swANTONl TNPTAN TRIBES OF THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLHV 205 



This post, situiid'd on (lie lofty Mull" ;i( Xatclicz, was named I''or( 

 "Rosalie by Bii'iivillc. al'tci- the Diichcss ol" Pontchartraiii." 



" Tt was," sa3's Diiiiiont (cf. pi. 7, ^/), '"merely a j)l()t 2.') fathoms 

 ]o\]<i l)y 15 broad, inclosed with palisades, without any bastions. In- 

 side, near the fjate, was the guardhouse, and .'5 fathoms oil" alon<; the 

 palisade ran the barracks for the soldiers. \{ the other end, op- 

 posite the ^ate, a cabin had been raised for the lodging of the officer 

 on guard, and on the right of the entrance was the })()wder maga- 

 zine. At this post the company maintained a company of soldiers, 

 with an ensign, a second lieutenant, a lieutenant, and a captain to 

 command."'' This settlement antedated the foundation of New 

 Orleans by about two years, and was, indeed, favored by some as the 

 capital of French Louisiana in preference to the latter place. 



According to Penicaut, Bienville returned to Natchez after a fif- 

 teen days' stay at Mobile and remained there until 1717,'^ when he 

 went to Mobile to meet the new governor, M. de I'Epinay, leav- 

 ing ^r. de T*ailloux in charge. Later in the same year or early in 

 1718 Bienville removed M. de Pailloux to the new settlement of New 

 Orleans, sending M. Blondel to relieve him. In 1718 Bienville went 

 to Natchez to relieve Blondel, who was appointed to the post among 

 the Natchitoches. When Bienville returned he left M. Barnaval 

 in charge.'' 



In the year last mentioned the noted Louisiana historian, Le Page 

 du Pratz, came to the colony and after establishing himself for a while 

 near New Orleans, proceeded to Natchez as the agent of M. Hubert, 

 Comiiiifiiaaire Otdonnateur^ and purchased for him two grants on St. 

 Catherines creek, one for M. Hubert himself and one for the Western 

 Company. These were on each side of the great Natchez village, 

 about half a league distant, and one league from Fort Rosalie. For 

 himself Du Pratz purchased other Indian lands between the fort and 

 the two first grants.^ The concession purchased for the company 

 was situated below the Natchez village and was called White Earth 

 (pi. 5, 6), and some persons from the town of Clerac in Gascony, un- 

 der M. de Montplaisir, were settled upon it to cultivate and work 

 tobacco. The}' did not remain long, however, and the grant after- 

 ward passed into the hands of M. le Blanc and associates, who had 

 formerly a concession on the Yazoo.^ Before the last Natchez war it 

 had again changed ownership and belonged to M. le Marechal, Due 



" Margry, D^couvertes, v. 526. Charlevoix erroneously attributes the naaiing of this 

 place to Ujerville in 1700. — French, Hist. Coll. La., 14G, 147, 1851. 



^ Diimont, Mem. Hist, sur La Louisiane, ii, 012. 



'"This date is correct : see La Ilarpe, .Tour. Hist., l.'M. 



"* So r^nicaut in Margry, Decouvertes, v, 520, 540, 549, 554. Dumont simply says that 

 I'.arnaval succeeded Blondel in 1719. Bienville was made commandant-general of Louisiana 

 in 1718. 



« La Harpe In Jour. Hist., 141, gives his title as Dirccteur General. 



' Du Pratz, Hist, de La Louisiane, i, 125-128. 



'Dumont, M6m. Hist, sur La Louisiane, ii, 100. 



