadillac  a  pourtant  fait  un  petit  effort,  il  a  envoyl  un 
sergent  et  six  soldats  de  compagnie  prendre  possession  de  Tile  des 
Natchitochez,  dans  la  Riviere  Rouge,  et  commencer  le  petit  fort  St. 
Jean-Baptiste,  de  crainte  que  les  Espagnols  avancent  dans  cette 
direction. 

Lorsque  M.  de  Cadillac,  la  rage  au  coeur  et  pourtant  bien  heureux 
d'etre  lihtxi  de  cette  carcel  k  ciel  ouvert,  puisqu'il  ne  sait  qu'une 
prison  mieux  ferm£e  l'attend  k  la  Bastille,  s'embarque,  sans  laisser 
derri&re  lui  aucun  regret  cuisant,  700  Blancs,  les  troupes  comprises, 
vivent  en  Louisiane. 


En  l'absence  de  M.  de  Bienville,  Louis  Juchereau  de  St.  Denis 
est  rentr£  de  son  expedition  au  Mexique,  vers  lequel  11  etait  parti 
en  1714.  II  est,  comme  toujours,  trepidant,  et  rayonne.  11  a  raille 
nouvelles  a  dormer. 

Son  voyage,  fertile  en  peripeties,  a  tourne  au  conte  de  fee.  II  a 
remonte  la  Riviere  Rouge,  dans  un  village  Tonicas  a  bati  une  habi- 
tation et  un  raagasin.  Avec  douze  Canadiens,  Penicault  et  Jallot, 
son  valet,  il  a  continue  chez  les  Assinais,  des  cannibales  guerroyant 
a  cheval,  avec  un  bouclier  de  cuir.  II  les  a  vu  manger  deux  prison- 
niers. 

Pas  fache  de  quitter  ces  gens  voraces,  il  a  penetre  dans  le  terri- 
toire  des  Las  Tekas,  dont  le  nom  signifie  €  amis  ». 

La  savane  etait  luxuriante,  mais  les  bois-pi quants,  une  sorte  de 
houx  nain,  genaient  beaucoup  la  marche.  On  apercevait  des  tigres, 
assez  peureux,  et,  a  cause  des  fieches  des  Comanches,  il  a  fallu  re- 
vetir  les  armures  cmportecs  en  prevision. 

11  a  fini  par  arriver  au  Rio  Bravo  et  au  presidio  espagnol  de  San 
juan-Baptista  del  Norte,  commande  par  le  Capitaine  Ramon  et 
son  gendre,  Pedro  de  Villescas,  qui  l'ont  fort  poliment  prie  d'ha- 
biter  chez  eux  avec  Jallot  et  Penicault,  tandis  qu'on  installait  les 
Canadiens  dans  la  caserne. 

Le  Capitaine  avait  une  petite  fille,  Dona  Maria  Emmanuella  de 
Navarre,  mais  une  petite  fille,  Jean-Baptiste...  M.  de  St.  Denis  a  de 
la  difficult  6  a  trouver  le  mot  juste  qui  la  depeindra,  il  se  sert  de  ses 
bras  pour  exprimer  sa  pensee. 

Naturellement,  il  est  imm^diatement  tombe  amoureux  de  Dona 
Maria,  qui  n'est  pas  restee  insensible  a  sa  flamme.  II  n'a  pas  fait  que 
cela,  honni  soit  qui  mal  y  pense,  il  a  transmis  au  Capitaine  les  pro- 
positions commerciales  de  M.  de  Cadillac.  Le  Cap.  Ramon  lui  a 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN9AISE  .JJ 

dit  qu'il  ne  pouvait  s'engager,  qu'il  allait  communiquer  avec  le 
gouverneur  de  Caouis,  petite  ville  situee  a  une  soixantaine  de  lieues, 
dont  le  Presidio  dependait. 

Mais  voila  qu'apres  six  semaines  de  silence,  25  hommes  de  Caouis 
sont  arrives,  l'ont  arr^te  et  fort  incivilement  l'ont  emmene  prison- 
nier  a  la  ville,  ses  compagnons  rcstant  au  Presidio.  Don  Gaspardo 
Anaya,  le  Gouverneur  de  Caouis,  etait  lui  aussi  amoureux  de  Dona 
Maria  et  avait  trouve  cet  expedient  pour  se  debarrasser  d'un  rival 
inqui^tant. 

II  est  reste  prisonnier  jusqu'au  debut  de  1715.  Mais  Dona  Maria 
n'avait  pas  perdu  son  temps,  rus^e,  elle  avail  fait  savoir  au  Viceroy 
du  Mexique  qu'un  espion  francais  £tait  secretement  detenu  par 
Don  Anaya,  pour  servir  a  ses  propres  desseins. 

Un  beau  jour,  malade  et  eberluhe"  on  l'a  mis  sur  un  cheval,  et, 
garde^  par  deux  sergents,  il  est  parti  pour  Mexico,  oil  il  a  aussitdt 
tti  jete  en  prison. 

Mais  un  miracle  est  arrive.  La  M.  de  St.  Denis,  s'epanchant  a 
grands  gestes  eloquents,  prend  M.  de  Bienville  a  temotn  du  miracle. 
Le  personnage  charge  d'investiguer  son  cas  euit,  ni  plus  ni  moins, 
le  Marquis  de  Larnage.  son  ancien  condisciple  au  college,  mainte- 

Inant  au  service  de  l'Espagne  et  aide-de-camp  du  Viceroy, 
lis  se  sont  jetes  dans  les  bras  1'un  de  l'autre  avec  mille  effusions. 
Sans  perdre  une  minute  on  l'a  sort!  de  sa  prison,  loge"  dans  un 
palais,  et  il  a  616  presente  au  Due  de  Linares,  le  Viceroy,  a  qui  il 
a  eu  le  bonheur  de  plaire.  Celui-ci  lui  a  propose  de  s'engager  dans 
I*arme>  espagnole,  en  lui  promettant  un  appartement  dans  son 
palais,  et  son  appui  pour  conquerir  sa  belle. 

Naturellement,  il  a  refuse"  de  changer  d'ob&ssanee,  comme  Jean- 
Baptiste  peut  deviner.  Enfin,  apres  quelques  tergiversations  et  de 
fort  beaux  diners,  le  Viceroy  lui  a  fait  connaitre  sa  reponse.  II  re- 
fusait  de  conside>er  aucune  proposition  commerciale,  la  Cie  Crozat 
devrait  se  passer  du  Mexique. 

Ensuite.  il  lui  a  offert  un  magnifique  coursier  andalou,  une  bourse 
contenant  1000  piastres  comme  cadeau  de  noces,  et  avec  une  escorte 
l'a  renvoye  au  Presidio  San  Juan-Baptista. 

II  a  retrouve  Dona  Maria  —  Dona  Maria,  Jean-Baptiste  I  —  il  a 
aussi  retrouve  le  Capitaine  Ramon  au  desespoir. 

Les  sauvages  des  cinq  villages  du  Presidio,  las  des  mauvais  traite- 


comm: 
d'Arta 

compa 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE 

menu  des  Espagnols,  s'etaient  enfuis  avec  leurs  possessions,  et  il 
etait  certain  d'etre  blSrae  de  cette  desertion  par  Mexico. 

II  a  vu  la  une  occasion  unique  de  se  concilier  les  bonnes  graces 
du  Capitaine,  il  est  parti  a  la  poursuite  des  sauvages,  dont  la  vitesse 
etait  ralentie  par  les  bagages,  il  les  a  rejoints  et  leur  a  persuade"  que 
s'ils  revenaient  au  Presidio,  ils  recevraient  d'excellents  traitements 
et  toutes  sortes  d'avantages.  Son  bagout,  deja  facile,  etait  decuple 
par  sa  fougue  amoureuse,  il  ne  se  rappelle  plus  du  tout  ce  qu'il 
leur  a  dit,  en  tous  cas  il  s'est  d£pass£,  les  a  convaincus  et  a  ramene 
tout  le  monde  au  bercail. 

Apres  cela.  il  ne  restait  plus  a  Don  de  Villescas  qu'a  faire  sonner 
le  carillon  de  mariage.  II  est  rest£  quelque  temps  au  Presidio,  oil 
il  a  laisse"  sa  femme  enceinte,  pour  venir  rendre  compte  de  sa  mis- 
sion, commercialement  infructueuse,  il  ira  la  chercher  plus  tard. 

En  recompense  de  ses  vicissitudes,  M.  de  St.  Denis  va  etre  promu 
capitaine.  II  n'est  pas  dfcouragd  par  son  insucces,  avec  les  freres 
Beaulieu,  la  Fresniere  et  Leroy,  il  forme  une  societe\  achete  au 
magasin  pour  60.000  Livres  de  marchandises,  dont  il  espere  dis- 
poser dans  la  province  de  Nueva-Leon,  et  le  13  aout  1716,  repart 
pour  les  Assinais  et  le  Mexique. 

Au  lieu  de  s'avancer  au  hasard  dans  la  direction  du  Presidio,  il 
emprunte  cette  fois  le  chemin  battu  par  les  bceufs  sauvages  dans 
leur  migration  annuelle.  A  la  fin  de  l'hiver,  par  milliers,  ils  quittent 
les  plaines  du  Nouveau-Mexique  et  des  Las  Tekas  pour  venir  a 
leur  rendez-vous  estival,  au  bord  du  Mississipi,  se  vautrer  dans  leurs 
trous  favoris  et  s'enduire  de  boue,  leur  carapace  d'ete  contre  les 
maringouins.  Les  chaleurs  finies,  ils  se  lavent  et  reprennent  la  di- 
rection du  Mexique,  en  remettant  leurs  pas  dans  les  presidents.  Ils 
ont  ainsi  otivert  dans  la  savane  un  vaste  passage  de  terre  nue. 

M.  de  Bienville,  en  1717,  envoie  le  Lt.  St.  Aignan  Guerin  de  la 
Boulaye  etablir  un  poste  aux  Yazoux,  ou  le  Pere  d'Arquevaud  est 
deja,  tachant  d'inculquer  qiielques  sentiments  chretiens  aux  sau- 
vages, dont  la  seule  ceremonie  consiste  a  Jeter  des  brandons  enflam- 
m£s  sur  les  cadavres,  avant  de  recouvrir  de  terre  les  fosses. 

Le  9  Mars,  le  Duchs  et  le  Paon,  fregates  du  Roi,  amenent  a  l'lle 
Dauphine  le  nouveau  gouverneur.  M.  de  l'Epinay,  M.  Hubert,  le 
commissaire-ordonnateur  qui  va  remplacer  M.  Duclos,  M.  Diron 
d'Artaguette,  frere  de  celui  qui  vint  quelques  annees  plus  tot, 
compagnies  d'bommes  a.  pied  et  50  colons. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


'ifi 


M.  de  Bienville  est  tres  mortifie  de  rendre  ses  pouvoirs  a  M.  de 
1'Epinay,  mais  celui-ci  In i  apporte,  en  compensation,  la  croix  de  St. 
Louis,  qu'il  convoitait  depuis  longtemps,  et  une  lettre-patente  lui 
accordant,  en  r&ture,  l'lle  a  la  Corne.  L'amertume  de  M.  de  Bien- 
ville se  dissout  un  peu  quand  il  apprend  que  M.  de  la  Vente  est 
rapped.  Ceci  le  console  de  cela. 

Tout  de  suite,  M.  de  1'Epinay,  qui  voudrait  que  tout  a  la  colonie 
marche  comme  a  Versailles,  se  heurte  a  M.  de  Bienville,  qui  sans 
doute  n'est  pas  parfait,  mais  qui,  foncierement  integre,  est  arrive 
plastique  en  Louisiane,  a  et£  moule^  par  les  conditions  physiques  a 
son  image. 

Une  fois  de  plus,  la  colonie  est  divisee  en  deux  factions.  M,  Hu- 
bert, l'ami  du  gouverneur,  pretend  que  M.  de  Bienville  est  paye  par 
les  Espagnols  pour  entraver  l'essor  des  Francais,  et  les  vieux  habi- 
tants s'indignem  de  pareils  propos,  c  parce  qu'ils  ont  tous  eu  de 
la  misere  ensemble  >,  et  se  sentent  solidaires. 

Les  sauvages,  aigris  parce  que  M.  de  1'Epinay  a  interdit  qu'on  leur 
cede  de  l'eau-de-vie,  l'ont  baptise'  <  le  chien  galeux  »,  et  le  Gou- 
verneur ne  trouve  pas  le  qualificatif  elogieux. 

Pendant  plusieurs  mois,  la  colonie  est  isolee.  Les  nouveaux  colons, 
decantes  a  l'lle  Dauphine,  doivent  fabriquer  des  c  voilures  >  pour 
remonter  le  delta. 

A  la  fin  d'octobre,  le  Cap.  de  Lauze.  du  regiment  de  Poitou,  meurt 
a  l'lle  Dauphine.  C'est  la  premiere  succession  ouverte  en  Louisiane 
et  cela  prend  figure  d'evenement.  Par  testament,  il  a  laissfi  aux 
Jesuites  un  pot  de  beurre,  a  M.  de  Marigny  de  Mandeville  son  epee, 
et  des  dettes.  M.  Hubert  fait  apposer  les  scelles  sur  la  maison,  dresse 
un  inventaire,  dont  La  Croix,  le  tambour  de  ville,  annonce  les 
details. 

La  vente  a  1'encan  dure  deux  jours,  tous  les  habitants  sont  la. 
M.  de  Brosses  achete,  pour  40  Livres,  un  habit  bleu  de  camelot  avec 
boutons  d'argent  et  une  veste  brodee  d'argent  <  aiant  servuy  »  ; 
M.  de  Montigny,  pour  63  Livres,  un  habit  de  drap  gris  avec  pare- 
ments  rouges,  brand  ebourgs  d'argent,  et  gilet  £carlate  galonn£ 
d'argent  ;  M.  de  St  Roch,  pour  24  Livres,  un  uniforme  blanc  a 
poignets  bleus,  gilet  de  camelot  avec  baptiste,  passcmente  d'argent  ; 
M.  le  Baste  se  fait  adjuger,  pour  20  Livres,  c  un  chapeau  neuf 
bordi  avec  une  den  telle  d'argent  et  un  aut  chapeau  avec  une 
dentelle  d'argent  neuf  >,  d'apres  1'inventaire  ;  M.  de  Bienville  paie 


I 


IS6  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

ss  Livres  c  une  paire  de  bos  de  soye  neufs  gris  de  cendre,  »  et  10 
Livres,  c  des  bos  de  Leyne  neuves  musse  »  :  M.  Brusl6  acquiert 
c  un  surtout  d'6carlate  avec  boutons  d'argent  et  4  cravates  de 
Mouslines  k  trois  tours  de  col,  une  chemisette  de  Leyne  faite  &  la 
broche  et  une  robe  de  chambre  de  camelot.  » 

On  adjuge  des  aulnes  c  d'escarlatinne,  maramet  rouge,  royale, 
Colette  »,  et  3  livres  de  fil-a-folle,  rachetl  par  M.  Jean-Charles  de 
Pradel,  le  fils  du  Seigneur  de  la  Mase,  pr&s  d'Uzerches  en  Limousin, 
Lt.-G£n£ral  au  Presidential  de  Brive,  qui  est  arrive  cadet  en  1715, 
et  entendant  continuer  sa  fortune  en  m£me  temps  que  sa  carri&re 
militaire,  avec  de  la  pacotille,  fait  la  traite  chez  les  Natchez  et  les 
Islinois. 

C'est  bien  dommage  que  le  Cap.  de  Lauze  soit  mort,  mais  la 
vente  de  ses  hardes  —  il  n'avait  guire  autre  chose  —  fait  une  belle 
distraction,  qui  n'a  jamais  eu  sa  pareille. 


br, 

poi 


Trois  bailments  arrivent,  en  Mai  1718,  avec  69  colons,  3  com- 
pagnies  d'infanterie  et  M.  de  Boisbrillant.  maintenant  Lieutenant 
du  Roi.  II  est  porteur  d'un  ordre  rappelant  M.  de  l'Epinay  et  d'un 
brevet  de  Gouverneur  pour  M.  de  Bienville,  il  a  des  nouvelles  d'im- 

irtance  a  communiquer. 

M.  Crozat,  convaincu  enfin  de  rim  possibility  de  commercer  avec 
le  Mexique  —  il  a  vu  touies  ses  marchandises  gaties  ou  cedees  aux 
officiers  et  aux  soldats  en  guise  de  solde,  bien  qu'il  s'agisse  d'articles 
de  luxe,  inutilisables  en  Louisiane  —  c-luanle  dans  sa  certitude  de 
mines,  qui  ne  se  sont  pas  encore  materialises,  a  jete  le  manche 
apres  la  cogn^e  et  prie"  le  Prince  de  Bourbon  et  le  Marechal  d'Esir^e 
d'agr^er  la  restitution  de  ses  privileges.  lis  ont  accepte  le  13  Aout 
precedent. 

Ce  meme  jour,  le  Conseil  d'Etat  a  Versailles,  preside  par  le  Due 
d'Orleans,  a  d&ibere,  constate"  qu'il  £tait  au-dessus  des  forces  d'un 
parliculier  de  supporter  le  poids  d'une  telle  colonie,  et  d'un  au 
coie.  qu'il  etaii  impossible  il  Sa  Majeste-  de  condescendre  a  en 
assumer  la  responsabilite,  puisqu'il  s'agissait  avant  tout  de  con- 
tingences  commerciales,  on  a  done  r&olu  d'en  confier  l'administra- 
tion  a  une  Compagnie  puissante. 

De  cette  resolution  est  n£e  la  Cie  de  POccident  ou  du  Mississipi, 
dont  M.  Law,  un  Ecossais  fort  bien  en  cour,  deja  Directeur  de  la 
Cie  de  St  Domingue,  qui  fait  beaucoup  de  bruit  a  Paris  avec 
nouveau  systeme  financier,  est  fame  et  le  directeur-general. 

Dans  son  conseil,  nomine-  par  le  Roi  pour  deux  ans,  se  trouvent 
M.  d'Artaguette,  maintenant  receveur  g£n£ra)  des  finances  a  Auch  ; 
M.  Duce,  receveur-gen^ral  a  La  Rochelle  ;  M.  Moreau,  qui  reprd- 
sente  les  marchands  de  St.  Malo  ;  les  repr&enlants  des  marchands 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


de  Nantes  et  La  Rochelle.  Ces  directeurs  seront  remplaces  par 
d'autres,  elus  triennalement  par  les  actionnaires.  qui  aurom  un  vote 
pour  cinquante  parts.  La  Compagnie  a  un  port  en  propre,  Lorient. 

La  charte  d'incorporation  a  ^te  enregistree  par  le  Parlemem  de 
Paris,  le  6  Septembre  1717.  La  Cie  a  et£  lancee  au  capital  de  cent 
millions  de  Livres,  par  actions  divisees  en  parts  de  cinq  cents  Livres, 
payables  en  billets  d'Etat,  pour  l'instant  deprecies  de  60%  de  leur 
valeur,  mais  accepted  au  pair.  Les  Strangers  peuvent  souscrire,  et 
leurs  parts  sont  exemptes  du  droit  d'aubaine  et  de  confiscation. 
L'entreprise  s'annonce  comme  une  ires  belle  affaire,  croit  M.  de 
Boisbrillant. 

M.  de  Bienville,  en  homme  pratique,  pose  des  questions  perti- 
nentes.  il  tient  a  savoir  ou  commencent  et  s 'arretent  les  privileges  de 
la  nouvelle  Cie.  Les  habitants  vont-ils  beneficier  de  ce  changement 
ou  en  pStir  ? 

M.  de  Boisbrillant  sait  que  la  Cie  a,  pour  vingtcinq  ans,  les 
mgmes  privileges  exclusifs  de  commerce  que  M.  Crozat  avait 
obtenus,  elle  devient  souveraine  en  Louisiane  et  recoit  tout  ce  que 
le  Roi  y  possede,  c'est  a  dire  toutes  les  terres,  cdtes,  ports,  lies,  a 
condition  de  jurer  hommage  et  fidelity  et  de  remettre  a  chaque  Roi 
de  France,  lors  de  son  avenement,  un  eat  d'or  de  30  marcs.  Elle  a 
aussi  le  monopole  de  la  traite  du  castor  au  Canada,  du  iM  Janvier 
1718  jusqu'au  dernier  jour  de  174s  :  le  Roi  decidera  du  nombre  de 
peaux  a  acquerir  annuellement.  Elle  peut  disiribuer  des  conces- 
sions, faire  alliance  avec  les  nations  sauvages  ou  leur  declarer  la 
guerre.  Le  magasin  royal  lui  fournira  40.000  livres  de  poudre  par 
an. 

En  echange  de  ces  faveurs,  elle  s'engage  a  employer  exclusivement 
des  vaisseaux  francais  avec  equipages  francais,  a  bltir  des  eglises  et 
fournir  le  clerge,  et  a  transporter  en  Louisiane  6000  Blancs  et  3000 
negres  pendant  la  duree  de  son  contrat. 

Les  Francais  emigres  ou  nes  en  Louisiane  seront  Francais  et  sujets 
du  Roi,  comme  tous  les  enfants  d'Europeens  catholiques.  Les  offi- 
tiers  de  l'armee  de  France,  conserveront  en  Louisiane  leur  grade, 
et  les  habitants  seront  exempted  d'impots. 

Ce  ne  sont  la  que  les  articles  principaux,  mais  les  nouveaux 
directeurs  apporteront  certainemcnt  a  M.  de  Bienville  une  copie 
de  1  acte  d'incorporation. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE  <39 

M.  de  Boisbrillant  a  vu  A  Paris  des  choses  bien  extraordinaires, 
dont  il  se  gausse  fort  avec  ses  cousins  et  ses  amis. 

Pour  placer  ses  souscriptions,  M.  Law  a  dechaine'  un  beau  lapage. 
Par  brassees,  la  Cie  a  distribuc  dcs  imprimis  dlpeignant  la 
Louisiane,  qui,  a  distance,  est  devenue  paradisiaque  !  le  printemps 
y  est  perpe'tuel,  le  sol  d'alluvion  si  fertile  que  tout  y  cxoit  sans  cul- 
ture, les  rivieres  sont  remplies  de  poissons  dllicats,  les  mines  ecla- 
tent  de  metaux  pre'cieux.  a  tel  point  qu'on  pavera  les  rues  d'argent, 
le  Mississipi  charrie  de  Tor,  dans  les  prairies  il  existe  une  pi  ante 
magique  sur  laquelle  la  rosee  du  matin  est  convertie  en  diamant, 
les  sauvages  se  prosternent  devant  les  Francais  qu'ils  prennent  pour 
des  dieux. 

Certes,  les  balivernes  ne  manquem  pas.  II  a  vu  des  vignettes 
repr&entant  des  roches  precieuses,  dont  les  sauvages  dgtachent  des 
pierres  vertes,  fort  belles,  semblables  a  1'^meraude,  explique  le 
Mercure,  et  des  montagnes  de  vif-argent.  et  aussi  des  estampes  com- 
memorant  la  decouverte  des  premieres  mines  d'or. 

Dans  les  rues,  les  plaisants  ch  an  tent  : 

«  Aujourd'hui  il  n'est  plus  question 

«  de  parler  de  constitution 

«  ni  de  la  guerre  avec  I'Espagne  ; 

<  Un  nouveau  pays  de  Cocagne 
t  que  Von  nomme  Mississipi 
c  roule  a  present  sur  le  tapis. 

<  Le  pays  n'est  pas  habile". 

<  II  sera  bientSt  friquenti 
«  Peutetre  dans  cent  ans  d'icy 

<  des  filles  on  y  enverra 
€  et  d'aboTd  on  les  mariera 
c  st  Von  y  trouve  des  maris. 

M.  de  Bienville  et  M.  de  Chateauguay,  le  commandant  de  la 
Mobile,  sont  endoloris  par  le  fou  rire  ;  en  ecoutant  ces  bille- 
versees,  ils  frappent  de  grandes  tapes  sur  leurs  cuisses.  Tauraille, 
quelles  belles  hableries  I 

La  Cie  a  enr61e  les  services  involontaires  de  Nostradamus,  on 
distribue  un  de  ses  quatrains,  avec  une  explication  conclusive  : 


Dar 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Par  cinquante  a  cinque  cinque  depuis  paroisse  cinq 

(L  A  V  V)  (rue  Quincampoix  a  cheval  sur  5  paroisses) 

L'auge  sera  prospire  Jusqu'd  Pais  lointain 

(Gaule)  (Louisiane) 

Commencant  Peuple  et  Roy  sans  craindre  la  misere 

se  pa'ieront  Vun  et  V autre  et  ne  devront  plus  rien. 

Naturelleinent,  continue  M.  de  Boisbrillant,  toute  la  France  est 
eperdue  de  cette  affaire,  la  Cie  pour  une  part  de  500  Livres  promet 
un  dividende  annuel  de  200  Livres.  Tout  le  monde  agiote,  vend  ses 
terres.  achete  en  empruntam  des  actions  de  cette  Louisiane,  qu'on 
croit  etre  une  He,  comme  Hispaniola. 

On  dit  en  se  rengorgeant  <  je  suis  un  mississipien  >,  pour  expli- 
quer  qu'on  est  un  homme  ires  bien.  Avoir  des  pans  est  une  marque 
d'opulence  et  de  distinction.  M.  Perry  de  Neufchatel,  un  Suisse,  a 
annonce  la  bouche  en  cccur  «  que  les  arts  et  ies  manufactures  al- 
loient  jfeurir  par  cet  itabiissement  ;  on  ne  penseroit  plus  &  faire 
le  mestier  de  la  guerre,  ce  seroit  comme  un  grand  fleuve  qui  ri- 
pandroit  une  abondance  de  richesse  dans  toutes  les  provinces  du 
royaume.  > 

Le  Mercure  decrit  la  capitale  de  la  Louisiane,  une  ville  magni- 
fique  dc  cinq  paroisses,  ajoute  M.  de  Boisbrillant  en  montrant  d'un 
mouvement  lournant  la  petite  palissade  du  Fort  Conde,  dans  la- 
quelle  ne  pointe  aucun  clocher. 

Partout.  on  voit  les  amies  de  la  Cie,  de  sinople  a  la  pointe  ardee 
d'argent,  sur  laquelle  est  coudr£  un  fleuve  au  nature!,  appuye  sur 
une  come  d'abondance,  au  chef  d'azur  sem£  de  fleur  de  lys  d'or, 
soutenu  d'une  face  en  devise,  aussi  d'or,  ayant  deux  sauvages  pour 
suppot  et  une  couronne  treflee.  C'est  la,  assure-t-il,  un  blason  im- 
pressionnant,  l'apologue  de  la  Colonie. 

Les  bureaux  de  la  Cie  sont  dans  la  rue  Quincampoix,  en  courant 
les  vendeurs  crient  :  c  Mississipy,  qui  veut  du  Mississipy  I  >  on 
achete  et  on  paie  en  pleine  rue,  avec  hate. 

M.  de  Bienville  qui  connalt  les  rdalitds  n'en  peut  plus  de  rire. 
Quand  il  a  repris  son  serieux.  apres  un  bon  souper.  il  commence 
a  discuter  scrieusement  la  situation.  Au  fond,  jl  n'augure  pas  grande 
chose  de  bon  de  cette  commotion  disproportionnee. 

Cependant  la  Cie,  qui  par  ailleurs  nage  en  pleine  fantaisie,  a  eu 
une  idee  sage,  elle  a  decide  de  commencer  son  exploitation  en  de- 


LA     LOUISIANA     FRANfAISE 


141 


veloppant  1' agriculture,  jusque  la  sacrifice  au  profit  de  mines  fal- 
lacieuses,  et,  pour  ce  faire,  a  distribue  des  concessions,  en  promet- 
tant  de  les  faire  eriger  plus  tard  en  duches  et  marquisats. 

Ces  concessions  ont  ete  accordees  a  des  personnes  de  qualite  et 
de  moycns,  qui,  si  elles  ne  viennent  pas  elles-memes  en  Louisiane, 
enverront  <  des  engages  »,  porteurs  de  sentences,  de  vivres  et  d'outils. 

Ces  engages  commencent  a  arriver  le  25  Aout  1718,  le  Due  de 
Noailles  et  la  Victoire  en  dechargent  70  pour  les  concessions  de 
M.  de  la  Houssaye,  gentilhomme  picard,  et  de  M,  Diron  d'Arta- 
gueite.  M.  Bernard  de  la  Harpe  en  conduit  60  pour  la  sienne,  M. 
le  Page  du  Pratz,  de  St.  Malo,  MM.  Delair  et  Bail  de  Beaupre  en 
font  autant.  Chacun  d'eux  a  des  laboureurs,  un  charron,  un  cordon- 
nier,  un  barbier,  un  armurier  et  un  chirurgien. 

Plusieurs  officiers  accorapagnent  les  concessionniers  :  M.  de 
Granval.  qui  va  prendre  la  majorite  de  Mobile  ;  le  Cap.  de  Chavoy 
de  Noyon,  neveu  de  M.  de  Bienville  ;  les  Lieutenants  de  Meleque, 
de  Courtein,  de  Villecourt,  de  St.  Esteban,  de  1'lsle  du  Mesnil  ; 
des  soldats,  des  deserteurs. 

En  peu  de  semaines,  800  passagers,  soldats  et  faux-saulniers  s'en- 
tassent  dans  1'Ile  Dauphine,  ou  rien  n'a  ete  prevu  pour  les  recevoir. 
II  fait  une  chaleur  suffocante,  1'Ile  qui  mesure  a  peine  sept  Heues, 
a  ete  presque  completement  deboisee. 

La  plupart  des  arrivanis,  debilites  par  la  longue  traversee,  sont 
malades.  II  n'y  a  pas  de  vivres  en  quantite  suffisante,  les  batiments 
n'ont  pas  apporte  de  surplus  et  doivent  garder  ce  qu'ils  ont  pour 
le  retour.  Sauf  quelques  cabanes  de  pieux,  il  n'y  a  pas  d'habitation 
pour  eux,  ils  couchent  i  la  belle  etoile,  souvent  vaporisee  de  brouil- 
lard,  roules  dans  des  couvertures  sous  des  berres. 

Pour  sortir  de  Tile,  il  faut  des  ■.  voitures  »,  et  on  manque  de  clous 
pour  en  fabriquer,  les  charpentiers  des  concessionniers  font  de 
leur  mieux,  mais  n'avancent  pas.  On  avait  promis  aux  nouveaux 
proprietaires  qu'un  mois  apres  leur  arrivee  a  la  colonic  ils  seraient 
a  destination,  plusieurs  mois  s'ecouleront  avant  que  M.  de  la  Harpe 
et  M.  le  Page  du  Pratz  puissent  quitter  1'Ile,  oii,  l'ete  fini,  il  ne  fait 
point  chaud. 

M.  de  Bienville  perd  la  tete  dans  cet  enchevetrement.  II  lui  faut 
a  la  fois  pacifier  les  mecontents,  nourrir  ces  bouches  et  s'occuper 
des  sauvages,  qui  guerroient  et  trahissent  ausstt6t  qu'on  a  le  dos 
tourne. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Tous  les  cinq  jours,  les  troupes  recoivent  des  magasins  de  la  Cie 
leur  ration  de  viande  salee  ou  boucanee,  de  pain,  de  vin  et  d'eau- 
de-vie.  Les  officiers  touchent  la  leur  chaque  quiruaine,  au  pain 
Us  preferent  la  farine  qu'U  font  boulanger  au  fur  et  a  mesure  de 
leurs  besoins.  En  dehors  de  ces  rations,  tout  est  hors  de  prix,  le  pot 
de  lait  vaut  40  sols,  le  pied  de  salade  10  sols. 

M.  de  Bienville,  qui  a  achete  une  boussole,  la  premiere  de  la 
colonie,  que  M.  le  Page  du  Pratz,  comme  M.  de  la  Harpe,  avail 
apportee  dans  ses  bagages,  la  confie  au  Cap.  du  Tisne  et  1'expedie 
avec  14  Canadiens  reconnaitre  le  Nord  du  pays.  II  envoie  M.  de 
Bois  brill  ant  dans  les  Islinois,  au  Grand  Village  des  Kaskakias,  dont 
l'enceinte  de  300  pieds  canes  enclot  deja  pas  mal  de  maisons  de 
poteaux  blanchies  exterieurement  et  interieurement  a  la  chaux, 
distributes  autour  du  mamelon  ou  les  Peres  Marest  et  Bineau  out 
une  eglise  et  un  moulin  a  vent.  A  quelques  lieues  de  la,  et  500  Heues 
de  la  mer,  il  va  elever  le  Fort  de  Chartres. 

M.  de  Bienville  songe  a  chercher  un  site  pour  la  capitale  prevue, 
et  remonte  le  delta. 

Pour  sa  ville,  il  jette  son  devolu  sur  un  emplacement  enlre  le 
Beuve  et  le  Lac  Pontchartrain,  en  ce  moment  une  dense  cypriere 
marecageuse,  gercee  de  petits  ravins. 

A  cet  endroit,  la  rive  s'eleve  en  taupinee  de  dix  pieds  au  dessus 
des  eaux  et  se  renverse  en  arriere  jusqu'au  marais.  C'est  au  fond 
d'une  lunule  si  arquee  que  M.  de  Bienville,  etant  sur  la  berge  de 
l'Est,  voit  le  soleil  se  lever  sur  l'autre  rive,  ce  qui  lui  trouble  un 
instant  1' esprit. 

Sous  ses  pieds,  il  n'a  qu'un  humus  elastique,  accumule  par  des 
siedes  de  decomposition  vegetale,  mais,  deja,  il  voit  sa  capitale, 
celle  que  le  Mercure  a  depeinte,  et  ce  jour  lustra!  d'ele,  qui  sent  la 
terre  moite  infoulee,  les  feuilles  mortes  et  les  oiseaux,  avec  plus 
de  loyalisme  que  de  justesse  grammaticale,  anticipant,  il  la  baptise 
«  Nouvelle-Orleans  ». 

Ce  nom  attirera  sur  les  toils  futurs  la  benevolence  du  Due 
d'Orleans,  le  grand  maltre  des  destinees  pour  le  moment.  II  detache 
50  faux-saulniers  pour  abattre  ces  bois  epais  et  dessoucher.  M. 
Barbazon  de  Pailhoux.  gardera  le  nouveau  poste. 

M.  de  la  Harpe,  qui  a  fini  par  avoir  deux  bateaux  et  deux  piro- 
gues, avec  ses  engages  et  M.  Brossard,  un  marchand  de  Lyon,  en 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


M3 


route  pour  la  Riviere  Rouge,  qu'il  va  explorer,  passe  en  octobre 
devant  la  future  ville. 

M.  le  Page  du  Pratz  s'installe  a  l'oree  de  la  cypriere,  sur  le  ruis- 
seau  Hanam  vers  le  lac  Pontchartrain,  dans  une  cabane,  avec  une 
esdave  sauvage,  qui  de  cuisiniere  est  rapidement  promue  a  un  rang 
plus  eleve,  et  tout  en  faisant  du  jardinage,  mene  la  vie  idyllique 
qu'il  est  venu  chercher.  II  commence  a  apprecier  beaucoup  les 
sauvages  et  a  parler  leur  langue.  *  On  a  grand  tort,  ecrit-tl,  de 
nommer  sauvages  des  hommes  qui  scavent  faire  un  tres  bon  usage 
de  leur  raison,  qui  pensent  juste,  qui  ont  de  la  prudence,  de  la  bonne 
foi,  de  la  gtnirosite,  beaucoup  plus  que  certaines  nations  policies, 
qui  ne  voudroient  point  souffrir  d'etre  raises  en  comparaison  avec 
eux,  faute  de  scavoir  ou  vouloir  donner  aux  chases  le  prix  qu'elles 
miritent.  > 

On  a  commence  le  poste  de  la  Nouvelle-Or leans  avec  un  magasin, 
un  logement  pour  les  officiers,  un  vague  corps-de  garde  et  trois 
cabanes  oil  habitent  les  Chastang,  les  Delaroue  et  les  freres  Delair. 

Les  directeurs  de  la  Cie,  MM.  du  Gac  et  Hubert,  inquiets  parce 
que  la  depense  annuelle  de  la  Colonie  a  saute  de  114.38a  Livres 
a  262.427  Livres,  n'approuvent  pas  les  plans  de  M.  de  Bienville. 
M.  le  Maire,  pas  davamage.  Pour  ne  pas  leur  deplaire;  les  habitants 
hesitent  a  se  fixer  sur  le  ileuve. 


Win  seulement  la  confusion  continue  a  regner  dans  I'lle  Dauphine, 
mais  elle  augmeme,  s'il  se  peut,  de  jour  en  jour.  La  Cie  envoie 
navire  sur  navire. 

En  Janvier  1719,  le  St.  Louis  et  I'Aurore  diibarquent  400  negres, 
ram  asses  en  Angola,  Juida,  Caye  et  Senegal.  Ces  «  pieces  d'Inde  >, 
ainsi  qu'on  les  appelle  pour  les  distinguer  des  negres  transporters 
auparavant,  sont  a  vendre  ;  par  malheur  il  n'y  a  pas  d'acheteurs. 

Un  negre  de  17  ans  et  au-dessus,  une  negresse  de  25  a  30  ans, 
valent  180  piastres  chacun.  Pour  la  meme  sorame  on  peut  acquenr 
deux  negTillons  de  10  a  17  ans  ou  3  negrites  de  8  a  10  ans. 

Les  and  ens  colons  doivent  payer  moitie  comptant,  moitie  a  un  an, 
les  nouveaux  ont  un  an  pour  commencer  a  se  liberer,  mais  les 
colons  n'ont  pas  d'argent.  En  attendant  d'avoir  un  maitre,  les  negres 
grelottent  dans  leur  ile  et  vivent  de  riz  a  1'eau.  II  faut  se  decider 
1  modifier  le  mode  de  paiement  pour  se  debarrasser  de  ces  malheu- 

Le  17  mars,  le  nouveau  directeur  general  de  la  Cie,  M.  L'Archam- 
bault.  arrive  sur  le  Comte  de  Toulouse,  commande  par  le  Chevalier 
des  Grieux,  avec  M.  Cartier  de  Beaulne,  ancien  conseiller  du 
Ch3telet,  nomme  par  le  Regent  procureur  du  Roi  en  Louisiane,  et 
sa  femme  ;  M.  de  Montplaisir  et  30  <  cleracs  »  ;  M.  Dufour  de 
Courcelles  et  des  tanneurs  ;  le  Chevalier  du  Plessis,  accompagne 
de  Bonvalet  son  fameux  cuisinier,  de  17  domestiques.  un  arque- 
busier  et  un  tonnelier  ;  M.  Joseph  de  Villars  du  Breuil,  de  Dijon, 
sa  femme,  ses  fils,  18  valets  de  ferme  et  ouvriers  de  Poitiers  et  La 
Rochefoucauld. 

Le  Philippe,  commande  par  M-  de  Mechain,  amene  les  families 
de  Semonville  et  de  Bellegarde  ;  M.  Olivier  Labitant,  son  fils  et  1 
Iravailleurs  d'Angoul^rae  et  Ruffec  ;  M.  de  Beaucondre  ;  la  far 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


M5 


ouvriers  ;  M.  et  Mme  de  Massy 
des  tailleurs  et  des  perruquiers 


des  freres  Brossard,  de  Lyon, 
avec  18  valets  de  ferme  ;  des 
pour  tes  e^ablissements,  des  soldats. 

Le  19  Avril,  le  Martchal  de  Villars  le  suit,  commands  par  M.  de 
Se'rigny,  qui  va  continuer  l'exploration  de  la  cote,  et  apporte  a  son 

Ifrere,  M.  de  Bienville,  l'ordre  de  s'emparer  de  Pensacola,  car  la 
France  est  en  guerre  avec  l'Espagne. 
A  ce  moment,  M.  de  St.  Denis  revient  en  piteux  £tat  de  sa  seconde 
expedition  au  Mexique,  ou  il  £tait  parti  deux  ans  plus  tot  pour 
tenter  de  lltcliir  le  viceroy  et  ouvrir  une  route  commerciale.  Apres 
avoir  hivern£  aux  Assinais,  il  est  arrive*  a  Mexico  avec  ses  marchan- 
discs,  en  mai  1717,  le  Due  de  Linares  £tait,  helas,  reparti,  et  le 
marquis  de  Balero  qui  l'avait  remplace  detestait  les  Francais.  On 
I*a  appr^hende,  mis  au  cachot,  et  saisi  ses  marchandises  comrac 
contrebande. 

Apres  six  mois  d'internement,  on  l'a  autoris^  a  circuler  en  ville, 
et  on  lui  a  rendu  le  peu  qui  restait  de  ses  marchandises,  il  en  a  tire' 
quelques  £cus  pour  payer  ses  dettes,  puis,  craignant  pour  sa  vie,  un 
soir  11  s'est  enfui  a  pied  ;  sur  sa  route  il  a  rencontr£  un  cavalier 
qu'il  a  d&arm6,  et  sur  son  cheval  est  parvenu  au  Presidio  del  Norte, 
ou  il  a  secretement  communique  avec  sa  femme,  et  il  a  repris  la 
route  de  la  Mobile.  II  n'est  pas  question  de  traits  de  commerce. 

Ces  Messieurs  tiennent  conseil  de  guerre,  on  va  indirectement 
venger  M.  de  St.  Denis,  prendre  Pensacola,  dont  on  est  a  15  lieues. 
Les  vaisseaux  de  M.  de  S^rigny.  du  Chevalier  des  Grieux,  et  de 
M.  de  Mi-(.liam  quittent  l'lle  Dauphine.  Puisque  la  troupe  est  trop 
peu  nombreuse  pour  assi^ger  dans  les  formes,  on  agira  par  ruse. 
L'lle  Ste  Rose,  en  face  de  Pensacola,  est  gard£e  par  un  petit  fort, 
un  d^tachement  de  soldats  aborde  en  canot  dans  les  t^nebres,  se 
saisit  des  gardes  et  revSt  leurs  uniformes.  A  l'aube,  une  relive 
approche  en  chaloupe,  a  la  faveur  de  leurs  uniformes,  ecartant  toute 
mefiance,  les  Francais  s'en  saisissent,  comme  des  gardes  du  grand  fort, 
qu'ils  ont  rejoint  dans  la  chaloupe  espagnole,  Ainsi  deguise's,  ils  font 
prisonniers  toute  la  compagnie  du  fort  et  le  Commandant,  encore 
dans  son  lit. 

M.  de  Chateauguay  assume  le  commandement  de  Pensacola,  tandis 
que  le  Comle  de  Toulouse  et  le  Marshal  de  Villars  partem  avec 
le  Cap.  de  Richebourg,  pour  la  Havane,  remettre  leurs  prisonniers. 
Au  lieu  d'accepter  comme  il  se  doit  les  prisonniers  de  guerre,  les 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

officiers  de  La  Havane  mettent  aux  fers  officiers  et  soldats  francais, 
s'emparent  des  frigates  qu'ils  chargent  de  leur  troupe,  augmentee 
de  nombreux  francais  passes  aux  rangs  espagnols,  et  avec  leur 
propre  escadre  font  voile  pour  Pensacola. 

Un  des  vaisseaux  francais  avance  seul,  et  sans  opposition  mouille 
au  port.  Imm^diatement,  il  arbore  le  pavilion  espagnol  et  par  trois 
coups  de  canon  appelle  le  reste  de  1'escadre.  M.  de  Chateauguay  se 
defend  bravement,  mais  presque  tous  ses  soldats  desenent,  il  ne  lui 
reste  que  so  hommes.  II  demande  les  honneurs  de  la  guerre,  qu'on 
lui  accorde,  mais  il  n'est  pas  plutdt  sorti  qu'il  est  fait  prisonnier  et 
envoys  a  La  Havane. 

Grists  par  un  si  beau  succes,  les  Espagnols,  sur  le  Grand  Diable, 
arme  de  six  pieces,  viennent  assieger  l'lle  Dauphine  defendue  seule- 
ment  par  une  batterie  de  canon  servie  par  des  Canadiens,  a  la  pointe. 
lis  somment  M.  de  Serigny,  a  bord  du  Philippe,  mouille  en  rade, 
de  se  rendre.  11  preTere  entrer  dans  une  petite  baie,  le  *  trou  du 
major  >,  s'y  amarre  avec  des  cables,  et  ayant  fait  transporter  toutes 
ses  pieces  d'artillerie  du  cote  de  la  mer,  tout  contre  l'ile,  s'improvise 
ciiadelle. 

Le  i"  Septembre,  une  nouvelle  escadre  apparatt  a  l'horizon,  quatre 
vaisseaux  battent  pavilion  espagnol,  un  cinquieme,  plus  peiit. 
paraissant  une  prise,  porte  en  berne  le  pavilion  francais,  ils  avancent 
avec  circonspection  et  mouillent  pres  de  l'lle  au  grand-gosier.  Deux 
officiers  et  sept  matelots  espagnols,  en  chaloupe,  vont  visiter  le 
batiment  portant  la  flamme,  et  sont  aussit6t  faits  prisonniers. 

Grace  a  Dieu,  c'est  une  escadre  francaise  :  I'Hercule,  fregate  de 
50  canons,  que  M.  de  Champmeslin,  sur  l'ordre  du  Roi,  a  amenee  de 
Cap  Francais  ;  le  Mars  et  le  Triton  sous  les  ordres  de  M.  de  Roque- 
feuille  et  M.  de  Vienne.  Ils  esconent  deux  bailments  de  la  Cie, 
['Union,  commandee  par  M.  de  la  Mancilliere,  qui  conduit  193 
passagers,  parmi  lesquels  M.  de  Villardeau,  directeur  de  la  Cie  ; 
M.  Philippe  Renauld,  mattre  de  forges  a  Clermont-Ferrand,  et  des 
mineurs,  pour  exploiter  les  mines  des  Islinois  ;  Jacques  et  Claude  de 
Ponival,  et  la  famille  de  Sorteval  avec  leurs  engages  ;  des  deserteurs 
grades,  des  fraudeurs  en  tabac,  des  soldats  douteux.  La  flute 
la  Marie  suit  chargee  de  vivres,  d'effets  et  de  quelques  passagers. 

Les  vaisseaux  espagnols  se  retirent  sans  in  sister. 

Les  officiers  et  les  troupes  ne  debarquent  pas,  on  va  partir  sur  li 
champ  pour  Pensacola.  M.  de  Bienville  s'en  va  par  voie  de  ten 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISK 


M7 


en  route,  recrute  400  sauvages,  qui  seront  precieux  pour  investir  le 
fort. 

La  rade  de  Pensacola  est  dangereuse.  Aussitflt  que  l'escadre  est 
enfourch£e  dans  le  port,  la  canonnade  commence,  les  cinq  vaisseaux 
francais  ont  contre  eux  deux  forts  et  sept  voiles  espagnoles. 

Le  commandant  de  Pensacola,  terrifie  par  la  horde  de  sauvages  qui 
s'avance  derri&re  M.  de  Bienville,  tire  un  coup  de  canon  et  sans 
auendre  davantage  fait  battre  la  chamade  et  amener  le  pavilion,  mais 
le  fort  de  Ste  Rose  tonne  sans  arret  pendant  deux  heures.  Un  boulet 
espagnol  tranche  1'extremite  de  la  grande  vergue  du  vaisseau  amiral. 
c  Vive  Philippe  IV  !  >  crient  les  soldats  espagnols,  croyant  a  la 
victoire.  En  reponse  les  trois  pieces  du  gaillard  d'arriere  du  vaisseau 
francais  abattent  le  grand  mat  de  la  flamme  espagnole.  «  Vive 
Louis  XV  I  »  s'^crient  les  Francais  narquois.  L'escadre  espagnole  se 
rend.  Pendant  une  heure  encore,  le  fort  Ste  Rose  tire  ;  il  n'a  plus 
de  poudre.  Le  commandant  offre  son  ^pee  a  M.  de  Champmeslin, 
qui  l'embrasse  et  la  lui  rend  en  le  complimentant  de  sa  valeur. 

Six  Francais  ont  £te  lues*  Les  officiers  du  Roi  renvoient  les  prison- 
niers  a  la  Havane,  et  aux  vergues  du  Comte  de  Toulouse  pendent 
20  deserteurs  francais,  repris  a  l'ennemi.  Les  autres  deserteurs  seront 
condamnes  aux  travaux  forces. 

M.  de  Bienville,  dans  son  rapport,  se  plaint  amerement  de  la 
qualite  des  troupes  qu'on  lui  envoie  :  <  Le  Cornell  d'Etat  me  per- 
mettra  de  presenter  que  c'est  extremement  pe'niblc  pour  les  officiers 
en  commandement  de  cette  colonie  de  la  de'fendre  avec  une  bande 
de  faux-saulniers,  contre  handlers,  coquins,  toujours  prets  a  abandon- 
ner  leur  drapeau  et  a  se  retourner  contre  leur  pais.  » 

A  Pensacola,  on  a  trouv£  tres  peu  de  provisions.  Heureusement, 
une  grande  pingre  espagnole  vient  ravitailler  le  fort,  elle  approche 
sans  m£  fiance,  salue  la  flamme  de  cinq  coups  de  canon. 

La  pingre  contient  des  vivres  et  des  rafraichissements,  qui  sont 
accueillis  avec  joie,  car  les  gosiers  sont  desseches.  On  rase  les  deux 
forts,  et  on  laisse  un  officier  et  quelques  soldats  dans  quatre  maisons 
^pargnees  et  un  corps-de-garde. 

La  colonie,  jugulee  par  les  reglemen  tat  ions  commerciales,  est  loin 
d'etre  opulente.  Elle  est  r^duite  aux  poissons  et  aux  mistakes 
lorsqu'une  pingre  de  Vera  Cruz  a  la  bonne  pens£e  de  s'arr£ier  avec 
de  la  farine.  Une  balandre  de  France,  bien  garnie,  la  suit.  On  peut 
desormais  acheter  au  magasin  du  vin  a  4  reals  la  pinte. 


148  LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN(AISE 

La  Cie  se  plaint  toujours  des  frais  exaglrls  de  la  colonic  un 
missionnaire  touche  400  Livres  par  an,  un  garde-magasin  900,  un 
teneur  de  livres  600  et  un  armurier  360.  Du  moins,  ils  les  toucheraient 
si  on  leur  donnait,  ce  qui  n'est  pas  tout  k  fait  la  m&me  chose. 

Le  1 1  Septembre,  avant  la  campagne  de  Pensacola,  le  Conseil  Sup£- 
rieur  de  Louisiane  a  tenu  sa  premiere  stance  officielle,  M.  de  Bienville 
pr&idant,  MM.  l'Archambault,  Monicaud,  le  Gac  de  Villardeau, 
directeurs  de  la  Cie,  faisant  fonction  de  conseillers  ;  M.  de  Boisbril- 
lant,  iM  Lt.  et  M.  de  Chateauguay,  *•  Lt,  Itant  conseillers  d'£p£e  ; 
M.  Cartier  de  Beaulne  procureur-g£n£ral,  et  M.  Couturier,  greffier. 


XX. 


Le  9  Noverabre  1719,  un  vaisseau  apprend  a  M.  de  Bienville  que 
les  Cies  de  l'Orient  et  de  l'Occident  ont  ete  fondues  en  mai  sous 
le  nom  de  Cie  des  Indes,  apres  la  dissolution  des  Cies  de  Chine  et 
des  Indes.  II  recoit  l'ordre  de  transporter  l'etablissement  au  liiloxi. 

II  est  d&ole  de  cette  decision.  Biloxi  est  situe  dans  un  terrain 
absolument  sterile,  qu'il  a  fallu  une  premiere  fois  abandonner.  II 
n'y  a  pas  de  mouillage,  les  batiments  s'arretent  a  piusieurs  lieues 
de  la  cdte,  devant  1'Ile  au  Vaisseau,  il  faut  avancer  en  chaloupe,  a 
maree  basse  changer  pour  des  canots  avant  l'arrivee,  et  les  marecages 
de  Cannes  brisees  en  biseau,  qui  ceintureni  la  plage,  sont  si  mauvais 
qu'il  faut  envoyer  un  char-a-bceufs  chercher  les  personnages  d'in 
portance,  dont  les  habits  sont  delicats. 

Depuis  un  an,  il  preche  pour  la  Nile  Orleans,  proche  des  terres 
cultivables,  mais  les  directeurs  de  la  Cie  ne  veulent  en  entendre 
parler  a  aucun  prix,  a  cause  de  l'affouil lenient  des  eaux.  L'hiver 
precedent,  les  crues  ont  ete  particulierement  hautes  et  le  site  a  ete" 
noye  sous  un  demi  pied  d'eau.  On  n'a  pas  les  fonds  necessaires 
pour  faire  des  digues. 

Le  fond  du  sac,  corame  dit  M,  de  Bienville,  est  que  trop  de  gens 
ont  interet  a  rcster  a  pro  xi  mite  du  port  de  debarquement  pour 
gruger  les  arrivants.  II  est  oblige"  de  s'incliner  devant  1'avis  de  tous  ; 
une  fois  de  plus  le  siege  de  la  colonie  dem^nage,  se  transporte  a 
Biloxi, 

II  n'y  a  pas  d'habitations  pour  les  emigrants,  M.  Drouot  de  Valde- 
terre,  avec  une  compagnie  de  soldats  allemands,  monte  des  cabanes, 
quelques  maisons  plus  cossues,  un  magasin,  creuse  une  citerne.  Tous 
les  services  y  sont  log^s,  on  ne  laisse  a  1'Ile  Dauphine  qu'un  sergent 
et  dix  hommes. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AIS£ 

Les  habitants  sont  malcontents,  ceux  qui  devraient  cultiver  refu- 
sent  de  le  faire,  sous  pre'texte  que  Ie  travail  est  trop  partible  par  la 
chaleur.  II  existe  beaucoup  de  m^sintelligence  entre  les  directeurs 
ou  commis  de  la  Cie  et  les  officiers  du  Roi,  pour  la  plupart  gentil- 
hommes,  qui  traitent  les  autres  d'£piciers  et  preferent  laire  entre 
eux  leur  pariie  de  reversis. 

Les  billets  de  la  Cie  sont  negocie's  avec  60  ou  70%  de  perte,  mais 
dans  les  magasins  sont  accepted  au  pair,  ce  qui  permet  a  certains 
de  trafiquer  en  revendant  au  loin  ces  marchandises,  avec  Wnifice. 
Les  directeurs  s'estiment  Msis  dans  ces  profits.  Par  proclamation,  ils 
pr^viennent  les  habitants  qu'ils  doivent  se  procurer  les  marchandises 
aux  magasins  de  la  Cie,  a  Mobile,  Dauphine,  et  Pensacola  ;  elles 
sont  majorees  de  50%  dans  les  Illinois,  13%  chez  les  Yazoux,  et 
10%  chez  les  Natchez. 

Par  dlcret,  les  colons  sont  tenus  d'envoyer  leurs  produits  a 
Mobile,  Biloxi,  l'lle  au  Vaisseau,  au  poste  de  Nile  Orleans,  nil  ils 
seront  achet&  par  la  Cie,  qui  paiera  15  Livres  le  quintal  de  fleur 
de  froment  ;  35  Livres  le  quintal  de  beau  tabac  ;  15  a  25  sols  les 
peaux  de  chevreuil  en  poil,  suivant  la  grandeur  ;  20  sols  les  peaux 
repassees  sans  poll  ni  tgte  ;  a  Livres  celle  des  boeufs.  Les  peaux  de 
castor  gras,  qui  valent  3  sols  la  livre  et  celles  de  castor  sec,  valant 
34  sols,  sont  payables  en  lettre  de  change  sur  la  France,  a  deux  mois  a 
vue,  avec  10%  d'escompte  au  blneTice  de  la  Cie.  Celled  achete  aussi 
les  badines  en  racine  de  canne,  qui  deviennent  a  la  mode  a  Paris. 

Ainsi  les  habitants  doivent  tout  acheter  et  tout  vendre  a  des  prix 
arbitraires.  11  leur  est  impossible  de  prosperer  dans  de  pareilles 
conditions,  et.  incidemment,  ils  n'ont  encore  ni  tabac,  ni  froment. 

M.  de  Bienville  recoil  des  nouvelles  de  M.  du  Tisne-,  qui,  des 
Kaskakias,  lui  mande  qu'il  a  explore1  le  Missouri  jusqu'a  la  riviere 
des  Salines,  visits  les  villages  des  Panionassas  et  des  Osages  situes 
pres  d'une  riviere  bleue  et  de  mines  de  plomb,  dont  ils  ne  connaissent 
pas  l'usage.  Au  nom  du  Roi,  il  a  pris  possession  de  ce  pays,  et  ce 
faisant  a  failli  perdre  la  vie,  car  les  sauvages  sont  fort  fiostiles  en 
ces  lieux.  M.  L'Archambault,  lorsqu'il  a  connaissance  de  ce  rapport, 
dep&che  M.  Delochon,  mineralogiste,  et  une  escorte  arm£e,  pour 
examiner  ces  mines. 

M.  Bernard  de  la  Harpe,  le  26  Janvier  1720,  rentre  a  Biloxi  et 
rend  compte  a  M.  de  Bienville  de  sa  mission  sur  la  Riviere  Rouge, 
"arti  en   1718  de  l'lle  Dauphine  avec  50  hommes,  il  a  atteint  le 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE  "5l 

posie  des  Natchitochez  ou  il  a  ete  recu  par  le  Lt.  Blondel  et  le  Pere 
de  Romaner,  et  apprit  d'eux  que  Don  Martin  d'Allarcon,  le  com- 
mandant de  la  province  espagnole  des  Las  Tekas,  occupait  un 
paste  a  quelque  distance  de  la. 

II  a  laisse  M.  Brossard.  son  compagnon,  au  poste,  et  il  est  parti 
visiter  les  Nassonites.  II  a  navigue  80  lieues,  tres  difficilement  a  cause 
des  embarras-de-bois,  en  route  a  trouve  des  Cadadoquious,  fameux 
pour  le  nombre  de  leurs  chevaux,  derobcs  aux  Espagnols  de  Nueva- 
Leon,  des  Natsoos  et  des  Yatasses,  si  bien  disposes  qu'en  apprenant 
leur  approche,  ils  avaient  prepare  du  bceuf  boucane  a  leur  intention. 

Pendant  le  repas,  tout  le  monde  a  garde  le  silence,  car  il  est 
mals^ant  de  parler  avanl  qu'un  voyageur  soit  repu.  Ensuite.  par  son 
truchement,  il  a  expliqu£  que  le  grand  Chef  blanc  l'envoyait  pour 
les  proteger  de  leurs  ennemis.  Le  Chef,  un  vieillard,  s'est  lev£,  a  rendu 
grace  a  l'Esprit  d'avoir  transforme  la  tristesse  de  la  nation  en  alle- 
gresse,  et  a  promis  obeissance.  II  a  appris  de  lui  que  les  Espagnols 
etaient  ^tablis  dans  un  village  au  dessus  des  Assinais,  auquel  on  ne 
pouvait  acc^der  que  par  les  eaux  basses. 

A  90  lieues  a  vol  d'oiseau  des  Natchitochez,  il  a  achete  la  cabane 
du  chef  Nassonite,  placee  sur  une  petite  eminence  dominant  la 
riviere  et  entouree  d'une  prairie  pleine  de  champignons,  de  pourpier 
et  de  ciboulette.  Le  sol  noir  et  sablonneux  convient  a  la  culture,  le 
<  petit  bled  >  semd  en  mai  est  recolte  en  juillet,  le  gros  mahiz,  seme 
en  avril  est  coup£  un  peu  plus  tard. 

Les  sauvages  ont  apport£  beaucoup  de  bois  de  cypres,  dont  il  a 
fait  une  grande  habitation  pour  ses  hommes  et  un  fort  palissade 
de  110  pieds  de  long  sur  20  de  large,  St.  Louis  de  Carlorette.  Le 
pays  est  magnifique,  plantc  de  copalmes,  de  cypres  rouges,  de  fon- 
teaux,  d'ormes,  de  plaqueminiers,  autour  desquels  voltigent  beau- 
coup  de  cardinaux,  au  plumage  si  prise". 

Les  chevreuils,  les  bceufs  et  le  menu  gibier  promettent  une  nour- 
rilure  abondante.  Les  ours  sont  nombretix  mais  ne  sont  pas  carnas- 
siers,  ils  se  contentent  d'un  regime  vegdtal.  En  saison,  on  peut  tirer 
quantite  de  perdrix,  de  vanneaux,  d'etourneaux. 

Par  le  caporal  St.  Francois,  qui  parle  les  Ungues  sauvages,  a  peine 
installe  il  a  envoys  un  billet  a  Don  d'Allarcon  et  au  Pere  Marcillo, 
superieur  des  missions  de  Las  Tekas,  pour  leur  presenter  ses  com 
proposer  des  relations  commercial es. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FKANCA 


M.  D'AIlarcon  a  repondu  : 

«  Je  suis  fori  sensible  aux  honnitetis  que  vous  et  M.  de  Bien- 
ville me  faites  la  grace  de  me  timoigner,  les  ordres  que  j'ai  du 
roi,  mon  maitre,  sont  d'entretenir  une  bonne  union  avec  les 
Francais  de  la  Louisiane.  Mon  intention  me  porte  igalement 
a  leur  rendre  tous  les  services  qui  dipendront  de  mot  ;  mais 
je  ne  puis  m'empicher  de  vous  dire  que  voire  arrive'e  aux 
Nassonites  me  surprend  tres  fort.  II  faut  que  M.  voire  Gouver- 
neur  ignore  que  le  paste  que  vous  occupez  apparttent  a  mon 
gouvernement  et  que  toules  les  terres  situdes  a  I'Ouest  des 
Nassonites  sont  de  la  dependance  du  Nouveau-Mexique.  Aussi 
je  vous  conseille  d'en  donner  avis  a  M.  de  Bienville,  ou  vous 
m'obligeriez  de  vous  forcer  d'abandonner  des  terres  sur  lesquelles 
les  francais  n'ont  pas  le  droit  de  s'ttablir.  > 

Le  Pere  Marrillo  a  etc  beaucoup  plus  aniical  : 

<  J'avais  appris  par  nos  sauvages  voire  arrivie  et  suivant  la 
relation  que  noire  frere  des  Adayes  m'avait  fait  de  vous,  je 
souhaiterais  d' avoir  I'honneur  de  vous  connaitre  ;  soyez  persuade" 
que  je  rechercherai  votre  amitii  ;  la  correspondance  que  vous 
me  proposez  se  trouvant  fondie  sur  des  principes  de  chariti  et 
d'estime,  je  Vaccepte  avec  joie.  J'Scrierai  a  mes  amis  suivant  vos 
intentions,  mais  comme  il  ne  convient  pas  &  un  religieux  de  se 
miler  de  commerce,  il  est  a  propos  que  notre  correspondance 
soit  secrete,  d'autant  plus  que  nous  ne  sommes  pas  fort  en 
socle"  ti  avec  Don  Martin  d'AIlarcon.  » 

M.  de  la  Harpe  aussitfit  a  replique  a  Don  d'AIlarcon  : 

«  Les  ordres  que  vous  avez  recus  du  roi  catholique  d'entre- 
tenir I'union  avec  les  Francais  et  I' inclination  que  vous  dites 
avoir  pour  eux  ne  s'accordent  point  avec  votre  procidi.  Per- 
mettez-moi  de  vous  dire  que  M.  de  Bienville  est  parfaitement 
inslruit  des  limites  de  son  gouvernement  et  sail  tres  bien  que  le 
poste  des  Nassonites  n'est  point  de  la  dipendance  de  S.  M. 
Catholique,  il  sail  mime  que  la  province  que  vous  nommez  des 
Las  Tekas  et  dont  vous  vous  dites  gouverneur,  fait  partie  de  la 
Louisiane.  M.  de  la  Salle  en  prit  possession  au  nom  du  roi  tres 
ckre'tien  en  I'annie  1684  el  depuis  elle  a  eli  renouvellie  en  divers 


LA    LOUI5IANE     FRAN£AISE 

temps.  A  I'igard  des  terres  de  VOtiest  des  Nassonites,  je  tie  puis 
mprendre  par  quel  droit  vous  pritendex  qu'elles  fassent  partie 
du  Nouveau-Mexique.  Ce  que  j'ai  a  vous  reprisenter  a  ce  sujet 
est  que  Don  Antoine  du  Miroir,  qui  decouvrit  en  i6Sj  les 
provinces  du  nord,  n'a  jamais  penitri  les  terres  de  Vest  du 
nouveau  mexique  et  du  Rio  Bravo.  Ce  sont  les  Francois  qui  les 
premiers  y  ont  fait  alliance  avec  les  nations,  joint  a  cela  qti'il 
est  naturel  de  croire  que  les  rivieres  qui  se  de'ckargent  dans  le 
Mississipi  appartiennent  au  Roi,  mon  maitre,  et  en  consequence 
les  terres  qu'elles  enferment  entre  elles.  Si  vous  me  faites  le 
plaisir  de  venir  dans  ces  quartiers,  vous  verrez  que  j'occupe  un 
paste  que  je  sais  conserver...  * 

II  n'a  plus  entendu  parler  de  rien,  a  fume'  le  calumet  avec  les 
chefs  Nadaco,  puis  a  cheval  est  reparti  a  la  decouverte  avec  quelques 
sauvages  et  ses  officiers.  II  a  traverse^  un  beau  pays  <  de  chaisnieres 
et  de  costeaux  »  infeste  de  loups,  ou  vivent  les  Tancarsyes  et  les 
Canecys,  ennemis  mortels  qui  se  devorent  mutuellement,  et  meme 
leurs  ferames  et  leurs  enfants.  II  a  fume  avec  les  Touacaras.  A  cent 
pas  de  la  cabane  du  chef  des  Tanacaros,  on  l'a  pri£  de  mettre  pied 
a  terre,  deux  chefs  l'ont  porte  par  les  pieds  et  par  la  tete,  le  visage 
toume  contre  la  terre,  l'ont  depose  dans  la  cabane  sur  une  robe  de 
bceuf,  au  milieu  des  chefs  des  Toy  as,  Ascanis,  Quirasquiris  et  autres 
nations,  4000  ames  parlant  plusieurs  langues,  qui  vivent  ensemble 
en  un  seul  Grand  Village,  dans  des  cabanes  en  berceau,  de  roseaux 
bousilles.  Celles  des  Chefs  distlnguees  par  les  armoiries  de  leur  na- 
tion, le  soleil,  la  lune,  des  etoiles  ou  des  animaux,  peintes  sur  cuir  et 
accrochees  au-dessus  de  la  pone. 

Le  calumet  a  dure  deux  jours.  Le  premier  jour  on  a  festoye, 
chante,  harangue,  danse.  II  s'est  couche  fort  tard  et  on  l'a  veille  et 
evcnte  toute  la  nuit.  Le  lendemain  matin,  on  l'a  em  porte  sur  les 
epatilcs  au  calumet,  qui  se  tenait  sous  un  abri  de  feuillage  a  cause  du 
soleil  ardent.  On  lui  a  lave  la  tete,  les  pieds,  les  mains  et  le  ventre, 
peint  la  figure  en  bleu  d'outremer  et  en  rouge,  coiffe  d'un  bonnet  de 
plumes  d'aigle  et  on  a  jete  a  ses  pieds  des  presents  :  robes  de  bceuf 
passees  a  la  cervelle,  blocs  de  cristal  de  roche,  pierres  de  couleurs, 
tabac,  plus  un  esclave  canecy  de  huit  ans,  auquel  on  avait  mange  un 
doigt  de  chaque  main. 

Le  Chef  a  beaucoup  regretted  qu'il  arrive  si  tard,  s'il  n'avait  pas 


>54 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


tant  fardc.  on  lui  aurait  often  17  esclaves  de  cette  nation,  qu'on 
avait  mange"  dernierement  a  une  grande  rejouissance.  M.  de  la  Harpe 
a  ete  tres  touche  de  cette  attention. 

II  n'a  pas  eleve  de  fort  au  village,  car  ii  a  appris  que  les  sauvages 
n'etaient  la  qu'a  la  belle  saison,  pour  cultiver  dans  la  prairie  le  ble 
d'Inde,  les  calebasses,  les  feves  et  le  tabac  qu'ils  icrasent  enure  deux 
pierres  et  preparent  en  galette.  Le  reste  du  temps,  sur  leurs  magni- 
fiques  chevaux,  ils  chassent  et  guerroient,  proteges  par  des  armures  de 
cuir.  Les  sauvages  ont  si  bien  traite  leurs  visiteurs,  les  ferames  tout 
en  les  gorgeant  de  feves  el  de  mahiz  apprete  a  la  moelle  de  bceuf 
ont  paru  si  seduisantes,  que  les  guides  ont  deserte. 

II  a  encore  visite  le  village  des  Canicous  a  2  lieues  de  la,  y  a 
plante  une  croix  et  tin  pieu  sur  lequel  sont  les  armes  royales,  puis 
il  a  pris  le  chemin  du  retour.  N'ayant  plus  de  conducteurs  on 
marchait  a  la  boussole,  le  gibier  trait  rare  et  la  poudre  mouillec. 
La  petite  troupe  a  ete  poursuivie  par  50  Canecys,  auxquels  elle  a  pu 
heureusement  echapper,  elle  a  ete  obligee  de  manger  ses  chevaux, 
et,  a  pied,  est  rentree  a  l'habitation,  en  tres  mauvais  etat. 

Lorsque  M.  de  la  Harpe  s'est  reinis  en  route  pour  regagner  Biloxi, 
il  est  tombe  malade  a  15  lieues  du  poste  des  Natehitochez,  et  pendant 
quinze  jours  a  git  sur  une  paillasse,  enfle  et  douloureux.  II  etait  sans 
connaissance,  a  la  derniere  exiremite,  quand  des  <  jongleurs  »,  les 
medecins  sauvages,  sont  venus  le  voir,  et  apres  avoir  fait  des  inci- 
sions avec  une  pierre  a  fusil,  ont  suce  son  corps  en  plusieurs  places 
pour  en  tirer  le  sang  mauvais.  Ils  l'ont  ensuite  precautionneusement 
transporte  en  civiere  et  en  pirogue  jusqu'au  poste,  oil  il  est  arrive 
six  jours  plus  lard.  II  s'y  est  retabli  et  a  gagne  le  poste  de  Nile 
Orleans. 


XXI. 


La  situation  sc  complique  a  la  colonic  devenue  dgpotoir  par 
suite  des  evenements  de  France.  Un  Lieutenant  de  vaisseau  raconte 
que  la  Cie  des  Indes,  qui  a  tire"  de  sa  charte  une  exegese  assez  re- 
marquable,  est  en  peril. 

Une  speculation  folle  a  balaye"  la  France,  les  parts  de  500  Livres 
sont  montees  a  10.000.  M.  Law,  devenu  con tr&le urge neral  des 
finances  du  royaume,  a  obtenu  successivement  la  Cie  du  Senegal, 
les  fermes  generates,  y  compris  celle  du  tabac,  la  frappe  des  mon- 

Le  Conseil  d'Etat  a  toujours  &t&  oppose"  a  cette  speculation  dange- 
reuse,  mais  le  Regent  £tant  l'ami  de  M.  Law,  sa  parole  fait  loi.  Le 
financier  a  M  depasse"  par  ses  propres  entreprises,  il  a  imprime  deux 
mille  six  cents  millions  de  Livres,  alors  que  le  royaume  possede 
une  encaisse  mltallique  de  treize  cent  millions  en  especes. 

Le  public  a  fini  par  s'alarmer.  Les  gens  avaient  vendu  leurs  cha- 
teaux, leurs  fermes  et  leurs  negoces  pour  acheter  du  papier  du 
Mississipi,  brusquement,  en  mai  dernier,  un  id  it  a  riduit  de  moitie 
la  valeur  des  billets  de  la  Cie.  Du  jour  au  lendemain,  les  parts  de 
10.000  Livres  ont  it€  ramenees  a  5.000. 

Tout  le  monde  a  perdu  confiance,  la  panique  a  commence.  Le 
Mercure  a  fait  de  son  mieux  pour  l'enrayer,  il  a  public  des  lettres 
du  Pere  Duval,  voyageant  aux  Islinois  :  <  On  pouvoit  dire  sans 
exageration  que  nous  march ons  sur  des  tresors  puisque  nous  fou- 
Ions  aux  pieds  des  mines  d'or  »,  et  celle  du  Chevalier  de  Bonrepos 
decrivant  a  Demoiselle  D.  les  600  maisons  qu'il  a  vues  a  la  Nile 
Orleans.  II  a  annonci  que  te  mineral  rapporte  de  Louisiane,  le 
Pirou  francais,  avait  donni  aux  ipreuves  90  marcs  d'argent  par 
quintal. 

Le  peuple,  dans  les  rues,  n'en  gouaille  pas  moins  : 


«  On  dit  qu'a  Mississipy, 
«  on  a  trouvi,  chose  sure, 
«  de  Vot,  plus  qu'au  Polosi, 

*  Ture  lure  — 
«  On  sail  qu'it  est  dans  Paris 
«  des  fous  de  toute  nature, 
«  mats  Law  dans  son  parti 

<  en  a  triple"  la  mesure.  > 
Tout  le  monde  a  commerced  a  perdre,  alors  la  Louisiane,  ce 

fameux  paradis,  en  un  tour  de  main  est  devenu  tin  pays  inflme, 
toujour;  inonde\  dans  lequel  les  sauvages,  des  cannibales  dont  la 
tele  pousse  au-dessous  des  epaules,  sont  obliges  d'habi[er  dans  les 
arbres,  comme  des  singes.  Le  Mississipi  ne  roule  plus  de  lor,  mais 
des  serpents  et  des  crocodiles.  Le  sol  consiste  en  une  croute  trera- 
blante  dherbe  et  de  vase,  qui  ne  supporte  pas  le  poids  du  corps 
humain.  La  chaleur  est  torride,  le  climat  mortel,  les  vapeurs  pesti- 
lentielles,  les  fruits  empoisonnes. 

Quand  les  enfants  pleurent,  au  lieu  de  les  menacer  du  croque- 
mitaine,  les  mamans  disent  :  <  si  tu  n'es  pas  sage,  je  t'enverrai  a 
Mississipy  I  >  et  les  enfants.  terrifies,  avalent  leurs  larmes. 

c  Voyons,  voyons,  mon  bon  monsieur  >,  proteste  M.  de  Bienville 
peine\  sans  vouloir  croire  a  de  pareilles  sornettes.  «  C'est  comme 
je  vous  le  dis,  M.  le  Gouverneur,  vous  verrez  de  voire  vue.  > 

L'interlocuteur  de  M.  de  Bienville  est  bien  renseigne\  Le  Missis- 
sipi est  devenu  une  gehenne,  personne  ne  veut  plus  s'embarquer. 
La  Cie  des  Indes  a  des  contrats  a  tenir,  pour  remplir  ses  bailments 
elle  se  lourne  vers  les  criminels,  le  18  Septembre  1719,  dans  le  prieure 
de  St.  Manin  des  Champs,  elle  a  marie1  180  jeunes  filles  de  la  Sal- 
petriere  avec  180  prisonniers  condamn^s  a  la  detention  perpe'tuelle, 
emassi  les  couples  dans  des  charrettes,  qui  ont  pris  la  route  de 
Lorient.  Les  vauriens  chantent  au  passage  des  char 

<  Pour  peupler  le  Mississipy 
«  I'illustre  colonic, 
«  filous  et  p...  de  Paris 
«  partem  de  compagnie. 
€  Voita  le  plus  solide  fonds 
€  de  la  nouvelle  banque. 
«  Achetons  tous  des  actions, 
«  jamais  ce  fonds  ne  manque  !  > 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  >57 

Le  Lt.  de  police,  Machault,  prepare  un  etat  de  centaines  de  filles 
deienues  dans  Ies  maisons  de  force,  «  qui  seroient  propre  a  envoyer 
aux  lies,  ces  femmes  tie  pouvant  causer  que  bcaucoup  de  mal  dans 
le  publicq,  estant  d'une  depravation  de  mceurs  extraordinaire.  » 
La  Cie  fail  passer  un  edit,  par  lequel  tous  les  laquais,  qui  n'auront 
pas  repris  du  service  quatre  jours  apres  avoir  ete  cong^dies,  seront 
consideres  vagabonds,  et  expedies  en  Louisiane. 

Dans  les  coupe-gorge  et  ruisseaux  de  Paris,  a  travers  les  provinces, 
la  Cie  attrape  tous  les  saltimbanques,  creve-misere,  courders-de- 
tesses,  maraudeurs,  joueurs  de  couieau,  drolesses,  sur  lesquels  elle 
peut  mettre  la  main.  Le  long  des  routes,  des  garde-chiourme  con- 
duisent  vers  Lorient,  a  coups  de  trique,  des  troupeaux  depenailles, 
griffant  el  hurlant.  En  les  voyant  passer,  les  paysans  rentrenl  chez 
eux,  en  se  signant,  et  disent  :  <  Ce  sont  les  bandouliers  du  Missis- 
sipi  t  » 

La  Louisiane  est  devenue  aussi  une  bastille  commode  pour  tous 
ceux  dont  on  veut  se  debarrasser,  c'est  plus  loin  et  plus  sur  que 
Fort  1'Eveque  ;  une  lettre  de  cachet  y  fait  partir  un  cadet  bruyant, 
un  heritier  encombrant,  un  ennemi,  un  mari  genant. 

Courant  derriere,  les  truands  huent  le  carrosse  de  la  fille  du 
Regent,  dont  la  conduits-  fait  scandale  : 

<  On  envoie  a  Mississipy 
€  toutes  les  p...  de  Paris, 
«  Lon,  tan  la  dertrette, 

t  Adieu,  Duchesse  de  Berry, 

<  lon  Ian,  la  derirt  !  » 

Par  nuees,  sous  les  yeux  consternes  de  M.  de  Bienville  et  de  ses 
officiers,  les  gens  de  force  arrivent  a  l'lle  Dauphine  et  a  Biloxi  : 
filles  marquees  a  l'dpaule  de  la  fleur  de  lys  infamante,  soudards, 
ribaudes,  transfuges  de  Bicetre,  brigands  de  la  foret  de  Bondy, 
galexiens,  deserteurs  et  fripons,  vagabonds  de  Lyon,  Rennes,  Orleans, 
exiles  de  Bayonne  embarques  par  ordre  du  Marechal  de  Berwick, 
route  la  canaille  dont  on  a  epure  Paris,  tons  les  gueux  du  Royaume. 
Pele-mele,  ils  sont  vomis  par  les  vaisseaux.  avec  des  artisans  hon- 
netes,  qu'ils  depouillent  de  leur  pauvre  saint-frusquin,  des  t-pnux 
bafoues,  quelques  assoifes  d'aveniure,  des  victimes  comrae  cette 
ie  de  Sie  Hermine,  dont  on  ne  sail  rien  hormis  sa  lettre-de-cachet, 
la  petite-nlle  de  Michel  Baron,  de  la  Comedie-Francaise. 


Tu 


15» 


LA    LOUIS1ANE     FRAN£AISE 


Les  €  exiles  de  par  le  Roy  »  viennent  fail  e  de  la  Louisiane,  sous 
les  ordres  d'officiers  loyaux  et  braves,  une  grande  colonie. 

M.  de  Bienville  recoil  des  mains  des  commandants  les  eiais  des 
filles  deportees.  En  Aout  1719,  150  ont  quittd  les  prisons  de  France, 
en  octobre  300,  en  novembre  150.  II  lit,  en  s'epongeant  le  front  : 

«  Marie-Anne  Fontaine,  38  arts,  condamnie  a  perpituiti  apres 
plusieurs  assassinate. 

«  Manon  Porchi,  30  ans,  marquee  plusieurs  fois  pour  vols  ou 
blessures,  a  tranchi  au  rasoir  2  doigts  6  I'exempt  qui  I'arrita,  mil 
/c  feu  a  sa  cellule,  et  menace"  d'arracher  la  figure  &  quiconque  lap- 
procherait. 

«  Marguerite  de  Valy,  laronesse,  d'une  bande  de  faux-monnayeurs 
et  de  brigands  de  la  forit  de  St.  Germain. 

c  Sarah  de  Visme,  18  ans,  une  intrigante  tres  dangereuse,  di- 
bauche  outrie  et  vie  tres  scandaleuse. 

€  Marie  Francoise  de  Jouy  de  Palsy,  17  ans,  tireuse  de  couteau 
et  blasphimatrice. 

4  Jeanne  Lefevre,  dite  Tonton,  laronesse,  marquis  de  deux  fleurs 
de  lys,  la  plus  grande  debauchie  qu'il  y  ait. 

«  Marie-Louise  Primet,  une  libertine  et  dibauchie  parfaite. 

«  Jeanne  Vigneron,  tris  dangereuse  fille  pour  le  poison  et  la  fausse 
monnate. 

«  Toinette  Genest,  une  fourbe  adonnie  a  toutes  sortes  de  vices. 

«  Marie  Desmarais,  une  des  plus  fameuses  debauchees.  > 

11  y  en  a  bien  d'autres,  portant  la  croix  et  la  fleur  de  lys  des 
chiourmes,  des  filles  arretees  <  pour  libertinage  affreux  >  ;  une 
«  prostitute  insigne  et  fameuse  laronesse  >  ;  <  une  aventuriere  dan- 
gereuse et  d'une  debauche  outrie  >  ;  une  «  fameuse  traffiqueuse  de 
jeunes  gens  de  famille,  tant  filles  et  garcons  que  maries  »  ;  Deux 
sceurs  de  16  et  ig  ans  <  petites  prostitutes  et  petites  laronesses  des 
plus  dangereuses  ». 

Le  directeur  de  l'Hopital-general  conclut  nai'vement  chaque 
eut  :  c  toutes  siditieuses,  ne  pourront  itre  mieux  qu'A  la  Louisiane, 
ce  sera  le  moyen  d'en  delivrer  I'hopital  et  le  publicq.  > 

On  entend  les  soupirs  de  M.  de  Bienville  jusque  dans  le  delta. 
<  Batiscan,  quelle  misere  I  > 

Dans  la  Ste  Barbe  des  vaisseaux,  coramc  des  pourceaux  on  a  en- 
tasse  ces  femmes  avec  les  munitions.  Chaque  jour,  on  les  a  reveillees 


LA     LOUISJANE     FRANf  AISE  *59 

a  l'aurore,  pour  dire  les  ma  tines,  des  prieres  recommences  deux 
fois  dans  la  matinee  et  trois  fois  dans  la  vespree.  Ces  gourgandines 
qui  ne  savent  que  blasphemer,  lamper  et  Hvrer  leur  corps  one  ete 
obligees,  sous  peine  de  bastonnade,  de  s'adresser  a  Dieu,  et  toutes 
les  apres-midi  de  Unit-  la  procession  amour  des  mats  de  hune. 

Pendant  plusieurs  mois,  comme  les  autres  voyageurs,  quand  elles 
n'Etaient  pas  trop  malades  pour  avaler,  elles  ont  et6  nourries  de 
brouet,  de  fromage  et  d'eau-de-vie.  Personne  n'a  change  de  hardes 
depuis  le  depart,  les  exiles  sont  partis  <  sans  baluchon  ». 

lis  ap  portent  leur  chair  malsaine,  leur  vermine  et  leurs  gu  entiles 
nauseabondes,  s'entassent  sur  les  rustres  qui  les  ont  precedes.  Au 
bout  du  penible  voyage,  ils  trouvent  des  moustiques,  des  nuits 
moites,  des  tavernes  et  la  faim. 

Pour  seul  bagage,  ils  out  des  couplets  gouailleurs.  Autour  du 
rdtisseur  Quoniam,  que  son  epouse  a  iait  deport er  pour  vaquer  plus 
commodement  a  ses  amours,  les  va-nu-pieds  goguenardent  dune 
voix  avinee. 


. 


€  O  vous  tons,  messieurs  les  maris 
€  si  vos  femmes  ont  des  favoris 
«  ne  vous  mettez  martel  en  tite, 
«  vous  auriez  fort  mechanic  tete, 
«  si  vous  vous  en  fdchez,  tant  pis, 


Dans  les  etablissements  restreints  de  la  Louisiane,  la  promiscuite 
de  ces  iiotes  est  insupportable  pour  les  braves  gens,  submerges  par 
ce  flot  de  corruption,  montant  plus  haut  que  le  Mississipi  aux  mois 
de  crue.  <  Potence,  disent  les  Canadiens  toute  cette  gornaille,  ces 
bonriens,  ces  traineux  nous  trigaudent  un  tremblement,  noire  Com- 
mandeur,  ca  met  le  pays  sens-sus-dessous,  et  tant  qu'au  parler  de 
ces  broucheteux,  e'est  rien  que  des  sacres  et  des  abimations  I  »  M. 
de  Bienville  est  tout  a  fait  de  cet  avis,  ces  hordes  de  chenapans, 
dans  lesquelles  les  faux-saulniers  et  les  fraudeurs  en  tabac  constituent 
une  aristocrat  ie,  met  tent  en  danger  la  colonic 

Plus  il  y  a  d'arrivants,  moins  il  y  a  de  vivres.  La  production  des 
Etablissements  est  stationnaire,  depuis  que  la  Mutine  et  le  Due 
de  Noailles,  le  a8  FEvrier  1720,  sont  arrives,  on  n'a  recu  aucun 
secours  de  la  Cie. 

La  colonie  est  petrifiee  d'admiration  devant  une  femme  qui  s'est 


lOO  LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

embarquee  volontairement  sur  la  Mutine,  avec  I'amas  de  filles  per- 
dues.  Elle  est  <  le  demoiselle  de  bonne  volenti  >  et  n'aura  plus 
d' autre  nom. 

Par  MM.  de  Villiers  et  de  la  Jaille.  qui  touchent  le  8  juin,  a  1'Ile 
Dauphinc,  on  apprend  qu'une  treve  avec  1'Espagne  a  eie  signee. 
M.  Valette  de  Laudun,  capitaine  de  vaisseau  du  roy,  venant  de  la 
Martinique  sur  le  Toulouse,  fait  pendant  s8  jours  relache  a  1'Ile. 
M.  de  Bienville  lui  fait  rendre  les  honneurs  par  les  16  soldats  de 
la  garnison  et  le  recoil  de  son  mieux  ;  il  ne  peut  pas  offrir  grand 
chose.  La  pauvrete  de  l'ile  est  frappame  pour  celui  qui  vient  des 
voluptueuses  lies  du  Vent. 

Comme  c'est  un  homme  d'esprit  et  de  culture,  ainsi  qu'une  in- 
terminable piece  de  toile  de  Rouen,  M.  de  Bienville  deplie  devant 
lui  ses  ennuis,  avec  force  expletifs,  et  M.  de  Laudun,  pour  falre 
glisser  le  temps,  rapporte  ces  propos  a  la  dame  de  son  coeur,  qui 
1'aitend  a  Paris. 

Tous  ces  deportes  qu'on  impose  I  La  colonie  etait  deja  assez  mal 
en  point  sans  eux  1  Vont-ils  glter  les  sauvages  ?  Le  mot  a  fait 
sourire  M.  de  Bienville.  Gater  serait  beaucoup  dire.  <  Les  sauvages 
donnoient  dans  tous  les  vices,  m'a-t-il  assure,  mime  les  moins  con- 
nus,  des  jeunes  gens  sembloient  avoir  renanci  a  leursexe  pour  servir 
a  des  usages  si  contraires  a  la  nature.  Alors,  Us  n'itoient  plus  recus 
dans  la  sociM  des  hommes,  el  portoient,  comme  une  femme,  une 
bande  de  peau  qui  les  couvroient  depuis  la  ceinture  jusqu'aux 
genou.  II  ajoutoit  encore  qu'ils  poussoient  la  jeunesse  si  loin  qu'a 
I'dge  de  cinquante  ans,  ils  ne  rentroient  pas  dans  leur  elat  naturel 
et  que  les  sauvages  en  usoient  toujours  igalement.  > 

En  Aout,  les  allies  et  venues  recommencent.  Les  Deux  Frires 
ei  le  Marechal  d'Estree  amenent  le  Chevalier  de  Tournefeuille,  les 
cadets  de  Reclot,  de  Si  Just  et  de  la  Commerie,  les  families  de 
Villemont  et  Cbantreau  de  Beaumont,  suivies  de  leurs  engages. 
Deux  cents  soixante  personnes  debarquent  de  la  flute  Si  Andri. 

Dans  ce  pays  sans  ressources,  les  gens  arrivent  toujours,  comme 
s'il  y  avail  des  champs  a  moissonner,  des  vignes  a  vendanger.  Les 
offkiers,  MM.  d'Ariaguetie,  d'Hauterive,  de  Gauvrit,  de  la  Buis- 
sonniere,  de  Nanere,  de  Coublande,  Marest  de  la  Tour,  aident  M. 
de  Bienville  comme  ils  peuvent. 

En  Novcmbre,  1806  personnes  mettent  pied  a  terre  :  la  compagnie 
ei  les  engages  de  M.  de  Guiches  et  M.  de  Guerneur  ;  MM.  de  Banes. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


l6l 


de  Ponteshaut  et  de  Montmarquet,  officiers  ;  M.  Delorme,  Directeur 
General  de  la  Cie.  Le  24  du  meme  mois,  sur  la  flute  le  Chameau, 
arrive  M.  Adrien  du  Pauger,  ingenieur,  accompagne  de  60  ouvriers 
et  piqueurs. 

Seize  filles  de  la  Salpetriere,  fort  mal  tournees,  viennent  pour 
s'etablir.  On  les  enferme  dans  une  habitation  garde  e  par  tine  sen- 
tinelle,  et,  durant  la  journee,  les  celibataires  peuvent  entrer  et  faire 
leur  choix.  lis  se  les  disputeni  aprement,  Quand  il  n'en  reste  qu'une, 
<  bien  qu'elle  eut  plutot  i'aspect  d'un  soldat  aux  gardes  que  d'une 
fillc  >,  deux  jeunes  gens,  qui  la  convoitent,  en  viennent  aux  coups. 
M.  de  Bienville  est  oblige  de  la  tirer  au  sort,  pour  retablir  la  paix. 

M.  Ber  anger,  qui  sur  l'ordre  du  roi  avail  6te  avec  son  traversier 
reconnaitre  la  baie  St  Bernard  ou  M.  de  la  Salle  debar  qua,  s'en 
revient  en  disant  avoir  trouve  une  baie  qu'il  s'imagine  etre  celled, 
d'apres  ce  qu'en  a  dit  M.  Joutel.  Les  sauvages  lui  ont  fait  bon  ac- 
cueil,  il  a  laisse  le  sergent  Sylvestre  et  quelques  hommes  dans  un 
petit  fort  palissade. 

VEliphant  et  le  Dromadaire ,  le  14  Decembre,  degorgent  aoo 
engages  pour  la  concession  de  M.  le  Blanc,  ministre  de  la  guerre, 
des  officiers  et  plusieurs  ingenieurs  de  marque  :  M.  Blondel  de 
la  Tour,  chevalier  de  St  Louis  et  brigadier  des  ingenieurs,  nomme 
ingenieur  en  chef  de  la  Louisiane  ;  M.  de  Boispinel,  aussi  chevalier 
de  St  Louis  ;  M.  Franquet  de  Chaville,  et  Bernard  de  Verges,  un 
jeune  dessinateur.  On  est  maintenant  en  mesure  de  commencer  un 
developpement  raisonne. 

M.  Delorme  apporte  des  ordres  plus  ou  moins  coherents.  M.  Law 
preconise  des  tanneries  pour  le  cuir  des  bceufs  sauvages,  qu'on  pour- 
rait  domestiquer,  a  fin  de  recueillir  leur  laine  ;  il  poursuit  aussi 
ses  idees  de  mines,  bien  que  du  quartz  rapporte  en  France,  l'Abbe 
Bignon,  de  1'Academie  des  Sciences,  ait  fait  des  epreuves  qui  n'ont 
pas  Oiii-  concluantes. 

L'etablissement  de  Biloxi,  malsain  a  cause  de  la  grenouillere  qui 
l'entoure  et  de  l'eau  contaminee,  a  perdu,  des  fievres  et  de  famine, 
500  habitants  en  six  mois.  En  decembre,  un  inccndie,  anise  par  le 
vent  marin,  detruit  les  cabanes  combustibles  et  une  partie  de  la 
palissade. 

M.  de  Bienville  profile  de  l'occasion  pour  suggerer  une  fois  de 
plus  le  transfer!  a  la  Nile  Orleans.  Comme  on  lui  oppose  1'impos- 
sibilite  de  creer  un  mouillage,  puisque  les  vaisseaux  ne  franchissent 


l6*  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANf  AISE 

pas  la  passe  du  fleuve,  il  propose  d'y  envoyer  le  Dromadaire,  pour 
prouver  que  la  chose  est  faisable.  M.  le  Gac  se  refuse  k  cette  im- 
prudence, et,  M.  de  Bienville  insistant,  il  prend  une  attitude  de 
Ponce-Pilate  tout  k  fait  d£tach£e,  et  se  lave  les  mains  des  6pouvanta- 
bles  consequences  qu'il  entrevoit. 

En  attendant,  on  transporte  l'6tablissement  un  peu  plus  loin, 
sur  la  mime  baie,  k  l'endroit  oh  une  croupe  s'arrondit  devant  un 
beau  ruisseau  ;  il  y  a  de  bonnes  sources  k  proximity. 

L'£tablissement  du  Nouveau-Biloxi  est  d'assez  belle  apparence, 
mais  la  terre  est  aussi  st&ile  que  l'endroit  qu'on  vient  de  quitter  et 
le  magasin  est  presque  vide. 


En  courant  ininterrompu,  les  batiments  mouillent  devant  I'lle 
au  Vaisseau,  et  expulseni  des  jets  d'humanite  eberluhee. 

Le  8  Janvier  1721,  la  Baleine,  commandee  par  M.  de  Chateauguay, 
amine  88  filles  de  la  Salpetriere,  conduites  par  des  Mturs  grises, 
officieres  de  l'H&pital-general.  Avec  difficult^,  on  en  marie  une 
partie,  quelques-unes  a  des  matelots,  a  condition  qu'ils  s'etablissent 
en  Louisiane,  car  fait  remarquer  M.  de  Bienville,  qui  ne  tient  pas 
evidemment  ces  lilies  pour  des  rosieres,  <  on  ne  saurait  les  marier 
&  des  habitants  honnetes.  > 

La  Gironde,  le  Volage,  la  Seine  debarquent  500  engages  pour  les 
concessions  de  Madame  de  Mezieres,  Madame  de  Chaumont,  M.  de 
Kolly  et  du  Marquis  d'Ancenis. 

Le  32  du  raeme  mois,  un  convoi  gracieux  s'installe  a  Biloxi.  80 
orphelines  sages  ont  quitte  la  France,  le  12  Juin  precedent,  de  leur 
propre  volonte,  sous  la  guidance  des  sceurs  Gertrude,  Louise  et 
Bergere,  munies  de  brevets  de  <  conductrices  >.  Le  roi  a  offert  a 
chacune  un  petit  trousseau  :  c  2  paires  d'habit,  2  jupes  et  jupons, 
6  corsets,  chemises  et  garnitures  de  teste,  et  totttes  les  autres  fourni- 
tures  nicessaires  ».  Elles  ne  se  marieront  qu'avec  1' approbation  de 
sceur  Gertrude.  Une  maitresse  sage-femme,  la  femme  Dorville,  a 
etc  engagee  a  leur  intention  par  la  Cie.  qui  lui  a  proinis  400  Livres 
par  an. 

