The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-14

lBut the party passed too near Fori Tonfouee. Monksbeant was oDnmand4l
 of fhe fort and tho Indians casno d him. with tales of the Erench soidiern passing neer the fort He took hts
 men and followed them. Beaudrot just prsvious to this had been allowed to return to Mobile. but sisnsd by the rnutinssfs sayins that hs
 had bssn forced by them to act as guide. and what he hsd done had bees against his will But this proved again precaution.
 The Fort Touiouse garrison fen upon the matinesre. several. were Killed, sevefai were captured and brought to Fort Tcuiouse. Besudr6t the guide
 inaie hts way through the wild country Mobile whers hs slipped into his cabin
 undiscovered and rspnafned in hiding.
 But the three nutfneers were sent
 down tha river to Mobile, Beepdrot
 was captured ana the four put on
 trial The innocent guiis was cruelty
 put to death with the othsrs. and. his-
 tory says In a horrible manner.
 PMTEagTB AT, TMM FORT.
 Wesare to remember ti1st except for
 the priests in, the train of De Soto pRnorame of his bloody march across
 Alabama, religion was 'first taught in Middle Alabama at Fort rou1ouse. The
 Fort had It's mission In spreading state
 religion of France as much At extends ing trade end malntfng influence. The. greater part of the time priests were sationed ct Fort Toulouse and they
 were mainly members of the Jesuit
 order, some of whom never worked
 in harmony with the authorities at Mobile or the coxs1mandants at Fort Toulouse. We catch . glimpse of . dramatic scene when Monbsreaut the commander discovered that Father fss Roi of that order gravely and seriously srraigning Monberaut's conduct of the fort and the conduct of the msn 2. mong the Indians. The commandant secured the letter. IIe called Le Rot to his presence and shekig it in his face drove him from the fort.
 So much for the romance and the tragedy of the fort Asuuredly there
 ia more of it in the story of this de-. serted spot wl,ere the game of nations
 was played had we the time to indulge our inclination.
 There are those of us who may envy Mr. Hamilton tho thrill Of his finds in the investigation of ancient and musty records discerning a line here living. loving sud dying In civilization's outpost among the savages three cen- turies ago. We ceuid not fall to be intefezted in the item of this officer of the forts being married in Mobile nor in the naines on the church re- gtstsr as witnesses of. the marriage. Nor could we bs indifferent to the Item that baby had been sent down by an offacer Of the fort to. be baptized In old church register there was Mr. old Church register there was Mfr. 4e~a ,slE nfs.x. it was the mine in which. he deifyed the deepest and. from which he drew the richest rewards for his endeavor. And through his studies we get "a glimpse of the life, the affairs and the concerns 0f French and their Swiss sold- iers among fhe Alabamas.
 We wonder why the Ofiice of ..sgarde at the fort. was held in such high esteem but that it was held high ly we may not doubt. And we are ss Of I m,os. s Ieden ~so hslS the office in 1737. of Jean Charles rrouiIlet who succeeded him and of Alexandre Du Parust. wh0 hela the place in 1757.
 And what manner of men were 1iIiement. Marchand. Monbereauf. Man l ievilis and others who commanded l he old fort It was left 10 q newer nd a different civilization 10 preserve l he naraes. at least. of those who eama | irst of all white men into . new afd 1 Iavage land.
 The French left no permanent sm- press in Middle Aiabanaa as they did n Mobile, in New Orleans ana along | he coast. The Jesuit missionaries ia | heir half century of work at Fort soulouse won no foothold for their hurch among the red men. An aban- toned fort. partly burned and demo- fshed, . few spiked cannors and some | 1emories among the Indians were all hat the French left ct Toulouse but | Iame in the history of the State and | Ye may not forget it or ingnore it.
 ANE0Ys THE ENGLISH.
 The garrison and the fort has been escribed as "a thorn In the flesh of ! he English" and we many well believe
 The fort 50 Hamilton tells us. was 'uilt Of loss and earthwoFiE. having our bastions and mounting the eight ennons. The same authority shows hat the garrison usually consisted of | wenty-six or thirty commanded by 'aptain and an ensign with a priest in ttendance.
 This was the farthest point east that French influence in the South ever I timed Nowhere else did the French enetrate so far and trench upon the 'nglish infiuence. With nrm footing . the east the Atlantic coast the Eng E sh endeRvored to establish the influence | mong the Alahamas and Co them the 'rench fort was sver source of harRin. Coxe declares that the decline the English influence among the outhern Indians dated from the build- lE of the fort and the activity that | romoted and naaintainea it form Mobile he English sought to onset this in- uence by building and garriaoning a prt on the Taliapoosa River near and for ysars the two ations on Alabama soil, like the fontagues and the Capulets "bit their iumbs" at each other. But the Eng sh were not 50 fortunate in thaif deai- lgs with the French as Indians aG the rench and their influence until the nal evaucation of Fort Toulouse was scondary to that of the English.
 In 1762 the French defeated by tfe nglieh in their wars to the North sded their claims 10 territory ir tue nfted States. Fort Toulouse passed out existence as . result of the success the English arms on other fields he order reached the colnmandsn6 Of fe fort in 17s3.
 pr. W. g. Wyman. of Tuscaloosa . - lT - ---------------- !