the great blue dome blushed with a thousand delicate gradations of
color, from the deep sapphire overhead, where the first stars twinkled,
through fainter blues and apple greens, until everything melted into
the gold of the horizon."
"So he went off, leaving me alone in the white glory of the tropic
night. No words of mine can convey the magic of that moonlight,
enveloping everything, and culminating in a glittering path across the
water. Every now and then a fish jumped, and I could see its wet sides
glitter; or a ghostly gull swept by on silent wings, for when the full
moon rides in the southern sky, not even the birds can sleep, but wake
and sing their songs fitfully throughout the night."
"They sat at the window waiting, and watching the heat-lightning play
in the west and the reflection of the ships' lamps that lay in the
water like long yellow smudges. As the night closed in the threatened
storm swept up out of the sea, deluging the city and whipping the
quiet harbor into a foam; the thunder crashed incessantly, and the
flashes of lightning showed stooping figures running along the bund to
shelter, and hooded jinrikishas tearing by, the coolies' grass cloaks
dripping at every blade."
"When one woman wishes to wound another she always strikes at her
heart."
"Black was very inky and white immaculate to this son of the prairies."
"People never relish life as they do when the taste of death is still
bitter between their teeth."
"Her heart was as pure as crystal."
"Women are the most conservative things alive."
"The face he turned upon me was no more the face of Minerva's lover
than the sea in December is like the sea in June."
"I venture to say that very few of the dead would be entirely welcome
if they returned unexpectedly to their widowed affinities."
"Nothing is so perfect a guarantee of respectability in a chance
acquaintance as the names of your own friends on his visiting-list."
"Many babies and Burmese summers had exhausted all the elasticity she
had ever possessed."
On the whole, 'A Romance of Summer Seas,' while it is on a less
ambitious scale than 'The Veiled Doctor,' seems more natural and shows
a gratifying advance along several lines.
When Miss Davis was suffering intensely in her last illness, she would
pat her mother's hand and say, "We shall have our carriage when my book
sells." But her unselfish dreams were not to be realized. The career
which seemed so full of promise was cut short by death. Now we see
through a glass darkly; when we see face to face, we shall know why
this life of usefulness ended in its morning. As long as the memories
of the 'lost cause' linger in her beloved Southland, so long shall
the name of Winnie Davis, 'The Daughter of the Confederacy,' remain
unforgotten. She has passed away, but the perfume of her noble life
will not pass away.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] The writer is indebted to the kindness of Mrs. Jefferson Davis for
much of the information necessary in the preparation of this paper.
Even Mrs. Davis, however, is unable to give the date when some of her
daughter's minor pieces were published, and every effort to secure them
has proved fruitless. They are either out of print or inaccessible.
[12] She was the only one of them he wished to have with him, as she
alone would not understand that he was a prisoner.
[13] In 1892 she was queen of Momus,--an honor that has always been
reserved for natives of New Orleans. Miss Davis is the only visitor
upon whom it has ever been conferred.
[14] With their slender means the two women found it impossible to meet
the interruptions and exactions of sight-seers at their home, so this
too had something to do with the change of residence.
[15] John W. Lovell & Company, New York, about 1884 or 1885. Now out of
print.
[16] February, 1888.
[17] March, 1891.
[18] 'The Veiled Doctor,' A Novel by Varina Anne Jefferson Davis, New
York, Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1895.
[19] The following review is practically the same as one published by
the author of this paper in 'The University of Mississippi Magazine,'
April 1896.
[20] 'A Romance of Summer Seas,' A Novel. By Varina Anne
Jefferson-Davis, Author of 'The Veiled Doctor,' New York and London,
Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1898.
