Some men with swords may sweep the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill;
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still;
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.
—Shirley
On assuming command of the colonists, Bienville endeavored to make their lot more cheerful, and to keep peace with the various Indian tribes. War had again broken out between France and England, and colonists from the Carolinas were active among the Indians inciting them to hostilities against the French settlers. The French maintained a system of communication with Canada by means of the Mississippi and the Great Lakes. Missions and trading posts were established along the river and lakes. Much of the credit for these enterprises belonged to the labors of Tonti, who was known as “the man with the iron hand.” The war between England and France afforded ample excuse for the English colonists to harass the French settlements. The real issue between the colonists of the two nations was trade supremacy with the Indians, and traders of neither nation had any scruples about inciting the savages against the other. The incursions of the Alabama tribe induced Bienville to make war on them, and later against the strong Chickasaw tribes. In these campaigns he was assisted by Tonti and St. Denys, but desertions of Indian allies handicapped the French and permanent peace could not be secured. For six years, by reason of the war in Europe, only two ships arrived from France with supplies for the colony. English privateers patrolled the West Indies and France was powerless to raise the blockade. Chateaugay managed to elude the British and go to Cuba and Santo Domingo and return with food and clothing for the colonists, but these were soon exhausted. At last Bienville appealed to the home government. A new governor, DeMuys, was sent to take his place as governor, but he died while on the voyage to America and M. Diron D’Artaguette arrived and assumed control of Louisiana. France had become bankrupt by incessant wars and the king now leased Louisiana to a banker named Antoine de Crozat and left the destitute settlers in charge of another governor, Lamothe Cadillac. Bienville had been prevented from leaving the colony and was retained to fight the Natchez Indians whose depredations were a source of constant horror to the settlers. The administration of Cadillac was conducted for the single purpose of yielding profit to the banker who was backing it. Merchandise of various kinds was sent from France and shrewd traders were sent to trade with the Indians. Bienville and St. Denys made expeditions up Red River to check inroads of the Spaniards in French territory, in 1714, the exploits of St. Denys being recorded in another chapter. On his return to Mobile, Bienville found that Governor Cadillac had been recalled, and he was left in charge of affairs until the arrival of the new governor, De la Epinay. The Crozat plan had proved unprofitable and the banker turned the affairs of the colony back to the king. The king now turned Louisiana over to a corporation known as the Mississippi Company, which agreed to pay the expense of running the government for the profits that would accrue through commercial pursuits. The new governor, with immigrants, arrived, but ere long he was recalled and Bienville was selected to administer the affairs of the corporation. The company sold vast tracts of land to immigrants and they began to arrive in large numbers at Dauphine Island. This company was the creation of a scheming Scotch lawyer named John Law, the champion real estate shark of the eighteenth century. He circulated wonderful stories of the riches that could be gathered from mines to be opened in Louisiana, in the short time it would take a settler to tip his hat. But the scheme failed. The mines never materialized and if the settlers ever so much as prospected for oil there is no record that they ever struck a “gasser” as energetic as Law. After all, this resourceful promoter did not altogether misrepresent the possibilities of the country. Suppose that the early settlers were permitted to witness the fabulous wealth that is taken from beneath the soil of Louisiana today!
Mobile was at last deemed inconvenient for the reception and transportation of immigrants to their new homes, and Bienville proposed to establish a town on the Mississippi River. The commissioners representing the company opposed the plan and decided to move to Iberville’s old fort on Mobile Bay and lay out a town. In a short time the new town was destroyed by fire, accidentally started from a lighted pipe. The present city of Biloxi was then founded. The company had objected to the townsite on the Mississippi because they did not believe that ships could pass through the mouth of the river. Bienville now demonstrated the fact that the mouth of the river was deep enough for the passage of large vessels, and sent a report to that effect to France. The report reached Paris about the time the Mississippi Company failed. The government of Louisiana by proprietors had been a losing proposition, and the board of liquidation which now took charge of affairs looked with favor on Bienville’s plan and he was authorized to establish a town on the Mississippi (1718). In June, 1722, De la Tour and Paugey, two engineers, laid out and made a plat of the new city, which was named New Orleans and became the capital of Louisiana and later the metropolis of the South.
The real work of the colonization of Louisiana was now begun. Bienville had previously sent men to take possession of LaSalle’s old fort on the coast of Texas in order to protect the country from Spanish aggression. Under the administration of Cadillac, immigrants had gone up Red River to settle the country of the Caddo and Natchitoches Indians. At this time the territory embraced in the present state of Texas was claimed by both the French and the Spanish. The French claim was based on the settlement of LaSalle at Fort St. Louis on Matagorda Bay, while the Spanish claims were based on the Mexican conquest and the explorations of Coronado in New Mexico in 1540. The fact is very apparent, however, that Spain had not attempted to colonize the territory until after LaSalle had set up the claim of France by establishing a colony on Matagorda Bay, in 1685.
During the year following the founding of New Orleans, Bienville was involved in another war with the Natchez Indians, as a result of which the French arms did not gain any decisive victory. Owing to jealousies in the colony, Bienville was recalled as governor and ordered to France. This was the most humiliating reverse which he had ever suffered, as the order deprived him of his rank, and his family as well as relatives in Louisiana were made to suffer.
Two years later (1727) the Natchez again brought terror to the colonists by the massacre of two hundred men, ninety women and fifty-five children at Fort Rosalie, and it is probable that all the French settlers would have met the same fate had it not been for the Choctaws and their kindred tribes which had always remained the faithful allies of the colonists. The Natchez were punished, but not conquered, and the continued depredations of the savages disgusted the directors who had charge of the affairs of the colony and they gave it back to the king. The settlers were dissatisfied with the administration of Governor Perrier and he was recalled and Bienville, who was considered the only man who could wisely govern Louisiana and keep peace with the Indians, was returned to his old post. When he arrived at New Orleans he at once resolved to make war on the Natchez as well as the Chickasaws for protecting them. After a campaign lasting three years, in which he met severe reverses, he returned with his army to New Orleans, resigned his office and left Louisiana never to return. He died in France at the age of 88 years. Bienville devoted forty-seven years of his life to Louisiana civilization and is properly esteemed as one of our most illustrious pioneers.
Jean Baptiste LeMoyne, Sieur de Bienville, came to the colony when only 18 years of age, and was chosen to preside over its destinies as governor when he had reached the age of 24. He spent his boyhood days among the Indians of Canada, and his acquaintance with the characteristics of the savages, his knowledge of the languages of the various tribes, enabled him to render services to the pioneers of Louisiana that few other men could supply. If he had an equal as a pioneer, it was in the person of St. Denys, a companion on his early expedition up Red River and faithful lieutenant in his conflict with savages. As the life and deeds of St. Denys are most pertinent to this history, we devote the following chapter to a brief review of the same.
Back to: Sabine Parish – Louisiana History & Genealogy Project
Back to: Louisiana History & Genealogy Project
Source
Belisle, John G., History of Sabine Parish, Louisiana, Many, La. : The Sabine banner press, 1912.