Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/176

 116 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI care for etiquette with which it had been assembled. While on this expedition Governor De Las- sus issued some very strict orders regarding the sale of intoxicants to Indians. He pointed out that the Indians were usually peaceful and law-abiding, except when they had been inflamed by liquor. Trotter, him- self, had been killed by the Indians to whom he had unlawfully sold liquor. In view of these circumstances the governor ordered that there should be only a limited number of tavern and dram-shop keepers ; that they must have an appointment from the gov- ernor, himself, and must be persons of good conduct; that under no pretext whatever, were they to give or sell liquor to the In- dians or slaves. They were ordered to give immediate no- tice of any disorder in their houses to the commandant or nearest syndic. Any person found keeping an unauthorized tavern or dram-shop, or who should have sold liquor unlawfully, was to be both imprisoned and fined, and any person who, whether a keeper of a tavern or dram-shop or any other, should sell or give liquor to Indians was bound to be arrested and sent in irons, at his own ex- pense, to New Orleans ; all his property was to be seized until the matter was decided by the governor-general. The commanders of posts were held responsible for the enforce- ment of these orders. At New Madrid the governor licensed John Baptiste Olive to keep a tavern, in the same district, on the road to Illinois, Mr. Edward Robertson, and at Little Prairie, Mr. Charles Guilbault. The license tax for these persons was to be such a sum as the governor general might fix and this tax was very appropri- ately to be used in the construction of a prison at New Madrid.