at this juncture were plundering him of all he possessed, afterward granted him an annuity, the thought suggests itself that his stay in New Orleans, notwithstanding the decree of banishment may have been owing to the fact that the rulers were, as we are told of some of their prototypes in Holy Scripture, "fearful of a commotion among the people." Hard beyond measure would have been the lot of the aged missionary had not Etienne Boré* kindly taken him to his home, where, some three years later, the broken-hearted veteran passed to his eternal reward. Etienne Boré, afterward famous as the first successful cultivator of the sugar cane which the Jesuits had introduced into the colony, owned what is now the Seventh District. His residence stood on the site of the Horticultural Hall, and the tract of land on which the Jesuits of today have erected the imposing group of buildings that forms Loyola University was the estate of his son-in-law, Pierre Foucher. Meanwhile, that is, between July and December, 1763, the decree of the Superior Council was being enforced in all the missions ownd by the Jesuits throughout the colony, and the manner of its enforcement was in each case modelled on the heartless treatment shown the Fathers in New Orleans. The night of the 21st of December, 1763, was the date of a pathetic scene on the levee at New Orleans. Though the night was chilly, we are told, yet a large crowd of people gathered to see the Jesuit missionaries, some bowed down with years and others in the prime. of life, arrive under armed escort from Kaskaskia, Fort Chartres, Caokia, Vincennes and other remote posts in upper Louisana. The Capuchin Fathers were there also; the misfortunes of their former rivals had roused their Christian charity and they came to alleviate, as best they could, the hardships of the unfortunate ones. The poor Jesuits from upper Louisiana were in a sad plight. There was no home of their own Order to shelter them, and where were they to lodge until the time of their departure for France arrived? They had no means of support and they could not count on their former friends. The Capuchins, though they begged the Jesuits to share their daily meals with them, could not lodge them, for their accommodations were scarcely ample enough for the members of their own Order in Grandfather of Charles Gayarre, the historian. New Orleans. At this crisis an officer of the guard, M. Volsey, animated with Christian charity, acquainted Governor Abbadie of the sad condition in which the Jesuits were and secured them lodgings with a certain M. LeSassier, who treated them. with the greatest kindness during the few weeks they had to remain in New Orleans. The Fathers soon perceived that their presence in New Orleans was a source of embarrassment to Governor Abbadie and so, in the spirit of self-sacrifice, they resolved to embark for France as soon as they could procure passage despite the unfavorable season of the year. Accordingly some left by the Minerva in January, 1764, and were followed on the 6th of February by four others. One, Father de la Morinié, remained behind. because he was too ill to undertake the ocean voyage, and another, Father Meurin, obtained permission of the Superior Council to return to his Indians at St. Genevieve (Missouri), in upper Louisiana, where for years he attended to the deserted missions of the Illinois country until his holy death, which occurred at Prairie du Roche on the 13th of August, 1777. His remains were afterward removed and now rest in the Jesuits' cemetery of St. Stanislaus' Seminary, at Florissant, Missouri. The foregoing account is but a poor and rapid sketch of the sad fate of the intrepid Christian priests who, at a sacrifice of all that was dear to human nature had, for the space of over forty-one years, devoted themselves unsparingly to the spiritual interests of the white, black and Indian population of the Louisiana Territory, and in return they received the cup of vinegar and gall. The violent men who drove the Society of Jesus from colonial Louisiana paid no attention to the consequences that were bound to result. Infidel or vicious, or both, little cared they that immortal souls would perish; little cared they that Christian Indian tribes should fall back into idolatry; that, as history asserts, even many whites, bereft of religious influence, should part with their Christian civilization and assume the garb of savagery. No; these men did not allow themselves to reflect before plunging themselves into an exhibition of passion and vice that in the eyes of all honest men must brand them with eternal infamy. In the spirit of their Divine Master, yielding to the powers that ruled, a couple of dozen humble Jesuit missionaries departed from that colonial Louisiana which they loved and toiled for, but not long afterward, by a just Nemesis, France, Spain and England, yielding also to force, but for a different motive, departed thence, never, we devoutly hope, to return. Thenceforth through all the long years, while immigration was peopling the unoccupied lands of the west, and until states and cities and dioceses took shape and form, religion languished or died out. Such was the aftermath, with the dark ending of one of the darkest episodes in American colonial history. MEETING OF MARCH, 1916. The Louisiana Historical Society met on Wednesday evening, March 15, in the Cabildo. There was a good attendance of members and visitors; all the officers were present. The Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting, which