Francois Derbanne's Party Attacked by Apaches on Journey from Natchitoches to the Rio Grande

Interpreter in uniform of a French Marine at Ft. St Jean Baptiste

Posted by Doyle Bailey for Tour Natchitoches with Barbara

Francois Derbanne's journey in 1717 from Natchitoches to the Rio Grand would have made a great script for Director John Ford with Derbanne played by the "Duke", John Wayne. In his own words the intrepid explorer writes:

"On the 8th (of April, 1717) we made 8 leagues (12 miles), we crossed Red River (or Colorado)...which is very wide when it is high and the woods on both sides are willows, ash and oak...After crossing it, we were attacked by sixty Indians, all on horseback, whom the Spaniards call Apaches".

Details of the attack include:

• Derbanne's party dismounted to defend themselves
• The Apaches shot many arrows but saw that Derbanne and his companions would not run and that they would not hand over their goods
• the Apaches "decided to go steal the mules, which were following behind us and were not loaded".
• The Indians had no trouble stealing the mules for there was only one Spaniard to drive them. They carried him off with them "and vanished with the twenty-three mules".

On the 21st, Derbanne records "We crossed the Rio Grands and came to the Presidio, where there is a captain and thirty soldiers and two missions...The Rio Grande is a fine river, deep enough for a pirogue at all seasons (a fact that would have been greatly appreciated by Derbanne due to the problems of navigating the Red River when the water level was low)...it is 200 paces wide".

When you Tour Natchitoches with Barbara, she will tell you other stories about her grandfather, Francois Derbanne (nine generations removed), and should you choose, show you the historically accurate replica of the French Fort St Jean Baptiste in Natchitoches.

To contact Barbara, go {here}

THE FRENCH CAME TO NATCHITOCHES IN 1714. NOW IT'S YOUR TURN

Add Value to Your Natchitoches Tour By Engaging A Tour Guide

Posted by Doyle Bailey for Tour Natchitoches with Barbara

Natchitoches is a great place for sightseeing tours. Add value to an already valued tour when you:

1. Engage Barbara as your Natchitoches Tour Guide. For nine generations her family has been in Natchitoches, since the founding of the original French settlement in 1714. She knows the sites, studies the history and can tell you the fascinating stories of this French Colonial City.

2.Ensure that you see the places that most interest you and that you use the time to best advantage. All of Barbara's Tours are customized especially for her guests. Your tour starts when you are ready and not on someone else's schedule.

3. Encourage your family and friends to come to Natchitoches for a tour of adventure and discovery. Barbara's tours are reasonably priced but you get an even better value by cost sharing since she does not charge a per person fee.

4. Endear your self to your group by knowing the best places to eat, shop and relax. Barbara can help you with all of this. She will even help you to find a Bed and Breakfast or a hotel for your visit to Natchitoches.

Remember that the best way to add value to your Natchitoches tour is to Tour Natchitoches with Barbara. Click {here} for more information.

From Natchitoches to the Rio Grande with Francois Derbanne

Posted by Doyle Bailey for Tour Natchitoches with Barbara



This is part two of three posts about a journey undertaken in November of 1716 by Francois Derbanne from Natchitoches, Louisiana to the Rio Grande.

Francois Derbanne resumes his account of this amazing journey on March 22, 1717. He writes:

"We passed that day the last Spanish mission where there are two Recollect priests. We crossed two rivers, which are fairly large but cannot carry pirogues. That day's journey we made ten leagues (fifteen miles) to the South-West...."

Derbanne further observes:

• on the 23rd they caught up with the mules, they had left two days earlier.
• he clarifies that mules do not make more than 6 or 7 leagues a day and if they do more it is only because they need water.
• the mules load is 300 livres (a French monetary unit equal to one pound of silver),

Of the mules Derbanne wrote:

"They start off at eight or nine o'clock in the morning, and they make camp at three o'clock in the afternoon. We made 9 leagues that day".

Of the following day Derbanne records the following:

• "on the 24th. we made nine leagues, we crossed the river which the Spaniards call the Trinity...very much spread our-150 paces wide...it had little water, but there are times when it is very dangerous. It floods a wide area of bottom lands, its banks are beautiful prairaies; the woods which border it are oak and walnut."On the 25th we were stopped by the rain".

