The St. Louis Republic., 1901-07-21
ISLAND OF NEW ORLEANS.

Oh AAC AdSC VI lIC lA lAClS 10 AdAu-
ly another spot that has SO profoundly
Influenced the fate of the world as has
the narrow strip of low-lying alluyium
that fringes the eastern bank of the Mis-
sissippi for more than 200 miles above
Its mouth. The world knows this spot
well enough not only as the site Of the
great seaport of the Mississippi Valley,
but as the nucleus Of John Laws Mis-
sissippi Scheme the scene of JacksOn's
battle, and Farragut's, and as much
coveted object Of barter and dickering
among France and Spain and the
United States, with Great Britain al
ways looking enyiously on.
To the diplomats who negotiated the
several treaties changing the ownership
of the Mississippi Valley this tract of
water-Soaked land was known as the
Island OF New Orleans. On the north
and east it is separated from the upper
portion of Eastern Louisiana by Lakes
Maurepas and Pontchartrain and by the
Iberville River, cutoff or bayou which
leaves the Mississippi Il little below
Baton Rouge and carries flood waters of
the big stream off through Maurepas.
Pontchartrain and Borgne to the Gulf.
On its other sides the island is washed
by the Mississippi and the Gulf.
Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase pivots
upon this island. BY the treaties clos
ing what is known in European history
as the Seven Years War. and in ours as
the French and Indian War, France
ceded to Great Britain all her posses
sions east of the Mississippi River eN-
cept the Island of New Orleans, which,
together with all the Louisiana Territory
west of the river. went TO Spain. BY this
arrangement Spain not only owned the
port Of New Orleans. but controlled both
banks of the Mississippi from the Iber-
vile to the Gulf.
As settlers began to pour over the
Alleghanies into Tennessee. Kentucky
and Ohio. after the Revolutionary War,
| Spain began to have dreams of vast am
bition. The Mississippi Valley was to
become the seat of a populous and
wealthy empire. Controlling the mouth
Of the Mississippi. Spain sought to con-
troll the new settlements and break them
away from the seaboard States. If she
had succeeded she might have built up a
| greater Spain in the heart of North
| America.
Spanish restrictions upon American
commerce through New Orleans caused
no end of trouble to our Western set
tiers and much anger among them at the
failure or neglect of the General Coy
ernment to provide relief. After Spain
in 1900, had retroceded to France all she
had received in 1853, restrictions upon
American commerce We're renewed al
New Orleans. This was the signal for
the opening Of negotiations with France
for the purchase of the New Orleans dis.
trict, or Island Of New Orleans, Congress
having appropriated $2,OOO,OOO for that
purpose. But Napoleon needed money
and needed, also, TO concentrate all his
resources on the other side of the At.
lantic; and the end Of it all was that we
| got for $15,0OO,OOO a vast and fruitful
continental area, besides seaport.
| There can be little doubt that the
Island Of New Orleans was all that we
got east Of the Mississippi by the Louis
lana Purchase. The Perdido River, now
the north and south boundary between
Alabama and Florida, was the original
limit Of French territory in the south
east. But by the treaty Of 1868 France
ceded to Great Britain, as above noted
all her possessions east of the Missis
sippi, except the Island Of New Orleans
including, of course, the coast country be
tween the Pearl and the Perdido rivers
and by the treaty of 1888 Great Britain
gave this strip to Spain. 1t is true w
claimed this strip as part Of the Pur
chase, and at last took it during the Wa
of 1872: but the taking was prompted b.
the necessities of war and commerc,
rather than sanctioned by the terms o
our treaty for the purchase OF Louisiana
y