were corrected and approved: Judge Renshaw read the following report: To the Louisiana Historical Society: The Sign Committee beg leave to submit the following report: Your committee recommends the placing of three signs, viz., one on the exterior of the Cabildo, on the Chartres street frieze of the old Supreme Court room; one at the entrance to the Sala Capitular, and one at the Chartres street entrance to the Cabildo. Respectfully submitted, HY. RENSHAW, Chairman; JOHN DYMOND, W. O. HART, ROBERT GLENK. At the conclusion of this reading, Mr. Denechaud arose and objected seriously to placing signs on the outside of so venerable and venerated a building as the Cabildo. Judge Renshaw replied with eloquence and force, making the point that the sign of the Museum had been placed for several years on the outside of the old Civil District Court, now the Natural History Building. The President of the Board of Curators of the State Museum, Mr. T. P. Thompson, answered this. Judge Renshaw then read the city ordinance giving over the two buildings to the Board of Curators of the Louisiana State Museum and domiciling the Louisiana Historical Society in the Sala Capitular of the Cabildo. Mr. Martin made a few remarks in a conciliatory spirit and finally the resolution of Judge Renshaw was submitted and approved by a unanimous vote, minus one voice, Mr. T. P. Thompson, who asked that his vote be recorded in the minutes as against it. Before proceeding to the regular program, Mrs. Friedericks introduced Miss Ethel Hutson, who made a warm appeal to the Society to take some action to prevent the proposed destruction of the dome of the St. Louis Hotel, recounting the work done by a volunteer committee of ladies, at whose insistence the work of demolition had been arrested in order that so fine an example of early nineteenth century architecture might be preserved; one that was unique in the United States and not surpassed in the Old World. The dome, she said, was made of hollow tiles, such as were used 1400 years ago. By measurement it was a perfect construction and one that if rescued now from demolition would endure centuries longer, an honor to the city and its citizens. The Society passed over Miss Hutson's appeal in silence, and the President called upon Mr. Gilbert Pemberton for the paper he had prepared for the evening, entitled "Notes on General Wilkinson's Memorial and Miro and Navarro's Dispatch No. 13," translated from the original Spanish documents copied and given to the Society by the Baron de Pontalba. It proved to be a paper of more than usual interest and importance regarding an episode that has not received hitherto the full treatment by historians necessary to the proper understanding of it. Mr. Pemberton's paper was listened to with attention, and he was thanked for it by vote. Mr. James Wilkinson, who was present, was asked by Mr, Hart for a contribution carrying on the further history of General Wilkinson and his subsequent reëntry into the service of the United States. This, Mr. Wilkinson kindly consented to do. Mr. T. P. Thompson called up the question of the proposed monument to Bienville and introduced Mrs. Charles LeSassier, who gave the following short account of the ancestry and work of Miss Angelica Schuyler Church, who desired to be awarded. the contract for the proposed monument: "Miss Church is a great-grandniece of the famous artist, John Trumbull, who painted the pictures in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, and who started the movement that later crystallized in the National Academy of Design with headquarters in New York. Her great-grandfaither was Professor Benjamin Silliman, distinguished pioneer in popularizing science, whose statue adorns the Yale campus. She is the only child of the late Colonel Benjamin Silliman Church, known as the dean of American engineers, who designed and built the new Croton aqueduct, also designing the plans of the new Croton dam, both pronounced when finished the greatest engineering feat of the time. For these Colonel Church was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Exposition. "Miss Church's claim on the interest of Southern people comes through her mother, Miss Mary Van Wyke of Washington, born in Nashville, Tenn., and a descendant of the Cantrels, Polk and Maury families of Tennessee, closely related to the celebrated scientist, M. F. Maury. "The hereditary influence of these men is apparent in the beautiful work of this gifted young woman, whose unusual training and education have contributed to her success. Miss Church studied with Beard, the animal painter, and Alphonse Mucha, the great designer, of Paris." Miss Church then submitted her ideas for designs for the monument, which were received with enthusiasm. Some pertinent discussion followed during which, on motion of Mr. Hart, Mr. Alden McClelland and General Booth, and, on motion of Miss King, Mrs. Charles Lessassier were added to the Bienville Monument Committee. Just before the motion to adjourn was put, Mrs. Friedericks again brought up the question of the St. Louis Hotel dome, praying for some action by the Society. General Booth proposed that the President of the Society collaborate with the ladies in their effort. Mr. Cusachs consenting; this was carried unanmously. The Society then adjourned. The names of the new members elected at this meeting were ordered to be added to the minutes: Rev. P. M. H. Wyndhoven' Mrs. Charles LeSassier James Wilkinson P. Sefton Schneidau |