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diff --git a/15872.txt b/15872.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d064a25 --- /dev/null +++ b/15872.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19929 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Memories of Fifty Years, by William H. +Sparks + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Memories of Fifty Years + Containing Brief Biographical Notices of Distinguished Americans, and Anecdotes of Remarkable Men; Interspersed with Scenes and Incidents Occurring during a Long Life of Observation Chiefly Spent in the Southwest + + +Author: William H. Sparks + +Release Date: May 20, 2005 [eBook #15872] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEMORIES OF FIFTY YEARS*** + + +E-text prepared by Bill Tozier, Barbara Tozier, and the Project Gutenberg +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +THE MEMORIES OF FIFTY YEARS: + +Containing + +Brief Biographical Notices of Distinguished +Americans, and Anecdotes of +Remarkable Men; + +Interspersed with Scenes and Incidents Occurring +during a Long Life of Observation Chiefly +Spent in the Southwest + + +by + +W. H. SPARKS + +Philadelphia: +Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger. +Macon Ga.: J. W. Burke & Co. +Stereotyped by J. Fagan & Son. +Printed by Moore Bros. + +1870 + + + + + + + +TO + +MY BROTHER AND NEPHEW, +THE HONORABLE OVID GARTEN SPARKS, +AND +COLONEL THOMAS HARDEMAN, +OF MACON, GEORGIA. + +This Volume is Dedicated + +BY THEIR AGED AND AFFECTIONATE RELATIVE, TRUSTING +THEY WILL ESTEEM IT, WHEN HE SHALL HAVE +PASSED TO ETERNITY, AS SOME EVIDENCE +OF THE AFFECTION +BORNE THEM BY + +THE AUTHOR. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In the same week, and within three days of the same date, I received +from three Judges of the Supreme Court, of three States, the request +that I would record my remembrances of the men and things I had known +for fifty years. The gentlemen making this request were Joseph Henry +Lumpkin, of Georgia; William L. Sharkey, of Mississippi, and James G. +Taliaferro, of Louisiana. + +From Judge Sharkey the request was verbal; from the other two it came +in long and, to me, cherished letters. All three have been my intimate +friends--Lumpkin from boyhood; the others for nearly fifty years. +Judge Lumpkin has finished his work in time, and gone to his reward. +Judges Sharkey and Taliaferro yet live, both now over seventy years of +age. The former has retired from the busy cares of office, honored, +trusted, and beloved; the latter still occupies a seat upon the Bench +of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. + +These men have all sustained unreproached reputations, and retained +through their long lives the full confidence of the people of their +respective States. I did not feel at liberty to resist their appeal: I +had resided in all three of the States; had known long and intimately +their people; had been extensively acquainted with very many of the +most prominent men of the nation--and in the following pages is my +compliance. + +I have trusted only to my memory, and to a journal kept for many +years, when a younger man than I am to-day--hastening to the +completion of my seventieth year. Doubtless, I have made many mistakes +of minor importance; but few, I trust, as to matters of fact. Of one +thing I am sure: nothing has been wilfully written which can wound the +feelings of any. + +Many things herein contained may not be of general interest; but none +which will not find interested readers; for while some of the +individuals mentioned may not be known to common fame, the incidents +in connection with them deserve to be remembered by thousands who knew +them. + +These Memories are put down without system, or order, as they have +presented themselves, and have been related in a manner which I have +attempted to make entertaining and instructive, without being prolix +or tedious. They will be chiefly interesting to the people of the +South; though much may, and, I hope, will be read by those of the +North. Some of my happiest days have been passed in the North: at +Cambridge some of my sons have been educated, and some of my dearest +friends have been Northern men. Despite the strife which has gone far +toward making us in heart a divided people, I have a grateful memory +of many whose homes and graves were and are in New England. + +Would that this strife had never been! But it has come, and I cannot +forego a parent's natural feelings when mourning the loss of sons +slain in the conflict, or the bitterness arising therefrom toward +those who slew them. Yet, as I forgive, I hope to be forgiven. + +There are but few now left who began the journey of life with me. +Those of this number who still sojourn in our native land will find +much in these pages familiar to their remembrance, and some things, +the reading of which may revive incidents and persons long forgotten. +In the West, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, there are +many--the descendants of those who participated in events transpiring +fifty years ago--who have listened at the parental hearth to their +recital. To these I send this volume greeting; and if they find +something herein to amuse and call up remembrances of the past, I +shall feel gratified. + +To the many friends I have in the Southwest, and especially in +Louisiana and Mississippi, where I have sojourned well-nigh fifty +years, and many of whom have so often urged upon me the writing of +these Memories, I commit the book, and ask of them, and of all into +whose hands it may fall, a lenient criticism, a kindly recollection, +and a generous thought of our past intercourse. It is an inexorable +fate that separates us, and I feel it is forever. This sad thought is +alleviated, however, by the consciousness that the few remaining sands +of life are falling at the home of my birth; and that when the end +comes, as very soon it must, I shall be placed to sleep amid my +kindred in the land of my nativity. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. +REVOLUTIONARY TRADITIONS. + +Middle Georgia--Colonel David Love--His Widow--Governor Dunmore-- +Colonel Tarleton--Bill Cunningham--Colonel Fannin--My Grandmother's +Bible--Solomon's Maxim Applied--Robertus Love--The Indian Warrior-- +Dragon Canoe--A Buxom Lass--General Gates--Marion--Mason L. Weems +--Washington--"Billy Crafford" + +CHAPTER II. +PIONEER LIFE. + +Settlement of Middle Georgia--Prowling Indians--Scouts and their +Dogs--Classes of Settlers--Prominence of Virginians--Causes of +Distinction--Clearing--Log-Rolling--Frolics--Teachers Cummings and +Duffy--The Schoolmaster's Nose--Flogging--Emigration to Alabama + +CHAPTER III. +THE GEORGIA COMPANY. + +Yazoo Purchase--Governor Matthews--James Jackson--Burning of the Yazoo +Act--Development of Free Government--Constitutional Convention--Slavery: +Its Introduction and Effects + +CHAPTER IV. +POLITICAL DISPUTATIONS. + +Baldwin--A Yankee's Political Stability--The Yazoo Question--Party +Feuds and Fights--Deaf and Dumb Ministers--Clay--Jackson--Buchanan-- +Calhoun--Cotton and Free Trade--The Clay and Randolph Duel + +CHAPTER V. +GEORGIA'S NOBLE SONS. + +A Minister of a Day--Purity of Administration--Then and Now--Widow +Timberlake--Van Buren's Letter--Armbrister and Arbuthnot--Old +Hickory Settles a Difficulty--A Cause of the Late War--Honored Dead + +CHAPTER VI. +POPULAR CHARACTERISTICS. + +A Frugal People--Laws and Religion--Father Pierce--Thomas W. Cobb-- +Requisites of a Political Candidate--A Farmer-Lawyer--Southern +Humorists + +CHAPTER VII. +WITS AND FIRE-EATERS. + +Judge Dooly--Lawyers and Blacksmiths--John Forsyth--How Juries were +Drawn--Gum-Tree _vs._ Wooden-Leg--Preacher-Politicians--Colonel +Gumming--George McDuffie + +CHAPTER VIII. +FIFTY YEARS AGO. + +Governor Matthews--Indians--Topography of Middle Georgia--A New +Country and its Settlers--Beaux and Belles--Early Training--Jesuit +Teachers--A Mother's Influence--The Jews--Homely Sports--The Cotton +Gin--Camp-Meetings + +CHAPTER IX. +PEDAGOGUES AND DEMAGOGUES. + +Education--Colleges--School-Days--William and Mary--A Substitute-- +Boarding Around--Rough Diamonds--Caste--George M. Troup--A Scotch +Indian--Alexander McGilvery--The McIntosh Family--Button Gwinnett +--General Taylor--Matthew Talbot--Jesse Mercer--An Exciting Election + +CHAPTER X. +INDIAN TREATIES AND DIFFICULTIES. + +The Creeks--John Quincy Adams--Hopothlayohola--Indian Oratory--Sulphur +Springs--Treaties Made and Broken--An Independent Governor--Colonels +John S. McIntosh, David Emanuel Twiggs, and Duncan Clinch--General +Gaines--Christianizing the Indians--Cotton Mather--Expedient and +Principle--The Puritanical Snake + +CHAPTER XI. +POLITICAL CHANGES. + +Aspirants for Congress--A New Organization--Two Parties--A Protective +Tariff--United States Bank--The American System--Internal Improvements +--A Galaxy of Stars--A Spartan Mother's Advice--Negro-Dealer-- +Quarter-Races--Cock-Pitting--Military Blunders on Both Sides--Abner +Green's Daughter--Andrew Jackson--Gwinn--Poindexter--Ad Interim-- +Generals by Nature as Civil Rulers + +CHAPTER XII. +GOSSIP. + +Unrequited Love--Popping the Question--Practical Joking--Satan Let +Loose--Rhea, but not Rhea--Teachings of Nature--H.S. Smith + +CHAPTER XIII. +INFLUENCE OF CHILDHOOD. + +First Impressions--Fortune--Mirabeau B. Lamar--Dr. Alonzo Church--Julius +Caesar--L.Q.C. Lamar--Texan Independence--Colquitt--Lumpkin--What a Great +Man Can Do in One Day--Charles J. Jenkins + +CHAPTER XIV. +A REVOLUTIONARY VETERAN. + +Tapping Reeve--James Gould--Colonel Benjamin Talmadge--The Execution +of Major Andre--Character of Washington--A Breach of Discipline-- +Burr and Hamilton--Margaret Moncrief--Cowles Meade + +CHAPTER XV. +CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT. + +Governor Wolcott--Toleration--Mr. Monroe--Private Life of Washington +--Thomas Jefferson--The Object and Science of Government--Court +Etiquette--Nature the Teacher and Guide in all Things + +CHAPTER XVI. +PARTY PRINCIPLES. + +Origin of Parties--Federal and Republican Peculiarities--Jefferson's +Principles and Religion--Democracy--Virginia and Massachusetts +Parties--War with France--Sedition Law--Lyman Beecher--The Almighty +Dollar--"Hail Columbia" and "Yankee Doodle" + +CHAPTER XVII. +CONGRESS IN ITS BRIGHTEST DAYS. + +Missouri Compromise--John Randolph's Juba--Mr. Macon--Holmes and +Crawford--Mr. Clay's Influence--James Barbour--Philip P. Barbour-- +Mr. Pinkney--Mr. Beecher, of Ohio--"Cuckoo, Cuckoo!"--National Roads +--William Lowndes--William Roscoe--Duke of Argyle--Louis McLean-- +Whig and Democratic Parties + +CHAPTER XVIII. +FRENCH AND SPANISH TERRITORY. + +Settlers on the Tombigbee and Mississippi Rivers--La Salle--Natchez +--Family Apportionment--The Hill Country--Hospitality--Benefit of +African Slavery--Capacity of the Negro--His Future + +CHAPTER XIX. +THE NATCHEZ TRADITIONS. + +Natchez--Mizezibbee; or, The Parent of Many Waters--Indian Mounds-- +The Child of the Sun--Treatment of the Females--Poetic Marriages-- +Unchaste Maids and Pure Wives--Walking Archives--The Profane Fire-- +Alahoplechia--Oyelape--The Chief with a Beard + +CHAPTER XX. +EXPLORATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. + +Chicago--Crying Indians--Chickasaws--De Soto--Feast of the Great +Sun--Cane-Knives--Love-stricken Indian Maiden--Rape of the Natchez +--Man's Will--Subjugation of the Waters--The Black Man's Mission--Its +Decade + +CHAPTER XXI. +TWO STRANGE BEINGS. + +Romance of Western Life--Met by Chance--Parting on the Levee--Meeting +at the Sick-Bed--Convalescent--Love-Making--"Home, Sweet Home"-- +Theological Discussion--Uncle Tony--Wild, yet Gentle--An Odd +Family--The Adventurer Speculates + +CHAPTER XXII. +THE ROMANCE CONTINUED. + +Father Confessor--Open Confession--The Unread Will--Old Tony's +Narrative--Squirrel Shooting--The Farewell Unsaid--Brothers-in-Law-- +Farewell Indeed + +CHAPTER XXIII. +WHEN SUCCESSFUL, RIGHT; WHEN NOT, WRONG. + +Territorial +Mississippi--Wilkinson--Adams--Jefferson--Warren--Claiborne--Union of +the Factions--Colonel Wood--Chew--David Hunt--Joseph Dunbar--Society of +Western Mississippi--Pop Visits of a Week to Tea--The Horse "Tom" and +his Rider--Our Grandfathers' Days--An Emigrant's Outfit--My +Share--George Poindexter--A Sudden Opening of a Court of Justice--The +Caldwell and Gwinn Duel--Jackson's Opposition to the Governor of +Mississippi + +CHAPTER XXIV. +THE SILVER-TONGUED ORATOR. + +John A. Quitman--Robert J. Walker--Robert H. Adams--From a Cooper-Shop +to the United States Senate--Bank Monopoly--Natchez Fencibles--Scott +in Mexico--Thomas Hall--Sargent S. Prentiss--Vicksburg--Single-speech +Hamilton--God-inspired Oratory--Drunk by Absorption--Killing +a Tailor--Defence of Wilkinson + +CHAPTER XXV. +A FINANCIAL CRASH. + +A Wonderful Memory--A Nation Without Debt--Crushing the National +Bank--Rise of State Banks--Inflated Currency--Grand Flare-up--Take +Care of Yourself--Commencing Anew--Failing to Reach an Obtuse +Heart--King Alcohol does his Work--Prentiss and Foote--Love Me, +Love my Dog--A Noble Spirit Overcome--Charity Covereth a Multitude +of Sins + +CHAPTER XXVI. +ACADIAN FRENCH SETTLERS. + +Sugar _vs._ Cotton--Acadia--A Specimen of Mississippi French Life-- +Bayou La Fourche--The Great Flood--Theological Arbitration--A +Rustic Ball--Old-Fashioned Weddings--Creoles and Quadroons--The +Planter--Negro Servants--Gauls and Anglo-Normans--Antagonism of Races + +CHAPTER XXVII. +ABOLITION OF LICENSED GAMBLING. + +Baton Rouge--Florida Parishes--Dissatisfaction--Where there's a Will, +there's a Way--Storming a Fort on Horseback--Annexation at the Point +of the Poker--Raphignac and Larry Moore--Fighting the "Tiger"--Carrying +a Practical Joke too Far--A Silver Tea-Set + +CHAPTER XXVIII. +THREE GREAT JUDGES. + +A Speech in Two Languages--Long Sessions--Matthews, Martin, and Porter +--A Singular Will--A Scion of '98--Five Hundred Dollars for a Little +Fun with the Dogs--Cancelling a Note + +CHAPTER XXIX. +AMERICANIZING LOUISIANA. + +Powers of Louisiana Courts--Governor William C.C. Claiborne--Cruel +O'Reilly--Lefrenier and Noyan Executed--A Dutch Justice--Edward +Livingston--A Caricature of General Jackson--Stephen Mazereau--A +Speech in Three Languages--John R. Grymes--Settling a Ca. Sa.--Batture +Property--A Hundred Thousand Dollar Fee + +CHAPTER XXX. +DIVISION OF NEW ORLEANS INTO MUNICIPALITIES. + +American Hotel--Introduction of Steamboats--Faubourg St. Mary--Canal +Street--St. Charles Hotel--Samuel J. Peters--James H. Caldwell--Fathers +of the Municipality--Bernard Marigny--An Ass--A.B. Roman + +CHAPTER XXXI. +BLOWING UP THE LIONESS. + +Doctor Clapp--Views and Opinions--Universal Destiny--Alexander Barrow +--E.D. White--Cross-Breed, Irish Renegade, and Acadian--A Heroic +Woman--The Ginseng Trade--I-I-I'll D-d-die F-f-first + +CHAPTER XXXII. +GRADUAL EXTINCTION OF THE RED MAN. + +Line Creek Fifty Years Ago--Hopothlayohola--McIntosh--Undying Hatred--A +Big Pow-wow--Massacre of the McIntoshes--Nehemathla--Onchees--The Last +of the Race--A Brave Warrior--A White Man's Friendship--The +Death-Song--Tuskega; or, Jim's Boy + +CHAPTER XXXIII. +FUN, FACT, AND FANCY. + +Eugenius Nesbitt--Washington Poe--Yelverton P. King--Preparing to +Receive the Court--Walton Tavern, in Lexington--Billy Springer, of +Sparta--Freeman Walker--An Augusta Lawyer--A Georgia Major--Major +Walker's Bed--Uncle Ned--Discharging a Hog on His Own Recognizance +--Morning Admonition and Evening Counsel--A Mother's Request-- +Invocation--Conclusion + + + + +THE MEMORIES OF FIFTY YEARS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +REVOLUTIONARY TRADITIONS. + +MIDDLE GEORGIA--COLONEL DAVID LOVE--HIS WIDOW--GOVERNOR DUNMORE-- +COLONEL TARLETON--BILL CUNNINGHAM--COLONEL FANNIN--MY GRANDMOTHER'S +BIBLE--SOLOMON'S MAXIM APPLIED--ROBERTUS LOVE--THE INDIAN WARRIOR-- +DRAGON CANOE--A BUXOM LASS--GENERAL GATES--MARION--MASON L. WEEMS-- +WASHINGTON--"BILLY CRAFFORD." + + +My earliest memories are connected with the first settlement of Middle +Georgia, where I was born. My grandparents on the mother's side, were +natives of North Carolina; and, I believe, of Anson county. My +grandfather, Colonel David Love, was an active partisan officer in the +service of the Continental Congress. He died before I was born; but my +grandmother lived until I was seventeen years of age. As her oldest +grandchild, I spent much of my time, in early boyhood, at her home +near the head of Shoulderbone Creek in the county of Green. She was a +little, fussy, Irish woman, a Presbyterian in religion, and a very +strict observer of all the duties imposed upon her sect, especially in +keeping holy the Sabbath day. All her children were grown up, married, +and, in the language of the time, "gone away." She was in truth a lone +woman, busying herself in household and farming affairs. With a few +negroes, and a miserably poor piece of land, she struggled in her +widowhood with fortune, and contrived, with North Carolina frugality +and industry, not only to make a decent living, but to lay up +something for a rainy day, as she phrases it. In her visits to her +fields and garden, I ran by her side and listened to stories of Tory +atrocities and Whig suffering in North Carolina during the Revolution. +The infamous Governor Dunmore, the cruel Colonel Tarleton, and the +murderous and thieving Bill Cunningham and Colonel Fannin, both +Tories, and the latter natives to the soil, were presented graphically +to me in their most hateful forms. In truth, before I had attained my +seventh year, I was familiar with the history of the partisan warfare +waged between Whig and Tory in North and South Carolina, from 1776 to +1782, from this good but garrulous old lady. I am not so certain she +was good: she had a temper of her own, and a will and a way of her +own; and was good-natured only when permitted this way without +opposition, or cross. Perhaps I retain a more vivid memory of these +peculiar traits than of any others characterizing her. She permitted +no contradiction, and exacted implicit obedience, and this was well +understood by everything about her. She was strict and exacting, and +had learned from Solomon that to "spare the rod was to spoil the +child." She read the Bible only; and it was the only book in the +house. This Bible is still in existence; it was brought by my +grandfather from Europe, and is now covered with the skin of a fish +which he harpooned on his return voyage, appropriating the skin to +this purpose in 1750. She had use for no other book, not even for an +almanac, for at any moment she could tell the day of the month, the +phase of the moon and the day General Washington captured Cornwallis; +as also the day on which Washington died. Her reverence for the memory +of my grandfather was idolatry. His cane hung with his hat just where +he had habitually placed them during his latter days. His saddle and +great sea-chest were preserved with equal care, and remained +undisturbed from 1798 to 1817, precisely as he left them. I ventured +to remove the cane upon one occasion; and, with a little negro or two, +was merrily riding it around in the great lumber-room of the house, +where scarcely any one ever went, when she came in and caught me. The +pear-tree sprouts were immediately put into requisition, and the whole +party most mercilessly thrashed. From that day forward the old +buckhorn-headed cane was an awful reminder of my sufferings. She was +careful not to injure the clothing of her victims, and made her +appeals to the unshielded cuticle, and with a heavy hand for a small +woman. + +It was an ill-fashioned but powerfully-built house, and remains a +monument to this day of sound timber and faithful work, braving time +and the storm for eighty-two years. It was the first framed house +built in the county, and I am sure, upon the poorest spot of land +within fifty miles of where it stands. Here was born my uncle, +Robertus Love, who was the first white child born in the State west of +the Ogeechee River. + +Colonel Love, my grandfather, was eccentric in many of his opinions, +and was a Puritan in religious faith. Oliver Cromwell was his model of +a statesman, and Praise-God Barebones his type of a Christian. While +he was a boy his father married a second time, and, as is very +frequently the case, there was no harmony between the step-mother and +step-son. Their jarrings soon ripened into open war. To avoid +expulsion from the paternal roof he "bundled and went." Nor did he +rest until, in the heart of the Cherokee nation of Indians, he found a +home with Dragon Canoe, then the principal warrior of the nation, who +resided in a valley amid the mountains, and which is now Habersham +County. With this chief, who at the time was young, he remained some +four years, pursuing the chase for pleasure and profit. Thus +accumulating a large quantity of peltries, he carried them on +pack-horses to Charleston, and thence went with them to Europe. After +disposing of his furs, which proved profitable, he wandered on foot +about Europe for some eighteen months, and then, returning to London, +he embarked for America. + +During all this time he had not heard from his family. Arriving at +Charleston he made his way back to the neighborhood of his birth. He +was ferried across the Pedee river by a buxom lass, who captured his +heart. Finding his father dead, he gathered up the little patrimony +left him in his father's will, should he ever return to claim it: he +then returned to the neighborhood of his sweetheart of the ferry; and, +being a fine-looking man of six feet three inches, with great blue +eyes, round and liquid; and, Othello-like, telling well the story of +his adventures, he very soon beguiled the maiden's heart, and they +were made one. About this time came off the battles of Concord and +Lexington, inaugurating the Revolution. It was not, however, until +after the declaration of independence, that he threw aside the plough +and shouldered the musket for American independence. + +That portion of North Carolina in which he resided had been mainly +peopled by emigrants from Scotland. The war progressing into the +South, found nearly all of these faithful in their allegiance to +Britain. The population of English descent, in the main, espoused the +cause of the colonies. With his neighbors Love was a favorite; he was +very fleet in a foot-race, had remarkable strength; but, above all, +was sagacious and strong of will. Such qualities, always appreciated +by a rude people, at that particular juncture brought their possessor +prominently forward, and he was chosen captain of a company composed +almost to a man of his personal friends and acquaintances. Uniting +himself with the regiment of Colonel Lynch, just then organized, and +which was ordered to join the North Carolina line, they marched at +once to join General Gates, then commanding in the South. Under the +command of this unfortunate general he remained until after the battle +of Camden. Here Gates experienced a most disastrous defeat, and the +whole country was surrendered to the British forces. + +South Carolina and North Carolina, especially their southern portions, +were entirely overrun by the enemy, who armed the Tories and turned +them loose to ravage the country. Gates's army was disorganized, and +most of those who composed it from the Carolinas returned to their +homes. Between these and the Scotch Tories, as the Loyalists were +termed, there was a continual partisan strife, each party resorting to +the most cruel murders, burning and destroying the homes and the +property of each other. Partisan bands were organized by each, and +under desperate leaders did desperate deeds. It was then and there +that Marion and Fanning became conspicuous, and were respectively the +terror of Whigs and Tories. + +There were numerous others of like character, though less efficient +and less conspicuous. The exploits of such bands are deemed beneath +the dignity of history, and now only live in the memories of those who +received them traditionally from the actors, their associates or +descendants. Those acts constitute mainly the tragic horrors of war, +and evidence the merciless inhumanity of enraged men, unrestrained by +civil or moral law. Injuries he deems wanton prompt the passions of +his nature to revenge, and he hastens to retaliate upon his enemy, +with increased horrors, their savage brutalities. + +As the leader of a small band of neighbors who had united for +protection and revenge, Colonel Love became conspicuous for his +courage and cruelty. It was impossible for these, his associates, as +for their Tory neighbors and enemies, to remain at their homes, or +even to visit them, except at night, and then most stealthily. The +country abounds with swamps more or less dense and irreclaimable, +which must always remain a hiding-place for the unfortunate or +desperate. In these the little bands by day were concealed, issuing +forth at night to seek for food or spoils. Their families were often +made the victims of revenge; and instances were numerous where feeble +women and little children were slain in cold blood by neighbors long +and familiarly known to each other, in retaliation of like atrocities +perpetrated by their husbands, sons, or brothers. + +It was a favorite pastime with my grandmother, when the morning's work +was done, to uncover her flax-wheel, seat herself, and call me to sit +by her, and, after my childish manner, read to her from the "Life of +General Francis Marion," by Mason L. Weems, the graphic account of the +general's exploits, by the venerable parson. There was not a story in +the book that she did not know, almost as a party concerned, and she +would ply her work of flax-spinning while she gave me close and +intense attention. At times, when the historian was at fault in his +facts--and, to say the truth, that was more frequently the case than +comports with veracious history--she would cease the impelling motion +of her foot upon the pedal of her little wheel, drop her thread, and, +gently arresting the fly of her spool, she would lift her iron-framed +spectacles, and with great gravity say: "Read that again. Ah! it is +not as it happened, your grandfather was in that fight, and I will +tell you how it was." This was so frequently the case, that now, when +more than sixty years have flown, I am at a loss to know, if the +knowledge of most of these facts which tenaciously clings to my +memory, was originally derived from Weems's book, or my grandmother's +narrations. In these forays and conflicts, whenever my grandfather was +a party, her information was derived from him and his associates, and +of course was deemed by her authentic; and whenever these differed +from the historian's narrative, his, of consequence, was untrue. +Finally, Weems, upon one of his book-selling excursions, which simply +meant disposing of his own writings, came through her neighborhood, +and with the gravity of age, left verbally his own biography with Mrs. +McJoy, a neighbor; this made him, as he phrased it, General +Washington's preacher. He was never after assailed as a lying author: +but whenever his narrative was opposed to her memory, she had the +excuse for him, that his informant had deceived him. + +To have seen General Washington, even without having held the holy +office of his preacher, sanctified in her estimation any and every +one. She had seen him, and it was the especial glory of her life. Yes, +she had seen him, and remembered minutely his eyes, his hair, his +mouth and his hands--and even his black horse, with a star in his +face, and his one white foot and long, sweeping tail. So often did I +listen to the story, that in after boyhood I came to believe I had +seen him also, though his death occurred twenty days before I was +born. My dear, good mother has often told me that but for an attack of +ague, which kept the venerable lady from our home for a month or more, +I should have been honored with bearing the old hero's name through +life. So intent was she in this particular, that she never liked my +being named after Billy Crafford (for so she pronounced his name) for +whom the partiality of my father caused him to name me. Few remain to +remember the horrors of this partisan warfare. The very traditions are +being obliterated by those of the recent civil war, so rife with +scenes and deeds sufficiently horrible for the appetite of the curious +in crime and cruelty. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +PIONEER LIFE. + +SETTLEMENT OF MIDDLE GEORGIA--PROWLING INDIANS--SCOUTS AND THEIR +DOGS--CLASSES OF SETTLERS--PROMINENCE OF VIRGINIANS--CAUSES OF +DISTINCTION--CLEARING--LOG-ROLLING--FROLICS--TEACHERS CUMMINGS AND +DUFFY--THE SCHOOLMASTER'S NOSE--FLOGGING--EMIGRATION TO ALABAMA. + + +The early settlement of Middle Georgia was principally by emigrants +from Virginia and North Carolina. These were a rough, poor, but honest +people, with little or no fortunes, and who were quite as limited in +education as in fortune. Their necessities made them industrious and +frugal. Lands were procured at the expense of surveying; the soil was +virgin and productive; rude cabins, built of poles, constituted not +only their dwellings but every necessary outbuilding. Those who first +ventured beyond the Ogeechee generally selected some spot where a good +spring of water was found, not overlooked by an elevation so close as +to afford an opportunity to the Indians, then very troublesome, to +fire into the little stockade forts erected around these springs for +their security against the secret attacks of the prowling and +merciless Creeks and Cherokees. + +Usually several families united in building and living in these forts. +As soon as this protection was completed, the work of clearing away +the surrounding forest was commenced, that the land should afford a +field for cultivation. While thus employed, sentinels were stationed +at such points in the neighborhood as afforded the best opportunity +for descrying the approach of Indians, and the watch was most careful. +When those employed in hunting (for every community had its hunters) +discovered, or thought they had discovered signs of the presence of +the savages, scouts were immediately sent out to discover if they were +lurking anywhere in the neighborhood. This was the most arduous and +perilous duty of the pioneers, and not unfrequently the scout, or spy +as he was usually termed, went to return no more. When seed-time came, +corn, a small patch of cotton and another of flax were planted, and +cultivation continued under the same surveillance. + +The dog, always the companion of man, was carefully trained to search +for the prowling Indians; and by daylight every morning the clearing, +as the open lands were universally termed; was passed around by a +cautious scout, always preceded by his dogs, who seemed as conscious +of their duty and as faithful in its discharge as was their master. If +he reported no Indians, the work of cultivation commenced, and the +sentinels repaired to their posts. These were usually changed whenever +the slightest sign of Indians anywhere in the country could be found, +lest their posts might have been found and marked, and ambushed at +night. Yet, despite this prudent caution, many a sentinel perished at +his post. The unerring arrow gave no alarm, and the sentinel slain, +opened an approach for the savages; and not unfrequently parties at +labor were thus surprised and shot in full view of those in the fort. + +Occasionally an emigrant brought with him a slave or two: these were +rich, and invariably were the leading men in the communities. Those +from Virginia were more frequently possessed of this species of +property than those from the Carolinas, and, coming from an older +country, had generally enjoyed better opportunities and were more +cultivated. A common necessity harmonized all, and the state of +society was a pure democracy. These communities were usually from +twenty to fifty miles apart, and about them a nucleus was formed, +inviting those who sought the new country for a home to locate in the +immediate vicinity. Security and the enjoyment of social intercourse +were more frequently the incentives for these selections than the +fertility of the soil or other advantages. One peculiarity was +observable, which their descendants, in their emigration to the West, +continue to this day to practise: they usually came due west from +their former homes, and were sure to select, as nearly as possible, a +new one in the same parallel, and with surroundings as nearly like +those they had left as possible. With the North Carolinian, good +spring-water, and pine-knots for his fire, were the _sine qua +non_. These secured, he went to work with the assiduity and +perseverance of a beaver to build his house and open his fields. The +Virginians, less particular, but more ambitious, sought the best lands +for grain and tobacco; consequently they were more diffused, and their +improvements, from their superior wealth, were more imposing. + +Wealth in all communities is comparative, and he who has only a few +thousand dollars, where no one else has so much, is the rich man, and +ever assumes the rich man's prerogatives and bearing. All experience +has proved that as a man estimates himself, so in time will the +community esteem him; and he who assumes to lead or dictate will soon +be permitted to do so, and will become the first in prominence and +influence in his neighborhood, county, or State. Greatness commences +humbly and progresses by assumption. The humble ruler of a +neighborhood, like a pebble thrown into a pond, will continue to +increase the circle of his influence until it reaches the limits of +his county. The fathers speak of him, the children hear of him, his +name is a household word; if he but assumes enough, in time he becomes +the great man of the county; and if with impudence he unites a modicum +of talent, well larded with a cunning deceit, it will not be long +before he is Governor or member of Congress. It is not surprising, +then, that in nearly every one of these communities the great man was +a Virginian. It has been assumed by the Virginians that they have +descended from a superior race, and this may be true as regards many +families whose ancestors were of Norman descent; but it is not true of +the mass of her population; and for one descendant from the nobility +and gentry of the mother country, there are thousands of pure +Anglo-Saxon blood. It was certainly true, from the character and +abilities of her public men, in her colonial condition and in the +earlier days of the republic, she had a right to assume a superiority; +but this, I fancy, was more the result of her peculiar institutions +than of any superiority of race or greater purity of blood. I am far, +however, from underrating the influence of blood. That there are +species of the same race superior in mental as well as in physical +formation is certainly true. The peculiar organization of the brain, +its fineness of texture in some, distinguish them as mentally superior +to others, as the greater development of bone and muscle marks the +superiority of physical power. Very frequently this difference is seen +in brothers, and sometimes in families of the same parents--the males +in some usurping all the mental acumen, and in others the females. Why +this is so, I cannot stop to speculate. + +Virginia, in her many divisions of territory, was granted to the +younger sons of the nobility and gentry of England. They came with the +peculiar habits of their class, and located upon these grants, +bringing with them as colonists their dependants in England, and +retaining here all the peculiarities of caste. The former were the +governing class at home, and asserted the privilege here; the latter +were content that it should be so. In the formation of the first +constitution for Virginia, the great feature of a landed aristocracy +was fully recognized in the organic law. The suffragist was the landed +proprietor, and in every county where his possessions were this right +attached. They recognized landed property as the basis of government, +and demanded the right for it of choosing the lawmakers and the +executors of the law. All power, and very nearly all of the wealth of +the State, was in the hands of the landlords, and these selected from +their own class or caste the men who were to conduct the government. +To this class, too, were confined most of the education and learning +in the new State; and in choosing for the Legislature or for Congress, +State pride and the love of power prompted the selection of their +brightest and best men. + +Oratory was esteemed the first attribute of superior minds, and was +assiduously cultivated. There were few newspapers, and the press had +not attained the controlling power over the public mind as now. +Political information was disseminated chiefly by public speaking, and +every one aspiring to lead in the land was expected to be a fine +speaker. This method, and the manner of voting, forced an open avowal +of political opinion. Each candidate, upon the day of election, took +his seat upon the bench of the judge in the county court-house, and +the suffragist appeared at the bar, demanding to exercise his +privilege in the choice of his representative. This was done by +declaring the names of those he voted for. These peculiar institutions +cultivated open and manly bearing, pride, and independence. There was +little opportunity for the arts of the demagogue; and the elevation of +sentiment in the suffragist made him despise the man, however superior +his talents, who would attempt them. The voter's pride was to sustain +the power of his State in the national councils, to have a great man +for his Governor; they were the representatives of his class, and he +felt his own importance in the greatness of his representative. It is +not to be wondered at, under these circumstances, that Virginia held +for many years the control of the Government, furnishing Presidents of +transcendent abilities to the nation, and filling her councils with +men whose talents and eloquence and proud and independent bearing won +for them, not only the respect of the nation's representatives, but +the power to control the nation's destinies, and to be looked upon as +belonging to a superior race. + +There were wanting, however, two great elements in the nation's +institutions, to sustain in its pride and efficiency this peculiar +advantage, to wit, the entailment of estates, and the right of +primogeniture. Those landed estates soon began to be subdivided, and +in proportion as they dwindled into insignificance, so began to perish +the prestige of their proprietors. The institution of African slavery +served for a long time to aid in continuing the aristocratic features +of Virginia society, though it conferred no legal privileges. As +these, and the lands, found their way into many hands, the democratic +element began to aspire and to be felt. The struggle was long and +severe, but finally, in 1829 or 1830, the democratic element +triumphed, and a new constitution was formed, extending universal +suffrage to white men. This degraded the constituent and +representative alike, and all of Virginia's power was soon lost in the +councils of the nation. But the pride of her people did not perish +with her aristocracy; this continued, and permeated her entire people. +They preserved it at home, and carried it wherever they went. Those +whose consideration at home was at zero, became of the first families +abroad, until Virginia pride became a by-word of scorn in the western +and more southern States. Yet despite all this, there is greatness in +the Virginians: there is superiority in her people,--a loftiness of +soul, a generosity of hospitality, a dignified patience under +suffering, which command the respect and admiration of every +appreciative mind. + +Very soon after the Revolution, the tide of emigration began to flow +toward Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia. Those from Virginia who +sought new homes went principally to Kentucky, as much because it was +a part of the Old Dominion, as on account of climate and soil. Those +from North Carolina and South Carolina preferred Tennessee, and what +was then known as Upper Georgia, but now as Middle Georgia; yet there +was a sprinkling here and there throughout Georgia from Virginia. Many +of these became leading men in the State, and their descendants still +boast of their origin, and in plenary pride point to such men as +William H. Crawford and Peter Early as shining evidences of the +superiority of Virginia's blood. + +Most of these emigrants, however, were poor; but where all were poor, +this was no degradation. The concomitants of poverty in densely +populated communities--where great wealth confers social distinction +and frowns from its association the poor, making poverty humility, +however elevated its virtues--were unknown in these new countries. The +nobler virtues, combined with energy and intellect, alone conferred +distinction; and I doubt if the world, ever furnished a more honest, +virtuous, energetic, or democratic association of men and women than +was, at the period of which I write, to be found constituting the +population of these new States. From whatever cause arising, there +certainly was, in the days of my early memory, more scrupulous truth, +open frankness, and pure, blunt honesty pervading the whole land than +seem to characterize its present population. It was said by Nathaniel +Macon, of North Carolina, that bad roads and fist-fights made the best +militia on earth; and these may have been, in some degree, the means +of moulding into fearless honesty the character of these people. They +encountered all the hardships of opening and subduing the country, +creating highways, bridges, churches, and towns with their public +buildings. These they met cheerfully, and working with a will, +triumphed. After months of labor, a few acres were cleared and the +trees cut into convenient lengths for handling, and then the neighbors +were invited to assist in what was called a log-rolling. This aid was +cheerfully given, and an offer to pay for it would have been an +insult. It was returned in kind, however, when a neighbor's +necessities required. These log-rollings were generally accompanied +with a quilting, which brought together the youth of the neighborhood; +and the winding up of the day's work was a frolic, as the dance and +other amusements of the time were termed. Upon occasions like this, +feats of strength and activity universally constituted a part of the +programme. The youth who could pull down his man at the end of the +hand-stick, throw him in a wrestle, or outstrip him in a footrace, was +honored as the best man in the settlement, and was always greeted with +a cheer from the older men, a slap on the shoulder by the old ladies, +and the shy but approving smiles of the girls,--had his choice of +partners in the dance, and in triumph rode home on horseback with his +belle, the horse's consciousness of bearing away the championship +manifesting itself in an erect head and stately step. + +The apparel of male and female was of home-spun, woven by the mothers +and sisters, and was fashioned, I was about to say, by the same fair +hands; but these were almost universally embrowned with exposure and +hardened by toil. Education was exceedingly limited: the settlements +were sparse, and school-houses were at long intervals, and in these +the mere rudiments of an English education were taught--spelling, +reading, and writing, with the four elementary rules of arithmetic; +and it was a great advance to grapple with the grammar of the +language. As population and prosperity increased, their almost +illiterate teachers gave place to a better class; and many of my +Georgia readers will remember as among these the old Irish preachers, +Cummings, and that remarkable brute, Daniel Duffee. He was an Irishman +of the Pat Freney stripe, and I fancy there are many, with gray heads +and wrinkled fronts, who can look upon the cicatrices resulting from +his merciless blows, and remember that Milesian malignity of face, +with its toad-like nose, with the same vividness with which it +presents itself to me to-day. Yes, I remember it, and have cause. When +scarcely ten years of age, in his little log school-house, the +aforesaid resemblance forced itself upon me with such _vim_ that +involuntarily I laughed. For this outbreak against the tyrant's rules +I was called to his frowning presence. + +"What are you laughing at, you whelp?" was the rude inquiry. + +Tremblingly I replied: "You will whip me if I tell you." + +"And you little devil, I will whip you if you don't," was his +rejoinder, as he reached for his well-trimmed hickory, one of many +conspicuously displayed upon his table. With truthful sincerity I +answered: + +"Father Duffy, I was laughing to think how much your nose is like a +frog." + +It was just after play-time, and I was compelled to stand by him and +at intervals of ten minutes receive a dozen lashes, laid on with +brawny Irish strength, until discharged with the school at night. +To-day I bear the marks of that whipping upon my shoulders and in my +heart. But Duffy was not alone in the strictness and severity of his +rules and his punishments. Children were taught to believe that there +could be no discipline in a school of boys and girls without the +savage brutality of the lash, and the teacher who met his pupils with +a caressing smile was considered unworthy his vocation. Learning must +be thrashed into the tender mind; nothing was such a stimulus to the +young memory as the lash and the vulgar, abusive reproof of the gentle +and meritorious teacher. + +There was great eccentricity of character in all the conduct and +language of Duffy. He had his own method of prayer, and his own +peculiar style of preaching, frequently calling out the names of +persons in his audience whom it was his privilege to consider the +chiefest of sinners, and to implore mercy for them in language +offensive almost to decency. Sometimes, in the presence of persons +inimical to each other, he would ask the Lord to convert the sinners +and make the fools friends, first telling the Lord who they were by +name, to the no small amusement of his most Christian audience; many +of whom would in deep devotion respond with a sonorous "Amen." + +From such a population sprang the present inhabitants of Georgia; and +by such men were they taught, in their budding boyhood, the rudiments +of an English education;--such, I mean, of the inhabitants who still +live and remember Duffy, Cummings, and McLean. They are few, but the +children of the departed remember traditionally these and their like, +in the schoolmasters of Georgia from 1790 to 1815. + +At the close of the war of 1812-15, a new impetus was given to +everything throughout the South, and especially to education. The +ambition for wealth seized upon her people, the high price of cotton +favored its accumulation, and with it came new and more extravagant +wants, new and more luxurious habits. The plain homespun jean coat +gave way to the broad-cloth one; and the neat, Turkey-red striped +Sunday frock of the belle yielded to the gaudy red calico one, and +there was a sniff of aristocratic contempt in the upturned nose +towards those who, from choice or necessity, continued in the old +habits. + +Material wealth augmented rapidly, and with it came all of its +assumptions. The rich lands of Alabama were open to settlement. The +formidable Indian had been humbled, and many of the wealthiest +cultivators of the soil were commencing to emigrate to a newer and +more fertile country, where smiling Fortune beckoned them. + +The first to lead off in this exodus was the Bibb family, long +distinguished for wealth and influence in the State. The Watkinses, +the Sheroos, and Dearings followed: some to north, some to south +Alabama. W.W. Bibb was appointed, by Mr. Madison, Territorial Governor +of Alabama, and was followed to the new El Dorado by his brothers, +Thomas, John Dandridge, and Benajah, all men of substance and +character. + +For a time this rage for a new country seemed to threaten Georgia and +South Carolina with the loss of their best population. This probably +would have been the result of the new acquisition, but, in its midst, +the territory between the Ocmulgee and Chattahoochee was ceded by the +Indians, and afforded a new field for settlement, which effectually +arrested this emigration at its flood. The new territory added to the +dominion of Georgia was acquired mainly through the energy and +pertinacity of George M. Troup, at the time Governor of Georgia. + +I have much to record of my memories concerning this new acquisition, +but must reserve them for a new chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE GEORGIA COMPANY. + +YAZOO PURCHASE--GOVERNOR MATHEWS--JAMES JACKSON--BURNING OF THE YAZOO +ACT--DEVELOPMENT OF FREE GOVERNMENT--CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION--SLAVERY: +ITS INTRODUCTION AND EFFECTS. + + +The grant by the British Government of the territory of Georgia to +General Oglethorpe and company, comprised what now constitutes the +entire States of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, except that +portion of Alabama and Mississippi lying below the thirty-first degree +of north latitude, which portions of those States were originally part +of West Florida. + +The French settlements extended up the Mississippi, embracing both +sides of that river above the mouth of Red River, which discharges +into the former in the thirty-first degree of north latitude. The +river from the mouth of the Bayou Manshac, which left the river +fourteen miles below Baton Rouge, on the east side, up to the +thirty-first degree of north latitude, was the boundary line between +West Florida and Louisiana. Above this point the French claimed +jurisdiction on both sides; but Georgia disputed this jurisdiction +over the east bank, and claimed to own from the thirty-first to the +thirty-sixth degree of latitude. There were many settlements made by +Americans upon this territory at a very early day,--one at Natchez, +one at Fort Adams, and several on the Tombigbee, the St. Stephens, at +McIntosh's Bluff, and on Bassett's Creek. These settlements formed the +nucleus of an American population in the States of Mississippi and +Alabama. The lands bordering upon these rivers and their tributaries +were known to be exceedingly fertile, and proffered inducements to +settlers unequalled in all the South. Speculation was very soon +directed to these regions. A company was formed of citizens of Georgia +and Virginia for the purchase of an immense tract of territory, +including most of what is now Mississippi and Alabama. This company +was known as the Georgia Company, and the territory as the Yazoo +Purchase. It was a joint-stock company, and managed by trustees or +directors. The object was speculation. It was intended to purchase +from Georgia this domain, then to survey it and subdivide it into +tracts to suit purchasers. Parties were delegated to make this +purchase: this could only be done by the Legislature and by special +act passed for that purpose. The proposition was made, and met with +formidable opposition. The scheme was a gigantic one and promised +great results, and the parties concerned were bold and unscrupulous. +They very soon ascertained that means other than honorable to either +party must be resorted to to secure success. The members to be +operated upon were selected, and the company's agents began the work. +Enough was made, by donations of stock and the direct payment of money +by those interested in the scheme, to effect the passage of the Act +and secure the contract of purchase and sale. The opposition denied +the power of the Legislature to sell; asserting that the territory was +sacred to the people of the State, and that those, in selecting their +representatives, had never contemplated delegating any such powers as +would enable them to dispose by sale of any part of the public domain; +that it was the province of the Legislature, under the Constitution, +to pass laws for the general good alone, and not to barter or sell any +portion of the territory of the State to be separated from the domain +and authority of the State. They insisted that the matter should be +referred to the people, who at the next election of members to the +Legislature should declare their will and intention as to this sale. + +On the other side they were met with the argument, that the +Legislature was sovereign and the supreme power of the State, and +might rightfully do anything, not forbidden in the Constitution, +pertaining to sovereignty, which they in their wisdom might deem +essential to the general welfare; that the territory included in the +grant to Oglethorpe and company was entirely too extended, and that by +a sale a new State or States would be formed, which would increase the +political power of the South--especially in the United States Senate, +where she greatly needed representation to counterbalance the +influence of the small States of the North in that body. These +arguments were specious, but it was well understood they were only +meant to justify a vote for the measure which corruption had secured. + +The Act was passed by a bare majority of both branches of the +Legislature, and the sale consummated. Before the passage of this +measure, the will of the people had been sufficiently expressed in the +indignant outburst of public feeling, as to leave no doubt upon the +minds of the corrupt representatives that they had not only forfeited +the public confidence, but had actually imperilled their personal +safety. Upon the return to their homes, after the adjournment, they +were not only met with universal scorn, but with inappeasable rage. +Some of the most guilty were slain; some had their houses burned over +their heads, and others fled the State; one was pursued and killed in +Virginia, and all not only entailed upon themselves infamy, but also +upon their innocent posterity; and to-day, to be known as the +descendant of a Yazoo man is a badge of disgrace. The deed, however, +was done: how to undo it became an agitating question. The Legislature +next ensuing was elected pledged to repeal the odious Act; and upon +its convening, all made haste to manifest an ardent zeal in this work. + +At the time of the passage of this Act, the Legislature sat in +Augusta, and the Governor who by the Act was empowered to make the +sale was George Mathews. Mathews was an Irishman by birth, and was +very illiterate, but a man of strong passions and indomitable will. +During the war of the Revolution he had, as a partisan officer, gained +some distinction, and in the upper counties exercised considerable +influence. Many anecdotes are related of his intrepidity and daring, +and quite as many of his extraordinary orthography. At the battle of +Eutaw Springs, in South Carolina, he was severely wounded, at the +moment when the Continental forces were retiring to a better position. +A British soldier, noticing some vestiges of a uniform upon him, +lifted his musket to stab him with the bayonet; his commander caught +the weapon, and angrily demanded, "Would you murder a wounded officer? +Forward, sir!" Mathews, turning upon his back, asked, "To whom do I +owe my life?" "If you consider it an obligation, sir, to me," answered +the lieutenant. Mathews saw the uniform was British, and furiously +replied, "Well, sir, I want you to know that I scorn a life saved by a +d----d Briton." The writer had the anecdote from a distinguished +citizen of Georgia, who was himself lying near by, severely wounded, +and who in one of his sons has given to Georgia a Governor. + +General Wade Hampton, George Walker, William Longstreet, Zachariah +Cox, and Matthew McAllister were the parties most active in procuring +the passage of the Yazoo Act. That bribery was extensively practised, +there is no doubt, and the suspicion that it even extended to the +Executive gained credence as a fact, and was the cause of preventing +his name ever being given to a county in the State: and it is a +significant fact of this suspicion, and also of the great unpopularity +of the Act, that to this day every effort to that end has failed. No +act of Governor Mathews ever justified any such suspicion. As Governor +of the State, and believing the sovereign power of the State was in +the Legislature, and consequently the power to dispose of the public +domain, he only approved the Act as the State's Executive, and +fulfilled the duties assigned to him by the law. But suspicion +fastened upon him, and its effects remain to this day. + +The pertinacious discussions between the parties purchasing and those +opposed to the State's selling and her authority to sell, created +immense excitement, and pervaded the entire State. The decision of the +Supreme Court of the United States was invoked in the case of Fletcher +_versus_ Peck, which settled the question of the power of the +State to sell the public domain, and the validity of the sale made by +the State to the Georgia Company. In the meantime the Legislature of +Georgia had repealed the law authorizing the Governor to sell. This +decision of the Supreme Court brought about an amicable adjustment of +the difficulties between the Company and the State, with the +Government of the United States as a third party. + +The excitement was not so much on account of the sale, though this was +bitter, as of the corruption which procured it. The test of public +confidence and social respect was opposition to the Yazoo fraud. Every +candidate at the ensuing election for members of the Legislature was +compelled to declare his position on the subject of repealing this +Act, and, almost to a man, every one who believed in the power of the +State to sell, and that rights had vested in the purchasers and their +assigns, was defeated. + +James Jackson, a young, ardent, and talented man, who had in very +early life, by his abilities and high character, so won the public +confidence that he had been elected Governor of the State, when he was +ineligible because of his youth, was at this time a member of +Congress. He made a tour through the State, preaching a crusade +against the corrupt Legislature, and denouncing those who had produced +and profited by this corruption, inflaming the public mind almost to +frenzy. He resided in Savannah, and was at the head of the Republican +or Jeffersonian party, which was just then being organized in +opposition to the administration of John Adams, the successor of +Washington. His parents had emigrated from England, and fixed their +home in Savannah, where young Jackson was born, and where, from the +noble qualities of his nature, he had become immensely popular. + +Talent and virtuous merit at that period was the passport to public +confidence. Had it continued to be, we should never have known the +present deplorable condition of the country, with the Government +sinking into ruin ere it has reached the ten o'clock of national life. + +His Shibboleth was, that the disgrace of the State must be wiped out +by the repeal of the Yazoo Act; and _repeal_ rang from every +mouth, from Savannah to the mountains. Jackson resigned his seat in +Congress, and was elected a member of the Legislature. Immediately +upon the assembling of this body, a bill was introduced repealing the +odious Act, and ordering the records containing it to be burned. This +was carried out to the letter. Jackson, heading the Legislature and +the indignant public, proceeded in procession to the public square in +Louisville, Jefferson County, where the law and the fagots were piled; +when, addressing the assembled multitude, he denounced the men who had +voted for the law as bribed villains--those who had bribed them, and +the Governor who had signed it; and declared that fire from heaven +only could sanctify the indignation of God and man in consuming the +condemned record of accursed crime. Then, with a Promethean or convex +glass condensing the sun's rays, he kindled the flame which consumed +the records containing the hated Yazoo Act. + +Jackson was a man of ordinary height, slender, very erect in his +carriage, with red hair and intensely blue eyes. His manners were +courteous, affable, and remarkable for a natural dignity which added +greatly to his influence with the people. He was the model from which +was grown that chivalry and nobility of soul and high bearing so +characteristic of the people of Southern Georgia. In truth, the +essence of his character seemed subtilly to pervade the entire circle +in which he moved, inspiring a purity of character, a loftiness of +honor, which rebuked with its presence alone everything that was low, +little, or dishonest. Subsequently he was elected Governor of the +State, bringing all the qualities of his nature into the +administration of the office; he gave it a dignity and respectability +never subsequently degraded, until an unworthy son of South Carolina, +the pus and corruption of unscrupulous party, was foisted into the +position. Strength of will, a ripe judgment, and purity of intention, +were the great characteristics distinguishing him in public life, and +these have endeared his name to the people of Georgia, where now +remain many of his descendants, some of whom have filled high +positions in the State and United States, and not one has ever soiled +the honor or tarnished the name with an act unworthy a gentleman. + +The Revolutionary struggle called out all the nobler qualities nature +has bestowed on man, in those who conceived the desire and executed +the determination to be free. The heroic was most prominent: woman +seemed to forget her feebleness and timidity, and boldly to dare, and +with increased fortitude to bear every danger, every misfortune, with +a heroism scarcely compatible with the delicacy of her nature. To +this, or some other inexplicable cause, nature seemed to resort in +preparation for coming events. In every State there came up men, born +during the war or immediately thereafter, of giant minds--men +seemingly destined to form and give direction to a new Government +suited to the genius of the people and to the physical peculiarities +of the country where it was to control the destinies of hundreds of +millions of human beings yet unborn, and where the soil was virgin and +unturned, which nature had prepared for their coming. This required a +new order of men. These millions were to be free in the fullest sense +of the word; they were only to be controlled by laws; and the making +of these laws was to be their own work, and nature was responding to +the exigencies of man. + +The early probation of independent government taught the necessity of +national concentration as to the great features of government, at the +same time demonstrating the importance of keeping the minor powers of +government confined to the authority of the States. In the assembling +of a convention for this purpose, which grew out of the free action of +the people of each State, uninfluenced by law or precedent, we see +congregated a body of men combining more talent, more wisdom, and more +individuality of character than perhaps was ever aggregated in any +other public body ever assembled. From this convention of sages +emanated the Constitution of the United States; and most of those +constituting this body reassembled in the first Congress, which sat as +the supreme power in the United States. It was these men and their +coadjutors who inaugurated and gave direction to the new Government. +Under its operations, the human mind and human soul seemed to expand +and to compass a grasp it had scarcely known before. There were +universal content and universal harmony. The laws were everywhere +respected, and everywhere enforced. The freedom of thought, and the +liberty of action unrestrained, stimulated an ambition in every man to +discharge his duties faithfully to the Government, and honestly in all +social relations. There was universal security to person and property, +because every law-breaker was deemed a public enemy, and not only +received the law's condemnation, but the public scorn. Under such a +Government the rapid accumulation of wealth and population was a +natural consequence. The history of the world furnishes no example +comparable with the progress of the United States to national +greatness. The civilized world appeared to feel the influence of her +example and to start anew in the rivalry of greatness. Her soil's +surplus products created the means of a widely extended commerce, and +Americans can proudly refer to the eighty years of her existence as a +period showing greater progress in wealth, refinement, the arts and +sciences, and human liberty, than was ever experienced in any two +centuries of time within the historical period of man's existence. My +theme expands, and I am departing from the purposes of this work; yet +I cannot forbear the expression of opinion as to the causes of this +result. I know I shall incur the deepest censure from the professors +of a mawkish philanthropy, and a hypocritical religion which is +cursing with its cant the very sources of this unparalleled progress, +this unexampled prosperity. + +Slavery was introduced into the Colonies by English merchants about +two centuries since: this was to supply a necessity--labor--for the +purpose of developing the resources of this immense and fertile +country. The African was designed by the Creator to subserve this +purpose. His centre of creation was within the tropics, and his +physical organization fitted him, and him alone, for field labor in +the tropical and semi-tropical regions of the earth. He endures the +sun's heat without pain or exhaustion in this labor, and yet he has +not nor can he acquire the capacity to direct profitably this labor. +It was then the design of the Creator that this labor should be +controlled and directed by a superior intelligence. In the absence of +mental capacity, we find him possessed of equal physical powers with +any other race, with an amiability of temper which submits without +resistance to this control. We find him, too, without moral, social, +or political aspirations, contented and happy in the condition of +servility to this superior intelligence, and rising in the scale of +humanity to a condition which under any other circumstances his race +had never attained. I may be answered that this labor can be had from +the black as a freeman as well as in the condition of a slave. To this +I will simply say, experience has proved this to be an error. Such is +the indolence and unambitious character of the negro that he will not +labor, unless compelled by the apprehension of immediate punishment, +to anything approaching his capacity for labor. His wants are few, +they are easily supplied, and when they are, there is no temptation +which will induce him to work. He cares nothing for social position, +and will steal to supply his necessities, and feel no abasement in the +legal punishment which follows his conviction; nor is his social +status among his race damaged thereby. As a slave to the white man, he +becomes and has proved an eminently useful being to his kind--in every +other condition, equally conspicuous as a useless one. The fertility +of the soil and the productions of the tropical regions of the earth +demonstrate to the thinking mind that these were to be cultivated and +made to produce for the uses and prosperity of the human family. The +great staples of human necessity and human luxury are produced here in +the greatest abundance, and the great majority of these nowhere else. +The white man, from his physical organization, cannot perform in these +regions the labor necessary to their production. His centre of +creation is in the temperate zones, and only there can he profitably +labor in the earth's cultivation. But his mental endowments enable him +to appropriate all which nature has supplied for the necessities of +life and the progress of his race. He sees and comprehends in nature +the designs of her Creator: these designs he develops, and the +consequence is a constant and enlightened progress of his race, and +the subjection of the physical world to this end. + +He finds the soil, the climate, the production, and the labor united, +and he applies his intelligence to develop the design of this +combination; and the consequence has been the wonderful progress of +the last two centuries. I hold it as a great truth that nature points +to her uses and ends; that to observe these and follow them is to +promote the greatest happiness to the human family; and that wherever +these aims are diverted or misdirected, retrogression and human misery +are the consequence. In all matters, experience is a better test than +speculation; and to surrender a great practical utility to a mere +theory is great folly. But it has been done, and we abide the +consequences. + +In all nations, a spurious, pretentious religion has been the +_avant-coureur_ of their destruction. In their inception and early +progress this curse exercises but slight influence, and their growth +is consequently healthy and vigorous. All nations have concealed this +cancerous ulcer, sooner or later to develop for their destruction. +These wear out with those they destroy, and a new or reformed religion +is almost always accompanied with new and vigorous developments in +a new and progressive Government. The shackles which have paralyzed +the mind, forbidding its development, are broken; the unnatural +superstition ceases to circumscribe and influence its operations; and +thus emancipated, it recovers its elasticity and springs forward +toward the perfection of the Creator. Rescued from these baleful +influences, the new organization is vigorous and rapid in its growth, +yielding the beneficent blessings natural to the healthful and +unabused energies of the mind. But with maturity and age the webs of +superstition begin to fasten on the mind; priests become prominent, +and as is their wont, the moment they shackle the mind, they reach out +for power, and the chained disciple of their superstition willingly +yields, under the vain delusion that he shares and participates in +this power as a holy office for the propagation of his creed--and +retrogression commences. + +The effects of African slavery in the United States, upon the +condition of both races, was eminently beneficial to both. In no +condition, and under no other circumstances, had the African made such +advances toward civilization: indeed, I doubt if he has not attained +in this particular to the highest point susceptible to his nature. He +has increased more rapidly, and his aspirations have become more +elevated, and his happiness more augmented. With his labor directed by +the intelligence of the white race, the prosperity of the world has +increased in a ratio superior to any antecedent period. The production +of those staples which form the principal bases of commerce has +increased in a quadruple ratio. Cotton alone increased so rapidly as +to render its price so far below every other article which can be +fashioned into cloth, that the clothing and sheeting of the civilized +world was principally fabricated from it. The rapidity of its +increased production was only equalled by the increase of wealth and +comfort throughout the world. It regulates the exchanges almost +universally. It gave, in its growth, transportation, and manufacture, +employment to millions, feeding and clothing half of Europe--increasing +beyond example commercial tonnage, and stimulating the invention of +labor-saving machinery--giving a healthy impulse to labor and enterprise +in every avocation, and intertwining itself with every interest, +throughout the broad expanse of civilization over the earth. To cotton, +more than to any other one thing, is due the railroad, steamboat, and +steamship, the increase of commerce, the rapid accumulation of +fortunes, and consequently the diffusion of intelligence, learning, and +civilization. + +Sugar, too, from the same cause, ceased to be a luxury, and became a +necessity in the economy of living: coffee, too, became a stimulating +beverage at every meal, instead of a luxury only to be indulged on +rare occasions. How much the increased production of these three +articles added to the commerce and wealth of the world during the last +two centuries, and especially the last, is beyond computation. How +much of human comfort and human happiness is now dependent upon their +continued production, and in such abundance as to make them accessible +to the means of all, may well employ the earnest attention of those +who feel for the interest and happiness of their kind most. If these +results have followed the institution of African slavery, can it be +inhuman and sinful? Is it not rather an evidence that the Creator so +designed? + +But this is not all this institution has effected. Besides its +pecuniary results, it has inspired in the superior race a nobility of +feeling, resulting from a habit of command and a sense of +independence, which is peculiar to privileged orders of men in +civilized society. This feeling is manifested in high bearing and +sensitive honor, a refinement of sentiment and chivalrous emprise +unknown to communities without caste. This is to be seen in the +absence of everything little or mean. A noble hospitality, a scorn of +bargaining, and a lofty yet eminently deferential deportment toward +females: in this mould it has cast Southern society, and these traits +made the Southern gentleman remarkable, wherever his presence was +found. + +These were the men who led in the formation of the Government of the +United States, and who gave tone and character to her legislative +assembly, so long as they held control of the Government. A peer among +these was James Jackson, and many of his confederates, of whom I shall +have occasion to speak in the progress of this work. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +POLITICAL DISPUTATIONS. + +BALDWIN--A YANKEE'S POLITICAL STABILITY--THE YAZOO QUESTION--PARTY +FEUDS AND FIGHTS--DEAF AND DUMB MINISTERS--CLAY--JACKSON--BUCHANAN-- +CALHOUN--COTTON AND FREE-TRADE--THE CLAY AND RANDOLPH DUEL. + + +Among the early immigrants into Georgia were Abraham Baldwin and +William H. Crawford. Baldwin was from Connecticut, Crawford from +Virginia. Baldwin was a man of liberal education, and was destined for +the ministry; indeed, he had taken orders, and was an officiating +clergyman for some time in his native state. His family was English, +and has given many distinguished men to the nation. After he arrived +in Georgia, where he came to engage in his vocation, he very soon +ascertained his profession was not one which in a new country promised +much profit or distinction; and possessing in an eminent degree that +Yankee "_cuteness_" which is quick to discover what is to the interest +of its possessor, he abandoned the pulpit for the forum, and after a +brief probation in a law office at nights and a school-house by day, +he opened an office, and commenced the practice of law in Augusta. He +had been educated a Federalist in politics, and had not concealed his +sentiments in his new home. + +Mr. Jefferson and his political principles were extremely popular in +Georgia, and though there were some distinguished Federalists in +Augusta who were leaders in her society, their number in the State was +too insignificant to hold out any prospect of preferment to a young, +talented, and ambitious aspirant for political distinction. Baldwin +was not slow to discover this, and, with the facile nature of his +race, abandoned his political creed, as he had his professional +pursuits. He saw Crawford was rising into public notice, and he knew +his ability, and with characteristic impudence he thrust himself +forward, and very soon was made a member of Congress. Here he was true +to his last love, and became a leading member of the Republican party. +By his conduct in this matter he made himself odious to his New +England friends, who were unsparing of their abuse because of his +treachery. + +For this he cared very little; but bore well in mind that "the blood +of the martyrs was the seed of the church," and that the hate of the +Federalists was the passport to Republican favor. His zeal was that of +the new convert, and it won for him the confidence of his party, and +rapid preferment in the line of distinction. He was a man of decided +abilities, and seemed destined to high distinction; but dying early, a +member of the United States Senate, his hopes and aspirations here +terminated. The State has honored and perpetuated his name by giving +it to the county wherein is situated her seat of government. + +Crawford, like Baldwin, taught, and studied law at the same time. He +was usher in a school taught by his life-long friend, Judge Yates. +When admitted to practise law, he located in the little village of +Lexington, in the County of Oglethorpe, and very soon was not only the +leading lawyer, but the leading man of all the up-country of Georgia. + +Eminence is always envied: this was conspicuously the fortune of +Crawford. The population of the State was increasing rapidly, and +young aspirants for fame and fortune were crowding to where these were +promised most speedily. + +The Yazoo question had created deep animosities. General Elijah +Clarke, and his son John, subsequently governor of the State, were +charged with complicity in this great fraud. The father had +distinguished himself in repelling the Indians in their various forays +upon the frontiers, and was a representative man. With strong will and +distinguished courage, he, without much talent, was conspicuous among +a people who were, like himself, rude, unlettered, but daring, and +abounding in strong common-sense. + +There was a young man at the same time, a devoted friend of young +Clarke, and follower of his father: he was an emigrant from one of the +Middle States. Violent in his character, and incautious in the use of +language, he very soon became offensive to his opponents, and sought +every opportunity to increase the bad feeling with which he was +regarded. Siding with the Yazoo Company, he soon made himself odious +to their enemies. The parties of Republicans and Federalists were +bitter toward each other, and feuds were leading to fights, and some +of these of most deadly character. The conflicts with the Indians had +kept alive the warlike spirit which the partisan warfare of the +Revolution had cultivated at the South, and no virtue was so +especially regarded by these people as that of personal courage. The +consequence was that no man, whatever his deportment or +qualifications, could long fill the public eye without distinguishing +himself for the possession of personal bravery. + +The Clarkes were the undisputed leaders of public opinion in the +up-country, until Crawford came, and, by his great abilities and +remarkable frankness of manner, won away to his support, and to the +support of his opinions, a large majority of the people. This was not +to be borne; and young Van Allen was willingly thrust forward to test +the courage of Crawford. Duelling was the honorable method of settling +all difficulties between gentlemen, and Crawford was to be forced into +a duel. If he refused to fight, he was ruined. This, however, he did +not do; and Van Allen was slain in the affair. + +This but whetted the rage of the Clarkes, and John Clarke was not long +in finding an excuse to call to the field his hated foe. In this duel +Crawford was shot through the left wrist, which partially disabled +that arm for life. But this did not heal the animosity; its rancor +became contagious, and involved the people of the State almost to a +man; nor did it end until both Clarke and Crawford were in the grave. + +The history and consequences of this feud, and the two factions which +grew out of it, would be the history of Georgia for more than forty +years. Each had an army of followers; and all the talent of the State +was divided between and leading these factions. There were many young +men of decided talent rising into distinction in the professions, who +were of necessity absorbed by these factions, and whose whole +subsequent career was tainted with the ignoble prejudices arising out +of this association. Among the most prominent and talented of these +was John Forsyth, Peter Early, George M. Troup, the man _sans peur, +sans reproche_, Thomas W. Cobb, Stephen Upson, Duncan G. Campbell, the +brother-in-law of Clarke, and personally and politically his friend, +and who, from the purity of his character and elevated bearing, was +respected, trusted, and beloved by all who knew him; Freeman Walker, +John M. Dooly, Augustus Clayton, Stephen W. Harris, and Eli S. +Sherter, perhaps mentally equal to any son of Georgia. + +With the exception of Upson and Troup, these were all natives of the +State. Upson was from Connecticut, and was the son of a button-maker +at Watertown, in that State. He was a thorough Yankee in all the +qualities of perseverance, making and saving money. He was a pure man, +stern and talented; and as a lawyer, was scarcely equalled in the +State. He and Cobb were students, and _proteges_ of Crawford, and both +signalized their whole lives by a devotion, amounting almost to +fanaticism, to Mr. Crawford and his fortunes. + +George Michael Troup was born at McIntosh's Bluff, on the Tombigbee +River, in the State of Alabama. His father was an Englishman, who, +during the Revolution, removed to the place since called McIntosh's +Bluff. Mr. Crawford soon became prominent as a politician, and +adopting the party and principles of Jefferson, was transferred in +early life to the councils of the nation. In the United States Senate +he was the compeer of Felix Grundy, John C. Calhoun, Harrison Gray +Otis, Rufus King, Daniel D. Tompkins, William B. Giles, Henry Clay, +and many others of less distinction; and was the especial friend of +those remarkable men, Nathaniel Macon and John Randolph. + +At this period, there was an array of talent in Congress never +equalled before or since. The aggressions of English cruisers upon our +commerce, and the impressing of our seamen into the English service, +had aroused the whole nation, and especially the South; and the fiery +talent of this section was called by the people, breathing war, into +the national councils. + +Crawford was in the Senate from Georgia, and was a war-man. John +Forsyth, John C. Calhoun, David R. Williams, George M. Troup, John +Randolph, Philip Doddridge, James Barbour, Henry Clay, and William +Lomax from South Carolina, were all comparatively young men. + +Lowndes, Calhoun, Clay, and Troup were little more than thirty years +of age, and yet they became prominent leaders of their party, +exercising a controlling influence over the public mind, and shaping +the policy of the Government. Crawford was the Mentor of this ardent +band of lofty spirits--stimulating and checking, as occasion might +require, the energies and actions of his young compeers. So +conspicuous was he for talent, wisdom, and statesmanship, that he was +proposed by the Republican party as a proper person to succeed Mr. +Madison; and nothing prevented his receiving the nomination of that +party but his refusal to oppose Mr. Monroe. His magnanimity was his +misfortune. Had he been nominated, he would have been elected without +opposition. The golden opportunity returned no more. He had succeeded +Chancellor Livingston as minister to France, and of these two, Napoleon +said "the United States had sent him two plenipotentiaries--the first +was deaf, the latter dumb." Livingston was quite deaf, and Crawford +could not speak French. At the court of Versailles, he served +faithfully and efficiently the interests of his country, and returned +with increased popularity. He filled, under Mr. Monroe, the office of +Secretary of War for a short time, and then was transferred to the +Secretaryship of the Treasury. + +In the Cabinet of Mr. Monroe there were three aspirants for the +Presidency: Adams, Crawford, and Calhoun. Between Crawford and Calhoun +a feud arose, which was mainly the cause of Mr. Calhoun's name being +withdrawn as a candidate, and the substitution of that of General +Jackson. Crawford was one of the three highest returned to the House, +and from whom a choice was to be made. + +Some twelve months anterior to the election he was stricken with +paralysis; and both body and mind so much affected that his friends +felt that it would be improper to elect him. Nevertheless he continued +a candidate until Mr. Adams was chosen. + +Mr. Clay had been voted for as a fourth candidate, but not receiving +electoral votes enough, failed to be returned to the House. Being at +the time a member of the House of Representatives, it was supposed he +held the control of the Western vote; and consequently the power to +elect whom he pleased. Mr. Clay was a great admirer of Mr. Crawford, +though their intimacy had been somewhat interrupted by a personal +difficulty between Mr. Randolph and Mr. Clay. Mr. Randolph being an +especial friend and constant visitor at Mr. Crawford's, it would have +been unpleasant to both parties to meet at his house. + +Only a few years anterior to Mr. Clay's death, and when he was +visiting New Orleans, the writer had frequent interviews with him, and +learned that he preferred Mr. Crawford to either Adams or Jackson; and +was only prevented voting for him by the prostration and hopeless +condition of his health. + +The political friends of Mr. Clay from the West knew of this +preference, and would have acted with him, only upon condition that +Mr. Crawford should make him a member of his Cabinet. This was +communicated to Mr. Clay, who assigned his reasons for declining to +vote for Mr. Crawford, and avowed his intention of giving his vote for +Mr. Adams. Upon this announcement, it was urged upon Mr. Clay that Mr. +Adams was uncommitted upon the policy which he had inaugurated as the +American System; that he stood pledged to the country for its success; +and that, without some pledge from Mr. Adams upon this point, he would +be hazarding too much to give him his support--for this would +certainly make him President. Mr. Clay's reply was: + +"I shall, as a matter of necessity, give my vote for Mr. Adams: Mr. +Crawford's health puts him out of the question, and we are compelled +to choose between Adams and Jackson. My opinion with regard to General +Jackson is before the nation, it remains unaltered. I can never give a +vote for any man for so responsible a position whose only claim is +military fame. Jackson's violent temper and unscrupulous character, +independent of his want of experience in statesmanship, would prevent +my voting for him. I shall exact no pledge from Mr. Adams, but shall +vote for him, and hold myself at liberty to support or oppose his +administration, as it shall meet my approval or disapproval." + +Mr. Adams was elected; and the friends of Mr. Clay insisted that he +should accept the position of Secretary of State in the new Cabinet, +which was tendered him by Mr. Adams. Mr. Clay thought it indelicate to +do so. Whether true or not, the nation awarded to him the making of +Mr. Adams President. + +General Jackson had received a larger vote in the electoral colleges +than Adams, and his friends urged this as a reason that he was more +acceptable to the nation, and the voting for Adams on the part of Clay +and his friends was a palpable disregard of the popular will; and that +Clay had violated all his antecedents, and had thus deserted the +principles of the Republican party. + +The friends of Mr. Crawford were silent until the organization of the +new Cabinet. There had been a breach of amicable relations between +Crawford and Jackson for some years, and of consequence between their +party friends; and it was supposed from this cause that Mr. Crawford +would unite in the support of the Administration; and when it was +known that Clay had accepted the premiership, this was deemed certain, +from the friendship long existing between Clay and himself. The +terrible paralysis which had prostrated Mr. Crawford extended to his +mind, and he had ceased to hold the influence with his friends as +controller, and had become the instrument in their hands. + +General Jackson received a hint that it would be well to have healed +the breach between himself and Crawford. This it was supposed came +from Forsyth, and it is further believed this was prompted by Van +Buren. It may or may not have been so: Mr. Jackson's acuteness rarely +required hints from any one to stimulate or prompt to action its +suggestions. All Washington City was astounded, one Sunday morning, at +seeing the carriage of Jackson pull up at the residence of Mr. +Crawford; for their quarrel was known to every one, and it was +heralded through the newspapers that a reconciliation had taken place +between these great men. The interview was a protracted one: what +occurred can only be known by subsequent developments in the political +world. + +Van Buren had supported Crawford to the last extremity, and was +greatly respected by him. His intense acuteness scented the prey afar +off. Mr. Calhoun had been elected by the electoral colleges +Vice-President, and this position, it was thought, notwithstanding his +devotion to Jackson, would identify him with the Administration. He +was young, talented, extremely popular, ambitious, and aspiring, and +it was the opinion of all that he would urge his claims to the +succession. + +The indignation which burst from the Southern and Middle States, and +from many of the Western, at Mr. Clay's course, and the great +unpopularity of the name of Adams, was an assurance that without great +changes in public opinion Mr. Adams' administration would be confined +to one term. Mr. Crawford was out of the question for all time, and it +was apparent the contest was to be between Calhoun, Clay, and Jackson. + +They had all belonged to the Jeffersonian school of politics--had +grown upon the nation's confidence rapidly through their support of +and conducting the war to its glorious termination. But this party was +now completely disrupted; and from its elements new parties were to be +formed. It only survived the dissolution of the Federal party a short +time, and, for the want of opposition from without, discord and +dissolution had followed. The political world was completely +chaotic--new interests had arisen. The war had forced New England to +manufacturing; it had established the policy of home production, and +home protection; the agricultural interest of the West was connected +with the manufacturing interest of the North, and was to be her +consumer; but the planting interest of the South was deemed +antagonistic to them. Her great staple, forming almost the sole basis +of the foreign commerce of the country, demanded, if not free trade, +an exceedingly liberal policy toward those abroad who were her +purchasers. + +The war had given a new impetus to trade, new channels had been +opened, the manufacture of cotton in England had become a source of +wealth to the nation, and was rapidly increasing. America was her +source of supply, and was the great consumer of her fabrics, and this +fact was stimulating the growth of cotton into an activity which +indicated its becoming the leading interest of the South, if not of +the nation. The course of trade made it the great competitor of home +manufactures: this would seem unnatural, but it was true--the one +demanding protection, the other free trade. The source of supply of +the raw material to both was the same, and America the great consumer +for both. Protection secured the home market to the home manufacturer, +compelling the consumer to pay more, and sell for less, by excluding +the foreign manufacturer from the market, or imposing such burdens, by +way of duties, as to compel him to sell at higher prices than would be +a just profit on his labor and skill under the operation of free +trade, and which should exempt from his competition the home +manufacturer in the American market. + +All these facts were within the purview of the sagacious politicians +of the day; and were evidently the elements of new parties. Mr. Clay +had already given shape to his future policy, and had identified the +new Administration with it. It was certain the South with great +unanimity would be in opposition, and the sagacity of Van Buren +discovered the necessity of uniting the friends of Jackson and +Crawford. Should he, after feeling the political pulse of his own +people, conclude to unite with the opposition, such a union would +destroy Mr. Clay in the South, but might greatly strengthen Mr. +Calhoun; his destruction, however, must be left to the future. He was +not long in determining. The reconciliation of Crawford and-Jackson +made the union of their friends no very difficult matter. Mr. +Randolph, Mr. Macon, Mr. Forsyth, and Mr. Cobb had expressed +themselves greatly gratified at this restoration of amity; and at an +informal meeting of their friends, Randolph said, in allusion to this +adjustment: + +"I have no longer a fear that the seat first graced by Virginia's +chosen sons will ever be disgraced by a renegade child of hers." + +Soon after the inauguration of Mr. Adams, and the adjournment of +Congress, the nation was startled with the charge of corruption in the +election of Mr. Adams. At first this was vague rumor. Mr. Clay was +charged by the press throughout the country with bargaining with the +friends of Adams, to cast his vote, and carry his influence to his +support, upon the condition of his (Clay's) appointment to the +premiership in the Administration, should Adams be elected. + +There was no responsible name for this charge; but at the ensuing +session of Congress, a member from Pennsylvania, George Creemer, +uttered from his seat the charge in direct terms. This seemed to give +assurance of the truth of this damaging accusation. There was no +public denial from Mr. Clay. The press in his support had from the +first treated the story as too ridiculous to be noticed other than by +a flat denial; but the circumstances were sufficiently plausible to +predicate such a slander, and the effect upon Mr. Clay was beginning +to be felt seriously by his friends. In the mean time, rumors reached +the popular ear that the proofs of its veracity were in the hands of +General Jackson, whose popularity was running through the country with +the warmth and rapidity of a fire upon the prairies. + +There was now a responsible sponsor, and Mr. Clay at once addressed a +note to Creemer, demanding his authority for the charge. This was +answered, and General Jackson's was the name given, as his authority. +Mr. Clay sent his friend, General Leslie Combs, with a note to +Jackson, with a copy of Creemer's communication. Combs was a weak, +vain man, and so full of the importance of his mission that he made no +secret of his object in visiting Jackson at the Hermitage; and it was +soon running through the country in the party press, each retailing +the story as he had heard it, or as his imagination and party bias +desired it. It was soon current that Mr. Clay had challenged General +Jackson, and a duel was soon to occur between these distinguished men. +General Jackson, however, gave as his author, James Buchanan, of +Pennsylvania. In turn, Mr. Buchanan was called upon by Clay, but he +denied ever having made any such communication to General Jackson; at +the same time, making certain statements under the seal of secrecy to +Mr. Letcher, Clay's friend. What these revelations were will never be +known: death has set his seal on all who knew them; and no revelation +disclosed them in time. Long after this interview between Letcher and +Buchanan, the former called on the latter, and asked to be relieved +from this imputation, and for permission to give to the public these +statements; but Mr. Buchanan peremptorily refused. Mr. Letcher +insisted that they were important to the reputation of more than Mr. +Clay: still Buchanan refused; and to this day the question of veracity +remains unsettled between Jackson and Buchanan. The public have, +however, long since declared that General Jackson was too brave a man +to lie. + +Toward the close of Mr. Clay's life, one Carter Beverly, of Virginia, +wrote Mr. Clay some account of the part he himself had taken in the +concoction of this slander, craving his forgiveness. This letter was +received by Mr. Clay while a visitor at the home of the writer, and +read to him: it dissipated all doubts upon the mind of Mr. Clay, if +any remained, of the fact of the whole story being the concoction of +Buchanan. Creemer was a colleague of Buchanan, and was a credulous +Pennsylvanian, of Dutch descent; honest enough, but without brains, +and only too willing to be the instrument of his colleague in any +dirty work which would subserve his purposes. + +Beverly was one of those silly but presumptuous personages who thrust +themselves upon the society of men occupying high positions, and feel +their importance only in that reflected by this association; and ever +too fond of being made the medium of slanderous reports, reflecting +upon those whose self-respect and superior dignity has frowned them +from their presence. Creemer died without divulging anything; probably +under the influence of Buchanan, and it is not improbable he was in +ignorance of the origin of the slander. Beverly knew of its utter +falsity, and was as guilty as the originator, and his conscience smote +him too sorely to permit him to go to the grave without atonement, and +consequently he made a clean breast of it to Mr. Clay. + +Mr. Clay and Mr. Buchanan entered public life about the same time, +when they were both young and full of zeal. They belonged to the same +political party, and became warmly attached. They were, however, men +of very different temperaments. The professions of Mr. Clay were +always sincere, his love of truth was a most prominent feature in his +nature, and his attachments were never dissimulations: to no other +person of his early political friends was he more sincerely attached +than to Buchanan--he was his confidential friend; he was never on any +subject reserved to him; and so deep was this feeling with him that he +had called a son after his friend--the late James Buchanan Clay. When +he learned that all his confidences had been misplaced, and that the +man whom he so loved had sought to rob him of his good name, he was +wounded to the heart. He struggled to believe Buchanan was wronged by +General Jackson; but one fact after another was developed--he could +not doubt--all pointing the same way; and finally came this letter of +Beverly's, when he was old, and when his heart was crushed by the loss +of his son Henry at Buena Vista, of which event he had only heard the +day before: he doubted no more. I shall ever remember the expression +of that noble countenance as, turning to me, he said: "Read that!" +Rising from his seat, he went to the garden, where, under a large +live-oak, I found him an hour after, deeply depressed. It was sorrow, +not anger, that weighed upon him. In reply to a remark from me, he +said: + +"How few men have I found true under all trials! Who has a friend on +whom he can rely, and who will not, to gratify his own ambition, +sacrifice him? I was deeply attached to Buchanan; I thought him my +friend, and trusted him as such--through long years our intimacy +continued. You see how unwisely this attachment was indulged; I have +misplaced my confidence; I am willing to disbelieve this statement of +Beverly; he is known to you; I believe he is a miserable creature, but +his testimony is but a link in the chain of evidences I have of +Buchanan's being the author of this infamous story. It was artfully +concocted and maliciously circulated. He was too shrewd to commit +himself, and employed this creature to go to Jackson, who lent a +willing ear to it; and he communicated it to Creemer. Yet it was +settled upon him by Jackson. Beverly told Jackson he was sent by +Buchanan, and now the world has the story denied by Buchanan, and I +have it confessed by Beverly. All the mischief it could do, it has +done; and this death-bed repentance and confession must command my +forgiveness of poor old Beverly. + +"I was not unaware of the hazards of accepting office under Mr. Adams, +and yielded my judgment to gratify my friends. I was deeply solicitous +of rendering the country independent: our population was increasing; I +was sure large immigration would add to the natural increase; and I +felt it was the true policy of the Government to commence the +manufacture of all articles necessary to its population, and +especially the articles of prime necessity, iron and clothing. We had +the minerals, the coal, and the cotton; and the sad experience of the +recent war warned us to prepare against the same consequences should +we unfortunately be again in a similar condition. I was satisfied that +this policy would meet powerful opposition by those who supposed their +interests affected by protection; and I knew, to build up the +manufactures at home, they must be protected against foreign +competition--at least for a time. Once capital was abundant and +largely invested in manufacturing, with an abundance of educated +skill, this protection could be withdrawn; as home protection would +not prevent home competition, and high prices would stimulate this +competition to the point of producing more than was necessary for home +consumption; which would force the manufacturer to find a market +abroad for his surplus; this would bring him into competition with the +European manufacturer, and he would be compelled to be content with +the prices he could obtain under this competition; this would +necessarily, by degrees, reduce prices at home, and finally obviate +the necessity of protection. Already this has come to pass. The good +of the country I thought demanded this; and for this I exerted all my +powers and all my influence; never for a moment doubting but that in +time and from results the whole people would approve the policy. Nor +did I ever anticipate any political result to my own interest. I have +never thought of self, in any great measure of policy I may have +advocated. I have looked to final results in benefits to the country +alone, with a hope that my name should not be a disgrace to my +children, who should witness the working and the effect of measures +connected with my public life. With an honest purpose, I feared no +consequences; and desiring, above temporary popularity, the good of +the country, I assumed all the hazards and consequences which my +enemies could torture out of the act of accepting office under Mr. +Adams. I have never regretted it, and have lived to see the slanderers +of my fame rebuked by the whole country. + +"This terrible Mexican war now raging, I fear, is to result in +consequences disastrous to our Government. That we shall drive Mexico +to the wall there cannot be a doubt. We will avail ourselves of the +conqueror's right in demanding indemnity for the expenses of the war. +She has nothing to pay with, but territory. We shall dispossess her of +at least a third, perhaps the half of her domain; this will open the +question of slavery again, and how it is to be settled God only knows. +For myself, I see no peaceful solution of the question. The North and +the South are equally fanatical upon the subject, and the difficulties +of adjustment augmenting every day. You will agree with me that the +institution violates the sentiment of the civilized world. It is +unnatural, and must yield to the united hostility of the world. But +what is to be done with the negro? You cannot make a citizen of him, +and clothe him with political power. This would lead rapidly to a war +of races; and of consequence to the extinction of the negro. He will +not labor without compulsion; and very soon the country would be +filled with brigands; the penitentiaries would not hold the convicts; +and the public security would ultimately demand that they should be +sent from the country. + +"To remove such a number, even to the West Indies, would involve an +expense beyond the resources of the Government; to force them into +Mexico would make her a more dangerous and disagreeable neighbor than +she is; besides, this would only be postponing the evil, for I +apprehend we shall want to annex all of Mexico before many years. As I +remarked, I can see no peaceful solution of this great social evil; +but fear it is fraught with fatal consequences to our Government." + +John Randolph, soon after the election of Mr. Adams, was sent to the +United States Senate by Virginia. His enmity to Mr. Clay had received +a new whetting through the events of the year or two just past; and +the natural acerbity of his nature was soured into bitter malignity. +He believed every word of the story of Creemer, and harped upon it +with the pertinacity of the Venetian upon the daughter of Shylock. He +was scarcely ever upon the floor that some offensive allusion was not +made to this subject. It was immaterial to him what the subject-matter +was under discussion: he found a means to have a throw at the +Administration, and of consequence, at Clay; and bargain and +corruption slid from his tongue with the concentration of venom of the +rattlesnake. The very thought of Clay seemed to inspire his genius for +vituperation; his eye would gleam, his meagre and attenuated form +would writhe and contort as if under the enchantment of a demon; his +long, bony fingers would be extended, as if pointing at an imaginary +Clay, air-drawn as the dagger of Macbeth, as he would writhe the +muscles of his beardless, sallow, and wrinkled face, pouring out the +gall of his soul upon his hated enemy. It was in one of these +hallucinations that he uttered the following morsel of bitterness, in +allusion to the story of bargain and corruption: "This, until now, +unheard-of combination of the black-leg with the Puritan; this union +of Luck George with Blifell," (an allusion from Fielding's novel of +"Tom Jones.") Language could not have been made more offensive. But +the fruitful imagination of Randolph was not exhausted, and he +proceeded with denunciation which spared not the venerable mother of +Mr. Clay, then living--denouncing her for bringing into the world +"this being, so brilliant, yet so corrupt, which, like a rotten +mackerel by moonlight, shined and stunk." + +This drew from Mr. Clay a challenge, and a meeting was the +consequence. There was no injury sustained by either party in this +conflict, the full particulars of which may be found in Benton's +"Thirty Years in the Senate;" and I have Mr. Clay's authority for +saying that this account is strictly correct. + +In General Jackson's letter to Carter Beverly, he states that Buchanan +came to him and stated that the friends of Mr. Adams had made overtures +to Mr. Clay, to the effect that, if Mr. Clay would with his friends +support Mr. Adams, and he should be elected, then he would appoint +Clay to the position of Secretary of State; and that Buchanan +recommended Jackson to intrigue against this intrigue. + +Buchanan denied the statement _in toto_. Beverly wrote a letter, in +1841, admitting the falsehood of a former letter of his; and again, +another to Mr. Clay, in 1844 or 1845, asking Clay's forgiveness for +the part he had acted in the matter. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +GEORGIA'S NOBLE SONS. + +A MINISTER OF A DAY--PURITY OF ADMINISTRATION--THEN AND NOW--WIDOW +TIMBERLAKE--VAN BUREN'S LETTER--AMBRISTER AND ARBUTHNOT--OLD HICKORY +SETTLES A DIFFICULTY--A CAUSE OF THE LATE WAR--HONORED DEAD. + + +Immediately upon the inauguration of Mr. Adams, Mr. Crawford left +Washington, and returned home. His residence was near Lexington, +Georgia, upon a small farm. It was an unostentatious home, but +comfortable, and without pretensions superior to those of his more +humble neighbors. Mr. Crawford had held many positions in the service +of the country, and had honestly and ably discharged the duties of +these for the public good. As a senator in Congress, he won the +confidence of the nation by the display of great abilities; and gave +universal satisfaction of the pure patriotism of his heart, in all he +said, or did. He was distinguished, as minister to France, for his +open candor and simplicity of manners--so much so, as to cause +Napoleon to remark of him "that no Government but a republic could +create or foster so much truth and honest simplicity of character as +he found in Mr. Crawford." + +For years, he had served the nation as financial minister, and at a +time when the method of keeping, transferring, and disbursing the +moneys of Government afforded infinite opportunities for +peculation--when vast amounts of money arising from the sale of the +public domain in the West and the South was under his control, and +when he had the selection of the depositories of this, and when these +deposits were of great value to the local or State banks, so that they +would have paid handsomely for them; yet this noble being came out of +the furnace without the smell of fire upon his garments. + +There was but one man who ever imputed dishonesty to him, or selfish +motives in any act. When the claims of Mr. Adams and Mr. Crawford for +the Presidency were being discussed, and party asperity sought to slay +its victims, Ninian Edwards, a senator of Congress from Illinois, +charged Mr. Crawford with impropriety of conduct in depositing, for +selfish and dishonest purposes, the public moneys arising from the +sale of lands in Illinois, in banks notoriously insolvent. Edwards had +been appointed minister to Mexico, had left the Senate, and had gone +to his home, preparatory to his leaving for Mexico; and from his home +made this attack upon Mr. Crawford. The son-in-law of Edwards, a man +named Cook, was the representative in Congress from Illinois, and, if +I remember correctly, was the only representative who at the time +reiterated these charges from his seat. Mr. Crawford immediately +demanded an investigation of his conduct. This was had, and the result +was a triumphant acquittal from all blame; and so damaging was this +investigation to Edwards that the President recalled the commission of +Edwards as minister to Mexico, and appointed Joel R. Poinsett, of +South Carolina, in his stead. Edwards was at New Orleans when the +letter of recall from the President reached him, that far on his way +to Mexico: he returned in disgrace, and soon faded from public notice +forever. At the time, it was asserted he was the brother-in-law of Mr. +Adams, and knowing that some of the banks in which Crawford had +deposited the public treasure had failed, he imagined complicity of a +dishonest character, on the part of Crawford, with the officers of the +banks, and expected to injure him and subserve the interest of Adams. +In what contrast does this transaction place the purity of the +Government, as then administered, with its conduct of to-day, and how +peerless were those who were trusted then with public confidence and +high places, in comparison with the public men who fill their places +now! + +Georgia has given to the nation two Secretaries of the +Treasury--William H. Crawford and Howell Cobb; they were citizens of +adjoining counties. Cobb was born within a few miles of Crawford's +grave. They were both administering the office at a time in the +history of the nation when she was surrounded with perils. The one, +when she was just coming out of a war with the most powerful nation on +earth; the other, when she was just going into a war, civil and +gigantic. Both were afforded every opportunity for dishonest +peculation, and both came out, despite the allurements of temptation, +with clean hands and untainted reputation. They were reared and lived +in the atmosphere of honesty; they sought the inspiration from the +hills and vales, blue skies, and clear pure waters of Middle Georgia. +The surroundings of nature were pure; the honest farmers and +mechanics, her professional men and merchants, were and are pure. It +was the home of Upson, Gilmer, Thomas W. Cobb, Peter Early, Eli S. +Sherter, Stephen Willis Harris, William Causby Dawson, Joseph Henry +Lumpkin; and now is the home of A.H. Stephens, Ben. Hill, Robert +Toombs, Bishop Pierce, and his great and glorious father, and in their +integrity and lofty manhood they imitate the mighty dead who sleep +around them. + +Glorious old State! though long trodden with the tyrant's foot, there +is a resurrectionary spirit moving thy people, which will lift thee +again to the high pinnacle from which thou wast thrust, purified and +reinvigorated for a career of brighter glory than thou hast yet +known--when the men who plague you now shall be driven from your +State, and the sons of your soil, in the vigor of their souls, +undefiled and untrammelled, shall wield your destinies. + +Like a Roman of latter days, Mr. Crawford retired from the service of +his country poorer than when he entered it. There was sweet seclusion +in his retreat, and honest hearts in his humble neighbors to receive +him with "Come home, thou good and faithful servant; we receive thee, +as we gave thee, in thy greatness and thy goodness, undefiled." He had +only partially recovered from his, paralysis, though his general +health was much improved; rest and retirement, and release from public +duties and cares, served to reinvigorate him greatly. His estate was +small, his family large, and his friends, to aid him, secured his +election to the bench of the Superior Court, the duties of which he +continued to discharge until his death. He survived to see General +Jackson elected President, to whom he gave a cordial support. Mr. +Calhoun had been nominated and elected Vice-President with General +Jackson, both with overwhelming majorities. Crawford had carried all +his strength to the support of the ticket, and the friends of Crawford +and Calhoun were found acting in concert, notwithstanding the +hostility yet unappeased between their chiefs. It was the union of +necessity, not of sympathy or affection. At this juncture, there was +perhaps as cordial a hatred between the people of South Carolina and +those of Georgia, as ever existed between the Greek and the Turk. + +Mr. Calhoun, it seemed now to be settled, was to be the successor of +General Jackson. The new parties were organized, and that headed by +General Jackson assumed the name of Democrat, and now held undisputed +control of more than two-thirds of the States. Mr. Calhoun had broken +away from the usage of former Vice-Presidents, which was to retire, +and permit a president of the Senate _pro tem._ to be chosen to +preside over the deliberations of that body. He determined to fulfil +the duties assigned by the Constitution, and in person to preside. His +transcendent abilities and great strength of character by this course +was constantly kept before the nation. His manners and presence gave +increased dignity and importance to the office, daily increasing his +popularity with the Senate and the nation. His position was an +enviable one, and was such as seemed to promise the power to grasp, at +the proper time, the goal of his ambition, the Presidency of the +republic. + +From the commencement of General Jackson's Administration there was a +powerful opposition organized. It consisted of the very best talent in +the Senate and House. The Cabinet was a weak one. Mr. Van Buren was +premier, or Secretary of State, with John H. Eaton, a very ordinary +man, Secretary of War; Branch, Secretary of the Navy, and Ingham, +Secretary of the Treasury; with John M. Berrien, Attorney-General. +Eaton was from Tennessee, and was an especial favorite of General +Jackson. He had been in the Senate from Tennessee, and had formed at +Washington the acquaintance of a celebrated widow of a purser in the +navy, Mrs. Timberlake. This woman had by no means an enviable +reputation, and had been supposed the mistress of Eaton, prior to +their marriage. She had found her way to the heart of Jackson, who +assumed to be her especial champion. The ladies of the Cabinet +ministers refused to recognize her or to interchange social civilities +with her. This enraged the President, and it was made a _sine qua +non_, receive Mrs. Eaton, or quit the Cabinet. Van Buren was a +widower, and did not come under the order. He saw the storm coming, +and, to avoid consequences of any sort, after consultation with +Jackson, resigned. His letter of resignation is a literary as well as +a political curiosity. General Jackson, it is said, handed it to +Forsyth, with the remark "that he could not make head or tail of it; +and, by the eternal, Mr. Forsyth, I do not believe Van Buren can +himself." This was the forerunner of a general dismissal of the entire +Cabinet, save Eaton, who resigned. This rupture startled the whole +nation, but nothing Jackson could do, seemed capable of affecting his +growing popularity. A new Cabinet was organized, and soon after Mr. +Van Buren was sent minister to England, and Eaton minister to Spain. + +The opposition were in a majority in the Senate, led on by Clay and +Webster. These were confronted by Forsyth, Benton, and Wright: the +wrestle was that of giants. The world, perhaps, never furnished a more +adroit debater than John Forsyth. He was the Ajax Telemon of his +party, and was rapidly rivalling the first in the estimation of that +party. He hated Calhoun, and at times was at no pains to conceal it in +debate. In the warmth of debate, upon one occasion, he alluded in +severe terms, to the manner in which Mr. Crawford had been treated, +during his incumbency as Secretary of the Treasury, by a certain party +press in the interest of Mr. Calhoun. This touched the Vice-President +on the raw: thus stung, he turned and demanded if the senator alluded +to him. Forsyth's manner was truly grand, as it was intensely fierce: +turning from the Senate to the Vice-President, he demanded with the +imperiousness of an emperor: "By what right does the Chair ask that +question of me?" and paused as if for a reply, with his intensely +gleaming eye steadily fixed upon that of Calhoun. The power was with +the speaker, and the Chair was awed into silence. Slowly turning to +the Senate, every member of which manifested deep feeling, he +continued, as his person seemed to swell into gigantic proportions, +and his eye to sweep the entire chamber, "Let the galled jade wince, +our withers are unwrung," and went on with the debate. + +The cause of the animosity of Jackson, toward Crawford was a report +which had reached Jackson, that Crawford, as a member of Mr. Monroe's +Cabinet, had insisted in Cabinet meeting upon the arrest of Jackson +for a violation of national law, in entering without orders, as the +commanding general of the army of the United States, the territory of +a friendly power, and seizing its principal city by military force. +General Jackson had entered Florida, then a dependency of Spain, with +which power we were in amity, and seized Pensacola. + +A band of desperate men had made a lodgment in Florida, headed by two +Scotchmen, Ambrister and Arbuthnot. These men had acquired great +influence with the Indians, and were stimulating them to constant +depredations upon the frontier people of Georgia. When pursued, they +sought safety in the territorial limits of Florida. Remonstrances with +the Government of Spain had produced no effect. It could not, or would +not expel them, or attempt any control of the Indians; and it became +necessary to put a stop to their aggressions. Jackson commanded, and +was the very man for such a work. He placed before the President the +difficulties, but said he could and would break up this nest of +freebooters, if he had authority from the President to enter the +territory, and, if necessary, take possession of it. It would be an +act of war to authorize this course, he knew; but he was prepared for +the responsibility (he generally was.) "I do not ask for formal +orders: simply say to me, 'Do it.' Tell Johnny Ray to say so to me, +and it shall be done." Johnny Ray was a member of Congress at that +time from East Tennessee, and devoted to Jackson. This was done, and +the work was accomplished. The two leaders were captured and summarily +executed, claiming to be British subjects. + +Mr. Monroe in some things was a weak man; he was surrounded by a +Cabinet greatly superior to himself; he had not counselled with them, +and he feared the responsibility he had assumed would not be +sanctioned or approved by his constitutional advisers, and he timidly +shrank from communicating these secret instructions to them. The +matter was brought before the Cabinet, by a remonstrance from the +Spanish Government, in the person of her representative at Washington. +In the discussion which arose, a motion was submitted to arrest and +court-martial Jackson. Calhoun was indignant that as Secretary of War +he had not been consulted. General Jackson was sent for, and very soon +the matter was quieted, and Spain satisfied. + +It was in this discussion, or Cabinet meeting, that Mr. Crawford was +represented to General Jackson as moving his arrest. Mr. Adams +defended Jackson most strenuously, and it is not improbable that the +President may have informed him, _sub rosa_, of what had been +communicated to Jackson. The intimacy between Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams +was close, and it was thought he preferred him, and gave him more +unreservedly his confidence than any of his ministers. + +I believe it was in the early part of the year 1829, or 1830, (I have, +where I write, no means of reference, and will not pretend to great +accuracy in dates,) when Mr. Crawford received a visit from Mr. Van +Buren, and his friend, Mr. Cambreling, at his home in Oglethorpe. What +transpired during that visit, I do not pretend to know; but soon +after, Mr. Forsyth received a letter from Mr. James Hamilton, of New +York, making certain inquiries with regard to this move in Mr. +Monroe's Cabinet. Mr. Forsyth appealed to Mr. Crawford, who responded, +and in detail revealed the proceedings in council upon this matter, +charging, without equivocation, Mr. Calhoun as being the secretary who +had moved the arrest and trial of Jackson. At the time of this +development, General Jackson was absent from Washington, on a visit to +his home in Tennessee, and Mr. Calhoun was in South Carolina. A +correspondence ensued between the President and Vice-President of the +most acrimonious character. Mr. Calhoun denied _in toto_ the charge. +Mr. Crawford appealed to the members of the Cabinet, Adams and +Crowninshield, who sustained the truth of Mr. Crawford's statements, +and Mr. Calhoun clearly implicated himself, by accusing Crawford of a +breach of honor in disclosing cabinet secrets. It is not my purpose to +enter into the minutiae of this affair, further than to show the part +taken in it by Mr. Crawford. Mr. Van Buren did not appear in this +imbroglio; he doubtless had his agency, as his interest, in bringing +this matter to General Jackson's knowledge. Mr. Calhoun was identified +with the popularity of Jackson and his party, and was now, by common +consent of that party, the prominent man for the presidential +succession. Mr. Van Buren had been the Secretary of State of General +Jackson, had studied him well, and knew him well. He knew also the +temper of the Democratic party: through his agency the political +morality of New York politicians had permeated the Democracy from one +end of the country to the other: the doctrine subsequently enunciated +by Mr. Marcy, that "to the victors belonged the spoils," was in full +operation throughout the nation as the Democratic practice. This was +the cement which closely held the politician to party fealty. Jackson +rewarded his friends, and punished his enemies; Jackson was an +omnipotent power; Jackson was the Democratic party. To secure his +friendship was necessary to success; to incur his enmity, certain +destruction. Van Buren was as artful as ambitious: he had +indoctrinated Jackson with his own policy, by inducing him to believe +it was his own; and the frankness of Jackson's nature prevented his +believing anything was not what it professed to be. It was the +ambition of Van Buren to be President, and his sagacity taught him the +surest means to effect this end was to secure effectually and beyond +peradventure the friendship and support of Jackson. Mr. Calhoun was +between him and the aim of his ambition: to thrust him from Jackson's +confidence was to effect all he desired. This was done; the breach was +irreparable. Van Buren was sent, in the interim of the session of +Congress, minister plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. + +Mr. Clay had come back into the Senate, and was heading and leading an +opposition, then in the majority in the Senate; and the nomination of +Van Buren was rejected. Jackson, assured that Calhoun had deceived +him, was bitter in his denunciations of him, and Calhoun was +sympathizing with this opposition. Jackson denounced Calhoun as his +informant of Crawford being the Cabinet minister who had in Cabinet +council moved his arrest. Calhoun gave the lie direct to the +assertion; and that Jackson was capable of lying, referred as evidence +to his statements relative to the charge of bargain and intrigue +against Mr. Clay. But enough had been done to crush out the popularity +and the hopes of Calhoun, beyond the limits of South Carolina. There +never has been so sudden and so terrible a fall from such a height of +any man in this nation--not excepting that of Aaron Burr. John C. +Calhoun, in talent, learning, and statesmanship, was greatly superior +to Jackson, and unsurpassed by any man of the age. But the breath of +Jackson was the blight which withered his laurels, and crushed his +prospects, and destroyed his usefulness forever, in a night. + +What consequences have grown out of this quarrel, I leave for the pen +of the historian. Yet I cannot forbear the speculation that the late +and most disastrous war was one, and of consequence the ruin and +desolation of the South, and the threatened destruction of the +Government at this time. The agitation which led to these terrible +consequences, commenced with Mr. Calhoun immediately subsequent to +these events. Does any man suppose, if Mr. Calhoun had succeeded to +the Presidency, that he would have commenced or continued this +agitation? For one, I do not. The measure of his ambition would have +been full: his fame would have been a chapter in the history of his +country--his talents employed in the administration of the Government, +the honor and boast of her people, and her preservation and prosperity +the enduring monument of his fame and glory. But, wronged as he +believed, disappointed as he knew, he put forth all his strength, and, +Samson-like, pulled down the pillars of her support; and, disunited, +crushed, and miserable, she is a melancholy spectacle to the patriot, +and in her desolation a monument of disappointed ambition. + +That Mr. Calhoun anticipated any such results, I do not believe. To +suppose he desired them, and to the end of his life labored to produce +them, would be to suppose him little less than a fiend. Blinded by his +prejudices and the hatred natural toward those who had accomplished +his political ruin, he could not calmly and dispassionately weigh the +influence of his acts upon the future of his country. + +Mr. Crawford was now rapidly declining, his nervous system was +completely undermined, and he felt the approach of death calmly and +without fear. Still, he continued to give his attention to business, +and was sufficiently strong to go abroad to calls of duty. In one of +these journeys he stopped to spend the night in the house of a friend, +and was found dead in his bed in the morning, after a quiet and social +evening with his friend and family. + +William Holt Crawford was a native of Virginia: his family were +Scotch, and came early to the United States, and have been remarkable +for their talents and energy. Since the Revolution, there has scarcely +been a time that some one of the family has not been prominently +before the public as a representative man. Mr. Crawford was an eminent +type of his race, sternly honest, of ardent temperament, full of +dignity, generous, frank, and brave. Plain and simple in his habits, +disdaining everything like ostentation, or foolish display--strictly +moral, firm in his friendship, and unrelenting in his hatred, his +sagacity and sincerity forbade the forming of the one or the other +without abundant cause. He was never known to desert a friend or +shrink from a foe. In form and person he was very imposing; six feet +two inches in height; his head was large, forehead high and broad; his +eyes were blue and brilliant, and, when excited, very piercing. His +complexion was fair, and, in early life, ruddy; he was, when young, +exceedingly temperate in his habits, but as he advanced in years he +indulged too freely in the luxuries of the table, and his physicians +attributed mainly to this cause his attack of paralysis, which +ultimately destroyed him. His mind had been very much excited during +the Presidential canvass; the attacks of his enemies were fierce and +merciless, and very irritating to him; and this doubtless had much to +do with it. He lies buried in the garden of his home, without a stone +to mark the spot. It is a reproach to the people of Georgia that her +most eminent son should be neglected to sleep in an undistinguished +grave. But this neglect does not extend alone to Mr. Crawford. I +believe, of all her distinguished men, James A. Meriwether is the only +one whose grave has been honored with a monumental stone by the State. +Crawford, Cobb, Dooly, Jackson, Troup, Forsyth, Campbell, Lumpkin, +Dawson, Walker, Colquitt, Berrien, Daugherty, and many others who have +done the State some service and much honor, are distinguished in their +graves only by the green sod which covers them. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +POPULAR CHARACTERISTICS. + +A FRUGAL PEOPLE--LAWS AND RELIGION--FATHER PIERCE--THOMAS W. COBB-- +REQUISITES OF A POLITICAL CANDIDATE--A FARMER-LAWYER--SOUTHERN +HUMORISTS. + + +The plain republican habits which characterized the people of Upper +Georgia, in her early settlement and growth, together with the fact of +the very moderate means of her people, exercised a powerful influence +in the formation of the character of her people. She had no large +commercial city, and her commerce was confined to the simple disposal +of the surplus products of her soil and the supply of the few wants of +the people. It was a cardinal virtue to provide every thing possible +of the absolute necessaries of life at home. The provision crop was of +first necessity, and secured the first attention of the farmer; the +market crop was ever secondary, and was only looked to, to supply +those necessaries which could not be grown upon the plantation. These +were salt, iron, and steel, first; and then, if there remained +unexhausted some of the proceeds of the crop, a small (always a small) +supply of sugar and coffee; and for rare occasions, a little tea. + +The population, with the exception of mechanics, and these were a very +small proportion, and the few professional men and country merchants, +was entirely agricultural. This rural pursuit confined at home and +closely to business every one; and popular meetings were confined to +religious gatherings on Sunday in each neighborhood, and the meeting +of a few who could spare the time at court, in the village +county-seat, twice a year. There were no places of public resort for +dissipation or amusement; a stern morality was demanded by public +opinion of the older members of society. Example and the switch +enforced it with the children. Perhaps in no country or community was +the maxim of good old Solomon more universally practised upon, "Spare +the rod and spoil the child," than in Middle Georgia, fifty years ago. +Filial obedience and deference to age was the first lesson. "Honor thy +father and mother, that thy days may be long in the land," was +familiar to the ears of every child before they could lisp their a, b, +c; and upon the first demonstration of a refractory disobedience, a +severe punishment taught them that the law was absolute and +inexorable. To lie, or touch what was not his own, was beyond the pale +of pardon, or mercy, and a solitary aberration was a stain for life. + +The mothers, clad in homespun, were chaste in thought and action; +unlettered and ignorant, but pure as ether. Their literature confined +to the Bible, its maxims directed their conduct, and were the daily +lesson of their children. The hard-shell Baptist was the dominant +religion; with here and there a Presbyterian community, generally +characterized by superior education and intelligence, with a preacher +of so much learning as to be an oracle throughout the land. + +The Methodists were just then beginning to grow into importance, and +their circuit-riders, now fashionably known as itinerants, were +passing and preaching, and establishing societies to mark their +success, through all the rude settlements of the State. These were the +pioneers of that truly democratic sect, as of the stern morality and +upright bearing which had so powerful an influence over the then +rising population. + +It is more than sixty years since I first listened to a Methodist +sermon. It was preached by a young, spare man, with sallow complexion, +and black eyes and hair. I remember the gleam of his eye, and the +deep, startling tones of his voice--his earnest and fervent manner; +and only yesterday, in the Baronne Street (New Orleans) Methodist +Church, I listened to an old man, upward of eighty years of age, +preaching the ordination sermon of four new bishops of the Methodist +Church. It was he to whom I had first listened: the eye was still +brilliant, the face still sallow, but wrinkled now, and the voice and +manner still fervent and earnest; and the great mind, though not the +same, still powerful. It was that venerable, good man, Lovie Pierce, +the father of the great and eloquent bishop. What has he not seen? +what changes, what trials, what triumphs! Generations before his eyes +have passed into eternity; the little handful of Methodist communicants +grown into a mighty and intelligent body; thousands of ministers are +heralding her tenets all over the Protestant world--mighty in learning, +mighty in eloquence--yet none surpass the eloquence, the power, and the +purity of Lovie Pierce. + +When I first heard him, Bishop Asbury, William Russell, and he were +nursing the seed sown by John Wesley and George Whitefield, a little +while before, upon the soil of Georgia. All but Pierce have long been +gathered to their fathers, and have rest from their labors. He still +remains, bearing his cross in triumph, and still preaching the +Redeemer to the grandchildren of those who first welcomed him and +united with him in the good work of his mission. How much his labors +have done to form and give tone to the character of the people of the +State of Georgia, none may say; but under his eye and aid has arisen a +system of female education, which has and is working wonders throughout +the State. He has seen the ignorant and untaught mothers rear up +virtuous, educated, and accomplished daughters; and, in turn, these +rearing daughters and sons, an ornament and an honor to parents and +country. Above all, he has seen and sees a standard of intelligence, +high-breeding, and piety pervading the entire State. The log-cabin +gives way to the comfortable mansion, the broad fields usurping the +forest's claim, and the beautiful church-building pointing its taper +spire up to heaven, where stood the rude log-house, and where first he +preached. He has lived on and watched this growing moral and physical +beauty, whose germs he planted, and whose fruits he is now enjoying in +the eighty-fourth year of his age, still zealous, still ardent and +eloquent, and a power in the land. Should these lines ever meet his +eye, he will know that the child whose head he stroked as he sat upon +his knee--the youth whom he warned and counselled, loves him yet, now +that he is wrinkled, old, and gray. + +From parents such as I have described, and under the teaching of such +men, grew up the remarkable men who have shed such lustre upon the +State of Georgia. + +The great distinguishing feature of these men was that of the masses +of her people--stern honesty. Many families have been and continue to +be remarkable for their superior talents and high character; +preserving in a high degree the prestige of names made famous by +illustrious ancestry. The Crawfords, the Cobbs, and the Lamars are +perhaps the most remarkable. + +Thomas W. Cobb, so long distinguished in the councils of the nation, +and as an able and honest jurist in Georgia, was the son of John Cobb, +and grandson of Thomas Cobb, of the County of Columbia, in the State +of Georgia. His grandfather emigrated from Virginia at an early day, +when Georgia was comparatively a wilderness, and selecting this point, +located with a large family, which through his remarkable energy he +reared and respectably educated. This was an achievement, as the +facilities for education were so few and difficult as to make it next +to impossible to educate even tolerably the youth of that day. This +remarkable man lived to see his grandson, Thomas W. Cobb, among the +most distinguished men of the State. He died at the great age of one +hundred and fifteen years, at the home of his selection, in Columbia +County, the patriarch pioneer of the country, surrounded by every +comfort, and a family honoring his name and perpetuating his virtues; +and after he had seen the rude forest give way to the cultivated +field, and the almost as rude population to the cultivated and +intellectual people distinguishing that county. + +Thomas W. Cobb, in his education, suffered the penalties imposed in +this particular by a new country; his opportunities, however, were +improved to their greatest possible extent, and he continued to +improve in learning to the day of his death. In boyhood he ploughed by +day, and studied his spelling-book and arithmetic by night--lighting +his vision to the pursuit of knowledge by a pine-knot fire. This +ambition of learning, with close application, soon distinguished him +above the youth of the neighborhood, and lifted his aspirations to an +equal distinction among the first men of the land. He made known his +wishes to his father, and was laughed at; but he was his grandfather's +namesake and pet, and he encouraged his ambition. The consequence was +that young Cobb was sent to the office of William H. Crawford at +Lexington, to read law. He applied himself diligently, and won the +respect and confidence of Mr. Crawford, which he retained to the +day of his death. When admitted to the bar, he located with his +fellow-student in Lexington; thus taking the place of Mr. Crawford, +who was now in political life. He rose rapidly in his profession, and +while yet a young man was sent to Congress as one of the +representatives of the State. + +At this time the representation in Congress was chosen by general +ticket. The consequence was the selection of men of superior talent +and character: none could aspire to the high position whose names had +not become familiar for services to the State, or for the display of +talent and character at the bar, or other conspicuous positions, their +virtues and attainments distinguishing them above their fellow-men of +the country. Throughout the State, to such men there was great +deference, and the instances were rare where it was not deserved. The +discipline and trickery of party was unknown, nor was it possible that +these could exist among a people who, universally, honestly desired +and labored to be represented by their best men. To attain to the high +position of senator or representative in Congress was so distinguishing +a mark of merit, that it operated powerfully upon the ambitious young +men of the State, all of whom struggled to attain it by laboring to +deserve it. + +The standard of talent established by Crawford, Jackson, and Baldwin +was so high, that to have public opinion institute a comparison +between these and an aspirant was a sure passport to public favor; and +this comparison was in no instance so likely to be made as between him +and the pupils of his teaching. This fact in relation to Jackson and +Crawford is remembered well by the writer. + +In the low country of Georgia, the fiat of James Jackson fixed the +political fate of every young aspirant. In the up-country, Crawford +was as potent. In Crawford's office the student was required to apply +himself diligently, and give promise of abilities, or he could not +remain. The writer remembers to have heard the question asked of Mr. +Crawford, in his later days, why a family in his own county, +distinguished for wealth, had uniformly opposed him politically. In +the frankness of his nature he said: "Aleck came, when a young man, to +read law in my office, and though he was diligent enough, he was +without the brain necessary to acquire a proper knowledge of the law. +I liked his father, and in reply to an inquiry of his relative, as to +Aleck's capacity, I told him 'his son would doubtless succeed as a +farmer, for he was industrious; but he had not sense enough to make a +lawyer.' He thanked me; and Aleck left the office, and, profiting by +my advice, went to the plough, and has made a fortune, and a very +respectable position for himself; but from that day forward, not a +member of the family has ever been my friend. I think I did my duty, +and have got along without their friendship." + +Jackson had his _proteges_, and they were always marked for talent. In +early life he discerned the germ of great abilities in two youths of +Savannah--George M. Troup and Thomas U.D. Charlton. Through his +influence, these young men, almost as soon as eligible, were sent to +the Legislature of the State, and both immediately took high +positions. Talent was not the only requisite to win and retain the +favor of Jackson: the man must be honest, and that honesty of such a +character as placed him above suspicion. + +Under the operation of the Confiscation Act, many who had favored the +mother country in the Revolutionary struggle had fled with their +property to Florida. Conspicuous among these was one Campbell Wiley, a +man of fortune. This man applied to the Legislature to be specially +exempted from the penalties of this act, and to be permitted to return +to the State. A heated debate ensued, when the bill was being +considered, in which Charlton was silent, and in which Troup made a +violent speech in opposition to its passage, ending with the sentence, +"If ever I find it in my heart to forgive an old Tory his sins, I +trust my God will never forgive me mine." This speech gave him an +immediate popularity over the entire State. Charlton in secret favored +the bill; but knowing its unpopularity with his constituents, he +contrived to be called to the chair, and was forced to vote on a +material motion which was favorable to the bill. The wealth of Wiley, +and Charlton's equivocation, attached suspicion to his motives, and +brought down upon him the wrath of Jackson, blighting all his future +aspirations. As a member of the bar he attained eminence, and all his +future life was such as to leave no doubt of his purity, and the cruel +wrong those suspicions, sustained by the frown of Jackson, had done +him. + +Thomas W. Cobb was eminently social in his nature, and frank to a +fault; his opinions were never concealed of men or measures; and these +were, though apparently hasty, the honest convictions of his judgment, +notwithstanding their apparent impulsive and hasty character. Like his +tutor, Mr. Crawford, he cared little for ceremony or show; and in +every thing he was the kernel without the shell: his character was +marked before his company in five minutes' conversation, whether he +had ever met or heard of them before; and in all things else he was +equally without deceit. This openness to some seemed rude; and his +enemies were of this class. He expressed as freely his opinion to the +person as to the public; but this was always accompanied with a manner +which disrobed it of offence. But human nature will not in every +individual excuse the words because of the manner; and sometimes this +peculiarity made him sharp enemies. It will be supposed such traits +would have rendered him unpopular. At this day, when social +intercourse is less familiar, they certainly would have done so; but +they seemed a means of great popularity to Cobb, especially with those +who were most intimate with him, as all who met him were, after an +hour's acquaintance. His public life was as his private, open and +sincere; he never had a sinister motive, and this relieved him from +duplicity of conduct. His talents were of a high order: in debate, he +was argumentative and explicit; never pretending to any of the arts of +the orator; but logically pursued his subject to a conclusion; never +verbose, but always perspicuous. As a lawyer, he was well read; and +the analytical character of his mind appeared to have been formed upon +the model of Judge Blackstone. Before the juries of the country he was +all-powerful. These, in the main, were composed of men of very limited +information--and especially of legal lore. But they were generally men +of strong practical sense, with an honest purpose of doing justice +between man and man. Cobb with these was always sincere; never +attempting a deception, never seeking to sway their judgments and +secure a verdict by appealing to their passions or their prejudices, +or by deceiving them as to what the law was. Toward a witness or a +party of whose honesty he entertained doubts, he was sarcastically +severe; nor was he choice in the use of terms. As a statesman, he was +wise and able--and in politics, as in everything else, honest and +patriotic. In early life he was sent to the House of Representatives, +in the Congress of the United States, and soon distinguished himself +as a devoted Republican in politics, and a warm supporter of the +Administration of Mr. Monroe. Here he was reunited socially with Mr. +Crawford and family, and so close was this intimacy that he was on all +political measures supposed to speak the sentiments of Mr. Crawford. +Associated with Forsyth, Tatnal, Gilmer, and Cuthbert, all men of +superior abilities, all belonging to the same political party, and all +warm supporters, of Mr. Crawford, he led this galaxy of talent--a +constellation in the political firmament unsurpassed by the +representation of any other State. Nor must I forget, in this +connection, Joel Crawford and William Terrell, men of sterling worth +and a high order of talent. Mr. Cobb was a man of active business +habits, and was very independent in his circumstances: methodical and +correct, he never left for to-morrow the work of to-day. + +He was transferred from the House to the Senate, and left it with a +reputation for integrity and talent--the one as brilliant as the other +unstained--which falls to the lot of few who are so long in public +life as he was. Unlike most politicians whose career has been through +exciting political struggles, the blight of slander was never breathed +upon his name, and it descended to his children, as he received it +from his ancestry, without spot or blemish. + +Toward the close of his life, he was elected by the Legislature of the +State to the Bench of the Superior Court, then the highest judicial +tribunal of the State. This was the last public station he filled. +Here he sustained his high character as a lawyer and honest man; +carrying to the tomb the same characteristics of simplicity and +sincerity, of affability and social familiarity, which had ever +distinguished him in every position, public or private. He assumed +none of that mock dignity or ascetic reserve in his intercourse with +the Bar and the people, so characteristic of little minds in elevated +positions: conscious of rectitude in all things, he never feared this +familiarity would give cause for the charge of improper bias in his +decisions from the bench or his influence with the jury. + +Mr. Cobb died at the age of fifty, in the prime of his manhood and +usefulness. In person, he was a model for a sculptor--six feet in +height, straight, and admirably proportioned. His head and face were +Grecian; his forehead ample; his nose beautifully chiselled; gray +eyes, with sparkling, playful expression, round, and very beautiful; +his head round, large, and admirably set on; the expression of his +features, variant as April weather, but always intellectual, they +invited approach, and the fascination of his conversation chained to +his presence all who approached him. In fine, he was a type in manner +and character of the people among whom he was born and reared; and I +scarcely know if this is the greater compliment to him or them. + +With few exceptions, this peculiar population of Middle Georgia has +furnished all of her distinguished sons, and to the traits which make +them remarkable is she to-day mainly indebted for her exalted +prominence among her sister States of the South. The peculiar training +of her sons, the practical education and social equality which +pervades, and ever has, her society, acquaints every one with the +wants of every other; at the same time it affords the facility for +union in any public enterprise which promises the public good. All +alike are infused with the same State pride, and the equality of +fortunes prevents the obtrusion of arrogant wealth, demanding control, +from purely selfish motives, in any public measure. + +This community of interests superinduces unity of feeling, and unity +of action; and the same homogeneous education secures a healthy public +opinion, which, at last, is the great controlling law of human action. +Thus the soil is one, the cultivation is one, the growth is one, and +the fruit is the same. Nowhere in the South have these been so +prominent as in Middle Georgia, and no other portion of the South is +so distinguished for progress, talent, and high moral cultivation. +There is, perhaps, wanting that polish of manners, that ease and grace +of movement, and that quiet delicacy of suppressed emotion, so +peculiar to her citizens of the seaboard, which the world calls +refinement; which seems taught to conceal the natural under the +artistic, and which so frequently refines away the nobler and more +generous emotions of the heart. I doubt, however, if the habit of open +and unrestrained expression of the feelings of our nature is not a +more enduring basis of strong character and vigorous thought and +action, than the cold polish of refined society. Whatever is most +natural is most enduring. The person unrestrained by dress grows into +noble and beautiful proportions; the muscles uncramped, develop not +only into beauty, but strength and healthfulness. So with the mind +untrammelled by forms and ceremonies; and so with the soul unfettered +by the superstition of vague and ridiculous dogmas. The freedom of +action and familiarity of language, where there are few social +restraints to prevent universal intercourse, familiarizes every class +of the community with the peculiarities of each, and forms an outlet +for the wit and humor of the whole. This was the stimulant to mirth +and hilarity, for which no people are so much distinguished as the +Georgians of the middle country. At the especial period of which I now +write, her humorists were innumerable. Dooly, Clayton, Prince, +Longstreet, Bacon (the Ned Brace of Longstreet's Georgia Scenes), and +many others of lesser note, will long be remembered in the traditions +of the people. These were all men of, eminence, and in their time +filled the first offices of the State. The quiet, quaint humor of +Prince is to be seen in his Militia Muster, in the Georgia Scenes; and +there too the inimitable burlesque of Bacon, in Ned Brace. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +WITS AND FIRE-EATERS. + +JUDGE DOOLY--LAWYERS AND BLACKSMITHS--JOHN FORSYTH--HOW JURIES WERE +DRAWN--GUM-TREE _vs._ WOODEN-LEG--PREACHER-POLITICIANS--COLONEL +CUMMING--GEORGE McDUFFIE. + + +John M. Dooly was a native of Lincoln County, Georgia, where he +continued to reside until his death, and where he now lies in an +undistinguished grave. He was the son of a distinguished Revolutionary +soldier, whose name, in consideration of his services in that struggle, +has been given to a county in the State. In early life he united +himself to the Federal party, and from honest convictions continued a +Federalist in principle through life. But for his political principles, +his name in the nation to-day would have been a household word, +familiar as the proudest upon her scroll of fame. In very early life he +gave evidence of extraordinary powers of mind. With a limited +education, he commenced the study of the law when quite young. But +despite this serious defect, which was coupled with poverty and many +other disadvantages incident to a new country impoverished by war, and +wanting in almost everything to aid the enterprise of talent in a +learned profession, soon after his admission to the Bar he attracted +the attention of the community, and especially the older members of the +Bar, as a man of extraordinary capacity, and already trained in the +law. So tenacious was his memory of all that he read or heard, that he +not only retained the law, but the author and page where it was to be +found. His mind was eminently logical and delighted in analytical +investigation. In truth, the law suited the idiosyncrasy of his mind, +and it was most fortunate for his future life, that he adopted it as a +lifetime pursuit. Nature, it seems, gives to every mind a peculiar +proclivity, as to every individual a peculiar mind: to pursue this +proclivity is a pleasure; it makes work a delight, and this secures +success. Hence it is fortunate to learn this peculiarity, and to +cultivate it from the beginning. When the mind is strong and vigorous, +this peculiar proclivity is generally well-marked to the inquiring +observer in very early life. + +It is related of Benjamin West, the great painter, that at five years +of age he was continually soiling the floor of his good and sensible +mother with charcoal sketches of the faces of the different members of +the family; and of Napoleon, that in early childhood his favorite +amusement was to build forts and array his playmates into column, and +charge these, and assault and enter them. Stevenson, the great +engineer, spent all his idle time, when a boy, in attempts at +constructing machinery and bridges. + +In these great minds this natural trait was so strongly marked, and so +controlling in its influence, as to defy and overleap every obstacle, +and develop its wonderful energy and capacity in the most stupendous +manner. In such as these, this manifestation is early and palpable. Yet +the same peculiarity exists wherever there is mind sufficient to +connect cause and effect; but it is proportionate with the strength of +the mind, and in ordinary or feeble minds it is less conspicuous, and +requires close observation to discern it in early life. + +The folly and ambition of parents and adverse circumstances too often +disappoint the intentions of nature, and compel their offspring, or the +victims of circumstance, to follow a pursuit for which they have a +natural aversion, and absolutely no capacity: hence we see thousands +struggling painfully through life in a hated avocation, and witness +many a miserable lawyer whom nature designed to be a happy blacksmith. +His toil of life is always up hill, without the possibility of ever +attaining the summit. Sometimes the rebellion of nature is successful, +and the misdirected will shake off the erroneously imposed vocation, +and dash away in the pursuit for which the mind is capacitated; and +immediate success attests the good sense and propriety of the act. + +Fortunately, John M. Dooly, selected, under the guidance of natural +inclination, the profession of law. His eminence was early in life, and +the public eye was directed to him as one worthy any public trust. He +was frequently chosen a member of the Legislature from his native +county, and was distinguished for extraordinary ability in the capacity +of a legislator. His conspicuous position and commanding talents +pointed him out as one to take a foremost rank with the first of the +nation; and his friends urged his name as a fit representative in +Congress for the State. At this time the acrimony of party was intense; +the Republican, or Jeffersonian party, was largely in the ascendant in +the State, and would accept no compromise. It was willing to receive +new converts and prefer them according to merit, but would accord no +favor to an unrepentant enemy. At this time there were many young, +talented men rising to distinction in the State, who were Federalists. +With some of them ambition was superior to principle; they recanted +their principles, and, in the ranks of their former opponents, reaped a +harvest of political distinction. Prominent among these was John +Forsyth. He had delivered a Fourth of July oration at Augusta, +distinguished for great ability and high Federal doctrines. Abraham +Baldwin, who, with the astuteness of the Yankee--which he was--had +renounced Federalism, and was now a prominent leader of the Republican +party, spoke of this effort of Forsyth as transcendently great, and +always, when doing so, would add: "What a pity such abilities should be +lost to the country through the influence of mistaken political +principle!" Whether this had any effect upon the views of Forsyth or +not, certain it is that very soon after he repudiated Federalism, and +published a formal renunciation of the party and its principles. From +that time forward his march was onward, and now his name and fame are +embalmed as national wealth. + +Dooly was less facile: his convictions were honest and strong, and he +clung to them. He won the confidence not only of his party, but of the +people, for high integrity; but this was all. Out of his county he was +intrusted with no political position, and those who most prized his +talents and integrity could never be persuaded to aid in giving these +to the country. He was more than once beaten for the Senate of the +United States; and once by Forsyth, who was not announced as a +candidate, and who was at the time minister plenipotentiary of the +nation at the Spanish Court. His great legal abilities were, however, +complimented by the Republican Legislature, by placing him upon the +bench of the highest judicial tribunal of the State, where his +usefulness was transcendent, and where most of his life was spent. + +As a wit, Dooly never had an equal in the State, and there might now be +written a volume of his social and judicial wit. Its compass was +illimitable--from the most refined and delicately pungent to the +coarsest and most vulgarly broad; but always pointed and telling. +Nature had given him a peculiarity of look and voice which gave edge to +his wit and point to his humor. + +The judicial system of Georgia at this time was peculiar. The State was +subdivided into districts, or circuits, as they were denominated; and +one judge appointed to preside over each. These were elected by the +Legislature, on joint ballot, for a term of three years; and until +faction claimed the spoils of victory, the judge who had proven himself +capable and honest was rarely removed, so long as he chose to remain. +Dooly was one of these. Party never touched him, and both factions +concurred in retaining him, because it was the universal wish of the +people of his circuit. The law of the country was the common law of +England and the statutes of the State. In the expounding of these, the +judges frequently differed, and the consequence was that each circuit +had, in many particulars, its own peculiar law, antagonistic to that +which was received as law in the adjoining circuit. The uniformity of +law, so essential to the quiet and harmony of a people, and so +necessary in defining the title and securing the tenure of property, by +this system was so greatly disturbed, that it led to the informal +assembling of the judges at irregular periods, and upon their own +responsibility, to reconcile these discrepancies. This in some degree +obviated the necessity of a supreme court for the correction of errors; +but was very unsatisfactory to the Bar, who were almost universal in +their desire for the establishment of a tribunal for this purpose. But +there was another feature peculiar to the judicial system of the State, +to which her people were greatly attached: that of special juries. They +feared the creation of a supreme court would abolish this, and for many +years resisted it. This system of special juries, in the organization +of her judiciary, was intended to obviate the necessity of a court of +chancery. The conception was a new one, and in Georgia, with her +peculiar population, its effects were admirable. It was an honest, +common-sense adjudication of equity cases, and rendered cheap and +speedy justice to litigants. It was unknown in the judiciary system of +any other State, and I will be excused by the reader, who may not be a +Georgian, for a brief description of it here. + +By direction of the law of 1798, the justices of the Inferior Court +took the tax list, which contained the name of every white man of +twenty-one years and upwards in the county, and, from this list, +selected a certain number of names, and placed them in a box marked +"The grand-jury box." The remaining names were placed in another box +marked "The petit-jury box." Those selected as grand jurors were chosen +because of their superior intelligence, wealth, and purity of +character. These selections were made at certain stated periods; and +the jurors thus chosen from the mass never served on the petit jury, +nor were they liable even as talesmen to serve on that jury. The same +act made it the duty of the presiding judge of each circuit to draw, at +the termination of each term of his court, and in open court, a certain +number of names from each box, which were entered as drawn upon the +minutes of the court, to serve as grand and petit jurors at the ensuing +term of the court. The special juries, for the trial of cases in +equity, and appeals from the verdicts of petit juries, were formed from +the grand juries, and after the manner following: A list was furnished +by the clerk of the court to the appellant and respondent. From this +list each had the right to strike a name alternately--the appellant +having the first stroke--until there remained twelve names only. These +constituted a special Jury, and the oath prescribed by law far these +jurors was as follows; "You shall well and truly try the issue between +the parties, and a true verdict give, according to law and equity, and +the opinion you entertain of the testimony." Under the pleadings, the +entire history of the case went before this jury, and their verdict was +final. It was this method of trial which prevented so long that great +desideratum in all judicial systems--a court for the correction of +errors and final adjudication of cases. + +Dishonest litigants feared this special jury. Their characters, as that +of their witnesses, passed in review before this jury, whose oaths +allowed a latitude, enabling them frequently to render a verdict, +ostensibly at variance with the testimony, but almost always in aid of +the ends of equitable justice. + +The system was eminently promotive of honesty and good morals, as well +as the ends of justice; for men's rights before it were not +unfrequently determined by the reputation they bore in the community in +which they lived. This fact stimulated uprightness of conduct, and +often deterred the wrong-doer. It has passed away; but I doubt if what +has replaced it has benefited the interests or morals of the people of +the State. + +Like Mr. Crawford, Judge Dooly relied more upon the practical good +sense of the people as jurors, for justice between man and man, than +upon the technicalities of the law; and especially upon that of special +juries. Dooly had great contempt for petit juries, and evinced it upon +one occasion by declaring in open court that he thought, if there was +anything not known to the prescience of the Almighty, it was what the +verdict of a petit jury would be, when they left the box for the +jury-room. Dooly was an opponent of Crawford through life--a friend and +intimate of John Clark, Crawford's greatest enemy. But his character +was devoid of that bitterness and persistent hatred characteristic of +these two. Crawford and Judge Tate were intimate friends, and between +these and Clark there was continual strife. Tate and Clark were +brothers-in-law; but this only served to whet and give edge to their +animosity. Dooly, in some manner, became entangled with Tate in this +feud; and an amusing story is told of the final settlement of the +difficulty between these men. + +Tate, it seems, challenged Dooly to mortal combat. Mr. Crawford was +Tate's friend. Dooly, contrary to all expectation, accepted, and named +General Clark as his friend, and appointed a day of meeting. Tate had +lost a leg, and, as was usual in that day, had substituted a wooden, +one. On the appointed day, Tate, with his friend, repaired to the place +of meeting, where Dooly had preceded them, and was alone, sitting upon +a stump. Crawford approached him, and asked for his friend, General +Clark. + +"He is in the woods, sir." + +"And will soon be present, I presume?" asked Crawford. + +"Yes; as soon as he can find a gum." + +"May I inquire, Colonel Dooly, what use you have for a gum in the +matter we have met to settle?" + +"I want it to put my leg in, sir. Do you suppose I can afford to risk +my leg of flesh and bone against Tate's wooden one? If I hit his leg, +why, he will have another to-morrow, and be pegging about as well as +usual. If he hits mine, I may lose my life by it; but almost certainly +my leg, and be compelled, like Tate, to stump it the balance of my +life. I cannot risk this; and must have a gum to put my leg in: then I +am as much wood as he is, and on equal terms with him." + +"I understand you, Colonel Dooly; you do not intend to fight." + +"Well, really, Mr. Crawford, I thought everybody knew that." + +"Very well, sir," said Crawford; "but remember, colonel, your name, in +no enviable light, shall fill a column of a newspaper." + +"Mr. Crawford, I assure you," replied Colonel Dooly, "I would rather +fill every newspaper in Georgia than one coffin." + +It is scarcely necessary to say, that Tate and Crawford left the field +discomfited, and here the matter ended. + +Dooly never pretended to belligerency. When Judge Gresham threatened to +chastise him, he coolly replied he could do it; but that it would be no +credit to him, for anybody could do it. And when he introduced his +friend to another as the inferior judge of the Inferior Court of the +inferior County of Lincoln, and was knocked down for the insult, he +intreated the bystanders not to suffer him to be injured. When released +from the grasp of his antagonist, he rubbed his head, and facetiously +said: "This is the forty-second fight I have had, and if I ever got the +best of one, I do not now recollect it." + +Judge Dooly was much beloved by the younger members of the Bar, to whom +he was ever kind and indulgent, associating with them upon his circuit, +and joining in all their amusements. His wit spared no one, and yet no +one was offended at it. His humor was the life of the company wherever +he was, and he was never so burdened with official dignity as to +restrain it on the bench. Unbiassed by party considerations or personal +prejudices, and only influenced by a sense of duty and wish to do +right, it was impossible he could be otherwise than popular. This +popularity, however, was personal, not political, and could never +secure to him any political distinction. He was ambitious of a seat in +the United States Senate, a distinction to which he more than once +aspired; but here the grinning ghost of Federalism always met him, +frightening from his support even the nearest of his social friends. +Mr. Crawford's wishes controlled the State, through the instrumentality +of those he had distinguished with his countenance. None doubted the +patriotism or capacity of Dooly for the position; but he was a +Federalist, and the friend of many of the prime movers of the Yazoo +fraud; and these were unpardonable sins with Crawford and his friends. +No one ever charged upon Dooly the sin of a participation in this +speculation, or the frauds through which it became a fixed fact, as a +law of the State, by legislative act. But it was, for a very long time, +fatal to the political aspirations of every one known to be personally +friendly to any man in any way concerned in the matter. They were +pariahs in the land, without friends or caste. + +Of all the men prominent in his day, George M. Troup was the most +uncompromising in his hostility to those engaged in this speculation. +It certainly was the work of a few persons only, and did not embrace +one out of fifty of the Georgia Company. All, or nearly all of these, +honestly embarked in the speculation, not doubting but that the State +had the power to sell, and knowing her pecuniary condition required +that she should have money. Had they known that it required bribery to +pass the measure, they would have scorned to become parties to such +corruption; nevertheless they were inculpated, and had to share the +infamy of the guilty few who thus accomplished the purchase, as they +shared the profits arising therefrom. But it did not stop with the +participants. Their personal friends suffered, and no one individual so +fatally as Dooly. He asserted the power of the Legislature to sell--he +was sustained by the decision of the Supreme Court--he was not a +stockholder--he afforded no aid with his personal influence; yet the +public clamor made him a Yazoo-man, and Troup was foremost in his +denunciation of him. On this account it was that, upon a memorable +occasion, Dooly declared that Troup's mouth was formed by nature to +pronounce the word Yazoo. It had been proposed to Dooly, at the time +Forsyth abandoned the Federal party, to follow his example; but he +refused to part with his first love, and clung to her, and shaded, +without a murmur, her fortunes and her fate, which condemned him to a +comparative obscurity for all the future. + +It was long years after, and when Mr. Forsyth was in the zenith of his +popularity, that the friends of Dooly proposed his name for the Senate +of the United States. His was the only name announced as a candidate to +the Legislature, but, on counting the ballots, it was found Forsyth had +been elected. Dooly was present, and remarked to a friend that he was +the only man he ever knew to be beaten who ran without opposition. He +saw the aspiring companions of his youth favorites of the people, and +thrust forward into public places, winning fame, and rising from one +position to another of higher distinction. He witnessed the advance of +men whom he had known as children in his manhood, preferred over him; +and, in the consciousness of his own superiority to most or all of +these, rather despised than regretted the prejudices of the +public--influenced by men designing and selfish--which consigned him to +obscurity because of an honest difference of opinion upon a point of +policy which ninety out of every hundred knew nothing about. While the +companions of his early youth were filling missions abroad, executive +offices at home, and Cabinet appointments, he was wearing out his life +in a position where, whatever his abilities, there was little fame to +be won. Still he would make no compromise of principle. In faith he was +sincere, and too honest to pretend a faith he had not, though honors +and proud distinction waited to reward the deceit. As true to his +friends as his principles, he would not desert either, and surrender +his virtue to the seductions of office and honors. Toward the close of +his life, his friends got into office and power. His friend, John +Clarke, was elected Governor, upon the demise of Governor Rabun; but +his day had passed, and other and younger men thrust him aside. Parties +were growing more and more corrupt, and to subserve the uses of +corruption, more tractable and pliant tools were required than could be +made of Dooly. + +The election of Clarke was a triumph over the friends of Crawford, who +was then a member of Mr. Monroe's Cabinet, and had long been absent +from the State. It revived anew the flame of discord, which had +smouldered under the ashes of time. The embers lived, and the division +into parties of the people of the United States, consequent upon the +disruption of the Federal and Republican parties, and the candidacy of +Mr. Crawford for the Presidency, caused a division of the old +Republican party in Georgia. Clarke immediately headed the opposition +to Crawford, and his election was hailed as an evidence of Mr. +Crawford's unpopularity at home. This election startled the old friends +of this distinguished son of Georgia, and revived the old feeling. +Clarke was a man of strong will, without much mind, brave, and +vindictive, and nursed the most intense hatred of Crawford constantly +in his heart. The long absence of Crawford from the State, and the +secluded retirement of Clarke, had caused to cool in the public mind +much of the former bitterness of the two factions in the State, but now +it was rekindled. There were very many young men, who had been too +young to take any part in these factions, but who were now the active +and ambitious element in the State. Many persons, too, had immigrated +into the new-settled parts of the State, who were strangers to the +feuds which had once divided her people, and which now began to do so +anew. Each party sought to win and secure this element. Every newspaper +in the State, every judge upon the bench, every member of Congress was +in the interest of Crawford; and yet there was a majority of the people +of the State attached to the Clarke faction. He and his friends had +long been proscribed, and they pleaded persecution. The natural +sympathies of the heart were touched by these appeals, and it was +feared the State would be lost to Crawford in the coming Presidential +election. Every effort was now to be made to defeat this faction +against him, headed by Clarke. The election of Governor at this time +was by the Legislature; and it was not anticipated that there would be +any difficulty in the re-election of Rabun, and, consequently, there +had been no agitation of the question before the people at the recent +election of members of the Legislature. Scarcely a tithe of the people +had even heard of the candidacy of Clarke when his election was +announced; and, at the time, so little interest was felt on the +subject, that very few objected to his election. Clarke was a man of +violent passions, and had been, to some extent, irregular and +dissipated in his habits. When excited by any means, he was fierce; but +when with drink, he was boisterous, abusive, and destructive. Many +stories were related of terrible acts of his commission--riding into +houses, smashing furniture, glass, and crockery--of persecutions of his +family and weak persons he disliked. This had aroused in the pious and +orderly members of society strong opposition to him, and at this time +all his sins and irregularities were widely and loudly heralded to the +public. The preachers, with few exceptions, denounced him, and those +who did not were very soon with him denounced. Very soon after his +inauguration, the celebrated Jesse Mercer--the great gun of the Baptist +denomination in Georgia--was invited to preach the funeral sermon of +Governor Rabun. Mercer was an especial friend of Mr. Crawford, and a +more especial enemy of Clarke. In many respects he was a remarkable +man--a zealous and intolerant sectarian, and quite as uncompromising +and bitter in his political feelings. His zeal knew no bounds in +propagating his religious faith, and it was quite as ardent in +persecuting his political opponents. It was doubtful which he most +hated--the Devil or John Clarke. Rabun had been his neighbor, his +friend, and, above all, a member and elder in his church. It was quite +fitting under the circumstances that he should be selected to officiate +in the funeral services in honor of the late Governor. From respect, +Clarke and the Legislature were present. The moment Mercer's eye, from +the pulpit, descried Clarke, he threw open his Bible violently, and for +many minutes was busy searching from page to page some desired text. At +last he smiled. And such a smile! It was malignant as that of a +catamount. Turning down the leaf--as was the custom of his church--he +rose and gave out to be sung, line by line, his hymn. This concluded, +he made a short and hurried prayer--contrary to his custom--and, rising +from his prayerful position, opened his Bible, and fixing his eye upon +Clarke, he directed his audience to his text, and read: + +"When the wicked rule, the land mourns." + +The expression of his countenance, the twinkling of his eye, all +pointed so clearly to Clarke as to direct the attention of every one +present to the Governor. This was followed by a sermon half made up of +the irregularities of Clarke's life. This was the tocsin to the church, +and it came down in force with the opposition to the Governor elect. It +was, too, the slogan of the Crawford party to rally for a new conflict. + +Mr. Crawford's conduct as a representative of the State in Congress, +and the representative of her people in his foreign mission, had been +eminently satisfactory; and his present elevated position as Secretary +of the Treasury of the United States was exceedingly gratifying to +their pride. When it was determined by his friends to present his name +to the nation as a candidate for the Presidency, it was supposed his +support would be unanimous in Georgia. Time had given opportunity for +the prejudices and hatreds of youth to wear out with the passions of +youth. Those, however, who knew John Clarke, were not deceived when he +successfully rallied a party in opposition. So little interest had been +felt in the personal difficulty formerly existing between Clarke and +Crawford, that even those who remembered it attached to it no +importance, and they did not suppose Clarke's election was to be the +commencement of an organized opposition to Crawford's election, and of +the bitterness which was to follow. + +There was scarcely the show of opposition to the election of Clarke. +Those who remembered the old feud, and how completely it had pressed +down all the ambitious hopes and aspirations of Clarke, were willing to +forget the past, and, though warm friends of Mr. Crawford, to vote for +Clarke, and honor him with the first office in the State. Some felt his +treatment had been too harsh, and that for his father's Yazoo +antecedents he had been made to pay quite too severe a penalty, and +were desirous to manifest their feelings in their votes. Besides, his +family connections were most respectable. Griffin Campbell and Dr. Bird +were his brothers-in-law, and were men of high character and great +influence. The friends of these gentlemen united in his support. And +there was still another, whose influence, to the writer's knowledge, +carried four young, talented members of the House to the support of her +father--Ann Clarke, the only daughter of John Clarke, who had no +superior among her sex in talent, beauty, and accomplishments, in the +State. During the incumbency of her father she did the honors of the +executive mansion with a dignity, grace, and affability which won all +hearts, and added greatly to the popularity of the Governor. She +married Colonel John W. Campbell, and all her after-life has justified +the promise of her girlhood. Left a widow with many children, she has +reared and educated them to be an honor to their mother, and, as she +was, an ornament to society. She is now an aged woman, and resides in +Texas, honored and beloved by all who know her. + +The election of Clarke was illy received by the old and tried friends +of Crawford throughout the State. They knew him. His stern, inflexible +character and indomitable will were sure to rally about him a party; +and his personal bravery and devotion to his friends would greatly aid +in keeping and inspiring these. His position now was one of strength, +with the capacity to increase it, and the material was abundant; yet +there were formidable difficulties in his way. All, or very nearly all +of the leading families of the State--the Lamars, Cobbs, McIntoshes, +Waynes, Telfairs, Cummings, Tatnals, Dawsons, Abercrombies, Holts, +Blackshears, and many others--were Republicans, and active in the +support of Crawford for the Presidency. These apparently insurmountable +difficulties were to be overcome in the organization of new parties. +The complete breaking up of the Republican party of the nation was +favorable; and there was another element which the sagacity of Campbell +soon discovered and laid hold upon. There were many ambitious and +disappointed men and families in the State beside Clarke and his +family. + +The overwhelming popularity of Crawford as the head of the Republican +party in the State had enabled his friends to monopolize all the +offices, and give direction to every political movement and fix the +destiny of every political aspirant. Under this _regime_ many had been +summarily set aside, and were soured. The talents of Troup, Forsyth, +Cobb, Berrien, Tatnal, and some others, pointed them out as men to be +honored, because they honored the State. They seemed to hold a +possessory right to the distinguished positions, and to dictate who +should be elected to the minor ones. Young ambition submitted, but, was +restless and impatient to break away from this dominion. Party +stringency had enforced it, but this was loosened, and all that was now +wanting was a head to rally them into a new and formidable party. Every +old Federalist in the State who had clung to his principles attached +himself to Clarke. There were many strong families, wielding a potent +influence in their neighborhoods, attached to Federal principles. The +Watkins, Hills, Walkers, Glasscocks, and Adamses all soon sided with +the new party. A press in its support was greatly needed, and was soon +established, and given in charge of Cosein E. Bartlett, than whom no +man was better calculated for such a service as was demanded of him. + +There were not at this time a dozen newspapers in the State. With all +of them had Bartlett to do battle for the cause in which he had +enlisted, and right valiantly did he do it. He was a fluent and most +caustic writer, and was always ready, not only to write, but to fight +for his party, and would with his blood sustain anything he might say +or write. Like most party editors, he only saw the interest of his +party in what he would write, and would write anything he supposed +would further the ends of his party. Almost immediately after the +election of Clarke, the opposition presented the name of George M. +Troup, who had been voted for as an opposing candidate at the time of +Clarke's election. It was but a little while before the State trembled +with the agitation which seemed to disturb every breast. None could be +neutral. All were compelled to take sides or be crushed between the +contending parties or factions; for this division of the people was +only factious. There was no great principle upon which they divided; it +was men only. Clarke and his friends favored the pretensions of Mr. +Calhoun to the Presidency solely because he was the enemy of Crawford, +and they were subsequently transferred to the support of Jackson as +readily as cattle in the market. + +For two years was this agitation increasing in intensity, and so bitter +had it made animosities arising out of it, that reason seemed to reel, +and justice to forget her duty. Men were chosen indiscriminately to +office because of party proclivities. Intelligence and moral worth were +entirely disregarded--families divided--husbands and wives +quarrelled--father and sons were estranged, and brothers were at deadly +strife. There was no argument in the matter; for there was nothing upon +which to predicate an argument. To introduce the subject was to promote +a quarrel. Churches were distracted and at discord, and the pulpit, for +the first time in Georgia, desecrated by political philippics. Pierce +then, as now, was the leading minister of the Methodist Church in the +State, and abstained in the pulpit, but made no secret of his +preferences upon the street. Duffie travelled everywhere. He had by +unkindness driven from him his wife with her infant child, and, in her +helpless and desperate condition, she had taken refuge with the Shaking +Quakers in the West, and remained with them until her death. His son +came to him after maturity, and was established by him on a plantation +with a number of slaves; but, having inherited all the brutal ferocity +of his father, it was not long before he murdered one or two of them. +Incarcerated in the county jail, his father invoked party aid to +release him, openly declaring it was due to him for party services in +opposing that son of the Devil--John Clarke. Whether his party or his +money did the work I know not; but the miserable wretch escaped from +jail, and was never brought to trial. + +Peter Gautier was another prominent preacher-politician, and exercised +his talents in the service of Clarke. He was by birth an American, but +his parents were French. He was a bad man, but of eminent abilities, +and exercised great influence in the western portion of the State. +After Pierce, he was the superior of all of his denomination as a +pulpit orator; and in will and energy unequalled by any other. Bold, +unscrupulous, and passionate, he, regardless of his profession, mingled +freely, at county musters and political barbecues, with the lowest and +vilest of the community, using every art his genius suggested to +inflame the mad passions of men already excited to frenzy. In after +life the viciousness and unscrupulousness of his nature overmastered +his hypocrisy and burst out in acts of dishonesty and profanity, which +disgraced and drove him from the State. He sought security from public +scorn in the wilds of Florida; but all restraint had given way, and +very soon the innate perfidy of his nature manifested itself in all his +conduct, and he was obliged to retire from Florida. At that time Texas +was the outlet for all such characters, and thither went Gautier, where +he died. + +Every means which talent and ingenuity could devise was put into +requisition by both parties to secure their ascendency. The men of +abilities greatly preponderated in the Troup faction; and the pens of +Cobb, Gumming, Wild, Grantland, Gilmer, and Foster were active in +promoting the election of Troup, and thereby regaining the lost power +of the old Crawford or Republican party. Many young men of talent had +espoused the Clarke faction, and, under the guidance of Dooly, +Campbell, and Clarke, were doing yeomen's work for the cause. Among +these was Charles J. McDonald, whose fine character and family +influence rendered him conspicuously popular. This popularity he +retained to the end of his life. It elevated him to the Gubernatorial +chair, after serving in the United States Congress and for years upon +the bench of the Superior Court. His talents were not of the first +order, but his honesty, sincerity, and goodness made him beloved. + +Bartlett was struggling with all his energies to write up the +administration and to defend the Governor against the fierce and +reiterated attacks of the opposition. About this period there appeared +some articles in a paper in Augusta, Georgia, reflecting upon Mr. +Crawford, in reply to several papers signed "C.," which were written by +Richard H. Wild, then a member of Congress from Georgia. These articles +were attributed to Colonel William Gumming, of Augusta, and "C.," in +reply, attacked him severely. He was not a man to be badgered by an +anonymous writer in a newspaper. He demanded immediately of the editor +the name of his correspondent, and that of George McDuffie, of South +Carolina, was given. A challenge ensued--a meeting followed, in which +McDuffie was seriously wounded, and which ultimately caused his death. +This affair increased the hatred between the Georgians and Carolinians, +as it did not cease with a single meeting. Gumming renewed his +challenge in consequence of a statement made by McDuffie in a paper to +the public, narrating offensively--as Cumming felt--the particulars of +the affair. A second meeting was the consequence, at which a difficulty +arose between the seconds, and it was adjourned to another day and +another place. At this third meeting, in an exchange of shots, +McDuffie's arm was broken, and this terminated the difficulty; but it +did not appease the animosity of the friends of the parties. + +These combatants were both men of remarkable abilities. Colonel William +Cumming was a native of Augusta, Georgia. Born to the inheritance of +fortune, he received a liberal education and selected the law as a +profession. He read with the celebrated Judges Reeve and Gould, at +Litchfield, Connecticut. At the period of his study this was the only +law-school in the United States. Many anecdotes of his peculiarities +during his residence at the school were related by his preceptors to +the young gentlemen from Georgia who followed him in the office in +after years. A moot court was a part of the system of instruction, in +which questions of law, propounded by one of the professors, were +argued by students appointed for the purpose. On one occasion, Cumming +was replying to the argument of a competitor, and was so caustic as to +be offensive. This was resented by insulting words. Turning to the +gentleman, and without speaking, Cumming knocked him down. Immediately, +and without the slightest appearance of excitement, addressing the +presiding professor, he remarked: "Having thus summarily disposed of +the gentleman, I will proceed to treat his argument in like manner." + +Upon his return to Georgia, the war with England having broken out, he +procured the commission of a captain and entered the army. He was +transferred to the northern frontier--then the seat of active +operations--and soon distinguished himself amid that immortal band, all +of whom now sleep with their fathers--Miller, Brook, Jessup, McCrea, +Appling, Gaines, and Twiggs. Cumming, Appling, and Twiggs were +Georgians. At the battle of Lundy's Lane he was severely wounded and +borne from the field. He was placed in an adjoining room to General +Preston, who was also suffering from a wound. Cumming was a favorite of +Preston's, and both were full of prejudice toward the men of the North. +Late at night, Preston was aroused by a boisterous laugh in Cumming's +apartment. Such a laugh was so unusual with him that the general +supposed he had become delirious from pain. He was unable to go to him, +but called and inquired the cause of his mirth. + +"I can't sleep," was the reply, "and I was thinking over the incidents +of the day, and just remembered that there had not in the conflict been +an officer wounded whose home was north of Mason and Dixon's line. +Those fellows know well how to take care of their bacon." + +He was soon promoted to a colonelcy, and was fast rising to the next +grade when the war terminated. In the reduction of the army he was +retained--a compliment to his merits as a man and an officer. He was +satisfied with this, and, in declining to remain in the army, wrote to +the Secretary of War: + +"There are many whose services have been greater, and whose merits are +superior to mine, who have no other means of a livelihood. I am +independent, and desire some other may be retained in my stead." + +He was unambitious of political distinction, though intensely +solicitous to promote that of his friends. His high qualities of soul +and mind endeared him to the people of the State, who desired and +sought every occasion which they deemed worthy of him, to tender him +the first positions within their gift; but upon every one of these he +remained firm to his purpose, refusing always the proffered preferment. +Upon one occasion, when written to by a majority of the members of the +Legislature, entreating him to permit them to send him to the Senate of +the United States, he declined, adding: "I am a plain, military man. +Should my country, in that capacity, require my services, I shall be +ready to render them; but in no other." He continued to reside in +Augusta in extreme seclusion. Upon the breaking out of the war with +Mexico he was tendered, by Mr. Polk, the command of the army, but +declined on account of his age and declining health, deeming himself +physically incapable of encountering the fatigue the position would +involve. + +The habits of Colonel Cumming were peculiar. His intercourse with his +fellow men was confined to a very few tried friends. He never married, +and was rarely known to hold any familiar intercourse with females. So +secluded did he live, that for many years he was a stranger to almost +every one in his native city. He was strictly truthful, punctual to his +engagements in business matters, and honest in all things. In person, +he was very commanding. In his walk the whole man was seen--erect, +dignified, and impetuous. Energy and command flashed from his great, +gray eyes. His large head and square chin, with lips compressed, +indicated the talent and firmness which were the great characteristics +of his nature. Impatient of folly, he cultivated no intercourse with +silly persons, nor brooked for a moment the forward impertinence of +little pretenders. To those whose qualities of mind and whose habits +were congenial to his own, and whom he permitted familiarly to approach +him, he was exceedingly affable, and with such he frequently jested, +and hilariously enjoyed the piquant story in mirthful humor; but this +was for the few. He was a proud man, and was at no pains to conceal his +contempt for pert folly or intrusive ignorance, wherever and in +whomsoever he met it. + +In early life he was the close intimate of Richard Henry Wild, and was +a great admirer of his genius, and especially his great and interesting +conversational powers. Unexceptionable in his morals, he was severe +upon those whose lives were deformed by the petty vices which society +condemns yet practises in so many instances and universally tolerates. + +It is greatly to be regretted that the talents and learning of such a +man should not be given to mankind. Every one capable of appreciating +these great attributes in man, and who knew Colonel Cumming, will, with +the writer, regret that he persistently refused every persuasion of his +friends to allow them to place him in such a position before the +country as would bring his great qualities prominently forward in the +service, and for the benefit of his fellow-men. His proud nature +scorned the petty arts of the politician; and he doubtless felt place +could only be had or retained by the use of these arts; he was of too +high principle to descend to them, and held in great contempt those +whose confidence and favor could only be had by chicanery. He was not a +people's man, and had in his nature very little in common with the +masses; and, like Coriolanus, scorned and shunned the great unwashed. +He lived out his threescore years and ten, hiding the jewel God had +given him, and appropriating it only to the use of his own happiness in +the solitude he loved. + +George McDuffie was a very different man. Born of humble parentage in +one of the eastern counties of Georgia, he enjoyed but few advantages. +His early education was limited: a fortuitous circumstance brought him +to the knowledge of Mr. Calhoun, who saw at once in the boy the promise +of the man. Proposing to educate him and fit him for a destiny which he +believed an eminent one, he invited him to his home, and furnished him +with the means of accomplishing this end. His ambition had often +whispered to his young mind a proud future, and he commenced the +acquisition of the education which was, as he felt, essential as a +means of its attainment. In this he made rapid progress, and at the age +of twenty-five graduated at the university of South Carolina. It was +not long after graduating before he was admitted to the Bar, and +commenced the practice of law in company with Eldridge Simpkins, at +Edgefield Court House, who was, if I mistake not, at the time, a member +of Congress. + +The rise of McDuffie at the Bar was rapid; he had not practised three +years before his position was by the side of the first minds of the +State, and his name in the mouth of every one--the coming man of the +South. It was probably owing to the defence made by him of William +Taylor for the killing of Dr. Cheesboro, that he became famous as it +were in a day. This case excited the people of the whole State of South +Carolina. The parties were, so far as position was concerned, the first +in the State. William Taylor was the brother of John Taylor, who at the +time of the killing was Governor of the State. John Taylor, his +grandfather, was a distinguished officer in the army of the Revolution: +the family was wealthy, and extensively connected with the first +families of the State. Cheesboro was a young physician of great promise +and extensive practice. Jealousy was the cause of the killing, and was +evidently groundless. The deed was done in the house of Taylor, in the +city of Columbia, and was premeditated murder. Mrs. Taylor was a lovely +woman and highly connected. In her manners she was affable and cordial; +she was a great favorite in society, and her universal popularity +attracted to her the host of friends who so much admired her. Dr. +Cheesboro was one of these, and the green-eyed monster made him, in the +convictions of Taylor, the especial favorite of his wife. McDuffie was +employed in his defence, and he made a most triumphant success against +evidence, law, and justice. His speech to the jury was most effective. +The trial had called to Columbia many persons connected with the +family; and all were interested to save from an ignominious death their +relative. This, it was thought, could only be done by the sacrifice of +the wife's reputation. This would not only ruin forever this estimable +lady, but reflect a stain upon her extensive and respectable +connections. She was appealed to, to save her husband's life with the +sacrifice of her fame. In the consciousness of innocence, she refused +with Spartan firmness to slander her reputation by staining her +conscience with a lie. Her friends stood by her; and when hope had +withered into despair, and the possibility gone forever of saving him +by this means, the eloquence of McDuffie and the influence of family +were invoked, and successfully. + +In the examination of the witnesses he showed great tact, and +successfully kept from the jury facts which would have left them no +excuse for a verdict of acquittal. But it was in his address that his +great powers made themselves manifest. The opening was impassioned and +powerful. Scarcely had he spoken ten minutes before the Bench, the Bar, +the jury, and the audience were in tears, and, during the entire +speech, so entirely did he control the feelings of every one who heard +him, that the sobs from every part of the courtroom were audible above +the sounds of his voice. When he had concluded, the jury went weeping +from the box to the room of their deliberations, and soon returned a +verdict of acquittal. + +This effort established the fame of McDuffie as an orator and man of +great mental powers. Fortunately at that time it was the pride of South +Carolina to call to her service the best talent in all the public +offices, State and national, and with one acclaim the people demanded +his services in Congress. Mr. Simpkins, the incumbent from the +Edgefield district, declined a re-election, that his legal partner, Mr. +McDuffie, might succeed him, and he was chosen by acclamation. He came +in at a time when talent abounded in Congress, and when the country was +deeply agitated with the approaching election for President. Almost +immediately upon his entering Congress an altercation occurred upon the +floor of the House between him and Mr. Randolph, which resulted in the +discomfiture of Mr. Randolph, causing him to leave the House in a rage, +with the determination to challenge McDuffie. This, however, when he +cooled, he declined to do. This rencontre of wit and bitter words gave +rise to an amusing incident during its progress. + +Jack Baker, the wag and wit of Virginia, was an auditor in the gallery +of the House. Randolph, as usual, was the assailant, and was very +severe. McDuffie replied, and was equally caustic, and this to the +astonishment of every one; for all supposed the young member was +annihilated--as so many before had been by Randolph--and would not +reply. His antagonist was completely taken aback, and evidently felt, +with Sir Andrew Ague-cheek: "Had I known he was so cunning of fence, I +had seen him damned ere I had fought him." But he was in for it, and +must reply. His rejoinder was angry, and wanting in his usual biting +sarcasm. McDuffie rose to reply, and, pausing, seemed to hesitate, when +Baker from the gallery audibly exclaimed: "Lay on, McDuff, and damned +be he who first cries hold, enough!" The silence which pervaded the +chamber was broken by a general laugh, greatly disconcerting Randolph, +but seeming to inspire McDuffie, who went on in a strain of +vituperation witheringly pungent, in the midst of which Mr. Randolph +left his seat and the House. Here was a triumph few had enjoyed. Not +even Bayard, in his famous attack upon Randolph, when the latter first +came into Congress, had won so much. Every one seemed delighted. The +newspapers heralded it to the country, and McDuffie had a national +reputation. Everything seemed propitious for his fame, and every friend +of Mr. Calhoun felt that he had a champion in his _protege_, who, in +good service, would return him fourfold for his noble generosity to the +boy. + +The contest with Cumming whetted more sharply the edge of the animosity +between Georgia and South Carolina. The two were considered the +champions of their respective States, as also the chosen knights of +their respective friends--Crawford and Calhoun. The States and the +friends of the parties in this quarrel very soon arrayed themselves in +antagonism, which was made personal on many occasions, and between many +parties. The young were especially prominent in their demonstrations of +hostile feeling, not excepting the belles of the respective States. +Between them, I believe, it never went beyond words; but they were +frequent in conflict, and sometimes very bitter and very witty ones +escaped from lovely lips, attesting that the face of beauty was +underlaid with passion's deformity. With the young gallants it went to +blows, and, on a few occasions, to more deadly strife; and always +marred the harmony of the association where there were young +representatives of both States. On one occasion of social meeting at a +public dinner-party in Georgia, a young South Carolinian gave as a +sentiment: "George McDuffie--the pride of South Carolina." This was +immediately responded to by Mirabeau B. Lamar, the late President of +Texas, who was then young, and a great pet of his friends, with +another: "Colonel William Cumming-- + + "The man who England's arms defied, + A bar to base designers; + Who checked alike old Britain's pride + And noisy South Carolina's." + +The wit of the impromptu was so fine and the company so appreciative, +that, as if by common consent, all enjoyed it, and good feeling was not +disturbed. + +McDuffie was not above the middle size. His features were large and +striking, especially his eyes, forehead, and nose. The latter was +prominent and aquiline. His eyes were very brilliant, blue, and deeply +set under a massive brow--his mouth large, with finely chiselled lips, +which, in meeting, always wore the appearance of being compressed. In +manners he was retiring without being awkward. His temperament was +nervous and ardent, and his feelings strong. His manner when speaking +was nervous and impassioned, and at times fiercely vehement, and again +persuasive and tenderly pathetic, and in every mood he was deeply +eloquent. + +In the after period of life these antagonists were, through the +instrumentality of a noble-hearted Hibernian, reconciled, and sincerely +so--both regretting the past, and willing to bury its memory in social +intimacy. McDuffie married Miss Singleton, of South Carolina, one of +the loveliest and most accomplished ladies of the State. + +Owing to the wound received in the duel with Cumming, his nervous +system suffered, and finally his brain. The ball remained imbedded in +the spine, and pressed upon the spinal chord. An attempt to remove it, +the surgeons determined, would be more hazardous to life than to permit +it to remain. There was no remedy. From its effects his mind began to +decay, and finally perished, leaving him, long before his death, a +melancholy imbecile. In all the relations of life this great man was +faithful to his duties--a devoted husband, a sincere friend, a kind +neighbor, and a considerate and indulgent master to his slaves. He was +one of those rare creations for which there is no accounting. None of +his family evinced more than very ordinary minds; nor can there be +traced in his ancestry one after whom his nature and abilities were +marked. His morals were as pure and elevated as his intellect was grand +and comprehensive, and his soul was as lofty and chivalrous as the +Chevalier Bayard's. His fame is too broad to be claimed alone by South +Carolina. Georgia is proud of giving him birth, and the nation +cherishes his glory. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +FIFTY YEARS AGO. + +GOVERNOR MATHEWS--INDIANS--TOPOGRAPHY OF MIDDLE GEORGIA--A NEW COUNTRY +AND ITS SETTLERS--BEAUX AND BELLES--EARLY TRAINING--JESUIT TEACHERS--A +MOTHER'S INFLUENCE--THE JEWS--HOMELY SPORTS--THE COTTON GIN-- +CAMP-MEETINGS. + + +Immediately subsequent to the Revolution, all the country northwest of +the Ogeechee River, in the middle portion of the State of Georgia, was +divided into two counties, Franklin and Wilkes. It was a wilderness, +and contiguous to both the Creek and Cherokee Indian nations. No +country in the world was more beautiful in its topography, and few more +fertile in soil. Governor Mathews had purchased a home in this region; +and being at this time the principal man in the up-country, attracted +to his neighborhood the emigrants who began to come into the country. + +Mathew's Revolutionary services in the command of a regiment in the +Virginia line were eminent; and his character for intrepidity naturally +made him a leader among such men as were likely to seek and make homes +in a new country. + +Surrounded not only with all the difficulties presented to him by the +unsubdued wilderness, but the perils of savage warfare, he +unflinchingly went forward in his enterprise, daring and conquering +every obstacle nature and the savages interposed. He was an uneducated +man; but of strong mind, ardent temperament, and most determined will. +Many anecdotes are related of his intrepidity, self-respect, and +unbending will. He was a native of Augusta County, Virginia, and +emigrated to Georgia about the same time that Elijah Clarke came from +North Carolina and settled in that portion of the new territory now +known as Clarke County. + +These two remarkable men formed a nucleus for those of their respective +States who came at subsequent periods to make a home in Georgia. They +were models to the youth of their respective neighborhoods, and gave +tone to the character of the population for many years after they were +in their graves. About the same time, the Earlys came from Virginia, +and the Abercrombies from North Carolina, and located respectively in +the new counties of Greene and Hancock. They were all men of strong +character, and all exercised great influence with those who accompanied +or came to them at a subsequent period. + +Among the very first to locate in Greene County was Colonel David Love, +from North Carolina, and soon after came the Nesbits, Jacksons, and +Hortons; all of whom settled upon the head-waters of the Ogeechee and +upon Shoulderbone Creek. + +The country was very attractive, the soil very generous, the water +good, and the health remarkable. The general topography of Middle +Georgia (as that portion of Georgia is now termed) is unsurpassed by +any other portion of the State for beauty--hill and dale, the one not +rising many feet above the other, generally with beautiful slopes, and +scarcely at any place with so much abruptness as to forbid cultivation. +Upon these lovely acclivities were built the cabins of the emigrants, +at the base of which, and near the house, was always to be found a +fountain of pure, sweet water, gushing and purling away over sand and +pebbles, meandering through a valley which it fertilized, and which +abounds in shrubs flowering in beauty, and sheltered by forests of oak, +hickory, pine, and gum. + +Those who first came were frequently compelled to unite in a settlement +at some selected point, and, for defence against the inroads of the +savages, were obliged to build stockade forts, with blockhouses. + +Nature seems to have prepared, during the Revolution, men for subduing +the wilderness and its savage inhabitants. They cheerfully encountered +all the difficulties and hazards thus presented, and constantly pursued +their object to its consummation. They came from every section of the +older communities, and all seemed animated with the same spirit. They +were orderly, but rude; and though beyond the pale of the law, they +were a law unto themselves; and these laws were strictly enforced by a +public opinion which gave them being and efficiency. With remarkably +simple habits and very limited opportunities, their wants were few; and +these were supplied by their own industry and frugality upon the farm. +Their currency was silver coin, Spanish milled, and extremely limited +in quantity. The little trade carried on was principally by barter, and +social intercourse was confined almost exclusively to the Sabbath. The +roads were rough and uneven, consisting almost entirely of a way +sufficiently wide for an ox-cart to pass, cut through the forest, where +the stumps and stones remained; and in soft or muddy places, the bodies +of small trees or split rails were placed side by side, so as to form a +sort of bridge or causeway, so rough as to test and not unfrequently to +destroy the wheels of the rude vehicles of the country. These obtained +and to this day receive the sobriquet of Georgia railroads or corduroy +turnpikes. + +Very few of these immigrants were independent of labor; and most of +them devoted six days of the week to the cultivation of a small farm +and its improvement. Children learned early to assist in this labor, +and those who were sent to school, almost universally employed the +Saturday of each week in farm-work. + +Man's social nature induces aggregation into communities, which +stimulates an ambition to excel in every undertaking. From this +emulation grows excellence and progress in every laudable enterprise. +These small communities, as they grew from accessions coming into the +country, began to build rude places for public worship, which were +primitive log-cabins, and served as well the purposes of a +school-house. Here the adult population assembled on the Sabbath, and +the children during the week. This intercourse, together with the +dependence of every one at times for neighborly assistance, was greatly +promotive of harmony and mutual confidence. Close and familiar +acquaintance revealed to all the peculiar character of every one--the +virtuous and the vicious, the energetic or the indolent, the noble and +the ignoble--and all very soon came to be appreciated according to +their merit. + +Rude sports constituted the amusements of the young--wrestling, +leaping, and hunting; and he who was most expert at these was the +neighborhood's pride: he rode from church with the prettiest girl, and +was sure to be welcomed by her parents when he came; and to be selected +by such an one was to become the neighborhood's belle. At log-rollings, +quiltings, and Saturday-night frolics, he was the first and the most +admired. + +The girls, too, were not without distinction--she who could spin the +greatest number of cuts of cotton, or weave the greatest number of +yards of cloth, was most distinguished, and most admired; but +especially was she distinguished who could spin and weave the neatest +fabric for her own wear, of white cloth with a turkey-red stripe--cut, +and make it fit the labor-rounded person and limbs--or make, for +father's or brother's wear, the finest or prettiest piece of jean--cook +the nicest dinners for her beau, or dance the longest without fatigue. + +The sexes universally associated at the same school, (a system +unfortunately grown out of use,) and grew up together with a perfect +knowledge of the disposition, temperament, and general character of +each other. And, as assuredly as the boy is father to the man, the girl +is mother to the woman; and these peculiarities were attractive or +repulsive as they differed in individuals, and were always an influence +in the selection of husbands and wives. The prejudices of childhood +endure through life, particularly those toward persons. They are +universally predicated upon some trait of manner or character, and +these, as in the boy perceived, are ever prominent in the man. So, too, +with the girl, and they only grow with the woman. This is a paramount +reason why parties about contracting marriage-alliances should be well +aware of whom they are about to select. The consequence of this +intercommunication of the sexes from childhood, in the primitive days +of Georgia's first settlement, was seen in the harmony of families. In +the age which followed, a separation or divorce was as rare as an +earthquake; and when occurring, agitated the whole community. For then +a marriage was deemed a life-union, for good or for evil, and was not +lightly or inconsiderately entered into. + +The separation of the sexes in early youth, and especially at school, +destroys or prevents in an eminent degree the restraining influences +upon the actions of each other, and that tender desire for the society +of each other, which grows from childhood's associations. Brought +together at school in early life, when the mind and soul are receiving +the impressions which endure through life, they naturally form +intimacies, and almost always special partialities and preferences. +Each has his or her favorite, these partialities are usually +reciprocal, and their consequence is a desire on the part of each to +see the other excel. To accomplish this, children, as well as grown +people, will make a greater effort than they will simply to succeed or +to gratify a personal ambition to that effect. Thus they sympathize +with and stimulate each other. Every Georgia boy of fifty years ago, +with gray-head and tottering step now, remembers his sweetheart, for +whom he carried his hat full of peaches to school, and for whom he made +the grape-vine swing, and how at noon he swung her there. + + 'T is bonny May; and I to-day + Am wrinkled seventy-four, + Still I enjoy, as when a boy, + Much that has gone before. + + Is it the leaves and trees, or sheaves + Of yellow, ripened grain, + Which wake to me, in memory, + My boyhood's days again? + + These seem to say 't is bonny May, + As when they sweetly grew, + And gave their yield, in wood and field, + To me, when life was new. + + But nought beside--ah, woe betide!-- + Which grew with me is here-- + The home, the hall, the mill, the all + Which young life holds so dear. + + The school-house, spring, and little thing, + With eyes so bright and blue, + Who'd steal away with me and play + When school's dull hours were through, + + Are memories now; and yet, oh! how + It seems but yesterday + Since I was there, with that sweet dear, + In the wild wood at play. + + The hill was steep where we would leap; + The grape-vine swing hung high, + And I would throw the swing up so + That, startled, she would cry. + + But though she cried, she still relied + (And seemed to have no fear) + On me to hold the swing, and told + Me "not to frighten her." + + But I was wild, and she no child, + And not afraid, I deemed; + So tossed as high the swing as I + Could--when she fell and screamed. + + She was not harmed; but I, alarmed, + Ran quickly to assist, + And lifted her, all pale with fear, + Within my arms, and kissed + + Her pallid cheek, ere she could speak: + But I had seen, you know, + (Ah! what of this? that sight and kiss + Was fifty years ago,) + + That little boot and pretty foot, + So neatly formed and small-- + The swelling calf, and stifled laugh-- + How I remember all! + + That lovely one has long since gone, + Is dust, and only dust, now; + Yet I recall that swing and fall, + As though it had been just now. + +Take these lines, reader, if you please, as an evidence of how the +memories growing out of the associations of boyhood's school-days +endure through life. This association of the sexes operates as a +restraint upon both, salutary to good conduct and good morals. Such +restraints are far more effective than the staid lessons of some old, +wrinkled duenna of a school-mistress, whose failure to find a +sweetheart in girlhood, or a husband in youthful womanhood, has soured +her toward every man, and filled her with hatred for the happiness she +witnesses in wedded life, and which is ever present all around her. Her +warnings are in violation of nature. She has forgotten she was ever +young or inspired with the feelings and hopes of youth. Men are +monsters, and marriage a hell upon earth. Girls will not believe this, +and will get married. How much better, then, that they should +cultivate, in association, the generous and natural feelings of the +heart, and during the period allotted by nature for the growth of the +feelings natural to the human bosom, as well as to the growth of the +person and mind, than to be told what they should be by one +disappointed of all the fruits of them, and hating the world because +she is! It is the mother who should form the sentiments and direct the +conduct of daughters, and in their teachings should never forget that +nature is teaching also. Let their lessons always teach the proper +indulgences of nature, as well as the proper and prudent restraints to +the natural feelings of the human heart, and so deport themselves +toward their daughters from infancy as to win their confidence and +affection. The daughters, when properly trained, will always come with +their little complaints in childhood, and seek consolation, leaning +upon the parent's knee, and, with solicitude, look up into the parental +face for sympathy and advice. Home-teaching and home-training makes the +proper woman. When this is properly attended to, there needs no +boarding-school or female-college finish, which too frequently uproots +every virtuous principle implanted by the careful and affectionate +teaching of pious, gentle, and intelligent mothers. But few mothers, +who are themselves properly trained, forget nature in the training and +education of their daughters; and a truly natural woman is a blessing +to society and a crown of glory to her husband. I mean by a natural +training a knowledge of herself, as well as a knowledge of the offices +of life and the domestic duties of home. Every woman in her girlhood +should learn from her mother the mission and destinies of woman, as +well as what is due to society, to their families, to themselves, and +to God. The woman who enters life with a knowledge of what life is, and +what is due to her and from her in all the relations of life, has a +thousand chances for happiness through life unknown to the belle of the +boarding-school, who, away from home influences, is artificially +educated to be in all things prominent before the world, and entirely +useless in the discharge of domestic duties. She may figure as the +lady-president or vice-president of charitable associations, or the +lady-president of some prominent or useless society; but never as a +dutiful, devoted wife, or affectionate, instructive mother to her +children. Her household is managed by servants, and about her home +nothing evinces the neat, provident, and attentive housewife. + +The whole system of education, as practised by the Protestants of the +United States, is wrong; religious prejudice prevents their learning +from the Catholics, and particularly from the Jesuit Catholics, who are +far in advance of their Protestant brethren. They learn from the child +as they teach the child. In the first place, none are permitted to +teach who are not by nature, as well as by education, qualified to +teach; nature must give the gentleness, the kindness, and the patience, +with the capacity to impart instruction. They learn, first, the child's +nature, the peculiarities of temper, and fashion these to obedience and +affection; they first teach the heart to love--not fear; they warn +against the evils of life--teach the good, and the child's duties to +its parents, to its brothers and sisters, to its teachers, to its +playmates, and to its God. When the heart is mellowed and yields +obedience in the faithful discharge of these duties, and the brain +sufficiently matured to comprehend the necessity of them, then +attention is directed to the mind; its capacities are learned and +known, and it is treated as this knowledge teaches is proper: it is, as +the farmer knows, the soil of his cultivation, and is prepared by +careful tillage before the seed is sown. The vision of the child's mind +is by degrees expanded; the horizon of its knowledge is enlarged, and +still the heart's culture goes on in kindness and affection. The pupil +has learned to love the teacher, and receives with alacrity his +teaching; he goes to him, without fear, for information on every point +of duty in morals, as on every difficult point of literary learning. He +knows he will be received kindly, and dealt with gently. Should he err, +he is never rebuked in public, nor harshly in private; the teacher is +aggrieved, and in private he kindly complains to the offender, whose +love for his preceptor makes him to feel, and repent, and to err no +more. All this is only known to the two; his school-fellows never know, +and have no opportunity for triumph or raillery. Thus taught from the +cradle, principles become habits; and on these, at maturity, he is +launched upon the world, with every safeguard for his future life. So +with the girl. With the experience of forty-five years, the writer has +never known a vicious, bad woman, wife, or mother trained in a Jesuit +convent, or reared by an educated Catholic mother. + +The daughters of the pioneers of Georgia's early settlements received a +home education; at least, in the duties of domestic life. In the +discharge of these duties, they gained robust constitutions and +vigorous health; they increased the butcher's bill at the expense of +the doctor's; and such women were the mothers of the men who have made +a history for their country, for themselves and their mothers. I may be +prolix and prosaic, but I love to remember the mothers of fifty years +ago--she who gave birth to Lucius Q.C. and Mirabeau B. Lamar, to +William C. Dawson, Bishop George Pierce, Alexander Stuart, Joseph +Lumpkin, and glorious Bob Toombs. I knew them all, and, with +affectionate delight, remember their virtues, and recall the social +hours we have enjoyed together, when they were matrons, and I the +companion of their sons. And now, when all are gone, and time is +crowding me to the grave, the nobleness of their characters, the +simplicity of their bearing in the discharge of their household duties, +and the ingenuousness of their manners in social intercourse, is a +cherished, venerated memory. None of these women were ever in a +boarding-school, never received a lesson in the art of entering a +drawing-room or captivating a beau. They were sensible, modest, and +moral women, and their virtues live after them in the exalted character +of their illustrious sons. Their literary education in early life was, +of necessity, neglected, because of the want of opportunities; but in +the virtues and duties of life, they were thoroughly educated; and none +of these, or any of their like, was ever Mrs. President or Secretary of +any pretentious or useless society or association. + +The little education or literature they acquired was in the old log +school-house, where boys and girls commingled as pupils under the +teaching of some honest pedagogue, who aspired to teach only reading, +writing, and arithmetic, in a simple way. It must not be supposed, from +the foregoing remarks, that I object to female education; on the +contrary, I would have every woman an educated woman. But I would have +this education an useful and proper education; one not wholly +ornamental and of no practical use, but one obtained at home, and under +the parental care and influence--such an one as made Mrs. Ripley, of +Concord, Massachusetts, the wonder and admiration of every sensible +man. She who studied La Place's _Mecanique Celeste_ when she was making +biscuit for her breakfast, and who solved a problem in the higher +mathematics when darning her stockings; an education where the useful +may be taught and learned to grace the ornamental--where the harp and +piano shall share with the needle and the cooking-stove, and the +pirouettes of the dancing-master shall be only a step from the laundry +and the kitchen. + +The duties of wives and mothers are to home, husband, and children; and +this includes all of woman's duty to the country, and in the +intelligent and faithful discharge of which the great ends of life are +subserved. Good neighborhood, good government, and happy communities +secure the implanting and cultivation of good principles, and the +proper teaching of proper duties. The wise direction of literary +education to sons and to daughters, all comes within the range of home, +and home duties especially incumbent upon mothers. The domestic duties +and domestic labors should be a prime consideration in the education of +daughters. The association of the mother and child from birth, until +every principle which is to guide and govern it through life is +implanted, makes it the duty of the mother to know the right, and to +teach it, too. Example and precept should combine; and this necessity +compels a constant watch, not only over the child's, but over the +mother's language and conduct. All these duties imply a close devotion +to home: for here is the germ which is to grow into good or into evil, +as it is nursed and cultivated, or wickedly neglected. Begin at the +beginning, if you would accomplish well your work; and to do this, +application and assiduity are indispensable; and these are duties only +to be discharged at home. They admit of a relaxation of time sufficient +for every social duty exacted by society, if that society is such as it +should be; and if not, it should neither occupy time not attention. + +In this is comprised all woman's duties, and they are paramount; for +upon their successful application depend the well-being of society and +the proper and healthful administration of wise and salutary laws. The +world is indebted to woman for all that is good and great. Let every +woman emulate Cornelia, the Roman mother, and, when a giddy, foolish +neighbor runs to her to exhibit newly purchased jewels, be found, like +the Roman matron, at her tambour-work; and like her, too, when her boys +from school shall run to embrace her, say to the thoughtless one, +"These are my jewels!" and Rome will not alone boast of her Gracchi and +their incomparable mother. + +The duties of home cultivate reflection and stimulate to virtue. For +this reason, women are more pious than men; and for this reason, too, +they are more eminent in purity. Contact with the domestic circle does +not contaminate or corrupt, as the baser contact with the world is sure +to do. + +The home circle is select and chaste--the promiscuous intermingling +with the world meretricious and contaminating. The mother not trained +to the appreciation and discharge of the domestic duties, was never the +mother of a great representative mind; because she is incapable of +imparting those stern principles of exalted morality and fixity of +purpose essential in forming the character of such men. The mother of +Cincinnatus was a farmer's wife; of Leonidas, a shepherdess; and the +mothers of Washington, Webster, Clay, Calhoun, William H, Crawford, and +Andrew Jackson were all the wives of farmers--rural and simple in their +pursuits, distinguished for energy and purity; constant in their +principles, and devoted to husband, home, and children. They never +dreamed it was woman's vocation or duty to go out into the world and +mingle in its strifes and contentions--but at home, to view them, +reflect upon their consequences to society, and upon the future of +their sons and daughters, and warn them what to emulate and what to +shun. They, as did their husbands, felt the necessity of preserving +that delicacy of thought and action which is woman's ornament, and +which is more efficient in rebuking licentiousness and profligacy in +the young and the old than all the teaching of the schools without such +example. Such were the mothers of the great and the good of our land, +and such the mothers of those men now prominent and distinguished in +the advocacy and support of the great principles of natural rights and +humanity. + +It is a mooted question whether the purposes of human life demand a +high, classical education among the masses; or whether the general +happiness is promoted by such education. In the study of the human mind +in connection with human wants, we are continually met with +difficulties arising from the want of education; and quite as +frequently with those resulting from education. So much so, that we +hear from every wise man the declaration that as many minds are ruined +by over-education as from the want of education. + +Man's curse is to labor. This labor must of necessity be divided to +subserve the wants of society--and common sense would teach that each +should be educated as best to enable him to perform that labor which +may fall to his lot in life. But who shall determine this lot? Every +day's experience teaches the observant and thinking man that no one +individual is uselessly born. To deny this proposition would be to call +in question the wisdom and goodness of the Creator. Every one possesses +proclivities for some one avocation, and should be educated for its +pursuit. This is manifested in very early life; in some much more +palpably than in others. This is always the case when the aptitude is +decisive. In such cases this idiosyncrasy will triumph over every +adverse circumstance, educational or otherwise; but in the less +palpable, it will not; and the design of nature may, and indeed +constantly is, disappointed, and improper education and improper +pursuits given. In these pursuits or callings, the person thus +improperly placed there never succeeds as he would had his bent or +mental inclination been observed, and his education directed to it, and +he given to its pursuit. Such persons labor through life painfully; +they have no taste or inclination for the profession, business, or +trade in which they are engaged; its pursuit is an irksome, thankless +labor; while he who has fallen into nature's design, and is working +where his inclinations lead, labors happily, because he labors +naturally. These inclinations the parent or guardian should observe; +and when manifested, should direct the education for the calling nature +has designed. Idiosyncrasies are transmissible or inherited. In old and +populous communities, where every pursuit or profession is full, the +father generally teaches his own to his son or sons. Where this has +extended through three or four generations, the proclivity is generally +strongly marked, and in very early childhood made manifest. Thus, in +the third or fourth generation, where all have been blacksmiths, the +child will be born with the muscles of the right arm more developed +than those of the left, and the first plaything he demands is a hammer. +So, where a family have been traders, will the offspring naturally +discover an aptness for bargaining and commerce. This is illustrated in +the instincts of the Jews, a people of extraordinary brain and +wonderful tenacity of purpose. Five thousand years since, a small +fragment of the Semitic race, residing in Mesopotamia between the +waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris, consisting of two families, +came into the land of Canaan, in Asia Minor; from them have descended +the people known as Jews. The country over which they spread, and which +is known as Judea, is not more than four hundred miles long by two +hundred and fifty in breadth, situated between two populous and +powerful empires, the Assyrian and Egyptian, who, waging war too +frequently, made the land of Judea their battle-field, and its people +the objects of persecution and oppression. The earnings of their labor +were deemed legitimate prey by both, and taken wherever found: they +were led into captivity by the Assyrians and by the Egyptians, +enslaved, and denied the legal right to possess the soil--which, to the +everlasting disgrace of Christian Europe, was a restriction upon this +wonderful people until within the present century. A blind bigotry +would have blotted them from the face of the earth, but for that +energy, talent, and enterprise possessed by them in a superior degree +to any people upon the globe. Inspired by a sublime belief that they +were the chosen people of God, no tyranny nor oppression could subdue +their energies. They prayed and labored, went forward with untiring +determination, upheld by their faith, and always, under the direst +distress, found comfort from this belief and the fruits of incessant +labor. The soil of their loved Canaan was barren, and yielded +grudgingly to the most persistent labor. This drove them to trade, and +an extended intercourse with the world. Without a national government +of sufficient power to protect them when robbed by the people or the +governments surrounding their own, they were compelled, for +self-protection, to resort to every means of concealing the earnings of +their enterprise and superior knowledge and skill from Christian and +pagan alike. They gave value to the diamond, that in a small stone, +easy of concealment, immense wealth might be hidden. They invented the +bill of exchange, by which they could at pleasure transfer from one +country to another their wealth, and avoid the danger of spoliation +from the hand of power and intolerance. Without political or civil +rights in any but their own country, they were compelled to the +especial pursuit of commerce for centuries, and we now see that +seven-tenths of all Jews born, as naturally turn to trade and commerce +as the infant to the breast. It has become an instinct. + +To these persecutions the world is probably indebted for the +developments of commerce--the bringing into communication the nations +of the earth for the exchange of commodities necessary to the use and +comfort of each other, not of the growth or production of each, +enlarging the knowledge of all thus communicating, and teaching that +civilization which is the enlightenment and the blessing of +man--ameliorating the savage natures of all, and teaching that all are +of God, and equally the creatures of His love and protection; and +leading also to that development of mind in the Israelite which makes +him conspicuous to-day above any other race in the great attributes of +mind--directing the policy of European governments--first at the Bar, +first in science, first in commerce, first in wealth--preserving the +great traits of nationality without a nation, and giving tone, talent, +wealth, and power to all. + +A few men only are born to think. Their minds expand with education, +and their usefulness is commensurate with it. This few early evince a +proclivity so strong for certain avocations as to enable those who have +the direction of their future to educate them for this pursuit. This +proclivity frequently is so overpowering as to prompt the possessor, +when the early education has been neglected, to educate himself for +this especial idiosyncrasy. This was the case with Newton--with +Stevenson, the inventor of the locomotive-engine, who, at twenty years +of age, was ignorant even of his letters. Arkwright was a barber, and +almost entirely illiterate when he invented the spinning-jenny. Train, +the inventor of the railroad, was, at the time of its invention, a +coal-heaver, and entirely illiterate. + +These cases are rare, however. The great mass of mankind are born to +manual labor, and only with capacities suited for it. To attempt to +cultivate such minds for eminent purposes would be folly. Even +supposing they could be educated--which is scarcely supposable, for it +would seem a contravention of Heaven's fiat--they could no more apply +this learning, which would simply be by rote, than they could go to the +moon. Such men are not unfrequently met with, and are designated, by +common consent, learned fools. Nature points out the education they +should receive. In like manner with those of higher and nobler +attributes, educate them for their pursuits in life. It requires not +the same education to hold a plough, or drive an ox, that it does to +direct the course of a ship through a trackless sea, or to calculate an +eclipse; and what is essential to the one is useless to the other.--But +I am wandering away from the purpose of this work. Turning back upon +the memories of fifty years ago, and calling up the lives and the +histories of men, and women too, I have known, I was led into these +reflections, and ere I was aware they had stolen from my pen. + +The rude condition of a country is always imparted to the character of +its people, and out of this peculiarity spring the rough sports and +love of coarse jokes and coarse humor. No people ever more fully +verified this truth than the Georgians, and to-day, even among her best +educated, the love of fun is a prevailing trait. Her traditions are +full of the practical jokes and the practical jokers of fifty years +ago. The names of Dooly, Clayton, Prince, Bacon, and Longstreet will be +remembered in the traditions of fun as long as the descendants of their +compatriots continue to inhabit the land. The cock-fight, the +quarter-race, and the gander-pulling are traditions now, and so is the +fun they gave rise to; and I had almost said, so is the honesty of +those who were participants in these rude sports. Were they not more +innocent outlets to the excessive energies of a mercurial and +fun-loving people than the faro-table and shooting-gallery of to-day? +Every people must have their amusements and sports, and these, +unrestrained, will partake of the character of the people and the state +of society. Sometimes the narrow prejudices of bigoted folly will +inveigh against these, and insist upon their restraint by law; and +these laws, in many of the States, remain upon the statute-book a +rebuking evidence of the shameless folly of fanatical ignorance. Of +these, the most conspicuous are the blue-laws of Connecticut, and the +more absurd and criminal laws of Massachusetts against amusements not +only necessary, but healthful and innocent. Even in the present +advanced state of knowledge and civilization, do we occasionally hear +ranted from the pulpit denunciations of dancing, as a sinful and +God-offending amusement. Such men should not be permitted to teach or +preach--it is to attenuate folly and fanaticism, to circumscribe the +happiness of youth, and belie the Bible. + +The emigrants to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia were all persons of +like character, combining a mixture of English, Irish, and Scotch +blood. They were enterprising, daring, and remarkable for great good +sense. Rude from the want of education and association with a more +polished people, they were nevertheless high-principled and full of +that chivalrous spirit which prompts a natural courtesy, courts danger, +and scorns the little and mean--open-handed in their generosity, and +eminently candid and honest in all their intercourse and dealings with +their fellow-men. These elements, collected from various sections, +combined to form new communities in the wild and untamed regions. In +their conflicts with the savages were shown a daring fearlessness and a +high order of military talent in very many of the prominent leaders of +the different settlements. They had no chronicler to note and record +their exploits, and they exist now only in the traditions of the +country. + +The names of Shelby and Kenton, of Kentucky; of Davidson and Jackson, +of Tennessee; of Clarke, Mathews, and Adams, of Georgia; Dale, of +Alabama, and Claiborne, of Mississippi, live in the memory of the +people of their States, together with those of Tipton, Sevier, Logan, +and Boone, and will be in the future history of these States, with +their deeds recorded as those whose enterprise, energy, and +fearlessness won from the wilderness and the savage their fertile and +delightful lands, to be a home and a country for their posterity. + +The children of such spirits intermarrying, could but produce men of +talent and enterprise, and women of beauty, intelligence, and virtue. +In the veins of these ran only streams of blue blood--such as filled +the veins of the leaders of the Crusades--such as warmed the hearts of +the O'Neals and O'Connors, of Wallace and Bruce, and animated the +bosoms of the old feudal barons of England, who extorted the great +charter of human liberty from King John. There was no mixture of the +pale Saxon to taint or dilute the noble current of the Anglo-Norman +blood which flowed through and fired the hearts of these descendants of +the nobility and gentry of Britain. They were the cavaliers in chivalry +and daring, and despised, as their descendants despised, the Roundheads +and their descendants, with their cold, dissembling natures, +hypocritical in religion as faithless in friendship, without one +generous emotion or ennobling sentiment. + +It is not remarkable that conflict should ensue between races so +dissimilar in a struggle to control the Government: true to the +instincts of race, each contended for that which best suited their +genius and wants; and not at all remarkable that all the generous +gallantry in such a conflict should be found with the Celt, and all the +cruel rapacity and meanness with the Saxon. Their triumph, through the +force of numbers, was incomplete, until their enemies were tortured by +every cruelty of oppression, and the fabric of the Government dashed to +atoms. This triumph can only be temporary. The innate love of free +institutions, universal in the heart of the Celtic Southerner, will +_yet_ unite all the races to retrieve the lost. This done, victory is +certain. + +The descendants of these pioneers have gone out to people the extended +domain reaching around the Gulf, and are growing into strength, without +abatement of the spirit of their ancestors. Very soon time and their +energies will repair the disasters of the recent conflict; and +reinvigorated, the shackles of the Puritan shall restrain no longer, +when a fierce democracy shall restore the Constitution, and with it the +liberty bequeathed by their ancestors. + +With this race, fanaticism in religion has never known a place. +Rational and natural, they have ever worshipped with the heart and the +attributes of their faith. Truth, sincerity, love, and mercy have ever +marked their characters. Too honest to be superstitious, and too +sincere to be hypocrites, the concentrated love of freedom unites the +race, and the hatred of tyranny will stimulate the blood which shall +retrieve it from the dominion of the baser blood now triumphant and +rioting in the ruin they have wrought. + +In the beginning of the settlements, and as soon as fears of the +inroads from the savages had subsided, attention was given to the +selection of separate and extended homes over the country, to the +opening of farms, and their cultivation. The first consideration was +food and raiment. All of this was to be the production of the farm and +home industry: grain enough was to be grown to serve the wants of the +family for bread, and to feed the stock; for this was to furnish the +meat, milk, and butter. Cotton enough to serve the wants of families, +together with the wool from the flock, and some flax, were of prime +consideration. All of this was prepared and manufactured into fabrics +for clothing and bedding at home. The seed from the cotton was picked +by hand; for, as yet, Whitney had not given them the cotton-gin. This +work was imposed most generally upon the children of families, white +and black, as a task at night, and which had to be completed before +going to bed; an ounce was the usual task, which was weighed and spread +before the fire; for it was most easily separated from the seed when +warm and dry. Usually some petty rewards stimulated the work. In every +family it was observed and commented upon, that these rewards excited +the diligence of the white children, but were without a corresponding +effect upon the black; and any one who has ever controlled the negro +knows that his labor is only in proportion to the coercion used to +enforce it. His capacity, physically, is equal to the white; but this +cannot be bought, or he persuaded to exert it of himself, and is given +only through punishment, or the fear of it. The removal of restraint is +to him a license to laziness; and the hope of reward, or the cravings +of nature, will only induce him to labor sufficiently to supply these +for immediate and limited relief. + +Stock of every kind except horses was left to find a support in the +forest, and at that time, when their range was unlimited, they found it +in abundance. Increasing wants stimulated the cultivation of a market +crop to supply them, and indigo and tobacco were first resorted to. +Tobacco was the principal staple, and the method of its transportation +was extraordinary. As at the present day in Kentucky, it was pressed +into very large hogsheads. Upon these were pinned large wooden felloes, +forming the circle of a wheel around the hogshead at either end, and in +the centre of each head a large pin was inserted. Upon these pins were +attached shafts or thills, as to a cart, and to these teams, and thus +the hogshead was rolled along rough roads and through streams for +sometimes ninety miles to Augusta, for a market. When sold, the shafts +were reserved, and upon these was then erected a sort of box, into +which the few articles purchased were placed, and dragged home. These +articles almost universally consisted of some iron and steel, and a +little coffee and sugar, and sometimes a quarter of a pound of +tea--universally termed store-tea, to distinguish it from that made +from the root of the sassafras and the leaf of the cassia or +tepaun-bush. + +Cotton was, to some little extent, cultivated near the seaboard in +Georgia and South Carolina, and cleaned of the seeds by a machine +similar to that used at the present day for preparing the sea-island +cotton for market. This was a tedious and troublesome method, and was +incapable of doing the work to any very great extent. Indigo, of a +superior quality to the American, was being produced in British India +and Central America, and the competition was reducing the price to the +cost of production. The same difficulty attended the growing of +tobacco. Virginia and Maryland, with their abundance of labor, were +competing, and cheapening the article to a price which made its +production unprofitable. At this juncture, Whitney invented the +cotton-gin, and the growth of cotton as a marketable crop commenced +upon a more extended scale. In a few years it became general--each +farmer growing more or less, according to his means. Some one man, most +able to do so, erected a gin-house, first in a county, then in each +neighborhood. These either purchased in the seed the cotton of their +neighbors, or ginned it and packed it for a certain amount of toll +taken from the cotton. This packing was done in round bales, and by a +single man, with a heavy iron bar, and was a most laborious and tedious +method; and the packages were in the most inconvenient form for +handling and transportation. + +Up to this time the slave-trade had been looked upon most unfavorably +by the people of the South. Among the first sermons I remember to have +heard, was one depicting the horrors of this trade. I was by my +grandmother's side at Bethany, in Greene county, and, though a child, I +remember, as if of yesterday, the description of the manner of +capturing the African in his native wilds--how the mother and father +were murdered, and the boys and the girls borne away, and how England +was abused for the cruel inhumanity of the act. Although unused to the +melting mood, the old lady wiped from her eyes a tear, whether in +sorrow or sympathy for outraged humanity, or in compliment to the +pathos and power of her favorite preacher, I was too young to know or +have an opinion. I remember well, however, that she cried, for she +pinched me most unmercifully for laughing at her, and at home spanked +me for crying. Dear old grandmother! but yesterday I was at your grave, +where you have slept fifty-two years, and if I laughed above thy mould +at the memory of the many bouts we had more than sixty years ago, and, +from the blue bending above, thy spirit looked down in wrath upon the +unnatural outrage, be appeased ere I come; for I should fear to meet +thee, even in heaven, if out of humor! The roses bloomed above +you--sweet emblems of thy purity and rest--and there, close by you, +were the pear-trees, planted by your hands, around the roots of which +you gathered the rods of my reformation; for I was a truant child. You +meant it all for my good, no doubt; but to me it was passing through +purgatory then, to merit a future good in time. Ah! how well I remember +it--all of it. _Requiescat in pace_. I had almost irreverently said, +"Rest, cat, in peace." + +It was at this period that the competition for accumulating money may +be said to have commenced in Middle Georgia. Labor became in great +demand, and the people began to look leniently upon the slave-trade. +The marching of Africans, directly imported, through the country for +sale, is a memory of sixty-five years ago. The demand had greatly +increased, and, with this, the price. The trade was to cease in 1808, +and the number brought over was daily augmenting, to hasten to make +from the traffic as much money as possible before this time should +arrive. The demand, however, was greater than could be supplied. From +house to house they were carried for sale. They were always young men +and women, or girls and boys, and their clothing was of the simplest +kind. That of the men and boys consisted of drawers, only reaching +midway the thigh, from the waist. The upper portions of the person and +the lower extremities were entirely nude. The females wore a chemise +reaching a few inches below the knee, leaving bare the limbs. This was +adopted for the purpose of exposing the person, as much as decency +would permit, for examination, so as to enable the purchaser to +determine their individual capacity for labor. This examination was +close and universal, beginning with an inspection of the teeth, which +in these young savages were always perfect, save in those where they +had been filed to a point in front. This was not uncommon with the +males. It was then extended to the limbs, and ultimately to the entire +person. They were devoid of shame, and yielded to this inspection +without the slightest manifestation of offended modesty. At first they +were indifferent to cooked food, and would chase and catch and eat the +grasshoppers and lizards with the avidity of wild turkeys, and seemed, +as those fowls, to relish these as their natural food. + +From such is descended the race which our Christian white brothers of +the North have, in their devotion to their duty to God and their hatred +to us, made masters of our destiny. Our faith in the justice and +goodness of the same Divine Being bids us believe this unnatural and +destructive domination will not be permitted to endure for any lengthy +period. Could the curtain which veiled out the future sixty years ago, +have been lifted, and the vision of those then subduing the land been +permitted to pierce and know the present of their posterity, they would +then have achieved a separation from our puritanical oppressors, and +built for themselves and their own race, even if in blood, a separate +government, and have made it as nature intended it should be to this +favored land--a wise and powerful one. + +Sooner or later these intentions of Divine wisdom are consummated. The +fallible nature of man, through ignorance or the foolish indulgence of +bad passions in the many, enable the few to delude and control the +many, and to postpone for a time the inevitable; but as assuredly as +time endures, nature's laws work out natural ends. Generations may pass +away, perhaps perish from violence, and others succeed with equally +unnatural institutions, making miserable the race, until it, like the +precedent, passes from the earth. Yet these great laws work on, and in +the end triumph in perfecting the Divine will. + +To the wise and observant this design of the Creator is ever +apparent; to the foolish and wicked, never. + +John Wesley had visited Savannah, and travelled through the different +settlements then in embryo, teaching the tenets and introducing the +simple worship of the church of his founding, after a method +established by himself, and which gave name and form to the sect, now, +and almost from its incipiency known as Methodist. This organization +and the tenets of its faith were admirably suited to a rude people, and +none perhaps could have been more efficient in forming and improving +such morals. Unpretending, simple in form, devoid of show or ceremony, +it appealed directly to the purer emotions of our nature, and through +the natural devotion of the heart lifted the mind to the contemplation +and inspired the soul with the love of God. Its doctrines, based upon +the purest morality, easily comprehensible, and promising salvation to +all who would believe, inspiring an enthusiasm for a pure life, were +natural, and naturally soon became wide-spread, and as the writer +believes, has done more in breaking away the shackles of ignorance and +debasing superstition from the mind, than any other system of worship +or doctrine of faith taught by man; and to this, in a great degree, is +due the freedom of thought, independence of feeling and action, +chivalrous bearing, and high honor of the Southern people. Inculcating +as it does the simple teachings of the gospel of Christ,--to live +virtuously--do no wrong--love thy neighbor as thyself, and unto all do +as you would be done by,--a teaching easy of comprehension, and which, +when sternly enforced by a pure and elevated public sentiment, becomes +the rule of conduct, and society is blessed with harmony and right. +This moral power is omnipotent for good, concentrating communities into +one without divisions or dissensions, to be wielded for good at once +and at all times. Nothing evil can result from such concentration of +opinions being directed by the vicious and wicked, so long as the moral +of this faith shall control the mind and heart. + +Camp-meetings, an institution of this church, and which were first +commenced in Georgia, are a tradition there now. Here and there through +the country yet remains, in ruinous decay, the old stand or +extemporized pulpit from which the impassioned preacher addressed the +assembled multitude of anxious listeners; and around the square now +overgrown with brush-wood and forest-trees, prostrate and rotten, the +remains of the cabin tents may be seen, where once the hospitality of +the owners and worshippers was dispensed with a heartiness and +sincerity peculiar to the simple habits, and honest, kindly emotions of +a rude and primitive people. + +How well do I remember the first of these meetings I ever witnessed! I +was a small lad, and rode behind my father on horseback to the ground. +It was sixty-five years ago. The concourse was large, consisting of the +people of all the country around--men, women, and children, white and +black. Around a square enclosing some six acres of ground, the tents +were arranged--arbors of green boughs cut from the adjoining forest +formed a shelter from the sun's rays. In front of all of these, shading +the entrance to the tent, under this friendly sheltering from the heat +of the sun, assembled the owners and the guests of each, in social and +unceremonious intercourse. This was strictly the habit of the young +people; and here, in evening's twilight, has been plighted many a vow +which has been redeemed by happy unions for life's journey, and to be +consummated when the cold weather came. In the rear of the tents were +temporary kitchens, presided over in most instances by some old, +trusted aunty of ebon hue, whose pride it was to prepare the meals for +her tent, and to hear her cooking praised by the preachers and the less +distinguished guests of master and mistress. The sermons were preached +in the morning, at noon, and at twilight, when all the multitude were +summoned to the grand central stand in the square of the encampment by +sounding a tin trumpet or ox-horn. My childish imagination was fired at +the sight of this assemblage. My wonder was, whence come all these +people? as converging from the radius around came the crowding +multitude, without order and without confusion--the farmer and his +brusque wife side by side, leading their flock and friends: he with an +ample chair of home manufacture slung by his side for the wife's +comfort as she devoutly listened to the pious brother's comforting +sermon--the guests and the young of the family following in respectful +silence, and at a respectful distance, all tending to the great arbor +of bushes covering the place of worship. Over all the space of the +encampment the under-brush had been carefully removed; but the great +forest-trees (for these encampments were always in a forest) were left +to shade as well as they might the pulpit-stand and grounds. All around +was dense forest, wild and beautiful as nature made it. + +How well the scene and the worship accorded! There was congruity in +all--the woods, the tents, the people, and the worship. The impressions +made that day upon my young mind were renewed at many a camp-meeting in +after years; and so indelibly impressed as only to pass away with +existence. + +The preacher rose upon his elevated platform, and, advancing to the +front, where a simple plank extending from tree to tree, before him, +formed a substitute for a table or desk, where rested the hymn-book and +Bible, commenced the service by reading a hymn, and then, line by line, +repeating it, to be sung by all his congregation. + +Whoever has listened, in such a place, amidst a great multitude, to the +singing of that beautiful hymn commencing, "Come, thou fount of every +blessing," by a thousand voices, all in accord, and not felt the spirit +of devotion burning in his heart, could scarcely be moved should an +angel host rend the blue above him, and, floating through the ether, +praise God in song. In that early day of Methodism, very few of those +licensed to preach were educated men. They read the Bible, and +expounded its great moral truths as they understood them. Few of these +even knew that it had been in part originally written in the Hebrew +tongue, and the other portion in that of the Greeks; but he knew it +contained the promise of salvation, and felt that it was his mission to +preach and teach this way to his people, relying solely for his power +to impress these wonderful truths upon the heart by the inspiration of +the Holy Spirit. For this reason the sermons of the sect were never +studied or written, and their excellence was their fervor and +impassioned appeals to the heart and the wild imaginations of the +enthusiastic and unlearned of the land. Genius, undisciplined and +untutored by education, is fetterless, and its spontaneous suggestions +are naturally and powerfully effective, when burning from lips +proclaiming the heart's enthusiasm. Thus extemporizing orations almost +daily, stimulated the mind to active thought, and very many of these +illiterate young Methodist preachers became in time splendid orators. + +It was the celebrated Charles James Fox who said to a young man just +entering Parliament, if he desired to become a great orator, and had +the genius and feeling from nature, all he had to do was to speak often +and learn to think on his feet. It is to this practice the lawyer and +the preacher owe the oratory which distinguish these above every other +class of men. And yet, how few of them ever attain to the eminence of +finished orators. Eloquence and oratory are by no means identical: one +is the attribute of the heart, the other of the head; and eloquence, +however unadorned, is always effective, because it is born of the +feelings; and there is ever a sympathy between the hearts of men, and +the words, however rude and original, which bubble up from the heart +freighted with its feelings, rush with electrical force and velocity to +the heart, and stir to the extent of its capacities. Oratory, however +finished, is from the brain, and is an art; it may convince the mind +and captivate the imagination, but never touches the heart or stirs the +soul. To awaken feelings in others, we must feel ourselves. Eloquence +is the volume of flame, oratory the shaft of polished ice; the one +fires to madness, the other delights and instructs. + +Religion is the pathos of the heart, and must be awakened from the +heart's emotions. The imagination is the great attribute of the mind, +gathering and creating thought and inspiring feeling. Hence, the +peculiar system of the Methodists in their worship is the most +efficient in proselyting, and especially with a rude, imaginative +people. + +The camp-meeting was an admirable device for this purpose, and its +abandonment by the sect is as foolish as would be that of a knight who +would throw away his sword as he was rushing to battle. Fashion is +omnipotent in religion, as in other things, and with the more general +diffusion of education, camp-meetings have come to be considered as +vulgar and unfashionable. To be vulgar, is to be common; to be common, +is to be natural. The masses, and especially in democratic communities, +must always be vulgar or common--must always be, in the main, +illiterate and rude; and it is for the conversion and salvation of +these multitudes the preacher should struggle, and in his efforts his +most efficient means should be used. + +The camp-meeting, at night, when all the fire-stands are ablaze, and +the multitude are assembled and singing, is beyond description +picturesque: when, too, some eloquent and enthusiastic preacher is +stimulating to intense excitement the multitude around him with the +fervor of his words, and the wild, passionate manifestations of his +manner, to see the crowd swaying to and fro, to hear the groans and +sobs of the half-frenzied multitude, and, not unfrequently, the +maddened shriek of hysterical fear, all coming up from the +half-illuminated spot, is thrillingly exciting. And when the sermon is +finished, to hear all this heated mass break forth into song, the wild +melody of which floats, in the stillness of night, upon the breeze to +the listening ear a mile away, in cadences mournfully sweet, make the +camp-meeting among the most exciting of human exhibitions. In such a +school were trained those great masters of pulpit oratory, Pierce, +Wynans, Capers, and Bascomb. Whitfield was the great exemplar of these; +but none, perhaps, so imitated his style and manner as John Newland +Maffit and the wonderful Summerfield. + +Like all that is great and enduring, the Methodist Church had its +beginning among the humble and lowly. Rocked in the cradle of penury +and ignorance, it was firmly fixed in the foundations of society, +whence it rose from its own purity of doctrine and simplicity of +worship to command the respect, love, and adoption of the highest in +the land, and to wield an influence paramount in the destinies of the +people and the Government. Its ministers are now the educated and +eloquent of the Church militant. Its institutions of learning are the +first and most numerous all over the South, and it has done for female +education in the South more than every other sect of Christians, +excepting, perhaps, the Roman Catholic. In the cause of education its +zeal is enlisted, and its organization is such as to bring a wonderful +power to operate upon the community in every section of the South and +West. That this will accomplish much, we have only to look to the +antecedents of the Church to determine. Like the coral insect, they +never cease to labor: each comes with his mite and deposits it; and, +from the humblest beginning, this assiduity and contribution builds up +great islands in the sea of ignorance--rich in soil, salubrious in +climate, and, finally, triumphant in the conceptions of the chief +architect--completing for good the work so humbly begun. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +PEDAGOGUES AND DEMAGOGUES. + +EDUCATION--COLLEGES--SCHOOL-DAYS--WILLIAM AND MARY--A SUBSTITUTE-- +BOARDING AROUND--ROUGH DIAMONDS--CASTE--GEORGE M. TROUP--A SCOTCH +INDIAN--ALEXANDER McGILVERY--THE McINTOSH FAMILY--BUTTON GWINNETT-- +GENERAL TAYLOR--MATTHEW TALBOT--JESSE MERCER--AN EXCITING ELECTION. + + +The subject of education engaged the attention of the people of Georgia +at a very early day subsequent to the Revolution. Public schools were +not then thought of; probably because such a scheme would have been +impracticable. The population was sparse, and widely separated in all +the rural districts of the country; and to have supplied all with the +means of education, would have necessitated an expense beyond the power +of the State. A system was adopted, of establishing and endowing +academies in the different counties, at the county-seat, where young +men who intended to complete a collegiate education might be taught, +and the establishment and endowment of a college, where this education +might be finished, leaving the rudimental education of the children of +the State to be provided for by their parents, as best they could. +Primary schools were gotten up in the different neighborhoods by the +concentrated action of its members, and a teacher employed, and paid by +each parent at so much per capita for his children. In these schools +almost every Georgian--yes, almost every Southerner--commenced his +education. It was at these schools were mingled the sexes in pursuit of +their A, B, C, and the incidents occurring here became the cherished +memories of after life. Many a man of eminence has gone out from these +schools with a better education with which to begin life and a conflict +with the world, than is obtained now at some of the institutions called +colleges. + +Young men without means, who had acquired sufficient of the rudiments +of an English education, but who desired to pursue their studies and +complete an education to subserve the purposes of the pursuit in life +selected by them, frequently were the teachers in the primary schools. +From this class arose most of those men so distinguished in her earlier +history. Some were natives, and some were immigrants from other States, +who sought a new field for their efforts, and where to make their +future homes. Such were William H. Crawford, Abram Baldwin, and many +others, whose names are now borne by the finest counties in the +State--a monument to their virtues, talents, and public services, +erected by a grateful people. + +These primitive schools made the children of every neighborhood +familiar to each other, and encouraged a homogeneous feeling in the +rising population of the State. This sameness of education and of +sentiment created a public opinion more efficacious in directing and +controlling public morals than any statutory law, or its most efficient +administration. It promoted an _esprit du corps_ throughout the +country, and formed the basis of that chivalrous emprise so peculiarly +Southern. + +The recollections of these school-days are full of little incidents +confirmatory of these views. I will relate one out of a thousand I +might enumerate. A very pretty little girl of eight years, full of life +and spirit, had incurred, by some act of childish mischief, the penalty +of the switch--the only and universal means of correction in the +country schools. She was the favorite of a lad of twelve, who sat +looking on, and listening to the questions propounded to his +sweetheart, and learning the decision of the teacher, which was +announced thus: "Well, Mary, I must punish you." + +All eyes were directed to William. Deliberately he laid down his books, +and, stepping quickly up to the teacher, said, respectfully: "Don't +strike her. Whip me. I'll take it for her," as he arrested with his +hand the uplifted switch. Every eye in that little log school-house +brightened with approbation, and, in a moment after, filled with tears, +as the teacher laid down his rod and said: "William, you are a noble +boy, and, for your sake, I will excuse Mary." Ten years after, Mary was +the wife--the dutiful, loving, happy wife of William; and William, +twenty years after, was a member of the Legislature, and then a +representative in Congress, (when it was an honor to a gentleman to be +such,) and afterwards was for years a Senator in the same body--one of +Georgia's noblest, proudest, and best men. + +Can any one enumerate an instance where evil grew out of the early +association of the sexes at school? In the neighborhoods least +populous, and where there were but few children, the pedagogue usually +divided the year into as many parts as he had pupils, and boarded +around with each family the number of days allotted to each child. If +he was a man of family, the united strength of the neighborhood +assembled upon a certain day, and built for him a residence contiguous +to the school-house, which was erected in like manner. + +These buildings were primitive indeed--consisting of poles cut from the +forest, and, with no additional preparation, notched up into a square +pen, and floored and covered with boards split from a forest-tree near +at hand. It rarely required more than two days to complete the +cabin--the second being appropriated to the chimney, and the chinking +and daubing; that is, filling the interstices with billets of wood, and +make these air-tight with clay thrown violently in, and smoothed over +with the hand. Such buildings constituted nine-tenths of the homes of +the entire country sixty years ago; and in such substitutes for houses +were born the men who have moved the Senate with their eloquence, and +added dignity and power to the bench of the Supreme Court of the +nation, startled the world with their achievements upon the +battle-field, and more than one of them has filled the Presidential +chair. + +Men born and reared under such circumstances, receive impressions which +they carry through life, and their characters always discover the +peculiarities incident to such birth and rearing--rough and vigorous, +bold and daring, and nobly independent, without polish or deceit, +always sincere, and always honest. + +However much the intellect may be cultivated in youth--however much it +may be distinguished for great thoughts and wonderful attainments, +still the peculiarities born of the forest cling about it in all its +roughness--a fit setting to the unpolished diamond of the soul. + +The rural pursuits of the country, and the necessities of the isolated +condition of a pioneer population, which necessities are mainly +supplied by ingenuity and perseverance on the part of each, creates an +independence and self-reliance which enter largely into the formation +of the general character. The institution of African slavery existing +in the South, which came with the very first, pioneer, and which was +continually on the increase, added to this independence the habit of +command; and this, too, became a part of Southern character. The +absolute control of the slave, placed by habit and law in the will of +the master, made it necessary to enact laws for the protection of the +slave against the tyrannical cruelties found in some natures; but the +public sentiment was in this, as in all other things, more potent than +law. Their servile dependence forbade resistance to any cruelty which +might be imposed; but it excited the general sympathy, and inspired, +almost universally, a lenient humanity toward them. + +They were mostly born members of the household, grew up with the +children of each family, were companions and playmates, and naturally +an attachment was formed, which is always stronger in the protecting +than the protected party. It was a rare instance to find a master whose +guardian protection did not extend with the same intensity and effect +over his slave as over his child: this, not from any motive of +pecuniary interest, but because he was estopped by law from +self-defence; and, too, because of the attachment and the moral +obligation on the master to protect his dependants. Besides, the +community exacted it as a paramount duty. It is human to be attached to +whatever it protects and controls; out of this feeling grows the spirit +of true chivalry and of lofty intent--that magnanimity, manliness, and +ennobling pride which has so long characterized the gentlemen of the +Southern States. + +Caste, in society, may degrade, but, at the same time, it elevates. +Where this caste was distinguished by master and slave, the distinction +was most marked, because there was no intermediate gradation. It was +the highest and the lowest. It was between the highest and purest of +the races of the human family, and the lowest and most degraded; and +this relation was free from the debasing influences of caste in the +same race. An improper appreciation of this fact has gone far to create +with those unacquainted with negro character the prejudices against the +institution of African slavery, and which have culminated in its +abolition in the Southern States. + +The negro is incapacitated by nature from acquiring the high +intelligence of the Caucasian. His sensibilities are extremely dull, +his perceptive faculties dim, and the entire organization of his brain +forbids and rejects the cultivation necessary to the elimination of +mind. With a feeble moral organization, and entirely devoid of the +higher attributes of mind and soul so prominent in the instincts of the +Caucasian, his position was never, as a slave, oppressive to his mind +or his sense of wrong. He felt, and to himself acknowledged his +inferiority, and submitted with alacrity to the control of his +superior. Under this control, his moral and intellectual cultivation +elevated him: not simply to a higher position socially, but to a higher +standard in the scale of being, and this was manifested to himself at +the same time it demonstrated to him the natural truth of his +inferiority. This gratified him, promoted his happiness, and he was +contented. The same effect of the relation of master and servant can +never follow when the race is the same, or even when the race is but +one or two degrees inferior to the dominant one. + +The influence of this relation upon the white race is marked in the +peculiarities of character which distinguish the people of the South. +The habit of command, where implicit obedience is to follow, ennobles. +The comparison is inevitable between the commander and him who obeys, +and, in his estimation, unconsciously elevates and degrades. This +between the white man and negro, is only felt by the white. The negro +never dreams that he is degraded by this servility, and consequently he +does not feel its oppression. He is incapable of aspiring, and +manifests his pride and satisfaction by imitating his master as much as +is possible to his nature. The white man is conscious of the effect +upon the negro, and has no fear that he is inflicting a misery to be +nursed in secret and sorrow, and to fill the negro's heart with hate. +This, however, is universally the effect of the domination of one man +over another of the same race. The relation was for life, and the +master was responsible for the moral and physical well-being of his +slave. His entire dependence makes him an object of interest and care, +and the very fact of this responsibility cultivates kindness and +tenderness toward him. But this is not all; it carries with it a +consciousness of superiority, and inspires a superior bearing. These +influences are more potent in the formation of female than male +character. The mistress is relieved absolutely from all menial duties, +and is served by those who are servants for life, and compulsorily so. +She is only under the obligations of humanity in her conduct toward +them. They must do her bidding. She is not afraid to offend by giving +an order, nor is she apprehensive of being deserted to discharge her +household labor herself by offending them. It is their duty to +please--it is their interest--and this is the paramount desire. The +intercourse is gentle, respectful, and kind; still, there is no +infringement of the barrier between the mistress and the servant. This +habit is the source of frankness and sincerity, and this release from +the severity of domestic labor the fruitful source of female delicacy +and refinement, so transcendently the attributes of character in the +ladies of the South. It gives ease and time for improvement; for social +and intellectual intercourse; creates habits of refinement, and a +delicacy seen and heard in all that is done or said in refined female +society in the South. Something, too, I suppose, is due to blood. There +are many grades in the Caucasian race. The Anglo-Norman or Anglo-Celtic +is certainly at the head. They rule wherever left to the conflict of +mind and energy of soul. Sometimes they are conquered for a time, but +never completely so. The great constituents of their natures continue +to resist, and struggle up, and when the opportunity comes, they strike +for control and supremacy-- + + "And freedom's battle, once begun, + The cause bequeathed from sire to son, + Though baffled oft, is ever won." + +The Southern woman's soul is chivalry. From the highest to the +humblest, the same lofty purpose, pride, and energy animate them. They +have contrasted the free and noble with the mean and servile. Its magic +has entered their natures and quickened their souls. In all there is a +lofty scorn for the little and mean. The same withering contempt for +the cringing and cowardly is met in every one of them. Their impulses +are generous, and their aspirations noble, with hearts as soft and +tender as love, pity, and compassion can form. Yet in them there is, +too, the fire of chivalry, the scorn of contempt, and the daring of her +who followed her immortal brother, the great Palafox, at the defence of +Saragossa, her native city, and, standing upon the dead bodies of her +countrymen, snatched the burning match from the hand of death, and +fired the cannon at the advancing foe, and planted Spain's standard, in +defiance of the veterans of Soult--a rallying point for her +countrymen--and saved Saragossa. They were born to command, and can +never be slaves, or the mothers of slaves. + +The same influences powerfully operate in producing that bearing of +chivalrous distinction, which is seen everywhere in the deportment of +the Southern gentlemen toward ladies. They are ever polite, respectful, +and deferential. This, however, is only one of many elements in the +peculiar character of Southern people. Their piety is Christian in its +character. The precepts of the Bible are fashioned into example in the +conduct of the older members of society, and especially in the female +portion. This is, perhaps, the predominant element. The Bible is the +guide, not the fashion, in religious duty. Its doctrines are taught in +purity, and in their simplicity enter into the soul, as the great +constituent of character. + +The chivalrous bearing of man toward woman inspires her with elevated +and noble sentiments--a pride and dignity conservative of purity in all +her relations--and, reflecting these back upon society, producing most +salutary influences. It is woman's pride to lean on man--to share his +love and respect--to be elevated by his virtues, and appreciated by the +world because of his honors--to be a part of his fame. The mother, the +wife, the sister, the relative should share with the husband, the son, +the brother, the kinsman, in the world's honors, in the sufferings, +sorrows, and miseries incidental to all. They are part and parcel of +man, and partake of his nature and his position, as of his fortune. +When man shall cease to view woman, and so deport himself toward her as +a purer, more refined, and more elevated being than himself, that +moment she will sink to his level, and then her prestige for good is +gone forever. That delicacy, refinement, and chasteness, so restraining +and so purifying to man in her association, is the soul of +civilization--the salt of the earth. In its absence, no people are ever +great; for, as it is the spirit of man's honor, so is it a nation's +glory. It must be cherished, for it inspires man's honor by man's +chivalry. Thus she becomes a people's strength; for their crown of +glory is her chastity and angelic purity. + +These virtues distinguished the pioneer women of Middle Georgia sixty +years ago. As their husbands were honest and brave, they were chaste +and pious; and from such a parentage sprang the men and women who have +made a history for her pre-eminent among all her sister States. Her +sons have peopled the West, and are distinguished there for their high +honor and splendid abilities; and yet at home she boasts Toombs, Colt, +Stephens, Hill, Johnson, Campbell, and a host of others, who are proud +specimens among the proudest of the land. They have measured their +strength with the proudest minds of all the Union, and won a fame +unequalled, adorning her councils, its Cabinet, its Bench, and were the +first everywhere. + +George Michael Troup, one of the most distinguished of Georgia's sons, +was the son of an English gentleman, who emigrated to Georgia anterior +to the Revolution. He married Miss McIntosh, of Georgia, sister of +General John McIntosh, of McIntosh County. He took no part in the +Revolution. England was his mother country; to her he was attached, and +in conscience he could not lift his hand in wrath against her. This +course did not meet the approval of the McIntoshes, and he retired from +the State and country. First, he went to England, but not contented +there, he came to the Spanish town of Pensacola. Here he met the +celebrated Indian chief, Alexander McGilvery, who was hostile to the +Americans, and who invited him to take refuge in his country. McGilvery +was a remarkable man; his father was a Scotchman, his mother a +half-breed; her father was the celebrated French officer who was killed +by his own men in 1732 at Fort Toulouse--his name was Marchand,--and +her mother a full-blooded Creek woman. + +McGilvery supposed him an English emissary, and invited him to go into +the Creek nation and reside with his people. From Pensacola he went to +Mobile, and thence to a bluff on the Tombigbee, where he remained +during the war. This bluff he named McIntosh's Bluff, and it bears the +name yet. Here George M. Troup was born. At the close of the war he +returned to Georgia, and fixed his residence among the relatives of his +wife. The McIntosh family were Highland Scotch, and partook of all the +intrepidity of that wonderful people. They immigrated to Georgia with +General Oglethorpe in company with a number of their countrymen, and +for one hundred and thirty years have continued to reside in the county +named for the first of their ancestors who settled and made a home in +the colony of Georgia. It is a family distinguished for chivalry as +well in Europe as in Georgia. At the commencement of the Revolution +they at once sided with the colonists. Lachlin and John McIntosh became +distinguished as leaders in that protracted and doubtful conflict, +meeting in battle their kinsman in high command in the British army. On +one occasion, when John McIntosh had surrendered at the battle of Brier +Creek, a British officer, lost to every sentiment and feeling of honor, +attempted to assassinate him, and was only prevented from doing so by +Sir AEneas McIntosh, the commander of the English army, whose promptness +arrested the blow by interposing his own sword to receive it. + +Lachlin McIntosh was the commander of the first regiment raised in +Georgia to aid in the Revolution. In 1777, a difficulty arose between +Button Gwinnett (who, upon the death of Governor Bullock, had succeeded +him as Governor,) and McIntosh. A duel was the consequence, in which +Gwinnett was killed. Tradition says this difficulty grew out of the +suspicions of McIntosh as to the fidelity of Gwinnett to the American +cause. He was an Englishman by birth, and, upon the breaking out of the +war, hesitated for some time as to the course he should pursue. This +was a time when all who hesitated were suspected, and Gwinnett shared +the common fate. Eventually he determined to espouse the revolutionary +party, and was elected to the Convention, and was one of the immortal +band who signed the Declaration of Independence emanating from that +Convention. Until his death he was faithful and active. McIntosh +doubted him, and he was not a man to conceal his opinions. McIntosh was +severely wounded in the conflict. + +This family was one of remarkable spirit; and this has descended to the +posterity of the old cavaliers even unto this day. Colonel McIntosh, +who fell at Molino del Rey, in our recent war with Mexico, was one of +this family. He had all the spirit and chivalry of his ancestors. I +remember to have heard Generals Taylor and Twiggs speaking of him +subsequently to his death, and felt proud, as a native of the State of +Georgia, of the distinguished praise bestowed on him by these gallant +veterans. General Taylor was not generally enthusiastic in his +expressions of praise, but he was always sincere and truthful. On this +occasion, however, he spoke warmly and feelingly of the honor, the +gallantry, and intrepidity of his fellow-soldier--his high bearing, his +pride, his proficiency as an officer in the field, and the efficiency +of his regiment, its perfection of drill and discipline, and coolness +in battle--and, with unusual warmth, exclaimed: "If I had had with me +at Buena Vista, McIntosh and Riley, with their veterans, I would have +captured or totally destroyed the Mexican army." + +Captain McIntosh, of the navy, was another of this distinguished +family. He had no superior in the navy. So was that ardent and +accomplished officer, Colonel McIntosh, who fell at Oak Hill, in the +late war in Missouri. In truth, there has not been a day in one hundred +and thirty years, when there has not been a distinguished son of this +family to bear and transmit its name and fame to posterity. Through his +mother, to George M. Troup descended all the nobler traits of the +McIntosh family. He was educated, preparatory to entering college, at +Flatbush, Long Island. His teacher's name I have forgotten, but he was +a remarkable man, and devoted himself to the instruction of the youth +intrusted to his care. He seems to have had a peculiar talent for +inspiring a high order of ambition in his pupils, and of training them +to a deportment and devotion to principle which would lead them to +distinguished conduct through life. Governor Troup, in speaking to the +writer of his early life and of his school-days on Long Island, said: +"There were twenty-one of us at this school fitting for college, and, +in after life, nineteen of us met in Congress, the representatives of +fourteen States." + +Troup, after leaving this school, went to Princeton, and graduated at +Nassau Hall, in his nineteenth year. Returning to Savannah, he read +law; but possessing ample fortune, he never practised his profession. +His talents were of an order to attract attention. James Jackson, and +most of the leading men of the day, turned to him as a man of great +promise. The Republican party of Savannah nominated him to represent +the county of Chatham, in the Legislature of the State, before he was +twenty-one years of age. Being constitutionally ineligible, he, of +course, declined; but as soon as he became eligible, he was returned, +and, for some years, continued to represent the county. From the +Legislature he was transferred to Congress, where he at once became +distinguished, not only for talent, but a lofty honor and most polished +bearing. While a member of Congress, he married a Virginia lady, who +was the mother of his three children. Soon after the birth of her third +child, there was discovered aberration of mind in Mrs. Troup, which +terminated in complete alienation. This was a fatal blow to the +happiness of her husband. She was tenderly beloved by him; and his +acute sensibility and high nervous temperament became so much affected +as not only to fill him with grief, but to make all his remaining life +one of melancholy and sorrow. He had been elected to the United States +Senate, but, in consequence of this terrible blow, and the constant +care of his afflicted lady, to which he devoted himself, he lost his +health, and resigned. He retired to his home, and to the sad duties of +afflicted love. + +About this time the people of Georgia became divided upon the political +issues of the day. William H. Crawford was nominated by his friends for +the Presidency. This aroused his enemies' hatred, who organized an +opposition to him in his own State. This opposition was headed by John +Clarke, his old enemy, and was aided by every old Federalist and +personal enemy in the State. Crawford's friends were too confident in +the popularity which had borne him to so many triumphs, and were slow +to organize. The election of Governor devolved, at that time, upon the +Legislature, and Clarke, upon the death of Governor Rabun, was +announced as the candidate. The event of Rabun's death occurred only a +very short time before the meeting of the Legislature. Matthew Talbot, +the President of the Senate, assumed, under the Constitution, the +duties of Governor, but sent the message already prepared by Rabun to +the Legislature, and immediately an election took place, whereupon +Clarke was elected. Troup had been solicited to oppose him, but was +loath to embark anew in political life. Ultimately he yielded, and was +defeated by thirteen votes. The friends of Crawford were now alarmed, +and the contest was immediately renewed. The canvass was one of the +most rancorous and bitter ever known in the State, but of this I have +spoken in a former chapter. At the ensuing election, Troup was again a +candidate. Again the contest was renewed, and, if possible, with +increased violence and vigor. Clarke, in obedience to usage, had +retired, and his party had put forward Matthew Talbot, of Wilkes +County, as the competitor of Troup. This contest had now continued for +four years, and Troup was elected by two votes. + +The memory of this election will never fade from the minds of any who +witnessed it. At the meeting of the Legislature it was doubtful which +party had the majority. Two members chosen as favorable to the election +of Troup, were unable from sickness to reach the seat of Government, +and it was supposed this gave the majority to Talbot. There was no +political principle involved in the contest. Both professedly belonged +to the Republican party. Both seemed anxious to sustain the principles +and the ascendency of that party. There were no spoils. The patronage +of the executive was literally nothing; and yet there was an intensity +of feeling involved for which there was no accounting, unless it was +the anxiety of one party to sustain Mr. Crawford at home for the +Presidency, and on the other hand to gratify the hatred of Clarke, and +sustain Mr. Calhoun. + +During the period intervening between the meeting of the Legislature +and the day appointed for the election, every means was resorted to, +practicable in that day. There was no money used directly. There was +not a man in that Legislature who would not have repelled with scorn a +proposition to give his vote for a pecuniary consideration; but all +were open to reason, State pride, and a sincere desire to do what they +deemed best for the honor and interest of the State. The friends of +either candidate would have deserved their favorite instantly upon the +fact being known that they had even winked at so base a means of +success. Every one was tenaciously jealous of his fame, and equally so +of that of the State. The machinery of party was incomplete, and +individual independence universal. There were a few members, whose +characters forbade violence of prejudice, and who were mild, +considerate, and unimpassioned. These men were sought to be operated +upon by convincing them that the great interests of the State would be +advanced by electing their favorite. The public services of Troup, and +his stern, lofty, and eminently pure character, were urged by his +friends as reasons why he should be chosen. The people of the State +were becoming clamorous for the fulfilment of the contract between the +State and General Government for the removal of the Indians from the +territory of the State, and Troup was urged upon the voters as being +favorable in the extreme to this policy, and also as possessing the +talents, will, and determination to effect this end. Finally the day of +election arrived. The representative men of the State were assembled. +It was scarcely possible to find hotel accommodations for the +multitude. The judges of the different judicial districts, the leading +members of the Bar, men of fortune and leisure, the prominent members +of the different sects of the Christian Church, and especially the +ministers of the gospel who were most prominent and influential, were +all there. The celebrated Jesse Mercer was a moving spirit amidst the +excited multitude, and Daniel Duffie, who, as a most intolerant +Methodist, and an especial hater of the Baptist Church and all +Baptists, was there also, willing to lay down all ecclesiastical +prejudice, and go to heaven even with Jesse Mercer, because he was a +Troup man. + +The Senate came into the Representative chamber at noon, to effect, on +joint ballot, the election of Governor. The President of the Senate +took his seat with the Speaker of the House, and in obedience to law +assumed the presidency of the assembled body. The members were ordered +to prepare their ballots to vote for the Governor of the State. The +Secretary of the Senate called the roll of the Senate, each man, as his +name was called, moving up to the clerk's desk, and depositing his +ballot. The same routine was then gone through with on the part of the +House, when the hat (for a hat was used) containing the ballots was +handed to the President of the Senate, Thomas Stocks, of Greene County, +who proceeded to count the ballots, and finding only the proper number, +commenced to call the name from each ballot. Pending this calling the +silence was painfully intense. Every place within the spacious hall, +the gallery, the lobby, the committee-rooms, and the embrasures of the +windows were all filled to crushing repletion. And yet not a word or +sound, save the excited breathing of ardent men, disturbed the anxious +silence of the hall. One by one the ballots were called. There were 166 +ballots, requiring 84 to elect. When 160 ballots were counted, each +candidate had 80, and at this point the excitement was so painfully +intense that the President suspended the count, and, though it was +chilly November, took from his pocket his handkerchief, and wiped from +his flushed face the streaming perspiration. While this was +progressing, a wag in the gallery sang out, "The darkest time of night +is just before day." This interruption was not noticed by the +President, who called out "Troup!" then "Talbot!" and again there was a +momentary suspension. Then he called again, "Troup--Talbot!" "82--82," +was whispered audibly through the entire hall. Then the call was +resumed. "Troup!" "A tie," said more than a hundred voices. There +remained but one ballot. The President turned the hat up-side down, and +the ballot fell upon the table. Looking down upon it, he called, at the +top of his voice, "Troup!" The scene that followed was indescribable. +The two parties occupied separate sides of the chamber. Those voting +for Troup rose simultaneously from their seats, and one wild shout +seemed to lift the ceiling overhead. Again, with increased vim, was it +given. The lobby and the galleries joined in the wild shout. Members +and spectators rushed into each others' arms, kissed each other, wept, +shouted, kicked over the desks, tumbled on the floor, and for ten +minutes this maddening excitement suspended the proceedings of the day. +It was useless for the presiding officer to command order, if, indeed, +his feelings were sufficiently under control to do so. When exhaustion +had produced comparative silence, Duffie, with the full brogue of the +County Carlow upon his tongue, ejaculated: "O Lord, we thank Thee! The +State is redeemed from the rule of the Devil and John Clarke." Mercer +waddled from the chamber, waving his hat above his great bald head, and +shouting "Glory, glory!" which he continued until out of sight. General +Blackshear, a most staid and grave old gentleman and a most sterling +man, rose from his seat, where he, through all this excitement, had sat +silent, folded his arms upon his breast, and, looking up, with tears +streaming from his eyes, exclaimed: "Now, Lord, I am ready to die!" +Order was finally restored, and the state of the ballot stated, (Troup, +84; Talbot, 82,) when President Stocks proclaimed George M. Troup duly +elected Governor of the State of Georgia for the next three years. + +This was the last election of a Governor by the Legislature. The party +of Clarke demanded that the election should be given to the people. +This was done, and in 1825, Troup was re-elected over Clarke by a +majority of some seven hundred votes. It was during this last contest +that the violence and virulence of party reached its acme, and pervaded +every family, creating animosities which neither time nor reflection +ever healed. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +INDIAN TREATIES AND DIFFICULTIES. + +THE CREEKS--JOHN QUINCY ADAMS--HOPOTHLAYOHOLA--INDIAN ORATORY--SULPHUR +SPRING--TREATIES MADE AND BROKEN--AN INDEPENDENT GOVERNOR--COLONELS +JOHN S. McINTOSH, DAVID EMANUEL TWIGGS, AND DUNCAN CLINCH--GENERAL +GAINES--CHRISTIANIZING THE INDIANS--COTTON MATHER--EXPEDIENT AND +PRINCIPLE--THE PURITANICAL SNAKE. + + +During the administration of Troup, a contest arose as to the true +western boundary of the State, and the right of the State to the +territory occupied by a portion of the Creek tribe of Indians. In the +difficulty arising out of the sale by the Legislature of the lands +belonging to the State bordering upon the Mississippi River, a +compromise was effected by Congress with the company purchasing, and +Georgia had sold to the United States her claim to all the lands in the +original grant to General Oglethorpe and others by the English +Government, west of the Chattahoochee River. A part of the +consideration was that the United States should, at a convenient time, +and for the benefit of Georgia, extinguish the title of the Indians, +and remove them from the territory occupied by them, east of the +Chattahoochee River, to a certain point upon that stream; and from this +point, east of a line to run from it, directly to a point called Neckey +Jack, on the Tennessee River. The war of 1812 with Great Britain found +the Creek or Alabama portion of this tribe of Indians allies of +England. They were by that war conquered, and their territory wrested +from them. Those of the tribe under the influence of the celebrated +chief William McIntosh remained friendly to the United States, and were +active in assisting in the conquest of their hostile brethren. The +conquered Indians were removed from their territory and homes, into the +territory east of Line Creek, which was made the western boundary of +the Creek Nation's territory. Many of them came into the territory +claimed by Georgia as her domain. + +This war was a war of the Republican party of the United States, and +the State of Georgia being almost unanimously Republican, her people +felt it would be unpatriotic, at this juncture, to demand of the +Government the fulfilment of her obligations in removing the Indians +from her soil. The expenses of the war were onerous, and felt as a +heavy burden by the people, and one which was incurred by Republican +policy. That party felt that it was its duty to liquidate this war debt +as speedily as possible. To this end the sale of those conquered lands +would greatly contribute; relieving, at the same time, the people to +some extent, from the heavy taxation they had borne during the progress +of the war. Consequently, they had not pressed the fulfilment of this +contract upon the Government. But now the war debt had been +liquidated--the United States treasury was overflowing with surplus +treasure--Indian tribes were being removed by the purchase of their +lands in the northwest, and a tide of population pouring in upon these +lands, and threatening a powerful political preponderance in opposition +to Southern policy and Southern interests. Under these circumstances, +and the recommendation of Governor Troup, the Legislature of the State, +by joint resolution and memorial to Congress, demanded the fulfilment +of the contract on the part of the United States, and the immediate +removal of the Indians. + +John Quincy Adams was at that time President of the United States, and, +as he had ever been, was keenly alive to Northern interests and to +Federal views. Though professing to be Republican in political faith, +he arrayed all his influence in opposition to the rights of the States. +In this matter he gave the cold shoulder to Georgia. He did not +recommend a repudiation of the contract, but interposed every delay +possible to its consummation. After some time, commissioners were +appointed to negotiate a treaty with the Indians for the purchase of +their claim to the lands within the boundaries established by the sale +to the United States--or so much thereof as was in possession of the +Creek tribe. To this there was very serious opposition, not only from +that portion of the tribe which formerly allied themselves to Great +Britain, but from missionaries found in the Cherokee country, and from +Colonel John Crowell, who was United States agent for the Creek +Indians. These Indians were controlled by their chief, Hopothlayohola, +a man of rare abilities and great daring. He was a powerful speaker, +fluent as a fountain, and extremely vigorous in his expressions: his +imagery was original and beautiful, apposite and illustrative; and his +words and manner passionate to wildness. To all this he added the +ferocity of his savage nature. + +Crowell was an especial friend of Governor Clarke, and was influenced +by his party feelings of hatred to Troup--in his opposition to a +treaty, openly declaring that Georgia should never acquire the land +while Troup was Governor. He was an unscrupulous man, of questionable +morals, and vindictive as a snake. + +The persevering energy of Troup, however, prevailed. A treaty was +negotiated, and signed by Crowell, as agent, and a number of the chiefs +headed by McIntosh. No sooner was this done, than Crowell, with a +number of chiefs, hurried to Washington to protest against the +ratification and execution of the treaty, charging the United States +commissioners with fraud in the negotiation, under the influence of +Troup, prompted by W. H. Crawford and friends. The fraud charged was in +giving presents to the chiefs, and a couple of reservations of land to +McIntosh--one where he resided, and the other around and including the +famous Sulphur Spring, known as the Indian Spring, in Butts County. + +This habit of giving presents to the chiefs when negotiating treaties +has always been the custom of the Government. They expect it; it is a +part of the consideration paid for the treaty of sale, for they are +universally the vendors of territory and the negotiators of treaties +for their tribes. This charge was simply a subterfuge, and one that was +known would be influential with the mawkish philanthropists of the +North, Mr. Adams, and the senators and representatives from New +England. Upon the assumption of fraud, based upon these charges alone, +the treaty was set aside by the action of the President and Cabinet +alone; and by the same authority a new one made, with a change of +boundary, involving a loss of a portion of territory belonging to +Georgia under the stipulations of the contract between the State and +United States. The previous or first treaty had been submitted to the +United States Senate, and duly ratified, thereby becoming a law, under +which Georgia claimed vested rights. + +It was under these trying circumstances that the stern and determined +character of Troup displayed itself. Holding firmly to the doctrine of +State rights, he notified the President that he should disregard the +latter treaty, and proceed to take possession of the territory under +the stipulations of the former one. Upon the receipt of this +information, General Gaines was ordered to Georgia to take command of +the troops stationed along the frontier of the State, and any +additional troops which might be ordered to this point, with orders to +protect the Indians, and prohibit taking possession of the territory, +as contemplated by Governor Troup. A correspondence ensued between +General Gaines and Governor Troup of a most angry character. It +terminated with an order to General Gaines to forbear all further +communication with the Government of Georgia. This was notified to the +President, (if my memory is correct, for I write from memory,) in these +terms: + + "JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, President of the United States: + + "SIR: I have ordered General Gaines to forbear all further communication + with this Government. Should he presume to infringe + this order, I will send your major-general by brevet home to you in + irons. GEORGE M. TROUP, Governor of Georgia." + +The surveyors previously appointed by the Legislature were directed to +be on the ground, in defiance of United States authority, on the first +day of September succeeding, and at sunrise to commence the work of +surveying the lands. A collision was anticipated as certain between the +troops of the United States and the authorities of Georgia. But there +was a difficulty in the way not previously contemplated. Colonels John +S. McIntosh, David Emanuel Twiggs, and Duncan Clinch, each commanded +regiments in the South. Twiggs and McIntosh were native Georgians. +Clinch was a North Carolinian, but was a resident of Florida. Zachary +Taylor was the lieutenant-colonel of Clinch's regiment. He was a +Virginian by birth, but resided in Mississippi. All were Southern men +in feeling, as well as by birth, and all Jeffersonian Republicans, +politically. McIntosh and Twiggs were fanatical in their devotion to +the State of their birth. The ancestors of both were among the first +settlers, and both were identified with her history. The three wrote a +joint letter to the President, tendering their commissions, if ordered +to take arms against Georgia. This letter was placed in the hands of +one who was influential with Mr. Adams, to be delivered immediately +after the order should be issued to General Gaines to prevent by force +of arms the survey ordered by Governor Troup. Troup had classified the +militia, and signified his intention to carry out, if necessary, the +first-negotiated treaty, by force of arms, as the law of the land. + +It was, unquestionably, the prudence of this friend which prevented a +collision. He communicated with Mr. Adams confidentially, and implored +him not to issue the order. He assured him that a collision was +inevitable if he did, and caused him to pause and consult his advisers, +who declared their conviction that the first treaty was the law of the +land, and that Georgia held vested rights under it. In obedience to +this advice, Mr. Adams made no further effort to prevent the action of +Georgia, and the lands were surveyed and disposed of by the State, +under and according to the terms of the first treaty, and she retains a +large strip of territory that would have been lost to her under the +last treaty. My information of these facts was derived from Twiggs, +Clinch, and Henry Clay. Who the friend was to whom the letter was +intrusted, I never knew. I mentioned to Mr. Clay the facts, and he +stated that they were true, but no knowledge of them ever came to him +until the expiration of Mr. Adams' Administration. General Taylor +stated to me that long after these events had transpired, and after the +resignation of Colonel Clinch, General Twiggs had made the +communication to him. As nearly as I can remember, Twiggs made the +statement to me in the language I have used here. On returning from the +ratification meeting, at Canton, of the nomination of Mr. Clay for the +Presidency, in 1844, before we reached Baltimore, I was in a carriage +with General Clinch and Senator Barrow, of Louisiana, and stated these +facts, and Clinch verified them. + +General Gaines was, of all men, the most unfit for a position like that +in which he was placed. He was a good fighter, a chivalrous, brave man; +but he was weak and vain, and without tact or discretion. His +intentions were, at all times, pure, but want of judgment frequently +placed him in unpleasant positions. The condition of the minds of the +people of Georgia, at this time, was such, that very little was +necessary to excite them to acts of open strife, and had Mr. Adams been +less considerate than he was, there is now no telling what would have +been the consequence. He was extremely unpopular at the South, and +this, added to the inflamed condition of public opinion there, would +assuredly have brought on a collision. Had it come, it might have +resulted in a triumph of Southern principles, which, at a later day, +and under less auspicious circumstances, struggled for existence, only +to be crushed perhaps forever. + +It was universally the wish of the people of Georgia to have possession +of the land properly belonging to her, and but for their factious +divisions, the hazards of a conflict between the troops of the United +States and those of Georgia would have been more imminent. It was +believed by both these factions, that whoever should, as Governor of +the State, succeed in obtaining these lands, would thereby be rendered +eminently popular, and secure to his faction the ascendency in the +State for all time. The faction supporting Clarke believed he would +certainly triumph in the coming contest before the people, and assumed +to believe that then the matter of acquisition would be easy, as the +Administration of Mr. Adams supposed that faction could, by that means, +be brought into the support of the party now being formed about it. +Clarke and many of his leading friends were coquetting with the +Administration. He was--as was his brother-in-law, Duncan G. +Campbell--a strong friend of Mr. Calhoun, who was then the +Vice-President. National parties were inchoate, and many politicians +were chary of choosing, and seemed to wait for the development of +coming events, ere they gave shape and direction to their future +courses. It was certain that Mr. Clay was identified with the American +System, and that would, in a great degree, be the leading policy of the +Administration. Mr. Calhoun, when Secretary of War, under Mr. Monroe, +had made a strong report in favor of internal improvements by the +General Government, within the limits of the States, and, while a +member of Congress, had made an equally strong one in favor of a +national bank. These were two of the prominent features of the American +system, and it was generally believed that this policy would be too +popular to combat. It had originated during the Administration of +Monroe, and if it had the opposition of any member of his Cabinet, it +was unknown to the country. Mr. Crawford and Mr. Calhoun, as well as +Mr. Adams, were members of that Cabinet, and were all, in some degree, +committed to this policy; for Mr. Crawford, as a Senator from Georgia, +during the Administration of Mr. Madison, had sustained the doctrine of +the constitutionality and the policy of a national bank, in one of the +very ablest speeches ever made upon the subject, saying everything +which could or can be said in favor of such a government financial +agent, and refuting every objection of its opponents. From this speech +is derived every argument and every idea of both the reports of Calhoun +and McDuffie, which were heralded to the nation as greater even than +that of Mr. Dallas, who, with Robert Morris, may be said to be the +fathers of this institution. Mr. Clay had, in one of his ablest +speeches, opposed the bank at a former time, and his change of opinion +was now well known. + +It was very well understood that the coming men were Clay, Jackson, and +Calhoun. Clarke and his friends were ardent supporters of Calhoun, and +it was thought they had won the favor of the Administration. Mr. Clay +was strongly opposed to the execution of the old treaty, and had, by +this means, drawn upon himself the opposition of the Crawford, or Troup +party. These facts show the condition of public opinion in the State, +and conclusively establish the fact, that but for this division of the +people, and the check held by this upon the action of the masses and +their leaders, fearful consequences would assuredly have ensued. + +The reasons influencing the joint action of Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay in +opposition to the execution of the old treaty were very different. Mr. +Clay was honest and patriotic. He had no ulterior views to subserve. +His policy was national. He desired the prosperity and advancement of +his country to greatness and power among the nations of the earth. His +fame was that of the nation; already it was identified with it. His +ambition was a noble and a grand one. He wished his name identified +with his acts, and these to constitute the fame and glory of the +nation. He ever felt what subsequently he so nobly expressed, "That he +would rather be right than be President." He had no petty +selfishness--no pitiful revenges to exhaust with the hand of power--no +contemptible motives for elevating or advancing the interests of one +section of his country by oppressing another. "All his aims were his +country's," and his whole country's. He desired that every act of that +country should bear the broadest light, and challenge the closest and +most searching scrutiny; that each should be a new and brighter gem in +the diadem of her glory, and that her magnanimity should be most +conspicuous in her transactions with the weakest. This he especially +desired, and labored to effect, in all her transactions with the +Indians. He viewed these as the primitive proprietors of the soil, and +possessors of the entire country. He knew they were fading away before +a civilization they were by nature incapacitated to emulate, and this, +he felt, was in obedience to the inexorable laws of Divine Providence; +and, in the wonderfully capacious compassion of his nature, he desired, +in the accomplishment of this fate, that no act of national injustice +to them should stain the nation's escutcheon, and determined to +signalize this desire in every act of his when giving form and shape to +national policy. He had generously lent a listening ear to the protests +of the chiefs, seconded by that of their agent, and sincerely believed +the treaty had been effected by fraud, and was wrong and oppressive, +and, therefore, he opposed its execution, and was the main instrument +in forming a new one. The draft of this was from his own pen, and he +was solicitous that it should supersede the old one, as an expression +of the Indians' desire. + +Mr. Adams was, equally with Mr. Clay, opposed to the treaty as +ratified, though, as was his constitutional duty, he had sent the +instrument for the action of the Senate. In heart he was opposed to any +treaty which would remove the aborigines from this territory at this +time, and, in consequence of the action of Georgia, it was anticipated +that, at no very distant day, the entire Indian population east of the +Mississippi River, in the South, would be removed, unless some policy +of the Government should be adopted which would prevent it; and those +of the North, who felt desirous of crippling the territorial progress +of the South, and, of consequence, her augmentation of population, +supposed the most effectual means of accomplishing this would be to +educate and Christianize the Indian. To do this, they insisted he must +remain upon the territory he now occupied. This would bring him into +immediate contact with the civilized white, where he could be most +readily approached by missionaries and schoolmasters, and be instructed +by the force of example. At the same time, he was to remain under the +sole protection of the United States Government, without any of the +privileges of civil government to be exercised as a citizen of the +United States or the State upon whose soil he was located. This was +ennobled as the sentiment of Christian benevolence, while its real +intention was to withhold the land from the occupancy of the people of +Georgia, and in so much retard the growth and increase of the white +population of the State. To carry out this scheme, missionary +establishments sprang up among the Indians in every part of the South, +but especially within the limits of the State of Georgia, filled with +Northern fanatics, who employed themselves most actively in prejudicing +the minds of the savages against the people who were their neighbors, +and preparing them to refuse to treat for the sale of any of their +territory. + +It has ever been the practice of the Puritan to propagate the vilest +heresies, and for the vilest purposes, under the name of philanthropy +and religion. It has burned its enemy at the stake, as, assembled +around, they sang psalms, and sanctified the vilest cruelties with the +name of God's vengeance. It was their great prototype, Cotton Mather, +who blasphemously proclaimed, after the most inhuman massacre of +several hundred Indians, that they, the Puritans of Massachusetts, "had +sent, as a savory scent to the nostrils of God, two hundred or more of +the reeking souls of the godless heathen." + +This, ostensibly, was deemed a pious act, and a discharge of a pious +duty, when, in truth, the only motive was to take his home and country, +and appropriate it to their own people. It seems almost impossible to +the race to come squarely up to truth and honesty, in word or act, in +any transaction, as a man or as a people. Sinister and subtle, +expediency, and not principle, seems to be their universal rule of +action. Cold and passionless, incapable of generous emotions, he is +necessarily vindictive and cruel. Patient and persevering, bigoted and +selfish, eschewing as a crime an honorable resentment, he creeps to his +ends like a serpent, with all his cunning and all his venom. + +John Quincy Adams, in his nature, was much more like his mother than his +father. His features were those of his mother, and the cold, persevering +hatred of his nature was hers. From his boyhood he was in the habit of +recording, for future use, the most confidential conversations of his +friends, as also all that incautiously fell from an occasional interview +with those less intimate. Had this been done for future reference only +to establish facts in his own mind, there could have been no objection +to the act; but this was not the motive. These memoranda were to rise +up in vengeance when necessary to gratify his spleen or vengeance. He +was naturally suspicious. He gave no man his confidence, and won the +friendship of no one. Malignant and unforgiving, he watched his +opportunity, and never failed to gratify his revengeful nature, whenever +his victim was in his power. The furtive wariness of his small gray +eye, his pinched nose, receding forehead, and thin, compressed lips, +indicated the malignant nature of his soul. Unfaithful to friends, and +only constant in selfishness--unconscious of obligation, and ungrateful +for favors--fanatical only in hatred--pretending to religious morality, +yet pursuing unceasingly, with merciless revenge, those whom he supposed +to be his enemies, he combined all the elements of Puritan bigotry and +Puritan hate in devilish intensity. He deserted the Federal party in +their greatest need, and meanly betrayed them to Mr. Jefferson, whom, +from his boyhood, he had hated and reviled in doggerel rhymes and the +bitterest prose his genius could suggest. + +The conduct of Mr. Adams, after he had been President, as the +representative of Massachusetts in Congress, is the best evidence of +the motives which influenced his conduct in the matter of these two +treaties. He never lost an opportunity to assail the interests and the +institutions of the South. He hated her, and to him, more than to any +other, is due the conduct of the Northern people toward the South which +precipitated the late war, and has destroyed the harmony once existing +between the people. + +His father had been repudiated by the South for a more trusted son of +her own. This was a treasured hatred; and when he shared his father's +fate, this became the pervading essence of his nature. + +He returned to Congress, after his defeat for the Presidency, for no +other purpose than to give shape and direction to a sentiment which he +felt must ultimately result in her ruin, and to accomplish this he was +more than willing to hazard that of the Government. He felt, should +this follow, his own people would be in a condition to dictate and +control a government of their own creation, and which should embody +their peculiar views, rather than the pure and unselfish principles +enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, and preserved in the +Constitution of the United States. + +The sagacity of George M. Troup was the first to discover this in his +conduct as President, and to sound the alarm as Governor of Georgia. He +came directly in contact with him, and determined he should be defeated +in one of his means for injury to the South. Troup knew and felt the +right was with him, and maintained it with the honest boldness of a +true man. He triumphed, and the doctrine of State rights was rescued +from a fatally aimed blow, and reaffirmed, gave renewed popularity and +strength to its supporters. The election of General Jackson soon after +followed, and, as the embodiment of the principle, rallied around him +its supporters from every section. With these, and his immense +popularity personally, he scotched, for a time, the Puritan snake; but, +true to its instincts, it struggled to bite, though its head was off. + +Mr. Adams saw in Troup a strong and uncompromising foe; he knew, too, +the right was with him, and that if pushed to extremities the result +would be damaging to his fame, as having, in persevering for the wrong, +destroyed the Government, and at a time, too, when every benefit from +such destruction would inure to the South. Under the circumstances his +course was taken: he dared not consult or trust Mr. Clay with the real +motives which influenced him to yield, and made a virtue of patriotism +and magnanimity which cloaked his pusillanimity, and shielded from +public view his envenomed chagrin. + +It was doubtless this triumph which secured the second election of +Troup. Personally he was unpopular with the masses. His rearing had +been in polished society, and though he was in principle a democrat, in +his feelings, bearing, and associations he was an aristocrat. He +accorded equality to all under the law and in political privilege, but +he chose to select his associates, and admitted none to the familiarity +of intimacy but men of high breeding and unquestioned honor. In many +things he was peculiar and somewhat eccentric. In dress, especially +so--often appearing in midwinter in light, summer apparel; and again, +in summer, with a winter cloak wrapped carefully about him. When he +appeared first before the assembled Legislature, and many of the first +citizens of the State, to take the oath of office, it was a raw, cold +day in November; his dress was a round jacket of coarse cotton, black +cassimere vest, yellow nankeen pantaloons, silk hose, and +dancing-pumps, with a large-rimmed white hat, well worn. In his +address, which was short and most beautiful, he made his hat +conspicuous by holding it in his right hand, and waving it with every +gesture. In person, he was below the middle size, slender, though +finely formed; his hair was red, and his eyes intensely blue and deeply +set beneath a heavy brow; his nose was prominent and aquiline; his +mouth, the great feature of his face, was Grecian in mould, with +flexible lips, which, while in repose, seemed to pout. His rabid +opposition to those engaged in the Yazoo frauds, and his hatred for +those who defended it, made him extremely obnoxious to them, and +prompted Dooly to say: "Nature had formed his mouth expressly to say, +'Yazoo.'" Its play, when speaking, was tremulous, with a nervous +twitching, which gave an agitated intonation to his words very +effective. + +The form of his head, and especially his forehead, indicated an +imaginative mind, while the lines of his face marked deep thought. He +was strictly honest in everything; was opposed to anything which wore +the appearance of courting public favor, or seemed like a desire for +office. His private life was exemplary, kind, and indulgent to his +children and servants, and full of charity; severe upon nothing but the +assumptions of folly, and the wickedness of purpose in the dishonest +heart. In every relation of life he discharged its duties +conscientiously, and was the enemy only of the vicious and wicked. He +continued to reside upon his plantation in Lawrence County with his +slaves, carefully providing for their every want until his death. He +had attained the patriarchal age of threescore years and ten, and sank +to rest in the solitude of his forest-home, peacefully and piously, +leaving no enemies, and all the people of his State to mourn him. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +POLITICAL CHANGES. + +ASPIRANTS FOR CONGRESS--A NEW ORGANIZATION--TWO PARTIES--A PROTECTIVE +TARIFF---UNITED STATES BANK--THE AMERICAN SYSTEM--INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS +--A GALAXY OF STARS--A SPARTAN MOTHER'S ADVICE--NEGRO-DEALER--QUARTER +RACES--COCK-PITTING--MILITARY BLUNDERS ON BOTH SIDES--ABNER GREEN'S +DAUGHTER--ANDREW JACKSON--GWINN--POINDEXTER--AD INTERIM--GENERALS AS +CIVIL RULERS. + + +The remarkable excitement of the political contest between Troup and +Clarke had the effect of stimulating the ambition of the young men of +education throughout the State for political distinction. For some time +anterior to this period, all seemed content to permit those who had +been the active politicians in the Republican struggle with the Federal +party to fill all the offices of distinction in the State without +opposition. It would have been considered presumptuous in the extreme +for any young man, whatever his abilities, to have offered himself as a +candidate for Congress in opposition to Mr. Forsyth, R.H. Wild, Thomas +W. Cobb, Edward F. Tatnal, and men of like age and political faith. The +members of Congress were elected by general ticket; and the selection +of candidates was not by a convention of the people or party. The names +of candidates were generally recommended by influential parties, and +their consent to become candidates obtained through solicitations +addressed to them, and then published to the people. The State was so +unanimous in political sentiment, that for many years no opposition to +the Republican party was thought of. + +But now parties were organizing upon principles, or rather policies, +entirely new; there was a fusion of the old elements of party, and +Federalists and Republicans were side by side in this new organization. +Men who had been under the ban, for opinion's sake, were coming into +public view and public favor, and disclosing great abilities. At the +head of these was John McPherson Berrien, who, to the end of his life, +was so distinguished in the councils of the nation. At the same time, +in every part of the State, young men were rising up as men of promise +for talent and usefulness. These men arrayed themselves with either of +the two parties, as inclination or interest prompted. Active and +assiduous, they were soon prominent before the people, and a new era +was commencing. With the election of John Quincy Adams, the State was +in a blaze and politics a furor. Opposition immediately commenced to +the leading measures of the Administration, and the Legislature of 1825 +was filled with young men of talent, who were enthusiastic and fierce +in their sentiments and feelings. They had been divided as partisans of +Troup and Clarke, and met as antagonists in the Legislature; but really +without any defined policy in opposition to that of the administration +of the General Government of the nation. A suspicion filled every one +that this policy was disastrous to Southern interests, and sectional in +its character, although designated as national. + +Few men of the South had given much attention to the effect a tariff +for revenue had upon the commercial and manufacturing interests of the +North. The war with England had created a debt, and this tariff had +been imposed solely for the purpose of securing, not only a sufficient +revenue for the current necessities of the Government, but a surplus, +which should in a short time liquidate the public debt. It was +sufficient to afford protection to the manufacturing interests of the +North, to increase this into a formidable revenue, and to enlist a +national party in its support. It was now, when the public debt was +liquidated, that another reason was necessary for continuing a policy +which had grown up from the necessities of the nation--consequently it +was assumed to be a national policy to promote national independence, +and protection was claimed for national industry against European +competition. This policy in the Government would encourage +extravagance, waste, and corruption--such a bane to republics--because +it would create an immense surplus in the national treasury, unless +some scheme for its expenditure could be devised which should seem to +promote the national interest. To this end, the party of the +Administration claimed a constitutional power in Congress to carry on a +system of internal improvements; and heavy appropriations were made for +this purpose, not only absorbing the surplus revenue, but creating a +necessity for more--and this necessity was an excuse for increasing the +tariff. + +The Bank of the United States was the depository of the moneys of the +nation and her disbursing agent. The constitutionality of this +institution had been a mooted question from the day it was first +proposed by Robert Morris. Mr. Madison, who was a Republican, had at +one time vetoed it; at another, approved it. Mr. Crawford, a most +inveterate States-rights man and strict constructionist of the +Constitution, had uniformly supported it. Mr. Clay had both supported +and opposed it. The question was finally adjudicated by the Supreme +Court, and, so far as that decision could make it, was decided to be +constitutional. This, however, did not satisfy the Republican or +States-rights party; a large majority of whom always insisted upon its +unconstitutionality. At the time of its creation, a necessity existed +for some such institution, to aid the Government in its financial +operations, and at the time of the renewal of its charter the +Government had just emerged from a war; every State was creating banks, +and the country was flooded with an irredeemable and worthless +currency, disturbing commerce, unsettling values, and embarrassing the +Government. A power was wanted somewhere to control these State banks, +and to give a redeemable and uniform currency to the country. + +The State banks had proved destructive to the public interest; with no +power to restrain their issues except that imposed by their charters +and the honesty of their officers--a frail security for the public, as +experience had attested. The example of Washington was pleaded by the +advocates of the bank. At the very outset it had been opposed for want +of constitutionality. Washington had doubted it, and submitted the +question to two of his Cabinet--Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Hamilton. They +were divided in opinion--Mr. Jefferson opposing, and Mr. Hamilton +sustaining the constitutionality of the measure. The opinion and +argument of Hamilton prevailed, and the act creating a bank received +the Executive approval. + +It answered admirably the object of its creation, and the Republican +party (then in embryo) acquiesced. Indeed, at this time, there could +scarcely be said to be a party separate from the Government. Mr. +Hamilton and Mr. Jefferson were the leaders of the parties which +divided the people upon the adoption of the Constitution, and these +parties, though at this time inchoate, were concreting about these two +wonderful men. Upon the renewal of the charter of the United States +Bank, during the Administration of Mr. Madison, the Republican party +again mooted its constitutionality; but its undisputed usefulness had +won for it immense popularity, and there were many who, though acting +with the Republicans, were willing (as Washington had approved it, and +the Supreme Court had pronounced it constitutional) to view the +question as settled, and vote to renew the charter. + +It was subsequent to the veto of Mr. Madison (when he had reconsidered +his action, and recommended the re-chartering of the bank,) that +debates ensued, in which the question was exhausted. In these debates, +Mr. Crawford, Mr. Clay, Felix Grundy, William B. Giles, and Mr. Calhoun +led. They were continued through several sessions, up to 1816, when +they ultimated in the chartering of the last bank of the United States. +This charter expired during the Administration of General Jackson, and +by him the bank was finally crushed. + +Three great measures constituted what was then termed the American +System--the United States Bank, a protective tariff, and internal +improvements within the States by the General Government. An opposition +to this party was formed at the very outset of the Adams +Administration. This opposition denied the constitutional power of +Congress to create or sustain either. + +The South, at the commencement of this opposition, was almost alone. +The North was a unit in its support of the Administration, because its +policy was vital to her interests. The West, influenced by Mr. Clay, +was greatly in the majority in its support. The Southern opposition +seemed almost hopeless; and to this cause may, in a great degree, be +ascribed the bringing forth to public view the transcendent abilities +of the young men aspiring for fame in Georgia, and in the South +generally. McDuffie, Hamilton, Holmes, and Waddy Thompson, of South +Carolina; Colquitt, Cobb, Toombs, Stephens, Johnson, Nesbit, and John +P. King, of Georgia; Wise, Bocock, Hunter, Summers, Rives, and others +of Virginia; Mangum, Badger, and Graham, of North Carolina; Bell, +Foster, Peyton, Nicholson, and James K. Polk, of Tennessee; King and +Lewis, of Alabama; Porter, Johnston, White, and Barrow, of Louisiana; +Ashley, Johnson, and Sevier, of Arkansas; Chase, Pugh, Pendleton, and +Lytell, of Ohio; and Douglas, Trumbull, and Lincoln, of Illinois, were +all men of sterling talent, and were about equally divided in political +sentiment. Kentucky had Tom and Humphrey Marshall, Crittenden, Menifer, +Letcher, Breckinridge, and Preston. + +General Jackson was now the avowed candidate of the States-rights +party, which soon after assumed the name of Democratic, and his +political principles and great personal popularity were not only +dividing the West, but the Middle States, and even those of New +England. + +During the entire administration of Adams, there was a majority in +Congress supporting his policy. It was then and there that the great +battle for supremacy was fought. Berrien and Forsyth, from Georgia, in +the Senate; McDuffie and Preston, from South Carolina; Cass, from +Michigan, and Van Buren and Silas Wright, from New York--all giants in +intellect. But there were Webster and John Davis, from Massachusetts, +George Evans, from Maine, and others of minor powers, but yet great +men. Between these great minds the conflict was stupendous. Every means +were put into requisition to sustain the Administration and its policy, +but all were unavailing--General Jackson was elected by an overwhelming +majority. Mr. Clay was immediately returned by Kentucky to the Senate, +and organized an opposition upon the policy of the late Administration, +led on by himself and Webster. The memory of those days, and the men +who made them memorable, flits vividly before me; but I am not writing +a history, and can attempt no order, but shall write on as these +memories of men and events shall seem to me most interesting in their +character to the general reader. + +General Jackson was one of those rare creations of nature which appear +at long intervals, to astonish and delight mankind. It seems to be +settled in the public mind that he was born in South Carolina; but +there is no certainty of the fact. His early life was very obscure, and +he himself was uncertain of his birth-place, though he believed it was +South Carolina. He remembered the removal of his family from South +Carolina, and many of the incidents of the war of the Revolution +transpiring there; but more especially those occurring in North +Carolina, to which the family removed. Judge Alexander Porter, of +Louisiana, was an Irishman, and from the neighborhood where were born +and reared the parents of Jackson. His own father was brutally executed +at Vinegar Hill, by sentence of a drum-head court martial, in 1798, and +his family proscribed by the British Government. With his uncle, the +Rowans, the Jacksons, and some others, he emigrated to America, and +settled at Nashville, Tennessee. The Jacksons were of the same family, +and distantly connected with General Jackson. Great intimacy existed +between this family and General Jackson for many years. + +Judge Porter, of whom I shall hereafter have something to say, visited +Europe a short time before his death, and made diligent search into the +history of the Jackson family, without ascertaining anything +positively: he learned enough to satisfy his own mind that Andrew +Jackson was born in Ireland, and brought to the United States by his +parents when only two years old. This was also the opinion of Thomas +Crutcher, who came with General Jackson to Nashville, and it was also +the opinion of Dr. Boyd McNary and his elder brother, Judge McNary, who +believed he was four years older than he supposed himself to be. + +The McNarys came with him from North Carolina. On the trip a difficulty +occurred between Boyd McNary and Jackson, which never was +reconciled--both dying in extreme old age. Boyd McNary stopped at +Lexington and read medicine, forming there the acquaintance of Mr. Clay +and Felix Grundy. The intimacy which sprang up between Clay and McNary +was as ardent and imperishable as the hatred between himself and +Jackson, enduring until death. Jackson was enterprising and eminently +self-reliant; in all matters pertaining to himself, he was his own +counsellor; he advised with no man; cool and quick in thought, he +seemed to leap to conclusions, and never went back from them. An +anecdote relative to his parting from his mother in his outset in life, +illustrates this as prominent in the attributes of his nature at that +time. The writer heard him narrate this after his return from +Washington, when his last term in the Presidential office had expired. + +When about to emigrate to Tennessee, the family were residing in the +neighborhood of Greensboro, North Carolina. + +"I had," said he, "contemplated this step for some months, and had made +my arrangements to do so, and at length had obtained my mother's +consent to it. All my worldly goods were a few dollars in my purse, +some clothes in my saddle-bags, a pretty good horse, saddle, and +bridle. The country to which I was going was comparatively a +wilderness, and the trip a long one, beset by many difficulties, +especially from the Indians. I felt, and so did my mother, that we were +parting forever. I knew she would not recall her promise; there was too +much spunk in her for that, and this caused me to linger a day or two +longer than I had intended. + +"But the time came for the painful parting. My mother was a little, +dumpy, red-headed Irish woman. 'Well, mother, I am ready to leave, and +I must say farewell.' She took my hand, and pressing it, said, +'Farewell,' and her emotion choked her. + +"Kissing at meetings and partings in that day was not so common as now. +I turned from her and walked rapidly to my horse. + +"As I was mounting him, she came out of the cabin wiping her eyes with +her apron, and came to the getting-over place at the fence. 'Andy,' +said she, (she always called me Andy,) 'you are going to a new country, +and among a rough people; you will have to depend on yourself and cut +your own way through the world. I have nothing to give you but a +mother's advice. Never tell a lie, nor take what is not your own, nor +sue anybody for slander or assault and battery. _Always settle them +cases yourself!_' I promised, and I have tried to keep that promise. I +rode off some two hundred yards, to a turn in the path, and looked +back--she was still standing at the fence and wiping her eyes. I never +saw her after that." Those who knew him best will testify to his +fidelity to this last promise made his mother. + +The strong common sense and unbending will of Jackson soon made him +conspicuous in his new home, and very soon he was in active practice as +a lawyer. His prominence was such, that during the last year of the +last term of General Washington's Administration, a vacancy occurring +in the United States Senate from Tennessee, General Jackson was +appointed to fill it. He was occupying this seat when General +Washington retired from the Presidency, and, with William B. Giles, of +Virginia, voted against a resolution of thanks tendered by Congress to +Washington, for his services to the country. For this vote he gave no +reason at the time; and if he ever did, it has escaped my knowledge. + +The career of General Jackson, as a public man, is so well known, that +it is not my purpose to review it in this place; but many incidents of +his private history have come to my knowledge from an association with +those who were intimate with him, from his first arrival in Tennessee. +These, or so many of them as I deem of interest enough to the public, I +propose to relate. + +Jackson was a restless and enterprising man, embarking in many schemes +for the accumulation of fortune, not usually resorted to by +professional men, or men engaged in public matters. In business he was +cautious. He was a remarkable judge of human character, and rarely gave +his confidence to untried men. Notwithstanding the impetuosity of his +nature, upon occasion he could be as cool and as calculating as a +Yankee. The result was, that though he had many partners in the various +pursuits he at different times resorted to, he rarely had any pecuniary +difficulty with any of them. He was in the habit of trading with the +low country, that is, with the inhabitants of Mississippi and +Louisiana. + +Many will remember the charge brought against him pending his candidacy +for the Presidency, of having been, in early life, a negro-trader, or +dealer in slaves. This charge was strictly true, though abundantly +disproved by the oaths of some, and even by the certificate of his +principal partner. Jackson had a small store, or trading establishment, +at Bruinsburgh, near the mouth of the Bayou Pierre, in Claiborne +County, Mississippi. It was at this point he received the negroes, +purchased by his partner at Nashville, and sold them to the planters of +the neighborhood. Sometimes, when the price was better, or the sales +were quicker, he carried them to Louisiana. This, however, he soon +declined; because, under the laws of Louisiana, he was obliged to +guarantee the health and character of the slave he sold. + +On one occasion he sold an unsound negro to a planter in the parish of +West Feliciana, and, upon his guarantee, was sued and held to bail to +answer. In this case he was compelled to refund the purchase-money, +with damages. He went back upon his partner, and compelled him to share +the loss. This caused a breach between them, which was never healed. +This is the only instance which ever came to my knowledge of strife +with a partner. He was close to his interest, and spared no means to +protect it. + +It was during the period of his commercial enterprise in Mississippi +that he formed the acquaintance of the Green family. This family was +among the very first Americans who settled in the State. Thomas M. +Green and Abner Green were young men at the time, though both were men +of family. To both of them Jackson, at different times, sold negroes, +and the writer now has bills of sale for negroes sold to Abner Green, +in the handwriting of Jackson, bearing his signature, written, as it +always was, in large and bold characters, extending quite half across +the sheet. At this store, which stood immediately upon the bank of the +Mississippi, there was a race-track, for quarter-races, (a sport +Jackson was then very fond of,) and many an anecdote was rife, forty +years ago, in the neighborhood, of the skill of the old hero in pitting +a cock or turning a quarter-horse. + +This spot has become classic ground. It was here Aaron Burr was first +arrested by Cowles Mead, then acting as Governor of the Territory of +Mississippi, and from whom he made his escape, and it was at this point +that Grant crossed his army when advancing against Vicksburg. It is a +beautiful plateau of land, of some two thousand acres, immediately +below the mouth of the Bayou Pierre, and bordered by very high and +abrupt cliffs, which belong to the same range of hills that approach +the river's margin at Vicksburg, Grand Gulf, Rodney, Natchez, and Bayou +Sara. At this point they attain the height of three hundred feet, and +are almost perpendicular. The summit is attained by a circuitous road +cut through the cliffs, and this is the summit level of the surrounding +country. + +This plateau of land, where once stood the little village of +Bruinsburgh, has long been a cotton plantation, and a most valuable one +it was before the late war. A deep, and, to an army, impassable swamp +borders it below, and the same is the case above the Bayou Pierre. To +land an army at such a place, when its only means of marching upon the +country was through this narrow cut, of about one hundred feet in +width, with high, precipitous sides, forming a complete defile for half +a mile, and where five thousand men could have made its defence good +against fifty thousand, is certainly as little evidence of military +genius as was the permission of them to pass through it without an +effort to prevent it. + +To a military eye, the blunders of Grant and Pemberton are apparent in +their every movement--and the history of the siege and capture of +Vicksburg, if ever correctly written, will demonstrate to the world +that folly opposed to folly marked its inception, progress, and +finality. + +The friends formed in this section of country by Jackson were devoted +to him through life, and when in after life he sent (for it is not true +that he brought) his future wife to Mississippi, it was to the house of +Thomas M. Green, then residing near the mouth of Cowles Creek, and only +a few miles from Bruinsburgh. + +Whatever the circumstances of the separation, or the cause for it, +between Mrs. Jackson and her first husband, I am ignorant; I know that +Jackson vas much censured in the neighborhood of his home. At the time +of her coming to Green's, the civil authority was a disputed one; most +of the people acknowledging the Spanish. A suit was instituted for a +divorce, and awarded by a Spanish tribunal. There was probably little +ceremony or strictness of legal proceeding in the matter, as all +government and law was equivocal, and of but little force just at that +time in the country. It was after this that Jackson came and married +her, in the house of Thomas M. Green. + +That there was anything disreputable attached to the lady's name is +very improbable; for she was more than fifteen months in the house of +Green, who was a man of wealth, and remarkable for his pride and +fastidiousness in selecting his friends or acquaintances. He was the +first Territorial representative of Mississippi in Congress--was at +the head of society socially, and certainly would never have permitted +a lady of equivocal character to the privileges of a guest in his +house, or to the association of his daughters, then young. During the +time she was awaiting this divorce, she was at times an inmate of the +family of Abner Green, of Second Creek, where she was always gladly +received, and he and his family were even more particular as to the +character and position of those they admitted to their intimacy, if +possible, than Thomas B. Green. This intimacy was increased by the +marriage of two of the Green brothers to nieces of Mrs. Jackson. + +In 1835, when Jackson was President, the writer, passing from Louisiana +to New York with his family, spent some days at Washington. His lady +was the youngest daughter of Abner Green; he was in company with a +daughter of Henry Green and her husband; her mother was niece to Mrs. +Jackson. We called to see the President, and when my lady was +introduced to the General, he was informed she was the daughter of his +old friend, Abner Green, of Second Creek. He did not speak, but held +her hand for some moments, gazing intently into her face. His feelings +overcame him, and clasping her to his bosom, he said, "I must kiss you, +my child, for your sainted mother's sake;" then holding her from him, +he looked again, "Oh! how like your mother you are--she was the friend +of my poor Rachel, when she so much needed a friend--I loved her, and I +love her memory;" and then, as if ashamed of his emotion, he continued: +"You see, my child, though I am President through the kindness or folly +of the people, I am but a weak, silly old man." + +We spent the evening with him, and when in his private sitting-room his +pipe was lighted and brought to him, he said: "Now, my child, let us +talk about Mississippi and the old people." I have never in all my life +seen more tenderness of manner, or more deep emotion shown, than this +stern old man continually evinced when speaking of his wife and her +friends. + +The character of General Jackson is yet greatly misunderstood. This has +been caused by the fact that his words and actions, when in command, or +when enraged, as a man, have been the main data upon which the estimate +of his bearing and character has been predicated. He was irascible and +quick in his temper, and when angered was violent in words and manner. +It was at such moments that the stern inflexibility of his will was +manifest; and his passion towered in proportion to provocation. But in +private life and social intercourse he was bland, gentle, and +conciliating. His manner was most polished and lofty in society, and in +a lady's parlor, in urbanity and polish of manners, he never had a +superior. This high polish was nature's spontaneous gift. He had never +been taught it in courts, or from association with those who had. It +was the emanation of his great soul, which stole out through his every +word and movement in the presence of ladies, and which erupted as a +volcano at insult or indignity from man. + +That evening at the White House is marked in my memory with a white +stone. The playful simplicity of his conversation and manner, and the +particularity of his inquiries about matters and things so +insignificant, but which were links in the chain of his memories, I +well remember. + +"Is old papa Jack and Bellile living?" he asked, after a pause, of my +wife, accompanied with a look of eager anxiety. + +These were two old Africans, faithful servants of her father; and then +there was an anecdote of each of them--their remarks or their conduct +upon some hunting or fishing excursion, in which he had participated +forty years before. + +I was an interested spectator in the presence of one of nature's +wonderful creations--one who had made, and who was making, history for +his country, and whose name was to descend to future times as one of +her noblest sons and greatest historical characters. I watched every +motion of his lips, every expression of his features, and every gleam +of his great gray eyes, and I could but wonder at the child-like +naturalness of everything about him. Is not this an attribute of +greatness--to be natural? Yes; to be natural in all things belongs to +truth, and a truthful exhibition of nature, without assumption or +deceit, is greatness. Here was one who could, with natural simplicity, +amuse a child; and the same one could command and successfully wield a +great army, and, with equal success, direct the destinies of a great +nation; whose genius was tempered with simplicity and tenderness, and +when towering most in its grandeur, was most truthful to nature. + +General Jackson's early opportunities were extremely limited. His +education was so very defective, that his orthography was almost +ludicrous, and his general reading amounted to almost nothing. At no +time was he a respectable county-court lawyer, so far as legal learning +was concerned, and it is wonderful how the natural vigor of his mind +supplied this defect. On the bench, his greatest aim was to get at the +facts in every case, and to decide all points upon the broad principles +of equity; and in all his charges to the jury, his principal aim was to +direct their attention to the simple justice of the case, and a +favorite phrase of his in these charges was: "Do right between the +parties, and you will serve the objects of the law." + +He was an enemy to all unnecessary forms in all matters. His manner was +to go directly to the kernel, and he was very indifferent as to how the +shell was cracked, or the husk removed. He never seemed to reason. Upon +the presentation of any subject to his mind, it seemed, with electrical +velocity, to cut through to a conclusion as if by intuition. He was +correct in his conclusions more frequently than any man of his age. His +knowledge of human nature was more consummate than that of any of his +compeers who were remarkable for greatness of mind. In this, as in all +other matters, his opinion was formed with the first glance. His +intimacy with every sort of character, in his extended intercourse with +the world, seemed so to have educated his faculties and whetted his +perception, that he only wanted to look at a man for five minutes to +know his inmost nature. Yet he was sometimes deceived, and, +ascertaining this, nothing enraged him more. + +In his friendships he was almost fanatical. The humblest individual, +who was his friend, and who had proven it, could command him in any +manner, and to the full extent of his capacity to serve him. + +A remarkable instance of this trait was manifested in his conduct as +President, toward a young friend, Mr. Gwinn, who was reared in the +neighborhood of the Hermitage, and whose father had long been a trusted +friend of Jackson. In 1832, when the lands obtained from the Choctaws +in Mississippi were being brought into market, the office of register +in the land-office in that State was an important one. It was given to +Gwinn by Jackson, who was then President. + +When the nomination was sent to the Senate, opposition was made to its +confirmation by George Poindexter, a senator from Mississippi. It had +always been the practice of all preceding Presidents, when suitable +persons could be had, to nominate them from the State in which the +United States office to be filled was located. Poindexter insisted that +this custom, from long usage, had become law; and to send a citizen +from one State into another, there to fill a national office, was an +indignity to her citizens, and a manifestation, to say the least of it, +of distrust and suspicion as to the capacity or honesty of the people +of the State. This opposition was successful, and Gwinn was rejected. +The nomination was renewed, and again rejected. Jackson wrote to Gwinn, +who was already by executive appointment discharging the duties of the +office, to continue to do so. I was present when the letter was +received, and permitted to read it. "Poindexter has deserted me," he +said, "and his opposition to your nomination is to render, as far as he +can, my Administration unpopular with the people of Mississippi; and a +majority of the Senate are more than willing to aid him in this. They +are only destroying themselves, not me, and some of them will soon find +this out. Do you hold on to the office; I will make no more +nominations; but commission you _ad interim_ as soon as Congress +adjourns, which will be in a few weeks at farthest. Very soon my +friends will be in a majority in the Senate--until then, I will keep +you in the office, for I am determined you shall have it, spite of +Poindexter." The result was as he had promised. + +This is but one of a thousand instances which might be enumerated to +attest the same fact. Such traits are always appreciated as they +deserve to be; they address themselves to the commonest understanding, +and are esteemed by all mankind. It is a mistake the world makes, that +Jackson's popularity was exclusively military. Those great qualities of +mind and soul which constituted him a great general, were not only +displayed in his military career, but in all his life; and to them he +was indebted for the friends of his whole life; they made him a man of +mark before he was twenty-five years of age. His courage, intrepidity, +frankness, honor, truth, and sincerity were all pre-eminent in his +conduct, and carried captive the admiration of all men. His devotion to +his wife, to his friends, to his duty, was always conspicuous; and +these are admired and honored, even by him who never had in his heart a +feeling in common with one of these. All these traits were so striking +in Jackson's character as to make them conspicuous. They were more +marked in his than in that of any other man of his day, because the +impulses of his temperament were more prompt and potent. They were +natural to him, and always naturally displayed. There was neither +assumption of feeling nor deceit in its manifestation; all he evinced, +bubbled up from his heart, naturally and purely as spring-water, and +went directly to the heart. These great and ennobling traits were not +unfrequently marred by passion, and acts which threw a cloud over their +brilliancy; but this, too, was natural: the same soul which was parent +to this violence and extravagance of passion, was, too, the source of +all his virtues, and all were equally in excess. The consequence of +this violence were sometimes terrible. They were evanescent, and, like +a thunder-storm, seemed only to clear the atmosphere for the display of +beautiful weather. + +The triumphs of mind, unaided by education, sometimes are +astonishing,--in the case of General Jackson, perhaps, not more so than +in many others. The great Warwick of England, the putter-up and the +puller-down of kings, did not know his letters; Marshal Soult, the +greatest of Napoleon's marshals, could not write a correct sentence in +French; and Stevenson, the greatest engineer the world ever saw--the +inventor of the locomotive engine--did not know his letters at +twenty-one years of age, and was always illiterate. It is a question +whether such minds would have been greatly aided by education, or +whether they might not have been greatly injured by it--nature seeming +to have formed all minds with particular proclivities. These are more +marked in the stronger intellects. They direct to the pursuit in life +for which nature has designed the individual: should this idiosyncrasy +receive the proper education from infancy, doubtless it would be aided +to the more rapid and more certain accomplishment of the designs of +nature. To discover this in the child, requires that it should be +strongly developed, and a close and intelligent observation on the part +of the parent or guardian who may have the direction of the child's +education. But this, in the system of education almost universally +pursued, is never thought of; and the avocation of the future man is +chosen for him, without any regard to his aptitudes for it, and often +in disregard of those manifested for another. Consequently, nature is +thwarted by ignorance, and the individual drags on unsuccessfully in a +hated pursuit through life. Left alone, these proclivities become a +passion, and where strongly marked, and aided by strength of will, they +work out in wonderful perfection the designs of nature. Julius Caesar, +Hannibal, Attila, Yengis Khan, Prince Eugene, Marlborough, Napoleon, +and Wellington were all generals by nature--and so were Andrew Jackson +and "Stonewall" Jackson. The peculiarities of talent which make a great +general make a great statesman; and all of those who, after +distinguishing themselves as great generals, were called to the +administration of the civil affairs of their respective Governments, +have equally distinguished themselves as civilians. + +The proposing of General Jackson as a candidate for the Presidency was +received, by most of those who were deemed statesmen, as a burlesque; +and many of those most active in his support only desired his election +to further their own views, and not for the country's benefit. It was +supposed he was so entirely unacquainted with state-craft, that he +would be a pliant tool--an automaton, to dance to their wire-pulling. +How little they understood him, and how well he understood them! At +once he let them know he was President, and was determined to take the +responsibility of administering the Government in the true spirit of +its institutions. The alarm, which pervaded all political circles so +soon as this was understood, is remembered well. It was a bomb exploded +under the mess-table, scattering the mess and breaking to fragments all +their cunningly devised machinations for rule and preferment--an open +declaration of war against all cliques and all dictation. His inaugural +was startling, and his first message explicit. His policy was avowed, +and though it gathered about him a storm, he nobly breasted it, and +rode it out triumphantly. His administration closed in a blaze of +glory. He retired the most popular and most powerful man the nation had +ever seen. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +GOSSIP. + +UNREQUITED LOVE--POPPING THE QUESTION--PRACTICAL JOKING--SATAN LET +LOOSE--RHEA, BUT NOT RHEA--TEACHINGS OF NATURE--H.S. SMITH. + + +This must be a gossiping chapter, of many persons and many things, +running through many years. + +I love to dwell upon the years of youth. They are the sweetest in life; +and these memories constitute most of the happiness of declining life. +Incidents in our pilgrimage awaken the almost forgotten, and then how +many, many memories flit through the mind, and what a melancholy +pleasure fills the soul! We think, and think on, calling this and that +memory up from the grave of forgetfulness, until all the past seems +present, and we live over the bliss of boyhood with a mimic ecstasy of +young life and its gladdening joys. + +Like every young man, I suppose, I loved a fair girl with beautiful +blue eyes, and lips so pouting and plump, so ruddy and liquid, that the +words seemed sweetened as they melted away from them; but my love was +unpropitious, and another was preferred to me. I have ever been curious +to know why. Vanity always in my own soul made me greatly the superior +of the favored one, in all particulars. But she did not think so, and +chose as she liked. I saw her but once a bride. I went away, and found, +as others do, another and dearer love. Sitting on my horse by her side, +as she held in her beautiful palfrey, upon the summit of a cliff, which +rises grandly above, and brows the drab waters of the great +Mississippi, she pointed to the river, which resembled a great, white +serpent, winding among green fields and noble forests, for twenty miles +below. Her eyes were gray, and large, and lovely; her form was +towering, and her mien commanding. She grew with the scene. She was +born only a mile away, in the midst of a wild forest of walnut and +magnolia, amid towering hills, and cherished them and this mighty river +in childhood, until she partook of their grandeur and greatness. I +thought she was like the love of my youth, and I loved her, and told +her of it. The sun was waning--going down to rest, and, like a mighty +monarch, was folding himself away to sleep in gorgeous robes of crimson +and gold. In his shaded light, outstretching for fifty miles beyond the +river, lay, in sombre silence, the mighty swamp, with its wonderful +trees of cypress, clothed in moss of gray, long, and festooning from +their summits to the earth below, and waving, like banners, in the +passing wind. The towering magnolia, in all the pride of foliage and +flower, shaded us. The river, in silent and dignified majesty, moved +onward far below, and evening breezes bathed, with their delicious +touch, our glowing cheeks. The scene was grand, and my feelings were +intense. In the midst of all this beauty and grandeur, she was the +cynosure of eye and heart. I loved her; and yet, my conscience rebuked +me for forgetting my first love, and I asked myself if, in all this +wild delirium of soul, there was not some little ingredient of revenge. +No, it was for herself--all for herself; and, chokingly, I told her of +it, when she drooped her head, and, in silence, gave me her hand. We +went away in silence. There was too much of feeling to admit of speech. +Delicious memory! Of all our ten children, four only remain. The +willow's tears bedew her grave, and her sons fill the soldier's grave, +and, wrapped in the gray, sleep well. + +Yesterday I met her who first kindled in my bosom affection for +woman--a widowed woman, withered and old. She smiled: the lingering +trace of what it was, was all that was left. The little, plump hand was +lean and bony, and wrinkles usurped the alabaster brow. Fifty years had +made its mark. But memory was, by time, untouched. We parted. I closed +my eyes, and there she was, in her girlhood's robes and her girlhood's +beauty. The lip, the cheek, the glorious eye, were all in memory +garnered still; and I loved that memory, but not the woman now. Another +was in the niche she first cut in my heart, whose cheek and eye and +pouting lip were young and lovely. Still these memories awoke out of +this meeting, and, for hours, I forgot that I was wrinkled, old, and +gray. + +I wonder how many's history I am writing now? The history of the heart, +at last, is all the endearing history of waning life. Recur as we may +to every success, to every sorrow, and they whisper a chapter of the +heart. We struggle to make happy those we love. The gratifications of +wealth, ambition, and feeling, all refer to the heart. There could be +no pleasure from these memories if those we loved had not participated +in them. We build a home for her we love, and those who sprout around +us. We win wealth and a name for these, and but for them, all that is +innate would be only alloy. They must reflect the bliss it brings, or +it has no sweetness. Can there be a soul so sordid as to riot in +pleasure and triumphs all alone--to shun companionship, and hate +participation in the joys that come of successful life? + +I am in the midst of the scenes of my childhood, with here and there +one friend left, who shared with me the school-hours, Saturday rambles, +and sports of early boyhood. With these the memories come fresh and +vigorous of the then occurring incidents--the fishings, the +Saturday-night raccoon hunts, the forays upon orchards and +melon-patches, and the rides to and from the old, country church on the +Sabbath; the practical jokes of which I was so fond, and from which +even my own father was not exempt. Kind reader, indulge the garrulity +of age, and allow me to recount one of these. There are a few who will +remember it; for they have laughed at it for fifty years. I never knew +my father to tell a fib but upon one occasion in my life. Under the +circumstances, I am sure the kindly nature will, at least, allow it to +be a white one. + +I am near the old mill my father built, and, if I remember all +connected with my boyhood there, I trust there will be few or none to +sneer or blame. The flouring-mill, or mill for grinding grain, and the +saw-mill were united under the same roof; and it was the business of +father to give his attention, as overseer, not only to the mills, but +to his planting interest. He employed a North Carolina Scotchman--that +is, a man descended of Scotch parents, but born in North Carolina--to +superintend his saw-mill, who had all the industry, saving +propensities, and superstitions of his ancestry. He was a firm believer +in spells, second-sights, and ghosts. Taking advantage of these +superstitions, my brother and myself made him the sufferer in many a +practical joke. Upon one occasion, we put into circulation, in the +neighborhood, a story full of wonder. A remarkable spectre had been +seen near the mill on dark nights, and especially on those misty nights +of murky gloom, common in early spring to this latitude. Its form was +unique and exaggerated, with flaming eyes, and mouth of huge +proportions, with long, pointed teeth, white and sharp. For weeks, this +gorgon of my imagination constituted the theme of neighborhood gossip. +Several negroes had seen it, and fled its fierce pursuit, barely +escaping its voracious mouth and attenuated claws, through the +fleetness of fear. The old hardshell Baptist preacher, of the vicinage, +had proclaimed him from the pulpit as Satan unchained, and commencing +his thousand years of wandering up and down the earth. + +I had procured from a vine in the plum-orchard a gourd of huge +dimensions, such as in that day were used by frugal housewives for the +keeping of lard for family use. It would hold in its capacious cavity +at least half a bushel. This was cut one-third of its circumference for +a mouth, and this was garnished with teeth from the quills of a +venerable gander, an especial pet of my mother. The eyes were in +proportion, and were covered with patches of red flannel, purloined +from my mother's scrap-basket. A circle, an inch in diameter, made of +charcoal, formed an iris to a pupil, cut round and large, through the +flannel. A candle was lighted, and introduced through a hole at the +bottom of the gourd, and all mounted upon a pole some ten feet long. In +the dark it was hideous, and, on one or two occasions, had served +secretly to frighten some negroes, to give it reputation. It was +designed for Rhea, the Carolinian. On Saturday night it was his uniform +practice to come up to the house, cleanly clad, to spend the evening. +There was a canal which conveyed the water from the head above to the +mill. This ran parallel with the stream, and was crossed, on the public +road, by a bridge, one portion of which was shaded by a large +crab-apple bush. Though fifty years ago, it still remains to mark the +spot. Beyond the creek (which was bridged, for foot-passengers, with +the trunk of a large tree,) was a newly cleared field, in which the +negroes were employed burning brush on the Saturday night chosen for my +sport. Here, under this crab-tree, I awaited the coming of Rhea. It was +misty, and densely dark. Presently the footsteps of my victim were +heard approaching; he was on the bridge. He came on cautiously, to be +secure of a safe footing in the dark. Suddenly I turned the grinning +monster full in his face. A scream and a leap followed. Down the muddy +creek-bank rushed my victim, plunged through the tumbling waters +waist-deep, and, as soon as the opposite shore was reached, a +vociferous call was made for Tom, the negro foreman. Horror of horrors! +it was my father's voice. In an instant my candle was out, and I was +running. + +I passed unconcernedly through the house and took a seat in the back +passage, and awaited events. It was not long before the sloppy noise of +shoes full of water, heard in walking, came through the yard, and into +the house. It was my dear old frightened father, all reeking from his +plunge into the creek. "Why, husband," asked mother, "how did you get +so wet?" He slung the damp from his hat as he cleared his throat, and +said: "I slipped off that cursed log, in crossing the creek." +Reflection had told him he had been foolishly frightened, and he was +ashamed to acknowledge it. My conscience smote me, but I laughed, and +trembled--for had he made discovery of the trick, it would have been my +time to suffer. + +Memory brings back the features, the kind and gentle look of that dear +and indulgent parent, and the unbidden tear comes. The last time I ever +saw him was at the terminus of the railroad, on the banks of Lake +Pontchartrain; he placed his aged arms about my shoulders, and, +pressing me to his bosom, bid me "Farewell," as, trembling with +emotion, he continued: "we are parting forever, my child." He had met +misfortunes in his latter days, and was poor, but I had filled his +purse with the means which smoothed his way the remnant of his life. +The prediction was but too true; in less than one year after that +parting, he slept in death. + +And now, when war and death have swept from me children, fortune, all, +and I am old and needy, it is a consolation known only to my own bosom +that I plucked the thorn from my parent's path. + +These are childish memories, and may be too puerile for record; but I +am sure most of my readers will find in them something of their own +childhood's memories. It is my memories of men and things, I am +writing, and I would be faithful to them. + +Boyhood's memories crowd the after-life with half the joys its destiny +demands; associations which revive them come as pleasant showers to the +parched herbage when autumn's sun withers its flush, and yellows the +green of spring-time. Oh! the zest of early sports--of boyhood's +mischief; so free from selfishness, so untouched with meanness, so full +of joyous excitement, so loved for itself. Every man has been a boy; +every woman has been a girl; and all alike have felt and enjoyed the +sweets of young life; and when years and cares and tears have stolen +away the green from the soul, and the blossoms of the grave whiten +about the brow, and the unbidden sigh breaks away from the grief of the +heart, and memory startles with what was when we were young, the +contrast would be full of misery did not a lingering of the joys which +filled our frolics and our follies come to dull the edge of sorrow. + +When the cravings of the mind, taught by time to be unrealizable, are +driven from hope; when the purity of youthful feelings are soiled by +contact with the world's baseness; when the world's passing interests +harden the sensibilities, and we have almost forgotten that we were +ever young, or had a youthful joy, some little story, some little +incident will startle the memory, and touch and tone the heart to the +music of its spring, and the desert waste which time has made green +again with memories which grew from bliss budding in our youth; and, +though they never come to fruitage, are cherished with a joy. + +Oh! the heart, the heart--what are all its joys of youth, and all its +griefs of age? Is it that youth has no apprehensions, and we enjoy its +anticipations and its present without alloy? or does its _all_ belong +to love and joy when life and the world is new? Are these too bright, +too pure for time? and the griefs of later life the Dead Sea apples +which grow from them. And is it so with all? Is there one, whose years +have brought increase of happiness, and who has lived on without a +sorrow? + +In God's economy must all experience misery, to dull the love of life, +and kindle hope for a blissful future, to steal from the heart its +cherished _here_, to yield it all in its _hereafter_. Ah! we know what +a world this is, but what a world is to come we know not. Is it not as +reasonable to believe we lived before our birth into this, as to hope +we shall live after death in another world? Is this hope the instinct +of the coming, or does it grow from the baser instinct of love for the +miserable life we have? It is easy to ask, but who shall answer? Is it +the mind which remembers, and is the mind the soul? or is the soul +independent of the mind, surviving the mind's extinction? and do the +memories of time die with time? or, + + Do these pursue beyond the grave? + Must the surviving spirit have + Its memories of time and grief? + Then, surely, death is poor relief. + Shall it forget the all of time, + When time's with all her uses gone, + And be a babe in that new clime? + Then death is but oblivion. + +Youth's happiness is half of hope; all that of age is memory--and yet +these memories more frequently sadden than gladden the heart. Then what +is life to age? Garrulity, and to be in the way. Our household gods +grow weary of our worship, and the empty stool we have filled in gray +and trembling age in the temple we have built, when we are gone is +kicked away, and we are forgotten; our very children regret (though +they sometimes assume a painful apprehension) we do not make haste to +die--if we have that they crave, and inherit when we shall have passed +to eternity. But if the gift of raiment and food is imposed by poverty +on those who gave them birth, they complain, and not unfrequently turn +from their door the aged, palsied parent, to die, or live on strangers' +charity. Sad picture, but very true, very true; poor human nature! And +man, so capable in his nature of this ungodliness, boasts himself made +after God's own image. Vanity of vanities! + +Nature's harmony, nature's loveliness, nature's expansive greatness and +grandeur teaches of God, and godliness. The inanimate and unthinking +are consistently harmonious and beautiful; man only mars the harmony, +and makes a hell for man in time. Then, is time his all? or, shall this +accursed rabidness be purged away with death, and he become a tone in +accord with inanimate things? or, shall this but purify as fire the +yielding metal, the inner man, which hope or instinct whispers lives, +and animates its tenement of time, to view, to know, and to enjoy +creation through eternity? Wild thoughts are kindling in my brain, wild +feelings stir my heart. + +This is a beautiful Sabbath morning, the blazing sun wades through the +blue ether, and space seems redolent of purity and beauty. The breeze +is as bland as the breath of a babe, coming through my casement with +the light, and bathing my parched cheek; and the sere summer is warming +away the gentle, genial spring. This is her last day; and to how many +countless thousands is it the last day of life? Oh! could I die as +gently, as beautifully as dies this budding season of the year, and +could I know my budding hopes, like these buds of spring, would, in +their summer, grow to fruit as these are growing, how welcome eternity! +But I, as well, have my law, and must wait its fulfilment. It is the +Sabbath wisely ordained to rest, and in its quiet and beauty obviating +care and sorrow. Would it were to the restless mind as to the weary +limbs, and as to these, to this give ease and repose! + +I have been dreaming, and my boyhood days revive with busy memories. My +gentle mother, ever tender and kind, seems busy before me; the old +home, the old servants, as they were; the old school-house in the woods +by the branch, and many a merry face laughing and beaming around; and +my own old classmate, my solitary classmate, so loved, ah! so loved +even unto this day. It was only yesterday I saw him, old and care-worn, +yet in all the nobility of his soul, bearing with stern philosophy the +miseries of misfortune inflicted by the red hand of merciless war, +yielding with dignity and graceful resignation to the necessities +imposed by unscrupulous power, conscious of no wrong, and sustained by +that self-respect the result of constant and undeviating rectitude +which has marked his long life. From childhood our hearts have been +intertwined, and death only has the power to tear them apart. We sat +together long hours, and talked of the past--alternately, as their +memories floated up, asking each other, "Where is this one? and this?" +and to each inquiry the sad monosyllable, "Dead!" was the reply, of all +who were with us at school when we were boys. We alone are left! + + In my strife with the world, I can never forget + The scenes of my childhood, and those who were there + When I was a child. I remember them yet; + Their features, their persons, to memory so dear, + Are present forever, and cling round my heart-- + On the plains of the West, in the forest's deep wild, + On the blue, briny sea, in commerce's mart, + 'Mid the throngs of gay cities with palaces piled. + + The bottle of milk, and the basket of food, + Prepared by my mother, at dawning of day, + For my dinner at school; and path through the wood: + How well I remember that wood and that way, + The brook which ran through it, the bridge o'er the brook, + The dewberry-briers which grew by its side, + My slate, and my satchel, and blue spelling-book, + And little white pony father gave me to ride! + + The spring by the hill, where our bottles were placed + To bathe in its waters, so clear and so cool, + Till dinner-time came! Oh! then how we raced + To get them, and dine in the shade by the pool! + The spring, and the pool, and the shade are still there, + But the dear old school-house has rotted and gone, + And all who were happy about it are--where? + Go--go to the church-yard, and ask the grave-stone! + + A few there are left, old, tottering, and gray, + Apart and forgotten, as those who are dead; + Yet sometimes they meet on life's thorny way, + And talk, and live over the days that have fled. + Oh! how I remember those faces so bright, + Which beamed in their boyhood with honesty's ray! + And oft, when alone, in the stillness of night, + We're all at the school-house again, and at play! + +Of all those who were there with me, the best loved was H.S. Smith, now +of Mobile; and he, with perhaps one or two more, are all that are now +living. Our ages are the same, within a week or two, I am sure; and we +are of the same height and same weight; and our attachment was mutual: +it has never been marred through threescore years and ten, and to-day +we are, as brothers should be, without a secret hidden in the heart, +the one from the other. As a friend, as a husband, as a father, as a +man, I know none to rival H.S. Smith. He never aspired to political +distinction: content to pursue, through life, the honorable and +responsible business of a merchant, he has distinguished himself for +energy, capacity, probity, and success; and in his advanced years +enjoys the confidence and esteem of all honest men. Our years have +been, since 1826, spent apart--communication, however, has never ceased +between us, and the early friendship, so remarked by all who knew us, +continues, and will until one is alone in life. + +I know this narrative will not be interesting to those unacquainted +with Smith and myself. To such I say, close the book, nor read on, but +turn to that which may interest more, because more known. I could not +pen the memories of fifty years, and forbear those the sweetest now, +because their fruit to me has ever been the sweetest; and the noble +virtues of the private gentleman cannot be the less appreciated because +they have only adorned a circle where they shone in common with those +around him. These are the men who preserve the public morals, and +purify the atmosphere polluted by the corruptions of men prominent +before the world for distinguished abilities, and equally distinguished +immoralities. From these radiate that open-hearted honesty which +permeates society, and teaches by example, and which so often rebukes +the laxity of those who, from position, should be an example and an +ornament. The purling stream murmuring its lowly song beneath the +shading forest and modest shrubs may attract less attention than the +turbid, roaring river, but is always purer, sweeter, more health-giving +and lovely. + +The romance of youth is the sugar of life, and its sweets to memory, as +life recedes, augment as "distance lends enchantment to the view." We +make no account of the evanescent troubles which come to us then but +for a moment, and are immediately chased away with the thickening +delights that gild young life and embalm it for the memories of age. +The gravity of years delights to recount these; and few are indisposed +to listen, for it is a sort of heart-history of every one, and in +hearing or reading, memory awakes, and youth and its joys are back +again, even to tottering, palsied age. Then, gentle reader, do not +sneer at me: these are all I have left; my household gods are torn +away, my boys sleep in bloody graves, my home is desolate, I am alone, +with only one to comfort me--she who shares the smiles and tears which +lighten and soothe the weary days of ebbing life. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +INFLUENCE OF CHILDHOOD. + +FIRST IMPRESSIONS--FORTUNE--MIRABEAU B. LAMAR--DR. ALONZO CHURCH--JULIUS +CAESAR--L.Q.C. LAMAR--TEXAN INDEPENDENCE--COLQUITT--LUMPKIN--WHAT A +GREAT MAN CAN DO IN ONE DAY--CHARLES J. JENKINS. + + +The memories of childhood cling, perhaps, more tenaciously than those +of any after period of life. The attachments and antipathies then +formed are more enduring. Our school-companions at our first +school--the children of our immediate neighborhood, who first rolled +with us upon the grass, and dabbled with us in the branch--we never +forget. Time, absence, protracted separation, all fail to obliterate +the features, the dispositions, or anything about them, which so +unconsciously fastens upon the mind, and grows into the tender soul of +childhood. These memories retain and bring back with them the feelings, +the likes and dislikes, which grew with them. These feelings are the +basis of lifetime loves, and eternal antipathies. + +The boy is father to the man, as the girl is mother to the woman. Who +that has lived seventy years will not attest this from his own life's +experience? The generous, truthful boy will be the noble, honorable +man; the modest, timid, truthful girl will be the gentle, kind, and +upright woman. Nature plants the germ, and education but cultivates the +tree. It never changes the fruit. The boy who, when dinner-time comes, +happens to have a pie, when his fellows have none, and will open his +basket before his companions, and divide with them, will carry the same +trait to the grave. His hand will open to assist the needy, and he will +seek no reward beyond the consciousness of having done right. And he +who, with the same school-boy's treasure, will steal away, and devour +it behind the school-house, and alone, will, through life, be equally +mean in all his transactions. From motives of interest, he may assume a +generosity of conduct, but the innate selfishness of his heart will, in +the manner of his dispensing favors, betray itself. Education, and the +influences of polished society, may refine the manners, but they never +soften the heart to generous emotions, where nature has refused to sow +its seed. But where her hand has been liberal in this divine +dispensation, no misfortune, no want of education or association, will +prevent their germination and fructification. Such hearts divide their +joys and their sorrows, with the fortunate and afflicted, with the same +emotional sincerity with which they lift their prayers to Heaven. + +The school-room is an epitome of the world. There the same passions +influence the conduct of the child, which will prompt it in riper +years, and the natural buddings of the heart spring forth, and grow on +to maturity with the mind and the person. College life is but another +phase of this great truth, when these natural proclivities are more +manifest, because more matured. It is not the greatest mind which marks +the greatest soul, and it is not the most successful who are the +noblest and best. The shrewd, the mean, and the selfish grow rich, and +are prosperous, and are courted and preferred, because there are more +who are mean and venal in the world than there are who are generous and +good. But it is the generous and good who are the great benefactors of +mankind; and yet, if there was no selfishness in human nature, there +would be no means of doing good. Wealth is the result of labor and +economy. These are not incompatible with generosity and ennobling +manliness. The proper discrimination in the application of duties and +donations toward the promotion of useful institutions, and the same +discrimination in the dispensation of private charities, characterize +the wise and good of the world. These attributes of mind and heart are +apparent in the child; and in every heart, whatever its character, +there is a natural respect and love for these, and all who possess +them. Such grow with their growth in the world's estimation, and are +prominent, however secluded in their way of life, or unpretending in +their conduct, with all who know them, or with whom, in the march of +life, they come in contact. + +It is to but few that fortune throws her gifts, and these are rarely +the most deserving, or the goddess had not been represented with a +bandage over her eyes. She is blind, and though her worshippers are +many, she kisses but few, and cannot see if they be fair and beautiful +or crooked and ugly. Hence most of those who receive her favors conceal +them in selfishness, and hoard them to be despised; while hundreds, +slighted of her gifts, cultivate the virtues, which adorn and ennoble, +and are useful and beloved. + +Will you, who yet live, and were children when I was a child, turn back +with me in memory to those days, and to those who were your +school-fellows and playmates then? Do you remember who were the brave +and generous, kind and truthful among them? and do you recall their +after lives? Answer me; were not these the true men in that day? Do you +remember William C. Dawson, Joseph H. Lumpkin, Lucius Q.C. Lamar, and +his brother Mirabeau B. Lamar, Eugenius Nesbit, Walter T. Colquitt, and +Eli S. Shorter? How varied in temperament, in character, in talent; and +yet how like in the great leading features of the soul! Love for their +country, love for their kind, love for the good was common to them all; +unselfish beyond what was necessary to the wants of their families, +generous in the outpourings of the soul, philanthropic, and full of +charity. They hoarded no wealth, nor sought it as a means of power or +promotion. Intent upon the general good, and content with an approving +conscience and the general approbation, their lives were correct, and +their services useful; and they live in the memory of a grateful people +as public benefactors. + +There are others who rise to memory, who were at school with these, who +were men with these, but they shall be nameless, who struggled, and +successfully, to fill their coffers to repletion, and for nothing else; +who have been courted by the mercenary, and flattered by the fawning +sycophant; who, with their hoardings, have passed away, and no grateful +memory remains of their lives; their hoards are dissipated, and they +are only remembered to be despised. And yet others, who swam in the +creek and sported on the play-ground with all of these, whose vicious +propensities were apparent then--whose after lives were as their +boyhood promised, a curse to society in evil deeds and evil +example--have gone, too, unwept, unhonored, and luckily unhung. + +Mirabeau B. Lamar was the son of John Lamar, of Putnam County, Georgia, +and received his education principally at Milledgeville and at Putnam. +From his earliest boyhood, he was remarkable for his genius and great +moral purity. His ardent, poetical temperament was accompanied with +exquisite modesty, and a gentle playfulness of disposition; with an +open, unaffected kindness of heart, which as a boy rendered him popular +with his fellows at school, and beloved by his teachers. There was in +him a natural chivalry of character, which characterized him above all +of his early compeers, and made him a model in conduct. Truthful and +manly, retiring and diffident, until occasion called out the latent +spirit of his nature; then the true greatness of his soul would burst +forth in an impetuous eloquence, startlingly fierce and overwhelming. +Nor was this excitement always wasted in words--not a few, when yet a +boy, have regretted the awakening of his wrath. It was upon occasions +like this, that his eye assumed an expression which I have never seen +in the eye of any other human being. His eyes were beautifully blue, +large, and round, and were always changing and varying in their +expression, as the mind would suggest thought after thought; and so +remarkable were these variations, that, watching him in repose, one who +knew him well could almost read the ideas gathering and passing through +his mind. There was a pleasant vein of satire in his nature, sometimes +expressed, but always in words and in a manner which plucked away its +sting: + + An abstract wit of gentle flow, + Which wounds no friend, and hurts no foe. + +He was my school-fellow and companion in childhood, my friend and +associate in early manhood; our intimacy was close and cordial, and in +after life this friendship became intense--and I knew him perhaps +better than any man ever knew him. + +All the peculiarities of the boy remained with the man, distinguishing +him in all his associations. The refined purity of his nature made him +naturally to despise and scorn all meanness and vice, and so intensely +as to render an association with any man distinguished by these, +however exalted his intellect, or extensive his attainments, +impossible. Falsehood, or the slightest dishonorable conduct in any +man, put him at once beyond the pale of his favor or respect. In all my +association with him, I never saw an indelicate act in his conduct, or +heard an obscene word in his conversation. In youth, he was fond of the +society of ladies--fond of this society not for a pastime, but because +of his high appreciation of the virtues of those he selected for +society. In his verse, "Memoriam," he has embalmed the memory of those +of our early female friends he most esteemed. He rather courted this +association in the individual than in the collective assembly--for he +was not fond of crowds, either in society, or the ordinary assemblages +of men and women. + +The love of fame, more than any other passion, fired his ambition; but +it was not the love of notoriety--the fame he courted was not that +which should only render his name conspicuous among men, that he might +receive the incense of hypocritical flattery, or be pointed at by the +fickle multitude--for such, his contempt was supreme; but it was the +desire of his heart, and the struggle of his life, to be embalmed in +men's memories as the benefactor of his race, to be remembered for his +deeds as the great and the good. This was the spontaneous prompting of +his heart, and for this he labored with the zeal of a martyr. + +Much of his early life was devoted exclusively to literature. His +reading, though without order, was select and extensive. He was well +versed in ancient history. The heroic characters of Greece and Rome +were his especial admiration, and that of Brutus above all others. Of +the nations of modern Europe, and their history, he knew everything +history could teach. His imagination was fired with the heroic in the +character of those of modern times, as well as those of antiquity, and +seemed the model from which was formed his own. The inflexible +integrity, the devoted patriotism, the unselfish heroism of these were +constantly his theme when a schoolboy, and the example for his +imitation in manhood. + +When a school-boy, and at a public examination and exhibition, (then +common at the academies throughout the State,) our teacher, that +paragon of good men, Dr. Alonzo Church, selected the tragedy of Julius +Caesar for representation by the larger boys, and, by common consent, +the character of Brutus was assigned to Lamar. Every one felt that the +lofty patriotism and heroic virtues of the old Roman would find a fit +representative in Lamar. I remember, in our rehearsals, how completely +his identity would be lost in that of Brutus. He seemed to enter into +all the feelings and the motives which prompted the great soul of the +Roman to slay his friend for his country's good. Time has left but one +or two who participated in the play. The grave has closed over Lamar, +as over the others. Those who remain will remember the bearing of their +companion, on that occasion, as extraordinary--the struggle between +inclination and duty--the pathos with which he delivered his speech to +the people after the assassination, but especially his bearing and +manner in the reply to Cassius' proposition to swear the +conspirators--the expansion of his person to all its proportions, as if +his soul was about to burst from his body, as he uttered: + + "No, not an oath." + +And again, when the burning indignation burst from him at the +supposition of the necessity of an oath to bind honorable men: + + "Swear priests, and cowards, and men cautelous, + Old, feeble, carious, and such suffering souls + That welcome wrongs, unto bad causes. Swear + Such creatures as men doubt, but do not stain + The even virtue of our enterprise, + Nor the unsuppressive mettle of our spirits, + To think that our cause, or our performance, + Did need an oath; when every drop of blood + That every Roman bears, and nobly bears, + Is guilty of a several bastardy + If he do break the smallest particle + Of any promise that hath passed from him." + +Though a boy, the effect upon the audience was electrical. The nature +of his boy representative was the same as that which animated Rome's +noblest son. From his soul he felt every word, and they burned from his +lips, with a truth to his soul and sentiments, that went home to every +heart in that assembly of plain farmers, and their wives and daughters. +There were not ten, perhaps, who had ever witnessed a theatrical +entertainment, but their hearts were mortal and honest, and they saw in +the mimic youth the impersonation of the nobility of soul, and mighty +truth, and the spontaneous burst of applause was but the sincerity of +truth. The exclamation of one I shall never forget: "He is cut out for +a great man." There was no stage-trick; he had never seen a theatre. +There was no assumption of fictitious feeling; but nature bubbled up in +his heart, and the words of Shakspeare, put into the mouth of Brutus, +were but the echo of the deep, true feelings of his soul. Through all +his life this great nature adorned his conversation, and exemplified +his conduct. + +The soul of Brutus was born in Lamar. All the truth and chivalry +illustrative of the conduct of the one, was palpable in the other. Let +those who saw him, at San Jacinto, at the head of his sixty horsemen, +ride upon the ranks of Santa Anna's hosts, tell of his bearing in that +memorable charge, when he rose in his stirrups, and, waving his sword +over his head, exclaimed: "Remember, men, the Alamo! Remember Goliad, +Fannin, Bowie, and Travis! Charge! and strike in vengeance for the +murdered of our companions." Resistless as the tempest, they followed +his lead, and swept down upon the foe, charging through, and +disordering their ranks, and, following in their flight for miles, made +many a Mexican bite the dust, or yield himself a prisoner to their +intrepidity. To this charge was solely attributable the capture of +Santa Anna, Almonte, and the principal portion of the Mexican army, and +the establishment of Texan independence. + +As a poet, he was above mediocrity, and his "Sully Riley," and many of +his fugitive pieces, will long survive, to perpetuate the refined +delicacy of his nature, when, perhaps, his deeds as a soldier and as +President of Texas shall have passed away. In stature he was below the +medium height, but was stout and muscular. His face was oval, and his +eyes blue, and exceedingly soft and tender in their expression, save +when aroused by excitement, when they were blazing and luminous with +the fire of his soul, which enkindled them. He was free from every +vice, temperate in living, and remarkable for his indifference to +money--with a lofty contempt for the friends and respectability which +it alone conferred. If there ever lived four men insensible to fear, or +superior to corruption, they were the four brothers Lamar. They are all +in eternity, and their descendants are few, but they wear unstained the +mantle of their ancestry. + +L.Q.C. Lamar, the elder brother of the four, was educated at Franklin +College, and studied law in Milledgeville. Very soon after, he was +admitted to the Bar. He became distinguished for attention to business, +and for talent, as well as legal attainments. Like his brother, M.B. +Lamar, he was remarkable for his acute sense of honor and open +frankness, a peerless independence, and warm and noble sympathies. He +married, while young, the daughter of D. Bird. The mother of his lady +was one of the Williamson sisters, so remarkable for their superiority, +intellectually, and whose descendants have been, and are, so +distinguished for talent. + +The character of L.Q.C. Lamar as a man, and as a lawyer, prompted the +Legislature of the State to elevate him to the Bench of the Superior +Court when very young; and at thirty-two years of age, he was known +throughout the State as the great Judge Lamar. This family had +contributed perhaps a greater number of men of distinguished character +than any other family of the State. Zachariah Lamar, the uncle of Judge +Lamar, was a man of high order of mind, distinguished for his love of +truth, stern honesty, and great energy. He was the father of Colonel +John B. Lamar, who fell in the service of the South, in the recent +conflict. He was one of Georgia's noblest sons, and his memory is +cherished by all who knew him. Henry G. Lamar, a former member of +Congress, and Judge of the Superior Court of the State, was a cousin of +both John B. and M.B. Lamar; and the eminent and eloquent Lucius Lamar, +of Mississippi, who was considered, when young, the best orator of the +House of Representatives of the United States Congress, is the son of +Judge L.Q.C. Lamar. + +The name of Lamar has long been a synonym for talent and chivalrous +honor in Georgia. They have been distinguished in every pursuit, and no +stain has ever rested upon the name--in whatever avocation employed, +conspicuous for capacity, honesty, and energy. They are of French +extraction, and to their latest posterity they continue to exhibit +those traits peculiar to the French--chivalry, intense sensibility, +love of truth, refinement of manner, lofty bearing, and a devotion to +honor which courts death rather than dishonor. + +The name of M.B. Lamar is identified with the history of Texas, as a +leader among that band of remarkable men who achieved her independence +of Mexican rule--Houston, Sidney Johnson, Bowie, Travis, Crockett, and +Fannin. He was twice married; his first wife, Miss Jordan, died young, +leaving him a daughter. This was a bitter blow, and it was long ere he +recovered it. His second wife was the daughter of the distinguished +Methodist preacher John Newland Moffitt, and sister of Captain Moffitt, +late of the service of the Confederacy. He died at Richmond, Fort Bend +County, Texas, beloved and regretted as few have been. + +Perhaps among the most remarkable men of the State, contemporaneous +with the Lamars, was Walter T. Colquitt, Joseph H. Lumpkin, Charles J. +Jenkins, William C. Dawson, and Charles J. McDonald: all of these were +natives of the State--Colquitt, Eugenius A. Nesbit, and McDonald, of +Hancock County; Lumpkins, Oglethorpe, Dawson, Green, and Jenkins, of +Richmond; Nesbit, of Greene. At the period of time when these men were +young, education was deemed essential, at least to professional men. +They all enjoyed the benefits of a classical education. Lumpkin and +Colquitt received theirs at Princeton, New Jersey, and I believe were +classmates, at least they were college-mates. Colquitt returned home +before graduating; Lumpkin received the second honor in his class. +Returning to Georgia, Lumpkin read law in the town of Lexington, the +court-house town of his native county; and commenced, as soon as +admitted, its practice in the northern circuit of the State. At the +time he came to the Bar, it was ornamented with such men as Thomas W. +Cobb, Stephen Upson, George R. Gilmer, John A. Herd, and Duncan G. +Campbell. He rose rapidly to eminence in the midst of this galaxy of +talent and learning. The great John M. Dooly was upon the bench of this +circuit, and was the intimate friend of Wilson Lumpkin, an elder +brother of Joseph H. Lumpkin. + +Wilson Lumpkin and Joseph H. Lumpkin were politically opposed. The +former was an especial friend of Dooly; the latter, of William H. +Crawford. Mr. Crawford, soon after Lumpkin's admission to the Bar, +returned to his home, near Lexington, and gave his countenance and +support to him, and at the same time his bitterest opposition to the +political aspirations of his brother. The forensic abilities of young +Lumpkin were winning for him in the State a proud eminence. His exalted +moral character, studious habits, and devotion to business attracted +universal observation and general comment. He had been from his birth +the favorite of all his acquaintances, for the high qualities of his +head and heart--the model held up by mothers for the example of their +sons. Scarcely any boy in the county was ever reprimanded for a wild +frolic or piece of amusing mischief, who was not asked, "Why can't you +be like Joe Lumpkin?" + +All this favoritism, however flattering, did not spoil him, as is too +frequently the case with precocious youth. His ambition had fixed a +lofty mark, and he availed himself of this universal popularity to +reach it; at the same time, he left no effort neglected to deserve it, +and maintain it, once acquired. + +The State was teeming with young men of talent, scarcely a county +without at least one of great promise. Lumpkin saw and knew the rivalry +would be fierce, and success only to be obtained by superior abilities +and eminent attainments. The Legislature was the first step to fame, +and political fame then the most desired and the most sought. Party was +rancorous in its spirit, producing intense excitement, pervading every +bosom, male and female, to the extremes of the State--an excitement +which so stamped itself upon the hearts of the entire people as to +endure, and to mark their character and opinions even until to-day. + +Lumpkin was very decided in his opinions, and open in their expression, +yet there was none of that empoisoned bitterness in these expressions +so characteristic of political aspirants in that day. Such was alien to +his kindly nature; and if it had not been, there were other causes to +estop him from any such indulgence. His family was large. There were +eight brothers; only one of these was younger than himself; these were +about equally divided in political sentiment, and they, at least some +of them, less amiable or less considerate than himself. He was the +favorite of all, and was continually in communication with all of them, +and was really the moderator of the family, and the healer of its +feuds. At this time, too, the deep morality of his nature was growing +into piety, and this sentiment was mellowing from his heart even the +little of unkindness that had ever found a place there. + +At twenty-five years of age he was sent, by an almost unanimous vote, +to the Legislature from his county. He came with an exaggerated +reputation for talent, especially for oratorical talent, and many of +his friends feared he would not be able to sustain it in that body, +where there were many of age and experience, with characters already +long established for learning and eloquence, and also many young men +from different parts of the State, who, like himself, had already won +fame for high talent. Among these was Robert Augustus Bell, in sight of +whose grave I write these lines. He passed away in early life, but +Georgia never produced a brighter or a nobler spirit. There were also +Charles Dougherty, (who died young, but not without making his mark,) +William Law, Hopkins Holsey, and others, who have honored themselves +and the State by eminent services on the Bench and at the Bar, and in +the councils of their native and other States to which many of them +emigrated. + +At the very opening of the session, Lumpkin took position with the +first on the floor of the House of Representatives. His first speech +was one of thrilling eloquence, and, before its conclusion, had emptied +the Senate chamber; many of its oldest and most talented members +crowding about him, and listening with delight. + +The memory of that day revives with the freshness of yesterday. Two or +three only remain with me now, to recall the delight with which all +hearts were filled who acted, politically, with Lumpkins, as the +beautiful and cogent sentences thrilled from his lips, with a trembling +fervor, which came from an excitement born of the heart, and which went +to the heart. Bell, Brailsford, Dougherty, Rumbert, and Baxter, who, +with myself, grouped near him, all are in the grave, save only I, and, +standing a few weeks since by the fresh mould that covers Joseph H. +Lumpkin, and yesterday by the grave of Bell, my mind wandered back to +the old State House, and to those who were with me there. Separated for +more than forty years from the home of my birth, being with, and +becoming a part of another people--a noble, generous, and gallant +people--and almost forgetting my mother tongue, these had faded away +almost into forgetfulness; but, tottering with years, and full of +sorrows, I am here amid the scenes made lovely and memorable by their +presence, when we were all young and hopeful. They come back to me, and +now, while I write, it seems their spirits float in the air of my +chamber, and smile at me. Why is my summons delayed so long? All that +made life lovely is gone--youth, fortune, and household gods. My +children are in bloody graves--she who bore them preceded them to +eternity; yet I live on, and sigh, and remember, while imagination +peoples with the past the scenes about me. The faces, the jest, and +merry laugh come again; I see and hear them again. Oblivion veils away +the interval of forty-five years, and all is as it was. Oh, could the +illusion last till death shall make it truth! It is, I feel, but a +foretaste of the reality soon to be, when hearts with hearts shall +group again, and the reunion of sundered ties be eternal. + +Lumpkin served a few sessions in the Legislature, and retired from +public life to devote his entire attention to his profession. He had +married, almost as soon as he was admitted to the Bar, one to whom he +had been attached from boyhood, and the cares of a family were +increasing and demanding his attention and efforts. No man ever more +faithfully discharged these duties. + +The judiciary of Georgia had consisted of two courts only--the +superior, and inferior or county court--from the organization of the +State. The country had long felt the want of a supreme court, for the +correction of errors, and to render uniform the decisions upon the law +throughout the State, which, under the prevailing system, had become +very diverse, and which was becoming grievously oppressive. Finally it +was determined by the Legislature to establish a supreme court. After +the passage of the law, however, its organization was incomplete for +the want of judges. Party was distracting the councils of the State, +and was carried into everything, and each party desired a controlling +influence in this court, and their united co-operation in selecting +judges could only be effected by the dominant party consenting to +Joseph H. Lumpkin's accepting the chief-justiceship. He consented to do +so, and the organization of the court was completed. This position, +under repeated elections, he continued to hold until the day of his +death, which occurred in the spring of 1867. + +No man, perhaps, ever had the confidence of a people in the discharge +of a high judicial duty more than had Joseph H. Lumpkin. His public +duties were discharged with the most scrupulous conscientiousness, as +were all of those pertaining to his private life and relations. He died +in the neighborhood of his birth, and where he had continued to live +through his whole life, passing through time with the companions of his +childhood, and preserving their confidence and affection to the last. +His death was sudden, and deeply mourned throughout the State, which +had delighted so long to honor him. His name is identified with her +history, as one of her brightest and best men. + +The talents of Judge Lumpkin were of a high order, and though he +distinguished himself as a jurist, they were certainly more fitted for +the forum than the bench. Those who knew him best, and who were best +fitted to judge, unite in the opinion that his eminence in political +life would have been greater than that which distinguished him as a +judge. He was a natural orator, and his oratory was of the highest +order. His ideas flowed too fast for the pen, and he thought more +vividly when on his feet, and in the midst of a multitude, than when in +the privacy of his chamber. His language was naturally ornate and +eloquent, and the stream of thought which flowed on in declamation, +brightened and grew, in its progress, to a mighty volume. This, with +the fervor of intense feeling which distinguished his efforts, made +them powerfully effective. In toning down these feelings, and +repressing the ornate and beautiful to the cold, concise legal opinion, +his delivery lost not only its beauty, but much of its strength and +power. He might have been less useful, but certainly he would have been +more distinguished, had he pursued the bent of his genius. Abilities +like Lumpkin's must succeed respectably, if directed to any pursuit; +and even should they be prostituted to base and dishonorable purposes, +they will distinguish the possessor above the herd. + +His temperament was nervous, his sensibility acute, and his sentiments +exalted. Fluent, with great command of language, he was peculiarly +gifted for display in debate, and it was supposed, when he first came +into the Legislature, that he would soon rise to the first position in +the national councils. But he determined for himself a different field; +and, in view of his eminent services as an able and conscientious +judge, who shall say he did not choose wisely? + +In an almost adjoining county to that of the residence of Judge +Lumpkin, was coming forward, in the profession of law, another gifted +son of Georgia--Walter T. Colquitt. He was a compeer, at the Bar, of +Chief-Justice Lumpkin. They were admitted to practice about the same +time. He was a native of the county of Hancock. His mother was the only +sister of the eight brothers Holt, every one of whom was distinguished +for probity and worth. They all lived and died in the State, and every +one of them was a representative man. They have all left descendants +but one, and none yet have stained the name. As their ancestors, they +are energetic, honest, and most worthy citizens. + +Colquitt gave evidence, when very young, of his future career. As a +boy, he was wild and full of mirth, but little inclined to study. He +was fond of sport of every kind, and in everything to which his mind +and inclinations turned, he would be first. Compelled, by parental +authority, to apply himself, he at once mastered his task, and was +ready, then, for fun or frolic. Remarkable for physical powers, he +fondly embarked in all athletic sports, and in all excelled. Bold and +fearless, he was the leader in all adventures of mischief, and always +met the consequences in the same spirit. It was remarked of him, when a +boy, by one who knew him well, that in all he did he played "high, +game," never "low, Jack." + +In the wildness of his mischief there was always discoverable boldness +and mind. At school and at college, though rarely winning an honor, he +was always admitted by his fellows to possess superior abilities. These +abilities were manifest more in the originality of his ideas, and their +peculiar exemplification in his conduct, than in the sober, every-day +manner of thought and action. His mind was versatile, and seemed +capable of grasping and analyzing any subject. Quick to perceive and +prompt to execute, yielding obedience to no dogma, legal or political, +he followed the convictions of his mind, without regard to precedent or +example. His knowledge of human nature seemed intuitive, and his +capacity of adaptation was without limit. At the period when he +commenced the practice of law, the successful abilities in the +profession were forensic. Every case was tried by a jury, and the law +made juries judges of law and fact. The power to control and direct +these was the prime qualification of a lawyer, and nature had bestowed +this, in an eminent degree, upon Colquitt. There were few more eminent +as advocates, or more successful as practitioners, though his legal +attainments were never of a very high order. He was elevated to the +bench, where he remained but a short time, feeling that this was no +situation for the display of his peculiar powers, nor the proper or +successful course for the gratification of his ambition. He had, at a +previous time, united himself with the Methodist Church, and was +licensed to preach. It was his habit to open his court, each morning, +with prayer, and not unfrequently, during the week of his court, in +each county of his circuit, to preach two or three sermons. He was a +general of the militia, and would come down from the bench to review a +regiment or brigade. It was this discharge of his multifarious duties +which prompted an aged sister of his church, when the great men of the +State were being discussed by the venerable ladies of a certain +neighborhood, to claim the palm for Colquitt. + +"Ah! you may talk of your great men, but none on 'em is equal to +brother Colquitt; for he, in our county, tried a man for his life, and +sentenced him to be hung, preached a sermon, mustered all the men in +the county, married two people, and held a prayer-meeting, all in one +day. Now, wa'n't that great?" + +Before a jury he was unequalled. His knowledge of men enabled him to +determine the character of every juror, and his versatility to adapt +his argument or address to their feelings and prejudices so effectually +as to secure a verdict in mere compliment to the advocate. He left the +bench to enter the political arena. It was here he found the field +nature designed him for. Before the people, he was omnipotent. At this +period Dawson, Cooper, Colquitt, Cobb, Stephens, and Toombs were before +the people--all men of talent, and all favorites in the State. This was +especially true of Dawson, Cobb, and Stephens, and no men better +deserved the public favor. + +Very soon after he went into Congress, he, with Cooper and Black, +abandoned the Whig party. At the approaching election they canvassed +the State, and justified their course before the people. There was no +middle ground on which to stand. To abandon one party, was to go over, +horse, foot, and dragoons, to the other, which was always ready to +welcome new converts of talent and popularity. These three became, in +the canvass, the champions of Democracy, and fiercely waged the war in +antagonism with their former allies. In this contest were made manifest +the great abilities of Colquitt, Toombs, Stephens, Cobb, and Herschel +V. Johnson. + +Subsequently, Colquitt was elected to the United States Senate, where +he was distinguished as a debater and leading man of the Democratic +party; but his talents and peculiar manner were better suited for the +debates of the House of Representatives, and the hustings. + +Lumpkin was ardent and persuasive. Colquitt was equally ardent, but +more aggressive. Where Lumpkin solicited with a burning pathos, +Colquitt demanded with the bitterest sarcasm. Lumpkin was slow and +considerate; Colquitt was rapid and overwhelming. The one was the sun's +soft, genial warmth; the other, the north wind's withering blast. +Colquitt was remarkable for daring intrepidity; Lumpkin for collected +firmness. Lumpkin persuaded; Colquitt frightened. Both were brave, but +Colquitt was fiercely so. Lumpkin was mild, but determined. +Unaggressive himself, the dignity and gentleness of his character +repelled it in others. The consequence was, that he passed through life +without strife with his fellow-man, while Colquitt was frequently in +personal conflict with those as impetuous as himself. The open +frankness and social nature of Colquitt won him many friends, and of +that description most useful to politicians--friends who were devoted, +who felt for, and preferred him to any other man. His features were +versatile, and variable as an April day, betraying every emotion of his +mind--especially his eyes, which were soft or fierce, as the passion of +the heart sprang to view in them, and spoke his soul's sensations. His +oratory was playful, awakening wild mirth in his auditors, and again it +was impetuous and sarcastic, overwhelming with invective and +denunciation. + +Charles J. Jenkins, a compeer of Lumpkin and Colquitt, was essentially +different from both in many of the features of his character. His mind +was more logical, more analytical, and capable of deeper research. He +had little ambition, and whenever he was before the people, it was when +his friends thrust him there. The instinctive morality of his nature, +like that of Lumpkin, would never permit the compromise of conscience +or dignity of character so often the case with men of ardent natures +and intense ambition. Eminently cool in debate, he never made any +attempt at forensic display, but confined himself exclusively to the +logic of his subject. He clearly saw his way, and carefully went along, +spurning ornament or volubility, and only compelling into service words +which clearly and succinctly conveyed his ideas, and these only +elucidated the subject-matter he was discussing. Strictly honest, and +equally truthful, he never deviated, under any circumstances, from what +he believed his duty. Only for a short time was he in the Legislature, +and then he displayed in most exciting times the great virtues of his +nature. + +Upon one occasion, the party with which he acted determined, to defeat +a certain measure, to leave the chamber in a body, and break the +quorum. It was the only means in their power to prevent a measure which +they deemed wrong in principle and injurious to the public interest. +Jenkins thought such extreme measures wrong, and entirely +unjustifiable. Though as much opposed to the views of the majority as +any member of his party, he refused to participate in their action, and +was the only member of the party who persistently remained in his seat. +This conduct was censured by his party friends, and he immediately +resigned his seat and returned to his constituency, who, knowing and +appreciating the great worth of the man, returned him at once to his +seat under a new election. In all the relations of life the same traits +of character have distinguished him. While at the Bar, his rank was the +first; this, combined with his integrity and great firmness, made him +so conspicuous before the people of the State, that he was placed on +the bench of the Supreme Court--a position he distinguished by his +great legal attainments, dignity, and purity. + +The political opinions of Judge Jenkins were in many of their features +unpopular. He was always opposed to universal suffrage, and made no +secret of his sentiments. He was opposed to an elective judiciary, and +to mob-rule in every shape. He despised alike the arts and the +humiliation of party politicians, and was never a man to accept for +public trust any man whose only recommendation to public favor was his +availability, because of his popularity with the masses. He was taken +from the supreme bench to fill the gubernatorial chair of the State, +and no man, not even Jackson, Early, or Troup, ever more dignified this +elevated position--none ever had the same trying difficulties to +encounter. Chosen by the people at a period when civil war had +distracted the government and uprooted all the landmarks so long the +guide for those who preceded him--when a manifest determination of the +so-called Congress, representing but two-thirds of the States, was +apparent to usurp all power--when the State governments of ten States, +though that of their people, were threatened with military usurpation, +Jenkins remained firm to his convictions of duty. The credit of the +State had never suffered while under his guardianship; a large amount +was in her treasury; this was an objective point for the usurpers. He +met the military satrap, and was assured of his intentions. Satisfied +of his insincerity and dishonesty, knowing he held the power of the +bayonet, and would be unscrupulous in its use, calm as a Roman senator +he defied the power of this unprincipled minion of a base, corrupt, and +unconstitutional power, and deliberately removed the treasure of the +State, and applied it to the liquidation of her obligations. Hurled +from the office bestowed by his fellow-citizens, so far as he could he +protected their interests, at the hazard of the horrors of Fort Pulaski +and the sweat-box--the favorite instruments of torture of this infamous +defendant of an irresponsible Congress, and now for personal safety, +exiled from home and country, finds protection under a foreign flag. +This one act alone will be sufficient to immortalize the name of +Charles J. Jenkins, and to swell with pride the heart of every true +Georgian who aided to place such a man in such a position, at such a +time. Governor Jenkins still lives, and if the prayers of a virtuous +and oppressed people may avail on high, will be spared to reap in +better days his reward in their gratitude. + +An exalted intellect, unaccompanied with exalted virtue, can never +constitute greatness. In whatever position placed, or whatever +inducements persuade, virtue and a conscientious conviction of right +must regulate the mind and conduct of man to make him great. The +tortuous course of politics, made so by unprincipled men, renders the +truly upright man usually a poor politician. He who possesses the +capacity to discern the true interests of a country, and who will +virtuously labor to secure and promote those interests, defying +opposition and fearlessly braving the calumnies of interested, corrupt +men, organized into parties--which so often lose sight of the interests +of their country, in promoting party ends, or from inflamed +passions--is the great man. He whose pedestal is virtue, and whose +action is honest, secures the respect of his own age, and becomes the +luminary of succeeding ages. Stern honesty often imposes unpleasant +duties--strict obedience to its behests, not unfrequently involves +apparent inconsistencies of conduct; but the conscientious man will +disregard these in doing what his judgment determines right--the only +real consistency which sustains a man in his own estimation, and leaves +no bitter reflections for the future. To subserve the cause of right, +is always a duty--not so the cause of party or selfish interest. All +men respect the right, but many have not the virtue to resist wrong. +Ambition prompts for success the expedient: and hence the laxity of +political morals. This is slipping the cable that the ship may swing +from her anchorage and drift with the tide; any minnow may float with +the current, but it requires a strong fish to stem and progress against +the stream. A man, to brave obloquy and public scorn, requires strong +moral courage; but when his judgment convinces him that he is right, +and when he feels that his intentions are pure, conscientious, and +sincere, this may ruffle him for a time, but never permanently disturbs +his peace or injures his reputation. The truly great are only known by +nobly resisting every temptation to wrong, and braving the world's +condemnation in pursuing and sustaining the right. It is the soul to +which greatness belongs, not the mind. This latter is too often, in its +transcendent greatness, coupled with a mean and degraded soul, which +stimulates the mind's power to the corruption of the masses, and the +destruction of public morals, undermining the very basis of society and +government. + +The combination of a great mind and a great soul constitutes the truly +great, and the life of such a man creates a public sentiment which, +like an intense essence, permeates all it touches, leaving its +fragrance upon all. Such a man was George M. Troup, such a man is +Charles J. Jenkins; and the incense of his character will be a +fragrance purifying and delighting the land when he shall have passed +away. The exalted abilities of his mind, the great purity of his heart, +the noble elevation of his sentiments, and his exquisite +conscientiousness, will be an honor and an example to be remembered and +emulated by the coming generations of his native land. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A REVOLUTIONARY VETERAN. + +TAPPING REEVE--JAMES GOULD--COLONEL BENJAMIN TALMADGE--THE EXECUTION OF +MAJOR ANDRE--CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON--A BREACH OF DISCIPLINE--BURR AND +HAMILTON--MARGARET MONCRIEF--COWLES MEADE. + + +Fifty years ago, the only law-school in the United States was taught by +Tapping Reeve and James Gould, at Litchfield, Connecticut. The young +men of the South, destined for the profession of law, usually commenced +their studies in the office of some eminent practitioner at home, and, +after a year or so spent in reading the elementary authors, they +finished by attending the lectures at this school. A course of lectures +occupied a year. Then they were considered prepared to commence the +practice. + +Many of the young men of Georgia, at that day, received their education +at the North. Most of those who selected law as a profession, finished +at the school in Litchfield. Few remain in life at this day who +graduated there. Thomas Flornoy and Nicholas Ware were among the first, +who read law there, who were natives of Georgia. William Cumming +succeeded them. Then followed L.Q.C. Lamar, William C. Dawson, Thaddeus +Goode Holt, and many others of less distinction, all of whom are gone +save Judge Holt, who remains a monument and a memory of the class and +character of the Bar of Georgia fifty years ago, when talent and +unspotted integrity characterized its members universally, and when the +private lives and public conduct of lawyers were a withering rebuke to +the reiterated slanders upon the profession--when Crawford, Berrien, +Harris, Cobb, Longstreet, the brothers Campbell, and a host of others, +shed lustre upon it. + +1820 was spent by the writer at the law-school at Litchfield, in +company with William Crawford Banks, Hopkins Holsey, Samuel W. Oliver, +and James Clark, from Georgia. All are in the grave except Clark, who, +like the writer, lives in withered age. His career has been a +successful and honorable one, and I trust a happy one. + +During this probation it was my fortune to form many acquaintances +among the young and the old whom I met there, and from them to learn +much, especially from the old. At that time there resided in the +pleasant little village, Governor Oliver Wolcott, Benjamin Talmadge, +and my distinguished preceptors, Tapping Reeve and James Gould. + +Colonel Benjamin Talmadge was a distinguished officer in the American +army of the Revolution, and was a favorite aide of Washington. It was +he who was charged with the painful duty of superintending the +execution of Major Andre, who suffered as a spy. He was a tall, +venerable man, and though cumbered with years, when I knew him, was +active and energetic in attending to his business. The first time I +ever met him, he was standing in front of his yard-gate, shaping a +gate-pin with a small hatchet, which he used as a knife, to reduce it +to the desired size and form. One end he held in his left hand; the +other he rested against the trunk of a sycamore-tree, which grew near +by and shaded the sidewalk. I knew his character and his services. As I +approached him, my feelings were sublimated with the presence of a man +who had been the aide to and confidant of George Washington. He was +neatly attired in gray small-clothes. His white hair was carefully +combed over the bald portion of his head, as, hatless, he pursued his +work. His position was fronting me, and I caught his brilliant gray +eyes as he looked up from his work to know who was passing. +Involuntarily I stopped, and, lifting my hat from my head, bowed +respectfully to him, and passed him uncovered, as he returned my +salutation with that ease and dignity characteristic of the gentleman +of the old school. To-day that towering, manly form is present to my +view, as it stood before me then. He inquired of Judge Gould, his +immediate neighbor, who I was, and was pleased to mention my respectful +demeanor toward him. My reply, when told of this, was: "I should have +despised myself, could I have acted otherwise toward one so eminent, +and who was the confidential friend of Washington." This was reported +to the venerable colonel, who showed his appreciation of my conduct by +extending to me many kindnesses during my stay in the village. + +By his own hearth-stone I have listened with eager interest to the +narration of Andre's capture and execution. He was opposed, with +Alexander Hamilton, to the hanging of Andre, and always contended that +it was not clearly established that he had come into the American lines +as a spy. Andre, when captured, wore his uniform under an overcoat, +which concealed it, and the papers found on his person only proved that +he sought to deliver them to Arnold. The day before his execution he +solemnly declared his only object was an interview with Arnold, or, +should he fail in this, to contrive to send him the papers which had +been found upon him. When he knew the commander-in-chief had refused +him clemency, through Colonel Talmadge he appealed to Washington to let +him be shot, and die a soldier's death--not to permit him to perish as +a felon upon the gallows. Colonel Talmadge, when he stated this wish to +him, assured him it would be granted. Every effort was made, by his +officers and aides, to induce the granting of the request, but in vain. +"And never in my life," said Colonel Talmadge, "have I had imposed upon +me so painful a duty as communicating this fact to the young and +gallant officer. He saw my embarrassment and feelings, and, rising from +his seat, said: 'Colonel, I thank you for the generous interest you +have taken in my case. It has proved of no avail; yet I am none the +less grateful.' He paused a moment, when he continued: 'It is hard to +die, and to die thus. My time is short, and I must employ it in writing +to my family, and must request that you will see my letters forwarded +to headquarters.' I promised; when he extended his hand, and, grasping +mine, asked: 'Is this our last parting, or shall I see you to-morrow?' +I told him it had been made my duty to superintend his execution. 'We +will part at the grave,' he said, and, covering his face with his +hands, sank, sobbing, into his chair. + +"I went away sorrowing, and spent a sleepless night. When the hour had +arrived, I waited on him in his prison, and found him cool and prepared +for the sacrifice. We both felt too much for words, and there was +little said. I remember he asked me to procure his watch, which had +been taken from him, if possible, and send it to headquarters. He +desired his family to have it." + +"Did you ever get it?" I asked. + +The colonel bit his lip in shame for him who had it, and only answered: +"Never." + +"The grave was prepared near the gallows, and the open coffin was by +it. As Andre approached, he saw it, and a shudder ran through his +frame. Turning to me, he said: 'I am to be buried there. One more +request, colonel. Mark it; so that when this cruel conflict shall have +ended, my friends may find it!' He then shook hands with me, and, with +unfaltering steps, went to the scaffold." + +I heard this narrative many times, and with its ending the white +kerchief about the old man's neck was loosed, and the moisture from his +eyes told that the feelings as well as the memory of that day still +survived. He would a moment after continue: "Washington was a stern +man--he was a hard man--slow to form opinions or resolutions; but once +formed, there was no power under heaven to move him. He never formed +either until his judgment was convinced of the right. There was less of +impulse in his nature than in that of any man I ever knew. I served by +his side for years, and I never saw the least manifestation of passion +or surprise. He received the information of Arnold's treachery with the +same apparent indifference that he would an orderly's report; and with +the same indifference of manner signed the death-warrant of Andre. + +"This indifference was marked with a natural sternness, which forbid +all familiarity to all men. Even Colonel Hamilton, who was naturally +facetious, never ventured, during his long service, the slightest +intimacy. Hamilton, whom he esteemed above all men, and to whom he gave +his entire confidence, always observed in his private intercourse, as +in his public, the strictest etiquette. This cool sternness was natural +to him, and its influence was overwhelming. The humblest and the +highest felt it alike; inspiring a respectful awe, commanding a +dignified demeanor. He was best beloved at a distance, because the +qualities of the man were only present, and these were purer and more +lofty than those given to any other man. There is no character of +ancient or modern times so consistent as that of Washington. He was +always cool, always slow, always sincere. There is no act of his life +evincing the influence of prejudice. He decided all matters upon +evidence, and the unbiased character of his mind enabled him +impartially to weigh this evidence, and the great strength of his +judgment to analyze and apply it. He seemed to understand men +instinctively, and if he was ever deceived in any of those in close +association with him, it was Tom Jefferson. Burr had not been on his +staff ten days before he understood him perfectly, and he very soon got +rid of him. Of all the officers of the Continental army, General Greene +was his favorite; and he was right, for Greene was a great military +man--far superior to Washington himself, and none knew it better than +he. I remember to have heard him say that Greene was the only man in +the army who could retrieve the mistakes of Gates and save the Southern +country. The result verified the statement. + +"Washington's lenity never extended to the excusing of any palpable +neglect of duty. The strict regularity of his own private character was +carried into everything connected with his public duties. However much +he esteemed any man, it was for his worth in his especial position, and +not because of any peculiarity of bearing or properties of heart. That +he appreciated the higher qualities of the heart, is certainly +true--but for what they were worth always--and neither quality of head +or heart created a prejudice which would lead him to excuse any neglect +of duty or laxity of morals. He was not without heart, but it was slow +to be moved, and never so moved as to warp or obscure his judgment, or +influence the discharge of his duty. + +"Mrs. Washington was less amiable than her husband, and at times would +sadly tax his patience--she never forgot that she was wealthy when she +married him, and would sometimes allude to it in no very pleasant +manner to her husband; who, notwithstanding, bore with her with +remarkable patience. I do not remember ever to have seen General +Washington laugh; sometimes a faint smile would tinge his features; but +very soon they returned to the sedateness and gravity of expression +common to them; and though they rarely brightened with a smile, they +were never deformed with a frown. There was in their expression a +fixity indicative of his character, a purpose settled and unalterable. +Of all the men I have ever known, Washington was the only one who never +descended from the stilts of his dignity, or relaxed the austerity of +his bearing. It has been said that he swore at General Charles Lee at +the battle of Brandywine--I could never have it authenticated. He asked +excitedly of General Lee, by what ill-timed mistake the disaster had +occurred, which was forcing his retreat. Lee was a passionate, bad man, +and disliked to serve under Washington's command. He had served with +distinction in the British army in Europe, and felt, in adopting the +cause of the colonies, he should have been proffered the chief command. +There had been an intrigue at Philadelphia, headed by Dr. Rush, aided +by others, to prejudice Congress against the commander-in-chief, to +have him displaced, that Lee might succeed him. If Washington was aware +of this, it never escaped him to any of his military family; and +certainly never influenced his conduct toward Lee--for he had +confidence in his military abilities, and always gave him the position +where the most honor was to be won. Lee's reply to Washington was +violent, profane, and insolent. He said to General Lafayette that his +reply was: 'No man can boast of possessing more of that damned rascally +virtue than yourself.' He was arrested, court-martialed, and by its +decision, suspended for one year from command. He never returned to the +service, but retired to the interior of Virginia, and lived in great +seclusion until his death. + +"Toward the young officers Washington was more indulgent than to the +older and more experienced. He would not see the smaller improprieties +of conduct in these, unless brought officially to his notice. Then they +were uniformly punished. He frequently counselled and advised them, but +was ever severe toward intemperance, with old and young. + +"Upon one occasion, a certain Maryland colonel came suddenly and quite +unexpectedly upon the General, who was taking a walk. The colonel +attempted to salute, but in doing so, disclosed his inebriety. 