[Part of the _Map of Carolana and of the River Meschacebe_, in Daniel Coxe’s _Description of the English Province of Carolana_, London, 1742—ED.]] Thomas Hutchins has also published two books,—_An Historical Narrative and Topographical Description of Louisiana_, etc. (Philadelphia, 1784), and _A Topographical Description_, etc. (London, 1778). Captain Philip Pittman prepared a report on _The Present State of the European Settlements on the Mississippi_. It was published in London, in 1770. It is embellished with charts of the river and plans of several of the forts and villages.[109] Also _Sketches of History, Life and Manners in the West_, by James Hall (Philadelphia, 1835), who visited the fort in 1829. The _Early History of Illinois_, by Sidney Breese, contains an interesting description of French life in Illinois.[110] See also a chapter on the same subject in Davidson and Stuvé’s _Complete History of Illinois_ (Springfield, 1874). _The History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Mississippi Valley_, by John W. Monette (New York, 1846), also has an elaborate sketch of the settlement of Louisiana and Illinois.[111] _Mississippi as a Province, Territory, and State_, by J. F. H. Claiborne (1880), devotes considerable space to the Province. Extracts from a memoir by M. Marigny de Mandeville may be found in several of the histories of Louisiana of colonial times. In a note in Bossu[112] it is stated that such a work was published in Paris in 1765. The story of Saint-Denys’ experiences in Mexico is told in H. H. Bancroft’s _North Mexican States_, p. 612 _et seq._, in which the sources of information are mainly Mexican and Spanish. The hero of Penicaut’s romances, viewed from this standpoint, becomes a mere smuggler. Under the title _Historical Collections of Louisiana_, etc., Mr. B. F. French, in the years 1846-1875, inclusive, published seven volumes containing reprints and translations of original documents and rare books. Mr. French was a pioneer in a class of work the value of which has come to be fully appreciated. His _Collections_ close a gap on the shelves of many libraries which it would be difficult otherwise to fill. The work was necessarily an education to him, and in some instances new material which came to his hands revealed errors in previous annotations.[113] The value of the work would have been increased if abridgments and omissions had been noted.[114] The translation of the _Journal_ _historique_, etc., given in the collection was made from the manuscript copy in the library of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia.[115] The Penicaut relation differs materially from the copy published by Margry.[116] The labors of Mr. French, as a whole, have been of great service to students of American history.[117]