Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/141

 CHAPTER VII DISTRICT OF NEW MADRID Its Boundaries — "L'Anse a la Graise" — The LeSieurs — Situation of New MjVdrid — Colonel George Morgan — Grant to Morgan — His Expectation of Profit — His De- scription OP the Site — The Survey op the Town — Opposition of Wilkinson and Miro — New Madrid Falls into Hands op Miro — Letter of La Forge — The Commandants OP the Post — Emigrants Who Came With Morgan — The LeSieur Family — The La Forges — Joseph Michel — Robert McCov — Richard Jones Waters — Tardiveau — Other Settlers — Robert Goah Watson — Military Companies — Other Settlements in New Madrid County — Little Prairie — Settlements in Scott County — Town Near Sikeston — Benton — Joseph Hunter — Tywappity Bottoms — Mississippi County Settlements- Spanish Land Grants — The King's Highway. As originally defined by the Spanish in the grant to Morgan, the District of New Madrid extended from the Cinque Homme, south to the mouth of the St. Francois, and west a distance of ten or fifteen miles, though the western lioundary was not exactly located. Out of the north part of this district was carved the District of Cape Girardeau and after this was done New ^Madrid District was bounded on the north by Tywappity Bot- toms. The exact line between Cape Girar- deau district and New Madrid district was, however, for a long time a matter of dispute. It was finally settled by the governor-general and located at a point about five miles south of the present town of Commerce. The west- ern boundary was left unsettled ; however, the district was generally understood to ex- tend as far west as there were settlements. As we have seen in discussing the boundary of the District of Cape Girardeau, there was an attempt made by the commandants of New Madrid to extend their authority over all the territory west of the St. Francois river and to confine Cape Girardeau district be- tween the St. Francois and the Mississippi. The southern boundary of the District of New Madrid was generally understood as about the present southern boundary of the state. It was fixed not liy any order or en- actment but by the fact that settlements ex- tended only about that far to the south. The first settlement in this district was made in 1783 by Francois and Joseph Le- Sieur, two Canadian trappers and traders who had been accustomed to come to the ter- ritory about the present site of New Madrid for the purposes of hunting and trading with the Indians. Other hunters and traders also visited this place which is situated in a great bend of the river. Before any settle- 81