cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams and rivers, comprised in the extent of said Louisiana, from the mouth of the great river St. Louis on the eastern side otherwise called Ohio, Aligin, Sipore or Chukagona, and this with the consent of the Chaonanons, Chickachas and other people dwelling therein, with whom we have made alliance, as also along the river Colbert, or Mississippi and rivers which discharge themselves therein, from its source, beyond the country of the Kious or Nadoucessious, and this with their consent, and with the consent of the Motantes, Illinois, Mesiganeas, Natches, Koreas, which are the most considerable nations dwelling therein, with whom also we have made alliance, either by ourselves or by others in our behalf, as far as its mouth by the sea or Gulf of Mexico, about the twenty-seventh degree of the elevation of the North Pole and also to the mouth of the River of Palms; upon the assurance which we have received from all these nations that we are the first Europeans who have descended or ascended the said River Colbert; hereby protesting against all who may in future undertake to invade any or all of these countries, people or lands, above described, to the prejudice of the rights of His Majesty, acquired by the consent of the nations therein named. Of which, and all that can be needed, I hereby take to witness those who hear me and demand an act of the notary as required by law."

Spain was then in possession of the Floridas and of the country west of Louisiana, which territory embraced all of the country lying between the Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains, drained by the streams entering the Gulf of Mexico, and their tributaries. It embraced West Virginia, part of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia on the east, and parts of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado on the west, and all of the present states of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota and parts of North Dakota, New Mexico and Texas.

On La Salle's way back to Canada, he laid the foundations of Fort St. Louis on the Illinois, and in November, 1683, reached Quebec. He then proceeded to France and proposed the settlement of the Mississippi region and the conquest of the mining country of Mexico then held by Spain, and April 14, 1684, he was appointed commandant of all the country from Fort St. Louis. to the mouth of the Mississippi. He then, on August 1st, headed an expedition of four ships with 280 colonists to go by sea to the Gulf of Mexico, stopping at Santo Domingo, but they passed the mouth of the Mississippi, early in January, 1685, and landed at the entrance of Matagorda Bay, where he built a fort, called St. Louis, and made an attempt at settlement, but it was savagely attacked by the Indians and Spanish, who claimed the country, and it proved a failure. January 7, 1687, he undertook to make his way back to the Illinois, and on March 19th, was shot and killed in a revolt of his men.

LIMITS AND TRANSFER

The line defining the drainage basin of the Mississippi River on the west constituted the limits of "Louisiana" as proclaimed by La Salle, and was adopted as the "Louisiana Purchase." The River Palms which was the eastern limit of Louisiana, flows into Palm Sound, now called Sarasota Bay, its mouth being opposite the southern extremity of Palm Island, now called Sarasota Key.

The first transfer relative to the Territory of Louisiana was a grant of commercial rights as far north as the Illinois River for a period of ten years by Louis XIV to Antoine de Crozat, September 14, 1712, subsequently transferred to the Mississippi Company, and the entire region known under the name of Louisiana together with New Orleans and the island on which that city stands was ceded to Spain by treaty of November 3, 1762. Then representatives of France, Spain, Great Britain and Portugal met at Paris, February 10, 1763, to define the boundaries of their respective possessions in North America, and France ceded to Great Britain the territory east of the Mississippi and north of latitude thirty-one degrees, and the Mississippi became the boundary between Louisiana and the British colonies. The Red River and its tributaries including parts of North Dakota and Minnesota and the Canadas became the undisputed property of Great Britain. On April 21, 1764, Spain ceded to Great Britain all of her territory east of the Mississippi River and south of latitude thirty-one degrees.

September 3, 1783, in the settlement of boundaries at the close of the Revolutionary war, the United States received from Great Britain all that part of the original Louisiana ceded to the latter by France in 1763, viz., the Territory of Louisiana, east of the Mississippi River and north of latitude thirty-one degrees, and Great Britain ceded back to Spain the territory south of latitude thirty-one degrees and east of the Mississippi River, which the former had received by the treaty of 1763, effectually closing the Mississippi to the United States. Then came the retrocession by Spain of the colony or Province of Louisiana to France in 1800.

