292 |
SPAIN IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY |
(Attached to the foregoing)
No. 130.
A party of Americans have arrived at Kaskaskia under a governor named General St. Clair who, it is said, is a member of Congress. He has brought with him two officers with fifty garrison troops and another forty with an officer which stayed at the entrance of the Ohio River and which should come up and join the first.
This development might take away some of the
settlers who had decided to come here from the other side and who had promised
to do so in the spring. Nevertheless, I shall not cease encouraging all I can
to settle in this place to increase the population and promote agriculture.
May God preserve Your Lordship
many years.
ST. LOUIS OF YLINUESES, March
24, 1790.
|
MANUEL PEREZ (Rubric) |
Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
VALLIERE TO MIRÓ
January 12, 1790208
No. 167
The great chief of the Miami nation, named Pacana, with his family and nine men, making a total of thirty-four persons, arrived at this post on the third of last December. I received Pacana as a chief and he has been treated the same during the time he has been in my house. Five days after his arrival he asked my permission to go to Ouachita, for the purpose of seeing a chief of his nation, a relative of his named Hibou. At the same time he asked me for permission to live in the Spanish territory. I told him there would be no trouble about it but that this could not be done until he delivered to me the English medal that he had. In exchange for it I offered to give him a Spanish medal. I assured him that when he went down to the town to see his Father he would realize how good his heart is, as has already been recognized by the other nations who live under our flag. To this he replied that in two days he would give me his answer.
On the following day a courier was sent to me
by the chief of the Arkansas nation to inform me that a large party of
Chickasaw had arrived at their villages. On the Ouachita they had killed a
chief of the great medal of the Illinois and two Indian women, and they were
bringing the wife and three children of this chief as prisoners.
____________
208BL.
|
POST WAR DECADE, 1782-1791 |
335 |
John Paterson with four Negroes, to settle.
Employees-to return.
Lavallin
Borry Thomas Clements
James
Liddle Fransh Wilson
Adam
Gutery Richard Percy
William Jensly
Cargo-59 hogsheads of tobacco
NATCHEZ, May 4, 1790.
|
GRAND-PRÉ (Rubric) |
DE BLANC TO MIRÓ
May 4, 1790239
No. 54.
Seven Indians of the Miami nation, with their
families, arrived at this post on the 30th of last month. They asked, in the
name of their Chief Pacanne, who at present is with his people in Ste.
Geneviève of Illinois together with the Shawnees, for the permit to establish
themselves in the district under my command. They should return next September
bearing the answer to the said chief. May it please Your Lordship to advise me
whether there is any objection so that I may inform these people.
May God protect Your Lordship
many years.
NATCHITOCHES, May 4, 1790.
|
LUIS DE BLANC (Rubric) |
Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
GRAND-PRÉ TO MIRÓ
May 5, 1790240
The flatboat belonging to Don Charles Wilkins
is going down to your city with part of its cargo. I send Your Lordship
herewith a statement of the men and goods on board, coming from Pittsburg.
May God preserve Your Lordship
many years.
NATCHEZ, May 5, 1790.
|
CARLOS DE GRAND-PRÉ (Rubric) |
Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
_________________
(Accompanying the foregoing)
Statement of the men and goods brought down
from the province of Pennsylvania by a flatboat and a barge that arrived at
this post today, date as below, under the command of Don Charles Wilkins.
____________
239AGI, PC, leg. 16.
240AGI, PC, leg. 16.
384 |
SPAIN IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY |
here, as they let everybody seek his livelihood as best each poor man could;
but now this is not possible.
I kiss Your Lordship's hand, and hope for this favor as a relief for the poor.
My most honored Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
FOUCHER TO MIRÓ
October 18,1790275
No. 63.
There have just arrived two Frenchmen from
Post Vincennes, who escaped from the expedition made by the Americans against
the tribes on the Wabash River. Their commander is Major Andramen. With 350
men, both troops and militia, he took the greater part by force. I so advise
Your Lordship for your information.
May God preserve Your Lordship
many years.
NEW MADRID, October 18,
1790.
|
PEDRO FOUCHER (Rubric) |
Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
FOUCHER TO MIRÓ
October 20, 1790276
No. 66.
I inform Your Lordship that an Abenaki chief told me that he had gone by order of his king to the Chickasaw villages hoping to induce them to preserve the peace between people of their color, for they had enough to do with the whites without shedding blood among themselves. He says the Chickasaws paid little attention to this message, and that an American officer who was in the council put this question to him:
"Is your father of L'Anse à la Graisse, the Spaniard, building a fort? To this he replied, "Yes." "Then," said the American, "tell him that he does well, for I shall make him a visit, and in order to take possession of his fort I shall write him a little letter, which will be sufficient; and since we cannot have two commandants I shall name my sergeant for the place."
I replied that I was glad, and that my answer
was ready and placed in my cannon to send to him. At this the chief burst out
laughing, and asked me to hold a council on the following morning on behalf of
his king, who is still living in the Shawnee village. I told him
______________
275AGI, PC, leg. 16.
