As the French people have adopted the 14th of July for the celebration of their national independence, Messrs. Menetre & Vileme will make a grand display for the occasion, and they invite all of their compatriots and all lovers of republican institutions, without exception to nationality, to be present, at the Atlantic Garden, on that date.

     The French citizens of Dallas are many of them ardent Boulangerites. One of these argues that Boulanger is a son of Napoleon, and will yet lead the French armies victoriously against Germany.

- July 24, 1888, Dallas Daily Herald, p. 5, col. 3.
- o o o -

     Prof. Monta Beach desires to return his hearty thanks to the French Benevolent Society for a half dozen bottles of choice wine, accompanied by the following complimentary note:
     DALLAS, Jan. 1, 1890.-- Prof. Monta Beach, Dear Sir: Please accept the accompanying testimonial as a token of our appreciation of your most valued services on the occasion of our annual ball of 28th ult. Very truly yours, The committiee of arrangements of the Societe de Langue Francaise et de Secours Mutuals.

     To the Sheriff or any Constable of Dallas County-Greeting:
     You are hereby commanded that by making publication of this citation in some newspaper, published in the county of Dallas, for four consecutive weeks, previous to the return day hereof, you summon, one Bonnin, one Lebatteuax, one Guillon, one Gruan, one Chambris, one Mme. de la Fontaine Solare and her children, who are nonresidents of the State of Texas, to be and appear before the District Court of the Fourteenth Judicial District of Texas, to be holden in and for the County of Dallas at the Court House thereof, in the City of Dallas, on the second Monday in December, 1890, then and there to answer to the petition of Charles Capy, Maxime Vacher, Angelle A. Vacher, nee Guillemet, Amand Guillemet, Mrs. Alexandrine Charles Camille Scholastigue Lecler Savarden and Marguerite Catherine Bosserau filed in said Court on the 20th day of September, 1890, against the said Bonnin, Lebatteaux, Guillon, Gruan Chambris, Mme. de la Fontaine Solare and her children for suit; said suit being number 8462, for partition, and alleging in substance as follows, to wit:
     That Amand Guillemet and Angelle A. Vacher are the only heirs of Auguste Guillemet, deceased; that Maxime Vacher is the husband of Angelle A. Vacher and joins herein pro forma; that Mrs. Alexandrine Charles Camille Scholastigue Savarden is the sole heir of August Savarden, deceased; that Mrs. Marguerite Catherine Bossereau is the widow and sole heir of Abel Hyacinthe Dailly, deceased; that plaintiffs and defendants are tenants in common on the following land lying in Dallas County, Texas, being a part of the Enoch Horton survey and known as the west half of Section No. 12, meted and bounded as follows: Beginning at a point on the south side of said survey 285 varas west of the original southeast corner of said survey. Thence west with said line 475 varas. Thence north crossing the West Fork of the Trinity River 1900 varas to north line of said survey. Thence east with said line 475 varas. Thence south 1900 varas to the beginning, containing 120 acres.
     That in the division of said land in proportion to the sum of money paid by each respectively, therefore, Charles Capy is entitled to 1 9/10 acres, Angelle Vacher is entitled to 17 9/10 acres, Amand Guillemet is entitled to 17 9/10 acres, Mrs. Alexandrine Charles Camille Scholastigue Lecler Savarden is entitled to 60 8/10 acres, Mrs. Marguerite Catherine Bossereau is entitled to 11 7/10 acres, Bonnin is entitled to 1 1/12 acres, Lebatteuax is entitled to 20-23 of an acre, Guillon is entitled to 5-23 of an acre, Gruan is entitled to 5-23 of an acre, Chambris is entitled to 20-23 of acre and Mme. de la Fontaine Solare for herself and children is entitled to 6 1/2 acres.
     Wherefore, plaintiffs sue and pray for partition of said land among themselves and defendants according to the rights of each. Herein fail not, but have you then and there, before said Court, this writ, with your return thereon, showing how you have executed the same.
     Witness J. H. Stewart, Clerk of the District Court of Dallas County, Texas.
     Given under my hand and seal of said Court at office in City of Dallas, this the 22d day of September, 1890.
     J. H. STEWART,
     Clerk, District Court, Dallas Co., Tex.
By W. A. HUDSON, Deputy.

