sary-He triumphs over them all-Republicanism of the Colonies- The Ursuline Nuns and the Jesuits-Public Improvements made or contemplated by Governor Périer-Census in 1727-Expenses of the Colonial Administration-Edict of Henry the Second against Unmarried Women-Other Facts and Events from 1723 to 1727- Traditions on the Music heard at the mouth of Pascagoula River, and on the Date-tree at the corner of Dauphine and Orleans Streets, 359 Arrival of the Casket Girls-Royal Ordinance relative to the Conces- sions of Lands-Manner of settling the Succession of Frenchmen married to Indian Women-French Husbands-Indian Wives-His- tory of Madame Dubois, an Indian Squaw-Conspiracy of the Nat- chez against the French-Massacre of the French at Natchez in 1729 -Massacre of the French at the Yazoo Settlement in 1730-Attack of the Natchez against the French Settlement at Natchitoches-They are beaten by St. Denis-The French and Choctaws attack the Nat- chez-Daring and Death of Navarre and of some of his companions -Siege of the Natchez Forts-Flight of the Natchez-Cruel Treat- ment of Natchez Prisoners by Governor Périer-Desperation of the Natchez-The Chickasaws grant an Asylum to the Natchez-Con- spiracy of the Banbara Negroes-List of the Principal Officers in the Expedition of Périer against the Natchez-He goes up Red River and Black River in pursuit of them-Siege of their Fort-Most of them are taken Prisoners and sold as Slaves-Continuation of the Natchez War-The India Company surrenders its Charter--Ordinances on the Currency of the Country-Bienville reappointed Governor-Sit- uation of the Colony at that time-The Natchez take Refuge among the Chickasaws-Great Rise of the Mississippi and General Inunda- tion-Extraordinary Number of Mad Dogs-Expedition of Bienville against the Chickasaws-He attacks their Villages-Battle of Ackia -Daring Exploit of the black man, Simon-Bienville is beaten and forced to retreat-Expedition of D'Artaguette against the Chick- State of Agriculture in 1736-Exemption from Duties on certain Arti- cles of Importation and Exportation-War between the Choctaws and Chickasaws-Singular Judicial Proceeding in 1738-Bienville's Dispatch on the Sand-bars at the Mouth of the Mississippi-De Noailles is sent to Louisiana to command an Expedition against the Chickasaws-Bienville's Jealousy-Intrigues of the Indian, Red Shoe-General Rendezvous of the French at the Mouth of River Margot Failure of that Expedition-Its probable Causes-Bien- ville's Apology-Effects of a Hurricane-Situation of the Colony in 1741-Heroism of a French Girl in a Battle against the Indians- Bienville incurs the Displeasure of his Government-He demands the Establishment of a College-That Demand is refused-Bienville is recalled to France-He departs never to return-He is succeeded by the Marquis of Vaudreuil-Other Facts and Events from 1736 PREFACE. Ir every man's life were closely analyzed, accident, or what seems to be so to human apprehension, and what usually goes by that name, whatever it may really be, would be discovered to act a more conspicuous part and to possess a more controlling influence than preconception, and that volition which proceeds from long-meditated design. My writing the history of Louisiana, from the expedition of De Soto in 1539, to the final and complete establishment of the Spanish government in 1769, after a spirited resistance from the French colonists, was owing to an accidental circumstance, which, in the shape of disease, drove me from a seat I had lately obtained in the Senate of the United States, but which, to my intense regret, I had not the good fortune to occupy. Traveling for health, not from free agency, but a slave to compulsion, I dwelt several years in France. In the peculiar state in which my mind then was, if its attention had not been forcibly diverted from what it brooded over, the anguish under which it sickened, from many causes, would soon have not been endurable. I sought for a remedy: I looked into musty archives-I gathered materials—and subsequently became a historian, or rather a mere pretender to that name. Last year, as circumstance or accident would have it, I was invited by the managers of the People's Lyceum to deliver a Lecture before their Society. The invitation was flattering, but came in a most inopportune moment. The Legislature was then in session, and, as Secretary of State, my duties and my daily relations with the members of that honorable body were such as to allow me very little leisure. I could not decline, however, the honor conferred upon me; and with a