Note 64 — Chapter I · (continued 2)

Natchez is never mentioned by the French writers except with expressions of admiration for its soil, climate, and situation. Dumont (vol. ii. p. 63) says “the land at Natchez is the best in the province. This establishment had begun to prosper.” The number of killed at the massacre is stated at “more than two hundred” by Father Le Petit (Lettres édifiantes, xx. 151). Writers like Dumont and Le Page du Pratz state the number at more than seven hundred. Even the smaller number is probably an exaggeration. The value of the tobacco produced at Natchez is alluded to in Champigny; but the place does not seem to have rallied from this blow. Bossu, in 1751, speaks of the fertility of its soil, “if it were cultivated.”