USA > Tennessee > Old times in Tennessee, with historical, personal, and political scraps and sketches > Part 9
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carried a flint and steel and a tinder-box to assist in making 2 fire. The Chickasaw Agency was kept by McGee, who was the agent, with Jim Allen as interpreter. Allen was a man of fine address, and was a lawyer who came to Nashville, but failing in business, went off among the Indians. At the Chickasaw Agency, two hundred and fifty miles from Nashville, Mr. Swaney made the first exchange of horses. He rode a large black horse be- tween Nashville and the Chickasaw Agency five years. Mr. Swaney contended that none of our horses of the present day could do as much service. From the Chickasaw to the Choctaw Agency the distance was two hundred miles, and the route was entirely through the Indian country. Sam. Mitchell was agent and John Peachland interpreter at the Choctaw Agency. The distance from this point to Natchez was one hundred miles. Gen. F. L. Claiborne was post-master at the latter place.
At the time Mr. Swaney carried the mail, traders and boatmen came from New Orleans and Natchez by the route he traveled, bringing their provisions and supplies on pack-horses and mules. Kentuckians and Tennesseeans took boats loaded with produce down the river, which they sold at Natchez or New Orleans, and then returned to their homes by this route, carrying their money, which was gold and silver, sewed in raw hides, and carried on horses and mules with their provisions and such supplies as they had purchased. When they stopped at night they would hide their money in the woods some distance from camp before they would make a fire. This precaution was taken to prevent being robbed, as these were the class of men Mason and his band preyed upon.
Tom Mason lived several years near Cross Plains, in Robertson county. He went from there to Natchez, where he organized his band, which consisted of himself and his two sons, Tom and John, and seven or eight other men. The leader of this band was then about fifty years old, weighed about two hundred pounds, and was a fine looking man ; rather modest and unassuming, and had nothing of the raw-head-and-bloody-bones appearance which his character would indicate. He frequently sought interviews with the mail-carriers, and was always anxious to know what was said of him by the public. Mason told Mr. Swaney that he need not be afraid of him, as he had nothing but the mail, while he
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(Mason) wanted nothing but money. Mason told Swaney re- peatedly that he did not desire to kill any man ; that money was all he was after, and that if he could get that without taking life, he would certainly shed no blood. Mason's band was a great terror to the boatmen and travelers who came through the Indian nation. Before leaving Natchez those who were coming through the wilderness supplied themselves with provisions to last them until they should reach the agencies or all the way through, and capturing these supplies gave Mason and his men ample means to support themselves. This band knew every foot of the road, and every place where parties would be likely to camp, particu- larly the springs, etc., which enabled thewu " to ply their vocation" the more successfully. Among Mason's first robberies was a party of Kentucky boatmen returning home from Natchez. They had camped at what was called Gum Springs, in the Choctaw Nation. They ate supper, and as a matter of precaution, were putting out pickets before retiring for the night. In going to their positions, one of the pickets stepped on one of Mason's men, who were hid in the cane and grass, awaiting an opportunity to pounce upon the boatmen. The robber thus carelessly trod upon, jumped up and gave a yell and fired off his gun, calling upon his comrades to shoot and kill every boatman. This was so unex- pected to the Kentuckians, that they became panic stricken and ran off in the wildest confusion, leaving every thing, some even their wearing apparel. Mason and his men went to the camp and carried away every thing. The next morning, just at day- light, Mr. Swaney came along, and seeing the camp-fires burning rode out but could find no one. He was going toward Natchez, and having met no party that morning, he instinctively knew that something was wrong, and he began to blow his bugle. The boatmen recognized the familiar sound, and commenced coming to Mr. Swaney, one and two at a time, who asserted that they were the worst scared, worst looking set of men he ever saw, some of them having but little clothing on, and one big fellow had only a shirt. They immediately held a sort of council of war, and it was unanimously agreed to follow the robbers and capture their property. It was an easy matter to follow their trail through the cane and grass. Their plan was, as they had no arms, to provide themselves with sticks and knives, and when they should over-
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take Mason and his men, attack them by a vigorous charge, knocking down right and left with their shillelahs, and if those in front fell at the fire of the robbers, those in the rear were to rush upon, overpower and capture the robbers and recover their property. They started in pursuit of the robbers, under the lead of the big Kentuckian. They had gone about a mile, when they began to find articles of clothing which had been thrown away by the robbers. The big Kentuckian found his pants, in the waistband of which he had sewed four gold doubloons, and to his great joy the robbers had not found them. After this it was noticed that the big Kentuckian's valor began to fail him, and soon he was found in the rear. The pursuit was kept up about two miles further, when they were suddenly halted by Mason and his men, who were hid behind trees, with their guns presented, and who ordered them to go back or they would kill the last one of them. This caused a greater stampede than that of the night before, and the big Kentuckian distanced the whole party in the race back to the camp. They abused the big Kentuckian at a round rate for his want of courage, but he only laughed at them, saying he had every thing to run for. But to his credit be it said, he spent his last dollar in procuring supplies for his comrades.