Les  c  jeunes  filles  a  la  cassette  »  ont  un  franc  succes,  tres  vite  on 
ctflebre  les  epousailles.  Penkault,  dans  son  journal,  consigne  : 
«  Cette  marehandise  jut  bientot  distribute,  tant  on  en  avoit  disette 
dans  le  pays,  et  si  la  sceur  Gertrude  en  avoit  emmeni  dix  fois  davan- 
tage,  elle  en  auroit  trouvi  en  peu  de  temps  le  dibit.  > 

Un  peu  plus  tard,  M.  de  Martonne,  qui  sur  la  Mutine  vient  de 


164  LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

transporter  d'autres  filles  de  force  et  147  ouvriers  suisses  reclames 
par  son  frere.  M.  de  Merveilleux,  apprend  a  M.  de  Bienville  el 
aux  administrateurs  la  debacle  de  M.  Law,  lequel  s'est  enfui  de 
France  pour  echapper  a  la  vengeance  publicjue.  Le  Regent,  a  donne 
rordre  qu'on  iui  fasse  tenir  un  rapport  detail^  des  ^v^neraents  de 
la  colonie.  M.  de  Martonne  remet,  de  sa  part,  une  depeche  a  M. 
de  Bienville. 

Tout  en  reconnaissant  les  bons  offices  de  ce-dernier  aupres  des 
sauvages,  le  Regent  le  blame  pour  l'incoherence  qui  regne  en 
Louisiane.  Si  les  agents  de  la  Cie  sont  incapables,  sur  ses  representa- 
tions, on  les  changera,  pour  lui  donner  encore  une  fois  loppor- 
tiiniie  de  mettre  de  1'ordre  dans  l'entreprise.  Mais  Sa  Majeste"  est 
tres  mecontente.  Elle  refuse  de  conferer  au  Gouverneur  la  croix 
de  commandant  de  St.  Louis  et  le  grade  de  brigadier-general,  qu'on 
lui  avait  promis,  tant  que  les  conditions  autour  de  lui  ne  seront 
pas  ameliorees. 

M.  de  Bienville  est  horriblemem  chagrine  de  ce  soufflet  qu'il 
tient  pour  immcrite.  Est-il  responsable  de  cette  p&audiere  gdneree 
par  Versailles  et  Paris  ?  La  Cie  persiste  a  entasser  Pelion  sur  Ossa 
et  se  plaint  du  chaos.  11  n'a  meme  le  temps  d'exhaler  sa  rancune, 
dans  ce  moment  ou  tant  d'urgences  orient  son  nom. 

Sur  les  Deux  Frires,  50  allemands  catholiques,  recruits  par  Perry 
de  Neufchatel  dans  le  Palatinat,  pour  la  concession  de  M.  Law,  au 
confluent  de  1'Arkansas,  arrivent  sous  les  ordres  du  juif  Elias 
Stultheus.  Parmi  eux,  se  trouve  une  aventuriere  qui  pretend  etre 
la  fille  du  Due  de  Wolfenbiittel,  et  avoir  £te  mariee  au  Tzarevitch, 
Alexius  Petrowitch,  le  fils  de  Pierre  le  Grand.  Lasse  des  mauvais 
traitements  infliges  par  son  epoux,  elle  s'est  enfuie,  raconte-t-elle, 
et  s'est  fait  passer  pour  morte.  Tandis  que  sur  1'ordre  de  son  man 
on  ce"Iebrait  ses  iune>ailles,  elle  tnarchait  a  grandes  enjamb^es.  et 
sous  un  deguisemeni  a  fini  par  atteindre  Lorient  oil  elle  s'est  melee 
aux  emigrants. 

Le  Chevalier  d'Auban,  en  garni -on  a  la  Nfobile,  qui  a  et£  k  la 
cour  de  Russie,  croit  en  effet  la  reconnattre  ;  il  en  reconnalt  aussi 
les  charmes,  et  1'^pouse.  Ce  ne  sera  que  beaucoup  plus  tard,  a  Paris, 
qu'on  devoilera  l'imposture  et  qu'on  saura  qu'elle  £tait  simplement 
du  service  de  la  garde-robe  de  la  princesse. 

Au  d^but  d'Avril,  un  Franca  is  de  bonne  mine,  mais  dont  tous 
les  traits  racontent  les  privations,  se  presente  a  M.  de  Bienville  : 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  165 

Francois  Simars  de  Belle-Isle,  officier  du  roi.  II  s'est  embarqu^  pour 
la  Louisiane  en  1718,  sur  le  Marichal  d'Estrie,  charge  de  iroupes 
et  de  150  forcats.  line  Ipidlmie  a  ravage  le  navire,  la  pluparc  des 
officiers  ont  peri,  les  vivres  oni  manqui,  et  le  batiment  a  perdu 
sa  direction.  On  a  apercu  une  cdte,  M.  de  Belle-Isle,  avec  cinq 
autres  officiers,  a  gagne^  la  rive  en  chaloupe  pour  tirer  du  gibier 
et  chercher  de  l'eau  douce  ;  pendant  qu'ils  rt.ncni  a  terre,  le 
batiment  desempar^  a  disparu  a  l'horizon.  Ses  compagnons  ont 
fini  par  mourir  d'^puisement.  Sans  munition  il  a  erre"  quinze  jours 
sur  la  cdte,  se  nourrissam  de  coquillages.  II  a  rencontre1  3  sauvages, 
qui  l'ont  d^pouille1  et  emmcni,  nu,  en  esclavage  dans  leur  village, 
oil  pendant  18  mois  il  a  €x€  Ion  durement  traite.  Les  sauvages  ont 
vendu  son  brevet  d'oflicicr  et  ses  papiers  aux  Assinais,  qui  un  jour 
ont  momr£  ces  ecritures  a  M.  de  St  Denis,  commandant  du  fort 
des  Natchitochez.  Ce-dernier  l'a  immMiatement  fail  delivrer  contre 
rancon. 

M.  de  Belle-Isle  tres  vite  fraternise  avec  ses  camarades  de  l'arme> 
et  sunout  avec  M.  de  St  Denis,  a  qui  les  Espagnols  ont  rexemment 
envoyd  sa  femme  et  sa  fille,  avec  un  Equipage  de  douze  bfites  de 
somme,  en  empruntant  la  voie  des  bceufs  decouverte  par  lui,  quel- 
ques  annees  plus  tot,  et  baptisce  <  camino  real  ». 

Le  Portefaix,  le  4  juin,  amene  le  reste  du  contingent  de  M.  Law  : 
350  Allemands,  guide's  par  le  Chevalier  d'Arensbourg,  un  Balte, 
de  son  vrai  nom  Karl  Frederic,  et  une  compagnie  de  dragons.  lis 
apportent  pour  plus  d'un  million  d'effets  et  de  marchandises,  et  une 
chaise  roulante  pour  tinnier  en  ire  les  postes  qu'on  gtablira  dans 
I'immense  concession.  32  bateaux  sont  necessaires  pour  transporter 
ce  materiel  et  ce  personnel. 

M.  du  Pauger,  un  homme  irascible  mais  tres  competent,  a  fort 
bien  travaille\  II  a  sond^  le  delta  du  Mississipi,  franchi  la  passe  sur 
le  Neptune,  et  a  gagn£  la  Nile  Orleans.  A  Tembouchure,  il  a  cons- 
tat^ que  la  barre,  qui  a  300  pieds  de  large  et  r&ulie  de  la  ren- 
contre du  flux  de  la  mer  et  de  l'affaiblissement  du  courant  du 
fleuve,  est  formee  d'un  banc  de  sable  et  d'un  depot  d'argile. 

II  a  rapport^  que  le  fleuve  limoneux  tree  incessamment  de  nou- 
veaux  Hots  et  elargit  les  lerres.  11  serait  facile  de  l'endiguer  avec  un 
systeme  de  jetees  et  en  fcrmant  les  chenaux  secondaires  par  des 
em  b  arras-de-bo  is,  ou  en  coulant  de  vieux  vaisseaux,  ce  qui  don- 
nerait  plus  de  rapid  ite^  au  courant  principal. 


i66 


LA     LOUISIANE     FBANfAISE 


Pour  defendre  l'entree  du  fleuve,  il  propose  d'etablir  un  fort  et 
une  batterie  dans  1'ile  de  la  Balize,  devant  laquelle  les  vaisseaux 
tirant  18  pieds  d'eau  peuvent  mouiller.  Approuve,  sur  un  terrain 
sablonneux  et  troue,  a  coups  de  mouton,  il  fait  enfoncer  une  palis- 
sade,  et  sur  pilotis  consiruit  son  fort. 

Les  faux-saulniers,  qui  travaillent  avec  mauvaise  volonti  ont 
seulement  d£frich£,  et  mal,  un  quart  de  lieue  dans  la  cypriere  de 
la  Nile  Orleans,  ou  M.  de  Bienville  fait  des  inspections.  II  vient  de 
consemir  a  y  fumer  le  calumet  avec  les  Chetimachas,  dont  un  des 
guerriers  a  tue  le  Pere  St  Cosme,  mais  qui  lui  ont  fait  parvenir 
la  tete  de  1'assassin  et  ont  demande  la  paix. 

Douie  hommes  descendent  en  pirogue.  A  la  suite  de  leur  porte- 
parole,  barbarement  couvert  de  castors  passes  en  sautoir,  lenle- 
ment,  en  dansant  et  agitant  leur  chichicois,  ils  se  dirigent  vers 
M.  de  Bienville,  M.  le  Page  du  Pratz  et  quelques  autres  Francais 
assis  dans  une  cabane  ouverie  a  cent  pas  de  la  berge.  Le  porte-parole 
agite  au  vent  son  calumet  gain£  du  cou  d'un  canard  branchu,  an 
dessous  duquel  un  eventail  d'aigle  blanc,  termine  de  pompoms 
rouges,  est  deploye"  en  quart  de  cercle. 

Arrive"  devant  la  cabane,  il  dit  :  <  Te  voila  done,  et  moi  avec 
toi.  >  Laconiquement,  M.  de  Bienville  repond  :  c  Oui  ».  Les  sau- 
vages  s'asseoient  a  terre,  en  rond,  et  la  tete  dans  leurs  mains  medi- 
tent.  Apres  un  long  recueillement,  le  porte-parole  se  leve.  fume 
le  calumet,  et  1'ayant  essuye,  le  passe  a  M.  de  Bienville,  qui  en  fait 
autant  et  le  passe  a  son  voisin.  Quand  tous  ont  fume,  le  porte- 
parole  remet  le  calumet  a  M.  de  Bienville  pour  qu'il  le  garde,  et 
debout,  pres  des  peaux  de  chevreuil,  passees  en  blanc,  apporties 
en  present,  it  commence  sa  harangue. 

«  Mon  cceuT  rit  de  joie  de  me  voir  devant  toi,  nous  avons 
tous  entendu  la  parole  de  paix  que  tu  nous  a  fait  porter  ;  le 
carur  de  toute  noire  nation  en  rit  de  joie  jusqu'i  tressaillir. 
Notts  n'osions  chasser  pour  toi  de  crainte  des  autres  nations  en 
cos  qu'elles  n'eussent  pas  encore  entendu  ta  parole  et  paree 
qu'etles  sont  jatouses  de  nous,  nous  ne  sommes  mime  venus 
qu'en  tremblant  dans  le  chemin  jusqu'a  ce  que  nous  eussions 
vu  ton  visage.  Que  mon  cceur  et  mes  yeux  sont  contents  de  le 
voir  aujourd'hui,  de  parler  moi-mtme  a  toi-mime,  sans  crainte 
que  le  vent  emporte  nos  paroles  en  chemin  !  Nos  presents  sont 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE  167 

petits  mais  nos  cceurs  sont  grands  pour  obiir  a  ta  parole.  Quand 
lu  parleras,  tu  verras  nos  jambes  courir  et  sauter  comme  celles 
des  cerfs,  pour  faire  ce  que  tu  voudras. 

<  Ah  !  que  le  soleil  est  beau  aujourd'hui,  en  comparaison  de 
ce  au'il  etatt  quand  tu  itais  fdchi  contre  nous.  Auparavant  le 
soleil  etnit  rouge,  les  chemins  itaient  remplis  de  rotices  et 
d'ipxnes,  les  nuages  etaient  noirs,  I'eau  itait  trouble  et  teinte 
de  notre  sang,  nos  femmes  pleuraient  sans  cesse,  nos  enfants 
criaient  de  frayeur,  le  gibier  fuyait  loin  de  nous,  nos  maisons 
itaient  abandonnies  et  nos  champs  en  friche,  nous  avions  tous 
le  ventre  vide  et  nos  os  paraissaient, 

€  Aujourd'hui  le  soleil  est  chaud  et  brillant,  le  ciel  est  clair 
il  n'y  a  plus  de  nuages,  I'eau  est  si  claire  que  nous  voyons 
dedans,  le  gibier  revient,  nos  femmes  dansent  jusqu'h  oublier 
de  manger,  nos  enfants  sautent  comme  des  jeunes  faons  de  biche, 
le  cceur  de  toute  la  nation  rit  de  joie  de  voir  qu'aujourd'kui 
nous  marcherons  par  le  mime  chemin  que  vous  tous,  Fran- 
cats  ;  le  mime  soleil  nous  iclairera,  nous  n'aurons  plus  qu'une 
mime  parole,  nos  cceurs  n'en  feront  plus  qu'un,  nous  mange- 
rons  ensemble  comme  freres,  tela  ne  sera-t-il  pas  bon,  qu'en 
dis-tu  f  » 

M.  de  Bienville  respond,  en  langue  vulgaire,  sur  le  meme  diapason 
exalte.  U  leur  donne  a  manger,  echange  avec  eux  des  presents,  et 
a  yam  mis  sa  main  dans  eelle  du  porte-parole  en  signe  d'amitie,  lous 
se  re r ire m  satisfaits. 

M.  Blondel  de  la  Tour,  qui  vieni  d'^pouser  une  jeune  veuve,  finit 
par  se  rendre  aux  raisons  de  MM.  de  Bienville,  du  Pauger  et  de 
Chaville.  De  la  Mobile,  il  vient  faire  un  tour  sur  le  fieuve  et  com- 
mence les  plans  de  la  Nile  Orleans. 

Chassant  a  grands  gestes  les  grisatres  e'merillons  de  marais,  qui 
ont  cache"  leurs  nids  dans  la  vegetation  rampante,  pour  rester  a 
ported  des  lizards  et  grenouilles,  leurs  fxiandises,  et  les  herons  bleus 
dont  les  ceufs  cobalt  reposent  dans  des  nids  perches,  avec  l'aide 
de  ses  arpenteurs  et  de  ses  piqueurs,  a  coups  de  hache,  dans  les 
broussailles  a  moitie  inond£es,  il  trace  un  rectangle  de  a8  arpents 
face  au  fieuve  sur  14  de  profondeur. 

Sept  rues  paralleles  au  Mississipi  et  dix  rues  perpendiculaires, 
tracers  au  cordeau,  partageront  la  ville  en  islets  de  60  toises  chacun. 


i68  LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN9AISE 

entoures  de  fosses,  et  divises  en  dome  habitations,  chacune  ayant 
une  cour  et  un  plan. 

I]  prevoit  une  eglise  paroissiale  sur  la  place  d'Armes,  un  hotel 
pour  le  gouvernement,  deux  casernes,  une  prison,  une  intendance, 
un  magasin  general.  A  1'arTiere,  une  tranchee  profonde  limitera 
la  ville. 

Par  les  crieurs  des  etablissements,  M.  de  la  Tour  fait  annoncer 
que  les  personnes  desirant  des  lots  devront  presenter  leur  petition 
au  Conseil-Superieur  de  Biloxi.  Chaque  famille  agr£ee  recevra 
ilix.  toises  de  facade  sur  vingt-deux  de  profondeur,  (sauf  les  deux 
du  milieu  de  chaque  islet,  dont  la  portion  s'enfoncera  en  profon- 
deur) et  devra  entourer  sa  parcelle  d'une  palissade  de  pieux,  en 
laissant  une  berme  de  trois  pieds,  au  bout  de  laquelle  elle  creusera 
un  fosse  de  deux  pieds  de  large  sur  un  et  demi  de  prorondeur  pour 
l'ecoulement  des  eaux.  On  les  franchira  par  des  petits  ponts  de  cypre. 

M.  de  Bienville  exulte,  malgre  ses  autres  ennuis  qui  ne  sont  pas 
minces.  L'harmonie  ne  regne  pas  a  la  colonic,  composee  maintenant 
de  3000  Blancs  et  d'un  millier  de  Noirs.  A  1'exception  des  engages, 
qui  dans  les  concessions  ne  peuvent  compter  que  sur  eux-memes, 
person  ne  ne  travaille. 

La  de'bauche  la  plus  crue  est  de  mise,  les  gens  honnfites,  en  mim> 
rite,  sont  outres  des  autres,  la  plupart  du  temps  4  boissonnes  >,  qui 
gueusaillent  et  vivent  de  rapines.  Les  catins  s'oflrent  aux  soldats 
pour  un  coup  d'eau-de-vie,  et  nul  ne  veut  en  assumer  la  responsa- 
hilite.  c  La  fureur  de  se  marier  s'est  fort  raientxe  »,  constate  M.  de 
Bienville,  il  n'y  a  plus  d'empressement  a  epouser  les  dernieres  ar- 
rivees. 

On  a  introduit  dernierement  cinq  cents  negres  :  Congos,  Angola. 
Senegals.  lis  valent  660  Livres  la  piece  d'Inde,  payables  en  trois 
ans,  en  tabac  et  riz,  ce  qui  est  fort  cher.  Pour  produire  du  tabac 
il  taut  des  esclaves,  et  pour  les  payer  il  faut  du  tabac,  c'est  un 
cercle  vicieux. 

Dans  les  magasins  de  la  Cie,  les  prix  ont  encore  augment^.  A 
Biloxi,  Mobile  et  la  Nile  Orleans,  Us  sont  major^s  d'un  profit  de 
50  %  pour  la  Cie,  aux  Natchez  de  75  %,  aux  Arkansas  de  100  %. 
Le  vin  coute  iso  Livres  la  barrique,  l'eau-de-vie  125  Livres  le  quart 
de  fut,  le  pain  30  sols  la  livre  chez  les  boulangers,  et  les  billets  sont 
deprecies  de  80  %.  Les  directeurs  de  la  Cie,  qui  se  bornent  a 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  I&) 

executer  les  ordres  de  Paris,  quand  ils  montrent  leur  nez  sont  tn- 
sultes  par  les  habitants  exasperes. 

La  France  met  des  entraves  a  l'embryon  de  developpement  agri- 
cole  commence  depuis  un  an.  Elle  s'inquiete  des  produits  qui 
pourraient  concurrencer  les  siens,  et  interdit  la  culture  de  la  vigne, 
du  lin,  et  du  chanvre,  en  Louisiane. 

M.  de  Bienville  se  plaint  ameremcnt  de  la  qualite  des  gens  qu'on 
tiii  envoie,  il  supplie  le  Regent  d'arreter  la  deportation  des  forcats, 
et,  sans  demander  ['impossible,  demande  des  femmes  qui  auraient 
tout  au  moins  l'apparence  de  la  vertu. 

Le  9  mai  1720,  le  Conseil  d'Etat  a  rendu  un  arret  decretant  «  qu'il 
ne  serait  plus  envoye  a  la  Louisiane  de  vagabonds,  gens  sans  aveu, 
fraudeurs  et  criminels,  »  cependant  prostituees  et  deirousseurs  de 
grands  chemins  continueni  a  arriver  par  essaims. 

La  population  est  frondeuse  et  prend  rapidement  feu.  M.  de 
Bienville,  dans  1'espoir  de  s'en  tenir  aux  jeux  de  mains,  theorique- 
ment  reserves  aux  vilains,  interdit  le  port  de  I'epee,  sauf  naturelle- 
ment,  aux  officiers  de  la  colonie  et  des  vaisseaux. 

La  fregate  Venus,  le  15  juillet,  amene  M.  de  la  Harpe,  revetu 
maintenant  du  magnifique  litre  de  commandant  et  inspecteur  du 
commerce  de  la  baie  St  Bernard,  et  M.  Duverger  directeur-ordon- 
nateur  de  la  Cie,  qui  oceupera  la  presidence  du  Conseil  Superieur, 
c'est-a-dire  prendra  le  pas  sur  M.  de  Bienville,  outrancierement 
humilie. 

II  apporte  de  la  part  de  Sa  Majeste  la  croix  de  St.  Louis  a  MM, 
de  Chateauguay,  de  Boisbrillant.  de  St  Denis  et  de  Marigny  de 
Mandeville,  ainsi  que  le  grade  de  capitaine  aux  Lieutenants  du 
Tisne  et  de  Noyan. 

M.  de  Bienville  a  la  mort  dans  Tame.  II  ressemble  a  ces  per- 
sonnages  des  horloges  mecaniques,  qui  entrent  et  sortent  a  intervalles 
de  leur  retraite,  mais  il  ne  sait  jamais  a  l'avance  quand  l'heure 
sonnera,  on  le  pousse  de  Versailles  quand  on  est  pret.  Suivant  le 
mecanisme  du  moment,  on  le  traite  en  deficient  ou  on  le  considere 
indispensable. 

Faisant  contre  mauvaise  fortune  bon  cceur.  le  a6  juillet,  il  revet 
son  armure  de  ceremonie,  sa  cravate  de  malines,  ses  ordres,  sa  perru- 
que  poudree  qui  n'est  plus  a  la  mode,  et  devant  sa  compagnie  aux 
armes,  au  milieu  d'un  grand  «  abord  »  de  badauds,  le  Commandant- 
general  pour  le  Roi  de  la  province  de  Louisiane,  l'epee  au  clair. 


170 


LA      LOUISIANA     FRAN^AISE 


recpit  les  officiers  du  Roi  Chevaliers  de  l'ordre  de  St.  Louis,  avec 
une  accolade,  et  remet  les  brevets. 

A  la  colonic  il  est  d'usage  de  faire  suivre  tout  evenement  d'ira- 
portance  d'agapes  publiques,  mais  cette  annee  on  est  parcimonieux. 
Les  Canadians,  ingenieux  et  adroits  chasseurs,  ont  ete  dgplaces 
par  les  faubouriens  de  France,  et  ceux-ci  ne  savent  pas  asservir  la 
vie  primitive.  Les  reserves  alimentaires  sont  maigres. 

Si  maigres,  qu'en  septembre  la  diselte,  dont  la  perennite"  n'etonne 
plus  les  vieux,  s'installe  en  maitresse.  Les  soldats  affames  se  mutinent, 
attaquent  leurs  officiers,  on  les  envoie  cantonner  chez  les  sauvages 
jusqu'a  l'arrivee  de  la  flute  St  Andri,  dans  les  derniers  jours 
du  mois. 

Les  dgpeches  apprennent  que  le  Recent  a  mis  la  Cie  en  re^ie. 
II  envoie  trois  nouveaux  commissaires.  M.  Hubert,  revoque,  doit 
rendre  ses  comptes  a  M.  de  Bienville,  a  quoi  il  se  refuse  ;  il  se  fera 
regler  par  ses  confreres,  MM.  Duvergier  et  Delorme,  et  le  Gouverneur 
signers  les  pieces. 

Au  grand  bonheur  de  M.  de  Bienville,  les  nouveaux  commissaires 
approuvcnt  le  transfer!  de  la  capitate  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  ou  une 
centaine  de  soldats,  commandes  par  MM.  Barbazon  de  Pailhoux, 
de  Banes  et  de  Gauvrit,  et  60  habitants,  sont  entasses  dans  une 
quarantaine  de  raaisons  de  bois  et  un  corps-de-garde. 

Un  ordre  de  la  Cie  rend  a  M.  de  Bienville  la  presence  sur  M. 
Duvergier.  II  commence  a  apprecier  les  bonnes  intentions  du  Due, 
dont  il  avait  eu  lieu  de  douter. 

Les  mois  s'^coulent  assez  plaridement.  M.  de  la  Harpe  revient 
de^u  de  la  baie  St.  Bernard,  ou  il  £tait  parti  avec  M.  de  Belle-Isle, 
M.  de  Charleville,  et  30  hommes,  sur  un  traversier  fourni  de  ton- 
neaux  de  farine  et  de  viande  boucannee,  pour  procider  a  un  etablis- 
sement.  II  a  trouve"  un  emplacement  convenable,  mais  les  sauvages, 
hostiles,  ont  refuse  la  permission  de  s'etablir.  Les  hommes  abandon- 
ne*s  plus  tdt  dans  la  baie,  avec  le  sergent  Sylvestre,  ont  etc  ^videmmem 
massacres,  a  moins  qu'ils  n'aieni  peri  de  privation. 


XXIII. 


i  concessions  se  developpent.  Elles  sont  donnees  le  long  < 
leuve,  oil  se  trouvent,  strides  de  coulees,  les  terres  les  plus  ferules 
:t  les  plus  accessibles,  puisque  l'eau  est  la  seule  voie  de  communica- 
ion.  Le  rythme  des  saisons  n'est  pas  le  mcme  qu'en  France,  il  n'y 
i  presque  pas  de  printemps  el  pas  du  tout  d'automne,  on  passe  des 
ihaleurs  a  la  gelee  blanche.  Pendant  I'hivcr,  qui  dure  de  Novembre 
i  Mars,  le  vent  du  nord,  rude  et  penetrant,  y  souffle  aprement.  Les 
■les  tres  chauds,  taillades  d'orages  discordants,  sont  penibles  parce 
lue  les  nuits,  n'etant  pas  plus  fralches  que  les  journees,  n'accordent 
>as  de  r^pit.  Le  vent  de  mer,  arreie  par  les  forets  denses,  ne  remonte 
ias  le  fleuve. 

En  Basse-Lou  isiane,  les  rives  du  Mississipi,  jusqu'aux  ecores  des 
Natchez,  n'ont  pas  d'ele'vation.  Un  sol  noir,  assez  sablonneux,  de 
mit  a  dix  pouces  d'epaisseur,  passablement  fertile,  ayant  <ke  depuis 
les  siecles  nourri  par  la  decomposition  vcgcialc,  est  pose  sur  une 
;laise  rouge  et  compacte,  dont  on  pourra  faire  des  briques. 

Lorsque  les  eaux  sont  hautes,  e'est-a-dire  de  la  fin  de  mars  a  la 
it.  Jean,  elles  noient  ces  rives,  et,  les  enjambant,  se  deversent  sur 
es  mari^cages  suivant  parallelement  le  fleuve  a  Tamere,  dans 
ssquels  les  saules,  les  oliviers  a  boules  bleues,  les  garaufiers  epineux, 
t  les  cypres  Emergent  a  rni-tronc,  eplorls  de  barbes  espagnoles  et 
e  chevelures-de-Wnus,  qui  les  enlacent  de  menottes  enchanters. 

Jungle  de  vegetation,  de  maringouins  et  de  tournequeues,  leurs 
irves.  de  «  congos,  »  les  reptiles  fonc^s  mortels,  de  miasmes  ; 
ngorgee  de  fleurs  sous-jacentes,  de  monstrueuses  corolles  flottantes 
t  de  cayeux  ;  battue  dans  ses  branches  hautes  par  les  ailes  des 
hats-huants,  des  busards-de-marais,  cossardes,  chocolatieres,  et  les 
oiles  decoupes  des  souris-chaudes  ;  plus  bas,  par  le  vol  cauteleux  des 
ecassines-de-marais,  des  <  mangeurs-maringouins,  »  pedis  vampires 
iois,  des  «  bec-a-lancette,  >  dont  les  nids  accroches  aux  bras 


>umois 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

surplombant  des  cypres  leur  permet  de  survetller  de  pres  leur  proie 
reptilienne,  qu'ils  poursuivem  en  nageant  sous  I'eau,  leur  invrai- 
semblable  cou  sinueux,  termine"  par  un  bee  en  aiguillon,  £mergeant 
lui  aussi  comme  un  serpent. 

Ces  marecages,  dans  lesquels  il  faut  a  la  hache  tailler  des  «  trainas- 
ses  >  pour  faire  passer  les  pirogues  a  la  perche,  stagnent  a  1 'etat 
permanent,  laissant  entre  les  deux  eaux  une  bande  plus  ou  moins 
e'troite  de  terre  arable,  qui  depasse  rarcment  30  ou  40  arpents  en 
profondeur,  et  n'en  aticim  jamais  cent. 

Lorsqu'elles  se  retirent.  les  eaux  ne  deposem  pas  loujours  une 
alluvion  fertile,  elles  laissent  aussi  un  sable  sterilisant  ei  des  graines 
d'herbe  folle. 

Le  long  des  rivieres  et  de  ces  bras,  aux  eaux  dormames  sons  les 
fleurs  paresseuses  de  volee,  qui  surgissent  a  tout  propos,  quelquefois 
sans  commencement  ni  fin  raisonnable.  piques  de  jacymhes. 
etranglis  de  cypres  enrobed  d'argent,  bordes  de  trembles,  de  Hards, 
d'aulnes  et  de  mangliers,  donl  les  racines  avanc.antes  servem  de 
retraite  aux  lapins-de-marais  et  autres  gibiers,  nymphees  rcvames 
survolees  d' oi  sea  ux-mou  dies,  de  tarins,  de  peche-martins  pr£cieux 
et  de  libellules,  que  les  sauvages  appellent  bayouc,  le  sol  sablonneux 
est  sou  vent  de  meilleure  qualue  que  sur  le  fleuve.  Les  terrains,  sur  la 
berge,  sont  plus  eleves,  puis  reculent  en  plan  i  nc  Li  pic  jusqu'aux  marais 
de  l'arriere. 

Autour  des  lacs,  les  terres  arables  sont  encore  plus  e'troites 
qu'ailleurs.  A  I'ouest  du  fleuve,  l'eau  des  lacs  rejoint  les  bayous  a  la 
plus  legere  provocation.  Des  pieces  de  prairie,  plus  elevees,  sont 
coiffces  de  chenes  et  de  cypres  ;  I'herbage  a  leur  ombre  est  amer  et 
()('■!. lisse  par  les  bceufs  sauvages  pour  les  coins  ensoleill^s. 

Le  delta  est  inutilisable,  ce  n'est  qu'un  immense  marecage.  Des 
bancs  d'herbe  drue  et  de  cannes  sortent  d'innombrables  trous  d'eau. 
Des  nenuphars  flottent  dans  les  flaques  endormies.  Sur  les  lacets  de 
sable,  des  chevaliers-de-bature  pointings  se  chauffem.  Le  long  des 
rives  les  herbages  sont  entrecoupds  de  <  prairie  tremblante  »,  sur 
laquelle  on  ne  saurait  s'aventurer. 

A  partir  des  Natchez,  les  terres-hautes  commencent,  bosselees  de 
mornes,  ou  petits  coteaux,  sur  lesquels  pousse  le  ble  d'lnde  emaille, 
rouge  et  bleu.  Les  concessions  les  plus  floriss  antes  sont  la.  II  y  en  a 
quatre,  groupees  autour  du  Fort  Rosalie,  donl  la  redoute  surveille 
le  fleuve. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  »73 

M.  le  Page  du  Pratz  a  quittt:  sa  cabane  du  bayou  St.  Jean,  l'annec 
prdc&lente,  a  cause  de  la  grande  humidite  qui  Tin  com  mod  ait,  a 
remontd  le  Mississipi  pour  choisir  deux  concessions,  tuant  en  route 
force  canards  pour  sa  chaudiere,  et  un  crocodile  de  vingt-deux  pieds 
de  long,  mesurd  par  M.  de  Mehara,  a  la  grande  joie  de  ses  esclaves, 
qui  se  sont  regales  de  la  queue. 

Aux  premiers  jours  de  Janvier  1720,  il  est  arrive'  au  debarquemeni 
des  Natchez. 

Apris  avoir  tird  les  Rois  chez  M.  de  la  Loire  de  Flaucourt,  le  garde- 
magasin  du  poste,  avec  M.  de  St.  Hilaire,  qui  fut  pendant  douze  ans 
chirurgien  a  J'H6tel-Dieu  de  Paris,  et  onze  autres  convives,  il  a  achetd 
aux  naturels,  sur  la  route  du  Fort  au  Grand  Village,  une  cabane, 
un  terrain  d<5fi  icht!  ou  il  plantera  des  legumes  et  du  tabac,  et,  a 
1'arriere,  une  futaie  de  noyers.  Quatre  cents  arpents,  entourds  d'une 
prairie  giboyeuse. 

L'endroit  lui  plait  beaucoup.  L'eau  douce  est  proche,  la  terre  noire 
et  legere  par  endroit  est  fourree  de  cannes,  ce  qui  protive  la 
fctonditd  du  terrain.  II  continue  a  £tre  heureux  dans  ce  decor  qu'il 
s'est  reconstruit  virgilien  et  un  climai  ensoleilld,  l'du*  arrosd  seule- 
roent  par  les  orages.  les  pluies  etant  remplacees,  pour  le  bien  des 
plantes,  par  I'abondante  rosee  matinale. 

Cependant  sa  sciatique  le  tient  enfermd  quatre  mois.  II  est  airad 
des  sauvages,  qui  lui  ameneni  leur  mcilleur  jongleur.  Celui-ci,  avec 
un  eclat  de  cailloux  scar i fie  sa  cuisse  en  plusieurs  places  rapprochees 
et,  le  faisant  beaucoup  souffrir,  suce  longuement  sa  douleur.  I)  est 
soulagd,  mais  pas  encore  gueri.  M.  de  Flaucourt  et  le  Pere  de  la  Ville, 
qui  est  membre  de  plusieurs  sociijtes  savantes,  1'aident  a  prendre 
son  mal  en  patience,  des  heures  durant  discutent  avec  lui  des 
problemes  d'astronomie  resolus  par  M.  de  Copcrnic. 

Le  mddecin  du  Grand  Soleil,  a  son  tour,  offre  ses  lumieres  ;  avec 
des  cataplasmes  de  simples,  prepares  dans  le  plus  grand  secret,  en 
huit  jours  il  remet  sur  pieds  le  malade. 

M.  le  Page  du  Pratz  a  choisi,  a  une  demi-lieue  du  Grand  Village, 
un  site  sur  la  petite  riviere  des  Natchez,  pour  M.  Hubert,  qui  a  fait 
venir  de  France  des  meules  de  moulin,  des  ouiils,  20  ouvriers  de 
toutes  sortes  et  un  minotier  normand  connatssant  bien  son  ouvrage. 
II  a  bati  une  grande  maison  de  charpente,  fait  labourer,  ensemencd 
du  bid  d'Inde,  installs  un  moulin  a  eau  ;  les  naturels  apportent  leur 


I 


174  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

grain  a  moudre  et  en  laissent  une  partie  en  palment.  Un  moulin  a 
forge  a  £te  ajoute  ;  le  taillandier  el  l'armurier  reparent  les  socs,  les 
outils  et  les  armes. 

M.  Hubert  s'accorde  avec  les  sauvages,  qui,  dit-il,  «  ont  autant 
de  dtscernement  et  de  finesse  qu'on  peut  attendre  de  gens  sans 
itudes.  » 

A  quelques  lieues,  sur  la  rncme  riviere,  se  trouve  <  Terre  Blanche  > 
la  concession  de  la  Cic,  geree  par  M.  de  Montplaisir,  «  le  plus 
aimable  cavalier  de  la  colonic  ».  L'habitation  de  charpente  qu'il 
a  fait  clever  pres  de  la  berge  est  fort  belle  et  commode,  abritee  des 
vents  arriere  par  une  magnifique  cypriere  de  six  lieues. 

Parmi  ses  engages,  il  a  30  <  Cleracs  »,  pris  a  la  manufacture  de 
Clerac  en  Guyenne,  qui  sont  fort  entendus  dans  la  culture  et  la 
maniere  de  faconner  le  tabac,  et  apprenncnt  leur  metier  a  d'autres, 
car  ils  ne  resteront  pas  longtemps. 

De  Manchac  a  la  Ouabache,  le  tabac  sauvage  croh  naturellement. 
Le  tabac  de  France,  qui  ne  vient  pas  en  Basse-Louisiane,  est  ici 
superbe.  On  le  seme  en  hiver,  mele  de  cendre  pour  mieux  1'eparpiller, 
et  quand  il  leve  on  le  couvre  d'ecorces  de  cypre  pour  le  proteger  des 
gelees  blanches.  On  le  repique,  on  le  chatre,  on  1'^bourgeonne,  enhn 
on  le  coupe  en  pied  de  biche  et  on  l'accroche  au  toit  de  la  secherie. 
Une  seconde  recolte  repousse,  moins  haute  que  la  premiere  mais 
d'aussi  belle  qualite. 

Des  la  seconde  annee,  M.  de  Montplaisir  en  exp^die  en  France 
100.000  livres,  tant  en  boucaulds  de  manoques  qu'en  carottes. 

La  manoque  est  la  poignee  de  feuilles  qu'on  arrache  par  un  jour 
humide,  lorsque  le  tabac  est  bien  sec,  en  tenant  la  tige  if  une  main. 
On  lie  ces  manoques,  on  les  empile  dans  un  lieu  bien  clos,  en  les 
recouvrant  d'une  couverture  de  laine  tenue  par  des  madriers,  pour 
les  faire  suer.  11  faut  surveiller  la  temperature,  qui  pourrait  degdnlrer 
en  combustion.  Lorsque  aucune  chaleur  ne  se  degage  plus  de  la  pile, 
on  met  les  manoques  par  couches  dans  un  boucauld. 

Pour  faire  des  carottes,  on  ecotonne  de  leur  cflte  verte  les  feuilles 
iraparfaitement  seches,  et  on  les  range,  alternativement  de  long  en 
large,  sur  des  pieces  de  toile  de  6  pouces  sur  20,  en  ayant  soin 
d'amenuiser  les  extremites  avant  de  les  serrer  avec  des  liens  de  tilleul. 
Chaque  douzaine  de  carottes  est  serree  par  de  fortes  cordes,  pour  les 
rendre  tres  dures,  avant  d'etre  entouree  de  lianes,  et  on  la  porte  a 
suer  sous  une  grosse  couverture  de  laine. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  >75 

M.  de  Kolly,  l'ancien  conseiller  financier  de  l'Elccteur  de  Baviere, 
envoye  70  engages,  diriges  par  M.  Jean-Baptiste  Faucon  du  Manoir, 
et  le  Lt.  de  Ccetlogon,  a  sa  concession  Ste.  Catherine.  Avec  20  negres, 
on  y  cultive  le  mahiz,  les  patates  douces  et  les  feves. 

M.  du  Manoir,  l'obligeance  meme,  est  en  trts  bons  terraes  avec 
ses  voisins,  et  s'entremet  souvent  pour  eux.  il  ecrit  en  France  que  M. 
de  St.  Hilaire,  le  chirurgien,  <  a  ce  qu'il  du  est  en  grand  besoin 
d'une  femme,  s'il  etatt  possible  a  ces  Messieurs  de  Paris  de  persuader 
a  Demoiselle  Le  Loup,  sa  derniere  maHresse,  de  venir  dans  ce  pays, 
il  I'epouseroit  aussitdt.  » 

M.  de  Kolly,  a  de  plus,  aux  Chapitoulas,  la  concession  Ste.  Reyne, 
allant  du  fieuve  au  lac  Pontchar train.  M.  Ceard,  et  M.  du  Plessis  ont 
deja  installe  une  habitation,  une  chapelle,  un  pigeonnier  pour  200 
pigeons  francs  et  un  magasin,  fort  bien  fourni  en  epices,  parait-il. 

Tout  a  cdte,  aussi  aux  Chapitoulas,  M.  Joseph  de  Villars  du  Breuil 
est  extraordinairement  laborieux.  Avec  ses  fils  et  ses  18  valets  de 
ferme,  il  commence  un  peu  d' indigo,  qui  vient  assez  bien,  mais  est 
inferieur  a  celui  du  Guatemala.  C'est  une  marchandise  de  bon  place- 
ment, il  y  a  tant  de  tuniques  de  soldats  a  teindre  par  le  monde. 
Corame  M.  Guenot  de  Prefontaine,  il  a  apporte"  de  France  tous  les 
instruments  aratoires  n^cessaires  a  la  culture. 

Tout  de  suite  il  a  compris  qu'il  fallait  organiser  un  systerae  de 
protection  et  de  drainage.  II  a  construit  sur  le  fieuve  une  haute 
levee  de  terrc,  que  les  ecrevisses  percent  la  nuit  pour  aller  explorer 
les  potagers,  a  muse  des  fosses  d'egouttement  et  des  canaux  dans 
lesquels  l'eau  circule  a  volonte.  Sa  concession  est  a  l'abri  des  sautes 
d'humeur  du  Mississipi. 

Ses  autres  voisins,  les  trois  freres  Chauvin  —  de  la  Fresniere,  de 
Lery  et  de  Beaulieu  —  ont  100  esclaves  noirs  dans  leurs  doraaines. 
lis  font  des  rizieres  ;  a  cause  de  la  fonte  des  neiges  dans  les  Illinois, 
le  Mississipi  est  haul  au  printemps  et  donne  aux  champs  l'humidite 
n^cessaire  pour  que  le  riz,  seme  en  mars,  germe  et  crolsse.  Aussitdt 
qu'il  est  fleuri,  on  fait  ecouler  l'eau  par  des  canaux  et  en  une  dou- 
zaine  de  jours  il  murit,  constamment  surveille  par  des  negres  tapant 
sur  des  chaudrons,  pour  eurayer  les  etourneaux,  qui  a  la  moindre 
negligence  en  feraicnt  un  banquet.  Lorsque  le  riz,  coupe  a  la  fau- 
cille,  est  engrange,  on  ramene  l'eau  sur  le  terrain  et  une  seconde 
ricolte  germe,  dont  les  grains  seront  moins  gros. 

Dans  les  Bayagoulas,  a  la  concession  des  trois  freres  Paris-Duver- 


I 


176  LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

nay,  financiers,  <  le  tres  honnete  homme  et  fort  entendu  >  M.  Fran- 
cois du  Buisson,  garde-magasin  et  tresorier,  installs  la  avec  son 
frere,  ses  deux  sceurs  et  15  personnes,  reclame  des  fileuses  du  Dau- 
phine.  II  a  apporte  des  cocons,  qui  malheureusement  pour  la  plupart 
ont  eclot  en  route  ;  ceux  qui  ont  survecu  ont  donne  de  la  tres  belle 
soie.  Puisque  les  muriers,  toujours  a  fruits  rouges,  abondent,  on 
pourrait  developper  cette  industrie. 

Sur  la  Riviere-Rouge,  chez  les  Natchitochez,  ou  commande  «  le 
chef  a  la  grosse  jambe  »,  M.  de  St  Denis,  la  terre  lache  et  sablon- 
neuse  est  assez  fertile,  mais  ne  s'enfonce  guere  en  profondeur,  entre 
la  riviere  et  les  marecages.  Les  sources  sont  mauvaises,  la  riviere 
est  fetide  ;  on  a  construit  des  citernes,  pour  recueillir  la  pluie. 

Cependant  M.  de  la  Loire  des  Ursins,  qui  vit  la  avec  110  person- 
nes, M.  de  la  Harpe  avec  40,  et  la  famillc  Brossard  avec  11,  sont 
assez  satisfaits.  lis  font  du  tabac,  et  traitent  des  vessies  de  bceuf 
reraplies  d'huile  d'ours,  preparees  par  les  sauvages  en  abondance, 
car  ces  animaux  affectionnent  la  region  a  cause  de  ses  glands  et  de 
ses  plaqueminiers.  lis  montent  a  calif  our  chon  sur  les  branches,  et, 
d'une  patte,  attirent  les  rameaux  charges  de  fruits  oranges,  pour 
s'en  delecter. 

Les  concessions  ne  reussissent  pas  toutes.  Aux  Yazoux,  celle  de 
M.  Le  Blanc,  secretaire  d'Etat,  qui  a  constitue  une  societe  avec  le 
Comte  et  le  Chevalier  de  Belle-Isle,  le  Marquis  d'Asfeld  et  Messire 
Gerard  de  la  Jonchere,  administree  par  M.  des  Fontaines  et  le  Lieut, 
de  la  Tour,  emploie  140  personnes.  On  a  monte  une  longue  habita- 
tion, couverte  de  cypre,  un  magasin,  une  chapelle  pour  1'AbW  Juif, 
laumonier,  une  petite  palissade  pour  la  troupe,  a  c6te  du  Fort, 
dont  les  concessionniers  assuraent  l'entretien,  ce  qui  a  permis  a  M. 
de  la  Boulaye  de  partir  aux  Arkansas.  La  concession  ne  repond  pas 
aux  esperances,  le  sol  manque  de  fertilite. 

M.  le  Blanc  et  ses  associes  possedent  aussi  une  concession  au 
petit  desert  des  Chouachas. 

L'habitation  et  le  magasin  du  Marquis  d'Ancenis,  aux  Colapissas, 
ont  ete  detruits  par  un  incendie. 

Les  concessions  du  Marquis  de  Meziere  et  du  Marquis  des  Marche, 
a  la  fourche  des  Ouachitas  et  de  la  Riviere-Rouge,  fleurie  de  bois- 
boutons,  blancs  et  graciles  comme  les  rameaux  enchantes  des  estam- 
pes  japonaises,  ne  prosperent  pas,  peut-etre  parce  qu'ils  sont  absem 
mais  celle  de  M.  de  Villemont,  qui  habite  avec  sa  famille  entre  1 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  177 

Riviere-Noire  et  le  Bayou  d'Argent,  n'est  pas  davantage  florissante, 
pas  plus  que  celles  de  Nfadame  de  Chauruont,  sur  la  riviere  des 
Pascagoulas,  du  Comte  d'Ariagnan  et  de  M.  d'Artaguette,  aux 
Cannes -Bruises,  de  M.  de  Meuse,  a  Pointe-Coupee. 

M.  de  Boisbrillant,  dans  les  Islinois,  aide"  par  M.  Marc-Antoine 
des  Ursins,  commis-principal  de  la  Cie  des  Indes,  le  as  juin  172a, 
panage  la  prairie  alluviale,  s'etendant  au  pied  du  village  des  Kas- 
kakias,  octroie  a  chaque  famille  de  la  paroisse  de  1"  I  mm  a  cu  lee-Con- 
ception un  champ  d'un  demi-arpent  de  facade,  entre  le  village  et 
le  fleuve,  et  dllimite  les  communs  de  la  paroisse  :  un  pacage,  <  le 
Loint  du  Bois  ».  pour  le  betail  et  les  chevaux,  et  one  partie  de 
la  foret  pour  le  buchage  doraestique. 

II  en  fait  autant  amour  du  fort  de  Chartres,  ou  les  J&uites  sont 
en  train  de  batir  J'eglise  See.  Anne,  au  village  de  la  Stc.  Famille  des 
Cahokias.  a  St.  Philippe,  a  la  Prairie-du-Rocher,  a  la  Grande-Prairie, 
et  a  la  Prairie-du-Pont.  Chaque  bourgade,  francaise  ou  sauvage, 
aura  ses  champs  et  ses  communs.  Les  Kaskakias  ont  deux  moulins 
a  chevaux,  et  deja  lirent  dix  a  douze  Livres  du  minot  de  ble\ 

M.  Paris  de  Marmontel  est  parti  aux  Illinois  avec  des  mineurs, 
M.  Renauld  continue  a  y  chercher  argent  et  plomb  avec  les  siens, 
sans  aucun  resultat  appreciable.  A  500  lieues  de  la  Nile.  Orleans, 
le  fort  St.  Louis  de  M.  de  la  Salle  est  maintenant  de  pierre  et  bien 
fortifie\  Dans  toute  la  region,  on  prepare  la  s£ve  douce  des  Arables, 
qui,  bouillie,  fournit  le  delicieux  syrop  du  Canada  et  le  sucre  de 
tonne. 

Mais  les  sauvages  ne  sont  pas  toujours  placides.  Au  bord  du 
fleuve,  on  voit  des  poteaux  comm^morant  leurs  expeditions  contre 
leurs  ennemis,  sur  lesquels  des  hommes  sans  tete,  peints  au  vermil- 
ion, repre'sentent  les  tuifs,  et  d'autres  entiers  les  prisonniers.  Si 
1'homme  a  les  bras  appuyes  sur  les  hanches,  it  s'agit  d'un  Franca  is. 

Aux  Arkansas,  il  n'y  a  plus  que  le  Pere  Poisson,  un  Jisuite.  Le 
Lt.  de  la  Boulaye,  marte  i  Demoiselle  Trudeau,  s'installe  dans  un 
nouveau  poste. 

Depuis  la  deconfiture  de  M.  Law,  les  gens  de  sa  concession  des 
Arkansas,  exploiter  pour  le  compte  de  la  Cie,  etaient  abandonnes 
a  eux-m£mes  et  souffraient  de  leur  isolement.  D&ireux  de  regagner 
leurs  clochers  allemands,  ils  ont  redescendu  le  Mississipi,  M.  de 
Bienville  les  a  persuades  de  rester  a  proximity  de  la  Nile  Orleans, 
-t  leur  a  donne  en  bordure  du  fleuve  une  grande  concession,  la 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISF. 

C&te  Allemande,  qu'ils  ont,  seance  tenante,  divisive  en  quaere 
paroisses  :  Marienthal,  Augsbourg,  Carltein  et  HoSein,  pour  se 
croire  encore  chez  eux. 

M.  d'Arensbourg.  dirige  d'une  main  ferme  les  330  personnes 
qui  component  son  petit  monde. 

lndustrieux,  et  peu  querelleurs,  ils  ont  d££riche\  sem£  des  potagers, 
qu'ils  sarclent,  pendant  que  les  belles  femnies  placides,  un  peu 
bovines,  en  caraco,  vaquent  a  leurs  travaux  menagers,  s'occupent 
des  laiteries.  A  la  fin  de  septembre,  ils  portent  le  feu  dans  la  grande 
herbe  des  «  baisseurs  »,  et  dix  jours  plus  tard,  ont  un  excellent 
pacage  dun  demi-pied  de  ham. 

Le  samedi,  dans  la  nuit,  ils  chargent  leurs  pirogues  de  bourriches, 
et  des  potron-mlnet  sont  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  oil  ils  vendent  au  poste 
el  aux  habitants  encore  rares  leurs  salades,  leurs  fromages,  leun 
vaisseaux  <  de  lait  d'a  matin  >,  des  chapons  it  40  sols,  des  petites 
volailles  motns  cheres,  des  ceufs  a  50  sols  la  douzaine. 

Apres  avoir  achete  le  neccssaire  au  magasin,  ils  rentrent  a  la  nuit, 
prets  a  se  remettre  au  travail. 

Les  legumes  viennent  mal  dans  la  grande  chaleur,  les  salades 
moment  vite.  Les  etes  accablants  sont  dechires  de  violents  orages, 
dont  les  eclats  renvoy&  par  la  raquette  des  for£ts  serrtes  et  des 
ecores,  se  repercutent  de  facpn  si n is t re,  au  grand  effroi  des  femmes. 

Les  insolations  sont  frequentes  dans  la  saison  chaude.  Les  chirur- 
giens  preconisent  un  remede  peu  complique  '  U  faut,  en  l'eparpillant 
le  moins  possible,  renverser  un  gobelet  d'eau  fraiche  sur  la  tite 
du  malade,  en  appuyant  de  toutes  ses  forces.  Si  apres  un  instant, 
1'eau  bouillonne  dans  le  gobelet,  l'exces  de  chaleur  evacue  le  cerveau 
et  le  mal  est  repar£.  Les  sauvages  ont  recours  aux  simples,  ils  appli- 
quent  sur  le  front  les  feuilles  velues  de  l'appe-maci,  dont  les  per- 
roquets  se  disputent  les  amandes.  Si  un  hommc  <  n'a  plus  d  esprit  >, 
e'est  a  dire  est  fou  pour  avoir  subi  les  eifets  du  soleil  ardent,  les 
jongleurs  lui  font  avaler,  soir  et  matin,  un  opiate  fait  de  graines 
de  laitue  et  de  noix  dans  leur  coque,  pil^es  par  quanute  £gale. 

Les  Francais  ont  trouve  peu  de  plantes  indigenes  comestibles  ou 
utilisables.  Le  chirurgien  de  la  concession  du  Manoir,  M.  Alexandre, 
qui  est  aussi  botaniste,  decouvre  un  jour  un  arbrisseau  odor i it-ran  1, 
ressemblant  au  laurier-sauce,  garni  de  petits  bouquets  de  baies 
bleuatres,  qu'il  croit  reconnaitre  pour  le  myrifica  cyrea,  ranci 
des  Indes. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  179 

En  novembre,  quand  les  baies  sont  m&res,  il  procfede  k  des  essais. 
Dans  un  chaudron  d'eau,  il  fait  bouillir  avec  leurs  queues  ces  baies, 
fornixes  d'un  noyau  allongl  emmaillotl  d'une  substance  visqueuse, 
qui  monte  k  la  surface  pendant  que  noyaux  et  queues  tombent  au 
fond.  II  6cume,  fait  refroidir,  et  dans  son  plat  il  a  une  cire  vert 
fonc£,  qu'il  fait  bouillir  une  seconde  fois  pour  la  raffiner,  et 
laisse  s£cher  au  serein  pendant  une  dizaine  de  jours.  Sa  cire  est 
maintenant  d'un  vert  doux  de  mousse.  II  en  fait  des  chandelles 
odorantes,  trts  cassantes,  dont  tout  le  monde  est  enchant^,  car  les 
chandelles  de  France  sont  rares  et  chores. 

A  leur  tour,  les  colons  cherchent  ces  myrtes-&-chandelle,  poussant 
le  long  de  la  cdte  k  l'6tat  sauvage,  et  qu'on  appelle  c  driers  »,  pour 
simplifies  On  transplante  des  arbustes,  on  envoie  en  France  des 
chandelles  balsamiques,  qui  sont  tris  vite  en  honneur  chez  les 
dames  de  la  Cour. 


A  la  NUe  Orleans,  68  habitants  sont  installs  tant  bien  que  mal. 

Lcs  maisons  sont  ionics  construites  sur  le  md-iiic  plan,  en  planches 
de  cypre  et  de  pin,  sur  solles,  a  cause  des  inondations,  et  sont  cou- 
vertes  de  bardeaux  saures,  minces  plancheues  de  cypre,  tail  lee*  et 
arrangees  comme  des  ardoises.  Les  planchers  sureleves  sont  en  bois 
franc,  les  fenfires  sont  tendues  de  mousseline  bise,  pour  remplacer 
les  vitres  absentes. 

On  y  com] nc  g  chevaux  :  5  appartenant  aux  freres  Dreux  et  4  a 
M.  Trudeau.  Les  officiers  vont  i  pied. 

Le  Pere  de  Charlevoix,  un  Jfeuite  du  Canada,  qui  descend  le 
fleuve,  pr^tendant  fitre  envoye"  par  le  ministre  pour  faire  un  rap- 
port sur  la  Louisiane  et  tacher  de  decouvrir  la  mer  de  l'Ouest  par 
les  lacs,  apres  avoir  pass£  les  fetes  a  la  mission  des  Natchez,  en  Jan- 
vier 1722,  arrive  devant  la  Nile  Orleans.  11  est  completement  di- 
sillusion^. 

Le  10  de  ce  mois,  il  ecrit  a  la  Duchesse  de  Lesdiguiere  :  «  Les  800 
belles  maisons  et  les  cinq  paroisses  que  tui  donnoient  le  Mercure  it 
y  a  deux  ans,  se  re~duisent  encore  aujourd'hui  a  une  centaine  de  bar- 
raques,  placies  sans  beaucoup  d'ordre,  a  un  grand  magasin  bdti  de 
bois,  a  2  on  5  maisons  qui  ne  pareroient  pas  un  village  de  France  ; 
et  &  la  moitie  d'un  michant  magasin,  qu'on  a  bien  voulu  priter  au 
Seigneur  et  dont  il  avoit  a  peine  pris  possession,  qu'on  voulut  I'en 
faire  sortir,  pour  le  loger  sous  une  tente.  > 

II  revient  sur  sa  deception.  <  Je  n'ai  rien  a  ajouter  sur  Vetat  pre- 
sent de  la  Nile  Origans.  L'idie  la  plus  juste  que  votts  puissiez  vous 
en  former  est  de  vous  figurer  200  personnel  qu'on  a  envoyies  pour 
bdtir  une  vilte  et  qui  sont  campees  au  bord  d'un  grand  fleuve  oil 
elles  ne  songent  qu'a  se  meltre  a  couvert  des  injures  de  Vair  en  e 


tendant  qu'on  leur  ait  dressi 
sons. » 

A  la  colonie,  par  prudence,  on  recoil  bien  le  Pere,  avec  des  res- 
trictions, on  dome  beaucoup  de  l'authenticite  de  sa  mission,  II 
obtient  cependant  un  result  at,  il  reeoncilie  M.  de  Bienville  avec 
M.  Hubert,  qui  a  vendu  sa  concession  et  ses  80  esclaves  a  M.  Faucon 
du  Manoir,  et  va  regagner  la  France. 

Peu  apres  le  depart  de  M.  Duvergier,  qui  s'est  embarque  furieux, 
pr£tendant  faire  casser  M.  de  Bienville,  M.  de  Boisbrillant,  M.  de 
l.i  Tour  et  tous  les  autres  qui  n'oni  pas  eu  l'heur  de  lui  plaire,  le 
1 1  fevrier,  le  Pere  Charlevoix,  M.  Hubert  et  d'autres  passagers  mon- 
tent  sur  I'Adottr,  qui  appareille. 

lis  sont  partis  a  temps,  la  famine  etait  sur  le  seuil.  La  recondite 
du  pays  est  relative,  jusqu'en  avril,  on  vit  de  gibier  d'eau  —  deja  plus 
rare,  depuis  qu'on  le  pourchasse  —  de  chevrette,  de  poissons,  de  1'air 
du  temps,  Ce  n'est  pas  assez,  faut-il  croire,  puisque  chaque  jour  deux 
personnes,  au  moins,  meurent  de  privations. 

Enlln.  Ie  9  avril,  la  flute  la  Bellone  decharge  des  vivres,  et  de- 
barque  le  Chevalier  de  Loubois,  qui  vient  commander  Ie  fort  St. 
Louis.  II  apporte  des  nouvelles,  le  probable  mariage  de  Louis  XV, 
completement  retabli,  avec  l'lnfante  d'Espagne,  et  des  brevets.  M, 
Blondel  de  la  Tour  est  nomme  Lt.  General  de  Louisiane,  ce  qui 
ne  manque  pas  d'irriter  M.  de  Bienville  et  M.  de  Chateauguay, 
les  vieux  consents  de  la  colonie. 

Le  is,  apres  un  Te  Deum  d'actions  de  grace  pour  la  guerison  du 
Roi,  M.  de  Bienville  preside  a  la  benediction  des  drapeaux,  et  remet 
les  brevets,  pendant  que  les  vaisseaux  en  rade  lachent  trois  de- 
charges  de  mousqueterie  et  de  caronades. 

Le  soir,  dans  l'air  delie  et  epanoui,  on  danse  autour  de  feux  de 
joie  aromatisis. 

M.  de  la  Harpe.  en  mai,  rentre  de  son  expedition  sur  l'Arkansas, 
vers  laquelle  il  etait  parti  avec  M.  Dumont  de  Montigny,  M.  de 
Franchomme  et  sz  hommes,  pour  verifier  l'existence  des  mines  d'e- 
meraude,  dont  on  parlait  tant. 

II  a  remonte  sur  250  lieues  la  riviere  aux  eaux  rougeatres,  liseree 
de  cannes,  dont  les  rives  onduleuses  d'abord  couvertes  de  vignes  et 
de  pmniers  en  fleur,  se  depouillaient  en  rochers  jaspes  et  tertres  de 
talc,  qui  pourraient  faire  du  platre.  D'emeraudes,  il  n'a  pas  trouvi 
la  moindre  trace. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

II  a  visit*  le  village  des  Sotouis,  ou  il  a  vu  M.  de  la  Boxilaye, 
et  fait  le  relev*  topographique  de  cette  region. 

Rien  de  tout  cela  n'interesse  grandemeni  les  commiss aires  indif- 
ferents.  Avec  amertume,  M.  de  la  Harpe  fait  remarquer  a  M.  de 
Bienville  qu'il  s'est  donne  beaucoup  de  mal  pour  rien.  II  est  dolent. 
et  voudrait  repartir  en  France. 

Les  commissaires  sont,  a  la  verite,  fort  occupes  de  choses  pres- 
santes.  La  Cie  a  des  negres  a  vendre,  au  prix  de  176  piastres  l'un, 
payable  en  riz  ou  en  tabac,  a  raison  de  85  Livres  le  poids  de  marc,  et 
trouve  difficilemcnt  a  les  ecouler.  Au  lieu  de  se  servir  de  monnaie  de 
carte,  la  Cie  maintenant  paie  les  troupes  et  ses  depenses  en  especes  de 
cuivre  a  cours  variable  :  celles  de  ao  au  marc  valent  18  deniers  ; 
celles  de  40  au  marc  9  deniers  ;  celles  de  80,  4  deniers  et  demi. 

Les  habitants  sont  obliges  d'acceptcr  ces  monnaies  lorsqu'ils  li- 
vrent  des  marchandises  aux  troupes,  et  ne  peuvent  les  utiliser  qu'aux 
comptoirs  de  la  Cie,  ou  les  prix  ont  encore  £te  releves.  Le  vin  vaut 
maintenant  120  Livres  le  baril,  le  tiercon  d'eau-de-vie  30  piastres. 

La  colonic  est  divisee  en  neuf  quartiers  :  Nile-Orleans,  Biloxi, 
Mobile,  Alibamons,  Natchitochez,  Yazoux,  Natchez,  Arkansas,  Isli- 
nois.  Chacun  possede  un  chef-lieu,  ou  sont  etablis  un  commandant 
et  un  juge  :  on  peut  appeler  de  leurs  jugements  au  Conseil  Supe- 
rieur  de  Biloxi.  Tout  ceci  coute  tres  cher  a  la  Cie,  qui  depense 
annuellement  en  soldes  d'officiers  et  troupes  375-504  Livres,  sans 
parler  des  58.000  Livres  payees  a  la  compagnie  d  ouvriers  suisses. 

Religieuscment,  la  colonie  est  partagee  en  irois  secteurs.  Le  16 
mai  1752,  le  Conseil  de  Regence  a  decide  d'envoyer  des  Capucins 
de  Champagne,  et  a  ordonne  a  la  Cie  de  batir  une  eglise  parois- 
siale  et  une  cure  pour  14  Peres,  avec  jardin  et  poulailler,  4  la  Nile 
Orleans.  Quatre  Peres  se  sont  embarques,  chacun  avec  un  ballot  de 
400  livres  de  farine.  8  livres  de  fromage  de  Hollande,  100  livres  de 
lard,  de  I'huile  et  du  vinaigre,  une  piece  de  vin,  et  une  demi-ancre, 
soil  36  litres,  d'eau-de-vie,  le  tout  fourni  par  Sa  Majeste.  Les  Ca- 
pucins regnent  de  I'embouchure  du  Mississipi  jusqu'aux  Islinois. 

Les  Carmes  D^chausses  desservent  les  cantons  des  Alibamons  et 
de  la  Mobile.  Enfin,  les  Jesuites  ont  priorite  sur  la  Ouabache  et  dans 
les  Islinois. 

Malgre  tant  de  clerge,  tl  n'y  a  pas  d'eglises.  Les  services  se  font, 

la  plupart  du  temps,  agenoutlles  en  plein  air,  ou  dans  des  cabanes. 

La  Cie,  le  27  mars   1719,  avail  accord*  en  franc-aleu  a  M.  de 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN9AISE  183 

ienville  une  concession  de  trois  lieues,  mal  delimiiee,  sur  le  Beuve, 
dessus  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  et,  a  la  Pointe  St  Antoine,  une  terre 

yee,  bonne  pour  le  paturage. 

M.  de  Bienville  n'a  pas  commence1  a  exploiter  son  domaine,  <  Bel- 
li obtient  des  commissaires  l'autorisation  d'ins  taller  la  une 
uinzaine  de  families  allemandes,  auparavant  chez  les  Taensas. 

A  chaque  famille  il  cede  une  parcelle  <  en  bois  debout  »,  de  6 
de  facade  sur  le  fleuve,  lui  fournit  des  outils  agricoles,  le 
grenage,1  une  vache  pleine  qu'on  lui  rendra  trois  ans  plus  tard  ; 
apres  le  douzieme  veau  ils  partageront  les  animaux  ;  il  donne  une 
truie  et  un  verrat,  quatre  poules  et  un  coq.  Tous  les  deux  ans  il 
recevra  un  cochon  gras,  six  poules  grasses  ou  chapons,  et  le  dixieme 
des  reroltes  lui  reviendra,  mais  il  n'aura  droit  a  aucune  part  du 
potager,  Chaque  famille  fournira  annuellement  une  corvee  de  tra- 
vail de  dix  journees. 

Avec  cet  arrangement,  M.  de  Bienville  ne  s'enrichira  pas.  mais 
le  monde  vivra.  Dans  sa  concession  noyee  de  1'autre  rive,  au 
>us  de  la  ville,  il  place  quelques  Canadiens  pastoraux. 

A  vrai  dire,  la  colonie  ne  va  pas  du  tout,  entre  ses  hauts  et  ses 
bas,  elle  est  beaucoup  plus  souvent  en  bas  qu'en  haut,  Les  soldats 
mis  it  la  portion  congrue  se  rebellent  et  presentent  un  triste  spec- 
tacle ;  les  culottes  claires  sont  de  la  meme  couleur  que  la  robe  des 
faons.  les  vestes  soutachees  sont  maculees  et  rapigcees. 

Les  habitants  se  lamentent  de  leur  maigre  pitance  et  se  chamail- 
lent,  tout  marche  a  la  billebaude. 

Ce  ire'pignement  sur  place  provient  beaucoup  des  methodes  im- 
posees  par  Versailles  et  Paris,  qui  n'ont  pas  la  moindre  idee  des 
conditions  prevalences  et  entendent  gouverner  la  Louisiane,  comme 
un  coin  d'Aquitaine  ou  de  Normandie,  par  coercition.  De  ce  que 
M.  de  Bienville  dit,  il  leur  chaut  peu  ou  prou,  la  seule  chose  qui 
importe  a  la  Cie  des  Indes  est  de  recouvrer  ses  arrearages. 

M.  de  Mandeville  et  M.  de  Beauchamp  a  la  Mobile,  M.  Huves 
de  Terpuy  a  Biloxi,  les  Cap.  d'Hauterive  et  de  la  Marque  a  la  Nile 
Orleans,  ont  beau  faire  des  efforts  surhumains  pour  calmer  les 
esprits,  il  leur  est  difficile  d'obtenir  un  resultat,  d'autant  plus  que 
les  hommes,  debilites  et  irascibles  des  qu'ils  n'ont  plus  leur  goutte, 
sont  obliges  de  compter  avec  les  sauvages.  Souvent,  on  trouve  dans 


vail 

tout 

dess< 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

lcs  plaquebieres,1  le  cadavre  d'un  soldat  francais,  peut-fitre  un  lar- 
ron  ou  un  s&lucteur. 

C'est  aux  Natchez  que  l'ordre  regne  le  mieux  pour  l'iristani.  Les 
femmes  Natchez,  peu  farouches,  contre  une  aulne  de  limbourg,  se 
loueni  aux  soldats  pour  une  lune,  comme  maStresse  et  esdave,  ce 
qui  implique  une  nourriture  assuree.  L' arrangement,  peu  onereux, 
convient  a  tout  le  monde.  Une  femme  noble,  <  la  Glorieuse  »,  est 
une  jongleuse  de  merite  et  s'emend  fort  bien  a  gufrir  les  maladies 
secretes. 

A  l'encontre  des  troupes,  qui  parlent  toujours  de  deserter,  les 
planteurs  et  les  colons  de  bonne  volonte"  commencent  a  prendre 
gout  au  pays,  et  ofuvrent. 

Dans  l'lle  au  Vaisseau,  21  anciens  forcats  parviennent  a  voler  une 
chaloupe  et  s'enfuient  dans  la  direction  de  la  Baie  St.  Joseph.  Quatre 
officiers  ei  des  hommes  s'ilancent  a  leur  poursuite. 

lis  reviennent,  le  4  juin,  sans  les  diserteurs,  mais,  a  la  grande 
surprise  de  tout  le  monde,  avec  des  passagers  et  des  maielots  de 
f  A  dour,  qui  a  cou!e"  dans  une  tempete.  Les  naufragis  se  sont  en- 
tassls  sur  des  radeaux,  ont  gagne"  la  petite  lie  des  Martyrs,  et  de 
14,  St.  Joseph,  ou  les  chaloupes  franchises  les  ont  trouvis. 

L'aigreur  du  Pere  Charlevoix  commence  a  avoir  une  raison  plau- 
sible. Le  16  juin,  civilement  escort^  par  M.  de  Bienville  et  ses 
officiers,  il  s'embarque,  en  bougonnant,  sur  la  Bellone. 

Le  5  aout  172a,  M.  de  Bienville  part  s'installer  a  la  Nile  Or- 
leans, dans  une  maison  de  charpente,  situe>  au  coin  gauche  su- 
perieur  de  la  ville.  C'est  le  plus  beau  jour  de  sa  vie. 

Ce  mime  raois,  un  phinomene  Strange  se  produit.  Pendant  une 
semaine,  chaque  matin,  un  roulement  sourd  monte  de  la  mer  vers 
les  Islinois,  par  I'Ouest  du  Active  ;  chaque  apres-midi,  le  roulement 
descend  par  I'Est  ;  le  Mississipi  lui  mime  est  introubli,  sans  It6- 
missements. 

Puis  l'ouragan  prend  corps,  se  gonAe,  idate  en  fureur  ponctuee 
dc  torrents,  ren verse  tout  sur  son  passage.  Du  11  au  16,  sans  dis- 
continuer,  il  court,  deracine,  aplatit,  revient  sur  ses  pas,  repart  sur 
I'avenue,  large  d'un  quart  de  lieue,  qu'il  a  elue  pour  sa  cavalcade. 

Les  maisons  fragiles  de  la  Nile  Orleans  sont  renversees,  les  rues 
parsemees  d'oiseaux  malmenis,  les  mahiz  sont  broyes,  8000  qui 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 


185 


de  ru  arrives  a  maturity  sont  ditruits  ;  la  semence  dispersee  par  le 
vent,  quelques  semaines  plus  tard,  produira  line  seconde  recoite. 

Le  St.  Christophe  et  le  Neptune,  bailments  de  is  canons,  ont 
echoue  ;  t'Abeille  et  le  Cher,  les  deux  traversiers  ont  coule  dans  le 
fleuve  qui  a  mome"  de  15  pieds  ;  Le  Postilion  de  M.  du  Manoir  et 
d'autres  bateaux  plats  de  planteurs  ont  coule"  avec  leur  charge- 
ment  de  grains  et  de  volailles. 

Mais  M.  de  la  Tour  est  tout  content,  il  va  pouvoir  sortir  son  cor- 
deau  et  refaire  ses  alignements  sans  s'occuper  des  grincheux. 

Les  victuailles,  ires  rares,  se  paient  au  poids  de  Tor,  les  ceufs  se 

vendent  16  sols  la  piece,  on  donne  3  Livres  pour  une  poignee  de 

fives  et  15  Livres  pour  un  morceau  de  bceuf  boucane.  Les  habitants 

plaignent  que  les  magasiniers  font  des  faveurs  et  partagent  in£- 

quitablement  leurs  reserves. 

A  la  (in  du  mois,  M.  du  Tisne-,  revenant  du  Canada,  apprend 
a  M.  de  Bienville  que  des  Natchez,  apres  une  mauvaise  querelle, 
ont  tue"  un  sergent.  ainsi  que  sa  femnie,  et  scalpe  son  jeune  fits.  Le 
Grand  Soleil,  <  Serpent  Pique  »,  est  venu  au  fort  presenter  le 
calumet,  et  expliquer  que  le  sauvage  responsable  avail  ce  soir-la 
perdu  1'esprit,  autrement  dtt  etait  saoul.  En  reparation,  il  a  pro- 
pose" de  prelever  une  dime  de  volatile  sur  chaque  cabane,  pour 
le  fort. 

L'incident  est  a  peine  regie,  que  les  soi-disant  repentants  Natchez 
attaquent  les  concessions  Ste  Catherine  et  Terre-Blanchc,  et  brulent 
Thabitation  de  M.  le  Page  du  Pratz. 

M.  de  Guenotte,  de  Ste  Catherine,  en  renirant  a  la  nuit  du  fort 
a  ete  blesse  au  bras  par  une  balle.  Apres  s'etre  fail  panser  par  M.  de 
St.  Hilaire,  il  descend  a  la  Nile  Orleans.  Malheureusement,  parte 
qu'il  a  toujours  rendu  ses  devoirs  a  Bacclius,  la  gangrene  a  gagni 
la  blessure.  II  meurt  le  soir  de  son  arrivee,  apres  avoir  raconte  1'af- 
faire  et  assure  au  Gouverneur  que  <  Vieux  Poil  ».  le  chef  du  Vil- 
lage de  la  Pomme,  est  1'instigateur  de  I'echauffouree. 

Comme  d'habitude,  M.  de  Bienville  agit.  Avec  700  hnmmes  :  sol- 
dats,  bourgeois,  Canadiens,  voloniaires  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  des 
Tonkas  et  des  Chactas,  commandes  par  c  Soulier  Rouge  >,  il  re- 
monte  le  fleuve. 

Le  jour  de  la  Toussaint,  derriere  ses  fifres  et  ses  tambours  battant 
la  charge,  il  marche  vers  le  village  deserte  de  la  Pomme,  met  le  feu 
aux  cabanes,  en  fait  autant  au  village  des  Gris.  M.  de  Mesplaix, 


tM 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 


<  bon  gentilhomme  du  Biarn  n,  quelques  soldats  et  voloniaires  sont 
blesses  par  des  fitches. 

<  Serpent  Pique  *  est  enfin  pret  a  s'humilier.  Apres  un  concilia- 
bule  madrf,  il  concede  la  tete  de  <  Vieux  Poil  »  et  celle  d'un  negre 
coupable.  A  M.  Ie  Page  du  Pratz,  th^oriq  lie  merit  un  ami.  il  offre 
un  faon  d'huile  d'ours  de  31  pots,  mesure  de  Paris,  et  promet  de 
faire  reconstruire  l'habitation. 

L'honneur  de  la  France  etant  sauf,  M.  de  Bienville  apaise  rentre 
a  la  Nile  Orleans  s'occuper  d'autre  chose.  II  oppose  les  Chactas  aux 
Chicachas  ;  fait  monter  des  forts  sur  la  Tombecbee  et  la  riviere 
Alabama  ;  et  casser  la  tele  d'un  patron  de  bateau  qui  a  assassine 
M.  de  Ponctual,  gentilhomme  breton  ;  envoie  M.  d'Artaguette, 
inspecteur  des  troupes,  relever  Ie  cours  de  la  riviere  des  Islinois, 
et  M.  de  la  Harpe  restituer  Pensacola  aux  Espagnols,  puisque  la 
Paix  est  signed. 

Tous  ces  soucis  depassent  M,  de  Bienville  ;  bien  qu'il  soit  bati 
a  chaux  et  a  sable,  l'endurance  a  des  limitations.  En  d£cembre  il 
est  desespe'r^ment  ma  lade. 

Son  frere,  ses  parents,  ses  amis  le  veillent,  M.  Pouvadon  de  la 
Tour,  le  chirurgien,  le  saigne  a  la  lancette,  lui  fait  avaler  force 
theriaque  et  I'inonde  d'eau  de  la  Reine  de  Hongrie.  Les  sauvages 
proposent  les  services  de  leurs  jongleurs,  dans  les  villages,  dansent 
de  mysterieuses  danses  incantatoires  pour  invoquer  sa  guerison,  irn- 
plorent  le  Soleil  de  le  rechauffer  de  ses  rayons. 

Lorsqu'on  annonce  enfin  qu'il  est  hors  de  danger,  Francais. 
Canadiens  et  sauvages  manifestent  bruyamment  leur  joie.  C'est  a 
sa  demeure  un  defile  constant  de  visiteurs  epanouis  et  d'humbles 
gens  rassures. 


XXV. 


La  ville,  toujours  empuantie  d' Emanations  malsaines,  a  it6  re- 
batie  apres  1'ouragan.  Onze  cartas  sur  le  fleuve,  frange  par  les 
epanchements  chrysoluhes  des  saules,  et  six  en  profondeur,  ont 
repris  leur  aspect  normal. 

La  Nile  Orleans  a  profit^  de  l'occasion  pour  s'embellir.  Au  fond 
de  la  Place  d'Armes  s'eleve  l'eglise  paroissiale,  pour  laquelle  les 
habitants,  qui  se  sont  cotises,  ont  command^  a  Paris  un  tabernacle 
dor6  et  des  statues  polychromes,  grandeur  naturelle.  On  met  les 
bancs  aux  encheres,  les  habitants  se  disputent  a  coups  de  piastres 
les  mieux  places. 

Les  (ours  de  terre  communaux  se  sont  multiplies,  si  bien  que  la 
ville  a  un  faux  air  de  rucher,  on  y  fait  cuire  le  pain,  moitie"  mahiz 
moiti£  riz,  qui  constitue  l'ordinaire. 

Aux  abords  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  un  moulin  banal  a  grain  bat  des 
ailes,  a  cote  d'un  autre  plus  petit  pour  ecaler  le  riz,  mais  le  r&ultat 
donne  moins  de  satisfaction  que  le  travail  a  la  pile  ;  la  farine  est 
melee  de  sable,  tandis  que  celle  des  sauvagesses,  faite  avec  du  riz 
ayant  trempe  une  nuit,  est  absolument  pure. 

Cette  farine  de  riz  ne  peut  se  lier  ;  pour  la  p^trir  il  faut  l'arroser 
d'une  cau  dans  laquelle  du  riz  brut  a  bouilli.  Lorsqu'on  ajoute  du 
levain,  la  pate  redevient  liquide,  on  en  met  une  portion  dans  une 
casserole  emmanchee  d'une  longue  perche,  contenant  un  peu  d'eau, 
on  recouvre  de  feuilles  de  choux  ou  de  latanier  et  on  enfourne  dans 
le  four  chaud  et  propre,  en  retournant  brusquement  la  casserole. 
La  pate  saisie  se  contracte  en  motte  et  fait  un  excellent  pain,  mais 
qui  se  refuse  a  tremper  la  soupe. 

Un  moulin  a  bois,  a  palettes  de  cypre,  dEbite  des  planches  re- 
veusement  odorantes.  Une  briqueterie  entasse  des  piles  rougeStres, 

I  Des  mattres-potiers  font  virer  au  pied  leur  tour,  sur  le  disque  de 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

cedre  caressent  <  l'ardigne  >,J  la  transforment  en  £cuelles,  enactions, 
pichets,  pour  garnir  les  vaisselliers. 

La  nourriture  est  plus  variee  que  sur  la  c6te.  Les  jours  de  marche 
on  trouve  aux  eventaires  des  melons  d'eau  et  meme  des  melons 
musquls  ;  des  feves  apalaches  et  des  quarante  jours  ;  des  congris1  ; 
des  salades  ;  des  yammes  ;  des  sabotines  qui  ressemblent  aux  rei- 
nettes  el  des  pommettes  bleues  ;  des  pacanes  a  coque  lisse  ;  d'apres 
noix  d'arcajou  :  des  giraumons ;  des  potirons  a  grosses  cdtes  si  duret 
qu'il  Eaut  les  casser  a  la  hache,  mais  qui  sont  excellents  et  sucr&, 
cuits  tout  entiers  au  four  ;  des  courges  ;  des  calebasses  douces  qu'on 
mange  en  salade  ct  qu'on  fait  secher  en  tranches  en  prevision  de 
l'hiver  ;  du  cresson  et  de  la  bourse tte.  Au  mois  de  jnin  on  vend  des 
raisins-des-bois,  dont  on  fait  du  verjus,  et  du  soco,  le  raisin  des 
pampres  rampantes,  a  peau  £paisse  et  assez  sucre"  ;  des  plaquemines* 
oranges,  qui  bien  mures  et  molles  <  sont  d'un  sucre  charmant  et 
d'une  pdte  fine  et  delicate  ». 

Les  eVrevisscs  sont  si  abondantes  que  les  habitants  attachent  i. 
la  cordelette  d'une  canne  un  morceau  de  viande  crue  pour  les  p£cher 
sur  le  quay.  Chaque  fois  qu'ils  relevent  leur  Hgne,  ils  tirent  dix  a 
quinze  ecrevisses  tenacement  cramponn^es  a  leur  diner. 

Les  etourneaux,  qui  savent  d^couvrir  le  riz-de-1'ane*  aussi  bien 
cache"  soit-il,  et  celui  des  planteurs,  sont  meilleurs  que  sur  la  cote. 
Les  ramiers  sont  si  nombreux  que  leur  passage  houlant  assombrit 
lair  lorsqu'ils  descendem  le  long  du  fleuve  vers  leurs  quartiers 
d'hiver.  en  AmeYique  du  Sud. 

Les  pecheurs  approvisionnent  la  ville  de  barbues  pesant  de  so 
a  30  livres,  bonnes  en  matelote,  d'enormes  carpes,  d'anguilles,  de 
sacalaits  a  chair  blanche,  de  truites  vertes,  de  barbeaux  a  chair 
rouge,  de  easse-burgos  nacres,  dont  le  bee  en  lime  attaque  les  co- 
quillages,  et  qu'on  fait  cuire  au  vin,  apres  avoir  retire  de  la  tete 
deux  pierres,  qui,  pretend-on,  facilitent  les  accouche  men  ts,  de  spa- 
tules  au  gros  nez  ridicule,  dont  on  fail  frire  les  ceufs. 

Du  Lac  Pontchartrain,  ils  rapportent  des  huitres  enormes,  mais 
insipides,  qu'on  fail  cuire,  a  cause  de  leur  manque  de  sel. 

En  aout  1723,  tous  les  services  de  la  colonie  se  transportem  a 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  log 

la  Nile  Orleans,  maintenant  capitale  ofiicielle.  La  Galatee  amene 
au  port  le  personnel  du  Conseil  Superieur. 

Le  Conseil  siege  le  raardi  et  le  samedi.  11  homologue  les  ventes, 
achats  et  transierts  d'esclaves,  arbitre  les  differends,  enregistre  les 
naissances,  mariages  et  deces,  nomme  les  tuteurs  des  mineurs,  et, 
la  chicane  florissant,  est  loujours  surcharge  de  besogne.  11  semble, 
qu'en  Louisiane,  nul  nc  paie  ses  dettes,  a  moins  d'y  etre  contraint 
par  le  Conseil.  Chaquc  heritage  se  mue  en  dedale. 

Les  habitants  ne  peuvenl  proc^der  a  aucun  acte  important,  sans 
l'assentimeni  du  Conseil,  qu'ils  petitionnent  :  «  Nous  suppltons 
humblement  nos  Seigneurs  de  Louisiane  de  nous  accorder...  » 

Lorsqu'un  nouveau  membre,  sur  l'ordre  de  Paris,  est  adjoint  au 
Conseil,  ou  qu'un  habitant  aspire  a  une  charge  publique,  avant  de 
Tagr^er  et  d'enregistrer  sa  nomination,  le  Conseil  ouvre  une  infor- 
mation de  vie  el  de  mccurs.  Ses  amis  et  les  notables  viennent  deposer 
<  que  c'esl  un  homme  tres  bien  range",  ayant  vticu  sans  bldmc  en 
bon  chritien  et  honnete  homme,  avec  toute  la  probite  possible, 
quits  le  tiennenl  pour  un  bon  catholique  pour  lui  avoir  vu  faire 
des  actes  de  religion.  > 

La  Nile  Orleans  est  une  potiniere  Hcencieuse  et  joyeuse,  comme 
tout  etablissement  francais  qui  se  respecte.  On  y  caquete,  on  y 
truande  et  on  y  joue  un  jeu  d'enfer.  Les  fessc-mathieu  sengraissent 
sur  le  dos  des  officiers. 

M.  de  Bienville,  plus  rassis,  se  plaint  beaucoup  de  ce  carnaval 
continuel.  La  reputation  de  la  ville  est  parvenue  jusqu'aux  oreilles 
du  Due  d'Orleans.  Le  crieur  de  ville,  un  beau  dimanche,  sur  le 
parvis  de  leglise  apres  la  grandmesse,  bat  sa  caisse  et  d'une  voix 
a  ressaut  lit  une  proclamation. 

Le  Due  interdit  a  sa  filleule  de  jouer  ou  de  permettre  de  jouer, 
en  aucun  lieu,  a  la  bassette,  au  pharaon,  lansquenet,  hoc,  quinque- 
nove,  biribi  et  toutes  especes  de  jeux  de  d£s.  Les  tenanciers  de  ta- 
verne  autorisant  le  jeu  sous  leur  toit  seront  condamnes  a  une 
amende  de  500  Livres,  doublee  s'ils  reridivent,  le  quart  de  1'amende 
all. nit  au  denonciateur,  ou  a  son  dciaut  a  la  cassette  des  travaux. 

Messieurs  les  officiers,  qui  connaissent  la  propension  du  Regent, 
en  font  des  gorges  chaudes.  lis  sont,  officiellement,  reduits  a  tirer 
l'epee  pour  se  distraire.  lis  ne  changent,  naturellement,  rien  a  leurs 

(bitudes,  mais  desormais  jouem  chez  eux  ou  dans  quelque  esta- 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

Les  esclaves  qui,  de  tous  cdtes,  entendent  dire  :  *  J'y  vas  de  trois 
sols,  m'accoies-tu  ?  >  a  limitation  des  autres,  sont  deja  epris  des 
joies  du  «  crabe  >.  Accroupis,  en  grattant  leur  tignasse  d'astrakan, 
Cesar,  Ciceron  et  Jasmin  ne  cesseront  point,  quoi  que  1'on  disc,  de 
rouler  les  des,  qu'ils  cherchent  a  apitoyer  :  «  li  pran  ti  dan  ma 
patte,  bize  ye  zie,  vini,  sauti,  gagnin,  ale,  aie,  aie  !  » 

En  depit  de  cette  gabegie,  presentant  un  simulacre  d'aisance,  qui 
n'est  que  de  I' insouciance,  la  colonie  est  pauvre,  manque  desespe- 
rement  de  chirurgiens.  M.  de  Bienville  constate  que  «  Af.  Berard, 
le  chirurgien  en  chef  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  bien  que  moins  coquin 
que  son  predicesseur ,  est  tout  aussi  ignorant.  >  On  manque  aussi 
de  remedes. 

M.  Blondel  de  la  Tour  et  M.  de  Boispinel,  sont  morts  des  fievres 
pern  icie  uses,  contre  lesquelles  on  possede  des  combattifs  insumsants, 
a  moins  qu'ils  ne  soient  decedes,  comme  M.  du  Pauger  l'amrme, 
<  de  chagrin  et  de  la  mortification  accumuUe  sur  nous  tous.  > 

M.  de  Chaville  ne  tient  pas  a  en  faire  autant,  il  decide  <  que  les 
services  de  ce  pays  ne  sont  pas  bons  pour  les  couleurs  »  et  repart  en 
France. 

De  tous  les  ingenieurs,  il  ne  reste  que  M.  Broutin,  M.  de  Verges 
et  M.  du  Pauger,  dont  les  coups  de  boutoir  sont  legendaires.  Ap- 
pele  a  sieger  au  Conseil  Superieur,  parce  que  la  confirmation  de  sa 
concession  a  ete  refusee,  il  est  si  outre  contre  ces  gens,  <  a  humeur  de 
chien  >,  quil  refuse  de  s'y  rendre  pendant  plusieurs  semaines. 

La  Louisiane  se  livre  avec  disaetion,  sans  eclats.  C'est  une  nature 
prenante.  Les  nouveaux  ofnciers  et  les  employes  de  la  Cie  com- 
mencent  par  maugreer  contre  les  incommodites  et  les  sautes  d'hu 
incur  du  pays,  un  pays  ni  vraiment  tropical,  ni  tout  a  fait  pondere, 
ou  les  teintes  sont  coupees  en  huit,  evanescentes  comme  des  par- 
fums.  un  pays  qu'on  croit  sour  is  et  qui  est  amande,  qui  a  des  pa- 
leurs  de  pollen  et  qu'on  croit  amaranthe,  et  qui,  peu  a  peu,  s'insinue. 

Les  officiers  et  les  administrateurs  achetent  quelques  arpents  en 
bois-debout,  3  esclaves,  puis  10,  puis  encore  des  arpents,  leur 
temps  fini  s'attardent,  et,  avant  d'avoir  tout  a  fait  decide  de  leur 
destinee,  sont  enracines  Louisianais.  Le  sortilege  est  lent,  mais 
tenace. 

M.  de  Bienville  fait  publier  le  Code  Noir,  issu  par  Louis  XV  a 
Versailles,  pour  reglementer  les  conditions  d'esclavage. 

Les  esclaves  doivent  etre  baptises  et  enterres  dans  la  religion 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 


'9' 


catholique,  aux  frais  de  leur  maitre  ;  tome  autre  religion  leur  est 
interdite  ;  les  jours  du  Seigneur  doivent  etre  observes.  Les  mariages 
et  le  concubinage  entre  blancs  et  noirs  sont  interdits  ;  il  est  defendu 
aux  pretres  de  marier  un  negre  sans  le  consentement  de  son  ma!tre. 
La  bastonnade  est  regularisee,  on  ne  depassera  pas  30  coups  de 
fouet  dans  une  journee.  Ii  est  interdit  aux  esclaves  de  porter  une 
arniL-  a  feu  ou  un  gourdin,  sauf  en  chasse  ;  ils  ne  peuvent  rien  vendre 
sans  le  consentement  du  maitre,  ni  s'assembler  en  nombre  sans  per- 
mission. L'enfant  d'un  mari  esdave  et  d'une  femme  libre  nait  libre, 
celui  dun  mari  libre  et  d'une  lemme  esdave  nalt  esclave.  Les  mal- 
tres  doivent  assurer  la  garde-robe  de  leurs  esdaves,  leur  nourriture 
et  des  soins  medicaux.  II  leur  est  defendu  d'offrir  de  l'eau-de-vie 
en  place  des  vetements  prevus  par  les  contrats. 

M.  de  Bienville  fait  aussi  publier  un  edit  punissant  de  mort  toute 
personne  tuant  ou  blessant  le  betail  d'un  habitant,  et  condamnant 
a  une  amende  de  60  piastres  celui  qui  abattrait  ses  propres  betes 
sans  autorisation.  Le  betail  est  precieux  et  conserve  pour  la  repro- 
duction. De  tout  ce  qui  a  ete"  apporte  a  grands  frais  de  France  et 
des  lies,  on  possede  1100  vaches,  300  taureaux,  100  moutons  et 
autant  de  chevres. 

Le  Conseil  d'Etat  a  promulgue  un  decret  qui  remet  en  vigueur, 
dans  la  colonie,  ledit  d'Henri  II  obligeant,  sous  peine  de  chatiments 
corporels,  les  femmes  enceintes  a  declarer  au  greffe  leur  etat  et 
le  nom  du  pere.  Trop  de  femmes  jusque-la  se  sont  preoccupees 
d'augmenter  le  nombre  des  anges,  on  va  s'occuper  d'augmenter  la 
population  terrestre. 


I 


Les  affaires  de  la  Cie  vont  de  mal  en  pis.  II  ne  reste  que  1700 
Blancs  et  331*0  Noirs,  une  proportion  qui  pourrait  devenlr  dange- 
reuse.  La  Cie  decide  de  reduire  ses  deperues  et  ses  effectifs  militaires. 

La  Nile  Orleans  est  gard^e  par  les  trois  compagnies  du  Capt.  de 
Richebourg,  de  MM.  de  Blanc  et  de  la  Marque  :  c'est-a-dire  9a 
soldats,  4  tambours  et  3  Aires.  Les  compagnies  du  Capt.  du  Tisne  et 
du  Chevalier  d'Artaguette  sont  aux  I  si  i  no  is,  celle  de  M.  de  Vincennes 
au  fort  de  la  Ouabache.  MM.  de  Liette  et  de  Grave  sont  aux  Natchez  ; 
les  Chevaliers  de  Loubois  et  de  Mandeville  a  la  Mobile. 

La  monnaie  continue  a  avoir  des  fluctuations  inquietantes.  La 
piastre  espagnole  vaut  quatre  Livres  ;  une  ordonnance  de  I'aris 
decrete  que.  desormais,  30  Livres  compenseront  une  pistole  pesant, 
et  7  Livres  7  sols  une  piastre  pesant. 

Pour  nettoyer  ce  qu'ils  appellent  ces  ^curies  d'Augias,  les  Direc- 
teurs  de  Paris  ont  fait  choix  de  M.  Jacques  de  la  Chaise,  un  neveu 
du  confesseur  du  Roi  Soleil.  qui  s'est  maintenu  bien  en  cour.  11  sera 
intendant,  avec  pouvoirs  extraordinaires  pour  rendre  la  justice  ;  par 
surprise  mettra  les  scelles  partout  et  examinera  tous  les  comptes, 
sauf  ceux  de  M.  de  la  Loire  des  Ursins.  e'tabli  au  poste  des  Natchez, 
en  qui  on  a  pleine  confiance  ;  on  nest  pas  tout  a  fait  siir  de  M. 
d'Herbannes,  aux  Natchiiochez,  mais  il  semble  honnete  homme. 

Pas  attendus,  M.  de  la  Chaise  et  M.  du  Sausoy,  un  autre  com  mi  5 
saire  et  juge.  quittent  la  Galatee  a  I'lle  au  Vaisseau,  et,  par  les  lacs 
et  le  bayou  St  Jean,  gagnent  la  Nile  Orleans,  ou  ils  arrivent  a  pied, 
en  pieire  equipage.  M.  de  la  Chaise  se  presente  chez  le  directeux- 
genera),  M.  Delorme,  stupeTait,  lui  remet  un  pli  contenant  sa 
revocation,  et  demande  a  voir  immediatement  les  livres. 

M.  de  la  Chaise  est  ires  mal  recu  a  la  colonic,  ou,  effectivement 
le  plus  grand  desordre  regne,  un  fait  imputable  a  la  qualite  des  g 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


>99 


qu'on  a  depones  par  violence  ou  en  penal  ke,  mais  dans  cette 
atmosphere  Hottante  et  deliee,  on  ne  saurait  manier  la  ferule  de 
facun  conventionnelle,  A  chaque  climat  son  canon. 

Son  hdtel  de  charpeiue,  couvert  d'ecorce  de  cypre,  lui  paralt 
primitif  et  Test,  et  decoit  encore  plus  sa  femme  et  ses  enfants  qui 
1'ont  rejoint  par  le  Heuve.  11  pretend  que  tout  le  monde  est  ligue 
contre  lui.  Si  c'est  vrai,  c'est  bien  la  premiere  fois  que  l'unaniinite 
est  atteinie  en  Louisiane. 

II  irrite  par  sa  jactance,  on  le  dit  bcnet  et  incompetent.  II  fait  des 
pas  de  clerc,  crie  a  tort  et  a  travers,  houspille  petitement  et  ignore 
des  enormites.  La  Basse-Louisiane  n'est  plus  un  marecage,  mais  un 
bourbier. 

M.  de  Bienville,  avec  qui  il  est  a  couieau  tire,  ose  lui  tenir  tdte, 
c'est  bien,  il  le  debusquera.  II  demande  son  rappel,  et,  a  la  stupe- 
faction de  to  us,  l'obtient. 

La  colonie  n'en  croit  pas  ses  oreilles,  les  planteurs  s'abordent 
l'air  consterne  :  «  M.  de  Bienville  est  rappele.  >  Les  sauvagcs  font 
des  figures  tongues  et  s'inquietent,  leur  <  Pere  Blanc  »  s'en  va  I 
ils  n'ont  jamais  reconnu  d'autres  maitres.  La  Louisiane  est  indignee 
de  cette  disgrace,  qui  atteint  tous  les  gens  honnetes. 

M.  de  Bienville  n'est  pas  seulement  le  Pygmalion  de  la  colonie, 
son  energie  en  est  l'armature.  Sans  jamais  avoir  cure  du  danger, 
contre  vents  et  marees,  il  a  lutt6,  pay£  de  sa  personne,  viviW  les 
hesitants  et  les  decourages.  II  a  etabli  le  prestige  franca  is  parmi 
les  nations,  i  muffle  le  peu  de  cohesion  qui  soude  les  elements  dis- 
parates ;  sans  lui  le  pays  va  s'effondrer,  aifirmem  les  officiers. 