SIR WILLIAM DUNBAR--THE PIONEER OF SCIENTIST OF MISSISSIPPI.[21]
BY FRANKLIN L. RILEY, PH. D. (JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY)
William Dunbar was born in 1749 at the celebrated manor house of
Thunderton, near Elgin in Morayshire, Scotland. He was the youngest
son of Sir Archibald Dunbar, who was head of one of the most ancient
and famous earldoms in his native country.[22] After William Dunbar's
removal to America, he became head of this house in Scotland. Although
he never assumed the title which he thus inherited, he is known in the
history of his adopted state as Sir William Dunbar.[23]
After he had received a liberal education at Glasgow, his fondness for
mathematics and astronomy led him to continue these studies in London.
His health failed in the latter place and he decided to try his fortune
in the New World.
He procured from the great house of Hunter and Bailey, London, an
outfit of goods suitable for trading with the Indians. He reached
Philadelphia in April, 1771, and immediately transported his goods,
to the value of about £1,000, overland to Fort Pitt (Pittsburg).[24]
Within two months he had exchanged them for furs and peltries, which he
forwarded to London. He continued in this business for two years, when
he formed a partnership with John Ross, a prominent Scotch merchant and
capitalist of Philadelphia.
In order to establish a plantation in the British province of West
Florida, Dunbar descended the Ohio and Mississippi in 1773, and
selected a tract of land near Baton Rouge, then called by the English,
New Richmond. He went to Pensacola, capitol of West Florida, where he
received from Governor Chester permission to settle the tract selected,
and thence to Jamaica, where he bought a large number of slaves,
direct from Africa. With these, he returned to his new home, by way of
Pensacola, the lakes, and the Amite.
He first directed his attention to raising indigo, but soon found
that it was more profitable to manufacture staves for the West India
market. These he exchanged for such commodities as were demanded by his
neighbors along the Mississippi.[25]
From a document written in 1773, and found among the papers of George
Chalmers, Secretary of Trade of Great Britain, we find that at this
time there were only thirty-three settlements east of the Mississippi
and between Natchez and what is now the state of Louisiana.[26] But
from that date the streams of immigration began to flow steadily
into this new country. This fact is shown by another contemporary
manuscript, which was written by Gov. Chester, shortly after the
Spanish conquest of West Florida. In it he says that in 1778,
"considering the importance of the Western Parts of the Colony (of West
Florida) lying on the River Mississippi which had so far increased in
its inhabitants____that since the____last Assembly (held in 1772) it
had been divided from the District of Mobile or Charlotte County and
erected into Two Districts, viz.: The District of Manschack and the
District of Natchez and contained a great number of respectable wealthy
Planters and Settlers than either of the other Districts in the Colony"
(Mobile and Pensacola).[27]
During the greater part of his first six years' residence near Baton
Rouge, Dunbar suffered from a series of misfortunes which well-nigh
destroyed all that he could accumulate through his industry and thrift.
In 1775, he lost some of his most valuable slaves through a rebellion
in which they were implicated. Three years later, his house and
plantation were plundered by one Capt. James Willing,[28] who, although
a commissioned officer in the continental army was really a freebooter.
In speaking of Willing's visitation, Dunbar says, in his private
Journal that "the houses of the British gentlemen on the English side
were plundered, and among the rest, mine was robbed of everything that
could be carried away--all my wearing apparel, bed and table linen;
not a shirt was left in the house,--blankets, pieces of cloth, sugar,
silverware. In short, all was fish that came in their net____I was
plundered of £200 sterling value."[29] The year following, 1779, his
plantation was again raided,--this time by marauding bands of soldiers
from the Spanish army that subdued the district under their gallant
leader, Galvez.
For several years after the last of these misfortunes, Dunbar was left
undisturbed in his pursuits; and by constant application to business
and the adroit management of the affairs of his firm, he accumulated a
competency.
In 1787, he wrote to his partner, Mr. Ross, that the lands at Natchez
were far preferable to their lands at Baton Rouge; that the Natchez
soil was particularly favorable to the production of tobacco and that
there were overseers in that part of the country who would engage to
produce from two to three hogsheads to the hand besides provisions.
