History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi, by the Three Great European Powers, Spain, France, and Great Britain

left free to the unrestrained operation of enlightened public opinion, the great regulator of their forms of government, laws, and religion.

The history of the early pioneers of the West is full of thrilling interest and incident connected with their struggles for the occupancy of this great and fertile region, which they have left as a rich inheritance to their posterity. The only requital they ask at our hands is the gratitude with which their names and their virtues are cherished by their posterity, and the fidelity with which they are transmitted, as models of enterprise and perseverance, to future ages.

The last participants in the great drama of western civilization will soon have passed from the stage of action; and the only voice heard in their praise, the only tribute of gratitude and admiration for their merits, will be the impartial records of history, which should embalm their deeds of valor, their patient endurance, and their active virtues in the grateful remembrance of posterity.

The general tenor of this history is to trace the gradual and steady advance of the European colonies and settlements by their various routes into the central part of North America, and the progressive extension of the Anglo-American population and Republican government throughout the great Valley of the Mississippi and the southwest; to illustrate the progressive changes, and the rapid advance of population and civil government, from the rude and half-civilized pioneer up to flourishing cities and powerful states, extending over regions which a few years previously had been savage solitudes.

The plan of the work is simple, and grows out of the order in which the different colonies advanced in the occupation of the regions now comprised in the United States.

The Spaniards were the first exploring pioneers in the Valley of the Mississippi, and their early explorations and settlements furnish the subject of the First Book, or "Early Spanish Explorations."

The French were the first peaceful explorers and permanent colonists who occupied and settled the banks of the Mississippi River, subsequent to the hostile explorations of the Spaniards. The French colonies and explorations therefore furnish the subject of the Second Book, or "France in the Valley of the Mississippi."

Great Britain, the jealous rival of France, next extended her colonies into the western country, encroaching upon the discoveries and possessions of France, until finally, by force of arms, she expelled the French power from Canada and the Mississippi, and appropriated to her own use the whole eastern half of the valley, including the Floridas.

The progress of her colonies west of the Alleghanies, her fierce contests with the French and their savage allies, and her subsequent occupancy of the country, furnish the subjects of the Third Book, or "Great Britain in the Valley."

At the dismemberment of Louisiana in 1763, while Great Britain had secured the eastern portion of the province, except the Island of New Orleans, Spain had acquired all the western portion, including that island. Thus was Louisiana divided between Spain and Great Britain. Spain held dominion over the western portion of Louisiana and the Island of New Orleans, together with the Floridas, subsequent to 1781, until the close of the year 1803, when the Spanish dominion ceased in Louisiana. The acquisition, the occupancy, and the exercise of Spanish authority over this extensive province, until the final termination of the Spanish dominion on the Mississippi, furnish the subjects of the Fourth Book, or "Spain in the Valley."

Meantime, the "United States" on the Atlantic coast having declared their independence, which was recognized by Great Britain at the close of the Revolutionary war, succeeded to the territory claimed by Great Britain east of the Mississip pi, as far south as the proper limits of Florida. The United States claimed dominion, and continued to extend civil jurisdiction in the formation of new states west of the Alleghany Mountains, gradually displacing the native savages from the country east of the Mississippi, and finally, by treaty negotiations, annexed all the Spanish provinces east and west of the Mississippi, as far as the Rio del Norté of Mexico.

The extension of settlements, the establishment of civil government, the increase of population, the wars and treaties with the native tribes, the acquisition of territory and the extension of dominion, the progress of agriculture, manufactures, trade, and commerce, aided by the potent influence of steam power, constitute the subjects comprised in the Fifth Book, or, “The United States in the Valley of the Mississippi."

Such is the general outline of the work which is now pre

sented to the American public. For its completion and perfection, so far as the nature and extent of the plan will admit, and its faithful adherence to truth and accuracy, the author has spared neither labor nor expense, and he throws himself upon the generous approbation of the American people for the first systematic arrangement of this portion of the history of the United States.