Une  derniere  fois,  M.  de  Bienville,  navre,  fait  le  tour  de  son 
domaine.  Dans  toute  la  Basse-Louisiane,  les  planteurs,  les  anciens, 
les  officiers  lui  font  des  adieux  dechirams.  Les  nations  ont  envoyi 
dans  les  etablissemems  des  delegations  qui  pleurent,  font  des  hurle- 
ments  desoles,  se  roulent  a  ses  pieds. 

Avec  M.  de  Chateauguay,  rappele  lui  aussi,  il  va  attendre  la 
Bellone  a  I'lle  Dauphine.  Le  vaisseau  quittc  le  Mississipi,  mouille 
devant  l'lle  le  Samedi  Saint,  le  capitaine  detache  une  chaloupe 
pour  querir  M.  de  Bienville  et  son  frere,  on  appareillcra  le  lundi 
dans  l'octave  de  Paques.  II  fait  tres  beau,  un  vrai  temps  de  Paques. 
Pendant  qu'on  charge  les  chaloupes,  de  l'lle  on  entend  coup  sur 
coup  deux  fois  le  canon.  La  Bellone,  comme  si  elle  ne  pouvait  se 
decider  a  separer  M.  de  Bienville  de  sa  chere  Louisiane,  a  laquelle 


I 


LA    LOUIStANE    FRANfAlSE 

il  est  accroche  par  milk  tentacules,  sa  quille  endommagee,  lentement 
se  met  a  couler. 

Les  passagers  s'attachenc  aux  vergues,  se  jettent  a  la  mer  pour 
gagner  les  ilots-aux-herons.  Bient6t  it  ne  reste  plus  rien  du  bail- 
ment, mais  1'equipage  et  tous  les  voyageurs  out  ete  sauves  par  les 
canots  de  1'tle. 

Four  quelques  semaines  encore,  les  semelles  de  M.  de  Bienville 
retrouvent  la  terre  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  nee  de  son  reve  indomptable. 
Comme  tout  a  une  fin,  il  en  repart  sur  la  Gironde. 

Son  depart  a  laisse  dans  la  colonie  une  turbulence  de  mauvais 
augure.  M.  de  la  Chaise,  qui  a  maintenant  tous  les  honneurs  de 
ta  bacaille,  M.  de  Boisbriilant  ayant  ete  lui  aussi  convoque  a 
Paris,  pretend  edipser  toute  a  u  tome  e  tab  lie.  Le  n  juillet,  il  se 
presenie  devant  le  Conseil  Supcrieur,  avec  une  ordonnance  de 
Paris,  lui  donnant  tous  pouvoirs  administrates  et  judiciaires  en 
place  du  Conseil,  il  va  consumer  son  propre  bailliage. 

Ce  geste  arbitraire  met  le  feu  aux  poudres.  Nuf  ne  conteste  la 
validite  de  1'ordonnance,  mais  elle  a  £te  obtenue  par  la  calomnie, 
on  refuse  d'en  accepter  les  termes. 

M.  de  la  Chaise,  furieux,  se  retire  et  sur  l'heure  redige  un  arrets  : 
le  Conseil  est  suspendu,  MM.  Perault  et  Perry  retourneront  en 
France  par  le  prochain  vaisseau  ;  M.  de  Fleuriau,  le  procureur, 
apres  un  delai,  sera  retabli  dans  ses  fonctions. 

Le  nouveau  Conseil,  nomme  par  M.  de  la  Chaise,  n'a  pas  pluiot 
pris  possession  des  fauteuils  que  l'encombrement  de  l'agenda  re- 
commence. L'acrimonie  est  si  grande  entre  les  habitants  qu'ils  se 
trainent  devant  le  tribunal  pour  un  oui  et  pour  un  non.  M.  de 
Verteuil,  le  dtrecteur  de  la  concession  Paris-Duvernay,  aux  Baya- 
goulas,  pretend  avoir  6t£  ridiculis^  par  M.  Lusurier,  qui  est  con- 
damne  a  huit  jours  de  prison  et  a  faire  des  excuses  au  plaignant  ; 
M.  Francois  de  Knepper,  chirurgien  aux  Natchez,  M.  de  Clerfontaine 
et  le  Chevalier  de  Benat  se  cherchent  noise  ;  M.  Dominique  Donat 
de  Samson,  de  Bagnere  de  Bigorre,  qui  a  ete  engage  pour  trois  ans 
comme  chirurgien-apothicaire,  aux  appointements  de  six  cents 
Livres  par  an.  pretend  que  M.  de  Verteuil  assure  a  qui  veut  l'en- 
tendre  «  qu'il  n'estoit  qu'un  instrument  propre  a  la  destruction  de 
la  vie  humaine  »  ;  le  Capt.  de  la  Salle,  du  St.  Andri  se  plaint 
d'avoir  it6  calomnie  par  M.  Jean-Baptiste  de  Chavannes,  le  s 
taire  de  la  regie. 


LA    LOUIS1ANE    *RANf  AISE  195 

M.  de  Villainville,  qui  commande  aux  Natchez,  descend  a  la 
Nile  Orleans  et  raconte  1'horrible  spectacle  auquel  il  a  assiste,  en 
compagnie  de  M.  de  St.  Hilaire. 

*  Serpem  Pique  »,  le  Grand  Soleil,  est  mort.  Sa  femme,  quand  il 
a  etc  installs  en  costume  de  parade  sur  sou  lit  cerue  do  quatre  per- 
ches supportant  ses  calumets,  bieu  paree,  est  venue  avec  la  Glo- 
rieuse  et  plusieurs  amies  femmes,  faire  ses  adieux  au  fort.  <  Le 
Grand  Soleil  sen  est  alle,  e'est  beaucoup  de  valeur,  nous  nous  en 
allons  dans  trois  nuits  et  e'est  bien  bon  I  > 

II  a  assist^  au  sacrifice.  Les  sauvages  ont  fait  avaler  aux  femmes 
trois  grosses  pilules  de  tabac,  qui  les  etouflaient,  ont  couvert  leur 
tete  dune  peau  de  chevreuil,  serree  au  col,  sur  laquelle  ils  tiraient 
des  deux  cdtis  pour  les  ^trangler,  pendant  qu'un  parent  appuyait 
son  genou  sur  leur  estomac  et  qu'un  autre  en  faisait  autant  par 
derriere. 

Quand  elles  ont  etc  mortes,  ils  ont  tourne-  trois  fois  autour  d'elles 
en  poussant  trois  cris  de  mort,  six  fois  ont  pose  leur  casse-tete  sur 
leur  t£te,  puis  ont  pori£  les  cadavres  a  cot£  de  celui  de  «  Serpent 
Pique-  ». 

Les  dames  de  la  Nile  Orleans  fremissent  d'horreur  en  emendant 
tel  recit,  le  veuvage  ne  leur  ouvre  qu'une  route  vers  de  nouvelles 


Pass  i  on  ne  mem,  on  discute  le  cas  de  M.  de  Bienville,  qui  a 
Versailles,  appuye  par  quelques  amis,  se  defend  comme  un  beau 
diable,  mais  ignore  un  peu  trop  les  intrigues  d'antichambre.  II  n'a 
pas  eu  le  temps  d'apprendre  a  etre  courtisan,  il  a  iii  trop  occup£ 
a  servir  la  France,  il  a  commence  a  seize  ans,  on  ne  peut  faire 
deux  choses  a  la  fois. 

Le  Pere  Raphael  de  Luxembourg,  Superieur  des  Capucias,  exrit 
a  1'abW  Raguet,  Superieur  eccl&iaslique  de  la  Cie,  <  qu'il  sembloit 
qu'on  ne  cherchoit  qu'a  s'enlredetruire  alors  qu'il  {audroit  agir  de 
concert  pour  etablir  la  paix  et  la  tranquillity  dans  ce  pais  de  la 
Confusion  ou  il  n'y  avoit  pas  deux  personnel  qui  n'avoient  pas  ite 
malades  dans  I'annit.  » 

M.  du  Sausoy,  atteint  du  pourpre,  a  rendu  Tame  en  trois  jours. 
M.  du  Pauger,  en  juin  1780.  meurt  fort  chre-tienneuient  «  dune 
fievTe  intermittente,  qui  est  devenue  fievrc  lente  >. 

M.  de  la  Chaise,  doctrinaire,  tout  en  elant  probe  l'est  fort  mala- 
droitement  et  manque  totalement  de  fantaisie.  II  mcconlente  tout 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

le  monde  par  sa  tyrannic  de  majester,  si  mal  adapts  a  un  tel 
pays  et  a  une  telle  population.  Pour  subsister,  les  habitants  se 
livrent,  sur  une  echelle  modeste,  a  la  contrebande,  et  il  pretend 
suppriraer  eel  a. 

Pourtant,  dans  tout  ce  chaos,  le  Cie  est  bien  obligee  de  faire 
quelques  concessions.  Les  habitants  ont  envoye  des  delegues  a 
la  Cour  et  leur  clameur  est  parvenue  aux  oreilles  du  Roi.  Les 
directeurs  relevent  les  prix  du  tabac  et  de  l'indigo,  autorisent  les 
habitants  a  com  mercer  avec  les  Espagnols  et  les  batiments  de 
negoce  venant  de  France  et  des  lies,  qui  touchent  la  Louisiane. 

Les  delations  ont  pone  leurs  fruits.  M.  de  Bienville  a  ete  destitue 
en  juillet  1736,  honorablement  bien  sur,  personne  n'a  questionne 
son  integrite.  Apres  27  ans  de  service,  il  possede  60.000  Livres,  on 
n'est  pas  un  fripon  a  ce  prix.  Peut  etre  meme  a-t-il  fait  de  son 
mieux,  la  plus  belle  femme  du  monde...  enfin,  poliment,  avec  une 
pension  de  3.000  Livres  par  an,  on  l'a  congedie  comme  un  laquais 
auquel  on  donne  un  bon  certificat.  On  lui  a,  par  la  meme  occasion, 
repris  ses  concessions  qui  n'avaient  pas  ete  ratifiees  en  franc-aleu  par 
Paris. 

M.  de  Chateauguay  son  frere,  M.  de  Boisbrillant,  le  Capt.  de 
Noyon,  tous  les  merabres  de  sa  famille  sont  retires  du  s 


I  n'est  pas  tftonnant  que  M.  de  Perrier,  le  successeur  de  M.  de 
Bienville,  soit  accueilli  avec  tant  de  froideur  par  les  anciens,  bien 
que  sa  femme.  Dame  le  Chibelier,  soit  fort  aimable. 

M.  de  la  Chaise  le  recoil  avec  effusion  et  deraeurera  son  ami.  II 
est  falot,  on  le  trouve  bien  ou  mal  suivant  la  faction  a  laquelle  on 
appartient. 

«  On  voira,  asteur  y  fait  la  djeule  douce  pour  nous  enmiauler, 
mais  y  pourcait  bien  etre  un  siffleux1  >,  disent  les  Canadiens,  qui  se 
reservent.  Les  noirs  soul  plus  posit  if s  :  «  qui  belle  la  tele,  main  pas 
gagnain  la  cervelle  laddan  !  »  resume  Mercure,  l'esdave  de  M.  du 
Breuil. 

C'est  un  officier  de  la  marine  royale,  qui  s'est  fort  bien  comport^ 
a  la  guerre  d'Espagne  ;  a  terre,  il  est  incolore  et  facile  a  vivre.  A 
ddfaut  d'entregent,  il  possede  un  certain  bon  sens,  tout  de  suite 
il  se  tourne  vers  le  point  d' interrogation  agricole. 

Les  plantations  prennent  de  la  valeur,  celle  des  Paris-Duvemay 
vaut  37,  637  Livres,  d'apres  l'inventaire.  Aux  Islinois,  le  grain  est 
superbe.  Dans  les  terres-basses,  le  liz  donne  satisfaction.  On  a 
introduit  des  orangers  de  St  Domingue  et  des  figtiiers  de  Provence, 
qui  ont  bien  support^  la  transplantation. 

8600  esclaves  sont  au  travail.  Les  planteurs  n'achelent  pas  les 
pieces  d'Inde  la  main  dans  le  sac,  les  chirurgiens  a  leur  service  les 
examiner  t  nus,  auparavant,  pour  etre  certains  qu'ils  ne  sont  pas 
atteints  de  la  maladie  des  Pians  ou  du  virus  de  Guinee. 

On  en  prend  honnfitement  soin,  meme  si  les  sentiments  Chretiens 
n'entrent  pas  en  jeu,  car  ils  ont  cout£  cher,  reprisentent  une  valeur 
revendable  et  leurs  enfants  un  accroissement  de  capital.  On  enfonce 
dans  la  terre  des  €  baignoirs  de  madriers  >,  qui  leur  permettent 
de  se  baigner  a  l'abri  des  crocodiles  et  des  serpents. 

1.  Retort. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

On  les  baptise,  mais  on  ne  pent  tout  a  fait  les  detacher  des  super- 
stitions qu'ils  ont  apporttes  d'Afrique.  lis  ont  leurs  gris-gris  ;  corame 
en  Angola  leur  ouangas,  les  magies  que.  l'ouangateur  conjure  a  son 
bon  plaisir  ;  du  Congo,  domine  par  les  onzambis,  des  dieux  puis- 
sants,  ils  ont  ramene'  la  terreur  des  zombis  ou  apparitions,  qui  les 
poursuivent  dans  les  mauvais  jours. 

Les  mattres  abandonnent  a  chacun  d'eux  un  petit  desert,  qu'ils 
cultivent  a  leur  profit  et  dont  ils  peuvent  vendre  la  r^colte.  lis 
donnent  conge1  le  dimanche,  et  parfois  un  jour  suppl^meniaire  par 
semaine,  aux  esclaves,  qui  en  profitent  pour  vendre  a  la  ville  des 
fagots,  des  fruits  sauvages,  de  la  cendre  pour  la  lessive  ou  le  savon, 
et  gagner  quelques  deniers  chez  les  habitants  d^pourvus  d'esclaves. 
«  Monsu,  boucou  tiabail  boucou  »,  offrent-ils  d'un  air  engageant. 
Les  plus  industneux  parviennent  ainsi,  peu  a  peu,  a  racheter  leur 
liberte\ 

Le  de'vouement  des  noirs  est  inegal.  Certains  sont  d'une  fid^lite 
a  toute  £preuve,  d'autres  sont  heroi'ques.  Le  Conseil  Sup^rieur  a 
disigne  Jeannot,  un  negre  de  la  Cie,  comme  bourreau,  a  genoux 
il  supplie  qu'on  le  dispense  de  cette  tache  ;  le  Conseil  insistant,  il 
rentre  cliez  lui  et  sans  mot  dire,  sur  un  billot,  d'un  coup  de  hache 
tranche  un  de  ses  poignets,  il  faut  deux  mains  pour  pendre  un 
homme.  Par  bonheur,  le  chirurgien  arrive  a  temps  pour  arr£ter  le 
flot  de  sang  et  le  sauve.  Les  directeurs,  impressionnes  par  tant  de 
noblesse,  sur  le  champ  nomment  Jeannot  commandeur1  de  la 
plantation  de  la  Cie. 

Le  nombre  des  «  terriers8  >  augmente  de  jour  en  jour,  quelques 
concessions  ont  change1  de  mains  :  M.  Antoine  de  la  Houblaye  a 
achete"  celle  de  Caron,  le  boulanger  ;  M.  de  Joye  de  la  Goblaie 
est  installs  dans  celle  de  sa  femme.  M.  Bertrand  du  Fresne  a  la 
sienne  aux  Arkansas  et  M.  de  Mandeville  a  la  Pointe  St.  Antoine. 
Aux  Chapitoulas,  31  Chauvins,  petits  et  grands,  vivent  dans  les 
plantations  qu'ils  exploitent  avec  385  esclaves  el  21    domestiques. 

On  s'est  servi  de  terre  viergc  an  petit  bonheur,  dans  les  d£buts, 
M.  de  Perrier  va  e'tablir  le  cadastre  des  concessions,  il  ordonne 
aux  planteurs  de  d^poser  au  greffe  leur  titre  de  propriety,  en  in- 
diquant  le  nombre  d'arpents  qu'ils  possedent  et  celui  qu'ils  ont 
dtfrichd. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


A  ceux  qui  sont  egrenes  sur  le  Mississipi,  il  ordonne  de  deblayer 
la  rive  sur  trois  arpents  en  profondeur,  d'entretenir  une  levite 
de  six  pieds  de  large  et  deux  pieds  de  haut,  et  de  planter  a  distances 
regulieres  des  poteaux  d'amarre  pour  les  f  voitures  >. 

Le  fleuve  est  sillonne  non  seulement  de  voitures,  mais  de  bateaux 
plats  charges,  de  canots,  de  maitre-canots  de  36  pieds  de  long  dont 
on  Be  sert  pour  les  expeditions  militaires,  de  longues  pirogues 
dans  lesquelles  30  hommes  pagaient,  a  moins  que  la  brise  ne  per- 
mette  de  hisser  la  voile  triangulaire. 

Au  di!but  de  1727,  un  vaisseau  du  Roi  amene  a  la  Nile  Orleans 
deux  passagers,  un  gentilhomme  coiiii  d'un  turban  et  son  domes- 
tique.  M.  de  Perrier,  aprfcs  avoir  pris  connaissance  d'une  dep^che, 
avec  de  grandes  marques  de  respect,  l'installe  dans  une  petite  maison 
isolee  au  coin  de  la  rue  Dauphine,  ou  il  s'enferme  sans  prononcer 
une  parole. 

La  ville  est  tres  intrigu^e,  M.  de  Perrier  refuse  de  repondre  aux 
questions.  Des  officiers  venus  r6cemment  de  France  pr^tendent 
qu'il  s'agit  d'un  frere  du  Sultan,  refugie  en  France  apres  une  revoke 
manque>  contre  le  vice-regent,  Mohammed  ;  Sa  Majeste  a  refuse 
de  le  Iivrer  a  la  Porte,  comme  on  lui  demandait,  mais  l'a  envoys 
prisonnier  d'Etat  en  Louisiane. 

Toutes  ces  suppositions  passionnent  les  habitants.  On  essaie  de 
faire  jaser  le  domestique  qui  cultive  le  plant,  il  n'est  pas  plus 
communicatif  que  son  maltre. 

Depuis  plusieurs  annees,  M.  de  Bienville  redamait  d'autres  reli- 
gieuses.  Le  6  aout  1727,  le  Pere  Tartarin,  jesuite,  arrive  en  pirogue 
a  la  Nile  Orleans,  et  apprend  au  Pere  Nicolas  de  Beauboin  que  la 
Girondc,  vaisseau  du  Roi,  portant  8  dames  Ursulines  de  Rouen, 
Hennebon,  Elbeuf  et  Plcermel,  a  postulantes  et  une  converse,  con- 
duces par  la  Mere  Marie  Tranchepain  de  St.  Auguslin,  leur  Supe- 
rieure,  a  echoue  devant  la  Balize.  Les  religieuses,  ainsi  que  deux 
autres  Jdsuites,  sont  log£s  chez  M.  Bernard  de  Verges,  l'ingenieur, 
en  attendant  qu'on  leur  envoie  des  voitures. 

M.  le  Massif,  frere  d'une  des  postulantes,  part  immediatemeni 
les  chercher  avec  une  pirogue  et  un  canot.  Apres  sept  jours  de 
voyage,  les  religieuses  arrivent  au  debarquement  et,  en  procession, 
se  dirigent  vers  l'ancienne  demeure  de  M.  de  Bienville,  ou  elles 
attendront  qu'on  leur  batisse  un  couvent. 

Les  Ursulines  et  les  jesuites  ont  passe  un  contrat,  approuve  par 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

le  Roi  le  13  septembre  1726.  Les  Ursulines  prendrom  soin  de 
l'h6pital  et  instruiront  les  fillettes,  pour  cela  elles  ont  recii  500 
Livres  chacune,  et,  pres  de  la  ville,  face  au  fleuve,  un  terrain  qu'elles 
trans  form  ero  tit  en  jardin  et  plantation.  En  attendant  que  cette 
plantation  soit  d'un  rapport  suffisant.  elles  recevront  annuellemeru 
600  Livres  chacune  pour  leur  entretien.  Si  pour  une  raison  quel- 
conque,  la  communaute  cesse  son  service,  elle  perdra  son  domaine. 

Les  Jesuites,  dont  le  Pere  de  Beauboin  est  Superieur,  ont  recu 
150  Livres  chacun  et  doivent  en  toucher  800  par  an,  en  attendant 
que  leur  concession,  voisine  de  celle  des  Ursulines,  soit  productive. 
On  doit  leur  construire  un  couvent  et  une  chapelle,  mais  ils  ne 
pourront  exercer  aucune  fonction  ecclesiastique  sans  1 'automation 
du  Superieur  des  Capucins,  et  ils  ne  feront  pas  l'education  des  jeunes 
gens,  eomme  M.  de  Bienville  en  avait  prie,  car  le  roi  prefere  que 
les  fils  de  condition  retournent  en  France  dans  ce  but,  de  crainte 
qu'ils  perdent  l'amour  de  la  mere  patrie,  faute  de  la  connaitre. 

Le  Pere  de  Beauboin,  un  peu  acerbe,  ne  s'entend  pas  tres  bien 
avec  le  Pere  Raphael,  Superieur  des  Capucins.  Apres  quelques  temps 
il  est  remplace  par  le  Pere  Petit,  qui  est  <  tres  modeste  et  de  dispo- 
sitions circonspectes.  > 

Les  Ursulines  sont  fort  affairees.  Outre  leur  besogne  a  l'hdpital. 
elles  ont  23  jeunes  filles  pensionnaires,  et  chaque  jour  sauvagesses 
et  negresses  viennent  recevoir  deux  heures  d'instruction  religieuse, 
pour  se  preparer  au  bapteme. 

La  plus  charmante  des  petites  religieuses,  Magdeleine  Hachard, 
de  Lisieux,  enchantee  de  tout,  le  27  octobre  1727,  mande  a  son 
pere.  par  le  menu,  ses  aventures  et  ses  impressions.  <  Toute  notrt 
communaute  est  dans  un  contentement  qu'on  ne  petit  exprimer.  > 
Elle  decrit  leur  long  voyage.  Parties  de  Lorient  en  fevrier  1727,  el 
installces  tarn  bien  que  mal  dans  l'entrepont  ou  Ton  a  etabli  des 
cellules  de  fortune,  elles  sont  arrivees  a  la  Bali/e  le  23  juillet,  apres 
avoir  ete  poursuivies  trois  fois  par  des  <  corsair  es-forbans  ou  saltins  >, 
a  tel  point  que  les  pass  age  res  deguisees  en  hommes  ont  ete  armees 
pour  se  defendre. 

«  La  met  se  faisait  craindre  ».  En  fait,  elles  ont  passe  leur  temps 
accrochees  a  des  cordes,  pour  ne  pas  rouler  hors  du  lit,  et  elles  ont 
ssuye  deux  terribles  tern  petes.  On  a  dA  Jeter  par  dessus  bord  mou- 

nn*  fl   rmiilc*  InA  nar  tp  hniilpvpmpTnpnt    Pt  Ips  vivrp<:  nnt   mamurf 


tons  ei  poulcs  tues  par  le  bouleversement,  et  les  \ 


s  ont  manque 


bien  avant  St.  Domingu*.  Elles  ont  echoue  une  premiere  fois  en 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

quittant  Lorient,  ont  recommence  dans  le  Golfe  du  Mexique  ;  pour 
renflouer  le  navire,  on  a  precipite  a  la  mer  le  lest,  les  sucres,  les 
barils  d'eau-de-vie,  les  ballots  d'effecs,  «  cfetait  la  desolation  de  la 
desolation  de  voir  tout  ce  pauvre  manage  ». 

Avec  philosophic  elle  accepte  les  petits  inconvenients  de  la 
colonie,  narre  a  son  pere  leur  traverse  de  la  Balize  a  la  Nile  Orleans. 
t  Nous  avians  I'incommoditi  de  la  pirogue  de  ne  pouvoir  itre  assis, 
debout,  ni  a  genoux,  et  encore  sans  pouvoir  branler,  car  la  pirogue 
aurait  fait  capot  et  nous  aurions  servi  de  nourriture  aux  poissons. 
Tout  notre  iquipage  de  matelas  et  de  coffre  I'emplissoient,  il  nous 
falloit  Itre  par  dessus  tout  cela,  en  un  petit  toupin,  et  quand  la 
pirogue  s'arretoit,  nous  changions  de  situation.  > 

Chaque  soir,  avant  le  coucher  du  soleil,  les  matelots  faisaient  la 
chaudiere  et  elles  cabanaient  sur  la  rive,  deux  fois  elles  ont  couche 
dans  la  boue,  sous  la  pluie,  et  les  Meres  ont  6ti  incommodees  de 
fluxions  et  enflement  des  jambes.  *  Nos  matelots  pour  faire  nos 
berres  fichoient  des  canes  en  terre  en  forme  de  berceaux  autour  d'un 
matelas  et  nous  enfermoient  deux  A  deux  dans  nos  berres,  ou  nous 
couchions  tout  habitez,  puis  couvroient  le  berceau  d'une  grande 
toile,  de  facon  que  les  maringouins  et  les  frappe-d'abord  ne  puisse 
trouver  aucun  petit  passage  pour  nous  venir  visiter,  > 

c  Quoique  je  ne  connaisse  pas  encore  parfaitement  le  pais  de  la 
Louistcnnc,  je  vats  cependant  vous  en  faire  un  petit  detail,  et  je 
puis  vous  assurer  qu'il  ne  me  semble  pas  itre  A.  Missicipy,  U  y  a 
autant  de  magnificence  et  de  politesse  qu'en  France,  les  e"tofJes  d'or 
et  de  velours  y  sont  communes,  quoique  trois  fois  plus  cheres  qu'a 
Rouen.  Je  ne  vous  parleroi  pas  des  mceurs  des  s^cutiers  de  ce  pais, 
ne  les  connaissant  pas  et  n'ayant  nulle  envie  de  les  connoitre,  mats 
Von  dit  que  ce  sont  des  mozurs  bien  corrompues  et  bien  mSdisans, 
it  y  a  aussi  un  Ires  grand  nombre  d'honnttes  gens.  » 

Elle  ajoute  malicieusement  :  «  Nous  aurions  besoin  icy  du  Re- 
verend Pere  dont  vous  avez  parli  pour  faire  des  de\<otes,  car  un 
Re^^rend  Pere  Capucin  nous  assura  qu'il  n'y  en  avoit  pas  une  dans 
tout  le  pais  ni  aux  environs.  » 

Les  Ursulines  pourraient  a  bon  droit  s'etonner.  La  Nile  Orleans, 
agee  de  cinq  ans  a  peine,  est  maintenant  une  grande  ville,  qui  bien 
que  nid  a  commerages,  platt  si  fort  aux  habitants  qu'ils  fredonnent 
qu'elle  vaut  Paris.  Deja,  les  citadins  traitent  les  campagnards  des 
autres  paroisses  de  «  dos  blancs  >. 


C'est  surtout  une  ville  Strange  de  mille  Smes,  en  comptant  les 
troupes,  dans  laquelle  les  dames  de  qualite,  en  robe  de  soie  a 
paniers,  aussi  bien  fardees  et  attifees  qu'a  Versailles,  precedees  le 
soir  par  des  pone-flambeaux  ;  des  gentilhommes  magnifiquement 
accoutres  de  broche,  le  ruban  a  l'epaule,  en  bas  de  soie  blanche  et 
fins  esearpins,  qui  lorsqu'ils  sont  boucles.  remplacent  la  perruque 
par  leur  chevelure  naturelle,  retombant  tres  bas  ;  des  croquants  en 
droguet  brun  ei  ehapeau  de  castor  ;  des  paysans  en  cotte  et  eoiffe  : 
des  gotons  debraillees  ;  des  Capucins  en  chausses  et  houppelande  ; 
des  laquais  galonnes  ;  des  coureurs-de-bois  et  des  chamoiseurs  ha- 
billes  de  peau  frangee  et  chausses  de  quantiers  :  des  soldats  a  tuni- 
ques  elimees  auxquelles  il  manque  des  boutons  et  des  brandebourgs  : 
des  noirs  en  cotonnade  passee  et  des  negres  libres,  a  I'epiderme 
delay£  par  de  successifs  blanchissages  conjugaux  ;  des  sauvages 
vitus  en  tout  et  pour  tout  d'un  braguet,  et  quand  il  fait  froid  de 
mitasses  en  peau  blanche,  se  coudoient,  se  saluent,  se  courtisent, 
baisent  des  mains  fines,  croisent  le  fer,  se  prennent  a  la  gorge,  s'in- 
jurient,  benissent,  braillent  et  vivent  petitement  et  indolemment 
dans  des  maisons  basses  en  planches  de  cypre,  sur  soilage,  ou  dans 
des  habitations  plus  belles  de  briques  ou  eolombage,  a  peristyle, 
dont  les  fenetres  sont  encore  vitrees  de  mousseline. 

Dans  les  demeures  les  plus  somptueuses,  l'ameublement  est  primi- 
tif,  fabrique  par  les  habitants,  de  cvpre  et  d'osier,  ou  assemble1  par 
des  charpentiers  de  France,  qui  s'entendent  mieux  a  monter  des 
solives  et  des  toils  de  bardeaux  qu'a  tourner  des  pieds  de  bergeres. 

Les  huches  sont  en  bois  d'acacia  ;  des  cabinets  de  cedre  preservent 
les  habits  :  les  sieges  sont  fnne£s  de  lianes-noires  :  les  lits  de  nover, 
a  pied  de  biche.  sont  garnis  de  matelas  et  d'oreillers  en  barbe 
espagnole.  sechee.  battue  et  lessivee,  qui  ressemble  a  du  crin  noir 
et  n'est  pas  attaquee  par  les  insectes  ;  les  courtes-pointes  et  les 
rideaux  sont  d'indienne  a  ramages.  Chaque  maison  honnete  a  sa 
table  a  trictrac,  le  jeu  des  soirees  d'hiver. 

Tout  le  luxe  s'est  rffugi£  dans  la  toilette.  II  est  relativement 
facile  de  transporter  des  brocarts,  des  velours,  des  rubans  ;  des 
perruquiers  se  sont  installes  en  Louisiane  pour  accommoder  les 
dames  et  les  gentilhommes  poudres. 

Mais  les  meubles,  les  ustensiles,  tout  ce  qui  encombrerait  les  na- 
vires,  sont  reduits  au  minimum.  Les  seigneurs  de  Louisiane  ar- 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN9AISE 

rangent  leur  coiffure  devant  un  petit  miroir  derisoire,  a  la  lueur 
i'une  chandelle  de  myrte,  fichee  dans  un  morceau  de  chene. 

L'argent  pour  certains  est  assez  abondant,  mais  il  est  inemployable. 
La  piastre  vaut  cinq  Livres  en  argent  de  France  et  dix  ecus  en  carte, 
seulement  les  magasins  sont  vides.  Tout  Tor  du  monde  ne  saurait 
remplir  une  assietie  en  temps  de  disette.  On  remplace  Ie  r6t  par 
une  rfveVence,  le  pain  par  le  riz,  qui  sur  toutes  les  tables  revient 
trois  fois  par  jour  et  par  la  bouillie  de  bid  d'Inde,  et,  lorsque  le 
suere  manque,  les  douceurs  par  une  prise  de  tabac  a  la  rose.  Les 
manieres  sont  exquises  parmi  ces  Messieurs  de  France,  mais  souvent 
le  ventre  est  vide. 

La  ville  n'est  protegee  en  aucune  facon  contre  les  crues  du  Mis- 
sissipi.  Pendant  des  mois,  chaque  annee,  elle  est  noyee.  Les  habita- 
tions, haussees  sur  leurs  pointes,  barbotent  jusqu'a  leur  rez-de- 
chaussee  surdlevd.  Chaque  carre  porte  a  la  Iettre  son  nom  d'islet. 

Mfime  a  la  belle  saison,  les  rues  de  terre  battue  sont  marbrees  de 
flaques  presqu'impassables.  Pour  ne  pas  souiller  leurs  atours,  les 
belles  dames  se  font  soulever  par  leurs  esclaves  pour  les  franchir, 
ou  les  traverseni  en  chaise-a-porteurs.  On  a  remplace"  les  passerelles 
de  cypres,  que  l'humidite  rongeait,  par  des  petits  ponts  de  briques, 
pour  enjamber  les  fosses. 

La  ville  est  enserree,  a  1'arriere,  par  une  tranche^  putride,  comme 
les  fosses  entourant  les  carres,  fourree  de  roseaux.  de  vie  rampante 
;t  grouillante.  Les  crapauds  sifflent  et  les  grenouilles  coassent  dans 
la  rue  de  Chartres  et  la  rue  Royale.  Les  implacables  maringouins 
tourbillonnent  en  nudes  denses.  La  rive  herbeuse  est  ombragee  de 
iaules,  que  des  serins  tapageurs  jaunissent.  Une  odeur  de  vase,  de 
decomposition  vegdtale  tenaille  la  ville,  qui  plus  pittoresque  que 
iflre  le  soir,  n'est  pas  eclairee  et  devient  le  fief  des  ribleurs. 

Les  habitations  des  notables  et  des  principaux  commercants  s'e\e- 
/ent  rue  du  Quay,  face  au  fleuve.  Le  baron  de  Hombourg  a  vendu 
la  sienne  avec  trois  lots,  pour  1575  Livres  a  M.  de  Moran  ;  M.  Morel 
ie  Clairfontaine  et  M.  Antoine  de  la  Goblaye  sont  en  train  de  batir  ; 
M.  Pouyadon  de  la  Tour,  le  chirurgien  major,  ajoute  un  etage  a 
ion  logement  ;  la  plus  belle  habitation  est  celle  de  M.  Piot  de 
[.aun.iv.  le  Conseiller,  sur  la  rue  Bienville,  briquetee  entre  poteaux 
n  mansarde>,  elle  mesure  46  pieds  sur  bo,  a  trois  chemindes  de 
t>rique,  une  galerie  en  facade,  et,  chose  inouie,  toutes  ses  fenetres 
lont  vitrees,  ce  qui  donne  une  ide>  de  la  fortune  de  ce  propridtaire. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

La  rue  d'Orleans  est  la  promenade  favorite,  les  boutiques  de  fri- 
volites  sont  la.  Dans  les  rues  de  Conti  et  de  Toulouse,  les  petits 
vendeurs  coltinent  leurs  marchandises.  <  Des  perches,  qui  veut  des 
perches  ?  »,  les  buandieres  pench^es  sur  leurs  bailies  les  achetent 
pour  tenir  les  cordcs  de  leur  lavee,  dans  les  plants.  <  Charbon,  bon 
charbon,  du  charbon  de  Paris  les  dames,  de  Paris,  du  charbon  I  > 
c  Des  calas,  bonnes  calas,  chaudes  les  calas,  toutes  chaudes  I  »  crient 
des  femmes,  dont  la  serviette  blanche  couvre  un  panier  plein  de 
perils  gateaux  de  riz  sucre,  frits  au  lard  d'ours.  D'autres  offreni  €  des 
nanames  »,  nom  commun  a  toutes  les  sucreries.  t  Perroquets,  des 
perroquets  savants,  des  perroquets  bavards  I  »  chantent  les  dres- 
seurs,  qui  promenent  des  cages  d'osier.  «  Rempailleurs  de  chaises  I  » 
chantonnent  les  gagne-deniers,  charges  d'une  botte  de  lianes-noires. 
«  Qui  veut  des  egrugeoirs  ?  »  proposent  les  boisseliers,  disparaissant 
sous  leurs  articles. 

Les  tavernes  et  les  bouges  sont  partout  et  ne  d^semplissent  que  le 
dimanche  pendant  la  grand'messe,  quand  leur  ferine ture  est  verifier 
par  des  rondes. 

Le  Capt.  de  Pradel,  qui  mieux  que  personne  sait  couper  les  liards 
en  quatre,  vient  d'acheter  pour  100  pistoles  une  habitation  en  ville 
et  une  <  retirance  >  a  la  campagne.  II  achete  pour  mille  Livres  de 
vins  et  de  liqueurs,  et,  en  sourdine,  ouvre  un  estaminet,  qu'il  fait 
tenir  par  une  servante  pour  sauver  les  apparences.  On  y  debite, 
avec  le  vin,  des  fromages  de  France.  Le  resultat  est  si  flaneur  que 
M.  de  Pradel,  tout  en  restant  officier,  se  tourne  franchement  vers 
le  negoce.  A  ses  frais,  il  fait  venir  de  France,  avec  un  contrat  de 
trois  ans,  des  sabotiers  de  Bou  ill  ague  t,  un  village  pres  d'Uzerches, 
et  les  installs  dans  un  atelier,  imm^diatement  achalande.  Sa  famille 
Iui  envoie,  pour  garnir  les  coiffes,  des  dentelles  d'Aurillac,  qui  font 
la  joie  des  paysannes.  De  la  main  gauche,  il  fait  le  negrier,  car  le 
commerce  des  esclaves  n'est  pas  a  d£daigner  pour  un  hommc  qui 
aime  les  £cus.  En  se  gaussant,  on  se  repasse  a  l'oreille  ses  menues 
rapines. 

La  ville  est  un  panier  de  crabes.  On  daube  sur  tout,  sans  arret 
Les  dames  n'ont  rien  a  faire  qu'a  ^changer  des  ragots,  se  chamailler, 
se  raccommoder  apres  leurs  brouilles. 

II  y  a  bien  des  anguilles  sous  roche,  des  complicity,  des  scandales, 
et  quand  il  n'en  reste  plus,  on  en  invente. 

Madame  de  Manade.  Louise  Jousset  de  la  Loire,  et  Madame  de 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAlSE  "05 

la  Tour,  lasses  des  mauvais  traitements  de  leurs  maris,  supplient  le 
Conseil  Superieur  de  leur  accorder  la  separation,  afin  qu'elles  puis- 
sent  se  retirer,  avec  leurs  enfants,  chez  les  Ursulines. 

Les  gens  de  bien  travaillent,  se  r^unissent  le  soir  en  *  compa- 
gnees  >,  ou  en  bavardant  et  en  chantant  les  ballades  des  provinces 
naiales,  on  mange  des  pacanes  et  on  boit  du  ratafia,  allonge  d'eau. 

Des  couples  bien  nes  organisent  un  cercle  de  bonne  compagnie. 
Les  uns  jouent  de  lepinette,  du  violon  et  du  galoubet,  les  autres 
de  la  viole  et  de  la  flute  ;  ils  etudient  Bach  et  Haendel,  donnent 
des  concerts  intimes.  Pendant  «  les  ajets  »,  les  jours  precedant  la 
Noel,  ils  envoient  faire  dans  les  habitations  la  <  guignolee  >,  la 
quite  pour  les  pauvres,  qui  permettra  de  leur  offrir  un  petit  baltha- 
zar. 

Les  jesuites  ont  bati,  a  leurs  frais,  une  chapelle,  ou  l'aristocratie 
se  riunit,  c'est  «  la  chapelle  des  honnetes  gens  >.  On  1'a  inaugurfe, 
le  S4  avril,  par  une  procession  et  une  benediction,  a  laquelle  MM. 
de  Perrier  et  de  la  Chaise  ont  assiste,  agenouilles  dans  le  clueur, 
*ur  des  prie-Dieu  de  brocard  blanc. 

Plusieurs  ecoles  ont  6t6  ouvertes  :  l'une  par  les  Capucins,  pour 
les  his  d' artisans  ;  d'autres  pour  les  jeunes  garcons  de  condition.  La 
plus  estimee  est  celle  de  M.  Jeaunin,  dipl&me  de  l'dcole  polytcch- 
nique  de  Paris. 

Bons  paillards,  les  offiders  de  la  garnison,  avec  un  abandon,  qui 
n'est  pas  tout  a  fait  de  1'aliegresse,  mais  un  amollissement  delicate- 
ment  evente.  baguenaudent,  badinent  avec  les  dames,  cueillent 
1'heure,  jouent,  bretaillent,  s'encanaillent. 

Avec  des  demonstrations  fraternelles,  ils  font  les  honneurs  de 
leur  ville  a  leurs  camarades  des  forts,  venus  aux  ordres.  Ik  sont  sou- 
vent  parents,  en  tous  cas  ont  partage  des  maitresses,  ce  qui  est  un 
Men  comme  un  autre.  Sur  les  rares  chevaux  de  la  capitale,  ils  ga- 
lopent  le  long  des  levees,  troubles  par  le  frolement  des  barbes 
espagnoles,  ressemblant  a  quelque  imperceptible  caresse.  Sous  leur 
geste  discret,  malgre  leur  accoutumance  s'attendant  a  trouver  un 
arome,  parce  que  le  ciel  a  une  deiicatesse  d'asphodele,  ils  hument 
1'air  moelleux,  et  sont  tout  etonnes  de  le  trouver  encore  une  fois  nu. 

Les  hommes  de  troupe,  souvent  acoquines  avec  une  <  chauva- 
gesse  >,  appeiee  honnetement  la  menagtre,  trainent  sous  les  saules, 
burlent  des  grivoiseries  dont  personne  ne  rougit,  lutinent  les  filles. 
ribotent,  terrorisent  les  paysans  quand  ils  ont  faim- 


106  LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRANfAlSE 

La  racaille  brigande,  s'egosille,  quand  elle  a  quelques  sob  «  fail 
champoura  »,  c'esl  a  dire  ripaille.  Les  <  dochans  »  se  prostiiuent. 

A  la  fin  de  1'annee  1727,  apres  une  nuit  d'orage,  les  habitants, 
tou  jours  mux  aguets,  s'apercoivent  que  les  volets  t  du  Turc  >  restenl 
clos.  M.  de  Perrier,  avise\  se  rend  a  la  maison  qu'il  trouve  deserte. 
Dans  le  jardin  sur  une  tombe  toute  fraiche,  une  plaque  couverte 
de  caracteres  aiabes  est  posee.  11  va  l'envoyer  en  France  pour  la  faire 
traduire. 

Des  chasseurs  se  rappellent  avoir  vu  une  voile  barbaresque  dans 
la  baie  Barateria,  quelques  jours  auparavant.  Le  mystere  s'epaissit 
encore.  M.  de  Perrier  est  trop  occupe  pour  repondre,  peut-etre  ne 
sait-il  rien  ? 

II  a,  sans  succes,  reclame  une  maison  de  force,  de  guerre  lasse  il 
fait  enfermer  dans  une  habitation,  sous  la  garde  d'un  sergent  «  une 
demi  douzaine  de  gueuses  qui  jaisoient  en  pleine  rue  leur  mestier.  > 

Les  Capucins,  les  «  collets  blancs  >  des  sauvages,  tentent  des  efforts 
assez  maigres,  qui  n'assagissent  rien.  lis  ont  fort  a  faire,  visitent  les 
habitations  eloignees,  baptisant,  mariant,  enterrant. 

La  ribauderie  cependant  depasse  les  bornes  permises  par  les  con- 
venances, il  faut  prendre  des  mesures  energiques  pour  endiguer  ce 
vice.  M.  de  la  Chaise  se  plaint  a  Paris  qu'il  y  a  c  quantiti  de  femmes 
gastees  de  virole,  qui  vivoient  aux  depens  de  la  Cie  et  causoient 
des  disordres.  Ces  malheureuses  ne  servoient  qu'a  icandaliscr  ie 
publicq  et  mangeoient  le  pain  dont  ceux  travaillant  dans  son  intirit 
avoient  tant  besoin.  »  11  insiste  aupres  des  Directeurs  sur  la  neces- 
site  de  purger  la  colonie  <  d'une  quantiti  de  femmes  de  mauvaise 
vie,  qui  sont  entieremetit  perdues.  > 

En  attendant  que  la  Cie  agisse,  il  fait  promulguer  une  ordon- 
nance,  et  les  dr61esses  galames,  sur  des  trdteaux,  en  pleine  place 
publique,  sont  fouettees  par  les  soldats  du  fort,  qui  ne  se  sont  ja- 
mais tant  rejouis. 

M.  de  la  Chaise,  qui  a  main  tenant  sur  le  fleuve  une  plantation, 
t  la  Nobiliere  >,  continue  a  eve  ires  actif.  11  donne  connaissance 
des  nouveaux  edits  de  Paris,  imerdisant  la  circulation  des  piastres 
espagnoles,  qui  valent  5  Livres  en  argent  de  France,  mais  clandes- 
tinement  s'echangent  pour  10  ecus  en  carte,  soit  30  Livres. 

Depuis  sa  creation,  la  Cie  a  essay  €  trois  systemes  monetaires.  Au 
debut,  chaque  planteur  et  habitant  avait  aux  comptoirs  son  me- 
moire,  sur  lequel  ses  achats  et  ses  ventes  etaient  consignes.  II  s'agis- 


LA     LOU1SIANE     1'RANfAlSE  X&J 

sait  d'un  jeu  d'echange  et  d'ecriture.  Les  notes  des  commis  de  la 
Cie  etaiem  acceptees  conune  des  effets,  unites  les  notes  portaient  la 
denomination  de  <  billets  de  caisse  9. 

Pen  d' argent  circulait,  seuls  les  nouveaux  arrivants  avaient  quel- 
4 ue  argent  blanc,  dont  its  se  servaient  pour  leurs  menus  achats. 

Apres  I'etablissenient  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  la  monnaie  de  carte  a 
suivi,  contresignee  par  le  tresorier  et  le  commissaire-ordonnateur, 
valant  de  5  sols  a  50  Livres  ;  elle  porte  en  son  milieu  les  armes  tin 
Roi,  son  numero  et  celui  du  livre  du  Teneur  ;  d  apres  la  facon  dont 
elle  est  taillee  les  illettres  peuvent  reconnaitre  sa  valeur.  Les  habi- 
tants out  un  delai  ires  court  pour  s'en  debarrasser,  et  par  ignorance 
de  l'ordonnance  ou  negligence,  vont  en  laisser  perimer  une  grande 
portion. 

Maintenant,  on  va  se  scrvir  de  petites  monnaies  de  cuivre  rouge, 
trap  pees  a  La  Rochelle,  portant  un  L  en  sautoir,  et  au  revers 
c  Colonie  Francoise  >.  Les  vaisseaux  sont  obliges  de  les  accepter. 
Us  les  echangeront  au  siege  de  la  Cie,  a  Paris. 

Tout  ced  n'est  pas  la  faute  de  M.  de  la  Chaise,  mais  il  subit  les 
consequences  de  la  mauvaise  humeur  dune  population  qui  aime 
les  espetes  sonnantes  dor  et  d'argent.  11  est  toujours  bien  avec  le 
Gouverneur,  mais  il  a  beaucoup  d'ennemis. 

Dans  les  salons,  on  le  juge  pietre.  <  Ma  bonne,  con  fie  Dame  de 
Ste.  Herraine,  la  maitresse  du  Chevalier  de  Loubois,  a  Madame  de 
VUlainville,  en  lui  tendant  sa  tabatiere,  ce  M.  de  la  Chaise  est  un 
sot.  > 

M.  de  la  Chaise  n'est  point  un  sot.  II  n'a  pas  l'inteniion  de  garder 
ses  lilies  <  a  graines  »,  comme  on  dit  la,  il  ennuie  les  gens  mais 
marie  ses  enfams,  et  les  marie  bien  :  Felirite,  a  Louis,  le  fits  de 
M.  Villars  du  Breuil  ;  Marguerite  a  Louis  Bizoton,  le  fils  du  Con- 
seiller,  Marie  a  M.  Prat,  le  chirurgien.  Son  autre  iille,  Alexandrine, 
encore  en  pension  en  France,  va  revenir  et  il  a  fait  deja  des  projets 
pour  son  avenir.  Son  fils,  Jacques,  epouse  Louise,  la  fille  de  M. 
Juchereau  de  St  Denis,  nee  au  Presidio  del  Norte,  qui  est  ravissante. 
C'est  un  mauvais  administrate ur,  qui  manque  de  doigte,  mais  un 
pere  avise. 

Les  sauvagesses,  sont  prisees  de  certains  Francais.  Bien  que  Ver- 
sailles lionet-  les  sourcils,  les  Peres  celebrent  ces  mariages  mal  as- 
»  sort  is,  pretendant  que  tout  vaut  mieux  que  le  concubinage. 
A  la  mort  de  leur  mari,  les  femmes,  poussees  par  des  parents 


«o8  LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

astucieux,  se  reclament  des  couturaes  de  la  Privflti  de  Paris  et 
exigent  la  moitie  de  leur  succession,  qui,  si  elles  n'ont  pas  d'enfants, 
passe  a  leur  famille. 

Sur  les  instances  de  M.  de  la  Chaise,  le  Conseil  de  Louisiane 
decrete  qu'a  la  mort  d'un  Francais,  en  cas  de  mariage  mixte,  la 
propriete  du  decede  sera  administree  par  mi  tuteur,  s'il  y  a  des 
enfants  mineurs  ;  sincn,  par  le  cure  de  la  paroisse,  qui  paiera  a  la 
veuve  le  tiers  du  revenu,  a  moins  qu'elle  ne  rejoigne  son  peuple, 
ce  qui  supprimera  sa  pension. 

La  Cie  decide  d'abandonner  les  Islinois  aux  seuls  pouvoirs  de 
persuasion  des  Jesuites,  traiieurs  et  concession niers.  Elle  supprime 
plusieurs  forts  onereux,  et  se  desinteresse  des  Missouris. 

H.  Venyard  de  Bourgmont,  ancien  enseigne  au  Canada,  ayant 
offert  ses  services  a  la  Cie,  en  1723,  s'etait  rendu,  avec  M.  de  Pradel, 
dans  les  Missouris,  et  avail  ban  le  Fort  d'Orleans,  pres  du  principal 
village  de  la  nation,  a  proximite  de  la  Grande-Riviere  et  de  la 
Riviere  des  Osages,  ces  descendants  —  d'apres  leur  tradition  —  d'un 
escargot,  que  le  Soleil,  sur  les  bords  du  Missouri,  fit  murir  en 
homme,  marie  ensuiie  a  la  fille  d'un  castor. 

Tres  bien  recu  par  les  sauvages,  qui  lui  avaient  concede  la  fille 
de  leur  chef,  il  avail  fait  alliance  avec  les  Kansas  et  les  Padoucas, 
puis  avait  persuade  a  quelques  chefs  de  visiter  le  grand  village  blanc, 
de  l'autre  cote  du  lac,  autrement  dit  Paris. 

En  novembre  1724,  avec  eux,  sa  belle,  ei  le  sergenl  Dubois,  il 
£tait  parti  pour  Versailles,  montrer  au  Roi  un  echantillon  de  ce 
qu'il  possedait  par  dela  1'Ocean. 

Le  Roi  les  avait  recus  a  son  grand  cabinet,  avait  accorde  beau- 
coup  d'attention  a  ces  sujets  rouges,  qu'il  voyait  pour  la  premiere 
fois.  Tout  le  monde  les  avait  flattes  de  la  main,  comme  des  animaux 
d'une  race  inconnue  ;  Sa  Majeste  leur  avait  donne  des  habits  bleus 
brodes  d'or  et  des  chapeaux  galonnes  ;  la  Duchesse  d'Orleans  avait 
organise  dans  le  Bois  de  Boulogne  une  chasse  au  cerf  a  leur  mode, 
c'est-a-dire  a  la  course,  pour  qu'on  puisse  juger  de  leur  agiliie  ;  le 
Due  d'Orleans  les  avait  combles  ;  ils  avaient  danse  leurs  danses  tri- 
bales  sur  la  scene  de  l'Opcra  Italien. 

Un  peu  quinauds,  enchantes  de  tout,  ils  avaient  cependant  trouve 
que  les  dames  de  la  Cour  sentaient  le  crocodile.  La  jeune  sauvagesse, 
officiellement  designee  par  le  litre  de  c  Princesse  du  Missouris  >, 
avait  ete  con  vert  ie,  baptisee  en  grande  pompe  a  Notre-Dame. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  209 

En  suite  de  quoi,  pour  arriver  kune  finale  retentissante,  M.  de 
Bourgmont,  qui,  se  trouvant  bien  k  Paris  d&irait  y  rester,  avait 
c£de  la  place  k  son  sergent,  et  avec  les  benedictions  des  directeurs 
de  la  Cie  et  des  presents  de  toute  la  Cour,  on  avait  marie  la  prin- 
cesse  cuivr£e  et  le  sergent  Dubois,  promu,  afin  d'etre  k  la  hauteur  de 
cette  alliance,  capitaine  et  commandant  du  Fort  d'Orllans. 

A  leur  retour  k  la  Nile  Orleans,  les  voyageurs  avaient  iti  traitls 
avec  honneur  et  escortls  jusqu'au  Fort.  Mais  le  beau  voyage  rapide- 
ment  s'est  Ivaporl  dans  r esprit  mobile  des  sauvages. 

La  femme,  retomWe  dans  sa  sauvagerie,  a  appell  son  peuple  k 
l'aide,  fait  massacrer  son  mari  et  toute  la  garnison  du  Fort,  est 
retournle  vivre  dans  son  village  natal. 

La  Cie  est  complltement  d£courag£e  par  l'lpilogue  de  cette  his- 
toire  romanesque. 


XXVIII. 


M.  de  Perrier,  endoctrine  par  M.  du  fireuil,  qui  le  premier  : 
compris  la  necessite  d'une  levee  et  d'un  systeme  d'irrigation,  puis- 
qu'il  a  dans  sa  propriete  creuse  4000  toises  de  fosses  et  8000  toises 
de  canaux,  ce  qui  explique  la  fertilite  de  sa  plantation,  decide  de 
faire  dresser  devant  la  Nile  Orleans  une  levee  de  terre  de  600  toises. 
La  digue  se  prolongera  six  lieues  en  aval  et  six  lieues  en  amont  de 
la  ville. 

Comme  il  n*y  a  pas  d* argent,  une  fois  de  plus  M.  du  Breuil  se 
devoue  et  en  fait  executer  les  deux  tiers  a  ses  frais.  II  preconise 
aussi  un  canal,  entre  la  capitale  et  le  lac  Pontchartrain,  ce  qui  per- 
mettrait  de  charger  directement  les  bois  et  autres  roarchandises. 
M.  de  Perrier  est  partisan  du  projet,  mais  encore  une  fois  la  Cie  n'a 
pas  d'argent.  On  oublie  de  debattre  cette  question  parce  que  la 
traduction  de  la  plaque  trouvee  sur  la  tombe  <  du  Turc  >  vient 
d'arriver  :  c  La  justice  du  ciel  est  satisfaite,  le  dattier  poussera  sur 
la  tombe  du  traitre.  Le  sublime  empereur  des  Croyants,  Suppdt 
de  la  Foi,  le  maitre  omnipotent  et  Sultan  du  Monde  a  tenu  son 
sentient.  Allah  est  grand  et  Mahomet  est  son  prop  he  te.  » 

Cet  homme  etait  done  vraiment  un  Turc,  ceux  qui  l'avaieot  le 
mieux  afhrme  sont  les  plus  etonnes. 

Les  choses  vont  roal  chez  les  Natchez.  Au  fort  Rosalie,  M.  de 
Barneval,  M.  de  Liette,  M.  Broutin,  M.  du  Tisne  se  sont  succedes, 
le  Cap.  de  Merveilleux  garde  actuellement  la  redoute.  11  y  a  sans 
cesse  des  brouilleries  avec  les  sauvages,  qui  s'entetent  a  couper  la 
queue  des  juinenis  des  concessions,  ce  qui  pour  eux  equivaut  a 
un  scalp. 

M,  de  Merveilleux  est  rappeh*.  Le  commandement  du  Fort  est 
donne  au  Lt.  d'Etcheparre,  dit  de  Chepart,  un  Basque,  la  plupart 
du  temps  <  perdu  de  boisson  >.  II  est  deteste  de  la  garnison  et  des 
sauvages  pour  sa  tyrannic  et  sa  cupidiic-. 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  2" 

II  fah  mettre  aux  fers  M.  Dumont  de  Montigny,  le  principal 
officier,  qui,  aussitdt  libera,  vient  faire  a  M.  de  Perrier  un  rapport 
sur  les  agissements  dangereux  du  chef  de  posie. 

M.  de  Perrier  convoque  M.  de  Chepard  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  pour 
le  reprimander.  Etant  faible,  il  consent  .1  lui  maimenir  son  com- 
mandement,  sil  s'engage  a  moins  de  severite. 

Maintenant  M.  de  Chepart,  tout  au  moins  moralement,  met  de 
l'eau  dans  son  vin.  II  se  montre  plus  humain  avec  ses  hommes, 
mais  se  rattrape  sur  les  sauvages,  qu'il  a  decide  de  faire  deguerpir 
des  environs  immediats  du  fort,  pour  se  mettre  bien  en  cour  aupres 
du  Gouverneur. 

II  fait  appeler  le  Grand  Soleil,  et,  brutalement,  lui  annonce  qu'il 
va  saisir  le  Village  de  la  Pomme  Blanche,  le  remplacer  par  un 
poste  et  une  plantation. 

Le  Grand  Soleil  est  abasourdi  dune  telle  pretention.  «  Le  grand 
frere  blanc  plaisante,  siirement  il  sait  que  ceux  de  ma  nation  ont 
vecu  dans  ce  village  depuis  plus  de  lunes  qu'il  y  a  de  cheveux  dans 
mes  meches.  > 

M.  de  Chepart  1'ayant  en  reponse  traite  de  pourceau,  auquel 
nulle  explication  n'est  due,  il  insiste  fierement  :  <  Les  Francais 
jusque-la  ne  nous  ont  pas  traite  de  mauvaise  facon,  M.  de  Bienville, 
qui  est  notre  ami,  nous  a  achetc  ce  qu'il  voulait  ou  nous  lui  avons 
donne  de  plein  gre.  Prenez  d'autres  terres  si  vous  le  trouvez  bon, 
mais  laissez-nous  le  village  de  la  Pomme  Blanche,  ou  les  os  de  nos 
ancetres  reposent  depuis  que  nous  sommes  arrives  sur  le  Pere  des 
Grandes  Eaux.  Aux  yeux  du  Grand  Esprit,  il  est  juste  que  nous,  les 
enfants  du  Soleil,  restions  ici  jusqu'a  ce  que  sa  flamme  nous  enve- 
loppe.  > 

Implacable,  M.  de  Chepart  lui  donne  dix  jours  pour  s'executer. 

L'ultimatum  de  l'officier  se  repand  comme  une  fumee  d'aromates. 
La  nation  est  trepidante  de  haine.  Les  Soleils  se  reimisseiu  en  conseil 
secret,  ils  decident  de  frapper  a  l'improviste.  lis  vonl  faire  alliance 
avec  les  autres  nations  qui  ont  a  se  plaindre  des  conquerants,  avec 
tous  les  villages  irrites.  A  chacun  ils  vont  envoyer  un  ambassadeur, 
porteur  d'un  petit  fagot  de  brindilles  soigneusement  comptees  : 
dans  leurs  temples  chaque  jour  les  pretres  en  jetteront  une  sur 
le  feu  sacre,  et  tous  frapperont  simultanement  le  jour  oil  la  der- 
niere  sera  consumee. 

Le  Soleil  de  la  Pomme  Blanche  a  une  recommandation  a  ajouter. 


LA     LOUIS1ANE     FRAN£AISE 

c'est  de  garder  le  secret  absolu  aupres  des  femraes  <  a  qui  on  ne 
doit  confier  aucun  dessein  d'importance,  puisque  tout  le  monde 
sail  qu'elles  ne  peuvent  pas  plus  tenir  un  secret  que  les  doigts 
I'canc-s  l'eau  de  la  riviere.  » 

Le  lendemain,  le  Grand  Soleil  retourne  au  fort,  acceptant  en 
apparence  de  se  souraettre,  mais  ils  n'ont  pas  eu  le  temps  de 
choisir  un  nouvel  emplacement  ;  si  l'ofncier  veut  leur  consentir 
un  d&ai  de  retraite,  on  lui  verscra  une  dime  de  mahiz,  huile  d'ours, 
fourrures  et  volailles  pour  chacune  des  80  cabanes  du  village.  M. 
de  Che  part,  enchante  du  marche"  inattendu  accepte  de  grand  aeur. 

La  mere  du  Grand  Soleil,  la  princesse  «  Bras  Pique1  »  est  grande 
amie  des  Francais,  on  murmure  que  son  tils  est  la  preuve  vivante 
de  cette  amitid.  Elle  observe  avec  curiosity  les  mysterieuses  allies 
et  venues  des  dmissaires,  et  pressent  un  danger. 

Comme  toutes  les  femmes,  elle  emploie  la  ruse.  Rejoignant  a 
I'ecart  son  fils,  elle  le  prend  a  parti  :  elle  sail  qu'un  complot  existe, 
qu'a-t-elle  fait  pour  meriter  cette  disgrace  de  silence,  a-t-elle  jamais 
agi  follemcnt,  trahi  son  peuple.  La  voila,  elle  mere  du  Grand  So- 
leil, traitee  comme  un  chien  batard,  autant  la  chasser  tout  de  suite 
a  coups  de  pieds. 

Le  Grand  Soleil  n'en  peut  supporter  davantage,  il  lui  confie  tous 
les  details  du  complot,  et  sans  perdre  de  temps,  <  Bras  Pique"  », 
qui  n'ose  pas  s'approcher  du  fort  de  crainte  d'eveiller  des  soupcons, 
fait  pr^venir  M.  de  Chepart  de  s'attendre  a  une  attaquc,  par  le 
Sous-Lt.  Mac£  qu'elle  rencontre  dans  le  bois,  puis  par  Papin,  I'in- 
terprete.  Pour  plus  de  precaution,  elle  p^n^tre  dans  la  panic  r£- 
servee  du  temple,  et  a  l'insu  des  gardiens,  fait  bruler  quelques 
brindtlles  du  fagot,  pour  jeter  le  dlsordre  dans  les  plans  d'attaque. 

Suivant  sa  coutume,  M.  de  Ch^part,  non  seulement  ne  pr£te 
nulle  attention  aux  avertissements  qu'il  recoil,  mais  fait  mettre 
aux  fers  Mace  et  Papin,  qui  lui  transmettent  ces  billevesees.  Pour 
bien  monirer  ce  qu'il  pense  de  ces  contes  de  vieille  folle,  il  passe 
une  panic  de  la  nuit  soulign£e  a  bambocher  au  Grand  Village. 
11  doit  rcccvoir  son  butin  le  lendemain,  et  se  sent  d'humeur  joyeuse. 

Un  bateau  plat  remonte  le  Mississipi,  avec  des  approvisionnements 
et  MM.  de  Kolly,  pere  et  fils,  qui  viennent  de  France  visiter  leur 
concession,  gardee  par  M.  de  Longraye. 

Le   Gapt.   du   Gouder,   commandant   aux   Vazoux,   arrive   a    la 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 


«"3 


pointe  du  jour,  en  pirogue,  avec  le  Pere  Poisson,  Jesuhe,  et  quelques 
Yazoux,  et  monte  au  fort  se  reposer. 

Ce  jour,  29  novembre  1729,  des  l'aube,  des  partis  de  sauvages 
se  pr£sement  dans  mines  les  habitations,  quetant  de  la  poudre 
et  des  balles,  pour  aller  a  la  chasse.  lis  se  libereront  de  leur  dette, 
au  retour,  avec  du  gibier. 

A  huh  heures,  le  Grand  Soleil,  precede"  d'un  chef,  porteur  du 
calumet,  et  suivi  des  autres  Soleils  et  de  tous  ses  guerriers,  portant 
les  offrandes  convenues,  se  dirige  vers  le  Fort,  autour  duquel  le 
cortege  tourne  trois  fois  avec  des  cris  joyeux. 

M.  de  Chepart,  qui  s'est  couche  fort  tard  et  fort  ivre,  est  reveille 
par  le  bruit,  il  apparafc  en  robe  de  chain  b  re  et  accepte  avec  cupidite 
les  presents. 

Toujours  chantant,  les  sauvages  commencent  a  danser,  entrent 
et  sortent  de  la  palissade  avec  mi  lie  contorsions. 

Sur  le  fleuve,  des  hommes  commencent  a  vider  le  bateau  de  ses 
march  an  discs.  D'une  d^charge,  tous  les  ddbardeurs  sont  tu£s  par  des 
guerriers  en  embuscade. 

Cest  le  signal  qu'on  attendait  en  haut.  Simultanement,  tous  les 
mousquets  parlent,  tous  les  Francais  sont  abattus  sans  avoir  le 
temps  de  prononcer  un  mot  :  le  Capt.  du  Couder,  Desnoyers, 
M.  la  Sonde,  le  chirurgien  du  poste,  le  Pere  Poisson,  Me  Valer  le 
notaire,  tous  les  officiers,  des  soldats  insouciant,  pleins  de  vigueur 
et  de  jeunesse,  qui  portent  des  noms  et  des  sobriquets  charmants 
de  France  —  la  Flamme,  la  Joye,  la  Douceur,  Sans-Soucy,  Beau- 
Soleil,  Visse-Bras,  Va-de-bon-cceur,  Bourguignon,  l'Enclume,  Sans- 
Chagrin,  la  Fortune. 

M.  de  CM  part,  t  err  i  fie,  a  trouve  moyen,  en  train  ant  ses  pantoufles, 
de  se  sauver  dans  le  jardin.  On  ne  le  met  pas  en  joue,  un  chatiment 
trop  doux  pour  un  <  occur  de  crocodile  »,  on  fait  venir  le  chef  des 
Puants,  qui  1'assomme  a  coups  de  massue,  et  apporte  sa  t£te  au 
Grand  Soleil,  fumant  sa  pipe  dans  le  magastn  de  la  Cie.  On  la 
pose  devant  lui,  et  toutes  les  autres  tetes  sont  arrangees  symetrique- 
ment  autour,  en  fleur  monstrueuse.  Les  corps  decapites  sont  aban- 
donMs  sur  place  aux  oiseaux  des  charniers. 

M.  de  la  Loire  des  Ursins,  de  St  Germain  en  Laye,  chassait  a 
I'heure  ou  son  habitation,  deTendue  par  son  fils  naturel,  Rosalie 
a  ere  attaquee.  Revenant  a  cheval,  il  est  assailli  et  tue.  apres  a 
couche  lui-meme  quatre  guerriers. 


si4 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE 


Les  de  Kollys,  M.  Bavalon,  leur  directeur,  M.  de  Longraye,  ( 
le  Sous-Lieut.  Mace,  en  route  vers  Ste  Catherine,  ont  la  teie  casset 
Tonics  les  plantations  sont  prises  d'assaut. 

Les  Natchez,  dans  leur  matinee,  ont  perdu  douze  homines  et  fait 
700  victimes.  lis  ont  massacre  tous  les  Francais.  saisi  300  femmes 
et  enfants,  qu'ils  mettent  a  mort,  telles  les  femmes  Mace  et  Papin,  ou 
dont  ils  font  des  esclaves,  comme  Madame  Dumont  de  Montigny 
et  la  femme  Desnoyers. 

Deux  hommes  seulement  ont  et<*  £pargnes  dans  la  tuerie  :  Le  Beau, 
un  tailleur,  dont  on  a  tue  la  femme,  qui  accommodera  pour  les 
sauvages  les  uniformes  des  morts,  et  Mayeux,  un  charroyeur,  qui 
sera  utile  pour  transporter  aux  villages  les  effets  du  Fort  et  les 
marchandises  du  bateau. 

Le  Fort  Rosalie  et  toutes  les  habitations  etagees  sur  le  morne  sont 
incendies.  Le  Grand  Soleil  met  les  munitions  a  l'abri,  et  divise  le 
reste  du  butin  en  parts  egales.  Les  futs  d'eau-de-vie  sont  eventres. 
Certains  que  la  nation  francaise  est  exterminee.  toute  la  nuit,  les 
Natchez  fesioient,  poussent  des  cris  inhumains  sous  les  yeux  epou- 
vantes  des  veuves  et  des  blessees. 

Le  long  du  fleuve,  des  guerriers  sont  embusques.  Cinq  Francais 
descendant  en  pirogue  sont  amicalement  heles.  Quatre  d'entre  eux 
sont  massacres  lorsqu'ils  mettent  pied  a  terre,  le  cinquieme,  sup- 
plied. 

Le  Pere  d'Outreleau,  de  la  mission  des  Arkansas,  qui  descend  a 
la  Nile  Orleans  avec  quelques  compagnons,  celebre  la  messe  sur 
la  berge,  des  sauvages  se  pretendant  amis  entourent  1'autel  de 
fortune.  Les  Francais  ont  tire  sur  un  passage  de  canards  et  n'ont 
pas  recharge  leurs  arroes.  A  un  signal,  les  sauvages  tirent,  le  Pere, 
blesse,  a  la  course  parvient  a  regagner  sa  pirogue  avec  ses  hommes, 
blesse  encore,  il  gagne  le  large. 

Les  Yazoux,  cependant  bien  traites,  auxquels  les  Natchez  ont 
promis  une  part  de  butin,  se  soulevent  a  leur  tour.  Le  Pere  Souel, 
Jesuite,  est  tue  dans  la  foret  en  rentrant  de  porter  le  viattque  a 
un  malade.  Le  Fort  St.  Claude  est  attaque  et  brdle,  toute  la  garnison 
massacree.  Au  Fort  St  Pierre,  le  Chevalier  des  Roches  et  14  Fran- 
cais sont  tues,  ainsi  que  leurs  families.  Les  sauvages  reverent  les 
ornemenu  sacerdotaux  de  la  chapelle.  pour  danser. 

Aux  Natchitochez,  M.  de  St  Dents  commande  et  jouit  de  I'amitii 
des  sauvages,  qu'il  comprend  fort  bien.  Les  Natchez  ont  peur  de 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN9AISE  «15 

cctte  alliance  francaise.  Au  crepuscule,  une  delegation  de  150  guer- 
riers  de  leur  nation  se  presence  au  fort  pour  fumer  le  calumet  et 
remettre,  disent-ils,  une  femme  francaise  qu'ils  ont  avec  eux. 

M.  de  St  Denis,  etonne  de  leur  nombre,  refuse  d'en  recevoir 
plus  de  dix,  et  demande  immediatement  la  femme.  pour  laquelle 
il  se  declare  pret  a  payer  rancon.  Les  Natchez,  deconfits  de  voir 
leur  ruse  even  tee,  devant  le  Fort,  brulent  leur  prisonniere,  et  cam- 
pent  a  une  courte  distance  pour  attaquer  au  jour.  Mais  M.  de  St. 
Denis  est  un  bon  soldat,  avant  l'aurore,  il  est  sur  eux  avec  40 
Francais  et  40  Natchitochez. 

Par  miracle,  5  hommes  occup^s  hors  du  Fort  Rosalie,  le  jour 
fatidique  de  novembre,  ont  pu  s'echapper.  L'un  d'eux,  Richard, 
qui  travaillait  sur  le  bateau  plat,  a  fait  lc  mort  et  s'est  sauve  a  la 
nage  jusqu'a  la  maison  du  maitre-poiier  Rousseau,  ou  les  Yazoux 
du  Capt.  du  Couder,  ignorant  le  massacre,  lui  ont  laisse  emprunter 
une  pirogue  et  des  vivres  ;  fin  decembre,  il  arrive  a  la  Nile  Orleans 
et  raconte  reffroyablc  boucherie  des  Natchez.  II  est  hagard,  extenue, 
on  le  prend  pour  un  hallucine  et  on  hausse  les  epaules,  mais  Couil- 
lard,  Navarre,  Canterelle  et  Louette,  qui  ce  jour  la  coupaient  du 
bois  dans  la  forfit,  arrivent  a  leur  tour,  en  aussi  lamentable  etat,  et 
il  faut  bien  se  rendre  a  1'evidence. 

La  terreur  gagne  toute  la  ville,  qui  n'est  pas  palissadee.  Des 
Chouachas  terrorisent  les  habitants  du  voisinage,  M.  de  Perrier  est 
oblige  de  faire  casser  sept  tetes,  et  de  bruler  leur  village.  Les  gens 
de  la  C6te  Allemande  et  des  plantations  se  relugient  a  la  Nile 
Orleans.  On  craint  que  les  noirs  ne  fassent  cause  commune  avec 
les  sauvages.  Les  nerfs  sont  a  fleur  de  peau,  la  panique  crolt  de 
jour  en  jour,  avec  les  nouvelles. 

Cette  terreur  ne  peut  pas  durer.  M.  de  Benac  propose  de  lever 
une  milice  de  volontaires,  dont  il  prendra  la  tete.  Chaque  habita- 
tion fournit  des  hommes  et  des  munitions. 

Quelques  semaines  plus  t6t  une  delegation  de  600  guerriers 
Chactas  s'est  presentee  devant  la  Nile  Orleans,  pour  fumer  le  calu- 
met dans  la  ville.  M.  de  Perrier,  sans  rien  savoir  encore  du  souleve- 
ment  des  Natchez,  a  refus£  a  cause  de  leur  nombre,  qu'il  consid£- 
rait  inquietant.  Dlpites,  ils  ont  offert  leur  alliance  aux  Natchez, 
mais  ils  n'ont  pas  recu  du  pillage  une  part  satisfaisante. 

Une  fois  de  plus,  ils  font  volte-face,  se  retoument  contre  les 
Natchez.  Sur  la  place  du  village,  de  leur  hachette  ils  frappent  a 


»10  LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

tour  de  rdle  le  poteau  rouge  de  guerre,  affinnent  qu'ils  sont  les 
allied  des  Francais  et  les  aideront  de  leurs  amies  si  les  chiens  de 
Natchez  tuent  les  prisonnieres  francaises.  Les  Natchez  qui  croyaient 
etre  debarrasses  pour  loujours  de  la  race  blanche  et  de  ses  allies, 
commencent  a  temoigner  de  l'inquietude. 

M.  de  Perrier  demande  des  renforcements  en  France.  En  atten- 
dant, le  7  Janvier  1730,  il  expedie  le  Capt.  de  Lassus,  M.  le  Sueur 
et  M.  de  Lery,  chez  les  Chactas,  pour  cimenter  la  nouvelle  alliance 
et  organiser  une  expedition. 

Le  Chevalier  de  Loubois  prend  la  t£te  d'une  petite  troupe  et 
part  attendre  les  Chactas  chez  les  Tonicas,  ou  il  est  bien  accueilli. 
II  construit  un  petit  poste,  puis,  impatient,  envoie  le  Lt.  de  Mes- 
plaix,  M.  de  St  Amand.  t  un  bon  gentilhomme  >,  le  soldat  Navarre, 
marie  a  une  femme  Natchez,  et  deux  tambours  de  l'armee,  chez 
les  Natchez,  pour  s'enquerir  des  circonstances  exactes. 

A  peine  arrive  au  debarquement  des  Natchez,  les  Francais  sont 
cernes  par  les  guerriers.  Navarre  vettt  se  defendre  et  immediate- 
ment  est  tue,  les  autres  sont  faits  prisonniers  et  conduits  devant  le 
Grand  Soleil.  M.  de  Mesplaix  lui  affirm  e  qu'ils  sont  venus  avec  del 
propositions  de  paix,  que  Navarre  a  tir£  parce  qu'il  etait  plein  d'eau- 
de-feu,  les  autres  ont  depos£  leurs  armes. 

Le  Grand  Soleil  consent  a  s'apaiser.  il  envoie  chercher  la  femme 
Desnoyers,  prisonniere,  qui  redige  pour  lui  la  liste  de  ses  exigences. 
La  rancon  des  prisonnieres  est  longue,  il  lui  faut  200  barrils  de 
poudre,  sooo  pierres  a  fusil,  4000  livres  poids  de  balle,  soo  couteaux 
et  autant  de  haches,  20  barriques  de  vin,  so  habits  galonnes.  20 
chapeaux  a  tresse  avec  plume,  des  aulnes  de  limbourg,  bien  d'autres 
choses  encore. 

Un  des  tambours  va  emporter  cette  liste  au  Chevalier  de  Lou- 
bois, chez  les  Tonicas.  Si  la  reponse  affirmative  n'est  pas  parvenue 
sous  trois  jours,  on  cassera  la  tele  des  otages.  Dans  l'intervalle  les 
Francais  sont  bien  traites,  mais  les  sauvages  tournent  de  facnn 
inquietante  autour  de  M.  de  Mesplaix,  qui  possede  de  si  belles 
boucles,  helas  a  lui.  flottant  jusqu'a  ses  epaules. 

Le  quatrieme  jour,  aucune  reponse  n'est  parvenue.  Le  Lt.  de 
St.  Amand  et  le  tambour  sont  mis  a  mort  sans  cer^monie  ;  M.  de 
Mesplaix  est  un  guerrier  d'importance  et  on  le  considere  comme 
lei.  On  leve  soigneusement  la  belle  chevelure,  et  on  1'attache  au 
poteau  de  torture,  ou  durant  trois  jours  et  trois  nuits,  entouri  du 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  117 

cerde  agenouille  des  prisonnieres  sanglotantes,  pour  que  la  nation 
ait  le  spectacle  d'un  Francais  en  pleurs,  il  est  savamment  martyrise. 

Pas  une  plainte  ne  s'echappe  de  ses  levres,  sa  chair  est  en  lam- 
beaux,  ses  blessures  sont  avivees  par  des  poisons,  les  sauvages 
n'entendent  aucun  gemissement  jusqu'au  moment  ou  il  rend  Time. 
Les  officiers  de  France,  quelquefois  ne  savent  pas  vivre,  mais  ils 
savent  g^neralement  mourir. 

Continuant  a  vider  les  tonneaux  d'eau-de-vie  et  a  faire  bombance, 
les  Natchez  s'abrutissent,  mais  le  Grand  Soleil  recoit  des  nouvelles 
deplaisantes  ;  les  Avoyelles  et  les  Tounicas  se  sont  joints  aux  Fran- 
cais. II  fait  jongler  une  de  ses  diseuses,  qui  lui  annonce  que  le 
fort  et  les  villages  bientfit  seront  entoures  d'hommes  vivants.  II 
demande  a  la  femme  Desnoyers  s'il  est  vrai,  comme  on  le  dit, 
que  les  Francais  pardonnent,  embrassent  leurs  enncmis  et  man- 
gent  avec  eux,  quand  la  guerre  est  finie.  La  femme,  ne  voulant  pas 
aggraver  le  sort  des  prisonnieres,  l'assure  que  les  choses  se  passent 
exactement  ainsi. 

Le  Grand  Soleil  ne  jouit  pas  longtemps  de  cette  fraiche  confiance. 
Le  !7  Janvier,  au  milieu  de  leur  orgie,  les  Natchez  sont  attaques, 
sur  la  riviere  Ste.  Catherine,  par  des  Chactas  commanded  par  M. 
Le  Sueur  et  une  vingtaine  de  negres  libres,  extraordinairement 
valeureux.  lis  essaient  de  se  refugter  dans  leur  fort,  mais  60  d'entre 
eux  sont  scalp6s  par  les  Chactas,  et  200  prisonniers,  dont  Dame  de 
Montigny.  le  tailleur  et  le  charroyeur,  sont  delivres. 

M.  Le  Sueur  se  retranche  a  Ste  Catherine,  oil  il  est  rejoint  le  8 
fivrier  par  M.  de  Lery  et  d'autres  Chactas. 

En  mars,  le  Chevalier  de  Loubois  arrive  a  son  tour  avec  les 
Ihevaliers  d'Artaguette  et  d'Arcnsbourg,  M.  de  Lave,  la  milice 
de  bourgeois  du  Chevalier  de  Binac  :  1400  hommes,  presque  tous 
"slants,  tirant  derriere  eux  quatre  mechantes  pieces  d'anillerie. 

Quatre  jours  plus  tard,  on  ouvre  le  feu  sur  le  fort  des  Natchez, 
d^fendu  par  trois  canons  derobe's  au  fort  Rosalie,  et  maladroi  lenient 
servis  par  les  sauvages. 

Apres  deux  jours  de  canonnade,  les  Natchez  tentent  une  sortie. 
Des  prisonnieres  profitent  du  branle-bas  pour  les  suivre  et  rejoindre 
les  lignes  franchises,  mais,  a  leur  horreur,  elles  voient  la  lete  de 
plusieurs  enfants,  abandonnes  au  fort,  empalee  sur  la  palissade,  en 
represailles. 

Les  Natchez,  voyant  les  Francais  determines  a  gagner  la  partie. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

envoient  la  femme  Desnoyers  avec  des  propositions,  d'ailleurs 
inaccepiables.  Enfin,  le  25  mars,  ils  moment  le  drapeau  blanc.  Apres 
des  pourparlers  compliquej  avec  le  Chef  des  Chactas,  ils  s'engagent 
a  delivrer  les  prisonnters,  a  condition  d'avoir  jusqu'au  matin 
pour  se  rendre. 

Les  prisonniers  sont  elargis,  et,  dans  la  nuit,  les  sauvages  s'echap- 
pent  silencieusement  avec  quelques  esclaves  blanches,  vers  les 
Ouachitas,  sur  l'autre  rive  du  Mississipi. 

Quinze  Francais  oni  £ie  tues,  les  Natchez  sont  partis,  il  ne  reste 
plus  qu'a  mettre  le  feu  a  leur  fort  et  recommencer  un  fort  francais, 
a  1'emplacement  du  vieux  fort  Rosalie.  Les  officiers  ont  e"t£  heroiques 
et  la  plupart  des  soldats  si  pleutres,  que  le  Chevalier  de  Loubois 
est  sur  4  qu'ils  ont  Hi  fabriquis  expres  pour  la  colonic.  »  Les 
Chactas  se  sont  bien  conduits,  mats  leur  continuelle  impatience 
rend  toute  strategic  difficile. 

Les  femmes  et  les  enfants  redescendent  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  oil 
toute  la  population  les  accueille  a  bras  ouverts.  les  habitants  se 
disputent  1'honneur  de  leur  offrir  l'hospitaIite\  les  dames  UrsuHnes 
se  chargent  des  orphelines. 

Mais  le  temps  coule  rapidement  dans  ces  climats  tiedes,  les 
veuves  sont  bien  vite  remariees  et  recoivent  des  petites  concessions, 
la  plupart  a  la  Pointe-Coupee. 

Les  Natchez  ne  se  tiennent  pas  pour  battus,  ils  continueni  a 
harasser  les  Francais.  M.  de  Loubois  a  laisse  au  nouveau  fort 
Rosalie  120  hommes.  commandos  par  le  Chevalier  Baron  de  Cres- 
nay  ;  so  soldats,  ecor^ant  des  evpres  a  quelque  distance,  sont  tues  el 
sealpes.  Six  Natchez,  se  pretendant  Chactas,  penetrent  dans  le  fort, 
et  massacrent  5  hommes  avant  d'etre  maftrtses  et  brules  au  cadre. 

Un  parti  de  Natchez  se  presente  devant  le  Grand  Chef  des  To- 
nicas.  un  chr&ien  a  qui  le  Roi  a  envoyd  un  medallion  a  son  effigie, 
en  recompense  de  son  attachement.  Les  Natchez  offrent  le  calumet, 
qui  est  accepte.  C'est  une  feinte,  ils  tuent  et  levent  la  chevelure  du 
Chef  et  de  tous  les  Francais  presents. 

Fnfin.  en  decembre,  les  renforts  reclames  par  M.  de  Perrier  ar- 
rivent  de  France  :  deux  compagnies  de  la  marine,  de  60  hommes 
ehacune,  venant  de  Brest,  commandoes  par  son  frere.  M.  Perrier 
de  Salvert,  enseigne  de  vaisseau.  et  le  Chevalier  de  Kerlerec. 

On  va  poursuivre  les  Natchez  en  fuite,  et  si  possible,  les  aneantir. 
M.  de  Perrier  a  choisi  le  confluent  de  la  Riviere-Rouge  pour  point 


LA    LOUISIANE    F  R  A  N  f  A  1  5  E  fig 

de  ralliement.  Un  coureur  apprend  que  M.  de  Coulange,  qui  le 
prectklait  sur  la  riviere  avec  1000  Tonicas,  est  blesse'  et  a  quinze  tues. 

Tous  remontent  la  Riviere- Rouge,  puis  la  Riviere-Noire.  Les 
Natchez  sont  retranches  dans  un  petit  fort  qu'on  investit.  On  monte 
les  pieces  d'artillerie  et,  sous  un  del  plomW,  on  attaque.  Les  sau- 
vages  se  dependent  vigo  u  reuse  me  nt,  mais  le  troisieme  jour  hissent 
le  drapeau  blanc. 

Un  Chef  vient  oftrir  le  calumet  et  propose  de  relacher  les  es- 
claves  retenus  au  fort,  M.  de  Perrier  ne  discute  pas  avec  lui,  it  veut 
s'entretenir  avec  le  Grand  Soleil.  Le  Grand  Soleil  ?  on  lui  assure 
que  c'est  impossible,  alors  M.  de  Perrier  mettra  le  fort  en  pieces. 

St.  Cosme,  un  Soleil,  essaie  de  le  convaincre  que  la  paix  est 
faite.  Devant  1'obstination  de  M.  de  Perrier,  il  se  decide  a  aller 
chercher  le  Grand  Soleil  et  le  Soleil  de  la  Farine,  l'instigateur  de 
la  reVolte. 

Les  nuages  pansus  eclatent  avec  vengeance,  des  torrents  d'eau 
fustigent  la  ligne  d'attaque,  embourbent  les  pieces,  glacent  les 
troupes.  Les  Soleils,  enfin  arrives,  sont  conduits  a  I'abri  dans  une 
cabane  ou  ils  sont  trails  en  prisonniers  sous  la  garde  de  M.  le 
Sueur.  Pendant  la  nuit,  l'orage  n'empeche  pas  l'ofncier  de  s'assoupir. 
Quand  il  se  reveille,  le  Soleil  de  la  Farine  a  disparu. 

M.  de  Perrier  oblige  le  Grand  Soleil  a  envoyer  au  fort  l'ordre 
de  relacher  les  femmes  et  les  enfants  prisonniers,  le  fort  refuse  de 
s'executer  et  la  canonnade  continue  mollement. 

La  pluie  tombe  a  pleins  seaux,  la  poudre  est  mouille'e,  les  troupes 
barbotent  jusqu'a  mi-jambe  dans  une  eau  galopante,  la  nuit  tombe, 
il  faut  bien  arreter  un  feu  si  peti  effectif  qu'il  n'cst  plus  qu'un  geste. 
On  recommencera  au  petit  jour. 

On  ne  recommence  pas,  parce  que  les  sauvages  a  la  faveur  de  la 
pluie  et  des  tenebres,  se  sont  enfuis.  A  l'aurore,  quand  on  pinetre 
dans  le  fort  silencieux,  on  ne  trouve  qu'une  femme  r^cemment 
accouchee  et  un  vieillard.  A  grand'peine,  on  rattrape  une  centaine 
de  fuyards.  trop  lourdement  charges. 

M.  de  Perrier  sur  ses  bateaux  entasse  427  prisonniers  Natchez,  le 
Grand  Soleil,  et  plusieurs  Chefs,  qu'il  va  envoyer  a  St  Domingue. 
oil  ils  seront  vendus  comme  esclaves. 

bLes  Natchez  ne  sont  pas  d£truits,  mais  le  peu  qu'il  en  reste  va 
fondre  avec  les  Chicachas.  La  nation  n'existe  plus. 


M.  de  Perrier  n'est  pas  particulierement  fier  de  cetie  campagne, 
dans  laquelle  les  elements  se  sont  liguSs  contre  lui  avec  les  na  turds, 
mais  les  circonstances  marchent  a  trop  grandes  enjambees  pour  que 
Paris  s'atiarde  a  lui  demander  des  comptes. 

Les  bailments  de  France  apportent  des  nouvelles  d'un  interet 
capital  :  La  Cie  des  Indes,  decouragee  par  ses  essais  infructueux, 
apres  une  assemble  generate  tumuliueuse  de  ses  actionnaires,  ■ 
remis  sa  charte  a  Sa  Majesty,  qui  le  10  avril  173*.  a  accepte"  la  re- 
trocession. Le  Roi  reprend  a  son  compte  la  Louisiane  torn  bee  dans 
!e  decri. 

L'entreprise  si  brillammeni  commencee  s'est  averee  piteuse.  Pen- 
dant sa  courte  existence,  la  Cie  a  SbauchS  les  etablissements  des 
Natchez,  des  Cannes-Bruises,  Pointe-Coupee,  Manchac,  Baton- 
Rouge,  et,  a  son  corps  defendant,  a  fonde  la  Nile  Orleans,  dont 
M.  de  Bienville  est  le  veritable  parrain. 

Elle  avait  trouvS  une  population  de  500  Blancs  et  20  Negres,  die 
restitue  5000  Blancs  et  K500  Noirs,  mais  elle  laisse  la  colonic  comme 
elle  l'a  prise,  en  pietre  Stat. 

Les  plantations,  il  est  vrai,  se  sont  multiplies,  mais  les  com- 
munications sont  toujours  difficiles.  Aucune  route  n'a  Ste"  iracee, 
d'ailleurs  il  n'y  a  que  14  chevaux  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  et  362  dans 
loute  la  colonie,  la  plupart  obtenus  des  sauvages  de  1'Ouest.  Entre 
les  menoires.  on  voit  surtout  des  boeufs,  qui  trainent  aussi  les  <  ca- 
broucts  >  a  deux  roues,  sans  ridelles,  doni  on  se  sert  pour  les  gTO* 
charrois. 

Une  voittirc  —  la  premiere  —  a  6ti  apportee  de  la  Havane.  en 
r;  ;■'  11  n'y  a  pas  de  carrossier  sur  les  lieux,  mais  les  charrons  sont 
noinbreux. 

La  Louisiane,  en  mauvaise  posture,  n'aime  pas  M.  de  Perrier, 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  881 

plus  toupable  d'indecision  que  de  deficience.  M.  Edme  Gatien  de 
Salmon,  le  commissaire-ordonnateur,  qui  a  remplace  M.  de  la  Chaise, 
n'est  pas  davamage  apprecie.  Dans  les  comptoirs,  les  prix  som 
exorbitants  :  on  paie  35  Livres  une  pa  ire  de  souliers  de  muni- 
tion ;  30  Livres  une  pinte  de  bonne  eau-de-vie. 

On  a  dccouvert  un  complot  d'esclaves.  Le  massacre  des  maitres 
et  de  la  garnison  de  la  Nile  Orleans  etait  decide,  lorsquc  la  main 
de  M.  de  Perrier  s'est  abattue.  En  chatiment,  quatre  esclaves  ont  ete 
brises  a  la  roue,  leurs  tetes  empalees  sur  des  pieux  aux  deux  extre- 
miies  de  la  ville,  afin  que  tous  les  noirs  les  voient  et  reflechissent 
aux  consequences  d'urt  soulevement. 

Pour  s'acquitter  de  ses  dettes,  la  Cie  a  emis  une  quantite  de 
billets-de-caisse,  qui  concurrencent  les  monnaies  du  Roi.  Le  Con- 
seil  d'Etai  accorde  aux  habitants  quinze  jours  apres  proclamation 
pour  se  debarrasser  de  ces  billets-de-caisse,  en  payant  leurs  dettes 
individuelles  a  la  Cie. 

Le  Roi  a  consent!  a  acheter  tous  les  effets  de  la  Cie,  qui,  outre 
ses  comptoirs  et  ses  magasins,  possede  en  face  de  la  Nile  Orleans 
une  vaste  plantation.  L'inveniaire  des  biens  atteint  263.000  Livres, 
detaillees  en  marchandises,  briqueteries,  »6o  esclaves,  14  chevaux, 
8000  barils  de  riz.  M.  le  Page  du  Pratz,  qui  s'est  revels  avise,  est 
mis  a  la  tete  de  la  plantation. 

Par  lettres-patentes  du  7  mai  1732,  le  Conseil  Superieur  a  ete 
reorganise.  II  inclut  maintenant  avec  M.  de  Perrier  et  le  Chevalier 
de  Benac,  major  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  MM.  Louis  Prat,  de  la  Fres- 
niere,  d'Artaguette  et  le  Chevalier  de  Loubois. 

Pour  faire  refleurir  le  commerce,  le  Gouvernement  exempt  de 
droits  les  marchandises  a  destination  ou  en  provenance  de  la  Loui- 
siane.  Les  marchands  de  St.  Malo,  Bordeaux  et  Marseille,  qui  ne 
manifestent  guere  d'enthousiasme.  pourront  commercer  sans  con- 
tr61e.  L'Etat  sera  I'unique  acheteur  des  tabacs,  paiera  35  Livres  les 
cent  livres  pesant.  Et,  e'est  la  le  point  important,  M.  de  Bienville 
est  nomme  Gouverneur,  M.  de  Perrier  etant  eleve  a  la  charge  de 
Lieutenant-General. 


XXX. 


L'arrivee  de  M.  de  Bienville,  Commandant  General,  au  prin- 
temps  de  1733,  est  un  evenement  primordial.  Ses  parents,  les  an- 
ciens,  un  grand  <  abord  >  de  peuple,  les  chefs  sauvages  se  inassem 
pour  1'acclamer.  Deja  la  cesure  ne  compte  plus,  on  reprend  le 
mouvemeni  ou  Ton  s'etait  arrete. 

Vieilli  el  debilite,  M.  de  Bienville  accepte  cette  fideliie  avec  de 
grosses  larmes  dans  ses  bons  yeux.  On  espere  tout  de  lui,  certaine- 
ment  sa  seule  presence  va  faire  disparaitre  les  calamites  qui  pincent 
to  us  les  orteils. 

A  la  Mobile,  il  y  a  la  petite  verole,  qui  «  piaule  >  les  visages  ;  a 
la  Nile  Orleans  la  disette  ;  les  habitants  de  la  cote  ne  trouvent  plus 
preneur  pour  leur  brai  et  leur  goudron  ;  les  Chactas,  aiguillonnes 
par  les  Anglais  des  Carolines,  depuis  l'affaire  des  Natchez,  traitent 
de  haut  les  Francais,  <  Soulier  Rouge  >  se  plaint  d'avoir  ete  relegue 
par  M.  de  Perrier  au  plan  d'homme  sans  consequence. 

Le  rebut  des  prisons  et  des  ruelles  mal  famees  de  France,  en  vieil- 
lissant,  est  de  plus  en  plus  devoye,  de  plus  en  plus  malade,  de  plus 
en  plus  dangereux.  Les  pecheresses  sont  de  plus  en  plus  effrontees. 

M.  de  Bienville  a  fort  a  (aire  s'il  entend  epurer  ce  gachis.  Heu- 
reusement,  il  est  en  bon  accord  avec  M.  de  Perrier,  qui  maintenant 
possede  une  plantation,  et  M.  de  Salmon. 

II  convoque  <  Soulier  Rouge  >  et  ses  guerriers,  a  la  Mobile,  ou 
il  va  essayer  d'ecirer  le  prestige  de  la  France,  qui  en  son  absence  a 
retreci  comme  un  cuir  de  bceuf  au  soleil. 

Aux  Natchez,  il  envoie  un  officier  qui  vient  d'arriver,  Jean  Joseph 
Delfau  de  Pontalba,  le  troisieme  fils  dun  Delfau  du  Quercy,  devenu 
Capitoul  de  Toulouse,  seigneur  de  la  Roque-Bou  iliac,  Roquefort, 
B  effort,  Pontalba,  Loubejac,  et  autres  lieux  et  contreseigneur  de 
la  baronnie  de  Camboulit. 


LA    LOUISUNE    FRANfAISE  »J 

Sur  sa  suggestion,  un  ;u  toil-  dti  Conseil  accorde  diaque  annee  des 
concessions  a  deux  soldaos  de  merite,  choisis  dans  chaque  compagnie 
et  celles  des  Suisses,  a  I'expiration  de  leur  engagement,  c'est-a-dire 
a  sti  Franca  is  et  4  Suisses,  qui  de  plus  recevront  le  grenage  pour  en- 
sernencer,  leur  solde  et  le-urs  rations  habituelles,  pendant  les  trois 
annees  necessaires  au  defrichement. 

