Tour to the Western Country

[284]  p310  Vol. IV
p310 Chapter XLIX
Commence my tour by land — Bruinsbury — A primitive clergyman — Bayau Pierre swamp — Hilly country — Plantations — Thunder storm — A benevolent shoemaker — Norris's — Cole's creek — A consequential landlord — Greenville — Union town — A travelling painter.

On Monday 22d August, I set out from Bruinsbury on horseback, for the purpose of visiting the most improved  p311 parts of the Mississippi territory, and the adjacent part of the Spanish province of West Florida.

Bruinsbury was the property of judge Bruin,​199 until lately, that he sold it together with a claim to about three thousand acres of the surrounding land to Messrs. Evans and Overaker of Natchez, reserving to himself his house, offices and garden.

It is a mile below the mouth of bayau Pierre, the banks of which being low and swampy, and always annually overflowed in the spring, he projected the [285]intended town of Bruinsbury, where there was a tolerably high bank and a good landing which has only been productive of a cotton gin, a tavern, and an overseer's house for Mr. Evan's plantation, exclusive of the judge's own dwelling house, and it will probably never now become a town notwithstanding many town lots were purchased, as Mr. Evans means to plant all the unappropriated lots, preferring the produce in cotton to the produce in houses.

I was accompanied from the judge's by an elderly Presbyterian clergyman, a native of New England, who had been a missionary among the Chickasaw or Cherokee nations. He was a man of great simplicity of manners, and wonderfully ignorant of all established modes. During the short time we rode together, the characteristick feature of his country was displayed in the innumerable questions he asked me relative to whence I came, where I was going, and my objects and intentions, particularly in my present journey.

 p312  I at last discovered a mode of parrying his wearisome curiosity, by becoming curious in my turn. This seemed to gratify him equally, as it led to a circumstantial account of a life as little chequered by incident as can be conceived. He had been the scholar of the family, one of the sons of a farmer's family in New England being always selected for that purpose. He had graduated at college — been ordained — went to Carolina — kept a school there — was appointed by a synod a missionary for the propagation of the gospel among the Indians, in which situation for several years, he had raised a family, and leaving his eldest children to possess and cultivate lands granted him by the Indians, he had removed with his wife and his youngest children to this territory, where, by keeping a school, preaching alternate Sundays, at two or three different places, twelve or fourteen miles asunder, and cultivating a small cotton plantation, he made a very comfortable subsistence. [286]Although I could not agree with him with respect to the comfort of a subsistence so hardly earned, yet I could not help admiring the truth of the old adage, that custom is second nature, and always fits the back to the burthen.

Our first two miles was through the river bottom, the most remote part of which from the river, is inundated annually by the back waters of bayau Pierre, which overflows all the neighbouring low lands for forty miles from its mouth, when its current is checked by the rising of the Mississippi. On the subsiding of the floods, so much water remains stagnant, as to cause the fever and ague to be endemick in all the tract of country washed by the bayau Pierre, from ten miles above the town of Port Gibson.

