and he has been adopted by the Cados. Who knows anything of the language of these na tious? Their language, certainly among the most curious of the remnants of erratic tribes, and by which an acute philology might perhaps trace some affinities with other existing people, is known only to a few; and they are not of that class from whom the republic of letters might expect some account of it. The powerful tribe of the Natchez is totally extinct; its last miserable remnant took refuge among the Chickasaws. There remain a few degenerate (if such beings can degenerate) descendants of the Tunicas, Chitemachas, Pascagoulas, Apalaches, and

Biloxis.

Neither the French nor the Spanish governments recognized, in the Indians, any primitive title to the land over which they hunted, nor even to the spot on which their permanent dwellings were fixed. They were often grants of lands for very limited extents, not exceeding a league square, covering their village. They were sometimes permitted to sell out their ancient possessions; and had a new locality assigned them. Many titles of that kind exist at the present time, and have been subjects of judicial decision. But the policy of extinguishing the primitive Indian title, as it is called, by purchase, which prevailed universally among the English colonists, appears to have been wholly unknown to the French and Spaniards in Louisiana. The massacre of the French at Natchez, which led to the extermination of that tribe, was provoked, by the atrocious attempt, by the commandant, to destroy their village at St. Catherine's, in order to annex the land to his own plantation.

There are many indications here, as well as in upper Louisiana and Ohio, of a race of men, long since extinct, who had probably made cousiderable advances in some of the useful arts, and perhaps the art of defence. In Sicily Island, in the parish of Chatahoula, there is a curious circle of mounds, regularly disposed, embracing a large area of alluvial soil, but little elevated above high-water mark. I believe the dwelling-house of the present proprietor, Mr. Matthews, is built upon one of them. There are others equally curious on Black River; and near the village of Harrisonburg may yet be traced an extensive elevation of earth, strongly resembling brest works. The enemy against which these works were thrown up, was probably the Mississippi, whose waters once flooded the whole of that region at certain stages. The study of Indian mounds has heretofore led to no important discovery upon which much reliance can be placed. It is worse than idle to indulge in conjectures upon the origin of these monuments. A few sculls, picked up here and there, may indicate, perhaps, to the professed phrenologist, the former existence of a race more civilized than the present Indians, more capable of combi

nation, having the organ of constructiveness more amply developed; but no general conclusions can be safely drawn from indications so feeble and equivocal. It would be, in my opinion, equally philosophical to conclude with the poet:

"The earth has bubbles as the ocean has,

And these are of them."

That there are, among the existing race of aborigines, instances of extraordinary capacity and power of combination, a few individuals, infinitely superior to the common herd, is undoubted. What was the boasted Cadmus of antiquity, who introduced into Greece a few letters of Egyptian or Phoenician origin, when compared with that poor, crippled Cherokee of our own day, who, by the unaided efforts of mind, by the simple power of induction, invented, perhaps, the most perfect alphabet of any existing language?

In these hasty and imperfect glances over the wide field of our proposed inquiries, I have purposely omitted to touch upon the last, or rather the present, era of our history, commencing with the annexation of Louisi ana to the Federal Union, by far the most brilliant and important, and marked by great and interesting events. In relation to Louisiana, this may be properly designated as the epoch of constitutional, popular self-government, and of steam, as applied to navigation. The documents which illustrate this part of our history are within our reach, and ought to be collected and preserved. Forty years ago what was New-Orleans-what was Louisi ana? The mighty river which sweeps by us then rolled silently through an extended wil derness, receiving the tribute of its vassal streams from the base of the Rocky Moun tains on one side, and the Apalachian chain on the other; its broad and smooth surface, occasionally ruffled by the dip of an Indian's paddle, or a solitary barge, slowly creeping up stream to the feeble settlements in the interior. What are they now? This city has become the greatest mart of agricultural products on the face of the globe; and yonder river traverses a double range of states, peopled by freemen, who, by the miracles of steam, are brought almost in contact with the great market for the productions of their industry. That river is literally covered with floating palaces, which visit its most remote branches; and along the extended leves fronting our port, a dense forest of masts ex hibits the flags of every commercial nation in the world. At her annexation to the Union, the destiny of Louisiana became fixed-admitted at once to a participation in the great renown of the republic, connected with it by bonds of a common interest, she sprung for. ward, as it were by a single leap, from colonial dependence, to the glorious prerogatives of freemen, and to the enjoyment of the most luxuriant prosperity.

Let us endeavor to make a wise use of this

abroad of the peculiar structure of her society, her government and her laws, in so many respects without parallel in any other portion of the states. It could not but be expected that the policy of a state would be largely influenced by the vicissitudes through which she has passed, and by the admixture of races or of people who have found a home upon her soil, and shared empire and dominion over her. And such indeed is the case, as we shall have abundant evidence hereafter.