On  a  cree  une  nouvelle  monnaie-de-carte,  contresignee,  dont  les 
notes  descendent  de  15,  10  el  5  Livres,  a  50,  25  et  12  sols  et  demi. 

Un  patron  de  bateau,  Jean-Louis,  qui  a  bien  reussi  en  Louisiane 
avec  un  petit  chantier  de  barques,  en  mouram  legue  soo  Livres  a 
l'eglise  St.  Louis,  pour  acheter  un  grand  crucifix,  autant  aux  pau- 
vres  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  ei  le  reste  de  ses  economies,  10.000  piastres, 
au  Conseil  Super ieur  pour  cons tru ire  un  hopital. 

lout  de  suite,  le  Conseil  achete  la  maison  de  la  Vve  de  Kolly  ; 
M.  du  Breuil,  maintenam  entrepreneur  des  Batiments  du  Roi  en 
Louisiane,  pour  2189  Livres,  ajoute  une  aile  en  brique,  couverte 
de  bardeaux,  et  void  un  hopital  de  la  charite  qui  repond  aux  be- 
soins  de  la  ville.  Le  Pere  Mathias,  superieur  des  Capucins,  le  benit, 
M.  Prat,  chirurgien  du  Roi  et  botaniste,  en  prend  la  direction. 

Le  couvent  de  brique  des  Ursulines,  dont  Dame  le  Chibelier  a 
pose  la  premiere  pierre  en  1730,  au  coin  de  la  rue  du  Maine  et  de 
la  rue  de  Chartres,  est  termine.  Le  17  juillet  1734,  le  Pere  de  Beau- 
bois  donne  une  derniere  benediction  dans  la  chapelle  de  l'ancienne 
demeure  de  M.  de  Bienville,  il  pleut  a  verse. 

A  cinq  heures,  le  ciel  s'edaircit  et  le  soleil  s'installe  chez  lui.  Par 
les  rues  detrempees  la  procession  avance.  M.  de  Bienville  ouvre  la 
mardie,  suivi  des  habitants,  puis  des  enfants  de  1'orphelinat  et  de 
l'ecole,  portant  des  cierges  de  myrte  et  chantant  des  cantiques,  de 
douze  rillettes  habillees  en  anges,  precedant  Ste.  Ursule,  ecrasee 
par  une  magnifique  robe,  un  manteau  d'or  et  une  couronne  de 
pierreries,  et  tenant  un  cceur  traverse  dune  fleche.  Derriere  elle, 
20  jeunes  filles  vetues  de  blanc  agitent  des  palmes,  so  religieuses 
tiennent  droit  leurs  cierges  fragiles,  enfin,  sous  un  dais  vient  le 
clerge  portant  le  St.  Sacrement. 

Au  son  de  la  musique  militaire,  les  troupes  de  la  ville  marchent 
des  deux  cotes  du  cortege.  On  approche  du  couvent,  sa  doche  sonne 
a  toute  volee,  les  fitVes  et  les  tambours  lui  repondent. 

Dans  la  chapelle  neuve,  toutes  les  tetes  s'inclinent  pour  une  grave 
benediction.  La  Nile  Orleans  a  un  couvent.  En  memoire  de  ce 


LA     LOUISIANA     FRANfAlSE 

jour  faste,  la  rue  joignant  les  rues  de  Condi  et  de  Chartres  prend 
le  nom  «  des  Ursulines  >. 

Les  eaux  sont  tres  hautes  en  1735,  les  levees  sont  renversies  par 
leur  violence,  les  maisons  de  la  Nile  Orleans  sont  noyees,  on  circule 
en  canot  dans  les  rues.  Et  brusquemeni,  la  sicheresse  arrive.  Sans 
prcamljuk'  le  fleuve  baisse  de  quinze  pieds.  Durani  quatre  mois 
I'tii  est  suffocant,  la  terre  est  stigmatisee  par  des  craquelures,  le 
bcLail  meun,  des  chiens  enrages  errent  par  la  ville,  si  bien  qu'une 
ordonnance  de  M.  de  Salmon  enjoint  aux  habitants  de  les  chasser 
trois  fois  par  semaine  de  cinq  heures  du  soir  a  six  heures  du  matin. 
II  est  interdit  aux  esclaves  de  possider  des  chiens,  sous  peine  d'etre 
affubles  eux-inemes  d'un  collier  de  fer. 

M.  Chiendel  de  Maisonneuve,  M.  Vielle,  chirurgien-major  et 
apothicaire  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  et  M.  de  Jahan  ne  savent  plus  oil 
donner  de  la  tete  tant  les  malades  sont  nombreux. 

Les  ricoltes  sont  pitoyables,  mal  semens,  inal  venues,  puis  brulees. 
A  la  Pointe-Coupee  seuleraent,  le  tabac,  soigne"  par  des  negres 
de  Gutnee  fort  entendus,  donne  un  resultat  satisfaisant.  On  en 
cueille  pour  100.000  Livres. 

On  fait  contre  mauvaise  fortune  bon  coeur,  et,  puisque  les  ris 
sont  le  seul  moyen  d'e"carter  les  pleurs,  les  divertissements  recom- 
mencent. 

M.  de  Bienville  offre  une  soiree  de  contrai  pour  son  neveu,  Gilles 
Auguste  Payen,  Chevalier  de  Noyon,  fils  de  Payen  de  Noyon,  Sei- 
gneur de  Chavoy,  qui  Spouse  Dame  Jeanne  Faucon  du  Manoir,  la 
veuve  du  Conseiller  Massy. 

Comme  on  ne  saurait  hesiter  devant  un  si  bel  exemple,  Louis 
Boucher  de  Grand'Pre,  fils  de  Messire  de  Grand'Pri,  de  Trois- 
Rivieres  en  Canada,  demande  la  main  de  Therese  de  Gallard. 

Les  noces  font  glisser  le  temps,  mais  n'arrangent  pas  les  affaires 
de  la  colonie,  dinuee,  non  seulement  de  victuailles,  mais  aussi  d'ar- 
tisans.  M.  de  Bienville  promet  de  HWrer  tout  sold  at,  de  son  ttat 
savetier,  charpentier,  maitre-ouvrier  d'aucune  sorte,  s'il  s'engage  a 
s'etablir  sur  les  lieux  et  a  vivre  de  son  metier.  II  fournira  les  outils 
necessaires  et  continuera  les  rations  pendant  six  mois. 

Ces  questions  de  gestion  ne  lui  font  pas  perdre  de  vue  les  Chi- 
cachas,  de  plus  en  plus  agressifs.  M.  de  Verges  est  en  train  de  faire, 
secretement  et  dangereusement,  le  relevi  de  leurs  abords  ;  depuis 
plusieurs  mois,  on  fait  des  preparaiifs. 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISt  "5 

M.  Rene  de  Montbrun,  qui  fait  la  traite  aux  Islinois,  s'est  engage 
a  livrer  :m  mag  as  in  de  la  Nile  Orleans  4500  livres  de  grain,  au 
prix  de  20  Livres  le  cent  pesant,  avec  deduction  de  4  deniers  par 
Iivre  au  benefice  des  invalides  de  la  marine,  ainsi  qu'il  est  d' usage. 
MM.  Jean-Baptiste  de  St  Martin  Jaury-Guibery  et  Jean  de  Macarty 
vont  livrer  700  barils  de  riz  non  icali.  M.  de  Villars  du  Breuil,  qui 
est  en  train  de  fortifier  La  Balize,  a  passed  un  contrat  pour  des  four- 
nitures  de  guerre. 

Les  troupes  dont  M.  de  Bienville  dispose  ne  valent  certes  rien,  la 
plupart  des  hommes,  petits  et  malingres,  sont  d'une  couardise  in- 
quiet  ante,  un  point  d' interrogation  constant  pour  un  chef.  Sur  52 
recrues  arrivees  recemment,  pour  la  plupart  sonant  des  prisons, 
plus  de  la  moitie  ont  deja  eie  fouettees  pour  brans  et  indiscipline. 
Heureusement,  ces  lamentables  compagnies  sont  encadrees  par  des 
officiers  admirables  lorsqu'il  en  est  temps. 

Le  Chevalier  d'Artaguette,  le  fils  de  l'lnspecteur  des  troupes,  aid£ 
par  M.  l'Anglois  de  1'lsle,  commande  le  poste  des  Islinois  ;  M.  de 
Bienville  ordonne  au  Capt.  de  Blanc  de  s'y  rendre  avec  un  charge- 
ment  de  poudre  et  des  soldats,  pour  le  prier  de  le  rejoindre,  au  plus 
tard  le  10  mai,  chez  les  Chactas  avec  tous  les  hommes  dont  ii  pourra 
disposer.  On  attaquera  les  Chicachas. 

M.  de  Blanc,  que  les  sauvages  inquietent,  au  passage  cache  la 
poudre  aux  Arkansas,  transmet  ses  ordres  a  M.  d'Artaguette,  et 
renvoie  un  bateau  escorte  chercher  la  poudre.  Le  detachement 
charge"  de  cette  mission  est  massacre  par  des  sauvages,  qui  s'em- 
parent  de  la  poudre.  M.  de  Blanc  avait  de  bonnes  raisons  d'inquie- 
tude. 

Pendant  ce  temps,  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  messieurs  les  officiers,  qui 
connaissent  les  hasards  de  la  guerre,  mettent  de  l'ordre  dans  leurs 
consciences  et  leurs  affaires.  Le  Chevalier  d'Orgon,  M.  de  Pontalba, 
Jacques  de  Coustilhas  font  lew  testament  et  donnent  leur  procura- 
tion a  ceux  qui  restent  dans  la  capitale. 

Le  4  mars  1736,  avec  sa  petite  troupe,  une  compagnie  de  Suisses 
commandee  par  M.  du  Pare  et  M.  Volant,  et  une  <  compagnie  de 
(£libataires  »■  levee  parmi  la  bourgeoisie  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  M.  de 
Bienville  part  rejoindre  M.  d'Artaguette.  Le  Chevalier  de  Noyon 
le  suit  avec  quatre  compagnies. 

Arrives  au  fort  Cond£  de  la  Mobile,  maintenant  un  fort  de  brique 
a  quatre  bastions,  fortifie  a  la  Vauban  avec  demilunes,  chemin 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN(AISE 

couvert  et  glacis,  commands  par  M.  Jeodard  de  Beauchamp,  les 
Francais  se  reposent  jusqu'au  jour  de  Paques. 

Apres  la  messe,  dans  30  grandes  pirogues  et  30  bateaux  plats, 
ils  seinbarquent  pour  remonter  la  riviere  jusqu'a  la  iourcbe  de  la 
Tombecbee. 

Au  rendezvous,  M.  de  Bienville  trouve  le  depot  de  munitions  et 
de  vivres  quil  a  fail  preparer  a  l'avance,  et  600  guerriers  Chactas, 
auxquels  il  promet  des  presents  s'ils  I'assistent,  mais  aucune  trace 
de  M.  d'Artaguette.  Quelques  cabanes  de  leuillage  ont  ete  elevees 
aupres  de  plusieurs  tours  de  terre,  on  fait  des  chaudieres-hautes 
pour  les  troupes,  qui  couchent  a  terre.  11  pleut  sans  arret. 

La  saison  avance,  on  va  se  passer  de  M.  d'Artaguette.  Le  4  mai, 
on  reprend  la  riviere,  le  34,  on  atteint  un  point  de  debarquement 
favorable. 

Avec  douze  jours  de  vivres  dans  ses  paquetages,  la  petite  arrnee, 
grossie  de  isoo  Chactas,  sous  une  pluie  diluvienne  se  met  en  marche, 
elle  dapote  jusqu'aux  reins  dans  1'eau  croupissante  bousculee  par 
l'averse,  s'ernpetre  dans  les  joncs  souples  et  les  inextricables  fourres 
jamais  traverses,  se  blesse  sur  les  Cannes  qui  craquent  sous  leur 
poids  de  (aeon  pointue,  degringole  des  failles.  On  scupe  de  pain  et 
de  lard,  et  on  s'endort  dans  l'herbe  trempee. 

A  l'aube,  la  marche  reprend,  1'armee  traverse  encore  des  ravins 
pleins  d'eau,  et  lnui  par  aboutir,  pantelante  et  laceree,  dans  <  la 
plaine  aux  fraises  »,  a  proxiniite  des  villages  Chicachas,  triangu- 
lairement  etages  sur  un  coteau,  surplombant  une  etroite  riviere. 

M.  de  Bienville,  veut  executer  un  mouvement  tournant,  mais  les 
Cbactas,  qui  n'entendent  rien  aux  subtilites  strategiques,  insistent 
pour  qu'on  attaque  immedia  lenient  :  ils  sont  fatigues,  enerves,  il 
leur  faut  sur  le  champ  du  sang,  des  cris,  un  butin,  des  chevelures. 
M.  de  Bienville  est  oblige  de  ceder. 

Le  z6  mai,  derriere  leurs  hires  et  leurs  tambours,  les  bataillons, 
sur  dix  hommes  de  hauteur  avancent,  criant  a  intervalle  :  «  Vive 
le  Roi  I  >  La  milice  bourgeoise  dot  la  marche,  puis  viennent  les 
Chactas. 

A  la  tete  de  ses  grenadiers  et  de  ses  Suisses,  le  Chevalier  de  Noyon, 
major  general,  approche  d'un  fort,  evidemment  defendu  par  des 
Anglais,  car  leur  pavilion  y  flout  avec  insolence.  C'est  une  palissade 
epaisse  et  solide,  percee  de  meurtrieres,  couverte  d'un  toit  de  bob 
et  terre  battue,  que  les  grenades  nentameront  pas. 


LA     LOIIISIANE     FRANf  AISE  227 

Comnie  M.  de  Bienville  n'a  ni  canon,  ni  mortier,  il  ordonne  de 
commencer  l'atiaque  par  le  village  le  plus  eloigne  du  fort. 

l':cn-il<j  de  noirs,  porteurs  de  mantelets,  qui  font  une  cloison 
vivante,  M,  de  Noyon  avance  jusqu'au  pied  du  coteau.  La,  les  ni- 
gres  prennent  peur,  et  a  l'exception  de  Simon,  le  negre  libre  qui 
les  conduit,  deguerpissent.  Les  troupes  maintenant  avancent  a  de- 
couvert,  tout  de  suite  M.  de  Comrecceur  et  le  Capt.  de  Lusser  sont 
abattus. 

De  jnii.li  a  cinq  heures,  la  mousquetade  continue  de  part  en  part. 
Trois  redoutes  sont  enlevees,  d'autres  moindres  brulees.  Dans  la 
fumee  epaisse,  les  Francais  tombent,  derriere  leur  palissade  les  as- 
sises poussent  des  cris  inhumains,  auxquels  les  Cbactas  repondent 
par  leurs  plus  terriliants  hurlements. 

M.  Renault  d'Hauierive,  capt.  des  Grenadiers,  est  atteint.  M. 
Goujon  de  Grondel,  un  Alsacien  de  Severne,  Lt.  des  Suisses,  tombe 
au  pied  d'une  palissade  ennemie,  un  sergent  et  quatre  hommes  se 
precipitent  pour  le  ramasser,  dune  seule  decharge,  tous  sont  fau- 
ches  ;  un  grenadier,  Regnisse,  court,  charge  le  blesse,  qui  ruisselle 
en  rouge  par  cinq  blessures,  sur  ses  epaules  ;  pour  la  sixieme  fois 
une  balle  atteint  M.  de  Grondel.  II  est  cependant  en  vie  lorsque 
Regnisse  le  rarnene  dans  les  lignes,  ou  il  est  acclame. 

M.  de  Velles,  M.  de  Montbrun  sont  tues  ou  blesses,  on  ne  sait 
pas,  en  tous  cas  ils  gisent  sur  le  champ  de  bataille.  M.  de  Noyon, 
blesse,  fait  transmettre  ses  ordres  par  son  major,  M.  de  Jusan,  jus- 
qu'au  moment  ou  celui-ci  est  tu£  a  son  tour. 

M.  de  Noyon  comprend  l'inanite  de  ce  carnage,  sa  petite  armee 
se  trouve  dans  une  position  extremement  perilleuse,  il  ordonne  a 
M.  de  Beauchamp,  qui  commande  80  Suisses,  de  prendre  la  tete 
de  la  retraite.  M.  de  Beauchamp  ne  recule  pas  loin,  tout  de  suite 
il  tombe  avec  M.  de  Favrot. 

3s  officiers,  soldats  et  bourgeois  francais  sont  morts.  On  ramasse 
60  blesses,  et,  tete  basse,  l'armee  regagne  le  petit  camp  de  M.  de 
Bienville. 

Le  lendemain  l'attaque  recommence,  et  avec  les  memes  resultats. 
Sarcastiques,  les  Chactas  deaden  t  de  donner  aux  Francais  une  lecon 
de  bravoure.  Pour  la  premiere  fois,  depuis  que  Taction  a  commence, 
ils  avancent  en  masse  vers  le  fort.  Une  decharge  £tend  22  d'entre 
eux  par  terre.  Terrifies,  ils  detalent,  pendant  que  les  Chicachas 

mpent  en  quartiers  les  corps  chauds,  et  peut-etre  vivants,   des 


«8 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


Francais  tombes  pris  de  la  palissade,  pour  tes  empaler  sur  des  pieux, 
en  pleine  vue. 

Une  seconde  nuil,  l'armee  douloureuse  se  retranche  dans  son 
camp,  a  I'oree  du  bois.  Avec  le  soir  la  paix  retombe  sur  la  prairie 
redevenue  benoite,  qui,  rafralchie  par  la  pluie,  degage  un  calme 
parfum  d'aromates.  II  ne  reste  rien  de  la  fureur  des  mauvaises 
heures.  Des  biches  bondissent  dans  1'herbe  douce  et  les  (raisiers, 
tirent  sur  des  romarins,  des  becasses  derangem  imperceptiblement 
les  graminees  en  se  faufilant,  des  grillons  chant  onnent. 

Dans  le  bois,  ou  les  hiboux-a-cornes  commencent  a  bululer,  assis 
sur  une  souche,  devant  un  feu  humide  qui  brule  mal,  M.  de  Bien- 
ville, la  tete  dans  ses  mains,  reflechit. 

Va-t-il  reprendre  1'assaut  ?  II  a  perdu  45  Francais,  ses  blesses  ne 
se  comptent  plus,  i]  faut  songer  a  les  transporter,  il  craint  la  de- 
fection des  Chactas  dont  la  fidelite  ne  fait  pas  de  doute  aussi  long- 
temps  qu'on  a  le  dessus,  les  soldats  sont  epuises,  le  terrain  est  si 
difficile  qu'une  poursuite  des  Chicachas  serait  fatale. 

On  ne  reprendra  pas  1'assaut.  Au  lieu  de  s'etendre  dans  sa  cou- 
verture,  penetrec  de  rosee  nocturne,  M.  de  Bienville,  sous  ses  yeux 
fait  fabriquer  des  civieres  de  branchages.  Quand  le  jour  point,  le 
triste  convoi  s'ebranle. 

Sur  la  riviere,  M.  de  Bienville  remercie  les  Chactas,  en  leur 
distribuant  les  cadeaux  promis,  et  les  pirogues  repartent. 

Rentre  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  ou  Philippe  de  Grondel  et  la  plupart 
des  blesses  entrent  en  convalescence,  M.  de  Bienville  veut  nommer 
Regnisse  officier,  en  recompense  de  sa  belle  conduite.  Celui-ci, 
conscient  de  sa  breve  education,  decline.  Cependant  sa  compagnie 
exige  pour  lui  une  distinction,  il  devient  «  le  premier  des  grena- 
diers >,  et  tout  le  monde  est  content. 


XXXI. 


M.  de  Montcherval  rentre  a  la  capitale,  et  explique  a  M.  de 
Bienville  le  pourquoi  de  l'absence  du  Chevalier  d'Artaguette. 

Avec  trenie  soldats,  des  volontaires  et  des  Kaskakias,  celui-ci  a 
rejoint,  a  I'ecore  a  Prud'homme,  sur  le  Mississipi,  M.  de  Vincennes, 
accompagne  de  Ouabaches  et  d'Iroquois. 

M.  de  Grand'Pre,  qui  devait  descendre  avec  des  Arkansas,  et 
M.  de  Montcherval,  charge  d'amener  des  Cahokias,  etant  en  retard 
au  rendez-vous,  il  est  parti  sans  eux,  est  arrive,  le  g  Mars,  au  ten  i 
toire  des  Chicachas,  avec  1500  homraes. 

Le  Gouverneur  n'etait  pas  la  ;  les  chefs  sauvages  voulaient  at- 
taquer  sans  attendre,  les  officiers  Wsitaient.  On  a  pris  un  village  et 
un  fort.  Le  jour  des  Petites-Paques,  it  l'improviste,  ils  ont  ite  cernes 
par  500  Chicachas,  conduits  par  des  Anglais. 

Le  Lt.  de  St  Ange,  M.  de  Coulange,  M.  de  la  Graviere,  M.  de 
Courtigny,  et  bien  d'autres  ont  ete  lues,  on  a  continue  a  se  battre 
bravcment,  sans  espoir,  alors  ce  fut  le  tour  du  Capt.  des  Essarts, 
du  Lt.  l'Anglois  de  I'lsle. 

Les  45  survivants  se  sont  enfin  decides  a  battre  en  retraite.  Au 
milieu  des  eclairs  et  des  rafales  d'un  violent  orage,  ils  ont  itt  pour- 
suivis,  £charpes.  M.  d'Artaguette,  dont  le  sang  ruisselait,  malgre 
1'h^roi'sme  du  Pere  Senac,  un  Jesuite,  qui  lui  faisait  un  rempart  de 
son  corps,  a  ete  fait  prisonnier  avec  le  jeune  du  Tisne\  le  Capt.  de 
La  Lande,  plusieurs  soldats. 

Les  19  Francais  ont  d'abord  ete  assez  bien  traites,  car  on  savait 
que  M.  de  Bienville  approchait,  et  qu'on  ne  connatt  jamais  les  res- 
sauts  d'une  guerre.  Lorsqu'on  apprit  sa  retraite,  les  choses  chan- 
gerent,  on  pouvait  se  venger  sans  crainte  de  represailles. 

Les  Chicachas  ont  attache'  le  Chevalier  d'Artaguette  et  le  Pere 
Senac,  dos  a  dos,  sur  le  meme  poteau,  les  autres  ont  et£  lies  quatre 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

par  quatre,  et  on  les  a  fait  consumer  par  un  feu  lent.  Les  cre"pite- 
ments  alternaient  avec  le  murmure  des  prieres. 

Les  rares  fugitifs  qui  avaient  pu  s'echapper  a  la  faveur  de  l'oura- 
gan,  el  etaient  resits  a  proximity  pour  connakre  la  suite  de  l'aven- 
ture,  apres  deux  jours  de  marche  ont  rencontre  M.  de  Monteherval, 
qui  avec  160  sauvages  et  14  Francais  dtait  a  la  recherche  de  M. 
d'Artaguette.  et  lui  ont  conte  les  faits.  II  a  fait  prevenir  M.  de  Grand' 
Pre  qu'il  £tait  inutile  d'avancer  plus  loin. 

M.  de  Bienville  est  tres  affecte  par  ce  martyre,  dont  il  s'estime  en 
panie  responsable,  il  avait  grande  amitie  pour  ce  jeune  d'Arta- 
guette. II  ecrasera  ces  Chicachas  de  malheur. 

II  e'chafaude  des  plans  expedies  a  M.  de  Maurepas,  le  ministre, 
qui,  apres  avoir  communique"  avec  le  Chevalier  de  Beauharnais. 
pour  lors  gouverneur-general  de  la  Nile  France,  les  approuve. 

La  colonic  donne  moirts  de  soucis  a  M.  de  Bienville  depuis  qu'un 
edit  roval  a  autorise.  pour  dix  ans,  l'exportation  et  l'importation 
entre  la  Louisiane  et  les  lies. 

Des  qu'on  laisse  les  habitants  agir  a  leur  guise,  ils  s'arrangent  pour 
trouver  une  suffisance.  La  colonie  peut,  a  la  rigueur.  nager  par  elle- 
m?me,  mais  encore  faut-il  qu'on  lui  laisse  les  membres  libres. 

L'argent  se  revalorise  peu  a  peu,  la  piastre  est  descendue  a  7 
Livres  10  sols  en  argent  de  France,  mais  les  traitements  sont  cou jours, 
insuffisants  :  M.  de  Bienville  louche  5000  Livres  par  an  ;  le  pro- 
cureur  du  Roi,  M.  de  Fleuriau,  1  500  :  M.  Claude  Bobe  des  Clozeaux, 
le  cnntroleur,  1800  ;  Le  Chevalier  de  Noyon,  major  de  la  Nile 
Orleans,  isoo  ;  M.  le  Bretton,  greffier  du  Conseil,  1000. 

Les  planteurs  ne  causent  pas  grand  tracas.  M.  Favre  d'Aunoy  et 
M.  Assailly,  marchands  en  gros  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  viennent  d*a- 
cheter  au  Marexhal  Due  de  Belle-Isle  et  a  ses  associes,  la  veuve  du 
Seigneur  Juvenal  d'Arville  des  Ursins,  et  Messire  de  la  Tonehere, 
leur  plantation  des  Chouachas,  pour  loo.noo  Livres,  payables  en 
argent  courant  de  France  et  en  indigo. 

Pierre  Castillon  du  Rocher  s'est  installs  aupres  de  Charles  de 
Morand,  a  la  Pointe-Coupee  ;  Jacques  de  Chavanne  aux  Chapi- 
toulas  :  M.  de  Coustilhas  au  dessus  de  la  ville,  et  M.  Esnoul  de 
Ltvaudais  au  dessous  ;  Jacques  de  Ste  Therese  de  1'Angloiserie  a 
herit£  de  son  oncle  de  Boisbrillant  d'un  petit  bien,  a  la  Mobile,  dont 
M.  de  Flandres,  ofHcier  du  poste,  s'occupe. 

Les  Louisianais   ne  vont   plus  en   France  chercher  femme,  ils 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  SJl 

ipousent  les  lews.  Les  enfants  ont  grandi  ensemble,  avec  des  vides 
passes  dans  les  colleges  et  couvents  francais  ;  peu  a  peu,  ils  forment 
une  aristocratie  creole,  qui  vaut  bien  l'autre. 

L'existence  est  precaire  quand  elle  ferraille  contre  le  climat,  les 
fievres  pernicieuses,  les  sauvages  et  les  ennemis  du  Roi.  Les  hommes, 
attires  dans  des  guet-apens  plus  nombreux,  sont  fauches  jeunes  ;  les 
veuves,  souvent  encore  mineures,  ne  restent  pas  longiemps  desem- 
parees,  tout  de  suite,  un  autre  se  rapproche,  qui  les  console  et  eleve 
les  orphelins. 

Les  mariages  sonnent  le  rassembtement,  les  germains  et  t  remues- 
de-germains  >  arrivent  de  tous  les  posies,  de  toutes  les  plantations. 
Me  Henry,  le  notaire  royal,  redige  les  contrats  que  le  Conseil  Su- 
perieur  enregistre.  M.  de  Bienville  est  temoin  principal  avec  ses 
familiers.  II  a  vu  nattre  toute  la  jeunesse,  a  des  ftlleuls  et  des  «  fil- 
lenses  >  a  droite  et  a  gauche. 

Le  Lt.  Joseph  Chauvin  de  LeYy  spouse  Marie  Faucon  du  Manoir, 
et,  presque  immddiatement,  est  tue  par  les  sauvages,  son  fils  sera 
posthume. 

Joseph  Pellerin  se  marie  avec  Elizabeth  de  Gauvrit :  Jean-Baptiste 
Boucher  de  St.-Laurent  de  Montbrun  avec  Francoise  Rivard  :  Cezar 
le  Bretton,  ecrivain  principal  de  la  marine,  avec  Marguerite  Chauvin 
de  la  Fresniere,  la  fille  du  conseiller  et  de  Dame  Le  Sueur. 

Le  Gouverneur  est  au  premier  rang  pour  le  mariage  de  Francois 
de  Caile,  fits  d'un  echevin  de  Calais,  avec  Francoise  de  Mirbaise  de 
VUIemont  :  preside  a  celui  de  son  parent.  Pierre  Benoist  de  Payen, 
Chevalier  de  Chavoy  de  Noyon,  avec  la  veuve  de  Joseph  de  Lery. 

Presque  en  meme  temps,  Balthazar  de  Ponfrac,  Chevalier  de  Ma- 
zan,  enseigne  de  la  marine,  s'unit  a  Demoiselle  Carriere. 

Mais  la  plus  belle  noce  de  l'annee  est  celle  du  Chevalier  Guil- 
laume  de  Cloches,  le  fils  du  Baron  de  St.  Aignet,  seigneur  de  Cloches 
en  Beam,  qui,  en  grande  pompe,  epouse  Dame  Laurence,  veuve 
de  M.  de  Lery.  pere,  et,  le  meme  jour,  devant  le  Conseil  Superieur, 
reconnalt  sa  fille  illegitime,  ne'e  un  an  auparavant. 


En  mai  1739,  trots  vaisseaux  tlu  Rot  debarquem  en  Louisiane 
700  bombardiers,  fusiliers,  canonniers,  coramandes  par  le  Chevalier 
d'Ayme  de  Noailles,  M.  de  Rosily  et  le  Chevalier  de  Kerlerec.  On  va 
reprendre  la  campagne  avortee,  contre  les  Chicachas. 

Le  Chevalier  de  Noyon  part  le  premier  avec  le  Chevalier  d'Haute- 
rive,  M.  de  Belle-Isle  et  l'avant-garde  de  l'armee.  Les  Chevaliers  de 
Macarly  et  de  Villers,  M,  de  la  Gautray  et  M.  Guerin  de  la  Martil- 
lere  suivent  avec  leurs  compagnies.  M.  de  Bienville  ferine  la  marche, 
avec  M.  de  Pontalba  et  l'arriere-garde. 

L'armee  atteint  la  Mobile,  le  fort  St.  Francois,  puis  la  riviere 
M argot,  sur  laquelle  tout  le  monde  s'est  donne-  rendezvous.  Un 
boucher,  un  charron  et  un  bouianger  sont  deja  Itablis  a  cet  endroit. 
En  aout,  on  commence  a  batir  le  fort  de  l'Assomplion. 

Les  renforts  attendus  commencent  a  arriver.  M.  de  la  Buissonniere, 
commandant  le  Fort  de  Chartres,  amine  des  Islinois  77  attelages  de 
bceufs  et  80  chevaux  ;  le  Capt.  de  Celeron  et  le  Lt.  de  St.  Laurent 
sont  a  la  tete  de  30  Cadets  de  Quebec  et  Montreal,  envoyes  par  le 
Chevalier  de  Beauharnais,  et  dun  d^tachement  de  sauvages  du 
Canada  :  des  Hurons,  des  Iroquois  et  des  Algonquins. 

1200  Blancs  et  des  sauvages  en  bien  plus  grand  nomhre  sont 
emasses  dans  le  petit  fort  et  amour,  et  pour  des  raisons  obscures 
s'y  eternisent  de  long  mois.  Les  nouvelles  recrues  de  France,  et 
merae  du  Canada,  supportent  mal  le  climat  d^bilitant,  les  marin- 
gouins  supplicent,  les  provisions,  manquent  ;  on  a  mange  tous  les 
bceufs,  maintenant  on  mange  les  chevaux,  car  le  lieu  n'est  pas 
giboyeux. 

Chaque  jour,  on  creuse  des  tombes.  Le  Chevalier  Guillaume  de 
Cloches,  pour  lequel  hier  on  ceiebra  si  joyeuse  fete  est  eouche  14. 
sous  la  terre  fumanle,  aupres  de  Jacques  Ste.  Theresc  de  I'Angloiserie 
el  Francois  de  Grand'Pre. 

On  a  bien  des  pieces  d'artillerie,  mais  le  terrain  est  imprati cable. 


LA     LOUISIANA     FRAN£AISE  »33 

il  est  inutile  de  songer  li  trainer  des  affuts.  La  carte  de  M.  de  Verges 
n'est  pas  juste.  On  est  revenu  aux  conditions  de  la  premiere  expe- 
dition. 

L'hiver  est  venu,  presque  parti,  et  on  est  toujours  la.  M.  de 
Bienville  est  sans  ardeur,  se  souvenant  de  sa  cuisante  defaite,  il  ne 
juge  pas  bon  de  risquer  la  gloire  des  armes  du  Roi,  quand  les  chances 
de  succes  sont  si  douteuses.  Cependant  il  faut  agir,  mais  on  operera 
avec  prudence,  rien  cette  fois  ne  fera  devier  son  jugement. 

Le  15  mars  1740,  on  se  met  en  marche,  puis  on  campe.  M.  de 
Celeron,  aceompagn^  de  M,  de  St.  Laurent  et  de  100  Francais,  part 
en  eclaireur,  avec  des  instructions  et  des  propositions  de  paix. 
Lorsqu'on  arrive  en  vue  du  fort  ennemi,  M.  de  St.  Laurent  avance 
seul. 

Par  bonheur,  les  Chicachas,  qui  n'ont  pas  la  conscience  tranquille, 
et  savent  que  cet  emissaire  est  suivi  d'une  armee,  qu'ils  s'imaginent 
plus  formidable  que  la  realite,  amenent  leur  pavilion,  et  viennent 
presenter  le  calumet  a  M.  de  St.  Laurent. 

De  bon  corur,  ils  offrent  de  livrer  les  deux  Anglais  du  fort,  dont  ils 
commencent  a  avoir  assez.  Ils  reconnaissent  que  les  trafiquants 
anglais  <  leur  gatent  I'esprit  >,  desormais,  ils  scront  fideles  aux  Fran- 
cais. 

Vetus  de  leurs  attributs  de  ceremonie,  les  Chicachas  partent  pre- 
senter le  calumet  a  M.  de  C61eron,  fort  heureux  de  ces  ouvertures, 
qu'il  n'avait  pas  ose  esperer.  Les  chefs  joignent  leurs  escortes  a  la 
sienne,  et  tous  s'acheminent  vers  le  camp  de  M.  de  Bienville,  pour 
danser  un  grand  calumet,  avant  le  retour  a  la  Nile  Orleans. 

Cahoteuse,  Iourde  de  substance  pour  les  interesses,  insipide  pour 
les  faineants,  1'annee  s'effeuille  a  la  colonic 

Antoine  de  Lery  spouse  Charlotte  du  Manoir,  et  M.  Delfau  de 
Pontalba  se  marie  avec  Dame  Etiennette  de  Malbec,  la  veuve  du 
Capitaine  Petit  de  Livilliers.  Le  Capt.  de  la  Buissonniere  est  repani 
avec  sa  femme.  Demoiselle  Trudeau,  dans  les  Islinois.  Sur  la  C6te 
Allemande,  le  Capt.  Sardou  de  Villers  de  Billaud  commande  le 
regiment  suisse,  avec  le  chevalier  de  Diederich.  M.  Fabry  de  la 
Bruyere  reconnatt  un  coin  des  Arkansas,  sous  la  guidance  de  Brin 
d'Amour,  un  coureur-de-bois  canadien. 

Les  bateaux  de  negoce  touchent  de  plus  en  plus  frequemment 
a  la  Nile  Orleans,  ceux  de  Jean  Jung,  armateur  de  Bordeaux  sont 
les  plus  nombreux.  Le  ig  mars  1742,  la  Charente  armee  par  des 


1 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

marchands  d'Angoulerae,  et  commands  par  le  Chevalier  d'Aubigny, 
appone  144  bouteilles  de  malaga,  qu'on  s'arrache,  une  douzaine  de 
jaquettes  de  soie  brodees,  de  la  toile  de  Bretagne,  des  dentelles.  En 
un  din  d'ceil,  le  Chevalier  a  dispose  du  tout  pour  6957  Livres. 

Simon  Rousset,  maltre-char  pen  tier  et  proprietaire  a  la  Nile 
Orleans,  vient  de  mourir.  On  fait  de  ses  biens  une  vente  a  la 
chandelle. 

Pendant  que  M.  Sebastien  Ange  Le  Normand,  premier  juge  et 
huissier,  annonce  les  biens  mis  aux  encheres,  on  coupe  la  chandelle 
en  morceau  d'un  pouce.  Quand  on  allume  le  morceau,  la  vente  du 
lot  publie  est  ouverte,  le  dernier  qui  parle,  avant  que  la  meche 
retombe,  l'emporte.  M.  Le  Normand  conclut  <  ...  vendu  pour  330 
Livres  et  attendu  qu'il  ne  s'est  plus  trouve  d'encheYisseur  a  1'extinc- 
tion,  le  terrain  est  a  sa  juste  valeur,  >  et  passe  au  lot  suivam. 

M.  de  Bienville,  qui  a  depasse  la  soixantaine,  est  tres  depriml  par 
ses  deux  campagnes  negatives  contre  les  Chicachas.  Sans  doute,  il 
a  fait  la  paix,  mais  c'est  une  paix  boiteuse,  sans  gloire,  dont  il  ne 
s'enorgueillit  pas.  Le  pauvre  homme  ne  s'enorgueillit  plus  de  rien, 
il  est  decourage. 

Malgre  ses  lambeaux  disparates  de  luxe,  sa  debauche  bruyante,  la 
colonie  n'est  pas  aussi  prospere  qu'il  1'aurait  voulue.  Les  mal  in  ten- 
don nes  font  la  speculation  sur  le  nouveau  papier-monnaie  et  les 
billets  de  la  Tresorerie,  qui  sont  accepted  en  pavement  des  droits 
et  des  tailles.  Les  reclamations  pleuvent  sur  le  Conseil. 

Le  36  mars  174s,  de  sa  plus  sincere  ecriture,  il  demande  au 
ministre  son  rappel.  Le  Chevalier  de  Noyon  va  rentrer  en  France, 
a  ses  frais,  il  desirerait  I'accompagner.  Sa  lettre  est  navrante. 

<  Si  le  succes  avoit  toujours  ripondu  a  man  application  aux 
affaires  de  ce  Gouvernement  et  a  mon  z&le  pour  le  service  du 
Roy,  je  lui  aurois  volontiers  consacri  le  reste  de  mes  jours,  mais 
une  espice  de  fatalite",  attache's  depuis  quelques  temps  &  traverser 
mes  projets  les  mieux  concertis  m'a  souvent  fait  perdre  le  fruit 
de  mes  travaux  et  peut-itre  une  parlie  de  la  confiance  de  Votre 
Grandeur,  je  n'at  done  pas  cru  devoir  me  roidir  plus  longtemps 
contre  une  mauvaise  fortune.  » 


Son  successeur,  le  marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  arrive  le  10  mai  1745,  et 
aussitot  debarquc,  presente  ses  lettres  de  provision  au  Conseil.  M.  d 
Bienville  lui  remet  ses  pouvoirs  et  peut  songer  a  lui-meme. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


*35 


Quarame-quatre  ans  apres  avoir  pose1  ses  pieds  d' adolescent  sur 

I      une  plage  blanche,  griffee  par  les  plouviers,  apres  avoir  elague  de 

)      ses  mains  fortes  les  troncs  du  premier  fort,  M.  de  Bienville  appareille, 

I       et  cette  fois,  les  planteurs,  les  officiers,  les  habitants  comprennent 

que  c'est  la  derniere  fois,  ils  ne  disent  pas  «  au  revoir  >,  mais 

<  k  Dieu  *. 

Sa  perruque  bouffante  tremble,  Par  une  derniere  coquetterie,  il  a 
revitu  une  armure  degag^e,  qui  laisse  apercevoir  une  guimpe  et  une 
eravate  en  point-a-1'aiguille.  Sa  grande-croix  accroche  le  soleil,  et 
l'eelabousse  de  son  rutilement. 

Ses  yeux  lasses  ne  regardent  pas  le  port  d£croissant,  on  s'agitent 
des  mains  amies,  ils  suivent  le  vol  des  aigrettes,  le  jeu  des  ibis  roses, 
qui  dans  les  trous  troublent  l'eau  de  leur  pane,  pour  faire  venir  les 
poissons  a  la  surface,  les  ondulations  des  cannes  couchees  par  une 
brise  soudaine,  le  glissement  majestueux  du  fleuve.  II  est  trop  vieux, 
trop  d^suni  pour  s'occuper  des  hommcs.  Gloutonnement,  de  tous 
B     ses  regards,  il  absorbe  une  derniere  fois  sa  Louisiane. 


Le  Marquis  Rigaud  Cavaignol  de  Vaudreuil.  le  nouveau 
neur,  est  un  grand  seigneur  affable,  dont  la  famille  est  fort  bien 
placee  a  Versailles. 

Toui  de  suite,  il  organise  autour  de  lui  une  Cour  en  miniature. 
II  a  sa  coterie  puisqu'U  est  obligeant  et  d'un  commerce  charmant  ; 
ses  courtisans,  il  peut  rendre  maints  services  en  France  ou  son 
iniluence  est  grande  ;  ses  admirateurs,  car  il  a  belle  allure,  de  la 
dignite  et  un  bien-dire  qui  enchante,  tout  ce  qu'il  faut  pour  setluire. 

II  a  aussi  des  ennemis,  envieux  de  son  Elegance,  de  son  train  de 
vie,  de  son  prestige.  La  marquise  a  fait  venir  de  Paris  un  carrosse 
et  quatre  chevaux,  c'est  le  premier  equipage  de  la  sorte  en  Loui- 
siane  ;  jusqu'a  present  settles  quelques  personnes  opulentes  avaient 
des  chaises,  attelees  a  deux  chevaux,  et  quelques  pay sans  des 
f  chars  »,  un  terme  commun  a  tout  ce  qui  est  sur  roues. 

La  marquise  aime  la  parure,  le  patchouli  et  les  compliments. 
L'Hdtel  du  Gouvernement  devient  une  ruche  bourdon  name,  les 
diners  et  les  bals,  s'y  succedent. 

c  Le  Grand  Marquis  »  donne  le  ton  a  toute  la  Louisiane,  fiere 
qu'on  lui  ait  envoye  «  du  si  beau  monde  >.  II  a  apporte  dans  la 
vie  prosaique  des  officiers  bien  nes,  des  iclaircies  de  raffinemem. 
qui  leur  manquaient.  Naturellement,  ceux-ci,  nt  anges  ni  Wtes, 
abusent  un  peu  de  I'indulgence  du  Gouverneur,  arborent  des  ain 
avantageux,  s'octroient  des  privautes,  et  prennent  le  pas  sur  ces  mes- 
sieurs de  I'  Ad  ministration. 

Les  Chevaliers,  a  1'occasion,  delaissent  leur  service  pour  tourner 
des  madrigaux,  courtiser  a  droite  et  a  gauche,  entamer  des  pavanes. 
Et  pourquoi  pas  ?  leur  mievTcrie  est  temporaire,  a  la  prochaine  I 
alerte  ils  risqueront  galamment  leur  vie,  les  Chicachas  n'ont  qui 
se  presenter.  Ils  ne  font  pas  la  guerre  en  dentellcs,  mais  ils  entendent 
garder  leur  paix,  parfume'e  et  grivoise. 


I 


rLA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  »37 

M.  Michel  de  la  Rouvilliere,  le  nouveau  commissaire-ordonnateur 
in-  aux  e  mourn  u  res  par  la  modicite  de  ses  appointements,  n'ap- 
prouve  pas  du  tout  ces  facpns  de  faire.  Libelliste  manque,  il  fait 
tenir  au  ministre  des  accusations  fielleuses,  dont  il  sait  bien  qu'on  ne 
liendra  pas  compte. 

Dans  son  petit  salon,  quand  les  rideaux  de  velours  cramoisi  soru 
tires,  avec  quelques  amis  eprouves,  il  reprend  les  commerages  du 
moment  :  Le  Marquis  encourage  la  negligence  des  officiers,  ses 
sycophantes  :  les  Chevaliers  d'Orgon  et  de  Membrede  n'inspectent 
plus  leurs  troupes  ;  Pierre  de  Montandant,  du  regiment  suisse  de 
Karrer,  ne  regagne  meme  plus  son  canton  ;  Jacques  de  Livaudais, 
le  capitaine  du  port,  n'a  pas  mis  les  pieds  a  son  bureau  depuis 
des  semaines ;  quand  au  Chevalier  la  Molere  d'Orville,  ce  n'est  meme 
pas  la  peine  d'en  parler,  sous  pretexte  qu'il  a  de  grands  biens,  tout 
lui  est  permis. 

Le  Marquis  pousse  tout  simplement  les  troupes  a  la  debauche,  il 
fait  la  roue,  se  gorge  de  Batteries.  Sans  parler  des  autrcs  postes,  il 
est  inieresse  pour  un  tiers  dans  les  profits  du  poste  de  la  Tombecbee. 
De  cela,  il  est  sur.  Quand  lui,  M.  de  la  Rouvilliere,  envoie  de  la 
farine  de  froment  au  poste,  elle  est  revendue  et  a  sa  place  on  donne 
aux  troupes  du  mahiz.  Du  mahiz  !  Etonnez-vous  apres  cela  qu'elles 
se  mutinent.  II  y  a  eu  huit  deserteurs  le  mois  dernier.  M.  de  la 
Rouvilliere  hausse  les  epaules,  pour  bien  indiquer  que  ce  chiffre 
lui  paralt  encore  insuffisant. 

Madame  de  la  Rouvilliere  encherit  :  Quant  a  la  Marquise,  que 
ne  dit-on  pas  sur  cette  folaireuse.  Une  chasse  I  Mais  a  quel  prix  ? 
Avec  son  appui,  Francois  Simars  de  Belle-Isle,  1'aide-major  de  la 
Nile  Orleans,  a  mis  la  main  sur  la  concession  des  liqueurs  a  la 
caniine,  et  partage  les  benefices  avec  elle.  Les  soldats  peuvent  bien 
gaspiller  la  toute  leur  solde,  revendre  a  un  tarif  astronomique  l'eau- 
de-vie  aux  sauvages,  si  bon  leur  semble,  peu  lui  chaut  l'esseniiel  est 
que  l'argent  rentre  dans  la  caisse. 

M.  de  Verges  se  rapproche  de  la  cheminee,  et,  a  mi-voix,  confie  : 
c  Je  me  suis  laisse  dire  que  Joseph  de  Pontalba  a  obtenu  le  poste 
de  Poime-Coupee,  a  seule  fin  de  remplir  la  bourse  degarnie  de  la 
Marquise.  Tout  ca  s'entend  comme  larrons  en  foire.  » 

—  «  Ne  le  dites  pas  encore,  murmure  M.  Fabry  de  la  Bruyere,  secre- 

ire  de  la  marine,  mais  je  viens  d'apprendre  que  M.  Tisseram 

ontcharvaux  vient  d'acheter  a  Duplanty  le  poste  des  Arkai 


*38  LA      LOUISIANE      FRANfAISE 

Au  prix  de  que  lies  complicity,  je  me  le  demande,  et  oil  a-l-il  trouve 
1" argon i  ?  > 

Dame  de  Ste.  Hermine,  laide  et  ridee,  sans  aucune  ressource 
depuis  que  son  vieil  amant,  le  Chevalier  de  Loubois,  est  mort,  dit 
son  mot  :  <  Cette  femme  est  trop  passionnee  pour  £tre  honnete.  Je 
lui  pardonncrais  beau  coup  de  choses,  mais  pas  de  transformer 
l'H6tel  du  Gouvernment  en  apothicairerie.  Son  maitre  d'hotel  y 
vend  des  medecines  curieuses,  il  parait  quelle  accommode  elle- 
meme,  en  veritable  pharmacopole,  des  onguents  de  vipere  pi  lee,  de 
l'ceil  de  crabe,  du  sang  de  dragon,  de  la  poudre  de  bois-de-cerf,  des 
ecailles  de  crocodiles  ruarinees,  on  parle  meme  de  philtres  I  » 

Et,  appuie  sur  la  chantrelle  Madame  de  Verges,  dun  ton  pince, 
<  elle  oblige  les  gens  de  negoce  a  acheter,  a  son  prix,  sa  part  des 
postes.  On  n'a  rien  a  lui  refuser  il  semble,  c'est  pourtant  une  femme 
comme  les  autres,  il  m'apparait  !  > 

—  «  Dame,  ca  coute  cher  les  bacchanales,  les  cairosses  et  les  ajuste- 
ments,  acheve  M,  de  la  Rouvilliere,  d'un  air  sentencieux,  et  ca  fait 
une  belle  paire  de  fripons  avec  ce  presomptueux  M.  de  Fleuriau, 
qui  est  fort  proprement  un  ane.  > 

—  c  Vous  savez,  mes  bonnes,  que  Dame  de  Membrede  ne  peut  plus 
vivre  avec  un  mari  aussi  dissolu,  elle  va  se  retirer  aux  Ursulines, 
aussit6t  que  le  Conseil  lui  donnera  permission... 

M.  de  Vaudreuil,  a  ce  moment,  n'est  peut-etre  pas  plus  indulgent 
que  M.  de  la  Rouvilliere,  il  s'est  plaint,  et  avec  raison,  au 
ministre  que  celui-ci  refusait  de  livrer  aux  troupes  les  effeis  auxquels 
elles  avaient  droit,  et  de  fournir  les  presents  des  sauvages,  qui  forof- 
mcni  sont  tres  aigris  par  ce  retard. 

11  est  exact  qu'un  disordre  magistral  regne  a  la  ville  et  aux 
alentours.  Maintenam  qu'elle  a  la  protection  d'en-haut,  l'annee 
brime  les  habitants.  La  soldatesque  aux  sobriquets  jovials  —  la 
Plume,  Joyeux,  la  Jeunesse,  Bon-Baptiste,  Champagne  —  ne  se  con- 
tente  plus  de  boire,  elle  viole  les  filles,  qui  n'ont  pas  toujours  envie 
de  1  etre,  fait  main-basse  sur  les  reserves  des  celliers. 

Mais  M.  de  la  Rouvilliere,  lorsqu'U  a  fait  la  nomenclature  des 
soi-disant  traits  de  M.  de  Vaudreuil.  a  oublie  une  chose,  c'est  que 
le  Marquis  est  tres  bon,  non  seulement  pour  les  gros,  mais  aussi 
pour  les  petits,  c'est  pourquoi  on  l'adore. 

11  exige  une  condamnation  minime  pour  un  mulatre  libre  du 
Senegal,  badigconne"  a  la  teinture  d'iode,  qui  a  repondu  au  <  Bonsoir. 


LA    LOUIS1ANE     FRANfAISJi  *S9 

Seigneur  negrite  »,  de  trois  soldats  flaneurs,  par  un  <  Bonsoir, 
Seigneurs  jean-Foutre  1  >  qui  les  a  profondement  indignes. 

11  nest  pas  non  plus  aussi  indolent  que  M.  de  la  Kouvilliere  veut 
bien  le  dire,  il  est  beau  coup  plus  avise  que  celui-ci  ne  le  croit.  11  com- 
prend  qu'il  est  inutile  de  culiiver  le  long  du  fleuve,  sans  une  pro- 
tection contre  les  eaux.  11  ordonne  a  tous  les  planteurs  riverains 
de  monter  des  levees,  avant  le  i"  Janvier  1744,  sous  peine  de  se 
voir  coniisquer  leurs  plantations. 

11  donne  pour  cinq  ans,  a  M.  du  Ruisseau,  le  monopole  du  com- 
merce et  de  la  train.1,  dans  la  contree  arrosee  par  le  Missouri  et 
ses  affluents,  a  charge  de  maintenir  les  forts  d'Orleans  et  Ste.  Gene- 
vieve, de  payer  les  garnisons,  et  d'eiiLretenir  l'amitie  des  sauvages 
avec  des  presents  et  des  bons  traitements.  Pour  combattre  la  non- 
chalance des  Francais,  il  interdii  d'envoyer  des  noirs  dans  les  Mis- 

Les  billets-de-carte  sont  tellement  deprecfe  qu'il  faut  dormer 
300  Livres  papier  pour  obtenir  100  Livres  en  especes  sonnantes.  Le 
Conseil  rappelle  les  billets,  qui  doivent  rentrer  dans  un  dclai  de 
deux  mois,  pour  6tre  echanges  contre  des  bons  de  la  Tresorerie, 
escomptables  sux  Paris. 

M.  de  Vaudreuil  defend  la  contrebande  avec  les  colonies  anglaises, 
en  particulier  celle  de  l'indigo,  qu'il  achete  pour  son  gouvernement 
aussi  bien  que  la  cire  de  myrte,  qu'on  cuitive  maintenant  un  peu 
par  tout.  A  la  Nile  Orleans,  il  ramene  a  six  le  nombre  des  cabarets 
autorises,  en  dehors  des  deux  cantines  pour  les  troupes  francaises 
et  suisses,  et  met  ces  cabarets  aux  encheres,  au  profit  des  pauvres  ; 
cinq  homines  et  une  fenime  1'em portent.  La  Tendresse  paie  le  sien 
790  Livres  ;  1' adjudication  rappone  4605  Livres,  dont  les  indigents 
vont  profiter. 

II  s'enquiert  meme  de  moralite,  sans  qu'il  y  paraisse.  Avant  de 
partir  distribuer  les  presents  d'usage  aux  taoo  Chactas,  qui  l'atten- 
dent  a  la  Mobile,  il  decre-ie  que  tout  Francais  «  asset  infdme  pour 
mener  une  vie  scandateuse  avec  une  esclave  ou  autoriser  chez  lui 
le  scandale  >,  sera  publiquement  fouette,  et,  le  cas  6cheant,  con- 
damn^  aux  galeres. 

On  manque  d'esdaves,  la  Cie  des  Indes  n'en  a  pas  introduit  depuis 
quatorze  ans.  M.  du  Breuil  et  M.  d'Alcourt  lui  out  jadis  propose 
d'aller  en  chercher  eux-memes  en  Afrique,  et  puisqu'elle  en  avail 


*4°  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

le  monopole,  de  lui  verser  une  indemnity  de  30.000  Livres  en 
tabac,  indigo  et  goudron,  une  proposition  qu'elle  a  accept6e. 

En  aotit  1743,  M.  d'Alcourt  revient  avec  250  beaux  gars  du  S6n£gal 
et  du  Congo,  dont  il  dispose  profitablement.  Ce  sera  le  dernier 
cargo  d'lbtne  dlchargl  k  la  colonic 


prosperite-  de  la  Louisiane  est  spasmodique,  a  la  ressemblance 
contree,  il  y  a  de  grands  trous  de  misere  et  de  lout  petits 
d'opulence,  instables  comme  des  morceaux  de  <  prairie  trem- 
blante  »,  1700  hommes  blancs,  1500  femmes  et  enfants,  800  soldats 
et  2020  noirs  sont  eparpillis  sur  des  milliers  de  lieues. 

Les  habitants,  en  dehors  des  officiers  et  administrateurs,  sont  di- 
vises  en  trois  castes  :  les  planteurs,  qui  de  tous  sont  les  plus  im- 
portants  et  les  plus  independants  ;  les  march  a  rids  de  gros  et  de 
detail,  *  gens  de  peu  >,  qui  ne  considerent  pas  leur  negoce  comme 
un  fin  en  lui-meme,  et  aussitot  qu'ils  sont  cossus,  tels  les  freres 
Layssard,  Francois  de  Chastang,  Le  Sassier,  Assailly,  Morisset,  Ma- 
yeur  de  Lormaison,  Bancio  Piemond,  achetent  une  plantation  et 
des  esclaves,  afin  de  passer  au  premier  rang  ;  enfin  les  artisans,  les 
petits  cultivateurs  et  les  journaliers  qui  travaillent  deux  ou  trois 
jours  par  semaine  et  passent  les  autres  dans  les  cabarets. 

La  liberie  de  commerce  avec  Hispaniola  et  les  lies  a  donne  un 
certain  repit,  mais  les  c  terriers  >  ne  produisent  pas  assez  pour 
rassasier  toutes  les  bouches.  Quand  I'Elephant  arrive,  le  s8 
octobre,  1744,  les  troupes  affamees  sont  sur  le  point  de  se  mutiner. 

En  1745,  la  colonie  n'est  pas  mieux  partagee.  Heureusement,  les 
Islinois  fournissent  4000  sacs  de  farine.  Cette  region,  de  toute  Evi- 
dence, est  la  plus  feconde  et  la  mieux  exploitee.  M.  Robineau  de 
Portneuf  commando  le  fort  de  Chartres,  avec  M.  Martin  de  la 
Marque  ;  M.  Flaucourt  de  la  Loire  est  juge  et  principal  ecrivain  ; 
de  nombreux  engaged  cultivent  la  concession  St.  Philippe  du  Grand 
Maret,  dans  laquelle  M.  d'Artaguette,  contr61eur  de  la  maison  du 
Due  d'Orleans,  a  des  imerets  ;  MM.  de  Gruy,  de  Vinisse,  Nouveau 
de  Mauconseil,  St.  Laurent  de  Montbrun  y  font  la  traite,  ont  des 
terres,  ordonnent  les  coupes. 


; 


*4*  LA     LOUISIANA     FRANfAISE 

Chaque  annee,  a  la  fin  de  decembre,  les  gens  des  fslinois  chargem 
leurs  gabarres  plates  de  grain,  de  farine,  de  bteul  boucane,  de 
jambons  de  cochons  et  d'ours,  de  dame-jeannes  d'huile  d'ours,  de 
jarres  de  graisse  d'ours,  de  fourrures  et  de  cuirs,  et,  chantant,  se 
laissent  glisser  au  ill  de  l'eau  jusqu'a  la  Nile  Orleans,  d'ou  ils  remon- 
tent  en  fevrier,  apres  avoir  bien  bamboche.  D'autres  accompagnent 
les  voyages-de-bois  qui  s'entrechoquent  au  gre  des  courants. 

La  Nile  Orleans,  peinte  a  grandes  fresques,  est  le  phare  de  la 
colonic  Elle  traverse  une  phase  episodique  de  prosperity,  la  vie  y 
continue,  joyeuse  et  depravee,  balafree  de  stridences,  bouillonnatue 
de  «  bavasseries  >,  cliquetante  de  go  be  lets  choques. 

Une  cinquantaine  de  maisons  de  belle  apparence  ont  ete  baties 
recemmem.  M.  Trennaunay  de  Chanfret  s'est  installe  rue  Royale, 
entre  M.  de  ChamiHy  et  M.  Francois  de  Caiie  ;  M.  du  Breuil  a  bati 
pour  M.  Dupont  le  Kintreck  une  habitation  a  pignon,  qui  a  coiite 
5500  Livres  ;  les  families  Damien  de  la  Garde  de  Montaillard  et 
Sadonnillier  de  Billaud  ont,  rue  du  Quay,  des  logis  a  deux  etages. 
Des  «  rentiers  »  font  ajuster  des  logements  a  louer.  Louis  Castel 
de  la  Roche  a  achete  l'ancienne  caserne,  qu'il  a  transformee  en 
atelier  pour  ses  forgerons  et  ses  armuriers. 

Les  gens  de  qualite  et  <  de  grands  moyens  »,  comme  le  Chevalier 
de  Benac,  Francois  Rivard,  qui  a  epouse  la  veuve  de  M.  Mirbaise 
de  Villemont,  ont  ijuitte'  l'enceinte,  se  sont  construits  des  «  reti- 
rances  >  egrenees  sur  la  route  du  bayou  St.  Jean,  devenue  faubourg 
aristocratique,  a  1'enseigne  du  jasmin.  Une  route  carrossable  de 
40  pieds  de  large,  y  conduit,  entretenue  par  les  riverains.  La  blan- 
cheur  des  habitations  fait  des  trouees  pales  dans  les  splendides 
chenes-verts  et  les  magnolias,  au  parfum  puissant,  dont  les  pieds 
sont  rechauffes  par  des  myrtes  roses  et  des  oliviers  de  Chine,  parsemes 
de  Ma uc. 

Quand  les  heures  vesperales  s'effilochent  en  langueur  heureuse, 
dans  cette  nature  sans  reticences,  on  sacrifie  aux  dieux  discrets. 

Sur  le  bayou  du  Chef-Menteur,  Gentilly,  qu'on  appelle  aussi 
Chantilly,  a  une  demi-lieue  de  la  ville  et  rejoint  a  elle  par  une  belle 
route,  est  aussi  ires  bien  habite.  Les  freres  Dreux,  installes  la  depuis 
172s,  sont  devenus  <  les  Messieurs  de  Gentilly  »  ;  Jacques  Cantrelle, 
le  notaire,  M.  Morisset,  Pierre  de  l'lsle,  Jean-Baptiste  Faucon  du 
Manoir  y  sont  proprietaires  ;  Joseph  de  Pontalba,  le  fits  de  Jea 
pour  7.000  Livres,  a  acquis  la  plantation  de  M.  Prat,  qui  ; 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  «43 

racheie-  la  part  des  Capucins.  M.  Coquelin  de  la  Thiolais,  oHicier 
du  Port,  et  M.  Estienne  de  la  Lande  d'Alcourt,  qui  a  epouse  la 
Veuve  de  M.  de  la  Chaise,  sont  ses  voisins. 

Dans  tous  les  jardlns,  des  negrillons  en  soie,  eVhappes  d'un  Huet, 
iventent  les  dames,  portent  leurs  chiens,  passent  les  verres  de  syrop 
d'oranger. 

A  la  Nile  Orleans,  les  rues  point  pavfcs  sont  encore  des  doaques, 
les  fosses  let  ides  des  reservoirs  de  miasraes  et  de  coasseraenis,  glacis 
de  poussiere  jaune  apres  les  pluies.  Les  rues  ddtrempees  sont  balayees 
par  des  jupes  de  brocard  et  des  blondes,  pukinees  par  des  sabots, 
des  souliers  de  gros  rnaroquin,  de  hauts  talons  rouges,  martelees  par 
des  bottes,  frappees  par  de  hautes  Cannes  enrubanne>s,  cbranlees 
par  la  course  des  laquais  et  les  pieds  nus  des  esclaves,  bousculant  les 
croquanis.  Les  marches,  raal  aeres,  envoient  partout  des  bouffees 
de  pestilence. 

M.  Baby,  le  maltre  de  danse  et  de  maintien,  ne  sait  plus  ou  donner 
de  la  tele,  tout  le  monde  veut  connaitre  les  derniers  pas,  apprendre 
a  faire  la  reverence  en  l'honneur  du  Grand  Marquis.  Rue  de  la 
Bourdonnais,  le  Lion  d'Argent,  boutique  de  frivolites,  et  les  £choppes 
des  drapiers  sont  encombres  du  matin  au  soir.  Toutes  les  dames  ont 
besoin  de  rouge,  d'atours  et  de  rubans  pour  le  prochain  bal  de  la 
Marquise.  Les  perruquiers  moment  des  £chafaudages  compliques 
sur  la  tete  des  Elegantes,  coulees  a  la  Belle-Poule. 

On  s'invite  a  moult  festins,  bruissants  de  propos  mousseux  et 
arroses  de  frontignan.  Les  diners  sont  £picuriens  dans  leur  simpli- 
city, a  force  d'ingeniosit^  les  maltresses  de  maison  ont  invent^  mille 
manieres  d'appr£ter  la  chevrette,  les  huitres,  le  poisson,  la  volatile 
c  a  la  cr^ole  >,  une  facon  charmante  de  donner  un  alibi  a  1'inevitabie 
riz,  releve  de  piment  enrage  et  de  poivrelong,  car  le  climat  demande 
quelque  excitant. 

Elles  remplacent  la  verdure  de  France  par  les  feuilles  d'amaran- 
ihes,  la  kitmie,  une  mauve  savoureuse,  ct  le  gombo,  les  gousses  poin- 
tues  du  quingombo  du  Congo,  un  peu  acides.  Elles  oorent  la  soupe 
de  la  Vierge,  faite  au  choux-blanc  et  au  lait  veloute  d'eeuf,  des 
melees  de  poissons  ;  avee  les  catalous,  les  petites  tortues  qui  foison- 
nent  dans  les  joncs-au-baril  et  les  queues-de-rat  de  la  berge,  elles 
font  des  potages  admirables  et  des  gibelottes  a  la  sauce  au  poulet, 
assaisonnecs  de  file,  les  feuilles  pilees  du  sassafras  ;  elles  farcissent 
e  riz  et  de  pacanes  les  grosses  perdrix,  ou  les  servent  a  la  bigarrade. 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Djijjrt'-i  fin  des  salmis  de  ramier,  font  griller  des  cailles  et  des  papa- 
bots,  des  pluviers  excellents,  et  a  la  chasseur,  saucer  des  becassines. 
Le  syrop  du  pays,  ou  du  Canada,  et  le  sucre  durable  permettent  des 
desserts  inedits,  des  friandises  aux  pa  canes  qu'on  appelle  colle,  et 
des  pralines  aux  graines  de  sesame  et  aux  pistaches.  On  improvise 
des  liqueurs  en  laissant  macerer  dans  l'eau-de-vie  des  merises  et 
des  bleuets. 

Les  officiers,  quelquefois  ephemerement  <  maries  >  avec  des 
femmes  de  petite  vertu,  boivem  a  1'exces  a  la  same  des  creatures 
qui  les  enchantent,  jouent  du  luth,  en  citant  du  Brant&rae  font 
des  galantcries  aux  pieds  des  dames  de  qualite,  red  lent  du  Ronsard, 
et,  quand  ils  sont  en  veine  de  bel  esprit,  des  stances  de  l'Aretin, 
ferraillent,  jouent  le  poque,  car  a  la  Nile  Orleans  lout  le  monde 
joue,  avec  frenesie,  comme  on  boit,  comme  on  embrasse  dans  cette 
societe  galante  et  evaporee,  oil  Ton  parle  d'amour  comme  ailleurs 
on  parle  d'ecus. 

II  y  a  dans  1'air  enveloppe  une  certaine  qualite  dyonisiaque.  Dans 
I'atmosphere  lache  du  printemps  finissant,  ce  primemps  qui  passe 
en  courant,  sans  qu'on  ait  presque  le  temps  d'enlever  son  chapeau 
devant  lui,  ce  printemps  durant  If  quel  on  entre  chaque  demi-heure 
d'une  zone  chaude  dans  une  zone  fralche,  comme  on  passe  d'une 
piece  dans  une  autre,  des  clavecins  tangibles  et  secrets  jouent  des 
airs  de  Rameau  et  des  notes  lentes,  sur  lesquelles  on  s'attarde  avec 
un  tressaillement. 

Sous  sa  legereie,  cette  bonne  compagnie  transplanted  est  fort 
cultivee  pour  l'epoque  et  le  lieu.  Tous  ces  messieurs  ont  fait  leurs 
humanites,  aux  colleges  de  Plessis  ou  a  Louis-le-Grand  s'entrete- 
naient  en  latin,  et  ont  garde  le  gout  de  la  poesie  antique. 

On  recoit  le  Mercure  et  i'Almanach  Royal.  Autour  des  tables  a 
quadrille  et  des  cheminees,  on  discute  les  aphorismes  de  Voltaire, 
la  derniere  communication  de  M.  de  Buffon  sur  la  trajectoire  « 
1'habitabilite  des  planetes,  son  histoire  naturelle,  on  lui  envoie 
des  details  sur  les  mammiferes  de  Louisiane. 

Les  jeunes  filles,  eleves  des  Dames  de  Si.  Cyr  et  de  couvents  bien 
gardes,  connaissent  par  cceur  les  lettres  de  Mme  de  Sevigne  et 
Mme  de  la  Houlliere,  les  fables  de  la  Fontaine,  pincertt  de  la  harpe, 
sur  l'^pinette  jouent  les  sonates  de  Lulli. 

Dans  les  salons,  on  joue  du  Marivaux  et  des  pantalonnades,  les 
belles  voix  fredonnent  les  operas  de  Hzendel.  Sur  les  rayons  de  cedre, 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  *45 

dont  l'ardme  se  marie  heureusement  a  celle  du  cuir,  les  ceuvres  de 
Crebillon,  Montaigne  et  Piron  voisinent  avec  celles  dc  Plaute, 
Virgile,  Homere,  Th^ophraste  et  Euclide. 

La  vie  est  chere,  les  jeunes  officiers,  mal  payes,  acceptent  le  lit 
d'une  femme,  au  besoin  I'epousent,  pour  economiser  la  pension,  qui 
dans  les  maisons  les  plus  modestes  atieint  500  Livres  par  an.  Or 
un  Lieut,  du  Roi  louche  1000  Livres  par  an  ;  un  major  i«oo,  et 
son  aide  1080.  Les  administrateurs  ne  sont  pas  mieux  lotis. 

Le  port,  naus£abond,  car  sur  le  quay  du  poisson  languit  au 
soleil,  est  ires  anime.  Aussit6t  qu'un  batiment  est  annonce  a  La 
Balize,  les  courtiers  se  precipitent  dans  les  bureaux  de  l'ordonna- 
teur  ^changer  leur  monnaie  de  carte  contre  des  lettres  de  change 
sur  Paris,  les  marchands  acheteni  et  revendent  les  effets  encore  en 
route,  les  planteurs  arrives  en  hate  proposent  des  chargements  aux 
capitaines. 

La  population  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  a  ce  moment  comprend  800 
Ames,  sans  compter  aoo  soldats  de  compagnies  et  300  esclavea. 

Les  plantations  prennent  de  la  valeur  et  se  multiplient.  MM. 
Nicolas  de  la  Tour,  Guillaume  le  Moyne.  Philippe  Hainault  et 
Claude  Trennaunay  de  Chanfret  cultivent  le  tabac  a  la  Pointe- 
Coupee,  oil  Jean-Baptiste  Champagne  a  troque"  ses  deux  lots  de 
la  rue  de  Conde"  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  contre  une  terre  et  une  habitation 
avec  mobilier  et  bibliotheque  ;  «  ij  tomes  concernant  le  monde, 
14  tomes  des  mille  et  une  nuits,  le  dictionnaire  Universel  et  une 
Histoire  Romaine  en  to  volumes.  > 

Aux  Cannes-BruhSes,  le  Chevalier  de  Macarty  a  achete,  pour  3050 
Livres,  la  concession  du  Marquis  d'Artagnan,  et  Jacques  de  la 
Chaise,  le  fils  du  commissaire,  a  paye-  3470  Livres  celle  de  M.  de 
Salmon. 

Aux  Natchitochez,  le  Capt.  de  St.  Jullien  et  Charles  de  Moran 
plantent  du  tabac  et  font  du  goudron  ;  M.  Loquet  de  la  Pomme- 
raye,  tresorier  de  la  marine,  qui  a  epouse  Dame  Trudeau,  la  veuve 
du  Capt.  Guerin  de  la  Boulaye,  a  achete"  sur  le  fleuve  celle  de 
Francois  de  Belle-Isle  ;  Nicolas  de  Lcry  de  Boisclair  et  sa  femme, 
Louise  d'Arensbourg,  en  possedent  une  e'norme,  ensemenc^e  de 
vivres  ;  toutes  celles  des  Chauvins  se  sont  agrandies. 

Le  Chevalier  Renault  d'Hauterive  a  un  superbe  logis  et  quatre 
indigoteries  sur  ses  terres,  cotoyant  celles  des  Jesuites  :  Charles  Petit 
du  Livilliers  et  Jean-Baptiste  de  St.  Martin  Jaury-Guibery  ont  des 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

rizieres  :  Jean-Baptiste  de  Chavannes,  comme  M.  de  Noyon,  seme 
du  mahiz. 

M.  Broutin,  qui  n'a  pas  moms  de  sept  indigoteries,  possede  une 
ires  belle  habitation  sur  le  fleuve,  peu  eloignee  de  celle  de  Jacques 
de  Livaudais.  Au  dessous  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  M.  Raguet  a  install* 
deux  moulins  a  planches  dans  sa  propriete. 

M.  de  Belle-Isle,  M.  Amyault  d'Ausseville,  le  procureur  du  Roi. 
le  Capt.  Hubert  de  Belair  ont  chacun  une  plantation  de  bon  rap- 
port. Pierre  Payen  de  Chavoy  tient  de  sa  femme,  la  veuve  de  M. 
de  Lery,  une  fort  belle  terre  aux  Chapitoulas.  M.  Jean-Baptiste 
Prevost,  ancien  agent  de  la  Cie  des  Indes,  maintenant  procureur 
aux  biens  vacants,  qui  est  dipldme  de  grec  et  de  latin,  et  s'entend 
aussi  bien  en  construction  navale  et  architecture  qu'en  science  et 
literature,  outre  son  chantier  maritime,  possede,  a  trois  lieues  de 
la  ville,  une  propriety  s'etendant  jusqu'au  Lac  Borgne,  et  une  longue 
habitation,  couverte  de  merins,  dont  les  hautes  portes  vitrees  s'ou- 
vrent  sur  une  galerie  a  deux  etages.  II  y  garde  jalousement  sa  pre- 
cieuse  bibliotheque. 

Les  planteurs  ont  moins  de  frivolite  que  les  citadins.  lis  vien- 
nent  a  la  ville  traiter  leurs  affaires,  mats  en  repartent  volontiers. 
lis  preferent  se  reunir  entre  eux,  vivent  patriarcalement,  s'offrent 
des  soupers  plantureux,  au  cours  desquels  on  parte  des  reroltes, 
du  temps,  des  prix.  Tous  sont  travailles  par  le  demon  de  la  posses- 
sion. 

Anciens  officiers,  anciens  negotiants  ou  administrateurs,  aventu- 
riers  au  passe  douteux,  ils  sont  niveles  par  une  passion  commune, 
celle  de  la  terre.  Leur  situation  sociale  est  jaugee  d'apres  le  nombre 
de  leurs  arpents  et  de  leurs  esclaves,  ils  n'ont  qu'une  idee  :  en  ac- 
querir  toujours  davantage. 

Aussit6t  que  leur  recolte  est  vendue,  ils  achetent  le  necessaire 
pour  la  maison,  vin.  farine,  huile,  eau-de-vie,  les  effets  de  la  famille, 
et  tout  le  rcste  est  consacre  aux  esclaves  et  aux  instruments  aratoires. 

Affluents,  hospitallers,  rabelaisiens,  quelquefois  tres  erudits,  ils 
ont  des  manieres  larges  et  polies  de  chatelains  exotiques.  Sans  mettre 
la  main  a  la  pate,  ils  veillent  a  tout.  Coiffes  d'un  tricorne  de  castor 
sans  garniture,  habilles  de  longues  culottes  ajustees  ou  de  hautes 
chausses  de  peau,  pour  se  proteger  des  maringouins  et  des  brulots, 
qui  a  1'encontre  des  premiers,  harcelent  du  matin  au  soir,  et  d'un 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE  *47 

simple  habit  de  drap  ou  de  nankin,  suivant  la  saison,  ils  circulent, 
commandent  experimented,  e'tudiant  les  cultures,  chassent. 

Les  enfants,  a  dix  ans,  sont  d£ja  bons  tireurs  et  solides.  Les 
petits  Creoles  peuvent  faire  de  longues  stances  dans  les  mare  cages  ; 
i'hiimidirc,  les  insectes  et  le  soleil  ne  les  incommodent  pas. 

Les  families  des  planteurs  se  font  des  visites  animees,  les  <  com- 
perages  >'  sont  frequents,  et  il  y  a  tant  de  ffites  a  sou  ha  her.  Elles 
se  pretent  les  volumes  et  pamphlets  recus  de  France,  «  I'Ame  des 
animaux  »,  <  I'Art  de  faire  iclore  >  de  Reaumur,  <  I'Histoire  des 
plantes  >  de  Linn£,  <  {"Education  des  Enfants  ■»,  des  ceuvres  ro- 
manesques. 

Avec  les  ressources  dont  elles  disposent,  les  femmes,  qui  toutes 
possedent  le  Cuisinier  Royal,  inventent  des  plats  succulents,  servis 
sur  les  grandes  tables  a  pied  de  biche,  garnies  de  linge  ouvre'  de 
Cholet  :  le  calalou,  un  ragout  pimente"  de  volatile  et  d'ecrevisses 
melC  de  bourgeons  de  giraumons,  de  pourpier  et  d'oseille  de  Guinee; 
des  membres  de  poulets  frottes  de  mahiz  et  frits  a  la  graisse  d'ours  ; 
des  salades  sans  inergie  qu'elles  assaisonnent  de  vinaigre  de  mures 
rouges,  dans  lequel  elles  ont  jete  une  branche  de  vinaigrier,  pour 
lui  donner  de  la  force  ;  du  pain  de  mahiz  aux  gratons ;  de  la  bouillie 
de  mahiz  battue  d'eeuf,  sucree  et  parfumee  a  la  fleur  d'oranger, 
qui  bien  e'paisse,  taillee  en  tranches  et  frite,  devient  le  couehe-couche 
des  collations  ;  des  confitures  de  giraumons  et  de  patates  douces  ; 
quand  elles  ont  de  la  melasse,  de  c  l'estomac  mulatre  ».  une  sorte 
de  pain  d'e'pice  ;  des  douceurs  aux  pacanes  et  a  1'eau  de  rose,  des 
beignets  d'ararias  et  de  fleurs  de  potiron. 

Elles  conservent  des  raisins  muscats,  entre  des  couches  de  cendre, 
dans  des  barils  bien  clos.  S'ils  sont  un  peu  fanes,  elles  coupent  les 
tiges  des  grappes  et  en  font  des  bouquets  mis  a  tremper  dans  du 
vin  de  la  m£me  couleur,  pour  les  raviver.  Elles  pr^parent  du  beurre 
de  muscade,  dans  des  pots  de  terre  vernissee. 

A  la  saison,  dans  des  chaudrons  de  syrop  suspendus  a  la  crimail- 
lere  au  dessus  d'un  feu  de  copeaux,  elles  jettent  les  pitales  de  leurs 
orangers,  soigneusement  ramasses  apres  l'effeuillement,  ou  des 
violettes,  pour  s'assurer  de  leurs  rafralchissements  d'iti.  Elles  com- 
binent  des  pots-pourris  de  fleurs  sauvages,  qui  parfument  delicate- 
ment  les  grandes  pieces  a  boisure. 


I 


S-l8  LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE 

Aux  abords  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  les  rives  sont  piquetees  en  clan- 
par  ces  habitations  de  planteurs,  baties  en  face  du  debarquement, 
ou  sont  amarrees  les  <  voitures  >,  seul  moyen  de  locomotion  dont 
on  dispose  pour  aller  a  la  ville  et  chez  les  voisins. 

Les  maisnns  en  colombages  sont  montees  sur  solage  de  brique,  ei 
couvenes  de  bardeaux  ternes,  sur  lesquels  tranche  la  brique  rose 
des  grandes  cheminees.  Elles  sont  entourees  d'une  galerie  a  colon- 
nade de  cedre,  peinte  a  la  chaux,  montant  au  premier  £tage,  on 
jusqu'a  la  corniche.  sous  laquelle  ouvrent  les  pones  et  les  fenetres, 
qui  ne  sont  vi trees  que  dans  les  plantations  les  plus  opulentes,  et 
le  soir  attirent  les  betes-a-chandelles,  luisantes  comme  la  cornaline. 

A  quelques  pas  en  arriere  se  cache  la  cuisine  de  poteaux,  la 
pompe  a  chapelet,  la  forge,  la  laiterie,  ratable,  le  colombier,  le 
poulailler,  1'atelier,  la  boucaniere,  et,  un  peu  plus  loin,  la  double 
rangee  de  cabanes  des  esclaves. 

Les  tulipiers  celadon,  au  fremissement  argent^,  comme  l'envers 
de  leurs  feuilles,  au  prin temps  pavoises  de  grandes  fleurs  blanches  — 
buiines  par  les  oiseaux-fleurs,  les  oiseaux-papillons,  les  oiseaux-bleus, 
et  les  prie-Dieu  —  les  acacias,  les  lauriers-rose  et  les  lauriers 
d'Espagne,  les  oliviers  de  Chine,  les  roses  muscades,  les  grenadiers 
et  les  orangers,  autour  des  bois-de-rameaux  et  des  chenes  moussus 
de  fumees,  forment  des  masses  e'claire'es  et  capiteuses. 

Vingt-cinq  de  ces  plantations  valent  de  100.000  a  300.000  Livres. 
Des  coureurs-de-c6tes  y  apportent  de  l'exterieur  des  provisions,  et 
dandestinement  vendent  ou  troquent  du  rhum  aux  esclaves. 

On  y  cultive  surtout  1'indigo,  parce  que,  bien  qu'on  le  coupe 
plusieurs  fois,  cette  culture  saisonniere  laisse  aux  esclaves  plusieurs 
mois  de  liberty  pour  faire  des  bardeaux,  des  linteaux  et  preparer 
des  menus  bois  de  construction,  faciles  a  vendre.  Mais  auparavant,  il 
faut  aller  chercher  les  cypres  dans  <  l'horrible  marecage  >  de  I 'ar- 
riere ;  de  chaque  cdte  de  l'arbre,  un  scieur-de-long  se  tient  deboui, 
en  equilibre  dans  son  Itroite  pirogue,  et  precautionneusemem  tire 
sur  le  manche  de  sa  longue  scie.  C'est  une  operation  instable,  qui 
<  tanne  >l  vite  les  plus  robustes. 

On  plante  un  peu  de  coton,  un  long  colon  de  Siam,  soyeux  sous 
les  doigts,  mais  les  planteurs  ont  de  la  dimculte  a  isoler,  a  la  main, 
les  graines  du  duvet.  II  n'existe  pas  de  separateur. 

1.  Fatigue. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE 


*49 


Sur  ]a  Cdte  Allemande,  comtnandee  par  M.  de  Vandcrech,  qui  a 
spouse  la  fille  du  Chevalier  de  Macarty,  et  le  Chevalier  Falgons  de 
Beaumont,  les  accortes  jardinieres  aux  tresses  blondes  enroulees 
aident  leurs  hommes  dans  la  culture  maraichere,  barattent  le  beurre, 
egouttent  les  fromages.  De  superbes  vaches  <  matachees  >  paissent 
dans  les  paturages,  pendant  que  sept  moulins  a  bois  debitent  \ 
an  50.000  planches  pour  les  lies.  La  centaine  de  families  europeennes 
installee  la  vit  dans  une  honnete  aisance,  sans  debordements. 

Aux  Natchitochez,  sous  les  ordres  de  M.  Cezard  de  Blanc,  le  long 
de  la  Riviere  Rouge,  dans  la  grande  prairie  ovale  des  Avoyelles,  et 
au  Grand  Ecore  sur  le  Rigolet-du-Bon-Dieu,  60  Blancs  aid£s  de  aoo 
esclaves  cultiveni  le  inahiz  et  le  tabac,  garden  1  des  troupeaux  guettes 
par  les  chats-sauvages. 

A  la  Pointe-Coupee,  maintenant  isolee  aux  eaux  hautes  par  le 
Mississipi,  l'Atchafalaya  et  les  marecages  de  la  terre  fenne,  car  le 
fleuve  a  definitivement  change  de  lit  et  adopti  la  voie  degagi 
coups  de  hache  par  M.  d'Ibberville,  les  soo  Blancs  £tablis  la  avec 
400  esclaves,  sont  satisfaits  du  resultat  de  leurs  efforts. 

Les  plantations  des  Natchez,  de  nouveau,  sont  florissames,  des 
habitations  fraiches  sont  pressees  sur  le  morne  du  Fort  Rosalie, 
comme  une  grosse  grappe. 

Dans  ces  trois  postes,  le  tabac  est  roi.  On  en  exporte  cette  annee 
950.000  livres  en  manoques  et  3.000  livres  en  carottes. 

M.  de  Vi liars  du  Breuil  a  maintenant  une  superbe  plantation,  la 
meilleure  de  la  colonic  une  belle  residence,  quatre  indigoteries, 
c'est-a-dire  des  hangars  ouverts  sous  lesquels  trois  bailies  sont  &agees. 
En  haut,  «  la  pourriture  »,  dans  laquelle  les  feuilles  vertes  trempent 
quelques  heures,  en  attirant  toutes  les  mouches  du  voisinage.  Quand 
il  en  est  temps,  l'indigotier  ouvre  un  bondon,  fail  passer  le  melange 
bleu  dans  la  deuxieme  cuve,  carr^e,  <  la  batterie  »,  percee  de  trois 
trous  ferm^s  par  des  bondons  ;  des  perches  sont  passees  enire  les 
chandeliers  ou  fourches  disposes  de  distance  en  distance  sur  les  bords 
de  la  bailie,  et  des  esclaves,  deux  heures  durant,  rudoient  l'eau  avec 
ces  perches,  pendant  que  1'indigotier,  pour  empecher  1'ecume  de 
deborder,  avec  une  plume  l'asperge  d'huile  de  poisson.  Apres  avoir 
fait  des  essais  dans  une  tasse  d'argent,  quand  le  melange  esi  repose, 
il  ouvre  les  bondons  supeYieurs,  pour  laisser  ^couler  l'eau  daire  ; 
lorsque  l'eau  devient  boueuse,  par  la  percee  du  fond,  il  fait  egot 
diablotin  »  du  has. 


I 


250  LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

La  lie  est  versee  dans  des  petits  sacs,  qui  saignent  en  bleu  sous  1e 
hangar,  au-dessus  d'une  rigole,  par  ou  elle  va  empoisonner  les 
poissons  de  la  coulee  la  plus  proche.  Quand  elle  est  sufhsamment 
^paisse,  elle  est  etendue  au  coutcau  dans  des  formes  de  bois,  et  mise  a 
secher,  d'abord  dans  la  s^cherie,  ensuite  sur  l'herbe  au  soleil. 

Lorsqu'elle  est  prise,  encore  fraiche,  on  la  tranche  au  fil  d'archal 
pour  en  faire  des  pains  de  nuit,  les  uns  bleu  uni,  les  autres  a  reflets 
gorge-de-pigeon,  suivant  la  quality. 

M.  du  Breuil  a  plusieurs  briqueteries  depuis  qu'il  est  entrepreneur 
des  batimcnts  du  Roi.  II  fait  6000  livres  de  cire  de  myrte  par  an, 
du  maliiz  et  un  peu  de  coton. 

Ses  500  escfaves  congolais,  s£negalais  et  bambaras  lui  sont  tres 
d^voues,  car  c'est  un  maitre  excellent,  qui  avec  ses  fils  donne  I'exem- 
ple  du  travail  et  ne  maltraite  personne. 

Lorsque  la  cloche  de  la  grande  maison  sonne,  l'iti  k  l'aurore, 
l'hiver  quand  la  terre  est  crisped  sous  la  gelee  blanche,  a  huit  heures, 
ils  s'cbrouent  et,  pieds  nus,  se  rendent  a  l'habitation  pour  faire  la 
priere  avec  un  des  membres  de  la  famille,  ou  plusieurs,  puis  derriere 
leur  «  commandeur  »,  se  rendent  au  travail. 

A  midi,  ils  arretent  leur  besogne  pour  dejeuner,  recommencent 
a  deux  heures  jusqu'au  soir.  Ils  retournent  a  la  grande  maison  pour 
faire  la  priere  et  recevoir  les  ordres  dii  lendemain,  et  apres  avoir 
poliment  dit  bonsoir,  regagnent  leurs  cabines,  ou  ils  sont  aussi 
mahres  que  le  charbonnier  de  la  fable. 

Chaque  case  est  partagee  en  deux  pieces  avec  chemine'e,  garnies 
d'ais.  Dans  1'une  sont  les  lits  de  planche  et  de  paillasse  en  barbe 
espagnole,  et  leur  petite  recolte  ensachee  ;  dans  1'autre,  au  dessous 
du  fusil  de  chasse.  qui  occupe  la  place  d'honneur  sur  la  cheminee, 
ils  font  cuire  le  riz.  le  lard,  et  le  mahiz  a  la  graisse  d'ours,  dont  ils 
se  nourrissent. 

Outre  sa  cabine,  chaque  famille  possede  un  petit  champ  pour 
cultiver  le  grain  nicessaire  a  sa  consommation,  et  une  cour  cl6turee 
d'echalas  ou  grogne  un  cochon,  entoure  de  potties  picorantes.  Le 
maitre  leur  accorde  le  temps  de  s'occuper  de  leur  petit  bien,  lorsque 
la  saison  arrive,  et  il  entretient  leur  modeste  garde-robe. 

Ils  sont  si  robustes  que  M.  Pouyadon  de  la  Tour,  le  chirurgien, 
a  passe"  un  contrat  avec  M.  du  Breuil,  pour  les  soigner  a  forfait.  II  y 
gagne,  car  il  ne  vient  guere  que  pour  les  accouchementa,  et  a  l'occa- 
sion  administrcr  un  peu  de  rhubarbe,  d'ip^ca  et  d'huile  d'a 


LA    LOUIS1ANE    FRAN£AISE  S51 

lis  soignent  eux-mimes  les  douleurs  tiraillant  les  jambes,  quand  ils 
travaillent  dans  le  maricage,  en  se  frottant  avec  de  la  graisse  de 
crocodile,  ou  mieux  encore  de  serin,  un  remade  qu'ils  affectionnent 
par  t  icu  1  i  eremen  t . 

Le  premier  Janvier,  la  plantation  est  ires  excitee.  Des  1'aurore  les 
esclaves  sont  sur  pied,  courent  d'une  cabine  a  l'autre  avec  de  grands 
iclats  de  rire,  se  caressent,  se  congratulcnt  a  grandes  claques. 

Iris,  Choucanne,  Jacquine  et  Fattemane,  les  bonnes  noires  des 
enfants,  sans  aucune  discretion,  vont  iveiller  les  garcons  :  <  Timaite, 
mo  souhaite  qui  vous  bon  gasson.  fi  plein  l'arzent  et  qui  vous 
bienheureux  I  » 

Dans  la  chambre  des  filles,  c'est  une  autre  antienne,  aussi  spon- 
tanea :  <  Mamzellc,  mo  souhaite  qui  vous  bon  fie,  qui  vous  gagnain 
ein  mari  riche  e  plein  pitis  !  > 

Apres  la  priere,  a  laquelle  la  famille  se  joint  au  grand  complet, 
chaque  esclave  recoit  un  morceau  de  bceuf,  un  petit  sac  de  farine 
blanche,  tine  casserole  et  une  cuillere  d'etain.  De  plus,  les  femmes 
ont  une  robe  d'indienne,  une  souquenille  de  travail,  et  un  «  tignon 
de  madras  »  barioli,  pour  nouer  sur  leur  tete  ;  celles  qui  ont 
accouche"  dans  1'annie  ont  deux  robes.  Les  hommcs  recoivent  un 
costume  de  cotonnade  et  un  surtout  pour  le  froid,  les  enfants  des 
hardes  et  de  menus  cadeaux. 

lis  dibordent  de  reconnaissance.  «  Bon  madam  la,  bon  michii  la, 
bon  viiroaites  layi  I  >  Ivres  de  joie,  tout  le  monde  crie,  s'agite,  chante, 
s'embrasse.  Maman  Cristal  serre  ses  dtx  enfants  dans  ses  bras  comme 
s'il  s'agissait  de  Her  une  gerbe.  Gribouille  renverse  sa  vieille  tete  en 
arriere.  pour  se  gargariser  de  son  plaisir  :  «  Qui  ya,  qui  ya  bonair  1  » 
et  Jupiter  arrite  ses  dehanchements  pour  conclure  en  apologue  : 
<  Can  neg  teni  bon  maite,  neg  vini  bon.  » 

Quand  on  s'est  rigali  de  viande  et  de  galette,  et  bu  un  coup  de 
tafia,  on  commence  a  danser.  L'orchestre  est  a  trois  parties. 

Un  musicien,  a  cheval  sur  un  tonneau  tendu  d'une  peau  de 
bceuf,  tambourine,  avec  ses  pieds  il  bat  la  mesure,  dans  sa  frinisie 
il  bascule  et  roule  a  terre.  Un  second  musicien  tape  sur  le  bois  du 
tonneau  avec  de  longues  baguettes.  Le  troisieme  fait  un  vacarme 
ipouvantable  avec  une  machoire  de  cheval,  enfilie  sur  deux  batons 
et  claquant  des  dents. 

tMusiciens  et  danseurs  chantent  sans  arrit,  en  lttanie,  une  phrase 
ique.  lis  dansent  <  la  carabinie  >  :  chaque  cavalier  prend  sa 


25*  LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

danseuse  par  la  main,  et  rapidement  la  fait  tourner  autour  de  lui, 
tandis  qu'elle  brandit  son  mouchoir  rouge  au  dessus  de  sa  ttte,  et 
inlassablement  r£p£te  avec  lui  : 

c  Madam  Gobal,  en  sortant  di  bal  » 
«  Madam  Gobal,  tignon  li  tombi  !  » 


XXXV. 


A  la  Nile  Orleans,  comme  du  iemps  de  M.  de  Bienville,  les  noces 
sont  les  grands  £venements.  Le  Marquis  assiste  aux  soirees  de  con t rat 
\  et  aux  ceremonies  religieuses  des  gens  de  qualite.  La  colonie  con  vole 
avec  une  grande  facilite. 

Claude  Villars  du  Breuil,  le  fils  de  1 'entrepreneur  du  Roi,  riche 
murmure-t-on  de  deux  millions  et  plus,  epouse  Catherine  de  la 
Boulaye,  la  fille  du  Capitatne  mort  au  Fort  de  Chartres,  que  son 
beau-pere,  M.  Loquet  de  la  Pommeraye,  conduit  a  1'autel  ;  Charles 
Favre  d'Aunoy  obtient  la  main  de  Catherine  de  Belair,  ei  Jehan 
Huchet  de  Kernion,  de  Quimper,  celle  de  Dame  Jeanne  de  Mirbaise 
de  Villemont,  la  Vve  de  M.  Rivard, 

Messire  Ayme  de  Montaut,  Chevalier  de  Montbcrault,  Lt,  de 
marine,  s'unit  a  la  veuve  du  Chevalier  de  St.  Aignet  de  Cloche  ; 
M.  Gautier  de  Monireuil  a  demoiselle  Carriere  :  Charles  de  Morand, 
eeuyer,  fils  du  Seigneur  du  Bois-Riad,  choisit  pour  compagne  Marie 
de  la  Chaise,  la  fille  de  Joseph,  et  Louis  Robineau  de  Ponneuf  la 
veuve  de  M.  de  la  Buissonniere. 

On  celebre  successivement  le  manage  de  Jean-Baptiste  de  Mont- 
brun  de  St.  Laurent  avec  Francoise  de  Coulanges,  la  petite  fille  de 
M.  Galard  de  Chamilly ;  de  Xavier  de  Lino  de  Chalmette  avec  Marie- 
Magdeleine  Broutin  ;  de  Pierre  Harpin  de  la  Gantrais  avec  Therese 
Neveu  ;  de  Daniel  de  Macarty  avec  la  Veuve  Pellerin  ;  de  Pierre 
d'Henneville  avec  Pelagie  de  Fleuriau. 

MM.  Populus  de  St.  Protais  et  Montbrun  de  la  Souderaye  e^pousent 
les  sceurs  Langlois  ;  Philippe  de  Grondel,  Louise  du  Tisne  ;  le  Capt. 
Charles  du  Hamel,  fils  de  messire  Pambrasse  du  Hamel  de  Sastilly, 
Catherine  Chauvin  de  la  Fresniere,  ce  qui  veut  dire  lete  furnnwff 

Apres  quelques  annees  de  ce  chasse-croise,  toute  la  Louisiane  est 
apparentee.  Quand  un  homme  n'est  pas  I'cpoux  ou  le  pere  de  la 
mariee,  il  est  son  oncle,  son  cousin,  ou  le  tuteur  de  ses  enlants. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

On  ne  songe  pas  qu'aux  alliances.  M.  de  Vaudreuil  a  appris  que 
la  France  est  en  guerre  avec  l'Angleterre  et  que  plusieurs  vaisseaux 
anglais  ont  quitt£  la  J  am  a  (que  et  fait  voile  dans  la  direction  du 
Golfe.  II  s'inquiete  de  la  vulnerability  de  la  colonie,  qu'il  est  difficile 
de  proteger  dans  le  delta,  par  suite  de  manque  de  solidity  du  terrain. 
D'ailleurs  il  n'a  ni  artillerie,  ni  munition. 