Soon after this Col. Baker was robbed by Mason at a place then called Twelve Mile creek, but from the time of the robbery to this day it is known as Baker's creek. Col. Baker lived in Kentucky, and was quite wealthy. He had taken several flat- boats loaded with produce, and one or two with horses and mules to New Orleans, where he had disposed of his cargoes at hand- some prices in gold, amounting in the aggregate to a large sum. He set out on his return with five pack mules to carry his gold and provisions, accompanied by four men. He and his compan- ions were mounted on excellent horses and well armed. Know- ing the danger, they would stop at night in the cane-brakes in out-of-the-way places, hide the money, and do without fire or water to avoid surprise. They met with no trouble until they reached Twelve Mile creek. They all rode into the creek and were allowing their horses to drink. The banks of the creeks in Mississippi (then the Choctaw Nation) are not like ours in Ten- nessee-they are a great deal higher and steeper. As there was only a little bridle-way into and out of the creek, the reader will
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appreciate the great advantage Mason and his band of ten or twelve men had over Col. Baker and four men, when they jumped up on the bank with their guns presented almost in Col. Baker's face and ordered them to surrender. Col. Baker felt that he was at the mercy of the robbers, and there was no alternative but to surrender, which he did. Mason made them drive the pack-mules over to his side of the creek, when two of his men took charge of them. He allowed Baker and his men to keep their horses and arms. Baker and his men returned to Grindstone Ford, forty miles distant, where they raised a company to pursue Mason and his band. They took the trail of the robbers and followed them to Pearl river, and learned that Mason had just crossed. Col. Baker had with him a quadroon (Indian) named Brokus, who swam across the river to learn what route the robbers had taken. While climbing up the bank, one of the robbers punched him in the breast with his gun .- Brokus thought he was shot, and let- ting all holds go, fell back into the river, swimming and diving until he reached the opposite bank. Mason then made his ap- pearance and notified Col. Baker that he could not recover his money. This seemed to be accepted as the final arbitrament, for the pursuit of the robbers was abandoned.
Emboldened by their success in robbing Col. Baker, Mason's band committed many other robberies and outrages upon trav- elers through the wildernesses of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, and so hazardous did it become to make the trip through that section, that Gov. Williams, of Mississippi, offered a reward of one thousand dollars in gold for the apprehension of Mason, and if he could not be taken alive, the reward would be paid for his head. This stimulated search for and efforts to arrest him. The Indians were induced to engage in the hunt for the robbers, and being familiar with the country soon made it too hot for Mason's band. Mason hid his money, crossed the Mississippi river, and made his escape. These facts were learned by Mr. Swaney from the wife of Tom. Mason, Jr., who, after the band had left, started to the Chickasaw Agency, where she would be able to communicate with her friends. When Mr. Swaney met her she was making her way through the Chickasaw Nation on foot, carrying her babe-which was two or three months old, and which had been born in the wilderness-together with some pro-
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visions. Mrs. Mason begged Mr. Swaney to assist her on her way, which he did by allowing her to ride until he would get tired walking, when she would walk and let him ride and carry the child. He spent nearly a whole day in assisting the woman along in this way. and then made up lost time by riding all night. Mrs. Mason told Mr. Swaney that Mason's band were safe out of reach of their pursuers; and that before leaving they buried their gold in the bottoms near the river, and cut the letters "T. M." on trees near the spot so they could easily find it in the future.