The record of the journey continues from March 26th to April 2, 1717. Highlights include:

• beautiful country and very fine woods and prairies
• wild beeves (cattle) which became a food source for the party
• most days they traveled about 5 leagues

What a journey of adventure, discovery and exploration! If you have something of the adventurer and explorer in you and would like to discover historic Natchitoches, contact Barbara and she will be your tour guide and start you on your sight-seeing journey. She is a ninth generation descendant of Francois Derbanne and his spirit lives on in her.

Tour Natchitoches with Barbara specializes in:

• Tours of French Creole Plantations on the Cane River
• "Steel Magnolias" Tours of all the filming sites of the movie in Natchitoches.
• Tours of Ft. St. Jean Baptiste Derbanne left for his journey to the Rio Grande from here.
• Customized Tours to fit your schedule, interests and budget including Tours in Spanish

{click here for contact info}

THE FRENCH CAME TO NATCHITOCHES IN 1714. NOW IT'S YOUR TURN

Tour Natchitoches with Barbara Traces An Amazing Journey To The Rio Grande

Posted by Doyle Bailey for
Tour Natchitoches with Barbara ( Number 1 of 3)

Photo at Right is of a historically accurate replica of Ft St Jean Baptiste in Natchitoches.


François Derbanne (d’Erbanne or d’Herbanne) ), was a French Canadian who explored the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers and was prominent in early Mobile and Natchitoches.

He is most often noted for his trek across Texas in 1717, of which he wrote an account.

"We left Natchitoches on November 22, 1716, and we arrived on January 22 at Assinais. I reckon the distance from one village to the other as 55 leagues. The country is good enough; there are small mountains, mixed woods: pines, oaks, walnut trees and some white-wood trees (such) as are in Canada. The trail is very good, and its direction is West and Southwest...".

Some observations:

• a league is about 1 1/2 miles. The journey of two months mentioned by Derbanne covered 55 leagues or about 82 miles. That would be an average of about a mile and a quarter a day.

• He states "the trail is very good" so there were obviously other reasons for the slow pace. Derbanne was a keen observer and may have taken his time to observe the terrain and the people. He was scouting out trade routes. This desire for trade got St Denis arrested and taken as a prisoner to Mexico City but that is another story and another journey.

Derbaine writes in his account of the journey:

"We left the Assinais, where there are Spanish priests and a captain with 25- soldiers, on March 22, 1717 for the Rio Grande." ( to be continued)

Observations:.Barbara is a ninth generation descendant of Francois Derbanne and will be delighted to take you and your group on your sightseeing tour of Natchitoches when you contact Tour Natchitoches with Barbara.

Contact Barbara: (318) 352 5469 or (318) 663 5468

Text Barbara: (318) 663 5468

E Mail Barbara: info@tournatchitocheswithbarbara.com

Natchitoches, Cane River, Plantations and the Creole Community

Posted by Doyle Bailey for Tour Natchitoches with Barbara

Rivers played an important role in the exploration and settlement of the North American continent. In the Louisiana Purchase Territory:

• French and Spanish settlements were strategically located along waterways and overland trade routes.
• Eventually, settlers built plantations along the banks of the Red River and imported enslaved Africans to work the fertile land.
• In was in this setting that Louisiana's Cane River Creole culture was born.
  
• Cane River Lake winds a serpentine route through the Cane River National Heritage Area where 300 years of fascinating history are etched in a rural landscape of plantations, homes and churches.
• The Isle Brevelle community, home and heart of the Natchitoches Cane River Creole Community and for Creoles who live all over the United States, has marvelous sites to see like the Badin-Roque House, Melrose Plantation, the St. Augustine Catholic Church and Cemetery and marvelous stories to tell.

THE FRENCH CAME TO NATCHITOCHES IN 1714. NOW IT'S YOUR TURN

Contact Tour Natchitoches with Barbara and Barbara will help you plan your customized tour that fits your schedule, interests and budget. {Click here} for contact information.