'You are +intoxicated, sir,' said the General, with a humorous twinkle of the +eye. The colonel replied: 'I am glad you informed me, General; I will +go to my quarters before I make an ass of myself;' turned and walked +away. Without the slightest movement of feature the General continued +his walk. Nothing more was heard of it until the battle of Monmouth, in +which the colonel distinguished himself. The day after, in going the +grand-rounds, he approached the colonel, and remarked: 'Your gallantry +of yesterday excuses your late breach of discipline;' and saluting him, +passed on. + +"In a conversation over the mess-table, at West Point, some severe +remarks upon the conduct of Washington, in hanging Andre, escaped +Hamilton. He said, warmly, that it was cruelly unjust, and would +assuredly sully the future fame of the General; that he felt aggrieved +that the ardent solicitations of his staff, and most of the +field-officers, in the unfortunate young man's behalf, had been so +little regarded. These remarks reached the ears of the General. We were +not aware of this, until some weeks subsequently he summoned his staff +to his presence, and stated the fact. + +"'You will remember, gentlemen, that Captain Asgill, who was a +prisoner, and sentenced, by lot, to die, in retaliation for the +coldblooded murder of Captain Hale, by the orders of a British officer. +You, and many of the officers of the army, interceded to save his life. +His execution was, in consequence, respited. The heart-rending appeal +of his mother and sisters, communicated to me in letters from those +high-bred and accomplished women, determined me to lenity in his case, +and he was pardoned. Immediately upon the heels of this pardon comes an +intrigue to seduce from his duty and allegiance a major-general, +distinguished for services and capacity; and Major Andre is the +instrument to carry out this intrigue--to communicate their plans to +the traitor, and to consummate the arrangement. These plans were to +seize, treacherously, the person of the general commanding the American +forces, and carry him a prisoner to the enemy's headquarters. Lenity to +this man would have been a high crime against Congress, the army, and +the country, which could not have been justified. I regretted the +necessity as much as any of you; but mine was the responsibility, not +yours. Its being a painful duty did not make it less a duty. Not mine +alone, but the safety of the army depended upon the discharge of this +duty--a duty recognized by all nations in civilized warfare. I felt it +such; I discharged it, and am satisfied with it. I hope I am superior +to any apprehension of future censure for a faithful discharge of an +imperative duty.' Waving his hand, he bade us 'Good evening.' + +"General Washington, upon all important movements, sought the opinions +of his staff, as well as those of the general officers of his command. +This was not for want of reliance upon his own judgment, but from a +desire to see the matter through every light in which it could be +presented. These opinions were not unfrequently asked in writing. They +were always carefully studied, and due weight given to them, especially +when they differed from his own. His mind was eminently analytical, and +always free from prejudice, and to these facts is to be attributed the +almost universal correctness of his judgment upon all subjects which he +had examined. With regard to men, I never knew him to ask another's +opinion; nor was he ever the man to give utterance to his own, unless +it became necessary as a duty. I knew, from the time I entered his +military family, of his high appreciation of Hamilton's abilities; and +the frequent concurrence of opinion between them sometimes (and +especially with those not entirely acquainted with him) induced a +belief that Hamilton formed his opinions, or, as Arnold once expressed +it, was his thinker. Yet there were many occasions upon which they +differed, and widely differed; and never did Washington surrender his +own opinion and adopt that of Hamilton. I never thought the feelings of +Washington toward him were more than respect for his exalted abilities. +I do not believe a kinder or more social attachment ever was felt by +him, and I am positively sure these were the feelings of Hamilton for +Washington. + +"His respect for the abilities of Colonel Burr was quite as exalted as +for those of Hamilton; but he had no confidence in his honesty or +truth, and, consequently, very soon got rid of him. Burr's liaison with +Margaret Moncrief destroyed entirely the little regard left for him in +the mind of Washington. I asked Colonel Talmadge if Burr and Hamilton +ever were friends. They were very close friends apparently; but it was +palpable that each entertained a jealousy of the other, however much +they strove to conceal it. They were both ambitious, and felt the way +to preferment was through the favor of the commander-in-chief. Burr was +the more sensitive and the more impulsive of the two. They knew the +abilities of each other, and they knew these were highly appreciated by +the General; and at the moment when this jealousy was likely to +interfere with this friendship, Burr left the position of aide to the +General. He knew he had forfeited the confidence of Washington, and he +figured in the army very little after this. The rivalry, however, did +not cease here, nor did the secret enmity in their hearts die. The +world is not aware of the true cause of the hatred between them, and it +may never be. + +"You are aware," continued the colonel, "that your preceptor, Judge +Reeve, is the brother-in-law of Colonel Burr. If I speak freely of him, +it is because I know him, and because you seem curious to pry into +these secret histories of national men. It is not to be repeated to +offend Judge Reeve, or disturb our relations as friends; for we are +such, and have been for fifty years. + +"Colonel Burr has ever been remarkable for abilities from his boyhood. +Reeve and the celebrated Samuel Lathrop Mitchell were his classmates, +and agree that he had no equal in college. They were educated at +Princeton. Burr showed not only talent, but application, and a most +burning ambition. He showed, too, that he was already unscrupulous in +the use of means to accomplish his object. There are stories told of +his college-life very discreditable to his fame. He was as remarkable +in his features as in his mind. His capacious forehead, aquiline nose, +and piercingly brilliant eyes, black as night, with a large, flexible +mouth, Grecian in form, made him extremely handsome as a youth. His +manners were natural and elegant, and his conversational powers +unequalled. They are so to-day. Think of these gifts in a man +uninfluenced by principle, and only obedient to the warmer passions. He +ever shunned collective society, and seemed (for the time, at least) +totally absorbed by one or two only. The eloquence of manner, as the +persuasion of words, was in him transcendent. The whispered sophisms of +his genius burned into the heart, and it was remarked of him, by one +wise and discreet, that he could, in fewer words, win the sympathy and +start to tears a female auditor, than any preacher in the land. From +boyhood he seemed to have the key to every heart he desired to unlock. +Fatal gift! and terribly fatal did it prove to many a victim, and +especially to that gifted but frail girl--Margaret Moncrief. + +"Margaret Moncrief was the daughter of an officer of the British army, +and had been left with that old veteran, Putnam, after this officer was +a prisoner of war. Hamilton formed an attachment for her, and Burr, +more from vanity than any other feeling, determined to win her away +from him. She was, for her sex, as remarkable as Burr for his; her +education was very superior, her reading as extensive as most +professional men, and entirely out of the line of ordinary female +reading; she was familiar with the entire range of science--her person +in form was perfect, in features exquisitely beautiful. She, too, +possessed the art to steal away the affections of any one around whom +she threw her spell. Apparently unconscious of her natural gifts, she +displayed them without reserve, and so artlessly, as to lure and +beguile almost to frenzy such temperaments as those of Burr and +Hamilton. Never before had Burr met his equal, and his vanity and +ambition were equally stimulated to triumph in her conquest, and ere he +was aware of it, what had been commenced in levity, had become a +passion which held him in chains. The sequel was the ruin of both. Here +commenced the heart-hatred which terminated in the duel and the death +of Hamilton. + +"I know there was a romantic story, that gained credit with many, that +the influence of Miss Moncrief had corrupted Burr, and that she was +acting as a spy, and from Burr obtained all the information she desired +of the movements of the American army. Such was the credit attached to +this story, that General Putnam was questioned rather closely on the +subject of the intercourse between them. It was his opinion that it was +without foundation, and that it was simply a love affair. It was also +stated, and this Hamilton credited, that Burr was preparing to leave +the country with the lady, and there were some circumstances which +seemed to warrant such suspicion. To this day, there are ladies who +were at that time in communication with Miss Moncrief, who mention that +every preparation had been made, that her wardrobe had been removed +from her apartment, and that it was carried to those of Colonel Burr, +and that they had been turned back in the harbor by a sentry-boat, when +striving with a solitary oarsman to reach a British man-of-war, in the +lower harbor of the bay of New York. There was never any proof of this, +however, and I imagine it was only a gossiping story of Madame Rumor. + +"Of the sincerity of the attachment on the part of the lady, her +subsequent confessions are the only proof; and at the time of making +these confessions, such was her position that little credit could be +given them. But that Colonel Burr was ever seriously attached to her, +those who knew him best scarcely believed. Men of his character rarely, +if ever, have serious and sincere attachment for any woman. To gratify +his vanity he would court the affections of any woman whose beauty and +accomplishments had attracted him. It was always for base purposes Burr +professed love. Such men too frequently win upon the regards of women, +and occupy high and enviable positions in female society; but their +love is diffusive, and for the individual only for a time. In truth, +they are incapable of a deep and sincere affection. The suspicion of +woman's purity forbids an abiding love; it is a momentary passion, and +not an elevated and enduring sentiment--not the embalming with the +heart's riches a pure and innocent being who yields everything to love. + +"Colonel Burr was an indifferent husband toward one of the most +accomplished and lovable women I ever knew, and who was devoted to him, +and whose heart he broke. She was the widow of a British officer named +Provost, I believe, who died in the West Indies; and a more deserving +woman, or one more lovely, never went to the arms of a _roue_, to be +kissed and killed. + +"Burr hated Washington, and united himself politically with his +enemies. There was a close political intimacy between him and +Jefferson, but never anything like confidence. In their party they were +rivals; and after the election which made Jefferson President, there +was no semblance of intimacy or friendship between them. + +"Burr believed he was really elected President, and that Jefferson had +defrauded him in the count of the ballots. He was disappointed and +dissatisfied with his position and with his party, and immediately +commenced an intrigue to separate the Western States from the Union, +and on the west of the mountains and along the waters of the +Mississippi to establish a separate government, where he hoped to fill +the measure of his ambition, and destroy the power of the Union--thus +at the same time to crush both the Federal and Republican parties, for +now he hated both alike. + +"Hamilton had been his early rival; he had, as he believed, destroyed +him with Washington, and that he had been mainly instrumental in +defeating him with Jefferson for the Presidency. There can be no doubt +of the fact, that Jefferson had been voted for by the colleges for +President, and Burr for Vice-President; but they were not so designated +on the ballots. They received an equal number of votes, and had to be +elected, owing to a defect in the law at that time, by the House. The +balloting continued several days. There were sixteen States, and each +received eight. Jefferson was especially obnoxious to the hatred of the +Federal party; Burr, though belonging to the Republican party, less so; +and many of the leading men in Congress of the Federal party determined +to take Burr in preference. The strength of this party was mainly in +the North, and Burr was a Northern man; and they felt more might be +expected of him, from Northern interest, than from Jefferson. But the +main cause of the effort was the animosity to Jefferson. Washington was +viewed as the representative man of the Federal party. Jefferson, +though he had been a Cabinet minister in his Administration, had made +no secret of his opposition to the views of Washington; and had aided a +clerk in his department to establish a newspaper, especially to attack +Washington, and to oppose the Administration, which he did, in the most +bitter and offensive manner. + +"Jefferson was an unscrupulous man--a man of wonderful intellect and +vast attainments, but entirely unprincipled. This editor and clerk of +Jefferson's, sent daily to the President two copies of his paper, +filled with the vilest abuse of him personally, and of his +Administration. Much of this was, doubtless, written by Jefferson +himself. This supposition is the more to be relied on from the fact +that Washington remonstrated with Jefferson upon the matter, and +requested the removal of the offending clerk, which was refused by +Jefferson. His declining to remove Jefferson himself, is conclusive of +the considerate forbearance of this truly great man. These were reasons +operating upon the minds and feelings of those men who had not only +sustained Washington through the Revolution, but had stood to the +support of his Administration, and who concurred with him in political +opinion and principle. + +"Mr. Adams had made this party unpopular by the course pursued by him +in conducting the Government. The Alien Law, and the Sedition Law, +which obtained his signature, (though I know he was opposed personally +to both,) and the prosecutions which arose, especially under the +latter, were very offensive, and entirely at variance with the spirit +of our people, and indeed of the age, and had so damaged the Federal +party, as to render it odious to a large majority of the people. + +"The more considerate of the party believed in the election of +Burr--the Southern and Northern Democracy would become divided. +Jefferson was known to be specially the favorite of this party, South, +and would naturally oppose, himself, and lead his party in opposition +to the Administration of Burr, and the Federal party, uniting in his +support, with the Republicans, North, would ultimately succeed in +recovering the control of the Government. During the ballotings this +was fully discussed in the secret meetings of the Federalists. The +balloting continued from the 11th to the 17th of February, and only +eight States could be carried for Mr. Jefferson, six for Burr, and two +were divided. It was supposed Hamilton's influence would be given to +Burr, and he was sent for, but to the astonishment of his political +friends, it was thrown in opposition to Burr. This influenced those +controlling the vote of the divided States. Burr had entered heartily +into the scheme of defeating Jefferson. Had Hamilton co-operated with +his party, there is now no telling what might have been the future +political destiny of the country. Burr was sworn in as Vice-President, +and there is no doubt but that the will of the people was substantially +carried out. + +"The restlessness of Burr was manifested; he seemed to retire from the +active participation in politics which had previously been his +habit--still, however, adhering to the Republican party, and opposing +strenuously every view or opinion advanced by Hamilton. Burr did not +take his seat as presiding officer of the Senate, and in February, +after the election of Jefferson, Hillhouse was chosen to fill his place +_pro tem._ After the inauguration of Jefferson, Abraham Baldwin was +elected to preside as President _pro tem._ of the Senate. It had not +then become the habit of the Vice-President to preside over the Senate; +nor was it the custom for the Vice-President to remain at the seat of +Government during the sessions of Congress. Burr, disgusted with the +Republican party, ceased to act with it, and went to New York. Here he +resumed the practice of law. He was never considered a deeply read +lawyer, nor was he comparable with his rival, Hamilton, in debate, or +as an advocate at the Bar. He was adroit and quick, and was rather a +quibbler than a great lawyer. + +"You ask me if I thought, or think, he ever deserted the Republican +party in heart? I answer, no; for I do not think he ever had any +well-defined political or moral principle, and was influenced always by +what he deemed would subserve his own ambitious views; and you ask me, +if I ever thought him a great man? Men greatly differ, as you will find +as you grow older, and become better acquainted with mankind, as to +what constitutes a great man. I think Colonel Burr's talents were +eminently military, and he might, in command, have shown himself a +great general. His mind was sufficiently strong to make him respectable +in any profession he might have chosen; but his proclivity, mentally, +was for arms--he loved to direct and control. In very early life he +showed much skill and tact as an officer in the Canadian campaign; but +he wanted those moral traits which give dignity and decision to +character, and confidence to the public mind. His vacillation of +opinion, as well as of conduct, was convincing proof that he acted +without principle, and was influenced by his own selfish views. Man, to +be great, must act always from principle. Principle, like truth, is a +straight edge, will admit of no obliquity, is always the same, and +under all circumstances: conduct squared by principle, and sustained by +truth, inspires respect and confidence, and these attributes, though +they may and do belong to very ordinary minds, are nevertheless great +essentials to the most powerful in making greatness. Great grasp of +intellect, fixity of purpose, strong will, high aims, and incorruptible +moral purity, make a great man. They are rare combinations, but they +are sometimes found in one man--they certainly were not in Colonel +Burr. A great general, a great statesman, a, great poet, a great +astronomer, may be without morals; and he is consequently not a great +man. My young friend, a great man is the rarest creation of Almighty +God. Time has produced few. Washington, perhaps, approaches the +standard nearest, of modern men; but he was selfish to some extent. + +"After Colonel Burr's return to New York, he was nominated by the +Federal party for Governor of the State; this was the first open +announcement of his having deserted the Republican party. Hamilton +threw all his influence against him, and he was defeated. This defeat +sublimated his hatred for Hamilton. He made an excuse of certain words +Hamilton had used in relation to him for challenging him. They met, and +Hamilton fell. The death of Hamilton overthrew the little remaining +popularity left to Burr. The nation, the world, turned upon him, and he +became desperate. + +"Burr's term as Vice-President terminated on the fourth of March, 1805. +The odium which attached to his name found universal utterance after +the duel. It was not simply the killing of Hamilton; this merely gave +occasion for the outburst of public indignation. His private character +had always been bad. As a member of the Legislature, he had so +conducted himself as to excite general suspicion of his integrity. His +desertion of the party elevating him to the Vice-Presidency, and +lending himself to the opposition party to defeat the clearly expressed +views of his own party, all combined to make him extremely odious to +the populace. + +"In the canvass for the Presidency, he had been mainly instrumental in +carrying the State of New York for the Republican party. In this he had +triumphed over Hamilton; but in the more recent contest for Governor of +the State, he found that the Republican party adhered to principle, and +refused to be controlled by him, repudiating his every advance; and +learned, also, that the Federal party would not unite in accepting him. +Defeated on every side, in all his views, and mainly through the +instrumentality of Hamilton, he determined, after killing his rival, if +possible, to destroy the Government. + +"There was nothing unfair, or out of the ordinary method of conducting +such affairs, in this duel. Hamilton's eldest son, but a little while +before, had been slain, in a duel, on the very spot where his father +fell, and the event created little or no excitement; and when Burr saw +himself met with universal scorn, he knew it was the eruption of an +accumulated hatred toward himself, and that all his ambition for future +preferment and power was at an end. Immediately he left for the West, +and commenced an abortive effort to break up the Union. + +"The Allegheny Mountains opposed, at that time, an obstacle to free +communication with the East. The States west were politically weak, +and, supposing their interests were neglected by Congress, were +restless and dissatisfied. This was especially true of Western +Pennsylvania. There were very many young and ambitious men in all the +Western States and Territories. Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio were +rapidly populating from the Eastern and Middle States. Their commercial +communication with the East was attended with so many difficulties as +to force it almost entirely to New Orleans. + +"Geographically, it seemed that the valley of the Mississippi was, by +nature, formed for one nation. The soil and climate promised to +enterprise and industry untold wealth. The territorial dimensions were +fabulous. The restless and oppressed multitudes of overstocked Europe +had already commenced an emigration to the United States, which +promised to increase to such an amount as would soon fill up, to a +great extent, this expanded and promising region. The Mississippi +furnished an outlet to the ocean, and a navigation, uninterrupted +throughout the year, for thousands of miles, and New Orleans, a market +for every surplus product. Burr saw all this, and determined to effect +its separation from the Union, and there to establish a new empire, +which should, ere long, control the destinies of the continent. It was +the conception of genius and daring, but required an administrative +ability which he had not, to consummate this conception. He +miscalculated his material. The people of the West were vastly more +intelligent than he had supposed them. They were not so simple as to +receive his views, and blindly adopt and act upon them. They canvassed +them, and concluded for themselves. At Pittsburgh he found a number of +adventurous young men (who had nothing to lose, and who were ripe for +any enterprise which promised fame or fortune,) to unite with him. + +"He found Henry Clay in Kentucky, and Andrew Jackson in Tennessee, +young, enterprising, and full of spirit and talent. He supposed them to +be the men he sought, and approached both, cautiously revealing his +views; but, to his astonishment, the grievances of the West had not so +warped their patriotism as to dispose them to engage in any schemes +which threatened the dismemberment of the Union. Clay listened and +temporized, but never, for a moment, yielded assent. Jackson, more +ardent, and a military man by nature, was carried away with the idea +for a time. He was well acquainted with the people of the West, and +especially with the population on the Lower Mississippi, and was the +man who recommended Burr to make first a descent upon Mexico, as I have +been confidentially informed, and sincerely believe. I have also been +informed that he dissuaded Burr from any attempt to excite a war of the +West with the East; but first to make Mexico secure, which they and +Wilkinson believed would be an easy matter. It was when Burr, having +abandoned his first enterprise, descended the Mississippi, that he was +arrested. This arrest was made by the acting Governor of Mississippi, +and at some point in that Territory, where Jackson had a store or +trading establishment. He was, with three of his aides, on his way to +meet Wilkinson, for the purpose of arranging matters. He escaped, and +finding things prepared for his interception, he made his way across +the country; but was finally arrested, on the Tombigbee, by an officer +of the United States army. When on his trial at Richmond, Jackson went +there, and was found on the street haranguing the people in Burr's +favor, and denouncing the prosecution and the President. Subsequently, +however, he denounced Burr, and pretended that he had deceived him. +Humphrey Marshall, Pope, Grundy, and Whitesides united with Clay in +condemning the entire scheme. There was a crazy Irishman, an +adventurer, named Blannerhasset, residing on the Ohio, who at once +entered into his views, embarked all his fortune in the enterprise, +and, with Burr, was ruined. He was tried for treason, and acquitted. +Soon after, he left the country, and remained away for many years, +returning to find himself a stranger, and almost forgotten." + +Some months subsequent to this conversation, Colonel Burr came up from +New York to visit his brother-in-law, Judge Reeve, and an opportunity +was thus afforded me to see and converse with him; but no allusion was +made to the past of his own life, save an account of some suffering he +underwent in the Canadian campaign, with General Montgomery. He had +contracted, he said, a rheumatism in his ankle, during the winter he +was in Canada, and that he had occasional attacks now, never having +entirely recovered. He was not disposed to talk, and still he seemed +pleased at the attentions received from the young gentlemen who visited +him occasionally during his short stay. I do not remember ever having +seen him on the street, or in the company of any one, except some of +the young men who were reading with Judge Reeve. Some years after this, +I met Colonel Burr in the city of New York, and spent an evening with +him. At this time he alluded to his trip down the Mississippi, and made +inquiry after several persons whom he had known. There were then living +three men who, as his aides, had accompanied him upon his expedition. I +knew the fact, and expected he would allude to them, but he did not. He +seemed to desire to know more of those who had been active in procuring +his arrest. + +It was Cowles Mead (who was acting Governor of the Territory of +Mississippi at the time) who arrested Burr at Bruensburgh, a small +hamlet on the banks of the Mississippi, immediately below the mouth of +the Bayou Pierre. "Mead," he said, "was a great admirer of Jefferson, +because, I suppose, when he had been unseated by the contestant of his +election, (a Mr. Spaulding,) Jefferson, to appease his wounded +feelings, had appointed him secretary to the Mississippi Territory. He +was a vain man of very small mind, and full of the importance of his +official station." I remarked that he was a brother-in-law of mine. "I +was not aware of that, but I am sure you are too well acquainted with +the truth of the statement to be offended at my stating it." I +remarked: "Colonel, I am thoroughly acquainted with General Mead, and +equally as well acquainted with all the circumstances connected with +your acquaintance with him. The adventure of Bruensburgh has been, +through life, a favorite theme with the General, and I doubt if there +is living a man who ever knew the General a month, who has not heard +the story repeated a dozen times." He dryly remarked: "I should have +supposed the episode to that affair would have restrained him from its +narration;" and the conversation ceased. + +I shall have much more to say of these two in a future chapter. At +this time Colonel Burr was old and slightly bent, very unlike what he +was when I first met him; still his eyes and nose, brow and mouth, +wore the same expression they did fifteen years before. About the +mouth and eye there was a sinister expression, and he had a habit of +looking furtively out of the corner of his eye at you, when you did +not suppose he was giving any attention to you. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT. + +GOVERNOR WOLCOTT--TOLERATION--MR. MONROE--PRIVATE LIFE OF WASHINGTON-- +THOMAS JEFFERSON--THE OBJECT AND SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT--COURT ETIQUETTE +--NATURE THE TEACHER AND GUIDE IN ALL THINGS. + + +During the year 1820 I was frequently a visitor at the house of +Governor Oliver Wolcott, who then resided in Litchfield, Connecticut. +Governor Wolcott was a remarkable man in many respects. He was +originally a Federalist in politics, and enjoyed the confidence of that +party to an unlimited extent. His abilities were far above ordinary, +and his family one of great respectability. He was a native of +Connecticut, and after Alexander Hamilton retired from the Treasury +bureau in the Cabinet of Washington, he succeeded to that position. He +filled the office with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of +his chief. He had, after considerable time spent in public life, left +Connecticut, to reside in New York. Subsequent to the war, and when the +Federal party had abandoned its organization under the Administration +of Mr. Monroe, there grew up in his native State a party called the +Toleration party. In reality it was a party proscriptive of the old +Federal leaders, and it grew out of some legislation in connection with +religious matters, in which, as usual, the Puritan element had +attempted to oppress, by special taxation, for their own benefit, all +others differing from them in religious creed. Governor Wolcott favored +this new organization, and he was invited to return to the State and +give his aid to its success. He did so, and in due time was made +Governor by this party. At the time of which I write, he was as +bitterly and sincerely hated by the old Federal party as ever Jefferson +was, or as Andy Johnson now is by the Radical party, which is largely +constituted of the _debris_ of that old and intolerant organization, +and which is now eliminating every principle of the Constitution to +gratify that thirst for power, and to use it for persecution, that +seems inherent in the nature of the Puritan. By the hour I have +listened to the abuse of him, from the mouths of men whose lives had +been spent in his praise and support, simply because he had interposed +his talents and influence to arrest the oppressor's hand. They said he +had deserted his party, that he would live to share the fate of Burr, +and that he was as great a traitor. + +The bitterness and injustice of party is proverbial, and its want of +reason is astonishing. Men who are cool and considerate on all other +subjects, are frequently the most violent and unreasonable as +partisans. It seems akin to religious fanaticism, and proscribes with +the same bigotry all who will not, or conscientiously cannot, act or +think with them. It prescribes opinions, and they must be obeyed by all +who belong to the organization, and without reservation or +qualification. Its exactions are as fierce and indisputable as the laws +and regulations of the Jesuits. These are changed with party +necessities, and not unfrequently are diametrically antagonistic to the +former creed; yet you must follow and sustain them, or else you are a +traitor, and denounced and driven from the party, and often from +intercourse socially with those who have been your neighbors and +friends from boyhood. In this method party compels dishonesty in +politics, and is eminently demoralizing, for it is impossible to +familiarize the conscience with political dishonesty without tainting +the moral man in ordinary matters pertaining to life. Once break down +the barrier which separates the right from the wrong, that success may +come of it, and every principle of restraint to immoral or dishonest +conduct is swept away. For this reason men of stern integrity never +make good politicians. They are very often the reliable Statesmen, +never the reliable politicians. + +Governor Wolcott had through his life sustained an unimpeached +reputation. He had filled to the full his political ambition. Again and +again he had been honored by his people who had grown up with him. He +had been honored by the confidence of Washington, and the nation. He +was wealthy, was old, and only aspired to do, and to see done, justice +to the whole people of his native State. In doing this he came in +conflict with the unjust views and iniquitous conduct of an old, +crushed party, and he was denounced as a traitor, and ostracized +because he would be just. + +This was the disruption forever of the Federal party in Connecticut; +for though it had ceased to exist as a national organization, it still +was sufficiently intact to control most of the New England States. Mr. +Monroe's Administration had been so popular that in his second election +he received every vote of every State in the Union, save New Hampshire: +one man in her electoral college, who was appointed to vote for him, +refused to do so, and gave as his reason that he was a slave-owner. New +interests had supervened, old issues were dead--they had had their +day--their mission was accomplished; old men were passing away, the +nation was expanding into great proportions, and men of great talents +were growing with and for the occasion; old party animosities were +dimming out, and the era of good feelings seemed to pervade the +national heart. Even John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were amicably +corresponding and growing affectionate at eighty. It was but the lull +which precedes the storm--the sultry quiet which augurs the earthquake. + +Upon one occasion I ventured to ask Governor Wolcott to tell me +something of Washington. We were strolling in his garden, where he had +invited me to look at some melons he was attempting to grow under +glass. He stopped, and turning round, looked me full in the face, and +asked me if I had not read the "Life of Washington." + +"Not the private life," was the reply. + +"Ah! a very laudable curiosity in one so young. I knew him well, and +can only say his private was very much like his public life. I do not +suppose there ever lived a man more natural in his deportment than +Washington. He did nothing for effect. He was more nearly the same man +on the street that he was in his night-gown and slippers, than any man +I ever knew; I can't say I was intimate with Washington; no man can or +ever could have said that. His dignity was austere and natural. It was +grand, and awed and inspired a respect from every one alike. You +breathed low in his presence--you felt uneasy in your seat, before him. +There was an inspiring something about him, that made you feel it was a +duty to, stand in his presence, uncovered, and respectfully silent. I +have heard this sternness attributed to his habit of command; not +so--it was natural, and he was unconscious of it. Most men, however +stern, will unbend to woman. There is in woman's presence a divinity +which thaws the rigor of the heart and warms the soul, which manifests +itself in the softening of the eye, in the glow upon the cheek, and the +relaxation of manner. It was not so with Washington. In his +reception-rooms he was easily polite and courteously affable; but his +dignity and the inflexibility of his features never relaxed. + +"I remember to have heard Mrs. Adams say 'she did not think he was ever +more than polite to Mrs. Washington.' With all this he was very kind, +and if he ever did let himself down it was to children, and these never +seemed to feel his austerity, or to shrink away from it. It is said +that it is the gift of childhood to see the heart in the eye and the +face. It is certain they never approach an ill-natured or bad man, and +never shrink from a kind and good one. In his intercourse with his +Cabinet, he was respectful to difference--consulted each without +reserve or concealment, and always weighed well their opinions, and +never failed to render to them his reasons for differing with them. He +was very concise and exact in stating a case, and never failed to +understand well every question before acting. He had system and order +in everything. In his private affairs, in his household, as well as in +his public conduct, he observed strict rules, and exacted their +obedience from all about him. In nothing was he demonstrative or +impulsive; but always considerate and cool. + +"I know nothing of his domestic matters. There were malicious persons +who started many reports of discord between Washington and his lady. +These I believe were all false. Mrs. Washington was a high-bred woman, +a lady in everything; and so far as my observation or acquaintance +extended, was devoted and dutiful. Of one thing I am very sure: she was +a proud woman, and was proud of her husband. She certainly had not the +dignity of her husband; no one, male or female, ever had. She was less +reserved, more accessible, and not indifferent to the attentions and +flatteries of her husband's friends. In fine, she was a woman. +Washington's deportment toward his wife was kind and respectful, but +always dignified and courteous. Toward his servants he was uniformly +kind. + +"He was an enemy to slavery, and never hesitated to avow his +sentiments. His black servants were very much attached to him. The +peculiar nature of Washington forbade those heart-friendships demanded +by a narrower and more impulsive nature. He kept all the world too far +from him ever to win that tenderness of affection which sweetens social +life in the blending of hearts and sympathy of souls. But he commanded +that esteem which results from respect and appreciation of the great +and commanding attributes of his nature, which elevated him so far +above the men of his age. He wanted the softness and yielding of the +heart that so wins upon the affections of associates and those who are +in close and constant intercommunication. Are not these incompatible +with the stern and towering traits essential to such a character as was +Washington's? Like a shaft of polished granite towering amid shrubs and +flowers, cold and hard, but grand and beautiful, he stood among the men +and the women who surrounded him when President. + +"General Washington was cautious and reserved in his expressions about +men. He rarely praised or censured. At the time I was in the Cabinet, +he had abundant cause for dislike to Mr. Jefferson, who, in his Mazei +letter, had represented him as laboring to break up the Government, +that upon its ruins a monarchy might arise for his own benefit. He +spoke of this letter more severely than I had ever heard him speak of +anything, and said no man better knew the charge false, than Mr. +Jefferson. Some correspondence, I believe, took place between them on +the subject. I believe they never met after this. Upon one occasion I +heard him say that it was unfortunate that Jefferson had been sent to +France at the time that he was, when morals and government alike were +little less than chaos, for he had been tainted in his ideas of both." + +"You knew Mr. Jefferson?" I asked. + +"Come into the house, and I will show you something," said the +venerable man, then tottering to the grave. I went, and he showed me +some letters addressed to him by persons in Virginia, presenting, in no +very enviable light, the character of Jefferson. When I had read them, +he remarked: "You must not suppose I am anxious to prejudice your +youthful mind against the great favorite of your people. It is not so. +You seem solicitous to learn something of the men who have had so much +agency in the establishment of the Government and the formation of the +opinions of the people, that I am willing you should see upon what my +opinions have, in a great degree, been formed. Mr. Jefferson is still +living, and still writing. His pen seems to have lost none of its +vigor, nor his heart any of its venom. You will hear him greatly +praised, and greatly abused. I knew him at one time, but never +intimately, and may be said only to know him as a public man; what of +his private character I know, comes from the statements of others, and +general report. You have just seen some of these statements. I knew the +writers of these letters well, and know their statements to be entitled +to credit, and I believe them. They assure me that Mr. Jefferson is +without moral principle. His public conduct must convince every one of +his want of political principle. His whole life has been a bundle of +contradictions. He has had neither chart nor compass by which to +regulate his course, but has universally adopted the expedient. + +"That he has a great and most vigorous intellect is beyond all +question; but most of its emanations have been the _ad captandum_ to +seize the current, and sail with it. He saw the democratic proclivity +of the people, he concentrated it by the use of his pen, and he has +aided its expansion, until it threatens ruin to the Government. He +knows it, and he still perseveres. Under the plea of inviting +population, he advocated the extension of the franchise to aliens, and +was really the parent from whose brain was born the naturalization +laws, making citizens of every nationality, and giving them all the +powers of the Government, extending suffrage to every pauper in the +land, increasing to the utmost the material for the demagogue, and thus +depriving the intelligence of the country of the power to control it. +The specious argument that if a man is compelled to serve in the +militia and defend the country, he should be entitled to vote, was his. +Its sophistry is as palpable to Jefferson as to every thinking mind. +Government is the most abstruse of the sciences, and should, for the +security of all, be controlled by the intelligence of the country. +During the world's existence, all the intelligence it has ever +afforded, has not been competent to the formation of a government +approximating perfection. + +"The object of government is the protection of life, liberty, and +property. The tenure of property is established and sustained by law; +it is the basis of government; it is the support of government; in +proportion to its extent and security, it is the strength and power of +government, and those who possess it should have the control of +government. In a republic, there can be no better standard of +intelligence than the possession of property, and to give the greatest +security to the government, none should, in a republic, be intrusted +with the ballot, but the native, and the property-holder, or the native +property-holder. The complications of our system are scarcely +understood by our own people, and to suppose that ignorant men (for +such constitute the bulk of our emigrant population) shall become so +intimate with it, and so much attached to it, as to constitute them, in +a few years, persons to be intrusted with its control, is supposing +human intelligence to be of much higher grasp than I have ever found +it. Most of these emigrants come here with preconceived prejudices +toward the institutions of their native lands. This is natural. Most of +them speak a foreign language. This has to be overcome, before they can +even commence to learn the nature and operation of our system, which is +so radically dissimilar to any and all others. These men, as the +ignorant of our own people, naturally lean on some one who shall direct +them, and they will blindly do his bidding. This is an invitation to +the demagogue; these are his materials, and he will aggregate and +control them. Such men are always poor, and envy makes them the enemies +of the rich. This creates an antagonism, which we see existing in every +country. + +"The poor are dependent for employment upon the rich; the rich are +dependent upon the poor for labor. This mutual dependence, it would be +supposed, would tend to create mutual regard; but experience teaches +the reverse. The poor have nothing to sell but their labor, and there +are none to buy but the rich. Each, naturally, struggles to make the +best bargain possible, and take advantage of every circumstance to +effect this. Very few are satisfied with fair equivalents, and one or +the other always feels aggrieved. Here is the difficulty. Well, endow +the laborer with the ballot, and he usurps the government; for to vote +is to govern. What is to be the consequence? We now have, with all the +means of expansion and facilities a new country of boundless extent +gives to the poor for finding and making homes, many more without +property than with it. This disproportion will go on to increase until +it assimilates to every old country, with a few rich and many poor. +These many will control; they will send of their own men to legislate; +they will favor their friends; they will levy the taxes, which the +property-holders of the country must pay; they will make the laws +appropriating these taxes; all will be for the benefit of their +constituency, and the property, the government, and the people are all +at their mercy. Jefferson sees this, and is taking advantage of it, and +has indoctrinated the whole unthinking portion of our people with these +destructive notions. It made him President. His example has proven +contagious, and I see no end to its results short of the destruction of +the Government, and that speedily. Mr. Jefferson's fame will be +co-existent with the Government. When that shall perish, his great +errors will be apparent. The impartial historian, inquiring into the +cause of this destruction, with half an eye will see it, and then his +true character will be sketched, and this great, unprincipled demagogue +will go naked down to posterity. He has always been unprincipled, +immoral, and dissolute. These, accompanying his great intellect, have +made it a curse, rather than a blessing, to his kind. + +"The world has produced few great statesmen--Washington and Hamilton +were the only ones of any pretensions this country has produced. It was +a great misfortune that Hamilton did not succeed Washington. Mr. Adams, +now lingering to his end at Braintree, was a patriot, but greatly +wanting in the attributes of greatness. He was suspicious, +ill-tempered, and full of unmanly prejudices--was incapable of +comprehending the great necessities of his country, as well as the +means to direct and control these necessities. He had animosities to +nurse, and enemies to punish--was more concerned about a proper respect +for himself and the office he filled, than the interest and the destiny +of his country. He quarrelled with Washington, was jealous of him, who +never had a thought but for his country. Adams was all selfishness, +little selfishness, and earned and got the contempt of the whole +nation. Jefferson was turning all this to his own advantage; and the +errors and follies of Adams were made the strength and wisdom of +Jefferson. He had but one rival before the nation, Burr--he whom you +saw yesterday, the crushed victim of the cunning and intrigue of his +friend Jefferson. + +"Washington had died--despondent of the future of his country. The +prestige of his name and presence was gone. He had committed a great +error in bringing Jefferson into his Cabinet and before the nation with +his approbation. He knew every Cabinet secret, and took advantage of +every one, and had placed himself prominently before the people, and +with Burr was elected. The defect in the law as existing at the time, +enabled Burr, when returned with an equal number of electoral votes, to +contend with Jefferson for the Presidency. It was in the power of +Hamilton, at this time, to elect. The States were divided, six for +Burr, eight for Jefferson, and two divided. There was one State voting +for Jefferson, which by the change of one vote would have been given to +Burr: the divided States were under his control. He was, during the +ballotings, sent for, with a view to the election of Burr; but he +preferred Jefferson--thought him less dangerous than Burr, and procured +his election. It was a terrible alternative, to have to choose between +two such men. The consequences to Burr and the country have been +terrible--the destruction of both. + +"I suppose much I have said cuts across your prejudice, coming from the +South. I have sought to speak sincerely to you, because you are young, +impressible, and anxious for knowledge; and it is better to know an +unwelcome truth, than to find out by-and-by you have all your life been +believing an untruth. Nothing is more sickening to the candid and +sincere heart, than to learn its cherished opinions and dearest hopes +have been nothing but fallacies; and when you are old as I am, you will +have been more fortunate than I have been, if you do not find much that +you have loved most, and most trusted, a deceit--a miserable lie. Come +and see me at your leisure: I shall always be glad to see you, and +equally as glad to answer any of your questions, if these answers will +give you information." + +Governor Oliver Wolcott was short in stature and inclined to +corpulency; his head was large and round, with an ample forehead; his +eyes were gray and very pleasant in their expression; his mouth was +voluptuous, and upon his lips there usually lurked a smile, humorous in +its threatening, provoking a pleasing dimple upon his cheek. In +society, in his extreme old age, for I only knew him then, he was less +gay than the general expression of his features would have indicated. +He was a man of strong will and most decided character. His +individuality was marked and striking, and his tenacity of purpose made +his character one of remarkable consistency. + +Governor Wolcott was one of the old-school Federalists, a thorough +believer in Federal principles. He believed in the capacity of the +people for self-government, if the franchise of suffrage was confined +to the intelligence and freeholds of the country, but reprobated the +idea of universal suffrage as destructive of all that was good in +republican institutions. Succeeding Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of +the Treasury, he found all matters of finance connected with the +Government in so healthy a condition and arranged upon such a basis as +only required that he should be careful to keep them there. During the +four last years of the Administration of Washington, this prevented any +display on his part of any striking financial ability. The +administration of his office was entirely satisfactory to the country, +though it seemed he was only there to superintend the workings of the +genius of Hamilton. Once in my hearing he remarked, he had only to work +up to the scribings of Hamilton to make everything joint up and fit +well. + +He held Washington in higher esteem even than Colonel Talmadge; and +differed from him in many particulars relative to his character. It was +my good fortune to sit and listen, more than once, to discussions +between these venerable men. It was always amicable and eminently +instructive. Wolcott was an admirer of Mrs. Washington, Talmadge was +not. Talmadge was a military man, and saw a healthy discipline only in +obedience to superiors, and exacted in his own family what he deemed +was proper in that of every man. Accustomed himself to a strict +obedience to the commands of his superiors, and deeming Washington +almost incapable of error, he thought hardly even of Mrs. Washington +when she manifested a disposition the slightest to independence of her +husband. Wolcott did not see her in the camp, but only as the wife of +the President of the United States--mistress of the Presidential +mansion, and affably dispensing the duties of hostess there--receiving, +entertaining, and socially intermingling in the society admitted to the +Presidential circle. + +At that period there was more of ceremony and display in the higher +circles of official society than at this time. The people had seceded +from a monarchical government, and established a democratic one; but +the prestige of titular and aristocratic society still lingered with +those high in office, of distinguished position, and wealth. Many of +those most prominent about the Government had spent much time in +Europe, and had imported European manners and customs, and desired to +see the court etiquette of the mother country prevail at the court of +the new Government. Time and the institutions of democracy had not +effected that change in the practices of the people, which the +Revolution and the determination to control and direct their own +government had in their sentiments. + +Mr. Jefferson affected to despise this formal ceremony, and the +distinctions in society encouraged by monarchical institutions, and +sustained by authority of law--though coming from a State and from the +midst of a people whose leading and wealthiest families had descended +directly from the nobility and gentry of England, and who affected an +aristocracy of social life extremely exclusive in its character, while +professing a democracy in political organization of the broadest and +most comprehensive type. His sagacity taught him that the institutions +of a democratic government would soon produce that social equality +which was their spirit, in the ordinary intercourse of the people--that +he who enjoyed all and every privilege, politically and legally, given +under its Constitution and laws, possessed a power which ultimately +would force his social equality with the most pretentious in the land. +In truth, the government was in his hands, and he would mould it to his +views, and society to his status. + +The institutions of government everywhere form the social organization +of society. Men are ambitious of distinction in every government, and +aspire to control in directing the destinies of their country--are +justly proud of the respect and confidence of their fellow-men, and +will court it in the manner most likely to secure it. Now and then, +there are to be found some who are insensible to any fame save that +given by wealth--who will wrap themselves up in a pecuniary importance, +with an ostentatious display of their wealth, and an exclusiveness of +social intercourse, and are contented with this, and the general +contempt. Such men, and such social coteries, are few in this country. +Fortunately, wealth which is only used as a means of ostentatious +display is worthless to communities, and its possessor is contemptible. +"Wealth is power" is an adage, and is true where it is used to promote +the general good. Without it no people can be prosperous or +intelligent, and the prosperity and intelligence of every people is +greatest where there is most wealth, and where it is most generally +diffused. This is best effected by democratic institutions, where every +preferment is open to all, and where the division of estates follows +every death. No large and overshadowing estates, creating a moneyed +aristocracy, can accumulate, to control the legislation and the +people's destinies under such institutions. No privileged class can be +sustained under their operation; for such a class must always be +sustained by wealth hereditary and entailed, protected from the +obligations of debt, and prohibited from division or alienation. + +Mr. Jefferson had studied the effects of governments upon their people +most thoroughly, and understood their operation upon the social +relations of society, and the character and minds of the people. He was +wont to say there was no hereditary transmission of mind; that this was +democratic, and a Caesar, a Solon, or a Demosthenes was as likely to +come from a cottage and penury as from a palace and wealth; that virtue +more frequently wore a smock-frock than a laced coat, and that the +institutions of every government should be so modelled as to afford +opportunity to these to become what nature designed they should +be--models of worth and usefulness to the country. Every one owes to +society obligations, and the means should be afforded to all to make +available these obligations for the public good. Nature never designed +that man should hedge about with law a favored few, until these should +establish a natural claim to such protection, by producing all the +intellect and virtue of the commonwealth. This was common property, and +wherever found, in all the gradations and ranges of society, should, +under the operations of law, be afforded the same opportunities as the +most favored by fortune. "In all things nature should be teacher and +guide." + +These doctrines are beautiful in theory, and are well calculated to +fasten upon the minds of the many. They have been, time and again, +incorporated into the constitution of governments, and have uniformly +produced the same disastrous results. They are equally as fallacious as +the declaration "that all men are born free and equal," which, with +those above, has won the public approbation in spite of experience. The +equality of intellect is as certainly untrue as the equality of +stature; the one is not more apparent than the other. Transcendent +intellect is as rare as an eclipse of the sun. It manifests itself in +the control of all others--in forming the opinions and shaping the +destinies of all others. This is a birthright--is never acquired, +admits of great cultivation, receives impressions, generates ideas, and +makes wonderful efforts. Cultivation and education gives it these, but +never its vigor and power. In whatever grade or caste of society this +is born, it soon works its way to the top, disrupts every band which +ties it down, and naturally rises above the lower strata, as the +rarefied atmosphere rises above the denser. This higher order of +intellect will naturally control, and as naturally protect its power. +From such, a better government may always be expected; and without this +control, none can be wholesome or permanent. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +PARTY PRINCIPLES. + +ORIGIN OF PARTIES--FEDERAL AND REPUBLICAN PECULIARITIES--JEFFERSON'S +PRINCIPLES AND RELIGION--DEMOCRACY--VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS PARTIES +--WAR WITH FRANCE--SEDITION LAW--LYMAN BEECHER--THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR-- +"HAIL COLUMBIA" AND "YANKEE DOODLE." + + +The Federal and Republican parties of the nation had their rise and +formation out of the two principles of government--the one descending, +as by inheritance, from the mother-country, and the other growing out +of the formation of the governments established in the early +organization of the colonies. A republican form of government was +natural to the people. It had become so from habit. They had, in each +colony, enjoyed a representative form; had made their own laws, and, +with the exception of their Governors and judicial officers, had +chosen, by ballot, all their legislative and ministerial officers. Most +of the principles and practices of a democratic form of government, +consequently, were familiar to them. The etiquette of form and ceremony +preserved by the Governors, conformed to English usage. This was only +familiar to those of the masses whose business brought them in contact +with these ministerial officers and their appendages. + +These were continued, to some extent, for a time; but Jefferson saw +that they must soon cease, and yield to a sensible, simple intercourse +between the officials of the Government and the people. This was +foreshadowed in the Declaration of Independence, drafted by him. +Immediately upon the success of the Revolution, and the organization of +the General Government, he enunciated the opinions and principles now +known as Jeffersonian or democratic. It has been charged upon him, that +he borrowed his principles from the leaders of the French Revolution, +as he did his religion from Voltaire and Tom Paine. + +Jefferson was an original thinker, and thought boldly on all subjects. +He had studied not only the character and history of governments, but +of religions, and from the convictions of his own judgment were formed +his opinions and his principles. His orthodoxy was his doxy, and he +cared very little for the doxy of any other man or set of men. His +genius and exalted talents gave him a light which shines in upon few +brains, and if his religious opinions were fallacious, there are few of +our day who will say that his social and political sentiments were or +are wrong. As to his correctness in the former, it is not, nor will it +ever be, given to man to demonstrate. This is the only subject about +which there is no charity for him who differs from the received dogmas +of the Church, and to-day his name is an abomination only to the +Federalists and the Church. + +Jefferson was made Secretary of State by General Washington, and was at +once the head and representative man of the democracy of the country. +There was, however, no organized opposition to the Administration of +Washington. But immediately upon the election of Adams it begun to take +shape and form, under the leadership of Jefferson. The two parties were +first known as the Virginia and Massachusetts parties. Jefferson had +been elected Vice-President with Adams, and before the termination of +the first year of the Administration the opposition was formidable in +Congress. Governor Wolcott was of opinion that Adams destroyed the +Federal party by the unwise policy of his Administration. He said he +was a man of great intellect, but of capricious temper, incapable from +principle or habit of yielding to the popular will. He certainly saw +the palpable tendency of public feeling, and must have known its +strength: instead of attempting to go with it, and shape it to the +exigencies his party required, he vainly attempted to stem the current, +defy it, and control it by law. He disregarded the earnest entreaties +of his best friends, counselling only with the extremists of the +Federal party: the result was the Alien and Sedition Laws. Pickering +warned him, and he quarrelled with him. He would not conciliate, but +punish his political foes. He loved to exercise power; he did it +unscrupulously, and became exceedingly offensive to many of his own +party, and bitterly hated by his political enemies. The Alien and +Sedition Laws emanated from the extremists of the Federal party, and +were in opposition to the views of Adams himself--yet he approved them, +and determined to execute them. He knew these laws were in direct +opposition to the views and feelings of an immense majority of the +people; and with these lights before him, and when he had it in his +power to have conciliated the masses, he defied them. + +Mr. Adams was unaccustomed to seek or court public favor; his +associations had never been with the masses, and he understood very +little of their feelings; when these were forced upon him, he received +their manifestations with contempt, and uniformly disregarded their +teachings. All these defects of character were seized upon by the +opposition, to render odious the Federal party. + +Mr. Jefferson placed himself in active opposition, and was known at an +early day as the candidate of the opposition to succeed Adams. Our +difficulties with France, and the action of Congress in appointing +Washington commander-in-chief of the American forces, brought +Washington into contact with Adams on several occasions; and especially +when Washington made his acceptance of the office conditional upon the +appointment of Hamilton as second in command, Adams thought he had not +been respectfully treated, either by Congress or Washington; and there +were some pretty sharp letters written by Washington in relation to the +course of Adams. + +Jefferson was opposed to the French war. The aid afforded by France in +our Revolution had made grateful the public heart, and the people were +indisposed to rush into a war with her for slight cause. The pen of +Jefferson was never idle: he knew the general feeling, and inflamed it, +and what the consequences to the country might have been, had not the +war come to an abrupt and speedy end, there are no means of knowing. +The trial and conviction of Lyon and Cooper under the Sedition Law, +aroused a burst of indignation from the people. Still it taught no +wisdom to Mr. Adams. He was urged to have their prosecutions abandoned, +but he refused. After conviction, he was seriously pressed to pardon +these men, in obedience to the popular will, but he persistently +refused, and Lyon was continued in prison until liberated by the +success of the Republican party, and the repeal of the offensive and +impolitic laws soon after. + +Adams professed great veneration for the character of Washington, and +he was doubtless sincere. Yet he never lost sight of the fact that it +was he who had seconded the motion when made in Congress by Samuel +Adams to appoint Washington commander-in-chief of the armies of the +Revolution, or that it was he who suggested it to Samuel Adams, and +that he sustained the motion in a speech of burning eloquence. He felt +that this conferred an obligation and that Washington was at times +unmindful of this. He was more exacting than generous, and more +suspicious than confiding. In truth, Adams had more mind than soul; +more ambition than patriotism, and more impulse than discretion. Yet +the country owes him much. He was a great support in the cause of the +Revolution, and his folly was to charge too high for his services. The +people honored him--they have honored his family, and will yet make his +son President. He received all they could give, and his littleness +crept out in his desire for more. + +General Washington's estimate of men was generally correct. He +understood Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Burr. I do not think he was +personally attached to any one of them; yet he appreciated them as the +public now do. He had need of the talents of Hamilton and Jefferson. +The organization of the Government required the first minds of the +country; and Washington was the man to call them to his side. In +nothing did he show more greatness than in this. He knew Jefferson was +without principle, but he knew that he was eminently talented; he could +forget the one, and call to his aid the other. His confidence in the +integrity of Hamilton was stronger, as well as in his ability. Upon all +matters of deep concern to the country he consulted both, and these +consultations often brought these two men into antagonistical positions +before him, and upon important public matters--one of which was the +constitutionality of a United States Bank. To each of these, when the +charter of the bank was before him, he addressed a note requesting +their opinions upon its constitutionality. Jefferson replied promptly +in a short, written opinion, not well considered or ably argued, as was +his wont; denying the constitutionality of such an institution. This +opinion was handed to Hamilton, who pleaded public duties as the cause +of delay on his part, for not furnishing an opinion. It came at last, +and was able and conclusive, as to its constitutionality. But it was +terrible in its slashing and exposure of the dogmatical sophisms of +Jefferson. From that time forward there were bitter feelings between +these two eminent men. + +Intellectually, Hamilton had no equal in his day. It is ridiculous to +compare him with Burr, which is often done by persons who should know +better, because they have all the evidence upon which to predicate a +conclusion. The occasion was open to both, equally, to discover to the +world what abilities they possessed. They equally filled eminent +positions before the nation, and at a time when she demanded the use of +the first abilities in the land. What each performed is before the +world. + +Men having talent will always leave behind some evidence of this, +whether they pass through life in a public or private capacity. +Flippant pertness, with some wit, is too often mistaken for talent--and +a still tongue with a sage look, will sometimes pass for wisdom. But +wherever there is talent or wisdom, it makes its mark. + +The evidences of Hamilton's abilities are manifested in his works. They +show a versatility of talent unequalled by any modern man. He was +conspicuous for his great genius before he was fifteen years of age; he +was chief-of-staff for General Washington before he was twenty, and +before he was thirty, was admitted to be the first mind of the country. +As a military man, every officer of the army of the Revolution +considered him the very first; as a lawyer, he had no equal of his day; +as a statesman, he ranked above all competition; as a financier, none +were his equal, and an abundance of evidence has been left by him to +sustain this reputation in every particular. + +What has Burr left? Nothing. He still lives, and what his posthumous +papers may say for him, I cannot say; but I know him well, and +consequently expect nothing. As a lawyer, he was mediocre; as a +statesman, vacillating and without any fixed principles; as an orator, +(for some had claimed him to be such,) he was turgid and +verbose--sometimes he was sarcastic, but only when the malignity of his +nature found vent in the bitterness of words. His private conduct has, +in every situation, been bad. He was one of the Lee and Gates faction +to displace Washington from the command of the army. He decried the +abilities of Washington. He violated the confidence of General Putnam, +when his aide, in seducing Margaret Moncrief, (whose father had +intrusted her to Putnam's care.) He violated his faith to the +Republican party, in lending himself to the Federal party to defeat the +known and expressed will of the people, and the Republican party, by +contesting the election before Congress of Mr. Jefferson. In the +Legislature of New York, his conduct was such as to draw on him the +suspicion of corruption, and universal condemnation. Contrast his +public services with his public and private vices, and see what he +is--the despised of the whole world, eking out a miserable existence in +hermitical seclusion with a woman of ill-fame. + +There resided as minister of the Congregational Church, at that time, +in Litchfield, Lyman Beecher. He was a man of short stature; remarkable +dark complexion, with large and finely formed head; his features were +strong and irregular, with stern, ascetic expression. He was naturally +a man of great mind, and but for the bigoted character of his religion, +narrowing his mind to certain contemptible prejudices and opinions, +might have been a great man. Reared in the practice of Puritan +opinions, and associated from childhood with that strait-laced and +intolerant sect, his energies, (which were indomitable) and mind, more +so perverted as to become mischievous, instead of useful. He was a +propagandist in the broadest sense of the term--would have made an +admirable inquisitor--was without any of the charities of the +Christian; despised as heretical the creed of every sect save his own, +and had all of the intolerant bitterness and degrading superstitions of +the Puritans, and persecutors of Laud, in the Long Parliament. In +truth, he was an immediate descendant of the Puritans of the +seventeenth century, and was distinguished for the persecuting and +intolerant spirit of that people. He seemed ever casting about for +something in the principles or conduct of others to abuse, and +delighted to exhaust his genius in pouring out his venom upon those who +did not square their conduct and opinions by his rule. At this time, +1820, the admission of Missouri into the Union gave rise to the +agitation of the extension of slavery. This was a sweet morsel under +and on his tongue. He at once commenced the indulgence of his +persecuting spirit, in the abuse of slavery, and slave owners. His own +immediate people had committed no sin in the importation of the +African, and the money accumulated in the traffic was not blood-money. +The institution had been wiped out in New England, not by +enfranchisement, but by sale to the people of the South, when no longer +useful or valuable at home; and all the sin of slavery had followed the +slave, to barbarize and degrade the people of the South. The fertility +of his imagination could suggest a thousand evils growing from slavery, +which concentrating in the character of those possessing them, made +them demons upon earth, and fit heritors of hell, deserving the wrath +of God and man. + +It was palpable to the scrutinizing observer, that it was not the sin +of slavery which actuated the zeal of Beecher. The South had held +control of the Government almost from its inception. The Northern, or +Federal party, had been repudiated for the talents and energy of the +South. Its principles and their professors were odious--the conduct of +its leading representatives, during the late war, had tainted New +England, and she was offensive to the nostrils of patriotism +everywhere. Her people were restless and dissatisfied under the +disgrace. They were anxious for power, not to control for the public +good the destinies of the country; but for revenge upon those who had +triumphed in their overthrow. Their people had spread over the West, +and carried with them their religion and hatred--they were ambitious of +more territory, over which to propagate their race and creed; yet +preparatory to the great end of their aims, and the agitation necessary +to the education of their people upon this subject, they must commence +in the pulpit to abolish some cursing sin which stood in their way. +They had found it, and a fit instrument, too, in Lyman Beecher, to +commence the work. It was the sin of slavery. It stood in the way of +New England progress and New England civilization. New England religion +must come to the rescue. There was nothing good which could come from +the South; all was tainted with this crying sin. New England purity, +through New England Puritanism, must permeate all the land, and effect +the good work--and none so efficient as Beecher. The students of the +law-school had a pew in his little synagogue--it was after the fashion +of a square pew, with seats all around, and to this he would direct his +eye when pouring out his anathemas upon the South, Southern habits, and +Southern institutions; four out of five of the members of the school +were from the South. + +It was his habit to ascribe the origin and practice of every vice to +slavery. Debauchery of every grade, name, and character, was born of +this, and though every one of these vices, in full practice, were +reeking under his nose, and permeating every class of his own people; +when seven out of every ten of the bawds of every brothel, from Maine +to the Sabine, were from New England, they were only odious in the +South. I remember upon one occasion he was dilating extensively upon +the vice of drunkenness, and accounting it as peculiar to the South, +and the direct offshoot of slavery, he exclaimed, with his eyes fixed +upon the students' pew: "Yes, my brethren, it is peculiar to the people +who foster the accursed institution of slavery, and so common is it in +the South, that the father who yields his daughter in wedlock, never +thinks of asking if her intended is a sober man. All he asks, or seems +desirous to know, is whether he is good-natured in his cups." Before +him sat his nest of young adders, growing up to inherit his religion, +talents, and vindictive spirit. Instilled into those from their cradles +were all the dogmas of Puritanism, to stimulate the mischievous spirit +of the race to evil works. Admirably have they fulfilled their destiny. +To the preaching and writings of the men and women descended from Lyman +Beecher has more misery ensued, than from any other one source, for the +last century. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" has slain its hundreds of thousands, +and the sermons of Henry Ward Beecher have made to flow an ocean of +blood. + +The example of Pymm, Cromwell, Whaley, and Goff, and their fate, has +taught the Puritans no useful lesson. They seem to think to triumph in +civil war, as their ancestors did, regardless of the danger that a +reaction may bring to them, is all they can desire. The fate of these +men has no warning. Reactions sometimes come with terrible +consequences. They cannot see Cromwell's dead body hanging in chains. +They will not remember the fate of Whaley and Goff, whose bones are +mouldering in their own New Haven, after flying their country and, for +years, hiding in caves and cellars from the revengeful pursuit of +resentful enemies. The Pymms and the Praise-God-bare-bones of the +thirty-ninth Congress may and (it is to be hoped) will yet meet the +merited reward of their crimes of persecution and oppression. + +At the time of which I write, there were many remaining in Connecticut +who participated in the conflicts and perils of the Revolution. These +men were all animated with strong national sentiments, and felt that +every part of the Union was their country. They idolized Washington, +and always spoke with affectionate praise of the Southern spirit, so +prominent in her troops during the war. The conduct of the South (and +especially that of Georgia toward General Greene, in donating him a +splendid plantation, with a palatial residence, upon the Savannah +River, near the city of Savannah, to which he removed, lived, and in +which he died,) was munificent, and characteristic of a noble and +generous people. + +But these were passing away, and a new people were coming into their +places. The effects of a common cause, a common danger, and a united +success, were not felt by these. New interests excited new aspirations. +The nation's peril was past, and she was one of the great powers of the +earth, and acknowledged as such. She had triumphantly passed through a +second war with her unnatural mother, in which New England, as a +people, had reaped no glory. In the midst of the struggle, she had +called a convention of her people, with a view of withdrawing from the +Union. Her people had invited the enemy, with their blue-light signals, +to enter the harbor they were blockading, and where the American ships, +under the command of one of our most gallant commanders, had sought +refuge. They were sorely chagrined, and full of wrath. They hated the +South and her people. It was growing, and they were nursing it. Even +then we were a divided people, with every interest conserving to unite +us--the South producing and consuming; the North manufacturing, +carrying, and selling for, and to, the South. The harmony of commerce, +and the harmony of interest, had lost its power, and we were a divided +people. The breach widened, war followed, and ruin riots over the land. +The South was the weaker, and went down; the North was the stronger, +and triumphed--and the day of her vengeance has come. + +In that remote time, the chase after the almighty dollar had commenced, +and especially in New England, where every sentiment was subordinate to +this. Patriotism was a secondary sentiment. Hypocritical pretension to +the purity of religion was used to cover the vilest practices, and to +shield from public indignation men who, praying, pressed into their +service the vilest means to make haste to be rich. The sordid parsimony +of ninety-hundredths of the population shut out every sentiment of +generosity, and rooted from the heart every emotion honorable to human +nature. Neighborhood intercourse was poisoned with selfishness, and the +effort to overreach, and make money out of, the ignorance or +necessities of these, was universal. These degrading practices crept +into every business, and petty frauds soon became designated as Yankee +tricks. There was nothing ennobling in their pursuits. The honorable +profession of law dwindled into pettifogging tricks. Commerce was +degraded in their hands by fraud and chicanery. The pernicious and +grasping nature everywhere cultivated, soon fastened upon the features. +Their eyes were pale, their features lank and hard, and the stony +nature was apparent in the icy coldness of manner, in the deceitful +grin, and lip-laugh, which the eye never shared, and which was only +affected, when interest prompted, or the started suspicions of an +intended victim warned them to be wary. The climate, and the +inhospitable and ungenerous soil, seemed to impart to the people their +own natures. + +The men were all growing sharp, and the women, cold and passionless; +the soul appeared to shrivel and sink into induration, and the whole +people were growing into a nation of cheats and dastards. Such was the +promise for the people of New England, in 1820. Has it not been +realized in the years of the recent intestine war? The incentive held +out to her people to volunteer into her armies, was the plunder of the +South. The world has never witnessed such rapacity for gain as marked +the armies of the United States in their march through the South. +Religion and humanity were lost sight of in the general scramble for +the goods and the money of the Southern people. Rings were snatched +from the fingers of ladies and torn from their ears; their wardrobes +plundered and forwarded to expectant families at home; graves were +violated for the plates of gold and silver that might be found upon the +coffins; the dead bodies of women and men were unshrouded after +exhumation, to search in the coffins and shrouds to see if valuables +were not here concealed; and, in numerous instances, the teeth were +torn from the skeleton mouths of the dead for the gold plugs, or gold +plates that might be found there. Nor was this heathenish rapacity +confined to the common soldier; the commanders and subalterns +participated with acquisitive eagerness, sharing fully with their +commands the hellish instincts of their race. + +They professed to come to liberate the slave, and they uniformly robbed +or swindled him of every valuable he might possess--even little +children were stripped of their garments, as trophies of war, to be +forwarded home for the wear of embryo Puritans, as an example for them +in future. Such are the Yankees of 1863-4, and '67. They now hold +control of the nation; but her mighty heart is sore under their +oppression. She is beginning to writhe. It will not be long, before +with a mighty effort she will burst the bonds these people have tied +about her limbs, will reassert the freedom of her children, and scourge +their oppressors with a whip of scorpions. + +Such men as Talmadge, Humphries, and Wolcott are no more to be found in +New England. The animus of these men is no longer with these people. +The work of change is complete. Nothing remains of their religion but +its semblance--the fanaticism of Cotton Mather, without his +sincerity--the persecuting spirit of Cotton, without the sincerity of +his motives. Every tie that once united the descendants of the Norman +with those of the Saxon is broken. They are two in interest, two in +feeling, two in blood, and two in hatred. For a time they may dwell +together, but not in unison; for they have nothing in common but +hatred. Its fruit is discord, and the day is not distant, when these +irreconcilable elements must be ruled with a power despotic as +independent, whose will must be law unto both. It is painful to look +back fifty years and contrast the harmony then pervading every class of +every section with the discord and bitterness of hate which substitutes +it to day. Then, the national airs of "Hail Columbia" and "Yankee +Doodle" thrilled home to the heart of every American. To-day, they are +only heard in one half of the Union to be cursed and execrated. To ask +a lady to play one of these airs upon the harp or piano, from the Rio +Grande to the Potomac, would be resented as an insult. The fame of +Washington and John Hancock mingled as the united nations; but the +conduct of the sons of the Puritan fathers has stolen the respect for +them from the heart of half of the nation; and now, even the once +glorious name of Daniel Webster stirs no enthusiasm in the bosoms which +once beat joyfully to his praise, as it came to them from New England. +Those who from party purposes proclaim peace and good will, only +deceive the world, not themselves, or the people of the South. Peace +there is; but good will, none. When asked to be given, memory turns to +the battle-fields upon Southern soil, the bloody graves where the +chosen spirits of the South are sleeping, and the heart burns with +indignant hatred. Generations may come and pass away, but this hatred, +this cursed memory of oppressive wrong will live on. The mothers of +to-day make for their infants a tradition of these memories, and it +will be transmitted as the highlander's cross of fire, from clan to +clan, in burning brightness, for a thousand years. The graveyards will +no more perish than the legends of the war that made them. They are in +our midst, our children, the kindred of all are there--and those who +are to come will go there--and their mothers, as Hamilcar did, will +make them upon these green graves swear eternal hatred to those who +with their vengeance filled these sacred vaults. + +We are expected to love those whose hands are red with the blood of our +children; to take to our bosoms the murderers and robbers who have +slain upon the soil of their nativity our people, and who have robbed +our homes and devastated our country; who have fattened Southern soil +with Southern blood, and enriched their homes with the stolen wealth of +ours. Are we not men, and manly? Do we feel as men? and is not this +insult to manliness, and a vile mockery to the feelings of men? We can +never forget--we will never forgive, and we will wait; for when the +opportunity shall come, as come it will, we will avenge the damning +wrong. + +This may be unchristian, but it is natural--nature is of God and will +assert herself. No mawkish pretension, no hypocritical cant, can +repress the natural feelings of the heart: its loves and resentments +are its strongest passions, and the love that we bore for our children +and kindred kindles to greater vigor in the hatred we bear for their +murderers. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +CONGRESS IN ITS BRIGHTEST DAYS. + +MISSOURI COMPROMISE--JOHN RANDOLPH'S JUBA--MR. MACON--HOLMES AND +CRAWFORD--MR. CLAY'S INFLUENCE--JAMES BARBOUR--PHILIP P. BARBOUR--MR. +PINKNEY--MR. BEECHER, OF OHIO--"CUCKOO, CUCKOO!"--NATIONAL ROADS-- +WILLIAM LOWNDES--WILLIAM ROSCOE--DUKE OF ARGYLE--LOUIS McLEAN--WHIG +AND DEMOCRATIC PARTIES. + + +It was at the last session of the fifteenth Congress, in the winter of +1820-21, when the famous Compromise measure, known as the Missouri +Compromise, was effected. A portion of that winter was spent by the +writer at Washington. Congress was then composed of the first +intellects of the nation, and the measure was causing great excitement +throughout the entire country. + +Missouri, in obedience to a permissory statute, had framed a +constitution, and demanded admission into the Union as a State. By this +constitution slavery was recognized as an institution of the State. +Objection was made to this clause on the part of the Northern members, +which led to protracted and sometimes acrimonious debate. At the first +session of the Congress the admission of the State had been postponed, +and during the entire second session it had been the agitating +question; nor was it until the very end of the session settled by this +famous compromise. + +The debates were conducted by the ablest men in Congress, in both the +Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate, William +Pinkney, of Maryland; Rufus King, of New York; Harrison Gray Otis, of +Massachusetts; James Barbour, of Virginia; William Smith, of South +Carolina, and Freeman Walker, of Georgia, were most conspicuous. In the +House were John Randolph, of Virginia; William Lowndes, of South +Carolina; Louis McLean, of Delaware; Thomas W. Cobb, of Georgia, and +Louis Williams, of North Carolina, and many others of less note. Henry +Clay, of Kentucky, was Speaker of the House during the first session of +the Congress; but resigned before the meeting of the succeeding +Congress, and John Taylor, of New York, was elected to preside as +Speaker for the second session. Mr. Clay was absent from his seat +during the early part of this session; and notwithstanding the eminent +men composing the Congress, there seemed a want of some leading and +controlling mind to master the difficulty, and calm the threatening +excitement which was intensifying as the debate progressed. Mr. +Randolph was the leader in the debates of the House, and occupied the +floor frequently in the delivery of lengthy and almost always very +interesting speeches. These touched every subject connected with the +Government, its history, and its powers. They were brilliant and +beautiful; full of classical learning and allusion, and sparkling as a +casket of diamonds, thrown upon, and rolling along, a Wilton carpet. It +seemed to be his pleasure to taunt the opposition to enforce an angry +or irritable reply, and then to launch the arrows of his biting wit and +sarcasm at whoever dared the response, in such rapid profusion, as to +astonish the House, and overwhelm his antagonist. + +His person was as unique as his manner. He was tall and extremely +slender. His habit was to wear an overcoat extending to the floor, with +an upright standing collar which concealed his entire person except his +head, which seemed to be set, by the ears, upon the collar of his coat. +In early morning it was his habit to ride on horseback. This ride was +frequently extended to the hour of the meeting of Congress. When this +was the case, he always rode to the Capitol, surrendered his horse to +his groom--the ever-faithful Juba, who always accompanied him in these +rides--and, with his ornamental riding-whip in his hand, a small cloth +or leathern cap perched upon the top of his head, (which peeped out, +wan and meagre, from between the openings of his coat-collar,) booted +and gloved, he would walk to his seat in the House--then in +session--lay down upon his desk his cap and whip, and then slowly +remove his gloves. If the matter before the House interested him, and +he desired to be heard, he would fix his large, round, lustrous black +eyes upon the Speaker, and, in a voice shrill and piercing as the cry +of a peacock, exclaim: "Mr. Speaker!" then, for a moment or two, remain +looking down upon his desk, as if to collect his thoughts; then lifting +his eyes to the Speaker would commence, in a conversational tone, an +address that not unfrequently extended through five hours, when he +would yield to a motion for adjournment, with the understanding that he +was to finish his speech the following day. + +He had but few associates. These were all from the South, and very +select. With Mr. Macon, Mr. Crawford, Louis Williams, and Mr. Cobb, he +was intimate. He was a frequent visitor to the family of Mr. Crawford, +then Secretary of the Treasury, where occasionally he met Macon and +Cobb, with other friends of Crawford. Macon and Crawford were his +models of upright men. He believed Mr. Crawford to be the first +intellect of the age, and Mr. Macon the most honest man. The strict +honesty of Macon captivated him, as it did most men. His home-spun +ideas, his unaffected plainness of dress, and primitive simplicity of +manner, combined with a wonderful fund of common sense, went home to +the heart of Randolph, and he loved Macon in sincerity. + +Macon and Crawford humored his many eccentricities, and would always +deferentially listen to him when the humor was on him to talk. It was +at such times that Randolph was most interesting. He had read much, and +to great advantage; he had travelled, and with an observant eye; he +knew more, and he knew it more accurately, than any other man of his +country, except, perhaps, that wonderful man, William Lowndes. In his +talking moods all the store-house of his information was drafted into +service. His command of language was wonderful. The antithetical manner +of expressing himself gave piquancy and _vim_ to his conversation, +making it very captivating. He was too impatient, and had too much +nervous irritability and too rapid a flow of ideas, to indulge in +familiar and colloquial conversation. He would talk all, or none. He +inaugurated a subject and exhausted it, and there were few who desired +more than to listen when he talked. Two or three evenings in the week +there would assemble at Mr. Crawford's a few gentlemen, members of +Congress. This was especially the case pending the Missouri question, +when Mr. Randolph, Mr. Macon, Mr. McLean, Mr. Holmes, of Maine, (a +great admirer of Mr. Crawford,) Mr. Lowndes, and sometimes one or two +gentlemen from Pennsylvania, would be present. At these meetings this +question was the first and principal topic, and Mr. Randolph would +engross the entire conversation for an hour, when he would almost +universally rise, bid good-night, and leave. At other times he would +listen attentively, without uttering a word, particularly when Crawford +or Lowndes were speaking. These, then, almost universally, did all the +talking. The diversity of opinion scarcely ever prompted reply or +interruption. In these conversations the great powers of Crawford's +mind would break out, astonishing and convincing every one. + +It was upon one of these occasions, when discussing in connection with +the Missouri question, the subject of slavery, its influences, and its +future, that Mr. Crawford remarked: "If the Union is of more importance +to the South than slavery, the South should immediately take measures +for the gradual emancipation of the slaves, fixing a period for its +final extinction. But if the institution of slavery is of more vital +importance than the perpetuation of the Union to the South, she should +at once secede and establish a government to protect and preserve this +institution. She now has the power to do so without the fear of +provoking a war. Her people should be unanimous, and this agitation has +made them so--I believe. I know the love of the Union has been +paramount to every other consideration with the Southern people; but +they view, as I do, this attempt to arrest the further spread of +slavery as aggressive on the part of Congress, and discover an alarming +state of the Northern mind upon this subject. This with an increasing +popular strength may grow into proportions which shall be irresistible, +and the South may be ultimately forced to do, what she never will +voluntarily do--abolish at once the institution." It was urged by Mr. +Holmes that the Constitution guaranteed slavery to the States, that its +control and destiny was alone with the States, and there was no danger +that the North would ever violate the Constitution to interfere with +what they had no interest in. + +"Never violate the Constitution!" said Randolph, in an excited and +querulous tone. "Mr. Holmes, you perhaps know the nature of your people +better than I do. But I know them well enough not to trust them. They +stickle at nothing to accomplish an end; and their preachers can soon +convince them that slavery is a sin, and that they are responsible for +its existence here, and that they can only propitiate offended Deity by +its abolition. You are a peculiar people, Holmes, prone to fanaticism +upon all subjects, and this fanaticism concentrated as a religious +duty--the Constitution will only prove a barrier of straw. No, sir; I +am unwilling to trust them. They want honesty of purpose, have no +sincerity, no patriotism, no principle. Your dough-faces will profess, +but at a point will fly the track, sir; they can't stand, sir; they +can't stand pressing. Interest, interest, sir, is their moving motive. +Do you not see it in their action in this matter? Missouri is a fertile +and lovely country; they want it for the purpose of settlement with +their own people. Prohibit slavery to the inhabitants, and no Southern +man will go there; there will be no competition in the purchase of her +land. Your people will have it all to themselves; they will flock to it +like wild geese, and very soon it is a Northern State in Northern +interest; and, step after step, all the Western territory will be in +your possession, and you will create States _ab libitum_. You know the +Constitution permits two-thirds of the States to amend or alter it: +establish the principle that Congress can exclude slavery from a +territory, contrary to the wishes of her people expressed in a +constitution formed by them for their government, and how long will it +be, before two-thirds of the States will be free? Then you can change +the Constitution and place slavery under the control of Congress--and, +under such circumstances, how long will it be permitted to remain in +any State? + +"Your people are too religious, sir; eminently practical, inventive, +restless, cold, calculating, malicious, and ambitious; invent curious +rat-traps, and establish missions. I don't want to be trapped, sir; I +am too wary a rat for that; and think with Mr. Crawford, now is the +time for separation, and I mean to ask Clay to unite with us. Yet, sir, +I have not spoken to the fellow for years, sir; but I will to-morrow; I +will tell him I always despised him, but if he will go to his people, I +will to mine, and tell them now is the time for separation from you; +and I will follow his lead if he will only do so, if it leads me to +perdition. I never did follow it, but in this matter I will. I bid you +good night, gentlemen." He waited for no reply, but taking his hat and +whip, hurriedly left the room. + +"Can Mr. Randolph be in earnest?" asked several. + +"Intensely so," replied Mr. Crawford. "Mr. Holmes, your people are +forcing Mr. Randolph's opinions upon the entire South. They will not +permit Northern intermeddling with that which peculiarly interests +themselves, and over which they alone hold control." + +There was a pause, the party was uneasy. There were more than Mr. +Holmes present who were startled at both Crawford's and Randolph's +speculation as to the value of the Union. They had ever felt that this +was anchored safely in every American breast, and was paramount to +every other consideration or interest. It was a terrible heresy, and +leading to treason. This was not said, but it was thought, and in no +very agreeable mood the party separated for the night. + +Mr. Clay had just arrived from Kentucky. There had been many +speculations as to what course he would pursue in this delicate matter. +Many had suspended their opinions awaiting his action. The members from +Ohio were generally acting and voting with those of the East and North. +Some seemed doubtful, and it was supposed Mr. Clay would exercise great +influence with all the West, and those from Ohio, especially. Hence, +his coming was universally and anxiously awaited. But now he was in +Washington, all were on the _qui vive_. + +Randolph's declaration was whispered about in the morning, and little +coteries were grouped about the hall of the House of Representatives. +Randolph was in conversation, near the Speaker's chair, with the clerk, +who was pointing and calling his attention to something upon the +journal of the House. The hour of meeting was at hand, and the crowd +was increasing upon the floor. Mr. Taylor was in conversation, near the +fire-place, on the left of the Speaker's chair, with Stratford Canning, +the British Plenipotentiary, Harrison Gray Otis, and Governor +Chittenden, of Vermont. Mr. Clay entered in company with William S. +Archer, a man whose only merit and sole pride was the having been born +in Virginia; whose pusillanimous arrogance was only equalled by the +poverty of his intellect, and who always foisted himself upon the +presence of eminent men, deeming he was great because of his impudence +and their association. All eyes were turned to Clay, and the members +flocked about him. Releasing himself from these he came up the aisle +toward the Speaker's chair. Mr. Randolph stepped into the aisle +immediately in front of the chair. At this moment Clay discovered him +and, towering to his full height, paused within a few feet of him whose +eye he saw fixed upon his own. + +Randolph advanced and, without extending his hand, said: "Good morning, +Mr. Clay." Clay bowed, and Randolph immediately said: "I have a duty to +perform to my country; so have you, Mr. Clay. Leave your seat here, +sir, and return to your people, as I will to mine. Tell them, as I will +mine, that the time has come: if they would save themselves from ruin, +and preserve the liberties for which their fathers bled, they must +separate from these men of the North. Do so, sir; and, though I never +did before, I will follow your lead in the effort to save our people, +and their liberties." Mr. Clay listened, and without apparent surprise +remarked, with a smile: "Mr. Randolph, that will require more +reflection than this moment of time affords," and bowing passed on. + +But a bomb had fallen on the floor, and consternation was on every +face. All turned to Mr. Clay. All saw a crisis was at hand, and that +this matter must be settled as speedily as possible. Archer filed off +with Randolph, who affected to pet him, as some men do foils for their +wit, in the person of a toady. + +A few days after this occurrence the famous Compromise measure was +reported, and the first speech I ever listened to from Mr. Clay was in +its advocacy. About him was gathered the talent of the Senate and the +House. The lobbies and galleries were filled to overflowing. Mr. +Pinkney, of Maryland; Landman, of Connecticut; Rufus King, William +Lowndes, Otis, Holmes, Macon, and others, all manifested intense +interest in the speech of Mr. Clay. How grandly he towered up over +those seated about him! Dressed in a full suit of black, his hair +combed closely down to his head, displaying its magnificent +proportions, with his piercing, gray eyes fixed upon those of the +Speaker, he poured out, in fervid words, the wisdom of his wonderful +mind, and the deep feelings of his great heart. All accorded to him +sincerity and exalted patriotism; all knew and confided in his wisdom; +all knew him to be a national man, and into the hearts of all his words +sank deep, carrying conviction, and calming the storm of angry passions +which threatened not only the peace, but the existence of the +Government. All the majesty of his nature seemed as a halo emanating +from his person and features, as, turning to those grouped about him, +and then to the House, his words, warm and persuasive, flowing as a +stream of melody, with his hand lifted from his desk, he said: + +"I wish that my country should be prosperous, and her Government +perpetual. I am in my soul assured that no other can ever afford the +same protection to human liberty, and insure the same amount. Leave the +North to her laws and her institutions. Extend the same conciliating +charity to the South and West. Their people, as yours, know best their +wants--know best their interests. Let them provide for their own--our +system is one of compromises--and in the spirit of harmony come +together, in the spirit of brothers compromise any and every jarring +sentiment or interest which may arise in the progress of the country. +There is security in this; there is peace, and fraternal union. Thus we +may, we shall, go on to cover this entire continent with prosperous +States, and a contented, self-governed, and happy people. To the +unrestrained energies of an intelligent and enterprising people, the +mountains shall yield their mineral tribute, the valleys their cereals +and fruits, and a million of millions of contented and prosperous +people shall demonstrate to an admiring world the great problem that +man is capable of self-government." + +There beamed from every countenance a pleased satisfaction, as the +members of the Senate and the House came up to express their delight, +and their determination to support the measure proposed, and so ably +advocated. There was oil upon the waters, and the turbulent waves went +down. Men who had been estranged and angered for many months, met, and +with friendly smiles greeted each other again. The ladies in the +gallery above rose up as if by a common impulse, to look down, with +smiles, upon the great commoner. One whose silvered hair, parted +smoothly and modestly upon her aged forehead, fell in two massy folds +behind her ears, clasped her hands, and audibly uttered: "God bless +him." + +The reconciliation seemed to be effected, and the confidence and +affection between the sections to be renewed with increased fervor and +intensity. There was rejoicing throughout the land. Dissatisfaction +only spake from the pulpits of New England, and there only from those +of the Puritan Congregationalists. But the public heart had received a +shock, and though it beat on, it was not with the healthful tone of +former days. + +The men of the Revolution were rapidly passing to eternity. The cement +of blood which bound these as one was dissolving, and the fabric of +their creation was undermined in the hearts of the people, with +corroding prejudices, actively fomented by the bigotry of a selfish +superstition. A sectional struggle for supremacy had commenced. The +control of the Government was the aim, and patriotism was consuming in +the flame of ambition. The Government's security, the Government's +perpetuity, and the common good, were no longer prime considerations. +All its demonstrated blessings had remained as ever the same. +Stimulated by the same motives and the same ambitions, the new world +and the new Government were moving in the old groove; and the old world +saw repeating here the history of all the Governments which had arisen, +lived, and passed away, in her own borders. The mighty genius of Clay +and Webster, of Jackson and Calhoun, had, for a time, stayed the rapid +progress of ruin which had begun to show itself, but only for a time. +They have been gathered to their fathers, and the controlling influence +of their mighty minds being removed, confusion, war, and ruin have +followed. + +The men conspicuous in the debates on the Missouri question were giants +in intellect, and perhaps few deliberative assemblies of the world ever +contained more talent, or more public virtue. At the head of these +stood Henry Clay, Pinkney, Rufus King, William Lowndes, Harrison Gray +Otis, William Smith, Louis McLean, the two Barbours, John Randolph, +Freeman Walker, Thomas W. Cobb, and John Holmes, of Maine. + +James Barbour was a member of the Senate; Philip P. Barbour, of the +House. They were brothers, and both from Virginia. They were both men +of great abilities, but their style and manner were very different. +James was a verbose and ornate declaimer; Philip was a close, cogent +reasoner, without any attempt at elegance or display. He labored to +convince the mind; James, to control and direct the feelings. A wag +wrote upon the wall of the House, at the conclusion of a masterly +argument of Philip P. Barbour, + + "Two Barbers to shave our Congress long did try. + One shaves with froth; the other shaves dry." + +Of the Senate Mr. Pinkney was the great orator. His speech upon this +most exciting question has ever been considered the most finished for +eloquence and power, ever delivered in the United States Senate. The +effect upon the Senate, and the audience assembled in the galleries and +lobbies of the Senate, was thrilling. Mr. King was old, but retained in +their vigor his faculties, was more tame perhaps than in his younger +years; still the clearness and brilliancy of his powerful mind +manifested itself in his every effort. Mr. Pinkney had all the +advantages which a fine manly person and clear, musical voice gives to +an orator. He spoke but rarely and never without great preparation. He +was by no means a ready debater, and prized too much his reputation to +hazard anything in an impromptu, extemporaneous address. He listened, +for weeks, to King, Otis, and others who debated the question, and came +at last prepared in one great effort to answer and demolish the +arguments of these men. Those who listened to that wonderful effort of +forensic power will never forget his reply to King, when he charged him +with uttering sentiments in debate calculated to incite a servile war. +The picture he drew of such a war: the massacring by infuriated black +savages of delicate women and children; the burning and destroying of +cities; the desolating by fire and sword the country, was so thrilling +and descriptively perfect, that you smelt the blood, saw the flames, +and heard the shrieks of perishing victims. Mr. King shuddered as he +looked on the orator, and listened to his impassioned declamation. But +when Pinkney turned from the President of the Senate and, flashing his +eye upon King, continued in words hissing in whispers, full of pathos +as of biting indignation, Mr. King folded his arms and rested his head +upon them, concealing his features and emotion from the speaker and the +Senate. For two hours the Senate and galleries were chained as it were +to their seats. At times so intense was the feeling, that a pause of +the speaker made audible the hard and excited breathing of the +audience, catching their breath as though respiration had been +painfully suspended and relief had come in this pause. When he had +finished and resumed his seat, there was profound silence for many +seconds, when a Senator in seeming trepidation rose and moved an +adjournment. + +Mr. Pinkney was in every respect a most finished gentleman, highly +bred, only associating with the first men and minds of the country; +courteous and polished in his manners, and scrupulously neat in his +dress, which was always in the height of fashion and always of the +finest and most costly materials. He never came to the Senate but in +full dress, and would have been mortified to find a mite of lint upon +his coat, or a dash of dust upon his boots. + +At that time the United States Senate was the most august and dignified +body in the world. What is it to-day? _O tempora, O mores!_ In the +House, the palm of oratory was disputed between Mr. Clay and Mr. +Randolph. Their styles were so different, and both so effective, that +it was difficult to distinguish by comparison, to which belonged the +distinction of being first. Mr. Clay was always collected and +self-possessed--he was, too, always master of his subject; and though +he was a ready debater, he never made a set speech upon any important +subject without careful preparation. He was not easily disconcerted; +courageous, with a strong will, he feared no intemperate opposition, +and was never restrained from uttering his sentiments and opinions of +men or measures. He was kind and generous, until aroused or offended +and, then, was merciless. His sarcasm and invective upon such occasions +was withering, and his vehemence daring and terrible. No man of his day +had a mind better balanced than Mr. Clay. His judgment was almost +always correct; his imagination brilliant, but always under the control +of his judgment; his memory and preceptive faculties were wonderful; +his education was defective, and the associations of the West had not +given that polish to his manners which distinguishes men of education, +reared in educated communities, and associating always with polished +society. Mr. Clay had been at the most polished courts of Europe, and +was familiar with their most refined society; but these he visited in +mature life, after the manners are formed, and habit made them +indurate. He had long been familiar, too, with the best society in his +own country and, by this, had been much improved. Still the Kentuckian +would sometimes come through the shell, but always in a manner more to +delight than offend; besides, Mr. Clay set little value upon forms and +ceremony. There was too much heart for such cold seeming, too much fire +for the chill, unfeeling ceremony of what is termed first society. + +Mr. Clay's manners partook much of the character of his mind and soul. +They were prompt, bold, and easy; his eloquence was bold, rough, and +overwhelming. + +Like all men of genius, will, and self-reliance, Mr. Clay was impatient +of contradiction. The similarity in this regard, between Jackson, Clay, +and Crawford was wonderful. They were equally passionate, equally +impetuous, and equally impatient--all being natural men of great powers +and limited education. To say they were self-made, would be paying the +Almighty a left-handed compliment. But to say they assiduously +cultivated His great gifts without much aid from the schoolmaster, +would only be doing them unbiased justice. + +Randolph was classically educated. He had enjoyed every advantage of +cultivation. Socially, he had never mingled with any but refined +society. The franchise of suffrage in Virginia was confined to the +freeholders, thus obviating in the public man the necessity of mingling +with, and courting the good opinion of the multitude. The system, too, +of electioneering was to address from the hustings the voters, to +declare publicly the opinions of candidates, and the policy they +proposed supporting. The vote was given _viva voce_. All concurred to +make representative and constituent frank and honest. While this system +existed, Virginia ruled the nation. These means secured the services of +the first intellects, and the first characters of her people. The +system was a training for debate and public display. Eloquence became +the first requisite to the candidate, and was the most powerful means +of influence and efficiency in the representative. Randolph had been +thus trained; he had listened to, and been instructed by the eloquence +of Patrick Henry, in his early youth, and in later life had met him as +a competitor on the hustings. He had grown up by the side of Edmonds, +Peyton Randolph, George Mason, and Thomas Jefferson. In his very youth +he had excited the wonder and admiration of these great minds. He was +sent into the Congress of the United States almost before he was +qualified by age to take his seat; and at once took position by the +side of such men as William B. Giles, William H. Crawford, James A. +Byard, and Littleton W. Tazwell. His style of speaking was peculiar; +his wit was bitter and biting; his sarcasm more pungent and withering +than had ever been heard on the floor of Congress; his figure was +_outre_; his voice, fine as the treble of a violin; his face, wan, +wrinkled, and without beard; his limbs, long and unsightly, especially +his arms and fingers; the skin seemed to grow to the attenuated bone; +and the large, ill-formed joints were extremely ugly. But those +fingers, and especially the right fore-finger, gave point and _vim_ to +his wit and invective. + +In his manner he was at times deliberate, and apparently very +considerate, and again he was rapid and vehement. When he would +demolish an adversary, he would commence slowly, as if to collect all +his powers, preparatory to one great onset. He would turn and talk, as +it were, to all about him, and seemingly incongruously. It was as if he +was slinging and whirling his chain-shot about his head, and circling +it more and more rapidly, to collect all his strength for the fatal +blow. All knew it would fall, but none knew where, until he had +collected his utmost strength, and then, with the electrical flash of +his eye, he would mark the victim, and the thundering crash of his +vengeance, in words of vehemence, charged with the most caustic satire, +would fall upon, and crush the devoted head of his scarce suspecting +foe. I remember, upon one occasion, pending the debate upon the +Missouri question, and when Mr. Randolph was in the habit of almost +daily addressing the house, that a Mr. Beecher, of Ohio, who was very +impatient with Randolph's tirades, would, in the lengthy pauses made by +him, rise from his place, and move the previous question. The Speaker +would reply: "The member from Virginia has the floor." The first and +second interruption was not noticed by Randolph, but upon the +repetition a third time, he slowly lifted his head from contemplating +his notes, and said: "Mr. Speaker, in the Netherlands, a man of small +capacity, with bits of wood and leather, will, in a few moments, +construct a toy that, with the pressure of the finger and thumb, will +cry 'Cuckoo! Cuckoo!' With less of ingenuity, and with inferior +materials, the people of Ohio have made a toy that will, without much +pressure, cry, 'Previous question, Mr. Speaker! Previous question, Mr. +Speaker!'" at the same time designating Beecher, by pointing at him +with his long, skeleton-looking finger. In a moment the House was +convulsed with laughter, and I doubt if Beecher ever survived the +sarcasm. + +At the time Mr. Clay came into Congress, Randolph had no rival upon the +floor of the House. He had become a terror to timid men. Few ventured +to meet him in debate, and none to provoke him. Mr. Clay's reputation +had preceded him. He had before, for a short time, been in the Senate. +He was known to be the first orator in the West, and the West boasted +Doddridge, Humphrey Marshall, John Rowan, Jesse Bledsoe, John Pope, and +Felix Grundy. + +It was not long, before these two met in debate upon the subject of the +national road. Randolph opposed this measure as unconstitutional, +denying to the General Government any power to make any improvements +within the limits of any State, without the consent of the State. Mr. +Clay claimed the power under that grant which constituted Congress +competent to establish post-offices and post-roads. The discussion was +an excited one. Mr. Clay was a Virginian, but not of Randolph's class; +besides, he was not now from Virginia, and Randolph chose to designate +him a degenerate, renegade son of the Old Dominion. He had been reared, +as Randolph, a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school. In this he was an +apostate from the ancient faith. Randolph fully expected an easy +victory, and no man upon the floor was more surprised than himself, at +the bold, eloquent, and defiant reply of Clay. Between them the combat +was fierce and protracted. Randolph had the mortification of seeing +Western Virginia moving with Clay, and the entire representation of the +Western States joining with them. Clay was triumphant. The measure +became a law, the road was built, and a monument was erected to Mr. +Clay in Western Virginia, and by Virginians. It stands in a beautiful +valley, immediately on the road's side. From that time until, as old +men, they met in mortal combat upon the banks of the Potomac, they were +rivals and enemies. + +Randolph was rancorous in his hatred of Clay. In proportion as Clay +rose in the estimation of his countrymen, did Randolph's hate increase. +Clay sprang from the plebeian stock of his native Virginia. He had come +as the representative of the rustics of Kentucky. He was not sanctified +by a college diploma. He boasted no long line of ancestry, and yet he +had met, and triumphed over, the scions of a boasted line--had bearded +the aristocrat upon the field of his fame, and vanquished him. This +triumph was followed up, in quick succession, with many others. He was +now the cynosure of the nation, and the star of Randolph was waning. +His disregard of Randolph's proposition, to withdraw from Congress and +denounce the Union, and his success in effecting this compromise, +sublimated Randolph's hatred, and no opportunity was permitted to pass +unimproved for abuse of him as a politician, and as a man. + +William Lowndes, after Clay, exercised more influence in the House than +any other man. He was a South Carolinian, and of distinguished family. +His health, at this time, was failing: it had always been delicate. Mr. +Lowndes was comparatively a young man. He was remarkably tall: perhaps +six feet six inches. He stood a head and shoulders above any man in +Congress. His hair was golden; his complexion, clear and pale, and his +eyes were deep blue, and very expressive. He had been elaborately +educated, and improved by foreign travel, extensive reading, and +research. As a belles-lettres scholar, he was superior even to Mr. +Randolph. Very retiring and modest in his demeanor, he rarely obtruded +himself upon the House. When he did, it seemed only to remind the House +of something which had been forgotten by his predecessors in debate. +Sometimes he would make a set speech. When he did, it was always +remarkable for profound reasoning, and profound thought. He was +suffering with disease of the lungs, and his voice was weak: so much so +that he never attempted to elevate it above a conversational tone. So +honest was he in his views, so learned and so unobtrusive, that he had +witched away the heart of the House. No man was so earnestly listened +to as Mr. Lowndes. His mild and persuasive manner, his refined and +delicate deportment in debate and social intercourse captivated every +one; and at a time when acrimonious feelings filled almost every +breast, there was no animosity for Mr. Lowndes. His impression upon the +nation had made him the favored candidate of every section for the next +President; and it is not, perhaps, saying too much, that had his life +been spared, he, and not John Quincy Adams, would have been the +President in 1824. He would have been to all an acceptable candidate. +His talents, his virtues, his learning, and his broad patriotism had +very much endeared him to the intelligence of the country. At that time +these attributes were expected in the President, and none were +acceptable without them. Mr. Lowndes in very early life gave evidence +of future usefulness and distinction. His thirst for knowledge, intense +application, and great capacity to acquire, made him conspicuous at +school, and in college. He entered manhood already distinguished by his +writings. While yet very young he travelled in Europe, and for the +purpose of mental improvement. Knowledge was the wife of his heart, and +he courted her with affectionate assiduity. An anecdote is related of +him illustrative of his character and attainments. While in London, he +was left alone at his hotel, where none but men of rank and distinction +visited, with a gentleman much his senior; neither knew the other. A +social instinct, (though not very prominent in an Englishman,) induced +conversation. After a time the gentleman left the apartment and was +returning to the street, when he encountered the Duke of Argyle. This +gentleman was William Roscoe, of Liverpool, and author of "The Life of +Leo the Tenth." + +"I have been spending a most agreeable hour," he said to the Duke, +"with a young American gentleman, who is the tallest, wisest, and best +bred young man I have ever met." + +"It must have been Mr. Lowndes, of South Carolina," replied the Duke. +"He is such a man, I know him and I know no other like him. Return and +let me make you his acquaintance." He did so, and the acquaintance then +commenced, ripened into a friendship which endured so long as they both +lived. + +Blue eyes, of a peculiar languid expression; yellow hair, lank and +without gloss; with a soft sunny sort of complexion, seems ever to +indicate physical weakness. Indeed, pale colors in all nature point to +brief existence, want of stamina and capacity to endure. All of these +combined in the physical organization of Mr. Lowndes, and served to +make more conspicuous the brilliancy of his intellect. It has been +said, consumption sublimates the mind, stealing from the body, +etherealizing and intensifying the intellect. This was peculiarly the +case in the instance of Mr. Lowndes. As the disease progressed, +attenuating and debilitating the physical man, his intellectual +faculties grew brighter, and brighter, assuming a lucidity almost +supernatural. At length he passed from time while yet young, leaving a +vacuum which in South Carolina has never been filled. His death was at +a time his services were most needed, and as with Clay, Jackson, and +Webster; his death was a national calamity. + +Conspicuous among the remarkable men of that era was Louis McLean, of +Delaware. He belonged to the Republican school of politics, and was a +very honest and able man. He combined very many most estimable traits +in his character; open and frank, without concealment; cheerful and +mild, without bitterness, and with as few prejudices as any public man. +Yet he was consistent and firm in his political opinions and +principles, as he was devoted and tenacious in his friendships. He was +extremely considerate of the feelings and prejudices of other +people--had a large stock of charity for the foibles and follies of his +friends and political antagonists. In social intercourse he was quite +as familiar and intimate with these as with his political friends. +Difference of political principles did not close his eyes to the +virtues and worth of any man, and his respect for talent and +uprightness was always manifest in his public and private intercourse +with those who differed with him in opinion. His was a happy +constitution, and one well fitted to win him friends. Personally, with +the exception of Mr. Lowndes, he was perhaps the most popular man upon +the floor of the House of Representatives. The influence of his +character and talent was very great, and his geographical position +added greatly to these in his efforts upon the Missouri question. His +speech was widely read, and no one found fault with it. It was a +masterly effort and added greatly to his extended fame. + +In the character of Mr. McLean there was a very happy combination of +gentleness with firmness. He carried this into his family, and its +influence has made of his children a monument to his fame; they have +distinguished, in their characters and conduct, the name and the +virtues of their father. It may be said of him what cannot be said of +many distinguished men, his children were equal to the father in +talent, usefulness, and virtue. + +The Administration of Mr. Monroe saw expire the Federal and Republican +parties, as organized under the Administration of John Adams. It saw +also the germ of the Democratic and Whig parties planted. It was a +prosperous Administration, and under it the nation flourished like a +green bay-tree. He was the last of the Presidents who had actively +participated in the war of the Revolution. To other virtues and +different merits, those who now aspire to the high distinction of the +Presidency must owe their success. There must always be a cause for +distinction. However great the abilities of a man or exalted his +virtues, he must in some manner make a display of them before the +public eye, or he must of necessity remain in obscurity. War developes +more rapidly and more conspicuously the abilities of men than any other +public employment. Gallantry and successful conflict presents the +commander and subalterns at once prominently before the country; +besides military fame addresses itself to every capacity, and strange +as it may seem, there is no quality so popular with man and woman, too, +as the art of successfully killing our fellow-man, and devastating his +country. It is ever a successful claim to public honors and political +preferments. No fame is so lasting as a military fame. Caesar and +Hannibal are names, though they lived two thousand years ago, familiar +in the mouths of every one, and grow brighter as time progresses. +Philip and his more warlike son, Alexander, are names familiar to the +learned and illiterate, alike; while those who adorned the walks of +civil life with virtues, and godlike abilities, are only known to those +who burrow in musty old books, and search out the root of civilization +enjoyed by modern nations. They who fought at Cannae and Marathon, at +Troy and at Carthage, are household names; while those who invented the +plough and the spade, and first taught the cultivation of the earth, +the very base of civilization, are unknown--never thought of. Such is +human nature. + +The war of 1812 had developed one or two men only of high military +genius, and the furor for military men had not then become a mania. +Abilities for civil government were considered essential in him who was +to be elevated to the Presidency. Indeed, it was not so much a +warrior's fame which had controlled in the election of the previous +Presidents, as their high intellectual reputations. Washington had +rendered such services to the country, both as a military man and a +civilian, that his name was the nation. He had been everywhere +designated as the father of his country, and such was the public +devotion, that he had only to ask it, and a despot's crown would have +adorned his brow. John Adams, Jefferson, and Madison had no military +record; but in the capacity of civilians had rendered essential service +to the cause of the Revolution. Their Administrations had been +successful, and the public mind attributed this success to their +abilities as statesmen, and desired to find as their successors, men of +like minds, and similar attainments. Crawford, Calhoun, Clay, John +Quincy Adams, and Lowndes, had all of them given evidences of eminent +statesmanship, and the public mind among these was divided. At the time +of the death of Lowndes, this mind was rapidly concentrating upon him, +as more eminently uniting the desired qualifications than any other. + +It was about this very time that General Jackson's name began to +attract the public as a prominent candidate. Mr. Calhoun was ready to +retire from the contest, and it is very probable his friends would have +united in the support of Lowndes, but he being out of the way, they +united upon Jackson. When Jackson was first spoken of as a candidate, +most men of intelligence viewed it as a mere joke, but very soon the +admiration for his military fame was apparent in the delight manifested +by the masses, when he was brought prominently forward. That thirst for +military glory, and the equally ardent thirst to do homage to the +successful military man, was discovered to be as innate and +all-pervading with the American people, as with any other of the most +warlike nations. Had the name of Jackson been brought before the people +six months earlier than it was, he would, most assuredly, have been +triumphantly elected by the popular vote. It would be fruitless to +speculate upon what might have been the consequences to the country had +he been then chosen. Besides, such is foreign to my purpose. I mean +merely to record memories of men and things which have come under my +eye and to my knowledge, for the last fifty years, and which I may +suppose will be interesting to the general reader, and particularly to +the young, who are just now coming into position as men and women, and +who will constitute the controlling element in society and in the +Government. To those of my own age, it may serve to awaken +reminiscences of a by-gone age, and enable them to contrast the men and +things of now and then. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +FRENCH AND SPANISH TERRITORY. + +SETTLERS ON THE TOMBIGBEE AND MISSISSIPPI RIVERS--LA SALLE--NATCHEZ-- +FAMILY APPORTIONMENT--THE HILL COUNTRY--HOSPITALITY--BENEFIT OF +AFRICAN SLAVERY--CAPACITY OF THE NEGRO--HIS FUTURE. + + +About the year 1777, many persons of the then colonies, fearful of the +consequences of the war then commencing for the independence of the +colonies, removed and sought a home beyond their limits. Some selected +the Tombigbee, and others the Mississippi River, and, braving the +horrors of the wilderness, made a home for themselves and posterity, +amid the rude inhospitalies of uncultivated nature. + +There were, at that time, small settlements of French and Spanish +adventurers upon these streams, in different localities. La Salle +descended upon Canada, and, taking possession of Louisiana in the name +of the French king, had created among many of the chivalrous and +adventurous spirits of France a desire to take possession of the entire +country, from the mouth of the Saint Lawrence to that of the +Mississippi. Nova Scotia, called Acadia by its first settlers, and the +provinces of Canada, were his already, and France desired to restrict +the further expansion of the English colonies, now growing into +importance along the Atlantic coast. + +The vast extent of the continent and its immense fertility, with its +mighty rivers, its peculiar adaptation to settlement, and the yielding +of all the necessaries and luxuries of human wants, had aroused the +enterprise of Europe. Spain had possessed herself of South America, +Mexico, and Cuba, the pride of the Antilles. The success of her scheme +of colonization stimulated both England and France to push forward +their settlements, and to foster and protect them with Governmental +care. After some fruitless attempts, the mouth of the Mississippi had +been discovered, and approached from the Gulf. The expedition under La +Salle had failed to find it. The small colony brought by him for +settlement upon the Mississippi, had been landed many leagues west of +the river's mouth, and owing to disputes between that great and +enterprising man and the officer commanding the two ships which had +transported them across the Atlantic, they were mercilessly left by +this officer, without protection, and almost without provisions, upon +the coast of what is now Texas. La Salle had started with a small +escort, by land, to find the great river. These men became +dissatisfied, and not sharing in the adventurous and energetic spirit +of their leader, remonstrated with him and proposed to return to their +companions; but, disregarding them, he pressed on in his new +enterprise. In wading a small stream, one of the men was carried off by +an alligator, and a day or so after, another was bitten and killed by a +rattle-snake. Terror seized upon his men, and all their persuasions +proving fruitless, they determined to assassinate him and return. They +did so, only to find the colony dispersed and nowhere to be found. +After many hazardous adventures they reached the Arkansas River, and +descended it to its mouth, where they proposed preparing some means of +ascending the Mississippi, and thus return to Canada. Fortunately they +had been there but a few hours, when a small boat or two, which had +been dispatched from Canada to look after the colony so long expected, +arrived, and, learning the unfortunate issue of the enterprise, took on +board the party, and returned up the river. They reported the colony +destroyed, and it was not until many years after, that it was +discovered that those left on the sea-side had been found, and conveyed +to the Jesuit Mission, at San Antonio, where they had been cared for +and preserved by the pious and humane missionaries. + +Subsequently a colony was located at Boloxy, on the shore of the lake, +and thence was transferred to New Orleans. Mobile, soon after, was made +the nucleus of another colony, and from these two points had proceeded +the pioneers of the different settlements along these rivers--the +Tombigbee and the Mississippi. It was to these settlements or posts, or +their neighborhoods, that these refugees from the Revolutionary war in +the colonies had retired. Natchez and St. Francisville, on the +Mississippi, and St. Stephen's and McIntosh's Bluff, on the Tombigbee, +were the most populous and important. + +About these, and under the auspicious protection of the Spanish +Government, then dominant in Louisiana and Florida, commenced the +growth of the Anglo-Norman population, which is now the almost entire +population of the country. There proceeded from South Carolina, about +the time mentioned above, a colony of persons which located near +Natchez. They came down the Holston, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers, +on flat-boats; and after many escapes from the perils incident to the +streams they navigated, and the hostility of the savages who dwelt +along their shores, they reached this Canaan of their hopes. They had +intended to locate at New Madrid. The country around was well suited +for cultivation, being alluvial and rich, and the climate was all they +could desire; but they found a population mongrel and vicious, +unrestrained by law or morals, and learning through a negro belonging +to the place of an intended attack upon their party, for the purpose of +robbery, they hastily re-embarked what of their property and stock they +had debarked. Under pretense of dropping a few miles lower down the +river for a more eligible site, they silently and secretly left in the +night, and never attempted another stop until reaching the Walnut +Hills, now Vicksburg. A few of the party concluded to remain here, +while the larger number went on down; some to the mouth of Cole's +Creek, some to Natchez, and others to the cliffs known by the name of +one of the emigrants whose party concluded to settle there. + +These cliffs, which are eighteen miles below Natchez, have always been +known as Ellis' Cliffs. In their rear is a most beautiful, and +eminently fertile country. Grants were obtained from the Spanish +Government of these lands, in tracts suited to the means of each +family. A portion was given to the husband, a portion to the wife, and +a portion to each child of every family. These grants covered nearly +all of that desirable region south of St. Catharine's Creek and west of +Second Creek to the Mississippi River, and south to the Homochitto +River. Similar grants were obtained for lands about the mouth, and +along the banks of Cole's Creek, at and around Fort Adams, ten miles +above the mouth of Red River, and upon the Bayou Pierre. The same +authority donated to the emigrants lands about McIntosh's Bluff, Fort +St. Stephens, and along Bassett's Creek, in the region of the Tombigbee +River. Here the lands were not so fertile, nor were they in such bodies +as in the region of the Mississippi. The settlements did not increase +and extend to the surrounding country with the same rapidity as in the +latter country. Many of those first stopping on the Tombigbee, +ultimately removed to the Mississippi. Here they encountered none of +the perils or losses incident to the war of the Revolution. The +privations of a new country they did, of necessity, endure, but not to +the same extent that those suffer who are deprived of a market for the +products of their labor. New Orleans afforded a remunerative market for +all they could produce, and, in return, supplied them with every +necessary beyond their means of producing at home. The soil and climate +were not only auspicious to the production of cotton, tobacco, and +indigo--then a valuable marketable commodity--but every facility for +rearing without stint every variety of stock. These settlements were +greatly increased by emigration from Pennsylvania, subsequently to the +conclusion of the war, as well as from the Southern States. + +Very many who, in that war, had sided with the mother country from +conscientious, or mercenary views, were compelled by public opinion, or +by the operation of the law confiscating their property and banishing +them from the country, to find new homes. Those, however, who came +first had choice of locations, and most generally selected the best; +and bringing most wealth, maintained the ascendency in this regard, and +gave tone and direction to public matters as well as to the social +organization of society. Most of them were men of education and high +social position in the countries from which they came. Constant +intercourse with New Orleans, and the education of the youth of both +sexes of this region in the schools of that city, carried the high +polish of French society into the colony. + +Louisiana, and especially New Orleans, was first settled by the +nobility and gentry of France. They were men in position among the +first of that great and glorious people. Animated with the ambition for +high enterprise, they came in sufficient numbers to create a society, +and to plant French manners and customs, and the elegance of French +learning and French society, upon the banks of the Mississippi. + +The commercial and social intermingling of these people resulted in +intermarriages, which very soon assimilated them in most things as one +people, at least in feeling, sentiment and interest. From such a stock +grew the people inhabiting the banks of the Mississippi, from Vicksburg +to New Orleans. In 1826, young men of talent and enterprise had come +from Europe, and every section of the United States, and, giving their +talents to the development of the country, had created a wealth, +greater and more generally diffused than was, at that time, to be found +in any other planting or farming community in the United States. Living +almost exclusively among themselves, their manners and feelings were +homogeneous; and living, too, almost entirely upon the products of +their plantations, independent of their market-crops, they grew rich so +rapidly as to mock the fable of Jonah's gourd. This wealth afforded the +means of education and travel; these, cultivation and high mental +attainments, and, with these, the elegances of refined life. The +country was vast and fertile; the Mississippi, flowing by their homes, +was sublimely grand, and seemed to inspire ideas and aspirations +commensurate with its own majesty in the people upon its borders. + +In no country are to be found women of more refined character, more +beauty, or more elegance of manners, than among the planters' wives and +daughters of the Mississippi coast. Reared in the country, and +accustomed to exercise in the open air, in walking through the shady +avenues of the extensive and beautifully ornamented grounds about the +home or plantation-house; riding on horseback along the river's margin, +elevated upon the levee, covered with the green Bermuda grass, smoothly +spreading over all the ground, save the pretty open road, stretching +through this grass, like a thread of silver in a a cloth of green; with +the great drab river, moving in silent majesty, on one side, and the +extended fields of the plantation, teeming with the crop of cane or +cotton, upon the other. Their exercise, thus surrounded, becomes a +school, and their ideas expand and grow with the sublimity of their +surroundings. The health-giving exercise and the wonderful scene yields +vigor both to mind and body. Nor is this scene, or its effects, greater +in the development of mind and body than that of the hill-country of +the river-counties of Mississippi. + +These hills are peculiar. They are drift, thrown upon the primitive +formation by some natural convulsion, and usually extend some twelve or +fifteen miles into the interior. They consist of a rich, marly loam, +and, when in a state of nature were clothed to their summits with the +wild cane, dense and unusually large, a forest of magnolia, black +walnut, immense oaks, and tulip or poplar-trees, with gigantic vines of +the wild grape climbing and overtopping the tallest of these forest +monarchs. Here among these picturesque hills and glorious woods, the +emigrants fixed their homes, and here grew their posterity surrounding +themselves with wealth, comforts, and all the luxuries and elegances of +an elevated civilization. Surrounded in these homes with domestic +slaves reared in them, and about them, who came at their bidding, and +went when told, but who were carefully regarded, sustained, and +protected, and who felt their family identity, and were happy, served +affectionately, and with willing alacrity, the master and his +household. In the midst of scenes and circumstances like these grew +women in all that constitutes nobility of soul and sentiment, delicacy, +intelligence, and refined purity, superior to any it has ever been my +fortune to meet on earth. + +Here in these palatial homes was the hospitality of princes. It was not +the hospitality of pride or ostentation, but of the heart; the welcome +which the soul ungrudgingly gives, and which delights and refines the +receiver. It is the welcome of a refined humanity, untainted with +selfishness, and felt as a humane and duly bound tribute to +civilization and Christianity; such hospitality as can only belong to +the social organization which had obtained in the community from its +advent upon this great country. + +The independence of the planter's pursuit, the institution of domestic +slavery, and the form and spirit of the Government, all conduce to +this. The mind is untrammelled and the soul is independent, because +subservient neither to the tyrannical exactions of unscrupulous +authority, or the more debasing servility of dependence upon the +capricious whims of petty officials, or a monied aristocracy. +Independently possessing the soil and the labor for its cultivation, +with only the care necessary to the comforts and necessities of this +labor, superadded to those of a family, they were without the necessity +of soliciting or courting favors from any one, or pandering to the +ignorant caprices of a labor beyond their control. Independence of +means is the surest guarantee for independence of character. Where this +is found, most private and most public virtues always accompany it. +Truth, sincerity, all the cardinal virtues are fostered most where +there is most independence. This takes away the source of all +corruption, all temptation. This seeks dependence, and victimizes its +creatures to every purpose of corruption and meanness. + +Under the influences of the institutions of the South, as they were, +there was little of the servile meanness so predominant where they were +not, and the lofty and chivalrous character of the Southern people was +greatly owing to these institutions, and the habits of the people +growing out of them. The slave was a class below all others. His master +was his protector and friend; he supplied his wants and redressed his +wrongs, and it was a point of honor as well as duty to do so; he was +assured of his care and protection, and felt no humility at his +condition. The white man, without means, was reminded that, though +poor, he was above the slave, and was stimulated with the pride of +position as contrasted with that of the slave; his political, legal, +and social rights were unrestrained and equal with those of the +wealthiest. This was the only distinction between him and the +wealthiest in the land, and this wealth conferred no exclusive +privilege, and its acquisition was open to his energy and enterprise, +and he gloried in his independence. He could acquire and enjoy without +dependence, and his pride and ambition were alike stimulated to the +emulation of those who shared most fortune's favors. + +The beneficial influences of the institution of African slavery were +not only apparent in the independent and honorable bearing and conduct +of the Southern people, growing from the habit of command, and +involuntary contrast of condition, but upon the material advancement +and progress of the country. The product of slave labor, when directed +by a higher intelligence than his own, is enormous, and was the basis +of the extended and wealth-creating commerce of the entire country. +These products could be obtained in no other manner, and without this +labor, are lost to the world. The African negro, in osseous and +muscular developments, and in all the essentials for labor, is quite +equal to those of the white race; in his cerebral, greatly inferior. +The capacities of his brain are limited and incapable of cultivation +beyond a certain point. His moral man is as feeble and unteachable as +his mental. He cannot be educated to the capacity of self-government, +nor to the formation and conducting of civil government to the extent +of humanizing and controlling by salutary laws a people aggregated into +communities. He learns by example which he imitates, so long as the +exampler is present before him; but this imitation never hardens to +fixed views or habits, indicating the design of Providence, that these +physical capacities should be directed and appropriated for good, by an +intelligence beyond the mental reach of the negro. + +Why is this so? In the wisdom and economy of creation every created +thing represents a design for a use. The soil and climate of the +tropical and semi-tropical regions of the earth produce and mature all, +or very nearly all of the necessaries and luxuries of human life. But +human beings of different races and different capacities fill up the +whole earth. The capacity to build a fire and fabricate clothing is +given only to man. Was the element of fire and the material for +clothing given for any but man's use? This enables him to inhabit every +clime. But the capacity to produce all the necessaries and luxuries of +life is given only to a certain portion of the earth's surface; and its +peculiar motions give the fructifying influences of the sun only to the +middle belt of the planet. The use of this organization is evidenced in +the production of this belt, and these productions must be the result +of intelligently directed labor. + +The peculiarity of the physical organization of the white man makes it +impossible for him to labor healthfully and efficiently for the +greatest development of this favored region. Yet his wants demand the +yield and tribute of this region. His inventive capacity evolved sugar +from the wild canes of the tropics, than which nothing is more +essential to his necessities, save the cereals and clothing. He +fabricated clothing from the tropical grass and tropical cotton, found +the uses of cassia, pimento, the dye woods, and the thousand other +tropical products which contribute to comfort, necessity, and luxury; +advancing human happiness, human progress, and human civilization. + +The black man's organization is radically different. He was formed +especially to live and labor in these tropical and semi-tropical +regions of the earth; but he is naturally indolent, his wants are few, +and nature unaided supplies them. He is uninventive, and has always, +from creation down, lived amid these plants without the genius to +discover, or the skill and industry to develope their uses. That they +are used, and contribute to human health and human necessities, is +abundant evidence of Divine design in their creation. + +The black man's labor, then, and the white man's intelligence are +necessary to the production and fabrication, for human use, of these +provisions of Providence. This labor the black man will not yield +without compulsion. He is eminently useful under this compulsion, and +eminently useless, even to himself, without it. That he was designed to +obey this authority, and to be most happy when and where he was most +useful, is apparent in his mental and moral organization. By moral I +mean those functions of the nervous system which bring us in relation +with the external world. He aspires to nothing but the gratification of +his passions, and the indulgence of his indolence. He only feels the +oppression of slavery in being compelled to work, and none of the moral +degradation incident to servility in the higher or superior races. He +is, consequently, more happy, and better contented in this, than in any +other condition of life. His morals, his bodily comforts, and his +status as a man, attain to an elevation in this condition known to his +race in no other. + +All the results of his condition react upon the superior race, holding +him in the condition designed for him by his Creator, producing results +to human progress all over the world, known to result in an equal ratio +from no other cause. The institution has passed away, and very soon all +its consequences will cease to be visible in the character of the +Southern people. The plantation will dwindle to the truck-patch, the +planter will sink into the grave, and his offspring will degenerate +into hucksters and petty traders, and become as mean and contemptible +as the Puritan Yankee. + +In the two hundred years of African slavery the world's progress was +greater in the arts and sciences, and in all the appliances promotive +of intelligence and human happiness, than in any period of historical +time, of five centuries. Why? Because the labor was performed by the +man formed for labor and incapable of thinking, and releasing the man +formed to think, direct, and invent, from labor, other than labor of +thought. This influence was felt over the civilized world. The +productions of the tropics were demanded by the higher civilization. +Men forgot to clothe themselves in skins when they could do so in +cloth. As commerce extended her flight, bearing these rich creations of +labor, elaborated by intelligence, civilization went with her, +expanding the mind, enlarging the wants, and prompting progress in all +with whom she communicated. Its influence was first felt from the +Antilles, extending to the United States. In proportion to the increase +of these products was the increase of commerce, wealth, intelligence, +and power. Compare the statistics of production by slave-labor with the +increase of commerce, and they go hand in hand. As the slave came down +from the grain-growing region to the cotton and sugar region, the +amount of his labor's product entering into commerce increased +four-fold. The inventions of Whitney and Arkwright cheapened the fabric +of cotton so much as to bring it within the reach of the poorest, and +availed the world in all the uses of cloth. + +The shipping and manufacturing interests of England grew; those of the +United States, from nothing, in a few years were great rivals of the +mother country, and very soon surpassed her in commercial tonnage. +Every interest prospered with the prosperity of the planter of the +Southern States. His class has passed away; the weeds blacken where the +chaste, white cotton beautified his fields; his slave is a freedman--a +constitution-maker--a ruler set up by a beastly fanaticism to control +his master, and to degrade and destroy his country. + +This must bear its legitimate fruit. It is the beginning of the end of +the negro upon this continent. Two races with the same civil, political +and social privileges cannot long exist in harmony together. The +struggle for supremacy will come, and with it a war of races--then God +have mercy on the weaker! The mild compulsion which stimulated his +labor is withdrawn, and with it the care and protection which alone +preserved him. He works no more; his day of Jubilee has come; he must +be a power in the land. Infatuated creature! I pity you from my heart. +You cannot see or calculate the inevitable destiny now fixed for your +race. You cannot see the vile uses you are made to subserve for a time, +or deem that those who now appear your conservators, are but preparing +your funeral pyre. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE NATCHEZ TRADITIONS. + +NATCHEZ--MIZEZIBBEE; OR, THE PARENT OF MANY WATERS--INDIAN MOUNDS--THE +CHILD OF THE SUN--TREATMENT OF THE FEMALES--POETIC MARRIAGES--UNCHASTE +MAIDS AND PURE WIVES--WALKING ARCHIVES--THE PROFANE FIRE--ALAHOPLECHIA +--OYELAPE--THE CHIEF WITH A BEARD. + + +The little city of Natchez is built upon a bluff some three hundred +feet in elevation above the Mississippi River, and immediately upon its +brink. It receives its name from a tribe of Indians once resident in +the country; and who were much further advanced in civilization than +their more warlike neighbors, the Choctaws and the Chickasaws. The +country around is hilly and beautiful, fertile and salubrious. The +population was intelligent and refined, and was remarkable for having +more wealth than any community outside of a large city, in the United +States, of the same amount of population. The town of Natchez (for, +properly speaking, it is no more) consists of some three or four +thousand inhabitants, and has not increased to any considerable extent, +for many years. + +Beyond the river, in Louisiana, is an alluvial plain extending for +fifty miles, through which meander many small streams, or bayous, as +they are termed in the language of the country. Upon most of these the +surface of the soil is slightly elevated above the plane of the swamp, +and is remarkably fertile. Most of these were, at the commencement of +the late war, in a high state of cultivation as cotton plantations. As +in many other places, the river here has changed its bed by cutting off +a large bend immediately opposite the town, creating what is known as +Lake Concordia. This lake was formerly the bed of the river, and +describes almost a complete circle of some twelve miles in diameter. On +both sides of this lake beautiful plantations, with splendid +improvements, presented a view from the bluff at Natchez extremely +picturesque when covered with luxuriant crops of corn and cotton. The +fertility of the soil is such that these crops are immensely heavy; and +when the cotton-plant has matured its fruit, and the pent-up lint in +the large conical balls has burst them open, exposing their white +treasure swelling out to meet the sun's warm rays, and the parent stock +to the first frost of autumn has thrown off her foliage, and all these +broad fields are one sheet of lovely white, as far as the eye can +view--the scene is lovely beyond description; and when the same rich +scene was presented extending along the banks of the great river, with +the magnificent steamers resting at the wharf below, and others +cleaving the current in proud defiance of the mighty volume of hurrying +waters--the splendor and magnificence of the whole sublimated the +feelings as we viewed it in wonder. + +The river, the bluff, and the lake are there; but waste and desolation +frown on these, and the fat earth's rich fruits are yielded no more. +Fanaticism's hot breath has breathed upon it, and war's red hand (her +legitimate offspring) has stricken down the laborer; tillage has +ceased, and gaunt poverty and hungry want only are left in her train. + +When the great La Salle moored his little fleet at the foot of this +bluff, ascended to its summit, and looked over this then forest-clad +plain, did he contemplate the coming future of this beautiful discovery +of his genius and enterprise? When he looked upon the blue smoke +curling above the tall tree-tops along the lake, in the far distance, +as it ascended from the wigwams of the Natchez, the wild denizens of +this interminable forest, did his prophetic eye perceive these lovely +fields, happy homes, and prosperous people, who came after him to make +an Eden of this chosen spot of all the earth? and did it stretch on to +contemplate the ruin and desolation which overspreads it now? How blest +is man that he sees not beyond to-day! + +Here he first met the Natchez, and viewed with wonder the flat heads +and soft, gazelle eyes of this strange people. They welcomed his +coming, and tendered him and his people a home. From them he learned +the extent of the great river below, and that it was lost in the great +water that was without limit and had no end. These Indians, according +to their traditions, had once inhabited, as a mighty nation, the +country extending from near the city of Mexico to the Rio Grande, and +were subjects of the Aztec empire of Mexico. They had been persecuted +and oppressed, and determined, in grand council, to abandon the country +and seek a home beyond the Mizezibbee, or Parent-of-many-waters, which +the word signifies. + +Their exodus commenced in a body. They were many days in assembling +upon the east bank of the Rio Grande; and thence commenced their long +march. They abandoned their homes and the graves of their ancestors for +a new one in the lovely region they found on the hills extending from +the mouth of the Yazoo to Baton Rouge. Their principal town and seat of +empire was located eleven miles below Natchez, on the banks of Second +Creek, two miles from the Mississippi River. It is a delightful spot of +high table-land, with a small strip of level low-land immediately upon +the margin of the dimpling little stream of sweet water. Upon this flat +they erected the great mound for their temple of the Sun, and the +depository of the holy fire, so sacred in their worship. At each point +of the compass they erected smaller mounds for the residences of their +chief, or child of the Sun, and his ministers of state. In the great +temple upon the principal mound they deposited the fire of holiness, +which they had borne unextinguished from the deserted temple in Mexico, +and began to build their village. Parties went forth to establish other +villages, and before a great while they were located in happy homes in +a land of abundance. They formed treaties of amity with their powerful +but peaceable neighbors, the Choctaws, and ere long with the Chickasaws +and other minor tribes, east, and below them, on the river, the +Tunicas, Houmas, and others; for the country abounded with little +bands, insignificant and powerless. + +These Indians revered, as more than mortal, their great chief, whom +they called the child of the Sun. They had a tradition that when they +were a great nation, in Mexico, they were divided into parties by feuds +among their chiefs, and all their power to resist the aggressions of +their enemies was lost; consequently they had fallen under the power of +the Aztecs, who dominated them, and destroyed many of their people. +Upon one occasion, when a common enemy and a common suffering had made +them forget their quarrels, they were assembled for council. Suddenly +there appeared in their midst a white man and woman, surrounded with a +halo of light coming directly from the sun. They were all silent with +awe when this man spoke, and with such authority as to make every chief +tremble with fear. They bowed to him with reverence, and he professing +to be weary with his long journey, they conducted him with his wife to +a lodge, and bade them repose and be rested. The chiefs, in the +darkness of the night and in silence, assembled, while the celestial +pair slept, conscious of security. After long and close council, they +determined to proffer the supreme authority of the nation to this man, +sent to them by the sun. When this determination had been reached, the +chiefs, in a body, repaired to the house occupied by their mysterious +visitors and, arousing them from sleep, they formally tendered to the +man the crown and supreme authority over the chiefs, all their +villages, and all their people. At first he refused, asserting that he +knew their hearts; they carried hatred of one another, and that they +would come to hate him; then they would disobey him, and this would be +death to all the Natchez. Finally yielding to the importunities and +earnestly repeated protestations of a determination to obey him and +follow his counsels implicitly, he agreed to accept the crown upon +certain conditions. These were: first and paramount, that the Natchez +should abandon their homes and country, and follow him to a new home +which he would show them; and that they should live and conform +strictly to the laws he would establish. The principal of these were: +the sovereign of Natchez should always and forever be of his race, and +that if he had sons and daughters, they should not be permitted to +intermarry with each other, but only with the people of the Natchez. +The first-born of his sons should be his successor, and then the son of +his eldest daughter, and should he have no daughter, then the son of +his eldest sister, or in default of such an heir, then the eldest son +of the nearest female relative of the sovereign, and so in perpetuity. + +So soon as he was inaugurated chief and supreme ruler, he went out in +the midst of the assembled multitude and called down in their presence +fire from the sun; blessed it and made it holy. He created a guard of +eight men, made them priests and gave them charge of the fire, and bid +them, under pain of death, to preserve and keep alive this holy fire. +They must tend it day and night and feed it with walnut wood, and in +their charge it went before the moving host to where he had promised +they should find a new and better home than the one they were leaving. + +Another tradition says, they were aiders of the Spaniards in the +conquest of Mexico, and that these became as great persecutors of their +people as the Aztecs. But from many of their traditions connected with +their new home which extended back far beyond the conquest of Mexico, +it is thought by historians that this tradition alludes to some other +war in which they took part against their oppressors. They were +remarkable for their size and symmetry of form of their men; but like +all the race, they made slaves of their women, imposing every burden +from the cultivation of their fields to the duties of the +household--the carrying of heavy burdens and the securing of fuel for +winter. These labors served to disfigure and make their women to appear +prematurely aged and worn, and they seemed an inferior race when +compared with the men. + +The laws imposed by their chief of the sun were strictly obeyed. They +compelled the telling of truth on all occasions; never to kill, but in +self-defence; never to steal, and to preserve inviolate the +marriage-vow. The marriage ceremony was poetic and impressive. No girl +ever dreamed of disobeying her parents in the choice of a husband; nor +was elopement ever heard of among them; nor did the young man presume +to thrust himself upon a family to whom, or to any member of whom, he +was not acceptable. But when the marriage was agreeable to the families +of both parties and was consequently determined upon, the head of the +family of the bride went with her and her whole family to the house of +the bridegroom, who there stood with all his family around him, when +the old man of the bridegroom's family welcomed them, by asking: "Is it +thou?" "Yes," answered the other ancient. "Sit down," continued the +other. Immediately all were seated, and a profound silence for many +minutes ensued. Then the eldest man of the party bid the groom and +bride to stand up, when he addressed them in a speech in which he +recapitulated all the duties of man and wife; informed them of the +obligations they were assuming, and then concluded with a lecture of +advice as to their future lives. + +When this ceremony was concluded, the father of the bridegroom handed +to his son the present he was to make to the family of the bride. Then +the father of bride stepped up to the side of his daughter, when the +groom said to the bride: "Wilt thou have me for thy husband?" The bride +answered: "With all my heart; love me as I will love thee; for thou art +my only love for all my life." Then holding the gift above her head, +the groom said: "I love thee; therefore I take thee for my wife, and +this is the present with which I buy thee," and then he handed the +present to her parents. Upon his head he wore a tuft of feathers, and +in his hand a bow, emblematic of authority and protection. The bride +held in one hand a green twig of the laurel-tree, and in the other an +ear of corn--the twig indicated she would preserve her fame ever fair +and sweet as the laurel leaf; the corn was to represent her capacity to +grow it and prepare it for his food, and to fulfil all the duties of a +faithful wife. These ceremonies completed, the bride dropped the ear of +corn which she held in her right hand, and tendered that hand to the +bridegroom, who took it and said: "I am thy husband." She replied: "I +am thy wife." The bridegroom then went round and gave his hand to every +member of the family of his wife. He then took his bride by the arm and +led her around and she took the right hand of all the family of the +bridegroom. This done, he walked with her to his bed, and said: "This +is our bed, keep it undefiled." + +There obtained among these primitive beings a most curious and most +disgusting custom. The young marriageable females were permitted to +prostitute themselves for gain, in order to provide a marriage portion; +and she who could thus enrich herself was the most distinguished and +the most sought. But after marriage, she was compelled to purity, both +by their laws and by public sentiment; and in all the intercourse of +the French with them, no instance of infidelity was ever known in a +wife. + +The great sun was indeed their Lycurgus. If before his advent among +them they had any laws, these had become obsolete, and his edicts +adopted universally. Their traditions represent him as living to +extreme old age, seeing his descendants of the fourth generation. These +were all little suns, and constituted the nobility of their nation, +which extended at one time to the country above, as far as St. Louis +and across to the Wabash. These traditions were carefully kept. Every +two years there were selected from the most intelligent boys of the +nation ten, to whom these traditions were carefully taught by the +depositories of them who had kept them best for the greatest time. They +were careful to exact that no word or fact should be withheld, and this +lesson was daily taught until the boy was a man, and every legend a +familiar memory. These he was compelled to repeat daily lest the memory +should rust, and for this purpose they went forth to all the villages +repeating all of these legends to all the people. + +There were others selected in like manner to whom the laws were taught +as the traditions, and in like manner these were taught the people. In +every community there was a little sun to administer these laws, and +every complaint was submitted to him, and great ceremony was observed +at every trial, especially criminal trials. The judge, or little sun, +purified himself in the forest, imploring the enlightenment of the Good +Spirit, and purging away the influence of bad spirits by his +purification; and when he felt himself a fitted tabernacle of pure +justice, he came forward and rendered his judgment in the presence of +all the villagers of his jurisdiction, whose attention was compulsory. + +It was one of the laws established in the beginning of the reign of the +Great Sun, that his posterity should not marry _inter se_, but only +with the common people of the nation. This custom was expelling the +pure blood of royalty more and more every generation, and long after +the arrival of the Natchez upon the Mississippi, the great and little +suns were apparently of the pure blood of the red man. Their +traditions, however, preserved the history of every cross, and when +Lasalle found these at Natchez and the White Apple village, nearly +every one could boast of relationship to the Great Sun. At that time +they had diminished to an insignificant power, and were overawed by +their more numerous and more powerful neighbors, the Choctaws and +Muscagees or Alabamas. Their legends recorded this constant decline, +but assigned no reason for it. They could now not bring more than two +thousand warriors into the field. Gayarie says not more than six +hundred; but those contemporaneous with planting the colony of Orleans +say, some two thousand, some more, and some estimate them as low as the +number stated in that admirable history of Louisiana whose author is so +uniformly correct. And here let me acknowledge my obligations to that +accomplished historian, and no less accomplished gentleman, for most of +the facts here stated, and if I have used his own language in +portraying them to a great extent, it was because it was so pure and +beautiful I could not resist it, the excuse the Brazilian gave for +stealing the diamond. + +With regard to these people, their mode of life was that of most of the +other tribes. They lived principally by the chase; their only +cultivation was the Indian corn, pumpkins, and a species of wild beans +or peas, perfectly black, until their intercourse with the French, and +then they only added a few of the coarser vegetables. From whom they +derived the pumpkin is not known. + +Their wars were not more frequent or more destructive than those of +their neighbors; and their general habits were the same. Still they +were going on to decay, and they contemplated with stolid calmness +their coming extinction. They felt it a destiny not to be averted or +avoided by anything they could do, and were content with the excuse of +folly for all its errors and sins. _It is the will of God, or the Great +Spirit, as the Indian phrases it._ They were more enlightened than +their neighbors, as historians have stated, because, I suppose, they +were more superstitious. They bowed to fate, the attribute of +superstition everywhere, and made no effort at relief from the causes +of decay. + +Their religion, like all the aborigines of the continent, consisted in +the worship of the Great Spirit typified in the sun, to whom was +addressed their prayers and all their devotion. The sacred fire was the +emblem on earth; their Great Sun had brought it from the sun and given +it as holy to them to be forever preserved and propitiated by watching +and prayer. In every village and settlement they erected mounds upon +which the temple of the sun was built, and where was deposited the +sacred fire. Mounds, too, were built for burying-places, and in these +are now to be found in great abundance the flat heads and other bones +of this remarkable people. + +They had a tradition that an evil spirit was always tempting them to +violate the laws, and the regulations of their religious belief. That +at one time he had so nearly extinguished the holy fire in their +temples, and the love of the sun in their hearts, that the Great Spirit +came and fought with them against him, until finally he was conquered +and chained in a deep cave, whence he still continued to send out +little devils to tempt and torment their people. It was these who +brought disease and death; these who tempted to lie, steal, and kill; +disobedience in their wives when they refused to perform their duties +or became bellicose, as wives sometimes will, of every people on earth. +It was a trite saying, shut up the cave in your heart and smother or +put out the bad spirit. It was a belief that these imps or little +devils found much more easy access to the caves in the hearts of women +than into those of men, and that they encouraged them to come and +nestle there. Is the belief alone the Indian's? There are some within +my knowledge whose experience at home might readily yield belief to +this faith of the savage. + +Their traditions, too, told them of the great waters coming over all +the land, and destroying all the inhabitants except those who had +boats; and that the latter were carried away by the waters and left by +them on all the land that was permitted again to come above the waters; +and that by that means people were planted everywhere. These traditions +are quite as rational as most of the speculations as to how the earth +was populated, especially that which we learn in the cradle, of Adam +and Eve's mission. + +It was death, by their law, to permit the holy fire to become +extinguished in the temples. To prevent such a calamity, it was +preserved in two temples at different points; when accidentally +extinguished in one, it was to be obtained from the other; but not +peacefully. The keepers must resist and blood must be spilt in order to +obtain it. Soon after they became acquainted with the French, the fire +was extinguished in the great temple at the White Apple village by the +lazy watcher. Knowing his fate, he stealthily lighted it from profane +fire. Great misfortunes following this, and shortly thereafter the loss +of the holy fire in the other temple near the Grindstone ford, on the +Bayou Pierre, in Claiborne County, Mississippi, they sought after the +legal and holy manner to procure fire from the White Apple village. Yet +the calamities continued. The watch who had suffered the fire to fail +in the first temple, conscience smitten, confessed his sin and paid its +penalty. + +They now had only profane fire, and the whole nation was in the agonies +of despair. The cause of all their calamities was now no longer a +secret. They extinguished the profane fire, and in prayer, fasting, and +continued oblations, they propitiated the sun to send them fire that was +holy, to protect and preserve them. It was the folly of ignorance and +superstition, and availed nothing; but, like all prayer, was considered +a pious duty, though nothing was ever known to result therefrom, and +nature moved steadily and undeviatingly forward in obedience to the +fixed, immutable, and eternal laws affirmed by the all-wise Creator. +There was gloom upon every brow and despair in every heart. The curse +pronounced by the first Great Sun had come--destruction and death to all +the Natchez--because of the extinction of the holy fire. At length a +tree was stricken by lightning near the White Apple village temple, +and set on fire. The men of the temple saw the answer to their prayers +in this, and hastened to re-kindle the holy flame from this fire, +so miraculously sent them from heaven. It was to them a miracle, +because, though perfectly in obedience to natural laws, they did not +comprehend them, and like unto all people under similar circumstances, +all in nature is a miracle which they do not understand, and cannot +satisfactorily explain. But there was no efficiency found in this, and +the trouble went forward. + +The French had come among them, and taught them the value and +corrupting influence of money. Boats had ascended and descended the +Great River, and communication, through this channel, had been +established with Canada. They were grasping, by degrees, the lands, +building forts and peopling the country. They had introduced the black +man, and the wiser of the Natchez saw in the future the doom of their +race. They saw the feuds fomented between the numerous tribes along the +coast of the Mississippi by the French, and the destruction of these by +bloody wars. They saw, too, to offend the French was sure to bring +destruction upon the offending party. Their neighbors were made, +through French influence, to fall upon and destroy them. The Chickasaws +and Choctaws--great nations, having multitudes of warriors--were under +the dominion of these pale-faced intruders, and they feared they might +be turned upon them in an unsuspecting hour. + +There was among the Natchez a mighty chief and warrior. He was of great +stature and fame, being seven feet high and powerfully proportioned. He +had a large beard, and was called the chief of the Beard, because he +was the only man of all the tribe who had this facial ornament or +incumbrance. He was a mighty warrior and was wise in counsel. He +believed he saw great evil to the Natchez in the increase of the French +and the extension of French power. He knew, and told his people, this +was the foreboding of the extinction of the holy fire. He went forth +with the chief of the Walnut Hills, named Alahoplechia, and the chief +of the White Clay, Oyelape, among their neighbors of other tribes, the +Chicasaws and Choctaws, preaching a crusade against the French; urging +them to unite with the Natchez, the Homochittas, and the Alabamas, and +to attack and destroy the last man of the French settlements at Mobile, +Boloxy, Ship Island, and New Orleans, as they were mischievous +intruders from across the Salt Lake, whence they were yearly bringing +their people to rob them of their homes and appropriate them. + +There had come to them red men from the Wabash and Muskingum, who bore +to them the sad news of the encroachments of the pale-faces upon their +people and their hunting-grounds. "Soon," said the bearded chief, who +was the leading spirit of the mission, "these white faces will meet +along the Great River. They will forget the arrow of truth and the +tomahawk of justice. They will only know power and oppression. Then +they will be mighty as the hurricane when the Great Sun hides his face +in wrath and the tempest tears the forest. Who can resist him then? The +holy fire has been sent again from heaven, from the Great Spirit, our +God, the Great Sun. It tells us to save our people from this fearful +destruction which comes with the white man. These pale-faces are +cunning; they must not know of our union. We must not counsel long, or +they will learn our intentions. We must strike at once. The Choctaws +must strike at Mobile. At the same moment, Homochittas, Boloxies, and +Homas, you must strike at Boloxi. The Chickasaws and the Natchez will +fall upon New Orleans and Rosalie." (The latter is the Indian name for +what is now Natchez.) His advice was startling, but unheeded. In order +to precipitate a war, on his return with the chiefs who accompanied him +and two warriors, they murdered a trading-party of French, at the hills +where is now Warrenton, in Warren County, Mississippi. + +This murder was communicated to the French who, under Bienville, were +sent by Cordelac, then Governor of Louisiana, to take revenge, by +waging war upon the Natchez. Bienville was hated by Cordelac, because +he had refused the hand of his daughter, formally tendered him by her +father. He only gave the young and sagacious commander a small force +with which to wage this war--such an one as would have been overwhelmed +at once had he attempted open field movements. Knowing this, he +proceeded to an island opposite the village of the Tunicas, where he +entrenched himself and invited a conference. Three spies were sent by +the Natchez to reconnoitre; but they were baffled by Bienville with +superior cunning. They were sent back as not the equals of Bienville, +and with a message to the Great Sun that he must come with his chiefs, +that he desired to establish trading-posts among them, and would only +treat with the first in authority. They came with a consciousness that +the French were ignorant of these murders, and were immediately +arrested and ironed. Bienville told them at once of the murder, and of +his determination to have the murderers and to punish them. He had the +Great Sun, the Stung Serpent, and the Little Sun. The latter was sent +to bring the heads of the murderers, and he returned with three heads; +but Bienville, after examining these, told the chiefs they had +treacherously deceived him, and that those were not the heads of the +murderers. After a night's consultation they concluded it was +impossible to deceive him, and in the morning confessed the whole +truth, proposing to send Stung Serpent to bring the real murderers. But +knowing the wily character of this chief and his influence with his +tribe, he was not permitted to go. The young Sun was dispatched, and +succeeded in bringing the chief of the Beard and the chief of the +Walnut Hills, with the two warriors; but Oyelape had fled and could not +be had. He had probed to the truth of the French expedition; and being +guilty, cunningly and wisely made his escape. + +The death sentence was passed upon these, and the two warriors were +shot at once; but the two chiefs were reserved for execution to another +day. Upon the sentence being communicated to them they commenced to +chant the death-song of their people, which they continued to do +throughout all the time, night and day, until led forth for execution. + +The Great Sun, Stung Serpent, his brother, and all the other Indians +were brought out to witness the execution. When the two condemned +chiefs were brought forward, these witnesses of their death sang the +death-song; but the chief of the Beard looked sternly at them, and +defiantly at the executioners; and taking his position, turned to his +people and, addressing them, said: + +"Let there be joy in the hearts of the Natchez. A child is born to them +of the race of their Suns. A boy is born with a beard on his chin. The +prodigy still works on from generation to generation.' So sang the +warriors of my tribe when I sprang from my mother's womb, and the +shrill cry of the eagle, in the heavens, was heard in joyful response. +Hardly fifteen summers had passed over my head when my beard had grown +long and glossy. I looked around, and saw I was the only red man that +had this awful mark on his face, and I interrogated my mother and she +said: + + "'Son of the chiefs of the Beard, + Thou shall know the mystery + In which thy curious eye wishes to pry, + When thy beard from black becomes red.' + +"Let there be joy in the hearts of the Natchez! A hunter is born to +them--a hunter of the race of the Suns. Ask of the bears, of the +buffaloes, of the tigers, and of the swift-footed deer, whose arrows +they fear most! They tremble and cower when the footstep of the hunter +with the beard on his chin is heard on the heath. But I was born with +brains in my head as well as a beard on my chin, and I pondered on my +mother's words. One day, when a panther which I slaughtered had torn my +breast, I painted my beard with my own blood, and I stood smiling +before her. She said nothing; but her eye gleamed with wild delight, +and she took me to the temple when, standing by the sacred fire, she +thus sang to me: + + "'Son of the chiefs of the Beard, + Thou shall know the mystery, + Since, true to thy nature, with thine own blood + Thy black beard thou hast turned to red.' + +"Let there be joy in the hearts of the Natchez; for a mighty chief, +worthy of the race of their Suns, has been born to them in thee, my +son--a noble chief with a beard on his chin. Listen to the explanation +of this prodigy. In days of old a Natchez maid of the race of their +Suns was on a visit to the Mobelians. There she soon loved the youthful +chief of that nation, and her wedding-day was nigh, when there came +from the big Salt Lake on the south a host of bearded men, who sacked +the town, slew the red chief with their thunder, and one of those +accursed evil spirits used violence to the maid when her lover's corpse +was hardly cold in death. She found in sorrow her way back to the +Natchez hills, where she became a mother, and lo! the boy had a beard +on his chin, and when he grew old enough to understand his mother's +words she whispered in his ear: + + "'Son of the chiefs of the Beard, + Born from a bloody day, + Bloody be thy hand, and bloody be thy life + Until thy black beard with blood becomes red.' + +"Let there be joy in the hearts of the Natchez. In my first ancestor a +long line of the first of hunters, chiefs, and warriors of the race of +their Suns had been born to them with beards on their chins. What chase +was ever unsuccessful over which they presided? When they spoke in the +council of the wise men of the nation, did it not always turn out that +their advice, whether adopted or rejected, was the best in the end? In +what battle were they ever defeated? When were they known to be worn +out with fatigue--with hardship, hunger or thirst, heat or cold, either +on land or water? Who ever could stem as they the rushing current of +the Father of rivers? Who can count the number of scalps which they +brought from distant expeditions? Their names have always been famous +in the wigwams of all the red nations. They have struck terror into the +breasts of the boldest enemies of the Natchez; and mothers, when their +sons paint their bodies in the colors of war, say to them: + + "'Fight where, and with whom you please; + But beware, oh! beware of the chiefs of the Beard. + Give way to them as you would to death, + Or their black beards with your blood will be red.' + +"Let there be joy in the hearts of the Natchez. When the first chief of +the Beard first trimmed the sacred fire in the temple, a voice was +heard which said: 'As long as there lives a chief of the race of the +Suns with a beard on his chin, no evil can happen to the Natchez +nation; but if the white race should ever resume the blood which it +gave in a bloody day, woe, three times woe, to the Natchez! Of them +nothing will remain but the shadow of a name.' Thus spake the invisible +prophet. Years rolled on, years thick on years, and none of the +accursed white-faces were seen; but they appeared at last, wrapped up +in their pale skins like shrouds of the dead, and the father of my +father, whom tradition had taught to guard against the predicted +danger, slew two of the hated strangers, and my father, in his turn, +killed four. + + "'Praise be to the chiefs of the Beard, + Who knew how to avenge their old ancestral injury, + When with the sweet blood of a white foe + Their black beards they proudly dyed red.' + +"Let there be joy in the hearts of the Natchez. When I saw the glorious +light of day there was born to them a great warrior of the race of +their Suns--a warrior and a chief with a beard on his chin. The pledge +of protection, of safety, and of glory stood embodied in me. When I +shouted my first war-whoop the owl hooted and smelt the ghosts of my +enemies, the wolves howled, and the carrion vultures shrieked with joy; +for they knew their food was coming, and I fed them with Chickasaws' +flesh and with Choctaws' flesh until they were gorged with the flesh of +the red man. A kind master and purveyor I was to them--the poor, dumb +creatures that I loved. But lately I have given them more dainty food. +I boast of having done better than my father. Five Frenchmen have I +killed, and my only regret in dying is, that it will prevent me from +killing more. + + "'Ha! ha! ha! that was game worthy of the chief of the Beard! + How lightly he danced. Ho! ho! ho! + How gladly he shouted. Ha! ha! ha! + Each time with French blood his beard became red." + +"Sorrow in the hearts of the Natchez! The great hunter is no more. The +wise chief is going to meet his fathers. The indomitable warrior will +no more raise his hatchet in defence of the children of the Sun. O +burning shame! He was betrayed by his brother-chiefs, who sold his +blood. If they had followed his advice they would have united with the +Choctaws, Chickasaws, and all the other red nations, and they would +have slain all the French dogs that came prowling and stealing over the +beautiful face of our country. But there was too much of the woman in +their cowardly hearts. Well and good! Let the will of fate be +accomplished. The white race will soon resume the blood which it gave, +and then the glory and the very existence of the Natchez nation will +have departed forever with the chief of the Beard; for I am the last of +my race, and my blood flows in no other human veins. O Natchez, +Natchez! remember the prophet's voice! I am content to die; for I leave +no one behind me but the doomed, while I go to revel with my brave +ancestors. + + "'They will recognize their son in the chief of the Beard; + They will welcome him to their glorious homestead + When they see so many scalps at his girdle, + And his black beard with French blood painted red.'" + +He stood up in proud defiance before the admiring French; his noble +form expanded to its full proportions, hatred in his heart and triumph +in his eyes. Facing his foes, he viewed the platoon selected to deal +him his death, and lifted his eyes and hands to the sun. The officer +gave the command, the platoon fired as one man, and the great chief of +the Beard passed away. + +This was the beginning of difficulties with the French, and also the +commencement of the utter destruction of the Natchez. War succeeded +war, until the last of this people, few in number, broke up from the +Washita, whither they had fled for security years before, and went, as +they fondly hoped, too far into the bosom of the deep West to be found +again by the white-skins. But Clarke and Lewis found them high up on +the Missouri, still preserving the holy fire, the flat heads, and their +hatred of the white race. Their bones are even now turned up by the +plough near the mounds of their making, and soon these mounds will be +all that is left to speak of the once powerful Natchez. I have stood +upon the great mound of their temple at the White Apple village, forty +years ago, then covered with immense forest-trees, at the graves of the +great grandfather and mother of my children. To these was donated, in +1780, by the Spanish Government, the land on which the temple and the +village stood. It is a beautiful spot in the centre of a lovely and +most picturesque country. It was here these Indians feasted the great +La Salle and his party when descending the Mississippi. They were the +first white men that had descended the river, and the first white men +the Natchez had ever seen. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +EXPLORATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. + +CHICAGO--CRYING INDIANS--CHICKASAWS--DE SOTO--FEAST OF THE GREAT SUN-- +CANE KNIVES--LOVE-STRICKEN INDIAN MAIDEN--RAPE OF THE NATCHEZ--MAN'S +WILL--SUBJUGATION OF THE WATERS--THE BLACK MAN'S MISSION--ITS DECADE. + + +La Salle, who first discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River, was +a man of most remarkable energy and enterprise. He had been engaged in +commercial pursuits for some time in Canada; but, seized with the +spirit of adventure--very probably inspired by the reports of the +Jesuit missionaries, who were going and returning from the vast +wilderness--and inspired with the belief (then common) that the rivers +west, and particularly the great river found by De Soto, debouched into +the Pacific Ocean, he determined to learn the truth, and projected and +commenced the ascent of the St. Lawrence and the navigation of the +lakes as a means of reaching the Mississippi. It required almost +superhuman daring to undertake such an enterprise; but there was enough +in La Salle to accomplish anything possible to human capacity. His +followers, like himself, were fearless and determined and, with a few +small boats, or skiffs, he commenced his perilous adventure. It was +like walking in the dark over uncertain ground; for every step was over +unexplored territory, the moment he passed the establishments of the +Jesuits, who were then pioneering to propagate their creed among the +aborigines of the new continent. + +His first winter was spent on the spot, or in the immediate +neighborhood of where Chicago now stands. Here he invited to his camp +the neighboring Indians, and endeavored to learn as much as possible of +the geography of the country he was about to explore. Parties were sent +out with these Indians to ascertain if there was any stream or +water-communication leading from Lake Michigan to the West, and which +might connect it with the Mississippi. Sufficient of the language of +the tribes about him had been acquired to establish a means of +intelligent intercourse with them. They were curious to know the +objects of the visit of the white strangers to their country. Always +suspicious of strangers--supposing all, like themselves, treacherous +and cruel--they kept on the alert and were chary of giving any +information they might possess as to this, or any other matters about +which the white men asked; but, watchful of their movements, and seeing +from their explorations their intentions, they became convinced of the +sincerity of their inquiries, and readily pointed out the portage +dividing the waters of Chicago Creek and those of the Illinois River. + +When the spring came, and the snows had melted away, and the boats were +all over the portage, with the assistance of the savages, the +expedition was renewed in the descent of the Illinois. The Indians had +been so kindly treated, and so sincerely dealt with, that every +suspicion that made them fear the whites was dissipated, and they were +loath to part from them, and many accompanied the party until they were +about entering the territory of hostile neighbors. Of these they seemed +to entertain great fears, and every means of persuasion and warning +were used to prevent their white friends hazarding themselves to the +power of these enemies. When the last were to leave, they manifested +more emotion than is usual with the savage, and one of La Salle's party +more facetious than the Indian designated them the Crying Indians. + +La Salle was a wise as well as a bold adventurer. His policy with all +the tribes he encountered was kindness and truth. These were human +beings, and he correctly judged influenced by the motives and impulses +of men. They had never seen white men before, and there could be no +cause of quarrel, and there was little in the possession of the whites, +the use of which was known to the Indian to tempt his cupidity. He +manifested no fears in approaching them. Their curiosity tempted them +to come to him, and once met, his kindness and gentleness won them; and +he experienced no opposition or trouble from any he met; but succeeded +in gaining much information from his communications with them. When he +reached the Mississippi he began to doubt the accepted theory of its +discharging its waters into the Pacific, and upon reaching the mouth of +the Missouri and counseling with the chief of the tribe he met there, +he at once determined the speculation a delusion, and decided to +prosecute his journey to the mouth of the mighty stream, now with +almost irresistible impetuosity hurrying on his little flotilla. This +chief by many signs and diagrams marked with his finger upon the sand +of the beach, described the country out of which flowed the Missouri, +and into which went the Mississippi, and seemed to comprehend at least +the extent of its constantly accumulating waters and great length. Like +all the other savages, he represented the dangers below as being too +formidable for the small party of La Salle. He described the Natchez +Indians and gave them a terrible character; then the monsters of the +woods and the waters. He marked the form of the tiger, the bear, and +the alligator and described them as aggressive and ferocious. Taking a +handful of sand he scattered it on the boat's floor or bottom, and +pointing to the separate particles, attempted to explain by this means +the countless numbers of these Indians, and monsters of the country +below. Here was his first information of the existence of the Natchez, +but his information augmented as he descended the river. At the bluffs, +where now is Memphis, he encountered the Chickasaws and learned of the +visit of De Soto to that point, and of his death. These Indians warned +him of the dangers he had to encounter. They had had trouble with De +Soto and were chary of their intercourse with the whites, but +manifested no hostility. + +The next tribe of Indians seen was at the Walnut Hills, now Vicksburg. +Their flat heads told him he had reached the country of that formidable +nation, but he held no communication with them. Landing at the great +bluff or Natchez, he found there quite a village. The natives +approached him manifesting the kindest and most hospitable intentions. +For some days he delayed, to learn as much as possible from these +people in the observation of their character and the topography and +peculiarities of the country they were inhabiting. Runners had been +dispatched to the Great Sun at the White Apple village, to inform him +of the advent of these pale-faced strangers, with beard on their chins. +Like information was communicated to the towns on Cole's Creek and +further in the interior. La Salle was furnished with pilots and +requested to drop down to the White Cliffs, now known as Ellis' Cliffs, +eighteen miles below Natchez, where a delegation would meet and conduct +him to the White Apple village. These pilots caused the landing of the +party at the mouth of St. Catharine's Creek, a point much nearer the +village than the cliffs, and from whence it was much more easily +approached. Thence they conducted them to the village and temple of the +Great Sun. They came by surprise, and there was manifested some +suspicions of the motive. But being informed it was the work of the +pilots, all were satisfied and a messenger dispatched for the great +escort awaiting the party at White Cliffs. + +There were great preparations made for a solemn feast. Game in +abundance had been collected: the meat of the deer and the bear and +every variety of the wild-fowl peculiar to the country and season. +These were spread out upon tables made of the wild-cane, placed upon +poles sustained by posts driven into the ground, and covered with +neatly dressed skins of the bear, elk, and buffalo. There were fish in +abundance, the paupaw and the berries which grew abundantly in the +forest. The Great Sun led La Salle to the centre of the square formed +by the tables, where one had been prepared for him and the great ruler +of the Natchez. Rude seats were arranged only for these two. The Little +Suns, or smaller chiefs of surrounding villages, assembled with the +great warriors and whites accompanying the expedition at the tables +forming the square. These Indians had knives formed from the wild cane +of the country and hardened in the fire, which were used for carving +their meats and other like purposes, one of these was placed in the +hand of every white man. The Great Sun standing up, looked reverently +upon the sun for a few moments. Then lifting his hands, placed them on +the head of La Salle. This was imitated by the Little Suns placing +their hands upon the heads of all the whites, and when the chief or +Great Sun removed his hands, and said, "Eat," the Little Suns did +likewise, and the feast commenced. These cane knives, however, were +comparatively useless in the hands of the French, and laying them down, +they took from the belts at their sides the large hunting-knives they +carried. This movement was so simultaneous, that alarm was apparent in +every Indian face and a movement was made by the Indians as if to leave +the table; but they were soon reassured when they saw the use to which +they were applied. They watched the ease with which these cut through +the flesh and cleaved the smaller bones of their repast, and expressed +their astonishment in asking where the canes grew from which they were +made--indicating conclusively that they had never before seen a +metallic knife, and probably never before had seen iron or steel. When +the feast had concluded, La Salle was led to a lodge prepared for him, +and all his party were shown to places prepared for them, to repose +after the meal. Upon the males retiring, the women came forth cleanly +clad and removed everything from the tables. + +This was the first view the whites had of the Natchez women. When their +work was completed, they commenced to chant a song in slow and measured +tones; soon, however, it quickened into merry cadences and the young +females commenced a wild, fantastic dance. The older sang on, keeping +time by slapping their hands and a swinging movement of the head and +body right and left. Apparently, at the termination of a stanza, they +would stoop suddenly forward and slap the hands upon each thigh, +uttering at the same moment a shrill cry, when the dancers would leap +with astonishing agility high in the air and, alighting, stand +perfectly still. This exhibition called the French from their repose, +who seemed delighted, and very soon joined in the dance; mirth excited +mirth, and in a little while the village was in a complete uproar. The +young warriors, however, were seen to scowl whenever the French +approached too nigh the women, and especially when they took their +hands and turned them around. The French were not slow to perceive +this, nor were they mistaken in the delight it afforded the girls. The +timidity of the latter soon disappeared and each lass singled out a +beau, and was quite familiar with him. The French remained for some +days enjoying the hospitality of the Natchez, returning to their boats +and to the opposite shore of the river at night for greater security. + +Among the French there was one, a stalwart young fellow, who had made +the conquest of a heart among the maidens, and was surprised late at +night to find she had swum the Mississippi to place herself by his side +at the camp-fire. She implored him to remain with the Natchez and +become a Great Sun, that her family was one of great influence at the +White Clay village of which she was the belle, and she would marry him. +She was rich, and the favorite of the Little Sun of her town, who had +given her great presents. But Crapaud was aware of the price of these +gifts, and though he did not refuse, was not inclined to the union, or +to remain with her people. He promised, however, to see her to-morrow, +and told her if he could prevail on some of his companions to remain, +he would; but insisted if they would not, she must consent to follow +him and provide a girl for each of his companions, who would accompany +them to their homes, which he made very lovely in his description. They +were standing now on the bank of the river and day was approaching. She +pointed to the planet just above the horizon, and then to the place in +the heavens where it would be in an hour, and said she must then be in +her lodge, and plunging into the river swam rapidly to the opposite +shore. The next day was the one appointed for the departure of La Salle +and party. True to her promise--the Natchez girl had found a maiden for +each of the party, who was willing to abandon her people and go with +the strangers on their perilous and unknown journey, and to be the +wives of the pale-faces. + +The French, with much ceremony, were dismissed by the Great Sun, and a +strong escort of both sexes followed them to their boats. The ceremony +of shaking hands was gone through with; all the men first, and then the +women; the last, as previously arranged, were the girls who were to +follow their sweethearts. At a signal each was grasped and hurried +forward toward the boats. The alarm was given, and in a moment the bows +of the warriors were strung, and they rushed yelling to the rescue; +overpowered, the French released the women and springing into their +boats were soon out of danger of the arrows which were sent in showers +after them--nor did they escape unscathed. Several of the men were +wounded, and some of them severely. When once away from the shore, the +French seized their guns and fired a volley, but were prevented from +further demonstrations by La Salle; not wishing to leave behind him an +enemy, who might be troublesome to him on his return up the river. + +This adventure was the only hostile one of the entire trip. This was +provoked by the folly and crime of his men without the knowledge of La +Salle. How true it is that man in every condition and of every race +will fight for his woman as surely as the game cock for his hen! Long +years after, and when the last Natchez had been gone from the land of +his love many years, and when threatening war was disturbing the people +of the colonies, there came here a band of men, as had come to this +land of beauty and plenty, the oppressors of the Natchez, seeking to +make a peaceful home upon these hills, where grew in luxuriant +profusion the magnolia and great tulip-trees, and where the atmosphere +was redolent with the perfume of the wild flowers which clothed and +ornamented the trees and grounds so fruitful and rich with nature's +gifts. + +The country was claimed as part of West Florida and dominated by the +Spanish Government. They were anxious to have the country populated, +and donated certain quantities or tracts of land to any one who came to +settle and remain in the country. These settlements at first were made +on the bluffs projecting through the alluvial swamp to the river's +brink, and at or near the mouths of the small streams debouching into +the river from the eastern shore. The west bank was deemed +uninhabitable in consequence of the spring floods sweeping over the +alluvial formation, extending from forty to seventy miles west of the +river; and there being no highlands or bluffs approaching the river +from the west, below what is now known as Helena, in Arkansas, this +vast territory was one interminable swamp, clothed with immense +forest-trees, gigantic vines, and jungle-bushes. It was interspersed +with lakes, and bayous as reservoirs and drains for the wonderful +floods which annually visit this country. Around these were lands +remarkable for their fertility--indeed, unsurpassed by any on the face +of the earth; but worthless, however, for cultivation, as long as +unprotected against these annual floods. The system of leveeing was too +onerous and expensive to be undertaken by the people sparsedly +populating the eastern bank throughout the hill-country. The levee +system which had reclaimed so much of the low country in Louisiana, had +not extended above Pointe Coupee, in 1826. Yet there were some +settlements on several of the lakes above, especially on Lakes +Concordia and St. Joseph. + +The immense country in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi in +possession of the Indians, interposed a barrier to emigration. To think +of leaving home and friends to go away beyond these savages, seemed an +undertaking too gigantic for any but men of desperate fortunes, or of +the most indomitable energy. + +Adventurers had wandered into the country and returned with terrible +stories of the unhealthiness of the climate as well as the difficulties +to be overcome in reaching it; thus deterring the emigrant who desired +a new home. When General Jackson was elected to the Presidency a new +policy was inaugurated. The Indians were removed beyond the +Mississippi; the lands they had occupied were brought into market, and +a flood of emigration poured into these new acquisitions. Cotton had +suddenly grown into great demand. The increase of population, and the +great cheapness of the, fabrics from cotton, had increased the demand. +In Europe it had rapidly increased, and in truth all over the world. +Emigration from Europe had set in to a heavy extent upon the United +States, and the West was growing in population so rapidly as to create +there a heavy demand for these fabrics. The world was at peace; +commerce was unrestricted, and prosperity was everywhere. Europe had +recovered from her long war, and the arts of peace had taken hold of +every people, and were bearing their fruit. All the lands intermediate +between the frontiers west of Georgia and Tennessee and those of the +east of Mississippi and Louisiana were soon appropriated; and the more +fertile lands of the two latter States were coming rapidly into request +for the purpose of cotton cultivation. + +The great flood of 1828 had swept over every cultivated field west of +the Mississippi, and seemed to demonstrate the folly of ever attempting +to reduce these lands to profitable cultivation. But with the increase +of population came wealth and enterprise. The levees were continued up +the river. A long period of comparatively low water encouraged +settlements upon the alluvial bottoms. The levees were continued up the +west bank, and in a few years the forests had melted away from the +margin of the river. Large fields were in their stead, and were +continually increasing in extent. Improvements of a superior character +were commencing, and an occasional break in the levee, and partial +inundation, did not deter, but rather stimulated the planters to +increased exertion, to discipline and control the great floods poured +down from the rain-sheds extending from the headwaters of the Ohio to +those of the Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, and Red Rivers, embracing +in extent an area greater than the continent of Europe. It really +seemed an attempt to defy the decrees of fate. In 1828, the waters from +Cairo to Baton Rouge, a distance of nine hundred miles, averaged fifty +miles in width. For months the great river was covered with forests of +timber, torn up with the roots by the flood, floating and tumbling +wildly along the terrible torrent, making the navigation extremely +dangerous for the few steamers then upon the river. How often have I +heard old men, who were long resident in the country, when standing on +the bluff at Natchez, viewing the extent of that memorable flood, say: +"Every man who attempts to cultivate these bottom lands will be ruined. +The river demands them as a reservoir for her surplus waters when in +flood." But enterprise was undeterred; the levees went up and the +settlements went on to increase; and when the spoiler came all the +valley was dotted over with pretty villages and magnificent cotton +plantations, containing and sustaining a prosperous, rich, intelligent, +and happy population. They are swept away, and ruin reigns over this +desolated land. + +This was but the beginning of the subduing to man's will and +cultivation this entire and unparalleled valley. What had been done +demonstrated the possibility of redeeming every inch of the alluvial +land along the entire valley to the production of the richest staples, +with all the necessaries to man's support, comfort, and wealth. It is +pleasing to contemplate this immense plain as one extended scene of +cultivation--the beautiful lakes of every form, surrounded with +palatial homes and fertile fields; lovely towns upon their borders, +with the church-spires pointing to heaven, surrounded with shrubs and +flowers of every variety and hue; streams meandering among the extended +plantations; railroads intersecting it in every direction; and all this +mighty field, a thousand miles long by fifty broad, teeming with +production, and pouring into the lap of commerce a wealth absolutely +incalculable. The work was begun and was rapidly progressing; but now, +when and by whom will this great, glorious garden be made? + +To do this was the black man's mission; but ere his work was done he +was converted into a machine to undo all his work. Inconceivable +calamity has followed, and to him is fixed a decade which will soon run +to extinction. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +TWO STRANGE BEINGS. + +ROMANCE OF WESTERN LIFE--MET BY CHANCE--PARTING ON THE LEVEE--MEETING +AT THE SICK-BED--CONVALESCENT--LOVE-MAKING--"HOME, SWEET HOME"-- +THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSIONS--UNCLE TONY--WILD, YET GENTLE--AN ODD +FAMILY--THE ADVENTURER SPECULATES. + + +It was in the spring of the year away back in time when there landed at +the town of St. Francisville, or Bayou Sara, a small periagua, or +canoe, containing two young men clad in skins, with a camp-kettle, +guns, some curiously painted skins, Indian bows, quivers, and Indian +curiosities. Their hair was long, their unshaven beards were full and +flowing, and in all their appearance they were wild and savage. There +were but few houses in the hamlet below the hill. Among these was one +of more pretensions than the rest. It was a store, and the merchant was +an Irishman. There was near it a neat family carriage. One of the young +savages went into this store to find materials for writing to his +home-friends, from whom he had been separated for many long months. He +found in the store three ladies. Two were young, the other was an aged +matron. They seemed not only surprised at the novel apparition before +them, but alarmed. This surprise seemed to increase when they saw the +young savage rapidly filling, upon the counter, a sheet of paper. They +desisted from their shopping, and watched intently the wild savage. +When his letter was completed, he politely desired the accommodating +merchant to send it for him to the post-office. Then lifting his gray +wolf-skin cap from his head, he bowed politely to the ladies and turned +to leave the store and their presence. The salutation was gracefully +acknowledged, and especially by the matron. Very soon they joined the +curious crowd who were examining the contents of the canoe, now placed +on the land to await the coming of a steamer that was freighting with +cotton above. One of the young ladies seemed much interested and made +many inquiries. A bow and quiver was given into her hand. The latter +was fashioned from the skin of a Mexican tiger, and was filled with +arrows. One of these was bloody, and its history was asked of the youth +she had met in the store. It was the blood of a Pawnee chief who, by +this arrow, had been slain in battle, and was the gift to the youth +from the daughter of the fallen chief, together with the bow and quiver +of the Indian who had slain her father, and who was in turn killed by a +chief of her tribe. + +How beautiful she was to this wanderer of the wilderness! Months upon +months had passed away, and he had only looked upon the blank and +unmeaning features of the desert savage woman. With these his heart had +no sympathy. Like the panther of their plains they were swift of foot, +symmetrical in form, wild, untamed and untamable, fierce and unfeeling; +and were not formed by nature for sympathy or social union with the +higher organizations of civilized man. His dream of romance was being +realized. The vacuum in his heart was filling. How in contrast were his +feelings and appearance! Clad as a savage, his skin was covered with +the fabric of an Indian woman, closely fitting, with moccasins on his +feet, and a gray wolf-skin cap upon his head--his long, black hair with +the luxuriant growth of two years curling over his shoulders, and his +beard, like the wing of night fluttering in the breeze, waving down +from his chin to his breast in ringlets, glossy and beautiful. He was +lithe as a savage, and seemed to be one. In his heart were kindling +soft emotions, and memories of maidens he had known--now far, far +away--came crowding upon that heart. Before him stood the embodiment of +beauty and grace, attired with costly and beautiful fabrics which +flowed about her person like the white vapor upon the breezes of +spring. Elegance was in her every attitude, and grace in every +movement. Her features and her eyes beamed with a curious wish to learn +the story of the strange wild being before her. Their two hearts were +in sympathy; but to each other it was a secret. How strangely they had +met! How strangely they were feeling! How soon they were to part! +"Where is he from? Where is he going?" asked her eyes; and he looked: +"Who are you; and where is your home, beautiful being, so strangely and +so unexpectedly met?" + +An arrow was shot from the bow to gratify a request. She followed the +quivering thing with her eye, as it sped like a shaft of light to its +destined mark. To retrieve it she walked with the youth to where, fixed +in a bale of cotton, it trembled, some hundred yards away. Slowly she +returned by the youth's side, and drooped her head, listening to the +wild mountain adventures he was telling--the chase of the elk, the +antelope, and the wild buffalo; the hazardous ride through the wild +prairies, expanding away in the distance to kiss the horizon; the +stealthy wiles of the revengeful savage; the fierce fight of savage +men; the race for very life, when the foe followed; and the bivouac +upon the prairie's breast, with the weary horse sleeping and resting by +his side. Will he ever forget the speaking of the beaming features of +that beautiful creature, when she lifted her head and looked into his +face? A frown darkened the matron's features as her _eleve_ returned to +the curious group which was listening to the narrative of the older of +the two strangers. It said: "What did you leave me for? Why this +indiscretion?" Ah! how often old women forget they were once young! + +The steamer is coming. She is here; and the trappings of the wanderers +are on board. The young wild man stands alone upon the upper deck. His +eyes pierce to where stands the sylph he leaves with reluctance. She is +looking at him. He lifts his cap and bows farewell. She waves her +kerchief in return. The steamer speeds away. They are parted. Has that +brief interview left an impression upon those two young hearts to +endure beyond a day? Will she dream of the dark beard, curled and +flowing--of the darker eye which looked and spoke? and will the wild +story of the western wilderness come in the silent darkness of her +chamber, and make her nestle closer to her pillow? Will her heart ask: +"Shall I ever meet him again?" + +He has gone away; a waif about the land--a feather on the world, driven +about, as destiny impels, without fixed intentions; yet buoyant with +the ardor of youth, and happy in the excess of youthful hopes, dreamy +and wild adventures. He has tasted the savage love of woods and wilds, +and the nature--which was born thousands of years ere the teachings of +civilization had tamed the wild man into an educated, home-loving +being--revives, and the two struggle for mastery in his heart. The +bleak mountain-peaks, the wide-extended plain and its wild denizens, +and the excitement these give, stirs his bosom, and the wish struggles +up to return to them. But the gentler chords of his heart are in tune. +The once-loved home, and she, the once-loved and yet-remembered maiden, +is there, and it may be she pines for his return. He gazed on the +beautiful apparition but a moment gone, and thought of another; and +thought begat thought until the loved one he had left rose up to +memory's call. He was alone, looking upon the great river through whose +turbid waters he was borne away, and he felt he was lengthening a chain +linked to his heart which pulled him back--to what, and to whom? It was +a vision--a dream with his eyes open: indistinct, unembodied, a very +shadow; still it floated about in his imagination, and he was sad. He +was in the city--the great Sodom of the West. He was an object of +wonder to every curious eye. His wild appearance and gentle manner +comported illy, and the thoughtless crowd followed him. Attired now as +a civilized being, and feeling that the vagrant life of a savage must +lead to grief, he called to mind the tear which stole from the rheumy +eyes of the old trapper as he narrated his adventures in the +wilderness, and cursed the hour he ever wandered from his home. His +life had been a continual danger, his hope had been always to return to +his early attachments; but the chain of habit fettered him, and he had +learned to love the wild, solitary life, because of its excitements and +its dangers. Should he, like this man, come to love the solitude and +silence of the wilderness, and find companionship only with his traps +and guns? + +His resolution was taken, he would renew the strife with the world and +go back to busy life. His companion of many dangers and long marches +was going to Mexico in search of new adventures. They are alone upon +the broad levee--busy men are hurrying to and fro, little heeding the +two--a small schooner is dropping and sheeting home her sails; she is +up for Tampico, and Gilmanot goes in her; she is throwing off her +fastenings. "All aboard," cries the swarthy, whiskered captain--a grasp +of the hand--no word was spoken--it was warm and sincere, there was no +need of words--each understood that last warm farewell pressure. She is +sweeping around Slaughter-house Point--only the topmasts are visible +now--and now she is gone. The young adventurer stands alone and the +crowd goes hurrying on. How many in desolation of heart have stood +alone and unheeded by the busy, passing multitude upon that broad +levee! How many tears of misery have moistened its shell-covered +summit, when thinking of friends far, far away they should never see +again, and when hope had been rooted from the heart! + +He wandered to the great square, now so beautifully ornamented with +shrubs and flowers which love the sun and the South's fat soil, growing +and blooming about the bronze representation of the loved hero who had +been her shield and savior in the hour of her peril, Andrew Jackson. +Then there were a few trees only, and beneath these, here and there, a +rude rural seat or bench. The old, gray cathedral was frowning on the +world's sins, so rife around her; and the great, naked square and the +mighty muddy river which was hurrying away to the sea. To the most +thoughtless will come reflection, and the sweetest face is mellowed by +sorrow. Here under these trees, in the midst of a great city, came to +the young adventurer reflection and sighing sorrow. His mother and +father came up in memory; the home of childhood, his brother, his +sister, his friends, all were remembered; his heart flooded over and he +wept like a little child. Blessed are they who can cry. It is nature's +outlet for grief, and the heart would break if we could not cry. The +heart is not desolate when alone in the forest or the boundless +grass-clothed plains of the West. Nature is all around you, and her +smile is beneficent. There is companionship in the breeze, in the +waving grass, the rustling leaves, and the meanings of the wind-swayed +limbs of the yielding forest. In the city's multitude to move, and be +unknown of all; to hear no recognized voice; to meet no sympathizing +smile or eye; to be silent when all are speaking, and to know that not +one of all these multitudes share a thought or wish with you--this is +desolation, the bitterness of solitude. + +A year has gone by, and the youth has found a new home and has made new +friends. He is one of the busy world and struggling with it. He is in +commerce's mart and is one of the multitude who come and congregate +there for gain; in the hall of Justice, where litigants court the +smiles and favors of the blind goddess, where right contends against +wrong, and is as often trampled as triumphant; and where wisdom lends +herself for hire, and bad men rarely meet their dues. + +Pestilence had come, and the frightened multitude were fleeing from the +scourge. There was one who came and proffered the hospitality of his +home--where Hygeia smiled and fever never came. Thither he went, but +the poison was in his blood, and as he slept it seized upon his vitals. +His suffering was terrible, and for days life's uncertain tenure seemed +ready to release her hold on time. In his fever-dream there was +flitting about him a fairy form; it would come and go, as the moonlight +on the restless wave--a moment seen and in a moment gone. He saw and +knew nothing for many days distinctly; he would call for his mother and +weep, when only winds would answer. Delirium was in his brain, and wild +fancies chased each other; he heard the crowing of cocks and saw his +sister; his father would come to him, and he would stretch out his hand +and grasp the shadowy nothing. There was a halo of beauty all about +him; prismatic hues trembled in the light, and the tones of sweet music +floated upon the breeze. He saw angels swimming in the golden light; +the blue ether opened, and they came through to greet him and to +welcome him to heaven. Then all was darkness, the crisis had come. He +slept in oblivious ease--it was long; and awaking, the fever was gone. +There was a gentle, sweet, sorrowful face before him--their eyes met; +for a moment only he looked--it was she whom he had met and parted from +without a hope of ever meeting again when robed as the Indian he stood +upon the steamer's deck and waved farewell forever. He reached forth +his hand. She took it and approached, saying, "You are better, and will +soon be well." He could only press her hand as the tears flooded over +his eyes. With a kerchief white as innocence it was wiped away and the +hand that held it laid gently on his brow--that touch thrilled his +every nerve. + +Days went by, and the convalescent was amid the shrubs and flowers of +the beautifully ornamented grounds. When he came to the maiden reading +in the shade of a great pecan-tree, she bid him to a seat. + +"Do you remember our first meeting?" he asked. + +"Here, on your sick-bed, yes; you were, oh! so sick, and I little +thought you would ever leave it alive. You called in your delirium your +mother and your father, and in the frenzy of your mind you saw them by +you; how my heart was pained, and how I prayed for you, in my chamber, +here, and everywhere--and now you are well, only weak." + +"It was not when sick I met you first," he replied; "as a wild man you +saw me first, clothed in the skins of the wild beasts of the forest." + +She gazed intently; could it be? and clasping her hands she bowed her +head and was silent. + +"We have met again," he continued; "I had not forgotten you, but I +dared not hope we should ever meet any more. It was a painful thought; +but I must not tell that--" and there was silence. + +Days went by, and the invalid was growing in strength and health. They +only met at the table at the family meals, but they were near each +other. It was at dinner when a ride on horseback was proposed for the +evening's recreation. They rode in company, and through the forest +where the winding road circled the hills, and the great magnolias threw +their dark shade and deliciously cooled the vesper breeze. + +"Is it romance, or are you the young gentleman with flowing hair and +black, curling beard I met, and who shot the arrow into the cotton bale +for my amusement? O! how often have I seen you in my dreams; but I +shall never see you as I saw you then. What a study you were to me! How +could your words be so soft and gentle in the wild costume of the +murderous savage? Had you uttered the war-whoop and strode away with +the stride and pride of the savage warrior, there would have been +euphony in it, and I should have felt and known you were a savage--and +you would have passed from my mind. But, ah! look how beautifully +bounds away the startled doe we have aroused from her lair in the cave +here." + +"She seems scarcely more startled than did you when I came so +unexpectedly upon you in the store at Bayou Sara. Were you not +surprised to see that I could write?" + +"You must not question me now. Why have you cut your hair and beard? +why doffed the prairie chieftain's robes of state and come forth a +plain man? You have dispelled my romance. I have tried to paint you as +I saw and remembered you, and made charcoal sketches for the +gratification of friends to whom I would describe you. I would so like +to see you as you were! O! you were a wonder to me, a very Orson--now, +you are simply a--" + +"Miserable creature in plain clothes, and by no means a lady's fancy. +Why did you not let me die, since all that was to be fancied about +me--my hair, my beard, and my buckskin coat, pants, and moccasins are +gone and destroyed?" + +The maiden laughed wildly; it was not the laugh of mirth or mischief, +there was a madness in it that thrilled and awed. + +"Do you know you are on the graves of a great nation?" she asked. "This +mound and yonder three, were, the burial-places of the Natchez Indians. +The Suns and Sachems sleep here, and he, the Great Sun, who came from +the orbit's self, and was their lawgiver, and in whom and whose +divinity they believed as the Jews in that of Moses, or the Christians +in the Redeemer. Is it not all a mystery--strange, strange, +incomprehensible, and unnatural? What is your faith?" + +"To worship where I love; the divinity of my soul's worship is the +devotion of my wild heart.' + +"Why, you are mysterious! Have you, as had the Natchez, a holy fire +which is never extinguished in your heart? Is the flame first kindled +burning still? Did your sun come to you with fire in her hand and +kindle it in your heart? Your words mean so much. Was she, or is she a +red maiden of the wild prairies; or dwells she in a mansion surrounded +with the appliances of wealth, reclining on cushions of velvet and +sleeping on a bed of down, canopied with a pavilion of damask satin +fretted with stars of silver; with handmaids to subserve and minister +to every want?" And again the wild laugh rang to the echo among the +hills and dense forests all around. "O! I see I have tuned the wrong +chord and have made discord, not music in your mind. Shall we return? +You are not yet strong, and your weakness I have made weaker, because I +have disturbed the fountain of your heart and brought up painful +memories?" + +"You are strange," said her companion, "and guess wide of the mark. The +untutored savage is only a romance at a distance--the reality of their +presence a disgusting fact. They are wild, untamable, and wicked, +without sentiment or sympathy, cruel and murderous; disgusting in their +habits and brutal in their passions." + +"And yet, sir, the stories which come down to us of these so quietly +sleeping here are full of romance and poetry. Their intercourse with +the French impressed that mercurial people with exalted notions of +their humanity, chivalry, and nobleness of nature. Can it be that these +historians only wrote romances? You must not disturb this romance. If +it is an illusion let me enjoy it; do not strip from it the beard, the +hair, the hunting-shirt, the bow and quiver--reality or fiction, it is +sweet to the memory. How often have I wandered from our home and stood +here alone and conjured from the spirit-land the ghosts of the Great +Suns, the Stung Serpent, and the chief of the Beard, and hers who +warned the French of the conspiracy for their destruction. In my +day-dreaming I have talked with these; and learned with delight of +their bliss in their eternal hunting-grounds. And as I have knelt here, +they in hosts have come to me with all their legends and long accounts +against the white man, and I have wept above these dry bones, and felt +too it was the fate of the white man, when his mission shall have been +completed on earth, and his nation's age bear him into the ground, and +only his legends shall live a tradition, like that of the Natchez. + +"The hieroglyphics of Thotmes, of Rameses, of Menephthah, and of the +host of kings gone before these in Egypt's old life, cannot be read; +their language, letters, and traditions, too, sleep beyond the +revelations of time, and yet their tombs, like these, give up their +bones to the curious, who group through the catacombs, or dig at the +base of their monumental pyramids. All besides has passed away and is +lost. Not even the color of the great people who filled these +monuments, and carved from the solid stone these miles of galleries, +now filled to repletion with their mummied dead, and whose capacity is +sufficient to entomb the dead of a nation for thousands of years, is +known now to those who people the fields reclaimed from the forest +beyond the memory of time. + +"Nations are born, have their periods of youthful vigor, their manhood +of sturdy strength, the tottering of decrepit age, the imbecility of +superstitious dotage--and their death is final extinction. Such is man, +and such is the world. What we are, we know; what we shall be, we know +not, save that we only leave a pile of bones. Come, we are approaching +home, and the moon dares to shine, ere yet the sun has gone. Yonder is +brother, and I expect a scolding; but let him fret--it is not often I +have a toy. Fate threw you in my way and you must not complain if I use +you." + +"I shall not complain," replied the astonished young man; "but will you +ride again to-morrow?" + +She checked up her steed (a noble one he was) and seemed to take in his +entire man, as slowly her eye went up from his stirrup to his face, +when she said: "To-morrow, ah, to-morrow! Who can tell what to-morrow +may bring forth? To you and to me, there may come no to-morrow. We may +in a twinkling be hurled from our sphere into oblivion. The earth may +open to-night, or even now, and we may drop into her bosom of liquid +fire, and be only ashes to-morrow. + +"'Take no heed for to-morrow,' is the admonition of wisdom. Look, +yonder I was born. Here sleep the Natchez. See yonder tall mound, +shaded from base to summit with the great forest trees peculiar to our +land. On the top of that mound stood the temple dedicated to the +worship of the sun. He smiles on it as the earth rolls up to hide his +light away, as he did when the holy fire was watched by the priests in +that temple. But the Indian worshipper is gone; to him there comes no +morrow. There, on that mound, sleep the parents of my mother; to them +comes no morrow. _Allons!_ We shall be late for tea. Brother has gone +to sister's, and we shall be alone." In a few minutes they were +galloping down the avenue to the old Spanish-looking mansion, hid away +almost from view in the forest and floral surroundings, which made it +so lovely to view. + +There had come in their absence another; it was she who was the +youthful companion of his fairy at the Bayou Sara--a silent, reserved +woman: very timid and very polished. Upon the gallery she was awaiting +the return of her cousin. The meeting was (as all meetings between +high-bred women should be) quiet, but cordial; without show, but full +of heart. They loved one another, and were highbred women. The stranger +was presented, and at tea the cousin was informed that he was the man +from the mountains, and there was a curious, silent surprise in her +face, when she almost whispered, "I am pleased, sir, to meet you again. +I hope you will realize the romance of my cousin's dream with your +legends of the West, the woods, and the wild men of the prairies." + +Days went by, and still the fever raged in the city. The cerulean was +bright and unflecked with a speck of vapor, like a concave mirror of +burnished steel. It hung above, and the red sun seemed to burn his way +through the azure mass. The leaves drooped as if weighted with lead, +and in the shade kindly thrown upon the wilting grass by the tulips, +oaks, and pecans about the yard, the poultry lifted their wings and +panted with exhaustion in the sickly heat of the fervid atmosphere. The +sun had long passed the zenith, dinner was over, and the inmates were +enjoying the siesta, so refreshing in this climate of the sun. Here and +there the leaves would start and dally with a vagrant puff from +vesper's lips, then droop again as if in grief at the vagaries of the +little truant which now was fanning and stirring into lazy motion +another leafy limb. + +There was music in the drawing room. It was suppressed and soft--so +sweet that it melted into the heart in very stealth. Ah! it is gone. +"Home, sweet home!" Poor Paine! like you, wandering in the friendless +streets of England's metropolis and listening to your own sweet song, +breathed from titled lips in palatial Homes, the listener to-day was +homeless. He thought of you and the convivial hours he had passed with +you, listening to the narrative of your vagrant life, and how happy you +were in the poetry of your own thoughts when you were a stranger to +every one, and your purse was empty, and you knew not where you were to +find your dinner. + +Genius, thou art a fatal gift! Ever creating, never realizing; living +in a world of beauty etherialized in imagination's lens, and hating the +material world as it is; buffeted by fortune and ridiculed by fools +whose conceptions never rise above the dirt. + +A little note, sweetly scented, is placed in his hand: + +"Cousin and I propose a ride. Shall we have your company? You are aware +it is the Sabbath. You must not, for us, do violence to your +prejudices." + +"Is this," thought he, "a delicate invitation to save my feelings, and +is the latter clause meant as a hint that they do not want me? Well, +the French always, when a compliment has as much bitter as sweet in it, +take the sweet and leave the bitter unappropriated. It is a good +example. I will follow it. Say to the ladies I will accompany them." + +"The horses are all ready, sir; and the ladies bonneted wait in the +drawing-room." + +The sun was in the tree-tops and the shadows were long. There was a +flirtation going on between the leaves and the breeze. The birds were +flitting from branch to branch. A chill was on the air: it was bathing +the cheek with its delicious touch, and animated life was rejoicing +that evening had come. + +Arriving at the great mound of the temple of the sun, with some +difficulty they climb to its summit. So dense is the shade that it is +almost dark. Here are two graves, in which sleep the remains of the +grand-parents of these two beautiful and lovely women. All around are +cultivated fields clothed with rich crops, luxuriant with the promise +of abundance. At its base flows the little creek, gliding and gabbling +along over pure white sand. Sweet Alice! How sad she seems! She stood +at the grave's side, and, looking down, seemed lost in pious reverie. +Every feature spoke reverence for the dead. Her cousin, too, was +silent; and if not reverent, was not gay. He, their gallant, was +respectfully silent, when Alice said, without lifting her eyes: + +"I wonder if La Salle ever stood here? This is holy ground. No spot on +earth has a charm for me like this. I am in the temple. I see the +attentive, watchful priest feeding there (as she pointed) the holy +fire, and yonder, with upturned eyes, the great lawgiver worshipping +his god, as he comes up from his sleep, bringing day, warmth, light, +and life. Was not this worship pure? Was it not natural? The sun came +in the spring and awoke everything to life. The grass sprang from the +ground and the leaves clothed the trees; the birds chose their mates +and the flowers gladdened the fields; everything was redolent of life, +and everything rejoiced. He went away in the winter, and death filled +the land. There were no leaves, no grass, no flowers. All nature was +gloomy in death. Could any but a god effect so much? The sun was their +god; his temple was the sky, and his holy fire burned on through all +time. Beautiful conception! Who can say it is not the true faith?" + +"To the unlettered mind, it was," answered the young gentleman; +"because the imagination could only be aided by the material presented +to the natural eye. Science opens the eye of faith. It teaches that the +sun is only the instrument, and faith looks beyond for the Creator. To +such the Indian's faith cannot be the true one. The ignorance of one +sees God in the instrument, and his thoughts clothe him with the power +of the Creator, and his heart worships God in sincerity, and to him it +is the true faith. But to the educated, scientific man, who knows the +offices of the sun, it appears as it is, only the creature of the +unseen, unknown God, and to this God he lifts his adoration and +prayers, and to him this is the true faith." + +"So, my philosopher, you believe, whatever lifts the mind to worship +God is the true faith?" + +"You put it strongly, Miss, and I will answer by a question. If in +sincerity we invoke God's mercy, can the means that prompt the heart's +devotion, reliance, and love, be wrong? His magnitude and perfection +are a mystery to the untutored savage: he knows only what he sees. The +earth to him, (as it was to the founders and patriarchs of our own +faith,) is all the world. He has no idea that it is only one, and a +small one of a numerous family, and can conceive only that the sun +rules his world; gives life and death to everything upon the earth--but +this inspires love and reverence for God. The scientific man sees in +the sun only an attractive centre, and sees space filled with +self-illuminating orbs, and reasoning from the known to the unknown, he +believes these centres of attraction to planetary families, and the +imagination stretches away through space filled with centres and +revolving worlds, and each centre with its dependents revolving around +one great centre, and this great centre he believes is God. His idea is +only one step beyond the Indian's, and has only the same effect: it +leads the heart to depend on and worship God." + +"You are a heretic, and must like a naughty boy be made to read your +Bible and go to Sunday-school, and be lectured and taught the true +faith. Fy! fy! shall the heathen go to heaven? Where is the provision +for him in the Bible? What are we to do with missions? If this be true, +there is no need that we should be sending good men and dear, pious +women to convert the Chinese, the Feejees, and the poor Africans so +benighted that their very color is black, and the Australians, and New +Georgians, to be roasted and eaten by the cannibals there. If they +worship God in sincerity, you say that is all?" + +"No, miss, faith without works is a futile reliance for heaven. It is +the first necessity, and perhaps the next and greatest, is, to 'Do unto +all what you would have all do unto you.' These are the words of the +great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, and were taught four and a half +centuries before Christ, yet we see Him teaching the same. This, as +Confucius said, was the great cardinal duty of man, and all else was +but a commentary upon this. This I fancy is all, at least it is very +comprehensive. You tell me the traditions of the people who worshipped +here say that this was a cardinal law unto them?" + +"You, sir, have lived too long among the heathen, if you are not one +already. You are like an August peach in July: you are turning, and in +a little while will be ripe. You talk, as Uncle Toney says, like a +book, and to me, like a new book, for yours are new thoughts to me. +Cousin, does he not astonish you?" + +"By no means; true, they are new thoughts; but they are natural +thoughts, and I do not fear to listen to them--on the contrary, I could +listen to them all day, and, Alice, I have often, very often, heard +from you something like this." + +"Nonsense, cousin, nonsense; I am orthodox, you know, and a good girl +and love to go to church, especially when I have a becoming new dress." + +"Here are the bones of our ancestors, if they were once animated with +souls; and I guess they were, particularly the old man, for I have +heard many stories from old Toney, that convince me that he was a +pretty hard one. How do we know that their spirits are not here by us +now? Why is it deemed that there shall be no communication between the +living and the dead? O! how I want to ask all about the spirit-land. +Wake up and reclothe thy bones and become again animated dust, and tell +me thou, my great progenitor, the mysteries of the grave, of heaven and +hell. How quiet is the grave? No response, and it is impious to ask +what I have. O! what is life which animates and harmonizes the elements +of this mysterious creation, man! Life how imperious, and yet how kind; +it unites and controls these antagonistic elements, and they do not +quarrel on his watch. Mingling and communing they go on through time, +regardless of the invitation of those from which they came to return. +But when life is weary of his trust and guardianship, and throws up his +commission, they declare war at once--dissolve, and each returns to his +original. Death and corruption do their work, and life returns no more, +and death is eternal, and the soul--answer ye dumb graves--did the soul +come here? or went it with life to the great first cause? or is here +the end of all; here, this little tenement? I shudder--is it the flesh, +the instinct of life; or is it the soul which shrinks with horror from +this little portal through which it must pass to eternal bliss, or +eternal--horrible! Assist me to my horse, if you please. Come cousin, +let us go and see old Uncle Toney--and, sir, he will teach you more +philosophy than you ever dreamed of." + +"Who is Uncle Toney? miss," asked the stranger of the visiting cousin +when he returned to aid her descent of the mound. + +"He is a very aged African, brought to this country from Carolina by +our grandfather, in 1775, or earlier; he says there were remnants of +the Natchez in the country at that time, and the old man has many +stories of these, and many more very strange ones of the doings of the +whites who first came and settled the country. He retains pretty well +his faculties, and, like most old people, is garrulous and loves a +listener. He will be delighted with our visit." + +"Miss Alice, do you frequently visit Uncle Toney?" + +"Very nearly every day. I have in my basket, here, something for the +old man. Turn there, if you please--yonder by that lightning-scared old +oak and those top-heavy pecans is his cabin and has been for more than +sixty years. Here was the local of my grand-father's house; here was +born my mother; but all the buildings have long been gone save Uncle +Toney's cabin. Think of the hopes, the aspirations, the blisses, the +sorrows, the little world that once was here--all gone except Uncle +Toney. In my childhood I used to come here and go with him to the +graves where we have been to-day, and have sat by them for hours +listening to the stories he delights to tell of my grandfather and +mother, until their very appearance seems familiar to my vision. I know +that my grandfather was a small man, and a passionate man, and Toney +sometimes tells me I am like him. His eye was gray--so is mine; his +face sharper than round--so is mine, and sometimes my temper is +terrible--so was his;" and she laughed again that same wild thrilling +laugh as she gallopped up to the cabin and leaped down to greet the old +man, who was seated at the door of his hut beneath the shade of a +catalpa, the trunk of which was worn smooth from his long leaning +against it. He was very black and very fat. His wool was white as snow, +and but for the seams in both cheeks, cut by the knife in observance of +some ridiculous rite in his native land, would have been really +fine-looking for one of his age. He arose and shook hands with the +cousin, but did not approach the gentleman. He was evidently not +pleased with his presence and was chary of his talk. + +"Ah! young missus," he said, when he received the basket, "you bring +old Toney sometin good. You is my young missus, too; but dis one is de +las one. Dey is all married and gone but dis one." (This conversation +was addressed to the cousin.) "All gone away but dis one, and when she +marry dare will be nobody to fetch dis ole nigger good tings and talk +to de ole man." + +"Uncle Toney, I don't intend to marry." + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the old man, "berry well, berry well! I hear dat +from ebery one ob my young misses, and where is dey now? All done +married and gone. You gwine to do jus as all on em hab done, byne by +when de right one come. Ah! may be he come now." + +"You old sinner, I have a great mind to pull your ears for you." + +"O no, missus, I don't know! I see fine young man dare; but maybe he +come wid Miss Ann, and maybe he belong to her." + +"Uncle Toney, don't you remember I told you of a wild man away from the +mountains, all clothed in skins, with a long, curly beard and hair over +his shoulders as black as a stormy night? This is he." + +"Gosh!" said the venerable negro. "I mus shake his hand; but what hab +you done wid your beard, your hair, and your huntin-shirt?" + +"I have thrown them all into the fire, uncle. People among white people +must not dress like Indians." + +"Dat's a fac, young massa; but I tell you Miss Alice was mity taken wid +dem tings. She come here soon as she comed home, and told me all about +'em and all about you--how you could shoot de bow and how you could +talk, and she said: 'O! what would I not give to see him again?'" + +"Toney, if you don't shut up, I won't come to see you, or bring you any +more good things. This young gentleman has come with us to see you, and +wishes to hear you tell all about the Natchez, and to get you to show +him the many things you have dug up on and around these mounds, and +have you tell him all about the old people who came here first and made +all these big plantations and built all these great houses." + +"Well, Miss Alice, dis is Sunday, you know, and dem tings mus not be +telled on Sunday, and den you and Miss Ann don't want ole nigger to +talk. You go ride and talk wid de young gemman, and maybe to-morrow, or +some week-day, young massa can come down from de great house wid de gun +to shoot de squirrels along de way, and when he tired, den he can come +and rest, and I can tell him all. Yes, young massa, I been live long +time here. Me is mity old. All dem what was here when I comed wid ole +massa is dead long time. Yes, dare aint one on em livin now, and dare +chillin is old." + +"I shall be sure to come," said the young man, "and suppose I bring +with me these ladies?" + +"Neber you do dat, massa. I knows young folks ways too well for dat. +Toney may talk, but dey neber will listen. Dey will talk wid one +anoder, and Miss Alice been hear all de ole nigger's talk many a time, +and she don't want to hear it ober and ober all de time; and beside +dat, young massa, sometimes when I tells bout de ole folks, she +trimbles and cries. She's got a mity soft heart bout some tings, and +she tells me I mus tell you eberyting." + +"There now, Toney, you have said enough about me to make the gentleman +think I am a very silly little girl." + +"God bress my young missus!" he said as he tenderly patted her head. "I +wouldn't hurt your feelins for noffin. You is too good, Miss Alice. +Toney lubed your mamma--Toney lubs you, and de day you is married and +goes away, I want to go away too. I want to go yonder, Miss Alice, on +de top ob dat mound, and lie down wid ole massa and missus. He told +your pa to put me dar; but your pa's gone. O Miss Alice! dey's all gone +but you and me and your brodder, and he don't care for Toney, and maybe +he will trow him out in de woods like a dog when he die." Tears stole +down the black face of the venerable man, and the eyes of Alice +filled--and then she laughed the shrill, fearful laugh, and rode +rapidly away. + +She was singing and walking hurriedly the gallery, when the stranger +and her cousin came leisurely into the yard. + +"Your cousin, Miss Ann, has a strange laugh." + +"Indeed she has, sir; but we who know her understand it. She never +laughs that unearthly laugh when her heart is at ease. I doubt if you +have ever met such a person. I think the world has but one Alice. She +is very young, very impressible, and some think very eccentric, very +passionate and romantic to frenzy. There is something which impels me +to tell you--but no, I have no right to do so. But this I must tell +you; for you cannot have been in the house here so long without +observing it. There is no congeniality between herself and brother; +indeed, very little between her and any of her family. She is alone. +She is one by herself; yes, one by herself in the midst of many; for +the family is a large one. But remember, there is none like Alice. Be +gentle to her and pity her; and pity her most when you hear that +strange laugh." + +There was music in the drawing-room, soft and gentle, and the +accompanying voice was tremulous with suppressed emotion. Gradually it +swells in volume until it fills the spacious apartment, and the clear +notes from the tender trill rose grandly in full, clear tones, full of +pathetic melody, and now they almost shriek. They cease--and the laugh, +hysterical and shrill, echoes through the entire house. The judge was +silent; but a close observer might have seen a slight contraction of +the lips, and a slighter closing of the eyes. A moment after Alice +entered the room, and there was a glance exchanged between her brother +and herself. There was in it a meaning only for themselves. + +"You have been riding, sir," he said to his guest, "and my sister tells +me to the mound at the White Apple village. To those curious in such +legends as are connected with its history, it is an interesting spot. +All I know in relation to these, I acquired from a dreamy and solitary +man employed by my father to fit myself and brother for college. He +read French, and was fond of tracing all he could find in the writings +of the historians of the first settlement of Louisiana and Mississippi, +and of the history, habits, and customs of the aborigines of the +country. He knew something of the adventures of De Soto and La Salle, +and something of the traditions of the Natchez. He was a melancholy +man, and perished by his own hand in the chamber that you occupy. My +sister is curious in such matters, and from her researches in some old +musty volumes she has found in the possession of an old European +family, she has made quite a history of the Natchez, and from the old +servants much of that of the first white or English occupants of this +section. For myself, I have little curiosity in that way. My business +forbids much reading of that kind, and indeed much of anything else, +and I am glad that my tastes and my business accord. I would not +exchange one crop of cotton grown on the village-field, for a perfect +knowledge of the history of every Indian tribe upon the continent." + +"I am no antiquarian, sir. A life on a plantation I suppose must be +most irksome and monotonous to a young lady, unless she should have +some resource besides her rural employments." + +"Our only amusements, sir," said Alice, "are reading, riding, and +music, with an occasional visit to a neighbor. I ride through the old +forest and consult the great patriarchal trees, and they tell me many +strange stories. When the ruthless axe has prostrated one of these +forest monarchs, my good palfrey waits for me, and I count the +concentric circles and learn his age. Some I have seen which have +yielded to man's use or cupidity who have looked over the younger +scions of the woods, and upon the waters of the mighty river a thousand +years." + +"Indeed, miss," replied the guest, "I had not supposed the natural life +of any of our forest trees extended beyond three, or at most four +centuries." + +"The tulip or poplar-tree and the red-oak in the rich loam of these +hills live long and attain to giant proportions. The vines which cling +in such profusion to many of these are commensurate with them in time. +They spring up at their bases and grow with them: the tree performing +the kindly office of nurse, lifting them in her arms and carrying them +until their summits, with united leaves, seem to kiss the clouds. They +live and cling together through tempests and time until worn out with +length of days, when they tumble and fall to the earth together, and +together die. We all, Flora and Fauna, go down to the bosom of our +common mother to rest in death. I love the companionship of the forest. +There is an elevation of soul in this communion with incorruptible +nature: there is sincerity and truth in the hills and valleys--in the +trees and vines, and music--grand orchestral music--in the moaning of +the limbs and leaves, played upon by the hurrying winds. I have prayed +to be a savage, and to live in the woods." + +"You are as usual, sister, very romantic to-night." + +"By and by, brother, I shall forget it I presume. I am human, and shall +soon die, or live on till time hardens my nature, or sordid pursuits +plough from my heart all its sympathies, and old age finds me gloating +over the gains of laborious care and penurious meanness. + + "'To such vile uses we must come at last.'" + +"You draw a sad picture, miss, for old age. Do not the gentler virtues +of our nature ever ripen with time? Is it the alchemist who always +turns the sweets of youth to the sours of age? There are many examples +in every community to refute your position. I would instance the +venerable negro we visited to-day. He wept as he placed his trembling +hand upon your head. There was surely nothing ascetic or sordid in his +feelings." + +"Uncle Toney is an exception, sir. The affectionate memories he has of +our family, and especially of my mother and father, redeems him from +the obloquy of his race. His heart is as tender as his conduct is void +of offense. He was a slave. God had ordained him for his situation. He +had not the capacity to aspire beyond his lot, or to contrast it with +his master's. Contented to render his service, and satisfied with the +supply of his wants from the hands of him he served--he had a home, and +all the comforts his nature required. He has it still; but I know he is +not as contented as when he was my father's slave. God bless the old +man! He shall never want while I have anything, and should I see him +die, he shall sleep where he wished to-day." + +"By our grandfather, I suppose, Alice?" + +"Yes, my brother, by our grand-parents. They told him it should be so. +Ah! there are no distinctions in the grave; white skin and black skin +alike return to dust, and the marl of the earth is composed alike of +the bones of all races, and their properties seem to be the same. I, +too, wish to sleep there. It is a romantically beautiful spot, and its +grand old traditions make it holy ground. How its associations hallow +it! Imagination peoples it with those bold old red men who assembled in +the temple to worship the holy fire--emblematic of their +faith--humbling their fierce natures and supplicating for mercy. I go +there and I feel in the touch of the air that it is peopled with the +spirits of the mighty dead, surrounding and blessing me for my memory +of, and love for, their extinct race." + +"Bravo, sister! What an enthusiast! You, sir, have some knowledge of +the Indians. Do they stir the romance of your nature as that of my baby +sister?" + +The glance from her eye was full of scorn: it flashed with almost +malignant hate as she rose from her seat, and taking the arm of her +cousin she swept from the room, audibly whispering "baby sister" in +sneering accents. + +"Woman's nature is a strange study, my young friend. I have several +sisters and they are all strange, each in her peculiar way. They are +remarkable for the love they bear their husbands, and yet they all have +a pleasure in tormenting them, and are never so unhappy, as when they +see these happy. This younger sister has a nature all her own. I do not +think she shares a trait with another living being. Wild, yet gentle; +the eagle to some, to some the dove. Quick as the lightning in her +temper--as fervid, too; a heart to hate intensely, and yet to melt in +love and worship its object; but would slay it, if she felt it had +deceived her. Always searching into the history of the past, and always +careless of the future." + +"You have drawn something of the character of a Spanish woman. Their +love and their hate is equally fierce; and both easily excited, they +are devoted in all their passions. I have thought that this grew from +the secluded life they live. Ardency is natural to the race, and this +restrained makes their lives one long romance. Their world is all of +imagination. The contacts of real life they never meet outside of their +prison-homes, and the influence of experience is never known. They are +seen through bars, are sought through bars, they love through bars--and +the struggle is, to escape from these restraints; and the moral of the +act or means for its accomplishment, or the object to be attained, +never enters the mind. Such natures properly reared to know the world, +to see it, hear it, and suffer it, tunes all the attributes of the mind +and heart to make sweet music. Nothing mellows the heart like sorrow; +nothing so softens the obduracy of our natures as experience. None, +sir, man or woman, are fitted for the world without the experiences its +contact brings. These experiences are teachings, and the bitter ones +the best. To be happy, we must have been miserable; it is the +idiosyncracy of the mind, to judge by comparison; and the eternal +absence of grief leaves the mind unappreciative of the incidents and +excitements which bring to him or her who have suffered, such exquisite +enjoyment. The rue of life is scarcely misery to those who have never +tasted its ambrosia." + +"You are young, sir, thus to philosophize, and must have seen and +experienced more than your years would indicate." + +"Some, sir, in an incident see all of its characters that the world in +a lifetime may present. They suffer, and they enjoy with an acuteness +unknown to most natures; and in youth gain the experiences and +knowledge they impart, while most of the world forget the pain and the +pleasure of an incident with its evanescence. With such, experience +teaches nothing. These progress in the world blindly and are always +stumbling and falling." + +"The ladies have retired--shall we imitate their example, sir? This +will light you to your chamber; good night." + +Alone, and kindly shielded with the darkness, the adventurer lay +thoughtful and sleepless. Here are two strange beings. There is in the +one angelic beauty animated with a soul of giant proportions, large in +love, large in hate, and grandly large in its aspirations; and yet it +is chained to a rock with fetters that chafe at every motion. The other +cold, emotionless, with a reserved severity of manner, which is the +offspring of a heart as malignant and sinister as Satan himself may +boast of. They hate each other, but how different that hatred! The one +is an emotion fierce and fiery but without malice; the other malicious +and revengeful. One is the hatred of the recipient of an injury who can +forgive; the other the hatred of one who has inflicted an injury with +calculation. Such never forgive. And this I am sure is the relation of +this brother and sister. Deprived when yet young of the fostering care +of a mother, scarcely remembering her father, she has been the ward of +this cold, hard being, whose pleasure it has been to thwart every wish +of this lovely being: to hate her because she is lovely, and to +aggravate into fury her resentments, and to sour every generous impulse +of her extraordinary nature. What a curse to have so sensitive a being +subjected to the training of so cold and malignant a one! + +There is no natural affection. The heart is born a waste: its loves, +its hates are of education and association; and the responsibility for +the future of a child rests altogether with those intrusted with its +rearing and training. The susceptibilities only are born with the +heart, and these may be cultivated to good or evil, as imperceptibly as +the light permeates the atmosphere. These capacities or +susceptibilities are acute or obtuse as the cranium's form will +indicate, and require a system suited to each. Attention soon teaches +this: the one grows and expands beautifully with the slightest +attention; the other is a fat soil, and will run to weeds, without +constant, close, and deep cultivation, and its production of good fruit +is in exact proportion with its fertility and care. It gives the most +trouble but it yields the greatest product. And here in that warm, +impulsive heart is the fat soil. O! for the hand to weed away all that +is noxious now rooting there. That look, that whispered bitterness was +the fruit of wicked wrong--I know it; the very nature prompting there +would give the sweetest return to justice, kindness, and love. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE ROMANCE CONTINUED. + +FATHER CONFESSOR--OPEN CONFESSION--THE UNREAD WILL--OLD TONEY'S +NARRATIVE--SQUIRREL SHOOTING--THE FAREWELL UNSAID--BROTHERS-IN-LAW-- +FAREWELL INDEED. + + +When the morrow came, the clouds were weeping and the damp was dripping +from every leaf, and gloomy rifts of spongy vapor floated lazily upon +the breeze, promising a wet and very unpleasant day. These misty +periods rarely endure many hours in the autumn, but sometimes they +continue for days. The atmosphere seems half water, and its warm damp +compels close-housing, to avoid the clammy, sickly feeling met beyond +the portals. At such times, time hangs heavily, and every resource +sometimes fails to dispel the gloom and ennui consequent upon the +weather; conversation will pall; music cease to delight, and reading +weary. To stand and watch the rain through the window-panes, to lounge +from the drawing-room to your chamber, to drum with your fingers upon +the table--to beat your brain for a thought which you vainly seek to +weave into rhyme in praise of your inamorata--all is unavailing. The +rain is slow but ceaseless, and the hours are days to the unemployed +mind. We hum a tune and whistle to hurry time, but the indicating +fingers of the tediously ticking clock seems stationary, and time waits +for fair weather. The ladies love their chambers, and sleeping away the +laggard hours, do not feel the oppression of a slow, continuous, lazy +rain. + +The morning has well-nigh passed, and the drawing-room is still +untenanted. The judge was busy in his office, looking over papers and +accounts, seemingly unconscious of the murky day; perhaps he had +purposely left this work for such a day--wise judge--a solitary man, +unloving, and unloved; hospitable by freaks, sordid by habit, and mean +by nature. Yet he was wise in his way; devoid of sentiment or sympathy +as a grind-stone, his wit was as sharp as his heart was cold. Absorbed +in himself, the outside world was nothing to him. He had work, gainful +work for all weathers, and therefore no feeling for those who suffered +from the weather or the world, if it cost him nothing in pence. He was +the guardian of his baby sister; but all of her he had in his heart was +a care that she should not marry, before he was ready to settle her +estate. The interest he felt in her, was his commissions for +administering her property with a legitimate gain earned in the use of +her money. + +The guest of this strange man was restless, he knew not why; there were +books in abundance, and their authors' names were read over and over +again as he rummaged the book-cases he knew not for what. First one and +then another was pulled out from its companions, the title-page read +and replaced again, only to take another. Idly he was turning the pages +of one, when a voice surprised him and sweetly inquired at his elbow if +he found amusement or edification in his employment. "I must apologize +for my rudely leaving you last night. I hope I am incapable of deceit +or unnecessary concealments. I was hurt and angry, and I went away in a +passion. Yours is a gentle nature, you do not suffer your feelings to +torture and master you. I should not, but I am incapable of the effort +necessary to their control. It is best with me that they burn out, but +their very ashes lie heavily upon my heart. Our clime is a furnace, and +her children are flame, at least, strange sir, some of them are a +self-consuming flame. I feel that is my nature. Is not this an honest +confession? I could explain further in extenuation of my strange +nature. It was not my nature until it was burned into my very soul. I +am very young, but the bitterness of my experiences makes me old, at +least in feeling. But you are not my father confessor--then why do I +talk to you as to one long known? Because--perhaps--but never mind the +reason. I know my cousin has whispered something to you of me; my +situation, my nature--is it not so?" + +"Ah! you would be _my_ father confessor. You must not interrogate, but +if you would know, ask your cousin." + +"O! no, I could not. Is it not strange that woman will confide to the +strange man, what she will not to the kindred woman? Woman will not +sympathize with woman; she goes not to her for comfort, for sympathy, +for relief. Is this natural? Men lean on one another, women only on +man. Is this natural? Is it instinctive? or an acquired faculty? Do not +laugh at me, I am very foolish and very sad; such a day should sadden +every one. But my cousin is very cheerful, twitters and flits about +like an uncaged canary, and is as cheerful when it rains all day, as +when the sun in her glory gladdens all the earth and everything +thereon. I am almost a Natchez, for I worship the sun. How I am running +on! You are gentle and kind, are you not? You are quick, +perceptive--you have seen that I am not happy--sympathize, but do not +pity me. That is a terrible struggle between prudence and inclination. +There, now I am done--don't you think me very foolish?" + +"Miss Alice--(will you allow me this familiarity?)" + +"Yes, when we are alone; not before cousin or my _man_ brother." (She +almost choked with the word.) "Not before strangers--we are not +strangers when alone. You read my nature, as I do yours, and we are +not strangers when alone. It is not long acquaintance which makes +familiar friends. The mesmeric spark will do more than years of +intercommunication, where there is no congeniality--and do it in a +little precious moment. The bloody arrow we held in common was an +electric chain. I learned you at the plucking of that arrow from the +cotton bale--in your strange, wild garb; but never mind--what were you +going to say?" + +"I was going to say that our acquaintance was very brief, but what I +have seen or heard, I will not tell to you or to any one. Your +imagination is magnifying your sufferings. You want a heart to confide +in. You have brothers-in-law, wise and strong men. + +"That, for the whole of them," she said, as she snapped her fingers. +"Their wives are my sisters, some of them old enough to be my mother, +but they and their husbands are alike--sordid. The hope of money is +even more debasing than the hoarding. Do you understand me? I must +speak or my heart will burst. Are you a wizzard that you have so drawn +me on? Dare I speak? Is it maidenly that I should? There is a spell +upon me. Go to your chamber--there is a spy upon me; I am seen, and I +fear I have been overheard; go to your chamber--here, take this book +and read it if you never have--dinner is at hand, and after dinner--, +but let each hour provide for itself,--at dinner,--well, well, adieu." + +She was in the drawing-room, and again the soft melody of +half-suppressed music, scarcely audible, yet every note distinct, +floated to his chamber, and the guest scarcely breathed that he might +hear. There was something so plaintive, so melting in the tones that +they saddened as well as delighted. How the heart can melt out at the +finger-points when touching the keys of a sweetly-toned instrument! It +is thrown to the air, and in its plaint makes sweet music of its +melancholy. Like harmonious spirits chanting in their invisibility, +making vocal the very atmosphere, it died away as though going to a +great distance, and stillness was in the whole house. He stole gently +to the door. There seated was Alice; her elbow on her instrument, and +her brow upon her hand. The bell rang for dinner. The repast is over, +and a glass of generous wine sent the rose to the cheeks of Alice, but +enlivened not her eye. Her heart was sad: the eye spoke it but too +plainly, and she looked beautiful beyond comparison. The eye of the +stranger was rivetted upon that drooping lid and more than melancholy +brow. + +His situation was a painful one. More than once had he caught the +quick, suspicious glance of the judge flash upon him. He was becoming +an object of interest to more than one in the house; but how different +that interest! How at antipodes the motives of that interest! He knew +too much, and yet he wanted to know more. He was left alone in the +drawing-room with the timid, modest little cousin. It rained on, and +the weather seemed melancholy, and their feelings were in unison with +the weather. + +"I shall leave, I believe, miss, as soon as the rain will permit. I +presume I may go down to the city without fear." + +"You will find it but a sorry place, sir. All the hotels are closed and +everybody is out of town save the physicians, and the poor who are +unable to get away. The gloom of the desolated place is enough to craze +any one. I hope you do not find your stay disagreeable in this house?" + +"I will not attempt to deceive you, miss. I cannot say why; but I feel +uncomfortable--not at my ease. It were needless for me to repeat it; I +am sure you know the cause." + +"Perhaps I do, sir; and still I cannot see in that sufficient cause for +your going away. Perhaps, sir, we are not thinking of the same cause," +she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. + +"I particularly allude to what you yourself communicated to me. I +perceive Miss Alice is very unhappy, and I also am apprehensive that I +may in some way be the cause of this." + +"I will tell you, sir, any special attention on your part to Alice will +enrage her brother. From motives known to himself, he is very much +opposed to her marrying any one. His reasons as given are that she is +so peculiar in her disposition that she would only increase her own +misery in making her husband miserable, which her eccentric nature +would certainly insure. I have heard that he has sometimes had a +thought of carrying her to an asylum for the insane. The world, +however, is not charitable enough to believe this the true reason. The +judge is very grasping, and he has in his hands Alice's fortune. Some +of his own family suppose he desires the use of it as long as possible. +There are many hard things said of him in relation to his influencing +his mother to leave him the lion's share of her estate. This very home +was intended for Alice, and though he had not spoken to his mother for +years, in her last hours he came with a prepared will and insisted on +her signing it. She feared him (most people do) and affixed her name to +the fatal document, which report says was never read to her. After that +she could not bear the presence of Alice, saying in her delirium: 'My +poor baby will hate me; I have turned her from her home.' Alice has +learned all this, and she has upbraided him with his conduct; for once +provoked she does not even fear him." + +"Why do not her brothers-in-law inquire into this? They are equally +interested in the matter it seems to me." + +"Ah, sir! they are hoping that he may do them justice in his will. I am +sure this is the understanding with at least one of them, and neither +of them will hazard a loss to protect the rights of Alice. Large +expectations are strong inducements to selfishness. I am disclosing +family matters, sir; but I have done so from a good motive. It is but +half disclosed to you; but the rest I must not tell. You are not so +dull as not from what I have said to be able to shape your conduct. +Alice is coming." + +The rain had ceased, and for two days the genial sun had drank up the +moisture from the land, which underfoot was dry again. The autumn had +come, and the earth groaned with the rich products of this favored +land. The cotton-fields were whitening, and the yellow corn's pendant +ears hung heavily from their supporting stocks. Fat cattle in the shade +of the great trees switched away the teasing flies as they lazily +ruminated. The crows were cawing and stealing from their bursting +shells the rich pecan nuts, and the black-birds flew in great flocks +over the fields. In the hickory-woods the gray squirrel leaped from +tree to tree, hunting for, and storing away for winter's use, his store +of nuts and acorns, or running along the rail-fence to find a +hiding-place when frightened from his thieving in the cornfields. The +quail whistled for his truant mate in the yellow stubble, and the +carrion-bird--black and disgusting--wheeled in circles, lazily, high up +in the blue above. There was in everything the appearance of +satisfaction; abundance was everywhere, and the yellowing of the leaves +and the smoky horizon told that the year was waning into winter. + +Under the influences of the scene and the season the visitor of the +judge was sober and reflective as he strolled through the woods, gun in +hand, little intent upon shooting. The quail whirred away from his +feet; the funny little squirrel leaped up the tree-side and peeped +around at him passing; but he heeded not these, and went forward to +find the cabin of old Toney. He found the old negro in his usual seat +at the foot of his favorite tree, upon his well-smoothed and sleek +wooden stool. + +"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Toney. "You come dis time widout Miss Alice. Why +she not come wid you? You not want somebody to turn de squirrel for +you? May be you bring de ole man more dan one dar?" + +"It was too great a walk for her, Uncle Toney, and then she does not +like my company well enough to pay so much fatigue for it." + +Toney laughed again. "Too much walk, indeed, she walk here most ebery +day, wid her little bonnet in her hand and basket too, wid sometin good +for Toney. When sun yonder and de shade cobber de groun; den she set +dare, (pointing to the grass which grew luxuriantly near by) and talk +to de ole man and lissen so still like a bird hiding, when I tell her +all bout de ole folks, dat is buried dare, and how we all comed away +from de States when de ole war driv us off, not General Jackson's war. +No, sir, General Washington's war, de ole war of all--and den, young +massa, you ought to see her. She's mity putty den, she is--face red and +smove, and she little tired and she look so like ole missus yonder, +when she was a gall, and dem English red coats comes out from +Charleston, to de ole place to see her. Dat's a long time ago, young +massa." + +"Uncle Toney, how old are you?" + +"Moss a hundred, young massa; I don't know zackly--but I great big boy +when I comed from de ole country, tudder side ob de sea--my country, +massa. When I comed to Charleston, I was so high--(holding his hand +some four feet from the earth) yet I was big nuff to plow, when ole +massa, de fadder of him burried yonder, bied me and tuck me up to de +high hills ob Santee. Den, sir, my massa who brought me here, was gone +to de country whar de white folks first comed from, England. I neber +see him till de ole war, when his fadder been dead two year, den he +comed home one night and all de family but one had gone to de war. He +not talk much, but look mity sorry. My ole missus was a pretty gall, +den, live close by us, and it not long afore dey gets married, and den +many ob de nabors come and dey hab long talk. Dey's all comes to de +greement to come away from de country, fraid ob de war, and all de +fadders ob all de nabors here take all der niggers and der stock and go +up de country to de riber dat's named de Holsten, and dare dey built +heep flat boats, and in de spring dey starts down de riber. Some ob de +boats hab hogs on 'em, some hosses, some cows, some niggers, some corn +and meat, and some de white families. Dar was boff de grandfadder ob +Miss Alice, and her fadder. He was small, not grown, and old massa, her +modder's fadder, was young wid young wife, but dey all made him +captain. + +"We was long time comin down de riber, and we had to fite de Injuns +long time at de place dey calls Mussel Shoals. Some ob de boats got on +de ground, and one on em we had to leave wid de hogs on it. De bullets +come from the Injuns so hot dat we all had to get out into de water and +go to anudder boat and get away from dar. Dem was the wust Injuns I +ebber seed. But we got away and we runned all night. Nex day Miss +Alice's fadder was on de top ob de boat ob his fadder when Injun shoot +him in de back from de woods, and he buried wid dat bullet in him up +yonder to de great house. Well, young massa, we comed one day into a +big riber, and dar we stopt one hole week, and de massa and some on de +ress on em got out and luck at de country, but dey not like him and we +started agin, and de nex day we gits into di Massasippi, and in two +days more we comed to de place dey called New Madrid, and here stopt +agin. + +"De land was mity level and rich, and all de men said dey would stop +here and live. De people what lived here was Spanish, and some niggers +and Injuns, and dey talked a lingo we didn't know. Dere was a nigger +who could talk American, and he comed one night and tuck ole massa out +and telled him de Spaniards was gwine to rob dem all, and dat dey would +kill all on de white folks, and take all de niggers and stock, and dey +was gwine to do it de fus dark night. Dis larmed us all, and dat night +we slipt off, and when mornin comed we was way down de riber and gwine +ahead I tell you. We neber stopt any more till we got to de mouth of +Cole's Creek. Dare de fadder of Miss Alice's fadder stopt, and said he +would stay dare. Ole massa seed an Injun dat tole him ob dis place and +dey started true de cane, dey was gone long time, but when dey comed +back, ole massa got us all ready and away we went and neber stopt till +we comed to the mouth of St. Catharine's, right ober dar. Dar we landed +and unloaded de boats, and in a week we was all camped up dar whar de +big percan is, and right dar de ole man raise all his family--and dar +he and ole missus died. + +"All dis country was full ob deer and Injuns, and dem hills yonder was +all covered wid big canes and de biggest trees you ebber seed. Yonder, +all round dat mound we cleaned a field and planted corn and indigo; and +ober yonder was another settlement; and yonder, down de creek was +another; and on de cliffs was another, and den dare comed a heap ob +people and stopt at Natchez and St. Catharine, and all us people a +most, young massa, about here is come ob dem; but dare was trouble moss +all de time twixt em. + +"Ole massa was made de Governor, by somebody, and dare was another man +made a Governor, too, and he git a company one night and comed down +here; but somebody had tole old massa, and dat day he tell me, and we +went down to de riber under de cliff war was some cane and he tole me +he was gwine to stay dar, and I muss bring him sometin to eat ebery +day, but I musn't tell whar he was, not eben to ole missus, for dey +would scare her and make her tell on him. Shore nuff, dat night here +dey comed, a many a one on em, and dey went right into de great house +and serched it and ebery whar, but dey was fooled bad, and den dey tuck +me and put a rope round my neck and hung me to de lim of a tree what is +dead and gone now, right out dar. But wen I was moss dead, dey let me +down and axed me whar was de Governor. I swared I didn't know, and dey +pulled me up agin; and dis time dey thought dey had killed me, shore +nuff. It was a long time before I comed to, and den I tole um I could +show um whar he was, and we started. + +"De cane was mity thick, and we went up one hill and down another till +we comed to dat big hill ober de creek dar. De todder side ob it is +mity steep, but de cane was all de way down it. I was a good ways +before em and I jumpt down de steepest place and way I went through de +cane down de hill, and de way dey made de bullets whistle was curos. +But I got away and went round and told de ole man all dey had done. +When I went back all de black people was gone and missus said dese men +had tuck em off. De nex nite dey cotch me and carried me to whar our +black folks was, and den we all started in a boat down de riber, and +when we got to New Orleans we got on a skiff and run down de riber to a +big ship and went out to sea dat night and landed at Pensacola, and +dare dat wicked ole man sold us to de Spanish." + +"Uncle Toney, who was that wicked old man?" + +"Ah! my young massa, I musn't tell, cause his grandchillen is great +folks here now, and Miss Alice telled me I musn't tell all I knows. Dey +aint sponsible, she says, for what dere grandfadder did. But I tell you +he was a mity bad man. Well, I staid at Pensacola two years wid my ole +oman; and we could talk wid de Injuns, and one day two Injuns dat I +knowd out here comed to my cabin, and dey telled me dat ole massa was +gone way from here and missus was here by herself and had nobody to +help her. So I makes a bargain wid dese Injuns to come here wid me and +my old woman. One Saturday night we started to go and see some ob our +people dat was bout ten miles from whar we was; but we neber stopped. +We tuck to de woods, and we killed a deer wheneber we was hungry. De +Injuns, you know, can always do dat. We was a mity long time comin; but +at last we got here, and den it was moss a year arter dat before ole +massa come. Den dar was more trouble. One day dar comed fifty men and +tuck ole massa, and dey tied him and den begin to rob de house. Dey had +all de silver and sich like, when de captain comed in, and he did cuss +mity hard and made em put it every bit down, and march out. Ole missus +she thanked him mitily; but dey carried ole massa off to New Orleans. + +"Dar was great trouble wid de nabors. Dey comed and talked bout it; and +one day when ole massa was gone bout a mont, when dey was all dar, who +should step into de house but ole massa. He was fash, I tell you he +was, Dar was old Mr. E----, and Mr. O---, and Mr. T----, and a heap +more, and dey all put der heads togeder and talked. One day ole massa +come to me and sez he: 'Toney, you mus get on my black hoss and go down +to de bluffs. Watch down de riber, and when you see two big boats comin +up--big keel-boats wid plenty ob men on em--way down de riber, jes come +as hard as de hoss can bring you here and let me know it.' + +"I knowd dar was trouble comin, young massa; for I seed Miss Alice's +papa comin wid plenty ob de nabors wid him. He was a tall man, and +neber talk much. Miss Alice's modder was a young oman den, and I knowd +dey was gwine to be married. When she seed him wid his gun and so many +men she gins to cry. Well, I was gone quick, and moss as soon as I got +to de cliff, I see de boats way down de riber, pulling long by de +shore. I made dat hoss do his best home, when I told old massa: 'Dey's +comin, sir!' He sorter grin, and git on his hoss and gallop away down +toward St. Catharine's. He telled me to come on, and I comed. When we +got to de mouth ob de creek dar was fifty men dar, all wid der guns, +settin on de ground, and ole massa talkin to em. Way moss night de +boats comed in sight. Den all de men hide in de cane, and massa tell +me: 'Toney, you call em and tell em to come to de shore.' I called em, +and dey comed and tied der boats to de trees, and de captain and some +ob de men jumped on de land, and walked out, and corned close to me. + +"De fuss ting dey knowd, bang! bang! bang! go de guns, and de captain +fall. De men all run for de boats, and de men on de boats gin to shoot +too. I runs wid all my might, and ole massa shout to his friends to +fire agin, and two men untying de boats fall. Den dey cut de ropes wid +an axe, and shove out de boats into de riber, and pull em away wid de +oars too far to hit em. Ole massa comes out ob de cane and goes to de +men what is lying on the ground. Dar was six on em, and four was dead +sure nuff. Two was jus wounded, and one of dese was de captain. Him de +same man what make his men put down de silber and tings dey was takin +from ole missus. Den dey carry all on em to de grate house and bury de +dead ones. De captain and de oder wounded man was tuck into de house, +and ole missus she knowd de captain, and she cried mitily bout his bein +shot. Well, he talk plenty bout his wife and modder, and Miss Alice's +modder nurse him; but he died, and his grave's yonder wid ole massa and +missus. De oder man he got well and went away, and berry soon arter dat +Miss Alice's fadder and modder got married. Dar come de judge. He hab +seen you, and he ride out ob de road to come see you." + +"Toney, I shall come to see you again, and you must tell me more about +the family and these people about