II  convoque  a  un  conseil  de  guerre  les  Chevaliers  de  Noyon,  de 
Gauvrit,  de  Membrede,  de  Grand'Pre\  de  B6nac,  de  Kernion,  et 
M.  Marest  de  la  Tour. 

M.  de  Verges  a  propose  d'elever,  au  Detour  des  Anglais,  trois 
batteries  de  so  canons  sur  cbaque  rive,  mais  pour  cela  il  faudrait 
avoir  des  canons,  il  en  a  demands  a  Versailles.  En  attendant,  le 
Gouverneur  enjoint  aux  planteurs  de  lui  abandonner  pour  six  se- 
maines  le  cinquieme  de  leurs  esclaves,  afin  de  construire  sur  la  rive 
meuble  un  petit  fort,  avec  epaulement  de  fascines  et  de  terre.  II 
fortifie  La  Balize,  oil  il  envoie  M.  de  Membrede,  fait  de  son  mieux 
avec  le  peu  dont  il  dispose. 

Heureusement,  il  sagissait  d'une  fausse  alerte,  les  vaisseaux 
anglais  ne  s'occupaient  pas  de  la  Louisiane,  on  en  est  quitte  pour 
la  peur. 

Les  sauvages  harcelent  plus  que  jamais.  Dans  les  Islinois,  le  Che- 
valier de  Bertbel  a  dejou£  un  complot  a  la  onzieme  heure.  Des 
Chactas,  pousses  par  Soulier  Rouge,  ont  sur  la  Cdte  Allemande 
attaqu£  une  habitation,  massacr6  les  hommes,  et  fait  les  femmes 
prisonnieres.  M .  Baby,  le  maitre  de  danse,  qui  se  promenait  a  cheval, 
a  6ii  massaere\ 

M.  de  Vaudreuil  defend  categorlquement  de  traiter  desormais 
des  armes  et  des  munitions  aux  Chactas.  Le  Grand  Chef  de  la 
nation,  ennuye^  des  consequences  de  cette  affaire,  offre  la  paix  et 
assure  a  M.  de  Vaudreuil  qu'il  taut  excuser  la  petulance  de  Soulier 
Rouge,  c  un  chef  jeune  qui  n'a  point  d'esprit  >. 

Le  Gouverneur  accepte  le  calumet,  mais  en  offrant  les  presents 
d'usage,  omet  la  poudre  et  les  balles.  Le  chef  s'^tonne  de  cet  oubli. 
c  Aussi  longtemps  que  Soulier  Rouge  n'aura  pas  d'esprit,  replique 
le  marquis  de  son  air  le  plus  grave,  vous  n'aurez  pas  de  poudre, 
car  Soulier  Rouge  est  votrc  frere  et  vous  ne  pourriez  faire  moins 
que  de  partager  avec  lui.  Nous  attendrons  tous  que  l'esprit  lui  soit 
venu.  » 

Soulier  Rouge,  definitivement  revolt^  contre  les  Francais,  ( 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  »55 

bout  du  compte  lue"  par  les  guerriers  Chactas  rested  fideles.  Delicate- 
merit,  ils  viennent  offrir  a  M.  le  Gouverneur  la  tele  couple  du 
chef,  en  echange  de  laquelle  ils  recoivent  des  cadeaux  d'importance. 

M.  de  Grand'Pri,  le  descendant  de  Pierre  Boucher,  gouverneur 
de  Trois-Rivieres  au  Canada,  en  1653,  qui  s'etait  eniremis  avec 
les  Chactas,  signe  avec  eux  le  traite~  portant  son  nom.  Desormais, 
les  Francais  casseront  la  tele  de  tout  chef  Chactas  tirant  sur  un 
des  leurs  ;  tout  chef  Chactas  qui  introduira  un  Anglais  dans  son 
village  sera  mis  a  mort  ;  la  nation  restituera  ses  prisonniers,  detruira 
les  forts  qu'on  lui  indiquera,  et  continuera  a  guerroyer  contre  les 
Chicachas. 

M.  le  Blanc  de  Villeneuve,  qui  au  cours  d'une  escarmouche  a  vu 
un  pcre  Houma  se  sacrifier  pour  son  his,  assassin  d'un  Chactas, 
entreprend  de  rehabiliter  la  race  et  commence  son,  poeme  heroi'que  : 
c  Poucha- Houma  ». 


«  Augustes  descendants  d'un  peuple  sans  pareil 
€  Tres  illustres  enfant  des  enfans  du  Soleil, 

<  Enfin  void  le  jour  ou  la  saison  prospere 

<  Va  payer  vos  travaux  d'un  pre"cieux  salaire...  » 


IL'annee  precedente,  un  ouragan  a  broye"  les  rizieres,  l'hiver  de 
1748  est  si  rigoureux  que  pour  la  premiere  fois  tous  les  Grangers 
sont  geles.  Avec  le  Pere  Vitry.  Superieur  des  Capucins,  et  M.  Jean 
Guesnon  de  Gueygodon,  le  chirurgien,  M.  de  Vaudreuil  parcourt  la 
Basse- Lou  is  iane,  dit  un  mot  d'encouragement  a  chacun. 

II  n'a  pas  clame  dans  le  vent,  les  forces  de  la  Louisiane  sont 
augmented,  elle  va  avoir  37  compagnies  de  50  hommes  chacune, 
une  arme"e  comrae  elle  n'en  a  jamais  eu. 

En  1751,  un  bailment  arrive  avec  soo  soldats.  Quant!  il  a  louche 
St.  Domingue,  les  Jesuites  de  l'lle  ont  confix  au  capitaine  une 
quamite  de  cannes-a-sucre  et  quelques  negres  entendus  a  leur  cul- 
ture, pour  leurs  freres  de  la  Nile  Orleans. 

Les  Jesuiies  accueillent  avec  transports  ces  batons,  dont  on 
espere  beaucoup.  On  plante  les  precieuses  cannes,  apres  en  avoir 
donnl  une  partie  a  M.  du  Breuil. 

Le  vaisseau  n'a  pas  degorge  que  des  cannes  et  des  soldats  ;  60  lilies 
pauvres  et  sages,  expedites  aux  frais  du  Roi,  sont  arrivees  en  meme 
temps.  On  les  marie  avec  des  soldats  de  bonne  reputation,  dont  les 
engagements  finissent,  et  chaque  couple  recoit,  outre  la  benediction 


*56  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANf  AISE 

nuptiale  et  celle  du  Gouverneur,  une  petite  terre,  une  vache  et  son 
veau,  5  poules  et  un  coq,  un  fusil,  de  la  poudre  et  des  balles,  un 
soc  de  charrue  et  de  la  semence.  On  continuera  ses  rations  autant 
qu'il  sera  nlcessaire. 

Ce  sont  ces  couples  honn£tes,  groupls  en  village  autour  d'une 
chapelle,  qui  constituent  le  noyau  sain  de  la  colonic 

Les  Chicachas  continuent  leurs  depredations,  M.  de  Vaudreuil 
en  est  exc£d£.  Avec  700  hommes,  par  la  Mobile,  ou  M.  d'Arta- 
guette  est  revenu,  il  marche  contre  eux,  mais  la  ou  M.  de  Bienville 
a  Ichoul,  il  n'a  pas  la  moindre  chance  de  rlussir.  Les  forts  sont 
dlfendus  par  des  Anglais,  et  bien  dlfendus,  il  doit  se  contenter  de 
raser  un  village  et  de  fortifier  le  poste  de  la  Tombecbee. 

M.  de  la  Rouvilli&re  n'a  pas  le  plaisir  d'exprimer  ce  qu'il  pense 
d'une  si  futile  expedition,  il  aurait  certainement  fait  remarquer 
que  c'&ait  la  un  de  ces  gestes  pompeux  mais  creux  dont  le  marquis 
est  coutumier,  il  ne  peut  pas  le  dire  parce  qu'il  est  mort. 

La  Louisiane,  pour  le  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  est  un  petit  gibier, 
une  itape  dans  sa  vie  remplie,  il  n'est  venu  qu'en  passant.  Le  void 
nomm£  Gouverneur-Glneral  de  la  Nile  France. 


M.  Louis  Billoart  de  Kerlerec,  Capitaine  de  la  marine  royale, 
le  nouveau  Gouverneur,  est  un  breton  peu  fortune  de  Quimper, 
integre,  mais  cassant  apres  25  ans  de  service  en  mer.  Le  23  fevrier 
1753,  il  arrive  avec  sa  fcmme  et  sa  belle-sceur,  Demoiselle  du  Blot. 

Avant  de  partir,  le  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  prie  la  famille  a  diner, 
c'est  un  soupcr  d'adieu  et  d'accueil,  qui  enchante  l'Hoiel  du  Gou- 
vernement. 

Une  centaine  de  jolies  femmes,  mouche  a  la  joue,  dont  les  paniers 
de  soie  sont  retains  par  des  fleurs  et  les  de  col  let  ages  adoucis  par 
des  blondes,  autant  de  gentilhommes  en  habit  a  godets  et  perru- 
ques  baleinees,  e^incelants  de  tous  leurs  ordres,  se  retrouvent  dans 
la  soiree  parfumee  de  printemps. 

Le  Marquis  est  en  habit  ponceau,  passemente'  d'or  fin,  et  gilet 
de  velours  cisele  ;  la  Marquise  en  taffetas  cuisse-de-nymphe-emue, 
broche'  d' eglantine  d'argent  ;  Jean-Baptiste  la  Pierre,  son  perru- 
quier,  s'est  depassl. 

Joseph  de  Pontalba,  en  habit  bleu  royal  a  parements  et  retroussis, 
a  offer  t  a  sa  femme,  Marguerite  Broutin,  le  plus  beau  collier  que 
Duval-Chevreuil.  l'orfevre,  avait  en  mains  ;  Manon  de  Belle-Isle 
est  bleue  comme  la  nuit  etoilee,  dans  ses  paillettes  ;  Francois  de 
Caiie,  habille"  par  Belhomme,  I'ancien  tailleur  de  la  Cour,  d'un  habit 
de  soie  cerise  a  boutons  d  email,  sur  culotte  de  velours  cramoisi, 
eclipse  presque  sa  femme,  couronnee  de  jasmin,  comme  une  dryade 
resen^e  ;  Helene  de  la  Moriniere,  coiff^e  a  I'oiseau  royal,  est  en- 
veloppee  d'or  pale  ;  la  taille  de  Manon  de  Livaudais  disparatt  en  ire 
des  paniers  gorge-de-pigeon. 

Antoine  de  Gruy,  Seigneur  du  Mesnil -Sou chard,  est  en  velours 
reseda  et  veste  d'argent  ;  Jacques  le  Vassore  de  Bonncterre,  qui 
accompagne  Manon  de  la  Vergue,  habillee  de  poult  de 


est  lumineux  comme  un  bouton  d'or  ;  Catherine  de  Gourdon  est 
cngoncee  dans  du  satin  jonquille,  broche  de  mauve. 


*5&  LA     LOUISIANA     FRAN£AISE 

Les  Chevaliers  de  Mazan  et  d'Orgon,  MM.  de  Vauzelard,  de 
Mauleon,  d'Henebuise,  de  Mouy,  Benoist  de  St.  Clair,  de  Targuet 
ont  des  uniformes  neufs,  aux  buffleieries  immaculees  ;  les  brocarts 
du  Chevalier  d'Orville,  de  Michel  Chambly  de  Rouville,  d'Athanase 
de  Meziere,  de  M.  Riviere  de  la  Brosse,  ramages  de  fleurettes  reVerbe- 
rantes,  les  font  resplendir. 

Le  festin,  accompagne  par  un  orchestre  jouant  du  Cluck,  est 
magnihque.  Les  longues  tables  sont  arrangees  entre  des  colonnes 
encagees  de  vert,  sur  lesquelles  des  guirlandes  de  roses  et  de  myries 
festonnent.  On  vide  des  coupes  de  vieux  vin  de  Baler  on,  on  rit  a 
grandes  cascades  insouciantes. 

D'autres  invites  arrivent  passer  la  soiree.  Tout  le  monde  est  la  : 
Joseph  de  Favrot  et  sa  femme,  qui  a  successivement  enterre  M.  de 
la  Chaise  et  M.  de  la  Lande  d'Alcourt,  et  n'en  a  pas  moins  l'air 
de  irouver  la  vie  legere  sur  ses  epaules  nues ;  des  Chauvins  de  toutes 
couleurs,  de  la  Fresniere,  de  Lery,  des  Islets,  prolifiques  comrae  les 
tribus  de  la  bible  ;  M.  du  Pasquier,  1'assesseur  du  Conseil  ;  les 
Jousset  de  la  Loire,  Montbrun  de  la  Souderaye,  de  la  Pommeraye, 
des  Trehans  des  Tours  ;  la  famille  de  Cbalmette,  descendue  au  bon 
moment  des  Arkansas  ;  Philippe  de  Marigny  de  Mandeville,  qui 
vient  de  sabler  sa  majorite. 

Les  menuets  et  les  gavottes  comrnencent.  Des  choses  douces  fuient 
par  les  croisees,  s'infiltrent  dans  la  soiree  moelleuse,  pour  se  dissoudre 
en  harmonies  flottantes,  comme  des  bruits  silencieux  de  levres. 

Sur  la  place,  deux  fontaines  de  vin,  sans  arret,  coulent  pour  la 
populace  ;  de  grandes  chaudieres  de  ragout,  a  la  sauce  au  poulet, 
sont  servies  a  la  ronde. 

La  pendule  sonne  onze  coups.  La  Marquise  de  Vaudreuil  et 
Madame  de  Kerlerec,  a  une  centaine  de  pas  des  pieces  d  artifice, 
d'oii  une  salamandre  fait  deja  sortir  des  serpentins,  lichent  deux 
colombes  dressees,  qui,  simultanement,  portent  le  feu  aux  deux 
extremites. 

Dans  la  nuit  alanguie,  bercee  de  violons  et  de  harpes,  une  pyro- 
technie  crepitante  fuse,  la  bonne  ville  de  Nile  Orleans  est  toute 
pantoise  devant  ce  superbe  spectacle.  Ce  soir,  on  traite  les  habitants 
a  poignees  d'etincelles,  pour  alleger  leur  del. 

M.  de  Kerlerec  est  un  peu  ebloui  de  ces  fastes,  et  bien  vite  prend 
des  mesures  d'economie,  non  seulement  dans  son  etablissement  —  il 
n'a  pour  faire  vivre  les  siens,  que  les  quelques  mille  Livres  de  son 


LA    LOU1S1ANE    FRANfAISE  259 

traitement  —  raais  aussi  dans  touit  la  colonie,  ou  l'on  depense  indiffe- 
remment  ou  trop  ou  pas  assez. 

11  plait  aux  Ghactas,  qui  sous  pretexte  que  son  nom  est  difficile 
a  prononcer,  l'appellent  tout  simplement  «  Youlakiimataha  »,  le 
plus  grand  de  la  premiere  race. 

M.  de  Pradel,  qui  en  face  la  Place  d'Armes  de  la  capitate,  de 
1 'autre  cote  du  ileuve,  quelques  annees  plus  t6t  a  achete  pour  85.000 
Livres  la  concession  de  M.  de  Perrier,  «  Montplaisir  »,  a  mis  a 
execution  son  reve  d'hobereau  enrichi.  II  a  fait  construire  une 
gcmilhommiere  de  160  pieds  de  long,  mansardee,  avec  double  per- 
ron de  briques  et  de  faiences,  toutes  les  portes  de  la  galerie  sont 
vi  trees.  11  revait  d'eclipser  le  Grand  Marquis,  il  y  est  presque 
parvenu.  11  a  fait  venir  de  Paris  des  lustres  de  cristal,  des  trumeaux, 
des  taptsseries  de  Coty  peintes  a  la  main,  des  fauteuils  a  la  Reine 
de  velours  rouge.  M.  de  Pradel  est  presque  ruine  par  sa  folie, 
mais  il  est  heureux. 

Dame  Alexandrine,  la  fillc  du  commissaire  de  la  Chaise,  taisse  son 
vieux  mari  a  ses  trumeaux  et  se  fait  courtiser  a  la  ville  par  des 
ofhciers  plus  fringants. 

On  ne  peut  plaire  a  tout  le  monde  et  a  son  pere,  M.  Vincent  le 
Senechal  d'Auberville,  ie  commissaire-ordonnateur,  qui  a  succede 
a  M.  de  la  Rouvilliere,  n'aime  pas  M.  de  Kerlerec,  et  le  montre.  Le 
Gouverneur  pourtant  fait  de  son  mieux. 

Pour  brider  les  jeux  clandestins,  il  organise  ouvertement  dans 
son  propre  h6tel,  depuis  les  Rois  jusqu'au  Carnaval,  un  jeu  de 
pharaon.  Les  oinciers  sont  enchantes  de  ce  cercle  decent  ou  les 
enjeux  continuent  gros,  mais  polis. 

M.  de  Kerlerec  trouve  beaucoup  a  redire  dans  son  fief.  11  se  plaint 
au  ministre  des  marchandises  qu'on  Iui  envoie,  il  a  interroge  les 
chefs  sauvages,  qui  lui  ont  afhrme  que  les  Anglais  leur  fournissaient 
des  articles  convenant  mieux  4  leur  gout,  ce  qui  incitait  a  traiter 
secretement  avec  eux.  D'ailleurs  les  magasins  sont  presque  vides, 
il  serait  urgent  de  les  regarnir.  Et  puis,  neuf  fois  sur  dix,  les  muni- 
tions sont  dun  calibre  different  des  pieces  auxquelles  elles  sont 
destinces,  on  possede  ainsi  des  monceaux  de  boulets  inutilisabtes. 

II  voudrait  des  troupes  de  choix  et  non  des  couards,  de  prefe- 
rence des  Suisses,  comme  la  compagnie  du  Vezeland  qui  tient  garni- 
son  sur  la  C6te  Allemandc,  ou  quelques  families  lorraines  sont 
s  s'installer. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN9AISE 

Pour  reduire  les  depenses,  qui  se  sont  e^levees  a  887.205  Livrcs 
pour  l'annee,  au  depart  du  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  le  gouvernement 
a  ditninue  les  effectifs,  il  ne  reste  que  quatre  compagnies,  une 
milice  et  des  garde-cotes.  Ce  n'esi  pas  assez. 

La  canne-a-sucre  n'a  pas  rtfussi  chez  les  Jesuites,  mais  M.  du 
Breuil  a  eu  plus  de  chance.  Dans  sa  plantation,  il  a  raatntenam  une 
sucrerie  :  sous  un  vaste  hangar,  un  moulin  a  sucre,  c'est  a  dire  un 
broyeur  a  trois  rouleaux  perpendicul aires  de  bois  dur  barde  d'aeier  ; 
huit  chevaux  alters  au  levier  courbe  rejoignant  le  sommet  des  rou- 
leaux, l'actionnent.  Le  jus  des  cannes  s'ecoule  par  un  tuyau  dans 
une  chaudiere,  mise  a  gros  feu  dans  <  la  chaufferie,  »  et,  ini-lc  d'un 
peu  de  chaux,  mi  tonne,  pendant  qu'on  Tecum  e  sans  arr£t. 

Avec  la  micouenne,1  on  le  transfere  d'un  chaudron  dans  un  autre, 
puis  quand  il  est  a  point,  dans  des  refroidisseurs  de  bois  qu'on  laisse 
dans  <  la  secherie  >  pour  qu'il  se  cristallise.  Vingt-quatre  heures 
plus  mid,  on  en  remplit  des  boucauts,  au  fond  desquels  on  a  dispose, 
en  nitre,  des  cannes  enchevetrees  ;  on  les  suspend  dans  la  «  purge- 
rie  »,  au  dessus  d'une  bailie,  apres  les  avoir  perces  pour  que  la 
melasse  s'egoutte.  En  trois  semaines,  le  sucre  est  purge. 

Pour  bruler  la  bagasse,  il  a  consiruil  un  fournil  a  haute  cheminee 
de  brique,  d'ou  s'echappe  une  acre  fumee,  qui  chasse  les  marin- 
gouins. 

Comme  le  Chevalier  de  Mazan  et  M.  des  Trdhans  des  Tours,  le 
tr&orier  de  la  marine,  qui  l'imitent,  M.  du  Breuil  produit  un  sucre 
un  peu  brun,  de  qu.ilite  inferieure,  peut-etre  parce  que  les  ouvriers 
sont  malhabiles,  il  n'y  a  pas  a  la  colonie  de  <  sucrier  >  qualifie.  Ce 
sucre,  qui  granule  mal,  est  n^anmoins  le  bienvenu,  il  perraet  de 
distiller,  dans  1'unique  alambic  de  cuivre,  le  tafia,  un  marc  de  sucre 
qui  fait  les  delices  des  habitants  lorsque  1" eau-de-vie  manque.  Avec 
le  syrop  de  tonne,  ou  melasse.  les  femmes  font  du  raising  de  soco, 
que  les  enfants  pr^ferent  aux  tartines  de  graisse  d'ours  qu'on  leur 
sert  en  hiver,  et  <  la  cuite  »,  le  gros  syrop  dom  elles  nappent  <  la 
pontine  glissante  »,  des  caries  de  pate  mahiz  cuite  a  I'eau. 

La  recolte  donne  une  belle  occasion  de  se  rejouir.  Quand  les 
esdaves  arrivent  a  la  derniere  rangee  de  cannes,  ils  appellent  leur 
commandeur,  Mercure,  qui  attache  un  beau  ruban  neuf  autour  de 
la  plus  haute,  et  designe  le  meilleur  «  couteau  ». 

1.  Loucht  de  boii 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE  »l 

Celui-ci,  tout  faraud,  tranche  la  ranged  en  ne  laissani  que  la  canne 
Hue,  autour  de  laquelle,  brandissam  sa  lame,  il  danse  en  l'interpel- 
lant  :  «  He,  ate.  he,  mo,  Holococo,  gagnain  ti  jordi,  tou  souitte,  qui 
t£  si  joliman  biave  e  bien  faite,  he,  ho  I  gagnain  toi,  ai'e,  ale  1  » 

Quand  il  est  a  bout  de  souffle,  il  la  coupe,  alors  les  esclaves, 
apres  avoir  beaucoup  acclam£  canne  et  couteau,  s'entassent  dans 
les  <  chars  a  choual  »,  et  Malva,  Mangaye,  Coeda  et  Manette  agitant 
frenetiquement  leurs  mouchoirs  de  madras,  en  triomphe  emportent 
E  <Ni  11  l.i. n  nuk-  a  la  maison  du  maitre,  en  chantant  : 

€  Madame  Caba 

<  tignon  vous  tombi, 
€  Madame  Caba 

<  tignon  vow  tombe, 
c  ah  !  la  Reine 

«  Piye  la  su  mot 

<  Madame  Caba, 
€  Piye  la  su  moi 
«  Madame  Caba 
f  chandelle  te  (eigne...  » 

e  mattre  donne  a  tous  une  rasade  a  boire,  et  le 
bal  avec  sa  femme. 

On  danse  «  le  pile  chactas  ».  Bossi,  Kiakia,  Que'telle,  Mahon, 
Azada,  tontes  les  danseuses,  se  ir^moussem  sans  bouger  les  pieds  ; 
autour  d'elles,  leurs  cavaliers,  Nago,  Malbrou,  Cariton,  Medor, 
Senegal  ct  les  autres,  tournent,  grimacent,  font  des  genuflexions. 
Elles  finissent  par  s'^mouvoir.  detachcnt  leur  tignon,  en  criant 
l'agitent  au  dessus  de  leur  t£te,  et  attendries,  en  essuient  la  sueur  qui 
roule  sur  la  figure  de  leur  galant,  cl6turant  ainsi  la  danse. 

On  ne  danse  point  partout.  Dans  l'lle-aux-Chats,  plate  et  fourree, 
d'une  demi-lieue  de  diametre,  sur  laquelle  les  cochons  marrons 
laissis  par  M.  de  Bienville  se  sont  incroyablement  multiplies,  et 
ressemblent  plus  a  des  sangliers  qu'a  des  pourvoyeurs  de  saucisses, 
la  petite  garnison  de  Franca  is  et  de  Suisses  de  Halwye  est  com- 
mandee  par  M.  Duroux,  un  butor  et  un  malhonnete  homme,  qui 
occupe  ses  gens  a  faire  du  charbon  de  bois,  vendu  a  son  benefice. 

II  les  nourrit  de  farine  avarice,  recueillie  dans  une  epave  espagnole 
t  revend  la  farine  du  Roi.  A  la  moindre  incartade,  il  attache  ses 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANCHISE 

hommes,  presque  nus,  des  nuits  emigres,  aux  troncs  de  la  cypriire, 
pour  les  exposer  aux  lancinantes  piqures  des  maringoins. 

Les  plaintes  des  soldats  sont  parvenues  jusqu'aux  oreilles  du 
Gouverneur,  qui  n'en  a  pas  tenu  compte,  parce  que  M.  Duroux 
esc  son  ami,  et  certes  il  n'a  point  trop  d'amis  pour  risquer  d'en 
perdre  un. 

La  soumission  des  victimes  est  a  bout.  Les  soldats  se  soulivent, 
massacrent  M.  Duroux,  pillent  le  magasin,  delivrent  Beaudreaux, 
un  brave  planteur,  que  t'officier  avait  mis  aux  fers  au  moment  du 
partage  de  l'epave,  a  cause  de  ses  protestations.  A  terre,  ils  l'obligent 
a  leur  indiquer  la  route  des  Carolines,  et  lorsqu'ils  arrivent  chez 
les  Kayoutas  le  renvoient,  avec  un  billet  signe,  certifiant  qu'il  les 
a  guide's  sous  la  menace  et  n'a  pas  participi  a  la  revoke. 

Malheureusement,  plusieurs  fugitifs  sont  rattrap£s  par  les  Chactas 
et  reconduits  a  la  Nile  Orleans.  Le  Capitaine  des  Suisses,  sachant 
ce  qui  l'attend,  a  la  bonne  id£e  de  se  tuer,  un  autre  Suisse,  en 
accord  avec  le  code  penal  de  l'armee,  est  placi  dans  un  cercueil  de 
chine,  et  scie  vivant  a  mi-corps,  par  deux  sergents  francais.  Beau- 
draux  dont  le  certificat  n'a  servi  a  rien,  et  un  autre  Francais  sont 
brisks  a  la  roue,  et  leurs  cadavres  sont  jetes  aux  crocodiles  du  Mis- 
sissipi. 

M.  de  Kerlerec.  en  Janvier  1755,  apprend  que  les  hostilites  avec 
1'Angleterre  vont  probablement  recommencer,  et  s'en  emeut.  Le 
Chevalier  de  Macarty  et  le  Capt.  Aubry,  du  regiment  Lyonnais, 
avec  150  hommes,  partem  dans  douze  bateaux,  et  au  confluent  de 
la  Belle-Riviere  ou  Ohio  et  de  la  riviere  des  Cherokees,  bStissem 
le  Fort  Ascencion,  flanque  de  quatre  bastions  a  double  palissade, 
au  cas  ou  les  Anglais  s'aventureraient  de  ce  c&tt. 

La  Louisiane  est  toujours  sans  defense,  inutilement  encombree 
de  troupes  diplorables,  sur  lesquelles  on  ne  peut  compter.  Les  habi- 
tants sont  tout  a  leur  interet  et  a  leur  negoce,  tant  que  le  commerce 
va,  peu  leur  chaut.  mais  lorsque  les  corvettes  de  France  sont  saisies 
par  les  Anglais,  que  la  route  maritime  est  barree  pour  plusieurs 
annees,  que  les  magasins  soni  vides  et  les  hangars  des  plantations 
bout-re's  jusqu'au  toit  de  caisses  et  de  sacs,  ils  commencent  a  prendre 
tres  mal  cette  guerre  qui  leur  pone  tort. 

Les  planteurs  s'arrachent  les  cheveux.  On  ne  se  nourrit  pas 
d'indigo  et  de  tabac,  par  Hercule,  il  faut  vendre  et  acheter  1 

Si  le  trafic  secret  des  <  Parlementaires  >,  les  briganti 


acheter  I 
-tgantins  de  la 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN9AISE  »6j 

Jamai'que  ostensiblement  affectes  au  transport  des  prisonniers  de 
guerre,  n'existait  pas,  on  serait  demuni  de  tout.  La  troupe  ne  peut 
plus  subsister  avec  sa  maigre  solde,  trop  souvent  impayee.  Les 
Chactas,  qui  n'ont  pas  recu  de  presents  depuis  nombre  de  lunes, 
declarent  qu'ils  vont  se  tourner  du  c6te  des  Anglais. 

Conune  si  toutes  ces  complications  ne  sumsaient  pas  a  jeter  le 
desarroi  dans  la  colonic  les  J  estates  et  les  Capucins  se  dressent  les 
uns  contre  les  autres.  Le  Pere  de  Beauboin,  superieur  des  Jesuites, 
a  ete  nomme  vica ire-general  du  diocese  de  Quebec,  et  en  vertu  de 
leur  Convention  de  1717,  les  Capucins  de  Champagne  se  refusent 
a  admettre  ses  pretentions,  qui  empietent  sur  leur  obedience. 

Le  Pere  de  Beauboin  argue  que  la  convention  est  respectee,  il 
n'est  pas  a  la  Nile  Orleans  en  qualite  de  Jesuite,  mais  de  vicaire- 
general.  Le  Conseil  Superieur  se  range  au  parti  des  Capucins  et 
refuse  d'enregistrer  la  nomination  du  vicaire.  Le  Conseil,  a  la 
verite,  a  un  peu  peur  de  ces  casuistes  intelligents  qui  chaque  jour, 
imperceptiblement,  gagnent  du  terrain  sur  les  braves  Capucins, 
lous  droits  et  tous  simples,  de  bons  paysans  ignorants,  qui  ne  savent 
pas  se  defendre. 

Croyant  apaiser  le  Pere  de  Beauboin,  le  Pere  Dagobert  leur  supe- 
rieur, 1'invite  a  donner  la  benediction  au  nouvel  hopital,  le  9  mars  ; 
humblement  il  s'efface  devant  lui,  se  fait  servant. 

Mais  le  Pere  de  Beauboin,  au  lieu  d'etre  reconnaissant,  profite 
de  cette  indulgence  pour  la  tourner  a  son  avantage.  II  annonce 
qu'il  a  public  ses  lettres-patentes  de  grand-vicaire  aussit6t  apres 
les  avoir  revues  et  qu'elles  n'ont  pas  £te  contestees.  Le  fait  de  l'avoir 
convie  a  officier  a  la  ceremonie  de  l'hflpital  le  reconnalt  definitive- 
ment  comme  vica  ire-general  de  la  Basse-Lou  is  i  a  ne.  Pauvres  Capu- 
cins I 

La  ville  s'interesse  passionnement  a  la  querelle,  prend  fait  et 
cause.  On  est  capucin  ou  on  est  jesuite.  Ces  dames  changent  de 
confesseurs,  font  courir  leurs  amities  suivant  leurs  sympathies  re- 
ligieuses.  Le  houspillage  ne  s'arrete  pas,  M.  de  Kerlerec  a  par  dcssus 
la  tete  de  ces  criailleries,  il  vein  repartir.  Quoiqu'il  fasse,  ses  de- 
penses  excident  son  traitement,  les  gens  de  Louisiane  1'ennuient, 
qu'on  lui  rende  sa  bonne  Bretagne. 

Les  diffirultcs  de  la  Louisiane,  pour  grandes  qu'elles  soient.  sont 
cependant  peu  de  chose  a  cote  des  tribulations  de  1'Acadie,  la  pro- 
vince canadienne  decouverte  en  1497  par  John  Cabot,  ou  plutdt 


s 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Giovanni  Caboto,  et  son  fils  Se'bastien  ;  colonisee  en  1604,  avec 
l'assentiment  d'Henri  IV,  par  Pierre  du  Guast,  sieur  de  Monts, 
aid£  de  M.  de  Poutrincourt,  fondateur  de  Port-Royal  sur  la  c6te  ; 
donnee  en  concession,  en  1621,  a  Sir  William  Alexander,  sous  le 
nom  de  Nile  Ecosse  ;  et  successivement  repasse'e  aux  Francais,  puis 
en  1654  a  l'armee  de  Cromwell  ;  retournee  it  la  France  en  1667 
par  le  Traite  de  Bre'da,  puis  a  1'Angleterre  par  la  Paix  d'Utrecht 
en  1713,  modified  depuis  par  le  Traite1  d'Aix-la-Chapelle  de  1748. 

Les  habitants,  18.000  catholicities  francais,  apres  la  Paix  d'Utrecht 
ont  refuse"  de  jurer  fidelite-  a  la  couronne  anglaise,  ils  sont  demeuris 
ce  qu'il  ont  toujours  iti,  laborieux  et  honnetes,  ont  continue  a  culti- 
ver  leurs  belles  fermes,  a  prier  le  Seigneur,  mais  en  periode  de 
conflit  se  sont  proclam£s  c  neutres  >,  jamais  ils  n'ont  pris  les  armes 
contre  d'autres  Francais. 

Le  gouverneur  de  la  Nile  Ecosse  a  compris  que  ces  gens  enracines 
dans  leur  catholicisme  et  leur  fidelity  gauloise  ne  varieraient  point. 
II  faudra  les  diss^miner,  les  faire  absorber  par  fragments  dans  les 
autres  colonies  de  la  Couronne,  pour  les  anglicises 

Le  5  septembre  1755,  a  Grand  Pre,  un  des  centres  les  plus  im- 
portant* d'Acadie,  1923  hommes,  assembles  sans  armes  dans  l'eglise, 
ont  regu  l'ordre  de  partir  avec  leurs  Economies  et  ce  qu'ils  pourraient 
transporter,  c  Le  Grand  Derangement  »  commencail. 

l.es  plus  hardis  se  sont  enfuis  dans  les  taillis  et  les  forets  pour 
essayer  de  gagner  le  Canada  francais  ;  les  autres,  chaque  famille 
bruialement  scindee,  a  partir  du  10  septembre,  ont  iti  sauvagement 
embarques  sur  des  bailments  anglais,  dispersed  sans  discernement 
dans  le  Massachusetts,  le  Maine,  la  Pennsylvanie,  la  Georgie. 

Les  Acadiens,  aussitdt  qu'ils  en  trouvaient  1'occasion,  s'enfu- 
yatent,  cherchaient,  comme  un  chien  de  chasse  human t  la  sente, 
la  direction  d'un  gtablissement  francais. 

En  1756,  en  grains  de  chapelet,  ils  commencent  a  arriver  en 
Louisiane.  M.  de  Kerlerec  est  fort  apitoye  des  remits  qu'il  entend, 
il  les  reconfone,  les  fait  soigner,  a  chaque  homme  donne  une  petite 
concession  sur  la  C6te  Acadienne. 

*  M.  du  Breuil  est  devenu  ambitieux.  Cette  annee  il  expidie  en 
France  un  chargement  de  sucre,  malheureusement  le  sucre,  mal 
agglomere,  fond  en  route  par  les  interstices  des  boucaults.  La  moitie 
de  la  cargaison  est  perdue,  et  le  vaisseau  mal  equilibre  fait  presque 
naufrage. 


M.  le  Senechal  d'Auberville  est  mort  des  fievres  malignes.  Le  16 
.out  1758,  le  nouvel  ordonnateur,  M.  de  Rochemore,  descend  avec 
sa  fernine  de  I'Opale,  qui  amene  de  nouveaux  colons  et  des 
presents  pour  les  sauvages,  mais  ne  peut  ceder  que  tres  peu  de 
vivres. 

M.  de  Kerlerec  est  si  content  d'etre  debarrasse"  de  l'insupportable 
M.  d'Auberville,  qu'il  accueille  M.  de  Rochemore  comme  un  Messie. 
En  attendant  qu'il  ait  trouve  gfte,  il  l'installe  dans  son  propre 
h6tel  avec  sa  faniille,  le  fete  de  son  mieux,  en  pauvre  homme  qu'il 
est.  Puis  il  le  quitte  pour  aller  distribuer  a  4000  Chactas  et  3000 
Alibamons,  convoques  a  la  Mobile,  les  presents  si  impatiemment 
attendus. 

II  est  reeu  par  les  sauvages  avec  de  grandes  demonstrations  de 
joie.  II  fait  bonne  figure,  mais  il  n'est  point  dupe.  <  ]e  sais  mainte- 
nant,  mande-t-il  au  ministre,  que  ces  sauvages  sont  avides,  mertteurs 
et  fe'lons,  et  sans  le  montrer  je  me  tiens  wr  mes  gardes,  mais  ces 
deux  nations  sont  les  bastions  de  la  colonic,  et  il  Jaut  se  les  concilier 
co&te  que  coute.  » 

M.  le  Gouverneur  a  eu  bien  tort  de  se  deranger  pour  M.  de 
Rochemore,  cet  £crivain  de  la  marine,  dipl6me  d'Avignon,  est  un 
grassier  personnage,  qui  n*a  meme  pas  la  reconnaissance  du  ventre. 
II  vient  d'arrivcr  et  il  est  deja  plonge  dans  les  intrigues.  Sus  au 
Gouverneur,  sus  aux  Capucins.  aux  planteurs  I 

Son  parti-pris  l'aveugle,  lui  fait  commettre  des  betises.  Dans  son 
ire  contre  les  Parlementaires,  contrebandiers  assuremenl.  il  con- 
fisque  le  Texel,  fait  prisonnier  David  Diaz  Arias,  le  juif  auquel  il 
appartienL 

M.  de  Kerlerec,  qui  revient  justement  de  la  Mobile,  est  outre  de 
ce  proc£de"  ;  il  fait  relacher  le  juif,  lui  restitue  sa  cargaison,  que  le 


266  LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

marchand,  en  toute  hate,  d£taille  aux  habitants  affames  et  surtout 
assoiffls.  II  est  des  circonstances  ou  la  contrebande  est  bienfaisante. 

M.  de  Rochemore,  charge  d'approvisionner  les  posies  de  la 
Mobile  et  des  Illinois,  neglige  parait-il  ses  devoirs,  M.  de  Kerleree 
enqueue  et  s'apercoit  que  certains  officiers,  dont  Paul  de  Rastel  de 
Rocheblave,  fils  du  Seigneur  de  Savournon-Bersac,  pour  qui 
Madame  de  Rochemore  a  des  bontes,  divertissent  a  leur  profit  les 
fonds  du  Gouvernement. 

M.  de  Kerleree  fait  son  rapport  au  ministre,  «  la  cabale  >  1'in- 
tercepte,  comme  on  intercepte  d'ailleurs  la  plupart  des  dep^ches 
depuis  l'arrivee  de  M.  de  Rochemore.  Paul  de  Rocheblave,  obstine 
et  sans  scrupules,  jette  le  desordre  partout,  1' insubordination  des 
officiers  ne  connait  plus  de  bornes. 

Madame  de  Rochemore  manie  plaisamment  l'^pigramme,  elle 
compose  a  l'adresse  de  M.  de  Kerleree  des  couplets  moqueurs,  que 
la  clique,  les  jugeant  aristophanesques,  recite  entre  les  dents,  et  que 
les  gueux  des  estaminets  re'petent  en  se  gaussant.  Des  pasquinades 
eourent  d'une  bouche  a  l'autre.  M.  de  Kerleree,  poursuivi  de  persi- 
flages, cache  son  d£pit,  mais  s'^panche  aupres  du  Due  de  Choiseul, 
le  ministre  :  «  Monseigneur,  cette  criature  est  un  camilion  eomposi 
de  toutes  les  perfidies  dont  une  michante  femme  d'esprit  est  capa- 
ble. > 

Le  Gouverneur  a  ses  d^fenseurs,  ils  se  constituent  en  comite\  mais 
M.  de  Kerleree  est  un  homme  paisible,  il  se  contente  de  menacer 
le  Major  de  Belle-Isle,  coupable  d'avoir  saisi  des  depeches,  et  de 
l'objurguer  de  rentrer  dans  le  droit  chemin.  M.  de  Belle-Isle  s'en 
ecarte  de  plus  en  plus,  il  est  en  plein  champ,  alors  M.  de  Kerleree 
sevit  contre  les  fauteurs  de  desordre  :  M.  de  Grondel  £tait  ddja 
confine  dans  sa  plantation,  par  ordre  de  son  commandant,  il  en 
sera  de  meme  pour  M.  de  Mandeville.  Ces  messieurs  sont  enchantes, 
ils  sont  dispensed  du  service  et  peuvent  veiller  sur  leurs  cultures. 

M.  de  Rocheblave.  qui  entre-temps  a  epouse"  la  fille  du  chirurgien 
Godeau,  s'est  rendu  de  plus  en  plus  odieux.  M.  de  Kerleree  le  fait 
emprisonner,  mais  sa  femme  est  autoris£e  a  partager  son  incarcera- 
tion ;  en  fait  elle  accouche  dans  l'aimable  prison,  ou  tous  «  les 
cabalistes  >  viennent  les  visiter.  Fievreusement,  M.  de  Rocheblave 
reclige  des  libelles  contre  le  Gouverneur,  sans  oublier  un  moment 
que  le  ridicule  tue  meme  un  homme  de  bien. 

M.  Villars  du  Breuil  est  mort  en  1757,  en  laissant  une  foi 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  267 

qu'on  ealcule  par  millions,  mais  elle  est  immobilisee  en  biens  mobi- 
liers,  le  23  Octobre  1758.  son  fils  Joseph  ei  Dame  Felicite  la  veuve 
de  son  fils  Louis,  font  vendre  ses  biens  en  adjudication,  par  M. 
Nicolas  de  la  Fresniere. 

L'inventaire  est  si  long  que  la  vente  se  prolonge  une  semaine. 
M.  de  Vezin,  le  Chevalier  de  St.  Laurent,  M.  de  Lusser,  le  Chevalier 
de  Noyon.  tous  plantcurs,  se  partagent  plus  de  deux  cents  esclaves  ; 
le  Chevalier  de  Ponfrac  de  Mazan  achete  les  sucreries  :  on  disperse 
les  bois  de  construction,  les  briques  accumulees,  les  armes,  les  outils, 
les  bateaux,  les  sucres,  150  betes  a  corne,  des  chevaux.  La  vente 
produit  440.743  Livres,  et  l'habitation  rapporte  un  surplus  de 
130.000  Livres.  C'est  peu  en  comparaison  de  la  valeur  reelle,  mais 
les  proprietes  ont  perdu  les  trois-quarts  de  leur  valeur. 

Les  nouvelles  du  Canada  ne  sont  pas  bonnes,  les  forts  Niagara, 
Duquesne  et  Frontenac  ont  et£  enleves  par  les  Anglais.  Le  grand 
empire  francais  ne  s'etend  plus  ininterrompu  du  nord  au  sud  de 
l'Amerique  Septentrionale. 

A  grands  cris,  M.  de  Kerlerec  reclame  des  troupes,  des  munitions 
pour  se  defendre  si  le  besoin  s'en  fait  sentir.  M.  de  Rochemore,  par 
esprit  de  contradiction,  parle  de  reduire  encore  les  effectifs  et  de 
diminuer  leur  maigre  solde. 

Tusqu'a  present,  aucun  batiment  anglais  ne  s'est  approch£  du 
Mississipi,  mais  des  fregates  anglaises  bloquent  la  baie  de  la  Mobile. 

La  Nile  Orleans  n'est  toujours  pas  defendue,  vite  on  va  faire  un 
ouvrage  de  fortune  :  un  foss£  de  defense,  une  palissade  d'enceinte, 
des  plateformes  a  courtine.  II  en  coutera  459.727  Livres,  dit  M.  de 
Verges,  mais  pour  une  fois  M.  de  Rochemore  ne  lesine  pas,  il  endosse 
ces  depenses  dont  il  tirera  bien  quelque  chose. 

Le  4  aoflt  1760,  pendant  qu'on  travaille  fievreusement  aux  de- 
fenses, on  apprend  que  les  fregates  anglaises  ont  quitte  la  baie 
de  la  Mobile.  On  apprend  aussi  que  Quebec  a  capitule  le  17 
septembre  de  l'annee  precedente,  que  le  grand  Montcalm  a  ete  tuc. 
Un  grand  malaise  etreint  la  colonic  Jusqu'a  quel  point  est-elle 
dependante  du  Canada  ?  Personne  ne  repond  a  la  question. 

Le  21  decembre,  les  fortifications  de  la  Nile  Orleans  sont  ache- 
v^es.  La  monnaie  est  completement  depreciee,  6.787.300  Livres, 
en  monnaie-de-carte,  engorgent  la  circulation  fiduciaire  ;  les  bons 
de  la  Tresorerie  sont  escomptes  pour  la  moitii  de  leur  valeur. 

La  Louisiane  flaire  le  desastre,  pendant  qu'il  en  est  temps,  les 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£A1SE 

habitants  ayant  de  l'argent,  pour  se  d^barrasser  de  leur  monnaie- 
de-carte,  achetent  n'importe  quoi  :  des  terres,  des  habitations,  du 
vin  a  3500  Livres  la  barrique,  des  chapeaux  galonnds  de  400  Livres, 
des  bas  de  soie  a  150  Livres  la  paire,  du  drap  a  250  Livres  I'aune. 
lis  revendront  leurs  surplus,  lorsque  les  choses  seront  tiroes  au  clair. 

Les  plantations  produisent  en  abondance.  On  a  r£colt£  cette  annee 
480.000  livres  de  tabac,  410.000  livres  d'indigo,  25.000  livres  de  cire, 
mais  encore  faut-il  trouver  preneur,  et  rien  de  cela  n'est  comestible. 

Les  hangars  et  les  magasins  ddbordent,  tout  le  monde  proteste  a 
tort  et  a  travers,  s 'ins urge. 

En  France,  on  n'a  pas  le  temps  de  peser  les  doleances,  ni  de  s'oc- 
cuper  des  petites  vilenies  de  ces  messieurs  et  des  rivaling  de  ees 
dames,  dont  on  a  les  oreilles  rebattues  a  la  Cour.  Si  le  Canada  est 
perdu,  il  faut  affermir  la  Louisiane,  y  retablir  l'ordre  par  la  disci- 
pline. 

M.  de  Choiscul  confirme  M.  de  Kerlerec  dans  son  autorite.  il  peui 
a  son  gre  pardonner  les  officiers  frondeurs,  ou  les  renvoyer  en  France. 
M.  de  Kerlerec  penche  pour  la  demence,  mais  les  habitants  som 
exceeds  des  exactions  de  la  Cabale,  ils  rcclnmcm  une  solution  de- 
finitive. Naivement,  ils  declarent  que  la  paix  exterieure  ne  suffit 
pas,  qu'il  faut  aussi  la  paix  interieure,  comme  si  pareille  chose  pou- 
vait  exister  en  Louisiane. 

Le  !9  Avril  1762,  la  Mi&ie,  le  Bien-Atmi  et  la  Fortune  jeitent 
1'ancre  devant  la  Nile  Orleans.  A  la  profonde  admiration  de  la 
populace,  habiLuee  aux  haillons  militaires,  dix  resplendissantes 
compagnies  blanches  et  bleues  du  regiment  d'Angoumois  descendent 
en  bon  ordre,  derriere  le  Marquis  de  Freneur.  Elles  sont  suivies 
d'un  pcrsonnage  rebondi  a  figure  commune  :  M.  Foucault. 

C'est  le  nouveau  commissaire-ordonnateur,  il  remet  au  Gouver- 
neur  un  pli  cachet^.  En  le  lisant,  le  visage  de  M.  de  Kerlerec  s'il- 
lumine  :  M.  de  Rochemore,  M.  de  Belle-Isle,  M.  d'Erneville,  M. 
des  Trehans  sont  rappeUs  en  France.  M.  de  Kerlerec  est  pret  a 
sauter  au  cou  du  personnage,  cependant  bien  fourbe  et  bien  gros- 
sier,  qui  lui  apporte  de  si  bonnes  nouvelles. 

Au  comble  de  la  joie.  il  embarque  sur  la  Midie  les  officiers  dont 
il  veut  se  d^barrasser  :  MM.  de  Grandchamp,  de  Grondel,  Bossu, 
de  Rocheblave,  de  Mandeville,  d'Hauterive.  Le  Capt.  de  Grand- 
ma  i  son  les  surveillera  et  portera  a  la  Cour  les  depeches  expliquani 
sa  decision. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  t6g 

En  cours  de  route,  ces  messieurs  volent  les  d6p£ches  a  M.  de 
Grandmaison,  indispose,  et  les  font  parvenir,  revises,  aux  ennemis 
de  M.  de  Kerlerec  lis  iront  quand  m£me  a  la  Bastille,  d'oti  aid£s 
par  Madame  de  Rochemore,  Madame  de  Berulle  et  l'£v£que  de 
Damas,  ils  sortiront  avant  un  mois,  le  rire  aux  lfcvres. 

Maintenant  que  les  troubleurs  sont  partis,  la  vie  va  redevenir 
belle  en  Louisiane. 

Tout  le  monde  n'est  pas  de  cet  avis.  La  colonie  est  isolle,  pendant 
douze  mois  aucune  nouvelle  ne  pln&tre  la  grosse  couche  d'eau  qui 
la  barricade. 


Enfin,  lc  7  avril  1763,  ['Aigrette,  vaisseau  du  Roi,  arrive  avec 
M.  Blaise  d'Abadie,  com missa ire-general  de  la  marine,  le  rempla- 
cant  de  M.  de  Kerlerec,  qui  a  si  fort  demands  a  repartir.  II  sera  en 
meme  temps  ordonnateur,  bien  que  M.  Foucault  reste  a  la  colonic 
en  qualite  de  controleur. 

M.  d'Abadie  apporte  la  nouvelle  la  plus  cons  tern  ante  que  la 
colonie  ait  jamais  entendue  :  le  1"  Janvier  1763,  les  Rois  de  France. 
d'Angleterre  et  d'Espagne,  avec  1' acquiescement  du  Roi  de  Portu- 
gal, ont  signe  le  Traite  de  Paris. 

L'Espagne  a  cede  k  l'Angleterre  ses  provinces  de  Floride,  la  baie 
de  Pensacola,  tout  ce  qu'elle  possede  a  l'Est  et  au  Sud-Est  du  Mis- 
sissipi. La  France  a  abandonne  a  l'Angleterre  le  Canada  et  la  Nile 
Ecosse  ou  Acadie,  mais  ce  n'est  point  la  tout.  L'article  sept  declare 
c  qu'afin  de  rftablir  une  paix  solide  et  durable  en  Amerique  et  en- 
lever  definitivement  toute  cause  de  friction,  concernant  les  bor- 
dures  entre  les  itablissements  anglais  et  francais  du  continent  ami- 
ricain,  il  est  convenu  qu'a  I'avenir,  la  frontiire  de  cette  partxe  du 
monde  sera  irrevocablement  fixie  par  une  ligne  tirie  au  milieu 
du  Mississipi,  de  sa  source  a  la  riviere  Ibberville,  et  de  la  par  une 
ligne  au  milieu  de  ce  cours  et  des  lacs  Maurepas  et  PontchaTtrain, 
jusqu'a  la  mer,  et  a  cet  effet  le  Roi  tres  Chretien  cede  en  toute 
propriety  &  Sa  Majesti  Britanmque  la  riviere  et  le  port  de  La  Mo- 
bile, et  tout  ce  qu'il  possede  sur  la  rive  gauche  du  Mississipi,  a 
I'exceplion  de  la  ville  de  la  Nile  Orlians  et  de  Vile  sur  laquelle  elle 
est  construite,  qui  sera  retenue  par  la  France,  la  navigation  du 
Mississipi  demeurant  libre  pour  tous  les  sujets  britanniques.  > 

M.  d'Abadie  a  recu  tout  pouvoir  pour  la  cession  de  la  rive  gauche 
du  fleuve. 

La  nouvelle  se  repand  comme  un  feu  de  prairie.  Les  habitants 


soy, 
out 
rert 


LA     LOU1SIANE     FRANfAISE  171 

sont  ecrasds.  Les  conclusions  de  cette  guerre  paraissent  etrangeres 
et  loimaines.  Sans  avoir  tire*  un  coup  de  canon,  la  Louisiane  a  perdu 
la  guerre,  est  amputee  clu  toic  gauche  de  sa  membrure.  Les  oiliciers 
recitent,  comme  un  rosaire,  les  noms  des  hommes  fauches  par  les 
Chicachas,  les  Natchez.  Tant  de  Francais  ont  aiTose1  de  lew  sang 
ces  prairies  a  fraises.  Est-ce  juste  ? 

Sans  doute,  le  Canada  est  encore  plus  mal  loti,  mais  le  Canada 
a  partifipe  au  combat,  ici  on  a  perdu  la  partie  sans  l'avoir  jouce, 
sans  l'avoir  apprehended. 

Les  sauvages  sont  indignls.  Apres  avoir  tant  trie-  contre  les  An- 
glais, tant  menaced  tant  guerroy^,  voila  qu'on  leur  donne  les  Chactas 
et  les  Alibamons.  Les  Francais  ne  savent  pas  ce  qu'ils  veulent.  Us 
prennent  les  sauvages  pour  du  b&ail,  qu'on  troque  avec  indifference 
dans  cette  immense  foire  mysterieuse. 

lis  regrettent  aussi  le  depart  de  M.  de  Kerlerec,  qui  fait  voile  vers 
la  France,  ou  sur  les  denonciations  de  M.  de  Rochemore,  on  le  jet- 
tera  a  la  Bastille. 

Les  fringantes  compagnies  d'Angoumois,  devenues  inutiles,  re- 
partent  a  St  Domingue.  Quatre  compagnies  seulement  gardent  la 
colonie,  qui  n'a  plus  d'ennemis  a  craindre. 

Les  Anglais  sont  tres  presses  de  prendre  possession  de  leur  nou- 
veau  territoire. 

Mr.  Robert  Farmer,  le  24  octobre,  recoit  des  mains  de  M.  Aubry 
et  de  M.  d'Abadie  le  fort  de  la  Mobile,  tout  fleuri  d'azalees.  Le 
23  novembre,  il  s'installe  dans  le  fort  de  la  Tombecbee. 

M.  d'Abadie  a  decide  de  remettre  aux  Chactas  et  aux  Alibamons 
une  dernicre  fois  des  present-;,  en  recompense  de  leur  fidelity  passee. 
A  la  Mobile,  il  leur  fait  un  discours  attendrissant  :  <  Bien  que  vous 

<ez  a  present  sous  la  protection  des  Anglais,  les  Francais  ne  vous 

■  blieront  jamais,  leurs  chefs  vous  caresseront  partout  oil  ils  vous 
rencontreront.  Nous  prions  le  Grand  Esprit  de  vous  faire  trouver 
beaucoup  d'ours  et  de  bceufs  partout  ou  vous  chasserez,  nous  le 
prions  pour  que  vos  femmes  aient  aulant  d'enfants  que  les  arbres 
ont  de  feuilles,  nous  le  prions  de  vous  donner  de  la  pluie  quand 
vous  en  aurez  besoin  pour  vos  mahiz  et  des  jours  de  soleil  pour  les 
fatre  murir.  > 

Les  sauvages  sanglotent,  se  roulent  aux  pieds  des  Francais,  leur 
jurent  une  fide'lite'  eternelle  et  de  les  suivre  oil  ils  seront. 

Effectivement,  par  grands  partis,  les  Tasnsas  et  les  Alibamons 


I 


J7«  LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

quittent  leurs  villages,  franchissent  le  Mississipi  et  se  fixent  sur  le 
bayou  La  Fourche  et  )e  bayou  du  Rond-Pompon,  ou  M.  d'Abadie 
leur  abandonne  de  larges  plaines  basses,  crevees  de  lacs. 

Un  chef  des  Chaouanons  vient  visiter  M.  d'Abadie  :  c  Je  viens 
de  loin,  le  maitre  de  la  vie  m'a  pousse'  vers  toi,  mon  cceur  est  gonflt 
de  joie  en  ta  presence.  Je  suis  un  chef  d'importance  envoyi  par  le 
Grand  Chef  pour  le  parler.  Void  un  present  qu'il  m'a  prit  de  te 
donner,  ces  signes  represented  les  47  villages  qui  veulent  mourir 
francais,  en  donnant  leur  sang  si  tu  veux.  Us  esperent  que  tu  ne 
les  abandonneras  pas.  Plusieurs-  fots  je  suis  venu  ici,  tout  itait 
joyeux,  aujourd'hui  tout  est  attriste"  et  moi  aussi,  mats  mon  cceur 
est  content  de  te  voir  et  mes  yeux  vont  briller,  Je  dirai  au  Chef 
que  je  t'ai  vu  et  que  tu  m'as  bien  recu.  » 

Le  S  Janvier  1764,  I'aurore  est  salute  de  21  coups  de  canon.  A 
neuf  heures  du  matin,  precedes  de  tambours  et  de  trorapettes,  les 
membres  du  Conseil  Superieur  et  les  huissiers  de  police,  monies, 
publient  la  nouvelle  de  la  Paix,  que  toute  la  population  connatt 
dtja  bien  trop. 

Dans  l'apres-midi,  un  Te  Deum  est  chantc  a  l'eglise.  Le  soir,  a 
travers  la  ville  illuminee  par  des  lampions  d'huile  d'ours  et  des 
torches,  la  populace  eberluee  festoie  et  danse.  On  lui  a  donne  un 
fut  de  vin,  et  on  en  a  octroy^  un  second  ainsi  qu'un  bceuf  entier  a 
la  troupe.  On  ne  sait  pas  ires  bien  ce  qu'on  fete,  on  s'attendait  a 
entendre  sonner  un  glas. 

A  l'hdtel  du  Gouvernement,  cent  convives  soupent  en  grand  ap- 
parat,  au  son  des  Jut  lis  et  des  flutes.  On  y  joue  une  comedie  de 
Ciceron,  <  t'Amant  auteur  et  valet  »,  et  on  y  danse  jusqu'a  la  pointe 
du  jour. 

Dans  les  Islinois,  le  Capt.  Nyon  de  Villiers,  bien  que  son  propre 
frere,  M.  de  Jumonville,  ait  £te"  tue"  par  les  Anglais,  essaie  de  per- 
suader aux  sauvages  d'accepter  amicalement  leurs  nouveaux  ma!- 
tres.  Le  15  juin,  il  rcmet  le  fort  de  Chartres  au  Major  Loftus  et 
redescend  a  la  capitale,  avec  6  officiers,  63  soldats  et  80  habitants. 
Philippe  de  Rocheblave,  son  lieutenant,  offre  son  epee  au  Roi 
d'Espagne. 

Un  peu  plus  haul,  M.  de  Bellerive  de  St.  Ange  remet  son  poste 
islinois  aux  mains  du  Capt.  Sterling,  traverse  le  fleuve  avec  ses  com- 
patriotes,  et  commence  1'etablissement  St.  Louis. 

11  faut  beaucoup  de  diplomatie  a  M.  d'Abadie  pour  adoucir  les 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 


»73 

heuru  entre  les  sauvages  ei  les  Anglais,  qui  se  plaignent  furieuse- 
merit  de  la  defection  et  de  l'hostilite  qu'ils  rencontrent. 

A  la  grande  Amotion  de  la  ville,  les  Jdsuites,  qui  ont  ete"  chassis 
de  France  et  de  ses  possessions  quelques  mois  auparavant,  quittent 
la  Louisiane,  en  lui  abandonnant  tons  leurs  biens  et  leur  planta- 
tion, estimee  a  180.000  piastres.  Leurs  217  betes  a  comes  sont  ven- 
dues 52.150  Livres.  Les  Capucins,  joyeusement,  font  main-basse  sur 
les  ornements  des  chapelles,  et  M.  de  Pradel  consent  a  acheter  pour 
sa  ferame  leur  belle  residence  de  la  Nile  Orleans. 

Malgre  son  demi-deuil,  la  colonie  qui  s'est  fait  une  raison  continue 
a  vivre  gaiemem  et  egoistemem.  Apres  tout  la  capitate  n'est  pas 
atteinte. 

Par  le  courrier  de  St.  Domingue,  M.  d'Abadie  recoil,  le  10  sep- 
ternbre  1764,  une  lettre  du  Roi  datee  du  31  avril  de  la  me  me  annee. 
On  va  enfin  savoir  ce  qui  se  passe  en  France.  Avec  un  petit  soupir 
d'aise,  M.  Abadie,  dont  la  same"  laisse  a  desirer,  en  se  tassant  dans 
sa  bergere,  ouvre  le  pli,  dans  son  petit  salon  garni  de  feuillage  au- 
tomnal  et  des  dernieres  roses,  d'ou  il  emend  monter  les  bruits  du 
port  et  les  rires  des  Creoles. 

<  Par  un  acte  particulier  passi  a  Fontainebleau,  le  $  gbre 
iy62,  ayant  cidi  de  ma  pleine  volonti  a  Mon  tres  Cher  et  tres 
Aimi  Cousin  le  Roi  d'Espagne  et  a  ses  Successeurs  et  Heritiers, 
en  toute  propriiti,  purement  et  simptement  et  sans  aucune 
Exception,  tout  le  Pays  connu  sous  le  nom  de  la  Louisiane, 
ainsi  que  la  Nile  Orleans  et  I'Isle  dans  laquelle  cette  ville  est 
situie  et  par  un  autre  acte  passe"  &  I'Escurial  Signi  du  Roi 
d'Espagne  le  ly  abre  de  la  mime  annie,  Sa  Majesti  Catholique 
ayant  accepti  la  Cession  dudit  pays  de  la  Louisiane  et  de  la 
VUle  et  Isle  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  conformiment  a  la  copie  desdits 
actes  que  vous  trouverez  cyjoint,  je  vous  fais  cette  lettre  pour 
vous  dire  que  Mon  Intention  est  qu'h  la  reception  de  la  pri- 
sente  et  des  copies  cyjointes  soit  qu'elles  vous  parviennent  par 
les  officiers  de  Sa  Majesti  Catholique  ou  en  droiture  par  les 
bailments  francais  qui  en  seront  charge's,  vous  ayez  a  remettre 
entre  les  Mains  du  Gouverneur  ou  officiers  a  ce  priposi  par  le 
Roi  d'Espagne  ledit  Pays  et  Colonies  de  la  Louisiane  et  posies 
en  dependants,  ensemble  les  villes  et  Isles  de  la  Nile  Orlians, 
Telles  qu'elles  se  trouveront  au  jour  de  ladite  cession,  voulant 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

qu'6  I'avenir,  elles  appartiennent  a  Sa  Majesty  Catholique  pour 
itre  gouvernies  et  administrSes  par  Ses  Gouverneurs  et  officiers 
comme  lui  appurtenant  en  toule  propriiti  et  Sans  aucune  Ex- 
ception, je  vous  ordonne  en  consequence  qu'aussitAt  que  le 
gouvemeur...  > 

M.  d'Abadie  lourne  le  pli,  regarde  les  signatures  :  Louis,  le  Due 
de  Choiseul.  II  relit  encore,  ne  voulant  pas  en  croire  ses  yeux.  Le 
plafond  de  son  petit  salon  serait  torn  be  sur  sa  ttSte  qu'il  ne  serait 
pas  plus  assomme. 

Sans  savoir  ce  qu'il  fait,  avec  urgence,  il  appelle.  M.  Nicolas  de 
la  Fresniere,  le  procureur  du  Conseil  Superieur,  est  justement  a 
portee  de  sa  voix,  avec  M.  de  Villere  et  quelques  autres,  il  se  pre- 
ctpite.  Sans  mot  dire,  le  gouverneur  lui  tend  la  lettre,  que  M.  de 
la  Fresniere  lit  a  haute  voix,  d'une  voix  de  plus  en  plus  blanche. 

On  savah  vaguement  que  de  graves  decisions  6taient  en  suspens 
a  Versailles,  mais  rien  ne  faisait  prevoir  une  telle  catastrophe. 

La  colere  de  ces  messieurs  eclate  comme  un  orage  d'ete.  Dans  sa 
fureur,  au  lieu  de  resumer  toute  l'iniquite  de  la  missive,  M.  de  la 
Fresniere  s'en  prend  au  detail. 

-  L'lle  de  la  Nile  Orleans  I  Sa  Majeste  ne  sait  merae  pas  la  situa- 
tion de  ce  pays,  qu'il  donne  a  un  autre  comme  on  donne  etourdi- 
ment  un  bibelot  dont  on  ne  veut  plus,  comme  on  donne  un  pain  a 
un  gueux.  En  80  ans,  Versailles  n'a  pas  appris  la  carte  de  la  Lout- 
siane,  une  carte  qui  pourtam  a  ete  dessinee  avec  du  sang  et  de$ 
tombes.  Une  tie.  Messieurs,  que  dites  vous  de  cette  ignorance  1  » 

Le  choc  de  cette  apres-midi  d'automne  contribue  pour  beaucoup 
a  aggraver  la  maladie  nerveuse  de  M.  d'Abadie.  II  languit  plusieun 
mois,  et  le  4  fevrier  1765,  expire  apres  une  effroyable  crise. 


XXXIX 


Deux  personnages,  naturellement  en  mdsintelligence,  se  parta- 
gent  les  fonctions  de  M.  d'Abadie  :  Le  petit  Capitaine  Aubry,  qui 
sail  1' anglais,  prend  le  commandement  militaire  ;  M.  Foucault, 
qui  n'essaie  plus  de  dissimuler  sa  liaison  avec  l'encore  appetissante 
Madame  de  Pradel,  depuis  que  son  mari  est  raort  l'annee  preci- 
dente,  va  etre  ordonnateur. 

La  colonie  est  dans  un  etai  de  tumulte  indescriptible,  le  remue- 
menage  des  Anglais  sur  le  Mississipi  inquiete  sauvages  et  Francais. 

Les  notables  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  apres  avoir  genii,  tempete,  con- 
fer^, decident  d'agir.  On  pourrait  peut-etre  faire  revenir  Louis  XV 
sur  sa  decision,  en  lui  prouvant  la  devotion  de  la  Louisiane.  Chaque 
jjarfiis.se  est  invitee  a  envoyer  un  delegue  a  la  ville,  M.  de  la  Fres- 
niere,  qui  est  beau  parleur,  leur  fait  un  tableau  terrifiant  de  la 
situation  qui  les  attend  et  leur  soumet  une  proposition.  II  s'agit 
d'envoyer  a  Sa  Majeste  un  ambassadeur  pour  le  flechir.  Les  dele- 
gues  accepient  la  resolution  avec  enthousiasme  et  tous  s'engagent 
a  contribuer  aux  fonds  necessaircs.  Jean  Milhet,  le  plus  riche  ne- 
gociant  de  la  ville,  est  design^  par  1'assemblee. 

Le  chagrin  des  habitants  n'est  pas  simule.  La  Louisiane  n'est  plus 
ce  qu'elle  etait  au  temps  de  la  Cie  des  Indes.  Depuis  que  les  de- 
portations ont  cesse,  elle  s'est  clarifiee,  un  decantage  s'est  opere.  Les 
prostituees  n'ont  pas  fait  souche.  Sans  doute,  il  y  a  encore  des  brail- 
lards,  des  vauriens  et  des  tetes-brulees,  comme  partout,  mais  dans 
l'ensemble  la  population  est  sainc  et  honnete,  attachee  a  sa  nouvelle 
terre  et  a  ses  anciennes  fidelites.  C'est  une  province  de  propria t aires, 
grands  et  petits,  chacun  a  sa  maison  et  son  lopin. 

M.  Aubry,  qui  n'est  pas  obtus,  veille  au  grain  comme  il  peut.  Le 
16  mai,  il  ecrit  au  ministre  :  <  Le  gouvernement  de  cette  colonie 
est  plus  embarrassant  que  jamais.  II  est  cxtremement  difficile  de 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

concilier  a  la  fois  les  Anglais,  les  Francais  et  les  sauvages,  qui  sont 
ici  pile-mile.  » 

II  ajoute  que  le  gouverneur  anglais  est  un  homme  deconcertant, 
qui  se  rabat  sur  lui  parce  qu'il  comprend  sa  langue.  <  //  m'icrit  en 
vers  a  V occasion,  me  parle  de  Frangois  I"  et  de  Charles  V,  compare 
Pontiac,  un  chef  sauvage,  a  Mithridate,  me  dit  qu'il  s'endort  en 
compagnie  de  Montesquieu.  Quand  des  difficulty  s'ilevent  entre 
les  habitants  de  la  Nile  Orlians  el  de  la  Mobile,  it  s'appuie  sur  des 
passages  de  la  Magna  Ckarta  et  sur  les  lois  anglaises.  It  me  fait  de 
grands  compliments,  c'est  un  homme  de  valeur,  mais  un  voisin 
dangereux,  contre  lequel  il  est  bon  d'etre  sur  ses  gardes.  > 

Entre  le  i"  Janvier  1765  et  la  fin  de  Mai,  650  Acadiens,  epaves  du 

<  Grand  Derangement  »,  arrivent  a  la  Nile  Orleans.  lis  ont  gagne 
leur  cause  par  la  passivite.  Autant  ils  etaient  laborieux  et  empresses 
chez  eux,  autant  ils  se  sont  montres  paresseux  et  incapables  en  Nile 
Angleterre.  Comme  ils  refusaient  obstinement  de  travailler  pour  une 
contree  qui  leur  etait  odieuse,  ils  sont  tombes  a  la  charge  des  com- 
munautes.  Apres  quelques  annees  de  parasitisme,  les  pouvoirs  an- 
glais out  ete  trop  heureux  de  se  debarrasser  a  n'importe  quel  prix 
de  ces  faineants  coiiteux,  ils  leur  ont  mime  fourni  des  moyens  de 
transport  pour  gagner  la  Louisiane. 

La  colonic,  touchee  de  leur  obstination  francaise,  les  accueille 
genereusement,  mais  pensivement.  Ces  douces  Acadiennes  «  cha- 
tines  >  en  petit  bonnet  blanc,  grosse  jupe  de  couleur  et  corselet 
noir  lace  sur  guimpe  blanche,  sont  touchantcs  comme  des  victimes, 
ei  les  hommes,  qui  repondent  aux  noms  heroiques  d'Ulysse,  Tele- 
maque,  Alcibiade  ou  Achille,  bien  que  frustes  et  gaudies,  ont  des 
physionomies  ouvertes,  qui  plaisent. 

Mais  ils  ajoutent  au  dilemme  de  M.  Aubry.  II  faut  assurer  leur 
subsistance  dans  une  colonie  qui,  theoriquement,  n'est  plus  fran- 
caise et  ou  les  vivres  et  Targent  sont  rares. 

Ils  sont  assez  nombreux  pour  former  des  paroisses  ind£pend antes. 
Sous  la  guidance  de  M.  Andry  et  de  M.  Etienne  de  la  Morandiere, 
on  les  expedie  avcc  des  rations,  des  amies,  du  materiel  agricole,  de 
la  semence  et  quelques  tetes  de  betail,  dans  le  pays  des  Attakapas, 

<  les  mangeurs  d'hommes  »,  qui  ont  presque  completement  disparu, 
la  region  s'etendant  sur  la  Cote  Blanche  du  golfe. 

Ils  trouvent  la  une  grande  plaine,  faisant  quelques  gros  dos  :  de» 
prairies  tremblantes,  trouees  d'eaux  niortcs  ;  des  marecages  pie  ins 


1 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  «77 

de  croassements,  et  de  rats  musque's  ;  des  bayous  nonchalants.  fleuris 
d'iris,  ou  —  corame  le  bayou  Cypremort  —  tellement  bois£  dans  son  lit 
entier,  que  l'eau  peut  a  peine  se  faufiler  entre  les  troncs  ;  le  Grand 
Bois,  montant  jusqu'aux  Arkansas,  en  forct  enchanted  ;  le  Lac  Ca- 
tahoulou,  long  d'une  demi-lieue,  dans  lequel  on  p£che  hultres 
et  coquillages  ;  le  Grand-Lac,  bague  de  chenes-verts,  bruissant  de 
merles  noirs  ft  Epaulettes  d'or,  et  de  jais  bleus.  Autour  des  bayous 
Cher-Ami  et  Bourbeux,  de  la  riviere  Vermilion,  ils  pourront  chasser 
ft  ooeur  content. 

Les  Acadiens  descendent  vers  la  Grande-Pointe  et  la  paroisse  de 
Terre-Bonne,  plus  haul,  s'installent  dans  les  Opelousas,  une  im- 
mense prairie  plate,  peu  ombragee.  Au  Bayou  Marie-Croquant,  dans 
la  grande  Prairie-du-Chevreuil,  toutes  sortes  de  gros  gibiers  hantent 
les  bons  herbages. 

Le  Bayou  Teche  y  coule  transparent,  sans  se  presser,  par  endroits 
Ires  large  et  ailleurs  resserrE,  sillonne'  par  les  crocodiles  et  les  pois- 
sons-arm^s,  ourlE  de  cypres  et  de  chenes-verts,  qui  se  penchent  pour 
regarder  les  reflexions  de  leurs  mousses. 

Sur  le  bayou,  on  commence  le  village  de  St.  Martin,  le  premier 
village  acadien. 

Le  terrain  ne  se  prete  pas  beaucoup  ft  la  culture,  c'est  seulement 
le  long  des  bayous  que  1'indigo,  le  colon  et  le  mahiz  arrivent  ft 
maturity. 

Tout  naturellement,  les  simples  Acadiens  retournent  ft  leur  vie 
pastorale.  De  nouveau,  ils  sont  industrieux,  honnetes,  religieux  et 
"  miliaux.  Avec  ardeur,  ils  attaquent  la  terre  vierge  pour  faire  leur 

'  ;ert  ;  corame  des  toiles  daraign£e  ils  Etendent  leurs  fermes  autour 
chapelles,  qui  deviendront  des  eglises.  Sans  bruit,  sans  instruc- 
i,  sans  grande  ambition,  ils  vont  faire  de  leurs  paroisses,  sous 
'ceil  de  Dim,  des  oasis  de  paix  paysanne  et  de  suffisance. 

Cette  annee  mfme,  le  premier  Acadien  de  Louisiane  voit  le  jour. 
cure1  de  St.  Martin,  de  sa  grosse  e'criture  applique>,  couche  sur  le 
Istre  :  «  1'an  mille  sept  cent  soixante  cinq,  le  onze  may,  je  Ptre 

ipucin,  missionnaire  apostolique,  cure1  de  la  Nile  Acadie,  sous- 
ie"  ay  Baptist  avec  les  cEr^monies  ordinaires  de  l'Eglise  marguerite 

ine  nee  la  veille  de  legitime  Manage  d'olivier  thibaudaut  et  de 

iagdelaine  broussard,  ses  peres  et  meres.  » 

On  n'entend  toujours  pas  parler  de  l'Espagne.  Les  officiers  font 

ur  partie  de  poque  avec  philosophic  les  planteurs  sement  sans 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

savoir  ou  leurs  recoltes  iront.  Presque  toute  la  region  du  tabac  est 
passee  aux  mains  des  Anglais,  mais  il  reste  l'indigo,  le  riz,  le  mahiz, 
et  le  coton  se  developpe. 

A  l'automne,  le  long  des  rangees  d'arbustes,  de  blanc  vetus,  les 
esclaves  trainant  derriere  eux  un  long  sac  passe  en  bandouliere. 
avec  un  mouvement  rythmique  cueilleni  dans  les  boutons  eclos  1 
charpie  soyeuse,  en  chantant  : 


t  Di  temps  missiS  d'AUaguette 

t  Hi  1  Ho  !  Hi  ! 
€  c'itai,  c'itai  bon  temps 
f  ye  ti  minin  mount  a  la  baguette 

€  Hi  !  Ho  !  Hi  ! 
<  pas  negs,  pas  rubans 

€  pour  dochans 

c  Hi  !  Ho  !  Hi  ! 


tons  eclos  la 


Cependant  les  habitants  hesitent  a  se  lancer  dans  de  nouvellej 
entreprises.  Le  chevalier  de  Verges  est  mort  ;  a  coup  de  trompetie, 
apres  la  grand' messe,  sur  le  parvis  de  l'egltse  St.  Louis,  on  a  annonce 
la  vente  au  plus  offrant  de  «  Trianon  »,  une  belle  habitation  et 
plantation,  bien  fournie  en  esclaves  et  bien  ensemencee,  mais  on  ne 
trouve  nul  acquereur.  A  trois  reprises,  on  ouvre  la  vente  sans  re- 
sullat  enlin  Monsanto,  un  marchand  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  se  decide 
a  I'acquerir  pour  55.000  Livres. 

M.  de  la  Fresniere,  tout  marri,  fait  voir  a  ses  amis  le  billet  qu'il 
vient  de  recevoir  de  Jean  Milhet,  dans  lequel  il  conte  son  insucces. 

I]  a  ete  naturellement  en  premier  lieu  voir  M.  de  Bienville,  qui 
est  dans  ses  86  ans,  et  lui  a  demande  de  l'accompagner  a  I'audience 
du  Due  de  Choiseul,  auquel  il  a  remis  la  petition  des  Louisianais. 
Le  Due  a  dit  qu'il  etait  trop  tard  pour  rien  changer  au  cours  des 
evenements. 

M.  de  Bienville,  eclatant  en  sanglots,  a  mis  un  genou  en  terre  et 
a  saisi  la  main  du  Due  en  le  suppliant  d'interceder  aupres  du  R01". 
Le  Due  a  releve  le  vieillard,  la  respectueusement  embrasse,  mais 
a  neanmoins  ajouie  :  <  Cette  scene  penible  doit  prendre  fin.  Je  re- 
grette  profondement  de  ne  pouvoir  vous  donner  aucun  espoir,  je 
ne  puis  m'adresser  au  Roi,  car  e'est  moi  qui  ai  conseilK  la  cession 

1.  C*lin.. 


LA     LOU1SIANE     FRAN£AISE  *79 

de  la  Louisiane.  Vous  savez  par  vous-memes  que  la  colonie  ne 
saurait  coniinuer  sa  precaire  existence  sans  encourir  des  depenses 
£normes,  que  la  France  est  incapable  d'assumer.  Ne  vaut-il  pas 
mieux  que  la  colonie  soit  donnee  de  bon  gre  a  des  amis  et  allies 
fideles,  plutdt  que  d'etre  arrachee  de  force  par  des  ennerais  heredi- 
taires  ?  Au  revoir,  Messieurs,  vous  emportez  avec  vous  mes  meil- 
leurs  souhaits  de  prosperite.  » 

II  s'etait  leve,  l'audience  £tait  terminee.  Jean  Milhet  conte  la 
genese  de  la  cession,  qui  est  restee  secrete  pendant  deux  ans. 

L'Angleterre  devenait  menacante,  il  fallait  envoyer  en  Louisiane 
des  vaisseaux  et  des  troupes,  tout  cela  coutait  tres  cher,  le  Roi  a 
prtfere  garer  ses  £cus.  «  Par  pure  ginirositi  et  pour  lui  prouver  la 
profondeur  de  son  affection  »,  Louis  XV  a  offert  la  province  a  son 
cousin  d'Espagne.  Le  3  abre  1762,  un  acte  a  ete  passe  a  Fontaine- 
bleau  entre  le  Due  de  Choiseul  et  le  Marquis  de  Crimaldi,  ambassa- 
deur  d'Espagne  a  Versailles,  qui  n'a  point  £te  dupe,  et  qui,  pris 
au  d^pourvu,  n'a  accepte  cette  <  largesse  »  que  conditionnellement, 
se  reservant  d'en  referer  a  son  Souverain.  Le  13,  celui-ri  a  daigne 
accepter  le  cadeau. 

M.  de  la  Fresniere  est  boulevers£  par  ce  billet,  c  Des  depenses, 
repete-t-il  a  M.  Caresse,  des  depenses  I  C'est  la  seule  chose  qu'on 
trouve  a  dire.  Pour  la  Pompadour  ou  la  du  Barry,  le  Roi  decouvre 
des  tresors,  mais  pour  un  empire  la  France  n'a  pas  d'argent  !  > 

Cette  liberalite  gratuite  du  Roi  choque  d'autant  plus  qu'il  ne 
doit  recevoir  en  ^change  aucune  compensation.  II  donne  la  colonic 
tout  simplement  parce  qu'il  n'en  veut  plus,  par  carence,  par  eco- 
nomic II  supprime  un  luxe  trop  couteux  pour  en  magnifier  un 
autre.  Peut-etre  veut-il  faire  edifier  de  nouveaux  palais,  augmenter 
le  train  de  sa  cour,  offrir  des  diamants  a  sa  favorite. 

Le  seul  point  de  reconfort  est  le  manque  d'empressement  de 
l'Espagne.  Elle  ne  veut  peut-etre  pas  du  tout  de  cette  Louisiane, 
depuis  un  an  passe  que  M.  d'Abadie  a  recu  la  lettre  royale,  on  n'a 
recu  aucune  communication. 

Ne  pas  vouloir  la  Louisiane,  c'est  une  hypothese  suffocante,  hu- 
miliante  pour  les  Louisianais,  mais  c'est  une  branche  a  laquelle  on 
se  raccroche. 

Le  Roi  a  cesse-  les  envois  d'argent,  les  troupes  sont  impayees,  les 
magasins  sont  vides.  Au  lieu  de  sacs  de  farine,  Sa  Majeste  a  envoye, 
en  tout  et  pour  tout,  la  croix  de  St.  Louis  a  MM.  Marest  de  la  Tour, 


*8o  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

de  Bouille,  d'Arensbourg,  et  de  la  Vergne.  Ceux-ci  s'en  rtjouissent, 
mais  le  moindre  chanteau  de  pain  aurait  fait  beaucoup  mieux  Taf- 
faire  des  compagnies. 

Enfin  une  lettre  du  Gouverneur  nomml  par  le  Roi  d'Espagne, 
Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa,  datle  du  10  Juillet  1765,  et  de  La  Havane, 
annonce  k  M.  Aubry  sa  prochaine  arriv£e  afin  de  proc6der  k  Pex£- 
cution  de  sa  mission,  c  Je  me  flatte  dis  Vavance  que  ceci  me  don- 
nera  Vopportuniti  favorable  de  vow  rendre  tow  les  services  que 
vow  et  les  habitants  de  votre  ville  pourrez  disirer,  et  je  vow  sup- 
plie  de  leur  en  donner  V assurance  et  de  leur  laisser  connattre  qu'en 
agissant  ainsi  faccomplirai  seulement  mon  devoir  et  gratifierai  mon 
inclination. » 

Et  puis  le  silence  recommence. 


XL. 


Par  tin  temps  epouvantable,  le  5  mars  1766,  la  fregate  espagnole 
la  Volante,  transportant  M.  de  Ulloa,  jette  l'ancre  devant  la  Nile 
Orleans.  Le  Gouverneur-General  est  accompagne  de  deux  compa- 
gnies  a  pied,  de  MM.  Juan  de  Loyola,  commissaire  et  intendant, 
Gayarre,  contador,  et  Navarro,  tresorier,  qui  vont  faire  l'inventaire 
des  marchandises  appartenant  au  Roi  de  France,  pour  l'indemniser, 
et  verifier  la  population  de  la  colonie,  redescendue  dit-on  a  5.56a 
ames,  en  comprenant  les  esclaves. 

Le  vent  souffle  en  tourmente,  la  pluie  tourbillonne  et  aveugle, 
tout  est  maussade,  le  temps  et  les  tetes.  Les  habitants  de  la  ville, 
qu'on  a  preapitamment  re'unis  sur  la  levee,  accueillent  par  un 
silence  de  mauvais  augure  le  nouvel  arnvant,  un  quinquagenaire 
un  peu  chenu.  Leur  hostility  vient  de  ce  qu'il  represente  cette  Es- 
pagne  qui  va  les  enserrer.  lis  ne  le  connaissent  pas. 

Lorsqu'ils  le  connaissent,  iis  ne  comprennent  pas  davantage 
1'homme  qu'ils  ont  sous  les  yeux. 

Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa  n'a  pas  1'^toffe  d'un  gouverneur  colonial, 
mais  ce  n'est  pas  le  premier  venu.  Issu  d'une  famille  distinguee  de 
SeVille,  il  a  acquis  une  grande  reputation.  Tres  bon  mathematicien, 
a  19  ans  il  a  fait  partie  d'une  expedition  scientifique  franco- 
espagnole,  organisee  par  rAcad^mie  des  Sciences  de  Paris,  pour  me- 
surer  1'arc  du  meridien  a  1'equateur.  afin  d'aider  les  trois  acad^mi- 
ciens,  Bougner,  la  Condamine  et  Godin,  a  determiner  la  configu- 
ration du  globe  terrestre. 

II  a  gagne  le  Pe>ou,  a  Quito,  choisi  comme  poste  d'observation, 
assidument  a  travaille-  avec  Godin  et  les  autres  savants  francais  et 
Espagnols  pendant  treize  ans,  tout  en  exercam  ses  fonctions  d'officier 
de  marine,  lorsque  le  besoin  s'en  faisait  sentir. 

Sur  la  route  du  retour.  apres  avoir  double  le  Cap  Horn,  les  deux 
latimems  transportant  1' expedition  ont  £te  attaquls  par  des  cor- 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

saires  anglais.  Son  vaisseau  Ieur  a  e'chappe,  mats  ensuite  a  gte  cap- 
ture i  Cap  Breton,  par  des  Anglais  qui  venaient  de  s'emparer  de 
la  ville,  au  dessus  de  laquelle,  par  piege,  ils  avaient  laisse  Hotter  le 
drape  a  u  blanc. 

Don  de  Ulloa  a  etc"  envoys  prisonnier  en  Angleterre,  ou  tous  les 
savants  sont  venus  a  son  aide.  On  lui  a  rendu  sa  liberie  et  tous  ses 
papiers.  Mr.  Martin  Folkes,  le  vice-president  de  la  Royal  Society 
de  Londres,  l'a  meme  fait  elire  membre  de  son  academic 

A  Madrid,  en  1748,  il  a  public  «  la  relation  historique  d'un  voyage 
fait  dans  t'AmSrique  du  Sud  par  ordre  du  rot  pour  mesurer  les 
degris  du  me"ridien  et  s'assurer  de  la  vSritable  configuration  et  di- 
mension de  la  terre,  avec  diverses  observations  astronomiques  et 
physiques.  »  II  a  voyage1  dans  toute  1'Europe,  acclam£  partout.  dis- 
courant  chez  les  soci£t£s  savantes.  est  correspond  am  de  1' Academic 
des  Sciences  de  Paris,  membre  des  academies  de  Stockholm  et  Berlin, 
est  l'ami  de  Voltaire,  de  la  Condamine  et  autres  mattres  de  la 
pens^e. 

Charles  III  d'Espagne.  qui  est  un  souverain  indulgent.  lui  a 
donne1  l'ordre  de  ne  rien  changer  au  mode  d' administration  qu'il 
trouverait.  A  l'encontre  de  toutes  les  autres  colonies  espagnoles,  la 
Louisiane  restera  ind^pendante  du  <  ministerio  de  Indias  >,  ses 
affaires  passeront  directement  au  Conseil  d'Etat. 

Don  de  Ulloa  n'est  pas  plutdt  d£ barque  que  M.  Foucault  lui 
explique  ses  embarras,  La  situation  est  de'sespeV^e,  7.000.000  de 
monnaie  papier,  issus  par  le  gouvernement,  circulent  d£pre'eie>s 
sur  place  de  moiti£  ;  le  Roi  a  suspendu  les  payments  sur  les  letires 
de  change  da  tees  de  1764  et  les  ann^es  suivantes. 

Don  de  Ulloa  lui  promet  de  rem£dier  a  cet  etat  aussitot  qu'il  aura 
pris  possession  de  la  colonic  En  attendant,  il  payera  ses  troupes 
partiellement  avec  cette  monnaie,  qu'il  achetera  aux  habitants 
pour  75  %  de  leur  valeur  declaree,  comme  le  fait  le  gouvernement 
franca  is.  Les  habitants  ne  sont  pas  satisfaits,  ils  voudraiem  que  les 
billets  soient  repris  au  pair,  ce  qui  est  manifestement  impossible. 

Le  Due  de  Choiseul  avait  promis  a  l'Espagne  l'obeusance  des 
troupes  de  la  colonie,  mais  celles-ci  refusent  de  passer  sous  le  com- 
mandement  espagnol,  elles  choisissent  de  regagner  la  France.  II 
n'est  plus  question  pour  Don  de  Ulloa  de  prendre  possession  de  la 
Louisiane  avec  la  soixantaine  d'hommes  qu'il  a  amenes.  Par  le  tra- 
versier  de  la  Havane,  il  envoie  une  dipSche  a  Madrid  demandant 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  S83 


de  nouvelles  instructions  et  des  soldats,  et  par  mesure  de  prudence 
abaisse  la  solde  de  35  Livres  de  ses  troupes  aux  7  Livres  par  mois 
de  la  solde  francaise. 

Les  crieurs  publics  annoncent  aux  habitants  que  le  gouvernement 
de  Madrid  autorise  le  commerce  entre  la  Louisiane,  les  lies,  et  les 
ports  franca  is,  sous  condition  que  les  vaisseaux  soient  porteurs  d'un 
passe  port  espagnol, 

Les  marchands  apportent  des  Antilles  et  de  France  du  vin,  de 
la  farine  de  froment,  du  rhum,  des  effets,  du  sucre,  qu'ils  vendent 
a  des  prix  excessifs,  en  exigeant  des  especes  sonnantes,  que  les  habi- 
tants possedent  rarement.  Don  de  Ulloa  proclame  qu'ils  devront, 
avant  de  decharger,  se  presenter  devant  lui  avec  leur  passeport  et 
un  manifeste  portant  le  prix  de  chaque  article,  auquel  il  donnera 
son  approbation.  lis  devront  accepter  la  monnaie  courante  et  em- 
porter  le  tiers  de  leur  chargetnent  en  produits  de  la  colonic  sur 
lesquels  its  paieront  un  droit  d' exportation  de  5  %.  Les  deux  com- 
missaires  francais,  MM.  Favre  d'Aulnoy  et  de  Villars  veilleront  a 
ce  que  l'ordonnance  soit  obeie. 

Le  Conseil  a  prie  Don  de  Ulloa  de  publier  ses  lettres  de  pro- 
vision, mais  il  n'a  pas  donne  suite  a  cette  requete.  11  se  querelle 
avec  M.  Marin  de  la  Lande  d'Apremont,  un  des  Conseillers,  et  il 
commet  une  Iourde  faute,  il  s'aliene  le  Conseil  en  le  traitant  en 
quantite  negligeable.  II  fait  plus,  il  constitue  un  Conseil  prive, 
compost  de  Jose  d'Acosta,  le  commandant  de  la  fregate  espagnole, 
de  MM.  de  Loyola  et  Gayarre,  de  MM.  de  la  Chaise,  de  Dreux,  capt. 
de  la  milice,  Olivier  de  Vezin,  chef  des  geometrcs,  du  Chevalier  de 
Reggio,  Capitaine  en  retraite. 

M.  Aubry  fait  executer  les  ordres  qu'on  lui  transmet  et,  officiel- 
lement,  gouverne. 

Don  de  Ulloa  n'est  pas  un  citadin,  il  a  vu  des  Vendues  trop  vastes. 
Ce  savant  est  vague  dans  la  vie  courante  ;  diseur  et  spirituel  quand 
il  est  en  confiance.  il  n'est  pas  a  I'aise  dans  l'animosite  qui  grandit 
avec  la  misere.  M.  Aubry,  qui  est  fort  civil  avec  lui,  le  tient  pour 
un  homme  honnete  mais  le  trouve  impetueux. 

A  la  virile-,  Don  de  Ulloa  est  genereux.  mais  il  ne  se  departit 
jamais  tout  a  fait  de  sa  morgue  espagnole  et  n'a  aucune  afnnite  pour 
la  Louisiane,  dont  il  ne  penetre  pas  les  arcanes.  Peut-etre  est-il 
prdvenu  ?  M.  de  Kerlerec,  toujours  a  la  Bastille,  en  apprenant  sa 
nomination  de  gouverneur  general,  lui  a  fait  tenir  un  epouvantable 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

tableau  de  ce  qui  I'attencUit  :  <  Je  vous  plains  de  tout  mon  caur 
d'etre  envoyi  dans  un  tel  pays.  »  II  commence  a  se  demander  si 
M.  de  Kerlerec  n'est  point  dans  le  vrai. 

II  accorde  a  M.  Foucault  20.000  piastres  pour  parer  aux  frais  les 
plus  pressants,  prend  a  son  compte  l'lndemniti  promise  aux  Aca- 
diens,  mais  ne  parle  toujours  pas  de  prendre  possession. 

II  visite  les  paroisses  des  Natchitochez,  ou  il  fait  e"  lever  deux 
petits  postes  supplemental  res  sur  la  Riviere  Rouge,  les  Attakapas, 
en  s'arretam  a  Fausse-Pointe  chez  le  Capt.  de  Vaugines  et  Dame 
Pelagie  Petit  de  Livilliers,  pousse  jusqu'aux  Opelousas.  Les  Aca- 
diens  profitent  de  son  passage  pour  se  plaindre  de  leur  tyrannique 
officier,  M.  Pellerin,  qui,  outre  ses  autres  mefaits,  sous  pretexte  de 
les  mettre  en  suretd,  a  saisi  les  vaisseaux  d'or  sacramentaux  et  s'en 
sen  a  table. 

Don  de  Ulloa  fait  passer  M.  Pellerin  en  conseil  de  guerre, 
donne  a  la  paroisse  le  privilege  de  choisir  parmi  ses  membres  le 
magistral  qui  les  gouvernera,  et  de  former  une  petite  milice,  qui 
sera  payee  par  son  gouvernement. 

Au  mois  de  septembre  1766,  Don  de  Ulloa  part  pour  La  Balize. 
II  passe  toute  la  mauvaise  saison  dans  ce  merchant  poste  de  bois, 
dresse1  comme  un  echassier  au  dessus  d'un  marecage  grouillant, 
battu  par  les  averses,  secoue  par  les  bourrasques. 

On  lui  prete  de  noirs  desseins.  Est-il  fou  ?  Espionne-t-il  ?  II  guette 
peut-ftre  des  troupes  secretement  annonc^es.  Peut-etre  il  pratique 
la  magie  noire  ? 

En  realite\  Don  de  Ulloa  est  plonge  dans  ses  livres,  penche"  sur 
ses  instruments.  Les  Elements  ne  le  derangent  pas  plus  que  les 
oiseaux  criards  du  toit.  II  ne  compte  pas  les  jours,  il  est  dans  les 
calculs. 

Peut-^tre  par  curiosity,  M.  Aubry  va  lui  demander  ses  intentions. 
Les  intentions  du  gouverneur,  qui  vient  juste  de  poser  son  compas, 
sont  flottantes  en  verite\  Ne  pourrait-il  pas  prendre  possession  sans 
se  deranger  ?  On  hisserait  le  pavilion  espagnol  sur  la  Nile  Orleans, 
et  tout  serait  dit. 

M.  Aubry  est  scandalise  d'une  telle  suggestion.  Certainement  pas, 
une  pareille  circonstance  demande  de  la  pompe.  Don  de  Ulloa 
deteste  la  pompe.  On  va  faire  un  compromis. 

Sous  la  lampe  a  huile.  avec  beaucoup  d'application,  ils  rcdigent 
un  document.  Le  Capitaine  Aubry  declare  avoir  remis  a  Doa  de 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  285 

Ulloa  la  colonic,  mais  il  en  retient  le  commandenient  jusqu'a  l'ar- 
rivee  des  troupes  de  Sa  Majesty  Catholique.  Quand  c'est  fini,  deux 
temoins  paraphent,  et  tout  le  monde  va  se  coucher. 

La  nuit  porte  conseil.  Le  lendemain,  Don  de  Ulloa  a  reflechi. 
II  vaut  mieux  attendre  l'arrivee  des  troupes  pour  faire  changer  de 
mains  la  colonie.  II  demande  seulement  i  M.  Aubry  de  donner  au 
commandant  de  La  Balize  l'ordre  de  changer  le  pavilion.  II  pre- 
fere  reposer  sous  le  drapeau  espagnol. 

Dans  tout  le  delta,  l'hiver  est  d'une  rigueur  exceptionnelle,  le 
17  et  le  18  Janvier  1767,  le  Mississipi  est  geld  sur  des  pieds  devant 
la  Nile  Orleans,  le  long  des  deux  rives.  Le  brouillard  condense 
touette  de  gresil. 