     The TIMES-HERALD cheerfully gives space to the following:
     On Sunday, May 17, 1891, Mr. Ferdinand Michel, an old and respected citizen, and one of the French colonists, celebrated his 74th anniversary at his residence near his brickyard on South Jefferson street. The occasion was a joyful one and replete with good feeling, and participated in by about 150 people of all nationalities, but mostly of the old French citizens and their descendants. Messrs. Adoue, Alderman Huvelle, Judge Tom Brown, Bessard Bros., A. B. Harry, Henry Boll, Frank Austin and others, graced the occasion with their presence. After the preliminary handshaking and congratulations, the affair opened with music, after which Mr. Adoue introduced Mr. Louvart who sang "La Chanson de Circomstance," setting forth the bonhomme and philosophical traits of character of Mr. Michel. Then a general round of refreshments followed when Judge Brown delivered a neat speech, greatly applauded, and wound up by saying Mr. Michel's heart was as big as a brick kiln. Mr. John B. Louckx followed with a French speech, eulogizing the benevolence of Mr. Michel and kindness to his workmen. After refreshments, a general group was formed on the estrade by the ladies, children and gentlemen, Mr. Michel being the central figure, and were photographed by Mr. Mauvais, concluding with a discharge of merriment and French guolibets and a few rounds de bierre and the company dispersed from a reunion long to be remembered.
     Mr. Michel was born in Belgium in 1818, near Charleroy, where he worked with his parents until, when a lad, he traveled a-foot from his native village to the city of Paris to seek his fortune in the capital of France, where he worked as a gardener and afterwards learned the trade of tanner, which he followed for many years. During his sojourn in Paris, Mr. Michel became dangerously sick and the young Belgian was tenderly cared for in the hospital by the Sisters of Charity, and on having recovered, he left the hospital with a little sum of money. Mr. Michel's eyes moisten yet when he speaks of France and the hospital of Paris. In 1840, he returned to his native country, and again worked at his trade of tanner in the city of Lourvain until January 8, 1855, when he started from Antwerp in the sail-ship, Uriell, with the group of Mr. Victor Considerant's colony in Texas, northwest of Dallas, where he arrived in the spring of the same year. Mr. Michel afterwards married and settled in Dallas, where he engaged as rock mason, and afterwards started the manufacturing of lime and brick, which he still follows. Mr. Michel will start on June 10, for Antwerp, Belgium, in the steamer, Westernland, of the Red Star Line. He takes with him the little grandson of Mrs. Gouffe, deceased, to his grandmother in France, and he will return to this country in the fall of this year.
                                                                OLD BELGIUM

     The remnant, some twenty members, of the old French colony, will celebrate the anniversary of their settlement in Dallas county on the 14th of July at Mr. Loupot's, about three miles west of the city.

