wilming i un gazl 1 1 h published weekly by allmahd hall at thru dollaes a year tuesday december 6 1803 congress hju.se of representatives monday oct 24 louisiana treaty call for papers continued from our last mr nicholson was extremity gl ac l to find that gentlemen on the other side of the homo hid at length aban doned the groun.l which they had ta ken somj years ago he was rejoiced that they ware now willing to acknowl edge what they had heretofore most strenuously denied that the house of representatives had a constitutional right not only to call for papers but to use their discretion in carrying any treaty into effect that this must now b their impression was evident r theirconduot was surely unaccount able why else do they call for pa pers why enquire into our title to the province of louisiana ? if the doc trine of a fanner day was still to be adhered to why urge this enquiry ? if gentlemen are consistent with them selves if they have not forgot the les sons which thev inculcated upon ths ratification of the british treat this house has no right lo call for papers no right to make enquiry no right to deliberate but must carry this treaty into effect be it good or bad ; must vote for all the necessary measures whetherthey are calculated to promote the interests of the united states or not the doctrines of old times how ever are now given up the ground formerly taken is abandoned we shall no longer hear that the execu tive is omnipotent and that the re presentatives of the people are bound to vote blindfolded for carrying i:ito effect all treaties which the president and the senate may think proper to nuike and ratify he thanked the gentlemen for the admission and ho ped that the country would profit by it hereafter he was happy to say that this was not now nor ever was the doctrine of himself and his friends they meant to deliberate they meant to use their discretion in voting away the treasure of the nation he agreed with gentlemen that if a majority of the house entertained any doubt as to the validity of the title we have ac juired,they ought to call for papois t and he had no doubt if there was any i dissatisfaction they would call he ■ himself should have no objection to i vote for the resolution if it was con ifined to proper objects not indeed to jaatisfy himself for ha w»s already ful ly satisfied but to satisfy other gen piemen ; to satisfy the american peo iple that the insinuations tfirowu out jfcbout the title arc totally without foundation the resolution in its pre vent shape however was highly im fcroper it looked to extrinsic circum ktanr.es ami contemplated an enquiry into subjects totally unconnected with he treaty with france what said ij»ir n has spain to do in this busi ness ? gentlemen ask if she has ac jfcuiescid in our purchase and call for l.nr correspondence with our govern ncnt what is the acquiescence of ( spain to us if the mouse is satisfied 1 ii-om the information laid on the table ih;'.t spain had ceded louisiana to fr ranee and that france had bince ceh d it to the united states what more 4 they require ? — are we not an in jcpetuknt nation have we not a right lo make treaties for ourselves without skin leave of spain ? what is it to iis whether she acquiesces or not ? she is no"party to the treaty of cession she i lias no claim to the ceded territory wire we to pause till spain thinks pro cv to consent or are we to enquire hether like a cross child she ha j own away her rattle ) and cries for i forwards i , c treaty itself he said and the entioni attached to it furnished tscessary information byrc-j cto the treaty it would be found t louisiana is reded to the united \ ten with the same boundaries that i tad before been ceded with by spain i france ; and that france had obli d herself to send a commissary to ww-orleans to receive the possession mm spain and to transfer it to us f#r this the l'nitvil states were to pay 4ftti-n pii'iioiis ofdollars to llic french hut how and when ■ wk immediately ; not till we had a»;ui f/^f acquire 1 tbi possession anil it jpteiiit-e siiull fail t put us into actual p||bs.-'.-,i<j]i tl united st.itcs arc no oh:hi top^y a single iloil.ir sotli the i il lo i p.in rs aii kc •!" no possi bit iiio siii';i t'xjc i>-i'his bould shew that spain had not acquiesced what is this to us '. is her pleasure to be a law to the united states ? i with regard to the treaty of st ilk lonso mr n said he should have nu objection to its bciut laid before the house if it was in the possession of the executive in all probability however this was not the case as it was known to be i secret treaty on other subjects of great importance be tween france and spain as to the deed of cession spoken of he really did not understand what was meant for he imagined it was not expected a formal deed of bargain and sale had been executed between two civilised nations who negociated by mrans of ambassadors if there were any other papers which could give gentlemen more information he had no objec-j jtion either hat these should be laid before them not indeed for his own satisfaction but for that of those who were not already satisfied if there were any of that description one very important paper he knew from highl authority was certainly