THE RICHMOND COMPILER 1841-1844
COORDINATOR'S
NOTE: John Q. Anderson published this article in the October 1956 issue of The
Louisiana Historical Quarterly. Anderson was a Professor of English at Texas
A & M University. He was the editor of Brokenburn: The Kate Stone
Journal (1955) and Louisiana Swamp Doctor (1962) - both published by
the Louisiana State University Press. Footnotes can be read by clicking on
them. The article has been slightly modified for HTML presentation. For
additional information on Madison Parish newspapers please see Madison Newspapers. Richard P. Sevier,
January 2003 dicksevier@gmail.com
A dot on old maps, a
trace of an old levee, and a file of yellowed newspapers over a hundred years
old are all that remain of Richmond, once parish seat of Madison Parish and an
important town in northeast Louisiana.[1]
In this bound volume of
newspapers[2],
however, is preserved an illuminating picture of an energetic group of people
occupied in the conquest of one of the last frontiers of the state, a people
engaged in creating a way of life that perished with the Civil War.
The Richmond Compiler
was founded by John O. Stewart in July, 1841, when Richmond and Madison Parish
were only two years old. Stewart, known only through brief glimpses revealed in
his paper, was both editor and proprietor of the weekly. In December 1841, John
Kercheval, a newspaperman of Port Gibson, Mississippi[3]
became Stewart's partner and apparently took over the major share of the
editorial duties. For financial reasons, Stewart and Kercheval were forced to
sell the Compiler before their first year ended, and on March 15, 1842,
James M. Downes, attorney in Richmond became owner and publisher, Downes, an
Attorney in Richmond, became owner and publisher. Downes's profession as a
lawyer, and his avocation of horse racing evidently left him little time for the
newspaper, although he wrote a few long editorials filled with legal jargon[4].
His papers were largely a patchwork of items clipped from other papers and
prepared copy that made the rounds of most other country weeklies of the
period. When Downes also encountered financial difficulties, Stewart again
became publisher of the Compiler in November 1843, and in January 1844,
when the last existing copy of the paper was published.
To the newspaper reader of
today, accustomed as he is to shouting headlines and action photographs, the Compiler
might seem tame and colorless. Headlines were unknown in the 1840's and
newspaper pictures were limited to crude drawings. Furthermore, all local news,
no matter how sensational, was buried on the second page, since journalistic
practices limited the first page to fiction and articles reprinted from
magazines and other newspapers. Traditionally, the first column of page two of
the Compiler carried local news and editorial comment, though editors
were infrequently moved to write what would be called editorials today. Local
stories in the Compiler which are of historical interest concern parish
and civic improvement, schools and churches, amusements, weather and disease,
and crime and violence.
The dominant theme in the
four-year file of the Compiler is the development of a new and unusually
fertile cotton-growing area of Louisiana. Though Madison Parish was part of the
Louisiana Purchase, the area was still relatively undeveloped in 1839 when the
parish was organized. All of the easily accessible land on the Mississippi
River, the eastern boundary of the Parish, had of course long since been taken
up as had land along the interior bayous and rivers --Roundaway, Brushy, and
Walnut Bayous in the center of the parish and Bayou Macon and the Tensas River
to the west. The deep, alluvial soil of the area, laid down by centuries of
annual overflow from the Mississippi and its tributaries, was among the world's
richest cotton land when cleared of trees and cane. The nationwide depression
of 1837, which had ruined so many Southern planters, enforced migration to new
areas where smaller investments would provide greater returns. The fertile
delta land of northeast Louisiana became therefore a means, whereby fortunes
were easily recouped and many new ones made. Migration to Madison Parish was
heaviest from neighboring Mississippi, especially the northern hill counties,
but planters from other Southern states and the hundreds of slaves they brought
with them, or purchased, swelled the population so that at the end of the
1850's over eleven thousand people lived in the parish. Of this number more
than nine thousand were slaves--nine Negroes to every white person--adequate
proof of the importance of cotton,
Editors of the Compiler,
aware of the thirst for new and productive cotton land, loudly thumped the drum
of promotion, as indeed country editors all over the nation were doing for
their own particular areas, Editor Kercheval, praising the potential of the
parish in 1841, stated that within the past two months were more than
"twenty gentlemen from one county in Mississippi had purchased land on the
interior bayous and would become residents during the ensuing winter or
spring." He pointed out that much land along Bayou Macon and the Tensas
was still available. "This country is, of course, new yet," he wrote,
and settlers "will have to bear many privations and live roughly for a
while, but they will be amply compensated in the end for their troubles"
(I: 17, October 26, 1841). A short time later he expressed regret that
"the census of this State was not taken one or two years later"
because the population of the parish had increased fifty per cent more in the
past fen months than if had in the previous ten-year period. He despaired of
even estimating the number of people arriving within recent months and cited
"A gentleman" as estimating that more than 1,200 Negroes had been
brought in within the past six months. (I: 27, January 4, 1842)
Soon after Editor Downes
took over the paper in March 1842, he too envisioned an unlimited future for
Madison Parish, and his bombastic praise of the area hardly knew bounds.
