USA > Alabama > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 13
USA > Georgia > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 13
USA > Mississippi > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 13
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* Conversations with Lacklan Durant, James Moore, Abram Mordecai, and many other old waders.
1803
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CHAPTER XXVII.
1803
and placed him in a canoe full of armed warriors. They then rapidly rowed down the river. Hawkins and John Forbes, of Pensacola, were in the town, but were concealed, until Sam McNac, a half-breed, had caused Bowles to be made a prisoner. Arriving at a point in the present Dallas county, the canoe was tied up, the prisoner conducted upon the bank, and a guard set over him. In the night the guard fell asleep, when Bowles gnawed his ropes apart, crept down the bank, got into the canoe, quietly paddled across the river, entered a thick cane swamp, and fled. At the break of day, the astonished Indians - arose in great confusion, but fortunately saw the canoe on the opposite side, which Bowles had foolishly neglected to shove off. Swimming over to that point, they got upon his track, and by the middle of the day once more made him a pri- soner. He was conveyed to Mobile, and from thence to Ha- vana, where, after a few years, he died in the dungeons of Moro Castle .*
While the inhabitants of the eastern section were disturb- ed by Bowles, a notorious robber named Mason, was a terror to the people of the western part of the Mississippi Territory. During the occupancy of the country by the Spaniards, the lair of this remorseless human tiger was in a cave upon the Ohio, where he secreted his banditti, and the booty which he had acquired in a long and bloody havoc upon the public. He had now stationed himself upon the highway, between
* Conversations with old traders, who were present when Bowles was captured. See also Indian Affairs, vol. 1.
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New-Orleans and Natchez, with his two sons and their des- perate associates. The Western people boated their produce down the Mississippi-sold it in New-Orleans, purchased horses, and returned by this route to Natchez, and from thence to Nashville, laden with goods and money. This, therefore, offered the most extensive theatre for the operations of Ma- son and his banditti. Hence his sanguinary outrages were perpetrated one day in the Chickasaw nation, and the next upon Pearl river. At length, the people in all parts of the country were aroused by his inhuman murders, and every hand was raised against him. Governor Claiborne declared him an outlaw, and offered a large reward for his head. The proclamation was widely distributed, and fell into the hands of Mason; and while he was reading it, with a smile of scorn and contempt, a blow from behind felled him to the earth. His sons were out upon an expedition, and he was alone with two of his men, who, tempted by the reward, now cut off his head, and bore it to Washington, to Governor Claiborne. Fortunately, on account of a temporary lack of funds in the treasury, the reward was not paid. In the meantime, hundreds flocked to the governor's quarters to see the head of Mason, and it was recognized by many who had seen him. Among others, went two young men, whose re- spectable father Mason and his gang had waylaid and robbed, while they were with him. They immediately recognized his two associates, who brought in the head. These men were thrown into prison, condemned and hung, and the reward
CHAPTER XXVII.
1803
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was thus saved to the territory, while Mason was also out of the way .*
1803 April
Down to this period, no Protestant preacher had ever raised his voice, to remind the Tombigby and Tensaw settlers of their duty to the MOST HIGH. Hundreds, born and bred in the wilderness, and now adult men and women, had never even seen a preacher. The mysterious and eccentric Lorenzo Dow, one day suddenly appeared at the Boat Yard. He came from Georgia, across the Creek nation, encountering its dangers, almost alone. He proclaimed the truths of the gos- pel here, to a large audience, crossed over the Alabama, and preached two sermons to the "Bigby settlers," and went from thence to the Natchez settlements, where he also exhorted the people to " turn from the error of their ways." He then visited the Cumberland region and Kentucky, and came back to the Tombigby, filling his appointments to the very day. Again plunging into the Creek nation, this holy man of God once more appeared among the people of Georgia.t
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1804 December 27
As early as the summer of 1799, the Rev. Tobias Gibson, a Methodist missionary, from South-Carolina, visited the Natchez settlements, by way of the Cumberland and Ohio- organized religious societies in Washington and its vicinity, and then departed from the wilderness. In the fall of 1800,
* Monette, vol. 2, pp. 351-353. Conversations with aged persons in Washington county, Alabama.
