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ARRIVAL OF SETTLERS; NEW ORLEANS FOUNDED.

livres, which in an instant was turned into so much waste paper. Law, to escape the fury of the speculators and investors, fled to Brussels. In 1721 he went to England, but departed the following year, and in 1729 died at Venice in poverty and obscurity. Gayarré says that "he who could write in all its details the history of that Mississippi bubble, so fatal in its short-lived duration, would give to the world the most instructive composition, made up of the most amusing, ludicrous, monstrous, and horrible elements that were ever jumbled together!"*

Meanwhile, in March, 1718, three vessels with three companies of infantry and 69 colonists reached. Louisiana.† They were followed in June of the same year by 800 more colonists, convicts, and troops. These were the first installments of the 6,000 whites and 3,000 negroes which

*See also Wood, Memoirs of the Life of John Law (1824); Thiers, Histoire de Law (1858); Charles Mackay, Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds; Parkman, Half-Century of Conflict, vol. i., p. 304 et seq.; Gayarré, History of Louisiana, vol. i., pp. 191-232; Winsor, The Mississippi Basin, pp. 99-110; Perkins, France Under the Regency, chaps. xiii.-xv.; Winsor, Narrative anl Critical History, vol. v., chap. i.; Martin, History of Louisiana, vol. i., chap. ix.; King and Ficklen, History of Louisiana, chap. xii.; King, Bienville, chaps. xx.-xxiv.; Wallace, History of Illinois and Louisiana Under French Rule, chap. xiii; Monette, History of the Mississippi Valley, vol. i., chaps. vi.-viii., Ogg, Opening of the Mississippi, p. 204 et seq.; Hamilton, Colonial Mobile, chap. xii., Pickett, History of Alabama, chap. vi.; Bancroft, vol. ii., pp. 227-232.

Penicaut's journal in French, Historical Collections of Louisiana, new series, vol. i.

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the Mississippi Company had agreed to introduce into the colony. Bienville was re-appointed governor, and soon afterward sent a party of convicts to clear the swamp where now stands the city of New Orleans, so named after Philip of Orleans, then Regent of France.* A few years later the seat of government was removed to New Orleans by Bienville, and time has more than justified his wisdom in selecting this site as the location for the commercial capital for the Mississippi Valley.† Fifteen hundred settlers were also sent out by Law to occupy the tract of twelve miles on the Arkansas River which Law had reserved to himself. During the prosperity of the paper scheme, large amounts had been spent in the colony to promote enterprise and industry, but after the failure of the Company such resources were withdrawn, and the settlers were reduced to great distress.‡

War now having broken out between France and Spain, the French twice attacked the Spanish settlement at Pensacola and captured it,|| but

• The South in the Building of the Nation, vol. iii., p. 89; Phelps, Louisiana, pp. 61–62.

See Gayarré, History of Louisiana, vol. i., pp. 233-286; French, Historical Collections of Louisi ana, vol. iii., pp. 179-182; and Dumont's Mémoirs in the same, vol. v.; Grace King, New Orleans, The Place and the People, p. 33 et seq. A plan of the early city is given in Shea, Charleroix's History of New France, vol. vi., p. 40.

Phelps, Louisiana, pp. 63-64.

Shea, Charleroix's History of New France, vol. vi., pp. 42-67; Penicaut's journal (chaps. xiv.-xvi.) in French, Historical Collections of Louisiana, new series, vol. i., pp. 145-162; Dumont's memoir in same, vol. v., pp. 4-9.

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INDUSTRIES ESTABLISHED; INDIAN WARS.

in 1721 the town was restored to Spain, and the Perdido River was designated as the dividing line between the Spanish Florida and French Louisiana. The French now instituted a military establishment of about 1,000 troops, and in addition a number of Capuchins and Jesuit priests were sent over to look after the spiritual concerns of the colonists.* A convent of Ursuline nuns was also established at New Orleans in 1727, for the care of the hospital and the education of girls.† "Rice was the principal crop, the main resource for feeding the population. To this were added tobacco and indigo. The fig had been introduced from Provence, and the orange from St. Domingo." ‡ Saw mills, brick kilns and other industries were established at advantageous points.|| In 1727, the population amounted to about 5,000, half of whom were negroes.

In 1725 René Boucher de la Périer had been appointed governor to succeed Bienville, whose removal had been brought about by the pertinacity of his enemies.§ Shortly afterward troubles arose with the Indians. The Natchez tribe, who had at first hospitably received the French, and among whom Fort Rosalie had been

*On their labors see Shea, American Catholic Missions, p. 435 et seq.

This is the oldest establishment in the United States for the education of young ladies. King, New Orleans, p. 55. See also Phelps, Louisiana, p. 81.

