Hostilities were renewed in 1722, but Bienville burnt the Apple village and again compelled them to punish the guilty. In 1729 the tyranny of Chopart, who wished the site of one of the villages for his own use, led to a conspiracy in which apparently the Choctaws and Chickasaws were engaged. On Nov. 28 the Natchez began a general massacre of the French, killing all the men except 20 who escaped and two or three kept for service; a few women were killed, but most were kept as prisoners, and the negro slaves were adopted. Their kindred Tensas had disappeared before 1712 as a distinct tribe, and do not appear in these troubles; but the Yazoos and Chickasaws joined the Natchez, while the Choctaws joined the French and were first in the field. Lesueur, a Canadian officer, raised a large Choctaw force, and marching into the Natchez territory attacked the enemy Jan. 27, 1730, killed 80, and recovered many captives and slaves. The chevalier de Loubois soon after came up with the colonial troops that had been raised at New Orleans, moved slowly up the Mississippi to the Tonicas, and after some delay finally on Feb. 13 besieged the Natchez forts. He showed little vigor, and after obtaining the remaining captives allowed the Natchez at the end of February to escape. The fugitives in their flight cut off French parties, and at last made a stand on Black river, west of the Mississippi. Gov. Perrier on Jan. 25, 1731, reduced this fort and captured the sun, his brother and nephew, next in succession, 40 warriors, and 387 women and children. These were sent to Santo Domingo and sold as slaves. The remnant of the nation, more furious than ever, fled to the Chickasaws, after killing many of the Tonicas and attacking the Natchitoches, where they were repulsed with heavy loss by Saint-Denis. But in spite of this repulse they with the Chickasaws kept up the war, and the French attempting to punish the Chickasaws were repulsed, and at last patched up a peace in 1740. The Natchez never again appeared as a distinct nation. After a time they moved to the Muskogees, and in 1835 were reduced to 300 souls, retaining their own language and line of suns, but without restoring their temple or worship.—For their language the only materials are the words preserved by Le Page du Pratz and other French writers, and a vocabulary taken by Gallatin in 1826 from the chief Isahlakteh. Dr. Brinton traced the analogy between it and the Maya.
NATCHEZ, a city, port of entry, and the capital of Adams co., Mississippi, the second city in the state in population, situated on the E. bank of the Mississippi river, 279 m. above New Orleans and 116 m. below Vicksburg by water, and 85 m. in a direct line S. W. of Jackson; lat. 31° 34′ N., lon. 91° 25′ W. ; pop. in 1850, 4,434; in 1860, 6,612; in 1870, 9,057, of whom 5,329 were colored. It is built on the summit of a bluff 150 ft. above the water, and on the narrow strip of land between the foot of the hill and the river. The latter portion of the city, called Natchez Landing or Natchez-under-the-Hill, has some important business houses, but can make no claim to beauty. It communicates by broad and well graded roads with the upper quarters (Natchez-on-the-Hill), which are beautifully shaded and contain many handsome residences and other buildings.
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Natchez-on-the-Hill.
The streets are regular, lighted with gas, and generally gravelled in the roadway. The houses are principally of brick, and the residences are adorned with gardens. The brow of the bluff along the whole front of the city is occupied by a park. The principal buildings are the court house, in a public square shaded with trees, the masonic temple, the Catholic cathedral, with a spire 182 ft. high, the Episcopal church, and the Presbyterian church, with a spire containing a clock. The city hall and market house are immediately back of the
