The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-09
FRENCH EXILES IN ALABAMA,
 THE VINE AND OLIVE COLONY
Story of the Bonapartsts and San Domingans' Unsuccessful Colony in Marengo County. The Most Picturesque Chapter of
 Alabama History.
BY WILL T. sHDEEHAN.
CHAPTER II.

The French emigrants. fleeing the Bourbon wrath. contracted with the United States Government to grow "the vine and the olive" It was thought that this form of agriculture would be more in harmony with their inclina- tions and past experiences than any other farming endeavor.
 The contract executed by the Phila- dephia Association and the Government had its quid pro quo, that in considera- tion of the sale of the public lands to the Bonapartists, at a nominal figure. that the colonists would engage in the cultivation of the vine and olive. The lands on the Warrior and the Tombig- bee were regarded as especially fit and proper for such agriculture. And so the Bonapartists in Alabama became known as "The Vine and Olive Colony" and so 1t is. known in history.
 The Tombigbee and Warrior site had been the selection of the agents of the Bonapartists. men who were of them and sharer of their misfortunes, Jean Pennier and Bazile Meslier. Pen- nier was a man of ability and of high standing in France in that period of frenzy which followed the overthrow of the Bourbons and before the meteoric rise of Napoleon. He was a member of the General Assembly. which decreed the death of Bourbon Louis at the gull lotine.
 Vengeance of Louis.
 With the Bourbon dynasty restored, France was no place for Penniers and his associates. Happenings in France hastened the settlement of the French. A second decree had been issued by Louis XVIII. It specified in particu-
 lar the men against whom xhe kfngly vengeance was directed. Ney and Labedoyere were among those that had won that dangerous distinction. Both were tried, both were convicted and both were executed, although there is a romantic story of News escape to America. After this Louis's attitude towards the Bonapartists softened somewhat. On throne which he owed to the soldiers of other kings, he ceased to exercise in a measure his vengeance against the Frenchmen who had seized the throne and held 1t year after year against the combined armies of the world.
 The French emigrants were restless to map out some assurance of the fu- ture. Meslier and Pennier were trav- cling through the West and South. The large coIony of Bonapartists In Phila- delphia and Baltimore were being aug mented each week. Colonel Parmen- tier, one of the strong men, and, in l fact, the leader of the colony move ment, went to Washington to secure | the ready consent of the Government | to donate the lands.
 Meslier and Penniers found nothing | in the West to suit them. They were | delighted with the virgin Canebrake of Alabama
 And another consideration rose and directed them in the choice of the site. It was not far from Mobile. The col- | ony would have much in common with
 Mobile. The old seaport was strongly French and the colonists would have
 friends and sympathizers there. It was not so very far from Louisi- Lana and its French population. New | Orleans might be considered a French town. It was a seaport, and from it | communication with France was easy. | If the crazy wheel of fortune. which | had seemed to direct the affairs of the French Government should take an- other turn. the Alabama colonists would be in a splendid position to reap the benefits.
 A Vain Hope.
 Elba had not been able to hold the caged lion. Could St. Helena do 1t? Perhaps. ah, perhaps the time would come when the news would come across
 the waters that Napoleon was again in Parts dictating the destinies of Flu rope.
 The tract of land they wanted was set apart for them by act of Congress of 1877. The land was sold to the emf grants on seven years time at a total cost of s1s4,325. Its legal description in the contract was Township IS, Range 3. east. and Township IS. 19 and 20. Range 4. east"
 First. last and all the time 1t was an ill-starred endeavor. The vessel that carried Colonel Parmentier and hiS companions on the first voyage, in the spring of 1877 ran aground at the ent- rance of Mobile Bay in sight of the soil of Alabama, the Land of Promise to the French. But for timely aid which came out from Fort Bowyer, now Fort Morgan, opposite the walls of which the vessel grounded, the whole party might have perished.
 The French were given hearty and enthusiastic reception in Mobile. They were made to feel that the whole town was theirs. Their Mobile experience was a pleasant memory for the French in after years. There is included in a splendid paper by Gaius Whitfield on