"Our rivers and bayou front land he wrote, 'It is universally
acknowledged, are scarcely equaled. Our bottom or swamp lands are admirably
adapted for grazing." After reminding his readers that a small expenditure
on clearing out the interior bayous and rivers would bring steamboats to every
man's door, Editor Downes cited reasons for the phenomenal increase in Madison
Parish population:
"Emigration is pouring
in our borders from Maine to Mississippi. Many of these left their worn out
hills and peaceful, pious homes for Texas, they wended their way to north
Louisiana---they beheld.... Our well watered valleys.... They are irrefutably
overcome, they are transfixed to our soil, and Texas and their mighty hero of
San Jacinto are banished from their thoughts. Yes, we feel what we speak. We
return thanks to our Maker for having diverted our steps from Texas, for having
thrown us in this delightful land. Louisiana is destined to be the richest star
in the constellation, and Madison, the brightest taper in her cluster...."
(I: 38, March 22, 1842). From this passage, one can easily visualize lawyer
Downes in the courtroom.
In June 1842, Downes predicted
that the trouble between Texas and Mexico would deter immigration to Texas and
further increase the population of the parish. Again he called attention to the
"thousands of acres of good land" on the interior bayous to be had
"at Government prices" (I: 50, June 14, 1842). In July he praised the
early settlers of the area:
"The early settlers of
this country were not graduates of Universities nor men of fortunes, but men,
many of whom religious or civil oppression had driven from their
homes--descendants of the sturdy yeomanry of Scotland, and enterprising
emigrants from the States, - men who could camp upon the naked ground and sleep
tranquilly exposed to the firmament, - men who beheld in every tree of the
forest a compass to track their course, and who cheered by their families alone
enjoyed contentment in the solitude of a wilderness, - men who could grapple
single-handed with the bear, the catamount and the panther, and bid defiance to
the tribes of red men that hovered around them. The rifle and the cutlass were
the constant companions of these enterprising pioneers; and with these, unaided
by laws other than their consciences, they protected their rights, resented
their wrongs, and decided their grievances, Such were the race that have
preceded us, and who soon are to be forgotten, whilst a more effeminate, more
literate and refined race, assume their station and realize the benefits
resulting from their deprivations and dangers...." (II: 3, July 19, 1842)
Considering the instances of
violence in the parish as reported by the Compiler, (to be noted later),
one wonders about the "more literate and refined race" which had
followed these remarkable pioneers.
In the fall of 1843, Downes
printed a letter from "Tensas" on the subject of post offices for the
back country in which the correspondent maintained that the area was settling
so fast that hardly a day passed "without some new acquisition to this
delightful and, already, thickly populated section of country" (II: 23,
November 29, 1842) [5]
When Stewart returned to the
Compiler in the fall of 1843, he continued predicting a rosy future for
Madison Parish. "Our soil is unrivaled in its adaptation to the production
of grain and vegetables of every description," he maintained. "All we
need is adequate time, and sufficient public spirit and enterprise to convert
our swamps into productive fields." he concluded. "It will require
some labour and expense, it is true, but the laborer will reap a glorious
harvest" (III: 6, December 15, 1843).
This editorial speculation
appears to be whistling in the dark when one considers the many notices of
sheriff's sales of property and slaves appearing concurrently in the Compiler
along with market quotations of cotton selling at six to ten cents per pound
and the many references to hard times in national news items.
Editors of the Compiler,
anxious as they were to convince the outside world that Madison Parish was a
second Eden, knew that the potential of the parish could not be realized
without internal improvements. Consequently, they were equally vociferous
concerning the building of roads and bridges and improving navigation. Richmond
was located on Roundaway Bayou, which rises in the northwestern part of the
parish, meanders across it, and empties info the Mississippi at the southern
boundary. Because of obstructions, Roundaway was not navigable to sizable boats
in 1841. In November, 1841, Editor Kercheval, calling attention to an
advertisement for the steamboat Hannibal running from the mouth of Roundaway to
Vicksburg and other points, said, "It is but two miles from this point to
the mouth of the Bayou, and it is just as easy to come here as there, were it
not for a few logs and old trees in and over the Bayou." He predicted that
in two years steamboats would come up Red River, ascend Tensas, enter
Roundaway, and return to the Mississippi again at New Carthage (I: 19, November
9, 1841). With the next spring rise, Kercheval became enthusiastic; Roundaway,
he said in February 1842, was "in fine boating order. Flat-boats, steam-boats,
yawls, and keels can ride in our harbor with the greatest safety." He
foresaw the day when the wharf at Richmond would be crowded with boats (I: 34,
February 23, 1842). A week later he noted that several flatboats and "one
very fine keelboat" were at Richmond and that there was room for the
Hannibal (I: 34, March 7, 7842).