His final settlement was at a place nine miles south of Natchez and
four miles east of the Mississippi River. Here he opened the celebrated
plantation called "The Forest," where he spent the remainder of his
life.
On account of the competition from Kentucky and the Spanish
restrictions on trade, he found the cultivation of tobacco
unprofitable. He directed his attention to the raising of indigo, but
was soon forced to abandon this also, because of the ravages of an
insect. He then engaged in the cultivation of cotton, which proved
to be a very remunerative crop. We are told that he became "the most
extensive and successful planter" in this region, being one of the
first to turn the attention of the planters of the Natchez District
to the advantages which the cultivation of cotton afforded over other
crops. In 1799 he wrote to Mr. Ross of Philadelphia that he continued
to cultivate cotton with very great success and that it was by far
the most remunerative staple that had been raised in this county.[30]
In another letter, written while in the midst of the cotton harvest,
he said that he had made "not less than 20,000 pounds of clean
cotton worth in London £2,000." He also mentioned that he had helped
to improve the method of packing cotton by the introduction of the
square bale. In order to perfect this improvement, he requested his
correspondent to have a screw press made in Philadelphia according to
the specifications which were enclosed.[31] In a subsequent letter
written to the same party, Dunbar expressed his surprise that the
press should have cost him $1,000, but added that he would try "to
indemnify" himself "by extracting an oil from the cotton seed." He
requested to be informed what price such an oil would bring in the
market, stating that it would probably be classed "between the drying
and fat oils, resembling linseed in color and tenacity, but perhaps
less drying."[32] Claiborne says that this was "the first suggestion
of that product which has now become a great article of commerce, or
indeed of utilizing cotton seed at all. At that period it was not
dreamed of as a fertilizer, nor fed, in any shape to stock. It was
usually burnt or hauled to a strong enclosure, at a remote part of the
farm, to decompose, and was considered of no use whatever, and really a
nuisance."[33]
These brief extracts, from the correspondence of Dunbar, show that he
made a practical application of the scientific principles which he had
learned in his native country. No comments are needed to show that he
was a man of thought as well as of action.
Dunbar continued his business relations with Mr. Ross until the
partnership was dissolved by the death of the latter in 1800. The
interest of the heirs of the deceased was then bought by Mr. Dunbar for
about $20,000.[34]
The remaining years of his life were devoted almost exclusively to
scientific investigations, which he frequently characterized as his
"favorite amusements." He seemed to be indifferent to political
preferment, and though out of deference to the wishes of his people, he
sometimes permitted an interruption of his scientific work in order to
perform the duties of the offices which were more than once thrust upon
him, such labors were not congenial to him. After the adjournment of
the Territorial Legislature in 1803 of which he was a member, he wrote
to President Jefferson expressing his delight upon being able to return
to his scientific work.[35]
No greater injustice could be done Mr. Dunbar than to infer that his
political indifference was due to lack of patriotism. His strong
attachment to the home of his adoption is shown in the following
extract from a letter to President Jefferson, written January 7,
1803:--"By a letter____from my much esteemed friend, Mrs. Trist,____she
says that you had informed her it was my intention to remove shortly
from this country; I beg leave to remove this impression. Since the
country has been united to the American federation, I have never
ceased to consider it as my own country which I hope never to be under
the necessity of abandoning."[36] In another letter, written to the
same great statesman six months later, Dunbar calls attention to the
"renewed activity and immigration of the French to the Mississippi
Valley," and expresses a fear of the consequences to follow therefrom.
"It is desirable," he adds, "to preserve the whole of the Valley of
the Mississippi for the spread of the people of the United States; who
might in the progress of a century, plant the fine western valley of
the Mississippi with many millions of inhabitants, speaking the same
language with ourselves. It ought not to be objected that this object
is too remote to merit contemplation of the present moment."[37] He
then gives a discussion of the political methods of the French and
Spaniards; also his ideas of the reason why the Spaniards had stopped
the right of deposit at New Orleans, with circumstances to confirm the
same.
