Early Western Travels 1748-1846 Vol 27 Part 2

VAUDREUIL.

"SALMON."--FLAGG.

[23] "Under the old management all the inhabitants had equal access to the commons for pasturage and fuel. By an act of the legislature pa.s.sed in 1854, the citizens were authorized to elect five trustees every two years, who should exercise the charge of the commons, lease portions thereof, and apply the proceeds to church and school purposes only. The common fields were also originally owned jointly by the villagers, though each resident was a.s.signed an individual portion.

The United States commissioners, in 1809, determined the rights of each citizen, and the lots have since been held in fee simple." See _Combined History of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, Illinois_ (Philadelphia, 1883), p. 308.--ED.

[24] For the memorial of George Morgan, upon these lands along the Mississippi River, the report of the committee to which the above had been referred, and the resolutions of Congress thereon (August 28, 29, 1788), see _Laws of the United States, etc._ (Bioren edition, Philadelphia, 1815), i, pp. 580-585.--ED.

[25] For an account of the extermination of the Natchez, see F. A.

Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume iii, p. 254, note 53.--ED.

[26] Doubtless an exaggeration.--FLAGG.

_Comment by Ed._ "From 1810 to 1820 the town (Kaskaskia) probably contained more people than at any other period of its history. A census taken at that time showed a population of seven thousand." See _History of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties_, p. 307.

[27] A monastery and accompanying college, liberally endowed from Europe, was founded at Kaskaskia by Jesuit missionaries in the first quarter of the eighteenth century.--ED.

[28] "The idea," says Adam Smith, "of the possibility of multiplying paper money to almost any extent, was the real foundation of what is called the _Mississippi scheme_, the most extravagant project, both of banking and stock-jobbing, that perhaps the world ever saw."--FLAGG.

_Comment by Ed._ John Law died at Venice, March 21, 1729. Concerning his financial methods, see emile Leva.s.seur, _Recherches historique sur le system de Law_ (Paris, 1854). Ample and accurate is Andrew M.

Davis's _A Historical Study of Law's System_ (Boston, 1887), reprinted from _Quarterly Journal of Economics_ (Boston, 1887), i, pp. 289-318, 420-452.

[29] Breckenridge.--FLAGG.

[30] For an account of the early lead-mines, see Flagg's _Far West_, in our volume xxvi, p. 95, note 60.--ED.

[31] For an historical sketch of Ste. Genevieve, see c.u.ming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 266, note 174.--ED.

[32] The French civil law still prevails in Louisiana.

For a good monograph on the Ordinance of 1787, and the text of the same, see Jay Amos Barrett, _Evolution of the Ordinance of 1787, with an Account of the earlie Plans for the Government of the Northwest Territory_ (New York, 1891).--ED.

x.x.xVI

"If my readers should at any time remark that I am particularly dull, they may rest a.s.sured there is a design under it."--_British Essayist._

"Let not ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys, and destiny obscure; Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the poor."

GRAY'S _Elegy_.

Few things are more difficult, and, consequently, more rarely met, than correct portraiture of character, whether of the individual or of a community. It is easy enough, indeed, to trace out the prominent outlines in the picture; and with a degree of accuracy which shall render it easily recognised, while yet the more delicate shading and lighting is false; just as the artist may have transferred every feature in exact form, size, and proportion to his canva.s.s, while the expression thrown over the whole may be incorrect. This has more than once been the case in descriptions hastily drawn of that singular being, _the French villager of the Mississippi_. One distinguished writer has given an absolute caricature of the race. My own design has been, therefore, merely to throw before the reader those characteristic traits which not even the most careless observer could have failed to detect.

[CLXI] Though betraying but little of that fiery restlessness which distinguishes the Parisian, these men are yet Frenchmen in more respects than mere origin. In their ordinary deportment we view, indeed, rather the calm gravity, the saturnine severity of the Spaniard; and yet in their _fetes_ and amus.e.m.e.nts, which were formerly far more frequent than at present, they exhibit all the gayety of the native of La Belle France. The calm, quiet tenour of their lives presenting but few objects for enterprise, none for the strivings of ambition, and but little occasion of any kind to elicit the loftier energies of our nature, has imparted to their character, their feelings, their manners, to the very language they speak, a languid softness strongly contrasted by the unquiet restlessness of the emigrant who is succeeding them. Hospitality was formerly, with them, hardly a virtue: it was a matter of course, arising from their peculiarity of situation; and the swinging sign of the tavern is a recent usurpation. The statute-book, the judiciary, courts of law, and the penitentiary, were things little recognised among these simple-hearted people; for where the inequalities of life were unknown, what was the inducement to crime demanding this enginery of punishment? Learning and science, too, were terms scarcely comprehended, their technicalities not at all; for schools were few, and _learned men_ still more so; and thus reading, writing, and ciphering are, and ever have been, the acme of scholastic proficiency with the French villager.

