USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I > Part 26
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a British force was preparing in Canada to be aided by two thou- sand Indians under Brant; that Chisolm had sailed to England with letters from the British minister, and that "a part of the members of the American senate were in the secret, namely Messrs. Bi- Li-, and Ru -. " Collot commented at the same time on this story that it confounded two distinct lines of aggression; that the Ken- tuckians and Tennesseeans were sworn enemies of the British ; the Creeks and Cherokees were faithful allies of Spain, and "a part of the inhabitants of the Natchez would undoubtedly take up arms willingly for the English, but, royalist refugees of the late war, they will never act in favor of the Americans."
Chisolm's own story of the scheme, told later, was that "the peo- ple of Tennessee, Whitley's men from Kentucky, with those of the Natchez and the Choctaws were to attack New Orleans," probably under the command of Blount, Chisolm at the same time would attack Pensacola with the Creeks and Cherokees, and Brant, Mitchell and Craig, with Indians, Canadians, and American fron- tiersmen would attack New Madrid. Great Britain would aid with a naval force (Admiral Reckett was just then cruising at the mouth of the Mississippi), give British commissions to the leaders and properly reward them, and the result would be that Pensacola . and New Orleans should be free ports, Florida and Louisiana should be British colonies, and the navagation of the river should be free to the United States.
Yrujo lost no time in communicating with Secretary Pickering. Liston disclaimed all responsibility and suggested that the affair had better be kept quiet. Yrujo, with whom Blount had been all the time a "frequent guest and intimate companion," demanded that the senator should be punished. Liston explained the public- ity that was given by the fact that President Adams was constant- ly accused of British leanings by the Jefferson party, of which Blount was a member.
In the month following the arrival of Astronomer Ellicott at Natchez, (February 1797), a gentleman arrived there, as is recorded in his Journal, who held a public office under the government. Seeking an interview with the astronomer, he delivered a panegy- ric upon William Blount, "observing that for his knowledge of men and dexterity at intrigue, he was perhaps unrivalled in the United States," and that the government was considering the propriety of sending him as minister to France. It appears that Ellicott did not warm to the name of Blount, and nothing more was said to him. But the "mysterious conduct" of the individual seems to
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have worried the commissioner not a little. There was a very able group of gentlemen at Natchez who remained loyal to the British government yet, notwithstanding their Spanish allegiance, notable among them Anthony Hutchins, who then was a major on the British military establishment," and Rapleja, a royalist from New York, who was also a British officer. With these, El- licott noticed, the mysterious stranger spent some time. Later he went to Mobile and Pensacola and was with the people of Pan- ton, Leslie & Co., the headquarters of British influence, until after the explosion of the Blount scheme. After the stranger's visit Hutchins proposed to Ellicott to capture Governor Gayoso and carry him into the Chickasaw nation.
This political situation was largely due to the efforts of the French agents. It had some influence, doubtless, during Wash- ington's administration, when the president was almost inclined to favor an alliance with England to defeat the French intrigue, which meant the restoration of French Louisiana. Again, in 1798, the Federalists for a time dallied with an English proposition to aid in driving out the Spanish and in preventing French control at New Orleans. But the Federalists dared hardly use a suggestion . of British alliance, diplomatically, for fear of misunderstanding. It was left for their arch-enemy, Thomas Jefferson, when he passed from opposition into responsibility, to declare that from the mo- ment France takes possession of New Orleans, "we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation."
In July, 1797, the president submitted to Congress an inter- cepted letter from Senator Blount to James Carey, a companion of Chisolm. Blount's letter to Carey was dated April 21, 1797. He said he believed the plan they had talked about would be at- tempted that fall, and on a larger plan, and with the Indian help it would succeed. If the mission to England succeeded, "I shall myself have a hand in the business, and probably shall be at the head of the business on the part of the British." Blount was there- upon expelled by unanimous vote of the senate. On his return to Tennessee he was elected State senator from the Knoxville district and, in December, was made president of the State senate. He was arrested in 1798 under articles of impeachment before the United States senate, which were withdrawn in January, 1799, the senate having sustained an objection to the jurisdiction of the court, the accused not being a senator when impeached. It is observed by Claiborne, that Blount "was no more guilty" than George Rogers Clark, General Clarke of Georgia and others. But
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it is to be distinguished that these were allies of France. George Rogers Clark met the British agents in Kentucky, and was asked to march at the head of two thousand men against the Spanish in New Mexico. But he reported this in March, 1797, to a French agent.
