Great Epochs in American History, Vol. II by Various

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The French extended their explorations up to the mouth of the Red
River. On their return the two brothers separated when they arrived at
Bayou Manchac. Bienville was ordered to go down the river to the French
fleet, to give information of what they had seen and heard. Iberville
went through Bayou Manchac to those lakes which are known under the
names of Pontchartrain and Maurepas. Louisiana had been named from a
king: was it not in keeping that those lakes should be called after
ministers?

From the Bay of St. Louis, Ibervile returned to his fleet, where, after
consultation, he determined to make a settlement at the Bay of Biloxi.
On the east side, at the mouth of the bay, as it were, there is a
slight swelling of the shore, about four acres square, sloping gently
to the woods in the background, and on the bay. Thus this position was
fortified by nature, and the French skilfully availed themselves of
these advantages. The weakest point, which was on the side of the
forest, they strengthened with more care than the rest, by connecting
with a strong intrenchment the two ravines, which ran to the bay in a
parallel line to each other. The fort was constructed with four
bastions, and was armed with twelve pieces of artillery....

A few huts having been erected round the fort, the settlers began to
clear the land, in order to bring it into cultivation. Iberville having
furnished them with all the necessary provisions, utensils, and other
supplies, prepared to sail for France.... As the country had been
ordered to be explored, Sauvolle availed himself of that circumstance
to refresh the minds of his men by the excitement of an expedition into
the interior of the continent. He therefore hastened to dispatch most
of them with Bienville, who, with a chief of the Bayagoulas for his
guide, went to visit the Colapissas. They inhabited the northern shore
of Lake Pontchartrain, and their domains embraced the sites now
occupied by Lewisburg, Mandeville, and Fontainebleau....

Ibervile had been gone for several months, and the year was drawing to
a close without any tidings of him. A deeper gloom had settled over the
little colony at Biloxi, when, on December 7th, some signal-guns were
heard at sea, and the grateful sound came booming over the waters,
spreading joy in every breast.... It was Iberville returning with the
news that, on his representations, Sauvolle had been appointed by the
King governor of Louisiana; Bienville, lieutenant-governor; and
Boisbriant, commander of the fort at Biloxi, with the grade of major.
Iberville, having been informed by Bienville of the attempt of the
English to make a settlement on the banks of the Mississippi, and of
the manner in which it had been foiled, resolved to take precautionary
measures against the repetition of any similar attempt. Without loss of
time he departed with Bienville, on January 16, 1700, and running up
the river, he constructed a small fort, on the first solid ground which
he met, and which is said to have been at a distance of fifty-four
miles from its mouth.

When so engaged the two brothers one day saw a canoe rapidly sweeping
down the river and approaching the spot where they stood. It was
occupied by eight men, six of whom were rowers, the seventh was the
steersman, and the eighth, from his appearance, was evidently of a
superior order to that of his companions, and the commander of the
party. Well may it be imagined what greeting the stranger received,
when leaping on shore he made himself known as the Chevalier de Tonty,
who had again heard of the establishment of a colony in Louisiana, and
who, for the second time, had come to see if there was any truth in the
report. With what emotion did Therville and Bienville fold in their
arms the faithful companion and friend of La Salle, of whom they had
heard so many wonderful tales from the Indians, to whom he was so well
known under the name of "Iron Hand!" With what admiration they looked
at his person, and with what increasing interest they listened to his
long recitals of what he had done and had seen on that broad continent,
the threshold of which they had hardly passed!

After having rested three days at the fort, the indefatigable Tonty
reascended the Mississippi, with Ibervile and Bienvile, and finally
parted with them at Natchez. Iberville was so much pleased with that
part of the bank of the river where now exists the city of Natchez that
he marked it down as a most eligible spot for a town, of which he drew
the plan, and which he called Rosalie, after the maiden name of the
Countess Pontchartrain, the wife of the chancellor. He then returned to
the new fort he was erecting on the Mississippi, and Bienville went to
explore the country of the Yatasses, of the Natchitoehes, and of the
Ouachitas. What romance can be more agreeable to the imagination than
to accompany Iberville and Bienville in their wild explorations, and to
compare the state of the country in their time with what it is in our
days?...

After these explorations Iberville departed again for France, to
solicit additional assistance from the government, and left Bienville
in command of the new fort on the Mississippi. It was very hard for the
two brothers, Sauvolle and Bienville, to be thus separated, when they
stood so much in need of each other's countenance, to breast the
difficulties that sprung up around them with a luxuriance which they
seemed to borrow from the vegetation of the country. The distance
between the Mississippi and Biloxi was not so easily overcome in those
days as in ours, and the means which the two brothers had of communing
together were very scanty and uncertain.

Sauvolle died August 22, 1701, and Louisiana remained under the sole
charge of Bienville, who, tho very young, was fully equal to meet that
emergency, by the maturity of his mind and by his other qualifications.
He had hardly consigned his brother to the tomb when Iberville returned
with two ships of the line and a brig laden with troops and provisions.