He closes this letter by saying that politics is not a favorite
subject with him, and that he would probably not introduce it again
into their correspondence, unless in the view of communicating
something which it might be important for Jefferson to know. However
sincere may have been his intentions to abstain from writing on
political matters, we find that in his next letter to Jefferson,
written about four months later, he discusses at length the claim of
Louisiana to West Florida, and gives a representation of the political
outlook of Mississippi and of Louisiana.[38] In another letter, written
three months later still, he opposes a resolution submitted to Congress
"to deprive Jefferson College of thirty acres of land____and to give
the same to the city of Natchez."[39]
Dunbar's greatest claim to prominence is based upon the results of
his scientific investigations. His researches in this remote and then
unexplored field of inquiry brought him into fellowship with the wise
and learned of all countries, and gained for him a reputation wider
perhaps than that of any other scientist in the history of the State.
Col. Claiborne, writing in 1876, said of him that he "was not only the
most learned man of his time on the Mississippi, but we have had no man
his equal since."[40] Dunbar's fondness for mathematics and astronomy
made him the friend and correspondent of Sir William Herschel. He also
numbered among his correspondents some of the foremost scientists of
his time,--Hunter, Bartram, Rittenhouse, and Rush.
During the latter part of the Spanish rule, he was appointed Surveyor
General of the District of Natchez. He also served as a representative
of the Spanish government in locating the 31° of North Latitude, which
was established as the boundary line between the United States and
the Spanish possessions east of the Mississippi. As he was never a
subject of his Catholic Majesty,[41] these services were strictly
professional. The relationship between him and Governor Gayoso was,
however, very cordial, as is shown by their correspondence.[42] Upon
one occasion,[43] Dunbar presented Gayoso with a costly sextant,
which the latter needed in order to complete a course of astronomical
observations upon which he was engaged. At another time[44] Gayoso had
cause to thank Dunbar for the use of a "famous astronomical circle"
belonging to the latter. Gayoso says of this instrument, "it surpassed
my expectation,____. Every part is so delicately finished and solidly
supported & so well prepared to be adjusted that it would give me
courage to make an observation myself. If the instrument was not your
own property I would have advised you to make a voyage to admire it.
Now I think with your assistance I may with confidence and decency
proceed to the demarcation of the Line as soon as I receive orders for
the purpose." The sickness of Mr. Dunbar about this time was a source
of great concern to Gayoso. In a third letter[45] upon this subject,
written two weeks before the work upon the line began, Gayoso expressed
some apprehension that, for his sake, Dunbar might imprudently expose
himself. When Dunbar was at work upon the line, Gayoso wrote to him
as follows: "I congratulate myself for having had the opportunity of
meeting with a person so well calculated to fulfill so important a
charge for which is required science with every other quality worthy
of public trust; you possess them all in a degree to do honor to any
country; these are my sincere sentiments."
Dunbar's services on the line of demarcation extended from May 26 to
August 28, 1798, the time consumed in surveying the first eighteen
miles of the boundary.[46] The preliminary observations leading to
the location of the 31° were made in his private observatory on Union
Hill.[47] An inundation of the Mississippi prevented the survey from
beginning at the bank of the river. The water having receded by the
28th of July, Dunbar began to extend the line to the river from the
point of starting, while Ellicott, the American Commissioner, continued
his survey to the east.[48] Through this swamp, which was found to be
2111.42 French toises or 2 miles and 186 perches English measure, a
trace sixty feet wide was cut to designate the boundary, and posts were
put at intervals of a mile.