The reward of one thousand dollars offered for Mason was a great inducement for unscrupulous men to use means to get it dishonestly, and it was not long before two men, calling themselves Sutton and May, brought into Greenville, Miss., a man's head, which they represented as that of Mason, declaring that they had endeavored to arrest him in the Indian Nation, and were com- pelled to kill him, and claiming the reward. Something in the appearance and manner of the men caused Gov. Williams to doubt the truth of their story, and he invited a number of men who were well acquainted with Mason (Mr. Swaney among the num- ber), to identify the head. Not a single one of them recognised the head .as that of Mason, but they were unanimously of the opinion that it was not his. Gov. Williams thereupon had Sutton and May arrested and committed to jail on a charge of murder. They were subsequently tried upon this charge and convicted of murder in the first degree, and were hung at Greenville. Mr. Swaney saw them executed. They were brought out of jail with their hands tied behind them ; were made to mount each a ladder, their feet were then tied, and the ropes around their necks fas- tened to a cross-beam, when they were turned off the ladders and left to swing until dead. At the time of the hanging Gilbert C. Russell and Washington Sevier, of Knox county, Tenn., were commanding each a company of volunteers at Greenville, Miss. Capt. Russell's company was detailed to act as a guard. As soon as the prisoners were brought out of the jail, John Bowman, of Knox county, recognized May as Little Harp, and addressed him by that name. May denied being that person, but Bowman in- sisted that he was Harp, and said that Harp had a scar under the left breast which he (Bowman) had put there with a knife in a fight between himself and Harp some years previous in Knoxville.
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To settle the point Bowman stepped forward and opened the bosom of May's shirt, and there was the scar as he had described it, and could be plainly seen by every one. Some years ago an article was published in a Cincinnati paper stating that Little Harp was identified at this hanging by a missing toe, but such was not the case. He was identified, as reported by Mr. Swaney, who was present, by the scar under his left breast. There were two Harps, brothers, one a large man, called Big Harp, and the other a small man, known as Little Harp. Mr. Swaney knew them in Knoxville when he was a race-rider, and he rode the race at that place when their horse was beaten by one belonging to Sam. Gibson and party. The Harps had bet everthing they owned, and having lost, were completely broken up. The night after the race the two Harps killed and robbed an old man two miles West of Knoxville, and ran away into Kentucky, when they entered upon a career of robbery and murder. They soon became a terror to the community, and a company of men was organized to capture or kill them. They were soon discovered by these men, when Big Harp was killed, but Little Harp made his escape, and Swaney had no doubt that he was hung with Sut- ton at Greenville, Miss.
After the dispersion of Mason's band, other men encouraged by their success tried following the road for robbery, but they were not so successful as Mason. The road had now become comparatively safe, and there was considerable travel through the Indian country. Frequently men would wait at the line to come through with the mail-carrier. John B. Craighead, of Nashville, was once employed to take some boats with produce down the river to Natchez, which he sold at that place. On his return home he stopped at the line of the Indian country so as to come through with Mr. Swaney, who was carrying the mail. They started just at nightfall. The night was cloudy, but the moon shone out occasionally, revealing to them glimpses of the country through which they were passing. They had gone eight or ten miles when they discovered two men on horseback and carrying guns in their rear. Mr. Swaney told Mr. Craighead that they were robbers, and that they were after him. Swaney made Craig- head ride in advance, while he drove his pack-horse and kept between him and the robbers. The robbers would frequently
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come up to within twenty yards of them but never spoke. In this way they "trailed" Mr. Craighead for about two hours. Mr. Swaney told Mr. Craighead that a dark woods lay but a short distance before them, and he dreaded to pass through this place, as he thought the robbers would make an effort to capture him (Mr. Craighead) there, but just before reaching the woods they saw a light some distance off from the road and went to it. Here they found some Indians encamped, and Mr. Swaney got two of them to slip down in the direction of the road and ascertain what had become of the two men who had followed them. In a few minutes the Indians returned and reported that the two men had dismounted and were taking positions behind trees. Mr. Swaney told Mr. Craighead that then was the time to elude their pursuers, and mounting their horses, they struck out through the woods and kept parallel with the road for about three-quarters of a mile, when they returned to the road ; then quickening their pace to a gallop, they rode ten or twelve miles without stopping, leaving the robbers far behind. After their escape from the robbers Mr. Craighead would not consent to stop to feed their tired and hun- gry horses or to eat anything themselves until nearly noon the next day. They then stopped at a fine spring, where they fed their horses and rested themselves. Here John Donley, another mail-carrier, who was on his way down, met them and begged Mr. Swaney to take his place and go back to Natchez, as he (Donley) was very sick aud could not go through. Mr. Swaney consented, and after resting and chatting an hour or so, mounted Donley's horse and started alone to Natchez, Mr. Craighead hav- ing promised to see Donley safe to the Chickasaw Agency. That night Mr. Swaney was very sleepy, and stopped after dark, made his horse fast, wrapped himself in his blanket, and slept soundly until about an hour before daylight, and found that he had slept longer than he should. Mounting his horse he started at a lively gait, and just at daylight as he was descending a little hill to the Boage Tuckalo (the Indian name of the two creeks which meet here), he heard some loud talking. Hoping it was some boatmen, who were always anxious to give Mr. Swaney something to eat and in returu get from him the news, he began to blow his bugle and rushed down the hill. He heard men calling upon some one to surrender, and just as he turned around a large tree that had