"From the point of view of the larger diplomatic problems," says Turner, "the most tangible result of the affair was the reten- tion by Spain of Natchez and the other posts east of the Missis- sippi, under the sincere apprehension that if they were evacuated, in accordance with the treaty of 1795, a clear road would be opened for the British into Louisiana. Not until the spring of 1798 did Spain, under the anti-French policy of Godoy, actually evacuate these forts." But, as bearing on the influence of the Blount con- spiracy on the Ellicott negotiations, it is to be noted that Caronde- let gave his agent among the Kentuckians a written declaration, early in 1796, that the treaty of 1795 would not be carried into ef- fect, because of changes of policy in Europe. All through this Blount commotion Carondelet was making a last desperate effort to bribe Kentucky to secede from the United States, and Wilkin- son to become the head of a western empire.
Authorities : Claiborne's Mississippi, Gayarre's Louisiana, Turner in Amer. Hist. Rev., Jan. and Apr. 1905, Monette's Val. of the Miss., American State Papers.
Blue, a hamlet in the southeastern part of Calhoun county, on the Yalobusha river, 10 miles southeast of Pittsboro, the county seat. The postoffice has been discontinued at this point, and mail now goes to Wardwell. Population in 1900, 21.
Blue Lake, a postoffice of Tallahatchie county.
Blue Mountain, a post-town in Tippah county on the line of the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., six miles southwest of Ripley, the county seat. A large hill near the site of the town, "Blue Mountain", has a blue appearance in the morning light, and gave its name to the town. Here is the seat of the celebrated Blue Mountain Female Academy, one of the best known institutions of learning in the State; also of the Mississippi Heights Academy, an excellent school for boys. The citizens of north-east Missis- sippi are justly proud of these excellent educational institutions and are in attendance from far and near at the annual commence- ments. It has several good stores, a saw mill, small brick manufacturing plant, a church and a bank,-the Bank of Blue Mountain,-established in 1905. Population in 1900, 466; in 1906, it was estimated at 700.
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Blue Mountain Female College. Blue Mountain Female Col- lege, located at the village of Blue Mountain in Tippah county, is a flourishing institution, having over 300 students. It is a non- sectarian, private college for girls, the tuition being $50 per annum. It was established in 1873 by Gen. M. P. Lowrey, the distinguished Confederate soldier, and an influential member of the Baptist Church. He chose and purchased as its site a residence known as the "Brougher place," with 20 acres of land, on a hill near Ripley. The natural location, in a beautiful grove with fine springs, and the establishment of the college, brought a number of settlers, and the village of Blue Mountain grew up around the college. Gen. Lowrey remained at the head of the institution until his sud- den death in 1885, when he was succeeded by his son Rev. W. T. Lowrey.
The college, which began its first session with 50 students, has steadily grown in numbers and prosperity. Its property is worth at least $50,000. The courses include all grades, beginning with the primary department, and passing through the preparatory de- partment to the collegiate department, which latter course leads to A. B. or B. S. degrees. The college offers besides the fundamen- tal studies, courses in ancient and modern languages, music, art, dressmaking, stenography and typewriting. The great majority of the students are entered in the collegiate department. The fine library of over over 2,000 volumes deserves especial mention.
Blue Springs, an incorporated post-town in the southeastern part of Union county. It is located midway between New Albany and Tupelo, on the line of the Kansas City, Memphis and Bir- mingham R. R. Population in 1900, 198. Its name was derived from its springs which have a bluish cast.
Bluff, a hamlet in the south-central part of Tippah county. The postoffice has been discontinued, and it now receives its mail by rural free delivery from Cottonplant, the nearest railroad station on the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., 3 miles to the south- west.
Bluff Springs. An extinct village in Attala county, located one mile east of Sallis. It once contained three stores, a saloon, a gin, a shoe shop, and a postoffice. Magnus S. Teague and Col. Coffee were wealthy merchants here at one time. A notorious event was the death of Bill Coffee here after the war at the hands of two masked men. A single dwelling now marks the site of the old vil- lage.