Dunbar rejoined the American Commissioners on August 20. A few days
later he made the following entry in his report to the Spanish
government:--"I set out on the 31st day of August bidding a final
adieu to the Gentlemen of both Commissions, with whom I had spent
three months in a manner highly agreeable to my own taste, and with
uninterrupted harmony on my part with every gentleman of both parties,
and had it not been that my family and other interests demanded my
protection and superintendence, I should have with pleasure pursued
this employment to its conclusion."[49] Ellicott, in his report of this
survey, published in the Transactions of the American Philosophical
Society, says:--"To William Dunbar, Esq., of the Mississippi Territory
I feel myself under the greatest obligations for his assistance during
the short time he was with us; his extensive scientific acquirements,
added to a singular facility in making calculations would have reduced
my labour to a mere amusement, if he had continued."[50] The same
writer in his Journal, published in Philadelphia, five years after his
association with Dunbar, says that he is "a gentleman whose extensive
information and scientific acquirements would give him a distinguished
rank in any place or in any country."[51] Since Ellicott himself was
one of the foremost scientists of his time in this country[52] the
value of his estimate of Dunbar cannot be questioned.
A few months after the completion of this important public survey,
Daniel Clarke wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson, in which he referred
to Dunbar as "a person worthy of being consulted____on subjects
relating to this Country its productions, or any philosophical Question
connected with them____For Science, Probity & general information (he)
is the first Character in this part of the World. His long residence in
this Country, still but little known to men of letters, its Situation
with respect to many Savage tribes, some of which lately inhabited
the very Place where he resides & where their visages are still
perceptible, the extensive Communications with remote parts presented
by the Mississippi and concourse of Indians & traders, have given him
many opportunities of making observations which may not have presented
themselves to others and may not probably occur in future, to these
may be added those he has made on the Country itself, its population,
manners, Customs of the Inhabitants, the different Changes in their
Government for the last 40 years, the Climate, soil & Trade which are
but little known abroad."[53]
The manuscript correspondence of Thomas Jefferson, in the Archives of
the Department of State at Washington shows that he acted upon this
suggestion from Mr Clarke. In this collection there have been preserved
fifteen letters that were written by Dunbar.
The first of these in chronological order, bears the date of July
15, 1800. It states briefly that in compliance with the request of a
friend in London, Dunbar had prepared certain notes and remarks "made
while upon the line of Demarcation." These he sent to Jefferson with a
request that after reading he forward them to London. Jefferson, who
was then President of the American Philosophical Society and a great
patron of science, was so favorably impressed by these notes that
instead of forwarding them as directed, he sent them to Dr. Wistar of
Philadelphia with a recommendation that Dunbar be elected to membership
in the Philosophical Society. On this point Jefferson wrote that he
had proposed so many members at different times that he was afraid to
add to the number. "Yet," says he, "Dunbar ought to be associated to
us. I enclose you a letter with communications of his to Mr. Smith of
London which ____will enable you to judge of his degree of science, &
therefore, I leave them open for your perusal, & will pray you to seal
& send them____to London." Shortly after this Dunbar was elected to
membership in this, the most celebrated organization of scientists in
the early history of the United States. The fact that only thirteen
other Americans were added to this body during the three years from
January 1st, 1799 to 1802, gives a proper estimate of the high honor
conferred upon Mr. Dunbar. In writing to Dunbar, shortly after this
recognition of his scientific attainments, Ellicott says: "If you do
justice to your own abilities and observations, you will do credit to
the society by your communications."
Before considering the character and extent of his subsequent
contributions to science, the notes and remarks referred to above
demand consideration. These are contained in his report of the survey
to his Catholic Majesty,[54] the Spanish copy of which is in the
archives at Madrid. Several years ago it was examined by Alexander
Everett, who often referred to it as "a document of rare science and
accuracy."[55]
It consists of two parts. The first treats of the mathematical
calculations and the astronomical observations made in locating the 31°
of latitude and in surveying the first eighteen miles of the line of
demarcation. The remainder consists of notes taken at his encampment
on the Bluff, in August, 1798. These treat, for the most part, of the
vegetable and animal life to be found along the line of the survey,
particularly in the swamp of the Mississippi river.