+ " Lorenzo Dow's complete works," pp. 76-101.
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he again appeared, now as a missionary from the Tennessee CHAPTER Conference, and formed societies from Bayou Pierre to the XXVII. Spanish line, numbering, collectively, two hundred church members. After performing the most arduous labor in the cause of our Divine Master, for three years, in this rude and savage land, he died. The Rev. Mr. Brown, another Metho- dist missionary, came from Tennessee in 1802, and brought with him, to the Natchez country, a mind stored with a knowledge of science, and a heart fervent with piety. He labored in Natchez until 1807. Montgomery and Hall, two reverend gentlemen of the Presbyterian order, also preached in Natchez for several years. The Baptists, too, sent a "la- borer into the vineyard," in the person of the Rev. David Cooper, who arrived in 1802. Dr. Cloud, of the Episcopal Church, was also sent to "proclaim the glad tidings." The efforts of these various sects were highly salutary, serving to soften and refine the people, and to banish much sin and vice from the worst region that ministers ever entered .*
Congress established regulations respecting the English, Spanish and Georgia grants. Many of the inhabitants claim- ed extensive tracts of land under them. A land office was established at the town of Washington, and a board of com- missioners formed, composed of Thomas Rodney and Robert Williams, who proceeded to consider all claims arising under these grants, in a district extending from Pearl river to the Mississippi. They continued in office until the 3d July, 1807,
1803 March 3 July 9
* Monette, vol. 2, pp. 354-357.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
1804 February 2
having recorded two thousand and ninety claims. Their acts were sanctioned by the President. Another board of com- missioners, consisting of Joseph Chambers, Epham Kirby and Robert Carter Nicholas, was formed at St. Stephens, upon the Tombigby, whose district extended from Pearl river east- ward. They adjourned on the 21st December, 1805, having admitted to record two hundred and seventy-six claims, which the President likewise ratified. The inhabitants, living upon public lands about the time of Ellicott's survey, were after- wards allowed, by the government, a section of land; and those who came just before the board of commissioners was established, received a quarter section. Isaac Briggs was surveyor-general. The Territorial government was made to extend to the southern boundary of the State of Tennessee ; but the extinguishment of the Indian title had been obtained to no portion, except a strip seventy miles long, above and below Natchez, and extending back twenty miles, and the small district upon the Tombigby. The balance of the terri- tory was occupied by the Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws.
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March 27
1803
Colonel James Caller, of North-Carolina, was one of the first representatives to the Legislative Council, from the coun- ty of Washington, Alabama. The first County Court of this county was held at McIntosh Bluff, where John Caller, Cor- nelius Rain and John Johnson presided, with great frontier dignity. These Justices had no code before them, and coming from different States, decided cases according to the laws of their native land, so that most amusing differences of opinion
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often prevailed. This was the case all over the territory; but CHAPTER the Justices from Georgia holding the laws of South-Caroli- XXVII. na, North-Carolina, Virginia, and the whole of New-England in great contempt, contended that the practice in the State from which they came, was alone correct. With their usual success, they generally managed to carry their points.
