The World, the Flesh, and the Devil: A History of Colonial St. Louis

376 Pages·2011·2.003 MB·English

by  Patricia Cleary

The World,
the Flesh,
and the Devil

The World,
the Flesh,
and the Devil
a H i s t o ry o f
c o l o n i a l
S t. l o u i s
Patricia cleary
University of MissoUri Press
ColUMbia and london
Copyright © 2011 by
The Curators of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65201
Printed and bound in the United States of America
All rights reserved
5 4 3 2 1 15 14 13 12 11
Cataloging-in-Publication data available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-8262-1913-8
This paper meets the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984.
Designer: Stephanie Foley
Jacket design: Susan Ferber
Typesetter: FoleyDesign
Printer and binder: Thomson-Shore, Inc.
Typefaces: AquilineTwo, Casetellar, and Garamond
For my dearest Hugh

Contents
List of Illustrations …. ix
Acknowledgments …. xi
List of Abbreviations …. xv
Introduction …. 1
Chapter 1 From France to the Frontier …. 10
Chapter 2 Settling “Paincourt”: Indians, the Fur Trade,
and Farms …. 36
Chapter 3 “A Strange Mixture”: Rulers, Misrule, and
Unruly Inhabitants in the 1760s …. 69
Chapter 4 Power Dynamics and the Indian Presence in
St. Louis …. 102
Chapter 5 Sex, Race, and Empire: The Peopling of
St. Louis …. 132
Chapter 6 “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil”:
Conflicts over Religion, Alcohol, and
Authority …. 164
vii
contents / viii
Chapter 7 A Village in Crisis: Conflict and Violence on
the Brink of War …. 192
Chapter 8 “l’Année du Coup”: The “Last Day of St. Louis”
and the Revolutionary War …. 222
Chapter 9 The Struggles of the 1780s …. 249
Chapter 10 St. Louis in the 1790s: The Enemies Within
and Without …. 269
Conclusion “The Devil Take All” or “A Happy Change”?:
The End of European Rule and the American
Takeover …. 305
Afterword …. 327
Bibliography …. 329
Index …. 347
Illustrations
1. Southwestern France …. 12
2. Laclède family home in Bedous, France …. 14
3. “La Grange de Terre.” Big Mound …. 39
4. Colonial Settlements …. 51
5. Louisiana governor Antonio de Ulloa …. 77
6. Louisiana governor Alejandro O’Reilly …. 107
7. Marie Thérèse Bourgeois Chouteau …. 136
8. Marriage outfits of Auguste and Thérèse Cerré
Chouteau …. 158
9. Church and burial ground, 1770 …. 167
10. Lieutenant Governor Francisco Cruzat …. 168
11. “Indian of the Nation of the Kaskaskia,” 1796 …. 290
12. St. Louis, 1796 …. 291
13. “French Habitation in the Country of the Illinois” …. 295
ix