in existence and possibly might be in the power of the executive this was a formal or-i d^r under the royal signature of spain commanding the spanish officers at i orleans o deliver the province to the french prelect winch he considered equal perhaps superior to any deed oi cession ; for it was equal to an ox ipress recognition on the part of spain jthat france hud performed alt the con ditions referred to in the treaty of st | ildcfonso it was an acknowledge ment that spain had no further claims upon louisiana and would shew that any interference on her part ought to have no inllit«c j on the american jjo veinment the call for the correspondence be tween the government of spain and that of the united stuteb if there wa»j any such he should not assent to as it could be of no possible importance i the acquiescence or the refusal of spain could have no weight on the question whether we should take pos session or not any interference on her part would be idle andvxttw ftgar.t we might as well k»ik whether the cession had received the approbation of great-britain of russia or even the dey of algiers himself for they each had as good a right to interpose as spain had either of them having full as good a title to louisiana to those parts of the resolution which pointed at the objects he hud mention ed he should have no objection but he never would consent to cull upon the executive to say whether spain great-britain or any other nation was satisfied with a treaty made between the united slates mid the french go vernment j washington-city nov 17 the following t i port a nt tract was on mmdav communicated to con griss bt the president tf the united i iff account of bein ixn abstract of documents in the 1 offices of the departments of state and of ihe treasury the object of tin following pages is to consolidate the information respecting iht present state of l miiiana fur nished to the executive by several in dividuals among the best informed up on that subject j i of the province of louisiana no g?neral map sufficiently correct to be depended upon has been published nor liu any yet been procured from a private source it is indeed probable ithat surveys have never been made up on so extensive a scale as to afford the means of laying down the various re gions of a country which in some of its parts appears to have been but im perfectly explored j boundaries 1 the precise boundaries of louisia na westwardly of the mississippi tho 1 very extensive are at present involved in some obscurity data are equally wanting to assign with precision its northern extent from the source of the mississippi it is bounded east war.lh by ti,e middle of the channel of that nvei to the 3 ut degree of lati tude : thence it is asserted upon ve ry strong grounds turf according to its limits when formerly pomewed by fratirc,it stretches !«• c east as far t.t least a the river pepdijot which runs into the bay of mexico eastward uf ihc river mohillr it may be consistcntj with the vie of those notr.s to remark that louisi ana including the mobille settlements was discovered and peopled by the french whose monarcl.a made seve ral grants of its trade in particular to mr irosat in 1713 and some years afterwards with his acquiescence to the well known company projected by mr law this company was relin quished in the yew t73 !■ hy a secret convention on the 3d november 1762 the french government ceded sotnuch of the province as lies beyond the,mis sissippi as well is the island of new ! orleans to spain and by the treaty of peace which followed m 1763 the j whole territory of france and spain eastward of the middle o the missi ssippi to the iberville thence through the middle of that river and the lakes of maurepas and ponchartain to the sea was ceded to oreut-briiain spain | | having conqi rrerl the floridas from \ i reat-brituin during our revolutiono } 1 ry war they were confirmed to her ' ! by the treaty o peace of 1783 by || | the treat of st ildefonso of the 1st of october 1300 his catholic majes typromisi tnd engages on his part } to cede buck to the french republic ' isis months after the full and entire ! texecuiion of the conditions and stipu i jlatjons therein cot ined relative to tthe duke of 1'j.rma '' the colony or province of louisiana with the same ' extent that it actually has in the hands of spain i :■.( it had when prance pos sessed t and sut-h as it might to be ,' j after the treaties subsequently entered | jinto between spain and other states ' i this treaty w confirmed and enfor j ced by that ot mudrid on th-e isi i imarchj 1801 from t-'rhncc it pasbed to us by the treaty ol the 30th ol april jjlast with a reference to the above i clause as descriptive of the louts ex j ltd jjtvisioh oj i lie pi ..:.*:. the province as held by spain in i eluding a part of west-florida is laid j 1 off into the following principal ilivi sions : mobille from pulise to the ci ty new orleans and the country on | both sides of lake poncharlrain first ' and second cverman cokbtl cut aha i nose fourche venezuela iberville galvea-tewu baton-rouge poinle coupee atacapas opelousas oua m chiu avoyelles lupide.n'aiciiitochea ' arkansas and the illinois iii the illinois there arc command 1 fcnts at new madrid st gcnieve ' new jjoui'lion t>t charles and st andrews all subordinate to the com j tna'.idunt general | baton rouge having been made a government subsequent to the trea ty of limits fcc with spain the posts ] of manchac and thompson's creek | or keliciana were added to it j chapitoulas has sometimes been re garded as a separate comu'iuid but is ' now included within ihe jurisdiction • 1 of the city the lower partol the ri ver has likewise had o .