CHAPTER XIV.

Treaty of Paris.-East and West Florida.-Governor Johnston.-Pensacola.-Mobile and Fort Toulouse.Indian allies of the French.-d'Abadie.-Major Loftus. -Baton Rouge.-Natchez.-Feliciana.-Manshac.Petit Manshac.-The king's letter.-Consternation of the colonists.-General meeting-Public securities.Jean Milhet.-Sugar planters.-Dissentions in the British provinces.-Aubry.-Pirates in the West India seas, -Madame Desnoyers.-Ulloa.-Introduction of African negroes.-Census.-Fort Bute.-A Peruvian lady.-Spanish troops.-New forts.-Great cold.-General meeting.-Petition to the council.—Thoughts of resistance.-Aid asked from Governor Elliot.-Decree of the council.--Ulloa embarks.-The cables of the ship he was in cut.---General meeting.-A deputation is France.--Spanish troops destined for Louisiana arrive at the Havana.--Urissa.-Ill success of the deputation.Edict relating to paper securities.-Alternate hopes and fears.-A Spanish fleet arrives at the Balize.-O'Reilly's message.-Town meeting.-A deputation is sent.— The fears of the inhabitants subside.-The Spanish fleet reaches New Orleans.-O'Reilly lands and takes posses

sion.

BY the treaty of Paris, the king of France renounced his pretentions to Nova Scotia or Acadie, and guaranteed the whole of it, with its dependencies, to the king of Great Britain; to whom he ceded and guaranteed in full right Canada, with all its dependen. cies, as well as the island of Cape Breton and all the other islands and coasts, in the river and gulf of St. - Lawrence.

The limits, between the French and British possessions in North America, are fixed irrevocably by a line drawn along the middle of the river Mississippi, from its source to the river Iberville; and from thence by a line in the middle of that stream and lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the sea.

The king of France cedes to that of Great Britain the river and port of Mobile, and every thing possessed by him on the left side of the river Mississippi, except the town of New Orleans and the island on which it stands.

The navigation of the Mississippi is declared free to the subjects of either sovereign, in its whole breadth and length, from its source to the sea; and it is expressly stipulated that vessels belonging to subjects of either, shall not be stopped, visited, or subject to any duty.

The British king promises to allow the inhabitants of Canada, the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, and to give the most precise and effective orders that his new Roman Catholic subjects may exercise their religion, according to its rites, in as much as is permitted by the laws of Great Britain.

Eighteen months are allowed to the inhabitants to sell their property to British subjects, and withdraw wherever they please.

The same rights are granted to the inhabitants of the ceded part of Louisiana.

The king of Spain cedes to that of Great Britain the province of Florida with the fort of St. Augustine and the bay of Pensacola, as well as all the country he possesses on the continent of North America, to the east and southeast of the river Mississippi.

We have seen that all the part of Louisiana, not ceded to Great Britain, had already been yielded to

Spain: so that France did not retain one inch of ground in North America.

The conquered islands were restored to France and Spain.

The island of Grenada and its dependencies were ceded by the king of France to that of Great Britain. The islands called neutrals were divided, but not equally; those of St. Vincent, Dominica and Tobago, being yielded to Great Britain, and that of St. Lucia to France.

Clement the thirteenth having expelled the Jesuits from the dominions of the kings of France, Spain and Naples, these monks were now driven from Louisiana, and in the month of July their property, near New Orleans, was taken into the king's hands and sold, under a decree of the superior council. It produced about one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

On the seventh of October, 1763, the king of Great Britain divided his acquisitions in North America into three distinct governments; those of Quebec, and East and West Florida.

All the coast from the river St. John to Hudson's streights, with the islands of Anticosti and Madeleine, and all other small islands on that coast, were put under the care and inspection of the government of New Foundland.

The islands of St. John, Cape Breton, with the lesser ones adjacent thereto, were annexed to the province of Nova Scotia.

The land between the rivers St. Mary and Altamaha was annexed to the province of Georgia.

The part of the territory acquired from Spain, adjoining Louisiana, was erected into a separate province, called West Florida: it was bounded on the south by the gulf of Mexico, including all islands within six leagues of the sea coast from the river Apa

lachicola to lake Pontchartrain-on the west by that lake, lake Maurepas and the river Mississippi-on the north, by a line drawn due east from a point in the middle of that river, in the thirty-first degree of northern latitude to the river Apalachicola or Catahouche, and to the east by that river.

In the mean while, George Johnston, a captain in the royal navy, appointed governor of the province of West Florida, arrived at Pensacola with major Loftus, who was to command at the Illinois. They were accompanied by a considerable number of highlanders from New York and Charleston. Detachments of these were sent to take possession of Fort Conde, Fort Toulouse, Baton Rouge and the Natch

ez.

Fort Conde was now called Fort Charlotte, in compliment to the young queen of Great Britain.

Most of the Indians, in alliance with the French, followed the white banner to New Orleans, on its being lowered in the forts of the ceded territory; lands were allotted to them on the western side of the Mississippi.

In the fall, Kerlerec was recalled; and the chief magistracy of the province vested in d'Abadie, under the title of director-general. The military force was reduced to three hundred men, divided into six companies, under the orders of Aubry, as senior captain.

Kerlerec's conduct was highly disapproved of in France: he was confined, for some time, in the Bastile, and died of grief shortly after his release.

Major Loftus, who commanded the twenty-second regiment, came from Pensacola to New Orleans, on his way to the Illinois, early in 1764. He proceeded up the river, on the 27th of February, with a detachment of the thirty-fourth, who had been employed in reconnoitreing the river Iberville. His whole force,

consisting of about four hundred men, was embarked in ten batteaux of from sixteen to twenty oars each and two canoes. They reached the heights now called Fort Adams, then La roche a Davion, in three weeks. In the morning of the twentieth of March, the two canoes being a little a head of the major's batteau, and close to the right bank, which was covered with brush, a volley was fired on them and three privates were killed and one wounded in the first canoe and one sergeant and two privates wounded and two privates killed in the second. The boats going back with the stream, and there being no possibility of landing on that side, the river having overflowed its banks, the major ordered his small fleet on the opposite shore, and as he approached, received a second volley. Both sides of the river appearing strongly guarded by the Indians and the stream narrow, he determined on descending the river and taking post for the present at bayou Manshac. The mount, near which the party was fired on, was afterwards called Loftus's heights.

Having at disembarked bayou Manshac and reconnoitred the ground, major Loftus thought it better to return to New Orleans, where finding a brig ready to sail for Pensacola, he took passage in her; his men floated down in their batteaux, to the Balize, except a captain and twenty men of the twentysecond regiment, whom he ordered to proceed by the lakes to Mobile.

As they were ready to start d'Abadie received information that sixty Indians of the Colapissa tribe from the western side of lake Pontchartrain were preparing to intercept the batteaux in the rigolets.

The captain represented to the French chief that major Loftus had departed fully suspecting that the French had prevailed on the Indians to prevent