     The old French colonists and their descendants, to-day, are celebrating the Fall of the Bastile on the site of the old French co-operative colony, about four miles from Dallas. The attendance is large and the programme all that could be desired. A prominent writer says the sons and daughters of France in all parts of the world celebrate the fall of the Bastile. It is their national holiday, the Frenchman's Fourth of July. It commemorates the dawn of freedom in their native land. On July 14, 1789, the hated Bastile fell. All that was typical of the despotism of the aristocracy was destroyed by the people, and the first blow was struck that led to the French Revolution and to the establishment of the French Republic. When the anniversary comes around, every Frenchman in America dons his best raiment, and pins the tri-color to his breast. His wife, his sweetheart and his sister all put on their gayest attire and prepare for festivities, that last from early hours till long after midnight. The French flag waves in every city in the land. French American citizens march in the streets. "The Marseillaise" is borne on every breeze, and the cry "Vive la France" echoes to the clinking of glasses filled with wine from France's own sunny hillsides. Mirth, gayety and jollification are the order of the day. Parties in the morning, picnics and festivals in the afternoon, and dancing at night, with much drinking, eating, singing and telling tales of the fatherland make the day one to be talked of in the French colony until another anniversary rolls around. The day that Frenchmen celebrate was one of the most dramatic in the whole history of a dramatic nation. Driven desperate by long years of oppression, the classes had risen against the classes. Gradually the spirit of rebellion had taken shape and the result was a French mob, a wild, desperate, determined Parisian mob. And what more natural than that the first blow should be struck at the listed Bastile? Through the reigns of half a dozen kings, the mere mention of the name Bastile struck terror to the bravest citizen. Of all that was horrible and revolting in dungeons, the Bastile was the worst. Only political prisoners or personal enemies of the ruler were sent there.
     The fate of the common thief was paradise compared with what was provided for the noble who offended the man who sat on the throne. The sentence to the bastile, pronounced without hearing and without trial, meant a living death to the victim. Once within the grim walls, there was no redress. Like the bottomless pit, [a man] who entered there was never heard of again. Others went mad within the prison. Subterranean cells, to which no ray of light penetrated, drove some men crazy. Others were subjected to inhuman cruelty by the machines for torture invented to extract secrets from political enemies. Worse than a sentence to Siberian mines was incarceration in the Bastile during the times preceding the French revolution. The prison was originally the Castle of Paris and was built by order of Charles V, about 1676. It was intended as a defense against the English. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was used as a state prison and was provided with vast bulwarks and defenses[?]. On each of its long sides, it had four tall towers armed with cannon. During the reigns of Louis XIV and XV, it was frequently filled with prisoners, most of them of the higher ranks. The inmates were sacrificed to political despotism, court intrigues, ecclesiastical tyranny, or were victims of family quarrels. They were noblemen, authors, priests and publishers. Often, the unfortunates were forgotten after being incarcerated. Their friends and relatives gave them up for dead, and the records were silent as to the cause of their confinement or their identity. When the populace, frenzied by oppression and debauchery, rose, the Bastile was in charge of De Launay, the governor, and a garrison of 82 old soldiers and Swiss. The citizens formed an army of 60,000 men, enrolled and divided into companies. The French Guards, stationed at Paris, joined with the revolutionists, and the city was at their mercy.
     It was on the morning of the 14th of July. Some one raised the cry: "To the Bastile!" It resounded from rank to rank, from street to street, until the citizens' army was inspired with the though of demolishing the odious emblem of tyrannical rule. They were armed with hastily forged pikes, with muskets taken from gun shops, and with gilded lances and battle axes snatched from the Royal Guard. A formidable resistance was made by De Launay and the garrison, but after four hours of fighting the gates, which had resisted for twenty-three days, an army headed by Conde, were battered down. De Launay and his principal officers were put to death. The whole garrison would have suffered the same fate, but for the intervention of the French Guards. Among those who perished was Requait, a subaltern officer who prevented the Governor from blowing up the powder magazine. The heads of De Launay and of De Hesseles, who were accused of conspiracy, were carried about the streets by the mob. Several persons were found in bastile. They were released in triumph. Two were sent to a mad house as they were hopelessly insane. the Bastile was immediately destroyed. The instruments of torture were dragged from the dungeons and exposed in the streets. The walls of the structure were torn down amid the thunder of cannon and the chanting of the Te Deum. Citizens danced on its ruins all night and the greatest jollification followed. The mob wore tri-colored cockades, which afterward became the badge of the revolution. the fall of the Bastile alarmed the nobles. Nearly all of them fled the county. Neckar, who had been deposed by the King, Louis XIV, was recalled. Lafayette was given command of the militia of Paris, organized as a national guard, and the red, white and blue was adopted as national flag.
     Among the notable persons who have died within its walls were Charles de Gontant, son of Biron, the then marshal. those who have been imprisoned in it were Richelieu, Latude and Blaizet.