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fallen across the road, a man standing a few feet in front of him, fired his gun and Robert McAlpin fell from his horse shot through the heart. The man who fired the fatal shot passed between Mr. Swaney and the tree that had fallen across the road. The robber caught McAlpin's horse and led him away. McAlpin fell across the path with his pistols in his hands. Mr. Swaney's horse, in passing over the body of Mr. McAlpin, became very much alarmed, and came near throwing his rider off. Putting spurs to his horse, he soon overtook two men going back, one the son of Mr. McAlpin and the other Maj. Ellis. They went on to Pigeon Roost and got some Indians and then returned to look after the body of Mr. MeAlpin. It was found that he had been robbed of his outside clothes, but his money was found in a belt next his body. The men who had killed him failed to find his money. Mr. McAlpin and his son and Maj. Ellis lived on the Apalachie river, in Georgia, and the three had been to Mississippi to buy land with the view of settling there, but were not pleased with the country and were returning home when they were attacked by the robbers. Young McAlpin buried his father near where he had been murdered, and cut a large chip from a tree, made the place smoothe, and cut on it with his pocket-knife the inscrip- tion, " Robt. McAlpin, murdered and killed here, July 31st." Mr. Swaney thought the year was 1800, but of this he was not positive. The last time he passed over the route, the letters could be seen very plainly. Some years ago Mr. Bowden, a Presbyte- rian minister, well known here, told Mr. Swaney that he had been to the tree often when a boy. The men who killed Mr. McAlpin were no doubt the same who pursued John B. Craighead, and but for the manœuvering of Mr. Swaney the night before would have killed him. It was said, as Mr. Swaney suspected, that after killing McAlpin and getting no money, the murderers came on through the wilderness passing themselves off as Kentucky boat- men.
Mention has been made in these reminiscences of Jim Allen as being the interpreter at the Chickasaw Agency. Allen was raised and educated by a wealthy and indulgent father in North Carolina, where he studied law and then came to and settled in Nashville. He brought with him two splendid mares, and also a negro boy to wait upon him. He made many warm friends at
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Nashville, but finding no law suits to attend to, he spent his time and money in frolicking about the town and country. Soon he found not only his money but his credit gone. His pride was mortified beyond measure, and he determined to go back to his father and get the money with which to pay off his debts. With this intention he left Nashville one afternoon and went out two miles to Mr. Nichol's, where he remained all night. Here he determined that he would not go back to his old home in North Carolina, but that he would try his fortune among the Indians; so taking a circuit North of Nashville in order to avoid seeing any of his old friends and acquaintances, he steered for the Indian country, accompanied by his faithful negro man. Being entirely unacquainted with the country, he experienced great difficulty in reaching the Tennessee river. Here he had to swim his horses across, and then taking a path he reached Big Town, in the Chick- asaw Nation, in a few hours. The Indians seeing him and his negro mounted on such fine animals, judged they were strangers, and as they were at war with some other tribe, suspected that their visitors were spies, so they began to beat their little drums and form a line of battle. This demonstration frightened Allen, who confessed that he would have run away if he had had any place to go or anything to eat. But he could not retreat, and so putting on a bold front, he and the negro rode on until within two hundred yards of their line, when they dismounted, and lead- ing their horses, gave them to the Indian in command, all the time trying to make him understand that they wanted to live with them. The old chief was sent for, and he soon appeared with a negro who could speak both English and the Indian lingo. Through this negro Allen made known to the chief that he de- sired to live with him and become one of his people. The chief gave him a welcome. Here in Big Town he spent five or six months under a close watch. He conducted himself in such man- ner as to win the confidence of the Indians, and early in the spring they began to take him and the negro out on their hunting ex- cursions. While out with one of these hunting parties Allen was shown his mares, which were reduced to mere skeletons from starvation. Allen lived a year or more with the Indians, when he went to the chief and told him he wanted a wife, and that he had fixed upon Susie Colbert as the one he desired. The manner
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of choosing a wife among the Chiskasaw Indians was for the swain to make his desire to wed a particular maiden known to the chief or to the parents of the young woman, and having gained the consent of the one applied to, the suitor would return to his wig- wam and there wait until his lady love should be sent to him. Allen received the consent of the chief, and then repaired to his wigwam, where he waited until nearly dark when Susie Colbert . made her appearance at his door with a blanket drawn closely around her head, leaving only space enough for her to find her way, and in response to his invitation, walked in and took a seat. This was Allen's courtship and marriage.
