Marchands on the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence

Neither good nor bad - just an interesting tidbit of history, I'll share with you on New Orleans and the Marchands.

MARCHANDS HELP CLEAR THE SITE OF A CITY
from Marchands on the Mississippi
by (Mayor) Sidney A. Marchand, 1968, Donaldsonville, Louisiana

"Governor Bienville founded the great city of New Orleans in 1718. The Marchands began arriving to assist in the hugh task of removing the trees, stumps and debris from the semi-marshlands which then stood on the site selected by Bienville and his Indian guides, whereon was to rise the great city of New Orleans.

In August 1718, Bienville received about 800 recruits from overseas and everyone pitched in to clear the tangle of trees and underbrush. The Marchands began arriving at the very beginning of the city...Governor Bienville founded the city in 1718, and, in 1719, built a thatched-roof hut on the site of this great metropolis for his personal use...the city was nothing more than a group of huts, shops and small houses."