How many of the honest fellows can do even this, [CLXII] is not for me to estimate. As to politics and the _affairs of the nation_, which their countrymen on the other side of the water ever seem to think no inconsiderable object of their being, they are too tame, and too lazy, and too quiet to think of the subject. Indeed, the worthy villagers very wisely look upon "earthly dignities" and the like much with the stoicism of Cardinal Wolsey in disgrace,

"Oh, 'tis a burden, Cromwell, 'tis a burden, Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven."

The virtues of these people are said to be many: punctuality and honesty in their dealings; politeness and hospitality to strangers; though, it must be confessed, the manifold impositions practised upon their simplicity of late years has tended to subst.i.tute for the latter virtue not a little of coolness and distrust. There is much friendship and warmth of feeling between neighbours and kindred, and the women make affectionate wives, though by no means p.r.o.ne to consider themselves in the light of goods and chattels of their liege-lords, as is not unfrequently the case in more enlightened communities. Indeed, as touching this matter, the Mississippi French villager invariably reverses the sage maxim of the poet,

"In things of moment on _yourself_ depend;"

for he never presumes to depend upon any one but his faithful helpmate, whether things are of moment or not. As to religious faith, all are Catholics; and formerly, more than of late years, were punctilious in observance of the ceremony and discipline [CLXIII] of their church, permitting but few festivals of the calendar to pa.s.s un.o.bserved. Their wealth consisted chiefly of personal property, slaves, merchandise, etc.; land being deemed an item of secondary consideration, while lead and peltry const.i.tuted the ordinary circulating medium. Rent for houses was a thing hardly known. All this changed long ago, of course; and while real estate has augmented in value many hundred per cent., personal property has somewhat proportionally depreciated.

In the ordinary avocations of the villagers, there is but little variety or distinction even at the present day, and formerly this uniformity of pursuit was yet more observable. The wealthier and more enterprising _habitans_ were traders, often with peculiar and exclusive privileges; and they kept a heterogeneous stock of goods in the largest room of their dwelling-houses, by way of being merchants.

There are but few who practice the mechanic arts for a livelihood: carpenters, smiths, tailors, shoemakers, etc., as _artisans_, were formerly almost unknown, and there is now in this respect but little change. Now, as then, the ma.s.s of the population are agriculturists, while many of the young and enterprising men embrace with pride, as offering a broad field for generous emulation, the occupations of boatmen, traders to the Rocky Mountains--in the vicinity of which most of their lives are pa.s.sed--_engages_ of the American Fur Company, or hunters and trappers upon the prairies. The bold recklessness of this cla.s.s has long been notorious.

[CLXIV] The _idiom_ of these villages, though by no means as pure as it might be, is yet much more so, all things considered, than could be expected. It requires no very close observation or proficiency in the language to detect a difference, especially in p.r.o.nunciation, from the European French. There is not that nervous, animated _brilliancy_ of dialect which distinguishes the latter; and the nasal, lengthened, drawling sound of words, gives their conversation a languid, though by no means a disagreeable movement. It is said to be more soft and euphonious than the vernacular, though very different from the Creole dialect of the West India Islands. There are some provincialisms, and some words which a century ago might have been recognized in some provinces of France, though not now.

As to the item of _costume_, it is still somewhat unique, though formerly, we are told, much more so: that of the men was a course blanket-coat, with a cap attached behind in lieu of a cape; and which, from the circ.u.mstance of drawing over the head, gave the garment the name of _capote_. Around the head was wreathed a blue handkerchief in place of a hat, and on the feet moccasins instead of shoes and stockings. All this, however, has pretty generally given place to the American garb, though some of the very aged villagers may still be seen in their ancient habiliments, the _capote_, moccasins, blue handkerchief on the head, and an endless queue lengthened out behind. Their chief _amus.e.m.e.nt_ ever has been, and, probably, ever will be, the DANCE, in which all, even from the least to the greatest, [CLXV] bond and free, unite. Their _slaves_ are treated well, if we may judge from appearances; for nowhere in the West have I seen a sleeker, fleshier, happier-looking set of mortals than the blacks of these old villages.

Previous to the cession of Louisiana to our government, the _Laws_ of Spain were pretty generally in force throughout the province, so far as related to munic.i.p.al arrangement and real estate, while the common law of France--_Coutume de Paris_--governed all contracts of a social nature, modified by and interwoven with the customs of the people.[33]

Each district had its commandant, and each village its syndic, besides judges in civil affairs for the province, and officers of the _militia_, a small body of which was stationed in every district, though too inconsiderable to afford much protection to the inhabitants. These rulers were appointed by the governor at New-Orleans, to whom there was an appeal; and the lieutenant-governor, who resided at St. Louis, was commander of the troops. Thus the government was a mixture of civil and military; and, though arbitrary to the last degree, yet we are told the rod of domination was so slight as scarcely to be felt.[34] However this may be, it is pretty certain they did not well relish at first the change in the administration of justice when they came under the jurisdiction of our laws. The delay and uncertainty attendant on trial by jury, and the multifarious technicalities of our jurisprudence, they [CLXVI] could not well comprehend, either as to import, importance, or utility; and it is not strange they should have preferred the prompt despatch of arbitrary power. Nor is the modern administration of justice the _only_ change with which the simple-hearted villager is dissatisfied.