When Downes became editor
later that month, he promptly urged a $20,000 state appropriation for clearing
all streams in the area. Naturally most concerned with Roundaway Bayou, he
observed, "A single lock constructed on the Roundaway, below Richmond,
near the crook or narrows would give us a navigable stream the whole or 2/3 of
the year to New Carthage--or with slight additional expense to New
Orleans" (I: 38, March 22, 1842). Then, in the fall, Downes noted, in
connection with agitation for levees, that a large crevasse at New Carthage
permitted boats to pass into the interior waterways earlier than was usual
during the fall rise in the Mississippi (II: 12, September 20, 1842)
Agitation for the clearing
of Roundaway was still going on in December 1843, when Editor Stewart printed a
letter from Vicksburg which stated: "I take pleasure in informing you that
the Steamer Little Yazoo will leave here on Tuesday next for the Tensas,
where she will run as a regular packet during the season. She is a new boat,
and well calculated for that trade. She will if possible go up as far as
Richmond..." (III: 6, December 15, 1843)
Stewart pointed out that the
Yazoo was a small steamer and would probably be able to reach Richmond since
water was high in the bayou. Again he repeated the plea for money to clear out
Roundaway and emphasized the advantages of steam navigation to the town.
"The arrival of a steamboat," he said, "would indeed form a new
era in the annals of our town, The incalculable advantages which would result
to citizens of this portion of the State, from improvement and navigation of
our interior rivers and bayous, for sending their cotton to market, and saving
of time and expense in hauling to the river, as well as a hundred other
advantages that might be named, are matters of no small importance."
In January 1844, Stewart
stated that Tensas River was in "good boating order for steamboats, to the
mouth of Roundaway Bayou," and in February he noted that the steamer Sablne
from New Orleans was at the mouth of Roundaway and would return that afternoon
(Ill: 14, February 9, 1844). A week later he protested that "produce
dealers" on the Mississippi endeavor to prevent flatboat men from bringing
their boats info Roundaway, by representing to them that the bayou is in such a
condition that they cannot get through with their boats." He assured his
readers that the story was false and threatened to give names of the offenders
if such stories were repeated (III: 15, February, 16, 1844).
On March 29, 1844, the Compiler
happily noted that William Douds "will continue to run a boat between New
Carthage and Richmond regularly three times a week, as long as the bayou is in
a boatable condition." Citing the advantage to citizens for passenger and
freight traffic, the editor wished the enterprise success (III:21). Then, in
April the long-awaited clearing out of Roundaway seemed nearer when Editors
Stewart and Ferry received and promptly printed a letter from R. H. Sterling,
superintendent of the State snag boat experiment in the area. Sterling believed
that Roundaway could be cleared for steamers carrying up to seven hundred bales
of cotton for about two thousand dollars. "If labour can be applied at low
stage of water in the fall." The editors stated in an editorial in the
same issue that they had talked with gentlemen who lived on the Tensas about
Sterling's work. "All speak of him," they said, "as a most
diligent and faithful public agent." Captain Sterling was expected to
spend the summer with his snag boat on Bayou Macon and return to the Tensas in
the fall to complete work on that stream (III:25, April 26, 1844).
Unfortunately the file of the Compiler ends before Roundaway was
completely cleared for steamboats, as it eventually was[6]
Editors of the Compiler
were also concerned with the improvement of roads, often complaining of the
condition of present ones and agitating for new ones. Most of the police jury
ordinances in 1840 and 1841 concerned road building. A board was appointed to
review the road laid out from Richmond to the Mississippi opposite the mouth of
the Yazoo River; new roads were established from Richmond to Bayou Macon, along
the east side of Bayou Macon, and from the Tensas to the mouth of Alligator
Bayou to intersect the Bayou Vidal road. A road was projected from the
"common crossing on Roundaway Bayou" to Diamond Island Bend on the
Mississippi (I: 34, February 22, 1842). In May 1842, roads were established
from Bear Lake and Joe's Bayou to Milliken's Bend. Laying out these roads
through swamps and canebrakes involved much labor, even though they were only
sixty feet wide. Slaves of planters along the routes were requisitioned for the
labor, as indeed they were needed for clearing streams.
