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ward a confiderable diftance, where he died and his furviving followers, 1eturning, failed down the river and proceeded to Mexico. This river was also discovered by a colonel Wood in 1654, and by a captain Bolt in 1670.

340. French Glaim to the Country on the Miffifippi. The French in Canada, very early imbibed an idea of the practicability of opening a communication, between Canada and the bay of Mexico, by means of some river. To afcertain this point, the French King gave orders to La. Salle to explore the country. This man in 1682 or 3, went down the Missisippi to its mouths, and returned to Canada, having afcertained the defired communication. Elated with this discovery, he went to France, and by a reprefentation of the advantages of the Miffifippi for opening a vaft trade with Canada and the western country, a company was foon formed to colonize the banks of the river.

341. First Attempt to fettle on the River. The adventureis, under La Salle, embarked in four veffels, but were carried beyond their intended port, and in February 1684, began a fettlement at Bernard's bay, a hundred leagues weftward of the Miffifippi. Many of the fettlers perished by diseases and hardships; and in 1687, as La Salle was exploring the interior country, two of his followers murdered him, and his projected establishment failed. After the peace of Ryfwic in 1697, the king of France fent a French naval officer, named Iberville, with a small number of men, to erect a fort and keep poffeffion of the country. This officer effected the object, and founded a permanent settlement on the bank of the Miffisippi in 1698. He returned to France to procure supplies, a first and a fecond time, but died on his third voyage. From him was named the channel of communication between the river and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain.

642. Grant to Crozat. In 1712, the King of France granted to a wealthy citizen by the name of Crozat, the exclufive right to trade, for fifteen years, on the Miffifippi and the adjacent territory. In this grant, the territory is named from him, Louifiana, or the country

of Lewis, and described within the following boundaries; On the north, the lake Illinois; on the eaft, the lands of the English in Carolina; on the fouth, the bay of Mexico; and on the weft, New-Mexico. Thefe orders, dif coveries and public acts, conftituted the whole of the ori ginal title of France to Louisiana. The grant to Crozat interfered with the charters given by the king of England, to several of the colonies, which extended from the Atlantic to the weftern ocean. This grant alfo unfolded the object of the French king, which was to unite Louisiana to Canada, and to comprehend in his dominions, all the territory weftward of the Allegany mountains.

643. Miffippi Company. In 1717, a company_was formed in France to carry on an extenfive trade to Louisiana, which company embarked in the scheme of John Law to pay off the national debt of France, by a bank. To forward the views of this company, Crozat, refigned his patent, and the exclufive trade to the Milifippi was vested in an affociation, called the company of the weft. This company undertook to enlarge the fettlement on the Miflifippi, and in 1720, was laid out the town of NewOrleans. The scheme of the company failed with the ruin of the royal bank in France, but the fettlements on the Miffifippi continued in poffeffion of France, till the year 1762, tho the increase of population was extremely flow.

644. Changes of its Sovereigns. While the French fettlements were confined to the banks of the Miffifippi, they excited but little jealousy in the British nation. But about the year 1752, the French began to affert an exclusive right to the lands on the Ohio, and intercepted the coloni al traders in their commerce with the Indians.-Soon after, they erected a fort, at the confluence of the Ohio and Monongahela, where Pittsburg now ftands.-This ftep and various other movements alarmed the British ministry, and to check the dangerous encroachments of the French, war was declared which ended in the subjection of Canada to the British crown. At the clofe of this war in 1762, France, by a fecret convention, ceded Louifiana, includ

ing New-Orleans, to Spian. In the following year, by the treaty of peace between Great Britain and France, the whole of Florida from the Atlantic to the middle of the Ibberville and the Miffifippi, was ceded to Great Britain, and in this ftate continued thefe territories till the revolution.

645. Disturbances in Louifiana. After the ceffion of Louifiana to the Spanish crown, the inhabitants remained a long time without any knowledge of that event. In 1766, Don Ulloa, a Spanish agent, arrived at New-Orleans, and the next year, a body of Spanish troops from Havanna; but this officer, for want of orders, neglected to take formal poffeffion of the country, while he proceeded to erect forts, establish monopolies, and restrict commerce. This produced a contest between the old council at New-Orleans, and Don Ulloa; which ftate of dif traction continued, till the arrival of the Spanish governor, O Riley, in 1769, who took poffeffion of the country for Spain.