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
GOVERNOR TROUP, OR THE MCINTOSH FAMILY- INCIDENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
AT the close of our last chapter, it was stated that the first American court held in Alabama was at McIntosh Bluff, which is situated upon the western bank of the Tombigby, between its confluence with the Alabama and the town of St. Stephens. Connected with this bluff, there is, to us, a pleasing historical reminiscence. Alabama has the honor of being the birth-place of George M. Troup, late Governor of Georgia, and who is one of the most vigorous and expressive political and epistolary writers of the age. His grandfather, Capt. John Mc- Intosh, the Chief of the MeIntosh clan, was long attached to the army of West Florida, and his valuable services were reward- ed, by the King of England, with the grant of McIntosh Bluff, and extensive tracts of land upon the Mississippi. He had a son, who was also a British officer, and a daughter, a native of Georgia. The latter, while on a visit to England, married an officer of the royal army, named Troup. She . sailed from England to Mobile, and, arriving at the latter place, entered a barge, and went up the Tombigby river to
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the residence of her father, at McIntosh Bluff, where, in the wilds of Alabama, Governor Troup was born, in September, 1780. She had an unele, named Roderick McIntosh, or "Old Rory," as he was familiarly called, a most extraordinary cha- racter-a kind of Don Quixote, old Arab Chief, Scottish and Irish Chieftain, the Saladin and Coeur de Leon of chivalry. He was long an officer of his majesty's army, in Georgia and East Florida. Thus the father, brother, uncle and hus- band of this lady, the mother of George M. Troup, were all British officers, before the commencement of the revolution. Being removed from the scenes of that revolution, none of them may be said to have taken sides against it, except "Old Rory," who, during the war, was frequently in Georgia and East Florida, and, although far advanced in years, was, at all times, ready to storm any whig fortress that might present itself. Before he came to America, he had been the cham- pion of his native glen, in Scotland, and was strongly attached to the Stuart family. In 1777, he was over sixty-five years of age. He was tall. His form was admirably proportioned for strength and activity. His complexion was ruddy, and his hair was white, frizzled and bushy. In walking, or rather striding, his step ordinarily embraced the space of four feet. He was not rich, but lived in ease and comfort, when not engaged in the actual service of the King. IIe cared nothing for money. During the Spanish occupation of East Florida, he sold a drove of cattle in St. Augustine, and, receiving payment in specie, placed it in a bag, on his horse, and rode - towards home. On the route, the canvass gave way, and
CHAPTER XXVIII.
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
many of the dollars fell upon the path. He secured those which were left, and pursued his journey, giving himself no concern about those upon the ground. Some years after- wards, being in want of money, he recollected his loss, went to the place, picked up as many dollars as he wanted, and returned home. He was fond of dogs. He once laid a con- siderable bet that he could hide a doubloon, at three miles distance, and that his setter, which he had taught to take his back track, would find it. Luath presently went off on his trail, was gone some time, and returned panting, with his tongue out, but came without the doubloon. "Treason!" vociferated " Rory," and he walked rapidly to the place where he had hidden the money. He turned over the log, and found that Luath had torn up the earth in search of it. A man was seen, some distance off, engaged in the splitting of rails. Without ceremony, " Rory " drew his dirk, advanced upon him, and swore he would put him to death if he did not give up the doubloon. The man, very much alarmed, immediately handed him the coin, observing that, having seen McIntosh put something under the log, he had gone to the place, and found the gold. " Hory," tossing him back the money, said " take it, vile caititf; it was not the pelf, but the honor of my dog, I cared for."
In 1778, a portion of the garrison of St. Augustine, under General Provost, marched, by land, to join a force from New- York, to attack Savannah, then in the occupation of the whigs. " Rory" was a captain of light infantry, upon this expedition. On the march, they passed near a small whig
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fort, commanded by Captain, afterwards Colonel John Mc- CHAPTER Intosh. Early one morning, when " Rory " had made rather XXVIII. free with the morning glass, he insisted on sallying out to summon the fort to surrender. His friends were unable to restrain him, and he presently advanced, with claymore in hand, followed by his faithful negro, Jim. Approaching the gate of the fort, he said, in an audible and commanding tone, " Surren- der, you miscreants! how dare you presume to resist his ma- jesty's arms !" Captain McIntosh knew him, and, forbidding any of his men to fire, threw open the gate, and said, " Walk in, cousin, and take possession." "No !" said Rory, with great indignation, " I will not trust myself with such vermin, but I order you to surrender." A rifle was fired at him, the ball of which passed through his face. He fell, but imme- diately recovered. He retreated backwards, flourishing his sword. His servant, seeing his face covered with blood, and hearing the shot falling around him, implored his master to face about, and run for his life. He replied, "Run, yourself, poor slave, but I am of a race that never runs." In this manner, he backed safely into the lines, flourishing his sword in defiance, and keeping his face to the enemy.
Upon a certain occasion, " Rory " rode from St. Augustine to Savannah, and applied to his friend, Couper, for money to defray his expenses from that place to Charleston. Couper saw that something of an extraordinary character agitated him, and with difficulty learned the cause of his excitement. " That reptile in Charleston, Gadsden, has insulted my coun- try, and I will put him to death." " What has he done ?"
VOL. II.