A ferry over Tensas River
was established in May 1842 to be operated by Charles Carpenter[7]
who was permitted to charge twenty-five cents for transporting a man and a
horse, twelve and one-half cents for a man on foot, $1.50 for a wagon and four horses,
and one dollar for the wagon and two horses (I: 50, June 14, 1842). These rates
were cheaper, of course, than fares at the ferry crossing the Mississippi at
Vicksburg, which were set by parish ordinance in November 1842. A charge of
$2.50 was made for a wagon and four horses, $1.50 for a four-wheeled carriage
and fifty cents for a man and a horse (II: 24, December 20, 1842)
In September 1842, Editor
Kercheval noted that the Madison Bridge Company was then building a bridge over
Roundaway Bayou near Richmond. The bridge (he said) will afford great
convenience to travelers as well as the residents of the country, this point
being in the direct route between Vicksburg and Monroe, and the thoroughfare
for the emigrants from the northern part of Mississippi, Alabama and the
contiguous country to the fertile regions of this state and Texas (II: 10,
September 6,1842).
In December he printed an
irate letter from a contributor who complained that tolls for passage over the
bridge were excessive. The charge was thirty-seven and one-half cents for a
loaded wagon and twelve and one-half cents for a man and horse (II: 24,
December 20, 1842).
Despite efforts of the
officials, many roads in the parish apparently continued to be poor. A letter
signed "Tensas" printed in the Compiler in the fall of 1842
complained that every road in the parish was in a wretched condition. "It
is a well known fact", the correspondent states, "that three-fourths
of the emigrants passing through Richmond are obliged to travel the miserable
excuse for a road leading to Tensas and Bayou Macon, for to that part of the
parish emigration is now ending, and if they do not stop there they are
compelled to travel the same route to go to the parishes of Washita (sic) or
Union, Arkansas or Texas." "Tensas" felt that the road could be
repaired with twenty good hands in three days by bridging a couple of bayous,
cutting timber out of the road, and widening if in some places (II: 21,
November 22, 1842). The poor condition of public roads during this period is
readily understandable when one considers that much of the area was subject to
annual overflow since the elaborate system of levees that later controlled the
Mississippi and its tributaries had not been conceived of in the 1840's.
Another phase of parish
improvement which editors of the Compiler supported was the
establishment of schools and churches. Educational opportunities in the parish
were limited to private schools such as that advertised by James A. Martin in
the Compiler in February 1842. Citizens of Richmond and vicinity were
notified that Martin would open a school for the "purpose of teaching the
ordinary branches of an English education" in a three-month term. Fees for
"Orthography, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic" per month were $2.50
per student. "Geography and Grammar" added cost $3.00, and
"other branches" could be agreed upon with the patron. "From
long experience as a teacher, "Martin assured the public of his
"ability to render General Satisfaction" (I: 33, February 15, 1842).
The success of Martin's school is not indicated in later issues of the Compiler,
but a similar school, operated by Mrs. H. H. McLean and her sister at
Milliken's Bend, was advertised in April 1843.
When the Milliken's Bend
Academy was opened in February 1844, Editor Stewart gave extensive publicity to
the school by writing an editorial as well as running an advertisement. He
expressed gratification at the "prosperous beginning" of the school
under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Puller and noted that the Academy was
"the first attempt which has been made to establish a respectable academy
or high school in this parish." He urged citizens of the parish to support
the newly founded school and stressed the importance of the "moral and
intellectual training of the young." The people of the community were
responsible, he said "for building up and fostering good institutions of
learning." Thus putting educational opportunities within the reach of all.
Several prominent citizens of the parish were listed as trustees of the Academy
(III: 14, February 16, 1844).
Among ordinances of the
police jury published in June 1844, was a resolution to establish a school in
each of the wards, for which trustees were named. Because the file of the Compiler
ends the next month, the success of this effort is not known. Though these
efforts to provide educational opportunities in Madison Parish in the 1840's
seem inadequate, it should be remembered that children of planters were usually
educated at home under private tutors and that many of them attended Eastern
and Northern preparatory schools and colleges.
Efforts to establish
churches in Madison Parish in the early 1840's were even less successful than
the movement to provide schools, or so it seems. When one consults the existing
file of the Compiler, Editor Stewart in November 1842 lamented the
absence of a church building and divine services in Richmond and cited this
fact as a "defect in our society". He recommended that regular church
services be held in available buildings, and he was always careful to note the
appearance in town of itinerant ministers who occasionally held services in
public buildings. On May 17,1842, for example the Compller mentioned
that a Rev. Mr. Donnan held morning and evening services at the courthouse and
that the meetings were attended by "a large and attentive audience."
Contributions were taken up in order to have a regular monthly preaching (I:
46). Succeeding issues of the paper do not indicate that services were indeed
held regularly, although Rev. Donnan was reported beginning a protracted
meeting on December 9, in connection with "other distinguished
ministers" (II: 23, December 6, 1842). In the same paper Editor Downes
printed a letter from "Luther", who complained of the failure to observe
the Sabbath in the area. It is "not more venerated than any other
day," he said, "and is rather a day of amusement, than worship and
holiness". In November 1843, Editor Stewart announced preaching in
Richmond twice a month by Rev. Carter Jones of Mississippi (III: 3, November 24
1843). Despite the absence of organized churches, the religious life of the
parish during the period may have been more extensive than "Luther"
and the few notices in the Compiler indicate.
