The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1874-07-16
OUR SEACOASI.
Its Early Settlement Fort Biloxi Es-
tablished Discovery Of Pasca-
goula River and Grant
upon it.
Biloxi and Ocean Springs OF To-
day.
From the Pascagoula Star.


town Of Biloxi and gaze out upon its
beautiful bay, we feel that we stand upon
ground which has played an important
part in the settlement of our country
Here the first colonial Governor of Lou
isiana, appointed by the Grande Mon
| argue himself, held command of his post,
which was the headquarters of French
jurisdiction, which extended from the Bay
of Pensacola on the east, to the Rio del
Norte on the west Here he died, the
brilliant Sauvolle, who had accompanied
his brothers IberviIle and Bienville from
France; of striking personal appearance
and remarkably gifted in mind, he was
known in France as the American prodigy
Racine pronounced him poet; Bossuet
predicted that he would be great orator;
and ViIlars called him a Marshal of
France in embryo. He died in 1899,
not thirty years of age, commandment of
/ Fort Biloxi
What a gifted and remarkable band Of
brothers OF the ten distinguished sons
CT Charles Lemoine of Canada, native
of Normandy, and himself noted leader
! in the wars of the French and the Iro-
quois, five of them, were Immediately and
gallantly concerned in the French occu-
patton of our Gulf coast
Twelve years had elapsed since the dis
astrous expedition of La Sale, who in his
efforts to discover the mouth of the
Hidden River" (Mississippi), had gone
too far west, and landed at Matagorda
Bay, Texas, and afterwards had been
assassinated on Trinity river by one of
his own men; and nothing more had been
attempted by the French towards colon
izlng Louisiana. In 1898 an expedition
under NJ. dIberville was sent out by the
French king to discover and explore the
mouth of the Mississippi, which never yet
had been entered from the sea. DIber-
vile. one of the above mentioned broth
ers,, Canadian by birth, was reputed the
most skillful naval officer in the service
of France. and had already greatly dis
tinguished himself in contests with the
British and now was to transfer the thea
ire of his operations from the SHOWS and
ice bergs of Hudson's Bay and ST. Law
renee to the burning sands of Florida and
the islands of the Gulf After touching
at Massacre, which he afterwards called
Dauphine Island, Cat Mobile Bay,) ne
sailed westward and finding the waters
shallow, lie anchored his vessels near the |
Chandelier groups, while he explored
with boats the channel between Ship and
Cat Islands, and with his colony landed
upon the former Here he erected huts 7
for his people and afterwards discovered |
in his boats, the Pascagoula river and the |
tribe of Biloxi Indians. In two barges |
with 48 men, one commanded by his |
brother Bienville, he coasted westward,
and on March I'd, 1898, he discovered |
and entered for the first time from the |
sea, the hidden River" (Mississippi) |
He returned to Ship Island through the |
inland route of lakes Maurepas and |
Pontchartrain and soon afterwards (1699) |
as says the historian: 'He selected site
and began to build n fort upon the north
east shore of the Bay of Biloxi, about |
fifteen miles north of Ship Island. Here
upon sandy shore and upon a pine
barren, he settled his colony about eighty |
miles northeast from the present city of
New Orleans. This occupation, protected
by fort, under the command. of Sau-
wolfe, with four bastions and defended by
twelve cannon was the sign of French |
jurisdiction which was to extend from the |
Bay of Pensacola to Rio del Norte."
Biloxi remained the headquarters of
removed to Mobile Bay In 100 fort |
was erected by Iberville on the Mississip-
pi river, thirty eight miles below the pres
ent city OF New Orleans.
But charter was given to the ''West-
tern Company" in 1717, with extensive
privileges, and Immediately Il controversy |
sprang up between Bienville, the Cover
nor of the province, and the director
general of the companies affairs,-in
regard to the headquarters of the colonial
government, the former desiring to estab |
fish it on the Mississippi, the latter de-
termining it should remain at a seaport
and soon, (1720,) the headquarters of the
commanGant-general was removed to
Biloxi Bay, now known as new Biloxi,
and detachment of troops was sent to
build a principal depot barracks and
officers dwellings. The fort on Biloxi
Bay was enlarged and strengthened the
following year and called Fort st.
Louis" When the charter was granted
to the ''Western Company" and grants
we're made for colonies to several persons
in 17IS, to the celebrated John Law
among others, one was made to Madame
de Chaumonot at Pascagoula,' and we
read that early in January (1721) one
of the compaAy's ships had arrived in
Mobile with three hundred settlers for
Madame Chaumonot's grant on the Pasca-
goula river!
But we intend to speak more directly
of
BILOXI AS IT is.
and its prospects for the future, than to
inflict upon our readers a history of Its
past. But upon our first visit to this
locality it was but natural that these his
torical "reminiscences so intimately con-
nected with it, should crowd upon us and
we trust they may not prove altogether
uninteresting or uninstructive.
The first thing that strikes a visitor to
Biloxi, particularly if he has visited be
forehand or other coast watering places.
is it's compactness there is nothing
struggling in its appearance, everything
seems to be sswell il. hand" The hotels,
dwellings, saloons, stores, ETC., are most
ly Immediately upon the beach road; and
the wharves are only 70 to 100 yards long,
| to 5 feet at low water, the main channel
coming to within little over 100 yards
of the main shore. Deer Island Is only
three-fourths of a mile distant running
narallel with the shore. and is substan-
/ fial breakwater, within which the smallest
vessels can ride out in safety the most
violent storm. The corporate limits ex-
/ .1ovr- Ha hoooh al.