Bienville wages 1716 First Natchez War from flooded Mississippi River island by Stanley Nelson - posted Thursday, November 12th, 2009 @ 7:53 am  E-mail Story |  Print Story  In April 1716 a dozen signs were placed along the banks of the Mississippi warning voyagers that there was trouble on the river. The signs were composed by French commander Bienville while he was encamped on an island near the western bank of the river. Some historians have assumed this location was Natchez Island, about three miles below the twin bridges connecting Natchez and Vidalia today. This island, which is identified on some 18th Century maps as Bienville Island and was then about 1.8 miles or more in length, has since merged with the Louisiana shore. However, historian Jack Elliott's examination just this past week of a journal from the 1716 campaign indicates that Bienville's island camp may have been about 50-60 miles further downriver near the Tonikas (Tunica) villages and the confluence with the Red River. Natchez Indian historian Jim Barnett says this discovery leads to another question: How did Natchez Island became known as Bienville's Island within three years of Bienville's expedition? Five Frenchmen had been murdered by the Natchez Indians most likely because of a faux pas by Louisiana Gov. Lamothe, who refused to smoke the peace pipe, which the Natchez considered a declaration of war. Bienville feared that more French and Canadian voyagers traveling through Natchez country were in danger. The First Natchez War had begun and Bienville would direct a three-month campaign against the Natchez from this small island. Determined to keep the river lifeline between the Gulf and Canada open and to vindicate the murders with eye-for-an-eye justice, Bienville rushed to warn river voyagers of the present day dangers. When a Canadian and an Illinois Indian traveling northward in a dugout stopped by Bienville's encampment, the commander asked them to post this message along the river: "The Natchez have declared war on the French and M. de Bienville is encamped among the Tonikas." The message was written in big characters on 12 large sheets of parchment and may have represented the first recorded use of signs -- tiny billboards basically -- ever posted along the Mississippi River. Why Bienville chose an island during a high water as his base is a logistical question that historians wonder about today. It was spring and the river was rising. In fact, one of Bienville's subordinates, Captain Louis Poncereau De Richebourg, wrote that the "overflow of the Mississippi began to inundate all the land of the island where we were encamped. There was a half foot of water above the highest land. This caused us much fever, illness in the legs, and colic (on account of) always having the feet in cold water, through excessive heats. M. de Bienville, not being able to remain in his tent, had a cabin made surrounding with palings (palisades) and covered with the bark of trees." Bienville also constructed three sheds -- one to store provisions and arms, one as a shelter for the troops and one for a prison. Barnett believes Bienville chose the island base because it provided him with protection against a surprise attack. Bienville's force totaled only 34 soldiers and 15 sailors against a Natchez army with the potential strength of 800-plus warriors. Additionally, Bienville wanted to draw the chiefs believed to have ordered the murders to his encampment where he planned to take them hostage. This he masterfully accomplished. One thing you can say about Bienville -- he had nerves of steel. Imagine Bienville, sick with a fever, making demands of the Indians in their homeland with the Mighty Mississippi rising under his feet as factions of the Natchez made war on the French. By June Bienville completed his campaign for justice on his terms -- five Natchez were beheaded and the tribe was compelled to supply materials and construct Fort Rosalie. Among the men he executed was the chief called The Bearded, the leader of an anti-French, pro-British faction of the Natchez who lived in the northern reaches of Natchez territory possibly near present-day Rodney in Jefferson County. Incarcerated in the makeshift jail on the island, The Bearded displayed absolutely no fear of death even when his execution neared. Wrote De Richebourg: "The Bearded ceased for a moment singing his death song and sang that of war. He related his great deeds against different nations and the number of scalps he had carried away." He also boasted of being responsible for the death of the five Frenchmen and expressed regret that he had not killed more. Among the Indian hostages on the island was The Bearded's nephew, the Tattooed Serpent, whose life was spared and who became a staunch French ally. He listened to The Bearded's chants before turning to Bienville and remarking that he wasn't bothered by the impending execution. He told Bienville: "You are ridding us of a bad man." (Stanley Nelson can be reached at hannapub@bellsouth.net)