October 1, 1800, by the "Treaty of San Ildefonso," Spain retroceded to France the colony or Province of Louisiana, with the same extent it had when France originally possessed it, south of latitude thirty-one degrees and east of the Mississippi River. This was a secret treaty and Spanish officers still held possession.

April 30, 1803, for the sum of $15,000,000, the Republic of France ceded to the United States the Territory of Louisiana with the same extent that it had in the hands of Spain, and when France possessed it, and the United States accepted the territory between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers. The terms were arranged on the part of the United States by James Monroe, who had been a major in the Revolutionary war, afterwards secretary of war in Madison's cabinet during the War of 1812, and fifth President of the United States. was sent to France by President Jefferson, of whom George F. Hoar, senator from Massachusetts said: "When we recall Jefferson we recall him with the Declaration of Independence in one hand and the treaty for the annexation of the Louisiana Territory in the other."

He

The treaty was signed by Robert R. Livingston, United States minister to France from 1801 to 1804, and James Monroe, on the part of the United States, and Barbé Marbois, on the part of France. Livingston had been instructed to negotiate for New Orleans and the Mississippi boundary line; the object of the United States Government being to remove all cause for irritation between this Government and the French, but Napoleon directed Marbois to offer to transfer the whole of Louisiana. He said: "I renounce Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans that I wish to yield, it is all the colony, without reserving any

thing." Provided, he could secure 50,000,000 francs. He secured 80,000,000 francs, 20,000,000 of which were to be applicable to the extinguishment of claims against France, and 60,000,000 were to be paid in cash to France. Napoleon was in need of money, having sacrificed 200,000,000 francs in his expedition against Santo Domingo in 1802-03, without result.

The region comprehended in this purchase included all the country west of the Mississippi not occupied by Spain, as far north as British Territory, and comprised the whole or part of the present states of Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.

The American flag was first raised in New Orleans, December 20, 1803. By act of Congress March 26, 1804, the territory was divided into two governments, that of "Orleans," including the present State of Louisiana west of the Mississippi, and a portion east of the river, and a section called "Louisiana," comprising all the country north and west of that river. April 8, 1812, the Territory of Orleans was admitted into the Union under the title of the State of Louisiana, and on the 14th of the same month the remainder of the region east of the Mississippi now under the jurisdiction of the state was added. The name of the remainder of the territory which had been organized as the "Territory of Louisiana" with its capital at St. Louis on March 3, 1805, was on the 4th of June, 1812, changed to "Missouri."

On the day of the Louisiana Centennial Celebration, April 12, 1912, the courthouse commissioners floated over the new courthouse in New Orleans, a magnificent Louisiana flag, consisting of a solid blue field with the coat-of-arms of the state, the pelican feeding its young in white in the center, with a ribbon beneath, also in white, containing in blue the motto of the state, "Union, Justice and Confidence." This flag had been in use previous to 1861, and after 1877, but was not legalized as the state flag until July 1, 1912. Together with the stars and stripes it now waves over the state house whenever the General Assembly is in session, and on public buildings throughout the state on all legal holidays and whenever otherwise declared by the governor or the General Assembly.

The last conflict of arms between Great Britain and the United States, closing the War of 1812, was a great battle of which Gen. Andrew Jackson was the commanding officer, fought at New Orleans, January 8, 1815, now a legal holiday in Louisiana. The British were defeated. Accounts of casualties differ. Some give the loss to the British as 2,000, killed, wounded and captured, and the Americans as seven killed and six wounded; otherwise reported eight killed and fourteen wounded. James Monroe in a despatch at the time said: "History records no example of so glorious a victory obtained with so little bloodshed on the part of the victorious." See p. 127.

WESTERN EXPLORATION

In 1776, John Ledyard of Connecticut, accompanied Captain James Cook on his third voyage around the world, in the hope of reaching the Pacific Coast for the purpose of exploration. Captain Cook was murdered by the natives of the Sandwich (now the Hawaiian) Islands, and his expedition returned to Eng