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said Couper. " Why," said Rory, "on being asked how he meant to fill up his wharf, in Charleston, he replied, 'by im- ported Scotchmen, who were fit for nothing better.'" With great difficulty, the friends of Rory prevailed on him to return home.
It would be an endless task to enumerate all the anecdotes in our possession, in relation to this remarkable Highlander, the grand-uncle of Governor Troup. He was often in the Creek nation, and was the father of Colonel William McIn- tosh, a half-breed Muscogee, of high character, whom the Upper Creeks killed, for his friendship to the Georgians. "Rory " always dressed in the Highland costume. He was perfectly fearless in spirit, while his broadsword, wielded by one of the most powerful arms, caused streams of human blood to flow, in many desperate engagements. Although engaged in the rebellion of '45, King George was nevertheless much attached to him, and " Rory " was ready to die for that monarch, at any moment.
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There was another branch of the MeIntosh family-all, however, close connections of Governor Troup, by consan- guinity-who were conspicuous whigs in the revolution, citi- zens of Georgia, and men who occupied high ranks in the army. One of these was General Lachlan McIntosh, who came out to Georgia with Oglethorpe, when a little boy, and the other, Colonel John MeIntosh, who also fought for liberty throughout the war. In later times, Colonel John S. MeIn- tosh, one of the same family, became a distinguished Ameri- can officer, wasin the wars of 1813 and 1814, and recently,
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in the Mexican war, was wounded at Resaca de la Palma, and CHAPTER afterwards, at Molino del Rey, and died in the city of Mexico. XXVIII. The McIntosh family was composed of people of marked cha- racter, all of whom were born to command. The blood al- ways exhibited itself, even when mixed with that of the Indian. After the revolution, the father of Governor Troup established himself in Georgia, became an American citizen, and was much esteemed and respected, to the day of his death. His body is interred at Belleville, McIntosh county, and that of his wife in the family vault of General Lachlan McIntosh, at Sa- vannah .*
Napoleon Bonaparte had turned his eagle eye to the rich province of Louisiana, and it was ceded by Spain to France. 1801 March 21 He contemplated its occupation, with a large army, and pro- bably entertained designs of conquest against portions of the United States ; but, becoming deeply involved in wars with the whole of Europe, he reluctantly relinquished these inten- tions, and ceded Louisiana to the United States, for sixty 1803 April 30 millions of francs. Governor Claiborne, with a large num- ber of emigrants, who had already flocked to Natchez from all parts of the Union, for the purpose of occupying Louisiana, sailed down the Mississippi, with Wilkinson and his forces, and took formal possession of the city of New-Orleans, in behalf December 20 of the United States. He had been appointed the Governor of the Louisiana Territory. He left the people of the Mississippi Territory, duly impressed with a deep sense of obligation for
* MS. notes, in my possession.
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CHAPTER his valuable public services. Cato West, the Territorial Secre- XXVIII. tary, discharged the executive duties until his successor arrived.
1804 March 27
The distance of Natchez from the Tombigby was so great, that Congress authorized the President to appoint an addi- tional Superior Court Judge, for the benefit of the people settled upon that river. The Hon. Harry Toulmin was se- lected. He was born at Taunton, in England, the 7th April, 1766, and descended from a learned and respectable family. He became a pastor of the Unitarian church, at Chowbert, in Lancashire, in 1788, where he occupied a prominent position, officiating before a congregation of a thousand hearers. Be- coming an object of suspicion to the government, it deter- mined to silence not only his efforts, but those of every other person who indulged in an independent expression of opinion. Frequently threatened with personal injury, and often sur- rounded by mobs, who extended their violence to his private residence, as well as his church, Mr. Toulmin determined to seek a land where all religious opinions are tolerated. Land- ing at Norfolk, Virginia, he proceeded to Winchester, where he had the misfortune to lose two of his children. The year following, he became the President of Transylvania Univer- sity, of Lexington, the duties of which he discharged for four years. He was then Secretary of State, of Kentucky, for the long period of eight years, and wrote most of the public documents of that day. Having pursued the study of law, and attained great proficiency in it, he compiled a code of laws for Kentucky, in the most satisfactory manner. A fine writer, an excellent scholar, an amiable man, and a delightful
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fire-side companion, Judge Toulmin won upon the hearts of CHAPTER his friends, and engaged the confidence of the public. He XXVIII. came to Alabama, by way of New-Orleans, settled at a can- tonment near Fort Stoddart, and afterwards removed to the court house, which he called Wakefield, in memory of Gold- smith's good vicar. His first court was held in the fall of 1804, he having been diligently engaged, for several months previous, in arranging the judicial department of Washing- ton county. There was no newspaper here, and Thomas Malone, the clerk, advertised libels against boats, for smug- gling, in a New-Orleans paper, published by Bradford and Anderson.