*: ioiiuuy u se • paratc commsmdnnt ; ii manyefthi preseni baiablibhinente i ire separated from en i other by i | i mensc and trackless desurts having | : no communicatioii with each other by land except wow and then a solitary instance of its being attempted b 1 hunters who have to swim rivers ex i pose themselves to thp inclemency of i the weather and cany their provisions on their backs tor a time proportioned ' to the length of their journey this • is particularly the case on the west of i the mississippi where the communi j j cation is kept up only by water be ' tween the capital and the distant set i tletnents ; three months being requi red to convey intelligence from the one to the other by the mississippi the usual distance accomplished by » boat in ascending is five leagues per day i the rapidity of the curretitin the spring season especially when the water of ' all the rivers arc high facilitates the i descent so that the same voyage by ] water which requires three or four , months to perform from the capital may be made u it in from twelve to ! sixteen days the principal settle 1 nsents in louisiana are on the missis ! sippi which begin to be cultivated ' about twenty leagues from the sea ' , where the plantations are yet thin and i owned by the poorest people ascend ing you see them improve on each i tide till you reach the city which is i ituatcd on the east bank on a lend of he river 35 leagues from th sea chapitoulat first and stctnd german cnastt*—~—cmtuhijnqtt fiwchf uiui jjcrvtlif the belt anil most improved are ihove the city and comprehend . vhat ii there known by the i'uroisse j lie chapitoulas premier anil second ■ c'.otc des allcmmijaj and extend 16 ! leagues above this begins the parish of ca tahanuse or first acadian settlement extending eight leagues on the river adjoining it and still ascending is the second acadian settlement or pariah of the fourche which extends about six leagues the palish of iberville then commences and is bounded on the east side by the river of the sanie name which though dry a great part of the year yet when the mis->is*ipi is raited it communicates with the i lake vtaurcpas and ponchartraiu and through them with the sea and thu forma what is called the ul ind uf new orleans except on the point just bs low the rberville the country from ! ne\r-orleans is tettled ihc whole way ! along the river and presents a scene of uninterrupted plantations in sight of each other whoso fronts to the mis . aissippi are all cleared and occupy on | | that river from 5 to 2a acres with a ' ! depth of 40 ; so that a plantation of 5 ! acres i;i front contains 300 a te.v sugar plantations are formed in th pa lisli of catah.inusc but the remainder i i dc.i)tv to cotton andprovisic us and the whole is un excellent soil incapable of being exhausted the plantations are but one deep on the island of new orleans and on the opposite side of | the river as far as the mouth of the iberville which it 3j leagues above new-orleans bayou l)c j..i f'mrdit — ilncapaf and opclousas about 25 leagues from lhela»t men tioned place on ll.c west side of tlie j mississippi the creek or bayou of the i fourche railed in old maps la ri viere des chiuunaches flows from the mississippi and communicates with ] the sea to the wt-si ol tin bulise the ! entrance of the mississippi is naviga i we only i high water but will then i admit of craft of from 60 to 70 tons j burthen on loth banks of this creek ! arc settlements ui:e plantation deep j for near 15 leagues and they are tlivi i into ivvi parishes the settlers are j iminerons ttyough poor unc the cul ture is universally cotton on nil creeks making from the mississippi ! the soil is the same as the bank ot the i river and the border i the highest pant if it from whence it descends gradually to the swamp this creek affords one of the communications to the two populous and rich settlements of atacapaa and opelounas farmed on and near t lie small rivers teche and vermillion which fio'.v into the bay of mexico but the principal and swift est communication is by the bayou or i crejk of plaquemincs whoss entrance into the mississippi is seven leagues higher up on the same side und 32 above new orleans these settle ments abound in catme and horsett | have a large quantity uf good land in their vicinity and may be made of | greui importance a part ut tjjeir io ! lure is sent by sea to mew»orlu*i)s but tlio greater part u carried in bat toaux by the creeks above mentioned baton range tfncl its deptndtneies immediately above the iberville,and i on both sidevof the mississippi lies the i parish of mancbac which extends four i leagues on the river and ii well culti ' vated above it commences the set tlsiocsnt of ontcn rouge extending i about 9 leagues it is remarkable as | being the ii/st place where