     Here is a short history of the Icarians, who came to Texas in 1848 and whose settlement in the country, the best information from settlers is, few know of and about whom nothing (from present knowledge) has ever been written. Much as been said in the newspapers regarding the "Peters colony." This article explains its origin. An old-timer says that descendants from the Icarians now live in Texas, a number being in Dallas.

     Denton, Denton Co., Tex., May 2. -- Denton has a citizen, Mr. Alexander Robertson, who has been a resident of Texas for nearly half a century. He is full of reminiscences and possesses a remarkable memory. Readers of history will recall the trouble in France in February, 1848, when Louis Philipe was dethroned and a provisional government followed by a republic was established. It is a fact known to comparatively few that a member of the party in France termed the socialists who had on their banners "Liberty, fraternity and equality," concluded to plant a colony in Texas and made a contract accordingly with old man Peters (from whom the Peters colony received its name), who was then in Europe. Here is what Mr. Robertson, the early Texan, has to say on this subject: "In the summer and fall of 1848," he began, "the advance guard of the socialist community, calling themselves Icarians and numbering about 150 men and under the leadership of Dr. Adolphe Gannough [Gouhenant], who came from France to New Orleans and thence up the Red river and from there, some in wagons with ox teams and others pushing hand carts, from Shreveport, La., appeared in Denton county. The agent of the Peters colony company, who was Henry Hedgecoke, had made a contract with the Icarians to introduce 500 families into the Peters colony. The colony was to build a cabin, break and fence at least six acres of land, furnish a year's provisions, arms and ammunition, farming implements and 640 acres of land to each head of a family, and 320 to single men. In addition, the company was to establish stores where the colonists could purchase all necessary supplies at reasonable prices. The colony company also agreed to buy and pay reasonable prices for all the farm products that the colonists might raise off of their farms, as the markets were good. A section of country over 100 miles square had been surveyed and sectionized by the colony, and its headquarters office in Texas was on the east side of Denton county at Stewartsville. The Icarians went from Stewartsville westward through the cross-timbers, giving the name to the prairie in the timber, now known in this county as French Town prairie, and made their selection on the fine land at the mouth of Oliver creek, between that creek and Denton creek. The Peters colony company did not, and probably could not, fulfill its promises, as far as building cabins, breaking and fencing land and furnishing a year's supplies were concerned, but it had a store at Stewartsville, where a good grade of goods were sold at fair prices considering the cost of transportation. The goods were mostly of English manufacture and were of superior quality. The Icarians went to work in good faith, built about thirty or forty houses, some out of logs, some of clapboards, broke a number of acres of land, did some fencing, sowed wheat and made every preparation for those of them who had families, to send for them, and they were to be reinforced by another detachment the following year, of 150 or more, who were to prepare homes for their families. The buffalo had just left the country, but were plentiful forty miles west. Deer, antelope and turkey were in abundance, and the Icarians had shotguns and there was no scarcity of meat. Denton and Oliver creeks were then full of fish and large numbers of cattle were on the prairies. They could put the calves in the pens and the cows would come up every evening to be milked, consequently, a sufficiency of venison, turkey, antelope, fish, milk and butter could be had for nothing, and the grass furnished ample forage for their work oxen, both summer and winter. Although they were the outside settlement, there was no danger from Indians, as the Icarians were not more than eight miles west of the ranger trail and nearest ranger posts. The ranger officers all liked the Icarians and were anxious for the colony to make a success. (Here the speaker mentioned the frontier protection from invasions, saying that the frontier was protected then by rangers with posts every twenty miles, on a line from north to southwest, and a mounted patrol of ten men rode every day, each way, from post to another, passing each other, and if any Indian sign was discovered, pursuit was commenced and couriers and signals summoned from the posts, reinforcements and equipments, for a long chase, when necessary).