mind engrossed by other subjects, and with a hurried pen, I wrote the first Lecture, which is now introduced to the reader as the leading one in this volume. It happened to give satisfaction: friends desired its publication: their desire was complied with; and in the June and July numbers of De Bow's Commercial Review, the discourse which I had delivered before the People's Lyceum made its appearance. I attached so little importance to this trifling production, the offspring of an hour's thought, that I was greatly amazed at the encomium it elicited from newspapers, in which it was copied at length, in several parts of the United States. What! said I to myself, am I an unnatural father, and has my child more merit than I imagined? As I was pondering upon this grave question, the last epidemic took possession of New Orleans by storm. If I ventured into the streets for exercise or occupation, I immediately suffered intolerable annoyance from the stinging darts of Apollo, through the ineffectual texture of my straw hat, and my eyes were greeted with nothing but the sight of dogs, physicians, and hearses. If I remained at home, seeking tranquillity under the protection of the household gods of celibacy, indiscreet visitors would come in, and talk of nothing else but of the dying and the dead. One day I got into a very sinful fit of passion, and summoning up my servant George to my august presence, I said to him, "George, you are a great rascal, are you not ?” "Master, I do not know exactly," replied he, scratching his woolly head. Well, I do know it, George, and I am pleased to give you that wholesome information. But no matter, I forgive you." "Thank you, master." "I deserve no thanks for what I can't help but stop, don't go yet; I have something more to say." "Master," quoth he, "I wish you would make haste, for the milk is on the fire, and I am afraid it will boil over." "Out upon the milk, man, and listen to me with all the might of your African ears." George took an attitude of mixed impatience and resignation, and I continued, with more marked emphasis in my tone, and with increased dignity in my gesticulation, "Did you not lately run away for two months, for what reasonable cause, God only knows; and did you not come back with the face of a whipped dog, telling me that PREFACE. : ix you were satisfied with your experiment of that great blessing, freedom, and that you would not try it any more? Do not hang down your thick head, as if you meant to push it through that big chest of yours; but keep this in mind if, for a whole week, you allow any human body to cross my threshold, I swear (and you know I always keep my word) that I'll kick you away to the abolitionists. Now vanish from my sight." What impression this order produced on this miserable slave, I do not know, but it was strictly executed. After I had dismissed my sable attendant, I found myself in the same situation that many people frequently find themselves in. I did not know what to do with myself. I had neither a wife nor children to quarrel with; and as to servants, I hate scolding them-I reserve that for their betters. As to my books, I thought I had the right to indulge toward them in any of the capricious whims of a lover, and I bent upon their tempting and friendly faces a scowling look of defiance. One thing was settled in my mind;-I was determined to enjoy the luxury of laziness, and to be, for a while, an indolent, unthinking sort of animal, the good-for-nothing child of a southern latitude. So, I thrust my hands into the pockets of my morning-gown, and lounged through every room in my house, staring curiously at every object, as if it had been new to my eyes. For some time, I amused myself with my small gallery of paintings, and with a variety of trifles, which are the pickings of my traveling days. But alas! with some of them are connected painful recollections of the past; and, much to my regret, I discovered that my soul, which I thought I had buried ten fathoms deep in the abyss of matter, was beginning to predominate again in my mixed nature. I hastily turned my eyes from a contemplation, which had interfered with the much coveted ease of the brute; but, as fate would have it, they settled upon some ancestral portraits. As I gazed at them, I became abstracted, until it really seemed to me that I saw a sorrowful expression steal over their features, as they looked at the last descendant of their race. I became moody, and felt that one of my dark fits was coming on. What was to be done? I was placed in this awkward |