After he had taken Susie Colbert for his wife he felt himself more closely identified with the Chickasaws, and concluded he would go with them to fight the Creeks, with whom they were at war. In the first engagement on this expedition Allen was se- verely wounded, and had to be carried back to his home on a litter attached to two ponies; and he was an invalid for more than a year. Allen used to tell Mr. Swaney that this satisfied him with war, and that he never went out again with a war party. The Chickasaws and Choctaws were kind and peaceable in their disposition, and, according to Indian tradition, constituted one nation some years anterior to that period ; but the Creeks, who were great warriors, in order to control them had divided them. The Chickasaws always boasted that they had never shed the blood of a white man in anger, and that they had always been friends of the white man. Allen often told Mr. Swaney that the Chickasaws and Choctaws were once the happiest and best people he ever knew. They were free from the vices which corrupt so- ciety among the white people. They could not say anything in their native tongue worse than "skena" (bad) and "pulla" (mean) ; and that in all his knowledge he never heard of the crime of adultery being committed but once. The punishment in such a case was to cut off the end of the nose of the woman. In pass- ing through the Chickasaw Nation for eight years, this was the only woman Mr. Swaney saw marked in this way.
Jim Allen raised a daughter, Peggy Allen, who was regarded by Mr. Swaney as the prettiest woman he ever saw. She was known to all the boatmen as a great beauty, and Mr. Swaney said it was almost incredible the number of travelers and boat-
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men who stopped at the Agency to see her, attracted alone by- her reputation as the most beautiful woman on the continent. While Jim Allen was interpreter at the Chickasaw Agency, his brother having discovered his whereabouts, came on from Hills- boro, in North Carolina, to visit him. Allen's relatives not hav- ing heard from him in a long time supposed him dead, but the brother could not persuade him to abandon his semi-barbarous life and return with him to the comforts of a pleasant home. The brother also tried to get his beautiful daughter to go with him to North Carolina, where she would have enjoyed every ad- vantage that education and society could have given, but she would not leave her wild-wood home and those she loved. Sam. Mitchell, the agent for the Choctaws, became enamored of this beautiful half-breed maiden, and made overtures to her grand- mother (old Mrs. Colbert), who, not unlike many anxious grand- mothers of the present day, thought she saw honor, position, and wealth in her granddaughter marrying Sam. Mitchell, and urged her to do so. But Peggy Allen did not look with favor upon the proposed alliance. However, her grandmother had her way, and Peggy, with eight or ten negroes and as many ponies as a dowery, was sent to the Choctaw Agency to marry the man who was suing for her hand and heart. But Peggy was immovable, and would not become the wife of Sam. Mitchell, declaring that she would never marry a drunken white man or an Indian. She remained at the Agency about two weeks, when Mitchell aban- doned his suit and sent her back to her father. Mr. Swaney was at Allen's when Peggy returned, and heard her father advise her against staying at home, as her grandmother, who would be greatly exasperated at her refusal to marry Sam. Mitchell, would come with some Indians and do them great injury. He told her that a young man named Simon Birney would almost give his life for her, and advised her to take him and go to Natchez. This she readily agreed to do. Birney was sent for, the matter submitted to him, and he gladly "accepted the situation." They were married and immediately set out for his father's near Natchez. Birney amassed a large fortune, and raised and edu- cated a nice family.
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