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Blythe, Andrew K., of Columbus, was a Tennesseean by birth and education .. "With much talent for oratory he combined some literary power, and his composition was pure and beautiful. He always had the most patrician bearing, but was singularly careless in dress. That he was a perfectly courageous man was never doubted, but it was also known that he was as soft-hearted as a girl, and in voice and manner he was as mild as any maid." (R. Davis.) In 1847-48 he was captain of Company A, 2d Miss. regi- ment, on duty in Mexico. Subsequently he was one of the leaders of the State Rights wing of the Democratic party. He represented Lowndes in the legislature of 1850. He was among the first to organize a military command when volunteer companies were forming in 1860-61, and when the military machinery of the State failed to get all the companies into Confederate service, took his company to Kentucky, where it was associated with others in forming the First Mississippi battalion, under his command. He was distinguished at the battle of Belmont, the first encounter with Grant. His battalion was soon raised to a regiment, after- ward called the 44th Mississippi, which he commanded at the battle of Shiloh, April 6. While gallantly leading his men in a charge upon the Federal lines, he was shot dead from his horse. General Cheatham wrote in his report, praising the conduct of the regiment, "No braver soldier than its heroic leader was lost to our cause."
Board of Control. An act of 1886 conferred upon the Railroad commissioners (q. v.) the duties of a board of control of the peni- tentiary, (q. v.), after legislation looking to the termination of the leasing system and the resumption of direct control of convicts by the State. The penitentiary was at that time leased to the Gulf & Ship Island railroad company, W. H. Hardy, president, but the board cancelled the lease December 3, 1888, on the ground of non- compliance with contract, and failure to treat the convicts humane- ly, etc. Consequently the board took charge of the convicts De- cember 4, bringing them at the expense of the State from various distant points to Jackson, where some were hired out to individu- als, and others put to work in the penitentiary shops. In January, 1889, the board rented the Belhaven and Porter farms, near Jack- son, formerly worked by convict labor. Although everything was in disorder at the termination of the lease, good financial results were obtained the first year, all expenses were paid, and over $22,000 remained in the treasury. The number of annual deaths among the convicts was reduced from 60 to 19 .. This management was con-
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tinued, with increasing profit, for a few years. In 1890-91 the con- victs manufactured 465 wagons, of which 169 were sold, and about 1,500,000 brick were made for the Insane asylum.
The governor and attorney-general were added to the member- ship of the Board of Control in 1892.
In 1893 the board reported that in five years, $111,000 had been paid into the State treasury as the net earnings of convicts. The legislature having made no enactment, the convicts were being mainly leased to planters. In 1894 "planting contracts" were made, public sentiment permitting no more leasing. In the same year there was begun the purchase of State farms. See Peniten- tiary Farms. The Board of Control continued in the management of these farms and the convicts.
The legislature of 1906 changed the management of convict af- fairs by providing for the appointment by the Governor of a board of three trustees and a superintendent, the change to go into effect January 1, 1907.
Bobo, a post-station in the southern part of Coahoma county, on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 6 miles southwest of Clarksdale. It has an express office, telegraph and telephone service, several general stores, a large public cotton gin, and ex- cellent schools. Bobo station was named after the celebrated bear hunter, Robert E. Bobo, who held the world's record on number of bears killed.
Bodga, a postoffice of Kemper county, established in 1905.
Boggan, a post-hamlet in the southern part of Simpson county, situated on Silver creek, 12 miles south of Mendenhall, the county seat.
Bogue Chitto, an incorporated post-town in the south-central part of Lincoln county, on the Illinois Central R. R., and 65 miles south of Jackson. Bogue Chitto is an Indian word meaning "big creek", and the town takes its name from the river of that name on which it is situated. It is provided with express, telegraph and telephone facilities, has extensive lumber inter- ests, a good school, and several churches. It is in the long leaf pine region of the State. Population in 1900, 582, an increase of nearly 100% over the census of 1890, and in 1906 it was estimated at 1,000. A large planing mill, and a Munger System cotton gin are among the important industries of the town.
Bolands, a hamlet in the southwestern part of Itawamba county. The postoffice has been discontinued and mail now goes to Rands. Population in 1900, 26.
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Bolatusha, a post-hamlet in the northwestern part of Leake county, about 15 miles distant from Carthage, the county seat. Population in 1900, 24.
