The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-14
Daughters of the
 American Revolution

make their home. The spot on which
 the colony landed had probably never before seen the face of a white man. It had been in the possession of the Creek Indians, and the territory on the west of the river still belonged to the IChoctaws. How little suited to conquer ! this virgin forest and to hew homes
 out of this wilderness. were the gal lant Frenchmen and their cultured
 dainty wives, whose hardest task pre- viously had been to dance a stately
 minuet in the mirrored ball rooms of Versailles. However, with wonderful
 courage and indomftable energy, these
 exiles built rude log cabins. and cleared
 patches of ground. and laid off the town which they called Dsmopolis, "the city of the people," A severe blow | that the location of Demopolis was not included in the township set apart for them by their contract, and their im- provements had been made upon land | which did not belong to them. Gen. Chafdes Lefebore Desnout1es, the lead CT of the colony, made a trip to Phila- delphia in their behalf, but could do nothing. Upon his return, these sore- | ly tried people abandoned the homes
 upon which they had spent so much labor. and bravely sought another home above their present one, which they
 named Aigleville, in honor of the stand ard of Napoleon, which bore an eagle | upon it's summit. Among other trials
 there was much sickness. and there is ] now an old cemetery near Demopolis where lie in unmarked graves many of
 the brave men and women. who gave up their lives in the effort to secure @ peaceful home under the Stars and | Stripoa
 One can readily imagine the dis
 comforts which they had to endure. Their ignorance concerning the com
 monest domestic affairs was inevitable.
 Their clothes worn during their daily tasks were most unsuitable; women
 dressed in silk gowns and satin slip pers. were seen dropping corn, or wad- ing in the mud to milk cows, and to most of us who know the consistency of the black tarlike cane brake mud, this is pitiful. The former generals of Napoleon plowed. ditched and cleav- ed land, dressed in richest uniform. In spite of all their trials the French refugees were happy with their native buoyancy. and their rude cabins. orna- mented with books, musical instru- ments and fine china, were scenes night ly Of gay revels where music and dano- ing made their daily tasks seem light Their tables were loaded with luxuries and graced with wines of rare vintage. The neighboring forests and rich gar- den spots, produced everything to tickle the palate and with their skill as cooks left nothing to be desired along those lines. Friends in France sent gifts constantly and upon an arrival the town always seemed a French vil- lage. The cultivation of vines and olive trees proved a failure and the neighboring American squatters looked with covetous eyes upon the French grant which had been sold for $2 per acre and was really much more valua-
 ble. The squatters took possession of portions of this land and tho owners were forced to go into the courts for protection, and in many cases worn out by litigation, they parted with their lands at normal figures. In addition to the encroachment of squatters, there was trouble at Washington. The gov ernment officials had been led to be-
 live, that the colony was @ mere specu-
 lation. In December, 1918, the Secre-
 tary of the Treasury sent 8 communica- tion to the House of Representatives affirming that many of the grantees had transferred their shares and had fol-
 lowed the French generals who were trying to make an establishment on the river Trinity, or had engaged in pursuits which excluded the idea that any other object was contemplated by the young association than sheer specu- lation. Eyed with suspicion by the government, harassed by sQuatters, 1t was impossible for these courageous people longer to continue their efforts at cultivating their lands. The wealthiest and more prominent ones began to seek homes in the neighboring cities, and many of the leaders who had been prescribed by the Bourbons, returned to Europe. The colony was now disinlegrated and the wife of the elegant Lefevre Desnoutles, a sister of the banker, Lafitte, who had not been allowed to follow her husband to America, at last procured permission for him to reside in Belgium. This brilliant general was the most beloved of all by Napoleon, whose fortunes he had followed from Marengo to Water loo. He was condemned to death, but
 found a refuge in America. The per sonal relations that existed between him and Napoleon were of the most intimate nature. Napoleon left him 15OOOO francs in his will On their return from Moscow, they shared the same carriage, and when Napoleon bade adieu to his sorrowing officers at Fon-
 tainebleu he said "I cannot take leave of you all, but will embrace General Desmonettes in behalf of all" In his pioneer home at Demopolis General Desmonettes had a cabin near his residence which he call his sanctuary and in its center he had bronze figure of Napoleon, while around the room
 hung flags, swords, pistols and other trophies of battle. It was his habit to repair to this room at a certain hour
 each day, there to live over in painful retrospection the past. In person he was erect in figure, handsome Of feature, graceful in bearing, with won derful magnetism of manner. He set sail in 1923 on the ship Albion to re-
 join his devoted wife, but the ship was
 vrecked off the coast of Ireland and he met a watery death. Although the
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