thus made, I proceeded to put the petitioner in the possession of the depth granted to him by the foregoing decree; to the effect of which I went back to the upper line, common with Francis Duhan, in whose presence I found out the boundaries set by me on the 22d December, 1773, and which still exist in the same situation, distance, and direction, both of mulberry wood -the first *** at the distance of thirty-seven toises or fathoms and two feet from the actual bank of the river, and the second *** at one arpent or thirty toises more in the back; afterwards, I continued in the same line and in the aforesaid direction of north fifty degrees west, to the depth of forty arpens, opening to that effect a small road through the woods, at which place I caused to be driven two feet and a half into the earth a boundary of cypress wood ***; and at the further distance of two arpens, that is, at forty two arpens from the river, I set another boundary, similar in all its circumstances to the one just spoken of. This line being thus drawn, I went to the lower one, com mon with Michel Chiasson, whom I also called, and, after measuring the seven arpens which, by decree of the 27th September last, the governot aforesaid granted to him, I caused two boundaries of mulberry wood to be driven in the said line, the first ** at the distance of twenty toises from the actual bank of the river, and the second at the distance of twenty toises more in the depth; after that I continued the said line through the wood, in the same direction of north seventy degrees east, to the deph of forty arpens, at which point I caused to be driven two and a half feet into the earth a boundary of cypress wood ***; and at the further distance of two other arpens, that is, at the distance of fortytwo arpens from the river, I caused another boundary, of the same size and similar in all its circumstances to the foregoing, to be driven into the earth, in order that the direction may not deviate. And, in order that all the above may appear, I give the present certificate, which I have signed, with the said petitioner, Maurice Conway, and the said commandant and interpreter in this transaction, Louis Judice, the said Indian chief, named Calabe, and the two adjoining neighbors, Francis Duhan and Michel Chiasson, having declared not to know how to sign: all which I do attest, at the aforesaid coast or district, the day and year above written." The procès-verbal is accordingly signed by Andry, Conway, and Judice.

It is much to be regretted that the figurative plan or sketch referred to by Andry, and which he delivered to Conway, had not been preserved, or, if still in existence, that it had not been produced as a part of the evi dence in the case. In the absence of that paper, it will become necessary to examine the procès verbal, or official certificate of survey, with more care; it being the only mode of ascertaining the lines actually run on the occasion, and the monuments set in the field in pursuance of the decree of Unzaga, and the essential foundation of all the initiatory proceedings upon which the grant is based. Of necessity there must be some guide to ascertain the boundaries of the tract, or the whole proceeding would be void for uncertainty. There is not, at present, in the case any other evidence than this certificate, upon which we can rely for this information. On the 21st June, 1777, Galvez, the then governor of Louisiana, made the grant, which is in the following terms:

"Bernardo de Galvez, colonel of the battalion of infantry of Louisiana, governor, intendant and inspector general pro tempore thereof. Having seen the foregoing proceedings of the second adjutant of this place, the

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Captain Louis Andry, concerning the possession which he has given to Maurice Conway, by virtue of the foregoing decree, issued by my predecessor, of all the vacant land behind or in the rear of the forty first arpens which he possesses, by ninety six arpens in front on the river, running in the same direction as these; and whereas the same is conformable to the rules made touching surveying of lands and adjoining neighbors, so that no injury is done to said neighbors, who, far from having made any opposition, have consented to the said operations, of which I do hereby approve; and using the faculty that the King has given me, I grant, in his royal name, to the said Maurice Conway, the said land behind or in the rear of the forty arpens which are contained in his plantation, situated in the district of Lafourche, by ninety six in front on the river, following the same direction as those, in order that, as his own property, he may dispose or enjoy the same conformably to the said operations, and complying with the conditions prescribed in the ordinances made on the subject of lands."

Another translation of the petition, order of survey, procès-verbal of the survey, and the grant, is to be found in Clarke's Land Laws, p. 954, substantially the same as that furnished by the claimants.

The survey upon which the grant was made bears date the 9th October, 1776, and in tracing this title I have omitted any reference to a small tract of six by forty arpens, situate on the upper side of the Houmas claim, which Conway purchased of Landry on the 18th of October, 1776. The purchase having been made nine days after the survey of Andry, and of course subsequent to all the initiatory proceedings upon which the grant to Conway was made, it can in no way affect any conclusion that may be formed upon the terms of this grant; nor does it appear to be embraced in the range of this investigation.

Having thus shown the origin of this claim, it is only necessary here to remark, that under the grant the claimants insist they are entitled to a tract of country on the left bank of the Mississippi river, with a front of a league and one seventh, and with a depth extending to the rivers Amite and (berville, and Lake Maurepas, the side lines diverging from the front north fifty degrees west on the upper side, and north seventy degrees east on the lower side, to the rear boundary aforesaid, and including by estimation more than one hundred and eighty thousand acres. (See plat annexed; marked A.)