On the other hand, a
national religious movement that received a great deal of attention in the Compiler-as
indeed it did in every other newspaper--was Millerism[8].
Followers of William Miller, who predicted the end of the world in 1843, the
Millerites were the subjects of much newspaper satire and humor in the early
1840's. Editor Downes noted in the Compiler on July 5, 1842, that an egg
was found in Massachusetts[9]
with the words "Prepare for 1843" legibly written on it; "we
never thought hens were such darned fools before," he quipped. In
September 1842, he noted that over four thousand people had assembled in
Miller's tent tabernacle in Albany, New York to hear a speaker explain in a
two-hour sermon that April 23, 1843, was certainly the day on which the world
would end. "Now, if were to happen on the first (April Fool), wouldn't
they be completely fooled!" (II: 13, September 27, 1842). On April 4,
1843, Editor Downes noted that the Millerites dressed in ascension robes, had
gathered a hundred strong in a cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island to await
the resurrection (II: 40, April 4, 1843). When the world did not end in 1843 as
Miller had predicted, editors of the Compiler joined their journalist
brethren all over the nation in laughter at the expense of the Millerifes.
Although Richmond was too
small to offer such a variety of amusements and diversions as might be found in
New Orleans, local citizens found relaxation in such simple events as an
occasional ball or wedding, court-days, horse racing, and political gatherings.
According to reports in the Compiler, court-day was the most popular
form of entertainment. Sessions of the district court drew crowds of spectators
from the surrounding area. The festive nature of these court-days may be
inferred from Editor Kercheval's reply to the editor of the Concordla Intelligencer
in neighboring Tensas Parish concerning evidence in Madison Parish of the
effects of the nationwide temperance movement then in progress; Kercheval noted
that a flatboat loaded with hard cider was expected to remain at Richmond
during the session of the district court, "probably for the accommodation
of the Concordia Bar". (I: 42, April 19, 1842). "The gentlemen of the
green bag", as lawyers were called, were famous not only for their
oratorical and histrionic ability but for their capacity to consume liquor as
well,
In November 1842, Editor
Stewart remarked that Richmond had been crowded for a week with citizens of the
parish "and a host of strangers" who were on hand for the district
court session being held in the new courthouse (II: 23, November 29, 1842). A
brief glimpse of the diversity and color of these combined business and
pleasure gatherings may be gained from an item in the Compiler in May
1844: Our town for some days past has presented quite a lively appearance. The
session of the court has called many persons together from various parts of the
country, all doubtless having objects of their own to accomplish. Candidates
soliciting votes among the sovereigns, creditors soliciting their dues, lawyers
soliciting fees, and editors soliciting additional names for their subscription
list, make up a portion of the motley crew. The (New Orleans) Tropic has
had an agent on the ground since the "first day of the term…"(III:
27, May 10, 1844).
In addition to these people,
local planters, squatters, bear hunters, peddlers and slave traders swarmed
into the town to enjoy the crowd and thrill with the oratory of the courtroom.
In an age devoted to oratory, the conflict and drama of the courtroom,
exploited fully by "the gentlemen of the green bag," served an
important emotional need in the rural South.
Court-days also offered
another important form of entertainment. After adjournment of court, the
gentlemen of the bar gathered at taverns and citizenry crowded around to hear
the lawyers review important cases, recount amusing experiences, and tell
humorous tales. Since tale telling was a favorite pastime on steamboats, around
campfires and firesides, in taverns, and during court sessions, lawyers who
traveled about the country became important mediums through which so many oral
tales and so much backwoods yarns were disseminated, Much of this oral
literature eventually found its way into the newspapers and the sketches of
such humorists as A. B. Longsfreef, Thomas Bangs Thorpe, William T. Thompson,
Sol Smith, Johnson J. Hooper, Joseph G. Baldwin, and Henry Clay Lewis, some of
whom were lawyers. Because editors of the Compiler realized the
importance of court sessions to their readers, court-days were always
prominently featured in their papers.
Another local diversion that
attracted crowds probably as large as court-days was horse racing. Interest in
this sport reached a high point in the United States in 1842 with the famous
match-race between Boston and Fashion on the Long Island Course in New York
City, in which Fashion not only won but set a new record as well[10].
Like most other towns of any size in the South, Richmond had a racecourse.
Early in 1842 the Compiler
carried a notice marked "Public Amusement" which informed subscribers
that the "Richmond Louisiana Course" would be prepared for the
reception of horses on February 22 for the spring season commencing in May.