646. Transfer of Louifiana to the United States. During the revolutionary war in the United States, Spain conquered Florida, and by the treaty of peace in 1783, that territory was confirmed to her. By the treaty of Ildefonfo, between France and Spain, October 1, 1800, it was ftipulated that Louifiana fhould be ceded to France, on certain conditions, which were to be fulfilled by the French government, in regard to the Duke of Parma. That treaty was confirmed by another, concluded at Madrid, March 21, 1801. And by a treaty, concluded at Paris, April 30, 1803, between France and the United States, Louifiana was fold to the United States, for the fum of fifteen millions of dollars.

647. Bounds of Louisiana. It has been already related that in the French king's grant of the trade of Louisiana to Crozat, the patent comprehended the coun→ try between the Miffifippi, and the Aleganean Mountains, which now forms a part of the United States. But the claim of the French to that part of the country, eaft of the Miffifippi, was ill founded, and never admitted by the

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British nation; and at the peace in 1763, Louisiana was limited to the country weft of the Miffifippi, and of the Ibberville. It is however afferted that the United States will claim to extend the country to the river Perdido eaft of the Mobil, the limit of Louisiana, under the French government. On the South, the bay of Mexico is the boundary of the country, and on the weft, New Mexico, or a Spanish Province, called Taxus.

648. Extent. As the northern_limit of Louisiana is not fixed, and the eastern and weftern, not well afcertained, the extent of this territory cannot be defined. From the bay of Mexico to the confluence of the Mifforie with the Miffifippi is nearly fix hundred miles; and if the mean bredth of the province fhould prove to be two hundred, the area would contain one hundred and twenty thousand fquare miles, and feventy fix millions, eight hundred thoufand acres, which would lie on the south of the Mifforie.

649. Face of the country. The land from the entrance of the Miffifippi into the bay of Mexico, northerly about two hundred and thirty miles, is low and fuppofed to be chiefly formed by the earth protruded from the river by the violence of its current. This projection of earth forms, on the east of the river, a tract, called New-Orleans, which, when the river is low, about eight or nine months in the year, is a peninfula, extending two hundred miles from North-weft to South-eaft, between the river, and the lakes Ponchartrain, and Maurepas; but when the river is fwelled in the spring, the water runs in a channel or creek called Ibberville, into thefe lakes, and thence into the fea, and renders New-Orleans an Ifland.

650. Weflern bank of the Milifippi. The land on the weft fide of the Miffifippi is low, but capable of cultiva tion, as far north as Cut Point, (Point Coupee) about one hundred and fifty miles above New-Orleans ; from thence to Cape Girardo above the mouth of the Ohio, a distance of more than two hundred miles, the land is overflowed in the fpring, to the distance of twenty-five or thirty miles

from the river, and of course is incapable of cultivation, or at least, unfit for fettlements ; as the water spreads over the whole from two to twelve feet deep,-To the northward and weftward of this low tract, the land rifes into hills and mountains, interfperfed with extenfive bottoms, and prairies, which are natural meadows without trees.

651. Entrance of the Miffilippi into the Ocean. The waters of this vast river, fwelled annually in the fpring to the highth of fifty-five feet above the level of low water, waft down immenfe quantities of trees, wood, vegetables and earthy particles which lodge on the banks or fhoals at the place where they meet the waters of the ocean. By these means, a large tract of land has been formed at this point, and is gradually extended further and further into the bay of Mexico. In this tract of low ground, the river has worn or preferved feveral channels, fome of which are dry at low water. Thus the channel called Ibberville or Manfhac has a confiderable ftream, when the river is high and carries a part of the flood into Lake Maurepas, and thence into Lake Ponchartrain, from whence it is conducted to the fea. Below New-Orleans is a channel at Plakemins, and at the extremity of the river, there are five channels or paffes; the deepest of which has only fixteen feet of water. This is called the Balize or Baleze, which fignifies a buoy or fea mark; but is applied in common language, to the principal channel or entrance into the river.

652. Channels on the Weft. From the Miffippi, there flues on the weft fide a channel called the Fork, (La Fourche) about feventy-five miles above New-Orleans. This channel is dry at low water, but during the freshets has a navigable ftream, and forms an ifland of one hundred and feventy miles in length. About two hundred miles above New-Orleans, ifiues another channel, called Chaffala, which affords boatable water at all times, if not obftructed by drift-wood, and during the fwell of the river it is navigable for veffels of confiderable fize. This river.

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