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Our people are at prefent employed in feeking a 

 proper place for a fettlement, to the weftward of the 

 Miffiffippi, and it is believed, that a place is found 

 about a hundred leagues from the mouth of the 

 river, in a bay, which fometimes bears the name 

 of St. Magdalen, fometimes that of St. Lewis ; but 

 mod commonly that of St. Bernard. It receives 

 into it fevera! pretty large rivers, and it was here 

 that M. de la Sale firft made land, when he miffed 

 the mouth of the Miffiffippi. A brigantine has 

 been fome time ago fent to make a furvey of it, 

 but they met with Indians who feemed little dif- 

 pofed to receive us, and who were not treated in 

 fuch a manner as to gain their affections. 1 have 

 juft now heard, that the Spaniards have been before- 

 hand with us. 



There is in reality fomewhat more preffing, and 

 of greater confequence, than this undertaking. I 

 am fenfible, that commerce is the foul of colonies, 

 and that they are only ufeful to fuch a kingdom as 

 ours by that means, and in order to prevent our 

 neighbours from becoming too powerful ; but if 

 the cultivation of lands is not firft attended to, 

 trade, after enriching a few private perfons, will 

 foon fall to nothing, and the colony never be well 

 fettled. The neighbourhood of the Spaniards may 

 have its advantages ; but, let us fuffer them to 

 draw as near as they think fit, we are not in a con- 

 dition, and we have no occafion, to extend our 

 fettlements farther. They are fufficiently peace- 

 able in this country, and they never will be ftrong 

 enough to give us any difturbance : it is not even 

 their intereft to drive us from hence •, and if they 

 are not as yet fenfible, they will foon be fo, that 

 they cannot have a better barrier againft the Englifh 

 than Louifiana. 



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