Proprietor H. E. Downes offered "a handsome Gold Watch, valued at one
hundred dollars, to be run for, agreeable to the rules and regulations of the
Course." Admission to the track was free to see single heats of four
hundred and forty yards (I: 36, March 8, 1842).
Richmond had its own great
match-race in 1842 when H. E. Downes's Georgia Maid ran against Lawson Dunn's
John Stacker on June 25. The Compiler announced a two hundred-dollar
purse for the winner of the "single dash of a line". "It is
impossible to form an accurate estimate of the immense amount of money,
property etc.... that will be hazarded on this race.", the announcement
said. "We understand that one or two flat-boats--loaded with produce,
merchandise, etc., a drove of mules and several yoke of oxen, besides a large
wallet of N. O. Shiplasters have already been staked on the issue." The
race was to take place at noon and was to be followed by several quarter races,
and then Georgia Maid was to run against Mr. King's Plough Boy at four o'clock.
"We anticipate lots of sport," the announcement continued, "and
lots of people" to witness if, Unfortunately there was no follow-up story,
and so if is not known which horse won Richmond's great match-race, (I: 51,
June 21, 1842).
Though court days and racing
were chiefly masculine diversions, occasional balls and weddings were evidently
highlights for the ladies. Though many private balls were obviously not
reported on in the Compiler, a ball given by Mr. Hinman, merchant in
Richmond, illustrates the public dances of the period. Editor Stewart attended
and commented that the turn out of ladies was " really surprising."
"In the company met at
an early hour (he wrote), attended with good music--when they commenced the
performances of the night and reeled off cotillions until ten o'clock (for the
Madison Parish girls know how to do it) when they retired to feast upon the
"fat of the land"--and never did our Creator spread a table more
superfluously loaded with the luxuries of life. There was everything that was
good to eat, drink and look at, from a sugar kiss to a pretty girl--and if
there was any gentleman there who did not feel like falling in love, just must
have been some crusty old bachelor--" (I: 31, January 31, 1843).
In running wedding notices,
Editor Stewart was likely to add his congratulations if he had been treated to
champagne and wedding cake. In May 1844, on a visit to Carroll Parish (Probably
to obtain new subscribers), Steward attended a country wedding which he wrote
up at length. The affair took place in the "Herricane (Hurricane?)"
community near the Arkansas line. Couples often went up info Arkansas to be
married, he said, because no license was required.
"Horseback is the
favorite mode of traveling (he wrote), and the ladies are dexterous, expert and
graceful riders. When horses are scarce they ride double, and oft the happy
lovers mount the same steed and take an unceremonious leave for the parson's,
before whom they plight their mutual and fervent vows of faith and love. A
marriage is usually celebrated with festivity and rejoicing. Vast numbers
attend. After it is consummated, the bridegroom and bride mount their horses,
accompanied by their attendants and repair to their home, where are assembled
all the people, old and young, from grand mam and grand dad, down to the boys,
dear girls and little ones, in readiness to celebrate their nuptials."
Following the supper at
which "a most sumptuous table is spread," the violin is introduced
"and the jovial dances begin," Cotillions were dances first in
deference to the ladies, but the forest boys don't fancy cotillions, they must
have the reel tall doings, and rapture to the full heart brimming. 'Roaring
River', 'Sich a Gettin' Up Stairs, ''Leather Breeches,' Mol the Wod'. 'The
Devil Among the Tailors,' 'Dance all Night,' etc, etc., are the favorite airs
which they heel and tow more rapidly than horses seized with the stampede.
In describing the young men
at the backwoods frolic, Stewart commented, "Some have their shirt collars
of so extensive dimension, and starched so very stiff, you can only discern
that portion of the cranium above the upper extremities of the ears." He
continues, "Some have scarves or cravats of a deep red hue; others have
short legged pants which, with the aid of raw-hide straps, they draw half down
their legs. The coat sleeves of some reach a little below the elbow--while
others have their pants suspended close under the arm pits: (III: 26, May 3,
1844). Editor Stewart apparently did not expect his paper to circulate widely
in Carroll Parish; else he would not have risked offending subscribers in that
area. His description of a backwoods wedding owed, of course, much to the
popular humor of the period in which frontier social affairs were satirically
presented.[11]
Although editors of the Compiler
did not print sensational stories of crime and violence on their front page --
their fights, duels, murders, and violent deaths. Though such disturbances were
infrequent, enough of them occurred to show that Madison Parish in the early
1840's was still a frontier. In November 1841, for instance, the Compiler
reported "We regret to state that a difficulty occurred in this village on
Monday last between two persons, whose names are Morris and Chance. The
difficulty ended by the death of Mr. Morris." Chance was "immediately
arraigned before Asa Carmon, Esq." Who bound him over until the next term
of court in the sum of $250 (I: 22, November 30, 1841). No report of punishment
was published later.
