The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1806-02-08
TO THE EDITOR OF THE ENQUIRER.

Six,
! Offer Cor your infcrtion in the Enouirer
the tranllation, OF an article from M,rtinier.,s
Dictionary, for TIE rufpofc of ihowinp what
were underaood to be the limits OF Lo,iGana
when 1t was fri in the pofeflion of France.
1t may not be amifs to inform f,me of vour
readers that this book was hernn under The
auipices OF Louis the l4rh. and fniihed in Hol.
I'd where 1t was 6rit printed: That il has
nhce undergone two editions at Paris, in / 73e
and 76s, by which it has been greatly cor
reefcd and improved And that II is conGder.
cd TO DC very high authority on all geograDh;cal
qnefi'ons and more particularly "a on tboGr
which relate to the Spsnib po'!eiIiona, from
the clrcnntance detailed in the following ,x.
tract from the original preface.
] ought not 70 omit that one of tI,r V-e,.
7" objections. which I made to the MARQUIS
" Berotti !.andi, the Spanilh AmbaiYa,or. when
" ne davlird NE to put the work to the pref
y WAS, that we were not well verified in the geo
graphv of modern Spain. repref.nted 70
(" him that " the prefent ftate' of that liny-
dom, by the Able Voyrac was amoft the
!" only toerahe book we have on the fnbiea
he iilenced me with a promife TO make me
ample amends by interefing the King him.
icif IN me merit and fuccefs ofmy work. No
e" one is ignorant ofthe unexpected event which
p" which have retarded the afliitance bad (t,t-
ed to be necei1ary. In fpte of the(e obGa-
y" cles he did more than had dared to exnct, Z.
ne wlihed that this dictionary iEould carry
piollc marks ofthe glorious ion which
MS Catholic Maefty grants TO ufefnl fcience.
lie dlh me the honor to declare me his et n
" grapher. and it has pleafed him to add ia This
81" favor that of nominating perfons profoupdlv
q" Killed in the iubjees in which I reouired
inftruction, with orders to communicate to
me, the information fought to obtain
LOUISIANA. large country in North Ame-
rica' formerly contributing part of Florida. It is
bounded on the north by the river of rhe Illinois
which RITES in Canada on the wei, BY New Mex;
co. New Bilcay, and fome spaniG, poas which s-s
dependant on them on the eaR, by part of Penn
iyivania, Maryland, Virginia, Carolina. New Geor-
gia, and Spaniih Florida and on the fourth bv the
Gun OF Mexico. Its length from north to fou;b is
from the 99th to the goth degree Of atitud bu, l.,
breadth svery unequal along the fea-coa( il can BE-
taken only from PenIacoa to the bay Of ST. Bernard.
that Is, from the goth, to the 280h degree of Ion
Crude ont 1t continually enlarges in attending to the
north, though it has no fixed (yfgLseO lim;,s ri;
Their on the eaa or the wet The river Nig;gin-
pr croiies It from north fouth, aImoR throush ,h
middle. This circumfanee has deceived many geo.
graphsf', who make Louisna Attend much farther
north, IN consequence of not knowing that the whole
eonre OF the MifMpp until !; receives the river Of
the Illinois, is part Of the general government, of
New France, and, eonfequently, belongs to Canada
The Spaniards were the fri Europeans who fet
loot on this country. Ferdinand de SOTO explored
every part Of it, he pafed and repaned the ME-
iiiiipPi, which his hi0oriaHs always calls, Cgea,ao.
and died near The place where the Red river empties
itielt inPth Mibppi; after his death, and the re-
turn Of Moreoio his fueeefor. Spain attempted no
thng further in that quarter and has never had ans
fixed elabifhment there
BY the trade which the Canadian French had
earned on, from the commencement OF this colony
with tone hvagc tribes from the fruth aud the wen
and above all with the Illinois, they had fpne know
ledge Of the M'li1iFpi; but II was mo, until 1879
that Father Matqrite, Jefuit, and the sicr To-
net afnally dilcovered il. They entered II bv the
river O9Jfo7E,g, whole mouth Is abou, the 4sd de
gree ct north latitude and they defended az far az
Akar'ai, which liesin about $3.50. leu or twelve
years Afterwards Monfeur de Ia sale completed the
dtcovrry down 10 the ooean, gave the river the name
OF ST. L'Uf.' whe'tt has retained 10 the Who'll.
country that OF Aosfsaa. Having given the French
court hiNory Of his voyage, * affirmed tina, the MIG
hhppi d'icharged delf into the C:uif ct MeSeo. he
obtained lofrs fhips for the ruf?ofe of ret,rojn,
there by lea and making an elablhmen, hot h.,
n'sie te V0th u The river, aad oops.ed se bay q