To understand fully the constitutional and legal, and the general history of the state, it will be necessary to refer over and over again to several standard works. These are now upon the table before us, and we shall, in limine, make a few reflections upon them in their order.

I. Histories of Louisiana.-Major Amos Stoddard published, in 1812, a work entitled "Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of Louisiana." It embraces a most interesting collection of material, and discusses, in an enlightened and liberal spirit, the policy and history of the state. Mr. Stoddard had full opportunity to inform himself of his subject. He had taken possession of the country for the United States, under the treaty of cession, and had had access to all the public records. He also resided several years in the state, and tells us that respectable men in most of the districts, furnished him with such local and other information as they possessed.

to the press were longer withholden, the work would probably be a posthumous one.* In 1828, the Marquis de Marbois, a peer o France, and a man deeply conversant with the history of his own and of other countries, enriched the world with a volume upon Louisiana, conceived in the most liberal, enlightened and philosophic spirit. Marbois had been intimately connected with the transac tions he was to discuss. He tells us that the treaty of cession of Louisiana had given rise to regrets in France, and that these could not be better dissipated than by a clear and dispassionate view of the whole transaction. No man was better qualified for the work. For more than fifty years M. de Marbois had watched our national progress with an eye evidently partial to our interests, and gratified at our success. His writings bear ample testimony to this declaration. As a sound and judicious exposition of the nature of our government, the present work is valuable; but its peculiar interest consists in the history of the Louisiana treaty, in which he held a conspicous part. In what ever light it is considered, we cannot point to a single historical work more worthy of a place in every American library. This noble Frenchman had filled the highest sta tions in his country. He was secretary of legation to the Empire in 1769. At Dresden and Bavaria he was chargé d'affaires, and afterward a councilor at the parlia ments of Metz. In 1779 Marbois was recognized as secretary of legation under the Chevalier de la Luzerne, minister of France to the United States; and five years afterward as chargé d'affaires to the same gov

In 1827, François Xavier Martin, judge of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, published a work, in two volumes, on the state. Judge Martin's work embraces a very extended field, and might, with much propriety, have been entitled, Outlines of the History of America since its Discovery. He is learned Martin. His late retirement, at a ripe old age, from Let us not be charged with injustice to Judge and elaborate; but there is nothing in his the bench of the Supreme Court, which he has oe work which would warrant us to believe that cupied for over thirty years, is an event which for he considered history as a science, and the nishies us an opportunity, as a lawyer, to pay a de served tribute to his pre-eminent legal character. facts with which it is conversant only im- One cannot refer to his voluminous decisions with portant as they indicate principles of uni- out admiring the depth of learning, the cogeney of versal use and application. Judge Martin, reasoning, and the clear appreciation of right and justice which characterize them all. We admire when speaking of Louisiana, loses himself in Judge Martin, the jurist. More than fifty years ago, his details, and we have scarcely a compre- he commenced his mission as a lawyer. By indus hensive view throughout the whole work. try and application, more than by adventitious cir His history is chiefly important as a store-position, and with it a fortune scarcely equaled by cumstances, he succeeded in acquiring his elevated house of valuable material, out of which any professional man in the country. Besides his another might rear a beautiful structure. history of Louisiana, he has contributed to the The style, too, of the production, is frequent-world a digest of its laws, and twenty volumes of ly dry and inelegant; but of this it is ungenerous to complain, since the author has candidly informed us that as he does not write in his vernacular tongue, elegance of style is beyond his hope, and consequently without the scope of his ambition. He also tells us that the labor of twenty years has been spent in the collection of materials, and that age has at last crept upon him, and the decay of his constitution has given more than one warning, that if the sheets now committed

reports. He is also the author of a history of North Carolina. Possessing a retentive memory and a readiness of application, joined to astute reasoning powers, he has rendered, in the language of the Louisiana Law Journal, decisions on important and difficult questions which possess undoubted merit, and will stand the test of time. The same journal throws some doubt upon the authorities which he stance, Tonti and Vergennes; but we think without consulted in his History of Louisiana; as, for inany great effect; for Tonti might have been quoted though he never wrote the work, and yet be anthority; and the memoir of Vergennes is several times referred to in the English edition of Marbois. + North American Review, 1830.

complete, and only delayed in anticipation of important information, which, it is thought, a search in the records of Spain will furnish, and without which, it appears to us, a history of Louisiana must necessarily be very imperfect. This volume will be brought down to 1803. The American history of Louisiana will occupy a third volume.*

II. Discoveries.-The legends of De Soto, Marquette, and La Salle, shall not arrest our attention. These wild and daring passages belong rather to the romancer than the historian. Louis XIV. seized upon the proposal of Iberville, and addressed himself in earnest to a new and vast country which dazzled his ambition. Iberville, and Bienville his brother, founded a colony of Frenchmen on the shores of Louisiana in 1699. Hard was their struggle against nature;

hissing of snakes, the croaking of frogs, and the cries of the alligators, incessantly as serted that the lease the God of nature had given these reptiles had still a few centuries to run." This is the earliest era in the history of Louisiana.

