Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1806-01-02
(ContmusGJ
Matehitoehss, Sept 22d, l


S;blev one OF the justices of the peace
for the county of Natchitoches, Francis
Grape, of Campte, in said county, aged
81. who being duly sworn, deposeth and
saith. that 70 the best of his knowledge and
belief he was born near the ancient Caddo
x,llsye on the Red river, which by the
eourse of the river he belivcs TO be up-
wards Of 500 miles above Natchlroches,
where his parents then lived. and had nv
ed. he believes, number OF years before
he was born, and where they continued
s. To i've until he was sixteen or seventeen
5 wears of age. As long ago as he can re-
member he recollects Mr.. Francois Her
sey, French gentleman, who lived there,
and ,vhu he understood was the hrst waite
man that settled there, and that his father
.e,tled there about two years after, but he
always understood there had been COM
pany Of French traders settled tor num-
her of years about 40 miles higher up the
river. and that Mr.. Hervey was oae OF
Them. but they were broke up before he
was born; il was always c-lled the Compa-
nv. and tina, during the whole time he nv.
ed at The ancient Caddo village there were
three settled families, besides a number
of single persons and deeachmens OF SOL
dicrs assigned by the French governments
for that post was always fifteen, but ne
never knew the number complete, aud
that his father was commandment OF the
place for many years, and was succeeded
by Mr.. Close, who continued TO De
commandant till il was abandoned after
efhe cession of Louisiana to SPAN, and
thar his father, by order of the then go
vernon of Louisiana, built a small tort there,
in which were two small pieces OF cannon,
and in which was flag staff, on which the
French Gag was occasionally hoisted. lie
believes the whole time that that place was
occupied by the French as military post
and a settlement of families, was about SO
wears. and thar the inhabitants pursued the
same agriculture that was then common
in Other parts of the French settlement
of Louisiana, viz. corn, tobacco, lnd'go,
cotton and garden vegetables, with some
wheat, which grew we'll, but having no
way of manufacturing -four. there was but
little wheat raised, though there were
pair of excellent European mil stones
and mill irons there. but were not In use
in his time. the stones he himself brought
down in the year 1878, aud they were
carried to Oppelousas; be understood tney
had been carried to the Caddo country
bv the Company, as it was called; and that
he has, knowledge Of French trading
establishment being at place called the
bout, on the Sabine river, near where the
Mandace Indians now live, and that It
was an ancient establishments, and place
of great trade and resort atthe tine MS Ia
theirs family lived at the Caddos, and that
he has several times been at the place the
French Hag used to be hoisted there ana
there are the remains Of the buildings and
works now TO be seen; aud that the bout
is about so miles northwest from Natchi-
toches; aud that there was ae the same
t;me a similar trading establishment and
number of settled French families at the
Yattasse Point, on the southwest DIVISION
of Red river, about 25 leagues above
Natchitoches, on what is now called the
Bayou Pierre settlement, which IS now un-
der the jurisdiction OF, Spain, and which
Mace is now, and ever has continued to be,
occupied by French inhabitants, and that
some of whom have ancient French grants
or titles for their lands, and that Mr.. Yer
pc, who lived there for many years before
LOUISIANA was ceded TO Spain, had the ex-
elusive Indian trade granted him by the
French governor of Louisiana OF the
Troiscannes, or Tanacanos, the keyektes,
Yastasses, and several other tribes that then
lived on the river Sabine, and southwark
aud westward of il in what is now called
tae province Of Ta,xus.
Signed,