On leaving the swamp we ascended a hill, on the brow of which is a charmingly situated plantation owned and occupied by a Mr. Smith. The increased elasticity of the air, renovated our spirits, and seemed to increase the good  p313 parson's garrulity. A mile of a delightful road through open woods on a dry ridge brought us from Mr. Smith's, to Mr. Robert Cochran's fine plantation. It was near dinner time, and a thunder cloud rising before us, gave my companion a pretext for wishing to stop, but I having declared before that I would not, and now refusing Mr. Cochran's invitation, who from the stile as we passed told us dinner was on the table, the good man good humouredly sacrificed his desire to mine, and proceeded with me, by which complaisance he got wet to the skin. He only accompanied me another mile, turning off to the left to go to Greenville, while I continued my route to the southward along the lower Natchez road, which runs nearly parallel to the Mississippi, on the ridges behind the river bottoms. A thunder cloud which had been threatening at a distance for some time before, now began to rise and spread rapidly. It was in vain that I put spurs to my [287]horse — I was instantly deluged with torrents of rain, accompanied by as tremendous thunder and lightning as I ever had before witnessed, and a heavy gust of wind at the same time, blew down several trees in every direction close round me. My horse though an old steady traveller, was so affrighted that I could not manage him but with great difficulty. Three miles and a half through the storm brought me to Glascock's small plantation, where I fortified against a chill with a glass of gin presented to me by the good lady of the house, who also regaled me with some fine peaches. The rain soon subsiding, I resumed my journey in my wet clothes, but I had scarcely advanced a mile, when another shower forced me to take shelter at a small, but pleasantly situated farm, rented by a Mr. Hopper from Mr. Cochran. The face of the country became now more broken, but the soil improved, and the road degenerating to a bridle path through the woods, and being hilly, and forked and  p314 intersected by cattle paths, was both difficult to find and disagreeable to travel. A mile from Hopper's, I stopped at an old school-house, where I observed a shoemaker at work under a shed in front of the cabin, to get my boot mended. He was named Ostun, had lately arrived from South Carolina with his family, and had made the unoccupied school-house his temporary abode, until he should find an eligible situation for a settlement. He repaired my boot, entertained me with his intentions, hopes, and expectations, regretted he had no shelter to offer me for myself and my horse, that he might prevent my going farther that night through the rain (which was literally the case, as the old little cabin let the water in at almost every part) and would accept of nothing for his trouble. It would be unpardonable to neglect noticing the kindness of this plain, honest shoemaker, in a country where benevolence is a virtue not too much practised. [288]A mile from hence, by the advice of my friendly shoemaker, I turned to the left, to seek shelter for the night, at the hospitable cabin and fine farm of Mr. James Norris, half a mile farther, instead of keeping the usual road to the right, two miles to Mr. Joseph Calvet's.​200 I was well recompensed for my deviation, by a frank and hearty welcome, a pleasant fire, a good supper, an excellent bed, and the intelligence that I was on the best and plainest road, and the shortest by four miles. This neighbourhood consists of half a dozen families, chiefly from South Carolina, from which state Mr. Norris came a few years ago. I found him fully deserving the high character Mr. Ostun gave me of him for hospitality. He strongly recommended my settling some place near, and recommended it to me to purchase, if possible, a tract of land owned by Mr. Cochran, near Hopper's.

 p315  August 23d, departing from Mr. Norris's at early dawn, the road, which had been opened wide enough for a wagon, but now much overgrown by poke and other high weeds, (the dew from which as I pressed through them, wet me as much as a shower of rain would have done) led me along the top of a narrow and very crooked ridge in generally a S. E. direction nearly four miles, where coming to three forks, I kept the left one which brought me in a mile more through some beautiful open woods on a light soil to a small corn field on the right, with no habitation visible, beyond which I crossed up to my horse's knees the North fork of Cole's creek, which now was a pretty little, transparent, sandy bottomed stream, but after heavy rains it swells suddenly and becomes a frightful and deep torrent, sometimes impassible for several days. Turning to the left beyond the creek, I had one mile to an old deserted field, now an arid plain, affording a very scanty pasture of poor grass to a few lean cattle. The distant crowing of a cock [289]advertised me of my approach to a settlement, and I soon after came to a corn field and a hatter's shop, on the banks of the middle fork of Cole's creek, a stream in size and appearance similar to the North fork. Crossing it, the road led through some small plantations on a light thin sandy soil, •a mile and a half to Greenville, where I put up at Green's tavern and breakfasted. My host affected a little consequence, but when he understood that I was in search of land to settle on, he became more attentive, and persuaded me much, to purchase from him, a tract of land in the neighbourhood, which he recommended very highly.

Greenville (or Huntstown, its old name) the capital of Jefferson county, is very handsomely situated, on a dry sandy plain near the middle branch of Cole's creek. It is surrounded at a little distance by small farms and woods, which add variety and beauty to its appearance. A stranger  p316 would suppose it healthy, but my information respecting it was rather the reverse, particularly in the autumnal months, when it is subject to bilious disorders. Perhaps this may be owing to the excessive heat occasioned by the reflection of the sun from the sandy soil, as it is sufficiently elevated, and there is no stagnant pond, nor low marsh, near it to generate fevers. This is probably one cause of its being in a state of decay; another may be the difficulty of approaching it during floods in Cole's creek, which happen after every rain, and which in a manner insulate it while they last. It consists of one wide straight street nearly half a mile long, running N. by W. and S. by E. intersected by two small cross ones, containing in all forty tolerably good houses, many of which are now unoccupied, and offered for sale, at little more than a quarter of their cost in building. It has a small church for general use of all christian sects, a small court-house, a gaol and a pillory, a post-office, two stores, two taverns, [290]and an apothecary's shop. The town is well watered by wells dug to about thirty feet deep.201

Proceeding to the S. S. W. keeping to the right at the south end of the town, at one mile I crossed a deep ravine, with a spring well and a washing camp in it, overhung by a house on the projecting corner of a small plantation, on a hill on the left.

