26 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



The Crozat Grant 



Then came Antoine Crozat with his royal patent on the 

 scene, which gave him an exclusive right of trade in all 

 peltry, except beaver, which was still reserved to New 

 France, but the trade carried on by the new regime was 

 not destined to prosper because the officials offered such 

 low prices — fifty sols for bear skins and fifteen for deer 

 skins — and most of the peltry either passed into the hands 

 of the English or were sent up to New France. 



Traders who formerly brought many skins to Biloxi or 

 Mobile did so no longer, and declared that while Crozat 

 remained in control of affairs they would continue to stay 

 away. And they did. The settlers in lower Louisiana, 

 however, continued to receive a few pelts with which they 

 carried on an illicit trade with vessels that chance brought 

 to their shores. For beaver pelts they received three livres 

 each and for deer skins fifty sols, but due to the long waits 

 between the coming of ships with which they could trade 

 the habitans of the lower valley frequently lost a great 

 many furs on account of the damage done them by insect 

 larvae while they were stored awaiting transportation. 



John Law's "Mississippi Bubble" 



Although the Crozat regime had given a setback to the 

 fur trade of upper Louisiana, it had increased the French 

 influence among the Indian tribes of the lower Mississippi 

 valley and traffic in furs improved when Law's "Company 

 of the West" took over Louisiana. During the first year 

 of control more than 1,000 deer skins were shipped to 

 France, and the company began laying plans to better the 

 fur trade, and to this end entered into treaties of com- 

 merce and friendship with the Indians of the upper Mis- 

 souri and a number of forts were erected. 



The acquisition of the Illinois country did not increase 

 the Gulf trade in beaver skins, we are told, because "the 

 animals found there were almost of the straw color, where- 

 as the value of these pelts depended upon the darkness of 

 their hue.'" Other skins of peltry, however, were sent 

 down the river to New Orleans in great quantities. 



"Charlevoix, A Voyage to North America, vol. I, p. 54. 



