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tion, which, on the invitation of this society, was to be held in this city between the 21st and 24th of April, 1915.

Railroad schedules prevented the arrival of the members of the visiting society until the morning of Thursday, the 22nd.

A preliminary announcement was printed at once and distributed to all the members of the invited society through the fortunate co-operation of the Association of Commerce, which was able in this way to distribute effectively a folder descriptive of the advantages of New Orleans. The efficient Program Committee handed over the result of their work, enabling this committee to compile and print the general program for distribution in the Registration and Meeting Rooms, a neat badge and button with the head of Lasalle were prepared and distributed.

The surplus catalogues and badges have been handed over to the secretary of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association.

The time of the year when most of the members of the society were actively engaged in their work and the great distance from the homes of the greater number of members reduced the number of those who registered to 31.

The joint meeting of the two societies was largely attended, the papers read at the various meetings were of high value, those contributed by local members called forth warm praise. The committee expresses its warm appreciation of the co-operation of the Governor of the State and President Dixon for their acceptance of the chairmanship of two of the meetings, to the Mayor of New Orleans for the reception at the City Hall, to President Sharp for his elegant address of welcome, to the Boston and Pickwick Clubs for the extension of courtesies, to the Round Table Club, the ladies of the Southern Economic and Political Association and to the ladies of Tulane University for entertainments, to the Port Commissioners for the use of the boat Samson and to the Grunewald Hotel for the use of meeting, registration and committee rooms.

The chairman takes this opportunity to thank the chairman of the Programme Committee for his active co-operation and also the various members of the Committee of Arrangements for their careful attention to details.

I append list of the joint committee and itemized statement of expenditures.

WILLIAM BEER, Chairman.
W. O. HART,

A. P. HOWARD,

THOMAS SLOO,

PROF. M. J. WHITE,

W. O. SCROGGS,

MISS GRACE KING,

ERNEST L. JAHNCKE,

PRES. ROBERT SHARP,
PRES. GASPAR CUSACHS,

Members.

Mr. T. P. Thompson, alluding to the letter received from President Woodrow Wilson acknowledging receipt of Centennial of Peace with England medal sent to him by the Louisiana Historical Society, said no acknowledgment had ever been received from the King of England for the medal sent him by the society, and that Mr. Swanson had offered, if authorized by the society, to see if the medal had been received and obtain the proper acknowledgment for it.

Mr. Dymond put the motion, and Mr. Swanson was authorized to act.

Dr. Edmond Souchon read the paper of the evening, a sympathetic account of the late Dr. Tobias Gibson Richardson, who might be termed the founder of the Tulane Medical Department. The paper was filled with intimate details of a friendship commendable to both men, and it struck a responsive chord in the breasts of the audience. Dr. Souchon added a short account of his meeting with the celebrated James Eads, an episode told with much humor and brightness.

Thanking the audience for their attention at its close, Dr. Souchon promised to give them a paper he had already begun on the "Contributions of Louisiana Men to Medical Science." He was warmly thanked for what he had given and for what he so graciously and generously promised. The meeting then adjourned.

JUNE MEETING, 1915.

The regular meeting of the Louisiana Historical Society was held in the Cabildo on June 16th. President Cusachs presided and there were thirty-three members present. On motion, the reading of the minutes of the last meeting was dispensed with.

Letters from J. Allen Swanson and Hon. Cecil Spring Rice relative to the presentation of the Louisiana Historical Society gold medal to King George of England was read by Mr. Thompson, who made some supplementary remarks.

Mr. Henry Elder read the paper prepared by Mrs. Susan B. Elder entitled, "Bienville's Difficulties in Founding New Orleans." The paper was well received; on motion, duly seconded and carried, a vote of thanks was tendered Mrs. Elder for the paper, which was ordered to be printed in the society's proceedings. Mr. Elder was also thanked for his reading of the paper.

Mrs. Elder having expressed a wish that some suitable memorial to Bienville, be erected by the city of New Orleans, the following motion was put by Mr. T. P. Thompson, seconded by Mr. Dymond, and carried:

Resolved, That the approaching bi-centennial date of the founding of New Orleans-1918-is, or should be, a fitting moment to commemorate, and the Louisiana Historical Society recommends to the State and City authorities the advisability of celebrating this two hundredth anniversary of the City of New Orleans;

And, further, commends the especial idea of properly testifying our appreciation of the heroic and indefatigable Bienville, who located this city where it is, and who estab

lished its government, who promoted its foundation as the capital of Louisiana, and who lived here the best years of his life, devoting his every thought to its welfare during its precarious infancy; and, later when it had become established and he had retired to Paris, gave further evidence of fatherly love by appealing to the King in behalf of the first volunteer martyrs to liberty on American soil.

That we endorse the suggestion of erecting a memorial shaft and bronze statue to this great man at the entrance of the City Park, and of renaming that beautiful reservation in his honor "Bienville Park;" that this ceremonial take place in February, 1918, and a committee be named by this organization to offer itself as the medium by which all of the foregoing may be brought about and a proper, though much delayed, expression of gratitude be evidenced of our appreciation of the "Father of New Orleans."

Gen. Booth stated that he wished to record the request that some member of the Historical Society investigate the closing of Bayou Manchac and present the facts to the society at some future meeting. Gen. Booth was asked to take up the matter.

Mrs. Caroline Hoey, through Mrs. Stem, presented two pencil sketches of Fort Livingston in 1862 to the society. On motion of Mr. Hart the thanks of the society were extended to Mrs. Hoey.

Captain Allison Owen informed the society that the original battle flag of the Confederate States, designed by Gen. Beauregard, has been found, and is now in the possession of the Washington Artillery.

Mr. Hart, speaking for the Membership Committee, presented the following names for election to membership in the society: Miss Lily C. Whittaker, Mrs. Louise Goodin, Mr. H. Duvalle, and Mrs. H. Wallace Jones.

On motion, duly seconded and carried, they were unanimously elected.

By request, Rev. Father O'Brien, of Loyola University, agreed to present a paper on the history of the Jesuits in New Orleans at the July meeting of the society.

Meeting then adjourned.

(Signed) R. GLENK.

OF NEW ORLEANS.

OR

HOW LOUISIANA'S CHIEF CITY CAME NEAR BEING BUILT AT NATCHEZ, MANCHAC, OR ON ST. BERNARD BAY, TEXAS.

The first immigration "en masse" to Louisiana was in 1718, but there was no New Orleans then to receive and welcome the colonists. The colony had at that time only 700 inhabitants, and in one day 800 persons landed in Louisiana, thus doubling the human charges under Bienville's care, and also increasing his desire to found a city on the Mississippi so as to provide better accommodations for his people.

A few colonists had settled on the new site-the New Orleans of to-day-but in 1719 only the impassioned eloquence of Bienville and the trust and confidence felt in him prevented the whole place from being depopulated. The flooded city on one hand, urging withdrawal from its perils, and on the other hand the devoted Governor appealing to the sufferers to remain. The waters rose, but Bienville's pleadings were stronger than the flood-one affected purses, the other their hearts. Love and trust and "sentiment" won the day-New Orleans was saved.

The first settlement on the banks of the Mississippi was not made with any intention of its being the seat of government for the Louisiana Province. It happened thus: Iberville was told by Bienville how he had "turned back" an English vessel which was seeking a site for an establishment on the Mississippi. As the French did not then have even a foothold on that river, Iberville saw the necessity of providing an appearance of French possession as soon as possible, or England would forstall his plans.

He immediately, January, 1700, set out with a small vessel and fifty Canadians, in order to secure some spot in the lower part of the river where he could erect a fort flying the

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