II  y  a  sept  mois  que  Don  de  Ulloa  est  dans  son  pigeonnier  suspect. 
En  mars,  la  ville  hoquete  de  soulagement,  elle  savait  bien  que  cet 
hivernage  cachait  quelque  chose,  maintenant  elle  sail  ce  que  le 
Gouvcrneur  faisait.  II  attendait  sa  fiancee,  la  belle  marquise  d'A- 
brado,  une  des  femmes  les  plus  opulentes  du  P£rou. 

Le  jour  de  son  arrivee  a  la  Balize,  le  mariage  est  celdbre  par  le 
chapelain  du  vaisseau,  et  tout  de  suite  le  couple  remonte  a  la  Nile 
Orleans. 

Les  Louisiana  is  sont  suffoquds.  Et  quoi,  il  ne  suffit  pas  a  cet 
homme  d'age  d'etre  considerable,  il  lui  taut  encore  une  jeune  et 
jolie  femme  ?  Sa  chance  insolente  irrite  tout  le  monde.  Les  femmes 
vituperent,  mais  des  offiders  se  rapprochent. 

Don  de  Ulloa  s'ingenie  a  organiser  autour  de  son  spouse  une 
existence  agrdable.  Bien  que  peu  enclin  a  la  mondanite,  trois  fois 
par  semaine,  il  recoit  le  soir  dans  l'intimite.  C'est  un  fin  causeur. 
Cet  homme  votiie\  d'aspect  debile,  a  toujours  une  anecdote  a  ra- 
conter,  un  mot  profond  a  placer. 

Les  membres  de  son  conseil,  le  Capt  de  Vaugines,  M.  Populus  de 
St.  Protais,  M.  de  St.  Maxent  sont  les  fideles  de  ces  reunions,  eclairees 
de  grands  feux  de  bois  aromatique,  partumees  un  peu  sauvage- 
ment  par  des  cierges  de  myrte,  gros  comme  ceux  des  eglises.  On  y 
commente  Cervantes,  on  y  boit  des  punchs  inconnus,  qui  rechauf- 
fent  comme  un  geste  des  tropiques.  La  marquise,  en  robe  biuis- 
sante  joue  de  1'epinette.  Quand  le  temps  est  doux,  escortee  d'of- 
ficiers  a  cheval,  en  voiture  ouverte  elle  se  promene  sur  la  route  qui 
suit  maintenant  le  fleuve  sur  douze  lieues  au  dessous  de  la  Nile 
Orleans. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

Peut-etre  a-t-elle  essay£  de  gagner  a  elle  les  dames  de  la  colonic 
en  tous  cas,  elle  n'y  est  pas  parvenue.  Elle  est  trop  belle,  trop  ar- 
rogante,  trop  riche.  Elle  offense  par  son  maximum. 

M.  Aubry  commence  a  s'impatienter,  il  ecrk  au  Due  de  Praslin, 
le  ministre  des  affaires  dtrangeres  :  <  J'attends  encore  V arrive" e  des 
troupes  espagnoles  sans  tesquelles  il  n'est  pas  possible  de  prendre 
possession.  Je  suis  dans  la  position  la  plus  extraordinaire  qui  se  putsse 
voir.  Je  commande  pour  le  Roi  de  France,  et  en  mime  temps  je 
gouverne  comme  si  la  Louisiane  appartenait  au  Rot  d'Espagne. 
Cette  colonie  est  un  instrument  qu'U  est  indispensable  de  mettre  en 
piece  et  de  remonter  si  on  veut  qu'elle  joue  un  air  espagnol.  > 

La  colonie  s'est  augmentee  d'une  interessante  recrue,  M.  Julien 
Poydras  de  Lallande,  un  Nantais,  officier  de  marine,  qui  en  1760 
a  etc  fait  prisonnier  par  les  Anglais.  Trois  ans  plus  lard,  il  a  reussi 
a  s'echapper  et  a  gagner  St.  Domingue. 

Avec  son  tout  petit  bas  de  laine,  il  achete  a  la  Nile  Orleans  des 
articles  de  colportage,  garnit  ses  couffms  de  ferblanterie,  faiences, 
couteaux  et  mouchoirs  de  tete,  qu'il  va  coltiner  dans  les  plantations. 
Ce  n'est  pas  un  coureur-de-edte  du  eomraun,  les  dames  l'accueillent 
avec  grand  plaisir,  il  appone  les  nouvelles  du  dehors.  On  l'invite  au 
diner  de  famille  et  une  bonne  chambre  lui  est  prepares. 

Jean  Milhet  rentre  de  France,  il  rapporte  qu'on  s'elonne  fort  a 
Versailles  des  atermoiements  espagnols.  Le  Marquis  de  Grimaldi, 
qui  est  a  la  tete  du  Cabinet  de  Madrid,  a  envoye  quelques  explica- 
tions au  Comte  de  Fuentes,  l'ambassadeur  a  Versailles  :  <  Son  Ex- 
cellence, le  Due  de  Praslin  se  rappellera  nos  domes,  quant  a  l'ac- 
ceptance  de  cette  donation.  Les  memes  raisons  qui  ont  pousse  la 
France  a  nous  offrir  cette  cession,  nous  l'ont  fait  accepter,  bien  qu'il 
ait  £t£  connu  au  moment  que  nous  n'acquerions  ce  faisant,  qu'un 
embarras  annuel  de  230.000  a  300.000  piastres,  en  consideration  d'un 
avantage  distant  et  negatif,  celui  de  posseder  une  contr^e,  pour 
eViter  qu'elle  ne  soil  possedee  par  une  autre  nation.  » 

Les  plameurs  et  les  habitants  ferment  les  poings  de  colere.  Comme 
on  traite  leur  Louisiane  I  Cette  Louisiane  qu'ils  ont  faite  avec  leurs 
mains,  avec  leurs  fievres,  a  coups  de  mousquets  et  a  coups  de  hache. 
On  ne  voit  qu'une  chose,  ce  qu'elle  coute. 

On  ne  peut  accepter  plus  longtemps,  passivement,  ces  insultes. 
La  fureur  monte.  bouillonne,  s'^vapore  en  amertume,  s'apatse  pour 
repartir  de  plus  belle. 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE  »Sj 

Chaque  jour,  on  se  rcunit  avec  M.  Foucault,  chez  sa  maitresse, 
Madame  de  Pradel,  soil  a  Montplaisir,  soil  a  la  ville  dans  l'an- 
cienne  demeure  des  Jesuites.  Sous  les  bois-de-raraeaux  du  jardin,  St. 
Louis-la-nuit,  l'esclave  cuisinier,  passe  des  boissons  fraiches.  Un 
verre  de  rhum  a  la  menthe  en  main,  on  s'echauffe,  les  papotages 
s'enchainent.  Ce  qui  a  commence  par  etre  des  jeremiades,  amour 
des  tables  de  laurier-ro.se  devient  une  conspiration. 

M.  Marquis,  capitaine  des  troupes  suisses,  assure  a  M.  Hardy  de 
Bois-Blanc,  habilhi  de  drap  ecarlate,  qu'il  faut  se  montrer  intraitable. 
Le  Chevalier  Balthazar  de  Mazan  est  du  rm?me  avis,  et  en  passant 
conseille  de  presser  le  jus  d'une  orange  dans  les  rafraichissements 
pour  en  faire  une  liqueur  des  dieux. 

€  Voila  Louis  XIV  !  >  annonce  Dame  Alexandrine,  un  peu  de- 
bordante  sur  sa  chaise  de  repos.  Le  nom,  qui  detonne  avec  la  coif- 
fure en  fer  a  cheval  a  six  bourrelets,  convient  cependant  a  M.  de  la 
Fresniere,  ce  jour-la  gaine  de  taffetas  fuschia  sur  veste  de  soie 
blanche.  11  a  veritablement  l'air  dun  monarque.  Tres  grand  et  tres 
Men  fait,  il  porte  haut  sa  tete  magnifique  ;  c'est  le  foyer  ardent  de 
la  revoke  naissante. 

Comme  il  est  eloquent,  bien  qu'epris  a.  l'exces  de  rhetorique,  ses 
auditeurs  abondent  dans  son  sens,  sans  toujours  peser  la  portee  de 
ses  ampkigouris.  C'est  le  chef  accept^  de  la  bande,  de  tous  l'ami 
devoue.  Plus  que  tout  autre,  il  ressent  l'affront  fait  a  la  Louisiane, 
puisqu'il  y  est  lie,  que  sa  famille  a  defriche  la  premiere  plantation. 

M.  de  Villere,  commandant  de  la  Cote  Allemande,  son  beau- 
frere,  M.  Caresse  et  M.  Petit,  les  deux  principaux  marchands  de 
la  ville,  M.  de  Noyon,  son  gendre,  sont  suspend us  a  ses  levres. 

Apres  avoir  clabaude  et  futilement  menace  les  astres,  dans  ces 
jardins  embaumes  de  magnolias  et  de  jasmins,  les  recriminations 
se  cristallisent,  font  masse,  on  commence  a  parler  bas,  a  prendre  de 
graves  decisions. 

Le  Pere  Barnabe,  de  la  paroisse  de  la  Cote  Allemande,  assiste  a 
ces  reunions  secretes.  Jean  Milhet,  inlassablement,  raconte  I'indif- 
ference  glaciale  de  Versailles,  et  M.  Doucet  griffonne.  Dame  Alexan- 
drine, avec  un  petit  sifflement  reptilien,  rit,  parce  qu'elle  est  epaisse 
et  murissante,  et  que  Madame  d'Ulloa,  si  belle  et  si  fralche,  va  4tre 
bafouee. 

On  envoie  des  messagers  confidentiels  dans  les  paroisses  eloigned, 
pour  passer  les  mots  d'ordre. 


I 


LA     LOUISIANA     FRANfAISE 

M.  Aubry.  qui  a  eu  vent  de  ces  etranges  allees-et- venues,  finit  par 
s'inquieter.  Une  atmosphere  insolite  suinte  par  la  ville, 

Comme  un  nuage  qui  creve  apres  un  temps  trop  longtemps 
menacant,  la  sedition  eclate.  M.  de  St.  Maxent,  qui  transporte  les 
indemnites  promises  aux  Acadiens  par  Don  de  Ulloa,  est  arrets  a 
la  Cdte  Allemande,  chez  le  Chevalier  d'Arensbourg,  par  M.  de  Vil- 
lere,  L'argent  est  confisque  aim  de  detacher  des  Espagnols  la  sym- 
pathie  des  Acadiens. 

Serieusement  alerte,  M.  Aubry  trouve  qu'il  est  temps  de  mater 
les  mauvaises  tetes  ;  le  87  octobre  1768,  il  convoque  d'urgence  le 
Conseil  Superieur  pour  le  lendemain.  Mais  la  journee  ne  s'ecoule 
pas  aussi  paisiblement  qu'il  lav  ait  espere. 

Un  groupe  arme  d'Acadiens,  conduit  par  M.  de  Noyon,  et  d'AJIe- 
mands  conduit  par  M.  de  Villere,  entre  a  la  Nile  Orleans  dans  la 
matinee.  De  toutes  les  directions,  des  planteurs  viennent  se  joindre 
a  eux.  M.  Marquis  se  met  a  la  tete  des  insurges. 

Le  tocsin  sonne,  la  confusion  regne  dans  l'enceinie,  les  femmes 
se  sauvent  chez  elles  ct  tirent  les  volets,  les  boutiques  protegent 
leurs  devantures  avec  des  bois,  des  detachements  de  rebelles  patrouil- 
lent  les  rues  et  font  decamper  les  attardes.  Personne  ne  sait  exacte- 
ment  ce  qui  se  passe. 

Devant  l'Hotel  du  Gouvernement,  les  insurges  assembles  vocifi- 
rent,  montrent  le  poing,  bien  que  M.  Marquis  les  adjure  de  s'abste- 
nir  de  toute  violence.  De  temps  en  temps,  ils  arretent  leur  chapelet 
d'insultes  pour  crier  :  <  Vive  Louis  XV  le  Bien-Aim4  I  » 

M.  Aubry,  qui  veut  manager  la  chevre  et  le  chou,  est  bien  oblige 
de  reconnaitre  que  les  rebelles  sont  matures  de  la  ville.  II  distribue 
des  munitions  aux  110  hommes  de  sa  troupe,  supplie  les  officiers 
de  veiller  sur  la  surete  du  Gouverneur,  et  envoie  chercher  M.  de 
la  Fresniere,  le  veritable  instigateur  du  soulevement. 

II  essaie  de  le  persuader  de  renoncer  a  cette  echauffouree  ei  n'y 
parvient  pas.  <  Alors,  monsieur,  lui  dit-il,  rappelez-vous  que  les 
chefs  de  conspiration  ont  toujours  fini  d'une  maniere  tragique.  » 
M.  de  la  Fresniere  se  contente  de  s'incliner  et  sort  sans  repondre. 

M.  Foucault,  interroge,  ne  s'avance  pas.  Alors  M.  Aubry  prend 
peur.  II  se  rend  aupres  de  Don  de  Ulloa,  lui  avoue  qu'il  ne  peut 
plus  etre  responsable  de  sa  vie.  Enioure  de  ses  hommes  ftdeles, 
ecartant  la  foule  de  leur  sabre  degaine,  il  le  fait  embarquer  avec 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  SOQ 

sa  femme  et  son  bt'be  sur  la  Volante.  Vingt  hommes  amies  gaxderoni 
la  fregate. 

Personne  ne  dort  cette  nuit-la.  Le  lenderaain,  a  huit  heures  du 
matin,  le  Conseil  Superieur  deja  siege.  M.  Caresse  presence  une 
petition  redigee  par  M.  de  la  Fresniere,  et  signee  par  560  habitants 
d' importance,  demandant  la  restauration  des  anciens  privileges  et 
liberies  abolis,  et  l'expulsion  de  Don  de  Ulloa  et  des  autres  Espa- 
gnols.  M.  de  la  Lande  d'Apremont,  doyen  des  Conseillers,  et  M. 
Joseph  de  la  Place,  substitut  du  Procureur,  la  recoivent. 

Le  89,  le  Conseil  se  reunit  de  nouveau  pour  deliberer.  Sur  la 
Place  d'Armes,  un  millier  d'insurges  tournent  amour  dun  dra- 
peau  blanc  eleve  au  centre,  en  criant  :  «  Vive  le  Roy  de  France, 
nous  n'en  voulons  point  d'autre  I  >  Loyaute"  peut-etre  tardive  et 
assez  incongrue.  Louis  XV,  cju'on  a  couvert  de  brocards,  qu'on  a 
toujours,  et  avec  raison,  tenu  pour  frivole  et  negligent,  absorbe 
par  ses  affaires  d'alcfive,  du  jour  au  lendemain  est  devenu  un  saint, 
le  souverain  le  plus  desirable  qu'il  soit,  parce  qu'il  est  l'homme 
de  France. 

Le  Conseil,  avec  le  bruit  de  cette  foule  dans  les  oreilles,  demande 
a  M.  Aubry  si  Don  de  Ulloa  a  montre  ses  lettres  de  provision,  des 
pouvoirs  1'autorisant  a  prendre  possession.  M.  Aubry  re-pond  qu'il 
n'a  vu  aucun  document. 

M.  de  la  Fresniere,  le  procureur,  s'adresse  a  l'assemblee.  De  sa 
voix  coloree  et  persuasive,  il  passe  en  revue  les  griefs  des  habitants  : 
Don  de  Ulloa  n'a  pas  montre  au  Conseil  sa  copie  de  l'acte  de  Ces- 
sion, en  fait  n'a  montr£  aucun  acte  ou  pouvoir  ;  ses  Lettres  de 
Creance  n'ont  ete  ni  enregistrees  ni  promulguees,  il  a  done,  sans 
autorite  legale,  commande"  a  des  sujets  francais,  a  mesu.se  de  privi- 
leges qui  ne  lui  appartenaient  pas. 

De  plus  en  plus  enflamme,  il  se  lance  dans  l'hyperbole  «  ...  mes- 
sieurs, la  liberie  et  la  concurrence  sont  les  mamelles  des  deux  etats, 
commerce  et  agriculture,  il  les  a  supprimees...  sans  liberty,  il  n'y 
a  pas  de  vertus,  la  pusillanimity  et  1'ablme  des  vices  naissent  du 
despotisme.  Le  p£ch£  de  l'homme  contre  Dieu  ne  se  reconnalt  que 
parce  qu'il  a  preserve  sa  liberie  de  conscience...  1 

Longtemps,  il  parle,  rejetant  en  arriere  d'un  mouvement  impe- 
tueux  sa  belle  tete,  gesticulant  grandement.  11  declare  que  le  roi 
"  :  France  n'a  pas  le  droit  d'aliener  les  domaines  de  la  Couror 

l'appui  de  son  assertion,  il  cile  l'exemple  des  Bourguignons 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

se  sont  opposes,  apres  que  Francois  I"  eut  cede  leur  pays  aux  Espa- 
gnols,  a  ce  que  ceux-ci  en  prissent  possession. 

11  appelle  a  son  secours  l'histoire,  la  mythologie,  le  droit  commun. 
Les  mots  electrisent  son  audience,  qui  elle  aussi  aime  sa  Louisiana 

A  midi,  on  ajourne  pour  dejeuner,  puis  la  seance  est  reprise. 
Chaque  membre  donne  son  opinion.  Apres  quelques  heures  de 
deliberation,  le  Conseil  rend  sa  decision. 

Don  de  UUoa  devra,  dans  un  delai  de  trois  jours,  quitter  la  colonie 
sur  la  fregate  espagnole  ou  tout  autre  bailment  a  son  choix.  Les 
contrdleuis  resteront  pour  mettre  en  ordre  leurs  comptes,  puis- 
qu'ils  sont  responsables  des  billets  emis. 

M.  Aubry  croit  bon  de  degager  sa  responsabilite.  Devant  temoins, 
il  redige  un  document  :  «  Je  protestt,  par  la  presente,  conlrc  le 
decret  du  Conseil  qui  renvois  de  cette  colonie  Don  Antonio  de 
UUoa.  Leurs  Majestes  Chretienne  et  Catholique  seront  oQensees  de 
ce  traitement  inftige'  a  un  personnage  de  son  caractere,  et  bien  que 
je  n'aie  qu'une  faibte  force  sous  mes  ordres,  je  m'opposerais  de  tout 
mon  pouvoir  a  son  dipart,  si  je  ne  craignais  de  mettre  en  danger 
ses  jours  et  ceux  des  Espagnols  de  cette  colonie.  * 

Un  communique  a  Don  de  UUoa  le  decret  du  Conseil.  Toute  la 
viile  est  en  rejouissance.  Sur  la  Place  d'Armes,  les  femmes,  les  en- 
lants  se  precipitent  embrasser  le  drapeau  blanc.  De  chaque  rue,  de 
chaque  ruelle,  des  cris  fusent  :  <  Vive  le  Roy  1  Vive  Louis  le  Bien- 
Ainic  I  > 

Le  Conseil  se  rend  a  la  residence  de  M.  Aubry.  MM.  de  la  Fres- 
niere  et  Foucault  le  prient  de  reprendre  ses  fonctions  de  gouverneur. 
11  acquiesce,  mais  leur  rappelle  qu'un  jour  ils  se  repentiront  de  ce 
qu'Us  viennent  de  fa  ire. 

Ensuite  tout  le  monde  va  diner  chez  M.  Foucault,  ou  Dame 
Alexandrine  accueille  les  convives  avec  expansion.  Son  opulente 
poitrine  sautille  d'aise,  elle  est  de  nouveau  reine  incontestee. 

E  rich  antes  d'etre  en  liberie-  pour  celebrer  l'evenement,  les  escla- 
ves,  ranges  sur  deux  lignes,  dansent  <  la  calinda  >  et  chantent 


€  Missii  Mazuro 

<  dans  son  vieu  burro 

«  semblait  crapo 

c  dans  la  bailie  dolo 

«  bou  doum,  bou  doum 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

c  dansi  caliba 

<  bou  down,  bou  doum 

€  dame  caliba  ! 


Par  M.  de  Lapeyriere,  M.  Aubry  envoie  une  depecbe  au  Due  de 
Praslin,  relatant  ce  qui  esc  arrive.  €  On  desire  que  je  demcure  Gou- 
verneur  et  M.  Foucault  mtendant,  mais  la  violence  est  a  Vordre  du 
jour,  n'ayant  pas  de  troupe  a  ma  disposition  pour  enforcer  mon 
autoriti,  elle  est  reduite  d  sa  seule  ombre,  et  ma  personne  aussi  bien 
que  la  dignittf  de  mon  office  s'en  trouve  degrade'e.  > 

II  assure  au  minis  ire  que  Don  de  Ulloa,  malgre  sa  vive  intelli- 
gence et  ses  talents,  n'est  pas  l'homme  qu'il  faut  pour  la  Louisiane  : 
II  semble  mepriser  les  habitants  et  surtout  le  Conseil  Superieur.  II 
conseille  de  ne  pas  etre  irop  severe  vis-a-vis  des  Louisianais,  a  cause 
de  la  proximity  des  Anglais,  dans  les  bras  desquels  ils  pourraient 
se  jeter  par  depit. 

Le  30  ociobre,  Don  de  Ulloa,  qui  a  simplement  demande  a  M. 
Aubry  l'autorisation  de  renvoyer  les  troupes  espagnoles  a  La  Ha- 
vane,  s'embarque  avec  sa  famille  sur  un  batiment  francais  qu'il  a 
engage,  la  fregate  espagnole  n'etant  pas  en  etat  de  reprendre  la  raer 
avant  d'etre  radoubee.  II  compte  raettre  a  la  voile  le  lendemain  soir. 

A  l'aurore,  un  groupe  d'habitants  qui  ont  cel^bre  par  un  bal  et 
des  beuveries  le  mariage  d'un  riche  marchand,  et  qui  sont  dans  un 
etat  de  douce  ebriete,  en  chantant  arrivent,  on  ne  sait  trop  pourquoi, 
sur  la  levee  oil  le  vaisseau  est  amarre.  Toujours  braillant,  l'un  d'eux. 
Petit,  tranche  I'aussiere.  Le  batiment  part  a  la  derive,  il  est  au  milieu 
du  fleuve,  quand  les  matelots,  tous  surpris,  jettent  Pancre. 

Sous  la  surveillance  des  sergents  et  des  baillis  designes  par  le 
Conseil,  le  vaisseau  commence  k  glisser  sur  le  Mississipi.  vers  la  mer. 


Comme  il  arrive  toujours  apres  une  grande  agitation,  la  ville  re- 
tombe  dans  la  torpeur.  Les  habitants  ne  sont  pas  tout  a  fait  aussi 
tranquilles  qu'ils  le  pretendent.  lis  songent  a  la  maniere  dont  leur 
incartade  sera  recue  a  Versailles,  leur  loyalisme  portera-t-il  des 
fruits  i  Les  rebelles  estiment  qu'ils  doivent  plaider  leur  cause  avant 
que  des  echos,  moins  favorables,  arrivent  aux  oreilles  du  Roi. 

II  faut  envoyer  en  France  des  delegues  porteurs  d'une  supplique, 
leur  lunique  de  Nessus.  Les  plameurs  choisissent  M.  de  Liette,  des 
Natchitochez  ;  les  marchands  designent  Jean  Milhet  ;  le  Conseil 
Superieur  sera  represents  par  M.  Le  Sassier. 

Ces  delegues  verront  le  Due  de  Praslin,  imploreront  de  lui  une 
stabilisation  de  la  monnaie,  car  Louis  XV  a  ordonnS  le  rapatrienient 
de  toutes  les  lettres  de  change,  reduites  au  tiers  de  leur  valeur. 
avant  le  i"  septembre  1769.  Elles  seront  a  ce  moment  converties  en 
bons,  payant  5  %  d'interet  jusqu'a  l'amoriissement. 

A  Versailles,  ils  presenteront  a  Sa  Majesty  le  MJmoire  des  Habi- 
tants et  Negotiants,  que  Braud,  I'imprimeur  du  Roi  a  la  Nile 
Orleans,  va  imprimer  avec  l'autorisation  de  M.  Foucault. 

De  grands  soins  sont  apportes  a  la  redaction  de  ce  memoire,  par 
M.  Doucet  et  M.  de  la  Fresniere.  De  temps  a  autre,  des  phrases 
sonores,  destinees  a  attendrir  le  cceur  le  plus  endurci,  sont  inter- 
jectees. 

<  Ttmoins  oculaires  des  Catamite's  qui  nous  affligeaient,  les 
magistrals  du  Conseil  Superieur  de  la  Louisiane  n'ont  pu  se 
refuser  plus  long-terns  aux  cris  plaintifs  d'un  Peitple  dprimi... 
leurs  soins  diligens  ne  se  sont  pas  home's  a  calmer  les  inquie- 
tudes d'un  peuple  gimissant,  ils  font  encore  autoristf  a  porter 
sa  supplique  aux  pieds  du  Trone,  bien  persuade  que  le  regard 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISK  =93 

compatissant  de  leur  Souverain  se  ditournerait  sur  des  sujets 
aussi  devours  et  que  leur  amour  respectuevx  pour  leur  Monar- 
que  ne  serait  pas  rejette"  par  Sa  Majesty  bien-faisante,  I' image  en 
terre  pour  ses  peuples  de  I'etre  Conservateur.  > 

<  Zilis  francais  donl  les  biens  et  les  families  sont  itablis  dans 
ce  continent,  vous  dont  les  Cceurs  ipuris  n'ont  pas  besoin  que 
Vail  du  Souverain  les  anime,  vous  dont  le  tile  pour  notre  in- 
comparable Monarque  n'a  rien  souffert  du  passage  et  de  la 
distance  des  Mers,  de  la  friquentation  de  I'Etranger,  de  I'acti- 
vite"  agissante  d'une  nation  rivale  &  voisine,  calmis  vos  inquie- 
tudes sur  la  Cession  de  cette  Province...  Ces  sentimens  augustcs 
doivent  enhardir  notre  amour,  que  les  cris  d'allegresse,  que 
les  vive  le  Roi  tant  ripitis  au  tour  de  notre  Pavilion  se  renou- 
vellent  sans  inquietude  '.  que  notre  faible  organe  aprine  A 
I'Univers  et  a  la  poste'rite'  mime  que  cette  domination  chirie, 
sous  laquelle  nous  voulons  vivre  &  mourir,  a  laquelle  nous 
offrons  les  dibris  de  nos  fortunes,  notre  sang,  nos  enfans  is  nos 
families,  est  la  domination  de  LOUIS  LE  BIEN-AIME  !  » 

«  ...  La  Louisiane  est  sans  utilitc"  pour  I'Espagne,  infirieure 
en  production  a  ses  autres  colonies.  Notre  pah  ne  saurait  itre 
que  le  boulevard  de  Mexique,  un  boulevard  pas  inpinStrable 
aux  Anglais,  qui  possedent  des  e'tablissements  le  long  du  fleuve. 
La  conservation  de  cette  Colonic  par  la  France  guarantit  mieux 
les  Possessions  d'Espagne  de  ce  cote"  que  la  Cession  faite  4  cette 
Couronne...  > 

«  Pourquoi  les  deux  Souverains  s'accorderaient  its  a  nous 

rendre  malkeurcux  pour  le  seul  plaisir  d'en  faire  7  C'est  un 

crime  de  le  croire  ir  ces  sentiments  n'entrent  pas  dans  le  cceur 

des  Rois.  > 

Le  memo  ire  accuse  Don  de  Ulloa,  c  cet  homme  hautain  &  d'une 

avarice  sordide,  d'antipathie  pour  I'humanite"  if  d'une  disposition 

a  faire  le  mal.  »  II  a  ferme  toutes  les  passes  du  fleuve,  sauf  la  plus 

dangereuse   ;   sequestre"   les  biens  francais   ;   fait  abandonner  une 

briqueterie  proche  de  la  ville,  sous  le  fallacieux  pretexte  que  1'eau 

putrefiee,  accumul^e  dans  1'excavation  c  contribuait  a  corrompre 

la  salubrite"  de  Fair,  bien  que  M.  Lebeau,  du  service  de  Sa  Majeste", 

ait  donne"  la-dessus  des  observations  savantes  &  concluantes  en  tous 

points.  »  Au  lieu  d'assister  aux  offices,  il  faisait  celebrer  la  raesse 


»94 


LA    LOUIS1ANE    FRAN^AISE 


ches  lui  par  son  chapelain,  qui  a  marie"  un  blanc  et  une  esclave,  sans 
le  consentement  du  cure"  de  la  paroisse. 

II  a  menace  les  Acadiens,  «  des  Sires  persive'Tants  qui  ont  sacrifii 
leurs  possessions  he're'ditaires  a  lews  sentiments  patriotiques,  de  les 
vendre  it  I'encan  pour  acquitter  les  rations  du  roi.  Sommes  nous  a 
Fez  ou  a  Maroc  ?  > 

Les  Louisianais  concluent  humbleraent  : 

€  Nous  osons  esperer  que  ces  marques  de  notre  zele  sertnTont 
A  prouver  aux  Nations  la  viriti  du  litre  de  BIEN-AIME  que 
Vunivers  entier  lui  donne  et  dont  nul  Monarque  n'a  joui  jus- 
qu'il  prisens.  » 

«  C'est  a  Sa  Majeste"  Bien-faisante,  que  nous,  Habilans  ne- 
gotiant if  colons  de  la  Louisiane  adressons  nos  tres  humbles- 
Priires,  pour  qu'Elle  reprenne  incessamment  sa  Colonie,  et 
aussi  risolus  de  vivre  6-  de  mourir  sous  sa  chire  domination, 
que  determines  &  faire  tout  ce  qu'exigera  la  Prosperity  de  ses 
Armes,  I'Extension  de  sa  Puissance,  la  Gloire  de  son  Regnt, 
nous  le  Supplions  de  vouloir  nous  conserver  notre  nom  Patrioti- 
que,  nos  Loix  ir  nos  Privileges.  > 

Pendant  que  les  d£legu£s  font  voile  vers  la  France,  le  Conseil 
Superieur  ouvre  une  information  pour  fixer  definitivement  la 
culpabilite  de  Don  de  Ulloa.  MM.  Huchet  de  Kernion  et  Piot  de 
Launay  president  la  commission  d'enquete. 

Tous  ceux  qui  ont  un  grief  s'approchent,  chaque  jour  la  liste 
s'allonge  un  peu  plus.  Don  de  Ulloa  etait  un  monstre,  assure-t-on  de 
tous  cotes.  C'etait  surtout  un  monstre  qui  avait  le  tort  d'etre 
Espagnol. 

II  a  deiendu  de  fouetter  les  negres  dans  la  ville,  parce  que  leurs 
cris  desolaient  sa  femme  enceinte,  elle-meme  tres  attachee  a  ses 
servantes  peruviennes,  qui  ne  la  quittaient  jamais.  II  fallait  que 
les  habitants  se  transportent  a  plusieurs  lieues  pour  avoir  le  plaisir 
de  faire  cingler  un  fouet  sur  une  epine  dorsale  noire. 

II  a  retreci  une  rue  a  16  pieds,  et  fait  condamner  une  des  portes 
de  la  ville  pour  sa  seule  satisfaction.  II  a  envoye  chercher  une  nour- 
rice  a  Cuba  pour  que  son  enfant  ne  suce  pas  du  lait  francais.  Le 
Pere  Dagobert  depose  que  pendant  dix-huit  mois  le  chapelain  de 
la  fregate  espagnole  a  celebre  le  saint-office  dans  la  maison  du  g 
verneur,  au  mepris  du  decret  du  Concile  de  Trente. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  »95 

II  a  epouse  la  marquise  d'Abrado  a  la  Balize,  sans  son  automa- 
tion a  lui,  superieur  des  Capucins.  L'aumdnier  n'avait  pas  les  pou- 
voirs  de  ceI6brer  un  mariage  en  Louisiane,  il  vivait  done  en  concu- 
binage, de  ce  fait  avait  jete  1'alarme  dans  les  consciences  et  cause 
un  grand  scandale. 

Le  Conseil  pondere  tons  ces  mefaits,  demande  au  Due  de  Praslin 
son  appui  aupres  de  Sa  Majeste\  l'assure  que  la  colonie  etait  pros- 
pere  avant  l'arrivee  du  Gouverneur,  raais  qu'elle  est  maintenant 
reduite  a  la  misere.  Les  malheureux  habitants,  c  condamnes  & 
engraisser  des  vampires  »,  vivent  de  riz  et  de  mais  et  sont  au 
desespoir. 

M.  Foucault,  qui  ne  sait  pas  de  quel  cdte1  le  vent  tournera,  cent 
aussi  au  ministre.  11  accuse  Don  de  Ulloa  de  hair  les  Francais,  d'etre 
tyrannique,  d'eclater  de  fierte\  II  dit  qu'il  a  fait  de  son  mieux  pour 
calmer  les  esprits,  mais  les  Louisianais  veulent  a  tout  prix  rester 
francais,  ils  passeront  plutdt  la  bordure  avec  leurs  betes,  pour  ne 
laisser  aux  nouveaux  maltres  qu'un  desert. 

Ce  mt-mti  jour,  le  Capt.  Aubry  mande  au  gouvemeur-general  de 
Cuba,  qu'il  espere  que  Don  de  Ulloa  lui  a  rendu  justice.  11  a  de 
l'amiiie  pour  les  Espagnols,  et  n'a  jamais  approuve  ce  soulevement. 

Aussit6t  qu'il  est  arrive^  a  la  Havane,  Don  de  Ulloa  a  envoye  au 
Marquis  de  Grimaldi  un  recit  circonstancie,  naturellement  amer, 
des  ev^nements.  II  attend  les  instructions  de  son  gouvernement. 

En  quarante  jours,  l'insurrection  a  ete  connue  a  Madrid.  Le  11 
feVrier  1769,  le  Conseil  de  Cabinet  a  delibere  pour  savoir  s'il  fallait 
garder  sur  les  bras  cette  Louisiane,  dont  le  seul  merite  est  de  servir 
de  tampon  entre  les  Anglais  et  le  Mexique.  Peut-etre  vaudrait-il 
mieux  rendre  ce  cadeau  encombrant  a  la  France.  Le  Marquis  de 
Grimaldi  a  soumis  tous  les  documents  qu'il  avait  en  main. 

Le  5  mars,  avec  sa  hauteur  habituelle,  le  Due  d'Albe  a  donni  son 
opinion  :  Bien  qu'on  n'en  ait  pas  grande  envie,  il  fallait  garder  la 
Louisiane  a  cause  de  l'importance  du  Mississipi,  choisir  un  chef 
inflexible,  mater  une  fois  pour  toutes  la  population,  tout  en  re- 
duisant  les  depenses  au  minimum.  <  Ce  qui  nous  importe  plus  que 
tout,  il  me  parait,  est  de  montrer  au  monde  et  surtout  &  I'Amerique, 
que  le  Roi  est  en  mesure  de  riprimer  quiconque  a  des  intentions 
contratres  au  respect  dH  A  Sa  Majeste.  > 

Jaime  de  Lima,  Miguel  de  Musqtiiz,  Julian  de  Arriaga,  Juan 


*<jb  LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

Munian,  le  Marquis  de  Piedras  Albas  et  le  Comte  d'Airanda,  avec 
des  reserves  de  detail,  ont  ele  du  meme  avis. 

Le  Marquis  de  Grimaldi  a  avis£  le  Comte  de  Fuentes  que  le  roi 
Charles  III  conservait  la  Louisiane,  plutdt  pour  empecher  les 
autres  de  1'avoir  que  pour  aucune  autre  raison.  Sur  le  billard 
mondial,  c'est  un  pays  qu'on  joue  par  la  bande. 

Le  Roi  d'Espagne  a  ete  irrite  du  manifesto  des  Louisianais,  qui 
a  paru  in-exteuso  dans  «  la  Gazette  de  France  >,  et  dans  plusieurs 
gazettes  d'Europe,  et  qui  presente  1'Espagne  sous  un  jour  faux. 
II  s'est  etonne,  ajoute  le  Marquis  de  Grimaldi,  que  son  cousin  de 
France  n'ait  pas  interdit  cette  publication. 

En  Louisiane,  un  peu  plus  d- apprehension  s'infiltre  chaque  jour. 
L'exaltation  generate  est  torabee.  Les  reunions  de  conspirateurs 
se  continuent  chez  Dame  de  Pradel.  On  tombe  a  bras  raccourcis  sur 
M.  Aubry,  qu'on  dit  vendu  aux  Espagnols,  on  propose  de  1'expulser. 

Le  printemps  revenu,  c'est  le  moment  de  faire  des  projets  sous 
les  magnolias.  M.  de  la  Fresniere  evoque  un  age  d'or,  mais  ne  sait 
pas  tres  bien  comment  on  pourrait  lui  faire  voir  le  jour.  M.  Mar- 
quis, en  bon  Suisse  qu'il  est,  a  une  solution  toute  prete  :  <  Pourquoi 
n'etablirions-nous  pas  une  Republique  ou  se  rtfugieraient  tous 
les  opprimes  de  la  terre  ?  La  Nile  Orleans,  capitate,  strait  declaree 
port  franc.  La  Republique  aurait  a  sa  tcte  un  «  Protecteur.  >  La 
Fresniere  semble  tout  indique  pour  le  role,  il  gouvemerait  avec  un 
Conseil  de  40  conseillers,  elus  par  le  peuple.  » 

M.  Caresse  suggere  qu'on  pourrait  ctablir  une  banque,  sur  le 
modele  de  celle  d'Amsterdam,  un  etablissement  qu'on  appellerait 
Mont-de-Pi£te.  M.  Doucet  fait  remarquer  qu'on  ne  possede  pas 
grand  chose  a  gager. 

«  II  faudrait,  interrompt  M.  de  Noyon,  commencer  par  nous 
debarrasser  de  ces  Espagnols  de  malheur.  » 

C'est  vrai,  la  fregate  est  toujours  la.  Elle  est  reparee,  qu'attend- 
elle  pour  partir  ?  M.  Aubry  interrogi  repond  qu'elle  attend  les 
ordres  de  Don  de  Ulloa.  Cependant,  le  Capt.  d'Acosta  est  conciliant. 
puisqu'on  y  tient,  il  va  s'en  aller. 

Le  20  avril  1769,  il  remonte  l'ancre.  La  population  est  masses 
sur  la  levee,  mais  aucun  cri  hostile  ne  fuse.  Avant  de  tourner  la 
pointe,  le  Capt.  d'Acosta,  avec  elegance,  enleve  son  chapeau  pour 
un  dernier  salut,  ponctue  par  son  canon,  et  disparalt. 

Ce  depart  n'a  pas  apporte'  le  soulagement  qu'on  esperait.  On 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  «97 

n'a  pas  une  sensation  de  triomphe.  En  tin  mot,  on  a  peur.  Les  rebel- 
les  perdem  du  terrain,  ils  ne  recoivent  de  France  aucun  encourage- 
ment. Le  Due  de  Praslin  a  fort  bien  recu  les  delegues,  en  particulier 
M.  de  Liette,  qu'il  a  connu  a  Paris  dans  sa  jeunesse,  mais  il  leur 
a  dit  qu'il  etait  inutile  de  tenter  la  moindre  demarche,  car  l'Es- 
pagne  avail  deja  pris  ses  dispositions.  Sa  Majesce  a  accepte  le  Me- 
moire  des  Habitants,  sans  ajouter  rien. 

Comme  les  anguilles,  qui  fretillent  entre  deux  eaux,  dans  les 
bayous,  des  rumeurs  angoissantes  circulent,  l'Espagne  va  se  livrer  a 
des  represailles. 

On  a  tres  peur.  Une  fois  de  plus  tout  le  monde  ecrit  au  Due  de 
Praslin,  M.  Foucault,  une  fois  encore,  essaie  de  justifier  ses  actes, 
il  a  obe"i  a  une  force  superieure,  puisqu'il  disposal  t  tout  au  plus 
de  150  hommes.  A  pleines  lignes,  il  denonce  les  amis  qu'il  prie  a 
souper  entre  les  trumeaux  de  Dame  Alexandrine. 

On  commence  a  etre  aimable  pour  les  trois  Espagnols,  serr£s  en 
Hot  orgueilleux.  Pour  tromper  la  nervosite,  on  cherche  les  occa- 
sions de  se  divertir,  et  tous  les  pre'textes  sont  bons. 

M.  Jean-Baptiste  Prevost  est  mort.  Sa  veuve  disperse  aux  encheres 
sa  bibliotheque,  la  plus  choisie  de  la  colonic  Parmi  les  ceniaines 
de  volumes,  un  resume-  de  toute  la  litterature  francaise,  on  s'arrache 
l'Hisioire  de  Mezeray,  les  reuvres  liberates  de  Jean-Jacques  Rousseau, 
les  ccuvres  saintes  de  Nicole,  celles  de  St.  Evremond  et  de  Pasquier, 
tomes  celles  des  Anciens. 

M,  de  la  Fresniere  achete  I'Histoire  de  l'Ame'rique,  1'Histoire  de 
la  Pologne,  et  celle  de  l'Angleterre  ;  M.  de  la  Lande  d'Apremont 
ajoute  a  sa  collection  les  Letlres  Persanes,  Moscovites,  Pe"rouviennes 
et  Siamoises  ;  Pierre  de  Verges,  qui  vient  d'^pouser  la  veuve  d'An- 
toine  Griffon  d'Amneville,  et  Francois  de  la  Chapelle  se  disputent 
les  pamphlets,  <  les  Commentaires  de  Ce'sar  »,  c  le  Traiti  du  Vrai 
Mirite  >,  *  VOrigine  des  Jdies  »,  <  le  Traits  sur  I'Opinion  >,  <  le 
Droit  des  Gens  »,  «  tin  rudiment  et  un  despote  ». 

M.  Chauvin  des  Islets  emporte  dans  sa  residence  «  les  Ordon- 
nances  de  Ntron  »,  €  le  Dialogue  des  Morts  »,  <  le  Thi&tre  de 
Bellone  »,  <  le  Testament  Politique  >,  et  «  I'Esprit  des  Lois  >  de 
Montesquieu. 


I 


XLH. 


Lorsque  la  Nile  Orleans  se  reveille,  le  34  juillet  1769,  elle  apprend 
qu'une  puissante  flotte  espagnole  est  a  La  Balize,  commandee  par  le 
general  O'Reilly,  qui  vieni  prendre  possession  de  la  Louisianc. 

Dans  un  dernier  soubresaut  d'independance,  M.  Marquis  ac- 
croche  a  son  chapeau  une  cocarde  blanche,  M.  Petit  attrape  deux 
pistolets.  Derriere  eux,  une  centaine  d'homraes,  armes  d'espingoles, 
emboitent  le  pas. 

Les  voila  sur  la  Place  d' Armes,  haranguant  le  peuple.  «  A  bas 
les  Espagnols  1  Vive  le  Roi  de  France  I  »  Les  badauds  ecoutent  un 
instant  ces  boute-feux,  puis,  peureusement,  reculent  :  une  puis- 
sante flotte  espagnole  est  a  La  Balize. 

Les  principaux  insurges  sont  deja  chez  M.  Aubry.  Que  va-t-on 
faire  ?  Que  faut-il  craindre  ?  II  faut  avant  tout  rescer  tranquille, 
conseille  sagement  M.  Aubry,  il  va  depecher  un  emissaire  sur  la 
C6te  Allemande  pour  s'assurer  du  calme. 

Dans  la  soiree,  le  bruit  court  qu'un  officier  remonte  le  fleuve  avec 
un  message  pour  M.  Aubry.  Personne  ne  rentre  chez  soi  la  lune 
sans  en  avoir  I'air  a  la  forme  d'un  immense  point  d' interrogation. 
Dans  la  nuit  alanguissante  d'ete,  une  nuit  faite  comme  tant  de 
nuits  d'amour  ou  Ton  n'a  pense"  qu'a  des  baiscrs,  MM.  de  Loyola, 
Gayarre  et  Navarro,  precedes  de  torches,  se  rendcnt  au  debarque- 
ment  de  la  Place  d' Armes. 

A  onze  heures,  M.  Francisco  Bouligny  met  pied  a  terre,  entre 
deux  rangees  de  gens  eirangemcnt  silencieux,  se  rend  chez  M.  Aubry. 
Celui-ci  prend  le  pli  qu'on  lui  tend,  l'ouvre,  le  tourne  entre  ses 
doigts.  C'est  de  I'espagnol.  M.  Bouligny  s'offre  a  traduire. 

Le  Lieutenant-General  l'informe  de  sa  mission,  lui  demande  de 
prendre  les  mesures  necessaires  pour  un  transfert  immediat.  M. 
Aubry  replique  a  M.  Bouligny  :  <  Vous  direz  au  General  O'Reilly 
'e  suis  pret  lorsqu'il  le  jugera  bon  a  remettre  la  province  e 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN$AISE  *99 

scs  mains.  Si  les  habitants  font  de  1'opposition,  je  joindrai  mes 
forces  aux  siennes  pour  punir  l'insolence  des  rebelles.  » 

A  neuf  heures,  le  26,  M.  Aubry  est  sur  la  Place  d'Armes.  II  pro- 
clame  1'arrivee  du  Lieutenant-General,  venu  pour  prendre  posses- 
sion de  la  province,  et  adjure  les  habitants  de  conserver  leur  sang- 
froid :  c  la  prudence  vous  engage  a  ouvrir  les  yeux  sur  votre  conduite 
passee  afin  d'empecher  votre  ruine  et  celle  de  votre  pays  natal  on 
adopts.  Je  prends  la  responsabilite1  de  vous  assurer  que  vous  serez 
traites  favorablement  si  vous  n'opposez  aucune  resistance.  Je  vous 
interdis  en  meme  temps,  au  nom  du  Roi,  d'assister  a  aucune  re- 
union, et  de  prendre  les  armes,  sauf  sur  un  ordre  de  moi,  sous  peine 
d'etre  traite"  en  rebelle.  > 

M.  de  la  Fresniere  le  rejoint  et  lui  dit  qu'il  a  I'intention,  s'il  n'y 
voit  point  d' in  convenient  et  veut  bien  lui  donner  un  mot  d'intro- 
duction,  de  descendre  avec  M.  Marquis  et  M.  Milhet  voir  le  general, 
pour  l'assurer  de  leur  soumission,  en  d'autres  termes  pour  l'ama- 
douer.  M.  Aubry  approuve  l'idee  ;  apres  avoir  une  fois  de  plus  dine1 
chez  lut,  M.  Bouligny  et  les  trots  Louisianais  s'embarquent  avec  le 
doyen  des  capitaines  de  la  troupe  et  le  chef-pilote. 

Lorsqu'ils  arrivent  a  la  Balize,  apres  40  heures  de  glissement,  M. 
Bouligny  pr^sente  ces  Messieurs  au  General  O'Reilly,  debout  sur 
son  punt,  en  tour  £  de  ses  officiers. 

Le  general  est  un  Irlandais  catholique  de  34  ans,  qui  tres  jeune  est 
passed  au  service  de  l'Espagne,  dans  le  regiment  d'Hibernia,  et  s'est 
illiiMre"  maintes  fois.  II  est  Lieu  tenant-General,  inspecteur-general 
de  l'infanterie  royale  espagnole. 

De  ses  longs  yeux  a  moiti^-clos,  filtre  un  regard  glace\  Son  front 
haut,  sa  bouche  mince  composent  un  masque  impenetrable.  M.  de 
la  Fresniere  lui  fait  ses  compliments,  1'assure  que  la  colonie  n'a 
jamais  eu  I'intention  de  faillir  au  respect  du  a  Sa  Majesty  Catho- 
lique. €  Nous  vous  supplions  de  ne  pas  considerer  la  Louisiane 
comme  un  pays  conquis.  L'ordre  que  vous  portez  est  suffisant  pour 
vous  mettre  en  possession  de  cette  province.  II  fait  sur  nos  cceurs 
une  plus  grande  impression  que  vos  armes.  Les  Francais  sont  dociles 
et  accoutumes  a  un  gouvernement  aimable,  vous  trouverez  tout  le 
monde  dispose  a  ob£ir  aux  ordres  des  deux  Souverains.  La  colonie 
implore  de  votre  benevolence  quelques  privileges  et  de  votre  equitl 
un  dilai  de  deux  annees  pour  permettre  a  ceux  qui  choisiront  d'd- 
migrer  chez  eux.  > 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

Le  General  a  ecoute  ce  discours  sans  qu'un  muscle  tressaille  dans 
sa  figure  impassible  et  dure.  U  repond  en  espagnol  que  M.  de  Bou- 
ligny  traduit  :  «  Messieurs,  il  m'est  impossible  de  juger  des  fails  et 
des  evenemems  sans  avoir  au  prealable  obtenu  des  informations 
relatives  aux  causes.  Je  dois  approfondir  toute  la  verite"  avant  de 
pouvoir  former  des  conclusions  justes  et  examiner  les  raisons  avan- 
cees  pour  voire  justification.  Je  serai  le  premier  a  prendre  les  me- 
lures  necessaires  pour  tranquilliser  la  population,  l'assurer  des 
bonnes  dispositions  dans  lesquelles  je  me  trouve.  »  II  termine  : 
<  A  Dios  gracias,  estoy  libre  de  preocu  pari  ones  y  no  ignore  que 
muchas  veces  las  cosas  que  parecen  negras  desde  lejos,  suelen  verse 
blancas  cuando  uno  se  aprocsima.  > 

Le  General  les  traite  a  diner,  et  les  visiteurs  sen  retournent  pleins 
d'espoir. 

Dans  la  deuxieme  semaine  d'Aout,  M.  Aubry  descend  le  fleuve 
a  son  tour  pour  payer  ses  respects  au  general  et  decider  la  date  de 
la  ceremonie  de  transfer!.  On  convient  du  18.  II  revient  a  la  Nile 
Orleans,  en  toute  hate,  et  alerte  la  population,  pour  qu'elle  fasse 
ses  pre  para  t  its. 

Le  17  au  matin,  84  voilures  s'arretent  devant  la  ville,  des  pas- 
serelles  sont  lance'es  entre  les  vaisseaux  et  le  quay. 

Le  18  aout  1769,  M.  Aubry,  escorte  de  ses  officiers.  vient  offrir 
ses  hommages  au  general.  Le  soleil  est  etourdissant,  les  saules  sont 
Figes,  le  sol  brule  les  pieds. 

Quand  la  chaleur  devient  moins  accablante,  la  troupe  et  la  milice 
franchises  se  rangent  au  fond  de  la  Place  d'Armes,  parallelemem  au 
fleuve.  A  cinq  heures,  le  vaisseau  amiral  tire  un  coup  de  canon, 
2600  Espagnols  resplendissants  :  fantassins,  fusileros  de  montanas, 
cavaliers,  dragons,  bannieres  en  tete,  en  colonnes  ordonnees  Emergent 
des  vaisseaux,  s'alignent  sur  deux  ailes,  a  droite  et  a  gauche  de  la 
ligne  francaise.  Les  2600  soldats  font  enorm^ment  de  monde  dans 
cette  petite  ville,  qui  ne  compte  que  ^190  habitants. 

Des  vaisseaux,  cinq  long  cris  s'elevent  :  <  Viva  el  Rey  1  >  et  lei 
troupes  espagnoles  reprennent  :  t  Viva  el  Rey  1  »  Les  pieces  des 
»4  vaisseaux,  a  la  fois,  crachent  sur  le  fleuve  enrobe  de  fumee,  a 
terre  50  canons  re'pondent,  en  faisant  tout  trembler,  1'infanterie 
relache  une  mousqueterie. 

En  perruque  plaquee,  dans  un  magnifique  habit  brode-,  traverse 
de  ses  ordres,  precede"  de  chambellans  vetus  comme  des  images  de 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN(AISE  J01 

sel  et  portant  des  masses  d'argent,  le  General  O'Reilly  met  pied 
a  terre.  Les  tambours  battent  au  champ,  les  1  if  res  jouent  uii  aii 
entrainant. 

Suivi  de  MM.  de  Loyola,  Gayarre  et  Navarro,  qui  ont  retrouve 
leurs  functions,  et  de  Don  Andre  de  Aimonester,  porteur  de  I'eten- 
dard  royal,  il  s'avance  vers  le  Gouverneur  francais,  qui,  avec  les 
membres  du  Conseil  et  les  notables  de  la  colonie,  se  tient  aupres  du 
mat  a  drapeau. 

<  Monsieur,  dit-il,  je  vous  ai  deja  communique  les  commande- 
ments  et  les  lettres  dont  je  suis  porteur,  m'autorisant  a  prendre 
possession  de  cette  colonie  au  nom  de  Sa  Majeste  Catholique  et 
les  instructions  de  Sa  Majeste  tres  Chretienne  pour  qu'elle  me 
soit  remise,  je  vous  supplie  de  les  lire  a  haute  voix  au  peuple.  » 

M.  Aubry  obeit  et  ajoute  :  <  Vous  etes  maintenant  sujets  de  Sa 
Majeste  Catholique,  en  vertu  des  ordres  du  Roi,  mon  mattre,  je 
vous  delie  de  voire  sentient  de  fidelite  et  d'obeissance  a  Sa  Majeste 
tres  Chretienne.  > 

11  se  tourne  vers  le  general  et  lui  presente  les  clefs  de  la  ville. 
Lentement,  la  banniere  blanche  fleurdetysee,  qui  depuis  soixante- 
dix  ans  ilotia  sur  les  etablissements  francais,  descend  de  son  mat, 
tandis  que  les  habitants  detournent  la  tete  de  cette  vue  dechirante, 
et  les  couleurs  d'Espagne  prennent  sa  place. 

Les  jambes  flechissantes  d'emotion,  le  peuple  pleure.  D'une  voix 
etranglee,  parce  qu'on  leur  en  a  donne  l'ordre,  les  Francais  crient 
cinq  fois  :  <  Viva  el  Rey  1  »  Les  fr6gates  dechirent  l'air  avec  une 
nouvelle  salve  et  les  mousquets  des  troupes  dessinent  une  longue 
ligrie  de  feu,  qui  fait  mal  a  la  Place.  L'angoisse  ambiante  est  une 
incongruite  en  pleine  chaleur,  1'ete  est  le  temps  d'etre  heureux. 

Le  general  O'Reilly,  les  ofiiciers  espagnols,  M.  Aubry  et  sa  suite 
se  dirigent  vers  la  cathedrale  St.  Louis  ou  le  clerge  les  attend  sous 
un  dais  abritant  le  seuil.  Au  nom  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  M.  le  Cure 
adresse  au  general  un  discours  pathetique,  auquel  celui-ci  repond 
par  l'assurance  de  son  devoueraent. 

Avec  tous,  le  general  chante  le  Te  Deum,  et  pieusement  assiste 
a  la  benediction  du  tres  Saint-Sacrement,  puis  avec  M.  Aubry  il 
repart  sur  la  Place,  dont  il  fait  lentement  le  tour,  pour  marquer 
sa  prise  de  possession.  Ses  troupes  astiquees,  aux  buffleteries  magni- 
fiqtics,  dcnlcnt  devant  lui  et  partent  vers  leurs  casernes  respectives. 

Quand  le  tumulte  est  apaise,  tous  les  beaux  soldats  disparus,  la 


3°3  LA     LOUISIANA     FRANf  AISE 

population  s'egrene,  hdbete'e,  les  tcmpes  battantes  du  vacarme  et  du 
spectacle  inusitd.  Elle  est  douloureuse,  mais  elle  est  par  dessus  tout 
abasourdie.  Le  soir,  de  grands  feux,  derisivement  appeles  comme 
d'habitude  <  de  joie  »,  sont  alluraes  sur  la  levee.  On  tourne  autour, 
sans  eclats  de  rire,  les  pieds  lourds. 

Le  jour  suivant,  le  general  O'Reilly  recoit  a  d!ner  M.  Aubry  et 
les  au  tori  ids  franchises.  II  n'a  pas  perdu  son  temps  depuis  la  veille, 
deja  il  a  compulse  des  documents,  recueilli  des  depositions.  II  a  aussi, 
par  ecrit,  demands  a  M.  Aubry  de  lui  faire  un  rapport  circonsiancie 
sur  les  fails  de  l'annee  precddente.  II  veut  savoir  qui  a  rWigi, 
i  in  prime  et  distribue  le  fameux  «  Memoire  des  Habitants  de  la 
Louisiane,  sur  les  (Svcnemenis  du  29  Octobre  1768  ». 

Le  so,  le  General  visile  M.  Aubry,  qui  lui  a  fait  tenir  un  long 
rapport  faisant  la  part  de  chacun,  fixant  les  responsabilites.  II  a 
fourni  les  details,  les  dates  et  les  noms  de  toutes  les  person  nes 
impliquees  «  dans  cette  criminelle  entreprise  ».  M.  Aubry  ne  cache 
vraiment  rien.  Cependani,  il  s'est  abstenu  de  meniionner  le  r61e 
joud  par  M.  Foucault. 

II  ne  faut  pas  longtemps  au  general  pour  examiner  le  document, 
des  le  lendemain  il  annonce  a  M.  Aubry  qu'il  va  arreter  les  coupables 
et  les  faire  passer  en  cour. 

Sous  differents  pr£textes,  il  convoque  chez  lui  les  principaux  fac- 
tieux  :  MM.  de  la  Fresniere,  de  Noyan,  Balthazar  de  Masan,  Hardy 
de  Bois- Blanc,  Caresse,  Marquis,  Doucet,  Petit  et  Poupet.  A  la  stu- 
pefaction de  tous,  le  General,  ayant  M.  Aubry  a  ses  colds,  declare  : 
<  Messieurs,  vous  etes  accuses  d'etre  les  chefs  de  1 'insurrection  pas- 
sed je  vous  arrete  au  nora  du  Roi,  j'espere  que  vous  pourrez  prouver 
votre  innocence  et  que  je  pourrai  vous  rendre  vos  dpees.  » 

Un  aide-de-camp  recoit  leurs  £p£es,  la  salle  ou  Us  se  tiennent  est 
maintenant  tapissee  de  grenadiers.  Les  officiers  les  prennem  par 
le  bras,  les  placent  entre  deux  grenadiers.  lis  sont  conduits  a  des 
prisons  separees,  les  uns  dans  des  locaux  prepares  a  cette  intention, 
les  autres  sur  les  vaisseaux.  lis  ne  communiqueront  avec  personne, 
mais  peuvent  designer  un  ami  qui  assistera  a  l'inventaire  que  Ton 
va  faire  de  leurs  possessions. 

Trois  rebelles  de  raoindre  importance  sont  angles  ailleurs.  M. 
Joseph  de  Villere-.  un  Canadien  courageux  mais  violent,  fanatique- 
ment  devout  a  la  France,  en  apprenam  I'arrestation  de  ses  amis. 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  303 

abandonne  sa  plantation  pour  accourir  a  leur  defense.  M.  Aubry 
lui  a  assure  qu'il  n'avait  rien  a  craindre. 

A  la  porte  de  la  ville,  il  est  saisi,  enferme  sur  une  frigate  espagnole, 
ou  U  est  tue  a  coups  de  bayonnette,  pour  avoir  voulu  monter  de 
force  sur  le  pom,  apres  avoir  entendu  la  voix  de  sa  femme,  venue 
en  canot  demander  1'autorisation  de  lui  parler.  Des  soldats  jettent  a 
la  pauvre  femme,  la  petite-fille  de  M.  de  la  Chaise,  sa  chemise  en- 
sanglantee  :  «  Voila  ce  qui  reste  de  votre  rnari  I  > 

La  population  est  terrifiee,  la  plupart  des  maisons  sont  hermeti- 
quement  closes  comme  pour  un  deuil,  des  families  s'appretenc  a  fuir 
du  c&te  des  Anglais.  Les  rues  vides  sont  patrouillees  par  des  soldats 
espagnols,  a  present  tout  a  fait  odieux,  les  tavernes  sont  desertees. 

M.  Aubry  maintenant  pretend  etre  aussi  e  tonne  que  les  autres, 
il  ne  croyait  pas  que  le  General  O'Reilly  avail  pouvoir  de  sevir. 
11  essaie  de  se  justifier  :  «  Ma  conduite  sera  jugie  par  le  plus  iqui- 
table  et  le  plus  iclaire"  des  jugcs,  son  approbation  que  je  me  fiatte 
de  miriter  constituent  le  plus  grand  honneur  et  la  plus  belle  ri- 
compense  que  je  puisse  recevoir.  >  Les  Francais  s'ecartent  sur  son 
passage,  il  a  vendu  ses  compatriotes. 

Le  General  O'Reilly  s'irrite  de  la  frayeur  des  habitants.  Sur  les 
arbres  de  la  Place,  il  fait  clouer  une  proclamation  pour  rassurer  le 
peuple.  Mais  le  peuple  ne  veut  pas  etre  r  assure,  <  pas  d'achalage 
pour  nous  >,  murmure-t-il  les  dents  serrees.  Le  23,  le  General  en 
affiche  une  autre,  ordonnant  a  la  population  de  se  presenter  chez 
lui,  le  26,  pour  jurer  fidelite  au  nouveau  Souverain,  et  signer  de  leur 
nom  ou  d'une  croix  ;  les  habitants  des  paroisses  eloignees  auront 
un  delai  pour  s'executer. 

La  ceremonie  du  serment  a  lieu.  Clerge  en  tete,  toute  la  popula- 
tion defile.  Le  General  explique  qu'ils  sont  libres  de  refuser  le  ser- 
ment, s'ils  le  desirent  ils  peuvent  retourner  dans  leur  pays  natal. 
Presque  tous  acceptent  de  rester  :  a  l'encontre  des  offiriers,  ils  sont 
lies  a  cette  Louisiane,  ou  leurs  quatre  liards  sont  emerres  avec  leurs 
morts.  Le  27,  les  Acadiens  et  les  Allemands  en  font  autant,  et  re- 
tournent  a  leurs  etables. 

Chez  Braud,  on  a  crouve  une  copie  du  Memorial,  avec  le  permis 

a'im  primer  signe  par  M.  Foucault.  Celui-ci  est  done  coupable  aussi, 

1  faut  l'arreter.  M.  Aubry  obtient  qu'on  y  mette  des  formes,  le  Ma- 

"e  Grandmaison,  le  Capt.  de  Lamarzelieres  et  1'aide-major  Aubert 

recent  a  son  domicile,  qui  deviendra  sa  prison,  gardee  par  un 


I 


LA      LOUISIANE     FRANCAI.SE 

detachement  de  Francais  sous  la  surveillance  de  deux  officiers 
responsables.  Le  controleur  de  la  marine,  M.  Bobe  des  Clozeaux, 
met  les  scelles  sur  ses  papiers,  qui  ne  contiennent  rien  de  precieux. 
M.  Foucault  a  surtout  des  dettes. 

Interroge  le  5  octobre,  il  refuse  obstinement  de  r^pondre  aux 
questions.  II  declare  etre  pret  a  passer  en  jugement,  mais  en  France, 
devant  ses  pairs.  Le  14,  il  est  expedie  a  destination  de  la  Bastille. 
Quand  a  Braud,  1'imprimeur,  arrets  aussi,  il  fait  remarquer  qu'en 
tant  qu'imprimeur  du  Roi,  il  est  oblige"  d'executer  les  ordres  d'en- 
haut.  Le  General  reconnalt  le  bien  fonde  de  sa  defense  et  le  fait 
elargir. 

Le  jour  du  proces  des  rebelles  toute  la  population  est  sur  le  qui- 
vive.  La  cour  se  compose  de  Don  Felix  del  Rey,  licenci*  devant  la 
cour  royale  du  Mexique,  faisant  fonction  d'avocat-g£n£ral,  et  de 
plusieurs  Espagnols.  Le  general  O'Reilly  a  redige  un  m^moire, 
contresigne  par  Miguel  de  Urrutia,  administraieur  de  la  Havane. 
Longuement,  I'avocat-gendral  s'e'tend  sur  l'ignominie  des  inculpds. 

Le  24  octobre,  le  tribunal  rend  son  jugement,  aussitot  proclame 
par  le  General  :  Nicolas  Chauvin  de  la  Fresniere,  Jean-Baptiste  de 
Noyon,  Joseph  Milhet,  Pierre  Caresse,  Pierre  Marquis  seront  con- 
duits sur  des  anes  au  lieu  d' execution,  et  pendus  haut  et  court,  et 
resteront  pendus  au  gibet  jusqu'a  nouvel  ordre.  Toute  personne 
ayant  la  temerite  de  toucher  a  leurs  corps  sera  passible  de  peine  de 
mort. 

La  memoire  de  Joseph  de  Villere\  representee  au  proces  par  un 
avocat,  sera  pour  toujours  tenue  pour  infame.  M.  Petit  est  condanine 
a  la  detention  a  perpctuite  ;  MM.  de  Masan  et  Doucet  a  dix  ans 
de  prison  ;  MM.  de  Bois-BIanc,  Jean  Milhet,  Poupet  a  six  ans. 
La  proprie^e  des  coupables  sera  confisqu^e  au  benefice  du  Roi 
d'Espagne. 

Les  condamn^s  protestent  que  le  General  O'Reilly  n'a  pas  juridic- 
tion  sur  eux,  la  sedition  ayant  eu  lieu  avant  que  Don  de  Ulloa  ait 
present*  ses  lettres  de  provision,  mais  le  General  ne  veut  meme  pas 
icouter  leurs  protestations. 

A  genoux,  les  planteurs,  les  officiers,  les  habitants  le  supplient 
d'accorder  un  delai  d'ex^cution,  permettant  d'adresser  une  sup 
plique  a  Sa  Majestl  Charles  III.  Le  General  est  inflexible,  la  sen- 
tence sera  ex^cutee  le  lendemain. 

Cependant,  l'execuieur  des  hautes  ccuvres  £tant  jusque-la  un  noir, 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  $05 

le  General,  en  consideration  du  rang  des  condamnis,  consent  a 
ce  qu'on  cherche  un  blanc  pour  cet  office.  On  cherche  vainement. 
II  y  a  bien  de  la  canaille  dans  cette  ville,  mais  on  ne  trouve  pai 
une  brute  qui  consente  d'accepter,  a  prix  d'or,  ce  travail  de  tortion- 
naire. 

La  population  adresse  au  General  O'Reilly  une  seconde  petition. 
Ne  pourrait-on  pas  fusilier  les  condamn&  ?  Le  General  finii  par 
y  consentir. 

Le  matin  du  25  Octobre,  rien  ne  bouge.  Craignant  une  £meute, 
le  General  a  fait  doubler  la  garde  aux  portes  de  la  ville,  nul  ne 
peut  enirer  aujourd'hui.  Les  rues  sont  patrouillees  par  des  soldats 
qui  ne  croisent  personne.  Sur  la  levee  et  la  Place  d'Armes,  des 
troupes  sont  rangees,  prates  a  intervenir. 

Tous  ces  preparatifs  sont  inutiles,  la  plupart  des  habitants  ont 
quitte  la  ville,  la  veille.  Ceux  qui  sont  testes  sont  silencieux  derriere 
leurs  volets  tires. 

Par  cette  apres-midi  doree  d'automne,  a  t ravers  des  essaims  affaires 
d'insectes  joyeux  de  vivre,  a  trois  heures,  les  prisonniers,  qui  a 
1'exception  de  M.  de  la  Fresniere,  sont  tous  en  uniforme  d'officier 
francais,  bras  garrottes,  sont  conduits  par  les  soldats  du  regiment 
de  Lisbonne  au  Petit  Champ-de-Mars,  en  face  de  la  caserne,  aupres 
du  couvent  des  Ursulines.  Les  habitants  derriere  leurs  volets  fris- 
sonnent  et  se  signent  en  entendant  les  pas  lourdement  cadences  du 
peloton. 

Le  Champ-de-Mars  est  cerne  par  des  soldats  en  armes,  il  n'y  a 
pas  d'autres  temotns.  Au  centre  de  la  place,  Rodriguez  et  Henri 
Garderat,  les  greffiers,  lisent  le  verdict  en  espagnol  et  en  francais, 
une  copie  est  donnee  au  crieur  public,  qui  avec  des  roulements  de 
tambour,  le  lit  a  la  cantonade. 

On  veut  bander  les  yeux  des  prisonniers,  M.  Marquis  s'y  oppose 
avec  hauteur,  et  demande  une  prise.  Les  grenadiers  sont  pr£ts,  M. 
de  la  Fresniere  ordonne  :  «  Tirez,  bourreaux  I  >  Le  peloton  fait  sa 
besogne. 

Les  fenetres  de  la  chapelle  des  Ursulines,  ou  prient  les  religieuses 
et  les  families  des  victimes,  tremblent  imperceptiblement  a  la 
detonation.  JeanBapiiste  et  Catherine  de  la  Fresniere  Hcdiissent, 
leur  sceur  de  Noyon  pleure  deux  disparus,  son  jeune  mari  et  son 
ptre. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

Plus  lard,  les  Louisianais  repeteront  en  mauvais  vers  Ies  dernieres 
paroles  de  M.  de  la  Fresniere. 

«  Nous  sommes  prets,  messieurs,  d'aujourd'hui  cetle  enceinte 
c  Pour  la  poste'rite1  devient  Ulustre  et  sainte, 
«  Et,  martyrs  du  devoir,  son  burin  redouts' 
<  Grave  nos  noms  au  seuil  de  I'immortalite'.  t 

Une  houle  de  rancceur  fait  tanguer  loute  la  population.  On 
crache  apres  le  passage  du  General,  qui  n'est  plus  que  le  Bourreau, 
dans  la  bouche  des  habitants. 

Les  exemplaires  retrouv£s  du  Memoire  des  Habitants  sont  bruits 
sur  la  Place  d'Armes.  L'amertume  se  fait  encore  plus  voluble,  quand 
on  apprend  que  le  pere  du  Chevalier  de  Masan  a  obtenu  de  Sa 
Majeste  Charles  III  la  grace  de  son  tils,  incarrfre"  a  La  Havane, 
et  de  tous  les  autres  prisonniers.  Avec  du  temps,  <  les  Martyrs  de 
la  Louisiane  >  auraient  ete  sauves. 

M.  Aubry  est  honni.  On  l'accuse  ouvertement  d'avoir  recu  du 
General  O'Reilly  is.ooo  ecus  espagnols,  les  deniers  de  Judas,  pour 
prix  de  sa  trahison,  et  la  promesse  d'une  pension,  II  doit  s'embar- 
quer  sur  le  Pere  de  Famille,  mais  n'ose  le  faire  sous  les  regards  t£- 
probateurs  de  la  population.  Clandestinement,  en  canot,  il  rejoint 
le  vaisseau  a  deux  lieues  et  demie  de  la  Nile  Orleans.  Le  pilote 
raconte  a  qui  veut  l'entendre  qu'il  a  embarque"  avec  Iui  deux  caisses 
pleincs  d'argent,  et  une  bourse  contenant  au  moins  1500  Livres 
en  or. 

Lorsqu'on  apprendra  a  la  Nile  Orleans  que  le  batiment  a  sombre- 
dans  la  Garonne,  en  vue  de  Cordouan,  et  que  seulement  un  chirur- 
gien,  deux  marins  et  un  sergent  ont  ete-  .sauves.  les  habitants,  avec 
un  hochement  de  teie  sagace,  constateront  que  le  ciel  a  fait  justice. 
Par  malheur,  il  a  fait  justice  en  noyant  beaucoup  d  innocents,  mau 
sur  le  moment  on  oubliera  ce  detail. 


Le  G£n£ral  O'Reilly  est  naturellement  pour  tous  un  symbole 
de  tyrannic  Cupidon,  l'esclave  de  M.  Caresse,  qu'il  a  voulu  prendre 
a  son  service,  a  r£pondu  qu'il  ne  servait  pas  les  assassins  et  lui  a 
tourne'  le  dos.  Artus,  le  cuisinier  de  M.  de  la  Fresniere  et  le  meilleur 
de  la  colonie,  auquel  il  a  offen  la  r^gence  de  ses  cuisines,  a  candide- 
ment  avoue  qu'il  ne  pourrait  s'empecher  de  l'cmpoisonner  s'il  en 
avail  l'opportunitc 

L'Irlandais  est  trop  dur  pour  6tre  atteint  par  l'hostilitd  ge^nerale, 
puis  il  n'est  la  qu'en  passant,  pour  faire  sentir  la  poigne  de  son 
maitre. 

Sans  se  d^partir  de  son  calme,  il  poursuit  sa  tache,  impose  de 
nouvelles  tail  les,  fait  le  recensement  des  13.513  habitants,  divists 
par  moitie  en  deux  couleurs,  3.190  d'entre  eux  vivant  dans  les  468 
maisons  de  la  Nile  Orleans. 

II  maintient  le  Code  Noir  de  Louis  XV.  Moyennant  une  redevance 
annuelle,  il  concede  a  perp^tuite'  a  Don  Almonester  deux  terrains 
encadrant  la  Place  d'Armes. 

Suivant  la  loi  espagnole,  il  propose  que  toute  femme  adultere 
soit  livr£e  au  mari  bern^,  pour  qu'il  en  fasse  ce  que  bon  lui  serablc, 
a  condition  qu'il  ne  tue  pas  un  coupable  sans  tuer  l'autre.  Sa 
Majeste"  Catholique  suspendra  cet  article,  juge'  excessif. 

II  remplace  le  Conseil  Sup&ieur  par  le  Cabildo,  preside'  par  le 
Gouverneur  et  constitu^  par  six  regidores  perp^tuels,  dont  les 
charges  s'achetant  aux  encheres  sont  transmissibles.  par  deux  alcades 
ordinaires,  un  syndic  a  vocal-general  et  un  grefGer,  dont  la  charge 
s'achete  aussi. 

Presque  tous  les  membres  du  nouveau  Conseil  sont  francais  : 

Olivier  de  Vezin  est  alcade  principal  ;   M.  de  Fleuriau,  alguazil- 

lajor,  c'est  a  dire  Chef  de  Police  :  MM.  de  St.  Denis  et  de  la 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Chaise,  al  cades  ordinaires.  La  plupari  des  foris  restent  aux  mains 
des  ofii tiers  franc,  ais. 

Des  voyageurs  racontent  qu'un  Anglais,  Daniel  Boone,  explore 
le  pays  de  Kentucky,  entre  les  rivieres  Ohio  et  Casquimbaux,  on 
ne  goute  pas  cette  proximite  etrangere. 

La  colonie  pousse  un  grand  soupir  d'aise,  quand  M.  de  Unzaga 
prend  la  place  du  G<Sn£ral  O'Reilly,  en  1770.  C'est  un  homrae  doux, 
dont  le  <  Bando  de  Buen  Gobiertio  »,  annonce  les  intentions  pacifi- 
ques. 

La  Louisiane  est  devenue  espagnole  de  nom  et  d'obelssance,  mais, 
comme  son  language,  le  climat  moral  reste  entierement  franca  is. 
Elle  ne  s'espagnolisera  pas,  ce  sont  ses  gouverneurs  qui  se  francise- 
ronl.  Des  manages  vonl  entremeler  les  deux  races,  deja  la  fille  de 
M.  de  Unzaga  est  fiancee  a  M.  de  St.  Maxent.  La  barbe  espagnole, 
pour  certains,  devient  la  perruque  a  la  francaise,  et  tout  est  du. 

Le  commerce  a  beaucoup  pencl^e1,  depuis  qu'il  a  iti  limits  par 
M,  de  Ulloa  aux  vaisseaux  d'Espagne  et  a  six  pons.  Alicante,  Seville 
et  Carthagene,  pas  plus  que  Malaga,  Barcelone  et  la  Corogne  ne 
se  soucient  de  fourrures,  de  mahiz  et  de  riz  ;  on  prefere  l'indigo  du 
Guatemala  ;  les  bois  de  construction  sont  trop  pesants  pour  etre 
transports  avantageusement  a  travers  l'Atlantique. 

C'est  avec  beaucoup  de  regrets,  qu'on  voit  partir  M.  de  Unzaga, 
en  1777.  Don  Bernardo  de  Galvez,  le  fils  du  Viceroy  du  Mexique, 
qui  le  remplace,  est  immediatemcnt  1'ami  de  tous. 

La  situation  financiere  de  la  province  est  deplorable,  les  fluctua- 
tions de  la  monnaie  espagnole  ont  reduit  a  rien  les  fortunes  peni- 
blement  acquises.  II  rend  la  liberie  de  commerce  avec  les  Antilles, 
intensifie  la  culture  du  tabac.  que  son  gouvernement  achete. 

Ses  sympathies  s'etendent  aussi  aux  rebelles  americains,  qui  depuis 
le  jour  effervescent  de  decembre  1773,  ou  ils  ont  predpite  840 
ballots  de  (Ik-  dans  la  Baie  de  Boston,  et  le  debut,  en  1775,  de  la 
guerre  r£volu  donna  ire,  ont  fait  bien  du  cherain. 

A  Bunker  Hill,  White  Plains,  Germantown  et  ailleurs,  ces  revokes 
livrent  des  batailles  hasardeuses.  lis  ont  solennellement  declare  leurs 
droits,  et,  le  4  Juillet  1776,  proclame  1'independance  ties  Etats-Unis. 
Des  le  mois  de  Septembre,  un  congres  des  colonies  soulevees  s'est 
ri-iini.  et,  depuis  le  so  Juin  1777,  on  voit  Hotter  le  noiiveau  drapcau. 
raye  de  rouge,  au  coin  duquel  treize  etoiles  blanches  sur  champ  bleu 
represented  les  treize  etats  de  l'Union  :  New  Hampshire,  Massa- 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 


309 


rchusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vanie,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginie,  Georgie,  et  les  Carolines. 
Secretement,  M,  de  Galvez  fait  tenir  des  fonds  a  Oliver  Pollock, 
l'autorise  a  acheter  des  munitions  pour  le  fort  Pitt,  et  Tencourage  a 
attaquer  les  forts  anglais  du  Mississipi. 

L'Inquisition  a  interdit  de  vendre  et  de  lire  en  Louisiane  <  VAn 
deux  milte  quatre  cent  quarante  >,  de  Mercier,  et  <  VHistoire  de 
VAmirique  »  de  Robertson.  Naturellement,  on  s'arrache  les  rares 
exemplaires  qui  se  sont  infiltres. 

I  La  Fayette  a  rejoint  l'armee  americaine  avec  ses  volontaires  fran- 
cais.  Le  16  decembre  1777,  la  France  a  reconnu  l'independance  de 
1'Union  Federale  et  1'Angleterre  a  considere  cet  acte  l'equivalent 
d'une  declaration  de  guerre.  L'annee  suivante,  la  flotte  francaise  de 
M.  d'Estaing  est  venue  aider  les  revolutionnaires,  et  en  mai,  le  roi 
d'Espagne  s'est  mis  de  la  pariie. 

M.  de  Galvez  decide  d'attaquer  sans  attendre  les  etablissements 
anglais.  1340  planteurs,  miliciens,  exclaves,  noirs  libres,  sauvages 
marchent,  capturent  fort  Manchac,  celui  de  Baton-Rouge,  des 
Natchez,  et  avec  une  petite  flotte  derisoire,  fort  Charlotte  et  Pensa- 
cola. 

La  bravoure  de  M.  de  Galvez  est  legendaire.  M.  de  Poydras,  le 
planteur  de  Pointe-Coupee,  qui  possede  plus  d'enthousiasme  que 
de  genie,  la  chante  en  un  poeme  hero'i'que  <  La  prise  du  Morne  de 
Baton-Rouge  ». 

<  C'est  un  heros  magnanime, 
€  Chantons  tons,  a  qui  mieux  mieux, 
c  Ft  d'une  voix  unanime, 

<  Levons  les  yeux  jusqu'aux  cieux. 
€  Au  beau  temple  de  memoire, 

<  Erigeons  lui  des  autels, 
€  Galvez  mirite  la  gloire 

<  de  devenir  immorlel  ! 


Pendant  qu'on  bataillait,  de  nouveaux  habitants  sont  arrives. 
L'Espagne  a  vote  des  fonds  pour  encourager  1'etablissement  non 
settlement  d'Espagnois,  mais  aussi  de  families  franchises  et  des 
Antilles,  car  sa  petite  population  ne  lui  permet  pas  grande  immigra- 


3>° 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 


Des  iles  Canaries,  des  families  entieres  arrivent  pour  etre  distri- 
butes dans  les  paroisses.  Le  chevalier  Marigny  de  Mandeville  conduit 
la  bande  dont  il  a  la  garde  a  la  Terre-aux-Bceufs,  une  etroite  laniere 
de  terre,  assez  fertile,  situee  a  quelques  lieues  du  fleuve  et  enserree 
dans  des  prairies  tremblantes.  Dans  cette  paroisse  St.  Bernard,  Olivier 
de  Vezin  a  sa  plantation,  sur  le  bayou  Bosuf,  qui  tombc  dans  le 
bayou  l'Amoureux  et  le  bayou  Crocodile.  Le  Chevalier  de  Reggio 
est  erabli  dans  le  voisinage. 

M.  de  St.  Maxent  a  la  garde  d'un  second  contingent  sur  la  riviere 
Amite,  qui  se  jette  dans  le  bayou  Manchac.  Le  reste  est  installe  au 
bayou  Lafourche,  ou  its  torment  *  le  Valenzuela  >. 

Les  arrivees  se  multiplient  si  vite  qu'il  faut  encore  etendre  une 
paroisse.  Francisco  de  Bouligny,  qui  vient  d'^pouser  Marie-Louise 
le  Senechal  d'Auberville,  la  fille  de  l'ancien  ordonnateur,  com- 
mande  l'etablissement  de  la  Nile  liberie,  sur  le  bayou  Teche.  Le  lin 
t  le  chanvre  qu'on  essaie  d'y  planter  viennent  mal,  il  faut  retourner 
a  I'elevage,  pour  lequel  la  prairie  convient. 

Les  etablissements  ne  sont  pas  luxueux  et  pourtant  les  Islenos  ou 
Islingues,  comme  on  les  appelle,  semblent  completement  heureux. 
Les  femmes,  souvent  belles,  de  la  Terre-aux-Bceufs,  assises  sur  le 
seuil  de  leur  cabane  a  toit  de  latanier,  pechent  le  repas  du  soir 
dans  la  coulee  Malagaye,  qui  somnole  a  leurs  pieds.  Les  hommes 
renirent,  les  mains  pleines  de  crustaces  et  d'huitres  ramasses  sur  la 
cote  et  dans  les  lacs.  Quand  ils  veulent  du  gibier,  ils  vont  se  promener 
dans  le  Bois  du  Lac. 

Ils  n'ont  aucune  des  commodity  qu'on  croirait  necessaire,  ne 
savent  ni  lire  ni  ecrire,  mais  mangent  toujours  a  leur  faim  et  aiment. 
Le  soir,  ils  decrochent  leurs  gu  it  ares  et  sous  les  pins  ecarquilles,  sans 
nostalgie,  de  leur  belle  voix  chaude,  ils  chantent  <  une  decima  de 


c  Si  tu  amor  quieres  vender 
«  Sera  una  fiera  batalla. 
«  Yo  sere"  un  rayo  con  ala 
€  Hala  ganarte,  mi  vten, 
c  Se  alguno  con  falsa  hasana 
€  Hablara  de  tu  hermosura 
€  Veras,  en  defensa  tuya 
■;■■  Scri  un  pel  leon  en  batalla 


«fl 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 


Amor,  luchando,  se  halla 
Hata  que  gone  la  palma  ; 

La  colonic  traverse  des  temps  diffidles,  il  y  a  des  tornados  et  la 
petite  verole.  L'e'te'  de  1783  n'a  pas  it€  chaud,  1'hiver  suivant  est 
incroyablement  rigoureux.  Les  gelees  ont  commence  fin  septembre, 
en  ttvrier  le  fleuve  charrie  d'6normes  glacons,  qui  arretent  la  circu- 
lation et  descendent  jusqu'a  la  mer,  au  grand  itonnement  des 
navigateurs,  qui  n'ont  jamais  vu  de  banquises  dans  une  mer 
tropicale. 

Le  Traite'  de  Paris,  qui  a  &t6  signe  le  3  septembre  1783,  ramene 
la  tranquillity  a  la  colonic  L'Espagne  a  regagne1  les  Florides  de  l'Est 
et  de  l'Ouest,  qu'elle  avail  auparavant  ce'dees  a  I'Angleterre.  Celled 
a  reconnu  l'ind£pendance  des  Etats  de  l'Union  et  defini  leurs 
bordures  me>idionales,  une  ligne  tiree  sur  le  Mississipi,  au  31*  nord 
de  l'^quateur,  se  terminant  au  milieu  de  la  riviere  Apalachicola,  puis 
allant  du  confluent  de  la  Flint  a  la  source  de  la  Ste.  Marie  et  de  cette 
riviere  a  l'Ocean. 

La  navigation  du  Mississipi  doit  rester  ouverte  a  toutes  les  nations. 

Mais  parce  que  le  fleuve,  sur  les  cent  lieues  premieres  de  son 
cours  inferieur,  coule  entierement  dans  son  territoire,  Sa  Majesti 
Catholique  le  proclame  sien  sur  cette  longueur,  et  interdit  aux 
bateaux  Strangers  de  remonter  le  fleuve,  sous  aucun  pr£texte  ;  en 
meme  temps  elle  rfvoque  la  liberty  de  commerce  qu 'elle  avail 
autorisee  avec  les  lies  du  Vent.  Immecliatement,  le  commerce  rede- 
vient  stagnant. 

Don  Miro,  le  nouveau  gouverneur,  arrive"  en  1785,  fait  de  son 
mieux  pour  arrondir  les  angles  des  ordonnances  de  Madrid.  Si  on  les 
observah  a  la  lettre.  on  enterrerait  les  31433  habitants.  Don  Diego 
de  Gardoqui,  le  Ministre  d'Espagne  a  Philadelphie,  condamne 
1'indulgence  de  cet  homme  compatissant. 

Le  roi  de  France,  ainsi  que  Sa  Majesty  Catholique  Ten  a  prW, 
continue  a  envoyer,  a  ses  frais,  des  families  acadiennes,  auxquelles 
on  distribue  des  concessions,  dans  les  paroisses  des  Attakapas 
Opelousas,  devenues  assez  prosperes  sous  la  surveillance  du  Chevalier 
de  Clouet,  ochappc  en  Louisiane  vers  1768,  apres  des  amours 
orageuses  avec  Mademoiselle  de  Choiseul. 

On  installe  les  derniers  venus  sur  le  Bayou  Plaquemine,  a  la  Terre- 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

aux-Bceufs  et  sur  le  grand  bayou  La  Fourche.  II  y  a  maintenant 
1587  Acadiens  dans  les  paroisses. 

Les  Americains  de  I'Ouesi  vivent  en  mauvaise  intelligence  avec 
les  autorites  espagnoles,  qui  entendent  prelever  des  droits  eleves 
sur  toutes  les  merchandises  descendant  le  Mississipi.  Apres  avoir 
ergote\  ils  deviennent  menacants,  envoient  a  Philadelphie  des  dele- 
gues  pour  transmettre  leurs  revendi  cat  ions  et  supplier  le  gouverne- 
ment  d'obtenir  de  l'Espagne  de  nouveaux  privileges. 

La  Georgie  pretend  a  la  possession  de  plusieurs  centaines  de  lieues 
en  bordure  du  Mississipi  et  a  envoye  a  Don  Miro  un  commissaire 
pour  le  notifier  que  sa  legislature  a  passe  un  acte  erigeant  le  territoire 
au  dessous  des  Yasoux  en  Count-  Bourbon. 

Don  de  Gardoqui  cherche  a  intensifier  Immigration.  II  propose 
aux  habitants  du  Kentucky,  dependance  de  la  Virginie,  de  s'etablir 
en  Basse-Louisiane  et  aux  Natchez,  sous  la  guidance  de  Charles  de 
Grand'Pre,  il  leur  donnera  des  terres,  six  arpents  face  au  fleuve  ou 
bayou  sur  quarante  de  profondeur,  s'ils  n'ont  pas  d'esclaves,  dix 
arpents  s'ils  en  ont,  ils  recevront  des  rations  et  conserveront  leur 
liberte  de  conscience.  Poussees  par  Pierre  Wower  d'Arges,  de  nom- 
breuses  families  acceptent  cette  offre  allechante.  D'autres  s'installent 
plus  haut,  a  la  Pointe  Girardot. 

II  promet  au  Colonel  George  Morgan  une  immense  concession  a 
l'Anse-a-la-Graisse,  au  dessus  de  1'embouchure  de  I'Ohio,  on  espere 
etablir  la  une  Nouvelle-Madrid. 

Le  General  James  Wilkinson,  qui  a  servi  dans  la  Guerre  d'lnde^ 
pendance,  et  maintenant  s'occupe  de  negoce  dans  le  Kentucky,  parce 
qu'il  a  des  griefs  contre  le  Gouverneraent  de  Philadelphie,  en  1787, 
commence  a  intriguer.  Sous  pretexte  d'observer  la  situation,  il 
descend  le  fleuve  avec  un  bateau  charge  de  farine,  de  tabac  et  de 
graisse. 

En  accord  avec  les  ordonnances  en  vigueur,  son  ehargemeni  est 
confisque  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  mais  1'importance  du  personnage  est 
connue,  Don  Miro  craint  que  cette  histoire  de  bateau  ne  soit  qu'une 
ruse  pour  dechalner  les  provinces  americaines  et  envoyer  des  troupes. 
II  lui  fait  rendre  ses  marchandises,  l'autorise  a  les  detailler  aux  habi- 
tants, et  le  recoit. 

Cet  homme  massif  ne  lui  dit  rien  qui  vaille.  II  serait  peut-etrc 
venal  ?  Don  Miro  ne  sait  pas.  II  le  sonde  sur  ses  intentions,  on 
pourran  se  tendre  la  main,  fomenter  des  dissensions  dans  la  province 


LA     LOU1SIANE     FRANf  AISE  3'3 

americainc,  que  pen  sera  it-il  d'un  £tablissement  americain  sur  la 
Filiciana  et  la  Ouachita  ?  James  Wilkinson  ne  semble  pas  adverse, 
ne  dit  ni  oui  ni  non,  promet  beaucoup  et  vaguement. 

Philippe  de  Rocheblave,  devenu  anglais  en  1773,  qui  a  tti 
capture,  libere1  sur  parole  a  Williamsbourg,  d'oii  il  s'est  enfui  a 
New  York,  intrigue  de  son  ccVtd  et  fait  de  son  mieux  pour  persuader 
aux  Anglais  de  se  jeter  sur  la  Nile  Orleans.  II  (Scrit  au  general  Haldi- 
mant  que  les  Espagnols  se  rendraient  a  la  seule  vue  des  troupes. 

La  Nile  Orleans  a  suffisammem  d'ennuis  sans  les  Anglais.  Le  21 
mars  1788.  jour  du  Vendredi-Saint,  a  deux  heures  de  l'apres-midi, 
dans  la  maison  de  Nunez,  le  tr&orier  militaire,  un  cierge  pose1  sur 
le  petit  reposoir  met  le  feu  a  une  draperie,  la  flamme  leche  le  mur 
fragile,  devore.  Le  vent  souffle  du  sud,  le  feu  gagne,  saute,  demiit 
les  parois  de  chines  et  les  toits  de  bardeaux.  Quand  la  nuit  tombe, 
856  batiments  sont  en  cendre  :  les  maisons,  les  boutiques,  les  maga- 
sins  a  effets,  la  cathcklrale,  le  couvent  des  Capucins.  Seules,  les  mai- 
sons bordant  le  fleuve  sont  encore  debout,  la  lev£e  se  couvre  de  tentes 
daires,  on  distribue  des  e"cuelles  de  soupe,  un  vaisseau  leve  1'ancre 
pour  aller  chercher  de  la  farine  a  Philadelphie. 

Les  Louisianais  sont  indomptables,  sous  lour  nonchalance 
trompeuse.  La  ville  a  bruld,  on  va  la  recommencer  plus  belle,  cette 
fois  dans  le  style  espagnol,  avec  des  balcons  de  fer  forge,  des  patios 
et  des  fen£tres  mystdrieuses. 

Peu  de  temps  apres,  un  Hollandais,  Peter  Pauius,  arrive  a  la  Nile 
Orleans,  avec  trente-quatre  personnes  et  propose  de  former  un 
Itablissemcnt  pour  les  Allemands  du  Kentucky,  Don  Miro  lui  promet 
une  vaste  concession.  Presque  en  meme  temps,  la  Conception  amene 
de  Philadelphie  173  Emigrants. 

Les  Americains,  si  rexemment  afTranchis,  ne  vivent  pas  en  parfaite 
harmonie,  les  fragments  sont  mal  soud6s.  Le  Kentucky,  dependant 
de  la  Virginie,  a  des  v£lldit£s  d'independance,  comme  le  Nord-Ouest 
de  la  Caroline  qui,  une  premiere  fois,  a  vfcu  independent,  de  1786 
a  1787,  sous  le  nom  de  Frankland. 

Le  is  septembre  1788,  l'ancien  gouverneur  de  Frankland  e'crit  a 
Don  de  Gardoqui.  pour  l'informer  «  que  les  habitants  sont  unanimes 
dans  leur  vdhimem  d&ir  de  former  une  alliance  avec  1'Espagne 
et  de  se  mettre  sous  sa  protection.  >  Par  anticipation,  les  gens  du 
Cumberland  ont  de"ja  appele  un  district  «  Miro  ». 

Don  de  Gardoqui  recpit  ses  propositions  avec  beaucoup  d'inl^rtt. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

mais  insiste  sur  l'indispensable  serment  de  fidelite"  a  sa  Majeste  Cat  ho- 
lique.  II  est,  neanmoins,  tout  pret  a  conceder  aux  habitants  de 
Franldand  et  du  Cumberland  la  facility  d'user  du  Mississipi,  moyen- 
nant  une  redevance  de  15%  sur  les  marchandises  transporters. 

II  existe  d<5ja  trois  compagnies  americaines,  celles  de  la  Caroline 
du  Sud,  de  Virginie,  du  Tennessee,  lequel  depend  de  la  Caroline 
du  Nord.  Maintenant,  une  puissante  Compagnie  de  particulters 
achete  a  la  Georgie  un  territoire  de  52.000  miles  carres,  s'etendant 
sur  le  Mississipi,  des  Yazoux  aux  Natchez.  Avant  d'en  prendre  pos- 
session, la  Compagnie  est  obligee  de  s'engager  a  payer  a  la  Louisiane 
un  droit  d'exportalion  de  6%  et  un  droit  d'  import  at  ion  de  15%,  sur 
toutes  les  marchandises  qu'on  transportera  sur  le  fleuve. 

Le  General  Wilkinson  a  envoys  a  Don  Miro,  par  trois  homines  en 
pirogue,  une  lettre  mysterieuse  annoncant  que  la  separation  de  la 
Virginie  et  du  Kentucky  est  imminente.  II  est  sur  qu'en  Janvier 
1789,  la  Virginie  abandonnera  sa  juridiction  sur  le  Kentucky. 

De  son  c6t£,  Don  de  Gardoqui  a  accept^  l'offre  du  Baron  de 
Steuben,  de  former  sur  le  Mississipi  un  £tablissement  pour  les  anciens 
rnilitaires  du  Kentucky. 

Le  Kentucky  est  certainement  ma]  a  l'aisc  et  aigri,  mais  les 
malcontents  se  divisent  en  plusieurs  factions.  L'une  desire  une 
republique,  qui  passerait  un  trait  e  avec  l'Espagne  ;  1'autre,  au 
contraire,  parle  de  s'emparer  de  la  Nile  Orleans  ;  tandis  que  la 
troisieme  consentirait  a  accepter  la  domination  espagnole.  II  y  a 
ceux  qui  souhaitent  que  la  Louisiane  fasse  retour  a  la  France,  avec 
laquelle  on  s'entendrait  mieux,  croient-ils,  et  ceux  qui  pressent  les 
Delegues  d'interc^der  aupres  de  l'Espagne  afin  qu'on  leur  restitue 
leurs  privileges.  L'echeveau  d'intrigues  entre  les  Espagnols.  les 
Francais,  les  Americains  et  les  sauvages  est  plus  embrouill£  que  si 
dix  chatons  s'en  etaient  meles. 