Hildreth, vol. ii., pp. 283-284.
King, New Orleans, p. 45.
Phelps, Louisiana, p. 79.

erected, now became jealous of the settlements established by the French in their territory. Urged on by the Chickasaws, they fell on Fort Rosalie on November 28, 1729, and after butchering all the male inhabitants, carried away the women and children into slavery. A year or so later the French retaliated and nearly exterminated the whole tribe, sending several hundred captives to be sold as slaves in St. Domingo.* Such of the Natchez as had escaped were received by the Chickasaws who had now opened trade with the English and obstructed upper and lower Louisiana. For these offences the French decided to subdue them.†

In November, 1731, the Mississippi Company resigned Louisiana into the hands of the king, and on May 7, 1732, the king organized a council of government to take the place of the defunct Company. Bienville was again appointed governor, and was

King, New Orleans, pp. 76-77; Phelps, Louisiana, pp. 83-86.

† Wallace, History of Illinois and Louisiana under French Rule, chap. xiv.; Martin, History of Louisiana, vol. i., chap. xi.; Gayarré, History of Louisiana, vol. i., pp. 395-450; King and Ficklen, History of Louisiana, chap. xiv.; Monette, History of the Valley of the Mississippi, vol. i.. chaps. vii.-viii.; Shea, Charleroix's History of New France, vol. vi., pp. 80-118; the narrative of Father Le Petit in French, Historical Collections of Louisiana, vol. iii., pp. 140-158; Dumont's Mémoirs in same, vol. v., pp. 58-102; and Penicaut's journal in same, new series, vol. i., pp. 8895; J. H. Walworth, The Natchez Indians —A Lost Tribe, in Magazine of American History, vol. xi., pp. 300-309; King, Bienville, chap. xxv.; Pickett, History of Alabama, vol. i., chap. vii.; Winsor, The Mississippi Basin, p. 187.

Phelps, pp. 86-87.

BIENVILLE REMOVED; QUARRELS WITH JESUITS.

directed to prepare for war against the Chickasaws. In 1736, therefore, with a fleet of 60 boats and canoes, and about 1,000 Choctaws as allies, Bienville ascended the Tombigbee River to the head of navigation and attacked the Chickasaws near that point, May 26. The Indians, however, were not to be overpowered, and the French were compelled to retreat.* Three years later Bienville conducted an expedition of 3,600 men, including Indians, against this powerful tribe, but again he was unsuccessful; and sickness and want of provisions having thinned their ranks, the French were glad to withdraw their forces without having suffered a mortifying defeat at the hands of the Chickasaws.t Bienville's failures displeased the authorities at home, and on May 10, 1743, the Marquis Philippe de Vaudreuil was sent out as his successor. At the age of sixty-five, Bienville left the colony which he had so long and so faithfully served, and never returned.

*

Phelps, Louisiana, p. 89.

† Grace King, Bienville, chaps. xxvi-xxvii ; Hamilton, Colonial Mobile, chap. xiv.; Martin, History of Louisiana, vol. i., chap. xii.; King and Ficklen, History of Louisiana, pp. 99–106; Gayarré, History of Louisiana, vol. i., pp. 459–492; Pickett, History of Alabama, vol. i., chap. x.; Brown, History of Alabama, chap. vi.; Ogg, Opening of the Mississippi, p. 227 et seq.; Monette, History of the Valley of the Mississippi, vol. i., chap. ix.; French, Historical Collections of Louisiana, vol. v., pp. 106–118; Wallace, History of Illinois and Louisiana under French Rule, chap. xv.; Winsor, The Mississippi Basin, pp. 190– 192.

Son of the former governor cf Canada.
Phelps, Louisiana, p. 90.

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From this time on, Louisiana, under
Vaudreuil, enjoyed comparative tran-
quillity and gradually advanced in
prosperity. Vaudreuil endeavored to
promote the welfare of the colony in
every way, and in spite of troubles
with the Indians and a few other diffi-
culties, conditions were as good as
could be expected. In February,
1753, Vaudreuil was transferred to
Canada, and Louis
Canada, and Louis Billouart de
Kerleréc was appointed to succeed
him as governor of Louisiana.*

Meanwhile the French in Canada had been constantly pushing westward and laying the foundations for further claims to territory. At Michillimackinac (or Mackinaw) was a small French and Indian trading post,† which had originally been established as a Jesuit mission, and thither in 1694 Frontenac had sent Antoine de la Mothe-Cadillac as captain of the troops and in virtual authority. The latter had little love for the Jesuits‡ and soon began to quarrel with them. He was an ardent adherent of Frontenac's policy of expansion and the occupation of the interior of the country by posts of war

On the condition of the colony at this time see Ogg, Opening of the Mississippi, p. 232 et seq. † Cadillac, however, says that "this village [was] one of the largest in Canada," that the garrison consisted of 200 men, and that 6,000 or 7,000 Indians lived in the vicinity. See Cooley, Michigan, p. 14.

Parkman describes Cadillac as follows: "He was amply gifted with the kind of intelligence that consists in quick observation, sharpened by an inveterate spirit of sarcasm, was energetic. enterprising, well instructed, and a bold and sometimes a visionary schemer, with a restless

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DETROIT FOUNDED; TERRITORY DEEDED TO KING.