276BL.
392 |
SPAIN IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY |
For the honor of the arms of the King, the nation, and for my own, I see myself
compelled to advance these ideas to Your Lordship, and to give you all the news
I can get, even though doubtful and not fully substantiated, so that Your
Lordship, if you so desire, may send the aid that you consider advisable for
the defense of the post. On account of its complete lack of defenses and because
there are only two sergeants and thirty soldiers, little can be done, the more
so as the settlement, which is not very large, is divided into five towns. They
are remote from each other, and it might be necessary to abandon them to the
fury of the savages. This is what is most to be feared on account of their
barbarity.
May God protect Your Lordship
many years.
ST. LOUIS OF YLINUESES. December
4, 1790.
|
MANUEL PEREZ (Rubric) |
Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
PEREZ TO MIRÓ
December 4, 1790285
No. 165.
The news that I gave Your Lordship in my
letter No. 153 that the Americans were making a sally from Cumberland to the
number of three thousand men has been verified, according to the latest reports
from the other side. It is aimed against the savages, but it appears that it
has done nothing much. The most reliable news is that five hundred horsemen who
gathered at Post Vincennes returned a few days after their departure, with the
loss of one man and a number of horses which the savages captured from them.
Some two thousand, four hundred men, both infantry and cavalry, who set out
toward Detroit, burned two Indian villages, killed about six Indians, and
wounded some twenty-four or twenty-six; but a large party of savages,
Chickasaws, Puz, and others, assembled and attacked the Americans. As soon as
the latter returned the attack, the savages began to retire. The Americans
seeing this, followed them until they plunged into a swampy place, from which
they could not get out. It appears to have been the intention of the savages in
their pretended retreat to lead them into that place purposely, and so to
succeed in their attack on the Americans. This they did. Then as soon as they
saw them at a disadvantage, they fell upon them, and it is said that the
Americans lost, both killed and badly wounded, very nearly four hundred men.
The savages numbered, according to reports,
_____________
285AGI, PC, leg. 16.
|
POST WAR DECADE, 1782-1791 |
393 |
some five hundred, and this coup, which resulted favorably for them, has made
them very arrogant, particularly the Puz of St. Joseph, who are by nature the
most insolent of all the tribes on the Mississippi, although there are two
parties of them that are well-behaved.
It appears that the Americans, despite this
loss, will not desist from continuing to harass them.
May God guard Your Lordship
many years.
ST. LOUIS OF YLINUESES, December
4, 1790.
|
MANUEL PEREZ (Rubric) |
Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
FOUCHER TO MIRÓ
December 12, 1790286
No. 77.
Doctor Flor and May William, residents of
Natchez, who passed through here have given me the following certain news.
General Harmar is back from his expedition with the loss of 200 men and 500
horses, and Colonel Clark with 700 men and 300 families will come down this
spring in order to plant the flag of the United States between Bayou Pierre and
Natchez. These 300 families will start a settlement and those 700 men are to
help that party against the incursions of the Indians. I duly bring to the
notice of Your Lordship this news so that you may let me know what I have to do
at their passage.
May God give Your Lordship
many years.
NEW MADRID, December 12,
1790.
|
PEDRO FOUCHER (Rubric) |
Señor DON ESTEVAN MIRÓ.
O'FALLON TO BRUIN
December 17, 1790287
|
No. 1. |
LOUISVILLE, Decr. 17, 1790 |
DR. COLONEL: Since
my last to you, of a few days since, by Mr. Flowers, I have been
taken ill-, and now, though on the recovery, am scarcely able to write. I have
presumed to trouble you with the inclosed, as the best vehicle I can now think
of, for a safe & honorable delivery of them, to the gentlemen they are
addressed to.
___________
286AGI, PC, leg. 16.
287AGI, PC, leg. 2371 (English).
|
PROBLEMS OF FRONTIER DEFENSE, 1792-1794 |
107 |
CARONDELET TO TRUDEAU
December 22, 179372
I have read with attention the message which
you have sent me from the Loups, Miamis, Ottawas, Potawatomis, Peorias, and
Shawnees, and, having thoroughly examined all the antecedents, I have
determined that you shall prohibit all and whatsoever trade there is with the
Great and Little Osages,
under penalty of three hundred pesos fine, or, in case of insolence. the
offender to be sent as a prisoner
to this capital.
At the same time you will proclaim that any subject of His Majesty, or individual of the other nations, white or red, may overrun the Great and Little Osages, kill them and destroy their families, as they are disturbers of the prosperity of all the nations
Let a similar order be passed to the post of Arkansas and to the other posts in this province.
The measure which you propose will be advantageous, that is, to send secretly in advance to the other nations of the Missouri merchandise for two years, avoiding in this manner their interception by the 0sages.
It is extremely important to humiliate or destroy those barbarians. which can only be done by using severity.
May God keep Your Lordship many years.
NEW ORLEANS, December 22,
1792.
|
BARON DE CARONDELET (Rubric) |
Señor DON ZENON TRUDEAU.