1

The United States acquired the territory at that time known as the province of Louisiana, by the treaty concluded at Paris, the 30th April, 1803, and it was formally delivered to the United States on the 20th De cember of the same year. By that treaty it was stipulated that the inhabitants should be incorporated into the Union, and admitted as soon as possible to the rights of citizenship, and that "in the mean time they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and the religion which they profess."

Subsequent to the treaty, and in anticipation of the delivery of the territory, Congress passed the act of the 31st October, 1803, entitled "An act to enable the President of the United States to take possession of the territories ceded by France to the United States," by the treaty aforesaid, "and for the temporary government thereof." (2) Stats. at Large, 245.) The second section provides "that, until the expiration of the present session of Congress, unless provision for the temporary government of the said territories be sooner made by Congress, all the military, civil, and judicial powers exercised by the officers of the existing government of the same shall be vested in such person and persons, and shall be exercised in such manner, as the President of the United States shall direct, for maintaining and protecting the inhabitants of Louisiana in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion." William C. C. Claiborne, of Mississippi, was duly appointed governor of Louisiana on the same day the act passed.

Shortly after the surrender of the province, and the appointment of Mr. Claiborne as governor, William Donaldson, in behalf of himself, William Marrener, and Patrick Conway, describing themselves as owners of a tract of land called the Houmas, presented their petition to Governor Clai borne, stating the grant of the tract to Maurice Conway, and that, "being desirous of ascertaining the outlines and boundaries of the said land, with such precision as to avoid any interference with the proprietors of neighboring grants, and thereby prevent expensive disputes, humbly prays that your excellency will be pleased to permit the said William Marrener, or such other person as may be appointed for that purpose, to survey the said tract of land, and mark the boundaries thereof; and at the same time that directions may be given to the proprietors of the adjoining patents to show their boundaries to the said surveyor, that he may avoid any interference therewith, and to the commandant of the district to protect him from all illegal disturbances in the prosecution of said work."

Upon this petition Governor Claiborne made the subjoined order: "The proprietors of land adjoining the tract within mentioned are requested to show their respective boundaries, and the commandant of the district, if necessary, will extend to the surveyor his protection."

The petition and order are without dates, in the form in which I find them, in Senate Doc. No. 45, 2d session 28th Congress, p. 20. This is the first account we have of the claim under this government.

It was subsequently laid before the commissioners appointed under the act of 3d March, 1805, when it was claimed in three several parcels-the upper tract by William Donaldson and John W. Scott, the middle by Daniel Clarke, and the lower by William Conway.

In order to present a full view of this case, it now becomes necessary to examine certain surveys and ancient conveyances, which were laid before the commissioners, and have since been relied on as supporting the views of the claimants in regard to the extent of the grant

1st. The Donaldson and Scott tract. - On the 28th December, 1804, a certain Bartholemew Lafon, alleging himself to be a surveyor commissioned by Governor Claiborne, certified a plat and certificate of survey of this tract, conformably, as he says, to a survey made by William Marrener on the 27th June, 4th August, and 3d December, 1804, and to measurements executed by himself on the Iberville, which he describes in the plat as the northern boundary, carrying back the depth to that river, making the length of the upper line four hundred and sixty arpens and fifteen toises, and the lower line three hundred and eighty arpens. The copy of this certificate will be found in the proceedings before said board, as printed in Senate Doc. No. 45, p. 17. See also plat B, hereunto annexed.

The first title papers laid before the commissioners in reference to this tract consist of certain proceedings relating to a judicial sale in the matter of the estate of Colonel Gilbert Anthony St. Maxent, of which a certified

copy in Spanish is among the papers, and a printed translation is annexed to the aforesaid memorial of the heirs of Wade Hampton, p. 24. There is recited in the proceedings what purports to be a clause of the will of St. Maxent, which is given in the following words: "I declare for the effects which may be proper to have among my property, a plantation in the place called Houmas, at about eighteen leagues from this city, which I purchased for the price of six thousand dollars from Maurice Conway, about seven years ago, by act passed in one of the notaries' offices of this city aforesaid, measuring eighteen arpens in front, by upwards of four leagues in depth." The conveyance referred to by Maurice Conway to St. Maxent is not given.

