The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-04-14
A COINCIDENCE IN HIS.
TORY.

Sale. acting under authority iron
Louis XIV, was the first to descen,
the Mississippi river from its eN
IRENE northern waters to the Gul
of Mexico. This was in 1888, ant
a few years later we find the sam,
French king defining the boundarie
of his new American possessions il
a charter granted to a trading com
pany as "comprehending all the tri-
butaries which flow into the river
Colbert Cater known as the Nlississ
ippi), and the lands adjacent to
these streams, except that belonging
to New Mexico and the English
Carolinas, "
All titles to the territory known as
Louisiana date back to this official
proclamation by the French king.
When France transferred the terri
tory to Spain, this was the descript-
ion given of the coded province
WhenSpain conveyed back to France
again, the same indefinite boundar
les were mentioned in the tide deed,
and when Napoleon conveyed the
ownership to the United States the
treaty recited simply that France
waived claim to all that she had re-
ceived from Spain.
All of which serves to explain why
the interio department at Washing
ton recently issued a new map show
ing that the popular notion of the
original boundaries of Louisiana was
very much at fault. According to
this map, about one-eighth OF the
area of Kansas, about half the
area Of Colorado, and about one
tenth of the area of Wyoming came
into the Union with Texas and new
err belonged to Louisiana at all.
Under the claim Of King Louis only
such soil was claimed by France as
was reached by the tributaries Of
the Mississippi, SO, of course, the
western ndary was fixed by the |
of the Rocky mountains, !
while its southern boundary had al
ready been fixed by Spain, fixed 50
as to include in the Spanish poss-
essions all of Texas and parts of
Colorado and Wyoming.
Idaho, Washington and Oregon
came to us by rights of discovery;
Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Califor-
Tia by the treaty with Mexico in
-S48, while Colorado and New Mex
CO came to us in part by this treaty
nd in part by the annexation OF
Texas.
In going back over the history Of
his vast domain one cannot but be
truck with some remarkable coin
idences. For eighty years Louis
ana had been source of infinite
rouble to France. Her colonies
lad been failures. Vast sums of
money were sunk in an endeavor TO
commerce. The Indian /
1ars and other conflicts had drawn
cavity upon the national treasury.
lie king desired to cede the territory .
D Spain and to be quit forever with G
olonial veXations. In March, 1866
.ntonio de Ulloa, the new Spanish f
overnor, arrived at New Orleans.
nd took formal possession of the
royince. About this city were the
My French settlements which had q,
rown to any Importance. The peo- ii
lie were highly indignant that their
Ionarch should have traded them off +
Spain without giving them a +
DICE in the proceedings. They Or :.
lnized a revolution and Governor
lloa barely escaped to sea with his r.
fe. In due time, however, Spain Il
nded great force and took poss- a
sion of the whole country. The /
aders of the revolution were capt
ed and some were condemned to ;,
cath and some to Punishment, and -
hers to long imprisonment. For a
irty-four years the rule of Spain
and then Napoleap took .
back. Two years later :