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Cadillac believed that the time had now come when France should secure the West, and he realized that the strait détroit-connecting connecting Lakes Huron and Erie, was the most important of the western passes, for whoever occupied it could not only shut out all others from the three upper lakes and the Northwest, but could also control the passage from the North southward to the Mississippi and thus to Louisiana.† He therefore endeavored to secure aid from the Canadian authorities in settling this territory but was unsuccessful, and in the autumn of 1699 went to France to urge his scheme at court. The colonial minister, Jerome de Phelypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain, accepted Cadillac's plan of plan of occupying the territory and gave him a commission to execute it. Cadillac Cadillac therefore in June, 1701, started from La Chine, accompanied by Alphonse de Tonty, (a brother of Henri de Tonty, La Salle's companion) and 100 men, and on July 24 reached his des

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tination where a picket fort 60 yards

square was erected and named Fort Pontchartrain, this being the beginning of the city of Detroit.*

Detroit and Fort Frontenac now became the centre of the fur trade, which was granted by the king to a company, in which all Canadians might take shares, but the affairs of which were governed by seven directors.+ Internal dissensions in the company arose and soon resulted in the transferring of the monopoly of furs at Detroit to Cadillac, who was required to pay the company the expenses they had incurred. Cadillac had promised to make Detroit a flourishing city, but his hopes were not realized and it remained a small post for many years.‡

The Five Nations, however, were filled with alarm at the occupation of Detroit and appealed to the English for protection. To insure it, they deeded the whole country from Lake Ontario to Lake Superior and westward as far as Chicago to King William and his heirs and assigns forever. This territory, which was about 800 miles long and 400 miles

* McMullen, History of Canada, pp. 83-84: Winsor, The Mississippi Basin, pp. 72-73. See also Sheldon, Early History of Michigan; Cooley, Michigan, p. 19; Moore, The Northwest Under Three Flags, pp. 38-46; C. M. Burton, A Sketch of the Life of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (Detroit, 1895); Silas Farmer, History of Detroit and Michigan; C. M. Burton, Cadillac's Village or Detroit under Cadillac, with a List of Property Owners and a History of the Settlement from 1701 to 1710 (Detroit, 1896.)

Cooley, Michigan, p. 26. Ibid, pp. 27-34.

THE OUTAGAMIE WAR.

wide, included Detroit, and was claimed by the Five Nations as theirs by right of conquest.* The French, The French, however, continued to occupy Detroit, and the English made no attempt to enforce their title, but they filed the deed, and many years afterward used it as a basis for their claim to the Lake regions.†

After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1712 the competition for the fur trade of the West became acute, New York being Canada's chief competitor for control. Virginia and Pennsylvania were not serious rivals, while New England was barred from the trade by the interposition of New York. The Five Nations (which had now become the Six Nations by the addition of the Tuscaroras) acted as middlemen between the New York merchants and the tribes of the West, and as the French could not control the Five Nations they naturally endeavored to retain the friendship of the western Indians. Around Detroit were the Ottawas, Hurons, and Pottawattamies; about Fort St. Louis on the Illinois were the Illinois; and near Green Bay on Lake Michigan were the Sacs, Winnebagoes, Menomonies and the Outagamies, or Foxes, a formidable tribe which caused the French much trouble. The Outa

* See the Deed from the Five Nations to the King of their Beaver Hunting Ground, in N. Y. Col. Docs., vol. iv., p. 708.

↑ For details regarding the settlement of Detroit and the subsequent events see Parkman, Half-Century of Conflict, vol. i., chap. ii.; Moore, The Northwest under Three Flags, pp. 46-55.

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gamies with their allies, the Kickapoos and the Mascoutins, lived at that time within the limits of the present States of Wisconsin and Illinois. They were friendly with the Five Nations, by whom, according to French writers, the Dutch and English traders of New York sent them gifts and messages inciting them to destroy the French fort at Detroit and to kill the French traders.*

At this time there were no soldiers at Detroit and only about 30 French traders; and Sieur Joseph Guyon Dubuisson was in command, Cadillac having been made governor of Louisiana. Close to the fort was the village of the Pottawattamies; on the banks of the river close by lived the Hurons; and on the east side of the river were the Ottawas. These three tribes bore a deadly grudge against the Outagamies. In the spring of 1712, while a majority of the warriors of these tribes were away on their winter hunt, about 1,000 Outagamies and Mascoutins encamped near the fort and began to harass the traders. The timely arrival of 600 warriorsPottawattamies, Sacs, Menomonies, Illinois, Missouri, etc.— strengthened the bands of Hurons and Ottawas who had remained near the fort and the Outagamies were besieged by the French and their savage allies. The attempts to carry the Outagamie palisade were futile, but disease among the latter compelled them to seek

Parkman, Half-Century of Conflict, vol. i., pp.

268-269.

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