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Fort Stoddart was now a prominent post. Captain Shaum- berg retired from the command, which was assumed by Cap- tain Schuyler, of New-York, who had the command of eighty men. Lieutenant Reuben Chamberlain, now of Mobile, ar- rived at this station in June, as pay-master. Edmund Pen- dleton Gaines was then a lieutenant, under Captain Schuy- ler. Here the Court of Admiralty was held, for it was a port of entry .*
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Robert Williams, of North-Carolina, appointed to succeed Governor Claiborne, arrived at the town of Washington, Mississippi, and partook of a public dinner, at which the Honorable Thomas Rodney presided. His staff consisted of William Scott, William B. Shields, William Woolridge
* I have consulted some biographical notices of the life and charac- ter of Judge Toulmin-Conversations with Major Reuben Chamber- lain, of Mobile, and Thomas Malone.
1804
Fall
1805 January 26
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
and John C. Carmichael, the first with the rank of colonel, and the others with that of major.
Congress, having constituted the country upon the Tom- bigby a revenue district, known as the "district of Mobile," the most vigilant and annoying system of searches com- menced. The people, with just cause, considered it an unne- cessary restriction upon a weak and defenceless territory. Not only did Spain exact heavy duties, at the port of Mobile, upon American merchandize, destined for the American set- tlements above, but the Federal Government, which ought - rather to have fostered and protected her wilderness-children, also exacted duties from them, at Fort Stoddart. These arbitrary revenue laws of Spain and the United States were applied, with equal severity, also, to whatever the persecuted settlers of Alabama chose to export-so that a Tomoigby planter, sending his produce to New-Orleans, by way of Mobile, and exchanging it there for goods and supplies, paid, by the time he reached home, an ad valorem duty of twenty-five per cent. Vessels were required to pass under the guns of Fort Charlotte, and to submit to insult and search. The Spaniards valued the goods themselves, and imposed a duty of twelve and a half per cent. The Federal Government remonstrated with Spain, in an exten- sive correspondence, but, we think, with a very ill grace, while restrictions were imposed by herself, upon her own people, at the port of Fort Stoddart.
1805
When the line of demarcation was established by Ellicott and the Spanish commissioners, those inhabitants-chiefly
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Spaniards, old British subjects and tories-living in the CHAPTER Natchez district, retired below the line, within Spanish juris- XXVIII. diction, as the reader has already seen. Notwithstanding that General Wilkinson then entered into a convention with the Governor of Louisiana, for the mutual surrender of de- serters, and both sides adopted wise measures to prevent border disturbances, yet much prejudice and ill-feeling con- tinued to exist between the American settlers and Spaniards. No serious outbreaks, however, occurred, until after Louisiana was surrendered to the United States. A controversy then arose, in relation to a strip of country lying between the line of 31° on the north, the Bayou Iberville on the south, the Mississippi on the west, and Pearl river on the east. This had been organized, by the Spaniards, into a district, called the "Government of Baton Rouge," and placed under the control of Don Carlos de Grandpre. It comprised the posts of Baton Rouge, Manchac, Thompson's Creek, and Bayou Sara. A controversy also arose, in relation to the country bounded by the Perdido on the east, Pearl river on the west, the line of 31º on the north, and the Gulf of Mexi- co on the south, which was the Spanish " Mobile district."
- The United States contended that these two districts should have been surrendered at the same time that the Island of New- Orleans and the country west of the Mississippi were given up; that Bonaparte, in his treaty with Spain, acquired the whole of the Louisiana which belonged to France before 1762; that, when subsequently he ceded Louisiana to the United States, he ceded all which he had acquired from Spain, and, of course,
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