There is one reason which Mr. Gayarré has given for adopting the French language, of which it would not be fair to omit a notice. He is employed upon characters" the buzz and sting of the musquitoes, the who thought and spoke in that language, and as far as possible he deems it necessary that these should be allowed to give accounts of the scenes and events of which they formed a part. He has, in the spirit of the skilful dramatist, thought it proper to retire himself behind the scenes, and let the characters on the stage divulge and develop the plot. A better idea of M. de Bienville, for example, can be formed from a single sentiment he may utter, than from any elaborate description. We would far rather, however, admit the justness of Mr. Gayarré's last apology, which he had almost forgotten, but which is very refined and chivalrous. The "fair Louisianians" will appreciate the passage. "Je dirai donc que, sachant que la plupart de nos Louisianaises ne lisent guère l'anglais, j'ai pense qu'en écrivant dans la langue qui leur est familière, elles seraient tentées, par un sentiment de curiosité, de jeter les yeux sur les pages de cette histoire, et peut-être de les lire jusqu'au bout. Comment pouvaisje résister à cette considération? C'était pour moi plus qu'une raison. C'était une seduction."*

III. Crozat's Charter.-In 1712, the King of France granted to M. Crozat a charter which covered the whole province of Loui siana. The aims of both parties were com mercial, and included the whole of the Mississippi and its tributary bays, lakes, rivers, and bordering territories. M. Crozat, for twenty years, was endowed with exclusive privileges of trade in these countries-to work mines for gold and precious stones, with a large share of the results. The laws, edicts, and ordinances of the realm, and the customs of Paris, were extended over Loui siana.

A word about this custom of Paris. France, in ancient times, was governed by the usages of the different provinces. These were unwritten, and of consequence conflict ing. Charles V., in 1453, ordered them to be reduced to writing by commissioners. So far as the customs of Paris were concerned, the edict was not executed till 1510. These * This volume, we are to judge, will be in Eng-customs were embraced under sixteen heads lish, since, as Mr. Gayarré infers, the Americans and three hundred and sixty-two articles. are only interested in this portion of the history of The heads are fiefs, quit-rents, movables and the first two volumes, for our author hates transla- immovables, complaints, actions, prescrip tions as he does prefaces: "Je hais les préfaces." tion, redemption, arrests and executions, serHe hints to us, however, that he will re-make the vitudes, community of goods, dower, guar dianship, donation, testaments, successions,

Louisiana. We are not to expect a translation of

work in English hereafter.

*The above-named, Stoddard, Martin, Marbois,

and Gayarre's are all the historical works proper that we have upon Louisiana. The reader, if disposed to extend his investigations into every department, history of the state, brought down to the present will find material enough within reach. We would time, is a great desideratum, but it is a work that name the memoirs of Charlevoix, Hennepin, and few can execute, though many may attempt it. [Now Tonti, upon which Mr. Sparks comments at large in being published by Chas. Gayarré, Esq., 1852.] his Life of La Salle; also Vergennes' memoir, Du- We dismiss our note by referring, as other sources pratz' History of Louisiana, printed in 1758, and the of valuable information upon the subject before us, files of the colonial gazettes. Of later days we have to the Louisiana Law Journal; to the second vol"Views of Louisiana," by Wm. Brackenridge, 1814, ume United States Land Office Papers; to Hall's a work singularly accurate in its delineations of Law Journal, where the discussions of Jefferson country and in its geographical particulars. Mr. and Livingston on the Batture case are to be found; Wm. Darby, formerly of this city, a distinguished to the frequent decisions upon that case in the Regeographer and practical man, has also published a ports of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, and partiwork upon the physical character of the state, &c. cularly the great case of 1840, and the able arguFlint's Valley of the Mississippi," will also be rements of Hunt, Mazureau, Soule, Preston, Peirce, ferred to with advantage. There is also a small vol- Hoffman, and Roselius, occupying with the deci ume upon Louisiana prepared by some one at the sions of the court, upward of a thousand pages of North, and now in the hands of the teachers and matter; to Bullard & Curry's Digest of the Laws scholars of the Second Municipality. The early do- of Louisiana, and the debates on the adoption of the cuments of Louisiana, such as Charlevoix and Constitution of 1846. We also refer to the Digest others, are in Mr. French's library, and might be of the French Colonial Papers, which Mr. Forstall published as Louisiana Historical Collections. [Now has published in the Review, and to the papers cobeing published 1852.1 Seriously, a good English | pied in France by John Perkins, Esq.