The road was well opened, but hilly, through the woods, for two miles farther, when on crossing a water course (now dry) and rising a hill, I had a view on the right, over the extensive plantation of colonel West,​202 who has upwards of  p317 two hundred acres in one field in cultivation. The soil seems very thin, as in the whole neighbourhood of Greenville, but the crop of cotton and corn now looked luxuriant, from the wetness of the season.

Two miles farther I passed on the right Parker Cardine's delightfully situated plantation, with an excellent dwelling house, and good apple and peach orchards, with the south branch of Cole's creek, winding round on the right below, and which I crossed soon after. The soil however is very light, and is soon washed off, and worn out, where it has been cultivated a few years, on the whole tract between Greenville and Natchez.

The country here is well opened and inhabited to a little beyond Uniontown, which is a small village of three or four houses in decay, about a mile beyond Cardine's.203

I stopped at Uniontown to feed my horse, (I make use of the active verb feed, instead of the passive one, to have my horse fed, as travellers in this country, who will not take the trouble of giving corn and fodder to their horses themselves, may expect to have them soon die of famine, although they pay extravagantly for food and attendance.) I was here joined by a trig looking young man mounted on a mule, who requested to accompany me on the road towards Natchez. [291]In riding along, he entertained me with his history. He said his name was Jackson — that he was born in London — was bred a painter, and was sent to a rich uncle in St. Vincents, when only fourteen years old. That aided by his uncle, he had traded among the West India  p318 islands, until he was seventeen, when being concerned with a son of colonel Haffey, in a contraband adventure to Martinique, he lost every thing, and then came to the continent, where he had supported himself as an itinerant house and landscape painter, in which capacity he had travelled over most parts of the United States. Unfortunately for the credit of his veracity, he described my old friend colonel Henry Haffey, as a native French creole of Martinique, when in reality, he was born in the North of Ireland, and had nothing of the Frenchman, either in manner or character. Besides, having no children himself, he had adopted Henry Haffey Gums, a nephew of his wife's. On this discovery I humoured my companion, and affected to believe all he said, which betrayed him into many laughable absurdities and contradictions.

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The Editor's Notes:

199 Judge Peter Bryan Bruin was an Irishman, who having come to America while yet young, became a patriot in the Revolution, joined Morgan's rifle­men, and was captured at the siege of Quebec. He entered Morgan's New Madrid land scheme, but proceeding to Natchez settled as a planter at the mouth of Bayou Pierre, where he was alcalde under the Spanish régime. Upon the organization of Mississippi Territory, Bruin was appointed one of the three territorial judges, which office he held until his resignation in 1810. The site of his plantation is noted as the point where Grant crossed the Mississippi and began his march against Vicksburg. — Ed.

200 Joseph Calvit served as lieutenant in Clark's Illinois campaign, and was with him at Kaskaskia in 1779. Later going to the Natchez country, he became a prominent and respected citizen of Mississippi. — Ed.

201 Greenville was laid out as the seat of Jefferson County, in 1802, being named in honor of General Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary fame. When the county-seat was removed to Fayette in 1825, Greenville declined in importance, and the site is now a cotton-field. — Ed.

202 Colonel Cato West was a Virginian who removed to Georgia at an early day, and subsequently left the Holston Valley to join George Rogers Clark in Kentucky. Finding the current of the Ohio difficult to stem, he floated down to Natchez, secured a Spanish grant, and became a leading citizen of early Mississippi. Colonel West was secretary of the territory from 1802‑09, and member of the Constitutional Convention in 1817. — Ed.

203 Parker Carradine was a Mississippian who came thither during the English rule, and belonged to the party who opposed Willing and Gayoso, the American and Spanish invaders of the Natchez district.

Uniontown is now a small hamlet known as Union Church. — Ed.

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