     "The Icarians had few or no horses, and there was nothing to entice the predatory bands of Comanches and the colonists were sturdy fellows and were well able to have held their own with any kind of foes. They were never molested by Indians. But, New Icaria, as they called their settlement, was a failure. The year 1849 was the wettest season known for years. The Icarians planted crops in the spring, but as the sod was very thick and did not rot, but little was made. The season being so wet, it was very sickly, and Dr. Gannough, who was not acquainted with Texas chills and who probably had not a sufficient supply of quinine, as it was very scare and high, and the colonists having to use creek water for drinking and cooking, they all got sick, and the doctor's mode of treating fever, which was to get in the shade in the creek and remain there until the fever cooled off, proved ineffectual, and some of them died. They lost confidence in the medical skill and leadership of Dr. Gannough and rebelled against him and he fled in fear of his life and went to the ranger post for protection. They elected a new leader and purchased some supplies from the Peters colony company store, paying for some, and owing for the remainder. The Peters colony company sued them and ran an attachment on their personal property for the debt. The Icarians being disheartened, made no resistance, but abandoned their settlement and never proved up any right to their land. They scattered, some stopping in Dallas county, where others from France joined them. Some went to the French settlement in Louisiana. Others moved to another Icarian colony in Illinois and some returned to France. The Peters colony company tried a somewhat similar scheme on the American settlers and they arose en masse, tore up the company's office and run [sic] the agent of the company out of the country, and the matter between the American settlers and the Peters colony was adjusted by an act of the legislature, introduced by the late ex-Gov. James W. Throckmorton. Had the Icarians resisted the claim of the Peters company in the courts, or otherwise, and held on a while longer, each one of them would have received from the state, his $40 or 320 acres of land, wherever he chose to select it, provided he did not interfere with some other settler's location, and there was plenty for all. Dr. Gannough remained in the country and lived at Dallas and Fort Worth, and afterward, at Pilot Point, where he sold drugs and practiced medicine and got rich. He also got his 640 acres of land as a Peters colonist and lost his life in a railway accident in Missouri in 1872. His son, Earnest Gannough, a boy, came from France and joined him in 1856. He went into the confederate army, served through it, maintaining well the Frenchman's claim to bravery and soldier-like qualities. The early settlers knew but little of the Icarians, except that they were quiet, industrious and friendly. They proposed to hold their property in common, were mostly mechanics and unacquainted with the language and country, and gave up a little too quick. They were in hard luck and claimed they were unfairly treated by the Peters colony agents."
     The land sectionized by Hedgecoke commenced on the south side of Red river, opposite the mouth of False Washita, then continued south for more than 100 miles, to a point east of the mouth of Cedar creek, where the same empties into the Trinity river; thence west to the Brazos river; thence up said Brazos river with its meanderings, to the mouth of Salt fork; thence north to Red river; thence down Red river, with its meanderings, to the place of beginning, containing over 7,000,000 acres of land.

