Voyage up the Mississippi (continued)--The Arkansas--Treatment of the
Indians--M. de Tocqueville--"Napoleon" and Lynch Law--Memphis, and its
Advertisements--A Scene witnessed there--The Ohio--Nashville, and Amos
Dresser.
At 4 o'clock P.M. of February the 14th, we reached the mouth of the
Arkansas. This is a noble river, navigable for 2,000 miles! Not twenty
years ago, the remnants of the four great Indian nations of the
southern part of what is now the United States, amounting to about
75,000 souls, were urged to remove to the banks of this river, with an
assurance of an undisturbed and permanent home. These four nations were
the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the Creeks, and the Cherokees. They were
established upon a territory, which they occupied before the settlement
of any Europeans in their vicinity, and which had been confirmed to
them by solemn treaties again and again. The Anglo-Americans of the
States of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi were however annoyed at
their proximity, because it was unfavourable to the "peculiar
institution" of America. Slaves occasionally made their escape to these
children of the forest, and found sympathy and succour. This would not
do. The Indians must be removed. But how was it to be accomplished?
Annoy them; harass them; wrong them in every possible way, so that they
may be sickened with the place. Georgia, accordingly, first attempted
to establish a division line for the purpose of limiting the boundaries
of the Cherokees. Then, in 1829, the State of Alabama divided the Creek
territory into counties, and subjected the Indian population to the
power of white magistrates. And, in 1830, the State of Mississippi
assimilated the Chocktaws and Chickasaws to the white population, and
declared that any one who should take the title of Chief should be
punished with a fine of 1,000 dollars and a year's imprisonment. Under
these accumulated annoyances, the Cherokees, on the 18th of December,
1829, addressed to Congress the following powerful and touching
appeal:--
"By the will of our Father in heaven, the Governor of the whole world,
the red man of America has become small, and the white man great and
renowned. When the ancestors of the people of the United States first
came to the shores of America, they found the red man strong, though he
was ignorant and savage; yet he received them kindly, and gave them dry
land to rest their weary feet. They met in peace, and shook hands in
token of friendship. Whatever the white man wanted and asked of the
Indian, the latter willingly gave. At that time the Indian was the
lord, and the white man the suppliant. But now the scene has changed.
The strength of the red man has become weakness. As his neighbours
increased in numbers, his power became less and less; and now, of the
many and powerful tribes who once covered the United States, only a few
are to be seen,--a few whom a sweeping pestilence has left. The
northern tribes, who were once so numerous and powerful, are now nearly
extinct. Thus it has happened to the red man of America. Shall we, who
are remnants, share the same fate?"
"Oh, no!" was the response. "Beyond the great river Mississippi," said
the President to them in 1829, "where a part of your nation has gone,
your Father has provided a country large enough for all of you; and he
advises you to remove to it. There your white brothers will not trouble
you: they will have no claim to the land, and you can live upon it, you
and your children, as long as the grass grows or the water runs, in
peace and plenty. _It will be yours for ever_."
With this assurance, many left the land of their birth and the homes of
their childhood, travelled hundreds of miles, crossed the Mississippi,
and settled on the banks of the Arkansas. M. de Tocqueville was
"assured, towards the end of the year 1831, that 10,000 Indians had
already gone to the shores of the Arkansas, and fresh detachments were
constantly following them." Many, however, were unwilling to be thus
expatriated. "The Indians readily discover," says M. de Tocqueville,
"that the settlement which is proposed to them is merely a temporary
expedient. Who can assure them that they will at length be allowed to
dwell in peace in their new retreat? The United States pledge
themselves to the observance of the obligation; but the territory which
they at present occupy was formerly secured to them by the most solemn
oaths of Anglo-American faith. The American Government does not,
indeed, rob them of their land, but it allows perpetual incursions to
be made upon them. In a few years the same white population which now
flocks around them, will track them to the solitudes of the Arkansas:
they will then be exposed to the same evils, without the same remedies;
and as the limits of the earth will at last fail them, their only
refuge is the grave."