The extract from the will of St. Maxent is followed by an authenticated copy of a petition of Peter de Marigny, with the order thereon, which, according to the certificate, appears in folio 276 of the proceedings. It is not shown to whom the petition was addressed; but it sets forth that no more than fifteen hundred dollars had been bid for the plantation, and that he thinks it will be proper to suspend the adjudication thereof until the month of November then next. It further states that, by the clause of the will of St. Maxent before quoted, the said plantation measured eighteen arpens front, by upwards of four leagues in depth; that it had been appraised at the sum of four thousand five hundred dollars; whereas the sum which had been bid for it was but the half of the two thirds at which it was appraised; and that perhaps the inhabitants, "being ignorant of the depth be. longing to the said plantation, have not made the biddings according to the value which that depth must give it." He therefore prays that an order issue to Cantrelle, the commandant of the post, containing this representation and the decree thereon, and directing him to have the plantation cried for sale until August next; to send circulars to the neighboring posts to receive the biddings of the bidders respectively; and, informing every one of the depth, to cause the same to be adjudged in whole or in parts, which biddings in the month of August he should forward to the proper tribunal, that the adjudication might be made conformably thereto, on the terms of credit to be granted, and on the securities to be required from the purchasers. The decree thereon was, "Let it be done as prayed for." On folio 378, which, let it be observed, is subsequent to the foregoing petition, there is the following entry: "And as for the lands of the Houmas, let the order prayed for be issued, inserting therein the contents of the foregoing writing; and let appraisers be appointed, who, after they have accepted of their appointment, and promised, under oath, to discharge well and faithfully the duties incumbent on them, shall proceed to appraise said lands, which shall be sold for cash in case more than two-thirds of their appraisement value be bid for them; and the proceeds of the sale shall be forwarded by the first secure opportunity.

"JOHN VENTURA MORALES,
"LICENTIATE MANUEL SERRANO."

Morales was Intendant of the royal revenue; and this decree seems to have been addressed to Evan Jones, the then commandant of the parish of Lafourche.

On the 1st of August, 1798, Jones received the order on his way to the city of New Orleans, and, in a communication to the Intendant, states that there are two persons in the city sufficiently acquainted with the quality and circumstances of the land; therefore, the Intendant could order, if he thought proper, that they appraise the same. (See Hampton's memorial, p. 25.)

On the 3d of August, 1798, in consequence of the above, the Intendant directed the lands to be appraised by Simon Ducorneau and Alexo Lesassier. The said Ducorneau and Lesassier, accordingly, appraised the land before a notary, describing it at about twenty four leagues from the city, and "that, considering that the said lands measure about twentynine arpens in front by upwards of four leagues in depth, they do appraise the same, after consultation and agreement between them, at the sum of twenty-four hundred dollars, the said land being now uninhabited, with out any buildings or improvements whatsoever thereon; which price they appraise it at, as the one which they consider it is worth, and no more. Thereupon, the following decree was made: "The present notary shall call on the printer, and, showing him the foregoing appraisement, he will cause him to publish in his Gazette a notice informing the public that the sale of said lands shall take place on the 13th instant, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, at this Intendant's house.

"MORALES."

The notary accordingly caused the following notice to be published in the Gazette of the 9th August, 1798:

"For sale: A land, of twenty nine arpens in front, by about four leagues in depth, situated at twenty-four leagues from New Orleans," &c. On folio 382, under date of the 6th of August, 1798, there appears the following decree: "Whereas the foregoing decree is to be executed only in case Evan Jones, commandant of Lafourche, should not have been able to sell said lands, let an order directed to him issue, containing the appraisement and this decree, directing him to proceed to the said sale, for cash, provided the price bidden for it be upwards of the two-thirds of the appraised value, there being no higher bidder, to pay the sum due for the making of the levee, causing the receipt thereof to be annexed to the proceedings, which, together with the balance of the proceeds of said sale, shall be forwarded to this tribunal, and to give due notice before the thirteenth instant, conformably to what has been already decreed on this subject.

"JOHN VENTURA MORALES, "LICENTIATE SERRANO."

It appears, however, that Commandant Jones had sold the land on the 12th of August, 1798; and it is worthy of special notice that, in his final act of sale, or title-paper to the purchaser, to complete his action, and the one upon which all the rights acquired by the purchaser depend, he describes the land sold by him "as measuring twenty-nine arpens in front by the depth which could be found." (Sen. Doc. No. 45, p. 17. See, also, translation annexed to Hampton's memorial, p. 26.)

Louis Faure having bid $1,650, more than two-thirds of the appraised value, and no person outbidding him, the said commandant adjudged the said land to Faure and his heirs forever, and signed the act of sale.

The next title paper produced before the board of commissioners is a conveyance by Faure to John W. Scott, dated 2d June, 1803. (See Span ish copy, Senate Doc. No. 45, p. 18.) This describes the land as "a front of twenty nine arpens upon all the depth which can be found."