Bolivar, a post-village of Bolivar county, located on the Mis- sissippi river, 4 miles west of Benoit station on the Riverside division of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., and about 22 miles south of Rosedale, the county seat. Benoit is the nearest banking town. Like the county is was named for Gen. Simon Bolivar. It has a church and a school. It was the county seat of justice at one time in the early history of the county (See Bolivar County), having been moved there from the present site of Lake Beulah. Population in 1900, 102.
Bolivar County, named for General Simon Bolivar, is located in the northwestern part of the State in the famous Yazoo Delta region. The county has a land surface of 913 square miles. It was erected February 9, 1836, while Charles Lynch was Gover- nor, and the original act defined its limits as follows: "Beginning at the point where the line between twps. 24 and 25 intersects the line between ranges 2 and 3 west, and running thence with the said range line, to the point where the same intersects the line between twps. 21 and 22; thence east with the said twp. lines to the Tallahatchie river; thence down the Tallahatchie and Yazoo rivers, to the point where the old Choctaw boundary line inter- sects the Yazoo river; thence with the said boundary line to the point where the line between twps. 19 and 20 leaves the same ; thence west with the said twp. line to the Mississippi river, to the point where the line between twps. 24 and 25 intersects the same, and thence with the said twp. line to the beginning." Feb- ruary 26, 1842, a part of Coahoma county was added to Bolivar, described as follows :- "Beginning on the Mississippi river at the center of twp. 26 north, of range 7 west; thence east with said line to the line between range 4 and 5 west, and south to said line between townships 24 and 25 north." In 1844, the county of Sun- flower was formed out of the territory of Bolivar, and in 1871, the eastern part of Sunflower was taken to form part of the present county of Leflore. (See Sunflower and Leflore.) The original county had a total area of about forty townships or 1,440 square miles, while its present area is about 913 square miles. Coahoma county lies immediately on the north, Sunflower county on the east, Washington county on the south and the Mississippi river forms its western boundary. The county was early settled by an excellent body of pioneers, many of whom were men of brilliant
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parts, who contributed not only to the upbuilding of the new county, but also took a large share in shaping the affairs of state. Among them were Judge Joseph McGuire, Judge of Probate in 1838, Governor Clarke, Judge Burrus, George Torrey, Miles H. McGehee, John V. Newman, Judge Kingsley, J. P. Brown, Gen. William Vick, Isaac Wilkinson, Dr. Dodd, Colonel Fields, Dr. Marrel Rowland, Judge F. A. Montgomery, Wm. Sackville Cook, Clerk of the Courts, F. Patterson, one of the commissioners ap- pointed to organize the county and Sheriff in 1838; Y. Alexandria, Oren Kinsley, Isaac Hudson, Hiram D. Miller, and Peter Will- iam, Members of the Board of Police, 1838; James D. Hallam, W. L. Johnson, James M. Mattock, Peter B. Starke, J. J. B. White, J. P. Brown, John M. Henderson, James B. Smith, and Charles Clarke, all members of the State Legislature for Bolivar county, prior to the Civil War. The story of the final location of the county seat is interesting and will be briefly told. The little old shanty, which was first used for a court house, contained three rooms, the court room, about twenty feet square; the other two, about ten feet square, were used for clerk's room and jury room. This building seems to have been moved up and down the Missis- sippi river several times before its final location at Judge McGuire's plantation, adjoining the town of Prentiss elsewhere referred to. Its first location was on what was then the Mississippi, but is now Lake Beulah, a few miles below Rosedale. The old place where it stood for several years is still called the old court house field. It failed to attract any settlers and was moved by flatboat down the river to Bolivar Landing. A few years later it was again moved- this time up stream-to its final resting place at Judge McGuire's plantation. While the new court house was building at Prentiss, Judge J. Shall Yerger held one term of court in the old structure. A fine brick court house was built at Prentiss about 1857, and Prentiss remained the seat of justice until its destruction in 1863 by the Federal troops. In 1865 Col. F. A. Montgomery donated land on his Beulah plantation for a county site, and a frame court house was erected there. Finally in 1872 the county seat of jus- tice was located at Floryville, now Rosedale. The first court house there was burned, the second, erected by the insurance com- pany was rejected, and at last the present fine brick structure was erected in 1890, at a cost of over $30,000. Also a substantial jail, at a cost of about $13,500. Rosedale is a place of 1,500 inhabitants and is the most important river town between Memphis and Greenville, an important shipping point for the chief products of
