ld then own the entire east bank of
the river and could control their own trade.

When Monroe reached France, he found that Napoleon not only was willing to
sell what Jefferson wanted, but wished him to buy much more. For as
Napoleon was about to engage in war with England, he had great need of
money. Besides, he was afraid that the English might even invade and
capture Louisiana, and in that case he would get nothing for it. He was
satisfied, therefore, to sell the whole of the Louisiana territory for
fifteen million dollars.

This purchase was a big event in American history, for you must remember
that what was then called Louisiana was a very large stretch of country.
It included all the region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky
Mountains, from Canada down to what is now Texas. Look at your map and you
will see that it was larger than all the rest of the territory which up to
that time had been called the United States.

[Illustration: THE UNITED STATES IN 1803, AFTER THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE.]

NEW ORLEANS IN 1803

The people of that day did not realize the importance of their purchase.
For the most part the territory was a wild region, uninhabited except for
scattered Indian tribes, and almost unexplored. The place most alive was
New Orleans, which would have interested you keenly had you been a pioneer
boy or girl. New Orleans has been called a Franco-Spanish-American city,
for it has belonged to all three nations in turn and been under French
control twice. You remember that the French settled it. Let us imagine
ourselves pioneers of 1803, and that we have just brought a cargo down the
river.

[Illustration: House in New Orleans Where Louis Philippe Stopped in 1798.]

We find New Orleans to be one of the chief seaports of America. We see
shipping of all sorts about the town--barges and flatboats along the river
bank, merchant vessels in the harbor, and farther down some war-ships.

There are buildings still standing which are unchanged parts of the
earlier French town--for instance, the government house, the barracks, the
hospital, and the convent of the Ursulines. We notice that the walls and
fortifications, built partly by the French and partly by the Spaniards,
are but a mere ring of grass-grown ruins about the city.

[Illustration: A Public Building in New Orleans Built in 1794.]

But the city is very picturesque with its tropical vegetation, always
green, and its quaint houses, many of the