The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898 Page: 211
334 p. : ill., ports., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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WVho Was Juchereau de Saint Denis?
211
To Monsieur the governor-general and to Monsieur the inten-
dant:
"The undersigned directors-general of the company of the col-
ony of France, humbly show that they have received information
that M. de Juchereau, lieutenant-general of Montreal, has obtained
permission from the king to make an establishment on the Missis-
sippi River, and to send there twenty-four men in eight canoes, or
to take them with him to establish tanneries; and that he may send
three canoes to Montreal every year to bring him those things which
he may need. On which the said directors most humbly beg to re-
mark that Sieur Le Sueur obtained permission to go to the same
place for the discovery of mines, should there be any in those re-
gions. He was forbidden, as is the said Sieur Juchereau, to traffic
in beaver skins, which commerce he has now carried on for more
than three years, since he received the aforesaid permission, without
having done anything at all towards the exploitation of said mines,
having devoted himself solely to the traffic in pelts, which he has
sent to his correspondents at Montreal. But if the said Le Sueur
has caused great hurt by this commerce, the said Sieur Juchereau
will cause considerably more, since, leaving Montreal with eight
canoes, he will obtain the best bargains in the trade with the sav-
ages, buying the better furs, which he will send back immediately
to Montreal, if he be permitted, as he is in fact permitted, to send
three canoes every year. And, if such grants abound, the conse-
quence will be that those who have obtained them will do all the
trading. The Sieur de Ia Forest is evident proof; he was only to
trade at the Illinois. But in reality he has a house at Michilli-
mackinac, where he openly trades with the savages at that place
and surrounding country, and under pretext of going or send-
ing to the Illinois, he received at Michillimackinac the merchan-
dise, making bargains with those who are in charge before a notary,
afterwards he makes his private bargains with them to barter the
goods in secret with all the savages indifferently. Thus all these
grants will ruin the entire commerce of the country, and will make
it impossible for the company to sustain the expense which it must
bear to keep the post of Detroit, and to pay the sum of six thousand
livres which his Majesty has ordered to be given to the poor families
of this country. If the said Sieur de Juchereau says that he will
not deal in beaver skins, it is not credible that he can keep his
promise, since it is too difficult to pass among the nations who have
them, without buying them, giving them at the low prices they
ask.
"Moreover, it is impossible to know this, on account of the diffi-
culty of employing persons in a country so far away from this place,
as they will cost us too much, when they can remain here without
any danger of their lives. If the aforesaid Sieur de Juchereau had
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898, periodical, 1897/1898; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101009/m1/233/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.