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the region, cotton and corn, and the center of a large local trade. Gunnison, with 477 inhabitants (Census of 1900), lies a little north of Rosedale, and Cleveland, with 1,200 inhabitants, located on the Yazoo and Mississippi valley railway in the eastern part of the county, are both growing towns. There are a large number of other small towns in the county, among which may be mentioned Beulah, Benoit, Shaw, Shelby, Boyle and Duncan. Few counties in the State have superior transportation facilities, the Mississippi river forming its entire western boundary and two lines of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railway extending the entire length of the county, joined at the center by an east and west branch from Rosedale. The Southern railway also enters its border in the extreme southwestern corner and intersects the Yazoo Valley at Lamont. The soil is unsurpassed in fertility and is the result of alluvial deposits by the Mississippi in flood during past ages, before the river had been controlled by levees to prevent over- flows. It will produce nearly every variety of crops grown in the United States, including most of the fruits, vegetables and grasses. It is especially famous, however, for its cotton and corn crops and will produce one bale of cotton and from fifty to eighty bushels of corn to the acre. Stock growing is attaining large proportions owing to the fine pasturage the year around, and will increase in importance with the establishment of nearby packing houses to which the stock can be shipped. The county is still heavily tim- bered and the growth consists chiefly of red and sweet gum, ash, hickory, white oak, pin oak, elm, walnut, cottonwood, poplar, pecan and immense cypress brakes. W. S. Pettis, of Ellisville, dis- cussing the lumber industry of Mississippi, writes, "the cotton- wood timber is the only timber which is about exhausted, which was largely exported, and the much despised gum of the Delta section is being substituted for the valuable cottonwood, and it is the only timber in the United States that can be used as a substi- tute. The gum will be worth $3 to $4 per thousand feet stumpage, within five years." Numerous churches and good schools are scattered throughout the county. Manufactures, which will event- ually work up much of the vast amount of raw material the county produces, are being rapidly established.
The United States Census for 1900 gives the following statistics for Bolivar county :- Total number of farms, 5,515, total acreage in farms 246,143, total acres improved 185,746, value of land exclusive of buildings $5,892,190, value of buildings $1,189,260, value of live stock $1,159,902, value of products $3,269,798. The
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manufacturing data is given as follows :- Total number of estab- lishments 117, capital invested $407,508, wages paid $94,798, cost , of materials used $222,075 and value of products $541,987. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in the county in 1905 was $4,512,330 and in 1906, it was $5,405,696, which shows an increase during the year of $893,366. The population in 1900 was whites 4,017, colored 31,230, a total population of 35,247 and an increase over 1890 of 5,267. The population in 1906 was estimated at 40,000.
Bolton, an incorporated post-town in Hinds county. It is on the line of the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R., 27 miles east of Vicks- burg. It has a telegraph and an express office, a money order P. O., a steam gin, wagon factory, two churches and a good school. A large amount of cotton is annually shipped from this point. The town was named for a gentleman interested in build- ing the railroad from Vicksburg to Jackson. Population in 1900, 600. The population in 1906 was estimated at 1,000. The Mer- chant's Bank, a branch of the Merchant's Bank of Jackson, was established here in 1905.
Bond, a post-station in the extreme northern part of Harrison county, on the Gulf & Ship Island R. R., 10 miles north of McHenry, and 38 miles north of Gulfport, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, express office, several stores and churches, a good school, a bank, and a saw-mill, which is one of the largest in the State. Its electric light is furnished by the. J. E. North Lumber Co.
Bond Cases. "No case ever tried in this State has excited so much interest and passion, or has affected its relations so pro- foundly as that of Hazron Johnson vs. The State," says Edward Mayes in his history of the judiciary (Memoirs Miss. 11, 125). Chancellor Scott rendered the decree for the complainant, at the April term, 1853, affirming the liability of the State on the Union bank bonds. The State was represented in that hearing by At- torney-General Glenn and W. F. Stearns. On the appeal to the High court, the bondholders were represented by Adams and Dix- on and the State by Wharton and Daniel Mayes. The High court, Justice Smith, Yerger and Fisher unanimously affirmed the decis- ion of the chancellor, that the statutes bearing on the subject were constitutional, the bonds were valid, and the State was liable.
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