Then in January 1842, the
paper reported that flat-boatmen from Warren County, Kentucky, were apprehended
stealing cotton from O. B. Cobb's plantation on the Mississippi River.
"Mr. C. arrested them" the editor said, "and gave them their
election between the penitentiary and the jurisdiction of Judge Lynch. They
chose the latter, and were honored with their deserts" (I: 30, January 25,
1942). John Hawkins, a native of Kentucky, was reported drowned in Roundaway
Bayou below Richmond on April 21, 1842. He was engaged "in getting out
boards, shingles, etc., and while rafting the timber, he fell overboard and
never rose again. Allegedly subject to "attacks of fits", Hawkins was
thought to have had a seizure. With no family in the area and no friends
"to shed a tear," the editor remarked, "there will be no
contested application for the curatorship of his estate" (I: 23, April 26,
1842)
The grand jury of the parish
found a true bill against James D. Fall and Thomas E. Robbings for fighting a
duel on April 19, 1842. Unfortunately Editor Downes--perhaps to avoid getting
mixed up in a feud--failed to mention the cause of the disagreement--probably
politics, horse racing, or a woman, common causes for duels at that time. Then,
early in 1843, Editor Downes printed a letter from "Alligator Tensas"
who lived on the Tensas River, complaining that parish law officers had done
nothing to discover the murderer of "our worthy friend and neighbor",
John W. Sims. The citizens of the community, the writer said summoned an
officer of the law, who did not come, and they proceeded to hold an inquest
themselves. The writer asked for justice to be done. Since there was no
follow-up on this crime, the murderer was apparently never discovered (II: 29,
January 3, 1843)
Prominent citizens of the
area were sometimes involved in violent affairs. The Compiler printed
this note on April 11, 1843: "We hear that Judge Felix Boxworth, of the
Parish of Carroll, in the State, was shot on the 13th, by a young
man on the plantation of Mr. Behler" (II: 41)
[12]
Since Judge Bosworth was a horse racing enthusiast, the dispute could well have
been over some race. Bosworth wrote Judge Alonzo Snyder of Richmond a letter on
January 2, 1846, asking Snyder to judge in favor of Dr. George D. Shadbourne[13],
also of Richmond, a hundred dollars which Bosworth had lost on a bet,
presumably on a horse race.[14]
Editor Stewart in November,
1843, noted in connection with district court then in session that the erection
of the "new and handsome courthouse--the beautiful edifice which adorns
our village" had "improved the morals and condition of the
people." He observed that there had not been "a single breach of the
peace in the town of Richmond for several months past, nor have we heard of any
flagrant misdemeanor in any part of the parish, since the last term of
court," Optimistically, he added, "It is ardently to be hoped that
her days of bloodshed and crime are past and that an new era is about to dawn
upon her, and that in future peace, virtue and morality shall prevail within
her borders, from the banks of the Mississippi, to her farthest swamps"
(III: 2, November 17, 1843). But contrary to his expectations, the next year
was a particularly violent one in Madison Parish. In January 1844, James
Wilkins, who lived near the mouth of Roundaway Bayou, was shot and killed by a
Mr. Wotley in a dispute over a mule. Wotley allegedly rode up to Wilkin's
house, accused him of killing the mule, shot him and fled. (III: 10, January
12, 1844).
Less than three months later
violence flared on the streets of Richmond. John T. Mason shot and killed David
Bradford with a double-barreled shotgun. "We forbear from referring to the
circumstances which led to this sad and deplorable event," Editor Stewart
commented (III: 13, March 15, 1844). Despite his caution, however, Stewart
became involved, for in the next issue of his paper he said, "We regret to
learn that Mr. Mason and some of his friends take exception to some parts of
the notice" about the murder (III: 14, March 22, 1844). Three months later
the Mason trial was the forensic highlight of the court session. Mason was
defended by five lawyers--H. S. Foote of Mississippi, D. S. Stacy of Vidalia
and Attorneys Shannon, Amonett and Pierce of Richmond, For the State according
to the Compiler, were "The District Attorney, Mr. Bonham, Mr.
Boyle, of Bayou Sara, and Messrs. Wallace and Perkins of this parish." In
describing the dramatic three-and-one-half-day trial, Editor Stewart Wrote:
"Perhaps so great a
display of learning and ability, has never before been witnessed in this
parish, in the investigation and argument of any case. Several of the gentlemen
mentioned, made their first appearance before a jury in this case, and so for
as we have heard an expression of opinion, acquitted themselves with great
credit. Gen. Foote closed the argument for the defense, and Mr. Boyle for the
prosecution. They are both bold and talented lawyers, and the collision of
their minds may be compared to the grappling of two giants--great interest was
manifested in this trial, and a very unusually large number of persons were
present during its progress."