According to Iberville's orders, and in conformity with the King's
instructions, Bienville left Boisbriant, his cousin, with twenty men,
at the old fort of Biloxi, and transported the principal seat of the
colony to the western side of the river Mobile, not far from the spot
where now stands the city of Mobile. Near the mouth of that river there
is an island, which the French had called Massacre Island from the
great quantity of human bones which they found bleaching on its shores.
It was evident that there some awful tragedy had been acted; but
Tradition, when interrogated, laid her choppy fingers upon her skinny
lips, and answered not....

The year 1703 slowly rolled by and gave way to 1704. Still, nothing was
heard from the parent country. There seemed to be an impassable barrier
between the old and the new continent. The milk which flowed from the
motherly breast of France could no longer reach the parched lips of her
new-born infant; and famine began to pinch the colonists, who scattered
themselves all along the coast, to live by fishing. They were reduced
to the veriest extremity of misery, and despair had settled in every
bosom, in spite of the encouragements of Bienville, who displayed the
most manly fortitude amid all the trials to which he was subjected....

Iberville had not been able to redeem his pledge to the poor colonists,
but he sent his brother Chateaugue in his place, at the imminent risk
of being captured by the English, who occupied, at that time, most of
the avenues of the Gulf of Mexico. He was not the man to spare either
himself or his family in cases of emergency, and his heroic soul was
inured to such sacrifices. Grateful the colonists were for this act of
devotedness, and they resumed the occupation of their tenements which
they had abandoned in search of food. The aspect of things was suddenly
changed; abundance and hope reappeared in the land, whose population
was increased by the arrival of seventeen persons, who came, under the
guidance of Chateaugue, with the intention of making a permanent
settlement, and who had provided themselves with all the implements of
husbandry.

This excitement had hardly subsided when it was revived by the
appearance of another ship, and it became intense when the inhabitants
saw a procession of twenty females, with veiled faces, proceeding arm
in arm, and two by two, to the house of the Governor, who received them
in state and provided them with suitable lodgings. What did it mean?
The next morning, which was Sunday, the mystery was cleared by the
officiating priest reading from the pulpit, after mass, and for the
general information, the following communication from the minister to
Bienville:

"His majesty sends twenty girls to be married to the Canadians and to
the other inhabitants of Mobile, in order to consolidate the colony.
All these girls are industrious and have received a pious and virtuous
education. You will take care to settle them in life as well as may be
in your power, and to marry them to such men as are capable of
providing them with a commodious home."...

Many were the gibes and high was the glee on that occasion; pointed
were the jokes aimed at young Bienville on his being thus transformed
into a matrimonial agent and _pater familiae_. The intentions of the
King, however, were faithfully executed, and more than one rough but
honest Canadian boatman of the St. Lawrence and of the Mississippi
closed his adventurous and erratic career and became a domestic and
useful member of that little commonwealth, under the watchful influence
of the dark-eyed maid of the Loire or of the Seine.

[1] From Gayarre's "History of Louisiana" (1847). La Salle's
expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi, when he took
possession of the country in the name of the King of France, had
taken place in 1682. Louis XIV in 1689 sent out an expedition to
colonize the lower Mississippi. It comprized about two hundred men
and was commanded by Sieur d'Therville. Among his companions were
two brothers, one of whom, Sieur de Bienville, was the real
founder of New Orleans, and long served as Governor of Louisiana.
Gayarre describes the arrival and experiences of these brothers.

Gayarre lived in New Orleans. He began to practise law there in
1880, and afterward served as reporter of the State Supreme Court.
He died in 1895.

OGLETHORPE IN GEORGIA

(1733)

BY JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS[1]

General James Edward Oglethorpe, the founder of the Colony of Georgia,
was among the few really good and great men that history tells us of.
We need to keep a close eye on the antics of history. She places the
laurels of fame in the hands of butchers, plunderers, and adventurers,
and even assassins share her favors; so that, if we are going to enjoy
the feast that history offers us, we must not inquire too closely into
the characters of the men whom she makes heroes of. We find, when we
come to look into the matter, that but few of those who figured as the
great men of the world have been entirely unselfish; and unselfishness
is the test of a man who is really good and great. Judged by this test,
General Oglethorpe stands among the greatest men known to history....

Born in 1689, Oglethorpe entered the English army when twenty-one years
of age. In 1714 he became captain-lieutenant of the first troop of the
Queen's life guards. He shortly afterward joined Eugene on the
continent, and remained with that soldier until the peace of 1718. On
the death of his brother he succeeded to the family estate in England.
In 1722 he was elected to Parliament from Haslemere, County of Surrey,
and this borough he represented continuously for thirty-two years. His
parliamentary career was marked by wise prudence and consistency; and
his sympathies were warmly enlisted for the relief of unfortunate
soldiers, and in securing reform in the conduct of prisons. In this way
Oglethorpe became a philanthropist, and, without intending it,
attracted the attention of all England. Pope, the poet, eulogizes his
"strong benevolence of soul."