The views of this keen French philosopher were prophetic. In vain did I
strain my eyes, as we passed along, to discover any trace of these
Indians. Not one representative of those noble aborigines was to be
seen. In 1836 Arkansas was constituted a State, and admitted into the
Union; and, if you look at a recent map of the United States, you will
see the "location" of these Indians marked, not in the State of
Arkansas at all, but far--far beyond, towards the setting sun, in what
is called the "Western Territory," where, indeed, the river Arkansas
has its source. Nor will ten years pass away before they will be again
disturbed, and pushed further back.
At the mouth of the Arkansas is a village called Napoleon, of which I
received, on authority not to be disputed, the following horrible
account. A few years ago it was the head quarters of lawless and bloody
men. They fabricated base coin, gambled, robbed, murdered. To such a
pitch of wickedness had they arrived, and such a terror were they to
the whole country, that a party of men from Memphis (a city on the
eastern side of the Mississippi, 180 miles up) took the law into their
own hands, armed themselves with deadly weapons, came down, scoured the
country around, caught about fifty of the ringleaders, and put them to
death. Some they shot,--some they hanged,--and some they threw, tied
hand and foot, into the river. Of this dreadful tragedy no judicial
notice was ever taken!
February 15.--I had an attack of intermittent fever, and consequently
saw nothing of the scenery around. At night the fog was so dense that
the officers deemed it prudent to "lie to."
February 16.--At 9 A.M. we were abreast of the city of Memphis, on the
Tennessee side of the river. Higher up there is Cairo. These
slave-holders, who retain their fellow-men in worse than Egyptian
bondage, seem to have a great partiality for Egyptian names. Memphis is
pleasantly situated on high "bluffs," and is a great point for the
shipping of cotton. It does not, however, thrive by _honest_ industry.
I obtained a copy of the _Daily Inquirer_ of that day, where--among
advertisements of pianos, music, bonnets, shawls, &c., for the
ladies--I found the following:--
"ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD.--Ran away from the subscriber, on the 20th
of October last, two Negro Fellows of the following description.--To
wit,--Evan, 25 years of age, about 5 feet 11 inches high, complexion
black, thick bristly beard, low soft voice, and apt to look down when
spoken to; has a large scar on the calf of one of his legs, caused by
the bite of a dog when he was 8 or 10 years old; some of his jaw-teeth
missing or decayed. Ellis, 22 years of age, about 5 feet 11 inches
high; complexion dark mulatto, tinged with Indian blood; beard thin and
light. From information derived from a brother of these boys, who was
caught in Washington County, Miss., it appears they intended to apply
for employment as wood-choppers in the upper part of this State, until
they could raise money enough to dress fine, then set off for the State
of Illinois. It is highly probable they will resort to fictitious
names, for the purpose of baffling pursuit.
"The above reward will be paid to any person confining them in any
jail, so that I can get them again; or fifty dollars for either of
them.
"DUNCAN M'ALPIN."
"SLAVE MARKET.--The subscribers have now, and will continue to keep on
hand throughout the season, a large supply of choice Negroes, suited to
every capacity, which they offer at the lowest market rates. They have
agents abroad engaged in purchasing for them, which enables them to bid
defiance to competition.
"Depôt on Adams-street, between Main and Second Streets.
"BOLTON & DICKINS."
"JAILOR'S NOTICE.--Was committed to the jail of Shelby County, on 25th
January, a Negro Boy named Silas. He says he belongs to William Wise,
of Fayette, County Tenne. He is about 30 years old, black complexion,
about 5 feet 11 inches high; weighs about 165 lbs. The owner of said
Negro is requested to come and prove property, and pay charges, or he
will be dealt with according to law.
"E. W. HARREL,
"_Jailor_."
"Feb. 13.--3tW."
