Book Description

Memoirs tell the story of early French exploration into the New World which included villages and ports from New Orleans north to Canada. The characters and their families are dealt with in detail, the genealogists and historian will not be disappointed in this tale with early French coureur-des-bois and voyageurs many with Indian wives as well as major characters in mid-American history. Treason, treachery, counterfeiting, kidnapping, murder and intrigue fill the book. Relationships, courting and early marriages with related families who were the first settlers in the Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher area and the early Louisiana and Illinois territory are woven throughout the narrative. Expect surprise visits by George Washington, LaSalle, Mccarty, Big Harpe, Little Harpe who are infamous as the first serial killers of North America, John Duff the Counterfeiter, John Law, John Dodge, George Rogers Clark, Sam Mason the River Pirate, and the Cave-in-the-Rock Gang, all play unexpected roles in this book.