     Ninety-six years ago, to-day, the workingmen of France, goaded to rebellion by the oppression of royalty, stormed and destroyed the Bastille, the so-called impregnable fortress and prison, in whose dungeon, prisoners of State were immured for life. With the fall of the Bastille, fell the power of the destinies of France.
     The French citizens of Dallas had intended to celebrate the anniversary publicly, but owing to the labor strike and its depressing effects, decided not to give any public demonstration. However, there will be several private social gatherings to-night in commemoration of the anniversary.

     The cruel hand of war has been stretched forth into many lands and nations of the world within the last week or ten days and divided many families, tearing husbands and fathers from their loved ones and sending them forth to face wounds, misery, and in thousands of instances, death and a nameless grave on the battlefield.
     War's barbaric summons has been heard in Dallas, and Sunday morning, six loyal Frenchmen will answer the call of France to rally to the support and defense of the Tri-Color. Saturday morning, a telegram from the French consul at New Orleans came to six Frenchmen, cooks employed at the Adolphus hotel to report to the consul at New Orleans at noon, Monday.
     Upon receipt of the message, five of the six were wild with joy and expressed their hilarity by singing, dancing and weeping in sheer excess of spirits.
     The sixth, Gaston Zimmerman, as loyal a son of France as any of his compatriots, and as ready to serve in defense of France as his comrades, yet was saddened by the knowledge that the orders of the French consul meant separation from his home times here in Dallas. Mrs. Zimmerman cannot accompany her husband to France.
     When Gaston returns to Dallas -- if he survives the war that is sweeping all Europe today -- two, instead of one, will welcome him home. One will be the face of a little child born during its father's absence, fighting in the ranks of the French army.
     The other members of the little band are Andre Marrell, Pierre Berdou, Gaston Gillet, Albert Chaffour, Ernest Hurette and Francis Carraud.

     Six members of the culinary staff of the Adolphus Hotel have left already to join the colors of their various countries. Henri A. Brissot, of the Houston Club, has arrived to take charge of the big hotel kitchens.
     Henri Brissot is a French war veteran. He spent four years in the French army, seeing active service with the allied troops in China. A piece of shell, which tore its way through his leg during the battle of Tien Taing, exempts him from military service during the European conflict.
     M. Brissot was formerly at the Hotel Cecil in London, the St. Charles in New Orleans, Hoffman House, New York, and in the service of the Cunard line.

     J. B. Adoue, French consul agent at Dallas, has issued a proclamation calling all Frenchmen in Texas subject to military service, to the colors.
     Mr. Adoue was notified officially of the mobilization of the French army by the French consul at New Orleans, who wired him Sunday.
     All Frenchmen desiring to enlist can secure the desired information from Mr. Adoue. Not many Frenchmen in Texas are subject to the call for military service.

     All is joy and hilarity in the kitchen of the Adolphus hotel among the cooks, for a telegram was received Saturday morning from the French consul at New Orleans, ordering Gaston Zimmerman, chef, and six of his countrymen to report at New Orleans Monday noon.
     Upon receipt of the message, the ardent Frenchmen, who are members of the French Army Reserves, danced, sang and wept for joy. For, are they not to have the opportunity to fight for La Belle, France, against the hated German Uhlans and retrieve the defeat of 1870, when Alsace and Lorraine were wrested from France by Germany?
     Gaston Zimmerman, chef at the Adolphus, said Saturday morning that he was glad to have the opportunity to fight for France against the Germans. The only regret he had was the separation from Mrs. Zimmerman, who would stay in Dallas while he went across the ocean to fight for France.
     The French reservists leave Dallas Monday morning at 11:45, and will report to the French consul in New Orleans on Monday at noon. From New Orleans, they go to New York to embark for France.
     After the war is over, those who survive, will return to Dallas again, and they expect to return elated over the victory they are so confident will crown the French arms.
     Could the call to arms have been delayed just a week longer, Gaston Zimmerman would have been here to welcome the little Zimmerman, whom the good God is to place in their care. But, it is not to be, for the father will be on his way to the wars in Europe and the mother and babe must await the fortunes of battle for the husband's and father's return to the little family that he may never see again.
     This is the reason why Gaston Zimmerman's joy at the prospect of active military service against the German invader is tinged with sadness and regret at the thought that he may never see the face of his child in this world.

     The following was given out Saturday by J. B. Adoue of Dallas and attention of all Frenchmen is called to same:
     "The French republic has mobilized all classes from 1887 to 1910. All Frenchmen reservists or valid territorials are required to report at once to the French general consul at New Orleans.
     "Full amnesty has been granted to deserters and insoumis of war and marine."