In connection with Memphis, M. de Tocqueville narrates the following
touching incident, relative to the expatriation of the Indians, to
which I have already referred. "At the end of the year 1831, while I
was on the left bank of the Mississippi, at a place named by Europeans
Memphis, there arrived a numerous band of Choctaws. These _savages_ [so
his American translator renders it] had left their country, and were
endeavouring to gain the right bank of the Mississippi, where they
hoped to find an asylum which had been promised them by the American
Government. It was the middle of winter, and the cold was unusually
severe: the snow had frozen hard upon the ground, and the river was
drifting huge masses of ice. The Indians had their families with them;
and they brought in their train the wounded and the sick, with children
newly born, and old men upon the verge of death. They possessed neither
tents nor waggons, but only their arms and some provisions. I saw them
embark to pass the mighty river, and never will that solemn spectacle
fade from my remembrance! No cry, no sob was heard among the assembled
crowd: all were silent. Their calamities were of ancient date, and they
knew them to be irremediable. The Indians had all stepped into the bark
that was to carry them across, but their dogs remained upon the bank.
As soon as these animals perceived that their masters were finally
leaving the shore, they set up a dismal howl, and, plunging all
together into the icy waters of the Mississippi, they swam after the
boat." So much for Memphis and its associations!
February 18th, at 5 A.M., we entered the Ohio River, and at 1 P.M. the
mouth of the Tennessee; coming shortly afterwards to Smithland, at the
mouth of the Cumberland River, which runs parallel with the Tennessee,
and communicates directly with Nashville, the capital of that State.
This city also has its association of ideas. I cannot think of it
without at the same time thinking of Amos Dresser. He was a student at
Lane Seminary (Dr. Beecher's), and subsequently a missionary to
Jamaica. In the vacation of 1835 he undertook to sell Bibles in the
State of Tennessee, with a view to raise the means of continuing his
studies for the ministry. Under suspicion of being an Abolitionist, he
was arrested by the "Vigilance Committee" (a Lynch-law institution),
while attending a religious meeting in the neighbourhood of Nashville.
After an afternoon and evening's inquisition, he was condemned to
receive twenty lashes with the cow-hide on his naked body. Between 11
and 12 on Saturday night the sentence was executed upon him, in the
presence of most of the committee, and of an infuriated and blaspheming
mob. The Vigilance Committee consisted of sixty persons. Of these,
twenty-seven were members of churches: one was a religious teacher, and
others were _elders_ of the Presbyterian Church,--one of whom had a few
days before offered Mr. Dresser the bread and wine at the Lord's
Supper. But let Amos Dresser himself describe the scene and the
circumstances.
"I knelt down," says he, "to receive the punishment, which was
inflicted by Mr. Braughton, the city officer, with a HEAVY COW-SKIN.
When the infliction ceased, an involuntary thanksgiving to God, for the
fortitude with which I had been enabled to endure it, arose in my soul,
to which I began aloud to give utterance. The death-like silence that
prevailed for a moment was suddenly broken with loud exclamations,
--'G--d d--n him! Stop his praying!' I was raised to my
feet by Mr. Braughton, and conducted by him to my lodgings, where it
was thought safe for me to remain but a few moments.
"Among my triers was a great portion of the respectability of
Nashville; nearly half of the whole number professors of Christianity,
the reputed stay of the Church, supporters of the cause of benevolence
in the form of tract and missionary societies and Sabbath-schools;
several members and _most_ of the elders of the Presbyterian Church,
from whose hands but a few days before I had received the emblems of
the broken body and shed blood of our blessed Saviour!"
In relating this shameful circumstance, the editor of the _Georgia
Chronicle_, a professor of religion, said that Dresser "should have
been hung up as high as Haman, to rot upon the gibbet until the wind
whistled through his bones. The cry of the whole South should be death,
_instant death_, to the Abolitionist, wherever he is caught." What a
great and free country!