History of Louisisana | Page 2

however, refused to leave her master, whereupon, the
Indian father performed a rite of his tribe, which made her the ward of
the white man--a simple ceremony of joining hands.
Le Page spent eight years among the Natchez and what he wrote about
them--their lives, their customs, their ceremonials--has been
acknowledged to be the best and most accurate accounts we have of
these original inhabitants of Louisiana. He has left us, in his splendid
history, much information on the other Indian tribes of the lower
Mississippi River country.

Antoine Simon Le Page Du Pratz tells us he spent sixteen years in
Louisiana before returning to France in 1734. They were years well
spent--to judge by what he wrote.
As it was written and published in the French language, Le Page's
history proved in many instances to be a tantalizing casket of historical
treasure that could not be opened by those who had not mastered
French. The original edition, published in Paris in 1758, a score of
years after the author landed in New Orleans, was followed in 1763 by
a two-volume edition in English, and eleven years later in 1774, by a
one-volume edition in English, entitled: "The History of Louisiana, or
of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina." The texts in the English
editions are identical.
Fortunately, early historians who could not read the French edition,
were now able to read M. Le Page's accounts of his adventures in the
New World. Unfortunately, especially for present day historians, the
English editions have become increasingly rare--many libraries do not
have them on their shelves. Therefore, the present re-publication fills a
long-felt want.
The English translation, with its added matter, is reproduced exactly as
it was printed for T. Becket to be sold in his shop at the corner of the
Adelphi in the Strand, London, 1774. Errors of grammar and spelling
are not corrected. The only change is the modernizing of the old _s_'s
which look like _f_'s.
The present edition is really two works in one, for the English
translation did not include any of the original edition's many
illustrations. The London books did have two folding maps, one of the
Louisiana province, the other of the country about the mouths of the
Mississippi River. Not only are these maps reproduced in the present
work, but in addition, all the other illustrations, including the rare map
of New Orleans, appearing in the original French edition, are included.
These quaint engravings of the birds, the beasts, the flowers, the shrubs,
the trees, fish, the deer and buffalo hunts, and the habits and customs of
the Natchez Indians, add much to the value of the present
re-publication. I have captioned them with present-day names of the
flora and fauna.
STANLEY CLISBY ARTHUR.
(_Mr. Arthur is a naturalist, historian and writer, and executive-director

of the Louisiana State Museum.--J. S. W. Harmanson, Publisher_.)

CONTENTS
Preface
BOOK I. The Transactions of the French in Louisiana.
CHAP. I. Of the first Discovery and Settlement of Louisiana
CHAP. II. The Return of M. de St. Denis: His settling the Spaniards at
the Assinaïs. His second Journey to Mexico, and Return from thence
CHAP. III. Embarkation of eight hundred Men by the West-India
Company to Louisiana. Arrival and Stay at Cape François. Arrival at
the Isle Dauphine. Description of that Island
CHAP. IV. The Author's Departure for his Grant. Description of the
Places he passed through, as far as New Orleans
CHAP. V. The Author put in Possession of his Territory. His
Resolution to go and settle among the Natchez
CHAP. VI. The Voyage of the Author to Biloxi. Description of that
Place. Settlement of Grants. The Author discovers two Copper Mines.
His Return to the Natchez
CHAP. VII. First War with the Natchez. Cause of the War
CHAP. VIII. The Governor surprized the Natchez with seven hundred
Men. Astonishing Cures performed by the Natives. The Author sends
upwards of three hundred Simples to the Company
CHAP. IX. French Settlements, or Posts. Post at Mobile. The Mouths
of the Missisippi. The Situation and Description of New Orleans
CHAP. X. The Voyages of the French to the Missouris, Canzas, and
Padoucas. The Settlements they in vain attempted to make in those
Countries; with a Description of an extraordinary Phaenomenon
CHAP. XI. The War with the Chitimachas. The Conspiracy of the
Negroes against the French. Their Execution
CHAP. XII. The War of the Natchez. Massacre of the French in 1729.
Extirpation of the Natchez in 1730
CHAP. XIII. The War with the Chicasaws. The first Expedition by the
River Mobile. The second by the River Missisippi. The War with the
Chactaws terminated by the Prudence of M. de Vaudreuil
CHAP. XIV. Reflections on what gives Occasion to Wars in Louisiana.
The Means of avoiding Wars in that Province, as