Legend upon the Cane (13 page)

I have always wanted to tell the story of
Natchitoches’ founding. I was always intrigued by the fact that it
was the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, and that the
event happened so long ago in American history. The pride
Natchitoches has in its history is evident everywhere you go in
town. There is a bust, of St. Denis, displayed in the downtown area
along Front Street. And, of course, the town is adorned with many
fleur-de-lis, the symbol of French influence, all around the town.
There are also many street name signs in French.

As early as my teens, I thought it would be
a neat idea to re-imagine the story and tell it with a fictional
twist with the backdrop of the true and factual events that took
place. Every kid (and adult, for that matter) in town knows, and
has probably seen, the replica of Fort St. Jean-Baptiste near the
campus of Northwestern State. I remember visiting it on a school
field trip when I was a youngster. St. Denis’ history is well
documented, but not much is known about the tribe itself with whom
he befriended. So, after doing much research, I was able to gather
as much information as possible on the tribe. I then took that
information and intertwined as many of the facts into this
fictional story. I tried, as best as possible, to retain all the
factual events in order to preserve the legacy of the town’s
founding.

I hope you enjoyed
reading
Legend Upon the Cane
as much as I did writing it. It was a fun project
to work on and fun for me to imagine living in those early days of
the 18
^th
century, writing the story as it happened. Once again, thank
you.