here; you must tell me everything." + +"You musn't tell anybody I tell you anyting. De judge mity quare man; +he don't like for people to know all I knows." + +The judge rode up, and Toney with great respect arose and saluted him. +"Ah!" said he, "you have found this old hermit, have you? Toney is the +chronicle of the neighborhood--a record of its history from the day of +its first settlement. I hope he has amused you. He is upwards of ninety +years old, and retains all his faculties in a remarkable degree." + +"I have been quite entertained with his history of the descent of the +river with your ancestors. He seems to remember every incident, and +says your father was wounded at the Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee +River." + +"He is quite right, sir. It was a perilous trip. My grandfather was a +man of wonderful energy and determination. He pioneered the ancestors +of almost every family in this vicinage to this place. There was a +large grant of land from the Spanish Government made here and divided +among his followers, every foot of which is in the possession of their +descendants to-day, except perhaps one thousand acres which were +swindled from my family by a most iniquitous decision of a jury, +influenced by an artful old Yankee lawyer. This spot here, sir, was the +nucleus of the first settlement which in a few years spread over the +country." + +"This county I believe, sir, was once represented in the State of +Georgia as the County of Bourbon, at the time this State with Alabama +constituted a part of that State." + +"My father was elected to represent the county, but he never took his +seat. We continued to be governed by the laws of Spain which we found +in force here until the line between Florida and the United States was +established--indeed until the American Government extended its +jurisdiction in the form of a territorial government over the country. +I am riding to my sisters. You will have fine shooting if you will go +through yonder piece of woods. Every tree seems to have a squirrel upon +it. We will meet again at tea. Adieu, till then." + +"He been watchin you. Better go, young massa." + +"You don't appear, Toney, to like your young master." + +"Him not good to Miss Alice. He got plenty sisters; but he only lub +two, and dey don't lub anybody but just him. Him not like his fadder +nor ole massa yonder. He bring plenty trouble to massa and to his +modder. No, me don't like him. Miss Alice know him all." + +"Well, Toney, no one shall ever know you have told me anything. Some of +these days I will come and see you again. Good by." + +"God bress you, young massa! Kill ole nigger some squirrels. Tell Miss +Alice dey is for me, and she will make some on de little ones run down +here wid em. Good by, massa." + +Slowly the young man wended his way to the mansion; but remembering the +negro's request, he shot several squirrels, and gave them as requested. + +"Then you have been to see Uncle Toney. Did he give you any of his +stories? Like all old persons, he loves to talk about his younger +days." + +"I was quite interested in his narrative of the trip down the river, +when your grandparents and your father emigrated to this part of the +country." + +"Did he tell you his Indian ghost story?" + +"He did not. He was quite communicative; but your brother came and +arrested his conversation." A shade fell upon the features of the +beautiful creature as she turned away to send the squirrels to Toney. + +"These are beautiful grounds, Miss Ann." + +"Yes, sir; there has been great care bestowed upon them, and they make +a fairy-land for my cousin who in fair weather is almost always found +here in these walks and shady retreats afforded by these old oaks and +pecans." + +"There is something very beautiful, miss, in the attachment of Miss +Alice to Uncle Toney. The devotion to her on his part almost amounts to +adoration." + +"My aunt, the mother of Alice, taught her this attachment. There is a +little history connected with it, and indeed, sir, all the family +remember his services to our grandfather in a most perilous moment; but +you must ask its narration from the old man. He loves to tell it. My +cousin's memory of her mother is the cherished of her heart. Indeed, +sir, that is a strong, deep heart. You may never know it; but should +you, you will remember that I told you there was but one Alice. In all +her feelings she is intense; her love is a flame--her hate a thorn; the +fragrance of the one is an incense--the piercing of the other is deep +and agonizing. Shan't we go in, sir; I see the damp of the dew is on +your boot-toe, and you have been ill. The absence of the sun is the +hour for pestilence to ride the breeze in our climate, and you cannot +claim to be fully acclimated." + +The autumn progressed, and the rich harvests were being gathered and +garnered. This season is the longest and the loveliest of the year in +this beautiful country. During the months of September, October, and +November, there ordinarily falls very little rain, and the temperature +is but slightly different. The evolutions of nature are slow and +beneficent, and it seems to be a period especially disposed so that the +husbandman should reap in security the fruits of the year's labor. The +days lag lazily; the atmosphere is serene, and the cerulean, without a +cloud, is deeply blue. The foliage of the forest-trees, so gorgeous and +abundant, gradually loses the intense green of summer, fading and +yellowing so slowly as scarcely to be perceptible, and by such +attenuated degrees accustoming the eye to the change, that none of the +surprise or unpleasantness of sudden change is seen or experienced. + +The fields grow golden; the redly-tinged leaves of the cotton-plant +contrast with the chaste pure white of the lint in the bursting pods, +now so abundantly yielding their wealth; the red ripe berries all over +the woods, and the busy squirrels gathering and hoarding these and the +richer forest-nuts; the cawing of the crows as they forage upon the +ungathered corn, feeding and watching with the consciousness of +thieves, and the fat cattle ruminating in the shade, make up a scene of +beauty and loveliness not met with in a less fervid clime. The +entranced rapture which filled my soul when first I looked upon this +scene comes over me now with a freshness that brings back the delights +of that day with all its cherished memories, though fifty years have +gone and their sorrows have crushed out all but hope from the +heart--and all the pleasures of the present are these memories kindly +clustering about the soul. Perhaps their delights, and those who shared +them, will revive in eternity. Perhaps not; perhaps all alike--the +pleasant and the painful--are to be lost in an eternal, oblivious +sleep. It is all speculation; yet hope and doubt go on to the grave, +and thence none return to cheer the one or elucidate the other. But be +it eternal life or eternal death, it is wise; for it is of God. + +The autumn grew old and was threatening a frost--the great enemy of +fever. The falling leaves and the fitful gusts of chill wind presaged +the coming of winter. The ear caught the ring of sounds more distant +and more distinct now that the languor of summer was gone, and all +animal nature seemed more invigorated and more elastic. Health and her +inhabitants were returning to the city, and the guests of the +hospitable planters were thinning from the country. Business was +reviving and commotion was everywhere. + +The young stranger was preparing to leave; yet he lingered. Ann had +gone; Alice grew more shy and timid, and his walks and rides were +solitary, and but that he loved nature in her autumn robes would have +been dull and uninteresting. The judge was absent at another plantation +beyond the river, and his books and his gun were his only companions. +Sometimes he read, sometimes he rode, and sometimes he walked to visit +Toney. It was on one of those peculiarly lonely afternoons which come +in the last days of October when the stillness persuades to rest and +meditation in the woods that, seated on a prostrate tree near the +pathway which led down the little creek to the residence of Uncle +Toney, the young guest of the judge was surprised by Alice with a small +negro girl on their way to visit Uncle Toney. Both started; but in a +moment were reassured, and slowly walked to the cabin of the good old +negro. + +"I have come, Uncle Toney," said the youth, "to see you for the last +time. I am going away to-morrow and, as soon as I can, going back to +the distant home I so foolishly left." + +"I am sorry you tell me so; won't you be sorry, Miss Alice?" asked +Toney. Alice bit her lip, and the flush upon her cheek was less ruddy +than usual. + +"You no find dis country good like yourn, young massa?" + +"Yes, Toney, this is a good country, and there is no country more +beautiful. But, uncle, it requires more than a beautiful country to +make us happy; we must have with us those we love, and who love us; and +the scenes of our childhood--our fathers and mothers, and brothers and +sisters who are glad with us and who sorrow with us, and the companions +of our school-days, to make us happy. I am here without any of +these--not a relation within a thousand miles; with no one to care for +me or to love me." There was something plaintively melancholly in his +words and tones. He looked at Alice, her eyes were swimming in tears +and she turned away from his gaze. + +"You been mity sick, here, young massa, didn't Miss Alice be good to +you? Aunt Ann tell me so. If Miss Alice had not nuss you, you die." +Alice stepped into the cabin taking with her the basket the little +negro had borne, and placing its contents away, came out and handing it +to Rose, bid her run home. "I am coming," she said as she adjusted her +bonnet-strings, "the bugaboos won't catch you." + +"Yes, Uncle Toney, I am very grateful to Miss Alice. I shall never +forget her." + +How often that word is thoughtlessly spoken? Never to forget, is a long +time to remember. Our lives are a constant change: the present drives +out the past, and one memory usurps the place of another. Yet there are +some memories which are always green. These fasten themselves upon us +in agony. The pleasant are evanescent and pass away as a smile, but the +bitter live in sighs, recurring eternally. + +Both were silent, both were thoughtful. "Good-by, Uncle Toney," said +Alice. + +"May I join you in your walk home, miss?" There was something in the +tone of this request, which caused Alice to look up into his face and +pause a moment before replying, when she said, very timidly, "If you +please, sir." + +The sun was drooping to the horizon and the shadows made giants as thy +grew along the sward. "Farewell, Uncle Toney," said the gentleman, +shaking hands with the old negro. Alice had walked on. + +"O! you needn't say farewell so sorry, you'll come back. I sees him. +You'll come back. Eberybody who comes to dis country if he does go way +he's sure to come back, ticlar when he once find putty gall like Miss +Alice, ya! ya!" laughed the old man. "You'll come back. I knows it." + +In a few moments he was by the side of Alice. They lounged lazily along +through the beautiful forest a few paces behind Rose, who was too much +afraid of bugaboos to allow herself to get far away from her mistress. +There was a chill in the atmosphere and now and then a fitful gust of +icy wind from the northwest. Winter was coming: these avant-couriers +whispered of it; and overhead, swooped high up in the blue, a host of +whooping cranes, marching in chase of the sun now cheering the +Antarctic just waking from his winter's sleep. + +"I believe, sir," said Alice, "that the ancients watched the flight of +birds and predicated their predictions or prophecies upon them." + +"Yes, the untutored of every age and country observe more closely the +operations of nature than the educated. It is their only means of +learning. They see certain movements in the beasts and the birds before +certain atmospheric changes, and their superstitions influence a +belief, that sentient and invisible beings cause this by communicating +the changes going on. The more sagacious and observant, and I may add +the less scrupulous, lay hold upon this knowledge, to practice for +their own pleasure or profit upon the credulity of the masses. There +are very many superstitions, miss, which are endowed with a character +so holy, that he who would expose them is hunted down as a wretch, +unworthy of life. The older and the more ridiculous these, the more +holy, and the more sacredly cherished." + +"Are you not afraid thus to speak--is there nothing too holy to be +profanely assaulted?" + +"Nothing which contravenes man's reason. Truth courts +investigation--the more disrobed, the more beautiful. Science reveals, +that there is no mystery in truth. Its simplicity is often disfigured +with unnatural and ridiculous superstitions, and these sometimes are so +prominent as to conceal it. They certainly, with many, bring it into +disrepute. The more intellectual pluck these off and cast them away. +They see and know the truth. Yonder birds obey an instinct: the chill +to their more sensitive natures warns them that the winter, or the +tempest, or the rain-storm is upon them; they obey this instinct and +fly from it. Yet it in due time follows these--the more observant know +it, and predict it. Those, with the ancients, were sooth-sayers or +prophets; with us, they are the same with the ignorant negroes; with +the whites, not quite so ignorant, they are--but, miss, I will not say. +I must exercise a little prudence to avoid the wrath of the +ignorant--they are multitudinous and very powerful." + +"Kind sir, tell me, have you no superstitions? Has nothing ever +occurred to you, your reason could not account for? Have no +predictions, to be revealed in the coming future, come to you as +foretold?" + +"Do not press me on that point, if you please, I might astonish and +offend you." + +"I am not in the least afraid of your offending me, sir. I could not +look in your face and feel its inspirations, and believe you capable of +offending me." + +"Thank you for the generous confidence, thank you. I am going and shall +remember this so long as I live, and when in my native land, will think +of it as too sacred for the keeping of any but myself." + +"Are you really going to leave us, and so soon? I--I--would--but--" + +"Miss Alice, I have trespassed too long already upon your brother's +hospitality; beside, Miss Alice, I begin to feel that his welcome is +worn out. Your brother, for some days, has seemed less cordial than was +his wont during the first weeks of my stay here." + +"My brother, sir, is a strange being--a creature of whims and caprices. +There is nothing fixed or settled in his opinions or conduct. His +inviting you to spend the summer with us was a whim: one that has +astonished several who have not hesitated to express it. It is as +likely on his return from his river place, that he will devour you with +kindness as that he will meet you with the coldness he has manifested +for some days. Do not let your conduct be influenced by his whims." + +"Miss Alice, I am suspicious, perhaps, by nature. I have thought that +you have avoided me lately. I have been very lonesome at times." + +Alice lifted her bonnet from her head, and was swinging it by the +strings as she walked along for a few steps, when she stopped, and, +turning to her companion, said with a firm though timid voice: "I +cannot be deceitful. You have properly guessed: I have avoided you. It +was on your account as well as my own. My self-respect is in conflict +with my respect for you. I need not tell you why I avoided you; but I +will--conscious that I am speaking to a gentleman who will appreciate +my motives and preserve inviolate my communications. You saw my cousin +hurry away from here. She came to remain some weeks. The cause of her +going was my brother. From some strange, unaccountable cause he became +offended with her, and charged her with giving bad advice to me. What +she has said to me as advice since she came was in the privacy of my +bedroom, and in such tones that had he or another been in the chamber +they could not have overheard it. I know, sir, and in shame do I speak +it, that I am under the surveillance of the servants, who report to my +brother and my sister my every act and every word; and I know, too, my +brother's imagination supplies in many instances these reports. Why I +am thus watched I know not. + +"My brother is my guardian, and nature and duty, it would seem, should +prompt him to guard my happiness as well as my interest; but I know in +the one instance he fails, and I fear in the other I am suffering. All +my family fear him, and none of them love me. I am my parents' youngest +child. Oh, sir! England is not the only country where it is a curse to +be a younger child. My father died when I was an infant. My mother was +affectionate and indulgent; my sisters were harsh and tyrannical, and +in very early girlhood taught me to hate them. My mother was made +miserable by their treatment of me; and my brother, too, quarrelled +with her because she would not subject me to the servility of the +discipline he prescribed. This quarrel ripened into hate, and he never +came to the house or spoke to my mother for years. + +"The day before she died, and when her recovery was thought to be +impossible, he came with a prepared will and witnesses, which in their +presence he almost forced her to sign: in this will I was greatly +wronged, and this brother has tauntingly told me the cause of this was +my being the means of prejudicing our mother against him. + +"He married a coarse, vulgar Kentucky woman, and brought her into the +house. She was insolent and disrespectful toward my mother, and I +resented it. She left the house, and died a few months after. Since +that day, though I was almost a child, my life has been one of constant +persecution on the part of my brother and sisters. I am compelled to +endure it, but do so under protest; if not in words, I do in manner, +and this I am persuaded you have on more than one occasion observed. +Please do not consider me impertinent, nor let it influence you in your +opinion of me, when I tell you my brother has rudely said to me that I +was too forward in my intercourse with you. It is humiliating to say +this to you; but I must, for it explains my conduct, which save in this +regard has been motiveless. + +"A lady born to the inheritance of fortune is very unpleasantly +situated, both toward her family and to the world. These seem +solicitous to take greater interest in her pecuniary affairs than in +her personal happiness, and are always careful to warn her that her +money is more sought than herself--distracting her mind and feelings, +and keeping her constantly miserable. Since my school-days I have been +companionless. If I have gone into society, I have been under the guard +of one or the other of my sisters. These are cold, austere, and +repulsive, and especially toward those who would most likely seek my +society, and with whom I would most naturally be pleased. I must be +retired, cold, and never to seem pleased, but always remarkably silent +and dignified. I must be a goddess to be worshipped, and not an equal +to be approached and my society courted companionably. In fine, I was +to be miserable, and make all who came to me participate in this +misery. It was more agreeable to remain at home among my flowers and +shrubs, my books, and my visits to Uncle Toney. Do you wonder, sir, +that I seem eccentric? You know how the young love companionship--how +they crave the amusements which lend zest to life. I enjoy none of +this, and I am sometimes, I believe, nearly crazy. I fear you think me +so, now. I want to love my brother, but he will not permit me to do so. +I fear he has a nature so unlovable that such a feeling toward him +animates no heart. My sisters and a drunken sot of a brother-in-law +pretend to love him--but they measure their affection by the hope of +gain. They reside in Louisiana, and I am glad they are not here during +your stay--for you would certainly be insulted, especially if they saw +the slightest evidence of esteem for you on brother's part, or kindness +on mine." + +"Oh! sir, how true is the Scripture, 'Out of the fulness of the heart +the mouth speaketh.' Out of my heart's fulness have I spoken, and, I +fear you will think, out of my heart's folly, too; and in my heart's +sincerity I tell you I do not know why I have done so to you--for I +have never said anything of these things to any one but cousin Ann, +before. Perhaps it is because I know you are going away and you will +not come to rebuke me with your presence any more; for indeed, sir, I +do not know how I could meet you and not blush at the memory of this +evening's walk." + +"Miss Alice, I have a memory, or it may be a fancy, that in the +delirium of my fever, some weeks since, I saw you like a spirit of +light flitting about my bed and ministering to my wants; and I am sure, +when all supposed me _in extremis_, you came, and on my brow placed +your soft hand, and pressed it gently above my burning brain. My every +nerve thrilled beneath that touch; my dead extremities trembled and +were alive again. The brain resumed her functions, and the nervous +fluid flashed through my entire system, and departing life came back +again. You saved my life. Were the records of time and events opened to +my inspection and I could read it there, I could not more believe this +than I now do. Then what is due from me to you? This new evidence of +confidence adds nothing to the obligation--it was full without it. But +it is an inspiration I had not before. We are here, Miss Alice, within +a few steps of the threshold of the house in which you were born. I am +far from the land of my nativity--our meeting was strange, and this +second meeting not the less so." + +"Ah! you have almost confessed that you are superstitious. You need not +have acknowledged that you are romantic; your young life has proven +this." + +"Stay, Miss Alice: you asked me but now if there had never been the +realization of previous predictions. You said you knew I would not +offend you. I would not, but may. Now listen to me, here under the +shade of this old oak. When I was a child, my nurse was an aged African +woman; like all her race, she was full of superstition, and she would +converse with me of mysteries, and spells, and wonderful revelations, +until my mind was filled as her own with strange superstitions and +presentiments. On one occasion, on the Sabbath day, I found her in the +orchard, seated beneath a great pear-tree, and went to her--for though +I was no longer her ward to nurse, I liked to be with her and hear her +talk. It was a beautiful day, the fruit-trees were in bloom, and the +spring-feeling in the sunshine was kindling life into activity through +all nature. She asked me to let her see my hand and she would tell me +my fortune. She pretended sagely to view every line, and here and there +to press her index finger sharply down. At length she began to speak. + +"'You will not stay with your people,' she said, 'but will be a great +traveller; and when in some far-away country, you will be sick--mighty +sick; and a beautiful woman will find you, and she will nurse you, and +you will love that beautiful woman, and she will love you, and she will +marry you, and you will not come to reside with your people any more.' +Now, Miss Alice, I have wandered far away from my home, have been sick, +very sick, and a beautiful woman has nursed me until I am well, and oh! +from my heart I do love that beautiful woman. So far all of this wild +prediction has been verified; and it remains with you, my dear Alice, +to say if the latter portion shall be. You are too candid to delay +reply, and too sincere to speak equivocally." + +She trembled as she looked up into his face and read it for a moment. +"You are too much of a gentleman to speak as you have, unless it came +from your heart. O my God! is this reality, or am I dreaming?" She +drooped her head upon his shoulder, and said: "'Whither thou goest I +will go; thy house shall be my house, and thy God my God.'" + +The full moon was just above the horizon, and the long dark shadows +veiled them from view. The judge rode in at the gate, and leaving his +horse, went directly into the house. A moment after a carriage drove +into the court, and from it dismounted the brother-in-law sot and her +weird sister; for indeed she was a very Hecate in looks and mischief. +Alice stole away to her chamber; and the happy stranger to wander among +the shrubs, regardless of the damp and chill. + +Here were two young hearts conscious of happiness; but was it a +happiness derived from the respective merits and congenial natures of +the two known to each other? They were comparatively strangers, knowing +little of the antecedents of each other. Each was unhappily +situated--the one from poverty, the other owing to her wealth; the one +ardently desirous of bettering pecuniarily his position, the other to +release herself from restraints that were tyrannical and to enjoy that +independence which she felt was her natural right. Might not these +considerations override the purer impulses of the heart arising from +that regard for qualities which win upon the mind until ripened first +into deep respect, then mellowed into tender affection by association +protracted and intimate? They had been reared in societies radically +different: their early impressions were equally antagonistic; but their +aims were identical--to escape from present personal embarrassments. + +They had met romantically. He had been removed for many months from the +presence of civilized society, though naturally fond of female +association, and craving deeply in his heart the communion again of +that intercourse, which had (as he had learned from sad experience) +been the chief cause of the happiness of his youth. He met her first as +he entered anew the relations of civilized and social society. She was +young and exquisitely beautiful. Their meeting was but for a moment; +their intercourse was intensely delightful to him, and the interest her +ardent nature manifested toward him was extremely captivating. He had +gone from her, with her in all his heart. + +She for the time was free. She felt not the restraint of her female +relatives, and the ardor of her heart burned out in the delighted +surprise she experienced in the gentle and genial bearing of one to all +seeming rude and uncultivated as the savage he so much resembled in the +contour of his apparel. She had trembled with a strange ecstasy as he +strolled by her side, and felt a thrill pierce her soul as she looked +into his face and saw what she had never seen, beaming in his eyes. She +had never seen it before; yet she knew it, and felt she had found what +her heart had so long and so ardently craved. She had parted from him +with a consciousness that she was never to meet him again; and yet his +image was with her by day and by night--her fancy kept him by day, and +her dreams by night. She loved him for the mellow civilization of his +heart and for the wild savageness of his garb. Oh, the heart of dear +woman! it is her world. Would that the realizations of life were as her +heart paints and craves them! He had again come as unexpectedly to her; +but the figure was without its surroundings: the diamond was there, but +the setting was gone, and she was not agreeably surprised: hence the +indifference manifested by her when he discovered to her his identity. +Intercourse had revived the tenderness of the woman as it dispelled the +romance of the girl. Her affection she deemed was not a fancy, but a +feeling now. Her heart had wandered and fluttered like a wounded bird +seeking some friendly limb for support--some secluded shade for rest. +She had found all, and she was happy. He was her future; she thought of +none other--of nothing else. Was he as happy? He had seen the rough +side of the world, and thought more rationally. His night was +sleepless. In a moment of feeling he had asked and received the heart +of a lovely being whom he felt he could always love. He knew she was +more than anxious for a home where she was mistress, and he must +prepare it--but how, or where? He was without means. It was humiliating +to depend on hers; and this was the first alloy which stained and +impoverished the bliss of his anticipations. + +They met in the early morning. Her brow was clouded. None were up save +themselves. Their interview was brief and explicit. He saw her in a new +phase; she had business tact as well as an independent spirit. + +"You must leave this morning," she said, "and immediately after +breakfast. My sister has put the servants through the gantlet of +inquiry. They knew what she wanted to know, and if inclination had been +wanting, the fear of the stocks and torture would have compelled them +to tell it to her. She has heard all she wished, to her heart's +content. She was in my chamber until midnight, and, as usual, we have +quarrelled. They have told her that I was constantly with you, and that +I was in love with you, and a thousand things less true than this. She +has upbraided me for entering your chamber when you were sick. She +menacingly shook her finger at me, and almost threatened corporal +punishment if I did not desist from your association. I shall be +surprised if she does not insult you upon sight. Nothing will prevent +it but fear of offending brother. This she would not do for less than +half of his estate--for that, and even more, she is now playing. She +pretends devotion to him; and they profess a mutual attachment. If this +is sincere, it is the only love either of them ever felt. You must +express to brother, the moment you see him, your determination to leave +at once, and let it be decided. I don't know your means, but fear you +will be embarrassed, as you are comparatively a stranger, in preparing +a home for us. Give this to its address, and you will have all you +want. Do not stop to look at it. Put it in your pocket--there. I shall +not be at the table this morning; there would be unpleasantness for +you, I am sure. I shall not see you again until you come to carry me to +our own home, which shall be very soon. Despite this _contretemps_ I am +very happy; and now farewell. I will write to you; for to-day I mean to +tell brother I am to be your wife. I know how he will receive it; but +he knows me, and will more than simply approve it. He will wish to give +us a wedding; but I will not receive it. Our marriage must be private. +Again farewell!" Without a kiss they parted. + +What were the reflections of this young man in his long morning's drive +he will never forget. 'Twas fifty years ago; but they are green in +memory yet, and will be until the grave yonder at the hill's foot, now +opening to view, shall close over--close out this mortality, and all +the memories which have imbittered life so long. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +WHEN SUCCESSFUL, RIGHT; WHEN NOT, WRONG. + +TERRITORIAL MISSISSIPPI--WILKINSON--ADAMS--JEFFERSON--WARREN--CLAIBORNE +--UNION OF THE FACTIONS--COLONEL WOOD--CHEW--DAVID HUNT--JOSEPH +DUNBAR--SOCIETY OF WESTERN MISSISSIPPI--POP VISITS OF A WEEK TO +TEA--THE HORSE "TOM" AND HIS RIDER--OUR GRANDFATHER'S DAYS--AN +EMIGRANT'S OUTFIT--MY SHARE--GEORGE POINDEXTER--A SUDDEN OPENING OF A +COURT OF JUSTICE--THE CALDWELL AND GWINN DUEL--JACKSON'S OPPOSITION TO +THE GOVERNOR OF MISSISSIPPI. + + +The Counties of Wilkinson, Adams, Jefferson, Claiborne, and Warren are +the river counties carved from the territory first settled in the State +of Mississippi. The settlements along the Mississippi came up from New +Orleans and went gradually up the stream. The English or American +immigration to that river antedated but a very short time the war of +the Revolution. The commencement of this war accelerated the +settlement, many seeking an asylum from the horrors of war within the +peaceful borders of this new and faraway land. The five counties above +named constituted the County of Bourbon when the jurisdiction of the +United States was extended to the territory. Very soon after it was +divided into three counties--Wilkinson, Adams, and Jefferson; and +subsequently, as the population increased, Claiborne and Warren were +organized and established. These counties were named after John Adams, +Thomas Jefferson, General Wilkinson, General Warren, who fell at +Bunker's Hill, and General Ferdinand Claiborne, a distinguished citizen +of the Territory. As a Territory, Mississippi extended to and comprised +all the territory east to the Alabama River or to the Georgia line. In +fact, there was no distinct eastern boundary until the admission of the +State into the Union. + +The leading men of the communities first formed in the five counties on +the Mississippi were men of intelligence and substance. The very first +were those who, to avoid the consequences of the war of the Revolution, +had sought security here. Some, who conscientiously scrupled as to +their duty in that conflict--unwilling to violate an allegiance which +they felt they owed to the British crown, and equally unwilling to take +part against their kindred and neighbors--had left their homes and come +here. There were not a few of desperate character, who had come to +avoid the penalties of the criminal laws of the countries from which +they had fled. The descendants of all these constitute a large element +of the population of these counties at the present moment. Some of +these sustain the character of their ancestors in an eminent degree; +others again are everything but what their parents were. + +One feature of the country is different from that of almost any other +portion of the United States. The descendants of the first pioneers are +all there. There has been no emigration from the country. The +consequence is that intermarriages have made nearly all the descendants +of the pioneers relatives. In very many instances these marriages have +united families whose ancient feuds are traditions of the country. + +The opprobrium attached to the name of Tory (which was freely given to +all who had either avoided the war by emigration, or who had remained +and taken part against the colonies, and then, to avoid the disgrace +they had earned at home, and also to escape the penalties of the laws +of confiscation, had brought here their property) induced most families +to observe silence respecting their early history, or the causes which +brought them to the country, and especially to their children. This was +true even as late as forty years ago. There were then in these counties +many families of wealth and polish, whose ancestors were obnoxious on +account of this damaging imputation; and it was remembered as a +tradition carefully handed down by those who at a later day came to the +country from the neighborhoods left by these families, and in most +instances for crimes of a much more heinous character than obedience to +conscientious allegiance to the Government. But success had made +allegiance treachery, and rebellion allegiance. Success too often +sanctifies acts which failure would have made infamous. + + "Be it so! though right trampled be counted for wrong, + And that pass for right which is evil victorious, + Here, where virtue is feeble and villany strong, + 'Tis the cause, not the fate of a cause, that is glorious." + +The inviting character of the soil and climate induced (as soon as a +settled form of government promised protection) rapid emigration to the +country. This came from every part of the United States. Those coming +from the same State usually located as nearly as practicable in the +same neighborhood, and to this day many of these are designated by the +name of the country or State from which they came. There are in the +County of Jefferson two neighborhoods known to-day as the Maryland +settlement and the Scotch settlement, and the writer has many +memories--very pleasant ones, too--of happy hours in the long past +spent with some of nature's noblemen who were inhabitants of these +communities. + +Who that has ever sojourned for a time in this dear old county, does +not remember the generous and elegant hospitality of Colonel Wood, +Joseph Dunbar, and Mr. Chew; nor must I forget that truly noble-hearted +man, David Hunt, the founder of Oakland College, whose charitable +munificence was lordly in character, but only commensurate with his +soul and great wealth. It seems invidious to individualize the +hospitality of this community, where all were so distinguished; but I +cannot forbear my tribute of respect--my heart's gratitude--to Wood and +Dunbar. I came among these people young and a stranger, poor, and +struggling to get up in the world. These two opened their hearts, their +doors, and their purses to me; but it was not alone to me. Should all +who have in like circumstances been the recipients of their generous +and unselfish kindnesses record them as I am doing, the story of their +munificent generosity and open, exalted hospitality would seem an +Eastern romance. + +They have been long gathered to their fathers; but so long as any live +who knew them, their memories will be green and cherished. In this +neighborhood was built the first Protestant Episcopal Church in the +State, and here worshipped the Woods, Dunbars, MacGruders, Shields, +Greens, and others composing the settlement. The descendants of these +families still remain in that neighborhood, where anterior to the late +war was accumulated great wealth. The topography of the country is +beautifully picturesque with hills and dales, and all exceedingly +fertile. These hills are a continuation of the formation commencing at +Vicksburg, and extending to Bayou Sara. They are peculiar, and seem to +have been thrown over the primitive formation by some extraordinary +convulsion, and are of a sandy loam. No marine shells are found in +them; but occasionally trees and leaves are exhumed at great depths. No +water is found in this loam by digging or boring; but after passing +through this secondary formation, the humus or soil of the primitive is +reached--the leaves and limbs of trees superincumbent on this +indicating its character--then the sand and gravel, and very soon +water, as in other primitive formations. These hills extend back from +the river in an irregular line from ten to fifteen miles, and are +distinguished by a peculiar growth of timber and smaller shrubs. + +The magnolias and poplars, with linn, red oak, and black walnut, are +the principal trees. There is no pine, but occasionally an enormous +sassafras, such as are found in no other section on this continent. +There is no stone, and no running water except streams having their +rise in the interior, passing through these hills to their debouchment +into the river. The entire formation is a rich compost, and in great +part soluble in water; this causes them to wash, and when not +cultivated with care, they cut into immense gullies and ravines. They +are in some places almost mountainous in height and exceedingly +precipitous. They are designated at different localities by peculiar +names--as the Walnut Hills, Grand Hills, Petit Gulf Hills, Natchez +Hills, and St. Catherine Hills. In primitive forest they presented a +most imposing appearance. + +Large and lofty timber covered from base to summit these hills, +increasing their grandeur by lifting to their height the immense vines +found in great abundance all over them. The dense wild cane, clothing +as a garment the surface of every acre, went to the very tops of the +highest hills, adding a strange feature to hill scenery. The river only +approaches these hills in a few places and always at right angles, and +is by them deflected, leaving them always on the outer curve of the +semicircle or bend in the stream. From these points and from the summit +of these cliffs the view is very fine, stretching often in many places +far up and down the river and away over the plain west of the river, +which seems to repose upon its lap as far as the eye can view. The +scene is sombre, but grand, especially when lighted by the evening's +declining sun. The plain is unbroken by any elevation: the immense +trees rise to a great height, and all apparently to the same level--the +green foliage in summer strangely commingling with the long gray moss +which festoons from the upper to the lower limbs, waving as a garland +in the fitful wind; and the dead gray of the entire scene in winter is +sad and melancholy as a vast cemetery. There is a gloomy grandeur in +this, which is only rivalled by that of the sea, when viewed from a +towering height, lazily lolling in the quiet of a summer evening's +calm. + +To encounter the perils of a pioneer to such a country required men of +iron nerve. Such, with women who dared to follow them, to meet and to +share every danger and fearlessly to overcome every obstacle to their +enterprise, coming from every section of the United States, formed +communities and introduced the arts and industry of civilization, to +subdue these forests and compel the soil to yield its riches for the +use of man. From these had grown a population, fifty years ago, +combining the daring and noble traits of human character which lie at +the base of a grand and chivalrous civilization. Such men were the +leaders and controllers of the society at that time, assuming a uniform +and homogeneous character throughout the western portion of the State. +The invasion of New Orleans had endangered this section, and to a man +they rallied to meet the foe. More than half the male population of +that portion of the State were at New Orleans and in the trenches on +the memorable 8th of January, 1815. Their conduct upon that occasion +was distinguished, and won from General Jackson high commendation. The +charge of the Mississippi cavalry, commanded by General Thomas Hinds, +the General, in his report of the battle, said, excited the admiration +of one army and the astonishment of the other. + +This campaign brought together the younger portion of the male +population of the State, and under such circumstances as to make them +thoroughly to know each other. These men were the prominent personages +of the State forty years ago, and they formed the character of the +population and inspired the gallantry and chivalry of spirit which so +distinguished the troops of Mississippi in the late unfortunate civil +war--in all, but in none so conspicuously, in this spirit and nobleness +of soul and sentiment, as in the characters of Jefferson Davis and John +A. Quitman--foremost to take up arms in the war with Mexico, resigning +high positions for the duties of the soldier, to follow the flag, and +avenge the insults of a presumptuous foe. + +The society of Western Mississippi, forty years ago, was distinguished +above any other in the Union, for a bold, generous, and frank +character, which lent a peculiar charm. It was polished, yet it was +free and unreserved, full of the courtesies of life, with the rough +familiarity of a coarser people. The sports of the turf were pursued +with enthusiastic ardor. The chase for the fox and the red deer +pervaded almost universally the higher walks of life. The topography of +the country was such as to make these, in the fearless rides they +compelled, extremely hazardous, familiarizing their votaries with +danger and inspiring fearlessness and daring. Almost every gentleman +had his hunting steed and kennel of hounds; and at the convivial dinner +which always followed the hunt, he could talk horse and hound with the +zest of a groom or whipper-in, and at the evening _soiree_ emulate +D'Orsay or Chesterfield in the polish of his manners and the elegance +of his conversation. This peculiarity was not alone confined to the +gentlemen. The ladies were familiar with every household duty, and +attended to them: they caught from their husbands and brothers the open +frankness of their bearing and conversation, a confident, yet not a +bold or offensive bearing in their homes and in society, with a +polished refinement and an elevation of sentiment in all they said or +did, which made them to me the most charming and lovely of their +sex--and which made Mississippi forty years ago the most desirable +place of rural residence in the Union. + +The conduct of these people was universally lofty and honorable. A +fawning sycophancy or little meannesses were unknown; social +intercourse was unrestrained because all were honorable, and that +reserve which so plainly speaks suspicion of your company was never +seen. There was no habit of canvassing the demerits of a neighbor or +his affairs. The little backbitings and petty slanders which so +frequently mar the harmony of communities, was never indulged or +tolerated. Homogeneous in its character, the population was harmonious. +United in the same pursuits, the emulation was kind and honorable. The +tone and purity was superior to low and debasing vices, and these and +their concomitants were unknown. There were few dram-shops or places of +low resort, and these only for the lower and more debased of the +community. Fortunately, fifty years ago, there were but few such +characters, no meetings for gaming or debauchery, and the social +communion of the people was chaste and cordial at their hospitable and +elegant homes. + +A peculiar feature of the society of the river counties was the perfect +freedom of manners, and yet the high polish, the absence of +neighborhood discord, and the strict regard for personal and pecuniary +rights: a sort of universal confidence pervaded every community, and in +every transaction personal honor supplied the place of litigation. +Strangers of respectable appearance were not met with apparent +suspicion, but with hospitable kindness; and especially was this the +case toward young men who professedly came in search of a new home and +new fields for the exercise of their abilities professionally, or for +the more profitable employment of any means they might to have brought +to the country. Now, at seventy years of age, and after the experience +of half a century of men and society in almost every portion of the +Union, I can truthfully say, nowhere have I ever met so truthful, so +generous, and so hospitable a people as the planters and gentlemen of +the river counties of Mississippi, fifty years ago--nowhere women more +refined, yet affable; so modest, yet frank and open in their social +intercourse; so dignified, without austerity; so chaste and pure in +sentiment and action, without prudery or affectation, as the mothers, +wives, and daughters of those planters. + +The Bench and the Bar were distinguished for ability and purity; many +of these have left national reputations--all of them honorable names to +their families and profession. Nor were the physicians less +distinguished. The names of Provan, McPheters, Cartwright, Ogden, +Parker, Cox, and Dennie will be remembered when all who were their +compeers shall have passed away, as ornaments to their profession. +There is one other, still living at a very advanced age, who was +perhaps the superior of any I have mentioned--James Metcalf, who not +only was and is an ornament to his profession, but to human nature. He +is one of the few surviving monuments of the men of fifty years ago. +His life has been eminently useful and eminently pure. He has lived to +see his children emulating his example as virtuous and useful citizens, +above reproach, and an honor to their parents. + +There was not, perhaps, in the Union, a stronger Bar in any four +counties than here--Childs, Gibbs, Worley, George Adams, (the father of +Generals Daniel and Wirt Adams,) Robert H. Adams, (who died a Senator +in the United States Congress when it was an honor to fill the +position,) Lyman Harding, W.B. Griffith, John A. Quitman, Joseph E. +Davis, (the elder brother of Jefferson Davis,) Thomas B. Reid, Robert +J. and Duncan Walker. Time has swept on, and but one of all these +remains in life--Robert J. Walker. Edward Tuner, then the presiding +judge of the District Court, was a Kentuckian. Four brothers immigrated +to the country about the same time. Two remained at Natchez, one at +Bayou Sara, in Louisiana, and the fourth went to New Orleans. All +became distinguished: three as lawyers, who honored the Bench in their +respective localities, and the fourth as a merchant and planter +accumulated an immense fortune. + +The planters almost universally resided upon their plantations, and +their habits were rural and temperate. Their residences were +unostentatious, but capacious and comfortable, with every attachment +which could secure comfort or contribute to their pleasure. The +plantation houses for the slaves were arranged conveniently together, +constituting with the barns, stabling, and gin-houses a neat village. + +The grounds about the residences were covered with forest-trees +carefully preserved; shrubs and flowers were cultivated with exquisite +taste among these and over the garden grounds around and beyond them. +Social intercourse was of the most cordial and unrestrained character. +It was entirely free from that embarrassing ceremony which in urban +communities makes it formal, stiff, and a mere ceremony. It was +characterized by high-breeding, which made it not only unrestrained but +polished, cultivating the heart and the manners to feeling and +refinement; making society what it should be--a source of enjoyment and +heart-happiness, free from jealousies, rivalries, and regrets. + +The distances from plantation to plantation were such as to preclude +visiting as a simple call; consequently calls were for spending a day +to dine, or an evening to tea, to a rural ride, or some amusement +occupying at least half a day, and not unfrequently half a week. Every +planter built his house, if not with a view to architectural symmetry +and beauty, at least with ample room to entertain his friends, come +they in ever such numbers, and his hospitality was commensurate with +his house--as capacious and as unpretending. It was the universal habit +for both ladies and gentlemen to ride on horseback. The beauty of the +forest, through which ran the roads and by-ways--its fragrant +blooms--its dark, dense foliage, invited to such exercise; and social +reunions were frequently accomplished in the cool shades of these grand +old forests by parties ruralizing on horseback when the sun was low, +and the shade was sweet, which led them to unite and visit, as +unexpectedly as they were welcome, some neighbor, where without +ceremony the evening was spent in rural and innocent amusement--a +dance, a game of whist or euchre--until weary with these; and on the +arrival of the hour for rest they left, and galloped home in the soft +moonlight, respectively flushed with health-giving exercise, and only +sufficiently fatigued to be able to sleep well. + +Nowhere does a splendid woman appear to more advantage than on +horseback. Trained from early girlhood to horseback exercise, she +learns to sit fearlessly and control absolutely the most fiery steed, +to accommodate herself to his every motion, and in his movements to +display the ease and grace of this control and confidence. Nowhere on +earth were to be found more splendid women or more intrepid riders than +the daughters of the planters of Mississippi fifty years ago. Each was +provided for her especial use with an animal of high blood, finished +form, and well-trained gait. Daily intercourse familiarized rider and +horse, and an attachment grew up between them that was always +manifested by both upon meeting. It was said by Napoleon that his +parade-horse knew and recognized him, and bore himself with more pride +and spirit when he was in the saddle than when mounted by any other. +Whoever has accustomed himself to treat kindly his saddle-horse, and to +suffer no one but himself to ride him, can well understand this. I +remember a horse and his rider among my early acquaintances on the +banks of the Mississippi, whose mutual attachment was so remarkable as +to excite the wonder of strangers. That rider was a true woman--kind, +gentle, and yet full of spirit. Affectionate as she was fearless, she +had importuned her brother for the gift of a fine young blood-horse, +which he gave her upon the condition that she would ride him. She was +an experienced rider, and promised. + +After a few days of close intimacy, she ventured to mount him. To the +astonishment of every one he was perfectly docile, and moved away +gently, but with an air of pride, as if conscious of the precious +burden he bore. From that time forward no one was permitted to ride him +but the lady, who visited him every day in his stall, and always +carried him a loaf of bread or a cup of sugar, and never mounted him +without going to his front and holding a conversation with pretty Tom, +stroking his head with her gentle hand, and giving him a lump of sugar +or a biscuit. He was allowed the liberty of the yard, to graze on the +young sweet grass of the front lawn, and luxuriate in the shade of the +princely trees which grew over it. One or many ladies might go out upon +the gallery and remain unnoticed by Tom. The moment, however, that his +mistress came, and he saw her or heard her voice, he would neigh in +recognition of her presence, and bound immediately forward to the +house, manifesting in his eye and manner great pleasure. This was +kindly returned by the lady always descending the steps and gently +stroking his head, which he would affectionately rest against her +person. He would follow her over the yard like a pet spaniel; but he +would do this for no one else. He knew her voice, and would obey it, +and bound to her call with the alacrity of a child. His pleasure at her +coming to mount him, when saddled for a ride, was so marked as to +excite astonishment. He would carefully place himself for her +convenience, and stand quiet after she was in the saddle until her +riding-skirt was adjusted and her foot well in the stirrup, and then +she would only say, "Now, Tom!" when he would arch his neck and move +off with a playful bound, and curvet about the grounds until she would +lay her hand upon his mane, and, gently patting his neck, say, "There, +Tom!" Then the play was over, and he went gallantly forward, obediently +and kindly as a reasoning being. + +The young reader will excuse this garrulity of age: it is its +privilege; and I am writing my recollections of bygone years, and none +are more pleasant than those which recall to me this great woman--the +delightful hours spent in her society at the hospitable home of her +family. She still lives, an aged woman, respected by all, and honored +in the great merits of her children. Like Tom, they were affectionately +trained; and like Tom, they were dutiful in their conduct, and live to +perpetuate her intelligence and the noble attributes of her glorious +heart. Should these lines ever meet her eye, she will remember the +writer, and recall the delightful rides and happy hours spent together +a long time ago. We are both in the winter of life, time's uses are +almost ended, and all that is blissful now are the memories of the +past. Dear Fannie, close the book and your eyes, turn back to fifty +years ago, and to the memories common to us both, give the heart one +brief moment to these, and, as now I do, drop a tear to them. + +The population in the four river counties, at the time of which I +write, was much more dense than of any other portion of the State: +still there were numerous settlements in different parts of the State +quite populous. That upon Pearl River, of these, perhaps, was most +populous; but those eastern settlements were constituted of a different +people: most of them were from the poorer districts of Georgia and the +Carolinas. True to the instincts of the people from whom they were +descended, they sought as nearly as possible just such a country as +that from which they came, and were really refugees from a growing +civilization consequent upon a denser population and its necessities. +They were not agriculturists in a proper sense of the term; true, they +cultivated in some degree the soil, but it was not the prime pursuit of +these people, nor was the location sought for this purpose. They +desired an open, poor, pine country, which forbade a numerous +population. + +Here they reared immense herds of cattle, which subsisted exclusively +upon the coarse grass and reeds which grew abundantly among the tall, +long-leafed pine, and along the small creeks and branches numerous in +this section. Through these almost interminable pine-forests the deer +were abundant, and the canebrakes full of bears. They combined the +pursuits of hunting and stock-minding, and derived support and revenue +almost exclusively from these. They were illiterate and careless of the +comforts of a better reared, better educated, and more intelligent +people. They were unable to employ for each family a teacher, and the +population was too sparse to collect the children in a neighborhood +school. These ran wild, half naked, unwashed and uncombed, hatless and +bonnetless through the woods and grass, followed by packs of lean and +hungry curs, hallooing and yelling in pursuit of rabbits and opossums, +and were as wild as the Indians they had supplanted, and whose +pine-bark camps were yet here and there to be seen, where temporarily +stayed a few strolling, degraded families of Choctaws. + +Some of these pioneers had been in the country many years, were +surrounded with descendants, men and women, the growth of the country, +rude, illiterate, and independent. Along the margins of the streams +they found small strips of land of better quality than the pine-forests +afforded. Here they grew sufficient corn for bread and a few of the +coarser vegetables, and in blissful ignorance enjoyed life after the +manner they loved. The country gave character to the people: both were +wild and poor; both were _sui generis_ in appearance and production, +and both seeming to fall away from the richer soil and better people of +the western portion of the State. + +Between them and the inhabitants of the river counties there was little +communication and less sympathy; and I fancy no country on earth of the +same extent presented a wider difference in soil and population, +especially one speaking the same language and professing the same +religion. Time, and the pushing a railroad through this eastern portion +of the State, have effected vast changes for the better, and among +these quaintly called piney-woods people now are families of wealth and +cultivation. But in the main they are yet rude and illiterate. + +Not ten years since, I spent some time in Eastern Mississippi. I met at +his home a gentleman I had made the acquaintance of in New Orleans. He +is a man of great worth and fine intelligence: his grandfather had +emigrated to the country in 1785 from Emanuel County, Georgia. His +grandson says: "He carried with him a small one-horse cart pulled by an +old gray mare, one feather bed, an oven, a frying-pan, two pewter +dishes, six pewter plates, as many spoons, a rifle gun, and three +deer-hounds. He worried through the Creek Nation, extending then from +the Oconee River to the Tombigbee. + +"After four months of arduous travel he found his way to Leaf River, +and there built his cabin; and with my grandmother, and my father, who +was born on the trip in the heart of the Creek Nation, commenced to +make a fortune. He found on a small creek of beautiful water a little +bay land, and made his little field for corn and pumpkins upon that +spot: all around was poor, barren pine woods, but he said it was a good +range for stock; but he had not an ox or cow on the face of the earth. +The truth is, it looked like Emanuel County. The turpentine smell, the +moan of the winds through the pine-trees, and nobody within fifty miles +of him, was too captivating a concatenation to be resisted, and he +rested here. + +"About five years after he came, a man from Pearl River was driving +some cattle by to Mobile, and gave my grandfather two cows to help him +drive his cattle. It was over one hundred miles, and you would have +supposed it a dear bargain; but it turned out well, for the old man in +about six weeks got back with six other head of cattle. How or where, +or from whom he got them is not one of the traditions of the family. +From these he commenced to rear a stock which in time became large. + +"My father and his brothers and sisters were getting large enough to +help a little; but my grandfather has told me that my father was nine +years old before he ever tasted a piece of bacon or pork. When my +father was eighteen years of age he went with a drove of beef cattle to +New Orleans. He first went to Baton Rouge, thence down the river. He +soon sold out advantageously; for he came home with a young negro man +and his wife, some money, and my mother, whom he had met and married on +the route. Well, from those negroes, and eight head of cattle, all the +family have come to have something. + +"I was born nine months after that trip, and grew up, as father had +done before me, on the banks of that little creek. I doubt if there +ever was a book in my grandfather's house. I certainly never remember +to have seen one there, and I was sixteen years old when he died. I +think I was very nearly that old before I ever saw any woman but those +of the family, and I know I was older than that before ever I wore +shoes or pants. Nearly every year father went to Mobile, or Natchez, or +New Orleans. The first time I ever knew my mother had a brother, I was +driving up the cows, and a tall, good-looking man overtook me in the +road and asked where my father lived. I remember I told him, 'At home.' +He thought it was impudence, but it was ignorance. However, he was +quite communicative and friendly. + +"That night, after the family had gone to bed, I heard him tell mother +her father was dead, and that he had disinherited her for running off +and marrying father. I did not know what this meant; but the next day +father came and told mother that her brother wanted to be kind to her, +and had proposed to give him a thousand dollars out of the estate of +her father, if he and she would take it and sign off. That was the +word. I shall not forget, so long as I live, my mother's looks as she +walked up to father and said: 'Don't you do it, John. John, I say, +don't you do it.' Uncle had gone down to grandfather's, and when he +came back, mother had his horse saddled at the fence. She met him at +the door, and said: 'You don't come in here. There's your beast; mount +him, and go. I am not such a fool as my John. I was raised in +Louisiana, and I remember hearing my father say that all he hated in +the laws was that a man could not do with his property, when he died, +what he pleased. I haven't forgot that. I have not seen nor heard from +any of you for fifteen years, and never should, if you hadn't come here +to try to cheat me.' + +"I was scared, and father was scared; for we knew there was danger when +mother's nap was up. Uncle did not reply to mother, but said: 'John, +you can sign off.' + +"'No, John can't; and I tell you John shan't! so now do you just mount +that horse and leave.' + +"As she said this she lifted the old rifle out of the rack over the +door and rubbed her hand over the barrel to get the sight clear. 'I am +not going to tell you to go any more.' + +"It was not necessary--uncle went; but he kept looking back until he +was at least a quarter of a mile from the house. Mother turned to +father and said: 'Now, John, you go after my share of father's truck, +and go quick.' He did as she bid him: everybody about the house did +that. Well, he was gone three weeks, and came home with six thousand +dollars, which he had taken for mother's share; but she said she knew +he had been cheated. + +"Every dollar of that money remained in the house until I got married +and came off here. I got two thousand of it, one negro, and two hundred +head of cattle. I had promised my wife's people that I would come and +live with them. I am glad I did. I was twenty-one years old when I +learned my letters. I have been lucky; have educated my children, and +they have educated me, and are talking about running me for Congress. +Well, my friend, I believe I could be elected; but that is a small part +of the business. I should be of no service to the State, and only show +my own ignorance. Come, Sue, can't you give the gentleman some music? +Give me my fiddle, and I will help you." + +Sue was a beautiful and interesting girl of nineteen, only a short time +returned from a four-years residence at the famous Patapsco Institute. +She had music in her soul, and the art to pour it out through her +fingers' ends. It was an inheritance from her extraordinary father, as +any judge of music would have said, who had heard the notes melting +from that old black violin, on that rainy night in December. There are +not many such instances of men springing from such humble origin in +Eastern Mississippi; but this is not a solitary case. + +There emigrated from different States, North and South, at a remote +period in the brief history of this new country, several young men of +talent and great energy, who not only distinguished themselves, but +shed lustre upon the State. Among the first of these was George +Poindexter, from Virginia; Rankin, from Georgia, (but born in +Virginia;) Thomas B. Reid, from Kentucky; Stephen Duncan, and James +Campbell Wilkins, from Pennsylvania. The most remarkable of these was +George Poindexter. He was a lawyer by profession and a Jeffersonian +Republican in politics. Very early in life he became the leader of that +party in the State, and was sent to Congress as its sole +representative. Very soon he obtained an enviable reputation in that +body as a statesman and a powerful debater. His mind was logical and +strong; his conception was quick and acute; his powers of combination +and application were astonishing; his wit was pointed and caustic, and +his sarcasm overwhelming. Unusually quick to perceive the weaker parts +of an opponent's argument, his ingenuity would seize these and turn +them upon him with a point and power not unfrequently confounding and +destroying the effect of all he had urged. From Congress to the +Gubernatorial chair of the State was the next step in his political +career, and it was in this capacity that he rendered the most signal +service to the State. As a lawyer, he was well aware of the wants of +the State in statutory provisions for the protection of the people. +These were wisely recommended, and, through his exertions, enacted into +laws. + +The several Governments which had claimed and held jurisdiction over +the Territory of Mississippi had issued grants to companies and +individuals for large tracts of country in different portions of the +State. These grants had not been respected by the succeeding +Governments, or else the records had been lost or carried from the +country for a time; hence very many conflicting claims made insecure +the titles of the proprietors now settled upon these tracts, and were +fruitful of endless litigation. To remedy this evil, a statute was +recommended by Governor Poindexter and enacted into a law, compelling +suit to be commenced by all adverse claimants by a certain day. This +effectually cured the evil, and a suit to establish titles is now very +rare in Mississippi. As a judge he was able, prompt, impartial, +unrivalled in talent, and, at the same time, unsurpassed by any lawyer +in the State in legal learning. His administration of the laws was +eminently successful. The country was new, with the exception of a few +counties, and, as in all new and frontier countries, there were many +bad and desperate men. To purge these from society it was necessary +that the criminal laws should be strictly enforced. To do so required +decision and sternness in the character and conduct of the judges. Very +soon after Poindexter was placed on the Bench he manifested these +attributes in an eminent degree. + +The stern, impartial justice administered to these lawless men, soon +created quite a sensation with the class to which they belonged, and +threats were freely thrown out against his life; but these had no +effect in intimidating him, or in changing his conduct. He went on +fearlessly to administer the law, which at that time, instead of +imprisonment, inflicted severe corporal punishments for many crimes +most common in a new country. These were branding with a hot iron in +the hand or on the cheek, whipping on the bare back, and public +exposure in the pillory. Not a court went by without some one of these +punishments being inflicted upon a male malefactor. Public opinion had +begun to look upon these penalties as barbarous, and in very many cases +great sympathy was manifested for the culprit. + +This sentiment frequently operated with the jury, who were disposed to +deal leniently with the accused. This was resisted by Poindexter, and +effectually--for so clearly did he impress the minds of jurors with +what was their duty, that few escaped where the proof was sufficient to +convict; and once pronounced guilty, the extreme penalty of the law was +surely awarded. The beneficial influence of this stern and inflexible +administration of the laws was soon manifest, and the more orderly of +the population unhesitatingly gave their approbation and support to the +judge. He sustained in court the dignity of the Bench, restraining +alike the license of the Bar and the turbulence of the populace. To do +this, he was frequently compelled to exercise to the full the powers of +his office. + +An amusing anecdote is related of him in connection with the discharge +of these duties. When holding court at one time in Natchez, he had sent +to jail a turbulent and riotous individual, who could in no other way +be restrained. This fellow, once incarcerated, professed great +contrition, and humbly petitioned for release, but Poindexter had +ordered the sheriff to keep him for a week, and could not be moved from +his position. At the expiration of the week he was released, and though +he was quiet and orderly, he remained lurking about town and the +court-room until the adjournment of court. He watched his opportunity, +and meeting the judge upon the street, commenced abusing him roundly; +finally telling him he had waited purposely for the opportunity of +whipping him, and that he intended then and there to do so. Poindexter, +perceiving the sheriff on the opposite side of the street, called to +him, and ordered him to open court then and there, which in all due +form the sheriff proceeded to do. The bully was startled, and the +judge, perceiving this, remarked to him authoritatively, "Now, you +scoundrel, be off with yourself, or I will put you in jail for one +year!"--when the blackguard speedily decamped, to the infinite +amusement of the crowd upon the street. + +Governor Poindexter found at Natchez, and a few other localities, +strong opposition from the Federal party, then constituted almost +entirely of emigrants from Western Pennsylvania, with a sprinkling from +the more Eastern States. The party was small, but made up for this +deficiency in numbers with zeal and violence. As with all heated and +hating partisans, their malevolence was principally directed toward the +leaders of the opposing party. + +Poindexter was the acknowledged leader of the Republican or +Jeffersonian party, and concentrated on himself the hatred of one and +the adoration of the other party. His triumphs were complete and +overwhelming in every election. He was not scrupulous in the use of +terms when speaking of his enemies. These anathemas, darting in the +caustic wit and voluble sarcasm so peculiarly his, went to the mark, +and kindled hatred into fury. It was determined to get rid of him. His +denunciations of Abijah Hunt, a prominent merchant and leading +Federalist, being more pointed and personal than toward any other, it +seemed incumbent on him to challenge Poindexter to mortal combat--an +arbitrament for the settlement of personal difficulties more frequently +resorted to at that period than at the present time. They met, and Hunt +was killed. But such was the violence of feeling with his party +friends, that they were determined Poindexter should not escape +unscathed, and he was denounced as having fired before the word agreed +upon in the terms of the conflict were fully enunciated. This, however, +effected but little, and he continued the idol of his party. + +Unfortunately, that bane of genius, dissipation, was poisoning his +habits and undermining his reputation. It seems that exalted genius +feeds upon excitement, and in some shape must have it. The excitement +of active business at the Bar or in the halls of legislation must of +necessity be temporary, and the relaxation which follows this is +terrible to the excitable temperament of ardent genius. It craves +restlessly its natural food, and in the absence of all others, it seeks +for this in the intoxicating bowl or the gaming-table. How many +brilliant examples of this fatal fact does memory call up from the +untimely grave? These, culled from my seniors when I was a youth, from +my compeers in early manhood, from the youth I have seen grow up about +me, make a host whose usefulness has been lost to the world. Well may +the poet sing in melancholy verse that genius is a fatal gift. It +dazzles as a meteor with its superhuman light, and as soon fades into +darkness, lighting its path with a blaze of glory, astonishing and +delighting the world, but consuming itself with its own fire. + +Poindexter had won greatly upon the affections of the people of the +Territory, in the active part he had taken, in connection with General +Ferdinand Claiborne and General Hinds, in stimulating the people to +prepare to meet the exigencies of the war of 1812 with Great Britain. +Her eastern territory was exposed to the inroads of the Creek Indians, +a large and warlike tribe, who were hostile to the United States, and +were in league with the English, and being armed by them. The Choctaws +and Chickasaws were on her northern frontier, and were threatening. An +invasion by the way of New Orleans by English troops was hourly +expected. It required great energy and activity to anticipate and guard +against these threatening dangers. Poindexter employed his time and his +influence to prepare the people to act efficiently and at a moment's +warning. When the threatened invasion became a reality, and General +Jackson was descending the river with troops as the American commander, +and when the militia were on the ground, and nothing remained to be +done in Mississippi, he promptly repaired to the scene of action and +volunteered his services to Jackson, who, accepting them, placed him on +his staff as a volunteer aide. + +In this capacity he continued to serve until the end of the campaign +and the termination of the war. It was to him the negro or soldier +brought the celebrated countersign of "Beauty and booty," found on the +battle-field, and which he carried to General Jackson. His enemies laid +hold of this incident and perverted it slanderously to his injury, by +asserting the note to be a forgery of his, done for the purpose of +winning favor with the General, and to cast odium upon an enemy +incapable of issuing such an infamous countersign. + +Those who have read the history of the various strongholds of the +French in Spain which were stormed during the Peninsular war, will +remember these were the same troops and the same commanders, who were +quite capable of the excesses in New Orleans that they committed in +Spain. This slander was never traced; but there were those remaining +who, when the breach occurred between General Jackson and Governor +Poindexter, asserted that General Jackson believed it, and who +circulated industriously the contemptible slander. Poindexter was an +active supporter of General Jackson's first election. He believed him +honest and capable, and deserving of the reward of the Presidency for +his services to the country. He thought, too, that he would bring back +the Government to its early simplicity and purity, and administer it +upon strictly republican principles. He, with very many of the +Jeffersonian school, felt it had diverged from the true track. + +These people were opposed to protective tariffs, internal improvements +by the United States Government within the limits of a State without +the consent of the State, and a national bank, deeming all these +measures unconstitutional. The constitutionality of the bank had been +affirmed by the Supreme Court, and Poindexter had acquiesced in the +decision. Nevertheless, as a senator from the State of Mississippi, he +was in harmony with the Administration of Jackson, until Jackson began +to send his personal friends and especial favorites from Tennessee to +fill the national offices located in Mississippi. Poindexter felt this +as an insult to his State, and in the case of Gwinn's appointment as +register of the Land-Office at Clinton, Mississippi, he opposed the +nomination when sent to the Senate. He was successful in having it +rejected. + +He urged that though the office was national, and every man in the +nation was eligible to fill it, yet it was due to the State that the +incumbent should be selected from her own people, provided she could +furnish one in every way qualified, and that it was a reflection upon +the people of his State to fill the offices within her borders with +aliens to her soil and interests--strangers to her people, with no +motive to be obliging and respectful to them in the discharge of the +duties of the office; that the offices belonged to the people and not +to the President, and it was respectful to the people of a State to +tender to her people these offices, as had been heretofore the custom; +that simply being the President's favorite was not a qualification for +office, and this departure from the established usages of former +Administrations was a dangerous precedent, and would seem to establish +a property in the office, belonging to the President. + +This opposition enraged Jackson, who denounced Poindexter and persisted +in his determination to give the office to Gwinn. In this he finally +succeeded; but most unfortunately for Gwinn, for it embroiled him in +quarrels with the citizens of the State. A duel with Judge Caldwell was +the consequence, in which both fell. Caldwell died immediately; Gwinn +survived to suffer intensely for a few months, when death relieved him. + +The people of Mississippi were intensely devoted to General Jackson, +and in the mad fury of partisan zeal forgot everything but party, nor +permitted themselves for a moment to inquire into the official conduct +of any political partisan, especially that of the President. Poindexter +had been unhappy in his domestic relations. He had separated from his +wife. He charged her with infidelity; forgot his affection for his +children, and threw them off, because he doubted their paternity. In +the agony of mind consequent upon this he became desperate, and for +years was reckless in his dissipations. His wife's friends were +respectable and influential. They, with every personal and political +enemy he had, united in ascribing to him all the blame in this matter. + +The northern portion of the State had been acquired from the Indians, +and a population unacquainted with Poindexter or with his services to +the State was crowding into the new Territory in such numbers as +threatened politically to rule the State. These came principally from +the West and South, and were eminently Jacksonian in their politics. +Many young aspirants for fame had sprung up in different sections of +the State, and these were in no way averse to seeing an old and +talented politician shelved; and they joined in the huzza for Jackson +and down with his opponents. + +Seeing and feeling the tide setting in so strongly as to sweep +everything before it except what comported with the views and wishes of +General Jackson, and feeling also that he, with the minority in the +Senate, could be of no possible use to the country, and beginning to +experience the pressure of age, at the conclusion of his senatorial +term he made no effort to be re-elected. He retired, disgusted with +politics forever, and temporarily from the State. Subsequently an +accident fractured both his legs below the knee, and for some years he +was unable to walk. Prior to this event he had married a Boston +lady--following the example of his divorced wife, who had married a +Boston gentleman. With this lady he lived affectionately and happily. +He located in Lexington, Kentucky, where he remained only a few years. + +It was here I saw him, at his own house, for the last time--spending an +evening in company with Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John J. Crittenden, +and the celebrated actress, Mrs. Drake. I enjoyed the hospitality, the +wit, and a game of whist with him. He soon became weary of Lexington. +His heart was in Mississippi, and thither he returned, old and worn. He +took up his residence at Jackson, where in a short time he died, and is +buried in the beautiful cemetery at that place. While paying a +pilgrimage to the grave of a dear boy who died in defence of Jackson in +1866, I saw and paused at the modest stone which marks the grave of +Governor Poindexter. Memory was busy with the past. My heart was sad. I +had just looked upon the sod which covered my boy, and, thinking of the +hours passed, long years ago, with him who was sleeping at my feet, I +could not repress the tear due and dear to memory. + +Few men have served more faithfully and more efficiently a people than +did George Poindexter the people of Mississippi. His talents were +indisputably of the first order, and, whatever may have been his short +comings morally, none can say his political life was stained with +selfishness or corruption. Every trust reposed in him was faithfully +and ably discharged, and to him, more than to any of her public +servants, is she indebted for the proud position she occupied before +the tyrants' heel was upon her neck. + +Few men can rise superior to the crushing effects of domestic +infelicity: man's hopes, man's happiness, all centred in her whom he +has chosen as the companion of his life. His love selects, and his love +centres in her. The struggle for fortune, for happiness, for fame, is +for her; she shares every success, every misfortune; and when she is +kind and affectionate, there he meets with the true manliness of an +honest and devoted heart. She smooths the brow of disappointment and +sorrow, rejoices in his success, and, in the fulness of her confidence +and affection, aids and encourages his exertions and enterprises. This +reconciles him to life, and life's cares, troubles, and joys. His +spirit is buoyant, come what may; for there is an angel at home, and +there is happiness with her: she is the mother of his children; she +unites with him in love and exertions for the benefit of these. They +are one in these, and with every birth there is a new link to bind and +gladden two hearts. Without the virtuous love of woman, man is a +miserable being, worthless to himself and useless to his kind. But when +the heart's wealth is given to one who has no sympathy with it, and +gives only in return coldness and hate; who betrays every confidence +and disappoints every hope; who is only happy when he is miserable, and +refuses the generous aid a wife owes to his exertions; who rejoices in +his failures, and intrigues to produce them, and weeps over his +successes with the bitterness of disappointment; who hates her +offspring, because they resemble their father; who spurns his caresses, +and turns away from his love--then life's hopes are blighted, and all +is black before. His energies die out with his hopes; the goading +thought is eternally present; he shrinks away from society, and in +solitude and obscurity hides him from the world--which too often +condemns him as the architect of all his misery. + +"Oh, a true woman is a treasure beyond price, but a false one the +basest of counterfeits." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE SILVER-TONGUED ORATOR. + +JOHN A. QUITMAN--ROBERT J. WALKER--ROBERT H. ADAMS--FROM A COOPER-SHOP +TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE--BANK MONOPOLY--NATCHEZ FENCIBLES--SCOTT IN +MEXICO--THOMAS HALL--SARGENT S. PRENTISS--VICKSBURG--SINGLE-SPEECH +HAMILTON--GOD-INSPIRED ORATORY--DRUNK BY ABSORPTION--KILLING A +TAILOR--DEFENCE OF WILKINSON. + + +John A. Quitman came to Mississippi in early life. He was a native of +the State of New York; had, at first, selected a location in Ohio, but, +not being pleased, he determined on coming South, and selected Natchez +for his future home. His father was a Prussian; a minister of the +German Lutheran Church, and a very learned man. He had preached in +seven kingdoms, and in every one in the language of the country. He +came to the State of New York when young, and was the bearer of the +recognition of the independence of the United States by Frederick the +Great, of Prussia. He settled in one of the interior counties of New +York, where was born and reared his distinguished son. + +When young Quitman came to Natchez, he found the Bar a strong one; but +determined to follow the profession of law, and after a short time +spent in the office of William B. Griffith, he was admitted to the Bar, +and opened an office. Regardless of the overwhelming competition, his +open, frank manners soon made him friends, and the stern honesty of his +character won the confidence of every one. In a short time, he married +the only daughter of Henry Turner, a wealthy planter, and was received +into copartnership by William B. Griffith, a lawyer of great ability +and eminence, then in full practice at Natchez, and who had married the +daughter of Judge Edward Turner, and the cousin of Quitman's wife. +Quitman's rise to eminence was rapid in his profession, but more so in +the public estimation as a man of great worth. His affability, +kindness, and courtesy were so genial and so unaffected as to fasten +upon every one, and soon he was the most popular man in the county. + +Soon after Quitman, came Duncan and Robert J. Walker--the latter +subsequently so distinguished as a senator in Congress from +Mississippi, and still more distinguished as the Secretary of the +Treasury during the Administration of Mr. Polk. A close intimacy grew +up between Quitman and R.J. Walker. This intimacy influenced greatly +the future of Quitman. Walker was from Pennsylvania, and had married +Miss Bache, the niece of George M. Dallas, sister to the great +Professor Bache, and great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin. Mrs. +Walker was a lady of great beauty, of rare accomplishments, and +distinguished for her modesty and womanly bearing. Mr. Bache, the +father of Mrs. Walker, emigrated to Texas, was in the Senate of her +Congress at the time she was received into the United States, and was +the only man who voted against the union. He represented Galveston, +and, after his death, that young city, in honor of his services, +erected a monument to his memory. + +Walker was of ardent temperament, great abilities, strong will, intense +application, and was soon, at the Bar, among the first lawyers in the +State. He wanted the softness and genial qualities of Quitman, but was +superior to him mentally; and in prompt, decisive action his was the +stronger character, and controlled. Quitman, being intimately +associated with the leading men of the party supporting Mr. Adams, had +adopted their opinions and politics; Walker was an ardent supporter of +Jackson, and claimed to be the first man who brought forward his name +for the Presidency, when he was a citizen of Pennsylvania. Soon after +the election of General Jackson, Quitman, displeased with Mr. Clay, +abandoned his Whig associates, and united himself with the Democratic +party, and from that time until his death was a devoted Democratic +partisan. These two men exercised, perhaps, more influence in the State +than any others of their day. + +Robert H. Adams and William B. Griffith, who were considered the ablest +members of the Bar in the State, died young, and in the opening of +their political career. Adams was a man of remarkable ability. He was a +native of East Tennessee, and was a mechanic, with limited education, +and without one single advantage save his talents. He came a stranger +to Natchez, and in a few years was eminent in his profession, and +intellectually one of the first men in the State--a man of fine +appearance, with large head, and intellectual features. He was sent by +the city of Natchez to the Legislature of the State, and such was the +impression upon the members of his great abilities, that they, at the +ensuing session, elected him to the United States Senate. He served but +one session, but made, in that short period, a high reputation with the +first minds of the nation. Returning home, he resumed his profession; +and, after severe fatigue during the heated period of summer, he +imprudently drank too freely of ice-water, and died from its effects. + +There was, at this time, no man of more promise in all the country. He +was but thirty-eight years of age, and, without patronage or patrimony, +had risen from the cooper's shop to a distinguished position in the +Senate of the United States. + +Griffith preceded him to the grave one or two years, a victim of yellow +fever. + +Quitman and Walker came now prominently before the people. They resided +in Natchez, and there was a strong prejudice in the east and the north +of the State against the people of that city and the County of Adams. +There were quite a number of families, in the city and county, of large +fortunes. These were exclusive in their associations. With one or two +exceptions they belonged to the Whig party, but none of them aspired to +political preferment. + +There was but one bank in the State--this was located in Natchez, and +was under the control of these men of fortune. It had at the time of +obtaining its charter paid an extravagant bonus to the State, upon +condition no other bank should be chartered for the period granted to +this. It was a monopoly, and was charged with great partiality in its +management. Its accommodations were for the few, and these only granted +for the purpose of enhancing the already bloated wealth of the +stockholders, directors, and their special pets. This exclusive +aristocracy was odious to the fierce democratic feelings of the masses. +They counted their wealth by millions; their homes were palaces; their +pleasure-grounds Edens; and all this was the fruit of an odious and +oppressive monopoly. This fallacious and most ridiculous idea fastened +itself upon the minds of the masses, and was fostered and encouraged by +many who knew better, but who were willing to pander to the popular +taste for popular preferment. R.J. Walker seized hold upon this +popular whim, and leading the multitude, succeeded in procuring +charters for several other banks, in defiance of the vested rights of +the Bank of Mississippi. + +Stephen Duncan was the president of the bank, and, under his advice, +the directors surrendered the charter, and wound up the business of the +bank. Duncan was one of the best business-men in the Union. From very +small beginnings he had amassed an immense fortune--was a man of rare +sagacity and wonderful energy. He was the cousin of Walker, but was +always opposed to him in politics. This was the commencement of the era +which culminated in the repudiation of the State's obligations and the +general ruin of her people. It was about this period that Jefferson +Davis first made his _debut_ as a public man in the State, with William +M. Gwinn, and Henry S. Foote, McNutt, J.F.H. Claiborne, and Albert +Gallatin Brown. Quitman was made chancellor of the State, and +disappointed sadly his friends. His administration of this branch of +the judiciary was weak and wild; a vast number of his decisions, or +awards in chancery, were overruled, and, in disgust, or from a +consciousness that a chancery judgeship was not his speciality, +resigned. His mind was greatly overrated: it was neither strong, +logical, nor brilliant. His classical attainments were of the first +order, and I doubt if the Union furnished two better or more finished +linguists than John A. Quitman and H.S. Foote. + +Walker and Davis were the leading minds of the period. They were both +men of education, extended reading; both men of fine oratorical powers; +both men of strong will, ripe judgment, and exceedingly tenacious of +purpose. Walker was many years the senior of Davis, and was in advance +of him some years as a successful politician. Foote, as an orator, was +greatly the superior of all of these; but there was in him want of +judgment, want of fixed principles and fixity of purpose. When first +appearing before the people of the State, he carried the multitude with +him as a tempest drives a feather. In a contest for Governor he came +out in opposition to Quitman, drove him from the canvass, and triumphed +over Davis, who was placed by his party in nomination to fill the place +of Quitman. This triumph was evanescent: he left the position, perhaps, +the most unpopular man in the State. + +Quitman's abilities were almost exclusively military. This proclivity +of mind manifested itself in very early life. He organized a volunteer +company, the Natchez Fencibles, soon after he came to the Bar, and took +great pride in its drill and soldierly bearing and appearance. He +seized with avidity the opportunity the Mexican war presented, and +there greatly distinguished himself. After the termination of this war, +he was engaged (very little to the honor of his sagacity) in +endeavoring to organize a filibustering expedition against the Island +of Cuba. In this he signally failed. He was elected to Congress, where +he was principally distinguished by his extreme Southern views, but +gained little or no reputation as a politician or statesman. + +In the qualities of heart, Quitman was surpassed by no man; his moral +character was unstained. In sincerity and devotion to his friends, no +man was his superior. He had acquired large wealth by his +marriage--this he had increased by judicious management, and none more +freely used it for the benefit of his friends or the public interest. +He was especially generous toward poor, enterprising young men; such +instances of assistance rendered are innumerable. His friends never +deserted him. To his command, during the Mexican war, he was +exceedingly profuse with his means in aiding their necessities and +supplying their wants. He was universally commented upon as the most +munificent officer of the army. He was ambitious and courageous; and +this ambition knew no bounds. + +Upon his return from Mexico, I met him in New Orleans, in company with +that ill-starred man, General Shields, of Illinois, and who, Irishman +as he was, fell fighting to fasten upon the South the fetters she now +wears. We had not conversed ten minutes before, taking my arm, he +walked apart from his visitors and Shields, and commenced to converse +upon the consequences of the war. Turning to me, he remarked: "General +Scott is greatly wanting in ambition, he has no daring aspirations; he +has thrown away the finest opportunity ever presented to man for +aggrandizement. Had I commanded the army, and accomplished this great +success, I would have established an empire, and made of Mexico a great +nation. He had only to say so, and the Mexicans were ready to crown him +emperor. He could have made dukes, marquises, lords, and barons of his +officers, and endowed them with principalities; the soldiers would have +remained with him; and in six months, enough from the United States and +Europe would have joined his standard, to have held in check the +lawless brigands who make anarchy for the country. The spoils of the +Church would have rewarded the soldiers; immigration would have poured +into the country, and his name and fame have been commensurate with +time. Everything invited him to the act; he could not or would not see +it--he had but one idea, 'This will make me President!' and a lifetime +of glory and power was sacrificed for the empty hope of four years +filling the Presidential chair." + +It was a grand conception, but he seemed to take no account of the +difficulties which would have interposed. He assumed that the United +States would have been content with the great outrage, and have +sanctioned the act; and that European nations would have immediately +recognized the new empire. I knew him well enough to know that he would +have attempted the enterprise and braved the consequences; but doubt +whether he or Scott had the talent for the accomplishment of such an +undertaking. General Quitman was one of the unfortunates who received a +portion of the poison prepared for some victim or victims at Washington +upon the inauguration of Mr. Buchanan. It was not immediately fatal, +but he never fully recovered from it, and in a few months after sank +into the grave. + +No man ever died more regretted by his personal friends than John A. +Quitman. He was in every relation of life a true man, chivalrously +brave, nobly generous, and sternly faithful to all that ennobles human +nature. Had his brain been equal to his soul, he had been the world's +wonder. It was said of him by one who knew and loved him: + + "His spirit has gone to the Spirit that made him, + The rest of the virtuous, chivalric, and brave; + He sleeps where the friends of his early youth laid him, + And green grows the laurel that springs by his grave." + +Duncan Walker practised law with his brother until elevated to the +Bench of the criminal court for the city of Natchez and County of +Adams. He served with distinguished capacity for only one or two years, +when he was prostrated by a severe attack of yellow fever. From this he +never entirely recovered. Retiring from the Bench, he directed his +attention to planting in Lower Louisiana; but his health continuing to +decline, he was induced to try for the winter the climate of Cuba. It +was but a few weeks after reaching there that he died at St. Jago de +Cuba. Judge Walker was distinguished for great purity of character as +well as superior legal attainments. His modesty was almost feminine; +yet he was a man of remarkable firmness and decision. By many he was +thought superior intellectually to his more distinguished and prominent +brother. Few men may be truthfully termed superior to R.J. Walker. + +In 1826, there came to Natchez, from Maine, a youth who was a cripple. +He was without acquaintances or recommendations, and also without +means. He was in search of a school, and expressed his intention of +making the South his future home. His appearance was boyish in the +extreme, for one who professed to be twenty years of age. At that time +most of the planters in the region of Natchez employed private teachers +in their families, who resided with the family as one of the household. +A lady near Natchez, the widow of Judge Shields, was desirous of +employing a teacher, and tendered the situation to the young Yankee. +Mrs. Shields had grown-up sons, young men of fine attainments, and who +subsequently distinguished themselves as men of sterling worth. They +were soon delighted with the young stranger, who was busily employed in +his new vocation with their younger brothers. I remember to have heard +Mr. Thomas Shields say the young man teaching at his mother's was a +most remarkable man, and narrate some instances of his great powers of +memory, accompanied with facts which came within his own knowledge. +These were so very extraordinary, that notwithstanding the high +character for integrity borne by Shields, there were many who doubted +them. + +There lived at no great distance from Mrs. Shields, a planter, Mr. +Thomas Hall. This man was a coarse and illiterate overseer for some +years in the county, but having carefully husbanded his earnings, was +enabled, in company with James C. Wilkins, to commence planting upon an +extensive scale. At the time this young man was teaching at Mrs. +Shields', Hall had accumulated quite a fortune, and was a man of +comparative leisure. His mind was good, and now that he had an +abundance of the world's goods, and was becoming a man of consideration +in the community, he felt, in his intercourse with his educated +neighbors, the want of that cultivation which would make him their +equal. This had made him morbidly sensitive, and whenever an +opportunity presented, he improved it in acquiring all the information +possible. + +On Saturdays the young schoolmaster would frequently ride over and +converse with Hall. The strong mind and coarse but cordial manners of +Hall pleased him. He was a specimen of the Southerner possessing +salient points, and was a study for the Down-Easter. Never before had +he met such a specimen, and it was his delight to draw him out, little +deeming he was filling the same office for his friend. They were +mutually agreeable the one to the other, and their association grew +into intimacy. Each to their friends would speak of the other as a +remarkable man. Assuredly they were; for neither had ever met such +specimens as they presented to each other. They sometimes joined in a +squirrel-hunt about the plantation of Hall. The schoolmaster's lameness +compelled him to ride, while Hall preferred to walk. After a fatiguing +tramp upon one occasion, they sat down upon the banks of Cole's Creek, +where Hall listened with great delight to the conversation of his +companion. Suddenly Hall started up, and exclaimed, with more than his +usual warmth: + +"You have taught me more than I ever knew before meeting with you; but +I ought not to say what I am going to say. You, sir, were never made +for a schoolmaster. By the eternal God!"--Hall was a Jackson man--"you +know more than any man in the county, and you have got more sense than +any of them, though you are nothing but a boy. Now, sir, go to town and +study law with Bob Walker; he's the smartest of any of them. In two +years you will be ahead of him. If you haven't got the money to pay +your way, I have, and you shall have it." + +The term for which he had engaged was now expiring, and, as Hall had +requested, he went into the office of Robert J. and Duncan Walker, and +commenced the study of law. + +This Yankee youth was Sargent S. Prentiss. Prentiss remained in the +office of Walker for one year, and was a close student. When admitted +to the Bar, he went to Vicksburg and opened an office. At that time +Vicksburg was a new place, and presented peculiar inducements to young +professional men. The country upon the Yazoo River--and indeed the +entire northern portion of the State--had but recently been quit of its +Indian population, and was rapidly filling up with an active and +enterprising people. The soil was fertile, and the production of +cotton, to which it is so eminently suited, was daily growing in +importance. Vicksburg was the market-point. Trade was increasing daily, +and rapidly filling up the town with mercantile men. The young and +enterprising were hurrying thither, and in a few years there was met +here more talent and more enterprise than at any other point in the +State. The Bar had Prentiss, John Guion, McNutt, Sharkey, the three +Yergers, Anderson, Lake, Brook, Burwell, and many others of +distinction, including the erratic H.S. Foote. + +The entire population was a live one, and every branch of business was +pushed with a _vim_ commensurate with the abilities and enterprise of +the population. The planters of the immediately adjacent country were +men of intelligence and character, and were animated with the spirit of +the people of the town, forming on the whole a community of almost +reckless enterprise. It was at such a time and in the midst of such a +people that young Prentiss had made his selection of a home, and a +field for the future exercise of his professional abilities. + +Young, ardent, and ambitious, he sought to rival his seniors at the +Bar. Unwilling to wait on time, he aspired to leap at once to this +equality. It was the daring of genius, and of a genius which counted as +only a stimulant the obstacles intervening. To grapple with giants, +such as he found in Guion, Yerger, Sharkey, McNutt, and Lake, would +have intimidated a less bold and daring mind; but Prentiss courted the +conflict _con amore_, and applying all his herculean powers with the +vigor of youth and the ardency of enterprise, he soon found himself +quite equal to any competitor. + +When an infant, a fever settled in his leg, causing it to wither from +the knee to the foot, and doomed him through life to lameness. Like +Byron, he was sensitive upon the subject of this physical defect. It +was a serious obstacle to his locomotion, and in speaking compelled a +sameness of position injurious to the effect of his oratory. Scarcely +had two years elapsed from the time of his admission to the Bar before +his fame as a lawyer and advocate was filling the State. His business +had increased to such an extent as to require his undivided attention, +as he was employed in almost every important suit in that section of +the State. His qualities of heart were as conspicuous as those of his +brain, which had endeared him to the people of Vicksburg perhaps more +than any other citizen. This social and professional popularity caused +him to be elected to the Legislature of the State. He belonged to the +Whig party, which was largely in the minority in the Legislature, but +was powerful in talent. + +Before this time, Colonel Adam L. Bingaman, of Adams County, had been +the acknowledged leader of this party. He was a man of rare +qualifications for a popular leader--highly gifted by nature in mind +and personal appearance, which was most splendid and commanding, with a +polished education and fascinating manners, and by nature an orator. +Added to these advantages, he was a native of the State, the +representative of great wealth, and with extensive family influence. +These two met as friends personally and politically in the Legislature. + +Prentiss--though known as a great lawyer and a powerful advocate at the +Bar--had until now taken but little part in politics. None knew of his +proficiency as a politician or as a popular political orator, and, long +accustomed to the eloquence and the debating abilities of Bingaman, the +lead was accorded to him as usual. Party excitement was fierce, and +involved every one. The Democracy, armed with numbers and men of great +abilities, felt secure in their position. They had no fears that any +powers possessed by any man or set of men could operate a change in +public opinion dangerous to their supremacy in the State. + +Socially, Prentiss knew no party distinction. With all who were +gentlemen he mingled, not as a partisan, but as a man. The kindness of +his nature won upon all equally, and it was soon discovered that a +personal favor to Prentiss would sometimes override party allegiance. +His personal friends were all gentlemen, and once within the magic +influence of his social circle was enough to bind him to the heart of +every one. The session had made but little progress before his powers +as an orator were beginning to be felt. + +During an exciting debate, in which Bingaman had, as usual, taken the +lead, when all the ablest of the Democracy had, as they supposed, +exhausted the argument and demolished the position of their +adversaries, and the House seemed impatient for the question, Prentiss +rose, and claimed the attention of the chair. His clear and succinct +statement of the pending question put a new phase upon it, and the +House seemed surprised. + +He proceeded then to debate the question; and very soon he was in +_medias res_, and his bold and lucid argument won the attention of +every one. The position of the Democracy was dissected to the +separation of every fibre; its character and future effects denounced +and exposed in a strain of invective eloquence which thrilled to every +heart. Turning from this to the national policy of the Democracy, then +in power, and which the measure under consideration was intended to aid +and sustain, his powers seemed to expand with the magnitude of the +subject, as he went on to analyze the policy and the measures of the +Government, and to demonstrate the disastrous consequences which must +follow these remotely, if not immediately, corrupting, undermining, and +ultimately destroying the Constitution, and, of consequence, the +Government. He spoke for three hours; his peroration was so grandly +eloquent as to bring down the House and galleries in a round of +applause. + +From that day forward, Prentiss was the great man of the House and of +the State. A fire in a prairie never spread or ran faster than his +fame; it was on every tongue, in every newspaper. Such fame from one +speech had never been won by any man in America, save Patrick Henry. +Single-speech Hamilton, of the British Parliament, astonished England; +but he was never afterward heard of, and is known to this day as +"single-speech Hamilton." As with Henry, this was but the beginning of +a fame which was to grow and expand into giant proportions. Prentiss +was now a national man. Soon after this, he visited Boston and New York +during an exciting political campaign. Throughout the North, wherever +he appeared and spoke, he bore the palm from every rival. + +The speech of Prentiss in Faneuil Hall will long be remembered as +perhaps the finest specimen of oratory ever listened to in that +venerable hall. It was at the time said by the men of the North to +surpass the best efforts of Fisher Ames. Subsequently he spoke in New +York, and for three hours held spell-bound an immense audience. + +The writer was informed by a venerable judge, of New Jersey, that he +had never believed any man possessed such powers of oratory as to +interest him and chain his attention for that length of time. Hearing +this young man from the wilds of Mississippi could do so, he embraced +the first opportunity of hearing him. When he reached the place, he +found the assemblage very great, and with difficulty he succeeded in +reaching a point where he might hear well. He was unable to procure a +seat, and was compelled to stand, thoroughly jammed by the crowd. He +took out his watch to time him, as he commenced, and noting the minute, +he essayed to replace his watch: something said arrested his attention +and his hands from their work of putting the watch in its fob. + +"There was something, sir, in his eye," said he, "which startled me, +and then the words came bubbling up spontaneously as spring water, so +full of power, so intensely brilliant, and his figures so bold, +original, and illustrating, and the one following the other in such +quick succession; the flights of imagination, so new, so eloquent, and +so heart-searching--that I found it impossible to take my eyes from his +face, or my ears from drinking in every word. At one time, so intense +were my feelings under the effect of his words and the powerful +impression they were making on my mind, that I thought I should faint. +I forgot the presence of the crowd, and, though seventy years of age, +felt no fatigue from my standing position. In truth, sir, I was +unconscious of the time--equally so of the presence of any one but the +speaker. I perceived that his physical man was failing under his +effort, and so intense was my sympathy that I found myself breathing +rapidly and painfully; and yet, when he exclaimed, 'My powers fail!' +and sank into his seat completely exhausted, I regretted the necessity +which compelled him to stop. It was not until then that I found my hand +still holding my watch at the opening of its pocket, where, in my +excitement, I had forgotten to deposit it. I looked, and I had been +standing unmoved in the same position and intently listening for three +hours and fifteen minutes. Near me stood one old as myself--a friend, a +neighbor, and a minister of the gospel; he was livid with excitement, +and his lips trembled as he said to me: 'Will you ever doubt again that +God inspires man?'" + +Notwithstanding the immense Democratic majority in the State, the Whigs +determined to run Prentiss for Congress: the election, at that time, +was by general ticket, and there were two members to be elected: the +Whig nomination was Prentiss and Wood; the Democratic, Claiborne and +Gholson. + +Claiborne was a native of the State, and the son of General Ferdinand +Claiborne, a young man of very superior abilities, and at the time a +member of Congress. McNutt was the Democratic candidate for Governor. +The campaign was a most animated one, and Prentiss addressed the people +in very nearly every county in the State; the people, _en masse_, +flocked to hear him, and his name was in every mouth. The Democratic +nominees did not attempt to meet him on the stump. His march through +the State was over the heads of the people, hundreds following him from +county to county in his ovation. McNutt alone attempted to meet him and +speak with him, and he only once. McNutt was a Virginian, and was a man +of stupendous abilities; he was a lawyer by profession, and was +Governor of the State. Next to Poindexter, he was the ablest man who +ever filled the chair. Unfortunately, like most of the young and +talented of that day in the West, he was too much addicted to the +intoxicating bowl. Upon the only meeting of these, Prentiss and McNutt, +the latter, in his speech, urged as a reason for the rejection or +defeat of the former his dissipated habits, admitted his great +abilities, his masterly genius, pronounced him the first man of the age +intellectually, but deplored his habits, which were rendering him +useless, with all his genius, learning, and eloquence. + +Prentiss, in reply, said: "My fellow-citizens, you have heard the +charge against my morals, sagely, and, I had almost said, soberly made +by the gentleman, the Democratic nominee for the chief executive office +of this State: had I said this, it would have been what the lawyers +term a misnomer. It would be impossible for him to do or say anything +soberly, for he has been drunk ten years; not yesterday, or last week, +in a frolic, or, socially, with the good fellows, his friends, at the +genial and generous board--but at home, and by himself and demijohn; +not upon the rich wines of the Rhine or the Rhone, the Saone or the +Guadalquivir; not with high-spirited or high-witted men, whose souls, +when mellowed with glorious wine, leap from their lips sublimated in +words swollen with wit, or thought brilliant and dazzling as the blood +of the grape inspiring them--no; but by himself: selfish and apart from +witty men, or ennobling spirits, in the secret seclusion of a dirty +little back-room, and on corn-whiskey!--these only, communing in +affectionate brotherhood, the son of Virginia and the spirits of old +Kentucky! Why, fellow--citizens, as the Governor of the State, he +refused to sign the gallon-law until he had tested, by experiment, that +a gallon would do him all day! + +"Now I will admit, fellow-citizens, that sometimes, when in the +enjoyment of social communion with gentlemen, I am made merry with +these, and the rich wines of glorious France. It is then I enjoy the +romance of life. Imagination, stimulated with the juice of the grape, +gave to the world the Song of Solomon, and the Psalms of that old poet +of the Lord--glorious old David. + +"The immortal verse of wandering old Homer, the blind son of Scio's +isle, was the inspiration of Samian wine; and good old Noah, too, would +have sung some good and merry song, from the inspiration of the juice +of the vine he planted, but having to wait so long, his thirst, like +the Democratic nominee's here, became so great, that he was tempted to +drink too deeply, and got too drunk to sing; and this, I fancy, is the +true reason why this distinguished gentleman never sings. + +"Perhaps there is no music in his soul. The glug-glug-glug of his jug, +as he tilts and pours from its reluctant mouth the corn-juice so loved +of his soul, is all the music dear to his ear, unless it be the same +glug-glug-glug as it disappears down his capacious throat. Now, +fellow-citizens, during this ardent campaign, which has been so +fatiguing, I have only been drunk once. Over in Simpson County I was +compelled to sleep in the same bed with this distinguished +nominee--this delight of the Democracy--this wonderful exponent of the +principles and practices of the unwashed Democracy--and in the morning +I found myself drunk on corn-whiskey. I had lain too close to this +soaked mass of Democracy, and was drunk from absorption." + +This was more than the Governor could stand, and, amidst the shouts and +laughter of the assembled multitude, he left the stand, and declined to +meet again, before the people, the young Ajax Telemon of the Whig +party. + +The memory of that campaign will probably never be forgotten in +Mississippi. Mothers, in stories of Prentiss, tell it now to their +children, and it and he have become a tradition of the early days of +Mississippi. The election terminated in the choice of Prentiss and +Wood, by a small majority; but the certificate was given, through the +basest fraud, to Claiborne and Gholson. + +This was contested before the House of Representatives in Congress +assembled, and the contestants permitted to be heard on the floor of +the House. It was here, in the presence of the assembled wisdom of the +nation, Prentiss was to sustain the reputation which had preceded him, +and gloriously did he do it. When he rose to commence his speech, all +was silent, and every face expressed deep and excited expectation. The +unfortunate deformity of his leg was forgotten, in viewing the noble +contour of his head and face. Young, and for the first time in such a +presence--standing there the impersonation of the State of Mississippi, +demanding justice for her at the hands of the nation--he seemed +conscious of the responsibility, and confident of his power to sustain +this. There was little preliminary in his remarks opening the matter. +He went at once, and as a strong man conscious of the right, to the +core. He demonstrated, beyond a doubt, his election, and proceeded in a +strain of burning invective to expose the fraud of the returning +officer, who had shamefully disregarded the popular voice, and +shamelessly violated the law he was sworn to obey, in giving the +certificate to his defeated competitors. Never did the corruption of +party receive so severe an exposition, or a more withering rebuke, than +in this speech. + +Very soon after he commenced, the Senate chamber was deserted, and the +Vice-President and Secretary were left alone. Webster, Benton, Calhoun, +Clay, Wright, and Evans came in and ranged themselves near him. Every +space large enough, in the chamber, lobby, and galleries, was filled +with a listener, and all were still and unmoving, however painful their +position, until the enunciation of the last word of that wonderful +oration. The speech occupied two hours and forty minutes, and the +peroration was thrilling. When exhausted, and closing, he lifted his +eyes to the national flag, floating above the Speaker's chair, and +said, in an almost exhausted voice, "If, Mr. Speaker, in obedience to +the necessities and corrupt behest of party, you are determined to +wrest from Mississippi her rights as a sister, and coequal in this +union of States, and turn from their seats her representatives +constitutionally chosen, and place in their stead the repudiated of her +people, strike from the flag which waves above you the star which +represents her there; but leave the stripes, apt emblem of your +iniquity and her degradation." + +An adjournment was immediately moved; the painful excitement was +relieved, the spell was broken, and from every side, and from every +party, came men to congratulate him. Webster was the first to stretch +forth his hand, and with more animation than was his wont, said, in his +deep, sonorous tones, "New England claims her own, and is proud of her +son." + +The House, notwithstanding the demonstrative proof, and its enforcement +by the powerful and unanswerable argument of Prentiss, sent the +election back to the State, to be determined by a new election. In +this, Prentiss and Wood were triumphantly elected. He was not again a +candidate, retiring for the time from politics, and giving his +undivided attention to his profession. + +It was always a matter of astonishment, to all who could never make of +a political enemy a personal friend, why it was that Prentiss, so +bitter in his political denunciations of political partisans, and so +bitter a partisan, should yet, among the opposition, have so many warm +admirers and most devoted friends. His nature was sensitive, generous, +and confiding. There was no malice festering in his heart, and in his +opposition, he was only so to the politics, not the personal qualities +of the man. By these he judged of the man, and the character of these +regulated his conduct toward him. He did not pass through life without +enemies. The man to whom this is possible is one of no positive points +in his character, no strength of will, no fixity of purpose, and of but +little intellect. Such men never occupy the public attention--are +altogether negative, as well in action as in mind. The enemies of +Prentiss were such from envy, or political hatred. His great abilities, +when brought in contact with those suing for popular favor, so +shrivelled and dwarfed them as to inspire only fear and hatred. But men +of this character were scarce in that day in Mississippi. Such was the +tone of society, and such the education of her sons, that traits so +dishonorable rendered odious the man manifesting them, and those of +talent and education emigrating to the country soon caught this spirit +as by inoculation. If there were any who were influenced by such base +and degrading motives, and who felt these a part of their nature, they +most generally could command policy enough to conceal them. + +No community is long in discovering the genuine from the counterfeit +character. It did not require months to learn all the heart, all the +nature of Prentiss. Too frequently are great abilities coupled with a +mean spirit, and transcendent genius underlaid with a low, grovelling +nature; but these may be known by the peculiar form or development of +the cranium. The high coronal developments discover the intense moral +organization: the lofty and expansive forehead, the steady, unblenching +eye, and the easy self-possession of manner are all indications of high +moral organization, and the possession of a soul superior to envy, +malice, and vindictive hatred, and one to which little meannesses are +impossible. Such a head and such a soul had S.S. Prentiss. His whole +character was in his face, and so legible that the most illiterate +could read it. This won to him like natures, and all such who knew him +were instinctively his friends. + +Judge Wilkinson was such a man, and though as ardently Democratic as +Prentiss was Whig, and as uncompromising in his principles, yet these +two were friends in the loftiest sense of the term. Judge Wilkinson had +a difficulty with a tailor in Louisville, Kentucky, who attempted an +imposition upon him to which he would not submit. A quarrel ensued, and +the knight of the needle and shears determined on revenge. Collecting +about him his ready associates, they went to the hotel where Wilkinson +lodged, and waylaid him at the door between the dining-parlor and the +reception-room, and attacked him on his coming in from supper. In the +rencontre three of the assailants were killed, and the remainder of the +gang fled. Immediately surrendering himself, he was incarcerated and +held for trial: although assaulted with murderous intent, and acting +clearly in self-defence, he was denied bail. He was a stranger, and the +prejudices of the court and the people of Louisville were so manifest +that he demanded and obtained a change of venire. + +The trial came off at Harrodsburg. Prentiss, learning the facts and the +situation of his friend, volunteered immediately to defend him in +court, and to befriend him in any manner possible to him. The +celebrated Ben Hardin was employed to assist in the prosecution. The +eyes of all Mississippi and Kentucky were turned to Harrodsburg when +this trial commenced. Others volunteered--and among these was John +Rowan--to assist in the defence. But the case for Wilkinson was +conducted exclusively by Prentiss. It continued for some days. John +Rowan--so celebrated in the State for his talents and great legal +learning, as well as for his transcendent abilities as an advocate--sat +by, and trusted all to Prentiss. + +There were many sparrings in the course of the trial between Hardin and +Prentiss upon points in the law of evidence, and as to the +admissibility or rejection of testimony, as also upon many points of +the criminal law of England, whether changed or not by statutory +provisions of the State. + +In one of these, Rowan handed an open authority to Prentiss, and was +taunted by Hardin for the act, by saying: "Give your friend all the aid +you can: he needs it." + +"I only preserved the book open at the page where Mr. Prentiss had +marked the law," said Rowan: "he requires no aid from me, brother +Hardin. With all your learning and experience, he is more than a match +for you." + +This Hardin was not long in discovering, and especially did he feel it +when Prentiss came to reply to his address to the jury. So long +accustomed to defy competition as a criminal lawyer, Hardin was not +only surprised at the tact and masterly talent displayed by his +adversary, but he was annoyed, and felt that to maintain his prestige +as the great criminal lawyer of Kentucky, he must put forth all his +powers. He had done so; and in his summing up before the jury he seemed +more than himself. When he had concluded there were many who deemed +conviction sure. + +Prentiss followed, and in his grandest manner tore to tatters every +argument and every position advanced and assumed by Hardin. Towering in +the majesty of his genius in one of those transcendent flights of +imagination so peculiar to him, when his illustrations in figures +followed each other in such quick and constant succession as to seem +inexhaustible, he turned suddenly upon Hardin, and, stooping his face +until it almost touched that of the stern old Kentuckian, he hissed +forth: "Dare you, sir, ask a verdict of such a jury as is here sitting +upon this testimony?--you, sir, who under the verdict of nature must +soon appear before the awful bar to which you now strive prematurely to +consign this noble, this gallant young man! Should you succeed, you +must meet him there. Could you, in the presence of Almighty God--He who +knows the inmost thoughts--justify your work of to-day? His mandate is +not to the gibbet. Eternal Justice dictates there, whose decrees are +eternal. Do you think of this? Do you defy it? If not--if you invoke +it, do it through your acts toward your fellow-man. Have you to-day +done unto this man as you would he should do unto you? I pause for a +reply--none. Then shudder and repent, for the record even now is making +up against you in that high court from which there is no appeal. You, +gentlemen of the jury, are no hired advocates: you are not laboring for +blood-money. Though your responsibility to your God is equal to his, +you will not go to the bar of your Creator with blood--guiltless +blood--upon your consciences. You will not, as he will, in that awful +presence, on that eventful day, look around you for the accusing spirit +of him whom you consigned to the gibbet with a consciousness of his +innocence of murder. How will it be with you? (turning again to +Hardin.) Ah! how will it be with you? Still silent. Despite the +hardness of his features, mercy like a halo sweeps over them, and +speaks to you, gentlemen, eloquently: 'Acquit the accused!' Look over +yonder, gentlemen: within these walls is one awaiting your verdict in +tearless agony--she who but for this untoward event would now have been +happy as his bride: she who has cheered him in his prison-cell daily +with her presence and lovely soul! Hers, not his fate, is in your +hands. To him death is nothing: the brave defy death--the good fear it +not; then why should he fear? But she! O God! it is a fearful thing to +crush to death with agony the young, hopeful, and loving heart of +virtuous woman. His death is only terrible in her future. Go with her, +gentlemen, through life; contemplate the wan features of slow decay: +see in these the one eternal, harrowing thought; list to the sigh which +rives the heart; watch the tear which falls in secret; see her sink +into the grave; then turn away, look up into heaven, and from your +heart say: 'O God! I did it.' You will not; you cannot; you dare not." + +Hardin's conclusion was tame, and without effect; the demonstrations on +the part of the jury dispirited him, and his concluding speech had none +of the power of his opening. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, +without hesitation. Wilkinson was immediately discharged, and in +company with his friends was repairing to the hotel, when, in the +warmth of his emotion, he said, laying his hand on the shoulder of +Prentiss: "How shall I pay you, my friend, for this great service you +have done me?" + +"By never mentioning pay again," was the prompt and decisive reply. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +A FINANCIAL CRASH. + +A WONDERFUL MEMORY--A NATION WITHOUT DEBT--CRUSHING THE NATIONAL +BANK--RISE OF STATE BANKS--INFLATED CURRENCY--GRAND FLARE-UP--TAKE CARE +OF YOURSELF--COMMENCING ANEW--FAILING TO REACH AN OBTUSE HEART--KING +ALCOHOL DOES HIS WORK--PRENTISS AND FOOTE--LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG--A +NOBLE SPIRIT OVERCOME--CHARITY COVERETH A MULTITUDE OF SINS. + + +The rare combination of the elements of the mind in Mr. Prentiss is +only occasionally met with in time. Judgment, imagination, and memory +were all transcendent and equal in their respective powers. With such a +mind, everything possible to man may be accomplished. The invention is +rapid; the combining and applying responds as rapidly; the fitting and +the proper wait on these in the judgment, and the emanation of the +whole is perfect. The imagination conceives, the memory retains, and +the judgment applies. The consummate perfection of all of these +elements in one mind, assures greatness. Charles James Fox, one of +England's ablest statesmen, said this combination, organized in the +brain of Napoleon, was more complete than had existed with any man +since the days of Julius Caesar, and would have made him transcendently +great in anything to which he might have addressed his powers. As a +poet, he would have equalled Homer; as a lawyer, the author of the +Pandects; as an architect, Michael Angelo; as an astronomer, Newton or +Galileo; as an actor, Garrick, or his beloved Talma--as he had equalled +Caesar and Hannibal, and greatly surpassed Marlborough, Frederick the +Great, and Charles XII.; as an orator, Demosthenes; and as a statesman, +the greatest the earth ever knew. + +This combination in the mind of Prentiss, with the great development of +the organ of language, made him the unrivalled orator of his age. His +powers of memory were so great as to astonish even those eminently +gifted in the same manner. In reading, he involuntarily committed to +memory, whether of prose or poetry. He seemed to have memorized the +Bible, Shakspeare, Dryden, Ben Jonson, Byron, and many others of the +modern poets. The whole range of literature was at his command: to read +once, was always to remember. This capacity to acquire was so great +that he would in a month master as much as most men could in twelve. + +It appeared immaterial to what he applied himself, the consequence was +the same. Scientific research, or light literature; the ordinary +occurrences of the day, recorded in the newspapers, or detailed by an +occasional visitor--all were remembered, and with truthful exactness. +Dates, days, names, and events fastened upon his memory tenaciously, +and remained there without an effort. Hence, the fund of information +possessed by him astonished the best informed, who were gray with years +and reading. The exuberance of his imagination continually supplied new +and beautiful imagery to his conversation; and in private intercourse, +such was the rich purity of his language, and his ideas so bold and +original, that all were willing listeners: no one desired to talk if +Prentiss was present and would talk. + +The disasters which followed the commercial crisis of 1837 crushed +almost every interest in Mississippi: especially was this true of the +planting, the great interest of the State. On the healthy condition of +him who tills the soil depends that of every other interest. The rapid +rise in cotton, commencing in 1832, from the increased demand all over +the world for cotton fabrics, caused a heavy immigration to the fertile +cotton-lands of the West, and particularly to the extensive and newly +acquired lands of Mississippi. The world was at peace, and great +prosperity was universal; money was cheap, or rather its +representative, bank paper. The system of finance, so wisely conceived +and put in practical operation subsequently to the war of 1812, had +been disturbed by being made an element in the political struggles of +party. It had paid the war debt, and all the expenses of the +Government--furnished a uniform currency, equal to, and at the holder's +will convertible into coin. Its face was the nation's faith, and its +credit equal in New York, London, and Calcutta. A surplus fund was +accumulating in the United States Treasury, and the unexampled instance +of a nation out of debt, and with an accumulating surplus of money in +her treasury, was presented to the world by the United States. + +The political economist, from this fact, would naturally infer that the +people were heavily taxed: not so; there was not on earth a people who +contributed, in proportion to their means, so little to the support of +their Government. The tax-gatherer of the nation was never seen or +known in the house of any citizen; he knew not that he contributed one +dollar to the public treasury. So admirably was the source of revenue +contrived, that no man knew or felt he paid a national tax. The Bank of +the United States received and disbursed the moneys arising from +customs, or tariffs upon imports, without one cent of expense to the +Government; affording at the same time every healthy facility to the +commerce of the country--holding in check and confining the local State +banks to a legitimate business--and was the most complete and perfect +fiscal agent ever organized. In the struggle for party ascendency, the +idea was conceived of using the bank in aid of one of the factions +which divided the country. The machinators of this scheme failed to +accomplish it, and, being in power at the time, determined to destroy +it, upon the plea of its unconstitutionality, and of having been used +to overturn the Government--that is, the party in power. It was +declared dangerous to the liberties of the country. + +At the expiration of its charter, then approaching, it was refused a +renewal. So intimately was it connected with every interest in the +country, that its passing out of existence threatened universal +bankruptcy. Its branches located at every important commercial point, +its credit was universally employed. It furnished exchange at almost a +nominal rate upon every commercial city of the world, and permeated +every transaction, giving health and vigor as the circulating fluid +does the animal system. + +Suddenly to arrest and destroy this, was universal ruin. But to serve +the behest of party in a double form, it was crushed. But a substitute +was proposed by the party interested, and upon whom the responsibility +rested--the creation of State banks without limit, which were +recommended to discount liberally to the people, and supply the wants +created by the withdrawal of the capital and accommodations of the +national bank. This recommendation was literally and instantly obeyed. +In every State where the dominant party held control--and they did so +throughout the South and West--the legislatures made haste to create, +without limit, State banks, with power to flood the country with +irresponsible bank paper. Each assumed that it must supply not only its +portion, but the entire amount of the banking capital withdrawn, and +double or treble the circulation. The natural consequence was immense +inflation of the currency, or circulating medium, and the rapid +appreciation of every species of property in price. Everybody and every +interest flourished most prosperously--gaunt poverty had fled the land, +and bloated abundance laughed in every home. Suddenly men sprang into +importance who a little while before were humble artizans or employed +in the meanest capacities. A new El Dorado had been discovered; +fortunes were made in a day, without enterprise or work; and unexampled +prosperity seemed to cover the land as with a golden canopy--forests +were swept away in a week; labor came in crowds to the South to produce +cotton; and where yesterday the wilderness darkened over the land with +her wild forests, to-day the cotton plantation whitened the +earth--production was quadrupled--labor doubled in value, land rose to +fearful prices, the wildest extravagance obtained; costly furniture, +expensive equipages, ostentatious display--all were contributing to +hasten the catastrophe. The wise saw what was impending, and the +foolish thought it impossible. All of this was based on credit. The +banks were irresponsible, for they were without capital: they had +created a credit and loaned it in the shape of bank paper to every one. +Finally, the hour came when all was to be paid for. The banks +failed--like the fame of woman, a whisper destroys it; so a whisper +blew away the banks. They could not redeem their promises to pay. These +were no longer available for currency: they had driven from the country +the coin, and there was no money. The merchants failed, the planters +failed, money appreciated to the gold standard, and property +correspondingly depreciated; and ruin--financial ruin--swept over the +country as a consuming fire. + +Nowhere was this destruction so complete as in Mississippi. The people +of the State had been collected from all the States of the West and +South. There was no common bond but interest; a healthy public +sentiment, which must result from a homogeneous population, was +unknown; there was no restraining influence upon the conduct of men, +save only the law, and, for the want of efficient administration, this +was almost powerless. Every one was making haste to be rich; +speculation was wild, and everyday was witnessing transactions of +doubtful morality. Society was a chaos, and _sauve qui peut_, or, take +care of yourself, the rule. Every one who owed money, however +inconsiderable the sum, was ruined. Under such circumstances, Prentiss +determined on removing from Mississippi, and selected New Orleans for +his future home. The civil law, or Roman Code, was the law in +Louisiana, and materially differed from the common or English law, +which was the law of authority in Mississippi. Very few lawyers coming +from the common-law States, have ever been able to succeed in +Louisiana, especially after having practised in other States for any +length of time. They have not only to learn the civil law, but to +unlearn the common. Some, who did not know the extraordinary powers of +Prentiss's mind, feared he, like many others who had made the attempt, +would fail; but, almost from the moment of his advent at the New +Orleans bar, his success was complete. To realize the expectations of +the public, required abilities and attainments of the highest order. +Fame had heralded his name and powers to every one: all had and did +expect from him more than from any other man, and none were +disappointed. From this time forward he eschewed politics, and devoted +himself to his profession. + +Some years before leaving Mississippi, Prentiss had married Miss +Williams, of Adams County. This lady was the daughter of James C. +Williams, a large planter; her mother was a Percy, descended from the +proud Percys of Northumberland, and was a most accomplished and +intellectual woman. Her position was the first among the first, and her +birth, blood, and attainments entitled her to the distinction. Her +daughter, grown up under her eye and training, was the mother's equal, +and fit companion for the man of her choice. + +Prentiss had lost everything in the general crash, and was commencing +anew, with a growing family to provide for. His business rapidly +increased, and his displays at the Bar were frequent and wonderful. +Some of these, recited here, might, if such a necessity existed, serve +to illustrate his wonderful powers; but there are parties living whose +feelings might suffer, and hence I forbear. It is my earnest wish, in +recording these recollections, to offend no one; nor will I "set down +aught in malice." + +The ardent and excitable temperament of Prentiss, combined with his +social qualities, required constant excitement. When employed with the +duties of his profession, or engaged in any matter of business +pertaining to politics, or his relations in any capacity with the +world, requiring attention, he was sufficiently excited to afford +escape for the restlessness of his mind; nor did this man seem fatigued +in such occupations sufficiently to require repose and rest. On the +contrary, it seemed to whet his desire for fiercer and more consuming +excitement. Whenever he went abroad, the crowd followed him, and the +presence of the increasing mass stimulated his feelings to mild, social +delight, and this led him too frequently to indulge beyond a proper +temperance in the exhilaration of wine. This, superadded to the fire of +his genius, was wearing fearfully his vigorous physique. + +For the first time, in the case of fraud against James Irwin, in which +he made one of the most powerful efforts of his life, he manifested +mental as well as physical fatigue. It was my good fortune to listen to +that speech made to a New Orleans jury. I had listened many times to +his speeches, and had thought some of these could never be surpassed by +any man, not even by himself, and especially that delivered in Faneuil +Hall, Boston, and the one delivered from the steps of the court-house +at Vicksburg, after returning from his political campaign when a +candidate for Congress. But this one was even grander and more powerful +than any I had ever heard from him. Returning from the court-house with +him upon that occasion, I remarked a flagging in the brilliancy of his +conversation. For a moment he sat silent in the carriage, and then +remarked: "I was never so much fatigued; I am afraid I am getting old. +I have not an idea in my brain." + +"Certainly, you have poured out enough to-day to empty any brain," was +my reply; "and you should be content not to have another for a month. +But I am sorry your invective was so severe." + +"Ah! my old friend," he continued, "he deserved it all! From my heart I +feel he deserved it all! The magnitude of his iniquities inspired the +rebuke, and I exhausted my quiver in the attempt to pierce his shame; +but I failed. The integuments of his sensibility are armor against the +shafts from my bow; and I feel the failure, but I don't regret the +attempt: the intention was as sincere as the failure has been signal." + +"Why, what do you mean?" I asked; "for, assuredly, you have to-day made +the most powerful and telling speech of your life." + +"Yes, telling upon the audience, perhaps, but not upon the victim--he +escapes unscathed. I care nothing for the crack of the rifle, if the +bullet flies wide of the mark. I wanted to reach his heart, and crush +it to remorse; but I have learned his moral obtusity is superior to +shame. I have failed in my attempt." + +This speech was followed by a challenge to Prentiss from the son of +Irwin. This was promptly accepted, and a meeting was only prevented by +the interference of parties from Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana. +The settlement was honorable to both parties. Soon after, young Irwin +died by his own hand. He was a youth of brilliant parts, and promised a +future of usefulness and distinction. + +The habits of Prentiss were daily growing worse--the excitement he +craved he found in the intoxicating bowl. The influence of his lovely +and loving wife greatly restrained him; but when she was away, he was +too frequently surrounded by his friends and admirers, and in social +conviviality forgot the prudence of restraint, and indulged to excess. +The more this indulgence was tolerated, the more exacting it became. +The great strength of his nervous system had successfully resisted the +influence of these indulgences, and after potations deep and long, it +was remarked that they had no inebriating effect upon him. This nervous +strength by degrees yielded to the power of alcohol, and as he advanced +in life it was apparent the poison was doing its work. + +Now it was that he found it necessary, in order to stimulate his genius +to its wonted activity and vigor, on occasions demanding all his +powers, to resort to artificial stimulants. His friends urged upon him +temperance, to forbear altogether, to visit his mother and friends in +Maine, recreate amidst the scenes of his childhood, and to do so in +company with his wife and his lovely children, for they were all a +parent could wish them to be. He promised to do so. Sad memory brings +up our last meeting, and when the subject of his intemperance was the +theme of our parting conversation. We stood together upon the portico +of the St. Charles Hotel; he was preparing to leave for Maine; I was +leaving for my home in the country. + +"You still keep the old cane," he said, taking from my hand his gift +many years before. + +"I shall do so, Prentiss, while I live." + +He continued to view the head, upon which our names were engraved, and +a melancholy shade gathered upon his features. "Oh, were I," said he, +"to-day, what I was the day I gave you this!" and he paused many +minutes; still the shade darkened, and his voice trembled as he +proceeded: "We were both young then, and how light our hearts were! We +have gathered about us household gods, and we worship them; how sad to +think we shall have to leave them! You married long before I did. Your +children will grow up while yet you live; I shall never see mine other +than children." + +"Say not so, Prentiss. You are yet young. You have but one thing to do, +and you will live to see those boys men; and what may you not expect of +them, with such a mother to aid you in rearing them!" + +"I know what you mean, and I know what I will; but, like Laocoon in the +folds of the snake, the serpent of habit coils around me, and I fear +its strength is too powerful for mine. Perhaps, had my angel of to-day +been my angel when first a man, I had never wooed the scorpion which is +stinging me to death; but all I can do I will. This is all I can +promise. Keep this stick to remember me: it will support you when +tottering with the weight of years, and with strength will endure. When +age has done her work, and you are in the grave, give it to your son to +remember us both. Farewell." + +With a clasp of the hand we parted, never to meet again. Not long +after, he died at Natchez, and, in the family cemetery of the Sargents, +sleeps near the city. + +But few of the speeches of Prentiss were ever reported, and though they +are like and have the ring of the true metal, yet not one of them is +correctly reported. The fragment given in a former chapter is the +report of one who heard it, and who wrote it the very hour of its +delivery, to myself, that the information of the acquittal might be +communicated to the friends of the lady Judge Wilkinson was about to be +married to, who resided in my immediate neighborhood. There is not a +word of it in the reporter's speech, which was some time after written +out from notes. These speeches, with the traditions of his fame, will +serve to perpetuate his memory as perhaps the most gifted man, as an +orator, that adorned his generation. + +In stature he was below the ordinary standard, and his lameness seemed +to dwarf even this. His head was large, round, and high; his forehead +expansive, high, and rising almost perpendicularly above his eyes, +which were gray, deep set, and brilliant; his nose was straight and +beautifully chiselled, thin, and the nostrils large, and swelling and +expanding when excited. In speaking, his eyes blazed with a most +peculiar expression. His chin was broad, square, and strong. His mouth +was the most striking feature of his face--large and flexible, with a +constant twitching about the corners. The entire contour of the face +indicated humor, combined with firmness. This latter trait was also +indicated in the large, strong under jaw--no trait was more prominent +in his character than this. Yet he was slow to anger, and always +conciliatory in language and manners. He was charitable in the extreme +toward others for any laches in principle; always ready to find an +excuse for the short-comings of others. Yet no man adhered more closely +and more steadily to his principles and opinions. He never gave an +insult, unless greatly provoked, but never failed to resent one; always +loath to quarrel, but, once in, bore himself like a man, and a brave +one. The high oval crown of his head confessed high moral qualities; +here the moral organs were in wonderful development. Too generous to be +malicious, he was ever ready to forgive, and too noble to permit his +worst enemy to be slandered in his presence. + +There was once a quarrel between Prentiss and that erratic man of +wonderful genius, H.S. Foote. This culminated in a hostile meeting, in +which Foote was wounded. In their impulsiveness these two were very +like, as also in the generosity of their natures. Neither bore the +other malice beyond the conflict, and neither ever permitted an insult +to be offered to the name of the other in his absence. A short time +after this affair, Prentiss was with some friends in Cincinnati. There +is always to be found men who swell their importance by toadying men of +character and eminence. Such are as frequently found in Cincinnati as +elsewhere. + +One of these had sought out Prentiss, and was attempting to make +himself agreeable to him by abusing Foote: this abuse wound up by +denouncing the distinguished Mississippian as a dog. Prentiss turned +sharply upon him with the exclamation: "If he is a dog, sir, he is our +dog, and you shall not abuse him in my presence!" The discomfiture of +the toady may be easily imagined; he slunk away, nor did he again +obtrude his unwanted presence upon Prentiss during his stay. + +Few men have ever so fastened themselves upon the affections of their +friends as did Prentiss: his qualities of heart and head were +fascinating, almost beyond humanity; none ever met him for a day and +went away unattached; strangers, who knew him not, listening to him, +not only admired, but loved him. He never lost a friend; and all his +enemies were political, or from envy. In the society of ladies he was +extremely diffident and unobtrusive, and always apprehensive lest he +should be unable to entertain them agreeably. + +On one occasion, not long before our final parting, he said he had +committed two great errors in his life: leaving his native home to find +one in the South, and not marrying when he first commenced the practice +of law. "My constitution was strong and suited to a northern climate, +and there home-influences would have restrained propensities that have +grown with indulgence, and are threatening in their consequences. I +feel this: I am not the strong man I was; mind and body are failing, +and the beautiful lines of our friend Wild are constantly recurring to +my mind: + + "'My life is like the autumn leaf, + Which trembles in the moon's pale ray: + Its hold is frail, its date is brief, + Restless, and soon to pass away.' + +"Why did not Wild give his life to literature, instead of the musty +maxims of the law. Little as he has written, it is enough to preserve +his fame as a true poet; and though he has been a member of Congress, +and a distinguished one, a lawyer, and a distinguished one, his fame +and name will only be perpetuated by his verse, so tender, so touching, +and so true to the feelings of the heart. It is the heart that he lives +in. Ah! it is the heart only which forms and fashions the romance of +life; and without this romance, life is scarcely worth the keeping. + + "'Tis midnight--on the mountains brown + The cold round moon shines deeply down; + Blue roll the waters, blue the sky + Spreads like an ocean hung on high, + Bespangled with those isles of light, + So wildly, spiritually bright; + Who ever gazed upon them shining, + And turned to earth without repining, + Nor wished for wings to flee away, + And mix with their eternal ray?' + +"We feel as Byron did when he imagined these lines. I see him with +upturned eyes gazing on the blue expanse above, watching the stars; +thinking of heaven; feeling earth, and hating it, and his soul flying +away from it, to meet and mingle in the firmament above him with the +spiritually bright and heavenly pure brilliants sparkling on her +diadem. How mean--how miserably mean this earth, and all it gives! One +diamond in a world of dirt. The soul that loves and contemplates the +eternal--shall it shake off at once the miserable clod, and in a moment +glisten among the millions, pure, bright, and lovely as these? There is +but one idea of hell--eternal torture! But every man has his own idea +of heaven: yet, with all, its chiefest attribute is eternal happiness. +The wretch craves it for rest; he who never knew care or suffering, +desires it for enjoyment; and the wildest imagination sublimates its +bliss to love and beauty. And God only knows what it is, or in what it +consists. But we shall know, and I, in a little time. On Him who gave +me being I confidently rely for all which is destined in my future." + +His spirit was eminently worshipful. The wisdom and goodness of God he +saw in every creature; he contemplated these as a part of the grand +whole, and saw a union and use in all for the harmony of the whole; he +saw all created nature linked, each filling and subserving a part, in +duties and uses, as designed, and, his mind filled with the +contemplation, his soul expanded in love and worship of the great +Architect who conceived and created all. + +With all this might of mind and beauty of soul, there lurked a demon to +mar and destroy. It worked its end: let us draw a veil over the +frailties of poor human nature, and, in the admiration of the genius +and the soul, forget the foibles and frailties of the body. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +ACADIAN FRENCH SETTLERS. + +SUGAR _vs._ COTTON--ACADIA--A SPECIMEN OF MISSISSIPPI FRENCH LIFE--BAYOU +LA FOURCHE--THE GREAT FLOOD--THEOLOGICAL ARBITRATION--A RUSTIC BALL +--OLD-FASHIONED WEDDINGS--CREOLES AND QUADROONS--THE PLANTER--NEGRO +SERVANTS--GAULS AND ANGLO-NORMANS--ANTAGONISM OF RACES. + + +Forty years ago, there was quite an excitement among the +cotton-planters, in the neighborhood of Natchez, upon the subject of +sugar-planting in the southern portion of Louisiana. At that time it +was thought the duty (two and a half cents per pound) on imported +sugars would be continued as a revenue tax, and that it would afford +sufficient protection to make the business of sugar-planting much more +profitable than that of cotton. The section of country attracting the +largest share of attention for this purpose was the Teche, or Attakapas +country, the Bayous La Fourche, Terre Bonne, and Black. The Teche and +La Fourche had long been settled by a population, known in Louisiana as +the Acadian French. These people, thus named, had once resided in Nova +Scotia and Lower Canada, or Canada East as now known. When peopled by +the French, Nova Scotia was called Acadia. Upon the conquest by the +English, these people were expelled the country, and in a most inhuman +and unchristian manner. They were permitted to choose the countries to +which they would go, and were there sent by the British Government. +Many went to Canada, some to Vincennes in Indiana, some to St. Louis, +Cape Girardeau, Viedepouche, and Kaskaskia in Mississippi, and many +returned to France. + +Upon the cession, or rather donation to Spain of Louisiana by France, +these, with many others of a population similar to these, from the +different arrondissements of France, were sent to Louisiana, and were +located in Opelousas, Attakapas, La Fourche, and in the parishes of St. +John the Baptist, St. Charles, and St. James (parishes constituting the +Acadian coast on the Mississippi). On the La Fourche they constituted, +forty years ago, almost the entire population. They were illiterate and +poor. Possessing the richest lands on earth, which they had reclaimed +from the annual inundations of the Mississippi River by levees +constructed along the margins of the stream--with a climate congenial +and healthful, and with every facility afforded by the navigation of +the bayou and the Mississippi for reaching the best market for all they +could produce--yet, with all these natural advantages, promising to +labor and enterprise the most ample rewards, they could not be +stimulated to industry or made to understand them. + +They had established their homes on the margin of the stream, and +cleared a few acres of the land donated by the Government, upon which +to grow a little corn and a few vegetables. With a limited amount of +stock, which found subsistence upon the cane and grass of the woods, +and with the assistance of a shot-gun, they managed to subsist--as +Peake's mother served the Lord--after a fashion. + +Their houses were unique: a slender frame, often of poles cut from the +forest, and rudely squared, served the purpose. Into the studding were +placed pins, extending from one to the other, horizontally, and about +ten inches apart. The long gray moss of the country was then gathered +and thrown by layers into a pit dug for the purpose, with the soil, +until the pit was full, when water was added in sufficient quantities +to wet the mass through; this done, all who are assisting in the +construction of the house--men, women, boys, and girls--jump in upon +it, and continue to tramp until mud and moss are completely +intermingled and made of proper consistence, when it is gathered up and +made into rails about two feet long. These rolls are laid over the +pins, commencing at the bottom or sill of the building, when each roll +is bent down at the ends, covering the intervals between the pins, +pressed hardly together, and smoothed with the hands, inside and out, +forming a wall some five inches in thickness, with a perfectly smooth +surface. The roof is first put on, and the floors laid. When this mud +dries thoroughly it is white-washed; the house is then complete, and +presents quite a neat appearance. It will continue to do so if the +white-washing is annually continued. If, however, this is neglected, +the lime falls off in spots, and the primitive mud comes out to view: +then the appearance is anything but pleasant. No pains are taken to +ornament their yards, or gather about them comforts. There is a pig or +two in a pen in the corner of the yard, a hen-roost immediately at the +house, a calf or two at large, and numerous half-starved, mangy +dogs--and innumerable ragged, half-naked children, with little, black, +piercing eyes, and dishevelled, uncombed hair falling about sallow, +gaunt faces, are commingling in the yard with chickens, dogs, and +calves. A sallow-faced, slatternly woman, bareheaded, with uncared-for +hair, long, tangled, and black, with her dress tucked up to her knees, +bare-footed and bare-legged, is wading through the mud from the bayou, +with a dirty pail full of muddy Mississippi water. + +A diminutive specimen of a man, clad in blue cottonade pants and +hickory shirt, barefooted, with a palm-leaf hat upon his head, and an +old rusty shot-gun in his hands, stands upon the levee, casting an +inquiring look, first up and then down the bayou, deeply desiring and +most ardently expecting a wandering duck or crane, as they fly along +the course of the bayou. If unfortunately they come within reach of his +fusee, he almost invariably brings them down. Then there is a shout +from the children, a yelp from the dogs, and all run to secure the +game; for too often, "No duck, no dinner." Such a home and such +inhabitants were to be seen on Bayou La Fourche forty years ago, and +even now specimens of the genuine breed may there be found, as +primitive as were their ancestors who first ventured a home in the +Mississippi swamps. + +The stream known as Bayou La Fourche, or The Fork, is a large stream, +some one hundred yards wide, leaving the Mississippi at the town of +Donaldsonville, eighty miles above the city of New Orleans, running +south-southeast, emptying into the Gulf, through Timbalier Bay, and may +properly be termed one of the mouths of the Mississippi. Its current +movement does not in high water exceed three miles an hour, and when +the Mississippi is at low water, it is almost imperceptible. Large +steamers, brigs, and schooners come into it when the river is at flood, +and carry out three or four hundred tons of freight each at a time. + +The lands upon the banks of this stream are remarkably fertile, +entirely alluvial, and decline from the bank to the swamp, generally +some one or two miles distant. This Acadian population was sent here +during the Spanish domination, and with a view to opening up to +cultivation this important tract of country. It was supposed they would +become--under the favorable auspices of their emigration to the +country, and with such facilities for accumulating money--a wealthy and +intelligent population. This calculation was sadly disappointed. The +mildness of the climate and the fruitfulness of the soil combined to +enervate, instead of stimulating them to active industry, without which +there can be no prosperity for any country. A few acres, though half +cultivated, were found sufficient to yield an ample support, and the +mildness of the climate required but little provision for clothing. +Here, in this Eden upon earth, these people continued to live in a +simplicity of primitive ignorance and indolence scarcely to be believed +by any but an actual observer. Their implements of agriculture were +those of two centuries before. More than half the population wore +wooden shoes, when they wore any at all. Their wants were few, and were +all supplied at home. Save a little flour, powder, and shot, they +purchased nothing. These were paid for by the sale of the produce of +the poultry-yard--the prudent savings from the labor of the women--to +the market-boats from the city. + +There were, at the period of which I write, but half a dozen Americans +upon the bayou. These had found the country illy adapted to the growth +of cotton, and some of them had commenced the planting of sugar-cane. +The results from this were very satisfactory, and consequently +stimulating to the enterprise of men of means, who felt they could be +more profitably employed in this new culture than in cotton, even in +the very best cotton regions. + +There was one man of high intelligence and long experience who denied +this--Stephen Duncan, of Natchez--and the subsequent experience of many +brought bitter regret that they had not yielded to the counsels of Dr. +Duncan. + +The great flood of 1828 had not touched the La Fourche or Teche, while +the entire alluvial plain above had been covered many feet, and for +many months. This was the most terrible inundation, perhaps, ever +experienced in that region; and every one appeared to be now satisfied +that to continue to cultivate lands already reduced to man's dominion, +or to open and prepare any more, subject to this scourge, was madness. +Hence the emigration from this chosen section to the new El Dorado. +Lands rose rapidly in South Louisiana as an effect of this, while +above, in the flooded district, they were to be bought for almost a +nominal price. Those who ventured to purchase these and reduce them to +cultivation realized fortunes rapidly; for there was not a sufficient +flood to reach them again for ten years. The levees by this time had +become so extended as to afford almost entire immunity against the +floods of annual occurrence. The culture of sugar received a new +impetus and began rapidly to increase, and capital came flowing in. +Population of an industrious and hardy character was filling up the +West, and the demand from that quarter alone was equal to the +production, and both were increasing so rapidly as to induce the belief +that it would be as much as all the sugar lands in the State could +accomplish to supply this demand. Steam power for crushing the cane was +introduced--an economy of labor which enhanced the profits of the +production--and a new and national interest was developed, rendering +more and more independent of foreign supply, at least that portion of +the Union most difficult of access to foreign commerce--the great and +growing West. + +The Americans, or those Americans speaking English alone, immigrating +into these sections of Louisiana, so far as the language, manners, and +customs of the people were concerned, were going into a foreign land. +The language of the entire population was French, or a patois, as the +European French term it--a provincialism which a Parisian finds it +difficult to understand. The ignorance and squalid poverty of these +people put their society entirely out of the question, even if their +language had been comprehensible. They were amiable, kind, law-abiding, +virtuous, and honest, beyond any population of similar character to be +found in any country. Out of some fifty thousand people, extending over +five or six parishes, such a thing as a suit for slander, or an +indictment for malicious mischief, or a case of bastardy was not known +or heard of once in ten years. This will seem strange when we reflect +that at this time schools were unknown, and not one out of fifty of the +people could read or write, and when it was common for the judge of the +District Court to ask, when a grand jury was impanelled, if there was a +man upon it who could write, that he might make him foreman. And not +unfrequently was he compelled to call from the court-room one who +could, and trump him on the jury for a foreman, as the action was +termed. There was not upon the La Fourche, which comprised three large +parishes, but one pleasure carriage, and not half a dozen ladies' +bonnets. The females wore a colored handkerchief tastily tied about +their heads, when visiting or at church; and when not, not anything but +blowzed, uncombed hair. + +The enterprise of the new-comers did not stimulate to emulation the +action of these people. They were content and unenvious, and when +kindly received and respectfully treated, were social and generous in +their intercourse with their American neighbors. They were confiding +and trustful; but once deceived, they were not to be won back, but only +manifested their resentment by withdrawing from communicating with the +deceiver, and ever after distrusting, and refusing him their +confidence. They were universally Catholic; consequently, sectarian +disputes were unknown. They practised eminently the Christian virtues, +and were constant in their attendance at mass. The priest was the +universal arbiter in all disputes, and his decision most implicitly +acquiesced in. They had a horror of debt, and lawsuits, and would +sacrifice any property they might have, to meet punctually an +obligation. Fond of amusements, their social meetings, though of most +primitive character, were frequent and cordial. They observed strictly +the exactions of the Church, especially Lent; but indulged the Carnival +to its wildest extent. Out of Lent they met to dance and enjoy +themselves, weekly, first at one, and then at another neighbor's house; +and with the natural taste of their race, they would appear neatly and +cleanly dressed in the attire fabricated by their own hands in the loom +and with the needle. + +The method of invitation to these reunions was simple and speedy. A +youth on his pony would take a small wand, and tie to its top end a red +or white flag, and ride up and down the bayou, from the house where the +ball was intended, for two or three miles; returning, tie the wand and +flag to flaunt above the gate, informing all--"_This is the place._" +All were welcome who came, and everything was conducted with strict +regard to decent propriety. Nothing boisterous was ever known--no +disputing or angry wrangling, for there was no cause given; harmony and +happiness pervaded all, and at proper time and in a proper manner all +returned to their homes. + +Marriages, almost universally, were celebrated at the church, as in all +Catholic countries. The parsonage is at the church, and the priest +always on hand, at the altar or the grave; and almost daily, in this +dense population, a marriage or funeral was seen at the church. It was +the custom for the bride and groom, with a party of friends, all on +horseback, to repair without ceremony to the church, where they were +united in matrimony by the good priest, who kissed the bride, a +privilege he never failed to put into execution, when he blessed the +couple, received his fee, and sent them away rejoicing. This ceremony +was short, and without ostentation; and then the happy and expectant +pair, often on the same horse, would return with the party as they had +come, with two or three musicians playing the violin in merry tunes on +horseback, as they joyfully galloped home, where a ball awaited them at +night, and all went merry with the married belle. + +These people are Iberian in race, are small in stature, of dark +complexion, with black eyes, and lank black hair; their hands and feet +are small, and beautifully formed, and their features regular and +handsome; many of their females are extremely beautiful. These attain +maturity very early, and are frequently married at thirteen years of +age. In more than one instance, I have known a grandmother at thirty. +As in all warm countries, this precocious maturity is followed with +rapid decay. Here, persons at forty wear the appearance of those in +colder climates of sixty years. Notwithstanding this apparent early +loss of vigor, the instances of great longevity are perhaps more +frequent in Louisiana than in any other State of the Union. This, +however, can hardly be said of her native population: emigrants from +high latitudes, who come after maturity, once acclimated, seem to +endure the effects of climate here with more impunity than those native +to the soil. + +The Bayou Plaquemine formerly discharged an immense amount of water +into the lakes intervening between the La Fourche and the Teche. These +lakes have but a narrow strip of cultivable land. Along the right +margin of the La Fourche, and the left of the Teche, they serve as a +receptacle for the waters thrown from the plantations and those +discharged by the Atchafalayah and the Plaquemine, which ultimately +find their way to the Gulf through Berwick's Bay. They are interspersed +with small islands: these have narrow strips of tillable land, but are +generally too low for cultivation; and when the Mississippi is at +flood, they are all under water, and most of them many feet. The La +Fourche goes immediately to the Gulf, between Lake Barataria and these +lakes, affording land high enough, when protected as they now are, for +settlement, and cultivation to a very great extent. Its length is some +one hundred miles, and the settlements extend along it for eighty +miles. These are continuous, and nowhere does the forest intervene. + +At irregular distances between these Acadian settlements, large sugar +plantations are found. These have been extending for years, and +increasing, absorbing the habitats of these primitive and innocent +people, who retire to some little ridge of land deeper in the swamp, a +few inches higher than the plane of the swamp, where they surround +their little mud-houses with an acre or so of open land, from the +products of which, and the trophies of the gun and fishing-line and +hook, and an occasional frog, and the abundance of crawfish, they +contrive to eke out a miserable livelihood, and afford the fullest +illustration of the adage, "Where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be +wise." + +The contrast between these princely estates, and the palatial mansions +which adorn them, and make a home of luxuriant beauty, and the little +log huts, their immediate neighbors, tells at once that the population +is either very rich or very poor, and that under such circumstances the +communication must be extremely limited; for the ignorance of the poor +unfits them for social and intelligent intercourse with their more +wealthy and more cultivated neighbors. This is true whether the planter +is French or American. The remarkable salubrity of the climate, +combined with the comforts and luxuries of home, causes the planter to +spend most of his time there, where he can give his attention to his +business and mingle with his brother planters in a style and manner +peculiar to Louisiana and the tastes of her people. Intercommunication +is facilitated by steamboat travel, and as every plantation is located +upon a navigable stream, the planter and family can at any time suiting +his business go with little trouble to visit his friends, though they +may be hundreds of miles apart. Similarity of pursuit and interest draw +these together. There is no rivalry, and consequently no jealousy +between them. All their relations are harmonious, and their intercourse +during the summer is continuous, for at that season the business of the +plantation may be safely trusted to a manager, one of whom is found on +every plantation. + +This social intercourse is highly promotive of a general amity, as it +cultivates an intimacy which at once familiarizes every one with the +feelings, situation, and intentions of the other. Sometimes the +contiguity of plantations enables the families of planters to exchange +formal morning and evening calls, but most generally the distance to be +overgone is too great for this. Then the visiting is done by families, +and extends to days, and sometimes weeks. Provisions are so abundant +that the extra consumption is never missed, and the residences are +always of such dimensions that the visitors seem scarcely to increase +the family--never to be in the way; and the suits of apartments +occupied by them were built and furnished for the purpose to which they +are then devoted. The visitor is at home. The character of the +hospitality he is enjoying permits him to breakfast from seven till +ten, alone, or in company with the family if he chooses. Horses, dogs, +and guns for the gentlemen--billiards, the carriage, music, or +promenading, with cards, chess, backgammon, or dominos for the ladies, +to pass away the day until dinner. At this meal the household and +guests unite, and the rich viands, wines, and coffee make a feast for +the body and sharpen the wit to a feast of the soul. This society is +the freest and most refined to be found in the country. + +Upon the coast of the Mississippi, from Baton Rouge to many miles below +the city, the proximity of the large plantations presents an +opportunity of close and constant intercourse. A very large majority of +these are the property and habitations of the cultivated and +intelligent Creoles of the State. And here let me explain the term +Creole, which has led to so many ludicrous, and sometimes to painful +mistakes. It is an arbitrary term, and imported from the West Indies +into Louisiana. Its original meaning was a native born of foreign +parents; but universal use has made it to mean, in Louisiana, nothing +more than simply "native;" and it is applied indiscriminately to +everything native to the State--as Creole cane, Creole horse, Creole +negro, or creole cow. Many confound its meaning with that of quadroon, +and suppose it implies one of mixed blood, or one with whose blood +mingles that of the African--than which no meaning is more foreign to +the word. + +The Creole planters, or what are termed French Creoles, are descended +from a very different race from the Acadian Creole, or Iberian. The +first colonists who came to Louisiana were men of the first blood and +rank in France. The Ibervilles, the Bienvilles, St. Denises, and many +others, were of noble descent; and the proud prestige of their names +and glorious deeds still clings around their descendants now peopling +the lands they conquered from the desert, the savage, and the flood. +These daring men brought with them the chivalrous spirit which +descended to their sons--the open, gallant bearing; the generous +hospitality; the noble humanity; the honor which prefers death to a +stain, and the soul which never stoops to a lie, a fraud, or a meanness +degrading to a gentleman. They have been born upon the banks of the +great river of the world; they have seen all the developments of +talent, time, and enterprise which have made their country great as the +river through which it flows. Accustomed from infancy to look upon this +scene and these developments, their souls with their ideas have been +sublimated, and they are a population unsurpassed in the higher +attributes of humanity, and the nobler sympathies of man, by any on the +face of the earth--surrounded by wealth, tangible and substantial, +descending from generation to generation, affording to each all the +blessings wealth can give. + +The spirit of hospitality and independence has ennobled the sons, as +hereditary wealth and privilege had the sires who planted this colony. +These sires laid the foundation of this wealth, in securing for their +posterity the broad acres of this fat-land where now they are to be +found. None have emigrated: conscious of possessing the noblest +heritage upon earth, they have remained to eliminate from this soil the +wealth which in such abundance they possess. As they were reared, they +have reared their sons; the lessons of truth, virtue, honor have borne +good fruit. None can say they ever knew a French Creole a confirmed +drunkard or a professional gambler. None ever knew an aberration of +virtue in a daughter of one. + +The high-bred Creole lady is a model of refinement--modest, yet free in +her manners; chaste in her thoughts and deportment; generous in her +opinions, and full of charity; highly cultivated intellectually and by +association; familiar from travel with the society of Europe; mistress +of two, and frequently of half a dozen languages, versed in the +literature of all. Accustomed from infancy to deport themselves as +ladies, with a model before them in their mothers, they grow up with an +elevation of sentiment and a propriety of deportment which +distinguishes them as the most refined and polished ladies in the whole +country. There is with these a softness of deportment and delicacy of +expression, an abstinence from all violent and boisterous expressions +of their feelings and sentiments, and above all, the entire freedom +from petty scandal, which makes them lovely, and to be loved by every +honorable and high-bred gentleman who may chance to know them and +cultivate their association. Indeed, this is a characteristic of the +gentlemen as well as the ladies. + +These people may have a feud, and sometimes they do; but this rarely +remains long unsettled. No one will ever hear it publicly alluded to, +and assuredly they will never hear it uttered in slanderous +vituperation of the absent party. I may be permitted here to narrate an +incident illustrative of this peculiarity. + +A gentleman, knowing of a dissension between two parties, was dining +with one of them, in company with several others. This guest spoke to +the hostess disparagingly of the enemy of her husband, who, hearing the +remark, rebuked his officious guest by remarking to him: "Doctor, my +lady and myself would prefer to find out the foibles and sins of our +neighbors ourselves." The rebuke was effectual, and informed the +doctor, who was new in the country, of an honorable feeling in the +refined population of the land of his adoption alien to that of his +birth, and which he felt made these people the superior of all he had +ever known. + +No one has ever travelled upon one of those palatial steamers abounding +on the Mississippi, in the spring season of the year, when the waters +swell to the tops of the levees, lifting the steamer above the level of +the great fields of sugar-cane stretching away for miles to the forest +on either bank of that mighty river, who has not been delighted with +the lovely homes, surrounded with grounds highly cultivated and most +beautifully ornamented with trees, shrubs, and flowers, which come upon +the view in constant and quick succession, as he is borne onward +rapidly along the accumulated waters of the great river. This scene +extends one hundred and fifty miles up the river, and is one not +equalled in the world. The plain is continuous and unbroken; nor hill +nor stream intersects it but at two points, where the Plaquemine and La +Fourche leave it to find a nearer way to the sea; and these are so +diminutive, in comparison with all around, that they are passed almost +always without being seen. + +The fringe of green foliage which is presented by the trees and shrubs +adorning each homestead, follows in such rapid succession as to give it +a continuous line, in appearance, to the passers-by on the steamer. +These, denuded of timber to the last tree, the immense fields, only +separated by a ditch, or fence, which spread along the river--all +greened with the luxuriant sugar-cane, and other crops, growing so +vigorously as at once to satisfy the mind that the richness of the soil +is supreme--and this scene extending for one hundred and fifty miles, +makes it unapproachable by any other cultivated region on the face of +the globe. Along the Ganges and the Nile, the plain is extensive. The +desolate appearance it presents--the miserable homes of the population, +devoid of every ornament, without comfort or plenty in their +appearance--the stinted and sparse crops, the intervening deserts of +sand, the waste of desolation, spreading away far as the eye can +reach--the streams contemptible in comparison, and the squalid, +degraded, thriftless people along their banks, make it painful to the +beholder, who is borne on his way in some dirty little craft, +contrasting so strangely with the Mississippi steamer. Yet, in +admirable keeping with everything else, all these present a grand +contrast to the valley of the Mississippi, and only prove the latter +has no equal in all that pertains to grandeur, beauty, and abundance, +on the globe. To appreciate all these, you must know and mingle with +the population who have thus ornamented, with labor and taste, the +margin of this stream of streams. + +As this great expanse of beauty is a fairy-land to the eye, so is the +hospitality of its homes a delight to the soul. In this population, if +nowhere else in America, is seen a contented and happy people--a people +whose pursuit is happiness, and not the almighty dollar. Unambitious of +that distinction which only wealth bestows, they are content with an +abundance for all their comforts, and for the comfort of those who, as +friends or neighbors, come to share it with them. Unambitious of +political distinction, despising the noisy tumult of the excited +populace, they love their homes, and cultivate the ease of quiet in +these delicious retreats, enjoying life as it passes, in social and +elegant intercourse with each other, nor envying those who rush into +the busy world and hunt gain or distinction from the masses, through +the shrewdness of a wit cultivated and debased by trade, or a fawning, +insincere sycophancy toward the dirty multitude they despise. By such, +these people are considered anomalous, devoid of energy or enterprise, +contented with what they have, nor ambitious for more--which, to an +American, with whom, if the earth is obtained, the moon must be striven +for, is stranger than all else--living indolently at their ease, +regardless of ephemeral worldly distinctions, but happy in the comforts +of home, and striving only to make this a place for the enjoyment of +themselves and those about them. + +To the stranger they are open and kind, universally hospitable, never +scrutinizing his whole man to learn from his manner or dress whether he +comes as a gentleman or a sharper, or whether he promises from +appearance to be of value to them pecuniarily in a trade. There is +nothing of the huckster in their natures. They despise trade, because +it degrades; they have only their crops for sale, and this they trust +to their factors; they never scheme to build up chartered companies for +gain, by preying upon the public; never seek to overreach a neighbor or +a stranger, that they may increase their means by decreasing his; would +scorn the libation of generous wine, if they felt the tear of the widow +or the orphan mingled with it, and a thousand times would prefer to be +cheated than to cheat; despising the vicious, and cultivating only the +nobler attributes of the soul. + +Such is the character of the educated French Creole planters of +Louisiana--a people freer from the vices of the age, and fuller of the +virtues which ennoble man, than any it has fallen to my lot to find in +the peregrinations of threescore years and ten. The Creoles, and +especially the Creole planters, have had little communication with any +save their own people. The chivalry of character, in them so +distinguishing a trait, they have preserved as a heritage from their +ancestors, whose history reads more like a romance than the lives and +adventures of men, whose nobility of soul and mind was theirs from a +long line of ancestors, and brought with them to be planted on the +Mississippi in the character of their posterity. + +Is it the blood, the rearing, or the religion of these people which +makes them what they are? They are full of passion; yet they are gentle +and forbearing toward every one whom they suppose does not desire to +wrong or offend them; they are generous and unexacting, abounding in +the charity of the heart, philanthropic, and seemingly from instinct +practising toward all the world all the Christian virtues. They are +brave, and quick to resent insult or wrong, and prefer death to +dishonor; scrupulously just in all transactions with their fellow-men, +forbearing toward the foibles of others, without envy, and without +malice. In their family intercourse they are respectful and kind, and +particularly to their children: they are cautious never to oppress or +mortify a child--directing the parental authority first to the teaching +of the heart, then to the mind--instilling what are duties with a +tenderness and gentleness which win the affections of the child to +perform these through love only. Propriety of deportment toward their +seniors and toward each other is instilled from infancy and observed +through life. All these lessons are stamped upon the heart, not only by +the precepts of parents and all about them, but by their example. + +The negro servants constitute a part of every household, and are +identified with the family as part of it. To these they are very kind +and forbearing, as also to their children, to whom they uniformly speak +and act gently. A reproof is never given in anger to either, nor in +public, for the purpose of mortifying, but always in private, and +gently--in sorrow rather than in anger; and where punishment must be +resorted to, it is done where only the parent or master, and the child +or servant, can see or know it. This is the example of the Church. The +confessional opens up to the priest the errors of the penitent, and +they are rebuked and forgiven in secret, or punished by the imposition +of penalties known only to the priest and his repentant parishioner. Is +it this which makes such models of children and Christians in the +educated Creole population of Louisiana? or is it the instinct of race, +the consequence of a purer and more sublimated nature from the blue +blood of the exalted upon earth? The symmetry of form, the delicacy of +feature in the males, their manliness of bearing, and the high +chivalrous spirit, as well as the exquisite beauty and grace of their +women, with the chaste purity of their natures, would seem to indicate +this as the true reason. + +All who have ever entered a French Creole family have observed the +gentle and respectful bearing of the children, their strict yet +unconstrained observance of all the proprieties of their position, and +also the affectionate intercourse between these and their parents, and +toward each other--never an improper word; never an improper action; +never riotous; never disobedient. They approach you with confidence, +yet with modesty, and are respectful even in the mirth of childish +play. Around the mansions of these people universally are +pleasure-grounds, permeated with delightful promenades through +parterres of flowers and lawns of grass, covered with the delicious +shade thrown from the extended limbs and dense foliage of the great +trees. These children, when wandering here, never trespass upon a +parterre or pluck unbidden a flower, being restrained only by a sense +of propriety and decency inculcated from the cradle, and which grows +with their growth, and at maturity is part of their nature. Could +children of Anglo-Norman blood be so restrained? Would the wild +energies of these bow to such control, or yield such obedience from +restraint or love? Certainly in their deportment they are very +different, and seem only to yield to authority from fear of punishment, +and dash away into every kind of mischief the moment this is removed. +Nor is this fear and certainty of infliction of punishment in most +cases found to be of sufficient force to restrain these inherent +proclivities. + +Too frequently with such as these the heart-training in childhood is +neglected or forgotten, and they learn to do nothing from love as a +duty to God and their fellow-beings. The good priest comes not as a +minister of peace and love into the family; but is too frequently held +up by the thoughtless parent as a terror, not as a good and loving man, +to be loved, honored, and revered, and these are too frequently the +raw-head and bloody-bones painted to the childish imagination by those +parents who regard the rod as the only reformer of childish errors--who +forget the humanities in inspiring the brutalities of parental +discipline, as well as the pastoral duties of their vocation. They +persuade not into fruit the blossoms of the heart, but crush out the +delicate sensibilities from the child's soul by coarse reproofs and +brutal bearing toward them. The causes of difference I cannot divine, +but I know that the facts exist, and I know the difference extends to +the adults of the two races. + +The Anglo-American is said to be more enterprising, more energetic and +progressive--seeks dangers to overcome them, and subdues the world to +his will. The Gallic or French-American is less enterprising, yet +sufficiently so for the necessary uses of life. He is more honest and +less speculative; more honorable and less litigious; more sincere with +less pretension; superior to trickery or low intrigue; more open and +less designing; of nobler motives and less hypocrisy; more refined and +less presumptuous, and altogether a man of more chivalrous spirit and +purer aspirations. The Anglo-American commences to succeed, and will +not scruple at the means: he uses any and all within his power, secures +success, and this is called enterprise combined with energy. Moral +considerations are a slight obstacle. They may cause him to hesitate, +but never restrain his action. The maxim is ever present to his mind: +it is honorable and respectable to succeed--dishonorable and +disreputable to fail; it is only folly to yield a bold enterprise to +nice considerations of moral right. If he can avoid the penalties of +the civil law, success obviates those of the moral law. Success is the +balm for every wrong--the passport to every honor. + + "His race may be a line of thieves, + His acts may strike the soul with horror; + Yet infamy no soiling leaves-- + The rogue to-day's the prince to-morrow." + +This demoralizes: the expedient for the just--that which will do, not +that which should do, if success requires, must be resorted to. This +idea, like the pestilence which rides the breeze, reaches every heart, +and man's actions are governed only by the law--not by a high moral +sense of right. Providence, it is supposed, prepares for all exigencies +in the operations of nature. If this be true, it may be that the +peculiarities of blood, and the consequence to human character, may, in +the Anglo-American, be specially designed for his mission on this +continent; for assuredly he is the eminently successful man in all +enterprises which are essential in subduing the earth, and aiding in +the spreading of his race over this continent. Every opposition to his +progress fails, and the enemies of this progress fall before him, and +success is the result of his every effort. That the French Creoles +retain the chivalry and noble principles of their ancestry is certainly +true; but that they have failed to preserve the persevering enterprise +of their ancestors is equally true. + +Emigration from France, to any considerable extent, was stayed after +the cessation of Louisiana to the United States, and the French +settlements ceased to expand. The country along and north of Red River, +on the Upper Mississippi and the Washita, was rapidly filled up with a +bold, hardy American population, between whom and the French sparsely +peopling the country about Natchitoches on the Red, and Monroe on the +Washita River, there was little or no sympathy; and the consequence was +that many of those domiciled already in these sections left, and +returned to the Lower Mississippi, or went back to France. + +There had been, anterior to this cession, two large grants of land made +to the Baron de Bastrop and the Baron de Maison Rouge, upon the Washita +and Bartholomew, including almost the entire extent of what is now two +parishes. These grants were made by the European Government upon +condition of settlement within a certain period. The Revolution in +France was expelling many of her noblest people, and the Marquis de +Breard, with many followers, was one of these: he came, and was the +pioneer to these lands. A nucleus formed, and accessions were being +made, but the government being transferred and the country becoming +Americanized, this tide of immigration was changed from French to +American, and the requisite number of settlers to complete the grants +was not reached within the stipulated period, and they were, after more +than half a century, set aside, and the lands disposed of as public +lands by the United States Government. Had the government continued in +the hands of France, it is more than probable that the titles to these +tracts would never have been contested, even though the requisite +number of settlers had not been upon the lands to complete the grants +at the specified period; and it is also probable there would have been, +in proper time, the required number. But this transfer of dominion was +exceedingly distasteful to the French population. + +The antagonism of races itself is a great difficulty in the way of +amalgamation, even though both may belong to the same great division of +the human family; but added to this the difference of language, laws, +habits, and religion, it would almost seem impossible. In the instance +of Louisiana it has, so far, proved impossible. Although the French +have been American subjects for more than sixty years, and there now +remain in life very few who witnessed the change, and notwithstanding +this population has, so far as the government is concerned, become +thoroughly Americanized, still they remain to a very great extent a +distinct people. Even in New Orleans they have the French part and the +American part of the city, and do not, to any very great degree, extend +their union by living among each other. Kind feelings exist between the +populations, and the prejudices which have so effectually kept them +apart for so long a time are giving way rapidly now, since most of the +younger portion of the Creole-French population are educated in the +United States, and away from New Orleans; consequently they speak the +English language and form American associations, imbibe American ideas, +and essay to rival American enterprise. Still there is a distinct +difference in appearance. Perhaps the difference in bearing, and in +other characteristics, may be attributable to early education, but the +first and most radical is surely that of blood. + +The settlements upon the Red and Washita Rivers did not augment the +French population in the country; it has declined, but more signally +upon the latter than the former river. There remain but few families +there of the ancient population, and these are now so completely +Americanized as scarcely to be distinguishable. The descendants of the +Marquis de Breard, in one or two families, are there, but all who +located on the Bayou Des Arc (and here was the principal settlement), +with perhaps one family only, are gone, and the stranger is in their +homes. + +The French character seems to want that fixity of purpose, that +self-denial, and steady perseverance, which is so necessary to those +who would colonize and subdue a new and inhospitable country. The +elevated civilization of the French has long accustomed them to the +refinements and luxuries of life; it has entered into and become a part +of their natures, and they cannot do violence to this in a sufficient +degree to encounter the wilderness and all its privations, or to create +from this wilderness those luxuries, and be content in their enjoyment +for all the hardships endured in procuring them: they shrink away from +these, and prefer the inconveniences and privations of a crowded +community with its enjoyments, even in poverty, to the rough and trying +troubles which surround and distress the pioneer, who pierces the +forest and makes him a home, which, at least, promises all the comforts +of wealth and independence to his posterity. He rather prefers to take +care that he enjoys as he desires the present, and leaves posterity to +do as they prefer. Yet there are many instances of great daring and +high enterprise in the French Creole: these are the exceptions, not the +rule. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +ABOLITION OF LICENSED GAMBLING. + +BATON ROUGE--FLORIDA PARISHES--DISSATISFACTION--WHERE THERE'S A WILL, +THERE'S A WAY--STORMING A FORT ON HORSEBACK--ANNEXATION AT THE POINT +OF THE POKER--RAPHIGNAC AND LARRY MOORE--FIGHTING THE "TIGER"--CARRYING +A PRACTICAL JOKE TOO FAR--A SILVER TEA-SET. + + +That portion of Louisiana known as the Florida parishes, and consisting +of the parishes east of the Mississippi, was part of West Florida, and +was almost entirely settled by Americans when a Spanish province. Baton +Rouge, which takes its name from the flagstaff which stood in the +Spanish fort, and which was painted red, (_baton_ meaning stick, and +_rouge_, red, to Anglicize the name would make it red stick,) was the +seat of power for that part or portion of the province. Here was a +small Spanish garrison: on the opposite bank was Louisiana; New Orleans +was the natural market and outlet for the productions of these Florida +settlements. + +When the cession of Louisiana to the United States occurred, these +American settlers, desirous of returning to American rule, were +restless, and united in their dissatisfaction with Spanish control. +They could devise no plan by which this could be effected. Their people +reached back from the river, along the thirty-first degree of north +latitude, far into the interior, and extended thence to the lake +border. On three sides they were encompassed by an American population +and an American government. They had carried with them into this +country all their American habits, and all their love for American laws +and American freedom; to the east they were separated by an immense +stretch of barren pine-woods from any other settlements upon Spanish +soil. Pensacola was the seat of governmental authority, and this was +too far away to extend the feeble arm of Spanish rule over these +people. They were pretty much without legal government, save such laws +and rule as had been by common consent established. These were all +American in character, and, to all intents, this was an American +settlement, almost in the midst of an American government, and yet +without the protection of that or any other government. It was evident +that at no distant day the Floridas must fall into the hands of the +American Government. But there was to these people an immediate +necessity for their doing so at once. They could not wait. But, what +could they do? Among these people were many adventurous and determined +men: they had mostly emigrated from the West--Tennessee, Kentucky, +Western Pennsylvania, and Virginia; and some were the descendants of +those who had gone to the country from the South, in 1777 and '8, to +avoid the consequences of the Revolutionary War. This class of men met +in council, and secretly determined to revolutionize the country, take +possession of the Spanish fort, and ask American protection. + +They desired to be attached to Louisiana as a part of that State. This, +however, they could not effect without the consent of the State; and to +ask this consent was deemed useless, until they were first recognized +as part of the United States. In this dilemma, a veteran of the +Revolution, and an early pioneer to Kentucky, and thence to West +Florida, said: "'Wherever there is a will, there is a way:' we must +first get rid of the Spanish authority, and look out for what may +follow." + +They secretly assembled a small force, and, upon a concerted day, met +in secret, and under the cover of night approached the vicinity of the +fort. Here they lay _perdu_, and entirely unsuspected by the Spanish +Governor Gayoso. As day was approaching, they moved forward on +horseback, and entered the open gate of the fort, and demanded its +immediate surrender. The only opposition made to the assault was by +young Gayoso, the governor's son, who was instantly slain, when the +fort surrendered unconditionally. Perhaps this is the only instance in +the history of wars that a fort was ever stormed on horseback. Thomas, +Morgan, Moore, Johnson, and Kemper were the leaders in this enterprise. +They were completely successful, and the Spanish authorities were +without the means to subdue them to their duty as Spanish subjects. + +The next step in their action was now to be decided. If the Government +of the United States attempted their protection, it would be cause for +war with Spain; and it was deemed best to organize under the laws of +Louisiana, and ask annexation to that State. This was done. Members of +the Legislature were elected in obedience to the laws of this State, +and appeared at the meeting of that body, and asked to be admitted as +members representing the late Florida parishes, then, as they assumed, +a part and portion of the State. + +When asked by what authority they claimed to be a part of the State, +they answered, succinctly: "We have thrown off the Spanish yoke, and, +as free and independent Americans, have annexed ourselves and the +parishes we represent to this State, and claim as our right +representation in this Legislature: we have joined ourselves to you, +because it is our interest to do so, and yours, too; and we mean to be +accepted." At the head of this representation was Thomas, who was the +commander of the party capturing the fort; associated with him was +Larry Moore. Thomas came from the river parishes; Moore from those +contiguous to the lakes; both were Kentuckians, both illiterate, and +both determined men. They did not speak as suppliants for favors, but +as men demanding a right. They knew nothing of national law, and, +indeed, very little of any other law; but were men of strong common +sense, and clearly understood what was the interest of their people and +their own, and, if determination could accomplish it, they meant to +have it. + +There were in the Legislature, at the time, two men of strong minds, +well cultivated--Blanc and Raphignac; they represented the city, were +Frenchmen--not French Creoles, but natives of _la belle_ France. They +led the opposition to the admission of the Florida parishes as part of +the State, and their representatives as members of the Legislature. +They were acquainted with national law, and appreciated the comity of +nations, and were indisposed to such rash and informal measures as were +proposed by Thomas and Moore. The portion of the State bordering upon +this Spanish territory, and especially that part on the Mississippi, +were anxious for the admission and union; they were unwilling that +Spain should participate in the control and navigation of any part of +the river; and, being peaceable and law-abiding, they wanted such close +neighbors subject to the same government and laws. The influence of +Blanc and Raphignac was likely to carry the majority and reject the +application of the Floridans. + +The pertinacious opposition of these men inflamed to anger Moore and +Thomas. The matter, to them, was life or death. By some means they must +get under the American flag, and they saw the only preventive in these +two men. Moore (for it was a cold day when the decision was to be made) +was seen to place the iron poker in the fire, and leave it there. +Thomas was replying to Blanc in a most inflammatory and eloquent +address; for, though rude and unlettered, he was full of native +eloquence, and was very fluent: if he could not clothe his strong +thoughts in pure English, he could in words well understood and keenly +felt. They stimulated Moore almost to frenzy. + +At that critical moment Raphignac walked to the fireplace, where Moore +had remained sitting and listening to Thomas. Warm words were passing +between Thomas and Blanc, when suddenly Moore grasped the heated +poker--the end in the fire being at white heat--and calling to Thomas +with a stentorian voice, "General Thomas! you take that white-headed +French scoundrel, and I'll take blue-nose," and, brandishing his hot +poker over his head, he charged, as with the bayonet, pointing the +poker at the stomach of Raphignac. "_Tonnerre!_" exclaimed the +frightened Frenchman, and, lifting both hands, he fell back against the +wall. Moore still held the poker close to his stomach, as he called +aloud, "Take the question, General Thomas! We come here to be admitted, +and d--- me if we won't be, or this goes through your bread-basket, I +tell you, Mr. Raphy Blue-nose!" Raphignac was a tall, thin man, with a +terribly large bottled nose. At the end it was purple as the grape +which had caused it. The question was put, and the proposition was +carried, amid shouts of laughter. "Oh!" said Raphignac, as the poker +was withdrawn, and Moore with it, "vat a d--- ole savage is dat Larry +Moore!" Thus a part of West Florida became a part of Louisiana. + +From that day forward, many of these men became most prominent citizens +of the State. The son of Johnson--one of the leaders--became its +Governor. Thomas was frequently a member of the Legislature, and once a +member of Congress, from the Baton Rouge district, where he resided, +and where he now sleeps in an honored grave. Morgan and Moore were +frequently members of the Legislature. But of all the participants in +this affair, Thomas was most conspicuous and most remarkable. He was +almost entirely without education; but was gifted with great good +sense, a bold and honest soul, and a remarkable natural eloquence. His +manner was always natural and genial--never, under any circumstances, +embarrassed or affected; and in whatever company he was thrown, or +however much a stranger to the company, somehow he became the +conspicuous man in a short time. The character in his face, the flash +of his eye, the remarkable self-possession, the natural dignity of +deportment, and his great good sense, attracted, and won upon every +one. In all his transactions, he was the same plain, honest man--never, +under any circumstances, deviating from truth--plain, unvarnished +truth; rigidly stern in morals, but eminently charitable to the +shortcomings of others. He was, from childhood, reared in a new +country, amid rude, uncultivated people, and was a noble specimen of a +frontier man; without the amenities of cultivated life, or the polish +of education, yet with all the virtues of the Christian heart, and +these, perhaps, the more prominently, because of the absence of the +others. It was frequently remarked by him that he did not think +education would have been of any advantage to him. It enabled men, with +pretty words, to hide their thoughts, and deceive their fellow-men with +a grace and an ease he despised; and it might have acted so with him, +but it would have made him a worse and a more unhappy man. He now never +did or said anything that he was ashamed to think of. He did not want +to conceal his feelings and opinions, because he did not know how to do +it; and he was sure if he attempted it he should make a fool of +himself; for lies required so much dressing up in pretty words to make +them look like truth, that he should fail for want of words; and truth +was always prettiest when naked. In the main, the General was correct; +but there are some who lie with a _naivete_ so perfect that even he +would have deemed it truth naked and unadorned. + +Larry Moore was a different man, but quite as illiterate and bold as +Thomas, without his abilities; yet he was by no means devoid of mind. +He resided upon the lake border, in the flat pine country, where the +land is poor, and the people are ignorant and bigoted. Larry was far +from being bigoted, save in his politics. He had been a Jeffersonian +Democrat, he knew; but he did not know why. He lived off the road, and +did not take the papers. He knew Jefferson had bought Louisiana and her +people, and, as he understood, at seventy-five cents a head. He did not +complain of the bargain, though he thought, if old Tom had seen them +before the bargain was clinched, he would have hesitated to pay so +much. But, anyhow, he had given the country a free government and a +legislature of her own, and he was a Jefferson man, or Democrat, or +whatever you call his party. He had been sent to the Legislature, and +volunteered to meet the British under General Jackson. + +From Jefferson to Jackson he transferred all his devotion; because the +one bought, and the other fought for, the country. Some part of the +glory of the successful defence of New Orleans was his, for he had +fought for it, side by side with Old Hickory; and he loved him because +he had imprisoned Louallier and Hall. The one was a Frenchman, the +other an Englishman, and both were enemies of Jackson and the country. + +Now he adored General Jackson, and was a Jackson Democrat. He did not +know the meaning of the word, but he understood that it was the slogan +of the dominant party, and that General Jackson was the head of that +party. He knew he was a Jackson man, and felt whatever Jackson did was +right, and he would swear to it. He was courageous and independent; +feared no one nor anything; was always ready to serve a friend, or +fight an enemy--_a fist-fight_; was kind to his neighbors, and always +for the under dog in the fight. It would, after this, be supererogatory +to say he was popular with such a people as his neighbors and +constituents. Whenever he chose he was sent to the Senate by three +parishes, or to the House by one; and in the Legislature he was always +conspicuous. He knew the people he represented, and could say or do +what he pleased; and for any offence he might give, was ready to settle +with words, or a _fist-fight_. Physically powerful, he knew there were +but few who, in a rough-and-tumble, could compete with him; and when +his adversary yielded, he would give him his hand to aid him from the +ground, or to settle it amicably in words. "Any way to have peace," was +his motto. + +There was, however, a different way of doing things in New Orleans, +where the Legislature met. Gentlemen were not willing to wear a black +eye, or bruised face, from the hands or cudgels of ruffians. They had a +short way of terminating difficulties with them. A stiletto or +Derringer returned the blow, and the Charity Hospital or potter's field +had a new patient or victim. These were places for which Larry had no +special _penchant_, and in the city he was careful to avoid rows or +personal conflicts. He knew he was protected by the Constitution from +arrest, or responsibility for words uttered in debate, and this was all +he knew of the Constitution; yet he was afraid that for such words as +might be offensive he would be likely to meet some one who would seek +revenge in the night, and secretly. These responsibilities he chose to +shun, by guarding his tongue by day, and keeping his chamber at night. +Sometimes, however, in company with those whom he could trust, he would +visit, at night, Prado's or Hicks's saloon, and play a little, just for +amusement, with the "tiger." + +Now, in the heyday of Larry's political usefulness, gaming was a +licensed institution in the city of New Orleans. The magnificent +charity of the State, the Hospital for the Indigent, was sustained by +means derived from this tax. + +It was the enlightened policy of French legislation to tax a vice which +could not be suppressed by criminal laws. The experience of +civilization has, or ought to have taught every people, that the vice +of gaming is one which no law can reach so completely as to suppress +_in toto_. Then, if it will exist, disarm it as much as possible of the +power to harm--let it be taxed, and give the exclusive privilege to +game to those who pay the tax and keep houses for the purpose of +gaming. These will effectually suppress it. Everywhere else they are +entitled to the game, and will keep close watch that it runs into no +other net. Let this tax be appropriated to the support of an +institution where, in disease and indigence, its victims may find +support and relief. Make it public, that all may see and know its +_habitues_, and who may feel the reforming influence of public opinion. +For, at last, this is the only power by which the morals of a community +are preserved. Let laws punish crimes--public opinion reform vices. + +Larry was a lawmaker, and though he loved a little fun at times, even +at the expense of the law, he was very solicitous as to the health of +the public morals. In several visits at Prado's, he was successful in +plucking some of the hair from the tiger. It was exceedingly pleasant +to have a little pocket-change to evince his liberality socially with +his friends, when it did not trench upon the crop, which was always a +lean one on the sand-plains of St. Helena; for, like the great +Corsican, Larry had a desolate home in St. Helena. + +On one occasion, however, he went too close to the varmint, and +returned to his little dirty apartments on the Rue Rampart minus all +his gains, with a heavy instalment from the crop. His wonted spirits +were gone. He moped to the State House, and he sat melancholy in his +seat; he heeded not even the call of the yeas and nays upon important +legislation. Larry was sick at heart, sick in his pocket, and was only +seen to pluck up spirit enough to go to the warrant-clerk, and humbly +insist upon a warrant on the treasurer for a week's pay to meet a +week's board. On Monday, however, he came into the Senate with more +buoyancy of spirit than had been his wont for some days; for Larry was +a senator now, and had under his special charge and guardianship the +people and their morals of three extensive parishes. + +The Senate was scarcely organized and the minutes read, when it was +plain Larry meant mischief. The hour for motions had arrived, and Larry +was on his feet: he cleared his throat, and, throwing back his head, +said: "Mr. President, I have a motion in my hand, which I will read to +the Senate: + +"'_Resolved_, That a joint committee, of one from the Senate, and two +from the House, be appointed to report a bill abolishing licensed +gaming in the city of New Orleans.'" + +Larry had declared war, for he added, as he sent his resolution to the +clerk's desk: "At the proper time I mean to say something about these +damnable hells." Throughout the city there was a buzz; for at that time +New Orleans had not the fourth of her present population. Any move of +this sort was soon known to its very extremes. The trustees of the +hospital, the stockholders in these licensed faro-banks--for they were, +like all robbing-machines, joint-stock companies--and many who honestly +believed this the best system to prevent gaming as far as possible, +were seen hanging about the lobbies of the Legislature. Each had his +argument in favor of continuing the license, but all were based upon +the same motive--interest. The public morals would be greatly injured, +instead of being improved; where there were only four gaming +establishments, there would be fifty; instead of being open and public, +they would be hid away in private, dark places, to which the young and +the innocent would be decoyed and fleeced; merchants could not +supervise the conduct of their clerks--these would be robbed by their +employes. As the thing stood now, cheating operated a forfeiture of +charter or license: this penalty removed, cheating would be universal. +"What would become of the hospital?" the tax-payer asked. "God knows, +our taxes are onerous enough now, and to add to these the eighty +thousand dollars now paid by the gamblers--why, the people would not +stand it, and this great and glorious charity would be destroyed." + +To all of these arguments Larry was deaf; his constituents expected it +of him; the Christian Church demanded it. They were responsible to +Heaven for this great sin. The pious prayers of the good sisters of the +holy Methodist Church, as well as those of the Baptist, had at last +reached the ears of the Almighty, and he, Larry, felt himself the +instrument in His hands to put down the _d----d infernal sons of +b----_, who were robbing the innocent and unsuspecting. + +There was no use of urging arguments of this sort to him: if the +Charity Hospital fell, _let_ her fall, and if the indigent afflicted +could not find relief elsewhere, why, they must die--they had to die +anyhow at some time, and he didn't see much use in their living, +anyhow; and as for the taxes, he was not much concerned about that: he +had but little to be taxed, and his constituents had less. "I, or they, +as you see, are not very responsible on that score. By the God of +Moses, this licensed gambling was a sin and a curse, if it did support +seven or eight thousand people in the Charity Hospital every year: that +was the reason so many died there, the curse of God was on the place; +for the Scripture says, the 'wages of sin is death,' and I see this +Scripture fulfilled right here in that hospital, and the moral and +religious portion of my constituents so feel it, and I am bound to +represent them. And the d----d gamblers were no friends of mine or of +the Church." + +There was one, a little dark-moustached Spaniard, who was listening and +peering at him, with eyes black and pointed as a chincapin, and, +murmuring softly in Spanish, turned and went away. "What did that +d----d black-muzzled whelp say?" Larry asked. "I don't understand their +d----d lingo." An unobtrusive individual in the background translated +it for him. He said: "He who strikes with the tongue, should always be +ready to guard with the hands!" "What in the h--- does he mean by +that?" asked Larry. "_Je ne sais pas!_" said one whom Larry remembered +to have seen in the tiger's den, and apparently familiar there, for he +had been on the wrong side of the table. + +"I suppose they mean to shoot me." The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders +most knowingly. Larry grew pale, and walked from the lobby to his seat. +Here he knew he was safe. He laid his head in his palm, and rested it +there for many minutes. At last, he said sharply: "Let them shoot, and +be d----d." + +The committee was announced. Larry, who was the chairman, and two from +the House, constituted this important committee. One of these loved +fun, and never lost an opportunity to have it. The meeting of the +committee soon took place, and the chairman insisted that the first +named on the part of the House should draft the bill. This was the wag. +He saw Larry was frightened, and peremptorily refused, declaring it was +the chairman's duty. "I do not wish to have anything to do with this +matter any way. It was a very useless thing, and foolish too, to be +throwing a cat into a bee-gum; for this was nothing else. This bill +will start every devil of those little moustached foreigners into fury: +they are all interested in these faro-banks. It is their only way of +making a living, and they are as vindictive as the devil. Any of them +can throw a Spanish knife through a window, across the street, and into +a man's heart, seated at his table, or fireside; and to-day I heard one +of them say, in French, which he supposed I did not understand, that +this bill was nothing but revenge for money lost; and if revenge was so +sweet, why, he could taste it too. Now, I have lost no money +there--have never been in any of their dens, and he could not mean me." + +"Gentlemen, we will adjourn this meeting until to-morrow," said Larry, +"when I will try and have a bill for your inspection." The morrow came, +and the bill came with it, and was reported and referred to the +committee of the whole House. On the ensuing morning, Larry found upon +his desk, in the Senate chamber, the following epistle: + + "MR. LARRY MOORE: You have no shame, or I would expose you in the + public prints. You know your only reason for offering a bill to + repeal the law licensing gaming in this city is to be revenged on + the house which won honorably from you a few hundred dollars, most + of which you had, at several sittings, won from the same house. + Now, you have been talked to; still you persist. There is a way to + reach you, and it shall be resorted to, if you do not desist from + the further prosecution of this bill." + +The hand in which this epistle was written was cramped and evidently +disguised, to create the impression of earnestness and secrecy. It was +a long time before Larry could spell through it. When he had made it +out, he rose to a question of order and privilege, and sent the +missive to the secretary's desk, to be read to the Senate. During the +reading there was quite a disposition to laugh, on the part of many +senators, who saw in it nothing but a joke. + +"What in the h--- do you see in that thar document to laugh at, Mr. +Senators? D--- it, don't you see it is a threat, sirs!--a threat to +'sassinate me? I want to know, by the eternal gods, if a senator in +this house--this here body--is to be threatened in this here way? You +see, Mr. President, that these here gamblers (d--- 'em!) want to rule +the State. Was that what General Jackson fit the battle of New Orleans +for, down yonder in old Chemut's field? I was thar, sir; I risked my +life in that great battle, and I want to tell these d----d scoundrels +that they can't scare me--no, by the Eternal!" + +"I must call the senator to order. It is not parliamentary to swear in +debate," said the President of the Senate. + +"I beg pardon of the chair; but I didn't know this Senate was a +parliament before; but I beg pardon. I didn't know I swore before; +but, Mr. President, I'll be d----d if this ain't a figure beyant me: +for a parcel of scoundrels--d----d blacklegs, sir!--to threaten a +senator in this Legislature with 'sassination, for doin' the will of +his constituents." + +"The chair would remind the senator that there is no question or +motion before the Senate." + +"Thar ain't? Well, that's another wrinkle. Ain't that thar hell-fired +letter to me, sir--a senator, sir, representing three parishes, +sir--before this House? (or maybe you'll want me to call it a +parliament, sir?) It is, sir; and I move its adoption." + +This excited a general laugh, and, at the same time, the ire of Moore. + +"By G--, sir; I don't know if it wouldn't benefit the State if these +hell-fired gamblers were to 'sassinate the whole of this House or +parliament." + +The laugh continued, and Moore left the Senate in a rage. + +The next morning found a second epistle, apparently from a different +source, on Moore's table. It was written in a fine, bold hand, and +said: + + "LARRY: You splurged largely over a letter found on your desk + yesterday. I see you have carried it to the newspapers. I want you + to understand distinctly and without equivocation, if the bill you + reported to the Senate becomes a law, _you die. Verbum sapientis_." + +Larry had not returned to his seat during the day; but the next +morning he came in, flanked by several senators, who had come with him +from his quarters. There lay the threatening document, sealed, and +directed to the "Honorable Larry Moore." In a moment the seal was +broken. This he could read without much trouble. After casting his +eyes over it, he read it aloud. + +"Now, sir, Mr. President, here is another of these d----d letters, and +this time I am told if this bill passes, I am to die. Maybe you'll say +this ain't before the Senate." + +"The chair would remind the senator that the simple reading of a +private letter to the Senate raises no question. There must be a +motion in relation to what disposition shall be made of the paper." + +"I know that, sir. Mr. President, I'm not a greeny in legislator +matters. I have been here before, sir; and didn't I move its adoption +yesterday, sir? and wasn't I laughed out of the house, sir? and I +expect if I was to make the same motion, I should be laughed out of +the house again, sir. Some men are such d----d fools that they will +laugh at anything." + +"The chair must admonish the senator that oaths are not in order." + +"Well, by G--, sir, is my motion in order to-day? I want to know; I +want you to tell me that." + +"Order, Mr. Senator!" + +"Yes, sir, 'order!' Mr. President, that's the word. Order, sir; is my +motion in order, sir?" + +"The chair calls the senator to order." + +"Ah! that is it, is it? Well, sir, what order shall I take? I ask a +question, and the chair calls me to order. Well, sir, I'm in only +tolerable order, but I want my question answered--I want to know if +I'm to be threatened with 'sassination by the hell-fired gamblers, and +then laughed at by senators for bringing it before the Senate, and +insulted by you, sir, by calling me to order for demanding my rights, +and the rights of my constituents, here, from this Senate? This, sir, +is a d----d pretty situation of affairs. If General Jackson was in +your place, I'd have my rights, and these d----d gamblers would get +theirs, sir: he would hang them under the second section, and no +mistake." + +The laugh was renewed, and the President asked Larry if he had any +motion to make. + +"Yes, sir," said Larry, now thoroughly aroused. "I move this Senate +adjourn and go home, and thar stay until they larn to behave like +gentlemen, by G--!" and away he went in angry fury. + +For four consecutive days, this scene was enacted in the Senate. Each +succeeding day saw Moore more and more excited, and the Senate began +to entertain the opinion that there was an intention to intimidate the +Legislature, and thus prevent the passage of the bill. These daily +missives grew more and more threatening, and terror began to usurp the +place of rage with Moore. He would not leave the Senate chamber or his +quarters without being accompanied by friends. In the mean time the +bill came up, and Moore had made a characteristic speech, and the +morning following there were half a dozen letters placed upon his +table from the post-office. Their threats and warnings increased his +alarm. Some of these purported to come from friends, detailing +conversations of diabolical character which had been overheard--others +told him only an opportunity was wanting to execute the threats +previously made. + +The city became excited--a public meeting was called, strong +indignation resolutions were passed, and highly approbatory ones of +the course and conduct of the intrepid senator, pledging him +countenance and support. A subscription was taken up, and a splendid +silver tea-set was presented him, and in this blaze of excitement the +bill became a law--and the city one extended gambling-shop. The silver +set was publicly exhibited, with the name of the senator engraved upon +it, and the cause for presenting it, and by whom presented. + +Moore was contemplating this beautiful gift with a group of friends: +among them were the three individuals who had been the authors of all +this mischief, when one of them asked Moore, "Where will you put this +rich gift? It will show badly in your pine-pole cabin." + +"I intend having the cabin, every log of it, painted red as +lightning," said Moore. "The silver shan't be disgraced." + +Originally it had been intended by those getting up the joke, when it +had sufficiently frightened Moore, to laugh at him; but it took too +serious a turn, and Moore died a hero, not knowing that every letter +was written by the same hand, and that the whole matter was a +practical joke. All, save only one, who participated in it, are in the +grave, and only a few remain who will remember it. + +Larry Moore was a Kentuckian by birth, and had many Kentucky +characteristics. He was boisterous but kind-hearted, boastful and good +at a fist-fight, decently honest in most matters, but would cheat in a +horse-trade. Early education is sometimes greatly at fault in its +inculcations, and this was, in Moore's case, peculiarly so. Had he not +been born in Kentucky, these jockey tricks perhaps would not have been +a part of his accomplishments. For there, it is said, no boy is +permitted to leave home on a horse enterprise until he has cheated his +father in a horse-trade. Moore left the State so young that it was by +some doubted whether this trait was innate or acquired; but it always +distinguished him, as a Kentuckian by birth at least. + +He was remarkable for the tenacity of his friendships. He would not +desert any one. It was immaterial what was the character of the man, +if he served Moore, Moore was his friend, and he would cling quite as +close to one in the penitentiary as in the halls of Congress. It made +no difference whether he wore cloth or cottonade, lived in a palace or +pine-pole cabin, whether honest or a thief, the touchstone to his +heart was, "He is my friend, and I am at his service." Not only in +this, but in everything else, he strove to imitate his great friend +and prototype, General Jackson. He lived to be an old man, and among +his constituents he was great, and made his mark in his day in the +State. There was some fun in Larry, but he was the cause of much more +in others. Larry, rest in peace, and light be the sand that lies on +your coffin! + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +THREE GREAT JUDGES. + +A SPEECH IN TWO LANGUAGES--LONG SESSIONS--MATTHEWS, MARTIN, AND PORTER +--A SINGULAR WILL--A SCION OF '98--FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A LITTLE +FUN WITH THE DOGS--CANCELLING A NOTE. + + +The Legislature of Louisiana, forty years ago, sat in New Orleans, and +was constituted of men of varied nationalities. It was common to see +in close union, Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Englishmen, and +Americans, with here and there a Scotchman, with his boat-shaped head +and hard common sense. The Creole-French and the Americans, however, +constituted the great majority of the body. + +When the cession to the United States took place, and the colony soon +after was made a State of the Union, the Constitution required all +judicial and legislative proceedings to be conducted in English, which +was the legal language. But as very few of the ancient population +could speak or read English, it was obligatory on the authorities to +have everything translated into French. All legislative and judicial +proceedings, consequently, were in two languages. This imposed the +necessity of having a clerk or translator, who could not only +translate from the records, but who could retain a two-hours' speech +in either language, and, immediately upon the speaker's concluding, +repeat it in the opposite language. + +This complicated method of procedure consumed much time, and +consequently the sessions of the Legislature were protracted usually +for three months, and sometimes four. + +This fact caused many planters, whose business called them frequently +to the city during the winter, to become members of the Legislature. +At this time, too, representation was based on taxation, and the +suffragist was he who paid a tax to the State. The revenues of the +State were from taxation, and these taxes were levied alone upon +property. There were no poll taxes, and very few articles except land, +negroes, and merchandise were taxed. The consequence was, the +government was in the hands of the property-holders only. + +The constituency was of a better order than is usually furnished by +universal suffrage, and the representation was of a much more elevated +character than generally represents such a constituency. + +Party spirit, at that time, had made little progress in dividing the +people of the State, and the gentlemen representatives met cordially, +and constituted an undivided society. There was no division of +interest between different sections of the State, and the general good +was consulted by all. The Legislature was then composed of substantial +men. The seat of government being in the city, and the sessions held +during the winter and spring months, men of business, and especially +professional men, might represent the city constituency, and yet give +a good portion of their time to their usual avocations. + +Good laws were the consequence; and the Bench being filled by +executive appointment, with the consent of the Senate, and their +tenure of office being for life or good behavior, insured the +selection of proper men for judges. The Supreme Court was composed at +that time of three judges, Matthews, Martin, and Porter. Matthews was +a Georgian by birth, Martin was a native of France, and Porter an +Irishman: all of these were remarkable men, and each in his own +history illustrative of what energy and application will effect for +men, when properly applied in youth. + +Chief-Justice George Matthews was the son of that very remarkable man, +Governor George Matthews, of the State of Georgia. He was born in +Oglethorpe County, Georgia, and received only such education as at +that time could be obtained in the common country schools of the +State. He read law in early life, and was admitted to the Bar of his +native State. His father was Governor of the State at the time of the +passage of the celebrated Yazoo Act, alienating more than half of the +territory of the State. + +This act was secured from the Legislature by corruption of the boldest +and most infamous character. Governor Matthews was only suspected of +complicity in this transaction from the fact that he signed the bill +as governor. His general character was too pure to allow of suspicion +attaching to him of corruption in the discharge of the duties of his +office of governor. + +At the period of passing this act, the United States Government was +new. The States, under their constitutions, were hardly working +smoothly; the entire system was experimental. The universal opinion +that the people were sovereign, and that it was the duty of every +public officer to yield obedience to the will of the majority, clearly +expressed, operated strongly upon the Executives of the States, and +very few, then, attempted to impose a veto upon any act of the +Legislatures of the different States. Tradition represents Governor +Matthews as opposed individually to the act, but he did not feel +himself justified in interposing a veto simply upon his individual +opinion of the policy or propriety of the measure, especially when he +was assured in his own mind that the Legislature had not transcended +their constitutional powers; and this opinion was sustained as correct +by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Fletcher +_vs._ Peck. + +The great unpopularity of the transaction involved the Governor and +his family. Men excited almost to frenzy, never stay to reflect, but +madly go forward, and, in attempts to right great wrongs, commit +others, perhaps quite as great as those they are seeking to remedy. +Governor Matthews, despite his Revolutionary services and his high +character for honesty and moral worth, never recovered from the +effects of this frenzy which seized upon the people of the State, and +is the only one of the early Governors of the State who has remained +unhonored by the refusal of the Legislature, up to this day, to call +or name a county for him. This unpopularity was keenly felt by the +children of Matthews, who were men of great worth. + +William H. Crawford was at this time filling a large space in the +public confidence of the people of Georgia, and gave to Governor +Matthews his confidence and friendship. It was he who persuaded George +Matthews, the son, to emigrate to Louisiana. He frankly told him this +unpopularity of his father would weigh heavily upon him through life, +if he remained in Georgia. "You have talents, George," said he, "and, +what is quite as important to success in life, common sense, with +great energy: these may pull you through here, but you will be old +before you will reap anything from their exercise in your native +State. These prejudices against your father may die out, but not +before most of those who have participated in them shall have passed +away: truth will ultimately triumph, but it will be when your father +is in the grave, and you gray with years. To bear and brave this may +be heroic, but very unprofitable. I think I have influence enough with +the President to secure an appointment in Louisiana--probably the +judgeship of the Territory, or one of them." + +Matthews feared his qualifications for such an appointment, and so +expressed himself to Crawford. The civil law was the law of Louisiana, +and he was entirely unacquainted with this. Crawford's reply was +eminently characteristic. The great principles of all laws are the +same. Their object is to enforce the right, and maintain impartial +justice between man and man. In hearing a case, a judge of good common +sense will generally find out the justice of the matter. Let him +decide right, and do substantial justice, and he will, ninety-nine +times out of one hundred, decide according to law, whether he knows +anything about the law or not. And such a judge is always best for a +new country, or, in truth, for any country. The appointment was +secured, and George Matthews left his native State forever. + +Soon after reaching Louisiana, he married Miss Flower, of West +Feliciana--a lady in every way suited to him. She was of fine family, +with strong mind, domestic habits, and full of energy. They were very +much attached to each other, and were happy and prosperous through all +the life of the great judge. Mrs. Matthews still lives, and in the +immediate neighborhood of her birthplace, and is now active, useful, +and beloved by all who know her, though extremely old. + +When the Territory was organized into a State under the Constitution, +Matthews was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court by Governor +Claiborne--an office he held through life, and the duties of which he +discharged with distinguished ability, and to the honor of the State +and the entire satisfaction of the Bar and the people. + +The mind of Judge Matthews was strong and methodical. His general +character largely partook of the character of his mind. He steadily +pursued a fixed purpose, and was prudent, cautious, and considerate in +all he did. There was no speculation in his mind. He jumped to no +conclusions; but examined well and profoundly every question--weighed +well every argument; but he never forgot the advice of Mr. Crawford, +and sometimes would strain a point in order to effect strict and +substantial justice. As a judge, he was peculiarly cautious. However +intricate was any case, he bent to it his whole mind, and the great +effort was always to learn the right--to sift from it all the verbiage +and ambiguity which surrounded and obscured it, and then to sustain it +in his decision. Upright and sincere in his pursuits, methodical, with +fixity of purpose, he was never in a hurry about anything, and was +always content, in his business, with moderate profits as the reward +of his labor. As a companion, he was gentle, kind, and eminently +social; but he gave little time to social entertainments or light +amusements. In his decisions as a judge, he established upon a firm +basis the laws, and the enlightened exposition of these, in their true +spirit. A foundation was given to the jurisprudence of the State by +this court, which entitles it justly to the appellation of the Supreme +Court, and to the gratitude of the people of the State. + +The life of Judge George Matthews was one of peculiar usefulness. +Learned and pure as a judge, moral and upright as a citizen, +affectionate and gentle as a husband and father, and humane and +indulgent as a master, his example as a man was one to be recommended +to every young man. Its influence upon society was prominently +beneficial, and was an exemplification of moral honesty, perseverance, +and success. He won a proud name as a man and as a jurist, and +accumulated a large fortune, without ever trenching upon the rights of +another. He secured the confidence and affection of every member of +his wife's family--a very extensive one--and was the benefactor of +most of them. He was beloved and honored by all his neighbors, through +a long life. In his public duties and his private relations he never +had an imputation cast upon his conduct, and he died without an enemy. + +Francois Xavier Martin was a native of France. In early life he +emigrated to the United States, and fixed his residence at Newbern, +North Carolina. He was poor, and without a trade or profession by +which to sustain himself, or to push his fortunes in a strange land. +He labored under another exceedingly great obstacle to success: though +pretty well educated, he could not speak the English language. But he +had a proud spirit and an indomitable will. He sought employment as a +printer, choosing this as a means of learning the English language. +Though he had never fingered a type in his life, he had that +confidence in himself which inspired the conviction that he could +overcome any difficulty presenting itself between his will and +success. + +He found the editor of the newspaper kind, and apparently indifferent; +for he asked no questions relative to his qualifications as a printer, +but, requiring help, gave him immediate employment. He went to +work--was very slow, but very assiduous and constant, never leaving +his stand until he had completed his work. There was a compositor near +him, and he watched and learned without asking questions. Owing to the +little English he knew, no questions were asked; but it was observed +in the office that he was rapidly improving in this, and in the +facility of doing his work. The paper was a weekly one, consequently +he had ample time for his work, and he improved every moment. The many +mistakes he made in the beginning were attributed to his ignorance of +the language, and it was not until he became the most expert +compositor in the office that it was known that he had never, until he +entered this office, been in a printing-office. He was so abstemious +in his habits that those about the office wondered how he lived. He +rarely left the composing-room, and, in his moments of rest from his +work, was employed in studying the language, or reading some English +author. A bit of cheese, a loaf of bread, some dried fish, and a cup +of coffee constituted his bill of fare for every day, and these were +economically used. He never spoke of home, of previous pursuits, or +future intentions. He held communion with no one--his own thoughts +being his only companions--but steadily persevered in his business. +No amusements attracted him. He was never at any place of public +resort. He was the talk of the town, though none had seen him unless +they visited the little, dirty, inky office in which he was employed. +He never seemed to know he was an object of curiosity, and when--as +sometimes was the case--half a dozen persons would come expressly to +see him, he never turned his head from his work, or seemed to be +conscious of their presence. + +In this office his progress was very rapid, and it was not very long +before he became the foreman in the composing-room. He continued in +that capacity until he became the owner of the entire establishment. + +Not content with the life of a printer, he disposed of his printing +establishment and paper, and came to New Orleans. Before leaving +France he had read some law, and now he applied himself closely to its +study. In a short time he rose to distinction, and was in a lucrative +practice. It was a maxim with Judge Martin never to be idle, and never +to expend time or money uselessly. He found time from his professional +duties to write a history of Louisiana, which is, perhaps, more +correct in its facts than any history ever written. + +Early deprivations, and the necessity of a most rigid economy to meet +the exigencies of this straitened condition, created habits of +abstinence and saving which he never gave up. On the contrary, like +all habits long indulged, they became stronger and more obdurate as +life advanced. Before his elevation to the supreme Bench, he had +accumulated a fortune of at least one hundred thousand dollars, which +he had judiciously invested in the city of New Orleans. The tenure of +his office was for life, and his ambition never aspired to anything +beyond; but he devoted himself to the duties of this with the +assiduity of one determined, not only to know, but faithfully to +discharge them. Judge Martin was conscientious in all that he did as a +man, and remarkably scrupulous as a judge. He was unwilling to hasten +his judgments, and sometimes was accused of tardiness in rendering +them. This resulted from the great care exercised in examining the +merits of the case, and to make himself sure of the law applicable to +it. + +The peculiar organization of the Supreme Court of Louisiana imposes +immense labor upon the judges; they are not only charged with the duty +of correcting errors of law, but the examination of all the facts and +all the testimony introduced in the trials in the District Court. In +truth, the case comes up _de novo_, and is reviewed as from the +beginning, and a judgment made up without regard to the proceedings +below further than to determine from the record of facts and law sent +up, holding in all cases jurisdiction as well of facts as law--and in +truth it is nothing more than a high court of chancery. + +Judge Martin was fond of labor, but did not like to do the same labor +twice; hence his particularity in examining well both facts and law, +in every case submitted for his adjudication. He wished the law +permanently established applicable to every case, and disliked nothing +so much as being compelled to overrule any previous decision of the +Supreme Court. His mind was eminently judicial; its clear perceptions +and analytical powers peculiarly fitted him for the position of +supreme judge. But there was another trait of character, quite as +necessary to the incumbent of the Bench, for which he was altogether +as much distinguished. He was without prejudice, and only knew men +before his court as parties litigant. It was said of him, by John R. +Grymes, a distinguished lawyer of New Orleans, that he was better +fitted by nature for a judge than any man who ever graced the Bench. +"He was all head, and no heart." + +This was severely said, and to some extent it was true, for Judge +Martin appeared without sympathy for the world, or any of the world. +He had no social habits; he lived in seclusion with his servant Ben, a +venerable negro, who served him for all purposes. These two had been +so long and so intimately associated, that in habits and want of +feeling they seemed identical. Ben served him because he was his +master and could compel it. He tolerated Ben because he could not well +do without him. He kept an interest account with Ben. He had paid for +him six hundred dollars, when first purchased. Ten per cent, upon this +amount was sixty dollars. His insurance upon a life policy, which risk +he took himself, was one hundred dollars. His services were regularly +valued by what such a man would hire for. Ben accompanied him on the +circuit, and died at Alexandria. When this was told him, he +immediately referred to this account, and declared he had saved money +by buying Ben, but should be loser if he paid his funeral expenses, +which he declined to do. Judge Martin was very near-sighted, and it +was amusing to see him with his little basket doing his marketing, +examining scrupulously every article, cheapening everything, and +finally taking the refuse of meats and vegetables, rarely expending +more than thirty cents for the day's provisions. His penurious habits +seemed natural: they had characterized him from the moment he came to +the United States, and were then so complete as not to be intensified +by age and experience. For many years, he had no relative in this +country, and he created no relations, outside of his business, with +the community in which he lived. His antisocial nature and his +miserable manner of living kept every one from him. Secluded, and +studious in his habits, he never seemed solitary, for his books and +papers occupied his entire time. His thirst for knowledge was coequal +with his thirst for money--and why, no one could tell. He never made a +display of the one, or any use of the other but to beget money. There +seemed an innate love for both, and an equal disposition to husband +both. He seemed to have no ulterior view in hoarding--he endowed no +charity, nor sought the world's praise in the grave, by building a +church or endowing a hospital. With mankind, his only relations were +professional. He never married, and had no taste for female +society--was never known to attend a ball or private party, to unite +himself with any society, or be at a public meeting--never indulged in +a joke or frivolous conversation, and had no use for words unless to +expound law or conclude a contract; strictly punctual to every +engagement, but exceedingly chary in making any. + +As Judge Martin advanced in years, his habits became more and more +secluded. He had written for a brother, who came to him from France. +This brother was quite as peculiar as himself--they lived together, +and he in a great degree substituted Ben, at least so far as society +was concerned. Now he was rarely seen upon the street, or mingling +with any, save an occasional visit to some member of the Bar, who, +like himself, had grown old in the harness of the law. During the +early period of the State Government he reported the decisions of the +Supreme Court: these reports are models, and of high authority in the +courts of Louisiana. + +Judge Martin's mind was one of peculiar lucidity and extraordinary +vigor; its capacity to acquire, analyze, and apply was quite equal to +that of the great Marshall; its power of condensation was superior to +either of his compeers, while its capacity for application was never +surpassed. It had been trained to close and continuous thought, and so +long had this habit been indulged that it had become nature with him. +His phlegmatic temperament relieved him from anything like +impulsiveness in thought or action; all work with him was +considerately approached and assiduously performed. His habits were +temperate to austerity, and his mode of life penuriously mean; but, as +said of another judge, this may have been the result of habit growing +from extreme necessity--though the same characteristics were +conspicuous in his brother: like the Judge, he was unmarried, and, +though but little younger, was always spoken to and spoken of as his +boy-brother. Like his confrere, he remained upon the Bench until he +died, which was in extreme old age. + +It has been asserted by some that Judge Martin soiled his reputation +in his will. It was a very simple and brief will, giving all he +possessed to his brother, and was autographic--that is, written in his +own hand, and signed, dated, and sealed up, and upon the back of the +document written, "This is my autographic will," and this signed with +his own proper hand. Such a will is almost impervious to attack under +the laws of Louisiana. + +The law of Louisiana levies a tax of ten per cent, upon all estates or +legacies made to leave the State for foreign countries. The brother of +Judge Martin, as soon as his will was administered and the proceeds of +his estate were in hand, left the United States for France, carrying +with him three hundred thousand dollars, the entire amount of which +the Judge died possessed; and it was subsequently ascertained that he +had left written instructions with his brother to dispose among his +European relatives this sum in obedience to this secret letter of +instructions. This was considered as his will proper; and it was +contended that the transaction was a fraud, to deprive the State of +the legal percentage upon the amount going out of the country. An +attempt was made to recover this amount from his executor, but failed; +and the attorney for the State was rebuked by the Supreme Court for +attempting an imputation dishonorable to the character of the deceased +Judge--a legacy bequeathed to the State, in the distinguished services +rendered to her by him and through so many years of his life. The +facts are as stated. It is true, the will was a clear bequest of all +his estate to his brother, a resident of the State, and the memorandum +a mere request, and this might have been destroyed or disobeyed with +impunity. The will alone was the authoritative disposition of his +estate; the brother claimed under this, and the property once in his +possession, it was his to dispose of at pleasure. + +The death of Judge Martin was regretted by every one as a serious loss +to the State, though he had attained very nearly to the age of +fourscore. He had failed, from the entire want of social and +sympathetic attributes in the composition of his nature, to fasten +himself upon the affections of any one, though he commanded the +respect of all for the high qualities of his intellect, his public +services, and the consistent honesty of his life. He was followed to +the grave by the entire Bench and Bar, and most of the distinguished +people of his adopted city. But I doubt if a tear was shed at his +funeral. He was without the ties in life which, sundered by death, +wring tears and grief from the living who loved and who have lost the +endeared one. All that the head could give, he had--the heart denied +him all: in life he had given it to no one, and his death had touched +no heart; and no tear embalmed his bier, no flower planted by +affection's hand blooms about his grave. Still he has left an +imperishable monument to his fame in his judicial career. + +Alexander Porter, the junior by many years of Matthews and Martin, his +associates on the Bench, was an Irishman by birth, and came in very +early life to the United States. He was the son of an Irish +Presbyterian minister of remarkable abilities and great learning. As a +chemist, he was only inferior to Sir Humphrey Davy, of his day. During +the troubles of 1798, (since known as the rebellion of '98,) he was +travelling and delivering lectures upon chemistry through Ireland. He +fell under suspicion as being an emissary of the Society of United +Irishmen, who was covering, under the character of a scientific +lecturer, his real mission to stir up and unite the Irish people in +aid of the views of those who were organizing the rebellion. To be +suspected was to be arrested, and to be arrested was wellnigh +equivalent to being executed--sometimes with the mockery of a trial, +and, where evidence was wanting to fix suspicion, even by drum-head +court-martial. This latter was the fate of the accomplished and +learned Porter. The wrath of the Government visited his family. The +brother of the sufferer collected his own and the children of his +murdered brother, consisting of two sons and several daughters, and +emigrated to America. A number of emigrants from their immediate +neighborhood had selected Nashville, Tennessee, as a home in the New +World, and thither he came. + +The education of Alexander, the eldest of the sons, had progressed +considerably in Ireland, and was continued for some years at +Nashville. Being poor, he was compelled to employ some of his time in +pursuits foreign to study, in order to supply him with the means of +pursuing the latter. This education was irregular, but was the +foundation of that which in maturer life was most complete. He studied +law when quite young, intending at first to remain at Nashville. The +competition at the Bar in that place was formidable, and he could not +hope to succeed as his ambition prompted, without patient application +for years. Louisiana had just been ceded to the United States, +Mississippi was filling with population: both these Territories would +soon be States. Already they were inviting fields for enterprise and +talent, and soon to be more so. Pondering these facts in his ardent +mind, and riding alone on one occasion to a justice's court in the +country to attend to some trifling matter, he chanced to overtake +General Jackson. He had been frequently importuned by Jackson to +remove to Louisiana. Jackson was, to some extent, familiar with the +country, had frequently visited it, and at that time was interested in +a retail store at Bruensburg, a place situated at the mouth of the +Bayou Pierre, immediately on the bank of the Mississippi River. +Mentioning his wish to emigrate to some point or place where he might +expect more speedy success in his profession, Jackson, with his +accustomed ardor and emphasis, advised him to go to one of these new +Territories, and in such colors did he paint their advantages and the +certain and immediate success of any young man of abilities and +industry, that Porter's imagination was fired, and he immediately +determined to go at once to one of these El Dorados--there to fix his +home and commence the strife with fortune, to coax or command her +approving smiles. Returning to Nashville, he communicated his +intentions to his uncle; they met his approval, and in a short time he +was ready to leave in search of a new home. + +He was about to leave every friend, to find his home in the midst of +strangers, without even an acquaintance to welcome and encourage him. +But he was young, vigorous, and hopeful; alive, too, to all he had to +encounter, and determined to conquer it. Still, to one of his natural +warmth of feeling, the parting from all he had ever known, and all on +earth he loved, wrung his heart, and he lingered, dreading the parting +that was to come. His kind and devoted uncle, his brothers he loved so +tenderly, his sisters, and the friends he had made, all were to be +left--and perhaps forever. There were then no steamers to navigate the +waters of the West. He might float away, and rapidly, to his new home; +but to return through the wilderness, filled with savages and beset +with dangers, was a long and hazardous journey, and would require, not +only time, but means, neither of which were at his command. + +He met General Jackson again. "What!" said he, "Alick, not gone yet? +This won't do. When you determine, act quickly; somebody may get in +before you. And remember, Alick, you are going to a new country--and a +country, too, where men fight. You will find a different people from +those you have grown among, and you must study their natures, and +accommodate yourself to them. If you go to Louisiana, you will find +nearly all the people French; they are high-minded, and fight at the +drop of a hat; and now let me tell you, it is always best to avoid a +fight; but sometimes it can't be done, and then a man must stand up to +it like a man. But let me tell you, Alick, there are not half the men +who want to fight that pretend to; you can tell this by their +blustering. Now, when you find one of these, and they are mighty +common, just stand right up to him, and always appear to get madder +than he does--look him right in the eye all the time; but remember to +keep cool, for sometimes a blusterer will fight; so keep cool, and be +ready for anything. But, Alick, the best way of all is to fight the +first man that offers, and do it in such a way as to let everybody +know you will fight, and you will not be much bothered after that. +Now, Alick, you will hear a great deal of preaching against +fighting--well, that is all right; but I tell you the best preacher +among them all loves a man who will fight, a thousand times more than +he does a coward who won't. All the world respects a brave man, +because all the better qualities of human nature accompany courage. A +brave man is an honest man; he is a good husband, a good neighbor, and +a true friend. You never saw a true woman who did not love a brave +man. And now do you be off at once, look for a good place, and when +you stop, stop to stay; and let all you say and all you do look to +your advantage in the future." + +Long years after this parting scene, and when Porter had become a +national man, he used to love to recount this conversation to his +friends, and the impression it created upon his mind of the wonderful +man who had so freely advised him. + +When Porter came, he explored the entire country, and selected for his +home Opelousas, the seat of justice for the parish of St. Landry. To +reach this point from New Orleans, at that time, required no ordinary +exertion. He came first to Donaldsonville, where he hired a man to +bring him in a small skiff to the courthouse of the parish of +Assumption. There he employed another to transport him through the +Verret Canal to the lakes, and on through these to Marie Jose's +landing, in Attakapas; then another was engaged to take him up the +Teche to St. Martinsville, and from there he went by land to +Opelousas. This route is nearly three hundred miles. + +The banks of the Teche he found densely populated with a people +altogether different in appearance, and speaking a language scarcely +one word of which he understood, and in everything different from +anything he had ever before seen: added to this, he found them +distrustful, inhospitable, and hating the Americans, to whose dominion +they had been so recently transferred. + +He used to relate an anecdote of this trip, in his most humorous +manner. "I had," he said, "been all day cramped up in the stern of a +small skiff, in the broiling sun, with nothing to drink but the tepid +water of the Teche. I was weary and half sick, when I came to the +front of a residence, which wore more the appearance of comfort and +respectability than any I had passed during the day. It was on Sunday, +and there were a number of decently dressed people, young and old, +upon the gallery or piazza, and there were great numbers of cattle +grazing out on the prairie. Here, I thought, I may find some cool +water, and perhaps something to mix with it. I landed, and went to the +front gate, and called. This was quite near the house, and I thought +some one said, 'Come in.' I opened the gate, and started for the +house. At this juncture, a tall, dark man, wearing a very angry look, +came from the interior of the house, and stopping at the gallery door, +looked scowlingly down upon me as I approached the steps. '_Arretez!_' +he said, waving his hand. This wave I understood, but not the word, +and stopped. He spoke to me in French: I did not understand. I asked +for water: this he did not understand, as it was pronounced with +considerable of the brogue. Turning abruptly round, he called aloud, +'_Pierre!_' and a negro man came out, who was directed to ask me what +I wanted. I told him, water: this he translated for his master. He +spoke again angrily to the negro, who told me there was water in the +bayou. 'Then, can I get a little butter-milk?' I asked. As soon as +this was translated to him, he flew into a violent rage, and commenced +gesticulating passionately. 'You better run, sir,' said the negro, 'he +call de dogs for bite you.' I heard the yelp in the back yard, and +started for the gate with a will: it was time, for in a moment there +were a dozen lean and vicious curs at my heels, squalling and snapping +with angry determination. I fortunately reached the gate in time to +close it behind me and shut off my pursuers, amid the laughter and +gibes of those in the gallery. I took my boat, and a few miles above +found a more hospitable man, who gave me my dinner, plenty of milk, +and a most excellent glass of brandy. I inquired the name of the +brute, and recorded it in my memory for future use. Ten years after +that, he came into my office, and told me he wished to have my +services as a lawyer. He had quarrelled with his wife, and they had +separated. She was suing him for a separation, and property, dotal and +paraphernal. If she recovered, and there were strong reasons for +supposing she would, he was ruined. + +"'Why do you come to me?' I asked. + +"'Ah! Advocat Porter, my friend tell me you de best lawyer, and in my +trouble I want de best.' He stated his case, and I told him I would +undertake it for a thousand dollars. + +"'_Mon dieu!_' he exclaimed, with a desponding shrug, 'it is not +possible to me for pay so much.' + +"'Then you must employ some one else.' + +"'But dere is none else dat be so good like you. Monsieur Brent is for +my wife--Got damn!--an' you is de best now, so my friend tell me.' + +"'Very well, then, if you want my services, you must pay for them; and +you had better come to terms at once, for here is a note which I have +just received from Mr. Brent, telling me he wishes to see me, and I +expect it is to engage me to assist him in this very case.' + +"'_O mon dieu! mon dieu!_' he exclaimed, in agony. 'Vell, I shall give +you one thousand dollar.' + +"I immediately wrote a note for the amount, payable when the suit was +determined; but it was with great difficulty I could induce him to +sign it. At length he did, however, and I gained his case for him. He +came punctually to pay his note. When I had the money in hand, I told +him I had charged him five hundred dollars for attending to his case, +and five hundred for setting his dogs on me. + +"'I been tink dat all de time,' he said, as he left the office." + +There were then several men of eminence at the Bar in the Opelousas +and Attakapas country--Brent, Baker, Bowen, and Bronson. The superior +abilities of Porter soon began to be acknowledged. His practice +increased rapidly, and when a convention was called to form a +constitution for the State of Louisiana, Porter was elected from +Opelousas as a delegate. Still very young, and scarcely known in the +city or along the coast parishes, he came unheralded by any +extraordinary reputation for abilities. Very soon, however, he was +taking the lead amid the best talent in the State. + +In every feature of this Constitution the mind of Porter is apparent; +and to-day, to one who has witnessed the forming and passing away of +many constitutions, and their effect upon public morals and the +general interests of the country, it appears the best that was ever +given to a State in this Union. To those who were most active in the +formation of this Constitution, and who had most at heart the +protection of every interest in the State, the judicial system was +most interesting. The preserving of the civil law as the law of the +land, and which was guaranteed by the treaty of cession, and at the +same time to engraft American ideas upon that system, was a delicate +and difficult matter. The French and the French Creoles were desirous +of retaining as much of French law and French ideas as possible. To +these they had always been accustomed: they thought them best, and +were very loath to permit innovations. A written constitution was to +these people entirely a new thing. Accustomed to almost absolute power +in the hands of their Governors, with his council--these being +appointed by the Crown, to which they owed allegiance--they could +hardly comprehend a constitutional representative form of government, +and, naturally distrustful of the Americans, they feared every move on +their part. Porter was an Irishman, and they distrusted him and Henry +Johnson less than any others of the convention speaking the English +language. Where a difference of opinion seemed irreconcilable between +the two interests, Porter was generally the referee, and he was always +successful in reconciling these disputes, and bringing both parties to +the support of his own views, which were those generally between the +two extremes. In this way he succeeded in having a constitution framed +as he wished it, upon the organization of the State Government. Under +this Constitution, with Matthews and Martin, he was placed upon the +Bench of the Supreme Court. Here he remained for many years; but his +ambition sought distinction in the councils of the nation, and he +resigned his seat to become a candidate for the Senate of the United +States. + +He had, years before, married the sister of Isaac L. Baker, of the +Attakapas country, by whom he had two daughters. One of them had died +in early life; the other--a most lovely woman--was under the care of +his maiden sister, who resided with him, and had charge of his +household until her death. Subsequently to the death of this lady, +this only child was married to Mr. Alston, of South Carolina, but +survived her marriage only a short time, dying childless. + +He was successful in his canvass for the Senate, and in that body he +soon became prominent as an orator of great powers, and as a most +active business man. It was here the long-existing acquaintance with +Mr. Clay ripened into deep friendship. Porter had always been the +supporter of the views of Mr. Clay, and during his six years' service +in the Senate, he gave a hearty and efficient support to the measures +representing the policy of that great statesman. + +After the expiration of his senatorial term he retired with an +exhausted constitution to his elegant home in the parish of St. Mary, +where he devoted himself to his planting interest, now very large. +After the death of his daughter, his health declined rapidly; yet, +notwithstanding his debilitated condition, he was chosen by a +Democratic Legislature, a second time, as senator to the United States +Congress; but he never took his seat. Just before the meeting of +Congress, he visited Philadelphia for the purpose of obtaining medical +advice. Dr. Chapman made a thorough examination of his case, which he +pronounced ossification of the arteries of the heart, and which was +rapidly progressing. He advised the Judge to return immediately home, +and not to think of taking his seat in the Senate, as he was liable to +die at any moment, and certainly must die in a very short time. He +left immediately for his home. + +Some years before this, Mr. Clay found himself so embarrassed that it +was necessary for him to apply to his friends for aid. Judge Porter +came forward and loaned him a large sum, for which he held his note. +Upon reaching Maysville, in descending the Ohio, on his return from +Philadelphia, Porter debarked, and went, by stage, to Lexington, where +he visited Mr. Clay, and spent one night with him. Finding his disease +increasing, and fearing, unless he hurried, that he might never reach +home, he declined a longer visit. When in the carriage, (so it was +stated at the time, but I do not vouch for the fact,) he took the hand +of Mr. Clay, and, pressing it tenderly, said, "Farewell until +eternity!" and bade the boy drive on. Mr. Clay found his note left in +his hand, marked across the face, "Paid." + +On reaching home, his health seemed for a short time to rally; but he +began again to sink. Finding it impossible to lie down to sleep, he +anticipated speedy dissolution. As a politician, he had been greatly +harassed by a dissolute press, and, as a lawyer and prominent man, he +had made some enemies. Among these was Thomas H. Lewis, a +distinguished lawyer of Opelousas, who, of all his enemies, he hated +most, and he was an honest hater. A clergyman was spending some time +with him, and apprehending that he might pass suddenly away, remained, +in company with Mr. James Porter, his brother, almost constantly with +him. Only a day or two anterior to his death, after some conversation +upon the subject of the great change, leaning back in his reclining +easy-chair, he seemed to forget the presence of these two, and, after +remaining for more than an hour entirely silent, without moving or +opening his eyes, he commenced to speak, as if communing with himself. +"I have," he said, "retrospected all my life, and am satisfied. Many +things I have done I should not; but they were never from a bad +motive. I have accomplished more than my merits were entitled to. To +the inconsiderate generosity of the people of Louisiana I owe much of +the success of my life. I have filled the highest offices in their +gift, the duties of which I have faithfully discharged to the best of +my abilities, and, I believe, to the satisfaction of the people of the +State. I have differed with many of my fellow-citizens, and some of +them are my enemies; but from my heart I have forgiven them all, as I +hope to be forgiven by them, and by my God, before whom I must in a +few hours appear." He paused many minutes, and then emphatically +added: "Yes, Lord, even Tom Lewis." + +The opinions of Judge Porter in the reports of the decisions of the +Supreme Court are magnificent specimens of learning, logic, and +eloquence. Of every question he took a bold and comprehensive view, +and the perspicuity of his style and the clearness of his ideas made +all he wrote comprehensible to the commonest capacity. In his +decisions he was merciless toward a suitor where he discovered fraud, +or the more guilty crime of perjury. His wit was like the sword of +Saladin: its brilliancy was eclipsed by the keenness of the edge. In +debate he was brilliant and convincing; in argument, cogent and lucid; +in declamation, fervid and impassioned, abounding in metaphor, and +often elucidating a position with an apposite anecdote, both pointed +and amusing. His memory was wonderful, and his reading extensive and +diversified. He had so improved the defective education of his youth +as to be not only classical, but learned. Impulsive and impetuous, he +was sometimes severe and arrogant toward his inferiors who presumed +too much upon his forbearance. In his feelings and social associations +he was aristocratic and select. He could not tolerate presumptuous +ignorance; but to the modest and unobtrusive he was respectful and +tolerant. For the whining hypocrisy of pretended piety he had the +loftiest contempt, while he gave not only his confidence, but his most +sincere respect, to him whose conduct squared with his religious +professions. He was a Protestant in religion, as his father had been; +but was superior to bigotry or the intolerance of little minds and +lesser souls. Like all men of exalted genius, he was erratic at times, +and uncertain in his temper. He died without pain, bequeathing his +large estate to his brother, with legacies to his sister in Ireland, +and to some friends there. To Mr. Clay he left his great diamond ring. +He had, at his death, attained only to the age of fifty-seven years. +Like Judge Martin, his besetting sin was love of money; but he was not +a miser. To his slaves he was remarkably kind and indulgent, never +permitting them to be persecuted by any one, and always treating them +with paternal kindness--attentive to their comfort, furnishing them +with good houses, beds, and an abundance of food and clothing--indeed, +with everything which could contribute to their comfort or happiness. +His hospitality was not surpassed by any gentleman in all the land. +All who have visited at Woodlawn, the beautiful and beautifully +improved residence of Judge Porter, will remember the warm Irish +welcome and luxurious hospitality of its accomplished and talented +master. + +Thus have I attempted a slight sketch of the characters, minds, +peculiarities, and services of these eminent men and jurists, who +reduced to order and form the jurisprudence of Louisiana. It was the +eminent abilities and extensive legal learning for which they were so +eminently distinguished, as well as the stern integrity of each one of +them, which prompted the executive of the State to select them for +this delicate and onerous position. At this time, there were not three +other men in the State combining so fully all these traits. Their long +continuance in office systematized the law and the proceedings in the +courts, making order out of chaos, and building up a jurisprudence not +inferior to that of any country. Under the peculiar circumstances, +this was no very easy or enviable task. The country was now American, +and it was important that the judicial system should approximate as +nearly as possible to the American system, and, at the same time, +preserve the civil law as the law of the land. This law is a most +beautiful system of equity, and is disrobed of many of the +difficulties which surround the common law, and which oblige in every +common-law country a separate and distinct system of equity. + +The criminal code was that of the common law. It was so radically +different from that which had heretofore prevailed in the country, +that it was absolutely necessary, in order to secure to the accused +the trial by jury, that this change should be made. + +Owing to the extended commerce of New Orleans, many cases arose of +contracts made in the common-law States, and this must control these +cases. To reconcile and blend the two systems became, in many of +these, a necessity. To do this required a knowledge of both on the +part of the judges, and this knowledge, in order that no error might +misdirect, should be thorough. It was happily accomplished, and now +the system is clear and fixed, and will remain a monument to the +learning and genius of this court. + +Of the three judges, Matthews alone left descendants, and he but +two--a son, who soon followed him to the grave, and a daughter, who is +still living, the accomplished lady of Major Chase, formerly of the +engineer corps of the army of the United States. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +AMERICANIZING LOUISIANA. + +POWERS OF LOUISIANA COURTS--GOVERNOR WILLIAM C.C. CLAIBORNE--CRUEL +O'REILLY--LEFRENIER AND NOYAN EXECUTED--A DUTCH JUSTICE--EDWARD +LIVINGSTON--A CARICATURE OF GENERAL JACKSON--STEPHEN MAZEREAU--A +SPEECH IN THREE LANGUAGES--JOHN R. GRYMES--SETTLING A CA. SA.--BATTURE +PROPERTY--A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR FEE. + + +The Supreme Court of the State of Louisiana differs in this from that +of the other States: it has jurisdiction as well of the facts as of +the law. + +In the trial of all cases in the district or lower courts, the +testimony is made a part of the record, and goes up to the Supreme +Court for supervision, as well as for the enlightenment of the court, +which passes upon the facts as well as the law; thus making the judges +in the lower courts merely masters in chancery, with the exception, +that where the decision of the judge is considered correct, it is +approved and made the judgment of the Supreme Court. + +This court, by reason of its very extraordinary powers, becomes of the +highest importance to every citizen, and is really by far the most +important, as it is the most responsible branch of the Government. + +The executive can only execute the law; the legislative acts are +revisable and amendable, so often as the Legislature holds its +sessions; but the judicial decisions of the Supreme Court become the +permanent law of the land. True, these decisions may be revised and +overruled, but this is not likely to be done by those judges who have +made them, and the tenure of office is such as practically to make +them permanent. + +Under the first Constitution of the State, these judges were nominated +by the executive, and confirmed by the Senate. This Senate consisted +of seventeen members, chosen by the people from senatorial districts +containing a large area of territory and a numerous population. This +concentration of responsibility insured the selection of men of the +first abilities, attainments, and moral character. So long as this +system obtained, the Supreme Bench was ably filled, and its duties +faithfully and wisely discharged, with one exception only; but for the +sake of those who, though not blamable, would be deeply wounded, I +forbear further remark. + +Governor William C.C. Claiborne, who was the Territorial Governor, was +elected by acclamation the first Governor of the State. He was a +Virginian and a man of fine attainments. His peculiar temperament was +well suited to the Creole population, and identifying himself with +that population by intermarrying with one of the most respectable +families of New Orleans, and studiously devoting himself to the +discharge of the duties of his office, he assumed some state in his +style of living, and when going abroad kept up something of the +regality of his colonial predecessors. Thus suiting the taste and +genius of the people, and in some degree comporting with what they had +been accustomed to, at the same time assuming great affability of +manner, both in private and in the discharge of his public duties, he +rendered himself extremely popular with both populations. + +Governor Claiborne studiously promoted harmony between the people of +the different races constituting the population of the State, and +especially that of New Orleans. The State had been under the dominion +of three separate nations. The mass of the population, originally +French, very reluctantly yielded to Spanish domination, and not +without an attempt at resistance. For a time this had been successful +in expelling a hated Governor; but the famous O'Reilly, succeeding to +the governorship of the colony, came with such a force as was +irresistible, suppressing the armed attempt to reclaim the colony from +Spanish rule. He made prisoners of the chiefs of the malcontents, with +Lefrenier at their head, and condemned them to be shot. One of these +was Noyan, the son-in-law of Lefrenier. He was a young man, and but +recently united to the beautiful and accomplished daughter of the +gallant Lefrenier. His youth, his chivalry, and extraordinary +intrepidity excited the admiration of the cold, cruel O'Reilly, and he +was offered a pardon. He refused to accept it, unless mercy should be +extended to his father-in-law: this having been denied, he was +executed, holding in his own the hand of Lefrenier, defiantly facing +his executioners and dying with Roman firmness. + +This bloody tragedy was transacted upon the square in front of the +Cathedral, where now stands the colossal statue of Andrew Jackson, in +the midst of the most lovely and beautiful shrubs and flowers +indigenous to the soil of Louisiana. The orange, with her pale green +foliage, and sweet, modest white flowers, so delicate and so +delicious; the oleander, the petisporum, and roses of every hue unite +their foliage and blend their fragrance to enchant and delight the eye +and sense, and to contrast too the scene of carnage once deforming and +outraging this Eden spot. + +Scarcely had the people become reconciled to Spanish domination, +before the colony was retroceded to France, and again in no great +while ceded to the United States. + +The French were prejudiced against the Spaniards and despised them, +and now the Americans were flowing into the country and city, with +manners and customs intolerable to both French and Spaniards, hating +both and being hated by both, creating a state of society painfully +unpleasant, and apparently irreconcilable. + +This state of affairs made the Governor's position anything but +pleasant. But distressing as it was, he accomplished more in +preserving harmony than one well acquainted with the facts would have +deemed possible. + +In doing this he was skilful enough to preserve his popularity, and +secure his election to the Gubernatorial chair upon the formation of +the State. Indeed, so great was his popularity, that it was said some +aspirants to Gubernatorial honors incorporated the clause in the +Constitution which makes the Governor ineligible to succeed himself, +lest Claiborne should be perpetual Governor. + +Few men ever lived who could so suit themselves to circumstances as +Governor Claiborne. There was a strange fascination in his manners, +and a real goodness of heart, which spell-bound every one who came +within the range of his acquaintance. He granted a favor in a manner +that the recipient forever felt the obligation, and when he refused +one, it was with such apparent regret as to make a friend. He +sincerely desired the best interest of every one, and promoted it +whenever he could. It was said of him that he never refused, but +always promised, and always fulfilled his promise whenever it was in +his power. + +When coming to take charge of the Territorial Government he stopped at +Baton Rouge, and spent the night with an honest Dutchman who kept +entertainment for travellers. In the morning, when his guest was +leaving, learning his official character, he took him aside, and +solicited the appointment of justice of the peace for Baton Rouge. +"Certainly, sir," said the Governor, "certainly;" and the Dutchman, +supposing the appointment made, hoisted his sign above his door, and +continued to administer justice in his way until his death, without +ever being questioned as to the nature of his appointment. The +Governor never thought a second time of the promise. + +The selection and appointment of Governor Claiborne for the very +delicate duties devolving on an American governor, with such a +population as then peopled Louisiana, showed great wisdom and prudence +in Mr. Jefferson: he was to reconcile discordant materials within the +Territory, and reconcile all to the dominion of the United States. He +was to introduce, with great caution, the institutions of a +representative republican form of government among a people who had +never known any but a despotic government; whose language and religion +were alien to the great mass of the people of the nation. An American +Protestant population was hurrying to the country, and of all +difficulties most difficult, to reconcile into harmonious action two +antagonistic religions in the same community is certainly the one. +Claiborne accomplished all this. His long continuance in office showed +his popularity, and the prosperity of the people and Territory, his +wisdom. + +In all his appointments he exercised great discretion, and in almost +every case his judgment and wisdom were manifested in the result; and +to this, day his name is revered and his memory cherished as a +benefactor. He was twice married, and left two sons--one by each +marriage; both live, highly respected, and very worthy citizens of the +city of their birth. His name is borne by one of the finest parishes +of the State and one of the most beautiful streets in the city of New +Orleans, and no man ever deserved more this high and honorable +commemoration from a grateful people than did William C.C. Claiborne. + +Among those most conspicuous in Americanizing the State and city at +the early commencement of the American domination, after the Governor +and Supreme Court, were Henry Johnson, Edward Livingston, James Brown, +John R. Grymes, Thomas Urquhart, Boling Robinson, and General Philemon +Thomas. + +Edward Livingston was a citizen at the time of the cession, having +emigrated from New York in 1801, where he had already acquired fame as +a lawyer. He was the brother of the celebrated Chancellor Livingston, +and had, as an officer of the General Government, in the city of New +York, defaulted in a large amount. To avoid the penalties of the law +he came to New Orleans, then a colony of a foreign government, and +there commenced the practice of his profession. After the cession he +was not disturbed by the Government, and continued actively to pursue +his profession. + +He was the intimate friend of Daniel Clark, who was the first +Territorial representative in Congress; and it has been supposed that, +through the instrumentality of Clark, the Government declined pursuing +the claim against him. He first emerged to public view in a contest +with Mr. Jefferson relative to the batture property in the city of New +Orleans. Livingston had purchased a property above Canal Street, and +claimed all the batture between his property and the river as riparian +proprietor. This was contested by Mr. Jefferson as President of the +United States. He claimed this as public land belonging to the United +States under the treaty of purchase. The question was very ably argued +by both parties; but the title to this immensely valuable property +remained unsettled for many years after the death of both Jefferson +and Livingston, and finally was decreed by the Supreme Court of the +United States to belong to the city of New Orleans. + +When, during the invasion of New Orleans by the English forces in the +war of 1812 and '15, General Jackson came to its defence, Livingston +volunteered as one of his aids, and rendered distinguished services to +Jackson and the country in that memorable affair, the battle of New +Orleans. A friendship grew up between Jackson and Livingston, which +continued during their lives. Soon after the war, Livingston was +elected to represent the New Orleans or First Congressional District +in Congress. He continued for some time to represent this district; +but was finally, about 1829, beaten by Edward D. White. At the +succeeding session of the Legislature, however, he was elected a +senator to Congress in the place of Henry Johnson. From the Senate he +was sent as Minister to France, and was afterward Secretary of State +during the administration of General Jackson. It was in his case that +Jackson exercised the extraordinary power of directing the Treasurer +of the United States to receipt Mr. Livingston for the sum of his +defalcation thirty-four years before. At the time this was done, +Tobias Watkins was in prison in Washington for a defalcation of only a +few hundreds to the Government. These two events gave rise to the +ludicrous caricature, which caused much amusement at the time, of +General Jackson's walking with his arm in Livingston's by the jail, +when Watkins, looking from the window, points to Livingston, saying to +the General: "You should turn me out, or put him in." + +Immediately upon this receipt being recorded, Livingston presented an +account for mileage and per diem for all the time he had served in +Congress, and received it. So long as he was a defaulter to the +Government, he could receive no pay for public services. + +As a lawyer, Mr. Livingston had no superior. He was master of every +system prevailing in the civilized world; he spoke fluently four +languages, and read double that number. As a statesman he ranked with +the first of his country, and was skilled as a diplomatist. In every +situation where placed by fortune or accident, he displayed ample +ability for the discharge of its duties. It is not known, but is +generally believed that, as Secretary of State, he wrote the state +papers of General Jackson. The same has been said of that veteran Amos +Kendall. There was one for which Livingston obtained the credit, which +he certainly did not write--the celebrated proclamation to the people +of South Carolina upon the subject of nullification. This was written +by Mr. Webster. Upon one occasion, Mr. Webster, per invitation, with +many members of Congress, dined with the President. When the company +was about retiring, General Jackson requested Mr. Webster to remain, +as he desired some conversation with him. The subject of South +Carolina nullification had been discussed cursorily by the guests at +dinner, and Jackson had been impressed with some of Webster's remarks; +and when alone together, he requested Webster's opinions on the +subject at length. + +Mr. Webster replied, that the time was wanting for a full discussion +of the question; but if it would be agreeable to the President, he +would put them in writing and send them to him. He did so. These +opinions, expressing fully Mr. Webster's views, were handed to Mr. +Livingston, who, approving them, made a few verbal alterations, and +submitted the document, which was issued as the President's +proclamation. The doctrines politically enunciated in this paper are +identical with those entertained in the great speech of Mr. Webster, +in the famous contest with Robert T. Hayne, on Foote's Resolutions, +some years before; and are eminently Federal. They came like midnight +at noon upon the States-Rights men of the South, and a Virginian, +wherever found, groaned as he read them. + +Mr. Livingston, though a Jeffersonian Democrat in his early life, and +now a Jackson Democrat, held very strong Federal notions in regard to +the relations between the States and the United States Government, and +was disposed to have these sanctioned by the adoption of General +Jackson. + +Jackson, probably, never read this paper; and if he did, did not +exactly comprehend its tenor; for General Jackson's political opinions +were never very fixed or clear. What he willed, he executed, and +though it cut across the Constitution, or the laws, his friends and +followers threw up their caps and cheered him. + +Mr. Livingston was charged with the delicate duty of discussing the +claims of our Government, representing its citizens, for spoliations +committed upon our commerce under the celebrated Milan and Berlin +decrees of Napoleon, and, backed by the determination of Jackson, +happily succeeded in finally settling this vexatious question. A sum +was agreed upon, and paid into the United States Treasury; but if I am +not mistaken, none, or very little of it, has ever reached the hands +of the sufferers. Upon the proof of the justice of their claims, +France was compelled to pay them to the Government; but now the +Government wants additional proof of this same fact, before the money +is paid over to them. + +Mr. Livingston's learning was varied and extensive; he was a fine +classical scholar, and equally as accomplished in belles-lettres. In +the literature of France, Germany, and Spain he was quite as well +versed as in that of his native tongue. His historical knowledge was +more extensive and more accurate than that of any public man of the +day, except, perhaps, Mr. Benton. At the Bar, he met those eminent +jurists, Grymes, Lilly, Brown, and Mazereau, and successfully. This is +great praise, for nowhere, in any city or country, were to be found +their superiors in talent and legal lore. + +Livingston never had the full confidence of his party, and perhaps +with the exception of General Jackson, that of any individual. In +moneyed matters, he was eminently unreliable; but all admitted his +great abilities. In social qualities, he was entirely deficient. He +had no powers of attraction to collect about him friends, or to attach +even his political partisans. These were proud of his talents, and +felt honored in his representation, and with the rest of the world +honored and admired the statesman, while they despised the man. He was +illiberal, without generosity, unsocial, and soulless, with every +attribute of mind to be admired, without one quality of the heart to +be loved. In person he was tall and slender, and without grace in his +movements, or dignity in his manners. With a most intellectual face, +his brow was extremely arched, his eye gray, and his prominent +forehead narrow but high and receding; his mouth was large and well +formed, and was as uncertain and restless as his eye. No one could +mistake from his face the talent of the man; yet there lurked through +its every feature an unpleasant something, which forced an unfavorable +opinion of the individual. Mr. Livingston lived very many years in +Louisiana, and rendered her great services in codifying her laws, and +making them clear and easy of comprehension. He shed lustre upon her +name, by his eminent abilities as a jurist and statesman, and thus has +identified his name most prominently with her history. But without +those shining qualities which clasp to the heart in devoted affection +the great man, and which constitute one great essential of true +greatness. And now that he is in the grave, he is remembered with cold +respect alone. + +Stephen Mazereau was a Frenchman, a Parisian, and a lawyer there of +the first eminence. When about to emigrate to Madrid, in Spain, the +Bar of his native city presented him with a splendid set of silver, in +respect for his position as a lawyer and his virtues as a man. He +remained ten years in Spain's capital, and was at the head of the Bar +of that city; and when leaving it to come to New Orleans, received a +similar testimonial from his brethren there to his worth and talents. +Immediately upon coming to New Orleans, he commenced the practice of +the law, and at once took rank with Livingston, Lilly, Brown, and +Grymes, who, though then a very young man, had already gained eminence +in his profession. + +Mr. Mazereau, except giving his State, in the Legislature, the benefit +of his abilities, avoided politics, confining himself exclusively to +his profession. In the argument of great questions before the Supreme +Court of the State between these eminent jurists, was to be seen the +combat of giants. Mazereau was a short, stout man, with an enormous +head, which made his appearance singularly unique. In his arguments he +was considerate, cautious, and eminently learned. Sometimes he would +address the people on great political questions, and then all the +fervor of the Frenchman would burst forth in eloquent and impressive +appeals. I remember hearing him, when he was old, address an immense +gathering of the people. He looked over the crowd, when he rose, and +said: "I see three nations before me. Americans, I shall speak to you +first. Frenchmen, to you next--and to you, my Spanish friends, last. I +shall probably occupy two hours with each of you. It will be the same +speech; so you who do not understand the English language, need not +remain. You who understand French, may return when I shall dismiss +these Americans--and you, my Spanish friends, when I am through with +these Frenchmen." This he fulfilled to the letter in a six-hours' +speech, and I never knew a political speech effect so much. + +For many years he was attorney-general of the State, and legal adviser +and counsellor of the Governor. Although his practice was eminently +profitable, he was so careless and extravagant in money matters, that +he was always poor and necessitous, especially in his old age. + +It really seems one of the attributes of genius to be indifferent to +this world's goods, and when time and labor have done their work, and +the imbecility of years obscures its brilliancy, to droop neglected, +and, if not in want, in despised poverty. Such was the fate for a +short time of this great man--but only for a short time. His powerful +intellect retained its vigor, and his brilliant wit all its edges, to +within a little while of his death. Sadly I turn back, in memory, to +the day he communicated to me that his necessities would compel him to +dispose of the beautiful and valuable testimonials of the Bar of two +proud nations to his character and abilities. His great intellect was +beginning to fade out; but, as the sun, declining to rest canopied +with increasing clouds, will sometimes pierce through the interstices +of the dark masses, and dart for a moment the intensity of his light +upon the earth, the mind of Mazereau would flash in all its youthful +grandeur and power from the dimness that was darkening it out. + +He was a noble specimen of a French gentleman: a French scholar, and a +Frenchman. His memory is embalmed in the hearts of his friends of +every nation who knew him in New Orleans. Strictly moral in his +habits, full of truth and honor, and overflowing with generosity, +social in his habits, and kindly in his feelings, he made friends of +all who came in contact with him; and yet he had his enemies. His +intolerance of everything that was little or mean, and his scorn and +hatred of men of such character, was never concealed, either in his +conversation or conduct. Such men were his enemies, and some, too, +were his foes from the intolerance of political antagonism; but the +grave obliterated these animosities, and the generous political +antagonist cherishes now only respect for this truly great man. With +deep gratitude my heart turns to his memory: his generous kindness, +his warm friendship was mine for long years, and to me his memory is +an incense. + +John R. Grymes was a Virginian and close connection of John Randolph, +of Roanoke, whose name he bore; but of this he never boasted, nor did +any one hear him claim alliance of blood with Pocahontas. Mr. Madison +appointed him district attorney of the United States for the district +of Louisiana, when a very young man. This appointment introduced him +to the Bar and the practice immediately. He was one of those +extraordinary creations, who leap into manhood without the probation +of youth: at twenty-two he was eminent and in full practice, ranking +with the leading members of the Bar. Truly, Grymes was born great, for +no one can remember when he was not great! Never, in company, in +social life, with a private friend, at the Bar, or anywhere, was he +even apparently simple or like other men; in private, with his best +friend, he spoke, he looked, and he was the great man. He was great in +his frivolities, great in his burlesques, great in his humor, great in +common conversation; the great lawyer, the great orator, the great +blackguard, and the great companion, the great beau, and the great +spendthrift: in nothing was he little. + +His language was ornate, his style was terse and beautiful; in +conversation he was voluble and transcendently entertaining; knew +everybody and everything; never seemed to read, and yet was always +prepared in his cases, and seemed to be a lawyer by intuition. He was +rarely in his office, but always on the street, and always dressed in +the extreme of the fashion; lived nowhere, boarded nowhere, slept +nowhere, and ate everywhere. He dined at a restaurant, but scarcely +ever at the same twice in succession; would search for hours to find a +genial friend to dine with him, and then, if he was in the mood, there +was a feast of the body and flow of the soul; went to every ball, +danced with everybody, visited the ladies; was learned or frivolous, +as suited the ladies' capacities or attainments; appeared fond of +their society, and always spoke of them with ridicule or contempt; +married, and separated from his wife, no one knew for what cause, yet +still claimed and supported her. She was the widow of Governor +Claiborne, and a magnificent woman; she was a Spaniard by blood, +aristocratic in her feelings, eccentric, and, intellectually, a fit +companion for Grymes. She was to Claiborne an admirable wife, but +there was little congeniality between her and Grymes. Grymes knew that +it was not possible for any woman to tolerate him as a husband, and +was contented to live apart from his wife. They were never divorced, +but lived--she in New York, or at her villa on Staten Island; Grymes +in New Orleans. He never complained of her; always spoke kindly, and +sometimes affectionately of her; denied the separation, and annually +visited her. Their relations were perfectly amicable, but they could +not live together. Grymes could have lived with no woman. In all +things he was _sui generis_; with no one like him in any one thing, +for he was never the same being two consecutive days. He had no fixed +opinions that any one knew of; he was a blatant Democrat, and yet +never agreed with them in anything; a great advocate of universal +equality, and the veriest aristocrat on earth; he would urge to-day as +a great moral or political truth certain principles, and ridicule them +with contemptuous scorn to-morrow. He was the most devout of +Christians to-day, the most abandoned infidel to-morrow; and always, +and with everybody, striving to appear as base and as abandoned as +profligate man could be: to believe all he said of himself, was to +believe him the worst man on earth. He despised public opinion and +mankind generally; still he was kind in his nature, and generous to +profligacy; was deeply sympathetic, and never turned from the +necessitous without dropping a tear or giving a dollar--the one he +bestowed generously, the other he rarely had to give; but, if an +acquaintance was at hand, he would borrow and give, and the charity of +heart was as sincere as though the money had been his own. + +On one occasion I was with him when charity was solicited of him by a +wretched old woman. "Give me five dollars," he said to me; the money +was handed the woman, and she was sent away, to be drunk and in a +police-station within the hour. I remarked: "That old wretch has +brought all this upon her by an abandoned profligacy." "Then I owe her +sympathy as well as charity," was his reply; "I do not know the cause +of her suffering, but I know she is suffering: it may be for food, it +may be for drink; if either obliterates her misery, your money is well +spent." + +He had no idea of the value of money; was constantly in the receipt of +large fees, with a most lucrative practice, but was always +embarrassed, owed everybody, loaned to everybody, gave to everybody, +and paid nobody. + +During the existence of the law which imprisoned for debt, he was +constantly in the sheriff's hands, but always settling, by the most +ingenious devices, the claim at the jail-door. It is told of him, that +the sheriff on one occasion notified him that there was a _ca. sa._ in +his hands, and that he did not want to arrest him. The sum was large, +some two thousand dollars--Grymes had not a dollar. He paused a +moment, then said, "Come to me to-morrow. I have a case of Milliadon's +for trial to-morrow; he is greatly interested in it. When it is +called, I will give you the wink, then arrest me." In obedience to +directions, the sheriff came, the case was called, and Grymes +arrested. Milliadon was in court, his hopes were in Grymes, and when +he was informed that Grymes was in custody of the sheriff, he groaned +aloud. + +"Oh! Mr. Grymes, vat am I to do?" + +"Why, you must employ other counsel," said Grymes. + +"_Mon dieu!