In that day and time men were imprisoned for debt in England. The law
was brutal, and those who executed it were cruel. There was no
discrimination between fraud and misfortune. The man who was unable to
pay his debts was judged to be as criminal as the man who, though able,
refused to pay....

This condition of affairs Oglethorpe set himself to reform; and while
thus engaged he became imprest with the idea that many of the
unfortunates, guilty of no crime, and of respectable connections, might
benefit themselves, relieve England of the shame of their imprisonment,
and confirm and extend the dominion of the mother country in the New
World, by being freed from the claims of those to whom they owed money,
on condition that they would consent to become colonists in America. To
this class were to be added recruits from those who, through lack of
work and of means, were likely to be imprisoned on account of their
misfortunes. Oglethorpe was also of the opinion that men of means,
enterprise, and ambition could be enlisted in the cause; and in this he
was not mistaken.

He had no hope whatever of personal gain or private benefit. The plan
that he had conceived was entirely for the benefit of the unfortunate,
based on broad and high ideas of benevolence; and so thoroughly was
this understood that Oglethorpe had no difficulty whatever in securing
the aid of men of wealth and influence. A charter or grant from the
government was applied for, in order that the scheme might have the
sanction and authority of the government. Accordingly a charter was
granted, and the men most prominent in the scheme of benevolence were
incorporated under the name of "The Trustees for establishing the
Colony of Georgia in America." Georgia in America was, under the terms
of the charter, a pretty large slice of America. It embraced all that
part of the continent lying between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers,
and extending westly from the heads of these rivers in direct lines to
the South Seas; so that the original territory of Georgia extended from
ocean to ocean.

In aid of this enterprise, Oglethorpe not only contributed largely from
his private means, and solicited contributions from his wealthy
friends, but wrote a tract in which he used arguments that were
practical as well as ingenious.

On the 17th of November, 1732, all arrangements having been completed,
the _Anne_ set sail for the Colony of Georgia, accompanied by
Oglethorpe, who furnished his own cabin, and laid in provisions not
only for himself, but for his fellow-passengers. On the 13th of
January, 1733, the _Anne_ anchored in Charleston harbor. From
Charleston the vessel sailed to Port Royal; and the colonists were soon
quartered in the barracks of Beaufort-town, which had been prepared for
their reception. Oglethorpe left the colonists at Beaufort and, in
company with Colonel William Bull, proceeded to the Savannah River. He
went up this stream as far as Yamacraw Bluff, which he selected as the
site of the settlement he was about to make. He marked out the town,
and named it Savannah. The site was a beautiful one in Oglethorpe's
day, and it is still more beautiful now. The little settlement that the
founder of the colony marked out has grown into a flourishing city, and
art has added its advantages to those of nature to make Savannah one of
the most beautiful cities in the United States....

On the 30th of January, 1733, the immigrants set sail from Beaufort,
and on the afternoon of the next day they arrived at Yamacraw Bluff. On
the site of the town that had already been marked off they pitched four
tents large enough to accommodate all the people. Oglethorpe, after
posting his sentinels, slept on the ground under the shelter of the
tall pines, near the central watch fire. As a soldier should, he slept
soundly. He had planted the new colony, and thus far all had gone well
with him and with those whose interests he had charge of.

To bring these colonists across the ocean and place them in a position
where they might begin life anew was not a very difficult undertaking;
but to plant a colony amongst savages already suspicious of the whites,
and to succeed in obtaining their respect, friendship, and aid, was
something that required wisdom, courage, prudence, and large
experience. This Oglethorpe did; and it is to his credit that, during
the time he had charge of the colony, he never, in any shape or form,
took advantage of the ignorance of the Indians. His method of dealing
with them was very simple. He conciliated them by showing them that the
whites could be just, fair, and honorable in their dealings; and thus,
in the very beginning, he won the friendship of those whose enmity to
the little colony would have proved ruinous.

Providence favored Oglethorpe in this matter. He had to deal with an
Indian chief full of years, wisdom, and experience. This was
Tomochichi, who was at the head of the Yamacraws. From this kindly
Indian the Georgia Colony received untold benefits. He remained the
steadfast friend of the settlers, and used his influence in their
behalf in every possible way, and on all occasions. Altho he was a very
old man, he was strong and active, and of commanding presence. He
possessed remarkable intelligence; and this, added to his experience,
made him one of the most remarkable of the Indians whose names have
been preserved in history.... Thus, with Oglethorpe to direct it, and
with Tomochichi as its friend, the little Georgia Colony was founded,
thrived and flourished.

[1] From Mr. Harris's "Georgia from the Invasion of De Soto to
Recent Times." By permission of, and by arrangement with, the
publishers, D. Appleton & Co. Copyright, 1899.

END OF VOL. II

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