On every side of him _improvement_, the watchword of the age, is incessantly ringing in his ears; and if there be one term in all our vocabulary he abhors more than all others, it is this same: and, reader, there is much wisdom in his folly. In 1811 the invention of Fulton's mighty genius was first beheld walking upon the Western waters; and from that hour "the occupation" of the daring, reckless, chivalrous French voyageur "was gone." Again the spirit of improvement declared that the venerable old cottage, gray with a century's years, must give place to the style and material of a more modern date; and lo! the aged dwelling where his fathers lived, and where his eyes opened on the light, is swept away, and its very site is known no more. And then the streets and thoroughfares where his boyhood has frolicked, as the village increases to a city, must be widened, and straightened, and paved, and all for no earthly reason, to his comprehension, but to prevent familiar chat with his opposite neighbour, when sitting on his balcony of a long summer night, and to wear out his poor pony's unshodden hoofs! It is very true that their landed property, where they have managed to retain it from the iron grasp of speculation, has increased in value almost beyond calculation by the change; but they now refuse to [CLXVII] profit by selling.

Merchandise, the comforts and luxuries of life, have become cheaper and more easily obtained, and the reward of industrious enterprise is greater. But what is all this to men of their peculiar habits and feelings? Once they were far better contented, even in comparative poverty. There was then a harmony, and cordiality, and unanimity of feeling pervading their society which it never can know again. They were as one family in every village; nearly all were connected either by ties of affinity, consanguinity, propinquity, or friendship: distinction of rank or wealth was little known, and individuals of every cla.s.s were dressed alike, and met upon equal and familiar footing in the same ballroom. It is needless to say, that now "_Nous avons change tout cela._"[35]

As to the poorer cla.s.s of these villagers, it is more than doubtful whether they have _at all_ been benefited by the change of the past twenty years. We must not forget that, as a race, they are peculiar in character, habits, and feeling; and so utterly distinct from ourselves, that they can with hardly more facility a.s.sociate in customs with us than can our red brother of the prairie. Formerly the poorest, and the laziest, and the most reckless cla.s.s was fearless of want or beggary; but now a more enterprising race has seized upon the lands with which they have imprudently parted, perhaps with little remuneration, and they find themselves abridged in many of their former immunities. Their cattle may no longer range at will, nor have they the liberty [CLXVIII]

of appropriating wood for fuel wherever it seemeth good. It cannot be denied, that many a one gains now a precarious subsistence, where formerly he would have lived in comfort. Nearly every one possesses a little cart, two or three diminutive ponies, a few cattle, a cottage, and garden. But in agriculture, the superior industry of the new immigrant can afford them for lease-rent double the result of their toil, while as draymen, labourers, or workmen of any kind, it is not difficult for foreigners to surpa.s.s them. In a few years the steamer will have driven the keel-boat from the Western waters, and with it the _voyageur_, the _patron_, and the _courier du bois_; but the occupation of the hunter, trapper, and _engage_, in which the French villager can never be excelled, must continue so long as the American Fur Company find it profitable to deal in buffalo robes, or enterprising men think proper to go to Santa Fe for gold dust. Nor will the farmer, however lazy, lose the reward of his labour so long as the market of St. Louis is as little _over_stocked as at present. Nathless, it is pretty certain "_times ain't now as they used to was_" to the French villager, all this to the contrary notwithstanding.

_Kaskaskia, Ill._

FOOTNOTES:

[33] Under the feudal regime in France, the local or customary laws of the more important centres of population came gradually to extend their sway over larger and larger districts. With the rising importance of Paris, the _coutume de Paris_ (common law of Paris), reformed in 1580 by order of the parliament, in time displaced all others; it breathed the national spirit. Codified, it was in a sense the forerunner of the Code Napoleon.--ED.

[34] Breckenridge--to whom the author is indebted for other facts relative to these early settlements.--FLAGG.

_Comment by Ed._ Henry Marie Brackenridge (not Breckenridge), _Views of Louisiana_ (Pittsburgh, 1814).

[35] Sganarelle.--FLAGG.

_Comment by Ed._ Sganarelle is a character in Moliere's plays, notably in "Le Medicin malgre lui."

x.x.xVII

"All things have an end.

Churches and cities, that have diseases like to man, Must have like death that we have."

"Birth has gladden'd it: Death has sanctified it."

"The roof-tree sinks, but moulders on the wall In ma.s.sy h.o.a.riness."

_Childe Harold._