Charles  III  est  mort,  le  Tribunal  de  l'lnquisition  a  circonvenu 
Charles  IV  et  obtenu  l'autorisation  de  s'etablir  en  Louisiane.  Le 
nouveau  superieur  des  Capucins,  Don  Antonio  de  Sedella,  des  son 
arrivee,  fait  parvenir  au  Gotiverneur  un  ordre  royal  l'enjoignant  de 
se  mettre  a  sa  disposition  et  de  lui  fournir  une  garde. 

La  garde  que  Don  Miro  envoie  n'est  pas  celle  que  le  Capucin, 
delegue  de  l'lnquisition,  attendait.  Aussitfit  qu'il  a  lu  le  mandement, 
le  gouverneur  depeche  un  officier  et  quelques  grenadiers,  et,  sans 
tambour  ni  trompette,  Don  de  Sedella  est  arrets,  reconduit  sur  le 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  S*5 

vaisseau  de  Cadix  qui  l'a  eramene,  et  fort  proprement  mis  a  la 
pone. 

Don  Mini  se  frotte  les  mains.  Lui  vivant,  l'lnquisition  ne  fera 
pas  sa  vilaine  besogne  dans  la  province.  II  ecrit  a  son  gouvernement 
que  s'il  tient  a  encourager  rimmigration  et  a  developper  la  Louisiane, 
il  lui  faut  garder  chez  lui  son  clerge  nefaste.  II  profile  de  l'occasion 
pout  reclamer  la  liberie  de  commerce  pour  la  Louisiane,  garrottee 
par  des  restrictions  absurdes, 

II  est  inquiet  des  aspirations  americaines.  Les  Etats  de  I'Union  se 
sont  const  hues  en  Democratic  et,  le  6  avril  1789,  ont  choisi  le 
General  Washington  pour  premier  President.  En  Mars  de  la  meme 
an  nee,  le  Congres  s'est  reuni  a  New  Vork  et  depuis  a  Philadelphie. 
II  est  trop  t6t  pour  prejuger  des  visees  d'expansion  du  nouveau 
gouvernement. 

La  Revolution  Francaise  a  eu  des  repercussions  a  St.  Domingue. 
En  1791,  un  decret  de  la  Convention  a  proclame  :  t  Habitants  de  St. 
Domingue,  quelque  soil  votre  couleur  et  voire  origtne,  vous  ites 
tons  libres,  tous  igaux,  aux  yeux  de  Diett  et  de  la  Ripublique  !  » 
Les  noirs  ne  se  sont  pas  contentes  de  ces  termes  inesperes,  ils  avaient 
ete  les  derniers,  ils  voulaient  maintenant  elre  les  premiers.  Ils  ont 
pris  les  aimes  et  massacre  les  Blancs. 

Les  Francais,  qui  ont  pu  echapper  a  la  boucherie  hideuse,  se  sont 
refugies  oil  ils  ont  pu,  beaucoup  d'entre  eux  sont  venus  en  Louisiane. 
Comme  ils  sont  depourvus  de  ressources,  ils  utilisent  leurs  talents, 
deviennent  maitrcs  d'armes,  professeurs  de  danse  et  de  musique. 

La  vie  aimable  a  repris,  garnie  de  papillotages,  de  querelles,  de 
potins,  de  brouilles  et  de  chansons.  La  compagnie  de  Louis  Tabarit, 
jusque-la  jouant  sous  des  tentes,  prend  possession  du  «  Spectacle  de 
la  rue  St.  Pierre  »,  le  premier  theatre  de  la  Nile.  Orleans.  Les  Come- 
diens  du  Cap  Francais,  qui  se  sont  evades  en  bloc,  viennent  aug- 
raenter  la  troupe.  On  presente  le  repertoire  de  Moliere  et  de  Mari- 
vaux,  le  Pygmalion  de  Rousseau,  Sophie  de  Brabant  par  Pelissier, 
des  pantomimes. 

On  fait  des  rimes  a  tout  venant,  on  danse,  on  monte  dans  les 
salons  la  derniere  comedie  de  M.  de  Beaumarchais,  on  chante  les 
operas  de  Mozart  et  de  Gretry. 

Pour  utiliser  le  riz,  on  invente  de  nouveaux  gombos,  violemment 
releves  de  piment  :  le  gombo  fevi,  dans  lequel  feuilles  d'amaranthe, 
fives,  volailles  et  poissons,  se  marient  ;  le  gombo  file,  au  sassafras, 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRAN^AISE 

dans  lequel  le  poulet  se  melange  aux  huitres,  dans  les  riz  ;  des 
jambalayas  de  poulet,  de  riz  et  de  legume,  gratinecs  au  four  ;  d'autres 
aux  congris  et  a  ta  chevrette,  saupoudrees  de  piraent  enrage^  on  de 
pimem  doux. 

On  tire  l'£p6e  pour  un  baiser  donn£  ou  recu.  Le  nouvel  tfveque, 
Don  Luis  de  Penalvcrt  y  Cardenas  est  charmant  pour  les  dames  et 
indulgent  a  leu  is  amours.  On  joue  au  21  et  au  jeu  de  bagatelle. 

Don  de  Almonester,  irrite  des  vides  de  la  place  d'Armes,  offre 
de  reconstruire  a  ses  frais  la  catheMrale,  ou  il  sera  enterr£,  a  condi- 
tion qu'on  lui  donne  l'entreprise  du  couvent  qui  la  flanquera  et  du 
Cabildo. 

<  Philippe  le  Magninque,  >  M.  de  Marigny  de  Mandeville  est  le 
Croesus  de  la  colonie,  peut-£tre  de  l'Amerique,  on  assure  que  ses 
biens  atteignent  sept  millions  de  Livres.  Les  fastes  de  sa  plantation 
des  Chapitoulas  sont  legendaires,  outre  son  hfitel  a  la  ville,  il  possede 
plusieurs  sucreries  et  tant  d'esclaves  qu'il  n'en  connait  pas  le  nombre. 
II  jette  son  or  au  vent  comme  on  jette  la  cendre,  entre  le  diner  et 
l'ambigu  perd  une  petite  fortune,  sur  un  coup  de  d6  joue  une  rue 
entiere. 

Les  esclaves  de  St.  Domingue,  qui  ont  suivi  leurs  ma!tres.  ont 
apporte'  leurs  chansons.  On  les  emend,  lorqu'ils  travaillent,  fre- 
donner  dans  leur  langue  liquide  : 


<  Toi  conni  qui  belle  rigole 
f  Qui  couli  dans  bonaniers, 
«  Oil  tot  ti  si  ft  la  folle 

€  La  fois  qui  toi  tt  baigni. 

<  D'lo  la  pa  eouli  encore 

«  Des  fois,  il  'rite  tout  court. 
c  Li  semble  regrette  encore 
«  Li  pas  baigni  toi  toujours. 


Mais  tout  a  une  fin,  meme  les  chansons,  le  Baron  Francois  de 
Carondelet,  natif  des  Flandres  et  colonel  dans  Farmee  espagnole, 
qui  en  1792.  prend  la  place  de  Don  Miro,  trouve  la  province  aux 
prises  avec  une  de  ses  famines  periodiques. 

Les  AmeYicains  1'inquietent  lui  aussi,  le  Kentucky  vient  d'etre 
admis  dans  l'Union,  comme  le  Vermont  l'avait  £te"  l'anne>  1 
dente.  Plus  I'Union  grossit,  plus  elle  est  a  craindre. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  317 

Des  voyageurs  arrivent  de  France,  les  uns  par  mer,  les  autres  par 
1'inteneur,  et.  pele-mele,  par  poignees,  jetlent  aux  habitants  des 
nouvelles,  comrae  on  donne  le  grain  aux  poules.  En  1793,  la 
Louisiana  apprend  simuhanement  l'execution  de  Louis  XVI  el  de 
Marie-Antoinette  et  la  declaration  de  guerre  faite  par  l'Espagne  a 
la  Republique. 

Ce  mot  de  Republique  a  toujours  fait  peur  en  Louisiane,  mais 
les  esprits  indepcndants  s'enflamment.  Dans  un  certain  groupe  il 
est  de  bon  ton  d'etre  jacobin,  on  abandonne  les  chamarrures,  on 
porte  les  cravates  blanches  qui  engoncent  le  cou,  Dans  les  paisibles 
rues  herbues,  des  bandcs  de  vauriens,  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  chantent 
le  c  £a  ira  »  et  «  Les  aristocrates  a  la  Lanterne  I  >  Le  terme  de  Ian- 
terne  est  vague  aux  oreilles  des  habitants,  il  n'y  a  pas  de  lanternes,  la 
ville  n'esi  pas  eclairee. 

On  oblige  I'orchestre  du  theatre  a  jouer  la  Marseillaise,  dont  on 
a  fait  passer  la  musique  en  cachette.  Les  rares  personnes  qui  en 
connaissent  les  paroles  hurlent  consciencieusement  :  «  le  jour  de 
gloire  est  arrive  >...  devant  les  protagonistes  4  d'Ariane  abandonee 
par  The'see  dans  i'ile  de  Naxos  >,  qui  preferent  de  beaucoup  Pris- 
sier. 

La  Societe  Francaise  des  Jacobins,  de  Philadelphie,  sous  le  man- 
teau.  fait  circuler  des  pamphlets  en  Louisiane. 


<  Liberie",  Egaliti,  Fraternity  !  Les  hommes  Hbres  de  France 
a  leurs  (Teres  de  Louisiane...  L'heure  a  sonni,  Francais  de 
Louisiane.  Hdtez-vous  de  profiler  de  la  grande  Lecon,  que  vous 
vertex  de  recevoir.  C'est  maintenant  le  moment  de  cesser  d'etre 
exclaves  d'un  gouvernement  auquel  vous  avez  iti  honteusement 
vendus.  Vous  ne  supporlerez  pas  plus  longtemps  d'etre  traitis 
en  troupeaux  par  des  hommes,  qui,  d'un  mot,  peuvent  vous 
ddpouitler  de  tout  ce  qui  vous  est  le  plus  cher,  liberte"  et  pro- 
priitis  ! 

...Frangais  de  Louisiane,  le  traitement  injuste  que  vous  avez 
subi  doit  vous  avoir  convaincu  de  ees  ve'rite's,  voire  infortune 
a  du  imprimer  dans  vos  dmes  le  de'sir  de  saisir  une  opportunity 
honorable  de  vous  venger...  Comparer  voire  sort  A  cetut  de  vos 
amis,  les  Americains  Hbres,  regardez  la  province  du  Kentucky, 
qui,  bien  que  prtve'c  de  de'bouche's  pour  ses  produits,  accroit 
rapidement  sa  population  et  sa  richesse,  faisant  pressentir  une 


Jl8  LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

prospiriti,  qui  ipouvante  les  Espagnols...  Affermissez  voire 
courage,  Francais  de  Louisiane,  chassez  loin  de  vous  la  pusillani- 
mitt.  » 

<  Qa  ira,  ca  ira,  aitdaces  fortunat  juvat !  > 

Le  Baron  de  Carondelet  n'aime  pas  du  tout  ces  agistments  et 
le  nouvel  £tat  d'esprit,  a  vrai  dire  bien  circonscrit  dans  ce  pays  de 
propria t aires.  11  interdit  la  distribution  du  courrier  de  France  et 
tics  journaux,  les  assemblies  publiques,  les  chants  seditieux  dans 
les  tavernes. 

II  apprend  que  M.  Genet,  le  ministre  francais  aupres  du  Gou- 
vernement  americain,  contemple  une  invasion  de  la  province  par 
des  republicans.  Quatre  de  ses  emissaires,  dont  Auguste  de  la 
Chaise  et  Despau,  organisent  clandestinement  dans  le  Kentucky, 
la  Georgie  et  le  Tennessee,  les  milices  armees  qui  doivent  descendre 
le  Mississipi  et  l'Ohio. 

Eh  bien,  il  va  intriguer  a  son  tour,  avec  des  complicites,  en 
profitant  des  mecontentements  locaux.  11  est  aide\  in  dire  element, 
par  le  President  Washington,  qui,  irrite  de  l'ou tree uida nee  de  M. 
Genet,  le  fait  rappeler  par  son  Gouvemement. 

Le  malaise  grandit  dans  les  Etats  de  l'Union  et  leurs  projections. 
Dans  la  Pennsylvanie  de  l'Ouest,  en  1789,  les  droits  sur  lalcool 
ont  donne  lieu  a  l'lnsurrection  du  Whisky  ;  le  Kentucky  et  le  Ten- 
nessee tirent  sur  leurs  laisses,  exigent  une  entile  ;  les  sauvages  de 
l'Ouest  ne  se  laissent  pas  conquerir  sans  combattre.  La  capitate 
conjecture. 

A  tout  hasard,  le  Baron  de  Carondelet  a  fait  clever  de  nouvelles 
fortifications  autour  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  et  a  organise  une  milite 
de  six  mille  hommes  dans  la  province-  Une  fois  de  plus,  le  feu  fait 
son  ceuvre.  Le  10  decembre  1793,  des  enfants  jouant  une  apres- 
midi  autour  d'un  feu,  une  flammeche  aiteint  le  magasin  a  foin  du 
voisin,  les  flammes  galopent.  En  trois  heures,  212  habitations  et 
magasins  sont  detruits.  Le  Gouverneur  interdit  de  recommencer 
les  toits  de  chaume  et  de  bardeaux,  la  tuile  devient  obligatoire. 

La  Nile  Orleans  a  maintenant  son  journal,  le  Moniteur  de  la 
Louisiane,  qui  sort  des  presses  de  Duclot.  Le  premier  numero,  en 
1794,  est  un  grand  dvenement,  on  s'arrache  les  exemplaires,  tout 
de  suite  il  y  a  quatre-vingts  abonnes.  II  parak  sur  quatre  pages  de 
deux  colon  nes  chacune,  et  n'est  pas  du  tout  jacobin. 


LA     LOUISIANA     FRANfAlSE  S>9 

II  donne  les  nouvelles  d'Europe,  glances  dans  Ies  lettres  <  dignes 
de  croyance  >,  des  extraits  de  la  Gazette  de  Madrid,  la  lisie  des 
livres  rec,us  de  France,  les  nouvelles  locales,  la  hauteur  des  eaux, 
les  pronostics  du  temps,  le  nouveau  prix  du  pain  quand  la  miche 
vaui  un  escalin,  et  insere  des  annonces  allechantes  :  <  MM.  Honore 
Fortier  et  Paitlet  ont  un  esclave  a  vendre,  bon  cuisinier,  mais  dont 
le  begaiement  est  impatientant  pour  qui  I'dcoute  ;  la  dame  Andri, 
dans  son  magasin  de  la  place  d'Armes  a  des  tablettes  jratches  de 
rouge,  pour  ies  joues  ;  M.  Duval  peint  des  portraits  miniatures  fort 
ressemblants  ;  M.  d'Hibe  ouvre  une  icole  ou  Von  enseigne  V anglais, 
I'histoire,  les  mathe'matiques,  et  sur  demande  les  arts  d'agriment.  » 
Quant  au  sieur  Lafont,  architect e,  il  se  propose  de  batir  un  theatre 
et  offre  aux  lecteurs  de  souscrire  a  cette  construction  ;  <  //  m'appa- 
rait  superflu  de  m'etendre  sur  I'utUite  de  la  Comedie,  il  est  hors  de 
doute  que  le  theatre,  outre  de  la  diversion  qu'il  fournit,  a  une  influ- 
ence puissante  sur  la  morale,  itend  I' empire  de  la  raison,  et  les  senti- 
ments d'honniteti,  riprime  les  folies  et  corrige  les  vices  de 
Vhomme.  > 

Les  planteurs  ont  beaucoup  de  soucis.  Le  long  du  fleuve  et  des 
rivieres,  trente  moulins  a  bois  debitent  des  plancheties  avec  les- 
quelles  on  assemble  deux  cent  mille  caisses  a  sucre  par  an  pour  la 
Havane,  mais  depuis  deux  ans,  les  indigotiers  sont  attaqu&  par 
les  insectes,  qui  ne  laissent  que  les  tiges,  le  riz  et  le  mahiz  ne 
s'expedient  plus  puisque  1'Espagne  n'en  veut  pas.  Depuis  l'&hec 
de  M.  du  Breuil,  la  canne  a  sucre  est  surtout  plantee  chez  deux 
espagnols,  Mendcz  et  Solis,  qui  font  de  la  melasse  et  un  ratafia  de 
mauvaise  quality,  quelques  planteurs  font  leur  provision  person- 
nelle  de  sucre  et  de  syrop  de  tonne. 

Etienne  de  Bore1,  ne1  aux  Illinois  d'un  pere  normand  et  de  Dame 
de  Montbrun,  6lev6  en  France,  oil  il  a  i-u''  mousquetaire  du  roi  et 
capitaine  de  cavalerie,  en  177s  est  venu  s'e-iablir  en  Louisiane,  ou 
sa  femme,  demoiselle  des  Tr£hans,  ilkve  des  dames  de  St.  Cyr,  pos- 
sede  le  bien  de  son  pere,  1'ancien  tr^sorier.  Comme  les  autres  plan- 
teurs,   il  est  quasiment  ruinc.  En  dcsespoir  de  cause,  dans  cette 

Pannce  1794,  il  achete  des  cannes  a  M.  Soils  et  les  plante,  malgre  les 
brocards  de  ses  amis  qui  lui  assurent  que  c'est  du  temps  et  de  l'argent 
perdus,  a  cause  du  climat,  les  cannes  ne  murissent  pas  au  point  de 
fournir  une  saccharine  sumsante.  €  La  Chevrette  »,  comme  l'appel- 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

lent  les  sauvages,  s'obstine,  engage  un  sucrier  refugie  de  St.  Do- 
mingue,  Morin.  On  va  faire  du  sucre  selon  les  regies  de  1'art. 

On  haussc  les  cpaules,  mais  dans  la  sucrerie,  le  jour  de  la  cuisson, 
de  nombreux  planieurs  sont  groupes  autour  des  gran  des  cuves  ou 
bout  une  lave  jaune,  qui  de  «  la  grande  chaudiere  >,  passe  dans 

<  la  propre  >,  ou  elle  est  ecumee,  et  dans  une  troisieme,  «  le  syrop  ». 
dans  laquelle  on  jette  sur  le  sucre  quelques  cuillerees  de  chaux 
vive  pour  le  purifier,  et  enfin  dans  «  la  baiterie  >  ou  elle  acheve 
de  cuire  et,  espere-t-on  commencera  a  grainer. 

Le  front  plisse,  Etienne  de  Bore  verifie  la  consi  stance  du  syrop, 
en  priant  le  Seigneur  et  le  dieu  de  la  chance.  On  le  verse  dans  le 

<  refrigeratoire  >,  dans  lequel  les  esclaves  le  remuent  sans  arret 
avec  de  longues  spatules.  It  n'y  a  plus  de  doute,  il  granule,  vite 
on  le  verse  dans  les  formes  de  bois,  qu'on  met  a  egoutter  sur  les 
treteaux. 

La  Louisiane  vient  d'enregistrer  une  grande  victoire.  Elle  fera 
du  sucre-royal  ou  premier  sucre.  en  le  r^chauffant  a  petit  feu  pour 
le  rainner  et  en  preUevam  la  couche  superieure  des  formes,  du 
demi-royal  recueilli  dans  le  fond  des  formes,  de  la  moscovade,  un 
sucre  fort  cuit,  facilement  transportable.  Le  sucre  est  pale,  parce 
que  la  canne  plan  tee  en  fevrier  a  cause  du  gel  est  coupee  a  la  fin 
d'octobre,  et  ne  murii  pas  sufnsamment.  Dans  les  lies,  elle  reste 
treize  a  quinze  mois  sur  pied,  et  donne  une  quantite  double  de 
sucre. 

Les  Louisianais  n'en  sont  pas  moins  enchantes.  Etienne  de  Bore 
va  remplir  cent-dix  boucaults,  sur  lesquels  il  gagnera  douze  mille 
piastres.  En  peu  de  temps,  soixante-quinze  sucreries  feront  annuelle- 
ment  quinze  millions  de  Hvres  de  sucre,  dans  la  province. 

De  cette  affaire,  l'humeur  redevient  aimable,  le  9a  ira  est  oublii, 
de  nouveau  des  couplets  sautillem  sur  les  levres. 

Trois  emigres  arrivent  de  France,  et  leur  sort  attendrit  tout 
le  monde.  Le  Baron  de  Carondelet  les  accueille  a  bras  ou  verts, 
et  genereusement  leur  donne  des  concessions  :  au  Marquis  de  la 
Maison-Rouge,  deux  cent  dix  mille  arpents,  traverses  par  le  Bayou- 
aux-Bccufs  ;  au  Baron  de  Bastrop,  dix  lieues  plus  loin,  huit  cent 
quatre  vingt  mille  arpents,  qui  s'etirent,  en  deux  longs  rubans. 
de  chaque  cote  de  la  Ouachita  ;  a  M.  Jacques  Ceran  de  Lassus 
de  St.  Vratn,  dix  miHe  arpents  carrel,  entre  le  Mississipi  et  le  golfe. 

Le  Marquis  de  la  Ronde,  un  autre  emigre,  s'est  etabli  dans  une 


LA    LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE  5" 

plantation,  qu'il  appelle  <  Versailles  »,  a  dix  lieues  de  la  Nile 
Orleans. 

Le  Baron  de  Carondelet  embellit  et  assainit  la  ville,  toujours 
librae  d'eau  polu£e.  A  1'arriere,  il  fait  creuser  le  canal,  dont  on 
parle  depuis  le  temps  de  M.  de  Perrier,  par  des  esclaves  pretes  par 
Its  planteurs.  En  deux  ans,  it  est  termine  ;  les  vaisseaux  de  petit 
tonnage  peuvent  venir  directemenl,  par  les  lacs,  du  Golfe  St.  Louis 
a  la  ca  pi  tale.  Pour  la  premiere  fois,  les  marais  malodorants  s'egoui- 
tent,  les  maringouins  dlcroissent,  et  l'air  devient  tout  a  fait  respira- 
ble. 

Les  esclaves  ne  sont  pas  aussi  pacifiques  que  les  Blancs.  Le  frugal 
M.  de  Poydras  a  maintenant  une  plantation  florissante  a  Pointe 
Couple.  II  cultive  le  coton,  devenu  d'un  bon  rapport,  depuis  qu'Elie 
Whitney,  en  1793,  a  invent^  une  machine  iplucheuse,  slparant  ta 
graine  du  duvet  ;  il  a  une  machine  a  coton  sur  le  fleuve,  et  une 
autre  sur  la  Fausse-Riviere,  aupres  d'un  comptoir,  oil  il  trafique 
avec  les  sauvages  et  les  habitants. 

II  est  riche,  a  de  nombreux  agents  et  cent  cinquante  esclaves, 
qu'il  traite  fort  bien.  Pourtant  ceux-ci  se  soulevent,  comme  leurs 
frtres  de  St.  Domingue,  prfts  a  massacrer  les  Blancs.  Mates,  les 
vingt-cinq  principaux  coupables  sont  pendus  le  long  du  fleuve. 

Pour  prlvenir  un  nouveau  drame,  le  Baron  de  Carondelet  fait 
interdire  par  le  Cabildo  l'introduction  de  nouveaux  esclaves  dans 
la  province.  Malgre'  leur  mauvaise  reputation,  il  se  decide  a  faire 
dresser  quatre-vingt  lanternes  dans  la  ville,  ou  les  rodeurs  nocturnes 
sont  nombreux,  et  a  faire  patrouiller  les  rues  par  treize  veilleurs  ; 
les  uns  et  les  autres  entretenus  avec  les  droits  des  chemine'es. 

Un  corsaire,  battant  pavilion  francais,  «  la  Parisienne  >,  vient 
de  piller  La  Balize.  II  a  tant  d'ennuis,  qu'il  voit  des  espions  partout. 
En  Novembre  179ft,  le  General  Collot,  qui  a  visiti  les  Etats  de 
1'Ouest,  descend  le  Mississipi,  avec  le  General  Warin.  II  desire 
seulement  voir  du  pays,  parait-il,  mais  le  Baron  a  entendu  dire 
qu'il  etait  charge  d'une  mission  secrete,  et  voulait  du  mal  a  la 
province.  Sans  explications,  il  fait  arr£ter  les  voyageurs  avant  la 
Nile  Orleans,  et,  le  General  Warin  <Stant  mort,  fait  conduire  le 
General  Collot,  sous  la  garde  de  cinquante  dragons,  a  la  Balize, 
oil  il  attendra  deux  mois  chez  le  chef-pilote  qu'un  bateau  parte 
pour  Philadelphia 

Les  disaccords  entre  les  Etats-Unis  et  l'Espagne,  ofiiciellemem. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

ont  pris  fin  le  20  Octobre  1795.  Le  Traits,  signe  a  Madrid,  et  ratifit 
par  le  Congres,  delimite  d^finitivement  les  frontieres  enire  les  Etats 
et  les  Florides. 

L'article  second  specifie  que  six  mois  apres  la  ratification,  chaque 
pouvoir  retirera  ses  troupes  a  l'interieur  de  ses  frontieres,  et  que 
les  habitants  auront  la  faculte  d'abandonner  le  territoire  sur  lequel 
ils  sont  eiablis. 

L'article  troisieme  decide  de  Natchez  comme  lieu  de  rendezvous, 
dans  les  six  mois  suivant  la  ratification,  pour  les  commissaires  el 
geomeires,  charges  d'arpenter  les  bordures. 

Aux  terraes  du  Traill,  sa  Majeste  Catholique  concede  aux  Eiats- 
Unis,  pour  trois  ans,  droit  d'entrepot  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  concession 
renouvelable,  sauf  a  assigner  aux  negociants  une  autre  place,  si 
celle-la  ne  pouvait  leur  etre  conservee.  Les  ruarchandises  exportees 
ne  paieront  aucun  droit,  sauf  ceux  d'emmagasinage. 

Le  Baron  de  Carondelet  qui,  bien  que  le  Tennessee  joigne  l'Union 
cette  annee,  espere  toujours  que  l'Ouest  americain  se  detachera  de 
l'Est,  n'est  pas  presse  d'executer  sa  part  du  Traite,  et  met  des  batons 
dans  les  roues,  en  pretendant  qu'il  n'est  pas  clair. 

Don  Gayoso  de  Lemos,  brigadier  general,  qui  lui  succede  en 
1797,  attermoie  aussi.  Lorsque  Andrew  Ellicot,  le  commissaire  ame- 
ricain, arrive  aux  Natchez  pour  prendre  possession  du  poste,  le 
gouverneur  tergiverse.  II  a  un  traite  avec  les  sauvages,  et  croit  que 
le  fort  devrait  etre  rase  au  lieu  d'etre  transmis. 

Des  refugies  lamentables  arrivent  encore  de  St.  Domingue,  ou 
Toussaim-l'Ouverture,  1'ancien  cocher  de  M.  de  Libertas,  a  Breda, 
avec  quatre  milie  noirs  a  balaye  la  race  blanche.  Actuellement, 
il  sollicite  l'aide  des  Etais-Unis  pour  etre  en  etat  de  proclamer 
l'independance  de  1'ile. 

En  1798,  la  province  recoit,  chapeau  has,  ses  premiers  visiteurs 
de  sang  royal  :  le  Due  Philippe  d'Orleans  et  ses  freres,  les  Dues 
de  Montpensier  et  de  Beaujolais,  venus  par  les  terres,  au  milieu 
d'une  atmosphere  assez  hostile,  car  1'Union,  presidee  par  John 
Adams,  est  en  lutte  avec  la  France. 

En  redescendant  le  Mississipi,  ils  s'arretent  chez  M.  de  Poydras, 
a  PointeCoupee.  A  la  Nile  Orleans,  ils  sont  royalement  recus  par 
M.  Etienne  dc  Bore,  1'ancien  mousquetaire  ;  par  M.  Bernard  dc 
Marigny,  dans  sa  plantation  des  Chaphoulas,  celebre  pour  la  beaute 
de  ses  magnolias  et  pacaniers  ;  par  Don  de  Almonester,  qui,  a 


LA     LOUIS1ANE    FRANfAISE  3*S 

soixante  ans  sonnes,  a  epouse  la  fille  du  Marquis  de  ta  Ronde,  fetant 
ses  seize  printemps. 

Les  points  litigieux  ont  ete  regies  avec  l'Union  Federale,  l'etrange 
general  Wilkinson,  rerais  dans  les  bonnes  graces  de  son  gouverne- 
iii,  in.  a  succ^de  au  General  Wayne,  commande  la  region  qui, 
par  decrei  du  7  avril  1798,  a  ete  constitute  en  <  Territoire  du 
Mississipi  »,  et  eiablit  son  quartier-general  a  Natchez,  que  M.  de 
Grand  Pre  a  fini  par  evacuer.  Les  relations  entre  les  deux  voisf 
sont  excellentes  ;  en  face  du  fort  Panmure,  de  lautre  c6te  de  la 
riviere,  on  en  eleve  un  autre,  qu'on  appelle  Concordia.  Un  consul 
americain  reside  a  la  Nile  Orleans. 

Cette  belle  harmonie  ne  dure  pas  longtemps.  Trois  ans  se  sont 
ecoules  depuis  le  Traite  de  Madrid,  l'lntendant  Morales,  sans  crier 
gare,  publie  une  ordonnance  interdisant  la  Nile  Orleans  comme 
place  d'entrepot.  C'est  peut-ctre  son  droit,  mais  il  devrait  en  nieme 
temps  designer  un  nouveau  site,  ainsi  qu'il  en  a  ete"  prevu  au  Traite, 
et  il  ne  le  fait  pas. 

Dans  le  Kentucky,  dans  toute  la  region  se  deversant  dans  le 
Mississipi,  Tindignation  est  enorme.  Don  de  Gayoso,  qui  n'aime 
pas  son  Intendant,  n'a  pas  le  temps  de  remettre  les  choses  au  point 
avant  de  mourir  des  fievres,  et  le  marquis  de  Casa-Calvo,  qui  lui 
sue cede  en  1799,  n'essaie  pas. 

Les  territoires  cein  turds  par  le  fleuve,  qui  etouffent  de  marchan- 
dises,  ne  vont  pas  accepter  cet  etr  angle  men  t.  Si  on  leur  refuse  la 
liberie  de  navigation  sur  le  Mississipi,  non  seulement  ils  la  pren- 
dront,  mais  ils  prendront  aussi  la  Nile  Orleans. 

Pendant  des  mois  leur  clameur  va  gonfler,  comme  un  ballon 
qu'on  souffle  un  peu  plus  tous  les  jours,  les  petitions  s'accumulent. 
Ils  ne  gemissent  pas,  ce  n'est  pas  dans  leur  temperament,  ces  huit 
cent  raille  habitants  de  l'Ouest  redament  leur  du,  et  le  reclament 
aprement,  sans  hyperboles. 

c  Le  Mississipi  nous  appartient  par  la  loi  de  la  nature,  par  notre 
n ombre  et  par  le  travail  que  nous  avons  accompli  sur  ces  lieux, 
qui,  avant  notre  arrivee,  £taient  steriles  et  deserts.  Nous  n'empechons 
pas  les  Franca  is  et  les  Espagnols  de  remonter  jusqu'a  nos  villages, 
mais  nous  voulons  a  notre  tour  pouvoir  descendre  le  fleuve.  Nos 
innombrables  rivieres  le  grossissent  et  coulent  avec  lui  dans  le  Golfe 
du  Mexique,  son  embouchure  est  la  seule  issue  que  la  nature  ait 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

domic'  &  nos  eaux  et  nous  voulons  nous  en  servir,  aucun  pouvoir 
au  monde  ne  nous  privera  de  ce  droit.  > 

Le  General  Washington  est  mort  en  1799.  La  capitale  de  l'Union, 
depuis  1800,  Washington  sur  le  Potomac,  emmele  un  peu  ses  griefs 
contre  les  Espagnols  et  les  Francais,  doni  elle  a  aussi  a  se  plaindre. 

Le  Directoire,  sous  pretexte  d'aider  ses  colonies,  a  arm£  des 
corsaires  qui  ont  pirate  dans  les  eaux  americaines  et  saisi  dans  les 
ports  antillais  des  batiments  marchands  am  erica  ins. 

Le  Gouvernement  am  erica  in  a  envoye  successivement,  et  en 
vain,  trois  ministres  au  Directoire,  puis,  lasse,  a  rompu  les  negocia- 
tions.  Le  President  Adams,  le  28  mai  1798,  a  declare  <  qu'attendu 
les  depredations  commises  en  violation  du  droit  des  gens  et  des 
traites  par  des  vaisseaux  armes  sous  l'autorite  pretendue  de  la 
Republique  Francaise,  les  navires  captures  pourraient  etre  repris, 
et,  ainsi  que  les  vaisseaux  francais  agresseurs,  ramenes  par  la  force 
dans  les  ports  des  Etats-Unis.  » 

En  1799,  le  Congris  a  delibere  et  vote  la  suspension  du  commerce 
avec  la  France,  les  traites  cessant  d'etre  operants,  et  la  capture  des 
bailments  francais  etant  officiellement  autorisee. 

Bonaparte,  en  bon  aventurier  qu'il  est,  est  intrigue  par  ces  Etats- 
Unis,  combattifs  et  obstines  :  il  trouve  absurde  qu'un  obstacle  aussi 
mince  obscurcisse  Tentente  de  deux  peuples,  epris  pareillement  de 
liberie. 

Le  30  Septembre,  il  signe  avec  le  Gouvernement  Federal  une  con- 
vention stipulant  que  la  France  paiera  des  indemnites  pour  toutes 
les  prises  indument  faites.  II  signe  d'un  cceur  d'autant  plus  leger 
qu'aucune  somme  n'a  eJe  mentionnee,  et  aucune  date  de  regle- 
ment  fixee. 


XLIV. 


1 

: 


Maintenant  que  Bonaparte  a  commence  a  s'occuper  de  l'Ameri- 
que,  il  veut  en  connaitre  plus  long.  <  Et  cette  Louisiane,  qui  fut  a 
nous,  en  savez-vous  quelque  chose  ?  >  dcmande-i-il  a  ses  familiers 
du  Cabinet  des  Tuileries. 

Les  familiers  n'en  savent  pas  grand' chose,  mais  un  officier  s'avance. 
A  Crosny,  pres  de  Chatou,  vit  un  Joseph  Delfau  de  Pontalba, 
Louisianais  de  naissance,  de  ses  amis. 

<  Qu'est-ce  que  c'est  que  ce  Pontalba  ?  >  insiste  Bonaparte.  «  —  Un 
officier,  fort  repute,  Citoyen  Consul  ;  son  pere,  officier  de  M.  de 
Bienville,  a  gagn£  en  Louisiane  ses  galons  et  la  Croix  de  St.  Louis, 
Joseph  y  est  n£  en  1754.  Apres  avoir  fait  ses  etudes  en  France  et 
s'y  etre  battu  avec  le  regiment  de  Guadeloupe  puis  s'etre  distingue 
au  siege  de  Savannah  sous  les  ordres  du  Vte  de  Noailles  et  du 
"  "arechal  d'Estaing,  il  est  retourne  la-bas  en  1784,  s'y  est  raari£  et 

a  reside  seize  ans,  je  crois.  » 

«  —  Excellent,  approuve  le  Consul,  voila  l'homme  qu'il  me  faut  > 
tourne  vers  un  de  ses  ministres  :  «  Qu'il  me  prepare  un 
lemoire  detaiUe  de  sa  Louisiane,  je  veux  tout  en  connaitre  ;  a 
1'heure  actuelle,  je  sais  A  peine  ou  on  la  trouve.  » 

II  ne  sait  pas  en  effet  grand'chose  de  cette  Louisiane,  qu'il 
s'imagine  a  tort  etre  vanillee  et  tendre,  mais  il  en  sait  assez  pour  la 
desirer,  comme  une  femme  exotique  inconnue,  proche  de  Josephine, 
qu'il  aime  encore,  entre  ses  passades. 

Deja.  discretement,  par  1'eniremise  du  General  Berthier,  au  mois 
d'Aout,  il  fait  des  ouvertures  a  I'Espagne,  lui  fait  miroiter  que  la 
Louisiane,  redevenue  francaise,  ferait  le  gendarme  sur  le  golfe,  serait 
un  rempart  entre  les  Etats-Unis  et  le  Mexique.  II  envoie  a  Madrid, 
Lucien   Bonaparte,  en  ambassadeur,   pour  s'etendre  sur  le  sujet. 

Sous  le  manteau  de  la  chemine>,  le  1"  Octobre  1800,  il  signe 
avec  sa  Majeste  Catholique,  Charles  IV,  ou  plut6t  avec  le  confident 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN^AISE 

de  la  Reine,  Manuel  Godoy,  le  Prince  de  la  Paix,  a  San-Ildefonso. 
un  traite  secret,  aux  termes  duquel  «  Sa  MajestJ  Catholique  s'engage 
a  ritrocider  a  la  Republique  Francaise,  six  mois  apres  Vexicution 
pleine  et  entiere  des  conditions  et  stipulations  relatives  a  S.A.R.  le 
Due  de  Parme,  la  colonic  ou  province  de  Lauisiane,  avec  la  mime 
itendue  qu'elle  a  actuellement  entre  les  mains  de  I'Espagne  et 
qu'elle  avail  lorsque  la  France  la  posse'dait,  et  telle  qu'elle  doit  tire 
depuis  les  traites  posse's  subsiquemment  entre  I'Espagne  et  d'autres 
Etats.  » 

Le  Due  regnant  de  Parme,  gendre  du  roi,  en  dedommagement 
de  ce  Duche  et  ses  dependances  et  a  cause  de  la  cession  que  le  roi 
faisait  de  la  Louisiane,  serait  mis  en  possession  de  la  Toscane,  qui 
deviendrait  Royaume  d'Etrurie. 

Le  traite  doit  rester  secret,  car  la  France  est  en  guerre  avec  V Angle- 
terre,  si  celle-ci  savait  la  Louisiane  entre  ses  mains,  elle  ne  man- 
querait  pas  de  1'attaquer. 

Conime  premier  pas  dans  la  direction  de  sa  nouvelle  terre,  Bona- 
parte envoie  son  beau-frere,  le  General  Lederc,  a  St.  Domingue  pour 
etouffer  la  revolt  e  de  Toussaint-l'Ouverture,  il  fera  ce-dernier 
prisonnier,  le  i«  mai  i8os,  mais  des  23.000  soldats  envoyes,  quatre 
mille  seulement  ecbapperont  a  la  fievre  jaune,  et  le  general,  anoint 
a  son  tour,  rendra  son  ame  a  Dieu  sans  avoir  reconquis  l'lle,  ou  son 
successeur,  M.  de  Rochambeau  ne  reussira  pas  mieux. 

Le  Traite  avec  I'Espagne,  le  21  mars  1801,  est  renouvele  et 
ratine  par  le  roi  Charles,  a  Madrid.  Quelques  mois  plus  lard,  le 
premier  Consul  recoit  le  memoire  de  M.  de  Pontalba  et  se  plonge 
dans  sa  lecture.  Le  gentilhomme  connatt  certes  fort  bien  son  pays 
natal,  minutieusement,  il  en  decrit  la  geographic  du  moins  ce 
qu'on  en  sait,  car  on  ignore  tout  du  Mississipi  superieur,  ou  de  sa 
source.  II  explique  la  faune,  la  ftore,  les  ressources  naturelles,  les 
cultures,  les  habitants,  et,  —  au  cas  ou  les  regards  de  Bonaparte  se 
tourneraient  vers  la  Louisiane  —  les  possibilities.  Bien  geree  et 
franchise,  elle  deviendrait  fontaine  de  profits,  e'est  la  clef  du  Mexi- 
que,  le  debouche  d'une  contree  s'etiram  sur  deux  mille  cinq  cents 
lieues  et  peut-etre  beaucoup  plus  ;  il  predit  un  avenir  magnifique 
a  ce  pays,  jusque-la  maladraitement  exploite  et  entrave\ 

Bonaparte  decidement  est  satisfait  de  son  marche,  cette  Louisiane 
valait  bien  la  couronne  d'Etrurie.  Le  Traittf  a  beau  etre  secret,  un 
fumet  en  est  raonte,  des  rumeurs  flottent  d'un  royaume  a  1'autre, 


EFRAN9AISE  3«7 

inconsistantes  mais  continuelles.  Le  sg  mars  1801,  M.  Rufus  King, 
le  Ministre  des  Etats-Unis  a  Londres.  en  a  fait  part  au  nouveau 
President,  Thomas  Jefferson,  et  a  M.  Madison,  le  secretaire  d'Etat. 
M.  Pichon,  le  charge  d'affaires  francais  a  Washington,  interroge, 
pretend  n'etre  au  courant  de  rien.  M.  Madison  demande  des  pre- 
cisions a  M.  Pinckney,  son  Ministre  a  Madrid,  celui-ci  ne  sait  rien 
non  plus. 

11  faudrait  savoir,  d'autant  plus  que  la  convention  prevoyant  les 
indemnitee  pour  les  pirateries  reconnues,  n'a  pas  ete  ex^cutee,  les 
armateurs  et  les  marchands  s'irritent  de  ce  retard.  M.  Madison 
expeMie  a  Paris,  en  Ministre  Plenipotentiaire,  le  chancelier  de 
l'Etat  de  New  York,  M.  Robert  Livingston,  ancien  membre  du 
Congres  et  ancien  Secretaire  des  Affaires  Etrangeres.  qui  a  deja 
eu  des  contacts  avec  la  France.  11  s'informera  avec  tout  le  tact  pos- 
sible. Ou  cc  Traite  existe  ou  il  n'existe  pas,  s'il  existe  on  avisera. 

Une  paix  preliminairc,  entre  la  France  et  l'Angleterre,  est  signee 
le  i«  Octobre  1801,  mais  le  Premier  Consul,  qui  est  un  (in  renard, 
ne  montre  pas  encore  ses  cartes. 

M.  Rufus  King  envoie  a  Washington  une  copie  du  Traite,  qu'il 
s'est  procuree  par  ruse.  Malheureuscment  il  n'est  pas  sur  du  iout 
qu'elle  soit  authentique,  il  l'espere  sans  plus. 

A  Paris,  M.  Livingston  s'agite.  Ses  manieres  fermes  deplaisent 
au  Consul,  comme  une  insolence,  si  les  Etats-Unis  n'etaient  pas  si 
loin,  il  ferait  baisser  le  ton  de  cet  envoye,  mais  Washington  est 
trop  eloigne  pour  qu'on  lui  cherche  noise.  M.  Livingston,  a  son 
tour,  envoie  une  copie  du  Traite  a  M.  Madison,  avec  les  memes 
restrictions  que  l'a  fait  M.  King.  II  a  ecrit,  dit-il.  au  ministre  fran- 
cais des  Relations  Exterieures  pour  lui  demander  des  Maircisse- 
ments  sur  le  Trailed  et  savoir  si  les  Florides  etaient  en  cause.  11 
s'est  plaint  de  tout  ce  mystere,  on  ne  lui  a  pas  rlpondu,  bien  qu'il 
ait  appuy£  sur  la  necessite  de  rassurer  les  populations  de  l'Ouest, 
qui  craignent  de  voir  arriver,  inopinement,  des  troupes  franchises. 
II  a  entendu  dire  que  le  General  Bernadotte  etait  designe  pour 
commander  ['expedition  en  Louisiane. 

En  quoi  il  se  trompe,  car  lorsque  Bonaparte  a  voulu  nommer 
Bernadotte  Lieutenant-General  de  l'expedition,  celui-ci,  sans  am- 
bages, a  reclame  trois  mille  soldats  et  de  nombreux  cultivateurs 
pour  mener  la  chose  a  bien.  Le  Consul  a  hausse  les  epaules,  c  ridi- 
cule, a-t-il  dit,  jc  n'en  donnerais  pas  autant  a  mon  propre  frere  !  > 


3«8 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


Alors  le  ge'nfral  ne  partira  pas,  il  acceptera  de  repr^senter  la  France 
a  Washington,  puis  changera  d'avis  lorsqu'il  semira  la  pais  si  pre- 
caire. 

Bonaparte,  c'est-a-dire  la  Republique  Francaise,  l'Angleterre  et 
1'Espagne,  le  95  Mars  1802.  signent  la  paix  secrete  et  definitive 
d' Amiens.  Le  Premier  Consul,  dont  les  livres  sont  encore  cousues, 
peut  pousser  ouvertement  ses  preparatifs,  puisque  Bernadotte  refuse 
c'est  le  general  Victor  qui  partira.  11  est  pour  le  moment  avec  line 
flotte  a  Helvcet-Sluys,  en  Hollande. 

Bonaparte  fait  des  plans,  M.  Pierre-Cle'ment  de  Laussat  sera  pri- 
fet  colonial,  on  enverra  des  sous-prefets.  Le  budget  est  fait,  deux 
millions  et  demi  ont  6t6  alloues  a  l'expddition,  deux  cent  quatre 
vingt  mille  francs  sumront  a  se  concilier  les  chefs  sauvages,  deja  il 
fait  frapper  deux  cent  soixante-dix  me'dailles  d'argent  a  leur  inten- 
tion. 

A  Washington,  le  Congres  est  tres  excite  par  toutes  les  imprt- 
cisions  qui  parviennent  a  ses  oreilles.  c  Le  Mississipi,  gentlemen, 
declare  M.  Madison,  est  pour  les  gens  de  l'Ouest  i' Hudson,  le  Dela- 
ware, le  Potomac  et  toutes  les  rivieres  navigables  des  Etats  de  l*At- 
lantique,  riunies  en  une  seule.  > 

M.  Ruins  King  a  enquete-  aupres  des  ministres  anglais,  Lord 
Hawkesbury  et  Lord  Addington,  qui  se  maintiennent  a  mi-chemin 
du  parti  de  Lord  Grenville,  haissant  la  France,  et  des  amis  de  cette 
derniere,  et  peuvent  etre  tenus  pour  impartiaux.  lis  lui  ont  dit  n'etre 
pas  avisos  officio] lenient  des  intentions  du  Premier  Consul. 

M.  Livingston  a  presse"  le  Due  de  Talleyrand,  ministre  des  affaires 
e'trangeres,  qui  l'a  assure1  que  les  rumeurs  n'itaient  pas  fomWes  ;  la 
France,  il  est  vrai,  s'etaii  un  moment  inieressee  a  la  Louisiane,  mail 
elle  a  abandon n£  le  projet,  comme  etant  trop  alcatoire.  II  a  un  jour 
demands  a  M.  BarW-Marbois,  ministre  du  TreV>r,  si,  au  cas  d'un 
retour  a  la  France,  la  Mobile  serait  indue  dans  la  cession,  puisque 
le  Rio  Perdido  avait  servi  de  bordure  a  la  Louisiane  Francaise.  M. 
BarM-Marbois  lui  a  ripondu  :  <  Je  n'ai  aucune  idee  precise  a  ce 
sujet,  les  limites  dont  vous  parlez  sont  un  fait  historique,  c'est  la 
seule  base  sur  laquelle  je  pourrais  former  une  opinion.  » 

II  confie  a  M.  Madison  :  «  Si  ce  n'Jtait  pas  de  {'impatience  que 
montre  notre  pays,  je  n'aurais  aucune  inquietude,  car  je  suis  per- 
suade" que  tout  se  terminera  par  un  abandon  de  la  Province,  qui 
passcra  entre  les  mains  des  Etats-Unti.  > 


eco 

fOTJ: 


Ceux-ci,  qui  viennent  de  s'agrandir  de  l'Ohio,  font  preuve  d'une 
impatience,  intempestive  peut-itre,  mais  comprehensible  ;  des  mon- 
eeaux  de  marchandises  immobilisees  pourrissent  sur  place  dans  les 
regions  de  l'Ouest. 

Le  16  octobre  180s.  l'lntendant  Morales  a  renouvele  son  interdic- 
tion d'entreposer  et  de  naviguer  sur  le  Mississipi,  il  a  meme  defendu 
aux  Kentuckians  de  d^barquer  sur  aucun  point  du  fleuve,  Le  nou- 
veau  territoire  du  Mississipi,  le  plus  voisin  de  la  Nile  Orleans,  qui 
n'etant  pas  encore  admis  dans  la  Confederation,  depend  de  la 
Georgie,  est  celui  qui  path  le  plus  de  cet  etat  de  choses.  Morales 
pretend  qu'il  attend  des  ordres  de  Madrid,  et  refuse  d'ecouter  au- 
cune  priere,  on  s'imagine  que  la  France  se  montrera  encore  plus 
imraitable. 

Les  politiciens  s'enflamment  :  «  Le  jour  od  la  France  prendra 
possession  de  la  Nile  Orleans  sera  sa  condamnation.  Ces  evenements 
jcellem  1'union  de  deux  nations,  qui,  en  conjonetion,  peuvent  pre- 
tendre  a  la  possession  exclusive  de  l'Ocean,  de  ce  moment  nous  de- 
vons  nous  marier  a  la  fiotte  et  a  la  nation  anglaise.  » 

M.  Livingston  a  redige  un  essai,  qu'il  a  fait  tenir  a  M.  de  Tal- 
leyrand, pour  qu'il  le  transmette  au  Premier  Consul,  et  dans  lequel 
il  s'efforce  de  demontTer  que  la  possession  de  la  Nile  Orleans  ne 
serait  d'aucun  avantage  a  la  France.  II  discute  avec  le  Due  la  possi- 
bility d'un  abandon,  pour  commencer  a  y  penser,  il  faudrait  con- 
naitre  d'abord  les  limites  exactes  de  la  province,  savoir  ce  que  de- 
viennent  les  Florides  P  M.  de  Talleyrand  n'a  pas  la  moindre  idee 
de  ces  limites,  d'ailleurs  fait-il  remarquer,  toute  discussion  est  pr£- 
maturee,  la  France  ne  possede  pas  la  Louisiane. 

—  €  Mais  la  possedera-t-elle  ?  > 

Le  Due  hausse  ses  ^paules  trop  montantes,  sans  r^pondre  prend 
une  prise.  Son  front  £lev£,  sur  lequel  deux  accroche-cceur  folatrent, 
ne  revele  rien. 

M.  Livingston  est  d£courag£  par  toutes  ces  finasseries,  ces  faux- 
fuyants.  <  //  n'y  a  jamah  eu,  se  plaint-il  a  M.  Madison,  itti  gouver- 
nement  avec  lequel  on  pouvait  moins  trailer,  il  n'y  a  pas  de  nation, 
pas  de  legislature,  pas  de  conseillers.  Seulement  un  homme,  un 
homme  qui  demande  rarcment  les  avis  des  autres,  et  qui  ne  les 
ecoute  jamais  s'il  ne  les  a  pas  lui-meme  sollicitis.  Ses  ministres,  sa 
''.gislature  et  ses  conseillers  sont  une  simple  parade  d'officiers  et  de 
icthnnaires.  Bien  que  le  bon  sens  de  tout  homme  r^fiechi,  autour 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

de  lui,  soit  contre  cette  folle  expedition,  personne  n'ose  iui  dire. 
J'ai  totttes  raisons  de  croire  que  les  Florides  ne  sont  pas  comprises 
dans  la  cession  et  que,  pour  le  moment  du  moins,  elles  resteront 
entre  les  mains  de  VEspagne.  > 

M.  Livingston  est  recu  par  Joseph  Bonaparte,  dont  il  a  £crit  que 
«  c'etait  un  bon  garcon,  qui  n'avait  pas  grand  pouvoir,  mais  qui 
vivait  en  bonne  amitiS  avec  son  frere,  lequel  Vicoutait  quelquefois.  > 
Joseph  Bonaparte  lui  dit  qu'il  a  discmd  son  essai  avec  le  Premier 
Consul,  qui  a  pris  beaucoup  d'inter£t  a  sa  lecture.  Son  frere,  ajoute- 
t-il  est  tres  portc  a  une  entente  avec  les  Etats-Unis,  mais  il  craint 
les  jalousies  du  voisinage. 

L'Americain  attrape  la  balle  au  bond,  il  va  peut-etre  apprendre 
quelque  chose  toucham  les  Florides.  —  «  La  seule  cause  de  friction 
entre  les  nations  serait  la  question  des  dettes,  qui  n'ont  pas  encore 
et6  reglees.  On  pourrait  peut-etre  echanger  ces  dettes  contre  la  Nile 
Orleans  et  les  Florides,  et  la  France  retournerait  a  l'Espagne  le  reste 
de  la  Louisiane,  qui  ne  preseme  pour  elle  aucun  interei.  » 

«  —  Est-ce  que  les  Etats-Unis  prdferent  les  Florides  a  la  Loui- 
siane ?  demande  Joseph  Bonaparte  £tonne\ 

<  —  Naturellement,  entre  la  valeur  des  deux  il  n'y  a  pas  de  com- 
paraison,  I'Union  n'a  aucun  desir  de  s'etendre  au  deli  du  Mississipi. 
Peut-etre  pourriez-vous  en  toucher  un  mot  an  ministre  des  affaires 
eirangeres  ?  » 

€  —  Moi,  vous  savez,  replique  Joseph,  qui  ne  veut  pas  s'enliser, 
je  ne  peux  rien  dire.  Sous  aucun  pre'texte,  je  n'interviens  dans  les 
affaires  de  M.  de  Talleyrand.  > 

En  Novembre,  le  general  Victor  recoit  des  ordres  definitifs,  mais 
a  ce  moment  ses  vaisseaux  sont  deja  pris  dans  les  glaces.  L'entrave 
de  gel  rimmobilisera  de  Frimaire  jusqu'a  Flordal,  ce  n'est  qu'en 
mai  1803  que  les  coques  retrouveront  leur  agilite  et  alors,  a  cause 
des  hostility  anglaises,  les  plans  auront  change,  et  les  millions  ai- 
tribues  a  1'expedition  auront  glisse  dans  le  gosier  des  hommes.  sous 
forme  de  haricots  et  d'eau-de-vie  r&hauffame,  dont  on  aura  eu 
grand  besoin. 

Depuis  que  le  Traite  de  San  Ildefonso  a  et£  ratifie  par  Charles 
IV,  on  a,  en  Amerique,  la  quasi-certitude  que  la  France  a  regagne 
la  Louisiane,  mais  on  ne  sait  pas  jusqu'ou.  On  ne  sail  pas  si  la 
France  va  essayer  de  faire  revivre  des  litres  contraires  aux  intcrets 
des  Etats-Unis,  rexJamer  de  nouvelles  bordures. 


LA     LOUIStANE     FRANfAISE 


n> 


Le  President  Jefferson  n'est  pas  hostile  a  la  R£publique  avec  la- 
quelle,  il  croit.  on  pourrait  s'eniendre,  mais  un  certain  nombre  de 
parlement aires  le  sont,  d'autant  plus  que  des  incidents  dchauffent 
les  esprits. 

En  Decembre,  le  President  envoie  un  message  au  S£nat  et  a  la 
Chambre  des  Repr£sentants,  dans  lequel  il  reuere  «  qn'U  est  du 
devoir  des  Chambres  d'exprimer  leur  inaltirable  determination  de 
maintenir  les  frontieres  et  les  droits  de  navigation  et  de  commerce, 
tels  qu'tls  ont  iti  Stablis  par  les  trails  existants,  » 

Au  S^nat,  des  discussions  passionne'es  s'engagent,  le  16  F^vrier 
1803,  dans  une  stance  memorable,  M.  James  Ross,  de  Pennsylvanie, 
qui  veut  tout  casser,  soumet  a  l'Assemble>  quelques  resolutions 
bien  ass£n£es. 

IAttendu  que  les  Etats-Unis  ont  un  droit  indisputable  a  la  libre 
navigation  du  Mississipi,  et  a  entreposer  leurs  marchandiscs,  a  la 
Nile  Orleans,  et  que  la  restriction  de  ces  droits  constitue  une  agres- 
sion contre  leur  honneur  et  leurs  intlr&ts,  ces  points  concernant 
matlriellement  les  citoyens  am^ricains  habitant  les  eaux  de  l'Ouest  ; 
attendu  qu'il  est  essentiel  a  1'Union,  a  la  force  et  a  la  prospeVite'  de 
ces  Etats,  d'obtenir  la  garantie  de  jouissance  paisible  d'un  droit 
aussi  absolu,  il  demande  que  le  President  soit  autorise"  a  se  saisir 
immddiatemem  dune  place  ou  de  places  d'entrepot,  dans  I'tle  de 
la  Nile  Orleans  ou  sur  le  territoire  adjacent,  et  a  adopter  les  me- 
sures  de  security  qu'il  jugera  convenable. 

M.  Ross,  empourpre",  les  poings  serr£s,  rugit.  II  reclame  une  milice 
de  cinquante  mille  hommes,  lev^e  dans  les  Etats  de  1'Union  et  de 
l'Ouest,  et  cinq  millions  de  dollars  pour  parer  aux  premiers  frais. 

M.  Samuel  White,  du  Delaware,  est  du  meme  avis.  II  conseille 
d'agir  sans  attendre,  pendant  qu'il  en  est  encore  temps,  car  il  re- 
doute  les  phalanges  de  Bonaparte.  II  donne  lecture  d'un  billet  de 
M.  Charles  de  Grand'Pri*.  declarant  qu'il  a  recu  des  instructions 
precises  et  ne  peut  autoriser  aucun  commerce  entre  les  Etats-Unis 
et  les  sujets  du  Roi  d'Espagne. 

La  voix  bien  timbrte  de  M.  James  Jackson,  de  Georgie,  s'ilive 
avec  douceur  au-dessus  des  inritatiom  rauques.  «  Le  gentleman  du 
Delaware  nous  a  dit  que  Bonaparte  est  le  H^ros  de  la  France,  le 
Conquerant  de  l'ltalie,  le  Tyran  de  l'Allemagne,  et  que  ses  legions 
sont  invincibles.  On  nous  a  dit  de  nous  hater  de  saisir  la  Louisiane 
tant  qu'elle  e'tait  entre  les  mains  d'Espagnols  indolents,  de  ne  pas 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

attendre  le  Cesar  des  temps  modernes,  mais,  pour  autant  que  je 
respecte  ceite  gloire  et  1' exploit  de  cet  homme  extraordinaire,  je 
crois  que  nous  n'avons  rien  a  craindre  de  lui.  Bonaparte,  Monsieur, 
dans  noire  Sud,  serait  perdu  malgre  tous  ses  talents  martiaux.  Ses 
pieces  et  les  chevaux  de  son  artillerie  lui  rendraient  peu  de  service 
dans  nos  terrains  marecageux  ;  il  ne  trouverait  plus  la  campagne 
d'ltalie,  coupee  de  ruisseaux  que  ses  canons  peuvent  franchtr  i 
loisir,  et  des  villes  fonifiees,  mais  des  rivieres  larges  de  plusieurs 
tieues,  des  marais  mortels,  impenetrables  a  des  Europeans.  Avec  un 
corps  de  dix  mille  hommes,  recruits  parmi  nos  adroits  fusiliers,  ses 
lauriers  seraient  arraches  de  son  front,  et,  du  fond  de  son  cteur,  il 
souhaiterait  etre  encore  dans  les  plaines  d'ltalie.  » 

M.  Clinton,  de  New  York,  est  en  faveur  de  la  paix  :  c  De  tous 
les  caracteres,  j'estime  que  celui  d'une  nation  conquerante  est  celui 
qui  nous  va  le  moins  bien.  Et  quoi  !  Monsieur,  1'Amerique  ira- 
t-elle.  comme  un  nouveau  Don  Quichotte,  relever  les  peuples  dans 
la  d^tresse,  les  arracher  aux  crocs  de  la  tyrannie  des  Etats  puissants ; 
comme  un  autre  Phaeton,  fouettera-t-elle  follement  le  chariot  de 
l'Empire.  repandra-t-elle  dans  le  monde  la  desolation  et  l'horreur  ? 
Non,  Monsieur,  ne  portons  jamais  nos  armes  dans  le  territoire  des 
autres  nations,  a  moins  que  nous  n'y  soyons  obliges  pour  notre  pro- 
tection. » 

Le  24,  M.  Ross  repond  aux  objecteurs.  c  Tout  le  monde,  sauf 
l'honorable  gentleman  du  Maryland,  admet  le  droit  indisputable 
des  Etats-Unis  a  la  libre  navigation  du  Mississipi,  tout  le  monde  est 
d'accord  que  ce  droit  est  d'une  immense  importance  pour  la  region 
de  l'Ouest,  et  reconnait  que  ce  droit  a  il€  grossiercment  et  gratuite- 
ment  viole\  tout  le  monde  agree  qu'a  moins  que  ce  droit  nous  soit 
rendu,  nous  devrons  partir  et  nous  panirons  en  guerre.  Alors  sur 
quoi  discutons  nous  ?  simplement  sur  le  moment  d'agir.  1 

M.  Ross  est  maintenant  apoplectique. 

€  Bien  qu'il  n'y  ait  pas  d' agression  positive,  un  droit  territorial 
attach^  a  voire  sol,  constituant  sa  seule  valeur,  est  directement  at- 
tache et  dctruit.  De  quelle  valeur  est  le  territoire  lorsqu'U  est  de- 
pouille  de  ce  droit  ?  Ou  est  votre  ind^pendance,  ou  est  votre  sou- 
verainete  sur  ce  pays  sans  l'exercice  sans  contrainte  de  ce  droit  ? 
Sans  lui,  le  sol  est  sans  prix,  c'est  un  attxibut  inseparable  de  la 
subsiance.  L'attaquer,  c'est  attaquer  voire  existence  meme,  car  un 
arret  dans  la  circulation  sur  la  grande  anere  de  l'Ouest  engendrera 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAlSE  333 

des  convulsions  et,  politiquement,  la  mort.  La  destruction  de  ce 
droit  est  une  calami ie  plus  grande  que  le  blocus  d'un  port,  ou  meme 
un  d^barquement  sur  la  c6le  atlantique.  > 

€  ...Je  sais  qu'on  a  dit  et  qu'on  dira  encore  que  les  Francais  con- 
firmeront  ou  permettront  la  libre  navigation  du  fleuve  et  d'entre- 
poser  nos  marchandises.  lis  ouvriront,  para  i  til,  un  port  franc  et 
nous  accorderoiu  ce  que  nous  d&irons.  Oui,  Monsieur,  ceci  serait 
le  pire  de  tout  1  Je  crains  beaucoup  moins  l'inimitie  des  possesseurs 
actuels,  nous  liendrons  ccla  de  leur  courtoisie  et  non  pas  de  la  pro- 
tection de  notre  Gouvernemcnt.  lis  nous  consentiront  des  avantages, 
mais  est-cc  que  ce  sera  pour  rien  ?  Ne  demanderont-ils  Hen  en 
retour  ?  n'auront-ils  pas  des  vis^es  utterieures  ?  Non,  pendant  cet 
intervalle  insidieux,  ils  enfonceront  rivet  apres  rivet  dans  le  joug 
de  fer  qui  nous  blcssera,  nous  et  nos  enfants.  Nous  irons  au  marche" 
le  long  d'une  ligne  de  batteries,  gardens  par  des  veterans,  et  pour 
revenir  chez  nous,  avec  notre  argent,  nous  devrons  traverser  un  camp 
fort i fie".  > 

M.  Ross  est  ecarlate,  en  sueur,  et  aphone. 

M.  Morris  1'appuie,  lui  aussi  craint  le  changement  de  tenure.  «  Si 
les  destinies  de  la  France  ont  Ite-  entre  les  mains  de  monstres,  le 
premier  des  Cedars  gaulois,  le  plus  grand  homme  de  l'age  present, 
est  assis  maintenant  sur  le  trone  des  Bourbons,  et  voudra  toujours 
(aire  de  plus  grandes  choses.  I  ne\'i  tablemen  t,  son  attention  se  por- 
tera  bientoi  sur  nous,  nous  aussi  nous  devrons  combattre  et  nous 
soumettre. » 

De  voisins  francais,  il  n'a  cure.  <  Les  marchands  franca  is  n'ont  ni 
les  gros  capitaux,  ni  le  caraciere  stable  et  perslverant,  qui  encourage 
le  commerce.  Invariablement,  leur  but  est  d'amasser  une  fortune, 
en  faisant  de  largcs  profits,  et,  s'ils  ne  peuvent  le  faire,  ils  abart- 
donnent  la  poursuite  pour  de  nouveaux  projets...  Je  n'h&ite  pas  a 
dire  que  vous  auriez  du  prendre  possession  de  la  Nile  Orleans  et 
des  Florides  aussit6t  que  vos  droits  out  6t6  violas,  vous  dcvriez  le 
faire  maintenant,  il  serait  vain  d'avoir  confiance  en  des  negocia- 
tions...  Je  prie  le  Seigneur  Tout-Puissant  que  de  ce  d£bat  s'accroisse 
la  prosperity,  la  liberie^  la  paix,  le  pouvoir  et  la  gloire  de  notre 
pays.  > 

M.  Morris  se  rasseoit. 

Le  25,  la  brulale  resolution  de  M.  Ross  est  repouss£e  par  quinze 
voix  contre  onze,  celle  de  M.  Breckenridge,  moins  belliqueuse,  est 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE 

adoptee.  Contre  toute  eventuality,  on  levera  une  niilice  et  on  batira 
un  arsenal,  pres  du  fleuve,  mais  on  temporisera,  en  attendant  des 
nouvelles  de  M.  Livingston,  a  qui  le  President  envoie  une  copie 
de  la  resolution  adoptee,  en  meme  temps  qu'il  en  envoie  une  a  M. 
Pinckney.  Le  cas  echeant,  ils  sen  serviront,  comme  dun  argument, 
pour  plaider  leur  cause. 

Les  Cbambres  ont,  en  secret,  vote"  une  appropriation  de  deux 
millions  de  dollars,  qu'on  emploiera  s'il  taut  a  acheter  des  influences, 
des  concessions  et  peut-etre  des  consciences,  a  Londres  et  a  Paris. 

Le  8  Mars,  M.  Monroe,  ancien  gouverneur  de  Virginie  et  parlant 
un  peu  fran^ais,  a  qui  le  President  a  tonfit  une  mission  delicate  et 
recommande  la  prudence  i  «  Si  nous  ne  pouvons  pas  par  {'acquisi- 
tion de  la  province,  nous  assurer  une  paix  et  une  amitie  perpttuelle 
avec  toutes  les  nations,  la  guerre  ne  peut  etre  distante  et  il  vaul 
mieux  nous  y  preparer,  sans  cependant  la  precipiter  »,  s'embarque 
pour  la  France. 

Le  meme  jour,  le  Roi  d'Angleterre  declare  au  Parlement  que 
bien  qu'on  lui  ait  assure  que  les  preparatifs  de  Hollande  ctaicnt 
destines  aux  colonies  franchises,  il  n'en  devait  pas  moins  prendre 
ses  precautions  pour  assurer  la  surete  de  son  empire,  1'interet  de  son 
peuple  et  l'honneur  de  sa  couronne.  Deux  jours  plus  tard,  il  r£pete 
«  qu'en  consequence  des  armements  enormes  prepares  dans  les  ports 
de  France  et  de  Hollande,  pendant  les  negociations,  il  croyait  ne- 
cessaire  d'appeler  et  d'incorporer  sans  d£lai  les  milices  du  royaumc.  » 
Le  Parlement  approuve  renr61ement  de  dix  mille  hommes  de  mer. 

Le  Cabinet  des  Tuileries  est  tres  emu  par  ces  mesures,  signes 
avant-coureurs  d'hostilites.  Le  Due  de  Talleyrand  visite  Lord  Wit- 
worth  et  lui  fait  remarquer  que  1 'expedition  de  Hollande,  dont  le 
depart  etait  imminent,  a  etc  contremandee  a  la  suite  du  message  de 
son  Souverain  ;  a  son  tour,  il  reclame  un  apaisement,  une  preuve  des 
intentions  pacifiques  de  l'Angleterre. 


XLV. 


A  St.  Cloud,  ce  dimanche  de  Paques,  10  avril  1803,  Bonaparte 
apres  les  ceremonies  du  jour,  convoque  ses  deux  ministres,  M. 
Decres  et  M.  Barbe-Marbois,  dans  son  bureau.  A  leur  entree,  le 
Consul  quitte  son  fauieuil,  les  mains  derriere  le  dos,  marche  de  long 
en  large.  Sans  preambule,  il  commence. 

«  Je  connais  tout  le  prix  de  la  Louisiane  et  j'ai  voulu  r£parer  la 
faute  du  negociateur  francais,  qui  l'abandonna  en  1763.  Quelques 
lignes  dun  Traite  me  l'ont  rendue,  et  je  l'ai  a  peine  recouvree  que 
je  suis  sur  le  point  de  la  perdre,  mais  si  elle  m'echappe,  elle  coutera 
plus  cher,  un  jour,  a  ceux  qui  me  forcent  a  m'en  depouiller,  qu'a 
ceux  a  qui  je  vais  la  remettre.  > 

II  arreie  ses  allees-et-venues  d'ours  en  cage,  et  continue  sur  un 
ton  rageur. 

«  Les  Anglais  ont  pris  a  la  France,  successivement,  le  Canada, 
Tlsle  Royale,  Terre -Neuve.  l'Acadie  el  les  plus  riches  parties  de 
l'Asie,  ils  travaillent  et  intriguent  a  St  Domingue,  ils  n'auront  pas 
le  Mississipi  qu'ils  convoitent.  La  Louisiane  nest  pas  grand'ehose 
en  comparaison  de  leurs  agrandissements  sur  le  globe,  et  pourtant 
la  jalousie  que  cause  le  retour  de  cette  colonie  a  la  France  est  signe 
qu'ils  veulent  sen  emparer,  e'est  ainsi  qu'ils  commenceront  la 
guerre. » 

c  Us  ont  vingt  vaisseaux  dans  le  Golfe  du  Mexique,  ils  parcourent 
cette  mer  en  souverains,  tandis  que  nos  affaires  depuis  la  mort  de 
Lederc  empirent  a  St.  Domingue.  La  conquete  de  la  Louisiane  serait 
facile  s'ils  prenaient  la  peine  d'y  descendre,  je  n'ai  pas  un  moment 
a  perdre  pour  la  mettre  hors  de  leurs  atteintes.  Je  ne  sais  pas  s'ils 
n'y  sont  pas  deja,  e'est  leur  usage,  et  pour  moi,  si  j'etais  a  leur  place, 
je  n'aurais  pas  attendu.  Je  veux  —  s'il  en  est  encore  temps  —  leur 
6ter  jusqu'a  la  pensee  de  posseder  jamais  cette  colonie.  > 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

Bonaparte  est  maintenant  devant  la  cheminee  de  marbre,  et, 
derriere  son  dos,  ses  paumes  ouvertes  se  chauffent  au  feu  petillant. 
Ses  yeux  sont  devenus  durs. 

«  Je  songe  a  la  ceder  aux  Etats-Unis.  A  peine  pourrais-je  dire  que 
je  leur  cede,  car  elle  n'est  pas  encore  en  ma  possession.  Pour  peu 
que  j'en  laisse  le  temps  a  mes  ennemis,  je  ne  transmettrai  qu'un 
vain  litre  a  ces  Republicans  dont  je  recherche  l'amitie.  lis  de- 
mandeni  seulement  une  ville  de  la  Louisiane,  mais  je  considere 
deja  la  colonie  comme  perdue  touie  entiere,  et  il  me  semble  qu'entre 
les  mains  de  cette  puissance  naissante,  elle  sera  plus  utile  a  la  po- 
litique, et  meme  au  commerce  de  la  France,  que  si  je  tenuis  de  la 
garder.  Dites  moi,  l'un  et  l'autre,  voire  pensee.  > 

M.  Barbe-Marbois,  Ministre  du  Tresor,  conseille  de  ne  pas  hesiter. 
La  guerre  avec  l'Angleterre  est  inevitable  ;  d'ailleurs,  sans  em- 
ployer leur  flotte,  les  Anglais  peuvent  gagner  la  Louisiane  par  les 
Grands  Lacs.  La  France  n'a  la-bas,  ni  troupes,  ni  vaisseaux  :  une 
frontiere  non  fortifiee  de  quatre  cents  Heues. 

II  a  ses  intelligences.  Si  les  Anglais  ne  sen  saisissent  pas,  les  Ame- 
ricains  le  feront  ;  ils  sont  prets  a  descendre  a  la  Nile  Orleans.  Si 
rien  de  cela  n'arrive,  la  colonie,  contaminee  par  l'independance  de 
ses  voisins,  reclamera  la  sienne.  Les  Francais  ont  essaye  d'etablir  des 
colonies  dans  plusieurs  parties  du  continent,  et  toujours  ont  echoue  ; 
le  sort  des  colonies  d'Amerique  lui  parait  des  plus  incertains. 

Le  Consul  se  tourne  vers  M.  Decres,  Ministre  de  la  Marine  —  <  Et 
vous,  qu'en  pensez  vous  ?  » 

M.  Decres  n'est  pas  du  tout  de  l'avis  de  son  estimable  collegue. 
c  —  Citoyen  Consul,  ce  n'est  pas  a  vous  qu'il  convient  de  redouter 
rAngleten-e.  Si  elle  s'emparait  de  la  Louisiane,  comme  on  voudrait 
le  faire  craindre,  le  Hanovre  serait  aussitdt  dans  vos  mains  un  gage 
certain  de  resiitution.  Le  pays  est  connu,  des  forts  existent,  la  terre 
est  fertile  et  les  grandes  depenses  sont  (aites.  II  n'est  pas,  sur  aucun 
point  du  globe,  un  point  susceptible  de  devenir  aussi  important  que 
la  Nile  Orleans  ;  le  Mississipi  n'y  arrive  qu'apres  avoir  re^u  vingt 
rivieres,  dont  plusieurs  surpassem  les  plus  beaux  fleuves  d'Europe.  > 

Cette  colonie  nous  dedommagerait  de  la  perte  des  Indes.  La  navi- 
gation aux  Indes,  en  doublant  le  Cap  de  Bonne-Esperance,  a  change 
le  commerce  de  1'Europe,  ruine  Venise  et  Genes  ;  qu'amvera-t-il 
si,  a  l'isthmc  de  Panama,  un  simple  canal  s'ouvre  un  jour,  pour 
passer  d'un  Ocean  dans  l'autre  ?  La  Louisiane  sera  sur  cette  nou- 


LA     LOUIS1ANE    FRANfAISE  337 

velle  route,  et  on  reconnaitra  alors  que  cette  possession  est  d'un 
prix  inestimable.  » 

La  conversation  se  termine  tres  tard.  Sans  montrer  le  fond  de  sa 
pensee,  le  Consul  renvoie  ses  Ministres,  qui  coucheront  a  St.  Cloud, 
a  cause  de  l'heure  tardive. 

M.  Barbe-Marbois  dort  du  sommeil  du  juste.  A  l'aube,  on  frappe 
a  sa  porte.  Allez-vous  en  1  eric  M.  Barbe,  de  mechante  humeur 
d'etre  lire'  de  ses  reves.  Constant  persiste,  le  Premier  Consul  veut 
voir  le  Ministre.  A  cette  heure-Ia  ?  demande-t-il  a  travers  la  porte. 
A  cette  heure-la,  respond  Constant  que  rien  n'etonne  plus. 

M.  Barbc-Marbois  regarde  le  petit  matin,  pas  tout  a  fait  debar- 
bouil!e\  soupire  et  s'habille. 

Le  Premier  Consul  est  tres  enerv£,  il  a  a  peine  dormi.  II  montre 
une  d^peche  qu'il  a  recue  dans  la  nuit  de  son  Ambassadeur  a  Lon- 
dres,  les  Anglais  font  hativement  les  preparatifs  de  guerre.  Bona- 
parte machonne  pour  lui-meme. 

<  lis  me  reclament  Lampedouse,  qui  n'est  meme  pas  a  moi,  et 
en  raeme  temps  ils  veulent  garder  Malte  dix  ans  ;  leur  laisser  serait 
ruiner  le  commerce  du  Levant  et  depouiller  mes  provinces  meri- 
dionales.  Ils  veulent  garder  cette  possession  et  que  j'evacue  imme- 
diatement  la  Hollande.  > 

II  frappe  du  poing  sur  le  bureau,  qui  chevrote. 

c  Les  incertitudes  et  la  deliberation  ne  sont  plus  de  saison,  je 
renonce  a  la  Louisiane.  Mon  premier  acte  diplomatique  avec  I'Es- 
pagne  a  eu  pour  objet  de  la  recouvrer,  j'y  renonce  avec  un  vif  de- 
plaisir,  mais  essayer  de  la  conserver  serait  folie.  Je  vous  charge  de 
negocier  cette  affaire  avec  les  envoyes  du  Congres,  n'attendez  pas 
rarrivee  de  M.  Monroe,  abouchez-vous  des  aujourd'hui  avec  M. 
Livingston,  mais  j'ai  besoin  de  beaucoup  d'argent  pour  cette  guerre 
et  je  ne  voudrais  pas  commencer  par  de  nouvelles  contributions.  » 

II  s'est  remis  a  arpenter  la  piece.  <  Depuis  cent  ans  la  France  et 
l'Espagnc  font  des  defenses  d'ameliorations  a  la  Louisiane,  dont 
le  commerce  ne  les  a  jamais  indemnisees,  de  grosses  sommes,  qui  ne 
rentreront  jamais  au  Tr&or,  ont  £t£  pretees  aux  agricultcurs.  Si 
je  reglais  mes  conditions  sur  ce  que  ces  vastes  territoires  vaudront 
aux  Etats-Unis,  les  indemnity  seraient  sans  limite,  je  serai  moderd 
en  raison  meme  de  1'obligation  ou  je  suis  de  vendre,  mais,  retenez 
bien  ceci  —  et  le  Consul  regarde  son  Ministre  comme  s'il  allait 
'avaler  —  je  veux  cinquante  millions,  et  a  moins  de  cette  somme. 


I 


35^  LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

je  ne  traiterai  point,  je  ferai  plut6t  quelque  tentative  desesperee 
pour  garder  ces  belles  contrees.  > 

M.  Barbe-Marbois  hasarde  quelques  observations  sur  la  cession 
des  droits  de  souverainete.  N'est-ce  point  la  ce  que  les  Allemands 
appeleraient  un  abandonnement  dames  ?  Celles-ci  peuvent-elles 
etre  1'objet  d'un  contrat  de  vente  et  d'echange  ? 

«  —  Vml, 1  bien,  repond  Bonaparte  impaiiente,  dans  toute  sa  per- 
fection l'ideologie  du  droit  de  la  nature  et  des  gens.  II  me  taut  de 
l'argent  pour  faire  la  guerre  a  la  nation  qui  en  possede  le  plus. 
Envoyez  votre  doctrine  a  Londres,  je  suis  certain  quelle  y  sera 
1'objet  dune  grande  admiration,  et  cependant  on  n'y  regarde  pas 
de  fort  pres  quand  il  s'agit  de  s'emparer  des  plus  belles  contrees 
de  l'Asie.  » 

Jl  reflechit  un  moment,  et  reprend,  comme  s'il  repondait  a  un 
interlocuteur  invisible. 

<  Peut-etre  m'objectera-t-on  que  les  Americains  pourront  etre 
trouves  trop  puissants  pour  l'Europe,  dans  deux  ou  trois  siedes,  raais 
ma  prevoyance  n'embrasse  pas  ces  craintes  eloignees.  D'ailleurs,  on 
peut  s'attendre  par  l'avenir  a  des  rival  it  es  dans  le  sein  de  1'Union. 
Les  Confederations  qu'on  appelle  perpetuelles  ne  durent  qu'autant 
qu'un  des  contractants  ne  trouve  pas  son  compte  a  les  rompre  et 
c'est  aux  dangers  presents,  auxquels  nous  expose  la  colossale  puis- 
sance de  1'Angleterre,  que  je  veux  porter  remede.  » 

M.  Barbe-Marbois  ne  trouve  rien  a  dire,  au  surplus,  le  Consul 
n'attend  nulle  rdponse. 

«  M,  Monroe  est  tout  pret  d'arriver.  Le  President  apres  avoir 
defini  1'objet  de  la  mission  de  ce  Ministre,  qui  s'eloigne  a  deux  mille 
lieues  de  ses  comme  it  ants,  a  du  lui  donner  des  instructions  secretes 
plus  etendues  que  l'autorisation  accordee  ostensiblement  par  le 
Congres,  pour  les  paiements  a  stipuler.  Ni  ce  ministre,  ni  son  col- 
legue,  ne  s'attendent  a  une  resolution  qui  surpasse  innniment  ce 
qu'ils  vont  nous  reclamer.  » 

«  Commences  sans  detours  par  leur  en  faire  l'ouverture.  Vous 
m'informerez  jour  par  jour  et  heure  par  heure  des  progres  que  vous 
ferez  :  le  cabinet  de  Londres  est  instruit  des  resolutions  prises  a 
Washington,  mais  il  ne  peut  connaitre  celles  que  je  prends.  Ob- 
serve! le  plus  grand  secret,  et  recommandez-le  aux  ministres  ameri- 
cains, ils  n'y  ont  pas  moins  d'interet  que  nous.  Correspondez  avec 
I  Talleyrand,  qui  seul  connalt  mes  intentions,  » 


AISE 


II  ajoute  sarcastiquement  : 

«  Si  je  Ten  croyais,  la  France  bornerait  son  ambition  a  la  rive 
gauche  du  Rhin  el  ne  ferait  la  guerre  que  pour  proteger  les  faibles 
et  n'etre  jamais  d£membr<!e,  mais  il  reconnait  aussi  que  la  cession 
de  la  Louisiane  n'est  pas  un  d^membrement  de  la  France.  Tenez-le 
informe"  des  progres  de  cette  affaire.  » 

Et  le  Consul  tourne  le  dos  a  son  ministre,  une  facon  brutale  de 
lui  signifier  que  l'audience  est  iinie. 

Les  maquignonnages  vont  commencer.  Entre-temps,  M.  de  Tal- 
leyrand a  fait  appeler  M.  Livingston  et  lui  a  demands  si  son  gou- 
vernement  avail  envisage"  un  achat  pur  et  simple  de  la  Louisiane, 
«  C'est  une  id£e  qui  m'est  venue,  je  parie  en  mon  nom  personnel, 
sans  aucune  autoritl.  » 

■.<  ~  Mon  Gouvernement  ne  s'inteVesse  qu'a  la  Nile  Orleans  ei 
aux  Florides,  peut-£tre  au  territoire  au-dessus  de  1' Arkansas,  en  tani 
que  barriere  contre  le  Canada.  > 

«  —  Sans  les  Florides,  le  reste  de  la  Louisiane  est  sans  valeur, 
muse  M.  de  Talleyrand,  qui  joue  avec  rAmericain,  comme  un  chat 
.ivfi  une  souris.  Si  le  cas  se  present  ait,  seriez-vous  dispose  a  dormer 
une  grosse  somme  ?  » 

«  —  Je  ne  pourrais  pas  r^pondre  a  l'improviste  a  cette  question, 
M.  Monroe  va  arriver  d'un  jour  a  l'autre,  nous  reTl^chirons  a  cela 
ensemble.  ^ 

<  —  D'ailleurs,  ajoute  n^gligemment  le  Due,  ce  ne  sont  que  des 
paroles  en  l'air,  la  Louisiane  n'est  pas  franchise.  ?> 

<  —  Mais  j'ai  vu  le  traiti  de  cession,  »  affirme  M.  Livingston  scan- 
dalise. 

c  —  Le  trailed  le  traite,  il  n'y  a  rien  de  difinitif  autour  de  nous.  » 
Et,  d'une  chiquemaude,  M.  de  Talleyrand  fait  sauter  un  grain  de 
tabac,  mal  pose-  sur  son  habit,  pour  souligner  l'instabiiite  des  choses 
d'ici-bas. 

«  —  Je  suis  fort  aise  d'entendre  cela,  car  alors  nous  ne  serons  pas 
dans  1'obligatton  d'arracher  la  Nile  Orleans  a  l'Espagne,  avec  qui 
nous  nous  accordons  tol enablement.  Si  M.  Monroe  est  du  meme 
avis,  nous  pourrons  arreier  la  des  negociations  inutiles.  > 

M.  de  Talleyrand  n'aime  pas  ce  recul.  «  —  Revenez  me  voir,  mon 
ami,  re^chissez  et  revenez  me  voir.  > 

:  fois,  il  l'accompagne  jusqu'a  la  porte,  en  claudiquant,  et 
lui  tend  une  petite  main  seche,  qui  rcsserable  a  une  serre. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN9AISE 

M.  Monroe  arrive  le  1a  avril,  il  passe  la  journee  avec  M.  Livings- 
ton, examinant  un  document  apres  l'autre,  et  le  soir  dine  avec  lui 
et  un  cercle  nombreux,  desireux  de  souhaiter  la  bienvenue  au  nou- 
vel  emissaire. 

Au  cours  du  diner,  M.  Livingston  apercoit  son  voisin,  M.  Barbe- 
Marbois,  dans  le  jardin.  II  lui  depeche  un  secretaire  pour  le  prier 
d'entrer,  mais  le  ministre  prefere  revenir  un  peu  plus  tard.  On  est 
en  train  de  prendre  le  cafe  quand  il  fait  son  apparition  ;  apres  quel- 
ques  minutes,  il  emmene  M.  Livingston  dans  un  petit  salon  a  l'ecart, 
et  lui  dit  que  rentrant  dc  St.  Cloud,  il  a  appris  qu'en  son  absence 
son  hote  s'etait  rendu  deux  fois  chez  lui.  II  est  venu  s'excuser  de 
1'avoir  manque,  M.  Livingston  a-t-il  du  nouveau  a  lui  communi- 
quer  ? 

€  Mon  Dieu,  pas  grand'chose,  >  dit  M.  Livingston,  qui  lui  ra- 
conte  l'etrange  attitude  de  M.  de  Talleyrand. 

c  —  Cette  conversation,  enchatne  M.  Barbe-Marbois,  me  remet 
en  memoire  un  incident  qui  s'est  passed  a  St  Cloud,  mais  votre  mai- 
son  est  envahie,  il  est  difficile  de  causer.  Venez  done  me  voir  ce 
soir,  n'importe  quand  avant  minuit.  Je  me  couche  toujours  fort 
tard  »  ajoute  heroVquement  le  ministre,  pourtant  bien  fatigue  de 
sa  nuit  presque  blanche. 

Lorsque  M.  Monroe  et  tous  les  autres  invites  sont  partis,  M. 
Livingston  va  trouver  M.  Barbe-Marbois,  qui  lui  demandc  de  repe- 
ter  ce  qu'a  dit  M.  de  Talleyrand  a  propos  de  la  possibility  d'un 
achat. 

M.  Livingston  repete  volontiers  et  souligne  I'absurdit£  des  eva- 
sions du  ministre  des  affaires  c^trangeres.  Ces  delais  inutiles  don- 
neront  a  rAngleterre  le  temps  de  saisir  la  Louisiane  et  de  la  re- 
mettre  aux  Etats-Unis,  comme  Lord  Addington  l'a  assure  a  M. 
King,  ajoute-t-il  avec  une  pointe  d'humcur.  C'est,  en  fin  de  compte, 
les  Francais  qui  seront  les  dindons  de  la  farce. 

«  Le  Premier  Consul,  repete  confidentiellement  M.  Barb6-Marbois, 
a  dit  avoir  eu  vent  d'un  pot-de-vin  de  deux  millions  de  dollars  cir- 
culant  quelque  pan.  et  ma  foi  ce  chiifre  lui  a  donne  soif.  >  Plus  tard, 
comme  on  se  promenait  dans  les  jardins,  il  a  rejoint  M.  Marbois  et 
lui  a  parle  de  l'ebullition  americaine,  il  venait  de  lire  les  resolutions 
du  Senat  communiquees  par  le  prevoyant  President  Jefferson.  II 
lui  a  demande  si  M.  Livingston  elait  satisfait  de  la  derniere  note 
qu'il  lui  avail  fait  tenir,  et  il  a  ajout£  :  <  Vous  avez  charge  du  Tresor, 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 


U* 


tanl 

tofa 


qu'ils  me  donnent  quatre-vingt  millions  de  francs  et  paient  le  mon- 
tant  de  leurs  reclamations  et  ils  peuvent  prendre  le  pays  tout  entier.  > 
Le  ministre  a  trouve  les  cinquante  millions  de  Bonaparte  trop 
modestes,  en  chemin  il  les  a  gonftes.  pour  pouvoir  descendre  si  be- 
soin  est.  Devant  la  longue  figure  de  M,  Livingston,  qui  n'a  pu 
retenir  une  grimace  en  entendant  ce  chiffre,  il  se  hale  d'ajouter  : 
c  Pour  moi,  je  suis  d'accord  que  c'est  une  somme  exorbitante,  je 
]'ai  dit  au  Consul,  il  ma  repondu  que  si  le  Congres  n'avait  pas  ces 
fonds,  il  pouvait  toujours  les  emprunter,  et,  je  peux  bien  vous  le 
dire  entre  nous,  Bonaparte  se  m^fie  de  M.  de  Talleyrand,  il  m'a 
confie-  la  direction  des  pourparlers,  n'en  dites  rien  au  ministre.  » 

<  —  Voyons,  M.  Barbl,  soyons  raisonnables.  D'abord  mon  Gou- 
vernement  ne  s'interesse  qu'i  la  Nile  Orleans,  il  n'a  nullement 
l'intention  de  passer  la  riviere,  et  de  plus  il  n'est  pas  dispose"  a  payer 
une  grosse  somme.  Nos  concitoyens  ont  une  grande  aversion  pour 
les  dettes  publiques,  comment  pourrions-nous  encourir  leur  dis- 
grace, les  charger  de  l'lnorme  contribution  de  quinze  millions  de 
dollars  ?  > 

«  —  Enfin,  quel  chiffre  suggerez-vous.  M.  Livingston  ?  » 

<  —  Je  ne  sais  pas,  il  faudra  que  je  consulte  M.  Monroe.  » 

<  —  Croyez-vous  que  soixante-dix  millions  plus  vingt-cinq  mil- 
lions pour  les  dettes  formeraient  un  total  acceptable,  je  pourrais 
wsayer  ?  > 

<  —  Non,  non,  c'est  encore  beaucoup  trop  1  > 

<  —  Le  Consul  n'acceptera  pas  moins,  vous  connaissez  aussi  bien 
que  moi  son  caractere  difficile.  > 

<  —  Le  Consul  doit  conserver  a  lesprit  que  1'AmeVique  peut  pren- 
dre par  la  force,  sans  difncultes  et  sans  grandes  defenses,  la  Loui- 
siane.  Si  elle  ne  l'a  pas  fait  plutot,  c'est  parce  que  le  President  1'a 
restreinte.  »  Et  sur  cette  Bfeche,  M.  Livingston,  qui  s'endort,  se  dirige 
vers  la  porte. 

«  —  C'est  vrai,  mon  bon  Monsieur,  mais  quand  vous  parlez  de 
la  Louisiane,  vous  devez  considerer  l'importance  de  son  fleuve, 
l'itendue  du  pays,  l'importance  que  cela  vous  donnerait.  Plus  d'en- 
nemis  a  vos  portes,  songez  done  >,  poursuit  d'une  voix  persuasive 
M.  BarW-Marbois,  en  le  rcconduisant  jusqu'au  jardin. 

Pour  autant  qu'il  s'endorme,  M.  Livingston  ne  se  couche  pas  tout 
de  suite.  II  mande,  par  le  menu,  a  M.  Madison,  la  scene  qui  vient  de 
:  passer,  dont  il  n'a  pas  saisi  tres  clairement  toutes  les  ficelles,  mais 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

dans  laquelle  il  a  devine  le  commencement  de  la  fin.  Les  choses, 
trouve-t-il,  ne  marchent  pas  si  mal...  <  les  transactions  d'argent  sont 
toujours  les  plus  faciles,  mime  si  on  atteint  la  somme  mentionnee 
par  M.  Barbi-Marbois,  on  pourra  probablement  la  rattraper  en 
revendant  les  terres  situe'es  a  I'Ouest  clu  Mississipi  mix  pouvoirs 
souverains  a" Europe,  dont  on  ne  craint  pas  le  voisinage.  D'aitleurs 
les  revenus  de  la  Louisiane  augmenteront  rapidement  entre  nos 
mains,.,  Je  ferai  de  mon  mieux  pour  acheter  le  plus  avantageuse- 
ment  possible,  mats,  dans  mon  opinion,  on  ftnira  par  acheter.  M. 
Monroe  doit  itre  presente  dematn  au  Ministre,  et  nous  ferons  des 
propositions  concretes,  car  le  Premier  Consul  part  dans  quelques 
jours  pour  Bruxelles  et  les  moments  sont  pre'cieux.  » 

Le  lenderaain,  M.  Livingston  et  M.  Monroe  conferent  et  tombent 
d'accord  sur  le  chiffre  de  cinquante  millions,  mais  comme  il  faut 
toujours  laisser  une  marge  de  marchandage,  on  va  offrir  quarante 
millions. 

Quand  M.  Livingston  lui  apporte  ce  chiffre.  M.  Barbe-Marbois 
leve  les  bras  au  del.  Quarante  millions  1  1'offre  est  refusee  avant 
d'etre  proposee,  il  en  est  sur.  M.  Talleyrand  lui  a  deja  dit  que  le 
Premier  Consul  avait  £te  tres  mecontent  de  la  liberie  qu'il  avait 
prise  de  parler  de  reduction. 

Incertain,  M.  Livingston,  pour  jouer  tous  ses  atouts  va  voir  M. 
de  Talleyrand.  II  rencontre  chez  lui  M.  Barbe-Marbois,  qui  avait 
tant  recommande  la  discretion.  De  qui  se  moque-t-on  dans  cette 
histoire  ? 

M.  Livingston  est  en  train  de  diner  avec  le  Second  Consul,  M. 
Bar  be1 -Mar  bo  is  les  rejoint  au  dernier  service.  II  arrive  de  St  Cloud, 
il  a  parle  a  Bonaparte,  qui  n'a  meme  pas  eu  l'air  d'entendre  ce 
qu'il  disait  et  s'cst  remis  i  lire  ses  rapports  sans  ouvrir  les  levres.  II 
retournera  demain  au  Palais,  si  M.  Livingston  a  une  meilleure  pro- 
position a  faire,  c'est  le  moment  ou  jamais. 

«  Tres  bien,  decide  M.  Livingston,  nous  offrons  cinquante  mil- 
lions. > 

M.  Barbe-Marbois  soupire.  II  n'a  pas  confiance,  mais  il  fera  ce 
qu'il  pourra.  Le  Consul  a  donne  le  royaume  d'Etrurie,  qui  rapporte, 
bon  an  mal  an,  vingt-cinq  millions  de  revenu,  l'echange  lui  paraitra 
pietre. 

M.  de  Talleyrand  sourit  mysterieusement,  et  sa  paupiere  voilee 
couvre  un  mcpris  immense. 


En  berline,  M.  Barbe-Marbois  court  de  M.  Livingston  a  Bona- 
parte, de  M.  Monroe  a  M.  de  Talleyrand,  commissaire-priseur  a 
petils  bonds.  Un  million  de  plus,  il  en  faut  trois,  on  dit  deux,  et  on 


s 

SOI 


A  la  fin  d'avril,  l'entente  est  faite.  La  Louisiane  a  et£  definitive- 
ment  etiquetee,  elle  a  un  prix  qu'elle  pourra  ecrire  tout  au  long 
sur  son  connaissement  :  quatre-vingt  millions  de  francs,  dont  vingt 
seront  reserves  aux  deties  et  payes  directement  aux  armateurs  et 
negociants  americains  leses. 

En  apprenant  cei  arrangement,  le  Consul  devient  ecarlate  de 
fureur.  S'il  s'agit  de  quatre-vingt  millions,  il  lui  faut  quatre-vingt 
millions  dans  son  tresor  ;  M.  BarW-Marbois  s'emploie  de  son  mieux 
a  lui  faire  remarquer  qu'il  a  reclame  cinquante  millions  et  qu'on 
lui  en  apporte  soixante,  sans  compter  la  satisfaction  d'avoir  dispose 
du  litige  americain,  sans  qu'il  en  cofite  un  sou  a  la  France. 