_ but I have pay you for attend this case, and I want you. +You know about it, and it must be try now." + +"Yes," continued the imperturbable Grymes, "you have paid me, I know, +and I know it would be dangerous to trust it to other counsel, but it +is your only hope. I have no money, and here is a _ca. sa._, and I am +on my way to jail." + +"Oh! _mon dieu! mon dieu!_ vat is de amount of de _ca. sa._?" + +"Two thousand dollars," said the sheriff. + +"Two thousand dollars!" repeated Milliadon. + +"Goodall _vs._ Milliadon," said the Judge, "Preston, for +plaintiff--Grymes, for defendant. What do you do with this case, +gentlemen?" + +"We are ready," said Preston. + +"And you, Mr. Grymes?" asked the court. + +"Vill you take my check for de _ca. sa._, Mr. Sheriff?" + +"Certainly, sir," replied the officer. + +"Say we is ready too, Mr. Grymes--all my witness be here." + +"I believe we are ready, your honor," answered Grymes. Milliadon was +writing his check. "Enter satisfaction on the _ca. sa._," said Grymes. +The sheriff did so, as Milliadon handed him the check. Grymes now +turned his attention to the case as coolly as though nothing had +occurred. That was the last Milliadon ever heard of his two thousand +dollars. + +Laurent Milliadon and the millionaire John McDonough were litigious in +their characters; and their names occur in the report of the Supreme +Court decisions more frequently than those of any ten other men in the +State. Grymes was the attorney for both of them for many years. They +were both men of great shrewdness, and both speculative in their +characters, and both had accumulated large fortunes. Without any +assignable cause, McDonough ceased to employ Grymes, and intrusted his +business to other counsel, who did not value their services so +extravagantly. Mentioning the fact upon one occasion to Grymes, "Ah! +yes," said he, "I can explain to your satisfaction the cause. In a +certain case of his, in which he had law and justice with him, he +suddenly became very uneasy. 'I shall certainly lose it, Grymes,' he +said excitedly to me. I told him it was impossible; he had never had +so sure a thing since I had been his attorney. In his dogmatical +manner, which you know, he still persisted in saying, he was no great +lawyer as I was, but some things he knew better than any lawyer, and +'I shall lose that case.' At the same time he significantly touched +his pocket and then his palm, signifying that money had been paid by +his adversary to the court, or some member of it. 'Ah!' said I, 'are +you sure--very sure?' 'Very sure--I know it; and you will see I shall +lose this suit.' He was not wont to speak so positively, without the +best evidence of any fact. 'Well, Mac,' said I, jestingly, 'if that is +the game, who can play it better than you can--you have a larger stake +than any of them, and of course better ability?' Well, sir, he did +lose one of the plainest cases I ever presented to a court. From that +day forward I have not received a fee from him: and now the secret is +before the world. He has been detected in bribing one of the judges of +the Supreme Court." + +As an orator, Grymes was among the first of the country. All he +wanted, to have been exceedingly eloquent, was earnestness and +feeling; of this he was devoid. His manner was always collected and +cool; his style chaste and beautiful, with but little ornament; he +spoke only from the brain--there was nothing from the heart. In +argument he was exceedingly cogent and lucid, and when the subject +seemed most complicated, the acuteness of his analytical mind seemed +to unravel and lay bare the true features of the case, with an ease +and power that required scarce an effort. His powers of ratiocination +were very great, and this was the forte of his mind; his conclusions +were clearly deduced from arguments always logical. + +There were times when he would be serious--and then there was a +grandeur about him very striking. At such times, bursts of passionate +feeling would break from him that seemed like volcanic eruptions. They +appeared to come from a deep and intense tenderness of heart. These +were momentary--the lightning's flash illuminating the gloom and +darkness of its parent cloud. I have thought this was the man's +nature, born with a heart capable of intense feeling, which had been +educated to believe this weakness. Coming very young away from his +home and early associations, to live and mingle with strangers of a +different race--leaving the rural scenes and home associations which +were forming and developing nature's glorious gifts, to come to a +profligate and heartless city--the whole current of his susceptible +nature was changed, and the feeling and good perverted and +overshadowed, yet not entirely rooted out. Hence the contradictions in +his character. Sometimes nature was too strong for art, and would +break out in beauty, as the flower, rich in fragrance and delicate +loveliness, when touched by the genial sun, will burst from the black +and uninviting bud. + +Upon one occasion, when there was a United States senator to be +elected, and when the Democratic party held a majority in the +Legislature, rendering it impossible for the Whigs to elect any member +of their own party, yet, with the assistance of three from the +Democratic party, could choose from this party any man they would +select and unite upon--they determined to propose Grymes, and had +secured the requisite assistance from the Democracy. I was a member, +and a Whig, and was delegated to communicate the facts to Grymes. I +knew the Senate had been his ambition for years. I knew he felt his +powers would give him a position with the greatest of that body, and +an immediate national reputation, and had no doubt of his cheerful +acquiescence. To my astonishment he assumed a grave and most serious +manner. "I am grateful, most grateful to you," he said, "for I know +this has been brought about by you, and that you sincerely desire to +gratify me; but I cannot consent to be a candidate. Most frankly will +I tell you my reasons. I admit it has been my desire for years. It has +been, I may say to you, my life-long ambition; but I have always +coupled the possession of the position with the power of sustaining it +reputably. I was never ambitious of the silly vanity of simply being a +senator and known as such; but of giving to it the character and +dignity due it. Louisiana is a proud State, her people are a noble and +a proud people, they have a right to be so--look at her! With a soil +and a climate congenial to the production of the richest staples now +ministering to the luxuries and necessities of man--with a river +emptying into her commercial mart the productions of a world, her +planters are princes, in feeling, fortune, and position. At their +mansions is dispensed a noble hospitality, rich in the feasts of body +and mind, generous and open as was Virginia's in her proudest days. At +Washington I would represent these, and the merchant-princes of her +metropolis. You have said, as eloquently as truly, 'There is but one +Mississippi River; but one Louisiana; but one New Orleans on the face +of the earth.' As she is, and as her people are, I would represent her +as her senator. + +"I am a beggar, and cannot consent, in this character, to be made more +conspicuous, by being made a beggarly senator. I cannot take a house +in Washington, furnish it, and live in it as a gentleman. I could not, +in any other manner, entertain my people visiting Washington, +consistently with my ideas of what a senator should do. I cannot go to +Washington, and, as one of them, stand among the great men of the +Senate, in that magnificent hall, and feel my soul swell to theirs and +its proportions, and then dodge you, or any other gentleman from +Louisiana, and sneak home to a garret. My means would allow me no +better apartment. I could not live in the mean seclusion of a +miserable penury, nor otherwise than in a style comporting, in my +estimation, with the dignity and the duty of a senator from Louisiana, +as some have done, who were able to live and entertain as gentlemen, +for the purpose of the degraded saving of half my _per diem_ to swell +my coffers at home. + +"Now, my friend, I feel how miserably foolish I have been all my life. +I have thrown away fortune because I despised it. It was too +grovelling a pursuit, too mean a vocation, to make and to hoard money. +In my soul I despised it, and now you see it is revenged; for without +it, I have learned, there is no gratification for ambition--no +independence of a sneering, envious world. A bankrupt is a felon, +though his mind, his virtues, and his attainments may be those of a +god. He is a useless waif upon the world; for all he has, or all he +may be, is, to himself and the world, unavailable without money. I +have discarded all my ambitious aspirations long since, and tried to +reconcile myself to the fact that my life has been and is a failure. +And I am sorry you have come to me to remind me that the aim of my +young life was within my reach, when I have no means to grasp it, and, +now that I am miserable, to show me what I might have been. No, my +friend, I must go on with the drudgery of the law, to earn my bread, +and thus eke out a miserable future. I am grateful to you and my other +friends, who have delegated you to this mission. Say so to them, if +you please. I must go to court. The horse of the bark-mill must go to +his daily circle. Good morning!" + +Some years after the event above mentioned, Grymes, as the attorney of +the city of New Orleans, succeeded, before the Supreme Court of the +United States, in making good the title to the batture property in the +city. What is termed batture in Louisiana is the land made by +accretion or deposits of the Mississippi. One strange feature of this +great river is, that it never gets any wider. It is continually +wearing and caving on one side or the other, and making a +corresponding deposit on the other bank. Opposite a portion of the +city of New Orleans this deposit has been going on for many years, +while the opposite bank has been wearing away. There are living +citizens who saw in youth the river occupying what is now covered by +many streets and many blocks of buildings, and is one of the most +valuable portions of the city. In truth, what was a century ago entire +river, is now one-fourth of the city, and this deposit goes on +annually without any decrease in its ratio. + +By agreement of all parties, this batture was surveyed into squares +and lots, and sold at public auction, and the money deposited in the +Bank of Louisiana, to the credit of the Supreme Court of the United +States, to abide the decision of that tribunal as to the rightful +ownership. The decision gave it to the city. Grymes, as attorney for +the city, by order of the court, received a check for the money. The +bank paid the check, and Grymes appropriated one hundred thousand +dollars of it, as a fee for his services, and then deposited the +balance to the credit of the mayor and council of the city. This was a +large fee, but was not really what he was entitled to, under the +custom of chancery for collecting money. He had agreed to pay Daniel +Webster for assistance rendered; but Mr. Webster, some years after, +informed me that he had never received a cent, and I am sure he never +did, after that. + +Grymes was well aware, if the city fathers got their hands upon the +money, it would be years before he got this amount, if ever. With a +portion of this money he liquidated all claims not antiquated and +forgotten by him, and the balance was intrusted to the hands of a +friend to invest for his benefit. This, together with his practice, +which was now declining, furnished a handsome support for him. Age +appeared to effect little change in his _personnel_. At sixty-seven, +he was as erect in person and as elastic in step as at thirty. There +was none of that _embonpoint_ usually the consequence of years and +luxurious living. He was neither slender nor fat; but what is most +agreeable to the eye--between the two, with a most perfectly formed +person. His features were manly, and strikingly beautiful; his blue +eyes beaming with the _hauteur_ of high breeding and ripe +intelligence. These features were too often disfigured with the sneer +of scorn, or the curled lip of expressive contempt. His early hopes, +his manhood's ambition had been disappointed; and, soured and sore, he +sneered at the world, and despised it. He had no confidence in man or +woman, and had truly reached Hamlet's condition, when "Man delighted +him not, nor woman either." He felt the world was his debtor, and was +niggardly in its payments. He grew more and more morose as the things +of time receded. Others, full of youth, talent, and vigor, were +usurping the positions and enjoying the honors of life, which were +slipping away from him unenjoyed. He turned upon these the bitterness +engendered by disappointment. Cynicism lent edge to his wit, and +bitterness to his sarcasm. He was at war with himself, and +consequently with all the world. His mind felt none of the imbecility +of age, and to the last retained its perspicuity and power. As he came +into life a man, and never knew a boyhood, so he went from it a man, +without the date of years. At sixty-eight years of age, he went +quietly from life without suffering, and, to himself, without regret. +He was a man--take him all in all--whose like we shall not look on +soon again. + +The virtues and the vices, the loves and the hates of life were +strangely blended in the character of John Randolph Grymes; but if we +judge from the fact that he had and left many warm and devoted +friends, and few enemies, we must suppose the good in his nature +greatly preponderated. But notwithstanding the great space he had +filled in the eyes of the people of the city, his death startled only +for a moment, and straightway he was forgotten; as the falling pebble +dimples for a moment the lake's quiet surface--then all is smooth +again. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +DIVISION OF NEW ORLEANS INTO MUNICIPALITIES. + +AMERICAN HOTEL--INTRODUCTION OF STEAMBOATS--FAUBOURG ST. MARY--CANAL +STREET--ST. CHARLES HOTEL--SAMUEL J. PETERS--JAMES H. CALDWELL-- +FATHERS OF THE MUNICIPALITY--BERNARD MARIGNY--AN ASS--A.B. ROMAN. + + +Forty years ago there was not a public hotel in the city of New +Orleans which received and entertained ladies. There was but one +respectable American hotel in the city. This was kept by John +Richardson, who still lives, and was on Conti Street, between Chartres +and the levee. About that time Madame Heries opened the Planter's +Hotel on Canal Street, which some years after fell and crushed to +death some thirty persons. There were many boarding-houses, where +ladies were entertained, and to these were all ladies visiting the +city constrained to resort. Some of these were well kept and +comfortable, but afforded none or very few of the advantages of public +hotels. They were generally kept by decayed females who were +constrained to this vocation by pecuniary misfortunes. The liberal +accommodation afforded in hotels, especially built and furnished for +the purpose, was not to be found in any of them. + +At this period all the means of travel between Mobile and New Orleans, +across the Lake, consisted of one or two schooners, as regular weekly +packets, plying between the two cities. It was about this time that +the tide of emigration which had peopled the West, and the rapid +increase of production, was stimulating the commerce of New Orleans. +It was obeying the impulse, and increasing in equal ratio its +population. This commerce was chiefly conducted by Americans, and most +of these were of recent establishment in the city. That portion of the +city above Canal Street, and then known as the Faubourg St. Mary, was +little better than a marsh in its greater portion. Along the river and +Canal Street, there was something of a city appearance, in the +improvements and business, where there were buildings. In every other +part there were shanties, and these were filled with a most miserable +population. + +About this time, too, steamboats were accumulating upon the Western +waters--a new necessity induced by the increase of travel and +commerce--affording facilities to the growing population and +increasing production of the vast regions developing under the energy +of enterprise upon the Mississippi and her numerous great tributaries. +It seemed that at this juncture the whole world was moved by a new +impulse. The difficulties of navigating the Mississippi River had been +overcome, and the consequences of this new triumph of science and +man's ingenuity were beginning to assume a more vigorous growth. + +The Ohio and its tributaries were peopling with a hardy and +industrious race; the Missouri, Arkansas, and Red rivers, too, were +filling with a population which was sweeping away the great wild +forests, and fields of teeming production were smiling in their stead. +New Orleans was the market-point for all that was, and all that was to +be, the growth of these almost illimitable regions. It was, as it ever +is, the exigencies of man answered by the inspirations of God. The +necessities of this extending population along the great rivers +demanded means of transportation. These means were to be devised, by +whom? The genius of Fulton was inspired, and the steamboat sprang into +existence. The necessity existed no longer, and the flood of +population poured in and subdued the earth to man's will, to man's +wants. Over the hills and valleys, far away it went, crowding back the +savage, demanding and taking for civilized uses his domain of +wilderness, and creating new necessities--and again the inspired +genius of man gave to the world the railroad and locomotive. + +The great increase in the production of cotton in the West, and which +went for a market to New Orleans, necessitated greater accommodations +for the trade in that city--presses for compressing, and houses for +merchants, where the business could be conducted with greater facility +and greater convenience. American merchants crowded to the city, and +located their places of business above Canal Street, beyond which +there was not a street paved. There was not a wharf upon which to +discharge freights, consequently the cotton bales had to be rolled +from the steamers to the levee, which in the almost continued rains of +winter were muddy, and almost impassable at times for loaded vehicles. +Below Canal Street the levee was made firm by being well shelled, and +the depth of water enabled boats and shipping to come close alongside +the bank, which the accumulating batture prevented above. + +The French, or Creole population greatly preponderated, and this +population was all below Canal Street. They elected the mayor, and +two-thirds of the council, and these came into office with all the +prejudices of that people against the Americans, whom a majority of +them did not hesitate to denominate intruders. The consequence was the +expenditure of all the revenue of the city upon improvements below +Canal Street. Every effort was made to force trade to the lower +portion of the city. This was unavailing. The Faubourg St. Mary +continued to improve, and most rapidly. Business and cotton-presses +sprang up like magic. Americans were purchasing sugar plantations and +moving into the French parishes, drawing closer the relations of +fellow-citizens, and becoming more and more acquainted with the +feelings and opinions of each other, and establishing good +neighborhoods and good feelings, and by degrees wearing out these +national prejudices, by encouraging social intercourse and fraternity. +They were introducing new methods of cultivation, and new modes of +making sugar; pushing improvements, stimulating enterprise, and +encouraging a community of feeling, as they held a common interest in +the country. In the country parishes these prejudices of race had +never been so strong as in the city, and were fast giving way; +intermarriages and family relations were beginning to identify the +people, and this to some extent was true in the city. But here there +was a conflict of interest, and this seemed on the increase. The +improvements made in the Faubourg were suggested by the necessities of +commerce, and this naturally went to these. There was a superior +enterprise in the American merchant, there was greater liberality in +his dealings: he granted hazardous accommodations to trade, and made +greater efforts to secure it. This had the effect of securing the +rapidly increasing commerce of the city to the American merchants, and +of course was promoting the settlement and improvement of the Faubourg +St. Mary. It excited, too, more and more the antipathies of the +ancient population. These, controlling the city government constantly +in a most envious spirit, refused to extend the public improvements of +the Faubourg. + +There was not, forty years ago, or in 1828, a paving-stone above Canal +Street, nor could any necessity induce the government of the city to +pave a single street. Where now stands the great St. Charles Hotel, +there was an unsightly and disgusting pond of fetid water, and the +locations now occupied by the City Hotel and the St. James were +cattle-pens. There was not a wharf in the entire length of the city, +and the consequence was an enormous tax levied upon produce, in the +shape of drayage and repairs of injuries to packages, from the want of +these prime necessities. + +The navigation of the Bayou St. John commanded for the lower portion +of the city the commerce crossing the lake, and to monopolize the +profits of travel, a railroad was proposed from the lake to the river, +and speedily completed. The people of the Faubourg, to counteract as +much as possible these advantages, constructed a canal from the city +to the lake, which was to enter the city, or Faubourg St. Mary, at the +foot of Julia Street, one of the broadest and best streets in that +quarter of the city. This was of sufficient capacity for schooners and +steamboats of two hundred tons burden. When this was completed, with +great difficulty the authorities were prevailed upon to pave Julia +Street; still the greatly increasing demands of commerce were +neglected, and while by these refusals the population of the city +proper was doing all it could to force down to the city this +increasing trade, they neglected to do anything there for its +accommodation. The streets were very narrow; the warehouses small and +inconvenient; the merchants close and unenterprising, seemingly +unconscious of the great revolution going on in their midst. + +From the growing greatness of the surplus products of the immense +Valley, this was quadrupling annually. The cotton crop of the United +States, forty years ago, scarcely reached half a million of bales, and +of this New Orleans did not receive one-third; but in five years +after, her receipts were very nearly one-half of the entire crop. At +the same period, the sugar crop did not amount to more than twenty +thousand hogsheads; five years thereafter, it had quadrupled, and the +commerce from the upper rivers had increased a hundred-fold, and was +going on in all the products of the soil to increase in like ratio. At +this time the antipathy was at its acme between the two races or +populations. + +Then the Legislature held its sessions in New Orleans, and the +American residents, merchants, and property-holders determined to +apply to the Legislature for an amendment of the city charter. A bill +was introduced accordingly, proposing to divide the city into three +municipalities, making Canal and Esplanade streets the lines of +division; giving the city proper and each faubourg a separate +government: in truth, making three cities where there had been but +one. The excitement in the city became intense, and sectional +animosities increased in bitterness. To the American population it was +a matter of prime necessity; to the property-holders and merchants of +the city proper it was a matter of life and death. To these it was +apparent that the moment this bill became a law, and the Faubourg St. +Mary controlled her own finances, her streets would be paved and +warehouses spring up to meet every demand--wharves would be +constructed, the quay or levee would be sheltered, capital would flow +to the Faubourg, and, in a moment as it were, she would usurp the +entire domestic trade of the country: in other words, the Faubourg St. +Mary would become the City of New Orleans. + +After carefully canvassing the Legislature, it was found very doubtful +whether the bill would pass or not; the attempt had heretofore proved +eminently unsuccessful, but now it was apparent that it had gained +many friends, and it was not certain it could be defeated. Under these +circumstances, overtures were made by the city government, to expend +all the revenue in improvements above Canal Street, which should be +collected from the inhabitants of that quarter. This proposition was +declined, and the bill after a most exciting struggle became a law. +Under its provisions a new council and recorder were chosen, and a new +impetus was given the Faubourg St. Mary, which was now, under this +law, the second municipality. Extensive wharves were erected along the +front of the municipality; streets were paved, and the whole trading +community felt the improvements were assuming gigantic proportions, +and trade relieved of onerous and vexatious impositions. Property rose +in value rapidly; Canal Street grew speedily into importance. The +dry-goods trade, hitherto confined almost exclusively to Chartres +Street, came out upon this magnificent street as rapidly as it could +be accommodated. From an almost deserted suburb, it became the centre +of business and the great boulevard of the city. A company built the +great St. Charles Hotel, and here were first opened hotel +accommodations for ladies in New Orleans, thirty-one years ago. + +The commercial crisis of 1837 retarded temporarily the improvements, +but only for a day as it were, and in a few years there was a great +American city, fashioned by American energy and American capital from +the unsightly and miserable mire of the Faubourg St. Mary. + +To the enterprise and perseverance of two men was mostly due this +rapid improvement of the city and its new and extended accommodations +to commerce--Samuel J. Peters and James H. Caldwell. Mr. Peters was a +native of Canada, and came when quite a youth to New Orleans. He +married a Creole lady, a native of the city; and, after serving as a +clerk for some time in the business house of James H. Leverick & Co., +commenced business as a wholesale grocer. In this business he was +successful, and continued in it until his death. He was a man of +splendid abilities and great business tact, great energy and +application, and full of public spirit. New Orleans he viewed as his +home; he identified himself and family with the people, and his fame +with her prosperity. To this end he devoted his time and energies; +around him congregated others who lent willingly and energetically +their aid to accomplish his conceptions, and to fashion into realities +the projections of his mind. I remember our many walks about the +second municipality--when, where now is the City Hall, and Camp and +Charles streets, and when these magnificent streets, now stretching +for miles away, ornamented with splendid buildings and other +improvements, were but muddy roads through open lots, with side-walks +of flat-boat gunwales, with only here and there a miserable shanty, +with a more miserable tenant--to contemplate and talk of the future we +both lived to see of this municipality. Stopping on one occasion in +front of what is Lafayette Square, at the time the bill was pending +for the division of the city into municipalities, he said: "Here must +be the City of New Orleans. You can pass the bill, now before the +Legislature; and if you will, I promise you I will make the Faubourg +St. Mary the City of New Orleans." Only a few months before his death, +we stood again upon the same spot, surrounded by magnificent +buildings--Odd-Fellows' Hall, the First Presbyterian Church, the great +City Hall, and grand and beautiful buildings of every character. "Do +you remember my promise made here?" he said. "Have I fulfilled it? +Many days of arduous labor and nights of anxious thought that promise +cost me. You did your part well, and when I thought it impossible. +Have I done mine?" I could but answer: "Well, and worthily!" I never +saw him after--but I shall never cease to remember him as a great, +true man. + +James H. Caldwell was an Englishman, and by profession a comedian. It +was he who first brought a theatrical company to the West. He had +built the first theatres in Cincinnati, St. Louis, and New Orleans, +and first created a taste for theatricals in the great West. +Possessing fine natural abilities, and wonderful enterprise, he pushed +his fortunes, as a theatrical manager, successfully for a number of +years. He built the Camp Street Theatre, and made it exceedingly +profitable. Away back, forty-five years ago, I remember my first +meeting with him at Vicksburg, then a little hamlet, with but few +houses and many hills, abrupt, and ugly. He and his company were +descending to Natchez, and thence, after a short season, to New +Orleans. Edwin Forrest, then a youth, was one of his company, which +also included Russell and wife, Sol. Smith and brother, with their +wives, Mrs. Rose Crampton, and, as a star, Junius Brutus Booth. How +wild was the scene around us! The river was low and sluggish; the boat +small and dirty; the captain ignorant and surly; the company full of +life, wit, and humor. Slowly we labored on. The dense forest came +frowning to the river's brink, with only here and there, at long +intervals, an opening, where some adventurous pioneer had cut and +burned the cane, and built his shanty. The time was whiled away with +song, recitation, anecdotes, and laughter, until midnight brought us +to Natchez. It was a terrible night--dark, and beginning to rain. +Under the hill at Natchez, forty-five years ago, was a terrible place. +The road up the bluff was precipitous and muddy. There were no +accommodations for decent people under the hill. The dance-houses were +in full blast. Boisterous and obscene mirth rang from them; men and +women were drunk; some were singing obscene songs; some were shouting +profanity in every disgusting term; some, overcome with debauchery, +were insensible to shame, and men and women, rushing from house to +house, gathered a crowd to meet us as we landed. One tremendous +slattern shouted, as she saw us come on shore: "There are the +show-folks; now we'll have fun!" If Mrs. Farren--the daughter of +Russell--still lives, I will say to her that this was her advent to +Natchez. Up that hill, through mire and rain, I bore her in my arms, +on that terrible night. Caldwell alone was cheerful; Sol. Smith joked, +and Russell swore. + + "How many, many memories + Sweep o'er my spirit now!" + +It was a peculiarity of James H. Caldwell to do whatever he did with +all his might. No obstacle seemed to deter or impede the execution of +any public or individual enterprise of his. Beside being a splendid +performer, he was an accomplished gentleman, and a fine, classic +scholar. His reading was select and extensive. At a very early day, he +was impressed with the future importance of New Orleans as a +commercial city, and commenced to identify himself with the American +population, and to make this his future home. His ideas on this +subject were in advance of those of many whose business had always +been commerce, and they were generally deemed Utopian and extravagant; +but his self-reliance was too great to heed any ridicule thrown upon +any thought or enterprise of his. He invested his limited means in +property in the second municipality, and lent himself, heart and soul, +in connection with Peters, to its development into the proportions his +imagination conceived it was ultimately capable of attaining, should +the extent of its commerce reach the magnitude he supposed it would. +Immediately upon the amendment of the city charter, creating the +municipalities, and making independent the second, Caldwell conceived +the idea of lighting the city with gas, and, at the same time, of +building a city hall, and the establishment of a system of public +schools. + +Edward York, a merchant of the city, gave this idea his special +attention, and co-operated with Peters and Caldwell in every project +for the advancement of the interests of the municipality. Caldwell set +to work in the face of difficulties, which really seemed +insurmountable, to effect his scheme of lighting the city with gas. I +was at that time a member of the Legislature. Caldwell's scheme was to +obtain a charter for a bank, and with this carry into execution +rapidly his scheme. He came to me, and opened up his views. He wanted +my aid so far as assisting him in drafting the charter, and +undertaking its passage through the Legislature. There was no delay, +and in a short time the gas-light and banking company was chartered, +the stock taken, and the bank in successful operation. Caldwell, +though entirely unacquainted with the practical necessities of +constructing the proper works to complete his plan, went energetically +to work to acquire this, and did so, and in a few months everything +was systematically and economically moving forward to completion. He +alone conceived, planned, and superintended the whole work. Nor did he +abate in energy and perseverance one moment until all was completed. +All this while he was a member of the council, and giving his +attention to many other matters of prime importance to the +municipality. + +Peters, Caldwell, and York may justly be said to have been the fathers +of the municipality. To Edward York is justly due the system of public +schools, which is so prominent a feature in the institutions of New +Orleans. These three have passed away, and with them all who +co-operated with them in this enterprise, which has effected so much +for the city of New Orleans. They were unselfish public benefactors, +and deserve this commemoration. + +Among the remarkable men of New Orleans, at this period, was Bernard +Marigny, a scion of the noble stock of the Marigny de Mandevilles, of +France. His ancestor was one of the early settlers of Louisiana, and +was a man of great enterprise, and accumulated an immense fortune, +which descended to Bernard Marigny. This fortune, at the time it came +into the hands of Marigny, was estimated at four millions. His +education was sadly neglected in youth; so was his moral training. He +was a youth of genius, and proper cultivation would, or might, have +made him a man of distinguished fame and great usefulness. Coming into +possession of his immense estate immediately upon his majority, with +no experience in business matters, flushed with youth and fortune, +courted by every one, possessing a brilliant wit, fond to excess of +amusements, delighting in play, and flattered by every one, he gave up +his time almost entirely to pleasure. A prominent member of the +Legislature for many years, he had identified himself with the history +of the State, as had his ancestor before him. He was the youngest +member of the convention which formed the first Constitution of the +State, and was the last survivor of that memorable body. Soon after +succeeding to his fortune, and when he was by far the wealthiest man +in the State, Louis Philippe, the fugitive son of Louis Egalite, Duke +of Orleans, came to New Orleans, an exile from his native land, after +his father had perished by the guillotine. Marigny received him, and +entertained him as a prince. He gave him splendid apartments in his +house, with a suite of servants to attend him, and, opening his purse +to him, bade him take _ad libitum_. For some years he remained his +guest, indeed until he deemed it necessary to leave, and when he went, +was furnished with ample means. Long years after, when fortune had +abandoned the fortunate, and was smiling upon the unfortunate--when +the exile was a monarch, and his friend and benefactor was needy and +poor--when Louis Philippe was king of France and the wealthiest man in +Europe, they met again. Their circumstances were reversed. Marigny was +old and destitute. The monarch waited to be importuned, though +apprised of his benefactor's necessities and dependence, and answered +his appeal with a snuff-box, and the poor old man learned that there +was truth in the maxim, "Put not your trust in princes." + +Wasteful habits, and the want of economy in every branch of his +business, wrought for him what it must for every one--"ruin." During +the discussion in the Legislature upon the bill dividing the city into +municipalities, Marigny, then a member, exerted himself against the +bill. He viewed it as the destruction of the property of the ancient +population in value, and their consequent impoverishment, and threw +much of his wit and satire at those who were its prominent supporters. +Among them was Thomas Green Davidson, a distinguished member of +Congress, (still living, and long may he live!) Robert Hale, and +myself. Ridicule was Marigny's _forte_. Upon the meeting of the House, +and before its organization for business, one morning, the writer, at +his desk, was approached by Alexander Barrow, a member--and who +afterward died a member of the United States Senate--who read to me a +squib which Marigny was reading, at the same moment, to a group about +him. It read thus: + + "Sparks, and Thomas Green Davidson, + Rascals by nature and profession: + Dey can bos go to hell + Wid Colonel Bob Hailles." + +I saw that the group would, with Marigny, soon approach me, and made +haste to reply. It was only a day or two before we were to adjourn. +When they came, and the squib was read, I read the following reply: + + "Dear Marigny, we're soon to part, + So let that parting be in peace: + We've not been angered much in heart, + But e'en that little soon shall cease. + + "When you are sleeping with the dead, + The spars we've had I'll not forget: + A warmer heart, or weaker head, + On earth, I'll own, I never met. + + "And on your tomb inscribed shall be, + In letters of your favorite brass, + Here lies, O Lord! we grieve to see, + A man in form, in head an ass." + +He arched his brow, and, without speaking, retired. An hour after, he +came to me, and said: "Suppose you write no more poetry. I shall stop. +You can call me a villain, a knave, a great rascal: every gentleman +have dat said about him. Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, General Jackson, all +have been call so. You can say dat; but I tell you, sir, I not like to +be call ass." + +He was the aggressor, and, though offended, was too chivalrous to +quarrel. He had fought nineteen duels, and I did not want to quarrel +either. + +For many of his latter years he was destitute and miserable. He had +seen all his compeers pass away, and he felt that he was in the way of +a generation who knew nothing of him, or his history, and who cared +nothing for either. At nearly ninety years of age he died in extreme +poverty. Nature had done much for Bernard Marigny. His mind was of no +ordinary stamp. He was a natural orator, abounding in humor and wit, +and was the life of society. His person was symmetry itself, about +five feet ten inches, and admirably proportioned; and, to the day of +his death, he was truly a handsome man, so symmetrical and +well-preserved were his features, and the sparkling light in his eyes. +He long enjoyed the luxuries of life, and lived to lament its follies +in indigence and imbecility. + +Of all the Creole population, A.B. Roman was, at this time, the most +prominent, and the most talented. In very early life he was elected +Governor of the State, and discharged the duties of the office with +great ability, and, after Claiborne, with more satisfaction to the +people than any man who ever filled the office. The Constitution did +not admit of his being elected a second time as his own successor, but +he might be again chosen to fill the chair after the four years' +service of another. He was elected to a second term, and when it +expired, he was chosen president of the draining company, in which +office he rendered most important services to the city, in planning +and effecting a system of drainage which relieved the city of the +immense swamp immediately in its rear. + +In all the relations of life, A.B. Roman was a model--gentle and +affable in his manners, punctiliously honorable, faithful in all his +transactions, affectionate and indulgent as a husband and father, kind +and obliging as a neighbor, faithful to all the duties of a citizen; +and ambitious to promote the best interests of his native State, he +gave his time and talents for this purpose, wherever and whenever they +could be of service. The war, in his old age, left him destitute and +heart-broken. I had the opportunity of several conversations with him, +and found him despondent in the extreme. Our last interview was the +week before his death. + +"In my old age," he said, "I am compelled, for a decent support, to +accept a petty office--recorder of mortgages--and I feel humiliated. I +see no future for me or my people. My days are wellnigh over, and I +can't say I regret it." + +Only five days after, he fell dead in the street, near his own door. A +wise and good man went to his God when A.B. Roman died. He was one of +a large and respectable family, long resident in the State, and surely +was one of her noblest sons. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +BLOWING UP THE LIONESS. + +DOCTOR CLAPP--VIEWS AND OPINIONS--UNIVERSAL DESTINY--ALEXANDER BARROW +--E.D. WHITE--CROSS-BREED, IRISH RENEGADE AND ACADIAN--HEROIC WOMAN-- +THE GINSENG TRADE--I-I-I'LL D-D-DIE F-F-FIRST. + + +Dr. Clapp, so conspicuous in the annals of New Orleans, was from New +England, and was located in New Orleans as a Presbyterian minister, as +early as 1824, and about the same period that the great and lamented +Larned died. + +His mind was bold and original, analytical and independent. Soon after +his location and the commencement of his ministry, he gave offence to +some of his church, and especially to some of his brother pastors, by +the enunciation of opinions not deemed orthodox. + +There was at this time preaching at Natchez, one Potts, who was a +Presbyterian, a Puritan, and extremely straight-laced in doctrine, and +eminently puritan in practice, intolerant, bigoted, and presumptuous. +Potts had accomplished one great aim of his mission: he had married a +lady of fortune, and assumed more purity than any one else, and was a +sort of self-constituted exponent of the only true doctrines of his +church. Arrogant and conceited, he, though a very young man, thrust +himself forward as a censor, and very soon was in controversy with Dr. +Clapp. Without a tithe of his talent, or a grain of his piety, he +assumed to arraign him on the ground of unfaithfulness to the tenets +of the church. This controversy was bitter and continued. The result +was, that Dr. Clapp dissolved connection with the Presbyterian Church, +and, at the call of the most numerous and talented as well as wealthy +congregation ever preached to, up to that time, in New Orleans; +established himself as an independent, and continued to preach for +many years--indeed, until age and infirmity compelled him to retire. + +His peculiar religious opinions were more Unitarian than Presbyterian. +They consisted of an enlightened philosophy derived from _natural +revelation_, which elevated Deity above the passions, prejudices, +loves, and hates of mortality. _His_ GOD _was_ INFINITE, +ALL-PERVADING, _and_ PERFECT. + +The purity of his character, and his wonderful intellect, combined, +brought around him the most intelligent and moral of the population, +and his opinions won many converts. He preached and practised a +rational religion, defined a rigid morality as the basis and main +requisite to true piety, and the doing good toward his fellow-man, the +duty of man toward God. + +The faith he exacted was predicated upon works.... That he who had +faith in the existence of the soul, and who believed its future +dependent upon him, should be taught this faith was best exemplified +by a faithful discharge of all the duties imposed by society and law. +That he who was pious, was a good husband, father, and friend, a good +neighbor, an honest, and sincere man, faithful in the discharge of all +his duties as a citizen and member of society: resting here the hope +of future reward, and not looking to the merits of any other for that +salvation, which the mind hopes, and the heart craves for all +eternity; fixing a responsibility individually and indivisibly upon +each and every one, to earn salvation by discharging temporal duties +which secure the harmony, well-being, and general love of mankind. Any +other doctrine, he contended, destroyed man's free agency, and +discouraged the idea that virtue and goodness were essential to true +piety. God had created him for an especial mission. His existence in +time was his chrysalis condition; to make this as nearly perfect as +was possible to his nature, he was gifted with mind, passion, and +propensities--the former to conceive and control the discharge of the +duties imposed upon him in this state: this done, he perished as to +time, and awoke prepared for eternity. These ideas were impressed with +a logic irresistible to the enlightened mind--not clouded with the +bigotry of fanaticism--and an eloquence so persuasive and sweet as to +charm the heart and kindle it into love. + +He never burned brimstone under the noses of his auditory, nor +frenzied their imaginations with impassioned appeals to supernatural +agencies. He expounded the Scriptures as the teachings of men. His +learning was most profound, especially in the languages. He understood +thoroughly the Hebrew and Greek. He read from the originals the +Scriptures, and interpreted them to his hearers, as to their meaning +in their originals, and disrobed them of the supernatural character +which an ignorant fanaticism has thrown over them, and which time and +folly has indurated beyond the possibility of learning and science to +crack or crush. + +A great original thinker, untrammelled by the schools, and independent +of precedents, he saw nature before him, and studied closely all her +developments. Eminently schooled in the philosophy of life, deeply +read in the human mind and the heart, he searched for all the +influences operating its conclusions, and the motives of human action: +the relations of man to external nature, the connection of mind with +matter, the origin of things, their design as developed in their +creation, their connection and dependence, one upon the other, and the +relation of all to the Creator, and in those the duty of man. It was +his idea, that, commencing from the humblest, and ascending to man, +through created nature, the design was manifest that these were all, +in the animal and the vegetable kingdom, assigned by the Creator for +man's uses. To him alone, in all these creations, are given the +faculties necessary to a comprehension of the nature of all of these, +as well as their uses. + +From this fact, so powerfully prominent in all natural developments, +he viewed man as the most intimate relation of the Creator on this +globe, and discovering in him no designs beyond the cultivation of the +great faculty of thought for time, the inference was natural that his +future was not for time, or time's uses. That all was only fitting the +soul, which his instincts tell him exists within, when, refined by +time, and the probation of life, for the independence, and the +fruition of the sublime designs of God in eternal life, he should +ascend to his destined sphere, etherialized, and know his Creator and +the future of his being; when speculation should cease, and reality +and unambiguous truth be made manifest. Of this great truth his mind +was so fully impressed that all his life was by it governed. His +convictions were palpable in his conduct, for it was in strict +conformity with these opinions. The aberrations from virtue and the +laws of morals, as established by man for the better regulation of his +conduct toward his fellow-men, he deemed the result of improper +education, and especially the education of the heart, and the want of +the training this gives to the natural desires of his organization. +That these desires, passions, and instincts, are given as essential to +his mission in time, and those properly educated, trained, and +directed, are necessary to his fulfilment of life's duties, in the +perfection of the Creator's design, and, when so educated and +directed, secure to the individual, and to society, the consummation +of this design; but when perverted, become a punishment to both +society and the individual, for the neglect of a prime duty; and +belong alone to time. Similar results he saw from similar causes, in +the operations of inanimate life. The design of the tree was to grow +upward, but an unnatural obstacle, in the falling of another, bends it +away, and its growth is perverted from the original design, yet it +grows on and completes the cycle of its destiny. + +The stream flows onward, naturally obeying a natural law; but an +obstacle interposes and interrupts the design; still it will go on to +complete its cycle, obedient to its destiny, though turned from its +natural channel: and these are the same in the end with those +undisturbed in the fulfilment of their designs. All crime or vice is +of time, and made such by the laws of man. The aggregation of men into +societies or communities necessitate laws to establish moral, legal, +and political duties, and to provide punishments for the infraction of +these. The right to acquire and possess the fruits of labor--the right +of free thought--the right to enjoy the natural relations of life, and +the privileges conferred by society--the right to live undisturbed, +all are the objects of legal protection; because the attributes of +man's nature, unrestrained in the discharge of his duties to his +fellow-man, will invade these rights, and hence the necessity of a +universal rule of action. All these attributes are susceptible of +education as to what is right, and what is wrong; and it is the duty +of religion to impress upon the mind the importance of the one to the +security of society, and the evil of the other in its effect upon the +design of the Creator. This design is harmony and love universal, and +pervades all nature, where a free will is not vouched; but with this +free will is given a capacity to cultivate it into that love and +harmony, and thus to consummate the great design of the Creator. + +He taught, _religion was the sublimation of moral thought and moral +action_; because it was in harmony with nature, and subserved the +purposes of the Creator--because it brought man into harmony with +every other creation, whose design was apparent to his capacity of +understanding--that this design, made manifest to his mind, taught him +his duty, and it was the province of the teacher to show to all this +design, and illustrate this harmony. The teacher should know before he +attempted to teach. He should disabuse his own mind of prejudices and +superstitions at variance with nature, and study natural organization +to learn the intention of the Creator; learn the nature of plants, the +organization of the earth, its components how formed, and of what--all +animal creation--the mechanism of the universe, its motions--the exact +perfection of every creation for the design of that creation; see and +know God's will, and God's wisdom, and God's power in all of them; +descend to the minor and most infinitesimal creation; learn its +organization, and see God here with a design, and a perfect +organization, to work it out--learn truth, where only truth exists, +from God in all created nature, and teach this, that all may learn and +conserve to the same great end. + +When comprehended, this planet, with all its creations, was designed +for man, and to perfect him for the use of God's design. These are for +consummation in eternity--all that relates to him in time, but +subserves the great end. The relationship to him is apparent in all +that surrounds him on earth. Step by step it comes up to him, and all +is for his use. At this point, all stops except himself. What was his +design as manifested in his nature? Surely, not solely to control and +appropriate all created matter surrounding him--not simply to probate +for a period, and pass away. It must be, that he is the link perfected +in this probation for a higher creation, as a part of a more +consummate perfection revealed through death. It cannot be, that the +mind given to him, alone, was only given to learn in this combination +of elements--earth, air, fire, and water--the startling and omnipotent +wisdom of the all-wise Creator, and then to perish with knowing no +more of that God, which this knowledge has created so consummate a +desire to know. + +The cycle of man's destiny is not in time, that of all else is; and +that destiny centres in his use, and is complete. If for him there is +not a future, why were the instincts of his nature given? Why the +power to learn so much? To trace in the planetary system divine +wisdom, and divine power; to see and know the same in the mite which +floats in the sunbeam? If this is all he is ever to know, does this +complete a destiny for use? if so, for what? Can it be, simply to +propagate his species, and perish? and was all this grand creation of +the earth, and all things therein, made to subserve him for so mean a +purpose? It cannot be. Life is a probation, death the key which +unlocks the portal through which we pass to the perfection of the +design of God. + +In these views and opinions Dr. Clapp lived and died. When worn out +with labor and the ravages of time, he sought to renovate his +exhausted energies, by removing to a higher latitude, and selected +Louisville, Kentucky, for his future home. He had seen most of his +early friends pass into eternity, in the fruition of time, and felt +and knew it was only a day that his departure for eternity was +delayed; yet how calmly and contentedly he awaited the mandate which +should bid him home! + +His belief in the universal destiny of man made him universally +tolerant. His intimates were of every creed, and the harmony existing +with these and himself made his life beautiful as exemplary. With the +ministers of every creed he was affectionately social: he had no +prejudices, cultivated no animosities, and was universally charitable. +He inculcated his principles by example, encouraged social communion +with all sects, teaching that he whose life is in the right cannot be +in the wrong. To a very great extent he infused his spirit into the +people of his adopted city. His most intimate associate was that very +remarkable Israelite, Judah Luro. This man was a native of Newport, +Rhode Island, and in early life came to New Orleans and commenced a +small business, to which he gave his energetic attention. His means, +though small at the beginning, were carefully husbanded, and +ultimately grew into immense wealth. He was exceedingly liberal in his +nature, philanthropic, and devoted to his friends. On the night of the +22d of December, 1814, he was engaged in the battle between the +English and American forces, near New Orleans, and was severely +wounded. In this condition he was found, when bleeding profusely from +his wounds and threatened with speedy death, by a young merchant of +the city, Resin D. Shepherd, who generously lifted him to his +shoulder, after stanching his wounds, and bore him, through brambles +and mire, in the darkness, to a place of security and comfort, some +miles distant from the scene of the fight. He never lost sight of this +friend. When he came to die, he made him executor to his will, and +residuary legatee, after disposing of some half a million of money in +other legacies. These were all immediately paid by Mr. Shepherd, who +entered upon the possession of all the property the deceased died +possessed of--consequently, the extent of his fortune was never +publicly known. + +This man built upon his own property, on Gravier Street, fronting St. +Charles, and immediately across Gravier Street from the St. Charles +Hotel, a church for Dr. Clapp, in which his congregation worshipped +for many years. When the hotel was built, and business began crowding +around this locality, it became necessary to remove his church. Again, +Mr. Luro built for him a church, in a more private and eligible +position, on the corner of Julia and St. Charles streets, and donated +it to the pastor and congregation of the Gravier Street Church. Here +Mr. Clapp continued his ministry during the remaining time of his +residence in New Orleans. + +He found with the cultivated and intelligent of New Orleans an +approval of his teachings and example. The consequence was, and is, +the entire absence of sectarian dissensions, and a social intercourse +between all, resulting in a united effort for the common good, and the +maintenance of moral sentiments and moral conduct--the basis and +source of true and triumphant religion. + +"The deeds that men do, live after them." Of no man can this be more +truly said than of Dr. Clapp. Through every phase of society his +example and teachings continue to live; and every virtuous and +intelligent man in the community of Dr. Clapp's ministry, in New +Orleans, conspires to continue the effect of them. + +In no community on earth is there a greater diversity of +nationalities, than in that of New Orleans, where every sect of +religionists is to be found. All pursue the worship of God after their +own manner of belief, exciting no jealousies, heart-burnings, or +hatreds. All agree that a common end is the aim of all, and that a +common destiny awaits mankind. + +In the pursuits of life, and the duties of time, nothing of religious +intolerance enters. A man's opinions upon that subject are his own, +and for these he is responsible to God only. His neighbor respects his +prejudices and feelings, and appreciates him according to his conduct +toward his fellow-man, and the discharge of his duties to society. + +Good follows the honest discharge of the duties of his vocation, from +every moral and religious teacher, if he is sincere and earnest, +whether Jew or Christian. An intelligent and virtuous community +appreciates this, and encourages such efforts as advance and sustain +public morals and social harmony. How such a man is esteemed in New +Orleans, a recent instance is ample illustration. A distinguished +Jewish Rabbi, long a resident minister of his faith in that city, was +called, to minister in a synagogue in the city of New York. His walk +and his work had been upright and useful. The good of all +denominations were unwilling to give up so good and so useful a man. +In the true spirit of pure religion, a large committee, appointed by a +meeting of the citizens from among every sect, composed of the leading +and most influential men of the city, waited upon him, and influenced +him to remain among them, and continue his vocation and pious +usefulness in the field where he had labored so long and so +efficiently. + +To the teachings of Dr. Clapp, much of this toleration is due. This +tone of feeling is the offspring of enlightenment, the enemy of +bigotry. His mission completed, he retired for health and quiet to a +point from which he could contemplate the results of his labors. He +saw that they were good, and felt his whole duty had been done. In the +fulness of years he awaited the coming of the hour when, released from +his prison-house and freed from earth, he should go to his reward. It +came, and ere the spirit was plumed for its final flight, he asked +that its wornout casket should be carried and deposited by those he +loved in life, in the city of his adoption and love; where, in death, +the broken community of life should be restored. This was done, and +now with them he sleeps well. + +Memory turns sadly back to many, now no more, who were compeers of Dr. +Clapp, and to New Orleans, as New Orleans was; but to none with more +melancholy pleasure than to Alexander Barrow and E.D. White. These +were both natives of the city of Nashville, Tennessee. Both came to +New Orleans in early life: White, with his father when a child, and +Barrow, when a young man. White was left an orphan when quite young, +in Attakapas, where his father lived, and with very limited means. He +struggled on in the midst of a people whose very language was alien to +his own, and managed to acquire a limited education, with which he +commenced the study of the law, the profession of his father. When +admitted to practice, he located at Donaldsonville, in the Parish of +Ascension, where he rose rapidly to distinction. Appointed +subsequently to a judgeship in New Orleans, he removed there to +reside. This appointment he did not continue to hold for any length of +time, his popularity being such as to point him out as a fit person to +contest with Mr. Livingston the seat in Congress then filled by the +latter. In this contest he was successful, and continued to represent +the district until he was chosen Governor. He filled this chair for +the constitutional period of four years, and immediately upon the +expiration of his term, he was again elected to Congress. He continued +to represent the district until the treachery of a family, numerous +and ignorant, yet influential with their ignorant, uneducated +neighbors, caused him to be beaten. They succeeded subsequently in +placing one of their family in his place, only to show the triumph of +folly and stupidity over worth and intelligence. Yet this cross of an +Irish renegade upon an Acadian woman was a fit representative of a +large majority of his constituents. + +The climate of Washington operated injuriously upon his constitution. +Long accustomed to that of Louisiana, it failed to resist the terrible +winter-climate of Washington, and he found his health broken. He +returned to his plantation, on the Bayou La Fourche, where he lingered +for a year or more, and died, in the meridian of life, leaving a young +and interesting family. + +Governor White was a man of great eccentricity of character, but with +a ripe intellect, and a heart overflowing with generous emotions and +tenderness. He loved his kind, and his life was most unselfishly +devoted to their service. Like all who have for any time made her +their home, he loved Louisiana first of all things. He was too young +when coming from his native land to remember it, and his first +attachment was for the soil of his adoption. He was reared in the +midst of the Creole population of the State; spoke French and Spanish +as his mother-tongue, and possessed the confidence and affection of +these people in a most remarkable degree. + +Governor White was a passenger on board the ill-fated steamer Lioness, +in company with many friends, among whom were Josiah S. Johnston, (the +elder brother of A. Sidney Johnston, who fell at the battle of +Shiloh,) and Judge Boyce, of the District Court. Josiah S. Johnston +was, at the time, a Senator in Congress. Some miles above the mouth of +Red River, and in that stream, the boat blew up, many of the +passengers being killed, among whom was Judge Johnston. Governor White +was terribly burned, and by many it was thought this led to his death. +His disease was bronchitis, which supervened soon after this terrible +disaster. The steamer had in her hold considerable powder. This, it +was said at the time, was ignited by the mate of the boat, who had +become enraged from some cause with the captain. The body of Judge +Johnston was never found. The boat was blown to atoms, with the +exception of the floor of the ladies' cabin. The upper works were all +demolished. This floor was thrown, it seemed almost miraculously, +intact upon the water. There were some six or eight ladies on board, +who were saved on this floor. When the smoke had lifted sufficiently +to permit a night view--for it was night--Governor White and Judge +Boyce were seen swimming near this floor of the wreck. White was +burned terribly in the face and on the hands, and was blinded by this +burning. The ladies were in their night-clothes; but what will not +woman do to aid the distressed, especially in the hour of peril? One +of the most accomplished ladies of the State snatched from her person +her _robe de chambre_, and, throwing one end to the struggling +Governor, called to him to reach for it, and with it pulled him to the +wreck, and kindly, with the aid of others, lifted him on. The same +kind office was performed for Boyce, and they were saved. Though a +stranger to the Governor, this great-hearted woman tore into strips +her gown, and kindly did the work of the Good Samaritan, in binding up +the wounds of one she did not know, had never before seen, and to +whose rank and character she was equally a stranger; and when she was +floating upon a few planks, at the mercy of the waters, and surrounded +by interminable forests covering the low and mucky shores of Red River +for many miles, where human foot had rarely trod, and human habitation +may never rest--one garment her only covering, and all she could hope +for, until some passing steamer should chance to rescue them, or until +she should float to the river's mouth, and find a human habitation. +She, too, is in the grave, but the memory of this act embalms her in +the hearts of all who knew her. Blessed one!--for surely she who +blessed all who came within her sphere, and only lived to do good, +must in eternity and for eternity be blest, like thousands of others +who have ministered in kindness for a day, and then went to the +grave--in thy youth and loveliness thou wert exhaled from earth: like +a storm-stricken flower in the morning of its bloom, wilted and dead, +the fragrance of thy virtues is the incense of thy memory! + +It was long before Governor White was fully restored to sight. No +public man, and especially one so long in public life, ever enjoyed +more fully the confidence of his constituents than Edward Douglass +White. His private character was never impeached, even in the midst of +the most excited political contests, nor did the breath of slander +ever breathe upon his fair fame, from his childhood to the grave. + +I am incompetent to write of Alexander Barrow as his merits deserve. +In him all that was noble and all that was respectable was most +happily combined. A noble and commanding person, a manly and +intellectual face, an eye that bespoke his heart, a soul that soared +in every relation of life above everything that was little or selfish, +a ripe and accurate judgment, a purpose always honorable and always +open, without concealment or deceit, and an integrity pure and +unsullied as the ether he breathed, an affectionate father, a devoted +husband, a firm and unflinching friend through every phase of +fortune--in fine, every element which makes a man united in Alexander +Barrow. Dear reader, if I seem extravagant in these words, pardon it +to me. When seventy winters have passed over your head, and you turn +back your memory upon all that has passed, recalling the incidents and +the friends of life, and you remember those which have transpired with +him you loved best and trusted most, and remember that he was always +true, never capricious, always wise, never foolish, always sincere, +never equivocal, and who never failed you in the darkest hours of +adversity, but was always the same to you in kindness, forbearance, +and devotion, remember such was ever to me Alexander Barrow, and +forgive this wild outpouring of the heart to the virtues of the +friend, tried so long, and loved so well. For more than twenty years +he has been in his grave; but in all that time no day has ever passed +that Alick has not stood before me as he was when we were young and +life was full of hope. His blood with mine mingles in the veins of our +grandchildren. O God! I would there were nothing to make this a +painful memory. + +Barrow served some years in the Legislature of the State, and was +thence transferred to the United States Senate, where, after a service +of six years, he died, in the prime of his manhood. Those who remember +the speech of Hannegan, and the attempt of Crittenden, who, under the +deep sorrow of his heart, sank voiceless and in tears to his +chair--the feeling which filled and moved the Senate when paying the +last tribute to his dead body, coffined and there before them in the +Senate chamber--may know how those estimated the man who knew him +best. Friend of my heart, farewell! We soon shall meet, with vernal +youth restored, to endure forever. + +There was another, Walter Brashear, our intimate friend for long +years. He went to eternity after a pilgrimage of eighty-eight years in +the sunshine and shadows of this miserable world. He was a native of +the city of Philadelphia, but with his parents went to Kentucky, when +a boy. These soon died, and Walter was left an orphan and poor, then +but a boy. After attending a common neighborhood school in the County +of Fayette, near Lexington, one year, he found it necessary to find +support in some employment. Walking the streets of Lexington in search +of this, the breeze blew to his feet a fragment of newspaper, which he +picked up and read from curiosity. Here he found an advertisement +inviting those who had ginseng for sale, to call. He knew there was +plenty of this root to be found in portions of Kentucky, and +determined immediately to embark in the speculation of searching for +it and sending it to Philadelphia. He labored assiduously, and soon +had acquired a considerable sum of money for those times, 1801. He +employed several hands to assist him the ensuing season, and after +forwarding the root collected, found there was no longer any market +for it in Philadelphia. Suspecting the person to whom he had +previously sold was deceiving him, in order to drive a profitable +bargain with him, he determined to go himself with his venture to +China. This he did, and, making so handsome a business of it, he +returned and immediately went to work to procure a much larger amount +for another venture. This he likewise accomplished, but was less +fortunate than before, though he made some money. He was now +twenty-one years of age, and had been twice to China; but had not +contracted much love for commerce or voyaging upon the sea. He married +soon after his return, read medicine, and commenced the practice of it +in Kentucky. Forming an intimacy with Mr. Clay, they soon became close +friends, being nearly of the same age, and very like in character. +After some years' residence in Kentucky as a physician, he determined +on emigrating to Louisiana, and embarking in the business of +sugar-planting. Purchasing Belle Isle, an island off the coast of +Attakapas, he removed his family there about 1824. He was successful +in his new vocation; but not liking an island residence, where he was +twenty miles from a neighbor, he purchased a residence upon Berwick's +Bay, and a portion of Tiger Island, which was immediately opposite, +and there made a new plantation, which is now the site of Brashear +City. At this place he lies buried, by his children, all of whom, save +one daughter, are there with him. + +For many years he was a member of the Legislature of the State of his +adoption, an honest and efficient one, of fine abilities, and great +will. He usually triumphed in what he undertook. His fine social +qualities attached to him many friends. His devotion to them was +unflinching, and he rather preferred to fight for these than play with +any others. His courage was truly chivalrous, and he is remembered by +all who knew him, and yet live, as the man who never felt the +sensation of fear. + +An unfortunate difficulty with a neighbor, Dr. Tolls, brought on a +personal rencontre. His antagonist was known to be brave and +physically powerful; but in this affair, Brashear, after receiving a +number of blows, wrested away his enemy's cane, and would soon have +had the better of the fight, but persons interposing prevented it. + +"Doctor," said Brashear, "this is not the way for gentlemen to settle +their difficulties. As soon as I can bind up my head, which you have +battered pretty severely, I shall be in the street armed. If you are +as brave a man as your friends claim you to be, you will meet me there +prepared to fight me as a gentleman." + +"In forty minutes from this time, if you please," said his enemy. + +At the appointed time and place they met, each with his friend, and +each armed. When they had approached within ten paces, Brashear +stopped and said, "Are you ready?" Being answered in the affirmative, +"Then fire, sir; I scorn to take the first fire." Dr. Tolls did so, +and, missing him, stood and received Brashear's ball through both +thighs, and fell. There was no surgeon in town, and the wounds were +bleeding profusely, when Brashear went to him, and proposed to dress +the wounds. Tolls stuttered badly, and replied, "I-I-I'll d-d-die +first." "I can do no more," said Brashear, and, bowing, left the +ground. + +This chivalry of character characterized him in everything. Fond of +amusement, he indulged himself in hunting and innocent sports, when +and where he was always the life of the party. Energetic and restless +in his nature, he could not bear confinement, and, when a member of +the Legislature, he was more frequently to be found walking rapidly to +and fro in the lobby of the House than in his seat. To sit still and +do nothing was impossible to him. A hundred anecdotes might be related +of him, all illustrative of his lofty courage, and daring, and his +utter contempt of danger. A noble and generous spirit was ever +manifested by him, in every relation of life. His frankness and +liberal hospitality, his kindness to his slaves, and his generosity to +the poor, endeared him to his neighbors, who live to feel that his +void can never be filled. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +GRADUAL EXTINCTION OF THE RED MAN. + +LINE CREEK FIFTY YEARS AGO--HOPOTHLAYOHOLA--McINTOSH--UNDYING HATRED-- +A BIG POWWOW--MASSACRE OF THE McINTOSHES--NEHEMATHLA--ONCHEES--THE +LAST OF THE RACE--A BRAVE WARRIOR--A WHITE MAN'S FRIENDSHIP--THE +DEATH-SONG--TUSKEGA, OR JIM'S BOY. + + +I have been to-day, the 23d of August, over the same spot I wandered +over this day fifty years ago. What changes have supervened it is +difficult to realize. This was then a dense, unsettled wilderness. The +wild deer was on every hill, in every valley. Limpid streams purled +rippling and gladly along pebbly beds, and fell babbling over great +rocks. These alone disturbed the profound silence, where solitude +brooded, and quiet was at home. These wild forests extended west to +Line Creek, then the dividing line between the Indian possessions and +the newly acquired territory now constituting the State of Alabama. +Upon this territory of untamed wilderness there wandered then fifty +thousand Indians, the remnant of the mighty nation of Muscogees, who +one hundred and thirty years ago welcomed the white man at Yamactow, +now Savannah, and tendered him a home in the New World. Fifty years +ago he had progressed to the banks of the Ocmulgee, driving before him +the aboriginal inhabitant, and appropriating his domains. Here for a +time his march was stayed. But the Indian had gone forward to meet the +white man coming from the Mississippi to surround him, the more surely +to effect his ultimate destruction and give his home and acres to the +enterprise and capacity of the white man. + +Wandering through these wilds fifty years ago, I did not deem this end +would be so soon accomplished. Here now is the city and the village, +the farm-house and extended fields, the railroads and highways, and +hundreds of thousands of busy men who had not then a being. The +appurtenances of civilization everywhere greet you: many of these are +worn and mossed over with the lapse of time and appear tired of the +weight of wasting years. The red men, away in the West, have dwindled +to a mere handful, still flying before the white man, and shrinking +away from his hated civilization. + +Is this cruel and sinful--or the silent, mysterious operation of the +laws of nature? One people succeeds another, as day comes after day, +and years follow years. Upon this continent the Indian found the +evidences in abundance of a preceding people, the monuments of whose +existence he disregards, but which, in the earth-mounds rising up over +all the land, arrest the white man's attention and wonder. He inquires +of the Indian inhabitant he is expelling from the country, Who was the +architect of these, and what their signification? and is answered: We +have no tradition which tells; our people found them when they came, +as you find them to-day. These traditions give the history of the +nations now here, and we find in every Southern tribe that they tell +of an immigration from the southwest. + +The Muscogee, Natchez, Choctaw, and Chickasaw, all have the history of +their flying from beyond the Mississippi, and from the persecutions of +superior and more warlike nations, and resting here for security, +where they found none to molest them, and only these dumb evidences of +another people, who once filled the land, but had passed away. + +When the white man came, he found but one race upon the two +continents. Their type was the same and universal, and only these +mounds to witness of a former race. Ethnology has discovered no other. +All the remains of man indicate the same type, and there remains not a +fossil to record the existence of those who reared these earth-books, +which speak so eloquently of a race passed away. + +How rapidly the work of demolition goes on! Will a century hence find +one of the red race upon this continent? Certainly not, if it shall +accomplish so much as the century past. There is not one for every +ten, then; and the tenth remaining are now surrounded on all sides, +and, being pushed to the centre, must perish. + +They are by nature incapable of that civilization which would enable +them to organize governments and teach the science of agriculture. +They were formed for the woods, and physically organized to live on +flesh. The animals furnishing this were placed with them here, and the +only vegetable found with them was the maize, or Indian corn. The +white man was organized to feed on vegetables, and they were placed +with him in his centre of creation, and he brought them here, and with +himself acclimated them, as a necessity to his existence in America. + +No effort can save the red man from extermination that humanity or +Christianity may suggest. When deprived of his natural food furnished +by the forest, he knows not nor can he be taught the means of +supplying the want. The capacities of his brain will not admit of the +cultivation necessary to that end. And as he has done in the presence +of civilization, he will know none of its arts; and receiving or +commanding none of its results, he will wilt and die. + +Here, on the very spot where I am writing, is evidence in abundance of +the facts here stated. Every effort to civilize and make the nomadic +Indian a cultivator of the earth--here has been tried, and within my +memory. Missionary establishments were here, schools, churches, +fields, implements, example and its blessings, all without effect. +Nothing now remains to tell of these efforts but a few miserable +ruins; nothing in any change of character or condition of the Indian. +And here, where fifty years ago, with me, he hunted the red deer and +wild turkey for the meat of his family and the clothing of himself and +offspring--to-day he would be a curiosity, and one never seen by half +the population which appropriates and cultivates the soil over which +he wandered in the chase. His beautiful woods are gone; the green corn +grows where the green trees grew, and the bruised and torn face of his +mother earth muddies to disgust, with her clay-freighted tears, the +limpid streams by which he sat down to rest, and from which he drank +to quench his thirst from weariness earned in his hunt for wild game, +which grew with him, and grew for him, as nature's provision. The deer +and the Indian are gone. The church-steeple points to heaven where the +wigwam stood, and the mart of commerce covers over all the space where +the camp-fires burned. The quarrels of Hopothlayohola and McIntosh are +history now, and the great tragedy of its conclusion in the death of +McIntosh is now scarcely remembered. + +True to his hatred of the Georgians, Hopothlayohola, in the recent +war, away beyond the Mississippi, arrayed his warriors in hostility to +the Confederacy, and, when numbering nearly one hundred winters, led +them to battle in Arkansas, against the name of his hereditary foe, +and hereditary hate--McIntosh; and by that officer, commanding the +Confederate troops, was defeated, and his followers dispersed. Since +that time, nothing has been known of the fate of the old +warrior-chief. + +It had been agreed between the United States and Georgia, and the +famous Yazoo Company, in order to settle the difficulties between the +two latter, that the United States should purchase, at a proper time, +from the Indian proprietors, all the lands east of the Chattahoochee +and a line running from the west bank of that stream, starting at a +place known as West Point, and terminating at what is known as Nickey +Jack, on the Tennessee River. The increase of population, and the +constant difficulties growing out of the too close neighborhood of the +Indians, induced the completion of this agreement. Commissioners on +the part of the Government were appointed to meet commissioners or +delegations from the Indians, to treat for the sale of their lands +within the limits of the State of Georgia. McIntosh favored the sale, +Hopothlayohola opposed it. As a chief, McIntosh was second to his +great antagonist in authority, and, in truth, to several other chiefs. +But he was a bold man, with strong will, fearless and aggressive, and +he assumed the power to sell. In the war of 1812-15, he had sided with +the Americans, Hopothlayohola with the English; and leading at least +half the tribe, McIntosh felt himself able to sustain his authority. +The commissioners met the Indian delegation at the Indian Springs, +where negotiations were commenced by a proposition placed before the +chiefs, and some days given for their consideration of it. Their talks +or consultations among themselves were protracted and angry, and +inconclusive. Every effort was made to induce Hopothlayohola to accede +to the proposition of McIntosh. The whites united in their efforts to +win his consent to sell: persuasions, threats, and finally large +bribes were offered, but all availed nothing. Thus distracted and +divided, they consumed the time for consultation, and met the white +commissioners to renew the strife, in open council with these. Each +chief was followed to this council by the members of his band, +sub-chiefs, and warriors. McIntosh announced his readiness to sell, +and sustained his position with reasons which demonstrated him a +statesman, and wise beyond his people. + +"Here in the neighborhood of the whites," he said, "we are subject to +continual annoyance and wrong. These have continued long, and they +have dwarfed our mighty nation to a tribe or two, and our home to +one-tenth of its original dimensions. This must go on if we remain in +this proximity, until we shall be lost, and there will be none to +preserve our traditions. Let us sell our lands, and go to the +proffered home beyond the Great River. Our young men have been there: +they have seen it, and they say it is good. The game is abundant; the +lands are broad, and there is no sickness there." Turning to +Hopothlayohola, who stood, with dignified and proud defiance in his +manner, listening, he proceeded: "Will you go and live with your +people increasing and happy about you: or will you stay and die with +them here, and leave no one to follow you, or come to your grave, and +weep over their great chief? Beyond the Great River the sun is as +bright, and the sky is as blue, and the waters are as clear and as +sweet as they are here. Our people will go with us. We will be one, +and where we are altogether, there is home. To love the ground is +mean; to love our people is noble. We will cling to them--we will do +for their good; and the ground where they are will be as dear to us as +this, because they will be upon it, and with us. + +"The white man is growing. He wants our lands. He will buy them now. +By and by he will take them, and the little band of our people left +will wander without homes, poor and despised, and be beaten like dogs. +We must go to a new home, and learn like the white man to till the +earth, grow cattle, and depend on these for food and life. Nohow else +can many people live on the earth. This makes the white man like the +leaves; the want of it makes the red men weak and few. Let us learn +how to make books, how to make ploughs, and how to cultivate the +ground, as the white man does, and we will grow again, and again +become a great people. We will unite with the Cherokee, the Choctaw, +and the Seminole, and be one people. The Great Spirit made us one +people. Yes, we are all the children of one family: we are the red men +of the Great Spirit, and should be one people for strength and +protection. We shall have schools for our children. Each tribe shall +have its council, and all shall unite in great council. They will be +wise through learning as the white man is, and we shall become a great +State, and send our chiefs to Congress as the white man does. We shall +all read, and thus talk, as the white man does, with the mighty dead +who live in books; and write and make books that our children's +children shall read and talk with, and learn the counsels of their +great fathers in the spirit-land. This it is which makes the white man +increase and spread over the land. In our new home he promises to +protect us--to send us schools and books, and teach our children to +know them; and he will send us ploughs, and men to make them, and to +teach our young men how to make them. + +"The plough will make us corn for bread, for the strength of the body; +the books will be food for the head, to make us wise and strong in +council. Let us sell and go away, and if we suffer for a time, it will +be better for our children. You see it so with the white man; shall we +not learn from him, and be like him?" + +When he had concluded his talk, it was greeted in their own peculiar +manner by his followers as good. Hopothlayohola, the great red chief, +turning from McIntosh as if disdaining him, addressed the +commissioners of the Government: + +"Our great father, your head chief at Washington, sent us a talk by +you, which is pleasant to hear, because it promises the red man +much--his friendship, his protection, and his help; but in return for +this he asks of us much more than we are willing to give even for all +his promises. The white man's promises, like him, are white, and bring +hope to the red man; but they always end in darkness and death to him. + +"The Great Spirit has not given to the red man, as He has to the white +man, the power to look into the dark, and see what to-morrow has in +its hand; but He has given him the sense to know what experience +teaches him. Look around, and remember! Away when time was young, all +this broad land was the red man's, and there was none to make him +afraid. The woods were wide and wild, and the red deer, and the bear, +and the wild turkey were everywhere, and all were his. He was great, +and, with abundance, was happy. From the salt sea to the Great River +the land was his: the Great Spirit had given it to him. He made the +woods for the red man, the deer, the bear, and the turkey; and for +these He made the red man. He made the white man for the fields, and +taught him how to make ploughs, to have cattle and horses, and how to +make books, because the white man needed these. He did not make these +a necessity to the red man. + +"Away beyond the mighty waters of the dreary sea, He gave the white +man a home, with everything he wanted, and He gave him a mind which +was for him, and only him. The red man is satisfied with the gifts to +him of the Great Spirit; and he did not know there was a white man who +had other gifts for his different nature, until he came in his winged +canoes across the great water, and our fathers met him at Yamacrow. +The Great Spirit gave him a country, and He gave the red man a +country. Why did he leave his own and come to take the red man's? Did +the Great Spirit tell him to do this? He gave him His word in a book: +do you find it there? Then read it for us, that we may hear. If He +did, then He is not just. We see Him in the sun, and moon, and stars. +We hear Him in the thunder, and feel Him in the mighty winds; but He +made no book for the red man to tell Him his will, but we see in all +His works justice. The sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the +ground keep their places, and never leave them to crowd upon one +another. They stay where He placed them, and come not to trouble or to +take from one another what He had given. Only the white man does this. +A few--a little handful--came in their canoe to the land of the red +man, as spirits come out of the water. The red man gave them his hand. +He gave them meat, and corn, and a home, and welcomed them to come and +live with him. And the flying canoes came again and again, and many +came in them, and at last they brought their great chief, with his +long knife by his side, and his red coat, and he asked for more land. +Our chiefs and warriors met him, and sold him another portion of our +lands; and his white squaws came with him, and they made houses and +homes near our people. They made fields, and had horses and herds, and +grew faster than our people, and drove away the deer and the turkeys +deeper into the woods. And then they wanted more land, and our chiefs +and warriors sold them more land, and now again another piece, until +now we have but a little of our all. And you come again with the same +story on your forked tongues, and wish to buy the last we have of all +we had, and offer us a home away beyond the Great River, and money, +and tell us we shall there have a home forever, free from the white +man's claims, and in which we shall dwell in peace, with no one to +make us afraid. + +"Our traditions tell us that our fathers fled before the powerful red +men who dwell beyond the Great River, and who robbed us of our homes +and made them their own, as you, the white men, have done. Have you +bought the home of our fathers from these red men? or have you taken +it? that you bid us take it from you, and go back, and make a new home +where the fathers of our fathers sleep in death? If you have not, will +they not hunt us away again, as you have? How shall we know you will +not come and make us sell to you, for the white man, the homes you +promise shall always be ours and a home for our children's children? + +"We love the land where we were born and where we have buried our +fathers and our kindred. It is the Great Spirit which teaches us to +love the land, the wigwam, the stream, the trees where we hunted and +played from our childhood, where we have buried out of sight our +ancestors for generations. Who says it is mean to love the land, to +keep in our hearts these graves, as we keep the Great Spirit? It is +noble to love the land, where the corn grows, and which was given to +us by the Great Spirit. We will sell no more; we know we are passing +away; the leaves fall from the trees, and we fall like these; some +will stay to be the last. The snow melts from the hills, but there is +some left for the last; we are left for the last, like the withered +leaf and little spot of snow. Leave to us the little we have, let us +die where our fathers have died, and let us sleep where our kindred +sleep; and when the last is gone, then take our lands, and with your +plough tear up the mould upon our graves, and plant your corn above +us. There will be none to weep at the deed, none to tell the +traditions of our people, or sing the death-song above their +graves--none to listen to the wrongs and oppressions the red man bore +from his white brother, who came from the home the Great Spirit gave +him, to take from the red man the home the Great Spirit gave him. We +are few and weak, you are many and strong, and you can kill us and +take our homes; but the Great Spirit has given us courage to fight for +our homes, if we may not live in them--and we will do it--and this is +our talk, our last talk." + +He folded back the blanket he had thrown from his shoulders, and, +followed by his band, he stalked majestically away. They had broken up +their camp and returned to their homes upon the Tallapoosa. + +Unawed by the defection of the Tuscahatchees, the band attached to +Hopothlayohola, McIntosh went on to complete the treaty. This chief, +because he had been the friend of the United States in the then recent +war, assumed to be the principal chief of the nation, as he held the +commission of a brigadier-general from the United States; a +commission, however, which only gave him command with his own people. +This assumption was denied by Hopothlayohola, chief of the +Tuscahatchees, Tuskega, and other chiefs of the nation, who insisted +upon the ancient usages, and the power attaching through these to the +recognized head-chief of the nation. Strong representations and +protests against the treaty were sent to Washington, and serious +complications were threatened, very nearly producing collision between +the State of Georgia and the General Government. The hostility to +McIntosh and his party culminated in a conspiracy for his +assassination. Fifty warriors were selected, headed by a chief for the +purpose. These received their orders, which were that on a day +designated they should concentrate at a given spot, and at night +proceed to the house of McIntosh, in secret, and surrounding it at or +near daylight, call him up, and as he came forth, all were to fire +upon him. His brother, his son, and son-in-law, Rolla and Chillie +McIntosh, and Hawkins, were all doomed to die, and by the hands of +this executory band. That there might be no mistake as to the day, +each warrior was furnished with a bundle of sticks of wood, each of +these represented a day--the whole, the number of days intervening +between the time of receiving them, and the day of execution. Every +night upon the going down of the sun one of these was to be thrown +away--the last one, on the night of concentration and assassination. +It was death to betray the trust reposed, or to be absent from the +point of rendezvous at the time appointed. + +The secret was faithfully kept--every one was present. The house of +McIntosh stood immediately upon the bank of the Chattahoochee River, +at the point or place now known as McIntosh's Reserve. It was +approached and surrounded under the cover of night, and so stealthily +as to give no warning even to the watch-dogs. McIntosh and his son +Chillie were the only victims in the house, the two others were away. +Hawkins was at his own home, Rolla McIntosh no one knew where. +Hopothlayohola had accompanied this band, but not in the character of +chief. The command was delegated to another. This chief knocked at the +door, and commanded McIntosh to come out and meet his doom. The +Reverend Francis Flornoy, a Baptist preacher, was spending the night +with the chief, and was in a room with Chillie. The chief McIntosh +knew his fate, and, repairing to the apartment of his guest and son, +told them he was about to die, and directing his son to escape from +the rear of the house, and across the river, said he would meet his +fate as a warrior. Taking his rifle, he went to the front door, and +throwing it open, fired upon the array of warriors as he gave the +war-whoop, and, in an instant after, fell dead; pierced with twenty +balls. Chillie, at this moment, sprang from the window, leaped into +the river, and made his escape, though fired at repeatedly. A +detachment was immediately sent to execute Hawkins at his home, which +was successful in effecting it. + +Soon after this tragic occurrence, the McIntosh party, consisting of +fully one-half the nation, emigrated to the lands granted them west of +the State of Arkansas, and made there a home. The remainder of the +Creeks retired to the district of country between the Chattahoochee +and Line Creek, only to learn that to remain upon this circumscribed +territory was certain destruction. + +The whites soon populated the acquired territory, and the +Chattahoochee was no barrier to their aggressions upon the helpless +Indian beyond. Feuds grew up: this led to killings, and in the winter +of 1835-6 active hostilities commenced. This war was of short +duration. Before the nation was divided, Hopothlayohola was opposed to +war. In his communication with General Jessup, he told him: "My +strength is gone; my warriors are few, and I am opposed to war. But +had I the men, I would fight you. I am your enemy--I shall ever be; +but to fight you would only be the destruction of my people. We are in +your power, and you can do with us as you will." But the chiefs of the +lower towns would not yield, and made the fight. In a short time this +was concluded by the capture of their leading chief, Nehemathla. He +was decoyed by treachery into the power of General Jessup, who +detained him as a prisoner, and almost immediately his band +surrendered. + +Nehemathla was an Onchee chief. This was the remnant of a tribe +absorbed into the nation of the Creeks or Muscogees, and was probably +one of those inferior bands inhabiting the land when this nation came +from the West and took possession of the country. Their language they +preserved, and it is remarkable it was never acquired by white or red +man, unless he was reared from infancy among the tribe. It was +guttural entirely, and spoken with the mouth open, and no word or +sound ever required it to be closed for its pronunciation. They had +dwindled to a handful at the time of his capture, but more obstinately +determined to remain and die upon their parental domain, than any +other portion of the nation. + +Nehemathla was more than eighty years of age at the time of his +capture. When brought into the presence of General Jessup, he expected +nothing short of death. The General told him of his crimes, upbraided +him with bad faith to his great father, General Jackson, and drawing +his sword, told him he deserved to die. + +The chief, seeing the sword lifted, snatched the turban from his head, +and fiercely and defiantly looking the General in the face, as the +wind waved about his brow and head the long locks white as snow, said +firmly and aloud: "Strike, and let me sleep here with my father and my +children! Strike, I am the last of my race! The Great Spirit gave me +seven sons--three of them died at Emucfaw, two at Talladega, and two +at Aletosee. General Jackson killed them all, and you call him my +great father! When did a father wash his hands in his children's +blood? When did a father rob his children of their homes? When did a +father drive his children in anger into the wilderness, where they +will find an enemy who claim it as the gift of the Great Spirit, and +who will fight to retain it? Strike, and let me die--no time, no place +like this! The mother of my sons, their sisters, perished for food, +when I with my sons was fighting for our homes. I am alone; and not +afraid to die! Strike: eighty winters are on my head--they are heavier +than your sword! They weigh me to the earth! Strike, and let me go to +my squaw, my sons, and my daughters, and let me forget my wrongs! +Strike, and let my grave be here, where all I have is in the ground! +Strike: I would sleep where I was born--all around me are the graves +of my people, let mine be among them; and when the Great Spirit shall +come, let Him find us all together, here with our fathers of a +thousand winters, who first built their wigwams here, and who first +taught their children to be more cautious than the panther--more +watchful than the turkey!" + +"I will not strike you," said the General. "No, I will not strike my +foe, a prisoner; but here is my hand in friendship." + +"No," said the chief; "you have put your sword in its pocket, put your +hand in its pocket; do not let it reach out to blind me, or to take my +home. I am the white man's enemy; his friendship I fear more than his +anger. It is more fatal to the red man. It takes away his home, and +forces him living to go away and grieve for his country, and the +graves of his fathers, and to starve in a strange land. In his anger +he kills, and its mercy shuts his eyes and his heart away from the +wrongs and the miseries of his people. I have lived and I will die the +white man's enemy. I have done you all the harm in my power. If I +could, I would do you more. My tongue is not forked like yours, my +heart has no lies to make it speak to deceive. Strike, and let me go +to the happy hunting-grounds where all my people are." + +He sat down upon the ground, and, in a low, monotonous, melancholy +tone, chanted the death-song. + +"Who-ah-who-allee! wait for me, I am coming. Who-ah-who-allee! prepare +the feast, the great warrior's feast. Who-ah-who-allee! let my boys +and my braves come down to welcome me. Who-ah-who-allee! those who +went before me, tell them the old warrior is coming. Who-ah-who-allee! +the white man has come, he treads on their graves, and the graves of +their fathers. Who-ah-who-allee! the last of the Onchee is coming, +prepare--his bow is broken, his arrows are all gone. Who-ah-who-allee!" +Concluding his song with one shrill whoop, he dropped his head and +lifted up his hands--then prone upon the earth he threw himself, +kissed it, rose up, and seemed prepared for the fate he surely +expected. + +Nehemathla spoke English fluently, and all his conversation was in +that language. He was informed that there was no intention of taking +his life, but that he would be kept a close prisoner, until his people +could be conquered and collected--when they would be sent to join +their brethren, who had gone with the Cussetas and Cowetas and Broken +Arrows, beyond the Great River of the West. Tamely and sullenly he +submitted to his confinement, until the period approached, when all +were collected and in detachments forwarded to their future homes. + +It was my fortune to be in New Orleans when the old chief and his +little band arrived at that place. It was winter, and the day of their +debarkation was cold and rainy. The steamer chartered to take them to +Fort Smith, upon the Arkansas, from some cause did not arrive at the +levee at the time appointed for their leaving, and they, with their +women and children, were exposed upon the levee to all the +inclemencies of rain and cold, through a protracted winter night. Many +propositions were made to give them shelter, which were rejected. One +warm-hearted, noble spirit, James D. Fresett, the proprietor of an +extensive cotton-press, went in person to the aged chief, and implored +him to take his people to shelter there. He declined, and when the +importunity was again pressed upon him, impatient of persuasion, he +turned abruptly to his tormentor and sternly said: + +"I am the enemy of the white man. I ask, and will accept, nothing at +his hands. Me and my people are children of the woods. The Great +Spirit gave them to us, and He gave us the power to endure the cold +and the rain. The clouds above are His, and they are shelter and +warmth enough for us. He will not deceive and rob us. The white man is +faithless; with two tongues he speaks: like the snake, he shows these +before he bites. Never again shall the white man's house open for me, +or the white man's roof shelter me. I have lived his enemy, and his +enemy I will die." The grunt of approval came from all the tribe, +while many rough and stalwart men stood in mute admiration of the +pride, the spirit, and the determination of this white-haired +patriarch of a perishing people. The next day he went away to his new +home, but only to die. About this time a delegation from both the +Tuscahatchees or Hopothlayohola band and the McIntosh band met by +private arrangement, in New Orleans, to reconcile all previous +difficulties between these parties. Hopothlayohola and Tuskega, or +Jim's Boy, and Chillie McIntosh and Hawkins, constituted the +delegations. I was present at the City Hotel, and witnessed the +meeting. It was in silence. McIntosh and Hopothlayohola advanced with +the right hand extended and met. The clasping hands was the signal for +the others: they met, clasping hands, and unity was restored, the +nations reconciled and reunited, and Hopothlayohola and his people +invited to come in peace to their new homes. + +It was evidently a union of policy, as there could be no heart-union +between McIntosh and Hopothlayohola; and though the latter placed his +conduct upon the broad basis of national law and national justice, yet +this was inflicted upon the parent of the other, who denied the law, +or the power under the law, supposing it to exist, of the other to +adjudge and to execute its sentence. In the meeting of these chiefs, +and their apparent reconciliation, was to be seen, a desire that the +nation should reunite, and that there should be amity between the +bands, or divided parties, for the national good, and for the good of +all the parties or people. But there could never be between the two +representative chiefs other than a political reconciliation. There was +no attempt on the part of either to deceive the other. Both acted from +the same high motives, while their features told the truth--personally +they were enemies. The son held the hand of his father's executioner, +red with the life-blood of him who gave him being--a father he +revered, and whose memory he cherished. The filial and hereditary +hatred was in his heart. The feeling was mutual. Both knew it, and the +cold, passive eye, and relaxed, inexpressive features but bespoke the +subdued, not the extinguished passion. Chillie McIntosh is only +one-fourth Indian in blood. Hopothlayohola is a full-blooded Indian. +His features are coarse and striking. His high forehead and prominent +brow indicate intellect, and his large compressed mouth and massive +underjaw, terminating in a square, prominent chin, show great fixity +of purpose, and resolution of will. Unquestionably he was the great +man of his tribe. + +Tuskega, or Jim's Boy, was a man of herculean proportions. He was six +feet eight inches in height, and in every way admirably proportioned. +He was the putative son of a chief whose name he bore, and whose +titles and power he inherited. But the old warrior-chief never +acknowledged him as such. The old chief owned as a slave a very large +mulatto man, named Jim, who was his confidant and chief adviser, and +to him he ascribed the parentage of his successor, and always called +him Jim's boy. His complexion, hair, and great size but too plainly +indicated his parentage. He was not a man of much mark, except for his +size, and would probably never have attained distinction but through +hereditary right. + +In their new home these people do not increase. The efforts at +civilization seem only to reach the mixed bloods, and these only in +proportion to the white blood in their veins. The Indian is incapable +of the white man's civilization, as indeed all other inferior races +are. He has fulfilled his destiny, and is passing away. No +approximation to the pursuits or the condition of the white man +operates otherwise than as a means of his destruction. It seems his +contact is death to every inferior race, when not servile and +subjected to his care and control. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +FUN, FACT, AND FANCY. + +EUGENIUS NESBITT--WASHINGTON POE--YELVERTON P. KING--PREPARING TO +RECEIVE THE COURT--WALTON TAVERN, IN LEXINGTON--BILLY SPRINGER, OF +SPARTA--FREEMAN WALKER--AN AUGUSTA LAWYER--A GEORGIA MAJOR--MAJOR +WALKER'S BED--UNCLE NED--DISCHARGING A HOG ON HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE +--MORNING ADMONITION AND EVENING COUNSEL--A MOTHER'S REQUEST-- +INVOCATION--CONCLUSION. + + +To-day I parted from Eugenius Nesbitt and Washington Poe, two of only +four or five of those who commenced life and the practice of law with +me in the State of Georgia. We had just learned of the death of Y.P. +King, of Greensboro, Georgia, who was only a few years our senior. The +four of us were young together, and were friends, but I had been +separated from them for more than forty years. Yet the ties of +youthful attachment remained, and together we mourned the loss of our +compeer and companion in youth. + +I was a member of the Legislature when Judge Nesbitt, by act of the +Legislature, was admitted to the Bar, he having not attained his +majority, and by a rule could not be admitted in the ordinary manner. +Nesbitt, though so young, was known through the up-country of Georgia +as a young man of more than ordinary promise. The same was the case +with Poe. They had so deported themselves as to win the confidence and +affection of the wise and the good. There were some in the Legislature +who were lawyers, and who conscientiously believed that no one so +young as Nesbitt was could be sufficiently matured mentally to +properly discharge the duties of the profession. These men themselves +were naturally dull, and ignorantly supposed all minds, like their +own, were weak in youth, and could only be strengthened and +enlightened by time and cultivation. They honestly opposed the bill +admitting the applicant. There was one though, who held no such +ridiculous notions--himself an example to the contrary--but from some +cause he strenuously opposed the bill. It was the celebrated Seaborne +Jones, one of the very ablest lawyers the State ever produced. It +seemed ever a delight to him to bear heavily upon young lawyers. It +would be difficult to divine his motives. He was at the head of the +Bar, unapproached by competition, especially by any young man. + +I was young and ardent, and felt offended at this opposition, and gave +all the aid I could to the passage of the bill. Fortunately for our +cause, there were many young lawyers in the Legislature, and these +were a unit, and we succeeded in carrying the measure. From that day +Nesbitt seemed nearer to me than any other of the Bar in our circuit. +We have been separated over forty years, he remaining in his native +State, while I have wandered away to the West. Still that warmth of +heart toward him has never died out. And now, when both are on the +grave's brink, we meet, not to renew, but to find the old flame +burning still. King, Nesbitt, and myself were born in the same county, +and our ancestors worshipped at the same church--Old Bethany--and +to-day we recalled the fact as we mourned the death of our early +friend and compeer at the Bar. + +Time has swept on. Our children are gray with years. One by one, all +who were at the Bar with us are gone, save two or three, and to-morrow +we shall be gone. But the oblivious past has not curtained from memory +yet the incidents and the men of that past, and while I may I will +bear testimony to these, and to the men who were their chief actors. +Nesbitt justified in his subsequent life all that his friends and the +public hoped from him. In every relation of life he has done his duty +ably, honestly, and purely. As a member of the Legislature, of +Congress, as a judge of the Supreme Court, as a worthy member of the +Presbyterian Church, and, above all, as a father, husband, and +citizen, he has been good, wise, and faithful. Is not his measure +full? Who deserves it more? We were sad to-day. One said, "King is +dead." "Yes," answered the other, and we were silent. Memory was busy. +We could not talk. In his office, where yet he wears the harness of +the law, surrounded by musty, well-thumbed books, and piles of papers +with hard judicial faces, we sat and mused. Perhaps we thought of the +past, when those to whom eternity is a reality were with us and +joyous. At such times the mind turns quickly back to youth's joys, nor +lingers along the vista of intervening time. All of that day will +revive, but these memories sadden the heart, and we are fain to think, +but not to talk. Perhaps we wondered what were the realizations of the +dead. What are they? Who knows, except the dead? Do the dead know? +Unprofitable thought! Faith and hope only buoy the heart, and time +brings the end. Well, time has whitened our heads, but not indurated +our hearts, and time is now as busy as when in the joyousness of youth +we heeded not his flight, and to-morrow may bring us to the grave. Ah! +then we shall know the secret, and we will keep it, as all who have +gone before. Oh, what a blessed hope is that which promises that we +shall, forgetful of the cares and sorrows of time, meet those whom +death has refined, and be happy as they in eternity! But the doubt, +and then the fear! But why the fear? We come into time without our +knowledge or consent, fulfil a destiny, and without our knowledge or +consent die out of time. This is the economy of man's life, and was +given him by his Creator. Then why should he fear? If it is wise for +him to be born, to live, it is surely wise that he should die, since +that is equally a part of his economy. Then why fear? Reason is +satisfied, but instinct fears. + +Yelverton P. King never removed from the county of his birth, nor +abandoned his profession, remaining upon the soil of his nativity and +among those with whom he had been reared, maintaining through life the +character of an upright man. Many memories are connected with his +name. When we were young at the Bar, there were as our associates very +many who attained eminence as lawyers, and fame as politicians; but +these distinctions are not connected with the endearing attributes +which make them so cherished in memory--the incidents of social +intercourse, the favors, the kindnesses of good neighborhood, the +sympathies of young life, the unity of sentiment, the sameness of +hopes, little regarded at the moment; but oh! how they were rooting in +the heart, to bear, away in the coming time, these fruits of memory, +in which is the most of happiness when age whitens the head, and the +heart is mellowed with the sorrows of time. + +Though all were affectionate and social in their intercourse with each +other, yet each had his favorites, because of greater congeniality in +nature, more intense sympathies, and more continual intercourse. +Little incidents were of frequent occurrence which drew these +continually closer, until friendships ripened into confidences--some +more special favorites of some, and some more general favorites of +all. This latter was Y.P. King; and yet this favoritism was never very +demonstrative, but perhaps the stronger and more permanent for this. +Such, too, was Nesbitt; the older members of the profession loved him, +and those of his own age were unenvious and esteemed him. + +Our circuit consisted of seven counties, and the ridings were spring +and fall, occupying about two months each term. In each courthouse +town was a tavern or two. These houses of entertainment were not then +dignified with the sonorous title of hotel. The proprietors were +usually jolly good fellows, or some staid matronly lady, in black gown +and blue cap, and they all looked forward with anxious delight to the +coming of court week. Every preparation was made for the judge and +lawyers. Beds were aired and the bugs hunted out. Saturday previous to +the coming Monday was a busy day in setting all things to rights, and +the scrubbing-broom was heard in consonance with calls to the servants +to be busy and careful, as Sally and Nancy sprang to their work with a +will. With garments tucked up to their knees, they splashed the water +and suds over the floors, strangers to the cleansing element until +then for months ago. A new supply of corn and fodder was arriving from +the country; stables and stable lots were undergoing a scraping +eminently required for the comfort of decent beasts, who gave their +lives in labor to exacting man. The room usually appropriated to the +Bench and Bar was a great vagabond-hall, denominated the ball-room, +and for this purpose appropriated once or twice a year. Along the bare +walls of this mighty dormitory were arranged beds, each usually +occupied by a couple of the limbs of the law, and sometimes +appropriated to three. If there was not a spare apartment, a bed was +provided here for the judge. And if there were no lawyers from +Augusta, this one was distinguished by the greatest mountain of +feathers in the house. Here assembled at night the rollicking boys of +the Georgia Bar, who here indulged, without restraint, the +convivialities for which they were so celebrated. Humor and wit, in +anecdotes and repartee, beguiled the hours; and the few old taverns +time has spared, could they speak, might narrate more good things +their walls have heard, than have ever found record in the _Noctes +Ambrosianae_ of the wits of Scrogie. + +There are but few now left who have enjoyed a night in one of these +old tumble-down rooms, with A.S. Clayton, O.H. Prince, A.B. +Longstreet, and John M. Dooly. Here and there one, old, tottering, and +gray, lives to laugh at his memories of those chosen spirits of fun. +Yes, that is the word--fun--for these _ancients_ possessed a fund of +mirth-exciting humor, combined with a biting wit, which, in the +peregrinations of a long life, I have met nowhere else. Were I to +select one of these inns, it would be the old Walton Tavern, in the +mean little hamlet of Livingston in Oglethorpe County, or the old +house, kept long and indifferently, by that mountain of mortal +obesity, Billy Springer, in Sparta, Hancock County. It was here, and +when Springer presided over the fried meat and eggs of this venerable +home for the weary and hungry, after a night of it, that all were +huddled to bed like pigs in a sty. + +This bulky Boniface was polite to all, but especially to an Augusta +lawyer. Freeman Walker, of that ilk, usually attended this court, and +was the great man of the week. A man of splendid abilities and +polished manners, dressed and deporting himself like a gentleman, as +he was, he shone among the lesser lights which orbed about him, a star +of the first magnitude. The choice seat, the choice bed, and choice +bits at the table, were ever for Major Walker. Big Billy, with his +four hundred and ten pounds of adipose flesh, was always behind Major +Walker's chair. He was first served; the choicest pieces of the pig +were pointed out, cuts from the back and side bones and breast were +hunted from the dish of fried chicken, a famous Georgia dish, for +Major Walker. It was a great thing in those days in Georgia, to live +in a little town of three thousand inhabitants, and wear _store +clothes_. It was this and these which made a Georgia major. + +Judge Dooly, upon one occasion, when attempting to usurp the seat of +honor, was unceremoniously informed by Big Billy that it was Major +Walker's seat. + +Custom since has familiarized the retention of special seats for +special persons, and now such a remark from a host astonishes no one. +But in those days of unadulterated democracy, to assume a right to an +unoccupied seat, startled every one. Dooly, amid the astonished gaze +of the assembled guests, unmurmuringly retired to an unoccupied seat +of more humble pretensions near the foot of the extended table. The +occurrence was canvassed at night with full house in the democratic +dormitory. When the jests incidental were hushed, and one after +another had retired to bed, Judge Dooly, then on the Bench, went +slowly to the only unappropriated bed, and undressing, folded down the +bed-clothes. Suddenly, as if he had forgotten something, he slipped to +the landing of the stairway and called anxiously for the landlord. +"Come up, if you please," he said to the answering host. Springer +commenced the ascent with slow and heavy tread; at length, after a +most exhausting effort, and breathing like a wounded bellows, he +lifted his mighty burden of flesh into the room. + +"What is your will, Judge Dooly?" he asked, with a painful effort at +speech. + +Dooly, standing in his shirt by the bedside and pointing to it, asked, +with much apparent solicitude, if that "was Major Walker's bed." + +Springer felt the sarcasm keenly, and, amid the boisterous outburst of +laughter from every bed, turned and went down. + +A thousand anecdotes might be related of the peculiar wit, sarcasm, +and drollery of this remarkable man. One more must suffice. When +Newton County was first organized, it was made the duty of Dooly to +hold the first court. There then lived and kept the only tavern in the +new town of Covington, a man of huge proportions, named Ned Williams, +usually called Uncle Ned--he, as well as Dooly, have long slept with +their fathers. The location of the village and court-house had been of +recent selection, and Uncle Ned's tavern was one of those peculiar +buildings improvised for temporary purposes--a log cabin, designated, +in some parts of Georgia at that time, as a two-storied house, with +both stories on the ground; in other words, a double-penned cabin with +passage between. Uncle Ned had made ample provision for the Bench and +Bar. One pen of his house was appropriated to their use. There was a +bed in each corner, and there were nine lawyers, including the judge. +The interstices between the cabin poles were open, but there was no +window, and but one door, which had to be closed to avoid too close +companionship with the dogs of the household. It was June, and Georgia +June weather, sultry, warm, and still, especially at night. In the +centre there stood a deal table of respectable dimensions, and this +served the double purpose of dining-table and bed-place for one. Uncle +Ned was polite and exceedingly solicitous to please. He had scoured +the county for supplies; it was too new for poultry or eggs, but +acorns abounded, and pigs were plenty. They had never experienced +want, and consequently were well-grown and fat. Uncle Ned had found +and secured one which weighed some two hundred pounds. This he divided +into halves longitudinally, and had barbecued the half intended for +the use of the Bar and Bench. At dinner, on Monday, it was introduced +upon a large wooden tray as the centre substantial dish for the dinner +of the day. It was swimming in lard. There were side-dishes of +potatoes and cold meats, appellated in Georgia collards, with +quantities of corn-bread, with two bowls of hash from the lungs and +liver of the pig, all reeking with the fire and summer heat. A scanty +meal was soon made, but the tray and contents remained untouched. + +The court continued three days, and was adjourned at noon of the +fourth day, until the next term. Each day the tray and contents were +punctual in their attendance. The depressed centre of the tray was a +lake of molten lard, beneath which hid a majority of the pig. After +dinner of the last day, all were ready to leave. When the meal was +concluded, Dooly asked if all were done. "Landlord," said the Judge, +"will you give us your attention?" Uncle Ned entered. "Your will, +Judge," he asked. "I wish you, sir, to discharge this hog on his own +recognizance. We do not want any bail for his appearance at the next +term." The dinner concluded in a roar of laughter, in which Uncle Ned +heartily joined. + +Only one of the nine who assisted to organize that county, now remains +in life. There were four men there whose names are inscribed on the +scroll of fame--whose names their fellow-citizens have honored and +perpetuated by giving them to counties: Cobb, Dawson, Colquitt, and +Dougherty. Warner and Pierman died young. I alone remain. The children +of most of them are now gray with years, and have seen their +grandchildren. The name of Dooly remains only a memory. + +The affections arising from youthful associations are more enduring +than those which come of the same cause in riper years. They are more +disinterested and sincere. They come with the spring of life, root +deep into the heart, and cling with irradicable tenacity through life. +We find in mature life dear friends, friends who will share the all +they have with you, who will for you hazard even life, and you love +them--but not as you love the boys who were at school with you, who +ran with you wild through the woods, when you hunted the squirrel and +trapped the quail. When fortuitous time forces your separation, and +long intervening years blot the features, in their change, from your +recognition, and chance throws you again with a loved companion of +life's young morn--the thrill which stirs the heart, when his name is +announced, comes not for the friend found only when time has grown +gray. + +Go and stand by the grave of one loved when a boy, the little laughing +girl you played with at hide-and-seek, through the garden shrubbery +and the intricacies of the house and yard, one who was always gentle +and kind, she for whom you carried the satchel and books when going to +school, who came at noon and divided her blackberry-pie with you, and +always gave you the best piece--and see how all these memories will +come back; and if the green grass upon the roof-top of her home for +eternity does not bear, when you have gone away, a tear-drop to +sparkle and exhale, a tribute to endearing memory, your heart is not +worth the name. It is not given to us to love all with whom we may be +familiar in early life. But every one will sincerely love some few of +the companions of his school-days and early manhood. This is really +the sugar of life, and the garrulity of age loves to recount these, +for in his narrative he lives over and revives the attachments of +boyhood. Woman may confess only to her own heart these memories--she +must love only in secret. When the heart is fresh and brimming with +affection, she may love with all the devotion of woman's heart; but if +her love meets no return its birthplace must be its grave. She may +only tell, when she is old, of her successful and more fortunate love. +Ah! how many recount to their grandchildren their love, in budding +youth, for their grandfather, who hide in the secret alcoves of the +heart a more sacred memory of one who found his way there before dear +old grandfather came. What sorrows these memories have sown along the +way of life! but they have winced not when the thorn has pricked; and +how she has folded to her bosom dear John, while imagination made him +the more dear Willie, her first and foremost love! These endure in +secret, and are the more sacred for this; they die only with the dead +heart. Oh! the grave, the secrets of the grave, are they hidden there +for ages, or shall they survive as treasures for eternity? + +I have been wandering among the graves of those loved best when the +heart could love most, and dead memories sprouted anew, and with them +a flash of the feelings which made them treasures of the heart. Yonder +is the grave of Thomas W. Cobb; near me is that of him most +loved--William C. Dawson; and here, in this green grave, is Yelverton +P. King; and near him is the last resting-place of Adeline Harrison. +Dear, sweet Adeline, you went, in truth, to heaven, ere yet the bud of +life had opened into flower! This is the county of my birth, and all +of these, save Cobb, were natives, too, of the dear old land. + +To me, how near and dear were these! Turn back, O Time, thy volume for +fifty years, and let me read over anew the records of dead days, and +make memories once more realities, as they were real then--else hurry +on to the end, that I may know with these, or with these forget +forever! I would not linger in the twilight of life, with all of time +dimming out, and nothing of eternity dawning upon my vision. Let me +sleep in the forgetfulness of the one, to awake to the fruition of the +other! + +I have been to the graves of my father and my mother. For more than a +third of a century they have been sleeping here. I sat down in the +moonlight, and placed my hand upon the cold, heavy stone which rests +above them: they do not feel its pressure, but sleep well. They are +but earth now--and why am I here? The moon and the stars are the same, +and as sweetly bright, looking down upon this sacred spot, as they +were when, a little child, I sat upon the knee of her who is nothing +here, and listened to her telling me the names of these, as she would +point to them, and ask me if I did not see them winking at me. Yet +they are there, and the same now as then. But where is that gentle, +sweet, affectionate mother? Is she up among these gems of heaven? Is +she yonder in the mighty Jupiter, looking down, and smiling at me? Is +she permitted, in her new being, to come at will, and breathe to my +mind holy thoughts and holy feelings? Disembodied, is she, as God, +pervading all, and knowing all? Does she, with that devotion of heart +which was so much hers in time, still love and protect me? Shall I, +when purified by death, go to her? and shall this hope become a +reality, and endure forever? Surely, this must be true; or, why are +these thoughts and hopes in the mind--why this affection sublimated +still in the heart--why this link between the living, and the dead, if +its fruition shall be denied in eternity? Why this question, which +implies a doubt of the goodness of God? Sweet is the belief, sweeter +the hope, that I shall see that smile of benignity, feel that gentle, +loving caress, and forever, in unalloyed bliss, participate heaven +with her. My mother--my mother! see you into my heart, here by your +gravestone, to-night? Hast thou gone with me through my long +pilgrimage of time? If I have kept thy counsels, and walked by their +wisdom, hast thou approved, my mother? My mother, all that is good and +pure in me has come of thee! If the allurements of vice have tempted, +and frail nature has threatened to yield, the morning's admonition, +the evening's counsel in our long walks, would strengthen me to +forbearance. These bright memories have lived and remained with me a +guide and salvation; and now they are the morning's memory, the +evening's thought. As I have remembered and loved thee, I have been +guided and governed by these. Surely there can be no loss to the child +like the loss of the mother! How those are to be pitied! They go +through life without the holy influences for good coming from a +mother; they stumble on, and learn here and there, as time progresses, +the moral lessons only taught to childhood from a mother's lips: they +stumble and fall for the want of these; and, by experience, too often +bitter experience, learn in youth what in childhood should be taught, +which should grow up with them as a part of their being, to be the +guides and comforts of life. And oh, how many never learn this! + +Go, and converse with the wise and good, and they will tell you of +their mothers' teachings; go to the condemned criminal, whose crimes +have cast him from society, and ask him why he is thus--and he will +tell you he disregarded the teachings of his mother; or, 'I had a +wicked and vicious mother, who taught me evil instead of good;' or, 'I +had no mother, to plant in my childhood's heart the fear of God and +the love of virtue.' + +Here, to me, to-night, in grateful memory, comes the Sabbath morning +in the garden at the home of my childhood, more than sixty years ago, +when this dead mother here sleeping pointed to the drunken man passing +on the highway, and, kindly looking up into my face, asked me to look +at him, and, when he had passed out of sight, said: "My child, will +you here, this beautiful morning of God's day, promise your mother +that you will not drink one drop of ardent spirits until you are +twenty-one years of age? You are so full of animal spirits, I fear, +should you touch it at all, that you will come to drink to excess, and +fill a drunkard's grave before you shall have passed half the days +allotted to man's life." I see that pleading face, those soft brown +eyes to-night, as they looked from where she was seated into my face; +I see the soft smile of satisfaction, as it came up from her heart and +illumined her features, when I lifted up my hand and made the promise! +And, oh, shall I ever forget the thrill which gladdened my heart when +she rose up and kissed me, and murmured so gently, so tenderly, so +full of hope and confidence: "I know you will keep it, my child." That +promise is a holy memory! It was kept with sacred fidelity. + +Angel of love and light--my mother--look down upon thy child here +to-night, and for the last time by thy grave, with whitened head and +tottering step, and see if I have ever departed from the way you +taught me to go! Soon I shall be with you. + +MY WORK IS OVER, MY TASK IS DONE! + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEMORIES OF FIFTY YEARS*** + + +******* This file should be named 15872.txt or 15872.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/8/7/15872 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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