The jury deliberated from
eleven o'clock on Saturday morning until Monday morning and returned a verdict
of "excusable homicide" (III: 29, May 24, 1844). Certainly the Mason
trial provided drama long remembered in Madison Parish.
In March 1844, John Prall, a
resident of Newark, New Jersey, was killed when a tree fell on him while he was
burning dead timber in a field near Richmond, Then in May in a fight on Bayou
Macon a man named Fields used a bowie knife on a man named Brimberry and
inflicted several wounds, though apparently not deadly.
Since crime and violence
usually led to more exciting court-days, it is easy to see that the second page
of the Compiler which brought such news to subscribers was often the
most interesting to readers of the weekly.
Second-page items in the Compiler
that were often of great interest to subscribers were reports of weather and
disease. Since these topics of perennial interest were usually thought to be so
closely related, the Compiler often reported them together. A rain
season was likely to bring an epidemic of yellow fever or the even more dreaded
cholera.
In August 1841, the Compiler
reported yellow fever on the decline in neighboring Tensas Parish where
thirty-seven persons had died of fever in St. Joseph, a town of one thousand
population. The disease, it was thought, had been imported from Cuba on river
craft or had been produced by the rotting wood of an old wharf in the town. In
September Editor Stewart advised his readers not to go to Vicksburg because of
Yellow Fever. "We were there a few days ago," he said, "and
found that the sickness was general and spreading (II: 13, September 28, 1841),
He repeated the warning the next week, but by November he thought the city safe
for visitors. He wrote on November 9:
"We were there a few
days since, and were assured by the citizens that no new cases were occurring,
except amongst persons who were compelled to pass the summer in the city, and
whose systems had become thoroughly impregnated with the seeds of the
fever--the many severe frosts that we have had, together with the recent high
winds and heavy rains, have effectually cleansed the atmosphere in and around
the city and rendered it altogether safe for our citizens to visit it. (I:
19)"
Thus ended the fever season
for 1841 and not until the next August did the Compiler mention yellow fever.
On August 9, 1842, Editor Downes commented that the weather had been unusually
cool for that time of the year and that the sudden change "together with
the abundance of watermelons, etc., has occasioned some sickness, principally
Ague and Fever: (II: 6). Two weeks later he cited the New Orleans Bulletin
as reporting a few cases of yellow fever in that city, "principally among
the shipping" (II: 8, August 23, 1842). Early in September, Downes noted
that the Picayune reported only a few cases of fever in New Orleans and
commented that New Orleans newspapers were reluctant to admit the extent of the
disease. As proof, he cited the Vicksburg Sentinel, which in turn quoted
'a gentleman from New Orleans--in whose veracity we have undoubted confidence,
that the fever was indeed widespread in New Orleans. In reporting the rumor,
Editor Downes said:
"We mention it for the
purpose of putting our city authorities on their guard. No one who witnessed
the fearful ravages which this fell destroyer of the human family committed in
our community last fall, but must feel anxious to do all that is practicable to
prevent its introduction into this city (II: 12, September 20, 1842)."
Yellow fever did not become
widespread enough in Madison Parish or Vicksburg that fall or during the
succeeding two years of the Compiler file to receive any considerable
attention.
Weather, especially rain
which caused overflow of the Mississippi and the bayous, was another problem.
Rain was both a curse and a blessing: too much of it in areas above Madison
Parish might cause disastrous overflow that would ruin the crops, since no
adequate levee system was then established; too little of it would impede
steamer transportation in the interior waterways during the critical spring and
fall seasons when supplies were brought in and cotton hauled out. Consequently,
editors of the Compiler kept their readers informed on the progress of
both the spring and fall rises in the Mississippi.
These brief comments on news
stories in the Richmond Compiler between 1841 and 1844 which were of
purely local interest do not by any means exhaust the topics of historical
interest in that file of newspapers. The weekly printed much national news,
including the texts of presidential speeches and debates in Congress:
resolutions adopted at public meetings, such as those of a group in Richmond
protesting the activities of Northern abolition societies in 1841: fiction
lifted bodily from some current book to fill up a whole front page, and at
least one poem every week, some of them local effusions; advertisements of
local general stores which sold everything from imported cloth to crockery;
advertisements for runaway slaves that had been apprehended and were being held
in the local jail subject to release to their owners; notices of sheriff's
sales of property and slaves, printed often in both French and English; court
notices of suits such as that Resin Bowie's wife filed against him in Carroll
Parish[15]:
and finally a host of other intriguing items--all of which makes turning
through such a volume of old newspapers an exciting experience.
The Richmond Compiler
seldom showed evidence of such crusading spirit. Though they indulged in some
good-natured rivalry with neighboring papers, they escaped such violence as
that of the duel between rival editors in Vicksburg in 1844, which cost one
editor his life.[16]
© 2003
Richard P. Sevier (dicksevier@gmail.com)