Malgre  son  obstination,  le  Consul  est  oblige  de  reconnaltre  le 
bien-fonde  de  ces  arguments.  Pourtant  il  regrette  encore  ces  vingt 
millions  qu'il  ne  verra  pas. 

II  surveille  lui-meme  la  redaction  du  Traill,  une  carte  est  di- 
ployee  sous  les  yeux  des  negociateurs.  L'article  1  est  termine  :  Le 
Premier  Consul  de  la  Ripublique  Francaise,  disirant  donner  aux 
~'.ats-Unis  une  forte  preuve  de  son  amitU,  cede  par  la  prisente  aux 

'ats-Unis,  au  nom  de  la  Ripublique  Francaise  et  &  jamais,  en  touts 
souveraineti ,  la  Louisiane  avec  ses  droits  et  appartenances,  de  la 
mime  maniere  qu'elle  a  eti  acquise  par  la  Ripublique  Francaise, 
en  vertu  du  Traiti  conctu  avec  Sa  Majeste  Catholique,  a  San  Jlde- 
fonso,  le  f  octobre  1800. 

M.  Barbe -Marbois  arrete  sa  plume,  et  fait  remarquer  au  Premier 
Consul  qu'il  y  a  dans  cet  article  une  obscurite,  que  des  stipulations 
aussi  vagues  peuvent  par  la  suite  donner  naissance  a  des  difficulies. 

—  <  Si  1'obscurite  n'y  dtait  pas,  il  serait  peut-etre  d'une  bonne  poli- 
tique de  I'y  meitre  ».  repond  Bonaparte  avec  un  petit  rire  narquois. 
inue,  l'article  III  est  presque  termine  :  Les  habitants  des 
territoires  ccdis  seront  incorporis  dans  I'Union  des  Etats,  aussi  pro- 
chainement  qu'il  sera  possible  et  admis,  suivant  les  principes  de  la 
Constitution  Fidirale,  a  la  jouissance  de  tons  teurs  droits,  aux  avan- 

\es  et  immunity  des  citoyens  des  Etats-Unis,  et  en  attendant  sen 

•intenus  et  protege's  dans  la  jouissance  de  leurs  libertis  et  pro- 

iitis  et  dans  I'exercice  de  la  religion  qu'ils  projessent... 


LA    LOUISIANA    FRANCJAISE 

<  Arrfitez,  interrompt  Bonaparte,  je  dicte,  £crivez  :  Que  Ies 
Louisianais  sachcnt  que  nous  nous  scparons  d'eux  avec  regret,  que 
nous  stipulons  en  leur  faveur  tout  ce  qu'ils  peuvem  desirer,  et  qu'i 
l'avenir,  heureux  dans  leur  inddpendance,  ils  se  souviennent  qu'ils 
ont  ete  Francais,  et  que  la  France,  en  les  cidant,  leur  a  assure  des 
avantages  qu'ils  n'auraient  pu  obtenir  sous  le  gouvernement  d'une 
metropole  d'Europe,  quelque  paternel  qu'il  puisse  etre  ;  qu'ils 
conservent  pour  nous  des  sentiments  d'affection  et  que  I'origine 
commune,  la  parente,  le  langage,  les  moeurs  perpi^tuent  1' amine.  > 

Un  peu  imu,  Bonaparte  est  parti  regarder  par  la  fenetre  les  mar- 
ronniers  bourgeonnant. 

Les  pl^nipotentiaires  continuent  a  ridiger.  L'article  VII  donne 
aux  vaisseaux  de  France  et  d'Espagne  la  facilite  d'user  des  ports  de 
Louisiane,  et,  durant  douze  ans,  leurs  marchandises  ne  seront  sou- 
mises  qu'aux  droits  payes  par  les  citoyens  des  Etats-Unis  ;  l'article 
VIII  assure  aux  vaisseaux  francais  le  traitement  de  la  nation  la  plus 
fa  von  see. 

Le  Traite  est  termine,  M.  Barbe-Marbois,  qui  est  l'honn£tete 
meme,  en  momrant  sur  la  carte  le  Nord  inconnu  et  la  partie  encore 
non  exploree  entre  la  Louisiane  et  la  Floride,  au  sud  du  gi\  fail 
remarquer  a  M.  Livingston  :  «  l'article  premier  pourra  avec  le  temps 
faire  naitrc  des  dimcultes.  Elles  sont  insurmontables  aujourd'hui,  si 
elles  ne  vous  arretent  pas,  je  desire  au  moins  que  vos  commettants 
sachem  que  vous  en  avez  £te  averti.  > 
"  Le  io*"»  jour  de  Flontal,  dans  la  II*  annee  de  la  Republique, 
soil  le  30  avril  1803,  MM.  Barbe-Marbois,  Robert  T.  Livingston 
et  James  Monroe  signent  le  Traiie  de  Paris,  puis  ertiaiigem  des 
poignees  de  main  chaleureuses. 

c  Ceci,  declare  M.  Livingston,  est  1'ceuvre  la  plus  noble  de  noire 
vie  eniiere.  Le  Traits  que  nous  venons  de  signer  n'a  pas  ete  surpris 
par  la  ruse,  ni  dictd  par  la  force,  egalement  avantageux  pour  les 
contractants,  il  changera  de  vastes  solitudes  en  pays  florissants.  Les 
Eiats-Unis  vont  retablir  pour  tous  les  droits  maritimes,  pour  le 
moment,  usurped  par  une  seule  nation  ;  c'est  d'aujourd'hui  qu'ils 
sont  au  nombre  des  puissances  de  premier  rang.  » 

Lorsque  Bonaparte  apprend  que  le  Traite1  est  signe1,  il  se  frotte 
les  mains  de  satisfaciion.  Avec  un  magnilique  eclair  de  revanche  dans 
ses  yeux  enfonces,  d'une  voix  vibrante  il  prend  le  monde  a  temoin, 
er  prophet  is  e  :  *  Cette  accession  de  territoire  aifermit  pour  toujour* 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  345 

la  puissance  des  Etats-Unis  et  je  viens  de  donner  a  l'Angleterre  une 
rivale  maritime,  qui,  t6t  ou  tard,  abaissera  son  orgueil  t  » 

Moins  haut,  presque  reveusement,  il  ajoute  :  «  Un  jour  viendra 
peut-ttre  ou  cette  cession  de  la  Louisiane  aux  Etats-Unis  rendra 
i'Amerique  trop  puissante  pour  l'Europe.  » 

M.  Livingston,  qui  a  en  tgte  les  reflexions  de  M.  Barbe-Marbois 
au  sujet  de  contestations  possibles  autour  des  parties  mal  connues 
et  trop  vaguement  delimitees,  retourne  voir  le  Due  de  Talleyrand 
pour  lui  demander  ou  s'arrete  exactement  le  territoire  qu'il  vient 
d'acquerir.  Le  Due  a  plus  que  jamais  l'air  de  se  moquer  de  son 
monde,  et  cela  deconcerte  toujours  l'Americain. 

<  —  M.  Livingston,  je  n'en  ai  pas  la  plus  petite  idee,  tout  ce  que 
je  sais  e'est  que  nous  vous  donnerons  le  pays  comme  nous  1'aurons 
recu,  e'est  la  seule  chose  que  je  puisse  vous  dire.  » 

<  —  Mais  que  comptez-vous  reprendre  a  I'Espagne  ?  * 
«  —  Je  vous  repete  que  je  n'en  ai  pas  la  moindre  idee.  * 
«  —  Vous  voulez  dire  que  ce  sera  a  nous  de  fixer  nos  bordures  ?  > 
C  —  Je  ne  peux  vous  donner  aucun  eclairrissement  sur  ce  point. 

Vous  avez  conclu  un  noble  marche  pour  vous-meme  et  je  suppose 
que  vous  en  tirerez  tout  le  maximum  possible.  » 

Le  »!  mai,  les  hostility  reprennent  entre  la  France  et  1'Angleterre, 
sans  attendre  les  dispositions  du  Gouvemement  americain.  Bona- 
parte ratifie  le  Traite  pour  mettre  la  Louisiane  a  l'abri. 

M.  King,  qui  a  etd  avis£  du  Traite  par  M.  Livingston,  en  a  in- 
form£  aussit6t  Lord  Hawkesbury,  qui  ires  gracieusement  lui  repond 
quelques  jours  plus  tard  :  <  J'ai  recu  de  Sa  Majeste  I'ordre  de  vous 
exprimer  le  plaisir  avec  lequel  Elle  a  recu  cette  intelligence.  » 

Le  Traite,  ratifie  par  le  Premier  Consul,  arrive  a  Washington  le 
14  juillet  1803.  L'Espagne  a  deja  proteste  aupres  du  President.  Le 
marquis  de  Casa  Irujo,  l'ambassadeur,  a  declare  que  Bonaparte 
n'avait  pas  le  droit  d'aliener  la  Louisiane,  d'autant  plus  qu'il  etait 
sous  obligation  de  faire  reconnattre  le  Roi  d'Etrurie  par  tous  les 
pouvoirs  europeens,  et  ne  s'est  pas  encore  entremis  aupres  des  Cours 
de  St  James  et  de  St  Petersbourg,  le  Traite  de  vente  n'est  done  pas 
operant. 

M.  Jefferson  ne  reconnait  pas  le  bien-fondd  de  ces  objections.  Sur 
les  conseils  de  M.  Livingston,  il  passe  outre  et  convoque  le  Congres 
pour  le  mois  d'Octobre  suivant,  afin  de  proctfder  a  la  ratification. 

Le  17  Octobre,  les  dibats  sont  engages.  La  plupart  des  secateurs 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

ont  a  la  verite  sur  la  Louisiane  les  notions  les  plus  vagues  et  les 
plus  fantaisistes.  lis  ont  entendu  dire  qu'il  y  avail  quelque  part  une 
immense  montagne  de  sel,  blanche  et  transparente  comme  un  gros 
crista!,  d'ou  par  les  fissures  coulaient  des  ruisseaux  sal  ins.  lis  savent 
que  le  pays  est  a  l'Ouest,  une  situation  nebuleuse  dans  les  esprits 
peu  inities  aux  mysteres  de  la  geographic  et  c'est  tout. 

II  n'y  a  point  d'unanimite"  quant  a  la  desirabilite  de  1'acquisi- 
tion,  tres  vite  I'animation  s'attise,  les  objections  grandisseni,  les 
quinze  millions  de  dollars  sonnent  gros  aux  oreilles  des  ruraux. 

M.  Samuel  White,  du  Delaware,  attire  l'attention  sur  les  maux 
qui  suivront.  «  Si  cet  immense  monde  nouveau,  ce  monde  sans  limi- 
tes  est  incorpore  dans  l'Union,  les  citoyens  des  Etats  quitteront  leur 
present  territoire,  traverseront  la  riviere.  Eloigned  a  d'^normes  dis- 
tances, peut-etre  a  deux  ou  trois  mille  milles  de  la  capitale  de  l'Union. 
ils  sentiront  a  peine  les  rayons  de  son  Gouvernement,  leur  affection 
sera  alienee,  graduellemem  ils  deviendront  pour  nous  des  Stran- 
gers. »  II  assure  de  plus  que  quinze  millions  de  dollars  repr&entent 
une  somme  enorme,  quand  il  s'agit  de  la  payer. 

M.  James  Jackson,  de  Georgie,  ne  partage  pas  les  inquietudes  de 
M.  White.  II  est  positivement  sur  que  pas  un  habitant  de  l'Est  ne 
traversera  la  riviere  pour  aller  habiter  un  pays  aussi  perdu  que  la 
Louisiane.  En  revanche,  il  croit  qu'on  pourrait  persuader  aux 
sauvages  du  Sud  d'y  aller,  leurs  terres  alors  deviendraient  vacantes 
et  conviendraient  a  des  emigrants  europeens  desirables,  ce  qui  serait 
une  excellente  solution. 

M.  Robert  Wright,  du  Maryland,  approuve  1'achat.  Tres  certaine- 
ment,  les  Louisianais  seront  des  citoyens  fideles  de  l'Union  <  car  ils 
ne  seront  pas  assez  fous  pour  preferer  etre  sujets  d'un  lointain  pou- 
voir  d'Europe,  quand  ils  peuvent  etre  membres  de  cet  immense 
empire,  avec  tous  les  privileges  des  citoyens  am  erica  ins.  > 

Les  F£d£ralistes  sont  violemment  opposes  a  cet  agrandissement. 
Des  membres  du  Congres  soulevent  un  point  constitutionnel,  la 
Constitution  permet-elle  d'acquerir  un  territoire  etranger.  par  de- 
boursement  ?  En  lui-m£me,  le  President  Jefferson  se  pose  la  mime 
question. 

A  la  Chambre  des  Represemants,  le  debat  se  prolonge.  Le  s6 
Octobre,  le  Traite  est  enfin  rati  fit-  par  une  majoritc  de  deux  tiers. 
Le  President  est  autorise  a  prendre  possession  du  territoire.  le  Con- 
gres a  vote  la  creation  d'un  fond  de  1 1,250.000  dollars  pour  proceder 
*  ^'execution  des  clauses. 


XLVI. 


ins  rien  savoir  des  evenements  recents  de  France,  la  Louisiane, 

i  peu  assagie  depuis  qu'on  a  enterre,  en  1800,  Philippe  de  Marigny 
de  Mandeville  dans  la  Cathldrale,  attend  le  General  Victor  et  fait 
ses  preparatifs.  Le  Gouverneur,  Don  Juan  Manuel  de  Salcedo,  un 
vieillard  presque  impotent,  et  un  tantinet  radoieur,  a  deUegu£  ses 
pouvoirs,  a  son  jeune  fils.  On  a  vendu  aux  encheres  la  fourniture  de 
viande  pour  les  troupes  a  venir,  et  des  troupeaux  sont  r  assembles. 

On  dit  qu'un  vaisseau  francais  approche.  Ne  sachant  a  quoi  s'at- 
tendre,  le  gouverneur  publie  quelques  ordonnances  preventives  : 
les  reunions  publiques  sont  inierdites,  il  est  defendu  de  circuler 
sans  lumiere  dans  les  rues,  apres  dix  heures ;  les  vagabonds  ont  trois 
jours  pour  quitter  la  ville. 

Le  8i  mars  1803,  le  vaisseau  annonce  entre  dans  la  passe.  Ce  n'est 
pas  le  General  Victor  qui  arrive,  mais  M.  de  Laussat,  en  mer  depuis 
cinquante-huit  jours. 

Don  Manuel,  le  fils  du  Gouverneur,  le  Lt.  Calderon,  repr&entant 
l'armee  et  Don  Ramos,  l'intendant,  partent  imm^diatement  dans  le 
sloop  de  la  douane,  pour  recevoir  le  Preset  Golonial  au  seuil  de  la 
Louisiane. 

A  quatre  heures  de  releve'e,  le  26,  M.  Pierre-Clement  de  Laussat, 
ou  plutdt  le  citoyen  Laussat,  s'il  faut  l'appeler  par  son  nom,  met 
pied  a  terre  devant  la  Nile  Orleans,  au  bruit  d'une  salve  d'artillerie. 
Une  delegation  de  dignitaires  l'escorte  jusqu'a  la  residence  du  Gou- 
verneur, puis  a  la  belle  demeure  de  M.  de  Marigny,  que  la  famille 
a  mise  a  sa  disposition. 

Plusieurs  francais  ont  tenu  a  contribuer  a  ses  aises  :  M.  de  Libau- 
dan  a  pret£  du  linge,  M,  de  Pontalba  a  offert  les  esclaves. 

Salcedo,  peniblement,  lui  rend  sa  visite  et  met  son  equi- 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN9AISE 

page  a  sa  disposition  ;  le  lendemain,  les  principaux  notables,  con- 
duits par  M.  Lanusse,  Bearnais  coramc  hii,  qui  est  a  la  tele  du 
Cabildo,  le  clerge,  les  planteurs  voisins  viennent  lui  offrir  leurs  res- 
pects. M.  Laussat  s'effbrce  d'etre  gracieux  avec  tout  le  monde, 
d'ailleurs  il  est  aimable  par  temperament.  Ancien  membre  du  con- 
seil  des  Cinq-Cents  el  du  Tribunal,  cet  homme  de  trente-six  ans  sail, 
en  principe,  manier  les  foules,  pourtant  dans  cette  atmosphere 
etrangere,  il  est  un  peu  deconcerte. 

II  s'attendait  a  une  explosion  de  joie,  croyait  debarquer  en  libera- 
leur,  arracher  avec  grandiloquence  un  joug  deieste.  Au  lieu  de  cela, 
tl  trouve  des  Francais  et  des  Espagnols  bras-dessus  bras-dessous, 
maries  entre  eux,  s'entendani  comme  larrons  en  foire.  11  n'entend 
pas  prononcer  autour  de  lui  les  mots  que  la  revolution  lui  a  rendu 
familiers  :  lyrannie,  despotisme, 

A  la  verite,  les  Louisianais  ont  peur  de  ce  representant  republi- 
cain,  qui  va  peut-etre  tout  bouleverser.  lis  n'ont  pas  oublie  les 
alrocites  encore  proches  de  la  revolution  ;  les  planteurs,  dont  quel- 
ques-uns  sont  des  refugies  de  St.  Domingue.  ont  encore  present  a 
la  memoire  l'eftroyable  massacre  de  l'ile.  La  Republique  ne  va-i-elle 
pas  dechainer  les  esclaves  de  la  Louisiane  ?  II  y  a  de  l'inquietude 
dans  1'air. 

Un  Louisianais,  venu  de  sa  concession  de  la  Riviere-Rouge,  parce 
qu'il  est  influent  dans  sa  paroisse,  est  preseme  a  M.  Laussai.  «  Ci- 
toyen  >  commence  le  Prefet...  le  planteur,  saisi  par  ces  syllabes  qu'il 
entend  pour  la  premiere  fois,  se  retourne  pour  voir  s'il  y  a  quel- 
qu'un  derriere  lui.  Non,  il  s'agit  bien  de  lui.  Dans  la  denomination 
insolite,  il  presscnt  un  danger,  et,  imperceptiblement,  couche  ses 
oreilles  comme  un  lapin  pret  a  deguerpir. 

M.  Laussai  est  irrite  de  ne  pas  entendre  de  jeremiades  contre  ces 
Espagnols  qu'il  avail  pris,  de  loin,  pour  des  ennemis.  II  lui  faut 
gagner  l'amitie  des  habitants,  les  rassurer. 

Le  tambour  de  ville  toume  sur  la  place  d'Armes,  en  s'egosillant 
de  son  mieux  sur  la  proclamation  du  prefet,  qu'il  fichera  ensuite, 
par  un  clou,  contre  un  arbre  :  <  6  Germinal.  Louisianais,  voire 
separation  de  la  France  marque  une  des  epoques  les  plus  honteusei 
de  nos  Pastes,  sous  un  gouvernement  faible  et  corrompu,  apres  une 
guerre  ignominieuse  et  a  la  suite  d'une  paix  fle~trissante.  A  cote"  d'un 
abandon  lAche  et  denature,  vous  off  rites  le  contrast  e  d'un  amour, 
d'une  fide'lite'  et  d'un  courage  heroiques.  Tous  les  cceurs  francais  en 


LA    LOUISIANE    JFRANfAISE  349 

furent  attendris  et  n'en  ont  jamais  perdu  la  mimoire  ;  ils  s'icriirent 
ators  avec  orgueil  et  ils  n'ont  jamais  cessi  de  repiter  que  leur  sang 
coulait  dans  vos  veines.  > 

«  Aussitdt  qu'ils  eurent  repris  leur  digniti  et  reconquis  leur  gloire, 
par  la  Revolution,  et  par  une  suite  prodigieuse  de  triomphes,  ils 
ont  reporti  sur  vous  leurs  regards  ;  vous  ites  entris  dans  leurs  pre- 
mieres negociations  ;  ils  voulaient  que  voire  retrocession  signaldt 
leur  premiere  Paix...  Le  temps  n'en  etait  pas  encore  venu,  il 
faltait  qu'un  Homme  par&t,  a  qui  rien  de  ce  qui  est  national, 
grand,  magnanime,  juste  ne  fut  itranger,  ni  impossible  ;  qui,  au 
talent  le  plus  eminent  des  Victoires,  unit  le  talent  plus  rare  d'en 
tirer  et  d'en  fixer  tous  les  heureux  resultats  ;  qui  commanda  a  la 
fois  par  I'ascendant  de  son  caractere,  aux  ennemis  la  terreur  et  aux 
allies  la  con  fiance  ;  qui,  d'un  ginie  penetrant  apercut  les  veritables 
interets  de  son  pays,  et,  d'une  volonti  inibranlable  les  embrassa  ; 
qui  fut  ne"  enfin  pour  rasseoir  la  France  sur  ses  fondements,  la  re"- 
tablir  dans  I' et  endue  entiere  de  ses  limites,  et  laver  toutes  les 
Taches  de  ses  Annates.  » 

4  Cet  Homme,  il  preside  aujourd'hui  a  vos  Destinies,  et,  des  ce 
moment,  Louisianais,  il  vous  repond  des  votres.  i 

«  ...Pour  qu'elles  soient  belles  et  heureuses,  il  suffit  de  seconder 
sur  ce  sol  fortuni  les  prodigalitis  de  la  nature  ;  tels  sont  aussi  les 
desseins  du  gouvernement  Francois.  > 

«  Vivre  en  paix  et  en  amitii  avec  tous  vos  voisins,  protiger  votre 
commerce,  encouragcr  votre  agriculture,  peupler  vos  diserts,  accueil- 
lir  et  favoriser  le  travail  et  Vindustrie,  respecter  les  proprietes,  les 
habitudes  et  les  opinions,  rendre  hommage  au  Culte,  mettre  la  pro- 
bite"  en  honneur,  conserver  aux  Lois  leur  empire  et  ne  les  corriger 
mime  qu'avec  mesure  et  au  flambeau  de  {'experience,  mainlenir  une 
police  vigilante  et  ferme,  resserrer  chaque  jour  les  nauds  qu'une 
mime  origine,  les  mimes  m&urs,  les  mimes  inclinations  itablissent 
entre  cette  colonie  et  la  Mere  Patrie.  Voila,  Louisianais,  ['honorable 
mission  dont  votre  Capitaine  Ginirat,  votre  Prifet  Colonial  et  votre 
Commissaire  de  Justice  se  filicitent  d'itre  chargis  au  milieu  de 
vous. » 

€  Vous  vous  applaudirez,  sous  tous  les  rapports,  d'itre  redevenus 
Francois  ;  vous  sentirez  de  jour  en  jour  davantage  le  prix  de  ce 

Kbeau  titre,  objet  aujourd'hui  d'envie  sur  tout  le  globe.  Nous  savons 
nianmoins,  Louisianais,  et  nous  ne  voulons  pas  le  dissimuler,  que 


I 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN9AISE 

durant  (rente  arts  I'Espagne,  par  la  douceur  d'un  Gouvernement 
riparateur  et  ginireux  s'est  efforcee  de  vous  fairs  oublter  la  jaute 
sanglante  d'un  Agent  indigne  de  cette  noble  nation...  > 

La  voix  du  crieur,  enroue'e  et  lasse,  se  fait  de  plus  en  plus  inin- 
telligible.  Sur  la  place  la  foule  s'est  amassee,  les  vieux  lont  cercle 
pour  mieux  entendre,  les  passants  s'arr£tem  un  moment,  en  chan- 
geant  de  main  leur  fardeau.  M.  Laussat,  sur  un  balcon  regarde  la 
scene. 

Pas  un  visage  ne  tressaille  en  ecoutant  ces  mots  enormes,  aucune 
Amotion  ne  se  manifeste,  le  crieur  pourrait  tout  aussi  bien  annoncer 
une  vente  a  l'encan  ou  la  fuite  d'un  esclave.  Quand  c'est  fini,  chacun 
retourne  a  ses  affaires. 

Deux  negriilons,  demi-nus,  ont  £coute  bouche  Wante.  —  Kin-  le 
nomme  ?  interroge  Jasmin  inquiet. 

—  In  di  gran  moune  di  laba,  lotre1  kot£  au  bor  dolo,  boucou  de 
li'vim.  re'pond  Joyau  ires  au  courant,  toi  pas  contan  ■ 

—  To  bon  toi.  Tu  ot£  li  so  li  la  libct^  £  to  ouU  li  contant,  grom- 
melle  l'enfant  qui  pr£fere  ce  qu'il  connait  a  l'inconnu. 

Deux  bateliexs  repartent  en  haussant  les  epaules  :  —  Tout  ca, 
c'est  du  chili  [jan.il  au  meme,  de  la  misere  pour  le  pauv'monde. 
condut  Alcee. 

La  tres  jolie  Madame  Laussat  arrive  sur  la  corvette  avec  sa  fille, 
les  officiers  commencent  a  s'interesser  a  la  famille  du  Preset,  lui 
font  les  honneurs  de  leur  ville,  qui  compte  quatre  nulle  toils. 
Sur  la  rue  de  Chartres,  dans  les  rues  perpendiculaires  de  Conti, 
Toulouse,  St.  Louis,  Orleans  et  les  autres,  les  plus  belles  residences, 
dont  quelques  unes  ont  trois  Stages,  ont  tii  rebaties  dans  le  style 
espagnol,  les  patios  sont  bruissants  de  fontaines,  les  Hours  jaillissent 
de  partout.  La  place  d'Armes  sur  deux  c6t£s  est  bord£e  de  maisons 
uniformes,  avec  galeries  et  balcons  de  fer  en  encorbellement. 

Dans  le  reste  de  la  ville  douze  cents  petites  maisons  surtlevies,  de 
bois,  s'entasseni.  Les  fortifications  du  Baron  de  Carondelei,  qui  n'ont 
pas  tie"  entretenues  sont  tout  croulantes.  Dans  la  palissade  des 
grandes  hreches  permettent  aux  animaux  en  maraude  de  s'intro- 
duire,  le  foss£  de  defense,  a  moitie  ramble1,  est  retomb£  sous  1'au- 
torite  des  grenouilles,  des  crapauds  et  des  serpents.  Les  rues,  mal 
egouttees,  par  cette  fin  d'hiver  sont  constellees  de  Haqucs  croupis- 
santes.  Le  port  est  tres  animc  :  perroquets  au  sichage,  bateaux  plats 
des  rivieres,  barques  tremoussantes. 


les 

I 

SOU 


LA     LOUISJANE    FRAN£AI5E  85* 

Bien  qu'on  montre  peu  dempressement,  un  mouvement  se  des- 
sine  cbez  les  Louisianais.  Pour  le  meilleur  ou  pour  le  pire,  on  va 
redevenir  Francais,  on  sera  au  moins  Francais  loyaux. 

Le  6  Avril,  M.  Laussat  recoit  une  adresse  redigee  au  nom  des 
planteurs  de  la  paroisse  St.  Jean-Bap tiste,  seconde  c6te  allemande. 
c  Citoyen  Prefet.  Voire  proclamation  du  6  Germinal,  en  nous  don- 
nant  Vassurance  certaine  de  noire  reunion  a  la  Ripublique  Fran- 
caise  a  ripandu  dans  nos  dmes  I'ivresse  de  la  supreme  filiciti.  C'itait 
le  but  de  nos  plus  ardents  desirs.  Les  vieillards,  de  tous  cotes,  ripe- 
tent  :  nous  pouvons  mourir  tnaintenant,  nous  sommes  Francois  !  et 
les  jeunes  gens  disent  :  I'aurore  du  bonkeur  se  leve  pour  nous !  Dija 
leurs  jeunes  cceurs  sont  enflammis  des  sentiments  qui  distinguent 
vrais  Republicans  ;  noire  mere  commune,  en  nous  envoyant  une 

rtie  des  soldats  qui  ont  conquis  la  liberte"  doit  s'attendre  que  nous 
saurons  les  imiter,  quand  il  faudra  la  difendre...  » 

Les  habitants  ont  aussi  prepared  une  adresse  :  <  Dans  un  age 
si  fertile  en  ivinements  etonnants,  sans  doute  des  choses  plus  me- 
morables,  plus  importantes  sont  arrivees,  mais  rien  peut-itre  n'offre 
un  tableau  aussi  inte'ressant,  aussi  touckant  que  cetut  de  la  France 
victorieuse  itendant  une  main  prolectrice  a  des  enfants  autrefois 
repousse's  de  son  sein  par  la  faiblesse  et  la  prevarication,  et  offrant 
de  partager  avec  elle  les  fruits  d'une  paix  glorieuse...  > 

c  L'Argo  »,  baitant  pavilion  francais,  arrive,  charge  de  muni- 
tions, mais  sans  nouvelles  du  General  Victor.  M.  Laussat.  qui  ne 
comprend  rien  a  ce  silence,  tue  le  lemps  en  faisant  des  rapports  pour 
son  gouvernement,  il  se  garde  bien  de  mentionner  la  froideur  de 
l'accueil  qu'il  a  recu.  Ou  il  est  aveugle,  ou  c'est  un  sot,  a  moins 
qu'il  ne  soit  tout  simplemem  flagorneur,  car  s'etendant  sur  Bona- 
parte, il  mande  au  ministre  Decres  :  «  C'est  impossible  de  parler 
un  instant  de  la  Republique,  de  ses  guerres,  de  ses  trailers,  de  ses 
destinies,  sans  entendre  son  nom  cantinuellement  mentionni  en 
termes  admiratifs...  Depuis  le  moment  de  man  arrivie,  la  joie  des 
habitants  s'est  bruyamment  manifestee...  Nous  avons  iti  recus  par- 
tout  par  nos  compatriotes  de  naissance  et  d'origine  avec  les  plus 
grands  temoignages  d'afjeclion...  * 

Cependant,  dans  un  elan  de  sincerite,  il  ajoute  qu'il  se  mefie  des 
Espagnols.  II  soumet  au  ministre  ses  plans  de  reforme  et  ses  obser- 
vations, la  justice  en  Louisiane  <  est  pire  qu'en  Turquie  »,  les  proces 
reviennent  si  chers  que  les  gens  leses  preferent  s'abstenir.  A  M. 


LA      LOUISIANA     FRAN^AISE 

Chaptal,  ministre  de  l'lnt^rieur,  il  declare  qu'il  faudra  introduire 
a  la  colonie  chaque  annec-  mille  a  deux  mille  families  choisies  dans 
les  provinces  voisines  du  Rliin  ou  de  la  Suisse,  «  parce  que  les  Emi- 
grants des  departemenls  du  Sud  ne  sont  bons  &  rien,  > 

Le  18  mai,  Don  Sebastien  Calvo  de  la  Puerta  Marquis  de  Casa- 
Calvo,  qui  vient  d'arriver  de  la  Havane,  ou  il  est  Lt.  General,  et 
Don  de  Salcedo,  Gouverneur,  au  nom  de  sa  Majesty  Catholique 
proclament  la  retrocession  de  la  Louisiane. 

Le  Mis  de  Casa-Calvo  a  iit  accueilli  a  grands  cris  par  tous  les 
amis,  qu'il  avait  laisse'  derriere  lui.  Grand  seigneur  spiritud,  il  est 
l'idole  de  la  colonie.  On  rapporie  son  dernier  trail  :  un  noir  s'etant 
respectueusement  incline  a  son  passage,  dans  la  rue,  le  marquis  a 
6te  son  chapeau  et  salu£  dun  grand  geste.  «  Monseigneur,  lui  a  dit 
son  compagnon  off  usque,  n'avez  vous  pas  vu  que  c'etait  un  negre  ?  > 
—  c  Certainement,  je  l'ai  vu,  a-t-il  re  pond  u,  ma  is  vous  ne  voudriez 
pas  que  je  permette  qu'un  negre  me  d^passe  en  politesse.  » 

II  a  convoque  chez  lui  les  habitants  desireux  de  conserver  leur 
obeissance  et  de  se  transporter  dans  une  autre  colonie  de  la  Cou- 
ronne.  De  nombreuses  families  choisisscnt  cette  alternative,  le  clerg* 
est  divis£,  malgr^  les  objurgations  de  M.  Laussat,  les  Ursulines, 
effray£es  par  <  les  lois  sacrileges  de  France  >,  demandent  a  gagner 
la  Havane.  Duradon  et  Meridie"  Brossard,  un  jeune  couple  Acadien, 
tout  intimide,  se  tient  devant  le  marquis,  qui  chercbe  a  les  en- 
trainer  a  Cuba  :  c  Sauf  vol  respect,  Monseigneur,  on  n'ira  point, 
ou  1'ombril  est  enterre  on  veut  toujours  rester,  ya  queque  chose 
com  mi-  qui  dirait  qui  vous  amarre  la.  » 

Toutes  ces  <  bonnes  manieres  »  faites  au  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo, 
qui,  il  est  vrai,  les  prend  d'un  peu  ham,  agacent  prodigieusement 
M.  Laussat.  II  va  profiter  de  ce  merveilleux  616  pour  visiter,  en 
curieux,  les  paroisses  eloigners.  II  veut  voir  de  pres  les  Acadiens, 
dont  on  lui  a  dit  tant  de  bien. 

Dans  les  Opelousas,  ou  avec  un  officier  il  erre  a  cheval,  sans  qu'au- 
cune  marque  extirieure  ne  decele  sa  qualttc,  un  jeune  paysan  coupe 
du  mai's.  A  sa  vue,  il  arrete  polimenl  son  travail. 

—  Vous  paraissez  bien  occupy,  mon  brave,  dit  M.  Laussat,  qui  de- 
puis  son  arrived  a  appris  a  negliger  le  mot  Citoyen. 

—  A  vot  service,  Mussieu,  je  tranche  les  cigales,  comme  vous  voyez. 

—  Nous  voulons  aller  a  St.  Martin,  en  sommes  nous  tres  loin  ? 
-  Que  non.  Mussieu,  e'est  par  dela  1'IIe  aux  Cypres,  et  e'est  point 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE  353 

un  chemin  mechant.  Quand  vous  mettrez  a  la  voile,  en  gagnant  le 
large  vous  aurez  a  vot  gauche  une  ile  que  vous  c6toyerez,  vous  verrez 
apres  un  gros  boue"  dans  le  fond,  quand  vous  aurez  navigue  une 
bonne  partie  de  la  journe"e,  vous  arriverez  a  l'anse-au-renard,  vous 
n'aurez  qu'a  hucher,  l'tiomme  qu'habite  en  face  s'en  vindra  vous 
piloter  dans  le  boue\ 

M.  Laussat,  devant  ce  vocabulaire  nautique,  e'carquille  les  yeux. 
Autour  de  lui  il  y  a  quelques  champs,  des  immenses  p&turages  poin- 
tings de  ruminants.  Son  compagnon  lui  explique  que,  par  tci,  ga- 
gner  le  large  signifie  s'engager  dans  la  prairie,  qu'une  tie  est  un 
bouquet  d'arbres  et  qu'une  pointe  de  pre"  avancant  dans  la  forfit 
s'appelle  une  anse. 

Interess6,  il  cause  avec  le  grand  gars,  on  va  vider  un  verre  de  Bois- 
son  a  la  ferme  longue  et  basse.  —  Degreyez-vous  done,  propose 
Valmire  Thibodeaux,  mis  en  confiance  par  ce  monsieur  pas  fier. 
II  fait  admirer  son  domaine,  devient  confidentiel  —  Dame,  on 
n'est  point  mal,  icite,  nos  popas  ont  defr^chi  la  terre  avant  nous, 
chacun  dans  nous  autres  a  eu  eune  ddsert  a  lui  pour  cultiver  le 
mai's,  mais  faut  s'echiner  dur  dans  la  chaleur  pour  de  la  riussite. 
J'vous  garantis  qu'on  fouine  pas,  faut  rabouter  la  terre,  renchausser 
et  dlchausser  le  mais,  moufter  les  meulons  de  paille,  j'vous  garantis 
qu'on  est  souvent  mal  en  position  avec  1'soleil  qui  tape  sur  le  senti, 
les  chamboulures,  les  maringouins,  les  betes  rouges  et  les  poux- 
de-bois.  Sitot  le  soleil  couche,  faut  boire  sa  tasse  de  lait  et  manger 
son  couche-couche,  et  puis  s'fourrer  en  bas  la  berre  pour  dormir  et 
s'lever  a  la  barre  du  jour. 

M.  Laussat  s'informe  des  r^coltes  de  la  paroisse,  des  coutumes 
locales,  des  rapprochements. 

—  Oh,  vous  pouvez  guetter,  y  a  point  beaucoup  de  gros  dos  dans 
nous  autres,  mais  e'est  point  tout  misere,  par  icite.  Des  fois,  on  va 
aux  autes  villages  a  cheval,  comme  de  bien  entendu,  avec  les  fem- 
mes.  On  visite  les  amis  au  large,  alms  c'dtions  des  contentements, 
des  plaisirs  jusqu'a  ce  qu'on  en  est  tanne\  Y  a  aussi  les  bals,  les 
grands  ramequins,1  j'pourrais  vous  raconter  toute  la  journe'e  des 
choses  qui  vous  interboliseraient. 

M.  Laussat  s'extasie  sur  le  bon  ordre  et  la  proprete"  de  la  petite 
ferme.  Valmire  rayonne  de  cette  approbation. 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

—  Aussitdt  qu'eun  petit  est  assez  grand  pour  gr^miner  la  tcrre,  son 
popa  lui  donne  eune  p'tite  taure  pour  commencer,  an  bout  de 
qu&jue  temps  alle  a  eun  viau,  ca  fait  que  chacun  de  nous,  dans 
nous  autres,  a  eun  p'tit  commencement  pour  se  marier,  et  quand 
on  a  choisi,  la  macorne1  tratne  pas,  allez. 

Le  garcon  rough,  commence  a  tortiller  ses  doigts.  —  Sans  vous 
commander,  Mussieu,  vous  s'rei  peut-fitre  bien  consentant  a  courir 
a  ma  noce,  si  vous  ftes  par  icite  alle  hiver  ?  M.  Laussat  lui  assure 
que  rien  ne  lui  plairait  davantage. 

—  Qa  c'est  fait  comme  ca,  explique  Valmire,  au  village  d'apres, 
au  bal  j'ai  apergu  une  belle  fille,  Efiige,  qui  sait  se  pimper  et  qu'est 
bonne  couturieuse.  et  j'ai  pens6  a  voir  qu'on  pourrait  faire  chau- 
diere  ensemble.  Alors  j'l'y  ai  dit  tout  de  suite  c  la  belle,  vous  nie 
plait,  si  vous  disez  oui,  on  va  se  marier.  >  Alle  m'a  r^pondu  c  Tope, 
ca  me  va.  >  Alors  on  a  commence"  a  embancher  et  la  macorne  est 
pour  la  Noal,  quand  ya  plus  de  presse. 

M.  Laussat,  en  B  jamais  qu'il  est,  est  tres  intfresse*  par  cette  con- 
ception simple  de  la  vie.  La  noce  est  loin,  mais  Valmire  doit  se 
rendre  ce  soir  a  un  bal,  pourquoi  ne  l'accompagnerait-on  pas  ? 

L'odeur  de  la  bonne  terre  monte  dans  l'air  humide,  la  nuit  ne 
peut  se  decider  a  tomber,  les  cogne-cul,  en t asses  de  families,  devien- 
nent  plus  nombreux  sur  le  chemin  d6fonce\  les  filles  en  barbichet 
s'interpellent  de  l'une  a  l'autre  :  H6  I  Ozema,  Frome,  Deussa  1 

Le  long  des  voilures,  les  garcons  trottent  sur  leurs  poneys  turbu- 
lents  :  He"  I  Deus,  Duradon,  Val^rien  !  En  checur,  dans  l'heure  molle. 
ils  chantent  : 


<  Depi  que  j'on  fait  connaissance 
€  d'eun  certain  tendron, 

<  ]'ons  courrons  A  ['acquaintance 
c  J'ons  perds  la  raison. 

<  Je  ne  connais  dans  la  nature 

<  Rien  de  plus  jlatteur 
«  que  I'aimable  criature 

<  Qui  me  tchient  au  tchceur  ! 


Au  fur  et  a  mesure  qu'elles  arrivent  a  l'&ole  ou  Ton  danse.  les 
meres  deposem  leurs  nourrissons  dans  <  le  pare  aux  pities  >,  sui 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


355 


matelas  d'herbe  seche  qui  garnissent  la  petite  piece.  Une  vieille 
Eemme  les  surveillera  et  ils  pourront  <  mialer  tout  leur  saoul  ». 

Dans  la  salle  d'ecole,  le  violonier  attaque  un  rigodon,  les  «  bal- 
leuses  >  acadiennes,  dont  les  visages  sont  affined  par  les  ailes  blan- 
ches qui  les  encadrent,  font  des  reverences  moqueuses  devant  les 
garcons  degingandis,  aux  pieds  lourds.  Des  rires  honnetes  fusent. 

Dans  un  coin  deux  hommes  s'entretiennent.  —  T'as  pas  le  tchceur 
au  plaisir,  a  ce  soir  ? 

—  Ah,  pour  ca  non,  j'etions  dans  les  poux-de-bois,  la  vie  moman 
va  point. 

—  Qui  qu'alla  la  moman  ? 

—  Alle  est  au  pire,  alle  a  le  respire  court  et  1'discours  egare'  1 
Les  couples  se  rejoignent  pour  «  corrobier  »  une  derniere  contre- 

d a  rise.  Le  violonier  n'a  pas  plus  t6t  arrete"  son  archet,  qu'il  sYlance 
corame  un  fou  dans  le  champ,  et  tire  en  l'air  un  coup  de  pistolet, 
en  criant  <  le  bal  est  fini  I  » 

Les  meres  reprennent  Ieurs  petits,  les  chars-a- bancs  retrouvent 
leurs  ornieres  familieres,  et  les  voix  continuent  : 


c  Vautre  jour  en  cachette 

€  Alle  me  fit  present  d'un  bicot. 
«  Ah  !  ma  bouche  en  devint  muette 

<  Et  j'en  restai  tout  sot. 

<  Ce  be"cot-!A,  au  fond  de  mon  dme, 
c  Imprima  le  bonheur, 

t  II  redoubla  la  flamme 

f  Qui  me  tchient  au  tchaur ! 


Lorsqu'il  rentre  a  la  Nile  Orleans,  apres  son  escapade  bucolique, 
M.  Laussat  trouve  la  ville  en  effervescence,  des  rumeurs  de  la  ces- 
sion aux  Eiats-Unis  se  sont  infiltrees. 

II  est  indigne'  et  refute  a  droite  et  a  gauche,  c  Cette  nouvelle, 
£crit-il  au  ministre,  est  un  mensonge  impudent,  un  canard  avand 
par  le  parti,  qui  en  ce  temps  detection,  {'expiration  du  mandat  de 
M.  Jefferson  approchant,  a  cru,  en  la  divulgant  tout  £  coup,  aider 
les  partisans  du  President.  » 

M.  Laussat  a  tort  de  s'insurger,  la  nouvelle  est  exacte,  M.  Landais. 
un  officier  venu  de  Washington,  par  le  pays  des  Creeks  et  des  Chero- 
kees,  la  confirme.  Un  vaisseau  de  Bordeaux  lui  apporte  sa  nomina- 
tion de  Commissaire  et  les  pouvoirs  qui  lui  sont  n£cessaires  pour 
accepter  des  mains  de  1'Espagne  la  Louisiane  et  la  transmettre 
aussitdt  aux  Etats-Unis. 

Le  30  Novembre  1803,  M.  Laussat,  dans  un  bel  uniforme  vert 
bouteille  a  col  brode\  et  coiffe'  d'un  bicorne  emplume,  quitte  a  pied 
sa  residence,  escort^  de  soixante  Francais. 

Le  ciel  tourterelle  roule  des  nuages  ventrus,  qui  ne  demandent 
qu'a  crever,  il  ne  fait  pas  froid,  mais  I'luiniidiic"  est  pe'ne'tranle  ; 
c'est  une  atmosphere  de  mauvais  presage.  Malgre"  ce  temps  menacam, 
la  Place  d'Armes  sur  laquelle  sont  rang^es,  d'un  c6td  les  troupes 
espagnoles  et  de  1'autre  la  milice,  est  noire  de  mondc  ;  les  balcons, 
les  fen&tres.  les  toits  sont  animes  de  gesticulations.  Aux  onze  bal- 
cons de  l'H6tel  de  Ville,  Madame  Laussat,  Mme  de  Almonester,  sa 
fillette  Micaela,  et  les  grandes  dames  de  la  ville  affichent  leur  der- 
niere  toilette. 

Au  moment  ou  les  cloches  sonnent  1'Angilus  de  midi,  M.  Laussat 
arrive  a  l'Hdtel  de  Ville,  oil  il  est  recu,  en  bas  du  grand  escalier, 
par  des  officiers  et  notables  espagnols,  qui  le  conduisent  a  la  Salle 
du  Conseil.  Trois  fauteuils  sont  prepares,  il  s'a&seoit  a  lz  droite  du 
Oouverneur,  le  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo  est  a  sa  gauche. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  357 

II  remet  a  Don  de  Salcedo  ses  pouvoirs,  la  lettre  de  cr£ance  du 
'•    Premier  Consul  et  l'ordre  de  Sa  Majestc"  Catholique.  Don  Andres 

Lopez  de  Armesto,  secretaire  du  Cabildo,  en  donne  lecture  en  espa- 

gnol,  et  M.  Daugerot,  greffier  de  la  marine,  en  francais.  Sans  atten- 
,  dre,  le  Gouverneur  lui  tend,  sur  un  plateau  d'argent,  les  clefs  des 
j     forts  St.  Charles  et  St.  Louis,  et  le  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo,  d'une  voix 

sonnante,  qui  fait  echo  sur  les  boiseries,  releve  la  population  du 
1     serment  d'allegeance  a  son  Maltre.  Avec  un  profond  salut,  M.  Laus- 

sai  echange  son  fauteuil  pour  celui  de  Don  de  Salcedo,  puis  tous  les 
1     trois  se  levent  et  se  rendent  sur  le  balcon  principal. 

(Lentement,  le  pavilion  espagnol  commence  a  descendre  du  mat 
dresse  au  milieu  de  la  place,  au  bruit  de  vingt  et  un  coups  de  canon 
tires  par  le  fort  St.  Charles  et  la  batterie  installee  devant  la  Prefec- 
ture, et  de  la  decharge  des  fusils.  A  mi-chemin,  le  drapeau  espagnol 
s'arrcte  un  instant  et  le  drapeau  francais  monte,  salue  a  son  tour 
de  vingt  et  un  coups  par  l'Argo,  le  Fort  et  la  batterie  de  terre. 

Aucune  acclamation,  aucune  manifestation  de  joie  n'accueille  les 
couleurs  franchises,  qu'on  sait  transitoires.  Ces  changements  rapides 
ressemblent  au  mouvement  des  eventails  qu'on  ferme  et  qu'on  ouvre 
en  faisant  apparaltre  chaque  fois,  suivant  le  sens,  un  nouveau  ta- 
bleau. Les  habitants  ne  sont  plus  ni  Espagnols,  ni  Francais,  ils  sont 
Louisianais,  se  considerent  comme  un  tout. 

Seul,  le  temps,  avec  des  accents  noirs,  se  lamente. 

Don  de  Salcedo,  le  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo  et  M.  Laussat  signent  le 
proces-verbal,  et  le  Prefet  accompagne  l'ancien  gouverneur  jus- 
qu'a  1'escalier,  laissant  a  ses  officiers  le  soin  de  Pescorter  jusqu'en  bas. 

Du  balcon,  M.  Laussat  s'adresse  a  la  foule  :  «  La  mission  qui  m'a 
emmenee  parmi  vous  a  travers  l'ocean,  cette  mission  sur  laquelle 
reposaient  depuis  longtemps  nos  espoirs  et  nos  vceux  ardents  de 
bonheur  pour  vous,  est  maintenant  changee,  et  celle  dont  je  suis 
charge,  moins  gratifiante  mais  pour  moi  aussi  flatteuse  m'offre  une 
source  de  consolation,  qui  nait  de  la  certitude  que  les  resultats  seront 
pour  vous  plus  avantageux.  > 

«  ...Vous  voyez  Hotter  le  drapeau  de  la  Republique  Francaise  et 
vous  entendez  ces  canons  vous  annoncer  de  tous  c6tes  le  retour  a 
la  domination  francaise,  ce  sera  seulement  pour  un  instant,  Loui- 
sianais, et  je  suis  a  la  veille  de  transferer  la  possession  de  cette 
colonie  aux  Commissaires  des  Etats-Unis.  » 

«  ...La  guerre  approchante,  qui  commence  sous  les  auspices  les 


I 


358  LA      LOUISIANA      FRANfAISE 

plus  sanguinaires  et  les  plus  terribles,  menace  la  s^curite  des  quatre 
coins  du  monde  el  a  donne  une  direction  nouvelle  aux  intentions 
bienfaisantcs  de  la  France  pour  la  Louisiane,  elle  l'a  cidee  aux 
Etats-Unis  d'Amcrique.  Le  gouvernement  particulier  que  vous  vous 
donnerez  sera  adapts  a  vos  mceurs,  vos  usages,  votre  climat,  vos 
croyances,  vous  ne  tarderez  pas  a  ressentir  les  avantages  d'une  justice 
integre,  impartiale  et  incorruptible,  Dans  cet  6vdnement,  la  Rdpu- 
blique  Francaise  donne  la  premiere  aux  siecles  modernes  l'exemple 
d'une  colonie  qu'elle  emanripe  volontairement...  > 

Des  officiers  espagnols  ^coutent  avec  un  petit  sourire  railleur  :  — 
qu'en  termes  bien  couches  ces  choses-la  sont  dues,  plaisame  un 
lieutenant,  qui  a  des  Iettres. 

M.  Laussat  descend  sur  la  place  avec  sa  suite,  presente  a  la  Milice 
son  nouveau  commandant,  M.  de  Bellechasse.  <  Je  vous  confie.  au 
nom  de  la  Republique  Francaise,  ces  bannieres.  vous  les  defendrei. 
vous  les  lionorerez.  Elles  floitent  pour  le  bien  de  votre  pays  et  sont 
ici  sur  leur  sol  natal,  du  sang  francais  coule  dans  les  veines  de  la 
plupart  d'entre  vous  I  » 

La  foule  commence  a  s'ecouler.  Au  milieu  de  la  place,  les  trois 
couleurs  s'^tirent  brutalement  dans  le  vent.  Avant  de  s'acheminer 
vers  leur  diner,  les  habitants  rcgardent  encore  un  instant  ces  cou- 
leurs nouvelles,  qui,  dans  leur  esprit  lent,  ne  sont  pas  encore  celles 
de  la  France. 

Avec  un  soupir  de  regret,  un  paysan  commente  :  —  C'est  pas  tant 
brave  comme  le  drapiau  blanc,  Alcibiade.  Son  compagnon  partage 
cette  opinion  :  —  Tous  ces  derangements,  c;a  n'a  pas  grand  fion  av£ 
mou£.  On  n'a  pas  eu  l'teraps  d'y  jongler. 

Un  groupe  de  jeunes  noirs  discute  gravement. 

—  Ke  ci  li  tignon  enhau  ?  interroge  Crapaux,  le  plus  jeune. 

—  Ouette,  ti  oua  pas,  re'pond  Jolicceur,  le  sage  de  la  bande,  li 
drapo  de  lafrance  1 

—  Rest£  don  tranquil,  b£te,  mo  se  lafrance,  li  dapo  blan. 

—  Bon  Dje,  /amain  jiele  kichoge  la  mo  te  di  toi,  li  dapo  bian 
gagnain  rouze  e"  pi  bieu  1 

—  Dipi  can  ? 

—  Dipi  k£  li  roi  mouri,  coupi,  toi  pov  neg,  ti  connin  arien. 
Ongue,  un  vieux,  s'inquiete  :  —  Bon  moune  lay£  asteur  ladan 

lafrance  ?  C€  bonair  ? 

—  P£tete,  repond  Cribouille,  li  di  comme  ca,  anon  oua. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN9AISE  359 

Mercure,  sceptique,  ouvre  les  mains  comme  s'il  haussait  les 
epaules  :  Tou  ca  ce  bon  pou  la  parole,  can  in  roi  peri,  l'aute  couri. 

Autour  de  la  place,  le  tambour  de  ville  anonne  la  terne  procla- 
mation :  c  Citoyens  Francais.  Le  drapeau  francais  flotte  aujourd'hui 
sous  vos  yeux,  il  vous  rappelle  sur  cette  terre  lotntaine  vos  combats 
et  vos  victoires,  voire  devouement  et  voire  valeur.  II  cherche  en  vain 
autour  de  lui  le  rempart  accoutume"  de  ces  formidable!  bayonettes, 
qui  Pont  eouronne'  de  tant  de  puissance  et  de  gloire.  Mais  accueilli 
par  un  allii  fidele  et  loyal,  il  sera  gardi  par  des  Louisianais,  ces 
dignes  enfants  de  nos  Peres,  il  le  sera  par  voire  presence,  par  votre 
respect,  par  votre  amour.  » 

Sans  perdre  de  temps,  M.  Laussat  remplace  le  Cabildo  par  un 
Conseil  Municipal,  a  l'image  de  ceux  de  France.  M.  Etienne  de 
Bore,  le  plus  influent  et  avise  des  planteurs,  devient  maire  de  la 
ville  ;  MM.  des  Trehans,  et  Sauve  sont  adjoints,  MM.  Fortier,  d'Er- 
bigny  ei  Faurie,  Conseillers.  Ces  noms  ont  un  fumet  de  France,  qui 
evoque  le  Conseil  d'Orleans  ou  de  Villeneuve-sur-Lot. 

M.  Laussat,  le  lendcmain,  1"  decembre,  recoit  la  visile  de  Tancien 
gouverneur  et  du  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo,  accompagnes  du  clerge  et 
des  grands  dignitaires  espagnols.  Ponctuellement,  un  quart  d'heure 
plus  tard,  il  rend  a  Don  de  Salcedo  sa  visite  et  reuouve  chez  lui  loute 
la  compagnie  qu'il  vient  de  quitter.  L'atmosphere  est  si  cordiale 
qu'il  decide  lout  a  coup  de  feter  le  drapeau  francais.  A  la  ronde  il 
invite  a  diner. 

Le  vent  du  Nord  a  nettoyei  le  temps  et  seche  les  rues.  Devant  la 
Prefecture  des  feux  allumes  dans  des  grands  pots  illuminent  les 
arrivees  de  lueurs  fauves,  brusquement  tordues  par  le  vent. 

A  l'interieur,  on  a  demonte  les  portes  pour  agrandir  les  salons. 
Soixante-quinze  personnes  sont  a  table.  Les  convives  portent  suc- 
cessivement  trois  toasts,  chacun  accompagne  de  si  decharges  d'ar- 
tillerie  :  le  premier  —  avec  du  champagne  blanc  —  a  la  Republique 
Franchise  et  a  Bonaparte  ;  le  second  —  avec  du  champagne  rose  —  a 
1'Espagne  et  a  Sa  Majeste  Charles  IV  ;  le  troisieme  —  avec  du  cham- 
pagne blanc  —  aux  Etats-Unis  et  au  President  Jefferson.  Apres  de 
longues  acclamations,  ils  efevent  leurs  verres,  une  derniere  fois,  a 
la  sant£  des  dames  de  la  Louisiane. 

Les  invites  continuent  a  arriver,  une  centaine  de  femmes,  toutes 
jolies,  vetues  avec  une  elegance  voulant  £tre  grecque  ;  les  tallies 
hautes  les  font  ressembler  a  ces  deesses,  dont  on  parle  a  tout  propos. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANfAISE 

Ceni  soixante-quinze  seigneurs  hidalgos,  officiers  francais  en  uni- 
forme,  beaux  esprits  de  la  villi-.  Americains,  reconnaissables  a  la 
simplicite  de  leur  accoutrement,  se  coudoient.  Les  tables  de  jeux 
soni  installees  a  profusion,  on  joue  au  piquet  dans  tous  les  coins. 

Le  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo,  avec  Madame  Laussat,  par  un  menuet, 
ouvre  le  bal.  Les  contredanses  et  les  passe-pied  se  succedent,  suivies 
de  danses  de  caractere,  car  la  mythologie  est  en  grand  honneur  dans 
les  provinces  franca ises. 

A  trois  heures,  1'ambigu  est  servi,  puis  la  danse  des  Bateaux  re- 
prend.  Ce  n'est  qua  sepi  heures  du  matin  qu'on  attaque  la  Galo- 
pade  finale,  et  huit  heures  ont  sonne  lorsque  les  atiardes  se  retrou- 
vent  dans  l'air  frais  d'hiver. 

Maintenant  que  les  troupes  espagnoles  ont  eie  retirees  des  posies 
et  des  forts,  la  colonie  est  a  la  merci  d'un  soulcvement  ou,  tout  au 
moins,  des  depredations  des  maraudeurs.  II  n'y  a  ni  milice  reguliere. 
ni  police,  la  population  n'est  qu'a  demi  rassuree.  Pour  preserver 
1'ordre,  en  attendant  la  prise  de  possession  des  Etats-Unis,  des  jeunes 
Creoles,  fils  de  planteurs  et  d'officiers,  des  marchands,  des  matelots 
et  des  scribes,  trois  cents  hommes  en  tout,  se  groupent  sous  les  ordres 
de  M.  Daniel  Clarke,  Jr,  le  Consul  Americain,  et  offrent  les  services 
de  leur  petite  milice  a  M.  Laussat,  qui  se  montre  fort  heureux  de  cet 
empressement,  et  le  meme  jour,  accepte  le  serment  de  fidelite"  des 
anciens  officiers  francais.  La  ville  est  maintenant  pairoudlee  nuil 
et  jour,  les  habitants  n'ont  rien  a  craindre. 

Le  4  decembre,  a  la  cathedrale,  devant  tous  les  notables  assem- 
bles, on  chante  une  messe  solennelle  pour  la  France  el  un  Te  Deum. 
Le  prefet  colonial  a  demande  a  l'eveque  espagnol  de  remplacer  dam 
la  liturgie  les  prieres  royales  par  des  invocations  pour  la  Republique 
Franchise  et  Bonaparte,  mais  ceci  n'a  pas  £te"  du  gout  de  sa  Gran- 
deur. On  est  arrive"  a  un  compromis,  e'est  un  pretre  francais  qui 
officie  et  execute  les  ordres  de  M.  Laussat. 

Le  Marquis  de  Casa-Calvo,  comme  tous  les  Espagnols,  est  mainte- 
nant fort  aimable  pour  le  prefet,  qui  n'est  pas  mieux  loti  que  lui. 
D'apres  les  propres  dires  de  M.  Laussat  «  it  fait  preuve  pour  lui  de 
noblesse,  de  grace,  et  mime  de  magnificence  ». 

Le  8  decembre,  le  Marquis  offre  un  bal  magnifique,  coutant  quinze 
mille  livres,  en  l'honneur  de  Mme  Laussat,  qui  y  trdne  dans  une 
loge  gardee  par  des  grenadiers.  Elle  est  vraiment  cbarmante,  des 
boucles  coquines  s'echapjtcni  de  son  ruban  turquoise,  sa  haute  p 


aute  poi-   j 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£A1SE  $01 

trine  est  aussi  genereusement  decolletee  que  celle  de  toutes  les  autres 
dames  de  l'assistance,  ce  qui  n'est  pas  peu  dire,  car  de  tous  cdtes 
les  seins  s'offrent  avec  abandon.  Elle  n'est  pas  seulement  belle,  elle 
est  pourvue  de  toutes  les  graces.  Lorsque  le  Conseil  Municipal  don- 
nera  pour  elle  un  autre  bal,  pendant  le  souper,  une  colombe,  jus- 
que-la  perchee  sur  une  branche  de  rose,  descendra  se  poser  devant 
elle,  avec  un  papier  bien  calligraphic  dans  son  bee,  qu'on  lira  a 
voix  haute  : 

Portrait  de  Madame  Laussat. 

<  On  voit  riunis  en  elle 
€  Les  verttts  et  les  attraits  ; 

<  On  voit  le  portrait  fidcle 
c  De  son  dme  dans  ses  traits. 
€  Affable,  sensible  et  bonne, 
«   Vertueuse,  sans  fierte, 
«  Et  belle  sans  vanite, 

<  Tout  est  charme  en  sa  personne.  > 

M.  Laussat  ne  s'en  laisse  remontrer  par  personne  en  etiquette. 
Dans  toute  la  ville,  des  invitations  circulent  :  •  Le  Citoyen  Laussat, 
Pre"fet  Colonial,  Commissaire  du  Gouvernement  Francois  pour  la 
reprise  de  la  Louisiane  des  mains  de  I'Espagne  et  sa  remise  aux 
Etats-Vnis,  vous  prie  de  participer  chez  lui,  jeudi  prochain,  2}  Fri- 
maire,  a  7  heures  du  soir,  &  une  soiree  qu'il  dedie  au  Marquis  de 
Casa-Catvo,  brigadier  des  armies  espagnoles,  I'un  des  Commissatres 
de  Sa  Majeste  Catholique,  en  retour  du  noble  et  brillant  accueil 
qu'il  a  fait  en  lui  ces  jours  derniers  au  Representant  de  la  Nation 
Francaise  et  en  signe  de  I'union  et  de  I'amitie"  qui  rigne  entre  leurs 
deux  Augustes  et  Puissants  Gouvemements.  » 

Pres  de  cinq  cents  invites,  le  16  decembre,  se  rendent  a  la  Pre- 
fecture. Deux  cent  vingt  bougies  et  vingt-quatre  quinquets  eclairent 
de  reflets  sautilleurs  la  beaute  des  femmes  et  l'elegance  de  leurs 
cavaliers,  on  a  retarde"  le  depart  du  «  Desempeno,  >  la  corvette 
espagnole,  pour  que  les  officiers  puissent  assister  au  bal.  Les  tables 
de  buffets  ploient  sous  le  poids  des  bavaroises,  les  reserves  de  choco- 
lat,  de  the,  de  cafe  et  de  consomme\  Les  boleros  succedent  aux  con- 
tredanses  anglaises  et  francaises. 

Un  concert  repose  les  danseurs,  on  ecoute  un  concerto  de  Lesueur 


I 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANf  AISE 

et  une  symphonie  d'Haydn,  puis  on  descend  dans  le  grand  salon, 
ou  sur  une  table  de  soixante  couverts,  au  milieu  de  rochers,  sc 
dresse  le  Temple  de  la  Bonne  Foi,  entoure  de  colonnes  surmontees 
de  colombes  et  abritant  les  deesses.  A  cdte  une  table  de  vingt-quatre 
couverts  est  dressee. 

Dans  la  galerie  exteneure,  aussi  brillamment  eclairee,  et  protegee 
par  une  grande  tente,  trente  deux  gueridons  sont  luxueusement 
arranged  pour  cent  quarante-six  personnes.  A  une  extremite"  de  la 
galerie,  un  buffet  ravitaille  ceux  qui  n'ont  pu  trouver  de  place. 
Quarante  a  cinquante  plats  s'offrent  aux  choix  des  convives,  vingt 
quatre  sortes  de  gombos  et  des  jambalayas  sont  passees. 

Le  bal  cette  fois  dure  plus  de  douze  heures,  c'est  a  9  heures  et 
demie  du  matin  qu'on  en  sort,  apres  avoir  appris  que  les  Commis- 
saires  americains  sont  a  proximity  de  la  ville. 

Le  general  Wilkinson  et  le  General  Claiborne  se  sont  re  joints  a 
Fort  Adams,  sont  redescendus  de  concert  avec  cinq  cents  hommes, 
miliciens  du  Tennessee  et  cavaliers  du  Mississipi,  et  sont  campes 
sur  le  Hcuve,  a  trois  kilometres  de  la  Nile  Orleans. 

Quelques  moments  apres  le  depart  de  ses  invites,  le  Major  Wads- 
worth  vient  demander  au  Preset  s'il  peut  les  recevoir  a  midi,  le 
lendemain.  A  1'heure  dite,  M.  Laussat  leur  envoie  sa  voiture,  et 
M.  Vinachc,  major  des  sapeurs,  le  Colonel  de  Bellechasse  et  M. 
Blanque,  pour  les  escorter. 

A  midi,  les  Commissaires  arrivent  a  la  prefecture,  suivis  de  trente 
volontaires  a  cheval.  Dix-neuf  coups  de  canon  les  saluent. 

Apres  leur  depart,  M.  Laussat  laisse  savoir  dans  la  ville  qu'il 
leur  rendra  leur  visite  le  lendemain,  a  onze  heures.  C'en  est  assez 
pour  que  le  ig,  a  dix  heures  et  demie,  une  cavalcade  de  soixanie 
Francais  soit  reunie  devant  la  Prefecture,  pour  lui  faire  escorte. 

Le  jour  fattdique  est  1,1.  C'est  un  frimaire  sans  frimas.  Par  ce 
vinglieme  jour  de  Decembre  1803,  Iimpide  et  joyeux  comme  un 
printemps,  la  foule  habituelle  se  masse  sur  la  Place  d'Armes,  oil 
d'un  cote  la  petite  milice  est  rangee  en  ordre  de  bataille.  Les  balcons 
et  les  toits  sont  garnis  de  plus  de  badauds  que  les  bois-boutons  de 
fleurs,  a  la  saison. 

Depuis  la  veille,  cinquante  Francais  venus  volomairement  de 
pres  et  de  loin,  avec  le  Sergent  Legrand,  se  sont  consumes  en  corps, 
gardien  des  couleurs  franchises. 

A  dix  heures  et  demie  du  matin,  M.  Laussat,  a  pied,  quitte  la 


LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE  363 

prefecture,  suivi  de  plusieurs  tannines  de  Francais.  A  peine  est-il 
arrive  a  l'Hdtel  de  Ville,  que  les  Commissures  americains,  salues 
par  une  compagnie  de  grenadiers,  franchissent  la  porte  de  la  ville. 
Leurs  troupes,  avancant  en  peloton,  se  rangent  sur  la  place,  en  ordre 
de  bataille,  visa-vis  de  la  railice.  Vingt  et  un  coups  de  canon 
retentissent. 

Les  g£n£raux  Claiborne  et  Wilkinson  sont  recus  au  pied  de 
1'escalier  de  l'Hdtel  de  Ville  par  M.  de  Livaudais,  major  de  la  milice, 
le  major  Vinache  et  M.  Dangerot.  Le  Preset  les  rencontre  au  milieu 
de  la  grande  salle  du  Conseil,  le  General  Claiborne  s'asseoit  a  sa 
droite,  le  General  Wilkinson  a  sa  gauche. 

Apres  que  les  enhances  sont  echangees,  a  voix  haute  le  Traits  et  sa 
ratification  sont  lus,  et  M.  de  Laussat  declare  :  c  En  conformity  du 
Traite\  je  mets  les  Etats-Unis  en  possession  des  pays,  contrees  et 
dependances  de  la  Louisiane.  Les  citoyens  et  habitants  qui  voudront 
y  rester  et  oWir  a  leurs  lois  sont  des  ce  moment  releves  du  serment 
de  iidelile  envers  la  R^publique  Francaise.  »  Puis  il  offre  aux 
Commissaires  une  clef  enrubannee  aux  trois  couleurs. 

Le  General  Claiborne  se  leve,  amrme  la  volonte  de  son  Gouverne- 
ment  de  maintenir  les  Louisianais  dans  la  jouissance  de  toutes  leurs 
liberies. 

lis  sont  sur  le  balcon.  Au  grand  mlt  de  la  place,  le  drapeau 
francais  descend  et  le  drapeau  des  Etats-Unis  monte.  Lorsqu'ils 
se  rencontrent  a  mi-chemin,  les  forts,  la  batterie  de  la  Prefecture 
et  les  vaisseaux  du  port  joignent  leurs  detonations. 

M.  Dusseuil,  enseigne  de  vaisseau,  recoit  dans  ses  mains  le  drapeau 
tricolore,  le  detache  de  sa  corde  et  le  tend  au  serge nt-raaj or  Legrand, 
qui,  sans  mot  dire,  s'en  entoure  la  taille,  et,  escorte"  de  deux  officiers 

Ide  compagnie,  sabre  au  clair,  regagne  sa  ligne. 
Pas  un  cri  de  d&espoir  ou  de  joie  n'a  jailli  de  la  foule,  pas  un 
pleur  n'a  6t€  verse  a  l'&hange  des  pavilions.  Dans  un  coin  de  la 
place,  deux  Americains  agitent  un  instant  leurs  chapcaux,  et,  a 
petite  voix,  acclament  leur  banniere  ;  devant  le  silence  absolu  Us 
se  taisent. 
Aucun  peuple  ne  peut  en  un  mois  changer  trois  fois  de  fideiite 
sans  Etre  sat  u  re.  Aucune  corde  ne  vibre  plus. 

Les  Commissaires  americains  et  M.  Laussat  se  rendent  devant 
la  milice,  pour  la  derniere  fois,  le  Preset  s'adresse  a  elle  :  <  Mili- 
ciens  de  la  Nile  Orleans  et  de  la  Louisiane.  Vous  avez  donnc  des 


S&i  LA    LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 

preuves  de  grand  zfele  et  de  devotion  filiale  au  pavilion  fran^ais  ces 
jours  dernicrs,  pendant  le  peu  de  temps  qu'il  a  paru  sur  vos  rivages, 
je  le  redirai  k  la  France  et  k  son  Gouvernement,  et  je  vous  adresse 
en  leur  nom  des  remerciements.  Void  les  Commissaires  des  Etats- 
Unis,  je  leur  transmets  k  cette  heure  votre  commandement,  oblissez 
leurs  decisions,  comme  aux  repr£sentants  de  votre  legitime  souve- 
rain.  » 
C'est  fini,  la  France  a  les  mains  vides. 

Tambour  battant,  au  son  du  fifre,  Legrand,  avec  ses  volontaires, 
s'en  va,  et  les  troupes  am&icaines  rendent  les  honneurs  au  drapeau 
fran^ais...  qui  passe. 


New  York  1940. 


SOURCES 


MANUSCRITS 

Archives  rlu  Ministere  dcs  Colonies,  Bibltotheque  N  ationalt ,  Paris. 
Archives  du  Ministere  de  la  Marine.  Bibliotheque  Rationale,  Paris. 
Archives  Bibliotheque  du  Roi,  Bibliotheque  National t,  Paris. 
Archives.  Regiatres  du  Conseil  Supirieur  de  Louisiane,  Bibliothiqut 

Paris. 
Archives  de  la  Bastille,  Bibliotheque  de  I'Arsenal.  Paris. 
Archives  Congress  Library  {American  Stats  Papers),  Washington. 
Archives  Historical  Society  of  Louisiana,  New  Orleans. 
Archives  Ministerio  de  Indias,  Scvilla. 


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158b. 

1605. 
164). 
1663. 


1697. 
170}, 

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occidentales,  contenant  les  3  voyages  fails  icellea  par  certains  capitainea 
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a  iti  adjouatfe  un  4*  voyage  par  le  capt.  de  Gourguea. 

GARCILLO  de  la  Vega— La  Florida  del  Inca  Avelante  de  Soto.  Lisbon. 

LAET  O'ANVERS,  Jean  de— Le  Nouveau  Monde.  Leyde. 

HEY1INS.  Peter— Cosmography  in  four  books.  London. 

MARQUETTE,  Pere  Jacques— Decou vert e  de  quetques  pays  et  cations 
de  I'Amerique  Septentrionale.  Paris. 

HENNEPIN,  Pere  Louis— Description  de  la  Louisiane  decouverte  au  S.O. 
de  la  Nile  France,  par  ordre  du  Roy.  Paris, 

CITRY  de  la  GUETTE— Relaoion  verdaderas  dos  trabalhoa  de  gobierna- 
doi.  D.  Fernando  de  Soto  (traduction  1557).  Paris, 

HENNEPIN,  Pere  Louis— Decouvtrte  dc  la  Louisiane.  Nuremberg. 

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France  fc  decouvertes  faites  dcpuii  le  fleuve  St.  Laurent,  la  Louisiane 
jusqu'au  Golfe  du  Meiique  avec  le  journal  des  Peres  Zenobe  Membre 
&  Anastase  Douay.  Paris. 

TONTY,  Chevalier  de—  Dernierea  decouvertes  de  I'Amerique  Septentrio- 
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par  )e  Sieur  de  la  Borde.  Amsterdam. 


■ 


366 

1711. 
1713. 
17IS. 

1720. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANfAISE 


de  M.   Hennepin 
voyage  que  lit   M.   de 
:.  Pari. 


1734. 
1715. 


HENNEPIN,  Pere  Louis— Voyages  curiei 

He  de  la  Borde.  Amsterdam, 
JOUTEL,   Henri— Journal   hisiorique   du   dernier 

la  Salle  dans  le  Golfe  du  Mexique.  Paris. 
de  l'ISLE,  Guillaume— Recueil  d'un  voyage  au  notd  de  I'Amerique. 

lettres  du  Chevalier  de  Bonrepoa.  Amsterdam. 
Conaeil  d'Etat — Arrest  qui  ordonne  qu'il  ne  sera  plus  envoye  de  vagabonds 

a  la  Louisiane.  Paris. 
BERNARD,  Jean  Frederic— Relation  de  la  Louisi. 

sipy  oil  1'on  voit  I'etat  de  ce  grand  pais  &  les  a 

duire.  Amsterdam. 
TONT1,  Chevalier  de — Relation  de  la  Louisiane  k  du  fleuve  Mississipy. 

Amsterdam. 
HENNEPIN,  Louis — Voyage  en  un  pays  plus  grand  que  I'Europe  entre  la 

tner  glaciate  et  le  Nouveau  Mexique. 
BONREPOS,  Chevalier  de— Description  de  la  Louisiane.  Peril. 
Nouveau  MERCURE.  Paris. 
BACQUEVILLE  de  la  POTHERIE—  Hisloire  de  I'Amerique  Septemrio- 

nale.  Paris. 
COXE,  Daniel — Description  of  the  English  province  of  Carolina  called  by 

Spaniards  Florida  &  by  the  French  La  Louisiane.  London. 
BACQUEVILLE  de  la  POTHERIE— Voyage  en  Amerique.  Parii. 
CADENA  y  CANO,  Gabriel — Ensayo  cronologico  para  la  hisioria  de  la 

Florida  1512-1722.  Madrid. 
BANET,  Louis— Rapport  a  la  Cie  des  Indei.  Paris. 
KERSLAND,  John  Ker  de— Memoire  sur  la   puissance  des  Franc 

Hispaniola  le  sur  le  Misaisiipi   (traduction).  Rotterdam. 
LAVAL,  Pere— Voyage  fait  par  ordre  du  roi  en  Louisiane,  en  1720.  Paris. 
HACHARD,  Marie  Madeleine — Relation  du  voyage  des  daraes  Uriulines 

de  Rouen  a  la  Nile  Orleans.  Rouen. 
HENNEPIN,  Louis — Voyage  en  un  pays  plus  grand  que  I'Europe.  Amster- 
dam. 
BRUZEN  de  la  MARTINIERE,  geographe  du  roi  d'Eapagne— I'Amerique 

Septentrionale.  Amsterdam. 
FRESNE  de  FRANCHEVILLE—  Hisloire  de  la  Cie  dei  Indca.  Pirit. 
CHARLEVOIX,  Pere  Francoia-Xavier  de—  Hisloire  &  deacription  gioerale 

de  la  Nile  France,  avec  le  voyage  hisiorique  d'un  voyage  de  I'Amerique 

Septentrionale,  adresse  a  Mrae  la  Duchesse  de  Lesriiguicre.  Paris. 
DERNIS— Recucil  des  edits,  arrets,  reglemcot  concernant  la  Cie  des  lodes. 

Pari). 
DUMONT  de  MONTIGNY,  Jean -Francois— Memoire  hisiorique   de  la 


rivj  de  plus  memorable  depuis  l'a; 


Louisiane  conlenant  ce  qui  y  e 

\t,n.  Paris. 
BDVAT— Journal  de  la  Regence.  Paris. 
LE  PAGE  du  PRATZ— Histoire  de  la  L 

de  ce  vaate  pays.  Paris. 
JEFFERY— Natural  and  civil  history  of  French  Dominion  ii 

rica.  Land  on. 


1761. 

1764. 
17*5. 

17( 
17( 

i; 

: 

I 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANCAISE  367 

MARIGNY  de  MANDEVILLE—  Memoire  hiitoriquc  sur  lei  negotiation! 

de  la  France  4  I'Angletcrre.  Pari*. 
Extrait  de  la  lettre  du  roi  Louis  XV  a  M.  d'Abbadie.  Braud.  Nile  Orleans. 
GENEVEAUX,  pere  Hilaire  de— Relation  d'un  Capucin.  Nil*  Qrltant. 
MARIGNY  de  MANDEVILLE— Memoire  sur  la  Louisiana  Parit. 
VALETTE  de  LAUD  UN— Journal  d'un  voyage  a  la  Louisiane  fait  en  1720 

par  un  capitaine  de  vaisscau  du  roi.  La  Haye. 
BOSSU — Nouveau  voyage  aui  Indes  Occidentales  k  relation  des  peuplei 

qui  babitent  les  cnvironi  du  grand  flcuve  St  Louis,  vulgairement  appeU 

le  Miiataaipi.  Parit. 
Memoire  dea  babitani  k  negociam  de  la  Louisiane  iur  I'eVenement  du 

29  octobre  1768.  Nllt  Orliant. 
O'REILLY,  Gal — Proclamation,  ordonnance  du  lerment  a  la  population 
condamnation  del  rebellcs.  Nile  Orleans. 
1770.     PITTMAN,  Cpt  Phillip — Present  Mate  of  European  settlements  of  the  Mis- 

■issipi.  London. 
KALM,  Peter— Travel  in  North  America.  Washington. 
PREVOT  d'EXILE,  Abbe— Nile  collection  de  toutei  les  relations  de  vo- 
yages (1746-1770).  Parit. 
CATESBY'S,  Mark— Natural  history  of  Carolina  and  Florida.  London, 
RAYNAL — Histoire  philoaophique  k  politique  dea  etata  et  du  commerce 

dei  europcens  dana  lea  deux  lodes.  Amtterdem. 
ULLOA,   Antonio   de — Nuticiaa   americanas  de   loi   territorioa,   climaa  y 

P  tod  ucci  ones  de  America.  Madrid. 
1773.     CHAMPIGNY,  Chevalier  Jean  de— La  Louiaiane  ensanglantee.  London. 

1776.  CHAMPIGNY,  Chevalier  Jean  de— Present  etat  de  la  Louisiane.  La  Haye. 

1777.  SHERER— Recfaerches  biatoriquea  aur  te  Nouveau  Monde.  Bruxellet. 
BOSSU — Nouveau  voyage  dans  I'Amerique  Septentrionale.  Amsterdam. 

1780.     MEZ1ERES  y  CLUNY,  Athanaae—  La  Louisiane.  Madrid. 

1784.    SMYTH— A  tour  in  the  United  Statei  of  America.  London. 

1787.     CREVECOEUR,  St.  Jean  de — Lettrea  d'un  cultivates  Americain.  Parit. 

1790.  MOREAU  de  St.  Mery— Loia  k  constitution  des  Ciei  Franciiaea  de  I'Ame- 
rique de  1550  a  1786,  Paris. 

1792.  AUBUREY,  Thomas— Voyage  dans  lea  parties  interieurei  de  I'Amerique. 
Parit. 

1794.  CARONDELET,  Baron  de— Circulate  aux  habitants  de  la  Louisiane.  Nile 
Orliant. 

1797.  1MLAY,  Gilbert— A  total  description  of  the  Western  territories  of  North 
America.  London. 

1798.  GAYOSO  de  LEMOS— Bando  de  Buen  Gobierno.  Nile  Orleans. 
1802.     VERGENNES,  de— Memoire  aur  la  Louiaiane.  Paris. 

BAUDRY  des  LOZIERES,  Louii  N a rciiae— Voyage  a  la  Louiaiane.  Parit. 
180Z.     STODDARD— Hiatorical  1  ketches  of  Louisiana.  Philadelphia. 
1801.    BERQUIN-DUVALON— Voyage  en  Louiaiane  k  Floride  en  1802.  Vu  de 

la  colonie  eapaguole  du  Miasissipi  ou  des  Provinces  de  Louiaiane  par  un 

obiervatcur  residant  sur  les  lieux.  Parit. 


: 


bate  in  the  Smut,  February  1303.  Pkila- 

a  Louiaiene.  Stnlij. 

is  in  Senate,  25  February 

me  deicriptioo  iol  &  pro- 

!.  Nile  Orltam. 


DUANE,  Wm.— Report  of 
delfhia. 

PONTALBA,  Baron  Edouard  de— Me"moire  su 

ROSS,  James— Speechei  of  Mr.  Rom  &  Mr.  M. 
1803.  Philadelphia. 

JACQUEMIN— Memoire  sur  la  Louisiana  »v< 
lie.  Pans. 

LAUSSAT,  Clement  de— Proclamation  du  30  Novembi 

CLAIBORNE,  General— Proclamation.  Nile  Orleans. 

VOLNEY— Tableau  du  elimar  4  du  sol  des  Etats-Uni.  d'Amerique.  Paris. 

GRAVIER,   Henri — La  colonisation  dc  la  Lnuisiane  a  1'epoque  de  Law. 
Paris. 

PERRIN  du  LAC,  Francois-Marie — Voyage  dans  Its  deux  Louisianes  et 
.ages  du  Missouri.  Lyon. 

MARTIN,  Fra  ncois-Xa  vie  r— History  of  Louisiana.  Nile  OrUans. 

BARBE-MARBOIS,  Marquis  de — Histoire  de  la  Louisiana  et  de  la  ces- 
sion aui  Etati-Unis.  Paris. 

BERNARD  dc  la  HARPE— Histoire  generate  de  letabl  Use  meat  des  Fran- 
cis en  Louisiane  1720...  Nile  OrUans. 

GAYARRE,   Charles    Elienne—  Essai   historique   sur   la   Louisiane.   Slit 
Orliant. 

LAUSSAT,  Pierre  Clement  de — Memoire  sur  ma  vie  pendant  les  annees 
1B02  &  1803.  Pau. 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRANCAISE 


—History  of  Louisiana,  title  Orleans  V  Nno- 


"— 


GAYARRE,  Charles  Eliei 

7»r*. 
FRENCH,  B.  F.— Historical  collection  of  Louisiana.  NtvfYert, 
SEALSFIELD,  Charles— Les  emigres  francaij  de  la  Louisi*De.  Paris. 
THOMASSY— R.  Cavelier  de  la  Salle  &  set  relations  iaftHtn  de  la  dc- 

lu  M Clique.  Paris. 
FERLAND,  Aljbe — Cours  d'histoire  du  Canada.  Quebec. 
EYMA,  Xavier — La  legende  du  MeschaceW  Revue  Comemporaine.  Paris. 
MARGRY,  Pierre — Les  enireprises  de  Louis  Joltet  Paris. 
PERROT,  Nicolas— Memoire  sur  les  mceurs,  coutumes,  religions  des  tsu- 

vages  de  1'Amerique  Septentrionalc.  Leiptig. 
CARAYON,  Auguate—  Bannissemcnt  des  Jesuitcs  de  la  Louisiane.  Paris. 
MARGRY.  Pierre— Relation  &  memoire  pour  servir  a  1' histoire  de  France 

dans  les  pays  d'outremer.  Paris. 
DOLLIER  de  CAS  SON— Histoire  de  Montreal.  Montreal. 
FRENCH,  B.  F.— Historical  Collection  of  Louisiana,  new  series.  Nevt-Ytrk. 
GRAVIER,  Gabriel— Decouverte  et  ttablistement  de  Cavelier  de  la  Salle 

en  Amerique.  Parii. 
GRAVIER,  Gabriel— Robert  Cavelier  de  la  Salle.  Paris. 
LE  MOYNE  d'IBBERVILLE— Journal  du  voyage  fait  p; 

du  roi  la  Badine  &  lc  Marin  1699.  Montreal. 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANCAISE 


369 


1'Ohio  e 


:.  Pari j. 


1*72.     SEGUR-DUPEYRON,  Pierre  de— Hiatoire  des  negotiations  coramertiale*. 

k  maritime!  de  France  au  XVII*  k  XVIII*  slides.  Parii. 
1873.     MARGRY,  Pierre— La  priorite  de  Cavelier  de  la  Salle  su 

Misaissipi.  P.irii. 

1879.  MARGRY,  Pierre— Memoi  re  pour  «ervir  a  I'hiatoire  dej  1 
Raises  des  pay*  d'outre-roer.  Parit. 

GRAVIER,  Gabriel— La  route  du  Mississipi.  Nancy. 
RAUNIE—  Chanson,  historiques  du  XVIII*  liecle.  Paris. 

1880.  DfJM— Glossaire  franco-eanadien.  Montreal. 

1881.  MANSEAU— Dictionnaire  de*  locutions  vicicuses  du  Canada.  Montreal. 
Its*.     CABLE.  G.  W.— The  Creoles  of  Louisiana.  Nno-OrUam. 
1185.     GRAVIER,  Gabriel— Nouvellea  etudes  sur  Cavelier  de  la 

HEARN,  Lafeadio — Gombo  Zhebei.  Neta-Orleant. 
HEARN,  Lafeadio— Creolea  Sltetchea.  Ne-w-Orleant. 
.     REYNOLDS,  John— The  pioneers  history  of  Louisiana.  Chicago. 
.    JODOM  &  VINCENT—  Histoire  de  Longueil  k  de  la  familte  de  Longueil. 
Montreal. 

1889,     DONEAU  de  PLAU,  Alfred— La  Cie  des  Inde..  Paris. 
im.     JOHNSTON,  M.  A.— In  Acadia— Acadia  in  story  &  song.  NeivOrteam. 

1894.  FORTIER,  A  Ice  e— Louisiana  Studies.  AW-  Orleans. 

1895.  LORIN— Le  Comtt  de  Frontenac.  Parit. 
WINSOR,  Justin— The  Missisiipi  Basin.  Boston. 

1S96.    ROCHEMONTEIX— Lei  Jcsuitea  k  la  Nile  France  au  XVII*  siecle.  Paris. 

1897.  DIONNE,  Narcisse—  Hennepin,  ses  voyages  &  ses  ceuvres.  Quebec. 

1898.  CHAILLY-BERT,  Joseph— Les  Cies  de  Colonisations  sous  1'nncien  regime. 

Parit. 

1900.  GOSSELIN.  Abbe—  Le  journal  d'tbberville.  Evrrux. 

1901.  CHESNEL,  P.— Histoire  de  Cavelier  de  la  Salle.  Parit. 

1902.  GAGNON,  Ernest— Louis  Jolliet  Quibec. 

MUSSET,   G.— Le  voyage  en  Louisiane  de  Franquet  de  Chaville  1720- 
172*.  Parit. 

1902.  KASTNER,  Frederic— Les  heros  de  la  Nile  France.  Quibet. 

1903.  SPEARS,  John  Randolph— History  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Nevi  York. 
1908.     PARKMANN— Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World.  Niio-Tort. 


Noms,  titres  et  rangs  copies  des  Actes  et  registre*  du  Cc 
des  Nvres  d'apris  I'inventaire  des  ventes  de  I'fpoque. 
Conversations  authentiques  de  Bonaparte,  Barbe-Marboii  < 


I  Superit 


r.  Tit  re 


I.     1540-1543,  Expedition  de  Soto.  D£couverte  du  Mis- 
sissippi        9 

II.     1672-1674.  Expedition   Marqueite-Jolliet  de  Que- 
bec a  l'Arkansas  12 

III.  1675-1682.  Expedition  Cavelier  de  la  Salle.  Forts 

Fro  n  ten  a  c,  Conti  du  Niagara,  Crevecceur,  St. 
Louis  des  Illinois.  Prise  de  possession  de  I'em- 
bouchure  du  Mississippi   to 

IV.  1684-1688.  Seconde  expedition  de  la  Salle.  Nile  Bis- 

caye.  Fort  St.  Bernard,  Fort  St.  Louis,  Assas- 
sin, u  de  la  Salle  34 

V.     1699.  Expedition  d'Ibberville.  Decouvertes  sur  Mis- 
sissippi,   Ba ton- Rouge,   Lacs   Maurepas,    Pont- 

chartrain  et  Borgne  49 

VI.     1699.  Fort  St.  Louis  du  Biloxi 63 

VII.     1699.  Sauvolles,  gouverneur  (1699-1701) 66 

VIII.     1700.  Fort  Maurepas.  Nation  Natchez 77 

IX.     1701.    Bienville   gouverneur    (1701-13).    Protesta- 
tions espagnoles  83 

X.     1703.    Etablissement    He    Dauphine.    Exploration 

Missouri,  Ft.  L'Huillier,  Nations  Sioux  85 

XI.     1703.  Etablissement  Mobile.  Guerre  de  Succession..     91 

XII.     1704-5.  Arrivee  des  filles  a  marier 96 

XIII.     1706-10.   Insurrection   des  jupons.    Mori   d'Ibber- 
ville. Mcnuets  Sauvages  100 


LA     LOUISIANE    FRAN£AISE 

XTV.     1711.  Nouvel  Etablissement  a  Mobile.  Commerce 

des  lies , 

XV.  1712-15.  Cie  Crozat  (1712-16).  La  Mothe-C  ad  iliac 
Gouverneur  (1713-16).  Ft.  Toulouse  des  AH- 
bamons.  Manon  

XVI.  1716.  Louis  XV.  Nation  Natchez.  Forts  Rosalie  des 
Natchez,  Ouabache  St.  Jean-Baptiste  des  Natchi- 
tochez.  Rappel  Cadillac.  Bienville  Gouverneur, 

>7l6-»7  »*5 

XVII.  1717.  Expedition  St.  Denis  au  Mexique.  Poste  de 
la  Boulaye  aux  Yaioux  l'Epinay,  Gouverneur 

<'7'7"8)    ■!' 

XVIII.  1718.  Cie  d'Occident  ou  du  Mississippi  (1717- 
1732).  Etablissements  Illinois,  Fort  Chartres. 
Bienville,  Gouverneur  (1718-1726)   157 

XIX.  1719.  Arrivee  Ieres  Pieces  d'Inde.  Seconde  expe- 
dition St.  Denis  au  Mexique.  Sieges  de  Pensa- 
cola.  Chevalier  des  Grieux  144 

XX.  1719.  Fin  Cie  d'Occident.  Cie  des  Indes.  Gouverne- 
ment  a  Biloxi.  Exploration  Missouri  et  Riviere- 
Rouge.  Ft.  St.  Louis  de  Carlorette 149 

XXI.     1720.  Discredit  de  la  Cie  des  Indes.  Etablissement 

du  Nouveau- Biloxi  155 

XXII.     1721.  Filles  a  la  cassette.  Ft.  de  la  Balize.  Naissance 

de  la  Nile  Orleans.  Baie  St.  Bernard 163 

XXIII.  1721.   Concessions.   Culture   du   Tabac.   Myrte   a 

chandelle  171 

XXIV.  1722.  Visite  Charlevoix.  Expedition  Arkansas.  Des- 

truction de  Nile  Orleans.  Frts.  Tombecbee  et 
des  Alibamons  180 

XXV.     1723.  Reconstruction  de  Nile  Orleans,  Capitale. 

Code  Noir 187 

XXVI.     1724-26.  La  Chaise.  Rappel  de  Bienville 191 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRAN£AISE  373 

XXVII.  1726-38.  Perrier  Gouverneur  (1726-32) .  Esclavage. 
Arrivee  des  Ursulines  et  Jesuites.  Voyage  des 

Sauvages  a  Paris.  Vie  a  Nile  Orleans 197 

XXVIII.  1729-31.  Lev£e  a  Nile  Orleans.  Massacre  des  Fran- 
cais  par  Natchez  et  Yazoux.  Expeditions  contre 

les  Natchez.  Fin  de  la  nation  210 

XXIX.     1732.  Fin  de  la  Cie  des  Indes 220 

XXX.     1733-36-  Retour  de  Bienville,  Gouverneur   (1732- 
42) .  Couvent  des  Ursulines.  Campagne  contre 

les  Chicachas 222 

XXXI.     1736-38.  Supplice  d'Artaguette.  Mariages  Creoles....  229 
XXXII.     1739-42.  Seconde  campagne  contre  Chicachas.  Ft. 

Assomption.  Depart  de  Bienville  232 

XXXIII.  1743.   Mis  de  Vaudreuil,  Gouverneur    (1743-53). 

Levee  obligatoire  sur  fleuve.  Monopole  Missou- 
ri. Derniere  arrivee  d'esclaves 136 

XXXIV.  1744-46.  Commerce  des  Illinois.  Nile  Orleans.  Cul- 

ture indigo.  Vie  des  esclaves 241 

XXXV.  1747-52.  Guerre  Anglaise.  Revoke  des  Chactas,  trai- 
te  Grand'Pre.  I1™  cannes-a-sucre.  Campagne 
contre  Chicachas  253 

XXXVI.     1753-56.  Kerlerec,  Gouverneur  (1753-65).  Premier 
sucre.  Revoke  Ile-aux-Chats.  Guerre   anglaise. 
Ft.  Ascension  sur  Ohio.  Arrivee  des  I»™  Acadiens  257 
XXXVII.     1758-62.  Rochemore,  commissaire.  Cabale.  Perte  du 

Canada 365 

XXXVIII.  1763-64.  Abbadie,  Gouverneur  (1765-65) .  Trait* 
de  Paris  c^dant  rive  gauche  aux  Anglais.  Remise 
des  Frts.  Mobile,  Tombecbee,  Toulouse,  Rosa- 
lie, Chartres.  Fondation  de  Saint-Louis.  Depart 
Jesuite.  Lettre  du  Roi  annoncant  cession  a  l'Es- 
pagne  270 

XXXIX.  1765.  Aubry  et  Foucault,  commandants.  Delegues 
Louisianais  a  Paris.  Genese  cession  a  l'Espagne. 
Acte  de  Fontainebleau  275 


LA     LOUISIANE     FRANtJAISE 

1766.  UHoa,  Gouverneur  (1766-68) .  Complots  cen- 
tre Espagnols.  Sedition.  Expulsion  du  Gouver- 
neur     281 

1768-69.  Memoire  des  Habitants  et  Negociants.  De- 
cision du  Cabinet  de  Madrid.  Vente  biblio- 
theque  Provost  *gg 

1769.  Arriveedu  Gal  O'Reilly.  Remise  de  la  Colonie 
aux  Espagnols  Aires  tation  et  execution  des 
rebelles    898 

1769-1803.  Domination  espagnole.  Islingues.  Trai- 
ll de  Paris  (1783).  Incendies  de  Nile  Orleans. 
R£ussite  du  Sucre.  Reiugi£s  de  St.  Domingue. 
Traits  de  Madrid  (1595).  Voyage  Due  d'Or- 
leans.  Interdiction  de  naviguer  et  entreposer 
dans  Mississippi.  Protestations  Ame'ricaines. 
Convention  entre  Bonaparte  et  les  E.  U.  au  sujet 
de  vaisseaux  captures  507 

1800-1803.  Bonaparte  a  St.  Cloud.  Memoire  de 
Pontalba.  Traiic  de  San-Ildefonso  (1800)  et 
Madrid  (1801)  rendant  Louisiane  a  la  France. 
Inquietudes  du  Congres.  Correspond  a  nee  du 
President  Jefferson,  Madison  et  Livingston,  V>6- 
leguls  a  Paris.  De-bats  du  Congres  sur  campagne 
Louisiane 515 

1803.  Hesitations  de  Bonaparte.  Arrivee  de  Monroe 
a  Paris.  Traite  de  Paris,  ccdant  Louisiane  aux 
Etats-Unis.  Ratification  par  Congres  535 

1803.  Arrived  de  Laussat  a  Nile  Orleans.  Proclama- 
tions. Adresse  des  Planteurs  et  Habitants.  Laus- 
sat chez  les  Acadiens 347 

1803.  Remise  de  la  Louisiane  a  la  France.  Recep- 
tions. Conseil  municipal.  Remise  de  la  Louisiane 
au  Gouvernemem  Americain  356 


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