_____________________
(Attached to the foregoing)
Try to send me some lead in ingots and ball.
The royal magazines are short of both.
God keep you many years.
NEW ORLEANS, December 22,
1792.
|
BARON DE CARONDELET (Rubric) |
Señor DON ZENON TRUDEAU.
CARONDELET TO TRUDEAU
December 22, 179273
|
Confidential |
Answered. |
Whenever the commandant of
New Madrid shall find himself exposed to an attack from the Americans, you will
use the Indian nations to march to his defense, and you are to remit to him
such
___________
72BL.
73BL.
324011-49-10
110 |
SPAIN IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, 1765-1794 |
NORTHERN INDIANS TO TRUDEAU76
To Mr. Don Trudeau, Lieutenant Governor at Saint Louis.
MY FATHER: We,your children, the Loups, Miamis, Ottawas, Potawatomis, Peorias, and Shawnees, beg you to listen to our words today.
In the past, we used to be with our first father, the Frenchman, whom we always recognized as our real father during the time we were under his domination, and whom we have had the misfortune to lose. However, upon leaving us, he gave us proof that he was a good father by saying to us: "My children, you see the misfortune which is happening to me in losing the country, and you, my children. But I leave you one recourse, which is to go and join your father the Spaniard, who is your father, as I have been yours. Follow my advice; go to him and you will be well received, because I and the Spaniard are allies, and consequently he is your father like myself."
We followed this god advice, but we delayed a few years, upon the pleas of the English who were telling us to stay quietly on our lands, and that they would uphold us and be our fathers. We remained as a result of those offers, but have always looked upon the Englishman as a borrowed father, seeing that he made no alliance with our first father, the Frenchman, nor with our Spanish father. We have perceived that his offers were motivated by the needs he had of us, so that, instead of aiding us and saving our lands, he is letting us lose them, as well as several of our village and war chiefs and a number of our young men who have been killed. We noticed our losses, too late. The desire to retain the lands where we were born and where the bones of our fathers rest, had forced this delay in following the advice of our first father. The Americans have also fooled us with peace treaties which have been neither stable nor sincere on their part, since they usually resumed the war immediately.
We therefore believe, my father, that you are good; we are even sure of it, since you receive us with an open heart and extend to us your beneficent hands. We are coming then to lock ourselves in your bosom; receive use like your own children.
When we arrived upon your lands, our father
(Mr. Cruzat) received us with open arms, saying to us: "My children, hunt
and sow in order to feed and clothe your families; settle on my lands and
remain at peace with all the nations that are my children; do not disturb them
and do not get mixed up in bad transactions. If someone comes to trouble you,
complain to me and I shall give you justice." We hunted peacefully to
sustain our families without disturbing anybody all the time that our father
(Mr. Cruzat) remained here. He treated us like his real children. We never have
had to
____________
76BL, (French).
|
PROBLEMS OF FRONTIER DEFENSE, 1792-1794 |
111 |
complain to him for nobody disturbed us ; but as soon as he had left us and our
father (Mr. Perez) had taken his place, we were assaulted on all sides by the
Osages who murdered us, stole our horses, and we remembered what our father
(Mr. Cruzat) has said about coming to complain to him.
Last year, when our father (Mr. Perez) sent for us in connection with the unfortunate business which happened in St. Louis, we complained to him. He said to us, upon decorating our chief with a medal, that it was an image of our father (the King), and that the flag that he was giving us was to clean and chase away the foul air which might arise on our path; and he also said that he would send no merchandise to the Osages, that he would summon them and that he would let us know when they were at his house, in order to speak to them in our presence. Those are the things he told us before several Frenchmen, our fathers, who had accompanied us.
All the promises which our father (Mr. Perez) made to us have not been fulfilled. The roads which he claimed would be white, are strewn with our bones; the Osages have come to him, and he has not warned us of it; on the contrary, their arrival was hidden from us and we did not get the satisfaction of talking to them. You see, my father, that we have not been the aggressors as regards the Osages. We have not sought revenge for all the bad they have done to us without cause. We come to you, my father, to accomplish it, and we ask you to restrain them and prevent them from killing our horses which are our sole resourse for the maintenance of our families. Examine carefully our sad situation, my father, and render us the right and justice which is due us. May the Master of Life grant you happy days and endow you with a watchful eye to watch over the conduct and the happiness of your children, the Loups, Miamis, Ottawas, Potawatomis, Shawnees, and Peorias.
LOG OF HIS MAJESTY'S GALIOT, La Fleche
January 5 to March 25, 1793.77
SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1793.
At two o'clock in the afternoon I received
the order from Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, governor of the post of Natchez, to
embark on a secret expedition on the galiot of war, La Fleche, armed
with eight bronze swivel guns, and with a crew of eighteen men, and three
soldiers of the regiment of Louisiana. I intrusted the command of my squadron
to Mr. Gayoso who took charge of it. At 8 o'clock in the morning I received a
sealed packet which Mr. Gayoso de Lemos, governor of Natchez, delivered to me
with the
__________
77BL, (French).
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Dft. Ex. 69
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