the high ; land is contiguous to the rive and j i here it forms a bluff from 30 to 40 feet above the greatest rise of the live here the settlements extend a consi j depable way back on the cast side ; and this parish has that of thompson's creek and bayou sara subordinate to it the mouth of the first of these creeks is about 49 leagues fvom new orleans and that of the lattei 2 or 3 leagues higher up they run from north-east to south-west and their head-waterfc are north of the s 1st de gree ot latitude tuoir banks have the best soi and the jjrea'.ist dumber of good cotto.i plantations i a>nv part cf louisiana and arc sjlowtii tg be the garden oi it point osupet am fjusss rethre abov baton rouge at the di&tsjice of 50 leagues from new-orleans and on the west side of tiit mississippi is points coupee a populous and rich settle men extending s leagues alon the river its projuce is cotton he j bind it on an old bed of the : ivcr now a lake whose outlets are closed up i , i the settlement of fausse riviercwhich ii well cultivated | iu me space now detcrib«d franj ti sea as high as and including the last mentioned settlement is contained three-fourths of the population and seven eighths of the riches of louisi ana from the settlement of point con pee on the mississippi to cape girarw jeau above the mouth of the ohio there is no land on the west side that is not overflowed in the spring to the distance of 3 or i j leagues from the river with from 2 to 12 feet of water except a small spot near nevv-mr.drid so that in the whole extent there is no possibility of forming a considerable settlement contiguous to the river on that side the eastern bank has in this respect a decided advantage over the western as there are on it many situations which tfvectually command ihe river lied river and its settlements on the west side of the mississippi 0 leagues from new-orleans is the mouth of the red river,on whose banks and vicinity are the settlement of ra pide aveyelks and natchitoches al of them thriving and populous the latter is situate 75 leagues up the red river onthenoith side of the red river a few leagues from its junction with the mississippi is the black river on one of whose branches a considera ble way up is the infant setlement of ouachita which from the richness of the soil may be made a place of im portance cotton is the chief pro duce of these settlements but they have likewise a considerable indian trade the river rouge or red ri ver is used to communicate with the frontiers of new-mexico coiiforu — arkansas st clicrks am st andrew l#c there is no other settlement on the mississippi except the small one call eel concord opposite to the matches till you come to the arkansas river whose mouth is 26q leagues abov<j in'ew-orleans here there are but a few families who are more attached to the indian trade by which chiefly they jive than to cultivation there is no settlement from this place to new madrid which is uself inconsiderable ascending the river you come to cape girardeau st genevieve and st louis where though the inhabitants are numerous they raise little for exportation ami content themselves with trading with the indians and working a few h id mines this country is very fertile especially oi the banks of the missou ri where there have been formed two settlements culled st charles atid st andrenr mostly by emigrants from kentucky the peltry procured in the illinois is the best sent to the at lantic market ; and the quantity is ve ry considerable lend is to be hud with e~ae and in such jiiniitities as to supply all europe if the population were sufficient to work the numerous mines to be found within two or three i'eet from the surface in various parts of the country the settlement about the illinois were first made by the ca nadians and their inhabitants still re semble them in their aversion to la bour and love of a wandering life they contain but few negroes coitir pared to the number of the whites atid it may be taken for a penttul rule that in proportion to the distance from the capital the number oi blacks diminish that of the whites ; the former eboumlingmoston the rich plantations in its viciriuy general description of upper lovisigtuh when compared with the indiana territory the face of the country in upper louisiana is rather more bro ken though the soil is equally fertile it is a fact not to be contested that the west side f the river possesses some advantageti not generally incident to t'iose regions it is elevated and healthy and well watered with a van ety of large rapid streams calculated for mill 1 * and other water works front cape girardeau above the ii.omh f the oliio to i!ie missouri the land tni the ■ - .: si.lf of he mississippi is lour and flat and occasionally exposed to rr.unolations ; that on th louisiana ide contiguou i u the ii*t is gene rally much higher and in many pla ces very rocky on the shore some of the heights exhibit a scene truly pjc tucjieje i ney rise to a height of at i'.h oo feet faced with perpendicu lar//m and fri j'one carved into v lioii shapes and tl^'ires by the hand of nature and afford the appearance uta multitude ol antique towen from the tops of these derations the iud gradually slupv back from the rive vol 7 no 361